Balance.

When is it too much? When it is not enough? If I do this, does it throw this thing out of wack?
These are the questions I find a challenge and when it comes to cycling I practically struggle! Why? Because of my cycling aspirations I want to do everything in my power to achieve a high level in cycling, and that tends to be lined up with the thought process that the more I do the more I gain!..WRONG, but it’s easier to say this then to do it! A little voice in my head always looks for ways to up the anti, so I can up the performance!
However it’s the “little voice” that has put me in many “holes”, for those of you not familiar with cycling lingo; so stuffed that you can only ride at one pace and the thought of wind and hills throw’s you into survival mode to make it through the ride! Yep been there done that a few time’s! So have I learnt from my mistakes? Yes and No. I tend to get myself a little bit less in a hole these days before I pull out and try to get on the right track. But I think I’m slowly showing improvement and finding the balance. Ways in which I’ve done this;

- Backing my ride up with gym, not riding twice a day to get to gym at a separate time
- Recovery means recovery, slow and easy wins the race
- Recovery foods
o Protein shakes
o Eating heaps before during and after rides
- Only do efforts when I’m meant to i.e. only on the ergo and road when told to by my coach, not going out for a ride in the hills and treating it like a smash feast

So it’s taken a little while to get this far, in the process on refining my training, and hopefully only finer adjustments will need to be made from here on!
I also stuck balance in my life off the bike this week. I gave up desk time for social time. Had an extra coffee with friends, chilled and talked “smack” with my mates, spent more time with my sometimes neglected man Stack. This made my week so much more enjoyable and a little less stress over study, and a little more attention to relaxing and enjoying this great world! Put me in a great world for the week!

However while my realisations of life continued for me, one massive realisation which wasn’t so good came to my friend and the smasher on the front on a Wednesday morning bunch ride Chris Jongewaard. My heart dropped when I was standing at work on Friday night as the 6pm news came on and announced that Blood as he is known to many would be going to Jail for 9 months at least, over a cyclist car crash in 2007. Thoughts for Chris and his family are on every cyclist’s mind that knew him, also knowing that he will battle his way through this like a soldier. Amber Halliday summed up many cyclists feeling’s in the Sunday Mail; strongly recommend reading, on the insight of what has happened and how Blood does not deserve what he has been dealt!

Leaving on that note, have an awesome week, soak it up!
Till then :)
Angela

Picture’s from weekend’s Norwood Club Champ’s.Great day of racing; sun was out, nice loop of 17k completed 4 times!

Top girl C. Light 2nd in C grade!