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!

As is normal for me, I’ve gone and pushed my limits again. Not that I’ve done anything crazy, nope rather simply training and riding my bike. After a heavy two week block it has become obvious that I cannot right now put together two hard/long back-to-back days. This is frustrating. This is not where I want to be right now. But it is what it is.

This state of affairs has nothing to do with my training regime or lack of desire. Nope – if only it were that simple. Rather this is the result of my body. I’ve had to admit that it is just not ready yet. I’m just not ready yet. I keep telling myself that I’m healthy and that I am “normal”. Well, as it turns out, I’m not. My ulcerative colitis symptoms are not around but I’m suffering from the impact of getting so sick in December. I’m at a point now where my medicine is keeping me in a remission but I simply cannot get my ferritin (iron) levels at a normal level.

A ferritin level of 11 is not normal. I should be at around 100. I’ve tried to do all I can with this measly number of 11, but it really isn’t taking me very far. So now I’ve had to admit that this is where I’m at. And figure out how to deal with it.

Thanks to some words of wisdom from Marc, I’ve been forced to admit that I’m not healthy – I’m still sick. I need to get healthy and then I can do what I want. This doesn’t mean I’m not training. It just means that my training is different. No hard back-to-back days. No more really long rides. If I’m tired, I don’t ride. And the hardest part of all – to not berate myself when I don’t ride or I have to cut a ride short.

I’m still focused on my goal of racing at the 2012 World Cyclo-Cross Championships in Koksijde, Belgium – but now I’ve got another goal I have to accomplish first – get healthy. So this is where I’m at. As much as I’d like this to be an instant gratification goal – I realize that in this case and is often the case with most goals worth attaining, slow and steady is the only approach.

(If you have any suggestions on how I can get my ferritin levels up to  a normal level, let me know. As it is, I can’t take any over-the-counter supplements so this kind of makes things a bit more challenging. But at this point I’m open to anything.)

I realized yesterday that I really need some new cycling shorts. My shorts just don’t fit anymore. They chafe, they rub and they’re a bit baggy. Not what one wants in a pair of cycling shorts. Problem is, I can’t get myself some new shorts just yet. You see, I need to finalize the design of my Ottawa Cross racing and training kit first. And I can’t do this until I have my sponsors for the 2011-2012 season firmed up. And this isn’t done yet. So instead of getting a new snazzy clothing design done, sending it off to the great folks at Champions Systems Canada and riding around in my new non-chafing, no-rub, and not-baggy shorts, showing off my new sponsors – I ride around in my old kit and suffer in silence.

So – this is where you come in… I’ve always said that through this site I’ve felt like we’ve built a little community of like-minded folks. So now, I’m turning to you my community members for some help. Alright here goes:

Maybe you are the someone I’m looking for. Maybe you’re the person who works at a company/owns a company/has a product or service that could benefit from the exposure and publicity I can give. Maybe you are the someone who knows someone who has a company/owns a company/has a product or a service that can benefit from the exposure and publicity I can give. Or maybe you’re the someone who knows someone who knows someone who has a company/owns a company/has a product or service that can benefit from the exposure or publicity I can give.

So assuming you’re that someone, here is how it all works:

– We sit down and talk and work out the details of a sponsorship arrangement. (No, I don’t need lots of money. Just some money. Really any money.)

– I explain how this money will be used. (To cover travel and living expenses while in Europe.)

– I explain to you how I will help you. (Giving exposure to your company/service/product/brand through my web site, Twitter and Facebook posts. In addition when people ask I’ll speak professionally and confidently about what your company/service/product/brand is and I’ll also highlight how you’re helping me out.)

– I tell you how I’ll go the extra mile for you. (I’ll get involved in any corporate fund raising campaigns you have. I can attend company events and do motivational speaking. I can contribute to your internal newsletter. I can write guest blog posts for your web site.)

– We look at the current Ottawa Cross kit and decide how to change it. (Your logo and company name/product/brand/service will be featured prominently on the kit. Maybe you have corporate colors – no problem, we’ll change the colors of the Ottawa Cross kit.)

– We shake hands. We smile. And we feel good. I’m happy because I can get new shorts. You’re happy because you’re doing something good by helping an athlete reach her goals and dreams. See – you’re smiling now – happy that you’re the someone who can help make this all come together.

Here’s to you being my someone or helping me find my someone. Here’s to a fantastic 2011-2012 cyclo-cross racing season.

I’m excited to be racing all over North America and getting back to Europe again to race, train and show off my new shorts.