WORS Recap - it's a LONG one

Today I took time to reflect on my WORS career and how far I've come. I came from a completely non-athletic background. . . .orchestra and forensics in high school (your typical "geek") and eased my way into biking back in 2000 when we purchased my first bike. I think it was a Huffy and it weighted like 48 pounds (or that's what it felt like at least). But I was determined to at least TRY, because my husband wanted to get into it, and I figured if I ever wanted to see him, I'd have to learn myself.

Riding here and there, falling a TON, I moved up to a Mongoose bike and Bill decided it would be good for me to graduate to clipless pedals. My first ride I fell a million times, and got so angry I tried to throw my bike. . . .unfortunately it was while I was still clipped IN. I thought I'd NEVER get it.

2001 had me doing the first few races as pre-rides and then deciding what the heck. . . .let's TRY to race. My first race was the WORS cup. . . .race #4 of the season. I was terrified. I had no clue how to race much less how to RIDE. Out of 78 Citizen women, I finished 53rd overall and 6th in age. Some girl named AMY PIKALEK WON the overall at that race. She was in my age group, but I had no idea who she was. 2001 had me finishing the season and getting a good taste of mountain biking. I obtained so many cuts, scrapes and bruises people thought I was being abused at home. I was on the ground or flying over my handle bars more than I was ON the bike but I kept on trying. In fact, I ended up finishing 3rd in age. . . .right behind that Amy girl (and I STILL had no idea who she was). I figured if I could finish 3rd in age, I could move up to Sport. People tried to talk me out of it, but when I have something in my head. . . . .I'm going to do what I'm going to do. So up I went.

2002 had me getting my ASS handed to me every single race, wondering why the HELL I even tried. A GOOD finish for me that year was somewhere mid pack. But I continued to learn how to ride, and how to fall. . . . .and slowly I started to develop SOME fitness. Towards the end of the year I took on a coach (Jeff Melcher) and started on a "REAL" workout plan. I was determined.

2003 proved to be a growing year, with finishes all over the board. Now midpack was pretty common, and my best overall finish ever came this year. . . .at Sheboygan. 39 sport women and I finished 3rd overall, 1st in age. I was ecstatic. I still fell a lot throughout the season. . . .but the falls were getting a little less often and I was able to spend more time ON the bike than off. I was starting to get the concept of "skills". . . . .and my training plan was slowly starting to show improvements in my fitness level.

2004 was spent trying to develop some of those skills so critical to mountain biking. My finishes were now consistently top 20, with a good race being top 15 (Sheboygan was ALWAYS the exception finishing 8th overall this year). This was the year I learned who Ulla Gonzalez was. . . .and we started to watch each other's finishes. She was better than I was, but on a GOOD day I could give her a run for her money.

2005 was the year it finally all started to come together. The countless hours spent in the gym, on the trainer, outside on my bike. The hours I devoted to skills training, core training and furthering my fitness level. I sought out others to ride with so I could learn from them. . .be pushed by them. . . and push myself. Ulla and I spent a lot of time riding together and this was the year I finally learned who AMY PIKALEK was. She had taken a brief hiatus from racing and was back again on her single speed and we rode nicely together. This was the year of the top 10 finishes. On a good day I came close to cracking the top 5, with 2-6th place finishes, 2-7th place finishes, 1-8th place finish and 1-9th place finish. I was motivated, inspired and LOVED my bike. My skill set had FINALLY developed, my fitness level had finally developed and I had lost about 10 pounds since the beginning of my biking career. I was "good" and others started to know my name.

2006 had me continue to grow with my skill set steadily improving, my weight was still dropping and my fitness was still growing. The year started out with consistent top 10 finishes putting me on the path to my ultimate goal, which was to crack the top 5, and to do it more than once. Then out of no where I started experiencing severe back pains. I saw a noticeable drop in my power on the bike and my ability to "hammer". Soon that grew to the point where I could hardly stand once off my bike and several hours after a hard work out I was in tears from the pain radiating from my butt, shooting down my leg. I developed what my friends so affectionately termed "the Brittany shuffle" where it would take me a good minute or two to actually get up after sitting. It hurt to sit, it hurt to lay down, it hurt to ride. So off to the Dr I went.

