Its been a while...I know...I know

The 2011 race season is almost underway and a lot has happened since my last post. So here's a summary of the plot twists in 2011 for me:

1. Paleo no more: yeah something happend in January. Shortly after my last post I started feeling pretty weak and fatigued. Was still constantly hungry (as I noted nothing new with Paleo). Ended up figuring my caloric needs of training weren't being met under Paleo and when I get 150 lbs I simply couldn't afford to burn more fat like last year. So Paleo is gone, hello breads and grains again. Amazingly I have more energy. I can't explain it. But thats another post.
2. Leaner than ever: as noted above I hit 150 in January this year. since that was my lightest weight last summer, I'm even leaner this year. Yikes, can't lose much more now (I think). Going up hill is definitely easier in the spring training rides now.
3. Power: bought a powertap. Its nice, lots of data...blah blah. It is a training tool. I won't race with it. There is a learning curve with it...but for a statistics nerd/junky like myself its very manageable.
4. New bike: well I picked up a new road frame recently. Again I'll need to do a separate post on it. Hopefully soon. After 1 week of rides I can say thought carbon is much smoother alloy. Viva La Fibre de Carbone!
5. New Training Plan: although I've done the same thing mostly for last 2 years and it worked well, I've decided to mix it up a little for this year. Hopefully it works. I think variety is the spice of life and you have to try new things if it doesn't work, go back to the old model.

Now with all that said. This past week was great. A lot of time on the bike, lots of miles logged and the efforts got a little harder. Rode the mtb for the first time and it felt good to be on dirt again. Started working on my summer tan lines.

Anyways, we're now 2 weeks away from the first mtb races, then its a couple weeks of road racing back to back. April is around the corner, spring is in the air, and I'm itching to ride!