this one time, at Geelong Camp...

if you got the impression that this post would resemble something off American Pie then i'm sorry. it's not. you might as well leave now and go back to the google search.. whatever that may be :s

Over the last week and a half I have had the great pleasure of going on my own mini ‘training camp’ down in Geelong. I was staying with none other than Kim Howard and her family at her beautiful home on the outskirts of Geelong – home of the 2010 UCI Road World Cycling Championships. I used this opportunity to get one last decent block of training in before heading overseas – ooooo and i certainly did. Over the course of the week, I did more training than I have done in a very long time!! And the best bit about it all?? Apart from actually making it through alive, I also feel a million times stronger than I did before! Bonus :) I saw numbers on my SRM that I’ve never seen before in my life!! I’m just hoping I don’t wake up and this is all a dream...

Every day I went out with either Kim or some of the girls she coaches on the roads of Geelong just to get some Ks in the legs and be able to relax and not think of anything except riding my bike! I was spoilt – meals cooked, clothes washed...Kim also provided me with some great advice about my career and gave me another perspective on things...I mean she knows her stuff! As a former pro and mother of HTC rider Leigh Howard himself, I jumped at the opportunity to pick her brains! I am very thankful for her kindness and even though she enjoyed bagging me out for my excessive sleeping, i'm sure she's just jealous of my ability to pass out on demand ;)


The weather in Geelong was beautiful; clear skies and warm temperatures (well for us Canberrans anyway!!) it was a nice change to growing frost on the morning bunch rides! I even went with Kim to watch some of her girls race a circuit race at Albert Park in Melbourne. I was feeling good and keen to race so I check to see if I could get a late entry the day before... but no luck :( Oh well, it was good to watch anyway! I like to consider myself a pro at telling people what they should do in races... your own personal sideline critic. I’m sure people can’t wait for me to start racing just so I shut up!! Ha ha. I am so keen to race its ridiculous! I’m going to do my first race this weekend... a good old Canberra club race out at Stromlo! Now time to practice what I preach!


It wasn’t all training when in Geelong...Whilst I was down there I also had the delight of meeting Sam Leslie, a much respected physio from Werribee who has helped many cyclists go on to win numerous world championships and world cup medals. A real legend in this own right. Sam contacted me after reading my blog (so it’s true – someone other than you is reading this mum!!!) and said that he recognised some of my symptoms and thought he could give me a hand, and that he did. The first day I met Sam was a real eye opener, when he explained to me what his theory was I have to admit I was asking myself what I’d gotten myself into...But when he finished explaining it, I was amazed. It made total sense. So we started treatment and testing and the results he found were incredible, how the slightest manipulation can cause a drastic difference. I have been to see many physios/sports doctors who have all told me the same thing... and it hasn’t worked...Although I am grateful for all the advice and help they have given me, it looks like it took someone who thinks outside the box, who throws away the text books and makes decisions based on what they find, on not what they should find to help people with unusual symptoms like mine. Sam has done a great deal to help me, and has left me with all the tools necessary to help with my recovery. I am now confident that with his help I can hopefully nip whatever the hell this is in the butt!! I would highly recommend Sam to anyone who is having any niggling issues; I think that he may just have the answer you’re looking for...




So now I’m back in Canberra and the weather has been wonderful....not. Been on the ergo for the last two days but fingers crossed I’ll be able to hit the roads tomorrow :) I’m just tying up loose ends here before I leave next week... wow, it sounds so close saying it out loud!! This is another chapter of my cycling career that I’m definitely looking forward to :)

Ciao for now
xx

SwaboLadies Cycling Team

So I’m heading overseas on the 10th of June and won’t be coming back until September, as you do...
To do what exactly? Well to race my bike of course :) oh, and I guess I should visit my parents too...:P

For the next 3 or so months, I have the great pleasure of riding for a local Dutch club team – SwaboLadies Cycling Team. Rochelle Gilmore has been a great help in my quest for a team for the 2010 season and has very kindly reached into her bag of contacts and put me in touch with Hans Blom, DS of SwaboLadies. I am very privileged to have help from someone like Rochelle and really appreciate the time and effort she put in to help someone like me :)

So why a Dutch team? I know that the typical style of Dutch racing doesn’t seem as though it would be up my alley; however, I believe I have a lot to learn by competing in these sorts of hard and fast races (how to place myself in an aggressive bunch of 200 girls, on dodgy roads and in most often less than ideal conditions) and I will be able to improve on my weaknesses (such as my ‘renowned’ lack thereof ability on the flat) and develop into a stronger, more rounded cyclist. In addition, Holland has races on at least every weekend and what better way to improve myself in races, than to race. I will be able to gain the valuable race experiences that unfortunately you can’t get back in Australia.


For the length of my stay, I have had a very generous offer from one of the girls on the team, Sofie van Horik, to stay with her and her family on their farm in Oosterwijk which is apparently just outside of Lebermann... and if you don’t have google maps handy or a creepily insane knowledge of geography, 30min south of Amsterdam. Upon accepting the offer, I learnt that two NZ girls will also be staying there which means i’ll have plenty of training buddies!! Hopefully they like coffee stops....otherwise we may have problems :p.


