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.

Sometimes it is hard to know how serious to be. I spent many years being serious. Really focusing on my cyclocross racing – I worked part-time, I worked hard to find sponsors, I structured my life around my training and racing, I stopped eating chocolate, and I simply pedaled my bike. I was serious. I had goals. I had expectations. I had self-imposed pressure. I had motivation.

Now, I’m in a new phase. I want to race my bike. I want to race my bike really well. But do I want to be as serious as I was? The question remains, can I achieve what I want with a bit more balance in my life?

I wrote recently about all the things I want to do this year. In short, this was a rather long and slightly unfocused list of stuff. No real tangible goals there. Just stuff that I want to do in 2013. Does not having goals mean I’m not serious?

Do you have to have goals to be serious? I don’t know. I don’t know where the lines of serious, focus, goals, and life balance all intersect.

Right now I’m feeling that without structure, I’m highly unfocused. I’m not being as rigorous as I normally am on my diet (so much Belgian chocolate in this house). I am riding four days a week but not with any structure – I’m just doing what I “think” makes sense right now (riding in a zone 1 wattage for an hour three times a week and for 90 minutes once a week). I’m getting out for 90 minute to two hour skate skis three times a week. Toss in power yoga twice a week and hot yoga once a week and I’m getting some strength building and bendiness in my body. Then there’s the snowshoe running which I’ve only done twice (but I’ll be out this Wednesday).

So, just like my list of stuff that I want to do in 2013, I’m currently doing a lot of stuff. Does this mean I’m focused? Does this mean I’m serious? I don’t know. I do know I’m having fun right now. I’m doing what I want when I want and I’m not tied to a structured training schedule.

But I think it’s time. I crave structure. I like “to do” lists. I like to have a work-out planned and written down on a piece of paper – this means I’ll do it.

But still what is serious? I’m curious to know what you think? I’m kind of worried that if I’m not serious this season I won’t do everything I want. But what if that seriousness takes away some of the fun? Are there levels of serious?

(And yes, I do have some goals. I’m just not ready to write them down yet. I guess this is because I don’t have the structure I “feel” I need to actually achieve these goals…)

Oh yes, my brain is a bit crazy these days. But I think in a good way. I’m in a good place – enjoying riding the trainer, having fun on my skis and snowshoes and enjoying my yoga practice. To top it off, I’m not obsessing about my weight (yes, I did this in the past…) – I’m feeling great about my healthy and strong body and enjoying this feeling.

So what do you think about this whole business of serious? Am I simply being too serious about being serious?

(On another note: huge shout out to Conor O’Brien, Evan McNeely, Wendy Simms, Gabby Day and Helen Wyman – all racing tomorrow in the World Cyclocross Championships in Louisville, Kentucky. I’ll be cheering and yelling at my laptop urging you on. Enjoy it. Soak it all in. Have fun.)