blissful soul
this is my favorite pictures from my trip to colorado.
couldn’t tell you why.
maybe because i felt so awesome at this point. it was 8 days into pure mountain bliss. my soul was relaxed and had bee for over a week - something i can’t remember feeling in a long, long time.
i was atop hoosier pass, which is also along the continental divide. the continental divide goes from the tip top of alaska all the way down to the tippy toe of mexico, mostly mountainous and marks the separation of the watersheds that drain to the pacific (west, duh) and atlantic (uh….east) oceans. its tall and seriously magical. this go round i came up from the south and dropped into summit county. the roads are STEEP, super windy, narrow and crazy. and the locals, especially on the southern side, are a little bit mountain folky and i’d argue a bit too comfortable on the pass. i had folks passing me, which admittedly doesn’t sound all that insane, but trust me, these roads are fucking insane. the views are incredible too, so i found myself zoning out and looking at all the pretty instead of 100% focusing on the road. oh survival.
the day was perfect. to be honest, all the days were perfect. even days that saw rain were perfect. in colorado, even if it rains, its only for a short while then its gorgeous again. did you know that? it’s true.
i forgot about the crap. by this point in my trip i was 100% where i was. enjoying slight solitude, enjoying music, enjoying mountains, enjoying sunshine and cool evenings, enjoying friends, longing for a future that contained it all. i was so deeply involved in my present that i forgot i have a job that doesn’t do it for me. i forgot about any personal troubles. i forgot about my insecurities. i forgot about humidity. PEOPLE, I FORGOT ABOUT HUMIDITY!
i walked my bare feet around the top of the world breathing and smiling and dreaming of more. then i got in the car and barreled into summit county, pass through breck for the second time that week where the tourists and locals prepared for a quick afternoon storm before the fireworks kicked off (it took everything i had in me to keep from pulling into a familiar driveway and hunkering down for the night with food, wine and views that only the rockies can provide), and went on my merry way to nederland, which is a hippie-filled tale for another day…
competitive and repetitive breath holding can be deadly
well all the babbling done about the Tour de Pint happy hour deserves at least a little update, doesn’t it? then i’ll put it away forever. in short, it rocked. v, the bar, our sponsors and all the guests helped me raise over $500 for LIVESTRONG!
plus it gave me an excuse to look like an idiot.
like i need an excuse.
so, that puts me at almost %75 of my goal. i just need about $1400 more dollars to reach $5000. i’m hoping i can make that happen before the century next month, but i will keep going at least until the tri in september if not.
so, THANK YOU EVERYONE!
let’s see, what else…
on wednesday, summer bocce started!
we lost.
sad start.
but we’re gold! which is number 1, right? so, i think we have a bright future ahead of us.
oh, and also..
competitive and repetitive breath holding can be deadly.
you saw it hear first, folks…careful with that prolonged underwater swimming. just don’t do it.
i love WABA
the washington area bicyclists association has agreed to donate a membership to tonight’s list of AWESOME giveaways at the tour de pint!! woo woo!
even more Tour de Pint AWESOMEness
friday, saturday and sunday brought even more sweetness to tuesday’s Tour de Pint happy hour with gift certificates and experiences from capitol hill bikes, bike and roll and potomac river running!
and on a completely awesome friday note…
THANK YOU, BIG WHEEL BIKES!
big wheel bikes has donated a $100 gift certificate to le tour de pint for give away on tuesday!
sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
responsible eating
as i have said before, in the past half year or so, my eating habits have shifted a bit. i find myself eating a whole lot less meat and as it turns out, a whole lot more seafood.
the other night i found myself at a work dinner in a real serious steak house that a year ago would have been a dream come true, but this time i had trouble identifying anything i wanted on the menu. a steak still sounds good to me sometimes, but not at 8:30 at night when i had a tough workout the next morning and an early day at work.
fish. light, healthy, delicious.
there were two fish choices: chilean seabass and farm raised salmon. salmon is so…not blahh, but nothing special either these days. i mean, i LOVE salmon, but i just don’t need to order it at a restaurant, you know? and to be honest, i have no idea what salmon farms are feeding those hungry fish, how sustainable the salmon feed is. the seabass sounded AWESOME. but as i sat at a table of fish experts, i quickly learned it was at the top of the list of over-fished seafood. then i realized i had never REALLY thought about that sort of thing.
as my seafood consumption goes up, my knowledge of what i’m eating needs to go up. the more we learn the more we know.
the monteray bay aquarium has developed a series of seafood watch pocket guides organized by region that are updated frequently. it also provides a national pocket guide and a sushi pocket guide.
i printed out the national guide and sushi guide and stuck ‘em in my wallet. a quick glance told me i don’t always make the most sustainable decisions at the market or at the dinner table, so hopefully i’ll make some positive adjustments with these to my shopping and eating.
