I'm back....

So I was absent from blog world for a while (and probably lost all of my readers....yes, all 4 of them), and that's because I was basically absent from the entire internet world. Yes that's right, my computer died about a week and a half ago....so I have been feeling very disconnected. Well luckily my dad has a few laptops so he shipped me an extra one so I'm back now.

Life lately has honestly just been filled with working a lot at the bike shop. I did pick up the job search again today and applied to a few jobs in Austin. So we'll see how that works out.

So for now, that's all, as I really can't think of anything exciting to write, so I won't bore you.... Stay tuned, I promise to have some updates soon.

Here we go again.....

So I stalled on writing this for a few days, but here it is. I am unemployed once again. So I now have 2 months to find a job. During this time I will also keep busy with some extra time at the bike shop. So the search begins once again. This time I promise to do a better job of looking for opportunities in Austin! So enough about that, it is what it is....

So today I ran across yet another reason that Austin is better than every where else. There is a lake by my house with a 2 mile running trail around it. So I headed over there this morning for a run with Ginger. We start our way around the path and then someone stops me and says "You're not allowed to have dogs here....there are signs everywhere". I apologized and said I hadn't seen any of the signs and didn't know and she continued to give me a nasty look, so Ginger and I turned around. No way was I going to put Ginger back in the car so we headed across the street and ran through the neighborhood. Unfortunately this was a small neighborhood area so I couldn't get very far, I then noticed a park with a trail and thought we could continue the run there. But there was another sign that said "No Dogs"! What good are running trails if you can't take your dog??? And what possible reason do they have for not allowing dogs at the lake path. So stupid. Anyway, that was my general annoyance for the day. So I guess I will have to stick with my neighborhood or the forest preserve for running with Ginger.

Today has been a very lazy day of reading mostly, and soon it will be time for dinner and a movie. Tomorrow morning will be an early wake up to get to the gym for a swim and then work at the bike shop. Ooh which reminds me, I need to wash my work shirt! :)

Later Gators....

An eventful ride....

There are many reasons why I dislike riding at the forest preserve and this evening I encountered pretty much all of those reasons:
1. Morons who decide to look at things behind them instead of the path ahead of them causing them to swerve and come very near to a head on collision with me
2. Stupid kids who start walking across the path without looking if anyone is coming
3. Obnoxious men who are apparently too good to slow down and feel the need to pass people even if I am coming at them and there isn't enough space for all of us and I almost get pushed off the road
(notice a trend here???)
4. Rollerbladers who think it's ok to take up the entire path!
5. People who think it's a good idea to store their fishing coolers on the path

I could go on, but I think you get the idea....

Oh yeah, and then a bird hit me in the face while I was riding.....yeah it was that good of a ride...

This is getting ridiculous....

So I thought that things were going to go down on Monday here at work, and it did in some organizations. But my group is apparently stalling. Yesterday passed by with no word and today is going the same way. Now some of you may think that this would be a good thing, because it means I get paid longer, but here's the problem: I don't have anything to do!! They stopped giving me projects (leading me to believe that I won't be working here much longer) but they're still making me come to work. I am now hearing rumors that things won't happen until Friday or even next week. Seriously....either give me something to do or let me go home and work on the job search!!!

AT&T Austin Crits!!

Saturday was such a fun day! Woke up early, went to the airport, and hopped on a plane to Austin. Luckily everything went really smoothly, so I was able to get to the airport, get my rental car and head out to 290 Cafe where I was greeted by some of the TNT riders and a plate of migas!! I had definitely been craving migas, and it never fails to disappoint. I then hung out with Jenay, who has finally come out of hiding. She went MIA for a while, but she's back now, and everyone is happy about that! I'm also really jealous of her hot new single speed. :)

We then headed downtown to watch the races! There was a quick detour to Starbucks and BettySport in order to avoid the short rain storm (don't worry it ended quickly and it's hot in Austin so the roads dried out for the races). Jenay and I were there early so we got to watch the Master's race, the men's 4/5 and some of the men's 1/2/3 before anyone else showed up. Finally all of the fun people who had been tied up in the LLS board retreat made it down though. A bunch of us had a great time standing right on one of the inside corners, if you've never done this at a crit, then you don't understand. It is one of the most exciting and scary experiences ever, to see them come so close, and feel the wind that the pack creates. It's amazing, and one of my favorite ways to experience bike racing! The main events (the pro races) proved to be very exciting races. The women hammered it the entire time, they are all so strong and they amaze me. Watching them crash, slide across the road, and then hop back on the bike missing large patches of skin, is incredible. I would be sitting on the side of the road crying.... I don't think I'm hard core enough for crits, they scare the crap out of me.

