Women's Training Forum

RacerChick

RacerChick

Hudson Valley Girl
The main objective of the Women's Training forum is to help anyone achieve better fitness. Understand we are not coaches. What we have is experience to share with others. The Women's Training Forum is for actual applied training. The forum will take a lot of effort, it will continue if there is interest.

Note: This is an open forum for all to share their training insight.
 
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Overview
I started racing mountain bikes in 2007, not having a clue what it would take to succeed in this new and exciting sport. During the winter I knew I would face much stronger competition in Sport class. I had to come up with a training plan and thought ... "how hard can it be?" I purchased Joe Friel's Mountain Bike Training Bible. I sat and read this book cover to cover and than I read it again. Honestly after reading this "self coaching" book I still had no clue on how to train, it was very confusing. With less than stellar race results the following year and a few injuries, I still found myself thumbing through the Training Bible trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. Talking to friends, I'd hear things like ... "your not riding hard enough" or "get out and do 4 hour road rides" or "do more intervals" and so on. The fall of 2009 my boyfriend said I should try Cyclocross I was like, what the hell is Cyclocross? He explained it to me, my reply ... "You ride a road bike with knobby tires in the grass and they make you jump over stuff? Sorry, that's just plain stupid!" I tried it, I was hooked.
Winter of 2010 I purchased a few online training plans. Finally my race results were better, I had more fitness, more endurance, and for the most part I had an understanding how to train! I still had training questions with no one to talk to it became frustrating. Using these "generic" training plans were not personal and it wasn't like I could pick up the phone and ask for advice. I needed to put more emphasis in training my "limiters" or weaknesses such as more power when climbing, faster starts, late race endurance. For 2012, which begins in 3 wonderful weeks, I have another plan! I have a personal coach!. I love the word "personal" now if I have a question I'll have someone to ask for advice!
Geez, make the point already!
The point I'm trying to make is without proper training we can spend a lot of time, money and effort without really knowing how to achieve our goals to become better riders.
I came up with an idea of having a Women's Training Forum. The main goal is to bring more riders into our sport of cycling and achieve better fitness. Having an open forum for women to ask questions on bike set up, skills, nutrition and training I and others feel is a great idea. I knew I could not do this Training Forum alone and thought it would be great to have other highly accomplished women give their insight from years of racing experience.

Ellen (Pixychick) is a former Mountain Bike National Champion and will be contesting the Cyclcross Masters Worlds this January. She has been racing for over 18 years and has an enormous amount of knowledge to share.
Stacey (TriChick) is Nationally ranked Women's Pro Elite Cyclocross ride. Her focus now is her assault on the US Cyclocross Nationals in Madison Wisconsin this coming January. She will give her valuable insights on training.
Sandie (Cyclopath) will share her vast insights on Nutrition along with her own personal training.

I will post an overview on my training rides and also post useful information and tips from Joe Friel's weekly training blog and other sites. The Women's Training Forum is for insight to becoming a better rider/racer. I am excited to get this started!
 
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Preparation

The Preparation phase is the beginning phase in training following a recovery period. The Preparation phase in this case will last for about 3 weeks and consists of cross training such as hiking, weights, swimming and other aerobic activities. But not cycling. Weight training will continue into the Base period.
Obviously if you don't have a home gym or belong to one, weight training might be difficult. But who ever said it was racing is easy.

Edit: The Prep phase can be done with your significant other, Tommy and I always do workouts together.

