Thoughts 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 the community of cyclists changed their lives for the better.

I also watched a clip of the newly released "Singletrack High" that featured the women that race on the high school mountain bike team. Here's a clip:


Singletrack High - Sisters Who Shred from Pedal Born Pictures on Vimeo.

These testimonies speak to the desire of girls and women to be something more. There is a community of women who long for the opportunity to show independence, strength, and endurance. We aren't afraid of doing something hard, getting dirty or beat up.

Sometimes the soccer team, the orchestra, or science club just aren't enough. Sometimes a girl needs to be in the wild with nothing more than the strength of her body and determination to see herself through.

Thoughts on bullying and raising a daughter . . . (10/19/12)

This week I took my daughter out of school for a day of mountain biking. There's the obvious reason for this: riding single track is the awesomest. But there are underlying, significant reasons for encouraging my daughter to mountain bike and allowing her to miss school.

I'm not that old that I don't remember what it's like to be a kid. I remember school being everything. I couldn't imagine what my life would be like after I finished school. Almost all of my activities revolved around it: being on the school newspaper, sports teams, and choir. All of my friends were a part of that school community. And as kids do, I was labeled. Everyone was. Some kids had it better than others. No matter what 'label' you received, it followed you. It was oppressive. But you could always go home for a short reprieve.

For a lot of kids, school is their main, possibly only community. With the advent of social media and its penetrating waves into our homes and pockets it now gives that community 24/7 access into our lives. Bullying doesn't stay at school anymore, it follows kids every where they go.

Reading sad and frightening stories of bullying in school and the tragic results recently in the news has me on guard as a parent. I worry for my children.

Unfortunately I cannot protect them from every mean and hurtful action that they will undoubtedly experience.

What I can do is try to provide them with the tools they will need to deal with those situations and, if nothing else, give them a brief escape. I can encourage and provide them with opportunities to build their self-confidence. I can help them discover that they are so much more than what their peers label them as. I can expose them to communities outside of school: communities of strong, confident and positive people. And while education is very important, school in itself is not everything.

The other night Snoose was crying while telling me about being teased by her classmates. I wish I could steal that moment away, but I can't. So I asked Snoose to tell me about the time she raced at Pando. What does she feel when she thinks about that moment? What about the time she conquered the log piles at Fort Custer?

She said she was so proud of herself, it made her happy!

I told her to remember those moments because it will help remind her of who she is: a strong, persevering, and capable person and not what someone else tells her.

North Country

A few days ago I rode North Country Trail. I could not believe how much time has passed since the last time I was out there. I wouldn't be surprised if it was back in the early fall of 2011.

NCT holds a special place in my heart. It's one of the trails where Chad first took me mountain biking almost 10 years ago. At that time mountain biking was a terrifying, death-defying adventure. Chad and I would only go on the trails 2-3 times a year, usually in the fall when his work schedule would slow down a bit. The leaves on the trees would just be turning dark purple, red and orange.

Getting ready at the trail head I would be covered in goose-bumps, more from anxiety than the chilly autumn air. A simple 8-mile ride would be an all day event. Chad was lucky if I could get to a top speed of 7-8 mph and I would need a break every mile just to let my nerves settle.

We'd end the ride with a stop at Heritage Farm Market for Apple Cider and homemade baked goods then cruise home listening to 10,000 Maniacs. Those were the early years.

More recently NCT has come to be one of my favorite trails—not only for the memories but because it's not a loop. The North Country Trail is "America's longest National Scenic Trail stretching 4,600 miles from New York to North Dakota, linking 7 states, 10 National Forests and more than 150 public lands." Even though time and responsibility always draws me back, there is a sense when I'm out there that I could just keep on riding. The twists and turns weave forward unlike many trails where each rotation of the crank essentially pulls you back to the parking lot.

Now that we have young kids, Chad and I rarely have a chance to ride together. It's bittersweet to ride at NCT alone, thinking back 10 years ago and our stops for Apple Cider. What was once a place of nervous jitters is now an open road of solitude, reflection and a place to clear my head.

