Being a Female in a Male Dominated Sport

Mountain biking......this sport has been an interesting one to enter.   From spills and tumbles to pain and glory, this summer has been a crazy ride as I have entered the sport.  I have learned SO much and still have SO much more to learn.  However, I never thought about the aspects of entering a sport that is pretty much male dominated.  SO I am going to do my public service announcement to all you single ladies.....mountain biking...you can find a fit man out on the trails!  :-)

A few weeks back we were out riding and while we were stopped (at the hill that I call my nemesis) a rider came up on us and stopped to talk.  This guy ONLY talked to me and mostly just ignored Jason.  Oh yeah, it was that obvious.  It did NOT matter to this guy that I am wearing a ring......ok, it's a promise ring but there IS a ring on that all important finger!   I am nice (probably too nice sometimes) and talked to him but was happy when we said our goodbyes and we headed in the direction that we were travelling and this lecher headed off in his direction.  One hour later we ran into him AGAIN!  Really?  On all these miles of trails we had to run into you twice?   Once again he talked....to me and ignored Jason. Finally we moved on and all was good.   We talked about the leach and I have told Jason that if we run into him again...or anyone like him to not be surprised if I start talking about how it's so nice to be out with my husband on the trail.   I will be throwing in the phrase my husband constantly.  Because...well husband is a more strong word than 'boyfriend'.    Luckily he was on board with that!

So this past weekend we were out again and the first time we saw this new guy he just said 'hi' and complimented us on our bikes as he passed us.  But the second time he passed, he stopped to talk. This guy was fine and was not trying to poach on Jason's territory and spoke to both of us equally, so I didn't have to pull out the 'husband' phrases constantly.  In fact, this guy just automatically assumed we were married (you could tell from his comments).  But in the course of the conversation and through his final words to Jason, I realized just how rare of a breed that I am.  You see, I am out there with my man....and enjoying it!  (Yeah, I have to admit that I am starting to enjoy the rides...not the pain and the hard parts, but I am starting to enjoy this!)   I am willing to step into a sport that scares me to death sometimes.  I am willing to push myself out of my comfort zone to the point that I am starting to enjoy a sport that Jason loves.   This guys words that he muttered to Jason as we were parting..  "You lucky bastard"    

Right  now I'm feeling a bit 'good' and cocky.    NO, I have no desire to see the leach ever again..but it makes me proud of myself for being out there doing it!   And the second guy’s comment?  Yes, Jason is lucky  (how could he not when he has me ...hahaha).......but even more so, I am lucky to be with a man that has been willing to sit back and take the time to ride with me, a much slower rider.  He has sat beside me while I have meltdowns on the edge of a trail.  He has been the patient one.  I think I am the lucky one!  

As I ride more and more.  As I get to the point that I can kinda hang with the guys I am sure I will have more experiences and discover what it really means to be in a sport that is male dominated.  You see, I am doing something that most women don't even consider....and even more shocking?  I am doing it in my late 40's!  I must be crazy!

So single ladies...this is your public service announcement....get out and ride your bike!!!!

Scales are Stupid: A common conception during a weight loss Journey

What a crazy week it has been.  I have been totally working this healthy lifestyle.....like straight up rockin' it!  I have felt good about my efforts...but as always there is a reckoning on the scales each week.  And this week the reckoning wasn't good!   A weight loss journey is NOT for the weak hearted because it will chew you up and spit you out sometimes!

I set a goal for myself for the month of July.   I was really worried about this goal because I have shied away from making goals in terms of how much weight I will lose in a set period of time.  But I did it anyway.   I set a goal to lose 5 pounds for the month of July..   It honestly isn't an ambitious goal by any means!  However, it was a stretch for me.....afterall, I was on track with my food and exercise in June and lost less than 2 pounds. 

Something happened though and I started out the month of July with a bang.  I didn't do anything differently, but the weight was falling off of my body.  By the time the middle of the month rolled around I had already lost 4.8 pounds!   I was so excited!   I was on target to lose a heck of a lot more weight ....much more than my goal of 5 pounds!

I was on top of it!    And then this past weekend I had my official weigh in and BOOM, a straight up maintain!  Uhhhhhhhhh why?  I did EVERYTHING exactly the same!  NOTHING changed!   SOOOO......Here we are with 2 days left in the month and I have 0.2 pounds to lose.  I am feeling quite hopeless.......I know that my weight pops up at the start of each work week!  (However,  wouldn't weigh in officially until Friday....so I guess I have a few more days to get that 'first of the month' weigh in)

Regardless of how frustrating this is.....I am clinging to the fact that my coworkers, people that had no clue that I had kicked my weight loss efforts into high gear have been constantly talking about my weight loss and how they can see it!  The first day that this happened, it happend about 4 times.  In my head I was thinking, "I'm wearing this outfit EVERYDAY for the rest of my life"  because surely it had to be the outfit right?  But no, the compliments started to come..from random unconnected people on different days.. So whatever I am doing IS working!

