Lucy just isn't one of those super snuggly dogs. She loves her belly rubs and being scratched but just doesn't voluntarily snuggle often. Today I forced her to snuggle with me while we napped. I didn't feel bad about it and secretly she liked it!
6.06.2012
lucy snuggles
Lucy just isn't one of those super snuggly dogs. She loves her belly rubs and being scratched but just doesn't voluntarily snuggle often. Today I forced her to snuggle with me while we napped. I didn't feel bad about it and secretly she liked it!
6.04.2012
love my mtn bike
After struggling through last summer with a hard-tail mountain bike (the rear doesn't have suspension) I finally gave myself the gift of a proper (aka awesome) mountain bike in April. I got a great deal on last year's model of Giant mountain bike with 5" of travel (5" of suspension in both the front AND back... pretty sweet).
It's barely June and I've already mountain biked more this Spring/Summer than I did all last Summer. It's amazing the difference a proper bike can make! It's like a whole new sport! It's more fun, I feel more confident and it's a blast learning the various intricacies of the sport (when to shift, how to preserve your legs on the long uphill rides, picking the best lines through more technical areas, etc.).
Yesterday I biked a pretty typical local trail, Smuggler, and I didn't feel like I wanted to keel over and die! (that's an improvement) The majority of local trails have a heavy dose of uphill and I didn't exactly come into the Spring in shape so I've definitely been struggling through rides just trying to get my fitness going. I felt surprisingly strong yesterday which got me pretty excited because that means I'm actually getting into bike shape. The first time I rode Smuggler (about a month ago) I was stopping very frequently and out of breath the entire way. Yesterday, I only stopped a few times, was never extremely out of breath and my legs actually felt pretty good when I got to the top. Improvement!
It's kind of funny to think about how I've grown to thinking about anything athletic and actually being excited at improvement. The younger, more athletic Me would've been far more wouldn't have cared about improvement unless it meant I had finally reached perfection (which I obviously never did, which meant I was never happy with any performance). Really glad I don't think that way anymore; lesson learned from marathon training injury.
It's barely June and I've already mountain biked more this Spring/Summer than I did all last Summer. It's amazing the difference a proper bike can make! It's like a whole new sport! It's more fun, I feel more confident and it's a blast learning the various intricacies of the sport (when to shift, how to preserve your legs on the long uphill rides, picking the best lines through more technical areas, etc.).
Yesterday I biked a pretty typical local trail, Smuggler, and I didn't feel like I wanted to keel over and die! (that's an improvement) The majority of local trails have a heavy dose of uphill and I didn't exactly come into the Spring in shape so I've definitely been struggling through rides just trying to get my fitness going. I felt surprisingly strong yesterday which got me pretty excited because that means I'm actually getting into bike shape. The first time I rode Smuggler (about a month ago) I was stopping very frequently and out of breath the entire way. Yesterday, I only stopped a few times, was never extremely out of breath and my legs actually felt pretty good when I got to the top. Improvement!
It's kind of funny to think about how I've grown to thinking about anything athletic and actually being excited at improvement. The younger, more athletic Me would've been far more wouldn't have cared about improvement unless it meant I had finally reached perfection (which I obviously never did, which meant I was never happy with any performance). Really glad I don't think that way anymore; lesson learned from marathon training injury.
6.01.2012
i'm back...
At a wedding in London a friend of mine (you know who you are) asked why I stopped blogging. My answer was simple- with Facebook and Twitter being increasingly prevalent I didn't think that people actually cared about the details I'd blog about. Now that I know not everyone is a Facebook/Twitter addict I'll start blogging again about my strange yet excellent little life and so long as people are reading I'll keep on going :)
A little update: I am currently working from home (helping manage a 5k race in conjunction with the Food + Wine Classic in Aspen) and doing a bit of tutoring. My 'regular' job on the Event Marketing/Management team at the Aspen Skiing Company only runs from Sept-ish until the end of April so my summers have been generally filled with a lot more outside playtime and flexibility.
I've been doing a fair amount of mountain biking (I got a super sweet, new mountain bike in April), hiking, trail running and get outside to play pretty much every day... priorities :)
Little Lucy is doing excellent and accompanies me on most adventures (she doesn't get to come on all of my mountain bike rides). She turned 2 years old in March and loves playing outside as much as I do.
Stay tuned if interested in my random little thoughts/outside play time adventures. And, if not, please don't waste your precious time on a computer reading this- go outside!
