So, I just got back from another mountain biking ride. My mentor in this crazy sport, Annie, suggested I make the jump up to a slightly harder set of trails than Salem, the EASY (as she says) beginner trail in the cities. I’ve ridden now at Salem maybe four or five times and I still don’t know that I consider it easy. But I have finally gotten the hang of it and there aren’t any logs or rock piles to climb — just a set of two trees that look so close like you won’t fit that you take a gulp of faith and balls to just ride on through. But that’s pretty much it in terms of obstacles. Still, it’s single track and twisty with some tight turns and some loose and rocky downhills. And even though I find that I’m getting the hang of it there, I do have to re-teach myself how to MTB ride each and every time we go there. Wednesday was actually a tough go on my first lap because I hadn’t been on my mountain bike in about two weeks and I felt like I’d forgotten everything. But, sure enough, 20 minutes into it, it came back and I was able to navigate the turns easier and not go so slowly on the downhills.

So, today we headed to Theo Wirth. According to Annie, Theo is still EASY. But right away, I knew I had my work cut out for me. There was a giant log in the middle of the trail right at the start (which was ironic because I’d spent about 5 minutes in the parking lot prior to that trying to build up the courage to ride up a curb with my bike — which Annie showed me works perfectly fine — and yet I couldn’t bring myself do it). So, yeah, I walked my bike over that giant log. As well as the rock garden at the end of the first section of the trail.

There were a number of obstacles and, lucky for me, they were spaced out enough that I was able to just go my own speed navigating the tight and twisty single track. There weren’t a lot of climbs. The downhills weren’t that bad. But since this was my first time on the trail, I was cautious and super-slow on my first lap that I had to apologize to everyone that got stuck behind me (please note: MTB riders are super nice and friendly and always ask me, “how’s it going?”.

Of the obstacles I did encounter, I managed to go up a few of the small log piles. Small victory! I drew the line that the two giant log piles. I balked at almost every boulder crossing (although, I did try one of them — cowardly — and crashed because I didn’t have the speed I needed). I also had one spectacular crash that didn’t actually involve obstacles. No, I was just increasing my speed and didn’t make a corner clean which caused my right shoulder to hit a tree that sent me crashing over on my left side — into a tree. That one hurt and I’ll have some battle wounds to show for it.

My tribe kept waiting for me occasionally to catch up, ask me how I was doing (it was Annie, James and another Birchwood teammate Talib) — then they’d further while I made my own, slow way. When I finally finished the first lap, my tribe was waiting. It took me 35 minutes, it felt like 35 hours. But after some rest, I was ready to give the trail a go again.

My second time around was smoother. I made it down a few drops that I’d balked and walked the last time. I still didn’t go over any rock gardens. This was the lap where I had my spectacular crash and, since it was towards the end of the loop, I sheepishly appeared at the finish to my tribe a little shaky, worried and lacking some confidence. But after some rest, chatter and inner-cheerleading, I decided to give the trail a third lap since all the other peeps were any way.

My last lap was the best. In fact, I actually went OVER the giant log at the beginning of the trail (super scary, I regretted it the minute I started going over it and I landed hard but stayed on my bike and proceeded to be very proud that I made it out alive). I never did risk any of the rock obstacles, but I did go over every log pile except for the two giant ones and I even made it down one of the steep drops (although not THE super-steep 3 ft. drop — that’ll take some time).

When I finished lap 3, my tribe said my speed had improved. And I had a bit more confidence. It was certainly a few steps in the right direction. Still, this sport gets me really, REALLY out of my comfort zone. Which I know is good for me, but it is a mental struggle. It is very counter-intuitive with how my brain works — weirdly, which is why I do like it. It forces me to believe that I am capable of things that I may not always think I am. And that is cool.

