I guess it is that time: Goals in Sport

Well with the first race of the season under my belt I guess it is time to set some goals.

I have been thinking off and on about my cycling ambitions this year and really revisiting the time I spend training, to the rewards of those efforts, coupled with attempting to find balance in my family life as well.

I guess it make since to first revisit what lead to my cycling hiatus last year. I think If I am really honest I would say it would be San Dimas Stage Race. I came into that race off form, under trained and over confident. The cat 2 only part of the race mislead me slightly. I thought it would be easier then some of the P12 races. What ended up happening is EVERYONE and there Aunt May who were Cat 2's in southern (and even northern) California showed up in top form. There are not too many 2's only race and people were hungry for upgrade points. It was one of the hardest races I have ever done and I felt like I was giving 110 percent to just barely hang on. Add the heat and pollution to that and it was recipe for disaster. I still raced after that, but it was not too long before Blue Dog joined our family and it became much more convenient to run Blue then to ride...

At about the same time, Sailing season started to kick off and I began to get really into racing Harbor 20s.

Then came the added the bonus of all the other things that you are actually able to do when you are not training 16 to 20 hours a week.

All of these thing culminated in a long hiatus from cycling that has lasted pretty much up to now.

Prior to Mothballs I thought that I would keep running and Mountain biking and focus more of the dirt for this year. While I think that theme is going to be most congruent with my life Moth balls really fired me up and I now I am somewhat conflicted. There is nothing in the world like racing bicycles. I realized why when I started training for triathlons and raced my first bike race the running and swimming fell by the wayside... All I wanted to do was race road bikes...

I think the Overall goals for the 2011 season will be to regain my climbing fitness, race intermittently on the road when it is convenient for the family. I am not going to put too much pressure on myself to try to place or even do well (I know Doug Knox would call that "loser talk"). I am going to be realistic with the competition and realize that believe or not I still have have fun in the back of the pack as long I don't come with expectations and judgments. Also, there are some team mates who if racing I could help out, even if Im not in top form.

Next in line in the goal train is to completely and utterly dominant the cat2 Mountain bike so cal scene. What do you mean by complete domination? I mean win every single mountain bike race I enter including the state championships? How might I accomplish this goal? Unleash the furry of a thousand raging bulls, and use special vegan super powers. That and regain roadie climbing fitness so that even though I descend like a grandma I will be riding uphill at 14:48 OSM pace...

The 4th goal (or even 3rd or 2nd depending on how you count) will be to continue to run trails and race an Ultra. I had a lot of talk about racing an ultra marathon last year, but because of intermittent foot problems and fear I never just went for it. Well this year I am going to do it. I have the fitness, enough excuses.

The 5th goal (or 3rd or 4th) will be to continue to race sail boats and establish our boat as a serious competitor in a ridiculously competitive fleet. The top sailors in Santa Barbara race the H2o class and as our fleet continues to grow so does the competition. Sailing is a very important part of my sporting goals. I grew up and even spent the first couple of months of my life living on a sail boats. We were always sailing as a kid and I feel very connected with my roots when I am on the water. There is something incredibly serene and humbling about sailing. I derive great pleasure from it in a different way then I do cycling or running. Also, my goals in sailing do not require me to train 20 hours a week. In fact they don't require me to train at all. I just show up and race. Every time I go out I learn so much. It has been great fun and I hope to continue that through out the season. Also if I could talk the little lady into learning how to sail it could be a sport that in inclusive of her as well.

Well that's about it on the Goals in Sport segment. On a daily basis I set goals and aspirations every single day in my personal life of what type of man/ friend/ husband/ Employee/ etc I want to be that day. Then every evening I review and asses and see what I need to do better. I think I have changed little by slowly, but still have a long way to go. I hope to continue to develop my meditation practice and continue to build my relationship with Caitlin, who is absolutely my best friend. We are all so fortunate to get the opportunity to be human with consciousness. It is not a gift that should go wasted.

May you all have a wonderfully content 2011 in whatever you do, or where ever you are.

When the mind is involved with the world, it's bound to meet with collisions; and once it collides, it will be shaken and roll back and forth, just as round stones in a large pile roll back and forth. So no matter how good or bad other people may be, we don't store it up in our mind to give rise to feelings of like or dislike. Dismiss it completely as being their business and none of ours.
-Ajaan Lee