Ottawa Cross

I’m angry and I really don’t know what to do about it. Earlier this week we learned that Steven Cozza of Team NetApp was forced to end his cycling career. Steven Cozza has ulcerative colitis and has been trying to live the life of a professional athlete with this disease. From what I can understand from the article and his Tweets, Steven has been dealing with a rotten ulcerative colitis flare for a long time.

I feel for Steven. I’ve never met Steven but I can empathize and understand what he is going through. It is damn frustrating and very disheartening to read of someone who has to put their life on hold for this damn disease. I don’t know why but this news has hit me hard – I suppose it is because people like Steven who had “done it” and were “doing it” are a big example to me and remind me that even with a bad gut and angry colon – a full life can be enjoyed.

I really hope that Steven can get on top of his ulcerative colitis and get back to normal life. Sometimes life is so damn unfair. All the best Steven – I’m rooting for you and sending you some powerful healing thoughts.

I have a feeling this anger will be channeled into my pedals today. Too bad Steven can’t do the same.

This morning a very useful email arrived in my inbox from my coach – Steve Weller of Bell Lap Coaching. I thought I would share his email with you.

Spring riding and racing are right around the corner, and I’ve included some suggestions for proper preparation leading into those longer, warmer days we’ve all been waiting for.

1. Listen to your body: Sure, the spring races are coming up, but that’s no reason to dig yourself into a hole. Sudden increases in volume and intensity, or transitioning from a winter of XC skiing to more time on the bike, can put a big strain on your body and CNS. Pay attention to how you’re feeling on the bike, and how you’re recovering: remember that quality in your training is usually more important than quantity.

2. Review (or set) your goals: Bike racing, and cycling in general, can be an emotional sport. Make sure you’ve got clear goals outlined for the season, so you can check in periodically and objectively review how things are going. Make your goals detailed and specific to this season, and make sure you can measure your progress towards those goals. Make them challenging, but not unattainable. For example: In 2011, I want to compete in 10 races; climb Academy Hill in 14:30 or less by August; improve my confidence in sprints.

3. Make sure your bike and equipment is 100% ready to go: You might be a great home mechanic, but taking your bike to a professional mechanic before you start racing should be a priority. The guys and gals behind the counter at bike shops are trained to look over every detail of your bike, so you can head to the start line with 100% confidence in your machine. Have them check your frame, put on new cables and housing, chain, bar tape, and inspect and replace your tires, shoes, cleats, etc. And, while you’re at the shop….

4. Make sure you’re in an optimal position for this season: Bike fit is a dynamic thing, and changes from season to season. What you do, or don’t do, over the winter will impact your fit on the bike. Before you start racing and logging more hard miles, it’s advisable to see a qualified and experienced bike fit specialist to make sure you’re set up for success this season.

5. Think critically about how early season races fit into YOUR schedule: Just because you CAN start racing in March doesn’t mean you SHOULD. If you’re coming off of months of trainer time and XC ski season, it may be appropriate to hit the local group ride a few times before your jump right into racing.

6. Take a few test runs of any new equipment BEFORE racing: New gloves, wheels, shoes, tires: try them out before you’re in a situation where you’re depending on them.

7. Review your diet, on and off the bike: Winter can be a tough time for us bike racers on the diet front. Catching up with friends at the pub, holiday feasts, and even the shorter days all impact what, when, and how much we eat in the off-­‐season. But, with the time change right around the corner, and spring on the horizon, now’s a great time to revisit your diet. Try out any new energy foods / drink mixes before you start racing, and get creative in the kitchen at home. Sign up for a farm share,
and aim to eat 1 – 2 vegetables with every meal. Working those vegetables into every meal will help you eat well and get more creative in the kitchen.

8. Schedule in some family time: This could arguably be the first item on this list. The early season transition from weekends at home to race weekends can be tough on your family. Make sure to carve out some quality time to spend with those who support your bike racing habit throughout the year – remember that a weekend at home spent catching up on quality time with the family can go a long way!

9. Off-­‐the-­‐bike work: Don’t forget to keep up on your core work, stretching, and foam roller work. It’s amazing how many riders are willing to put in 10+ hours a week on the bike, but can’t be bothered to spend 15 minutes a few times a week on keeping their body in tune. If you can’t get to a Pilates or yoga class two or three times per week, the work you can do at home is nearly as good.

10. Train your weakness, race your strengths: Sure, it’s fun to smash your buddies in the town line sprints, or drop everyone on climbs. But, if you want to improve as a racer, you need to challenge yourself in training and not only do what comes naturally to you. Think about where you struggle in races, and try to replicate those situations in training. Have a hard time on steep climbs? Hit some repeats on a steep road at the end of your rides. Getting dropped in corners? Set up some cones in an empty parking lot, and work on increasing your cornering speed as you get more comfortable.

What about you – do you have some ideas or lessons learned that we can all benefit from as we look towards spring racing season?

I just read this fantastic blog post over at the Do Lectures and I really think it will resonate with you. It has with me.

Did you ever?

Look up to the mountain and think it was too steep to climb?

