So, I've decided to play these reindeer games for the next 6 months. Gee Whiz that's a long time. Hopefully by July I'll be ramping up for Leadville-its the day before my 27th birthday. I didn't get in last year
so I did 2 20+ hour adventure races instead.
So, a little info about me. I've had quite a health battle the last five years which culminated in a major surgery last year due to cancer. A year later, I'm doing great! Needless to say, I've gained about 40 pounds due to hormone replacements / steroids / emotional eating.
So, I race mountain bikes. It's my passion. I'm focusing on long races this year-6+ hours and I've recently moved up into a more competitive class in the short (2 hour) anaerobic fest that is xc racing. After chilling and finally letting my grade 3 right shoulder separation rest in December, I'm beginning to ramp my training for my first race which is in March. Right now I'm building on the bike strength through intervals.
I've invested in a Cyclops Powertap, which measures Watts, Heartrate, Cadence, and a lot of other stuff I don't care about. So, here are my 3 goals:
Reduce body weight by 15%-
I'm 158 now, so that'd put me about 134...That would be a competition weight for me because I'm not sure I could commit to maintaining that year round.
Increase my Function Threshold Power (the most power that can be consistently produced for one hour) by 25%-
Right now-210- hey, I took December off. I de-condition quickly...lemme alone.
A 25% increase would put me at about 252 watts; that would rock! I think if I train smart then it could happen by August. I just need to be consistent and effective with workouts.
Be nice to myself. I really need this one. I can't / won't be perfect, and I may not be able to catch my husband on the bike. Especially if he progresses at the same rate as I do. That's okay though. I have a tendency to psych myself out, and I'm planning on changing that.
How to achieve these- I'm going to do NROL 2-3 times a week (and rehab work for this damn shoulder!) and ride 5-6 times per week. Focusing on intervals, recovery rides, and one long ride per week. I'm up to 3 hours thus far, and I'll progress to 7 hours before April. I'm going to focus on eating good clean food when I'm hungry.
I guess I'm gonna do this thing. At some point I'd like to wear a bikini, as well, but I'm not willing to make that an important goal. If it's a side benefit I won't complain
.
Cheers!