Tendons

I am literally sitting here with a heat pack on my fingers. Not because I have arthritis, but because of crimping. Turns out they weren't kidding about how awesome it makes your tendons feel. And by awesome I mean not awesome. 

Also I posted about this on ye old Facebook page, but it's been in the 50's this week so I'm seeing the babe again, which is nice. I also finally bought a new pump so I can stop going to the gas station with my Presta/Schraeder (sic) adapter before every single ride. This involved a trip to REI, and I think we all know what that means. (Buying too many things and not regretting any of them. Or is it just me?).

#RockingBody

Pink, Red, Navy, and Black.

Friday's matchy-matchy bike ride. #RockingBody

Provo Canyon

Today my #RockingBody, particularly my legs, my thighs, took me on a lovely bike ride up Provo canyon.

Oh how I miss Provo canyon.

The Three Letter F-Word and my #RockingBody

For Lent 2012 I gave up calling myself FAT. Every time I said the three-letter-f-word, I had to stop what I was doing, put both hands on my stomach and say, "I'm sorry. I love you." I was astounded how many times I had to do this in just 40 days. It was the best thing I've ever done for my self esteem.

But apparently I've gotten out of the habit. While I was getting ready to climb the other night, I put on my favorite spandex pants and pullover. I looked at myself in the mirror and thought, "Man, I look FAT. I wish I weren't so FAT." And when I heard myself saying the three-letter-f-word, I had an epiphany. I'm going to post a picture of myself in this outfit, and I'm going to hashtag it #RockingBody because all this negative self-talk is absurd.

http://instagram.com/p/gZOkXgPkQi/

I am tired of spending my life wishing I were skinnier. What good does it do to look in the mirror and tell myself I'm fat? I've been pimping the same speech for years: I'd like myself more if I were skinnier. But it's a bunch of baloney. Because even when I'm skinny, I still think I'm fat. How does this make any sense?!

In an effort to love my body and accept it as it is, I'm starting my #RockingBody series.

I'll be posting pictures of myself doing things I love with positive self talk.

Do you have a rocking body too? Feel free to join me.
Instagram: @biketastic; #RockingBody

Chicago

So I went to Chicago last weekend with my girl Sarah and her sister Naomi. 

Ask me if it was awesome. 

Yes it was. Thank you for asking. 

Here, free of charge, are some photos.

 Elevator in the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower.

 The essential foot shot. It's fine, I'm wearing Chacos. Please don't judge. Sometimes I do that, but only when I travel (or bike long distances in street clothes). 

And cell phones. 

 The bean.

 I seriously underestimated how awesome this thing was.

 What's not to love about taking 450 pictures of yourself in a gigantic mirrored surface called Cloud Gate?

 I can't think of one thing.

 Watched the Cubs come back during a bottom of the ninth two outs game that ended in a walk off single in the bottom of the eleventh. 

 Also, I was cheering for the Cards that day. So that's awesomekward. 

But my boy Matt got a great hit. And also Chris Carpenter pitched, so that's fun. 

Wore my mustard yellow flats into the ground.  

(Boot free since September 15th).

 Surprisingly similar to the top of the Salt Lake LDS Temple, eh?

Also of note, it turns out that Loyola and Loyola Marymount are not the same school. 

Me and the Babe

Thanks to the beautiful and talented Kristin for this shot. 

Baby Babe

Do you ever wish you had a cheap little bike you could ride around and lock up outside without worrying that it was going to get stolen? Me too. Until last night. Last night I purchased this little beauty off KSL. 

I think it's love. 

Stat Biking

I love biking outside in the sunshine, and
I try to keep biking outdoors even during the winters in Utah,
but sometimes it gets too cold to handle, and
I resort to stationary biking at the gym.

When I record my stationary rides in my workout log,
I call it stat biking. It makes me feel more hardcore.

In the past I've complained. At least one time I even said that
stationary biking sucks the soul out of my body.
Maybe I was being melodramatic. Maybe I wasn't. Your call.

But it turns out, I was wrong. (Sometimes it happens).

Where else in the world can I justify listening to the
same 1-2 songs on repeat on my iPod for something like an hour
while I read all the books I've been wanting to read during
the months I was spending my time biking outside in my Spandex?
Turns out stat biking rocks. So that's cool.

Curl Your Hair and Follow Your Heart

Our friend Anna's mom used to say, "Curl your hair and follow your heart."
Those of you who know me know that I'm not really one to curl my hair. Well, I take that back, sometimes I perm my hair, and every now and again, I use hot curlers to make my hair curly. The rest of the time, I rely on a complex hair braiding system to make my hair messy/wavy. But today, I took Anna's mom to heart. I hot curler'ed my hair and walked out the front door to head to the library. It was really sunny and my heart said, "Wouldn't you rather be biking?" So I walked back inside, put my curly hair in a ponytail, and went for an amazing ride. The wisdom of that decision can pretty much be summed up by the text I just sent to Jenn, "Short sleeved bike ride October 28. I love my life." Also, my hair may or may not look awesome now.

