My Bloody Olfactory Device

I've been hard at work these last weeks. I know full well that I've got some catching up to do, so I've been putting in those miles. I've been getting my sleep, taking my vitamins, and eating my veggies. I've been treating it like my job so that some day it will be. Here's me:

And wouldn't you know it, my work's been paying off -- it's been two solid months back on the bike, and I'm starting to feel inklings of my old self. I'm not exactly choppin' fools' heads off, but I've at least got my legs underneath me enough to do some quality training (whereas when I first arrived, I felt like I was riding my bike through a pool of molasses, towing a felled pine tree, with flat tires, and one lung). And not a moment too soon: tomorrow is the first "real" race of the season, Independence Valley. I say real because it's not a training race where if you're hurting you can just sit on -- it's a race where you can't hide -- you need fitness to finish, let alone factor. Four laps around a 20 mile course with two nasty little climbs. I'm excited. My expectations are not especially high -- I'll be training right through this sucker, so I'm hitting it depleted as well as out of shape, but that's fine by me. I'm aiming for bigger targets later in the calendar. I'm just psyched to have a race where everybody's gotta put their cards on the table.

Speaking of calendars, I just posted my upcoming races for the upcoming month or so. Still unsure of the Tour of the Gila -- that's a big if, and it'll be based on my fitness and my finances -- basically if I win enough prize money to buy a plane ticket, I'll know I'm ready.