Best Laid Plans...

I've been gone a while...

First, time off.  I needed it.  It had been two full years without a signifcant break.  Then, the start of some duties at work, some training and so on. 

Finally, two weeks ago, I started week one of my training program.  I'm super excited about riding El Tour de Tucson in under 5 hours.  I'm excited about riding centuries and riding them faster and faster. 

And then there's running.  I'm seriously considering running my first marathon in January.

So, I've got big plans.

And all the while, I'll be working two jobs, one teaching high school math, new leadership role, then teaching two courses for the community college and all while starting work on my master's degree.  I'm taking two classes myself.  A statistics course (refresher type thing) and an Abstract Algebra class.  Yikes on the second one.

And the whole time, I'm pumped about all of it.  I'm excited about the progress I've shown on the bike, even when taking time off.  For example, this summer, I rode the Taylor House Century in Flagstaff, Arizona.  It featured one major climb of almost 20 miles in length that rose over 2500 feet!

The picture he is me having fun with the camera and my brother-in-law following me.  I'll post about that ride later but will say now, that was an amazing ride and I cannot wait to do it again!

I had a great time and was surprisingly fast on the climbs. 

Then my average speeds kept creeping up and up.  Maybe the 111 miles of El Tour could fall in under 5 hours after all.

Week 1 of training went great.  I pulled off all of the workouts, hammering through some tough conditions and fighting a touch of a cold.

Then...

The cold turned to bronchitis.  Now, it's a full two weeks after missing the first training ride and I can still barely breathe.

So I HAD about 10 weeks to train and needed all of it.  Now I'm looking at a max of 7, probably 6.  And that's disappointing.  I'm a bit disappointed and down.  I'm thinking my chances are long gone. 

But the sleep is nice.  And maybe it's for the best with all that's going on...

Here's the thing:  Before taking all of this on, I spoke with my wife.  We agreed that it would be wise that racing stay a priority.  That is, I do not allow my life to get away from me.  Health is a priority beyond career. 

In the big scheme of things, no problems here, I guess.  My legs are healthy, back is healing (I fear I had a minor herniated disc since last March and I'm itching to get on the road and on the bike. 

So it's been too long.  I hope all that read this are well.