As for my off season from racing, I had a lot to get done in the winter months. With the next Olympics 2 years away and my swim not where it needs to be I have embraced the dry skin and hair bleaching with open arms; I can tell exactly where my cap stops on the back of my head. I have been working hard and have seen small gains in the pool. I am excited to see where that gets me out of the water in a race.
I have set monthly PRs for total yards and total hours on the bike in the month of January. It is crazy to think that I rode more on a trainer in January than I have in any month outdoors. It is a good thing I have real course videos and ErgVideos to look at while on the CompuTrainer. A lot of people believe quality training can only be done outdoors. If Andy Potts can train daily on a CompuTrainer and only ride outside when he races, I believe I can gain fitness riding inside for 4 months. I had a chance to be in Las Vegas for 3 months, but I chose to stay in South Bend and build a base indoors. I ran outside as much as I could, but like most of the country South Bend has had one of the worst winters in a long time. It has been bitterly cold and there has been at least a foot of snow on the ground since early January. Why did I not go to Vegas?? I got married in the summer last year and I could not leave my wife for that long. Plus I will be traveling a lot this season for races outside the country, so I wanted to maximize my time with my wife while I could. We will see if I gained enough fitness this winter.
I am a little nervous about riding in a draft pack after not riding outside all winter, but I have the day before the race to get comfortable again. Clermont is the season opener and I am using it as a warm up race to prepare for two world cups in Australia and New Zealand in the middle of March. I am excited to get out of the cold for a little bit and to start racing again.
Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later. ~Og Mandino
Kaleb
