Excitement Galore

Let's just start with the fact that the Red Wings are up 3-0 against the Avs and the Pistons beat the 76ers again to make the series 3-2 Detroit...no surprises there, but super exciting!!!

Things have been busy. Leaving for a few days always throws a little catch up in the mix. I have running around with clients, getting work done on my achillies (massage, ultrasound, etc), attempting to get everything together to build my bicycle rack for the motorcycle, and well, just trying to have fun :)

I do have a to say that Shep has been working his butt off trying to piece together this rack and I think we're almost there. We rode our Beemers up Flagstaff the other day and afterwards, I couldn't be more pumped up to park the Jeep for the summer and just ride the moto around. Especially with the insanity of gas prices right now...geez oh Petes!

Speaking of cars, I smashed the back end of the Jeep the other day in the parking lot at the gym as myself and another woman both backed up at the same time in each other's blind spots. No one's fault so we just left it at that...I do however need to get that fixed at some point...grrr.

Hmmm...what else? I watched Juno for the first time the other night. Very funny and well made movie. Also, Carol Sharpless will be getting a cortisone injection this afternoon in her back in attempt to help alleviate the pain she's been having so keep her in your thoughts. She's deathly afraid of needles so she's gonna need some support. Sharpie - I love you and wish you the best!!! Lastly, today is the deadline to mail all first quarter liability taxes so that's something I cannot forget to do! Okay, this is getting ridiculous. I really don't have anything else to say so I'm just rambling about sweet nothings.

Hope the weather is as beautiful wherever you are as it has been here. It's supposed to get nasty this weekend so I'm going out to enjoy the rest of it today! Whoooaaaaa. Life is great :)

XTERRA Fort Yargo Race Report

The first race of the season has come and gone...and done in perfect fashion might I add. Traveling to a low key race with great friends to stay and race with is such a great way to kick of the race season :)

After getting up at 3:30am to drive to Carole's place in Atlanta all the way from Nashville, this is what Bruce looked like...well actually, I think he was trying to hint that he would be sleeping there instead of the couch the night before the race...that didn't happen.

As we were driving to pre-ride the course, I thought it would be fun to let Bruce know how awful my voice really is by singing as loud as I could the entire way there and back! I think he was about ready to kill me. I thought it was really funny. We got back and headed to a sports bar to have dinner with Sharpie which was super fun. We then had some cookies and ice cream for dessert at home for a perfect pre-race fueling as we watched the Pistons get annihilated by Philly in game 3 of the playoffs. Don't want to talk about.


I will, however, talk about the race the next day which was super fun. Again, super chill environment in a beautiful setting. The swim, as always, had a few issues...started very strong and felt amazing the entire time. Couldn't bridge the gap to the first group, but wasn't all that far behind. After making the second turn and heading back to shore, I totally used the buys on shore to sight. Little did I know, there was actually another buoy in between the one I was at and the short to my right that I had to go around...grrrr. I didn't see it until I was parallel to it. As I took a breath on my right side, I saw it about 100 meters to the right...damn. Alright, not getting disqualified so I might a hard 90* turn to make my way around it and back to shore. After getting out of the water, I completely forgot that our new Blue Seventy wetsuits unzip from the bottom, so I spent a good minute or so trying to find the zipper from the top and freaking out that I had lost the string to get it off. Whoever witnessed that little panic attack had to be quite amused. I did finally get it off. Alright, on to the bike. Super fast and fun course. Everything was going well (taking it a little faster than I should, but doesn't everyone?) until I caught my handlebar on a tree and put my chainring through the back of my ankle. OUCH. No worries, just keep going, don't think about it and hammer...duhhh! After the bike, I started the run and felt like a freakin' gazelle! My legs were turning over like none other and I had to slow myself down because I didn't want to trip on the uneven terrain. It was going just great until my leg where I had put a giant metal piece through it earlier started getting really tight. About 2 miles from the finish my leg and foot went completely numb and I pretty much slowed to a screeching halt (or jog if you will). I finished the race and immediately put it up to try and get some feeling back. After 10-15min or so, it came back, but it had completely tightened up and I've been limping ever since. More to come on that as I'm meeting with my PT this afternoon to get it checked out since it only got worse overnight...

