When I began this training endeavor for the Trans-Sylvania Epic, an amalgamation of thoughts surfaced in my head. For the most part, I was overwhelmingly excited. Many years have passed since I followed a dedicated training program, and I yearned for this level of commitment. Chris Eatough’s training plan (found on http://chriseatough.com/) provided the main impetus to reach this commitment. Additionally, it solidified my overall focus of the year towards riding, rather than working. However, a small contingent of my thoughts was doubtful of my abilities to stay focused. I still had to prioritize my academic work to ensure graduation, and the monthly bills remained a constant reminder that paychecks remain an important survival tool these days. Balance would prove to be a tricky quality for the next few months.

With that said, getting into the training routine was much simpler than I imagined. There certainly have been a few days where scheduling and prioritizing rides provided a level of difficulty, but the transition into training is still a rewarding process. Too often, we get muddled down in the systematic repetition of the day-to-day. Training forced me to break up monotony of work and class to focus on an activity which was inherently enjoyable. In the past few years, a good week of riding contained three or four rides at most. Now I am riding a minimum of five days out of the week, and the difference is extraordinary.

In the past four weeks, integrating the training program into my lifestyle produced more than a few qualitative changes. The general benefits of consistent exercise are well documented in scientific literature, but the effects are hard to internalize until you actually experience them. The greatest improvement for me remains the reduction in stress; despite the time commitment of training, I consistently get more quality work done on days I ride due to my increased focus. In addition, my overall demeanor shifted in a very positive direction. For cyclists, there is no greater feeling then performing well on the bike, and the general well-being seeps into the everyday outlook with great regularity.

But the true test of an effective training program is not the side-effects of exercise, but rather the changes that occur while on the bike. Last year, my peak fitness occurred in conjunction with the Stoopid 50 race, during which I shocked myself with how well I was riding. After only four weeks a training (science people call this a “mesocycle”), I find myself already nipping at the heels of that level of fitness. Three and four hour rides are very natural, even when sustaining a healthy pace, and my general riding feels “lighter,” as if the slopes deviated to a shallower grade and the rocks eroded a few edges. The only level of fitness yet to surface is my top-end, which remains a bit weak. In particular, the shorter intervals in the training are punishingly difficult for me, and my legs try to cease on me about 75% of the way through. But to put it in perspective, I am only a month in, and two months away from the start of the Trans-Sylvania, so to expect a finely-tuned high-end fitness is a bit absurd.

The increased consistency of riding clearly benefited my riding fitness, but there are elements of early-season riding which don’t come quite as quickly. The one thing the early season has not graced me with is solid trail skills, or at least smart decision making. On more than a few occasions over the past three weeks, I made a few less-than-choice lines. The riding was smooth, but the lines were not. Our winter weather was not conducive for trail riding, which forced more competent trail skills to atrophy. Unluckily for me, the Pennsylvania rocks reminded me of why going too fast too early is an unwise move: crashing hurts, and crashing on rocks hurts more. Thankfully, there have been no catastrophic errors, and I hope to keep it that way.

Aside from refining my line selections, I also learned the importance of nutrition, and it was a lesson one learns only from making stupid decisions. Learn from my mistake: a muffin at 9 am is not sufficient fuel for a three hour ride starting at 3 pm. I was able to finish my ride before experiencing a completely incapacitating bonk, but the last half hour was just plain ugly.

With the hard lessons learned, and a few bad crashes out of the way, I prepare to enter the next phase of training. This week, which was a lighter week of riding to focus on recovery, left me itching for more riding. Intensity and volume get ramped up in the next month, but I remain anxious to get started. The legs are already feeling mighty strong, and I hope to prove they have even more potential in them than imagined.