Don't rain on my parade

I was stoked to hit up Corral Trail again yesterday after work. I had my bike stuff in the car, changed in the office bathroom, hopped in my car and headed out.

I decided that if I didn't want to be a rage monster, I better stop at the grocery store and get a snack. I ran in and bought some Cliff Bars and strawberries. As I headed back to my car, I happened to glance up at the sky.

It looked pretty ominous.

As I did not have any rain gear, I made the executive decision to head to the gym instead. This is how I felt about that:

This was my first time running since my ill-advised 3 ish miler with two sprained toes. My toes haven't really been hurting lately, so I thought they were good to go.

Not so much. At least this time I quit after a reasonable 1.8 miles. Who would have thought that two small toes make such a difference? At least I can still lift, so that's what I did.

At my gym there is a "Ladies Only" training area with a couple of treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, some weight machines, and some dumbbells. I usually do most of my work out in the main area, but lift in the "Ladies Only" area because the weights are almost always not being used. The dumbbells in this area only go up to 25, and, as of yesterday, I graduated to the main weightlifting area.

Yay for me and my increase in strength!

Corral Trail

I've only lifted weights once in the last week and a half. It's just so hard to go inside at my gym when the weather is finally nice out.

Yesterday after work, I again ignored my noodle arms and did not go to the gym. But I did do something more fun instead. I rode Corral Loop Trail for the first time. I forgot to bring my camera, though, oops!

The trail starts with a two mile climb up and up and up. Luckily the road is paved, but I definitely was jealous of the people passing me in trucks (the trail is shuttle-able), but it definitely made me feel like more of a bad-ass when I made it to the top.

Corral splits branches off almost right away, with Corral being more technical and the offshoot, Sidewinder being more loopy, with twists and turns on (mostly) nice dirt. Since I was on my hardtail and didn't have my full face helmet with me, I decided to tackle the Sidewinder offshoot. There are a few slightly rocky sections- one of which caught me by surprise (and sitting down) and flung me directly into a bush. Ouch.

After a little over a mile, sidewinder reconnects with Corral, goes through some beautiful woods, and eventually dumps out on a road that leads back to the parking lot where I'd left my car.

Corral Loop was a really fun ride, and I can't wait to do it again. Since this was a text-y post with no pictures, here's a picture of me with a pinata shaped like Sully from Monsters Inc.

You're welcome.

I love summer

Here are some things I love about summer:

• Swimming
• Bike rides
• Sundresses
• Campfires
• Drinking beer outside

This weekend, some of my favorite people and I went to the Truckee Brew Fest and I indulged in all of them.

Drinking beer outdoors with Kelly, Eva, Katie, and Allison (not pictured),

I got a lot of good swag, including this snap bracelet/beer coozy from Alaska Brewery.

After an afternoon of drinking, what's more fun than going on a little bike ride?

And by "little bike ride", I mean that Katie and I attempted to ride this bmx bike at the same time around a grass field.

We were not very successful.

We tried switching it up, with me on the handlebars. Still, no dice.

Some friendly bystanders even attempted to help us out with no luck. Oh, well.

We then walked to Allison's friend's house by the Truckee River, where we went for a little dip in the chilly water. I think most of the water in the Truckee right now was snow about an hour ago.

No pictures of swimming, as we were in our skivvies. Here is a picture of our host's dog instead. His name is Tucker.

I kept trying to rename him Travis and steal him. I was not successful.

The night ended, like any awesome summer night, with a campfire. Also, Tucker/Travis kept humping Kelly. It was pretty funny.

The next morning we were not the most energetic lot, so after brunch at Jax (their veggie burgers are amazing!), we each bought 4 different types of liquids and laid on the public docks at Donner Lake.

It was a beautiful day, best appreciated through sunglasses.

On the way home, we drove by a Renaissance Fair and saw some LARP-ers.

The End

Summer Things

Even if it is still snowing in the Sierra, it is summer in the rest of California. My favorite part of summer?

Strawberries:

I'm giving my toes another day of rest and my cold another day to lessen and the ground a day to dry out, and then I'm going biking tomorrow.

Tonight, I think I'll drink a beer on a sunny porch and hear about Katie's trip to Paradise. Then I'll paint my toenails, eat some quinoa and watch old episodes of Parks and Recreation. How have I not watched this show before?

I can't believe it's only Tuesday. This week is going to draaaaaag.

Fermentation

My first batch of kombucha! Thanks Carrie and Mary for the baby and the instructions, respectively.

Sprained toes?

Jodi and I on Clearwater Beach in Clearwater, FL.

Unlike the above picture, we've been having not the nicest weather in Tahoe lately. Like snow. In June. So yesterday I decided to get back in the running swing of things and do a little run on the treadmill at my gym. Due to the fact that it's been about three weeks since I last ran, and I'm getting over a cold, I decided to go for a lovely run/walk pattern of run three minutes walk one, run three walk one, etc.

Did you know that the Collegiate Men's Rugby Championships are televised? I didn't, but it sure made my time on the treadmill more entertaining. About 15 minutes into my run, I was reminded of something. Painfully. While I was in Florida, I sprained two of toes on my left foot.

Probably while sprinting across Universal Studios Islands of Adventure towards Hogwarts.

They were all purple and gross and painful, but I thought that they'd healed during my post-travel/cold/horrible allergies convalescence. Apparently not. When they started hurting, I stupidly mostly ignored them, just changing to three minutes running/two minutes walking.

That was not a smart decision. Now I am hobbling around. I should probably ice my toes, but my feet are always so cold I am a little worried that my toes might literally fall off if my feet got any colder. So for now, it's just hobbling and no more running until they are not purple or sore at all.

Maybe Erin stomped on my toes when I tried to drink her butter beer.

I'm going to try spinning after work today, to see if that's ok, but if they hurt, I have promised myself that I will stop. After years of team sports and "playing through the pain", this is sometimes difficult for me to do. If my silly toes hurt to much for spin class, I will do an upper body workout instead.

In other news, I successfully changed my bike tire yesterday. It was much easier than I thought it was going to be, as I'd only changed tires on my road bike before. Yet another reason I like my mountain bike so much more!

Three Things Thursday - I'm Back! Edition

I am back from a lovely extra-long weekend in Florida with my favorite people. My main souvenir was a nasty cold that has resulted in two half days at work and no working out. Boo, crowds of people!

We listened to a lot of Pitbull & Lady Gaga, drank a lot of PBR, and used a lot of sunscreen. I'll do a more detailed recap sometime in the future, but in the meantime - Here are 3 quick highlights from my trip:

1. I got to hang out with the most awesome people in the entire world.

Posing with our Butterbeer shots in the "game room" of the vacation rental we stayed in and managed not to trash.

2. I got to visit Hogwarts with my favorite people.

We even wore matching shirts. I love matching other people. Must be all of the years of team sports.

3. After days of concrete, sweating, and hordes of people, Blue Spring State Park was just what my body and soul needed.

If you're ever in central Florida, this place is worth the drive. Get there early, because there's a line to get into the park.