This is my first real season of road racing, and I constantly struggle with feeling like I should be doing ALL the races. This is compounded by some recent success I’ve had after getting a few wins. I feel like by not racing, I am wasting opportunities to potentially gain upgrade points (and bolster my road-results profile ). It also doesn’t help that I’m leaving for vacation on Sunday and feeling like I should get a race in on Saturday before I leave… For what it’s worth, I’ve entered about 15 races so far this year.
Ever since I shifted my mentality to CX I don’t feel too guilty about road races. But my prior guilt from not racing was mostly due to feeling like I was missing out on the “fun” others were having. I know if I miss a weekend of CX I’ll be having a major case of FOMO
Also, don’t register for concord, I’ll be there lol
15 races is a lot for a single season, let alone your first season. You shouldn’t feel guilty. Go on vacation, live life. There’s more to it than racing for fun. That’s all this is for 99% of us. (I’m doing 12 in my first season, enough for a Cat 4 upgrade, but won’t have points to upgrade again for awhile… NBD.)
It is much better to not race and wish you had than it is top keep racing and wish you hadn’t. The former will leave you feeling mentally fresh and eager to get after it in 2020. The latter will lead to burnout. 15 races is fine. If #16 on Saturday is close by, and you have all your vacation prep done, go ahead and do it to put a bow on your season, then don’t worry about it until SSB1 in the fall/winter. Racing is fun for sure, but always end your season wanting more.
Good point. I’m definitely not done yet for the season… but I think it’s more of a matter of feeling like I’m forcing myself to race and take advantage of my current fitness. Maybe I’ll just put one or two more on the calendar and then call it a year.
I definitely feel this way. I want to do ALL the races. With that said, family obligations (and minimal buy-in from the wife), and work, make it hard and you DO have to balance all that stuff.
you caught the itch, and that’s great! Race a ton, you’ll learn a lot, but only go if it sounds fun and works with life’s schedule. Some races you’ll want to do over and over and over again, others are one and done. But you’ll only know if you go.
). It also doesn’t help that I’m leaving for vacation on Sunday and feeling like I should get a race in on Saturday before I leave… For what it’s worth, I’ve entered about 15 races so far this year.