My Hump

Heather the biker has- one hump (sung to the tune of "Alice the Camel")

The tape came off Saturday afternoon, and a shiny, tender, pink hump now pokes up. Rumor has it that it will diminish as the muscles in the area strengthen, but will always be there. I survived a few laps out at Swan Island at a top tempo Saturday and 2 laps out at Sauvie Island Sunday. It's still a little weird when I get out of the saddle and when I get tired, it gets sore. But all in all, I'm on the mend, ahead of schedule.

I'm still going to have it tapes again tomorrow maybe. Depends on what Shawn and Dave think.

Raise the Roof

Well, raise my hands over my head at least... and use some HUGE dumb bells, like 5lb, and 8lb, and even 10s for some of the work. Almost 5 weeks after my launch over the bars, I can manage a day with almost no pain. It's pretty silly, watching my posture in the gym mirror pumping, the big iron, but I gotta start somewhere. I have to keep the shoulder taped a couple more weeks. Without it, my bone still pokes up pretty far, but I think it looks better than a couple weeks ago.

Ego Stroked

Due to the popularity of the spin classes at LA Fitness, AND due to the New Year's resolutions of what seems to be most of Hazel Dell, it's required that hopeful attendees sign up for the class. I scored the 34th and final slot at 5:09. The class is at 5:30 and the sign up sheet is out at 5:00.

As I glanced at the list to see if my friend Deana was on there (which she wasn't) I noticed that a one Mr. Tom Boonen had signed up first. Hm... either my favorite Belgian sprinting hottie was craving the luscious, brisk weather of the Pacific Northwest in January, or he finally came to his senses, found out I was single, and came to find an older woman of my stature, drop dead gorgeous looks, maturity, and popularity.

Or, someone in the spin class was being cute.

Well, as you may have guessed, not one person in the class looked anything like Tommy. Oh well. Sporting my Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge T-shirt- the one with the Captain America jersey wearing guy and other Madison riders, I climbed on to the bike,next to an older guy with a full Lampre kit on. I soon learned, he could spin very well, with great form, and I assumed that he raced or had raced.

At the end of class, older bike racer guy caught a look at my shirt and my attention.

"Do you ride out at Alpenrose?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied, happy that someone in the room recognized the venue, let alone even knew what a velodrome was.

"Do you know a racer named Heather VanValkenburg?"

With eyebrows perked and a little stun to my voice, I let him know that, "I am Heather VanValkenburg!Um, thanks! So were you the first person to sign up tonight?"

"Yes, I figure if I can't be fast that I'd just pose as someone who is. Sorry if I disappointed you."

"Ha ha. No worries...."

So, yea... somebody asked me if I knew me. That was quite a pump to my ego. Turns out he sold me my bike work stand years ago. We shared war (bike) wound stories, as he could see the tape on my shoulder and I skipped off on my merry way.

Frankly I'm surprised that my head fit through the car door.

Ivy's Future Career

I think she's bound to be a movie star. She can find every photo of herself, her papaw, mamaw, daddy, and mommy I have in my home. So, to entertain her for a minute I took a bunch of photos on my computer and started up a slide show. She loved it.

Merry Christmas to Me
Nothing like an impulse buy to give you that special rush. It all started when Emily tells me that she got the new Nano with video for Christmas, which got me thinking that I really wanted video too. I looked up the price and was blown away at how inexpensive they were. So today, one of my stops on my errand run was to PowerMacPac. I played around with all of the toys and finally went for many more gigglybites than my original plan, and got me the 80 GB Ipod Classic in black. It cost a bit more, but I can put all music, photos, and video, and all my computer software, and saved files, and... I still have tons of room.

To avoid any impulse regret, I justified the purchase. If I were not broken, I would be going to Canada to race next week, for the Burnaby 6 Day. With travel, food, accomodation, and registration, I'd spend close to that amount. And now, I can manage 1.5 hours (2 episodes of Ugly Betty) on the eliptical trainer and stationary bike :)

Jeff Dunham - Achmed the dead terrorist -

This one's for my brother in Iraq. Cheers to you, Charlie!

Cat Wake Up Call

This IS my cat

Managing

Well, I am doing much better. Thanks everyone for well wishes. As I write this, I'm in no pain at all, but the moments come and go. Most of the time, it's just a dull irritant,, but I have many sharp twinges, cramps, and spasms throughout the day, which force me to sit and sink into the back of the chair, couch, or... bed. And it sucks. I began physical therapy on Tuesday. She's an OK lady, but hasn't had much experience with this injury. She admitted that she was going to do some research in order to give me a recovery time line. Luckily, I have been nice to the folks at Therapeutic Associates, where we work out on Tuesday and Thursday, so I got hooked up with a super tape job last night to keep me standing straight and not "wing" so much. Those guys absolutely know what they're doing!

Now that I am on vacation for 2 weeks, I have no excuse for not working out. So after watching everybody else ride around in circles tomorrow morning, I'll head to the gym for some quality spin bike and eliptical trainer time. EXCELLENT!