2008 Review And 2009 Cycling Goals

Now that we are into 2009 I thought that I’d do a review of 2008 and lay out my goals for 2009.

2008 In Review

2008 was a good year overall for my cycling.  I had a couple of challenges to my training but I also accomplished all of the goals I set for myself.

I started off 2008 with time off the bike (January 6th-Feb 1) due to ankle tendinitis.  I went to a podiatrist and was told I basically just need to stretch and see a massage therapist when it bothers me.  So far that strategy has worked.  Then, in July I started having a problem w/stiffness in my right arm The diagnosis was “tennis elbow” and I just learned to ride with it and I use a compression type arm brace that helps a lot.  I’ve made some adjustments to the bike and that has seemed to help as well.  It has flared up a bit here in the last couple of weeks again so I will see how it goes.  Now that we’re done discussing my medical problems here’s some positive stuff.

I met all of the goals I set for 2008:

1. Ride 250 hours- I actually got in 290 hours, even with the time off
2. 4500 miles- I ended up with just over 5000
3. Get back into doing longer rides- Rode 4 organized centuries including the 3 state 3 mountain and six gap century.

In addition, I was fortunate to be able to get a new bike.  I still use my old bike on the trainer and it will be my “time trial” bike as well.

2009 Goals

For 2009 I have added a goal to the mix in addition to repeating many of 2008′s goals:

1. Get back into competition by doing some time trials- I have decided to do a few time trial races this year.  They are a great way to test my fitness and compete against other cyclists.  I have signed up for the Tundra Time Trial (a 10 mile course) on February 14th and hope to find a couple of more to do within the next few months.  I’d like to do races in the 10-20 mile range
2. Ride 250 hours and 4000+ miles-Pretty much the same as 2008.  Given my schedule I can’t expect to do much more than that and still have a life.
3. Do 2-3 challenge rides- I haven’t decided what these will be but they will probably include the 3 State and Six Gap along with 1-2 more.
4. Become more flexible and eliminate my tendinitis issues- I know I’m getting older but I hate having these nagging injuries.  Right now my arm tendinitis is flaring up a bit and I want that to stop.  So, I will probably see the Dr. to make sure it’s not something else then I’ll call my massage therapist and make an appointment.  I also need to increase my stretching to keep myself as limber as possible.

My focus right now is on building my sustainable power (FTP) so that I have a chance of being halfway competitive in the time trial on Feb 14.  Once daylight savings comes back I will start riding outside during the week and start building for the 3 state century in early May.  As Summer approaches I may mix things up a bit if there are some time trials to do by riding 1 night a week on the trainer to maintain my FTP.  I also plan on getting up to the North Georgia Mountains to get back into climbing shape.  In August I will probably go back up to Asheville, NC to do some riding while Pam sits in a conference.  I’d also like to ride up Mt Mitchell again while we’re there.

Other than all of that, 2009 should be an easy year    I’m excited about the upcoming year and I’m looking forward to working towards my goals.