Semi-Annual Update - one day I'll be more active on this blog!

Ok, so I try to update this blog about once every six months...running a couple of weeks late on that. The first half of this year's season was fantastic. I raced in four mountain bike races in the spring as a warm up for the off-road triathlon season. I was a bit nervous going into the mtb races because I upgraded to the expert level and was worried that the competition would be intense. There was a ton of competition, but I ended up placing first twice and third twice. One of the first place finishes was at an NMBS race (national level). This was a big confidence-builder for me. The Xterra season kicked off with a first place amateur finish (3rd overall behind two pro's). This gave me even more confidence going into the first and one of the most difficult Xterra races of the year - the West Championships in Temecula. A 5th place amateur finish (3rd in Age-Group) was enough to qualify again for the Xterra World Championships in Maui, Hawaii.
A somewhat solid race in Richmond, VA closed the first half of the racing season.

Unfortunately, the second half of the season never actually picked up. During a planned mid-season break I had to make the decision to take some time off from racing for the remainder of the year. They say that sometimes in life, you are given signs that you hopefully notice and pay attention to - In early August both of my bikes were stolen from atop my car. This was my sign. I just hope the sign was to "take a couple months off and make some changes" not to be done with racing altogether. I have continued to train, but the racing needed a break. While it was very difficult to concede my spots in Tahoe (us nationals) and Maui (worlds), I am confident that the decision to do so was a good one and will serve me well in the long-run. The re-adjusted training program begins next week. I plan on focusing on mountain bike racing next year, while still doing enough with Xterra to make a run at qualifying for Nationals and Worlds.

Can't wait to get back to training!!