Fighting the Winter Doldrums

Now that winter is officially here, we at PreRace have found it harder to get out and stay active. Minus a few lunchtime rides in November, we have pretty much kept our on the bike time to zero. Instead, substituting ride time with Hold Your Breath contest, That's What She Said jokes, and anything else that allows us to stay warm and inside. So it's with this mindset that I decided that this past weekend would be when I accepted Mother Nature's harsh reality, bundled up, and got outdoors.

Saturday morning I found myself grouped at a start line in Cherry Creek State Park shivering with about 200 other people. We were awaiting the whistle for the start of race number one of the Chilly Cheeks Duathlon series. The series will host one race in December, January, and February, regardless of the weather conditions. Race number one was a four mile run on park roads and gravel paths followed by a ten mile road bike.

Cherry Creek State Park

Being new to altitude I decided to start out easy and see how I felt. It was a good call because I felt stronger than I expected and was able to score a negative split on the run. The bike was flat but there was some wind. The road was a typical state park road with cracks and patches all over the place. It is really hard to get in to a rhythm when your nether-regions are bearing the brunt of bump after bump on a rough road. Regardless, the race was loads of fun and I would highly suggested it to anyone looking for a race in January.

The rest of the day was spent out in Louisville watching day one of the Colorado Cross State Championships. The depth and quality of racing in this state isn't really fathomable unless you come and see it yourself. I've raced bikes all over the Southeast and competed in triathlons across the country, but I've never seen a concentration of top athletes like there is on the Front Range here in Colorado. Tough man of the day award went to Ward Baker of Justin's Peanut Butter. After going down early in the race, Ward put in an inspiring ride in an attempt to defend his 2009 state championship. Ward came up just short, finishing second, but he definitely earned the respect of everyone in attendance.

Rachel Scott , who will be racing for PreRace.com sponsored team next year

Sunday's forecast was for even colder weather, but fortunately I had committed to ride with a group at 10:30am from REI's flagship store in Denver. (Accountability is not always fun.)The ride was lead by several women from a team PreRace.com has agreed to sponsor in 2011. While I won't divulge details yet, I can say that we are very excited to work with them and their title sponsor, which is a new shop opening in Denver this spring. Look for more details coming in January.

Enjoying White Ranch in December

The ride was just what the doc ordered. Low key and low intensity, leaving plenty of time to chat with everyone. After 3 hours we called it a day and headed home a relaxing Sunday afternoon. Hopefully this weekend will be a catalyst for a more regimented training schedule, but if not, you can probably find us at Mountain Sun or The Kitchen after work next week.

As a bit of background, my name is Lucas and I came on board with PreRace a month ago. My primary roles will be handling sales, marketing, and customer support for PreRace for the next 1,000 years.