Back to the races!

I have always done 12 to 24 hour mountain bike races either SOLO or with one guy. But this time I joined a great group of gals for the 12 hours of Temecula.

Monique, Melissa, Bern, Tiffany

It's usually a lot of pressure to ride duo with a guy because he rides so fast and he expects so much out of me. Not to mention, I put a lot of pressure on myself during my solo races to finish a certain number of laps and compete with the top women. But I must say, it's a totally different experience to ride "just for fun" with a bunch of nice women. I had a great time and I remembered why I love mountain biking so much.

Jason and Heather put on another great race! This was the first time they left out the infamous "Dam Climb" and it made for a very "flowy" race course. Had I have been in shape, I would have ridden my single speed Niner. But alas, I stuck to the gears and had an incredible time.


Although I found the course to be super "flowy," it was quite technical with lots of ruts, rocks, and steep drops. There were several places were they posted "Caution" signs and there certainly could have been more of those signs all over the course. :)


Unfortunately Melissa took a nasty spill. She was scratched up and bruised pretty badly. They thought she may have had a separated shoulder so she was carted away in the ambulance. Turned out it was nothing major and she's fine. The very next day she was asking us when we could race again. Tough girl! That's why I love her!

And I must give props to the best support crew in the world. Carl and King Rich are always there for me for assistance and mental support. Thanks guys!

Sofia's Baby Talk

President Barack Obama

The Inaugural Address

It's different to actually read the speech as opposed to just hearing it. Kind of like reading the book then watching the movie I suppose. I missed the speech on TV so I decided to read the first few lines to see what kind of sugar coated words the President's speech writers put in front of his face.

Yes, yes, that may seem a bit pessimistic, but isn't that the way it usually goes? Words, words, words. They don't mean a thing. (Is that a song?) Well, after the first few lines, I was hooked. I read all four web pages of the speech and even got some strange moisture in my eyes a couple of times. (Damn, those writers are good!)

Huh well, as I read it, I imagined President Obama speaking those words and putting true feelings behind them. I could see him in my mind and I could feel the power of his voice. The words flowed through my mind and body and subsequently drowned my governmental pessimism with renewed hope for the future.

I was actually excited and motivated! All the while thinking, "I hope they do it, I hope they do it, I hope WE do it. Let's make a change for the better! Can we?"

So my question is: Will the government use that speech as a general outline to construct specific goals for our country and implement those new ideas to better our nation and the world? Or will the Inaugural Address remain only sugar coated words, written by very good speech writers, forgotten in the back of some history book?"

Training With Senorita Sofia

I've finally lost enough weight to be able to jog without my knees aching (or without my belly bouncing...yuck!) I like to take Senorita Sofia out to enjoy the lovely SoCal weather so I put her in the baby jogger and off we go. Our jogging loop follows the trails near our home. It includes 4 short but steep hills and it takes us 55 minutes.

Although Sofia is big and tall for a 4 month old, she is still a little small for the jogger. My adventure racing teammate Christian made us an "insert" to put inside so that Sofia can be supported. Little Lady seems to really enjoy the ride. She gets very calm when we start out and then of course she falls asleep about half way through.


I always used to hate jogging, and in my adventure racing days, I would have to force myself to go. But with Sofia, I'm actually enjoying it. Could it be because I'm running with a buddy who doesn't care how hard I'm breathing? Is it because I can jog really slowly without anyone else thinking I'm a wimp?...I mean since I AM pushing an extra 25 pounds. Or is it because I'm so happy to be sharing the beauty of the outdoors with my Little Lady? I think it's all of the above.

I've also been able to spend a little more time on the bike. During the week, I'm up at the crack of dawn riding my trainer for 45 minutes. On the weekends, I get in some longer road and mountain bike rides. Having goals is very important and motivating for me so I'm currently preparing for my first mountain bike race since pregnancy.



By The Numbers

4 Months since I gave birth to Sofia

5 Hours I rode my bikes this weekend (most I've done in 1 year)

24 Pounds I still want to shed

6 Days until my first mountain bike race since pregnancy

Miss Gilly's gift to Sofia: The Jolly Jumper

Sofia's First Christmas

Although my little Senorita Sofia had no idea we were celebrating Christmas, she was still filled with joy. She is the best present Greg and I could ever ask for.

