Fitness Training News

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year to All

Joanne found these green blobs on the ride today. Stopped me and we went back to take a pic. Not quite sure what they are but hey, they're cool looking.

Very happy to be riding on New Year's Day

Ride fuel for the New Year.

This dude was incredible! Check out his rack. Wider than my arms fully stretched out.

50 miler companions. # posted by Michelle Grainger @ 11:59 PM 0 Comments

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Late Starts, Running Butts, Paul Bunyon, and Proper Lifting Form.

Oh, what you can see on your rides.....

Man we live is a most awesome place. Sunday was wicked windy in the morning. Funny thing is...

OK, there is an advantage to sleeping in until 9. You get up, see that there is mega wind howling around and you have a cup of coffee. Then you hike your dogs into the woods up the hill and play around with them so they have a fun day, too. Then you come back, with the wind still howling and think, maybe a ride up Sunshine may be better. But then you get your crap together and pile into the car and head to Boulder. As you get there and stand in some random parking lot, you begin to grin... the wind is not as bad as earlier in the day. Ha ha. The late starters win. Other late starters are meeting up with you. You ride. You ride, we rode, 52 miles. We were lucky... the wind was pretty mild. Maybe consistent at 20 mph. That's nothing compared to early in the day. And.... it was hardly blowing when we hit the Diagonal. Lucky? Maybe. Happy, for sure!
Steve got the bikes and gear ready and I took the Girls for their hike on the local trails. I have to say, I'm getting in better shape taking them up the hills so much. It's great winter cross training. Now that I'm running with them so often, I can feel that my legs are more equal in strength. The running has really helped get my Quads, Hamstrings, and Gluts pretty strong. More even. That's the key to cross training. The bike is awesome, great, and my passion and it's not weight bearing, but I know it's not always the best at making the muscles even. Too easy to use only one side of your legs, your hips, your gluts. So, running and hiking (bonus bc it's with the Girls) is great cross training for me in the winter. That and soon I'd like to skate ski. That's great for balance.

So, hike we did. And, we found the "Sherpa Hat"! That's bonus points.

After our hike we hurried to town to ride. And the first stop was...

Next we were in search for Paul. We found him, in all his total 30 foot high glory.

Fruit Loops, the Small Square Loop. Hygiene, and home.

Another great day staying in shape for the upcoming Brevet season.

Goofy Sherpa Hat shadow photos.

SO many years together and still having fun.

Oh yessssssss. Must use proper lifting techniques even when moveing things off of your trails.

# posted by Michelle Grainger @ 7:40 PM 0 Comments

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Oh the day was cold but so fantastic.

Great happy holidays for all!

The holiday week started with a great dinner with H and J at the Gold Hill Inn restaurant. We don't eat out a lot but I try to get to the GHI at least 2x per year. Now they only be open for New Year's and then closed until May. We had our honeymoon at the Inn-a long long time ago. So it has a lot of meaning to us.

On Christmas day we decided not to make traditional plans and instead Steveo slept in and I ran the Girls for about 2 1/2 miles. We had a blast. We had the trails all to ourselves and it was quite peaceful.

When we got home Steveo was up and I talked him into skipping opening gifts and instead, heading to Boulder for a ride. It was great. ABout 36 degrees when we started and then up to about 42. Just perfect for a winter ride.

Again, a good plug for Rudy Project and Clif Bar-we ate Luna Moons on the ride.

We got to stop and take photos of silly little things. Like....

The furry cows.......

The snow covering the ground to prove that it is a white Christmas......

And a shadow of me riding....

After our ride we headed back home and were able to get in another hike/walk with the Girls. My legs were a little jiggly b/c of the early run, not a lot of food, other than the Moons, and then not being used to a ride (only) about 2.1/2 hours. But it was in the wind so......

The day after X-Mas we both worked but I only had to work a half day. Got to have lunch with JE and then made it home to run with the Girls (yes, again). I know, that's all I write about but it's just so much fun.

Today, Sat. was mostly picking up the house, organizing my bike bag and cleaning out my car. Then got a cold and windy run in with, you guessed it, the Girls. had to keep them moving as it was only 26 degrees.

Tomorrow a ride as it will be close to 50! # posted by Michelle Grainger @ 6:08 PM 0 Comments

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Winter and Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!!!!!
Here is our tree that we cut out of the back yard. Small but looks awesome. Steveo put lights on it and we decided not to put on lights.

