You Know You're Out of State When...

I'm on my way to Yuma. I was in the car all day long today - much of the time spent sitting in stand-still traffic because I choose to go the most touristy routes I could. I saw the Grand Canyon today for the first time. It was truely breathtaking, and I would have loved to have stayed longer. But it was 15-20 degrees with a wind, there were a million people (I'd hate to see it when the weather is nice), and I had other places I was supposed to be.

Anyway, I just wanted to make a quick observation before I forget. I had left Flagstaff and was trying to find my way to Sedona on I-17 when I saw a sign that said something like, "Bikes stay on the shoulder." What the? Wasn't I on the INTERSTATE? I started watching for more signs. The next one confirmed what I thought: I was on the interstate. And then the next sign: "Speed Limit 75." Whoa!

Are people in Arizona crazy?

Heading Out

I'm spending my day getting ready to leave this cold weather behind for a week or so.

But first I'm going Nordic skiing. Where I'm going, there will be no snow. Gotta break in the new skis before I go.

I'll be training in Yuma, Arizona for the next week. It looks like it will be beautiful - weather wise, anyway.


I'll try to update while I'm there. But with limited access to a computer, I'm not making any promises.

On my way home, I'm planning on a layover in St. George. Several local cyclists are tentatively planning on heading down for some warmer-weather riding. The group ride is planned for 1 pm on Friday; with another, shorter recovery ride on Saturday morning. Contact me if you want more info.

Then, I'll be hurrying home to try to make it in time to pick up my award at the 'cross party. Hope to see you there!

Christmas Eve

I just realized that I was supposed to ride for an hour today.

BAAAA!!!

Who plans these things? Oh, yeah. It was me.

Oh, well. Merry Christmas to me, I guess.

And MERRY CHRISTMAS to each of you!!!

Distracto

I'm trying to figure out how I ended up at work. I'm supposed to be riding my trainer right now.

Well, actually, I'm not.

I have ADD.

Hang on...I'm supposed to be working...

Okay, back to the story. This afternoon I went up to Sundance for some cross-country ski action. It was great. I didn't want to leave.



But, I was cold, and it was getting late, and Slingshot was in a hurry to get home and finish a project. So, I only got in just over an hour of skiing. Short of my 2 hour goal. Disappointed about having to leave, I decided I would just make up the rest of the time at home riding my trainer.

I came home and made dinner because skiing always makes me hungry. After dinner I found myself making a batch of divinity candy. Not on the plan, but remember what I said about ADD. While the divinity was boiling, I hooked Rio up to the trainer. I was all ready to ride as soon as the divinity was finished. Ha!

Next thing I know, I'm 15 minutes into my internet job, still wearing my ski pants. I have no idea how I got here. It wasn't planned. Rio is still waiting for me upstairs.

And I wonder why I never seem to get anything done...

FYI...

Salt Lake City, Utah is 21 degrees F and snowing--heavily.

Yuma, Arizona is 60 degrees F and cloudy.

Only one week to base training and some sun on my legs.

I Should Blog...

...but I have nothing to say.

I could say that I'm tired, but Jared will make fun of me.

I could tell you what I did yesterday, but it's none of your business.

I could tell you about how I shoveled the walks four times already today, but that's boring.

I could say that my back hurts from all the shoveling, but then I'd be whining.

I could talk about my Spinning class this morning, but I would have rather been able to ride outside.

See what I mean? I have nothing to say.

Have a nice day, and be careful out there!

A Cop Out and a Request

I was a bum and skipped out on the group ride today. I guess I should be okay with it since it wasn't supposed to be on today's schedule in the first place...and I worked really hard in class (strength ride)...and I lifted weights. But, I still feel guilty for not getting out there and riding on such a nice (for December) day. I guess I'll have to ride the trainer tomorrow since a storm is supposed to be moving into town. Yay.

Really, what I'd rather do tomorrow is cross-country ski. Unfortunately, there's not enough snow yet. Booo.

In music news: I've kinda gotten bored with all my music. I'm looking for some suggestions. I've really been taken with Lady Gaga music, but some of her song's lyrics aren't exactly appropriate for Spinning class. I would get fired if I played Love Games, but it does have an awesome beat. So, what are some of your favorite tunes?

Waaaay back when I put together my schedule for this week, I planned on my doing another "walk the dog" workout today.

I don't wanna go!

