P90X

It is the off season from racing so Charles and I decided to give the P90X workouts a try.This is not only a new way of working out but it is a new way of eating as well. And eating right has ALWAYS been my downfall. I love love love to eat and I eat whatever I want. I am a huge dessert fan and I love cake! So this diet thing is going to maybe kill me or at least make me very unhappy.

Yesterday was Day 1. We did Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X. The pull ups were really hard for me (only 4 and they were chair assisted)and the push ups were pretty difficult (around a 100 push ups ranging from reglar, military, wide, diamond, inverted and dive bombers). The abs were somewhat easier but only because I compared it to the prior pull up/push up work out. After the P90X workout, we went for an easy mile run. The run was a piece of cake (yum) compared to the workout.

The diet. Ugh, I hate that word. We ate very little carbs and a ton of protein and vegetables. I went to bed full so that was a plus.

This morning I am sore. My chest and sholders are tender and I can feel my abs. So, I would say it was a good work out. No pain - No gain.

Today, the plan is plyometrics and a bike ride. Working on breakfast now.....a protein shake.

Sorry for the lack of posting. I have been busy and sorta forgot to update this. I have been working a ton and hitting the gym pretty regularly. I am up to 5 miles on the treadmill...not very fast but 5 miles nonetheless. It makes my feet hurt though. I have blisters on both feet from running. I think I need some new shoes maybe. My Nike Shox are only 2 years old but I guess for running purposes they are way old! So, it looks as if I'll be spending some of my Christmas money on some new running shoes. I also got a Krups one cup coffee pot which is really cool. Now I just have to find some good coffee available in pods. Any ideas??? My ipod mini was finally replaced with a new itty bitty shuffle. It is perfect for rides, for running and for lifting weights. It is so small I hardly even notice it. I haven't been riding much. I am not terribly inclined to go outside and ride when it is 35 degrees and the wind is blowing 30 mph. So, I have been on the trainer a little but nothing major. I have team training camp coming up in a few weeks so I need to get a few miles in my legs. Hopefully my running will be sufficient for now. I have some cool pictures that I will get posted shortly.

mj & Charles at Angels window

mj & Charles at Angels window
Originally uploaded by cyclesq.

We flew to Vegas for Interbike last week and rented a car to go visit the Grand Canyon. This picture was taken at the North Rim in front of Angel's Window. It was so beautiful! After the GC we drove up to Utah to Zion Nat'l Park. It was amazing. It was totally different from GC becasue instead of standing on top looking down, we were at the bottom looking up. We spent three days in Vegas for Interbike and I got to meet Cippo (see other picture here), Levi Leiphiemer and Dave Z. We arrived back to OKC on Friday afternoon and then I drove to Ft. Smith, Arkansas to race the Mercy Classic crits. I raced Saturday and Sunday but felt completely worthless the entire time. I guess having not been on my bike in over a week didn't really go over to well for me. Shontell took 3rd in the sprint on Saturday and Beth was in a break with Ally B on Sunday and took 2nd in the finish. My other teammate Daniele totally worked her butt off for the team and I just worked my butt off trying to hang on. I may be racing in Austin Friday night for the AMLI crit but I am a little tired of traveling and I may skip it and stay in town. It depends on how I'm feeling by then. I've been racing since last October for cyclocross and road racing since February so I'm ready for the season to be over.

Cippo at Interbike 06

Cippo at Interbike 06
Originally uploaded by cyclesq.

The Italian Stallion!!! One of the best spritners in cycling history!

No Gateway Cup racing for me this weekend. My dad had a motorcycle accident on Thursday and put quite a damper on traveling too far away from him. He lives in Midland, TX but was in Enid for the holiday weekend. He rode his Harley up on Wednesday and was out riding with my brother, my brother's wife and another friend of his. They were on their way back into Enid around 10:00pm when some cattle were out and got hit by a semi and another vehicle. My dad and brother came up on the carnage and when my dad tried to slow down by tapping his brakes, his bike slid out from under him. I guess blood and guts are similar to ice. So, he slid a little ways down the highway at around 55 mph. Luckily, he only broke his foot and got some pretty decent road rash to show for it. His scars may actually be better than mine once they all heal. But his foot is pretty much shattered. He broke every bone in his foot and damaged one of the nerves. They operated on his foot Friday just to fix the nerve problem. The major surgery will be in the next week or so after the swelling goes down. He'll have lots of pins and screws in there holding it together. So, he is staying at my grandma's house and getting the best room service around.

