Alternatives

Well, I still miss my bikes.  Coraggio and Cristoforo are tucked safely in the basement, likely not to see the great outdoors until next April.  But, I did the second best thing and headed to spin class this week with Stuart.  As usual, Dave is big on hill climbs and sprints, so it was a pretty good approximation of what riding would actually be like....including the expanding belly getting in the way while in the aero position!

It was a good solid hour, and I felt gratified knowing that I could have gone longer. 

This weekend's the Army Ten Miler and Stuart, my brother and a bunch of friends are running.  Best of luck to everyone, and don't forget to head to our house for the traditional post-party!! 

Family's Other Newest Member

I never did take pictures to document the incident, but Stuart had a wicked bike crash a few weeks ago.  Over the handlebars, landed on his face, bike crashing into the guardrail and cracking the top tube.  Bye bye reliable Fuji Pro.

Although the expense outlay wasn't planned, living without a bike really isn't an option in our house, so within days we made our way to Conte's to see what kind of deals they could make us.  Ten days later, Stuart completed his latest century ride on his sweet new Pinarello FP6.  So, as the ugly black bruises finally fade to pale yellows, there's a smile on his face.  And one on mine too, as USAA has told us that replacement value is covered under our homeowners insurance.  yipee!

Bike Riding and Buying

My secret plan to infest the world with cyclists has grabbed another rider! Erin's already signed up to do the Montclair Triathlon with us in a few weeks, but until now she'd been planning on riding her mountain bike. But that changed yesterday...

Saturday we met up with Erin and biked the Mount Vernon trail. It's a fairly technical trail, as well as being crowded that day, so our average speed was actually pretty slow, and she's fit so she was hanging tough. That's Erin with Stuart, still managing a smile. At our turnaround point (which actually turned out NOT to be the halfway point, we paused for a break and made friends with a family of muskrats frolicking on the banks of the Potomac.

Sometimes I think Stuart has a future as a park ranger since he constantly wants to get more dogs, take home the cute furry little things we see on the trail and generally add to our imaginary farm.

On our way back we diverted into a neighborhood to take what we thought was a "slightly" longer route but apparently made a wrong turn. Oops. We ended up on a 2-lane road with cars going 40mph. Poor Erin was not exactly thrilled, but thanks to her iPhone we made it back safely. Needless to say, the 25mi ride for her turned into upwards of 30miles, and nearly 50 for us by the time we biked back home!! The day helped her make a decision, though. Riding a mountain bike in yoga shorts(!) was the tipping point, and Sunday we headed over to Conte's to spend some of her husband Chip's hard-earned combat pay.

Two hours later.....she is the proud owner of a gorgeous full-carbon Cannondale Synapse!!! And happily enough, her brand new ride color coordinates with my beloved Orbea. While Stuart handled more yard duties, we headed out for a 22mile ride late in the day to help her get acclimated. We headed west, and at one point hit 27mph on the open stretch of trail between Vienna and Hunter Mill Road as she unleashed the power of a road bike. We took turns pulling and it was awesome!

Needless to say, I'm a bit sore today. Made it to the pool, only to have the kids swim coach point out that she hadn't seen me there in a month. oops. yeah, Kinetic was May 9th....and I haven't been to the pool since. Guess even the lifeguards have noticed. Time to get back on track with that. But in the meantime, there's the satisfaction of knowing we're converting yet another member of our friend/family circle to an awesome lifetime sport.

Oh yeah, and check out Erin's new blog! Now it's off to bed, I'm running not one but TWO 5Ks tomorrow. More on that later...

A weekend of cycling

Saturday morning I volunteered at the Kids Race at the US Air Force Cycling Classic Clarendon Cup. Ranging from 3 to 10 it was so much fun to see these kids! Some of them teeny tiny on their trikes, but a few of the older ones really committed to racing and doing their best. Afterwards, I stuck around for a bit to watch the pros before meeting fellow board member Stephanie for a smoothie.

Sunday we were scheduled to participate in the Crystal Ride, but woke to thunder and lightening. Um, no thanks. Back to sleep, and woke again at 9am to gorgeous weather. Sorry we missed the 100K event, but I much prefer the pleasant weather. So Stuart and I finally got our acts together and headed out the door a little before noon.

