Whoa...

It just hit me hard that I have a ton of things to do before I leave for Texas. Luckily it's a rest week, so while I will still be working out it won't be as intense. One thing high on my to do list is to find a sleeping bag that will keep me warm at night. Sure we are sleeping in the desert, but I learned my lesson at Old Pueblo last year. There I was all excited with my shorts and tank tops and what did I get? Snow!!!  

Another thing that I need to get is a new gear bag that will hold all of my stuff. Last year the zipper on my duffle broke half-way through the season, and I still used that bag all season long. Clothing would constantly fall out, and I would just stuff it back in! I'm not doing that again this season, and will be on the hunt for a cool and very durable bag with multiple compartments. I like lots of pockets :-)

Right now it's a little after 9:00, and I'm going to bed. I can't believe it. I never thought it possible, but I think my coach has cured my night owlish habits. Some of the workouts that I've been doing have been leaving me very sleepy afterwards. Granted most of the time I stay up later then this,  but not half as late as I used to! And lately I've been falling asleep the moment my head hits the pillow. Shocking!!!

Night, Night!!! :-)

Dog walking and Momsitting

So these last couple of days have been quite hectic. My mom had foot surgery to correct her last foot surgery, which means that I've been on double duty when it comes to dog walking. Not to mention I've turned into a personal assistant of sorts. 

It's a good thing I love my mom, because she's not the best invalid to be around. It's really bugging her that she can't work out like she normally does and I have to hear about it. Hmmm....she kind of reminds me of someone else that I know :-)

Ironically enough it was working out that caused her foot troubles in the first place. I think I mentioned this before, but my mom became an actual ninja in her forties. One day she was telling my dad that she wanted to try a karate class over dinner and the next thing I knew she was testing for her black belt. One day she was sparring with another lady and got a karate chop straight to the bone that was so hard it cracked her foot.

The rest of this week is going to be doubly busy. I have some hard workouts to nail, and it's time to start working on my nutrition plan for my first race of the season so that my coach can look at it and give me the thumbs up or send me back to the drawing board. I can't believe that it's coming up already. I've been trying NOT to think about it to much, but now I'm starting to get a little nervous. 

Winter funk

A few weeks ago I promised myself that I was not going to complain about the weather on my blog anymore. 

Hence the lack of posts this week......

This is the time of year where winter starts to wear on me. I am sick of tensing up every time I walk outside,  I'm sick of walking in the snow and I miss the sun. And above all, I miss riding my mountain bike on bonafide singletrack.  Dirt, rocks and roots...I hope I remember how to ride them.

PS. That's not me complaining about the weather, just stating the obvious!

The whole reason why I bring this up is that I just got back from walking Naomi and the weather has turned evil and cold (again, just stating the obvious). We have another bout of Artic weather heading our way and the wind was absolutely bone chilling, teeth shattering and mind numbing. During the walk I could only think about one thing-racing the Iditarod Trail. 

I finally got around to reading Alaska Jills book, Ghost Trails. For those of you who haven't yet read it, the book follows her race from the start line to the finish, some 350 miles away. Also included throughout the book are chapters about her life, which  chronicle her athletic journey. The flashback chapters are nice, as they help the reader (that would be me) better understand how she got started. 

Reading the book confirmed what I've always known. I think the race and the people who do it are TRULY AMAZING, but I will NEVER EVER be one of them.  There are several reasons for this. I detest being cold, I hate wearing layers, I don't like snow, and I don't like riding with a lot of gear. 

Geez, why don't I tell you how I really feel?  ha ha!!!

Not to mention that I have the worst imagination on earth. Just reading the book I found myself imagining being swept down a river, freezing to death, and riding my bike in the middle of a moose stampede. And that was from a warm bed. Who knows what I would start to imagine while actually out there....