+ + + +

In other news, I’ve been following Spark People for two months now. I had a rough go at the beginning. In fact, I gained weight. But then I realized I wasn’t tracking calories burned correctly — meaning, I wasn’t plugging in the correct amount that I typically burn for a week into the plan. (Apparently, I exercise a lot — more than the average person. Who knew? ;) Once I got that right, I actually got a much more realistic caloric range to eat within and I wasn’t so hungry that I wanted to stab everyone who crossed my path with my empty fork. I was still getting hungry, just not HUNGRY. And then, a few more days later, I actually started getting comfortable with the range. Still, I have to pay a lot of attention to what I eat. It’s easy for me to mindlessly add calories through sports drinks, granola bars and choices in the cafeteria that might seem smart until looking up the nutrition.

When I weighed in last week, I was down a pound.

I’m not claiming any success yet. This week, I didn’t track calories very well. Out of seven days, I tracked maybe four. I just get so busy at work that logging my food gets impossible (stupid, I know, I need to change that). I also haven’t made it to the gym in over a week (since I’ve been workout out outdoors) so I haven’t been able to weigh in. I’m that weird person who doesn’t own a scale. And without the accountability of the scale, I fear I may easily get off track.

Still, Spark People has been a good correction of my habits. I’ve seen how my breakfasts grew in portions and calories over time. I’ve seen how, at lunch, I’d make some not-so-smart choices. I’d also feast on chips & salsa upon arriving home from work inhaling 300+ calories before dinner without even realizing it. I’m also drinking less during the week. So, I’m optimistic. There have been some good habit changes.

+ + + +

In other news, I got a promotion at work. It happened a few weeks ago. Same role. Same title. But it’s up another grade level and there’s a nice bump in pay (and given our circumstances — that REALLY helps right now). Most importantly, though, it is awesome to be recognized for all my sweat, blood and tears. I adore my job and I work hard at my job. It feels really, really good for that to be noticed and supported by my organization. It’s the opposite of my last job and I’m so lucky I landed where I did. Have I mentioned I love my job?

+ + + +

Finally, my volunteer gig with Bolder Options is still going really well. My mentee is a rockstar. She broke a personal record a few weeks ago on our 5k run course by almost 6 minutes — and then she broke it again, last night, by 90 seconds more. It’s pretty amazing to watch — especially considering how much she hated running when we started. And TOMORROW, we have the Get in Gear 5k and the big question is: can we break the 38:53 time we hit last night?

Time will tell. I’m pretty confident she can do it. However, there is a forecast for thunderstorms & rain tomorrow. The weather might make it difficult and the course (from what I remember) is hillier than our training route. So we have our work cut out for us. Keep your fingers crossed. We’ve got something to prove. The stars better align so we can do it.

It’s all coming full circle. Over 10 years ago when I first started changing my life and embracing healthy eating and activity, I started mountain biking. At the time, my husband was a cyclist and I was slow the sport and not sure I was even interested in spending large quantities of time on two wheels. But the idea of mountain biking was intriguing. I love to hike. My husband loved to bike. This seemed like the perfect intersection of hobbies. And it was.

I can’t remember what year it was when we purchased our first set of bikes, but I’m guessing it was probably 1994 since that was the year we got married and I do recall some biking that first year. Our first apartment in my very small hometown, Cambridge, WI, was only a few miles from trails and I started riding mornings before my second shift job. We’d spend the weekends exploring trails further from home. And I really enjoyed the hobby. It was active, something we could do together and it pushed me out of my comfort zone as I began to grow fitness and ability.

Still, looking back, the “mountain biking” we did while living in Wisconsin was on easier, wide track trails. The most challenging rides we did were more challenging due to inclines, not obstacles and crazy winding single track. Even Kettle Moraine, the trail system outside of Milwaukee that we’d occasionally travel to and were the hardest trails I’d attempted to date at that time, were fairly easy to moderate — at least the ones I’d attempted (although, I do recall one particularly heinous incident where the climb was so steep that I flipped backwards, onto my back, because I just couldn’t pedal and my front wheel came right up and back with James watching the entire scene from the top).

During this time, I began to lose weight. I started “spinning.” I started this blog in its first form (which was an online journal since I had to do all the HTML myself years before Blogger existed).

And then in 2001, we decided to move to the Twin Cities. And with the move, the mountain biking hobby didn’t exactly translate.

