I'm Just a Girl...

Pardon my absence....

2008-11-10T12:10:00.002-07:00

The snow is flying in the Wasatch, so I figured it was time to blow the dust off the ol' blog. No big plans for the year, no 70 day goals, no races, or any of that stuff. Just another stellar season of Wasatch touring with good snow, good suffering, and good friends, hopefully including some newbies!!

Stay tuned for another exciting 6 months of ski stories!

Weekend wrap-up - Days 19-21: FAC, Maddie Mayhem, Bambi Basin

2008-01-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

A quick summary of the weekend:

Friday, Jan 22 - The Return of FAC (Friday Adventure Club)

Matt and I finally got our acts together and resurrected our cool-kid Fridays. He dubbed it FAC (Friday Adventure Club), and I'm psyched to have a dependable touring partner for the rest of the winter. I had planned on getting together with climbergirl (Rebecca) as well, so the plan was something mellow that we could do multiple laps on in case she wanted to bail. I was tour guide for the day, and decided Pink Pine would be a good choice for easy approach, mellow skiing, and good snow conditions. I think I nailed it! It was a beautiful day - warm with very little wind. The skin up the ridge was nice and slow, and it was great for once to be able to chat while we skinned. We chose the steeper trees just above the big open area on the ridge to drop in. As we dropped down in, we realized it was DEEP. Matt took first dibs and disappeared into a cloud of powder, and setting up to take some photos. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

(Insert pics here)

All three of us were unbelievably psyched about the snow, and Matt and I were hellbent on another lap. Rebecca sat it out while we went up for another. Second verse, same as the first. No pics - we were too excited to ski. Another great day in the mountains.

Saturday, Jan 26 - Maddie the Anti-Social Basketcase

Josh woke up on Saturday feeling like crap, so we scrapped the ski plans for the day. After a hour or so of homework, I went outside to get something from the car and I almost started crying. It was so beautiful! I dropped what I was doing and decided to take Maddie up Neff's for one last effort at dog touring. Well, she proved to me that she can't do this anymore - after doing fine with a couple of dogs, she went after two golden labs. I leashed her up to my waistbelt (ski-jouring :)) and got up to Thomas Fork before deciding it was going to be a disaster trying to get her back down the canyon. I figured the best course of action was to take her off her leash and just go as fast as possible so she didn't have time to mess with the other dogs. Well, it worked. However, she is now a stay-at-home dog. Too bad, but I don't need a law suit.

Sunday, Jan 27 - Rollin' Deep at Deer Valley

I looked at the weather forecast on Sunday morning - high of 30 degrees, no new snow. I figured it was as good a day as any to be at Deer Valley. We had gathered quite a crew for the day, and I was really excited to hang with everyone. Alice and I got up there around 9:30AM to whipping winds in the parking lot (hmmm...I wonder how Bald Mt is?) A little discouraged, but up for whatever, she led me over to Northside lift which was staying relatively sheltered. The groomers were in primo condition - groomed snow covered with about 2-3 inched of wind-deposited powder. But it was cold. On the third or fourth ride up, I got a call from Scot who was sitting at Silver Lake eating breakfast. We jumped at the chance to go warm up.

After an hour of eating and waiting for everyone to get their shit together, we finally got back out into the storm. We met up with my parents and the group size was suddenly ridiculous. Scot, Rachel, Brooke, Alice, me, Rachel's dad Mark, my mom, dad, Laurie, and my dad's buddy Jermaine. To Sterling!

My dad led us through a white-out to the Sunset Glades, which were silly-fun. I felt like Luke Skywalker on Endor, speeding through the aspens. We took a look at Ontario on the way to Quincy and decided it was worth a shot. Good, but messy at the top and bottom. The group started splintering on Northside as we lost people on their own agenda (*coughcough Laurie coughcough*), and people with tired legs from snowplowing all weekend (Alice). Eventually, Scott, Rachel, Brooke, and I ended up on Sultan skiing suprisingly good buttered-up snow in Perseverance Bowl. A couple laps through the trees, and it was off to Silver Lake for beers.

Such a good day hanging out with some of my favorite people doing my favorite thing in the world!!

Geek-out: BSG Season 4

2008-01-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

I often find myself getting distracted at work. I mean, come on....can a person really sit at a desk for 9 hours and not get distracted? Anyways, I've noticed recently that my thoughts have been straying errantly to Battlestar Galactica of all things. Not that I have other important things to think about. It might be that we've been re-watching the series over the last few months and it's in my subconscious all the time. Plus, I've been watching the old BSG series at night and as cheesy as it is, it lends some interesting insight to where ol' Ron may be going with all of this. Regardless, I've been starting the geek out about season 4, and I've found some pretty juicy stuff.

One of the most juicy-licious tidbits I found today was this: the BSG Last Supper

Man. That pushed the gears into motion. It's all a bunch of heresay, as Ron Moore is notorious for leading his fans WAY off-track. Still, it's fun to speculate, and questions instantly come to mind:

Tigh. I think he's going to go into uber-Cylon-hunting mode, as a knee-jerk reaction to his realization that he's one of them. He's always hated them, and now he has every excuse to go completely insane. The comment about Helo and Sharon makes me think that maybe Hera will be one of his targets...

Apollo. No frakkin flight status?? "Judas-like"? Say it ain't so! I've always had this glassed-over opinion of Lee as the quintessential good guy, whose intentions will always be faithful and honorable even if his decisions are flawed. Not sure where this is going, but PLEASE don't turn him into a slimeball!!!

Baltar and Six. Who knows? And honestly I'm starting to not care much. His role in all of this is very intriguing, but his character is really wearing on me. I keep having to go back to the idea that Six is insanely driven by making him love her, and that's somehow going to come into play before the end. She is in the center of the picture - I'm sure she will play a pivotal role.

Starbuck and Anders. Veeerrry interesting. I assume they'll get back together, but I still wonder how she will interact with Lee. I read on another blog that along with the DVD release of season 3, they are including an extended version of "Unfinished Business". I have to assume that if there is an emphasis on that episode, Lee and Kara's relationship cannot be pushed aside. And yes, I admit I'm a total fangirl for the Kara/Lee relationship. It's just GOT to happen.

Tyrol. Poor, poor, tortured Tyrol. I think the Cylon revelation hit him the hardest, with his internal struggle with religion and the whole debaucle with Sharon. I can't even begin to hypothesize on what he will do this season. I'll leave it at that.

Ahhh....Pres Roslin and Adama. Definitely my second favorite relationship. Love these two together!! They have their disagreements, but they always seem to understand each other. I think whatever happens through this season, they'll have each other's backs, even if it's not obvious to everyone else.

And finally - the final Cylon. It is hinted that the final Cylon is not in the picture. Who else could it be? I think for the time being, my money is on Tom Zarek. Not only would that be a totally cool homage to him and the old BSG series, but he's the only mysterious, powerful character left who's not in the picture. I guess it's distantly possible that the creepy lawyer guy is the last One, but I doubt it.

Ah, speculation. I have to admit this is the fun part about all of these insane TV dramas. Once you know what happens, it's just not the same.

Day 18: A Little Cross-Country Fun

2008-01-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

As I was unstrapping my skis from my pack, recovering from the short bootpack, I looked up and saw the unmistakable lion's mane of the Wizard himself, Bob Athey. He was casually skinning up the steep crest of the Obelisk's ridge that I had just gasped and struggled up with my skis on my back.

"Hey, you got crampons on those things? How'd you do that?" joked Josh.

"What? Ya mean ski cross-country? Isn't that what we're supposed to be doin'?" He lit up a Camel and took a few puffs. "Are you guys some of those BMFR's?"

Quizzical looks all around.
"Huh?"
"Big Motha-fuckin Rippers?"

"Big Mountain Free Riders."

"Uh, no. We suck. Well, except maybe Dan. He likes to jump off stuff."

And then he was off, skiing into Hogum and towards the Hypodermic Needle. My first time ever meeting the guy, and all I can think of is what a strange old man he is. But boy howdy, the guy can skin and ski like a madman.

Saturday was on the agenda as "big day" for the weekend. Snow conditions had stabilized nicely after all of the storms, and we wanted to get out and do something new. I had been desperately wanting to go into Hogum for the last two years, especially after hearing about it from Josh last season. None of us had skied the Hogum 200, so that became as good an objective as any. Plus, Josh wanted me to see the Obelisk, a strange rock monolith on top of the hogback between Maybird and Hogum.

Chris had called earlier in the week and was psyched to get out with us. I also got a phone call from Dan the night before, having just gotten back from Costa Rica a few days prior. We started skinning around 8:30 and chugged slowly into Maybird. We ran into a lot more people than I expected, following a group of five up to the Obelisk and seeing several parties heading to the Aprons. Josh had his eye on a chute on the Maybird side, so we passed the parties dropping into the first chute and headed for the Obelisk.

After two years of wanting to see it, I was so excited to finally look down into Hogum Basin. As we reached the ridge, I realized we were so socked in I couldn't even see the basin below us, let alone the granduer of the Pfieff, Chipman Peak, and Lightening Ridge. Pisser.

Well, all was not lost. We dropped the Maybird chute to very high quality snow and got some great turns in back to the skintrack. Although the morning had not gone so well for me in terms of skinning (I felt extremely slow and run-down), the skiing had lifted my spirits and I was ready to attack the ridge again. A dozen or so switchbacks and a bootpack later, we were on the summit again.

Lo and behold, the clouds began to part and Hogum came into view. Unbelievable. The scale of Lightening Ridge was overwhelming and the North face of the Pfeiff was stunning with its big apron below. And surprise - the camera batteries were dead. Good lord, that's always the way it goes.

So we figured skiing off the summit of the Obelisk into Hogum was the way to go. We picked our way down through a rock minefield and picked a good-looking chute (which had been skied that morning). The top was windcrust city, but we took a quick left and dropped into another chute with some quality snow. All in all, it was about 2000 ft of skiing. Not bad. However, we started skiing out the canyon, and we saw what we had missed (and where Athey had gone - why didn't we pay attention??) There were several more beautiful northwest facing chutes just north of the summit with longer fall-lines. I guess it's all a learning process poking around in the Wasatch. I know where I'm skiing next time I'm in Hogum.

Another hour or so of bushwhacking, sidestepping down death chutes, sweating bullets, and a river crossing (no thanks to Chris and Dan laughing as I floundered across), we were back to the road and the sweet smell of burning brakes around 3:15. A little under seven hours - not too shabby.

Day 17: Skiing the Big Boy - West Kessler

2008-01-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

Saturday was shaping up to be one of the best touring days of the year. After feet and feet of snow, one storm after another, we were due for at least one day of high pressure and clear skies. We talked with our dependable ski partner Scott on Friday night, and decided to call our shot in the morning.

We picked Scott up at his house around 8:00 and decided to check out Mineral Fork. Scott had skied some east-facing shots the week before and had seen some sweet stuff across the canyon on Kessler. We decided to check it out, even though none of us knew where we were going. Scott said it looked like fun, steep tree skiing.

After a false start (Scott forgot his beacon - d'oh), we started skinning a little bit before 9:00. The temps were really comfortable and there was absolutely no wind. The aspen forest in Mineral was almost magical, and it felt like we were walking through a fairyland forest. I had the strange urge to start singing "Little Bunny Foo-foo", and I kept expecting to see a forest gnome pop his head out at any given moment. It was definitely a cool morning.

We got up to the face we wanted to ski and saw a big dilemma - a large cliff band with a probable entry chute that we couldn't see. The entry was a steep right facing gully running up between the cliffs. However, the real obstacle was the choke right below the chute. There was a beautiful ice pillar coming off a rock band we had to get over. I was extremely apprehensive, and continued to say so, but the boys convinced me that we at least had to check it out. Scott skinned over and found that it was actually pretty accessible. I owe him $2 for being right about that. Damn.

We stopped for a long food and water break, getting geared up for the climb ahead of us. The sun came out, and the sky turned an impossible blue. The snow was just unbelievable beautiful, and was sparkling with a slight touch of surface hoar in the sun. The trees around us were caked with rime and the whole scene was just incredible. We all just kept looking at each other and shaking our heads in disbelief.

