Jennifer Dilworth Hynes — mtbchk

I am a slug.  A non-riding, slow, non-friend-seeing, out-of-touch, non-blogging slug.  I don’t ride anymore.  I am slow and out of shape.  I have a redneck tan.  I need a haircut.  I never see my friends anymore.  I’ve had so many people reminding me that I haven’t updated my blog.  I didn’t even know so many people looked at it.  (OK, so I have to admit, I secretly feel loved when I find out someone has read it :))

It’s the new job.  It’s really busy.  Don’t get me wrong — it’s a total blast!  It’s a “good” kind of stress, and is refreshing to be away from manufacturing and a “corporate” world.  But, my riding has taken a turn for the worse since starting this job.  Hopefully we can get everything ready to open in time and I can hire some more people and things will calm down a little and I can get back to some semblance of normalcy.

Let’s see…. what have I done since the last post?

Cowbell Challenge: 

This year was my second year doing the 12-hour solo.  Last year I did 11 laps on a roughly 5.5 mile course.  I felt pretty good and (unofficially) came in 3rd — scoring errors put me in 4th.  I did some analysis on what I could have done better.  Last year I rode really well and fairly consistently.  I didn’t walk ANYthing.  But, my pit stops were too long, and I sat around too much. 

This year, I reformulated my pit strategy.  However, since I hadn’t been riding much leading up to the race, my body really didn’t care WHAT my pit strategy was.  I rode the first lap with Melanie, and we rode slowly and cautiously due to the wet roots from the rains the night before.  We walked some of the trickier downhills.  My technical skills weren’t with me on that lap.  It’s amazing how much you lose by not riding!  Mel was on a SS (only competitor in the Women’s Solo SS — go Mel!), so we took it easy that lap.  After that, I picked up the pace and rode everything for the next 2 or 3 laps, skipping any pit stops when I came through the timing area.  Then on the 4th lap, my knees decided they had had enough.  From then on, my left IT band was not letting me put any pressure on my knee at all.  I tried one-legged riding for a while.  That worked on all but the steepest climbs.  This year’s course had a couple of extra climbs that really taxed my knees.

After a while, even the one-legged pedaling wasn’t working.  From then on, I was walking EVERY climb.  I figured if I kept moving, I could make up time by not pitting.  So, I just kept moving.  My original goal was 10 laps on the longer course.  I re-evaluated my goal around 6:00 pm and thought maybe I could do 9.  I ended up with 8.  It was actually about the same distance I covered last year.  I just wish I could have ridden and not walked all the hills.  I could have easily met my goal.  I think the pit strategy was good, my body just wouldn’t cooperate. 

For the last lap, Mel and I again rode together.  Actually, we kept each other sane.  Me, trying not to cry from pain, she trying not to cry from fatigue and wet roots.  It was a long lap, but it was nice having someone to finish up with.  It was also nice seeing other Dirt Diva competitors at the finish line cheering us on!

Good race.  If you are in the general area and want to try endurance racing, I highly recommend this one.

NORBA Cane Creek Series Races:

Not much to report.  I raced at Dark Mountain and Greensboro.  DFL in both.  I didn’t feel bad.  I wasn’t hurting.  I just wasn’t fast.  Not riding or training at all during the week and then racing on the weekend will sap any speed you ever had out of you.  Fun races, just not great finishes for me.  I have a new goal for the rest of the season of riding well, riding as hard as I can, and getting my fueling right.  I met those goals in those races, but the training piece has gone bye-bye.  Oh well.  Keep it fun.  I’m going to make sure I’ve clinched 2nd in the series and will maybe race the SS class for the next 2 races.

Other Stuff:

I went with Brian up to Black Mountain so he could do the Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell for the second year.  This is a great race, and will be on my calendar one of these years.  It was on it until I turned into a non-riding slug.  Of course I can’t write his race report for him, but he did great.  I’m not totally sure why, but his time was not as fast as last year’s.  He thinks it was his fueling strategy and that he went out pretty hard for the first half.  Anyway, it’s fun to watch that race and cheer people on.  This year, I parked at CP2 at the bottom of the Curtis Creek Road Climb (9 mile long climb, 2500′ gain) and climbed to the top to CP3 to watch the racers come through.  I figured if I’m going to do this race one day, I might as well see part of what I’d be getting into.  It’s a long climb.  Really long.  Fairly steep in sections, too.   I took my time.  I had my Ipod.  I stopped to check out the view.  I think my brother would have really liked it.  I called him later to tell him about it, since I came around a bend once to a great view and a song by his fav band came on the ipod.  He’s into that kind of stuff.  Good ride, good showing by the Charlotte folks, too.