Live MIGHTY, Drink STRONG
many, MANY thanks to the mighty pint for helping me and my friend, v, host a happy hour as a part of my fund raising efforts for LIVESTRONG!
seriously, i’m so excited!!
v and i will be guest bar tending and we are hoping to find a local bike shop to join us. a donation will get a LIVESTRONG wristband that means ‘strong & mighty pint’ drink specials.
the mighty pint is a ridiculously awesome bar. all drinks come in a pint glass.
did you hear that?
they serve me my jameson IN A PINT GLASS!
right, a pint glass.
so, needless to say, i’m feeling pretty honored that they have offered to put some serious energy into helping me make this a kick ass fundraiser.
please stop by and say hi if you are in the dc area! we will be celebrating the final push of le tour on our own ‘tour de pint!’
click here for more event info and here for my LIVESTRONG endurance challenge updates.
spinning my butt off: endurance update
back in april i talked about getting my routine set, especially in light of future endurance events that are going to be awesome/kick my butt. i have been pretty good at making most workouts happen as planned, or nearly as planned. habits formed, feelin good and all that bidness.
one of the keys for me is to not only have a plan, but to mix things up here and there. i do that through random classes, working out with buddies, hiking, random trips to colorado, etc… keeps me guessing and reminds me to have fun while i’m at it.
this weekend i went to free class at las boxing that a healthy living blogger that i keep up with hosted. roosk came with. hoooooooey, did we get our asses handed to us. years ago in seattle i belonged to a kickboxing gym. i loved it. it was out of the u district so it was my little escape. punching and kicking is good for the soul.
well, its good for my soul.
okay, maybe it’s not good for the soul, but it kicks your ass and makes you feel alive.
this class reawakened that in me. it was awesome. and hard core. roosk and i are hard core and its really too bad we didn’t take any pictures as proof, but i promise, we were hard core. and you know, it was a super fun way to mix things up.
while i’m not terribly sore from the whole thing, when i went for my run this morning, and my ass started its up and down running bounce (that’s right, my ass bounces when i run. so does yours.) and shoooooooot, that HUUUUUUUURT. so, in short, boxing is fun, but round kicks kick your butt.
annnnyway, onward…
now that my routine is pretty solid with the occasional deviation from the master plan, i am gearing up for a serious shift in my diet for aug through the tri. mostly, i just want to clean it up a teeny bit more. eliminate some things to make me feel a little awesome(er) for the century (ps, lance is gunna be there!!!!!) (i’m only mildly obsessed.) (i swear.) and tri. i know it’s not necessary, but i really want to feel good and finish strong, so in a few weeks i’ll do my best to adios a few things (dairy, salt, etc). cold turkey seems a bit harsh so i’m practicing now.
and by practicing i mean i’m drinking wine and eating chocolate and writing down things i would like to be doing differently.
i think it’s working.
OH and i have some fun tricks up my sleeve for the final 39 days of fundraising for LiveStrong for any DC locals. Details tomorrow(ish).
previous endurance challenge update.
an emotional fish
sometimes i wonder how i get anything done.
i also wonder how i managed to go as long as i have being oblivious to the fact that astrology might just have something to it…okay, i don’t really think that, but i like the idea. and i think fish are neat. and every so often it gets pointed out to me just how emotionally fishy i really am. astrologically speaking, of course.
so if i’m a fish, sign me up.
i’m a pisces.
that’s a fish.
so sign me up.
at least a little bit.
i am one of the most emotionally driven people i know. after a quick google search, i see that something to the effect of ‘emotionally driven’ appears as the first few words in the teaser for everything pisces. it’s a water thing.
they naturally identify with the versatile emotions of the people surrounding them
pisces needs to explore his or her world through the emotions.
pisceans tend to exist emotionally rather than rationally, instinctively rather than intellectually… [wait, i’m not a rational or an intellectual? yikes.]
