Do you ever have a week of training that really just seems to good to be true? Well, I have. I just had a great week on the bike. I really feel like my form is coming around. My legs are back to turning the pedals at a nice smooth cadence. My power numbers are coming around. My ability to push my body further and harder is there. I think this past week was a true break-through week for me.

My body is giving me the signals that it is ready. Thanks to the keen work of my coach, we’ve got a great training plan set up that allows me to get in the intensity I need to rebuild my muscle mass and fitness as well as getting in the recovery I need. So, suffice it to say, I’m very happy with how things are going right now.

I’m in a very positive mental space when it comes to the upcoming cyclo-cross season. I know that getting through this hurdle of rebuilding my body, adjusting to training on my new medicine, and simply getting back to racing will serve me well in my upcoming race season. I suppose there really is a silver lining to everything. Sometimes it is hard to see this silver lining when everything seems so rotten and unfair – but I’ve been lucky to have people around me who remind me of looking forward and not focusing on the small things.

There are lots of athletes out there who have gone through what I’m going through. If Lea Davison can come back after a year of out racing and training – then so can I. If Katie Compton can overcome her muscular issues as well as some nasty injuries sustained last year at Mont St. Anne – then there is no reason why I can’t. If Matt Brammier can return to racing and achieve a pro career with HTC-Colombia after a terrible accident that involved a cement truck and his bike – then so can I. Yes, just a handful of cyclists who have done it – and I’m going to be part of this.

Today I’ve got a little recovery ride on tap and then it is full-steam ahead with progress and forward momentum. Good stuff.

Today I went to the hospital for my bi-weekly iron infusion session. I’ve been doing these infusions since last October and slowly but surely they are helping to get my ferritin level up and in turn helping with my hemoglobin levels. Well normally I have a book to read, as it happens I finished my book during my infusion and became a bit bored.

Without a WiFi connection my iPhone wasn’t really that useful. That is until I remembered the photos I have stored on my iPhone. To pass the time away I started flipping through my photos. I found photos of me racing in my red and white Team Canada skinsuit at the 2010 World Cyclo-Cross Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic. I found photos of me racing in my Ottawa.cx skinsuit at the World Cups in Aigle, Switzerland and Plzen, Czech Republic. I found photos I had taken on training rides in and around Nurnberg and Freiburg, Germany. I found a variety of photos from our four winters of living in and racing cyclo-cross in Belgium. I found photos of Marc standing on the podium at Canadian Cyclo-Cross Nationals in Toronto, Ontario.

I found lots of really great memories. Photos of me racing, photos of Marc racing, photos of our friends, photos of the places this bike racing life has taken me and Marc.

As I was sitting there hooked up to the IV I started to smile. Really smile. I realized that it took a lot of hardwork to get to the point where I could realize a goal and race at the World Cyclo-Cross Championships. I also recognized in myself that I’m ready to go for it again. My fighting spirit is back. I’ve got a little chip on my shoulder to remind me to push harder and dig deeper because I have something to prove. Something to prove to myself. I did it once and I’m going to do it again. I was long shot the first time but this time around, I’m no longer a long shot. I’ve got experience. I know what it takes. I’ve had racing and training taken away from me – I now have the perspective on how damn important it is to me.

So if you see me out riding and I look like I’m grimacing or gasping to catch my breath – give me a smile or a wave. This means I’m on top of the world and getting closer to where I want to be.

Wow, do my legs ever hurt today. You have no idea how happy this makes me. This is a sign that my body is coming around. This means that I really did push my limits (as planned) this past weekend. The goal was to get in a couple of good hard work-outs – and this I did.

Saturday featured a three hour ride with some challenging intervals for me. It was my first time taking myself out of my comfy tempo zone and pushing my body into threshold and VO2Max. Boy oh boy, did it feel good. There is nothing quite like screaming quads and heavy breathing to put a smile on my face. The numbers on the SRM were all really good and quite frankly I surprised myself with how deep I was able to push. This really puts a smile on my face because it reinforces to met that I’m on the right track and I can get back to where I once was. I know I’ve still got a long way to go, but progress is progress and after all you can’t eat an elephant overnight.

Sunday I strapped on my trusty Salomon trail shoes and hit the woods. There is something about trail running that really makes me feel alive. I’m guessing it is just being out in nature and soaking it all in. Now I’m not setting a blistering world record pace out there and I know my stride is more elephant-like than gazelle-like but I really love the way these runs make me feel. Sloshing and splashing through mud, hopping over trees, zipping through the trails – it just is a real sense of being alive. So yes on Sunday I had a good hard run. It didn’t seem like that hard of a run but I guess the run combined with Saturday’s efforts took a toll on my legs.

Today I woke up with very sore quads. The type of soreness that makes going up and down the stairs very unpleasant. But I’m happy to have this feeling. It is sort of like money in the bank – the pay-off later will be huge.

As for now, well I think by next week it will be time to do some cyclo-cross riding. The trails are drying up and I’m itching to get out and work on those ‘cross drills I mapped out way back last December when I was stuck in the hospital. I’m ready and I just can’t wait to get out there and get it done.

