lisa morgan

It's time.  My ankle is about 98%, my wrist is about 95%, my health is back to good, my mind has gotten over the crazy stuff that has been going on for the last 9 or 10 months and I feel ready to peel myself off the couch and get back on the bikes.  I started on the weekend with a bruise-inducing lap of the new Mt Vic course.  I wasn't going to do the race the next day, but it was a good opportunity to head out with some others and see what is close to the track that will be used for national champs next year.  It was wet, muddy and awesome!  The collection of bruises on my knees and elbows are solely a result of something being up with my pedals so I couldn't unclip, and not wanting to land on my wrist again I went down on my knees and elbows instead - true to form, while going uphill instead of down.  What's 'up' with that?

Next it was time to get back on the road.   While the last few months have involved little riding I've managed to pull together a great new set of equipment and sponsors, including an SRM (for those of you who don't know, that's a pretty fancy power meter).  Never mind the fact that I'm sure my roadie is now heavier than the mtb.  I'm looking forward to getting back on a formal programme stepping up from heart rate based training and in to the realm of training with power for the first time.  Thus far it appears that I'd struggle to power the lightbulb in my bedroom, but I know Robyn will have me putting out enough wattage soon enough to justify a download of Snap's "I've got the power".  Before we can start on that though, my job is to get some miles under my belt and remind my body what it's like to put the hours in.  So far it's made me very sleepy and I'm waiting for the appetite to kick back in.

On a more reflective note, it's not been all that easy to contemplate and get moving on another 'come back', especially so soon after the last one.  The first time around it was pretty easy - I spent the whole time off the bike just desperate to get back on it.  But this time, being hit by one thing after another felt like blow after relentless blow and doing nothing was getting a bit habit forming.  I feel like I've been tested in every way.  When you train every day you develop an identity centred around that training and around the goals you're training for.  To suddenly not have that for so long I started going through a bit of an identity crisis and the goals, the passion and the drive felt like they were fading.  We all need to question ourselves from time to time, test the waters and ensure we are still travelling on the right path.  I've certainly done that over the last few weeks and everything has started to return and I'm psyched to once again see a future with hours on the bikes and the excitement, thrill, exhileration, pain and, sometimes, heartache of racing.

Watch this space...