First and foremost, heartfelt thoughts to fellow Little Rock residents who were hit by the confirmed 6, possibly 7, tornadoes on Thursday. I actually got caught in the whole mess on the way home from an evening meeting, but luckily we were safe when it was all said and done. I have several friends without power and lots of downed trees in their neighborhoods; but for the most part, all is as well as it can be after a natural disaster. To say that Arkansas has been hit with tornadoes and flooding this spring would be an understatement!
Otherwise, it was a pleasant weekend with lots of activities. We hosted a wedding shower/BBQ for Rhonda and Keith on Saturday. I inadvertently introduced Rhonda and Keith, so this event was a little extra special to me. Rhonda and I work together and Keith and I cycle together. One night in a Texas ER for NOT following the "hydrate before you celebrate" rule, followed by one broken collarbone at the MS 150, followed by one evening of some good food and games at our house, followed by a few phone calls, and the rest is history!
About 35 of us from work and the cycling/running groups had a blast wishing Rhonda and Keith well. We managed to consume a huge cake, 20 burgers, 12 brats, a pound of cheese dip, and a "few" brews. Shawdawggie was grillin' as fast as peeps was eating! Our neighbors joined the festivities later in the evening which is always a hoot. I'll really miss them, especially Joe and Karen, as we've become so close in just a short time.
And speaking of, I fly to JAX in a few weeks to interview. I gotta call Friday saying come on down (and east), so we'll go a few days before the interview and stay a few days after so we can check things out and hopefully find a neighborhood we like. This job seems like a good fit and would allow me to be off some in the summer and around Christmas such that I could come back to AR to visit. I'll keep you posted.
Had a good ride/run today. The weather was sunny for a change, although MORE rain is predicted this week. I'm scheduled to meet with the best personal trainer in the world, that would be Cuzzette, on Saturday morning. We're going to "refine/polish" my routine and work a few "problem" areas...should be F-U-N (yeah right, she's known for killin' people, honestly. killing 'em dead with her Nazi routines of bleacher drills and 40-yard dashes...just call her Drill Sgt. Cuzzette). I plan to swim tomorrow and might do some core work and weight training. I wanna watch the game, so we'll see how much I have time for...GO MEMPHIS!
Until next time,
SK
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Don't drink the water...
Wednesday was my second attempt at swimming, with technique anyway. I was anxious to see how much I remembered from my lesson with Rhonda on Monday. I did okay, but it's obvious I've got a long way to go.
The first few laps I tried to focus on breathing, then the next few laps I tried to pay attention to my strokes (for some reason I break the left stroke EVERY single time). I'm still pulling my head too far out of the water and it's not intuitive that you should NOT look ahead to see where you are going but I'm UN-learning that habit for swimming!!!! Apparently, I didn't kick my legs enough on Monday and I may have overcompensated for it this evening, so I'm trying to get a feel for how much leg effort to spend. I was reminded tonight that you must save some legs for the bike and run....oh yea....just one more thing to remember...no prob!!!
I played around with the strokes and the breathing to find out what's most comfortable for me. I decided I'm breathing too often and not taking time to re-group when I lose rhythm. All in all, I think I'll enjoy swimming as as sport. The water is so relaxing and it reminds me of growing up on Lake Chicot where every summer was spent on a boat fishing and/or skiing! Maybe that's why moving to FLA is so appealing...I figure I'll get lots of "open water" practice in the ocean.
Of course, the funniest part of this swim was a friend saying, "you're not suppose to drink the water". Really??? Well, it just so happens that Dave Matthews is one of my favorite bands and one of my favorite songs (I like them all, but I really like this one) is "Don't Drink the Water". I start laughing so hard I can't breathe properly and then I can't get this song outta my head. Gee thanks, I wonder what song I'll think of each time I'm in the water now?
Totally not related to swimming, but sorta related to training. I chatted with 3 of my RAGBRAI LIVESTRONG teammates yesterday; Cindy, Linda, and Chris. Cindy (aka Button Lady) and I met the first day and it was as if we were long lost friends. We rode the entire week together and tented next to each other every evening. Linda (aka Team Dork or Ribbon Lady) and I didn't ride together much but we've become increasingly closer friends since I saw her in Missouri over Christmas. Chris, our fearless leader at LAF in Austin, is super cool and has the best sense of humor. He pulled an April fool's joke on the team....good one Brewer! Both Cindy and Linda live up north, (Chicago and Iowa, respectively) and they're just now able to get outside to ride. Although the weather has been a little rainy lately, thank God I live in the SOUTH!!!