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. My favorite part was when Jill neared the finish line, probably because I could relate to it a little more then the parts where she had to take cover in her sleeping bag to stay alive. I love that moment where you realize that you are indeed going to make it over the finish line, and I can only imagine what it felt like for Jill after 350 miles. It must have felt un-freaking-believable!

The only part of the book that I found disappointing was the fact that Jill carried beef jerkey with her for 350 miles and didn't/couldn't eat it :-) I know that sounds ridiculous, but one of my favorite things about long rides is how darn good the food tastes during and afterwards, and I wanted to read pages and pages about what her food tasted like. That's just me though. I'm a pig!!!

If you haven't ordered the book, I highly recommend it. If it were fiction, it would be a great story. But the fact that it's real makes it even greater. I am so happy that Alaska Jill did what she did and then wrote about it so that I could live vicariously through her (from the warmth of my bed).

I can't wait to read Ghost Trails-part deux!

Inaugural Spinning

Naomi being all patriotic...

Today was one of those days that flew by. Normally I would blame my bad time management skills on the fact that I didn't get anything done, but today I have to blame the inauguration. I could not tear myself away from the TV for anything. 

I actually watched the inauguration live while doing my workout and it was not a good idea. I remember one of my advertising professors saying "when all else fails, just show puppies and babies." Well it didn't take one puppy or baby today to bring on the waterworks. All it took was a few shots of the crowd and I was a crying, sweaty, spinning mess. At least now I know that I can hold my power levels while crying :-) And speaking of power levels, mine got bumped up again. YES!!!! My fabulous coach sent me the results from my 20 minute power test and I had another PR, which is such a great feeling! I was so excited when I got the results that I would have handed out candy cigars if I had some available!

After working out I eventually ventured into the great outdoors to meet my friends Bonnie and Blair at Madcap, a brand new coffee shop that just opened downtown. I have to say I liked it. I liked it a lot.  I know, I know, shocking that I would support a local coffee shop instead of the mega caffeine chain that I love. 

But look...Madcap serves coffee in real cups! This drink was called The Miel (or something like that). It had honey and cinnamon in it and was really great tasting. And that's coming from a coffee snob!

Bonnie and Blair hanging out.....

Good ambience/coffee aside, here is the coolest thing about Madcap! I wonder if they will deliver to my house???

I'm pretty sure my mom would love this bike!

I've been wanting to register for this bike ever since I saw it, but right now I'm rolling pennies for the upcoming race season. And I considered sending penny rolls in the mail to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, but I'm pretty sure that would take more stamps then what we have in the house.  

So I did the next best thing. I took my mom's credit card and officially entered HER into the raffle. She would love single-speeding...I just know it :-)  I (I mean my mom) never wins raffles, so the chances of getting the bike are really slim but oh well. It's for a really great cause! Tomorrow I'll just have to call my mom and tell her that I've been putting her credit card to good use. And then I'll probably have to spend a good 5 minutes explaining what a single-speed is!

In other news, I finally did my 20 minute power test. I made the mistake of doing some major procrastinating today. I kept putting it off and putting it off, which was totally stupid. As a result, I was thinking about it/worrying about it all day. Finally I decided to quit being such a wimp and hopped on the trainer.

The test was every bit as painful as I thought it would be. I think I did a better job of maintaining my power throughout the test, but I'm not sure if my average was higher or not. I'll have to confer with my coach about it. In the past I would start out SUPER hard, and then completely die shortly thereafter.  This time I started out at a more moderate pace, but didn't have as many power dips. 

It's funny how long 20 minutes can seem and how many thoughts go through my head during that time. I thought about quitting. And then I thought about excuses I could give to my coach about why I quit. Right around the 12 minute mark I actually started to feel like I might pass out, so I started thinking about that.  There I was doing a time trial effort, and I was envisioning myself laying on the ground and wondering who would find me. Completely ridiculous!

