TD 2011 Training Prologue

What a difference a year makes.

More accurately, what a difference racing the Tour Divide makes.  From dreaming about it for years to actually participating in it in 2010 has completely changed my outlook for my 2011 bid.  Gone is the “starstruck” effect it had on me during my two year build up from noob to racer.  Gone is the obsession over gear choices.  Gone is the nervousness and anxiety about whether or not I will be “ready” for an undertaking of this magnitude.

This year, there is a “V” for veteran next to my name on the Start List.  Although I don’t feel like I fully earned it, my attitude towards the TD this time around certainly feels more veteran-ish.  There is a calmness governing my preparations and my training.    A feeling of realism has replaced my almost childlike excitement.  And there is resolve:  just a very strong determination and focus to “do it right” this time.  This can be evidenced by my Letter of Intent.  Last year, my LOI was a long-winded joke fest, easily the lengthiest submission on the list.  This year, it’s two sentences.  I’d post them here but I honestly don’t even remember them, and the TD web site is not displaying the LOI’s for some reason.  My letter says something along the lines of “Vengeance is mine.  Let’s do this.”

That being said, I’m still as happy as a clam to be pursuing the most awesome race in the world once again.    Why we look upon clams as the Bastion of Happiness, I’ll never know.  I mean, they can’t even have sex.  And with all that water in their mouths all the time, I reckon it’s pretty difficult to drink beer, too.  What are your thoughts? 

Ha!  Did you think my second bid for the TD would make me less corny?! 

Yes, I’m happy to be working towards a magnificent goal once again, and I am anxious to avenge my disappointing drop from last year.  I tell ya, that feeling you get when you’re coming home, knowing that the race is still going on…it’s brutal.  Getting home and watching the race on the Leaderboard, listening to call-ins from guys you’d been speaking with in person just a few days ago…even brutaller.  (Yes, brutaller is a word now)  Having to quit the race after spending almost two years in training and spending a small fortune in the process….brutalzilla.  Yep.  I said BRUTALZILLA.

But that’s all in the past.  A few months ago, I began working on my number one goal for this year, and that is: getting faster.  I placed getting faster in italics because words look speedier in when they slant to the right.  The first thing I did to get faster is to peel the Orbea decal off my frame and replace it with an Orbea decal.  I instantly gained 2 mph, and I wasn’t even riding the bike.  Does that blow your mind? 

Seriously, I have identified my “areas of improvement” after my 2010 experience, and I’ve begun working on them.  Here are my macro goals for this year’s TD:

1. Get faster.  I’d like to stay with (or at least close to) the main pack this year.  Secretly I want to beat the main pack, but I won’t hold my breath. Also I guess that’s not a secret anymore.  Anyway, I want to pick up my average speed and maximize my daylight hours by taking fewer/shorter breaks, especially in towns.  This means harder training among other things (see #3).  I also need to avoid a group mentality and be strong enough to move on alone.   I’d actually gone into 2010 with most of the above strategy but I wasn’t disciplined enough to make it stick.  I have to remember:  it’s a race….race it.
2. Get tougher.  Against harsh elements, and against my own brain.  A combination of those things did me in last year.  If you’ve read my 2010 story, you know I developed a phobia mid-race.  Gotta correct these shortcomings.  
3. Get lighter.  Drop some gear weight and some body weight.  The gear weight is easy…I’ve already identified some stuff that isn’t making the cut this year (to be detailed in an upcoming post).  The body weight is tougher.  I’ve been a pocket-sized linebacker my whole life, and my upper body just refuses to lose mass in any meaningful quantity, even with the training and a clean diet.  I think I’m destined for the dreaded calorie count, as well as near-abandonment of weight resistance training (except for core)….I really want to come in about 15 pounds lighter this year.  Should work wonders for the speed. 
4. Take a new vital piece of gear…..a Snuggie.  Wife’s orders.  She saw the picture of me riding through a snowstorm on Huckleberry Pass last year and she didn’t like it one bit. 

Ha!  Kidding on that last one.  Or am I? (yes)

As for my reasons for attempting this thing again…they haven’t changed much.  I still long for wide open beauty, I still yearn for peaceful solitude, and I still want to embark on the most adventurous competition of my life.  I suppose you can add vengeance to the list. In a world where an average joe like me has meager opportunity to accomplish something great and memorable, the Tour Divide looms large.  It speaks to me.  It says, “Be awesome.  Do what few can.  Ride me.”   And I respond, “Did you get that from my wife?”

As I write this, the 2011 Start List has swelled to an unprecedented 74 entries for the classic north to south route, and unlike last year, I won’t be the only Texan in this hare-brained race!  Veteran Ray Porter from Dallas is back in as well as a handful of other Lone Star Staters.  I’ve been in contact with several others who may yet sign up, too, including a certain superhuman from Odessa, if he can be bothered to stop running 120+ mile ultra endurance marathons for a few weeks.   My point is that this year, I will have some friendly competition for the coveted title of First Texan to Finish the Tour Divide.  To that I can only say…. YEEEHAW!! 

Ok, so it’s time for me to start writing about my training again.  I’ve been at it since late last year, and I’ve got a lot of posts building in my mental database.  I’m sure my sometimes-training partner Pat Smith is wondering where his mentions are.  (Here’s the first one, dude!)  Look for some new stuff soon!

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