enduro eejit

Another move...

2007-02-23T18:23:00.000-05:00

I'm moving to greener (actually oranger) pastures myself. This site was a great start, and I'm not deleting it. But it's time for Mallie's own blog, just like it was time for Renee to move out on her own in the blogosphere.

Hope you'll visit me at Saddle Sore to Sebring

Mallie

I've moved my musings

2007-02-23T09:48:00.000-05:00

I've moved my musings to a new locale. What fun!
Check them out at www.reneemartinez.blogspot.com

-renee

I gave thanks ...

2006-11-24T15:36:00.000-05:00

In fact, I gave thanks more than once with a few extra helpings of my grandma's turkey dinner ... and dessert.

I did run 4 miles in the woods yesterday morning. It was an attempt at working off what I planned to eat last night for dinner. Today I'll probably hit the gym and I'll ride both days this weekend. Hopefully that will be enough exercise to undo the damage my full plate did to my belly (and my thighs).

Now that I'm facing at least two solid days of eating turkey leftovers, what are your suggestions for fun ways to burn off the holiday pounds? I could use the motivation.

Anyone? Bueller?

:)

If it looks like a duck ...

2006-11-15T17:32:00.000-05:00

Since lately we're all about the weights here at EnduroEejit, I figure I'd join in on the posting pleasure.

Today ... I went to the gym. Yes, I even picked up a weight or two. And! I actually hoisted it over my head ... repeatedly ... for pleasure. OK, so maybe not the pleasure part. But it's been a LONG TIME since I've so much as opened the gym door, so I didn't exactly expect the experience to be pleasurable.

A friend and certified personal trainer told me recently that I needed to be lifting some weights. And then he hounded me some more, and really got me thinking about it. Apparently when you bike you actually use those muscley fibrous things attached to your arms and shoulders. Now, I know you use them when swimming, and it was actually my quest to be a better swimmer that led me to the gym door today. I had my buddy meet me, and we went over some basic moves sure to whip me into shape and deliver flesh-rippling biceps in no time -- if only I stick with it.

So here's what I did (in exact detail):
•These squatty things with a ball for 15 times a few times more.
•This thing where I pulled this bar down and poked my chest out, half my body weight (a lady never reveals!), a few times.
•These EXCRUCIATING lifts where, as previously mentioned, I hoisted them over my head, a pitiful amout, more times than I liked.
•Quad and hamstring work (I couldn't get the commercial where the guy says "Don't want to pull a hammy!!" out of my head the entire time)
•More PAINFUL lifting of weights into the air, except this time over my chest, again, more times than I wanted to.
•Tricep extensions that would make my grandma (from whom I inherited my flabby triceps) squirm with discomfort.
•And finally, some bicept curls that seriously, made me feel like ARNOLD. They rocked.
•Oh and I walked on the treadmill some too. It was at a 2% grade cause my buddy said that's supposed to simulate walking outside.

Now, I've never really been a lifting weights kinda girl. I like 'em long and lean, not bulky (hence the yoga). But, what's good for the goose is good for the gander, so I've committed to waddling my feathery a** into the gym at least TWICE a week. That's a big step for me. Twice a week I could be running free outside in the fresh fall air, or cruising down some sweet singletrack. But twice a week I'll be watching my little stick arms quiver while lifting weights.

Now, if only I could do something about these damned webbed feet!

Evil, icky, smelly rain!

2006-11-15T16:14:00.000-05:00

Sob! Sniffle. Rain and tornado warnings messed with my plans. Today was supposed to be a nice walk with my friend and her new baby, followed by a night ride through the woods with my girls. I was really looking forward to hanging out with my gals, catching up on gab and wondering which of us would have to dab first in the dark.

So...I found myself at the gym with no real plan. I decided to have fun and do a modification of something another lifting girlie wrote about in one of her workout posts. She did 100's. I decided to modify, as I have another heavy lifting day (heavy for me you jokers!) planned tomorrow and didn't want to compromise that.

So I did what I called 80-100's. 4 sets of 20-25 reps with lighter weights as a sort of cardio with the DBs and machines.

Warm-up: 10 minutes on the treadmill, 3.0 mph, 15 grade

DB Overhead Press: 1x25x8; 3x20x8

Leg Extensions (as I did hamstrings hard yesterday, I threw in a quad exercise just for sh*ts and giggles) 4x20x35

Triceps Press: 4x25x60

Vertical Chest Press: 4x25x40

Low Cable Row: 1x20x40; 3x20x35

Straight Arm Cable Shoulder Extensions: 4x20x25

Lat Pulldowns: 4x25x40 (it seemed really light at first, but I really worked to keep good form and a good core position)

Cool Down: 10 minutes treadmill, 2.7 mph, 15 grade

This older man, who can barely walk, and impresses the hell out of me by not only coming to the gym, but also cuz he lifts rather than sitting for hours on the recumbent, walked up to me and said, "you sure do one hell of a workout". That made me feel really good!

Some changes at the home of the eejit...

2006-11-15T07:35:00.000-05:00

Renee won't be posting under the eejit banner for much longer, as she's raring to tackle her own blog. She won't be removed as a contributor until she's all set and raring to go, as I'm guessing she might want to bid her farewell.

So it will be just me. Hope that won't lose me many readers! YIKES.

With a new blog structure comes a new look. It reminds me that the holidays are coming and that no matter what's going in that might make me a bit sad or worried, I love the holidays. I also love my bike and my training...so I figured this was the best place to combine the two for the time being.

Now is the time for me to thank my friends for helping me through a rough time. I get e-mails and phone calls at random...my pals just checking in to see that I'm OK. I've got dates for Saturday morning, Saturday evening, Sunday late morning, etc. All with the friends who have let me know I can lean on them no matter what. My digital friends have also been an incredibly supportive group. I thank you all.

Back to regularly scheduled workout posts soon!

A weekend of working out...

2006-11-12T16:31:00.000-05:00

Well...it's been a hard week. And it's going to be a hard November and more than likely a hard December. But I'm not going to let personal issues get in the way of the dedication I've maintained as to my diet and training.

I had a great ride on Friday. It was short, and I didn't ride anything technical...as my mind is still wandering at random to my personal issues. But I could feel the difference the strength training has made. I was climbing, both spinning climbs and short, hard pedaling climbs in bigger gears, faster, with less effort. The legs were really working for me and that makes me very happy.

Saturday morning workout:

Warm-Up: 7:30 on the treadmill, 15 grade, 2.9 mph

DB Overhead Press: 5x7x15

Good Mornings: 5x6x55

High Cable Rows: 5x8x55

Bench 3x7xBar
(Chest and shoulders are my weak point...so I just used the bar this last time. I'm going up to some dinky weights + the bar next week)

Step-Ups: 3x10xbodyweight; 3x6xbodyweight + 10 (used six steps stacked)

Triceps Press: 5x8x80

Straight Arm Cable Shoulder Extension: 3x8x25

Cable Bicep Extensions/Curls: 3x8x25

Leg Extensions: 4x6x55

Finished up with about 10 minutes on the cardio rowing machine.

And that brings us to today. It was supposed to be just an active recovery spin on the road bike (I decided not to venture out too far alone today Renee, but did so appreciate the directions which I'll use soon), but the headwinds required a bit more effort than I'd planned. But it's all good. Had a nice 45 minute ride in the brisk wind, but the sunshine on my face sure felt great.

I'm looking forward to a great HIIT session tomorrow and a good weights session on Tuesday. Hope the rest of you had a fantastic weekend!

I've been neglecting the blog lately...

2006-11-09T17:38:00.000-05:00

for numerous reasons:

* Personal Life Crises

* Goal Setting

* Change in Workout Perspective & Goals

But, I'm not going to neglect it anymore. So you're going to get to join me again on my random journey through fitness, training, and diet. Some of you care, some don't. Those that don't can still leave their comments.

I've dedicated the month of November to a lean-out diet and a focus on strength training. I'm still riding, just not going to start heavy LSD/base until December. I have my reasons...and I'll highlight them as this old blog continues. So anyway...here's today's workout:

Warmup - 5 minutes on treadmill, 15 grade, 2.8 mph

Military Press: 3x8x12; 3x6x15 (did these first as shoulders are my weak spot and wanted to do them fresh)

Good Mornings: 5x6x55

Vertical Chest Press: 5x6x60

Low Cable Row: 5x7x55

Standing Cable Straight Arm Shoulder Stuff: 3x8x25 (each arm)

Triceps Press: 5x7x80

Lat Pulldowns: 5x6x60

DB Concentration Curls: 5x5x12 (both arms)

Cool Down: 5 minutes treadmill, 15 grade, 2.8 mph

My legs were feeling pretty tight from Tuesday...so I just did the good mornings, and opted out of my planned step ups. Will do those Saturday.

Glad to be back...hope at least some of you are glad to see me!

Accent? What accent?

2006-11-08T12:31:00.000-05:00

Right now this little quiz is making its way around the blogosphere. Nailed me right on the button!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Happy Halloween and other thoughts

2006-10-31T13:44:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween! I was a witch today at work! lol. Of course, some people would argue that I'm a "witch" every day at work. My friend Grant, one of the photogs here at the paper, snapped a photo of me to e-mail Jake. Jake's response? "A witch. How appropriate." LOL

In other news, the race at Tumbling Creek went well. It felt like more "fun" than "race." Ashley was the only other chica in my group, so I pretty much knew I had second place sewn up. I didn't kill myself trying to keep up with her, but just decided to ride hard and good and encourage Beth along the way.

Gotta give props to Beth, who I've now taken to calling "the next Krista Park," or "the next Kathleen Tokuda" (both of whom are STELLAR riders and very encouraging, friendly ladies). After being on the bike for 9 months -- as in, she wasn't riding at all 9 months ago -- Beth cats up to Sport class. Tumbling Creek was her first Sport race ... and she got third!! The best part was we got to ride together most of the time -- until she passed me on one of the last climbs and took off like a freakin mountain goat.

After getting in some base training this winter, I can't wait to see what she does next year. Those other Sport ladies should beware!

Really though, it's great to see someone take to the sport so quickly. It's always encouraging to see new riders develop and come into their own. Seeing her excitement about riding and willingness to challenge herself reminds me of how I felt when I first started riding, and makes me enjoy it all over again.

Have a spooky day!

Home fires burning

2006-10-27T11:15:00.000-04:00

I know this has nothing to do with physical fitness, but I'm posting anyway.

Jake left yesterday to go to Qatar, where he'll be stationed for the next two months. He's in the Air National Guard and makes the trip about once a year. This is his third time going over since we've been together. You'd think it would get easier, but it doesn't. It gets harder.

For those without a handy locator map, Qatar is right across the pond from Iraq. The base there is one of the closest jumping-off points you can get to Iraq, and its role is to service and care for the planes and people who's job it is to actually go fight in Iraq. Qatar is not currently a war-zone, but it's still too damn close for comfort.

I know everyone has strong opinions about the war, as I myself do. But regardless of whether or not you support the president's efforts, it's just the humane thing to do to care and pray (in whatever way you choose) for the troops stationed over there.

Speaking form experience, it's very hard to keep a sane mind when the war is changing every month and you have a loved one over there. Sure Qatar is safe now, but will it be in two weeks? two months? The hardest part of Jake being gone is the emotional aspect. Knowing his safety is out of my control, and knowing I can't just call him if I need him.

He's supposed to be home by Christmas, so pray to Buddha, Allah, Jesus, Jehovah, the Dalai Lama or even to the sun god that he stays safe and makes a quick trip home. I'd really like for him to be home for Christmas.

Back in the saddle

2006-10-20T16:42:00.000-04:00

After being sick for about two weeks, I'm officially back in the saddle again.

Granted, I started trying to exercise after about three days of sitting around, and my body quickly let me know it wasn't ready to do much more than walk. Cut to ... two weeks later.

I hit the pool Wednesday night for a swim. It was really tough. I found myself getting out of breath more quickly and it was harder to do the same number of laps I always do. Last night I went for a nice 4-mile run. It actually went pretty well. I had TRIED to run on Saturday and lasted 20 minutes before I gave out, so actually making it for 40 minutes was a treat.

Today I feel good: no aches, no sinus pain, full of energy. I swear the Moes' burrito I had for lunch yesterday and the pizza I had for dinner were contributing factors to my recovery.

This weekend I'm gonna hit the trail and hope to have a real good ride or three! It's Jake's last weekend in town before heading off to the "big sandbox," so I'm sure we'll be getting in some long rides in the fresh fall air.

ciao!

Random Ruminations

2006-10-18T06:26:00.000-04:00

The weather absolutely stinks right now. Been sidelined to gym only/indoor training the past couple days, this after having to take an extra day off over the weekend after catching a cold. Luckily it was a short one. And also, even more luckily, I'm really enjoying the gym lately. So, the rain ain't hurting me too much right now. But it could stop today and I wouldn't mind one little bit. Here's some random tidbits...

- I'm excited to report that I've got some new calluses! No, not on my pardukey, on my hands. The strength training is going great. I'm enjoying mixing the weights with different types of cardio and I'm not at all bored because I'm able to mix things up!

- I'm making some more diet changes, above and beyond the changes I made after the anemia diagnosis. So I'm still off caffeine for the most part. I've also basically given up soda (was drinking diet/caffeine free varieties) except for the occasional night out. I'm working hard to get more protein into my diet each day, as this is something I've always struggled with. I'm also timing my carbs to get them eaten earlier in the day...tapering to more good fats and protein in the later hours of the day

- The diet changes appear to be working, as I've lost around five pounds over the last three weeks and I don't feel at all deprived. In fact, I lost that weight even though I've actually upped my daily caloric intake. I'm just eating much better calories.

- A couple races have already set their dates...Bakers Dozen is April 21st and the Dirty Spokes Ft. Yargo race is May 5th. BD will be a solo, Yargo I'm doing with Linda as a duo. I've also got a biggie planned for February (no not Reddick) and will post more later.

Today's a leg and cardio circuit day at the gym.

The Night Ride

2006-10-12T12:15:00.000-04:00

So, the ladies met for the first ladies pines ride of the season. It didn't involve that much night riding as we haven't had the time change yet, but it involved the chatting and fun that it always has in the past. Hillarie made her triumphant return to the bike (now if we can just keep her on it), Renee told her cold in no uncertain terms that she'd had enough of it, and Beth was sporting her new teeny-tiny Titus and ready to see what it could do.

For me it was one of those incredibly enjoyable rides with friends. Lots of laughing and story telling. Catching up with eachother's lives and whatnot.

Sure the ride didn't really improve our skills or our overall fitness level. But we were out on our bikes instead of in front of the television set. That counts for something with me.

The New Ride

2006-10-12T12:02:00.000-04:00

Sure...it's entry level. Sure, it's a triple. Sure, many of you have finer and dandier rides. But here's the newest member of the family. She makes me smile. 'Nuff said!

Kenny Rogers made me do it

2006-10-09T11:28:00.000-04:00

I HATE being sick. What I hate more than actually being sick is missing a race because I'm sick. I can count on one hand the number of times that's happened in the last five years. Well, this weekend I added another finger to the count, as I had to sit out what would have been my last tri of the season.

I'm SERIOUSLY bummed. I was all excited about doing it, as it was short and I had really planned to test myself. Unfortunately, the germs that make up my universe decided to test me as well this weekend. I've been feeling like I was coming down with something for a little more than a week now (wonder if that tri in the rain up in Hiwassee had anything to do with it!) but have been ignoring the signs: namely sneezing. I only sneeze when I'm getting a cold.

Friday night the sneezing led to a stuffy nose and headache. I woke up Saturday morning feeling real low, and then (probably unwisely) went to Savannah with Jake to spend the day with his family. As the day progressed, so did my sinus issues and feelings of woe about Sunday's event.

On the way home Sat night I decided not to do the tri. It would have involved getting up at about 4 a.m. and traveling to Atlanta, and then participating in the event in scheduled 55 degree weather. Not good makings for one already afflicted with the sniffles. Looking back now (with a cold still in full swing) there's no way I could have done that event. I would have been a danger to myself and others -- and not because of the aerobars!

So now I just feel grumpy and blue that I missed what could have been such a fun time. But I guess sometimes you just have to -- in the words of The Gambler himself -- know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away when the deal is done.

Hopefully my cards will look better next time around.