SOOO, this last week's review.  July 20-July 26

Highlights:

*We managed to get in some swimming  but only one bike ride (it was so stinkin' hot!) which I wrote about here.

* For the first time in ages my legs were not all bruised and scratched up (from this quest to become a mountain biker) and I celebrated by wearing a skirt to work.  Seriously, I haven't wanted to wear a skirt because people would probably start to wonder!

* The extremely hot weather broke and we had some nice days.  That coupled with the fact that I am back to my normal job at work (which means that I'm not scrambling on my lunch break to get work reassigned and/or completed while I am breaking from my temporary duty of training a group of new hires) was the perfect opportunity for me to get back to my routine of walking on my lunch breaks!  It felt great!
*  I have conquered the Reece's Cup!  They have no hold over me!  (more on this in a future post!)
*  I was  finally ready to announce my entrance into the world of chronicling my weight loss efforts through video  (and very shortly my efforts to become a mountain biker despite the obstacles in my way).
You can see this weeks episode right  below!   Click subscribe (and like) to get updates and because it will help me out (the more subscribes and likes I get the higher I move in the search engines!)  I am excited  about adding this extra level of support and accountability!

Other than the lackluster maintain on the scales, I had a fabulous week.  I made healthy strides forward.  My food was under control.  I was in charge.  I felt empowered!   This weight loss journey will have it's ups and downs.  There will be moments of frustration.  There will be periods of slow results.  I will not let that stop me!  I will keep pushing forward!

A slight secret to share

Ok, so I have a bit of a secret and I guess it’s time to share.  It is something that has been on the tip of my tongue to post about for the last few posts but I never felt brave enough.  But it is time.   It is also time to share about my weekend and even another little secret that came up this weekend!

So first of all...the big secret!  Ok, so let’s start by saying that a week ago I posted about my June goals and how I did with those and I posted about my goals for July   I wasn’t as transparent as my goal suggests I should be.  You see, for the first time in a long time I have set a mini weight goal.  I stopped doing that a few years back because of the pressure to reach the goal and the panic and eventual shut down when I messed up and it was apparent (even if only to me) that I wasn’t going to reach the goal.  But, yes I have a goal of how much weight I want to lose this month. It isn’t huge...but I have a very definite goal for the month of July.   That number????   5 pounds.   That is 1.25 pounds each week.   Quite doable I think!  (And I seem to be on track this far).   If I don’t make it, that’s ok.   As long as I have lost SOMETHING I will be happy because my official goal is to weigh less....but my unofficial goal is 5 pounds.

So the weekend rolled around.   We ran some errands on Saturday morning and then headed out on our bikes!  It was hot again!   We said we were not going to ride hard or long.   Just a stretch of our legs..Sunday would be the long ride!    However, I had two secret goals for myself on the ride.

First....we hit a steep hill and I didn’t make it far up that hill but I came out of the saddle to try to peddle standing up. That is huge for me as I like to keep my rear end firmly planted!   I know to really do well in mountain biking that I need to get comfortable out of my seat.   Climbing while standing is my first goal...and specifically making it to the top of that demon hill while standing.   (Ok making it to the top at all will be a victory!)

The second goal for the ride was to go back to the trail that I was exploring last weekend when I wiped out.   Last week was my first time on that trail and in this past week the area of my tumble had become a huge twisted mass of tree roots and protruding rocks in my mind.  Because surely they had to be monstrous!   I also knew that the longer I waited to do the trail again the more those tree roots and rocks would grow in my mind!   So I headed straight for that trail and cleared it!   And yeah, I have no clue what made me fall...there was NOTHING monstrous!

After those two items had been checked off my list we headed to the creek.  The water was delightful and a wonderful way to cool off.   (The bike ride back to the car was not so hot either!)

You can tell that we were happy and having fun by the grins on our faces!  The scenery up stream was pretty nice also!