We came around the corner of the entry gully and saw our objective - a lone chute through the trees all the way from the ridge of Kessler. We giggled like idiots and started sniffing our way up the face. Route-finding was pretty interesting and it was fun figuring out the safe routes and working on safe travel techniques. The sun was wrecking havoc on anything that was exposed and there were a few spicy choke points on the way up. Scott is so great to be with on days like these - it's really fun to learn from him.

The upper section was steep and deep. Josh earns the Mule Award for the day for some seriously hard trail breaking for at least 1000 ft. I earn the Mooch Award for the day for not breaking trail at all. I figured it was fair since I could barely keep up as it was. Eek.

We came up over a rollover and saw the gentle rise up to the ridge. Josh finally stopped for a minute, took a breath, and said "I'm knackered." I laughed, because I knew he had been getting his ass kicked for at least an hour, but didn't want to admit it until the objective was in sight. The ridge of Kessler was breath-taking with the Twins, Dromedary, O'Sullivan, and Bonkers down-canyon, Whipple and Raymond across canyon, a mirror-calm Great Salt Lake in the distance, and Cardiff Fork below us up-canyon. After 5 hours of skinning, we were standing on top of Kessler ridge. So freaking cool.

Even after the coolest day of touring I remember, the skiing was the highlight of the day. We had about 3000 ft of perfect snow in perfect conditions. The only downer is that the camera batteries died at the very top. Curses!

An epic day called for beer and nachos, and we gladly basked in the glory of a great day for an hour or so at the Porcupine. Thanks to my dear husband and Scott Keller for the best touring day I remember. You guys are the best touring partners I could ask for. I always feel like I'm a part of the process and part of the crew, that my concerns are valid, and that I'm never a hindrance. And I always laugh my ass off, even if I'm always getting crop-sprayed in the back of the pack. :)

The word of the day is "sick".

Stats for the day:
5.4 miles
3592 ft vertical

(click on the maps below for route and profile info!)

Trying something new. Click on the image below!

Day 16 - The Deer Valley Experience

2008-01-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

Friday was my first Deer Valley ski day of the year. After weeks of incredible storms and bottomless powder in the cottonwoods, I decided to see how the better half lives.

Hmmmm.

Deer Valley is definitely it's own microcosm of skiing. I'm sure the culture is shared with placed like Vail and Aspen, but I've never been to those places, so I get to rip on Deer Valley. It has its own fashion trends, its own gear trends, and even its own skiing style. It seems like every year, there's some new fashion trend that just blows my mind. Last year it was fur-lined coats, white sunglasses, and gigantic fur boots. This year, it seems, is the year of the helmet cover! And I don't mean the cute panda or pig ones that the kids wear. I'm talking 100% real fur bling-a-licious helmet covers on adult women. I have no idea where these people find this stuff. Good lord, I wish I had my camera. Where is Rachel when you need her?

Ski day catch-up

2008-01-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

I've been woefully bad about keeping up on my ski day tracking. Here's a quick rundown of my last hadnful of ski days.

Dec 24, Xmas eve: Chase and Tara were in town, so I borrowed Brooke's Silver Card and met them up at Alta. There was no significant new snow, but it was warm and the snow was soft.

Dec 28: Tara and I decided to do a tele day up at Solitude on Friday. First run of the day, I lost control and had a stupid little fall, just falling over onto my hands. As I stood up, I thought "uh, oh" - my back was screaming. I figured I had pulled something, but I wanted to keep skiing. We went back to the car to get my other skis. We lasted until about noon, and I had to get home to ice my back. It was ugly. Jamie and Kate showed up that night and I was couched. I don't want to say much about the weekend because it was so incredibly frustrating, but let's just say I didn't get to ski. By New Year's Eve, it was starting to loosen up, but still no skiing. I went snowshoeing on New Year's day and it felt pretty good, but....

Jan 2: Josh was a good sport and was willing to go up LCC to see if I could tour. We decided to hit Flagstaff to check out Day's and Toledo and see what we could do. Disappointingly, I made it about halfway up Flag before my back started spasming. We de-skinned and had a few good turns back to the road. Not much, but at least I was improving.

Jan 5: My goal for last week was to ski on Sat. That's all I cared about. Massage, ice, heat, stretching, you name it. A big storm was lining up for Friday night, Sat day, and Sunday, so I didn't want to miss another good weekend. Sat morning, I did a long warm-up at home and we busted up to Solitude. I brought a book in case I had to sit in the lodge all afternoon. :) My back felt surprisingly good all morning, albeit a little unstable. The wind-buff was super fun and it started dumping snow around 10:00. By about 2:00 I was ready to go, and the snow was getting a little heavy, so we decided to save ourselves for Sunday.

Jan 6: I woke up praying that my back wouldn't be wrecked. I felt pretty good, and did another good warm-up at home. My met Chris at 8:45 and got in the first group up Eagle. We were a little disappointed as we dropped into Paradise that the overnight snow had not completely covered the heavy bumps from yesterday. We picked around for a few runs, meeting up with Robin and Joe, and playing phone tag with the rest of the Soli crew. Summit, Milk Run, and Parachute all opened sround 10AM, and it was mayhem all afternoon. We were the second group that dropped into Milk Run, and it was incredible. Next run we hit Parachute to get over to Summit - again, the coverage was awesome and the snow was incredible. As we got to the top of Summit, the Honeycomb gates opened, and we proceeded to take three laps of the best skiing of the day. Eventually, we made our way back to Summit and met up with Lis. After a run in Headwall forest (sick), we met a huge group for lunch (Jack, Lisa, Pat, Jake, John). After lunch, it was back up to Summit as it started puking snow again. We skied until 3:30, and did one more Vertigo run off Powderhorn. Untracked powder at 4:00 - can't beat it.

Days 8, 9, 10 - Big Storms, Maiden Dawn Patrol, and Going Bust at Alta

2007-12-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

As expected, I'm behind on my ski day logging. But I guess that's not so bad since I've been busy skiing.

Day 8 - Dawn Patrol!!

Thursday morning (Dec 20), Josh and I decided we wanted to get a piece of the big storm that was hitting SLC. We got up at 4:00AM and busted up to Solitude and Willow to ski hourglass/USA Bowl. It was snowing as we skinned, but relatively pleasant. We made good time to the top of the ridge, but when we got there the wind was whipping! Wished we had a rope as we looked down into the Monitors - I bet they would've went huge with a nice fat cornice drop. Huckering down, we traversed the ridge to USA Bowl, hoping that it was sheltered from the wind. Um....not so much. USA Bowl was completely raked. Gametime decision to traverse back to hourglass and get off the ridge. The snow was good and deep, with a little bit of a windslab on top. Tricky skiing on the top half, but nice soft snow in the bottom half of the run. Not a lot of turning to be had in 1+ feet of new snow on 20 degree slopes, but it was an awesome workout. Great way to start the day.....except for the drive down. The Element needed tires in a bad way, and that morning the plow happened to not be plowing down the canyon in the morning. The result was a ice-skating 2 mph drive down the canyon that took about five years off my life. Let's just say we got new tires on Friday night. Much better.

Stats for the day:
4.4 miles
1800 ft vertical

(click on the maps below for route and profile info!)

Day 9 - A First at Solitude, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Honeycomb Canyon

After beating my head against my desk on Friday (Dec 21) as two feet of snow was being skied up the canyons, I felt a small bit of respite when I heard that Solitude hadn't opened Honeycomb. Josh and I got up to Powderhorn by about 9:15, psyched to get some well-deserved powder. However, honeycomb wasn't open. We spent the morning skiing the Powderhorn trees and finding some good stuff off Summit, but we were getting a little worried that we were going to get the shaft. I started bitching about how I always have the worst timing, and I'm never the one that's getting off the lift as patrol opens gates. I'm always the one that takes off down the slope right before the rope drops. Well, maybe it was my time. Lo and behold, as we're getting off the lift, patrol is flipping the Honeycomb sign to "open". We followed the patroller off into Black Bess and dropped in early to avoid the massive amounts of avy debris from the morning's bombings. Good stuff. After Josh completely exploded on a compression in the Honeycomb runout (funny, but I'm glad you're not hurt honey!) we hauled down to the lift, and rallied back down to Sunrise. 20 minutes later, we were hiking up the Summit ridge to ski Buckeye. Good lord, it was good. We did about 4 more laps before we had to leave, and it was hard to say goodbye. Skiing next to your tracks after the 40 minute lift loop is pretty sweet.

Day 10 - Remembering Why We Have to Get Alta Season Passes Next Year

I try to deny it. I try to say how much I love Solitude. I try to convince myself that Alta is not all it's worked up to be. God damn, I'm not going to fight it anymore. I LOVE THAT PLACE.

I met up with Tara and Chase on Monday Dec 24, as they were working on day 3 in a row. Chase was pretty worked, but he was up for another awesome morning. The temps had risen considerably overnight and we were stripping layers all morning in the heat. We started the day in Supreme and found some awesome snow in Supreme Bowl. Definitely heat-affected, but still soft and really creamy. It was great catching up and laughing on the chairlift - it seems like nothing ever changes when we all get back together. We hit the rope tow to get back over to Collins (Sugarloaf traverse was closed) and Gwen and Tara wanted to get up to Gunsight. We hit the wrong traverse and ended up at Thirds. The wind was raking the ridge, but once we dropped down into Gunsight, it was beautiful. I forgot how fun it is to ski long, steep runs. Another rope tow, and the Hays wanted to go in for lunch. I wasn't ready, so I took off and decided to check out Jitterbug/No Name. The entrance wasn't too great, but the skiing was awesome. I met up with Connie and Craig, and Tara joined us since Chase was done. We did a few more runs off the high T and I called it day to get home to my boy. Of course, as if to reciprocate for Saturday's excellent luck, I left right about the time it started snowing. Craig told me later that High Boy was on all afternoon. God, I suck.

I love that place. The snow stays good longer. The runs are long and steep. There are lots of friends to ski with. The views are spectacular. I guess we're skiing at least 11 days at Solitude this year, because I'm ready to go back to Alta.

Day 7 - Pain, Suffering, and Good Turns in Days Fork

2007-12-18T07:51:00.000-07:00

Josh was out-of-his-mind psyched to get out skiing on Saturday, and I was having a hard time motivating. My tour on Friday with Chris had really kicked my ass, and I knew it was going to be a matter orf mental strength to get out of bed the next day. I did, however slowly, and we ended up meeting James at Alta a little after 9:00.

The day started out beautiful, and we followed the cattle train up Flagstaff. I felt alright, just plugging along at my snail's pace. As typical, the wind whipped up as we were approaching the ridgeline and I silently cursed that horrid approach. The clouds had moved in and the light was ridiculously flat. Great.

But, the silver lining to the horrid cold was that the snow was still great. We dropped in on Two Dogs and decided to do a lap on West Bowl in the trees. We motored up to the ridgeline and were extremely excited by the quality of the snow. A quick pit showed three feet of consolidated snow to a small facet layer at the ground. Shear testing looked good, so we hit it. The snow was awesome, and the extra hike was so worth it.

After more fueling up, we started the slog back up to the LCC ridge. Now the fun really got started. The south-facing exit getting out of LCC was NASTY. An inch of breakable crust was coming off in plates while we dodged buried trees and rocks. Lots of traversing and kick-turning (FUN!) We skied the bottom of Toledo Bowl, and finally the snow softened out a bit for the last couple hundred feet. After watching Josh double-ejecting on a compression, we got back to the car and headed straight for Lone Star.

One good thing - I think I found a good method to keep my hands warm. I tried out our Mammut ice climbing gloves for skinning. The concept was that if I never had to take my gloves off, my hands would never get TOO cold. Well, it seemed to work. I was able to get in and out of my bag, handle skins, eat, dress, and everything else without ever having to expose my hands to the air. No more glove liners. I used my mittens for skiing and for when my hands got cold, and it was extremely manageable. I think I'm going to toss those stupid REI gloves.

Stats for the day:
3.0 miles
2833 ft vertical

Click below for route and profile info!