Okay, so more race news...despite the issues on the run, I was the first overall woman and after a killer race himself, Bruce finished 2nd overall behind Xterra Pro Craig Evans. It was definitely a good day for Team Timex :) We got some pretty cool prizes including a new Maxxis tire, a certificate for a seatpost or stem or our choice from Thomson, some new gloves and other random accessories!

Bicho looking very tall on the top of that podium :)

Overall male and female winners

After a rinse-off in the lake, I decided to take an earlier flight back home. Yeah, poor people next to me, I know. It was an easy trip back and a chill evening.

Word from the Sharpie Household!

So the whole red-eye flight thing...hmmm, not so sure I would venture into that scenario again. I didn't get to sleep at all and it was very awkward changing time zones in between all of it. Oh well. After Carole picked me up at 5:30am, we went directly back to her place and I was able to sleep until 10. Not too bad. When I woke up, she had coffee and eggs already made for me...WHAT A BABE?!?

After a little breakfast, we went to her club to do a short swim which was fun. My eyes got really heavy during the first thousand and I swore I was going to fall asleep while swimming, but the coffee eventually kicked in and I was able to crank through it and actually felt pretty good! We spent the rest of the day chillin' on the coach eating tuna sandwiches and popcorn while watching silly movies and chatting about life...perfect way to rest before a race! We finally got up and went to a great salad place for dinner then made a quick stop at the grocery to pick up cookies and ice cream to have for dessert while watching the hockey game!

Oh the hockey game - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WINGS!!!! So that was a close one. It was super exciting watching them go up 4-1 so I decided to go build my bike. When I get back, it now 4-3...ahhh. Luckily it stayed that way, but damn boys, don't scare me like that. I have a reputation to uphold in Colorado :)

After a shakeout run and swim this morning with Carole, Bruce and I are going t0 head to Winder (the race site) and pre-ride the bike course as well as check everything out. Since I will be flying back to Denver after the race tomorrow evening, I'll try to post a report while at the airport. Until then, good luck to all of those who are racing St. Anthony's!!!

Holy COW(s)!

So much has been going on recently that I've completely forgotten to mention that I'm taking a red-eye flight to Atlanta this evening to race the Fort Yargo Xterra on Saturday!!! Yes, very exciting! A teammate and great friend Carol Sharpless will be picking me up at the ass-crack of dawn and Friday we will meet up with another friend and teammate from Nashville, Bruce Gennari, who will be racing with me...or behind me I should say....haha. Since he lost our little bet between the Wings and Preds series, he now has to be my little bitch at Xterra Nationals and do whatever I say...oh this could be fun :)

So things have been good but very busy. I had lots of catching up to do on Monday both recovery and work-wise. Had a great massage in the afternoon which always helps out, then had a pleasant evening hanging out with Tom, whom I haven't just chilled with in a while! Yesterday was one of those days that you just go and go and go until you hit the pillow still going. Woke up, took Jon to the car dealer, did a little run interval session (with cows and their little baby calves EVERYWHERE - one of these days I'm gonna get trampled on), went to the pool to test out the new wetsuit (ohhh buddy, it's nice), went to a client, went to the post office to pick up a certified letter from the IRS (not good), dealt with that crap, drove to Pearl Izumi to meet with the art director (going to do some shoots for their catalog),went to another client, got on my trainer for some short intervals, drove downtown to take my dentist's daughter and wife out and around Boulder (she's thinking of coming to school here next year), came home and worked on numerous accounting issues most of the night, then.......went to bed! Okay I'm done.

Lots to do again today before I leave, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of time in the airport to update so until then....enjoy the day:)

So much to be happy about!

What a fabulous weekend! Killer training day on Saturday followed by a fun night at the Rio for Tingle's 24th birthday! I'm pretty sure if I didn't have to run early this morning, I would have hit the 3 margarita limit...of course I would have probably passed out in the middle of Pearl Street, but oh well...damn, those things are good :)

After an 80 degree day of gorgeousness yesterday, I ventured off for the long run this morning at 8am in the 60s! Other than the monsoon-like winds, it was quite enjoyable...even with the 3x20min of efforts :) After eating about 8 pieces of french toast (homemade of course, and I say this because that is probably one of 3 things I cook for myself), I got some things together and met the girls up at Hall Ranch (yes, the dreaded place where I crashed and broke my wrist a month ago). We were lovin' life just cruising and smiling on the mountain bikes!!!

