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Lynda

Mom-Coach-Racer not always in that order

March 2007 - Posts

  • In Training, Spring Racing

    Being sidelined I'm able to channel my race fervor into Wesley. I'm surreptitiously training him for the next InterMountain Cup event The Cholla Challenge on April 7th. He doesn't know it yet.

    I've been getting back out on the trails. Unfortunately not with my bike yet but on my feet. Wesley comes along on his bike and rides around like a sheep dog. He is really fun to take out as he shouts out things like "mommy I love this trail" and "mommy this is the best time ever".

    His buddy JL came out today styling a 40 lb single-speed with some huge gear - no problem! JL has energy and a kick-stand. Wesley wants a kick-stand now...

    After about 45 minutes the boyz decided they were tired. I mistook this as being tired but actually it must have been tired of riding as they dashed off and ran 10 laps around a crazy little circuit until they were both flushed and sweaty - is that like training for an adventure race??

    JL ensured his invite on future excursions by sharing his cheese crackers on the way home.

    This weekend lots and lots of bikey things are going on. The 8-Day Mountain Bike Stage Race in South Africa, Cape Epic, wraps up. I have 2 athletes out there putting down fantastic races. Both should finish strong tomorrow. The first NMBS race of the season kicks off in Phoenix, Boggs 8 hour solo rolls in California and the epic Ouachita Challenge is on in Arkansas - my athletes will be toeing the start line at all these events. Closer to home Dave, Chris and Dave are spending the weekend on the Paradox Trail and mee-oh-my, would I love to be joining them.

    Me: I'm still the walking wounded. I'll be riding the trainer a wee bit, hiking up in Zion on Saturday with the kids and then more hiking with Wesley pedaling alongside on Sunday. It rained yesterday so I have to go over to see the BearClaw poppies. They must be out now.

    Winston Churchill   "You create your own Universe as you go along."

  • In Training, Spring Racing

    Being sidelined I'm able to channel my race fervor into Wesley. I'm surreptitiously training him for the next InterMountain Cup event The Cholla Challenge on April 7th. He doesn't know it yet.

    I've been getting back out on the trails. Unfortunately not with my bike yet but on my feet. Wesley comes along on his bike and rides around like a sheep dog. He is really fun to take out as he shouts out things like "mommy I love this trail" …

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  • Third Time's a Charm

    First time I tried I was turned back by a snowstorm, the second time it was wind but this time I got it. Scrub Peak that is. It has been looking down on me from almost every point in the county for over a year now calling to me. Here is the view from scenic St George. It is the high point to the left of the red light.

    The last two attempts have been via bike but seeing as I'm still not allowed to ride (wah wah) I drove my truck most of the way there and hiked.

    Proof!

    Here are the stats courtesy of Joel and his GPS

    7.01 miles 3:46 avg. pace 32:19 mi. max 3.6 avg.1.9 ascent 2758 descent 2743. View to die for

    The views were massive, all the way down the Virgin Gorge to Mesquite, over to Lowe Mountain, out to Zion, Pine Valley, Red Mountain and all the way up the Gunlock Valley to Flatop Mountain. Hazy day tho' so poor pics - ya had to be there.
     

    Not to miss an opportunity to taunt me Joel brought along his latest new toy and let me have a wee shot. Now I have shades envy.

     

    We hiked through a burn area that left dead trees. Kinda cool looking but totally dead. Wouldn't this look rad in your front yard? You could put lights on it at Christmas and hang eggs on it at Easter etc. Maybe a few old chain rings, shoes, small children ...

    I thought this one would look cute in Joel's front yard but I'm still too gimpy to help with the transportation issues and Joel might get kicked out of his homeowner association.

    Spring is here and the flowers are out.

     

    I wonder if the Bear Claw poppies are out yet? I might have to hike over that way tomorrow for a looksie.

    It was really good to get out the barn and breathe some fresh air for a few hours. Even the sore legs I have from the descent feel good.

  • Third Time's a Charm

    First time I tried I was turned back by a snowstorm, the second time it was wind but this time I got it. Scrub Peak that is. It has been looking down on me from almost every point in the county for over a year now calling to me. Here is the view from scenic St George. It is the high point to the left of the red light.

