Specificity

Two weeks ago I got outside to ride for the first time since returning home from Chattanooga on Feb. 12. In two and a half weeks I had logged over 45 hours on my CompuTrainer, while many of my friends were busy enjoying the snow -- either cross country or downhill skiing. Having skied since I was 6 years old, some folks were mystified as to why I too was not out having fun in the snow. There were times that I was wondering that myself!

My question was answered as I watched an interview of Apollo Anton Ono on the last weekend of the Olympics. He talked about the racer's desire to have the "perfect race" in an "imperfect" situation, and how critical every aspect of training was when working toward that goal. Perfection is hard to achieve, and Apollo reminded viewers that an athlete "gives up a lot" to accomplish his/her goals.

As a coach and competitor I readily identified with the "giving up" part. While my lifestyle of ride, ride, ride, might look appealing to the 9-5 crowd, I can ride that much because I continually train, train, train -- on my bike. I work early mornings and late nights, so I'm pretty ignorant about things like TV shows and movies. Well rounded, I am not! Goals in cycling demand training on the bike, training very specifically, so I am in the gloom of my basement when the white stuff is out there to play in. The payoff is pretty instantaneous as soon as the snow melts, though. That first ride outside was amazing as I rode past snow banks that towered over my head.