Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Getting things done

It's been pretty busy around here with bike maintenance, house remodeling and getting ready for warm weather.

We've almost got the workout room completely done. The floors are laid, the TV and mirrors are up and all the equipment is in the room. Now we just have to install the baseboard and hang up all our trophies, awards, etc!

We've started painting the baseboard in the garage and getting old toys ready to be sold.

Bryce even found some fun things in the closet while doing a little 'spring cleaning'...haha.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Aqua Jogging!!!

That's right...I'm back running again...just in water :) I've gotten up to 30 minutes with intervals and completely pain free so I'm super psyched and ready to get back on the elliptical and the road soon. Stay tuned!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

More snow and more toys!

Is it weird that it can go from 70* to 2ft of snow to 65* to 1.5ft of snow in a 5 day period? Welcome to Colorado in March...sooooo weird, but gotta love it.

It's been like Christmas this past week with new toys and gear left and right. My best bud Tony Torrance is the cycling shoe designer at Pearl Izumi and hooked me up with the newest carbon road shoes and carbon women's specific mountain bike shoe. Check out the Octane SL II and the Women's Elite MTB II and let me know what you think. I'll post a report after I get a chance to test them out...ohhhhh sooo excited :)

Monday, March 22, 2010

NEW TOYS!

Look what just showed up on my front door tonight!!!!! It quite obviously needs to be built up but oh what fun it is to get new bikes! Thanks Dougy Fresh!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

It's Roller Derby Time!

Saturday evening, we all headed to the new 1st Bank Event Center in Broomfield to see the Denver Roller Dolls.

Yes, that is professional women's roller derby you see above.

We didn't get there in time to get front row seats, but still had a blast with everyone.

Check out the announcer...this is for real...schwing!

There's actually a huge following for this sport. Everyone who thought I would come home wanting to start up in this madness is nuts...no freaking way! Those girls are insane.

The night wouldn't be complete without someone buying Tingle a pair of hot pink fishnet stockings like the other roller dolls. She swears she's going to wear them to the pool under her swimsuit this week...who wants to take bets!?!?

Saturday, March 20, 2010

No joke!

They don't call March the snowiest month in Colorado for nothing! It was seriously 70* and beautiful on Thursday and I even rode my bike 4hrs. This is what it looked like a little over 12hrs later! Yes, Boulder got 15 inches of snow on Friday. BUZZ KILL!!!!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Happenings in Erin's world

1) My cleanse only lasted 2 weeks...oh well. I think it did the trick though :)

2) The weather has been absolutely AMAZING! 60s and 70s the last couple days! This means lots of riding at 9000ft and long rides with good friends, like Mel above, and a few intervals...the first ones of the year!

3) Corporate tax season is finally over

4) My new Orbea MTB and road bikes have been ordered by the best bike mechanic in the world...DJB

5) I have begun aqua jogging and going to 'gentle yoga' classes for the first time since October! This is REALLY exciting!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

St. Patty's Day Fun!

After a couple killer workouts, it was finally time to celebrate the best holiday of the year...that's if you're Irish of course! And what better way than making pizzas with all your good friends?!? Sure it's not stew and cabbage, but the homemade dough was green!!!

Monday, March 15, 2010

I'm back on bikes with motors!

After a long drive to TX Friday evening, Bryce and I finally made it to Quitaque for some moto racing.

We unloaded the van, got the motos prepped, and made the rounds saying hi to everyone.

Saturday was the Grand Prix. Just like a circuit race on bicycles. We did an hour of racing on a 3mile loop comprised of a fun grass track and windy trail in the trees.

As with every moto race, my main goal is to finish and to not get hurt...mission accomplished on day 1 :)

Next up was Bryce's GP race. It's always hard to watch the boys race during the Enduros but getting an up close look at how fast and talented the pro guys are was pretty sweet Saturday afternoon.

We both had a great time and got all warmed up for the big race on Sunday.

We even got to hang out with Bryce's good friend Billy Innis. Long story short, Tingle had a 2hr phone convo with him last fall when Bryce left his phone in CO while we were racing in TX. So great to finally meet the guy and actually know who the dude racing in all pink was...priceless.

