Life As I See It

Health & Fitness Blog

2010-09-24T08:29:00.000-07:00

This blog will no longer be updated.

Please check out my health & fitness blog at www.befitwithjanet.com/blog

Need a personal trainer or an expert to help you achieve your weight loss and fitness goals? My personal training site can be found at www.befitwithjanet.com

I offer both Online/Distance Personal Training as well as One-on-One Personal Training in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN area. I can be contacted at janet@befitwithjanet.com

Click on the link to Like Me on Facebook.

"I'm not on a diet. I'm just living my life differently."

2009-09-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

I read that quote the other day and it really resonated with me.

Depending on my mood, I find it either amusing or annoying when people remark about my food "Are you on a diet?" or "Don't you ever eat anything bad?"

I do eat bad things. Let's just clear that up right there.

But I've also spent the last ten years modifying what I eat and trying to create a healthy lifestyle. I've found what works for me and what doesn't work for me.

There was a time that I ate McDonald's for lunch and dinner (not the Mickie-D salads - we're talking Big Macs and large fries), a bagel loaded with cream cheese was a typical breakfast, and that Twinkie Lights were a standard snack because the label stated it was low-fat.

And then, when I saw this picture shortly after it was taken during a weekend getaway, it just validated that it was time to do something about my current state of health!

It took time to figure out which foods work for me. In the beginning, changing my lifestyle was very difficult. I fell off the wagon soooo many times. But as I became a student of nutrition and fitness, these behaviors began to change. I started to understand the importance of drinking water and that it wasn't OK to think that McDonald's was a basic food group.

I knew that in order to be healthy and feel good, things needed to change. It happened slowly, one day at a time. Over time, new, healthy habits started to form. And in all honestly, this past year I finally feel like I'm not struggling with food demons. It's finally become a way of life and I've fully embraced this healthy living lifestyle.

I still treat myself to "bad" things...I just satisfy my taste buds in moderation. For example: I was at a wedding this weekend and there were three different wedding cakes. I LOVE cake and I sampled ALL THREE :-) Sitting there with all three pieces in front of me, I'm sure people thought I was going off the deep edge. (yeah, I notice when people monitor my food: "What's the health and fitness guru eating?!"). I took three small bites of each piece. And then I was done.

So no...as the quote states: I'm not on a diet. I'm just living my life differently.

And you can, too. Many times it takes baby steps.

What are you changing about your nutrition today to live your life differently?

A Random Conversation About Kings of Leon

2009-08-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

The scene: casual conversation with D while driving in her car. Kings of Leon song, "Be Somebody" playing on the iPod in the background.

Me: "I really like Kings of Leon. I've been listening to them a lot lately."
Comfortable silence as song keeps playing on the radio.
Me:"I used to think he was singing "I wanna be so naughty."
D: "Well, his Sex is on fire, so it's possible."

A Little Shameless Self Promotion. (Hey, my mom's proud!)

2009-08-05T19:24:00.001-07:00

Check it, yo.

It's a Q&A with Peace Coffee's publication, Peace Spokes, along with a snazzy picture taken by the ever fab photog, Dana Schoppe. Rock on.

Read it here.

Final Deep Thoughts of the Tour de France 2009

2009-07-31T06:25:00.000-07:00

I've been sick for about a week. It was hard to sit up and type on the computer much less think for more than three seconds at a time. So the blog was lacking. But I'm back and feeling human again. I'm not sure what exactly I had (at one moment asking Justin "what are the symptoms of swine flu?"). Being in the gym exposes you to so many germs and I picked up some awful virus.

I'd like to say: Justin is the best husband, ever! On what was such a beautiful weekend last weekend, he stayed home and washed and folded all the laundry and deep cleaned the house. He brought me saltines, made me sports drinks to keep my electrolytes balanced, and ran out to buy homemade chicken soup - the kind a local store makes from scratch.

Before I digress much further........

The Tour de France ended while I was holed up on the couch. And the Prettiest Boy of the Peloton was never awarded.

So, the Yellow Jersey goes to....all of the little pretties that were nominated. Except that Danish fellow, Contador, who's been a little bitch in the press upon conclusion of the Tour and only seemed out for himself during the last two weeks of the Tour. Way to act like a true prima donna roadie, Contador.

I know, there should be only one winner. But all those nominated (with the exception of Contador) did such an outstanding job and were very sportsmanlike. Which makes them that much more prettier.

There are additional podium spots to award:

The I'm-Not-A-Mountain-Biker-But-I-Play-One-On-TV medal goes to Team Bbox.

The Best Crash medal goes to....who else?! Jens Voight. I'm not posting a link to the video because I find it disturbing. Besides, Versus gave us at least 20 chances to catch a replay during the Tour. Here's to you, Jens, and hoping you make a swift recovery for the Tour of Ireland.

The Best Outfit medal goes to Caisse d'Epargne. Loved the carbon-fiberish design.

The Most Humble Stage Winner medal goes to German hottie, Heinrich Haussler (who was mistakenly overlooked as a contender for the Prettiest Boy of the Peloton Yellow Jersey).

The Punk Ass of the Peloton medal was heavy guarded by Mark Cassaroledish. Way to go: you earned it, buddy.

The Can't-Wait-to-See-What-You-Bring-Next-Year medal goes to Tyler Farrar. Hey, Tyler: Train hard. Get fast(er). Stay clean. Kisses!

Deep Thoughts of the 2009 Tour de France. Who Wins the Yellow Jersey for Prettiest Boy of the Peloton?

2009-07-20T07:50:00.001-07:00

The tour is taking a rest day, which throws many cycling fans into withdraw. Anyone experiencing uncontrollable shakes or sweats yet? (Vert?)

While the tour takes a break, take a moment and vote for the Prettiest Boy of the Peloton. (Poll located on the right hand side of the blog).

Alejandro Valverde held court for a couple of Tours, but his suspension for doping suspicion has left a vacant position.

Criteria: we're looking for dudes who look good both in and out of spandex. They all look cute decked out in kits and sunglasses. But to truly be deemed pretty, the rider must be able to work it away from the bike.

There is a distinguishing difference between boyish good looks, handsome, cute, beautiful, and pretty. It is also subjective. So, I've included a selection of those who fit many classifications to appease the masses.

The contenders for the Yellow Jersey for the Prettiest Boy of the Peloton:

- Fabian Cancellara, Team Saxo Bank. Meow.

- Tom "hey, ya'll wanna do some cocaine" Boonen, QuickStep. Yes, he dropped out of the tour, but we've still gotta throw his name in the poll. Because he is kinda pretty.

- Alberto Contador, Astana. Although my personal opinion is that he's leans more on the side of boyish good looks. But is he pretty, too? Can a dude be both?

- Tyler Farrar, Garmin Slipstream. Again: boyish good looks or pretty?

- Yaroslav Popovych, Astana.

Don't Hate the Game, Hate the Train

2009-07-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

Dontcha hate it when a train ruins your tempo ride?

I love trains. But apparently Justin wasn't amused.

Deep Thoughts of the 2009 Tour DAY France

2009-07-08T06:44:00.001-07:00

(that was for you, Bob Roll)

Great tour this year - partially due to the soap opera drama being created by the media.

- A little bummed by the results of the Team Time Trial. I was really pulling for Garmin-Slipstream to win it. So close!

- The Prettiest Boy of the Peloton title is still up for grabs. This year, I've introduced a new title: Punk Ass of the Peloton. That award goes to Mark Cavendish.

- I've dubbed the Columbia team car "Club Sprokets" being driven by Dieter and his side kick Klaus. Yah.

- Tyler Farrar! So sensitive. Such a cutie. I'm intrigued by him. Such a young talented rider. He'd be cuddly if he didn't wear so much product in his hair....who wears that much product in their hair when you're just going to stick it in a helmet?!

- I miss the Mojito commercial. But the Free Credit Report commercials are pretty catchy.

- Haven't seen any way crazy fans yet. Do they hide in the mountains waiting for the mountain stages?

Riding Red Wing and Pre-Deep Thoughts of the 2009 Tour de France

2009-07-04T04:56:00.000-07:00

No, this isn't an ad for Specialized. It's a self portrait from Friday afternoon's ride in Red Wing at Memorial Park.

I love riding Memorial Park - the technical sections of the trail, the view at the top of the bluffs, eagle sightings....and I love day trips to the Red Wing area. There's something about the area that is so soothing.

Justin and I met fellow PCRer and team captain, Ton ("Tons-of-Fun") for some recon before next weekend's race. They helped me find some lines through sketchy sections. The best part of the ride (besides not crashing) was working my way up the Stairway of Heaven. The Stairway is a steep rocky climb. Last year I walked it every time. But yesterday I was able to make it halfway up during our first lap before clipping out because I thought I was going to puke. During our second lap, I made it half way up, clipped out to watch Justin and Ton's line as they rode towards the top, then clipped back in to finish the climb. It was an awesome feeling of accomplishment. Now if I can make the entire way up without stopping, that would be fantastic.

Well, the Tour (de France) begins in about an hour and a half. I'm routing for Team Garmin-Slipstream. In particular: David Zabriske and Christian Vande Velde. The two had some pretty nasty injuries earlier in the season. And then there's sprinter Julian "Kiwi Guy" Dean, who's a power house. But what happened to Will Frischkorn this year? He's not on the Tour roster.

I wonder how Cadel "Step on my dog and I will cut your head off" Evans of Silence-Lotto will do this year? He came [this close] to winning last year. And it doesn't look like Alejandro Valverde of Caisse d'Epargne will ride this year because of doping allegations - which if fine if he's truly a doper. But he's the prettiest boy in the peloton! So I guess I'll have to declare someone else the Prettiest Boy in the Tour de France Peloton this year. Any suggestions?

We were visiting family last year when the Tour started. I made my Gram watch the Tour every day on "the good T.V." On July 5th, when I mentioned that I wanted to watch the Tour again in the morning, she replies "but you watched it yesterday." I had to explain that the Tour ran for three weeks. She was annoyed because it messed up her regular morning viewing schedule which included Kelly and Regis and The View, followed by numerous game shows.

So a couple days ago, I was talking with her on the phone:

"Hey Gram, you know what starts in a couple of days?"
"No, what?"
"The Tour de France."
"Oh Holy Hell!"

Justin and I watched some pre-tour coverage last night, which was basically a re-run of Lance Armstrong races. Which leads me to post the following poll in the upper right hand corner of the blog. Vote please....

Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End

2009-06-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

It's been the most challenging (and exhausting) two weeks of my personal training career. But also the most rewarding.

I'm assisting with a weight loss testimonial study: it's a group of 35 women who had to meet certain specifications to be included in the study. Some of these women have never stepped foot in a gym before. Other women had been fit once in their life, but then, hey, life happens.

The group is following a specific exercise and nutrition program. My role is to demonstrate the exercises on various equipment - explaining proper form, benefits of the specific exercises - educate them on the nutrition program, and test each women's body fat percentage.

When I took on the assignment, I thought "OK - it's a bunch of equipment demonstrations. No big deal." But I didn't anticipate getting so emotionally involved.

Many of these women have been overweight most of their life, and this opportunity is a chance for them to turn over a new leaf. A chance to take control of their health and establish new lifestyle.

Why did I find myself so emotionally involved? Of course, I want to see them all succeed. And I've learned so much about them during the initial orientations - so that established a emotional connection. But what got me was: I realized that I totally understand where these women are coming from. I'm from a family of large ladies. My sister was overweight her entire childhood and most of her adult life. I grew up watching and listening to people ridicule her. And as Army brats, not were we always the "new girls" - she was the "new fat girl". When my mom was her heaviest, I wasn't blind to how people would look down their nose at her. There is truly a divide in how people treat others who are overweight and those who are lean.

So yeah, I get where these women are coming from and the crap they've had to endure because of their body composition. And this is one main reason I hate The Biggest Loser. You don't exploit people who have emotional baggage, and consequently, self esteem issues for television ratings. Please don't buy into that, you reality tv junkies. But I digress.....

Over the course of two weeks I have met some very cool ladies. Not only have I educated them on the program and enjoyed getting to know them, but I've taught them some muscle-head terms, too ;-)

It's so great to see them walk into the gym, excited to do their workout for the day. One lady's family bought her new workout clothes. Another lady told me her family practically pushes her out the door so that she gets to the gym. Another lady exclaimed to me while she was working out on the chest press machine: "I'm doin' work, son!" (yeah, I taught her that!) And this past Friday, another women told me she lost three pounds since she started the program a couple weeks ago. She had such a twinkle in her eye and a huge grin on her face (HIGH FIVES!) AND she brought her husband into the gym to workout, too.

This is why I wanted to become a personal trainer. To help educate people so that they could make healthy changes. To watch their progress. To be their cheerleader. To help them create new healthy lifestyle habits. And to be their partner in fitness and wellness.

On a separate note: it's a little late, but here's a picture of Julie and I taken at the last stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix in Stillwater, MN. We're standing in a huge group of people on a section of the course with a the 22% incline climb. I thought it would be fun to snap the picture with the racers in the background. But what's hilarious is the look on her face as she realizes she's about to get run over because the peleton is spreading out as they hammer up the hill (her jersey sleeve had just been clipped by a racer), forcing the crowd to give them more room. We biked from twenty-something miles from St. Paul to Stillwater to watch the race, and then climbed out of Stillwater to make our way back to St. Paul. It was a great day and the weather was awesome!

Food for Fuel

2009-06-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

There’s always a focus on food during the days leading up to a mountain bike race. My primary goal is to make sure the husband and I are well-fed and giving our bodies the food it needs to fuel us properly for a race.

Our races are typically on Sunday. Which means Friday and Saturday’s dinners are balanced with a lean protein and a slow digesting carbohydrate to help with glycogen stores.

Sisterhood of Dirt

2009-06-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

Mission: To promote the sport of mountain biking while encouraging and fostering relationships amongst women who ride and race their mountain bikes.

What You'll Find: Race recaps, links to women mountain bike blogs, info about mountain bike races, and other resources for cyclists.

Click here to find out more.

Nature Valley Grand Prix St. Paul Crit

2009-06-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

The General and I headed to St. Paul to watch the Nature Valley Grand Prix Crit at the spur of the moment on Wednesday evening. Didn't expect to run into so many peeps! (Justin spent the evening climbing the hills in WI).

Cory and his new lady

D-Bomb and Speed Freak

The Single Speed Queen practices safe beer drinking.

Is beer the same as Wheaties?

Twin Six t-shirt twinkies.

Pro female racer, Ally Stacher with Team Kenda.

Motivation on one of the female pro racer's handlebars

Hey, HWood: does this count? This is a form of media.

Hanging with Floyd and Sam O

SPOTTED!
Contrary to the rumor going around the MNSCS, Chris Fisher is NOT in witness protection. And he'll probably never see this picture 'cause he doesn't read blogs.
(Yeah, Steve, amazing, isn't it?!)

