by Courtney on April 13, 2010
After 3 ½ months of early Saturday morning training rides, no Friday night social life, a sore ass, and more McDonald’s than the average person should consume, I’ve finally completed my big 65 mile bike marathon! Yes that’s right people, I did it! And I lived to tell the story!
If you recall in a blog post from a couple months ago, I saw this marathon as my “30th birthday challenge”. But about 35 miles into the training schedule, I was really starting to doubt my sanity! I just couldn’t picture myself being on a bike for six hours! Say whaaaaaat? I mean look – I’m not a cyclist. I had to purchase a bike and all the fixin’s in order to do this. But something clicked in my head when the opportunity presented itself… Like, DING DING DING: I’m going to prove that I can do anything I want to do – and if I don’t? Well then I only have my lazy 30-year old ass to blame.
So for 13 weeks, my riding group and I got out there and reached a new mileage milestone each week. And remember how bad my arse was killing me back around 35 miles? Well it turns out that when I purchased that new, cushier riding seat and had my husband, Jeff, put it on my bike – he put it on backwards!! The little “head” thingy that the seat sits on was turned completely around, causing the narrow front portion of the seat to be facing upward instead of flat. What this means is that for about four weeks all my weight was coming right down on my baby maker and it was KILLIN’ MEEEEE! And to think after that got fixed I could ride 50 miles virtually painless! This gives true meaning to the phrase, “my husband is a royal PAIN IN MY ASS!”
Race day
On the night before the ride I wasn’t nervous for the actual cycling part. I felt confident – I had trained well. My anxiety rested solely on getting up at 5am and being at registration by 6:30am. And sure enough, I set my “weekday” alarm for 4:45am and then turned my “weekend” alarm on. At 5:35am I flew out of bed and proceeded to fly through the shower, makeup application, dressing, bossing Jeff around, etc. all while saying; “shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit” until I was in the car driving to the fairground’s starting point.
As far as the actual ride went – it was rough. It was cold, extremely windy, gloomy, and it even rained on us for about 45 minutes! I’ve experienced a couple rides in 70+ degree weather and blue skies, and I can’t stress how much weather impacts your overall attitude during the ride. Plus, we only trained up to 50 miles, so I could definitely feel my body reacting to the extra 15 miles. It was like; “Mama, get me the FUCK off this bike!”
A new perspective
As we turned onto the street that would be our final mile, my friend and riding partner, Melissa, gleefully said; “We’re almost there! We’re almost there!” and at that moment something caught in my throat. Was that a lump? Was I about to cry? I guess I was. Because all these weeks of hard work and determination was coming to an end. And suddenly I was sad about it. My 3 ½ month journey began to flash before my eyes and I realized it was more than just a bike ride. It was the realization that if I set my mind to something, I can do anything I want to do. That’s a really powerful thought. I’m now a true believer that anything is possible with a little determination and hard work. And I’m not just talking about athletic events either – I’m talking anything in life.
Gimme a break!
So now that this is over, the ladies in my group are talking about a 75 mile bike ride next month and a century ride (100 miles) through Lake Tahoe after that. And I’m thinking; just because I know I CAN DO IT – it doesn’t mean I want to! I’m ready for a new challenge. But first, I’m ready for a break. Namely, I intend to get drunk this Friday and sleep in on Saturday…
by Courtney on February 23, 2010
A year ago I told myself that I would be in the BEST shape of my life come March 19th, 2010. This monumental date is of course the dreaded 3-0 for me. I say “dreaded” because when I turned 29 I was quite melancholy about exiting my twenties. But these days I’ve grown to see it as a positive thing. I feel like you really come into your own; you know yourself more and you’re more confident. That being said – I still wanna be in the best shape of my life within the next 3 ½ weeks!
And you know what? It ‘aint gonna happen. Like most people, I use the scales as my barometer of how successful my weight loss plan is going. I think back to my wedding day and I want to be that number. But that number is still 6 lbs. away! That might sound doable, but I’ve already lost 6 lbs. since Christmas! And now I’ve hit a plateau.
It’s quite frustrating considering all the exercising I’ve been doing since January. As you know now, I’ve been training for the “Cinderella Classic” 65 mile bike marathon, otherwise known as my “30th birthday challenge”. Since early January we’ve progressed from 17 mile rides to 25, 27, and a couple of 35s.
I even joined a new gym that I consider a “magical place”. It’s the kind of place where people just want to be. I think that’s half the battle – getting you there. And I want to be there like, all the time. During the week I go to the gym three nights and mix it up between jogging on the treadmill, the elliptical, and the stationary bike. I do no less than 45 minutes of cardio and then I lift weights. I also attend an hour long weight lifting class once a week! So shouldn’t fat be sliding off of me like butter on a hot knife? You’d think!
