Cranky Pants

With our coach on a well deserved week long vacation,
training just isn't the same on the 100m track.
The guys filling in for him try, but when "the cats
away".
There are just too many cooks in the kitchen right
now..
And it makes some of us a little bit cranky.
Guess that's what happens when you depend upon one
person so much, as we do our Coach.
Even so, I'm skating well.
On Saturday I stayed in the pace line after everyone
but the very fastest skaters had dropped off.
People were surprised by that.
I wasn't.
I'm getting faster.
As of yet, I can't stay in till the very end, but I
believe the day is coming when I will..

Wednesday

Now that the IT guys at work have blocked just about
everything of any interest,including Blogger, I don't
seem to be posting much..
Of course I shouldn't really be blogging at work should
I?

We had a small group at practice last night.
Some crud is going around and a lot of people are getting
hit with it.
Hopefully I have paid my dues with what I had a week or so
ago.

Taking my race wheels off, which we all were using on our
newly coated floor, and switching back to softer practice
wheels is working.
And giving me a good workout.
There's less free roll, but in trade I get more grip, and I
can dig into floor and push off it with a feeling of security.
Got messed up during relays and going out for tags but I guess
that's how you learn.
My guy was on the floor sitting in second and I was in the box
looking to come out for our tag.
Well, so was the team mate of the person in first, who happens
to be a stronger skater than I am even on his worst day.
Which means he can leave the box later than I can and get where
he needs to be with less effort.
I needed to leave earlier than he did, (and to be almost in the
same place for the tag), and needed to build up the speed. But
there he was, right in front of me, taking his time and blocking
my way.
Which turned our badly for me and my relay partner.
Because I didn't know what to do about it..
That's why it's called practice.

Burrrrr

It was one of those weekends that's so cold, even
the cars stay off the road.
Went for a 3 mile power walk this morning and it was
24 degrees, but I had sweat trickling down my back by
the time I got home.
There was no practice today since our league had a meet
this morning.
One I did not go to..
Even so, I woke up at 2:30am and couldn't get back to
sleep..does that mean that subconsciously I wanted to
go, or at least thought I should have gone instead of
staying home?


PS
I'm learning a lot about myself, and other things via my
foray in the online dating thing..
In fact that's the best thing about it,learning.
Like this:
"Love never hurts, but expectations can"

98.9%

Feeling better every day and quite thankful about it.
Was very happy to get out on the Ninja out last night
for a few miles despite the 34 degrees it read down on
the bank clock :)
First order of business was at the local gas station to
get air in my back tire. The connector on my bike pump
only works in the front. Can't get it attached in the
back. Eventually will have to buy something that does
works on both wheels.
Saturdays fiasco with shifting the 250 shows that no
matter how much you think something is right, you can be
wrong about it.
I remembered the gear pattern,(after a mere 5 weeks or
so off the bike), completely opposite of what it is, and
couldn't conceive of it being anything other wise.
To the point of believing my bike was broken.
Talk about being thick headed and short sighted.
A lesson learned..

Blah Less

Only non annoying remnants of the cold/crud remain so
physically and emotionally I'm back on normal footing,
which is a huge relief.
You have your health and let me tell you, if you don't
already know, you have everything.
Went for a 4 mile walk over at Lehigh yesterday morning
where they have cross country tracks laid out around their
athletic fields. Good stuff but little did I expect that
it would work my hamstrings and lungs.
The fresh air did me good and I thought of getting the
Litespeed out as soon as the temps warm up a bit.
The Ninja is broken which I discovered when I went to go
for a ride Saturday.
Lucky me, she decided to stop shifting a block from home
so I was able to get back and put her in the garage with
out a major hassle.
What is a hassle is I don't know what's wrong...and I really
wanted to ride on the warmer days this winter.
So it goes..
Practice was decent this weekend, floor is tight,race wheels
are on, which works you in a different way.
It was a surprise to see we were having a whole Team practice
Sunday.
Found out when I walked in the door, as did several others.
Made for a nice long pace line and we had a handful of different
kamikaze skaters buzzing by for catch the pack.
Roanoke, a big invitational, is next month and those who are
going are prepping for it.
It's always good to see everybody.

Less Blah..

Slept last night without any over the counter medication,
much to my relief.
Forgot to set my alarm though, so this was the only
morning I've ever been thankful that the dog barked to go
out and woke me up from a deep sleep.
Didn't turn the light out till after 11pm, which is too
late for me..guess last nights practice revved me up.
The rinks newly coated floor looks beautiful :)
Russ C. did a fantastic job on it!!
And if the heat wasn't broken, and so had been on, it
would have been tighter for our first go, but no one was complaining.
Race wheels were in abundance, and top speeds were up
several notches.
Last night I felt sad that I won't be going to the major
races with everyone else this year..
Started thinking about what I could replace it with.

Truth

Yours.
Some days you just can't keep it in.
Right or wrong, good timing or bad, you lay it out..
Because what's pressing on your ribs, making your chest
ache, needs release.
Received or not.
One pain or the other..

Blah...

This cold is kicking my butt..
Skipped practice Saturday because I was lightheaded and
woozy.
Went to bed early that night, slept seven hours, got up,
and four hours later went back to bed and slept another
five.
Didn't think I had it in me to make Sunday's practice but
did anyway, because that's what I do.
Thankfully I felt OK once I was on the floor, at least in
the beginning.
We were doing a 100 lap warm up with catch the pack, and
the third time I went out to catch called me to task.
My HR shot up, I broke out into a full body sweat, and it
felt like the top of my head was going to explode.
I rolled off the floor and had to lay down for a few minutes
to recover..
It wasn't long before I re-joined the pack, but I regretted not
being able to make the full 100.

Burrrrr

Bank display read 12 degrees on the way to practice last
night but I'd dressed for the low temps before leaving
home,(meaning I'd worn khakis over my shorts), so didn't
think it was a big deal.
Still, when I walked in the door of the rink it was freezing..
What?
Only took a few minutes to get the low down from a team mate,
who was freezing too, that the heat hadn't been turned on till
late in the day.
What?
Then the news spread that our coach was held up at work.
Which though not his fault, went down like a lead balloon.
It all put me in a bad mood..
Freezing, with leggings and gloves on, practice didn't go
from bad to worse, it just blew, period.
Cold air=cold floor=slippery floor.
Poor kids in shorts and T shirts were ice pops during relays
and after 45 minutes half the team packed up and went home.
Stanky first practice of the New Year.
It can only get better from here.

It's Time

Time to get back to work.
Time to get back to training seriously.
Time to get back to eating nourishing food.
Time to get back to saving instead of spending.
Time to embrace every good thing in my life..

2008

We greeted it at the base of Hawk Mountain, nestled among the
trunks and branches of trees standing naked in the winter cold,
next door the rock strewn Appalachian Trail.
Soft rain created a music all it's own as it danced on the roof
over our head..
Cozy quarters, warm bed, an open heart..
It pleased me to greet the first day of the New Year like that..