Did you ever wonder, even for the smallest second, if you had the talent to make it to the top?

Did you ever just watch a rival and think ‘I might as well as quit now.’

But you didn’t, did you?

You took the first step up that mountain.

You practiced. You practiced. You practiced.

You said nothing.

You just put one-foot in front of the other one.

And climbed.

Never looking up.

Never looking down.

And the journey wasn’t a quick one.

But overtime, people started to take notice of you.

Admiring the skill. The style. The simplicity.

But it wasn’t easy getting there, was it?

The sacrifices made along the way had a high price.

Then one day, out of the corner of your eye, you caught someone looking at you.

You knew that look. He was thinking ‘I might as well quit now’.

And you shot him a stern look straight back.

“Don’t you dare.”

Big thanks to David at the Do Lectures blog for this great post.

Oh boy oh boy – could spring be arriving early to us lucky folks in Ottawa? This past weekend we had some excellent weather and there were more than a few hardy cyclists out riding in the brilliant sunshine. I was still housebound with my recent cold – but the rest has paid off and the cold appears to be gone. Which means that I’m hoping this warm weather trend continues – I’ll be out there this weekend pedaling and moving rather than pedaling and not moving!

So this cold as I mentioned is basically gone. I rode for 45 easy minutes yesterday and 60 slightly less-easy minutes today – both times will no ill effects.

One interesting discovery thanks to this cold has been some inspiration found in an unlikely place. Inspiration all thanks to Halls. Yes, Halls – the cough drops… Marc picked up a bag of them for me and upon unwrapping my first berry-flavored Halls I discovered a wrapper with inspirational words on it. These inspirational words are bilingual and really are quite brilliant. Just the words one needs when forced down with a cold or sore throat. So all thanks to Halls, here is some late-February inspiration (maybe you can use these words today when you hop on the trainer or convince yourself to ride outside this weekend):

Go For It
Let’s Hear Your Battle Cry
Nothing You Can’t Handle
Don’t Try Harder. Do Harder!
Be Unstoppable
Get Through It
Don’t Give Up On You
Don’t Wait To Get Started

See – pretty darn inspirational and convincing! (Yes, I saved my Halls cough drop wrappers.. My mom is super talented creative embroiderer and she “makes” fabric out of wrappers. Yes you read that correctly. She collects wrappers from candies, bars, gum, etc and somehow converts them into fabric – I have a wallet made out of wrappers. So I thought she could use these wrappers with inspirational quotes to create some nifty fabric!)

Alright and for today – well our collective mission is to think spring and to think sun. If we all put our minds together we can make this happen and get out for a ride on Saturday and on Sunday.

Frankly, I’m frustrated. Really frustrated. I have another cold. Just as I was getting back into structured training and making some gains – I was hit by a cold. A cold that forced me to take six days off the bike. Fine a cold is a fact of life… I’ve been back training now for two weeks and guess what? I have another cold…

Grr. Very frustrating. This one is only in my head but I have that “hurts to swallow” feeling as well. Not impressed. I know it is only February but I want to ride and train. Kind of feels like two steps forward and three steps back.

Sorry for whining here…. Anyway, I’m taking a second day off the bike. Hoping that the rest will help and I can get back to riding on Saturday. Apart from being stuffed up, congested and coughing a bit I feel pretty good… I’ve been sucking on Zinc lozenges and taking the powerful oil of oregano (wow this stuff is potent and I think it does help).

Alright, so this is where I’m at. I have a cold. I’ll get over it. Okay whining is now over. Have a great Friday!

Over the last couple of days all I’ve been able to think about is racing my bike again. I’ve been thinking about the spring and summer races I’ll be doing. I’ve been thinking about what I’ll do in these races (yes, a bit crazy but I can’t help it!).

In short – I’m itching to race my bike again. When I’m riding my bike in the basement watching another episode of Damages (pretty good for the trainer..) and grunting through another set of intervals, I’m thinking about racing. I’m think of goals left unsettled, of new goals, and of simply getting out on the open road.

This is a good thing. I think I’ve finally reached a point where I’m back to full health – my nasty ulcerative colitis flare of 2010-2011 is well-behind me, my body has rebounded from the medication side effects, my back is fully healed from my 2011-2012 season-ending injury, my confidence is back, and I’m feeling good.

I finally feel like myself again. The self that really just wants to get out and have some fun on the bike. I have no outcome goals for the spring/summer racing. My goal for each and every race is to go as hard as I can – to push myself, to be engaged in the race, and see what I can do. I fully expect this approach to racing to end with some surprises – likely some blow-ups on the bike, some lucky moves that put me in a successful break, and others that simply show me what I still need to learn.

I don’t know how other cyclo-cross racers approach their spring/summer racing campaigns (so tell me!) – but this is what I aim to do. I’ll be building fitness and strength during this time so I’m excited to see what does happen.

Yes, I’m excited. I wish I could get out and race today! It is hard to believe that I’m turning 40 in a few months – I have a feeling this will be a good year.

