ALC kickoff ride

So, I bought and printed out the book that Swampy recommended, and I can't wait to finish reading it--I flipped through the first half over lunch, but haven't gotten into the meat of the second half yet. It looks like it'll be useful.

And the first AIDS Lifecycle training ride is this Sunday! I'm doing the flat, 8-mile option, mainly to support a couch-potato friend who's just committed to do the Ride. Not sure if I'll get a "real" training ride in that same day, but I'll certainly do some more riding afterwards. I unfortunately can't train on Saturday since I have a work social function to go to (I'm with Miss Manners in despising essentially-mandatory work "social" events outside of working hours, but I can't skip this one), and I also have to go shopping at Made in France, prepping for this year's chocolate extravaganza! Yep, it's just about the season for chocolate again. More on that in my main blog.

I debated being a training ride leader for AIDS Lifecycle this year. It's more or less de rigeur for experienced riders/members of the community, but I think I will pass. There are a couple reasons for this, but the biggest one is simply that I have NO sense of direction--there's no way I could keep novice riders on track when I have no idea where *I'm* going! I also don't really enjoy group riding, and because of my Markleeville training I expect to do most of my riding on Mt. Diablo, which is not where the majority of the training rides will go. So it's unlikely I'll be a training ride leader this year. Oh well.

Ah, winter.

Had to shorten the last two workouts, one due to rain and one due to a late start in the day. (I would have been just fine a month ago, but the days are getting shorter dammit!) However, I seem to be doing about as well as ever--1:18 going up Page Mill--so I'm not too worried.

I've also discovered that on days when I eat a hearty breakfast (like, a plateful of spaghetti instead of half a melon), I have much more energy and don't have to spend half the way up talking myself out of giving up and going downhill. Food = blood sugar = mood. Henceforth I will eat a big breakfast before working out.

Not much else going on--I'm doing strength training about twice a week, not as often as I'd like but better than nothing. I'm definitely adding strength in the glutes and my core, don't know about the quads. Well, keep working on it, I guess.

I have now finished my book proposal and am back to working on the book. If I find a publisher, all bets are off--I'll gladly drop Markleeville in order to finish it for publication!

But in the meantime, I continue with maintenance training and wait for December.