Beautiful day, riding Cristoforo and focusing on a long aerobic ride. I wish I had my camera -- it was the kind of day that makes you wish you could ride forever. We rode through the Herndon Town Festival and all the way out to what smells like potentially the best BBQ north of Carolina. Stuart and I stopped and split a Diet Coke and bag of chips -- nothing like a little caffeine and salt to ward off bonking. Next weekend, though, we may bring money and stop for lunch!

The trail was filled with cyclists, but not in an annoying way. Everyone out there was enjoying the 80 degree weather and for the most part being pretty considerate. Very un-DC like! Steady aerobic pace -- the ride was just shy of 3hrs, and all but about 11min of it were in zone. Well done!

Pollen & the Ride from Hell

Stuart and I were supposed to do the Howard County Life Festival 100K on Sunday. But apparently we forgot to sign up, and by the time we got online on Saturday it was full. oops. I was looking at the bright side, I really wanted another long ride on my Orbea, so we could do 60 ourselves on the trail. By the time we left the house at about 10:20a.m. it was already 80 degrees. I'd smeared myself all over with sunscreen to avoid a repeat of last week's sunburn.

I was feeling good as we neared Reston when my eyes began to act up from the pollen and dryness. And that was the story for the rest of the day. Ride a few miles until my eyes started to swell shut and then pull over. Clean the contacts, sit with my eyes closed and let them water. Stopping at every water fountain to flush my eyes with fresh cold water. It was horrible. Absolutely horrible. I made it to Smith's Switch which meant my ride would be about 44miles roundtrip. Decent, but not ideal. While sitting there wishing I could be magically transported home, I got a text from Stuart that he had made it to Leesburg and was turning around. That was incentive to start moving, trying to maybe stay ahead of him the whole trip back.

That second half was a mix of emotions and feelings. When I got moving, I was really hauling. Pulling a few other girls on bikes at over 19mph. And then my eyes would act up, and I'd pull off to the side again. I was feeling low on energy, my morale was low, and I don't think it was a nutrition thing. It was more about the amount of time and energy that I was pouring into my eyes and keeping them open while on the trail.

I beat Stuart home by only about 5minutes. Once inside, I popped out my contacts and wore my glasses the rest of the day. And as someone who HATES her glasses, that means it was bad. They were still swollen and sore at bedtime.

Now starting taper week, and rather than feeling confident going into this race in two weeks, I'm scared. Already a lesson learned that early season long-course might not be for me, but still uneasy that I'm not ready at all. We'll see.

On a more promising note, the warmer weather is paying off. Lake Anna is up to a balmy 61 degrees!

Race Rehearsal

Today was just gorgeous! Sunny and warm with highs in the 70s by midday. After a morning trip to the nursery to buy some compost and a holly bush for the front yard, it was time to hit the trail (no flowers, since Monday night there is the tiniest chance for frost). Unbelievably, considering I have a half ironman in only three weeks, today was my first day with the tri bike on the trail instead of the trainer. At first I was nervous -- what if I'd forgotten how to ride him? But I settled in easily. And apparently the winter core work paid off, since although my shoulders and back are sore today, I didn't really struggle too much with the aero position. What I had forgotten though, was the difference in pressure points in my "sit region". Ouch. I'll definitely need some Vaseline on hand for the run to help insure the chafing and swelling doesn't worsen during the half marathon.

On our first attempt to leave the house, I realized about 2miles in that I hadn't lubed my chain, and I could hear the raspiness as it scraped against the gears and derailleur, so we turned around. The second time leaving the house, somehow we made different turns off our street and got separated. Twenty minutes later, thanks to the cellphone of some girls holding a bakesale on the side of the trail, we connected again. Finally we reconnected, and settled in for the afternoon. It was a pretty ride, and surprisingly the trail wasn't too crowded. At one point I found myself getting discouraged, and contemplated pulling out of the race. After all, this early season thing is harder than I thought. Before voicing that idea, I convinced myself to drink a little more, suck down some Infinit and push ahead. We stopped at about the half way point to pose for a quick photo before heading for home. Luckily I was in a much better state of mind once the nutrition took hold. We realized at the stop how salty my skin was -- the air was dry so my sweat was evaporating immediately, making me unaware of how dehydrated I was. One potential explanation for that drop in mood and energy a while back.