As for my Detroit sports teams, the Wings finally wrapped up round one of the playoffs against the Nashville Predators this afternoon (sorry Bruce), but the Pistons lost their first game of the playoffs after being up by several points the entire game to Philly. Ugh, that was an ugly sight for sure. They better get their butts in gear if they plan on making it past the first round.

Lastly, I have to post this because I think it's just absolutely hysterical. So because my dad doesn't have any more kids running around the house to take care of or yell at, he has turned to other random things to keep him busy and entertained. Take buying birds for instance...honestly I think those were just to piss my mom off, but below is a perfect example of how ridiculous my father really is. You see, we got this stupid 500lb buddha about 10 years ago (for free of course...the hell if we'd ever purchase such a thing) and we always dressed him up according to what sports teams were playing, which season it was, etc. Tonight, I get this email from my dad,

"Hi Hon,
Per the attached photo, just wanted to let you know that Tumrock recently had a sex change operation and is now "TumRockee". She is pregnant and due with a new "baby concrete" in a few months.
Love Dad"

So at this point, I'm pretty sure he's losing it. But, I guess if he can find a way to make use of all the old crap in our basement, such as the pom poms on Tumrock's head, I guess it's cool. A least it's freakin' hilarious :) Okay, I'm done. I still love you Dad!!!

CRAZINESS!!!

Well I guess I'll start with the fact that it was 80 degrees on Tuesday and it snowed 2 inches on Wednesday!!! How about that for a change in weather?!? Wasn't a big deal as it melted super quickly once the sun came out on Thursday, but still, WTF :)

If anyone cares as much as I do about the Red Wings, it was a total embarrassment watching them lose 2 games in a row to Nashville. I'll just keep it at that since the series isn't over, but unless they get their act together, the number one team in the conference is gonna be hittin' the golf course after the next few games!

So I've had this really annoying clicking noise on my mountain bike that just wouldn't go away. Since Shep is at Sea Otter, I took it to our good friend Tim who is the head mechanic at Full Cycle. We dismantled the bike and determined the click was coming from the main pivot. To make a long story short, when he was torquing the bolt back down, it snapped! Unfortunately this is not a part that people just have laying around so I was going to be SOL until Shep could mail me the part on Monday :( But wait...after contacting several bike shops and trying to figure out how to overnight this damn part, it turns out there is one sitting on an unused frame in Shep's garage! SAVIOR!!!!!!!! Needless to say, things worked out just fine :)

As I'm putting my bike in the car, I notice that there is another tube hanging from the bottom of my car. It's the same tube I paid $50 to have fixed at the dealer a month ago. To take it in or not. If I don't, I'm guaranteed to procrastinate as dealing with silly things like that is never on the top of my list. So I go. I sit for an hour and a half and they finally fix the damn thing. After it had become attached again, the tube was damaged to the point where it needed to be replaced. Luckily, because they didn't do their jobs correctly the first time, they replaced everything for free....whoooooaaaa!

Alright, that's all I've got. I'm sure the weekend will bring more excitement since it's Tingle and Katie's birthday party at the Rio on Saturday night :)

Thoughts of the day

1) I hate high school kids - I went to the Niwot High School track this morning to get in a good workout at 7:30am. After my warm up and right before I began my main set, about 75 kids came out and started walking around the track. Instead of bagging it like I really felt like doing, I decided to just try to run through them. I almost broke my ankle about a dozen times from running off the inside lane because no matter how many times I went around and by the idiots, they still had no desire to move out of the inside lane. As a matter of fact, halfway through, 5 girls decided to just sit down in a circle right in that lane. WHAT MORONS...it took everything I had not to give them a good kick in the face while running by and opening my big mouth to express how ridiculous they were being. You would think that their teachers would have said something, but no, they just let them sit there with me running around them every lap. UGH...note to self, do not go to the track during school hours.

