Post Olympic Post Modernism

Well the Olympics have come and gone and I enjoyed every minute of it. I love watching the Olympics. Its so fun to see so many athletes from every corner of the world compete in every sport under the sun.

I always find myself embracing one of the lesser known sports that I had never otherwise considered. In Torino it was curling, I don't know why. Its not that exciting and it doesn't even look like that much fun. But it sure was intriguing to imagine how much time those people spend practicing sweeping the ice. And I don't think I missed a match through the entire games. It must be the allure of a sport I know nothing about, I have to know more.

During this Olympics it was wrestling. I couldn't get enough of it, especially the Greco Roman competition. Alongside running, I don't think there is a more pure sport. Man on man, nothing else. Minimal variables. As a ski racer I must envy that a bit, the lack of a wild card element.

And as much as I enjoyed watching each event, this year I really found myself growing tired of the commentators and their attitudes towards the competitors. I didn't take long to realize that those commentators, like John McCain (nice speech last night, Barrack), simply don't get it.

It is a rare case when an athlete 'settles for silver'. Settling for silver is reserved for only the phenom who wins medal after medal, the Micheal Phelps of the world. But most silver medalists don't settle for silver, they win it, contrary to the notion that the commentators seem to extend.

My dismay was lightened, however, upon hearing Chris Collinsworth describe the scene as he sat amongst the parents and family of many of the US swimmers. He noted that while much attention was paid to the mother of Micheal Phelps and her reaction to seeing her son win gold medal after gold medal, in fact the scene played itself out over and over again within each family set. For Ms. Phelps it was seeing her son win gold, for some it was seeing their daughter make the semifinal, for others it was surely the joy of simply qualifying to compete in Beijing.

I suppose my point is that glory comes from competing, and the way in which one competes. Success, of course, is desirable but success is relative and to me it seems like a major loss to write off all of our athletes who don't bring home a gold medal.

End personal diatribe here.

So its that time of year where I stop training so much. And good thing for it because I was really starting to get bored. I've been putting in 4+ hour days for quite a while. 25 hours weeks really start to add up, especially when they are all solo. All of them. I'm on the verge of losing my mind and my ipod wearing out.

I'm trying a little different training plan this fall, trying to make use of the massive base I have built up this summer and the many summers that I have trained before this one. One of the issues I've had in the past years is that I just can't go fast enough in races under 30km. So I'm pretty much just going to lift weights and hammer for the rest of the season. Thats it, im not joking... and try to lose some weight... simple plan, power up and weight down. Last season I raced at 155 and this season I'm hoping to race somewhere closer to 150. If i can do that, it will mean serious speed going uphill on skating skis. And that's the point.

In the greater world of my life I've been rounding out a few design projects and making strides toward putting together a full fledged professional portfolio that may let me one day get a job or something like that... someday. I've also been doing quite a bit post-production for a handful of high-end action photographers, and I've also started to assist a local Photographer, which is really cool because I'm learning a ton. Assisting is like being an apprentice in the photo world. It has been a really great experience as I'm still trying to find my place in the commerical art world, whether it be as a designer or photographer or creative director... or who knows what... high school art teacher? i don't know.

Lastly, I have started with a new group of kids at Ecker Hill Middle School. We are diving straight into the school year with hiking and the high ropes course in the next two weeks. I've only been one day so far, so not a lot to share in that regard but it looks to be a promising year with a good group of kids to wrangle.

Adapting

Training has continued to be most excellent since my last post. I've been pushing the volume very heavily and things are really coming along well.

In the midst of my last 4 week training cycle I started to get a little sick of training on my own. I mean, a guy can only do so many 5 hour days solo... Living in Park City there are often people in and out between the US Ski Team, the Univ of Utah Ski Team and a few other independent racers like myself. July/August is a tough time to work through because a lot of people are at training camps, the university is away for the summer, there just aren't a lot of people to workout with... Unless you are a road biker...

So I've had to adapt a little. Lately I have been riding a lot so as to get some workouts with others. Its been a great mental break and also a good opportunity to really get pushed extrinsically. I've gotten myself hooked up with one of Utah's top pro team and have done some training rides with them and really enjoyed it.

Several weeks ago I hopped into a road hillclimb. I had yet to do any really tough workouts on a bike so I was unsure. Even more, I hadn't done a real race since late March. I felt awkward the morning of the race. I really didn't feel prepared mentally and I couldn't remember the steps I typically go through to get myself into that place. Though as the start time neared I settled down and managed to focus my energy on the effort. Once my class got called to the start line it all came back and I was really able to get into it.

The race itself was good. I rode away from the field less than a mile into the race and more or less time trialed my way up to the summit. I rode well, very steady. I didn't have much top end but I haven't trained the top end at all, so none was expected. On the final results I was 7th overall, which was satisfying given that all of Utah's top riders were in the race.

Afterwards I definitely had renewed motivation for competition. I have a month or so without before the Utah State Hillclimb Championship, which I am putting a lot of energy into preparing for. Its a time trial for everyone so I'll have a chance to compare solo efforts with the best guys.

My next training period is another big one with major focus on volume and my last little bit soiree-ing as a road biker before I crank up both the intensity and specificity. With any luck that will coincide with plenty of training partners around. I'm looking forward to dropping the hammer.

All for now and good luck to Mike in Beijing.