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Sports Injury

Bravery/ Mountain Life/ Perseverance/ Zesty Adventures

Mind Over Matter: Head first into grit

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Head first into grit

Nearing the end my ride, I veer off into the berms for a little practice before finishing up. I focus on outside foot pressure as I rail some turns and pickup speed. My mind is a little hung up on technique and not focused on the trail conditions…

Before I could correct, my front tire washes out in the loose gravel and I get ejected over the bars. CRACK! Direct impact on my shoulder! “That didn’t sound good.” I said to Kula who was frantically racing around me as I lay on the trail. Jumping to my feet, I wheel my bike one-handed down the last few turns—I knew I needed to get down the trail before the adrenaline wore off. Fortunately I came upon a guy who offered to load my bike on the car for me. “Do you want me to call an ambulance?” he asked. “No, that’ll be $80 bucks! I’ll call a friend thanks.”

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Athletic Performance/ Mountain Biking/ MTB/ Zesty Adventures

Pilates: The Mountain Biker’s Secret to Strength, Balance & Recovery

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Crash with grace

Whether you pitch yourself over the bars, slip off a skinny or send yourself wayward on a wet root, if you ride a mountain bike you’re going to crash once in a while…but, I have a secret practice for landing on all fours.

I’ve had a number of crashes, close calls and tricky situations that I know Pilates has saved me from. Whether it’s addressing posture, breathing, strength, flexibility, coordination or awareness, for over 10 years Pilates has trained me to work with my body as whole to increase performance and resilience. If you think Pilates is only for women and ballerinas, you’re way wrong my friend. Continue Reading…

Bravery/ Perseverance/ Zesty Adventures

Zesty Setbacks: When life smacks you upside the head with a lemon

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The only thing for certain is something unexpected is going to happen

As the early morning glow seeped down the hillsides and across the lake, I walked down the dock with my ski in hand and an excited grin across my face. I hopped into the boat and heard, “you’re up girl!”—I guess it was apparent I could hardly wait to get swerving.

As I began carving across the wake, I heard nothing but the sound of breaking water behind me and hum of the boat. I settled into a rhythm on my ski and did several passes before taking a breather and going once more—so stoked to be on the water again. Continue Reading…