New Year, New Season

So here we are. We made it. (This is the day we've been working towards not just for the past four years, but basically our whole lives...ok that part doesn't apply here but "So here we are. We made it" was verbatum from my high school Valediction). Speaking of such things it's hard to imagine high school graduation was 6 months ago now and soon it will be time for the class of '10. But none of this has anything to do with cycling!
2010! Some will say today marks the start of the new season but really it's an awkward in between time. Base training started some time ago now and depending on focus some are starting to do more intense efforts. Still racing doesn't start for another couple of weeks and no one's really going to be taking any race particularly seriously until early to mid-February. Personally I was lucky enough to have a lot of free time and great weather towards the end of my first semester at college which meant I could get in a lot of miles (maybe too many). Since the start of winter break I've been sick and had to take a few extra days off because of a neck injury from turning awkwardly while getting out of bed. Thankfully, the miles I put in early mean that I'm still in good shape for this time of year and can now start working a little harder, building up for my goal races later in the spring. In the past I've been preoccupied with piling on heavy training as early as possible which has led me to getting burnt out by mid-summer. Having learned from that, I have no problem taking it easy occassionally and enjoying time with my family before I have to go back to the uncomfortable life at school. I'll be racing even more frequently this year too which means I'll be able to race into form more than I have been able to in the past. Still I can't be overly relaxed. Pro 1/2 races are hard and if I want to be able to mix it up at the front in a month or two (or four) I have to train and make big improvements over where I was last year. Tour of the Gila is still my #1 target but racing the British U23 National Road Race Championships is seemingly more and more likely (in Britain the U23, Elite, and Pro Nationals are all one big race, which means lining up next to Cav, Wiggins, Millar, etc). Other goals include improving my time trialing now that I no longer have to use junior gears, getting my CAT 1 upgrade before my 19th birthday, and at some point (probably during the same trip as Brit nationals) race some races in Europe (probably Belgium).
That's it for now. One more week of training at home and then I'm off to San Diego for a final training camp with my teammates before the start of the season. For me that will most likely be at Tom's Farm TT in Corona, CA on the 17th (then CBR Crit in Dominguez Hills on the 24th, Poor College Kids RR and Mothballs Crit in Santa Barbara on the 30th and 31st).