One of my favorite pictures from NCT, US10 Trail.

Fort Custer Stampede 2012

Fort Custer Stampede. Photo by Jack Kunnen Photography.

See Jack Kunnen photos from Fort Custer Stampede here.

Sunday, May 6th was the Fort Custer Stampede hosted by SWMMBA in Augusta, MI. I've written a full race report for GTMTBA that will be published later this week. Watch for it on their website!

Our family used this opportunity to take the Camper out for the first camping trip of the season, staying at Fort Custer Recreation Area (the race venue). We had a weekend chock-full of camping delights: mountain biking, scootering, playing catch, sitting by the fire, fishing, exploring, adventure hikes, and water gun fights.

There is nothing better than camping because you get to do all sorts of things you can't do at home. For instance, I drank coffee in the afternoon. The kids had hotdogs and macaroni and cheese for lunch. Juiceboxes for everyone! And mom and dad may have even had a couple of beers. Hmmm, I just realized these are all centered around food.

Chad and I had both planned on getting some time on the trail Saturday, logging miles for our Lumberjack training. But we were having so much fun playing with the kids that we had a difficult time stealing ourselves away. I managed to sneak out for a 4-mile loop around lunch time. The course was not marked yet and I got lost attempting to follow the map. Chad went after dinner and was able to ride the course that had now been marked.

The Race

Having ridden the course, Chad gave me a few pointers: Ride in your big ring and use your momentum to roll through the new sections of trail! Riding in my big ring on my Trek 8000 is no problem, but I've had a harder time on my new 29" Superfly AL Elite. I'm not good at the details so I don't know if the reason is the gearing ratio difference or the rolling weight of the larger wheels. Either way, I was thinking there was no possible way I'd use the big ring, I'd waste my legs halfway through the race and hit the wall.

Team Brewer ready to race.

Sunday morning, Race day, was here before we knew it. We were all thankful for a relaxed 10 AM start. I raced for GTMTBA and the kids were both signed up for their first ever kids race, representing team Lil' Coasters XC.

After a quick hug and kiss and well-wishes from the kids, I rode away from our campsite and to the Start/Finish, about 1.5 away.

Fort Custer Stampede is fun because it has a bit of everything and it's almost all on single-track trails. I was looking forward to a competitive race. The women's fields are getting stronger and faster. You can not let-up on the crank for a second because its guaranteed there will be someone right behind you fighting to take your place. And that is exactly what went down on Sunday.

Four of us lead out the field in the first lap, keeping a good pace. About halfway through the loop the race takes you through a section known as the "Trenches," dug-out trenches once used as a training facility for combat troops. It's filled with tight, off-camber turns and whoop-de-doos. I cut one of the turns too wide and my front tire hit a tree dead-on, sending me into a flying endo, flipping over my handle-bars and landing on my head and shoulder.

I was shaky, but okay. I got back on my bike and started to roll on the trail. Unfortunately for me the trail immediately went up a sort-of narrow land bridge with a ravine on either side. As shaky as I was, I stumbled and ended up falling down the ravine. Which is typical for me. If there's a ravine to fall down, I will fall down it.

My crash gave the lead women a good gap and the chase was on! By the end of the first lap I had managed to get on the wheel of Marnie, an acquaintance I've met through racing. She was currently in third place. I followed Marnie's pacing for the second and most of the third lap. At one point we were passed by another racer. With just 4 miles to the finish I decided to create a small gap behind Marnie in order to enable myself to maintain momentum through a technical section of trail. Marnie used this to her advantage and took off. I was not able to close the gap after that.

I finished in fifth place. I had a good race. I enjoyed my time out on the trail. It was scenic, the wildflowers were in blossom and the course took us past several lakes and over bridges. I could not have asked for a better day (other than not crashing).

And Chad was right about the big ring through the new trail. Standing up and hammering through the rough and bumpy sections helped me out a lot. It's good to know I can race in my big ring on single-track.

The Kids Race

Unfortunately the Kids Race was going on during my race so I didn't get to see them. But I have heard all about it.

