Holidays are coming and I really need them. I'm bailing on my yearly trip to Killarney. Its been so busy with racing this year and September is completely nuts also that having a week off with no real time commitments. The time trial championships are on the 8th this year and that is the only scheduled event for me. I'm thinking that I will get over to Collingwood and ride 3 stage one day for sure. Its been a few months since i was there.

The body is recovering pretty well. My knees are making some strange sounds but with all the problems I've had in the past with them its nothing that has me in panic. I'm sure it was that 10km run with zero training was the root cause. I'm not sure how much running I will do this fall. I have my new roller skis to start playing with in October.

SO what have I learned this season about myself and my body. First of fluids can change. All my stomach issues were caused by Gatorade. Now the thing to remember is that I used this for a couple years with ZERO problems. Now what is one of the golden rules. You don't screw with things on race day and since I never had any problems on training rides, even up to 7 hours it was hard to track down. Thanks again to Tobin. You don't win the national 6 day expedition adventure race championships with out knowing about nutrition.

My one race with actual muscle cramp issue came with the change over of fluids. My sodium intake was not high enough which has been remedied. I goofed a bit by not calculating out my proper mix between eload and cytomax. This was the first race with the new drinks and I didn't calculate what percentages I used to intake from the Gatorade and adjust it to the new drink. That's all taken care of now. The last 3 results have proven that with things. Of course I still have my famed nervous stomach. You may carry stress in your shoulders I carry mine in my stomach. Its been like this since my Dad got sick 4 years ago. Even with the perfect food intake it could turn anytime and remove it. I don't even think about it now. Some may remember a couple years ago on road rides I would just throw up for no reason.

I've also got my sciatic nerve and low back problem very much under control. Not gone but hopefully over the off season it will be. This is also linked to what pace I go at for how long. So what does this mean for me. It means even without consistent top ten finishes and 3 podiums so far this year that I have had a great year. Getting the body figured and fixed was defiantly a priority. My intensity and endurance has continued to grow and has me already looking forward to next year. After a couple months off the bike of course.