On being cautious...

I talked a while ago about being cautiously optimistic. I now consider that to be an oxymoron... you can NOT be optimistic while being cautious. You have to just jump in to what ever it is with both feet and let things fall as they may. If things don't turn out the way you hoped, you have to accept them the way that they are, however they are.

Embrace life fully. Live life for what it is, a journey.

Be joyous.
Be impulsive.
Be HAPPY.
Be honest.
Be good to yourself!

Peace.

Making Major Milestones!

Wow, what a weekend of accomplishments!

Friday we went on a hike to Mary Jane Falls. This hike starts at 7800' elevation up on Mt. Charleston and is a climb of about 1000' over a mile and a half of trail. Earlier this year I attempted to climb about 600' over 3 miles and had to stop about a mile and a half in...

NOT THIS TIME!!

Cynthia, Sarah, Elijah, and I took Summit for a birthday hike up to the falls. We packed a picnic (including a bottle of vino) and started out. In my excitement I inadvertently missed a few speed limit signs and was pulled over by Metro. Luckily he was impressed by Summit's incredible blue eyes and decided to cite me for considerably fewer MPHs over the limit than I was actually doing.

He's an amazing dog...

Anyhow, we drove up to Mt. Charleston and hiked up to Mary Jane Falls. Sarah was hiking on a badly strained ankle and Elijah is four years old, so the pace was just right for me! There are a series of twelve switchbacks up the side of the mountain. I had to stop often, mostly to catch my breath from the elevation, so the switchbacks were a nice place to stop. Summit also helped me by pulling me up the trail... he likes to lead, and wasn't happy unless he was in front! Once we arrived at the falls we rested, had some lunch and a glass (or two) of wine to toast my first successful hike in many, many years.

Yes, the wine was delicious!

Saturday was a perfect day for a bike ride. I met Christy and Kathi at Albertson's for another attempt at riding all the way to Blue Diamond. I was feeling strong, and they were a great support team. Ok, they had a great method to keep me going... they made me ride in front so I couldn't stop!

We stopped for a bit at the Overlook, and then headed out for Blue Diamond. Again, I led the charge down the hill. Near the bottom I noticed two women yelling and waving, but I didn't know them so I kept on. I flew down the hill and up the next, never having to shift out of my big ring. I was feeling fine and flying along, so it took me a few miles to notice that I was alone.

"Wow!" I thought, "I'm going so fast that I've lost them!" I'm still a little shaky on my bike, so looking behind me is sketchy. When they didn't catch me after a bit, I decided that I should stop and let them catch up. Um... yeah. Kathi caught me before I came to a complete stop and yelled for me to keep going. This is when my inflated ego crashed... I found out that they had both stopped to talk for a bit, that's why I was on my own!

Me in Blue Diamond.

We rode on and into the town of Blue Diamond, which has been a goal of mine for many months. Getting there was just half of it, though the ride back to town seemed easier than I remembered. Perhaps it was the lure of Starbucks at the end of the ride!

In the end, I conquered two of the things I considered obstacles. Now on to the next "challenge"!!

Walking a half marathon...

At some point in the last few months it became a normal activity to get up in the morning and take a 13.1 mile walk.

I'm not quite sure how that happened, or if it's a natural by-product of training that makes the event feel kind of commonplace. But that's how the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon felt on Sunday. Ok, not commonplace, but normal. Like Sheri and I just pack up the families and drive for hours just to go for a long walk. Just like that.

Ok, not just like that, but kinda. I guess we could do our own 13.1 mile walks here in town, except for one thing... Boredom. Yep, walking around neighborhoods that you've already seen is boring. Oh, and another thing, support. Yes, there are Starbucks on every street corner with cold drinks and clean bathrooms, but they don't bring them out to the curb and cheer you on as you go by. Oh, and a third thing... IT'S FREAKING HOT HERE IN LAS VEGAS!!!

So, you see, the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon was a stroke of brilliance. We were able to combine a short family vacation with a fully supported and entertaining event in a beautiful and cool location. We are so smart! There were enthusiastic fans lining the streets, happy and helpful volunteers, cross-dressing cheerleaders, and oh yes, then there was the bling. BLING!! Yes, that is still our main inspiration for completing the 1/2 marathons.

Not only did we complete the marathon, but we completed it in record (ok, our personal record) time. The course was beautiful, but hillier than our previous races, and we hadn't really trained as we should, but we set new PRs. Hmmm... Could this be our new training motto? Or do you think if we had trained better we could have gone under the four hour mark? We'll have to see for the next event. I think I'll train still. Just sayin.

And the bling is still pretty inspirational too...

Changes in attitude...

Life is fun!

I think I forgot that somewhere along the way, and it's taken me a really long time to remember.

I went on a long bike ride on the River Mountain Trail on Saturday. I rode harder and farther then I had before and had a blast doing it! Along the way I fell off my bike (OK, we're calling it a "tip over") and had a classic "Bonk"... and it was so much fun! Hills, sweat, pain, exhaustion... and the most incredible turkey sandwich from Capriotti's when I was done!

Sunday was our last training walk before the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon on June 6th. It was 7.5 miles long, but felt easy. I'm finding that I'm able to use my body in ways that I couldn't have imagined two years ago. I'm finding my body, and I'm finding myself along the way.