The kid's racing steeds.

Sage finishing up her lap!

Recovery snack.

Chad helped Bear through the 1/4 mile loop that was mostly single-track. Sage's start was shortly after Bear's and she was left to begin the race on her own. Just after the start, Sage and another girl bumped front tires, sending Sage crashing to the ground. Another mom was there (thank you!) and helped her up. Sage managed to finish her lap, successfully finishing her first XC race! Go Sage!

Camping

I stayed at the race start/finish to cheer the Sport Women as they started. Then it was back to the campground for family time. The kids had the water-guns out and were in a full-on battle with the campfire. Their little squirts sending hisses and steam up into the air. 

Chad took each of the kids, one a time, to ride the whoop-de-doos on their bikes. I went on a butterfly hunt with Bear while Sage was off riding with dad. Then we switched kids. Sage and I scootered around the campground and played catch.

As the day wore on my left arm and shoulder began to ache. It wasn't surprising, being I crashed on it pretty hard that morning. 

Later I sat by the fire listening to the thunder in the distance, just enjoying being with the family. We closed out our camping trip with grilled hamburgers and vegetables for dinner. 

Post-Race

Sunday night I could not sleep because the pain in my shoulder was too intense. On my way to work Monday morning I made a detour to the doctor's office. Turns out I dislocated my shoulder in the crash. They popped everything back into place. Fortunately, its not very serious. I'm supposed to take 3 days off (completely!). And then I can get back to training, but no racing until Lumberjack.

Best Bear Quote of the weekend:
Me: Let's work on not sucking our thumbs kids. Anyone have ideas of how we can practice that?
Bear: I'm not sucking my thumb!
          I'm tasting all of my boogers.

2nd Annual Skip School to Go Mountain Biking Day

Thank you Ada Bike Shop for giving me a legitimate reason to take my daughter out of school in order to have Mother/Daughter bonding time and to chase down some sweet single track. Last fall Ada Bike Shop hosted their very successful first annual Ladies Night offering giveaways and expert advice. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to expose my little shredder to an amazing community of women cyclists.

And if we were going to drive all the way to Ada for the evening, it only made sense that while we're there we hit some of the trails in the Grand Rapids area. It was an amazing time and I am looking very much forward to going again. See poster at end for the details.

Pre-Ladies Night Ride at Luton

Post-ride refueling at Schnitz World Famous Deli. Look at that smile!
The kind of smile you only get after shredding some sweet single-track.

Getting the party started.

I have a few dance moves of my own.

Sage meeting her new idol, Pro-racer Danielle Musto. Sage still talks about this . . .  

There were probably a few disappointed women when a 6 year old won the pair of Speedplay pedals. All I have to say is that she had been asking for clipless pedals for months. That was the only thing she wanted. It was a dream come true when she won them. And don't call her a future cyclist. She IS a cyclist. Ride on Sage!

4+ hours of Single Track

Yesterday was a "rites of passage" for me. I attempted my first xc ride, all on single-track, that was greater than 2.5 hours. I have never attempted this feat before. And with Lumberjack 100 looming in the near future, it was a necessary threshold to cross.

The plan: 4+ hours of single track riding with minimal stops. A friend of mine met me at the half way point for the last 2-hours of riding.

I had several concerns going into the ride:

1. Will I be comfortable on the bike? Sore bottom, knee (which has been giving me fits), sore back, chaffing, numb feet, numb hands--all areas of concern for me.
2. Nutrition. I'm trying to avoid packaged gus and gels which I have used in the past. I've noticed that on xc rides that I experience moments of fogginess or lack of focus. I believe this is caused by a sugar crash. My goal is to come up with several food choices that I can easily eat on the trail and that will help maintain an even level of sugar in my system.
3. Overall fitness. XC riding is very demanding and requires the rider to be standing and out of the saddle frequently to maneuver tight turns, technical sections, attack punchy climbs, etc. Four hours into a ride am I still going to be able to attack a tricky section of trail? I didn't know.

