Author Archives: thefasteryoupedal

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About thefasteryoupedal

Hi! I'm Liz and I am a 38 year old teacher from Las Cruces, New Mexico. I'm also a fan of mountain biking, road biking, running, and traveling. I'm always up to try something new! This blog is for me to share ideas and also to receive new ideas!

Lazy Saturday.

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 Today felt like the laziest day on record this summer.  This last week I have felt like I have done nothing but sit online all day.  I don’t feel guilty at all because starting Tuesday my life will be nonstop busy until the end of May.  I will be wishing for moments like these!

I bought a couple of necklaces for back to school and I was thinking how glad I was that I made a holder.  I never wore jewelry before because all of my necklaces would get stuck together. 

Easiest holder ever.  I used a bulletin board, black fabric, and a stapler. 

I bought this fabric at the IKEA in Tempe for the same room I have this holder.  I want to make curtains out of it, but need to bust out with my sewing machine.

Thankfully, this is a check I can put on my “vision board”.  I think Mike has more done on his side of the board than I do.

This next little goal is scary considering I only have five months left.  Thankfully, the Tour De Safford is coming up in October and then I can choose a local one to finish off the year.  Better get running!!

Today my plan was to go ride, then it was going to the gym, and then it ended up with a home cardio session.  Way to make a decision Liz!  To make it an hour-long, I improvised and used a few workouts together.

I started with this bad boy.

And then did my Workout #4, which was awesome (I will post soon!)….and then finished off with some of this!

 

 

I seriously could not stop laughing while I was doing this, at the fact that I look like a total dork when I dance.  It reminded me of the days my friend Felicia and I took a hip hop class with a guy named “Al Money”.  He would get a little impatient with me because I couldn’t get the steps.  It was awesome!

P.S. A group of friends of mine played mud volleyball today. I’m a little sad I wasn’t part of things, but remind me to get a team together next year!! It sounds like so much fun. 

Our Version of A Date Night

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 Many marriage counselors have talked about couples making sure they have at least one night a week designated as a date night.  Very good advice indeed.  I love looking up articles on ideas of date nights and trying to do it.  Las Cruces is a little hard to be creative, so usually dinner and maybe a movie are what we could do….or…..we can go with our usual version of a date night like we did yesterday.

We drove over towards White Sands Missile Range to a campground called Aguirre Springs.  I highly recommend if you ever come through New Mexico to stop towards this direction.  First of all, White Sands is just 20 minutes away, but there is also some awesome hiking and camping too.

Mike was excited because it was the time of night where all the creatures were coming out.  He happened upon a king snake and a rattler, not to mention a herd of cows that ran off in a stampede.

Really I took this picture because my triceps were hurting from my gym workout earlier in the day.  I’m still not used to riding downhill on a road bike.  You use totally different muscles!

This was my piece of wildlife I came across on the road.  This guy was extra feisty and even started coming after me.  Usually, they just sit really still and hope to look like they blend in with their surroundings.

I know biking might not be your first choice of a date night, but I love how it gets us outdoors and not to mention, it makes us happy getting that awesome endorphin release.

P.S. Girl’s Nights are also a must too.  I actually tried to round up a group of girls earlier this week to go to dinner.  It ended up being three of us, but I love having to dress up and enjoy a meal that doesn’t involve me cooking and especially, cleaning the dishes. 

This picture was taken before I went because I tried on a new outfit of mine.  It reminds me of the pictures on Facebook where they make fun of teenagers making duck faces or taking their picture up high to make themselves look more flattering. Really, Mike wasn’t in the room and I wanted a picture of my outfit. 🙂 

Michael Phelps. Just Saying.

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 Mike and I have been watching the Olympics, but have been really into the swimming portion of it.  The other night when Michael Phelps was racing and won silver, Mike was yelling so loud at the gym (we were watching it while doing elliptical) that we may have had a few eyes looking our way.  Okay, maybe a lot of eyes looking our way.  I love how passionate everyone gets yelling and screaming!

I’m sure everyone notices it, but there are two parts of Michael Phelps swimming routine that I REALLY look forward to.  I even will say to Mike “Wait!” if he is talking to me about something right before the race starts.

1.  I call it….the Albatross

Is anyone else amazed at how jello-like his arms are when he swings them like this at the beginning of every race?