Day 6 - Unexpected goodness on Red Stack

2007-12-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

I love those storms that you don't see coming. The sleeper storms. No one really cares - 5" overnight? Come on, that's nothing when we need like 3 feet to be able to ski.

But today, the sleeper storm came through in a big way. Chris got to the house around 8:30 and we sauntered up the canyon, skinning up around 9:30. The snow looked like good ol' UTAH snow, and we were psyched. We didn't really have a game plan, other than staying off the NE to NW aspects. We got up to the meadow below the lake and decided that west-facing Red Stack looked pretty nice.

The skin up Tri-Chutes was a little rough on the legs and lungs(early season tours are nasty), so we decided to follow the skin track as far as we could. We cut off from the old skin track about half way up and traversed north into another small gully. The snow was REALLY nice, and the coverage was great in the wind-loaded gully. That 5" that no one cared about turned out to be fun as shit.

I was cold as BALLS today, and my hands really suffered. As long as the sun was out, I was OK, but the clouds arrived around noon and it was a fight for the fingertips. I've got to come up with a better solution.

Miles = 5.1
Vertical = 2595'

Day 5 - Where's my snorkel? Wallerin' at Solitude

2007-12-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

On Friday morning, I rolled into the office early and did my usual check of the avy report and weather. The NWS was forecasting a pretty good storm and it looked like 8-9" of snow had already hit the Cottonwoods. I instantly got the "ants-in-the-pants" feeling I always get when a good powder day is brewing while I'm at work. I couldn't sit still, and I kept rotating from work, NWS, TGR, SkiDiva, work, NWS....you get the picture. Anticipation was running high and I felt like I was ready to burst.

After lunch, I checked the forecast again and to my surprise it had been updated. Instead of an additional 6-10" overnight, it had increased to 10-16" overnight. And the storm was forecasted to last through Saturday night. Cue ants-in-pants.

I stayed up late Friday night trying to get my ski clothes through the dryer, and right before I went to bed at 11:00, I saw an update pop up on NWS..."Storm forecasted to stall over Salt Lake area". Ding, ding, ding! The ants had moved from the pants and were now crawling up my neck. I cursed my study group for planning a Saturday morning meeting, although they were nice enough to move it to 8AM.

The next morning, I had to do a double-take at the snow report. Solitude was reporting a 24 hour snow total of 32". Are you fugging kidding me? I pranced through he house all morning and left for school early since I was so antsy. Luckily the group meeting was fast and efficient and I was on my way up the canyon by 10:45. I called Chris to get an update on conditions, and he said "It sucks." My heart dropped a bit since I figured nothing was open and he was bored as hell. "Huh?" I said. "Yeah, it sucks...if you don't like over-the-head blower so deep that you can't breathe. And skiing on to lifts all morning." Joy!!

After hooking up randomly with John and Jack in the parking lot, we met up with Chris as the Powderhorn lift was opening. First run, we decided to hit the trees to skiers left and I had to gasp a little bit as I dropped off the cat track. I instantly dropped in to my waist and it just kept getting deeper. We all giggled like idiots down through the trees, as none of us could turn and I was literally choking on snow. A couple more laps and we were actually whining that the snow was maybe even a little bit too deep. Poor babies.

Rachel met up with us and we got to watch her try out the new snow. We had to help dig her out a couple of times, but she was a good sport and was psyched about her new knee. Jack lost not one, but two poles in the waller-fest. I was worked by 2:30 (sad), but it was a day I won't forget anytime soon. Thank god the snow finally came, and that the season has officially started with a bang!

Saturday night was the Campbell's christmas party and it was a great time. I ended up with a pineapple (who's gifter had to show me how to remove the stem. Huh?) Josh got a redneck Xmas album and iTunes gift card. It was great seeing everyone, but Josh and I both paid the next day. Instead of skiing we had a uneventful (but sorely needed) day full of Costco, movies, and lounging. I was still pretty happy by the end of the day, as I know now that every weekend for the rest of the season will be a ski weekend.

Anxiously waiting for the next ants-in-the-pants day....

Bikes, Bruises, Booze, and Binging - A Thanksgiving to Remember

2007-11-27T08:24:00.000-07:00

Ah, Thanksgiving. A time to be with your family, eat until you're sick, and drink for 12 hours straight. This year did not disappoint.

It started at Bill and Kathy's. Josh and I had spent the morning at the skate park and making appetizers (pigs in a blanket) which also became a pseudo-lunch (healthy, I know). The drinking started in earnest at about 2:30. I had brought a 20 oz bottle of my apple mead and proceeded to drink almost the entire thing before dinner. Needless to say, the huge meal helped me out. It was great seeing Bart and Kate, gabbing with Jacque and Kathy, and just chilling out.

Around 6:30, we arrived at my parents house and I promptly started arguing with Tad. Aren't the holidays such a great time to catch up with family members? The night turned into drinking beer and bickering around the kitchen table until Josh got a phone call from the AG household. My parents were all about partying, so we all arrived at the AG's in time for MacDaddy to pour us a shot. Everyone loved the family, and it was a great time. Although Connie and Craig both dropped the ball on my new bike....ugh.

(Speaking of my new bike....I got a new bike!! Josh found a killer deal on an Ironhorse 7Point5 that we just couldn't pass up. We picked it up a few Saturdays back and promptly took it up to Bountiful. I had such a great day and I am so excited about it!)

So the rest of the weekend consisted of bouts of studying in between bike rides and more partying. Friday night was Ricky and Molly's shower at the Hidden Valley BerMansion, complete with a full sushi spread and martini bar. Drunk again. But turkey burning was on the agenda for Saturday and we met up with a huge crew to ride the LCC covert White Pine trail. Extremely difficult, but after the second lap I started to feel more comfortable. I ended up doing the pipe ride and subsequent pipe drop, and I have to admit I felt like a rockstar.

Sunday = more turkey burning. Due to Craig and Rob's pure frustration, yet another huge crew decided to head up to Alta. It ended up being a beautiful day, and the manmade snow wasn't too bad. Connie and I hacked it up on tele gear, and there was a veritable feast of turkey, stuffing, crack cookies, and beer at the top of Collins. The hard core crew had brought their bikes up to Alta and completed the Thanksgiving LCC duathlon with style on the White Pine trail. I wasn't part of the hard core crew, as I sadly had to go home to put some study time in.

So the result of an awesome four day weekend? About 2 pounds of extra junk in the trunk, sleep-deprivation from three post-1:00AM nights, gnarly bruises in mysterious places on my legs, complete depletion of the Petersen PBR stores, a couple of school assignments in the bag, and a huge mutha-fuggin smile on my face.

(3rd ski day, 1840 vertical feet, 3 miles)

Sgt. Tracie's Lonely Hearts Club Brown

2007-11-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

After much debate and pangs of guilt, I decided to opt out of another spectacular weekend in Moab. I made my decision based on: 1) pure exhastion and 2) being a total slacker last week with my school group work. I wanted to make the most out of my lonely husbandless weekend, so what did I do? I brewed beer, of course!! (There will be no comment on the Moab trip that I missed. I'm not bitter. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not...)

Scott had given me this recipe over a year ago and it had been sitting in the beer recipe pile gathering dust. I just couldn't bring myself to brew another brown ale, since my first was less than spectacular (drinkable, but a little blah). However, I finally got to taste the renowned brown at Scott's house a few weeks back, and I was counting the days until I could brew a batch of that bad boy. The beer is an amazing blend of Porter chocolatey goodness, a nice mellow hoppiness background, and a very smooth, non-Porter finish. Granted, I was drinking from an all-grain computer-controlled batch served out of a temperature-controlled keg, but I was sold.

I went to the Beer Nut on Saturday to get all my supplies in preparation to brew on Saturday. I had to make some substitutions (see the recipe notes below). On Sunday morning, I hauled all the gear upstairs, cleaned the kitchen up, and I was ready to BREW, baby!

Um, I forgot about water. Off to the grocery store. OK, now I'm ready to BREW! Shit. I go back to the Beer Nut for hop and grain bags.

Goddammit, it's time to BREW! Good lord...I accidently brought up the bottling bucket, which is now full of iodine in the tub. Back downstairs for the right bucket.

Is it time to brew yet? Shoot me in the friggin head...I need a new thermometer - back to the Beer Nut.

Finally, the planets aligned and I got my water boiling. Thank goodness the brewing went much more smoothly than the preparation. Two hours later, I had five gallons of goodness ready to ferment. It started bubbling this morning!

Scott's Dark Brown Ale

2 lbs Maris Otter Malt, crushed
1 lb British Chocolate Malt, crushed
4 lbs Light DME
1 lb Dark Malt Extract
5 oz Fuggles hop pellets (4.5% alpha)

Note: The original recipe called for 6 lbs Maris Otter Malt Extract, which the Beer Nut did not have. I substituted the 2 lbs of malt combined with 4 lbs DME.

Bring approximately 2 gallons of water to 155C and add grains (Maris Otter and Chocolate). Add more water if necessary to cover the grain bag. Steep for 15 minutes and remove grain bag. Squeeze to extract additional liquid, and discard.

Add additional water to brewpot (approximately 3 gallons total) and turn off heat. Slowly add the Light DME and Dark DME until dissolved. Turn heat back on and bring to boiling. Start timer when wort starts boiling.

15 minutes into the boil add 2.5oz Fuggles hops (bittering)

55 minutes into the boil add 2.5oz Fuggles hops (flavoring)

Turn off heat at 60 minutes. Add additional water to brewpot if desired (4 gallons total) and use wort chiller to cool the wort to 80 degrees or less. Once wort is cooled, pour it into the sanitized fermenter, being sure to agitate it for additional oxidation. Add additional water to bring total volume to 5 gallons.

Pitch yeast and allow to ferment ~ 1 week (active fermentation complete). Rack to secondary for at least a week. Bottle with leftover DME.

I wish I would have had a camera to document the process, but alas, Josh took both cameras to Moab.

Fruita and GJ - The Land of Schweet Singletrack and CO Douchebags

2007-11-06T10:28:00.000-07:00

With the lack of snow in the Wasatch, and temps averaging in the mid-60's in Moab and Fruita, we decided to get out of town last weekend. James and Traci were up for it, as always, and Fruita was on the agenda since everyone seemed to be in a downhilling rut (not that there's anything wrong with that) and we needed some pedaling.

Friday
Josh and I left town on Friday afternoon (since Josh came down with a mysterious vision problem that morning - he just couldn't see himself going to work). We loaded the Element to the gills with bike and Maddie crap, and rolled into Fruita around 6:00.

Since we had no beer in the car we stopped at the City Market to pick up some firewood and a 12'er of PBR. As we're checking out, the lady asks Josh for ID since he was paying. He obliges and she turns to me and asks for ID. Since I stupidly lost my ID the night of the Aussie Pink Floyd show (don't ask), I didn't have anything to show her. So, instead of accepting defeat, I went into instant defensive psycho-bitch mode.

"Why do I need to show ID? I'm not buying the beer."
"There is a good chance that you will be drinking it, so I need ID."
"WTF? What if I was his 12-yr-old kid? Would you not sell the beer to him because he's with a minor? And how do you assume I would drink this?"
"I'm sorry, that's our policy."
"This is a bunch of crap. That can't be the law. WTF. We're going to the liquor store and I'm staying in the car."

Granted, the lady felt really bad and kept apologizing to us. On the way out of the store, we kind of got the idea that there was some police sting action going on and the checkers were under surveillance. So, it wasn't really her fault, but it still felt good being a bitch.

So, after a stop at the liquor store for some 2 Below and 90 Shilling, we're off to 18 Road. We got one of the last camps (CO people were arriving in droves), yanked the bikes off the car, and busted up the road with Maddie for a quick Kessel Run before dark. Perfect timing...we rolled back into camp with about 20 minutes to spare. Maddie was a Kessel superstar, staying right on my wheel the whole way. Needless to say, she crashed pretty hard that night.

How sweet is that?

An awesome turkey burger and potato salad dinner, a pack of firewood, and 3-4 beers later, James and Traci showed up. A little planning for the next day, and we called it a night.

