K.I.S.S.

Setting long term goals is usually the beginning of the end for me. I don't know about you, but once I reach the end of the season I start thinking about what I might be able to achieve next year.

At the end of last year I was feeling pretty good. My interval training had resulted in big gains, and it seemed like the sky was the limit. I was also aware of how I had failed to stick to a training plan in past years. That gave me hope that I could avoid the pitfalls of previous years. Reasons were varied and included; setting goals that were unrealistic, lack of motivation, burnout, or equipment failure resulting in inexplicable frustration.

In spite of all this, the racing season has been a disaster. My placings include field and lack of interest. I still have a few more races, but the majority of the races are in the past and I was a nonfactor.

I have a simpler goal this time around. Next year's goal is to ride tomorrow. It sounds kinda dumb, but I get lost on the road to the big goal even if I set up smaller goals along the way. Once I have the big goal in mind I can't see anything else. On top of that I'm horrible at managing failure. An expectation not realized is a doorway to every failure I can remember, and inevitably spirals downward. And the diet and any motivation are flushed away as well.

One of the big problems last year was my trainer. I decided to spring for a Computrainer in April since they were offering 0% financing for a year; big improvement over the old trainer. Something amazing happens to my motivation when I can make the little cyclist in the computer go faster or slower (usually faster) and there's another little cyclist for me to race against. There's nothing more fun than burying the other cyclist; one foot becomes two becomes three miles. I work harder than I ever did when training solo.