Home Alone

Scott left early this morning for San Francisco. I'm trying NOT to be too jealous. After all, I was there for almost 2 weeks last year while he was stuck in snowy Michigan. I'm just hoping he will think about his lovely wife anytime that he is within a 10 mile radius of this store!

Note to Scott: I know you are going to say that you don't know where the store is so I made it easy for you...here or here!

Note to Scott #2: Don't roll your eyes :-)

Today marks the last day of my rest week and I am mentally trying to prepare myself for some serious pain tomorrow. I have another power test. This will be my second test on the trainer and I'm going to make sure that I have some good music playing. 

Last time the movie "Bring it On" was playing on the TV while I did my test. I figured it didn't really matter because it's not like I was actually watching the screen. But do you want to know how annoying it is to listen to a bunch of cheerleaders saying "Bring it on!" "No, you bring it," "Oh, I'm bringing it," while being completely oxygen deprived? It was slightly hellacious. On the flip side, I did have a PR, so maybe I should have always have something annoying playing!?

After my power test it's back to training for me. This is the first winter where I'm not stressing about riding outside, or what other people are doing. Never in a million years did I think I would be saying this, but I don't mind sitting on the trainer (or at least I've told myself that so much I actually believe it!) In fact I actually prefer the trainer right now because I am convinced that Michigan is freezing over. For instance, right now it is -4 degrees. Yup that's right. -4 flipping degrees. 

I'm pretty sure that my first time riding outside in 2009 is going to be when I'm riding up this thing.  And technically I'll be racing up it. Twice. But don't be afraid for me...I have a really great coach :-)

I leave you with another picture tease from Ted. This year our team is lucky to be sponsored by WickWerks. 

I think I will call it....#1

Ted just sent this picture over to me...

Is it just me, or does this bike look like it's going to be fast? 

Now I need to call Ted and have him describe every inch of this bike over the phone. I need to know every minute detail!!!

Love at First Sight!

Introducing: Optic Nerve's 719!!!

Yesterday I got the perfect gift from Optic Nerve. Snow goggles!!! They couldn't have come at a better time either, since it is absolutely freezing here. 

I opened up the package immediately and put them on while I was still talking to the UPS driver. And I really haven't taken them off since. They are SO FREAKING AWESOME! 

First of all, let's talk about the color (because that's important in my book). It's a really good pink. Somehow the goggles look cute and tough all at the same time. 

Second of all, there are really great vents in the lens-so that they won't fog up. 

Third of all (and this is the most important), they fit comfortably under my bike helmet! One of my biggest pet peeves about riding outside in past winters is that cold air would flow behind my sunglasses and freeze my eyes.  And then my eyes would start watering...and then I would get eyesicles. 

Ha ha, get it? Eye-sicles??? 

Sorry, I had to go there :-)

Here I am modeling my new goggles while walking Naomi. It was 4 degrees this morning and my eyes and surrounding skin were completely warm. In fact, I kind of felt like I was in a vacuum...completely safe from the wind chill. 

I was so dang excited about them I refused to take them off. Just for the record, they are very comfortable to wear while watching tv :-)

And of course I couldn't resist.....Naomi suiting up for a walk in the tundra!

It probably goes without saying, but I'll say it anyways. I am very excited to have Optic Nerve as my sunglass sponsor for 2009. This will be my fourth year working with them, and I am extremely lucky to be sponsored by such a cool company! Their 2009 line rocks, and I've been drooling over all of the different styles. 

BTW...Optic Nerve is a partner of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Be sure to check out their Pink Ribbon Sunglasses (the Toby) because they give a donation for each pair sold. 

Well, time to go shovel...again! Blah. At least my eyes will be warm, eh?

Not a moment too soon

Today's workout finished off a pretty good training block. When Lynda told me last week that I had a rest week coming up, I was a little bummed out. I wanted to keep training hard for the upcoming season. 

