Sunday, February 28, 2010

Energy R Us



Someone must have put A LOT of caffeine in my drink yesterday morning because I was on fire ALL DAY. Like a wind up doll that never wound down. First, I got all my errands done in a flash which is pretty much unheard of. Seriously, I had no slow pace yesterday for whatever reason.


And then there was the time on the bike. Holy Cow. By the time I got home from errands I was chomping at the bit to ride. It was beautiful out and I had a long day in the saddle ahead of me which I was psyched about. And the ride, because of this crazy energy that I had, turned out to one nutty ferocious TT. I was ON from minute one......hammering up every little knoll, grinding up grades of 8-12%, winding up the legs after stopping at a stop signs. I just couldn't knock it off or go slow. I have NEVER been like all day long, both on the bike and off the bike and it felt SO GOOD.

Even when I was supposed to be done with my long ride I still felt so good out there that I wanted to keep hammering. Seriously - usually I am ready to be done when its time to call it and this time I was wanting more bike time. So begrudgingly, I went back home and from THE MOMENT I swung my legs off the bike, I was a rubber chicken - could not hardly walk.

It is so weird how you can handle hard race efforts, want more and then the second you stop you realize you really cannot walk after what you just went and did to yourself. Makes you wonder how you just rode and still wanted to ride more when you can't even walk properly now!! Love days like that....except that most of the night I could be found crawling up the stairs. : ) But man, it was a good day! Let's have more of those!!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Winter Update



As we move forward with the purchase of the new house, things have seemingly returned to normal somewhat. Well, that was until one day last week when the underwriter asked us to pay off all our credit cards immediately, prove we did and then CLOSE THE ACCOUNTS and prove that too. This even included paying off and then closing a TINY balance on a clothing store card that I hadn't even gotten the bill for yet!! Gheesh. So that day was crazy with setting up online accounts, paying stuff off, faxing the info off and then shutting things down but that was just a bump in the road. No real biggie.

We are packing up some but don't want to get to ahead of the game in case something falls through. As far as we know, all our ducks are in a row though. We satisfied all their requirements and we should be finding out this week or next when we will close.

In the meantime Chris and I have has been been playing, training and hanging with buddies as much as possible. I love this time of the year when you can do that cuz you are HOME! And this year I have the mental energy to do it too which is nice! What a NEW year this is for me!

Chris Snow Kiting with his buddies.



And here we are with our buddies after several glasses of wine playing our new game, Urban Caving. What is Urban Caving you might ask? Well, just look around your house for the smallest thing and see who can and cannot get into it, on it, under it or thru it.

We started easy with a closet that has shelves that almost came out to the door leaving not a lot of room for a person to squeeze in. We then figured that wasn't enough of a challenge so we moved onto a suitcase.



Kristin fit in just fine! Eric thinks he found a new way to save on airfare.


And we even used a table in the living room. I am still convince that the others could have made it through that bottom shelf. I was actually hoping Chris would get stuck and we'd have to call the Fire Department. That would have been hilarious! But he called it quits before that happened. Dang it! : )



Training has been stellar here in Utah and I have been getting outside almost daily in this beautiful weather we are having. And when I say beautiful I don't mean sunny and warm. I mean dry roads and just bearable enough temperature wise so that you don't freeze your face off.



Trainer days this winter have been so limited that I almost miss them. Yes, you read that correctly. I will be the first to admit that I don't mind the trainer. Nope, not even for 3 hours. I know I know - I am nuts!!! But there is something about not having to deal with dogs, cold air, getting flat tires far from home, snow, cars, etc. that is just plain nice sometimes. A good mental relief from all of that I suppose.

That said, I did take one day to do some testing indoors with Max Testa. I hadn't seen him for an LT Test in a while because last year I just couldn't even fathom taking the time to do that when I had everything going on with my parents.

So I finally went in after a brief hiatus and thought that this could either be really good (happy that I am racing in 2010) or really bad (should have called it quits). I had no idea what the results from the test would be since its been so long since I have tested and my body composition has changed. But both he and I were pleasantly surprised with the results. It is always a plus when Max willingly gives you a thumbs up along with compliments too. But actions on my part speak louder than words...or uh...results. But all signs are pointing to a good season and good lord do I need one of those after last years wrecking ball of one.

The most important thing is that I am back at it and I am happy that I was given a chance to come back to the mtb scene! A big thanks to the Mafia Racing/Pabst/Felt MTB Team!!!!!

