A Quick Hello...

This weekend has crept up on me quite unexpectedly. I'm getting ready for my first adventure race of the year on Saturday (a 12 hour/50-60 mile race) and I feel slightly unprepared. Compared to last year when I was in the best shape ever, this year not so much. I'm just hoping I don't collapse in the middle of the course. How embarrassing would that be?

Surprisingly, I feel more prepared to push it than I was last year. Last year was just a test to see if I could actually race for 12 hours - I was SLOW! This year I have the disadvantage of being sick the past few months, however I feel more mentally prepared to push myself. I'm gonna have to tap into that, because my body is definitely not as tough!

I should have pictures next week, so be on the lookout for an update on my crazy day

camping/outdoor 'tips' and interesting tidbits...

Our local paper, the Gazette, totally rocks when it comes to any type of outdoor reporting. I just found this gem on their website - good info with a touch of 'the funny.' Below is a paragraph from the article - I am going to tell all my guy friends about this. Then I'm going to make sure my mom reads it - maybe she'll worry more about my brother than me :-)


THREAT NO. 1: THE Y CHROMOSOME

This tiny tangle of DNA that separates the men from the women is the most dangerous thing in the backcountry. It makes the hairier gender do really dumb things, such as climb mountains in thunderstorms, ski avalanche-prone slopes, and say things like, “Get a picture of me trying to ride this mountain goat.” Statistically, having the Y chromosome makes men three times more likely than women to be injured in the outdoors, and eight times more likely to be killed, according to a study by the Colorado Department of Public Health. Just to round things out, guys are also five times more likely to be killed biking, seven times more likely to be killed kayaking and 17 times more likely to be killed by an avalanche. The Y chromosome may also be a factor in Threat No. 2.

Best defense: Listen to your lady friend.

run forest run!

My sister-in-law likes to say this to me, all because of this story. In my quest for fitness and health, one of the biggest surprises has been the discovery that I love running. Really surprising, as in my-HS-gym-teacher-would-most-likely-suffer-a-heart-attack-if-she-knew kind of surprising.

I can't explain why i love it so much, especially since during most of my runs I can't breathe, my legs ache and I feel like quitting long before it's suppose to end. But then there are those other times, the ones where I feel that high that other runners always talk about. It hasn't happened often, but I remember them vividly. It's kind of like a bad relationship - you know it's bad 99% of the time, but you always come back to that 1% that was good and that convinces you to stay. The only difference... running is good for you.

I am happy to say that I have, once again, made up with running and we are now embarking on a new, albeit slightly different relationship. It's not easy and there have been many tears and lots of pain, but I'm feeling pretty good about our prognosis. I'll make sure and keep you up to date on our progress. Let's hope it's all good!

A New Goal

I've heard about 24 hour mtb races - one of my friends from adventure race camp has run quite a few, winning most of them (what else can you expect from a bad ass like Jari - she beats all the guys too!). But the thought of actually doing one of these races? Last week = 0 probability. This week = absolutely possible!

The 24 Hour ERock MTB Race is what changed my mind. I found out that the race course is a trail I ride all the time, and one I can do REALLY WELL!!! And then I found out they allow teams to race and I thought "that means I will only have to ride every few hours!!" On top of that, the race isn't until next June - I have 11 months to train! My mind has been working overtime with the realization that I could actually do this, a 24 hour bike race. And you know what happens when I put my mind to something? I don't give up too easily.

I've already convinced two people to join my team (my brother and a friend, who, by the way, thinks I'm crazy but will never admit he likes that about me). Just need to find one more person and we are all set!

I am now obsessed with thoughts of a race that is almost a year away.

It could be a long year.

http://www.elephantrockride.com/24_index.html

Seriously??!!

I discovered something amazing today... that my bike has gears. Lots of them. And when I use those gears, hills become a whole lot easier. And when hills are easier, I am a much faster and happier rider.

I know it seems crazy that I'm saying this NOW, after having spent the past year racing and riding and, of course, falling. But from the first time I got on a bike last year, gears were the most frustrating and difficult skill to learn. I just couldn't figure it out and usually ended up walking my bike for much of the trail.

However, that all changed today - I FINALLY got it! I headed out to another one of my favorite trails, one that has climb after climb after climb. It exhausted me last year and I never once made it up all those hills without some walking. Not today, I zoomed up all the hills, no problem, changing gears all over the place! I just can't believe what a difference it made.

To think I could have been doing this all along... that thought slightly depresses me.

self diagnosing is never a good idea

It all started last month when I began experiencing odd stomach pains. Well, not so much odd as mind numbingly painful. This after having spent the previous months nursing every $#&^% type of injury imaginable. The stomach pains were an unwelcome guest, kind of like if one of my scary relatives decided to visit.

After some research of my own and talking to my Dr, 'we' (read: I) were pretty sure it was gallbladder. Took all the tests and guess what? They all came back negative. My very reasonable Dr. decided that another option would be an ulcer. Seems rational, right? I didn't see it that way. Me and my very respectable degree from webmd.com said it had to be gallbladder, why didn't everyone else see this??

The Dr. gave me free samples of some meds and I reluctantly started taking them, all along thinking that this will not work... of course it won't work... no way am I wrong.

