As a coach and a competitive athlete I know that having a big goal event to train for can make the difference between stale training sessions and pushing one's self hard. In the snowy north -- or just about anywhere in the country this winter! -- the thought of lots of time on the stationary trainer can be less than motivating. The future goal can become an antidote for lethargy.
Keeping in mind that goals should be both a challenge and achievable, I open up my brain every spring in an effort to find something that will fit that bill. I love doing National Championships in road and cross, so any other events cannot interfere with these sacred dates. The date change for Master Road Nationals this summer, though, enabled me to look outside the box. July was now wide open!
Enter my sponsor Hammer Nutrition. As a member of Team Hammer Nutrition I am eligible to apply for any of the comped entries that Hammer receives in exchange for their generous sponsorship of these events. These entries are advertised on our member forum, and the events are all over the US and in a variety of endurance disciplines. I read them with interest and then hope that one day an event that I can race in will be offered.
That day happened three weeks ago when the call went out to anyone interested in racing Newton's Revenge. What is Newton's Revenge? It is the July bike race that climbs up Mt. Washington! I have always wanted -- maybe fantasized is a better word -- to ride up this legendary climb, but other things always got in the way. Economics, for one thing, and a conflict in dates for another. Never mind my perceived power to weight ratio problems. But with the first two items somewhat taken care of I figured that the power to weight ratio would give me and my coach Mark Fasczewski something to really work on.
So my entry is now official and training has begun. You can find me in my basement on my Computrainer for the time being, and when this snow ever melts out on the road doing LONG SST work. Keep posted for my progress!
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1 comment:
Uphill time trial! What fun. I mean torture, maybe even hell!
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