Easter 2014

Posted on July 15, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

It was Olivia’s first Easter this year since she decided to take her sweet time getting here last year. 🙂 I was super excited for her to go through all the celebrations. Really though, when a kid is one year old, it is more for the parents than it is for the kid.

We had an Easter BBQ over at the Stewart’s house with a whole bunch of friends and family. I love it when Olivia is around other kids, even if they are older than her.

The Stewart’s were so awesome to have Easter eggs and the kids went on an Easter egg hunt.

I made Mike go with Olivia since I usually make him search for eggs in our house too. The poor guy.

Then on Easter morning Olivia put on her pretty Easter dress from Aunt Debbie and we went to church. It was really funny because she wasn’t walking yet so she hated how long the dress was on her knees and did this weird “spider crawl” across the room.

The Easter loot! I WILL dye Easter eggs next year. I always forget to do that!

Overall, it was a fun Easter to have the family around and to make memories!

Coyote Classic 2014

Posted on July 8, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

The Coyote Classic is the first race of the NMORS season and it is always a good welcome to the mountain bike race series. Luckily this year we had a little bit of cooler weather. It took place on March 30, 2014. Because I am such a slacker with blogging and I’m writing this in July, I will try to recap as much as possible!

Normally Mike and I both would have raced this race, but after doing the 12 Hours of El Paso, I realized I definitely was not ready for the sport course of the race. Sometimes I wish I could go back to the beginner days just to build up my stamina.

Here is a pic of Mike and Eric Sortemme, a good biking buddy of his. This was Eric’s first race and he placed fifth out of a lot of people. Awesome!

Olivia came along for the show and was pretty excited to watch all of the mountain bikes. She is all about anything with wheels!

During the race, the bikers make a loop through the start line and then go out for another smaller lap. It was cool to see Mike come in so soon. I knew he would podium after I saw him come in on the first lap. And he did! He got third place in his large 30-39 category!

Mike pre-riding before the race!

The crowd that showed up. It is always a big race!

Right before the starting whistle for all of the categories!

Overall, it was a success. It is really competitive to get a podium in this race, so it was awesome to see Mike get a plaque!

12 Hours In The Old El Paso 2014

Posted on July 8, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

Holy cow! It has been three months since we did this race, but I am going to try to recap what we did. So yes, one of our long-term goals this year was the return of Lady Cluck and the Boys.

Mike, Brent, Jared (and Brad), and I signed up for 4 man co-ed race for the 12 Hours In the El Paso race on February 1, 2014.. It started out with me on the first lap. I have never started a twelve-hour race. In case you don’t know, you have to run to your bike in your bike shoes to start the race. (That was very interesting!!) The other factor I didn’t think about was how we were ALL starting at the same time! It was really hard for me to keep up with the fast people and then I would get stuck behind slow people. I ended up averaging about a 1 hour and 15 minute lap!

Not to jump the gun or anything…but did I tell you that we got first place??? 🙂

Every single person on our team ended up riding two laps and it worked out perfectly. The timing for me was impeccable because the baby took her nap when i went out on my second lap. The boys kind of got jipped because each of them had to do a night lap. I was the last person to go at sunset….so lucky! I am a terrible night rider!

If you look closely, yes I am holding a baby on the podium! Haha. She lasted the whole day!

This is Brent going out on his night lap. The first part of the race is pretty fun because you are doing a section called Lazy Cow that is super windy. Then you hit an uphill climb for a huge portion of the race and then it is all downhill from there…until you head back to camp. This year they added a little more miles to the race and had you come into camp and take off on some more treacherous trail. I hated it! It was pretty hard and mentally hard on me.

We had some friends and family to come out and support us! That was fun!

This last part of the trail is a jeep road that is downhill. It feels awesome to fly down it and hit the finish line!

We did it! We got first place! Lady Cluck and the Boys did not disappoint!

Aguirre Springs Ride

Posted on January 21, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

Since the weather has been completely awesome here (I apologize to the people back East), Mike and I have been out riding as much as possible. We took off to Aguirre Springs on Saturday for some major hill climbing.

We like to park on the opposite side of the Organ Mountains and then bike up the pass over into the Aguirre Spring campground area.

I always forget how terrible I am at downhill biking. You never really think about that, but when there are major hills I clam up and think about the fact that I am going really fast and could be part of the asphalt if I don’t play it right. I had to keep stopping because I was developing the “crab claw”, which is from holding your brakes so tight that you can’t let go. I hate to say it but I’ve had the “crab claw” before during races too.

I don’t think you can tell in this picture, but this downhill is intense once you make it to the highest point of the loop. The whole loop from where we parked on the other side of the mountain is about 15 miles. The inner loop, which is very steep, is about 4 miles.

If you look closely in this picture, on the left hand side towards the top, you can see your destination. Just take my word for it, it is a big climb. My Strava totalled about 2600 feet in climbing.

This guy came along with me and decided to show me up and do three loops around the hard part of the course.

It’s a good thing I like him 🙂

On the climb back to where I was picked up, I felt pretty great because the climbing is very gradual. I even made a Queen of the Mountain on the final ascent!

I totally recommend this ride for strengthening hill climbing skills. I did this ride right before my first road race in 2011 and it definitely prepared me for it.

Back In The MTB Saddle Again

Posted on January 15, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

The New Mexico Off Road Series is looming in the future (March 2014) and I am currently trying to get back on the mountain bike to race. The last time I raced big time was in 2011. I’ve been riding since four weeks postpartum, but I will be honest and say that it took about six months to feel normal and even now, I still don’t feel completely 100 percent.

I think my saving grace right now is the road bike, believe it or not. There was a time that my husband would have laughed out loud at the thought, but I am a true believer (and he is too) that if you want to be a great mountain biker than you get in some miles on a road bike too. I have seen it happen to my husband and I can see it happening to me now. It’s funny how 15 miles on a road bike is so little, but on a mountain bike that is a Cat 2 mountain bike race!