The walk/hike/trail running I did last Tuesday has my lesser-worked muscles crying today.

But, the walk is on the schedule, and I am obsessive about sticking to a schedule, so I guess I'll go - when I'm done "working".

It will be an easy-going stroll today. Just enough to loosen these stiff, sore muscles up again.

Group ride tomorrow afternoon, because, as Philpot puts it, "It may be the last nice day to ride until Spring." Haha! Maybe for him, but not for me. I get to go to base camp in sunny Yuma after the holidays. So excited! I love anticipation!

I'm Back

I have returned from my walk. I'm sure you were all waiting on bated breath to hear my walk report.

Just wanted to say that this was no goofing-off-type walk. We, Lucy (the dog), and I hit the foothills and did some trail running. My average and max heart rates were higher on this walk than I managed to get them on the "goof off ride" this morning.

Thought you'd want to know.

Goof Off Time

Spent some time on the trainer today, because, you know, as a Spinning instructor, I just don't get enough time riding a bike and not going anywhere. But, I was too much of a wuss to make it outside for a real ride in the 30 degree temperatures. I actually spent the first half of my trainer ride shivering. I can't handle cold. I guess that's what I get for coming from the warmer climate of St. George.

I had planned an easy ride for myself today. Which is good since I can't stand sitting bored on the trainer. So I entertained myself while I rode. I chatted with friends on facebook and took some silly phone pictures. Do you think I could get away with such goofing off as this if I had a real coach?



Now, I'm off to walk the dog for another hour of exercise. Coach's orders.

Quickie 'Cross Race Report

I'm going to make this fast because I'm getting the flu and my head is swimming right now.

I started out my day getting up early and teaching a Spinning class. I rode as easy as I could in class, using the time as a pre-warm up for the race.

After class, I hurried home, grabbed a quick bite to eat, stuffed all my race gear into a bag, and drove myself to Draper.

Once I pulled into the parking lot, I decided that I really didn't want to be there. The course looked foreboding, and everybody who had already raced was talking about how tough it was. It didn't help me to feel any better about racing.

But, I moseyed over to the sign-up table and reluctantly paid my race fee. Now there was no turning back.

Before I headed out for some real warm up time, we tinkered with Shanna's bike a bit (thanks for letting me borrow Scotty again, Shanna) . Once the course was open to everyone, I took a practice half-lap. I did NOT like what I saw. Ugh! What was I doing signing up for this race?

When I came around to the start line, people were already lining up. I lined up too and joked around with the other ladies that we could all get off and walk the scary stuff together. They all seemed as nervous as me, and agreed to the plan.

I got off to a bad start. I still wasn't sure I wanted to be there. Once I saw everybody else pulling away from me I decided to just ride and have fun. Pretty soon I had caught up to the front group, and we all stayed together as we came around the restrooms, went down the hill, and headed for the dirt. Nobody followed the plan we had decided on at the start line.

There were some loose gravel areas, some deep sand, and some super technical drop offs. I was convinced that I was going to go down in this race. But I didn't. Whew! I don't like getting hurt. Here I am on the run up. First, coming up behind the Bike Peddler girl...

...then topping out above the barriers.

I tried to take the dollar from the guy on the run up, but I missed.

After the run up, there was a long single track section ending with a super steep descent into a turn. My first time down the descent, I freaked. I actually stopped before the bottom because I wasn't sure I would make the turn. I hadn't been able to practice this section of the course before the race. Several girls ended up passing me, and I had to work to catch them on the long, asphalt climb back to the start/finish line. I was thankful for my roadie skills on this road portion of the course.

You can see how maxed out I was in the following picture. Totally gasping for air. Also, notice that I'm wearing shorts. No more tights mistakes for me! At least it was a decent day for shorts. It was great to get some sun on the legs again! I was actually ready to rip the jacket off by the time I headed into lap two.




Here's the bottom of the run up. It's still pretty flat, but you have to get off to jump that barrier. I had moved up to second place by now. I was surprised by this because of my bad start. I didn't realize I had passed so many others. But I had heard the announcer say that the girl in front of me was the leader, so my confidence was growing.
Riding toward the run up, the race leader was starting to slow. I knew she was getting tired. Since we were on the single track at that point, and I couldn't pass her, I went into Spinning instructor mode and started to encourage her along. The last thing I wanted was for the ones who were behind me to catch up to us.

