What a long day it has been. I’ve been at work all day reviewing folders, and I can’t believe that this same time tomorrow I will be out mountain biking in Crested Butte, Colorado with Joe. I can hardly WAIT!

I started the packing process yesterday because I’m in for a fast paced week and couple of days. And, inevitably I am sure I will forget something, even though I have been careful to try to think of EVERYTHING.

We are leaving this evening from Raleigh to drive to my parents’ house to drop off our dogs to stay with them during our travels. That’s three hours in the car.

Then we drive to Charlotte, where we are flying out of tomorrow morning. Another hour in the car.

Then we fly to Denver early tomorrow morning and arrive around 9:30am mountain time.

Then we drive our rental car 4 to 6 hours to Crested Butte.

And THEN I get to ride my mountain bike… once it’s put together out of the case. YAY!

We come back to NC on the following Friday… drive up to DC for a wedding on Saturday that same night… and then drive to Charlottesville, VA after the wedding Saturday night for my next Xterra race on Sunday.

Are you confused yet?? Okay good.

Then we drive back to my parents’ house to pick up our dogs, back to Charlotte, and THEN back to Raleigh. Agh. Yeah… and I hopefully will make it back in to work on the 18th with some sort of brain power.

hahahahaha… Here’s to some of the craziest travel I have EVER done. And that’s sayin something.

If you’re considering doing a road bike century this fall, then I highly recommend the Blue Ridge Brutal in beautiful Ashe County, NC on August 16th.

I’ve done this ride almost every year since I first started pedaling a bike. It was the first century that I completed, and it’s one that keeps me coming back year after year.

The scenery of course is absolutely beautiful, the climbs are punishing, the downhills are fun, and the event organizers are top-notch. The food and music greeting you after the ride make the day even more festive.

I remember the first time that I did the Brutal, and it sure was different than it is now. I’ve seen it develop first-hand into a very well run event. The first year I did it there was no music at the end, but there was great food (the most important part!)… and the course is different now… the added climb up 194 at the end of the ride sure makes for a more challenging route than the straight shot down flat Todd Railroad Grade Rd.

This year, I am sad to say that I won’t be able to make the Brutal… I’ll be attending a wedding in the DC area. But you can bet I’ll be back next year… and good luck to all of you who decide to tackle the 2008 Brutal!

No, I’m not running cross country… although I did my share of it in high school and college.

I’m excited to be helping with the Athens Drive Cross Country team this year, so I’m officially a running coach now. We started manditory practice this week in the evenings, and that means only one thing… school is just around the corner now.

It’s a fun time of year, for me at least… I don’t know about the kids. I’m looking forward to being back in school. My room has really come together well and, with a few more finishing touches, it will be ready to go by the first day of school.

Yesterday I rode my mountain bike over to practice and biked with a group of kids (I’m still keeping running to a minimal) during their run. It was a blast! I love where we get to run at… we’re so lucky to be located right near Lake Johnson and have easy access to the trail system there.

We did some core after the run, and then I biked back home.

I leave for Crested Butte, CO this Saturday… I can’t believe it’s almost time! I’m going to mountain bike my life away! I have a lot of stuff to get ready before the trip… it’s going to be a jet-set paced couple of weeks… and then school will start, routines will fall into place, and life will settle down….

HA! Yeah RIGHT! Not my life! “Live in the fast lane,” that’s what I always say…

I woke up yesterday morning to my dog Sheldon squirming and yelping (much like every morning at 6am) ready to get out of the tent. I rolled over and let both of the dogs out, and after breakfast we went over to the start area.

Xterra Panther Creek started with an 800m swim or so in the beautiful lake. I had an okay start… was gapped off from the faster swimmers, but I just made up ground as I went. I ended up coming out of the water 4th overall… um, how does that happen?? Oh well, I’ll take it! Off to the bike transition I went…

There was a long run uphill to the transition area on rocky gravel. Ouch… oh well, I wasn’t going to take the time to put on shoes. I got to my bike and headed out on the trail. This bike was pretty challenging for my riding style. There wasn’t nearly enough sustained climbing in the course, and all the climbs seemed to be followed by a downhill… and each downhill twisted around tight turns and then into another uphill. I was wishing I could downhill like my friend, Deb Elliott. She flies!! Since I’m such a newbie on the mountain bike, these downhill and twisty elements are not my forte. But I was really happy to force myself to race on a twisty, flowy course like this… it makes me a better rider. The more momentum you carried through all the downhills and turns, the better… and I just power through that stuff right now because I am so cautious on all the downhills. There was a really cool rocky section with some bridges and whopdidoos… and I rode through that fairly clean… only a couple dabs and I was through. I was happy about that!