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  • Rim Ride Moab: the new classic

    As Fred W and I stood waiting for the start of Old Pueblo this year he was telling me about a different epic ride a month later in Moab.  It was hard to think of doing the RimRide 2 minutes before starting a 24 hour effort…all I could think was the timing was bad, I [...]
  • I Aint Dense

    I've been spending far too much time here lately - Dixie Regional Medical Center. This is a bronze statue in the parking lot which is really cool - about 30 feet tall and full of tiny details.

    On the 12th I had a DEXA bone density scan done. Here is what that looks like. It takes about 5 minutes.

    My last scan was done in 2004. Due to the nature of my fracture my ortho doc wanted to see what my bone density was now. My collar bone didn't just break but the middle of it kinda disintegrated. Such a large gap was left it needed plated and will take a long time for bone to grow back across the gap.

    Bone Mass Density (BMD) is ranked by a T-Score. Your T-score is your BMD compared to the average score of a healthy 30-year-old. It is expressed as a standard deviation (SD), which is a statistical measure of how closely each person in a group is to the average (mean) of the group. The average BMD is determined by measuring the bone density of a large group of healthy 30-year-olds (young adult reference range). BMD values are then reported as a standard deviation from the mean of this reference group. About 90% of people have a BMD value within 2 standard deviations of this mean.

    T-Scores of -1 and above are normal, -1 to -2.5 defines Osteopenia, -2.5 and below defines Osteoporosis.

    In 2004 my T-Score was -1.7  slap bang in the middle of the Osteopenic range. I've done a lot of things since then to ensure my bone density improved short of taking prescription meds. I was looking forward to seeing how much my bone density had improved over these 3 years with my efforts.

    Today I got the result that my T-Score is now -2.2 which is a sickening loss of bone density over 3 years. Not quite in the Osteoporotic range but trending there.

    Another lemon to throw in the bag of them I seem to be collecting recently.

    Emma is a walking fashion show at the moment. She cracks me up ten times a day and changes her outfits almost as often. Head wear is obligatory to complete any fine outfit.

  • I Aint Dense

    I've been spending far too much time here lately - Dixie Regional Medical Center. This is a bronze statue in the parking lot which is really cool - about 30 feet tall and full of tiny details.

    On the 12th I had a DEXA bone density scan done. Here is what that looks like. I…

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  • Drinking Sunbeams

    I lay on the grass in the sun for 2 hours at the park this afternoon while the kidz played. I haven't been getting many UV's lately. They felt so good.

    Wesley told me sunbeams give you magical powers if you eat them. They are not so easy to catch tho'

  • Drinking Sunbeams

    I lay on the grass in the sun for 2 hours at the park this afternoon while the kidz played. I haven't been getting many UV's lately. They felt so good.

    Wesley told me sunbeams give you magical powers if you eat them. They are not so easy to catch tho'

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  • Plate and Screws Pic

    Today was my 2 week post surgery check up. I have done four naughty things in these 2 weeks - which is pretty minimal for me really... So was looking forward to seeing the x-ray to find out if I got away with it - I did :-)

    Dr Anderson, the talented ortho doc who put me back together, thought things looked great (whew ;-). I have six screws in the plate and one "floating screw" in the middle which is not attached to the plate but holding some bone shards together. The three screws on either end are anchored into solid bone. One bone shard got away and is floating like a smiley under the pulverized section.

    The middle of my collar bone is a mix of my bone shards, bone graft powder from a cadaver and putty. The middle has zero structural integrity. He told me if the screws came out today everything would fall apart. As the ends are strong and the middle has no integrity whatsoever weighting it will snap off one of the ends from the plate or pull screws out. The bone has not had a chance to form properly around the screws. He said I am a very high risk with this in combo with my personality (what did he mean??). I will make a superb recovery if I look after myself or I will be a disaster and back in the OR. It's my choice.

    I am not to do any kind of weight bearing on my shoulder for 6 more weeks. No lifting ANYTHING for 6 more weeks.

