Training...or, not training as it were

100+" officially have fallen this winter season. Yesterdays snow fall officially made this winter the 3rd snowiest of all time. And, according to Bill Steffen, we only need .7" more to move in to second place. That's a lot of freakin' snow!

I bring this point forward for a couple reasons. First, because I, like many others, feel that this winter should come to an abrupt and thorough end some time in the very near future. Tomorrow morning, for instance, would be a great time. The other reason is so that I may lament my lack of training today.

I had a couple days of pretty good momentum built up...I had done some good run and bike work, had broken down some muscles, had done some field tests for LT...in short, I had laid the ground work for the start of my spring/summer training season. Now, though, I look outside and feel zero motivation. None. Nada. Zip. The big donut.

I ran in the snow this winter. And, that was fine with me because it was winter. I bought the Volpe and rode it to work all winter. And, I rather enjoyed that. The still air with snow on the trees was lovely on numerous ocassions this WINTER. However, it is no longer winter. We passed the vernal equinox...thus, I'm done with winter and all of it snowy goodness. I don't want to run in the snow anymore. I don't want to ride in the snow anymore. I'm sick of it taking 20 minutes for me to get dressed and undressed at the beginning and end of each workout. I'm DONE damnit.

So, Fisk Knob is just 8 days away. I'm fat, slow, and not in nearly good enough shape to do anything decent at that race. Hell, at the rate I'm going I'll be lucky to finish. Plus, the weather report between now and then is something shy of optimistic. According to weather.com, those 8 days include 4 chances for snow and two additional days of rain/sleet. The forecast for the day of the race is currently calling for a high of 42 degrees with Rain and Snow showers persisting through the day.

I'll grant that this will be my first attempt at Fisk Knob. So, I don't have years of experience to back my conclusions here. But, I was told that by a fairly reliable source that this was the traditional start to the road cycling season. And, if I had to venture a guess, I'd say that the people who have organized this race over the years didn't pick the end of March because they were hoping for BAD weather. No, instead, I'd venture to say that they were betting on some version of spring arriving by the end of March. However, that seems to be too much to ask for this year.

Snow, sleet, hail....skinny road slicks, time trial riding on hilly roads. Sounds like a great combination. I mean...what could possibly go wrong?

I'll be sure to stuff my organ donor card in one of my jersey pockets. Please bury me with my Cannondale...and, bury me face down. I'd like mother-nature to kiss my ass even after I'm gone.