Snow Day.

Have I ever told you how snow makes me hungry?  And how uncertainty makes me hungry? 


I have been Bingey Binge Alot this week.  Skerred of the scale I won't know the damage till Monday morning.  Lets just say that the day started off with Toll House cookies fresh from the oven with coffee....It felt right at the moment. Now, I'm second guessing that decision.
Today was supposed to be my long run day...but I'm a pussy, so I'll not be running outside in the snow ~ I'll be mountain  biking instead.  


I broke ties with the people I had been working with ~ so I'm out on my own now ~ a little scary ~ hell yes. But Freedom feels right and I swear, if I saw one more email with the word "Functionality" in it I was going to uni-bomb some shit.


So to pump myself up for my new found freedom I am spending this snowy morning cleaning the house and purging it of all that is unnecessary.  The dogs are looking at me with nervous eyes...


Plan for getting back on track...
Water Water Water
Veggies
No Sugar for 24 hours
Enjoy the snow and rejoice  
Head down and work...all lights are ahead are green!

Montauk MTB Ride ~ AKA Sunday Mass

Its Sunday!  I'm so happy I have the morning free after yesterday's crazy day of showings.
There is a running joke among our mountain bike group that sunday morning rides are called Sunday Mass ~ since there is something so spiritual about being out with mother nature and greeting the day in the woods.  And since none of us would get up early to go to church but will jump at the chance to get out of the house pre-dawn to ride our bikes for hours...

I'm going out to Montauk to ride with my friend Jeanine.  I know it is just the next town over, but it feels like we are all Thelma and Louise when we load up her truck with the bikes, throw on some Greatful Dead and get ready to play in the woods on our bikes away from phones and people.  We started our obsession with mountain biking together three years ago and have a blast whenever we ride ~ generally giggling and quoting Family Guy episodes along the trail ~"I feel Right".

I'm trying super hard to get miles in for VT50 but its not been easy ~ I broke my new wheelset and had to rush to the bike shop.  After bribing the mechanics with a 6 pack of Fosters and some Heineken I got my bike back in 24 hours ~ unheard of service in August when the masses are here in the Hamptons and everyone is backed up.  But hey ~ you gotta grease the wheels.

Hoping we get in a good 3 hour ride and 15 miles this morning ~ and here is plan for the day ~ I figure if I map it out, I will keep to it ~ the food has been an issue ~ especially at dinner seconds and THIRDS ~  what the WHAT!

Morning  ~ 1 c coffe with .25 c lite soy milk
                   Breakfast Shake  ~ choocolate soy milk, peanut butter, green vibrance and spirutein
                   pre ride gu
                   G2 ~ durning ride
Lunch ~ Leftover corn salad from last night  1c
Dinner ~ Tempeh roasted over quinoa with spinach
Snack ~ Berries
100 oz of WATER

I CAN DO THIS!!!

Epic Ride

First ~ Thanks for all of the love on my new blog design ~ gotta give Jen @ just foolinblog design a huge thank you!  If you need some design help go see her  ~ she ROCKS!


I also want to thank Ronnie  and Samantha  for reminding me how important the WHOLE Journey is.  I will never forget where I came from and will try and be compassionate toward the old me ~ its a process...


Today!  I havea long mtb ride with my biker budd, Jflatts ~ a nice 25 miler out and back.  J and I had done the VT50 last year and were often out on these long training rides.  Its been a while since we both had the time to commit to an epic endeavor.  The thing I love most about these Epic rides is the emotional roller coaster and the pure bliss I feel at the end of it.  I am addicted to that spent feeling after pushing it balls to the wall.   The long ride is usually made up of three parts: 1 - the psyched empowered beginning - sense of adventure embarking on a 4 hour journey. 2- we get really quiet and try to just grind it out and push through exhaustion.  3~ the home stretch, we are sloppy tired and giddy, lusting after the post ride Beer  lemon water.


Oh and the best part of this day .... Going to get my VEGAN cake and EAT it too!  I'll post pictures soon.

BYOC!

~ First BYOC post ~

1. If you were asked to symbolize yourself as an animal 

– which animal would you be?

Lion because I am a Leo!

2. Did you ever play an organized sport 

– with coaches, rules and scoring? Tell us about it.

I played softball in High School and hated it ~ I rode the bench 

and hated running. 

I rode horses and competed in Hunters/Jumpers ~ not really

a team sport but it has rules/coaches and scoring

3. When did you start shaving your legs?

I think I was 11 or 12 ~ turned into a blood bath and 

made a huge mess of myself

4. When you’re in a crabby – pissy 

– want to stab everyone you see kind of mood 

– what do you do to get out of it or do you revel in it?
I go Mountain Biking or Running or go sit on the beach ~ but 

have been known toblast some Rage Against the Machine, Limp Bizkit or 

Social Distortion and jump around the house screaming!

5. Repeat question: Summarize your week in blogland and in real life.

Real Life: Best Week EVER!  Ran my first race ever ~ 8k ~ Booyah!  

Went mountain biking and kicked my husbands ass all over 

the woods ~ Sweet!

Went shopping size 14 now ~ was a 22/20. 

Ran this week ~ speed work.  

Did boot camp last night (80 degrees and 75% humidity 

outside in the dirt) and almost threw up ~ yeah!