    I get my bone growth stimulator tomorrow and have a DEXA bone density scan on Monday. My last bone density scan was in 2004 and I was diagnosed osteopenic so it will be interesting to compare. I had blood drawn for my annual endocrinology review today too. Just need to go to the dentist to complete my overhaul...

    Here is the last visual record of me with non-bionic shoulders. Bernice snapped this shot the day before the race and my smoosh.

  • Plate and Screws Pic

    Today was my 2 week post surgery check up. I have done four naughty things in these 2 weeks - which is pretty minimal for me really... So was looking forward to seeing the x-ray and finding out if I got away with it.

     

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  • 2007 Desert Ramage Race Report

    So I raced this weekend - vicariously that is... First stop on the 2007  Intermountain Cup Race Series, the Desert Rampage came to St George this weekend. Last year I raced single-speed and had a fab time. This year I went down to the race wearing my mom and coach hat. My racer hat is on the shelf for a looooong time - 'til maybe June (ughh!).

    I've bee…

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  • 2007 Desert Ramage Race Report

    So I raced this weekend - vicariously that is... First stop on the 2007  Intermountain Cup Race Series, the Desert Rampage came to St George this weekend. Last year I raced single-speed and had a fab time. This year I went down to the race wearing my mom and coach hat. My racer hat is on the shelf for a looooong time - 'til maybe June (ughh!).

    I've been super cautious about having Wesley race 'cause it is my thing and I don't want to push him into it. When I mentioned to him on Thursday about doing the Kidz race endorphins immediately exploded out of his ears. This would be his first race! We trucked down to the race site on Friday to pre-ride the course. I wasn't looking forward to walking a lap with him as moving around still hurts. Friday was 7 days post surgery. As soon as we got down there he made friends with 7 year old Scott Abbott and dashed off for 4 practice laps - they raced 2 laps! I sat down in the Abbott's lawn chairs and pretty much moved in with them for the weekend - thanks Abbott's! You guys made the whole thing a million times less stressful and easier on me.

    Wesley checked out Scott wearing a cycling jersey so needed one too. He was a bit unsure about wearing his moms jersey until I showed him a picture of Dave racing in the same jersey to prove it wasn't a girls jersey - LOL! It almost fits him too.

    He entered into that Flow State where energy is limitless and pain absent about 5pm on Friday in preparation for his 10am Saturday race. Amping!!

    Scott and Wesley staging.

    9yr and under start.

    Looking casual at the halfway point. Wesley had a smile on his face the whole way around. I think he got my VO2max but maybe missed out on the predator gene!

    Finish. Yeah. He was so elated to do it!

    16 finisher's in the 9 and under's. Wesley rode the 2 mile course in 20:59 for 7th place. 1:06 off first place - tight race!!

    For lots and lots and lots more photos click on the below pic.

    I was sad not being able to race with the SS boyz. Here they are lining up without me. Kenny Jones is wearing a skinsuit - ya gotta to be waaaaay on crack to be racing in a skinsuit :-) He looked like he was chomping on the bit on the start line. JMM's are looking invincible now.

    It was nice to go to the race as a mom not a racer. I don't really have my own mountain bike peer group. I usually train alone and race with the guys when I do short races either with the expert men or lately SSers. Zero of my training partners are women let alone moms. I'm mostly too distracted to chat with the moms at races and they are too intimidated to talk to me normally. I don't race with the gals except at mass start endurance events. None of the other pro women or endurance mtbers are mom's that I know of. I've got a toe in a few different peer groups but don't feel a part of any of them. So it was nice for a few hours just to be a mom and hang with them. There are some real cool mom's herding kidz on the sidelines and passing up bottles to the big boyz racing.

    That wiped me out tho' and I had to spend the afternoon lying in bed on narcotics. I'm still on the up and down rollercoaster. Yesterday was an up day but today I'm getting some feeling coming back into my skin and maybe deeper tissues. It is not pleasant to say the least but I've kept my hands off the narcotics today. They things do bad things to my body and I don't like it. I hope I'm done with them.

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