For me: I spent a lot on gear and spent a lot of time in the gym with eyes on 2018 Worlds. I tore my hamstring last summer pretty badly in the gym (literally and figuratively pushing too hard and ignoring the warning signs that I shouldn't do "just one more rep!"). It was really bad. I feared that I would require surgery.
Please note: The Bill Starr rehab protocol WORKS. I thought I would have a limp for months and even longer to get back to where I left off lifting. But, I was without a limp and walking up steps within a couple of weeks. I progressed linearly and blew past the weight that tore it. There was a HUGE mental block when I got to that number, though. It was real.
I hit PBs in the gym before and after the injury. All signs were pointing in the right direction. It's cool when the young bucks in the gym are talking about, "See! Das dat old man strength right there!" hahaha.
Power was there, even under the big gears. Torque was there. New bike fit was on point. I was much lower than before. Going from a 58cm TT to a 61cm worked wonders.
I had big plans for a very slow and easy build up through Nationals with eyes on Worlds. But between family and work, I just couldn't keep my nose to the grindstone.
I had one of the worst commutes in Atlanta. Spending 2-3 hours in the car every day just drained me. There were some days when it took 2.5 hours to get from my office to the house..driving a manual transmission. Atlanta has traffic ALL THE TIME. There are no short trips these days...ever. I would workout in the office gym until 7 or 7:30, and still have a 1.5 hr drive home. This drive used to be 30 minutes about 5-7 years ago.
I rode a lot and raced a bit early in the season. I gave big gears a real shot. Side note. I would warm up on like a 114". Just easy, methodical pedaling while traveling normal 20MPH warmup speeds. I treated my on-bike warmup like I would a gym warmup. Slow with load. This didn't seem to adversely affect my performance. My thinking was, since cadences are maxing out at 120-130, why bother with a 81" warmup gear and spinning into the 140s and 150s?
The racing scene is alive and thriving at DLV. But, the traffic is so bad that it's tough to get down there just to ride around for fun or just ring the bell.
I think I'm done racing. I'll stick to being a fan from a distance and see about updating my apps (that's another thing that I've been dragging my feet on.)