Category Archives: Team Challenge

Camp Challenge 62-mile ride update!

I made it!!  I had a great ride today.  Let’s take a tour, shall we?

I woke up at 5:50 and packed my bike bag while breakfast cooked.

I was a little over prepared 😳

I fueled up with steel cut oats (banana custard style) topped with jam and PB.  This has become my standard long ride brekkie and it holds me in good stead:

Sorry for the lighting, but the sun wasn’t up yet…

John took me to the Double H ranch to see me off.  What a supportive hubby!  I registered in and got my t-shirt:

They had a super breakfast spread set up for us.

They had so many bars.  There were giant bins of bars.  Must have been hundreds of bars!  I didn’t really want more to eat, but I did have some fruit and snagged a bar for my bag.

Lining up:

Rosie was quite popular – I got a lot of comments.  It ended up being a little warmer, so I wore this with a jacket (which I ended up just keeping in my bag).

I have to say I was pretty intimidated by the other 62-mile riders.  There was only 1 other hybrid bike besides mine.

Serious riders today.  I figured I would be in last place, but that wasn’t important.  We had a safety check and then we were off.  It was pretty cool at the start.  I have never done a group ride, and it was so much fun being part of a pack.  I was in the middle and doing some drafting for a bit.  It was a very fast clip to start, much faster than I would ever go normally.  I think it might have been some adrenaline.

Then the bikers stretched out in an accordian and I began falling to the back of the pack.  My plan was to stop at mile 20 and have a snack.  I realized I was going quite fast.  There were 4 of us at the end that swapped places quite a bit, with the very last person just in front of the sag wagon.  I was right in front of it for a few miles and it was really annoying, I have to say.  I felt like it pushed me to go faster than I might have.  I also wanted to stop and have my snack, so I signaled that I was pulling over.  Of course, they asked me if I was okay.  I just needed a snack!  I had to fuel up before the monster hill.  Then I felt very pressured, because they waited for me, so I just opened up the bar and started going again while eating.

I averaged 15.8 miles an hour for the first hour.  That was fast for me!  Then I hit the 5-mile hill.  It was brutal.  Maybe not as bad as I was thinking it might be, but it was a slog.  5 miles up uphill with varying inclines.   The hill (okay, a mountain) climbed from 650 feet to 1250 feet.  😯  A few more riders came back into sight and I passed some people on this hill.  Thank you so much for all your strong leg vibes!  They really worked!  I did not have to stop or walk up the hills today.

At mile 28 – it was a rocket down hill.  I hit my top speed of 32.8 mph before I panicked and hit the brakes.  I was terrified of that speed.  It was also exhilarating in a scary way.

At the bottom of this hill was the rest stop.  There was one at mile 7, but that was way too early in the ride.  This was at mile 31.  I have never ridden 31 miles without taking a longer break.  I was at the 2-hour point here, which was much faster than expected.  A volunteer took my picture.

Used the portapotty (surprisingly clean) and had another bar plus a coconut water and some regular water.  There were a number of bikers at this rest stop.  One woman said she was done.  I think the hill might have injured her or something because she said she didn’t want to risk hurting herself anymore.

I took just a short break – maybe 10 minutes.  I wanted to head out way in front of the sag wagon, because it irritated me and I wanted to take a break later without feeling pressured.

Onward into the headwind.  That sucked LOL!  I was looking forward to some flat riding and it was windy.  Oh well.  The scenery in the Adirondaks is just beautiful, though.  I stopped at mile 45 just before the next set of hills for a granola bar.  I was going to eat a Larabar, but realized the fat content of that bar would slow absorption, which I did not need at this point.  This was where I stopped:

Note how cloudy?  It started to rain shortly after that.  I slogged up 2 more sets of hills and my thighs were complaining loudly by that time.  They were saying “What happened to the cupcake break?  You always have a cupcake! And where was that relaxing lunch?”

Let me tell you, biking fast in the rain isn’t a lot of fun.  I was in excess of 20 mph and the rain stung my face!  It only lasted about 10 miles, though, so that wasn’t bad.   By this time, I was talking out loud to myself quite a bit.  I realized I was doing that and would check around to see how close the nearest bike rider was 😳

I was pepping myself by comparing how much ride I had left to distances from home that I knew, like “This is just like going to Panera Bread and back.” or “This is just a ride home from Cool Beans”  – to which my other self said “Yeah, but I didn’t just eat a bagel.  Geez how I want a bagel.!”

Around mile 58, I really began to hit a wall.  I was feeling a little emotional and tired.  My thighs were aching at this point, as I had pushed them pretty hard.  Plus I was really missing John as my biker buddy.

