Friday, May 31, 2013

Mitchell done, what now?

So the Assault on Mount Mitchell 2013 is completed, and I've had a week to rest and reflect.  I've spent the last 6 months laser focused on one goal, and I completed it with relative success.  The big question whenever I plan for an event is what to do afterwards.  All of my goals circled around completing the Assault, and completing the training to be prepared.  Now that the event is over, I have to re-shift my focus on new goals.  This is both a good and a bad thing for me.  Having a big goal always keeps me motivated.

Leg Check
I took a couple of days off after the Assault, and let myself just recover.  I had a chance to get my "victory wings" on Tuesday, and spend some time with the family.  Last weekend I got in a great solo spin and a tough group ride to test out the legs, and things felt good.  I then went to the weekly cycling event here in Greenville starting at SCTAC, and had a good strong ride.  It seems like the Assault didn't punish my legs too hard, so I'm going to start getting into a normal summer routine, if I actually have one.

Weekly Goals
My standing weekly goal for this year is to ride approximately 100 miles a week.  If I can average that over the course of the year, that gets me up to around 5,000 miles for the year.  This would be a 25% increase in miles over last year, and continue the fitness increases that I'm expecting.  This will become more challenging as the heat, summer trips, and weather impede my big riding days.  Early May was a great indicator of how weather can derail my schedule right now. 

Monthly Goals
My primary monthly goal is likewise mostly around miles.  I have a demand on myself to get at least 400 miles in a month.  This is lower than the 100 miles a week goal, but still keeps me on track for being near 5,000 miles for the year.  I feel that this goal is low enough to be attainable, even if weather messes up a weekend or two.  

Big Rides
Along with my standard mileage goal, I want to get in 1 big ride each month.  Whether it's going out on a charity event, or just planning some good old fashioned pain, I want to get in at least one ride of at least 60 miles.  Ideally by September I'd like to log in a couple more centuries, but this time maybe without 11,000ft of climbing involved. 

2013 Events 
I have plenty of events that I have on my riding bucket list, the problem I always have is working out which ones I can realistically do.  For example, the 2013 Bridge Challenge is the same weekend as the 2013 Preservation Ride.  The Jackson County Brevet looks really interesting, but I haven't really scheduled to do it yet and it's only a couple of weeks away.  There's the Hot Doggit 100 in July that looks interesting as well.  I'd also love to do a Beach Challenge, if I can find out about one early enough to plan it so I can realistically make a trip out of it with the family.  There is also the Hincapie Fondo in October to think about, along with the Leaf Tour in November.

Beyond
I don't have any "long range" goals that I feel like I can start scheduling at this point.  At some point I'd love to do a trip out West to ride in California, Colorodo or Utah to test my legs against higher climbs that I can do in the Southeast, as well as plan trips to do events up in the Northeast like the 200 on 100 challenge that Ted King sponsors.  There are also events in Texas, like the Hotter'N Hell 100, that I'd love to attempt sometime.  The problem with trips of this distance is budgeting for the family trip in both time and money.  I don't feel like I can realistically go do events this far away alone, and bringing all of us is a lot of expense.  

There are also multi-day events that look fascinating to me.  The Ride to Remember, Challenge to Conquer Cancer, and RAGBRAI all are events I'd love to take on.  These events have a unique issue of having to manage long rides on multiple days, as well as sleeping accommodations (camping, etc).  

Focus
The biggest issue for me is to keep focus on continuing to increase my fitness, and not get too big for my britches at this point.  With so many awesome events within driving distance, I could bankrupt myself (monetarily and fitness wise) trying to get them all in quickly.  I have to schedule and plan, and make sure the other facets of my life get proper attention as well.  I love to ride, but I need to remember that I don't have to do it every day.  

1 comment:

  1. All sound like worthy goals. If I were to recommend a couple, I'd say try Hot Doggett and The Bridge. Both are very tough, almost as bad as Mitchell although not quite (The Bridge is pretty close). If you're going to do The Bridge, I would do it this year before they change it to summer and remove the Blue Ridge Parkway section. Riding the Linn Cove Viaduct near Grandfather is the best part of the ride, as you can get a good view of the thing that will be beating you silly at the end of the ride.

    I'm probably going to do the Beach ride this year if I can stay healthy. Hopefully will see you there.

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