Since becoming a facebook addict I've been spending no time blogging at all. Part of it is because I've been having so much fun there, and my posts have been automatically been crossposted to my notes on there which has opened this up to a wider and much more interested (relatively) audience.

I suppose that might be why I've been avoiding posting anything about my training or fitness lately, which has been pretty much what I've used this blog for since the beginning. I don't really want to own up to how far off the wagon I've let myself get. There have been a lot of personal reasons that have contributed to it—both really good and not -quite-so-good—but ultimately I just have to own up to it and start over again.

Since my "woo hoo, I hit 160 pounds" post I've started to be less active. Over the winter it was pretty much expected, especially with my bad IT band, but I've been eating pretty badly lately too.

Yesterday on my training ride it became really apparent when I completely lost a lighter rider going up some hills. It was crazy to see how much distance he gained by the time we hit the top. Then today after hitting the scale I gasped when I saw the readout at 169. Ouch. I know I ate a lot late yesterday after the ride and that's still weighing me down by a pound or two, but still. Not a good position to be in, and it's time to get serious again.

Now that my IT band is feeling mostly better, I'm going to get some serious training in. We only have three weeks left before leaving for Montreal! I've only got in 350 km of training this year, which is much lower than I was last year at this time when I did the ride to Ben's cottage and back again. I'm planning on riding to work at least twice a week, and doing both training rides in the next two weekends, which should give me at least an extra 600 kms of training before heading out on the ride.

Speaking of the ride, there are only three weeks left to help me reach my fundraising goal! I've been a little slow in canvassing for sponsorship. I really hate to ask people to give money, but this actually for a really good cause, and it's a win-win situation for anyone who donates. The Toronto People with AIDS Foundation is a non-profit organization that raises money to help people who are living with HIV/AIDS. It's not a nameless, faceless corporation [I'm air quoting here if you can see me] "raising funds for research." They help regular people who have had their lives affected by the virus.

As an example, if you contract the HIV virus and don't have enough medical coverage through a health plan at work, you can expect to pay hundreds of dollars a month to keep the virus at bay. Even if you only have to pay 10% of the cost of medications, that can have a huge impact on your income. PWA offers food bank services, income support, health services and a whole lot more for people in need.

If you'd like to help people who have been affected by the virus, and help me raise enough money to participate in the ride, please feel free to sponsor me here: https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/personalPage.aspx?EventID=9755&LangPref=en-CA&RegistrationID=264513