Evolving into a Bike Racer for 2014...

Earlier in the week I started a 2013 year in review but it was honestly quite boring and I wouldn’t want to subject anyone to something that dry. Clearly 2013 was a transitional year. What started out pointing toward London and the World Championships fizzled when my posterior tibialis and hallucis longus tendons tag teamed me to end my days as a runner. What initially had me incredibly depressed has faded into a moot point and I have no desire to run right now. There have been little signs the past few weeks that have really let me know that I am at ease with that chapter of my life ending for a while. Since the summer of 1999 I’ve obsessively worn a running watch for some stupid reason. Perhaps I thought a race was going to break out at some random time or I’d be expected to run an all out 400 on my lunch break? Anyways now that I am a cyclist I could care less about my running watch. I’ve even started looking at cool stylish watches for the first time in my life! I haven’t run a serious step now since September when it became apparent that the cortisone shots into the tendon sheaths did nothing to help. The closest thing I do to running now is chasing Eko through the woods on our morning walks! 

Enough looking back! Let’s talk about 2014!

It is a very exciting time right now in the local cycling scene. I have banded together with    Darren Phaneuf and Tim Trotter to form a new venture that will be known as Elm City Velo. Through Elm City Velo our aim is to continue to bring together competitive local riders that will compete throughout the northeast. 

Elm City Velo Mission Statement:

To form and maintain a cycling racing team that will compete in the northeastern United States with a goal of allowing all members to achieve their personal and team goals while fostering a culture of well-being and positivity to contribute to the local cycling community.

More details will become available over the course of the next couple of weeks as we complete our team charter, hold elections, and obtain our USA Cycling team license. 

I’ve set some extremely lofty goals for 2014 that I don’t care to make public at this time. At this stage in my life I am going to fall back on my talent as a hard worker and just let my legs do the talking. My training will speak for itself when racing season comes around. 

As for the Evolution? 

Fear not blogosphere Evolution of an Athlete is not going away. Right now my Strava account is serving as my training log so I will not be posting in that format this year. This blogs primary function will become recapping training rides and races for the coming season. Lets face facts, the race reviews are really the only thing worth reading on this blog. The reality is that they’re also the only thing that I get excited to write about in this format. If your desperate to follow my training hop on Strava and become a follower. Strava has really revolutionized the way I approach training and I’m sure it has the ability to change the way everyone tracks and logs their exercise data. 

In the next month I will be solidifying my race schedule for the year and I will outline the major targets. For now rest assured that I will be cranking out major miles and hours in the basement in preparation for a huge year. 

Cheers!

Mark