Hard Times

This past weekend was the MWCCC regional championship at Lindenwood University in Missouri. It was a very long week that lead up to the weekend, and it really showed in the races.

The formula car unveiling is coming up this next Saturday (4-23) and preparing the car to unveil is a big project with almost all of the bodywork needing to be started last Monday. The process of making the bodywork is extensive and complicated; I will spare you with the details. It is a task that is known to take a month when done right, but seldom is. The past 3 years with the team have all been the same; bodywork is started last minute and is rushed to completion. I am proud to say that under my leadership we have had some Wisconsin Racing first. 210 was the first car ever to unveil with bodywork, and this year’s car could possibly be the first car to ever be unveiled with decals, even if they are not the actual decals.

So the week was really busy and I was able to get my workouts in, but felt tired and crappy all week. This showed during the collegiate regional race when I just didn’t have it. It was hard to tell if I was tired or if it was the fact it was my first A’s race. All I know is that it took all my mental fortitude to keep my head up. I have to say though; the support I get from the UW riders is insane. It’s honestly hard to feel crappy about a ride with all the support you get. After my amazing week winning all the B races, I thought the glory was over, but the cheering was just as loud without the winning. All be it without the congratulations on the win part.

But now onto something more important and less fun, my life. I have been thinking a lot about things and how I spend my time. My freshman year I spent all of my time in the shop doing formula. My sophomore year I did something similar with a little bit of riding in there. Now this year I’m finding that I am really burnt out. Adding Saris, Bike training to school and Formula that I was already doing, my schedule is packed. I get asked a lot how do you do it all. The answer is I don’t. I feel like I’m giving 10% to each thing when I need to give 100%. I need to do less, and do better quality work. I need to improve my grades, I need to be awake at work, I need to train better and get faster, and I need to be more complete on my design work for Formula. You can see that there just isn’t enough time.

So the big question is what do I drop and what do I give a back seat. I think it’s safe to say school needs to be first, for once in my life. Work is what pays the bills so that should be second. The good news is that all I need to do is be awake and on time, ie no homework. So that leaves bikes and Formula.

Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Formula is time consuming, hard, and when I give it 100% it hurts school and work. But on the same token it’s incredibly educational, I feel very accomplished when it’s done, and it’s something close to what I want to do when I graduate, except with bikes.

Cycling is always fun, good for my body, and I really enjoy the people and the atmosphere. But I feel like I’m wasting time when I race and train, because I have so much other work to be doing. It’s not really going to help me get a job; in fact it might be hurting that. Plus it’s expensive.

I guess the choice at this point is should I drop something completely, or just scale back both.  I guess this kinda sounds like a cry for help, but I just need more sleep and more sanity.

So as the semester wraps up I have a lot on my mind and a lot of work to be doing. It’s all coming to a head and something has to give, in fact it really already has because I’m miserable. I just need to hold on till the summer and figure things out then.