*Coaches Perspective*

Quote:
Preparation phase is the beginning of the “training” phases. I start my athletes with a
medium/high volume, very low intensity weight program. The weight program is
designed to begin strengthening the primary movers, core muscles and back. Most of all,
the Preparation weight program prepares your body for the load of the next phases. High
repetitions, long duration (and overall load) weight workouts are perfect for strengthening
the tendons and ligaments of muscles that will be called upon to work through greater
loads and intensities in the next phases. I have been strength training athletes for close to
20 years now. During this time, I have seen that the athletes that transfer weight room
strength gains to the bike are those that train with the Law of Specificity in the forefront
of their Mind. This Law simply states that if you want to get better at cycling, cycle. So,
since weight training isn’t cycling how do you keep in mind this Law? Great stuff here First, when lifting
try and imitate cycling motions, range of motions and speed of motions. This means
things like matching range of motion in exercises like the “Squat” with the range of
motion on the bike. It means squatting with the same leg width or stance as the width of
your pedals. Secondly, when lifting weights don’t lift like others in the gym.
Bodybuilders train to display their developed muscles while power lifters train to lift
extremely heavy weights once. Cyclist should be lifting relatively light amounts of
weight many, many times. I recently read an article by Andrew Coggan, PhD. in which
he states that at no time, other than at the start of a track race, is force the limiting factor
in power production. So, while Maximum Strength is hardly ever the limiting factor in
power production of cyclist the programs I recommend should be designed to improve
the application of repeated force. Another tip, weight workouts that are “Immediately”
followed by a high cadence spinning workout that last fifteen minutes or more also seem
to help some people transfer strength gains to the bike.
During the Preparation Phase, on the bike workouts should be focused on improving
efficiency. Improving your peddling efficiency can be done by using high cadence drills
on rollers, and things like Spinscan on the Computrainer or other workouts that can be
done on trainers. Such workouts include single leg workouts, different type of spin-ups or
cadence increasing workouts. One workout a week also needs to be devoted to building
or hopefully maintaining your aerobic base. This is accomplished by doing one longer,
low intensity ride. Maintenance of a good portion of your aerobic conditioning during
this phase is extremely useful. Maintaining fitness will limit the amount of time you will
spend getting back in shape.
Keep in mind the adaptation goals for the Preparation phase are tendon and ligament
strengthening, preparation for greater weight loads for muscles, improved neuromuscular
application noted by an improvement in pedaling efficiency and the start of building the
aerobic base. A good sign you are ready to move into base phase is the overcoming the
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) caused by strength routines and a real desire
to get on the bike.
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What would a Training Forum be without pictures?

In the Preparation Phase and also during the first Base Training period a brisk hike through the forest is ideal. One way to recovery from hard training or racing is to take a walk in the oxygen rich woods.
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Soothing streams
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And a guide so you don't get lost!
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Excellent start, RC!

Let me be the first to say a big thanks for all the work you put into the idea and the presentation of the first segment.

I'll add a couple of points:

If you don't have a gym and want to try one risk free on the cheap, look into Planet Fitness. It is a great place to get you started and you can join for $10 a month with no commitment. That means you can be a member from December through February or March and quit, no strings attached. Look around for a promo and you can probably skip the $40 annual fee too.

The pros: It's cheap, has good hours, has all the basic equipment you'll need for cardio, free weights and nautilus. You get free sessions where a trainer will show you how to use the equipment properly and get you started on seat heights and weights but it's not a personalized session and you're on your own after that.

The cons: You need to be very motivated because you really are on your own there but it's cheap enough that you could probably convince a friend to join with you. Or maybe you can find motivation enough in RC's new thread. :) If you stick with it, you will probably outgrow Planet Fitness and look for something more comprehensive down the line.


Most important
Whether you embark on a weight training program at a gym or with weights at home, be VERY sure to use proper form. Have someone who REALLY knows what they are doing show you exactly how to use the weights.

Nautilus type machines are designed to target a single muscle or muscle group and minimize the potential for injury from misuse if you follow proper form.

Free weights can give a more overall workout because you are always using multiple muscle groups to perform any exercise. But it also allows more chance for misuse, poor form and therefore, injury.

Hurting yourself in the gym it isn't going to help you one bit on the bike. So always be aware of your body and the muscles you are targeting. If you feel a twinge or discomfort in any other area, stop and re-check your form. If anything pinches, shocks or cramps, don't push it. Re-evaluate what you're doing. It's okay to feel a little sore a day or so after lifting but nothing should incapacitate you. And don't be shy! Ask any staff in whatever gym you are in show you how to use a machine or two or to verify that you are using it right. Chances are they will be happy to show you rather than letting you hurt yourself and chance loosing a client.
 
Great posts!!!

Last year I started training - and my winter months included 2 days of cardio/weights and 3 days of riding. I hate using weights - but after now that my season is over, I am realizing just how important it is to have a strong core/upper body.

I didn't join a gym - mostly because I'm not a "gym" person and my bf has a slew of free weights in our basement. I used them sometimes, in conjunction with a DVD. My bf purchased P90X - I didn't follow it/use it like he did/others, but some of the workouts were fantastic.