Gary

Dear Gary,
Thanks for mistaking me for a girl named Brittany, for approving my use of patches on my ripped tire, and for telling me you liked my jersey. But mostly thanks for the way that when I asked you where you'd ridden today, you said, "Oh I just did The Loop and then up and back the other side." Like it was no big deal. Like you said, you got your climbing in for the day. Also, I'm pretty sure I want to be you when I grow up.
Love,
Liz

Dear Long Bike Rides,
Thanks for being the only thing in the whole wide world that makes me crave a drink of plain old milk (or melk if we're being honest about my pronunciation).
Liz


Dear McCade,
Thanks for teaching me that when you burn the bottom of a pan, all you have to do is let it soak in some bleach for a while, and it'll be squeaky clean. (Not that I'd know from experience or anything).
Liz


Dear Spaghetti Squash,
Thanks for being gluten free spaghetti of a sort.
Liz


Dear Sticker Patch I didn't See In Time on My Bike Ride With Jenn,
Alright, you got me. Both tires even. Thanks for not being a car, a cattle-guard, rail road tracks or anything else that would blow out my tire. That way, I could use the one tube I had on me to replace my back flat then pump my front tire full of air and sprint home praying it wouldn't go flat. Thanks for letting me make it home in one piece.
Liz




Dear October,
Thanks for the postseason, for fostering amazing comebacks, for hits like this one, for walk off grand slams, and for all things Josh Hamilton. You rock.
Liz


In other news, I started lifting weights again, and I love it. That is all.

A Week Ago Today

Alpine loop in the fall colors? Yes, please. 

Chain Grease?

Not really sure how this ended up on the outside front of my right shin, but it's a pretty awesome chain stain, if I do say so myself. :)   

ULCER

Not as in the race, as in, I'm pretty sure I have one. 
It's like this. Once on the way home from St. George, 
after my tri and subsequent IT band issues,
I run out of ibuprofen, 
which is bad because my body/knees is/are not happy about running
so I buy some aspirin at a gas station because it is cheaper than ibuprofen
I have this bottle of aspirin in my cupboard
and when I unexpectedly and regularly start getting headaches,
I start taking the aspirin every now and again. Not like 
a million times a day or anything, 
just when I get headaches and such.
and then one morning I wake up with
gnawing epigastric pain
Maybe I'm imagining that it's gnawing because 
that's what it says in my textbooks,
but it sure feels like gnawing
and it only happens right in the morning
and when my stomach is empty. 
also,
nausea
nausea like more than the usual 
Liz has a stressed out finicky stomach amount.


So, yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm dying. 
That or I have hypochondria.

Genius Gave Me The Best Biking Playlist Today

Dear Genius,
Thanks for picking a bunch of music that I love from a bunch of different categories to talk me into climbing a few extra hills on the bike today.
Liz

1). Walls by Tom Petty

2). It'll All Work Out by Tom Petty

3). For You to Notice by Dashboard Confessional

4). If You Don't, Don't by Jimmy Eat World

5). The Lights and Buzz by Jack's Mannequin

6). We Built This City by Starship (Maybe I played this on repeat. Maybe I didn't).

7). Distraction by Angels and Airwaves

Dear Legs,
Thanks for the days when I want to bike and you don't really feel like it.
Liz

Dear Shelly,
Thanks for being hot and awesome and leggy and funny and tall. You remind me of someone I know and love very well.
Liz

Dear Water Bottle I Found on the Ground that One Time,
Sometimes when you almost kill me on my bike and I just leave you right where you flew off my cage, I feel bad, but then I remember how I found you on the side of the road in the first place and somehow I feel like the karma balances out. Thanks for that.
Liz

LANCE

Say what you will about Lance Armstrong, but you have to admit, he kind of rocks. It's not About the Bike, is one of my favorite books. His description of wrecking and getting hit by cars on a mostly regular basis makes me want to be more hard core when I grow up. (I'd also like to be as hard core as Jens while we're at it, but there is more to come on him...)


Some of my favorite Lance quotes:


Because I love legs:
"Motivation can't take you very far if you don't have the legs."

My yoga mantra:

"Leaner in body, more balanced in spirit."

What I think when I don't want to do another hill:

"I was meant for a long, hard climb."

This is one of my (many) favorite sports center commercials:

And this one brings me to tears every time:

He beat cancer and started LIVESTRONG. He has a resting heart rate of 32. He won the Tour de France 7 times. Hate him if you want to. 


But I love Lance. 

An Interesting Juxtaposition

Dear Creamsicle-Scented Sunscreen,
Thanks for making me feel guilty every time I go in the sun without you. I think it will make me less wrinkly when I'm old, I think. Also, for not smelling like sunscreen, because it makes me more apt to use you appropriately. My future self's skin would also like to thank you precedently for existing.
Liz


Dear Vitamin D,
Thanks for helping me feel justified in going outside without sunscreen sometimes. Because, let's be honest, sometimes I just don't wanna wear sunscreen, and this way I can attribute it to my bone and muscle health. You rock.
Liz

Look What I Did!

I've long held that I never wanted to change my own inner tubes because that's why God invented boys, but both my tires were going flat in between rides, and I realized it had to be done.

Next step? Time trialling my flat change time.

Recipe for a great day?

Sleep in.
Eat cookies for breakfast.
Read scrips.
Go biking with roommate Sarah.
Eat a mango and cookies for lunch.
Clean the kitchen still wearing Spandex.
Go shopping at Wal-mart.
Outdoor Yoga with Amanda.
Eat lettuce dipped in Balsamic Vinaigrette. Also, Swedish fish.
Yard work.
Shower.

It is absolutely essential that you do not shower until you have spent the entire day smelling awesome.