Summer's over:(

Been a lot going on lately, but not much that I've felt was "blog-worthy". This summer was fantastic. Having Anne here was truly the best thing ever. Now that she's gone I realize how spoiled I was to have her all to myself all summer long! Boy do I miss her like crazy! And it's only been a few days since she's gone back to the UK!

So I've been doing a lot of mellow riding in the weeks since my last race. Mostly on the mtb, but I've started to incorporate some road riding as well. I'm shocked at how much my road riding has improved since I've gotten serious about mountain biking. My pedaling efficiency is off the charts. I find myself easily spinning up the short and steep hills around here. My mtb skills have also improved in leaps and bounds as well. I'm faster than I was just last month and my technical skills are getting better almost by the minute. I guess that's what I enjoy so much about it-there's so much skill involved. Not to say that road riding doesn't require skill, but the trails just throw so much at you. Rocks, roots, sand, mud, drops-you name it! And the best part is that they're constantly changing with the weather, the season, and with riding. Some days I'll notice that the rocks on a decent have moved from where they were the day before; a sandy patch is now tacky because of rain; and a short steep climb is now made even more difficult because it's all washed out from a storm. All of that added to the fact that I'm getting more and more capable of riding the rough stuff is why I'm addicted.

It's been great to train by feel for a bit lately, but I'm sure I'll be looking forward to more structured training coming later this winter. With the focus on XTERRA, I'm sure my coach will have me doing much more mtb specific work which will be loads of fun. I think the ironman training just took a little bit out of me. I've never been one for mind numbing stuff, and I just found that type of training to be dull. I'm not saying I won't go back to it, but for the time being it's just not for me. With that said, this coming season, as I've mentioned before will consist mainly of XTERRA races, a couple 70.3's thrown in for fun, and possibly some xc mtb races. I'm really keen to race my mtb and there are some good races in the area that might give me some good experience on the bike.

That's about all for now. I'm off to the UK in a week's time to see my Anne and I CAN'T WAIT!!! Until then it's just some more mellow rides, working as much as I can, and spending time with my doggie:). Good times ahead!!!