Today is day #5 (wow - it is Friday already!) of the ATMEL 2-week shutdown. Brief recap of the week so far.
1) Coach with a Coach...I've hired a coach to train me. You might ask why a coach would need a coach. There are several reasons - one being that if you spend a lot of your time with your clients, you tend to neglect yourself (especially with a busy schedule like mine). Second, it always helps to have someone else out there motivating you. I met Coach Matt at the USAT Level I Coaching Clinic. We have a similar science background and have similar philosphies regarding training and how it fits into life, so we'll give it a shot.
2) Vision is still stable...I had my annual check-up on Wednesday and all is good. My eye prescription still hasn't changed -it's been stable for at least 4 years now. Going to the eye doctor is not one of your "traumatic" doctor offices, although some might not enjoy the puff of air in the glaucoma test. Every year I try not to flinch and every year I fail. My doc also gives this peripheral vision test - you put a patch over one eye and rest your chin on this rest of a bowl-like contraption that might be an planetarium for mice. You stare at a light spot and then flashes of light go off in different locations in the bowl, and each time you see a light flash, you click a clicker. For some reason I think this is also a reaction time test, and I'm clicking away as fast as I can as soon as I see the light. Haven't missed a flash yet!
3) Neck Poppin'...At last Saturday's race I got a free massage and they were scheduling free evaluations with a chiropractor. Why not check it out - can't hurt, right? I went on Monday, got some x-rays, back on Tuesday and apparently I'm pretty whacked out in my neck and lower back. Though it probably explains some of the little aches in my neck and lower back I ignore or blame on training. Since I've got insurance coverage for this, I figured I would sign up for the treatment that I'm covered for. Every afternoon (good thing I'm off work) I head over there for time in a wobble chair, self-hanging on this neck contraption, 10 minutes of a nice back massage table - it runs along the spine, creating space between the vertebrae, and then an adjustment by the doctor. Boy does my neck crack - yesterday was really loud. I have about 12 more visits over the next few weeks and then they will take more x-rays to see how much my "loss of curve" in my neck and my other misalignments have improved.
4) NEO Endurance Sports and Fitness...been working on the research for my business plans. Also have a lot of documentation to take care of like business cards, waivers, athlete history forms. But I look forward to getting my coaching business rolling!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
St Pat's Day 5k Race Report
One of the most fun races in Colorado Springs is the 5k on St. Patrick's Day, which is really held on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day. The course loops around downtown, which is relatively flat for Colorado standards. Total elevation gain/loss about 250ft according to my GPS. Everyone out there is wearing green (I was in my Jack Quinn's Running Club shirt) and there are a lot of green wigs, hats, etc. This year about 1500 runners were out on the course.
Got up a little before 6:30 for my morning ritual. We had a Team in Training run today as well, so I had to make sure I was ready for that.
Breakfast was a bowl of oatmeal (2 packets regular quaker instant oats) with a little bit of peanut butter and a banana. Then I hit the shower and got ready for the training.
It was a cold morning, temps in the 20s around 8am. But the sky was clear and the sun was shining - which made for a perfect day to run.
Down at Monument Valley Park I met the Team, we warmed up and went on a 50-60minute (I did about 50) endurance run with about 5 30-second pick-ups to put in some speed. I ran a bit slower this morning so that I wouldn't burn out the legs or the lungs before the race. Normally I would just take a water bottle with me for that time run, but today I used HEED to get in some calories. We saw the TNT run/walk team out on the trail today. It is always great to run into familiar faces out on a run! After the group run, I quickly put on a dry top, grabbed my backpack with recovery drink and such, and then walked about a mile to the starting line at Acacia Park.
Scheduled race start: 10am
I get there at 9:35 - plenty of time. I pre-registered so I already had my race number, which I carefully pinned to my shirt before I left the house this morning. Task #1 - find a port-o-potty. Line was pretty short so all was good. Task #2 - attach timing chip to shoe. This is critical, but maybe tast #1 was more critical!?! I'd never used a chip that tied to the shoe with the shoe laces before, but my method appeared to be solid. Task #3 - find a place to stash my bag. No bag check at this race, so the bag went under a bench near the finish line, also near the registration tent. All was OK.
9:45am - take a gel - today was a vanilla gu with a little caffiene. wash down with some water and head to the streets to keep the blood flowing in the legs and get to the starting line. While waiting I overheard a couple people talking about peanut butter jelly time.
LOVE IT!
anyway, then I saw Tim Barry, the former Process Engineering Manager at Atmel, so I chatted with him. He works in Longmont now so I don't get to see him much.
10:00am - People are still registering so the start will be delayed. So much for my 15minutes prior to race start gel consumption.
10:11:48 (GPS time) the gun goes off! The fist half mile is downhill - so the race start surge really surges! I checked my Garmin for my pace - a little too fast - my goal was to finish at about an 8:00min/mile pace, so I backed off to about 7:45, knowing after we turned the corner, we'd be going back uphill.
Mile 1: 7:13 (these are guestimate splits from my GPS, which doesn't put time and distance on the same graph!)
Mile 2: 14:50
Finish: 23:54
Overall: 39/777 women
Age Group: 11/149
There are a few turn-arounds between mile 2 and 3 which do slow you down a little.
Ok, so I did start a little fast, but overall the legs felt really good. I think the oxygen uptake issue was what slowed me down, not my legs, though I will admit they were heavy at the end. At one point I did reach an almost "gasping" stage, but backed off a tad and was good. Have felt that in other races- especially at the end of a run in a triathlon.
My goal was to go sub-25 (last year I ran something like 25:07) so I was really excited when I came around the last corner and saw the clock read 23:45....just had to make it to the mats before the 24:00 mark! and I did!
After the race I ran into Tim again and his wife Karen, then one of my TNT members. A couple of them did the race, but I didn't see the other. Hard to find people at times in big crowds like that. As I was about to head back to the car, I ran into Stacey and Shannon. They did a brick workout today (crazy riding at 7:30am in the 20 degree weather!). They were parked back at the same place I was so we walked back together. It's always fun to see them.
Now I'm just hanging out, trying to relax and recover, as tomorrow is a big endurance (not speed!) day. Pushing that hard really does take a bit out of you. I took a nap after I got home and will try to keep my feet up as much as possible for the rest of the day.
Got up a little before 6:30 for my morning ritual. We had a Team in Training run today as well, so I had to make sure I was ready for that.
Breakfast was a bowl of oatmeal (2 packets regular quaker instant oats) with a little bit of peanut butter and a banana. Then I hit the shower and got ready for the training.
It was a cold morning, temps in the 20s around 8am. But the sky was clear and the sun was shining - which made for a perfect day to run.
Down at Monument Valley Park I met the Team, we warmed up and went on a 50-60minute (I did about 50) endurance run with about 5 30-second pick-ups to put in some speed. I ran a bit slower this morning so that I wouldn't burn out the legs or the lungs before the race. Normally I would just take a water bottle with me for that time run, but today I used HEED to get in some calories. We saw the TNT run/walk team out on the trail today. It is always great to run into familiar faces out on a run! After the group run, I quickly put on a dry top, grabbed my backpack with recovery drink and such, and then walked about a mile to the starting line at Acacia Park.
Scheduled race start: 10am
I get there at 9:35 - plenty of time. I pre-registered so I already had my race number, which I carefully pinned to my shirt before I left the house this morning. Task #1 - find a port-o-potty. Line was pretty short so all was good. Task #2 - attach timing chip to shoe. This is critical, but maybe tast #1 was more critical!?! I'd never used a chip that tied to the shoe with the shoe laces before, but my method appeared to be solid. Task #3 - find a place to stash my bag. No bag check at this race, so the bag went under a bench near the finish line, also near the registration tent. All was OK.
9:45am - take a gel - today was a vanilla gu with a little caffiene. wash down with some water and head to the streets to keep the blood flowing in the legs and get to the starting line. While waiting I overheard a couple people talking about peanut butter jelly time.
LOVE IT!
anyway, then I saw Tim Barry, the former Process Engineering Manager at Atmel, so I chatted with him. He works in Longmont now so I don't get to see him much.
10:00am - People are still registering so the start will be delayed. So much for my 15minutes prior to race start gel consumption.
10:11:48 (GPS time) the gun goes off! The fist half mile is downhill - so the race start surge really surges! I checked my Garmin for my pace - a little too fast - my goal was to finish at about an 8:00min/mile pace, so I backed off to about 7:45, knowing after we turned the corner, we'd be going back uphill.
Mile 1: 7:13 (these are guestimate splits from my GPS, which doesn't put time and distance on the same graph!)
Mile 2: 14:50
Finish: 23:54
Overall: 39/777 women
Age Group: 11/149
There are a few turn-arounds between mile 2 and 3 which do slow you down a little.
Ok, so I did start a little fast, but overall the legs felt really good. I think the oxygen uptake issue was what slowed me down, not my legs, though I will admit they were heavy at the end. At one point I did reach an almost "gasping" stage, but backed off a tad and was good. Have felt that in other races- especially at the end of a run in a triathlon.
My goal was to go sub-25 (last year I ran something like 25:07) so I was really excited when I came around the last corner and saw the clock read 23:45....just had to make it to the mats before the 24:00 mark! and I did!
After the race I ran into Tim again and his wife Karen, then one of my TNT members. A couple of them did the race, but I didn't see the other. Hard to find people at times in big crowds like that. As I was about to head back to the car, I ran into Stacey and Shannon. They did a brick workout today (crazy riding at 7:30am in the 20 degree weather!). They were parked back at the same place I was so we walked back together. It's always fun to see them.
Now I'm just hanging out, trying to relax and recover, as tomorrow is a big endurance (not speed!) day. Pushing that hard really does take a bit out of you. I took a nap after I got home and will try to keep my feet up as much as possible for the rest of the day.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
I Love Gold Camp Road!
Today's bike ride was with a few good Team in Training buddies who are training for Ironman Louisville. Our needed rides were similar in length so I met them at their place mid-morning, along with another TNT-er and her husband. Though the forecast was about 60 degrees, at 10:45am it was still only 40. Brrrrr. But the sun was sneaking out at times and we headed out. First was a little warm-up up and down 31st St, then over to 26th St. 26th turns into Gold Camp Road, which is a fantastic gradual climb, between 4% and 6% grade. I forgot my GPS so I didn't get any data, but I love that ride! The lower part is kind of steep, then you hit a steady climb up into the mountains over Colorado Springs. We stopped when the road turned to dirt, about 5 miles from where we started. The views of the city are phenomenal from up there. My legs felt great - I wasn't sure how my new position (more forward for the aerobars) would be for climbing, but it seemed to work just fine! Now if I could only get a little more comfortable descending to take advantage of free speed!
The rest of my day was spent cleaning the house and baking a chocolate cake. We're hosting the Porsche Club board meeting on Tuesday so I thought I'd make a really great chocolate cake. It's a 3-layer cake from the Mrs. Fields "I Love Chocolate" cookbook. The frosting is like fudge. Yum. Good think I did that bike ride today since I licked the bowls.
Now for this week's Recipe:
Tacozagna and Banana Cheesecakes
(From the food network and Rachel Ray.)
Ingredients
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 1/2 pounds ground turkey or ground sirloin
1 zucchini
2 carrots, peeled
1 onion, peeled
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons chili powder, 3 palm fulls
2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2/3 palm full
1 tablespoon coriander, a palm full
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup beef stock
6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
3 cups shredded Chihuahua cheese or Monterey Jack
4 scallions, chopped
2 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped
3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 cups prepared cheesecake filling (recommended: Philly brand)
2 very ripe bananas with spotty skins
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons honey
6 individual graham cracker crusts
Whipped cream
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat a large high sided skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add the meat and brown, 5 minutes. While meat browns, grate the zucchini and carrots with a box grater. Add the vegetables to the meat and grate in the onion and garlic. Season the meat with chili, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and cook 7 to 8 minutes more to soften vegetables. Stir in beef stock. Grease a 8 by 13-inch baking pan with vegetable oil. Layer in 3 overlapping flour tortillas and top with 1/3 meat, 1/3 cheese. Repeat the layers twice and bake 10 to 12 minutes to brown cheese. Top with scallions, lettuce and tomatoes, cut into squares and serve.
While Tacosagna cooks, make dessert. Place cheesecake filling in bowl and mash in 2 really ripe bananas, season with cinnamon and stir in honey. Fill the crust tins and when you are ready to serve top with a swirl of whipped cream.