First, our bikes were stolen out of the parking garage under our apartment in St. Paul. We quickly replaced them — with even nicer mountain bikes. You’d think this would bode well for the hobby. I went from no suspension to a fancy Cannondale with a Fatty headshock front suspension set-up. James got himself a Gary Fischer front suspension ride (which was quite an upgrade from his no suspension Haro). But the trails were tough to navigate in the Cities. Living in St. Paul, the trails at Battle Creek were the most accessible. I could ride there from the apartment. But they were HARD. Really HARD. Steep climbs. Obstacles. Lots of sand. And I crashed a lot — every time I went out. And the crashing made me apprehensive. It made me nervous. I began to question myself and my ability and that only made things worse. I remember my very last ride on my mountain bike. I was out by myself. I was attempting difficult trails but also questioning my ability. And as I went down on particularly windy, single-track decline, I was going too slow to safely roll over a tree root which cause me to go head first over my bike. I landed on my back. My bike landed on top of me. The wind was knocked out of my chest. And I laid there a second or two assessing the damage, figuring out if I was injured or not. Then, when I realized I was most likely okay because I could wiggle my fingers and toes, I took my bruised and battered body home.

It was early Summer. I was about to turn 30. And when I did turn 30, I got my first road bike for my birthday. A present from my husband. And I never looked back.

That was in 2002.

Since then, I’ve been mountain biking exactly twice before this week. Actually, of that twice, only one was for real — that wasn’t even all that for real. It was earlier this summer in the UP on my birthday the day before we started our kayak trip in Isle Royale. The outfitter who was hosting the trip also rented mountain bikes. But due to my short stature, they didn’t have a bike that fit me — only a child’s bike. I decided to give it a try, but it sucked. I couldn’t keep going. It was a bad experience. I’m not sure it even lasted a full hour.

The second time was with a bike that fit me. We were in Cable, WI. We were going to hit the trails with buddies. But a flat tire on our buddy’s minivan put a wrench into our plans. So the biking never happened.

That said, I did get my own bike fixed up by that time. And it’s been ready ever since last October.

Then, my road bike gave me some issues this week. Messed up cables that needed replacing. It’s in the shop and given the unseasonably warm and totally awesome Spring we’ve been having, the shop is full of bikes that need fixing. It will be at least a week until I get the Orbea back.

So, on Thursday, I decided to join my friend Annie for an evening of mountain biking. She’s a recent convert and loves the sport. And she told me she’d take it easy on me with the trail at Salem. “It’s the EASIEST,” she has said numerous times, “in the area. You’ll be fine. It’s SOOOO easy.”

There was a group of us riding. A number of experienced fasties who took off right away. There was also one other newbie like myself, Sara. As Annie, Sara and I headed out for my first loop, I started to panic and wonder what the heck I’d gotten myself into. The entrance to the trail is immediately downhill, single track and full of roots. It’s also windy. My assumption was easy meant flat, straight and wide. This was not the case.

I followed last. Sara was almost as uncomfortable as me and she and I took our time navigating the trail and trying to just keep the rubber side down. Annie was quickly off in the distance, then she’d wait up. I went through a few mental conversations that included quitting and chalking this up as mountain biking not being my thing. Then we came upon this section that included three wooden bridges. The third you entered between two tight trees. To the naked eye, it looks too skinny to be passable. But I see Annie & Sara both make it through. I get to the trees, but then bail. I don’t have the guts to attempt to slip through. Unfortunately, immediately after the trees, the trail goes straight into a steep hill and I cannot get my bike started again on the include. So, I have to walk.

Which is fine. I’m not above walking my bike. But what sucks on single track mountain biking trails is that walking means you’re in the trail and potentially in the way of other riders. We had a few other riders pass us. Each time, I’d step off to the side. I’d apologize. But they were all cool and told me not to worry, no biggie.

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so sucky at something. It’s humbling. Eventually, Annie asked for permission to go off ahead of us. Sara and I were excruciatingly slow for her level of riding. All in all, I think the trail was 4 miles long. I felt like I did get a little better along the way, but I also had a few other missteps and we were both so super cautious.

