Into the (River) Valley of Death

The North Saskatchewan River looks like a sneaky slippery snake for a reason...

Early this morning I received an invite to ride the river valley. I've only ever been on the peripheral of the Edmonton River Valley - by car, on foot, but  never into The Valley and never on bike. "Sounds like a great idea", I thought, "sign me up!". I responded back, "Yup, I'm in!" - afterall, I've been doing hill training in the glory hills north of Spruce & Stony. I was sure I was ready.

HA!

The evening started with some warm up laps in a neighborhood northwest of The Valley as I awaited the arrival of my riding partner. When Keith arrived, we headed south. I was amazed by how few cars were on the streets of Edmonton at 7pm on a Tuesday evening. Of course, it was a business district and past rush hour so I suppose everyone had already left town.

When we reached the lip of The Valley, I looked down on the beautiful view but never registered just how far DOWN it went. Try it yourself - stand on the lip of The Valley, taking in the beautiful views and you'll find that you don't really think "Hmmmm, that looks like a long way down (and hence up)". And down we went. The wind blowing though my helmet, a huge grin on my face, rolling down, down, and down. It truly is a wonderful trail to ride.

Keith of RBF Cycles is a fantastic trail guide as he rides The Valley regularly and knows cycling. The route that he selected was an excellent challenge and I only felt like doing bodily harm to him once, amazingly enough! All kidding aside, you never realize just how NOT hill ready you are until you ride some real hills.

We crossed the river and rode east along the southern bank for some time (mostly uphill) before heading into the ATC for a break. Sadie took in the scenery while I thought about what I had just done (the steepest hill I'd seen in some time) and chatted with Keith about why his bike appears to fly uphill while Sadie feels like she is a sinking rock (besides my lack of practice) - Keith's bike weighs just about... oh, nothing! Must remember to take photos of Keith's bike the next time we ride.

  The trip out of The Valley and back into the city was easier and I got in some faster speeds than I have been riding and we zipped into one of my favorite stores - Italian Centre Shoppe for a drink before heading home. A huge thanks to Keith who taught me a thing or 3 (heels down, scrape dog poo, if you want to ride fast - you have to ride fast) and makes a great friend, guide, & coach. Sadie & I are delighted to have Keith & RBF Cycles as coach & sponsor for our ride. :) We couldn't ask for better.

And, I'll be back in The Valley soon. You can't keep me down, Hills!!!!

70 km Training Ride

It was a beautiful morning when Sadie & I left the house at 6am. The plan was an 80 km ride - the longest training ride to date. I mixed up a bag of hydration/nutrition, geared up, fired up the Map My Ride app, checked Sadie's tires, and away we went, west to the forest trails under a blue sky sunrise.

Hill climbing rides include the roads north of Spruce Grove via either Century Rd. or Campsite. This morning's ride plan was to ride out to Campsite, north to the Villeneuve Highway, West to 779 and then see where we go from there. I enjoy the Campsite road north as it is 8 km from the point I cross the Yellowhead until I reach the Villeneuve - all up hill. Call me crazy but I like to challenge myself to stay on the bike for long hills. So far the 3 rides up this hill have been a success in that regard.

The day began to warm up a bit as I traveled west along the Villenueve. Stopping for a distance break at the corner of Villenueve & 779 though, the clouds started rolling in. Looking back east, sunny blue skies. Looking west, deep grey clouds. Hmmmm, what to do? 25 Km into the ride, watched by the Cows on the Hill, I decided to head south on 779 and pick up one of the west heading roads towards Chickakoo Recreation Area. I remembered that one or 2 of the Bullseye Bike Shop Sunday rides last year took us around this area so why not!

Turning west on Township Road 540, I let Sadie take the lead as we headed towards the purple grey sky. The road travels several rolling hills, a good challenge but nothing too difficult and seeing a sign for Chickakoo, Sadie decided we'd head south again and see where we come out. I'm guessing she was dreaming of 4x4'ing again as the road turned to dirt for about 2km and our pace slowed to a crawl as Sadie hummed along and I concentrated on not skidding out or tipping over. I'm going to have to have a talk with that bike of mine!

Reaching Range Road 13, I realized we were at the entrance to Chickakoo and a left would take us back out to 779. My vote won out and we left the dirt road for pavement again just as Mother Nature decided that Sadie & I must be thirsty flowers and began watering us. We were heading southeast and I could see that the skies to the east were still bright. Reaching 779, I checked my ride distance - 30ish km - that wasn't right. Hmmmm, could I have lost some tracking in the roads west of 779?  I considered riding down to the Yellowhead and heading east on the access road from here or heading straight south into Stony Plain to make a big loop out and around Stony & Spruce but the weather had other plans for me.

As I rode across the Yellowhead overpass, it started to rain again - harder this time. The wind picked up, the sky turned fairly black, and as I reached Wood Ave to Boulder Blvd, the clouds unzipped and drenched me. How much rain was falling, you ask? As I rode along Boulder Blvd, there was a 3 ft wide "river" of water running along the gutter from the curb into the road. THAT much water. And I was soaked from head to toe. There was so much water that not only was it flying up my back off the back tire but also flying off the front tire, hitting the underside of Sadie's frame, and soaking my feet. And, there was a nice little water wing going off the front of the tire as well. It was WET!

I made it safely to the office at the other end of Boulder and stopped for a quick break before heading back out in the rain (although it was now raining much less) to cross 16a, turn south again and take 44th ave over to Boundary Road. Something I would not recommend is riding south on Boundary Road. Yup, dirt again... Sadie really had it in for me today though I think Mother Nature was apologizing here:

I made it out to 79th and headed east towards Spruce Grove, turning north on Golden Spike to cross 16A once again into Spruce Grove. I checked the ride mapper - 40 something km - something still wasn't quite right, I had to have ridden further than that.  I decided to take the forest trail west from Calahoo to the north branch off (MFT) that heads under Grove Drive and out to Grove on the other end. I figured I still had a way to go though I'd been riding for over 3 hours already. Heading east once more, I rode down to Jubilee Park to check out the preparations for Canada Day. Sadie and I will have a table set up to hand out info -  make sure to stop by and visit us!

Looping through Jubilee and back out to Grove, we headed home to clean up, dry off, and figure out how far we had gone (tracking done in the Durango after breakfast).

Ride time: 4.5 hours
Ride Distance: 70.36 km

The map that I created after driving the ride in the Durango:

Riding for 60

It was a fabulous day for a training ride - the sun was out, the birds were singing, the wind was somewhat behaving...

