2010 Kickoff

Following a pleasant respite from structured training, I am into my first real block of consistent workouts. I'm always mixed when it comes to offseason rest, as I truly love the lifestyle of training day in and day out, but know that I need time to really rest and recover. This year I maintained some fitness through running and swimming, but took plenty of time away from the bike.

With heavy snows blanketing most of Southwestern Colorado, I decided to get out of town for a little while, seeking warmer temperatures in Newport/Laguna Beach over the holidays. I was fortunate to have a place to stay right near Crystal Cove, so I logged a solid week of riding in warm temperatures and running on the beach. Add to it some good deck of cards workouts, and I was starting to get a little form back. We celebrated New Year's at a nice restaurant in Laguna, right after logging 100 miles in the hills above Irvine to close out 2009.

Returning to Colorado, I was able to stick with the swimming and running, but icy/sandy roads were making outdoor riding treacherous. I'm good for around a maximum of 2 hours on the trainer before I lose it, so another trip was essential for my sanity. I knew that I wanted to make another training trip down to Tucson at some point during the winter/spring, so I put out the word and made plans to head south. I kicked things off with a couple days in Phoenix, watching friends race the Rock and Roll half-marathon, and reviewing the Ironman run and bike courses in Tempe. With weather turning a little rainy, I finished driving south to Tucson. I found a place to stay right downtown with a friend of a friend, so I'm close to the U of A pool and the start of group rides. So far, the weather has mostly skirted the area, and I have had two perfect days for riding and running. Considering that snow is falling heavily once again back home in Durango, I think I can deal with a little rain if and when it falls.

I'm also happy to announce that I will be back racing for team Sport Beans/NTTC in 2010, and riding with Specialized and Zipp as well. Look for me training on my SL3, and racing on the new Specialized Shiv time trial bike. Under Armour has stepped up as my running gear sponsor again, and they are developing some new products that should aid in some speedy run splits. Looking forward to a couple of hard weeks of training in the desert, and a welcome back to racing at Cali 70.3 in late March. More posts from Tucson to follow...