Southern Cross Race Report

I was hoping that this race would be my "break out" gravel grinder race.  I had the best for me bike, a Niner Air 9 RDO with a 1 x 10 drive train and Stan's Raven cross tires.

 I was a hurtin' buckaroo on the Noontootla climb.  Photo by Donna Combs Garcia.

I have an awesome coach who is able to prepare me for any distance and terrain.  Her plans are tough.  I have cried "Uncle" a few times.  But the end result is one lean mean cycling machine!  I was being a good student, completing all my homework on time.  I could feel the fitness coming.

Lynda Wallenfels, aka Coach  "What doesn't kill ya, ..."

And my nutrition has never been better on a slightly modified Whole 30/Paleo lifestyle.

Not a fad diet!

 But I was blindsided 3 weeks ago during an outing to a restaurant with my team mates.  Even though I made sure the waitress knew of my celiac disease (basicially I told her that wheat/gluten would kill me), I got "glutened."  My order was simple:  a plain steak, plain sweet potato, and plain salad.  For those of you unfamiliar, one itsy bitsy breadcrumb is enough to do me in ... for 4-6 weeks.  I cannot absorb nutrients, I have gastrointestinal distress whenever I eat, my power dips 10-15%, and I have a hard time recovering.

Usually by the third week I am feeling better, but not this time.  Disappointed, yes, but I was not gonna throw up the white flag.  So on a frigid 30 degree morning, I "toed" the line in a stacked ladies' field.  At 10 am, the gun went off and 270 racers were "balls to the wall."  Within 100 yards we were funneled in to the "cross" portion of the course.  Super soft, off camber grassy hillsides, 1 mud bog, 1 log crossing, and a run up from hell.  I was absolutely loving it!  I passed a lot of people as I was on a mountain bike with some front end squish while most people chose to run cross bikes.  After about 5 minutes of epic Eddie O'dea style cyclocross terrain, I popped out onto pavement and hooked up with a pack of snot slingin' racers.  Man it was cold!  I could not feel my face; the windchill must have been in the teens.

I caught up to Lisa and hung onto her wheel.  After the initial adrenalin rush, I could feel the heaviness in my legs.  I tried to shake it off, telling myself that it was just the cold and the blood would eventually flow into them.  I was faster on the descents and soon caught Paula and Shannon.  Lisa was there to and the four of us hit Winding Stair together.  Although I never saw Cheryl, I assumed she was in the lead.  Winding Stair has close to 2000 feet of climbing in 4-5 miles.  Anytime the pitch got really steep, my legs would just not cooperate.  I fought to stay on Lisa's wheel and watched as Shannon and Paula slowly rode away.  They were strong today!

At the top of Winding Stair, Zeke was there and handed a bottle off to me.  There was still more climbing to go after this and I could feel a little desperation kick in as I knew that my legs were leaving me for good.  I chugged some gels from my flask and washed it down with my sports drink, hoping that the additional calories would jump start my system.  Lisa began to pull away from me towards the top.  I was able to catch and pass her on the long descent down to the pavement.  However, there was a strong headwind as I pedaled to the Noontootla climb and Lisa caught back up.  I rode her coat tails until the climb and then she dropped me like a bad habit.

The Noontootla climb is my type of climb:  smooth, perfect 5-7% grade, and a beautiful view of the creek.  But today it felt like I was going backwards.  Normally at this stage I start passing people but today was the other way around.  Around each corner I kept looking for the top ... 6 miles later and what seemed like an eternity, I saw the SAG tent.  What a wonderful sight!  I stopped to exchange bottles and gel flask and take a moment.

As I began to ride the rolling ridge of Hawk and Sassafras Mountains my legs began to feel a little better.  I seemed to be making some ground back up.  I thought of Lisa ahead of me and what she must be thinking.  Was she wondering where I was?  Was she looking over her shoulder on the descents?  This motivated me to attempt to dig deep and try to catch her.  Fueled with fortitude, I hammered the short climbs (or at least in my own mind I did) and railed the descents (who needs stinkin' brakes).

Flying down Sassafras Mountain towards the Ranger Station, I COMPLETELY blew by the left hand turn onto the pavement.  (Note:  having not done this race last year, when Zeke and I pre rode a couple months ago, we were under the assumption that the course went down by the 4-H camp).  Had I not been going so fast, I might have seen the small black arrow point left.  There was supposed to be a volunteer there, but he/she decided at the last moment that staying inside where it was warm would be a better option today.  I can't say I blame them; it is ultimately up to me to know the course.

