Something has happened to me that hasn’t happened before… I seem to have lost my motivation. I don’t know how this happened or how to get it back. I guess I need some goals. Something to aim for. So this is what I’ll work on this week.

I have lots of stuff I want to do:

• Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour
• Weekly Tuesday night trail runs with the XCZone gang
• A couple of long mountain bike enduro rides/races
• A road race or two
• Lots of long rides to Merrickville and other interesting little towns
• Spend lots of time on my new Opus Fhast 29er
• Race a solid cyclocross season – Eastern Ontario Series and some races New England
• Maybe the odd trail race

So yes, there is lots on that list. Some concrete and some not-so-concrete.

I guess I need to figure out how I’m going to do all this and to do it all well. I know I don’t want to suffer through two days of Rideau Lakes – so I need to get fit and strong for this. I know that two have fun running around in the Gatineau Park on Tuesday nights I need to do more running. I know that to endure four or six hour mountain bike rides/races I need to spend lots of time riding my 29er and honing my technical skills. I know that to race a solid cyclocross season I need to ride my ‘cross bike and work on the basic techniques and develop some sprinting/acceleration fitness.

All this means I need to get a training plan sorted. I know it is only mid-January but I don’t have a big base fitness cushion to rely on – last season was a bust thanks to that darn sickness. But this is behind me now and I’m ready to get back to where I was.

Hey – I think I just find my motivation again! Amazing what some thinking, planning and typing can do. Last season was a bummer but this season is going to be a good one. I’ll be out riding, running and smiling. Time to prove to myself that I’m a healthy person again – take that ulcerative colitis.