I'm also finding that I have more confidence... I took a chance and emailed someone whom I had seen online. I was lucky, and he emailed me back. I don't want to jinx it, but let me just say that so far things are really going well, and I'm feeling optimistic!

Did I say life is fun? Life is GOOD too!

Isn't it the truth?

"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love.” ~ Neil Gaiman

I read this quote tonight by accident. I wasn't looking for it, but it popped up on the screen while I was surfing around being nosy on Facebook and slapped me in the face. And it wasn't a gentle slap, it was one of those sharp stinging slaps that leave a stinging palm print and giant red mark long after you think you should have recuperated from the insult of it.

I've been a bit on the restless side for the last few days. Ok, that's an understatement. I've been in what I used to call a "Froggy's" mood... ready to go out, drink, dance, get wild, and be slightly reckless with my emotions. I've pondered going out on the town, but going out here in Vegas has it's own complications. Anyhow, when I read this quote I started to understand just a bit of what I'm going through.

I've gone out on a few dates recently. A couple of them were with a man who I really felt a connection to. That protective armor that I had built up around me started to come apart at the seams as I got to know him. That scared me, and with good reason, because after a couple of dates he stopped calling. I wasn't expecting "happily ever after", but I was expecting to be treated differently. My reaction to the rejection? Food and this nagging feeling of emptiness which is SO unfounded!! Eating, drinking, and carrying on in a reckless manner hasn't worked for me before, why would I think it would make me feel any better now??

Time for a long bike ride... I hope it's not very windy tomorrow morning!

12 Kilometers of Mass Insanity!

That would be the annual Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco. I've been a participant on the sidelines of the race before, usually with a band playing along the route, but this year I wanted to actually enter the race, so I did!

I was joined by Sarah and Kim, along with Kim's friend Kim who lives in San Francisco and graciously allowed us to stay at her house the night before the race. San Francisco is a wonderful town, with so much vibrant energy that it just hums. It's always really fun to be there!

The race was full of tradition. Costumed runners, rolling beer kegs, drunk coeds, naked guys, and more naked guys, along with just regular people having fun. The starting corrals were crammed from building to building, with corn tortillas flying around and excitement in the air!

The gun went off, and so did we... setting a pretty good pace as we knew that we had Hayes Street hill to deal with. The first two miles were a nice warm up, and then there was The Hill. Hayes Street hill scared me from the first time I saw it on the run-through video. Five blocks of an 11.5% grade. VERY intimidating! In reality, it wasn't so bad. The first three blocks were an easier grade, but the last two took some work. We paused to reflect on our accomplishment at the top, and then were on our way downhill to the coast! A little less than two hours later we were looking at the Pacific Ocean, and trying to figure out how to get back to the car. That ended up being an adventure in itself. After two busses and two trains, we were finally home!

It was a really nice weekend in California, with the added bonus of having the AMGEN Tour of California going on all around us. There were lots of cyclists in town and a party attitude everywhere we went... Oh, maybe that was just me!

I'm in love...

But what a way to start a relationship!!

I didn't think that it would happen this way, falling so hard and so fast, but what can I say? I was introduced to my new love by Cynthia. At first I was apprehensive, not knowing if he was strong enough for me. He is so light and agile that I thought I would weigh him down. Little did I know that after just a few sessions how comfortable I would become!

Wait! What are you thinking??? Of course I'm talking about my new BIKE!

Like I said, Cyn brought us together and other than a couple of short jaunts, I hadn't really gotten to know how to handle the Madone at all. That is, until this past weekend when I joined Kathi and Christy on their annual 100 Miles of Nowhere ride.

What is the 100 Miles of Nowhere, you ask? Good question. Long ago, Elden Nelson, of FatCyclist.com fame, rode 100 miles on his rollers in a single sitting, just to be bullheaded. Other people thought it sounded like something they ought to do as a group, so last year they did. Many people rode on their rollers or trainers, others rode a very small loop near their house. The idea, basically, is to ride an infuriatingly small course for 100 miles, to fight cancer and to show you have no sense at all. People did it, and sent in awesome race reports. Our edition of the 100MoN was to complete 33 1/3 loops of a small three mile course.

The three of us set out on Saturday morning with the intention of getting in as many miles as we could before 11 am. High winds were forcasted for later in the day and all day Sunday, but due to prior commitments we had to stop at 11. I began with high hopes to complete 50 miles on my new ride, that proved to be slightly over optimistic. After the first lap I realized that the new saddle was harder than rock and had to stop and add some padding in the form of a gel seat cover!

With that obstacle behind (hahaha!) me, I began to enjoy the course a little bit more. We started out with one mile on a relatively flat street, turned onto the street with the "hill" for a mile, then turned again on to a short downhill for another mile. Lap after lap we went around and around. Almost like NASCAR but not so fast and all right turns. Oh, yeah, and lots of pit stops for me. I did a lap, stopped for a minute, did another lap, stopped for a minute. Eventually I worked myself up to two laps at a time... Woo Hoo!

Here's the "Hill". Yes, it's definitely going up!

Here's the recovery road. Yes, that is a down hill ride...

Kathi and Christy on the flat road which later became the very windy road as the winds picked up later in the day.


In the end my 100 Miles of Nowhere ended up as 25 Miles of Nowhere, but I became intimately familiar with my new bike, and now feel much more confident on it. I'm actually kind of sad that I won't be bringing it with me to California this week... Can my new love live without me till next week? We'll have to see!