Good News - Bad News

I have been taking stock lately, and it's been a mixed bag. As all of the failed Republican campaigns discovered, enthusiasm is a powerful force, and you can't always control where and when it's generated. Enthusiasm makes the training seem meaningful instead of a chore to be pessimistically placed in quotation marks as "training". When you can clearly see that A+B=C and that all of the hours spent angering your spouse by taking progressively longer rides that leave you worthless for the rest of the day and running up credit card debt actually translate into some sort of result... well, that kind of momentum just can't be bought. I wish it could, because I would clear out a corner of the garage next to my derailleur pile and stock up.
 
So, I've been contemplating where I am and where I want to be. They don't exactly line up, and I'm trying to find the momentum to change this.
 
My weight is well over where I was last year at this time. Recent dietary changes (less Conehead-style mass quantities and more grumbling stomach) have resulted in a few pounds falling away. I'd like to keep that trend going, but I'm a little late to the game here. This should have been done months ago. An aggressive weight loss plan at this point would result in decreased energy and ineffective training. The best I can hope for is a higher-than-I'd-like race weight that maybe will work on flatter courses. If I can maintain dietary discipline during the summer, I might get it down to a reasonable level by the Tour of Anchorage.
 
My sustained power just isn't there. Perhaps it's the extra weight I'm carrying around. Perhaps it's the lack of long rides so far this season that build endurance. Perhaps it's been my focus on shorter-duration power. Maybe it's all between the ears. I'm not sure. The early spring could be affecting my perception of where I am vs where I "should be". I need miles, but miles take time, and time is in short supply these days. In other words, I need to piss off my wife and I don't know if I'm prepared for the fallout. This needs to change before Fairbanks, though, or I'll be in for serious pain.
 
It isn't all bad, though. I did have that PR at Moose Run. My short duration power is much higher than last year. If I can make it to the finish in decent position, I might be able to make something happen there. Making it to the finish might be a tall order, so I'll likely have to learn to race more efficiently than I have in the past. This isn't a bad thing, except for those whose efforts I'll try to capitalize on for my own gains. First guy across the line wins, and that's not always the guy who worked the hardest.
 
I finished gluing up several tubulars, and will be moving on to building up a crit bike and a new race bike in the next couple days. The ongoing spring-summer-early fall purge of junk has had the added benefit up unearthing all sorts of bike tools. Like Easter eggs, a pedal wrench or bottom bracket tool appears from under the pile. The increased floor space means I can work on a project without having to pause to move crap to one side or another each time I start on a new part of a frame. That's huge, and will make completing projects seem that much less daunting. I might make progress.
 
I'll keep running around trying to capture lightning in a bottle. At this point I'd be happy with lightning bugs in a bottle, but they seem to be in short supply in this neck of the woods. Work on the negatives, take time to enjoy the positives. As long as I'm still turning the pedals, something good is bound to happen.
 
It's a long season.

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