As we hit the bottom of the run up, I dug in deep and passed the race leader to take the lead. I looked back and found that I had a good gap. Even though my heart rate was totally maxed out (I later checked my monitor and learned that I hit my highest ever heart rate: 197 bpm!) and I wanted to puke, I pushed as hard as I could along the single track leading back to the steep descent/turn. That descent was where I lost the race (okay, second place isn't exactly losing, but it wasn't the win I thought I had). I'd only seen the descent once before, and it has freaked me out. So, I took it really slow the second time. This gave the girl behind me time to catch up.



That's all she needed to catch me on the climb to the finish. As she passed, I tried to dig in a little deeper, but I had used up everything I had. I was done. In the above picture, you can see my brother-in-law running next to me. It was pissing me off that I couldn't get away from him. But I had nothing.

And now I have the flu.

That wasn't such a short story after all, was it?

Friday's Rambling Thoughts

Rambling thought #1...I think I'm happier with this blog background.

Rambling thought #2....I went to a Christmas party last night. Couldn't eat one thing on the menu. Not one. I had to go ask in the kitchen if they had any lettuce I could have that hadn't touched croutons. I needed something or I was going to starve. Since I've gone gluten-free, I really haven't craved breads and cakes, but last night everything looked so yummy. The lettuce dinner didn't quite cut it for me. I'm going to another party tonight. I think I'll eat something before I leave. I don't expect I'll be able to eat anything at this party either. Bummer since they have a cookie decorating contest at this party with the best sugar cookies. And I can't eat one.

Rambling thought #3...I'm excited about the 'cross race tomorrow. I just wish my back didn't hurt and I didn't feel like I was getting a cold. Then life would be perfect! I think my sister-in-law is planning to show up to the race tomorrow too. I hope she doesn't hurt me too badly. She is scary-fast on a bike, and really should be racing in the Bs. I'm sticking to the Cs because I still need to be there. Until I learn to dismount/remount properly, I'll be a C. I suppose some mountain bike experience would help.

Rambling thought #4...In coaching news: the time is drawing near when I said I would rehire a coach. I planned on having a coach starting in January. But, I'm still undecided. I feel like I'm doing a fairly decent job of coaching myself. Initially, I worried that I wouldn't follow the plan if it was my own plan. But that hasn't been an issue. The biggest benefit for me having a real coach would be that I wouldn't have to think about planning the workouts myself. Is that worth paying someone to do for me? I don't know. Still, I would like to have someone look at my workout plans and tell me if I've done a good job. Plus, with a coach I would have someone else to be accountable to, which I may need soon since I'm finding it harder and harder to ride as the weather gets colder. And I can almost always talk myself out of riding the trainer with the excuse that I'm the only one who would know if I skipped it. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this, please.

Well, that's all I have for now...

I'm Behind

My life feels as behind as this blog looks. I finally got the pumpkins off the front porch this morning! And I used to be the one who made fun of those people who still had Halloween stuff up in December. The season has really crept up on me this year.

I had good intentions to get lots done today. The day started out early, so I should have gotten plenty done. But, I got so little sleep last night. Dumb dog kept growling and whining all night. I never could figure out what was bothering her. Then I had to get up at dark-thirty. After I taught my early-morning Spinning class, I realized how dysfunctional I was, so I came home and went back to bed.

I was woken up by Ragla calling to see if I wanted to go shopping for shoes. Now, you know you've gone to the dark side when a friend calls to go shoe shopping and you think, "Great! I could use some Sidis." (To the uninformed: those are cycling shoes.)

So I went shopping instead of getting stuff done.


Aren't those some darling shoes? I tried hard to talk Ragla into making the purchase, but she just wouldn't do it. Who wouldn't want a pair of bright purple and pink heels?

The day went downhill from there. Once I start goofing off it's hard to stop. So, of course, here I am blogging instead of cleaning the house, decorating for Christmas, or grocery shopping. Let alone the fact that I haven't worked for my internet security job in a couple of days now.

In other news: I did not know that Turbo was so well known as to have a bike model named after him. I guess he's kept it kind of hush, hush. Must be some kind of a grass roots movement because it looks like these bikes are selling like mad! I saw one today:


Kinda cool, huh?

Anyway, I'm off to a Christmas party. I'll update the blog look sometime soon. I hope. When I get around to it. I guess.

