Lack of blog = one busy girl

The past few weeks have been filled with big miles in the saddle, big hours at work, and big time fatigue for this girl.

Last weekend, Kristin got together a huge group of ladies and organized a fantastic weekend full of riding in the Madison area. I don't know about you (Jen H, Jen L, Angi, etc) who are familiar with AZ riding, but I gotta tell you all WI IS WHERE ITS AT!!!!!! I have done some of the most epic, hilly, fan-freakin-tastic rides since moving here. Obviously the weather is our only downside to getting out everyday, but nonetheless, you are all invited here when the Southwest becomes entirely too miserable for riding this summer!

Back to the weekend: Saturday was a solid 5.5 hrs (~90mi) with a bunch of heavy hitters from the NRC...Bri, Sam, Louise, Kristin...all the gals that really know how to ride...and plenty of other strong local gals who really gave me a run for my money...we climbed all day, and were fortunately sagged the entire way by Sam's dad and her boyfriend...I have to say it was the best supported ride I've ever done, and I didn't even have to pay a dime to ride!

Saturday was also Kristin's Dirty 30th! so we went to the Great Dane for an awesome meal, and Monique showed up with a magnificent artwork of cupcakes in the shape of a bike! how cool! Good times, good food, great people!(See Kristin's blog for the cool pics!)

Sunday was a good solid 4hrs in the saddle, a bit less hilly compared to Saturday, with a cruise out to New Glarus and back. By Sunday afternoon, I was pretty much D-O-N-E! But so happy that I was able to ride those distances with an extremely talented group of ladies both days!

Which brings me to this week.....tired legs, after coming down from that "high" on Tue and into Wed...I try to avoid massage, only because of the cost..but I caved on Fri afternoon...I have been putting in big miles at work as well, since I run my butt off most days. So I took the liberty of scheduling something for Fri afternoon, perfect timing leading into the weekend for some more long miles.

Yesterday another group of women from Milwaukee and Madison met and we cruised out to Blue Mounds for about 70miles of hills. Another super day of riding, and I am caffeinating up here for a shorter ride today with some of the same women!

I think overall I am just so happy that I've met some great women who enjoy riding and training as much as I do. TMinus two weeks until the season kicks off in Hillsboro, IL. (I still don't even know where the hell Hillsboro is!?? Go figure!) but I plan to be there, perhaps a bit flat since I've not done speed, but nonetheless really excited to start racing again!

Cheers, and Happy Sunday! Welcome Springtime! I am so much more appreciative of this great weather now that its finally here! Yay!

A Rainy Weekend..........

Bummer! I knew my 2hr ride on Fri was TGTBT!! It started to pour like mad on Sat am didn't let up until the snow was coming down in chunks and flakes by Sun evening.

All in all, I had a pretty decent weekend training wise....50min mod run Sat, 75 min in the pool, lots of stroke work. A bit of yog's to stretch out the hips, and some maxing and relaxin' Sat night with friends and a glass of wine..

Rachel and I had planned to ride "come hell or high water" on Sunday and unfortunately we got the latter...literally! I was still raining cats and dogs when we ventured out the door, completely geared up for what we anticipated would be a short ride..but hey, at least we were doing it!! (You know, they don't necessarily stop a race if there's rain, so sometimes you just have to buck up and do it!)

We made it about 15miles, doing all miles on the Cap City trail and surrounding areas out to Monona...kind of wimpy, and ordinarily something I wouldn't do, but we both agreed that in the downpour it was much safer than roads...

About 12.5mi in, my hands went totally and completely numb..Ok, I know, a bit dramatic but nonetheless I was ready to call it quits...and I think she was too! Her hubby rescued us, and we were sooooo grateful for the warm ride, towels, and blast of heat awaiting us inside!

I stood under my shower for what felt like hours, and believe it or not, my 1:15 min in the saddle actually felt harder and longer in hindsight..I think I expended so much energy trying to stay warm, not slip, move my fingers, etc.

Much to the dismay of Rachel (HA!) we won't be doing that anytime again soon....

The hours-minded junky that I am wanted to do some more time in the pool, so I headed off for a longer set in the water that afternoon, by which time the roads were getting dicey. You gotta love the Midwest, the ever-changing pattern of weather.

Today I am feeling notsomuchawesome....EEKS! There are 2 flu's spreading around at work, and I am concerned I may have a touch of something. Think today will be the rest day, with my fingers crossed for the rest of the week being filled with Springlike temps!

Perfect Afternoon!

This morning started off with a very hard, anaerobic set in the water, doing a long freestyle warm up set of 500, 400, 300-ladder sets, some kicking, and then a main set of 5 X 200's broken up freestyle. I felt awesome after the 75 min workout--just what I needed to get me thru the Friday at work after what has been a very long week.

