Cool video by Steve Di Tomaso

Xmas time, Family time, Re-focus time, Business time

So I recently just got home from an amazing vacation with my family in Hawaii, Waikiki to be exact. It is my happy place, the weather, the ocean, the running, the people, the smell of Hawaii even brings a smile to my face. I didn't bring my bike with me which is a little sad, but it gave me the opportunity to get some new running shoes and hit the streets of Hawaii. I ran up around Diamond Head several times and it was good, I forgot how much I enjoyed running minus the blisters, tight calves and adductors. As of lately I haven't been writing much, but once again I am going to make it a priority to add a quick blurb here and there. My strength and conditioning coach, Steve Di Tomaso, just made a really cool video featuring your's truly which I will post shortly. My sister, Marla Guloien, also made a cool video for me which I will also post shortly when my computer will cooperate. I have such a great group of people surrounding me that are so supportive, and I want to be able to give props to them and show how amazing they are. The life of an athlete can be very tough and I need to suck it up a lot of the time and sometimes it makes it easier when I know I have people that believe in me!!! Okay time for bed. Leah

First Cross Race Done and Done

Cross is so fun, I forgot how much fun it is. Yes, I tasted blood at the end of the race, yes I wanted to quit on several occasions and yes I almost bit it on the run-up, but now that it is over I can reflect and think about how much fun it was. Cross is a great way to stay in shape in the off season, as well as a great way to work on your technical bike handling skills which can be very useful in the European peloton. I ended up coming in 4th today, and it was nice to ride with my friends and duke it out. The "Animal" Jeananne Berkenpas won, Sandy aka Sandra Walter 2nd and Kelly Jones third. From the gun we had a good paceline going and I felt pretty strong and then suddenly I didn't haha, I had enough for a 13 minute race, not a 45 minute one haha. Here are some awesome pics taken by my good friend, Tim Sherstobitoff.

Cross Race

This year I decided to get a cross bike and do some races for FUN hahaha, I laugh every time I say that, and then I think, no really I am just doing this for fun, no pressure. I have ridden my new Rocky Solo CX twice now, and the bike fits and feels really good, so I am excited to test it out in a race. The technical part of cross is going to be a challenge for me, I am pretty pathetic at jumping back on the bike. I refuse to have both feet off of the ground and kick my legs back to jump on the saddle, seriously what if I miss the saddle- I will have much bigger problems than losing 10 seconds in the race. I am going to work on it though and put on some clinics for myself, so if anyone wants to join in on the fun, lemme know. Wish me luck!

Awesome day with the RENTS and last day with my seester, Marla

Bike riding, tennis, hot tubing need I say more!!!!

OFFSEASON

Over the past week, I have been in HOT La Quinta, Palm Springs (like 105F-117F degrees, or 41C-47C) spending some time with my entire immediate family. I haven't seen my older sister, Krista, since Xmas and she had a brief break after Worlds and winning a Silver medal! It is nice to spend some time with the family, we are always travelling somewhere, or busy doing something and it is nice to just sit down and have a conversation. Being away and having some time to sit and think about my next steps is also nice. What team will I race with for next season, (as my team this year will no longer be on the circuit), what will I do for work, how will I improve my training and fitness to achieve the goals I have set for myself ??? and the list goes on... I am anxious, excited and scared all at the same time, but I need to continue to live in the moment and right now life is pretty good. I have a lot of offseason goals I would like to tackle too. My TO DO list includes 1. racing some cross races, 2. trail running, 3. some long hikes- I want to go back to Whistler for this, 4. getting some strength in the gym, 5. work on my technical mountain bike skills and 6. HAVE FUN doing it!!!

South Carolina, Palm Springs and soon Europe!

I recently got home from a ten day training camp in South Carolina and the weather was amazing, the people were awesome and the riding was hard!!! I was really impressed with some of the rides we went on, particularly Whitewater Falls and Sassafrass, both of which had a great climb that tested all of our legs. The camp had a great mix of mountain bikers, road cyclists and track riders and everyone brought something to the table. There were doctors, physiotherapists and tons of students pursuing goals outside of their athletic endeavours- very impressive!!!

I am now back in beautiful, sunny Palm Springs and getting in some good miles with my Dad. My Dad has been slacking on his training and his road riding is suffering haha, the day has officially come where I can kick his ass. If my Dad hadn't punished me for years on the bike, I might have some sympathy, but that is not the case. I can't even begin to count how many times I have bonked, been dropped and cried on the side of the trail/road because I was being pushed way beyond my limits. Payback is a biatch hahaha.

My grandma is currently in town for several weeks and her sister and husband are visiting at the moment. They brought me a really cool gem that sits beside my bed and I am supposed to hold it at night and it promotes love and passion. It opens the heart chakra to all forms of love- self love, family love, platonic love and romantic love. With that said, I might need a garden of those little gems hahaha, just kidding I got a lot of love to give. My grandma then insisted that I needed some more gem bracelets. So now I am wearing some Protection, Balance and Harmony on my wrist. I am still not sure if I should be appreciative or offended that people are thinking I am lacking in these areas???? Once again kidding- obviously just a thoughtful gesture right???

Lots of things are coming up for me. Racing in Madera with my teammate Cara and then off to Europe at the end of March until the beginning of May. I can't wait to start racing!!!