Hotter N Hell 2010

This past weekend I attended the Hotter N Hell 100 race in Wichita Falls TX. This was my 7th year in a row to attend and even though I had not trained at all, I was determined to go. And after a few days of thinking about it, I am glad I did. Right afterwards.....not so much.

I did the 50 mile ride which was kind of a stretch since that was just about how many miles I had put on my bike for the entire year. Luckily though, I was still able to get through it and actually had a pretty decent ride time, but it was not an enjoyable ride at all. The wind was a bugger, but the big problem was just my fitness level. Which is non-existent right now. But I fully plan on jumping back in the saddle again and plan on attending another ride in three weeks....this time with more rides under my belt before hand.

In other news, somewhere in the middle of my bachelorette party (most likely between bottle two and three of wine) I thought that signing up for the Houston Half Marathon lottery with one of my bridesmaids was a fantastic idea. We found out last week that we got in so I will now be training for a half marathon at the end of January. Even though I groan a little bit, I am really kind of excited.

Dear Joint Juice

Dear Joint Juice,
Your "new and improved" sucks. Thhbbtt.
Sincerely,
Renee


-I promise to have more content soon. I am going to Hotter N Hell 100 this weekend in Wichita Falls. I am going to attempt the 50 mile ride even though I am completely untrained and unenthusiastic. I figure this will either rekindle my love for all things bike or I will be recovering on the couch for the next 3 days. Or maybe do both!

Disappearing Act Finished

I always think it is so sad when bloggers just disappear and you never hear anything from them again. I am trying very hard to not become one of those people! Luckily, things have slowed down a whole lot since I GOT MARRIED!



I always thought I could plan a wedding, move, and never miss a stide and just keep doing everything I was doing. I am sure lots of people could, but not me! Now that we are back from the honeymoon and our house is unpacked I am ready to jump back into my swimming, biking, and running. I will be going to Hotter N' Hell 100 at the end of the month and have put my entry in for the lottery for the Houston Half Marathon in January. I am excited about getting back into working out, blogging, and especially reading everyone's blogs again and hearing what everyone has accomplished this summer!

A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood

We had snow less than two weeks ago and today they are expecting a record high of 92! Tomorrow is supposed to be just as beautiful. I think this may lead to a triathlon for me today....swim, bike, margarita!!

Three Things Thursday

1.The lunges I have been doing while at the copy machine has had two results. The first is that I am sore as heck. The second is that I avoid the copier as much as possible. :)

2.There is a small triathlon April 3 that I hope to do. I am strangely nervous even though it is a pretty short one: 300 meter pool swim, 10 mile bike, and 3 mile run. I am not sure what I am worried about exactly. I am used to being the last of the pack so really I cannot go anywhere but up. Maybe that should be my new mantra. “You can’t really get any slower so anything is an improvement".
I have been doing triathlons for a little over a year and my goal has always just been to finish and survive but this year I would really like to start to see more of an improvement speed wise. It just time to start expecting more from myself than just finishing.

3.I started taking these vitamins again and my hair and nails are growing like crazy and my skin is really clear. I can’t remember what brand they but they come in a box with individual bags that have 6 vitamins in them. I am sure it is overkill and I probably don’t need half of them….but I really like the results!

Unconventional Love

Proof once again that love knows no bounds. I wake up all of the time to these two cuddled up and usually it is the cats' purring that wakes me up. They are a sweet, slightly mismatched couple.

Back and Better!

I ran last night for the first time in weeks. I went on a one minute walk/one minute run plan and did this for 30 minutes. It was not a hard workout by any means, but for my first one back, it was a great one. When I got home, I was energized and excited which was a nice feeling. Now I can’t wait to get back out there tonight which I think is the measure of a really great workout.

After nearly 3 weeks off with the cold from hell, I am now 95% human and only 5% snot factory. It is amazing how the over-production of mucus can make you feel so incredible awful. I can say that the turning of the tides began with the time change. I love it staying light until later even though it is a tiny bit harder to get up in the mornings. It is totally worth it.

With crazy schedules, it is sometimes hard to get workouts in. I have found though, that you can grab small opportunities everywhere. My favorite time to work in a few exercises is at the copier. While I am waiting, I can usually get quite a few sets of lunges or calf raises. It may only be 3 or 4 minutes, but if I do it every time I go to the copier, that really adds up. Again, just little things, but those little things add up and I can see and feel a difference already. The downside to doing these at work is that if you get caught, people might think you are a little nuts. Luckily for me, my co-workers already think that so no harm there!

Do you have odd places you get a fast workout in? What kind of exercises do you squeeze in when you only have a few minutes?