January 19, 2009

Setting Goals

It is January. The start of a new year (in my case, a new decade), a time to reflect on 2008, to set goals for 2009 and look forward………..
I am currently trudging through Joe Friel’s Mountain Bike Training Bible and actually enjoying it. Friel talks a lot about power and watts and lactate threshold, about developing training plans and planning races and training smarter. He talks about identifying strengths and weaknesses, training those weaknesses and seeing marked improvement. He doesn’t talk much about having fun, but he does talk about setting goals.
What are your goals, how do you work to achieve them, how do you respond to success and failure? Are your goals attainable, realistic, and measurable?
Cross Crusade, US Grand Prix, Cross Nationals.
I want to be a cycloscross racer, and not just a cyclocross racer, a good cyclocross racer and I want to have fun. Everytime I get on the trainer or head out for a run, or clip into my skate skis I think about cyclocross. I think about Katie Compton and Sue Butler and Wendy Williams. I want to know what their training schedule looks like. I want to know what I should be doing when. The XC season doesn’t start for almost 9 months, maybe I should just chill out.
I am doing the biweekly intervals Don prescribed, in addition to everything else. My legs are getting bigger, which I have not yet deemed to be good or bad. Ben says it is good, I am trying to believe him.
I think am thinking about running Peterson Ridge and McDonald Forest 50K and possibility trying my hand a couple of road races, but really, my sights for 2009 are set on cyclocross: Top ten in the Women’s A Cross Crusade Series. I have no idea if this goal is attainable or realistic, but it is measurable and I all I can do is work hard, train smart, smiling and see what my legs can bring to the mud and cowbells of Cyclocross Season.