I almost cried at the last hill. It was just a small one, but I didn’t think I had any hill left in me.  I just put my head down and ground it out.  I wasn’t walking at this point in the ride.

Down the home stretch – I am the little dot just above the 3rd cone.

Crossing the finish line at 63  miles. I am going so fast I am a blur! (haha)

I did not come in last, there were about 4 others riders behind me by probably 5 or 10 minutes.

The happiest rider:

What is up with the thumbs- up sign today??  My bike was propping me up at this point.

I was exhausted.  I could barely walk after getting off the bike.  Even though I have done this distance before (and 100 miles), the pace was much different.  I am used to more leisurely rides with meal stops and relaxing.  This was all business. Hilly, fast, and furious!

I did a 13.2 average pace, top speed of 32.8 mph and a 2,000 calorie burn!  The ride time was 4 hours and 45 minutes.   That is the equivalent to running 20 miles, thank you very much.  I could not take in enough calories during this ride.  That is really hard to do.

The Double H staff were so friendly.  I have to give props to them.  At every intersection they were pointing the way and cheering us on.  Plus there were signs along the road with inspirational saying on them to help keep us going.  This was their first time doing a ride and I think they were very well organized.

John had me walk around a little, which was difficult, but he is a smart man, because my legs loosened up a little bit.  There was a BBQ afterwards, and we had some cookies and coffee before heading home.

I showered and foam rolled and now am watching some football with a latte.  We will see how I feel tomorrow.  Right now I feel so satisfied and couldn’t be happier about how the ride went.

Not to mention that John is taking me out for dinner!

And a huge thank you to all of you!  We raised $397 for the camp!

What’s blooming and ride prep.

Woke up to an early quiet morning today. Foggy out. It was cold, too!  Around 49 degrees.

I puttered around for a bit before deciding on what to have for breakfast:

Warm apple topping on waffles!  Tasty!  I was making plans to go to the farmer’s market when John got up.  He had breakfast and decided to bike with me to  the market, but then keep going to the lake.  He wanted a long ride today.  It was really hard not to go with him, I have to say.  I need to save my legs for 62 miles tomorrow!

Market finds:

I got a squash, some roasted coffee, and some apples.   Then biked home.  I nice and easy 12 miles.  My legs feel so awesome!  I tapered well this week and did not do any lifting and I feel super strong and fresh.

I was hungry when I got home and proceeded to have toast with jam and nut butter.

I am going to eat more today to make sure I have good glycogen stores for tomorrow (yeah, that’s it 😉  )

The garden is still getting new blooms.  The giant clematis that ate Cleveland is still going:

Along with those funky little after blooms:

The sedum has colored up.

What I find most interesting about this sedum is how much the flies like it.  I get the bees, but the flies?

This is my side shade garden, which I don’t show too many pictures of, for some reason.

Color pop on the flowering tobacco:

One single, full bloom on the scentimental rose.


I am oscillating between being very nervous and looking forward to the ride tomorrow.  I had to take a picture of myself and I can see the nerves:

The big difference is that I need to finish the whole thing.  Like with any race we do versus going out for a run.  If you go for a run and it doesn’t feel good or whatever, you can stop.  When it’s a race or some other event, either you finish or you don’t.  I won’t get my relaxed cupcake break tomorrow.  If you think about it between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday, send power thoughts for my legs.  That’s about the time I will be doing the 5 mile climb. 😯   I have 2 coconut waters to take, plus some energy bars and fruit.  I don’t know what there will be at the designated rest stops, but I am sure gatorade will be there and I don’t drink that, so I have my trusty coconut water!

I might also bring along one of these:

Whole wheat pumpkin scones!  Recipe to be posted on Tuesday.  I had one of these with my latte this afternoon, topped with some icing.  Carb loading – gotta love it :mrgreen:

We watched a movie with Pixie:

and then it was time for dinner.  I wanted a good amount of protein, so I stir fried 4 oz of chicken with broccoli and ginger sauce.

Tasty.

While I was out taking some garden shots after dinner, I heard that unmistakable “whoosh” of a hot air balloon.  There was a launch earlier in the evening and one drifted right by our house:

Not sure where it ended up, but it is right over the river in this picture, so I imagine it wasn’t there.

I’ll be hitting the hay early tonight.  Be back on Sunday evening with a Century Ride recap!

