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.
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.)
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?
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.
What a beautiful day today! The sky was blue, the sun was shining, the leaves are a beautiful array of bright colors. The temperatures reached into the low 60s today. Unfortunately, the day's ride started before the day warmed up. We rode while the temps were still in the 30s. Brrr!!!
Just to add the coldness (and if you know me, you know how much I detest the cold), I lost my winter gear. I spent the morning ripping the house apart in search of my thermal tights and shoe covers. To no avail. I had to leave for the ride in shorts, with a messy house. To my surprise, the cold wasn't so bad - not until five miles into the ride when it suddenly occurred to me where I had put my winter gear. Then I wanted to ride back and get it. But the group would have no part of turning back, so on we rode. My legs were only really chilly for the first hour or so. Then the weather warmed up enough that I was quite comfortable.
We (Slingshot, Ragla, Dawn and I) rode out to Saratoga Springs. It's a beautiful ride with much of the ride overlooking Utah Lake. The lake was calm and glassy today. On the way back to Orem we heard Ragla shout something out to us. What we heard her say was "Car back," but what she actually said was "I've got a flat." She had hit a pothole and flatted. Probably the same shady pothole that caused my flat the last time I rode out there. Not realizing what had happened, the group kept riding, and we had gone a way before we realized she wasn't with us anymore. Unfortunately, flatting made her late for her son's hockey game. I always feel bad when I lead a ride and someone misses a deadline. I hope she wasn't in too much trouble with her hubby. I'm hoping he'll help me with my Italian.
Since Dawn was recovering from a bad chest cold, we rode pretty easy today. Other than some crit practice through a twisty neighborhood and a challenge from Ragla, the only place my HR came up was when we came up 400 South. Ragla had wanted to go practice the climb since she'll be doing the Telos Turkey Tri here in a couple of weeks. The 400 South climb is part of the tri route. It's a steep 11 percent grade, but it's pretty short. I've seen plenty of people walk their bikes up that climb during the race, so it's a good idea to practice it.
I was so glad Dawn came and rode with us! I hadn't seen her since the Bear Lake race in May. I hope she'll come and ride with me again.
One of the next big rides I've got planned is the 2nd annual Thanksgiving Day ride. I'm hosting Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year, so I'll really need to get out for a ride to get some stress relief. Sometimes my family can drive me batty, and Thanksgiving is definitely one of those times.
I added hamstring curls to the workout today. Why must I do them? Why? I hate them! Hate them! Hate them! But I will keep doing them, because I know they are good for me. Just like eating Brussels sprouts.
I have a group ride tomorrow morning. I'm super excited about this one. A teammate that I haven't seen for a long time will be coming along. And Ragla will be there too. Rides are always extra fun when Ragla comes along. She and I usually start giggling about something. Sometimes to the point of nearly tipping over. Good times. We had wanted to ride to the cross race and watch for a while, but Ogden is a little further than any of us want to ride.
My new favorite song of the week: I Don't Care by Fall Out Boy. Like all Fall Out Boy songs, I will probably listen to this one over and over until I can't stand it anymore. Some other songs that tickle me lately are Bad Boy by Cascada, Mission Control by The Dandy Warhols, and Disturbia by Rihanna.
I didn't get much done at the gym today. Some pro-cyclist showed up again, and we sat and talked racing the whole time. Not much working-out happened. But I had a great time, and that's all that matters! (Trying to make myself feel better here for not completing all my weight sets.) Too bad he's leaving for Europe on Friday to go manage the team.
In other news...this is for you single ladies...I have met the PERFECT man! (And yes, BG, the above man is nearly perfect too...the only problem I could see was that running-off-to-Europe-with-no-notice flaw.)
Here are some of this perfect man's highlights:
Today's group ride ended up being a couple ride. By "couple" I mean there were only a couple of us. I rode with Philpot. He's a triathlete who currently rides a mountain bike. He's picking up his road bike next week and will rock on it. He's already super fast on his heavy mountain bike.
When we met up this morning, we had big goals for the day. We were both expecting to ride for about 3.5 - 5 hours. So as we set off, we planned to ride around Utah Lake. We headed west out of Orem and rode to Saratoga Springs. By the time we got there, my rear end was telling me that the 100 mile ride was going to be a little too much. Besides, I had started thinking how long it was going to take us and about how much food I had brought with me. Not enough food for the amount of time, that's for sure! We weren't pushing any hard pace, just nice, easy, conversational-type riding. So we weren't going anywhere fast.
So we changed plans and headed north on the Jordan River Trail towards Highland. Plan B was to climb Traverse Ridge. But again, by the time we got to the base of the climb we decided we wouldn't feel guilty if we didn't do it. It's the off season after all, we reasoned.
So we headed back toward home.
After saying goodbye to Philpot, I started to realize that I did not have enough fuel in the system. We had been out for almost three hours and had covered 50 miles, and all I had eaten was a Luna bar. For those of you who know, I don't eat a lot lately. I've lost a lot of weight and it's not on purpose. There's just not a lot of stuff that I'm willing to eat. I don't think I had enough in the tank to start off with, and I certainly did not eat enough on the ride. Looking at my stats, I burned 1900 calories and I ate 210 calories. No wonder I came home and crashed!
