Out!

I delayed the call as long as I could, but I think I knew for at least the last few days that I wouldn’t be lining up tomorrow at the state cyclocross championships. I won’t blame the lingering soreness in my left hip and my lower back from a little crash on Tuesday’s training ride. After resting on Wednesday, yesterday I got on the indoor trainer for an hour without any real discomfort. And while the weather forecast isn’t to my liking—at 9 a.m. tomorrow the wind chill will be around 20 degrees—I still might have done the race if I felt prepared.

The big problem is that I have lost so much fitness since my last race and I know I would not be competitive. I have ridden just 103 miles since Cam-Rock Cross on November 8 and my indoor workouts have not been sufficient. Weight is up, fitness is down, and psychologically I am unable to rally myself.

My 2014 race season is over but I have not given up on riding. We will have some days in the high 30s and maybe even the low 40s during the next week or so. There’s no pressure to train now—I don’t expect to race again until at least May—but the deeper into the winter I ride, the better prepared I will be for next season. Slow base miles will be just fine for a while.