Ouch

So the big lesson this week was a physics lesson; the law of gravity to be more specific. 
One pays a price for breaking the law.
You know me.  I am brave, but not a daredevil.  I am not blessed with a great sense of balance, and I respect this.  I also respect gravity.  I do not like the sensation of weightlessness (unlike the rest of the daredevils in my house).  I avoid "falling" type of rides; you know like the Tower of Terror, Dr. Doom's Freefall, any sort of catapult or bungee, and there is NO WAY you would get me on ANY of the rides on top of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas.  You can forget skydiving or bungee jumping.  I can't even watch it on TV!
This "safety switch" so to speak, has served me well.  I managed to get through an entire season of triathlon training without falling off my bike.  There were several times that I had to use the "Force" to stay upright.  But I did not fall.
Until Saturday, that is.
Sigh...
I should have known before I even got to practice.  We were meeting at 7:30 AM (or so I thought).  I was happily making my way to the training ground early Saturday morning; listening to some tunes, drinking my coconut water, and munching on my peanut butter and toast.  I received a text from one of my teammates that said, "R U Coming?"
I thought, what is she talking about?  It's only 7:20, I'll be there in 5 minutes!
Then I panicked - uh-oh!  Maybe I should check my paperwork at this red light - ARRGGHH!  We were supposed to meet at 7:00!!!
I'm Late!
To the first official training!
Cue the stomachache and cold sweats.
I almost turned around and went home in shame.
But, since I was 5 minutes away, I perservered. 
As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw everyone was just getting on their bikes.  The coach came over and I'm sure he said some thing clever.  I couldn't hear him over the frantic apologies (mine).
The bottom line was this: They weren't going to wait for me, but I could catch up.
Good enough for me.  The time alone on my bike gave me a few minutes to compose myself and promise NEVER to do that again!
I eventually caught the group and was christened "The Snail."  I could live with snail.  I like snails.  They are kind of cute. And delicious with a little butter and garlic.
We warmed up with a 7 mile ride and started the drills designed to get us more comfortable on the bike (ha-ha). One foot pedaling, balancing, gearing up and down, sprinting and stopping... I actually did okay.  For a while.  And then I didn't.
Funny thing about being clipped into your bike.  You can't get your feet out when you are panicking. Without your feet free, you stand absolutely no chance of getting free of the bike as it is falling.  Even when you aren't moving forward.
Gravity is not just a good idea - it's a law.
So for violating the law, I paid the price.
Twice.
Ouch.
They call what I did a "static" fall.  This is the least dangerous, and the most embarrassing (of course) of the ways to fall off your bike.  Somehow I managed to land on my left knee both times.  I must remember to tuck and roll the next time gravity starts enforcing its law.
I am okay. Nothing is broken. I was wearing my running tights over my bike shorts, so the abrasions are not nearly as bad as they could be.  The swelling and the limp should be gone by tomorrow, and I will have to get back in the saddle and try again.
The bruising should be spectacular, though!

Here we go again!

Yup... I've committed myself to another event with Team in Training.
(Is that a collective groan, and slamming shut of checkbooks and wallets everywhere that I hear?)
This time I am participating in a century ride.  In case you were wondering, that is a 100 mile bike ride (yes, all in one day). 
This one is called "America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride" and takes place around Lake Tahoe.
I do realize that Lake Tahoe is in the mountains.  And, yes, I also realize that it will be cold.
Yes, I will be training for this in S. Florida.
(there are no hills here)
I must remember to check the elevation of the ride - how much oxygen is in the air up there?
I'm a sea level kind of girl.

Well, this is all about challenging myself, right?
If you followed my adventures while I trained for my last event with the Team, you know that I was a little, well, challenged on the bike.  Maybe pathetic is more like it.  But, I stuck with it and perservered.  I did not crash (many did), I refused to fall, and even when my bike computer (speedometer) quit working at mile 9, I kept on pushing.  I finished strong and with a smile.  I did not set any course records, and I was passed by many while I was out there, but I did it.
More importantly, with your help, I raised over $4500 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!
Money that was used to fund cancer treatments, research, patient education and support, and to bring us one step closer to a cure.  How awesome is that?

And, that's why I'm doing it again.
Because every four minutes, someone new is diagnosed with a blood cancer, and every 10 minutes someone loses their battle with leukemia, lymphoma, or myleoma. 

And, despite my issues on (and with) the bike, I CAN do this.  And I am going to do it for those who can't.

We had our first training ride on Saturday, and it was a humbling event.  Our cycle team is made up (so far) of half alumni and half newbies.  The alumni (me included) have decided to really challenge ourselves on the bike and form an "elite" bike team.  This team is committed to maintaining at least 18 mph on the bike for the entire ride.  We all met in Jupiter on Saturday morning, shivering in the sub-60 degree weather.  Go ahead northerners, scoff away!  We were chilly! 
The ride was cold, fast, fun, exhausting, and yes, humbling.  My coach told me that I was "white knuckling" the whole ride (duh).  I told him to ask Coach Lisa how far I have come.
I found out that I cannot average 18 mph on the bike, despite my best efforts - even on the flat surface of A1A.
I cannot do this... yet.
But I will.
Come along with me.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/pb/ambbr11/leannewelch

