2010 turned out to be a great year for me. While my jump at the seasons start to Cat 3 had me nervous initially, It turned out by far to be the right move at the right time. All and all I participated in 31 races of various types. This year I managed to escape injury...well until midway through my last race. I guess this would be a good time to insert and update on my injury. While the bruise on the upper side of my leg worried me the most, it healed without complications. However the bruise on the top of my calf below my knee didn't. Currently I am still off the bike with no time line to return. Unfortunately the bruise was inside the muscle, I still currently have several pockets of fluid inside the muscle that haven't drained/healed yet. If it doesn't improve by the start of next week I will be going to find a specialist to see. So while I initially planned to take a week off the bike after Iceman, its looking like that might be at least 4 weeks. It will be nice when I can get out and ride again.
Back to this season though, I accomplished many of my goals. I completed a mountain bike race, I greatly improved my time trialing ability. My main improvement was gaining more confidence in my ability. Towards the end of the season I was fearless of the breakaway and found myself very comfortable attacking off the front of the field. I also was able to use my strength this year to help work the pace at the front of many races when it was needed for my team. I also assisted in helping my teammates in lead outs on a couple occasions. I also spent several hours in the velodrome. All and all for my second season I think I improved a lot.
So that brings me to next year...
Well I think my main goal for next year is to focus more on select individual races. This year there was a few weekends were I was just too tired. The State Time Trail was a great example, my body was just not rested and the results showed. That was the worst time trial I have ever had, there was just no go in the motor. Most disappointing about that was, that was a race I really wanted to be strong in. So for next year I am going to better monitor my training efforts and most importantly rest more when needed.
Also next year I plan to ride my mountain bike much more. I've come to find a lot of value out of that type of training. It helps build your core, and helps keep the cycling workouts fresh. I also plan to try and mix in a few more mountain bike races on off weekends.
As far as road racing goes I am hoping to avoid flats next year, and depending on how I feel in April I might take a run at working to upgrade to Category 2. Below is a full list of my results, I will be working on building my race schedule for next year throughout the winter.
2010 Race Results
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