The rest of my day was spent cleaning the house and baking a chocolate cake. We're hosting the Porsche Club board meeting on Tuesday so I thought I'd make a really great chocolate cake. It's a 3-layer cake from the Mrs. Fields "I Love Chocolate" cookbook. The frosting is like fudge. Yum. Good think I did that bike ride today since I licked the bowls.
Now for this week's Recipe:
Tacozagna and Banana Cheesecakes
(From the food network and Rachel Ray.)
Ingredients
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 1/2 pounds ground turkey or ground sirloin
1 zucchini
2 carrots, peeled
1 onion, peeled
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons chili powder, 3 palm fulls
2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2/3 palm full
1 tablespoon coriander, a palm full
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup beef stock
6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
3 cups shredded Chihuahua cheese or Monterey Jack
4 scallions, chopped
2 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped
3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 cups prepared cheesecake filling (recommended: Philly brand)
2 very ripe bananas with spotty skins
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons honey
6 individual graham cracker crusts
Whipped cream
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat a large high sided skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add the meat and brown, 5 minutes. While meat browns, grate the zucchini and carrots with a box grater. Add the vegetables to the meat and grate in the onion and garlic. Season the meat with chili, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and cook 7 to 8 minutes more to soften vegetables. Stir in beef stock. Grease a 8 by 13-inch baking pan with vegetable oil. Layer in 3 overlapping flour tortillas and top with 1/3 meat, 1/3 cheese. Repeat the layers twice and bake 10 to 12 minutes to brown cheese. Top with scallions, lettuce and tomatoes, cut into squares and serve.
While Tacosagna cooks, make dessert. Place cheesecake filling in bowl and mash in 2 really ripe bananas, season with cinnamon and stir in honey. Fill the crust tins and when you are ready to serve top with a swirl of whipped cream.
Friday, February 27, 2009
USAT Certification and Bananas to Celebrate!
Yesterday was a good day. After a long day at work, I came home deciding to go for an easy run. The weather was good so I took Juno with me. She managed to jog with me for the first half, but on the way back we walked a bit. She actually did better than I thought she would. I think we were both glad to be outside and since this is a recovery week, I didn't mind a little walking. When we got back I checked the mail and there it was - the letter I'd been hoping for! Tthe official word that I passed the USA Triathlon Level I Coaching Certification test and am now a certified coach! I can now wrap up some of the details in setting up my coaching business. The March shutdown (2 weeks of no "day job" will be perfect for this).
Tim got home a few minutes later and we decided to head downtown for dinner. We went to the Metropolitan, an underground bar that also serves "small plates." So we got drinks (mint chocolate chip martini for me) and some pretty good food. Tim was still a little hungry, and of course I can always eat, so we got dessert - baked bananas with vanilla bean ice cream. Not bad - the dish was a banana cut in half, lengthwise with cinnamon, sugar, and possibly some vanilla sprinked on top and then baked, still in the peel. The ice cream was just vanilla on the side in a small dish. Simple but good. A nice way to celebrate my certification!
Tim got home a few minutes later and we decided to head downtown for dinner. We went to the Metropolitan, an underground bar that also serves "small plates." So we got drinks (mint chocolate chip martini for me) and some pretty good food. Tim was still a little hungry, and of course I can always eat, so we got dessert - baked bananas with vanilla bean ice cream. Not bad - the dish was a banana cut in half, lengthwise with cinnamon, sugar, and possibly some vanilla sprinked on top and then baked, still in the peel. The ice cream was just vanilla on the side in a small dish. Simple but good. A nice way to celebrate my certification!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Weekend Report and Red Snapper
Weekend Report:
Here's the report for the week. I finally got over the sniffles I caught last week. There are quite a few colds going around, but I didn't get it too bad. Mainly head congestion - ick. I got most of my training in, but rule #1 before working out was to make sure I felt good enough to train.
Let's see -
Monday was a rest day except for yoga, which is always a very relaxing session. Took Tim to the airport (DC trip) early in the morning.
Tuesday was the first TNT track session. WINDY! Not super cold (30's-40's maybe), but gusts I'm sure 30+mph. The team ran a timed mile and then some 800m intervals. I was chilly so I ended up running the last couple intervals with them. Oh yeah - swam ~2000yds over lunch.
Wednesday - I did a trainer ride in the morning along with a Chris Carmichael video - it was the time trial video with some power intervals. I didn't take it as intense as I could have, since I'm still in my base phase, but it was still a really good session. Juno went to doggy day care today. She has such a blast out there at Preppy Pet Suites.
Thursday I ran a timed mile after work. Jogged over to the nearby middle school and then pushed out a 7:10 on their gravel track. Not as fast as last summer's 6:54, but I'll take it, especially at the end of a cold and no day off of training before hand. Another morning swim of about 1900 yards.
Friday - Another morning session on the trainer, this time a recovery session of 45 minutes. Got my new seatpost installed and fit over lunch. Now I will really be aero and fast!
Saturday - TNT group run in the morning. Was chilly - low of 15 but is was probably 20ish by the time we ran. The sky was blue and the sun shining so it made for a really beautiful morning to be out on the trail. We did 40 minutes easy. Later that afternoon I swam 2400 yards. Didn't really mean to swim that much, but it was a nice session. I'm pretty consistent about 2:00min/100yds with easy to moderate effort! That's the pace where I want to race at, so I am pleased with my progress. In the evening Tim and I went to a fantastic Mardi Gras party. I made bread pudding from the Commander's Palace cookbook. Delicious!
Sunday - Not as good a day as I planned. I think I ate too much at the party (who didn't!). I've been eating smaller meals for the last few months and have been eating pretty healthy, I think that rich food got to me. So I bailed on a bike ride with friends and hopped on the trainer instead. Much better to be home for GI issues that out on the road somewhere! I got an hour in watching Pirates of the Carribean. I've spent the rest of the day working on my business plans and making meals to freeze for lunches during the week.
Here is a non-breakfast banana recipe for the week!
Red Snapper With Pecan-Banana Butter (from bananas.com)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp. hot paprika
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbs. peanut or canola oil
Four 6-oz. red snapper fillets (you can also use catfish or haddock)
4 Tbs. butter
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Pinch salt
1 large firm-ripe banana, diced
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
2 Tbs. minced fresh cilantro or parsley
Preparation:
Stir together the flour, paprika, thyme and salt on a large plate. Pour milk into a shallow bowl. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot, not smoking. Dip fish in milk, then flour mixture. Cook in hot oil, in batches if necessary, until browned on the bottom. Turn fillets and brown other side, about 4 minutes per side for 1-inch fillets. Remove to a platter and keep warm.
Drain cooking oil and wipe skillet with paper towels. Heat butter over medium heat and add pecans, nutmeg and salt. Cook, stirring, until pecans are lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add bananas and cook, stirring, about 1 minute or just until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro. Place fillets on warm plates, spoon some sauce over each and serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Here's the report for the week. I finally got over the sniffles I caught last week. There are quite a few colds going around, but I didn't get it too bad. Mainly head congestion - ick. I got most of my training in, but rule #1 before working out was to make sure I felt good enough to train.
Let's see -
Monday was a rest day except for yoga, which is always a very relaxing session. Took Tim to the airport (DC trip) early in the morning.
Tuesday was the first TNT track session. WINDY! Not super cold (30's-40's maybe), but gusts I'm sure 30+mph. The team ran a timed mile and then some 800m intervals. I was chilly so I ended up running the last couple intervals with them. Oh yeah - swam ~2000yds over lunch.
Wednesday - I did a trainer ride in the morning along with a Chris Carmichael video - it was the time trial video with some power intervals. I didn't take it as intense as I could have, since I'm still in my base phase, but it was still a really good session. Juno went to doggy day care today. She has such a blast out there at Preppy Pet Suites.
Thursday I ran a timed mile after work. Jogged over to the nearby middle school and then pushed out a 7:10 on their gravel track. Not as fast as last summer's 6:54, but I'll take it, especially at the end of a cold and no day off of training before hand. Another morning swim of about 1900 yards.
Friday - Another morning session on the trainer, this time a recovery session of 45 minutes. Got my new seatpost installed and fit over lunch. Now I will really be aero and fast!
Saturday - TNT group run in the morning. Was chilly - low of 15 but is was probably 20ish by the time we ran. The sky was blue and the sun shining so it made for a really beautiful morning to be out on the trail. We did 40 minutes easy. Later that afternoon I swam 2400 yards. Didn't really mean to swim that much, but it was a nice session. I'm pretty consistent about 2:00min/100yds with easy to moderate effort! That's the pace where I want to race at, so I am pleased with my progress. In the evening Tim and I went to a fantastic Mardi Gras party. I made bread pudding from the Commander's Palace cookbook. Delicious!
Sunday - Not as good a day as I planned. I think I ate too much at the party (who didn't!). I've been eating smaller meals for the last few months and have been eating pretty healthy, I think that rich food got to me. So I bailed on a bike ride with friends and hopped on the trainer instead. Much better to be home for GI issues that out on the road somewhere! I got an hour in watching Pirates of the Carribean. I've spent the rest of the day working on my business plans and making meals to freeze for lunches during the week.
Here is a non-breakfast banana recipe for the week!
Red Snapper With Pecan-Banana Butter (from bananas.com)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp. hot paprika
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbs. peanut or canola oil
Four 6-oz. red snapper fillets (you can also use catfish or haddock)
4 Tbs. butter
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Pinch salt
1 large firm-ripe banana, diced
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
2 Tbs. minced fresh cilantro or parsley
Preparation:
Stir together the flour, paprika, thyme and salt on a large plate. Pour milk into a shallow bowl. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot, not smoking. Dip fish in milk, then flour mixture. Cook in hot oil, in batches if necessary, until browned on the bottom. Turn fillets and brown other side, about 4 minutes per side for 1-inch fillets. Remove to a platter and keep warm.
Drain cooking oil and wipe skillet with paper towels. Heat butter over medium heat and add pecans, nutmeg and salt. Cook, stirring, until pecans are lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add bananas and cook, stirring, about 1 minute or just until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro. Place fillets on warm plates, spoon some sauce over each and serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Banana Heaven!
So I'll start out with this week's banana recipe. I stumbled upon the new Banana Nut Cheerios at the grocery store this weekend so I had to pick up a box. I am looking forward to trying them tomorrow morning! And they have some delicious looking recipes on their website....Jess, is this healthy enough for you? ;-)
Banana Date Muffins from Cheerios.com
Prep Time:15 min
Start to Finish:35 min
Makes:12 muffins
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2 1/2 cups Banana Nut Cheerios® cereal
1 1/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates or raisins
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse or granulated sugar
1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray bottoms only of 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray, or line with paper baking cups. Spray bottoms only of paper baking cups with cooking spray. In large resealable food-storage plastic bag, coarsely crush cereal with rolling pin or meat mallet to measure 1 3/4 cups.
2. In large bowl, mix crushed cereal, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. In medium bowl, beat buttermilk, oil, vanilla and egg until blended. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in dates. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
3. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Serve warm or cool.
----------------------------------------
OK, so now on to this week's training and other stuff.
This week was "Kickoff" for our Team in Training summer season. Looks like the tri team will have about 12 participants - which is great! We had our first group workout on Saturday - in the 17 degree slightly snowy weather! Brrrr. But I think we all managed the 1.3 mile jog to Criterium Bicycles for a basic triathlon gear clinic. It was really nice of them to let us use some space in the store and since they have tri gear, I didn't need to lug any of mine! Then we jogged back to the cars and refueled at Einstein's Bagels. I was pretty hungry by then because I put in a 40 minute run prior to the group workout.
On my way home I stopped off to check on my brother's bird, Archie. He seemed just fine. I gave him some fresh water, some birdy treats, scratched his head a little bit and headed home for a well-deserved nap! After my nap it was time to hit the pool for about 2000 yards. The best reward was the hot tub afterwards, which was really hot, maybe a little too hot, but still gets the blood flowing from being in a cold pool! My swimming is also coming around - my SwimLabs lessons are paying off because I am faster. I also think the yoga I've been taking is working to improve my upper body flexibility.
Today I woke up with a bit of a sore throat, which is now turning into some head congestion. There is a cold going around work, so I may have a mild version of it (and running in the chilly weather probably didn't help). I think I got close to 10 hours of sleep last night - much needed! I felt well enough to get my 90 minutes in on my trainer mid-morning. I had really planned on riding outside, but with temps in the mid-30s (sunny, though) I decided it best to not get chilled with this congestion. So instead I was dripping sweat in the family room. The Bourne Identity helped get me through some of the monotony of sitting on a trainer.