Got up early to go run with the Girls and let Stevo sleep in late.

Such a beautiful day!

Happy Holidays to all. # posted by Michelle Grainger @ 10:51 AM 1 Comments

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Beautiful winter day. The whole weekend was excellent.

Mapleton Hill neighborhood with beautiful holiday lights.

Awesome hiking with Steve and the Girls.

It was a great weekend. Lots of holiday cheer, gathering of friends, and outdoor activities.

Saturday was a great day for baking cookies and making chocolates. I'm working on making chocolates that have new and interesting flavors.

Saturday I went to visit my friends Matt and Cathy and their new baby (well, 5 1/2 months old), Jack. He is quite the cuties and so happy. Fun to catch up with them.

Then I did what I call "floundering". You know, when you don't really have plans to do anything but you feel like you should be doing something productive. So I drove around for a while with not a lot of purpose. I did get some last minute holiday shopping done and then got home in time to hike with the Girls again. This hike was quite a bit colder than the earlier hike. Just the same we were able to get in a couple of miles at a quick pace. That way they could stay warm. It was only about 18 degrees. The Girls seem to like the cold weather-or they know that running around a lot keeps them warm. Still it's amazing how agile they are ducking and zipping here and there through the trees and bushes.

Saturday night we went to Nannie's holiday party. She has so many amazing friends. Fun fun fun! Good food and a good time. Also, nice to drive through her new neighborhood and see the holiday lights.

Sunday we slept in very "in". Woke up at 10:00! Yikes. Felt like I had to catch up all day. Made the last of the batches of cookies and chocolate. After cleaning up the house we took the Girls out. Although the temps were a little colder from Saturday, it seemed much warmer. We got in a great hour and it was so beautiful. Lots of great colors in the sky.

Never get tired of these views. Can see almost the whole way to Boulder.

Same big white rock, different day. Never get tired of this special spot.

After the hike but before the dinner at Gold Hill Inn, we cut a Holiday tree down-from our yard, of course. It's small but needed to be cut b/c it was too close to other trees.

Sunday night we went to the Gold Hill Inn. Awesome food and a really good place to hang with friends. Jeff and Holly came up with us. Good time by all.

# posted by Michelle Grainger @ 11:14 PM 0 Comments

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Steve just saw his 17th mountain lion, gggeeezzz.

And, it snowed on Larry in Vegas. Maybe winter riding in Las Vegas isn't all it's cracked up to be.
What else is new? I've got two sisters on FB now. Yahoo! One more thing to look at and connect to the world.

I also wish I was going somewhere for the holiday. Like back East or South. I like out winters but I feel the itch to travel somewhere. I miss my family as I didn't travel this summer to see them.

Steve just told me he saw his 17th lion tonight driving home. Same place he saw one two years ago at the mouth of Canyon just at the last house. The last time he saw one there was when he was commuting home on his bike and it jumped onto the bike path in front of him. It didn't move so he picked his bike up over his head and hissed. Good going Steve. But it did eventually go back into the woods and silly Steve rode past it.

Now he's seen 17 to my 13. I don't think I want to see any more. Too many and they're no longer afraid of us.

more snow this weekend but also more very colds temps. Going to be in the teens. I fried my lungs last weekend just shoveling. They still hurt. Have to keep covered up better this weekend if I'm planning to play outside.

Tonight I'm making cookies and chocolates. I haven't done that in about 2 years. I'm also testing a new flavor of chocolate. Stay posted to see if it works.

Happy holidays. # posted by Michelle Grainger @ 11:43 PM 0 Comments

Sunday, December 14, 2008

6 degrees but not separation

Yes, that is frost on my hair!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Man oh man. Women oh Women. Cold is putting it mildly! I had to doubel up my gloves and put in heaters to keep my hands warm today.

Got up late and started shoveling the driveway while Steve started breakfast. Good motivation to have someone making BF while you're burning off fuel.

Since that was my so called workout for the day, I decided to make each shovel stroke simulate a workout in the gym. Each time I pushed the shovel into the snow, I would bend as low as I could into a squat position. I'd make sure I was weighting my full feet in the boots. Especially placing my body weight on my heels. Then I'd hold the stance for a few seconds, lift the snow in the front of my body and they come up to a full stand. This would use core muscles and some front Deltoid muscles. Once standing, I would bend my knees very slightly, and I would twist with the snow in the shovel like a move I would do with a Medicine Ball to get my Obliques engaged. Instead of allowing the snow to slide off of my shovel I would bend my knees and as I came up into a stand, I would fling the snow up into the air.