That wrong turn cost me 15 minutes and probably more as that 2 mile climb back up to the intersection was brutal!  I still made a feeble attempt at racing back to the winery.  As I entered Monteluce Winery for the final cross portion of the course, I was about to raise the white flag.  But then I saw Loretta at the second run-up from hell.  She cheered me on as I "crawled" my way up that beast!

Run up from hell -- 100 meters at 20-30% grade.

When I was half way up, I caught sight of a female racer at the top.  Well, crap!  Now I gotta race!  With game face back on, I was determined to redeem myself by gaining one spot back.

One advantage of a mountain bike ... I was able to ride this creek crossing.

I passed her on a pavement climb and was able to hold onto my lead through the remainder of the super soft, energy draining, leg killer of the cross course.  As much as I was hurting though, I enjoyed this section of the race and at one point wished there was more!  Crazy insane?  Or insane crazy?  Yep, I do love to suffer.

I ended up crossing the finish line in a time of 4:11:23.  That 4 mile detour cost me 3 places, maybe 4.  I was upset with my stupidity.  In a way, I was glad I was not near a podium finish as I would have really been pissed off about that wrong turn.  I chalked up today's race as a good solid training ride.

I congratulate all the ladies who finished as this was one tough power course.  Gravel grinders are a new beast to me and one that I hope to be able to conquer as the season goes on.  Thanks Eddie, Namrita, and all the volunteers who made this event possible.  I was cold out there but probably not as cold as those who had to stand around and help the racers all day!

Everyone has excuses for having a bad race.  Most are legit; some are just a racer's way of justifying why they were beaten by a certain someone.  For me, I will always wonder how I could have done, but for ...  However, the ladies who were ahead of me today deserve their placings as they all train diligently and worked super hard today.  And that gives me something to work towards.

As for me, I have sworn off restaurants forever.  The only ones I trust to prepare food for me are my Mom and I.  Now off to Florida for some much needed Vitamin D therapy!

Having bowel issues?  Just ride Moonscape at Alafia ... I had at least 5 "Oh, sh!t!" moments.

Snake Creek Gap TT Race # 2 Report

Most people would have chosen, upon awakening (and seeing the forecast), to avoid The Great Outdoors, and instead, prepare for the Super Bowl festivities.  I, on the other hand, was on a mission to further my chances of collecting the Belt Buckle.

Completing all 3 races is easier said than done!

So despite a 22 degree start, a 2 foot deep, 15 yard creek crossing in the first mile of the race, and threat of sleet, snow, and ice, I awoke at 5:30 am to begin the journey.

I had made the necessary preparations to ensure dry and warm feet on today's ride.  Two pairs of socks with a chemical warmer in each shoe, duct tape on the shoe, and large animal O.B. sleeves over the shoes held in place by soccer socks with the feet cut off.

At the end of the race, the feet were toasty.

The ground was frozen so the course was really fast ... at first.  Even the mud bogs on the first double track climb had a frozen tire track rut that you could shoot through at high speeds like a slot car!  I was feeling better than last month and the legs were ready from the get go.  I managed to start behind only 30+ people instead of 100+ last month, so the traffic was light.  I made good time through the first half and was 4 minutes faster than January's time.  Second place was in sight!

You would not know from my smile that it was 25 degrees with a wind chill in the teens.  Photo by Joe Cattoni.

After a quick stop in the parking lot to grab some nutrition, I began the second half in earnest.  I was still feeling good and thinking a sub 3:30 was a possibility.  At about the halfway point of the second 17, it began to snow.  Not a lot, but the flakes were big!  It was kind of surreal and brought back memories of racing along the Laurel Mountain Trail in the first Pisgah Stage Race.  I was still enjoying the ride and relishing the final descent down to the multiple small creek crossings.  However, my bike felt really harsh going down and I was having some difficulty controlling her.  I though that perhaps I was just getting tired, but I seemed to feel every single bump in the trail.  As I was crossing the final creek, I noticed that my fork was not compressing ... at all!

