A day in Surhuisterveen, the Netherlands has sealed the deal. Yes, I miss racing. Yes, I’ll be racing here again next season.

As I stood in the pit and watched Marc plow by slogging through the mud, all I could think was “Wow – that looks so awesome. I wish I could do the race.” Then while watching the women’s race I was filled with even more feelings of envy and jealousy – I wanted to be out there running through heavy black mud and getting my skinsuit nicely muddy.

I realized how much I missed racing when I found myself standing out in the pouring rain wishing I could be racing instead of standing there on the sidelines cheering.

So, I would say the trip to Surhuisterveen was a good one. I got to watch Marc race. I got to cheer on my friends. I got to meet Reza (hi – Reza). I ran into my old friend Harrie. We had a pleasant afternoon in Arnhem. I realized that I’m not ready to stop racing. I will be racing in Surhuisterveen next year.

(On a side note – I rode my bike outside today! I did 45 minutes of easy spinning with Marc supervising my every move. So far so good – my back feels good. Crossing my fingers that my back still feels the same tomorrow.)