let the games begin

lotoja is a road cycling race held annually on the first or second saturday in september. the race is believed to be one of the longest single-day road cycling race in north america, if not the world and is the longest one-day race sanctioned by the usa cycling or the united states cycling federation. lotoja starts in logan, ut and travels into southeastern idaho and finishes in teton village, wy. the current course covers 206 miles and includes three mountain passes. the total climbing during the race is nearly 10,000 feet with the race finishing about 1,800 feet higher than it began in logan.

this race is something i've heard about since i was a kid. as i young lass, i thought it sounded like an insane thing to do. as i approached adolescence, i thought it sounded like a really cool thing to do, but never thought of myself as being an individual able to accomplish such a task. as i am approaching my 30th year of life on this earth i've decided to take the plunge and participate in this dauntingly exhilirating event. i have been mentally preparing myself for about 8 months now. last september i had an epiphany that the celebration of my 30th year needed to be a unique sort of revelry. i've been thinking about it ever since. i made it through the first step - the lottery registration. this was a feat in and of itself. now, on to the training. i've started long rides each saturday. i've also started interval training each week. i've tried to become more proficient in riding in pace lines with a group - a definite work in progress. starting to train again for something has been a welcome change. after last year's half ironman, i had a lapse of motivation to train for any type of endurance event. as most people with an addiction, i've relapsed, and i'm back on the training bandwagon. i'm trying to be a bit more realistic about this training. fitting it into the balance of the rest of my life is the task at hand. it's been a gratifying challenge. i've still got a few months to figure it out. we'll see how it pans out. at this point i'll just say, let the games begin...