Saturday
We rallied a Kessel Run with Maddie before breakfast to wear her out for the day. Josh "Rachel Ray" Petersen cooked up a mean breakfast of pancakes and eggs, and the morning warmed up nicely into the 50's by 10 o'clock. As we passed other camps on the way out, there seemed to be a large ratio of spandex, weeny bikes, and Colorado plates. Hmmm....

All of us were psyched to check out some of the Grand Junction rides since none of us had been over there before. From the descriptions and reviews we'd heard about the Ribbon, we were very intrigued. We spent an hour looking at maps and trail descriptions trying the figure out how the hell we were supposed the ride the damn thing. Eventually, we decided that even if the book didn't mention it, we could shuttle it. Perhaps the lack of shuttle info could be related to our morning observation of the Colorado spandex phenomenon?

We rolled into the lower Tabeguache parking area and piled into the Suby to drive up to the upper Ribbon parking lot. As we're gaining thousands of feet of elevation, I'm looking at the map thinking "why the heck does the trail description say to go UP the Ribbon and DOWN the paved road we're on now? Are we missing something?" James and Josh strapped on their armor, and we hoped we made the right decision. Well, it ends up the author of the guide book must have been a local CO masochistic douche, because shuttling was DEFINITELY the way to go.

The huge slickrock slab. The views didn't suck.

Instantly we were whooping and yee-hawing as the trail opened up onto a huge slab of featureless slickrock. It was incredible! One slab ended, and we traversed an exposed ridge of singletrack. Then it opened up again onto another slab! The upper section continued like this for a couple of miles, with some gnarly drops (portages) and singletrack in between. Eventually it spit us out into a dry creekbed. And who knew a dry creekbed could be so fun to ride? The remainder of the trail was a combination of loose and not-so-loose singletrack, some technical rocky sections, a huge portage, and some exposure. Very, very fun day.

Josh on the singletrack

On the last big singletrack decent, we ran into a guy coming up the trail. Full tighty-whitey race gear and a wimpy bike - surprise, surprise. He asked whether we were enjoying the trail and how we liked the climb up. Uh...we didn't do the climb. He shot us a look of pure shock and proceeded to tell us that the only way to truly experience the Ribbon is to climb it. Uh, OK. He'd never heard of anyone shuttling it before. What kind of weird, retarded world of mountain biking had we been warped into here??

Finally, back to the trailhead, and we're surrounded by spandex, moose knuckles, carbon frames (whaa??) and too many people with a body fat % less than a gallon of skim milk. The jaw-drop looks we got as we rolled in with armor and bikes with more than 3" of travel was priceless. Again, after telling people what we had done, we mostly got deer-in-headlights looks. Wow. Can't wait to bring more of the Utard crew to rip the shit out of that ride - as a shuttle.

But the day was not done yet. Back to camp for an awesome dinner and a few beers around the campfire.

Maddie wanted a better view of the fire

Around 8:00, it was time to bust out the lights for a little night-riding action. I'd never done it before, so I was extremely excited. We decided that Joe's Ridge would be a good choice, since there were a few spicy descents, some exposure, and we could finish it off with the bottom half of Kessel.

Night riding on Joe's

I was hooked! My light died at the bottom of Joe's, but Josh decided against another lap and gave me his. Traci, James, and I did one more lap on Kessel before calling it a night. Damn, I wish those lights weren't so expensive!

Sunday
Kokopelli is a great spot to hit on the way out of town. James and Josh were dying to try Moore Fun, a highly technical loop that meets up with Mary's. Traci and I weren't into it so we rode Horsethief Bench. Traci told me it was her favorite Kokopelli ride and it did not disappoint! The singletrack was buff and beautiful with just enough technical rocky sections. The views of the river were beautiful too.

We finished up on Mary's Loop and met up with James and Josh. Apparently Moore Fun was an ass-kicker, but they had a good time (see Josh's blog - I'm sure he'll have his trip report up soon).

Love, love, love Fruita.

Halloween Brewfest 2007

2007-10-28T21:36:00.000-06:00

What's better than a bunch of your best friends getting together to drink each other's beer and dress like jackasses? Pretty much nothing.
We had seven great beers:
Josh - Abbey and Stout
Mom - Imperial Ale
Chris - IPA
Scot - Amber
Me - Pumpkin
Alex - American Pale Ale

Two kegs, a shit-ton of good food, lots of white trash, and even a couple of six-foot tall teletubbies.

Entire album: http://www.zoto.com/joshp/albums/12002/

Saturday morning - Glenwild

2007-10-28T21:26:00.000-06:00

I got a call from Re on Friday afternoon about a girl's ride on Saturday morning up at Glenwild. I was psyched to get on my bike again, and I was really looking forward to riding with Re and Connie since we didn't ride together much this year. I met up with Re, Lianna, and Connie at the Glenwild trailhead and we fired off two laps in Bob's Basin (Ant Farm and Dropout) before calling it a day. Lianna (and her awesome dog Chili) are animals! It was fun chasing them and Connie all morning.

I can't believe the difference a year has made with my bike riding skills. I hit everything on both courses with so much more confidence. I still have lots of work to do (corners, jumps) but I'm feeling pretty good!

Josh was right (almost)! Dumbledore is gay??

2007-10-22T15:22:00.000-06:00

What in the name of Merlin's buttwhisker was JK Rowling thinking? What purpose does bringing Dumbledore out of the closet have now that the books have been written? I'm extremely confused and disappointed. There's no need to clarify something that doesn't need clarifying. First she totally rips his whole character apart in book 7 and now she drives the final nail in the coffin. Why can't he just be the nice, friendly, helpful old man that mentors a hero on his quest to save the world? Too stereotypical for ya, Jo? I'm baffled.

Leaky article

Time article

Day 2 - 10/21/07 Snowbird Cirque

2007-10-21T14:04:00.000-06:00

No way it's October.

I kept saying that to myself all morning because I couldn't believe how good the skiing was. Definitely better than 75% of last year. Every lap was perfect Utah powder. It's one of those days that I know I'm going to remember for quite a while. And it's only October.

After meeting Scott K, Chris C, Jake, and Jason at 7:30AM and dealing with a "rumor" Scott heard about the tram running for free (as we found out later, they were filming all of us skiers from the tram that day), we decided to hit the Cirque. 12-14" of new, perfect density snow that had stayed sheltered from the wind all night awaited us.

We joined two other dudes that got there before us and cranked out 2 quick laps in the lower bowl. Scott led the way up to the upper bowl and we did a few more. We called it quits around noon with smiles on our faces and our powder hunger fully satiated.

Link to full album: http://www.zoto.com/joshp/albums/11756/

Snowbird video (thanks Jason!): http://www.snowbird.com/video/october21_2007.html

Day 1 - 10/19/07 Wolverine Bowl

2007-10-19T16:37:00.000-06:00

I can't believe what I did for my first day out! I hooked up with Derek, Seth, Mark, and Tyler at 6:30AM this morning and we decided to try a tour rather than hang out with the crowds at Alta. Our route was Grizzly Gulch to TLP, up to Patsy Marley, and on to Wolverine. The morning was beautiful.

Derek of course went way down to the bottom of Wolverine Bowl so we had to skin our asses back up to the ridge. On the way back, the boys decided to hit Granny Chute in Wolverine Cirque. I chickened out for the sake of my skis (rocks were abundant) - Mark and I skied the punchy north face of Patsy Marley. The temperature rose ridiculously fast and we hacked our way down Griz in slush.

Derek's take on the day (and more pics)

The Quest for 70

2007-10-18T12:08:00.000-06:00

After a long hiatus from blogging, and a handful of months with school, sparse workouts, and very little motivation, I've decided to set myself a goal. I think a physical goal that I can mark on the calendar will help keep me not only gain back the fitness I so desperately need, but finally work off that pesky ten pounds.

My masochistic husband always seems to come up with the best ways to kick his own ass, so I asked him last night, "What would be a good ass-kicker goal for me to set this ski season?" I mentioned the Wasatach Powderkeg in March, but I still needed something to keep me going through Nov, Dec, Jan, and Feb. Inspiration struck this morning and Josh called me at my desk.

"How about 100 days?" Great! I thought. What better way to get my ass out of bed than tick marks on the calendar? However, I started thinking about it and 100 days just isn't physically possible with my schedule. So, I started counting. Including all of my Fridays off, and not counting holidays as extra days, I counted 83 available days from Nov 1 through the end of May. Knowing that skiing every single available day may not be realistic, I'm shooting for 70 days. Earlier days (this weekend), later days (June), and mid-week dawn patrols will just be icing on the cake.

So welcome to my "Quest for 70" Blog for the 2007-2008 ski season, including the Powderkeg. I'll try to post TR's and pictures as much as possible for each of my days, giving me a kick-ass reminder of a kick-ass ski season. All weather conditions, all snow conditions, and a host of random partners....it's gonna be a good winter.

Here's to a long season, a stable snowpack, and lake effect!

(On the subject of blogging, Josh wrote up a great report on Matt and Elisabeth's wedding. Check it out at http://joshpetersen.blogspot.com)

Tuesday - jumprope circuit

2007-06-27T08:38:00.000-06:00

Tuesday:
I made this up as I went and it ended up being a pretty good workout. I didn't time myself though.

200x jumprope
10 pushups
200x jumprope
20 bicycle crunches
200x jumprope
10 HSPU
200x jumprope
30 squats
200x jumprope
10 pushups
200x jumprope
20 bicycle crunches

Puke Hill...finally

2007-06-26T12:05:00.000-06:00

Saturday:
Hike up Neff's with Maddie and Josh. About two hours.

Sunday:
Crest ride, Mill D shuttle. Got Puke Hill.

Monday:
Lunch workout-
8 rounds of
0:30 pullups
0:30 situps
0:30 pushups
2:30 run

After work:
Jumprope 200x
35# dumbbell waiter carries and suitcase carries
5x each side 20# DB snatches
5x: 65# snatch + 5 OHS

Rowing intervals

2007-06-22T16:08:00.000-06:00

I took yesterday off for a couple of reasons. 1) I forgot a workout top at lunch (d'oh) and 2) my back was sore from those power cleans!

Today:

Rowing intervals. 30 sec on, 1:00 rest - each 30 sec interval needs to be more meters than the previous. Try for 15 sets.

#meters: 95-102-105-106-109-112-112-116-118-121-124-127-128-131-134

Finished 15 rounds! But compared to the last time I did this, I actually did less work. Hmm...maybe I should push a little harder earlier on next time.

Wednesday workout - Power clean 6x5, weighted PU

2007-06-21T09:15:00.000-06:00

No workout at lunch yesterday...I was absorbed with work (huh?).

After work:
Warm up - bridging, straight leg lifts, glute leg lifts, side and monster walks with theraband
2 waiter carries each arm with 35#, 5 reps each side #25 DB snatches

Power cleans 6x5 (actually 7)
65-70-75-80-85-90-95

Weighted pull-ups (1 rep from hang)
0-2.5-5-7.5-10

L-sits (bent knees) on rings - 3 (about 10-15 sec each)

Weekend wrap-up

2007-06-19T11:08:00.000-06:00

It's been a while again. Here's what I've been doing:

Thursday:
"Cindy"
17 rounds, 5 pullups, 10 pushups, 8 squats
PR!!

40-30-20-10 backext/ball crunch
9:37

Friday:
Hike with Maddie up Thaynes to Neff Canyon saddle. Approx three hours and 2300 ft vert.

Sat:
Downhilling at DV

Sun:
Crest - Mill D with no shuttle. 16.5 total miles, about 3000 vert. Had to stop twice on puke hill.

Monday:
Off - knee exercises and light cardio at lunch

Today (this might hurt):
4x:
500m row
10 TGUs (25#)
500m row
15 KB swings (35#)

Tuesday metcon and Josh the Engineer

2007-06-13T08:08:00.000-06:00

Tuesday workout:
3x
500m row
50 thrusters (10# DBs)
15:32

My back was really stiff and sore last night after that workout. I think the combination of the heavy squats yesterday and the major lower back hit from the thruster/row combo caught up with me. Today is going to be light cardio/rest day.

