Ah, it is tempo time. Tempo intervals. Can’t get enough of these. Challenging. Leg ache inducing. But not out-and-out sufferfests like threshold intervals.

I had a great training ride this morning. I think the intervals I did on Monday opened up my legs nicely and I really felt like I was flying. I was ontop of my gears and was having to hold back on the wattage. The two 10 minute intervals flew by. Even better when you’re not watching the clock.

Luckily I missed the nasty rain that hit Ottawa this afternoon. It was a tad cool, but I dressed for it with my warm gloves and hat.

Yep, a good day on the bike. I’m jetting off to yoga in a few minutes. Give the muscles and tendons a stretch and some soothing recovery with the heat. Great way to wind down for the night.

Sorry for the short post. Really nothing much new happening. Oh, well I did sign my contract today. So it is official, I start work on Monday. Wow – back in an office after two years. Plan is to commute by bike. One hour each way on the bus or one hour each way on the bike. Which would you choose? Granted, this commuting will add some wrinkles to my training. It will be interesting to see how my body reacts to the extra time on the saddle. Anyone out there who has tips on how to ensure quality training is still achieved while spending time on the bike commuting?

I’m tired. But a good tired. That kind of tired that comes from some solid work on the body. I slept in this morning and went to the gym a bit later than normal (8:45 instead of 6:45). As usual it was quiet. In fact there was only one other guy in the weights area. So nice, feels like my own personal gym.

Got in an excellent weight work-out. I have a two-day split program. Today was day 1. Day 1 features some killer leg work. I’m doing squats – but any old normal squats. Nope these are called one and one-quarter squats – squat down, come up part way, squat down, and then come up – this is one squat. Doesn’t sound like much but geez does it every fatigue the legs. I had a severe case of wobbly legs after the last set. This exercise is done in a pair with deadlifts. Not a friendly pair of exercises. What doesn’t kill me…

Anyway, a good time lifting heavy stuff. I was able to increase the weight in my upper body exercises and made it to the next level in one of my core exercises. I left the gym feeling fatigued but pumped with the strength and flexibility improvements I’ve made.

Quick refuel with chopped apple, ground flax seed and plain yogurt. Then I was out the door for fun times on the bike. Today was all about the sweet spot. Sweet spot intervals. I love these intervals. The killer component of these intervals are the seated hard accelerations that I have to do through-out the interval. Yikes, legs are screaming and then I have to accelerate and then continue with the rest of the interval.

Was a tad chilly during my ride. Somehow I managed to miss the sunshine. I’m not one to sit around and wait for the warmest part of the day. I find if I do this, I really end up wasting my day, waiting for the sun. I’ve got lots of warm Cyclery clothing so I’m good to go in any weather.

Check out this web site: Stevens/Cyclery team. This is a local Ottawa team with some pretty strong riders. Not to mention super friendly and supportive riders. The new kit looks pretty sharp – keep your eyes peeled for them this summer at the races. (I know I will be!)

In non-training/racing news… I’ve got a job! Yay! Start on Monday. Pretty happy about this. I’m super fortunate to find work in this tight market. Feeling pretty lucky I guess. It will be strange working in an office again, but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it. (I sure hope there are some office potlucks – I love potluck.)

Okay, I’m outta here. Have a good one. Remember it is early days in the season – don’t go crazy and rack up the big miles – your legs and brain won’t be too happy with you in June.

I’ve made a few changes to the site to update it for the road season. Nothing to groundbreaking or startling. Anyway, I did less than I had planned. Okay honestly, I didn’t really have a plan. Just let my fingers do the walking.

So, how has training been going? In a few words: very well. I only had to spend one month riding indoors so this was a true gift. Thanks to being in Belgium until early February combined with a bit of a training break. Funny thing is I’m super happy to be riding outside, but I’m not sick of the trainer. Lucky I guess.

I’ve been riding outside pretty much everyday now for a week. Admittedly there have been some damp days that have convinced me that the dry basement is the better choice. Got in some great riding this past weekend. Hooked up with some Ottawa fast guys for a ride to Merrickville. Perfect day for it on Saturday. We had great weather, just the right amount of wind, and most of all – a great riding group. I’m super lucky to be able to ride with these guys – I do my “token” pull at the front and then I get to hide and suck wheels. The extra bonus is the couple of pushes I got from a few of the guys when I was hurting. Learned something valuable during this ride – my bod is slow to metabolize sugar. I had a can of Coke and peanut butter square during the cafe stop – well the effects of this sugar dump didn’t kick in until nearly an hour later. Hmm, think I’ll have to pay better attention to my on-the-bike nutrition and do a better job of timing my food intake. Honestly when we started the return trip, I was really suffering for a bit there, and then the sugar hit me and I had a second wind. Funny how the body works.

Sunday I got in an excellent session at the gym – really starting to feel the effects of my lifting program. I know that realistically it takes a while to actually grow muscle mass but I am feeling stronger and I think my muscles are starting to get a lot firmer. Maybe it is all in my head – this is okay too. Chased the gym work-out with a tempo interval session on the trainer – 3 x 8 at tempo pace with 2 minutes recovery. I was impressed that my legs felt fresh and were ready for the stress. Wasn’t sure how they would feel from Saturday’s long (4 hour) ride and the gym session.

Had planned a 90 minute spin today but I’ve got some strange ache in my right shin. So I pulled the plug on the ride. Ice and a little ibuprofen are on order instead. Tonight I’m off to yoga for heat.

This week signals the start of an intensity period. Yay! Yes, I love intensity. I really enjoy pushing my body to see how far deep I can push it and how it will recover. Lots of different intervals on deck this week combined with some super nice long rides on the weekend.

Pretty happy to be riding my bike and able to get out and enjoy the spring air. My first race with be the Calabogie Classic on April 19. Nothing like the first race of the season.

Don’t forget to mark May 17 on your calendars. Dust off your time trial bike and get a team together. This is going to be one fun day of racing and enjoying our two-wheelers.

Now, turn off the computer. Go home early and get a ride in before it starts raining again!

As you may have noticed, there hasn’t been a lot of action on this site lately. Partly because there is not much happening in the land of cyclo-cross racing. And partly because I’m not sure what to do with this web site. I initially started this web site to have a cyclo-cross focused web site and as a way to promote the sponsors of Ottawa Cross. Well, cyclo-cross season is done for now. (We have to wait until September for some action.)

But, I still want to keep this site active over the summer. I have another blog where I post daily about pretty much everything. What to do with this web site? Any ideas? I think the first step is to do some behind-the-scenes work to update this for my road racing season. Then I suppose this site will naturally evolve into a road racing focused web site for the spring and summer. Guess this is the best route to take.

So, there will be some changes around here over the next little bit, and a change in focus. My hope is these changes will keep Ottawa Cross relevant for the non-cyclo-cross season. Okay, time to put my thinking cap on and figure out what I’m really going to do.

Sorry for the quiet this last little while. Until things are up and going here regularly again, come visit me at VictoriasIsland.

There is a hot new event on the racing schedule this season: The Ride with Rendall Crazy Train TTT.

Time trialists, don’t miss out on this event. An excellent early season opportunity to flash your time trial muscle and race against some of the best out there.

The whispers have already started about who is going to be on form and come out on top. So make sure you’re there on Sunday May 17 – all the cool kids will be out.