A little update: I am currently working from home (helping manage a 5k race in conjunction with the Food + Wine Classic in Aspen) and doing a bit of tutoring. My 'regular' job on the Event Marketing/Management team at the Aspen Skiing Company only runs from Sept-ish until the end of April so my summers have been generally filled with a lot more outside playtime and flexibility.
I've been doing a fair amount of mountain biking (I got a super sweet, new mountain bike in April), hiking, trail running and get outside to play pretty much every day... priorities :)
Little Lucy is doing excellent and accompanies me on most adventures (she doesn't get to come on all of my mountain bike rides). She turned 2 years old in March and loves playing outside as much as I do.
Stay tuned if interested in my random little thoughts/outside play time adventures. And, if not, please don't waste your precious time on a computer reading this- go outside!
11.08.2011
Deer balls!
That is not an animal heart! Though some men... Okay all men... would argue it's about the most vital organ there is: balls.
After work I went to a friend's house to witness the butchering of a freshly hunted deer. It was so cool to see where the various cuts of meat come from!
No- the balls do not get eaten. Not even by the dogs. Apparently you're required to keep the balls or milk sack attached after the kill so you can prove to a game warden that you hunted the sex of animal that your tag is for. Always learning...
10.24.2011
butt = kicked
Gratuitous Lucy photo that really has nothing to do with this post (but ain't she just adorable)
Today I went to a ski conditioning class at my gym. I got my gluts kicked. And I'm psyched about it!
Pretty much every gym in the Rockies offers ski conditioning classes in October and November. I've been meaning to go but it's just been so darn nice outside I've opted for hikes or runs with Little Pants. Today was no different; it was 65 and sunny! However, the Little Pants was a little under the weather so I took advantage and let her sleep while I got myself some fitness!
I almost didn't go into the class because they had a sign saying something about them being in "phase two" ( of three) and you weren't allowed if you didn't go through phase one (which clearly I hadn't). A few friends convinced me I wouldn't be kicked out so I went.
It was awesome! I hadn't been pushed athletically since college ( sure I'd run hard or crazy long mileage, do a tough hike or something but it just doesn't bring back the same inner feelings as having someone else push you to test yourself). I thrive on that stuff. I loved being yelled at to sprint faster. I loved having coaches facetiously 'ask' me if I was tired or have them place fake bets with the team that I couldn't win every single sprint and then make 10 free throws in a row. I LOVE being pushed like that ( yes, I'm a little strange. But you probably already knew that!). Maybe it's because I never want to lose. Maybe because I've always discovered I'm stronger, faster, better than I would be without someone pushing me.
I kept having flashbacks to high school basketball conditioning and just thinking about that made this class seem not so tough. I reminded myself being in this class didn't require a tryout or age specification so it couldn't be that bad. I learned I'm in better overall shape than I thought I was... And that I still have a ways to go. Most importantly though I got to feel that self-competitive rush that I love. No idea why, but pushing myself to give everything is something I'll always love.
I'll definitely be going to the class regularly now :)
Today I went to a ski conditioning class at my gym. I got my gluts kicked. And I'm psyched about it!
Pretty much every gym in the Rockies offers ski conditioning classes in October and November. I've been meaning to go but it's just been so darn nice outside I've opted for hikes or runs with Little Pants. Today was no different; it was 65 and sunny! However, the Little Pants was a little under the weather so I took advantage and let her sleep while I got myself some fitness!
I almost didn't go into the class because they had a sign saying something about them being in "phase two" ( of three) and you weren't allowed if you didn't go through phase one (which clearly I hadn't). A few friends convinced me I wouldn't be kicked out so I went.
It was awesome! I hadn't been pushed athletically since college ( sure I'd run hard or crazy long mileage, do a tough hike or something but it just doesn't bring back the same inner feelings as having someone else push you to test yourself). I thrive on that stuff. I loved being yelled at to sprint faster. I loved having coaches facetiously 'ask' me if I was tired or have them place fake bets with the team that I couldn't win every single sprint and then make 10 free throws in a row. I LOVE being pushed like that ( yes, I'm a little strange. But you probably already knew that!). Maybe it's because I never want to lose. Maybe because I've always discovered I'm stronger, faster, better than I would be without someone pushing me.
I kept having flashbacks to high school basketball conditioning and just thinking about that made this class seem not so tough. I reminded myself being in this class didn't require a tryout or age specification so it couldn't be that bad. I learned I'm in better overall shape than I thought I was... And that I still have a ways to go. Most importantly though I got to feel that self-competitive rush that I love. No idea why, but pushing myself to give everything is something I'll always love.
I'll definitely be going to the class regularly now :)
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