2.  I call it….the WHALE.

Do any of you that swim ever put water in your mouth and spit it out?  I was reading today that Ryan Lotche admits to peeing in the pool during practice.

Just saying.

Planning Out My Life

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I made these for my girls I visit at church courtesy of Pinterest (I am on a roll!).  Mike was tempted to eat them but explained to me he couldn’t “accidentally” take one because it would leave a hole in the styrofoam.  So they are husband-stealing proof. 

I am trying to plan out the rest of my year so I have a lot to look forward to.  Yes, when school starts, I get a little dramatic and feel like my life is going to end.  To get me through each work day, I must have something on my mind. In the past, mountain bike races have been a really good help for me, but since we aren’t racing as much this year, we are planning other things too.

Here is what I have to look forward to in the month of August:

1. Camping in Silver City with Barney

2. Signal Peak Mountain Bike Race

3. The Color Run in Albuquerque (www.thecolorrun.com/albuquerque )

4. Road Trip to California!

So yes, I have to keep telling myself that my life will not end and I have some really fun stuff coming up!  Happy August!

P.S. Today was the cycling time trial with the Olympics and I have found my new hero!! Kristen Armstrong.  She took time off in cycling to have a family and came back with a vengeance today.  Did I mention she also broker her collarbone in May? And still pulled it off? Love her!

 Photo is courtesy of About.com

 

Rotation Workout #1

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 A friend of mine gave me a workout list to me as a gift.   It was one of the best gifts I have gotten in a while.  So simple, yet so up my alley.  It is a 12 day workout program that lasts under an hour, which makes it good for my morning workout for my goal of two a days.

This is what I did today:

Warmup on elliptical for ten minutes

2 sets of 15 dumbbell arm rows

2 sets of 15 push ups

2 sets of 15 shoulder presses

2 sets of 15 standing calf raises

2 sets of 15 dumbbell curls

2 sets of 15 overhead extension curls

2 sets of 15 squats with dumbbells

2 sets of 15 deadlifts

2 sets of as many crunches as possible with a 60

minute rest in between

Ending with 20 minutes on the treadmill

I am going to rotate these for the next 12 days!

Trader Joes Reduced Fat Brownies

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 My sister told me about this recipe a long time ago so I thought I would post it on here.  I’ve been having a hard time remembering what recipes I have tried, so it really helps to blog them and look back on them.  Now that school is starting, I am really going to have to rely on Pinterest and blogs to get my meals all organized!

At Trader Joes, they sell a Reduced Fat Brownie mix where all you need to add is yogurt and bake the brownies for 22 minutes on 350 degrees.

To make it a little more “healthy”, I’ve been meaning to use up my greek yogurt in the fridge.  I admit using plain yogurt isn’t as good.  I have tried it with honey greek yogurt, which makes it sweeter, but my favorite is the blueberry greek yogurt with it.  It gives it more flavor and is pretty good stuff.

Just wanted to throw that recipe out there if you have a Trader Joe’s near you.  Thankfully, we have had races or trips that have brought me to a Trader Joe’s at least every few weeks.  Is it sad that I look one up whenever I go out of town? 🙂

Easy Shrimp Tacos

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We don’t get paid until Saturday so I have to be a little creative as to how I am going to make dinner.  Mike and I usually fend for ourselves when it comes to lunch and breakfast, so I really only have to worry about one meal a day.  Thankfully, last night I was able to run up to Chick-Fil-A for some dinner, which makes it easier on me!  No dishes! Yay!

On Sunday I missed out on my mother in laws cooking (that I was totally depending on!) due to the fact that we slept through dinner, so I had to check out what was in the fridge and freezer and noticed a frozen bag of shrimp and some corn tortillas.

I came up with these little beauties.  I sautéed some shrimp in a skillet with a little bit of garlic olive oil and added a dash of garlic salt to give flavor.  The best part of shrimp is that it holds flavor really well (just like mushrooms). I warmed up some corn tortillas, added some shrimp sauce, and put some cole slaw mix as a topping.  So easy and so good.

Now here’s the best part.  I was able to make a really good sauce made with random ingredients from the fridge.  I originally was going to try salsa, but we were out of it, so this is what I came up with:

Easy Shrimp Taco Sauce

3/4 cup of mayonnaise or miracle whip

1/2 cup of relish

2 tbsp of taco seasoning mix

1 tbsp of lime juice

2 tbsp of hot sauce

I wanted to add the hot sauce for a little kick and wish I added a little more, but it was good stuff!

