One Final Down, Three to Go!

Thanksgiving break finished up nicely. Lots of relaxing with Peter's family and a ride with Peter, Jen, and Christian on Saturday. Sunday Peter and I headed back to Austin at 6am so that we could avoid the seven hour drive we faced last year in the evening. It was an easy drive back with a pit stop at Czech Stop. We got back by 10am and by 10:30am I hit the rode for a 4 hour 15 minute ride complete with some Endurance On/Offs and an hour of low-cadence tempo. Phew it was tiring.

I finished up my first final today for my Brand Management class- not too bad at all. I've started a new phase in training with pretty long big gear intervals, some sub-threshold training, and a power phase in the gym. I did the power training in the gym today and holy crap my legs are already so sore. The last officer meeting of the semester is tonight and another final tomorrow. I'd best get going on some studying!

Thanksgiving Time

Thank goodness for Thanksgiving break! It's nice having a break from school but boy its just a tease! There is so much studying to do to get ready for the last week of class!! Luckily, after the last week (3 tests and a paper), I just have one final left. School this week was pretty easy- it's all prepping for the last week and finishing up some presentations. I had a big Luna project due on Tuesday and I think I passed with flying colors! So much fun (big thanks to Danielle too for saving my life!).

I had my threshold test on Wednesday which didn't go so hot in 30 degree weather at 6am :-) I get to redo it next week. I think I'll elect do it a bit later in the day. Hehe. A new training phase is beginning with more plyometrics and more power focused weights, sub-threshold training, and longer big gear intervals. I'm very excited. I love to suffer- weird, I know.

Peter and I left for Dallas at 2pm on Wednesday and didn't get to Dallas until almost 8pm! Gosh- six hours for a normal 3.5 hour drive. We've had a nice visit with his family and a good Thanksgiving. Today is pretty chill which is good for studying :-) Tomorrow is the Mad Duck ride with Metro and after we're going to lunch together. Peter and I will jet out of here before dawn on Sunday to avoid the 7 hour drive home we experienced last year (MISERABLE). I have a nice 4 hour ride to come home to too!

It's going to be very busy until I get to Colorado in just over a couple of weeks but there is also a lot of fun thrown in there!

Thanksgiving Hurry Up!

Time is flying fast! I’m grateful thanksgiving is almost here! School has been just tests and projects and papers and presentations every day for the past who even knows how long. Just one full (hell) week of classes left and one final and that concludes the semester. Thank goodness! Next semester will be pretty awesome though. I’m taking four marketing classes- one about corporate social responsibility (hello doesn’t that scream my name?), data mining, consumer behavior, and the capstone marketing class.

Peter and I celebrated our two year anniversary, gosh, almost two weeks ago now! We had ourselves a little date, sadly not on the 11^th but rather on the 12^th- darn work and project schedule! We’ll make up for it with a Christmas trip though!

Work has been good too. I ended up not going to the surfing events which was a little bit of a bummer since I wanted to see one, but it was probably better that I went just to San Antonio instead for the San Antonio Marathon. It was a pretty impressive expo and very crowded. I also just finished up a side project for Luna Bar for collegiate women athletes which was so cool- I loved meeting all these people involved in these wide range of sports from water polo to water ski to wushu. I’m definitely looking forward to more cool projects like that.

Training has been fantastic. Every week I get stronger and stronger and I watch my heartrate decrease for the same power. I am still definitely looking forward to the break with more time to ride and not having to rush to the library when I finish riding…or riding at 6am.

Rhiannon, Siobhan, Kalla and I have formed pretty much a giggles club. We’re pretty ridiculous- watch out collegiate racing ;-) Last week we went to a 1997 Sing-A-Long and sang ourselves hoarse for two hours to all the hits from 1997 and, man, there were a lot of them! It was a very late night for me which then turned into an early TWILIGHT morning. Yes, my friend Mukta and I went and saw the 10am showing of New Moon with a theater full of women skipping work or that had bribed their husbands to take little Suzy to school because she had an “appointment.” Hehehe. I loved the movie, by the way, but nothing can beat the book.

