Going Where the Drive Is

Just to wrap up 2025:  I didn't do the Festive500 this year. That kinda sucks. It's also ok. 

It sucks because I invested a lot of time and energy into getting ready.  However, as October became November became December, I noticed a few things:  

1. I wasn't where I wanted to be in capability. I truly wanted to tackle the miles at speed and not just a grind. That meant I needed to be able to hang with the 1.5 bot for several hours, and ideally the 1.8 bot. I'm not capable of either right now, and;
2. I'm once again fussing with my neck. Last year at the holidays I burst a disc at C6/C7.  It was awful. Throughout November and into December, I've been nursing it, unsure if the bike was part of the aggravation. 

In summary, per the last post, I set up a 12 week TrainerRoad plan to get me through the 3rd Zwift-brand frame and back onto the Tron before the F500.  I fell off that plan pretty quickly.  I enjoyed the additional sleep, had less brain fog, and was amazed at the additional time I had on weekends.

I started to stress about the Holiday period and how I'd tackle the F500.  I could grind it out, just to do it - but I've been there, done that in 2021.  It isn't the kind of ride I wanted.  Ultimately I waived off for some couch time and recovery from work/office life. (I intended to get outside and tend to the woods, or do some indoor chores, but really didn't do that either. Dammit, youtube!).  

However, I did play a lot of guitar, and have been having a blast on bass.

Once I waived off the F500, I felt immediate relief. I realized that I need to go where the drive is, and that drive wasn't for the bike. It was for guitar and other things. There's a fine line between self-accountability and self-abuse, and I was leaning towards the latter.

Happy New Year, I'll be back in the coming days with some thoughts for 2026.