The last time I sent a newsletter was on February 5th, right after cyclocross World Championships. Quite frankly, although I have been active since, I have not followed a training plan since that date either.
The last two years have not been smooth sailing for me...illness, injuries, and struggles with mental health/fatigue have been relaying each other too frequently. I'd get over something and something else would be waiting on the other side. We managed to squeeze out some short moments of good performances here and there, but I feel like I've been running after my tail a lot and have not managed any kind of consistent training build up. That meant that I would hit a good level of fitness after some short burst of "panic training" to be ready for a race after a setback, but I never managed to have a form solid enough to carry me through a longer period.
But this kind of non-consistency is annoying. So after the season ended this year, I decided that I would do a proper rest; a big break to take the time to address all the illness/fatigue/injuries/etc to make sure my body and mind were 100% recovered and ready to start afresh.
So, for the first time in maybe 10 years, after the cx season, David and I stayed home for the winter. We normally spend 2 weeks home (after coming back from 3 months in Europe) and would leave for another 3 months to train somewhere warm. Not this year! Instead, we stayed home and took advantage of the winter to ski, see friends, do some running, yoga, ice skating, fat biking, make maple syrup, and relax. When the weather became nice again in April, I was very excited to get back on the bike.
Racing Rasputitsa Dirt - The power of being rested
And that brings us to the first event of the season, coinciding with my first proper workout of the season: Rasputitsa Dirt last weekend in Vermont.
Truthfully, I wasn't sure how my body would react to a 3h race effort after such a long break, but I was excited to find out. And this was a good feeling to have! David and I camped in our van the night before the race, and when we woke up at 6AM, it was very cold and snowing. Yet, I found myself being excited for the challenge ahead. In the last two years, I was feeling so tired that there is a strong chance this would have almost brought me to tears.
The race started and I decided to use my experience to position well within the group. Another woman was in the same front group as me, and quite honestly, she looked really good on the climbs...much better than me! But I always managed to stay with the group. With about 20km to go, we reached the first longer climb of 5-10minutes. I was suffering hard, and was getting dropped of my group. But then, I looked back and the other woman was about 20sec behind me. I looked up and the group of men was 20 sec in front of me. "This could be the race winning move, Magh", I told myself. I gave all I had to the top of the climb just to tip over the climb with the group of guys, and she didn't make it. From there I worked super hard with this group, and in the end, I surprised myself with taking the win!!
I had so much fun, and even though I was lacking some power and speed, it felt so good to push hard and suffer that this energy gave me wings!
I learned how much empowering it is to be rested.
Racing Paris to Ancaster - The power of being trained & prepared
One week later, David and I drove to Toronto to race the infamous Paris to Ancaster gravel race. The oldest and most prestigious gravel race in Canada was celebrating its 30th edition.
I felt slightly more confident heading into this one. At the same time, I knew it would play out differently. Rasputitsa was more a race of "high tempo" effort for 3h. The course in P2A creates a different kind of racing. The first 45km are fast and you have to be well positioned in the group. Then, the next 70km is a lot more punchy efforts. The course keeps alternating with wider gravel roads and narrow technical sections, so the peloton is constantly fighting for position and doing short bursts of high power in and around the technical sections to reduce the size of the group.
Years of training allow me to be able to push a high tempo for a long time even if I'm not that fit...but high intensity power burst need training.
Yet, I used my experienced and positioned really well in the pack to allow me to navigate the technical sections at the front and not get dropped. It was working. At the first big separation, I almost made the front group of men. I knew I was the only women so I fought hard to bridge the few seconds that separated me...but after a bit I realized I would burn too many matches and decided to wait for the chase group. Still, only Devon Clarke and I made that group within the women. I felt in control through the first 70km and knew the battle between her and I would happen towards the end of the race where the most decisive technical sections and climbs happen.
At 70km, I turned on a pavement corner and my rear wheel completely slid out. For a while I had felt my rear tire dragging, but I wasn't certain if I was hallucinating. Now, it was clear. My rear tire was flat. Shit. In such a fast part of the race, I knew I'd lose a lot of time, but I had to stop to fix it. I'll spare you the details, but long story short, make sure you have a Co2 head in your spare kit. I can't believe I didn't have it. I was certain I had checked before. After 15 minutes, I kind of sealed the tire and hand pumped it to "never quite firm".
I rode the last 50km solo on a 10-15psi soft and bouncy rear tire. The win was out of the question at that point, but I could still have a good training ride! I actually had a lot of fun just riding hard and passing people one by one on that fun course. I finished 8th with some cramps in my legs and mud in my face: signs of a good day out!
Last week, I learned the power of experience, and the power of being rested. This week, being rested again empowered me to keep a good attitude and push hard through obstacles. But I was also reminded of the power of being well prepared (fixing equipment!!!!) and of being trained (maybe I could have made the first group the first time with a tiny bit more power!).
The season is started
So perhaps these first two races can teach me something important for the season ahead: Find the balance between being well trained, but still rested and energized. It's a fine line, but that's what I'm aiming for.
Now, I'm home for the next month and not moving from here. We are officially starting to train this week, and I am very excited for it. My goal is to keep the relaxed mindset I've learned to cultivate over the last couple of months even if I'm focused on doing the best I can in training.
There is 5months before the start of cyclocross season, and 10 months until the CX World Championships, so more than enough time to do a proper build up and hopefully find some consistency again this year!
Thanks for reading everyone and I look forward to seeing you at the races this summer!
Leaving you with a few more photos below, because one of the highlights of our trip was the people we met along the way: probably one of the best gift of cycling!
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