Back to turning leaves and pedals

i am back now in evanston. came back from a HOT california (even
santa cruz was toasty!) to 38*F here. it was not too cold when i
rode, but still. it was quite the bummer to go from shorts and a
short sleeve jersey to arctic expedition clothes. what i really want
is a full body puffy suit. marmot use to make one- but now, they
just make puffy pants and suspenders. sigh.

today was rather un-eventful in my little world. i went out for
about 2.5 hours (a little less) on my TT bike. the problem was that
with my thick tights- the 'ol crotch was not liking the TT setup too
much. stubborn me stayed out, but i was not a happy brooke. i kept
changing my positioning, dropped my bars, angled my seat: stuff like
that. i ended up changing my good fit into a bad one. so now i am
pretty beat up. but i did put in the miles. sometimes i feel better
having a crappy ride and sucking it up than a good one. it reminds
me that i am dedicated to this and doing this for a reason. i still
love my bike and love riding- but when i don't... it reminds me that
beneath the fun, i am also serious about what i want to accomplish.

i touched base with my coach today. it has been a while since i have
talked with kam because it is off-season and he is busy with other
things too. he wants me to not be doing anything structured right
now, but linda wants me lifting and riding. it is hard when you have
conflicting opinions about what is best for your training. i kind of
have to pick one that i agree with and go from there. obviously- i
am leaning on the side of start training now- rather than later. i
loved the kam-plan though and he made me really strong without
burning me out or working me too hard. i trust him. but i also
trust linda. and i want to be 100% stronger next year than i was
this year. this was a great start... but i want more! greedy
brooke! one good season is not enough. i like being on the steep
end of the improvement curve. i worry that i will get frustrated
when i progress starts to level out. fortunately- i have many
weaknesses to train! so- train away i will. even on my torture bike
with thick tights.