Here at the end of the first half of the year, I have done 73 rides for a total of 2,159 miles (29.6 miles per ride). At this point last year I had done 76 rides for a total of 2,059 miles (27.1 miles per ride). It’s good to be ahead of last year’s pace. Being exactly 100 miles ahead is purely a coincidence. My official goal for this year is 4,470 miles, but if I stay free from injury I might reach 5,000 for the third time in four years.
My monthly and yearly mileage goals are important to me. They don’t really tell me anything about my fitness, but it’s generally true that I ride better as I ride more. Garmin Connect provides a number of other metrics including average speed, and in recent weeks my road ride speed has gone up without any change in my perceived effort. I’m happy with my fitness right now and I feel like I’m ready to take another step in my training.
I thought this would be a year with more competition goals on the road. It won’t be. It also won’t be a year in which I chase points in WORS or WEMS, though I will do a couple of races in each mountain bike series. I said I wasn’t going to do this again, but, damn it, I am building toward the cyclocross season. It dominates my thoughts and that must mean something. In the next two months I just need to deliver my body to where my head and heart are waiting.
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