Sunday rolled around and I felt a twinge in my foot as I showered, but nothing out of the ordinary...I’ve had a twinge for the last week or so.  Not worrying about it (twinges are common in my feet), I carried on with my activities.   I flipped the laundry and took two steps out of the laundry room and I let out a yell.  My foot had a sudden harsh pain!   I hopped to the kitchen sink and standing on one foot I put the few dishes in the dishwasher, grabbed my drink and headed to the living room.  I made it exactly two steps.  Intense pain.  Tears of pain.  Double over in pain.   BAD!   (Now lets just say I have a pretty high tolerance for pain..hello I walked on what was most likely a broken foot when I was younger!)    It took me forever to make it the 15 feet to the couch.  I immediately elevated my foot.  I ended pretty much staying like that until about 1pm.  At about 9:30 am I did get up and ride my bike across the living room...to see  if riding was possible.   And here is the other secret...I REALLY wanted to ride!   I wanted to throw caution in the wind and damn the consequences.   But I knew that if I needed to put my foot down that it would be harsh pain and quite possibly actually not hold me under the intensity of the pain and that very likely I would go down.    Not worth the risk.   So I stayed home while Jason went out and rode.  I laid on the couch with my foot elevated and watched you tube videos.  (I watched beginner mountain bike instructional videos  and then got suckered into watching crime scene clean up videos...yeah I’m sick and twisted apparently!)

After Jason got home I strapped my foot into a hiking boot and we went out.....no not hiking.....just to a couple stops.  The hiking boot gives more support to the ankle than a shoe! The intense pain had passed and my foot was just aching and tender.  We ran into a pet store (we are looking for a big tank so we can put all the crabs together) and into Aldis’s (bottled water..their bottles are BPA free) and Wawa for gas (need my tank full for my work week).   My foot was tender but it felt good to get out.  I also know that if my foot stays the same that I can drive my car and that I can make it into the building tomorrow at work!

So that is the secret...I am so upset that I missed Sunday’s ride!  But Shhhh don’t tell Jason!!!!  I am on a roll and seeing slow progress on the bike and the weight is starting to come off too....I didn’t want to stop the progress!  Jason has assured me that he will push me extra hard next weekend!

So there you have it...my secret weight loss goal and my secret that a passion for mountain bike riding might just be growing within me! Bring on this next week!  I have some weight to lose and some trails to ride!!!

Is it growing on me: mountain bike update

Happy Monday!   Another work week is upon us.  I am totally blown away to realize that this will be the last week of June!   Where has time gone?   This year is flying by!!!!   I am sure some of the fast passage of time is due to the long work days and commutes...and of course we have kept so busy over the weekends...and that has added to the speed of time.

Before I go into the weekend of bike rides, I am proud to announce that we got out two times after work.  Why yes, we rode our bikes twice after work last week.   Not perfect, but a really good start!!!

This past weekend was no different.   We knew we had a few obligations so we planned out our bike rides.  Therefore, Saturday morning rolled around and we were headed out by 9 or so!   We headed to a bike trail that we have been doing pretty much weekly.  We knew that this was only going to be a lighter easy ride because of time constraints.   It was just that.  However, the ride winds us uphill...and then we go up a steep fire road to get to our current favorite trail in that park (ok, ok, ok....it’s the main trail we ride in that park...I’m thinking exploration of some more of that parks trail system is in our near future!). Once we get onto the trail we are mostly uphill until we get to the upper parking lot. I have managed to climb the fire road without having to stop to walk.  Just last weekend I managed to navigate that trail without stopping.   BUT, I have always had to take a break between the two sections.   On Saturday I climbed the fire road and I didn’t take my customary break.  I just turned right onto the trail and kept riding.  I rode my heart out and did not stop until I got to the upper parking lot.  I had a momentary thought of taking a ride  around the parking lot and heading back down the trail with no break.  However, I figured that I had already had a major victory....and that a little basking in my glory was in order!     Victory.....Ahhh it sure does feel sweet!

We ran our errands and completed our tasks Saturday afternoon.  My legs were a bit ...well I can’t even say sore.  They weren’t sore but they were tired.

Sunday morning we headed to the Trail Of Tears.  Oh yeah, apparently just conquering it last week was NOT enough. Noooooo, we went back!  (Jason is such a slave driver!  Shhhhh don’t tell him that I said this, but it’s good for me!). It wasn’t exactly easy.   But I had a few victories. 

Never in my life have I been fast enough to ride up on a group of riders.  But on Sunday I did.  We arrived at the trailhead and we saw some bikers heading out.  We took our time getting ready to give them some space and then headed out.   Within a mile I was nipping at their heels. What?   No....we slowed down and killed time and then started riding again.    Once again I was back to nipping at their heels.   It was a totally new experience.   They did leave us after about 3 miles...mostly because we stopped for a bit...but then again, maybe they took a side trail because this is an out and back trek and we never saw them again.  Hmmm.

The second victory?   I did have to walk a few times on the way to the turn around.   I think it was two or three times.  I also did have to walk up two hills at the beginning of the return trip after the turn around.  But about 3-4 miles into the return trip I realized that I had only had to walk twice since we turned around.  I started to think about the near impossible feat (for me).  Could I make it the rest of the way without stopping to walk?   Last week I had walked multiple sections...but I had already rolled those sections.  Could I do it?   I was going to try!   I almost failed twice.  The first time I was ready to give up...but then saw some hikers on the uphill section that I was struggling to climb.   Heck no was I going to walk with people looking!!!!  I somehow found the strength.   The last time was at the very end.   I held it together simply  because I knew how utterly close to the end I was!  And I made it at least 5.5 miles with no walking!