Yesterday was day 3 of my summer stats class. Halfway there! Speaking of....yesterday Josh called me just busting with something to say. He told me he's ready to quit his job and go back to school to finish his engineering degree. WHAT?? Hey, I'm not complaining - I think it's so good for him to go back to school. It's very cool to see him so motivated. He was studying Statics last night for god's sake!! Anyhow, I think we may be in for a little bit of a life change if he starts up school with me this fall. Expenses may be a litle tight, but at least we won't have a life! And...if Josh can get a part-time job at backcountry.com or REI, etc, we may get some really good deals on stuff. Exciting!

Fruita is fun! Monday 6x5's

2007-06-11T08:47:00.001-06:00

No camera, so no pictures from Fruita. The weekend was just what I needed - quality time with Josh and getting back on my bike! Enid, my PT, is a miracle worker and showed me some taping techniques for my knee. I was totally pain-free for the whole weekend, although our longest ride was maybe 12 miles. Still, it's good to be back riding. Saturday we cranked through Joe's Ridge and Zippedy Do Da before noon. Sunday we hit Mary's Loop over in the Kokopelli area. I only had one casualty - I ate shit on Kessel on our "twilight ride". I guess it's not such a good idea to ride after a couple of beers. Dinner at the Hot Tomato was epic. So much new stuff down there - I can't wait to go back this fall.

Wine tasting in GJ was super fun too! We both really liked Grand River winery. We paid $3.50 each and got to taste all of their wines (about 8). Needless to say, it was a cheap buzz. Plus, the wine was excellent. The guy behind the counter had a great sense of humor and knew a lot about the wines and the winery. We both like the Reserve Merlot the best, but it was a little expensive. We bought ourselves a bottle of Chardonnay and Cab Sav, and got a bottle of Port for the parents. Next we hit Graystone winery, specializing in Ports. We tried both a white and red port that were both outstanding. Lastly we hit the Meadery of the Rockies and got to taste some mead from people who know what they're doing. OMG! Even the straight-up honey mead was to die for. We bought a bottle of the semi-dry "Lancelot" mead and a six-pack of the best honey cider ever. I have to admit, after tasting their mead, I'm pretty impressed with my own batch. Mine's significantly stronger (15%, while the RM cider was about 6%), but is just as smooth. They told us you can schedule tours if you call ahead, so we definitely want to do that next time. There's a lot of wineries we missed (due to drunkeness!) so there's plenty to see the next time we go!

Monday workout:
6x5 Front squat 65-75-85-90-90-90
6x5 Push press 55-65-70-70-75-75
One legged box jump (4 risers) - 3 sets of 10
Bicycle crunches

Wednesday/Thursday

2007-06-07T08:54:00.000-06:00

Wednesday afternoon:
knee exercises - straight leg raise, bent hamstring raise, bridging, one-leg squat, clamshell hip flexion, hip hitchers
20 minutes on elliptical

Wednesday night (6/6):

Work up to OHS max
65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90 - stopped due to back fatigue (didn't want to overdo it)

2x: 35# waiter carries once around backyard
2x: 35# suitcase carries twice around backyard
6x: alternating suitcase deadlifts 35#

Thursday:

Knees are feeling pretty good this morning. I think lightening up on the stretching and massage has helped a lot. Gonna keep it light and see how it goes. Can't wait for Fruita this weekend and I want to be feeling good!

Lunch workout
3x:
30sec pushups (~10 per round)
1:30 row (2:10 pace or faster)
30sec pushups
1:30 KB swings (30#)
30 sec pushups
1:30 jumprope (140, 150, 170)

Good workout! This is one that could be easily modified with different exercises. Thrusters instead of pushups. Add cleans, burpees, etc for high HR portions.

Fithy fifty - carries

2007-06-05T15:58:00.000-06:00

Well, I guess I forgot to post yesterday.

Monday
I decided to try out some new stuff. It turned into quite the modge-podge.
Waiter carries with 35#
Suitcase DL to farmer carry 35# DBs
Air squats
3x8 assisted dips
Planks, core stuff

Tuesday (today)
Fithy fifty
50x:
Box jumps
Jumping pull-ups (subbed lat pulldown for half)
KB swings (33#)
Walking lunges
Knees to chest
Push press - 45# BB
Back extensions
Thrusters (10# DBs)
Burpees ( 30 reps)
Jump rope (200 singles)
33:08

My knees have been really tender this afternoon. Everything was feeling pretty good this morning, so I think my legs are just fatigued. If I feel worse tomorrow, I guess it's time for another rest day.

I've started doing some stuff for my glutes - I read some great stuff at "peak performance" (can't remember the URL).
Straight leg-lifts
Hip hitchers
Bridging
One leg squats (concentrate on squeezing glute)
Bent leg hamstring raises (again, squeeze glutes)

I've actually got bruises on my thighs from some of the foam roller stuff I've been doing lately. Maybe I should back off a little. :)

Weekend workouts

2007-06-04T11:17:00.000-06:00

Here's a summary of the weekend:

Friday - 1:30 hike up Neff's with Maddie, lots of housework and gardening (party for Jamie and Kate)

Saturday - Off day (girls "slumber party" - pretty much Mary Kay with sex toys. I thought it was excruciating)

Sunday -
3x:
20 DB swings (35#)
6 TGU each side (20# DB)
6 one arm snatch each side (20# DB)
1-2 minute rest in between rounds

Eating overall was pretty good, except for the drinking at two parties of course.

Starting over - Met con day (FGB)

2007-05-31T13:49:00.000-06:00

So, I'm going to try again to change some of my bad habits. I realized that I DO want to fit into my old clothes and be lean again. I'm back on a diet. Mostly, I'm trying to keep carbs to a minimum of 40-50% of my daily intake, and keep my calories below 1800. I'll try this for a couple of weeks and see what happens.

My workout schedule will be as follows:
Monday: Off (usually after a hard weekend) - easy bike ride, long walk with Maddie, etc
Tuesday: Kettlebell/power lifting (swings, snatches, cleans, etc) - metcon stylee
Wednesday: One exercise each Upper and lower body high weight day (low rep sets, 1RM, etc - press, jerk, bench press, pullup, pushup, back squat, front squat, OHS)
Thursday: Met-con circuit (lunch) and bike ride
Friday: Kettlebell/powerlifting day - heavy weight, low rep
Saturday: Bike ride, hike, or some other endurance type activity
Sunday: same as Sat or add another lifting workout

Yet again, this might change after a while but I'm going to try sticking to it for at least a month.

So, today's workout:
FIGHT GONE BAD
Thrusters (10# DBs): 29, 29, 26
SDLHP (45# BB): 23, 19, 19
Box jump (bench): 16, 17, 15
Push press (45# BB): 12, 11, 11
Rowing (cals): 10, 10, 10

Total = 257 (last time I did this on 12/19/06, my score was 252. Yay!)

Post-Grand Canyon depression

2007-05-14T16:01:00.000-06:00

Is there such thing as post-vacation depression? If not, there should be. Last week was so hard after coming back from the Grand. What a great vacation - there's not a lot of places you can go and feel so isolated, even if you're with 30 people you don't know.

It's funny how you get back into your normal routine after a week or so and it doesn't seem so bad. A week ago I was ready to quit my job and be a river swamper for the summer, and today I'm happy as hell to be riding my bike and hanging out with my husband, puppy, and friends. Trips like that are clarifying in a way...although they make you yearn for more time to be in these beautiful places, it makes you think about how much you do have in your life. I think Josh put it really well the other night while I was whining about how we could figure out how to live in Moab without being poor:

"You know, our day-to-day life is pretty damn good. We can mountain bike out our front door, ski in world-class mountains before work in the morning, and hold good jobs. Moab, Zion, and Fruita are half a day's drive away. We have a dog, a great little house, and a great group of friends. Realistically, I think our day-to-day is better than half the world's vacation."

I realized instantly that he's right. We do have it good. The grass always seems greener on the other side of the street, but if it's already growing in your own yard, throw some fertilizer on it, kill some weeds, and enjoy the hell out of what you have. It might end up being far greener than that crap across the street!

Now, down to business. Here' s what I've been up to since we got back:

Wednesday
Oak Hollow to BST (to the gravel pit and back), out and back on Maple Hollow, link back to Spring Hollow descent

Friday
5x:
500m row at 2:15 pace
10 get-ups (5 each side) with 20# DB
37:00 (I didn't write down my actual time)

Saturday
Sweeny's to John's with Josh, Connie, Matt, and Lis

Monday
3x:
30 KB swings (30# DB)
500m row - 2:15 pace
10 get-ups (25# DB 1st rounf, 20# DB 2nd and 3rd)
500m row - 2:15 pace
20 thrusters (10# DBs 1st round, 12# DBs 2nd and 3rd)
500m row - 2:15 pace
41:32

Ouch.

"Tabata This" and Grand Canyon psych-up!

2007-05-01T13:14:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I did a "Tabata This" workout. Since I still can't do certain things with my shoulder, here's the workout I did (I left the notebook at home, so I'll add the reps later):

Squats
Push-ups
Ball crunches
Rowing (no reps, just high intensity 20-sec intervals)

Overall, I did better (more total reps on each given exercise) than the last time I did this workout. Yet again, it's always very motivating to see progress.

So we leave tonight for the Grand! So excited. I've been on Google Earth staring at the river all day. The only bummer is that Josh is sick. He's going to the doctor today to hopefully get some antibiotics and STRONG cough syrup. I've felt so bad for him the last couple of nights. His cough is terrible and it's even been keeping me up from the other room! It seems to be the same nasty thing he had last winter, although I think it's even worse. Hopefully he'll be on recovery road by tonight.

Fun with Der and Joops - Shoreline superloop

2007-04-30T07:25:00.000-06:00

What a sweet weekend! Derek and Joops came through town Friday night. Josh made an awesome dinner and Maddie finally got to meet Rio. We introduced Derek to Bobsled on Saturday morning and he loved it! Always good to get some props for SLC mt biking.

After feeling kind of sluggish and slow on my bike for the last week or so, I wanted to time myself up Dry Creek again just to see where I was at. Josh has been pretty sick so he sat this one out. I decided to ride from the house to get an approximate round-trip time for future reference. I took 300E to E-street up to 11th ave and over to Popperton. I started the clock at the Dry Creek jump and here's how everything played out:

Home to bottom of Dry Creek = 42:00
Dry Creek to top of switchback climb = 17:05 (beat my last time by over 2 minutes!)
Top of climb to bottom of Bobsled = 26:17

At this point, I was feeling a little spicy so I headed up Terrace Hills to finish up in City Creek. That Terrace Hills climb is no joke, and the climb from the trailhead to City Creek trail is nasty.

Bottom of Bobsled to home ~45:00 (I forgot to stop my clock when I got home).

All-in-all, a good day. I finally cleaned the rocky section of Dry Creek, I cleaned the last switchback in City Creek, it was my longest local ride of the year (and the most climbing). I figure Josh and I could squeeze in rides from the house after work - round trip not including City Creek is about 1:30 to 1:45 - so there are no more excuses!

Changing the way I think about fitness...("Michael")

2007-04-24T09:51:00.000-06:00

Before I get into my rant, here's the workout for the day:
"Michael"
3x:
500m run
50 back extensions
50 ball crunches

29:23

With everything I've been doing over the last month or so - counting calories, logging workouts, stressing about over-eating and drinking - I've been having a lot of inner dialogue about what it is that keeps my mind and body happy. Is it being as lean as possible? Possibly. Is it being a faster cyclist, stronger skier, better endurance althete? Sure. Is it being able to have fun with my friends, enjoy a good beer (or multiple good beers), and keep the stress level to a minimum? Ding, Ding, Ding! I'm not a professional athlete, I'm not a fitness model. I'm just a regular girl who wants to be able to keep up with my husband and enjoy being outside.

What is the main purpose of working out and eating well? Performance is #1, staying at a healthy weight is right up there at #2. With all the stressing about body fat %, weight loss, etc I think I started losing track of the big picture. I've been busting my ass and I've lost 1 lb. I kept beating myself up about it. Obviously it will take a serious life change to get back to 19%. However, I began asking myself a few questions last week:

Q: Am I fit?
A: Hell yeah! Faster and stronger than ever on my bike, killing it on the skis. Even with all the injuries, I've even kept up pretty strong with my functional fitness.