Santa visited Little Lady Sofia in Texas. He must have known how good she had been through her first 3.5 months of life because he brought her lots and lots of presents! So many presents, they had to be shipped to SoCal in a very large box.

Texas Pic by Christina Ybarra

We had Little Lady Sofia baptized at the church where Greg and I got married in New Braunfels. There were so many people there to witness the blessed event. My brother Stephen is her Godfather.

New Braunfels, TX Pic by Christina Ybarra

My Lady (a.k.a grandma) provided Mamacita with the cutest little shoes and she actually kept them on through the entire church service!

My Christmas Post To You All

I'm really not a big fan of Christmas music. I realized that when my Mom, Dad, and Greg all wanted to listen to Christmas music in the car and I claimed that California was too fashion forward to have any stations dedicated to holiday cheer. Of course Greg knew off the top of his head the station they wanted so not only was I stuck in three hours of holiday traffic, but I was also in auditory prison! Now don't get me wrong, I don't mean to portray a "bah humbug" attitude here. I love the Christmas holiday, it's just the music I can do without.

Is it just me or do a lot of the songs seem so melancholy and depressing? Or is it that they are just so slow they make me want to "put on my cap and settle down for a long winter's nap?" In fact the only Holiday song I really like is not about Christmas at all...

Bern's favorite holiday song

Anyhow, I'm sharing this special holiday post with you to tell you that I finally found a Christmas song I enjoy. So grab a cup of cocoa, sit back & relax and listen to this holiday song. And please don't be one of those folks who says "I'm just trying to get past the holidays." Take time to enjoy the season whether you are with your family and friends or alone on the trails. Have a HAPPY HOLIDAY & a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Finally, a Christmas song I enjoy.

I'm so in love!!!!!

Isn't she just adorable? Okay, I know I'm biased but dang she's cute! I just love her so much!


Senorita Sofia can now see the mobile above her crib and she really enjoys it. She can lie in there for a long time just listening to the lullaby and watching the fuzzy construction vehicles go round and round. I just wish I didn't have to wind it up every 30 seconds.

She has also recently discovered her hands. She entertains herself for lengths of time by watching her hands and putting them in her mouth. The other day I put a colorful rattle toy in front of her face and waited for her to reach for it. After about a half hour she was reaching out and grabbing it. I'm not sure that she knows the toy remains in her hands but she is learning.

My best gal Miss Gilly came back from Whistler to visit with me and to meet Sofia. I've missed her so much. But even though it's been a year since she's been gone, we fell right back into our old routine! We drank wine, went mountain biking and then we went "girly" shopping for clothes and shoes! Aahh, the good old days!

Oh yeah, and she got to love on Little Lady Sofia also!

My parents came back for another visit. They just can't stay away from their first grandchild for very long.

My brother flew in from New York to meet his niece. He too fell in love.

Baby and Mommy hands

An A+ for Senorita Sofia!

We took Sofia to her 2 month well baby check up and she passed the tests with flying colors!

She measured 24 inches long which was in the 100th percentile! Yup, she's gonna be a tall gal.


And not surprisingly she weighed 13.6 pounds which was also in the 100th percentile. I guess you can say she is "healthy!"

Unfortunately she had to get her vaccinations and of course she cried but Daddy was right there to comfort her. She was back to smiling within two minutes and I don't think she'll hold it against us...until her next vaccination appointment.

Senorita Sofia is also doing very well at "home school." She seems to really enjoy her Spanish lessons.

Little Lady's First Halloween

I wasn't going to dress up Little Lady for Halloween because I couldn't find any costumes that were small enough for her. Until one day I happened upon the cutest little witch costume that I knew would fit just right!

Witch-i-Poo

I was so excited to find it so I checked the price tag and found that it was a PET COSTUME! Yup, that's right. The tag showed a picture of the costume on a little dog. Well, so what!?! It was super cute and the right size so I bought it.

Every year Greg and his buddy Paul build the most amazing Haunted House in Murrieta.

Entrance is free and they usually have hundreds of people go through it.

I'm chicken so I go through before it opens and before all the real life characters are in place to scare me.

Sofia can't wait to go through the Haunted House someday. I'm sure she will be just like her Daddy and Halloween will be her favorite holiday.

Back in the saddle again!