Preparing for the ride

1) To address my concerns about being sore on the bike I:

• Used lots of Bag Balm
• Used the Stick to roll my It-Band and leg muscles, working out any knots and giving them a good stretch. That should help alleviate the pain I've been experiencing on the side of my knee and up my quad during rides.
• Wore a good pair of gloves with minimal padding. I've found gloves that are too padded do not work well for me and cause all sorts of numbness and trigger points.

2) Nutrition

• 1 heaping scoop of Endura in a water bottle for every 2 hours
• 30 ounces of water in my camel bak for every 2 hours
• Homemade Lara Bars (dates, nuts, cinnamon all mashed together in a food processor)
• Savory Sweet Potato Energy Balls

My sanctuary.

The Ride
The weather turned out to be a cool 50 degrees and sunny. Knickers and a jersey with arm warmers were the perfect option for clothing.

It was only my second time riding single-track this year and it showed during the first 8-miles. I was timid and slow. Approaching a wide and sweeping descent a magnificent owl swooped out onto the trail in front of me and landed on a branch to watch me pass. It was amazing. I had encountered my spirit guide which renewed my confidence and gave me strength. After that point my riding skills improved dramatically.

After 45 minutes I ate my first Savory Sweet Potato Ball. It was surprisingly moist and easy going down. So far so good.

After 2 hours of riding I was tired, but appropriately so. I was still standing and attacking all the technical sections and my confidence was high—I bombed down the descents and kept a steady pace on the flats and hills.

It was really nice to see my friend when I went back to the parking lot to restock my food supplies. I was excited to have company for the remaining two hours. She was all ready to go so I quick refilled my water bottles and we were back on the trail!

The trail we were on was demanding. There are very few sections where a rider will experience "flow." There are a lot of rough and bumpy miles and some technical areas as well. It was a challenging ride, physically and mentally. By the third hour of riding my low back was becoming sore. This motivated me to get out of the saddle even more and to rely more heavily on my legs to take the impact.

The fourth hour was mentally challenging. It was good to have a friend to offer encouragement and motivation. Physically, however, I felt pretty good. My legs were cranking along and I was still riding aggressively.

When we finally emerged from the woods and into the parking lot, my mileage was 1/4 of a mile short of being even and so we rode a giant circle around—must have a whole number on that odometer! I was glad to be done and overall felt good: a sure sign to me that my nutrition plan worked well.

I experienced no noticeable numbness in my hands or feet. I didn't feel a twinge of pain in my leg. My low back was sore, fatigued from the demanding ride. But this morning my back feels good. In fact, I feel great today!

Recipe for Savory Sweet Potato Energy Balls.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Crybaby Classic 2010 Race Report

The next few weeks I will be publishing race reports from the past two years.

From Sport to Expert.

Crybaby Classic
Nub's Nob Ski Resort at Harbor Springs, MI
September 2010

Everyone said moving from Sport to Expert was a big leap . . . and it was.

My main goal was to 1) have fun and 2) NEVER QUIT.

Everyone also said that mountain bike racing is red-line, super-high intensity from the start. And everyone was right on that point too.

We started with an uphill climb. I managed to stay close to the group. Thankfully we went from there into a down-hill. And it wasn't a coasting downhill, it was an all-out, big-ring, turn your crank descent. It was awesome.

I was  geeked that I was still with the field going into the heart of the loop. But, DANG, it was brutal. I have ever breathed that hard before. I had buckets of snot coming out of my nose. My legs were jelly 4 miles in . . . and I still had over 2 laps to go!

That looks like a lot of climbing to me.

This course was alot of climbing, more than I am used to. I was working so hard to stay with the group that my legs could not handle some the climbs and I had to walk a few of them. I was the only woman in Expert that walked the hills. However, I  managed to stay ahead of one woman and by the end of the first lap, I was on the back wheel of another. I was overjoyed.

In the second lap she would pull away on the climbs and I would slowly regain ground on the flats and descents. The last big climb of the second lap I dropped a chain. That was enough for her to get away.

