2 left. That is it. During a cyclo-cross race, see the 2 brings some definite relief to this racer. (Not as much as seeing the 1 and hearing the bell though…) When I see the 2, I tell myself, “okay you can do it. keep digging. it is only 2 more laps.” Funny what seeing a number on a stick can do to a ‘cross racer’s brain. I can’t imagine racing for an hour and seeing 8 on the stick. Heck, for me seeing 5 sends a bit of panic through my body. 5? Uh oh – find another gear, this is a fast one, head down and pedal.

As it applies today, 2 to go means only one thing: 2 more races and my 2009 – 2010 cyclo-cross season is over. Kind of sad to see the season ending but on the other hand, it has been a long one. One thing is definite, this has been my most successful ‘cross season ever. I’m riding and racing better than I ever have. My confidence is on the rise. I’ve made some good strides with my technical skills. I’ve started to honestly assess and appreciate where I am as a racer and what I need to do to move forward. I had some really great rides in North America and some amazing rides here in Europe.

Yes, there have been some tough races. But there have been many more highs than lows. And it only make sense that I’ll have had some rough experiences, the majority of my season has been spent in Europe racing World Cup races and with the top women cyclo-cross racers. But this has also made this the best season ever – each and every race I know that I’m up against the best. It is not often that an athlete can measure herself against the best in the sport each time she lines up. For this I am very fortunate.

I sit here today in Belgium. I’d much rather be in Roubaix, France. This is the one disappointment that I had to miss the Roubaix World Cup. Well, it will be there next year. Good news is that my thumb seems to be healing quite well. The range of motion is coming back so this is encouraging. Still a bit swollen and the thumb joint is looking a bit ugly but this will come with time.

Had a fantastic ride today. Okay, not sure if you count an hour of tempo intervals as fantastic but… What made it so great was that I rode outside. I wore shorts and leg warmers! Yep shorts and leg warmers on Jan. 17! Pretty smooth. So great to be outside. The paths were a bit gritty due to the heavy rains but I didn’t get rained on. Pretty much all of the snow is gone now. Extra bonus is that the awesome little country roads are clear of snow and ice. So my favorite riding routes are back. To add some extra spice and kick to my work-out, I wore my new racing kit. My Team Canada kit. I couldn’t not do it. It felt so cool to be out riding with the words Team Canada on my back. The sharp kit turned a few heads as well. Can’t wait to put on that skinsuit on Jan. 31. What a feeling.

Looking ahead to another solid week of training. I have the Hoogerheide World Cup on Sunday and then the World Championships the following Sunday. This might sound lame, but just writing about the World Champs brings tears to my eyes. I just find it so overwhelming that I achieved this goal and that I get to race in the top race that our sport has. So amazing. I feel so lucky to be doing this. And you can be sure this won’t be my last World Championships. I’m pretty confident I’ve got a couple more in my legs.

What a season this has been. Many many thanks to my sponsors – without whom this would not have been possible. Deep heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Marc for all the sacrifices he has made so that I can do this. Thanks so much to you for hopping on for this journey – your comments, emails, messages, smiles, and cheers do so much for me. On Jan. 31, we’ll all be toeing the line for one last time this season. I have a feeling it is going to be a good one. See you out there.

So nice to get outside today. It wasn’t the warmest day of the week but it wasn’t the coldest either. So it was all good. On order today was a recovery ride. 90 minutes of nice light pedaling. Perfect for a Friday. Loaded up the iPod with some of my favorite podcasts and hit the open road.

Unfortunately most of the small country roads are still snowy and slick so I had to stick to the busier roads. No problems though – the bicycle paths are all clear of snow. I had a super smooth ride. Did get lost for a bit and ended up in Eindhout (with only 30 minutes of planned riding left)… I made it home almost an hour later. Perfect – I got in two hours of recovery instead!

Felt so nice to be outside breathing the fresh air and checking out the sights. Didn’t see anything too crazy today. The usual mix of classic Belgian brick houses with the odd uber modern house thrown in. Did see a house with siding on it… Forgot how ugly siding really is.

Hit up the bike store in Geel today with Erik (the latest Canadian to arrive on the scene). I picked up and thought about buying a lot of stuff. But I put it all back. Did buy Marc some new cycling socks – two pairs of winter socks for 9 euros (can’t go wrong)!

Been having a pretty chilled out evening. Smooth decaf-cappuccino brewed up in the silver bullet and some milk made bubbly with my handy dandy milk foamer. Now it is time to relax for a bit. Have the latest issue of Rouleur magazine (thanks to Erik) to read and some chai tea to drink. Early trainer ride tomorrow morning and then in the car to go to Marc’s race. I’d rather be going to Roubaix but such is life. Really looking forward to racing next weekend! (My thumb is slowly getting better. The swelling is going down but the flexibility and rang of motion is not improving. It was okay on the bike today – except when I hit the odd bump. But I know it will be fine come Tabor.)

Happy weekend. Make sure you get up and do something fun. Remember your New Year Resolutions? Well, time to tick an item or two off the list this weekend.

Sorry if you missed me yesterday. It was one of those crazy days. Race day. Unfortunately not for me… But it was race day for Marc. So on the road at 6 a.m., many hours of driving later and we arrived at the race site with a mere 40 minutes to spare! Marc had a good race in the very cold conditions (finished 11th). Nice lunch and cappuccino in the cafe and then back in the car for the drive home. Made it – tired and a bit weary.