Sandia Peak State Championships 2012

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Yesterday we took off to Albuquerque at about 3 in the morning to go race the Sandia Peak Hill Climb.  Every year in the NMORS series they choose one race to represent the state championships for mountain biking.  A lot of people sign up for it even though there are other races in the series, they are all out to get the state title.

This was the aftermath after trying out a completely different bike without practicing with it a few days before the race.  So my word of advice, if you are going to switch from a full suspension bike to a hard tail….don’t race on it the day you switch over. 🙂  I survived though and got first in my category and second overall. 🙂

Mike made it in the time he planned on doing and actually went ten minutes faster than last year! It was a hard race where you lose a lot of momentum, but the downhill is really fun.

With this being my last official week of summer, I am trying to get myself back into a routine for school.  I am planning out my morning routine to include a morning workout at home and an afternoon workout right when school ends involving the gym, bike rides, or running.  Part of the morning consists of taking care of the animals we have around the house, including the bearded dragon “Angelina”. 

Barney is so dang nosey! 

We’ve been watching the Olympics a lot and I am loving the swimming and gymnastics portion of it. 

Question: If you were in the Olympics, what competition would you take part in?  If you were in London, which one would you watch?

Summer of Fitness and Other Nonsense

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I just realized this week that I have less than two weeks left before I go back to school, so I officially have to hurry and get everything done on my to-do list!  Panic has struck!  I managed to get some back to school shopping in already, but I’m still on the hunt for a decent pair of work pants!

So I am planning a morning routine when school starts that still continues my two a day workout trend I have kept this summer.  I was told a lot of gym workouts are found on You Tube, so tonight I gave it a try!  I really wanted to try out Insanity because my goal this week is to do straight cardio with no weights.  I was told Insanity was way better for that than the usual P90X Lean Routine that I have tried in the past.(P.S. I was able to get down to my lowest weight for my wedding with P90X. See www.beachbody.com .) 

This was the site I tried.  I used the 20 minute fat burner workout.  It’s hard to hear but I just watched the people.  You can tell they are all dying because you can hear counting on the DVD but they all just stand there.  I’ll keep you posted on more workouts I try out:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuy4x_viY4M

The Olympics are coming!! Here is the schedule in case. 🙂 I am soooooo excited!

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/schedule/

Alright, here are some catch up pictures.  Stay tuned for some recipes I have tried!  I am on a roll with Pinterest! (I made my mom join today!)

1. Barney tried out a biking jersey in attempt to see if we wanted to use that as his Halloween costume.  Nay.

 

2.  My hair is now super light for the school year.  Blinding!

3.  We have had the worst wind and rain storms and this poor mother bird has had to sit in her nest to protect the eggs.  I was stressing whether she would make it or not.  She made it!

4. Mike has to sleep in the afternoon due to his graveyard shift and Barney has been trained to sleep at his feet when I run my errands.  He and dad are nap buddies.

5.  New duck toy.  It sqeaks.  Not too sure that was a good idea.  Why do dogs have toys anyway?

 8. I bought a set of curlers to try some different hair styles for school.  My attempt at being a girl.

 Question:  Any exciting things about this summer that have happened?  What would you say your summer 2012 theme has been?

Sandia Peak Challenge 2012

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Even though I haven’t been riding the New Mexico Off Road Series as much this year (see www.nmors.org), I still want to give it a shot this year!  People get so excited for this race because it is listed as the state championship.  Two more hours of registration and there are only two girls racing the sport race! Ha ha!  Thankfully, the other girl is in my category so I have some competition.

We decided to pre-ride the course last Saturday and it was so beautiful out.  I was able to make it to the top in about an hour and a half.  Ned Overend, awesome mountain biker extraordinaire, has made it in about fifty minutes so I will take it.

I love this shot of Mike on the downhill.

The downhill is so fun.  It’s very smooth and gradual and it takes about 25 minutes to get down at a quick pace.  A lot of people take the lift to the top and then just ride down for fun.  We prefer to take the “free” route (that doesn’t cost any money) and ride our bikes up on our own.  Plus it gives us bragging rights of being hard-core.

I tried to re-enact Mike’s awesome picture, and instead made the “fish face” and ruined it.  (See my Fitness post on how to breathe when running…I am a pro at making the fish face!)