I left the house at 9am, intent on making 60 km today. The longest ride so far had been 50 with quite a few 30-40 km rides in between And, I was doing hills today as most of my rides had been on only mild hills within the confines of Spruce Grove - the city - rather than north into the real hills. With only 48 days until THE RIDE, hills are becoming more important.

I headed west towards the forest of Spruce Grove, zooming through the trees and enjoying the cool of the woods. Perpetually damp, the forest always smells of pine and rotting wood - I love it! I popped out on McLeod Ave and turned north, aiming for the hills of Campsite Rd. As I crossed 16 (The Yellowhead), I had already made 8 km and now the hills began. I was planning a stop at a friend's house for a quick hello along the way. The thing I love about MapMyRide.com is the km counter on the map and the verbal announcement of time & distance traveled. When I look back, I can see that from the distance from 16 to Lorraine's road is 8 km - 8 KM OF HILL! That's right, up, up, up, all the way for 8km. riding it didn't feel that far when I think about it and I had to do the translation to miles to understand it - 5 MILES. I rode 5 miles uphill all the way. Back in the old days it was uphill both ways but these days, if you go uphill, you get to come back down hill if you turn around.

A brief stop-in at Lorraine's house to say "Hi, I've ridden 15 km and I've got 45 more to go", a hug (and a caring "Ho-lee"), and I was out the door, on my way again. I continued west until I found Range Road 275. The plan had been to head south and then west again to 779 and Chickakoo so I'm not sure what possessed me to turn north until I reached the Villeneuve Highway. At the stop, I contemplated what was ahead of me - a hill, a dirt road hill. But, it was the top of the world. I could see that it was the top. I wanted to go to the top!! And so I kicked Sadie into 4x4 and off we went, up the hill.

There is something about being on top of the world with nowhere to go but down on either side. And I suppose I suffer a bit from curiosity - I needed to know what was up there & to say, "I made it to the top". I'm glad that I did as I found that at the top there were fantastic views and an eroded bank with a large birds nest built into the side. Something different that I'd not seen yet on any of my rides around Spruce & Stony.

Now, as enjoyable as an downhill dirt 4x4 ride can be, I opted to turn around and head back to paved ground. Arriving at the Villeneuve Highway once again, I turned east. I've never ridden to Villeneuve before and I knew that The Melan Heads (another Enbridge team) was riding that way today so I was hoping to either catch up with them or see them coming the other way. Off I went past fields, and fields, and cows, and fields. The road is rolling hills all the way down into Villeneuve and although I passed a bike group heading the other way, it was not The Melan Heads. It may have been Target the Tour - a group that trians for Le Tour D'Alberta (something I'm considering for next year).

And along came the second interesting site of the day: An airplane in the middle of a field...

First thought? "Uh, what happened here? Did it have a forced landing or something? Is everything okay? Oh, gosh, I hope nothing bad happened.". Being from a more populous area of the world before moving to Alberta, I've never seen an airplane parked in the middle of a field ON PURPOSE! I soon discovered this was the Villeneuve Airport and I can only guess that the plane lives in the field. Weird.

Arriving at Villeneuve proper, I noticed that there was construction ahead and decided that a turn around before the traffic circle was in order. I made note of the sign that said St. Albert is only another 8 km east of Villenueve and have already planned to ride there next weekend. That should get me up to 80 km with the additional 16km round trip and I'm sure I can find 4km more in Spruce Grove to ride before heading out that way.

Riding uphill west towards Spruce Grove & Campsite Road, I again passed the mystery group of cyclists and then another 15 minutes later, The Melan Heads rolled my way! I waved. hooted, and hollered, receiving a couple hollers back as we passed in opposite directions. Such fun to have amazing bikey energy on a ride!

Rolling south down Campsite road, I enjoyed a much needed break by coasting a good deal of the way as I knew I'd have another 10-15 km to go once I returned to Spruce Grove proper. As the day was getting quite warm, I opted for a ride back the way I had come, through the coolness of the forest but turning north on MFT to swoop under the bridge and check out the new wooden bridge that will one day connect Jesperdale to the forest trails. I dismounted and walked across as this section is still incomplete - perhaps by fall...

As I rode down Longview Drive and again turned south, I hit the park on the north side of Grove Drive just west of King Street and the unthinkable happened... CRAMPS! My inner thighs have a bad habit of holding cramp fests during particularly difficult or long rides. It took 10 minutes of riding gingerly, extending the right leg whenever possible and dropping down to a very low gear to get the cramping to stop enough to continue my ride. I had 5 km to go, afterall!!! And I was determined to complete it! I took a quick spin through The Secret Park, looped over to Century Drive and up Ghiry's favorite Wiggly Trail before I had enough km's on the tracker. It was an amazing ride!

Stay tuned for 80 km this coming weekend.

Sadie is a 4x4

I rushed home from work this evening to mow the lawn and get in a ride with Sadie. Imagine my dismay when the sky opened up and poured down rain when I had only completed one half of the front lawn! I put away the mower and briefly considered riding in the pouring rain but visions of chaffing danced in my head.

Heading inside, I was met at the door by Sadie, insisting that she is a would love to ride in the rain. I reminded her that when it rains, the roads are slick and the trails become mud. Sadie insisted that she is a 4x4 and can handle it. "Uh huh", I said and offered a compromise - if it stops raining, we'll go for a ride. Sadie took a turn around the living room, her spokey dokes clanging while I headed off to finish the dishes.

An hour later, the rain had stopped and I geared up as Sadie zoomed about the house in anticipation of our ride.We headed for the trails that run through the neighborhoods between King & Calahoo as I knew that sticking to the paved paths over the shale trails would be difficult for Sadie. With a downpour like we had just received, who knew what condition the packed dirt would be in. Sadie zipped along, humming to be out riding in the cool, damp evening while I began to wonder if I was dressed warmly enough and as it started to sprinkle again, should I have worn my rain jacket.

Eager to explore some new terrain, I took a turn into the neighborhood close by The Secret Park. I'd never ridden here but the streets were wide and empty of traffic, just begging to be traveled. After 3km of new roads, I suggested to Sadie that we head to Jubilee park and get the hill out of the way early. She agreed and 3km later, we were rolling through the park and into the Greenbury neighborhood. Still under construction, the freshly paved roads are perfect for riding. And then it happened...

With a squeal of delight, Sadie rolled off of the sidewalk on a tight turn and into a muddy patch. "I'm a 4x4!", she shouted, making it one wheel revolution before sinking her front tire 3 inches deep in the sticky mud. I dismounted and hauled her out, her front tire & brakes now slathered in mud. The below doesn't do it justice as it was taken after returning home but you get the idea.

I groaned and shook my head. "Sadie, what on earth were you thinking?". She giggled, happily throwing gobs of mud from her tires and puddle jumping. "I'm washable", she laughed and off we went again, mud flying and Sadie rolling through every puddle she could find.