I love those days at work when all of your interactions are positive! Its a rare day when nearly everyone I meet, all patients I work with, are happy, grateful, and truly appreciative of the service you are providing! It was great day, and makes me remember why I do what I do...........

On the flipside, I was equally as happy when my 330pm appt cancelled, and I was finishing up at 230pm. The day was slow, our staff was adequate, and I took the opportunity (a rare one, might I add!) to get out the door and enjoy the beautiful 55 degree temps and sunshine! You better believe it, this girl is going riding!

I just love the UW cycling listserv, as you can post a ride, and within 5 min people are responding to you left and right, wanting to meet up and cruise the streets. Since I hadn't been on my rollers since Tue night, I was hoping for a mellow, aerobic 1.5-2hrs on the roads, and had just enough time prior to dusk.

Derek and Mollie, 2 cyclists who are newer to the sport, met me at the Arb and off we went towards Paoli. We ended up taking a slightly different route out towards Goodland Park, and talked a bit about racing. It was such a nice and fun ride, very social, and reminded me again why I do what I do. Mollie was full of questions about racing and training, so it was fun to be on the other side for a change--as I am usually the one asking questions to others!!!!

We ended up with about 30 miles and 2hrs later, and I was feeling warm, toasty, and pleasantly exhausted after a great day of training, work, and socializing! I capped off the day with my most favorite place to spend a dollar-- TRADER JOES!!!

And let me send a big HOLLA!!! To all of you who commented on my previous post regarding food choices!!
-Eileen, the lentil soup is da bomb! Ate it for dinner last night!!
-Jen H,- MINI PB CUPS!!! soooooooooooooooo good!!!! and yes, I Heart Naan Bread!! The garlic kind!!!

I filled up my cart with a bunch of yummies and ate my way into the evening!

Today is a typical Midwestern one....a day of sunshine usually follows a day of rain/cold/precipitation. I am finishing brekky and off to train indoors!

Happy Saturday!

How would you react?

This post has almost nothing to do with training, racing, etc. But a lot to do with all that has been going on in my ever-diverse world. I have been tired as balls lately, trying to muster up the energy to sit on my damn rollers for longer than 1.5hrs, but it hasn't been all the motivating for me. The temps are warming, the skies are bluer, and I am still working the daily grind so basically, I am SOL if I want to get outdoors for a spin...However, my swimming and running have been fan-tastic so really I can't complain. That's about it for now.

In other news, my neighborhood is trying to pass for a halfway house to inhabit formerly homeless men, that would include 12 full-time residents who may or may not live there up to 4months at a time, with an obvious turnover rate every 4 months. You do the math, that's potenitally 36 residents in one year. All with potential criminal and/or sex offender records. And my hood is full of owner-occupied family homes, small children, and some student and professional rentals that are flat-style apt homes. I have been adamantly opposed to this, from a perspective of not only a female but thru the eyes of my neighbors and friends who are parents of small children.

Now it is a known fact that many homeless people have history of unmedicated or untreated mental illness, uncontrolled addiction, and criminal behavior. While there are clearly more "warm and fuzzy" people living in my hood, I am not one of them.
I guess I wish that I could be more accepting, and not as fearful. But I am a safety Sally and this idea makes me a little on edge.

At a community meeting last night, that wore my brain and feelings out to no end, there seemed to be a clear bias towards moving forward with these plans. From the chatter amongst people, it sounds as if this will likely occur. Again, I am somewhat speechless. And unsure of how this will affect the feelings of the neighbors, the property values of homes that inhabit mostly upper middle class working folks, and the safety of all of us.

What to do, what to do.......................

Some of my favorite things

Its the time of the year when I start to add different items to my grocery cart. Namely more frequent purchases of electrolyte drink mix, Fig Newtons, Clif bars, and the occasional 6-pack of PayDay bars for those really long days in the saddle. I'm burning more calories, I am working harder, and my body is just craving different things.

I am a very healthy eater- and this isn't an attempt to break my arm patting myself on the back, I just truly happen to enjoy my veggies. Blame it on my awesome mom who gave me only two choices as a child- broccoli or carrots? (Or you can just not eat dinner.....You get the idea). While others were allowed Trix and Cookie Crisp cereal, we would twist mom's arm for a mere box of Honey Nut Cheerios...and even that was a huge deal at the time. Nonetheless, I have steered clear of the bad stuff for most of my adulthood as a grocery store customer. While I dabble in the occasional burrito, hamburger, and serving of fries, I tend to crave these things only after an extremely hard effort, such as a race or a marathon day of training. I think I have trained my body to "not" crave many of these items on a regular basis, so its certainly helped keep me in check.

Some find it odd, but I really do not crave meat. EVER. I could definitely go the rest of my life without it. But chocolate, wine, bread, coffee. Now that's another story.

