For the last month and a half, Jeff and I have been training for a century together. What is a century, you might ask? A century is a 100 mile bike ride... kind of like a marathon for cyclists. And yes, this will all be accomplished in one day.
I came across information for the Apple Cider Century a few months ago, and though it seemed daunting at first, I was intrigued by the challenge. Jeff had previously shared his dream to accomplish a "fast century"...and while I knew that I would not be able to do it fast, I knew that it would be a great bonding experience for us to work towards such a big goal together. So...I signed us up! Jeff was pretty impressed when I announced that I had enrolled us in a century that was going to take place in just a few months!
Excited, but still a little leary of all the time in the "saddle"... I knew that it would be vitally important to find some sort of training schedule. After researching for a little while, I came across a perfect one for us! Training for a century in 12 weeks! I knew that it would be a challenge, but I was up for it! The training started off slow...with the first couple of weeks of bike rides being pretty easy...I guess the mountain biking we'd been doing came in handy! Of course, there was still some soreness and pain, but overall, it seemed that every time I got on the bike, it hurt less and less, and I got stronger and stronger.
After riding our mountain bikes on the road for a few weeks, Jeff decided it was time to "upgrade" to a hybrid. The problem was, he owned one...and I did not. ("Oh no...this century is going to be more expensive than I thought"...was going through my head)...that is, until, Jeff's ever-creative thinking told me that he thought he'd be able to turn his old mountain bike into a hybrid for me. I was a bit skeptical at first...after all...my mountain bike has FULL suspension...which makes for a pretty pleasant ride. Was I ready to transition to a bike with only front suspension? Would my backside be able to handle it?
My wonderful husband, always eager to encourage me to keep going, made sure that the bike was a perfect fit for me. After ordering new tires, handle bars, and a new seat (made especially for women/long distance riders)...I have seen dramatic improvement in the rides and the level of comfort!
While much effort has gone into my comfort...I wish I could say that I don't still complain. While extremely grateful for all the work Jeff has done, it seems like no matter how comfortable, the body still does not want to be in certain positions for long periods of time. So, I have been struggling with wrist, palm and toe pain... which I never would have guessed would have been the areas to look out for! Surprisingly, my bottom has stayed the course, and has come through very well! I pray, in time, that I will be able to just push through the pain...but until then, Jeff's a good sport about hearing me bellyache on occasion.
Since beginning our training at the beginning of July, we have already seen dramatic improvements in our time and lengths. After about 3 weeks on the training program, we decided that we were able to accomplish more than it was asking of us, and have ventured off onto our own modified training program. In addition to riding 20-25 miles 3-4 days a week, Sundays are our "long ride" day. I am proud to say that (at the encouragement and pushing of my excited-to-ride hubby)... the last two Sundays have been rides of 54.5 and 64 miles each! Though each of the rides had their challenges (not enough snacks one day, and 20mph wind the other)... I am learning what I am capable of! Pretty soon those 100 miles will come, and I am now confident that I will be able to accomplish this goal that seemed so big just a few months ago.
I am continually amazed at the abilities that God has placed in me. And through this experience, I have been reminded that we probably underestimate our abilities more often than we realize. He listens to our whining about the pain...and continues to encourage us to keep going...and though, at times, we have to work through the pain... He is with us through the "training"... preparing us for something greater.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Guns and a puppy
For Valentines Day (yes, I realize it's August)...I gave Jeff a package for 2 at a shooting range...because I knew he'd get a kick out of seeing me shooting a gun. Since the range was located an hour from home, we just got around to doing it! So, after work, yesterday, we took off for Elkhart, IN for an evening together shooting up some targets.
On the way there, Jeff asked if I was scared or nervous. I honestly didn't feel either. I was interested to see what it was like, but nervous? no. scared? nope...That is until the first time that gun went off in my hand, followed by no indication that I'd hit the target...followed by Jeff saying, "Baby, be careful, that one went up pretty high...I think it hit the ceiling." Oh man! I immediately became very aware of the crazy-powerful machine that I was holding in my hand; and while logically I knew that shooting ranges had to be relatively safe in order for them to exist, I was extremely nervous before taking each additional shot throughout our time there. "What if that bullet richochets and hits me?!?!" Also making it extremely hard to concentrate were several other people taking shots at an extremely rapid pace. (It should be noted that my pace was more like 1 shot every minute...lol). But after it was all said and done, all 50 bullets fired, and two targets shot up; Jeff definitely got a kick out of seeing me shoot a gun. While my target showed some good aiming (I hit the bullseye 3 times)...I assure you that I was not aiming there... I remained fully aware of the amount of "kickback" on the gun and always aimed for about 6 inches lower than I ended up hitting! LOL. It was deifinitely an experience! One that I'm not sure how quickly I'll go back to do...but it was a fun evening doing some "guy" stuff with my hubby. :)
Awaiting us at home, our goodles had a visitor. Puppysitting for friends...Mollie, the 4 month old Golden Retriver (and Choco's newest bff) was hanging out with the boys. When we arrived home, we were immediately reminded of the fact that we adopted our goodles AFTER the puppy phase! This realization came after finding little shards of wood all over our downstairs floor, along with two small beads and what appeared to be some braided thread. It didn't take too long for Jeff to deduce that a small hand drum that we'd bought in Antigua had been eaten/shredded. (Amazing deducing, btw, since there was literally about 10% of the thing left). We laughed it off, cleaned it up, and reminded ourselves that having a puppy around means putting things up! lol.
