Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Spin Class

I took my first spin class on Friday, and am officially hooked! What fun! It turned into a 75 minute class, and it completely wiped me out for hours, but it was so cool to feel like I was riding up and down hills! I've done similar rides on my bike indoors, by shifting gears, but there was something about the spin class that really made it feel real.

I had so much fun I found another class Monday evening! The second class was tougher, because he spent a good 60% of the class out of the saddle, and I'm still having issues with my feet going numb. Pedaling on numb feet is not pleasant, and I kept shifting my weight around in odd positions trying to get relief. Plus I was wearing regular sneakers, so my feet had no real stability. My muscles were super-sore afterward.

But I got a real feel for how my ride will be, and I'm even more excited! Oh, and I lost about a lb this week, even though it was my birthday week and I had a lot of cake opportunities.

AAANNNDDDD --- Thanks to wonderful friends, I am already 47% to my Team in Training fundraising goal! This is before my big beef 'n' beer party this weekend - I might actually be able to raise all my money by the end of this weekend! (In which case, I'll raise my goal...)

To donate, click on the link to the right, or go to http://pages.teamintraining.org/de/ambbr11/msawczuk
If you want details about the party, message me and I'll tell you all about it!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Planning a Party

Thursday, January 20, was my 44th birthday. A week from tonight (Jan 29) is my birthday party. Most years I throw myself a birthday party, with well over 100 of my favorite people. So this year, with Team in Training fundraising to do, I thought I'd combine the birthday party with a beef 'n' beer, to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Sounds like a lot of fun, and I certainly love to throw parties, but I feel like I'm running out of time - I sure hope this all works out and people actually come, and enjoy themselves too!

I collected a bunch of raffle prizes from wonderful, generous local merchants - we're going to have 10 baskets with great prizes - some worth over $200!! If anyone reading this is interested in attending, let me know and I'll get you the info. The event is in Newark, Delaware.

Something tells me my 44th year is going to be an amazing one!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Snow Day

Well, I don't really get snow days anymore, thanks to technology (I blame Citrix) but at least I can work from home.
A wonderful restaurant in Wilmington, DE - Bella Vista Trattoria - held a fundraiser for me yesterday. They donated 15% of the proceeds of meals purchased by anyone who brought in a particular flyer. So last night I invited a bunch of family and friends to dine out. We had a wonderful meal, and I know we raised a bunch of money for Team in Training. I'll update with the final numbers once I receive the check.
When I got home, I didn't really feel like working out, but I forced myself to do 30 minutes on the treadmill. Have I mentioned how much I dislike the treadmill? But I wanted to watch the news, and TV in the room with the bike is not hooked up to the cable, but the TV in the room with the treadmill is. It wasn't so bad, I suppose. But it's amazing how few calories I burn walking on the treadmill vs riding my bike.
Well, I guess I'm off to burn more calories shoveling snow.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

A new year, a new start

I was sick over the holiday. Had a nice case of the stomach flu (which accounting for a 7 lbs loss this week, which is awesome!) and just did not feel like exercising. But I think I've shaken that off. I've been on the bike this week, and I've been on the AeroPilates machine, or as my friend likes to put it, the medieval torture device - I swear I'm going to get stuck in that thing one day. I really need to keep my cell phone close by so I can call for help.

I'm anxiously awaiting my training schedule. I should be hearing from the coach soon - we start our indoor training this month!

I'm also looking forward to planning my birthday party, which I'm going to use as a fundraiser this year - January 29. I'm finalizing the details this week and can't wait! There will be a 50/50, door prizes and raffle prizes!

I'm 26% toward my goal, which is very exciting this early! To donate, check out http://pages.teamintraining.org/de/ambbr11/msawczuk

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Merry Christmas to me!

I bought myself a present today! I bought a new bike!

After talking to a number of people, doing some research, and thinking long and hard, I realized that my wonderful Trek Pure Sport was not going to be the right bike for a Century. It's heavy with big, wide tires, which means it takes more effort to go a certain distance. It has funky geometry, with my feet more forward for comfort. That means I can't stand on the pedals and still pedal, which won't allow me to get relief or power, depending on my needs. And it likely will be difficult to ship to Lake Tahoe, mostly because of the wacky geometry.

Sooooo....I started looking, asked a few experts as well as some biking friends, and I settled on a new bike - the Fuji Absolute 2.0!

I'm thrilled with it (I'll post some photos later) - It's a beautiful bright blue and so pretty! And it's sooo much faster! I haven't taken it for anything more than a quick spin, but I'm sure I can go 3-4 miles quicker on it with the same energy output. So excited!!

For now, I'm keeping the Trek on the indoor trainer, and will use the Fuji for outdoor rides. I bought some thermal riding clothes, so I'm hoping to get outside sometime this month, when there's a sunny, not-so-frigid day.

My official training starts this month! This is getting exciting!
Oh, and one other thing - thanks so much to my donors! I've already hit 26% of my fundraising goal! Please help me raise the rest quickly, so I don't have to worry about it while I'm training hard.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/de/ambbr11/msawczuk