BRRRR(oad)RRRRR(ide)RRRRRR

2006-10-09T07:09:00.000-04:00

Those of you who live and ride in the North and Midwest can go ahead and smile condescendingly or shake your heads right about now. But yesterday during my first real road ride, I was chilly. I was cold. I wore my arm warmers for the entire ride. And I had the best ride I can remember in a long time!

The bike I've borrowed (from Lauren) doesn't have a working computer, so I don't know exact mileage or speed...but sometimes you just need a ride that's simply about the ride.

I overcame my fear of the skinny tires blowing up at the slightest obstacle when I hit railroad tracks and rough cracks in the pavement early on. I was pleased to have my new Tifosi sunglasses (orange lenses as it was overcast and shady) that kept the frequent headwinds and occasional bugs out of my eyes. I was so into the ride I failed to drink regularly (something I don't normally forget).

It was a thrill to cycle the flats in the big ring, feeling the muscles in my legs flowing smoothly under the skin. It was an even bigger thrill to tackle some of the climbs (Plum, Walnut) and maintain a good spin, or test my standing climbing ability.

After a little over two hours I came home with pink cheeks, an appetite and sore hands, without the sore pardukey and shoulders I was expecting. I came home with a huge grin on my face and happy descriptions for my husband. I came home thrilled with biking, being outdoors and having a relatively fit body and spirit.

Today I go to the shop and will have them put my pedals, a computer and make some adjustments to my new steed. I hope to have it tomorrow or Wednesday. Pics to follow.

Hurts So Good

2006-10-07T11:31:00.000-04:00

Off season is here...well, with all the medical issues it's not like I really had an "on" season...but you know what I mean. And with it comes the re-entry of weights into the workout schedule. I'm determined to really add to my core and upper body strength this year, as it will only add to my ability to hang on in the later hours of the endurance races I plan on entering next year.

Been slowly easing back into the lifting, and am now actually fully back on a schedule, which I love. I know Renee likes a more flexible outlook in her training, but I do best with planning, set workouts and set goals. So I hit the weights pretty hard on Thursday and again this morning.

I have that lovely slight tenseness and minimal soreness that makes you aware that you've really worked the various muscle groups. Because I do spend the bulk of my day hunched over the computer, and because I don't have the best posture to begin with, I'm concentrating on really increasing the strength of my back in order to help try to correct some of my postural problems. I'm also working hard on my triceps, as they aren't as in balance with my biceps as I'd like.

I'm pretty lucky that years of soccer and volleyball, as well as no fear of working my hamstrings on the weights, have allowed me to keep a pretty good balance between my quads and hamstrings, despite numerous hours and miles on the bike. But I'm not taking that balance for granted (especially after the knee pain and tightness Beth's been dealing with) and have been working diligently to ensure that I don't lose that balance.

So I've got my workout in already and have the day to catch up on some chores. Time to wash all my sweaters and let then dry naturally in the brisk fall air (well, brisk for Georgia in October). And tomorrow I tackle my first real road bike ride...around the streets of downtown Macon. Walnut shouldn't seem so daunting on the skinny tires after years of tackling it on the knobbies.

Enjoy your weekend...

Road Riding - The Beginning

2006-10-05T07:56:00.000-04:00

You probably can't really call it a road ride...more of a large parking lot ride. But I still had an absolute blast.

My first concerns were (1)feeling wobbly on the turns and (2) having trouble shifting. I was very pleased that I only wobbled when going slow enough to converse with Jeff who was keeping pace with me on the BMX bike. And the shifting gave me no problem. Once I realized which way was harder and which easier, I had it down.

It was so much fun swooping around the parking lot, sprinting it out with Jeff and actually coming out the victor (remember he was on the BMX bike so he was hauling ass throughout our adventure). I practiced shifting, braking, moving my hands to the right position for standing climbing and cornering. I have a bad habit of letting my inside foot drop when I'm cornering, so I tried to pay special attention to that.

Though his e-mail to his buddies is rather contrary, I think Jeff was happy that I enjoyed it so much. Here's what his e-mail looked like:

Ugh...my lyin', cheatin', good-fer-nuthin' wife is a stinkin'...

ROADIE!!!

She rode Lauren's bike tonight and is sold. Hello yet another bike in the fleet, goodbye $$ and my BMX self respect. Just because Mal does, I want the record to reflect that I personally have not and never will wear lycra.

Respectfully yours in red meat, ultimate fighting and all other things testosterone,

Jeff

I got a kick out of that!!! More chronicles as I take the borrowed bike out on a longer spin and start the wheeling and dealing to add another steed to the Dein corral.

Hello, aero

2006-10-04T10:33:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I tested my balance a little by borrowing a friend's clip-on aerobars and giving them a go on the road.

Now, I've always been of the "I don't need aerobars to faster" school of thought. I never really saw a need for them. I mean, I do about one or two time trials a year, and it never really occurred to me that they were a necessity for triathlons. But ... since he had a pair to lend and I was feeling brave, I had Jake hook them up and off we went on a Sunday ride.

I have my last tri of the year this weekend. That was part of the motivation for trying the aerobars out last weekend. Maybe I could use them in the tri?

So I rode around a little in the parking lot of my apartment complex thinking, "this isn't so bad." Then we get out on the open road and I start to ride. After about 10 minutes my shoulders are killing me. Then we climb a hill. Now my legs are hurting in a totally different spot. What the heck?? I thought these things were supposed to make me ride faster, easier!

Turns out the faster part was right, cause I watched my pedalstroke compared to Jake's and he was working a lot harder than I was. So that's a plus. The set up being uncomfortable (shoulder pain) is just the fact that I've never been in that much of a tucked position on the bike before. I can get used to it. The one area where I need some serious work though, is the whole riding in a straight line thing. lol. I was weaving, or as I like to call it, sweaving -- (swerving + weaving) -- all over the road. I had a REAL hard time with that. I guess it's because the aerobars made the steering so much more twitchy, aka responsive, than I'm used to. Poor Beth, I kept looking back wondering why she wasn't riding up there with Jake and I. She hollered up that she was giving me my space. Apparently I looked dangerous from behind. LOL.

I survived the ride (and the run that came after) and asked my buddy to let me keep the aerobars to use at the tri this weekend. Maybe they'll give me a miniscule advantage -- which would be good considering 600 folks have registered for the event. WTF???

Hopefully I can control my sweaving.

If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you do that too!?!?

2006-09-29T11:43:00.000-04:00

So...the words some of you never thought you'd hear me say. Well, since this is a blog you're going to read them, not see them, but whatever. I'm borrowing a friend's road bike to see if it's something to add to the Dein's bike roster. We've got the BMX bike, two XC bikes, the DH bike...and maybe a road bike needs to be added to the stable.

No it's not just that I covet a new bike. If I had limitless cash and time to devote to more multi-sports than I'm already tackling, I'd hold out and get a really T-O-T-L kayak. But in the more realistic scheme of things, a road bike would work out for the better. With Beth recently jumping over to the dark side, and Renee already residing there for some time, if I want to ride with my friends more often, a road bike is one of the best options, especially for base training rides for next race season.

I'm not getting ahead of myself...hence the phrase that says I'm borrowing a friend's bike first. If I absolutely hate it, I won't continue. There are too many other training activities I enjoy if I just can't stand the skinny tires. But if I do enjoy it, it will double, if not triple my ride time with friends. Not just Renee and Beth. The Sorella girls spend a lot of fall and winter time on the road bikes...grinding out long, conversation paced rides. Those would be fun.

Details after the first ride...should be interesting.

2 pics

2006-09-26T10:09:00.000-04:00

Here's a photo of the island we swam around for the Hiawassee tri:

Here's a photo of me in the new wet suit. This was taken when the rain was still misty and not out-right pouring:

There's another photo of me at the finish, but I look like a drowned rat and reserve the right not to post it. lol. No other race photos cause of the rain. I didn't want my pretty camera getting wet!

Hiawassee Rain-athlon

2006-09-25T15:48:00.000-04:00

My adventure to my first international distance tri started great. Jake took me up to All3Sports in Atlanta to buy my Christmas/Birthday present: a wet suit!! I was THRILLED! So I got the one that I had previously tried on there, during a visit this summer. It's a BlueSeventy Helix with full sleeves. The guy helping me said I would definitely need it in Lake Chatuge, as he grew up there and the water is always cold.

As it turns out, he was right. Couple that with the pouring rain that lasted all Saturday night and Sunday morning, and a lack of sunshine, and the water was really really cold.

When we arrived at the venue, just over the state line in Hayesville, NC, it was raining. Having driven the bike course the night before, I started to get a little nervous about the weather conditions. The course was hilly with nice weeping corners at the bottoms, I was worried about wet roads + skinny tires + trying to go as fast as I can = crash really bad.

Everyone got ready to race, and rumor quickly spread that the officials were canceling the bike portion. Sure enough, 15 min prior to race start, the bike got nixed. Then -- all suited up and a feeling a little constricted -- we all set off to the shoreline, in the pouring rain. We didn't have so much as our feet in the water when the lightning started. They called us all quickly out of the water and we huddled under a pavilion while the storm passed. Meanwhile, everyone's crap in transition was getting soaked.

While waiting, we had the pleasure of listening to one of the founders of the first Ironman event in Hawaii in 1978 talk about how he and his military buddies came up with the idea for the event, where the distances came from, and what it was like to participate. (His homemade protein shake which he drank during the event consisted of milk(!!) + some diet protein powder + honey + raw eggs. yuck!) He was a really cool and down-to-earth guy. On the run he was handing out Gatorade!

After the lightning passed about half of the field chose to continue and we quickly got back in the water. Off we went! It was COLD even with the wet suit, and I felt really sorry for the few people without them. I realized if I hadn't had one, I may not have been able to compete. We swam out and around an island, which was cool. It provided some good scenery. It was 1,600 yards out, around and back. I did the swim in 27 minutes. Come to find out, I was one of the first women out of the water!!

Transition took me a solid 2 minutes, as I nearly fell over trying to get the wet suit off my legs and feet. lol. Yes, I put on body glide, but I still had trouble. Then it took a while to dig my shoes and raincoat out from my wet pile of crap. I finally got going and felt great despite the rain. The out and back run was SO scenic and pretty. We ran on a levee where one side was green pastures and the other was Lake Chatuge. Looking out, I could see the shore where we started the swim and the island we swam around. The mountains in the background made the run go seem to fly by, as I was focusing so much on the scenery and less on the pain. lol.

The rain cleared on the last of the 4 miles, and I finished the run in 36 minutes. That's a total time of 1:05. Good enough to earn me 6th place overall for the women. I was first in Athena, as there were no others. I would have been second in my age group had I raced it. I was 29th out of women and men.

I was very happy with how I felt and how I did at this race. Although canceling the bike portion was the right decision for the weather (and I don't question their decision at all), I regret that we couldn't do it. This was to be my fist "long" tri. I was amped up, nervous and excited to go the distance. I feel like I was a little robbed by not being able to do the bike. Even though I participated, I feel like I still haven't truly done that longer-distance tri I was seeking. Alas, there's not a conveniently timed one on the calendar for the rest of the year. Guess I'll have to wait till next year to prove my stuff.

As for now, I plan to do the super-short sprint tri at Lake Lanier in two weeks. It's only a 400 yard swim, 12 mile bike and 3 mile run. While the focus of my ill-fated international distance tri was to do my best and just make it through, my focus for the one coming up will be to try to kick ass. There's already a LOT of folks registered, so my chances aren't that great, but for whatever reason, I seem to do well with this whole triathlon thing, so maybe the gods will smile on me at Lake Lanier. Keep your fingers crossed.

Shhhhhh...Don't Tell Hashi

2006-09-20T09:10:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's true. I've become one of those folks who wears a heart rate monitor while exercising. I never thought I would be...but the anemia related heart flutterings and shortness of breath were the final push to pick one up.

I'm sticking as true to my anti-HRM stance as possible, though, by refusing to pay kaboodles of bucks for all the bells and whistles found on many of the newer, flashier, high-tech models. I'm just using the low end Polar monitor. It has a stopwatch, tells me my heart rate and stores one workout. I can set a high and low zone and it can beep (or not) when I get higher or lower than what I want for a specific workout. And that's about it.

It's pretty easy for me to keep in the low and easy zones on the bike. Did a 4.5 hour downtown ride on Sunday and never had any problems keeping it on track. The running is another issue. I'm going to spend some time treadmill running so I can get some ideas of what I need to to do to keep that on target. Haven't tried it in the pool yet. That will be a real adventure.

I also promise not to become one of those annoying HRM proponents. You know the ones that put it on for a walk around the block with their dog and then proceed to detail each heartbeat to anyone and everyone regardless of interest or lack thereof.

I'll let you know if I get the running rate sorted. I plan to do base work on the runs too (long, low speed, low heart rate). So I hope I get it sorted out soon.

Nerves ... nerves

2006-09-19T16:39:00.000-04:00

It's only Tuesday and I'm already nervous about my tri this weekend. I'm starting to do my usual over-think and over-analyzing of things. Typical. I'm being hyper-sensitive to how my body feels and find myself waffling on my usual pre-race exercise plan this week. To swim or not to swim ... that is the question.

Lately my body's kinda had an all-over tiredness to it. Perhaps I'm over-trained, but I really don't think so. I think it's more like my body knows my season is coming to an end and it's preparing to go into winter hibernation. lol. I don't want to do too much this week and have a residual soreness for the tri. Then again, I don't want to take it too easy or I'll feel like a slug. Ah, choices. I could hit the pool tonight ... or I could sit on the couch. But if I sit on the couch tonight, I'll definitely have to hit the pool tomorrow. I've got about another half hour to sit here at work and make up my mind.

The thought of the actual tri itself has me nervous as well. It will be the longest distance tri I've ever done. It's called an "international distance," which best I can figure is somewhere between "sprint distance" and "Olympic distance." The swim is 8/10ths of a mile, or 28 laps in my pool, or about 29 minutes depending on how frisky I feel. The bike, at 16 miles, will be a non-issue. The run is 4 miles, which is a mile longer than the runs in the tris I've done before. Although I'm not a fast runner -- at all -- I think I can maintain a 10-minute-mile pace for that portion. Plus, I'm not too proud to walk.

My goal for this event is to finish strong. I want to control my heartrate and asthma on the swim. I want to go my own pace and not hurry my stroke. I want to feel strong and refreshed on the bike. I want to pass people and use the bike leg to make up time. I want to start my run without my asthma kicking in (as it's prone to do when running after riding). I want to run a lot more than I walk. I want to have enough energy to sprint -- even if it's 20 yards -- to the finish line. I want to regret nothing.

Most of all, I want to eat a lot of Mexican food when I'm finished.

50 Things About Mallie

2006-09-16T10:21:00.000-04:00

Just got back from a four mile run (all right...since I'm just getting back into full swing there was about a 1/2 mile of walking) and have a little time to kill before I head out to do some trail work at East Macon...so having seen various 100 and 50 things lists on some of the other blogs, thought it'd be fun to let some of you folk who read know some of the lesser known things about Mallie. I mean...we're already blog buddies...so why not get to know eachother. I encourage all of you to do the same so I can come up with even better comments to your posts!

(edit) I couldn't sort out all 50 things at once. So now I'm back from two hours of trail work and I'm doing all I can to get to 50.