That's all for now. I plan to run in the morning since I have a BACA meeting Thursday evening! Y'all be good and remember, don't drink the water!
SK
The first few laps I tried to focus on breathing, then the next few laps I tried to pay attention to my strokes (for some reason I break the left stroke EVERY single time). I'm still pulling my head too far out of the water and it's not intuitive that you should NOT look ahead to see where you are going but I'm UN-learning that habit for swimming!!!! Apparently, I didn't kick my legs enough on Monday and I may have overcompensated for it this evening, so I'm trying to get a feel for how much leg effort to spend. I was reminded tonight that you must save some legs for the bike and run....oh yea....just one more thing to remember...no prob!!!
I played around with the strokes and the breathing to find out what's most comfortable for me. I decided I'm breathing too often and not taking time to re-group when I lose rhythm. All in all, I think I'll enjoy swimming as as sport. The water is so relaxing and it reminds me of growing up on Lake Chicot where every summer was spent on a boat fishing and/or skiing! Maybe that's why moving to FLA is so appealing...I figure I'll get lots of "open water" practice in the ocean.
Of course, the funniest part of this swim was a friend saying, "you're not suppose to drink the water". Really??? Well, it just so happens that Dave Matthews is one of my favorite bands and one of my favorite songs (I like them all, but I really like this one) is "Don't Drink the Water". I start laughing so hard I can't breathe properly and then I can't get this song outta my head. Gee thanks, I wonder what song I'll think of each time I'm in the water now?
Totally not related to swimming, but sorta related to training. I chatted with 3 of my RAGBRAI LIVESTRONG teammates yesterday; Cindy, Linda, and Chris. Cindy (aka Button Lady) and I met the first day and it was as if we were long lost friends. We rode the entire week together and tented next to each other every evening. Linda (aka Team Dork or Ribbon Lady) and I didn't ride together much but we've become increasingly closer friends since I saw her in Missouri over Christmas. Chris, our fearless leader at LAF in Austin, is super cool and has the best sense of humor. He pulled an April fool's joke on the team....good one Brewer! Both Cindy and Linda live up north, (Chicago and Iowa, respectively) and they're just now able to get outside to ride. Although the weather has been a little rainy lately, thank God I live in the SOUTH!!!
That's all for now. I plan to run in the morning since I have a BACA meeting Thursday evening! Y'all be good and remember, don't drink the water!
SK
I spy Old Jenn...
I'll start by saying I had the best ride in 2 years on Tuesday! My legs finally decided to join the rest of my body for a little spin and it was awesome!!! I've been SOOOO consumed by school and work that my fitness has really, really suffered. Now, RAGBRAI, the MS 150, and the BDB100 were all fun last year, and I've had plenty of good rides don't get me wrong, and as ODWonn says, "all rides are good"...but you just have some rides that are great.
The T/Th crew was all there...Cuz, Cheetah, the MARS, Tammy, Mike, Colin, JCon, Charlie (thanks for the pump), John EEE, Dan, and about 15 other peeps. But, there were also special appearances by JBar, Geo, Hboo, and a few others I had not seen in over a year. As usual, we did a neutral roll-out, and safely sailed down the River Trail until we reached the other side of the BDB. I'd already decided I was gonna sit on the back because every time they pick it up in the front, I find myself mid-pack in a bunch sprint/surge to catch the soon-to-be break, which just sucks because I either can't get around or a small gap forms and I kill myself trying to get back on.
Well, I thought I was far enough back until I turned around and saw we had a lot more riders than I thought (how we double in size from point A to point B I don't quite understand but we always do). Like clockwork, we hit the road and ta-dow....Mooney jets....I keep up longer than I have been lately, but I just can't hold on. DANG IT, DANG IT, DANG IT....not exactly what I said at the time, but what's appropriate for the blog.
I see Cuz a few yards back and I've been cycling long enough to know that 2 are better than 1, so I ease up, we share wheels, and we are now on a mission to catch the front group which we easily have in sight. BUT (there's always one of those), we were stopped by a few red lights downtown and the front was no longer visible.