Jen showed me how to use the "continuous" feature on the camera....here comes the peloton...

Hoping to get out and catch Friday's race in Uptown....

WORS Trek Big Ring: Sloppy, Slippery and So Much Fun in the Mud

2009-06-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh! Another fun race at Nine Mile Forest. Made great memories there last summer, and now we've got some new ones.

You wouldn't think it was June. Temps in the 40s on race day. Looking back at the race pics (I wore my fleece lined foul weather jersey and fleece lined tights!), you'd think we were racing in the middle of November.

The trail was in pretty good shape. Sloppy in some spots and the rain made the roots and rocks very slippery. But the dampness also made the trail nice and tacky.

Overall, I am happy with my riding, but not with my finish. Muscle cramps during the last half of the final lap hindered my performance....which really irks me to no end.

I toed the line together with D-Bomb on the far left of the start. The General was somewhere in the line up on our right. I was excited to see my new favorite smack talker, Lisa Humphrey, in the group. And Rachel (aka Spicy Ride) was in the mix sporting her new kit.

I decided to take it easy off the start so I didn't burn myself out the first five minutes. There was a very long prologue into the single track and I decided to pace myself. Justin had reassured me that as long as I was somewhere in the pack or could keep them in my sights, I would be fine.

After pre riding, I knew where I needed to crank it before making it into the tight, rocky single track. After a long climb up the last squishy hill, I rounded the corner into a flat open section of single track and threw the bike into my top chain ring so that I could crank past a couple of riders. I passed a couple guys and made a wide turn into the trail. My rear tire slipped and I caught myself with a grunt. The rider ahead shouted "Is that Janet?!" over their shoulder. I focused on the trail ahead and saw the rider dressed in a Silver Cycle kit. It was D-Bomb! I was excited about racing alongside one of my riding buddies.

The General soon caught up, and the three of us rode together for a bit, navigating our way through the mud, slippery rocks, and roots. But my front tire spun out in a rock section, throwing me off balance. The General passed me as I clipped out to catch myself.

I caught up with The General on the next fire road. We rounded the corner and began the loose rocky climb into a tough technical section named Ho Chi Min Trail. We passed a couple riders on the climb, and I let her take the lead into the tight single track, which treated us to more climbing through a trail littered with baby heads and rock gardens, spinning pass a sign that read: "Daddy! Daddy! Make it stop!"

There were riders spinning out all over the trail - slipping and sliding through the mush and wet rocks. We rode up the trail together with The General shouting "RIDERS!", prompting the stalled riders to move aside and make way for the train riding up the climb.

The General spun out at a wide sketchy rock garden section, and I passed her using a line on the right. I caught back up with D-Bomb who was having trouble in another sketchy rock garden section. "Cyclo-cross it, Dana!" I shouted as I passed. I could hear the slipping and sliding of riders behind me as I continued through the trail.

The single track finally ended, spitting me out on a fire road where I reached for my sports drink, refueling for the next set of single track.

Once I entered the next set of single track, I caught up with the lead group of ladies, which amazed me, and I enjoyed riding with a strong group of ladies - all who were chatting leisurely as they made their way through the trail. But I felt myself riding too fast for my abilities on the tight twisty trail, which prompted me to ease off the gas so I didn't crash.

I smiled to myself for being able to catch those ladies, if only for a brief moment, because Deevo (my bike) and I spent so much time at the back of the pack during the entire 2008 race season. I decided to enjoy riding at my current pace and focused on keeping my position in the pack. Riding mid-pack was a very big accomplishment for me.

I threw Deevo into the big ring on the next fire road, refueled with more energy drink, took some good swigs of water from my hydration pack, and gave myself a moment of active recovery until the next section of tacky dirt. This was the drill the entire race, and I kept a good pace, attacking, passing, and catching up to other riders....until my back start to seize up on me.

It kicked in after completing the second climb of Ho Chi Min Trail. I tried so hard to ignore it, thinking positive thoughts - but the pain was too substantial. It's not just a "oh, my back hurts a little"..... it's pain! It always flares up with I'm hamming it, and I'm not sure if I should push through it or back off.

D-Bomb caught me on the fire road after Ho Chi Min Trail, and we rode and chatted about the race. We were both having a great time...a little muddy, but having a blast! She let me lead when we hit the next section of single track. And once we finally spilled out onto another fire road, I said "Go catch that other group, D-Bomb! You're a speed demon on the fire roads. Go for it!" I didn't see her again until the finish line.....

Justin was a sight for sore eyes and prepared with a bottle hand up.

The rest of the race became a quest to finish. I hurt so bad, the air was so cold and damp, and I just wanted the race to be over. I was passed by a couple ladies in my age group, and knew that I probably fell to the bottom of the ranks. But I toughed it out and rode as fast as my body would let me. Because I knew the sooner I crossed the finish line, the sooner I could change into dry clothes, eat some warm food, and lick my wounds.

I was passed by another female rider in my age group on the fire road into the last section of single track and something told me I was probably riding in last place. "Oh hell no!" shouted a voice inside my head. I threw Deevo into the big ring and we passed her right back, hammering it through the single track, and picking it up into a sprint on the final stretch towards the finish line.

I was disappointed to learn my final outcome. I was *this close* to a decent finish. I rode so strong and worked so hard only to be held back by a nagging injury. I hope this hasn't become a chronic condition, and instead I pray that it's something that I can work through and heal over time. I hope it's just a matter being patient as I bring all my muscles back into working harmony through strength and conditioning.

Next race: Mt. Kato, I think. Another fun technical course!

Thanks to Justin, Nicole, and Jeremy for capturing the action!

WORS Big Ring Pre Ride: Cold and Rainy

2009-06-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

Sport race: 2 laps @ 8.5 miles each = 17 miles of race day fun (or so I hope!)

I love riding at Nine Mile Forest. Got a nice lap in on Friday night and another pre ride this morning. The ride on Friday evening during dusk was beautiful. And a post-ride steak dinner and a glass of red wine was a great way to end a hectic week.

But today's pre ride was rainy and cold with the temps hovering in the upper 40s.

The weather and my Type A tendencies are taking a toll on my body this afternoon. My lower back is very sore and achy from the cold, and my body feels pretty shot right now. I think I pushed it a little too hard during the pre rides. But I got so giddy riding the trails. And a double whammy: I think I messed up my nutrition today - I waited too long after the ride to eat a whole food meal, and I don't think I've had enough to eat. Lessons learned. I just hope I don't pay for it during the race tomorrow.

Justin gave me some great coaching during the rides. He's an awesome technical rider, and helped me pick lines through some of the sketchy sections. I rode those sections over and over until I felt comfortable. He also helped me with my cornering skills. My mission tomorrow: keep looking ahead on the trail and don't hit the brakes through the corners.

We're sitting around the hotel room chilling right now and I'm sipping on a recovery drink Justin concocted. Should of napped, but we got sucked into a couple hours of HGTV....that's what happens when you don't have cable at home!

Heading back over to the venue soon. I still need to register for the race and then we're meeting the crew for some carb loading at the racer's pasta dinner. WORS always has great activities planned for the racers and their families - it's always a great scene.

But I forgot to bring a pair of jeans to wear tonight. So I'll be hanging out in my fleece lined biking tights. Rowr!

I love the new log obstacle on the Big Ring course. Dear MORC: design idea for a XX qualifier?

Rider Down

2009-06-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

I was reading a recap of the Afton race yesterday and was appalled by one of the racer's comments. At first I was shocked, which turned into anger and has now simmered down into disgust.

Note: This post has nothing to do with the original writer of the recap, but of the recap action as told by the actual racer. The racer will remain unnamed.

He begins by saying:

"Storyline : I was flying down a hill setting up for a tight downhill turn to the right , as I look through the turn focusing on the trail not the downhill 30 foot drop to the left I see a bike with rider lying crossways in the trail -blocking all passageways --EXCEPT a narrow space between the bank on the right with a tree growing tight along it's edge --my only logical choice of survival --the tree didn't move as my shoulder wasn't in the correct airspace at the time -- knocking me in a twisting motion perfectly into the uphill side of the cliff --and not the downhill launch into space without my superman cape ..... got up and almost got ran over by a train of riders behind me --but I clipped in and pulled away with the first crash victim still moaning in the pathway saying things like --where am I and can anyone see my arms ?--as he looked like a pretzel after a few bites .......

OK. Wait. Did it even occur to you that you should stop and make sure the racer was OK? Yes, crashes happen all the time. And many times you can tell if the crash is either a minor fender bender or if it's the kind in which the person is probably not going to walk away with just a few scratches.

But when someone is saying things like they can't feel their arms or looks like a pretzel wrapped around their bike, they can probably use your help.

Perhaps if you truly were wearing your superman cape, you would have stopped and helped that rider.

He continues:

"But I was still in the lead with my opponent [name removed] still behind me by 50 yards -- but he swallowed that distance and made ground on the steep uphill as I missed a shift leaving me in too high a gear without the ability to downshift without snapping a gear ring or the chain ( too much pressure) to match the climb ....... so I saved the gears in order to finish and to stand as tall as I could on the second place step with millions of cameras flashing !"

Was that second place medal really worth quashing your integrity?

Seriously, this is AMATEUR BIKE RACING. We're not pro cyclists. There isn't a support vehicle following behind the pack, ready to tend to a crash victims needs. Most cases, it's just all of us out on the trail by ourselves. Bike patrol isn't always around (and for some reason they were not at this race?!). You're not winning any money by finishing the race.

I came across two riders down in pretty bad shape on Sunday. I stopped to help both of them. Am I tooting my horn by saying that? No. It was just THE RIGHT THING TO DO. When I came up on the first rider, I saw the back end of two riders as they made a turn down the trail, continuing into the race. Neither stopped. They obviously saw the carnage of the crash. WTH people?!

The particular racer who told this story is listed as 60 years old on the roster. I thought chivalry was still alive with that generation?

So please: stop for a downned rider. Ask if they are O.K. If they respond and say "Yeah," chances are they'll be alright. If they don't answer or say something like "I think I broke a rib." or "Can anyone see my hands?" or "Does anyone know where I am?" They probably are not O.K. You stop. You help. That's just common sense. If you're not sure what to do, loosen their helmet and hydration pack if possible so that they can get more air into their breathing passageway. Sometimes shock will set in immediately: let them know they are going to be OK. Help them into the shade. Send another rider for help if possible. Or ride as fast as you can and get help. Ask a spectator to call for help.

I'm still reeling from this racer's story. And in this case, second place was first loser.

Afton Aftermath

2009-06-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

I wrote a recap of the Afton race: it's posted on the MNSCS web site.

Here's some of my own pics from the race.

Justin podiumed, which is totally awesome. He rocked the single track and won third in his age group.

Looks like my boyfriend Owen is ready to call it day. Watching a mountain bike race is exhausting. But he'll be ready for the kid's races soon!

The winding sandy descent to feed zone/finish line.

Jen finds a spot amongst the bikes to chill after the Expert women's race.

The typical scene found at the Peace Coffee tent after a race: eating, sharing beverages, and listening to everyone tell their post-race tall tales of crashes, near misses, and attacks. It's the stuff urban mountain bike legends are made of.

Next tentative race: WORS Big Ring. Ride on!

A Snapshot Into Afton Alps Race Prep

2009-05-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

Strategizing my plan of conquering the hills and annihilating the competition tomorrow over a lunch of seasoned free-range ground turkey with rice and organic blue corn chips. While wearing my helmet...SAFETY FIRST!

Anticipating All That Is the Afton Avalance (MNSCS race)

2009-05-29T10:52:00.001-07:00

I'm all signed up for my first mountain bike race of the season. It's not on my race schedule and I planned on waiting another month before racing. But....surprise!

I had absolutely no intention of doing this race: it's one of the most challenging courses in the series. i.e. lots of climbing. And I'm not a climber! Or so I thought.....

I prerode the course last weekend and was very surprised by my fitness. The core training, changes in diet, and increase in cardio are very noticeable. My self-created customized training plan is making a HUGE difference from last year.

The NASM OPT training model is a critical component of my fitness. :-)

I feel so healthy. I'm still having issues with my prior injury - but it is what it is.

Climbing is still very much a challenge for me. It just doesn't hurt as bad as last year.

The course is so technical, which I enjoy. Love it! Love it! Love it! So, bring on the crazy switchbacks, roots, the rocks, and loose soil!

And oh, since I'm making announcements: I'm post-ponning the October bodybuilding/figure competitions. I'm aiming for a pro-qualifying competition in May 2010: Mr./Ms. Natural Minnesota Bodybuilding, Figure, and X-treme Fit Invitational. I'd rather give myself more time to develop my physique so that I can bring a pro quality physique to the stage and earn that pro card!

Hammering the Night Away on A Specialized S-Works Carbon Full Suspension

2009-05-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

The texts from Julie began in the afternoon (this is the Cliff Note's version)

Julie: Are you racing Buck [Hill] tonight?
Me: Heck No.
Julie: Wanna ride at Leb? There's a Specialized Women's demo.
Me: Heck yeah!

I strolled up to the Specialized demo tent and immediately spied the bike I wanted to ride: an S-Works Era FSR Carbon. Yes, I knew the bike was waaaay out of my league, but how could I pass up the chance to take a spin on a sweet ride like that?!

The ride was similar to what I would suspect test driving a high performance car might feel like....

The moment I clipped in, the bike just wanted to take off and go. A few pedal strokes translated to instant power and effortless speed. This babe was so lightening fast, which just made me want to hammer it through the trail. Of course, with carbon, carbon, and more carbon features, the bike was pretty light; basically, all I had to push around and haul up hills was my own junk-in-the-trunk.

Women specific design bikes are very hit-or-miss for me. Because I have a long torso, they usually don't fit me very well. But this bike fit like a glove.

I lead us through the technical portions of the trail so I could hit all the fun stuff (Julie's not a big fan of obstacles: "whoever added those extra logs on the x-qualifier is a big dummy"), while Julie lead us out through the fast sections. At one point we moved to right and let a dude wearing a St. Olaf College Dontchaknow kit pass us. And then we tried to catch up with him, but he was too fast - he musta been late for his mom's hot dish dinner party or something.

As the big smiles on our face shout, it was a glorious ride. And I now have full suspension dreams....

befitwithjanet email Newsletter Registration Now Open

2009-05-20T11:37:00.001-07:00

Sign up for the befitwithjanet (d/b/a Bare Essentials Fitness & Wellness) email newsletter.

Log on to http://befitwithjanet.com/blog/ and complete the registration located in the margin on the right hand side.

The newsletter will feature health & wellness articles, fit tips, healthy recipes.......

Inaugural newsletter arriving to email in-boxes soon.

Be Fit. Be Well. Be You.

