I would like to hear your thoughts on going semi pro this year. After a few races now, what have you noticed? Has it made you rethink training? Or is it what you expected? Has the pace/distance made you change fueling on the bike?
That's interesting.
Regarding training, in my case I didn't change much. I just ride more and harder, which seems to come naturally anyway. I do not follow any plan, I eat burgers and fries, drink beer (although less when season's on), take my multi-vitamin pill when I think about it and that's it.
I've only done one longer race this season (26 miles), only needed one gel and two bottles of Gatorade. I should have had more gel but I'm lazy. If anything I don't carry a camelback anymore. In short, for a 2+ hour race two gels should do it. It all comes from the training otherwise.
The pace is definitely faster; what still amazes me are the technical skills of seasoned pros. You don't see a top pro that doesn't leap over stuff. You actually learn to simply take the straightest line, even if that means going over something scary.
That to me never gets old, there's _always_ something to learn, some way to improve and eventually get more fun out of an otherwise incredibly painful activity.
I have to say my biggest problem is with gear. It's awful expensive and goes lightning fast...
Cheers,
Maurice