Friday, September 23, 2011

Breaking the Speed Limit

Look! 1967 followers. The year of my birth. Must mean something. Like, I’m old?

Great day for a ride, so I pushed the kids out the door with some frozen pancakes in their tummies (no, I did not even defrost them). By the way, the Eating Right brand from Safeway is pretty decent if you don’t have time to make your own. I just do not show my 13 year old the box or he would never eat them.

Kids were gone and we were off. I love this ride  up to Rabbit Mountain, which is also called Rattlesnake Mountain (for obvious reasons) if you are really cool and a local like me.

Ken and I cruised to the turn off, then started climbing. I have a love/hate relationship with this climb. It is steady for the first four miles, then you turn a corner and holy sh&t that mother is steep. It may be a short climb, but it is a doozy and I always feel like I am going to pop a vein, puke, cry or fall over. But I never do. If I don’t do one other productive or meaningful thing in my day, at least I know I have conquered this bitch.

Okay, confession, that’s not really the road. But I swear it is just like that.

And, the view from the top? Well, it’s pretty special.

I will NEVER look cool on my bike. It’s just not in my DNA. Especially with that tumor I have in my lower back. I need to get that checked.

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Today I broke the speed limit and got to 41 mph going down that sucker. Usually me and my little self cannot get going that fast, but I am getting more fearless on the bike these days on the downhills. Not sure if that is a good thing because there are no local orphanages around here for my children.

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My better/studlier half :

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It was only 21 miles, but we kept a fast pace (well, Ken paced me so we all know that means that my pace doesn’t count according to the IAAF). I got SO hungry the last few miles and came home chugged a huge glass of milk au chocolat as the French say (I was a French major so I know these things and am very sophisticated).

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I look possessed or in pain or like a meth addict. Can’t decide which.

After I work out (and it was HOT out there today), I always get freezing. Queue new jacket just sent to me by Refuel with Chocolate Milk. LOVING this thing. Although they should be called Refuel Avec le Lait au Chocolate, like in Paris.

This is my attempt to not do a boring pose. Are you bored? You probably can’t see my legs because they are camouflaged. But, rest assured, they exist. Yes, we keep our bikes in the dining room even though we have a perfectly good garage. Doesn’t everyone?

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I am proud that my hair can provide a nest for the birds around here:

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Tonight I am hoping Ken will take me on a date that doesn’t involve wearing Garmins and eating Honey Stinger Waffles.

What are your plans for tonight? I'm hoping to eat some tapas and drink some good wine all for $1 or at least for pretty cheap.

Do you FREEZE after your workouts? YES! Does not matter if it is 8 or 80 degrees outside. Does not matter if I’ve run .1 miles or 15 miles.

What was your major in college? Are you using it? I was French and Poly Sci. I am using neither (except on this blog). I was an interpreter for awhile after college, but then I got my MSW and am proud to say I am using that. 

SUAR

44 comments:

  1. Plan for tonight is to get to sleep around 8pm so that I can get up at the ass crack of down for a 2h40m run.

    Hands and feet are always cold regardless of outdoor temps. Reynaud's in my Morton toes as you know.

    Marketing.....I wonder if I'm using it. I can't tell.

    BTW - 41 mph is f'n fast lady. That is screaming down that hill......good for you for learning to fly like the birds. I mean after all you have the nest for them right?

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  2. I was going to go for a ride this morning, but alas I have one sick child. This will also answer what I am doing tonight...wiping snot. Don't be jealous.

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  3. Haha. My new tri bike is in the dining room and my road and cyclcocross bikes are in the family room. I wouldn't leave my children in the garage (if I had any) so why my bikes?

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  4. Big plans for tonight ... huge ... a nice swim in the adjacent lap lane while my kids have swim team practice, followed by finishing the BL premiere ... I have only seen the first hour.

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  5. You totally had me fooled with that hill. Not nice :).

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  6. Frozen pancakes or no your still a better mom then me becuase long before 13 I had my boys making their own breakfast...and maybe dinner too. :)

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  7. Tonight will be yoga and most likely cleaning up dog pee. I don't get cold in the summer, but in the winter holy crap. Awful. I minored in french in college. Everytime someone speaks french on tv my husband asks me if they said it right. And I say I don't know. I majored in finance and I kind of use it in the day job but I hate my job and finance. So there ya go. Eventually I'll get a job I love...

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  8. I don't know what the plan for tonight is. Ryan's been working crazy long hours, so hopefully the whole family can eat dinner together, preferably one I don't cook or clean up after.

    Totally froze after my 12 miler yesterday at Chick Fil A.

    Love your statement on the camo shorts. It DOES make everything invisble!

    Made your pumpkin muffins today. Actually, those might have to count as dinner,since I can't stop eating them!