I also went up to Bryson City with my parents to check out the wedding stuff.  We stayed where we’ll be having the wedding/reception/rehearsal dinner/big party next spring.  We found a caterer, florist, and the local microbrewery which will be providing the kegerator for the wedding weekend.  It’s going to really be fun.  We’ve got the place fully rented out for the weekend.  Whoo-hoo!  Also, while we were there I talked my parents into some whitewater rafting on the Nantahala.  Really, it was just my mom who needed the talking-into.  I couldn’t believe she did it.  I think she liked it except for when she told the raft guide that she didn’t want to get too wet.  He put her into every wave.  We also hiked a really steep trail while we were there.  My parents are becoming “extreme sports” parents!  Now, if I could just get mom on the mountain bike…..

Finally, I’ve lost 8 lbs and 2% body fat in the last 5 weeks.  I’ve been seeing the sports nutritionist.  I realize now that I wasn’t eating enough, and when I did eat, I ate the wrong stuff.  Too many quick snacky-type things.  (I sort of already knew that).  With the new plan, I feel like I’m eating all the time.  It’s hard, though, because it’s all stuff I have to cook or somehow prepare.  I have a hard time getting all my servings in, especially of meat and vegetables.  She’s given me some guidelines of how to eat for race weeks and hard riding.  It seems to work.  My goal wasn’t to lose weight, although I was hoping to.  I want to learn how to balance fueling needs with weight maintenance needs.  I’ll be interested to see what happens if/when I start riding hard again.  This is when I tend to put on the pounds. 

That’s all for now.  I’m writing my blog tonight because I worked too late to ride (again).

I’m stressed at work.  I’m stressed about the wedding.  I’m stressed about my family.  At this moment, I’m stressed about the Burn 24-Hour race and the next few weeks.  Let’s see… 24-hour race this weekend.  Dirt Divas Tsali trip next weekend.  Sugar Mountain NORBA Nationals race the following weekend.  Weekend off.  Cowbell Challenge 12-hour race the following weekend (if I’m not dead by then).  Then, we’re into July…

I’m doing the Burn this weekend.  It will be my first solo 24-hour.  I’ve done a solo 12-hour and a couple of 24-hour team events.  I’m not going out there to really try to compete with the rest, but to see what I can do.  I want to push myself and see how much I can do.  I know I can do it.  I keep telling myself that, anyway.

I’m stressed that I’m forgetting something.  I have a list that I’ve used for the last few years to pack for the team events and I’ve adapted it for solo 12-hour and now the solo 24-hour events.  It’s long.  I’m amazed at how much stuff I’m bringing, only to spend a minimal amount of time in my pit area (I hope).  I started packing the car last night with the big stuff like tents, chairs and bike stands.  My bike is ready, except for the brake pads I need to change out, but that’s easy.

I’m typing this while I wait for my dinner to finish in the oven.  After I eat, I’ll be in the garage.  I’ve started to lay everything out on the floor of the garage to be packed into my plastic bins.  One bin for riding food/drink/energy stuff/personal stuff (like aspirin, chamois butter, tiger balm, etc.), and another bin for bike parts, tools, and other stuff-stuff.  I hope to get all of that taken care of tonight.  Tomorrow night, I’ll do the clothes and the other food shopping.  On my list:  oranges, bananas, watermelon, peanut m&ms, pirates booty (a strange craving of mine), and, of course, YOO HOO — my favorite middle-of-the-night-comfort-drink.

I hope I don’t forget anything.  I hope I don’t cry.  I think I’ll do yoga later tonight.  I have a knot in my stomach.

I know I’ll be fine.  I know I can do it.  I know I’ll have plenty of support.  Because….

Sometimes it’s good to put things into perspective…..

Perspective:  When I have a bad race, I recall what being a beginner feels like.  Last Wednesday’s race at Reni brought much humility.  I went out hard and held on to the 1^st place rider’s wheel for the first 2 miles.  I couldn’t see the 3^rd place racer.  Then, my body would have no more of that.  I hit the wall and was passed after the first ½ lap (mile 3 of 12), and struggled to finish the race.  Everything was cramping, and I bonked rather completely.  Very humbling. 

