Tag Archives: gear

Mileage Recap ~ 8 – 14 June Under the 9,000 Mile Mark!

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There is a song called Getting to Know You, from the play/movie The King and I that would describe the relationship I had with my bike this week.  I’m into week two of the Great Cycle Challenge.  This is an event that takes place the full month of June where people can ride miles and raise money for children’s cancer.  Needless to say I have been doing my best to keep my bike in shape.  I wipe it down and make all the necessary checks before and after the ride.  I’ve been lucky….until this past Sunday.  I’ve been riding this bike for a little over a year now and I’ve had very few problems.  I will also admit I’m still in a learning phase.  I’ve learned about my tires and brakes.  I’ve learned how to make the necessary adjustments but nothing major.

This weeks rides have been fairly uneventful.  I pretty much get up every day to meet the 300 mile goal due at the end of the month.  I’m happy to say I’m halfway there as of today.  I did two longer rides at about 18 miles a pop.  The longer rides take me on Pecos road here in the valley.  It is a heavily traveled road by many riders located at the base of the San Tan Mountains.  One side is developments and the other side is the Gar Indian reservation, which I find absolutely fascinating.

I love to ride, look at the mountains and make the comparison from one side to the other.  On one side of the road are houses and roads that lead into town.  On the other side just expanse of desert and the reservation.  It is beautiful and intriguing.  Interesting observations on my long rides,  hmmm:

Cigarettes (tons of packs), a man’s shoe, a fake piece of wood (no idea where that came from), a dead coyote (dude), an empty can of Sapporo beer (Oh come on!) and all the men 60 and over that just blew by me:-\.

Of course everything was moving along swimmingly. I had turned off Pecos road to climb a fairly sizeable hill at around mile 17 and head home.  I lowered the gears, apparently I felt I needed to dance around with my gears and then the chain fell off!  OMG I start thinking uh, is there a AAA for cyclists?  Man, I’ve never done ANYTHING with the chain meaning put it back on the gear.  Sigh.  So I hop off the bike.  After staring at it for about a minute and then realizing that my Garmin was still going I hopped in to fix it mode.  Why I feel like I have to beat whatever it is I’m doing before my Garmin resets….I have no idea.  I mean really all I have to do is reset it, but there I was feverishly trying to get the chain back on before my Garmin crapped out and hop back on the bike.

I was very pleased that I was able to get the chain back on but it wasn’t 100%.  It kept slipping off the back gear.  My hands were covered in grease and I didn’t have anything to wipe them with.  Now my white grips are a little smudgy.  I made it home, but the bike needs some adjusting.  Later that night I wanted to go out and “fix” things because I just couldn’t stand it.  I believe I made it worse.  So…..I will be taking the bike to the shop to see if they can do a quick fix.

Other exciting news, I am under the 9,000 mile mark.  I had 71.36 miles for the week with 8,923.70 gratefully remaining. Life is good…even when the chain falls off.  Happy Miles to You!

Pre-Marathon Expo

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Let’s see if I can get this post out with proper spelling, etc unlike the night before.  I guess that’s what happens when you are blogging at 930 PM trying to get words out and thinking one thing while typing another.  Sigh.

When I went to pick up my bib yesterday there was a Running Health Expo as well, different companies selling all sorts of running gear as a precursor to the race.  I’ve never been to one so it was pretty neat, at least for women.  Sorry guys, I know they were selling stuff for you too, but let’s be honest, this was all about women.  Shirts, skirts, socks, running bras, onesies for babies and the almighty headband.

The first part of the Expo was the “Brooks” store.  I happened to migrate over to the shoes where the salesman asked me would I like to try on a pair.  Yes.  As
I was trying on the holy grail of moderate stability shoes, the young man said
oh so cavalierly “you know if you spend $150.00 you’ll be a VIP”.  I looked at him quizzically.  “You know, Very Important Potty”.  At that moment the clouds parted, light shone down and a choir of angels descended.  What does that mean, I asked.
“You don’t have to wait, you get to use the special potties”. You mean I can potty like a rock star?  Yes, oh my yes.  I began to have visions of Charmin served up on silver trays as I walked into my USDA Grade A porta potty.  Hmmm.  He continued to look at me with a twinkle in his eye.  You’re good, I said.  Again he batted those baby
blues.  Alas, I had to let him down gently, I’m afraid I’m not in the market for new shoes at the moment, so I sulked my way over to the sports bras.

