The countdown begins...

So, Renee's got her first event of the season under her belt and she's looking ahead to all else that she's got on her plate. Amber, Melissa & I all have events coming up (though Amber is a slag and won't get me anything to post).

For me, the countdown begins...Baker's Dozen. April 22nd. Thirteen hours on and off the bike (if I don't do something stupid like go out too hard like I did last year), ingesting calories on the fly, trying to stay hydrated and making sure I don't endo over the one bigger log stack (Renee did this last year...though I got tired and fell on the one small rock garden...so I had wreckage too).

I've got things going for me this year, certainly. I'm about 20 pounds lighter than I was at last year's event. I'm stronger, my endurance level is much higher and I've learned to love my granny gear. I have none of those "granny is for wussie" thoughts this year. I'll use granny and spin whenever I want to this year baby. Plus, and this is key at BD, my arms are stronger, so I'll recover better from the near constant root chatter.

I've got the hydration thing under control...the slightly salty Cytomax mixture I prefer will ensure I keep drinking throughout the ride and the added calories are also a bonus, as I just can't ingest the 300-400 calories per hour that I should. So if I can glug them down during flat moments, I'm more good to go. I'll be pre-riding the course on Sunday, noting the least chattery spots so I'll know where to get my long pulls from the C-Max bottle.

I've been finalizing my food choices as I ride on my training rides. I won't add anything new to the diet that I haven't tested beforehand. The last thing I want to do is blow up digestively (the mental image there is pretty, ain't it?) and have to bow out early.

I've got the shorts picked out and I've for my Chamois Butt'r so saddle soreness and chafing shouldn't be an issue. Plus I'll get off the bike and walk it out every few laps as I ingest my calories. Gotta keep the pardukey happy.

Despite my varying levels of readiness, I'm nervous. Even several weeks in advance I've got a bit of nervous tummy. And it's not even a race I don't know. I've done it before, last year. But nerves are good. They keep me from getting complacent. They keep me goal oriented. So in these last weeks of training I'll set some goals for this race, and perhaps for the others that will follow. As with any event I do, I'm only competing against myself, trying to do the best I can and make the greatest gains I can over previous years. It needs to stay fun. Once it stops being fun, there's no point, right?