I of course didn't have my camera, but thanks to Velonews.com I can provide you with a look into the men's race. Lots of big teams with big names were out there. Everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of Rock Racing who made their presence felt by parking their giant buses and Escalades all over downtown. I was expecting to see the familiar black and lime green kits, instead we got this:
Ok first off, yes that is Tyler Hamilton and yes he was there. But seriously, white kits? That's not what any of us were expecting. Apparently they had these made specifically for the Austin race because they put Texas states on the shoulders and around the arms and legs it says "Austin Rocks" (Insert serious groan here....) They (mainly the announcers) used that phrase way too much throughout the day. Yes I understand that we were in Austin, and yes the race was sponsored by Rock Racing, but reducing yourselves to "Austin Rocks"??? That's just ridiculous.

Ok, back to the racing. The men's pro race is completely different than all of the other races because of the ridiculously high speeds. All of the other crits there would be a large pack and occasionally 1 or a few riders off the front. In the pro race they string out on the course, instead of watching a pack of riders pass you, you watch a long line of riders fly by you. Pretty exciting! The most amazing was the 1 Slipstream-Chipotle (Garmin-Chipotle) rider there by himself. He would be seen hanging out at the back and then he would work his way to the front for a few laps and then be seen at the back again a few laps later. Must be horrible that he could move around in rankings so easily. None of the attacks stuck throughout the race, so we all knew it was going to be an exciting finish. With 2 laps to go the front of the group looked like this:
Notice the 5 Toyota-United Riders controlling the pace?? We all thought that they had the race in the bag when we saw the same thing come around for the last lap. But then when they came in for the finish, this happened:
Whoa! Where did a Colavita rider come from?? I'm sure that's what all the Toyota boys were thinking as well! Someone definitely didn't do a good job of blocking. Oops! But it made for a very exciting finish for all of us spectators.

All in all, it was a great Austin day! (Of course) One minor letdown was that a certain someone apparently decided to not meet up with me, but oh well. He missed out, because I was looking good in my new SkirtSports blue Gym Girl! :)

Sunday wasn't quite as much fun since I started it out at 4:30am to get to the airport and catch a plane back to Chicago so I could make it into work at the bike shop. But it was worth it! Hooray for bike racing in Austin! So who's coming out July 27th to watch the crits here in Chicago with me??

It's fun, in an incredibly painful sort of way...

That right there is how I described the Thursday interval rides to someone yesterday. Yes they are fun, but they are also incredibly painful. Yesterday's ride was probably the most painful of all too. I was finally able to lift again on Wednesday so I did, and my legs were not happy about that yesterday. My quads and hamstrings were aching as we rolled out of the parking lot. "Oh well, keep pushing, it will get better" I told myself. I rolled out with 2 of the guys I work at the shop with and listened to Eric tell us all how "out of shape" he is. Keep in mind that this guy is about 6'4" and definitely built like a bike racer (aka he's really skinny). As soon as we started the first interval Mr. "I'm out of shape" Eric took off with the fast group, while I did everything I could to not get passed by absolutely everyone. Eventually I assumed my spot at the back of the group and stayed there. Like I said to the boys, "Someone has to be at the back!" Unfortunately after about the 3rd interval, I felt a cramp creeping into my left calf, I backed off a little to try to avoid it, and hoped that it would work. Apparently running around the airport all day and not finding time to drink much water isn't the best way to prepare for the interval rides. Unfortunately that sneaking feeling of almost cramping stuck with me for the rest of the night. It never actually turned into a cramp, just constantly felt like I was almost cramping. Which I think is even more annoying than the real thing. By the end of the night, we did 5 double intervals (evil boys!!) and I rode 90 minutes and covered about 28 miles. (Yes, we were going fast!)

Tomorrow I am heading out to Austin to watch the pros race the AT&T Austin Crits, it will be a very quick trip (less than 24 hours) but I can't miss seeing all of those boys race by! I heart very fast boys on bikes. :)

Yes, it is time for something new...

I changed up the blog title a little. Decided I need a new title, the new one represents that I still couldn't think of something witty to put there, but also, represents things in life right now. It definitely is time for something new, and I'm working on making that happen. Plus, the new picture is really pretty. I love Tahoe. :)

Back into it...