EDIT: Okay, I quickly put up a more wintery-type background. At least I'm not still living in Novemberland. I'm not sure if I like the new background though, but I don't have time any more goofing around. So it stays for a couple of days.

Stupid Tights!

The 'cross race at Wheeler Farm today was filled with a bunch of would'ves, could'ves, should'ves for me.



I was doing really well - first place, in fact - for the first half lap. I had taken off from the starting line in a dead sprint. I was determined to be the first one to the 180 degree turn. I was. And I continued to lead the group - until the first run up. Then I had a mechanical - with my tights. The stupid tights got caught on my saddle as I was getting off the bike. And if that wasn't bad enough, they got stuck again getting back onto my bike. Part of the issue was that my tights have gotten a little loose on me lately. Another part of the issue is that I really shouldn't even be wearing tights in a 'cross race (I heard that they cause a lot of people issues). And part of the issue was that the saddle on the borrowed bike I used was too nose up. It was enough nose up that I'm sore from it after only 20-30 minutes on it.



Anyway, back to the race. Because of the tights problem, my sister-in-law, Brooke (in her first ever 'cross race), came around me. Now she was in first place, and I was in second. Then we caught some junior boys who had started their race 30 seconds before us. Brooke was able to get around them on the wide part of the trail. But I got stuck behind one of the juniors as we hit the single track. So, I got to slow down and recover a bit, and Brooke kept getting further and further ahead of me. By the time I was able to get around him, she was too far ahead of me to catch her again.





After several more issues with the tights, and most of the group passing me, I went into goof off mode. The second, and last, lap was just me enjoying myself, trying not to lose any more places, and trying to gain some places back.



Brooke ended up taking first place. Ashleigh, my old neighbor's wife, took second. She would have been first, but had her chain come off on the run up. I was able to pass her then, but being in goof off mode by that time, she easily passed me again. I ended up in third place. Yeah! Utah County girls -1st, 2nd & 3rd!

The best part of the day for me, other than the awesome lead out, was that I was able to earn a dollar from a handout on the course. I could've had another, but I didn't take the second offer. I should've.


If only I would've worn shorts instead of tights...

If only I could've stayed ahead of Brooke...

Next time...

Can't wait for the Draper 'cross race next weekend!

T-Day Report

Thanksgiving is over! After a couple of weeks of scrubbing, decluttering, organizing, and cooking, I can decompress. I hope it was a great day for everyone!

Actually, I really enjoyed my day yesterday. I woke up in the morning, looked out the window, and saw that it had been raining. Great. I knew no one would show up for the group ride if there was rain. But, by the time I'd had my breakfast and gotten dressed, the sun was shining through the clouds a little bit.

Since I was the ride leader for this year's annual Thanksgiving Day ride, I couldn't opt out of going. I'm glad I didn't. When I stepped out the door I was surprised at how warm the day felt. Even after we were on our bikes and moving, the weather felt great! Sure, the roads were a little wet, but it really couldn't have been a nicer November day.



Nobody was at the meeting place when Slingshot and I got there--surprise, surprise. We waited around for about ten minutes before we decided that everyone else had been scared off by the rain. We considered just riding back home since there was so much to do, but since it was so nice out, we decided we'd rather keep riding.

We didn't ride for long. We only covered 11.5 miles. But, I could have kept riding all day. I really wanted to forget about everything else and just ride. In reality though, I did have to get back home. I had family coming for Thanksgiving dinner, and I still had to cook a lot of food. So, not quite an hour later, we were back at home.

Thanksgiving dinner with my family went better than I expected. All my preparation went really smoothly, and everything turned out great. Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves, and even my mom was nice.

Her husband, on the other hand, was about to get kicked out! That man seriously needs a lesson in manners! I think the following picture shows how I felt about some of the comments I got from him.


Carving the turkey.


Finally, able to sit down and eat.


After dinner we played games and enjoyed each other's company. I helped my niece set up a facebook account. She already had three friend requests, and she quickly dismissed two of them because "they're dumb."

It was a busy, happy day. I'm glad it's over. It's nice to get together with people you don't see often. But, it's lots of work. At least it's not my turn to host again until 2012! That seems like such a distant date, but I'm sure it will be here before I know it.

I am Easily Entertained

I thought this was funny, and had to get a picture. Found on the back of the lawn-chemical sprayer guy's truck (sorry so small - I cropped it. Click on it if you want to see it bigger):
Ew...no thank you!

