Got my...body back!!!

It's taken several months of commitment and hard work, but I've finally got my 'fit body' back. Any female who's body has had 'better days' can relate to this comment. It's also taken some getting used to. For the past 3 months I haven't liked my 'race' body - the core strength work that I've needed to do has meant that I no longer have that 'hourglass figure' - I'm more straight up and down. The strength work on the bike and improved riding technique has meant that my already developed (big) butt has somehow taken on a mind of it's own and has 'further developed' (the kind words of my chiropractor...translation meaning my butt is bigger). I have realised that, when developed, ones glutes actually sit as high up as your hips - after complaining to coach Tory about this new development, she exclaimed great pleasure with my newly acquired 'shelf'....SHELF I say - what a totally unglamorous word. I simply refer to it as my 'muffin tops'. Unfortunately my 'shelf' meant that my work pants were becoming uncomfortable. A good reason to take 4 weeks leave, I say. Thankfully, the increased intensity/duration of my rides (assisted by not working) and more time working my upper body at the gym (Coffs Coast Health Club) has resulted in a far more impressive body.

3 weeks out from the Worlds - all going pretty well, and then it started raining in the middle of a block of long rides...DAMN!!!

I'm enjoying being the full-time athlete - wake, ride, eat, sleep. The dogs have enjoyed having me around a bit more, even though I have been spending long days in the saddle. I had been doing most of my training on my own, but then managed to coax a fellow Worlds racer to join me on a 6 hour mtb ride near Bellingen. We enjoyed the ride, especially the cake shop stop in Bello 2 hours in. On the way out the climbs were interspersed with short descents. The final 6 hour ride clocked up 2,300m climbing - lets hope this can be useful during the 24 hour.

The idea was to back this ride up with a longer or harder ride the following day. Initially my riding buddy was all in for this, but I think I broke my new riding friend on our first ride cause he pulled the pin on the following day. I'm still a bit worried that it wasn't the hard ride that turned him off, but my company... : (

5 weeks out from World Solo 24 Hour Championships

It's been a busy 3 months since my last post. A brief summary:

5 days in Mt Beauty with coach Tory Thomas, her husband Tim, and their fantastic fur kids. This time was finished off with the Albury 6 Hour. I was still really fatigued after a hectic 9 week program - a program that saw me doing long rides week after week, and what local racing I attended was a matter of hanging in there. Warming up with Tory was a sign of things to come - my legs were fatigued and I was not in a good state of mind either. I completed the prologue and the first lap, and pulled out - I had nothin'. But that allowed me to assist Tim in supporting Tory, and catch up with Albury locals I hadn't seen for many years. Tory raced consistently, took out the Female Solo win, and also took home the Fastest Female prologue lap, beating teams riders and fellow former Torq team mates in the process.

After a well needed recover week, I was back into training. 8th August saw the Coffs Harbour Marathon - a 100km event on the local flowy trails of Pine Creek. This event was 4 x 25km laps. I was feeling strong and fresh in the warm up (something that I hadn't felt for months), and I was looking forward to the event. I hung with the other girls for the first lap, but realised that I didn't have the speed to be able to maintain that pace for another 3 laps. I backed off to a pace that I was still working at, but could maintain for the remainder of the race. I was feeling strong for the entire time, until the last 8km. I didn't eat going into the final lap (a lesson learnt) and blew up. The hills were actually hurting me and I didn't like it. I finished 4th in Elite Women.

A week later was the Appin 400 - a 400 minute (6hr 40min) event on an extremely demanding course south of Sydney. I entirely enjoyed the course, even though by 5 hours in my upper body was in agony. Mum offered to support me for the event, which meant that I was riding strong the whole way - no missing feed stops this time. I finished feeling tired in the legs, but surprisingly good compared to previous events. I finished 2nd in Elite Women behind Katrin van der Spiegel.

It's now early September, 5 weeks out from the Worlds, and I can finally leave the demands of work behind me and focus entirely on myself and my training. Ride, eat, sleep, beach with dogs - oh to have the life of an unemployed person.