I'm finally starting to get back into the swing of things. For the last few weeks I just felt like my schedules have been off, and especially last week with the foot issue, I just didn't get the work-outs in that I would have liked. This week is going very well so far. Monday morning I did another swim, it's still hard, and I could still use some proper technique pointers from my Triathlon friends, but I'll get there. Yesterday I headed out for a ride after work, 90 minutes and 25 miles. The good news is that I can hop on my bike in my driveway and do the ride form my house, the bad news is that it involves 2 loops of the forest preserve which can be slightly frustrating. I must have said "on your left" about 1,000 times. Oh yeah, and rollerbladers take up way too much space on the path! This morning I woke up, put on my Gym Girl skirt and headed to the gym. I am a true believer in the idea that wearing a skirt can completely change your attitude about the work-out. I felt very cute, but also felt strong showing all the guys in the gym that girls in skirts can definitely kick butt! :) Yes, the SkirtSports skirts are becoming a new staple in my wardrobe! So If you ever needs gift ideas for me, just check out their website! :)

This evening I may throw in a little yoga action to get everything nice and stretched out. Tomorrow morning is another swim....but this time with music!! The waterproof headphones (to go with the waterproof ipod case I bought) are currently out for delivery on their way to my house (thank you UPS tracking)! And tomorrow evening is interval rides with the boys. It will be nice to tackle these on my own bike again for a change.

Oh yeah, and the foot is finally starting to feel better! Hooray! Although I'm still holding off on running for a little while longer. I'm going to take my shoes up to the local tri store this week so Mark (the shoe expert!!) can check them out to make sure they are still good. I really hope I don't need another pair of shoes!

Working out in the morning makes me feel great for a few hours, but now the mid-morning sleepiness is starting to set in. I would really like to be a professional athlete so all I would have to do is train, and then I could nap when I get sleepy....yeah that sounds good.

Convert to Skirt!!

Such a good day yesterday!! I volunteered at the SkirtSports Skirt Chaser race. It's such a great concept for a race. Send the women out, and then 3 minutes later send the guys out to "chase the skirts". Being a volunteer was great! As soon as I arrived I got set up with a Gym Girl skirt, a very cute pink race t-shirt, and a white visor. For the beginning of the day I helped out with the registration where I handed out the skirts, shirts and visors to all of the runners. We then helped cheer the runners out, and then it was on to my next job, cutting brownies! And these weren't just brownies, they were absolutely delicious Eli's brownies with peppermint topping! Sooo good! But I was good and only ate a half of one....it was already broken! :) We then hung out a little, listened to the band, and watched the fashion show. So many cute Skirt products in the spring line!! Eventually the runners started clearing out of the block party so it was time for clean-up duty. About 5 minutes after we started cleaning up, it started raining. Unfortunately it meant we all got a little wet, but it also meant that everyone helped and we got everything cleaned up in record time! About this time is when I realized I was the only volunteer left! (There were only about 5 to start with) The girls of Skirt all noticed this as well, and were very appreciative. So they hooked me up with more free stuff! :) I got a green Roller Girl skirt with a matching white and green Footloose Tank. So cute!

During the day I also realized that all of the girls from Skirt were amazing women and tons of fun! And it occurred to me...I want to work with them! So I definitely took the opportunity to talk with all of them and let them know that I was interested. I even talked with Nicole DeBoom (she started the company!) about it! :) Yea! Oh and did I mention that the company is based in Boulder, CO?!?!?!? :)

At the end of the day, all of us headed across the street to Peggy Kinane's (in our very cute Skirt outfits of course!) for some dinner. We then ended up dancing around to the great band that was playing. There were some of the runners there still wearing their race numbers so we cheered (very loudly) for all of them. It was a great night, with a bunch of really great girls. I am currently planning on trying to get out to Salt Lake City to hang with them at the next race in August!

Oh and if you haven't already, you need to try a SkirtSports skirt! It is definitely the most comfortable thing I have ever worn!

New adventures in swimming...

So I finally went and had my foot checked out yesterday. The good news is that there are no broken bones. The bad news is that there is some soft tissue damage. So that means I can walk without crutches but it also means no extra stress on the foot for at least a few more days. So that means no biking or running this weekend. I couldn't stand the idea of sitting around not doing anything this weekend, so I decided to try a new adventure. I stopped by the local tri store and picked up goggles and a new suit and then headed to the gym to try out swimming. I have to admit, I was even a little nervous going into it. Once I started out I realized something....

Swimming is hard!!

I made it through 30 minutes of laps. Basically I swam until my arms felt like spaghetti! I definitely have a lot to learn about this sport!! And I definitely need to get one of the ipod cases for swimming...music would make the whole experience a little more enjoyable. So we'll see how long this new adventure lasts.

This afternoon I'm volunteering at the Skirt Chaser race! The best part is that they are giving me a whole SkirtSports outfit for volunteering for 4 hours! Yea! :)