tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7431554559187024142024-03-12T20:47:29.717-05:00Heather AdventureMountain biking, running, training, nutrition, parenting, work, trying to do it all in one of my favorite places to live: West Michigan!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger146125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-10414509218016838932015-05-07T09:28:00.004-05:002015-05-07T10:17:49.657-05:00Earthquakes and StampedesGood Morning, Readers!
EARTHQUAKE
Last week was an exciting one, as far as weeks go. Certainly the talk around West Michigan has been the 4.0 earthquake centered several miles south of Galesburg.
It just so happens that we were camping at Fort Custer State Park in Galesburg when the earthquake quaked(?). And let me tell you, it was noticeable. We were surrounded by RV's that are not all that Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-18385878528023972302015-04-22T13:23:00.001-05:002015-04-22T13:25:20.500-05:00Dirt Dawgs
Earlier this week was the first parent meeting for the GRBC Dirt Dawgs, West Michigan's first youth development mountain bike team, headed by Danielle Musto and friends.
There has been serious anticipation for this team in the Brewer household. Sage considers Danielle her BFF and can't wait to hang out again. Meanwhile, I'm excited that we'll be able to participate in the sport together as a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-3179800976919530732015-04-03T10:15:00.001-05:002016-06-17T21:11:18.076-05:00Stepping Stones
This is a repost. I came across this little gem cleaning up the archives—a reminder of something I needed to hear today. Read and be encouraged my friends.
While taking a walk along the beach, recovering from having finished the LJ100 just days before, I found something buried in the sand. I thought it might be a fossil as the rock, which was gradually being uncovered by the lapping Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-5235862832804246542015-04-01T21:21:00.001-05:002015-04-01T21:21:03.091-05:00Spring is SpringingIt was almost 60 degrees in Muskegon today. There's still a few snow piles but the sunshine and warmer temps means that its time for this fair weather cyclist to dust off the fleet and put on the spandex.
This year is going to be a good one with the inaugural season of GRBC's first youth cycling team and Sage and I snagged two of the lasts spots for the Midwest Women's Mountain Bike Clinic. I'veUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-76890792750661330002015-01-06T19:18:00.000-06:002015-01-06T19:43:46.379-06:00Happy New Yurts!
The Yurt. It is handicap accessible.
I've had many people ask about our experience camping in the Yurt at Muskegon State Park. We had a wonderful time and definitely recommend it. Below is some information on our stay and some things to consider if you are planning to visit the Yurt.
What I liked:
It's nestled amongst the trails and trees of one of my favorite places, Muskegon State Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Muskegon State Park, North Muskegon, MI 49445, USA43.244526099999987 -86.34021100000001143.19826059999999 -86.420892000000009 43.290791599999984 -86.259530000000012tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-48869359918240377662014-11-14T09:12:00.004-06:002014-11-14T09:38:40.994-06:00Iceman: Slushcup Edition 2014 Pt. 2Read Part 1 here.
I remember how nervous I had been at my first Iceman at 30 years of age, I can't imagine what the anticipation would be for someone who still shows how old they are by holding up their fingers.
As I watched Wave 4 ride off into the woods and soon after, Sage and Gage, I couldn't help but feel what a privilege it was to be able to share in their adventure.
The Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-36087514485942448592014-11-12T16:03:00.001-06:002014-11-12T16:07:18.906-06:00Iceman: Slushcup Edition 2014, PT 1Icemans of Past 2010 and 2012)
This was my first year attending Iceman as a Slushcupper. I was worried that once we arrived at the expo that I would have regrets about not signing up for the whole shebang. Let me tell you, that was not the case. It was AWESOME!
The dreaded weather report of 34 degrees, rain and wind (arguable the worst conditions for a mountain bike race Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-34724697295682522322014-07-09T10:27:00.001-05:002014-07-09T10:29:00.244-05:00Skirts in the Dirt Mountain Bike Race
Hello Friends,
It has been quite a long time since I've posted here. It seems like life switched into high-gear about this time last year and I haven't been able to keep up. While I haven't been mountain bike racing I have still managed to keep a bit of dirt on the wheels with some family and leisurely single track rides here and there.
