Training has started in earnest.  I’m at 7000 ft of altitude, training like all good cycling pros and trying to do what I can to not lose the fitness I gained last year (well, in my case, not so much fitness gained, but fitness lost in south Texas while drinking expensive wine and caviar– all indistinguishable from wine in a box and cheap tacos).

I hear other pros in northern latitudes are snow shoeing, so my off-season training partner and myself have taken to the trail to run up mountains in the snow.

The RV is conveniently parked at RA Racing Apparel headquarters in Santa Fe, and by the looks of it, it may never move from there (well, at least until spring).  My plan is to train in more temperate climates, but judging from the 12 inches of snow under the RV, we may never leave.

So… Velo and I went for a run today and…what the proverbial fuck…  My dog has been lying in a comfortable air conditioned apartment for the past 3 years, rarely getting off the bed (my bed), and never exercising for more than 3 minutes at a time while chasing what I can only describe as Texas rats (ugly, fat, and slow).  But apparently, a sedentary life is more conducive to athletic greatness than my periodic outings on the bike.

Velo ran circles around me, waited for me on every uphill, and when I thought he was actually getting tired, he was merely pausing to pee on the 500th tree today.  At various summits, I actually caught him looking back, with his mouth fully closed– not even tongue out to regulate heat.  Mind you, Velo is 56 in dog years, so the geriatric canine crowd is already passing me, and my season hasn’t even started.

It looks like dog food is doing more for hematocrit levels than veggies and beer.  I wonder if Alpo or Pedigree can also sponsor me.