After about 15-20 shovel strokes, I would switch hands/arms, thus getting both side of my body equally worked out. Have to say, it was a really interesting way to shovel the driveway.

After the shoveling Steve and I took the Girls for a hile. Had to keep them moving pretty fast as it was only 4 or so degrees by that time. K Girls doesn't notice the cold as much, or just plain ignores it. Newby L is a little more of a princess. Towards the end of the hike she kept lifting up her feet to have us wipe them off. All in all they had a blast running around and playing in the snow.

After the hike, did a little snow plowing (using the neighbors snow plow) and the driveway is all ready for the week ahead.

The rest of today has been spent playing on the computer. Stevie has been working on bikes. Mine, friends, and his own. A good day had by all and it's not over! # posted by Michelle Grainger @ 6:28 PM 0 Comments

Hike, dogs, ride, and a Black Window Spider.

Had the best day!
I'm almost done transferring stuff form the old computer to the new. Just have photos left to do.

Got up today, knowing it was the last warm (50 degrees) day for at least a week. We hiked the dogs this morning and had a blast hiking all of the trails and then running into a neighbor and his dog, Riley. The best about thing about meeting them on the local trails was that Kayla really has a good time with Riley. Lucie, too, had a blast running all over the trails after him. Since another neighbor's dog bit Lucie and attacked Kayla, the two Girls have been a little shy of other dogs. But Riley , they love to play with.

So... today/Saturday's storm was coming in really fast. Good incentive to keep riding quickly. I decided to ride my Ventana hardtail turned commuter bike.

We didn't have a lot of time so we decided to do Long Neva. Good views, easy ride and just a little over an hour. It was nice to get a ride in while the temps were still in the high 40s and low 50s. Not like Sunday temps of single digits.

I saw my first Geese of the year. They were all huddled on one side of the lake. Maybe b/c the bird of prey we saw was on the other side of the lake. I think it may have been an Eagle. Looked too big to be a Hawk. I should know the difference, but hard to tell when it was all tucked up in the tree.

From the ride it was off to grocery shop and get last minute holiday gifts for the families.

As we were driving home we called our friend Eugene and asked if he wanted to get together for a bite to eat. Since his favorite place to eat if The Med, that's where we met up. Lucky for us we were seated in about 3 minutes and had a great festive snack.

Once back home, Steve worked on getting about 15 tree logs (8-10 feet long) into an area where we'll be able to take the chainsaw and cut them up for firewood. He also worked on some bikes (favorite past time). I covered the outdoor furniture, shoveled the walkways and car areas and moved cars to areas of the driveway where we'll be able to shovel the snow more easily tomorrow. Supposed to get 20 inches here by mid day.

We also found a Black Widow in one of our window sills. It was behind the storm window. We had to find a way to get it out of that area as it is right next to the couch and we don't want to have the little killer crawling around and waiting to bite an unsuspecting pet or worse, me or Steve. I've been bitten once by a Black Widow and it was one of the worst things. My whole leg swelled up and took forever to heal. IN the end we ended up killing her (sorry) but it was next to impossible to catch her with out having her run into a crack or come out to defend herself.

Lots to do tomorrow. What a very productive and entertaining day we all had. # posted by Michelle Grainger @ 1:02 AM 0 Comments

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Ride when ya can.

Things are awesome!
Finally with the house stuff behind us we can actually spend time working out. Yahoo! Even the Girls are happy. And, when the weather has not been snowy I've been riding and commuting to work.

I switched form my KHS racing road bike to my 12 year old Ventana mt hard tail. Still need s alittle work but it's a great commuter bike and keeps the KHS safe from the snow and mud.

Last weekend we were able to ride with the big E. Had a blast.

Got some more lights form Cateye-thanks Ellen. I love lighting up the streets. No excuses to hit me now.

I love Apple. I just got a new Powerbook Pro and had Apple transfer my stuff. They were able to do that in 5 hours. They rock! More on the new laptop later.
got a go back to the gym.

Remember-ride when you can. Tomorrow is iffy and may not come. Today is when to do "IT". # posted by Michelle Grainger @ 12:28 PM 0 Comments

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