On our way back home, we stopped at the same bake sale. They were packing up by that point, but I'd promised we'd stop and buy something as a thank you for helping us earlier. All they had left were two gooey lemon bars. I bought one -- it tasted like lemon pie with a crumbly top. Yum! And much better than another gel or two before the transition run waiting for me at home. Finally, we were done. 52miles in 3:15 for a 16mph average. Not bad considering all the stops and starts at intersections.

I SO didn't feel like running for 50-60min, but I'll have to run longer than that in a few weeks, so I wouldn't be doing myself any favors by skipping out on it. A quick change into a fresh pair of shorts, strapped on the Fuel Belt, and I was out the door with Nick. Stuart had expected that I would get a mile or two in, and was encouraging me to aim for three.


Instead, I picked a painfully slow pace (still not slow enough to be Z1-2 as the plan called for), but ran the entire 5miles with a happy happy dog at my side. By late afternoon, the trail was actually a lot busier, lots of couples walking with strollers or small children, and still a decent number of cyclists. I kept wanting to make excuses for my snail's pace, but realized that no one was paying attention to me except for me.

A little less than an hour later, we were home. Both of us tired and panting, but happy. Hmm, they say no headphones on the race course, but I don't recall anything specifically banning dogs. Maybe Nick could join me??

Wildlife

Not exactly the most pleasantly warm weather for an Easter weekend. I'm getting worried that the lake is going to be FREEZING in four weeks if the weather doesn't heat up soon. 1.2miles in sub-60 degree water is going to suck in a big way.

Anyway, despite the odd weather patterns, I managed to get in 2-1/2hrs of riding on Saturday and a 1+hr run on Easter Sunday morning. Billy and I headed out on Saturday in the gray drizzly rain, riding down to Georgetown to watch one of his classmates in a crew regatta. Thet rails were definitely slick with water and magnolia and cherry blossom petals, so speed wasn't exactly a factor.

We got back to the house, where Billy called it quits (he had a concert to go to) and Stuart and I headed west on the trail for another 90min or so. Eventually the rain stopped and the sun even came out, although the temps were still only about 60 degrees. The weather is wacky, but the animals are clearly all coming out of their winter hidey-holes. Bright red cardinals were everywhere. Stuart pulled off the side of the trail at one point to help a box turtle get safely across the road. While we were pulled over, we realized that our tires were covered in worm bits. As if that wasn't gross enough, as we rode through Vienna we saw a dead, mostly smooshed rat lying in the middle of the trail. GROSS!!! How it ended up there, dead and smooshed, is beyond me. But it was totally disgusting.

Yesterday morning was Easter. I knew the day would be busy cooking and entertaining -- Billy and his girlfriend were here, as were our niece and her fiance. So I grabbed Nick and we slipped out of the house at 7am. Easy recovery pace for 65 minutes before getting home and showering for Mass. Dinner ended up being a re-creation of the meal we learned to cook in Florence in cooking school back in 2001, and that we cooked as our first Easter meal together. Slight modifications, but basically the same. yummy! And lucky for us, we have leftovers for tonight. Even better!

Ended the afternoon watching the Ironman 70.3 World Championships special on NBC back-to-back with Vs' showing of Paris-Roubaix. LOVED IT ALL!!!

Hard Work and Recovery

Ok, so OWWWW!!!! I had forgotten just how ugly and painful that transition to a run can be. Yesterday was my first real brick of the season - meaning a measurable run after an equally measurable bike. Stuart and I got in close to 3hrs on our bikes on Sunday afternoon. Beautiful sunshiney day, but still chilly. Got home, swapped out the bike jersey for a long sleeve t-shirt and grabbed Nick's leash.

And then the pain hit. I was hobbling like some pathetic old lady. Normally Nick would be pulling ahead, but I think even he realized that this wasn't too pretty. After the first mile I seemed to ease into it but oh boy could this be a long day in May! I managed three miles, and sure, could have done more, but was very glad that the training plan called for only a 20-30min run!

