Oh gosh I fell off the blogging track once again.  I don't know why it's so hard for me to post on a regular basis.

I've been in training for the BC Bike Race on a "serious" basis for a couple of weeks now.  I say "serious" because I have so many other friends who are on their bikes, runners, in the pool so much much more than I am.  But I'm trying, and it seems to be developing into a routine to have this much exercise in my week.  On that point signing up for the race has already been a success.

Having Wendy as a coach is turning out to be the driving force behind me staying on my training.  She's really good at communicating what I should be doing, when and most importantly, why.  That's key given that I don't actually see her very much.  

Am feeling a little disappointed at how much extra weight I'm carrying still however.  I never seem to drop weight during ski season - maybe it's all the yummy winter food that I eat.  Then spring comes, the bulky winter clothes come off and hey where did this pudge come from?!  

The one thing that was really good about this ski season is that my legs are really strong. It's my lungs that are killin' me on the bike.  I am however getting used to the feeling of working hard; of that burn in my legs, breathing hard, and knowing that I'm not imminently about to blow up.  

I've done two races now; beginning category once (one lap) and intermediate the next one (two laps).  Both of those have been great for getting my "race head" back.  It felt really good to be racing again, 17 years after my last one.

My new training partner Colleen has been a godsend!  It's stating the obvious but it's so much easier for me to stay on track when I have someone along to make it enjoyable.  Even hill repeats have become a positive challenge..... although the gravel fireroad ones the other day were a bit of a mental battle.

Fun 3.5hr trail ride with Colleen and Judy yesterday but a little too much chatter since we actually only rode for half of that time (oops).  Had a left-side-meets-log fall which has left my ribs feeling quite bruised this morning.  And from the look of legs these days, there won't be many skirt-wearing days at work in the coming weeks.    

6 weeks to go..... it's crunch time....