Can't Always Know What's Coming, Can't Always Trust a Twist of Fate: 2013 Racing Schedule

Yes, I know how odd that title is up above, but it really speaks volumes: You're never going to be completely sure when you're going to be prepared for something, but you also can't just hope that it's going to be OK. You need to do what you can to give yourself the confidence in your plans. It's that sensation that led to me sitting down with Doug to review the 2012 season and to start thinking ahead towards 2013.

We settled in, and the first question was about how I personally felt about the season. The big thing, to me, was being so happy with the improvement that I've made. I hit one target goal for the year (go sub-5:15), the next goal being within reach (sub-5:00), and I proved to myself that I can run pretty damn fast if I'm smart about it.

That doesn't make me satisfied, though. I'm hungry for a lot of things in the sport, and it's going to take a lot of dedicated work to get there. I knew how much time I left on the table, for instance, at Rev3 Maine. I went as fast as I could on a given day at Rev3 Cedar Point, and now it's about dialing in the nutrition plan.

So as we sat there, chatting about what I feel like I needed to do, the first thing across the mind was closing a run out: not letting the back half of the run hit me like a ton of bricks. Some of that's nutrition, some of that's fitness, and some of that's mental; the willingness to continue to meet pain head on in the face. I've done pretty well, but I want to close it on down and hammer it home.

The goals for next season?

1. Sub 5:00 HalfRev. I think this one's right within grasp. 
2. The Reach: Sub 4:45 Half Rev. This is in my "have a perfect day" window. I'd need to execute, execute, execute, with absolutely no room for deviation from the plan. At least, on the current levels of fitness. But we'll see how close we can come...
3. Be competitive in my age group. What the hell's that mean? Well...you'll find out here soon enough.

So, what's my racing schedule looking like? Well, I'm planning on a full slate of Rev3 races. Even with the team application opening up here soon (follow Rev3 on Twitter or like them on Facebook to see when that actually launches!), I'm racing Rev3 pretty exclusively for long-course triathlon. As Hannah has said in this space, it's much easier on her events-wise. It's got a vibe that I love. And the racing is second to none. So I'm going there for my racing on a pretty permanent basis.

Without further adieu, the tentative 2013 race plan:

• Rev3 Knoxville Olympic: May 5th, 2013--I've never raced an Olympic, and looking forward to the year, we're planning on doing some speed sessions to kick off the year to carry it in to the longer efforts. 
• Waldo County Y Sprint: May 17th, 2013--Sounds like I've been roped into this one by Adam. (His mom is the race director.) Apparently, we need to continue our little feud.
• Rev3 Quassy HalfRev: June 2nd, 2013--I love this race. It's my favorite race. Everything about it stands out: the volunteers, the course, the diabolical signs on the run, the atmosphere. World-class event.
• Rev3 Maine HalfRev: August 25th, 2013--A nice last hard effort leading into the "big one."
• Rev3 Cedar Point FullRev: September 8th, 2013--Yep, now I've stepped in it. Why a Full? Well, as I was sitting there all day at Cedar Point thinking to myself, "You know, this really isn't that long..." while racing 70.3 flippin' miles probably says that you're the right kind of crazy. 

Now, if you've paid any attention to the comments over on the Rev3 Facebook page, you know that there's been some rumors floating around about a certain Maine race and a potential "filling out" of the race course, if you catch my drift. Why the hell am I going to travel out to Cedar Point?

Well, for one, where we stayed at Cedar Point this year was fantastic, and I am fully planning on staying there again. Tim, if I remember correctly, put a deposit down on the place for next year. Sign my rear end up. Where do I send the cash? In all seriousness, though, I couldn't imagine a better place to be staying the weekend of a race: right on the course, right in the middle of town, everything's pretty accessible, and it takes the stress off.

Secondly, and almost more importantly: I almost left Maine completely off my race schedule, is why. Not because I don't love the race; I do. I think that course is awesome, I think it's challenging in a way that none of the other Rev3 events I've been a part of are...it's a great event. If I weren't racing, I'd be working. And even still, I'll probably work a bit too!

The problem, for me, is that racing at home is way more stressful than racing at a destination. You see, when you're at a destination, you have to plan. You have to get everything together, so you find it all. No stress the weekend of the race, because it's all there. You don't need to frantically search for it.

