67 Days Left

Rode 10 miles yesterday. It didn't go as well as I had hoped. I thought with all the exercise I got at Christian Athletic Camp I'd be fine. I'm getting nervous I won't make it. 67 days doesn't seem like a long time. This weekend I'm going to try the unpaved part of the trail and that will be a huge test. One thing CAC got me used to was sweating, that's just normal for me now.

Matt and I are now on day 10 of being apart. I'm not the greatest at being alone (that's why I got married, right...). The hard part is that I went from being around 250 people 24 hours a day to being around a dog. It's very odd. Although, Meadow and I are doing a good job of feeling as much love as what is at CAC. :) She definitely missed me.

Today, rode uphill 1.5 miles to my parents. I'm waiting for that ride to get easier. Also went to the bike shop to get my brakes fixed and my seat fixed. Although, my dad fixed my seat, not the shop. I started this post this morning thinking something brilliant would come to me by the end of the day...not so much.

NEVER LET GO

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I'm caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won't turn back
I know you are near

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We'll live to know You here on the earth

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

This song is stuck in my head.

L

Excuses are Getting Old

I haven't been biking in a while.

Too much going on.

I haven't been home enough to go!

And it was/is too hot!!

Clearly, I have too many excuses and it's getting old. I leave on Saturday for Christian Athletic Camp and hopefully that will get me back on track for when I get home. I only have 79 more days until the White Pine Trail Tour. Yikes! When I get back I have 70 days to get moving on this. Maybe while I'm gone, Mattie will give my bike a tune up...

L

10 Years Ago This Summer...

Yikes, who is that person on the left. Oh yeah, that's me...10 years ago this summer when I was 20 years old.

I've been waiting until I could get these pictures scanned in before I blogged. Last Thursday I went on a 12 mile ride and couldn't believe how easy it seemed. Then on Saturday, July 3, I went on a 40 mile ride and couldn't believe how hard it was!! I had to stop with 10 miles left (in Rockford) and eat something and get more water. I did feel better after I ate a little something, but still struggled the rest of the way, not even sure I could make it.

Anyway...10 years ago... In the summer of 2000 I marched in the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps. For those that don't know, Drum Corps is kind of like a professional marching band, only you don't get paid (you pay to do it) and you travel with the corps across the country from Memorial Day until mid-August-ish competing against other corps. I was thinking about that summer on these last few rides. It's been awhile since I've been able to think of it fondly. Again, for those that don't know I dated a guy for almost 11 years and his life was/is drum corps. Needless to say, it did not end well. So I've spent much of the last 5 years 'hating' drum corps and everything it stood for. However, I live a new and better life now and have come to terms with most of what happened BM (what Mattie and I call "Before Matt"). So now that I'm in my thirties and so much wiser...right?, I can really think about the positive impact that summer had on me.

I was young, could take on the world and all my friends were doing it! I was in Colorguard in high school and loved it (Of course I had the greatest band director in the history of the world, Max Colley, Jr). Guard is so much cooler then people think...heck so is Marching Band! I decided to try out for the Colts to prove to myself that I could do something different. I had several friends that raved about their experiences and I felt like I was good enough to take on the challenge.

What a challenge it was. Definitely one of the hardest thing I have ever

done in my life. Running all over football fields in the cornfields of the mid-west, throwing large poles in the air with even larger pieces of fabric attached to them, all while keeping a beat, trying to look normal/pretty/ like it's easy and sweating like crazy. Both of these pictures were at the end of the summer at our last rehearsal. I really did eat, I promise, I didn't start out THAT skinny. And even though I wore sun screen every single day, my skin hasn't been the same since.

When you get that ice breaker question in groups of "what's the hardest thing you've ever done?" I often reply with 'marching drum corps.' The majority of people in those groups don't understand. It's one of those, 'guess you had to be there' kind of things. Surprisingly, I only had a few of those 'I can't do this anymore days' and most of those were in the beginning during 'Cornfield Tour' (yeah, we basically travel around rehearsing in different cornfield-focused cities). I had many more 'I can't breathe' moments (I have asthma), but inhalers work wonders.

I was on sports teams most of my life, so I understood concepts of discipline, working hard, teamwork, but drum corps took it to an entirely different level for me. You really don't want to be the weakest link, if you're out of place or lost the beat, every single person watching and participating can see it! It's ridiculously obvious. And I really, really hate disappointing others and sticking out. Colorguard was great for me because it addressed both! There is so much more I could say about my summer of 2000 and it will probably come out throughout this summer. But this is a good intro. I have lots to reflect on regarding my experience and I'm sure I'll think of some great rehearsal stories while I'm riding.

How am I going to finish this training and do this 184 mile ride? The same way I made it through a summer of drum corps... on faith and with heart.

L

PS It's been entirely too hot for me to ride lately. So I haven't gone since the 40 miler...Ugh.