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  9. You got me with that hill. I was convinced that you were truly bad A (not that I don't think you are but this would have put you to the next level). Hate that the scenery around there is so horrible... :)

    I am ALWAYS freezing when I get done with a run or ride. What is up with that?

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  10. Julie: I probably SHOULD do that. They will move out and not be able to do anything. Except clean the toilets.

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  11. Good to know we are not the only ones storing bikes in the dining room!

    I get cold after most of my workouts, too. Only a hot shower or tea will warm me up!

    Nice job on the ride and being brave going downhill... I'm working on that!

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  12. I have really bad Raynauds and I absolutely freeze after a workout. even if i am in a gym or if i am outside and it is hot.

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  13. I'm the idiot who enjoys frozen waffles - FROZEN.

    LOVE the jacket. Freaking awesome.

    HOLY yes on the freeze after workouts thing. Dang showers.

    Tonight . . . Peanut is hosting a sleepover. Yes, every weekend.

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  14. I am going to go for a bike ride immediately after posting this comment... that is how inspirational you just were in this moment... really.

    I majored in Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture. I'nt that special? And no, my garden isn't amazing. And no, my houseplants aren't all gorgeous. But I do know their scientific names and why they are all dead. I worked in the field (haha... get it?) for 6 mos right after college and then had a sort of related job later on for a few months (was like the FTD delivery guy). And I did go to grad school in an attempt to use it... but I ended up bailing because it was a stupid waste of money. And I preferred rowing.

    refuel avec DU lait au chocolat... yeah, i can be annoying in two languages ;-)

    Tonight I will run... probably. My husband might join me for a mile or so. I am hoping he makes us dinner. That'll be my hot Friday night :)

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  15. If it's hot outside, I have to wait at least 2 hours before showering. I fit's cold out, I'm instantly freezing.

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  16. Where is the Refuel see-through swimming suit, I know you would model?!

    I get cold after workouts: during Hood to Coast, it was advised to strip ASAP out of schweddy (balls) clothes to avoid cooling down too fast.

    BA in Psych MS in college counseling--kind of, sort of using them...

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  17. I was a history major and now work as a bookkeeper. I kind of feel bad for wasting my parent's $$ on school, but since I now work for them I feel that it's entirely their fault I'm not using my degree. :)

    Tonight - bbq and overnight camp out at my son's elementary school. These things always seem like a good idea when I sign up for them....

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  18. I won a spot on Team Refuel for August! Will I be getting a jacket like that too???

    Great job on the bike ride! Lookin' good, lady!

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  19. My college major was Solid Waste Management---yep, I paid tuition to study garbage and poop!

    41MPH on a bike ride!! Crazy!!

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  20. I love your dig about Ken pacing you. I was a photography/art education major between my two degrees and I am proud to say I am using them both! My boyfriend keeps his bike in the living room, but we live in a one bedroom apartment!!

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  21. I don't usually say this but congreats on breaking the speed limit, I think ;-)

    We had "date night" last month so not for another 5 years then!!!

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  22. I totally thought you wrote "I am going to poop a vein" and couldn't figure out how that was possible. I think you're starting to affect my brain. :)

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  23. Tonight is picking berries and hanging out with the wifey (if she ever gets done working)...

    I was a Marine and Freshwater Biology major and I am totally using it! It is a great feeling to be doing so...doesn't hurt so much paying off the rest of my tuition...I also minored in Poly Sci which I did more as a hobbie. It was great experience and worth the extra work...I think....lol

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  24. I'm enjoying some good wine tonight too! And yes, I like the cheap kind as well. Major? Education.....I was a teacher for four years and now I work for Microsoft. What a change! Oh well, I don't regret that degree at all. Teachers rock! :)

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  25. Tonight is GNO, Girls Night Out. Five friends hanging out at one of our houses. We go to the house of the mom whose husband has a conflict and she can't get a sitter. The goal is to laugh so hard we make our friend, Jill, cry in laughter. It's a great night if Jill has tears rolling down her face.

    I have a MSW. No, I don't use it. I'm an interior house painter.

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  26. Well, a friend of mine had his 10k bike stolen out of his garage (yes, it was insured, but still), so count me as one not to leave it out there.

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  27. I was an Elem. Ed. major...I did the whole substitute thing for a while and hated it...decided to stay home with the kiddos...14 years later I am still at home, working part time at the local Y...and trying to figure out what to do next.

    Always cold after working out...love hot showers.

    Besides spaghetti what is the best meal to eat the night before a half ...since I will be tackling my first half in bout a month. ;-)

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  28. KJ: I have a go-to meal that is grilled chicken and veggies with pasta (no heavy sauces) or chicken and rice. I try to avoid spicy, fatty, high fiber, dairy stuff. Lots of carbs the three days before and some protein. Good luck.