One thing I will be adding to my winter training plan is more yoga and stretching. I used to go to yoga classes before I was racing - and loved it...then I moved, life got busy, etc. Not only does yoga help with strength but flexibility.

Stretching - so important - as I'm now suffering from very sore ITBs (according to our school athletic trainer, due to not stretching/overexertion). I bought a foam roller to help with this...I wish it didn't get this far/bad though.
 
Cyclopath that post was excellent and very informative! I do however have to disagree with one part ... "RC's new thread" The Women's Training Forum is not my thread. There is no I in Team, to only share my perspective on training IMO would be boring. You have an enormous amount of knowledge and wisdom to share and it shows in your own training thread. Keep it going!
Skiphreaknj, Good information, there are many approaches that someone can take in their off season preparation and you gave another excellent perspective.
This year your determination was amazing and it shows in your race results both in XC & CX! Great work!

Coaches perspective ...
larryt said:
Women can certainly train just as intensely as men. Intensity is relative to one's physical level. A person training at their threshold power is at the same intensity regardless whether their threshold is 200W or 300W. A wise person once said that we all suffer the same, just at different speeds:)
Click to expand...
The Women's Training Forum is focused to help anyone gain more confidence, skills, fitness and overall well being. The forum is not just for racing. This is an "open" forum, I would hope the guys would follow the forum as well. However, that is up to the guys in Red :D
 
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Entirely your call. You let me know how you want to play it and I'll try to help keep the natives in line.
 
The off season is not only for making the transition from racing to a much needed recovery period, it's also a great time to take care of the bikes too.
Feel free to post up any questions regarding equipment issues. If we can't address the problem, I promise to find someone who can.

In weeks to come ...

I understand that not everyone who may follow the Women's Training Forum wants to stand on the top step of the podium and will do whatever it takes to get there :D However, we will continue with insight in the Preparation Period. January 1st is the official kickoff to training for 2012. It will start with an outlined three month Base Training Period that will be broken down into three separate one month periods. (The length of Base will depend on advice from the coach). Base 1 will transition from the Preparation phase and continue with weight training but it will be time to get back on the bike which will slowly replace cross training. I hope this forum is helpful and will shed some light into the aspects of training for cycling.
 
Norm said:
Entirely your call. You let me know how you want to play it and I'll try to help keep the natives in line.
Click to expand...

The head in red has spoken! Thanks Norm, this can be an open thread to all.
The idea is to shed some light in respect to gaining fitness for riders and racers alike. I also feel that some people don't get out and ride simply because they don't want to feel insecure in regards to their overall fitness levels. Lets try to change that.
 
What I want to avoid is putting up pages of pure babble on my part. My Cyclocross season was cut short due to illness. This weekend was the final two rounds of the MAC Series and it's killing me not to be there. After racing since last March it's hard to turn off the race switch. It's partly due to not being able to race and also that this Women's Training Forum is very new and exciting. I have so many thoughts dancing in my head and when I feel it's applicable to training I need to post it.

There are key elements that are as important if not more than training itself and without these training might not be possible.

Time: Set aside to train, in today's world there seems to be never enough of it. Setting up a daily routine may help.
Keeping it real: Setting goals that could be impossible to reach could lead to added stress and disappointment.
Support: Having support from others is crucial.
Dedication: For the days when you just don't feel like training, than you do.

Valuable training tools: With the holidays coming, it sure would be nice to find training gifts under the tree. :D

Calender/Journal: Taking notes and recording your training is a valuable training tool. It allows you to see your progression and log your workouts.
Heart rate monitor: Without this accurate training is simply not possible.
Indoor Trainer: Base Training when it's snowing outside really sucks.
IMO I prefer the stationary trainer over the rollers. The stationary trainer allows you to perform simulated hill training exercises.

*Coaches Perspective ...by Joe Friel*

Quote:

Heart Rate and Training
I got my first heart rate monitor in 1983 and still recall what a great thrill it was to see my heart rate in real time on my wrist while training. Prior to that we used to stop during a workout and count pulse beats for 6 seconds and multiply by 10 to get an estimate of what was going on. Of course, heart rate dropped when we stopped. So this was a great breakthrough. For the first few weeks I wore it daily just to see how my heart responded to everything – walking up stairs, brushing my teeth, touching my wife (she didn’t like that), eating, and about everything else including sleeping.