20 km later, we ended up at the front door - a shower for both Sadie and myself in order.

Mothers' Day Ride

Sunday, May 11th, 2014 - Mothers' Day Ride (well, I am a mother afterall!).

I had set the alarm for 5:00am with the intention of hitting the road by 6 but 5am is awful early when it arrives! I managed to slide out from under the covers by 5:30 and make it out the door around 6:50am. My goal was to ride at least 40km (so far my longest training ride this year) and be done by 9 as I had a 10am meeting planned. That would give me just over 2 hours riding and if I could keep a pace of 20km an hour, I would be good. I bundled up against the 34 degree F weather (1 C) and was off. Gear included bike shorts under long pants, long-sleeve dry top under short sleeve dry top with Bike Sleeves (I LOVE THEM!), all under fleece top, and gloves.

The sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky. Nor were there any people in site! One of the interesting things about Spruce Grove is that early morning rides (on weekends) are like riding through an abandoned town. Everyone seems to sleep in. Not a bad thing, I love having the trails & roads to myself. I promptly headed through the forest and towards MFT (see if you can find it on the map above), opting to ride by MFT and explore one of the newest developments on the west end of the trail system. As I rode, I began formulating my ride plan. I tend to decide where to ride as I ride, heading wherever the Megrims take me.

After riding the new development I headed further west, into the area of the Tri-Leisure Center and then north west towards the Catholic High School. I tend to ride around in neighborhoods, finding my way from neighborhood to neighborhood when the Heritage Trail links them up or riding back out to Grove Drive to move on to the next neighborhood. Once I reached the high school, I decided I'd make my way to Jubilee park, on the far end of Grove Drive, and see if the mud was dried up and cleaned off of the roads in the Greenbury development. I enjoy riding the new developments as the roads are typically new and smooth and there is very little traffic on weekends. This is a photo of my bike's tire 2 weeks ago after riding through Greenbury:

No repeat this weekend, the roads were clean and dry! It was starting to warm up so I ditched the gloves, bike sleeves, and fleece as I enjoyed the sun on my face. A quick stop for a picture of the beautiful spring sky and I was on my way west again towards the Greystone Neighborhood. I've only ridden this area once before so it was "ride and see where you end up" for the next half hour or so.

As I was keeping a good pace between 19.5 - 20 km per hour, I decided I would push for 50 km - a 2.5 hour ride. I had not yet hit MFT or 50 km yet so back to the woods I went! Only 2 other people on the section of MFT though I did see 2 young rabbits and several red squirrels.

I'd brought along my Camelbak with some protein in it and although I'd had a tasty smoothie before heading out, I was feeling the tiredness in my legs from pushing for a longer ride. But I stuck with it and completed the 50 km. You can see the loop that connects start to finish in the map. That is where I was riding around waiting for the Map My Ride app to announce 50 km. :D The end of any goal ride is usually loops around my neighborhood until the selected kilometerage is reached.

Time to pack up and head out to visit a friend and then later into Edmonton for a ladies only bike ride in the city. Stay tuned for another story because yes, I am just crazy enough to take the bike out for a second ride in one day. :D

40 Already!

It was a glorious day for a ride last night! Can you find MFT on this map? I'll give you a hint: read Sunday's post. ;)

Leaving the house at 5:45, I headed out with the intention of riding 30-40 km and I knew that along with riding MFT, I'd like to ride the wiggly sidewalk that is Ghiry's favorite. The map above does not do the wiggly sidewalk justice as it is the straight looking line on the right hand side of the map. Here is a better picture of it:

After the wiggly sidewalk, I headed down McLeod, through Central Park and into the forest (Spruce Grove Heritage Trail). The Map My Ride app quickly informed me that I had reached the 5 km mark. Whoo Hoo! I was on my way! As I rode, I noticed that everyone was out walking, biking, running, roller blading, etc. I can only assume that everyone in Spruce Grove has spring fever and were curing it by taking in the beautiful weather. As the trail is designed to support all forms of activity, it was a bit tricky maneuvering the walk ways and I was glad to have my bike bell to warn people as I approached from behind.

Make a donation to The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer

Where to next? After exiting MFT onto Grove Drive, I decided to ride West to the Catholic School and then loop back down, through a few neighborhoods, and East all the way to Jubilee park. I thought of my Squishter as I watched a group of men playing Disc Golf in the park. Perhaps Wildwood Disc Golf Course should make a trip up to visit and play on the Jubilee course. All in the name of cultural exchange, of course! I decided to take pass on the housing development due to mud on the roads (road that Sunday, thank you) and head down through Spruce Ridge and across Century Road to Longview and on to Calahoo. I squiggled here and there before hitting MFT again for the last leg of my trip. Having reached 35 km, I figured I had 5 more in me and rode around randomly until I hit 40 km.

I think I'll take Tuesday off from riding to celebrate Earth Day with a photo hike at Chickakoo.

Easter Weekend Rides

Happy Easter weekend and happy spring!

After what has felt like an unending winter, spring is finally here and with it, OUTSIDE bike rides!! :D

2 Rides were completed this weekend and these are their stories:

Ride 1 - the very first, before any others, never happened before today in 2014 - outside ride!

I was ready, the snow had finally melted, the sun was shining (of course the birds were singing) and the bike was chomping at the bit to get out of the house. Not sure of the weather - the weather widget was showing a cool 38 F -  I geared up with my workout shorts, long yoga pants, hiking socks, long sleeved thumb-hole shirt, sweatshirt, winter hat & gloves. Before I set off, I shed the hat & gloves as the sun was shining and it felt warmer than the weather widget had lead me to believe.

I didn't have a route in mind, I figured I'd just ride here and there until I got tired and then go home. I hit the road (or sidewalk as the case my be) and began to head towards the Spruce Grove Heritage Trail where it runs behind Grove Drive between Century and King Streets. I quickly decided to follow the trail west and then North across Grove and into the park. A quick loop around the park and I knew I needed to head to my favorite section of trail that winds through the woods between Grove, McLeod, Jennifer Heil, and Calahoo. Now if only I could remember exactly where the entrance was!

 

 You can see it took me a bit to get there, riding first north, then west and south, and then making a mis-turn and heading east before doubling back and finding my trail! In case there is any question, it is the wiggly trail at the west end of this map from Grove Drive up to where it turns east. THAT is my favorite section of trail. :D I rode for approx 45 minutes before realizing I was going to be late to Easter dinner. So, after a short 12.15 km, I was done. The bike bug has bit and I was already planning on a ride for Easter Sunday. 