Tomorrow is a rest day with only yoga in the evening, so I'm hoping the cold symptoms don't get any worse.
Banana Date Muffins from Cheerios.com
Prep Time:15 min
Start to Finish:35 min
Makes:12 muffins
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2 1/2 cups Banana Nut Cheerios® cereal
1 1/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates or raisins
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse or granulated sugar
1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray bottoms only of 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray, or line with paper baking cups. Spray bottoms only of paper baking cups with cooking spray. In large resealable food-storage plastic bag, coarsely crush cereal with rolling pin or meat mallet to measure 1 3/4 cups.
2. In large bowl, mix crushed cereal, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. In medium bowl, beat buttermilk, oil, vanilla and egg until blended. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in dates. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
3. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Serve warm or cool.
----------------------------------------
OK, so now on to this week's training and other stuff.
This week was "Kickoff" for our Team in Training summer season. Looks like the tri team will have about 12 participants - which is great! We had our first group workout on Saturday - in the 17 degree slightly snowy weather! Brrrr. But I think we all managed the 1.3 mile jog to Criterium Bicycles for a basic triathlon gear clinic. It was really nice of them to let us use some space in the store and since they have tri gear, I didn't need to lug any of mine! Then we jogged back to the cars and refueled at Einstein's Bagels. I was pretty hungry by then because I put in a 40 minute run prior to the group workout.
On my way home I stopped off to check on my brother's bird, Archie. He seemed just fine. I gave him some fresh water, some birdy treats, scratched his head a little bit and headed home for a well-deserved nap! After my nap it was time to hit the pool for about 2000 yards. The best reward was the hot tub afterwards, which was really hot, maybe a little too hot, but still gets the blood flowing from being in a cold pool! My swimming is also coming around - my SwimLabs lessons are paying off because I am faster. I also think the yoga I've been taking is working to improve my upper body flexibility.
Today I woke up with a bit of a sore throat, which is now turning into some head congestion. There is a cold going around work, so I may have a mild version of it (and running in the chilly weather probably didn't help). I think I got close to 10 hours of sleep last night - much needed! I felt well enough to get my 90 minutes in on my trainer mid-morning. I had really planned on riding outside, but with temps in the mid-30s (sunny, though) I decided it best to not get chilled with this congestion. So instead I was dripping sweat in the family room. The Bourne Identity helped get me through some of the monotony of sitting on a trainer.
Tomorrow is a rest day with only yoga in the evening, so I'm hoping the cold symptoms don't get any worse.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Why Breakfast Rocks
Breakfast rocks because:
1) you can eat a lot of carbs (just call me a carb-o-holic!)
2) it is usually the easiest meal to prepare
3) it gets you going after that morning workout and fuels you for the one over lunch
4) there are soooo many great foods to choose from!
5) bananas are a great breakfast food!
Some of you who know me know that breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day. This is one benefit of my increased exercise, as I can usually justify a good sized breakfast because I do a lot of training in the morning and over lunch.
Dunkin' Donuts new waffle sandwich inspired me to write this post. I love scrambling up some eggs and making a waffle sandwich. So I usually don't have bacon and cheese with it, but I do love the Sonic Bacon, Egg and Cheese Toaster sandwich, so using waffles will just be heaven for me! Ok, so I won't eat these very often, once a month or so, but yummy. It's also nice that most fast food places are putting the nutritional info on their websites so that I can plan a splurge.
On a healthier side, my breakfast staples during the week are:
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 to 2 cups milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
1 jar hazelnut chocolate spread
5 bananas, sliced
1 can whipping cream
Directions:
Sift the flour with the salt into a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the egg and egg yolk. Pour in the milk, slowly, stirring constantly and, when half is added, stir in the melted butter and vanilla. Beat well until smooth. Add the remaining milk, cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before using. The batter should be the consistency of light cream. Heat a well greased 6-inch skillet,. Add 1/4 cup batter. Tip skillet from side to side until batter covers bottom. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, turn and remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter. Spread a thin layer of chocolate hazelnut spread onto crepe and place banana slices down the center. Roll or fold crepe. Just before serving top with whipped cream.
1) you can eat a lot of carbs (just call me a carb-o-holic!)
2) it is usually the easiest meal to prepare
3) it gets you going after that morning workout and fuels you for the one over lunch
4) there are soooo many great foods to choose from!
5) bananas are a great breakfast food!
Some of you who know me know that breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day. This is one benefit of my increased exercise, as I can usually justify a good sized breakfast because I do a lot of training in the morning and over lunch.
Dunkin' Donuts new waffle sandwich inspired me to write this post. I love scrambling up some eggs and making a waffle sandwich. So I usually don't have bacon and cheese with it, but I do love the Sonic Bacon, Egg and Cheese Toaster sandwich, so using waffles will just be heaven for me! Ok, so I won't eat these very often, once a month or so, but yummy. It's also nice that most fast food places are putting the nutritional info on their websites so that I can plan a splurge.
On a healthier side, my breakfast staples during the week are:
- Oatmeal - I like Archer Farms multigrain oatmeal. I'll usually throw in some mixed berries (I buy frozen for convenience) and if I need a protein boost I'll cook it in soymilk or add a tablespoon of peanut butter.
- Cereal. Kashi GoLean has good fiber and protein. Again I'll throw some fruit.
- Eggs. I'll use the egg whites you can buy in the store or egg beaters, or just mix a real egg in there if I want a little more fat. I cook them in olive or canola oil.
- Pancakes. I'll make a big batch of whole grain pancakes and freeze them. I'll usually add some soy protein powder. Last week I threw in some zucchini so I got a serving of veggies in my breakfast!
These are all easy to bring to work (eggs I cook ahead of time but they refridgerate or freeze well) for when I swim in the morning before work.
Ok, so now it's time for the week's banana recipe. Of course it is a breakfast one!
Chocolate-Banana fille Crepes from Paula Deen - coutesy of the food network.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/chocolate-banana-filled-crepes-recipe/index.html
Crepe Batter:1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 to 2 cups milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
1 jar hazelnut chocolate spread
5 bananas, sliced
1 can whipping cream
Directions:
Sift the flour with the salt into a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the egg and egg yolk. Pour in the milk, slowly, stirring constantly and, when half is added, stir in the melted butter and vanilla. Beat well until smooth. Add the remaining milk, cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before using. The batter should be the consistency of light cream. Heat a well greased 6-inch skillet,. Add 1/4 cup batter. Tip skillet from side to side until batter covers bottom. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, turn and remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter. Spread a thin layer of chocolate hazelnut spread onto crepe and place banana slices down the center. Roll or fold crepe. Just before serving top with whipped cream.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Banana Recipe for week of 2/1 - Warm Bananas with Brown Sugar and Bay Leaf
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/warm-bananas-with-brown-sugar-and-bay-leaf-recipe/index.html
Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons brandy
Pinch salt
6 ripe bananas, peeled and cut on the bias into 1/3-inch slices (about 1 quart)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon fresh coarsely ground black pepper
Store bought chocolate cake or ice cream, for serving
Directions
In large skillet over high heat, melt the butter and cook until it browns, about 3 minutes. Add the bay leaves and stand back (it may pop). Add the lemon juice, orange juice, brown sugar, brandy, and a pinch of salt. Bring the mixture up to a boil. Stir and cook until the liquid has reduced by half and it has reached a syrupy consistency, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the bananas and pepper. Stir to coat the bananas evenly. Serve immediately spooned over cake or ice cream.
Cooking Notes: You can make the sauce hours ahead of time. Just add the fruit after you bring the sauce back to a simmer. The fruit should be a little cool inside. Serve it with a good, store bought chocolate cake or spoon it over your favorite ice cream.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons brandy
Pinch salt
6 ripe bananas, peeled and cut on the bias into 1/3-inch slices (about 1 quart)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon fresh coarsely ground black pepper
Store bought chocolate cake or ice cream, for serving
Directions
In large skillet over high heat, melt the butter and cook until it browns, about 3 minutes. Add the bay leaves and stand back (it may pop). Add the lemon juice, orange juice, brown sugar, brandy, and a pinch of salt. Bring the mixture up to a boil. Stir and cook until the liquid has reduced by half and it has reached a syrupy consistency, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the bananas and pepper. Stir to coat the bananas evenly. Serve immediately spooned over cake or ice cream.
Cooking Notes: You can make the sauce hours ahead of time. Just add the fruit after you bring the sauce back to a simmer. The fruit should be a little cool inside. Serve it with a good, store bought chocolate cake or spoon it over your favorite ice cream.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
The Peak
Not Pikes Peak, the Boulder Peak. I signed up for my second 'A' race of the season - the Boulder Peak triathlon. I've done the sprint distance and half-ironman distance races in the 5430 series, so now it is time for me to tackle the olympic distance. The challenge of this race is the hill you have to climb. Here's an elevation profile of the course - looks like 1200ft in about 7 miles.
http://www.5430sports.com/profiles/peak_elevation.jpg
The course description:
http://www.5430sports.com/peak/course.htm
"The 42 kilometer bike leg is a course that has a little of everything as it winds through north Boulder County. About 6 miles into the clockwise loop will ascend 15% Old Stage Hill (600' vertical climb in 2/3 of a mile). On the summit will be the first fluid replacement station. From Old Stage it is a beautiful descent down Left Hand Canyon and out onto the Buffalo covered plains. Now, in its third year, a 35mph speed limit will be strictly enforced on the major descent on the backside of Old Stage Road. We will have police officers and course marshals monitoring this."
I'm happy about the speed limit, as that is about the top speed I am comfortable descending! Though my max speed at Loveland last year was about 42mph!
Today's Ride
Today I did about 25 miles over lunch. It was a must to get out today as we had temps around 60 degrees! In January! If this is global warming, I don't mind. ;-) But it is supposed to snow tomorrow - that's Colorado for ya! I was proud of myself on the first half of the ride - I was feeling strong, easily cruising about 20mph. But then I remembered it was a gradual loss of elevation (~1% grade) and realized after I turned around that the wind was strong. By the time I got back, some of the flags were really whipping. So my return speed was nowhere near 20mph! Oh well - it'll make me stronger, right?
Time to hit the bowling alley for a friend's birthday party! woohoo!
http://www.5430sports.com/profiles/peak_elevation.jpg
The course description:
http://www.5430sports.com/peak/course.htm
"The 42 kilometer bike leg is a course that has a little of everything as it winds through north Boulder County. About 6 miles into the clockwise loop will ascend 15% Old Stage Hill (600' vertical climb in 2/3 of a mile). On the summit will be the first fluid replacement station. From Old Stage it is a beautiful descent down Left Hand Canyon and out onto the Buffalo covered plains. Now, in its third year, a 35mph speed limit will be strictly enforced on the major descent on the backside of Old Stage Road. We will have police officers and course marshals monitoring this."
I'm happy about the speed limit, as that is about the top speed I am comfortable descending! Though my max speed at Loveland last year was about 42mph!
Today's Ride
Today I did about 25 miles over lunch. It was a must to get out today as we had temps around 60 degrees! In January! If this is global warming, I don't mind. ;-) But it is supposed to snow tomorrow - that's Colorado for ya! I was proud of myself on the first half of the ride - I was feeling strong, easily cruising about 20mph. But then I remembered it was a gradual loss of elevation (~1% grade) and realized after I turned around that the wind was strong. By the time I got back, some of the flags were really whipping. So my return speed was nowhere near 20mph! Oh well - it'll make me stronger, right?
Time to hit the bowling alley for a friend's birthday party! woohoo!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Catch-up Post - it's a long one!
It's been a while since I've posted, so here's an update of what is going on.
Jan 13-15th I was at USA Triathlon coaching certification clinic. I have to take a written test and submit it within six weeks. I'd like to submit it as soon as possible so I've been working on it a lot. Should finally wrap it up this weekend! Once I get my certification I will work more on marketing my new coaching company, NEO Endurance Sports and Fitness.
I'm starting to train for Ironman 70.3 Kansas. They give out special prizes if you do the race in a Wizard of Oz costume, but I think I'll skip that this year. I'm enjoying getting back to a structured training program, and with what I learned at the USAT clinic, I'm hoping to have a good race season. Trying to get in 3 swims, 3 bike rides, at least 2 runs and 2-3 strength training sessions per week adds up with time, especially working full time.
