A Rendezvous with Sneakers

I feel like it’s been forever since I have written about some sort of training, and, indeed, it has. Creating Cake Pops, trying new foods, fevers, building a bike, and attempting to get my cat Lucky to accept my newly adopted kitten Fur Ball (well, she’s about a year old, still a kitten in my eyes) has been taking me away from training. I’m not saying I’ve been inactive. But it’s February already–can you believe it–and time to settle down and get back on track.

Meet Fur Ball, the newest addition to the family (and no, for the first time, the newest addition is actually NOT a bike!)

Yesterday we were blessed with almost- mid 50 degree weather–in February! Last year at this time we were still up to our knees in snow. I’m happy with such forgiving nice weather, but it does kind of inhibit my use of my new cross country skis. Anyway, even though according to my plan for the week, my longer ride isn’t scheduled until Saturday (with a transition to run afterwards), I had to take advantage of the blue sky and went for an amazing ride on some roads I’ve actually never been on.

Just a heads up: If a sign on a road warns that the surface is uneven, for once road authorities are not lying. Despite the warning sign, I did decide to take a road that had a surface which was rideable, and it was gorgeous. Upon stopping to take the photo below, and wipe my non-stop dripping nose on the sleeve of my jacket, I noticed someone driving in an old red Kawasaki tractor from behind the farm close to where I was standing. As the farmer drove up to me, I put my phone back in my pocket and started to clip in. Then, he stopped next to me with a huge toothless grin. I noticed an old Border Collie in the back of the truck next to a well-used wooden cane.

“You okay?” He asked, cheerfully.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine, thanks.”

He nodded to my bike, “you broken? I have tools if you need help.”

I think my heart melted inside. It is rare to meet genuinely sweet people in this world full of  greed–where people only think of themselves.

“No, no, it’s not broken, I was just taking a break. Cute dog!”

“Okay then, you drive safe,” the farmer nodded and smiled with his toothless grin and drove off, the border collie taking in the scene. I could not help but feel a grin appear across my face and thought of the farmer’s words for me to “drive” safe on my bike.

My almost-40 mile loop through Dutchess County

Our interaction may have lasted less than two minutes, but it reminded me that not everyone out there is a self-centered human being—something which I worry about when I see a lot of people nowadays who could care less about other people. It made me happy.

View from Odak Farm Road

The 40 (well, 39.98)mile ride was awesome, and it felt wonderful to be in the sun, even though some little things somewhat annoyed me (i.e. the odometer on my bike wasn’t working, not was my HR monitor). Today’s plan is a long run, and depending on the weather later, I might take my Contessa out for a spin.

Goals for 2012 Race Season (yes, I said race season)

• Compete in a mountain bike race (meaning I need to get over my fear of going fast through trees) without killing myself
• Finish a road (bike) race–nothing to insane
• Finish an actual triathlon (not a duathlon)–to be more specific, finish Timberman
• Finish a half marathon (totally do-able, since I ran 14 miles for “fun” a couple weeks ago)
• Work on race nutrition (so I don’t “bonk” on long rides/runs)
• Biggest goal: not compare myself to other people training for race

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
Mark Twain