This was going to get interesting as I really need some squish during the last 6 miles of rocky single track.  I had plenty in the rear but none up front.  Call it a reverse hardtail.  And so I entered, determined to beat January's time.  And the snow came down even harder, interspersed with sleet/ice.  All of a sudden the rocks got really shiny!  Talk about feeling like a pinball.  Between a rigid fork and slick rocks, I was all over the place.  How I managed to stay upright, I dunno.

I eventually caught up to Lisa Randall and rode with her for awhile.  I wanted to push her a bit so that she had the opportunity to achieve her goal as well.  (Little did I know that in about 10 minutes the conditions would deteriorate quickly).  I am excited that she is going to be my PMBAR and DD partner this year.  She is one tough chicka when it comes to adventure racing!

Lisa eventually let me on around ... I think she was getting a little frustrated with the conditions as well .  It started to sleet pretty hard by the time I ran up The Wall.  As I got back on the bike, I could not, for the life of me, clip back in.  WTF!  I dismounted, turned my shoe over, and saw that my cleat was encased in a block of ice!  Great, just great!  I managed to bang enough of it off that I could semi clip in.  But whenever the terrain got rough, which was pretty much the remainder of the course, my feet would pop out.  This is not conducive to breaking time barriers.  That, along with the lack of a fork, made for a 1-2 mile "run-a-bike" section.  I did my best to protect my beloved ACL's.  The terrain was just as treacherous running as riding.  I saw all hope of a sub 3:30 slipping away as well as 2nd place.

No Danielle, I am still not sold on fat bikes.  Photo by Joe Cattoni.

I managed to shave a couple minutes off January's time and I was happy with that.  I finished safe and sound and with a smile ... and I'll take it!  It's more about the ride and not the placing.

1/8" sheet of ice on the bike at the finish.

The February running of The Snake is always the most brutal.  I thoroughly enjoyed the hell out of the trail.  Even though I have ridden or raced this course countless times, there are so many variables that each time it is different.

One more to go ...

Invitation Accepted

At last year's Chainbuster finale, James Stankowitz asked me to be on his SuperSport race team for 2013.  I had reservations, as I did not want to part ways with The Outdoor Store.  No worries there, as Bruce was o.k. with it and James said he would put the TOS logo on the team's cycling kits.  I was also concerned if my "tush" would accept a new pair of cycling shorts.  No worries there as well, as James handed me several pairs to try out with the idea that I would determine what worked best and he would custom build a pair of shorts around my "tush."

If you are not familiar with James, he was instrumental in the development of North West Georgia SORBA, the Snake Creek TT series, and has devoted countless hours to the care and maintainence of the Pinhoti trail system.  He is a super likable gentleman and has a heart of gold.  He is the owner of SuperSport, a new custom cycling clothing company.

The jersey James is wearing is by SuperSport

This past weekend the team met in the North Georgia mountains for a mini camp.  We ate, rode trails, and ate some more.  In between eating and riding, I got to learn more about my new team mates.

Jeff Clayton

Jeff is a retired Air Force F-16 pilot ... who still loves to to FAST!  And he excels in all distances.  He, along with Tyler, drug my single speed butt around the Ocoee Whitewater Center for 4 hours on Saturday.  A humble but fierce competitor.  And he can do some damage to a buffet!

Tyler Murch

Tyler is a mechanical engineering student who has no fear and loves adventure.  With a little fine tuning he will be one to watch out for.  He is an excellent colorer, staying in between the lines with ease.  He weakness is a hot fudge brownie with ice cream.  I will be teaming up with him on a Coed team for the Chainbuster series.

Ricky, Mike, and Tyler

Ricky is a NWGA SORBA member who has only been mountain biking for two years.  He has a great sense of humor and is a gentleman.  He is ruled by his little 4 pound chihuahua, Brownie.  Mike, also a NWGA SORBA member,  has been riding since 2000.  He is very quiet but you can tell he will dig deep for his team mates.

I am excited to be racing for a team.  I have lots to offer the team on nutrition and training.  And I hope to learn from my team mates as well.  Racing on a team will also offer that extra motivation that sometimes I need during my times of weakness, i.e. cold, dreary training rides, less than ideal racing conditions, and periods of self-doubt.

I am also excited to be instrumental in the development of a women's cycling short.  Too often I have tried on various brands that just did not fit.  My biggest complaint has always been chamois shape, thickness, and placement within the short.  Now my fanny is going to have input into chamois development and placement.  Now maybe I can design one that will not feel like a diaper.  It will cover what it needs to cover ... and no more.