Friday Night Happy Hour

2009-05-16T06:26:00.000-07:00

is best spent on the single track.

Justin and I hit up Battle Creek with our buddy James on Friday evening.

This trail is a gem hidden in St. Paul. I totally underestimated the splendor of the single track that lies within. It was a beautiful evening, and as we rounded the corner at the end of a hill climb, we were rewarded with this view. It was the golden hour: that time just before sunset when all is a glow and magical, and the sun was casting a warm light over the river valley. You can't see from this picture, but the sky line of St. Paul sits to the right of this picture. Breathtaking.

Apparently, we only covered about 1/3 of the trail before we started to run out of daylight. And I'm looking forward to exploring the rest. Thanks, James, for the tour of the trail :-)

Holy Hills Sunday

2009-05-11T08:48:00.000-07:00

Speed Freak and D-Bomb took us to a top-secret hill training area around the bluffs along the St. Croix River in Wisconsin. A full afternoon of riding felt like a mini-vacation. The training was exhilarating, the scenery was breathtaking, and the energy was contagious.

We attacked the hills at our individual skill level. And once we reached the bottom, we climbed back up for another couple miles in the pain locker. I was able to pull off four 8-minute climbing repeats, enjoying the rush of 30 mph descents back down to the bottom. I lost count of how many repeats Justin, Speed Freak, and D-Bomb did.

Ahhhhhhhh! The reward of a conquering a strenuous hill climb.

D-Bomb riding past a field of bright yellow dandelions. Kinda like the famous sunflower shot from the Tour de France, but with weeds.

Justin feeling giddy after a successful hour of climbing repeats.

Recovering on the flats before the next set of "surprise" hill climbs.

Justin making sure we don't get tooooo far off-track.

The best part of a ride: you just never know what you're going to see.

Murphy!

2009-05-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

Why does that trail feel the need to have it's way with me nearly everytime I ride?

Trail was tacky. Nice and fast.

Met some great people on the trail today. Superfast Mary. Scott and Sue from from Bentcrank. Fellow PCR teammate Mick. And heckled some guys from Twin Six. ;-)

Overheard in the parking lot: "I'll try to keep up with you, but, uh, I squated heavy the other day." hehe. Dudes crack me up.

Oh - the ticks are out. Gross.

Springing Into A New Season

2009-05-05T17:39:00.000-07:00

Spring is here, and cyclists, not to mention Minnesotans, are super giddy.

The third weekend (or so) of Spring brought awesome weather, the beginnings of friendships, and many hours in the saddle - both road and mountain.

Friday kicked off with a training session with the legendary Floyd Bedbury. The Olympic speed skater (1960 and 1964 Olympics) has a huge heart and it was an honor to train with him. At the age of seventy-something, this dude hasn't slowed down. In fact, he can out ride twenty-somethings on the road bike. (We won't mention any names...)

Sam and Eric - otherwise known as the O-Bros, stopped by to heckle us (The two are creating their own legacy in the Minnesota cycling scene). We all soon headed to dinner, joined by Floyd's wife: the other Janet. We listened to stories of Floyd's glory days ("Back in '82, I used to be able to throw a pigskin a quarter mile") and chatted about bike stuff while downing raspberry tea and glasses of water-with-lemon. It was very awesome to be in the company of such great athletes.

Saturday brought an afternoon road ride around Lake Pepin. It's a beautiful area and we spied countless eagles. But the motorist were very unnerving and not very bicycle friendly. We didn't get yelled at, but many cars got too close for comfort.

Justin at the end of his third hill repeat: three two-mile long climbs. Yee-ha. I climbed it once and then waited at the top while he enjoyed his own private suffer-fest :-)

Spotted a bald eagle in it's nest feeding the eaglets. This is the best picture I could get. It's official - I am not a National Geographic photographer.

We broke out the mountain bikes on Sunday and headed to White Tail Ridge, WI for some single track action. But Deevo was having mechanical problems as we started into the woods.

After a little impromptu bike maintenance, Justin said "Well, you only have the big ring and granny gear right now."

"I DON'T RIDE GRANNY!" I exclaimed. But my legs soon mocked me. After Floyd's workout on Friday and the long road ride on Saturday, I was ever-happy in granny gear.

Ali and Barry were out enjoying the day and tooling around on their new rides. Like many people we meet in the MNSCS scene, we haven't really had a chance to talk with them because we all typically only see each other on race days when everyone is preoccupied with pre-race prep or ready to zonk out post-race. We chatted about everything from the race scene, bikes (actually Barry and Justin were geeking out over each other's bikes), nutrition, careers, and to.....well, some things you just can't print in a blog ;-)

The weekend ended with a long soak in Bert's Bees Therapeutic Bath Salts. [picture not available].

Being Fit and Well Begins in the Kitchen

2009-05-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

That's the new topic featured on the befitwithjanet.com/blog

Click here to read more.

Executing the Art of A Springtime Total Body Cleanse. Part One.

2009-04-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

The General and I are doing a cleanse together. She's committed for seven days...I'm in for 14....

I've done a cleanse at the beginning of every Spring season for the last couple of years.

It's controversial and it's not for everyone.

I was debating my start date this year, when I got an email from her yesterday that read "I'm pondering the idea of doing a detox plan. What are your thoughts about it? Any suggestions?"

My belief and guidelines for doing a detox/cleanse are:
- Make sure you can commit to it for the time period you select. In The General's case, she knew she could commit seven days max.
- It must be a plan that is whole-food based. None of this liquid or fasting detox plans - I really don't believe in that.
- Don't use a detox/cleanse as a cure all for everything.

So The General and I discussed the best cleanse program options that fit our lifestyles (I was most concerned because she is an endurance athlete and nutrition is a vital part of her training) and we agreed to follow a plan together and be each other's support system.

No sugar. No processed foods. No flour. Just basic, clean food.

I'm eating organic-based food, lots of veggies, homemade soups, fish, brown rice, limiting grain intake, and reducing red meat. I'm planning a few acupuncture appointments, a couple sits in the steam room, and dry brushing every morning to help with the detoxifying process.

We start tomorrow and are planning accordingly.....

While I was at the co-op picking up organic lemons and some yams/sweet potatoes this afternoon, I received a text message from The General that read: "I'm having chicken wings and beer tonight!" I giggled because she didn't know I was standing in front of the homemade salsa and chips display planning my own last guilty pleasure this evening.

Check back for our status updates.

Whoo! Alright! Yeah! Uh-huh!

2009-04-22T09:59:00.001-07:00

That sums up this past weekend.

Is it too late to post about my weekend? I have to - it was an awesome weekend.

Started off Friday night with a ride at Murphy with Justin. Best date night ever. 10ish miles of wonderful single track. The only sounds were frogs and ducks, the knobbies rolling along semi-tacky single track, and our occasional giggles. And then home for spaghetti. Yummy.

I taught a cycling class on Saturday morning, came back home to recoup and eat, and then headed out to Leb to ride again with Justin (he was on the tail end of a 4-hour training ride, and I thought it would be nice to keep him company). We were joined by The General at last minute. And then we ran into this crazy Norwegian in the parking lot and invited him to join us on the ride, too.

The parking lot was bustling with activity, and I had the chance to catch up with some mountain bike peeps that I haven't seen in a couple of months.

While stretching post ride - with the sun beaming down on my face and the warm weather giving my shoulders a big hug - I thought: "There's no better way to spend a warm, sunny, Saturday afternoon than riding my bike." And I felt a surge of bliss and happiness that I wanted to hold onto. I know Deevo was happy - he didn't throw me at all during the ride!

Saturday night was an engagement party hosted by The General for Wheelie Wolf and Sasquatch. It was a nice low-key evening. I met this very interesting native American of Cherokee descent and spoke with him most of the evening. I left feeling very enlightened from our conversation.

I'm trekking down to Chicago-land for a fitness conference tomorrow. I'm staying with one of my buddies from high school and his family. He's got two fun kiddos. And his wife is an awesome cook and wonderful hostess. I'm totally looking forward to this trip! I'll get to learn lots of new fitness stuff, meet fellow fitness professionals, and spend with evenings with good company :-)

New post up on the befitwithjanet blog. Check it out: http://befitwithjanet.com/blog/

befitwithjanet blog

2009-04-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

I started a new blog. It will focus primarily on health & fitness topics.

Feel free to visit:

http://befitwithjanet.com/blog/

Enjoy.

Oh - to all you mountain bikers - LET THE 2009 SEASON BEGIN! :-)

I'm going ridin............................

This blog will still feature my normal banter and personal updates.

Itching to Ride Single Track

2009-04-07T09:20:00.001-07:00

What do mountain bikers do during the Spring thaw?

Day dream about riding beautiful single track, look at last season's mountain bike race pictures, pick out races, talk smack to other riders......and search for bike porn videos.

Our 24-9 team, the Bacon Bikers (or Bacon B!tches - depending on who you talk to...'fosizzle) has had a video posted on You Tube for a while now: Kimra shot the vid during the 12-hour portion of Nine Mile and posted it soon after the race. The brief clip features my hand off to Wheelie Wolf, who completed the last lap of the race Jedi-rider style.

Well, we finally got a comment about our video. It was left by mtnbikecrazy 55. He writes:

ahahaha, i was sitting in the front row waiting, i remember this, lol

nice teamwork :-D

We are planning on getting the team back together for this year's 24-9. And, our trademarked high-five-butt-slap-hand-off will be featured in the transition tent again.

For your amusement, the video link is here.

Twitterific

2009-04-06T06:34:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I did it. Look to the right top page for Twitter feed.

The tough part isn't finding topics to Tweet about - it's keeping it within the character limit!

If you're a Twitter person, my user name is @befitwithjanet :-)

Nice Tree Pose

2009-04-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

My friend Andrea (aka Single Speed Queen) sent me this photo today with the following message: I'd just like to inform you that I am a yoga master.

Andrea - I must agree that you are, in fact, a yoga master. Who else can hold a tree pose while taking a beverage break?! I'll go out on a limb here and guess that's Surly in your glass.

Thanks for helping me spice up the blog, Andrea. I've been experiencing blog writer's block

Grocery Store Tour, Part 1

2009-03-04T07:25:00.000-08:00

A view of my grocery cart today. I wanted to share in hopes that it would give readers an idea of various options to supplement meals or create snacks:

Front of cart, from left to right:

- Lowfat Cottage Cheese. A must-have item in my fridge. Consumed by itself (1/2 cup is a serving size) or with fruit. On a side note: someone once told me that they heard that cottage cheese gives you cellulite. No, it doesn't - eating fatty foods and a unhealthy diet gives you cellulite. And, some people are just predisposed to cellulite.

- Sugar Snap Peas. My friend Brenda turned me on to these. She refers to them as "her chips." (She is dieting-down to prepare for a comp this May and earn her pro card. Hey, whatever gets you through ;-) They are great when you need to add a quick veggie to a meal on the run or crave a sweet treat after a meal. The pre-washed fresh bag is very convenient.

- Alexia Sweet Potato Fries. These will accompany Bison Burgers later this week. (I am a BIG fan of the Alexia products. Many items are gluten-free.).

- Rice Cakes, Plain, Salt-Free. A great simple fast digesting carb for post-weight training. Or, pair with sliced turkey or sliced apple for a snack.

- Organic Red Leaf Lettuce and Organic Green Onions. For a nice simple salad. Sometimes I get crazy and add cranberries, Gorgonzola crumbles, and walnuts. Toss with a bit of olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Back of cart, from left to right:

- Chocolate Crunch Rice Cakes. I like to split a tablespoon of all natural almond butter and a bit of no-sugar-added jelly (I prefer Polnar) between two cakes for an afternoon or mid-morning treat. This particular rice cake brand is not made with high fructose corn syrup.

- Organic Bistro quick-frozen meals. I've never tried them before, but they were on sale, had a nice mix of carb-protein ratios and are low-sodium. Picked up two for Justin to try (Salmon and Baked Turkey) for weekday mornings when he's rushing and needs to throw a quick lunch into his lunch box (a small cooler he totes to/from the office), or is on his own for dinner.

- Edamame. For days that you don't feel like making a salad, pair Edamame with lean meat, serve as a side with a wrap, or steam a portion for an afternoon snack.

- Oranges. Pair with cottage cheese, a handful of almonds, or eat in place of orange juice at breakfast.

- A jar of Roasted Red Pepper. I plan on making red pepper sauce to go with a turkey meat loaf. But it's also good to add color and fiber to a spinach salad or toss on a sandwich.

- Ruffles Reduced Fat Chips. This is a big treat for me. (Measure out the serving size, which is one ounce!). The ingredients are natural and I like that it's seasoned with sea salt as opposed to table salt. Pair with a tuna sandwich or a wrap.

Janet is a certified personal trainer: she is not a doctor or a registered dietitian. This blog post should not be taken as medical advice. The contents of this blog post is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem, nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.

Hey Fart Face!

2009-02-26T18:23:00.001-08:00

According to the article my friend Kim sent me, using this greeting is apparently how you win friends and influence people while riding the mountain bike trails.

Snow Monster

2009-02-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

Picture taken an hour after the snow started to fall.

"They" say we'll have eight inches by this evening.

Looks like tomorrow is a cross country skiing day! It should be great cardio to compliment leg day.

"The early bird gets gets chased and caught by the cat. Watch your back little birdie 'cause I'm up from my nap."

2009-02-23T11:59:00.000-08:00

- Heiruspecs

Trained upper body today. Wow. It was tough! I tried to lift as heavy as I could while still keeping proper form, but it is so obvious how much weaker the left side of my body (where I hit the pavement during the bike v. car fiasco) is than my right.

My first exercise - single DB rows - was going great. I was training my right side with a 30# DB and thought "Hey, I'm stronger than I thought!!" But reality hit when I change grips to lift with my left arm. I was really struggling (and trying not to get pissed about it). That side of my body still has a lot of catching up to do. But all I can do is be patient while my muscles get stronger and work out the imbalances.

While I was training, I felt the need to help someone using incorrect form on the lat pull machine. I used to keep silent when I saw someone using improper form, cringing at the thought of what they were doing to their body. I've only spoken up twice in the past: once when a woman was having trouble in the squat rack. She had way too much weight on the bar, which was throwing off her already sketchy form. I just could not let her do that do herself and tried to help her with her squat form (I never saw her at the gym again after that, which saddened me. I was just trying to help!) and another time to a gym jackass who was hogging up a machine and wouldn't let me work in. (After he was done I said "Thanks. And by the way - you were doing that wrong." which sent his buddy into hysterics.)

But now, as a personal trainer, I really feel the responsibility to help someone.

After the gentleman was finished with his set of lat pulls, I approached him, smiled, introduced myself and gently asked "Can I show you something? You might find better results if you do the lat pull this way...." and showed him the proper way to perform a lat pull. He seemed appreciative.

