The weather is still not that great. But it is what it is, and as much as I’d like to – I simply can’t change it. The only thing to do is to deal with it and “buck up”. So I’ve been doing my best to embrace the wind, the rain and the cold.

Actually I’m starting to enjoy the wind. I get a strange thrill out of riding into a hard headwind or crosswind. Give me a headwind or crosswind anyday over a hill. I find I can turn my brain off, get in a pedaling groove and motor along against the wind just fine. But point the road uphill and I begin to spaz out a bit and forget that I have lots of power and spinning capacity in my legs. So, I’ll take the wind anyday.

As for the rain. Well, it isn’t so bad once you’re wet. Once I’m wet I give myself the check over: “feet are warm – yes”, “hands are warm – yes”, “core is warm – yes”, “head is covered and warm –  yes” – okay then no reason to not keep riding. The thing about the rain is simply dressing for it. Wear layers. Wear extra shoe covers. Wear thicker gloves than you think you need and bring a spare pair with you. And pedal hard. This way you won’t notice the rain. Oh and try to minimize “nature breaks” – especially if you’re a girl and are wearing bib shorts. Nothing worse than having to take off multiple layers to get at the straps on your shorts…

So all this to say that the weather is what it is. Soon enough the sun will be out again and some will be complaining about the heat. Whatever it is – I’ll take it. After all, I race my bike in December and January and really it doesn’t matter that it is in Belgium – it is still cold when all I have on is a skinsuit and a base layer.

Looking forward to some good riding this week. I’ve got a bunch of good hard long days this week and then four days of recovery next week. I’m slated to the local Ottawa training crit on May 31. Slightly nervous about this. But if I don’t try it – I simply won’t know. This time last year I was riding with the big boys without any trouble – so long as I can remember how ride a crit I should be okay. Time will tell I guess. I suppose the first step is getting my racing license…

Okay, well I’m off. Don’t know if you caught the Tour of California today but I was super impressed by Thor Hushovd taking off his booties during the race. This is kind of a “kids don’t try this at home” move – and please don’t try it in the crit on May 31!

Value. This is the word that has been swirling around in my head this week.

I’ve been busy this week applying for some really interesting writing and social media jobs that really are an excellent fit for me. The trick with this is clearly defining my value to my prospective employer and doing this in a one-page resume and a succinct cover letter. This can be challenging. Even for someone as skilled with language as I am. In the old days when I used to be only interested in technical writing jobs, showing and expressing my value to a company was pretty easy – I’m a darn good technical writer with excellent writing, editing and technical skills. Really these are more measurable qualities than what is required of an excellent freelance writer, editor or social media professional – and yes I’m darn good at this as well but I don’t have 15 years of experience to back me up. It is all about value and getting the message across.

The other thing that has had me consumed with value this week is my ongoing search for a couple of new sponsors for the upcoming cyclo-cross season. I have researched and found some excellent companies that I know I’d be a good representative of and the products/brands fit really well with what I do and who I really am. But of course, the trick is showing my value to these companies. I know that a logo on a skinsuit really doesn’t give the company much value – it is what I can do for the company beyond the bicycle (particularly when I’m looking for sponsors who aren’t necessarily involved with cycling). This is where it gets challenging. So I have been spending time this week really thinking about what it is I can offer companies who do sponsor me. I’m not sending out form emails to a whole bunch of companies – nope – I’m doing research, trying to find a real contact name and writing an email specific to the company and brand.

All I can do after all of this is wait and think positive thoughts. Hope that my emails, resumes, and cover letters got to the right person on the right day at the right time. There is no science to this business of showing value – if there was there would be very little unemployment and us cyclists and other athletes would be turning away sponsors.

Speaking of which, check out the fine companies who I do have supporting me for this upcoming season:

• Bell Lap Coaching
• The Cyclery
• Stevens Bikes
• Clif Bar
• Outdoor Gear Canada
• Champion Systems Canada

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.