Once I got some food into me, I started feeling like I could function again. I've never felt so weird after a ride.
But it was a good ride! I'm so glad to be back on the bike again!
I got to go watch some Olympic Speedskating today at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns. A big thanks to the person who hooked me up with some passes! I just missed seeing Apolo Anton Ohno's race. But I was able to snag some pictures of it.
Apolo Anton Ohno on the start line.
The were moving so fast! The camera couldn't get a picture without blurring as they sped by.
Ohno came in second in his race, which qualified him to move up to the next round.
It was a lot of fun. The action continues through Sunday.
Today I worked double my normal hours for job #2. The time went by really fast because I was pretty entertained online while I worked. To the person (you know who you are) entertaining me, THANK YOU! Really. I needed it. I hope that you're feeling the same way.
Anyway, I'm ready for a big long bike ride. I have to wait for Saturday. Waiting is so hard! West Mountain or Traverse. I'm undecided, but I'm looking for at least 2.5 hours of bike time. It looks like the weather is going to be absolutely perfect for riding. Plus, I will be lifting weights before the ride. I need to be worked! I'm a little stir-crazy right now.
Dang! I am impressed with my immune system! Feeling totally better! I think it's all the healthy living I've been up to lately. No more cake mix for this girl! I've gone all organic and stuff.
(Probably lounging around in bed all day drinking tea helped too.)
Speaking of organic living...I found a cool store today. It's called Real Foods, and it's not too far from where I live. I had no idea it was there, but it's exactly what I've been looking for. It has everything organic and raw and healthy. If you're looking for a place to get the best-for-you type foods, this is it!
I believe this is why I've been feeling so good lately. I'm finally eating right for once! If only this organic stuff wasn't so expensive.
I seem to be coming down with the nasty hooglaboogla that's been going around. My chest is all gunked up and I have a sore throat.
I'm staying in bed today. Good thing it's my day off of work.
But it wasn't supposed to be my day off the bike. Looks like no bike riding for me today. And it was supposed to be my first day back on the bike in a while. :-(
It's funny because I'm really upset about screwing up my schedule by not riding. I worked hard as my own coach loading up my schedule. In the beginning (of being my own coach) I thought I wouldn't be very strict with myself as a coach. But what I'm finding is that I'm actually taking myself very seriously and working hard. Until I get sick that is. Then, not only do I get to be under the weather, but I feel guilty at the same time.
I'm going to go sleep it off now.
The mean boys were back in the weight room today. They MADE me do all my bench press sets with full reps with WAY more weight then I should have done.
I know. Boo hoo.
Honestly, I kind of like having them in there. Otherwise I would go too easy on myself and I wouldn't make much progress.
So thanks, guys, for making me that much stronger. Thanks for making me work a little bit harder and for making my skin a little bit thicker. Thanks for making me a fighter.
(Besides, if I keep working this hard on my body I can finally get that "Thug Life" tattoo I've always wanted. Wait...it's not me who wants me to have that tattoo, is it?)
Seems like I've been away (from blogging) for a long time. And it's only been three days. Time sure gets distorted when you're not doing your regular stuff.
No actual bike riding for me this week. I've just been Spinning and lifting weights. I'm beginning to be very jealous of all the fall riding pictures I've been seeing on other people's blogs. I want to go on a ride! My calendar says I have to wait until next week. Hopefully the weather will still be nice then. I am so not a cold temperature person!
Update: I did go and get myself something to celebrate the big day the other day. It's pretty obsessive. That's why I haven't blogged in a few days.
I'm not going to publicly announce what I got. If you're dying to know, ask me next time you see me, and I'll show it to you. If you just can't wait until you see me again, call me (I'm assuming that if you really need to know that badly, you have my number). However, keep in mind, this item is probably WAY more exciting for me than it is for you.
Back to my new toy...
EDIT: Intervals tomorrow in Spinning.
Sixteen years ago today you threw a party for ME, et al!
Remember?
Just thinking about it.
(BTW - I think I deserve to go get something for myself, don't you? I'm thinking a Corvette.)
I forgot to tell a cool story from last Saturday night.
First, let me go back a couple of months to the Chalk Creek Road Race in July. If you remember from my race report, there were a lot of animals on the road that day. Mainly cattle. After the turn around, and as I was headed back to the finish line, I had to maneuver my way through a big ol' cattle drive. Once through all the cows I started thinking that I should warn some of the other racers who were still heading toward them (the cows). A few groups of guys passed me before I was able to shout out something to the effect of "Cows in the road ahead!" to some guys. I think I only said it the one time. Usually, when I shout something to someone going the opposite direction they either don't hear me or they shout back, "What?"
Fast forward to last Saturday night. I was standing in line to get food at the UCA banquet when some guy comes up to me and asks me if I was at the Chalk Creek race. I told him yes. He then proceeds to thank me for warning him about the cows. He says that because of what I'd said, he was the only one in his group who was prepared to plow through, and the others got stuck waiting for the cows to move. How awesome is that?
