Friday, January 4, 2013

2013 Off Season



It’s been a long time coming to do my latest blog.  A friend of mine, Scully, has reminded me why I started to write my blog.  It’s supposed to be to sort of remember the things in life that sometimes I have a hard time remembering and remembering it’s not just about the bike it’s about everything that goes with it.

So here goes.  The off season is here.  Before the time change I was still quite able to get out during the week after work to get in a good ride but once the time change happened I was on the trainer almost every night doing my favourite 2-20min intervals.  The 2x20min intervals last for a I think 3 weeks and then I started needing something else to do.  That something different is stairs.  It was suggested to me by a friend, Anne, to try doing stairs for some cross training.  What I mean by stairs is I live in the southern Ontario area where I am surrounded by the Niagara escarpment where there are many sets of stairs up the escarpment for people to access by foot the upper and lower mountain.  So it’s been step up that I do stairs twice a week.  I have been going to the Kenilworth stairs and the Chedoke stairs.  The Kenilworth stairs are a lot steeper than the Chedoke and are in 2 different sets of stairs with a path between them.  The Chedoke stairs is more over constant climb.  I two step these stairs and right now I can get in 11 times up this set in an hour.  There are 290 stairs on this staircase.  I have been enjoying climbing the stairs with different people to name a few Anne, Scully and new teammate Billie and her husband Scott.  So I had about 4 weeks of stairs before Christmas hit and then I was off on vacation with my family my husband and his 2 boys in Punta Cana Dominican Republic.

A family vacation with the boys a vacation away from the bike this year for Christmas.  This is the first vacation that my husband and I have really had in 13 years without riding being involved.  Scary time right?  A week off the bike laying on a beach with palm trees around me.  Whoa. I think it’s the vacation that I have needed for a while.  We saw many things on this trip like a local school, a family home, a traditional lunch and got to see so many spices and coffee so amazing.  I have to admit that waking up on Christmas day and it being 30C outside was quite cool.  I love Christmas but I just not feeling it this year and this trip brought my little family together albeit for 7 days it was totally great.  Well the vacation had to come to an end and on the last day in Punta Cana we heard that there was a storm at home and that there was actual snow on the ground.  It was a great break to have this time with family and then come home to life and New Year Eve and New Year Day.

New Year Eve was spent taking my husband’s youngest son home and then going on to some friends’, Jim and Emily, home in Kitchener for the evening to ring in the new year with them, Jim’s kids and another teammate Bryon and his daughter.  Such a great night play backgammon and clue.  First late night in a long time and well spent. 

New Year day was spent with my dad, stepmom, sister, stepsis and my husband and what a great night that was.  I’ve always spent time with my dad on Christmas day but this year was a little different.  Life changes and change is good.  Many great people have been brought into my life this past year with the Novofit family to new friends and getting to know friends better.  I am very thankful for what I have and life is good.

Until next time my ramblings are done for tonight.

:-)

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