Ride 2 - the ride that follows ride 1 but immediate precedes ride 3 & happened on Easter Sunday.

 The sky was looking a bit ominous as I walked the bike out of the house. It was colder today than yesterday as well. I used this as an excuse to wear my never before worn Nike Arm Warmers. Like the leg warmers of the 80's but made out of Nike dry-top material and WAAAAAAY cooler (also black rather than funky colors & not knit). See?

With a warning from Dug to "watch out for loose gravel", I was off! I knew I'd ride my favorite stretch of trail again today but I was also planning to visit the Jubilee Park area of Spruce Grove. When I last rode it in the fall, the housing development that was under construction offered smooth riding surfaces and interesting construction in progress. I wondered how it may have changed. I headed north and then east to find out. Arriving at Jubilee Park, I turned into the housing development at the end of the road. The first thing I noticed... MUD. Construction is alive and well with large vehicles dragging mud all over the roads. Time to kick it into 4x4 and go mudding! Oh, wait, I put skinny slick tires on my bike last summer. Drat! I took it slow and easy along the roads and pathways until I was safely back in Jubilee Park. 

Next I decided to head west to the end of the road. As a side note, I have recently listened to Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane and now every time I say "the end of", I can't help but think my story so much more epic than it really is. ;)

The day was warming up and I was enjoying the sun though the wind was doing its very best to encourage me to try harder. Coming from the north west, it made heading north or west fairly difficult. Reaching "the end", I turned around and headed east on Grove again, stopping to photograph a couple of Easter colored houses (pink & purple) under construction. I suppose I'd have a better time if I stopped taking so many pictures. Reaching Jennifer Heil, I turned south along the Grove Heritage Trail, planning to ride up McLeod and then head north into the woods, picking up my favorite trail (henceforth to be known as MFT) at the top and riding south to Grove and then turning around to ride back up MFT. Pretty sneaky, eh? Getting in 2 passes on MFT! 

I found, however that the tail end of the trail was closed to traffic and so I detoured around through the neighborhoods until I reached the top (south) end of MFT. It is difficult to describe MFT. The weather today was warm but MFT is sheltered by a canopy of pines. Sunlight only filters in through small openings between branches. The air is far cooler on MFT than anywhere else I rode today. It was like riding into a walk in refrigerator, I could almost see my breath as I rode. There is still snow on the ground in several places that the sunlight hasn't reached but because much snow has melted and there was rain last night, the trail smells of fresh earth, pine and balsm, and old rotting wood. It like riding into another world. That is the best I can do, you'll have to come out and ride it yourself to truly experience it. For a small fee, I'm happy to give you a tour! :D

Alas, 1.5 hours and 25.21 km later, I was ready to call it a day and headed home. 

Now, let's not forget why I am riding: to get ready for a 220 km, 2-day bike ride in August. Won't you join me on this adventure by donating to sponsor me? 

In the USA(if you can't use the below link): Crowdrise Fundraiser

In Canada (and everywhere else): Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer

Thanks and see you on the roads!

Session 3 - Week 2

I've hit a bit of a plateau with my weight loss but at the same time as progressing with size loss and increased strength so as of yet, I am not concerned about having a pause in 1 of 3 journeys. I am constantly amazed at what I can do and the improvements that I can make. In January of this year I was unable to complete even 1 second of a suspended side plank during TRX class. Today I completed 3 sets of 30 seconds on each side (To be completely honest, I completed 2 sets of 30 seconds on each side, and 1 set of 27 seconds on each side). I am amazed. In awe of what the human body (and my body) can do.

I have now completed week 2 of the 3rd training session (this is a shortened 8 week session) and my days were as follows:

Sunday - lawn mowing, gardening, casual biking

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - TRX - 60 minutes of crazy new TRX moves. On this day, our warm up required a warm up. I kid you not. We jogged for 10 circuits of the gym to warm up before starting our warm up of: Wall balls with squats, tricep pushups (WAY different than regular pushups), regular pushups, bear crawls, and resistance jogs. NOW we were ready to move onto the crazy new TRX moves.

Wednesday - 1/2 hour dog walk followed by 120 minutes of legs, legs, and legs! Single leg lunges (one foot on a bench) - oh, and they were weighted. Weighted squats, weighted sumo squats, back extensions, hamstring curls, hip abductions and adductions - the sets were 40 minute sets with 40 seconds rest.

Thursday - Rest and recovery

Friday - walking like a crazy person due to Wednesday's workout. :)

Saturday - 60 minutes of crossfit inspired TRX (the class actually ran over as well). Warm up again consisted of a variety of crazy moves and the class itself was legs, arms, core, (every part of the body basically) and it was here that I achieved my plankedness! :)

See you all in a week!

Session 3 - Week 1

Just wrapped up recovery week on Sunday and am now back at training. This session (at The Boxing Club) will run just over 7 weeks. I'll be continuing TRX Suspension Training, adding 2 weight training days, and continuing to bike, bike, and bike in preparation for the August 10th & 11th Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer.

Week 1 is now complete and it looked like this!

Sunday July 7th -The final day of recovery week. Much lounging around the house and watching of movies occurred (aka: slug mode).

Monday July 8th - First day of weight training with the lovely Miss Ashley "Crunchy Frogs". I hour of hardcore weights - quads, hammies, abs (yeah, I asked for it so she gave it to me), more quads, and some arms. Spent an hour or more vacuuming the shop at work this day too - you might think that vacuuming isn't much of a workout. I'm here to tell you that it is! Ever seen "the shop"? It's a BIG shop.

Tuesday July 9th - Mowed the lawn and did some gardening.

Wednesday July 10th - Take 2 on weight training. 1 hour of the baby muscles - all of those little bitty muscles that you don't usually realize exist until you make them work. Yeah, those. :D Arms, hip flexors, calves, shins, triceps, biceps and whatever else I am forgetting due to muscle tiredness. Also spent an hour mowing the lawn and my neighbor's lawn (he loans me the lawn mower, the least I could do is mow his lawn).

Thursday July 11th - TRX with Heather (Miss Sheila is away for the month learning to instruct YOGA) - Compound exercise night - 1 hour of Squat/Rows, I/Y flies, Chest Press/Tricep Curls, Single Leg Lunges, Sun Salutation Lunges, Drop Burpies, Suspended Planks, Hamstring Curls, and so much  more. Ouch, Ow, Owie! Headed home for some light gardening as I welcomed 6 eggplant plants and 2 new perennials to my garden patch.

Friday July 12th - Rest and Relaxation

Saturday July 13th - Biking, what else!

Session 2 - Week 12

Week 12 of Session 2 now completed. This was the final week in the session, recovery week is upon us.