1. Mallie is not my given/legal name. It's Mary Lynn.
2. My eyes were blue until I was six years old. Then they started their turn to the current green.
3. I've had all my fingers and toes (excluding thumbs) broken at least once.
4. I don't eat any vegetables except corn, carrots, lettuce and cucumbers...I do however love fruits, so I do get my vitamins.
5. I met my husband on the Internet.
6. I double majored in history and political science
7. I spent the first twenty years of my life as a resident of the state of California.
8. I wore braces for over four years. My gums were so strong my teeth wouldn't respond to straightening methods, so I had to have gum surgery to make them "less" strong.
9. I am one of five children, and each of us has the potential to have our birthday to fall on a holiday (one sis Easter, one sis Mother's Day, two of us girls Father's Day, and my brother Labor Day).
10. My "type" throughout high school and college was pretty much the exact opposite of my husband.
11. I absolutely cannot wear socks to bed no matter how cold it is. They drive me nuts.
12. I played soccer (goalkeeper, which explains #3 and sweeper) from the time I was six until my second year of college.
13. I was on the track team in high school, but I didn't run. I threw the shotput and discus.
14. I only medaled once in my track career...though I had good form and technique most of my competitors outweighed me by 50-100 pounds (no, I'm not joking).
15. My 65 pound dog thinks he's a 10 pound cat and likes to curl up in my lap on occasion.
16. I have two tattoos.
17. I don't like anyone, even my husband, rubbing my neck. Thus I don't do massages.
18. My one attempt at yoga involved me kicking a wooden block across the floor and nearly nailing another yoga newbie!
19. I absolutely love Christmas and make quite a lot of my my gifts, packaging, wrapping paper and cards.
20. My biggest pet peeve is tardiness...it really sets me off, especially in business situations.
21. Another high ranking peeve is folks who ride bicycles and don't wear helmets.
22. Folks think generally my little sister and I look like twins or look nothing alike...never in-between.
23. I was made fun of for saying "you guys" instead of "y'all" when I first moved to Georgia.
24. Fifteen years after moving to Georgia I still have no discernable accent and people still ask me to slow down when I'm speaking to them.
25. My husband's cat was diabetic...and yes that means we gave him an insulin shot daily.
26. My favorite song is "My Dream Girl Don't Exist" by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel.
27. Though I'm kind of an indie music snob, I do like some mainstream acts, especially the Killers.
28. My mom passed away in 1995 after spending almost two years in a nursing home after a stroke. She was only 55.
29. My sister and I called my dad "Jorge Cafe" as a joke, since his name is George Coffey.
30. I once patched together a split exhaust pipe with a shoelace...and got myself home after seeing sparks flying out from under the car on Interstate 75.
31. I used to be a commodities broker. I helped clients buy and sell agriculture futures on the Chicago Board of Trade. Yes, that includes pork bellies.
32. My little girl nickname was "punkin".
33. As I got older my dad started calling me "meathead".
34. My stride is as long or longer than men several inches taller than me, as I was daddy's little girl and I did everything to keep up with my 6' 3" father.
35. Though I enjoy reading anything and everything, there's nothing like a little chick-lit when you want an easy read.
36. I used to love the Piers Anthony "Xanth" chronicles.
37. I'm a very light sleeper.
38. I sleep with one of those nosemaking machines set to the "wind" setting. My husband calls it the wind-jammer.
39. I've recently fallen in love with kayaking...I'm currently saving up for a new kayak.
40. I had numerous concussions as a youth, mostly soccer related accidents, but none since I took up mountain biking.
41. My feelings get hurt pretty easily.
42. I flush spectacularly when I'm nervous or angry.
43. I love planting flowers and plants, even from seed, but I'm very bad about maintaining said plants.
44. I love mythology and folklore...I'll read almost anything, fiction or nonfiction that has to do with King Arthur or Greek, Celtic or Norse gods and goddesses.
45. My sister and I used to amuse ourselves on long drives by harmonizing on Simon & Garfunkel tunes.
46. My favorite snack food in the world is Cheese Puffs, but I prefer to leave the bag open over night so they're stale and chewy. YUM!
47. I once had a cat named Tybalt, after the Prince of Cats in Romeo and Juliet.
48. I adopted a cat in January this year after she was abandoned at a local mountain bike trail. I named her Turkey Trot after one of my favorite sections of the trail.
49. My favorite ice cream flavor is a toss up between German Chocolate Cake and Birthday Cake.
50. I was deeply saddened by the death of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin.

M.I.A.

2006-09-13T20:19:00.000-04:00

Yeah...I've been away too long. Had to do some sorting out, some prioritizing, some thinking. Nothing too heavy...nothing for any of the regulars to worry about. But it's just in the past two days that I've felt like getting back on track. Enjoying the biking and running, the paddling and swimming. Cuz for a while it seemed routine and forced. I had to step back, much like Renee wrote in an earlier post, and remember why I'd set goals, why I'd worked hard to get to the level I was last at, why I do want to get to the next level.

So, it's the same journey... the destination is still the same. I just needed to pick a new route.

So, yes, I'm back and Renee doesn't have to hold up the blog alone anymore.

34 miles + 1 gear = FUN!

2006-09-11T15:39:00.000-04:00

The Four Hours of Pig Trail, as it's officially known, was Sunday. More affectionately, the 4 Hours of Pork, or Pork-a-thon, was a great success and a whole lot of fun.

This is the first time the event's been held, and it was a grassroots sort of race, strictly to raise money for the Georgia Industrial Children's home, on whose land the Pig Trail resides. It's a great cause and you just can't beat 15 bucks for 4 hours.

When I built up Sweet Susie Singlespeed a month or so ago, my goal was to do the Pork-a-thon riding it. Riding the SS is tough but fun and I really needed a goal to work toward. So I thought that if I could manage to ride for four hours in one gear, I'd be an official member of the Singlespeed Army.

Well, give me my stripes, lieutenant, because I did it.

My plan was to try to get in 4 laps in the 4 hours -- which was more like 4.5, because you could depart for another lap up to 3:59. I did the run start at more of a trot, and Beth and I were some of the last folks into the woods. Beth wanted to ride the first lap with me, so that she wouldn't go out too hard and then bonk later in the day. I didn't want to be in front of the fast folks cause I knew I'd just slow people down. Let's face it, the Pig has a lot of fast, flat stuff, and with one gear, I can't keep up with the folks who can throw it into big ring and pedal away. So we started in the back and turned a nice 45 min lap (we estimate, as there was a run start and then a parade lap). Beth took off on the second lap, and I didn't see her again until the finish.

I pedaled on, and each lap the hills got harder and harder. Toward the end I was having to walk a hill or two that I normally can zip up. Laps 2, 3 and 4 continued with no major incident, and I was tired but still excited to be on the bike. My lap times were fairly consistent with about a 45 min lap, with a few minutes of break time between laps. After the fourth lap (my goal) I stopped at the tent, ate a banana, and decided that since I still had 40 minutes till the cutoff, I should go back out for a fifth lap. Off I went. The fifth lap was very hard, and I was hurting pretty bad. It got to the point where in the flats I just cruised along, pedaling slowly. I just wanted to finish strong and walk as little as possible.

I finished and come to find out, I finished in 3rd place! 3rd out of 5 women. Everyone else had gears, so I thought I would finish last. I really surprised myself with riding that long, and sticking with it on the SS (I brought Baby Rush out as my backup bike just in case I couldn't hack it and still wanted to ride). Beth finished 2nd place and got in 6 laps! Another local rider, Donna, took 5th -- so we had a nice local showing on the women's podium!

You know, sometimes you race and finish well and are proud of yourself for making the podium. And then other times you race and finish poorly but are still proud you did it. This was one of those races that, no matter if I had finished 100 out of 100 riders, I still would have been proud of myself. I thought it was an almost unachievable and crazy goal to hop on a SS for four hours after only riding one for a month. I even doubted if I could do it. The fact that I finished on the SS, and did one more lap than I had expected, meant so much more to me than taking home that 3rd place medal.

In true Renee fashion, I pigged out last night on brats, beer and ice cream! That whole "ride to eat" ethic is strong in me!

One final lesson I learned yesterday at the 4 Hours of Pork: I CAN do a six hour solo event, maybe next year -- and maybe on a bike with gears.

We Beat Boys

2006-09-05T15:03:00.000-04:00

The 13 Hours of Santos was a blast! It helped, of course, that we beat boys.

I was on a 3-girl team with Beth and Courtney. The day started off with Courtney doing the run start and first lap. She set me up with a great time. My first lap went smoothly, except for a few places where I chose to let a string of people pass. The trail was great. It started with a mildly technical section called "Sink Hole." It was very tight with 90 degree switchbacks, lots of roots in treacherous places and a few croppings of rocks. Aside from about 3 spots, I cleaned the section. What followed was this sadistic hill called Magic Mountain. I learned quickly that it took me a lot less time and energy to just run up the beast, so that's what I did. After that, it was flat flat flat! Lots of wide, sweeping trail with no obstacles. It was super-fast and the corners were ones you didn't really have to brake through. SO much fun. Then came the dreaded "John Brown" trail. It reminded me of Razorback. Up and down, rocks here, there, everywhere. Roots, trees, steeeep ups and downs. Whew! I was able to ride about 70 percent of it -- and I felt like I was doing great! It was funny, at the end of the night, in the dark somewhere near 11 p.m., I cleaned this one particular section that I hadn't made in the daylight. Go figure!

So after my second lap Beth headed out and I ate some food. Then I started to feel REALLY sick. I laid down on the ground with a cold towel on my head and sat up a few times feeling very sick to my stomach. Then Courtney headed out on her lap. I must have passed out at some point, as the next day Beth and I were catching up and I don't remember anything between me laying down and Jake waking me up. Then I don't remember much other than Beth standing over me saying "Do you want me to take your lap?" I must have mumbled yes, because she went out for me. We basically traded laps, so I was next up. After drinking some water and walking around, I felt a lot better. Jake decided to ride my lap with me since I wasn't feeling good (he was racing the solo class). What a good boyfriend.

As an aside -- I think the heat sickness was a direct result of tubing down the Rainbow River for 4 hours Saturday afternoon. I put on a lot of sunblock, we all did, but I was as red as a tomato. It was too painful to even put on my sports bra until I had to change to ride. Ouch! And here I am, on Tuesday, still looking like a tomato! My super-white, redhead boyfriend didn't even get this burned. WTF?

Here's me and my good boyfriend before I was feeling ill:

Anyway, as soon as I started riding again, I felt better! My upset tummy went away and so did my killer headache. I even turned the lap about 5 minutes faster than I expected, and when I rolled past our pit, Courtney was still standing there. I hollered at her and she sprinted over to transition.

At some point we realized we were racing for first place. The second place team was hot on our heels all day. It started to come down to the wire and they were catching up -- did I mention their team was 3 guys and a girl? So Courtney went out with 58 minutes till cutoff, which was 10:30 p.m. That means she would have to turn a 58 min lap in the dark. She was turning 57 in the daylight, so she had a big job to do. The opposing team's rider went out 5 min after Courtney -- so he had even less time to make it. I suited up in hopes she could do it and the ENTIRE pit crew gathered in transition with me to wait. Courtney came out of the woods with 30 seconds to cutoff and we all cheered her in. She got in with 20 seconds to spare! I took off on my final lap and was radioed a minute later with the news that all I needed to do was finish to win. The other team hadn't made the cutoff, so we were one lap up on them! Wooo-hoooo!

I took my time on the last lap and played it safe in the dark. Another rider had started ahead of me and we rode together the entire time. Knowing I was the last person out, it was nice not to ride completely alone. We came across a kid (13 maybe?) lost in John Brown. His light had gone out and he was terrified. So we walked him out of John Brown, and then rode him out the rest of the way. About 1/2 mile from the end a search party came in looking for him. Poor thing. Good thing I didn't have to hustle on that lap, cause there's no way I could have left him out there in the dark.

So as soon as I came in the awards ceremony started. Beth, Courtney and I -- and a big-ass trophy! -- all managed to climb onto the podium. It felt REALLY good. We went into this race thinking we didn't stand a chance with only 3 people on the team, and being all-female competing in a class where the only requirement is 1 female teammate. Our game plan was to ride hard and have a great time. And we decided beforehand that if somehow we found ourselves in podium contention, that we'd give it all we could to make it happen. And it did!

Here's a shot of us on the podium. Props also to the third place team, as they are locals and friends (from left, Sarah, Diana, Angie and Steve) and to all the other locals who put in a good showing:

I've awarded each of my teammates an MVP award for Santos, here's what we got:
Courtney: For turning a 58 min lap under extreme pressure, in the dark, securing us the final lap for victory.
Beth: For taking my lap for me when I was feeling sick, even though she'd just eaten a sandwich.
Me: For going from spending an hour and a half passed out on the ground nearly barfing to turning a lap five minutes faster than expected.

Now I'm totally excited and stoked about the next mtb endurance event -- although it probably won't be till next year. Now I turn my sights on the 4 Hours of Pork this weekend. It's all for charity, and I'm doing it on my singlespeed. It will be the longest amount of time I've spent on that bike, so I'm looking at this event as a personal challenge. Happy spinning!

Before I have to hear ...

2006-08-23T17:24:00.000-04:00

"Hey Renee, where were you last weekend?"
or
"Hey Renee, why aren't you racing this weekend?"

Let me just say that aside from the ankle/foot issues I've been dealing with during the last two months I've had a few other realizations about why I ride. I've taken a look at how I ride, when I ride, why I ride. And I've realized that the super-competitive spark I once had for cross-country racing has waned. I guess after four years of racing the same trails (more or less) the thrill was bound to wear off. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy doing some of the races -- I showed up for Helen and Carter's Lake -- but I've found myself wanting a greater challenge, something to keep my goals fresh.

So my great realizations basically equated to this: when I ride, I don't ride to train. I really can't push myself to "race pace" when I'm not actually racing. Race pace is usually not fun. And I ride for fun. I also ride for the health benefits. Forcing myself to "train" for a cross-country race will sometimes make me get out and ride even though my body is telling me to take the day off. I've unfortunately had some bad races because I didn't listen to my body and back off with the training. While going over a new obstacle is always a challenge, I'm comfortable with my skill set on the bike, and am just looking to stay strong, not make any more great strides in speed. And with the cross country races getting faster and faster (or maybe the competitors are just riding harder and harder) you have to constantly get faster to stay with the pack.

So ... for the handsful of folks who've asked me where I've been lately (ie, not at the last few cross country races): I've just been riding. Having fun out there on the trail. Staying strong. Staying positive.

You know, when I set my goals for the year in January, I didn't anticipate losing the desire to do the cross country races, and so my calendar was full of them, as has been the case for several years. So, I'm making this post just to let folks know that I'm not chickening out, I'm not out of shape or unprepared, I just have a different plan in mind.

Also at the beginning of the year I made it a goal to do at least two or three triathlons. Enough to get a taste of the sport and to give it a fair chance. I never realized I would enjoy them as much as I do. And that's right, I REALLY have enjoyed the one's I've done this year. Afterward, I wasn't left with that "it's just another race finished" feeling. I was excited. I was exhilarated. I loved it! So in altering my exercise schedule to reflect my intentions to keep on doing the tris, something had to give. Cross country gave. Then enter the single speed. I really have developed a love for riding it. It's a new challenge on the bike!

I still plan to stay around the cross country scene ... but more like this year, where I race a handful of races -- basically the races on the trails I really love. And as for the local races, I get too stressed out trying to help organize the events to actually race them. Plus, I've lost count of the number of times I've raced at the Pig. lol.

Good luck to the locals who are racing this weekend at the Pig. In the words of GoFastPops, anyone who is willing to strap on a number and get on the starting line has my respect.

Happy riding!
:)

Photo land

2006-08-17T11:07:00.000-04:00

Was digging through some recent photos on the camera and decided to download a few and put them here on the blog.

This is a photo from the mini-vaca Jake and I had in Charleston.

Here's one I me from the 7.5 Hours of Dauset. I've just been lazy with getting it posted!

Beth and I had a nice road ride on Sunday. It was her first time on a road bike (she borrowed Karen's) and we did about 42 miles. The weather was cooler and breezy ... perfect!

The team got together last night for some photos ... here are the ladies (minus Graham) of Max Cycling! Karen, Erica, me and Beth:

Since the last post I've managed to followthrough and actually join a gym. Now that I'm paying to swim, I'm pretty much guaranteed to get into the pool twice a week. The first two swims have been disappointing, but then again, after not having swam for two months, what can I expect, right? Hopefully I'll be back on track in no time. Today will be my first run since I twisted my ankle ... again ... early last week. I am following the doctors orders and running on a flat, even surface ... concrete!! I really enjoy trail running and it's a shame that I can't hit the trail for a while, but I really don't want to take the chance of twisting the ankle another time. So, it's pavement for me. Yipee!

Hope all you folks out in Cyberville are having a lovely and productive week.
:)

Sweet Susie Singlespeed and other news

2006-08-07T13:18:00.000-04:00

So I have officially joined the singlespeed revolution. Yes, that's right. I've gone shiftless.

It's taken a while to get the old girl built up into something ridable. Several years ago when I got a new(er) hardtail, I couldn't bear to part with my first real bike -- a '99 Schwinn Moab, dark blue with silver racing stripes! She was beautiful then, and she's even more beautiful now without all those gears cluttering up her lines. Granted, she's seen better days. She lived in my storage closet for a while, was robbed of parts when I needed them, and when Jake pulled her out of storage, all that was left was her frame, fork, stem, wheels, seatpost and crankarms. And as it turns out, for a SS, that's about all you need! I robbed another bike of a saddle, pedals, dug up some old grips I'd won at a race, Jake gave me an old handlebar set and brake levers. We added new front and back gears and a chain and voila! She lives!