Wednesday night I went to Carmichael Training Systems athlete appreciation event. Chris Carmichael (Lance Armstrong's coach) spoke about Lance's comeback effort and spoke on how to create your own comeback - really goal setting skills using Lance as an example. He's a pretty good motivational speaker. Then some guy, a finiancial coach, talked about market stuff. Really a sales pitch for his company's methods. While he was somewhat of an engaging speaker, we were running late so he had to rush through slides, and I think most people there were really more interested in the 60 minute spinning class that Chris Carmichael was about to do for us. They had the event at the Antler's Hilton due to the big response and the CTS coaches were "bike valets." Went pretty smoothly. Anyway, the spin workout rocked - it kicked most of our butts since it was about 45 minutes of various power intervals. I haven't pushed myself on the bike that hard in a while - it was great!
My aunt was just diagnosed with a form of lymphoma called lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (aka Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia). So I will definitely keep up coaching for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program. The season starts in a couple weeks - we're recruiting now. I hope the economy doesn't affect participation this year.
Thursday I went to a memorial service for a friend's husband. She was one of the triathletes on last summer's TNT tri team. I met her husband when he helped out at the TNT fundraiser we had at our house last year since Krista had to work and couldn't be there. I remember him as a really nice guy. Her husband was in the army and had been to Iraq a couple times. Something went terribly wrong and he took his own life. I can't imagine the mental torment and distress he must have gone through to do that. I'm glad Krista wasn't hurt that night and hope she can find peace and heal. It's hard to find words to describe what she must be going through right now.
Tonight I helped another friend record some songs for her brother, who is also serving in the army. She sang some patriotic songs and I will get them on a CD so she can send it to him for his birthday.
Let's see...in tradition of posting my training, here was my workout today;
Core work before the swim - planks, side planks, bridges, lower back extensions.
Also did some strengthening for my back and shoulders.
Swim workout:
300yd warm up easy swim
3x100yds (broken into 25s) stroke drills
4x50yd kicking
2x25yd fast
1x800yd (broken) I pause slightly at each wall, maybe 5s to let my muscles relax just a little. did this in 17:30. while that's not a great time, it matches my fastest 800 time, and I probably had 2-2.5 minutes of pausing at the walls. Take that out and and I'm 15:00 - 15:30. About where I want to be for race pace and I wasn't trying to swim it hard, just steady and maintain my form!
4x50 stroke drills
200yd cool down mixed stroke
Total yards: 2050
Winter weather is back (we had a few 60-70 degree days earlier in the week) but the sun was shining so I went out for a 50 minute run. Only did 4.5miles - taking it nice and easy getting back into training, and my neighborhood has some long hills. Felt yesterday's strength session in my hamstrings!
That's it for now - time to get back to explaining strength and flexibility training for triathletes!
Jan 13-15th I was at USA Triathlon coaching certification clinic. I have to take a written test and submit it within six weeks. I'd like to submit it as soon as possible so I've been working on it a lot. Should finally wrap it up this weekend! Once I get my certification I will work more on marketing my new coaching company, NEO Endurance Sports and Fitness.
I'm starting to train for Ironman 70.3 Kansas. They give out special prizes if you do the race in a Wizard of Oz costume, but I think I'll skip that this year. I'm enjoying getting back to a structured training program, and with what I learned at the USAT clinic, I'm hoping to have a good race season. Trying to get in 3 swims, 3 bike rides, at least 2 runs and 2-3 strength training sessions per week adds up with time, especially working full time.
Wednesday night I went to Carmichael Training Systems athlete appreciation event. Chris Carmichael (Lance Armstrong's coach) spoke about Lance's comeback effort and spoke on how to create your own comeback - really goal setting skills using Lance as an example. He's a pretty good motivational speaker. Then some guy, a finiancial coach, talked about market stuff. Really a sales pitch for his company's methods. While he was somewhat of an engaging speaker, we were running late so he had to rush through slides, and I think most people there were really more interested in the 60 minute spinning class that Chris Carmichael was about to do for us. They had the event at the Antler's Hilton due to the big response and the CTS coaches were "bike valets." Went pretty smoothly. Anyway, the spin workout rocked - it kicked most of our butts since it was about 45 minutes of various power intervals. I haven't pushed myself on the bike that hard in a while - it was great!
My aunt was just diagnosed with a form of lymphoma called lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (aka Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia). So I will definitely keep up coaching for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program. The season starts in a couple weeks - we're recruiting now. I hope the economy doesn't affect participation this year.
Thursday I went to a memorial service for a friend's husband. She was one of the triathletes on last summer's TNT tri team. I met her husband when he helped out at the TNT fundraiser we had at our house last year since Krista had to work and couldn't be there. I remember him as a really nice guy. Her husband was in the army and had been to Iraq a couple times. Something went terribly wrong and he took his own life. I can't imagine the mental torment and distress he must have gone through to do that. I'm glad Krista wasn't hurt that night and hope she can find peace and heal. It's hard to find words to describe what she must be going through right now.
Tonight I helped another friend record some songs for her brother, who is also serving in the army. She sang some patriotic songs and I will get them on a CD so she can send it to him for his birthday.
Let's see...in tradition of posting my training, here was my workout today;
Core work before the swim - planks, side planks, bridges, lower back extensions.
Also did some strengthening for my back and shoulders.
Swim workout:
300yd warm up easy swim
3x100yds (broken into 25s) stroke drills
4x50yd kicking
2x25yd fast
1x800yd (broken) I pause slightly at each wall, maybe 5s to let my muscles relax just a little. did this in 17:30. while that's not a great time, it matches my fastest 800 time, and I probably had 2-2.5 minutes of pausing at the walls. Take that out and and I'm 15:00 - 15:30. About where I want to be for race pace and I wasn't trying to swim it hard, just steady and maintain my form!
4x50 stroke drills
200yd cool down mixed stroke
Total yards: 2050
Winter weather is back (we had a few 60-70 degree days earlier in the week) but the sun was shining so I went out for a 50 minute run. Only did 4.5miles - taking it nice and easy getting back into training, and my neighborhood has some long hills. Felt yesterday's strength session in my hamstrings!
That's it for now - time to get back to explaining strength and flexibility training for triathletes!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
This Week's Banana Recipes
In order to make up for all the weeks (months) I didn't post any recipes, here is a great site with a few recipes such as a traditional banana bread and red snapper with pecan-banana butter.
Banana Recipes
yeah, the site is banana.com! Woohoo!
My Main Race is 22 Weeks Out
So today I joined a couple friends and we went on a 22+ mile bike ride. So it was only 30ish degrees out and a little windy coming out of the south. Other than frozen fingers, toes, and nose, I was just fine! It was nice to get out on the roads and I'm thankful that all the snow had melted and there wasn't too much gravel out there. It took us a little longer than usual to do the route, but that's probably because of the cold wind. I was able to get into my new aero position for a little bit, and can tell it's going to take some practice getting used to it!
Banana Recipes
yeah, the site is banana.com! Woohoo!
My Main Race is 22 Weeks Out
So today I joined a couple friends and we went on a 22+ mile bike ride. So it was only 30ish degrees out and a little windy coming out of the south. Other than frozen fingers, toes, and nose, I was just fine! It was nice to get out on the roads and I'm thankful that all the snow had melted and there wasn't too much gravel out there. It took us a little longer than usual to do the route, but that's probably because of the cold wind. I was able to get into my new aero position for a little bit, and can tell it's going to take some practice getting used to it!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Banana Shortage!
I think I'm going into withdrawal! I forgot (not sure how!) to buy bananas last week at the grocery store and never made it back to get some. So I've been an entire week without eating a banana! Oh my! I will be sure to get some tomorrow when I go shopping. That's a good thing since I'm 22 weeks out from my goal half ironman so the structured training will begin!
Today I went for a 45 minute run in the neighborhood. There was a little snow left on the sidewalks for me to leave a lot of footprints. I can tell I am not in running shape since I've run maybe once a week, sometimes less in the last few months. Just got to remember to start back up slowly! Tomorrow I will brave the chilly weather on my bike and try out my aerobars. I got them fit a little better today - need to get a new seatpost to make even better adjustments to my position, but that will be next month!
Today I went for a 45 minute run in the neighborhood. There was a little snow left on the sidewalks for me to leave a lot of footprints. I can tell I am not in running shape since I've run maybe once a week, sometimes less in the last few months. Just got to remember to start back up slowly! Tomorrow I will brave the chilly weather on my bike and try out my aerobars. I got them fit a little better today - need to get a new seatpost to make even better adjustments to my position, but that will be next month!
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Lance Armstrong's Lactate Threshold Test
One day I will be on a bike and have someone prick my finger. :-)
Lance is getting into race shape faster than his coaches thought he would...
http://www.trainright.com/articles.asp?uid=4109
Lance is getting into race shape faster than his coaches thought he would...
http://www.trainright.com/articles.asp?uid=4109
Sunday, January 04, 2009
First Banana Recipe of 2009!
New year, new training schedule, new need for yummy breakfast so here is a link to some Banana-Orange Crepes on epicurious.com.
Now it's time to mentally prepare to return to work tomorrow!
Now it's time to mentally prepare to return to work tomorrow!
Friday, January 02, 2009
Aerobars!
I did it. I finally bought aerobars for my bike. Ideally I would get a triathlon specific bike, but dropping another $2-3k (at least) is not in the cards this year. Instead I'm doing what a lot of amateurs do - add aerobars to the road bike. According to this report, time/energy saved is very cost effective. They are being installed at Bicycle Village (thanks Joyce and Keith for the gift card!) today. The bike was due for its tune-up anyway. I also got a skull cap and a warmer jacket to help me on those cold days of riding. I'm thinking I will use the bike to commute more often to squeeze in some extra bike training, so I need to stay warm. And with my big race scheduled in June, I'll have more chilly and cool days of training than with an August race!This morning I did a brief benchmark training test on the bike on my trainer. Here's what I did: 20 minute warm up easy with a few 30s fast spins in there.
Then I started in a moderate but easy gear and increased the gear every minute. I was going for 12 sets, but only managed 9. My heart rated started in the low 130s and made it up to 180. I had a few more gears left on the bike, but at 9 was all the power I could generate. (I would love to have a power meter for more data, but for about $1000, not sure it is worth the investment right now!)
15 minute cool down after all that.
Would have been nice to get outside and ride since it was 60 degrees today, but I did manage to take Juno out for a nice walk.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Hey Hey Hey - Happy 2009!
It's almost time to retire to the couch to watch the 2nd half of the Orange Bowl, but I thought I'd make a quick post.
I hope everyone is excited for the new year! Tim and I had a low-key New Year's Eve, as he came down with some sort of bug. We were going to have a few friends come over to watch movies and such, but since he was running a fever and had a little GI discomfort, we opted to cancel. So instead we watched LSU pound Georgia Tech and went to bed well before midnight. Tim is feeling a lot better today. phew.
My new year is off to a nice start. Today, despite being defined as a lazy day and a training rest day, has actually been somewhat productive. My goals for the new year include creating an endurance sport coaching business, so I've been working on that. I've got solid drafts of my coaching philosophy, basic training packages, and my bio page. I've also put together a draft training/nutrition log. I know there are quite a few resources online for training logs, but I'm creating my own with the information I want to record and with the information I want from my future clients.
The obligatory "resolutions" and goals:
I hope everyone is excited for the new year! Tim and I had a low-key New Year's Eve, as he came down with some sort of bug. We were going to have a few friends come over to watch movies and such, but since he was running a fever and had a little GI discomfort, we opted to cancel. So instead we watched LSU pound Georgia Tech and went to bed well before midnight. Tim is feeling a lot better today. phew.
My new year is off to a nice start. Today, despite being defined as a lazy day and a training rest day, has actually been somewhat productive. My goals for the new year include creating an endurance sport coaching business, so I've been working on that. I've got solid drafts of my coaching philosophy, basic training packages, and my bio page. I've also put together a draft training/nutrition log. I know there are quite a few resources online for training logs, but I'm creating my own with the information I want to record and with the information I want from my future clients.
The obligatory "resolutions" and goals:
- Start my coaching company (NEO Endurance Sports)
- Resume blogging with weekly banana recipes!
- Save $$ for a new house
- Become even more efficient managing my time (a must with a day job, training and coaching!)
- Finish Iroman 70.3 Kansas in under 6 hrs.
- Fishish the Denver Marathon (ideally sub 3:40 to qualify for Boston, but just finishing will be fine with me!)
