AIDS/LIFECYCLE Training Begins Today!

 

Today marks the first day of my official training for the AIDS/LIFECYCLE ride I’m doing this June. I will be riding 545 miles in one week! Wow! My team is mostly made up of those who will be riding in person, but California is a little too far for me to travel with a bike in tow. Plus, I don’t have one! I don’t think my earth cruiser would be suitable! 

I will be doing my miles on a peloton!

The first week of training starts off fairly easy. Two 40 minute rides and one 60 minute ride during the week, and that’s it! No long ride on the weekend yet. Those should be pretty easy for me in the beginning, since I do Quests fairly often….

Eventually, those weekend rides will be several hours long, so I will do longer challenge rides to get me through. 

I am also fundraising, and my current fundraiser is Super Bowl squares!

Fun fact: we moved in to our SC house on this day in 2016, and it was Super Bowl Sunday!

Who is ready for Super Bowl squares?$10 per square, and you can pick your square. You can donate directly to AIDS/LIFECYCLE and half the money goes to AIDS/LIFECYCLE for my 545 mile ride this June (in one week!) and half will go to the payouts. (My local friends have been sending money via Venmo). If the board gets filled, I will more than 3/4 of the way to my goal of $1000!  The numbers 1-9 will be added at random on game day, this is not the final board. 

 $120raised and $120 in the pot! Who is next?

6 days until the Super Bowl! Don’t delay!

http://www.tofighthiv.org/goto/barkingmadrun

Have you ever done a challenge ride like this? What was the distance? 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Fiction Friday

 We are halfway through January already, and I’ve managed to finish 5 books so far. I’m also reading 4-5 books at a time right now, which is always a juggling act! Have you ever done that? I never used to read more than one at a time, but I think of it like watching different tv shows each week, one episode at a time. 

This is one of my current reads. I’ll explain how I chose it below, but I will say right now that I am really enjoying it. I’m getting an amazing glimpse into Indian traditions and culture, some things that I knew and some that I didn’t. It’s a real eye opener, and it makes me appreciate the life that I have. 

I’ve been slowly reading through the Harry Potter series again, usually a chapter a day. I just finished Order of the Phoenix which means I get to read one of my faves. And then another of my faves. The last two in the series are definitely my top two!

These are in my stack right now, I have finished Illuminae and if you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it. Morgan gave it to me and I could not put it down. 

One of my Once Upon a Book Club selections, and although it was second in a series I was able to follow along with no problem. I love me a good cozy mystery!

The hubs and I recently started listening to this on a trip to Jersey. We didn’t even get halfway through, because we kept pausing it, but we are loving it so far. Sissy Spacek was the perfect choice to narrate it. 

This was a re-read, and I enjoyed most of it. Not his best but definitely not his worst. 

Another fun cozy with a magical twist, and my review is live on my Bookstagram today! (BarkingMadAboutReading) This one has four more in the series and they are definitely on my TBR now!

This is a buddy read and the cover is just stunning. I want the whole series of classics in this style once I convince my hubby to have floor to ceiling bookshelves installed in my library. 

Ahhhhhh the Advent Box from OUABC. I am two stories in and the first two gifts were perfection. Use BARKINGMADRUN10 for a discount at checkout. 

I stole this idea from a friend. You post the blank on your Facebook page and let your  friends choose the books. The first one was chosen by my friend Sarah, who never leads me astray!

This was a quick read, and super action packed. I read it in a couple of days, and did not want it to end. It was the last in a trilogy, but I haven’t read the first two. I’m definitely going back to read them!

What are you reading right now?

Wordless Wednesday

 

Gnome Run Trail Race

 For the fourth time since moving south, I participated in the Gnome Run Trail Race on New Year’s Day!

Of course, it rained for days leading up to race day, and rain was in the forecast for the race as well. I wore my old kicks, and prepared for a slow slog through the trails of Baxter Village in Fort Mill. 

As you can tell by my Flat Mama, it was warm here on New Year’s Day. Many of the runners were in tanks and shorts. 

When I got to the race, I went straight to the Resolution Board and put down my word for 2022!

Then I hit the bathrooms and looked for Lissa. We have run this race together every year. And by that, I mean that she ran it and saved me a seat for BBQ afterwards. I have walked almost every year. The first two times I had Disney marathon weekend less than a week later, and the second two times I was injured. 

Lissa introduced me to Sarah and her husband Steven, who would also be walking. We stuck together the whole time and had so much fun! Party in the back!

The course was beautiful as always, and not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The one terminally muddy section was the usual nightmare, but the rest was pretty decent!

At the finish line, there is always BBQ from Legal Remedy: pulled pork for a positive move during the year, black eyed peas for health and prosperity, collard greens represent money, and corn bread for gold. 

As you can see, I’m a huge fan of collard greens. Or not. The rest was seriously yummy. 

Then we waited to see who earned the coveted Gnome pint glasses. Most of my friends who ran earned one! Hooray! I stole Lissa’s 2nd place AG glass for a selfie. It’s the closest I got! Also, it never rained. Hooray!

Another great race, which I will continue to attend for as long as I can! 

Did you participate in any races on New Year’s Day?