Quick recap of the race at Shepparton... the goal was to dial down the nutrition and go hard on the bike. I had been running it up the week before and decided to crank up the fun with a little weekend race. I stayed well hydrated the night before as the daytime temps were expected to cross 38 degrees. There was not too much humidity so, that really helped. The highlights were a horribly slow swim, thanks to being clobbered by lots of AG men, not caring :) Getting out on that bike and nailing it and getting to the run and being in a very happy place for 14-odd kms. The goal was to plod and see where my plodding speed would lead me. I had been evaluating some horrible race-flats the week before, not good for my feet at all.. but that is the point of evaluation, to find out. I surprised myself given that it was just 2.5 weeks into the start of my season. The key is rest and nutrition, if only things were that simple :)

Looking forward to keeping up the good attitude, this life is about the journey!

Im trying to perfect the art of resting on past laurels but, thankfully, I have not yet managed it. I took 5-6 weeks off after my Ultraman Canada and Ironman Canada double. I was sure that I needed the time to be pampered by the normal things one could enjoy, mom's cooking, heaps of work, re-branding our company's offerings, etc. I kept moving though, just to keep the legs ticking over but the 3 hour rides were a thing of the past after the first month back in Bangalore. I needed the break and I took it happily.

Jumping off the deep end seems to be my mainstay for now, whether it be with work, sport or play and so, that is exactly what I did last week by taking part in the Five Passes tour that climbed most of the Southern Alps in New Zealand. I knew I was going to suffer because of the drastic weather change (going from 30+ degrees in South India to 7- degrees was no joke) and the lack of miles in my legs. This was a serious road tour by all means. The highlights were nailing the prologue, hanging with a much faster group for more than a few hours on the first day, suffering a major setback on the second day that required two hours of painkillers and some major sobbing, riding again with a much faster group on the third day and riding away from them towards the middle, getting past all the passes and winning the KOM jersey for my division. It made me laugh but it also made me proud, show me another that jumps in after 5-6 weeks off, I say! I will take my victories and be proud of them from now on. This is a major goal for the coming year.

Modesty is not overrated and I love humble people but, the flip side is also to give one's self enough credit for doing the work. I couldnt walk for two days and my bruises are slowly healing but, here is to a great start for the rest of the year and a new season.