It took a couple of years to figure out how to train with heart rate. Then I began a mission to get athletes to start using them. By 1992 the device seemed to have reached a tipping point. That year I noticed that almost everyone was wearing them when I went to running, triathlon and bike races. That was 15 years after the heart rate monitor was invented by the founder of Polar in 1977.

Now athletes take them for granted. Unfortunately, due to this technology most athletes have now come to believe that their training has a singular focus – to improve the cardiovascular system. That’s not the case. Most athletes would improve faster by focusing on their muscular systems. Many also seem to believe, based on their heart rates, that they know what their fitness is and if they are overtrained or not. Those things can’t be measured by heart rate alone.

Nevertheless, heart rate still is valuable information. I require everyone I coach to have a monitor. I also require them to have a power meter and a speed-distance device (GPS or accelerometer) if they are triathletes. By comparing heart rate with power or speed we now have a very good idea of how good one’s aerobic fitness is. For example, if for a given low- to moderate-intensity workout power or speed increases but heart rate remains the same then you are in better aerobic condition. The same may be said if at the same power or speed heart rate is lower. It’s a simple measure but you must know both input (heart rate) and output (power or speed) to draw such a conclusion. (You can find more on this topic here and here.)

The key to using a heart rate monitor is determining your training zones. That is done by first finding your lactate threshold heart rate. This is much more precise than using max heart rate. It’s also more precise than using the formula 220 minus age to predict max heart rate. If you do that you had might as well guess. The formula is close to useless for individuals. It works fairly well with large groups of people. If you tested a large group you’d produce a bell-shaped curve. For those in the middle of the curve the formula would predict max heart rate rather closely. But there would be many people at the far ends of the curve, both high and low, for whom the formula is way off. Since you don’t know where you fall on the curve, the formula is mere speculation and likely to be 15 to 20 or more beats off. I’ve also never found any evidence that heart rate changes with age. I’m now 65 and have been using a monitor since I was 39. My lactate threshold heart rate on the bike has remained quite constant at about 152 all of these years. I have also been coaching one athlete for 7 years. His lactate threshold heart rate has not changed either. Bottom line: Forget about your age, using a formula of any kind and finding max heart rate. What you need to know is lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR).

There are many ways to find LTHR. The simplest (not the easiest by any means) is to complete a 30-minute time trial all by yourself (no training partners or races). Warm-up and then go as fast as you can for the entire 30 minutes. Treat it as if it is a race. Ten minutes after the start hit the lap button on your heart rate monitor. When you are all done look to see what your average heart rate was that last 20 minutes. This is a good estimation of LTHR, I’ve found. Please note that this is NOT a 10-minute warm-up and a 20-minute race effort. For some reason many athletes assume that’s what I’m saying. It is a 30-minute, all-out effort. We are just looking at the last 20 minutes of it.
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Indoor rock climbing and snowboarding take the place of my "weight training" for the winter. I'm a lot more motivated to climb a wall or snowboard than to lift weights. I force myself to ride the trainer a couple times a week or go out for a run for my cardio. Do what works for you!!
 
More insight to the importance of Base Training.

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By David Heatley

Quote:

Importance of Base Training for Cyclists

Building an aerobic base is perhaps the single most important phase of the year since it is the foundation upon which your season is built. Many riders never reach their full potential at bike racing because they neglect this critical phase of training. Base training is about preparing your body for the demanding efforts you will be making during racing.

It is a foundation of steady miles and resistance training in the gym that allows you to safely make harder efforts later in the year. Interestingly, this phase is characterized by many hours of steady riding punctuated only occasionally with short intervals of harder efforts.

It's the "many hours of steady riding" that build aerobic power that characterize this phase. Harder efforts (at least in quantity) will come later in the year.

Benefits of Base Training

Riding at this pace stimulates your slow twitch (type 1) muscle fibres and in turn makes them much more efficient enabling them to contract using less and less oxygen from the blood. Base training also grows and strengthens the heart, building the muscle and making you more efficient with every pedal stroke.

Base training also teaches your body to conserve its glycogen stores within the muscles and vital organs. Base training causes your body to burn its larger stores of fat in preference to muscle glycogen. This can help you lose a considerable amount of weight that you may have gained during those months spent without training.

