New mountain bike, etc

Last week came and went pretty quickly as did the weekend.  I had today off which was nice.  My test was Friday and I thought it went pretty well.  This is the first time I have taken an exam where they give you unofficial results immediately after.  Normally you wait 8 weeks to know how you did.  As I said before, I thought I did well. There were a few questions I had to guess on, but for the most part I felt like I knew what I was doing.  I expected to see that I had unofficially passed.  Instead, and unofficial fail.  It felt like being punched in the stomach.  I think I like waiting 8 weeks better.  Unless of course it is a pass mark.  To work so hard leading up to the exam and then spending 3.5 hours taking the exam and then immediately find out it was all for nothing--I was pretty devastated.  I guess it really isn't all for nothing, because I will be that much more prepared when I take the test again in June, but still it felt pretty crummy.  

So instead of celebrating this weekend like I had hoped, I moped around for awhile.  Of course right after the exam I planned to go pick up my bike since Wheatridge Cyclery is on the way home.  I decide to go anyway even though I wasn't ion the mood to be around anyone.  Adam came up to meet me there and I got a basic fit on my bike.  Adam and I both forgot to bring up bike shorts so I did the fit wearing my jeans.  Obviously not ideal.  I was a little cranky during the fit and as we were leaving made a few impulse purchases as well.  Don't go into a bike store when you are in a bad mood--retail therapy can be a dangerous thing!  I actually didn't buy that much, just some things I probably wouldn't buy normally.  

I got home and had a snack and felt like doing nothing for the rest of the day.  A nap and that's it.  But Adam got my bike ready to go and he came along with me on a very tame dirt path for my first ride.  We didn't go long just enough to see that some adjustments needed to be made.  Getting the fresh air made me feel better, so I took Frito out for a run after I got back which made me feel even better. 

My new bike.  Not the best shot I know, but there will be plenty of race pictures with it in the coming months!

 I did a ride on the road earlier this week with Adam.  It was a little chilly and windy for some of the ride, but again, nice to get the fresh air. I got to test out my new jacket and gloves and stayed nice and toasty warm on the descents!

Pre ride

Towards the end of the ride.  Still warm and smiling :)

 So, back to the mountain bike.  I know if I want to race well in Xterra, I have a lot of work to do getting used to riding the mountain bike.  It's not just about fitness--you need some skill to go fast which I need to develop.  I was ready to get out and test my self on some trails down near Deer Creek Canyon.  I started off on one that was some climbing but not too technical.  I wanted to ride a couple hours.  There was some ice and snow on the trail which was not too bad in some parts but pretty slippery in others.  20 mins in I slipped on a rock/ice and fell.  Good thing I wasn't going very fast, so I only got a small scrape.  Go a few more feet, fall again.  It didn't hurt, I just felt stupid.  But falling is going to happen and I have to keep at it to get better.  A few minutes later my tire was flat. Ahhh!  After trying to fix the flat and it going flat a few minutes later (and luckily Adam's ride was nearby so he was able to come to help), I called it a very short day on the bike.  And then ordered some tubeless tires.  Hopefully I'll have them soon.

Sunday was a little chilly and I had planned to do a long run. I brought Frito along for what I planned on being a 1:45 run or so.  Early on it was icy/snowy.  More ice than snow.  I thought there would be some ice, but I figured most would be melted with the warm weather since the last snow storm.  I was wrong.  It was really icy in spots, but I love running in this park so I kept going, walking the really treacherous parts.  There were several times where I had some (probably very funny looking) wobbles and slips, but didn't fall.  The parts of the trail that were clear felt amazing and the views from the trail made the hard work to stay upright worth it.  Frito looks so free and happy when he runs (most dogs do), and it was a peaceful feeling running up there on the trail.  At higher elevations it was just me, Frito, the sound of our footsteps and beautiful views.  I ran the furthest I've ever run in the park--2:14, although that did include some "ice walking" which is not easy but definitely not fast either.  It also included sliding down a really steep section of ice on my rear end. Thankfully, my pants stayed intact.

A little bit of a storm came through while I was running.  It was sunny and I was in short sleeves, and then all of a sudden it got dark, windy, and small little pellets of snow started to fall.  I was happy I had a long sleeve and gloves and headband.  It passed pretty quickly, and then I was back in short sleeves.  The weather changes so quickly here.

As soon as I got back to the car, I got a phone call from someone but couldn't here most of what they were saying.  All I heard was ....boyfriend...at the bottom of Deer Creek.  Then the phone shut off.  My first thought was that Adam got hit bay a car or crashed at the bottom of Deer Creek.  The guy called back again but I couldn't hear him--one or both of us had bad cell service.  I sped down the road and a few minutes later saw Adam in his bright red cycling outfit.  He was cold and hungry and had slipped a couple times on the ice on his ride.  He also got caught in that storm, only he was at higher elevation, and obviously, it's a lot worse when you are on a bike.  I drove him home and was so glad it was not what I had initially thought.  I did have a really funny voicemail from his friend (I think his French accent made it funnier) saying that Adam was very cold, hypoglecimic, bonking, and needed to be picked up.  Okay it must have been the accent and the way he said it becauyse I listened to it 3 times because it made me laugh so much.

I finally got out for a somewhat longish mountain bike ride today.  I stayed close to home and brought everything I needed for flat repair just in case.

Getting ready to go riding

And other than a few really muddy spots the ride went great and was a lot of fun.  I didn't go on a trail that was very rocky, just lots of bumps and turns.  I ended up riding for almost 1:40 (including a few stops because i got stuck in the mud).  It seemed like I was riding for a long time!  I guess because there is so much more concentration compared with road biking it seemed long.  I'll have to work on going further, but I was happy to ride that far and for it to be relatively uneventful.  I will have to do a lot of work, but I think I'll be ready to be very competitive in off road tri's come May.

On sunny days we like sitting out side and enjoying the back yard with the dogs.  We don't have an outdoor table, but it's nice to just sit on the porch and enjoy the sun with the dogs.

Frito's favorite spot in the back yard--sitting on the porch, blocked from the wind and soaking up sun while he watches for prey.

Mickey hopping the fence after retrieving his tennis ball from the field.  We're sort of regretting teaching him to hop the fence, but he does get much more exercise hopping the fence and chasing his toys in the open space.

Cooper chilling on the porch close to us.

 I also finally scheduled a hair appointment.  Much needed--my hair is out of control right now.  It tangles so easily.  I'm not sure if it is the dry air or chlorine damage, both, or something else, but I really need a haricut.  So, I'm looking forward to that on Wednesday.

I think I've written enough for now.