Wow, I really had no idea how much I missed (craved?) structured and challenging training. Last week was a blur of charging my Garmin 500, testing out my wireless Powertap and lots of fast and hard pedaling. By Wednesday of last week, I’d put the pesky sore throat and gout behind me and I was ready to get to the training that my new coach (Tucker Olander) of FasCat Coaching had mapped out for me.

The training started gently with some spin-ups to get my legs used to moving again and then things got a bit hairy… Thursday was a teaser with an hour long steady ride and then Friday things got a big ugly. I soon remembered the thrill of all-out one minute intervals – there was a lot of panting, blurry numbers, and a few shouts of “good grief”. After this early morning ride, I think my first words to Marc were “I died a bit this morning”. I managed to ride this high of exertion and satisfaction of a good work-out done all day – guess its true about those endorphins. On paper Saturday didn’t look too menacing – well I’ve been wrong before and I was wrong again. Sweet spot – not so sweet – especially when repeated a few times. Again though, I felt darn good and satisfied after doing this work-out. Sunday I got outside for a long time – three hours on the skate skis. I put this ski session in the “epic” slot – never before have I skied for that long or far alone and never have I set out at 6:30 a.m.  – the Gatineau Park was eerily quiet at that time. I didn’t see a soul until around 7:45 – I did see some rather large paw prints though..

It has been so very long since I’ve really trained – almost a year. So to get through these first work-outs is a big deal for me. These first few days of training have reminded me of how much I love to ride and race. I’ve rediscovered that part of my soul that pushes me to be see what I can do. I forgot how “hard” hard really is. Boy oh boy did I ever miss that feeling.

Today my training calendar reads “Completely Off”. I’ll take it. Because the fun starts all over again tomorrow. And for this I’m happy and thankful. While some of the work-outs may cause me to get a bit nervous and feel intimidated, I flashback to last April when I got sick again – when by July it was all I could do to cycle 22 km to work and then take a drive home with Marc at the end of the day – when in August I was trapped in a hospital staring out at the blue sky – when in September I raced in a local cyclo-cross race and reignited that feeling of excitement and competitiveness. So I’ll take the burning lungs, the aching legs, the early bedtimes, the once-a-week chocolate fix, the routines of training and recovery – so much better than the alternative.

I’ll leave you with this song by The Script called Hall of Fame – my new theme song for the 2013-2014 season.

I’m super stoked right now… I’m back to serious training again. I couldn’t be happier. In fact I’m downright excited and in case you missed it – stoked.

It has been a rough three years with ulcerative colitis flares and the vertebrae fracture – but these are all behind me and I’m ready to get back to some serious training and fun cyclo-cross racing. If I’ve learned anything over the past three years it is how much I love riding and racing my bike. I did think that I was done with serious racing but it was racing in the Eastern Ontario Cyclo-Cross Series this past year that highlighted how much I love competing and racing.

To get to the fitness and strength levels I need to race my cyclo-cross bike competitively I need help, guidance, coaching and expertise from people who pedal the talk. This is why I’m super excited to tell you that I’m now being coached by FasCat Coaching. I’m happy to be working with one of their new coaches (Tucker Olander) and all the conversations I’ve had with Tucker and FasCat Coaching founder and head coach Frank Overton have been outstanding. (This might sound like over-the-top gushing but I am really impressed.)

We’re getting started right away with my work-outs starting on Wednesday. So the off-season is officially over. I’m actually quite relieved to have structure back to my bike, running and skiing time. As you likely know I’ve been riding, skiing and running quite a bit – but I haven’t been doing so with focus or a plan. I need and crave this structure and focus.

I’ve got some good goals for the upcoming cyclo-cross season. Some big goals, some intermediary goals and some smaller goals. All goals that will have me on my bike riding, out on the trails running, riding my new 29er and generally just having fun.

One thing that really stuck with me from my conversation with Tucker on Friday was this: “Your goals are my goals”.

Can’t ask for much more.

Oh, and Tucker did say one more thing: “Your hard days will be really hard days”… this makes me a bit nervous but also extremely excited.