July 5th I was told I had a bulging disk and the worse thing I could do was keep riding my bike. I saw an orthopedic surgeon who explained my nerves were being pinched by this (these) disks and that I was at risk for experiencing long term nerve damage if I didn't hold up and try to recover. I thought I was gong to DIE. I was told to spend a minimum of 6 weeks off my bike. . . .NO workouts, no weights, no riding, just recovery. I didn't want to do it, but my body told me it was the ONLY option. . . .unless I wanted to undergo orthopedic surgery.

That was one of the hardest times of my life. I questioned who I was. . . .what my existence was for. . . I never realized I had turned into one of "those" people. . . .the kind that NEEDED to work out to feel complete. I missed my bike so much I had to put it out of sight. I clipped my WORS plate off and cried. Every race I went to I longed to be racing. I tried to be an upbeat spectator and cheer on my fellow racers but inside I felt "incomplete".

Then after more than 6 weeks OFF the bike and 2 epidural steroid injections, I was given clearance to SLOWLY start returning to "normal" life. I was told I needed to be careful with my workouts now so as to not fall back where I was. My first ride felt wonderful and I cried. I couldn't believe how much I missed it. And slowly but surely I started riding a little more. . . . .and enjoying myself a little more each time.

Over 3 months later I'm still limited to how long I can ride. . . how hard I can ride. . . and how many days in a row I can stack. I still experience some mild symptoms of the sciatica I had. . . .the tingling in the foot. . .the aching in the buttock, etc, but I continue to take each day on it's own, and ride when I can and hope for the best.

This year derailed me off "the plan" and while I managed to make a comeback and rely on the "skills" I had developed to continue to finish in the top 10, it wasn't the year I had "planned" for. My fitness level isn't where it was even at the beginning of the year, and that's a hard pill to swallow. When you have realistic goals, ones you KNOW you are capable of achieving and something you can't control stands in your way, it's a very frustrating process. Dropping into a cyclocross race where you USED to finish very WELL, where you WON the series last year, and having it handed to you is a very demoralizing thing. Knowing you aren't able to go "hammer" on the road with people you USED to ride with is tough. To let go of your fitness, and put faith in the fact that someday you'll get back there has been a tough process for me.

But despite the "temporary" setbacks this year has thrown at me, and despite the GREAT competition I had in my age group, this year was the first year I stood on the 2nd step of the podium at the end of the year. And even though my overall finishes weren't where I had hoped they would be. . . .I was proud to be there.

Tomorrow is another day. . . .next week may be different. . . .next year I may look back from the top 5 and laugh at how "down" I felt during this process. But one never knows. 2006 allowed me to grow in other areas. . . .and to grow as a person OFF the bike. Now I'm hoping 2007 will allow me to put ALL these things together and "ROCK OUT" as we say. But for now, I'll just take it ONE DAY AT A TIME and be glad I can ride.

Halloween Quiz

How smart are YOU when it comes to Halloween? Take THIS quiz and find out.

You can't please everyone all of the time. . . . .

We all went our own way Sunday. . . . .and while some of the gang were abusing their bodies at the Cross race. . . . .I scored some recovery time on the couch.

My only regret? Missing this "sweet thing" in action.


But I guess sometimes you just have to what YOU want to do. You can't please everyone all of the time. . . .and trying to only adds to your stress level. As a wise person once told me. . . ."I can't meet everybody's expectations all the time and to try only complicates my life".

I'm tired of being complicated.

Pumpkin Carving Time

We thought it would be FUN to carve pumpkins together tonight. Well. . . . . . .

This little guy showed up. . . .. .he came with Squirt and was very curious. . . .

The guts were slimey and icky. . . . .but we were tough girls and scooped them out anyway.


CK was even tough and scooped his out. . . . . .he had a few obscene things to say while scooping though . . . .

Then that mouse made it's appearance again, with a 4 foot tail this time. . . . .somehow he ended up on the ceiling. . . . . . I think he was trying to jump in Squirt's hair. . . . .


After what felt like HOURS and numerous threats to use my pumpkin carving tool to stab those around me. . . .THIS was MY finished product.


Of course it was all free hand and made up totally out of my mind. . . .did you have to ask?? Sure. . . . . . . I have SKILLS.

And here's the finished group product. Of course you can hardly see them. . . .so just take my word that they were COOL.

And we even stayed up past 10:00pm on a FRIDAY night. Sweet.

Yeah, I need a life. I know. But if you're reading this. . . you probably do too.