- Be a strong contributor in my day job as a photolithography engineer
There you have 'em. Here's to a healthy, happy, and amazingly fun 2009!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Winter trip to South Dakota
A quick trip report on our quick trip to Rapid City to visit my sister-in-law and her kids...We left Friday morning and followed Tim's parents since they knew the way. Several hours on I-25 and then even more hours on two-lane, in the middle of nowhere roads, almost running out of gas! We didn't realize we'd be on that many nowhere roads or we'd have gotten gas each time we passed a station! About 10 miles after the "empty" light went on we found a gas station - with the out of service plastic bags on the pumps! But the guy inside thought we could get a few gallons out of one of the pumps. We got about 12, which was plenty for the rest of the trip, thank goodness, as we'd probably not have made it to the next gas station, which was I think 30 or more miles away. Probably 8 1/2 or so hours after we started the trip we made it to Traci's house and then opened Christmas presents with her family. I think the gifts went over well with Amanda and Tori.
Saturday was a lazy morning, except I went for a 3-mile run. A bit chilly at 25 degrees, but the sun was out so I warmed up after about 10 minutes. The afternoon was a trip to Boston's to watch FSU play Wisconsin in the Champ's Sports Bowl (his sister doesn't have cable or satelitte TV). A pounding victory by FSU was enjoyed, along with too much food and some beer.
Sunday was Amanda's 15th birtday. She has some friends coming over (to play this awesome game called Guitar Hero!) so Tim and I went with his folks up to Mt. Rushmore. It was a bit chilly, but again sunny and not too crowded at all. I can check this national monument off my list!
When we returned, I went for another run (gotta burn off all the holiday treats!) and we passed the evening with a trip to Storybook Island for the lights and then TGI Friday's for Amanda's birthday dinner.
This is Amanda as typically seen with her cell phone texting friends.
This morning Tim and I hopped in the car and headed back to Colorado. We took a different route (still rural in-the-middle-of-nowhere roads) but knew to keep the tank full of gas! We're back home hanging out with Juno for the evening!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
My Holiday Mix
I suppose these winter holidays are a time of reflection for many people. For some it is a religous and spiritual season. For others it is a time to appreciate family, friends and to give back to the community.
I was raised as a secular Jew. I learned enough to appreciate the traditions and heritage of the Jewish people. I married a "catholic school drop-out." Let's just say by the 6th grade he was asking too many questions and the answers he got didn't make sense to his analytical style of thinking. So it wasn't hard for us to make our holiday mix as we combine tradition, not religion.
The menorahs come out every year at Hanukkah and he's learned to recite the blessing. I have a few dreidels and will make latkes. We put up a Christmas tree (a fake 6-footer we bought at Wal-Mart years back). The christmas holiday decorations are kept pretty secular, with snowmen and such. Next year I think I will decorate the tree with dreidels. Then maybe it will truly be a Hanukkah bush!
When we lived in Illinois, we would make the drive to Iowa to spend Christmas with his parents. Now they usually make the drive out here. His parent's enjoy the giving spirit of the season so we always have way too many gifts for the two of us under that tree.
Tonight is christmas eve, and it is also the 4th night of Hanukkah. My brother and his wife and son came over for dinner with us and the in-laws. It was nice to light the menorahs with family around. They left early as Joey was looking ready for bed and about to start fussy time. Then we took Tim's folks and played some Wii together - Sonic and Mario go to the Olympics - and burn off some of the chocolate creme pie we ate. We are looking forward to christmas morning and opening all those presents. (really, who wouldn't!) Just like waiting for the last night of Hanukkah as a kid when we could open up what was left of the gifts. Even though I'm "old" that excitement doesn't get old, though it's probably a little more muted.
I am thankful this holiday for time with friends and family to share tradition. Enjoy it, appreciate it, and try to learn something from everyone.
I was raised as a secular Jew. I learned enough to appreciate the traditions and heritage of the Jewish people. I married a "catholic school drop-out." Let's just say by the 6th grade he was asking too many questions and the answers he got didn't make sense to his analytical style of thinking. So it wasn't hard for us to make our holiday mix as we combine tradition, not religion.
The menorahs come out every year at Hanukkah and he's learned to recite the blessing. I have a few dreidels and will make latkes. We put up a Christmas tree (a fake 6-footer we bought at Wal-Mart years back). The christmas holiday decorations are kept pretty secular, with snowmen and such. Next year I think I will decorate the tree with dreidels. Then maybe it will truly be a Hanukkah bush!
When we lived in Illinois, we would make the drive to Iowa to spend Christmas with his parents. Now they usually make the drive out here. His parent's enjoy the giving spirit of the season so we always have way too many gifts for the two of us under that tree.
Tonight is christmas eve, and it is also the 4th night of Hanukkah. My brother and his wife and son came over for dinner with us and the in-laws. It was nice to light the menorahs with family around. They left early as Joey was looking ready for bed and about to start fussy time. Then we took Tim's folks and played some Wii together - Sonic and Mario go to the Olympics - and burn off some of the chocolate creme pie we ate. We are looking forward to christmas morning and opening all those presents. (really, who wouldn't!) Just like waiting for the last night of Hanukkah as a kid when we could open up what was left of the gifts. Even though I'm "old" that excitement doesn't get old, though it's probably a little more muted.
I am thankful this holiday for time with friends and family to share tradition. Enjoy it, appreciate it, and try to learn something from everyone.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel...
What's Hanukkah without the dreidel? Here's a great story I heard on my way home from work today:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98610612
Happy Hanukkah to all!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98610612
Happy Hanukkah to all!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Nice weekend to a rough week
I suppose the week could have been a lot worse, had I been one of the people getting laid off on Monday at my place of employment. I feel for all the people (about 250) who were let go at our site this week. Losing your job this close to the holidays has got to be rough. It is the economy that put the company in the position to lay people off. When you make microchips for stuff (cars, GPS, video games, cell phones, etc) and people aren't buying, we aren't making. I just hope that those laid off are able to find work soon, but in this economy the job market isn't looking the greatest. Since Intel left town, there really isn't much in the way of semiconductor manufacturing in town, either.
The situation at work made for a few distractions during the week. Last night all the photo engineers got together and went for our annual late lunch and "crawl" downtown. I think all of us needed the break from work stress to just relax, hang out, and partake in adult beverages. I left around 10pm - I think others were out much, much later! I had my last scheduled swim lesson today so I didn't want to drown. :-)
It was a cold week weather-wise, and only about 20 degrees today. Driving to Denver for the lesson I was hoping the water would be warm, as swimming isn't something that usually comes to mind when it is that cold out! The water was great and I had a good lesson. I still have quite a few things to work on (a lot of the same things from the other lessons) but I am getting better - that is evident on the video.
Later this afternoon Tim's parents arrived. They will hang out with us until Christmas, then I think we are all driving to South Dakota to visit Traci, Amanda and Tori. We've not visited them in Rapid City so it is time to head up there. Amanda's birthday is a few days after Christmas so we should finally be able to celebrate with her this year.
The situation at work made for a few distractions during the week. Last night all the photo engineers got together and went for our annual late lunch and "crawl" downtown. I think all of us needed the break from work stress to just relax, hang out, and partake in adult beverages. I left around 10pm - I think others were out much, much later! I had my last scheduled swim lesson today so I didn't want to drown. :-)
It was a cold week weather-wise, and only about 20 degrees today. Driving to Denver for the lesson I was hoping the water would be warm, as swimming isn't something that usually comes to mind when it is that cold out! The water was great and I had a good lesson. I still have quite a few things to work on (a lot of the same things from the other lessons) but I am getting better - that is evident on the video.
Later this afternoon Tim's parents arrived. They will hang out with us until Christmas, then I think we are all driving to South Dakota to visit Traci, Amanda and Tori. We've not visited them in Rapid City so it is time to head up there. Amanda's birthday is a few days after Christmas so we should finally be able to celebrate with her this year.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Valet Parking at a Mall?
With all the horror stories of the economy, you wouldn't guess it was all that bad looking at the mall parking lots today. I drove up to Denver for my last drum lesson (more on that in a bit) and on my way home thought I would stop at the Park Meadows Mall in south Denver to do some shopping. I'm not super familiar with the area, but it is right of the interstate and C-470 so finding it isn't hard. I made my way into the mega shopping complex (and I mean MEGA) and needed a place to park. I don't mind a bit of a walk, but I didn't expect to see valet parking! Why would a mall need that? $7 a car. Then I saw that the parking area was completely full. That's why they need valet parking. I was not interested in that kind of crowd so I decided to skip the mall and get back on the interstate. It took me at least 20 minutes in thick traffic to figure out how to leave the parking lot and go the 1/4 mile to the interstate on-ramp. Everyone must have been out and about today! If they are buying, so much for poor retail sales! Don't know who would want to fight that kind of traffic mess if they weren't getting anything!
Once back on the interstate, I headed 10 miles south to the Outlet Mall in Castle Rock. Although it was full as well, it is a much smaller mall and I could handle these crowds. I found a kids clothing store with cute things to buy for Joey's first birthday. Spent a little too much (thank goodness for the items on sale!), stood in line for maybe 10 minutes and was on my way out. While in line, one register was ringing up a couple who had about eight big bags full of clothes. Lord help them if they have that many kids! I can only wonder what they were shopping for.
Back to my drum lesson. It was my last of the free lessons I won in the silent auction, so David filled my notebook with some classics. My Sharona and Brick House are a couple just to name a few. It should keep me busy for a while. If anyone in the Denver area needs drum lessons, I do recommend David at Littleton Drum Studios.
Once back on the interstate, I headed 10 miles south to the Outlet Mall in Castle Rock. Although it was full as well, it is a much smaller mall and I could handle these crowds. I found a kids clothing store with cute things to buy for Joey's first birthday. Spent a little too much (thank goodness for the items on sale!), stood in line for maybe 10 minutes and was on my way out. While in line, one register was ringing up a couple who had about eight big bags full of clothes. Lord help them if they have that many kids! I can only wonder what they were shopping for.
Back to my drum lesson. It was my last of the free lessons I won in the silent auction, so David filled my notebook with some classics. My Sharona and Brick House are a couple just to name a few. It should keep me busy for a while. If anyone in the Denver area needs drum lessons, I do recommend David at Littleton Drum Studios.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
First real snow
wow. it snowed all day. Nothing too heavy, probably 8-10 inches total. But it just kept falling. We did go out to get groceries and check out the Linens-n-Things close-out sale. They are closing the store here so we found a few things to get at a good price. will keep checking back for even better deals. I had a lot of inside time for a spin on the bike, laundry, dishes, played my drums, restrung my bass guitar and goofed with my recording software.
a little ditty
Also took care of a background check for USA Triathlon coaching certification and did some online holiday shopping. even shoveled the drive. guess it was a moderately productive day! but I do hope the sun comes out tomorrow since it is time to head back to work!
a little ditty
Also took care of a background check for USA Triathlon coaching certification and did some online holiday shopping. even shoveled the drive. guess it was a moderately productive day! but I do hope the sun comes out tomorrow since it is time to head back to work!
Friday, November 21, 2008
Goodbye Mars!
We put Mars down tonight and he will be missed terribly. His mobility was degraded such that it didn't seem fair to him. He was still a happy dog with a great Rottweiler appetite, but his quality of life just didn't seem to be there. I like to think he's in a better place now, able to run in the fields, play in the streams and chase as many little dogs as he desires.
Here's his story....
We got Mars in April of 2000 from the Champaign County Rottweiler Rescue. He was 10 weeks old and had been born into a shelter. We were told his birthday was 2/14. (I believe that since he was the biggest sweetie ever!) We took him home to meet Juno, the rottie we rescued at 10 months the previous April. He didn't seem fazed to be in new surroundings with a lot of people (Tim's family was visiting). He and Juno had a blast running around the back yard and the playing in the bushes.
In 2003 we were thinking about leaving Illinois for Colorado. One evening, I asked the dogs if they would like to go to Colorado. Mars immediately ran for the garage door, where he would run when were were about to go for a car ride. That sealed the deal - we were going to move!
Mars enjoyed the winter weather out here, especially the snow. One favorite game would be catching (and then eating) snowballs!
I remember taking him to the dog park and he would love to engage his herding instinct with smaller dogs. One visit the chosen herd was chihuahuas. I'm pretty sure the little chihuahuas were yelling "ooooooh shit!" as they ran from Mars. Too funny!
