The first photo is Scott and Jesrin on the podium from yesterday's race. Scott placed 4th and Jesrin 8th. Two Trek riders in the top ten! Our weekend house guest and friend, Jesse, took 7th. At the start of the race, (2nd photo) Scott got his front wheel crossed by another rider right off the start line and had to come to a complete stop right after the gun. He made up a good deal of ground on the first climb up the downhill ski run to be in 2nd position going into the first section of singletrack. By the end of that short section he was leading the race! He kept the lead until the end of the first lap (the laps were about 12 miles long with 1300 feet of climbing per lap). He looked so smooth riding the singletrack and mostly back to his old form before the past few years of DNFing almost every race. The second lap he kept contact with the leaders of the Moore brothers and he and Sam rode together. Scott has been focusing on getting healthy all summer, especially since getting rid of the cats. He has been riding, but not training as hard as he would like. He is definitely coming around. Last year at this race, he just crumbled going up the last hill and had no chance at keeping contact with the other 5 riders in his group. This year he kept his (4th) position and held off Jay Richards who came in a bit behind him. This race was his best finish all year. There were really good riders at this race that are in good racing form. For me it is really fun to see Scott's form coming back; it definitely makes it worth me going to the races (and not being so bummed that I cannot race). It is also much easier to live with a happy husband. :)

Prior to getting rid of the cats, Scott was talking about giving up racing if things didn't get better this season. He was frustrated with his constant cold/allergy symptoms and what to do about them; especially when it came to riding and racing and not feeling well. He also has way more energy this summer than I can ever remember. He doesn't need to nap all the time like he used to (I've taken up that duty as the baby is taking most of my energy - last week was particularily 'bad' with needing to lay down a lot and not getting to exercise as much. I had one of my rare days of frustration and ever more rare days where I cry at the drop of a hat - gotta love those pregnancy hormones.)

Back to the race: the local 10o'clock news had coverage of the race with Scott leading! (We contacted the local news people to get a copy of the clip to send into Trek, but the video guy wants $60 for a copy. Pretty steep fee for under a minute of coverage.)

The last photo is of Scott, my brother in law Brad (he rode 140 miles that day on his road bike), and our good friend Jesse soaking their legs in lake superior after the race. (I stood in there as well prior to taking the photo and could barely get out cuz my legs were so frozen they wouldn't move normally; my center of gravity has changed from pregnancy that I almost fell into the lake a few times while trying to get out!)

The other cool thing about the weekend was that the Dr. (Dr. Mongeon) that is helping Scott get well did his first MTB race. So did his 4 year old daughter. Our friend Sophie also raced the kids race (she's almost 8 - she also ran the weds night kids race last week the same day as going on a nearly 2 hr hike with me). It was really fun to see everyone this weekend, hang out with good friends, get a taste of what having two children would be like (we sorta babysat a bit this weekend) and learn more about how amazing the women I know that have children are! (The ones that don't have children are amazing too!)

Scott led the Monday Night Ski Hut Ride tonight. Thirty-five riders showed up. That is a great turn out for a moutain bike ride. The race course for this Sunday's MNSCS race is ready to go (just need to mark it, but all the actual trail work is done). It is in the best shape of the season. The new sections have been a great addition with a lot of positive feedback from riders. I have yet to ride these sections. As Scott says, I'll have a whole new trail to ride post-pregnancy. I am looking forward to it! I'll likely be out volunteering day of the race and handing out water to some of the Expert riders (Scott, amongst others). I have had a rough go these past few days. I have been exhausted and hungry. Not a great combination for me as I like to keep busy. Laying around and napping on the couch are my two least favorite things, but seems to have replaced training the last few days. Our baby is moving a lot and shifting her position often. Sometimes it is not so comfortable and sometimes she kicks so hard that I cannot fall asleep. We have started to read stories to her at bedtime. Babies hearing is much better developed at birth than their eyesight from what I have read. I am going to update my profile (hopefully this week) with hightly recommended baby books for anyone interested. I finish up my grad class in the next two weeks and I am looking forward to having a bit more free time. My garden has been a bit neglected and I finally got some weeding done last night. We should have beets and peas pretty soon. Our lettuce is still fantastic and the carrots shouldn't be too far behind. I didn't seem to plant enough variety, but what we have gotten thus far is really good.

Scott just got done doing this crazy week-long gallbladder flush diet. Basically, he didn't eat any fat for a week (I did some creative cooking) then drank a lot of lemon juice and some olive oil the last day. He got really bad diarrhea from it and is suffering a bit, but he is done with it in enough time to hopefully recover from it in time for this weekend's race. I hope it is worth it. He is definitely coming around and is better off this year than last year. It has been a bit of a slow process. I hope he feels great once baby comes, cuz I am going to need some major relief time (and time to get back on my bike!)

This is a photo of the newest section of singletrack on the Spirit Mountain race course. We spent the past saturday morning making this reroute in order to avoid a highly eroded section on the railroad grade. There was a nice group of COGGS members and volunteers that showed up. This section is really nice and about 1/4 mile long. Scott and most of the rest of the group made an additional one mile section in the fern gulley part of the course. I am told it is really fun to ride; the guys have been busy riding it in and hopefully the monday night ski hut ride will meet there for the next few weeks before the race to help beat the trail in a bit. My plan is to hike it sometime this week and check it out. The race course is really coming along and there is talk that the course will be two full laps for expert men with the additional new trail.