I am heading back from Geelong today, sad to go but will be happy to see my gorgeous sister who is holding down the fort back home :) as well as my coach, who has had a much needed break from me :p

For more information about the SwaboLadies Team, you can check out their website at http://www.swaboladies.nl but good like deciphering it ;) i may have to add Dutch to my every growing list of languages to learn.... However, surfing the site I noticed that you can buy sort of ‘fan cards’ of the girls... maybe i’ll have my own trading card when i’m over there ha ha





Update from my time in Geelong to come!

Ciao for now
Take care
xx

Karool - an experience like no other

Yesterday I had the pleasure of going to get a massage with Jill Dobkin at her studio which she calls 'Karool', the Australian Aboriginal word for 'Stone'. Located in the Narrabundah business park, it is definitely one of Canberra's best kept secrets.

I was fortunate enough to stumble upon this gem at my weekly pilates class in which Jill is a participant. Jill suggested that I should come and pay her a visit after displaying my obvious muscle soreness and tightness in our last class (post SEs mind you) and I accepted, after all what did i have to lose!

After an initial consultation where Jill asked questions about my current health, injuries and general well-being based upon which she then created a self-care strategy plan to enable me to live a better quality lifestyle which she sent me shortly after the treatment. After the assessment, I was rewarded with 2hrs of pure bliss. I had warm basalt stones to sooth and relax my tired muscles..Reflexology to subtly release tension from various parts of my body...It was an experience like no other i've had before. I left 'Karool' feeling refreshed, energized, relax and like a heavy weight had been lifted off my shoulders...My body hadn't felt this good in a long time!

To say the least, I'd say Jill is a magician but don't just take my word for it and go pay Jill a visit yourself!!!

For more details check ou www.karoolmassage.com.au

Take care
xx

So what does it take to be Pro??

So what is it that makes some riders THAT much better than others... are they simply genetic freaks or is there some way that us ‘mere mortals’ can close that seemingly huge gap?

If you take one look at the current cycling scene in Australia, noticeably on the track, it is obvious that there are numerous athletes who just seem leagues better than everyone else. World Champion at 19?? Yeah no big deal...It seems that to make an impression back home, it is now necessary to win multiple World titles! (Don’t get me wrong, I'm not taking anything away from their performances!!! To be the best in the world is not an easy thing to do!!! and to do it multiple times?? that's insane.) Every year times are getting quicker, technology is getting greater and all in all everyone just seems to be getting better.

I would love to get into the head of riders like Mick Rogers, Fabian Cancellara,Jens Voigt Lance Armstrong and figure out just what makes them tick.

One thing I have learnt over the years is that to be an elite cyclist (or any elite sportsperson for that matter) you have to be committed, dedicated, passionate, organised and have a clear head space, just to name a few. Being an elite cyclist is a full time job. Training hasn’t finished when you jump off the bike after a hard day in the saddle... oh no...You still have to get food into you, have a shower, stretch and if the session was hard enough, sit quietly in the foetal position in bed whilst you recover.

I was fortunate enough to have a chat to professional cyclist Rochelle Gilmore of the Lotto-Belisol cycling team whilst she was down here training before heading over to Europe to start her season and she was generous enough to let me in on some of her secrets for success. Whether it is getting all of your cycling gear all set out the night before so you are organised for the next day’s training session or you are religiously logging every detail of the days ride into your training diary, I’m sure that there is way more to becoming a successful athlete that meets the eye and that everyone has their own little secrets that work for them.

In my opinion, the main key to becoming a champion cyclist is passion and a clear head space. You got to love what you are doing, otherwise why put yourself through that crippling pain??? In addition, you got to love to hurt. In most races it seems as though the person who wins is not only the strongest out there, but they also know how to hurt themselves the most. Another key is to believe in yourself. You genuinely have to believe that you can win, because if you don’t no one else will! Some pros (most noticeably during sprinting) will put themselves at incredible risk or do things which seem blatantly stupid jut to be able to cross the line with their hands in the air because they believe they can win.



Jens Voigt- one of the more silent achievers in the peleton. One of my role models and someone who definitely knows how to hurt!



Having a clear head space is also another useful thing to have when trying to be successful. Sure, that is not always possible, things pop up uncontrollably all the time – that’s life- but being able to put those things aside and learning how to deal with them is probably one of the most beneficial things you can learn to do. When you are training, you can’t be finishing an assignment or worrying about what is going on at home because of exactly that -you are out training. There is nothing you can do about it until you get home, so don’t stress about it! (Easier said than done, but that’s just the facts)


So although it helps to be genetically gifted, and i’m taking nothing away from the success our athletes are currently experiencing, but there are other little things you can do to ensure that you give yourself the best opportunity possible to achieve your potential. After all, it’s not one giant step that does it, but lots of little ones.


