Victoria's Island

Ghosts and Goblins

Craziness here with the doorbell going off every 5 minutes. Some of the costumes are quite impressive. Soon enough we'll run out of candy and then it will be lights out.

Sorry for the late post. Had a busy day. Working and running around. My mom is here right now so we took off for the afternoon and hit some shops. Quilt and yarn shops were on the agenda today. Marc's mom came with us and I think everyone had a pretty enjoyable afternoon.

Hit the bike early this morning. Threshold work-out. Felt super good. The week of rest has done me a world of good. The time whipped by and before I knew it my watch was bleeping. It is amazing how the bleeping of a watch can bring one relief. I listen intently (sometimes desperately) for that bleep.

The thumb is on the way back. It feels much better than it did on Sunday. I'll still tape it up for the weekend. Need to get out and practice curbs... Didn't get a chance today. Hopefully tomorrow. If not I'll be the one in Farmington who is practicing the curb over and over again.

Not much going for tomorrow. Most likely more of the same. Work. Early morning ride. Then off to the Glebe and some shops. Packing mania tomorrow. It is not so bad now as I pretty much have it down to a science.

Marc is still battling his flu. He is currently trying to pedal it out of his body.

Meerkat Manor is on right now. If you haven't watched this show, I highly recommend it. The narration and cinematography is very well done.

The cats aren't wild about the doorbell. One is hiding under the bed (Minou). Mr. Murphy is flaked out with a full belly - chicken and lemon yogurt...

Well, I'm off. Still have some work to do and I'm sure the doorbell is going to ring again soon.

Flat

Went all season without a flat. Today I got two. Oops. Low tire pressure + curb hopping practice = flat tire. Flatted a tubular and then flatted a clincher. But one good thing is that I changed the flat myself in record time. Excellent practice this morning. I'm getting it. Starting to get a hang of the curb thing. Body movement is key. Confidence is also super-important. Curb hopping is something I need to drill. Everyday.

Many thanks to Nickster and Steve-o-rama for helping me out and being very patient. Very much appreciated.

Hectic last few days. Getting ready for my mom's visit. Plus work is busy. It is all coming together though.

Road trip action begins this weekend. Sweet. Looking forward to hooking up with my New England pals. Racing. Watching races. Cheering. Smiling. Fun times.

Going into the office today. Should be productive. I'm  a big fan of progress. Feel like I'm experiencing progress in all areas of my life right now. Moving forward is key. But remembering to smell the roses cannot be overlooked.

Racing with the "big" girls this weekend. I'm ready. Feeling fit. Confident. I can do it. I will do it. They pedal their bikes the same way I do. Should be fun.

Well dudes, I'm out. Stuff to do. Last of the bugs to fix. Last minute fixes. You technical writers know what I mean.

Knitting is slow. Hard to do with a injured thumb. Might hit it tomorrow and give it a go.

Okay, I really have to go now. Bye. Have a good one.

Lessons Learned

Local race today. Learned a lot.

Number 1: don't race when you are injured. No amount of adrenaline or mental toughness will make your injury go away. Also if the race is not that important to you - why are you racing injured. Bumpy grass + very sore thumb = unhappy thumb.

Number 2: don't race when you are tired. Tired means your body is telling you something. I.E. - rest. Pay attention to the body. It knows best. Physically tired often means mentally tired.

Number 3: my feet get cold quickly and then stay cold (forever). Need to buy some good warm cycling socks. Cold feet and running don't work for me. I feel like I have bricks attached to my legs. Not cool.

Number 4: hanging out and rehashing the race with friends is so much fun. It makes the cold, the rain, the  pain so much sweeter. Couldn't imagine doing this racing thing without my pals. I didn't have this in Belgium so I really treasure it here.

Number 5: the Ottawa cyclo-cross community rocks! So many racers of so many abilities coming out. Racing hard. Smiling. Cheering one another on. Doesn't get much better.

So now I'll take another nice chill week and get ready for Chainbiter and Cycle-Smart International this weekend. It will be my first time racing with the "big" girls. So I really need to be mentally rested. Physically everything will be smooth. It is the mental part that might be challenging. I'm going from being on the podium to fighting to not get lapped. Who knows I may surprise myself. This will be a weekend of "small" race goals.

Can't hardly wait.

Remember the time changes this weekend. Set your reminders now! (Except for you folks in Saskatchewan. You can just keep doing your thing.)

I'm out. Have to do some work and get the place in order. Some very special company coming this week. Nice.

Brilliant Blue

This is the view from my office. The brilliant blue sky. So tempting. Not a cloud in sight. Just neverending blueness. Can't wait to get out their and feel the blue on my skin.

Working a lot right now. In the crunch time. Give me a bit of an adrenaline rush.

Riding today. Not sure what though. Feeling a bit tired. Slow recovery from the travel. Might take it easy. We'll see.

