special delivery!

i am downright giddy with excitement. this nice big box from cannondale arrived on my front stoop today, and inside is a brand spanking new never been ridden before sweet silver cyclocross bike. last year, i was perfectly happy to watch the spectacle that is cyclocross and ring the cowbell, cheering from the sidelines. but this year, i plan to partake in the madness. should be fun as soon as i learn to dismount. fellow runners be happy - i will be doing a little bit of running this fall as i (try) to hop off a perfectly nice bike and run with it.

finally!

i was driving with my youngest daughter in the car the other day, and as she was looking through a local publication that had been hanging around in the backseat of the car she suddenly yelled out:

"finally!"
so i ask her: "finally, what?"
"finally someone else knows that girls rule. it says so right here. i've always known that."

apparently, she's been harboring a little secret and was pleased as punch that she's known all along that girls rule and was simultaneouly relieved to know the jig is up; because she sat back and let out a big sigh. phew. now everyone knows. girls rule.

are you a runner?

someone asked me this question the other day. clearly, it was my amazingly fit and toned legs that prompted the question; but i was totally stumped on how to answer.

am i runner?

um. i used to be. i mean, i've run 3 marathons, i've pr'd on a hilly mofo of a course on one of them, i had a stellar half marathon pr a while back and i ran my fastest mile ever last fall. for about two years running (no pun intended) i was logging over 25 miles a week. easy. sometimes over 35. i was totally a runner. i remember crossing the finish line of the local half marathon 3 years ago (before i had become, in my mind, a 'runner') and watching all the marathon finishers get a mylar blanket wrapped around them; i saw the 'real' runners as the ones who got that blanket and i wanted one. i now have three of those blankets and the finishers medals to go with them.

but now? now i can count on one hand the number of times i have run since april. and this doesn't bother me. its neither here nor there. it just is. but am i still a runner? am i a runner if maybe i run once every two - more likely every three weeks? am i still a runner if my brand new trail shoes have seen less than 10 miles of trails? and i bought them a month ago?

once a runner, always a runner? i don't know the answer. so her question stumped me and caught me off guard.

"are you a runner?" she asked.
and knowing she does not need
to hear the long version of
how i used to run;
in fact ran quite a bit
but got burned out and
i'm taking a break,
and i'll go back someday
but not now.
i simply said,
"no. i'm a cyclist".

team training

tonight was a new gig: cornering clinics and mock crits put on by some team members in preparation for a local criterium that is taking place here in just under 4 weeks. crits scare the bejeezus out of me. its all fast turns. and i am neither good at the fast or the turns. so i need the clinic and the training like nobody's business.

anyhow, at the same time i was excited to be a part of some official team training, i was skeered. really skeered. and really nervous. i knew i'd need to grab a big handful of HTFU before i arrived at the course.

lets just say, i didn't grab a big enough handful. after an evening of a pseudo-mock crit, cornering skills and drills, gladiator bump and drills (shouldering on the course and going around turns, trying to block people out - who knew cycling could be a full contact sport?), and some coaching; i won two awards: one for "needs the MOST improvement" and another for "biggest candy ass". i almost got one for most foul mouthed too.

as much as i sucked, it was a great night. i'll be back for more every wednesday night till the big race. love my team, love training with them. my goal is to win 'most improved' by race day. wish me luck.

wardrobe malfunction part deux

so.
i'm riding to my regular monday night gig -
the skirt ride.
and it's a hot night.
so, like always when its hot out,
my jersey is unzipped a bit.
but unlike always,
i am wearing a sports bra i haven't worn since this incident -
i really shouldn't even still own the bra,
not sure why it wasn't thrown out after the incident.
but, it was on top of the laundry pile and i was in a rush
and the incident never even entered my mind as i threw it on
and headed out to ride through the heavily populated park.
so i'm riding. i'm riding.
and i totally think i'm cool.
but then, something doesn't feel right.
something is amiss.
it feels quite breezy.
dare i say chilly?
so i look down.
oh.
yep.
there it is.
my boob.
is out.
almost one year to the date.
its like a wardrobe malfunction
boobiversary.