Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Catching Up and an EC Visit!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

So I know, it’s been a while since my last blog and my life just gets more complicated every week. Between riding, looking for employment and people coming in and out of my life….well, it just gets messy & emotional sometimes. I try not to get attached…self preservation I guess..but…well…U know me!

To bring you up to speed, I started self training for an endurance event coming up at the end of April. I rode my first 40 mile ride to prep for it. The event is 50 miles and 5500 feet of climbing. I did the 5300 feet so I am getting closer to my goal. I think the body part that hurt the most were my feet. My toes felt like they were broken and at about 28 miles I started cramping up in my legs.
I am experimenting a lot with my nutrition during these long rides. #1 Lesson I have learned: Perpetuem: SIP SLOWLY! Don’t ever suck this down if you are thirsty! I start to sip Perp at about 2 hours or so into the ride. If I drink it too fast or too much it makes me feel REALLY full and I start getting stomach cramps. I also changed from electrolyte tablets in my bladder to Heed. Which seemed to work even though it was sweet, I just needed a lot more water for 40 miles. So next time I will pack a lot more extra water and a few more packs of Heed to add in.

Why am I doing this? Riding for hours and hours is just a big, mental and emotional release for me. Being a very intense person, for some bizarre reason, this makes me relax and feel very satisfied at the same time. I know…go figure!

On a personal note, I snuck out for a quick visit back to the East Coast for a very long overdue visit to see my brother and another friend. It’s been almost 25 years since I have seen my oldest brother. Shame on me! It was an awesome experience and I wish I got to spend more time with him. I forgot how beautiful AND cold CT is! I got to site see, take a spin class to see how the EC teaches, have some fun (sorry…no personal details to protect the innocent!) and just enjoy running away for a few days. I highly suggest running away for a few days for EVERYONE once in a while.

Now back to reality………..Before I left I sent out a ton of resumes and made a bunch of calls and heard nothing back, so very disappointing. I am teaching spin every night this week so that keeps me sane. Hoping for a rain free weekend to get in some good riding too, but doesn’t look like that may happen. Looks like Friday and Sunday are only 30% chance of rain, and Sunday I am leading a club ride so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

March is just around the corner and I am not sure how the month is looking. I am hoping for new employment, I may be having a visitor, and I have some serious endurance training to accomplish. All of which truly scares & excites me too!

For links, I would like to recognize CORBA this week: http://corbamtb.com/index.shtml. CORBA is a nonprofit organization serving the mountain biking community of Los Angeles and its surrounding areas including southern Ventura County. They are dedicated to preserving open space, maintaining public access to public lands, and creating more trail opportunities for all to enjoy.

Until next time luvs………..be good to yourselves, be kind and compassionate to all and even better to the people who care about you.

Be fabulous! WE