Closed Out

     The year has gone well so far. I've been working hard...harder than I have during the off-season in several years. Shannon and I have both been watching what we eat. I'm a pig and I know it. I will eat almost anything put in front of me and have the tendency to keep eating until I just can't eat anymore. It's not the best habit to have when you are trying to make it as a professional athlete.

     I put on about 4 pounds between October and the end of December. I am happy to say that I am back down to the weight I was at XTERRA Nationals and maybe even a pound lighter on some days, thanks to Shannon and DietPower keeping me on track. I know the "experts" say not to count calories, but I need that constant reminder to stay on track. I really am sad when it comes to self-control with food and this method is helping me out. So, I am already at race weight from last year and still dropping down. How low can you go...

    I'm currently working on base miles and endurance. That means lots of long rides. My base has been lacking the past few years due to lack of ride time, but through prioritizing tasks at home and planning more effectively, I've been able to get in ample ride time this winter. I'm doing as many hours as my schedule allows and am borderline of doing all my body can handle. I've put in several 15+ hour weeks on the bike, with additional time spent on stretching, core strengthening and yoga. With the shorter days, this has meant I've spent a lot of time in the dreary, cold darkness riding through a narrow tunnel of light put off by my NiteRider MiNewt Mini. I have a bigger light, but it has been out of commission lately due to a failed battery. NiteRider was unable to fix it, but Batteries Plus is rebuilding it for me.

Shannon riding across a piece of frozen pond along the trail

I contemplated riding across the pond but the ice just wasn't thick enough to hold piggy up

Splashing the mud where the ice had broken

     I've decided to focus on just the bike through May. I really want to do well at some of the bigger crits, so I've stopped running for a while to focus on riding. I've spent nearly all my time on the road lately to focus on mileage and road skills to get ready for the crits, but I have been in the woods a few times when the weather has allowed. The constant freeze-thaw has kept the trails rather nasty. I plan to get back into swimming and running in June to start building up for XTERRA USA in September. I still feel like I owe that race a good beating!

    The winter has been colder than the past few, but it has been bearable and rideable. I've had my fair share of cold days, but there have been some warm ones as well. I did have my water bottle try to freeze on one ride, but just that one. Most of the riding I'm doing is alone on my own, but sometimes I can get Shannon, and occasionally, even my parents out to join me for at least a few minutes in the cold air.

My Dad waves to the camera as he and my Mom ride by the tower

Shannon

Glad to have some people to ride with every now and then

    We've had a lot of rain too, meaning more time sweeping water out of the basement. The pond behind the house has been huge on more than one occasion, flooding up over the dock and pouring out of the overflow pipes. Shannon and I did a warm ride in the rain a while back. It was her first ever rain ride. We had a good time spraying each other with road grime.

Looking down the backyard at a swelling pond

The dock we used for the polar plunge is barely afloat

Water rushing out of the overflow pipes on the backside of the dam

    We scheduled a training weekend in the mountains in late-January. My Dad had to take some vacation time at work and I wanted to ride so it just worked out well that we have a family trip to Gatlinburg. I was excited to ride some mountain roads, especially the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's my favorite road in the area. The weather looked like it would cooperate too. There was rain in the forecast all week, but the weekend looked nice with the local weather station calling for sun and mid-50s.

     The weather turned out to be the downfall of the weekend. It rained so much during the week that there were numerous landslides in the area, closing down many roads including Hwy 441, which just happens to be the only road that takes you across the mountains from Gatlinburg to Cherokee, NC where the Blue Ridge Parkway begins. The temperature was also not on our side. It decided to crash on Friday leaving 4-6 inches of snow on the ground when we arrived Friday night.

     Needless to say, Saturday's plans of hitting the Blue Ridge had to be scrapped. Most of the major roads around Gatlinburg were closed due to either snow or landslides so we were left with just riding the roads inside the Gatlinburg perimeter. This is not all bad as there are some very difficult climbs in Gatlinburg. But when you were aiming for 5-6 hours of long mountain passes having to stay right around the condo was not exactly exciting.

     Saturday's ride was cold as crap. It never got out of the low-40s all day. We were all bundled up as we headed out on half-frozen streets. I ended up climbing Cherokee Orchard Rd. six times. It was taking me just under 20 minutes to climb it. That turned out the be the best sustained climb in the area. It's about 4 miles long and gets steeper as you go up.

Looking off the balcony towards the mountains

Climbing a snowy Cherokee Orchard Rd.

The start of the descent back down this one-way road is narrowing and was slick in spots.

     We had to start later in the day as the roads were icy and slushy in the morning, so I couldn't get in all the hours I had hoped for. I tried to make up for it with some intensity. I wound up getting in 3 hours of hard riding with many steep climbs. The best part about the day was exploring. I learned some new backroads that have some brutal climbs on them.

My Mom and Shannon reaching the top of Cherokee Orchard Rd. This climb was a big accomplishment for them, especially in the cold.

A snowy part of one of the sweet backroad climbs I found.

    We spent the evening walking the strip in Gatlinburg, hitting up my favorite store, "All Sauced Up," where you can get some killer sauces. They have sauces for everything you could ever imagine. I also spent some time editing some new videos. I'm putting together some of last year's bike footage and setting it to music. I'll post it here as soon as I finish editing everything. There's still quite a lot yet to go.

     We were pleased to find warmer temps on Sunday. It still never hit the forecasted temperature, but at least we got closer to 50 this time and the sun was out. I was quite warm riding up the climbs, but still froze like a popsicle coming down. We chose the Foothills Parkway for our Sunday ride. The climbs there are shorter than the Blue Ridge Parkway, but the Foothills is on the way home and was not listed on the list of closed roads. I was a little disappointed to see Hwy 441 reopening as we drove by on the way to the Foothills. I would've rather done the Blue Ridge, but we didn't have the time to drive there now.

    I got in a good 7-mile climb out of Townsend only to be disappointed at the top when I ran into a "Road Closed" sign. Dang it! Another road I wanted to ride is closed! It turned into another day of repeats as I did two more runs up the initial climb on the Foothills and then called it a day.

Looking towards Maryville and Alcoa from atop an overlook on the Foothills Parkway

    I didn't get in the hours I wanted nor did I get to ride the roads I wanted, but I did get in a good workout. We definitely made the best out of a less-than-perfect weekend. Now we are back home putting in the miles on local roads and counting those calories. Speed work looms ahead...