Now I never thought riding the SS would be easy. I was prepared to have my butt handed to me and appreciate our local Pig trail in a whole new way. My first ride on her was just through the pines section, flat, flat, flat. It felt good. My second ride I decided to try the whole trail. I managed to finish, but had to get off the bike FOUR FREAKIN TIMES!! By the third ride I'd learned how to accelerate BEFORE the hills, carry my speed and maintain my cadence, and only walked twice!!

I thought I was just creeping along the trail, and although I had made progress in the climbing and handling of the bike (which, with an OLD Judy Rock Shock is a FAR CRY from the way my new Lefty responds to roots and such) was still bummed about my speed. My third time on the bike it took 50 minutes to ride the trail. Saturday it took 45. Apparently I'm making progress! Now if I can just continue to shave 5 minutes off my lap times, I'll eventually be able to keep up with my boyfriend.

Speaking of the boyfriend, he officially now answers to Gonzales, as in Speedy Gonzales. He's been out there turning laps on his SS with a 16-tooth ring. He rode everything but Chandler's and decided to change to an 18 ring to be a little more ridable. lol. I'm cruising along in my 20, and he's whooping my arse! I think he plans to race the SS in the cross country race Aug. 27. While I'm bragging on him, he just earned two B's in his classes over the summer!

In other news, I decided to bag the tri on Aug. 19th. Ever since I heard about the gator found in lake Tobo, my swimming has stopped completely. I refuse to swim in that lake. Refusing to lake swim has left me with no where to swim. I've been resisting paying to join a gym to use the pool, but at this point, that looks like it will have to give. So ... I'll be re-joining the health club soon to get back into swim shape. Couple that with an ongoing struggle with my feet -- blog readers will recall my issues with plantar fasciitis and assorted foot pains that began in late May. I still am only running once a week, and that just won't cut it for being competitive in a triathlon.

I just don't feel ready for this event, and refuse to show up and pay $60 and give it a half-ass effort. In exchange, I've added to my schedule a triathlon in Hiawasee in late September. It's longer than any one I've done before, so it will be a real challenge. Something to work for, something to look forward to ... kinda like riding the SS for the Four Hours of Pork (http://4hoursofpig.blogspot.com). Go sign up. It's for charity.

AR Photos

2006-08-01T09:30:00.000-04:00

These are just screen captures of proofs from the photog's site. Not sure I want to purchase. It really stinks when there's no one taking freebies at an event. After the dough spent on an AR, who has the extra cash to shell out on mediocre photos!?!?

UTM plotting

Out on the water...

Changing the tire...

Lori at the finish

Courtney at the finish

You'll notice there are no photos of me at the finish...more than likely because I was sitting on a bench that felt suspiciously like a boat in open water with my head between my knees!

Adventures in Adventure Racing - Part 1

2006-07-31T14:22:00.000-04:00

OK...I'm still feeling a bit off sleepwise. My body's still not back on track after spending well over 24 hours up and about, coupled with some serious exertion and plenty of time feeling nervous. But I'm ready to report on the race. I'm doing it in two parts...as it was a long race, thus it's a long race report.

The tale begins with Jeff and I heading to race headquarters in two vehicles a little after 5 p.m. Jeff had the canoe on the back of the truck, while I had the bike and all of our boogie boards in the Aztek. As we were stopped at the last main intersection before heading out toward the lake, we saw on the digital sign outside the bank that it was 101 degrees. Since those digital signs rarely factor in humidity and heat index, I'm guessing 105 was more accurate. HOT!

The next several hours were spent checking in and sorting gear and packing it into dry bags and getting our packs as light as possible without forgetting anything important. I'm guessing my pack weighed around 20-25 pounds. Sometimes we'd have our PFDs attached, and once we hit the bike leg I then added on one pair of sopping wet trail running shoes (we were able to leave our bike stuff - shoes, helmets, lights - with the bikes when we dropped them off). So lots of weight on the back.

At 11:30 we were given our maps and we began plotting UTM points. Really, Lori and Courtney plotted UTM points while I held the maps down and used my fingers to mark the large coordinates while Lori did the fine tuning. At midnight we were given the go ahead, but we waited a few minutes to get the last bit of plotting done and headed off a few minutes after midnight.

The race began with a prologue before you could set out toward the first checkpoint. It involved a swim across a small inlet to a tree with a glow stick and a password. I did the swim, and for a moment was excited because I thought I'd get a break from the heat. No such luck...the water felt like a hot tub...it was sweltering. There were a bunch of nasty clingy vines in the water making it harder to stroke and kick, as they grabbed you. When I got across I was so thrilled to see I had to climb a shear muddy incline to get the password. Yippee. Even more thrilled when I saw that the password was actually "password". Sigh. Back across the hot tub to Lori and Courtney.

I'd forgotten this until now, but we weren't the first folks to give the password to the prologue checkpoint folks. So how come they directed the "what's the password?" question to Lori and Courtney who were dry and not to the dripping wet team member, that being me!?!?!

Courtney made our start on the paddle a lot easier by purchasing some wheels for the canoe. The thing is HEAVY and we had a semi-long haul to the boat launch. We made it look easy. The wheels came off pretty easy and we set out for checkpoint 1.

Navigating at night, on the water, is just about impossible. We followed the other boats to CP1 and Lori and Courtney hopped out while I stayed with the boat and punched our card for the CP. Then things got tougher. Lots of boats had gone off in different directions, so Lori and Courtney were stuck reading the maps by headlamp while I paddled the whole time. It was impossible to see inlets or to see if large masses of trees were made up of a single island, or two or three. So we overshot CP2 and 3 and made the choice to just head out and try for CP4.

Prior to this we'd run aground in one of the lake's low spots! I hopped out to pull us off, only to find that after several quick steps on land I somehow ended up to my armpits in water. WTF?!? How was I to get back in without tipping the other two out. This was, for me, my one real moment of feeling athletic. Thank goodness I have fairly decent upper body strength. I managed to heave my chest onto the side, while Lori and Courtney held the boat stable with their legs out over each side. Then I somehow turned into a gymnast as I pulled myself in like I was straddling a pommel horse, and I'm sure Courtney had a great shot of my ass, poor thing. Then I somehow pulled myself forward into the seat, then pulled my legs around. The boat rocked a bit...but we didn't have a tipping scare.

On the water on the way to CP4 we came across something really creepy. If it had been a cartoon it would be along the lines of the Corpse Bride. All through the water in front of us arose these silvery white tree trunks and limbs. They were all of varying height and breadth and were very otherworldly in appearance. The smaller ones were almost impossible to see. I spent the bulk of that leg on the water peering through squinted lids, hollering for hard paddling on one side or another to get us around these nasty spectres. Courtney had a go at them once we punched CP 4, and Lori got us through the worst of them at the end as we made our way off the lake to the bikes. After more than five hours on the water.

We punched in for CP5, got our shoes swapped and put on gloves, helmets and lights. Right before we were ready to head off Courtney's light went out. She didn't freak out...she was calm and simply swapped her nice bike light for her headlamp and we punched out for CP6 and were off. That left Lori with the only really bright lamp, but the first leg of the bike took us through some neighborhoods, so street and porch lights added a bit of illumination.

Courtney had lived in that neighborhood before her move up north to Jasper. So we swooped and swerved through the quiet residential streets and found the checkpoint lickety split. So good to get to one easily. We were able to drop off our PFDs at this CP, leaving them atop our boogie boards for the swim. We quickly got some food down and were prepping to head out for CP7 when I looked down and saw I had a flat.

to be continued...

Pack Chafe

2006-07-30T12:27:00.000-04:00

I'm still muddling over all that went on, so anyone waiting to read about my first AR has to wait just a little longer. It was an experience. I truly enjoyed it. But, I also learned I have a lot to learn!

Blackberry bushes scratched and punctured the legs pretty good during the trekking and bushwhacking portions of the event. But the only real injuries sustained came from my pack (first time I'd warn it for an extended, damp period).

It looks, and really is pretty minor, but it does hurt and it's going to be sleeveless shirts for a while, as any rubbing really aggravates. Luckily it is the end of July in Georgia, so sleeveless shirts are quite doable! And, yes, I have a matching pretty on the other arm!

bikes and boogie boards, canoes and a compass

2006-07-26T10:27:00.000-04:00

Well...with the 12, no make that 7 Hours of Dauset behind me (I was on a duo with my fellow Sorella, Linda Demma. We came in 17th out of 18 duos...but as Renee noted they didn't break us apart into 2 men, coed, and 2 women sub-categories, so we consider ourselves to also have finished 1st as we were the only 2 woman duo), my sites are now set on this weekend's 12 Hour Ocmulgee Adventure Race.

The race involves paddling (flat water, but at night), river swimming (thankfully not at night...but there are snakes and wigglies in the water) on a boogie board (with or without flippers - depends on if we want to carry them around afterwards...but the swim is being bandied about as being 4 miles long), biking and hike-a-biking, orienteering (hence the compass), trekking and whatever other silly tasks they decide to throw in. Sometimes you have to sing, dance, do mental challenges.

We're required to carry two liters of water, but we also have to carry some sort of filtration system. Makes sense, because I went through two liters in less than two hours of biking at Dauset.

The big deal is going to be keeping gear to a minimum, while at the same time ensuring we have all of the mandatory items. We have to haul this stuff on our backs/shoulders throughout the event (through water, on the bikes, whilst running, whilst bushwhacking, basically all the time.

Then there's Mother Nature to factor in...the forecast calls for the chance of rain pretty much everyday for the next ten days. Murphy's Law leads me to believe it will hold off until 12:01 Saturday morning (perhaps I didn't mention this race starts at midnight and goes to noon the next day) and then let it rip all over us. We not only have to read and orient on a map at night...we also have to make sure the darned thing doesn't get soaked. They make rainproof mapcases, but still.

Nutrition is going to be key too. Since we're going to be going against our bodies' natural clocks, food is going to be extra important to keep us moving and "with it".

All that aside...I'm really looking forward to it. Right now my team is in a class by itself. We're the only three woman team. In fact we're the only woman team. All the other categories are co-ed or all men at this time.

Couple Dauset Pics

2006-07-26T10:19:00.000-04:00

My duo partner Linda about to swap with me after
her first lap. That's Maconga's own Beth behind her.

Me, with a silly face, but mud free, before the first wet stuff.

Short(er) but sweet!

2006-07-25T13:07:00.000-04:00

The 12 Hours of Dauset, scratch that ... let me start again:

The 7 Hours of Dauset was this weekend, and man did we have fun!

We arrived Saturday morning to what was the greatest landmass comprised solely of popup tents I had ever seen. Seriously, we must have had like 10 tents strung together to form our mass compound, aka, the OMBA/CGC/MAX pit area. It was great!! It was huge!! It was surprisingly well organized!!! It was filled with lots of exclamation points!!!!

Our race got off to a great start. My teammate Charles was setting down some great lap times, and I was able to keep my ave speed right around 10 miles per hour -- pretty good for a 10 mile loop! The skies threatened rain all day long, and eventually the bottom fell out. It was odd though, I wonder what Charles did to piss off Mother Nature, as it was dry on my second lap, rained on his, trail was muddy but no rain on my third lap, POURED on his next lap. Poor Charles! He got all the rainy laps! I got 3 miles into my fourth lap (this time it was actually raining on me) and the race got canceled. I weighed the "continue and screw up my bike, slip in the mud and break my arm, ruin the trail" option against the "bail out now, I bet the tent is nice and dry" option ... yeah no contest there. I bailed. Some hard-core folks (read: Monte and Don) finished their laps and it seriously upped their standings!!

Overall I had a great time. Our co-ed two-person team was scored against the 2-person male teams and the 2-person female teams. For simplicity's sake, ok, that works. But from a competitive standpoint, it just ain't right to score the ladies against the men. Now, I'm a hardcore feminist, and I don't mean anything derogatory here, but if women were of the same physical abilities as men, the Olympics wouldn't have sex-separate events. ya know? So ... maybe next time we can get the promoters (who are AWESOME folk) to break out the male, co-ed, and female teams separately. So overall we finished 13th, and if it had been just the co-ed two-person teams, we would have finished 2nd.

So what's coming next on Renee's Massive Race Calendar of Doom??? VACATION!! Yep, me and Jake are taking a few days off to bum around Charleston, SC. Anyone been there?? We're going bikeless and running-shoe less (as opposed to shoe-less running, which is a whole different sport altogether). After that I'll start gearing up for my next tri at High Falls!

Oh ... and as a teaser ... coming this fall/winter ... CYCLOCROSS!!

Long live long rides

2006-07-17T15:22:00.000-04:00

So the 12 Hours of Dauset is now nearly upon us. This will be my first 12-hour event as a duo. I've done them on 3-person teams several times before, but never a 2-person. I was getting a little panicky last week, you know, the usual "what am I getting myself into" thoughts. But now I've calmed down. All it took was one long ride.

First off, "long" is always relative. I don't get to do a lot of long rides. Most of the events I train for are short (again, it's all relative). My norm is the mtb cross country race, 12-18 miles depending on the course, fast as I can. Then there's the triathlons, all sprint distance, and usually over in 1:45 to 2:15. So if I'm on the bike for more than 2 hours, it's a long ride.

Saturday I headed up to Dauset where I met Mark D. for a road ride around the Jackson area. There's a tri coming up at High Falls State Park, and last weekend was pretty much the only opportunity I had to ride the bike course. So we got in a nice 20-mile ride: 1:10. As soon as we finished we chugged some water and met a big group of locals at Dauset Trails for a trail ride. We rode one lap of the 12-Hour race course, and boy was it fun! It combined several elements of the trail that I love, some in surprising new ways! The Huff-N-Puff Extender. Fun. Turkey Trot (in race direction). Fun. Bootlegger. Fun. Climbing Pine Mountain? eeehhh, fun the first time, but I bet not-so-fun after about hour 8.

The best though? Sandy Creek backwards! I've been a long-time lover of riding Sandy Creek the "normal" way. It's faaaast with nice swoops and little drops. When I saw the course profile last week, I was thinking of Sandy Creek and how it's mostly downhill, translation, mostly uphill race way. I was moderately trepidatious. Not after riding it! It was like a totally new trail. I had a blast. As it turns out, it's fun backward and forward!

After lap one we hung out in the parking lot, munching on peanut butter sandwiches and waiting for nightfall. It was just getting dusk so we sat around for a good 30 minutes before strapping on the lights and heading out for a night lap. Sometimes I don't like riding at night. I guess it depends on the trail and the company. Two girls alone out at the Pig Trail kinda creeps me out. Dauset wasn't like that though -- of course it helped that there were about 10 of us. So the night lap went great. Nothing much weird out there to trip you up in the dark. It was so nice and cool by that time, it felt wonderful. I think the night laps at the event are what I'm looking forward to the most.

So that brought the trail tally to a little more than 20 miles in a little more than 2 hours of ride time. Add that to the road ride, and I had a nice, long ride Saturday. Enough to work out the "can I really ride ALL DAY??" jitters.

Sunday I took it easy and am planning one hard ride this week before I start tapering off for the race. I'm extremely anal-retentive and obsessive about making sure I have everything I need, washed, packed, complete with a list -- so I imagine I'll spend a good amount of time Thursday and Friday fretting over my packing. But at least I won't forget anything, and no matter how Charles and I finish at the race, at least I'll get in a long ride.

Now all we need is a fun and creative team name. I was telling my boyfriend that I wanted my team name to be "Team Jan's Not A Doper." Wouldn't that be nice to hear over and over? But Jake (who's racing solo) threatened that if I did, he'd race as "Team Yes He Is." lol.

Any suggestions?

Gear of a different kind...

2006-07-15T15:11:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know. It's been ages since I've posted anything. But I figured some of you were tired of reading about my iron levels and their determination to keep from rising to acceptable levels. So I've been kinda quiet. But I've missed blogging. Missed digital conversations with many of you. So I'm back. Plus, Renee was getting kinda lonely being the only one keeping the blog updated!