Today was worth it, though. I just spent an hour with my massage therapist. He focused on that irritated tricep and deltoid, as well as the posterior and anterior tibealis on both legs. Already I can feel that many of those aches and pains have subsided. If only my health insurance covered therapeutic massage, I'd be seeing him a couple times per month. Stuart's seeing his physio twice a week, so dang it, I went ahead and made another appointment for the week of Kinetic. He shouldn't be the only one in this house getting massaged and manipulated!

Wants vs Needs

Last weekend, while at the bike store with Billy, I stumbled upon a beautiful bike -- a 2008 BH Connect Ultegra SL. Gorgeous. Sat on it for a minute, but tore myself away. Until last night, after spin class, Stuart and I wandered in to the store "just to show [him] the bike I saw but we aren't buying."

Twenty minutes later I've taken a short test ride, they've offered me a ridiculously awesome price, discussed financing options and I've said I'll be back Saturday to be fitted on it before making a final purchase decision. The problem is, Stuart and I are very bad influences on each other. We'll both sacrifice for ourselves, but can easily be swayed by the desire to do/say/acquire something to make the other happy. Last night we kept talking it over, knowing we shouldn't do it, but looking for a reason to buy it. This is a want, not a need.

You see, I like my road bike. His name is Coraggio, which means courage in Italian. I named him because I needed some courage to learn to ride and enjoy riding. And he's been good to me. I've put in thousands of miles with him over the past four years - training, racing, commuting, and fun rides. But the truth is, I want more. I'm ready for more. I'm ashamed to admit that I'm ashamed of my bike. Or more appropriately, ashamed of myself that I'm ashamed of my bike. Coraggio's like the kid you were friends with in junior high, and now that you're in high school you still secretly think he's nice, but the other kids tell you he's not cool and so you stop talking to him.

Most of my friends and family with whom I ride have beautiful bikes. They're sleek, sexy, carbon fiber, weigh next to nothing. Bikes that other riders nod at, that garner respect as the kind of bikes that serious cyclists ride. That's not Coraggio. No one would ever describe him in those terms. He's aluminum, with a simple red paint job, and a pretty mediocre set of componentry. A great entry level bike. I'm still not a great cyclist, but I feel like I've definitely improved beyond an entry level rider. I typically place somewhere in the middle of my age group in the bike leg of triathlons. I comfortably finished my first century ride last fall. And I keep wanting a bike that reflects where I'm at as a rider. Which is why this little BH gem spoke to me this week.

I dreamed about this decision, and woke up knowing that buying it wasn't the right decision but still wishing it would be. I keep saying I want a new bike. But I certainly don't need a new bike. Two very different words. Many thanks to Bill for emailing with me all day, helping me justify why this isn't the bike for me. Instead, I think maybe I'll invest in some upgrades for Coraggio. He'll never be the hotshot superstar bike that my friends have. But with a new shiny groupset, he'll shine again in my eyes and move to that next level of ability with me, instead of being left behind as a has-been. Reminding myself that I tri for joy, and he has brought me that. He isn't a hotshot superstar...but neither am I. We're both good, we're both happy and courageous to be out on the road. I need to remember that, and have gratitude for where I've come from and those things (and people) that have helped me make the journey.

Yay for friends like Erin

Major props to Erin today for reading my blog and throwing my words back at me. Stuart finally had his MRI this afternoon, so we drove in together but I brought my bike for the commute home. I had an awesome ride today, averaged over 16.5mph which included all the deceleration and accelerations at lights and road crossings. Temps in the mid-60s. I think I had a bit of a tail wind, because I spent the majority of the ride in my big chain ring, even on the sections of the trail where I normally drop it back. My legs are getting stronger, but not that strong yet.

Got home and grabbed a snack, prepping to meet Tom and Emily at the pool, until Emily called to cancel. Unfortunately, I hadn't yet changed into my swimsuit, so there was lots of disincentive to head to the pool by myself. Luckily....Erin came to the rescue!