When we got to the finish, we headed back up to the parking lot for some water and a breather. Already, I was feeling better and I wanted to give it another go. I asked Sara if I could go ahead in front this time and the second time through was like night and day. It’s almost like my body sub-consciously figured it out even if I couldn’t consciously remember what was next. I was faster going downhill, I was less nervous about hitting rocks and tree limbs, I was learning to shift with the difficulty of the terrain. After that second time around, I went for a third lap which was even better. By no means had I had this thing mastered, but I was having fun and feeling relaxed. I even rode through those two tight trees at the base of the climb. Scary each time, but I did it.

After wards, we went out as a group for Mexican. The weather being unseasonably warm (it was close to 80 when we were riding) allowed us to hang on the patio with our tequila and nosh. It was a pretty fantastic evening and I thanked my buddies for getting me out there and out of my comfort zone.

Annie and I repeated the event yesterday. We headed back out to the trail where I did five laps of the trail (approx. 16-17 miles). It took a little over 2-1/2 hours and I burned over 1300 calories. It was one heck of a workout and I really felt like I was improving.

I did crash two times. The first time I slid on a tree root and just couldn’t react quick enough. The second time I got stuck in some mud and went down going at a faster clip. I’ve got some nice bruises to show off for that, but I suppose that’s to be expected.

I will say, it’s been interesting to try something new. I didn’t expect that I’d get such an upper body workout (I’m super sore today in my shoulders and arms). I also learned quickly that I couldn’t let my mind wander like I do when I’m road cycling. I’d find my thoughts drifting only to discover I’d rode off the trail (oops!). I was also amazed at how high my heart rate gets for how slow it feels like I am going. It must be the combination of strength & cardio. Finally, I also find I have to be super careful not to bonk because, as my system gets depleted, I get sloppy. It’s harder to navigate the quick turns and maintain balance on the rough terrain. By the end of my 5th lap, I was cooked. Annie went out for a 6th and I knew if I did, I’d make some bad mistakes.

So, this has been interesting and fun. I don’t know that I see going beyond the basics anytime soon in terms of trails. I don’t really have much interest in climbing rock piles and steps, but I do like the change of scenery and the different type of fitness that mountain biking requires. This has been a pleasant little discovery this Spring and I look forward to the opportunities it will bring this Summer.

It’s Sunday evening and I’m feeling pretty zen. I have my pets, my cup of tea. I know I should dig in and try and get a head start on the week with my work laptop, but I’m in denial. Just a few more hours of relaxing bliss until I enter the rigors of the real world.

It has been quite a fine weekend. They always go so fast.

Yesterday did start out with a bit of work. But it was actually some fun stuff. I attend the Whuffie Workshop at the Best Buy headquarters on Friday morning. The author of The Whuffie Factor, Tara Hunt, lead the discussion on business and social media. And while the hotness of “social media” as a topic can, at times, make me gag in its overplay in our interactive space, this was a very practical session on how brands should interact within communities and there was a lot of great food for thought to take back and implement in my day job. The truth is, our online behaviors are trending more and more heavily into the social networking space (finally toppling email & porn and about to topple search) and we, as businesses, have to shift our approach. The tried-and-true tools we have now will not be the tried-and-true tools of tomorrow. If you’re interested in that stuff, the slides from the workshop are here.

So, when my work was done, I was on to the first part of my weekend:

Act I: Spinning with @BolderOptions

As I’ve mentioned here before, I’m a mentor for Bolder Options this year and have been paired with my 12-year-old female mentee since July. We spend about 2 to 4 hours per week together and we’ve already accomplished two 5ks with the program as well as a ton of other fun experiences both formally in Bolder Options programs and on our own at the YMCA or doing other things.

Yesterday was a cycling event.

My mentee is technically in a running program. However, she has a bike and is interested in biking as well — which we try to do when we can. When I saw this pop up on the calendar, I thought it would be a great opportunity to do something different (than running) and in an area of interest for her.

The event was at my old Lifetime club in downtown Minneapolis. It was fun to be able to drive downtown to the Target Center and enter a “fancy” club compared to the Y where we normally workout together (never mind that my regular club is the posh St. Louis Park location, but I can’t bring my mentee there unfortunately). When we got there, there were only about eight other mentors/mentees and a couple of program coordinators. The two dudes in charge are owners of their own home fitness business and were volunteering their services for the day.