Sunday was the big day. I got the opportunity to race on the same row as my friends Mandy and Nicole and we had an absolute blast. Obviously finishing and not getting hurt are always a priority, but my biggest goal for this race was to make each of the time checks. It definitely wasn't easy but I made it!

Not only did the 3 lovely ladies have great races, but so did the boys. Bryce took home a top 20 with over 400 racers and all our other TX and CO friends pull out some great results as well. It was a long drive home Sunday evening but after a few cat naps on the road, we finally made it safe and sound. Another great weekend in the books!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Who loves to bake?!?

Well usually NOT me, but since I have been doing this crazy cleanse, I really don't have much of a choice.

Since most of the foods I've been cooking involve a lot of pureed ingredients, my $20 3cup food processor just wasn't going to cut it. After a good chat with Momma Bingham, I splurged on a super nice 14cup Cuisinart! This is honestly the nicest piece of kitchen equipment I have ever owned :) I will admit that after baking some delicious Apple Cinnamon Muffins in it last night, it might have been the best purchase EVER!!!

No, I did not bake these for myself...it was Tom and Tony Torrance's birthday yesterday and by request, I made Tom some Cherry Chip with vanilla frosting cupcakes. You would be proud, I didn't even lick the spoon...tempting but did without :)

Monday, March 08, 2010

Trying something new

Dry needling is an invasive procedure in which a solid filament needle is inserted into the skin and muscle directly at a myofascial trigger point. A myofascial trigger point consists of multiple contraction knots, which are related to the production and maintenance of the pain cycle.

After many attempts to get my upper abs and lower back to stop spasm-ing and not allow my hip to heal, I decided to try this dry needling technique as a last resort this afternoon...ouchy!!! It was definitely a painful and interesting experience but after the tenderness and bruising go away, I'm really excited to see how it works.

Saturday, March 06, 2010

Life is absolutely GREAT!

Especially when it's 57* and sunny on March 6th and all you can see is blue sky for miles, snow capped mountains and 500 million other cyclists on the road :)

The day started off pretty chill with an hour easy swim at FAC then a little T1 action in the parking lot then off to see if our 'in between the legs parts' were capable of riding 5hrs...seriously. After an 1hr20min, we made the usual stop at Clark's in Hygiene and ran into several familiar faces. Will Kelsay happened to be there which was pretty exciting so we decided to have a little Team Timex group shot. We then continued on for the rest of our amazingly scenic ride while battling the weekend warriors hammering around town. I love Boulder.

This is what Tingle looked like when we got back...

Just kidding...you know it's a good day when you can swim an hour then ride 5hrs and still have a giant smile on your face :) And yes, Tingle did ride the entire time in those hot shades...can someone get this girl a sunglass sponsor ASAP?!?! Thanks for the ride Lady, you're my fav.

Thursday, March 04, 2010

It's the smallest things...

I always like to bring Timex related surprises to certain individuals in my life who really are, just great people. Last week I brought my PT (who has really helped me both physically and mentally the past month) a Timex watch and running cap from from the giveaway box at home. She couldn't have been more excited.

However, this is the card she brought in for me today from her daughter Keila. Absolutely priceless!

Monday, March 01, 2010

The start of a 3 week cleanse!

Let's just say I'm going on the Paleo Diet! No sugar, no gluten, no dairy, no processed foods...lots of lean meats, seafood, veggies, fruits and nuts :) The main reason behind doing this is because I truly feel my energy levels spike and diminish like crazy throughout the day. Without added sugar or caffeine, I'm really hoping to be more consistent with my training and moods on a daily basis.

I have done a lot of prep getting vegetables cut, meat baked and recipes lined up and lots of grocery shopping. My first attempt at cooking was making these delicious Carrot Banana Muffins above. I have such a sweet tooth and thought that without cookies and baked goods I'd be dying but these definitely do the trick. Check out the recipe below and let me know what you think!

2 cups blanched almond flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup dates, pitted
3 ripe bananas
3 eggs
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
1 ½ cups carrots, shredded
¾ cup walnuts, finely chopped
  1. In a small bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon
  2. In a food processor, combine dates, bananas, eggs, vinegar and oil
  3. Transfer mixture to a large bowl
  4. Blend dry mixture into wet until thoroughly combined
  5. Fold in carrots and walnuts
  6. Spoon mixture into paper lined muffin tins
  7. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes

Makes 18 muffins