Keeping on, Keeping on

We went mountain biking this morning since Thomas didn't have to be to work until 3pm.  This time we went to a different part of the foothills called the military reserve.  OH MY GOSH! The first part was sooooo hilly.  My lungs were burning so bad, my throat got that metallic taste in it, and my heart was seriously pounding out of my chest.  I haven't felt that tired since running sweet 16's at basketball practice in Junior High.  Mountain biking is such a cardiovascular challenge.  I used my Garmin watch and timed and measured the distance and I really could run faster than I can mountain bike :) I love having a new workout to do and a new challenge for my body.  We are planning on going up again tomorrow after yoga in the park. 
In other news... I am trying to not go totally out of my mind by being at home every day by myself while Thomas is at work.  I will bike to the library which is like 6 miles away or to Albertson's which is only about a mile away.  I'm reading a lot and I have became entranced by HLN's coverage of the Casey Anthony trial.  I keep telling myself I need to stop watching it because it makes me upset but I can't stop.  As Thomas and I have been discussing that trial as well as other things that are going on in the world today, I have come to the conclusion that common sense is not used any more.  People are all about the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law and so common sense is just disregarded.  It's kind of a scary thing. 

Last week I noticed that there appeared to be little flecks of dirt on the stove.  I wiped them off with a clorox wipe and then an hour or so late I noticed they were there again.  As I looked closer I saw they were moving! So I called the office and they said they would have maintance look at it.  The maintance guy came and didn't really do much but he sent the pest control guy.  Apparently they are bird mites!!!! A bird nested in some airway and when it left the mites tried to find someplace else to get food and came through the fan/vent above the stove! So gross! They are little parasites that live on birds.  I could hardly eat for two days because it grossed me out so bad.  They sprayed something and cleaned out the vent of the bird next stuff and if it doesn't get better in a couple days they said to call again. 

Mountain biking

We have been going to bed super late now that I am done with student teaching so I had good intentions to wake up and go to yoga in the park but alas when the alarm went off I just couldn't do it.  But we did wake up in time to get ourselves to the downtown farmer's market.  It was twice as packed as it normally is and seemed to have more vendors than normal.  We got some spreadable peppercorn goat cheese. YUM! Then we headed to the foothills to initiate ourselves into the art of mountain biking.  My quads were burning! I'm almost positive I can run faster up the mountain than I can mountain bike :) My heart was just pounding out of my heart up some of those hills.  It was awesome though and we are going to try to go a little farther each time.  Going downhill can be pretty scary, it totally reminds me of going down a steep slope when snowboarding.  You don't want to put your brakes on too hard and biff it but it's scary just letting yourself go with gravity. 

I am just loving summertime.  Bike riding reminds me so much of my childhood.  We had a dead end street with a big hill that we would ride up and then turn around and cruise down as a kid.  I remember loving going to the public library as a kid too.  So I've combined my love and biking and the library and yesterday rode the 5 or so miles to the library.  We've also been enjoying lying out by the pool and jumping in to cool off then jumping out to get our tans on :)

Bikes

Thomas and I got bikes this weekend! We have been wanting to get bikes now for awhile so we can start biking on the greenbelt and in the foothills.  Plus we would like to sign up for some duathalons and have bikes to take camping with us this summer.  So finally we found some that fit our price range and what we were looking for.  We got some great deals off of craigslist.

The red bike is a Gary Fischer and the black one is a Giant. After we get helmets this week my goal is going to be to ride my bike everywhere I can this week. 

We took the bikes for a little spin today and we both felt like little kids who got new bikes for Christmas.