So after a long 4+ hour trail ride with Namrita yesterday, and a pretty packed day of paddling and orienteering/trekking planned for tomorrow, I took an easier ride today. I hadn't been downtown on the MTB for months. It was going to be hot and muggy no matter where I decided to ride, so I figured I'd maximize mileage and spin with a road ride on the knobbies. I hit the levy for a little grass resistance work...but the back half hasn't been mown in forever. I soldiered through face high grass for about a quarter mile and decided that was stupid. So I stuck mostly to the asphalt. 23 miles in just under two hours. It was hot and sunny so my tan got another boost. Plus, it was hot enough that the riverwalk was deserted. I didn't have to go offroad to miss trail-hogging walkers who refuse to use follow the rules of staying to the right and ill-mannered children who pay no attention to the fact that folks might be coming their way on a bike.

But the best part of the day was before my ride. Trolling the camping gear aisles at K-mart this morning, getting my individual gear ready for my first attempt at an adventure race. It's July 28th. It starts at midnight. So we'll be trekking in the dark. Paddling in the dark. Trying to find points on a map in the dark. Hoping to correctly read a compass in the dark. Yep...I purchased my first emergency blanket today. It's all folded up tight, looking like compressed aluminum foil. I bought a knife. Down here in GA hunting and fishing circles that's pronounced "NAAHF". I got the requisite compass...and am praying el Jefe will give me a refresher lesson on using it tonight! I've got a head lamp...as my helmet light won't last for 6+ hours of dark. Amazingly this wasn't to be found in the camping area...nor in the do-it-yourself area. It was over in electronics next to the CDs and video games. Weird. I couldn't find a flare or a waterproof lighter. So I'll have to go hit Dicks or Academy.

A few days ago the paper reported a dead 10 foot alligator was found on Lake Tobesofkee. We'll be in and around water for the entirety of this race. I'm hoping that no other modern day dinosaurs are going to be around. The race includes paddling and river swimming...I'm kinda hoping for a rogaine format with the swimming at the very least taking place once it's light.

More on fine-tuning for my first AR coming soon. Of course we've (Renee and I) got a 12 hour MTB race next Saturday. So you may be hearing about that too!

Carter's L-ache

2006-07-11T14:22:00.000-04:00

Yes indeed. My legs did ache at Carter's Lake.

Jake and I went up Saturday morning to prepare our campsite and get in a preride. We knew preriding a place like CL the day before the event was a bad decision for the legs. But we wanted to be familiar enough with the trail to know when to let go of the brakes on the downhills, so we rode anyway. Despite our attempts to take it slow and granny the whole trail, it's difficult not to over-exert yourself on some of those climbs.

The camping was great. The weather was in the 80s and we put up the tent sans rain fly to stay cool at night. It dipped into the low 60s so I was glad I brought a thick blanket just in case! We were up bright and early at 7 a.m. to gather our belongings and drive to the other side of the lake for the race.

The race start was heinous. It was a torture-fest for sure. About 1/4 mile straight UP a road. And when I say UP, think Brasstown. Yeah. Then drop into the trail for a nasty long downhill, which was VERY sketchy!! The rest of the trail continued in similar fashion, up down, up down, up down, repeat. I'm not sure it was actually flat anywhere.

So the legs were hurting from the get-go and I resigned myself to just finishing the race strong and not killing myself trying. That was until I met up with an expert rider on previously mentioned scary downhill (which we rode through at the end of each lap). So as not to be accused of slander, I'm only going to refer to him as 352 -- not that it was his race number or anything ... and not that if you want to know who it was you can look up the Carter's Lake event at goneriding.com

... So 352 comes up behind me hollering for me to get out of his way, that he's an expert rider and needs to pass. Now, I'm familiar with this situation, as I often get passed by the top end of the experts. And every time, I do all that I can to quickly get out of their way. But on this particular downhill, going anywhere but straight down the line down the hill was out of the question. So I told him I couldn't move and he'd have to wait. He insisted quite loud and angrily that I needed to move out of his way. Let me explain, you can't stop on this downhill, and you can't pull over off the trail. It's that steep and sketchy. So I told him again I couldn't move. He proceeded to tell me that "oh well, he'd just have to force his way around me." And that's what he did. And it scared me so bad that by the time I got to the bottom of the hill. I was having a full-blown asthma attack. I was off the bike for 10 minutes trying to regain my breathing. I managed to get back on the bike with the support of a female beginner racer who happened to be at the bottom of the hill spectating. I managed to pedal out the last lap, very slowly, and with rapid and irregular breathing -- all because he couldn't wait the 30 seconds it would take to reach the bottom of the hill.

When I finished, I immediately approached the promoter about 352's actions. They called him over and our verbal confrontation led to another asthma attack. To say I was "worked up" was putting it lightly. He defended his right to pass and made a reluctant and forced apology that wasn't in the least sincere. The announcer defended him saying 352 was a nice guy and had been racing a long time. Well, I've been racing 4 years and have never had another rider treat me that way on the trail. So shame on him!

The good news is, karma always wins out in the end. Come to find out, not long after his "ill-timed pass," as the promotor put it, he broke his rear derailleur and had to DNF. Guess you reap what you sow.

I finished 5 out of 7 and was SO glad to see Jake waiting on me at the finish line! It was a tough race, but I'm glad I didn't let my slow legs and a rude racer get me down.

Nolite te bastardes carborundorum!

On a final note, for my day job I'm a newspaper editor. I occassionaly write. I did a column that printed Sunday about camping in the summer time. To read it, go to http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/living/14980338.htm

Update

2006-06-28T09:15:00.000-04:00

Remember my last post ... the one about bad things happening in 3s?
Well, I discovered Sunday that I had broken not 1, but 2 spokes on the rear wheel of my hardtail. That's got to be No. 3. I must have broken them during the tri, as they weren't broken before. And they weren't just loose, they were completely broken off at one end. lol.

My wheel is at the shop now getting fixed -- but that's OK, because with Carter's Lake coming up, it's ALL RUSH, ALL THE TIME, BABY!!!
:)

Operation Iron

2006-06-26T07:33:00.000-04:00

First...before I even get started on my post. SUPER HUGE congrats to Renee for her finish at her first Xterra Offroad Tri. She was fantastic!

Where was I? I was a course marshal on the run course. I had a phone call from the doctor Thursday morning with the results from my latest blood tests. Hematocrit levels still too low for endurance activities. I'm registering a hematocrit level of 31. The low end of normal is 36. He'd like me at 37-38 before I do endurance events in the Georgia heat. The heat, humidity and adrenaline could lead to heart attack. Yep. Soon as I heard those words, I knew I wasn't going to be ignoring the doc. I was going to bow out (sure I sniffled and blubbered a bit...I'd been working really hard to get ready) gracefully.

So now I'm on a pretty regimented diet and supplemental plan. I basically don't ingest anything without looking at the overall iron in the food. I'm taking large doses of iron supplements and ensuring I'm getting plenty of Vitamin C at the same time, which helps iron absorption. I have to give up caffeine, which can keep the body from absorbing iron. That's been rough. Today's my first full decaf day. We'll see how it goes.

Honestly, I have to blame myself here. The past two weeks I've noticed some of the side effect symptoms coming back and I've ignored them. Wanting to prep for the tri as much as possible I ignored the vertigo and fatigue that were making themselves part of my daily routine again. I ignored the darkening circles under my eyes and I ignored the return of insomnia. I ignored the fact that I was back on the couch every couple of days, lacking the energy to get out and bike or run in the heat.

So, no more ignoring my body and it's cues. I'm being very strict with this diet and there will be no skipped iron pills because I was "busy" and forgot. I'm keeping a journal and marking my meals and supplements. I'm going to do my two races in July. I'm going to have normal hematocrit levels. 'Nuff said.

XTERRA ROCKED!!!

2006-06-24T19:09:00.000-04:00

I just did my first Xterra this morning! I had a blast!!

It was at Arrowhead Park, so I went into it knowing the mtb course really well. I've done two other tri's before, both road tris. This was my first off-road event and going into it I was already really stoked because of my mountain bike background.

So the weather was actually cool this morning -- well, cooler than normal. It was like 85 instead of 105!

We had a beach start and then hit the water for a 1/2 mile swim. I felt really good on the swim. I was able to control my breathing (damn you asthma) and it felt much easier than the last tri. Ironically, despite feeling easier, my time in the water was exactly the same!! 19 minutes. I was about 3/4 of the way in the pack out of the water and by minute 22 (i think) I was on the bike.

The first couple of minutes on the bike I felt like I had gelatin for legs, but I quickly regained my senses -- and good thing because the first mile or so is the most technical (for me anyway). People (I suspect those who hadn't preridden the course or who weren't true mtbers) were biting it left and right. I can't even remember how many people I saw crash in front of me. This made the first few miles a little challenging to maintain speed, but I ended up passing several women! Lap 2 of the 5 miles course went the same as the first, and I only lost one minute in time.

As an aside about the mtbers, before the race I saw a guy in the transition area who had a blue schwinn moab. It looked EXACTLY like my first mtb (which I still have and is in the slow process of being converted into a single speed). So I said hi and told him how much I love that bike, that it was my first, etc. His reply?? "Yeah, well, it's not my bike. I borrowed it from a buddy. I ride on the road. I've never actually ridden a mountain bike before." JESUS! Right then I made a mental note to get IN FRONT of this guy going into the woods. lol.

I felt good going into the run -- until I actually started running. My strategy was to make enough of a dent on my competition on the bike part so that when my slow butt started running I wouldn't be passed by them. I was a little fearful of the run as I've been battling plantar fasciitis issues and have only run twice in the last month.

The run was difficult, as I expected. I remember thinking for at least the first 5 minutes, "oh my god, I can't run, my legs won't move that fast, holy crap, i have 3.5 miles to go." But in the end I only got passed by about 4 women, and none of them were in my age group. The best part about the run, though, was that my PF didn't hurt AT ALL! The run course was 2 laps of a 2 mile circuit, out and back. Out was uphill, back was downhill. Again, I only lost one minute on the second lap.

I finished strong -- my definition of strong is glassy-eyed and drooling (you mtb racers know what i'm talking about) -- and felt great about my performance. I had set a goal of 2:20, and did it in 2:17!! And, as it turns out, I managed to finish 2nd in my age group!! I got some sweet schwag, which I'm sure will be pillaged by Jake. lol. I finished no where near to Kate, who was well ahead of all the women, but I finished several minutes (or maybe it just seemed that way) in front of the third place girl.

ironically, the third place girl turned out to be the girl who finished just ahead of me at the Memorial Day Tri. I remember catching up to her on the (memorial day) run only to have her pull away at the end. Well, as a twist of fate would have it, I was beat her this time around.

Lot of people out there took pics, so hopefully somebody will email me one and I'll post it when I get it, although I refuse to post any drooling photos. lol. So all in all I had a great time, and wish I had another off-road tri on my calendar this year. I'll have to see if I can dig one up.

In other news, bad things happen in 3s right? Flat tire on my bike last week. Flat tire on my car this morning (which I discovered as I was leaving to go to the tri). What's next?? I have 3 more bikes, which one will it be??

There's no 'hell' in Helen

2006-06-20T20:52:00.000-04:00

This weekend brought the Fat Tire Fest in scenic, historic, downtown Alpine Helen, Ga. This year the trail was dry (after several straight years of rainy race days), and the weather was, well, not as hot as it has been lately.

Sat morning Jake and I met up with Grant and Chad and headed out on a pre-ride. The trail was not as relentlessly hilly as in year's past, and despite the 1,000 feet of climbing per 8.5 mile lap, it was fun and fast. There was only one nasty, rocky climb that everyone walked up (including the guys on my pre-ride). One or two of the climbs were real killers -- they just kept going and going and going. But I jsut kept pedaling and pedaling and pedaling, and made it up just fine. I was starting to feel really good about Sunday's race!

Sat afternoon we tubed down the "Hooch." For those of you who have not had this particular experience, just don't bother. Really. We had to walk the tubes often because the water was shallow, and there were so many drunk Rednecks and teenagers, it was ridiculous. Seriously, I think we all wanted to quit about 1/2 way into it.

So Sunday brought the race. It was AWESOME. It was my first straight mtb race of the season, and my first racing against all age-groups of women. I knew I didn't stand a chance against some of them (and I'll argue that one or two should be racing expert at this point), but I thought I stood a good chance against some of the others. When the race started I was in the back of the pack up the looooong hill and into the singletrack -- which was usual, as the asthma prevents me from making fast uphill starts. I passed two ladies after a minute or two, and spent the entire rest of the time chasing down Nikki, who I caught glimpses of every now and again through the woods.

At one point I came up on Dean, who had taco'd his wheel in a crash and was taking it easy for the rest of the race. He paced me through the field and up a few hills, I slowed him down on the downhill switchbacks, and just when he was thinking of dropping off my wheel on a climb, he saw another guy up ahead, made the realization that if he passed that guy the he wouldn't be last, so he hopped back on my wheel and off we climbed! I lost Dean at the start of the second lap, but I think he stayed ahead of the other guy and didn't finish last.

Speaking of not finishing last, I finally caught up with Nikki on a climb (what's that you say?? Renee caught someone on a CLIMB??). Yes, on a climb. But she's killer on the downhills, so she quickly left me in the dust. One dropped chain later, I never caught back up with her. I talked to her after the race and she said I made her ride faster cause she kept being worried I would finally overtake her. She made me ride faster, too, so it was mutually beneficial, even if she did elude me in the end.

I finished the day 6 of 8, and beat Elizabeth -- who I NEVER beat -- so I was happy!! Elizabeth is a strong rider, and I'm sure she was having an off day, but I still felt good about it.

I've never been a great climber, at all. So to beat some people on one of the series' most hilly courses made me feel really good about myself and my abilities.

Jake and Grant finished respectably in their races. And SUPER STAR Beth took home a fourth place podium spot in her FIRST EVER MTB RACE!!! I've been riding with her since she first got a bike (IN JANUARY) and it's been so fun and encouraging to see her progress like this. Very soon she'll be outriding all of us!! Watch out Expert ladies!

Now I'm looking forward to Xterra next weekend. It's gonna be hot and painful, but I can't wait!!
:)

Thank you, Steve Madden

2006-06-15T10:24:00.000-04:00

First off, I'd like to take a moment to welcome back some old friends into my life -- and just in time, too! Welcome back Doc Marten, Nine West, BCBG, Calvin Klein, Etienne Aigner, XOXO, Merrell and last but definitely not least Steve Madden. Welcome, one and all!

I went to my massage therapist last night to check on the progress with the plantar fasciitis. I ran Tuesday night (first time in 2 weeks) as an experiment to see how my foot would respond. The run itself went good. I hadn't lost any speed, and the foot didn't start hurting until around mile 3. But the hurt was different than PF hurt. It was more of an ache. Come to find out from Missy, it was a good ache.

She said the PF looks like it's healing and the ache is the rest of my foot becoming accustomed to bearing weight when I run, so the stress on my PF is reduced. Sweet! I got "permission" to run again, once or twice a week for a few weeks, then more frequently. I still have to run in the insoles, ice my foot and wear that damnable sock-brace thing at night. However, I also got permission to welcome back my old friends -- REGULAR SHOES!! Stylish, strappy, summery sandals. Platforms, wedges, heels, oh my!

OK so I'm not jumping back whole hog into the shoe fashionista I truly am. My "permission" extends to 2-3 times a week in regular shoes, rest of the time in the tennys and insoles. Today I started easy, in a beloved pair of Steve Madden, black platform sandals. They're mostly flat, so there's not much stress on my foot. Oh! How I've missed them.

I almost turned traitor last week. I even got in my car to do the unthinkable ... shop at Payless! Gasp! I was so tired of wearing the same old tennys day in and day out. And you can't wear tennys with cute summer skirts and capris, so I set out to buy some cheap, disposable "shoes" that could fit my insole and look a little better with work clothes. I didn't find anything that I could bear putting onto my feet. I think it was a sign from God. How close I was to straying from the good and holy path of shoe snob. Thank you, Steve Madden, thank you.

In other, and slightly less blasphemous news, my ride at Camp Thunder last weekend went great. All the climbing (500 feet of elevation in the first MILE) felt really good. I feel like I'm heading into the Helen race this weekend on strong legs. Compared to last weekend, the climbs will be a cakewalk (2,000 feet of elevation over 16 miles at Helen). And I've always loved the trail at Helen, even if most of the races have been mud fests. This will be my first true MTB race of the year. All the women are racing against eachother, regardless of age group. So I stand to get my arse handed to me with aplomb ... but at least I'll put in a good showing for myself ...