If you are interested in a team or individual cycling kit made with excellent materials, no minimums, and 6 week turnaround times, please talk to James Stankowitz (is on FaceBook) or me.  He will bend over backwards to make sure you get what you want.

Snake Creek Gap TT Race #1 Report

I don't know why, but I so look forward to this race every year.  I hate to be COLD and WET; at this race, this is almost a guarantee.  With sub-freezing temps and a creek crossing in the first mile that has the potential to be waist deep, it is a risk I take every year.  It is only 34 miles, but with 5500 feet of climbing and miles of technical rocky single track, with the worst (or best of it, depending on how you look at it) coming at the very end, this course is brutal.  I see it as brutally fun!  I suppose I look forward to this challenge because it comes after a long break and this is where I first "cut my teeth" on uber technical rocky trail.  And NWGA SORBA rocks when it comes to putting on such an awesome event.  Great people and good times!

How about 6 miles of this, after an already 2-4 hours of racing?

Unfortunately, good times did not include a good "race" time for me in the first running.  It was 26 degrees at the start.  Even though I got there really early, I still had to wait in line as 70+ racers were in front of me. (There was a record number of racers:  438 total and 347 that did the 34).  I was brrrr! cold and for the first hour I could not feel my fingers, my legs would not open up, I could not get my HR up, and my eyeballs were frozen.  That made for some interesting braking and handling skills along the first section of single track, I'm tellin' ya  !But this did not mean I was not happy because I was.  I was being challenged on all fronts:  6 weeks off any training plan, Day 16 post glutening, and a kick ass course.  I was not at work, not on the couch, or doing chores; living the weekend warrior dream!

The first 17 miles seemed to go in slow motion.  At least the creek crossing was only bottom bracket deep.  I was able to half pedal the 20 yards or so across and keep my feet dry and toasty.  The trail was in awesome shape for this time of the year.  Since I was unable to go out like a greyhound, I had the energy reserves to clean the first half.  I also chose to run bottles this year as opposed to hydration packs.  This made me feel very light on the bike.  My nutrition was a bit different as well.  With my body fresh off The Whole 30 plan, I was still in fat-burning mode.  My energy level remained consistent throughout the race; I never felt hungry or had any ups/downs that fueling primarily on sugars can cause.  I did utilize sugars in the form of Rapidade and gels, but only consumed about 70% of the calories I would normally intake for a race of this distance.  Note:  race day is the only time that I come off the Paleo diet.

I rolled into the aid station at the halfway point, swapped bottles, changed to lighter weight gloves (fingers had thawed out), chugged a Red Bull, and motored on.  It was on this first climb out of the parking lot that my legs finally decided to enter the game.  Finally it felt like I was racing and not just participating in a big group ride.  I don't think my time on this second half was any better than usual, but at least I was feeling better.  This at least let me know where I am fitness-wise and what I need to work on to improve.  Whenever I get glutened, even from contamination, it wreaks havoc on my body and immune system.  In the past it usually took me about 6 weeks to recover, but with this recent episode, I could tell that my body was recovering quicker.  I do believe this was a direct result of being on Whole 30.

The fire road climb up to the last section of single track was for the most part dry and fast.  I had been worried because it can get really soupy here due to freeze/thaw and rain.  As I approached the single track, I tried to visualize this as just a lap in an XC race.  I felt the best I had all day, here in my rocky element.  I appreciated the work that had been done on the washed out descent.  With my trusty Niner steed, I was able to float over most of the rough stuff.  I almost made it up The Wall, but spun out on a loose baby head about 2/3 of the way up.  Arghhh!  One day ...

The fire road descent from the cell towers at Dug Gap.  Photo courtesy of Sean Perry.

As I railed down the pavement, I thought that my time might be better than I had anticipated.  Although it is fast, it still eats up precious minutes.  I ended up rolling through the finish line in 3:39;  I'll take it.  Body and bike were in one piece and I had a smile on my face.  I just love this race.

You MUST check out Endless Bikes' anodized cogs!

I cannot wait for the February edition.  Typically this has the worst conditions, but maybe this year will be different.  I definitely have to work on getting and staying fast.  I am currently in 3rd, but there are some super strong "chickas" in this field.

Whole 30: Week 1 Reintroduction ... and then some!

