Test Drive!

It may be a wagon, but it drives like a sports car. I like it. Subaru's are super cool, my next car will be a Subaru. That being said, however, it's nice knowing I'm $20,000 richer this evening...for leaving it on the lot. The reason for the test drive: free tickets to VeloSwap, coming soon! Besides, it was a different activity for a day off from training.

Time Lapse

Here it is, the first snow of the year in Denver. Guess what? It was a trainer night this evening.

Weekend Update

I've been slacking on the blog. I didn't have my camera when I needed to have it this weekend. It will be necessary to re-do the weekend's activities, then get pictures!

Saturday was spent trail running and mountain biking at Green Mountain. Saturday evening Theta Tau alumni (Eta Gamma chapter), members and pledges gathered around a campfire to celebrate the fraternity's anniversary.

Sunday started by supplying gatorade to participants in the Denver Marathon, then going on a great group ride from MOB Cyclery . Mom, Dad and I enjoyed eating apple crisp (thanks, Mom!) and watching old home videos. Promise, next weekend will have more pictures associated with it!

Sunrise, Sunset

This picture was taken months ago, I dug it up while reviewing old pictures. Sunrises are not easy to capture on my summer-sleeping schedule. Now I'm on the fall sleeping schedule (up at 5 am this morning to get in trainer time before work). Only problem with that is that I eat constantly all day long.

Food for Thought

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they make the best of everything that comes their way.

Monday Night Football

As I moseyed the streets of Denver Monday night, the glow from Invesco Field can be seen in the background. It was a wonderfully rainy evening and a Broncos victory.

Race for the Cure

Running isn't as bad as it used to be (when I wasn't fit). It was a chilly morning in Denver, but a perfect temperature for a running race (any kind of race). Forget zone 2. A race is a race. Almost 24 minutes, that's half the length of a crit. Not knowing where the finish was made it seem much longer (my imagination was quite active). Worth getting up early to do. It was heart-warming to see how many people were there in support of breast-cancer research (~64,000).

A hike in Evergreen, hot chocolate and Beau Jo's pizza with friends completed the cloudy, rainy day. Tomorrow it's supposed to snow.

The next activity to incorporate into off-season training will be trail running. Gotta be careful in Boulder, though, the mountain lions are taking over!

Superglue

The lenses are superglued in. I'm glad Danielle could have so much fun with my cycling sunny-g's. She was mildly impressed by the road bike. She's one kid I could babysit (very few children pass that test).

October 1, 2006

What a day to begin training for the 2007 racing season!

I got to talk to Tina Pic (see pic to the left), ask her all about sprinting, training, racing...OH WoW. How absolutely cool.

And then I talked to Kimberly Baldwin of T-Mobile, world-class racer, recently retired (as of a few days ago). Might get to ride with her this winter, would that be cool or what? Check out her latest diary entry. All of them are interesting to read, but this one might be her last and it hits a few key points about racing.

She and Tina are both heros of mine...so nothing could have been more motivational or timed more perfectly. They were part of a panel with other world-class athletes speaking to a group of ~40 people on junior development and women's racing.

Last Season Recap

With next season in my sights, I wanted to post a quick low-down on last season.

Races: 45
Wins: 3
Crashes: 2
Training & racing time: ~575 hours on the bike, numerous other hours spent lifting weights

Goals as I had set them in October, 2004 (I looked at them many times every day from the moment they were set until last month, when I checked off the last one):
1. Hang with the 1/2/3 field, some prime wins
2. Win a crit
3. Finish in Top 5 (in a stage) in a stage race
4. Upgrade to Cat 2

All of my goals were successfully met. Last season's successes would not have been possible without Julie (my very awesome coach), my mentors, supportive friends, teammates (which are mostly one and the same) and family. I feel so fortunate to be able to dedicate the necessary time and energy to something I'm so passionate about.