My schedule was as follows:

Sunday June 23rd  - Scot's Day!

Monday June 24th - A day of rest.

Tuesday June 25th - TRX Suspension training - to the MAX.

Wednesday June 26th - Un-Packing for THE RIDE as it is postponed until August 10/11. - 2 hours of garden weeding (yup, housework is a workout!)

Thursday June 27th - TRX Suspension training. Most of this session was in "single-hand mode".  - 2 more hours of garden weeding. Last year's seeds were tenacious but I think I have them all out now! :)

Saturday June 29th - Lawn mowing, flower and veggie planting, and general adventuring.

6 weeks to go until THE RIDE and so, training will continue. This coming week is recovery week which means no TRX, no Butt & Gutt, just light riding and walking.

TRX to the MAX

TRX Training is on!

Week 12 is upon us and Sheila isn't letting us off the hook just because we are down to the last 2 classes of the session. Last week our Thursday class was all upper body. We did more bicep curls, tricep presses, high rows, chest presses, standing roll-outs, and Y-flies than I can remember. What I can remember is the BURN in the chest, back, shoulders, and arms.

Now fast forward to last night: Tabata Tuesday. It started innocently enough. Remember that Tabata involves 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, each set repeated 8 times:

1. Jump Squats
2. Chest Presses
3. Switch Lunges
4. T-Flies
5. Diagonal Runners (otherwise known as bicycle crunches)
6. Hamstring Curls
7. Standing Roll-outs
8. At this point I think I was having an out of body experience and can't recall what else we did. Suffice to say that by the time we got to the 3rd set of chest presses (yeah, back at #2) my whole upper body was quivering and by the time we got to the diagonal runners, I was fairly well done in. I completed all sets for an amazing workout that I can still feel this morning.

I've also worked out a new training schedule for the next session - July & August - that will involved TRX on Tues/Thurs with personal training on Mon/Wed with the fabulous Miss Ashley "Crunchy Frogs". I think her goal in training is to bring me pain. And that is okay. :)

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be reserved by biking with a sprinkling of rest, hiking, and adventure thrown in for good measure.

They look so innocent, don't they?

Regrouping

Here are the stats as of June 25, 2013:

NOTE: the ride has been rescheduled from June 22/23 to August 10/11 due to flooding in Calgary and the surrounding towns. 

Date of Ride: August 10th & 11th, 2013

Distance: 200 KM (125 Miles)

Location: Calgary, Alberta to Okotokes, Alberta - AND BACK!

Donation Link: http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/nhkayakgirl

Fundraising required to ride: $2,500.00

Money raised to date: $3,345.00

Personal fundraising goal: $5,000.00

Donations needed to reach personal goal: $1,655.00

Days left for fundraising: 46

Dollar amount needed per day to make Personal Goal:  $35.98

Dollars that I have personally donated towards my goal: $120.00

Dollars that I have personally spent on training, nutrition, & equipment to date: $2,000.00+
 

The Challenge to you: Become one of my sponsors by donating towards my goal.

I never expected to be blogging about ride updates, fundraising, and training on this date. The plan was to ride on June 22/23 and then post some wonderful photos of the ride and tell you all about the experience before getting on with some new adventures in my life. Mother Nature had other plans...

So here I site with 6 1/2 weeks of training ahead of me.  It is interesting, psychologically. I was ready for the ride. I was 1/2 and hour from being fully packed for the ride. I was 1 day from boarding the bus to Calgary from Edmonton. I think I'm still a little befuddled.

I took a break from training this weekend (well, if you count an intense weight training session and 5 hours of heavy duty yard work a break...) and went out and had some fun. I visited a street market. I went to an art gallery with a friend. I spent a day at a Scottish Festival with my camera. Oh, men in kilts! :) And now I must psych myself back up for training. I'm not finding it the easiest thing to do. I'm in the last week of a 12 week fitness class session and this is where you are usually so ready for a recovery week. Back to the drawing board to plan out the next 7 weeks.

Stay tuned for what comes next...

Session 2 - Week 11

Week 11 of Session 2 now completed (there are only 12 weeks to a session)! My schedule was as follows:

Sunday June 16th  - Leisurely bike ride

Monday June 17th - A day of rest.

Tuesday June 18th - TRX Suspension training.

Wednesday June 19th - Packing for THE RIDE!

Thursday June 20th - TRX Suspension training after learning that THE RIDE has been postponed until August 10th due to heavy flooding in Calgary.

Saturday June 22nd - Butt & Gutt - personal weight training style with Miss Ashley! We worked the hammies hard! And this was followed by 5 hours of hard-core weed-whacking, raking, bagging, and lawn mowing... more on this later.

7 weeks to go until THE RIDE and so, training will continue...

Session 2 - Week 10

Week 10 of Session 2 now completed! My schedule was as follows:

Sunday June 9th  -70 km ride with the Bulls-Eye Bike Club, culminating in the Rolling Hill of Death...

Monday June 10th - A day of rest.

Tuesday June 11th - TRX Suspension training.

Wednesday June 12th -An evening of rest!

Thursday June 13th - Working late and organizing camping gear for the ride.

Saturday June 15th - Butt & Gutt - personal training style.

Tomorrow morning I expect to ride for a few hours. The Ride is only 6 days away.

Journeys 3

An update to the April 12th and May 15th entries:

This week marks my 32nd week of nutritional changes, 23rd week of fitness training, and 15th week of bike specific training.

I have less than 2 weeks remaining to prepare for the Enbridge Ride to Conquor Cancer - a 200 KM (125 Mile) 2-day ride from Calgary, Alberta to Okotoks and back.

32 weeks ago I started a journey to change my nutritional lifestyle. For those wondering what "nutritional lifestyle" means, it means changing your eating habits for good, forever, for always. Sure you can have food now and again that isn't good for you but, for the most part, you don't because you learn to care about what you are eating and the health and well being of your body. I gave up processed sugar (straight sugar, added sugar, fake sugar) months ago and have found that my body doesn't like when I consume anything with added sugar these days. It tends to revolt and let me know how very unhappy it is with any sugary choice I make. I never want to get used to eating sugar again!