Even though I lost sight of her, I kept telling myself she was right around the next corner. My legs were destroyed but I was not going to give up. One more lap and the sufferfest would be over.

During the lap I was alone. No one in front or behind me. I pushed myself beyond my limit. Unfortunately, my legs just didn't have it to do those brutal 2-3 climbs and I had to walk them. On the very last hill, the one person I was ahead of the entire race, came from out of nowhere and climbed past me.

The last 2 miles was mostly flats with a long down-hill to the finish. I shifted into my big ring and cranked it as hard as I could, knowing she was just ahead of me. Exiting the single track and into the final descent, I could see she had already crossed the finish line. At that point, it became me vs. the clock. I tucked in and sprinted.

DFL by 45 seconds. 14 minutes behind first place.
I am happy.

Peak2Peak Race Report 2011

I will be republishing some of my old race reports over the next few weeks . . . 

Peak 2 Peak 2011, Crystal Mountain Resort, Michigan

I did my 3rd mountain bike race this season, the first was way back in early May and then I did a last-minute decision race about 2 weeks ago. I do alright in Sport and so I thought I would test my legs in the Expert cat. Last season I tried Expert for one race and I was DFL. I had low expectations. Furthermore, this race was nearly twice the distance of any xc rides I have done this season.

It rained for 24 hours before the race and there were high winds, gusts regularly 40 mph. And it was cold.

We lined up at the start behind the men, there were approx. 11-12 women racing Expert. We were getting situated when we heard the announcer call out that we were starting with the men! And we had about 60 seconds. None of us expected that. I was not at positioned where I wanted to be for the start, I'm sure all of the other women felt the same way.

Then we were off! The start of the course was downhill followed by an uphill to an open road. One of the women cut me off right at the bottom of the hill and then, she must have jammed her gears because she abruptly stopped right in front of me! I had swarms of people to my left and right. I had no choice but to put my foot down and then try to scootch around her. I lost all of my momentum for the climb not to mention losing the lead group of women.

This has been my experience with xc racing: nothing goes as planned. I was suddenly on my own and trying desperately to pull back some time. The trail was muddy and sticky like peanut butter and the head wind--oh the head wind!--was brutal. Being in a pack would have been a huge benefit.

I kept telling myself to just keep pushing. I passed a couple of guys and maybe 3 women . . . which put me at about 9-7th place halfway into the first lap. And then I was completely alone on the trail. I couldn't see anyone in front or behind. I settled into an easier pace.

Coming into the climb at the end of the first lap I started to see flickers of a rider behind me. She eventually caught me up the climb and finished the first lap about 30 seconds in front of me. I pushed myself once again and caught her about 2-3 miles into the second lap. I asked if she wanted to work together in the open sections, she declined, and so I went on ahead knowing that it was quite likely she would catch me once again at the ski hill.

Which she did. But this time, I just barely managed to keep my lead. And into the 3rd lap we went. I tried to keep a steady pace but it is hard when you're alone on the trail with no "rabbits" in sight to chase.

Coming up to the ski hill for the last climb and I caught site of that woman behind me again. I told myself that she had to be hurting at least as much as I was. I'll admit, part of me wanted to quit--7th place, 8th place, not a whole lot of difference. But, I knew I would be disappointed if I didn't at least try. All I had to do was keep my legs spinning.

I managed once again to hold onto a sliver of a lead into the long descent down the ski hill. At the bottom there was a hairpin turn and we had to ride about 100 feet or so up the ski hill to the finish line. I had some friends cheering me on who all started yelling "You're in third place!!!!!"

Wha??!?!?!?!?!  No way?!? I had NO idea. Apparently there were women behind me from the start, possibly caught in the same jam I was in.

I was blown away and grinning from ear to ear. I never thought I would podium in Expert. I even won some cash. It was a great, great day.

Barry-Roubaix 2012 Race Report!

(Photograph by Andrea Tucker. View more BRX photos by Andrea here.)

>>>My complete race report at GTMTBA!