Sometimes I feel like my own form is off on exercises. It's great to train with someone because they can check you during the lift. Otherwise, I'll check my books when I get home to make sure I'm executing it correctly. And those mirrors in the free weight area - they are not so much for vanity as they are for watching form. Form is so, so important. After all, the body doesn't benefit with improper form or cheating during an exercise. And I'll admit I used a little bit of body english at the end of my training session. But only because I was so fried.

I'd like to leave you with a link to a video from a local Twin Cities band. Justin turned me on to them. The band: Heiruspecs. The song: 5ves. It was my motivation today.

So what doesn't make you wince now
can only make you better
We'd all be better swimmers
If the earth was really wetter
The moral of the story is to remain untold
And never really ends
It just twists and unfolds saying....

I'd also like to give a shout out to everyone who has left supportive comments and sent upbeat texts and emails about training for this journey to snag a pro card. I'm feeling very thankful for new beginnings and the support of great friends and family. Your enthusiasm is very appreciated. :-)

Train hard. Check your form! And don't forget to hydrate.
Janet

Oh Here It Goes. Here It Goes. Here It Goes Again. Oh, Here it Goes Again.

2009-02-22T18:14:00.001-08:00

Race and Competition schedule for 2009 is set.

I'm taking this in stride because, as I've learned, anything can happen.

But here's the deal. I want to make 2009 the year I earn my Figure Pro Card on the natural circuit. I've picked a date. I started training last week. Layne sent me a super-duper-secret-mass-building training plan.

I'm trying to find a balance between mountain bike racing and mass building (comp diet starts mid-summer). It's kind of an oxymoron. Many people claim that you can't build mass and do endurance/cycling at the same time. But I'm going to do what I can. Hopefully my genetic freak genes can help me have the best of both worlds.

My main focus is the pro card (marked Figure). Mountain bike racing is just for fun (marked MTB). With mountain biking: I just want to have fun riding with my fellow mountain bike peeps and represent PCR. So I'm only riding in races on the courses that I enjoy.

- July 5: WORS Chippewa Valley Firecracker (MTB) (Very Tentative)
- June 7: WORS Big Ring Classic (MTB)
- June 28: MNSCS Buff Rider's Charge (MTB)
- July 12: MNSCS Memorial Classic (MTB)
- July 25/26: 24 Hours of 9 Mile (MTB)
- Aug 16: MNSCS/WORS Trek Border Battle (MTB)(Very Tentative)
- Sept. 13: MNSCS Powder Monkey (MTB)
- Oct. 17: The NANBF Northern States Natural Classic (Figure)
- Oct. 24: Great Lakes Supernatural Muscle Classic USA Super Pro-Qualifier. University Park, IL (Figure)

Good-bye drinky-drink. You'll be few and far between.

So..

Oh Here it goes, here it goes, oh here it goes again.......

I'm in NASCAR Country, Ya'll! YEEEHAAAW

2009-02-16T15:20:00.001-08:00

I've been south of the Mason Dixon line for about a week now hanging with the 'fam. It's been such a nice trip. I've had a chance to spend some quality time with my pack and meet my new nephew. He's so sweet! Hung out for a couple days in capris and flip flops. And watched some trash tv on cable.

Dad hooked me up with a few places to train while I've been here, so I've been able to continue a regular weight training routine and got some great cardio in.

Here is the the funniest story from the trip:

My mom, dad, and I were sitting in the living room looking through the digital cable menu guide. I wanted to watch Tropic Thunder with my Dad tonight (I think we've seen almost every Vietnam war movie together). Mom selected the pay per view preview (mom was cracking up - I think she'll like the movie more than dad because of how over-the-top of a parody-ish the movie is). When the preview was over, she started scrolling through the shows recorded on the digital cable. I went back to playing with my phone. All of a sudden she stops scrolling through the menu. I look up to find her staring down my dad.

"Um, any reason why you recorded that?" she asked my dad.
I look at the screen. Someone pre-recoreded a porn movie.
"I didn't record that!" he said.
"The date says Feb. 6. I wasn't even here yet." I voluntered.

Well, we think my Gram - who lives with my parents and gets crazy pushing buttons on the remote because she can hardly see - recorded the show by accident. After all, it was a documentary about porn, so that kinda let dad off the hook.

National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer

2009-02-06T09:49:00.001-08:00

It is with great honor and excitement that I can finally announce:

I passed the National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer exam. I am now a NASM-CPT. So I get to add some cool letters after my name. :-)

I keep looking at the results notification and it makes me all giddy.

I've studied for this exam off and on for the past two years. But I got super serious about studying the last few months and threw myself into the material: learning and applying the OPT model, creating training plans for my friends, teaching them exercises in the model for fun, sizing up people's potential postural distortions and muscle compensations while out and about and standing in line at the store. I lived and breathed this material for the past three months.

What makes this certification different than others is its scientific approach to address muscle compensations and correct postural distortions. There are three levels and five phases of training created to establish balance, stability and core musculature in a client before throwing them right into the traditional route of weight training: you've got to build a foundation before you can build the house.

Because I don't have an undergrad in exercise physiology, I got a little frustrated-wondering if some of the exercise science material would click. Sure, I know and understand how to train for a bodybuilding/figure competition and can design training programs for that level of athlete and the general population, but this material was a whole different beast.

I almost scrapped the journey of the NASM cert to pursue a different certification. But I met a personal trainer at a friend's gathering (he had no idea I was studying for my certification) and when I asked him which certification was the best out there, without hesitation he answered "NASM". And when I would mention to a fitness professional that I was studying for the NASM cert, their ears perked up and they seemed impressed and excited for me. One fitness facility owner replied, "You're getting a really great certification."

I'll receive my official certificate in a couple of weeks. Which I will promptly frame and display in my home studio.

So here I go....full speed ahead into the health & fitness industry. This is something I've wanted to do for a long, long, time. I think I might just be more proud of myself than the day I finally finished my undergrad.

And So I Take Back My Friend Request

2009-02-03T15:20:00.000-08:00

O.K. So I'm sucked into the world of Facebook. Kinda addicted to it, actually.

D came over the other night and asked if she could check her page as it had been awhile since she was on it. "How long is long for you?" I asked. She gave me a smirk and was hesitate to answer. So I said "Long for me is four hours!" She giggled and agreed. We pulled up Facebook and start clicking around, giggling at status and comments. My husband enters the room, catches a glance at the computer and exclaims: "You're on Facebook?! Again?!"

It's fun! I love reading what people are up to. And it's fun to leave obnoxious and sarcastic comments on their walls and under their status updates. It's amusing to read the banter on walls. It's also a great way to give a quick shout out encouraging peeps who might obviously be having a bad day or just need to hear a kind word.

I'm receiving friend requests from people I haven't seen or spoken with in about 20 years. It's very cool. My friend Susan found me. She's one of my BFF's way back from my teenage angst days in OKC. I haven't spoken with her in a long time. I changed phone numbers. She changed phone numbers. And we just lost contact with each other. The night she sent a friend request, we were up past midnight chatting, catching up and reliving stories from our youth. And now we're reunited and it feels so good.

But I have a policy: if I don't know you, or you're some random dude who's obviously just looking for chicks, I ignore the request. Yeah, you, Mr. Modern-Day-Lothario. And you, Mr. Sleazy Looking Bodybuilder Guy. You, too, Mr. Dude-Who-Looks-Like-He's-Probably-Featured-on-a-Certain-Registered-Offender's-List. I picked up an attitude when I lived on the East Coast and I'm not afraid to use it.

Anyway...

The other day I got a friend request from another person I haven't heard from since I moved away from a certain state I used to live in. Totally forgot about this person until he sent me a friend request the other day. I was like "No way! I totally remember him!" and then I remembered the days when we used to hang out. I accepted his request, looked over his profile, and got caught up on what he'd been up to in the last 20 years. He seemed to have made a pretty good life for himself.

Today I was looking over my friend list to catch up on everyone's "status" and did not see him on my friend list. "That's weird." I thought. "What happened to Steve Stevenson?" I scrolled through the list again, and even used the search function to find his name. Nothing.

I thought my eyes were glazed over, so I just ran a general search on the main search page. His name comes up, but it doesn't indicate that we are friends.

Then it hit me: he removed me from his friend list. WTF is that all about?! Especially when he friended me. It's not like I post anything extremely obnoxious or obscene on my page or in my status bar.

My feelings are kinda hurt.

I Still Like to Move It, Although I'm Barely Moving It This Afternoon

2009-01-28T13:02:00.000-08:00

**Big yawn**

I'm pulling myself away from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Personal Training Text so that I can write a quick note.

I've been up since 4:50 this morning. Got up to teach an indoor cycling class. It's so nice to see a group of people get up just to come on out to cycle in the morning....not just my class, but exercise in general. I've got a group of regulars. I think I'm past the whole apprehensive-of-the-new-instructor phase and beginning to connect with a few. I try to share my knowledge of health, fitness, and cycling with the group during warm up/cool down and while pedaling through recovery sections of training. Today I stressed the importance of baby stepping into weight training so that they can strengthen their connective tissue before lifting heavy loads. I also entertain them with goofy stories of my cycling follies. But sometimes I fear that I might talk too much. You know...that chatty Cathy who might sit next to you on an airplane or snag the exercise machine next to you, talks your ear off, and you just want to yell "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP!"

I enjoy putting together the format and picking out music. The class members probably don't know this, but they inspire me. They motivate me to get out of bed in the morning (I get so excited to teach class the night before, it's hard to get to sleep!) and they inspire me to keep my health and eating habits in check. I know I always looked up to group instructors in the past, and I don't want to let the members down.

The bootcamp format is coming together nicely. I try to mix it up every week so that 1. members don't get bored and 2. it keeps the body guessing. This week we did a ton of calisthenics mixed with bouts of sprints, followed by wall sits, bleacher work, and then spent 15 minutes working with medicine balls for core conditioning. It's a nice crew in the morning and comprised of members with diverse training backgrounds and fitness levels.

I've started lifting on a regular basis again. I worked through stability endurance training and now I'm following the stability/strength endurance phase of the NASM OPT Training Model. I picked up a BOSU trainer this week and am applying and creating training programs following this phase of training. The approach: superset a traditional strength exercise with a stability exercise: a superset is performing two exercises with similar joint dynamics in rapid succession (i.e back-to-back without rest between the exercises).

For example: chest training - perform one set of 12 chest presses and immediately perform 12 push ups. Depending on a person's physical condition, the push up can be performed in a stable or unstable (but controlled) environment - such as on a stability ball or BOSU trainer. Do the same for back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, and legs.

So that's the news in a nutshell. I'm off to brew some coffee and then hit up some stability/strength endurance training.

Be healthy.
Janet

Still Clean

2009-01-23T08:55:00.000-08:00

Just got a call from my Dad who said "Just wanted to let you know I got my scan back," (my heart stopped for a moment) "and it's clean."

Three and a half years after The Whipple. And giving a good boot to Pancreatic Cancer.

Love you, Dad. :-)

If Cross Country Skiing Was Easy It Would Be Called Your Mom

2009-01-23T07:23:00.000-08:00

Got out for a little cross country skiing during the evening this week with the ladies: Desta (our group organizer), Julie, Margo, Margo's mom Joanne, Ashley, D-Bomb and....Speed Freak. He's not a lady, but, whatever.

I was really looking forward to the evening because I haven't been XC skiing since we moved here, and had only been out twice before in my life. And I can't remember the last time I went downhill skiing. There are many parks in the Cities that offer miles of lighted, groomed trails and I've been itching to get out there. I decided to baby step into cross country skiing with classic style skiing. Skate skiing looks cool, but I think I'd spend more time on my face and in one tangled heap on the trail.

I arrived at the Chalet early to get fitted for rental skis and boots. Renting boots kinda creeped me out because I really didn't want to wear a pair of boots hundreds of people have been sweating in with their funky feet. That's the germaphobe in me and it's the reason why I bowl in my socks and refuse to put my fingers in the holes of a bowling ball - it usually gets chucked down the alley.

Met up with Margo in the Chalet who was also getting all set up with skis. We chatted and caught up with each other - I haven't seen her since early fall during the Penn Cycle mountain bike ladies end-of-the-season gathering at The General's house.

Once everyone was assembled, we clipped into our skies and slowly ventured down a little hill toward the trail entrance looking for the classic ski tracks. I was a little gun shy on the skis, so I was lagging behind. I got a little momentum, skied up on our group, yelling (the class-act that I am), "On your left, bitches!" The folks turned around, looked at me, and I realized that it wasn't my group....my group was just ahead of them. "Oh!" I said. "I thought you were my group. Sorry!" Luckily, they found my greeting amusing. Ahhh, yes. I'm always making friends.

D-Bomb and James were on skate skis and dropped us in, like, five minutes. Desta hung back and showed Julie, Margo, Joanne, and me the ropes. Once we got a hang of it, Desta took off. I tried to apply Desta's advice, but it was difficult to get the rhythm down - I often felt like I wasn't moving: I have a lot of work to do.

It was such a peaceful night. The world seemed to stand still and everything felt beautiful. The evening out on the snow was soothing and just what my soul needed that evening. The physical benefits and endorphin rush felt awesome. I really worked up a sweat and could feel my shoulders and adductors working hard. I didn't really burn a ton of calories (I think my HR monitor read 450 cals burned at the end of the session), but my heart rate stayed steady. If anything, cross country skiing will strengthen my muscles and help my aerobic base.

One hour, 38 minutes and two laps later, we decided to call it a night. Once we stopped skiing, the sweat chilled us to the bone and we all took off for home. The evening closed with the coolest encounter: as I was driving home, a fox ran across the road. I slowed the van and the fox stopped and looked at me.

I'm looking forward to XC skiing again. I think I've found my new favorite winter sport.

A Post NOT About Cycling or Exercise. It's About "Feelings"

2009-01-21T09:27:00.001-08:00

You know that feeling when you hear a song on the radio that just speaks to you? That happened to me late this morning.

I felt myself slipping into a weird funk over the last few days and I wasn't quite sure why. And yesterday, I went in for an acupuncture session, hoping it would alleviate whatever was trying to take a hold of me. But instead of feeling refreshed afterward as I usually do, I felt anxious and depressed. And a little sad. I have no idea why or where the feelings came from.

And then this voice of self doubt seemed to rise up. She was very loud and would not go away no matter what I tried to tell myself. She was there bugging me all afternoon and I couldn't shake the feeling before bedtime. And she made me rag on Justin for a millions things that were not his fault. I went to sleep hoping that I would wake up feeling better in a new day. But I woke up this morning still feeling sad.

As I settled into today's work, I heard the song Hold On by KT Tunstall on the radio. And the lyrics jumped out to me. Hearing the song made me feel empowered and I told the voice to go away and leave me alone. So, take this little voice of doubt inside....and thanks, KT, for writing a great song.