23 weeks ago I started a journey to change my health and fitness. I joined a couple of classes at a local gym and have been working hard to overcome my own mental blocks. I've been setting micro goals for myself during my TRX and Butt & Gutt Classes so that I can continue to improve and challenge myself. Sure, it would be easy to sit back just do what the instructor says or continue at the same level week after week but where is the benefit to that? My challenges to myself for this 12 week session:
1. Do Burpies with a pushup - every time. I want to be able to do pushups. I don't know why I am obsessed with pushups but I am so this is a way to improve my ability.
2. Do all of the suspended exercises in TRX - this is harder than it sounds because when I started TRX 23 weeks ago, I had a lower back injury. The first session I spent stretching and strengthening my back, often modifying the suspended exercises so that I could get through them. This session, I am attempting them all; suspended planks, suspended side planks (my current nemesis), suspended crunches, suspended mountain climbers, suspended... you get the picture. While I can't always complete the full 30-45 seconds of each exercise, they each get my full effort and I can see improvement.
3. Do more reps, more quickly of each exercise.
4. Take a harder angle or modification for each exercise; ie - push myself harder.
It's paying off in improved strength, flexibility, and fitness.  

15 weeks ago I started my cycling journey. When I had last updated my journeys a month ago, I was still of the mindset that maybe I couldn't ride 2 big days in a row. Looking back, I realize that I set my goal low: 3 hours Sat, 5 hours Sun. I was afraid that I couldn't do 2 big days and I was giving myself an out - a way to give in. Fortunately I didn't take that out and I ended up riding 4.5 hours each day for a total of 90 miles (150 km). Now, I don't even consider riding less than 70 km (40 miles) on a weekend day. I've logged some pretty big hills (massive hill & rolling hill - of death) along the way and am now only 9 days from the biggest ride of my life (so far). I can't wait to take on this next challenge. I know I can do it. Stay tuned for pix and posts from the ride! Calgary & Okotoks, here I come!

Rain on a Sunny Day

Second ride of the weekend and second time out with the crew from Bulls-Eye Bike Club.

The day started off weird. As I came out the front door of my house at 6:45am, I was met by a young man in a hoody wandering off my neighbor's front porch and towards my door. I asked if I could help him with something, he muttered "It's all good" and wandered off between our houses. The odd thing is... all of the houses have fenced in back yards. Where he went from there or what he wanted at that early hour, I can only guess. Nothing appears to be amiss in either back yard and houses were locked up tight so no foul at this point. Next up, I got all the way to the meet up point (on time, I might add) only to realize that I'd forgotten my helmet. Back home I went and managed to arrive only 15 minutes late, thankfully the group waited for me. :)

There were 9 of us today and I quickly learned that we would be riding Shaun's FNR route. I've seen the markings on the road in various locations but I've never purposefully followed them. FNR in 18" tall yellow paint on the road, accompanied by an arrow. Turns out this is a 70 km, September ride officially known as the Frozen Nipple Ride which I can only imagine is due to the brisk weather in Alberta that time of year. Guess I'll find out this fall.

The FNR heads North out of Spruce Grove on Jennifer Heil Way towards the infamous Massive Hill of Death. Fortunately this was not to be my fate today though little did I know something more sinister was lurking in the shadows. I haven't got a map to show for it as I neglected to start my Nike Running app before we left so you'll need to take my word on this one. If I had to find the route again, I might get lost doing it. While it is marked FNR, I can't even recall the first turn direction (I think it was right) as the FNR has the magical skill of numbing your  mind through the constant application of hills. Here is the account to the best of my recollection:

It was a beautiful day with fluffy white clouds and large patches of blue. I always enjoy a new route and this one started uphill almost from the gate. Heading north out of town I believe we took a right.  The sun warmed the air enough that I shed my fleece by the top of the first hill. The FNR is beautiful! Rolling green fields, miles and miles of sky, and hills, everywhere you look, there are hills. After heading East (that was the right we took), we turned left and headed North again, further info the hills. It seemed that they were never ending. Even taking another left to head West (strong headwind coming at us), there were hills. Now, even with new street slicks and clip in shoes, my little hybrid is no match for the giant street bikes which which I was riding. So, coming to an intersection, Herb and I headed straight through, continuing West while the rest of the pack had taken a Northern route to loop out around us and catch up at the next intersection. It was a HUGE uphill climb when Herb and I turned North again. Meeting up with the group, we turned around and to my delight, Herb let me know that, "It's downhill from here". Keep in mind that the original working title for this post was Herb is a Liar! :) What he meant was, we are now going downhill before we start going back uphill.

We were now heading South and turned right to head further West. At some point we crossed RT 779 North of Stony Plain and the usual road that I turn onto to head to Chickakoo. Yes, we were in the Glory Hills and heading up still. I don't know how Shaun managed to do it but the FNR route is uphill the whole way. Not just part of the way but the whole way. Herb had the kindness to ride up beside me to check in and let me know that "By the way, there is one more killer hill ahead. I just think that you should prepare for it.". Thanks, Herb, thanks a lot... I think. One more killer hill ahead. How bad could it be? Do you recall The Massive Hill of Death from 2 weeks ago? Yeah, it has an evil twin, The Rolling Hill of Death. I encountered The Rolling Hill of Death about 2 hours into the ride. It goes uphill in waves. Steep up, small flat, steep up, small flat, repeat until you lose count and are actually at the top of the world, in the clouds, as high up as an airplane... I exaggerate. Let's just say it is a BIG hill. Like it's evil twin, I refused to stop and dismount and did make it to the top in super slow motion. I think I could have walked that hill faster! It was BIG I tell you!

We now turned and rode around a loop that took us uphill and then back around to the bottom of The Rolling Hill of Death. That's right folks, I did not even have the pleasure of riding down the hill. No, no, it was uphill to the bottom of the hill... I haven't figured that out yet but I'm tellin' ya, the FNR is tricky! Here it began to spit drizzle at us, the sky clouded over, and the wind picked up with a chill. I think The Rolling Hill of Death was angry that I hadn't walked. Honestly, some hills have such bad attitudes!

The rest of the ride is a bit of a blur, one of the roads gave me my first taste of "bone jarring" rough riding. I'm pretty sure that if I were made of glass, my arms would have shattered. :D So good thing I am not made of glass.

It was a fantastic ride with a great bunch of people. Tanis & Dana who rode back for me several times (did I mention that my bike is slow?), Herb who amuses me to no end with his stories of riding downhill. It isn't true, Herb, it is never true, but thank you for trying. Lucas who wiped out and lived to tell about it. Ron and Shaun who made a great story of Lucas' wipe-out, Corey, and that one guy in yellow who I don't recall his name who were all so very encouraging! :)

See you on the roads soon!

Riding in Sunshine

Today was a beautiful day to ride. The sun was shining, the temp was warm, and the wind appeared to be calm. A great day to try out my new bike shoes, clip in pedals, and street tires. I've always been slightly in fear of clip in pedals. Afraid that I would need to put my foot down and be stuck to the bike and as a result, fall over. I've never had any serious wipe-outs on a bike, only the time I thought I'd ride my 10 speed down a grassy trail on the back hill... it didn't end well and was enough to keep me on the paved roads from there on out. But I digress...