But maybe it is. Maybe the fat isn’t my problem on the scales – maybe it’s the buildup of muscle! You know the saying; “muscle weighs more than fat” and I think that may be why I’ve hit my plateau. All this biking and stuff has bound to be building me some serious quads! I mean, just check out my thighs to the left.
I’m leaning towards this explanation because I’ve had multiple people at work tell me I look like I’ve lost weight, and my clothes have been fitting way better recently. I even went dress shopping for Cabo the other day and I didn’t even flinch at my reflection in the dressing room mirror! I thought I looked pretty good actually! So maybe I’m getting leaner. And you know what; that’s what I’m going for!
So I’ve decided that I’m not going to live and die by the scale. I’m going by how my clothes fit. I’m going by how I look in pictures. If I feel lighter on my feet and firmer to the touch, than I’m happy.
What about you? Do you have any weight loss goals this year and if so, how’s it going? What are you doing? Any good tips to share?
Oh I have a good tip: stop drinking diet soda! Supposedly you’ll lose weight. And if anything, you pee a lot less!!
by Courtney on February 16, 2010
On April 10th, 2010 I’m riding in a 65 mile bike marathon that will take more than six hours to complete. Am I crazy? Or, am I crazy? At this point I can’t really wrap my head around this notion of being on my bike for six hours. So for now I just focus on each Saturday training ride as they come and I’m sure eventually this reality will sink in. But after this past weekend’s 35.6 mile ride my “ass” is begging me to quit. Oh Lord, how did I get myself into this predicament?
Rewind to three months ago…
One of the things I’ve noticed from day one of living in the San Francisco Bay Area is that bike riding is engrained deep into the culture. We’ve got the hippie bike riders trying to save the planet from unnecessary car exhaust and we’ve got the avid cyclists who wear the skin tight biking clothes and think they own the road in their riding packs. Up until a few months ago, the former REALLY annoyed me.
So it’s pretty ironic that when a woman from work sent a mass email asking who would be interested in riding in the Cinderella Classic 65 mile bike marathon that I would raise my hand. Being a few weeks after my big milestone birthday I figured it would be a great “30th birthday challenge”. So I ran straight into my girlfriend’s office and begged her to do the ride with me. I reminded her that her 30th b-day was only five days after mine and she needed a challenge too! Much to my delight, she reluctantly agreed to do the ride.
So our journey into the San Francisco cycling culture began. First let me say that this is an extremely expensive hobby. I say “hobby” because I don’t think I’ll ever become a true “cyclist”. I’m a Saturday rider. But it seems that just about every Friday I’m plunking down a hundred bucks at REI on some new gadget for my bike or article of clothing.
Well this past Friday my big purchase was a new – cushier – bike seat. I never knew how taxing bike riding is on your booty! But each week as our training mileage increases from 17 to 25 to 27 my poor little bum has been feeling the burn. But nothing could prepare me for 35 miles.
A beautiful – butt challenging ride
We had the most beautiful ride through the Livermore vineyards with the green rolling hills of the California countryside as our panoramic view. The blue sky 63 degree day and smell of fresh cut grass made for a spectacular ride. But by mile 25 I was gritting my teeth in pure agony! OH MAMA, my ass was grass. By the time we finally completed the ride and were packing our bikes up in our cars three hours later, one of my new riding friends made the comment; “Up until this point I’ve been fine with these rides, but this is the first time I’ve really been like, GET ME THE FUCK OFF THIS BIKE”. I laughed outloud because this was my nonstop chant in my final 7 miles! And to think I’ve got 30 more miles to ride to the actual finish line in April. Unnngh!!!
Two days later I’m still waddling. I have to shift a lot in my chair in order to get comfortable. Now this is freaking me out a bit because I have a 37 mile ride in just five more days. The pain may subside by then, but the memory is burned into my brain! So I ask that you please pray for me that I can get through this insanely crazy 30th birthday challenge schmallenge!
I have an idea for next week though. See pic to the left. You don’t think anyone will say anything do you?
After 3 ½ months of early Saturday morning training rides, no Friday night social life, a sore ass, and more McDonald’s than the average person should consume, I’ve finally completed my big 65 mile bike marathon! Yes that’s right people, I did it! And I lived to tell the story!
As we turned onto the street that would be our final mile, my friend and riding partner, Melissa, gleefully said; “We’re almost there! We’re almost there!” and at that moment something caught in my throat. Was that a lump? Was I about to cry? I guess I was. Because all these weeks of hard work and determination was coming to an end. And suddenly I was sad about it. My 3 ½ month journey began to flash before my eyes and I realized it was more than just a bike ride. It was the realization that if I set my mind to something, I can do anything I want to do. That’s a really powerful thought. I’m now a true believer that anything is possible with a little determination and hard work. And I’m not just talking about athletic events either – I’m talking anything in life.