Almost seven weeks post delivery of my Little Lady Sofia and I finally did a real mountain bike ride! I was afraid I might have forgotten how to push the climbs or maneuver the techy downhills but I found that the old saying really is true..."You don't forget; it's just like riding a bike."

No, this is not me now. It was me last year because I'm really not keen on posting any "baby PHat" pics of myself.

I took a spin around my favorite training trails for an hour and fifteen minutes. I huffed and puffed up the easiest climb, but I made it without stopping. This ride was very encouraging and every day I'm feeling more and more like my old self except now I have a gorgeous Little Lady to go home to.

Battling the Bulge!

After the birth of my gorgeous Little Lady Sofia, the docs told me not to do any physical labor for six weeks. SIX MORE WEEKS!?!?? After "taking it easy" for nine months, how did they expect me to take it easy for six more weeks?

Fellow singlespeed mountain biker Fuzzy John and his 14 month old son Ian came by to visit Sofia.

Well, it wasn't hard to take it easy for four weeks because my body really did need the recovery. But at the fourth week, I set up my road bike on the trainer and started riding. As Lady Sofia slept, I hopped on the trainer and took off. Unfortunately, my bottom could only take 12 minutes on the seat. So that was it; my first workout--12 minutes. It will be a while before I will ride for 24 hours straight again, but I'm working on it... one day at a time.

Sofia's First Month

Sofia at 5 days old

Sleeping beauty;
Sofia sleeps A LOT (during the day!) Every once in a while she will wake up to look around and that's when we talk to her and show her some colorful books and picture cards. During the night she sleeps anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours at a time. I'm always checking her while she sleeps to make sure she's still breathing. Yes, I'm paranoid.

Sofia's second week of life and she's already making funny faces

Growing like a weed;
Sofia's skinny little body is getting chunkier every day. She's also very long. At her two week doctor visit, she was measured in the 100th percentile of length for babies her age! Looks like she'll be a tall gal!

Sofia's third week

Hungry Hippo;
Sofia is a great eater! She loves to snack all day long. I opted for strict breastfeeding at first but by week three, I had to start supplementing her with formula. I just couldn't handle the constant feeding with no sleep and no breaks. Giving her formula allows Greg to feed her too so that I can get out once in a while, get some sleep, and be less stressed out. She's very funny. When Greg takes the bottle away so he can burp her she'll make cute little growling noises until he gives her the bottle again.

Sofia at 4 weeks old and ready for her favorite holiday -- Halloween!

Poopie diapers;
How did anyone use cloth diapers back in the day? I would really like to use cloth for the environment's sake, but newborns poop all the time and it's very liquidy! Maybe I'll try the cloth diapers when she gets a little older.

October 7; Sofia's one month birthday

State of her Mommy;
I ended up gaining 56 pounds through the pregnancy! I lost 20 pounds immediately without doing anything but it looks like I'm going to have to work hard to get rid of the rest. The docs said I shouldn't do anything for six weeks, but I just couldn't wait that long. At three weeks, I started some short, easy walks. At four weeks I set up my bike on my trainer in the back yard and started riding. My limiting factor is not my legs, but my seat! The first day I could only sit on the bike for 12 minutes! Now I'm up to 16 minutes. I guess it will be a while before I can ride for 24 hours again, but I'm working up to it.


"La Ruta Lou" Kobin sent Sofia a darling little Stars & Stripes riding jersey to match Mommy's 24 hour National Championship Jersey! Sofia will probably fit in her jersey in a few months and maybe by then Mommy will fit back into her's too!

Sofia Hawkins Pierson is born!

After a very looooong 38 1/2 weeks of pregnancy, Sofia came into this world "relatively easily" on Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 6:28pm. We were happily surprised to find out she was a girl.

She weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and measured 19 3/4 inches long. She has very long legs, arms, fingers and toes.

And of course I think she has the most precious face in the world.

At only 15 hours of total actual labor, I must say that this birth was a lot easier than any 24 hour adventure race I've ever done.

Announcing...

Sofia Hawkins Pierson

Born: Sunday, September 7, 2008
6:28pm

Weight: 6 lbs 12 oz
Length: 19 3/4 inches



Baby and Mommy are doing well after a fast and relatively easy delivery. First baby photos are currently under negotiations with the paparazzi.