The days leading up to Barry-Roubaix were rather stressful. I was a ball of anxiety. Last winter I went to Danielle Musto's indoor spin at the Ada Bike Shop and stayed connected with a lot of my mountain biking friends and even made some new ones. This year, however, I was a bit of a hermit. Not being around that energetic group, I became a little lazy. Bike racing faded into the background and playing with the kids and lazing around floated to the forefront. It was a good winter.

And then March arrived. Bringing with it the Barry-Roubaix: The Killer Gravel Road Race. Killer it was sure to be. In fact, I mentally prepared myself for a large portion of suffering with some humility on the side.

We've had an unusual March, with temps in the 80 degrees. Friday before the race, Middleville was pounded with rain and the temps cooled to around 60 degrees, which I think is perfect racing weather.

I had two goals in mind:
1) Ride my own race: In the past I've gotten caught up in trying to keep up with a group I had no business racing against or I've allowed others to get in my head. This usually results in a bad bonk with 8 miles to go. I did not want to bonk! There is nothing worse than having to coast slowly across the finish line because your legs have long since turned to lead.
2) Average 14.5 mph. This was a number I came up with based on results from previous races. However, my horrible awful pre-ride a few weeks earlier killed my confidence. I didn't want to admit it, but I struggled to average 11 mph that day--and that was with lots of breaks!

The race started in waves, I stayed towards the mid-to back of my group for the start. The first few miles are on pavement. I went hard . . . but reigned it in a notch. Bonking at Iceman last year was still fresh in my memory.

I was hoping to get in with a good group of cyclists to work with for the race, but I didn't have luck on that front. As a result I either rode alone or with one or two other guys.

My average was looking good at this point and I made a new goal, to finish under 2:20.

The last two-track on Shaw Road was a mess. The sand was heavy and deep. There was wall of hike-a-bikers and I too was forced to walk that section. At the top of the hill I was able to hop back on my bike for the wicked descent through sandpits and giant mud puddles. It was AWESOME!

That brought us out to the last 5 miles of rolling pavement. I knew this section would favor the cyclocross riders and my fear was that I would have dead legs and get left in the dust for a lonely and humiliating ride into the finish. To my surprise I found I still had some gas in the engine and my legs were ready for the final haul in!

The last five miles I continued to accelerate.

I have to say, the day was a huge success.
I finished with a time of 2:19 which was good for 15th place. And was an average of 15.5 mph! Woot!

And I want to make a shout-out to my friend Michelle who did the race on a 26" single speed! She is one of the toughest women I know. Congrats Michelle on your race! :-)

Happy face after a satisfying day at BRX!

That looks like blood on my bottom bracket. They don't call it the Killer for no nuthin . . . 

Muddy legs.

Barry-Roubaix 2012

I had a great day yesterday at Barry-Roubaix. The weather turned out to be great for racing, not too hot and not too cold. And there was just enough rain to make the course a lot of fun. Let's all be honest here, riding through giant puddles is super fun. And the best part was seeing all of my mountain biking friends! I have really missed them over the winter. I saw many of them on the course--most of them as they passed me by . . . Alright, getting passed didn't feel so awesome. Nonetheless, its a good thing to see friendly faces even in the midst of suffering.

I'll work on a detailed race report and post it later this week. For now, I'll just say it was a good day, a lot of fun. The only real low point for me was riding about 12 miles all on my own--not a good idea for this race. In my solitude I became so focused on hammering the cranks that I did not pay any attention to the course. I ended up riding myself right off the road into a deep, rutted-out trench filled with rain water. Ugh. Being an awesome mountain biker with superb bike handling skills (yeah, right) I was able to save myself from further embarassment and avoid what was sure to be a very sloppy and muddy fall.

Today is recovery day. I am looking forward to spending some QT with the family, working in the yard, going on a Treasure Hunt with the kids and maybe, just maybe, I'll squeeze in a short run around the 'hood. The neighborhood that is.

Hope everyone else out there had a great experience at Barry-Roubaix. Oh, and I can't forget to thank Ken and Bill at Breakaway Bicycles for fixing my flat just minutes before the start of the race. You guys saved me!