I can’t go riding without my lucky charm. I’ve had this Hen in my Camelbak since my first race in August 2009.

UPCOMING RACES

Here is a list of Southern New Mexico races in the next month or so (road and mountain) to help with training:

January 26 El Paso Puzzler (El Paso, TX)

February 1 12 Hours of Old El Paso (El Paso, TX)

February 1 Missile Man Duathlon (White Sands, NM)

February 21-23 Valley of the Sun RR Series (Phoenix, AZ)

And here are some running events too:

January 20 MLK 5k Run (White Sands, NM)

January 26 The Biggest Loser 5k/Half Marathon (Las Cruces, NM)

February 8 Cupid’s Chase 5k (Las Cruces, NM)

We All Can’t Be Good At Being Antisocial, Right?

Posted on January 10, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

Today was definitely one of those days that I needed. I’ve had something to do every day this week and found I needed a little “me” time, which meant I actually had time to read a book (which I haven’t done in YEARS) and take the dog and kid to the park. I woke up around 6 with LO, made some breakfast, and then started gutting the garage to fit all of our Christmas stuff that magically doubled this year.

I came across this little gem today while I was scrolling through Facebook during my “me” time. I was cracking up about the whole “Antisocial” thing for New Mexico because I was totally feeling like that this week. I thought it was some kind of joke! Really though. Ever since I’ve had Olivia, I’ve become MAJORLY antisocial. Sometimes it’s just easier to not make plans than to make plans and cancel them because your kid is being fussy right? Plus, I hate to say it, there aren’t a lot of things to do here in Las Cruces, especially in the winter time.

CHECK THIS OUT

So I LOVE the blog www.pbfingers.com and read it almost every day. I came across it a few years ago when I was trying out some quick, healthy recipe that I wanted to make. She is my hero for a few reasons: she quit her job to work from home, she loves Les Mills’ BODY PUMP just as much as I do, she lives in Florida (my dream), she certified to be a fitness instructor, and also has some really good workouts listed on her blog.

Thursdays are my gym days so I did one of her Treadmill Workouts, which was titled “No Joke Walking Workout“. It seriously was no joke! Mind you that a pace of 4 seems like nothing, but it actually is a brisk walk. When you start to max out the incline, you feel like you are going to fall off! I saw a friend of mine at the gym and wanted to say hello while I was doing the workout, but I had to focus so much I couldn’t even give a smile. Again, going with the whole antisocial vibe…

TRAINING

Since I always need something to train for to keep me on track, I thought I would let you guys know that I am coming back to the mountain bike world. On February 1st, I will be racing the 12 Hours Of Old El Paso with Mike and his brothers on a co-ed team. I am super excited because it has been almost two years since I have done a 12 hour race. This course is super windy and has some great hill climbs. The people who put it on are super organized and lot of fun.

It feels good to be back in the saddle again. I’ve missed you mountain bike world.

Happy Halloween 2013!

Posted on November 12, 2013 by thefasteryoupedal

I love holidays! For the past five years, I have been cramming the holidays down my husband’s throat! 🙂 Mike isn’t one to celebrate them, but since we have been married he has been a good sport about it. This year we had to continue the holiday extravaganza because now we have a kid to share it with!

There are so many awesome things to do in Las Cruces around Halloween! And we had to dress the part for all the things we did!

Of course we had to bust out with Barney’s hot dog costume, just so I could get a good laugh. He looks so ashamed..

So then I put him in this monkey suit to make him feel even more ashamed!

Speaking of costumes, Mike’s mom was able to make a “Little Peck” (Olivia’s nickname since she has been in my stomach) costume to dress her up in!

We gave it a little try on the trunk or treat we took her to…it was a little too late at night to have too much fun.

We went to the Mesilla Valley Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch too. Love that place! I look forward to it every year!

Olivia had a good time hanging out with family and going on the hay ride.

Not to mention, Dad had to take her down the slide for the first time. (No reaction by the kid!)

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving in Las Vegas with my family and spending Christmas here with Mike’s family! Happy Holidays!

The Return of the River Dog

Posted on July 2, 2013 by thefasteryoupedal

The Rio Grande has been dried out for winter and I was worried that they were not going to release any water from the dam. Usually it is in May when you see the river build up, but this year they waited until June because of the drought situations.

Of course, we had to take Barney down the river! He has been a little neglected lately because of all of the craziness of the baby, so we had to pamper him with his two favorite past times….frisbees and water.

river2 ‘

I love this time of year with the beautiful summer sunsets! What a silly jumper!

There were families taking pictures and people on picnics while we were playing. Barney was putting on a show for everyone. A photographer came around and asked if he could take pictures of Barney while he was jumping. You know how we love our pictures!

Silly dog.

A Day At The Park

Posted on March 24, 2013 by thefasteryoupedal

The nice thing about this time of year is that we are starting to get out of the winter slump. Thankfully, we live in a town where we don’t get crazy, snowy winters. We have major wind, but on some days you will get the perfect Las Cruces weather, which is the reason why Las Cruces is one of the “Top Ten Places to Retire”.

http://www.lascrucescvb.org/las-cruces-named-a-top-10-sunny-city-to-retire-by-aarp/

And we had one of those days the other day, so Mike and I headed out for a little frisbee playing (courtesy of a frisbee-obsessed hound) and some walking for me. (I have been told to do 20-30 minutes of cardio a day…not counting the million steps I take walking around my classroom all day!)

Every fall the Rio Grande is dried up to preserve water for the irrigation needed in the spring. It is kind of sad because I guess the water levels are pretty low here, so I am curious to see how high it gets when they release the water again.