Our good friends, Mike and Michelle, hosted a baby shower for Scott, baby and myself this morning. It was our baby's first party! A lot of our friends showed up and it was really good to get everyone together before the baby comes. This may be the 'free-est' we will be in a while. We had breakfast, coffee (decaf for me), good conversation, and then Scott took a group out biking the course at Spirit Mtn while I hiked with a couple of my friends after everyone else had left. Baby is busy as ever and I have had some Braxton Hick's contractions this past week. I had quite a few on Tues and Weds, which forced me to slow down even more. I am probably done biking for a while, but we'll see.

More course photos should follow after my upcoming hike to check out the new section. There also might be preriding of the course allowed the day before the race, but I'd recommend checking out the COGGS website or MNSCS website for updates.

Scott and I were likely fighting some sort of something last week. Our stomachs did not feel well (and it wasn't my cooking). Scott has been busy getting the Spirit Mtn MNSCS race course ready; recruiting other COGGS members along the way. The course should be ready to go after this Saturday's workday to finish it up. Due to a wedding the saturday before the race, preriding the course is not likely. The Spirit Mountain Director is quite adament at not seeing a single bike at Spirit during any wedding. Not sure how that works as it is public property, but COGGS cannot allow preriding on the day before the race. There are a few re-routes due to erosion, but the course is mostly the same as last year.

I have been busy resting. I have not felt well enough to ride my bike, but hiking/walking is fine. Lifting weights, too. I found a deer tick on me (unfortunately biting) this past Saturday. I was really freaked out about it. We spoke with a local infectious disease doctor and discussed my (and baby's) risk of getting Lyme's disease. Only 1-2 out of 100 ticks carry Lymes. I have to watch the area for the bullseye (other areas if it is another bacterium present in ticks, but not Lyme's) and then if I get any symptoms (headache, fever, flu-like symptoms) to go on antibiotics. (Amitryptaline, as doxicycline - the standard treatment - is toxic to baby). Problem is is that symptoms can start anywhere from one week to three months or more after getting bit. I am still leary as I don't feel like my energetic self, but I baby takes a lot of my energy and sometimes I feel the way I am feeling when baby is growing. She is sooooo busy and kicking most of the day!

Scott raced the WORS race in Eau Claire this weekend. He was in about 10th until the last lap when he started cramping. Unfortunately, due to having to ride on what I call 'salvage mode' he lost 9 places and ended up 19th. I felt bad for him as his racing is coming around, but he seems to cramp the last part of the last races he has done. He doesn't feel like he needs to drop out like he has in the past, so that is good. He is also still working with a local doctor to get rid of this fungus he has. He is getting there, but it is slow. Getting rid of the cats was a really good decision and we both sleep better from his lack of snoring. He also doesn't have cold-like symptoms (runny nose, clearing his throat all the time - which drives me nuts after a while).

Thankfully, the weather cooled off this week. Sunday's heat just about killed me and it is the first time I avoided going outside. I sat under the kitchen ceiling fan while I did my grad class coursework most of the day. I got it done, but was sweltering. I hate having to shut all the shades in the house to keep the sun out (and the greenhouse effect) as the house feels a bit closterphobic all shut up like that. Scott and I went down to Lake Superior when he got back from the race to cool down. He soaked his legs in the cold water and I soaked my ankles (the water was COLD!)

Next race for Scott is Spirit Mountain on the 27th of July, then Ore to Shore. We have a bunch of birthing and infant education classes coming up along with an increasing frequency of OB visits. I am hoping to feel good enough to get back on my bike. Everytime I go to The Ski Hut, I take the Trek Calypso for a cruise around the store. I wish we lived in a neighborhood condusive to riding a nice upright cruiser bike. I think every pregnant woman needs one of these bikes!

The past few weeks have been very busy. I finished teaching for the summer and will work part time adjunct next year. I started working in the clinic (as a PT) two days per week. Our gardens are growning and we have been eating lettuce already out of it. We bought a scarecrow deer repellant system (it has a motion detector that when activated shoots water in an arc to ward off garden invaders). So far, so good.

I have officially entered my third trimester. Baby is constantly moving! Especially if I sit or lay down. She's kicked so hard that it has startled me out of sleep! Amazing as she only weighs about 2 pounds. I have a feeling I am going to have to walk or bike or something to lull her to sleep once she's out! This is today's picture of her progress. I can still get my shoes on without help. I am still biking, although I don't ride trails or gravel much anymore. The bumps don't feel that good, even on a full suspension. I can only ride my race bike as the handlebars are set up high enough for me to sit up without bending much. If I bend over while riding I'll get really annoying heartburn. I have been hiking and lifting weights also and I feel strong. Hopefully, that will come in handy during labor.

Scott is planning on racing this weekend. He is also mowing the spirt mountain MNSCS race course and getting it ready. I have been hiking the trails and clearing off sticks and small branches that could get caught in wheels. The trail is drying out nicely due to the good weather this past month. Should be a good race!