Daily Scale

I must get on the scale every day.

I know, some of you may think that is obsessive. But I have a problem--and its not the scale. My problem is I don't know when to stop eating. If it weren't for the scale, I would eat constantly. Which is what I did when I stopped getting on the scale back in October of 2011.

By mid-January, I knew things were not good. The jeans were not fitting. But even worse, my dress pants that were a generous size that always fit me no matter what--were now dangerously snug.

Somehow I worked up the courage to take that scary, confrontational, no-denying-it-now step onto the scale. And it was worse than I thought. Way worse. I was not up 6-7 pounds like I suspected, like the year before when I went on a similar bender over the holidays. Nope. I was up 15--fifteen-freaking pounds.

Ugh.

Fortunately my husband was facing some reality when it comes to his diet as well. For the first time we started eating healthy together. With some diligence and self-control, I managed to get down 11 pounds over the next few weeks. Progress. Some relief. I let my guard down . . . . .

And I stopped getting on the scale again for four days in a row.

Once again, I took that step. And, ugh! Again, way worse than I thought. I was thinking maybe 3 pound gain or, at worse, 4. Nope, not me! My body just loves to hold onto waste, fat and toxins. I'm up 7 pounds over a 4 day bender.

And only 5 weeks to the first race of the season.

Stay tuned, because tomorrow I will write about my past struggles, self-sabotage and the goals I have for this upcoming season. I'm going to need to face and conquer my fears if I ever want to see my full potential . . .

Do you struggle with a healthy weight? What helpful hints keeps you on track? And have you ever been within reach of your goal but then you unconsciously sabotaged yourself from reaching that goal?

Quick and Effective Workouts

I'm a fortunate person in that I work from home most of the time. This gives me pockets of flexibility that I absolutely do not take for granted. I have an extra hour in the morning where the rest of the world is getting themselves presentable, packing lunches, and briefcases and scurrying to rush out the door.

Not me. I play with my kids, cuddle them, and gently coax them through their morning routine. Once I scootch them out the door with their dad, I do my taxing commute of descending a dozen stairs and sitting at my desk.

Lunch hour? I can go for a run, a bike ride, or both! No shower needed afterwards. There's no one here but the cats to impress. And lets face it, there's nothing I can do that will impress them.

This month, however, the trifecta of work emergencies/disasters has struck. I am finding myself working before the sun rises, through lunch, and the second my husband gets home from work, I descend the stairs and am at my desk for at least 3-4 more hours. There is no free hour to spare for training.

Which is adding to my anxiety! I have a race in 7 weeks . . . Now is not the time to be anchored to a desk. Fortunately, I have an arsenal of quickie workouts I do when I have 5, 10, or even just 15 minutes. I use those to get through a couple of days until I can get in an hour spin.

Here is my super-quickie workouts:

5-min: 50 kettlebell swings

10-min: 50 kettlebell swings, Turkish Get-Ups (6 ea. side), 50 Jumping Jacks

15-min: 50 kettlebell swings, Turkish Get-Ups, 50 Juming Jacks, Bulgarian Squats, 10 push-ups

20-min: 15 min of intervals on the exercise bike, Kettlebell swings, pushups

Getting involved in a project on the computer is great, but spending hours at my desk reaks havoc on my back. My other tip is to set the timer on my oven for 75 minutes. Every 1:15 minutes I have to get up, run up the stairs and reset the alarm. I usually do a couple of quick stretches before I sit back down at my desk. When I'm in the office, I do something similar. I keep a small cup of water to sip on while I work. As soon as its empty its time to get up, stretch, walk around and refill my cup.

And, if all else fails and I get to the end of the day realizing I didn't do a darn thing, I challenge the husband to a "Plank-off" before bed. We assume the Plank position and see who can hold the pose the longest. I always lose.

These mini-workouts mentally keep me moving forward. So I missed my 9-mile run this week, it's okay. And I missed my 90 minute trainer workout. That's going to happen. But I have not completely fallen off the wagon, I have successfully continued my losing streak in the Plank-Off last night.