One of my guilty pleasures is searching other people's/friends fridge and pantries to find out WHAT I AM MISSING OUT ON in the world of food. I have some necessities and addictions that I can't live without. These are a few of my favorites:

Trader Joes
-organic creamy Peanut Butter (with Salt)- Good on just about anything
-Basmati Brown Rice
-Wild Rice (the black kind!)
-Mediterranean Hummus
-Natures Path Organic Pop Tarts (blueberry= the best, apple cinn., strawberry, brown sugar)
-Kashi Go Lean Crunch
-TJ's Roasted Vegetable Pizza
-Multi-Seed Corn Tortilla Flatbread (great with the hummus)
-Peanut Butter Pretzels (I go thru 1 bag/week)
-PURE energy bars
-LARABars (cashew cookie, apple cinn., cherry pie!)
-Clif ZBars (better than the original)
-Organic SOYcoutash (frozen blend of soybeans, corn, and peppers)
-Harvest Hodgepodge (frozen veggie mix)
-Wasabi Wow (trail mix)
-Blood Oranges
-Sweet Potatoes (lately I've been slicing thin, drizzling with olive oil, salt, pepper, and baking until crispy!)
-Mahi Mahi, Salmon, and Tuna steaks with seasoning (frozen)

What are some of your favorites?!?! Am I missing something good....Fill me in!

Solo Ski on another SNOWY Saturday

Me, trying to avoid the blowing snow on the only gusty part of the trail.

Apparently everyone else missed the memo, because when I pulled into the parking lot at the local golf course where I have been logging cross country ski miles all winter, there was only one vehicle. A little odd to me, considering there has been falling snow accumulating approx 5in since early this morning. Fresh, light, fluffy snow, with minimal wind. And the best part yet, really perfect temps for skiing. I guess I was the only one that thought it was a good idea.

Just as I was throwing down the skis onto the fresh snow, a fellow loonie like me skied up, red faced, frozen-nose-dripped, and raring to go. "It's a bit tricky out there today, you have to make your own tracks," she said. She and I agreed that the loop which generally takes us about 30 min would probably take about 40 today....

I set off and to my pleasant surprise, it was quite fantastic...Not a soul in sight, after my new ski buddy took off a few minutes before me..Just pure wintry white beauty, and a challenging workout that felt more like backcountry skiing on this awesome Saturday afternoon.

Base miles have started this week, and though I had hoped to be up to about 120mi by today, I am short by 25mi. I am not stressing, as I still have 10 more weeks to really build the fitness and peak at the right time. In fact, it was more fun to get out and rip it up on the snow after my trainer ride this am, and my 1.5hrs of skiing will be added to what would have been my longer ride for Saturday. Hopefully I can hit the pavement for some outdoor miles by Tue, as temps look sweet and I have the day off.

Back to clean the pad up for my mama's visit. Due to the *SNOW EMERGENCY* she opted to hang in Chicago an extra day with the brother and head onward to Madison tomorrow. Fun times in store.

What's that beep????????????

Apparently I hit the trunk button on my set of keys, because at 545am my neighbor knocked on my door to inform me that my "car alarm was going off." Oh $hit!!! I felt awful, and ordinarily, I would have figured this out on my own, as Tue am is my Masters' practice. I had decided to sleep in until 6am and get a mellow run around the hood in alternatively. Yes, that's right, I am actually going to call it a "run" because I am v e r y s l o w l y starting to pick up the speed enough to deem it more than a fast walk....And I couldn't be happier.

So, 15min before my alarm was set to buzz me out of slumber, I am up and at 'em, with the keys, turning off the alarm, and just for good measure, making sure the car will start. Ahhh, relief, the sound of my car's engine firing away...

My run was refreshingly chilly, and peaceful. I do look forward to this time of the year when the air is crisp and cool, the sun is starting to rise a little earlier, and the time of the day is so quiet--and you feel as if you are the only person awake in your neighborhood. On this particular day there happened to be a handful of us out enjoying the beauty of late winter before we all had to shuttle off to our respective jobs and commitments.

The week is cruising on by, and I have laid out some groundwork courtesy of the awesome cyclist and friend of mine, Kristin, who generously offered to help me with some insight and focus to my training block for the coming cycling season. This week is the unofficial 2nd week of "base" training with 10 more weeks (or so) to follow. I will likely be in base for the first few weeks of my season, though I do plan to race well into the middle of the summer, so I need to remember to be patient with myself. Its all in good time. I am hoping that for a change, I can actually be diligent and follow instructions.

My mom is here this weekend, so long riding may not happen, though I do plan to get out a fair share, in between all of the other fun places I hope to visit with her...most of which will include coffee, food, and some sort of place that sells home decor! That is my mom's "thing" and we tend to have enormous fun putting together my little home when she is around! Yay!