After a couple of practice clip-ins and twist outs, I hit the road. Clipping in and out wasn't so bad! My left foot didn't really want to cooperate and clip in while I was pedaling but I eventually got it. For the first hour of my ride, I flew. I thought "This is great! I'm shaving a minute per mile. I'm flying!". Little did I know, the wind was seriously to my back. So while I can't say that the new tires, shoes, and pedals make me any faster, they do save the wear and tear on my knees! That's a big deal as all of my big rides have been followed by achy knees but not today!

As for the ride, 45 miles (75 km), much of it east/west with the wind coming from the west, I conquered the Century Rd hill north of town (again), hit a few smaller hills, and enjoyed the ride. I have the goofiest tan ever, I didn't fall off my bike, and I think I swallowed  few bugs. 

Micro Goals, Mini Goals, Macro Goals

This post was inspired by Lyz(y) and all of my friends who have asked: "How are you doing it?".

If you don't know what "it" is, you should read this first. And be warned, this is a loooooong post. But then again, setting goals and sticking to them is a big thing.

"It" all started with a very fuzzy thought:

 I'm going to take control of my life, health, nutrition, weight, and fitness. I'm going to get back into shape. I am going to eat better. I am going to lose weight.  

The above was a wish, a hope, a dream but it wasn't yet a goal. This is important because in order to create a goal, to achieve something, you need a specific, attainable, actionable, measurable item. That is when the thought becomes a goal and you are on your way!

As the title suggests, there are various sizes to goals. A Macro goal being the largest - the end result goal(s). Mini goals come next, they are smaller chunks  of the Macro goal. And then there are Micro goals. Think of them as baby steps. Baby stepping to the Mini and Macro goals (thanks, Bob and FMM)!

So let's turn my wishes, hopes, and dreams into goals:

1. I'm going to lose weight. Okay, big sit down with self, looking self in the eyes and asking self... how much weight? You've got to have a number to make this work. My self looked right back at me and said: 163 pounds (Give or take 5lb as I hadn't been on a scale since June and this was November. We'll address scale-phobia later...).  Great! Now I've got a Macro goal that needs a plan. HOW am I going to achieve this goal?

A. I am going to change my eating habits (another hope that needs to be turned into a goal - more on this later).
B. I am going to walk the dog for 1 hour a day, 2 days a week, every week - an actual actionable, achievable, measurable item!
C. Every time I go to the store, bank, etc., I'm going to park the car as far from the entrance as feasible and walk to the door - another measurable, item!
D. I am going to research exercise and understand how many calories are burned during different types of exercise. - an actionable item!
E. I am going to increase my exercise level as I become stronger, fitter, more capable - more of a hope than a goal unless you add an actual time frame so that you are increasing on a schedule.  It is actionable but you need to have a HOW to make it work (sometimes even plans need plans!).

Now for the Mini and Micro goals to this Macro goal. The reason I started looking at this in smaller terms is that the total was too overwhelming for me. I couldn't even think about it without being taken over by self-defeating, paralyzing trepidation. A healthy weight loss average is 1 to 2.5 lb per week. Even losing 2.5 (the max) every week, week after week after week after week (see where I am going with this?), I could see that it was going to take me at least 65 weeks to reach my goal. MORE THAN A YEAR! That thought in itself was deflating. Yes, the end result is worth the time and effort but there was no reason to defeat myself before I got started.

Okay, how to handle this? Another sit down with myself and I decided to look at my goal in pieces. My Mini goals would be to lose the weight in 10 pound increments. Even this can be pretty daunting as it can take 4-10 weeks to reach this goal IF I lose the safe average. I needed even smaller goals, that I could achieve and celebrate (NEVER with a food reward) to stay motivated, so I broke my Mini goals down into Micro goals. Starting at 278, my first Micro goal was to get to 275. A tiny little 3 lb goal that I could reach in a couple of weeks. After that, I'd work towards the round number: 270. This Micro goal is slightly more than the first at 5lbs - but still less scary than 10lbs. Then, the next Micro goal: lose the last 2 pounds needed to reach the Mini goal! So each Mini goal is comprised of 3 Micro goals. And by concentrating on the Micro goals, the Mini goals JUST HAPPENED BY THEMSELVES! *BIG GRINS*. Where do I go from here? Repeat the cycle of Micro goals, of course! Next up, 265! As of today, 19 Micro goals later, I'm at 215lbs and headed south to 210.

Now you didn't think I did this all with just walking the dog and parking further away from the door did you? Nope, there is way more to it than that. Remember that eating hope from above? Yup, time to address it! (And after that is addressed, next comes increased activity/exercise goals from the above list.) Throughout my life I've been a researcher of healthful eating practices. In the 90's it was through "health" magazines, through the 00's and 10's it has been through the internet. For over 25 years I've learned a lot about nutrition, fads, diets, etc and the one thing that has stood out the most is that healthful eating is not a short term change that you do just to lose the weight. This is a lifestyle change that must be committed to 100% and then stuck to for life. So let's look at how I made this commitment. Remember, achievable, measurable, and actionable items are key here.

2. I am going to change my eating habits. Time to decide HOW to change my eating habits so that this can become a real goal and not just a wish.

A. I am going to eliminate processed sugar from my diet (the white stuff, the brown stuff, the stuff hiding in many packaged products, the fake stuff, all of it).  - An actionable item!
B. I am going to eliminate empty calories from my diet.  - An actionable item!

I covered Empty Calories in the Journeys Too post but as a recap:
In my book empty calorie foods are foods that have nothing in them but calories from sugar/carbs, and/or fats and not much else. No nutrients, vitamins, minerals - nothing that is actually naturally occurring in the ingredients of the "food". This includes enriched foods. If you can't get the nutrients from the ingredients because they have been processed out, what on earth is being added to make up for that?

C. I am going to count my calories - every. single. one.  - An actionable item! (I recommend www.caloriecount.com or the iphone app Calorie Count - same program, different format. Or Livestrong's My Plate website or app).
D. I am going to learn just how many calories I need everyday and formulate an eating plan based on those calories.  - an actionable item!
E. I am going to plan and cook all of my own meals - not eat out and not buy meals or snacks on the run (this is actually way easier than you might think). - An actionable item!
F. I am going to eat 3 regular meals a day with a morning and afternoon snack. - An actionable item!

Making a major lifestyle change when it comes to eating habits is not easy. I was used to eating convenience foods. I'd always loved to cook but had gotten out of the habit of cooking. I'd become more of a "just throw a few things together and call it a meal" eater. Granted those things would usually be fairly nutritional foods (carrots, cheese sticks, nuts, dried fruits, yogurt, fruits and veggies, a sandwich, soup, etc) but I had no problem calling a bag of chips dinner either. Time to change that.