What's New In Real Estate?

I guess since I have this blog labeled as your connection to the real estate world (as well as all the "happenings" of my life) I should probably take a moment to spread some Real Estate news.

As you've probably seen or heard as of late, the real estate market has slowed down a bit from where it was only a few short months ago. Here in the Midwest, thankfully we're not seeing the housing "bubble" bursting as it is on the East and West coasts where some properties are actually LOSING value. . . . . . .so don't panic!

In Washington County (the county I specialize in) we've seen an incredible appreciation on property values over the past few years. Of course when this happens, one has to understand those values will only skyrocket for so long before they balance out. We're now in the balancing phase.

Currently we are seeing a large listing inventory that's frankly not moving as quickly as it was 3 or 4 months ago. Properties are spending longer on the market and buyers are now becoming more choosy about which home they find to be the best value.

This is the kind of market where sellers need to be very careful when pricing their home. They also need to be very educated on everything that's on the market in their price range in order to determine exactly where to position their property for sale. Proper consideration should be given to staging homes as well. Things like applying a fresh coat of paint, reducing clutter from closets & such, removing personal pictures (if they're in excess), paying attention to curb appeal, making sure the leaves are raked, the bushes are trimmed, garbage is picked up, etc. are all things that sellers need to focus on in this type of market.

A properly priced home, staged appropriately is going to attract a buyer the quickest. And that buyer is going to see the value in that home. . . . .because they're educated on what else is out there. . . .and you'll get that offer over your competition.

One Day At A Time

Thanks to everyone for your replies to my "training dilemma". For those of you who don't know me, I'm a big "future thinker". I often times have difficulty living "in the moment" without worrying about the future, losing what I have, not being where I want to be, etc. It's often what drives me in life to work harder at things (training is one of these things) to get what I want, but sometimes it provides me with a great deal of stress as well.

Yesterday I made a conscious decision to try and live IN the moment and enjoy the day and what it brought. And. . . .it ended up to be a fun day.

I ventured out with my mapquest sheets in hand to find the home of the infamous RONSTA for a ride on the Bug Line.

Of course getting ready for the ride was almost as much fun as the ride. Watching Squirt put her front wheel on is always a good time.

And then of course she had "the star" along for good luck. . . . .


Then this shady looking character showed up. . . . . . .


And of course the host. . . .


After Squirt was done wresting with her front wheel we set out. Thankfully I was given the heads up that she was going to drop me in the parking lot. . . . .so I made a point of letting her know it would be "unfortunate" if her light (that she borrowed from the Science Guy) didn't work for some reason. . . . . .

After 15 minutes of weaving through what felt like people's back yards we arrived at the trail head where Tiny was anxiously awaiting our arrival. I think he was getting lonely talking to the people driving by in their cars in downtown Merton.

The ride was nice. . . .of course I was working a little harder than anyone else. And I let Squirt win on all the "sprints" we did. . . .I didn't want her to feel shown up by a Sport Chick. Each time we came to a gate a saw myself flying head over heals over it. . .thankfully it never happened.

We did see ManBearPig a few times. . . .and Ron saw him close up as he jumped out the woods and grabbed Mr Bigg sending Ron flying over the handlebars.

On the way back Ron took us through the countryside. . . . .as we lost the trail and decided to ride through the pine trees for a while. ManBearPig must have been following closely at that time, because he jumped out and stuck a stick or something in Nathan's tire, and suddenly Nathan went over the bars. . . . .

We were lost for SO LONG that we contemplated eating Lori. Of course she's so small she would have just been an appetizer. Luckily we found the way out just as I was getting ready to sink my teeth in. . . . .

I burned a little extra energy trying to fight off the horrendous foot cramp I had starting towards the end of the ride. Guess I need to stock up on WATER to make sure I'm hydrated before the Iceman.

2.5+ hours of riding overall . . . . . . 10 minutes fixing Lori's helmet and figuring out how to turn her light on. . . .5 minutes trying to bit into my frozen cliff bar. . . all in all, a good time on the bike. . . . . AND a good training ride for me.

Cyclocross

Well, my reign as cyclocross champion for women's "B" (cat 3) has come to an abrupt end this year. Two races attempted. . . .one race completed. . . .two races where I had it totally handed to me.

