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Monday, September 06, 2010

narrowing the focus

at one time, way back in 1990 or so, i did a lot of racing. and why not? i was 23, no kids, lots of time on my hands, etc. back then, i raced bmx a bit, mountain bikes, road bikes, as well as duathlons (which we called biathlon back then).

obviously, that changed over time. it became necessary to narrow my focus because of time, and to be honest, because of my abilities. bmx racing went out the window first, then any multi-sport event.

the time to narrow my focus again is a bit overdue now. for quite a few years now, my road racing (that includes criteriums) has been really poor. tuesday night crits notwithstanding, it has pretty much sucked. this weekend put a very fine point on that.

why has it sucked? there are a few reasons. i don't have the stomach for the road. i don't put in 100% effort in tough situations where crashing is a possibility. i don't ride enough, and i don't train with any real program in mind, because of time and desire. no excuses, i do not race well enough to put my hard earned money and time on the line for a criterium. i wish i could put out the effort that i put out in mountain bike races, i wish that i could get the results that i think i should get, but i simply do not. i envy the guys that are good on the road, as it's a beautifully hard sport.

with the limited time our family has to do things we enjoy, it's best that i race my mountain bike. of course, i intend to continue with the weekly training crits, but those are a step away from the real criteriums and certainly a blast for me and the family to attend...no pressure and all of the fun. since the mountain bike season is pretty short, i will do some of the cyclocross races up until thanksgiving or so. those races are great training, great for the family to attend, and keep my off-season to 3-4 months instead of 6 months.

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