You sure look good dancin' in the mud

The day has dawned quite rainy over the New Hampton training center. Like last year, these daylight rich days of June are having a rainy pall cast over them. Hopefully this will break. There is a big triathlon weekend just a few miles down the road at Newfound Lake in Bristol. I guess this was already in jeopardy due to the recent flooding and issues with the structural integrity of one of the dams over there, but in the end it is game on. They are having an Olympic distance tri today, and a half-Ironman tommorow. KL has some friends up for tommorow's race, as they are preparing for an Ironman in Germany later this year. We'll see them for dinner tonight, so hopefully we will be able to get out for a healthy ride today. In a little while I think that I will break down and do a longish (for me) run just to make sure I burn up a few calories.

Don't let June pass you by. Sure, this month marks the beginning of the traditional summer, but it also marks the end of the lengthening of the daylight. You may have dragged your ass with training up until this point. Further procrastination will mean that you totally blew the year off. Like life, this is not a dress rehersal. Now is the time to get out there and make the most of each and every training day. October and its 4:30 pm sunsets will be here soon enough; you can put off all that mundane shit that sucks up your time until then. Do it in the dark. The whole reason for going out in the cold for long rides in the spring is to be ready to go out and do really long rides now!

Racing complicates the issue. Luckily for me, I don't have too many races scheduled this month. Let's recap the season so far (since I don't have this on the sidebar like everybody else).

• Foxboro 5K - 20:19
  
• Paddy Kelly Brockton 5 miler - 31:30
  
• Cohasset 10K by the Sea - 40:26
  
• Battenkill-Roubaix - 90K road race with dirt roads and lots of hills, 35th, OTB.
  
• Turtle Pond - 90K road race on a circuit with a small hill, 10th.
  
• Perinton Circuit Race - seven laps of a hilly 10K circuit, 5th, small field
  
• Palmer Road Race - 90K road race, good attack at end but caught, 61st.
  
• Jiminy Peak - 3 laps of a 30k circuit with a hill, 17th, 14 riders were away.
  
• Hollenbeck Spring Classic - 80K hilly road race, 19th, small field
  
• Lake Sunapee Road Race - Two 37K laps around the lake, classic race, 4th in a strong field of NE masters.
  
• Rye By The Sea Duathlon - 5k/27k/5k - 13th overall, good ride on the bike. 1:26:50
  

One of these days I might get around to compiling a list of last year's competitions. I had a few runs, some road races, and a bunch of 'cross races in there. You can always keep tabs on the majority of the USCF stuff by checking up on me here.

So what is up for the rest of the year? Right now it looks like the NY State TT on June 17. We don't have a 40K TT in New England this year, but the New York race looks like a good course. I am probably going to ride this Cannibal (no aero equipment) because the next day we are going to the Hoosatonic Road Race in CT. There just won't be room for an extra bike on this road trip. Last year I rode Colebrook as a cannibal and it was a dissappointing 1:02:38 on the tough Colebrook course. This year I will once again hope to go under the hour.

After Hoosatonic I have nothing planned until the Workingman's Stage Race. I am going to skip Fitchburg. They don't have a 45+ category, and the logistics of racing there (time off, etc) make it too tough, so I will be supporting KL that weekend. After WMSR, Owasco is a possibility, then Monson, and then my favorite race, Bow. Toward the end of August I will do the Mt A TT, as there is a team competition this year, so this will put added pressure on my mates. I'm still not so sure about doing the Green Mountain Stage race again, but if I can get the time off, I think that I probably will. Then we'll end the road season with Haverhill (another BOB race, and Ge-W, we'd better see you there), and the Bob Beal Master's stage race omnium. 'Cross? Maybe. Probably be a fair-weather 'crosser, racing Pittsfield, Canton, Gloucester and Farmington, but then going into hybernation when the weather turns foul.

That wraps it up kids. Sorry that there is nothing entertaining or insightful today. Still gloomy out there, so I guess it is time to pull on the Hurricanes and see if I can run an hour on the local hills without falling onto the roadside in the fetal position. Thanks for reading!