She was calling to say that she wasn't going to make it to Girls on the Run in the morning. But when she heard I was about to cop out of the swim, she reminded me that even 30minutes counted. That the motivation and "just do it" would make me happy on the back side. A few more encouraging words and when we hung up I quickly changed my clothes before I could change my mind.

It was a short swim. More of a recovery swim than a workout. But I did make it to the pool, and I'm glad I did. And that's really all it takes. 30minutes here. An hour there. A quick 10 or 15minutes to throw down a few hundred core reps. It's not sudden, but over time that's how you see results. More fitness, more endurance, less fat, more muscle definition, more speed. Nike was right, there are no excuses so Just Do It. So today I'm grateful not just for the sunshine and early spring warmth, but also for Erin.

Taste of Spring

It's coming. Spring. I can feel it. I saw crocuses in bloom in a yard this morning as I walked my dogs. I even took them for a second walk tonite at 7pm thanks to Daylight Savings Time. Our lilac and blueberry bushes have the faintest hint of green buds on them. And I put in over 4.5hrs of biking this weekend in shorts and sleeveless jerseys. My back and shoulders are sore - time for another 50 days of core! But I feel great. I even have the tiniest hint of a tan line on my legs, and a slightly darker face than I did when the weekend started.

Billy came out this weekend and for the first time saw and rode his first bike. I think we overloaded him though, with 40miles of riding yesterday. oops. He was a little sore, but came back for another 20 today. What a stud! We grabbed Bill and Julie from their place and headed down to Mount Vernon and back on Saturday. There were folks on the trail but it actually wasn't as busy as we had expected. Surrounded by folks with way better power-to-weight ratios than me, I still managed to pull for at least a little bit. And Billy did great, just one near wipeout on a tight technical turn.

Today we headed out on our own...airport loop plus I threw in 4 or 5 more miles on the backend while he headed for our house to zonk out. Definitely a lot more people out, but only a few idiots blocking the trail and other lunacy. We had a good time, but he's paying the price for buying a bike with a hardcore racing saddle - not a whole lot of padding down there! We promised him he'd build up butt calluses in no time if he keeps putting in the miles.

This was good. I needed to be out there. Only 9 weeks to the Kinetic Half and I'm getting nervous. Lots to do. Time to get the Orbea serviced and get him out on the road to start putting in miles in aero position. In the interim, I'll sleep well tonight.

Now THAT'S Training

If I can stay awake until 9:30 tonight I'll consider it a minor miracle. Not much to say except to document some tough tough work today.

We made it to spin class at 7:30 this morning just in time. Bikes were going fast, and a guy who showed up at 7:31 actually got turned away because the class was full. The instructor was awesome -- a triathlete herself, and the class was clearly full of cyclists and triathletes so the entire workout was a solid imitation of a real outdoor ride. During the break between the two classes, we actually contemplated bailing early, but after popping a few Clif Shot Bloks I'm so glad we didn't. First, I got in almost the equivalent of 45miles of riding, which I really needed. Second, I'd have had to live with the fact that I cut out early. Tired and sweaty, we headed home for a hot bath and a nap after a 2:32 ride.

My plan had been to hit the pool this afternoon, something I haven't done in almost two weeks. But Emily called and asked if I'd consider a 6.5mile run with her -- she had one on her schedule but was in need of motivation. Again, I considered saying no. But, I haven't done anything resembling a brick or bike-run day in months, and I knew that I could too easily blow off the swim. Having to meet someone in 45minutes meant no fooling around I was getting another workout in. And, she's just cool, so it would be fun to run with her. I had originally been planning to run with Heather on Sunday, but with Billy coming out from the Academy to spend the day, I knew that wasn't going to happen so this was perfect.

Man, can that woman run!!! They live in super hilly North Arlington, so we ran all over hell and back. Emily chatting the whole time, me gasping for air as I struggled to keep pace and not die as we climbed Military Road. I survived though... 6.5miles in 1:07. Acceptable, but a good kick in the pants. Ten weeks from today until the Kinetic Half. I need to do a LOT of work between now and then. Now if only it weren't supposed to SNOW tomorrow. Seriously, I need to move south.