By training consistently in this zone and cadence over several months, it is likely that you will be able to extend your time to glycogen depletion by as much as 75%. This of course means you are much less likely to "bonk" during high intensity rides and races assuming you have eaten properly during your ride.

Base training also increases the efficiency of your respiratory system by increasing the number and complexity of vascular capillaries transporting oxygen rich blood to the working muscles. Blood vessels become larger and more flexible making it easier for the blood to flow. It also actually increases the number of energy producing mitochondria cells in the muscles allowing you to produce more power for the same level of work rate. All of this helps build your economy on the bike so that come the racing season you are able to ride for long distances with comparative ease.

There is one more fantastic benefit to training at this level during the base phase. Training only moderately at heart rates below 80% MHR means you are not overextending yourself. In fact, base training done correctly will leave you feeling like you've made an effort that is well within your limits- that's the whole point!

The huge benefit to you is that you can get up the next morning feeling great and fully recovered from the previous days training. In short, you will be able to complete a large volume of high quality training.

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Excellent info.

That underlines what we need to be doing over the winter; resistance training and long rides or sessions on the trainer at a moderate level keeping heart rate under 80% of max.

That kind of info is clear and accessible to riders at any level.
 
these last three training threads have been very interesting, and motivating.

i have never really thought about the seasonality of my training. winters i ski, snowboard, rock climb, run, and take spin/bootcamp classes at my gym. Summers i switch ski/board with riding but do all the same other stuff. with a job and a kid, i just try to squeeze as much activity into my week as i can.

maybe i should be more calculated with my activities, so that first day back on a mtb doesnt make me feel like i am going to die! i will keep reading, because this is such good info....

thanks!
 
2Julianas said:
these last three training threads have been very interesting, and motivating.

i have never really thought about the seasonality of my training. winters i ski, snowboard, rock climb, run, and take spin/bootcamp classes at my gym. Summers i switch ski/board with riding but do all the same other stuff. with a job and a kid, i just try to squeeze as much activity into my week as i can.

maybe i should be more calculated with my activities, so that first day back on a mtb doesnt make me feel like i am going to die! i will keep reading, because this is such good info....
thanks!
Click to expand...

I was going to take a few days in between posting more information since it's the holiday season and people have other important things to do instead of worrying about their training. Thanks for the reminder Sandie :D
2Julianas brings up a good point that was going to be the follow up post in the next day or so. Since she brought it up, I'll post it today.
I'm happy to see the Forum is helpful. :)

*Coaches Perspective by Joe Friel.*
Base Training ... Period 1

Quote:

Frequency
How often should you workout? Let’s start by examining the least number of times to workout in a week and then progress to the high end.

Novice athletes typically train three or four times a week in Base 1. Moderately experienced, intermediate-ability athletes usually do it four or five times weekly. Advanced and competitive athletes workout six or seven times in a week in Base 1. At the highest level some cyclists, runners and other single-sport athletes will even do occasional two-a-day training at this time of year. That’s quite common for triathletes.

Three sessions in a week is the bare minimum even for the novice and these sessions need to be separated by 48 to 72 hours for best results (for the novice triathlete it would be 2 swims, 2 bikes and 2 runs a week as a minimum). A Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday pattern is far more beneficial than is a Friday-Saturday-Sunday pattern. With the latter, four days of no training at all (Monday through Thursday) results in a loss of fitness which likely erases the gains of the previous weekend’s training.

Four workouts in a week will produce significantly greater fitness than three. Interestingly, research tells us that beyond four workouts a week there is a decreasing return on the investment of your time. In other words, your fitness will undoubtedly improve if you train in a sport five or six times a week instead of four, but the rate of improvement is not nearly as great as when going from three to four. The competitive athlete, however, is generally seeking every bit of fitness possible so even though the return is small at five or more they see the gain as fitness they otherwise would not have. Of course, there are limits to how often you train due to lifestyle conflicts and your capacity for training workload.
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My Cyclocross season ended prematurely because of a cold, after missing 5 days
of training.
Here's some very useful information to help make the adjustments necessary to resume training.

Edit: Six hours post racing/ hard intensity efforts, you are most vulnerable to contract germs that may cause an illness.

