Winter!

So my new favorite sport is cross-country skiing, this weekend was a blast!  First time ever, but I think I am hooked.  Even thinking of buying my own skis, poles, and boots and hitting the back-country, aka state parks and other trails.  I have never been so sore in my life but loved it so much.  There were of few fails for sure, quickly followed by much laughing.  The first hill I concurred Heather said I looked constipated.  So I may not have been the most graceful or the fastest, but God it reminds me of why I love Michigan and being outdoors.  As much as I cannot wait until Spring finally arrives so I can hit the trails with my bike, I think for a bit longer I will enjoy the time that is Winter.  Well if this is what you want to call this current season of somewhat cold and no snow.

Also I have begun a bit of weight training as of last week Thursday.  It is a pain in my ass but is one way to beat the stationary life of this cold darkened season.  As an update on my 30 Day Challenge, I'm still not biting my nails, and I haven't done so well on my workout games.  I would not say that is too bad as I have been to the gym a few times.  Look forward to my next post when I pick my next challenge.  Post of this blog for more ideas.

"30" Day Challenge February Update

At the beginning of February I started a 30 day challenge that I plan to do for the entire year of 2012. So for the next year every month will bring about a new challenge, not only for physical health but also mental. I'm starting this now in February because it is my most stationary month. I work in an office and since it is busy season it means about 10 hours a day. When I get home I am often exhausted and not really up for being active.

At the beginning of February I started (stopped) doing two things. First since it is an awful habit and doesn't look pleasing, I ceased chewing my nails, so far so good so let's pass that topic. The other and what surprisingly is more difficult is playing 30 minutes of a Wii exercise game; so Just Dance, EA Active 2, Wii Fit. So far I have done this about half the time, so not quite what I was looking for but better than nothing.

Hopefully for the March my motivation improves. Not going to make any excuses, it is time to buck up and start getting results. So if you have any feedback let me know, I'll be gone from Facebook for a while so post here or message me. I'm thinking making a blanket for charity and something with running, I'll keep you posted.

Dear Gas, I Don't Need You (as much)

So I decided to start commuting to work and what a great choice it has been. It is only around 11.9 miles each way but that is 11.9 I do not need to drive and less gas I need to buy. So far I have commuted to work five days saving about $23, enough to cover food for about a week and a half. I for sure like these savings especially when gas soared around $4.19. By the end of summer I plan on relishing in my 100 dollar bills like Scrooge, minus the fact that I have insurance and loans, but a boy can dream.

Another great benefit to biking to work is my increase in exercise, once I get to work I feel more alert and when I get out I have no choice but to get a workout. The time biking to and fro also gives me plenty of time to think and process about the day ahead and the day just completed. Last week was my first week in which I broke a hundred miles since about October and I could not be more pleased. I have been waiting a long time for great weather and I am pumped that I have a spanking new bike to get me there. I had more to say but then I went on a 45 minute walk and the sun made me forget everything. Oh well there is always next time.

Joy and Pain

Friday was a great biking day in Traverse City, did a peaceful 27 miles to the east side of Traverse City. It was a simple trip and was able to take on a couple of hills. Over all this entire weekend was great for biking, sun was shining the entire time, cannot complain there. Saturday had a slight chill in the air but it made for a perfect day of relaxing and hard cider sampling.

Then there are those slight mistakes that you make that you wish you would have thought twice about. Sunday was a prime example of this. Decided to do an adventurous trip to Suttons Bay, a good 36 mile trip. The sun was shining and it reached near 70 degrees, el perfecto. Getting there was awesome, it zoomed by and picked up some great speed. When we hit the two tracks filled with some sand here and mud there, it couldn't stop us and added to the adventure. We were a mess but in a fun speeding way. Then we hit Suttons Bay.

We should have stuck with our original plan and headed back, but James and I thought it would be a good idea to go further north to Northport, mistake. We turned back with three miles to go, but already it was too late as we ended up adding another 18 miles to our trip, mistake number two. On the way back to Suttons Bay we really started to feel drained, but we pushed on. Once we hit the trail again we knew it would be painful and the final 18 miles would be hell. As we went on we realized we really didn't eat much before leaving, that slice of cherry pie at 9am was at this point drained from my body five-ish hours later, mistake number three.

Somehow we kept going on, I've done 50 miles before but never in one long stretch, always stopped at the mall or to do something to have an extended break. This was the largest challenge of endurance I've ever experienced. We walked three miles sporadically throughout that last 18 miles, but damn we pushed our bodies about as far as we could. Those sandy spots and mud pits were no longer fun and adventurous. Oh and did I mention the wind. Yeah the last 25 miles we extremely windy, slowing us down even further.

As for the fourth and final mistake, SUNSCREEN! Last year I biked hundreds of miles, even in the heat of the summer, but never once did I get burnt. This time I forgot the number one rule, where sunscreen, six hours outside is no way to treat the body without protection. Let's just say my arms are beat red and last night wasn't too calm, especially when I roll when I sleep.

I know this post seems like complaining and self-pity, but it is more as a lesson to myself to know my bodies limits when it hasn't been fed or when extra energy isn't brought on the trip. On the bright side, the TART trail is amazing and I cannot wait to try it again! The only real complaint that James and I had were the 50 tracker crossing signs we saw. Seriously if you cannot see a massive 5 mph vehicle in a field that will be crossing the path in 500 feet, then stay off the trails to begin with. Also to note, for April I passed 100 miles on the bike, about 14 miles past November. May has just started and I already have gotten 53 miles in, this should be interesting!

Traverse City or Bust!

Headed up to Traverse City tomorrow and planning to do 20 to 40 miles depending on the conditions of the Leelanau Trails as the TART will be great. It should reach near 60 degrees so it shall be perfect for biking. I'm excited to get to a trail that I haven't been on yet and to get out in the great outdoors again, especially since Ann Arbor is too busy. I've been begging to get some fresh air again, it has been cold and then raining out so I personally need this and cannot wait to get out there and just breathe.

Biking Time! Wrong.

Finished the internship and traveled to Mount Pleasant, perfect time for some biking. Unfortunately Mother Earth disagrees, cold and rainy/four letter word all week. You have to love the spring change over in Michigan. I was all set to throw my bike in the back seat and just wander around the city for a few days, guess I'm going to have to do it all on foot. It is difficult to be active when the forecast doesn't agree with your desires. Rain doesn't bother me as the near freezing temperatures. Guess this post is just a whine fest, oh well, at least I'm out of Ann Arbor for a bit.

Oh Spring!

So now that spring is in full swing I am quite pleased. In the past 2 weeks I have been able to take about four decent bike trips, which is quite nice seeing how I have a hectic work schedule. Today I plan on doing my longest expedition of 2011 so far, a good 30 to 40 miles. Ann Arbor here I come! Finally going to be able to check out all the parks and trails that I hear people talking about. I love how spring is a time of change, growth and constant motion, it gives me the energy to get up and be active and ignore the winter stagnant feeling. It has been quite some time since biking a trip quite this extensive, but like always it is all mental. One pump of the pedal at a time. Also I found a new GPS exercise tracker, SportPal. It works great on my phone and tells me my distance, time, average speed, max speed, best length at the highest average speed, total climb and decent, and so on. Also has a great map overlay and shows data on each section of the ride. Enough geeky tech stuff for now, I need to prep for this awesome biking trip, Bear Naked granola here I come!