Muse back!
March 17, 2008 / Monday
I'm Training For Something Else!
Well, maybe. I haven't signed up yet, but I'm thinking about entering a cross country mountain bike race at Sea Otter this year. Went for my first dirt ride of the year yesterday at Arastradero. I love that park; there's lot of variety in trails, a nice view, and it's pretty close to home. We rode for just over an hour, with a few breaks to check out the park and some scenery. Total distance: 8.8 miles with ~1,100 feet of climbing.
Including breaks, this puts me at an average speed of 7.8 MPH. The race is 12.8 miles with with ~2,300 feet of climbing. Based on last year's numbers, if I maintain this pace for the race, it'll get me in at around mid-pack in my category and age division. The winner of that category/division last year averaged 9.8 MPH. I tend to average between 7 and 8 MPH. I have a lot of work to do.
Today, I rest. I'm sore; mountain biking is much more work than road cycling. It's also more challenging, which makes it more fun. My goal is to ride fast enough for a medal. The top five finishers in each division get medals, and last year the fifth place finisher averaged 8.5 MPH. I look at that and I think, I can do it! I'll have to work damned hard, but I really do believe that I can ride fast enough to place.
And who knows, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'll finish dead last. But I'll finish dead last trying.
So it looks like I've gone from thinking about entering the race to believing that I can do it. Thanks, blog, for helping me sort out my thoughts. Or maybe no thanks for helping me fool myself into a race that's going to kick my butt. I'm going to go sign up now.
March 17, 2008 03:29 PM | Mountain
Comments
W00t! Kick some butt.
Posted by: Mike at March 17, 2008 06:13 PM