2) April 15 is my least favorite day of the year - I just don't understand why people wait until the very last minute to file their taxes. It's soooo easy to just get them done with as soon as you have gathered all the info needed. On that note, I was totally slammed all day and night putting the finishing touches and filing several clients and friend's taxes...blah, blah, blah. Guess that's what I get for being an accountant.

3) Thank you Headsweats (and Ben) for the life-size pic that will be at EVERY 2008 event - FYI, that was a very sarcastic thank you. Ever since Outdoor Retailer and Cali 70.3 I have been receiving texts, emails, etc about this silly pic. I didn't have a clue why they were making such a big deal about it until Jonnyo and Sergio posted the pic below on their blogs. I'll just leave it at that.
4) I love mountain biking - Even though it is a super dangerous sport and I endured a bit of a scar a few weeks ago with the potential of not being able to race the first half of my season, I'm still totally in the love with it. I have been out and about on the Top Fuel the past few days tooling around, but tonight I actually went and rode some technical singletrack and couldn't have been more excited to be back. If only I hadn't screwed with the front derailleur in attempt to fix the clicking sound and killed the shifting, the ride would have been absolutely perfect. Shep, it's time to come home!!!

5) I am one lucky girl - and for many reasons...Living the life as an athlete and accountant in Boulder is absolutely amazing. Having a family that supports me 100% no matter what is even better. The friendships and laughs that are had on a daily basis could never be replaced. What tops it off is the fact that when I wake up every morning, I couldn't imagine being anywhere else living any other lifestyle :)

Update from the Boulder Bubble!

It was yet another gorgeous day out here yesterday and I was actually able to get out on my bike for 3 whole hours outside!!! WHOOOOAAAA. After a solid swim in the sunshine, Shep met us at the house and we set out for a nice ride. The wrist was a bit sore, but nothing that was too painful or aggravating. Hopefully it will continue to heal and in no time I'll be out shredding it up on the trails :)

After watching the Masters for a bit, we went to Colterra (one of my accounting clients), and had a great Sunday Supper. Mmmm...delicious! Now it's time for another fun day with lots to do!

The NEW 50!!!

After a killer win by the Red Wings to secure a good standing heading to Nashville, we made a visit to a good friend, triathlete and amazing hairdresser Alex Fomenko. He completely changed my mom's appearance making her look 10+ years younger!!! Take a look :)



A big thanks to Sasha for a great party later that evening at his beautiful house. It was a such a fun time and couldn't have been more perfect! Today's the big day so we'll head out on the bikes for a bit then have a great dinner at my restaurant later in the evening.

Day 1 with Mom

So yesterday was a bit of a wasted day. I didn't feel very well so I just decided to eat myself retarded and watch 7 straight hours of America's Next Top Model. Oh yes, great fun. Helped Shep get over $1200 back on his taxes, watched 'Blades of Glory', then picked up my momma from the airport an hour and a half late :) It was super great to see her and even more fun giving her all the new toys and apparel!

This morning we went out for a little adventure where I ran and she rode my mountain bike for two hours on the trails around the house. I was super impressed and she did great getting in and out of the pedals until we got back to my place. When we were chatting outside the garage, she lost her balance with one foot still clipped in and fell right over :) Otherwise, she was looking like a pro cyclist out there!

Lots more to come today...Wings game, hair cut, birthday party, etc! Stay tuned.

Red Wings & Motorcycles

Well, the Wings have 1 game down and 3 more to go in the first round of the playoffs! They beat up the Preds and showed them who's boss last night downtown Detroit and there is no doubt in my mind they will continue to dominate in the series. I have a good bet going with my Timex teammate from Nashville, Bruce, which is allotting for excessive trash talking these days. I'm loving every second of it and can't wait to rub it in his face again on Saturday when my boys take game 2 back at the Joe.

Oh, the love of playing with motorcycles! I have been meaning to get new luggage for my bike for a while now, but since it hasn't really been warm enough to ride (and well, the whole turning the throttle with a broken wrist doesn't help much either), I have just procrastinated until early this week. Last night, my new bags arrived and Shep and I dismantled everything on my bike and installed the new GIANT luggage...it's going to be soooo much easier to tote everything around now. Shep also got in his brainstorming for the bicycle rack which will be welded to the frame of my motorcycle. Now that is what I'm truly excited for!