Off the bike and onto the run… I was thankful that the run was not technical at all. By the time I had twisted and turned my way through the bike, I was looking forward to an easier time on the run. And boy, what a treat to just have a double track run… only the first mile was single track (it followed the same course as the bike). So I just kept a steady pace and kept it going until the finish. I still haven’t been running much so I don’t have racing legs on the run, but I did feel like my form was much, much better this race… thank you Dr. Swank!

The finish was right at the foot of the lake… perfect. I was dying to get back in the water. As a matter of fact, when I passed Joe on the way to the finish I said, “I’m getting in the water…” as a hint to where I would be when I finished this thing!

I met the Xterra rep after I crossed the line. He was really nice, and very funny giving out prizes. They had gatorade drinking contests, pushup contests, and all kinds of crazy antics to see who got race swag… much more entertaining than the usual “drawing of the race numbers,” eh??

I actually got a free entry to Xterra Nationals in Tahoe later this year… gotta see if I can swing the airfare, but I am hoping, hoping, hoping to get to go and race!

After the race while we were waiting in the shade for the awards, I asked Joe what he thought of my race. His response, “Well, you could’a beat more men.”

Priceless.

See the standards I have to live up to??

Thanks to all my sponsors for believing in me and keeping me going! I couldn’t do it without all of you.

And MANY thanks to the Race Director, RaceDayEvents, and the Panther Creek Park Rangers for putting on such a wonderful race!

See more pictures from the weekend here!

We’re leaving for Xterra Panther Creek this evening. Actually, we’re visiting my parents on the way, but we’ll end up there tomorrow sometime… time enough for me to pre-ride the course, get checked in, and set up at the campground.

Check out my schedule & results page… Joe embedded a google map of all my races so you can see where they are at on a map. Cool, huh? Well, at least I thought so. There will be more races added… just so you know. He’s only got my August races up so far.

I’m really excited about the race this Sunday… well, the whole weekend all together! I look forward to seeing my parents and spending time with Joe and the dogs at the campground. The race is just going to be icing on the cake.

Sheldon has done well on his short runs this week. He ran 4 days in a row. Pretty good for a little puppy!

Have a fun weekend… wherever you are!!!

I took Sheldon for his first run yesterday morning! It was a short one, but he did a fine job keeping up. I had him on a retractable leash too, so that helped give him a little freedom and made the run more fluid for both of us. I was really happy that he could run with me because he’s got so much energy to expend. He really needs solid exercise every day, and our daily hiking wasn’t sucking his energy quite as much as it used to (even if I increased the hiking distance and we hiked long day, after day, after day).

He ran again with me this morning and is definitely a happier dog. He’s not completely zonked the rest of the day after our runs either… so he’s recovering nicely (just like his mom! hehe!).

Symba is also happy to be able to get his rest throughout the day because Sheldon isn’t quite as hyper. When I go to Umstead to run, I will take both of them out. But for now, I can only handle one dog at a time when I’m around the neighborhood due to cars and other people out walking their dogs.

An awful thing happened on my ride this morning. I was passing by Lake Jordan, and I saw the Athens Drive cross country team at the trail crossing… the coach was in the road stopping traffic. As I got closer, I could see something was laying in the road.

My heart stopped. I knew instantly what I was coming up on… but I didn’t want to believe it all at the same time.

A girl was out jogging with her dog this morning on the trails at Lake Johnson when her dog took off unexpectedly. He wasn’t on a leash, and had gotten so far ahead of her that when he crossed the road, a car came through and hit him.

The dog was laying in the road as the cross country coach was standing over him, keeping other cars from hitting him again.

I rolled up just as the girl was coming to the trail crossing… seeing her dog in the middle of the road. I watched in horror as I saw her run over to him and pick him up, craddling him in her arms, willing him not to die.

I offered my phone to let her call someone… but who do you call? She immediately drove him off to the vet. I felt so helpless, and all I could think about, selfishly, was “god, what would I do if that happened to one of my dogs?” All I can say is, I’d be beside myself.

Often I take my dogs walking over at Lake Johnson, so this really hit close to home. I will think twice before letting them wander free close to the road crossings… better yet, I am going to avoid them all together!

I sure hope that the girl and her dog is okay. I’m sending them well wishes… and so is Symba and Sheldon!

