Putting a stake in the ground

One of the more frustrating things about fitness is that it changes. Actually, the frustrating part is that it gets worse. If it didn’t change for the better, we’d all give up hope and end up like the humans in Wall-E. Or ordinary Americans.

Of course, I thought that hiking for turns all winter had kept me in good shape. Moreover, in the fall I asserted that skiing is harder than cycling, so I assumed I’d have no problems transitioning to the bike.

And for the most part, I haven’t. I placed 10th in a race I didn’t really train for. I just got done riding 100 miles on dirt in one day. And I’ve already lost about half the weight I gained over the winter.

But I’m still slower than I was in the fall. Yesterday after work, I did the Clark’s TT to see how I measured up. Last September, on my very first ride up the trail, I did it in 11:13, the median time, incidentally. I figured I’d be somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 minutes this time around. And I was, if you consider a variance of 77 seconds “in the neighborhood.” I finished in 13:17.

Apparently, however, nearly everyone else is waiting until they’re back to full fitness before submitting times, as I’m currently in first place. Out of three. But still.

At least I have a baseline. Now establish yours. Clark’s, Crank, and Sidewinder TTs are all open for business. Go on and make me look slow. We’ll all be faster as the season goes on.