Was browsing my RSS feeds today and came across an interesting article on Sportsminded.

Sportsminded is currently running a series of articles on elite athletes and the methods they use to copy psychologically.

Here is the first article in the series: Elites Do You?

Currently the web site is on to the third article in the series. Anyway, some interesting reading. Food for the mind.

Have a good weekend!

Hmm, not sure what to write today. Perhaps I’ll just start typing and see what comes out. Lots of racing going on this weekend. Locally we have the Ride With Rendall Team Time Trial on Sunday. There is a stage race in St. Raymond, Quebec and one in Syracuse, NY. Seems like every bike racer in the city will be off racing somewhere this weekend. This is excellent. Lots of racing options for all types of bike racers.

This is the first time for the Ride With Rendall Team Time Trial. I think this is a pretty cool event. The team time trial is a very cool discipline. The precision, team work an effort required is most impressive. This local event gives bike racers a chance to try something different and really get a taste of team work. While I’m not racing in this event, I will be at the registration table. (My first time doing registration, so if I’m a bit slow – please be patient…) I’m looking forward to catching a part of this race and feeling the excitement from the racers. It is not often that I’m at a race and not racing.

Best of luck to the Ottawa racers who are racing down in Syracuse (Stevens Racing team) and in St. Raymond. We’ll all be cheering you on and look forward to reading your race reports.

So, no racing for me this weekend. But I will be out on my bike. Saturday is a busy day with a weight work-out chased by a solid tempo ride. These tempo rides are awesome. I get to go hard, but not so hard that I’m half-baked. Just hard enough to get the fitness benefit and the feeling of speed. Sunday I’m heading out for a long ride after my registration obligations are over. I’m hoping the rain holds off and I can get in a some days of dry riding. The extra bonus for this long weekend is that my dad is in town. So we’ll get some good downtime chilling out with him – might go check out the Tulip Festival or the Byward Market.

I am racing next weekend. There is a criterium in Montreal: Pere Sablon. Marc and I went to this crit last year. Good course with a challenging hill and pretty smooth corners. Perhaps one of the best things about this crit is the location – the race course basically goes around a park and the surrounding neighbourhood is very happening with lots of cafes and interesting shops.

Getting out on the trusty cyclo-cross bike next week. Yay! Totally looking forward to getting the bike out and taking it for a spin. No time like the present to get started on fine-tuning my technical skills. The trails at the Gatineau Park open this weekend so pretty soon you’ll be seeing me out there on my mountain bike and cyclo-cross bike working on my skills and having fun in the dirt. Definitely let me know if you want to hook up for a ride.

Okay, I suppose I should get back at it. I am back in the office now. No more working from home for me. Sigh. Lets just say some bean counters here got their knickers in a knot. Rules are rules. Whatever. Makes me wonder why I have a laptop and VPN token so I can work from home… Whatever. I’m making the best of the situation. I’ll repeat what I wrote on Victoria’s Island – I got handed lemons and now I’m making lemonade (and this lemonade is still pretty darn sweet).

Have a great weekend. Good luck if you’re racing. If you’re out on the roads this weekend, be careful as it is the long weekend and motorists can be a bit nutty sometimes. Hopefully you can get some downtime and chill out. (Maybe catch a bit of the Giro.)

Well, I’m in the second week of my new phase in life. Starting to get in the groove of it. I’ve got to say there is something to be said for getting a good night’s sleep and starting the day refreshed. Not to mention the fact that my teeth don’t hurt anymore…

So, what happens now? Well, I’m still working (except really for yesterday and today). Tomorrow I’ve got a meeting and then I’ll be able to start on a pretty interesting project (for a technical writer). This project will keep me busy for my four hours a day. I’ve got my work day set up for the hours of 10 – 2. Pretty perfect. This allows me to get a good sleep in the morning. Then get to the gym or yoga before starting work. Quitting time at 2 gives me plenty of time to get my ride in and then have time to just recover and be me. Massive bonus of this schedule is that I’m working from home!

Getting the cyclo-cross focused training puzzle pieces together as well. Took in the mountain bike for a tune-up. Picking up some clincher ‘cross tires so I can get my ‘cross bike ready to roll. I’ve got a technical cyclo-cross coach arranged as well (thank-you so much) so this will be excellent. I’ve learned from two seasons of racing in Europe that yes wattage is important but technical skills are still number one. My wattage numbers are steadily climbing and now I need to bring my technical skills up to the same level.

For me a lot of this has to do with overcoming fear. That’s right. Fear. It took me a long time to recognize this deep seated monkey on my back. I couldn’t figure out why I was quick to brake or ease up on my pedaling. After much trial and error and soul searching it came down to one thing fear. I think this fear is really tied to self-confidence. Lacking the self-confidence in my technical skills caused some fear in my racing brain. So now the job is to build up the technical skills, thereby boosting the self-confidence and hammering down the fear. Like I said, puzzle pieces.

Exciting times really. I’m stoked to get out on the ‘cross bike and push my limits. (Reminds me I need to check out the NCC web site to find out if the Gatineau Park trails are open to cyclists.)

The work in the gym is really starting to pay off. My legs, upper body and core are noticeably stronger. The tricky part is now figuring out how to best use this strength on the bike. I’ve realized that my upper body is really not doing much when I’m sprinting or climbing. I’ve tried to get the upper body and core engaged but just can’t put my finger on what I’m missing. More practice. More questions. More advice. It will come together.