*ORAMM is a 63 mile mountain bike race with 11,000ft of climbing around the Mt Mitchell area of NC*

What can I say? I already can’t wait to do this ride again next year. I had so much fun! And I saw a lot of people that I knew out on the course… I bumped into several people from Raleigh, and a few people from the mountain area that I hadn’t seen in a long time.

I did this ride with my friend, Deb, and we had a great time together. She whopped me on the single track… but she was really nice and waited for me (the good friend she is!). I was really cautious on all the downhills because I’ve only done part of these trails ONE time before. The trails are very technical and tight, and a lot of times you are riding on the edge of the mountain (the trail being about 2 feet wide). There’s just not a whole lot of room for error, let’s say. And me, just wanting to survive this ride and live to see another day, I didn’t really feel like pushing ANY of that stuff… maybe next year when I get a chance to ride those trails a little more.

Our husbands SAG’ed for us the entire route… which was AWESOME. We saw them at pretty much all the rest stops. It was cool to see them so many times, especially the first time up Kitzuma.

The course itself is absolutely brutal, but also some of the prettiest and wild country you’ll ever see.

What more can I say? I really enjoyed the entire day… it was a long one. I just rode and had a good time out there, not really caring when I finished… just making sure I had fun along the way.

I’ll definitely be doing the ride next year, and maybe then I’ll try for an actual time.

**Pictures from the day**

View Larger Map

It’s almost time! I am really looking forward to the long day on Sunday. The weather looks like it’s going to be great too… just hope that the thunder showers hold off until we’re done!

I went in to work yesterday and met with my behavior specialist administrator from central office. It was awesome discussing ideas with her about my new classroom. We came up with a basic daily structure and looked at the way my room is arranged.

I did have all my stuff settled pretty much, but after we started talking and completely changed the look and feel of the room. My desk is now the focal point of the room, and my assistant principal is going to pick up some tables, shelves, and other odds and ends to make the room uniform and effective. The space is very small, so we’ll have to switch out a few peices of furniture to make it work.

After all the work yesterday, I made some new forms to use in class today while at home. I can’t wait until Monday when I get to finish off the room with my colleague and assistant principal’s help. I’ll be sure to take the camera to get pictures of it.

The dogs are exhausted right now. I took them out for a pretty long hike yesterday and today (between 3-4 miles), and they are both sleeping. That’s a good thing because we are getting ready to get in the car to drive to Morganton to stay with my parents before ORAMM.

Have a great weekend!

Yes, that’s right. Three showers in ONE day. I get up, run. Shower. Then I eat, bike. Shower. Then I eat again, hang out, answer emails, do odds-n-ends around the house, and take the dogs out for a walk. When it’s as hot and humid as it has been, I’m a sweaty mess when I finish hiking with the dogs. Shower AGAIN.

Today it’s not nearly as hot as it has been the last few days, so I’ll be going out with the dogs again. But I have a feeling I’ll be hopping in the shower for a quick cool-off when I get home.

I can’t wait for it to be fall around here. It’ll be nice to have some cool, crisp mornings again. However, I can deal with the heat and humidity as long as it’s around. That’s definitely not going to keep me indoors!

Yesterday I took the dogs out walking on the Loblolly trail at Umstead, and normally I don’t let them get in the water when we walk because then I have dirty and wet dogs to take home. But, yesterday it was so hot that I couldn’t help but let them stop and have swim breaks at every creek we crossed.

It was really funny seeing Sheldon swim the first time. For a while he was trying to just walk across the water, even when it got really deep. Then, when he figured out how to swim around, his eyes lit up and got real big. He didn’t quit swimming around. It was really cute. Then he looked like a wet rate when he got out. HA!

I am going to take the camera with me today and hopefully get some pictures or video of him swimming.

This past weekend I spent a lot of time putting in some endurance miles on the bike. I did two long rides, one with the Lineberry Group on Saturday, and then on Sunday I rode the NCBC Summer Rally.

It was hot and humid both days. I was drenched after the rides. But, I actually enjoyed myself, which is a nice change to what I usually experience on my road bike. I saw several people that I haven’t seen in a while, and it was great talking and catching up with people after not being out on group rides for so long.

I’m pretty choosy now about the group rides I decide to go on because I like to dictate my own pace. These two groups were perfect. Saturday was a small group of only six riders, so we rotated and rode a double pace line the entire ride. On Sunday I was looking to ride a little bit harder, but then back off on some of the climbs late in the ride. And that ended up being no problem. I had a couple of the best rides I’ve had in a looong time.

ORAMM is coming up this Sunday… I can’t wait!