Good night last night. Laughs. Good food. Friends. Perfect Thursday night. Marc wore his Harry Potter scarf. And if I do say so myself, it looked pretty snazzy.

Heading back to Ikea tonight. The rug is too small. I'll return it. As well as the mattress. It is also too small. Not sure what do about an area rug. Guess I'll have to check out Home Depot and Wal-Mart. Nothing much at Ikea grabbed my attention.

Hitting up the Third World Bazaar in Manotick tomorrow. Stoked. I've wanted to check this out for some time.

My mom is coming for a quick visit next week. Looking forward to this. Has been a long time since I've seen her - Christmas. Amazing how time passes.

Heard on the news that the Ottawa police have arrested a 15 year-old boy who they believe is responsible for the 911 hoax calls. Apparently there were three such calls yesterday. Poor kid. He had to know he would get caught. Wonder what convinced him this was a "good" idea?

Well, the sky is still blue. I best get some more work done so I can get out there and take advantage of the blueness. You should do the same. (I know easier said than done. Not everyone works from home. You could leave early. Go for lunch and just don't come back.)

My Island

I relish this space. This is my space. I can type what I want. Pour my heart out or not. I can go on and on about the minute details of my day. Or I can stick to generalities. Basically I can do what I want here on my blog.

Those of you that know me, know that I can be counted on to "call a spade a spade". Mincing words is not one of my traits. Because of this you know that I will do the same here in this space. This makes it easy for you. You don't need to look for "hidden" meanings in my posts. As far as this site goes, this one is purely black and white. If you don't read it, don't go looking for it.

Not much going right now. Hectic day. CX practice with my pals. Good times as usual. Some fast follow-the-leader. Then skills work. Turning and more turning. Then it was off to the office. Had a super productive day working through some bugs.

Just got back from a quick trip to Ikea. Picked up a new area rug. New curtain and curtain rod. Not sure about the rug though. I think it might be a bit small. I'll have to get Marc's opinion. I'm not wild about the rug anyway... Do need something though. The bare hardwood seems so cold and plain.

Heading out tonight. Meeting up with my Stevens Cross team-mates and some other good cycling pals for a little post-Nationals celebration. Really looking forward to it.

Weekend should be quiet. No traveling. Racing in Kanata on Sunday. I'm sure Saturday will end up being busy though. Still a few things to do around the house and I think I'll be doing a little bit of work. The next three weekends are jam-packed. Lots of driving and racing. Totally smooth.

My thumb is still sore. Really sore when I ride over bumpy grass. Definitely needs to be taped for the race. The swelling is going down but the pain is still there.

These fake 911 calls that are plaguing Ottawa schools are getting ridiculous. The cost to the city, police department, fire department, etc. is incredible. Not to mention the people who are affected if they happen to live in work in an area where a locked-down school is located. Hopefully the police will be able to track down the ring leaders of this little "game" and make an example of them.

Well, I'm off. Clock is ticking and it is time to get down to Preston Street to hook up with the gang. Enjoy your evening. Crap just clued in that I'm going to miss Grey's tonight... Drat. Guess I'll have to get my technical wizard to track down the episode for me.

Short

This is the key word for today. Short.

A reminder of our reality. Doubtful? Read about the ghastly fires in California. Read about the murders in Surrey, B.C. Talk to a friend of a friend of a friend who most likely has a story to tell you about a person's life ending. Look up statistics.

Short.

So make the most of it.

Not meaning to be depressing here. On the contrary I'm attempting to be uplifting. Today is the day. Seize it. Get out and do that thing that is taking up space in the back of your brain. I really don't care what it is. "Just do it."

So what am I doing to seize the day? First of all, I'm letting go. Letting go of my stressors. I'm focusing on just being in the now. Second, I'm going to take advantage of this beautiful day and get out on my bike for a fun VO2Max work-out. Third, I'm going to work. Fourth, I'm going to hug my cats and give them some cat treats - I love seeing Mr. Murphy and Miss Minou smile. Fifth, I'm going to hug my sweet babboo. Sixth, I'm going out for dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday. Seventh, I'm going to go to bed feeling light and free.

Had a good day yesterday. Worked. Had lunch with a friend. Chilled at the store. Worked. Visited Marc's parents. Went to the book store. Chatted with a friend. Made a delicious chili. Chilled out with a new mag.

Only drag right now is that my thumb is quite sore. After a day of work, it is quite tired and swollen. Oh well. Could be much worse. Considering how I crashed, I'm very lucky I didn't break my collarbone.

Well, best get back at it. Have a good one. Don't delude yourself into believing that today's key word is: Long.

(Sorry for the lack of cyclo-cross content today. On this topic, my 'cross bike did arrive yesterday. Yay! My trusty Stevens Super Prestige made it here from Kamloops - only one day late. Taking it out tomorrow morning for a fun 'cross session with the gang. Stars all around.)

