TMWR... 1 Month to Go

4 Weeks To Go

The Trans Mni Sota Wheel Race starts in 1 month, on June 20th.  Six months ago I described myself as a "39 year old asthmatic dad, with a bum knee and numb hands and toes" and I'm stoked to say that while asthma is here to stay, the knee and numbness are no longer problems.  After this initial post the ultra-racing TMSWR community responded with amazing input and feedback.  Working with Chris Balser was absolutely amazing and completely changed how the Fargo and I work together.  A month out now seems like a good time to take stock.

During the last 6 months I've logged over 3,000 miles, which is far beyond any max I've ever pedaled by May 20th.  Yeah, most of these were logged on a trainer after kids were put to bed or before everyone woke for the day, but you get it in when you can as a dad and husband.  Thinking back on these endless hours of spinning to nowhere and watching more movies that I thought ever possible, I know I should have gotten more in.  There were those days and nights where the temptations of deep sleep or simply sitting and reading overpowered the will to train.  Strava is a bastard in what it remembers of your history.  There is no hiding from that damn red graph and it's massive dips.

Tomorrow I will ride to work/school with a loaded bike.  This is the last big push of multiple high mileage days.  My goal is 120 miles+ for each of 3 days.  From school I will ride a massive loop around the western Cities.  Saturday I will wake early and ride the finishing 40 miles of the TMSWR, continuing on to St. Croix Falls.  Then, join friends on the Mammoth Gravel Loop, rolling onwards and camping along the St. Croix 45 miles north.  Sunday, we will finish the loop with 60 miles mostly along the Gandy Dancer.  Then I will spin home. 

It is going to be hot this weekend.  I mean, hot for a Minnesotan... so like in the high 80s.  Which I guess is good, as heat is my biggest worry for the race.  I'm not confident in my ability to manage my body over multiple days in hot and humid weather.  This will hopefully help build that confidence.  Or... maybe destroy it.

Thinking forward to one month from now I find myself excited for odd things.  One; I'm ready to be done training.  I really, really want to sleep in!  And not always be thinking "how can I get more hours in?"  Two; I'm really excited to immerse in the simplicity of the race.  I think this originates in the simplicity of those hours of training on the bike and how absolutely glorious it was to let my mind wander to this and that but nothing else thanks to the physical limitations of that state.  The physical exhaustion was worth the mental recharge.

I wonder if it is escape that I'm looking for, but tackling a 1200 mile race seems like an odd way to escape.  No.  Rather, I think I'm excited to have time to process and work through this crazy, wild year of 2020.  Teaching.  Helping to raise two daughters.  Trying to convince my family we DON'T want a puppy (massive failure on that one).  Trying to connect with students in-person and/or through ridiculously ineffective Google Meets, and their constantly changing needs and quarantines and insane lives brought on by a society that expects them to "pull themselves up by their own bootstraps" yet seems insistent on stealing those very bootstraps.

Last night I met for 2 hours via Zoom with the 2021 MN Teacher of the Year Finalists and three past MN TOTY winners.  Because I'm one of those finalists.  A good friend provided me with the correct phrase to describe my state of mind throughout this gathering of amazing people: "imposter syndrome".  It was absolutely fascinating to just listen and try build a sense of who these phenomenal teachers are.  And it left me, along with thinking "what the heck am I doing here?!", contemplating so many things, so many potentials and questions.  

One of the past TOTY winners said to me, the one White male finalist... "Use that privilege!"  

She was right.  I let it soak into my head.  All last night and today ny mind has played with the words and the way it sounded.  It morphed it into a challenge.  Never before has it been so simple and clear.

I am looking forward to having the time to mentally work this.  As a teacher, this challenge is fundamental to my success in educating students.  It is fundamental to changing how education unfolds in our schools.  How do I rise to this moment and make the most of it?

As someone who will be lining up at the start of the TMSWR, the challenge is just as relevant.  I am (relatively) healthy, able bodied, financially stable, and supported by wonderful family and friends.  Racing in the TMSWR is what I am doing with the privilege of these fortunate circumstances.  Someday, I may not have them.  I look forward to rising to the challenge of the TMSWR and all the hidden obstacles that 1200 miles of Minnesota adventure can throw at us racers.  Ready or not, I'm going to make the most of it.

Cheers to 4 weeks left.