Q: Am I healthy?
A: Other than my shoulder, I am extremely healthy. My BF% is lower than average, my weight is very healthy.

Q: Why do I want to lose more weight/fat?
A: To look hot. Seriously, that's it. Plus, I'd like all my old clothes to fit. It would probably help my biking and climbing too, but who knows.

Q: What would it truly take to hit the 19% mark again?
A: Morning workouts, limiting calories even more, protein supplements, long weight sessions, no more beer, no more sugar. Being a social retard at all the summer BBQs. Beign pissed off every time I see Josh drinking a beer.

Q: What makes me happy in terms of fitness and body image?
A: Putting the smack down on a long climb, having the ability to hang in on a 8-hour day, having a whole box of matches to burn instead of just one, not being injured, being able to look at myself and think "wow, I look strong".

Q: Is it sustainable? Is it truly worth it?
A: No. That's what I've decided. If it's that hard for me to get super lean again, I won't be able to sustain that kind of lifestyle. I love beer. I love cookies. I love ice cream. Don't get me wrong - I'm not crashing off the wagon completely. I will continue tracking my eating and cutting down on weekday beer drinking. I will continue to work my ass off to get stronger and faster. I will stay sub-155#. I think I can make a few positive changes and keep my body at a very healthy place. A summer of bike riding and Crossfit will do wonders.

So for the summer, here are a few of my resolutions:
1. Don't drink beer Sunday - Wednesday. Not willing to give up my Thursday nights with the girls.
2. Ride my bike at least three times a week.
3. Do at least 3 Crossfit-type workouts a week.
4. Get out in the sun to play a lot. Take some days to just sit at the pool and read. Drink beer and BBQ with my friends after huge bike rides. Take the boat out with Maddie and Josh a few times. Lead some trad. Do some gardening.
5. Love myself the way I am. Increase the positive self-talk because I have nothing to be ashamed or disappointed about. I'm a strong, fit, happy person!

Here's to a GREAT summer.

White Rim - HP predictions

2007-04-18T13:05:00.000-06:00

I'm a nerd. I'm participating in a Harry Potter quiz competition on Leaky based on predictions about book 7. Here's the link for reference.

White Rim was fantastic! The weather cooperated up to the very last second - it hailed on us going down Mineral Bottom Road. Perfect timing.

We had such a good group: James and Traci, Jamie and Kate, my parents. Drank loads of beer and ate good food. Total mileage for the trip is 105 miles over three days. Two trucks ran support - the Tacoma and the FJ Cruiser. Kick ass.

I'm kind of off the crazy losing weight bandwagon. I was working my tail off and didn't lose a pound in a month. So, I'm not giving up - I'm still tracking my eating on FitDay and still working out as hard as ever - I'm just not going to be a freak about it. It's got to be a lifestyle thing right? Sustainability is key.

Week 5 - Day 5

2007-04-13T08:38:00.000-06:00

I'm really beginning to worry about our White Rim trip this weekend. The weather looks like it's going to turn to crap on us Sunday and I'm really bummed! We have an escape plan, but I'd like to spend the night at Candlestick. I guess we just play it by ear and hope to not get caught in the muck. I guess we can always ride one of the classics if WR doesn't work out.

Breakfast: Kashi, soy milk, eggs

Week 5 - Day 4

2007-04-12T15:08:00.000-06:00

So I ran out of time yesterday afternoon and didn't get my BF% tested. Steph's only here on Wednesdays, so I guess I have to wait until next week. I need to calibrate the calipers to our home BF monitor so I can start using the one at home.

Breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1 tsp brown sugar, raisins, egg beaters
Snack: yoplait, CC
Lunch: whole wheat tortilla, 1 slices Costco deli turkey
Snack: Zone bar
Dinner: 1 cup white rice, stirfry with teriyaki sauce, 3 glasses of wine

Lunch workout:
20 minutes on the rower
2000 meters (1000 warm-up at 2:30/500m, 1000 at 2:15ish/500m)
1000 meters (1:00 rest, 0:30 sub-2:10)
20 minutes on elliptical

Week 5 -Day 3 - Front squats, OH lunges

2007-04-11T07:40:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's time to get tested again. I have a feeling that I've dropped slighty. Definitely not a full percentage or anything, but just a little. I'll report back around 4:00.

Breakfast: Kashi, soy milk, eggs
Snack: Yoplait, CC
Lunch: mixed greens with bean sprouts, snap peas, peanuts, cilantro, green onions, oriental dressing and a chicken breast; black bean and corn salad
Snack: Zone Bar
Dinner: 1/2 Boboli pizza (italian sausage, turkey pepperoni, cheese, mushrooms, green pepper)

Lunch workout:
Front squats 5x5:
45-65-75-75-80 (back felt good!)
OH lunges:
2 sets of 9 reps, 10lb DBs (shoulder felt shaky)
Lots of ball work, core strength stuff

After work:
Shoreline ride with Josh. Felt a little slow, but it was cold and my legs were worked from lunch. Otherwise, my shoulder felt great (although I CAN'T be falling for the next few months!)

Week 5 - Day 2 - Separated Shoulder Blues

2007-04-10T16:24:00.000-06:00

Yet another huge lapse in my postings! But I had a good reason. I separated my shoulder on Friday at Snowbird. Doc told me in could be months until the pain goes completely away. I have a feeling I'll be back to "normal" within a month, but it still sucks. I won't be doing push-ups, pull-ups, or bench presses for a while. Oh, and I had a migraine yesterday. GREAT weekend.

Back on the wagon:
Breakfast: 1/2 cup Kashi, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1/2 cup egg beaters
Snack: 1/2 cup CC, yoplait
Lunch: 2 slices turkey on whole wheat tortilla
Snack: Zone Bar
Snack: handful of mixed nuts
Dinner: two mahi mahi fish tacos and black bean/corn salad

Lunch workout: 30 minutes spinning intervals, stretching, core exercises

Shoreline "time trial"

2007-04-05T08:00:00.005-06:00

So I decided to do a Shoreline "time trial". I figured it would be cool to see how much I improve over the season. I timed myself from the kicker at the bottom of Dry Creek to the top of the lookout above the switchbacks. I finished the loop at normal speed and recorded the total time for reference. Here are my results:

Kicker to switchbacks: 19:26
Total loop (Bobsled): 48:04

Week 4 - Day 3

2007-04-04T08:46:00.000-06:00

Last night was really fun. My legs were brutalized from the burpee workout, but I still felt pretty good on the Shoreline. I think if I would have been timing it, that was my fastest time of the season so far. Boys are so fast! Someday I'm going to be able to keep up with those maniacs.
Breakfast: Kashi, soy milk, egg beaters
Snack: yoplait, 1/2 cup CC
Lunch: black bean and chicken burrito
Snack: Zone bar
Dinner: Teriyaki Stir fry with ~3/4 cup white rice
Other "snacks": handful of cashews, 5-6 tortilla chips and salsa

Calories felt a little high today - I went to bed full, which I really don't like. My appetite has been increasing since I've started ramping the bike rides. It feels good to be riding again!

Lunch workout:
"JT"
21-15-9
HSPU
Dips
Pushups
10:40

A good minute slower than the last time I did it, but that was almost 8 months ago. I need to start hitting the upper body harder to get back to where I was.

Week 4 - Day 2 (and the weekend!) - Row intervals and OHS

2007-04-03T08:25:00.000-06:00

Wow, I'm really far behind! Let's catch up, shall we?

Saturday - My first real super-tour of the season! Headed up Red Pine at 7:00 with the goal of skiing White Baldy. I was drinking Gatorade instead of water and I knew pretty quickly that it was a bad idea. My stomach was cramping all the way to the lake and by the time we got there, I was feeling pretty shitty. I'm guessing the combo of 1/2 bottle of red wine, 32oz gatorade, and a black bean burrito was not working out to my advantage. My hands were freezing and my body was falling apart. I told the guys to head up White Baldy while I dug a little lounge chair in the sun and relaxed. It was exactly what I needed and by the time they got back down, I was feeling better. Next item of business was heading over the ridge to Lake Peak.

We skiied the East coulier, which was AWESOME. Testosterone mixed with a beautiful day resulted in a third peak - Red Baldy. We slogged up the east-facing bowl for the best run of the day, hands down. 8 hours total, about 7K vertical. Pretty impressive.

Sunday - off. Not much more to say. Yard work and lounging.

Monday - back to the grind

Breakfast: 1/2 cup Kashi, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1/2 cup egg beaters
Snack: Yoplait, string cheese
Lunch: turkey sandwich
Snack: Zone bar
Dinner: handful of nuts, 0.75 cup rice, basil thai chicken

Lunch workout: Rowing intervals. Each interval needs to be longer distance than the last. 30 seconds on, 1:00 rest
(meters) 100, 107, 109 109, 112, 115, 119, 120, 124, 126, 128, 130, 131, 133
14 rounds total

After work workout:
OHS: 8x45#, 8x45#, 8x45#, 8x45#, 12x45#
Bench: 12x45#, 12x55#, 16x65# (max reps), 15x65# (max reps)

Tuesday

Breakfast: 1/2 cup Kashi, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1/2 cup egg beaters
Snack: yoplait, 1/2 cup CC
Lunch: Pita, 1 can tuna, 1/4 green pepper, 1 tbsp miracle whip light, mustard, 1/2 tomato
Snack: Zone bar
Dinner: handful cashews, 1 fajita with chicken, fudgesicle, 1 spoonfull CC

Lunch workout:
50-40-30-20-10 Back ext/ball crunches
14:05

3x:
20 Burpees
10 HSPU
8:50

After work:
Shoreline ride Dry Creek to City Creek with Jamie, Sam (beatered), Pete (maniloff) - pushed pretty hard. Probably best time of the year if I acutally timed myself.

Week 3 - Day 4 & 5 "Tabata This"

2007-03-30T16:58:00.000-06:00

Since I'm posting this on Friday, I guess I can post my GMAT scores. All I can say is that the quantitative portion SUCKED. Overall I got a 640 (unofficially). I'll post individual scores later.

Thursday
Breakfast: 1/2 cup Kashi, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1/2 cup egg beaters
Snack: yogurt, CC
Lunch: Tuna creations sun dried tomato (NASTY), pita, greens
Snack: EAS drink
Dinner: 2 pieces of pizza, lots o beer

Workout: Tabata This
Squats
Pullups
Pushups
Ball crunches

Bowling at Fat Cats with the Snyders, Matt and Lis, Klophauses, and Brooke (Jake was being a party pooper). So much fun, and a lot of beer. I've decided that it's not worth torturing myself to be a couple %points leaner. Why, I ask? I don't have a wedding to get ready for. I'm getting all crazy so I can lose some fat for...some random summer? I need to find the happy medium that allows me the pleasures in life without overindulging. I think I've been doing a pretty good job the last couple of weeks. Very sustainable. But, I need nights like Thursday night, so I guess I'll never hit the coveted 18%!

Friday
Breakfast: 1/2 cup Kashi, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1/2 cup egg beaters
Snack: yogurt, CC
Lunch: gardenburger on tortilla with greens and a tomato
Snack: Zone bar
Dinner: whole wheat pasta with chicken, brocolli, and creamy pesto

No workout today. Big tour tomorrow! (More to come on that...)

Week 3 - Day 3

2007-03-28T07:52:00.000-06:00

Finished off yesterday around 1900 calories again. Grrr! I need to watch those portions. At least I'm not snacking and drinking anymore. Eventually it has to make a difference. I figure that 1900 calories is a pretty good place to be if I stay really active, but my back is still making it difficult to do everything I'd like.

Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi, 1 cup soy milk, 1/2 cup egg beaters (this is about 400 cals...a little high. Maybe cut to 1/2 cup Kashi and milk?)
Snack: yogurt/CC
Lunch:
Snack:
Dinner:

Week 3 - Day 2

2007-03-27T07:45:00.000-06:00

I'm still happy about yesterday. My diet was spot-on, I obliterated my old Kelly PR, and I felt great on my bike last night. I need to remember that recovery is so important, because it allows for leaps like this. I also need to remember that alcohol is the enemy!! If only my back would heal faster. :(

Breakfast: 1/3 cup oatmeal, handful raisins, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1/2 cup egg beaters
Snack: Yoplait, 1/2 cup CC
Lunch: leftover chicken curry with apples, tortilla
Snack: Zone bar
Dinner: 7 oz salmon with soy/ginger glaze, 1/2 cup rice, 1 cup canned peas

Lunch workout:
Warm up = 5 min row, 2 rounds of squats, dips, pushups, backext
Front squat 5x5: 45, 55, 55, 65, 65
OHS 5x5: 45, 45, 45, 45, 45
OH lunges: 2x10 with 10# DBs
Core, stretching

Had a massage tonight and it seemed to really help. Sitting at work is KILLING my recovery. If I could just walk around all day, my back would feel great.

I'm getting a little frustrated this week with the diet/weight loss. I went back up to 156lbs and I feel a little out of control again. My calories have been averaging at 1950, which seems too high. I'd like to be around 1800 for at least this first month. I think I need to start concentrating on portion size. I just noticed last night that our frozen salmon fillets are 7 oz! That's 340 calories (although it's also a huge blast of protein). And it's going to be a lot harder to workout after work if there's snow on the ground again.

Week 3 - Day 1 "Kelly"

2007-03-26T10:28:00.000-06:00

I was not a very good girl this weekend. I pretty much went back to my old bad habits. Friday was OK...I went skiing with Kate in the morning and had a good lunch (turkey on a tortilla). Took Maddie to Tanner's for a little while. I made chicken curry with apples for dinner and had a few cocktails.

But, Saturday. Josh went to the BD swap while I took Jen and Sean to the airport. I joined him later with Maddie and Tonka. I ate a donut, two mini donuts, and sat on my butt. We drove out to Sandy and took the dogs over to the gully. Got home, made a sandwich, and rested my back. We made the AWESOME baked beans and headed up to PC. Jamie made his ribs-on-crack and Kate BBQ'd a salmon. I ate a lot and drank a lot. 2-3 vodka tonics and 2-3 beers.

Sunday. Went skiing at Deer Valley with Josh and Rachel. I was really good until lunch. A bowl of turkey chili and three big beers (eek). We got home and had another beer, and took the dogs to Liberty Park. Another beer later and we were making dinner. Left-over ribs and beans, with BBQ chicken breast and canned peas. Dear Lord.

I couldn't get out of bed early this morning, but I definitely need to get back on the wagon today. We have tickets to the Jazz game tonight, and I have the feeling we won't be staying very long. Boring. But the tickets are good and I may still want to go check it out.

Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch, 1 cup soy milk
Snack: yoplait, 1/2 cup CC
Lunch: salad greens with 1/2 can tuna and 2 tbsp Cheese Fantastico
Snack: Zone bar
Dinner: gardenburger on a tortilla with BBQ sauce, green beans
Snack: 1 cup soy milk and a fudgesicle

Lunch workout:
"Kelly"
5x:
400m run
30 box jumps (6 lifters on the step)
30 thrusters (10# DBs)
KILLED my previous time of 35:34 (11/16). Today I clocked in at 30:40! Whoo hoo!

After work: Josh and I high-tailed it up to the Shoreline and hammered out Dry Creek to Bobsled in about an hour. First time I've cleaned Dry Creek without stopping this year (except the rocky section). Also cleaned the middle hill and even the last grinder out of Bobsled. VERY happy with my fitness right now! I have a feeling it's gonna be a strong mountain biking year.

Week 2 - Day 4

2007-03-22T15:40:00.000-06:00

Good god, I'm sore today. I figured Cindy was going to come back and kick me in the ass, but I'm still never quite prepared. Oh, I'm so happy to be crossfitting again! Today was a "day off", even though I'm going biking later and did yoga at lunch. My back has felt REALLY good today. I think I'm finally getting past the hard part. I've been working really hard on my hip and hamstring flexibility and I think it's starting to pay off. I've created an excellent yoga routine to really stretch out the hips:

Mountain
Forward fold
Repeat 3x:
Lunge (right foot)
Twisted lunge
Inside reach in lunge (?)
Downward dog
Lunge (left foot)
Twisted lunge
Inside reach in lunge
Downward dog
Repeat 2x or more:
Child pose (or downward dog)
Half warrior (repeat with child pose in other side)
Seated bound angle
Repeat 2x on each side:
Side seated angle
Revolved head to knee
Tortoise
Prayer Squat
Forward fold
Five pointed star
Standing yoga mudra
Standing angle
Goddess pose
Forward fold
Downward dog
Cat/cow stretch
Repeat at least 2x:
Double pigeon (both sides)
Knee cross twist (both sides)
At this point I like to repeat any previous poses that seemed tight to see if I can get deeper. It has been amazing the results I've had just in a few days.

Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi, 1 cup soy milk, 1/2 cup egg beaters
Snack: Yoplait, 1/2 cup CC
Lunch: 1/2 can tuna, 1/4 orange bell pepper, 1/2 tomato, 2 tbsp Cheese Fantastico, banana
Snack: Zone bar

Weight is down to 154. Finally losing some pounds!

Week 2 - Day 3 "Cindy"

2007-03-21T07:45:00.000-06:00

What was I saying about not feeling so tired? I ended up with a raging headache again yesterday afternoon all through the evening. Sleeping seemed to help a bit, but I still feel like crap. I skipped my morning workout to sleep in and recover. I'm feeling a bit overworked.

Breakfast: 1/2 cup egg beaters, 1/2 cup oatmeal with raisins and 1 tbsp brown sugar
Snack: 6oz yoplait, 1/2 cup CC
Lunch: turkey on whole wheat
Snack: Zone Bar (200 cals)
Dinner: 1 fajita with canned roast beef - a little extra stuff (no extra tortilla)
Tea with honey

Workout:
Crossfit, baby! Finally...
Cindy
As many rounds in 20 min of:
5 pull-ups (jumping)
10 push-ups
15 squats
14 rounds!! Not too shabby for being off the wagon for two months.

Week 2 - Day 2

2007-03-20T07:54:00.000-06:00

That massage last night kicked my ass! My shoulders and neck are so sore. I can't wait to go back next week. :)

The transition to the early morning wake-up call seems to have mellowed out a little bit. I haven't been nearly so tired this week in the afternoons. If I can stick to this for a few more weeks, it will become effortless. The diet's been really easy this time around. I guess it helps to have the experience. My diet tracking program shows me averaging about 1600 cals a day (including the weekend), so I'm on track. Oh, the link to the tracker is www.fitday.com.

Morning workout:
25 minutes spinning workout (speed intervals, jumps)

Breakfast: EAS shake
Snack: 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup CC
Lunch: 1/2 can tuna w/ mustard and 1 tbsp miracle whip, orange pepper, tomato on pita
Snack: remaining tuna mixture on greens
When I got home: 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup CC, 1 tbsp soy nuts, 2 handfuls peanuts
Dinner: 5 large pieces of California roll from Costco (~350 cals), 1.5 cup steamed broccoli and carrots

Week 2 - Day 1

2007-03-19T07:23:00.000-06:00

Well, the weekend could have gone better in terms of diet, but the party sure was fun! We held our first St Patty's Day Brewfest on Saturday and it turned out great. My Courage Director's Bitter won the competition - it turned out SO GOOD - and Josh's Czech Pilsner won worst beer of the night. It was pretty nasty. Josh got housed and was hungover all day yesterday. I managed to pull off a Shoreline Ride. I didn't clean the switchback in Dry Creek (I think due to piss-poor bike handling more than anything), but I did clean the hill of death in the middle. Ran into Pete and finished off in City Creek with him.

So here's the damage for the weekend:
Saturday
Breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal, handful raisins, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 cup egg beaters
Snack: Handful of trail mix at mom and dad's
Lunch: Roast beef sandwich with light mayo and mustard
Snack: Banana
Dinner: Corned beef, cabbage, carrots, onion, chips, dip, brownie, and about 3 gallons of beer
45 minute road ride - 20 minutes of 1:2 intervals, 25 minutes of steady state

Sunday
Breakfast: 1 cup egg beaters, 3 slices turkey bacon, 2 slices soda bread
Snack: too many tortilla chips and salsa (stupid!)
Lunch: 1/2 cup leftover stir-fry, 3/4 cup rice
Snack: 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup CC, 1/2 bagel with cream cheese (???)
Dinner: 1/2 Bobolli pizza with turkey pepperoni, red pepper, mushrooms, tomato, cheese, sauce
Dessert: 1 fudgesicle
Bike ride on the Shoreline (about 1.5 hours, but that includes about 20 minutes of gabbing)

Back in the saddle this morning!

Morning workout:
5x5 OHS - 45# bar
3x10 OH lunges - 10# DBs
3x15 thrusters - 10# DBs
Back was pretty tight this morning. I guess that's what I get for not stretching over the weekend (D'oh!)
Afternoon workout : 20 minutes on elliptical, stretching, abs
1 hour massage at Massage Envy at 5:00 with Robin. AWESOME place. I signed up for a monthly "membership" - $49/month includes 1 hour massage and unlimited $39 massages.
Climbing at the slips after work - I did pretty well on Salem's Lot (1 hang). Couldn't pull the roof on Witch hunt (duh).

Breakfast: EAS shake
Snack: 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup CC
Lunch: Turkey and mustard on wheat tortilla
Snack: string cheese, banana
Dinner: two fish tacos (tilapia), 1 cup black bean/tomato mix

Week 1 - Day 5

2007-03-16T08:12:00.000-06:00

Yay! Off day! My legs definitely need it.

Breakfast: 1/2 cup egg beaters, 1/2 cup oatmeal with raisins and 1tbsp brown sugar (so good to have a real breakfast)
Snack: 1/4 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup CC
Lunch: Pita with 1/2 can tuna, mustard, orange pepper, 1/2 cup chopped tomato
Snack: Leftover tuna mix from lunch
Dinner: Stir fry with 1/2 cup rice, 1 frodka (2 oz vodka)

Lunch "workout"
20 minutes easy spinning
20 minutes ab and core strength work
Yoga/stretching
My hip flexors and hips have been feeling better and better. I need to keep doing yoga every day!

Week 1 - Day 4

2007-03-15T07:49:00.000-06:00

So I ended up feeling great for the whole day yesterday. I think the headaches, etc were just due to a drastic schedule change. I think I'll be cruising by next week. This morning was much easier to get up. I've been waking up about 10 minutes before the alarm almost every day. I think my brain is subconsciously excited about working out in the morning.

I've been so preoccupied with starting this new workout program, I feel like everything else has slipped a bit. My goal for the weekend and next week is to get on track at work and really start gearing up for the GMAT and school this fall. It's nice to be motivated again though. Maddie sure isn't enjoying the morning workouts - she has to stay home a lot more often. I want to figure something out so she can go to the grandparents more often.

Speaking of letting things slip...I need to get back on my TV reviews! Lost is KILLING it right now. It's finally back to the good old Lost I knew and loved. The ending of last night's episode was awesome - Jack running across the field towards Kate (unknowingly) and ending up catching a football. Sweet. Kate was pretty devastated. BSG on the other hand...not so good. I have no idea where they're going with this show and they just keep disappointing me. Killing Starbuck? If that's not grasping at straws, I don't know what is. But she will be back, I'm 100% sure. The show has just lost so much of the chemistry that made it so good. It's so dark, sinister, and so confusing this season. What the hell is up with that lawyer? I didn't understand a goddamn thing he said last week!

30 minutes - elliptical
1 min at each setting, 10, 11, 12, 13 repeating
Legs were so sore this morning! I can tell it's been a while since I've done deep squats. I used the foam roller this morning on my I-bands and I'm going to go wreck my quads this afternoon with that thing.

Breakfast: Vanilla Advantage EAS (and a horsepill ibuprofen)
Snack: 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup CC
Lunch: turkey sandwich on wheat
Snack: snap peas and carrots with hummus
Snack (I was hungry!): 1 cookies and cream EAS Advantage bar (220 calories)
Dinner: handful tortilla chips, two martinis, salad with dressing, two kabobs
Dessert: cheesecake and french silk with raspberries (definitely bad for me but so good!)