Speaking of pictures, my phone takes some really interesting ones sometimes. It seems to have a mind of its own. I think it thinks it's Picasso. Here a couple of my favorites:
I seem to have lost my head on this bike ride.



Pre-cross race craziness!

Who's This Jadin Person?

So...I just looked at the 'cross race results from last weekend. Apparently, I didn't race after all. Someone named Jadin Van Steenvort raced for me. While I like the name Jadin, it's NOT ME! Good job, Jadin! Can't complain about 4th place.

Things That Keep Me Awake at Night

It was a restless night last night. I couldn't sleep because I had 'cross on the brain. My mind insisted on going over and over every aspect of the race scene from Saturday: the people that I talked to, the people I wish I could have talked to more, the sights, the sounds, the smells, and of course my brain was trying to figure out that crazy race course. So many twists and turns--such an obstacle course. I spent a fair amount of time thinking about why that course didn't scare the holy begeebers out of me! What I decided is that I must have just turned off my brain and let my body do what it knows how to do: ride a bike and protect itself.

My body did a great job a protecting itself during the race- I only almost laid the bike over once. I went around a turn a little too fast and the bike slid out. I tipped, put my hand down, caught myself, and continued racing. I figure that's where I must have gotten this sore bruise on my right inner thigh.

I also thought about the mistakes I made that day. I could have pushed harder. But since it was my first race, and I had no intention on doing anything other than trying it out for fun, I didn't put in my best effort. I also could use some practice with getting on and off the bike without stopping. There was one time when it actually took me FOUR tries at getting clipped back in and going, and that lost a lot of time for me.

And of course I thought a lot about getting a 'cross bike of my own. People ask me, "Why not just get a mountain bike?" My answer is that the only reason I would mountain bike is to practice for 'cross. From what I've seen, a 'cross bike can go pretty much anywhere a mountain bike can go. Besides, a 'cross bike is sexier. Plus, I have a mountain bike that I don't ride much. I think I would ride a 'cross bike more. The real question is: Do I really need another bike? Probably not right now. Maybe next year.

Moving on and switching subjects. I usually teach a mid-morning Spinning class. It is rather standard to generalize the mid-morning gym crowd into the classification of "soccer moms." But the people in my classes are so much more than that to me. I have been able to spend time talking to some of the people who ride in my classes, and have learned much about them and their lives. Here is a short list of some of the awesome people from my classes:

• A rather famous Utah artist
• A soldier who visits my class when he's on leave from Afghanistan
• A runner with a fractured foot
  
• A mother whose 7-year old was just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes over the weekend
• A city council member
• A cultural anthropologist
• A home schooling student
  
• A pipe organ designer/builder
• A young lady recovering from being smashed in between two cars
• A publisher of a magazine
  
• A lawyer
• A housekeeper
• A surgeon
  
• A gang-unit prison guard
• A man whose voice is behind many audio books
• Several people recovering from knee injuries/surgeries
  
• Many triathletes
  

The list could go on and on. Each one of the people who attend my classes are unique and special in their own ways. They are all great!

My First 'Cross Race

Cyclocross is fun! Today's race was at Wheeler Historic Farm in Salt Lake. I raced the Women's C race. That's the race for the ladies who have never raced 'cross before.

First things first: I want to thank my teammate, Shanna for letting me borrow her 'cross bike. I was so excited after the race, I forgot to thank you. It was so much easier to pick your bike up than it would have been to have to heft my mountain bike around. It worked great for me! Thanks!

Here I am pre-race:






And here I am taking a warm up lap. Luckily, the girl I'm riding with here had a tour guide showing her the course (it was her first time, too). This was good for me because I got a lesson in 'cross as well. I'm glad they let me ride along. I would have totally missed the run up section if the guide hadn't showed us where it was. The most important thing I learned during this warm up lap was how technical the course was.
For a roadie like me it was super technical!
It was muddy. It had narrow, foresty areas. It had some sharp turns. It had steep climbs; most of which were steep enough to get off and push the bike. There was one section where you rode along a narrow, muddy trail that had an incline to the right and you had to make a sharp left, get off your bike and hike (or run if you could) up a steep, weedy section to the top of a hill.

I was excited to see Kelly at the start line. I told her I'd try my best to stay out of her way. And I did a great job at it, too. I got behind her and never was able to pass her.



I love this picture of Kelly. She looks like she is having so much fun with that big smile on her face.




