The Yoda of the Cycling World

It’s been unbelievably busy lately – my move has added about 2 hours to my commute and trying to prepare for this upcoming adventure race has been a challenge. I’m pretty motivated, but when that alarm goes off at 4am, that motivation can go right out the window! Forcing myself to head to bed at a much earlier hour than most people is the big challenge - my social life is seriously hurting but at this point I kind of prefer the whole 'staying awake while I drive' aspect more than my need for social engagement. Who needs a date anyway.

I've been ramping up my workouts to get ready for the race and one of the things I've added is a spinning class 3 times a week - love, love, love it! The fellow who leads the class has a unique approach to his instruction - he likes to do visualization and throws in lots of inspirational sayings to get us going. The funny thing is he is a bit like Sean Penn in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" - I catch myself laughing at some of the things he says, with that ting of a surfer dude accent. But what he does works - I truly HATED riding on stationary bikes before but no more, he knows how to get me in 'the zone.' Now we'll just see if it translates to the open road - I pick up my bike this weekend and Steve and I plan on doing a ride Saturday in Palo Duro Canyon State Park. I don't know what kind of trail he's taking me on, but I have a feeling he's going to want to push me a bit - I'm all for a good push now and then and now seems as good a time as any.

My first race is just 10 days, 11 hours away! It will be in Albuquerque on April 20 and I'll be racing with a couple I met at camp. It includes mountain biking for about 10-15 miles and trail running/trekking for about 5-10 miles - we won't know exactly until the day of the race. I'm nervous yet excited all at the same time. On top of that, it's another item I can check off of my 'dream list.' It's funny, I keep checking things off of this list yet it keeps getting longer - at this rate I'll be 80 before I finish the darn thing. (hey, that was one of my goals... to be doing stuff like this when I am 80. Let's hope I don't finish the list before then!)

The other night I decided to lay out a schedule of all the races I plan on doing this summer - it was then that I realized that this is going to be a crazy summer... and a lot of fun! I'm going to post it on my blog with the thought that this will keep me accountable to all of you and that I might actually RUN these races. :-)

Registered/Confirmed:

• April 20: New Mexico Adventure Racing Club Sprint #1 - I'll be racing with Jerry and Linda, a couple I met at camp. First adventure race for all of us!
• May 3: Take 5 in the Garden- a 5 mile, very hilly run in the Garden of the Gods. I actually enjoy running hills - it's probably because I get the reward of a fun, downhill run after the climb. :-)
• May 10: Gravity Play Buena Vista Adventure Race - I'll be working as a volunteer for this race. This is the same group that put on the camp I attended, it will be a great introduction to what a longer race involves and what to expect when I run one of their races.
• May 26: Bolder Boulder 10K - this race was one of my first goals when I began to lose weight. I'll be running this with a group from work. I keep hearing how much fun it is, can't wait to experience it myself!
  

Tentative:

• June 8 OR July 12: New Mexico Adventure Racing Club Sprint #2 OR #3 - I'll be running one of these races with my brother Steve. We need to finalize the date but he seems pretty excited to be doing a race.
• June 21 - July 2: Primal Quest - I might be on the support team for a team running this amazing race (it's a huge race, kind of the ultimate challenge of all the adventure races) It would probably be just a few days, but what a great way to spend those days!
  
• July 26-27: Gravity Play - Summit County Adventure Race: I want to do either their sprint or 12 hour race but need to find a partner/team that is willing to put up with a slow newbie (Anyone out there interested??)
• September 6: Gravity Play - Vail Adventure Race: Would like to do the 12 hour race for this one, but once again need a partner/team. Anyone??
• October 19: Denver Half Marathon - this is REALLY tentative, not sure I want to take on a half marathon. A lot depends on how the summer goes.
• November 16: San Antonio Rock n Roll Marathon - I'm more likely to run this half marathon. I would get to visit my Aunt and Uncle and run at a beautiful location (that just happens to be at a much lower altitude than Colorado - you would be amazed how much of a difference that makes!)
  

Did I mention I also have a goal of climbing 10 14ers? And who knows what else might come up - I like having a schedule but I also want to be flexible and open to trying something/anything new. I might as well add more to my dream list - I don't want to get bored, do I?