I think I need to go on an extra bike ride this weekend for that cheesecake. So good.

Week 1 -Day 3 - BF% test day!

2007-03-14T09:53:00.000-06:00

It was hard to wake up this morning. I've been suffering from the 4:00PM beat-down and headache since Monday. Hopefully it's due to the extreme schedule change and not those EAS shakes. They're awesome, but if they start giving me headaches again, I'll die. I rolled out of bed at 6:00 (eek). Got into work around 6:45 and did the following:

5 min on elliptical for warm up
8 burpees to get HR up
Stretch - hip flexors, periformis, back
3x10 each side overhead walking lunges - 10lb DBs
3x15 Thrusters with 10lb DBs
Leg sled - 90lb, 100lb, 110lb, 120lbs (12, 10, 8, 6 reps) - back felt shaky, so I called it
Leg extensions - 40 lbs, 12 reps
30 minute easy road bike ride after work

Breakfast: Vanilla Advantage EAS
Snack: 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/3 cup CC
Lunch: turkey and mustard on whole wheat tortilla
Snack: 1 cup black bean and corn salad, banana
Dinner: Stir fry with teriyaki sauce and 1/2 cup white rice

Stats:
Weight: 156
BF%: 21.7%
#'s of fat: 33.85
Waste: 32"
Hips: 40"
Thigh: 19.75"
Bicep: 11/5"

For reference, the lowest I've been was pre-wedding at 19.7% and the highest was August after the wedding at 23%. Goal for this summer is 19% by end of June, 20% by May (river trip).

Week 1 - Day 1 and 2

2007-03-13T16:05:00.000-06:00

Yes, I am a rockstar. I got up early on the first day of Daylight Savings. I didn't put my workout up yesterday, but here it is:

All lifts are as such: Main lift 12, 10, 8, 6, 12; secondary lift 12.

Chest press (barbell): 45, 55, 65, 70, 60, (machine flies) 40
Lat pull-down: 70, 80, 80 90, 70, (machine row) 50
Bicep curls (EZ curl bar): 25, 25, 30, 35, 30, (hammer curls) 20

Breakfast: Vanilla Advantage EAS drink, 1 cup white mango tea
Snack: yogurt with cottage cheese
Lunch: Pita with tuna, mustard, chopped orange pepper, tomatoes
Snack: Leftover tuna mixture from lunch, handful of trailmix (1 can tuna total with lunch)
Dinner: Ginger-soy salmon with asparagus and rice (~1 cup)
Snack: 1/2 cup yogurt with 2-3 tbsp Go Lean

Today's workout:
35 minutes interval spinning (spin bike). Speed work, tabata intervals, hill climb.

Breakfast: Vanilla Advantage EAS drink, 1 cup orange tea
Snack: 1/2 cup yogurt/1/2 cup CC, 1/2 banana
Lunch: Turkey sandwich on wheat with mustard
Snack: 1/2 cup sugar snap peas, 1/2 cup roasted pepper hummus, 1/2 banana
Snack (after work): string cheese, one PB cracker
Dinner: 3 fish tacos on corn tortillas (mahi mahi, cabbage, guac, tapatio), black bean and corn salad (1 cup)
No additional food tonight.

Good start to the week I would say! Just keep thinking Lake Powell...Lake Powell...bikinis...bikinis...

Bill Phillips is my bitch!

2007-03-07T16:20:00.000-07:00

I'm back....kind of.

My back has been making a slow recovery over the last couple of weeks. I've been seeing a chiropractor, Tom Malin (thanks Richard!), and it seems to be helping. Thank God for physical therapy, heat pads, and massage. I've been skiing again pain-free, and I finally got out on a tour on Sunday. We took Maddie up Neff's for her first ski tour and she was a rockstar! The snow was deep and she waddled through it as best as she could. I'll post some pics later.

So, I've decided I really need to get my butt back in shape by summer. The thought of running around in a bikini right now is not fun. I've started up the Body For Life program with a few twists.

#1: I'm not drinking so many of those damn Myoplex shakes. Icky.
#2: I'm not following the weight training program. I'm starting up CrossFit again as soon as my back will let me. In the meantime, I'm doing some basic multi-set lifts.
#3: I'm doing more cardio than prescribed. Most days, that will be my morning workout.
#4: I'm including more yoga!
#5: I'm allowed to drink on Thursday nights with the girls. :)

Basically, I'm working out in the morning and not eating so damn much. My goal is to be <20% body fat by the end of May. After-work bike rides are starting up next week, so motivation is coming! I'll promise to post numbers every week to keep myself honest (fat%, total weight, waist/hip/thigh measurements) . Maybe I'll even post a "before" picture tonight. Aaack!

It's a long road back

2007-02-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

I've been extremely bad about updating my blog lately, but I've had a good excuse! My back injury was worse than I thought and I've been totally out of commission for the last 2-3 weeks. I finally got to ski on Friday, although I only lasted about half a day. I seemed to have timed it just right - three mega storms lined up to nail us and I can barely ski more than a couple of hours.

I went to the Chiropractor on Saturday and it was "interesting". The adjustment consisted of popping every join in my back at the same time. It was pretty dang gross. It seemed to help though and I'm going back on Wednesday. I hate all this PT mumbo-jumbo: "your back is misaligned", "we need to strengthen your core muscles", "you need to stretch more". KISS MY ASS! I stretch at least twice a day and I had the most brutal core strengthening program on the face of the earth! Don't tell me I'm weak, because I'm not. Tell me that I'm hurt and I need to rest. Tell me to stop eating cheescake and drinking beer due to depression. Tell me when I'll be better!

Gimpy McBusted is back in the house

2007-02-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

Yup, I managed to hurt myself again. After hitting my personal best deadlift two weeks ago I was feeling pretty good about my back and how well I had recovered from last year. On Monday morning (the 29th), I decided to do "Diane": 21-15-9 DLs and HSPUs. I warmed up, and decided to throw on 135# for the DLs (hey, I maxed at 200#). So, 15 reps into the first set I stood up to take a break and realized that my lower back felt really tight. It kept getting tighter and more painful by the second, and soon I was totally Quasimoto'd. It's probably similar to what I did at the climbing gym last year. STUPID.

So, I'm back on the recovery wagon. I've managed to get in some pretty decent cardio workouts over the last 7 days or so, but it's just not the same when I can't do my Crossfit stuff. I'm hoping to be back on my skis by next weekend. I've also tried to put myself back on a pretty strict diet to limit my losses (although the combo of GGAN, the mini-summit parties, UFC, and Superbowl definitely didn't help in the "diet" department this weekend). I'm going to try going for no alcohol during the week (and Sunday if I can manage it), absolutely no sugar, and calories <1500 per day. I really want to lose this horrible 6-7 poounds that just won't go away.

I talked extensively with Lis this Sunday about XC skiing and touring, and hopefully I've found myself a new touring partner. I've really wanted to get some nordic gear too, so it'll be cool to have her show me the ropes a bit. I think it's time to get super fit again (if only I would stop hurting myself!)

On another note, Josh has started classes at the Bernales Institute and he's really loving it. I think I want to give it a shot once I'm back in full form - Muay Thai has always looked really fun. I don't know how I feel about getting punched and kicked, but I would be one bad mofo.

Workout of the Day

2007-01-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

Deadlifts

Reps: 3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1-1
Weight: 115-125-135-145-155-165-175-185-195

New PR max DL!

Book club!!

2007-01-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

No workout today. I'm wrecked.

Tonight is book club and I have the wonderful honor of hosting again. I think it's been over a year since I've hosted. Yikes! The book I chose was Eragon and I thought it was OK. BIG rip-off on LOTR, and it was a little difficult to not compare the two at every given moment. I have to hand it to the kid though...it's a lot easier to read than LOTR! And Saphira rules. I heard the movie stunk, but I still have to see it. Maybe I'll wait until it's on PPV so I can have a stiff drink while watching how horrible it is.

I checked out James and Traci's website this week and followed the link to "Make your own South Park character". I wasted a crap-load of time.
Here's the site: http://www.sp-studio.de/

Almost met Pukie

2007-01-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

Today's workout:

50 of each:
Box jumps (7 steps)
Jumping pull-ups
KB swings (35#)
Walking lunges
Push press (20# DBs)
Back extensions
Thrusters (10# DBs)
Burpees (no hands overhead)
Double-unders (did about 2 and gave up)

Time = 34:44

Closest to passing out during a crossfit workout EVER. At one point during the burpees I was on my hands and knees drooling. I think my body's a little beat down. Should do a couple heavy weight, low rep workouts before the weekend, but no more met-con workouts until next week.

Another weekend, another tour

2007-01-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

Ahhh...leave it to Josh to help make crappy snow conditions enjoyable. The conditions are still looking extremely depressing in the backcountry, but still he perseveres with another great plan. We met up with James and Jamie early Saturday morning to attempt the "Tri-Canyon tour" starting at Our Lady of Snows and finishing off in Alexander Basin. Lofty goal, but I felt like I was up for it. The morning started out good enough - blue skies, lots of sun, and an eerily empty Pole-Line Pass skin. Didn't see a soul from Cardiff to Flagstaff. I never slipped off the Cardiff skin track (although Jamie ate some shit), so maybe my skinning technique IS improving. After much bullshitting and the best banana bread oatmeal snack cake ever (Quaker, baby) we made our way over towards Cardiac ridge. My first glimpse of Cardiac was breathtaking!

The skin up Cardiac bowl was long and very warm, and Mineral Fork was gorgeous as well. I was rockin' out on my Shuffle, so the suffering was relatively enjoyable. Alas, the clouds raced in as we caught our breath on the ridge and we busted down into BCC after a sketchy downclimb in sugar snow and much girly-whimpering on a tiny little traverse. Thanks for hitchin, Jamie. Lots of driving, but still a fun day.

Sunday was a groomer day at Deer Valley with Ma and Pa. Holy crap, I need to ski at the resort more often. I busted out the Kneissls and I thought I was going to kill myself on the first run. I forgot that skis have edges! The first hour consisted of me trying not to fall over backwards every time I held an edge and accelerated out of a turn. By the end of the day, I think I was getting the hang of it again. Josh dragged me up to Daly chutes after lunch and I managed to hack my way down the main chute. Lots of side-slipping, but you gotta start somewhere, right?

Ribs, beer, and a Patriots game at Jamie and Kate's and the day was complete. I'm gonna miss those guys a lot when they leave us in the fall. We've been lucky to have such great bike/ski/party partners since we met them.

An a side note, I've submitted my graduate application to the U and I'm preparing to apply to the MBA program. Better start calling me Master Tracie.

Workout today: 30 min of spinning intervals (2:00 90% max HR, 1:00 rest)

Ready for the weekend

2007-01-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

Another Friday, another slow day at work...

At least I have the dogs to entertain me. A few months ago I set up a webcam to watch our dear little Maddie while we were at work. It's pretty entertaining, although I did have to watch her rip apart my brand new copy of Eragon without being able to do a damn thing about it. Today should be fun because this is the first time we've had Maddie and Haley together at the house all day with the webcam in place. The picture is a live feed, so enjoy.

On another note, I did get to indulge in my favorite guilty pleasure last night...The O.C. It's gotten so retardedly cheesy that I can't look away. They've pulled some doozy storylines out this season - male prostitutes, the "bad girl" falling for the "band geek", Taylor and Ryan (huh?), Summer becoming a hippie? What?? Only 5 episodes left and I don't know how to feel. Sad? Glad to take reclaim my hour a week back? Not sure. I guess I'll need to find another crappy show to piss off Josh.

The beginning of the end...

2007-01-18T16:43:00.000-07:00

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Please avert your attention to the jaw-dropping, eye-bugging, make you wanna poop your pants and slap your mother BLOG TO END ALL BLOGS!!"
[Cue **FIREWORKS** ##EXPLOSIONS## @@SONIC BOOMS@@]

Drum roll please....

First blog entry. Hmmm...not too exciting.

My hopes and dreams for this blog are huge and many. Hopefully it all works out.