…no other sign is so prone to the infectious nature of human emotion.
emotions rule the pisces’ personality
look, i’m not proud that i’m an overly emotion person.
or that crying is my first physiological response to pretty much any type of emotion (happy, sad, excited, angry, nervous, etc…).
it’s just me.
i over-think and over-feel EVERYTHING.
every action and inaction of friends, strangers, family, lovers… that comes my way all go right to my heart and soul. where i cry as i compute them. but don’t fear my tears, they just happen, damn it!
its not my fault.
i’m a pisces.
(i’m really starting to get the hang of blaming my overly emotional brain on the stars.)
my emotions guide me in everything i do. i know that’s not always the best thing in the world, but its very representative of me. and i own that. and while its not the most convenient thing in the world (for example, when asking a boss man for a promotion or quitting a job….or getting my tire replaced on my bike at a bike store full of surly bike mechanics), i’m proud of the places my emotions have guided me.
they are my compass.
i have been racking my brain to come up with what i want for my tattoo. i’m not quite there yet, but i think a fish might be involved. not in an overly astrological way, but i like the symbolism if it.
don’t laugh. seriously, or i’ll cry. (i kid.)
but, i’m thinking a rainbow trout, or a caricature or sorts of one. i have a history with them. they are gorgeous. they are feisty. they are fresh water fish (i consider myself a fresh water fish as well). they taste good? okay, so i’m not totally there yet, but i already said that.
it would replace the sun.
but, i might still be on the sun and off the fish.
for sure the 27 though.
okay, maybe just a 27.
somebody ink me SOON before i make a mess of myself!
and then cry about it.
happy weekend ramble
head game
i’m struggling to post, kids. i like this to be a scrapbook for myself, and ultimately for me. i like sharing, but i’m feeling sort of out of sorts. not in a bad way, no, not bad at all, but i’m trying to wrap my head around what this girl WANTS and get up the gumption to grab whatever that is by the balls. as a result, i’m sort of all over the place in my head, making it difficult to focus on much of anything, even upload pics (of which there are shockingly not that many…for me anyway) from my trip.
and i have been in my own world this week with very little to report, trying to get back into healthy, at home eating and working out. the whole inability to focus thing is remarkable for my workouts though, especially the pool. pushing myself physically right now (good timing, i spose) is just about the only way i can kick other stuff out of my head and focus on a single thing for a sustained period of time.
ugh, and the HEAT. its so draining. and annoying. and i hate it.
the swim
the tri is coming up and my fear of the open water leg is becoming a real mental game. BUT, i did get my wet suit in the mail last week…perhaps i’ll do a little photo shoot for all of our entertainment. i’m toying with signing up for a sprint the weekend before philly. that might not be the cheapest and smartest way to spend the weekend before my century, but it looks like a blast and a friend is doing it and i think it might calm my nerves a bit to get in the water for a shorter distance in an event situation.
le tour
i’m also mildly obsessed with the tour de france. do you watch? i LOVE it. i’m actually discovering a mild obsession with the sport in general. my new love for the sport has tuned my tv to vs. permanently during this tour. and they flash back to previous years, highlighting a whole stage at a time if it was particularly noteworthy. last night i watched lance in 2001 DOMINATE stage 10. it was unbelievable. he faked struggle in the back of the pack, in front of the cameras where coaches would see and radio to their riders that lance, the #1 jersey, was having a ROUGH day, and then fucking MOTORED to the front of the pack during the final major climb, leading by almost 2 minutes by the end, to win one of the toughest stages in the whole tour. it was SO much fun to watch. and i almost cried that my bike needs a new tire and i couldn’t hop on at that very moment and climb a mountain like lance. wahhhhhh.
weekend
some fun things on the calendar: girls night, long ride, (kick) boxing class, fringe fest, cap crit, a long run, etc.
my soul is excited for another long ride tomorrow (after i put a new tire on there) and a ladies night tonight. i miss my girls! and there will be beer involved. is it so wrong that beer (even cheap, canned beer) makes me happy?
then i don’t wanna be right…