... And after the race, when I slip into a comfy pair of Merrell flip-flops, I'll have a big smile on my face. Win or lose.

Invented a New Extreme Sport

2006-06-12T09:41:00.000-04:00

RAILROAD RUNNING!!!(don't try this at home, kids.)

Our usual running club's group run route is on a road that runs parallel to GA Hwy 41. (Yep, same hwy 41 the Allman Brothers sing about in Ramblin' Man.) There are railroad tracks up on a hill between the two roads. When Scott and I reached the point where we planned to turn around, we decided for a change to run on 41 instead of going back the way we came.

Y'know, there's apparently a good reason our club doesn't run on 41. The traffic will kill you and keep on going without thinking twice. So we decided to cross over. We climbed the hill to the railroad tracks and then realized that there was a pretty wide stretch of kudzu between us and our intended route. (Kudzu are vines that are often full of snakes-you'd have to live in the southeast US to really get it. To give you a mental picture, that's an abandoned house in the picture.) So we ran the railroad tracks for about a third of a mile and it was SO-MUCH-FUN!!! I'm sure it's illegal and I certainly don't endorse it as a regular activity, but it was either get run over by a car, be bitten by rattlesnakes or run the railroad for a few minutes. We chose the lesser of three evils.

Running while watching to make sure that each foot hits the next railroad tie feels almost like playing hopscotch. I'm still amazed that I didn't turn my ankle between a railroad tie and the gravel between them. Not to mention the slightly naughty and dangerous element. :D Cars and other runners down on the road watched us like we were crazy - and they were right, but we didn't care. Alas, we got to a road that crosses over and our fun had to come to an end. But we definitely accomplished our goal of injecting some variety into our long run!

Hot, hot, hot!

2006-06-11T08:16:00.001-04:00

The weather channel gives a reported high of 99 degrees yesterday, but several thermometers in the sun were reporting well over 100 degree temps. YIKES! It was hot folks. Really hot! Humidity pecentage hovered around 70%. Lots of fluids were ingested and lots were lost.

Met Renee for a swim/run brick. Of course she was biking as her plantar fascitis is still a major issue. Managed to have a horrific swim...first having a nasty attack of some sort which left me very red in the face and gasping for breath (not sure if it was a panic attack or a low blood oxygen moment). I think it even freaked out Renee a little bit, and she's old hand as she's managed her asthma for years. Guess it's hard not to get a little weirded out when your swim partner looks like a tomato though in 70 degree water! She was a pro though, and got me calmed down. Thanks Ree-Nee!

Managed to cut my foot on a rock as we were exiting the water. Luckily I could tell it was a rock, something natural, and not a broken bottle or metal. SCARY. Renee had some antiseptic wipes and a band-aid...so I was able to clean up and do my run. Fortunately the cut was pretty minor, not much bleeding. Unfortunately, the contact with the rock also caused some bruising and a little swelling. So my gait was off, leaving me with two sore feet instead of one. Oh well. It'll all clear up pretty quickly.

Meeting one of my Sorella sisters out at the tri-site this morning. Going to do a half-Xterra on the slow and steady. 400-ish M swim, 1 bike lap, 1 run lap. It's gonna be hot as Hades again, and I'm beat from a pretty long and steady week of exercise and heat. TGIM, as Monday's an off day that my body's telling me I need.

Sorry the posts aren't really exciting right now. It's just plodding away as the race nears. I'll try to spice things up more if I can. Who knows...maybe with my string of minor mishaps something funny will happen!

Dip baby! Come on and dip baby!

2006-06-07T11:57:00.000-04:00

So does anyone other than me remember that horrible dance floor song?? Well, we ain't talking about that kind of dippin! We're talking the double dip, Arrowhead style. So as you loyal blog readers know, I endo'd there a few weeks ago. The endo resulted in a sprained ankle. I ran the Memorial Day Tri on a recovering ankle (one week after the crash). A natural tendency toward foot problems -- my massage therapist says it's based on the structure of my feet -- coupled with the ankle, coupled with the running, has resulted in a wonderful strain called plantar fasciitis.

Don't all you runners out there just cringe hearing those words? They are the words most dreaded by any runner. Why? Those words mean you don't need to be running -- at least not till you heal. Great. For the laymen out there, plantar fasciitis is where you pull the tendons on the bottom of your foot. Those particular tendons are the real tight bands that run from back of your heel to your toes. And when you pull them, it HURTS!!!

So I'm not allowed to run for a few weeks, this presents an immediate problem as the Arrowhead tri is in, um, 3 weeks. The MT said I could probably try running next week. Once. On soft grass. Let's hope it goes well. In the meanwhile I'm wearing ONLY tennis shoes (do you know how hard that is in summer??? Especially considering I JUST bought the most adorable pair of Nine West wedge sandals). I'm wrapping my foot in a bandage while I sleep. I'm icing it twice a day. And I'm NOT RUNNING!!!

In the meanwhile, instead of improving my running, which was my goal for this tri, I'll just have to improve my bike lap times and my time on the swim. As noted in Mallie's post, we hit the water twice out there this week, and I've had good swims. I have a difficult time pushing myself to race speed when I'm not actually racing (this applies to cycling as well). So when I did about 800 meters in 24 minutes yesterday, I was happy. That's way slower than I did in the Memorial Day Tri, but ... like I said before, I wasn't actually racing.

After the swim last night I hit the trail for a lap with Beth and Jake. We turned a nice 41 min lap. The bad? That's a lot slower than what I turn when I don't swim first (37-38 min laps). The good? I rode the DIP baby!! I had a solid mental block on the thing after the crash, but Jake was insistent I ride it, and I've learned when not to argue and just comply! lol. So I rode the dip. OK. Not as bad as I thought ... I didn't crash, and now I have no qualms about riding it again. Bring it!!

So the moral of my story is: face up and ride your dips, train like you race, be kind to your feet and RIDE MORE!!

My $&@#(^%$^#%@* Friend Murphy

2006-06-07T09:41:00.000-04:00

Well...it's really not that bad. No need for the harsh icons in my title, but wanted to get your attention so you'd read about my bout with Murphy's Law. So my last post about Dangly McDangle at least elicited a few laughs. More so on the forums than on the blog. I did not go ass-over-teakettle on my trail run either...so all was good. Had a nice easy ride at the Pig on Friday...just wanted a day to enjoy the trails and get a little spin on.

Saturday was National Trails day. A group of about twenty of us went out to prep the trails for the upcoming Xterra Triathlon on June 24th and the GSC Mountain Bike race the following day. Renee and I were in a group that wandered the run portion, as we don't bike over there anymore and we weren't sure about the conditions. A good bit of trimming was all we could do at the time, some mowing will have to be done closer to the day of the event. Unfortunately the map we were using didn't make much sense at all, so we still don't know for sure if that's what we'll actually be running during the tri. At the very least, we know it's something close to what we cleaned up and it's a much nicer run than what we've thus far been practicing. Woo Hoo!

The chain gang...I'm in the front in the blue tee, Renee's
next to me in the yellow and Beth's behind in green!
Thanks for the photo, Mark D!

Renee had to get back to get the lunch ready, so the rest of us met up with the main group for some real trailwork. Carving a new section. This involves using shovels, heavy duty rakes and sometime axes to clear trail. It's hard work, and in June in GA it's hot work too. As our luck would have it we came across two downed trees in the midst of the chosen new path. One was looking kinda rotten so while a chain saw was found for the other, a few of us started chipping away at what was rotten. Quite soon we were down to healthy, hard tree. I had the axe so figured I'd kill time by hacking away. I cut through an entire tree with an axe. I felt so very Paula Bunyan. A fellow trail worker cut through the other side of the obstruction and we moved the tree before the chainsaw finished dealing with the other one. Strong enduro girl...grunt, grumble, grrrrrrrrr. After some grub I did some open water swimming with Debbie & Renee and then ran while Beth rode a lap.

Well...suffice it to say Murphy didn't like my spur of the moment strength training. I woke up with sore arms on Sunday, which I expected, and flipped my plans from Sunday to Monday (Monday was going to be an off day). I took it easy and spent the day with the husband and ate lots of food. My plan was to do two hard laps on the bike on Monday. Alas, Monday came and I was unable to wrap my left hand around the steering wheel without pain. Apparently I bruised/pulled something in my hand, along and under the thumb. Any pressure whatsoever on the inner heel of my hand or any tight grip caused severe discomfort. Arrowhead isn't the kind of place you can ride with a loose grip on the handlebars. A ride was out. I could have just pussed out and taken another off day. My body probably would have liked it. But I was good. I swapped days again and hit the gym. I decided I'd spank Murphy by getting in an awesome swim and maybe doing a little machine running. Swam 3000 yards, hard, and then hit the elliptical for two miles followed by two miles on the treadmill.

Murphy spanked back with sore arms. As I was supposed to open water swim with Renee, this was most heinous of him. Screw you, Murphy, I thought. Renee won't be upset if I take it easy on the swim. She just wants someone there with her. I hit the park early to tackle the running trails again. I figured I'd do 2-3 two mile loops. I carefully tucked my keys into the armband of my MP3 player and took off for the first lap, leaving my water and Cytocrack in the car for chugging between laps as my hand still hurt to grip so I didn't want to carry my water bottle. The run felt good...though I knew the second and third laps would feel better as I'd have oiled up the muscles.

Swung back by the car and no key in my armband. CRAP! I must have thought I put it in my armband and instead locked them in the car with the house keys. I looked longingly at my two water bottles and thought of the phone esconced in the glove compartment. Nothing I could do but wait for Renee to show up, call the husband and have him grumble at having to come unlock the car. Sigh. With a little more than forty minutes to kill I set out for lap two (no I'm not that big an idiot...there's a water fountain mid-route). Gulped down some water with a lovely sulfur bouquet and kept on running. What's that...right in the middle of the trail? GACK! My keys. So glad they didn't pop out in a spot covered in weeds and tall grass. SIGH.

Those two laps went great. Gulped down plenty of the water and CC after the second and did the third feeling good. Murphy, I thought, you've had your fun with me. But now it's time you took a vacation. He didn't think so. In the water, happily having fun with Renee, side and breast stroking since my shoulders and arms were not wanting to crawl, I kicked funny during a side stroke and now the knee feels funny! GREAT. On a side note, Renee had a really great swim!

But I'm not beaten...though I'm bruised and a little wary. I hoped the hand would feel better and I'd be able to ride Arrowhead hard today. I probably could...but I'm worried at what else my body might decide to "tweak". So I'm going to err on the side of caution and hit the Pig for some spinning riding and then take a short, flat trail run before the bike club meeting tonight. I'm not beaten, but I'd also like to give Murphy a break. He's got to be tired after the last couple days!

It's European!

2006-06-01T16:10:00.000-04:00

Can someone please explain to me how a speedo can be both far too small and baggy at the same time? EGADS. There's an older fella at the gym who's not even remotely in shape. It's been bad enough watching him parade his big gut around in a too tight, too short t-shirt and short shorts as he traverses the gym's cardio equipment. But now, alas, my pool time is corresponding with his. And it's bad...so very, VERY bad and wrong...wrong, wrong, WRONG! I'm not a fan of speedos at all, being completely honest here. But men that are trim and sport a nice, well fitting, full coverage speedo don't bug me anymore. I've gotten used to it doing the swim thang. But this fella. It just isn't right. It bags in the front and disappears in the back. Could anything be more wrong than that? I almost wish his gut was a little bigger, it'd cover the offending baggy dangle in the front.

On a side grumbling note...I was doing a 900 yard timed swim (so it measures out to a little over 800 meters) and this reject gets in the pool for two laps with the kickboard, then climbs out and manages to lock himself out on the atrium. I ignored him for 50 yards, then just couldn't be quite that bitchy...so hauled myself out and let him in. 500 yards in, of course. He apologized in a half-assed way and I grumbled assent.

Better hope for an attitude adjustment in the next hour or so before I head out to trail run. Or else I'll hit a root and end up ass over tea kettle for a banner day!

Macon Triathlon Pics - Memorial Day 2006

2006-05-31T12:05:00.000-04:00

This is the only action shot we got.
Scott & I actually finished together!

We trained together, so I guess for once in our lives we happened to be going at just the same pace.

Kinda sweet, huh?

____

Someone yelled at me just as I was dismounting the bike going into transition, and I almost fell when I turned my head to see him.

Battle wound! Yeah, baby! :)

It's actually a little worse than it looks; It's all scabby & swollen - ick.

One advantage, though. It's bad enough for me to intentionally wear skirts and heels to work all week so people will say, "Ooh, what happened?" :)

____

The best part - hugs from my neices.

I'd planned to grab the little one and carry her across the finish line while the other one ran with us, but I didn't realize they finally made it to the race until we were right at the finish line.

Maybe they'll be inspired to try some races later anyway.

____

Reprezentin' for my Zentri Army peeps:

Forgot the gang sign. (Sorry, guys!)

You can hardly see it, but the sign says Triscoop.

____

Family portrait with our dream bike:

I'm either blowing you a kiss, or asking the photographer to wait a sec while I get the chocolate Clif Bar out of my teeth.

Believe whichever you choose. :)

Ok, here it is . . .

2006-05-30T23:48:00.000-04:00

As you might have already realized by the lateness of this race report, I’ve been looking forward to writing it about as much as a middle-school book report – for a book that I didn’t read.

Let’s just say that the season can only get better.

It’s not the fact that I didn’t place that bothers me. Heck, one more birthday and I’d have been second instead of fifth in my division. And I’d be proud of my time because I beat my 2:15 goal by a minute & thirty-five seconds, but what’s gotten under my skin is that I know I didn’t really try that hard. In fact, I trained much harder than I raced. I’d give you a play-by-play, but what it comes down to is that I just didn’t leave it all on the course. And that's just not me. I don't do anything halfway.

Interestingly enough, it feels somehow as if I cheated. I remember during the swim looking ahead and seeing a full third of the swimmers cut the corners by swimming to the right of the buoys instead of going around them. I was disgusted that anyone would actually cheat in a triathlon. I thought to myself, “No WAY I’m doing that. What’s the point of doing a race if you can’t feel good about the way you did it?”

I was right. What WAS the point?

Since I never want to feel this way again, I've decided it would be best for all concerned that I make the following announcement:

*daintily clears throat and takes a sip of water*

IF YOU'RE ON THE SAME COURSE WITH ME FOR MY NEXT RACE, YOU'D BETTER STAY OUTTA MY FRIGGIN' WAY!!!

*sits down gently, crosses legs at ankles, smoothes skirt, folds hands in lap and smiles ever so sweetly*

The preceding announcement goes for everyone except Renee. NINE minutes ahead of your goal time!?! You're my new hero! Forget parading a stinking trophy around the office - you should be wearing a CAPE! And to think I knew you when you were only “this tall!” *sob* Our little girl's all grown up!

I can't get blogger to cooperate with me today, so pictures will have to follow later, folks. And let me apologize to any Triscoopers reading out there. Sorry, but I wasn't able to deliver a Moonpie transition shot. Someone borrowed our camera and didn't get there until we crossed the finish line. Maybe next time. ;)

My second tri

2006-05-30T13:08:00.000-04:00

Yesterday brought hot weather and the 20th annual Macon Triathlon! It was my second tri, and considerably longer in distance than the first -- let's remember that "considerably longer" is relative. The first tri was 600 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 3.2 mile run. The Macon Tri was 1/2 mile swim (that's 800 meters for you metric system folks), 20 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. The first tri had the bike and run sections split into 6 mile bike/1.5 run/6 mile bike/1.5 run. This tri wasn't divided like that -- so it seemed a lot longer!

I arrived bright and early and got all my gear in place. I wasn't nearly as nervous this time around. The only thing that worried me was the mass start. At the last race we went off in waves, but this time we were all starting together. When the gun went off I hung back a few seconds, letting all the hammer heads get a good start in the water. I really don't care enough about my time to warrant getting kicked in the head. The swim seemed L-O-N-G and I had to flip over and do my (now standard) backstroke/side crawl/freestyle swim. It may not be the fastest, but it serves me well. And I noticed this time that I wasn't the only one employing the backstroke technique. I set a swim goal (based on the last tri) at 20 min. I was out of the water at 19.