A couple of weeks later and I felt like a new person. Anyone else would realize that was a good thing, right? Sure (Have I mentioned that I have a Welsh background? And that the Welsh, and in particular my family, are known for being stubborn?) That whole stubborn thing was in particularly good form and I decided that I didn't need to take the meds anymore - I just knew it was my gallbladder!

Fast forward to today. After spending the afternoon writhing in pain on the floor of my office, I am now ready to relinquish my oh so distinguished med degree and admit I was... ahem... wrong. I am back on the meds and nursing my pains... and ego.

So, that's been my week. How has yours been?

Sugar is Evil

I found this blog last night, all about one woman's journey to spend a year without sugar (http://myyearwithout.blogspot.com/) and it got me thinking about the past few years and my journey to better health. Of all the food that I have the hardest time with, it's always been sugar. The first year of my weight loss I ate NO sugar, not a drop. As a result, I could no longer claim the prize of "moody girl." It really did help in not just my moods, but my energy levels and overall health. I felt amazing!

Sadly, I introduced sugar back into my diet last year and it has been a slow decline since then. My moods are back, I'm having stomach problems (I credit it with causing some of my gallbladder problems lately) and of course, I've gained weight. I'm just now beginning to realize how addicting sugar is. The question is, how do I deal with it?

I've been debating different ideas, which mostly involves cutting sugar either drastically out of my diet or completely. The whole "completely" idea freaks me out a bit - I LOVE chocolate and the thought of not eating it sends me into panic mode! But then I remind myself of how good I felt that 'sugarless' year and that gives me motivation to make those changes.

Will I completely shut out sugar? I don't know, it seems awfully drastic. But I do need to make some changes, I'm tired of how I have been feeling and reading this ladies blog has been an inspiration.

Adversity

"So much of the growth we experience in this sport (Adventure Racing) (and life?) we learn from the challenges and difficulties we face; 'Adversity introduces you to yourself.'

It’s through facing this adversity that we find out what our limits are, often only to realize that we are capable of more than we thought. If we don’t push our limits, how do we ever grow and get better?

Yes, there is often (almost always, actually) some pain involved, but suffering is optional… it doesn’t have to be fun to be fun! As the mountaineers say, 'it isn’t always fun, but it beats growing up!'"

From Funtastics Adventure Racing Team Blog

A Grand Obsession

It all started back in September when I was in Moab. I was there for an expedition adventure race and the team I was with convinced me that a great way to keep in touch (they all live in San Francisco) was through Facebook. I thought "great, a way to keep in touch with these wonderful new friends." So I joined and the next day left on the great adventure of a 4 day race.

After 4 days of traveling around the Moab wilderness and having little to no contact with the outside world, I returned to civilization to find a zillion facebook friend requests - A ZILLION I TELL YA!! Quite the shock to find that people outside of my little group of San Francisco friends had found me. How did that happen? And honestly, how did I get this many friends??!!

I now blame my San Fran friends for introducing me to this new obsession, which has taken over my entire life. I have found and been found by friends that I haven't seen since my primary school years, or college, or even my previous jobs. And I can't get enough of it... my thoughts are consumed with who has updated their status updates or what celebrity they are most like or who posted their 25 Random Things list and heaven forbid that I miss reading that list! It's exhausting and I blame my insomnia on this new and grand obsession.

In all my searching and posting and poking, I found this video. And I laughed, laughed at my own obsession and because I love to share funny stuff, I decided to share it here. Because sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself.



And then there is Twitter... but I'll leave that obsession for another post. Besides, I haven't updated my status in over an hour - I have some work to do!

the need to connect

It was a year ago that I began this blog, all because I had decided to follow a dream and run my first adventure race. Looking back at this year, I realize I far exceeded even my own expectations. I've already written, in detail, about my amazing year, so I'm not going to make you suffer through it again. But I never in a million years could have foreseen what changes would take place in my life over the past year.

The changes in me physically are easy to see - losing 200 pounds can do that. But there have been other, more profound changes that aren't as noticeable. Sometimes I even have a hard time seeing it, which isn't a big surprise given my past (and all too present) self-esteem issues. It's always been easier for me to focus on my faults than my strengths.



What it comes down to is this... people make all the difference. More specifically, the people in my life have made a difference. For many years I lived in a very limited world of my own making - it was safe and secure and, well, boring. I had great friends but I kept them at arms length, not wanting anyone to disrupt my little utopia. I let my weight and insecurities rule my life and in the process I missed out on so much.

Now? My utopia bubble has been burst and I am left to deal with all the messy and glorious humanness that is a part of life. And while it makes life so much more difficult, it is unbelievably rewarding. My old friends have stood by me through all my ups and downs; my new friends have accepted me and all my quirks and challenged me to be a better version of myself. While my belief in myself is sometimes lacking, I know that I can tap into any of my friends and they will see things in me that I don't see myself. And isn't that what relationships are about - helping each other become the very best we can be? I am grateful and humbled by all of my friends faith in me and hope I am able to give back as much as I have been given.

Who would have thought that my 'little dream' would become the catalyst for so much change in my life? No one is more surprised than me.