The next day, however, I was reminded of how far I’ve come.  I got some pictures back from the women’s only beginner skills clinic that I led last Saturday.  (We had 33 enthusiastic women and girls out there!)  It is very inspiring to see women just starting out, and reveling in tackling parts of the trail that I take for granted that I can ride.  I remember being “new” and feeling like I could never get through the steep learning curve.  Every ride was an “event” in my life.  Every log and root was a challenge.  Riding then was an adventure.  Nowadays, it’s still fun, but in a different way.  I don’t have to concentrate as much but I don’t have as many small victories.  Now, I ride for the sake of loving to ride and feeling strong and powerful.

Practice in the field during the Women’s Only Beginner Skills Clinic:

Hitting the trail - the first uphill:

Perspective:  When I realize, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that no, I am not, nor will I ever be, an elite cyclist, I come to grips with realizing and living up to MY own potential.  I went for the VO2max and RMR testing last week.  It was a good deal for people who had done the Per4mance Training winter series.  I learned 2 things from these tests:  my metabolism is impossibly slow, and I’m fairly average when it comes to typical athletes.  My RMR (resting metabolic rate) is very low, which may explain my weight loss struggles.  Weight Watchers isn’t cutting it anymore for me - it doesn’t take into account fueling needs for racing.  I’ll start working with a sports nutritionist in the very near future to work out these issues.

In the realm of VO2max, I was just curious more than anything else about this number.  The test is hard but short.  In the grand scheme of things, I’m well above average - for the average population.  I asked how I stacked up against the people that went to Per4mance for their testing - a generally athletic, endurance-athlete, racing-type group.  According to the tester, I was right there in the average, maybe a point above average.  But average nonetheless.  (Not really any surprise there!)

With that said, I don’t want to resign myself to being “average” just because that’s what the numbers say.  I ride because I like to.  I race because I like to push myself.  I may never go Pro, or even Expert, but racing with others in my Sport group is fulfilling and challenging.  I want to push myself to MY highest potential.  These thoughts remind me of Teamdicky’s comment last year about these racers that win the big enduro events - they are just “regular” people. They have committed to finding their potential and pushing their own limits.  (OK, so I’m paraphrasing.)  Here’s his post: 

“Back in the 90’s I was lucky to stand on a sport class podium.  I used to read about people like John Stamsted and Rishi Grewal and I was in awe of thier accomplishments.  A few years later I jumped in and tried it and the next thing I knew I was racing Stamsted and I was standing on a podium with Rishi.
  You can admire what they do, but they are just like you.  They just choose to push themselves further.  Everybody should test their limits.  You only got one shot at living so why not see what you can do with it.
  I carry a quote with me at work from Stamsted:
“Endurance feats are great up to a point-and then they just become slogs that everyone has the physical ability to do”
  ……I just thought people should know that she (Heather Mosely – last year’s Burn winner) is just like you and me.  Eat, sleep, work, dream.”

Rich, your comments have stuck with me in the last year and inspired me to push myself more to find out what I am capable of doing.  I want to push myself as far as I can and still have fun riding. 

If only my legs looked as good as Teamdicky’s in a skort!

Perspective:  When I think there’s no way I’ll get through next weekend’s 24-hour race, I remember thinking how crazy a 12-mile ride was.  I remember when all I could handle was a half-lap at Renaissance (3 miles).  I used to reserve rides at Catawba for days when I was “feeling really good”.  Then, I got to the point where I could ride Catawba all the way through with only one or two stops.  The thought of doing 2 laps at Catawba for a Sport race was overwhelming (12 miles).  Fast-forward two years - I did 11 laps at Catawba during last year’s Cowbell Challenge.  I’m attempting the Burn 24-hour Solo this year.  That seems like a lot of riding.  When I think about it all at once, it’s as overwhelming to me as those first 3 miles at Renaissance were 6 years ago.  Again, it’s all about perspective.  Break it down into smaller chunks.  Take it one mile at a time. 

And, as always, have a Mimosa when you’re done!

After a lackluster Clemson race on Sunday (report coming soon), I’ve been off the bike for a few days, mostly due to weather.  This has allowed me to get some much-needed maintenance done on the SS.

I rode Monday at Beatty, two laps, recovery/messing around/casual/daydreaming/wedding-planning pace.  I rode the Titus.  I missed the SS.  David Thomson was there riding (no helmet).  Of course, I had no idea who he was, but it was pointed out to me later that he was the best all-time ACC basketball player ever.  I guess I’m not up on my basketball knowledge.

