November 2012 Review

Almost at the end of the year - where has 2012 gone?!  Road racing season is well and truly over, and the only racing left is track racing (which I don't do) and club criteriums (which finish for the year in mid-December).  So not much to do but ride-ride-ride!!

Here is what I managed to do for November - 

Mileage: 422km (2012 year-to-date: 4483km)
Weight: 78kg (steady)

Mentally, I'm already preparing myself for 2013.  I have been carefully going over all that I have done this year, and deciding what worked, what didn't, what my obstacles & stumbling blocks were and how to overcome them, and getting some basic goals sorted.  Needless to say, I will blog these in the new year to keep myself accountable!!

Meanwhile, there is (barely!) a month left of 2012 to go, and that is not time that I intend to waste!

I want to make sure I hit my 5000km goal (as per the last blog post) for the year.  I also want to try and squeeze a couple more races in before the clubs shut up shop for the year.  ANother priority is to try out a few more shop/bunch rides to suss out which ones I like the most and can become regular parts of my training next year.

Healthwise, I have had a good going over by my GP - I asked him to make sure I was in good health given I want to ramp up my mileage next year.  Turns out I have a low haematocrit (37) and low haemoglobin levels - not what you want to hear as a cyclist!

I'm getting another round of bloods done, looking at my iron & b12 levels (results still to come).  It wouldn't surprise me if I'm anaemic, as my mother & aunts have all had issues with low iron levels in the past - but time will tell.

Just to cover off any other possible causes, my GP has booked me in for a colonoscopy and upper endoscopy for next week - "cameras up both ends", he laughed (easy for him to laugh!!).  I've never had a colonoscopy before - apparently the 'prep drink' that cleans you out pre-procedure is, well, very effective...  At any rate - better to be safe then sorry, and my GP and I will have all the info we need to ensure I'm in tip-top shape for 2013.

All I need is for the weather to behave itself, and I can hopefully get some good mileage down for December to help set me up for the new year...!!