This last weekend I also endured some bad news which hit VERY close to home for me. One of my good friends had a parent pass. Seeing friends go through the same basic motions that I had to go through IS SO heart wrenching for me now. So heart wrenching in fact that I find myself super sad and very teary when I get news and updates from people about their ill loved ones. What is up with that? Maybe its that I have a bit of an understanding now of what it is like to be in the process of losing someone and seeing someone go through that literally just rips at my heart now. That is a life journey and experience that I will never ever forgot. And I don't want to forget it either. It gives you sympathy and understanding of what others are facing and that is not a bad thing at all. It is something positive that I gained from a horrendous personal experience.

I think too, maybe I am like this over others experiences partially do to the fact that my wounds from losing my parents are still fresh with dad having passed just 3 months ago and mom just 5 months ago. The wounds are healing but get cut open every once in a while with one thing or another (like getting another Life Insurance letter regarding my moms death in the mail yesterday). Geez maybe that has something to do with not being able to move on without tears??? This is such a process to get through but I am, I will and I will come out a better person (I hope) for it.

As for what's up next?? The first race of the season is just around the corner...... as in NEXT WEEK!!! I am a little behind since I was so sick but I have learned in the last year that you take what you are given and you make it into the best scenario that you can and you can be sure that I will do just that!

Friday, February 12, 2010

New House - New Team



Holy moly have we been going a mile a minute since my last post. Wow, life in the fast lane I guess! But a good fast lane for once!!!

Our house was on the market for just about 2 days, we had 2 showings and we got 2 offers!! It all happened so fast. I guess all the effort we put into staging it was well worth it.

We have since accepted one of the offers and are now under contract for both this house and the one we want to move into in Timberlakes. Timberlakes isn't far from downtown Heber but it is just far enough for it to be a commitment to make the drive to town. But believe me, to live up in the mountains on 1.1 acres overlooking the valley is well worth it and Chris and I are ready for that step. The views are what sucked us in along with the house being exactly what we were looking for too.

The only thing is we have already had what we think was a raccoon chewing on the posts at the front door!! Oh yes, that will be just the start if this thing does happen because the moose, deer, fox and probably lots of other big creatures are ALL over the place up there.

So yeah, so far things are going in the right direction with the buying/selling process: someone seems to want our place, we have found the house that we want to be in forever, inspection of the place went awesome and we have locked in at 4.99%. Yipee! So far so good but it is not a fully done deal yet. I hope it all works out. Actually I don't hope that. I kind of feel like if it is truly meant to be, it will be and if not then it won't and we move on.

Not only have we been doing physical things around the house on a daily basis to either prepare it or prepare to move it, we have had our brains going a mile a minute with offers, counter offers, paper gathering, faxing, phone calls, etc. Yep lots going on and we love it except when the brain won't stop at night!! Its about when I am ready to tear my hair out that I decide getting on the bike will definitely do the trick. It settles my mind and gets it in order again. Thank heavens for that two wheeled invention.

This last training block has been super awesome. Amazing really. I have had to ride inside about once which is unheard of in my book in January/February. It has been a sweet perfect storm of enough snow to keep the ski resorts in Park City moving in a prosperous direction and nice warm temps (well...ok... 30 degrees plus) to melt the snow off the road to allow me to ride outside daily. It has been GREAT.

I have been getting a mix of snowy singletrack, snowy roads


and just the plain old roads in too.


On a few occasions, it has even warmed up enough on some of the snow packed roads to create a massive amount of slush that provides a serious tempo workout just to get through it all.

I really can't believe how "warm" its been this winter. The Jordanelle Reservoir isn't even frozen over yet! Usually it just a sheet of ice at this time.


Here are some pretty cool ice sculptures that are over in Midway. They sit right outside of a destination resort. They are HUGE and you can walk through them!



Well I will say that this "nice" weather couldn't have come at a better time in my life because the thought of having to head down south to train is a nice one, but I just don't have time right now. I am lucky to be putting in big hours outside here for the first time since I turned pro many moons ago. Staying home for the winter isn't half bad I must say.....so long as you can ride outside that is!!

As for my new mountain bike team for 2010 I am SO EXCITED to officially announce that I will be riding for Mafia Racing/Pabst/Felt MTB Team this season. I have been overwhelmed by their commitment to their team members, their organization and their motivation to grow and expand the team and mtb scene in a positive light. I cannot wait to meet all my new team members and be a part of what is going to be a great team this season.

If you haven't seen the story regarding my 2009/2010 season that showed up on mtbracenews.com a few weeks ago you can read it HERE. What a mess my life was last year. Everything seems easy now after that.

Alright, off to get a quick ride in outside, again!! I can't believe this!!