The bike went great. I just looked at it as a long TT, and used the people ahead of my as my rabbits as I pedaled along. The course was too long to pass a lot of folks, and I couldn't judge how much time I was making up. I passed a few people, and a few people passed me. I set a bike goal of 1:10. I finished it in 1:07.

The run was harder than I expected. In fact, I'd say it was the most difficult part of the tri. The 20 miles must have left me a little more drained than I anticipated, because I had a hard time running and felt like I was going a lot slower than normal. The course was 1.5 miles up hill, and 1.5 miles right back down. I had to break out my walk/run a few times on the uphill, but cruised down the back stretch with no issue. On the start of the run I caught up with a girl in front of me. She was in my age group. I tried to pace her as best I could, but she got away from me on that uphill. I was cruising along to the finish and when I got about 25 yards from the finish, the official standing there said "run faster! you have two girls behind you!" I didn't even bother to turn around to see if they were close my age, I just hauled ass to the line. I set a run goal of 35 minutes. I did the run in 31.

I finished the tri at 2:01!! That's 9 minutes ahead of my goal time. And I got THIRD PLACE in my age group. Sweet!!

I have no idea how many women were in my age group. The race organizers never posted up the results at the race, but said they'd be up online sometime today. Even if I was 3 of 3, my time was only 1 minute slower than second place, so it's not like I was far off. However, the winner in my age group was 6 minutes ahead of me.

This event has left me more stoked than ever about the Xterra race. Alas, I think I will SERIOUSLY get my butt handed to me at that event, but doing tris is just so much fun, it really doesn't matter. Hmmm... that's the same way I look at cross country mountain bike racing. Win or lose, as long as you challenge yourself, beat your personal goals and have a great time, that's all that matters ...

... although, showing off my third place plaque at work was pretty awesome.
:)

Triple Threat at Fort Yargo

2006-05-28T08:16:00.000-04:00

Wow...had a jam packed, tiring, but great day yesterday. Left the house at 7:00 a.m. to meet Lori and Pilar up at Fort Yargo for a full day of exercise and girly fun. A fender bender (I was a witness, not involved) threw me off schedule for about twenty minutes, so I arrived at 9:15 instead of the planned 9:00. One side note...what makes people think that, though the speed limit says fifty-five, they have every right to putz along at forty miles per hour? GRRRRRRR!

Lori and Pilar...hamming it up pre-swim

It was the first time I met Pilar, but the truck with two bikes in the back near the beach let me know I'd found the right girl. Lori was running behind too, but we made it down to the water at about 9:30. It being a holiday weekend the small swimming area was jam packed with kids...but we manuevered around them the best we could. The small swim area was okay when you were in the middle of your out and back, but the two ends were so shallow you could easily do a crab scuttle with your fingertips instead of a swim. I was pleased to see that my combo crawl/breaststroke manuever works fine and is pretty speedy. Haven't been in the water much lately, so was pleased to see I hadn't lost too much ground. The water was actually quite nice once you got yourself immersed.

Mallie & Lori...buddies until I threw her in (kidding!!!)

When we couldn't hack the kids anymore we headed in. A woman floating on a chaise offered us much praise for actually swimming and exercising in the water. Little did she know that the real effort was about to begin!

Pilar hasn't done much MTB riding and had crashed on her one and only ride at Ft. Yargo, so we couldn't convince her to join us. She has her first triathlon in a week so decided to ride her road bike and do a little pavement running. Lori and I hopped in our cars for the quick trip down to Entrance B so we could enter the MTB trails in a familiar spot. This was my second attempt at Ft. Yargo, the first being the disastrous pre-diagnosis ride on my wedding anniversary. That first ride found me barely able to slog around the course in the lowest gears of my granny ring. Happy, happy day...I rode most of the trail in my middle gears of the middle ring and only had to resort to granny on the couple climby sections. Huge improvement, though I still have decided shortness of breath issues from time to time. The rain the previous weekend meant we got a bit filthy, but good soldiers that we are we rode straight through the mud puddles (so we didn't widen the trail or make ruts). They hadn't completed one new portion of train when I'd done my pre-ride, so I got to check out a really fun little downhill section that pleased me much more than my pre-ride option which was a second section of granny ring wide open powerline climbing!

Filthy and sweaty, but feeling good, Lori and I put more water in our camelback bladders, she chowed down on some trail mix and I chewed on a half peanut butter waffle (whole grain waffle instead of bread for something different). She grabbed her walking poles and we tromped off on a ninety minute hike. The biking trails are pretty up and down, but certain sections you don't notice as much on the bike, as some seem small in comparison to others. Let me tell you, when hiking, you realize how much up and down this course has. On the bike parts of it give you a false sense of flat. The trek really worked the hams and calves (I started feeling it after the two our drive home, and I currently smell like a Wint-o-Green lifesaver so you know I've got on the Icy Hot), as well as the lungs as you swung arms big time to get up some of the climbs. 45 minutes out, then back and it was 3:00 p.m.

Hot!!! Can you say hot! With the cars running we set the air conditioning to cool them down before we climbed in for our respective rides home. Then the fun of the parking lot change. There was no way we were driving home in the muddy, sweaty, buggy clothing we'd been in all day. Baby Wipes weren't enough. Luckily our swim towels were still damp, so they got the bulk of the mud off, then the wipes did detail work. If you haven't mastered the art of removing damp tight tri-shorts under a towel without losing said towel and flashing other folks in the lot, well you just haven't lived life. It's also fun trying to remove your filthy, damp top and get into a clean bra without flashing some hooter for all in view. But we managed, with careful manuevers between opened front and rear doors. And we called it a day.

I arrived home a bit sore, quite tired (I swear I have driving induced narcolepsy)and really happy with the amount of exercise. I can't wait to meet up with these girls again. Pilar plans to come down to the Maconga to test out the Pig soon and since Lori's joining Courtney and I for the adventure race I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot of her.

"hodgepodge"

2006-05-24T11:47:00.000-04:00

#1:
OK, so I am going to vent a bit.......I have been on my bike 2 times in the past two weeks. Yikes! I went out today and rode 25 miles on some side roads around Villa Rica. Craig and I took off the other day in the car and found three potential loops for us to do right from our front door- an 11 mile, 14 mile, and 25 mile loop. BUT.....now that my 4 kids (yes, "4" -no typo!!) are about to get out of school I am panicked about how I am going to find "ride time". I don't like the thought of leaving the minute my husband gets home every evening :-( but that may be my only choice. I am going to drag my 14 year old son to spin class w/ me 2 times a week though. Craig is set on us doing the off-road assault of Mt. Mitchell in July and 6 gap in September. If I plan on even attempting to do these or any other race for that matter I need to get my bottom on my bike!
Anyone know a free babysitter? :-) ha, ha!

#2:
Anyway..enough complaining.......I had a good ride today. My legs took a bit of time to warm up but after a few miles I felt great.

#3:
Craig and I are headed to North Georgia Thursday to camp and ride. We are going to ride roads and trails. Yippee! We are taking a long road ride Friday (which will include Hogpen gap and Brasstown Bald) then we are going to ride around Bull Mountain and Bear Creek Sat and Sun. Should be tons of fun.

#4
just for fun here are pics of Craig and I from The Cheaha Challenge Century a couple weeks ago. Great ride!!!

Circle of Life

2006-05-24T09:26:00.000-04:00

Nope, not going to break into the Lion King song. I just wanted to tell you guys about something pretty cool that happened the other day.

I was teaching a class at the Wellness Center. I don't have a regular one right now until my work schedule stabilizes, so I'm just on the substitute list. But anyway, I realized during the class that the WC (not water closet, for those of you who think British,) is the gym I originally joined when I was a "big girl." At that time, I'd never set foot in a class for fear of looking goofy, being the fattest one in there, or - horror of horrors - people see stuff jiggle. 34% body fat. Not good. And (*deep breath*) yep, that was me back then, bad hair and all.

But here I was TEACHING ONE! I've taught more classes in the past than I can count, but it meant so much more there. And then I couldn't help noticing through the window on my right this guy just flying on a treadmill. I had to do a double-take. He was wearing a t-shirt from a race that I directed! It's still hard for me to believe how much my life has changed.

I got an e-mail the other day from someone who was in my fitness program at work. She just wanted to let me know that she finally hit the 70lb mark and thanked me for helping her get started on the journey. I could finish an Ironman, qualify for Kona, and the Boston Marathon and never feel better than I did in those few moments. Ok, NOW I'm going to break into song . . .

Lazy Days

2006-05-24T09:04:00.000-04:00

I have a love/hate relationship with taper weeks. On the one hand, you feel mighty lazy. On the other, it's kind of nice to take it easy after all that training. I feel pretty good about the race, though. I rode the course often enough that there shouldn’t be too many surprises. I haven’t done the swim at Lake Tobosofkee, but I’ve done plenty of open water already so that should be no problem.

This may surprise you, but my greatest concern is the run. As you may or may not know, I’ve had some trouble with my left foot over the last several months, so I haven’t been running nearly as much as usual. Whenever I go for anything over say, 3 miles, it starts hurting again, so I have to swim & bike for a couple of days until it eases off. Kind of threw my training program off a little, but I tried not to let it mess with my head.

Sorry about neglecting the blog, y’all. I kind of got addicted to triscoop. I suppose I’ve been a little unfaithful. Forgive me?

Feeling good...

2006-05-24T07:30:00.000-04:00

Wow...what a difference a couple weeks make. Seriously...before finding out I needed to supercharge my body's iron levels, I had a hard time not getting winded on a walk around the block or a trip through the grocery store aisles. Now...a couple weeks later, I'm feeling almost like the old me. Almost...

The legs and other large muscle groups feel great. Running and biking (muscle-wise) don't seem to have been greatly affected. The lungs, however, aren't quite up to 100%.

That being said...I've had two really good workouts, two days in a row! I did speed work on Monday (running). Now, I'm a turtle, as you've seen me post before. I can shuffle along for miles on end at my turtle trot pace. But I'm not a sprinter...never have been. So...in an effort to test the lungs and maybe begin increasing speed, I set out for some 1/4 mile hard efforts. Pre-lengthy-poopy-feelingness I was running 10.5-ish minute miles when I pushed it a bit. So going in planning to push it a good bit I wanted to do some 2:15-ish 1/4 mile times. Not fast compared to anyone of you out there doing speed work...but I wanted an attainable goal for this first endeavour back in the "running shoes".

Imagine my surprise after my mile warm-up when I, the turtle named Mallie, ran a 1:58. Yep...and not on a flat dirt track. Up the slight hill on scorching Georgia asphalt that makes up my street...you could feel the heat pulsing off the pavement and slapping you in the face. My entire neighborhood ranges from mild climbs and descents to serious hills. Sure...again...many of you are putting in much faster splits. But I was freaking thrilled. Was it a fluke? Thankfully not. I hit right around the 2:00 minute mark on six of these splits in a row. I walked in between hard efforts and my second 1/4 mile is actually a little bit longer than a quarter mile, and I still hit the time (it's slightly downhill for part of it...so that's what I attribute the same time to). I got in a good warm up, a nice slow run after the splits and a good cool-down and felt great.

Then yesterday, again in my hilly neighborhood, I did standing high-gear hill repeats. Again the legs felt great and I was able to regulate my breathing and recover in a way I haven't been able to do in a long time. I finished off the day with an upper body strength workout and I was quite happy.

It's great to start feeling like me again, turtle and all.

Also, everyone...please send a few of your good vibes Renee's way. She had a nasty wreck on Monday (see previous post) and needs some quick healing in order to kick pardukey at her second triathlon on Memorial Day!

Crashes?

2006-05-23T17:43:00.000-04:00

I don't need no stinkin' crashes!!!
(ok, so, points if you can name the movie)

This weekend I had a great bit of actual training going on. Saturday I hit Arrowhead for a lap. It was slow and steady due to the CRAZY heat. While Beth went back out for a second lap, I tied up the tennys and jogged the trail. My legs felt like bricks! The heat was really taking it out of me. I figured though, better get used to it. It's summer in Georgia, and this heat ain't goin anywhere! After the short jog (ended up being like 40 minutes of jogging/walking/panting) I shored up my courage and jumped in the lake. Those of you who know what the water looks like on the Arrowhead side of Lake Tobo know what I mean. It was COLD and it felt great! I splashed around a bit and cooled off considerably.

Sunday I headed back out to Lake Tobo, this time the Claystone side, for a little swim. The water was cold at first, but felt great. I swam back and forth in the designated swimming area, dodging kids with swimmies and babies in diapers (um ... ew!). The asthma was a little harsh and I had a difficult time breathing, but hey, I'm used to that by now so I swam on.

Afterward I met my "escorts" Jake and Grant for a pre-ride of the Memorial Day Tri road course. I call them my escorts because they were both sporting their Max Cycling Team jerseys. I was wearing a plain red one. At one point they were riding two abreast in front of me, almost like they were my armed guard. It was a hoot. We didn't know which way the loop was being run, so we just picked a direction and went. Come to find out, we rode it backward, but from observation, I think it will be easier the race direction. At least I got a taste for it and a nice spin in! Sunday night brought some ab work -- gotta love those crunches -- that left my belly sore come monday! nice!

So after a successful weekend of riding and playing in the sunshine, I followed my race week plan and set out on one more hard ride for the week. I headed back to Arrowhead last night planning to ride 2 medium-paced laps. Well ... I was going along at a nice pace on the first lap and took the turn into the new section of the trail. I saw that double-dip thing coming and told myself I'd finally balls-up and ride it. So I head for it and all the sudden I realize I'M GOING TOO FAST!! so I grab and handful of brake ... a little too late ... and endo'd into the first dip. I sat on the ground for a while moaning and cursing, as I couldn't get my left foot unclipped during the fall and my bike came down on my back and rolled to the left, twisting my ankle as it went. I managed to get up and hop back to the double track, and one-foot pedaled my way back to the car.

This sucks. I crash exactly one week before the tri. My ankle hurts to walk on, and my knee on the other leg ain't feeling so hot either. It hasn't swolen, so maybe i just pulled some ligaments funny. Hopefully I can go for a nice walk tomorrow and see how it holds up. It had BETTER get BETTER before monday, cause I'm gonna finish that damn tri even if I come in dead last and limping!!!

Arrrgghhh!
p.s. yes, the bike is just fine.

The natural life

2006-05-22T16:57:00.000-04:00

I know that most of you know me as the girl who promotes the health benefits of wine, chocolate milk, fried chicken and pizza, but I swear I can eat healthy when I want to, and that happens to be most of the time.

After a recent trip to the nicest Kroger in town (the one on Zebulon Road) I became overwhelmed with the organic and natural foods offerings! Apple and pears! Boca burgers and tofu! Organic yogurt and whole wheat pasta! Oh my!

So I've sampled a few products for your reading delight. Go out and buy them. They are good, and no, I'm not being paid by any of these companies.

First up, True Lemon.

Ever hate the way water tastes? Even filtered water? Do you find flavored water too sweet? Do you loathe the taste of artificial sweeteners such as aspertame? Then you'll LOVE True Lemon. It's little one-serving size packets of crystallized lemon -- nothing else. It's like squeezing a fresh lemon into every glass of water, but without the knife and the lemon juice and people stealing lemons out of the company fridge. Look for it near the gatorade and Krystal Light in the grocery store.

Second up, Cocoa Via.

I first tried these when the company sent us a sampler pack at work, hoping we'd review them. We get all kinds of free crap (and I DO mean crap) at the paper on a daily basis. Most of it is, well, crap, but not Cocoa Via. Do you hate the way chocolate made for protein bars or low-fat Slimfast-esque snacks tastes? I do. But I LOVE Cocoa Via. These candy bars have only 80 calories and 2 grams of fat per bar. They taste great. Look for it in the organic section, near the protein bars.

Finally, Naked Juice brand fruit drinks.

From everything from straight-up juice to my FAVORITE, the protein smoothie, these little drinks are Y-U-M-M-Y. They are expensive, at like $3 a pop, but soooo worth it. The protein drink has 38 grams of protein and is all natural. It's made from blended fruit and soy protein powder. This is a great alternative for people like me, who can't seem to get enough protein in their diets, and don't like the taste of regular protein shakes. Look for it in the produce section, next to the vegan cheese and tofu.

Enjoy!!

A Day On The Water

2006-05-21T09:12:00.000-04:00

To quote Renee, I'm hooked!

