Training begins

Tax season is over

It's finally ended and I've only missed about a month's worth of awesome riding weather, I've come up with some ideas on how I will train for my newly dubbed Tour de PAC 12 (details are coming), if you are interested, here is the plan

• Build Up My Endurance. I trained last year to ride 100 miles in August and it went well, now I'm training to ride almost 100 miles a day for a month, that's a big jump. My first step will be to start riding home from work as well as too work twice a week starting next week. In May I plan to move to 3 days and by June step up to 4 days, that's between 60 and 80 miles a day and a great way to build up miles. 
• Ride in rallies. It builds up your pace and helps fine tune your skills. I'm not trying to race from Canada to Mexico but if I ride faster I've got less time in the saddle and that will be a good. I will ride in Aledo in the 70 mile hero ride this weekend, then in Meunster at the Germanfest ride. Both of those are hilly rides in comparison to North Dallas so I will start to get ready for what I will see on the Pacific Coast. I finish this three week run with the MS 150 from "Dallas" to "Fort Worth" but it's actually Frisco to the Texas Motor Speedway and then to ... the Texas Motor Speedway.
• Take advantage of this wind. In the spring the wind blows in these parts, 20 plus miles per hour today but I rode 20 miles into the wind for 80 minutes compared to 20 miles with the wind for 65 minutes. Those 80 minutes were nonstop spinning, you can't coast into the wind, even downhill. Riding in the wind can compensate somewhat for the lack of hills. They are still different but they both require a consistent maintained effort and that aspect is the biggest part of it outside the mental grind of a big climb.
• Strengthen my core and upper body. My legs have almost no fat on them at this point, I can't say the same for my belly. Tax season in front of a computer wasn't much exercise and a tired mind makes dumb eating decisions. I got softer and I have to get rid of that. I will be training with Paul Mossa on weights and strengthening my core and Doug Walker on sprints and intervals. Hard. Those rides to work or rides home will include Doug's interval training. If you've ever been on an interval ride with Doug and his brother, you know what I'm in for.
• Find some hills and mountains to climb. Whether it's the hill country near Austin or Turner Falls in Oklahoma or the mountains that spring up starting in Eastern Oklahoma near Arkansas, I've got to spend some time riding up and down some serious hills and mountains. I did my first mountain ascent last summer, i made the first peak but it was the day before i renewed my vows and I didn't want to be a beat up wreck with Linda so I turned back about halfway through the ascent to the second peak. They aren't Colorado but they are significant, i did fine on one, i am concerned what it will be like when I face one or two or even three in the same day followed by another one on the next. 
• Eat to ride. Fuel better is what I like to call it. I wrote a post about my food issues earlier, I've got to get back to the eat right today school of thought, it works for me. 

That's it, had a great ride today, and will start to keep this more current.