Ressurection of a dead blog

There were a few different events over the weekend that made me re-evaluate my fitness hobbies, and it made me take a look at what I prefer to do. As such, I have decided to reduce running 5k's and similar in the future for the most part.

In just under 2 weeks, I will be participating in the USAF Half Marathon, and I have not decided what I will do with the Flying Pig Marathon weekend next year. Beyond that, running is being phased out.

The Tour de Donut this year was mostly a great improvement over last year's time for me, except for a 'glitch.' Last year, I at a dozen donuts, for a 60 minute time bonus. This year, I only ate 5, instead opting for getting back on the bike and pushing myself. The time I made up overall was lost to the 35 minutes the 7 extra donuts last year had gotten me. My adjusted time came in at almost exactly 2:30 behind last year. Sure, I cut around 35 minutes off the total time, but did nothing for adjusted time.

It was announced after the race that next year the race will have a third length option, the Double Donut Challenge, two loops of the course. My speedometer Saturday gave me a length of 49.97km, so this would be a metric century race.

I began to think on this a bit more, and realized my Calorie burn from the 50k ride was about the same as from the Flying Pig half marathon earlier this year, meaning that in certain ways, this would be like doing a full marathon.

And it reminded me of something else. Randonneuring. It was something I had heard of a few years ago, but dismissed as a near term thing. The numbers for these events dwarf anything I have ever tried in many ways, but I realized something. Removing running from the mix, and focusing on cycling, I should be able to progress and achieve the numbers needed for this.

Sunday night, goals began to form in my head.

1. I will do the double donut in 2014. And I will give it 150% of the effort of the last few years. 100k is not my goal. 100k will become normal for me. 
2. I will train for, and attempt RAIN in 2014. After doing RAIN, the double donut should be a cakewalk. RAIN is 160 miles in 1 day. (or about  257 KM)
3. I want to qualify for Paris-Brest-Paris, which is next being held in 2015. This is a 1200 km race (745 miles) in France, in 2011 this was limited to 719 Americans. It may well be that I will not make the cut for the actual event, but I want to qualify. To do this, I need to complete a number of qualifying events, in the lengths of 200, 300, 400, and 600 km. (The double donut at just 100k sound easier now...)
4. I will enter every Time Trial I can next year, including the indoor ones held near Dayton. Speedyfeet, the Covaltia series, blue streak, etc. (Not counting the mountain bike ones.) I will push myself, and my average speed, upward. By the Strawberry TT next year, I want to be pushing 20 MPH average, if not more. 15~16 MPH when pushing is not fast enough, and I need to really push myself harder.
5. I want to attain Cat3. This requires entering and finishing 10 sanctioned mass start races to get from Cat5 to Cat4. That should be the easy part. The challenge becomes getting from Cat4 to Cat3. Per USACycling, that requires: " 20 points; or experience in 25 races with a minimum of 10 top-10 finishes with fields of 30 riders or more; or 20 pack finishes with fields over 50. 30 Points in 12 months is a mandatory upgrade." This will be a particular challenge. Being the only mass starts I have done were the 4 years of the Donut... Still, a goal is a goal.

These things will not be easy. Realistically, I will likely need to acquire a  Touring model bike when I am hitting the 100+ mile rides. My KHS is great, and has a mount for a front rack, but it isn't really a touring model. Even in races, it has its limits. I can push though them for racing, but for the touring, it may be beyond the bikes capabilities.

None of these thing will be easy. It wouldn't be worth it if they were easy. In the end though, I have faith that I can do them. I may never ride in the Paris-Brest-Paris ride, but there are many who qualify for the Boston Marathon and never run it.  I resurrected this blog to force myself to remember these goals, to pursue them. The off season is coming, but I can not rest. I must train, and hit the ground running in the spring.

I am not a runner. I am a cyclist. The last year trying to run was a noble experiment. I completed the Flying Pig in just under 3 hours, and I will have the USAF half under way in just over a week. I can not afford to split my attention between the two sports any more. The bike wins. It is time to give it my all.