Sunday Snowday, Ragged Mountain

Still too messy for my road bike, but I got to wear the new VKVIP thermal team jacket, (that arrived on Friday), to the mountains yesterday. Will, Chip, their friend Jack, and I headed up to Ragged Mountain, (the boy's home mountain during the winter), for a last blast of skiing and boarding. The boys ditched me for the more technical trails while I stayed low-key, (having barely been on my board this year), but it was a fun day. Love the new jacket -- It's a bit big for me, but Chip says I'll grow into in. Hahahahaha....

Dreaming of a Dark Roast

It was cold today, but what else is new? We started the day in single digits, but the sun was bright and temps were on the rise, so I headed out to the slopes for a few hours. (A nice escape). My first few runs were horrid. I just kinda wimped out on some of my turns and took them really wide -- and then caught my board on an edge of ice and landed hard on my right knee. So sore.

Joe asked what was going on, and I told him I was into Day Three of the Carter Cleanse detox and I haven't had any coffee! I showed him a Facebook picture of Leslie cheating on the detox, and told him I was stopping at Dunks on the way home.

He chuckled and said, "Don't take this the wrong way, because I love ya, but I think you're crazy." (Hahaha.)

We then agreed to head down the slope and take a break before getting in a few more runs for the day, and while I waited outside, he popped into one of the buildings. A few minutes later, he came out with a cup of coffee, handed it to me and said "Its decaf. You don't really need the caffeine." He's just the sweetest! I can't say it helped my final runs for the morning, but my mood certainly improved 100%. Just a few more hours on the detox.

Last Call on Ragged Mountain

Final day of snowboarding for me... it's time to switch gears and get my bike back on the road! The boys and I headed up to Ragged Mountain for one last blast on their home mountain. They were good sports and skied/boarded with me for most of the morning -- but then ditched me to head off for more challenging terrain. (They are good skiers -- whereas I'm still a novice snowboarder.) We had a lot of fun together, and they enjoyed showing off their winter turf! They even bought me a coffee as we headed home. Nice.

I'm finishing off a week of spin and circuit training this week, logging in almost 80 miles on the indoor trainer. Mike has teased me that the long-range forecast calls for 50 degrees next weekend. (He forgets this is New England... you can't predict the weather!) It's been over a month since our last frostbite ride. I'm now ready for winter to end.

Snowboarding at Nashoba Valley

More snow/rain is expected tonight! Wow. We're really having a winter this year! Today I had my last snowboarding lesson at Nashoba Valley with my instructor, Joe, and I was a little sad to see my Tuesday morning routine come to an end! (Sniff, sniff.) I had a great day on the slopes today, despite a tragic second run. I don't know what was going on with me! The sign of a good instructor, though, is to get inside his student's head, and that's exactly what Joe did on the chairlift back to the top. He really snapped me out of whatever doubts I was having on that second run, and I had a great day after that. Thanks, Joe! Best instructor ever.

I have a mix of spin and muscle conditioning classes lined up for the rest of the week. (Double Keli, since she teaches both.) Not sure when I'll be able to get out on the road. After getting a late start, winter just keeps rolling along.  (Lego Mini Figure given to me from one of my students! So sweet!)

Vacation Week

Heh, heh... I'm getting a chuckle from you folks asking me why I didn't rename the blog "THERE'S A CAMEL UP THAT HILL (dot com)". Too funny.

I'm riding indoors this week and hitting a mountain or two with the boys. (It's school vacation week!) I'm sure they're going to be impressed with my mad snowboarding skills. :)

Never Trust a Gopher

The weekend blizzard was quite incredible. Our Beach Bluff neighborhood received two feet of snow -- which was really exciting until we had to shovel it! (I'm calling the five hours it took to shovel us out my weekend crosstraining.) Sadly, the houses at the end of Beach Bluff near Preston Beach were pummeled by the astronomical high tides and surf. There was quite a lot of damage by the storm surge.

The good news from the storm? We received two feet of snow. (O.k. yes, I'm repeating myself.) That new snow translated into an awesome day of snowboarding today. Its all about perspective!

Still, I'm hoping that enough melts before the weekend so we can get a good bike ride in -- (Ed? Ethan?) I'm guessing our Frostbite Rides may be on hold. There's very little road out there squeezed between the 4 foot snowbanks. Early spring? Silly groundhog.

Winter is still inching along... Hello, February.

Last week I managed to chalk up a lot of indoor miles due to the MLK holiday, bitter temperatures, and a broken furnace that drove me to the gym. As the week ended, I logged in 118 miles on the trainer/spin bikes. This week, however, my training log consists of a lot of cross-training; muscle conditioning with Christine & Keli (Mon & Thurs.), snowboarding on Tuesday, and a couple of spin classes -- nothing like last week.

Snowboarding has been awesome. Everything just "clicked' for me this week and I mastered tighter turns with more control. (Love my instructor, Joe. Such a cutie.) The snow we had at the beginning of the week, (which was great for snowboarding), melted from a huge shift in temperature on Wednesday, clearing the roads for a ride tomorrow. Temps are chilly again -- in the 30s with a brisk wind -- but I think we're riding! (Wahoo!) Snow is expected to hit us again Sunday, so it'll be good to get out on the roads while we can. We still have February and March to get through before Spring arrives...

Snowboarding in Vermont

Cycling took a back seat to the holidays and snowboarding this week as we headed up to Stratton Mountain in Vermont. My workouts with Keli and Christine paid off, as I barely have any muscle soreness to speak of after two days of snowboarding lessons. Wahoo! (The same can't be said for Mike, however. Sorry, honey!) I have just 3 miles of running left to complete the Tri Inside the Y, and unless I get in a run before we head to the Patriots game on Sunday, it looks like I'll be finishing up my Tri challenge on the final day, December 31st. Not a bad way to close out the year!

UPDATE 12/30: Ran 3 miles today on the treadmill. I have officially completed the Tri Inside the Y! Awe-some! Time to celebrate! Happy New Year, Everyone!