Lessons of the Off-Season/Pre-Season

The annual break from the "A" races tends to be nothing short of exhilarating, from my experience, even if that joy comes at a price.  The snow-covered trails make for a welcome recess from the pavement  Getting reacquainted with the great outdoors without the pressure of the race season reawakens the human spirit, which might have been in a tangle with equipment failures, day before bike check ins, race briefings, etc.    The off-season skate ski workouts in the extensive pine forested trails and more varied swim training add to core strength and stability in ways that hours on the bike can't.  I could do with some substitution of training specificity well into February, in order to get the best of the great outdoors and some butterfly workouts.  Absent are time-sensitive dial-workouts, at least until the pre-season race.

I spent the last off-season (i.e post-August) receiving diagnosis and correction of the prior years' cycling biomechanical problems.  I also received good instruction on core strength and stability and in flexibility of key muscles.

The pre-season races serve partly as field tests.  Everything from the running mount pointed uphill, such as at Lake San Antonio, to different atmospheric conditions.  The Wildflower Long Course, a distance of 70.3 miles, was another dot to connect in the history of challenging races.  Last year, I did this distance three times in air that was not the cleanest, in interior Monterrey and San Luis Obispo County, Providence, and Austin.  What was different this year around Lake San Antonio was a noticeable effect of the air contents when just standing around or with minor exertion.  Perhaps this was smoke and dust due to the drought and wind from the forest fire not too far away.  That effect may be one of the prices I'm still paying.  Meanwhile the new saddle was an improvement; but, the position is not quite right.  The dots that connect leading up to the swim start of the next race will fit an appropriate line to the finish.

Sighting begins long before the swim buoys.  One of the conclusions is as always, trust your instincts--Ed's Third Axiom.