First off,  I needed to start eating breakfast. Breakfast and I had been enemies for many years. I never really felt like eating breakfast. I wasn't usually hungry when I woke up. Sometimes my stomach just didn't feel like it could handle breakfast (with a bag of chips for dinner, who could blame it!). I still didn't really feel like eating in the morning so I packed my breakfast and morning snack to take to work with me. Yogurt with cereal and a banana. I wasn't eating until at least 9am but it was better than skipping breakfast. This would change as I became more active. I now wake up by 6am and am pretty well "starving" for breakfast!

One way to manage the food you are consuming while making planning easy is to have the same breakfasts, snacks, and lunches for a week. I go a step further and have the same dinners for 7 days straight. I cook everything on the weekend, pack it up and I'm ready to go. This weeks menu:
Breakfast - 1 scrambled egg, 1/2 cup milk
Snack - a green apple, 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
Lunch - 1 can light tuna in water with 1 tbsp mayo, 1/2 cup milk
Snack - 1 small avocado or 1 cup red peppers and cauliflower, a smoothie (recipes here)
Dinner - 1.5-2 cups homemade kitchen sink chili
12+ cups of water throughout the day, 1 cup of coffee and 1+ cups of tea
I occasionally mix up the snacks but the format doesn't change. I don't have to think too hard about what to have. I have the snacks with me at work so when I am hungry, I eat. I'm never at the point where I feel like I am starving, and this is so less stressful than worrying about what to eat. I've checked out these foods. I know that if I eat the above, I'll consume ~1700 calories in a day. Adding in protein powder and electrolytes on workout days brings the total to ~1900, and bike days where I ride 45+ miles, I'll add in enough supplements to bring my intake to nearly 3000 as I am expending at least 1200 calories just in biking alone.

The second change was cutting out the sugars. Right after Christmas... I gave them up. Poof! Gone. No soda, no sugar in my coffee or tea, no foods with added sugars. After a couple of days I didn't miss it and now, if I do have a bite of something with sugar added, it tastes overly sweet and generally gives me an upset stomach. I than picked Lent to give up processed foods. I wasn't eating many by this time, down to whole grain breads, cereals, and some pasta. I cut them all out. I was eating only whole foods now. I replaced the processed grains with Quinoa, Brown Rice, Barley and am still searching for more whole grains (non-wheat because it upsets my system) to assure that I am getting a good balance of healthy carbs in my diet.

Okay, now that we know the basics of how I did/am doing it, remember: When making changes, start slowly. Pick a change that you KNOW 100% that you can make and then stick to. Once you have that change down for 2 weeks, make the next change. This is a lifestyle change, not a temporary fix. YOU CAN DO IT!

As this is such a big topic, I'll write on it again soon and add some links, breaking down some of this stuff further. Good luck! 

The Ride Update

Here are the stats as of June 5, 2013:

Date of Ride: June 22nd & 23rd, 2013

Distance: 200 KM (125 Miles)

Location: Calgary, Alberta to Okotokes, Alberta - AND BACK!

Donation Link: http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/nhkayakgirl

Fundraising required to ride: $2,500.00

Money raised to date: $3,195.00

Personal fundraising goal: $5,000.00

Donations needed to reach personal goal: $1,805.00

Days left for fundraising: 17

Dollar amount needed per day to make Personal Goal:  $106.18

Dollars that I have personally donated towards my goal: $120.00

Dollars that I have personally spent on training, nutrition, & equipment to date: $2,000.00+

The Challenge to you: Become one of my sponsors by donating towards my goal.

 

If you have already donated, THANK YOU! What else can you do to help? Please consider sharing my quest with a friend and asking them to donate. Copy and paste this link on your facebook page or email it to your friends. http://gurlandbike.blogspot.com  

 

Every little bit helps and it goes towards a great cause. Funds raised in The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer will support breakthrough research, exemplary teaching, and compassionate care at the Alberta Cancer Foundation, a leader in cancer research and treatment.

 

Now, the training update: I've started week 9 in my second 12 week fitness training program at The Boxing Club of Spruce Grove. This training consists of 3 hours a week of intense core, leg, & butt work through both TRX Suspension Training and Butt & Gutt class.  I love it and plan on continuing with this program even after the ride. On top of this I typically ride 5-10 hours each weekend to log 75-150 km (45-90 miles). While I won't log as many miles per week after the ride, I will enjoy a 1-2 hour ride several days per week. I've also included some hiking in my training program as it is always fun to mix it up a bit and I'm planning on doing a lot more after I wrap up the ride. Can't wait to hit the BIG "hills". ;)

The bike update: I'm riding my 1992 Specialized Cross Roads in this event. Look for me on the red bike with gold trim. You'll be able to pick me out from the crowd as I've got straight handlebars like a mountain bike and flashy new street racing tires with blue stripes on each side. Oh, they stand out! First ride on the new tires takes place this week. Speaking of new... I'm biting the bullet and going with clip in pedals and shoes. I'M TERRIFIED! I've ridden bikes since I was a kid and I have always opted not to use the pedal baskets or shoe clips because I am not known for my grace and balance. I just KNOW that I will be the one that falls over on her bike.. Uh, huh! That will be me, tangled up in the bike, shoes still clipped in, and going nowhere fast. :)

Something fun! Record and send me a video! I'll get to see it after I finish my ride. Click here for instructions. You don't have to donate to make and upload a video and I'll love every single one of them! :) Just keep it to 10-15 seconds and the whackier, the better! :D

Session 2 - Week 8

Week 8 of Session 2 is now completed! My schedule was as follows:

Sunday May 26th - I met up with the Bulls-Eye Bike Club for a FAST 75 km ride which can be read here: The Massive Hill of Death. I've never done 75 km in 3.5 hours before. At least now, I know I can. :D

Monday May 27th -  Saturday June 1st -This week turned out to be a week of rest. Between business travel to Vancouver (The Bridge to Yesterday) for 3 days, poor eating over the week, and lack of quality sleep, I found myself mentally and physically unprepared for the week. Saturday has been spent getting "back on the wagon" by preparing my menus for the week, catching up on sleep, & re-hydrating, in preparation for a bike ride tomorrow morning.

I've learned a very valuable lesson. My current eating and exercise habits are now part of a lifestyle that I don't want to live without. I feel absolutely rotten physically & emotionally when I neglect myself, my health, nutrition, and mental state. Bring on the health! :D

Sunday morning I meet up with Herb of Bulls-Eye Bike Shop to ride from 7am to 12pm. Hill of Death, here I come (again)!