He had a very laid-back personality and loved to give kisses. When he was younger and my dad was visiting, Mars would sneak up behind my dad sitting on the couch and lick the top of his head. He was also known to my dad and family as 'Big Giant Head."
I took the day off from work today and hung out with him. We went outside to the front yard so he could sniff and enjoy the cool, sunny day.
I could go on and on about how Mars was the perfect dog with a great personality and temperment. We loved him very much and will miss him a lot. But I thank him for all the wonderful memories over the last 8+ years. Goodbye Mars! We love you!
Mars Drummer
2/14/00 - 11/21/08
Saturday, October 25, 2008
The Lesson of the Day
Actually, today I had several lessons! The good kind. After a morning of a 45 min spin on the trainer, cleaning (getting ready for next weekend's halloween party) and a little college football, I headed up to Denver, well, really Highlands Ranch if you want to be picky. First was my swim lesson at SwimLabs. This place uses endless pools (the equivalent of a treadmill for swimming) and mirrors and cameras so you can see yourself from all angles. The coach/instructor then gives you feedback on your stroke and you can watch what you just did. They also have "stock footage" of ideal swimming so you can see what you are supposed to look like. Yeah. I have a ways to go. But they did give me something to work on. I actually signed up for a 4-pak so I have 3 more lessons - I'll go every 2 weeks. I figure that is enough time for me to work on the drills and improve, but not too long in case I'm not doing something quite right.
After that I drove over to Littleton for my drum lesson with David from Littleton Drum Studio. It was actually in the back of a music store - they had tons of used stuff for sale. Wow. Anyway, I had a 60 minute lesson - we started at the beginning - the basics of drum set playing and went through some lessons. Even though I already know how to play, it didn't take too long before we found a "hole." So now I have more things to work on! I like how he incorporates actual music into the lesson. It's quite a bit different from when I had lessons back in high school! He had all the stuff on his computer so he just printed the lesson for my notebook. He also had a flat screen mounted to the wall and used iTunes to pick songs related to the particular lesson. I'll enjoy this. I'm hoping to find 30 minutes about 4 days a week to practice.
The drive is just a little over an hour, so it wasn't too bad. After dinner Tim and I carved our pumpkins. A devil face and a howling wolf. Hooray to the guy who invented carving templates!
After that I drove over to Littleton for my drum lesson with David from Littleton Drum Studio. It was actually in the back of a music store - they had tons of used stuff for sale. Wow. Anyway, I had a 60 minute lesson - we started at the beginning - the basics of drum set playing and went through some lessons. Even though I already know how to play, it didn't take too long before we found a "hole." So now I have more things to work on! I like how he incorporates actual music into the lesson. It's quite a bit different from when I had lessons back in high school! He had all the stuff on his computer so he just printed the lesson for my notebook. He also had a flat screen mounted to the wall and used iTunes to pick songs related to the particular lesson. I'll enjoy this. I'm hoping to find 30 minutes about 4 days a week to practice.
The drive is just a little over an hour, so it wasn't too bad. After dinner Tim and I carved our pumpkins. A devil face and a howling wolf. Hooray to the guy who invented carving templates!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
40-miler
With a projected high of 75 degrees, sunny skies and not much wind, who could resist a bike ride today? I joined up with the Bicycle Village group ride - we met at the store and headed out at about 9:30am. Since the store is just a few miles from my house, I decided to ride there instead of drive. Then we headed out on what turned into a beautiful ride through town. For those of you who are familiar with Colorado Springs, we headed out from the store, winding our way to Vickers, then Flintridge to Dublin. Dublin west to pick up Woodmen near I-25, then up Woodmen to Rockrimmon to Vindicator. Then we chose to climb Flying W, which is a little hill of 200 feet elevation gain in just over half a mile. Fun! Well, it was beautiful on that side of town with the rocks, hills, rust and orange and yellow vegitation and the ride down the hill is a blast! Next we wound our way to Garden of the Gods and over to Balanced Rock. Then it was time to work our way back home, which we did through Old Colorado City and downtown Colorado Springs. Hooked up to Mark Dabling to get back north (woodmen and I-25) then back over to Dublin and I just headed back home on Vickers instead of stopping back to the store. My total ride was 2:53 and 40 miles. I was planning on a 25-30 miler with perhaps not so much climbing (3300ft). So what, my legs are a little tired now. But it was too good of a day to not be outside as much as possible! I wish I had a camera with me to capture some of the fantastic fall views. I'll try to remember next time!
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Running with the pros
Tuesday night is Jack Quinn's Running Club and tonight we took a field trip to the Boulder Running Company for PowerBar night. We ran the typical distance (5k) and was joined by pro athletes Josh Cox and Amanda Stevens. Mark (a co-worker of mine) and I got to run the second half with Amanda so we chatted a little about triathlons. She'll be competing in next month's 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater. After the run they held a Q&A - normally I don't have questions, but since it seemed people were a little shy, I asked the first one - what is their favorite meal the night before a race. Pasta and stuff with carbs. Not a whole lot of protein. My personal favorite is chicken and rice. Whatever works! They had some great advice on training/race nutrition, stretching (of which I need to do more!) and such. It was nice to have a change of scenery from the typical downtown run and of course it's always great to be able to meet some pro athletes!
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Weekend Report
Started the weekend off with a 23 mile bike ride on the east side of town. Pretty flat with less than 900 feet of elevation gain. Then some cleaning, a necessary evil. Florida State played Miami at 1:30 so I watched the first quarter before heading to Mimi's for lunch with some Taekwondo friends. Next was some shoe shopping (shoe carnival is right next to Mimi's) for shoes for Saturday night's event - a fundraiser gala for the Pink Ribbon Foundation. The local Porsche Club raised money for the foundation so the group had a table. It was at the Hyatt Regency in Denver (Tech Center). There was tons of stuff up for silent auction, including signed sports memorabilia, wine, paintings, spa treatment and all sorts of stuff you'd expect. There was also a month of drum lessons. I guess it wasn't the most popular item so the starting bid had been reduced when I saw it. I thought it might be fun so I bid and won! :-) So this week I'll see about scheduling those at Littleton Drum Studio.
Ate a steak lunch with some friends up there at our "chateau." By the time we got back it was time to get ready for another week. This was certainly a weekend that went by too fast.
Alpine Mountain PCA members, Jim McDonald, Dave Arnold, Tim and me, Chris & Kathleen Lennon.
Today (sunday) we slept in - I got up at 9am! Haven't slept that late in a long time. Typical Sunday of getting groceries, but then we headed up to the property with Mars and Juno to see the leaves. I forgot the camera, but here's one my brother took Saturday in the mountains. Our property is probably less than 20 miles from this photo - same terrain.
Ate a steak lunch with some friends up there at our "chateau." By the time we got back it was time to get ready for another week. This was certainly a weekend that went by too fast.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Got Life?
Today's bike ride was in memory of Mike Kessler, who I knew from Bicycle Village. I found out last week that he had passed away at the end of June and that this Saturday's group ride would be in his memory. About 25 of us met at the B-52 parking lot on the Air Force Academy. The organizer, Chuck, spoke a few kind words about Mike and then Mike's wife, Monica thanked us all for being there. It was a beautiful morning, a tad cool but sunny, a day Mike would have enjoyed. We took a 25 mile loop through the Academy (the first time I've ridden it clockwise!) and the Black Forest. We had green trees, blue sky, and everyone appreciating what gifts Mike had given them. He was a regular coach on the Saturday rides, always making sure everyone was doing OK. I would always give him a hard time in the store since he was a hard-core Gator fan. I didn't realize he was almost 70 years old - I thought he was in his mid-50s. A great day to appreciate life.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Nicole to the Rescue!
I felt like a firefighter or Shaq (but no vitamin water) when I got the neighbor's cat out of a tree in my backyard! Yesterday evening when I let the dogs out after they ate Juno jumped into our new landscaping wall (about 2 feet high) and was barking at the tree. Mars wobbled his way over to check it out. There was definitely something moving in the tree - thought maybe a squirrel. But squirrels aren't black and white. Turns out it was the neighbor's cat. I directed Juno inside, but wasn't too worried about Mars with his limited mobility. Couldn't quite reach it standing on that landscape wall so I went off to grab a ladder. One was handy since we'd been putting up halloween decorations over the weekend. I was able to grab the kitty and bring it to safety of the neighbor's house. I'm glad it was a friendly cat and didn't freak out. It actually was reaching towards my hand with its paw and meowing when I tried to reach it the first time. It seemed to know I was there to help. I don't think the cat will be hanging out in our backyard again any time soon!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Part II - Sebastapol to LA via Monterey
OK - so time for my jouney from Sebastapol to LA. Left M&S's a bit after 7am. Filled up the Sonata and got some coffee at the nearby drive through. Then over to pick up the 101. Southbound I was to Monterey. Hit some traffic before San Francisco, but then got to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a beautiful morning, with the fog rolling under the bridge. Wow. Then took 19th (ave, I think) to connect with I-280 which took me to San Jose. A shout out to Atmel's corporate HQ somewhere out there. On one section (near SLAC) I saw some smoke on the road - then passed a car that must have been going too fast and it had slammed into the median (which was a dirt and trees, not concrete). Someone had stopped so I kept on driving. Hope everyone was OK.
Following the signs I ended up in Monterey in time for lunch. Took in the great views, the sea lions barking on the rocks, the ambulance assisting a diver in need (!) and the history of John Steinbeck, though it is mainly a tourist trap now. Lunch at a little cafe and then off to LA.
Found my way back to the 101 and south again! This part of the drive was brutal. Just before Paso Robles I was getting really tired so I stopped at a rest stop. It was like walking into an oven. Now I know hot and that was HOT. That and a boring straight road was probably why I was a little tired. The roads got a little more interesting after that, which helped. Got gas in Buelton, home of pea soup and location of some Carmichael Training Systems bike camps. South some more, through Santa Barbara's 4pm friday traffic, made it to LA a little later than I wanted to, but I survived LA freeways. Phew! Also found my grandparent's house. I've been there many times but never actually driven there.
Final installment - coming soon! A couple lazy days in LA!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Back from DC
The Nation's Tri was awesome! Tons of money was raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society (in the millions!) by both TNT participants and the race itself. A nasty hot and humid day slowed the run down, but the swim in the Potomac was managed and everyone said it was a great shaded bike course. FUN! The team did great - everyone finished, even with one riding their rim the whole bike due to a valve stem issue. Hard core! Another rocky mtn region finisher was 7th in his age group. Phenominal! I think we all had a fabulous weekend in the nation's capitol city.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Heading to DC
I get to be coach again this weekend at the Nation's Tri for the Team in Training Rocky Mountain Chapter. I have to get up pretty early tomorrow to get my flight, so no time to post about my California adventure tonight. Not sure if I will have computer access in DC, so I'll be back next Tuesday! maybe one of these days I'll get caught up with my posts.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Post HTC - Leg 2 continued - Sebastapol
Sebastapol is outside Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, CA. Wine Country. Lots of grapes. Lots. When I arrived at my aunt & uncle's house out off some winding country road, I was looking forward to meeting Pete and Gladis, their bull terriers. When Stephanie came out to meet me, Gladis was there, but no Pete.
Where's Pete? Pete's in the hospital. !!! What happened to Pete? Pete got into the neighbors medical marijuana that was turned into 'pot butter' gone rancid and thrown out the window yesterday. !!!
I knew for sure I was in California! :-) We were able to pick up Pete that afternoon and he was back to his old self. (I took Mark's word on that since I'd never met Pete.) Guess it wasn't enough a little activated charcoal couldn't cure.
Then there is Gladis, who is actually still a puppy and a minature bull terrier. She's got some issues she's working through. Gladis is a "spinner," which apparently is a form of OCD. Gladis is on Prozac and they are working on some behavior with her. She really is a sweet dog, but can get in her zone where she just chases her tail. When she does this, M&S put her in puppy time out (restrained on a short lead attached to the wall so she can't spin - but she's on a doggy bed and gets a toy.) Patience!
That afternoon was lazy, took Gladis for a walk and had dinner at a local brewery/resaurant. We had their crispy squid (aka fried calamari). Next day was another relaxing day. Time for bed now so I'll add that tomorrow....
...ok - it's tomorrow night. Day 2 in Sebastapol consisted of taking Pete and Gladis to Portuguese Beach (near Bodega Bay....ahhhh...the Birds!!!) and then getting a massage at a local day spa. Oh did I need that! Post-massage ice cream at Screamin' Mimi's hit the spot. It was really summer out there (some heat finally! -it's been a relatively cool Colorado summer I think). Dinner was homemade pizza and salad. delicious! being that Mark owned a restaurant, it better be good! :-) It was a fabulous 2 days with my aunt and uncle and "cousins."