I got semi-motivated when I got home from riding Monday and started pulling the SS apart to change out the bottom bracket.  I got as far as pulling the cranks, realized it was 9:00 and I hadn’t showered after riding, nor had I had dinner.  So, that’s all I did.

Tuesday (yesterday), some friends at work took me out to lunch to my favorite place — the Tea Room in King’s Mountain.  It was their “Congrats” for the engagement.  That place is the epitome of southern belle-ness; housed in an old house with VERY good food and lots of old white-haired ladies.  Due to our big lunchtime hoopla, I didn’t do a lunch road ride, but I was planning on going to the Diva ride early to do a couple of laps at N. Meck and then meet up with everyone for the group ride at 6:15.  Well, I was tired, so I took a short nap in the parking lot of NM, then I talked to my mom about wedding plans, then I started to get ready to ride.  By the time I was ready, people were showing up for the ride and the sky was getting dark.  The bottom dropped out around 6:00, so there we stood, ready to go, in the pouring rain.  We waited for it to pass over, but it just kept coming down.  So, back into the Xterra goes the bike, changed clothes, and everyone went to Lupies for dinner.  I wasn’t very hungry, so I had mac-n-cheese and cornbread and water.  $2.01.  I’m cheap, I guess.

Tonight was supposed to be the first race of the local summer race series.  It got rained out.  So, I got re-motivated, removed the old crusty, creaky bottom bracket on the SS, installed a new one, put on a new chain and re-installed my cranks.  It’s like a new bike.  It’s a happy bike, can’t you tell?

So far this week, I’ve only ridden two laps at Beatty, and at a slow pace.  A total of 1:10 riding time in three days.  Very sad.  I don’t care WHAT I do, I’m riding tomorrow, whether it’s during lunch, after work on the Booty loop, or, if it’s dry enough, I’ll take the Misfit (SS) to Beatty again to run the new BB and chain and work out any bugs.

This week’s Cane Creek Series race is in Sanford.  Not my favorite race, but not terrible.  Racing-wise, my mind has been totally focused on the Burn 24 hour race.  I went through and tweaked my packing list and my fueling strategy.  I feel more prepared after doing that.  No more bad dreams, anyway.  I had lunch today with a guy at work who’s done several 24-hour road races and placed very well.  He went over some strategies and training for the month leading up to the race.  I don’t know if I can follow all of his suggestions, (I’m not that structured), but a lot of what he said made sense and I’m at least TRYING to do it.  I’m less concerned about my physical ability to ride for 24 hours and more concerned with my mental fortitude.

Work this week has been full of audits and stress.  I did manage to ride during lunch Tues-Thurs.  That seems to take the edge off.

Rode with Mel Tuesday at Beatty, when she decided to start a blog about how much she hates V-brakes.  Hehe. I’ve got to find some tiny barbells so she can work out her pinkies.

Had a consultation with a Sports Nutritionist on Wednesday.  That was pretty good.  She told me I need to eat more.  I’m not so sure about that, but I’ve been having a really hard time balancing my fueling needs for racing with my caloric needs for losing weight.  It seems like a neverending struggle for me.  I just need to decide if I want to cough up the money to use her consulting services.

Headed to Atlanta Thursday after work.  Got “home” around 8:00, hung out with the ‘rents and went to bed early.  I slept for 11 hours.  I don’t think I’ve done that since college.

After sharing a sushi lunch with Mom at her school (she teaches 4th grade), I rode at Blanket’s Creek Friday.  I really like these trails.  I used to have my doubts about machine built trails, but SORBA has figured out how to build interesting trails with technical difficulty using a Dingo.  It’s obvious they’ve been out there working lately, as there are some new berms and trail additions (re-routes, I think).  Blankets is fun.  There are three loops — the beginner loop is just that — beginner (although I’ve never ridden it.)  You can see families with very little kids on it.  The intermediate loop (Dwelling Loop) is Tsali-esque, with some roots and rocks and logs, with some interesting lines for the huckers if you’re looking for them.  This loop offers a great warm-up and aerobic workout.  I rode it twice.  The Advanced Loop (South Loop) is longer and more difficult with several larger rock gardens, some more advanced options, switchbacks, and narrow cliff-side riding over rocks.  It also has a decent amount of climbing.  I did this loop twice, too, but was hurting by the end of the second time around.  I did about 20 miles total.  When I got back to the car, I was privy to a conversation about there not being enough single women that mountain bike and I just smirked.  Also, someone must have seen my NC license plate and wrote “PISGAH” on my back window.  Hehe.