HOLD ON

Say you to me
You’re a bird with an eye for anything shiny
Searching the land
For a hero of a man

You say I need
More than my fair share of attention
But I think you know
That just isn’t so

Underneath
I felt the fire of a burning question
Tearing me apart
Right from the very start

And now I see
That it don’t take a trick of the light to excite me
So strong, So long,
You’ll see

Hold on to what you’ve been given lately
Hold on to what you know you’ve got
Hold on to what you’ve been given lately
Hold on cos the world will turn if you’re ready or not

Simplicity
A heart of gold
An old head on young shoulders
Quiet and lovely
Becoming part of me
And now I see
From a handful of names and a thousand faces
One light, burning fiercely

I was tired of January
I was tired of June
I felt a change coming
I was tired of January
Tired of June
I felt a change a coming

I felt a change a coming
I felt a change a coming
I felt a change a coming
I felt a change a coming soon

Hold on to what you’ve been given lately
Hold on to what you know you’ve got
Hold on to what you’ve been given lately
Hold on cos the world will turn if you’re ready or not

Hold on to what you’ve been given lately
Hold on to what you know you’ve got
Hold on to what you’ve been given lately
Hold on cos the world will turn if you’re ready or not

Well the world will turn if you’re ready or not
Yes the world will turn if you’re ready or not

Julia (aka Go Big Green), This is for You..

2009-01-18T16:39:00.000-08:00

Hey! Ya'll Wanna Do Some Cocaine?!

2009-01-15T09:31:00.001-08:00

Just kidding. These are two of my favorite supplements at the moment: Xtend BCAA powder by Scivation and Whey Matrix by ISS Whey.

I'm ready to train now.....going to crank up the music in my studio, and as my coach - the infamous Layne Norton says: "I'm doin' work, son!"

Best Protein Powders

2009-01-15T07:59:00.001-08:00

I'm frequently asked which protein powder I prefer.

There are two important factors to consider when choosing a protein powder: 1) it must mix well, and 2) taste good. Because if it doesn't - you're not going to use it.

The Best Protein Powder discussion is often up for debate. But, my favorite protein powders are Optimum 100% Whey (Double Rich Chocolate) and ISS Whey Matrix (Chocolate). Besides meeting the two criteria above, I feel that both are a superior product and have less than 3 grams of fat in a serving. Both have branch chain amino acids (the building blocks of protein).

If you're dairy sensitive, try VP2 by AST Sports Science. Justin's a fan of this whey protein isolate.

I'm currently cycling through ISS Whey: I like the fact that ISS Whey contains no artificial flavors and is sweetened with Stevia as opposed to aspartame or Sucralose. And when it's consumed super cold, it tastes like a Fudgesickle. :-)

I only use a scoop per serving (my body can't process more than 25 grams of protein at a time) and have a shake immediately after a training session (paired with a fast digesting carb source) or stir the powder in my oats. The oats/protein combo is a great pre workout/post workout meal or breakfast.

Where can you buy it? I pretty much buy supplements exclusively from bodybuilding.com: great prices, fast shipping, and excellent customer service.

Train hard!
Janet

Winter Riding......This Is How We Roll In Minnesota

2009-01-12T09:00:00.001-08:00

(Nicole, D-Bomb, Julie, Me)

It finally warmed up to 18 degrees, so D-Bomb called a ride.

Indoor Training

2009-01-12T08:52:00.001-08:00

This is what three hours on the trainer looks like:

While I was out hitting the snow-packed single track with the ladies, Justin completed three hours of specific training and went through:

- Four water bottles (one filled with super secret race training turbo fuel)
- Multiple hits from the Hammer gel bottle
- Two Cliff bars
- One DVD movie
- Three episodes of The Dog Whisperer

I Like to Move It, Move It

2009-01-07T06:10:00.000-08:00

Quick update.

I'm teaching group fitness classes. I've never taught before. There's a little bit of a learning curve, but I'm having fun with it. I'm sure creating class formats will become second nature soon.

Monday morning was Boot camp. I think I totally bombed it and hope that everyone comes back and gives me a second chance. I worked on a new format later that afternoon and feel pretty confident that I put together a good class for next Monday.

This morning was indoor cycling at six AM. It rocked! I'm happy with the class format I created and got some positive feedback. The only negative: "Can you give us some Britney Spears next time?" I think I can do that! I'll post the play list and sequences later if you'd like to try it at home.

Next up is a class with the senior citizens. I'm subbing for an instructor who's on vacation. I'm looking forward to working with this population. Got some Elvis music picked out. I attended a senior class yesterday to get a feel for what type of exercises they like and what level they work at. They were a very enthusiastic group. All smiles. They worked hard! But I'm a little nervous about teaching today. I hope nobody yells "Hey lady! You suck!" as they throw their dentures at me. Because I might cry.

Janet's New Year's Eve Live Blog

2008-12-31T17:41:00.000-08:00

I'm spending the evening at home with Justin and a couple of friends. Sasquatch and Wheelie Wolf on are their way over. R-Diddy, too. And Andy and D should arrive soon....

And since I've been a lame blogger the past five weeks or so, I'm treating you to a live blog of the evening.....

(using ellipsis at the end of sentences is my new thing.....)

7:30: I just danced to the entire Rock Lobster song by the B-52's. Damn that's a long song! My dance partner, R-Diddy was not here yet. So Kirby filled in for him. All he did was wag his tail and bring me toys. Justin shook his head at me as he made his way to take a shower.

7:40: Just left a voice mail for my Grandma Frank. I thought she'd be home! I guess she's out partying like it's 2009 already. And I'm at home?! I'm feeling kinda lame now.....

7:43: I'm washing a few dishes. Can't have a dirty kitchen. That drives me crazy.

7:50: I'm not sure if it's the wine, but The Current is spinning an awesome format tonight. (do radio stations "spin" anymore?)

8:21: Just talked to my folks who are having dinner at a restaurant with my Uncle (he's visiting from Milwaukee, WI). Dad's enjoying a Jim Beam on the rocks.....Overheard a conversation in the background between my Uncle and a waiter about the weather. "It was 30 degrees when I left Milwaukee today...." Which prompted me to say "Dad! Tell him it's, like, -2 degrees in Minneapolis right now!" (I'm not competitive or anything). And then my mom gets on the phone. I told her I was live blogging tonight and then said: "Hey. Did you know Grandma is out getting her drink on? I called her, but got her voice mail." And then Mom joked that I should tell everyone that Grandma was boozing it up at the senior center and my other Gram is all doped up on really good drugs right now (she had surgery today) while I was at home being an adult.....yeah - now I feel really lame.

8:33: So I'm sitting here (by myself. Where the hell are my guests?!) and this song comes on the radio with a familiar riff. I thought it was "Touch the Sky" by Kayne West. But it's not! It's a song from the 1970s called "Move on Up" by Curtis Mayfield. (Google is your friend). Why Kayne? Why?!....This "sampling" crap has to stop. Can't anyone be original anymore?

8:45: D has me beat for lameness this evening. I rec'd the following text message: "We are sleepy. Going to stay home tonight. Thank you for the invite. See you soon. BTW - happy New Year." Nice excuse......I think they are staying home to get their freak on.

8:55: Sasquatch, Wheelie Wolf and R-Diddy finally arrive. I spy something fun in Nicole's hand.....

9:29: Justin, Sasquatch, and R-Diddy are in the kitchen. All of a sudden, R-Diddy runs out of the kitchen followed by a chorus of laughter. We hear Justin yell "Now smell your hand!" Nicole and I look at each other with an expression like "do we really want to know what's going on?"

9:37: Hey! Who cut the cheese?!

9:45: Just got a text from The General. She's going to bed. And I got a text from Marie about an hour ago wishing me a happy new year and informing me that she was going to bed, too. What is up with everyone tonight? Was 2008 THAT exhausting?

10:08: The conversation: "beedee-beedee-beedee....nerds.....beedee-beedee...go gadget go.....bee-dee-beedee....fire up the geek squad....bee-deee........"

10:21: Starting a game of Skipbo. R-Diddy just cracked open a 24-ounce of Sprite. It's about to get intense.

10:38: R-Diddy is TOTALLY CHEATING at Skipbo. But I've got news for him - he's still going down! And Nicole said he's a Drama Queen. But the Drama Queen skills are weak because we're totally on to him.

11:10: Skipbo results: Justin 1st, Nicole 2nd, Me 3rd......Justin is playing R-Diddy's hand because we just want the game to be over already....and this is R-Diddy dancing the loser dance.

11:12. We (well, actually me) call Sasquatch and Justin's parents to wish them a happy new year. They were in bed. Ooops.

11:15: Call Mom to wish her a happy New Year. She's up and has been reading the live blog. (proof: Exhibit A - comments). Dad and Uncle Don are in bed already.....she wanted to know who cut the cheese.

11:26. See, things are getting crazy....cause Daft Punk is playing at my house, my house.....

11:57: Nicole preps the champagne.

12:00: Wishing you a healthy and happy new year....

New Year's Resolutions

2008-12-27T12:49:00.000-08:00

As you may recall reading last year, I'm not one to make crazy New Year's Resolutions. I did pretty well fulfilling my resolution last year, which was embracing a green/environmentally friendly lifestyle - so much that I get green guilt when I have to throw a plastic bottle into a non-recyclable trash can (read: using a plastic bottle when I don't have the option of using one my BPA-free bottles). And I kick myself when I realize I left one of my canvas shopping bags in the car while standing in the check out line at a store.

Here is 2009's reasonable resolution: to use my local library more often. I think I've borrowed books from the library once in the last five years.

There is a gold mine to be found at the library. And the stuff at the library comes at the best price: FREE.

DVDs for example - like exercise DVDs. Great way to learn new stuff. Or classic movies that I never had the chance to watch before. (no - we don't have cable).

And chick-lit books (my guilty pleasure). And reading dozens of back issues of magazines. (another guilty pleasure).

And cookbooks with healthy recipes. Yes, I know you can find those on the Internet. But there is something fun about flipping through the pages of a cook book. Maybe I'm just old school that way.

Yes, it's time to start making use of my tax dollars. To the library I will go........

Most Influential Men and Women of 2008

2008-12-18T10:52:00.000-08:00

Been busy. Hence the lack of blog entries. However, here is something I would like to share.

I had the honor of writing the profiles for msn.com's Most Influential Men and Women of 2008 list.

The slide show is set on a slow speed, so use the "next" click-through on either the upper right hand or lower right hand section of the page.

Before you get all worked up about who's on the list or who was was left off, please read msn.com's criteria for selecting the candidates:

Every year, we here at MSN Lifestyle assemble our list of influential people, and every year we end up asking ourselves the same question: What does "influential" really mean? Does it apply to someone living in the spotlight? Or is it meant for someone less well-known, working behind the scenes but motivating and inspiring just the same? While it's never easy to define "influence," there are some things we can say for certain. This year's election felt so omnipresent and rife with historic implications we had to resist the urge to fill these lists with politicians and pundits. But even though politics took over our TVs, magazine covers and Web pages for many months, it wasn't the only game in town. The Olympics featured performances that shocked us with raw athletic brilliance. Advances were made in finding solutions for climate change. And celebrities continued to earn our attention.

Here are the direct links for your reading pleasure.....

Click here for the Women's list.

Click here for the Men's list.

He's Just Mad Because They Switched His Coffee to Decaf

2008-12-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

Don’t cave to commercialism: Christmas gifts under $25

2008-12-04T06:41:00.000-08:00

My friend Marie is the Minneapolis Outdoor Recreation Examiner for the online publication The Examiner.

She's compiled a list of fun gifts under $25 for the holidays for that outdoor recreationalist junkie who seems to have everything. Click here.

I Hope I Age Like A Fine Wine

2008-11-26T20:39:00.000-08:00

Why did AARP send me a membership card?!

Trying to Lose the Jiggle From My Wiggle

2008-11-21T08:08:00.000-08:00

I’m totally sold on those compression tights and plan on getting another pair soon. I had the chance to try the tights out last night.

I really wanted to run when I got home from work, but it was way too cold outside. Running on our treadmill wasn’t an option – it’s barricaded behind, like, 20 bikes. So off to the gym it was.

I love our gym. It’s a huge open warehouse-style space with floor to ceiling windows on two of the four walls. The cardio equipment is lined up right in front of the windows, so I used the reflection of myself in the windows to keep an eye on my running form.

The compression tights really seemed to do its job with supporting the muscles - although I did feel shin splints pain. After a seven minute warm up, I altered running for one minute followed by recovery walking for one minute. Started to feel pain in one of my quads and IT band at the 25 minute mark. My goal was to get in a half hour of cardio so I was ready to call it an end, anyway. Cooled down for another five minutes, did some foam rolling and stretching, and headed home feeling exhilarated.

But I was so excited about the run (and an epiphany I had while on the treadmill), that I was too wound up to sleep that night. Slumber finally crept in around 1:30 this morning…..

The other big benefit of training in those tights: my junk didn’t get all tossed around in my trunk. Total bonus.

Run Like Hell

2008-11-20T11:05:00.000-08:00

To celebrate the freedom of running again (although it takes at least 2 days to recovery between running sessions. grrr), I treated myself to two essential items: shoes and tights.

These are my second pair of Mizuno shoes. The first pair fit so well - I've got high arches and wide feet. I thought the shoes would help me run faster and jump higher. I was mistaken. They do not. But I love them, anyway. I'm coveting a pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 12s, but they are not available until mid-December.

Cw-X compression tights. I just bought them yesterday, snagging up a pair for well under the suggested retail price. (yes, it was legal. I'm just a savvy shopper). I have ongoing issues with my IT band and TFL. After reading about these pants which are designed to support an athlete's IT band, quads, knee joints, and hip flexors, I was all for trying them out. And the added bonus was reading that because the pants support those muscles, the muscles are less likley to break down as much, speeding up recovery time between training sessions. I'm looking forward to trying them out and hope to get out for a run tonight.

Next Home Improvement Project (Isn't the Off-Season Great?!)

2008-11-11T15:37:00.000-08:00

Install and stain interior doors and baseboard.

Um......I'm not so sure about this.

I Went Trail Running on Sunday

2008-11-10T12:08:00.000-08:00

And it was glorious. I haven't been running in a year. Saturday marked the one year anniversary of the accident. So on Sunday I felt it was time to give running a try again.

Between a year of physical therapy, a trip to a sports massage therapist on Friday night who worked wonders on some areas that still give me trouble, and drooling over some cute exercise clothes at the store on Saturday night - I was so psyched for a run on Sunday.

Baby steps. That's what I took: started out with a good 10 minute walk to warm up, then did little bouts of jogging and recovery walking. My fitness wasn't too bad although I found myself gasping for breath at times. But biking has really helped with cardio.

