New year, new goals

It's 2009 and time to think about some new goals. Having accepted and met CGB's challenge last year, I am excited to aim for new targets.

As a general matter, I plan to focus more on the bike and less on the run this year. That means more time in the saddle, more water bottles and fig bars, more clipping the leg hairs, and above all, more mileage. I ride with some great guys here in town, so it won't be a completely solitary experience. I'll spend plenty of time staring at the rear wheel of the guy in front of me, listening to and sharing stories about big dogs, tight turns, steep climbs, fast descents, loose cows, pot holes, and nose bleeds.

However, to pile on the miles I hope to get in this year I'll have to ride solo a lot, as well. Just the road, the bike, and me. And that redneck in the one-ton Chevy who keeps trying to run me off the road. And the chocolate labs that hunt me every time I ride by. Oh, and the school bus that nearly killed me last spring. And there are the cars full of teenagers who lean out the windows and howl at me as they pass. It's all very irenic, really.

I have two major events this spring for which I am currently accumulating base miles. First, a duathlon in April and second, a mountain century in May. I raced in the duathlon last year and won my age group in 1:31:06. My first goal is to get that time below an hour and a half this year.

My second goal, having achieved the nineteen-minute 5k, is to run the equally elusive forty-minute 10k. The closest I have ever been (I never ran 10k in high school) is 40:20. With all the work I did last year and the endurance I am now building on the bike, I think I can shave off the last 21 seconds by picking a target race and mixing in speedwork the month before. Of course, nothing ever turns out to be as easy as I think it should be.