New Bike!!

YAY, new bike!!!! i got a brand spanking new Norco Phaser 1 ... cannot wait to try it out at the Budu race in a few weeks ... and it's the perfect bike for the NW Epic Series!  Sweet!

The balancing act of life

It's one of those days where you feel behind on everything ... and realize why, sometimes, life is 'exhausting'. It's because we are always walking the balance beam of life ... work pulls in one direction, family in another. Sports and compeitition pulls you as well as social events and relationships.  The reailty is that if you have all of these 'great' things pulling you ... you just need to stop and realize how lucky you are :) It may get tireing sometimes, but I feel very fortunate to have so many amazing people, adventures, compeitions, and career oppertunities in my life! Embrace the balance beam!

Running Thrilla

Usually people (including me) ride Thrilla. it's a local loop in Redmond with lots of fun hills.  On Sunday we decided it would be a good idea (?!) to run it. Yeah, run. 15 miles. :) Crazy or awesome ... either way we were in (yes, in typical Monilee style ...  don't laugh you guys!)

it was so cool! the route offers great views of the mountains and the sunset ... a great way to end a weekend! There is something about pushing yourself to go further while enjoying nature that is very fulfilling.

Sunshine in Seattle

February brought a week of sun and 15+ degree temps ... beautiful weather! What did we do? we made the most of it, of course. Saturday was a 10 mile run and Sunday was a 50 mile ride ... an amazing weekend with friends!

The 10 miler was our first big longer run ... a bit sore afterwards but all in all, pretty decent! and the 50 miler was our first in our prep for STP in july - a bunch of us will do that 200 miles together.  i love the sun!!!

Winter camping in style

January brought a trip to the mountains ... we went up to enjoy the snow ... hoping for some amazing powder and fun in the snow.  The cabin was amazing ... check it out:

The snow was incredible for snowshoeing but not so much for snowboarding! The winds were a little crazy at the top of the hill and the snow was sticky so the boarding was a little slow :) one trip was all we could manage ... but we did mange 5hours of snowshoeing!

Snow in Seattle and the Mountains!

Happy February!

January was a fun month with a Snowstore in Seattle (yes, we actually had enough snow to sled, make snowmen, and have snowball fights!!!).  The snow was great fun although the roads and trails are still recovering a bit ...so riding and running has moved indoors for a bit!

My big accomplishment for January was running a full hour on a treadmill ... you have to know me to understand how big of a deal this is!  I am not a huge fan or running inside ... so getting in an hour long run inside is a BIG feat for me :)  Back outside this weekend though (phew). Long runs are so much easier and longer outside!

On the fun front  ... winter camping!  It was great ... this time with a bit of life's comforts! Since the roads and trails were not ridable ... why not hit the snow ... 5.5 hours of snowshoeing is exhausting! You think you are in shape until you change things up ... then you realize you have a ways to go!  It was amazing ... check it out here.  Tried snowboarding but the snow was too wet and the boards didn't move very fast :) I think going down the hill was ALMOST as much work as going up. The winds were so crazy at the top I thought i might blow away! :)  Next time!

This weekend marks the end of the 'snow era' in seattle - translated this means running and riding outside!  A 10 mile run on Saturday and at 50mile ride on Sunday. I'm stoked!!