The dream :)
In other news, i’m finalising plans to head over to Europe to race at the end of June – more details to come :) but I can’t wait! I am also going down to Geelong next week to do a bit of a training camp, taking myself out of Canberra so I can get away from work and concentrate on what I really want to do – ride my bike :)

Until next time
xx

Canberra Tour from the eyes of the light blue, super charged mini convertible...

Oh, and did I mention the seat warmers??


Over the last 3 days I’ve spent roughly 8hrs in the commissaires car watching Women’s A grade with Robyn Sprouster (com) and Kim Howard (coach extraordinaire) at the Canberra Tour.


My decision to do this came when I rode around the infamous Cotter-Uriarra about 3 weeks back. I was scrambling for a smaller gear (unfortunately you don’t get much smaller than a 27th) and when I’d reached the last gear in my cassette, my SRAM gearing would jump to a harder gear whenever I tried finding something smaller than my 27th. I’m pretty sure that is just my bike’s way of telling me to harden the f*%$ up, Carlos Sastre won the 2008 Tour on this bike so i’m pretty sure it is more than equipped to be ridden up the 3 sisters!! Anyway, it made me realise that I was barely strong enough to ride up the 3 sisters, let alone race up them!


Watching the race from the commissaires car, I was able to get a feel of what it is like being on the other side of the bike race. Although I would have much rather have been racing than sitting in a car, it proved to be a valuable learning experience. Over the past 3 days I learnt that being a commissaire and running a bike race brings a great deal of responsibility which a lot of riders don’t realise. Believe it or not, the coms actually care about your safety. If they fine you or give you warnings, it’s not because they are evil power crazy officials, but because they actually value your life and that of the other competitors and don’t want you to DIE! When you’re racing you bike, you get so pumped on adrenalin that you don’t realise what risks you open yourself up to, believe me, I do it all the time! Crossing double white lines on a blind corner on open roads to improve your position may seem like a great idea when you’re racing, but when you’re watching the race from behind, you could swear you had a death wish. So lesson no. 1: Coms are there to protect us and make sure that you have a safe environment to compete in! They are friend, not foe.


Apart from learning the ins-and-outs of commissairing a race, I also learnt maybe why some coaches get so frustrated and women’s racing gets a bit of a bad rep. OK, to be fair it is easy for me to criticise the race from the comfort of a car but this is what it looks like to everyone from spectators to selectors. Compared to the men’s races (we were getting commentary from every grade through the race) the women’s race wasn’t very aggressive. We kept hearing about repeated attacks from the men’s grades and time gaps and bunches getting caught over and over again. Meanwhile our race mainly stayed intact until the closing stages of the race until it became a race of attrition and only the strongest riders survived the final climbs. Fair enough, I understand we don’t have as many people in our races or really many teams but it still doesn’t mean that we have to sit in the bunch and play survival. This was a hilly tour, yet recognised non-climbers were sitting in just praying they’d get over the final climb, where in my opinion they should be making the climbers work leading up to the climb and if you get a break, sweet! You’ve just given yourself a head start on the climb...makes sense right? But that’s just my opinion. In addition, the scribe in the com car (in this case me) takes notes of every rider who gets a significant break and at what distance into the race. Sure you may not win the stage but at least you would have had a go if you attack, you wouldn’t have just been a spectator...and people actually do take notice. So lesson 2: don’t be afraid to have a go. Better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all! And you know what? Sometimes you do get lucky. Don’t just hang around and wait for something to happen, have a crack...whatcha got to lose?


So that’s just a little of what I learnt over the course of the weekend. Hats off to all the girls who rode, it is definitely one of the hardest women’s Tour around at the moment. Well done to Jo Hogan who won the tour overall and also to all the Canberra girls who rode, it was great to see so many of you in there and racing as a team! And to all the volunteers, race organisers, commissaires and the CCC, congrats on yet another very successful Tour!!!!




Probably the questions I was asked most over the weekend were ‘and why aren’t you riding? ’ as well as ‘do you wish you were racing??’ I never like answering that first question because truth of the matter is I don’t really know how to respond. I’m not riding because I’m sick. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, in fact no one has a concrete answer and it’s frustrating to say the least. I can only string a couple of solid days on the bike together before I fall in an unexplainable heap. But you know what? I may not be better now, but I’m closer than I was yesterday. Don’t give up on me just yet, the fire is still burning and I’ll be back stronger than ever...I may just need a little bit.

And yes. I do wish I was racing. That’s the reason I ride bikes, why I train... so I can race. I love the thrill of it, the adrenalin pumping through you and the way you make your body to things you never thought imaginable...all to win a race.


Not much has been happening apart from the Canberra Tour, I went to the Lorna Jane VIP Event at the Canberra Centre on Friday which was great fun! I have to admit, I spent most of the time ‘ooo’ing and ‘ahhhhh’ing over their new winter collection – gorgeous!!!! I can’t wait until I can pimp myself out in all of it!


the mini :) courtesy of Greg Long!

Until next time, take care xx