Let’s just say that it wasn’t the fall that I expected. After a slow start to the 2019 road season, by late summer I was finally starting to build a little bit of fitness. But then in August I started experiencing a slight nagging feeling in my left hip. A few weeks later I went to Nittany CX, and had a blast, but after that day of racing my hip pain just got worse and worse.

By the time October rolled around, my hip was basically done - technically it seemed to be a minor case of FAI - but it was enough to put me completely off the bike. I started PT/MT, put my bike on a wall, and barely rode other than my daily commute for the better part of two months. As a result my fitness, as represented by the blue line below went only one direction from October on (for those familiar with TrainingPeaks, the downward sloping blue line isn’t a good thing).

Thankfully, by the time December rolled around all of the PT and MT started to pay off and an MRI confirmed that I was back in the clear. Which meant I could get back on the bike, and start moving my fitness back in a positive direction from levels that I self-diagnosed as pathetic. Of course, I was also getting back on the bike in the midst of holiday festivities – with all of the excessive eating and cocktails to match. I mean, my work holiday party was an actual cocktail making class.

So by the time the new year rolled around, my fitness was moving in the right direction but my scale was still in a distinctly unhappy place. So I did what I usually do in situations like this: whine about it on TBD Slack and look to teammates for motivation. Lucia already sang the gospel with her Sober October experience a few months ago, and Cullen has been a longtime believer in kicking the year off with a Dry January, so before long we had a half dozen fellow TBDers signed up for a non-alcoholic start to 2020.

Admittedly, I have been cutting corners here and there – what can I say, winter in NYC is hard and my goal was never really to achieve a fully dry January. A slightly moist January is probably more accurate. But with encouragement from teammates, my alcohol consumption has been cut significantly as part of my mission to build back toward fitness. That build still has a long way to go, especially with the first race of the 2020 season looming just over the horizon, but progress is progress. I’m not sure I’ll hit my personal goals by February, so my semi-dry January may extend into at least another month, but hopefully the only path from here is up.

In case you’re toying with the idea of a dry month / quarter / year / life… those of us taking on dry (or slightly moist) January had a variety of approaches when it comes to substitute drinks. Athletic Brewing was definitely a favorite option, but others included:

• Fre Wine varietals

• Plain seltzer with lime and big ice cubes in a cocktail glass

• Kombucha

• Wolfer Estate Petite Rose

• Strong CO2 seltzer mixed with juice

• Ginger Beer (Reed’s is a go-to)

New to Athletic Brewing? take 25% off your first order

Throughout 2020, if you want to give our friends at Athletic Brewing Co a try, just use code “TBD25” at check-out on your first order for 25% off