Justin and Kirby came along for the adventure. We let Kirby off the leash on the trails. Kirby ran along side of me and kept looking up with a seemingly smile on his face. "Just like old times, right Kirb?!" I exclaimed.

When we returned home, I spent a good 15 minutes stretching and used the foam roll for some self myofascial release on my IT-band. Stretched some more this morning and hit up the foam roll again. Stretching is going to be a key to keep me pain free.

While I was running, I made a mental list of other things I'll need to continue running through the winter: I'm going to splurge on a pair of compression tights, a new pair of shoes, a soft fleece hat, more wool socks.

Ahhhh. I'm looking forward to running again! Outside. Good ole morning cardio. It doesn't matter if it's cold. It just feels so good to get out there and run again.

Relief

2008-11-05T07:32:00.000-08:00

On to serious issues: what type of puppy should Michelle and Barack get for Malia Ann and Sasha?

Vote using the poll on the upper right hand side of the blog.

Score!

2008-11-04T10:49:00.001-08:00

I brought lunch to work today, but had a craving for a turkey bacon club sandwich from a local deli shop.

I walked in and greeted the counter-dude who usually takes care of me when I visit the shop. Counter-dude makes my usual sandwich and hands it over.

"So, is this sandwich free because it's election day? That's what all the other places are doing." I said with a smile and wink of the eye. He gives me this look as I rattled all the places giving away free stuff today. Starbucks, Krispy Kreme......

"We're a little local shop. We're not like those places." He teased. And then he adds "Well, I guess I'll have to drive around and get free stuff when I finish my shift here."

"But don't come to this place." I said gesturing around the store with a giggle.

I stood in line to pay for my sandwich. When it's my turn at the cash register, he hands me a sandwich card. I gave him a puzzled look.

"There you go. That's for your free sandwich next time."

I smiled at him.

"And hopefully we just spurred the economy."

My heart did a little flip-flop with that statement.

I really hope this economy turns around.

Odd Realization of the Day

2008-11-03T16:34:00.000-08:00

I made a pit stop at 3:30 today and realized that I put my underwear on inside out this morning.

Onto another topic: Don't forget to vote.

I Promise to Barack the Vote

2008-10-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

My friend Kim sent me this video.

She keeps teasing me about being a closet Republican.

Next time we go riding, she just might get a stick stuck in her spokes.

I Can Ride My Bike with No Handle Bars

2008-10-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

Justin and I went up north to Cable, WI. It was a surprise birthday mystery destination mountain bike getaway. "Pack your mountain bike and warm clothes. That's all you need to know." I said. And really - if mountain biking is involved, that's all he really cared about!

We stayed at the Cable Nature Lodge. WONDERFUL accommodations. The lodge has seven rooms on the second floor, all with rustic decor. There is a great pub downstairs where Justin and I had one of the best meals ever. The chef creates dishes made mostly with organic and local ingredients. I had the bison chili with a fresh field green salad and Justin chowed down on New York Strip Steak with Russian fingerling potatoes. We shared a fantastic Chocolate Banana Strudel which was heaven on a plate. And I found a new favorite Cab Sav by McMinis estates.

But words of caution to those who head up to the area: there is NO PLACE in Cable that is open for dinner after 10:00.

And there is one bar/grill that does not serve my kind. Really. Here's the story: Justin and I unload our luggage and gear at the Lodge, and head out in search for a restaurant. Everything is closed. Except this one corner bar and grill. Justin parks the van and we head towards the door of the bar. We can hear country and western music pounding from inside. I open the door to the bar and step inside as cigarette smoke blows out. Standing half way in the doorway, I turn and look back at Justin who's still standing outside. "I'm not going in there." He states. I look at the bar, filled with a few dudes who are missing teeth and couple women who look very rough around the edges. "Get in here before I get my ass kicked by these chicks." I hiss at him. He shakes his head. I turn to leave the bar when I hear "WE DON'T SERVE YOUR KIND HERE" followed by a cackle of laughter.

We headed back to the lodge, snickering about what just happened, and make due with food we brought from home.

The next day we head out for a super late afternoon of biking at the Rock Lake Trail. There are rocks. And lakes. It was fun. Until we got caught by the darkness. I had the genius idea of leaving the bike lights at home because I didn't really think we'd need the lights. We hiked the last couple of miles out to the trail head parking lot because we could no longer see the trail. That was scary. I had visions of a timber wolf jumping out of the bushes and having me for dinner.

Makwa trail. New technical single track off the Mosquito Brook trail head parking lot. We did an out and back - the trail is still being developed. CAMBA has done an excellent job building the trail. I'm looking forward to riding it again in the Spring once it add more miles.

Snow! Here we are posing in our new sexy hats from New Moon Bike Shop in Hayward, WI.

Note to self: put ice/snow scraper in van when we get home.

Wood, Part II. The Finished Product.

2008-10-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

Work in progress. Kloey (our cat) appeared periodically to inspect Justin's work. Sometimes Kirby would show up with her. But most times he stayed in the safety of another floor level - he really didn't like the noise from the nailer.

I helped select and laid out rows of flooring - lining up the strips of wood for each row. It was like playing a game of Tetris. It was fun to help Justin out with the project. It gives that sense of home ownership pride.

Finished product. Up next: installation of new baseboards, door frames, and staining the new interior doors.

There Is No Such Thing As Bad Weather - Only Inappropriate Clothing.

2008-10-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

I'm all set to bike in the super chilly fall temps, which are slowly plunging into winter. Since I started biking a couple of years ago, I've been tapping into some of Justin's winter biking gear. It's time that I make sure I have my own stuff.

I picked up some rain/wind resistant riding gloves with padding to help keep pressure off the scaphoid. Stocked up on toe warmers to ensure longer rides. (it's the frozen toes that usually send you back home) although I'm sure we'll both go through these toe warmers pretty quick.

Now I just need to stock up on more wool socks, another base layer and another pair of tights. I can currently scrounge up two winter riding "outfits." However, one more outfit would help reduce the need to constantly wash winter riding clothes. A pair of Lake winter riding boots couldn't hurt, either! Last year I used Justin's old neoprene boot covers, which are now in need of super sexy duct tape repairs. [Dear Santa Claus: Please bring me a pair of Lake winter riding boots. I believe I take a size 38 . Wide width.]

Went out for a ride last night. Temps were in the upper 40s and windy, but Mo and I were all ready to put in a nice long road ride. I was dressed correctly for the weather this time: fleece lined tights, thin pair of wicking socks with a pair of warm wool socks on top, a long sleeve base layer, my Peace Coffee fleece lined foul weather jacket (it rocks!), and a if-you-can't-see-me-then-you-are-one-nonpaying-attention-dumb-mf'er bright yellow neon wind jacket.

BUT, 6.4 miles into the ride, the red low-power light indicator on my bike lights shot on. Bummer. So instead of risking it to see how long I could ride before they completely shut down, I decided to head back home. But I salvaged the the ride and decided to sprint the entire way back. Oh well. At least Mo and I got a good 12ish-mile ride in.

Doggie Office Attire

2008-10-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

This is Daisy. She doesn't have blue fur - my camera phone sucks. I met her today when I stopped by the Peace Coffee office to pick up some Mexican Dark Roast coffee beans.

Isn't she sweet?! And she's sporting business attire for her big day at the office.

I gave her a hug and immediately missed my work at home days when I could take Kirby breaks. [sad face]

Colorado State of Mind

2008-10-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

Picture taken by The General

Still got Colorado (and Moab) on the brain. The perfect weather. The awesome single track.

Every night since we got back, I've dreamt of riding the trails out West. Sigh.

Forced myself out for a road ride last night. I had trouble getting motivated, so when I got home from work, I immediately went through the motions of layering up and making bottles before I could talk myself out of a ride. I knew it would be a couple days before I could get back on the bike again. And when I don't exercise.....well, you don't really want to be around me. I can't go too long between endorphin fixes before I turn into Super Bitch.

The solo ride was lovely. It was ALOT colder than I thought, but I kept telling myself that it was refreshing weather! Again, I left the iPod at home so I could be alone with my thoughts and feel and hear the breeze wrap itself around me as I peddled through sunset and into the darkness. Rode around the lakes, smiling as I listened to the honks from flocks of geese and quacks from groups of ducks.

Returned home 15 miles later feeling good about life. Short ride, yes. But exactly what I needed.

Be safe. Stay hydrated. Ride lots.

Fall Ride with My Honey

2008-10-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

Nice road ride with my main squeeze yesterday. Perfect weather. Blue skies. Colorful leaves. Spent a couple hours riding around area lakes. Spotted a bald eagle hanging out by one of the lakes. It all made for a peaceful and relaxing ride. It's so nice to have days like that.

Yes. I'm Going There......

2008-10-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

WTF? For real? Come on, people. What the hell is wrong with you?!

Congressman John Murtha (D, PA) retracted a statement he made yesterday. He originally told the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette that while Obama can still win Pennsylvania, Obama's margin of victory would be reduced because of racial issues. "There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area," stated Murtha.

While John Murtha went as far as to call out the people of western PA, racism is everywhere in America. Don't kid yourself that race isn't an issue in this election. It is. I'd like to think that in the year 2008, race wouldn't be such a dividing issue. Too bad some people do not live in the now.

The KKK and other white supremacist hate groups are still alive and kicking.

And let's not forget what happened in Jena, Louisiana last year between white and black students at Jena High School. Over a tree in the courtyard. (I'm not taking any one's side. They were ALL wrong in their actions).

And then there are those white folks who refer to black people as "Canadians." Oh. You use a code word so you don't sound racist? I get it. Guess you're not a racist since you didn't call a black person one of the nastiest words ever in the English language.

So many people don't see Obama as being a smart man who's running for President of the United States. Unfortunately, they can't look past the color of his skin.

And the image above? Diane Fedele, President of Chaffery Community Republican Women - who sent out a GOP newsletter depicting the image - defended herself to say that this image was used to depict Obama ushering the U.S. into a socialist welfare state - not that Obama is black. And that the food is just food.

Why didn't you surround Obama with pictures of hummus and pita chips or milk or pizza if it was just food? How about a box of Cheerios or bag of chips? BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T STRESS THE STEREOTYPICAL HATE-MESSAGE OF FEAR YOU WERE TRYING TO SPREAD. Idiot. The Kool-Aid man should bust through her kitchen wall and slap her upside the head. "Oh yeah!"

Wake. Up. People.

Vote on the issues, your values, and things that are important to you. If race is keeping you on the fence, please put that aside and vote with your head.

If a person doesn't like Obama because they are a one-issue voter, or simply doesn't agree with the Democratic party platform, or Obama's policies - fine. But if someone can't move past the race issue, then perhaps they should keep an eye out for sales on white sheets.

Night Ride!

2008-10-16T13:58:00.000-07:00

I'm so looking forward to a night ride at Leb tonight. It will be my third off-road night ride since I started mountain biking (the first night ride ever was at 24-9).

"Isn't that dangerous?!" someone asked me today.
That question cracks me up.
Life is dangerous.

I'm actually so much more comfortable riding off-road (especially at night) than on the road. On the road you have to worry about cars and inattentive drivers and whether or not drivers are actually looking for you when it is dark out (as if many of them are looking for you during daylight! pffft). Off-road, I worry about running over small animals or D making me crash or pushing me off my bike. (you knew that was coming, D ;-) we need to ride together again soon).

My sweet new light set has beam settings for riding off road and on road. So I'm set.

I had to laugh at the conversation I had with Valerie (aka Snot Rocket, most recently aka The General. Love ya Valerie!) during a night ride earlier in the week.

Me: "I think my lights are going to die."
Valerie: "How do you know that?"
Me, pointing at the red light indicator on the battery pack and light set. "Doesn't the red light mean they are going to die? I think the light was blue when we started out."
Valerie: "Didn't you read the instruction manual?"
Me: "No. That's what Justin is for."
Valerie: "Janet, you are a smart lady with a mind of your own. You can read the instruction manual and figure it out."
Me: "Yeah, but it's easier to have him read it and just show me what to do."

Justin sent me a link to the online instruction manual today. So I think I'm all educated on how to work my lights. I think.

Now I have to figure out how much clothing I should wear. Temps at 6:00 pm start dropping from 48 degrees.......it's a full moon and clear, so it should be pretty out there.

And oh: Happy birthday, Valerie! You sexy thing.

Rowr.

Light 'Em Up

2008-10-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

Treated myself to a nice set of bike lights last night. Justin got them all hooked up to Mo and we went for an early morning spin today. It was waaaay colder than I thought out there this morning. I wished I would had worn a thin layer of socks under the wool sockies and threw on a pair of long johns under my tights. Brrr.

Justin hopped on his new ride. He bought a sweet little carbon fiber Lemond. Justin doesn't name his bikes. But I've named it for him. I'm calling his Lemond "Little b!tch." He was like a little kid zooming around on his new toy this morning. The geometry fits him well and it's a vast improvement over his older roadie.

Although I was nervous riding out in the dark, it was an awesome ride - without incident. I left the iPod at home so that I could take in the stillness of the early morning. For the most part, we stuck on low traffic roads. For 5:30 in the morning, driver's seemed to be pretty alert. Passed three other cyclists all decked out with lights. I silently wished them a safe ride.

Feels good to do something for yourself before the day begins.

Be safe. Stay hydrated. Ride lots.

Carb Up. Ride. Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate. Stretch. Shower. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

2008-10-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

The best word to describe the trip out west (although its an overly used word to describe most things mountain biking): Epic. The best riding EVER.

I'm still shaking my head at the crazy terrain I rode. Loose rocks. Boulders. Sand. Drop offs. Single track hanging off the side of cliffs. Lots and lots of climbing. But the descents were worth it, and well earned!

The riding was a blast. Amazing views. Rip-roaring single track. Over the course of four days, we hit up many of the trails that comprise the Kokopelli and Bookcliffs trails in Fruita, CO. We also took a day trip to Moab, UT to experience the suffer fest of Porcupine Rim.

(Biker after biker descended past us as we made the climb up Porcupine Rim. "They must have gotten up pretty early to climb up and back on this trail." I said. We were the only people riding up the trail. Nicole finally says to us: "There is a shuttle up to the top." I looked at her and exclaimed "You're telling us this NOW?!" But I felt a twinge of pride because were were attacking Porcupine Rim the hard way. It was the toughest thing I've ever ridden!)

The weather was perfect. Temps hovered in the 70s during the day with big sun and bright blue skies.

I returned home with a new respect for myself as a mountain biker. I learned so much about what I am capable of on two wheels. It's time to begin the next sequel on the single track.

Kokopelli Trail. Fruita, CO.

Porcupine Rim. Moab, UT

Go West, My Friend

2008-10-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

We started out on Saturday at 7:00 am, making our way towards Fruita, CO where we're meeting up with Nicole, Snot Rocket, and some other folks to enjoy one of the mountain bike meccas of the U.S. A day trip to Moab is planned, too. Heck, we'll be right on the border of CO/UT and nearly to Moab, so why not bike it while we're there?!