The next morning it was off to LA via Monterey....that journey will get posted tomorrow.
Where's Pete? Pete's in the hospital. !!! What happened to Pete? Pete got into the neighbors medical marijuana that was turned into 'pot butter' gone rancid and thrown out the window yesterday. !!!
I knew for sure I was in California! :-) We were able to pick up Pete that afternoon and he was back to his old self. (I took Mark's word on that since I'd never met Pete.) Guess it wasn't enough a little activated charcoal couldn't cure.
Then there is Gladis, who is actually still a puppy and a minature bull terrier. She's got some issues she's working through. Gladis is a "spinner," which apparently is a form of OCD. Gladis is on Prozac and they are working on some behavior with her. She really is a sweet dog, but can get in her zone where she just chases her tail. When she does this, M&S put her in puppy time out (restrained on a short lead attached to the wall so she can't spin - but she's on a doggy bed and gets a toy.) Patience!
That afternoon was lazy, took Gladis for a walk and had dinner at a local brewery/resaurant. We had their crispy squid (aka fried calamari). Next day was another relaxing day. Time for bed now so I'll add that tomorrow....
...ok - it's tomorrow night. Day 2 in Sebastapol consisted of taking Pete and Gladis to Portuguese Beach (near Bodega Bay....ahhhh...the Birds!!!) and then getting a massage at a local day spa. Oh did I need that! Post-massage ice cream at Screamin' Mimi's hit the spot. It was really summer out there (some heat finally! -it's been a relatively cool Colorado summer I think). Dinner was homemade pizza and salad. delicious! being that Mark owned a restaurant, it better be good! :-) It was a fabulous 2 days with my aunt and uncle and "cousins."
The next morning it was off to LA via Monterey....that journey will get posted tomorrow.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Race Report - Tri For Your Cause
Here's a quick and dirty race report from Saturday's Tri for your Cause. But before I start, this race donates entry fees to non-profit of the athlete's choice. I chose the American Cancer Society, as we all know too many people affected by cancer.
Packet pickup was Friday night so I had to drive to Boulder after work. Yuck - long drive took almost 2 hours due to Denver traffic. Took about 3 minutes to get my stuff, then I headed to Safeway to get some breakfast foods and drove to Arvada to crash at Mare's house. She was a Team in Training participant who was nice enough to open up her guest bedroom to me.
Saturday 9/6: Wake up a tad before 6am, shower, grab my stuff, eat the bagel and banana I had bought (thanks Mare for the PB!). Then around 7am I head back to Boulder. 30 minutes later I'm getting my bike out of the montero and heading to the transition area. As I have only been in the pool a few times in the last month, and haven't done much at all in the last couple weeks, I'm not expecting too much out of this race. Just wanted to get out and do one more this season.
I'm in wave 3, which starts at 9:06am. At 8:40 I'm out of the transition area and getting on my wetsuit. I take in a gel and head over to the water. A brief warm-up to the dock and back a couple times and it's almost time for my wave to go.
Swim - 20:27: pretty much what I expected. Slow and steady. There was a guy doing the breast stroke who was next to me almost the entire time. I'm going to have to hire a coach to figure out what is keeping me slow.
T1 - 1:27: Not too bad. The wetsuit wasn't the easiest to get off, but I somehow got it off without pulling a muscle. Then it's just shoes, sunglasses and helmet.
Bike - 1:21:13: My best bike split ever on a boulder res course. 19.2 mph. I'll just say Nelson Rd was FAST. It did seem like forever for my heartrate and breathing to get in a managable zone, but probably about 6 miles into the course I was getting into a rhythm. Got passed by several men and a few women, but I did end up catching a few of those women towards the end of the course. My bike split was definitely in the top 20% of female competitors. Was good about drinking most of my electrolyte drink and had a few bites of a cliff bar.
T2 - 1:27: I didn't have the quick laces on my shoes this time so I actually had to tie my shoes. that added a bit of time. Decided to take a water bottle with me as the aid station was a mile 2.
Run - 32:51: Ick. My legs were heavy. I kept breathing pretty hard. Had my GPS in my pocket so I didn't focus on pace, just on moving and breathing. I could really feel the uphills (and it is a pretty flat course). Had about 2/3 of a gel at mile 1, as I wasn't sure if I'd had enough calories on the bike. Might not have enough time to get in my system, but oh well. After the turn around, which was at the bottom of a small hill, I could really feel my hamstrings. Had a bit of a side stitch on the last mile. A young girl caught up to me who I had passed with a few miles left to go on the bike. That motivated me for a bit of a finishing kick (not that I have a finishing kick). But at least I ran strong across the finish line!
Total time - 2:17:21 - 9/33 in the 30-34 Female age group. I'm pleased, as I haven't really been training for the last month!
Packet pickup was Friday night so I had to drive to Boulder after work. Yuck - long drive took almost 2 hours due to Denver traffic. Took about 3 minutes to get my stuff, then I headed to Safeway to get some breakfast foods and drove to Arvada to crash at Mare's house. She was a Team in Training participant who was nice enough to open up her guest bedroom to me.
Saturday 9/6: Wake up a tad before 6am, shower, grab my stuff, eat the bagel and banana I had bought (thanks Mare for the PB!). Then around 7am I head back to Boulder. 30 minutes later I'm getting my bike out of the montero and heading to the transition area. As I have only been in the pool a few times in the last month, and haven't done much at all in the last couple weeks, I'm not expecting too much out of this race. Just wanted to get out and do one more this season.
I'm in wave 3, which starts at 9:06am. At 8:40 I'm out of the transition area and getting on my wetsuit. I take in a gel and head over to the water. A brief warm-up to the dock and back a couple times and it's almost time for my wave to go.
Swim - 20:27: pretty much what I expected. Slow and steady. There was a guy doing the breast stroke who was next to me almost the entire time. I'm going to have to hire a coach to figure out what is keeping me slow.
T1 - 1:27: Not too bad. The wetsuit wasn't the easiest to get off, but I somehow got it off without pulling a muscle. Then it's just shoes, sunglasses and helmet.
Bike - 1:21:13: My best bike split ever on a boulder res course. 19.2 mph. I'll just say Nelson Rd was FAST. It did seem like forever for my heartrate and breathing to get in a managable zone, but probably about 6 miles into the course I was getting into a rhythm. Got passed by several men and a few women, but I did end up catching a few of those women towards the end of the course. My bike split was definitely in the top 20% of female competitors. Was good about drinking most of my electrolyte drink and had a few bites of a cliff bar.
T2 - 1:27: I didn't have the quick laces on my shoes this time so I actually had to tie my shoes. that added a bit of time. Decided to take a water bottle with me as the aid station was a mile 2.
Run - 32:51: Ick. My legs were heavy. I kept breathing pretty hard. Had my GPS in my pocket so I didn't focus on pace, just on moving and breathing. I could really feel the uphills (and it is a pretty flat course). Had about 2/3 of a gel at mile 1, as I wasn't sure if I'd had enough calories on the bike. Might not have enough time to get in my system, but oh well. After the turn around, which was at the bottom of a small hill, I could really feel my hamstrings. Had a bit of a side stitch on the last mile. A young girl caught up to me who I had passed with a few miles left to go on the bike. That motivated me for a bit of a finishing kick (not that I have a finishing kick). But at least I ran strong across the finish line!
Total time - 2:17:21 - 9/33 in the 30-34 Female age group. I'm pleased, as I haven't really been training for the last month!
Post HTC Adventure - Leg 2
the adventure continues....
Tues 8/26 - I picked up the rental car - a black Hyundai Sonata - and headed south on I-5. The first part of this trip will be on the interstate. When I hit Eugene, I stopped to find the University of Oregon. I found the campus and a park called Hendricks Park. I drove through - looks like it would be a nice place for some hilly trail runs. It was tucked back in what appeared to be behind the campus in a very Oregon forest setting. Then I found my way back to the actual campus, saw the bookstore and bought a track town USA shirt. For those who don't follow running, one of running's finest, Steve Prefontaine when to school there. This year the USA Olympic Trials for track and field were held at Hayward Field on Oregon's campus. Anyway, it was nice to see a real college campus again.
The driving continues - I stopped for lunch in the small town of Oakland and ate at Tolly's. A great taste of old Americana and the old-fashioned soda fountain. For me it was a cherry vanilla Dr. Pepper. way better than the stuff in the cans.
Next - head over to the 101 via 199 through Grant's Pass. Took the opportunity to fill up with gas, though I'd only gone through 7 gallons in over 200 miles. Nice. Anyway, oregon has no self-serve, which was pretty strange. I suppose in the winter it would prove to be a nice convenience!
Some town later I stopped to get Tim an Oregon shot glass for his collections and kept driving. Now the drive was getting interesting. Picked up the 101 in Crescent City (after being stopped to make sure I didn't have any fresh produce or plants at the border). Then I get to drive through the redwoods. Totally amazing! A fun, curvy road drive with HUGE trees. HUGE! And the views of the NorCal coast. Wow! too bad my camera batteries died - didn't get any pics of the coastline. But I did pull over at many "Vista Points" to take in the views.
My stop for the evening was Eureka. I had already made a reservation at The Rodeway Inn and got checked in. Then time to find a place to eat. Hit the Lost Coast Brewery and took in a couple Alleycat Ales and some soft tacos. Chatted with the guy next to me for a bit while he was waiting for friends and watched the baseball that was on the TV. It was just nice to "chill out" for a while. Got back to the hotel to crash, as tomorrow has a morning full of driving.
Wednesday 8/27 - Got up, skipped the free continental breakfast at the hotel and headed out. Decided coffee and something to eat was a good idea so I stopped at the Eureka natural food Co-op. Looked pretty much like a small Whole Foods. Anyway, coffee and a pastry (sounds like a continental breakfast) and I was back on the road. More redwoods and coastal views.
A few hours later I'm in wine country. Not quite as green, but plenty of classic rolling hills. I wind my way to Santa Rosa, then Sebastapol and then find Mark and Stephanie's house. There's a great story here...it'll get told tomorrow.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Post-Race Adventure - 1st Leg
After the awards ceremony (we came in 7th so didn't get anything) on a breezy, misty Sunday morning, my aunt Amy and uncle Dennis from Salem came to pick me up. I spent a couple days with them. On the scenic drive (couldn't see the beach - too rainy and cloudy) we stopped in a small town to have lunch (oh did a real meal sound great!). The 'Thong Distance Runners' were there, complete with thongs (the underwear kind) on their heads. yup. Next was a stop at the Tillamook cheese factory. The production lines weren't working, but we still got some samples of cheese and I got a dish of "Cows in Brownie Batter" icecream. I'll let you figure out what kind that is.
A relaxing evening was in store. A high school friend (fellow band geek from the days) and now a fellow triathlete, Andrew, came by for dinner. He lives outside Portland so it wasn't too bad a drive down to Salem. We had some discussions about wine and hill climbs on bikes. Very nice to catch up.
The next morning I borrowed my uncle's 20 year old mountain bike and took it for a spin around the neigborhood. I think that helped some of the soreness in my legs - IT bands and calves were a bit tight still! Next was a visit to an old Woolen Mill with Dennis. They were missionaries to the indians turned wool products manufacturers. Lunch with Amy (she works for the government) and a brief visit to the state capitol. Is it a dixie cup on top?? After lunch we walked around a park at the Willamette river and then back home to hang out with Chicory (the bird) Cinnamon and Ginger (the cats). After dinner was a trip to Konditorei - a cafe that sells huge slices of cake. Oh yum. my saying: where there is cake, there is Nicole.
Next I rent a car and head down the coast. Leg 2 of the post race adventure will be posted Saturday night. I'll be in Boulder Friday night/Sat am for one last triathlon of the season.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Hood to Coast - the Leg from Hell
Wednesday 8/20: The adventure began with a 90 minute drive to Denver International Airport - pretty typical drive up I-25 and E470. A short shuttle ride to the terminal and our first lessone learned on this trip... even though we booked the flight through American, since the flight was really on partner airline Alaska Air, we couldn't check in at the American counter. A little extra walking though DIA, but we had plenty of time as the flight was delayed. Tim and I arrived in Portland about a half-hour or so after our scheduled time. Serena and Eric were there to meet us, and some other teammates had also arrived. We swung by a grocery store to stock up for the next couple days, and then one group headed back to the airport for another pickup and the other to Parkdale, our base station until we left for the race. Sometime around 11pm about half the team and the support crew were settling in. Tim and I got our own room (benefit of being the only married couple, I suppose) and the rest were on beds, couches, and other such comfy places in Carie's parents house.