But not rest for the wicked! Nope – trainer time for me. Sigh. I’m not a “late trainer” – I prefer to ride first thing in the morning. But such is life. Luckily it was a good hard ride, so the time passed relatively quickly. Season 1 of the Wire helps a lot as well. On deck yesterday – micro-burst intervals. Love this work-out. So hard. But it feels so good.

A solid chilled out evening. We’ve got a new house guest here so we took him on a bit of a tour looking for some food. Unfortunately our favorite little cafe was closed. Back to the house to eat leftovers. Then I sacked out. Pretty exciting life…

Today was another couple of hours on the trainer… I really wanted to ride outside but I have to err on the side of caution (so everyone says…). This time it was a long endurance ride with a chunk of tempo at the end. I’ve now watched the entire first season of the Wire. Excellent program. Now I need season two…

What else is up? Well, I talk a lot about my physical training, my attention to nutrition, stretching (yoga), resting, etc. But I never really talk about the mental training. Perfectly good reason for this – until now I really haven’t done any “real” mental training. I’ve dabbled here and there. I’ve tried to do the imagery and positive self-talk, but I really haven’t given it the attention it deserves. Well, I started working with a mental training consultant. I’ve only had one session so far (have another one tonight), but so far so good. It helps to talk with someone who I don’t have a “connection” with – I can be totally honest about what is and isn’t going on in my brain. I feel like I should have been doing this kind of work weeks/months ago. But as the saying goes, “better late than never”. I’m not expecting miracles from this, just like everything else some slow and steady progress.

Looking forward to riding outside tomorrow. Yes, I’ll be careful. Nothing crazy off-road riding. Just need to get out and get some fresh air. Keep pedaling and remember rubber side down.

So my thumb. What a hassle. Just got back from the doctor. It is badly sprained. Luckily it is not broken. But I’m not racing tomorrow or this weekend. This is a bummer.

I really was looking forward to racing in Surhuisterveen. Cool downtown course. And just simply fun to race in a mid-week race. Besides, I love to race – so why miss the chance. Also a drag about Roubaix. I was looking forward to racing in all the World Cups this season and of course to racing in Roubaix. I guess I’ll have to wait until next year.

Basically, I need to give my thumb some time to heal. The risk of crashing and doing further damage that would put at risk my ability to race in Tabor, are much too high. So we take the safe and smart road. This is definitely not the most fun road. But in the long run, the correct decision.

My mood? Well, it is what it is. Disappointed I can’t race. But I can train. And my thumb is not severely injured. So no need to be down in the dumps. Just a little bump in the road. I’ve been through worse, so this is nothing. Looking forward to getting in some good hard trainer work-outs and cheering Marc on tomorrow. Yep, we’re leaving at the crack of dawn on Wednesday so that Marc can race in Surhuisterveen.

So, with this, I’m going to sign off. I’ve got some organizing to do for our little road trip. Have a good one.

I’ve just encountered my first bump in the road. Quite literally it was a bump on the trail covered in snow… Now I’ve got myself a sprained thumb. Sigh. It is swollen. It is sore. But it is not the end of the world. I’ve had this injury before. Yep, it hurts. It is a pain and a hassle. Don’t realize how valuable your thumb is until you don’t have it. But I’m icing it, I’ve got it wrapped, I’m keeping it elevated. And it will be just fine. I don’t pedal with my thumb, so it is not a big deal. As I always say, “it could be worse”.

This all happened yesterday when I was out training in the woods. I had a fantastic ride. In fact, it was because I was having so much fun and riding rather smoothly, that this happened. Ironic. Normally when I veer off the race line, I panic a bit, slam on the brakes and do crazy stuff. Not yesterday… I veered of the race line, but because I was focused on pedaling and looking ahead, I was okay with it. But I neglected to see the two tree stumps buried in the snow. I hit the first one bang on and my right hand slipped and I slammed my thumb against my hood, bending it way past its’ comfort point. I then proceeded to hit the next stump. Through all this, I continued to pedal, got back on the race line and stayed upright! Yes, I’m surprised as well. There was no time for panic or breaking. I think if either of those had happened, I would be worse off. As it stands all I have is a sore thumb. No biggie.

But in light of this, I did take today off. Decided even riding on the trainer would be too much. Today has been about rest, ice, elevation, and patience. I got a handy thumb support strap thing from the Aldi (thanks to Tim for the tip) and I bought some athletic tape and tonight we are going to tape it up. I’ll be fine and ready for Wednesday.

Too bad about not riding today as it has been a beautiful day. Above zero. Blue sky. Perfect day for some riding in the woods. But I’ll have to wait until Thursday or Friday to hit up Averbode again.

I have started reading David Byrne’s book Bicycle Diaries. What a fascinating look at life – pedaling through major cities by bike. Byrne makes me want to buy a folding bike and pedal my way through the world. Hmm, maybe this will be next on my list. Perfect thing to do when for my 45th year… (This by the way is still a long way off!) I also started reading another book: Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I’m only in the introduction but the basic idea is how to truly find happiness in life. Anyway, a couple of reads that might appeal to all you other bike fans out there.

We are off to Surhuisterveen tomorrow. Looking forward to the road trip and the night in the posh hotel. I’ll get to watch/pit for Marc and then I’ll race. This is a cool race because it is in the center of the town. Lots of people come out to watch and cheer on the riders. Fun way to spend a Wednesday!

Alright, I’m out. More Canadians arriving this week and next. Yep, it is getting close to that time. World Championship time! Cool.