Justin and I decided to make a fun drive out of our journey to CO, opting to drive via S.D. and WY instead of Nebraska. (besides, who wants to smell ass for five hours? not me).

First stop: the Badlands. I've never been before. I expected just a bunch of dirt. Not so. That place is amazing.

Oh. My. God. Becky. Look at my butt. It is so HUGE in this picture.

Next stop: Mt. Rushmore. Bet you never saw a picture of Mt. Rushmore before. I would love to have dinner with these guys and chat with them about their thoughts of the current state of our country. I'd also love to take their wives out for pedicures. How fun would that be?!

We took a very scenic route out of SD as we made our way to WY. Hwy 16A is an awesome drive. Tight twisty roads, single-lane tunnels through beautiful scenery. Shot a picture of this guy. Never saw an antelope in it's natural setting. He was beautiful. I think we saw about three types of deer while we drove through Hwy 16A. Even saw buffalo poop scattered along side of the road. But no buffalo :-(

Traveled through the night to Cheyenne where we crashed for the evening. It is nerve wracking to drive through the dark, not knowing what animal might run in front of the car. Lots of deer on the side of the highway (Justin thinks the whistle from the bike rack kept them from running out in front of the car) and nearly missed a coyote that dashed out across the road. Had the best sleep. Yeah....in a hotel! The Hampton Inn we stayed at has the best hotel beds evah. Comfty, goose-down comforters. Big fluffy pillows. We're feeling refreshed and ready to hit the mountains in CO.

Oh- travel tip. If you forget your cell phone charger, just ask the folks at the front desk if they have any in the lost and found. The front desk lady brought out a box from the back office with about a million chargers. Gold mine!

Welcome to the World, Sammie

2008-10-02T10:04:00.001-07:00

Samuel Alfredo made his grand entrance this morning at 8:03 EST.

7 pounds, 3 ounces, 19 inches

Justin and I are now collectively Aunt/Uncle to one niece and four nephews. Wow. That's a lot of childrens.

Good job, April.

Wednesday Night Lights

2008-09-25T10:27:00.001-07:00

That's what we'll need if we continue to bike on Wednesday nights.

Well, last night was the last official Penn Cycle Ladies Night mountain bike ride. But we didn't get to ride because the trails were "closed" due to wet conditions from rain the day before. And who wants to chance 1. messing up the trail, or 2. having a zealot trail gestapo jump out from behind a bush and yell "OH MY GOD! YOU'RE RUINING THE TRAIL." I suspected it might have dried during that day and became perfectly tacky (I love it when the trail is tacky), but you've got to respect the trail closure.

So Valerie hosted a pizza party instead.

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to meet so many cool ladies. Thanks for inviting me to that first ride, Valerie.

We're all ready to get together for fall/winter riding, cross country skiing, and indoor climbing. Desta is putting together a cross country ski schedule. :-)

I'll miss our Wednesday night rides. You ladies rock.

Wood

2008-09-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

We're in the middle of installing hardwood flooring in our foyer and family room. Actually - JUSTIN is in the middle of installing it. I have nothing to do with it. The cat is the foreman on the project. Meow.

He pulled out three layers of linoleom in the foyer, and pergo flooring in the family room. THEN, the entire subfloor had to come out because it was too thick. Once he finished tearing that up, then out we go to pick up new subflooring from the home improvement store. Mom jumped in and helped with some of the demo while visiting this weekend. She and Justin were so cute working together. My mom rocks.

He finished installing the new subfloor installed last night. Now he can start the fun part: the actual installation of the new hardwood floor.

The house is in choas. It is messy. I don't do well with chaos or messes. But I'm dealing with it.

The final product will look beautiful: Justin is a good carpenter and does great work with his hands. tee-hee.

Yo mama is so clumsy she got tangled up in a cordless phone.

2008-09-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend enjoying some very valuable mother-daughter bonding time with my mom.

I drove up to Ashland, WI to pick her up (where she was visiting) so that she could fly home back East via Minneapolis airport.

We decided to stop in Duluth for the evening, and stayed at the Edgewater Resort. While the hotel has a fun little indoor waterpark - all we cared about was the balcony off the room and the view of Lake Superior.

The clerk upgraded our room (two room-two bath suite!) upon check in, which was a nice little surprise, and even gave us free drink tokens for the manager's happy hour. After getting settled in the room, I wandered over to the happy hour for a couple glasses of wine to go, (Mom doesn't drink.......I told her I'd take care of her token for her ;-) walked back to the room and we camped out on the balcony for a while, talking and watching the boats. Hunger soon got the best of us, and we ventured out for dinner at my favorite cozy Duluth area restaurant where we shared appetizers (another yummy glass of wine for me!) and salads.

The next morning I took one of the hotel's complimentary bikes for a spin on the Lake Walk trail. I spied a pepto-pink beach cruiser with white-wall tires in the bike rack in front of the hotel while we were checking in the day before and declared that I would ride it before we took off for the Cities. What a hoot it was riding that thing! I think I smiled the entire ride. If you haven't taken a spin on a beach cruiser - try it. You'll have a blast!

We headed on back to the Cities after a late breakfast.

I woke up Saturday morning cranky (that's a nice word for it). Didn't know why I was cranky - just because, I guess. Mom demanded I go for a bike ride....

Me: But I went on a ride yesterday.

Mom: That wasn't a real ride. It was just casual ride. Not the kind of ride you usually go on.

Me: But I want to spend some time with you.

Mom: You need to ride. (code for: I don't want to spend time with you if you're bitchy).

She practically pushed me out the door.

21 miles later and I was a new person................Mom's do know best.

She took Justin and me out for dinner that evening and later found a place for mani/pedicures. (What kind of mother-daughter bonding time is complete without the mani/pedi outing?!) I wish I had a picture of us enjoying the pedicures in those big spa pedicure chairs - but mom really doesn't like to get her picture taken.

Dropped her off at the airport Sunday afternoon. I was sad to see her go back home, but happy that we got to spend quality time together.

Saturday Morning Road Ride

2008-09-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

Headed out for a ride early Saturday morning. Biked through the rain, which was fun. But the high-vis rain jacket totally ruined my outfit. :-(

It's been over a month since I've ridden Mo. She was very happy to be rolling out there again. Gotta build up the saddle time in prepping for our late fall trip to Fruita, Colorado!

Rode from our house in the southern subburns into Minneapolis - across the Mendota Bridge - through Ft. Snelling - to Minneahaha Falls - around the Mississippi - and back home.

Miles: 34.5

Bathroom breaks: Janet-1, Justin-3 (He can't hold his coffee!)

Calories burned: 1545 k-cal
(The time spent in the saddle is what's most important. But there is something vindicating about viewing the calories burned at the end of the ride off the bike computer).

Another Day. Another Bike Down.

2008-09-12T12:49:00.001-07:00

A cyclist was killed while riding his bike in Minneapolis yesterday morning. Hit and run.

It makes me so sad each time I read a story about a cyclist killed by a driver. And for a couple of minutes, it makes me hesitant to ride my bike on the street. But the thought of not riding my bike makes me sadder.

I quickly recall how I feel on my bike - about five minutes into a ride, I catch myself smiling and enjoying the outdoors. And when I arrive home at the end of the ride without incident, I silently thank my spirit guides, guardian angels and the higher power for bringing me safely home.

I read a post today written by Bike Snob NYC. It's one of those compelling pieces that I felt the need to share.

Don't Need a Title. The Picture Says it All.

2008-09-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

My commentary on Palin coming soon..........

Primary Election Day

2008-09-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

It's Primary election day in the state of Minnesota.

Don't forget to vote.

If you're not sure where you polling place is, click here to locate it.

Go Dems.

Ladies Night

2008-09-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

Biked with the ladies last night. It's been some time since I've joined the Wednesday night ride. Big group last night. I think there were about 10 of us. Such a good time. I've missed everyone.

I'm sure you're wondering what my thoughts about Palin's speech are.

Well, I didn't watch. Hanging with the ladies at Doolittles for an awesome post-ride meal and nice glass of CabSav sounded MUCH better than running home and watching the RNC.

Stay tuned, though.....I'm sure I'll find the speech on the Web someplace.

But I did listen to Stephanie Miller and the crew on Air America this morning. They had me cracking up. Especially when they kept referring to Tom DeLay as "Drunky McPukey Shoes."

Up North

2008-09-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

We didn't go to Laddies Loppet Stage Race as originally planned over Labor Day Weekend. At last minute, we decided to drive up to Northern Wisconsin to visit with my Mom and Gram (they are up in WI for the month), and do some moutain biking at Chequamegon National Forest.

We were lucky enough to get a room at the Second Wind Country Inn - one of our favorite bed and breakfast places located in Ashland, WI.

While we missed being a part of the festivities at Loppet, we enjoyed our time up north and the chance to visit with mom and Gram.

Here's the weekend in pictures.

Last time we biked in Chequami, we rode the Rock Lake and Objibwe trails located in the Cable cluster. This time around, we decided to hit up the Hayward cluster, riding Hatchery Creek to Mosquito Brook to the new Makwa trail, biking some of the routes marked for the upcoming Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival.

Put your thumbs up if you're a single track superstar......

We rode Makwa at the tail end of our route. Just like the sign reads, it's pretty sweet technical single track. We only rode for a couple of miles because by the time we made it to this section, my legs were shot.

And we just so happened to run into one of my Wednesday mountain bike buddies, Desta, who was riding with her father and brother.

On the sprawling front porch of the Second Wind Country Inn. Great scenery. Cozy accomodations. Wonderful hosts.

On the drive back home to the Cities, Justin suggested that we take a detour and drive up the scenic route towards the North Shore. Although we've lived in MN for three years. this was my first time past Duluth. Beautfiul area. Justin dubbed it the Hamptons for Minnesoteans. We ended up at Split Rock Lighthouse.

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Made another stop down the road at Gooseberry Falls where we took in the amazing scenery.

We finally headed for home at sunset, but not without another stop at Blackwoods Grill and Bar for a late night romantic dinner for two.

Pulled into the driveway a little after midnight with great memories of the last weekend of summer.

"The Republican brand is in the trash can. If we were dog food, they would take us off the shelf." - Republican Congressman Tom Davis (VA)

2008-09-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

Jack Cafferty wrote a great commentary about the current state and fate of the Republican Party. Click here.

And to all the demonstrators and protestors who are in St. Paul to demonstrate during the RNC - you have the right to stage a peaceful protest, but you don't have the right to wreck our City in the process.

I Wish I Could Quit You

2008-09-02T07:35:00.000-07:00

Two days without a Diet Coke. I've tried this before. Let's see how long this can last.......

Hope

2008-08-29T06:28:00.000-07:00

It was one of those moments where you had to call someone. And I knew who that someone was. My cousin, Christina. She is a single mom raising two kids in dairy land.

I hit the speed dial on the phone.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Hello?" she said on the other line.
I could hear the television in the background. It was playing the same channel I was watching. The roar of the crowd. The cheering.
"Please tell me you just watched that speech." I asked.
"Yeah...." I think she was at a loss of words which is rare.
"Wow. That was unbelievable. For the first time in a long time, I have hope for our country." I said.

She said that she's had a hard time being convinced to vote for Obama. She is a staunch Hillary supporter and was considering not voting at all because Hillary didn't get the nomination.

"But you know what?" she said. "No vote is a vote for McCain."

Come on Dems, let's unite. Obama is going to do good things for our country and the World.

Down with the DNC?

2008-08-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

Am I watching the DNC? Did I see Hillary's speech last night?

No. and no.

I don't need to watch the DNC. I know who I'm voting for.

Justin and I try not to talk politics. Because when we do, it gets heated, especially when he says he's swaying this way.

And oh - we're getting invaded by Republicans attending the RNC in St. Paul next week. The commute to work should be a blast. eek.

It's the End of the Mountain Bike Race Season As I Know It. And I Feel Fine.

2008-08-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

So, my friend L-Dog emails me and says "Your blog entries are only about biking. I know you must do something else, right?"

I am about to move into personal training mode. So my blog entries will soon be full of health & fitness stories, advice, and helpful links to articles.

And I have called an end to the mountain bike race season. I'm done. My body can't do it.

I still feel the effects of Saturday's mountain bike session with Nicole and Kim. It was the first time I didn't take an IBProfen before getting on the bike since I started biking post-accident..... not taking a pain killer pre-ride really gave me a good idea of how far I have to go with rehab. I'm going to listen to my body and just lay low.

However, I look back at the race season and reminisce about how much fun I had this season. And the highlight of the season, hands down, has to be the 24/Nine Mile race with Wheelie Wolf, D-Bomb, KimRa, and Snot Rocket. That was so much fun.

And racing for Peace Coffee. What an awesome team and a great group of people. I am honored to wear the PCR kit.

On to the weekend recap:

Justin raced the MNSCS/WORS Border Battle. What a bunch of drama that was. Two of our PCR racers were taken out at the finish line. And I heard there was a lot of elbow throwing going down in the single track. Bikes broke. Tempers flared. Testosterone flowed freely.

Justin was having a great race at the start - he was way ahead of his normal pack position on the first lap. But on the second lap, I was concerned when I didn't see him in the same position. Rider after rider went by. I thought that he either bonked (which I really didn't see as possible because I carb-loaded him for dinner and made pancakes for breakfast!) or had mechanical.

When he finally biked through the feed zone he said his bike broke. Bolts had fallen off of his crank and he was having trouble shifting. I was really bummed for him because he seemed to be doing so well. But he hung in there and finished the race.

Mechcanicals seemed to the the theme for all the MN racers on Sunday.

Wisconsin won the race. But I smell conspiracy.

Heidi - one of my favorite Yinzers from Pittsburgh, came to visit with her boyfriend and girlfriend (not in that way). Their visit just happened to coincide with the Vikings v. Steeler game, so they spent Saturday all decked out in Shittsburgh apparel. They came out for the mountain bike race, which they thought was pretty cool, but were disappointed by a low spectator turnout. Yeah -this isn't Europe.

We all had a good time n'at.

The Saturday Morning Dirt Show

2008-08-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

Deevo and I met Nicole and Kim for a nice Saturday early morning ride.

AND, since Snot-Rocket wasn't riding with us, we could take all the pictures we wanted ;-)

But as much as I was excited to be back on my mountain bike - I paid for the ride later. My leg wasn't too happy with me. Boo.

Not A Soccer Mom

2008-08-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

We are buying a minivan. For the bikes. And Kirby. It's going to be so convenient. Just think about how much easier it will be to haul all our gear around. You're going to like it, really.

I keep repeating this to myself - I figure the more I say it, then maybe I'll be OK with it.

Twitter: Voyeuristic, Stalkeristic, expi-ala-docious!