Choco and Mollie must have wrestled for a solid hour (with Jackson referee'ing) before we got everyone settled in for bed. The cutest part was when Mollie claimed the biggest pillow for the night, and Jackson (looking defeated) laid on the smaller pillow...with a "huff". LOL.
All seemed to be going well on this goodle sleepover. That it until about 2 am. Apparantly, 2 am is play time in puppy world...and of course goodle world, too. I mean...why would you have a sleepover where you would actually have sleep happening? Isn't it party-time all night long? (I could just imagine this going through Mollie and Choco's heads when I "shush"ed them and made them lay back down).
At 3am play time erupted again. Followed by more shushing and another 4am wake up call. Each time Choco just as eagerly and happily playing with Mollie, as if I hadn't just shushed them an hour before. I decided, with all the playing (though I wish it had been sleeping), maybe it was time for a potty break. So, at 4am (I can't remember the last time I was up at that hour), I took each dog out to do their business. And of course, Jackson, though having been asleep, was immediately up and at attention at the mention of going outside. Now, 4:15am, 3 dogs awake and wanting to play, and all being told to lay back down! (I guess the goodle mommy isn't great at being awakened all through the night).
All I can say is that 6:30am came way too quickly...
Regardless of all that, the goodles had a blast having a friend over! We've just learned our lesson about what the next sleepover will look like (read...puppy sleeps in her own room!) :)
On the way there, Jeff asked if I was scared or nervous. I honestly didn't feel either. I was interested to see what it was like, but nervous? no. scared? nope...That is until the first time that gun went off in my hand, followed by no indication that I'd hit the target...followed by Jeff saying, "Baby, be careful, that one went up pretty high...I think it hit the ceiling." Oh man! I immediately became very aware of the crazy-powerful machine that I was holding in my hand; and while logically I knew that shooting ranges had to be relatively safe in order for them to exist, I was extremely nervous before taking each additional shot throughout our time there. "What if that bullet richochets and hits me?!?!" Also making it extremely hard to concentrate were several other people taking shots at an extremely rapid pace. (It should be noted that my pace was more like 1 shot every minute...lol). But after it was all said and done, all 50 bullets fired, and two targets shot up; Jeff definitely got a kick out of seeing me shoot a gun. While my target showed some good aiming (I hit the bullseye 3 times)...I assure you that I was not aiming there... I remained fully aware of the amount of "kickback" on the gun and always aimed for about 6 inches lower than I ended up hitting! LOL. It was deifinitely an experience! One that I'm not sure how quickly I'll go back to do...but it was a fun evening doing some "guy" stuff with my hubby. :)
Awaiting us at home, our goodles had a visitor. Puppysitting for friends...Mollie, the 4 month old Golden Retriver (and Choco's newest bff) was hanging out with the boys. When we arrived home, we were immediately reminded of the fact that we adopted our goodles AFTER the puppy phase! This realization came after finding little shards of wood all over our downstairs floor, along with two small beads and what appeared to be some braided thread. It didn't take too long for Jeff to deduce that a small hand drum that we'd bought in Antigua had been eaten/shredded. (Amazing deducing, btw, since there was literally about 10% of the thing left). We laughed it off, cleaned it up, and reminded ourselves that having a puppy around means putting things up! lol.
Choco and Mollie must have wrestled for a solid hour (with Jackson referee'ing) before we got everyone settled in for bed. The cutest part was when Mollie claimed the biggest pillow for the night, and Jackson (looking defeated) laid on the smaller pillow...with a "huff". LOL.
All seemed to be going well on this goodle sleepover. That it until about 2 am. Apparantly, 2 am is play time in puppy world...and of course goodle world, too. I mean...why would you have a sleepover where you would actually have sleep happening? Isn't it party-time all night long? (I could just imagine this going through Mollie and Choco's heads when I "shush"ed them and made them lay back down).
At 3am play time erupted again. Followed by more shushing and another 4am wake up call. Each time Choco just as eagerly and happily playing with Mollie, as if I hadn't just shushed them an hour before. I decided, with all the playing (though I wish it had been sleeping), maybe it was time for a potty break. So, at 4am (I can't remember the last time I was up at that hour), I took each dog out to do their business. And of course, Jackson, though having been asleep, was immediately up and at attention at the mention of going outside. Now, 4:15am, 3 dogs awake and wanting to play, and all being told to lay back down! (I guess the goodle mommy isn't great at being awakened all through the night).
All I can say is that 6:30am came way too quickly...
Regardless of all that, the goodles had a blast having a friend over! We've just learned our lesson about what the next sleepover will look like (read...puppy sleeps in her own room!) :)
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