I’ll probably ride at Chicopee today, near Gainesville.  That’s another SORBA trail, with some decent climbing and tricky switchbacks.  It’s another fun trail, but a little more advanced than Blankets, I’d say.

I had a dream last night about the BURN 24-hour race.  It was wierd.  I arrived to set up all my stuff next to the Dirt Diva teams, but this group of wierdos kept moving my stuff because they were putting out chairs and tables and desks so people could sit and watch the race and do arts and crafts.  Then they tried to put up a dancefloor where my camp was.  Also, the BEERRUN team’s camper and generator hadn’t shown up, so I didn’t have anywhere to plug in my light, but their whole team was just sleeping in sleeping bags in the middle of the field.  VERY WIERD dream.  I guess I’m getting nervous about being ready for this…

I’m still working on the Tsali Race Report.  It’s long.

First off, HAPPY 28th BIRTHDAY to my baby brother (or, “bub-ra”) DOUG! 

Yes, ladies, he’s single, but he lives on the West Coast….

So, the WOI Weekend was a complete success, except for K1’s knee, but that’s another story.  What happens in Myrtle Beach STAYS in Myrtle Beach.  It was the complete “girls” weekend, with plenty of laughter, some White Russian (thanks, BA), some oysters, some PBR, and some “one-size-fits-most”-shells. (!)  Some pictures might become public.  Some (most) will not.  They are funny.  We got plenty of mullet shots at the car show.  As a whole, we sold 25,000 tickets for MS Society.

The weekend was well worth it.  I’m feeling much better from last week and a few things are (mostly) straightened out.  A little R-n-R will do a body good.

I just got finished changing out my rear derailleur cable and housing (didn’t have enough housing to do the front).  Of course, I’ve ridden the geared bike ONE TIME since the beginning of the year, and on that ride I managed to snag my rear housing on a big stick and tear it to shreds.  So, I had to do some work to get the Titus ready for next week’s race at Uwharrie — the first race of the Cane Creek Series.

So much can be said for taking a step back and getting a different perspective on things.

So, first off, I’m BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN.  I finally got out on the road today.  It was slow and VERY windy, and I’m being ultra-cautious.  I rode Beatty Tuesday night, once around alone and then backwards with a few guys.  Last night was Per4mance Training.  Not as hard physically as it was last week, but we did the workout “blind”, so we didn’t know what the computrainer would throw at us next.  That was mentally tough.  I got pretty good at anticipating when something might happen, though, because I watched the time and anticipated each minute interval. 

So, anyway, tonight, I decide to go over to Beatty on the way home for a lap or two.  I put the light on, just in case it got dark and I wanted to do another lap.  I was six minutes into the ride, a couple hundred yards into the Valley (black diamond!) trail, and there was a group of people standing around.  It turns out that a woman walking (an elderly woman — 62 — just kidding, mom!) tripped over a root and smacked her arm.  When she tried to get up, she was feeling woozy and dizzy and really didn’t want to be moved.  We called 911, and I went out to the road to meet the first responders.  The first group to show up was (I swear) the ENTIRE fire house.  I tried to get them as close to the trails as I could, which would involve them either following me along the road, or me riding in the fire truck.  (It was even a ladder truck!  whoo hoo!)  So, in I went, bike and all.  That was pretty cool.  They were all checkin’ out the Misfit while I was saying how cool it was to be riding in the fire truck.  I felt like a little kid, but it really WAS fun.

ALL of the first responders (about 8 or so) came out into the woods and ended up carrying the lady out on a backboard because she still refused to walk.  While we’re standing in the woods, her husband starts to feel bad and sits down, and her friend feels woozy, too.  I gave them a granola bar, which they reluctantly took.  I don’t think they were having very much fun on their hike.  Maybe the elderlies should have stayed off the “black diamond trail”! ;)  (kidding again, dad).

So, I finished my ride in the dark.  I’m really glad I thought to bring the light.  Jim from THTB was there helping, too, and he rode the whole trail in the dark.  I offered him my “backup” commuting-type LED light, but he toughed it out and rode in the dark.  He’s braver than I am.

Since my last post, my feelings on road riding have changed a bit.

A stupid redneck came a little close on Thursday, and my gut instinct was the WRONG instinct in this case.  (Don’t challenge or yell at an idiot) Nothing really happened, but I was shaken up enough to cut my ride short.  I didn’t ride on Friday.  I would have ridden at lunch today, but I didn’t have the bike because I thought it was going to rain and I have Brian’s bike in the car still.  So, no road riding since Thursday.

