This phrase came to me today during my ride. Not sure where it came from: shedding the layers. It just sounded appropriate for this time of the year. I suppose really it can mean whatever you want. Shedding the layers can represent the warm weather and getting out and enjoying it with bare legs and arms. It can go a bit deeper and represent your headspace for this upcoming season and getting rid of negative mental baggage that you take with you on your training rides and races. Really, it can mean whatever you want.

Ah, but what does it mean to me? I guess both of the above. I’m loving being able to ride in my leg warmers, light booties, cycling cap, and lightweight jerseys. I didn’t realize how encumbered I felt with all the layers required for comfortable winter riding. I’m also working hard to stay in a positive mental space. I’m focusing on me and what my legs and brain are doing. I’ve realized that if I want to get ahead in this bike racing game, I’ve got to look inward and really ask myself the all-important question: Vicki, what are you doing right now to get better?

One of my prime tasks to answer this question honestly is to stay confident. I’m not concerning myself with what others may or may not be saying, thinking, whispering, or writing. Really, this doesn’t affect me as a bike racer or a person. I’m responsible for my own success. So this is the person I need to be worried about. If I can continue to do this, I’ll be a much more relaxed and confident bike racer. I can line up knowing I’ve done the work and that I’m ready to cross the finish line first.

Yes, this is a big shift for me. But I’ve learned that power and technical skills really don’t mean much if you haven’t got the confidence to really let loose out there. So I’m working hard to remind myself of all that I’ve done, that I’ve done it, and that it doesn’t matter what others think or don’t think. As a wise friend told me “really, most people are concerned with themselves and aren’t paying any attention to you.” This at first might sound a bit brutal. But when I thought about it, I began to feel taller, more relaxed, and most importantly – happier.

This is why I race my bike after all – because it makes me happy.

Most of you know that I have ulcerative colitis.

This disease is commonly referred to as Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The other disease in this category is Crohn’s disease.

Both of these diseases are unpleasant. The symptoms of these diseases are unpleasant and often people are shy to talk about ulcerative colitis or crohn’s.

But we need to talk about these diseases. We need to raise their profile. It is a little known fact that more people in Canada suffer from crohn’s or ulcerative colitis than suffer from multiple sclerosis.

At present there are no cures for crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. The other problem is that doctors, researchers, and scientists do not know how or why people are afflicted with these diseases.

We need to solve these questions. More and more young children are being diagnosed with these life-long diseases. No child should have to experience such diseases. I can’t imagine being a child and having to live with ulcerative colitis.

So what can you do? Click this link: I Support IBD. All you have to do is click the link and sign the declaration. (Yes, this can be done online.) Help us get to 10, 000 signatures by World IBD Day on May 19, 2010.

What else can you do? Help me raise money for the Heel N’ Wheel-A-Thon. I’ll be participating in this event on June 13 in Ottawa, Ontario. This is a national fundraiser for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada – I’m sure there is an event happening in your community as well. Even better, get out there and participate. Check out this web site for details.

Really, it is hard for me to tell you how important this is. All I know is that crohn’s and ulcerative colitis are rotten diseases and the sooner we get to a cure, the better. I and all the other Canadians out there suffering from inflammatory bowel disease, thank-you for your support.

Ah, the wind. Friend and foe. Seems like the wind is blowing extra strong this year. Suppose this is due to the early spring weather we’re experiencing. Whatever is causing this, it can be a bit annoying at times. Nothing worse than riding along, checking your watch, realizing it is time to head for home, making a turn to get yourself home and being suddenly blasted in the face with a fierce wind. This can be a bit deflating. Not only does this explain why you made record time and broke speed limits on the way out but it also means, the ride home will not be that much fun. I try to tell myself that a strong headwind or crosswind is like climbing a hill…

Thing is, I don’t really like climbing hills… And secondly, hills end – headwinds and crosswinds do not. But I suppose in the grand scheme of things that can be frustrating during the course of a day – a little bit of wind pales in comparison to long meetings, impossible deadlines, and performance reviews. Gee, all things considered – give me a headwind every day – I don’t want to be back filling out my annual performance review ever again!

All this to say, I’ve had some pretty darn good (but windy) rides these past few days. Saturday ended up being three hours of wind and rain. Could have been pretty miserable but luckily I had company on this ride, Skip of KingsBridge came out to ride, chat, and yell at the wind. Definitely helps to have company on longish rides. I have to admit that on Sunday, I chickened out. On top of the ridiculous wind there was a never-ending downpour happening. Luckily I was able to swap my Monday and Sunday training plans. Finally found a not bad core work-out – thanks to some poking around on yogadownload.com I bought a 45-minute core-focused yoga work-out. Pretty good – I had the quivers and shakes going on! Today was another windy day, but I had my trusty iPod for company and a couple of podcasts to keep me company.