But, in a little over a month I plan on breaking out Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-16586741209649203502014-01-31T12:11:00.001-06:002014-01-31T17:54:24.738-06:00Having a Snowblast!Happy Friday everyone!
There have been some disappointing winters in Michigan in recent history. This year however has definitely made up for it in grand Polar-Vortex fashion—I even saw a snownado go by the house yesterday afternoon. It's not unusual for us to get a blast of snow in late October or early November. But it doesn't usually stick around with the relentless force as it has this year.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-74350959565647466872013-12-30T10:59:00.000-06:002013-12-30T11:01:26.583-06:00Goodbye 2013I'll be honest, 2013 was not my best year. I was not prepared for the challenges of some big life-changes/circumstances that seemed to crop-up at every turn. This included holding our dear cat Gypsy as she was put to sleep--something that was even more difficult than I imagined it would be--and starting a new job with more responsibility. And after years of struggling with certain issues with Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-73908661563332139382013-06-24T08:20:00.001-05:002013-06-25T07:37:08.955-05:00Summer in Michigan : Beach time!Not surprisingly, I've once again fallen behind on updating The Blog. I've been a little busy! One of the greatest things about living on the lakeshore is summertime in Michigan. Even though Lake Michigan feels like it's still hovering at the tipping point of freezing, the kids love splashing on the shoreline and playing.
Picnic at the beach. We had homemade pizza pockets!
Playing Sand Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-9209965442221986442013-06-06T08:56:00.000-05:002013-06-06T09:19:45.538-05:00Forget Your Goals.
That "care-free" smile is deceiving . . .
My daughter likes to go running with me. We hadn't gone in quite some time—our schedules getting jammed-pack in the spring with soccer, work, and school events. When soccer ended a few weeks ago it marked the advent of the running season. I have my running partner again.
This time Sage has set a goal for herself. My amazingly strong-willed Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-91174591351722883912013-05-28T10:45:00.001-05:002013-05-28T10:45:51.200-05:00Un-PauseI'm back by popular demand! Believe-it-or-not I've had a few inquiries as to why the posts have been lagging. The fact is, I've been busy.
I've been Art Directing up a storm.
I wish I could share the covers of the books we'll be releasing in Spring 2014, but unfortunately they are 'top secret' until our catalog goes to press . . . I know you are all dying for a preview!
The one Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-83921846103308017782013-04-10T11:51:00.000-05:002013-04-10T11:56:27.091-05:00Common Mistakes I Make When Training, #3 Downplaying the Importance of NutritionRead Parts 1, Focusing on Time vs. Quality and 2, The Deep End
Mistake #3: Downplaying the Role of Nutrition
Food is my achilles heal. Doughy breads and pastas are my crutch. And I truly believe down deep in the center of my soft core that Karamel Sutra makes everything better—cures the flu, can turn the ledger ink from red back to black, can heal a marital spat—its truly a miracle medicine.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-6463517169057005572013-04-03T08:33:00.001-05:002013-04-03T08:33:12.275-05:00Common Mistakes I Make When Training, #2 Being Afraid of the Deep EndPart 2 of Common Mistakes I Make When Training. Read part 1 here.
2) Being afraid of the deep end.
