Autumn Focus

It's hard to believe that it's been 3 weeks since the start of the Ride to Remember.  After a big event I typically end up spending a couple of weeks trying to regain focus.  I don't find this to be a big negative, as it gives me time to reflect and determine what is important.  During the months leading up to events like RtR, AOTC and AOMM I find myself getting consumed in the preparation.  Training rides, ramping up efforts, making sure I am as ready as I can be to put out a good effort.  I can very easily get sucked in, and it consumes most of my energy and time.  The reality is that I cannot sustain the "ramped up" state for extended periods of time, as it just isn't healthy for myself or my family.  Having reset time always helps.

With Autumn quickly approaching, and most of the big events for the year now in the rear view mirror, it is a good time to look at where I am with my goals, and what I should be focused on.  Earlier in the year I wrote about my goals for 2014:

Events - I originally posted about 3 events:  The Assault on the Carolinas, Beech Mountain Metric, and The Ride to Remember.  I did not complete Beech Mountain because of travel conflicts, which was rather disappointing.  The Assault on the Carolinas was as awesome as I had remembered, and the Ride to Remember was an incredible experience.  I plan on having both of those events return for 2015.  

Goals -

• Complete a training plan - I completed the plan on Training Peaks earlier in the year, although I did not complete every workout.  This is going to be an ongoing goal, and working out how to mix trainer workouts with road workouts will be an important step.  The big improvement here has been learning how to utilize Training Peaks.  
• Quality over Quantity - the original goal for 2014 was to spend less time on the bike, and to make every workout count.  So far I am actually above the pace I set last year, although I'm still working on keeping from riding on both Saturday and Sunday.  
• Balancing Bike & Family Time - this is the area that I still feel is a work in progress.  Hopefully as the fall progresses I can make more of a habit on finding ways to mix my bike and family time, such that we can spend more time together on the bike.  

While I am not exactly on target for most of my major goals, I still do not consider them to have been poor choices.  Each of my non-event goals were specific, measurable, trackable and relevant.  They may have been a little bit off on "attainable", which leaves me room to grow in the process of setting bike-related goals.  It'll be interesting to see where I stand with in regards to these goals at the end of the year.