No Bones About It!

I'm not even entirely sure what that phrase means but I'm happy to report after my 2nd mtn bike ride I have not broken any bones! I have a few bruises and scrapes that make me feel super tough (and make someone else laugh at me..) Two days ago I completed 2 loops on a 3.5 mile "beginner" course up in Fruita. I had to walk the bike a few times but not without attempting the situation first. I am getting more comfortable on the bike which has been the main goal. And now its getting frosty and cloudy so this may be the end of my mtn biking season. It makes me look forward to spring! 

I need to start taking my camera with me on my running and biking excursions so I have something exciting to post. It's so amazingly beautiful here - the sunsets over the Bookcliffs and Grand Mesa never cease to catch my eye on a daily basis.

Oh lookie! I found a photo online - Bookcliffs

I've realized just recently that I've been letting other's doubts of my coming here affect my overall peace. It's hard to ignore. And as I was telling Tim - I try to operate out of compassion and love so I try to be understanding of what others might be going through. But then I start forgetting the whole reason why I came here in the first place. The fact is I'm living in 300 square feet with someone and I don't feel like killing him. That should be something to celebrate, not attack. But I'm getting better at looking forward and not hanging on to other's negative opinions. 

I had a great training run yesterday for CIM. I was nervous going out for a speed run without Tim since he's been accompanying (pacing) me the last few weeks. It was a good test to see if I had my own mojo to get the work done (I did!) 7 miles completed with 5 miles progressively faster from 7:55 - 7:26. Starting to finally get excited for December 8th!

New Home, New Hobby

Eighteen days ago I arrived in Grand Junction with nothing more than a carload of my possessions including Gracie and June Bug. Everything else that was in my apartment in Sacramento is either housed with a new owner or sitting at a dump. Getting rid of stuff was surprisingly easy. I didn't have anxiety about it other than thinking I probably could have received money for it had I been more systematic about it. This was the first time for me getting rid of everything I owned though and I whenever I tried to just sit and strategize how to do it I kind of ended up in a stupor staring at my wall wondering what the hell I was doing. Funny how "stuff" has such an impact on someone's perceived place in life. 

An unfortunate set of circumstances had me sick the first week I was in Colorado. I was back and forth between feeling well enough to get out for a short run and being sick with chills and completely laid out on the couch for the first half of the day. I don't do well mentally when I'm physically ill - probably because I tend to be pretty active, otherwise. I start thinking things like "I'm never going to feel good again...my life is basically going to shit..." wah wah wah. I think, oddly, this may have helped with my transition moving. I had no time to think about the people in Sacramento giving odd response to my leaving because I was in bit of a survival mode. 

So things have been on the up swing since that first week. Tim received two entries to the Rim Rock Marathon and we both had a great race coming in an hour before we thought. This was a training run for my BQ attempt at CIM in 4 weeks. Tim will fly to Sac and pace me. And I've decided to not put my name in for Western States since traveling back and forth to California is pricey and time consuming. Not to mention it's one week after Bryce 100, one of the races that Tim is co-directing. If I feel the need to run 100 miles in 2014 I'm intrigued by Bear 100. It's close and a point to point race that starts in Utah and finishes in Idaho. 

I bought a mountain bike yesterday. The plan is to start on easy trails (I hope similar to fire road) and not hurt myself. And I've been knitting like crazy! Life here is a bit slower for me than it was in Sac and I like that. I was first drawn to knitting because of the creativity and I could never stick with it because it takes a patient mentality. Patience is one of the things I'm fine tuning here in Colorado. Hopefully the running is being fine tuned as well but since I haven't run since the marathon I can't comment on that with any confidence for the moment. 

Hopefully the next photo isn't one with a broken bone

Crafty.