Quick and Dirty

The quick and dirty update….requested from Regan, nagged by Regan, pestered by Regan…that I update from the weekend.  Haha, okay, not that bad :)

All this overtime is taking it's toll on my system and it's taking a lot longer then I would like to recover from every workout.  Managed to take thursday and friday off, and a four day weekend was exactly what I needed.  Actually a 10 day weekend would have been perfect, but you take what you can get.  We loaded up the car and headed over to Vancouver for the V_CX_C race in Abbotsford.  First big effort since getting back on the bike, and when I saw Catherine Pendral and Sandra Walter at the start line the suffer score just went up, like 40 fold!

photo from Regan Pringle

Had my typical great start, always have to lead out, and quickly found myself in a lead group with Catherine and Sandra.  The long straight course with big climbs didn't suit me to begin with, but throw in a World Champion training full time and I was in a world of hurt.  Going into the fourth of seven laps Catherine really pushed the pace and I was dropped off the back of the group, suffering and finishing in third place….race to fitness this weekend!!

photo from Regan Pringle

Back to the island and up to Shawnigan Lake for Island Cup finals.  Most amazing venue ever, and super fun course with some very rad singletrack :)  All cross races should have single track!  Opting to race with the men, Wendy Simms and I had an epic battle within a battle!  It was so much fun switching back and forth, some sections I would ride faster, some she would ride faster.  I was feeling surprisingly decent considering how trashed I was from the day before, and was looking forward to fighting it out to the finish.  Three laps to go I hear the distinctive sound of a tire burping behind me and Wendy disappeared.  Two laps to, the  race running over an hour for me, my body started to shut down a little and I managed to just settle into a slightly uncomfortable pace to finish off the race…OUCH!!

photo from Regan Pringle

Trying my best to recover this week, getting ready for Nationals this weekend!!  Really wish it would RAIN!!!  PLEASE

Laila!