A junior group went out right before our race started. Here I am passing some of the junior boys. Speaking of juniors, there was a tiny little girl on a teeny bike out racing today. She must have only been two or three years old. At one point I saw her going the wrong direction. I just figured that some mom had lost track of her kid, but later realized she had been racing because she came to the finish with a loud roar from the crowd. It was cute.
There was a lot of thinking involved with racing this course, and I think that's why I had so much fun. You don't get this kind of thrill from road racing.



Here's the run up with the barriers. This hill was deceiving to me. It seemed like I could ride up it, but I had to get off to go over the barriers. So I would stop (I need to work on getting on/off while moving), probably way before necessary, and run up. This was my least favorite part of the course. Probably because there were so many people watching my goofy racing skills.

After my race, I hung out and watched my teammates, Nancy and Shanna, race the women's A race.



Then I watched the men's A race. Here are some of them on the weedy run up section I wrote about earlier. There was one guy (I think it was the guy who won) who didn't even have to get off his bike. He would just power it up.




And here's Turbo on the barrier-run up. These men were amazing on the run up! You couldn't even tell when they got off their bikes. They kept moving at a steady pace, got off while moving, ran and got back on the bike. All without changing speed. It was cool.


It was quite an amazing day. I may be hooked on this. Great. Just what I need: another hobby.

The Enemy Has Returned

My fatigue has returned. I think I've just worked myself too hard this week. Most of my classes, with the exception of today's class, have been extremely physically hard classes. Plus, I did extra classes again this week. Stressful classes full of grumpy teenagers.

I was super excited for today's class because it was an endurance class. And we rode really, really easy. I could tell by the looks on the member's faces that they wanted to go way harder than I was allowing. But I needed easy, so that's what we did.

Unfortunately, after class I went down to the weight room. I, being the great coach that I am, had scheduled this workout, and by darn, I was going to do it - just because it was on the schedule. After the third set of weights, I deemed myself done. I really struggled to finish that third set, too. I kept telling myself that there was chocolate upstairs in my coat and I should go get it. That didn't work. I made myself continue on, even trying to convince myself that I would do the forth set as well. But then I told myself that if I was going to race cross tomorrow that I'd better stop at three sets. Maybe I should have stopped sooner. Dumb body can't seem to handle much workload!

Right now, just the thought of riding my bike, let alone racing is making me want to go climb into bed. Hope I can fit in a nap today so I don't feel like a zombie tomorrow.

UCA Meeting

Anybody going to the UCA meeting tonight?

I've been looking forward to going for a long time in order to get the official 2009 race calendar and to find out more info on officiating. But I'm tired and it's stormy out, and now I'm not sure I feel like making a drive to Salt Lake. I would be much more excited about going if someone I knew was going to be there too. Please let me know if you're planning on being there.

In other news, I have just one more day of teaching the high school Spinning classes. I'll be much less stressed, and hopefully therefore much less tired once these classes are over.

And...with the offer to borrow a teamate's 'cross bike this weekend, I guess I better show up to the race. I'm planning on putting forth my best effort in not killing her bike. Basically, I'll be racing in terrified mode. She has a super nice bike.

Is the 8th Time a Charm?

Aaaaa!!!
My phone is driving me crazy!
I've logged in to Blogger EIGHT times so far, only to kicked off the system each time!
But, I will win! Heck or highwater, I'm going to put up a post from my phone tonight if I have to log in 100 more times! I was able to post my last post from my phone without any problems, so I don't know why I'm having such trouble tonight.

A couple of quick items before I get kicked off again:

First, to my Facebook friends who also have blogs: Please don't forget you have a blog. I enjoy reading about your adventures just as you love hanging out on Facebook. Vague status updates are not cutting it. Update those blogs!

Next, I'm thinking about trying a 'cross race this weekend. I'm not looking to race to be competitive. I just want to go and see what all this 'cross fuss is all about. Plus, I'm looking to be the biggest dork on the course. I'm quite sure I'll win the dork competition. Here's why:
1) I don't ride on dirt - ever. Ok, not never. I have raced Hell of the North a couple of times, and I dinked around on a kid's bike on a camping trip once. But that pretty much sums up my dirt-riding experience.
2) I don't own a cross bike, so I'll have to bring a mountain bike. A mountain bike I've only ridden a couple of times.
3) The mountain bike doesn't have clipless pedals, thus adding to the dork factor. So I would be racing in gym shoes (or hiking boots, depending on the weather).
4)I think I'll add some crazy outfit to the mix just in case someone else tries to out-dork me.

