Friday, December 14, 2012

TGIF 12/14/2012


Must resist temptation
Well then- where did the year go? You blink and race season is over. Next thing you know, you're trying to avoid the egg-nog and Christmas cookies. Or maybe that's just me. People at work right now are just DYING to catch me with a sugary piece of something but I'm holding strong - so far.

Went out for groceries and came back with this!
Last I left you, I was headed out for my first dirt ride on my super awesome cool SuperX cross bike. As is the norm for me, I didn't tip toe into the affair - I dove right into what turned out to be a 4 hour trek with two fabulous teammates. After a short stretch of road leading out of Loudoun County High School, we made a right turn and promptly hit a downhill washboard gravel road. I'm glad there wasn't time for pictures because the look on my face was probably something between wanting to cry and being constipated. We survived, though, and throughout the ride I got more and more comfortable with gravel and dirt. Mission accomplished, albeit with a few wrong turns and a few extra miles.

For the record, road names on google maps are really just suggestions in that area, which is just plain mean as we all know I'm directionally challenged in the first place. 

I think it's a left here. Maybe a right. 
Kelley and I have also made it out to a few of the Evolution Team rides. These are advertised as "Zone 2" but - either my zone 2 is super low or this is false advertising. I am fairly certain it's the latter. Anyway, these rides are keeping us honest - painful at times but nothing beats the post-ride "We did that!" feeling. Oh - and the "We earned lunch!" feeling is pretty good, too. 

December 1 marked the beginning of "real" training so I'm making friends with the rollers for early morning and/or severe weather workouts. P90x stuff is off the table now and it's time to really get moving on the bike (pun intended). The good news is that, as of TODAY, I'm off work until Jan 2nd. If the weather plays nice, that should be a decent kick in the arse for me.

One might ask, "But PlainJane, why are you off until Jan 2nd?" Because today is my last day with this particular company. I will miss the 2-metro-stops commute but that's pretty much all I'll miss. I have had a bit of a ride trying to find a work-home since I left Baltimore and I'm hoping that the third time is the charm. Here's hoping!

In the meantime, I'm taking advantage of the break to ride, relax and reset - after all, the Month of Wendy starts in two weeks!

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