I think the biggest challenge I’ll have this summer is patience. I want to do everything now. If it was up to me, I’d pack a gym work-out, a rode ride, a cyclo-cross ride and a yoga session all into one day! Yes, coach Steve has done an excellent job of getting me to slow down and take a breath. But you know that feeling when you want something so bad you just want to get there as fast as possible? That’s how I feel right now.

Yes, the emotion and passion is back. I’ve had a great couple weeks of training. I’m feeling more focused and invested in what I’m doing. So far I don’t feel any extra pressure on myself. After all, my only working part-time does affect not only myself but Marc as well. I have two jobs now. My goal is to do the best I can at both. At the end of the day, I’ll be able to rest my head well knowing that I’ve done all I could today to get to my goal.

For some extra inspiration, go read this interview with Svein Tuft. This guy is a role model for all cyclists out there.

Okay, time to get the bike out and get out for my ride. On deck today 2 hours endurance with some sprint work. Cool. Moving forward. Thanks for coming along for the ride. Oh, I believe the latest issue of Cyclocross Magazine is almost ready to hit the pavement. Make sure you pick up a copy.

I’ve simply just had a banner week of training. Feel like I’ve got my groove back. I’m smiling again. The pedals are ticking over really smoothly. The numbers are looking super good. Best of all, I feel like a bike racer again.

I had a great ride this evening – endurance ride with some sprint work. And everything just really came together. The bike seemed to just float beneath me. I felt really comfortable on the bike. It responded the way I wanted. My legs were pumping. My brain was where it needed to be (i.e. not thinking about the piles of laundry or the apple pie I’m baking tomorrow).

Nope the brain was right there. Focused and intent on the work-out. I feel well rested. So well rested that I forgot that I did a super work-out at the gym this morning. Amazing how much one can change in a week.

I am back to enjoying the bike. It is no longer a chore. It is my passion again. There is saying around writers “write what you know”. Well I’m doing what I know – and that is training and racing. I’m feel so uber-focused and positive right now. I’m back in that mindset of waking up and going to bed with positive thoughts in my brain.

I’ve got to say this is a pretty sweet place to be. Ray Zahab says in his Run the Sahara movie that it is “90% mental”. I’m starting to have an appreciation for what he means by this. Brain has to be on board and ready to roll – if not, it doesn’t matter how many watts you can pump out.

So all this to say – I’m feeling good. Looking forward to getting in some more excellent work-outs this weekend. Also getting in some family time on Saturday and then some smooth barbecue action here in Barrhaven with Fearless Leader and his better half. Yep it is going to be a good one. Nice sweet reward for a good week of training and a fresh new outlook on life.

I’m sitting here at 8:30 in the morning at home. Totally relaxed. Totally recharged. Just got back from a weight work-out from the gym. Maybe it is the endorphins. Maybe it is the feeling of breathing room. Whatever it is – I’ll take it.

Really this new feeling of lightness and freedom can be traced to one major change. I no longer work full-time. That’s right, I lasted four weeks at the new job. I still work there – but part-time. I really thought I could do it all. Hit the gym three times a week. Put in seven quality bike work-outs a week. Got to work for 7.5 hours. Commute for close to 90 minutes each day. Keep the house organized: cook good food, get decent amounts of sleep and time to recharge.

Nope. Can’t do it. I am not Wonder Woman. As much as I want to be. I’m not her. To be blunt: I cracked. I became a pretty rotten person to be around. So stressed that I barely cracked a smile. Everything literally became a chore – yes, including my cyclo-cross training.

Marc and I had a big talk on Friday night. Decisions were made. A few tears were shed (mine). And now I work part-time. Allowing me focus on my training for cyclo-cross. The extra bonus of this new work arrangement is that I’m working part-time from home. Yep – can’t get much better.

These past four weeks have really put things in perspective for me. I realized that I can’t be ready to compete with the elite of cyclo-cross when I’m spending the bulk of my day at a job. They’re out riding, resting, napping, getting a massage, etc. – and I’m sitting in a meeting… So now I’ve got the opportunity to really focus. To really commit myself to this goal of making the national team and racing at Tabor in 2010.

This is all thanks to Marc. He was the one who pointed out how rotten I’d become and how worried he was about me. His fear was that I would quit bike racing – all for a job… So now with Marc’s support I can really do what I need to do. I’m so very lucky.

Talked to coach Steve yesterday – he is stoked about this. We’ve already made changes to my training now that I have more time to ride my bike. Got some cyclo-cross specific coaching lined up. All the little pieces are coming together.

In February when I got home from Belgium, I put together a list of things I needed to improve for the upcoming ‘cross season. The list was a bit overwhelming. But now that I have the time and energy to fully devote to this, I’m slowly being able to make notes on how I’m actually going to get through the list. I really feel like things are coming together.

Definitely feeling an attitude of gratitude right now. So lucky to be able to truly focus on my bike. I’m so excited again to be a bike racer. I must admit I had lost some of the passion for the bike that I had this time last year. Amazing what stress can do to you….

Well, I’m off. Time to go to my yin yoga class. Get some deep stretching into my hips and back. Just what the body and brain needs. So looking forward to the upcoming cyclo-cross season.