Nice ride today, rode what is the bike route for the Dennison Lake Triathlon through Winchendon and Templeton, except I rode to it from my house and added a few extra miles for about 26 in total.

Because of all the stuff that happened over the winter healthwise, this is the 'take it easy' year. The actual ramp up in April and May went rather well but slow due to a few setbacks that took me off the bike for a couple of weeks. Ramped back in June and didn't really push myself but just rode. I've been monitoring my progress with my Garmin. At that point in the beginning of summer the perceived effort was pretty high despite some good numbers. Maybe not as good as last year but surprisingly better on some days than in previous years at that time of year. Still though, good days were inconsistent and some days felt hard. It doesn't help that because of the abrupt surgical menopause, to this day, after 225 days I still haven't slept through the nite more than 4 hours at a time which has resulted in some real sleep deprivation this year. Eventually my body should equilibrate. However,about 3 weeks ago I felt strong enough to try to push it to another level without overexertion or overdoing it. I did some drills and intervals. I can honestly say that now, my riding is about as good as last year in speed and climbing endurance and standing climbs. My recovery after climbs is a matter of seconds. I don't really have any long distance endurance though. I can only do about 30 miles but I'm happy with that and have no interest in pursuing more this year. I feel good and I feel strong (aside from sleep deprivation that is worse on some days). I do have some leg lymphedema that occasionally comes up but I'm equipped to deal with it (thanks to Knott's guidance).

I've been making sure I do a lot of take it easy and enjoy rides and leave the computer at home too. When the days get chillier I'll be taking to the woods with the Mt. Bike. Life is good.