Normally when I go for a ride I put together a playlist of various podcasts to listen to. Typically these podcasts are a variety of CBC, NPR, This American Life, and Public Radio International podcasts. This makes for some good listening and I find I actually learn a lot while training. But yesterday I just wasn’t feeling any of the podcast options in my iTunes library. An audio book would have been nice, but I’m cheap and don’t want to pay to listen. I could have spent a lot of time dithering about what to listen to during my ride, but I was running out of time to get my ride done so I just went with whatever was on my iPod.

This is where I count myself lucky – running out of time to ride. This meant I couldn’t waste time fretting about a new playlist. Instead I went with a playlist titled: 2010 warm-up. I used this playlist for the entire 2009-2010 season – I listened to it before each race and often when out training. But I had forgotten what songs made up this playlist.

Well, what a treat to listen to 2010 warm-up. This playlist has everything in it with musicians like Against Me, INXS, Pat Benatar, Kings of Leon, Michael Jackson, New Radicals, Dixie Chicks, Jann Arden, and k.d. lang. Yes, a bit eclectic but it covers all the moods and emotions I go through before, during and after a cyclo-cross race.

All in all, this was the perfect playlist for Wednesday’s ride. It got me in the groove and found me singing (or yelling) out loud along with the musicians belting out their tunes. I feel sorry for anyone who heard me sing a long – being in tune is not one of my specialties. I used this playlist to help me get through my microburst intervals (amazing how hard 10 seconds can be) and to keep me focused on the end-goal. Songs came through the headphones that brought me back to the 2009-2010 season where everything just seemed to go perfectly. I met my goals, surpassed them in some cases and really had the dream season. Nothing quite like having these memories to fuel me through a challenging ride.

Inspiration and motivation can come in many forms – often from the most unexpected places. I’m thinking it is time to put together a new playlist for the 2011-2012 season – yes I’ve got that feeling back in my legs, lungs and soul.

(I haven’t done this in a while, so now is the perfect time. Speaking of motivation and inspiration – have you read my book An Unlikely Elite? It might just give you the spark you need to get through a rough spot or help you to set some goals for the year. Or maybe you’ll just find it an interesting insight into my life. Whatever you get from it will be good. So go download it an give it a read. Download the PDF here. Download the EPUB here.)

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.