I also took a little trip to Dallas this past weekend for Metro Club meeting- it was good getting to see everyone, especially my lady teammates Lauren and new teammate Jen! We went on the Mad Duck ride Saturday- it got a little out of control for awhile, but that is just a good reason to slow down and take a detour ;-) I’m excited about next season for sure and can’t wait for the team to be officially launched soon! Don’t worry, Bike-Import is still on the agenda after U23 Nationals J

That’s all for now. Thanksgiving this week will be spent in Dallas at Peter’s family’s house. I’m in charge of making a holiday dessert with no pumpkin and no nuts and with cream cheese frosting. Hrm… More updates, more frequently hopefully!

And So On and So Forth

Classes keep on chugging along. Only 1/3 of the semester is left. Every semester I am stunned how fast it goes by. Now my mind is being occupied with the women's movement, managing a brand across cultures, data regression for marketing research, and life insurance. Since the semester is coming to a close, I am delighted to be bombarded with so many presentations, exams, projects, and homework assignments and a ton of reading...and only two and a half weeks of class left.

I had an awesome time last Friday with a few friends (hey Rhe!) at Master Pancake Theater's version of E.T. Wow I can't believe that movie is considered a kids' movie- it was scary! That night was probably my favorite lately. I think we're planning on going to the next Master Pancake as well as 1997 Sing-A-Longs there- I can't wait! Such an awesome group of friends.

I actually have a riding buddy now which is very exciting. Drew from Texas Cycling is joining me on the weekends now which makes 3.5 hours in zone 2-3 much more entertaining :-)

In the spring, I'll be taking on a larger role with Clif Bar, well, Luna Bar to be exact, doing more logistical work and project planning and implementation. I'm quite excited- I love the company and getting to take on a larger role will be great!

In other news, I think anyone that reads this thing probably knows me, but Peter (bf) is officially a pro cyclist- yippee for him! I'm so proud- I've never met such a sincerely hard worker. Today is actually our two year anniversary and we're celebrating by...celebrating tomorrow! We did train together this morning but then it was school, work for him, and soon meeting for me. Tomorrow will be enjoyable and perhaps I'll have photos!

Taking A Step Back

Being a senior getting ready to graduate in May, life can be a bit of a challenge sometimes, more so than I expected. Searching for a job is a very time consuming and daunting task. It is full of trials, tribulations, and plenty of rejection thrown in there. It's also an emotional roller coaster when you know you are a good fit for the company, some of them know that, but not all and you get rejected. That was the fun I had this past week, except I also had two papers, two major projects, and two midterms thrown in there.

Needless to say, it was a relief to have the week over. It also made me think a bit about where I am going. I love bike racing and I had previously decided that this next season is MY year to shine but it is easy to get caught up in the "OMG I have to get a job right now because I graduate in 8 months!"-thing that the business school has a reputation for. I've taken a step back, evaluated myself and my life experiences I've had and have told myself to be patient. I know that to be happy, I must work at a place with similar values to my own, only there can I truly have that passion and I know that that job will come along when the time is right. I am going to do well next season and I have worked hard for it so I need to see where that is going to take me next year as well before I give it up for a 50 hour a week job. A lot of my emotions that had previously been thrown at this job-hunt thing are now being thrown at racing and accomplishing those goals. I am still 100% still looking for a full-time position, but I am going to have more patience and what look at will be much more thought out.

Other than abstract, wishy-washy life things, I am now definitely training. I am riding 4 days a week with various intervals each of those days and have weight training and running the other days of the week. It sure makes for one sore Whitney, but I know it will also make one fast Whitney in a few months. I've really, really enjoyed the training and the results I feel from just a month now. The one downside is that the training is very regimented (which is good for me) but that means zero group rides right now.

Sadly, I pretty much missed Halloween. This past week wore me out to the extent I don't think I really left the house except to train. I did manage to make some Halloween cupcakes, but that is about the extent of it. Life happens sometimes, ya know?

This next week is pretty light for school which means I'll finally have time to catch up on my neglected government and some Texas Cycling stuff that needs to be taken care of...oh and sleep!