Thursday 8/21: Chowed down on one of the six or seven boxes of cereal we bought. Yup, 2 days of breakfast for 14ish people. Lesson 2: Runners like cereal (I'm not complaining). Tim heads off to Portland with some others to go pick up the rental vans and some more runners. Everyone else is just chill. It's raining so I still haven't seen Mt. Hood, which apparently is quite visible from the kitchen window. Rain stopped and Carie, Graylon and I took on a game of croquet and "pear baseball" (the house is on a pear orchard). Now we're 10/12 runners and the sun is out - time to decorate the vans! We take them for a test flight, hike a couple miles to the local lava flow, climb this thing and then return to carbo load with a huge spagehetti dinner and brownies. (mouth brownies!) Take in some of the "live" tape-delayed olympics and off to bed. Another lesson, katherine can do the hammer dance.
Friday 8/22: Race day. But since we don't need to be at the start until 6:30ish (start time 7:30) it's another chill day. Mt. Hood did appear today. The weather will be great for the race! Late afternoon we pose for a group photo, make sure that we have everything and off we go to Mt. Hood. Van 1 heads to Timberline lodge, while van 2 goes to exchange 1. We've got a lot of time, so we take in the scenery. Van 1 arrives, and Kelley (runner #2) starts to warm up. A bit after 8pm Carie (runner #1) hands off to Kelley and we're definitely in the relay.
Now to jump to my running legs. I was runner 12 so I ran 12,24,36.
Leg 12: By now it is around 3am. Everyone is doing well (as long as Jenn doesn't have an asthma attack!). I get the baton from Katherine on a trail and head out. It's dark. Running on a paved trail with nothing around is a little creepy. The light from my headlamp isn't super strong. The trail is marked with a red blinky light to indicate the right direction. I go over some railroad tracks as a train is passing - a sign of life! Now I head off the trail onto the roads some volunteers point me in the right direction. I'm on city sidewalk now, passing small shops and some homes. I'm supposed to stay on Milwaukie - at some point it veered left but there was no sign to veer left. So I keep going straight. After a few blocks I realize I am not in the right spot - I really should be on milwaukie. So I turn around to head back. But at 3:30am or whatever time it was, I didn't recognize where I came from. There's an overpass - I think I need to be up there but how do I get on it?
I stop to assess the situation. I'm on some street corner. There's a gas station and a rental car place, all closed of course! Do I flag a car down? Nope, that didn't seem like a good idea. Then some guy is riding on a bike towards me. I can take a guy on a bike - so I flag him down, ask him how to get to Milwaukie and ask to borrow his phone. A call to Tim to let him know I am lost - and he lets the volunteers know. They give me directions to milwaukie and the next set of turns. I give the guy his phone back so he can get to work and then head off. Ok, I'm back on course on 9th. but how far? I'm not confident that the course will be marked (the two turns from before weren't) so I'm a little (ok a lot) anxious. But now I'm in a neighborhood - no traffic. Whether it was divine intervention or just some really good luck, a family walks out of a house (off to the airport for an early flight) right in front of me. Once again I ask to use a phone (lesson - when running in a city at night - have a phone!) and call Tim to let him know where I am. At that time the HTC officials or volunteers find me and ask me if I want a ride. Heck No! I just want to know where to run. They give me some directions to the pedestrian bridge ahead. So off I go. There are tons of volunteers near the bridge (ok 3 or 4) but where were they on the other part of the course?! Then I hit a T-intersection, of course with no markings! The van is shortly behind me and gets me to the exchange. Oh was I mad! It took me almost 1:20 to do that silly 6 mile leg. But the whole team is there, and in the spirit of the Olympic relay teams, we drop the "baton" on the exchange. Now we're all motivated to run even faster, as we're probably close to 30 minutes behind the next to last runner.
It was another mini-adventure trying to find hwy 30 to drive to exchange 18 in St. Helen for some sleep, but I won't go into that. We made it there, van 2 got some sleep, I saw a beautiful sunrise, and when runner #6 showed up, we were only a couple minutes behind the last runner.
Leg 24: Now this was more like it. It's noon, I haven't slept much (dozed a little) since getting up on Friday, and I'm rarin' to go. It's a 4.9 mile leg and no turns involved! We've caught up to several other teams so no more trying to beat the exchange clean up truck or the porta-potty truck. The sun is pretty strong, but I head out giving it my best. I pass 2 runners (3 if you count the one getting medical assistance...not good - firetrucks and ambulances to help her out.) At the exchange I try to find some more water, drink my recovery drink and we're off to exchange 30 for rest.
Leg 36: This is it! Started at a Weyerheuser facility. We've made up quite a bit of time and there are many teams waiting to run. This leg starts off on a gravel road and uphill. I get passed by a guy who started right behind me, but now it is my turn to pass people. Miles 2-3 were all downhill. No need to save the quads, after this is 2 miles of flat. Pound the pavement and just go as fast as I can under the circumstances. I passed 5 people on that leg! This leg had a lot of turns but was very well marked. I'm coming down the home stretch - on the promenade in Seaside. Many people are walking and encouraging me. I'm hauling (if a 7:30 pace is hauling!) almost jump over a kid in my way, but I make it to the beach. Cross the timing mat at 24:41:55, at 8:11pm, "well" before the 9pm cutoff. Phew! Now I need to find the team so we can run across the sand together. Took a minute but they found me and hurrah! we did it! Girls Heart Rockets 2 rocked Hood to Coast and came in 7th in the open women's division. Avg team pace: 7:31! Yeah! Now my calves are free to sieze up.
That's the update for tonight. Tomorrow I'll go into more about my post HTC adventure driving through OR and CA.
Thursday 8/21: Chowed down on one of the six or seven boxes of cereal we bought. Yup, 2 days of breakfast for 14ish people. Lesson 2: Runners like cereal (I'm not complaining). Tim heads off to Portland with some others to go pick up the rental vans and some more runners. Everyone else is just chill. It's raining so I still haven't seen Mt. Hood, which apparently is quite visible from the kitchen window. Rain stopped and Carie, Graylon and I took on a game of croquet and "pear baseball" (the house is on a pear orchard). Now we're 10/12 runners and the sun is out - time to decorate the vans! We take them for a test flight, hike a couple miles to the local lava flow, climb this thing and then return to carbo load with a huge spagehetti dinner and brownies. (mouth brownies!) Take in some of the "live" tape-delayed olympics and off to bed. Another lesson, katherine can do the hammer dance.
Friday 8/22: Race day. But since we don't need to be at the start until 6:30ish (start time 7:30) it's another chill day. Mt. Hood did appear today. The weather will be great for the race! Late afternoon we pose for a group photo, make sure that we have everything and off we go to Mt. Hood. Van 1 heads to Timberline lodge, while van 2 goes to exchange 1. We've got a lot of time, so we take in the scenery. Van 1 arrives, and Kelley (runner #2) starts to warm up. A bit after 8pm Carie (runner #1) hands off to Kelley and we're definitely in the relay.
Now to jump to my running legs. I was runner 12 so I ran 12,24,36.
Leg 12: By now it is around 3am. Everyone is doing well (as long as Jenn doesn't have an asthma attack!). I get the baton from Katherine on a trail and head out. It's dark. Running on a paved trail with nothing around is a little creepy. The light from my headlamp isn't super strong. The trail is marked with a red blinky light to indicate the right direction. I go over some railroad tracks as a train is passing - a sign of life! Now I head off the trail onto the roads some volunteers point me in the right direction. I'm on city sidewalk now, passing small shops and some homes. I'm supposed to stay on Milwaukie - at some point it veered left but there was no sign to veer left. So I keep going straight. After a few blocks I realize I am not in the right spot - I really should be on milwaukie. So I turn around to head back. But at 3:30am or whatever time it was, I didn't recognize where I came from. There's an overpass - I think I need to be up there but how do I get on it?
I stop to assess the situation. I'm on some street corner. There's a gas station and a rental car place, all closed of course! Do I flag a car down? Nope, that didn't seem like a good idea. Then some guy is riding on a bike towards me. I can take a guy on a bike - so I flag him down, ask him how to get to Milwaukie and ask to borrow his phone. A call to Tim to let him know I am lost - and he lets the volunteers know. They give me directions to milwaukie and the next set of turns. I give the guy his phone back so he can get to work and then head off. Ok, I'm back on course on 9th. but how far? I'm not confident that the course will be marked (the two turns from before weren't) so I'm a little (ok a lot) anxious. But now I'm in a neighborhood - no traffic. Whether it was divine intervention or just some really good luck, a family walks out of a house (off to the airport for an early flight) right in front of me. Once again I ask to use a phone (lesson - when running in a city at night - have a phone!) and call Tim to let him know where I am. At that time the HTC officials or volunteers find me and ask me if I want a ride. Heck No! I just want to know where to run. They give me some directions to the pedestrian bridge ahead. So off I go. There are tons of volunteers near the bridge (ok 3 or 4) but where were they on the other part of the course?! Then I hit a T-intersection, of course with no markings! The van is shortly behind me and gets me to the exchange. Oh was I mad! It took me almost 1:20 to do that silly 6 mile leg. But the whole team is there, and in the spirit of the Olympic relay teams, we drop the "baton" on the exchange. Now we're all motivated to run even faster, as we're probably close to 30 minutes behind the next to last runner.
It was another mini-adventure trying to find hwy 30 to drive to exchange 18 in St. Helen for some sleep, but I won't go into that. We made it there, van 2 got some sleep, I saw a beautiful sunrise, and when runner #6 showed up, we were only a couple minutes behind the last runner.
Leg 24: Now this was more like it. It's noon, I haven't slept much (dozed a little) since getting up on Friday, and I'm rarin' to go. It's a 4.9 mile leg and no turns involved! We've caught up to several other teams so no more trying to beat the exchange clean up truck or the porta-potty truck. The sun is pretty strong, but I head out giving it my best. I pass 2 runners (3 if you count the one getting medical assistance...not good - firetrucks and ambulances to help her out.) At the exchange I try to find some more water, drink my recovery drink and we're off to exchange 30 for rest.
Leg 36: This is it! Started at a Weyerheuser facility. We've made up quite a bit of time and there are many teams waiting to run. This leg starts off on a gravel road and uphill. I get passed by a guy who started right behind me, but now it is my turn to pass people. Miles 2-3 were all downhill. No need to save the quads, after this is 2 miles of flat. Pound the pavement and just go as fast as I can under the circumstances. I passed 5 people on that leg! This leg had a lot of turns but was very well marked. I'm coming down the home stretch - on the promenade in Seaside. Many people are walking and encouraging me. I'm hauling (if a 7:30 pace is hauling!) almost jump over a kid in my way, but I make it to the beach. Cross the timing mat at 24:41:55, at 8:11pm, "well" before the 9pm cutoff. Phew! Now I need to find the team so we can run across the sand together. Took a minute but they found me and hurrah! we did it! Girls Heart Rockets 2 rocked Hood to Coast and came in 7th in the open women's division. Avg team pace: 7:31! Yeah! Now my calves are free to sieze up.
That's the update for tonight. Tomorrow I'll go into more about my post HTC adventure driving through OR and CA.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Hood To Coast Part 1
Team: Girls Heart Rockets
Race: Hood to Coast Relay
The trip started out with a casual, get to know each other, how many people can you pack in one house (Carie's parents' house) in Parkdale, OR. After a couple days of hanging out and van decorating (rocketship building?) we headed over to Mt. Hood and blasted off!
Here are some pics from van #1 runner 2 - Kelley:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kmhess/HoodToCoast808
We started at 7:30pm on Friday night (last start time was 7:45pm). We were one of the last teams, if no the last team, on the course at times - until we started passing people! My adventure of getting lost at 3am on my first leg in Portland wasn't much fun and really gave us a gap to catch up, but by the next day we realized there really were other people out of the course! Tons of Roadkill (we didn't keep count) and we finished in just under 24hrs and 42 minutes. Tomorrow I'll give a recap of each of my legs.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Back in Colorado
I made it back to Colorado last night. I have TONS to share about the HTC relay and my trip down the west coast from Seaside, OR to Los Angeles. Stay tuned...
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