First though, I need a huge bowl of homemade soup and some quality time with my pillow tonight!

Is it February...or is it April???

Back and forth to Ohio this week for my Granni's funeral, I was consoling myself that "it's only February". And that while I should be ramping up training soon, it's still that winter base phase, so another few days of poor or missed workouts wasn't a nightmare.

Yesterday though, I made a realization. Since I decided to sign up for an early season half ironman, February is no longer February. Instead, it's more like April or May in that I have a major race only 2-1/2months from now. yikes! With that in mind, I got in a couple of solid training sessions this weekend.

Friday afternoon I snuck over to the pool once we got back from Ohio. Then yesterday, Nick and I got in another awesome 8mile run before a romantic Valentines Day dinner with Stuart. He was just so happy the whole time, a nice steady pace...nothing worth writing home about, but a good distance type of run.

Then today I met up with Emily for a solid bike ride. Dang is it hilly between her house and mine!!! My legs were already hurting from yesterday's run, and as we headed down Sycamore towards the W&OD we both hit these nasty potholes under the overpass. It wasn't until a mile down the road that I realized my water bottle had been ejected. ugh. Luckily we were taking it easy. It was sunny but still cold, and my already raw throat had me gasping for air quite a bit. Despite all that, we put in a respectable 33miles today.

Now at home watching the Tour of California and preparing for another USA Triathlon coaching webinar. I still feel as if there's so much to learn before advertising for clients, but I'm doing everything I can to grab that knowledge with both hands.

Weekend Fun

After last week's busy and tense weekend, this one was awesome. First, Billy's last home swim meet, so my aunt, uncle and youngest cousin Katie came up from NC for the weekend. He did awesome, as usual. He's such an incredible swimmer, and we're going to miss him once he heads to Pensacola this fall for flight school.

In the meantime, much fun seeing Katie, too.

On top of the family fun, it was WARM outside. As in 60+ degrees warm. Saturday before heading to Billy's meet, Nick and I snuck out for another 4-ish mile run. It's about that time of year that I should start wearing my heart rate monitor again, but I've definitley gotten used to running without it.

This afternoon, after they all left, it was time to pull out the road bike. Stuart rode this morning with our neighbor Eric so I was on my own. Shorts, short-sleeved DC Tri jersey and arm warmers. Beautiful weather, and as I'm coasting down our street towards the trail I'm all smiley and cheery. And then I turned west -- to be met head-on by a strong wind. Luckily, it wasn't a cold wind, but it was powerful. And without Stuart to block it for me, I averaged around 13mph for the first hour of my ride. This was supposed to be a longer, aerobic ride and so I chose not to fight the wind, although I am a bit embarassed for my tri club teammates that I was out there toddling along in club gear. I made up for it once I turned around,though. Gotta love a tail wind!

By late in the week it will be back down in the 40s, but this was a great respite from winter. Only about 40 days until spring and only about 90 days until my first half ironman of the season. yikes!

Spin Class Redux

Now that I've showered, eaten (awesome omelets a la Stuart) and had a nap, I'm ready to think rationally about today's workout.

The planned workout today was a 3hr bike ride, which I knew wasn't going to happen either outside or on the trainer. Best we could hope for was to drag ourselves out of bed and do the 8:30 and 10am spin classes back to back, shooting for at least 2 and 1/2hrs. We succeeded in obeying the alarm clock, and were on the spin bikes and pedaling away by 8:20. Good start! First hour was pretty good - a motivating instructor, someone who acknowledged that she was a cyclist and therefore did cycling-like workouts. I held back a bit, knowing I had a much longer workout scheduled than the instructor did, and redlining it for the first hour would make the next 90min sheer hell. Holding back didn't mean soft-pedaling, though...my quads were burning by 9:30.

First class over, all but one other girl cleared out. Stuart and I took quick turns refilling our water bottles and popped a couple of shot bloks with a nice Zone 2 effort.

