Rebuilding

Posted by on Nov 7, 2013 in Bike | 5 Comments

I’m tired.

So tired, in fact, that I have been skipping cyclocross season. That makes me sad. I love ‘cross. But my mind and body are cooked. It has been a long season of mountain bike racing–one of the best I’ve ever had–and it’s time to rest. I’ve spent the last few weeks chasing elk in the mountains, watching my 10-year old play flag football, coaching the Lone Peak High School mountain bike team, and occasionally riding the incredible singletrack surrounding me.

I wish I had the energy for Tabata intervals, 40-20s, and barrier practice. Mostly, I just have an appetite for waffles and chocolate. And chocolate waffles.

I haven’t had a prolonged rest in four years. Those four years of bike racing have been wonderful. And I’m looking forward to more of the same in 2014, and beyond. But if that’s going to happen, then right now, I need to lay low.

I’ve also been pondering the future of this website. Every year I do this. I wonder, “should I keep writing here?” “is anyone still reading?” and most importantly, “does anyone, including me, get any value out of this anymore?”.

In years past, I’ve always found the energy and motivation to keep writing. But this year is different. I don’t know what else to write about. I don’t have anything to say. Why bother?

Well, I enjoy it. That’s the reason I’ve always bothered. I enjoy writing. I feel (maybe incorrectly) that this blog has been a solid contribution to the mountain biking community. But that community has evolved. Blogs are not as well-kept, or well-read as they used to be. There are reasons for that, but it’s probably due to the changing nature of the Internet, and how we use it.

I’ve always said that I’d keep this space filled with content as long as I found it enjoyable. Lately, it’s felt obligatory.

But don’t give up on me just yet. I’m going to look at a few different ways I can re-energize this space, and my own writing pursuits.

I’m experiencing a total rebuild. After the CTR my body was broken. I am still surprised at how long it has taken me to recoup from those 7 days in the mountains. I marvel at others, who in a matter of days afterward, were back racing at a high level. My immune system is weak, and my fortitude for focused training is missing in action. But slowly everything is coming back. I’ve started with the very basics: Core work, resistance training, stretching, and recalibrating my diet to pre-CTR standards.

As I rebuild my fitness, I will try to rebuild my motivation to fill this space with words and pictures.

Thanks for reading.

Mt Elbert

 

 

5 Comments

  1. Kent
    November 7, 2013

    I just found your blog and following! Love it!

  2. JQ
    November 7, 2013

    Keep sharing your experiences Adam. Hope to see you on the hills this winter.

  3. Sean
    November 7, 2013

    I’m a big fan of your blog. I hope you keep it up!

  4. Jill Homer
    November 8, 2013

    It’s interesting, I’ve been pondering this very same topic for the past few weeks, and just this week two blogs that I’ve been following regularly for many years have brought it up. Blogs *are* a lot of effort, they definitely cut into the time we could spend on other projects, and it’s difficult to say what value they add to an increasingly cluttered mass of information. The conclusion I’ve mostly arrived at with my personal blog is the fact that I would still spend time on a private journal if I stopped blogging publicly, and this journal probably would look similar to my current blog. The fact remains that this blog still serves the purpose that it was started to serve, which is to reach out to family, friends, people I know in real life. Meaning, my mother and even my partner would be disappointed if I killed the blog. That alone, for me, is reason enough to keep it up. But I am definitely considering pairing down my other Web-based, newspaper and magazine projects. Electronic books are the future, I am convinced, and I plan to focus more of my energy in that direction.

  5. Jill Homer
    November 8, 2013

    Also, I can relate to your post-CTR burnout. I too was shattered after the Tour Divide, but eventually decided that my own post-race fatigue was more emotional than physical. Since then, I’ve trended toward combating post-race fatigue/letdown/blues with always keeping something new and exciting on the horizon. I’m not saying this is right or that it will work for everyone, but, to be bluntly honest, my main strategy for not feeling sick and tired is to tell myself to stop feeling sick and tired. It doesn’t always work, (okay, it usually doesn’t work), but when it does, the sudden shifts in energy and motivation that I experience after these conscientious decisions have been empowering.

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