I am just finishing up the first week after Whole 30.  I decided that the first "food" I would try would be sugar.  So on Christmas Eve, I had a taste of my Paleo pumpkin pie, slightly sweetened with honey.

Fresh pumpkin and a pecan/hazelnut crust.

I had no reactions, be it positive or negative.  Then on Christmas morning, with a cup of coffee, I had a chunk of Mom's pecan dark/white chocolate bark.

Evil goodness!

Within 30 minutes, I experienced a sugar buzz!  It was hard to describe, but it felt kinda like an "out of body" experience.  This rush lasted about 20 minutes and then I was back to normal.  Luckily, I did not experience the "crash" that usually follows.

Since Christmas day, I have still limited my sugar consumption to Paleo-approved sugars, i.e. honey and maple sugar, and have not had much.  This will continue to be the plan from here on out, with the exception of race nutrition, which will include gels and Rapidade.  I really don't have a craving for sugar.  I find that I can satisfy my sweet tooth with fruit and the Pomegranate juice "popsicles" that my daughter and I enjoy on occasion for a bedtime snack.

As I mentioned in my last post, I was fearful of having "glutened" myself or perhaps having an issue with a FODMAP.  Well, today is day 9 of being glutened.  Over Christmas weekend, my GI issues continued to escalate into full blown glutening:  nausea, bloating,  fatigue, difficulty sleeping,and irritability.  The only food I could track this to would be the raw cashews.  I have not eaten at a restaurant for 8 weeks nor have I been eating any processed foods.   I have been buying these in bulk from Whole Foods for the past 6 months.  The allergy statement did not mention the possibility of being processed in a facility that also handles wheat and the produce manager even assured me so.  However, after researching "bulk nuts", I have discovered that, according to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act

If a food is potentially cross-contaminated with one of these allergens during production, packaging or storage, the company is not required to include this information on the package, and the federal government does not have standards for cross-contamination statements.  It is a company's choice whether or not to include this information, and how to word it. 

You would think that after 2 years of being "gluten-free," I would have all this figured out.  So now, based on past experience, I probably have another 3-4 weeks of feeling like shit!  I am hoping for a small miracle that by being Whole 30 for a month, I might get over this glutening a little quicker.  Next Saturday is the first race of The Snake and to do well, you must be at the top of your game.  Nothing like a challenge!

I was happy to run across this website.  They have certified gluten-free nuts!  A little more expensive, but so worth it.  I have already placed an order for 4 pounds of cashews.  Yep, I love me some cashews!

One thing that does particularly concern me is how irritable, short-tempered, and mildly depressed I have become since being glutened.  I do believe this crap messes with my mind as well as my GI tract.  After 2 1/2 weeks of being on the Whole 30 plan, my mind was clear and full of happy thoughts and feelings.  I was even tempered and it took a hell of a lot to get me riled.  And now, it doesn't take much to upset me.  And THAT is really SCARY.  It is a wake up call to me that gluten and other grains could lead to serious depression in the right person.  Could "gluten" be a cause for the increase in mental illness in our society today?

As far as reintroducing any more "foods" back into my diet, probably not until I get over this glutening.

Whole 30: Week 4 Reflections

Wow!  Day 30 has arrived.  Last month when I started this food elimination trial, I had in my mind what and when I was going to re introduce after the 30 days.  Heck, I had even purchased a bag of Garden of Eatin' Corn Tortilla Chips and had frozen a dozen GF chocolate chip cookies.  But now I am filled with trepidation.  I don't want to risk experiencing any of those issues I had prior to the plan, i.e. Buddha belly, GI inflammation, "morning cobweb brain", headaches, acne, and geographic tongue.

Not my tongue, but very close to what mine looked like off and on for 10 friggin' years!

I have had geographic tongue for 10 years.  This denuding of the tongue was cyclical and most painful.  I would lose my taste buds, they would re grow over the next 3-4 weeks, only to lose them again!  I had gone to two different doctors years ago.  One said it might be reflux, the other did not know.  If you read the literature, the cause is unknown and there is no treatment.  Well now, I beg to differ.  One of those foods I had eliminated is the culprit as my tongue has been normal now for 6 weeks.  No where in the literature does it state that it might be due to a bad food i.e. artificial sweeteners, grains, legumes, dairy, seed oils, or other highly processed/toxic foods!