Training While Sick

Quote:
Nothing brings your training progress to a halt more than getting a flu or cold. As your training volume or intensity increases, your immune system”s ability to fight off viruses decreases. A little bit of exercise and fitness is terrific for strengthening your immune system, but either too little or too much both have the effect of weakening your immunity and increasing the risk of contracting minor infections like colds and the flu. Because of this, athletes like cyclists and triathletes need to be vary careful of this fine line. There’s a lot of old wives tales out there on what you should and shouldn’t do. Sweat it out? Overdose with vitamin C? etc. "If it’s above the neck - it’s okay to train, if it’s below the neck – rest up ".

If the common cold is bringing you down and the virus is mild (runny nose, slight coughing, sneezing, etc), you may get away with training. It would definitely be wise to keep the intensity to a minimum. Again, if the cold virus is causing you to feel run down, achy, with a sore throat and headaches, it would be best to stop training all together until the symptoms subside. You don’t want to make it any harder for the immune system to fight the virus by introducing more catabolic activity, so keep the intensity down.

Once you get back on the bike you need to resist the temptation to immediately hammer out hard intervals to make up for lost time. Your body can take up to a week to recover from even a minor cold, and it was the intensity and volume that helped to get you sick in the first place. Remember, it’s always better to be under-trained and healthy than over-trained but sick.

*Coaches Perspective, By Joe Friel*

Quote:
Missed Workouts
In the early chapters of the Training Bibles I stress how important training consistently is to fitness and performance. In fact, the biggest mistake most self-coached athletes make is not training consistently. It’s not that they don’t want to; it’s just that they frequently violate an even more basic tenet of smart training which is at the heart of consistency — moderation. When you moderately increase the training stress (workout duration and intensity) in conservatively measured amounts you wind up training consistently week after week. But if you pile on huge doses of stress with overly long or hard workouts, or skip a rest week, you greatly increase your risk of injury, burnout, illness and overtraining. Any one of these will interrupt your consistency. When there is a break in training for a few days fitness is lost and you have to step back in training and begin over again. Many athletes experience this once or twice each season and as a result never realize their full potential.

I fully expect, however, that something will happen to interfere with your training even if you do everything right. This could even happen several times in a season. So it’s quite likely that you will have to vary your training to accommodate an interruption. Here’s a quick guide to modifying your training plan when workouts are missed.

Three or Fewer Days Missed
Return to training as if nothing happened. Don’t try to make up the missed workouts. Cramming more workouts into a few days creates the potential for a breakdown and another loss of time. It’s simply not a big deal to miss a couple workouts if it happens rarely.

Four to Seven Days Missed
This may be the hardest scenario to deal with. If the lost time was due to illness, as is quite often the case, you probably really won’t be ready to return to normal training right away even if the symptoms are gone. Your body’s chemistry has probably changed which will affect your capacity for exercise. This will show up as a high heart rate and perceived exertion at common paces and power outputs. In this case you will need to treat it as more than seven days missed even though you are starting back into training again.

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Thanks ladies for starting this thread. I am thrilled to see women step up and share their insight with others in hopes to get more women riding bikes and/or racing.

My Background: When it comes to training yin, I am the yang. What has kept me racing for 18 years is the fact that I have found a balance between scientific training and non-training aspects of the sport. I am not de-bunking any training advice. They are all good and when I started in the sport, I took interest in learning as much good training information as I could. I just choose to make most my own decisions and to follow my spirit when I feel it is more important. If you stop loving to ride your bike, you may eventually quit. :(

Keep it fun is my best advise!... and yes, riding in winter can be fun!! so can climbing, in a sick sort of way ! :D
 
It would seem that the Women's Training Forum has interest from the amount of views it has received. From reading the posts from other women it would seem most want to follow their own form of off season training.
 
I think everyone essentially does do their own training because there is the perfect training program that the pros use and then there is life. If an athlete can't be flexible then they are destined for frustration and even failure when there are months of snow on the ground, sick people we need to care for or any manner of temporary disaster that can sideline our training.

If it's icy and we can't ride maybe we can ski or skate or do something indoors to keep fitness. If it's too cold to ride outside(and most people have some limit to temps) maybe swim or rock climb or do something else we can enjoy. It's all better than sitting on the couch.

I think it's great that we have this forum to help us find out what is the ideal training plan so we can see how much of it we can fit in our lives. Just because we can't be perfect does not mean we can't strive for our best.

I love your last posts RC, but time is very short for me lately. I'll comment when I get a chance.
 
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