Well...I think I've just about talked myself out of racing 'cross this weekend. Boy, I'm glad I came here to blog tonight!

RR feels guilty for staying indoors for most of the day

That's how I would word my status on facebook today...if I were looking at facebook. I'm TRYING my best to not look at facebook. I see too many things there that drive me crazy! Plus, it's too easy to be obsessed by it. So I'm trying to show some restraint.

Anyway, back to feeling guilty about not riding. Guilt is not supposed to be an emotion that I feel. At least that's what I tell myself. But when it comes to training, or rather the lack of training, I often get those guilty pangs.

It was such a nice day. And looking at the weather forecast, it may be the last nice day for awhile.

Here are my lame excuses for not doing what I was supposed to today:
1). I used all my hardest profiles in Spinning classes this week. Plus, I taught extra classes. I'm pretty tired...even though I'm still an hour and a half short on training time for the week. GUILT!

2). I promised the guy running today's tri that I would come and help course marshal when I got out of class this morning. Even that didn't work out for me. I ended up having to do an unexpected bike fit after class, and by the time I got outside to the tri, they didn't need my help anymore. So I went and watched the poor people struggle, some off their bikes walking, up the 11 percent grade climb.

3). Mervyn's is going out of business and I HAD to go see if they had anything I couldn't live without. They didn't. But I did waste too much time looking.

4). I had to go to the grocery store. There was seriously nothing to eat in the house, so this shopping trip really couldn't wait. By the time I got to the first isle of the store I realized that my pubic bone was no longer in place. If you've ever had yours out of alignment you know how much it hurts. This made the grocery trip last about four times longer than it should have.

5). By the time I got home it was time to make dinner.

6). Then it got dark.

If the planets align, I will make it up tomorrow.

Update

I've been busy lately. Sorry for the lack of blogging on my part.

I've been teaching extra Spinning classes this week. Our center is next door to a high school, and the gym teacher likes to hire us occasionally to take over his job for a while. Sometimes I really enjoy these classes. The energy from the kids can be incredible.

These are difficult classes to instruct. Teenagers tend to get bored easily, and it takes a ton of energy, creativity, and planning to keep them entertained for an hour. Plus, most of these kids really don't want to be there. There is a huge difference between teaching a class full of happy energetic people who are there because they WANT to be, and teaching a class overflowing with grumpy teens who HAVE to be there.

But then there are days when the high schoolers come in ready to work and they seem to have fun, and at the end of it all, they thank me and tell me that they are excited for next time. That makes it all worth the effort.

Not Exactly a Costume...

I almost totally forgot it was Halloween.

As I was digging through my drawer this morning looking for some bike shorts to wear to Spinning class this morning, I came across my race shorts. Hmmm...I decided to wear the full kit to class.

It was funny because my class didn't even give me a second look as I stepped over the stationary bike wearing a helmet and sunglasses. I guess they know me too well.

I've Been Tagged

So, apparently I've been tagged in another Blogger Tagging Game. This one looks like it will be difficult for me to complete. But here goes...

Eight Various Things About Me

My eight favorite TV shows:
Well, since I don't watch TV, I guess I wouldn't know which shows are my favorite. Sorry...looks like I fail the first question. I told you this wasn't going to be easy for me.

Eight things I did yesterday:
I know I did at least eight things, so this should be easier. Let's see...
1. I ate a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. With organic raisins and cinnamon. Yum!
2. I dropped my pill down the sink drain.
3. I took Wednesday's pill instead (because I'm OCD and couldn't mess this up. Now I'll just be bugged that I'm off a day until the end of the month).
4. I tried to have a nap, but kept waking up because I couldn't get comfortable.
5. I saw my chiropractor. Crack, snap, pop!
6. I went to the grocery store.
7. I worked for my internet security job.
8. I made homemade, organic chicken and rice soup. Yum!