Up, up and away

A blissful Friday.  I have Sunday off from work because of the Charity Ride and John said it was a 3 day weekend for me.  Yes – just like a 3 day weekend except I have to work today…. 🙄

It was a chilly morning and I headed out at 7 am for a run.  About a 1/2 mile in, it started to sprinkle on me.  I figured there is no difference between sweat and rain (except salt content), so I kept going. I don’t like wet shoes, though.  I did 3 miles today and I was thinking about how easy it felt.  All that biking has sure been doing a lot for my running, I have to say 😀

I was ready for brekkie when I got back.

I got some jams yesterday in the jam swap I participated in.  Dina sent me marionberry jam and blueberry jam!  Yay!  So – onto the banana custard oats it went!

Last of the almond butter as well, time to get out the food processor!   I commenced to some work – relaxed style.

Lunch time!  Something different, just because it is Friday.

Why yes, that is cauliflower.  Roasted in the toaster oven along with the fish sticks.  They were both done at the same time.  I like convenience.

More work after lunch.  I got an email about the Charity Ride on Sunday.  There are 93 riders all together on the 3 different distances.  There are 51 riders doing the 62 mile ride, so I won’t be alone.  Well, I won’t start alone at any rate.  Probably will end last :mrgreen:  This is the first organized bike ride I have ever done.  I forget that I won’t be climbing the hills or finishing the route by myself.  There is a sag wagon and a mechanics vehicle for problems, plus a couple rest/snack stops at 20-mile intervals.  No worries.  I do find myself alternating between excitement and panic.  That stupid 5-mile hill really has stuck itself in my mind.  I must tell myself it is okay if I need to walk up some of that hill.  It’s not a race, and the kids that attend this camp have way more problems in their lives than I do with this hill.   Weather looks iffy that day.  Supposed to be showers and it will be chilly with a high of 64.  I wanted to wear my Rosie jersey, but I think I need a long sleeve shirt since morning temps will be upper 40s/low 50s.

Afternoon snack with a latte:

Instead of the usual What’s Blooming, I thought I would show you something different!  (I’ll do flowers tomorrow). Today was the start of one of the local balloon festivals!  My mom and I went to see the evening launch tonight.

It’s neat because you can get up and close to the balloons taking off.

I loved this balloon!

I was hungry as it was dinner time, so I brought along sustenance.

Kinda creepy, eh?

Me and my mom!

Up, up, and away!

We went out for dinner afterwards.  Since John wasn’t with, we could go to Steve’s Place (he doesn’t like it there).

I love the breakfast all day!  I got an eggbeater cheese omelet with wheat toast.

I ate all but a small smidgen of the omelet.  Yum!

A very nice day, all in all.  We are in the stride of festival time around here.

Question:  Ever been to a balloon launch?

Down by the river side

I was up early again today.  Supposed to be hot, so I wanted to get a bike ride in.  My upper body feels like it was run over by a steam roller, though, thanks to yesterday’s workout.  My legs are fine.   In fact, my legs are solid like trees right now!  Yay thighs!

I had 1/2 of a Larabar for a snack.

Dinky. 🙄

It was cloudy and in the low 60s this morning.  It started to rain a tiny bit and I almost turned around and went home, but it stopped.

Wouldn’t want to melt, you know…

The road itself isn’t very exciting, but this is the bike lane and it is nice and wide and pretty well maintained for the most part.

After 8 miles, I took a break for some water and some scenery viewing.

Purdy.

The water was like glass:

Must take this same picture when the foliage has turned.

Then I cranked home.  16 miles at an average of 14 mph this morning and I am feeling good!  Hungry for brekkie!

This was an excellent breakfast.  Did you see the honey fluff recipe I posted earlier today?  I am going to try to post a recipe every Tuesday, I think.  😀

Lunch break – I chopped up one of the turkey muffins for an open-faced sammie today.  This kiwi was extra good, too.  Or maybe I was just extra hungry.

Fairly busy day working today.  I need to do some catch up lines, though, as yesterday was not quite a full work day.

John made me a latte:

which I paired with some mint chocolate.

I really, really wanted more chocolate.  I did not have any, but something has awoken my sugar monster.  Mayhap the cupcakes over the weekend?

I made a return to childhood cafeteria for dinner today.  Fish sticks!

The box calls these extra large.  I would hate to see the small.  I probably couldn’t see the small…..

I want to take a moment and send a big thank you to everyone regarding my Charity Ride on Sunday.  Whether you sent a donation or gave me encouragement through email (or even in person) – I am floored by how much support I have gotten.  We have raised $377 as of the writing of this post to support the Double H Ranch!  You are all awesome!  I have my fingers crossed for weather this weekend…

Hills and more hills!