Going into this, my expectations weren’t high. Sure, I’ve been going to spinning classes for almost 12 years now, but I just assumed a Bolder Options event would be different. More low key. I’m mean, seriously, how on earth could you keep 10-13 year-old kids entertained for that long on a studio cycling bike?

But in reality? The classes was just as much a spin class as any I’ve ever attended. It was just as hard. The music was just as loud. There were even push-ups and jumps on the bike (both of which are tactics that I’m not the biggest fan of). And knowing how hard my first spin class was for me when I was in my twenties, I could only imagine how hard it was for the kids!

They persevered, though. My girl was tough. She hung in there. She never quit. She did tell me it was impossible more than once. But it wasn’t impossible because she finished. And I was very, very proud.

Luckily, the music was good and my girl is a HUGE fan of pop music. So, between singing along and adding in some fist-bumping as well as high fives, she made it the whole 45 minutes of class to the sweaty, sweaty finish.

At the end, there were bananas and granola bars and loads of congratulations. All the kids were glowing and it looked like they enjoyed it. Walking back to the car, I asked my mentee, “If they have another one of these, do you want to do it?”

And she said very firmly and solidly, “Absolutely not.”

Act II: The Late Afternoon Ski

I got home after the spin event a little after 3pm and the weather was absolutely lovely. The sun was out. The temps were in the 30s and I knew I wanted to ski. I did have to shove a quick, late lunch down the hatch because I was STARVING when I got home. And the husband was already gone. Being the very lucky lady that I am, James had spent the morning cleaning the house while I worked and did my Bolder Options thing. When I got home and he was gone, I knew he was already out on the trail.

I didn’t get over to the golf course until about 4pm. And when I hit the trail, I was very uncoordinated and had a hard time finding my balance. The snow was a little slushy, too, so I felt awkward and slow. I even biffed it right away on a flat — not even sure what happened there. Still, the weather was great so I started my sloggy little ski.

Unfortunately, the actual act wasn’t living up to what I’d imagined in my brain. I wasn’t having the time of my life. In fact, I checked my watch every 10 minutes surprised at how slow the time was passing and I was pretty sure I was only going to make one lap around the thing and go home. I chalked it up to already tired legs from the earlier spin. That and my digesting Tuna Casserole (a pretty heavy lunch to shove so quickly and probably not such a good idea). About five minutes from the end of lap 1, James appeared and skiied with me back to our start. At that point, I’d only been out for 40 minutes and, somehow, I talked myself into a second lap. James headed home. I headed out again. And as the sun started to set some more, the track firmed up a bit. I also found more balance and I had a great second half of my ski. The setting sun was gorgeous, too. I love the colors of the winter sun in Minnesota.

I got home for the second time around 5:30. And after mustering a shower and some more chow, I was pretty much toast for the night. But it was a really good kind of toast.

Act II: A Ski at the State Park

My little golf course ski wasn’t enough yesterday. The weather was again beautiful today so James and I made it a point to get out to ski somewhere special today. One of our favorite parks, William O’Brien, was our destination. After loading up on oatmeal, we headed out and were on the trail by 11 am.

There is something so mystical about skiing through the park in the winter. The trees. The snow. It’s just so absolutely gorgeous. Anyone who complains about Minnesota winters obviously does not cross country ski.

Some of the park trails are pretty tough in terms of skill level. We climbed a lot of hills and went down them, too. I also managed to muster up the courage to attempt the “scary” spots that I’d first encountered at this park last year. The first was a SUPER steep downhill that, last year, I scootched down on my butt. The second was a glare ice S curve that I fell and scootched down, too.

This year? The SUPER steep downhill wasn’t as scary as I’d remembered and I did fine. The S curve, while still scary, not as bad. It helped that it also wasn’t glare ice today, too.

I also got to use some of the lessons I’d learned on Tuesday night at Ride & Glide. I practiced my V1 stroke. I tried to make sure I cornered with my gravity low using the little steps to turn. I also tried to get more confident and not slow myself down on every hill by snowplowing. It was fun to put those lessons into use.

