Springtime
This past week was one of the nicest of the year for training. Spring decided to show up and temperatures were much more amenable to outdoor training. It seems that everyone was out as well. The trails and the roads were crowded with runners, walkers, bikers, and joggers. It is certainly great to see everyone come to life. However, there is a downside with crowded areas: safety. With more and more people venturing out, it is critical that we all look out for one another. Whether it is bikers announcing when they pass or cars giving room to bikes on the shoulder, extra vigilance is needed to ensure that everyone goes home at the end of the day.
Saturday was another wake up call as a member of the local biking community was struck by a car just an hour before I biked through the same spot. It serves to remind us that we all need to be aware and make sure that we are safe. There is nothing so important that you can't slow down, announce when passing or simply take the time to ensure you are safe. Often we get into the "zone" where we are training and worrying about our speed, power, cadence or whatever that we forget to watch our surroundings. It is becoming more imperative as drivers become distracted and as more and more people venture out on the trails.
On a different note this week, I would like to say I'm very proud of my lovely wife who had her first race this weekend as a USAT race director. She served as co-director for an "adventure" race here in Maryland. It was a kayak, bike, and run event (one of the few sanctioned in the country). We had beautiful weather on Sunday with just a little bit of extra chop on the water. I'm really proud that she is committing to directing. She is learning a lot and will hopefully grow with each new race.
As we sink back into a little winter this week (yes, there is a freeze warning for Wednesday), I look forward to continuing into the major build phase of my training. I've started to change my nutrition plan and taking recovery very seriously in order to keep going. I'm learning now how important the little things are as the distance increases. I'm still not into foam rolling as much as my wife insists it is important. But then she'll have another thing to "tell me so" once I come around to it.
Saturday was another wake up call as a member of the local biking community was struck by a car just an hour before I biked through the same spot. It serves to remind us that we all need to be aware and make sure that we are safe. There is nothing so important that you can't slow down, announce when passing or simply take the time to ensure you are safe. Often we get into the "zone" where we are training and worrying about our speed, power, cadence or whatever that we forget to watch our surroundings. It is becoming more imperative as drivers become distracted and as more and more people venture out on the trails.
On a different note this week, I would like to say I'm very proud of my lovely wife who had her first race this weekend as a USAT race director. She served as co-director for an "adventure" race here in Maryland. It was a kayak, bike, and run event (one of the few sanctioned in the country). We had beautiful weather on Sunday with just a little bit of extra chop on the water. I'm really proud that she is committing to directing. She is learning a lot and will hopefully grow with each new race.
As we sink back into a little winter this week (yes, there is a freeze warning for Wednesday), I look forward to continuing into the major build phase of my training. I've started to change my nutrition plan and taking recovery very seriously in order to keep going. I'm learning now how important the little things are as the distance increases. I'm still not into foam rolling as much as my wife insists it is important. But then she'll have another thing to "tell me so" once I come around to it.
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