First race back from cancer in just a few days.

Got the results back from my most recent round of blood work. Everything is looking good. My liver numbers have returned to normal (chemo seems to have done some damage last year that is only just now resolving). However, my platelets and white blood cells remain low so I’m not clotting quite as well and my immunity isn’t stellar.

Also, I occasionally suffer from the side effects of my maintenance drug. Namely fatigue, and mild nausea. I’ll have a few weeks where training is going well, I’ve got lots of energy, and I feel great. But, then I’ll have a week where I feel terrible and I can’t get through all my training rides.

What can I say? Stuff like this is a small price to pay for my life.

I do my first race back this coming Saturday!

It’s a more or less flat criterium that, upon viewing a video of racing on that course, appears to me to be more like a circuit race than a crit. Either way, it’s my first test back of my fitness after banging away at the TrainerRoad program since last September.

I’m apprehensive but, my goals are modest. Honestly, if I can just finish in the group I’ll consider it a victory! The race is on the Air Force Academy grounds. I raced there a lot during the 90’s. I did a ton of collegiate racing there. I also did the World Championships for blind athletes as a driver for a blind woman (we were 5^th). And I once did a huge stage race there that was attended by Tour de France Winners Miguel Indurain and Lance Armstrong among others.

I’ve been racing bikes a long time. I’ve done a lot of races. I’ve won some races. And I’m still super nervous for a cat. 4/5 race.

I downgraded my racing license from cat. 1 to cat. 4 two years ago thinking that that might allow me to finish races. I figured my life just didn’t allow the kind of time for, and quality of training needed to race at a high level anymore. And still, even in the cat. 4 races I couldn’t finish. Despite feeling like the training was there, never mind my experience and residual fitness. Now we know why.

So I’m back at it this year. And I’m a heck of a lot healthier than 2 years ago!