enter the off season

So, here we are again.  Last year around this time I told myself that I was going to make MTB racing my main priority.  This was due to a number of reasons, primarily I have more fun riding MTB than road, and it is easier to drive 2+ hours for a 1.5 to 2 hour race vs. a 45 minute crit or cross race.  But the season was scrapped after the broken leg in February.
I did get into ok shape towards the beginning of fall but the left leg was still underpowered and my out of the saddle climbing was non existent.  I just couldn't power over climbs and would usually have to stay seated and spin it out.  I did turn in a respectable 2:36 at Chequamegon with 1 flat tire.  The whole season wasn't a loss, but enough of it anyways.

So as winter rolls into Wisconsin I've got some planning to do.  I'm going to try to do next summer what I wanted to do this past summer.  Get really fast on the MTB.  I'll still be racing as a cat 2.  I definitely haven't had any results that stand out in the xc races and I'm going to change that.  Ultimately I'll be racing mostly WORS races with the occasional endurance race thrown in for balance.  Crits and RR mixed in the early season for fitness.  The subaru cup will be the target for the summer.  It got moved to mid July instead of late June so that is good for people who live up north and don't begin racing until early/mid May.  In addition, going for the series in cat 2 is well within reach.  If I'm going to upgrade to 1 for 2013 it will hopefully be because they forced me to due to results from 2012.

I do have a surgery date set for March 2nd for the hardware in my left knee to be removed.  Luckily that is only a day surgery and limited activity for 7-10 days while the incision site heals.  So I will need to get in a good block of training the month prior to that so the down time will be my rest.
I got a membership at the YMCA and have been hitting that up trying to get the rest of my strength back  and working on the core.  Been going to a weekly core training class.  It's pretty much all females in there with a female instructor, but it kicks my ass.  It's amazing how untrained the rest of your body becomes when cycling is your main gig.  10 years ago I used to do this stuff in my sleep.  I'm faster on a bike now, but overall strength is in the pits.  They got some good spin bikes too, complete with power meters.  Instead of riding a trainer at home, the spin bike will be a lot nicer.  Cross country skiing will play a big role this winter as well.  It will be great cross training and great for base workouts.  I am signed up for the Birkie in late February so I've got some motivation to ski quite a bit this winter.