It's funny how quickly I changed my tune. About half-way through the week I started to "really feel" my workouts. Now I'm downright ecstatic that I'm scheduled for some rest. Lynda pinpointed it perfectly. I'll still be working out out every day, but the intensity is going to be WAY less. Rest is a good thing!

This is a really good week to be scheduled for a rest week anyways. We are getting the coldest air of the season, and it looks like every day will be 10 degrees or lower. That means one thing for me. It's time to hibernate and read a good book :-)

P.S. Have you signed up for the Lumbersmack yet this year? Last year I decided that I WAS going to take a year off (after racing it four years in a row), and I'm sticking to my guns. I can even tell you where I decided it. On the fourth lap while wading through that monster mud pit. 

Mud pit aside, the race is a lot of fun and you should sign up for it soon if you are planning on doing it. Already it's almost half full, and I'm betting will finish filling up quickly. You know you want that axe!!!

Public Service Announcement

Team Dicky has a new bloggity-blog address. You can now find him here. 

It looks like he and I will be doing the Cowbell Marathon Challenge this June, so you can expect double the pleasure with blog race recaps. I think this race was originally going to be a 12 hour, but now is going to be 50-60 miles. Cool! I've never raced at the venue, so feel free to send info about the course my way. No need to hurry though. June seems light years away right now as I sit staring at all of the snow falling outside. 

Also, has anyone noticed that this blog has been lacking in pictures lately? It's because I'm so ghostly white I don't show up on film anymore....

So tired....can't type

Work is killing me. If I have to climb up a ladder one more time I'm going to scream....

On another note, I'm starting to think that I might get my spinning certificate to teach classes next year. Why? Because I'm getting really good at cheering myself on during intervals in the basement. The only problem is that I also swear a lot. I'll be all, "come on Mo Fo, you can do it." Not so sure how great that would go over :-)

Tonight's workout took A LOT of cheering because I was borderline wanting to quit. About a minute and a half into my intervals a little voice in the back of my head started whispering, "you are going to explode."  I made it through the workout, but barely. One more minute and I think I would have fallen off of my bike!

This week is going to continue to be cuh-razy busy until Saturday. I'm finalizing my race schedule still, but don't plan on doing the NUE series this year. Except for one.  I'm going to use it for training. Let's just hope that it's dry this time! 

And even more exciting, I'm also planning a spring training trip down South. I can't wait to see all of the  usual  suspects! More on that later though....I need to hit the foam roller.

Happy 2009!!!

The New Year started out just right, as I finally forced my wimpy self out of the basement for the Velo City New Years Day ride. 

There was a pretty good showing of people who came for the ride. I took a few pics with my new camera, but need to download a program so that I can actually download the pictures. In other words, don't expect to see them anytime soon!

Bonnie (watch out-she is in super good shape) and I ended up near the front for most of the ride, and are now sporting nice wind burns. I have to ask, is it ever NOT windy in Holland? My legs were tired during the ride, and my feet completely frozen, but it still felt great to get out and ride with people. It was funny, I thought that my bike felt different when I jumped on it and then I realized why...it was actually moving!

The best part of the ride was actually AFTER the ride. We came back to the shop to find multiple thermoses of steaming coffee and hot chocolate. And Mike made this amazing bean dip with beans, cheese, salsa, rice and crack. Ok, kidding about the crack, but there had to have been something addicting in there as we couldn't tear ourselves away from the crock pot. I had almost forgotten how hungry riding outside makes you. 

Tomorrow it's back to the trainer for more intervals, but they are intervals that I prefer to do inside as they require a lot of effort. I think I've convinced Bonnie to come and do them with me so that we can race each other in the living room :-) Intervals always seem a little easier when someone is suffering alongside you!

PS. I hopped on the rollers for a really easy spin after the ride and felt inspired by everyone who sent me messages saying that they could stand up on them. Yeah.....I'm definitely not there yet! In fact, I don't even think I was fully standing before I was flying sideways. I think I need another week before I attempt it again....