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  29. Always laughing! Seriously, how you come up with funny shit every day is beyond me.

    My husband comes home after 2 weeks tonight. We're planning to work on our budget and make the monthly meal plan.

    I sweat like a pig but I ALWAYS freeze. I will seriously stay in the shower for an hour if I have time.

    Business major. Settled on that after music, chemistry, and nursing. They are all pretty related.... I'm a dental assistant-hmmm....

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  30. Yes, you look possessed or in pain or like a meth addict. We love it. I love speaking for all 1967 of your followers.

    Tonight we are seeing Ovo and cirque de Soli, or however that's spelled. Even though I live in a country that has French as official language, the only things I can say would get my face slapped.

    No, I do not freeze after my workouts. Sometimes during them.

    Here I'll provide a great service to your readers from places that use proper units of measure. 41 mph is 66 Kph. There must be hills nearby where you can go faster.

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  31. hhaaa. i had a nest in my hair similar to yours today! but i rocked it w/ makeup and earrings and tried to make it look on purpose;)

    Tonight i made homemade spaghetti/meatballs w/ some butternut squash snuck in--delish, and am spending the night drinking water and possibly making up a concoction of Super Colon Blow to wash down the frickin' PLASTIC FORK tine i somehow managed to accidently swallow at lunch today while eating a blasted salad!! (wth). hopefully i can get it out tonight so i'm not falling over foaming at the mouth at my 5k tomorrow--"beat the sheriff"--yeah right. the old codger is fast as balls. oh well, good times. and btw, 41 miles on a bike? i get tremors just thinking about it! BA!!

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  32. i always get cold after workouts too.

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  33. Plans for tonight: Out for a run #2 of the day, this time with hubby after our young kids go to bed - what are teenagers good for if they can't watch their brothers and sisters??

    Yes - always freezing after a workout.

    Elementary Ed major - I teach home school.

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  34. About that IAAF stupid rule...does that mean that when a man wins, but only after following another man for most of the race, that it doesn't count because he paced himself on the other man! I don't think I've ever heard of something so ridiculous. Anyway, I know that was yesterday's post.

    For today, that is one crazy hill...too bad it's not that one though, very cool! You are extremely hardcore.

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  35. I'm so glad you didn't crash and hurt your lump on your back...I got up to 38mph once on hwy 40 and thought I was going to die. Scared the crap out of me.

    My bike fluctuates between the living room and dining room, I can't figure out where it looks best.

    I majored in geology. I taught earth science lab class once.

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  36. That first picture is what my nightmares are made of. Driving nightmares. Not even kidding. Now i will have a new image to draw on for future out-of-control driving nightmares. So thanks for that :)

    Tonight consists of a romantic dinner of leftovers, cracking open a bottle of 3 buck chuck and icing/heating my calves.

    I got a degree in hispanic studies (which i use to speak el espanol) and linguistics. That one was useless so i had to get another degree in speech pathology, which i actually do use :)

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  37. I'm a pretty new follower (okay, it was today) and I just had to comment on the cold thing. I used to get cold *during* workouts and during a class on nutrition, I learned that getting the chills or feeling cold during a workout means I wasn't hydrating enough. I would get the chills all the time towards the end of my workouts, EVERY TIME and I had no idea it was connected to hydration. I started hydrating more and the chills went away.

    Afterwards, is another thing though. If I stay in my workout clothes for longer than 20 minutes, I'll get chilly.

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  38. Last night: "Chinese" restaurant for dinner (or as close as you can get to Chinese in Pensacola) and an early bedtime.

    Cold: I WISH! I sweat all the time - running or just sitting at my desk. I'd run around naked in a refrigerator if I could.

    Major in college: Economics/Poly Sci, grad: Sociology. I use both every day (though sometimes I have delusions of giving it all up to become a blogger) ;)

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  39. Yes, cold after workouts... especially if I stay in my workout clothes for awhile afterwards.
    I have a nursing degree- and yes, I used it... now retired. Always wished I had been a teacher though.

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  40. Never a boring post from you! I get cold after a long run, kinda crazy since I live in SoFla and it's so damn hot here!

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  41. Missed your post yesterday (already headed out for an evening with my family)...but it was Friday Night Football (high school). Tonight is still up in the air...trying to find someone to go out with since my husband and kids have left me all alone!

    I have the opposite problem - I feel like I am hot for HOURS after a workout. Really awful during the summer, but less so this time of year when the weather isn't so miserable.

    Got my BS in Civil Engineering and have used it nearly every day in the 16+ years I've had it even after a layoff left me having to be self-employed the last year.

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  42. I just recently started getting super cold after all of my workouts. I'm glad to know that it is normal, though. Well, I'm assuming it's normal... Either way, I'm not the only one it happens to! lol

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