(My good friend Nikoline Hansen emailed me this photo today – it was taken of us at the 2009 Treviso, Italy World Cup – this race seems like a lifetime ago. It was the start of a dream season. Nikoline and I met that day during the pre-ride and have been friends ever since. Amazing what the bike gives you.)

Today is a very good day! This morning I had an appointment with my sports medicine doctor and I received some excellent news about my fractured L3…

Well, it has healed – two weeks ahead of schedule. After some tests and movement analysis, my doctor has given me the all-clear. So this means I can get back to yoga and really go full-steam ahead with training for the upcoming spring and early summer racing season.

Even better news is that my bone density scan revealed very positive results regarding my bone strength. There was some concern that I might have osteoporosis – but the bone density scan has revealed that my bones are actually stronger than average.

All of this news gives much some extreme confidence in my body and overall health. There will be no lingering thoughts in my head when I start the cyclo-cross season in September that my back is not ready for the impacts of cyclo-cross racing.

A good day indeed! 2012 is looking better and better each week.

Like most Canadian cyclists, I am getting very well-acquainted with my trainer. I’m doing lots of pedaling in place and watching a lot of television programs and movies to help pass the time. No complaints here – I’m super happy to be back to regular training and most importantly to seeing my fitness come around.

It is amazing what a short break can do to your fitness! We’re still taking things fairly moderately this first month since I’m not 100% recovered from my back injury but I’m making steady progress every week. I had an encouraging appointment with my physiotherapist last week – she said that I am getting stronger and now I’m allowed to stretch. I have missed stretching so much – my hamstrings, calves and quads were starting to get super tight. So now I’m getting super friendly with my foam roller and doing some gentle yoga moves in my basement after each trainer ride.

Really other than this, there isn’t too much to tell you about. I am not going to spend any time commenting on the recent “big news” in the cycling world. What is there to say?

I’m simply looking forward to getting my bike out on the open road again! It is tempting to plan a spring training camp somewhere but I have to remember that my focus is cyclo-cross and I don’t need to go away in the spring to prep for a race season that starts in September. I have taken a good long look at the 2012-2013 cyclo-cross calendar and I’m super excited about the upcoming season.

I’m very happy to be racing in Plzen and Tabor again to kick off my European season. There is also a World Cup in Rome so this will be a new course for me. The North American schedule is chock full of races so it is going to be a busy month and a bit before I take off for Europe.

But for shorter term goals, I’m looking forward to the spring and early summer racing season. I’ll be out at likely all of the local and area racing events. Back out at the Tuesday night crits as well. And something new for this year, I’m going to be helping out with the OBC program set up for younger kids – I think this will be a great experience – I’m sure I’ll learn a thing or two from these young kids as well (hint – I need to learn how to hop a curb!).

If you’re in Ottawa and are looking for something to do on Friday night – how about coming out to Empower Me yoga studio for a free yoga class? This class is sponsored by Lolë and is a great way for you to kick off the weekend. I’ll be there so let me know if you’re coming out.

This video is super powerful. It is 16 minutes long. You have 16 minutes to listen to an athlete and person who is living to the max.

So what are you going to do now?

For cyclo-cross fans everywhere this was a huge weekend. It was the weekend of the World Cyclo-Cross Championships. It doesn’t get any bigger or better than this for our sport – this is our Olympics. The best from each country line-up and lay it all out there in one race.

For some the goal is to get to the line and have the opportunity to represent their country. For others the goal is have a top-20, top-10 or top-3 result. For others the goal is to win. Regardless of the goal and the actuality of this goal – the process of setting this goal and going for it is huge.

The passion on display out there in the sand dune of Koksijde, Belgium these past two days has been remarkable. At times, I felt myself tearing up when I watched the delighted winners cross the line. The punching of the air, the pointing to the sky, the chest slapping, the face grabbing, the ear-to-ear smiles – beyond words really – just pure emotion. Perhaps even better was seeing the elation of young Wout van Aert when he crossed the line taking second in the junior men’s race. I met Wout last season – a very pleasant young guy – it was awesome to see him having such a fantastic race and seeing his joy with his accomplishment. In the women’s race – well Sanne Cant was as equally ecstatic with her third place podium finish.

The fans were incredible. It must have been amazing to race in front of 61,000 people. Really, I can’t even fathom how large and loud this crowd must have been. Definitely a top life experience to get to race your bike in front of such a crowd.

To my friends who raced today – congratulations. I’m proud of you. Regardless of your result, be proud of yourself. You just raced in the World Cyclo-Cross Championships and no one can ever take that away from you. To be honest, I’m jealous. I’ve had this same chance but once in my racing career and it is still my top racing experience. There is nothing quite like wearing your nation’s colours and racing in the biggest race on the calendar. Savour today and remember these emotions. Don’t shoulda coulda woulda – you did it. One race doesn’t define you but it sure can motivate you and encourage others to set some big goals and get busy achieving them.

Counting the days to the first race of the 2012-2013 season and happily planning a very long stay in Europe for 2012-2013. A big thanks to the fast women who raced today and reminded me that there are no limits – only possibilities.