I decided on a rest day today.  My insomnia seems to have made a reappearance lately.  I was up at 5 a.m. today.  I came down and did some work, then just went out for a walk when it got light.  Normally I wouldn’t snack before a walk, but my tummy was growling, so I had a graham with fluff before leaving.

I had thought about running or biking, but realized I hadn’t taken a rest day in a while.  I love biking so much that I forget to not do it on occasion.  Rest days are so important.

We did not go for bagels this morning because of the window installers coming today too early for us to make it out and back.  I know you were all wanting to see a bagel picture almost as bad as I want to eat one :mrgreen:   We will go tomorrow.

Instead, I made protein waffles.

We didn’t have enough cottage cheese, so I subbed yogurt.

  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup of oats
  • 1/3 cup of yogurt (low fat vanilla)
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

They came out definitely different, but still yummy.  More soft in texture without the crispness of waffles.  I think I would reduce to 1/4 cup of yogurt next time, or use greek, as the batter was very liquidy.

Working away today while the window people worked.  They were upstairs today and I didn’t notice them very much.  I already notice the house much cooler because the glass blocks the heat from coming in.  Technology is amazing!

Lunch break.  Not much protein, but super colorful!

So I found the route for my charity ride next weekend.  I’m not going to lie – I am a bit skeered of it!  I know I can do it, but it will be tough, check it out:

😯 😯 😯   Who is the crazy nut that signs up for 62 miles of hills? Oh wait… it’s me….  Miles 25 to 30 are going to be really, really hard!  Not sure which I am more scared of, the climb up or the free fall down.  I might go scope out the course this weekend, but I almost do not want to see this hill in person before I have to go up it or I will have nightmares…  If you want to check out the route in full size glory, you can click here.

Afternoon snack break (there is a little chocolate under there) –

No coffee today.  Just wasn’t feeling it.  How weird is that?  I just wanted to chew versus drink.

They worked hard on those windows!  It’s neat to look out and not see the world ripply.  Pixie watched them intently when they worked in her favorite window:

Not quite finished yet, though – as they still need to cap most of them on the outside, but all the inside work is done:

17 windows needed to be done in this house.

Little by little we are doing nice things to this house.   I think it has been a long, long time since it was really loved by its owners.  I’ll post a picture of the outside tomorrow per request.

Dinner time and I needed some protein, so that meant pork!  Another burger.

I assigned John to make bread tonight since we are now out.

Done with job #1 for the week and just 4 hours tomorrow.  Even though I backed down to part time with both jobs, I still do 6 days a week.  But that is okay.  We just do what we need to, right?  At least until I open that coffee shop….

Off to buy a couple new window treatments.  New windows deserve new blinds and not the ones the are broken because the cat keeps going through them 😀

Squish goes the water bottle and a new friend.

I woke up this morning ready for a run at the track!  I set my water bottle at the edge of the track, put on my tunes and headed around.  I was feeling great, I have to say.  I decided to go 4 miles today.

I had just finished up 3 miles and was going to stop for a drink because I was thirsty, but then a song came on that I wanted to run with and not break stride.  I am sure you know what I mean.

As I rounded a lap, I see a maintenance truck pulling into the track.  I kind of laughed and thought – “look out water bottle.”  Well, wouldn’t you know he drove right over it and stopped *on* it.  I was coming around the bend and he hops out the truck.  I’m all “You just ran over my water bottle!!”  He looked at me really funny.  I think I scared him (you know, sweaty yelling lady running towards him and all that).  I went over and my bottle was wedged under the tire.  I pulled and pulled and got it out, but it was all smooshed.  Keep in mind that I lost one bottle with my bike.  This was my spare.  It was bright blue.  I don’t know how he missed it.  Good thing I did not have my phone or camera with it!!  So, no drink for Lori.  I just did the other half mile so I could get the complete 4 and grouched my way home.  Can the universe just leave me alone for a little while?  I’m tired of people messing with my stuff….

I had a hankering for some waffling when I got home!

These came out super crispy.  I think I left them in the iron longer, but tasty!

Busy, busy at both jobs today.  Pixie has been very needy since we got back.  This is me trying to work and she just comes over and does this:

I kept pushing her just off my lap to the side, but she kept stretching back onto it.  Maybe she thought I wouldn’t notice or something.  Cute.

Lunch break consisted of pumpkin mixed with yogurt and cereal.  Looks boring, but I assure you that it was tasty.

I was so absorbed in work that the time flew by.  John made me a latte, which I paired with a couple squares of Lindt.

After more work, it was time to go out and pick up my new friend.  I decided upon the Fuji Absolute performance hybrid (after going through my check list).

