Thursday, December 29, 2005

R & R

Yesterday was a little R&R...rest and recover from the Tuesday torture fest of "Bending Crank Arms". I worked all day and then took Pepper for a walk and up to the park when I got off work. Then we went to the rent house to do a little more work on it. Thank goodness it is almost done. It was a nightmare when we first started fixing it up but it is starting to actually look livable now. Charles says it looks better now then it ever has before. Hopefully we can sell it quickly and make a little profit on the deal. After the rent house project we went to Chelino's to eat. Had some good mexican food and then home to bed. So, I guess I didn't really get much R&R but at least I did not ride, run or lift weights. So, for me, that was R&R. Back to the gym tonight and then most likely, another Spinnervals DVD or maybe the new Robbie Ventura Masters Nationals DVD that is awesome. Charles mentioned the TT bikes yesterday so I have a feeling he is going to pick up a TT DVD. So I may be really hurting tonight if I have to break out the TT bikes. They are the ultimate torture machine!

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Bending Crank Arms...again

I went to the gym last night for my normal weight lifting routine. I did legs a little heavier than normal and added in a few more reps. I also bumped up my push-up. My legs were tired by the time I drove home. I got on the trainer at home and Charles pops in "Bending Crank Arms" Spinnervals DVD. Wonderful! So, after my 5 minute hard effort in my big ring and my 12 on the back...my legs were toast. Then I had to get off my bike and do 30 seconds worth of squats and then hold it down (like sitting in an imaginary chair) for 30 seconds! And then repeat that two more times. Oh my gosh! Then Coach Troy made us get back on the bike and do 1 minute hard efforts with one minute off, but at the end of each one minute hard effort, we had to stand up and sprint for 15 seconds. Yeah, five of those and then off the bike again for some more squats. And that was not even the half-way point. Needless to say...I am very sore today and I am most likely going to be taking a rest day today. Even sitting at my desk right now, my legs are throbbing. If I can manage do do that workout once a week...I should get stronger. But it may kill me in the process. So for anyone who wants to suffer...check out "Bending Crank Arms" and get familiar with Coach Troy.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Christmas

I had a really nice Christmas this year. Charles and I went to my grandparents' house on Christmas Eve and then I went to Enid to my other grandparents on Christmas day. I have three sets of grandparents and I was able to go spend time with all of them this year. I also went to my brother's house on my way from Enid back to OKC on Christmas night. It was a full house out there and I was so tired by that point. I really wanted to ride Zakk's new motorcycle but it was dark and he told me I would probably wreck it anyway. I would have felt bad if I would have wrecked his new dirtbike before he got a chance to. So, I'll have to go ride it when he's not around. But I had lots of good food and I tried not to overeat too much. I did a pretty good job of not making myself miserable this year.

I did a four hour ride yesterday in Norman with Smathers and Cate. It was almost 70 degrees so we rode in a short sleeved jersey and shorts...only. Yep, that is right. December 26 and no arm warmers, leg warmers or even knee warmers. And no gloves. It was awesome. I felt pretty good. I thought I would hurt because I haven't ridden outside, other than cross races, since my team camp in Austin three weeks ago. But I guess the trainer is paying off because I felt really good. Suprisingly good. Even at the end of the ride with the hills, I felt good. My heart rate was up pretty high but my legs were ok. So, I am going to keep up the trainer workouts and maybe start doing Mt. Scott on the weekends.

I am hoping to go skiing sometime over the next week but that is up in the air right now. The 12 hour drive to Colorado puts a bit of a damper on things and Santa Fe would be great but they don't have much snow to ski on. And I don't want to break my arm again due to lack of snow!

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Shop til ya drop?

