Stoked!

I have the absolute worst case of cabin fever right now.

Two weeks ago, nearly all of the snow had melted. The roads were clear (still had sand/gravel on the shoulders, but no ice), we saw 40 degrees one afternoon, and I swear I thought I could see buds forming on the cottonwood trees in our front yard.

I nearly switched the rear tire on my bike back to the road tire to take it outside for a ride, and I was seriously thinking about commuting into work a couple times.

But alas, the weather terrorists on Channel 9 were right last week and we got nailed with about 7 inches of snow, and we're back below freezing.

The roads are pretty clear, considering the mess that they were in last week, but the melt/refreeze that happens every day makes some pretty nasty ice slicks on the shoulders, so I'm still spinning away in the basement and at class, not moving anywhere.

I've actually seen significant gains in my (perceived) power and endurance lately. I've extended a few spin classes by showing up early and making the ride go for about 2 hours total. While on the trainer, I've been able to shift up to the big chainring (53 tooth) on my longer intervals comfortably.

But all I want to do is get out on the roads and ride. Ride hard!

I'm just feeding the fire inside of me by reading online racing forums and racer blogs from people in Texas and SoCal that are already racing outside (which reminds me that I need to update my blogroll...).

I've watched a few amateur races recorded from helmet cams that are posted on YouTube.

I've penciled all the local races that have been posted so far into my calendar (I'll post a list of my planned races and results as they come in soon), and even talked with the wife to "get permission" to make it to them, which, clearly, could have been the limiting factor in my little plan. Luckily, it didnt' take much more than presenting it as a replacement to my weekly hockey night. I think she definitely senses my excitement for it (or maybe she realizes how crabby I get when I don't get some serious exercise every couple days...). She is even planning on coming to some races. It really is great to have that support.

But, since the first true outdoor event isn't until mid-April, I've got to keep finding other outlets to unleash this competitive drive inside of me. Hockey is winding down with just 4 games left. Playoffs appear to be out of the picture for the team again this season, but after four seasons we're a completely different team (literally and figuratively).

Like I've said before, I am still planning on doing a couple triathlons on top of bike racing, so I've been able to get in some noon-hour swim workouts in a couple times a week. I've been laying off the running doing no more than 1 or two short runs a week. I still enjoy running, but I'm finding cycling to be much more enjoyable lately.

I'm planning on doing an indoor triathlon this weekend at my gym. It's a time-based race, rather than a typical distance-based race, so it's scored drastically different.

It's going to be a 10-minute swim, 30-min bike and 20-min run, with set transition times to allow for safe transitions around the club. The race officials measure the distance traveled over these set times, and your distances are ranked against other racers. After everyone finishes, your placing for each event/leg is given a numerical score based on a curve (longest distance gets highest number of points, shortest distance gets lowest number of points).

Your total score gives you your overall placing among the other racers.

My bro-in-law is planning on trying it this weekend as well. It's the perfect setting for people just getting into it or wanting to learn more about the sport. It will be his very first triathlon of any sort, so he's jumping in to check things out. If he likes it, he said he'll think about taking the leap and buying a road bike. If not, he still gets the competitive feel of it, without the major up front investment of the bike gear.

I'm really excited for the race, but I'm treating it more as a "where am I at" fitness litmus test heading into the season. My game plan right now is to push myself in the swim and bike, then just run as my body tells me so I don't hurt myself (specifically my knees) on the pounding conveyor belt of monotony.

I promise a race report. I'll bring a camera, but doubt there will be much opportunity for photo-ops.