The most amazing part to me is the fact that he probably only saw me for about 3 seconds that day. We were probably each going about 25 mph - in opposite directions. Plus, I was wearing my kit with my helmet and sunglasses on. Then, nearly three months later, he was able to pick me out of a crowd all dressed up with makeup on and my hair done. That is amazing! I couldn't do it. I'm just now starting to be able to recognize my own teammates when they're dressed in something besides their kits. Not only must this guy be a total visual learner, but is an awesome listener. I'm sorry that I didn't ask his name.
Here I am with a couple of my Cat 4 teammates, Brandi and Shanna. The Ski Utah Cat 4 women's team took 1st place in the team competition this year! Yay, Us! And all we got for it was some courtesy applause.
Kind of a boring party. I was expecting much more excitement for $27 per plate. I was glad to have my buddies there to keep me laughing. It was great to see you!
One month ago I could not have taught an interval Spinning class, did stair repeats, ran, and still had plenty of energy to spare.
I don't think I could have done it two weeks ago...
Or even a week ago...
But that's what I did today.
I feel good! I'm loving it!
After teaching two Spinning classes this morning, and before lifting weights, I did something that quite surprised me.
I ran.
What possessed me to run, I have no idea. Suddenly, I was running. And it felt good. Is running supposed to feel good? Please don't let me fall in love with running! I don't need more stuff I have to do!
Sometimes my body just does stuff that it wants without first consulting with my head. Like the time, MID-RACE, my body decided to jump off the bike and stretch. Once my head caught up to what my body had done, it was ticked! This was a hill-climb race, and I had almost caught the girl ahead of me. As a matter of fact, I was so close to catching her that I thought she must have been able to hear me breathing behind her. Then, suddenly, I was off my bike, and I was unable to catch her again. Dumb body!
But, I digress.
Back to the weight room...I'm lifting super easy weights at this point in the season. I know I can lift a lot more, and I want to. Especially when the weight room is crowded and I feel the need to show off (this happens more often than I would care to admit). I don't like looking like I can barely lift any weight. I feel silly. But, I don't want to jump in too strong and feel the consequences of it, so I'll keep it easy for now. The reason I'm telling you this is so you don't laugh too hard at me when I tell the following story.
After I had secured a cabled bench press (the guys weren't there to "help" me with the regular bench press today), I put some tiny weights on and did a set. I moved on to another machine. Then I noticed an older (probably in her 70s), gray-haired woman trying out my weights, getting up and taking my weights off the bench-press bar. (It must have been Grandparents Day at the gym today - there were a lot of old people there.) I was mortified when she then proceeded to put on bigger weights! Now, I felt like a huge wimp.
Before you laugh too hard: Luckily, I didn't feel wimpy for long. As I watched her, I noticed that she wasn't doing standard bench press. She was hardly bending her elbows at all. I tried her way later and decided I could do a lot more weight if I did it that way too.
Later, after I ran a bunch of errands, I started to feel a little fatigued. A friend even told me that I looked tired. It's not the debilitating tiredness that I have been having, so that's good. I think I'll throw a nap into the mix just to be safe (and because I love napping!).
Man, I am feeling super peppy today! Whatever I'm doing to feel so good, I'll have to keep doing. No BG, it's not any super pill! We'll have to see how I feel after teaching two Spinning classes tomorrow, lifting weights, and doing another Spinning class on Saturday. I'd really rather ride outside, which was the original plan, but I do what I have to. (Note to Hilslug: it's endurance day tomorrow- tempted?)
Today's training consisted of taking Lucy (my chocolate lab) for a walk. That dog is a handful!I cut the usual route short once I realized that I had just taken on extra classes that I hadn't been expecting. We took a shortcut through our regular loop, and she had to stop/run ahead to sniff all the new smells. I think I'll need to see my chiropractor from all the pulling she gave me.
I got a ton of other stuff done today. I even got a nap! It's amazing how much I can get done when I'm feeling good.
Another Turbo dream last night. Don't ask me why I have recurring Turbo dreams because I DON'T KNOW! This time I was at a meeting with Turbo. For some reason we were in a convalescent center. We were sitting at a table by the window, and the room was filled with old people in wheelchairs. The doctors came over to us and showed me my personal "training plan." It included me taking some antidepressant drug. Turbo agreed with the doctors that I should be on this drug. At first I thought it was because not only was it an antidepressant, but it must also be some sort of cycling performance enhancing drug. When I asked Turbo about it he told me that he just wanted me to take it so that I wouldn't be too hurt when I lost races. How rude!!!
Anyway, back to reality...
I'm starting to feel better. The exhausting fatigue is starting to lift. No thanks given to the doctors! They just keep running tests and telling me I'm normal. I've pretty much taken my health care into my own hands, and it seems to be working. Hopefully once I add some hard riding back into my schedule I'll still continue to feel better. Cross your fingers for me!
