Flashbacks

Over the years I have done alot of LSD, and by alot, I mean I may have a problem. The cumulative effect of using for so many years means that I often experience flashbacks of many a previous hit.

Over the weekend nostalgia hit me head on in the form of a strong, rather warm wind. Suddenly, I was transported back to the time we drove our 1984 VW camper van from Phoenix to Palm Springs, in August, in the middle of the day. Oh, did I happen to mention the engine was air cooled. We drove the whole way with the heat blasting on full and the windows open. It was so ridiculous that it became hysterically funny. I was giddy and disoriented and laughing at everything. As I cruised along on my bike Saturday I was reliving this great adventure and loving being warm. The last time I was on this road it was near freezing temperatures and I was a blue Popsicle. I don't think my riding partners were sharing my enthusiasm for the heat. I'll have to take them up there over the winter so that they can appreciate the warm sun and the ability to use their hands to brake.

Not only was I having flashbacks on the weekend, I was hallucinating. I swear I saw a camel out there!



Team Super Awesome Application



Dear Overlord,

Even though I am beyond Super Awesome and more like Reigning Queen of Awesomeness I want you to know that I wouldn't mind helping out the team by being on it. I'm just that kind of awesome! As superfluous as it is, here is my application.



I have a rocking body and would look fantastic in a unicorn and rainbow kit -SUPER AWESOME

I like Gentlemen named Jack, I like them straight and I can handle two at a time.-AWESOMENESS!

I have SUPER AWESOME beer drinking form and take all racing seriously, especially the beer mile.

Of special note, the day I met Wiley I 'let' him ride me off his wheel, that's how much awesomeness I have to spare!

 

Chasing Tail

I like to chase tail. That's right, I find a intense pleasure in the chase, the capture not so much. Once the capture has happened the excitement fades quickly. But, during the chase, oh during the chase all is right. My heart rate spikes and I feel each pulse coursing through my body. I have a tingling sensation that goes all the way down to the tips of my toes and fingers. I have razor sharp visual focus on the target and am not distracted by anything around me. It is almost like I am having an out of body experience as I hone in as the prize gets closer and closer to me. With every turn I gauge how I am getting closer to closing the gap. Once I make the connection though, my heart rate settles down and I find complacency settling. I hit the wall, and wait anxiously for the next set when it starts all over again because it is so much more fun to push myself to go faster and faster when I have a tail to chase and at least 200 yards to do it in.

Winning

I am not one to boast about my achievements so I have neglected to mention in this blog all the races that I have been winning. I apologize to all of my readers for this oversight but I really wanted this to be about my journey and not so much about how I stacked up in a race situation. Frankly, I didn't want you all to feel badly if you don't constantly line up at the start knowing you have a really good chance at the overall win. I would hate for you to abandon your pursuit of any type of racing just because you aren't able to claim as many wins as me. Just tonight as a matter of fact I claimed the first place overall in the 5:10pm lagoon 6 mile run. It was a close race with me and another runner trading the lead multiple times but I was able to use the element of surprise and edge her out in the finishing sprint. (it is always best to attack when your competition is distracted, in this case she was sniffing a branch) When I started the race I was pretty confident that I had a win in me tonight and it was quite satisfying to pull it off. So, erasing all thoughts of me and my multitude of first places, continue going out there and striving to 'win' against yourself.

Starting Line

As athletes we focus much time and energy on getting to the finish line. There is a popular saying that  it is about the journey not the destination. In order for there to be a journey though, there has to be a start. Starting anything is the most difficult part. Once you have started it is much easier to keep the momentum than it is to initiate it. I get told all the time by people, I'd love to do (fill in the blank) but I don't ( _have the time, _know how, _have the energy, _ have the talent, _think I can.). Getting over this is the biggest hurdle in beginning anything. Think about pushing a huge boulder down a path, the most strength and energy is required to make that initial budge, once it is rolling you can pretty much keep the forward progress. Of course there are times when the boulder comes up against a rut or an uphill and then you have to dig down into your pit of strength again and push it through, but it won't take as much as that first shove because now you know you can move it.