Since I stayed around here this weekend, I got to enjoy all the rain we had. But I didn't get to ride that much because of it. I did a good ride Sunday morning and then motor paced yesterday. And because it rained all day Saturday, we made it to the bombing memorial museum which is really a moving thing to see. We also went to the movies and saw "Invincible" with Marky Mark. It is a really good movie and Marky Mark does an awesome job and he looks pretty dang good too. We bought a YMCA membership at the new downtown facility as well. I guess we are gearing up for the winter and the cross training and no riding outside thing. It will be here before we know it!

Gateway Cup 2004

Gateway Cup 2004
Originally uploaded by cyclesq.

This is a blast from the past pic. Gateway Cup is this weekend. This is one of my very favorite weekend races. Unfortunately, I think I'll miss the night crit on Friday but hopefully, I'll make it to the other three races. Saturday is supposed to be on a brand new course which will be better for me rather than the old hilly circuit course of years past. Maybe I'll have some good race stories by next week.

Hotter n' Hell

I raced HHH this past weekend. I did the road race on Saturday. We started at 7:00 so we were done before the major heat set in. The p/1/2/3 women's race was 64 miles and we finished in 3 hours. It was a good race. I felt good but I didn't know the finish so I botched the final corner....not knowing we were even turning. But I finished 6th. We dropped most of girls on the overpass I guess. I looked over my shoulder and didn't see anyone behind us going into the finish. The crit went well. I felt great and was in perfect position for the sprint. I won the pack primes so I knew I had a shot. Plus I was on Stacey's (Mercy) wheel and she is a motor. Beth (my teammate) and Ally lapped the field so I was looking for a good finish. With about ten minutes to go my cornering started to get a little sketchy and I thought maybe we just picked up the pace enough to make it harder in the corners. But then I nearly wiped out and took half the pack with me when I realized my front tire was squishy. So, with 4 laps to go I hit the wheel pit. Unfortunately, I had no more free laps and was pretty much screwed. There was no way I was going to re-attach to the pack so I just put my head down and tried to finish and hold off the other girls behind me. I think I ended up 8th. But Beth took 2nd at the line behind Ally. Overall Beth took 3rd and I took 6th. We got some decent money and a few good primes so I am happy with that. Our cat 4 girl, Tammy, took the win in the cat 4 women's crit. She was totally stoked with that. It was a well deserved win for her.

Charles' luck was not quite as well as mine. He ended up doing 120 miles on Sat rather than 100 due to the cat 3 men getting misdirected and off course. Most of the guys got trailered back in to Wichita Falls by a farmer on a flat bed trailer but Charles decided to finish it out. So, 5.5 hours later,after much worry and concern on my part, he crossed the line.

All in all it was a good weekend, even though we paid $250 for two nights in a hotel that normally only costs $19.99 per night. And the wait at the only breakfast joint near the race course was 1 hour on Sunday morning. Plus, we got the opportunity to see a local townsfolk entertain himself by running full-speed into a huge wooden spindle in an attempt to knock it over. Charles learned how to get a motorcycle to stop on the side of the highway in hopes of getting some ice or water from him. And Charles' ears stayed plugged due to the lack of water for over an hour in the road race in 100 degree temps for nearly 3 hours after the race was over. So, good times....good times.

And only to come back to work on a Monday to be told I have to go get my picture taken, in a suit, for the ad that is going in the phone book. If you only knew how many times I have made fun of the attorneys who have their pictures in the phone book...I can only hope I don't have to do a cheesy commercial next!

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2006/aug06/USPROcrit06/?id=/photos/2006/aug06/USPROcrit06/USPROcrit063/MZ06_2006downersGrove_06

My teammate, Shontell, took fourth at the US National Crit Championship over the past weekend.