2008-08-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

I am fascinated with this whole Twitter thing. Especially the feature that allows users to post text-feeds directly to their Blog page.

But I'm just not sure what to make of it.

Voyeuristic? Stalkeristic? (if that is not a word, it is now). A way to keep in touch with your friends and let them know what you're up to? Maybe I don't want them to know what I am up to. Hi. I'm taking a poop. Second one today. I'm regular! There is already enough TMI shared on this blog.

Or, do you really want to know that I just stopped at Caribou for coffee? Or that I'm buying movie tickets? Or a text on Thursday that says I just stopped at the wine store and picked up a bottle of Cab Sav or Merlot (as if you needed Twitter feed to figure that out!)

Twitter kinda reminds me of the days I used to have to check in with my mom. (which I still do - just not every single day! Cause if I don't, the National Guard would be sent out on a search party. Love you, mom!)

I like to think about what I'm going to write about, how I am going to present a story, etc. before I actually put words on paper....or a computer screen. The majority of the time, anyway. I know what you're thinking..... regardless of how quickly I can stick my foot in my mouth during a conversation (sometimes deliberate...sometimes not!), I actually put much care and thought into what I write. If I jumped on the whole Twitter band wagon, I'm afraid that something will get sent into cyberspace and published on my page that I just can't take back. Or rephrase. Or spin.

I've put a couple blog posts up before, gone to bed, and awoke in terror about what I posted. "What the hell I was I thinking?!".....dashing to the computer to log on and hit the delete button. With Flicker - it's there. Alerts are made. People read stuff. Fast.

If you want to know what I'm up to or wonder how I'm doing - call me. Enough of you already use this blog as an excuse NOT to call or send an email (You know who you are. Slackers.)

I think Twitter could be dangerous for me. I might make myself look like a total ass. Or accidentally send a text to Twitter that I meant to send to an individual. Besides, there is already the phenomenon of drinking and dialing - which has been replaced with drinking and texting (Joe). Do we really need drinking+dialing+Twitter=complete ass to the entire world?

So the jury is out on this one.

What are your thoughts? Feel free to post a comment...unless you're a sissy.

However, it WOULD be fun to send a Twitter text to the blog that read I'm mountain biking in Fruita. SUCKAHS!

Cyclocross Gut Check

2008-08-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

You know what I hate almost more than climbing hills?

Riding on wet grass.

I realized today (I don't know why I JUST realized it), that cyclocross takes place on grass. Many times wet, dewy grass. That's just horrible.

I'm bailing on trying out cyclocross this season. I'll stick to dirt.

But I'll be there to heckle.

Sorry, LB.

Catching Up with Friends

2008-08-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors, Tim and Denise, moved away last year. They are such a cool couple and it was fun living next door to them.

We met Tim the morning after closing on our house. As we drove onto our new snow covered street and towards our new house, some dude was in our driveway blowing snow with a snow blower. Justin and I exchanged puzzled looks. Justin brought the wagon to a stop at the end of our driveway. I rolled down the passenger side window.

"Oh Hi! You must be the new neighbors. Take a drive down the street - by the time you get back, I'll be done," said the strange man.

I rolled up the window. Justin and I gave each other a puzzled look. "I didn't think people were that friendly up here." I said. "He must not be from Minnesota."

We turned around at the end of the street and drove back up towards the house, parked the car, and got out to talk to the strange, friendly man.

"Hi! I'm Tim!" He said in what we would learn is the standard Tim-jovial manner, extending his hand for a handshake.

We discovered we shared a common connection. Tim and Denise were raised in the surrounding 'burbs of Pittsburgh. They were also Penn State alumni.

We got to know each other over the next few years. And when I'd spy Tim on the deck sporting his Pittsburgh Steeler jacket, I had trouble remembering that I had moved from Pittsburgh to Minnesota.

In the summer, vegetables would appear on our deck rails from the vegetable fairy. We suspected it was Tim.

We were sad when they informed us that they were moving two years later. But they found their dream-retirement-property-land, put the house on the market, and moved to the country.

When they moved, they took away our constant reminder of Pittsburgh, and Kirby's new buddy - their yellow lab named Belle. It was sad times in the Atkinson house.

Well, last night Denise hosted the monthly neighborhood ladies night out at their new place. I've never been to the new digs before, but while driving down the private dirt road that lead to their 20 plus acres of wooded land, I thought "This is pretty cool....to have land like this." So remote. So quiet.

As I neared the house, I spied the Penn State flag on a flag pole, flapping in the wind. Belle (now a full grown lab) greeted me, jumping up and giving me a hug with her hug paws.

Tim showed us around their digs and I wasn't surprised to see the new game room/bar area decked out with all things Pittsburgh and Penn State. There was a life size wall decal of Joe Patero (which was freaking me out!) and two Penn State helmet "fathead" wall decals.

The ladies soon settled in to the 3-season room with our glasses of wine, margaritas, and mixed drinks.

It's was a total animal kingdom in the backyard. We watched while 20 wild turkeys scurried into the yard and pecked the grass for seed. Humingbirds and birds visited the five birdfeeders. Squirrels scored corn on the cob at squirrel feeders. It was so peaceful.

I also drove a 4-wheeler for the first time on some of the trails back in their woods (while still wearing my dress-work clothes and a pair of Denise's flip flops - hilarious!).

After the ladies left, I stayed behind to catch up with Tim and Denise. They always have good advice and openly share their words of wisdom. I really miss them. And I miss the vegetable fairy, too.

Practically Benched

2008-08-08T13:43:00.000-07:00

So, I guess I'm a little bit back on the injured reserved list. But not because I got hurt (again).

Met with the physical therapist yesterday. I'm all out of whack. Apparently, while my body was meeting the demands I've been placing on it over the last two weeks from road riding, mountain biking, and racing at Nine Mile, other muscles were trying to compensate for those muscles not up to par yet post-accident (that is not a good thing).

I thought my body was ready to go and get back in the game. Guess not.

So I'm resting and letting my body heal from the beating I've put it though the last few weeks.

That means no Buck race this weekend. And no 3-hour race at Bufflands Epic next weekend - which I'm REALLY bummed about because Nicole and I were making plans.

The doctors and health care practitioners have told me: "Listen to your body." I thought it said it wanted to go, go, go! Or maybe my head said "Go!" and my body said "Whoa!"

I guess I'll have to just take it really easy the next few weeks so that I can at feel strong enough to race at the MNSCS/WORS Border Battle and Laddies Loppet races. But dammit! I want to get back to my regularly scheduled program. Even though I've been pretty active the last couple of months, it's still only 50% of what I used to do before the accident.

Sigh. Patience. Patience.

If I don't rest now, I'm afraid I'll totally screw up my goals to train for and earn that Figure pro card in May. And I don't want to do that....that's really where my passion is.....

Not all is lost. At least I can ride my sissy road bike. I just need to cut back on the saddle time.

Be safe. Stay hydrated. Ride lots - but listen to your body.

Whatever Happened to Sisterhood?

2008-08-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, my coworker (the same one who's said things to me like "It looks like the week is catching up with you." and yelled "She wasn't listening!" when caught off guard at a meeting?) looks at my hair and says to me:

"Are you going for that tossled look?"

I know my hair doesn't look so great. Not to mention the fact that it needs a highlighting REALLY bad. But I refuse to drop the cash on a salon highlight until the end of the biking season. The ends of my hair are bleached out from the sun because it is usually pulled back into a pony tail, sticking out from bicycle helmet, and flying in the wind. The rest of my hair is mostly hidden under neath the helmet (getting no sun), making the roots appear ultardark. And I have major environmental damage going on, sometimes resulting in that trailer-trash look. And when I pull it back into a casual pony tail, it's like "Holy roots, batman!" Sigh. What's a gal to do?

But my hair reflects how I feel today. Both my hair and body needs a nap.

The next time she leaves her workstation unlocked, she's returning to David Hasselhoff wallpaper. Rowr.

Yawn.

Still Trying to Recoup

2008-08-06T08:31:00.000-07:00

Blogger pics hasn't worked for me the last couple of days. And all my link options are gone, too. Sorry, folks. I can't add more pics of Nine Mile at this time. BUT, Kim has a recap with links to pics on her blog under her August 9th post, as well as a video of our team’s high-five-butt-slap-hand-off. Video is located on the right side of her page under the video bar. Pictures are linked up under the text that reads “Good memories.”

Kim’s blog: http://icanthearover.blogspot.com/

I'm still clogged up from all the dust I breathed in over the weekend. And morning comes way too soon each day. I need about a week of sleep. I wonder how the 12-hour and 24-hour teams/solo racers are feeling this week?

So, this whole Nine Mile experience unleashed a monster....I'm plotting and planning my next endurance-type race.

The WEMS Bufflands Epic Endurance Race is next weekend in LaCrosse, WI.

From the description on the Web site, it looks like the organizers have built some neat features into the race – something about counting the number of stuffed/inflated monkies along the course. I love monkies! The first person with the correct count wins a set of carbon cranks.

I'm thinking of trying the three-hour solo. There is an option for a six or 12-hour solo. But I really don't think I'm ready for that yet. Three-hour solo sounds like a nice way to baby step into this crazy endurance racing world.

Then there is the make up date for the Blue Mound race in October. I'm considering the six-hour solo for that race.

I've been doing a lot of muscle endurance training down at Black Dog road. That road is horrible. Forget about the lactic acid build up in the legs - most of the challenge is avoiding bumps, dodging pot holes, cracks, and crappy quick fixes in the road. The ride alone is a tricep workout in itself.

MNSCS rescheduled its next race from the hill-suck-feast at the Welch ski area to the hill-suck-feast of Buck Hill. I hadn’t planned on racing at all. I am not a hill climber. But now that it was moved to our neck of the woods, I’m contemplating it. But five laps of hill climbing? Hmmm…it might just turn into a hill climbing training ride. In granny gear. I’ll be lucky if I finish before the Comp/Expert riders are cut loose. RIDER UP! It could be commical.

Be safe. Stay hydrated. Ride lots.

Bacon Bikers Rock 12-Hours of Nine Mile

2008-08-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

We podiumed! That's us on the far left. (Standing: Nicole and D-Bomb. Kneeling: Kim. I am seated on the edge of the podium). Picture taken at 12:10 am, Sunday, 8/3.

What a blast!

I'm in no condition to write up a post-race report. I'm tired and enjoying a nice glass of wine (Nicole gave me a great bottle of red this weekend - that's what's in the sippy cup in the pictures :-). About to make some pasta. And then bedtime.

But I wanted to share some pics and high level overview of the race.

We snagged second in the Women's 4-person 12-hour category.

Valerie kicked ass and pulled in second in the Women's 12-hour solo category.

What an amazing weekend. I'm so glad to have met a great group of ladies to race/ride with.

Our winning earnings and keepsake ceramic mugs. Kim chose a headlamp. Nicole and I chose bike racks, and D-Bomb selected a jersey.

Mountain Bike Racers Get Lost in the Woods! News at 11....

2008-07-31T06:54:00.000-07:00

Pictured: Jag on the left, James on the right and Justin in the foreground looking cute all dressed up in his little Peace Coffee kit. Dana gave me permission to post this picture on the blog.

This is how I spent MNSCS Race #6, Powder Monkey. Sitting in the shade. Playing with Jen and Vert's baby, Owen (not pictured). Passing out water bottles to the Peace Coffee peeps (not pictured....bottle hand-offs are serious business!). Cheering (not pictured). Heckling Andrea Horner (not pictured).

Justin and I headed up to Duluth the day before the race. We knew in advance that there was no preriding allowed on Saturday, so we spent about 2 1/2 hours walking the course. We did, however, run across some poachers riding the trail who shall remain nameless. (Kenwood).

The course was awesome and I wanted to ride it so bad. But I left Deevo at home for the weekend so he could rest in anticipation of Nine Mile this weekend.

I don't have much of a race report besides the fact that Justin had a blast racing the course (lucky), PCR rocked it as usual, and we will definitely be back in Duluth soon to ride the course and spend the weekend. What a beautiful area.

What I do want to share is the most hilarious event of the weekend: Lost racers.

Apparently, the course for the Comp class wasn't marked very clearly, and many of the Comp racers were riding around aimlessly on a fire road looking for the next section of single track.

Here's how it went down....

Justin and I are perched on the side of a hill in the woods in the middle of a sketchy downhill section of single track. We wanted to watch some of the Pro/Expert/Comp racers ride the section (watch and learn!) We quietly observed as rider after rider entered the single track and made their way down the steep section full of loose dirt and large rocks - standing up on their bikes, butt way off the back for balance, and spewing out dirt and rocks with thier back tires.

We heard commotion unfolding on the fire road below as we spied the bright colored jerseys of racers through the trees, riding back and forth up and down the fire road. Apparently they could not find the next marked section of single track.

"Where the hell is the single track?!" yelled a voice below. It was Zilla.

"I don't know. I've been riding around looking for it, too." said another rider as he encountered the lost group. They all road off together.

Meanwhile, more riders were making their way through the single track, oblivious to the events unfolding below.

Through the trees, we see the group ride past again.

"WTF?!" yells Zilla. Clearly annoyed. "Dammit! They did this to us last year! Arrghhhhhh!" he screams as he rides past. (I think he popped a wheelie in aggravation).

The group makes another pass up and down the road in search for the marked single track.

Moments later they pass by again.

"GODDAMNIT!" We hear Zilla say.

Another lost rider joins the group. "Hey." sounds a voice from the fire road below. "Does anybody know where we're supposed to be?"

We all giggle a little bit, but direct our attention to the last rider entering the single track.

"Hurry up," says one of the spectators to the rider. "You've still got a chance. Half the lead group is lost."

It was later learned that a rider accidentally knocked down the sign marking the course.

*************

Gearing up for Nine Mile this weekend, so I don't think I'll post until after the weekend.

I'm looking forward to being a part of this event. I've heard it's a blast. Endurance racers come from all over the country to race this course. Our team will be racing alongside national pros, which is really cool. Not that we can match their skill and intensity, but it will be neat to ride with them.

Good luck to everyone who's racing....I know Mountain Goat's doing it, I think SpicyRide is racing, Dave from Peace Coffee is doing the 24-solo on his single speed, and then there's the group of four dudes from Peace Coffee - Chad, Bryan and two other peeps. Valerie is doing the 12-hour solo......that's all that I know of....

My team - the Bacon Bikers - are racing the 12-hour team category. But there are crazy people doing the 12-hour and 24-hour solo category. (Next year I just might be one of those crazy 12-hour solo people).

So if you're going, please say hello. I'll be wearing my Peace Coffee kit for at least one lap, but most likely hanging out wearing a plain white tee (with the arms cut off to show off the guns. tee-hee!), sporting the logo Kim designed for the team.

Go Bacon Bikers! Fo Sizzle.