Shep in his mechanical element...I do try to help :)

The BMW city cases just weren't doing it...although they do look pretty sleek. Know anyone in need of some F650 racks and luggage for a Beemer?!?

Alright, to the pool for a dip and run then finishing the errands, work, a bike and then get momma from the airport....whooooooaaaaaaa!

Too many fun things going on!!!

Tuesday started off with a great hard run with the clan...8x1k!!! I was a little nervous I wasn't going to feel well since I haven't done any hard runs since the injury, but I felt surprisingly awesome. I felt even better after a good serving of Joanna's killer french toast :) A great swim, hard trainer session and some work mixed in throughout made for a very productive day!

Yesterday wasn't too shabby either....got on the trainer in the morning, picked up all the last minute things for my momma, swam at lunchtime, did a little work, played some sodoku, then Shep came over to watch 'Into the Wild'. Other than the puking scenes, it was a great movie and highly suggest it!

We also brought out our artistic side with the giant coloring book the girls gave me! I was in charge of the monkey and Shep the girl...I have no idea what he was thinking with the blue, but hey, he's color blind so I won't be too mean :) That thing is going to take FOREVER to finish, but at least there is a tower of 150 crayons to help out!!!

Lastly, it's not abnormal to experience extreme weather fluctuations in Colorado, but COME ON....I'm so ready for warm weather and I wake up to snow and a forecast that includes several more inches throughout the day?!?! AHHHH. Okay, I'm not going to complain because starting Saturday it is supposed to be gorgeous and sunny! How about that for timing Mom?!?

Internet at last!!!

Holy crap it's been awhile since I've updated. Apologies. I just got internet at my house today since the person we were stealing it from decided to either block us or just get rid of it all together. Anyway, no more excuses...

First of all, I must inform everyone that my wrist is healing at an extraordinarily fast pace. I am already swimming and have been running like crazy. I'm still stuck on the bike trainer as I can't quite hold on to the handle bars yet. I'm hoping that will change by the end of the week because my momma is flying out from Michigan on Friday evening to spend her 50th birthday here in Boulder with me! Well that and learn how to ride her new bicycle I just bought for her today!!!! Check it out...my mom's gonna be a rockstar back in Rochester Hills :)

Where to begin?!?!

I think I'll just go day by day...

Saturday was quite a whirlwind day. Started with a superb run and spin on the trainer. Then, Miss Tingle came over with a giant Easter/Feel good basket from her, Jax and Jenni. I can't even express how appreciative I am to have such amazing friends who are so supportive :)

Then, it was off to camp. Once we arrived at the airport, about 40 min before our flight (as usual), we jumped on the plane and I attempted to solve some puzzles in my new Sodoku book that the girls put in the basket. After thinking I had lost all my Sodoku skills because I couldn't solve one puzzle, I realized they had bought me the 'Over the Edge' edition of the series which is the most difficult...geez! No wonder it was taking me the whole flight to do one damn puzzle :)

Alright, so we get to San Diego and jump on a shuttle to our resort. Scariest shuttle trip we have ever taken. Both the driver and passengers where completely insane! I could elaborate but I'll save your time. After arriving at camp, we got to see all our teammates and get all our cool new gear...and lots of it. Then it was time to party...and party hardy!

Yes, lots of those were consumed throughout the weekend :)

Sunday started with a fun run with Tingle then lots of team stuff. We ended the day with a team dinner which was quite comical then a fun trip to the bars and finally a dip in the pool. Unlike the others who decided to take off their clothes and do naked relays, I got tossed in with all of my clothes...oh yes, good times. Check out the photos here.

Monday was filled with lots of sleeping, more team stuff and a great dinner with Ben. Afterwards, we met up with the team and sat by the fire and hot tub all night drinking and telling funny stories. This year's team is by far the most amazing and hilarious group EVER. It's going to be such a fun season with great stories and stellar results :)

Tuesday began with a killer long run with my new Timex Bodylink GPS! I got the men's version this year because I like the bigger numbers on the watch and it has a few more options that I enjoy. Had some breakfast with the team then we all set out our own ways back home. Got back late last night and thanks to Denny, had the easiest ride back home.
I've got much more to rant about but I'll save it for later...just wanted to give a brief update for now!