I still can’t believe the winds we had on Thursday. Crazy. I’ve never been blown around on a bike like that before. At times I think I was horizontal leaning into the wind just trying not to get blown off the road. Ah well, at times the ride was unnerving but I did get a very good hard ride thanks to Mother Nature.

It was also a treat to be riding with bare legs. Hard to believe that my first bare legged ride of the year was on April 29! I was hoping to continue this trend today, but I don’t think 10 celsius is warm enough for bare legs. (Well, at least not for my old bones and muscles!)

I felt pretty darn good on the bike yesterday and I’m really hoping this trend continues. Probably a combination of three days of rest and the knowledge that we are getting my medicine issues sorted out. It really is amazing to realize what a dose of mental strength and confidence can do for my legs!

I’m looking forward to a nice long ride again on Saturday. I’m undecided on my destination – either Merrickville or perhaps off to Almonte/Mississippi Mills. Either way it will be good to get out and do some intervals and and a long ride. Sunday is all about trail running for me. I really have to say that I enjoy these romps in the woods. I’m not a fast running but I do feel like I’m really getting myself for ‘cross since running is not my strong point, so putting in the hardwork now will pay off in November all the way through to January. After four seasons of racing cyclo-cross in Europe, I’ve learned that you need to have a running game – whether it is for the short steep uphills that at times are so steep you’re using your hands to scramble up or if it is for the running in the deep shoe-sucking mud.

Yes, I’m looking forward to cyclo-cross. I hope the trails dry up soon so I can get out and do some trail riding. When I was sick in the hospital last December, I wrote down a whole bunch of cyclo-cross training drills to help me improve technique, and I’m itching to get out there and working on these skills.

Speaking of which, it is time to pull on my kit and get out for a smooth recovery ride. I hope your weekend is packed with some good riding and racing plans.

First off, many many thanks for the emails and comments about my low iron/ferritin levels. I really was quite overwhelmed by the response and the willingness to help me out. Thanks again for taking the time to respond with your suggestions and ideas.

Actually, I have some excellent news about my ferritin levels… Thanks to some prodding from the nurses from whom I get my iron infusions and Marc – I called my doctor and told him I was feeling very tired and just generally rotten. Well, I spent an afternoon at the hospital getting a wide range of bloodwork done and it turns out my ferritin levels have actually risen – and risen quite dramatically. Where three weeks ago I was sitting at a dismal 11, I’m now sitting at a robust and rosey-cheeked 58! What good news. Turns out the reason for my lethargy and fatigue is due to my medicine (Imuran). This drug has lowered my white blood cell count to a too low level and has increased the size of red blood cells – this means I have an anemia caused by this blood cell imbalance. Also, my folic acid levels are too low. So all of this adds up to the feelings of fatigue and exhaustion I’ve been experiencing.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that with a tweak in my medicine and some folic acid supplements, I’ll soon be back to full strength. I have to say I do feel a bit relieved to know that the iron infusions are working but at the same time it is frustrating that the medicine that is keeping me in a remission is also making it hard for me to live my life.

I am eating a lot more broccoli, chomping down on raisins, I even bought some blackstrap molasses and made some gluten-free bars that are packed with lots of healthy Omegas. So hopefully this extra dose of iron fortifying foods will help as well.

But, enough babble about health. Lets get to the good stuff – the riding and the running. Well, I didn’t ride on Wednesday or Thursday – decided to take a few days off to rest my body and my soul. But boy did I make up for this little break! On Friday I had a great ride with my pal Dawn – we chatted and pedaled for a solid three hours. It was just what I needed to break me out of a funk and remind me how much I love riding and racing my bike. Saturday was downright ugly so I retreated to the woods and went on a fantastic trail run – it is funny after a 40 minute trail run I feel like I can take on the world. It must be true that endorphins give us a natural high because I ended that run thinking I might have to train for and run another marathon… Sunday was my intensity day – and it was awesome. I cranked out some of the best intervals of the season and I felt good while doing it. I bent the rules a bit and extended my 2.5 hour ride to just over 4 hours – I simply had to take advantage of the fabulous weather and I soon found myself in Merrickville in a desperate search for a peanut butter bar.

The good news about all this riding and running? I felt really good on Sunday evening. I think I might have bonked a bit on my Sunday ride but a super Double Expresso gel came to my rescue and I found my legs again. But apart from that blip, I felt really good. I expected to be wiped out Sunday evening and to feel a bit run down on Monday – but I’m thrilled to tell you that I felt excellent.

I’m in a short three day rest period and the action heats up again on Thursday. I’m really hoping the rain goes away, but regardless of the weather I’ll be outside – I just cannot ride the trainer in April!

So this is where things are. My mood is coming back to where it should be and I’m feeling optimistic that we can get this health blip sorted out. Really once my doctor gets the dosage sorted out, I think I’ll be feeling better than I have in a long time. I really can’t wait. Now I’m really so excited to get out and race my bike again. Look out Koksijde – here I come!