So, I am giving the chips as part of a Christmas present and the chocolate chip cookies are going to Santa.  As of now, I do plan on re introducing sugar  ... but in moderation.  This will be my first item going down the hatch Christmas morning.  I am saying a little prayer for my taste buds, although I do believe the culprit is grains or dairy.

Paleo Pumpkin Pie

For now, I am not going to re introduce grains and pseudo grains.  I am still in the undecided category for dairy.  I have discovered so many new foods that my taste buds and "food enjoyment center in the brain" are quite satiated.

I had been good about not stepping on the scales, except for at the doctor's office during Week 1.  But that was with clothes and shoes on so it did not really count.  Well, today I did.  I knew I had been losing weight so I am happily pleased that it was  5 pounds! Hehe,  my power/weight ratio looks even better!  I would say that half of that was from within the abdomen.  That loss was most likely due to the loss of inflammation from my small and large bowels.  My scale also reads % body fat.  I know it is not an accurate measurement for this parameter but it is a good way to look at it from a relative perspective.  My loss was 3%.

Energy levels were good for the first half of this week.  I had my best ride ever on Wednesday when I did a  4 hour gravel grind.  Save for the first 30 minutes when I think I had a bottoming out of my blood glucose, the remainder of the ride I felt really strong!  However, the remainder of the week I have felt terrible on the bike.  I don't know why as the other two rides were only 1 and 2 hours duration.  Of course, on those days, I did not eat any fruit or Larabars, so perhaps my glycogen stores were a bit lacking.

Another possible reason could be that I may have been "glutened" or "grained."  Beginning Thursday, I have had some GI distress (mild cramping, bloating) and I am unable to eat much due to a "fullness" feeling in my abdomen.  In the past, that scenario has happened when I have been "glutened."  I just don't know what I ate that may have caused this, other than perhaps some contaminated cashews.  Perhaps it is a FODMAP or a "bug."

It is kind of ironic that during the last week of Whole 30 I have felt the worst.  But no worries!  Overall, I am so happy that I chose to do this experiment.  It has taught me so much about my body.  And it is a GREAT jump start to the 2013 season!

Whole 30: Week 3 Reflections

There has not been as big a change between Week 2 and Week 3 as there had from the first two weeks.  The only noticeable change is that I have not had any acne flare ups since I started the program.

 I have been pretty faithful to the 3 a day meals unless I ride big; then I include some food during the ride as well as a post work out recovery meal.  And I must confess that my "breakfast" usually lasts about 60-75 minutes.  I have always been a "grazer" and I thought that going to a set number of meals would be difficult.  But after increasing my fat intake, I now stay "full" for a longer period of time.

Ride food ...  coconut date rolls ( look very similar to litter coated cat turds).

I did pay dearly last week as I was feeling good enough for 2 big days.  The first was a 5 hour gravel grinder.  I at least made it 2 1/2 hours before bonking.  The following day I experimented with true suffering as I chose to pre-ride The Snake on my SS, 1 gear harder than I normally use.  What the hell was I thinking?  Must have been a lack of glucose in the brain!  Needless to say I didn't make it 90 minutes before I bonked really hard!  And then my fork decided to "die" on the infamous rocky ridge section.  I ended up walking sections that normally would be easy to ride.  Talk about being humbled!

And ... two days later, I caught a cold.  What I learned from this is that the Whole 30 plan not only halved the duration of my cold, but also the severity of it as well.  That virus left me in 3 days, tail tucked and high tailing it to find some easier prey!

Now that I am about finished, I have been trying to figure out how to train and race with the least amount of non-Whole 30 approved foods added back.  I know I will NOT add back seed oils, legumes, grains,and pseudo grains save for rice, if I can tolerate it, i.e. no Buddha belly and sluggishness.  I am hoping dairy will agree with me, but if not, than I will be o.k. with that.  I would rather feel great forever on a slightly limited diet than to have that momentary "feel good" feeling after a bite of cheese or ice cream.

I am thinking that I will be able to substiute potatoes (both sweet and white) for rice.  (Now what am I gonna do with the 10 boxes of Chocolate Chex that I bought 2 months ago at a ridiculously low price!?!)  Oh, Carly ......

Day 1 of reintroduction will be Christmas day.  I have chosen sugar as my first.  I have got a GREAT recipe for Paleo pecan pie!