No that’s not to say that we didn’t break.   We stopped once or twice to let a biker go by.  We also stopped at one stream crossing to enjoy the scenery and drink some more water.  It wasn’t perfect...but I can see improvement!  It is still tough, but there are improvements

Sooo. At the turn around Jason asked if I was having fun.   I refused to admit any such thing!!!  (And that’s what I said...I admit nothing!).  It’s hard though...still sooooo incredibly hard.  But the fun times are starting to pop through!  Just don’t tell Jason...because I can’t admit it to him...I’m having too much fun calling him a slave driver or my personal favorite...I call him Hitler!    Don’t feel too bad for him though...I give kisses as I hurl my names at him!    But being honest...I’m finding it more difficult to come up with insults about the trail of tears.   I do refuse to acknowledge the beauty...I just say ‘I can’t tell, there is too much sweat rolling into my eyes’.  He knows the truth though.   And that truth????  It’s kinda...dare I say.... growing on me?

I did it: mountain bike victory

What a tiring yet victorious weekend!

We managed to get all of our errands done.  We visited my mom and we also visited Jason’s parents.  But...we made it a priority to ride our bikes even amidst everything else.   We had a plan for our time at the beginning of the week and no matter how badly we each wanted to not follow through and not ride our bikes, we did it anyway.  So let’s talk about these bike rides.

On Saturday afternoon, after our weekends errands were done we headed out with our bikes.  Where did we go?   No where other than the Trail of Tears, the location of not one, but two meltdowns.  I figured I could at least make it to the furthest meltdown location.  Am I a glutton for punishment or what?   My goal was to make it af least to that 4.5 mile mark with no tears.  Well....I charged onto the trail.   I even hit the stream crossings like a champ! I didn’t end up with a wet foot either!!!   I also did not rip my pants like the week before!  I was slow at times...but the miles passed and low and behold I made it  to the END of the trail!  Really?   But yes, the trail marker clearly said ‘the end’.   I wasn’t to gung ho about the 6.2 hilly miles I had to ride in order to get back to the car(this trail is an out and back.). But I attacked them like a trooper.   I did have to walk a few hills on the way back, but for the most part I was in the saddle propelling myself forward on the bike. I did it!!!!!

I was sooo sore and tired! My body ached!   That night while I slept every time I moved I was cognizant of my body and the sore muscles.  I believe at one point when I woke I even though, ‘we have a bike ride scheduled for this upcoming morning shortly after we wake up......there is no way!’  I ended that ride completely decimated!   Did I mention that I DID IT?  

On Sunday I woke up pretty much dreading the scheduled morning mountain bike ride.  I knew we had to go in the morning due to plans to visit our families in the afternoon.  I luckily knew that we had planned a shorter ride.  But still, I sooo did not want to go.  When we started to watch a movie at 7am  I was secretly relieved because I was thinking that  we wouldn’t have time for the ride if we watched the whole movie.  But alas we did.  We went out to a trail  that is a bit closer to our place...the one I have  been riding as I have tried to avoid the trail of tears.  I got on the bike and immediately my legs burned like they were on fire.  I knew it wasn’t going to be a pleasant ride.  But I pushed on.   We headed up the hill and while me legs burned, it didn’t seem quite so difficult. It was really odd to be hurting more but handling the trail better than ever.   The trail kinda flew by.  Jason even mentioned that my speed had increased since the last time we were on the trail.  Before I knew it, I was at the top of the trail!  What????? I have had to walk a portion of that trail each time recently (I did manage to ride it once without walking last August....and I pretty much collapsed with exhaustion at the end of the trail!).   So I had a victory on Sunday, even though I was so tired and achy!   I managed to ride the trail without stopping...and it seemed, well kinda easier!!!

Two victories!!!!  Two HUGE victories!   I have also managed to continue making good choices with my eating.  I again passed up the chick fil a milkshake and  the cookie from Jimmy Johns.   I did have a small piece of cake that my mom made.  So I did splurge a bit...but it was controlled and only ONCE! Oh and did I mention that I burned mad calories bike riding?  And did I mention that my calories each day was only  about 1500 calories...kinda what my garmin said burned on the Saturday bike trip alone!  

So it was quite the victorious weekend.  Now it’s time to rock the work week.  I plan on focusing on the fact that what I do is a choice...and I can indulge with unhealthy choices or I can do the healthy choice that will bring me closer fo a healthier life.   Oh and yes...this week after work..I plan hope to exercise after work!