Today I woke up with a dull ache in my quads. That feeling that comes when you walk down the stairs, walk up the stairs, or just generally walk anywhere… Guess I pushed my legs a bit too much yesterday. This happened ever so innocently and it definitely wasn’t my intent to wake up with tender legs.

So today I’m resting. I’ve ridden five days in a row now so I guess it is time for a day off. I know five days in a row isn’t a big deal to most of you but I’m still in the recovery stage thanks to my low white blood cell count (thanks to Imuran). My coach has told me to take it easy with maximum 90 minute rides in the woods at an easy pace. I’ve been sticking to this plan fairly well…

Yesterday though I was feeling pretty good and eager to work on some more of the skills I practiced with Rene… so I road on over to an excellent sandy spot in the city and worked on my uphill dismounts in the sand. This meant I ran up a rather steep hill seven or eight times and I also practiced riding down this deep and soft sand hill for the equivalent number of times. Once this was done I road over to another spot and worked on attacking a steep incline and each time in a harder gear.

So, ya, I guess I pushed the envelope a bit. Add to this some bicycle commuting around my suburb and some extra walking last night. All this adds up to some sore legs. And admittedly, a tired body. So today I rest. I’m drinking extra liquids and being careful to stay out of the crazy heat we have here in Ottawa.

It is hard to not be riding on such a beautiful day, but there will be more days like this. Tomorrow I’ll get back out in the woods and take things a bit easier. No sand riding or uphill sprints – instead I’ll work on corner speed, descending with confidence and some barrier technique.

Last night I attended a talk by Brendan Brazier of the Thrive Diet. I’ve been interested in veganism for some time now – purely for the impact it could have on my performance and in dealing with my ulcerative colitis. Well, last night I decided it is time to make the transition and see how I feel on a vegan diet. My original plan was to start on Monday (as I wrote about on Facebook and Twitter) but now after talking to Marc about it, it makes more sense to wait until I know that my white blood cell count has normalized or at least stabilized. So instead of going completely vegan next week I’ll focus on more vegan meals/days with some days that still involve eating meat, fish and eggs. I’d be curious to hear from any of you about your diet and how you find it impacts your training, racing, recovery and overall health.