I got out and rode on dirt today.

I was so excited to escape the Midwest for a weekend out west. Just what this mountain biking chic needed. Hit the trails of Bootleg canyon today and again tomorrow. I definitely felt the impact of winter on my training and condition. The trainer is just not the same as dirt. Add in a little altitude and a lot of climbing and you have an incredible training weekend. So psyched. Ready for the snow to melt back home so I can keep the momentum going. Race season starts in just 8 weeks! Oh, and I discovered a great new app!

Sunday, a long day on the trainer...

Sometimes I wish I had a better tolerance for cold. But the fact remains, I'm not just being a baby. Once temps get too low I literally start to go numb, quickly, then proceeding to frostbite. Not that anyone can afford to loose their fingers or toes, being an eye surgeon I kind of require my hand digits. And the tire come in handy as well when I want to walk or bike. So.... With the continued polar freeze I sucked up s big one and ride 5.5 hours on the trainer Sunday. Apple TV made some money off of me as I watched Gone Girl & Dumb & Dumber to. And wrapped it up with the Oscar Pre Show. BUT I DID IT!

and today, a Monday, I  took a recovery day. Still had to my day job and normal life stuff with shopping, errands and attending to the furry residents at my house. It's all good.

It's going to be a long training weekend

Well day 1 of one of my first more challenging weekends so far is under my belt. Fortunately the weather was kind enough to allow me to take it outside. Did ~4 hours on the fat bike. Still had to dress for winter being in the 20's, but balmy in comparison to the arctic freeze of sub zero temps we've been experiencing. Alas it was a brief reprieve as temps plummet into the single digits again. Looking like this cold front will last for a couple of weeks. Therefore, since I won't ride outside when temps drop below 20, I'll be on the trainer....for 5 1/2 hours if I do what I'm told. Apple TV to the rescue. 

Had 2 casualties. 1 flat fat bike tire for my friend. And a broken bladder for my osprey. Still a good day today. Had nice refreshments afterward.

Revelation...what can happen on a recovery day...

Recovery days are ultimately essential to overall improvement in performance. Recovery doesn't mean sitting around eating pizza and drinking beer. You can still be active but not at s strenuous level. My choice is usually the elliptical. So that's how I rolled yesterday. With the level of training and my overall busy schedule it often overwhelming and sometimes emotional. But I had a revelation yesterday that has allowed me to take it all in better stride. No details. Just a personal aha moment that came at the right time.

Embracing indoor rides because I'm not brave enough for negative temps.

And this is why I brave the indoors. But admit I'm hoping for more forgiving temps next weekend as my saddle time goes to over 5 hours. 

Cold weather training. Wish I had a thicker skin so I could get outside more often...

Days are getting longer, more daylight and longer rides

I

Trying to find a balance between training outside and trainer rides and cross training. By February I'm typically getting tired of riding inside, but often the weather does not cooperate for this cold weather baby. But I know warmer temps are coming soon so I'll just deal with taking 20 minutes putting on multiple layers just to go for a ride. 

Easy 1 hour ride day.

Was able to squeeze in my training "ride" over lunch due to some cancellations on my schedule at work. So what do I get to do with all this free time after work. Yep, chores.

Enough said..

Hope I can keep the momentum going.

Tough weekend of training. This required a lot of self talk to keep pedaling. But I did it. Today was 2 1/2 hours on the trainer watching Fury. Not sure if it's cheating but wore compression gear today.