In the (feed) Zone

The refrigerator was broken for nearly a week. Everything was freezing. I did my best to get by until it was repaired, then went on a tear at Trader Joe's. I was eager to try a few recipes from the Skratch Labs cookbook, "Feed Zone Portables." 

I switched to Skratch Labs Exercise Hydration Mix this summer. It tastes light and is easy on the stomach. My favorite flavor is oranges. If you order the cookbook from the Skratch Labs website, they'll throw in a pound of exercise hydration mix for free. 

The first recipe I attempted was a "two bite pie" which was more like a four bite pie because I didn't have the patience to make golf sized balls with the warm, sticky dough. I used bananas and walnuts for filling, with a touch of cinnamon and brown sugar. Despite being oversized, they were tasty and I've enjoyed them with my afternoon coffee. 

I fared better with my second effort, sweet potato cakes, which were baked in a whoopie pie pan. A few substitutions (coconut flour instead of brown rice flour and a pack of apple cinnamon oatmeal instead of one cup cooked rice) were successful and gave these cakes the texture and taste that I was looking for.

the ugly and the bad of the good

The truth is sometimes two good parts just don't fit together. The ugly part of the good is that two rights can make a wrong. It will leave you with a bad feeling inside. You will hold on to it because it looks nice on paper. 

This morning (thanks to my friend Wendell) I stumbled upon this quote by Buddha..."In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you." 

I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm graceful, but thankfully I am (at least somewhat) sensible.

visual cues

Last weekend, I was driving on a road that I had been on before. I didn't know it until I saw a sign that hit me like a bug on a windshield. 

Four years have passed since I traveled on that road. That sign made it seem like it was only four days ago. And I remembered where I was going, the heat of the summer sun and the songs that were playing on the radio. 

I wonder if we ever truly forget.

The Hard Way

I work part-time at Ironwood Outdoor Center from March to November. The high-ropes course consists of three climbing elements, the flying squirrel (a giant swing) and a zip line. 

On the days when I work the zip line tower I stand on a platform forty feet in the air and wait for participants to climb the "telephone pole" at which point I clip them into the zip and send them on their way. Seldom is the zip line met with a lukewarm reception. People either have no reservations or they are scared to death. Either way, most of them end up on the tower standing next to me. 

Yesterday, my last participant sat frozen on the tower for nearly 10 minutes before deciding that she was too scared to proceed. It was at this point that I explained that she had two options...she could take the easy way down on the zip line...she could take the hard way down repelling off the pole she had just climbed. She sat there for a few moments, riddled with fear and then stood up. "She wants to come down the hard way" I yelled to my co-worker on the ground. "No, no I don't, I'll do it, just give me a minute." She sat back down and was off in 3-2-1. 

It's funny, how, when faced with fear, we tend to look for the easy way out.

my old dog

It's been 10 years since Riley came into my life. I used to take her to the soccer fields with a bag full of tennis balls. I'd throw one as far as I could in one direction, she'd fetch it and drop it half way back as I threw one in another direction. An hour later, she was passed out on the hallway floor, tongue hanging out of her mouth.

She has slowed down considerably over the past few years. She no longer runs for tennis balls or climbs the stairs at night.

I was walking her the other day. I remember when our walks were longer and faster. Now, we go about three blocks and she looks up at me, almost as if she forgets why we are outside. She stops to sniff everything, never in a hurry to get anywhere.

At first I found myself getting annoyed by this. Then, I paused and gave it some thought...I am thankful for my old dog for reminding me to slow down.

The Tumbleweave Diaries

Dirty Weave...

The (very predictable) NJ State Road Race

At the beginning of the season I was instructed to identify a handful of "goal races" to make structured training more purposeful. I picked the PA and NJ State Road Races.  

3969 miles later I had checked out. The majority of the 243 hours I had spent on my bike since January were alone. It was cold, then it was windy, then it was windy again and then it was hot. 

"Will race for cookies." True story. A friend promised to bake me snicker doodles in exchange for my race entry. Done deal. 

Start time was 12:15PM. It was hot. 

The race consisted of two, eighteen mile loops. There were twenty five women in the Cat 4 Race, fourteen of them were from the same team. We got off to a slow start. I looked down and saw 14mph, then 16mph...and it stayed there. Seriously? Is this a "C" Ride? 

Fifteen minutes was about all I could stand of that. I moved to the front of the field and turned on the gas, which was exactly what I was instructed NOT to do. I stayed on the front, trying to be aggressive and pushing the pace for most of the first lap. After one last attack through the feed zone, I settled back in to recover. My thought was we'd either finish with a group sprint or someone would make a move on the set of rollers with nine miles to go. It was the latter and I was on the wrong wheel. The lead group of five stayed in sight but I never caught them. I time trialed my was to an 8th place finish. which was a place or two better than I had expected. 

When it comes to road racing, my downfall is that I race hard, not smart. I'm counting down the days until CX season.