Two years ago I was about to watch and crew at the Leadville Trail 100. The day of the race I was in awe of all those incredible athletes. I thought that there was no way I had the ability to even contemplate doing such an event. Two days later, I decided that I should put everything I had into doing such a scary event, one that terrified me and I didn't think was possible. That was the day I began to push the boulder, and I was mostly pushing it uphill! I didn't get selected to start the race through the general entry. I had to do some fast dialing and get in through a camp. I wasn't that solid on my mountain biking skills and had never been on the mountain bike for more than 3.5 hours at a time. I had lots of work to do in order to even toe the line. One year ago, I was on the eve of the event and I felt really well prepared. The fears and self doubt had been replaced by excitement and quiet confidence. I was going to be at the start line and I deserved to be there, I had been pushing that rock for almost 12 months and I had momentum. I finished that day but that isn't what I celebrate, I celebrate that I had the courage to start. Every race or adventure that you go on, remember it is the starting that matters most. Good luck to everyone racing Leadville tomorrow. Hope your journey has been enjoyable and that you all have a no chain day out there!

Scotiabank Half Marathon Start, Tana ready to race

(she didn't understand why she got to do my warm up but not the race- I could have used her momentum on that day!)

The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start. -John Bingham

Soul Food

I have been hungry lately, not because I haven't been eating well. I have been eating well, maybe too well as evidenced by this picture....

Carrot cupcake with Pineapple Ginger icing -VEGAN:)

The food I have been craving and starving for is the kind that while you feel it in your butt, you burn calories. I have had a hankering for some adventure. Luckily for me I have great friends who go along with my ideas (most of the time).

Over the weekend instead of heading out and doing a bike ride on known route with known mileage we went the road less travelled. There are many roads that we have passed and wondered where it went. Saturday we found out, most of them went up!

Up and Up, sorry can't get it to rotate

We had no idea where roads came out but we had an app for that, or so we thought. The app didn't show gated, no trespassing or be prosecuted by penal code blah blah blah. Most of the roads we tried that went up dead ended at gates. Big heavy gates with really important signs, some even had cameras. Head back down try the next road. Go in circles and keep coming out at the same place. Luckily, this was the kind of exploring that involved corner stores, so unlike Lewis and Clark on their great expedition we did not have to slaughter a buffalo to survive, or live off wild mushrooms in our vegan case. We did find some yummy treats for our donut favoring riding partner, but alas instead of meandering in the hills with us he was on a serious ride. Too bad, these looked rather yummy!

Gold was discovered in them there hills!

Eventually we had exhausted all roads and had found no way out, no legal way that is so we headed back out the way we came and got to go down a long way, we really had gone up a lot of hills. Now when we pass by that certain road, we won't be wondering where it goes, we know it goes to a place where you can feed your soul.

'Not all who wonder are lost', sometimes it takes getting lost to be found!





Colorado Rocky Mountain High

It is August and the mountains are calling to me. The last two summers I spent amazing weeks in Colorado camping in the mountains. Oh and last year I threw in a 'little' mountain bike race while I was there. This year, there are no trips to the mountains planned for me. I am feeling a little sad about this as I hear from friends that are enjoying the mountain towns and all that they have to offer. I am living vicariously through their pictures and events. I am also watching a race unfold via SPOT tracking on the Colorado trail. The things that I love most about being in the mountains in the summer are:
Afternoon rain and thunder showers. The clouds move in quickly, dump some rain, give a light show and then disappear over the next range. The sun comes back out and shines down on a clean crisp world with rain drops glistening on the trees. The air is so clean and smells so good. I loved afternoon rain showers, the were also great times to take a nap. It was even fun to get caught out in them on the bike, as long as you aren't above tree line!

The clear night sky and all the stars. Love sitting out under the stars and watching the night sky, especially if there aren't any mosquitoes. Mosquitoes can ruin sitting out under the stars instantly, luckily during my time there weren't any of these pesky creatures around.

Waking up in the morning to cool mountain air that requires my down jacket to be in shorts and t-shirt 2-3 hours later. Who doesn't sleep better when it cools off at night and warms up during the day?

Early morning walks in the forest with my dog. We had some great morning walks where we were able to corner lots of squirrels up trees. (Okay, maybe that was Tana's favorite part not mine).

The changing cloud formations and colors in the sky. The paintbrush of nature is far more magnificent than any of the great artists.

From downtown Leadville

The solitude. Just a girl and her dog camping in the wilderness. Nothing recharges the battery more than time alone in nature. I am sure those folks riding the Colorado trail right now are feeling super recharged:)

In an attempt to ease my melancholy with this blog post, I may have just exacerbated the symptoms. I think the only cure is an infusion of Rocky mountain air!

Crested Butte area

'now he walks in quiet solitude the forest and the streams, Seeking grace in every step he takes, His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand, The serenity of a clear mountain lake, It's the Colorado rocky mountain high' - John Denver