I officially hate Christmas shopping. I have tried to do my Christmas shopping on three seperate occasions and every time, it gets worse. The mall is a nightmare and Target is even worse. I do finally have all of my gifts bought and put in Christmas bags. I cannot wrap a gift to save my life, so everyone gets their gift in a cute little bag. It is an improvement for me because I usually give the gift in whatever store bag it comes in...like the red and white Target sack or the blue Wal-Mart bag. I guess I am not that creative or maybe I just don't care about superficial stuff like wrapping paper or fancy bags. It is kind of a waste actually. I mean the wrapping paper, the box, the tape, the card and the time spent buying the stuff and wrapping it...it is not worth it. The person is just going to rip it all off and throw it away anyway, so why bother wrapping it in the first place? Who came up with this crazy idea anyway? Alot of my family are getting gift cards because I am not very good at picking out stuff for other people. I know what I like and it is usually not the same as what someone else likes. So I don't even try to decide what someone else may like. But my oldest nephew is into the Buckle store. Everything in that place is at least $100. So, my little $25 gift card prolly isn't going to get him very far on the Lucky faded and holy jeans that he wants. And my little nephew is getting a dirt bike from my brother. So my mom got him a helmet, my dad got him gloves and I got him goggles. It is going to be awesome. In fact, I am going to have to go to my brother's house on Christmas night so I can test ride the new machine. My mom saw the bike at the shop and she said it looks so big, but Zakk is 10 years old so he needs a bigger dirt bike. It is going to so much fun. I haven't ridden a dirt bike in a long time. I got my first motorcycle when I was 5 years old. It was a little Honda z50. I rode that little bike everyday regardless if it was freezing and snowing or 100 degrees outside, I was out riding it. I hope Zakk has as much fun with his new dirt bike as I did with mine. I didn't even ride a bicycle at all when I was little because I had my motorcycle instead. We lived in the country so I could ride the motorcycle in the wheat fields and at the creek by our house. The road in front of my house was too dangerous to ride my little pink Sweet Thunder bicycle on and our gravel driveway made if suck when I fell off my bike. The dirt was much easier to land on than the gravel. So, I am hoping to take Zakk's new bike for a spin this weekend.

Speaking of this weekend. It is suppoed to be 60 degrees on Sunday and 68 on Monday. Maybe I will finally get to take my bike off the trainer and ride on the rode. I have not done a road ride since my team camp in Austin. That was like three weeks ago. The trainer rides are super hard. I don't think I have ever ridden this hard during the winter before. My coach says I gotta work on my muscle endurance. So, it is big ring most of the time. My legs feel like they have grown two inches around because of the big ring. Hopefully it will be a good thing. I guess I'll find out in a few months.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

The New Fireplace


The New Fireplace
Originally uploaded by cyclesq.
This is the newest addition to the family. It is a gas fireplace with a thermostat. It actually heats most of the house now so the heater rarely even comes on. Plus, it sorta looks real. Oh and notice my Christmas stocking on the mantle. That has been my stocking since I was a teeny tiny little girl. It has seen many a Christmas Eve's and had lots of good stuff from Santa put in it. I wonder if Santa will be able to find it now? i guess I'll have to wait and see! And Pepper has her stocking next to mine, of course. Her stocking will probably get more action than mine this year!

Monday, December 12, 2005

Camp

I went to Austin over the weekend for a team training camp. It was alot of fun and I think the team will be pretty competitive this season. Everyone seemed really nice and I didn't feel like an outsider like I thought I would. The riding in Austin is awesome! The weather was almost 70 degrees and all the roads have bike lanes. And the best part....all the restaurants are non-smoking! That is such a foreign thought for OKC. I can't imagine all the crazy people, especially cyclist, who move away from Austin. Austin seems like the perfect cycling mecca. I left Austin at 5:30 on Sunday morning to make it back by my cyclocross race in OKC at 1:00. I made it back in 5 hours and 15 minutes...pretty good time. I ended up winning the women's race and I think maybe 5th out of all the B men. I flatted with 3 laps to go and I had to grab Charles' bike. His pedals are slightly different than mine and I couldn't get un-clipped for one of the barricades. So, I bit it pretty good. The crash was on the last lap, so I just finished it off easy. I felt really good, which is unusual. I guess my training camp ride on Saturday was not quite as hard as what I am used to on the Buch's ride. I finally recovered the overall women's spot now. I think I am up by 3 points. Now I have to do all the reamining races to win it.

Here's a link to the new team: http://austinflyers.com/

I just finished cleaning house and I am off to start cooking dinner! I know scary thought...cooking AND cleaning in one day!!!

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Christmas lights and snow


Christmas lights and snow
Originally uploaded by cyclesq.
The first snow of the winter fell today. the Christmas lights look really pretty with the snow falling.

Chica in the snow


Chica in the snow
Originally uploaded by cyclesq.
Today is Chica's very first experience playing in the snow. She has been chasing Big Dog around all day. I think she likes it!

Princess Pepper on the snowy pathway

Pepper is mad that I made her go outside in the snow without her new hot pink sweater.

Big Dog in the snow


Big Dog in the snow
Originally uploaded by cyclesq.
Big Dog is sorta tired of Chica chasing him in the snow all day!