Here's where the "best ride" part comes in. No longer visible did not mean others still weren't ahead of us and my secret goal was to get up Ft. Roots before they came back down. So here we go, I've got Cuz, Geo, and Dan with me. I'm cranking 21-24, in the wind at some points, and my facial expression could have been that of a woman possessed by demons. At one point Cuz says, "we aren't going to catch them", to which I replied, "I know, I'm just trying to burn some lbs." but in my head I'm thinking I gotta pound the rest of the way to Ft. Roots before the front group descends...so I crank harder. At some point we picked up JBar and he tells me I'm pulling like a wild woman!
Did I make it to the top in time? Well, no. I got within .25 miles before the others came flying down the hill. All was good though. Geo, JBar, and I finished climbing and then we chatted for a bit. JBar was nice enough to let me suck wheels on the way back until we reached Broadway and then we parted ways. So, I was WAY alone at this point, but I like riding that way ever once in awhile. After the Cantrell overpass, I decided to haul it to the car as it was getting dark and I had no lights (that's good motivation). I kept it between 21-23 and just told myself it was similar to the sprints we've been practicing during bricks (albeit it was a pretty LONG sprint). At any rate, it was fun and I felt great afterwards.
The best quip of the night was Cuz yelling, "that's old Jenn riding". I had a smile bigger than Texas and felt warm and fuzzy inside. Yes sir....the Old Jenn is back, hopefully....we'll see the next time I ride.
Until then,
SK
The T/Th crew was all there...Cuz, Cheetah, the MARS, Tammy, Mike, Colin, JCon, Charlie (thanks for the pump), John EEE, Dan, and about 15 other peeps. But, there were also special appearances by JBar, Geo, Hboo, and a few others I had not seen in over a year. As usual, we did a neutral roll-out, and safely sailed down the River Trail until we reached the other side of the BDB. I'd already decided I was gonna sit on the back because every time they pick it up in the front, I find myself mid-pack in a bunch sprint/surge to catch the soon-to-be break, which just sucks because I either can't get around or a small gap forms and I kill myself trying to get back on.
Well, I thought I was far enough back until I turned around and saw we had a lot more riders than I thought (how we double in size from point A to point B I don't quite understand but we always do). Like clockwork, we hit the road and ta-dow....Mooney jets....I keep up longer than I have been lately, but I just can't hold on. DANG IT, DANG IT, DANG IT....not exactly what I said at the time, but what's appropriate for the blog.
I see Cuz a few yards back and I've been cycling long enough to know that 2 are better than 1, so I ease up, we share wheels, and we are now on a mission to catch the front group which we easily have in sight. BUT (there's always one of those), we were stopped by a few red lights downtown and the front was no longer visible.
Here's where the "best ride" part comes in. No longer visible did not mean others still weren't ahead of us and my secret goal was to get up Ft. Roots before they came back down. So here we go, I've got Cuz, Geo, and Dan with me. I'm cranking 21-24, in the wind at some points, and my facial expression could have been that of a woman possessed by demons. At one point Cuz says, "we aren't going to catch them", to which I replied, "I know, I'm just trying to burn some lbs." but in my head I'm thinking I gotta pound the rest of the way to Ft. Roots before the front group descends...so I crank harder. At some point we picked up JBar and he tells me I'm pulling like a wild woman!
Did I make it to the top in time? Well, no. I got within .25 miles before the others came flying down the hill. All was good though. Geo, JBar, and I finished climbing and then we chatted for a bit. JBar was nice enough to let me suck wheels on the way back until we reached Broadway and then we parted ways. So, I was WAY alone at this point, but I like riding that way ever once in awhile. After the Cantrell overpass, I decided to haul it to the car as it was getting dark and I had no lights (that's good motivation). I kept it between 21-23 and just told myself it was similar to the sprints we've been practicing during bricks (albeit it was a pretty LONG sprint). At any rate, it was fun and I felt great afterwards.
The best quip of the night was Cuz yelling, "that's old Jenn riding". I had a smile bigger than Texas and felt warm and fuzzy inside. Yes sir....the Old Jenn is back, hopefully....we'll see the next time I ride.
Until then,
SK
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