Category 4, homeownership

My upgrade came through so next Tuesday I'll be racing with the Cat 4s at Opus. I'm still amazed that this time last year I was getting dropped from Cat 5 races and ranting about racing with combined Cat 4/5 races which were even faster, causing me to get dropped even faster. What a difference a year can make, and it seems like I'm not even on the bike as much as I was last year! The difference seems to be what I do with my time on the bike. Climbing repeats, town sign sprints, tempo riding, early season long steady distance - all those training tips really seem to work! And it also seems to be true what people say about the physiological changes that take time: cardio system adaptations, capillary development and other wholesale changes to the body. People have noticed that I look different than last year, and I do feel different. My clothes don't fit the same anymore either, but I'm not unhealthily skinny like I was at one point in the past. Now it's time to start all over at the bottom of the Cat 4s and hope that by this time next year I'll place in a Cat 4 race or two.
In other news, after checking the bank account the reality of homeownership is hitting in the form of not having as much discretionary income as I used to have! No more buying carbon/titanium bits, time to cut back on the poofter mochas, more ramen and less wild salmon and top sirloin! On the other hand, at least the money will be going somewhere where it's working for me instead of the black hole otherwise known as "how did I spend $$ last week??" At least I don't have kids, other than some high-maintenance cats!