2011... Same Thing Different Digits

I am starting to let some big gaps grow between posts... probably because not a lot is going on at the Jones Ranch.

Ian played a super game in a defeat at The Courts and our crew is gearing up for the second session (lasting into March). On the b-ball front Ian has expressed interest in playing basketball year round and while I don't mind it being his focus we feel he is too young to drop other sports unless he really doesn't want to play them. Such is the case for baseball where in he is a super good fielder and a decent batter, but at the last of the season he was hit by hard pitches several times and he is absolutely dead set on not playing (don't blame him as he got DRILLED!). He is going to play soccer (which is another sport he excelled) late spring until basketball starts in late summer.

We recently had Ian attend a 4th grade practice with the Program Select (basketball) in SGF and the coach wanted him to play for them starting right away, but since he was already committed to our Defenders we felt it was simply too much at age 9 (almost 10) to practice three nights a week and play one to two (let the kid be a kid is our policy). Deb and I figure next year we'll skip a Bolivar team and have him hook up with one of the competitive ones in Springfield as it will help develop his abilities. I goes without saying E-ball was disappointed not playing with Program Select now, but he understands our position.

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New Year's eve was spent with good friends at the Evans' casa where 7 Up 7 Down was the game of choice along with discussions of a long time dead person recently signing his autobiography at a local auto dealer (funny only if you were there).

Back up and going on the bike(s) and speaking of such I recently bought a Trek (Gary Fisher) 29er Rig from the good folks at A&B Cycles in SPR. The reason I went the Rig route mainly focused on the fact it's a single speed that easily can run geared (cable stops already mounted). Spring mtb riding/racing around here is nasty mud and I got tired of breaking stuff so for the crap events I'll go SS and for dry I'll go 1 x 9. While I have yet hit the trails on the new steed I have played around at the city park on the single track and it took a little getting used to as I kept 'fingering' out for a shift. The fit is so much better than the small Trek I've been using and the 29'er wheels roll over stuff much smoother - I'm a fan.

So back to riding; the temps have been all over the place the last week with Friday being 60* and then Saturday and Sunday in the 20's. I rode each of these with the weekend cruises on the SS out on the Frisco. Yesterday I got our for a couple hours on the road and it was in the 40's. My plan for January is to ride consistent three days during the week for 1 to 1 1/2 hrs each and then try to get a 3hr road and a 2hr mtb (usually Sac, but also Honey Run) on the weekends. In February I'll start to ride with a bit of purpose, but not too serious until then.

My focus for 2011 is pretty much like the last two years (except no broken arms this year) with mtb racing from March to May, move to crit racing until August, then stop playing and focus on the real stuff - 'cross. I think I will try to knock out more mtb races than in the past. It's been years since I road raced (I don't consider crits road racing) and I don't plan to do any this year as it's working good for home-life to focus on events 1 1/2hrs or less. This means my 'long rides' are three hours and the rest is trying to develop strength and speed for 1hr efforts.

I am back to solid strength training with all of my upper stuff done at the house; high reps of push ups, dips, and chins (pull ups) three times a week do the trick for me without adding un-needed bulk. This year I added some plyometric movements after gym sessions for my lower and this is done twice a week. Core work is daily.

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On the home front both the boys knocked out another semester of straight A's at school and hope for continue it this semester. Jake's anatomy class is cutting up cats and I don't think we've ever seen him so excited to get to school in the mornings. He said he'll start taking pics so I can post them here in the future (just a warning).

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Jake goes to a specialist next week to have his lungs checked out in detail to see if he will be able to run in the upcoming months (spring track). He will be devastated if this pleurisy hasn't cleared out by March.

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Deb is wonderful Deb as always (lucky for me). We have played a ton of Scrabble now that we have the Ipad and thus stayed up way tooo late way tooo many nights.