Tired

Tired but home. Home sweet home. The cats seemed pseudo-interested in our return. So long as they have food they seem to be quite comfy. Only a minor amount of havoc was created. Not bad for four days of freedom!

Traveling was smooth yesterday. My bike didn't make it. Oh well. Should come in today sometime. No worries - wasn't planning on riding today anyway. Need to give the body some time to heal. Bunch of new bruises and a small matter with a rather swollen thumb and hand. It is interesting sport keeps you fit and healthy but also does do some damage to the bones and ligaments. Still better than the damage the couch does.

Not much going today. Work. Laundry. Try to knit. Chill out. Go to bed early.

We are racing at home this weekend. Nice. No traveling. My mom is coming next week so I have a little bit to do around the house to get it ship shape...

Can't believe how warm it is here. So much warmer than Kamloops. Kamloops didn't do much for me. Mind you I didn't really see much of it.

The weekend of racing was good. I've been thinking about my race more. The more I think about it, the more I'm okay with it. I really wanted to win. I didn't. But I did make it on the podium at nationals. Something I've never done before. So this is good progress. This year I was 44 seconds off of first place. Last year I was close to three minutes down. So this alone is good. Baby steps. This weekend of racing has got me fired up again. Ready to start doing the work to get to the next level. Stronger. Fitter. Faster. Better. I love seeing progress. I've seen a lot of it this year. This is what keeps me going. Hard work and persistence does pay off.

Here are a couple of pics I found on the web:

Setup a new site last week for the Stevens Cross team. Check it out. In the next few days we hope to get some pics and race reports up.

Have a good one. Don't be afraid of the rain. Last time I checked we aren't made of sugar.

Nationals Report

Not really sure how to start this race report. I'll start with the result and work backwards. So I placed third. On the podium. First time on the podium at cycl0-cross nationals. Huge thanks to my coach Steve Weller. Massive thanks to Marc for all of his patience with training and mental counseling. Huge props to my team mate Steve Proulx for teaching me how to ride over a curb and for being a wonderful calming influence. Thanks to Vince Caceres of the The Cyclery for his support with the Stevens bikes, Shimano shoes, Giro helmet, and team clothing.

Now about the race. Small field. Only eight women on the start line. I had my typical slowish start (caught my skinsuit again...). But managed to close a decent gap and was sitting in fourth place. Chaos broke out in the sand pit with crash mania. Dropped back a few spots. Got frustrated. More chaos in the pit. Attacked through the pit. Sitting in third. Then fourth. Tried to get the other girl to work with me. Didn't happen - instead she attacked me. So I repaid the favor and attacked her hard and repeatedly. Now in third place. Kept hitting it where I could. Was closing on second place. But ran out of time. Finished 44 seconds out of first place.

As most of you know my goal was to win this race. I really wanted to win. I didn't. But I rode well. Learned a few lessons during the race. that will only make me race better. Need to work on my starts and more importantly how to effectively recover from a poor start.

I had a lot of fun this weekend. Racing was good. Hanging out with the team was a blast. Manning the pits for Steve and Marc was great. Even better since neither had a mechanical!

The elite races were super exciting.

Good times were had in Kamloops. Thanks to the race organizers for such an interesting race course. Who says you need big hills for a cyclo-cross race?

I hope to have some pictures to post soon.  Thanks for reading. Have a good one. See you in Kanata on Sunday.

Post #2

Steve wants to know what I'm blogging about. Nothing really. Just typing.

Here is what Steve says "Went for a wet ride. Rode part of the course. Rode over wood chips. Stopped talked. Cha Ching."

Here is what Marc says "Went for a cold wet ride along the river in Kelowna. I mean Kamloops. Dodged a truck on the bike path. Now back here with my cool iPhone."

We are trying to figure out lunch. Looks like Senor Froggy it is. Senor Froggy is a bit of an inside joke for us bike racers. Keep your fingers crossed that we aren't eating there on Sunday night.

We are going back to check out the race course tonight. Pick up our race kits. Then chillaxin' will be in order.

Kamloops

We are here. Settled in. Bikes are put together. Room is organized. Had a good afternoon/night yesterday.

Checked out the course. It is not set up but we did our best with our course map. Nice location. Should be an interesting race. Time will tell.

Got some food last night. Tried to watch television. Too tired. That's correct. Didn't make it. Packed it in at 9:00. I really really tried.

So don't tell me what happened on Grey's. I'll have to download it next week.

Not much going on. Riding this morning to shake out the cobwebs. Check out the course tonight. Found a couple of interesting coffee shops. So I'll definitely be visiting. Might take the knitting and do some KIP.

Hotel is in an excellent location. Close to the race course. Close to restaurants. Close to the grocery store.

Check out the new Stevens Cross site. Not much there right now. But soon enough it will be jam-packed with interesting words and pics.

Have a good Friday. We'll be living the pro life here. Riding. Eating. Relaxing.