Pink and Silver

Last week was an interesting week to say the least!  And I am not sure if anything happened as I anticipated it would... but I'm definitely not complaining.
The "theme" of the week for me ended up being one of pink and silver...
which nicely tied things together for me since they are the main colors of the Amy Gillett Foundation.

For starters, I was treated to a stunning pink-orange sunrise along the Redcliffe Peninsula and Sandgate waterfronts on several mornings this week.  Just incredible colors.  Even better when the weather forecast predicted rain, and you wake up and head outside to see such a beautiful skyline instead.

Then as the "reserve" cyclist for the Bundaberg Sugar (Balmoral Cycling Club) Time Trial Team for the Qld State Championships on Sunday, I was really expecting not to be needed.  However, as (bad) luck would have it, Sal Robbins was still very ill, so I was called upon to race in her spot.  No pressure or anything!...
I have to give a h-u-g-e thanks to my team mates Simone, Angeline and Brielle for being fantastically accomodating and patient with me... I am still a massive TT novice!... having only done 4 ITT's before, and having no real TTT experience, I had a very steep learning curve, and they were really very supportive despite the last minute changes to their team.  Thankfully though, after lots of "tips" on what to and not to do, we managed a fantastic Second place, to claim the Silver Medals in the women's elite TTT event.

And then for my last bit of 'unexpected' news... the Sweet As/Bundaberg Sugar Team has been invited to race at the Herald Sun World Cycling Classic in Ballarat this Sunday.  We are very priviledged to be able to ride in this event, and it will be an extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime thing for me.  Quite daunting really but an experience I am unlikely to get another chance at, so I need to make the most of it!

http://www.melbourne2010.com.au/default.aspx?s=HSWCCB

2010 DBR Canberra Women's & Junior Tour

My race report is due out soon on the "Sweet As" site, but until then, here are a few photos from the frosty conditions... courtesy of Greg Long.   http://www.sweetascycling.com.au/

I know we live in Brisbane where it's warm, but Canberra racing in July was an awesome experience.

What happened to May?

I feel like it was only last week that it was the end of April, and I had a month to go to Metro champs... well suddenly they are on this weekend, and I honestly don't know what happened to the last month!

Yes, I have been busy, both at work and with cycling (and I was sick with the flu for a few weeks too), but I still don't exactly know how the time has gone so fast again!

As a quick summary, the Canberra tour with the Bundaberg Sugar "Sweet As" Team was just awesome to say the least; and the recent State criterium championships at Nundah was a great race too (and not just because Simone won!!!).  Not to mention that before we even left for Canberra, Ang won at Murarrie and Nik won at Lakeside!  But it's definitely not all about winning...

With Nik and myself now 'officially' becoming team members, it has opened up a whole new world of team experiences and challenges, while both training and racing.

I really can't say enough about all the girls (Angie, Brielle, Nik, Sal & Simone), and our amazing management and support crew (Dave, Wayne, TP & Jason).  The trip to Canberra and our few recent races together have started to show me more about the meaning of team identity, spirit and belonging.

For a more detailed report, take some time out and go to: http://www.sweetascycling.com.au/
to read Sal's Canberra report and Brie's State criterium report.

Canberra adventure coming up

In less than two weeks time, I will go from this

and this

to this

and this

and then back to this.

Although it will include some hard work, I am hoping the trip is also filled with some memorable times and the making of some stronger friendships.

Back into it... yep really back into it this time...

So now I know what it feels like to be in training mode again. Real training. The tiredness and fatigue after long hours on the bike; the muscle soreness... but it’s really quite agreeable.

I was talking to my sports massage therapist last week (Jason @ BFL) and he pointed something out that I guess I didn’t really think about beforehand. He said that when I was most affected by my iron deficiency problem, I would not have been able to push myself as hard during training or racing as I currently can. In doing so, I was actually not placing as much stress and strain on my body, and hence the lack of muscle soreness. Obviously I was still tired when my iron levels were low, but in a different sort of way.

I can say now that fatigue from illness or another medical problem certainly feels different to the fatigue I am currently experiencing when I am ‘healthier’. Fatigue simply from a high training load is a good type of fatigue!

So, as much as it presently hurts more than ever to see my massage therapist, it actually feels really awesome that I have sore muscles again!
I realise that this was just one of the things I was missing during training at the end of last year (... not to mention the enjoyment I am getting out of racing again!).

(And a quick thanks to Adrian Booth @ Boomtime Cycling for helping create some more muscle soreness each week!).