Highs and Lows

I had a couple highs and a definite low in my training/workouts recently.

Let's get the worst over with-  I haven't been able to get out on my bike in weeks between family, work, weather, etc.  So my mom offered to watch the kids so I could go out on some trails the Saturday before Thanksgiving.  I had been on these trails before, but my mom suggested some loops she had done that were new for me.  First loop- no problem.  Second loop- disaster.  I found myself getting off and walking through sections that I could have ridden two months ago.  And to make matters worse, I assumed my mother had been able to ride through more of the trail than I did.  Hard to take when I think my mom's better at mountain biking than I am.  Needless to say there was swearing and tears in the middle of the woods and when I got back, I let my mom know exactly what I thought of her trail- "That sucked!".  Ahem....I did eventually calm down and it turns out she walked much of the second loop that I was frustrated with.  But trust me- definitely a low.

And now on a more positive note-  Our family did a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving and since my kids and husband were together and with friends, I was able to run on my own.  Without training for the race and considering I started on very cold legs, I was very pleased with my 8:22 pace.  Secondly, I've been loving a bootcamp class 1x/week this fall.  You know the class is tough when there's more boys than girls taking it.  This last week the instructor told us to pick up some 8 or 10-pound weights.  Typically, girls picked up 8 and boys picked up 10. The instructor singled me out and told me to get the 10-pounds- yeehaw!  As she led us through some fantastic one-leg deadlifts, some of the very-fit-looking boys fatigued before me.  So pumped!  :)

So there's room for improvement on the mountain bike- no doubt.

But I'm faster and stronger- in fact, to tell you the truth- I am very strong.  And I am pretty proud of that.