It's funny watching my kids learn to swim. When they want a challenge they'll dart under the divider from the shallow end to the deep end then quickly pop back up safely at the depth of 3.5 feet. They are pumped from their dare-devilish flirt with the deep end. It's humorous because you know Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-52993789001132701632013-03-29T08:57:00.000-05:002013-03-29T08:57:53.317-05:00Good FridayThe plan was to continue with the theme of "The Top Mistakes I Make When Training for a Race." But the last few days have beat me up and I am in need of a renewal. Since it is Good Friday and Easter Weekend, I thought it to be an appropriate time for reflection. Here is a repost from last fall and its exactly what my soul is longing for today . . . If I don't have the time for it at least I can Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-42180873515954585532013-03-27T08:42:00.002-05:002013-03-27T08:49:51.467-05:00Top Mistakes I Make When Training for A RaceOnce again I am registered for the Lumberjack 100. While the weather outside may have us thinking June is a millennia away, in reality it is only 80 days until race day. And some of us decided it would be a good year to break a foot and sit on the couch all winter (ahem, me). Eighty days is not a lot of time to train for an endurance event. For the runners out there, this is the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-62678508210832177892013-03-12T12:51:00.000-05:002013-03-12T15:22:33.001-05:00Stepping Stones to the Next Big Dream
While taking a walk along the beach, recovering from having finished the LJ100 just days before, I found something buried in the sand. I thought it might be a fossil as the rock, which was gradually being uncovered by the lapping waves, appeared to have markings on it. The kids would love to add a fossil to their growing 'beach treasures' collection and so I kicked it out of the sand with my Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-58358646073527853712013-03-07T10:56:00.000-06:002013-03-07T11:44:42.220-06:00Motivation via Movie NightToday is Thursday which meant there was another session of Fierce. I have never been in a solitary position and suffered this extreme amount of agony and bleeding of sweat by the buckets like I did this morning. This class is different every week. Sometimes there's TRX, sometimes there's primal movements (I turned out to be more like a waddling sea lion than a strong-strutting ape), sometimes Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-7144000982322544202013-03-05T12:13:00.000-06:002013-03-05T12:20:42.029-06:00Finally Fat Tire BikingAs you know, my family spent the weekend at Crystal Mountain Resort. And as you also know (if you read my blog which you do because you are reading this) that I'm not much of a downhill skier. Even so, I have been looking forward to this weekend since I scribbled it on my calendar months ago. And not just because I was going to get to eat double peanut butter pancakes.
Crystal Mountain has Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-87481021886998053442013-03-01T07:25:00.000-06:002013-03-01T07:28:58.152-06:00Thoughts on Raising a Daughter (repost)I'm reposting Thoughts on bullying and raising a daughter from last fall. Yesterday I listened to "Girls and Gears with Danielle Musto" on Mountain Bike Radio. In this episode she interviewed endurance racer Sonya (sounds like lasagna) Looney. While neither of them touched on the subject of bullying, they both recalled feeling out-of-place as young girls and emphasized how mountain biking and theUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-15273101792188159392013-02-26T06:41:00.000-06:002013-02-26T06:41:26.007-06:00Don't Give Up
"Try" by Pink
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-69369561460287402992013-02-25T10:39:00.000-06:002013-02-25T10:39:27.169-06:00Weekend Wrap-Up
I received some good news this morning! Even though my foot still looks like an anvil has been dropped on it (bizarrely large separation between toes and swelling in odd places) there are no more breaks! While there is obvious tissue damage and some arthritis flaring up, I received the "okay" from my doctor to resume normal activities!
Which of course means training for a 50 mile Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-62658153650250929982013-02-21T07:09:00.000-06:002013-02-21T07:09:22.522-06:00Question of the Day
The extra blast of winter weather has added a lot of time to my commute lately. It's given me plenty of opportunity for thinking. Dangerous stuff.
What I've been pondering lately:
Can a person go from 3 months of minimal, to very low aerobic activity (and eating lots of comfort food) to doing a 50-mile bike race in 6 weeks? And do all that without aggravating a fragile, recovering Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743155455918702414.post-3482333557269799782013-02-20T09:03:00.000-06:002013-02-20T09:06:19.602-06:00Exercise FreakThis post features 30-second sketches because I don't have time to peruse my photo libraries, stage an elaborate blog-worthy photo-shoot nary did I ask the people in this post of I could publish their image.
The Train
A couple of years ago, on a warm and sunny Saturday morning, I hitched up the train and took the kids for a bike ride down the bike path, around the tip of Muskegon Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0