Having a good week at work. 

Food has been OK ~ trying to work on portion control. 

Oh an the Tour de France is on ~ what's better than that!

Blogland: As a new blogger been trying to follow as many 

of you as I can and learn what this is all about. 

 I'd like to pimp out my blog a bit more 

and add more photos....

Damn it feels good to be a Gangsta!

NSVs make feel like I can do anything!  They are so much better than standing on the scale with my fingers crossed begging the numbers to drop.  I went out for a mountain bike ride yesterday with a good friend - someone who is like a mentor to me - much faster and more experienced than I am.  I was actually able to catch him and even stay within 30 seconds of him! wooohoooo!  Talk about a natural high!! Oh and it didn't hurt that he mentioned that my butt is much smaller! Yeah!

I do love me some gansta rap - thus the title of this blog (ghetto boys) - I also love the Grateful Dead and have been known to blast some Miley Cyrus from time to time. - so you could say I am a well rounded music lover.  I am feeling even more "Gansta" today because I bought a new car yesterday!  Hell to the yeah!  Whats even better?  Its a small car - that I would not have been able to fit in 4 months ago!  A Subaru Impreza Sport Wagon - in my mind it is a rally car and I have been driving it like I am in a rally (thus the car sick husband last night).
Off to get a killer playlist ready for today - Whats your favorite driving music?  Would love any suggestions....

This is not me - but I wish it were...

Battle Wounds

I love battle scars as much as the next girl.  Generally they are nasty purple bruises, gashes to the leg or arm and a very sore set of muscles.  I have been known to go bragging about how I got my scars and bruises: "Dude! I was whipping down a trail and caught major air off a 4 foot drop and missed the landing" or "I missed the turn and tried to jump a log and wound up doing a superman into a tree".  This is usually followed by some high fives and woohoos from my gang of fellow crazy mtb chix.

Now that I have taken up running, I spend more time on the road these days and less time getting "sweet air" over big logs. My current set of injuries (mildly sprained left ankle and banged up right knee) are rather embarrassing, there is not one thing cool or daring about them.

So here it is.....I am a Klutz.  Yes, that's right...I can ride the piss out of a mountain bike and fly down steep hills without a worry, but when it comes to walking, I am a disaster.
I knew I was due for a fall, it had been a while.  I took two steps down a driveway and BAM there I was SPLAT on the road.  Ouch!

The good news is I taped the ankle and went for a bike ride...the bad news is I tried running this morning and I was like Franken runner -all kinds of gimpy on the knee.   There are now 4 days till race day and I'm just going to have to suck it up and do what I can.
I guess this is a good excuse to take up open water swimming.

A Day in the Life

Happy Monday (my day off so really is!) And my weigh in day...192.8 up .2 not sure what that's all about..

I thought I'd give a snap shot of a typical day for this vegan athlete. This was yesterday.

I am usually between 50 and 60g of protein a day. And try to be around 1100 cal.

WALK DOGS ON BEACH - 45 MINUTES

1cup coffee - .25 cup of lite soy milk - 15cal and 1.5 g pro
Breakfast: Shake:
                4oz lite soy milk - 30cal 3g prot
                4oz organic apple juice - 45 cal 0 pro
                1 scoop spirutein protein powder - 99 cal 14g pro
                1 scoop green vibrance - 44 cal 2.6g pro
                1 Tbs flax meal - 30 cal 1.5 g pro
                .5 cup frozen blue berries - 30 cal
                                                                                  
                             295 cal and 22g protein - approx

Lunch : .5 cup refried beans - 100 cal 6g pro
            8 grain soy flatbread - 90 cal 5g pro
            baby spinach 3oz -10 cal 2g pro
           sliced tomato - 15 cal 0 pro
            1tbs taco sauce - 10 cal
                                                                              
                    225 cal and  13 g protein

Pre mountain bike ride  - gu -100 cal (this is straight carbs and helps to prevent "bonking" on the ride.)
During ride - g2-watered down - approx 50 cal

TRAINING RIDE - OUT AND BACK - OUT BEING ALL UP HILL - 2HOURS - 16 MILES - Boooyah!

Dinner - Spinach Salad made with tempeh bacon and walnuts 450 cal - 10g
               roasted tofu 80 cal 10 g protein
                                                                      
                   530  cal 20g pro

Total for the day - 1200 cal and 55 g pro -
I'll be posting some more creative recipes soon...

Hello out there!

My first post in Blog Land.  Thank you Lap Band Gal for inspiring me to blog!  A bit about me and my Journey so far:
I am an obsessive mountain biker who just took up running.  I am vegan - who knew it was possible to be vegan and fat!  I had Lap Band surgery 12 weeks ago April 6, 2011.  My highest weight was 241 and I am now 192.2.  I'm pretty stoked!
I have always loved being active - although it was pretty hard to ride my bike at my highest weight.  My surgery went well and recovery has been easy.  I think that's because I was already active and had no co-morbidity symptoms.
My journey has little to do with what size jeans I'm wearing (although its fun to shop for smaller ones) but instead it is about becoming an athlete.  I am proud of being active and getting in my daily exercise but now I want more!  Now I want to win.  This blog, I hope, will help to keep me accountable and track my goals over the next year.  First goal - July 3rd 8K race.