The title basically sums up the tail-end of this week…

Gout – the word doesn’t roll of the tongue very nicely and let me tell you – it is highly unpleasant. Downright painful would be the words for it. So painful I felt nauseous. Gout is essentially a build up of uric acid in the body which then turns to crystals in your joints (often the big toe). On Tuesday evening after a night that included a great run and some snow shovelling – I felt great and then around 9:00 my toe was very sore. Strange. (I chalked it up to being 40.) After a night that involved very little sleep and a very painful Wednesday which caused me to skip snowshoe running, I went to the doctor on Thursday morning. Verdict – gout. Typically people who experience a gout “flare” are those who have very rich diets full of red meat, alcohol and fatty foods – I don’t eat any of this. Sigh. Well, it also turns out that if you’re deficient in Vitamin C and/or dairy – you can experience a gout flare. So now I’m pounding back the Vitamin C and I had my first taste of uber-delicious Greek yogurt in four years. I’m also on some medicine that is working its magic. I managed to cram my cranky toe into my cycling shoes for two rides but I’ve now decided to give the toe the space it is demanding…

Sore throat – woke up Friday morning with the “hurts to swallow” feeling. Bigger sigh. I’m now pounding oil of oregano, sucking on honey lozenges and drinking warm almond milk/water and honey. I’ve also been resting.

Seems like the combination of gout and a sore throat are what it takes to get me to sit still. I am disappointed though because I was looking forward to a weekend packed with the Mad Trapper snowshoe race and some long skate ski sessions. Oh well, better now than in March or April.

Marc is taking extreme pity on me and has been making trips to the pharmacy for over-priced oil of oregano and putting up with my whining. I think I’m doing a pretty good job of my own “man flu”.

Congrats to everyone who went out and ran around in the woods and snow this morning at the ARK. Looking forward to reading the race reports and seeing the photos. Fingers crossed I’ll be out on Wednesday night for some snowshoe running with the XCZone crew.

Even more importantly – an early and hearty congratulations to Derrick and Natasha – have a fantastic day on Sunday.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you know that I’m not so good at going slow. I need to cram my days full of activities, “to dos” and everything else in between. This gives me a feeling of accomplishment and I thrive on being organized and getting lots of stuff “done”.

Well you know what – I just can’t do this anymore. It took a couple weeks of this frenetic pace that included long days at the office, early morning work-outs, after work skis, errands, and house stuff for me to realize (and finally listen to Marc) that I’m not doing myself or anyone else any favours with this “do it all now” mindset.

Normally I have a power yoga class every Tuesday and Thursday morning. I really enjoy this class and it is nice to get in some yoga before starting the work day. I should be on my way to the class right now. But today I’m not going. I decided to have a leisurely morning – eat my breakfast at home, enjoy a cup of tea and just sit. This is super refreshing.

I realized this morning that I’ve been trying to do too much. I think this came from my attitude of wanting to get the most out of every day – something I wholeheartedly believe in. But as I’ve learned sometimes this means doing nothing – just relaxing, sitting, reading and appreciating being able to make such choices.

I had wanted to go skiing tonight after work but – I’m not going. Marc convinced me that this wasn’t smart – this was after listening to me be a grouch and complaining about I have so much to do. Yes, sometimes it is easy to lose sight of what it means to “get the most out of everyday” – if trying to cram in multiple sports, chores and other commitments makes me grumpy and not that great to be around then really what’s the point?

So today is “slow down Thursday”. A chance to appreciate and recognize that I’m lucky to be able to do so much – but that I don’t have to do it all today.

(I’m super lucky to have super patient Marc to set me straight and to show me when I’m being rather “crazy”.)

Don’t get the wrong idea here – I am most definitely not doing the Canadian Ski Marathon this weekend. No siree – this event is way too challenging for me.

In case you don’t know about the Canadian Ski Marathon, it includes:

• The CSM is a two-day, 160 kilometre ski event that is divided into 5 sections each day, with an average of 16 kms per section.
• There is a wide range of Canadian Ski Marathon categories – making this an event that skiers of all abilities and ages can participate in.
• The Coureur de Bois (and the Junior Coureur de Bois, who must be accompanied by an adult CdB) is the category for skiers who wish to attempt the full distance of 160 kms over the two days. There are three sub-categories: bronze, silver and gold. Participants must achieve the bronze before the silver, and the silver before the gold. The Gold Coureur de Bois is the ultimate performance challenge as it means skiing the full distance with a backpack weighing not less than 5 kilograms, containing all the necessities for an overnight camping adventure, including food, sleeping bag, clothing etc.

This annual skiing event is a big deal – and for good reason.

I’d like to wish the best of luck to the four teenagers I know who are doing the Canadian Ski Marathon this weekend. Huge shout out to Miles, Lois and Sabina who are doing the Gold Junior Courerur de Bois event. Another huge shout out to Gabe who is skiing five sections this weekend.

I know that each of you will do just great. Trust in your training and preparation. Enjoy the time outside on your skis. I’m super stoked for each of you. Looking forward to hearing all about the weekend.