It's hard to get a grasp on the fact that I'm not in the same condition I was last year. I had about two thirds the training time in for this entire year as I did for last year. . . .and while I understand my results could still be interpreted as somewhat good. . . . .they're not what I planned.

It's funny how life just hands you lemons sometimes. . . .and it's not always the easiest to make lemonade. I'm usually that type of person. . . .to make the lemonade. . . but sometimes it's tough. As I tell those that hang with me. . . ."you have no idea how hard it is being "girl" some days". This is one of those days/weeks/months I guess.

With the Ice Man just around the corner, I'm wondering if I should even bother. Every race, every training ride, every workout feels like a chore lately. I don't enjoy them. . . .I don't see results. . .I'm tired of being at the bottom of the totem pole.

Sometimes you have to live life for yourself. . . and do what makes YOU happy, not what makes others happy. Except sometimes you lose yourself in others. . . .or in your training. . . .or in your biking. . . and you forget what and who YOU are. I just need to find that person again and perhaps the rest will fall into place.

On the flip side. . . .not training means eating less, which means I've lost weight AND body fat. So that's sweet. :-) See, there IS an upside. You just have to look sometimes I guess.

That's it for me. The couch is calling.

STILL laughing

Wonder Twin powers "ACTIVATE"

Oh my gosh, I'm STILL laughing about that night.

Night Racin'

Night racin' sucks.

Great race put on by this guy last Friday night. . . .but I have to admit one should first PRACTICE riding at night before one simply jumps into a race.

Did I have fun you ask? Not this time. Perhaps the next night "ride" I do shall be better, after all, it can't get a lot worse.


Thanks for the pic Nathan.

What's YOUR stress level?

Do you know what your stress level is? I needed a mental break this afternoon and thought I'd take this "simple little test" to find out what my stress level was. Well, apparently I have HIGH STRESS.

Here's what the little survey had to tell me: "Take action now to reduce and manage your stress. Stabilize the amount of changes in your life and avoid unnecessary stress. Evaluate how you communicate, manage your commitments, and prioritize your time. Make stress-reducing lifestyle choices a priority: seek therapy or exercise."

I guess I need to go ride my bike RIGHT NOW!

Have you got IT?

What is there to say about this really?? I guess "if you've got it, flaunt it". . . . . .

The Wedding

It was a beautiful day for Kevin and Amy's wedding.

Here's the happy couple. . . . .

Oh wait sorry, HERE'S the happy couple. . . . . .

Squirt and some guy she's scoping out. . . . . . . .

If I had a picture of myself and the guy above, I'd put it here. . . . . .

But I don't. . . . . .

And I found out it's more difficult to ride a tandem than I thought. . . .especially in a dress. . . . .

Congratulations to Kevin & Amy. Thank you for letting us all be a part of your day.

SS Amy's Bachelorette Party

Embarrassing stories to follow. . . . . . as if the pictures aren't enough. . . . .

Monday Aches and Pains

Today I feel like I got hit by a truck. Wow. My fatigue is at a "5" on a scale of 1 to 5. I had to run up the steps a couple times today and practically collapsed. I guess that's a sign of putting it all out there.

I knew Sheboygan favored my racing style with lots of roots and technical stuff. I also knew the paved road climb off the start was going to hurt because I HAD to get in the top 5 going into the single track if I wanted to pull ahead and gain some time. I lined up in the second row and waited to hear the last GOOOOOOOO of the year.

I had to announce my presence going up the hill, as I was ALMOST taken out by an "out of control" sport girl. Thankfully it all worked out. I got into the single track right where I wanted to be. But we were so tight on the first lap I didn't get to ride the tight turn with the roots, nor did I even get to attempt the creek crossing. Carnage everywhere.

When I got the equalizer I was so spent I barely made it up half way. Lap 2 had me starting to cramp there, lap 3 had me grimacing as the cramps were getting severe. It's hard to RUN with cramps!

It was in the second lap, at the creek crossing that SS Amy caught and passed me. I tried to catch back up but she's so powerful on those climbs! And I was so tired! Every time I'd think I was ALMOST on her wheel she'd drop me again. I never rode the singletrack on the quarry side so fast in my life. It literally was a blur we were going so fast. It was awesome.

I think I only got to ride the entire section of the roots of evil once. People were slipping out everywhere.

And when we got to the jump on the first lap I was right behind a slower sport guy. He took the right, I took the left and we nearly took each other out we merged back together so close. We got great crowd approval on that one.