Second instructor arrives, this class is much more full than the previous one. She asks if anyone minds if we use an 80s mix. I'm a little skeptical, but what the heck. First song comes on and it's "Kyrie Eleison", which I happen to love and is on my iPod. So, I'm smiling. The hour goes really quickly - she actually chose a great selection of music, but I'm less than thrilled with her. To me, when the instructor says "On a scale of 1-10, with 10 as the toughest, spin at a 5." Ok, I'm there. "Now, crank it to an 8 and speed up! Now to a 10. And then harder still!". Um, wasn't 8 supposed to be really damn hard, and 10 has me about to die and fall off my bike? Then how come you are still spinning at 90rpm and you want me to go even harder than 10 which is supposed to be the hardest amount of resistance I can still pedal against? We decided on the way home that instructor girl wasn't very good at faking working hard, or at understanding what a RPE scale is about.

In any event, we survived the second hour. Didn't get the full 3hrs, but I did the equivalent of 40-something miles of biking. And boy are we feeling it! This is the longest nonstop ride I've done since October. A good kick in the pants that I have a half ironman in less than 4 months.

"What It Takes"

If you do triathlons, you've probably already heard of or seen or own this movie. What It Takes came out a few years ago, and is a documentary following the 2005 season of four pro triathletes. Stuart and I own both the movie and the spinner edition, and pull them out during winter as entertainment and motivation while stuck on the trainer.

Today was actually not bad out - high 30s and partly sunny. I could have ridden outside, but just wasn't feeling the cold weather. Yesterday's run with Nick was sufficient outdoor time for one weekend. Plus, for some reason I woke up thinking about that movie (probably because I had a very weird triathlon dream). Anyway, after watching the last part of some cheesy Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, I popped it in to make my Zone 2 aerobic trainer ride less boring. I got about half way through before cutting the ride a bit short (sorry, coach!) but am now eagerly looking forward to Tuesday's interval session to get through the second half.

Estimated 21miles on the bike trainer (based on time and effort), plus another 275reps of core work made for a decent Sunday.

2009 Off to a Good Start

My coldest ride ever -- we met up with Bill and Julie when the thermometer was still reading only 28 degrees. yikes! Luckily the sun was shining, and trying to hang on to the wheels of three speedsters got me warmed up pretty quickly. We'd agreed on a 30mile laid-back ride, and when we got to the Reston turn-around, it seemed appropriate to stop off at Starbucks. I got Stuart and Julie to pose for a pic while Bill was taking care of business on the side of the trail! ;-)


I've never been a big coffee drinker, but have somehow acquired the habit in a minimal way this year. Last winter, Annie who is a super awesome Girl on the Run, gave me a Starbucks giftcard as a thank you at season's end but I never used it. This fall, though, I pulled it out and started getting into those tall-skim-no-whip-gingersnap-lattes and other holiday tasting treats. And Stuart and I have made it a habit to grab Starbucks on our way to the farmer's market every Saturday. But between the cold and the need for caffeine to give me some extra "juice" for the ride home, I gulped down TWO coffees during that 30min break.

Needless to say, when we headed back to the trail, we were all shivering. Our sweat had dried so we were cold, our fingers and toes were burning. Time to really up the pace. Although the three of them did eventually temporarily drop me, we were rocking at 22-23mph there for awhile.

It took a while to thaw it, and still get in a few reps for my 50 Days of Core -- I haven't missed a day yet, but no sign of that six-pack abs. :-) We finished the day with Julie's awesome chili and some wine while watching Penn State lose the Rose Bowl. Too bad for the Nittany Lions, but a good way to start the new year for the rest of us!

Muddy Buddy

Yes, there is a race series of this name, but it's just as real when you're riding behind your husband on a muddy, wet trail. We decided to take advantage of the 65 degree weather and get out on our bikes early this morning. I sported my cute new Terry hot pink mandarin jersey and a pair of shorts. We weren't the only ones taking advantage of the mild winter weather, and the trail was occupied but not crowded with runners and bikers. Unlike years past, where I felt the need to hammer the whole way, from the get-go I told Stuart to surge ahead while I meandered and enjoyed low HR base work. But for a long stretch, he stuck with me and did the pulling, resulting in more than a bit of roadspray headed my direction. Although the weather was warm, we were dealing with wind gusts upwards of twenty miles per hour, so rather than fight them, I embraced the slow pace and contemplated the year I've had and the year I want in 2009.