Student Teaching Week #6

I love weekends.  Friday night Thomas picked me up from school and we headed to the foothills for a 5 mile run.  It sucked! First of all because it's all up hill and dirt but we both just felt so tired.  I was ticked at those darn hills! We made it through though and headed over to USwirl frozen yogurt, our new favorite frozen yogurt shop.  I found my favorite combo: coconut and mango peach swirl with cherries and mini gummy bears.  Delish!
Saturday I went with Tess to hot yoga.  Yoga is now an important part of my weekly workouts.  I try to do one workout video during the week and then go to a class on the weekend.  I honestly feel like it has improved my running and it really helps with soreness and tight muscles from stress.  Once I got home from yoga Thomas and I went around our neighborhood because the HOA organized a neighborhood garage sale.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day out and we had fun walking around checking out what people had.  The neighborhoods here are huge and they all have names.  So people will commonly say "I live in Hobble Creek neighborhood".  We ended up getting a pretty much brand new snowboarding jacket for Thomas for $20. 
I have been really wanting to get a bike that I can use for duathalons or sprint triathalons and some people we ran in to at a garage sale suggested a bike shop here close by.  We stopped by and chatted a bit but it wasn't too much help.  It's kind of scary getting in to a new sport you know nothing about.  I hardly know anything about bikes but am starting to get an idea of what I want.  I want to be able to use it on dirt trails but also on the road so I'm thinking about a hybrid bike like these:

I had an 11-miler this weekend and was on my own.  I did a big no-no and didn't eat before running so about 25 minutes into the run I was starving! I had brought along some sharkies but wasn't planning on eating them til 6 miles in but I dug in at mile 2.5.  I was planning on taking the greenbelt the whole way but after three miles it was closed because the river is too high.  So I took one of the main roads pretty much right into downtown Boise.  Mentally it was a tough run but I maintained about a 9 minute mile the whole way.  My goal for this next half marathon is to maintain an 8:45 pace the whole way. 
Our pool opens this next Friday but Thomas and I went out this evening and layed out for about an hour.  The weather is just perfect and I ended up dozing off outside laying on my towel. 
Wonderful weekend! This week should be exciting, we have our third grade program and so Monday and Tuesday we will be practicing the last half of the day and Wednesday all day and then the program is Wednesday night.  Since it is a performing arts school the program is a huge deal. We have somebody record it and sell BluRay DVD's of the performance and the props are big, detailed, and very creative. 
The school district's levy did not pass so it doesn't look like they will be hiring at my school.  I'm bummed about it cause I love my school so much but I've started applying to other teaching jobs around the area.  Crazy!!!

Post #100

My first blog post was November 1, 2009 and today is my 100th post! Today has been a most excellent Saturday, doing some of my favorite things.
#1 went running.  Last night Karlee texted me to tell me she was scheduled for a 10 miler and wanted to know if I wanted to join her.  I told her I'd meet her for 5 miles.  We met at her house (she only lives about a half mile away) at 8am.  Karlee had already ran 4 miles.  It was cold out this morning! I wore long sleeves the whole time and was wishing I had gloves for the first mile or so.  We ran to the nature park which has a paved path.  I had ran here before but I wasn't aware of a little dirt bike trail that you can take that leads you through some wooded/camping areas.  Nice! I love new running routes.  We then ran up the mile long hill that leads up to the temple and looped back home.  I ended up running six and felt fantastic.  I felt a runners high that last mile and it felt wonderful! It's been good to have a break to be able to recognize how great running makes me feel.  I'm so glad I have a friend to run with! Hopefully this next week classes will start at the gym so I can start going to those too, while Thomas can lift weights (or join me in the classes).
#2 Thomas and I went for a bike ride.  I just absolutely love going on bike rides.  By the time we went it was perfect weather.  We first stopped at a local bike shop to have them look at my breaks.  They are super squeaky and the back break seems to slide and doesn't fully stop me.  It's kind of embarrasing going downhill through campus and squeaking all the way down.  We thought I should get new break wires but the guy at the shop said he thought it was the break pads.  He put some new ones on the back tire and sent us on our way. That wasn't the problem, still can't stop.  Waste of ten dollars.  Instead of going back to try another solution we decided to see if I could just use my brother in law Ivan's bike for the next little while.  Also, my bike is like a 12 year old Wal-mart bike so going uphill (and my classes are all at the top of a hill) is VERY difficult.  Even just going on a flat path I have to be in second gear.  Ivan's bike should work better.  I really want to get a nice bike someday.  I think I want a hybrid bike so that I can use it in tri's but also take it out on trails.  I'll have to find somebody who is not a sales person to explain to me about good bikes cause I have learned you can't trust that somebody who works in a bike shop knows there stuff. 
Running and biking, I just love those two things.