By AJ Jacobsen

So what does the off season look like for a road racing “enthusiast” who is determined to do a little better than they did the previous year? Follow along for a breakdown of what a typical winter/off-season day looks like for me.

Let me begin by pointing out that I work three (yes, three) jobs to help afford this sport and living in a rather, um, pricey area of the country. Needless to say, that means I seldom have a day “off” so my typical days are, well, typical, at least until the track and race season get started!

So here’s an “off-season” day for this gal:

4:45 a.m.: Alarm goes off. Make bed, put on gym clothes, grab water, head to gym

5:10-6:45 a.m.: Work out, I follow a plan I devise with a personal trainer who’s familiar with riding on the track and racing

7:00-7:50 a.m.: Make a breakfast protein shake, then clean up and get ready for work (shower, hair, makeup, dressed, out the door). Leave for work.

8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Work at my day/career job

5:15 p.m.: Cook a healthy dinner, then sit down to eat and relax for a few minutes, maybe watch an episode or two of a favorite show I’ve recorded

6:30 p.m.: Do some kind of motorcycle racing training or preparation. This may mean hand/eye/brain training, working on my bike, order parts, or any of the other myriad of things that have to get done over the winter.

7:30/8:00 p.m.: Head to bed, read a book for a bit, then go to sleep. Yes, I need my 8-9 hours a night to function, just how my body is wired!

Rinse and repeat!!

Weekends can tend to run a little differently, weather and time permitting I will usually try to sneak in a short street ride where I can go out and work on some of my riding skills in a slower environment. My street and race bikes are the same model, so that makes it a pretty useful training tool, as I can make those skills habit in a slower, more relaxed environment, allowing me to make better use of my track time once I’m back out there.

Often times a lunch or afternoon break at work is spent working on sponsorship or other “business hours” related racing tasks such as speaking with graphics designers or a dealer about a part.

While the winter routine can get a bit – well – routine, after the hectic summer, it’s nice to know that the next day is mostly going to be like the last one, there’s no worries about when you’re going to fit in grocery shopping, and sleep is predictable and regular.

This year in particular this is very important as it’s allowing me to make things like going to the gym and my “bedtime” to be “normal.” After the better part of a year not being able to workout, getting back into the routine was tough enough – trying to do with a schedule that was all over the place was nearly impossible. This time of year is giving me an opportunity to make it habit so it is easier to carry over into the coming spring/summer.

As you can see, winter is far from a time to just “sit back and relax.” I build in some “me” time, but most days  are still pretty booked and my mind is always buzzing! No such thing as “down time!”