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.