Saturday we worked at Harrisburg for a few hours.  We got a bunch of work done on the berms.  This short track is going to be pretty fun.  Then, we went over to UNCC.  We haven’t been there since 2002.  Man, I forgot how much fun those trails were.  We were there for about 2 hours and logged around 9 miles.  There were a bunch of sections we missed, and we did a lot of back tracking and a little bush hogging.  The trails are confusing, and I’d like to go back with someone who really knows them.  I was going off of what I could remember, but a lot has changed since then.

These trails are still the rough “mountain bike” trails I remember.  I remembered them as being hard.  I thought, “Well, I’ve gotten better since the last time I was there.  Maybe they aren’t really that hard”.  Yes.  They are still hard.  I probably did more of it faster than before, but they are still quite technically challenging.  Lots of logs, some rocks, a BUNCH of whoop-de-dos, steep hills both up and down, and challenging creek crossings.  These trails will now be in my trail-queue.  I just need to get Jerry or someone to show me around.

Two laps at Reni on Sunday on the SS, and I was tired.  No riding today.  Beatty probably tomorrow.  Will (hopefully) get my gift from Taryn.

Today was beautiful.  I got a bunch of work done this morning.  Around 10:00, I had an (almost) uncontrollable urge for chocolate.  I’ve been so good lately with my points, though, and I didn’t want to ruin it.  Oh well.  I bought a Hershey’s Chocolate Bar out of the snack machine, since that was the ONLY form of chocolate in the machine.  Even though this was much more than I really needed, I ate it anyway.  Of course, I wrote down the “Points” like any good weight watcher.  5.5, if anyone was wondering.

At 11:30, I couldn’t sit still.  It was 65 degrees, sunny and breezy.  I went out and rode for a FULL hour.  This put my lunch “hour” at an hour and 20 minutes, but hey, I got there at 6:45 this morning.  Now, this ride was TRULY an indulgence, and it even cancelled out my earlier indiscretion.  I would have ridden all the way home if I knew how to get there via back roads….it was that beautiful today and the bike felt that good.  As an extra bonus, there were NO dogs today, and I did an extra two miles.

I went to aerobics after work.  Really, I probably shouldn’t have done that.  We did 100% threshold intervals last night, and I rode at lunch, so I should have skipped aerobics.  He worked us hard and 25 minutes into a 45 minute workout I was actually thinking about quitting.  I would have rather ridden my bike, but I know I need the extra “umph” for my upper body.

The trail was calling me this evening.  It’s so nice outside and I know it’s dry, but I have WAY too much to do around here.  I’ll eat dinner and take a shower and do my chores and go to bed.  I’m SOOOO tired.  These early hours are killing me.

I’m so glad my indulgences aren’t all unhealthy.  I feel pretty good today after my great lunch ride.

Once I get a AAA battery for my tiny camera, I think I’ll do a lunch-ride photo journal.

So, I think I fixed the bike.  Hopefully, although embarrasingly, I think it was just a case of me not paying enough attention last week and putting the chaintug on the non-drive side instead of the drive-side.  I guess the wheel slipped in the track ends causing the chain to want to drop when I really cranked the pedals hard.  At least, I hope this is the case.  I’ll try it out one day this week.

No riding today.  I didn’t bring the road bike to work with me since I really didn’t feel like riding in 42 degree weather at lunch.  Tomorrow looks promising.

Other than the 1/2 lap at the race yesterday and 30 minutes on the Short Track last Monday night, I haven’t been on the bike(s) at all.  (Not counting my Per4mance Training Night).  It’s time to get more saddle time in now that I’m out of “team training”.  Plus, since I’m working MUCH earlier hours, I’ll have more time in the afternoon/evenings.  My legs are really feeling the time off the bike.

I thought my weight would feel the time off the bike, too, but tonight was weigh-in night (www.weightwatchers.com), and I lost 2.2 lbs.  That makes up for the slight slip-up last week.  For those of you who don’t know, I’m 40 lbs. lighter than I was in 1999 thanks to Weight Watchers.  I still struggle with maintaining my weight, especially when riding hard and trying to fuel for racing.  I have to really watch my intake/output/bloodsugar (I’m also hypoglycemic).  I’m focused again on losing during this winter training season.  I’ve lost roughly 5 lbs since the first of the year and would like to lose about 10 more.

That’s all for today.  Maybe later this week we’ll discuss my huge thighs.