Eight things I look forward to:
1. Chocolate - or rather the eating of the chocolate...hold on, I'll be right back...
2. The first snowstorm of the season
3. When all the family leaves after Thanksgiving dinner is over
4. Christmas
5. Spring
6. A long, full-body massage
7. Hiring a coach to think for me
8. Climbing into bed at night

Eight favorite restaurants:
Hmmm...another difficult one for me. I don't eat out a lot.
1. Los Hermanos has the best salsa
2. Old Spaghetti Factory has a gluten-free menu
3. Cold Stone - yes, I realize it's not a "restaurant," but who can resist?
4. Wingers - actually, I really don't like Wingers, but they do have an awesome Mango/Chicken Salad that I can eat.
5. Firehouse Pizza - a must when I'm in Logan. But, wait, I'm not able to eat pizza anymore. Dumb gluten intolerance! Good thing I don't go to Logan often.
6. Carabba's - anything fire grilled there is really good.
7. Ruby River - I haven't been there for a very long time, but I remember how much I liked the cinnamon-encrusted yam.
8. Sundance's Tree Room - a girl can dream, right?

Eight things on my wish list:
I thought I was pretty selfish and covetous, but now I don't know if I can even name eight things that I want. I'll have to break this down very carefully.
1. SL2 module in blue
2. SRAM Red shifters
3. SRAM Red brakes
4. SRAM Red front derailleur
5. SRAM Red Cassette
6 SRAM Red rear derailleur
7. Laser hair removal - shaving is a pain!
8. That one secret thing I wish for when I blow out the birthday candles. I can't tell you what it is or it won't come true.

Eight people to tag:
I'm not going to come up with eight (really, I do have more than eight friends, but I figure these are the most likely to participate). If you're name is here - game's on!
1) Shale
2) Mr. E (yeah, you JE)
3) Kelly (because I picked on Turbo for the last tag game)
4) Gary
5) Brandi (yes, I know you've already been tagged, now get to work so we'll leave you alone!)
6) Slingshot (It'll give you something to blog about.)

Rest Day!

Yay! I love rest days. Rest days mean I can actually focus on the things in my life that I am "supposed" to be doing. You know...cleaning the house, getting extra hours in at work, running errands, etc. No training. (Repeat to self: NO TRAINING!) And no feeling guilty about not training either.

On today's schedule: I am currently getting in those extra work hours. Next up is a shower and then maybe a trip to the grocery store (if I can manage to get a shopping list put together - this always takes way longer than it should). Then, if I'm really lucky, I'll have a nap. What good is a rest day without a nap anyway?

Okay, here's a question, hypothetical of course, for the ladies: Let's say you dropped your BCP down the bathroom sink's drain this morning. Do you take tomorrow's and be off a day for the rest of the month, or do you skip a day and hope for the best?

Sunday's "Recovery" Ride

I woke up on Sunday morning to Slingshot asking me if I wanted to go do a recovery ride. I hadn't planned on riding and really didn't need to "recover" from anything. But since I had missed my Tuesday ride and needed to make up some time, I agreed.

Since it was to be a "recovery" ride, we rode out to Springville - a nice, flat route. We actually took it really easy and spent a fair amount of time goofing off - looking for new routes and taking lots of pictures.

As you can see, I found my tights and shoe covers. It was so much more pleasant to ride in the fall chill with them. And to think, they were right where I had left them all along. Silly me.



Somewhere in Springville, we found a newly paved path leading off into the trees and decided to follow it to see where it went. It ran along a little river and was quite pleasant...for about 50 yards. Then Dead End! It was fun while it lasted.
We also found this huge field of pumpkins. The following picture does not do justice to the amount of pumpkins that were out in that field. There were millions of them. Acres upon acres of pumpkins. A blanket of orange as far as the eye could see. Tell me, with just an few days left until Halloween, what are they going to do with all those pumpkins?


I have a thing for trains. I love the woeful sound of a train whistle. Granted, I wouldn't want to live right next to the track, but I do love listening to the sound of a train in the distance. So of course we had to get some riding-by-the-train shots.


Coming back from the ride I could tell that my butt was not accustomed to spending so much time on the saddle. I can't believe what a little time off the bike will do to a person. It hurt! I did a lot of moving around and adjusting myself on the saddle coming home. Here are my theories as to why I can't handle sitting on a bike seat for too long anymore:
1) I took too long of a break from the bike a couple of weeks ago.
2) Could my saddle be getting old? I've only had it for a little over a year.
3) I've lost weight. Less padding on the sit bones makes for an uncomfortable time.
4) I spent more time on the bike this week than I have for a long time.

At any rate, I'm thankful that this is a rest week for me. Just Spinning classes and a little weight lifting. After all the extra time on the bike last week I guess I deserve it.