Day one, week one....

My training for 2008 kicked off this weekend. After a couple of weeks of easier stuff and just doing whatever I wanted I am ready to go. I have not put in any challenging workouts or hard weeks of training in 7+ weeks. (2 week peak phase before maui, race week, 4 weeks post race) and my body feels great and really strong.

Last week I got on the bike quite a bit and that will remain my focus for the first 3 months of training. My plan is to ride, and ride, and ride in December, January, and February. The 2 month of cycling focus I put in during July and August paid huge dividends when it was time to throwdown in Maui.

I am still planning my race schedule but I will post at least the first half later this week. I am doing some new things that I am really excited about. Let's just say that I will either love riding my bike even more or I won't be able to stand the site of it.

I went to a Run clinic put on by Jim on Saturday and it was killer. We went over a lot drills and were filmed and analyzed running. My form is in good shape but there are some things I can work on and now is the time to do it.

Here's some photos from a ride Tom and I got in on Sunday. It dumped rain here all day Friday and the canyon was basically a swamp. We rode from the west to east and our bikes were covered in about 10lbs. of mud by the time we got to Canyonside Park. We then opted to head for Black Mountain on the roads. We climbed to the top, enjoyed the views and then cruised the 56 bike path back to our starting spot. I felt really strong on the climb, maybe the best I have ever felt out there. It was a good time... and that's what I am all about right now.

The ride:
2:40, 26.95 miles, 2328 ft. of climbing.


Pre-ride pit stop.


Temp at start of ride... not warm.


winter fuel.


looking back down the climb.


another view from the top. All the rain made for clear skies.


mud is good for your bike.