Freeform

Breaking your ankle apparently has long lasting effects but perhaps this year was well suited for the change after 4 seasons of training and charging hard on the bike. The recovery is coming along, more slowly now that I'm closer to normal but that's a post for another day. I haven't been doing much training this year but I've been plenty active as my ankle increases in strength. With little JJ's due date growing closer and closer, I'm pretty sure the trend will continue through the year.

On Saturday night, Marni and I joined friends and much of Boulder's cycling community at the Boulder Theater for the local premier of Ride the Divide. Mike Dion and the filmmakers did an excellent job capturing the event, something that's none too easy following spread out cyclists over 2800 miles of backroads. After the movie I got up on stage with Kurt and Felix and we got to answer a few questions from the crowd which was a fun experience. Brett and I had to hustle to Boulder just to make the movie, barely getting there on time after riding a couple Left Hand Canyon laps (110 miles/9k vert) earlier in the day. See I do still ride my bike :p
Yesterday Marni and I had a lazy breakfast up in Boulder before contributing to the economy via another new couch purchase. I've been slowly working on the house projects, trying to get the rooms all ready for the little one's arrival and resulting company coming to visit. The living room is being freshened up and finally outfitted with it's own furniture and should look really good soon! In the afternoon we found a shady wall up above Golden and Aaron and I worked on a couple of our rock climbing projects. I sent my 5.10b project (apparently ripping the butt out of my pants in the process, haha) and Aaron was oh soooo close to sending his 5.11- route. The girls came with us and relaxed on the rocks before we all grabbed some dinner. Cookies and The Office awaited Marni and I at home before bed.
Marni is looking beautiful and feeling pretty good at 25 weeks now. Little JJ is kicking regularly and goes wild after she eats sweet things. It's so fun to feel him move and kick and he only has to stay in there a few more months before we get to meet him. We've gotten so many cute little outfits from our friends and family and we're starting to work on the nursery which I'm super psyched about. Marni is done with school at the end of this week and she'll be done with her grad school maymester class on June 4th. It's a tough way to end the school year but I'm really proud of her for getting another grad class finished before the baby comes. She's getting really close to finishing her Master's degree and that's awesome! Of course then I guess it will be my turn to finish up my Master's, haha.
This morning we snuck out for a quick breakfast together before work and have some great after work plans too. It's finally warm and sunny (though still windy) here in the front range and it's wonderful to sleep with the windows open in the house, my favorite time of year. Turbo is sunning himself regularly hence his newest nickname, Solar Powered Puppy.
My cycling has been taking all sorts of different forms these days. MTB rides, big road rides with the century crew and often just random commuting. Riding up to Boulder to go climb and riding home is a great workout and I'm finally feeling reasonably fit for the first time post avalanche.
I had an interview last week for a fall teaching job. It went well and I'm definitely hoping I get an offer. Getting to visit the school and see where I would be working was awesome and I'm excited. I just have to cross my fingers now and hope that they're willing to take a chance on me. I'm definitely up for the challenge and have even figured out some bike and bus commuting options that I'd be able to use some of the days. Until I get a new job lined up I'm going to continue to enjoy my time off and the ability to literally stop and smell the roses. It's been quite an amazing experience to be able to take this time off of work and enjoy a slower pace for a bit. I'm quite thankful for the support of my wife and this opportunity. I like to be able to be there for Marni during her hard days of work and classes and I've really learned a lot about myself being able to participate in all the awesome bike events. Going back to work is going to be great too. I think teaching will be very rewarding and I'm ready to get started.
Turbo certainly likes having me home so that he gets extra walks and his boney belly doesn't get too out of control :) I think he's gained a few pregnancy pounds too.
He sure doesn't seem to mind though. There are few things in life quite as happy as a dog running free.