Yesterday marked one year since my return to cycling. OK, I guess it really marked me getting off my ass and trying to lose some weight, but cycling followed that pretty closely!
My target was to get from 198 pounds down to around 160. I made it down to 173, but then put about 10 pounds back on. I figure I need to re-dedicate myself a bit on the weight loss side. Even with the backslide, I'm still down 15 pounds from last year. If I can lose another 15 this year, I'd be thrilled.
My fitness targets were a little more vague. Using my West River Time Trial times as a gauge, last year I did one in 22:34. On Saturday, I did it in 20:16. My Maximal Latate Steady State started out at 185 watts. Now it's up to 240 watts. I'm definitely a lot fitter.
I've done a few crits. I definitely don't have the repeatable sprint that I used to have. I'm still working on that. I waffle back and forth whether I should put a higher priority on weight loss or racing speed. It's really hard to do both at the same time. Strangely, I find that my time trial workouts are probably better for weight loss than the high end crit workouts are.
My life is totally different. I'm divorced, live in a different place, traded in my car for a different one, ride a different bike, and have a different job. Looking back a year, I can barely recognize that life as being "me." I'm still getting used to all the new aspects of my life, but I think they will all be for the best in the long run.
By Labor Day 2010, I'm aiming to hit following goals:
Weight: 170 pounds
MLSS: 275 watts
West River Time Trial Time: 19:45
5 second Max Wattage: 1100 watts
