Goals for 2009

Part of this year's birthday challenge is a series of 12 goals for the upcoming year. Some of these goals are very hard, while others should be easy if my training is going as planned. I'm going to make a few alterations in these as well. Essentially, everything is centered around an experimental training program I want to test. I'd like to try and train concurrently for high level (for me) riding, running, and climbing without having to dedicate all of my free time to it. This will mean a lot of overlapping training and should be interesting because the energy systems and body parts that need to be trained are different for each sport. I will, of course, sacrifice something off of the top level that I could achieve training for one sport. But I still think I can achieve a fairly high level of performance, and be close enough to my potential to race competitively.

A few of these goals are a priority. The top two are to qualify for Duathlon World Championships, which requires a top finish at one of a few qualifying races. The other is to free climb a grade V in a day. This is a build-up year for the following, when I'd like to have a go at climbing the Eiger and do a good world championship race.

Last weekend I was inspired by our trip to see Romney's sister in Vegas. Not by the town, which is horrible, but by the new guidebook to Red Rocks. It's the first book to cover many of the classic long canyon routes, which until now had been shrouded in mystery and lore. The author, Jerry Handren, did a great job of digging up old info and covering the history of the area. He, essentially, got climbers from different ethical camps to all chip in their route info and the result is a beautiful comprehensive guide that gives me something to do whenever I'm forced to pass through this veritable purgatory.

At the top of this list are two routes that go up the largest and most imposing walls in Red Rocks. The first is Brian McCray's Dogma, a grade VI 2,000' line up Mt Wilson. The second is the Rainbow Wall, which is being called by many people the best wall route in the world. My spring agenda is also going to include linking two grade IVs on Notch Peak in a day (the largest limestone wall in the US). It's an ambitious schedule. I'd better get training.