Looking ahead, this is going to be super week of training. This week, I get to do some temp intervals. Still without a computer, SRM, or any feedback. These tempo intervals will be done based on rate of perceived exertion. Cool – never done such intervals without some kind of digital feedback. The week gets pretty good on Saturday – this is when I hop a plane and jet off to Florida for four days! I’ll be traveling with the KingsBridge crew to a trade show – we’re staying at a hotel at the Walt Disney World Resort. I’ve never been to Florida before – should be a good time. I’ll get some nice long rides in, get to experience a trade show, check out Walt Disney World, and there is talk of a trip to the Oakley Factory Outlet store. Pretty darn good four days indeed.

I just have one lingering question: “Is it ‘cross season yet?”.

I’m two weeks into training. So far it is going well. Admittedly, that first week was rough. Never before have I taken close to five weeks off. At first my body and brain fought the rest and recovery time. But after a week or so, I started to like this rest thing. And ultimately, by the last week, all I wanted to do was ride. Sign of a good recovery period.

I’ve had some really good rides this week. The legs are coming around. My body has started to remember what it feels like to power itself along. Most importantly, my brain is reacting well to the training sensations. I really didn’t realize how much fitness you can loose in a five week break. Maybe this only happens to me? This break definitely taught me that I’m an athlete who needs to train – not just to keep me sane but to keep my fitness levels up. I’m not one of those bike racers who can ride once or twice a week and then rip it up in the races on the weekends.

I’m looking forward to some longer rides this weekend. Continuing with focusing on riding with a high cadence and at an endurance pace. Next week the fun starts with some tempo efforts. But tempo efforts with a twist. Tempo efforts without an SRM or some kind of computer. That’s right – all done on feel. I’ve never done this. Actually, this entire month of training is being done without some kind of computer feedback. Just a digital watch so I can make sure my two hour rides don’t morph until four hour rides. It is actually a fun way to ride without being concerned with the numbers displaying on the handlebars.

What about you – how do you train in the early months? Do you go by feel and listen to your body or are you right back at it with your SRM, PowerTap, heart rate monitor, cyclocomputer, etc? Oh, I guess I should admit to one piece of technology I can’t do without on my training rides – the trusty iPod Nano. I need to have someone talking or singing in my ears. Without this, my brain goes wild and the ride gets very hectic for my crazy brain.

I’m off to find some core-centric yoga programs that I can download and do here at home. If you have any suggestions, post them up in the comments. I’m looking for the challenging, ab acheing, shaking, quivering core work-outs here – something to really fire up my abs and back muscles.

One little word. An innocent word really. But depending on where your head is, the word “goals” can be a tad unnerving. To step up and to really honestly set some goals takes a lot of guts. Honest goal-setting forces you to take a hard look at yourself.

These goals can’t be simply whipped off in a matter of minutes. Nope, you need to look at the complete package. That is – yourself and your abilities. What can you achieve? What do you want to achieve? What if you fail? There are lots of ways of setting goals. You can set one main goal for the season and then develop a plan to achieve this goal. You can set the main goal and some intermediary goals that you can use to measure your progress and hopefully develop your main goal. You can go so far as to set weekly goals, these can be super useful if you struggle with staying on track with your training. A dangling carrot can do wonders for motivation.

As for me, well, I’ve learned that I need goals. Without goals, I’m simply going through the motions. No fixed plan. No real idea why I’m sitting on my bike seat and pedaling away. I’ve also learned that I need to set big goals. Almost unattainable (in some people’s minds) goals. These big goals really fire me up and get that “I can do it” attitude out. I’ve also learned that if I don’t achieve my main goal, it is not the end of the world. Because of this, I also set goals for each and every race I do. They might be small things like always keeping my head up and looking ahead or they can be bigger, such as winning the race.

Once I’ve set these goals, what do I do with them? I write them down on a piece of paper. I then take this piece of paper and make it waterproof (I cover it in clear packing tape). Then I carry that piece of paper with me – wherever I go. It is in the front right pocket of my jeans – when I jam my hand in my pocket, I feel this piece of paper and I’m reminded of my goals. I put this piece of paper in my cycling jersey when I go out to train. I read this piece of paper daily. It keeps me focused. It keeps me feeling confident. On the other side of the piece of paper, I write some key mantras that I use to maintain my self-confidence.

You might think this is a bit much. Maybe for you it is. But for me, this works. It helps. This is the thing about goals, they are personal. Goals are all about you and no one else.