Winter has arrived here in he Gunnison Valley. A bit snow has fallen and the temps have dropped as well. The long dry fall I was enjoying so much, is gone and replaced by a frozen ice box.
Normally I roll with the punches pretty well. I wear more layers, bigger boots and fluffier gloves, hand warmers tucked in my pockets, frozen snot flung far and wide. Skis, Fat Bikes and Snow Shoes become my vehicles for getting out there. The dreaded Trainer is always there waiting as well.
Last winter I was amazed at my own dedication to riding in all temps, all weather, all the time. I limped home frozen, wet and worked more times than I can remember. I was driven, focused and motivated.
So far this winter I am lacking. I don’t want to drive to go ski or fat bike. I don’t want to get up early, walk the dogs, lift weights, ride in the cold and then go to work.
I am wondering if there is something wrong with me? Do I really want to race again? Much less the TD? Am I getting soft, bored, burnt out? The thought of months spent riding a trainer, driving to go ride, riding in the dark and cold, all sounds terrible?! I have become frozen, along with everything else, with my lack of motivation!
So do I fake it and just do it? Will my mojo come back to me, maybe tomorrow? Will the desire to suffer make me get up and suffer for months to come? Maybe a I have rounded a corner in my life and it is time to simply have fun…and move to the desert for the winter…..
jwookieone 
Well, only time will tell if the motivation snaps back—what will be will be stuff….
I did hear thru the grapevine 2015 may see a couple of prior winners toeing the line if that’s news, or of interest…………
After a long, forced hiatus, I’m finally able to actually do some riding again… and then the snow comes… sigh… Let it come naturally, at least until after Xmas. Then, it’s decision time!
p.s. I, too, have heard such rumors Marshall!
Living in the Midwest my outdoor season came to an end last week. 15 inches of snow, blowing winds, and the end of day light saving time shuts things down pretty quickly around here. Normally I hate this time of year. This year I was more prepared for this and built my training plan around the inevitable suck of winter. Most years I run my goal race at the beginning of October and then hit the shut off switch for 3 weeks resurfacing indoors at some point trying to pick up where I left off. This has never really worked for me. Time off always leads to injuries. This year I forced myself to race every weekend in October and into the first week of November so that when winter arrived I would be ready to come down in intensity and return to base. I can’t train in specific mode for more than 8 weeks, so while I would love to work on doing intervals @ 5:45 per mile pace I would burn out by February training at race pace. While the indoor trainer and lifting weights might not be the most exciting thing in the world to do, this time indoors allows you to tweak things with your training, your diet, and see how your body responds. I become my own science project in the winter. I take the time to work on my weaknesses, focus on building a stronger core, and enjoy more home time with my family. I still get a ton of training in, but my workouts becomes more about working on my mechanics and maintaining a base level of fitness. I don’t really want to waste a single minute running on a treadmill or an indoor track (sometimes I imagine myself running circles around the prison yard) but winter offers up great opportunities to those who look for them. Or so I keep telling myself. 🙂