So many choices and so many colors.  There is no discussion here, yes…I’ll take that one.  Sigh, yes I’ll need a small.  Walking…walking…STOP! Oh my LAWD what do we have here?  After leaving the spectacular land of sports bras I found myself in headband heaven.  All women runners are aware of the headband craze.  I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard “That’s so cute”!  My goodness.  They have us hook, line and sinker.  Do I need another headband, no.  Did I buy another headband, of course.  Walking…walking…ooooh compression leg sleeves.  The woman at the kiosk asks, “should I measure you”?  Yes.  I’ll take those.   Walking…walking.  Hmmm, I’ve lost my friend Kathi, oooh Jamba Juice.  Yes.  Finally found Kathi and we took our photos.

Laurel and Kathi Laurel and Kathi Arch0001

Believe it or not, I got out of there fairly cheaply.  It was a lot of fun and I came home with some good stuff.  So this is what it looks like for tomorrow.  Throw-away gloves, body glide, temporary inspirational tattoos, compression socks, new rockin’ headband and my give away ~ give away.  I have a courage bracelet that I plan to wear on the run.  When I finish the race I plan to pass it on to someone else.  Think of it as a good luck charm.

Expo Visit

Parting is such sweet sorrow…eh, not so much

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You were so tempting.  The way your racing stripes caressed the curves of your body.  I loved the way your bright green laces stood out against your bright purple background.  So bright, so…very, very bright.  Inside you were pretty in pink.  I even believed the store clerk when he said, “they run a little small, so you should go up a size, bigger is better”.  Yes, I said, as I reached for my credit card and took you home.  The days cheerily passed by.  People stared at us when we were together.  They said, we make such a great pair.  I thought that it was forever, or at least for six months or 500 miles whatever came first.

But you betrayed me.  I thought you would support me, but you left me with blisters on my heels.  I had hope you’d come around, but frankly I’m tired and ready to move on, Asics.  I’ve found….somebody new.  Surely, you understand.  What type of lady would I be if I just settled?  Who is it you ask?

Shoes1

Well, if you must know.  He provides the stability I need.  He makes me feel so good from my toes all the way up to my knees.  He’s bright and cheery and frankly I like his laces a whole lot better than yours.  I’m sorry Asics, but you should have known better.  Mr. Brooks knows how to treat a lady!

Shoes2

MeCam

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For those of you who are “old enough” did you ever order something out of the newspaper?  You know what I mean…like the x-ray spy glasses?  Who the heck doesn’t want x-ray eyewear!  Com’on.  I want x-ray eyewear!  I’m not sure if I ever ordered the x-ray glasses when I was a kid, but I’m sure it was something close.

I’ve been very interested in chronicling my 50 Mile MS Challenge walk activities through video.  So, I came across this item called the MeCam.  A small mini camera that you pin to your clothes that videos and takes pictures!  Can you say espionage?  I couldn’t wait till this thing came in!  It was just like being a kid again.  I’m going to video everything, oh yeah!  All my runs, the times when I fall on the trails, etc., etc…Hell I might even tell the doctor to video my next impending knee surgery….hmmm ok, sorry getting off topic.

So,  I have received the MeCam (choir of angels sing in the background).  You would have thought God himself delivered this item straight to my door.    It comes in five different colors and 4, 8, 16 GB and price is 49 – 80 dollars.  My motto is go big or stay at the house, so of course I got the 16 GB in a green casing.

MECAM

All in all not a bad product.  The video/sound and picture quality are very good.  I took the recent cover photo on the blog with the MeCam.  It is very easy to operate and all of your videos and pictures will load through USB to your preferred picture program.

I tested the video on last weeks walk.  The video was crisp but I was bouncing around too much.  It’s not fluid and you would have to be fairly steady to get a good feed.  That’s the major downside.  Also, the buttons on the side are a little small to push.  If you have nails and I don’t, you may have a bit of a problem.  I was able to capture a lot of people mowing their lawns, but the camera was all over the place.  Maybe I should practice walking with a teacup on my head.  Even though I’m glad I got it and I think it will serve its purpose.  Stay tuned for more.

Twetebird Headbands

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I have long hair.  I started growing it out over a year ago in support of an old friend whose daughter was diagnosed with cancer at age 15.  I thought it would be great to donate to Locks of Love and help others that are in need.  If you have long hair and run you know how difficult it is to keep that hair back!  A blogger I’m following spoke about the company Twetebird, who makes headbands, so I thought I would give them a try.

Head band

My pink camouflage headband!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Army female vet wouldn’t go for the pink camouflage headband?  It fits well, can be adjusted and it doesn’t slip.  They have a wonderful variety of choices.  If you’re interested visit Twetebird.com.

Happy running.