In the end, I skiied about 13.5 miles (James completed 14). It was a pretty intense and very rewarding afternoon. We fueled back up afterward with beer and bar food in Stillwater. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

And now, here we are. The end of a great weekend. I only have the Golden Globes and some dinner left. But I’m as content as I could be.

Tonight I’m relishing that sweet exhaustion from a tough workout. It was actually quite a lovely day when you consider I slipped out of the office early for a spa treat compliments of a popular social networking site. A 90 minute massage is nothing to sneeze at and I’m glad I took the time to participate in the outing with other members of my team. It was even a decent massage. I was expecting more of a “fluff and buff” from the fancy spa we went to out in the suburbs. (Not to be a snob. But I am a snob. Especially when it comes to a decent massage.)

At any rate, the massage was nice. And right afterwards, I headed out to join some members of my team for a Thursday evening ride. I didn’t get to ride either Tues. or Weds. (nights we have regular rides) – so I was jonesing for some bike time. The weather was perfect, too. 70s and sunny. Absolutely lovely. We had four of us total and I did begin to get nervous. The three cats I was about to take off with are all super-strong. I was by far the weakest rider and i knew it would be a challenge.

And, it was a challenge. I was at threshold for much of the ride. I fell back on a few hills. But I did my best to keep up and I felt pretty good about my effort. When we pulled into the cafe after the 37 mile ride, I was shocked to find we’d averaged over 18 mph. That was with all the stop signs and everything. Honestly, many times when I looked down at my computer, we were going between 20 and 23 mph!

Towards the end of the ride, my calves started cramping a little. At the very end, my ankles and feet were cramping, too. I think the results of my massage and a bit of dehydration were taking effect. But I felt super good having completed the ride.

We all hung out after — once again, I devoured a Birchwood turkey burger post ride.

And now I’m home and ready for bed and basking in the comfort of a good massage, a hard ride and a full tummy.

Sometimes life is really, really good.Dark Streets trailerMad Max 2: The Road Warrior dvdrip

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands rip

Man, it’s about friggin’ time. Of course, I’m sitting inside watching America’s Funniest Home Videos and on my laptop. Slightly pathetic. But I did get out for a lovely 2-1/2 hour coffee ride with the club today. Honestly, it’s been at least 3 years since I’ve been on the Sunday Coffee Ride. Not sure why we stopped going. It was one of my first entrances into group riding. I still remember that first one. It WAS my first group ride. I fell on the way there at a stop sign because I couldn’t clip out of my pedals and I was all scraped up and embarrassed and didn’t want to ride because I was scared. It’s amazing to think of it now and how mornings like today ARE my zen time. Something that scared me so much 6 years ago is such a relaxing pleasure now — just goes to show you.

Today was our official kick-off coffee ride for the season. Tracey, the owner of the Bwood, had scones and coffee for the group pre-ride. James and I got there early, for once. In time to enjoy some treats before heading out — at least until I realized I’d forgotten my helmet. How do I always do that?? Forget something?? Lucky, Tracey also had a helmet I could borrow. Thank goodness.

The coffee ride route isn’t my favorite ride through the cities. But the pace was good — a perfect recovery from yesterday’s long run. I got to chat with a lot of peeps and we had a few challenging hill thrown in there to keep us honest. I think we averaged around 17-something mph for the 2.5 hour ride. Although, to be honest, I never looked at my computer to see how far we were going. It’s nice to have a ride where you just don’t care — you’re just there.

After the ride, we hung out at the cafe and had lunch with teammates. We finally had to get our butts in gear at 1pm. We needed to grocery shop for the week and do chores around the house.

As for yesterday, my 18 mile progressive run was a challenge — but a good one. I was supposed to run at 10% below Marathon Pace for the bulk of the run and then increase pace the final 30 minutes and finish the final 10 at MP. The goal for this was 11-minute mile 10% below pace with MP @ 10-minute mile but I actually ran at an average 10:30-minute mile pace and finished the final 30 minutes at 9:30. I think I am going to finally rethink my MP goal. But I need to do the math.