Welcome to the family new bike!

24 gears, trigger shift, light frame.  When I got on this one yesterday, I knew it was the one for me, but I tried others to make sure and then slept on it.  It was on sale, too.  Had a fitting for the bike with my clip shoes on and I was ready to go.  We then picked up a helmet, a new lock, a new computer, and a water bottle (see above) so I can go to the gym tomorrow.  Still need some more stuff, but at least I can ride again!  It’s going to take getting used to, so I can’t dilly dally with the charity ride creeping up on me.  John has not found one that he likes yet.  It is a little hard at this time of year to find bikes.  Luckily for me, there were a lot of women’s bikes in stock.

I was *hangry* at this point and would have liked to have eaten out, but not after dropping a chunk of change on all this stuff.  We got home and John grilled up chicken while I cooked brussel sprouts.

Served along side a pluot.  It was so good because I was hungry!  I still have to work tonight.  Lots to do and need to earn that money! LOL.  I wish I had time to go for a spin, but that will have to wait.  I will talk about the bike in a little more detail as well.

Gotta get a snack ready for my evening work.  See you on the flip side!

Camp Challenge ride

Hello!! Another day, another dollar 😀 I headed on out to the gym. I wanted a lighter day today, so I just biked to the gym and did some weights:

Exercise Set/rep/weight Muscle worked
Barbell deadlifts 3 sets of 8 at 80# Lower body
Seated lat row 3 sets of 10 at 60# Back
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press 3 sets of 10 with 20# DBs (40# total) Chest
Decline sit ups 3 sets of 10 Abs
Alternating side lunge 3 sets of 10 (each leg) with 15# DBs (30# total) Legs
Seated Calf Raise 3 sets with 10 at 110# Calves
Arnold Press 3 sets of 10 with 15# DBs (30# total) Shoulders
Bench Dips 3 sets of 10 Triceps
Good Mornings 3 sets of 10  at 55# Lower back and hammies

Then I walked for 10 minutes on the treadmill to cool down before biking home. I actually did not have a preworkout snack today as I felt absolutely no hunger at all when I got up. I ate a bit too much yesterday, and it seemed to hold over. Anyway, I was hungry for breakfast, though! One of my new bowls I got yesterday:

John says “Another bowl?” 😳

I had banana custard cream of wheat topped with cashew butter and beer jelly.

My bowl almost isn’t big enough LOL!

So, I have decided to put my mouth where my pedals are.  I signed up for the Camp  Challenge ride in September.

I  will be riding the Metric Century ride (62.5 miles) on September 12 and raising funds to support the Double H ranch in Lake Luzerne.  The Double H ranch is dedicated to providing services to children who have life threatening illnesses and their families.  The Camp Challenge ride is to raise funds to send these children to the camp for free.  My goal is to raise $250.  This is the first time I have ever done a fundraising type of thing, so I have a lot of work to do!  If you would like to support me with a donation, you can do so here.  If half of my readers donated $1 – we would be pretty close!  As I alluded to yesterday, I will be working on a cookbook of all my recipes that I have done on the site and will be giving a copy of this to anyone who donates (when it is finished).  Or, you can support by  passing my link on to anyone you know who might be interested in this.  FYI – there are 3 of these rides on that day, so anyone who lives near Lake Luzerne;  Ashford, CT, or Lake Hughes, CA can do a ride as well! (15, 30, or 62.5 miles).  You can email me if you have any questions at all.

I am pretty excited about it!!

Lunch break included some tuna salad and lime FSTG chips.  I do like these.  That pear I had yesterday was under ripe – so I need to give the others a chance to ripen up!  Strawberries it is 😀

Pixie is ready to open a can of whoopass on a kitty outside while I am preparing my food.

Break time! John made me a latte with some protein in it and I had a snack of dark chocolate.

Yum!

Work was slow at first, but then picked up and I finished up both jobs.  I may (or not) do more work tonight to make up for yesterday.

I do need to do a wee bit more shopping for Mr. J – as his birthday is Wednesday and I need stocking stuffers for him.  Not that he gets a stocking for his birthday….

Needed something fast for dinner because I was hangry and really wanted to snack.  So it was baked clam strips and brussels.

This plate was really colorful and pleasing to my eyes.  Being mindful of not just the taste of the food, but noticing how it looks and appreciating that .

Made a stop at the library to get something to read.  I actually got several things, but this was fiction:

I kind of like historical fiction. This book is about Eleanor, the granddaughter of King Edward I.  Hope it’s good!

Gonna make a snack and decide whether I am going to work or read… hmmmm… wonder which I will choose….