When I'm at home, I don't worry about planning as much. Where's my spare stuff? "Oh, it's in the house, I'll find it." So then you're panicking the Saturday before the race trying to find all of your crap because you didn't need to pack it and put it somewhere.

Nope, no thanks. If I'm going to be racing 140.6 miles, I need to have my plan. I need to execute my plan. Can't always trust a twist of fate...(see what I did there?)

So no, I will race Maine...just another HalfRev day to test things out before going and doing something silly at Cedar Point.

With all that in mind, time to hit the road. Goals set. There's work to be done.

I Knew That Law Degree Would Come in Handy...

Who knew that a $300,000 education would actually be useful at some point?

To that end, cycling as a sport is quite popular here in Southern Maine. There are plenty of good shops to choose from to purchase or service your ride here. I tend to give my money to two shops for purchases, and one for service, and it's time for shameless plugs for all three:

CycleMania: Good, solid shop with a smattering of offerings from Trek/Cervelo on the bike front, and then plenty of components kicking around.

Gorham Bike and Ski: I tend to head on over here when needing the consumable bike parts: tubes, for example. The apparel selection tends to be a bit stronger here, too.

Freeman's Bicycle Service: Josh Freeman is, well, the only mechanic I'll let touch my bike. Why? Because of his attention to detail, the appreciation you can actually feel when walking into the shop, as if to say, "Thank you so much for coming, and I'm going to reward you with putting every ounce of myself into helping you." Lots of places could learn a thing or two from the customer service Josh puts in. Small selection of parts (and you could order a whole hell of a lot more, too!), but you go here if you need the bike worked on. Go once. You won't go anywhere else after.

The reason why I post about these shops is because the Maine Legislature, in all of it's infinite wisdom (boy, the sarcasm-o-tron is on high alert today), it's decided that cyclists should be taxed more. House Proposal 880 would implement an additional two percent tax on all bicycles purchased within the state, on top of the already existing five percent sales tax.

Now, normally, this would just put me in a bad mood, but then hearing the justification for the bill from the sponsor, Rep. Ralph Sarty (R-Denmark), set me over the edge (source: Portland Press Herald):

The current laws regarding bicycle use on public ways place little if any responsibility or liability on the bicyclists. Almost all the responsibility and liability is on motorists. Perhaps we need a law stating that cyclists can't back up traffic for more than half a mile before pulling over and letting the traffic pass.

Within the same piece, Rep. Sarty tries to state that his bill is not "anti-bicycle."

Let's give this some context: Maine currently has what is called a "three-foot" law. This means a motor vehicle must give a minimum of three feet in order to pass a cyclist. Maine also does not require that the cyclist stay on the extreme right side of the shoulder; instead, a cyclist is to ride as far to the right as practicable. Given the condition of some shoulders, or roadsides, particularly after frost heave season, often times the furthest to the right a cyclist may get is the center of the traffic lane.

Nevermind that even under the current law, and riding all the way to the right, it does not prevent accidents. I was hit in the fall on Route 302 just outside of Windham. The road there has an eight-foot shoulder, plus the standard width of the traffic lane. I was about six-feet into the shoulder (so, six feet to the right of the white line marking the edge of the traffic lane) when I got hit from behind.

This proposal does nothing beyond providing a reverse incentive: don't purchase a bike, because lawmakers are trying to push you away. Rep. Sardy claims that the purpose of the money raised via the tax would be to construct "dedicated bikeways to be used by cyclists and pedestrians." Yet I don't see a proposal to, say, tax running shoes. (Note: don't send this idea to Rep. Sardy.) So cyclists will alone foot the bill?

What about the fact that most cyclists also own cars, and pay excise tax, which is meant to go towards the improvement of roads? What if Maine were simply going to take care of the roads that existed? If, say, Blackstrap Road from Westbrook to Cumberland were in better shape, I could always ride as far to the right to give more room to vehicles. It just seems that cyclists, because we are most visible on the roads, have targets on our backs.

To that end: stay vigilant. Write your lawmaker. And when out there: be aware. Stay safe. Assume the driver can't see you. Assume that you are the only one paying attention. Because odds are, unfortunately, that you are.

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Programming Note: Thanks for being so patient with the lack of new material as of late. There's upcoming gear reviews, comparing three tri shorts, along with another swim post.