All and all it was an awesome race. I have to wonder how I would have performed if my fitness level were at it's peak. Maybe next year. :-)

Motivated AND Inspired

I still love Sheboygan. I love every single root, I love the jump, I love the gravel climb, I love the twisty turns, I even love the equalizer. Today, I didn't even mind the pain.

While I didn't get to enjoy a complete season this year, having to spend a little too long OFF my bike, I managed to enjoy the last few races the body would let me do. And this one, was (of course) the best.

I was not ready, in fact I did not even WANT to do this race today, I felt terrible and SS Amy and I debated turning around on our warm up because she felt the exact same way. And somehow we both dug deep into the depths of our souls and pulled it out our butts. Good job sister. :-)

Race recap to follow at a later date. I'm too mentally, emotionally and physcially drained to go any further. It's about time.

Tomorrow is IT

Tomorrow is the big day. The last WORS race of the season. The BEST WORS race of the season. I hope I'm not disappointed.

The pre-ride was good. The course is a little different in a few places, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I rode it fairly well. I don't understand why I can't make it up the equalizer though. . .I'm always SOOOOO close to the top. . . .but then my "big guns" just lift my front wheel up, and it's all over.

The jump was great. . . . .I still don't know why I was ever afraid of that silly little thing.

Tomorrow will be interesting. My body aches today. . . .for who knows WHAT reason. I hope that I worked some of those aches out and tomorrow will go that much better. Bringing the MENTAL game is what's going to have to happen tomorrow. Right now my "mental game" is just about as poor as my "top end". Something's going to have to improve by tomorrow. . . . .or I'm toast.

Although riding the first lap behind the tandem was a riot. I think I might have laughed too much. . . .I hope I didn't fatigue my abs.

See you at Sheboygan.

You may be motivated, but are you inspired?

Are you inspired?? Or are you just motivated?

What's the difference? Find out HERE.

MOVE THAT BUS!!!

So we ventured out to Dundee to check out the Extreme Home Makeover house. It was cool. The house is beautiful. We were only there a short time, as they escort everyone out at 8:00pm, but we got to see one "celebrity" (Michael).

Then we had the most delicious caramel apples. . . . . . .

And drove around screaming MOVE THAT BUS!!!!!

Sweet.

PUPPIES!!

Here's the first glimps of my sister's puppies (well, her dog's puppies). Aren't they adorable?? I guess they are a black lab/shepherd mix. They just opened their eyes yesterday.


Here's the one my sister wants to keep.

Here's the one she says she has picked out for us. . . . . . . .I think she might have to talk to BILL about that one. . . . . . . .

Cute, cute, cute!!

Holy Cow

Cross Race #1 - Badger Prairie, Verona, WI. Two words, IT SUCKED.

For anyone who knows anything about heart rates, my LT (lactate threshold) is approximately 182. Usually in a WORS race I'll average about 182 with a maximum somewhere around 192(ish). Typically that's where I start to hyperventilate, and feel like I could use an oxygen tank. Today I maxed out at 194 and thought I was going to DIE.

The start was good. . . .I'm actually pretty good at the dismount, the barriers and the remount. Generally that drives my heart rate up a little higher. . . .but I can usually sit back and recover. Not today. I literally thought I was going to pass out. Half a good lap, then all the girls started passing me. . . . . I round the last corner prior to dumping out on the road for a nice stead climb to the next lap, and oooops, I seemed to have missed the turn. Of course I didn't get to preride that section, so when the course took like a 270 degree turn, I went straight. Full bore into the caution tape and I snapped it. Then a few more girls passed me. . . . .

It's obvious the first thing to go when you're not training "hard core" is your upper end. Unfortunately that went after my 8 weeks off the bike. At least in a mountain bike course you can gain precious seconds by riding the technical stuff smart and using the base you built to hold you in there. In cyclocross you either have that upper end, or you don't. Guess which one was me?

At least I finished, and I didn't finish last. I ALMOST started crying out there, but I didn't. And I was SOOOOOOOO close to quitting, but I didn't. Thanks to everyone for the cheers. Really that's the only reason I kept going. I didn't want to dissapoint my fans. :-)

Now it's time to recover and see what the body will produce for Sheboygan. It's my favorite. I hope it's as fun for me this year. . . . .