First Time Trial of 2010

So does all of your winter training, all of those tempo efforts, steady states, and power intervals hammered in the basement while watching "Shawshank Redemption" for the tenth time, come down to your results in the first race of the season? Thankfully, no. Its a long season and the first event should be used as barometer to gauge what aspects of your training need adjustment and how your training is proceeding in light of your goals for the season.

For the first 40k in Alexandria, my time was about 80 seconds faster than my first ride on that course in '09. That seems like it would be cause for some satisfaction, and it is. From a personal standpoint, given the cool temperatures in the upper 40's to low 50's, the wind, the new bike, and the 10 times normal pollen count, a faster ride is a positive. The hard part is looking at the standings is seeing other riders already meeting or exceeding their previous season PR's. All you can say is congratulations to them and then stick with your plan. In my case that's following CTS Coach Halverson's monthly schedule, keeping up with the improvements in my diet as provided by Dawn at Sports Nutrition to Go, and continuing to work with Dr. Walker at the Center for Human Performance on race-day focus. One race down, and about thirty to go. The Blue Streak is on Wednesday. Should be nice and warm that afternoon so the times should be fast.