To a great 2023!!!

Hello, I start writing this month’s post with optimism for the 2023 season. In all honesty, I’m nervous as there are many items that need to come together for me. I need to have specific, measurable, attainable, and realistic goals. You have heard of SMART goals before. I left the T for timely out of the previous sentence, but dates are very important. Everything needs to align with date of competition. There is no next day, sick day, or race at another date as many of my students like to believe regarding their assignments. All in all, I’m looking forward to a more well-planned season compared to last season.

I currently have a cold so I’m taking only one day off. I rode yesterday and it was very difficult to produce power. I tried to do a couple 10 minute efforts of 30/30 but stopped after one round. 30/30 is all-out for 30 seconds followed by easy/moderate for 30 seconds. Should be fine to get back at it tomorrow. There is only 1.5 months until my first race of the 2023 season. It’ll be a flat time trial with typically a strong headwind one-way and a nice tailwind on the way back. The new national standard is just slightly slower than last year but for national team qualification I need to accumulate points. I will need to attend at least 2, preferably 3, world cup races to increase my chances of qualification. If I would have attended 2 world cups last year I think I would have qualified for the first term 2023 but a mid-season bladder infection set me back. All I can do is try again.

If you’re reading this I hope you can see how I’m optimistically looking forward. I am also teaching a new course this spring semester, exercise prescription for special populations. This subject area is where I have the most experience. It will be fun sharing personal and professional experience with the students. I’ll leave this month’s post a bit short as my brain is a bit fatigued from the cold I have but sure hope you can feel my smile in next month’s post. Stay healthy my friends.