Simple

I made a New Year's resolution. It's inside my head as I have not told anyone about it.
Keep things simple. No stress. No running around like a chicken with my head cut off.
KISS- keep it simple stupid.

I ride bikes. I coach people who ride bikes. Done.
I live in Colorado. I have a man. I have two dogs. Done.
I like coffee shops. Done.
That's all. This is my simplicity. If it doesn't involve something in those three categories, then I don't need to worry about it. Selfish, most definitely. But, I am an athlete and being an athlete means being selfish. I'm ok with that. It feels good to be ok with that.

Since my last post, things have been getting better and better. I am happy, I am healthy, and I am riding my bike!!

I went to Retul for a Time Trial bike fit. Truth be told, I wasn't happy with my fit last year, but I didn't want to admit it as that can make for serious "head-case-ness".
Now was the time to dial in my TT fit.

BAM! It was awesome. Complete with ski bend aero bars and, yesterday,  I had the most enjoyable TT ride I've ever had. Bonus-- I could breath!

 Last week, I visited The Mother Ship--Fraser. It was a really awesome two days. I got to sleep in, food was made for me, it was like a mini vacation.

Two of my favorite people- Grandmother and The Mom (even though Mom beat me by one point at Scrabble).

 Before going Nordic Skiing with The Mom.

KISS.

Not All Rainbows and Butterflies

I have not updated the blog in a long time. Honestly, I have not been that into it and haven't felt like I have had anything good to blog about.

The other day, I realized I don't have to have good news in order to blog. I can blog about any damn thing I want to. So here it is-

The past few weeks haven't been that great. I hurt my wrist, I got stressed with too much going on, I got sick, I couldn't go to Zolo on my birthday, my hip has been hurting, and I don't enjoy working at the coffee shop anymore. All I want to do is be healthy and to ride my bike. It's been a struggle to do even that and I've been pretty bummed out.

Despite the lackluster month or so, there have been some good things.
- Steel*Wool on the 13th to celebrate my bday was friken awesome and fun.
- Spending time with He Who Must Not Be Named has been a special treat the past few days.
- I have a new coach, Bruce, who I'm pretty excited about.
- We had NOW team camp in December and 2013 is going to be awesome.

Hopefully, the sickness, the stress, and the injuries are beyond me. I really think this has been the worst off season I have ever had. Thank goodness for the simplicity of training and riding bikes. The past few days have been awesome. I've had some of the best bike rides I have had in a long time. My fitness is really awful and I mean really awful, but I'm more motivated than I have been in years, so getting fit will be pretty dang fun.

Finally, I'm feeling optimistic and excited.

On Christmas Eve, I did one of my favorite rides. It was super fun and I enjoyed every single minute of it. 

Happy New Year!

ALP Cycles

ALP Cycles is officially official! It's pretty cool to have a kit with my name and my business on it- that people are wearing!

The ALP Cycles kit from Pactimo is the best and most comfortable kit I have ever worn.

 Yes, coaching is going well and it makes me happy. Plus, it keeps me motivated and excited to create new workouts (and torture myself with them).

Thank you most awesome ALP Cycles athletes for your continued support and success! Here's to a successful 2013!

Now that I can't, I want to

A funny thing happens when you can't do something- you want to do it.
When you can't have something- you want it.
When you're told you can't - you want to.

Due to a spastic wrist injury sustained last Thursday, I can't ride bikes- and now I want to.

I took at time out in October, but come November, I still wasn't ready to begin training. I started to train anyway. Then came the signs. First, I crashed my CX bike- hard. Then I got major tendonitis in my knee from the gym, and I broke a mtn bike mid ride. The signs were there- it's not time to train yet. It's still time out time. But, I didn't listen. I felt like I needed to begin getting ready for 2013, despite not really being into it.

Then came Thursday's over the bars, lucky to not break my wrist or anything else crash. Now, I have a brace on my right hand and can not ride. If there was snow, I wouldn't be able to ski. The universe sat me down and forced me to rest more. It's perfect actually. Now, I'm hungry to ride, hungry to train, and hungry to get the party started for a successful 2013.

First I have to wait and heal. My wrist is making improvement everyday, but riding is out of the question for another week or so. It's ok, the more I sit out, the hungrier I get.

Done.

As I sit here (with beer), I can't help but smile. The cleanse is officially over. The goal of today was to "gradually add in normal food".  My adds today were:
-1 shot of espresso (Yay!)
- granola
-a grapefruit
and
- 1/2 a beer.
- Maybe corn tortillas with dinner...

I'm very happy to be finished with the cleanse. I had energy all day- yay food! - and pooped twice!! (2 green poos)

I'm excited to be on a path of healthy, clean eating, and doing some sort of exercise every day. It is time to build the "Fall Foundation" and I'm excited about it.

I'm happy the cleanse is over. I'm happy I gave it a try. I'm happy to never do it again.
:)

Almost!

One day. One day (actually less than 10 hours) until I can have espresso, oatmeal with granola, and chips.

When I wake up, I'll be on day 10 of my cleanse. I'll be able to slowly add "normal" food back into my diet. I'm excited.

Nothing much as changed the past two days. I'm still having small green poop, still eating beans and white rice. Today, being day 9, I got to eat oatmeal, and had more choices of fruits and veggies.

Today, I had enough energy to barista for 6 hours, do coaching work, go to the gym, and go on a dog walk-- something four days ago would have killed me. Carbohydrates and calories rule!

Tomorrow, when I have my first shot of espresso in 10 days, I'll wonder "was it worth it?". Do I feel "better" or "cleaner" now? Well, one thing is for sure; as I get further and further away from days 5-7 I do feel better and have more energy- but I'm pretty sure it's because I'm able to eat more and eat more carbohydrates. If nothing else, this cleanse reaffirmed that my body likes carbohydrates and fat far better than it likes protein and meat.

10 days ago, I started the cleanse with the goals- "I'm doing it as a personal challenge and to try to figure out what, in my every day eating, gives me such bad gas".


I was challenged. Big time! This cleanse was hard and, honestly, I'm not sure I want to do it again- ever.

A large amount of beans give me gas.
I'm also curious about peanuts and their effect on my gassiness. I guess I'll find out when I eat them again. Same with corn.

For now, I can go to bed looking forward the morning and it's routine instead of dreading it.

Days 6-7

The theme of Day 6 was bean farts. Goal #1 accomplished of the cleanse- a large amount of beans gives me gas. They were horrible.

I'm pretty over beans, but when that's the only option other than apples, pears, white rice, and select veggies, beans it is.

I had hard time eating dinner. Too much spinach, a super boring meal, and more beans to add to my all ready happening bean farts.

People keeping asking, "how's the cleanse going?" Well, it sorta sucks. I have a mild headache that doesn't seem to go away, food isn't inspiring, I'm not all that hungry until I get dizzy and almost fall down, and my poops are small and unrewarding. Plus, I don't feel all that good. Worth it? Not sure.

The good news? I pooped green this morning. Word has it, that green poop means the cleanse is working. 

Today was day 7, the last day of the super restricted food choices. I think I broke the rules by eating salmon today instead of beans, but after yesterday, I couldn't handle beans today. I needed some real protein and no farts. The salmon gave me energy to do a small gym workout, take the dogs for a walk, and do some chores around the house.

Tomorrow I get to add in all fruits and veggies! Still no oatmeal, but I'll survive.

I won't lie, I'm looking forward to the cleanse being over.