Christmas at Disney

It's all over...
Hard to believe, isn't it?  Months of prep, and shopping, and spending, cooking , and cleaning...
The holiday season, as usual, went by much too quickly.
I love Christmas, really love Christmas, really, really love... well, you get the idea.
This Chrismas was all about Isabella (isn't it always about the kids?).
This year, I decided to do something we haven't done in years - go to Disney to enjoy the holiday activities.  Yes, it is crowded, expensive, too.  I rationalized all this away by saying that this trip was our Christmas present to ourselves.  I loved working at Disney during the holiday season - all the decorations, the Candlelight Processional, snow on Main Street... I had all of this magic locked inside a tiny place in my heart and couldn't wait to share it with my family.
I should have known better.
I should have gone myself.
My first clue was given to me before we even left for Disney.  I left work early and headed to Mom's to meet Ray and Isabella.  They were already there and settled in on the couch eating snacks and watching TV.  Obviously I was the only one in a hurry to get there when the party (Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party) started.
We puttered around Mom's for a couple of hours until she threw us out the door - hurry up, doesn't the party start in an hour? (yes, it does).
Up the FL Tpke, quick check in to our hotel, and we arrived at the Magic Kingdom around 8:00 (4 hours left to party). Then the battle over which rides we were going on began.
Rides?  We can ride anytime!  Let's see the shows!
Well, apparently I was the only one interested in seeing all the Christmas Shows, and the Christmas decorations, the lighting of the Castle Dreamlights, and the parade, and the fireworks...
Note to self (and any of you who might be wondering) - MVMCP is not really worth the additional admission ticket.  The parade was cool, and so were the fireworks, but the parade and fireworks for the Halloween party (Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party) are much better.
As a former Cast Member, preserving the Magic is very important to me, and a big part of that magic is the idea that the characters are really alive and not someone in a costume.  The way to do this is to ensure that a character is only seen in one part of the park at any given time.  Well, as we were headed past Peter Pan's Flight to see the Parade from Liberty Square, I noticed the seven dwarves (all of them: Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Dopey, Sneezy, Bashful, and Doc) posing for a photo opportunity.  In the distance, I could hear the music for the parade beginning. "oh," I thought to myself, "Guess the Dwarves aren't in the parade."
But they were!
This mystery was not lost on Isabella, who said, "Mommy, they must have run really fast to get in the parade!"  "Do they have a secret door?"  I assured her they must have a secret passageway.
Then, as the parade was over, and we meandered past the photo opportunity station, there were the little miners again!  Now, I was getting annoyed.  Of course, Isabella doesn't miss a trick.  "Mommy? How did they get back here so fast?"  I didn't know what to tell her.  Even the tunnels under the Magic Kingdom could not have gotten them there that fast.
I have to say, I was pretty disappointed in the Mouse over that one.  She's at that tender age when Santa and the Tooth Fairy are just barely real; spotting an obvious screw up like that one made the magic fade just a little for Isabella.  She told me on the way home that she was pretty sure it was the REAL dwarves in the parade and maybe some helpers in costume that were signing autographs.
Pretty good logic for a six year old, huh?
We didn't get back to the hotel until 2:00 AM.  I pulled the blackout curtains tight, and turned off the alarm.  I figured we'd get up when we were good and ready, knowing full well, I'd be up at 8:00 and staring and my sleeping family for many hours.
How wrong I was.
Pushed out of bed by a knee in my back (How did Isabella get in this bed?) and then kept awake by the incessant snores, I crept out of the bedroom and onto the pullout couch  (ie: Isabella's bed) at 5:00 AM, or so.  Nearly SIX hours later, Ray woke me up, saying, "Do you know how long you slept?"
"AARGH!!  It's 11:00!  We've already missed two hours at Epcot!"
Since it was my fault, I really couldn't be mad at anyone (but myself).
So, out the door we went, me grumbling and mad at myself.
The plan; and yes, I always have a plan for our disney trips.  We don't always stick to them, but I like to write stuff down.  Anyway, the plan was to start by parking at Hollywood Studios (where we would be ending our day), and take the boat to Epcot, visit the various Holiday Storytellers, have lunch in France, see some more storytellers, catch the first candlelight processional, and head on over to the Studios.  Once at the Studios, we would meet up with my dear friend, Mark, and see the Osboune (no, not Ozzy, or Sharon) Spectacle of lights, maybe go on a few rides, and have dinner at the Brown Derby (mmm).
It mostly worked out.
We saw two Storytellers, had lunch, and then the crowds came in.
Crazy crowds.
Crowds like I have never seen.
Crowds that made me think of New Year's Eve on Bourbon Street.
Crowds that made me terrified to lose Isabella (I never get that fear).
Note to self - next year, go on a Wednesday.
The Candlelight Processional was majestic as usual.  Our narrator was Whoopi Goldberg.  How cool was that?
When it ended, the crowds were even thicker.  We abandoned any thought of more strorytellers, and bailed.
The rest of our evening was great.  Yes, totally crowded, but whatever.  We met Mark, saw the lights, had dinner, and called it a somewhat early evening.
The next day we were back to normal, hit Hollywood Studios again and Isabella got to ride on both the Tower of Terror (I skipped that one), and the Rock and Roller Coaster.
My baby girl went upside down!
Then the weather turned ugly and we ran for the car and headed home.
I can't believe I forgot the ponchos!