Surprisingly, although I feel as though I worked harder, I actually put in fewer hours than in 2007. That doesn't make me happy, even though the race results were better. So, that's feeding in to my thought process and goal setting this week. Frankly, work will likely be a bit on the slow side the next few days, so that should lend itself to some soul searching and serious goal setting.

In any event, we had a great ride. Stuart found a "long cut" off the trail to take us on city streets rather than dealing with the stop and go of the last few miles of the trail. From there, we took a detour through the streets of North Arlington, to show him a neighborhood I found, in the event we ever decided to move that I'd be interested in watching. Our plan had been to stop at Starbucks for a few peppermint mocha lattes, but I was sweating bullets, and it seemed not quite as compelling. Maybe next weekend. There were more than a few hills tossed into the last 6 or 7 miles of our ride, so a cold glass of water was a bit more compelling at that point.

Overall, about 26miles. Slow pace, but for late-December, an acceptable workout. Got home to find my bike and my face spattered in mud, the price I pay for drafting off Stuart in the strong headwinds. Twelve hours later, my quads are burning and I'm ready for bed, but pleased to know that the true off season is over and the groundwork is being laid for a strong and successful 2009.

I Love Birthdays

If I were President, first thing I would do is make everyone's birthday a paid holiday for them. Yep, I'm a firm believer that your birthday is a national holiday -- at least for you! Which is why every year I look forward to December 14th...the day, the presents, the cards, just knowing it's my day. In fact, I start celebrating my birthday when it first becomes December 14th in Australia -- which means I opened a gift at about noon yesterday (what some people might call December 13th, but to me is actually already the 14th!). I might be turning 3*, but that doesn't mean I have to grow up when it comes to my birthday.

Anyway, Stuart gave me my big gift this morning -- a super sweet Cannondale cold weather cycling jacket. This thing rocks, it's made of carbon fiber, has oodles of pockets and just looked super warm. Of course that meant we had to try it out! I haven't been on my bike outside since October, so I was excited to bundle up and head out the door. The sun was out, but the wind was blowing strongly enough that I had trouble controlling my bike. Luckily though, my brand new jacket kept me totally warm. My body wasn't cold in the slightest! I was even comfortable enough to stop and pose for a few pictures.

Tell me that isn't the prettiest jacket ever!

Far in the distance you can see the Capitol over my left shoulder.

Stuart overlooking the Mall

Other than that, it was a fairly routine day. Not every birthday can be outstanding and exciting, but it was still good. My parents discovered the triathlon store in Columbus, and so loaded me up with a few new pairs of shorts and a triathlon top. And a sale at Title Nine Sports also scored a cool pair of board shorts that have me totally eager for spring. Calls from friends and family. And now we're about to celebrate not with chocolate cake, but with a little B&J low-fat cookie dough ice cream. yum!

30/30's

I've now learned this phrase in two different capacities with regard to triathlon. First, it's a kick butt bike workout that my EN coach used in the off season. It works best if you do it on a trainer. Basically, once you're warmed up you do a set (5-10) of :30 as hard as you possibly can, followed by :30 of recovery. The key here is that by the 3rd or 4th set, that 30 seconds isn't nearly enough time to recover, and by the last two or three sets, you are hoping that you die rather than having to recover. It's an awesome way to boost high end fitness, presuming you don't puke from the effort of course!

Now the other 30/30 and the one I'm thinking about right now. A bunch of Trifuel folks are doing a December challenge....run for at least :30 for 30 days straight in December. Each :30 counts as 1pt. Goal being who can both run for 30 days, but the second goal might be to rack up the most points. Friendly, nation-wide competition so there's no prizes in store. I'm torn. The part of me that knows I should keep my running to a minimum if I hope to ever get over the tendonitis says I shouldn't participate (I didn't last year). The competitive/fun part of me says "what the heck", there's no speed requirements so just a 30min jog with Nick every day would make us both happy. That would be on top of being part of the USA Triathlon Club Challenge that begins on December 1st to amass the most swim/bike/run miles as a club between December and February. Hmmm... what to do? Input welcome, or I'll let you know what I decide!