I will say, I was SORE after this run. We went out for dinner at a wine bar with some peeps in the evening and after 3 hours of hanging out, eating and drinking wine, my legs were stiff and could barely make it to the bathroom — let alone to the car. Then, this morning, getting out of bed was it’s own challenge. Going downstairs really hurt. But the ride loosened me up and I feel much better now.

So, next week is my first multisport race of the season! It’s the Oakdale Duathlon: a 3 mile run, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run. I guess that means I should put my aerobars on my bike and practice TT position.

Okay. I’m headed outside now. Night, ya’ll!Beauty and the Beast on dvd Pootie Tang download Problem Child 2 film

Scooby Doo Meets Batman psp

• The Devil Dared Me To release

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen film Carlito’s Angels release

• Unaccompanied Minors download

Alright. I promise, I’ll get back to my dog sledding story. In fact, I have half of the next post already written — it’s just not ready to post yet. But I figured I might as well log in and let ya’ll know I’m still alive in the meantime.

I’ve finished my second vacation of the month (And for those keeping track at home: Yes. I have used up almost all my vacation in March.) Warbirds movie download Be Kind Rewind dvdrip Chelsea Girls psp

• Explicit Ills psp

download Pirates of Silicon Valley Six work days (and eight real days) after we arrived home from Ely, MN from our dog sled vaca, I headed down to Texas with some fellow cyclists (a few of them teammates) for Texas Hell Week. Among those playing along: Sascha Scarface movie

and Steven. Among those not playing along: the husband. With his new job that he started in January, a super-important event was taking place iwithin the timeframe that Hell Week occurred. So, as ironic as it is, I headed down to Texas for base training for cycling season WITHOUT my cyclist husband. Who would have ever thought?

The trip deserves its own entry. It was 8 days of riding (I rode 7 of those for a total of 519 miles of some hilly, windy riding). I’ve put in some fantastic training and had an enjoyable time to boot.

And now that my wacky (and fun!) month of March is almost over, I’m sinking back into my regular work schedule and beginning to concentrate on this year’s running / triathlon season that is about to start. In fact, I have a marathon in just 2-1/2 months. Time for me to extend my base training to the sneakers as well.

Stay tuned. I promise to finish both the Dog Sledding entries and post about Hell Week as well. In the meantime, I did post some photos here.

The Birth of a Nation full movie

I seriously, seriously, seriously don’t know what to say about this:

Road to Bali video

The War Bride movie

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie dvd

Is it good? Is it bad? Is it a sorry, sorry state?

I. Just. Don’t. Know.

Here is a link to a YouTube Video of the thing.

The Poet trailer

It was a great week. I can’t believe how much climbing we did.

And, honestly, the altitude wasn’t that bad.

That said, I got damn good at climbing between 6 and 7 mph. Slow and steady: the two recurring themes of my week.

More later. I gots laundry to do and an iPhone to purchase.

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Wow. Been quiet here, no?

Why?

Well, I’ve been working like mad to prepare for being out for two weeks from work. We’re headed to Steamboat Springs, Colorado tomorrow for the Bicycle Tour of Colorado which starts on Sunday. I’ll be out of town until next Sunday and I’m not even bringing a computer with me. :)

I’m exhausted. And excited. As of yesterday, I’d put in over 36 hours at work so far in prep for being gone. Luckily, I can sleep on the drive there. We’re driving with another couple in their huge Durango. It’ll be a long trip, but fun people to spend the time with. After that, we’re on to our adventure.

I’d really like to write more, but I really need to get to bed. Perhaps when I get back, I’ll fill you in on the prep work in addition to the stories I’m sure I’m going to have. But until then, take care.

We’ll see you in a week or so…

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Results from Buffalo, MN Tri:

16th out of 120 in my age division (female) 30 – 39

160th overall out of 732 racers

Here are the details:
1/4 mile swim: 7:59 (1:49/100 yds – 362 overall)
Transition 1: 2:39
13 mile bike: 39:20 (19.8 mph – 84 overall)
Transition 2: 1:40
3 mile run: 24:44 (8:15/mile – 342 overall)
Total time: 1:16:20

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