Hooked up with Courtney, one of the team members for my first ever adventure race, which happens in late July. She hauled her big old flat bottomed canoe all the way down from North GA so we could indulge in a little paddling training. I've not been in any sort of paddled craft since I was very young and my prankster older brother got his evil kicks flipping me over in a tiny kayak. As I'm the biggest member of our team, I knew I'd mostly likely be paddling in the rear, meaning I had to learn about steering. Courtney was awesome, talking me through until I got the hang of it.

We started our adventure with plenty of ant killing. Court's mother-in-law and sister-in-law were coming to paddle too. They borrowed a two person kayak from a friend, only to find it infested with ants when we got it down to the launch. After much submerging and splashing, trying to kill the critters, we realized the boat was infested. Mom & Sis took the boat back to the friend and swapped for two single seater crafts. Here's Court and her sis-in-law getting one of them ready to launch.

I'm not sure why Courtney's doing the little leg kick thing...but hey...to each his own.

We spent some two + hours on the water...most of it was pretty benign paddling, though we found we were constantly pulled to the left a bit by the current. Courtney has some shoulder issues, so coordinating strokes was a bit rough, as she had to switch more often than we will during the actual event. We had a blast manuevering some of the large rocky areas of the river, as the water level was a little low. Sure, we came aground more than a few times, but between butt scooting, leveraging with our paddles and the occasional disembark we made it through. I mastered the back paddle and steering, though I did mess up from time to time in the heat of the moment. Court called out obstacles so we only had one potential tip occur. But we came out dry when we both shifted our weight properly as we barked up on the rock!

I can't forget our "third". Kali the wonder dog sat between us, grinning and sweet, for most of the trip down. She occasionally wanted some attention, so came and sat on my feet for a bit, and managaged to scoot up over mom's legs to pilot from the front as we came to our adventure's close.

Of course, no advanture would be complete without some foibles. As we wandered several miles and hours down the river, we remembered we hadn't moved a car to the landing spot. And all our cell phones were back in the cars. Luckily we figured that mom-in-law and sis-in-law could grab a ride from grandma and get the two vehicles back while Courtney and I drug the vessels up to meet them. Wow! That was an ordeal. Carrying the two single vessels was a workout, but manageable. Hauling the monster flat bottom canoe was another story. We had to take several rest breaks, but we managed it.

So, sunburnt (despite heavy application of sunscreen), buggy (despite careful application of repellant we both had a couple ticks) and tired, we loaded the canoe up in Courtney's SUV and called it a day!

My arms and back are a bit sore today, but not bad. I can't wait to get out on the water again!

Back!

2006-05-18T15:44:00.000-04:00

Hey all. To anyone who might have missed me...I'm back. I'm not 100% again, but I'm able to actually train again. A couple weeks ago I got fatigued walking the aisles at the grocery store. Now I'm back on the MTB (don't worry...I'm taking it slowly and steadily), back running and will be paddling and swimming starting this weekend!!!

So look for actual training posts again...though I know Renee's awesome tri debut has been a great way to keep you entertained. I'm guessing there will be something fun to post after my first paddle, as I'll be the one "steering" and I haven't been in that role, well, ever!

Y'all come back now...

Triathlon pics

2006-05-15T17:24:00.000-04:00

Here's some pics to go with my post below.

WOW! That water is cold!!

Kickin butt on the bike!

A fun run in the woods!

Jake was so proud of me, he put this sign on his door. Here I am displaying my silver medal!

I'm hooked!!

2006-05-15T09:45:00.000-04:00

I just completed my first ever triathlon last weekend -- and man did i have a great time!! I was hard, but it was so much fun!
Here's a not-so-brief recap, for those who want all the gory details!

We arrived at Ft. Yargo State Park (site of the previous weekend's 12 hour race) at 6 a.m. Saturday morning! Early! Why do they start so early??!! I asked a lot of dumb questions to the folks working the registration table and then upacked all my stuff in the transition area. I did just like everyone suggested and walked through the transitions a few times to make sure i knew where i was going and what i was doing. It was about 56 degrees outside and the water temp was 70. I went and stuck my feet in the water and was pleased that it felt warmer than the outside air. I stood on the beach all nervous and not wanting to take off my jacket -- due less to the cold and more to the "i'm wearing a sports bra and spandex shorts in front of 300+ people" body image issues. But I bit the bullet and decided that if the 50 year old ladies didn't care, then i shouldn't either!

The gun went off and all the women hit the water together. As soon as I got my chest in, my body went into what i can only describe as "shock." It was WAY colder than I thought and i couldn't breath or move at all. Seriously. I just sat there for a second gasping and flailing around. I considered turning around and getting out. I tried to swim forward and couldn't breathe. Some primal instinct told me to roll over on my back (so my chest and face would be out of the water), so that's what I did. I rolled over and started back-stroking! lol. I started to make slow progress in the water and tried to roll over and swim again, this only produced more gasping and asthma symptoms. I'm not sure what was going on, but i think my lungs weren't happy with the cold water. So I side crawled, back-stroked and yes, doggy paddled, about 90% of the 600 meters. When I started to get close to the shore I kept thinking, "these people will laugh at me if I come in on my back" so I bit the bullet made some desperate attempt to breast stroke my way back in. I even passed one girl! I was surprised though, to realize that there was still about 1/4 of the pack still behind me in the water. It took me 17 minutes. (and no, no one kicked me or pulled on my ankles!)

So I ran out and to the transition area where all went smooth. I got on the bike and the most amazing thing happened. I started to pass people. men. women. more men. more women. what the heck?? Apparently compared to this handful of triathletes, i'm actually a FAST rider!! 22 minutes for 6.5 hilly miles. Afterward I realized that only 12 women (out of the 103 overall) were faster than me on the first bike leg!! sweet!

The rest of the race went great. The run was fun and went by quickly, and so did the second bike and run portions. My legs started to ache during the first 3-4 minutes of the second bike and second run, but then it stopped hurting and I picked up the pace. Jake kept popping up everywhere taking my picture and cheering me on! (He was great by the way -- didn't even complain that i made him get up at 4:45 am!) I ran across the finish line with a big smile on my face and he was right there to pop my picture!

600 meter swim, 13 miles bike, 3 mile run
1 hour, 38 minutes, 50 seconds!!

Good enough to earn me SECOND place in the Athena category (cause i'm big and proud baby!) I checked the times, and if i had raced my age group, i would have come in third!! I even checked the overall times, and came in 30th of 103 women!! I just wanted to finish respectably and I even got a medal!! I'd say I did just fine!

It was enough to get me seriously hooked. I'm SO EXCITED about the next race (memorial day tri in macon) and am totally dedicated to working harder -- especially on cold water swimming!!

Trials & Tribulations of the Trail

2006-05-15T08:52:00.000-04:00

Before I dive into my post subject, HUGE CONGRATS to Renee for coming in second in her division at her first triathlon. WOO HOO!!! You rock, girlie! I'm expecting we'll see a post from her sometime today, letting us know all the cool "deets". Apparently Hashi, our "favorite?" Pakistani, is stealing my verbiage.

So...we've had some good hard rains over the past couple weeks. Since most of you know I'm all about the MTB...I don't own a road bike...it means that I'm often kept off the trails when they're wet. But hard rains also cause trail damage and drop debris. Good MTBers that we are (Beth too), we opted to do some trail work this weekend to clean up East Macon.

Two main things happen at East Macon after a rain. Overhang drops with the weight and sometimes makes it impossible to see the trail ahead of you, as well as makes it hard to ride without constant ducking and the possiblility of being swept off the bike. Secondly, trees fall out there. A lot. Beth and I dealt with both.

We were met with a small tree blocking the trail immediately. It was blocking the trail entrance. Unfortunately it was this tree that held the small red arrow showing this was the trail entrance. Beth had forgotten her gloves, so while she ran back to get them, I figured I could move the tree, as it was small. Luckily, it snapped in half when I lifted it (as it was heavier than I'd imagined) and I was able to prop the half with the arrow up so that it still marked the trail entrance.

We went in about 1/3 mile and found a massive bunch of tree and vine that was completely blocking the trail. It was more than we could handle so we noted the spot, planning to let someone with a chainsaw handle it. We continued for another mile or so, doing lots of overhead trimming and debris removal. The overhead was really bad in spots and sometimes we bit off more than we could chew (vines kept dropping the more we trimmed).

We came to an intersection and saw, to our dismay, a huge mass of trees and limbs across the exit of one portion of the trail. For a moment we felt overwhelmed, but then we decided to just slowly wade in and see if we could at least get enough cleared that folks could circumnavigate the rest. With only a hand saw, some loppers and our muscles we started cutting and dragging away limbs. It was dirty, sweaty and painful work (Beth and I both got some nasty scratches), but as we kept going we saw we were making real progress. Every once in a while we came across a limb that, when dragged off, cleared out 1/4 to 1/3 of what remained. After a few such instances we saw that we could not only clear a path, we could clear the entire trail. Sure, a chain saw could have done it in about 5 minutes and it took us about twnty-five. But we DID IT!

We decide to call it a day. Beth wanted to ride a bit and I'm still taking it slow after my anemia diagnosis. We got back to the car and I immediately spotted a tick (YUCK!!!) on my leg. We did the "friend check" (each of us checking under the other's hairline for nasty beasties) and I headed for home. There I spent the next two days finding tiny baby ticks on my person. I did a fill check immediately after I got home, but these things were so tiny they managed to impersonate freckles. YUCK and more YUCK!!!

What's the purpose of this post? Besides giving filler reading until Renee's able to post on her triathlon adventure, it's two-fold: (1) everyone who rides or runs trails can and should make a difference by doing regular trail work) and (2) start and keep wearing the bug repellant every time you go out in the woods...the beasties are out!!!

I'm gonna TRI it

2006-05-11T10:54:00.000-04:00

So this weekend is my first ever triathlon. whew. i get a little woozy just thinking about it. my goal for the event is to finish ... and not finish like 30 minutes behind the person in front of me. finishing last is ok, as long as it's a reasonable last.

i am extremely nervous and apprehensive about the swim, and have been having dreams about creating an efficient transition area. lol. but in all seriousness, i know i can finish the event, and i know it won't kill me, and that's all that matters.

you know, it hasn't even been a year since i woke up one morning and thought, "hey, i want to do a triathlon next season." i didn't really start thinking much about it till mid-summer, when debbie and i decided we'd start a running program. she used to run a lot in college, but me? never. i had never run for more than like 3 minutes in my entire life. i tried before to learn to run, thinking it would improve my cycling, but after one run session (of three minute intervals) i hurt so bad i never tried again ... until last summer. so we started this walk/run program that was really tough, but it followed a specific plan, and this suited my anal-retentive planning needs, and so it stuck. so now i can run about 4 miles before i keel over. i try not to often toot my own horn, but i'm damn proud of myself for making that long-ago goal a reality come this weekend. and i know 4 miles doesn't sound like alot, but we're each different and have different talents and abilities. running was never one of mine. just knowing i can now do it gives me a great sense of pride in myself.

so enough of the yeah renee, and back to the nerves. the bike will be no problem. i could ride around that park all day -- ha! and i did last weekend! the swim has me scared. seriously. i'm afraid that the adrenaline, coupled with the cold water, and the asthma has me a little freaked out. it didn't help that i got online and read all this stuff about how you get kicked in the head and your goggles sometimes come off during a mass start. great. but aside from the physical assaults, i'm worried that i'll get out there, waaaay out there, and have an asthma attack. there's no side to float over to. there's no inhaler close at hand. and if i stop swimming, i'm going to get run over by the 4th wave of swimmers, who start behind me. so what do i do? (insert plea for advice here) i've practiced at the pool trying to fight through the asthma with a change in stroke. side crawl seems to work the best. but then again, maybe i'll just doggy paddle. :)

Ft. Yargo fun fest

2006-05-08T14:13:00.000-04:00

We had a blast at the Ft. Yargo Dirty Spokes 12 hour event this weekend!! My 3-woman team (myself, Karen and Beth) took first place in our category (4-person female team). We chose to run a 3-lady team in the 4-person category because we weren't planning on being very competitive -- having fun was the goal -- and we wanted to get more laps in than a 4-person team would allow. So, I registered us in the "4 person team" category. Come to find out, the promoters broke out the female teams separately ... and we were the only one! lol. I'd like to think though, that if there were other teams in our category, we still would have won!

The trail was wet and slick in the morning, but not nearly as bad as our pre-ride on Friday -- some of which was more like a slip-n-slide event than an actual ride. The sun came out Saturday, the trail dried up and it got hot!! Big thanks to Debbie who held down the fort as our "team mom" and fetched me some water and Coke when I was too pooped to simply walk five yards to get it.

Each time I went out on a lap all I wanted was to get passed by Tinker. That's right. Tinker Juarez was there ... and he spanked EVERYONE!! In fact, most of our little team (I'm including our three solo compatriots: my BF Jake, Deb's hubby Grant, and Mr. Mark Duffus) got passed by Tinker more than once. But I never had the pleasure. I like to think that it's cause I was too fast for him. He just couldn't catch me! lol. I knew that theory was crap when I got passed late in the day on the powerline climb by a guy, probably in his 60s, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, riding a steel frame bike, on flat pedals. holy cow! talk about humbling!

So this race made me dread -- and get excited about in a sadistic sort of way -- the 12 hours of Dauset coming up in July. As the temperature climbed this weekend, all I could think about was how 85 degrees in July would be considered quite cool! I'm going to have to get my body ready to withstand the heat all day so I don't pass out somewhere on Huff N Puff. And to make matters more challenging, I'll be doing Dauset on a 2-person team with a guy who rides really fast. So ... not much downtime, and lots of riding!! I think this means I'm going to have to actually (insert sounds of doom here) TRAIN for the event. Oh! I hate calling it "training" cause it takes the fun out of things.

Speaking of training, while racing Saturday I got to talking with solo female racer I Ling Matthews (who was an absolute cool chic and ended up winning her event). You know, it's amazing the quick kinship that develops on the trail. I had just met the gal and we're talking chamois butter and saddle sores. lol. I ended up with a little of both, so I think I'm giving in and trying the butter next time I go for a long ride.

Something many folks out there were complaining of was lower back pain during the race. This has happened to me before at previous 12 hour events, and I'm wondering what's the culprit. Not being used to several hours in the saddle? A need to strengthen my abs (as the opposing muscle group to my back)? I think my bike position is correct, so that can't be it. If any experienced 12/24 hour folks have fought back pain -- and won! -- please offer some suggestions. I feel like I could have ridden longer and harder if it hadn't been for an aching back!

Diagnosis = Anemia

2006-05-08T11:53:00.001-04:00

Both the doc and I were surprised by the diagnosis. I'm apparently very anemic. That was the last thing the doc was expecting, as I showed no outward signs (lack of coloration/pigmentation, physical signs of fatigue like under eye bruising, etc) and my diet's pretty good most of the time...but after reading up on it myself this morning, HOT DAMN, it explains all my symptoms (fatigue, depression, dizziness, inability to keep body temperature up, shortness of breath, difficulty sleeping, occasional rapid heartbeat, failure to recover from hard exercise,etc.)!!! I'm not registering in the "acceptable" area for either hemoglobin or blood oxygen. So iron doses twice a day and red meat are the immediate prescription. Then another blood test round in a month to see if that takes care of it or to see if there's an underlying cause for the anemia.

I'd still be anemic even if I weren't engaging in endurance athletics, but my readings are incredibly low based on the kinds of exercise I'm subjecting myself to in order to prep for my endurance MTB events, and the upcoming triathlons and adventure race. Scary. When I almost passed out at Ft. Yargo during my pre-ride, it wasn't an equilibrium thing, it was that my blood wasn't rich enough in oxygen for that level of exertion.

For me to have contunied to try to train through this could have been disastrous to my long-term health. I could have done irreparable repair to my heart and other organs. Scary!

So, I just took the first iron pill and I'm ready for my poo to turn colors (one of the side effects of large doses of iron). I'm hopeful that the mega-dosing will quickly produce some results.

Before I sign off I want to send huge hugs and thanks to all those who didn't think I was being a wuss while dealing with feeling so sick. The husband, el Jefe, has been awesome and supportive. My Maconga gals (Renee, Debbie, Beth, Amber and Karen) have all been understanding and there for me when I felt really low. To Danielle and some of my new blogger friends...thanks for all the online support. And my Sorella Cycling teammates. Thanks for all the on-line and real time shoulders to cry on. And to all those who made fun of me behind my back or made snide, not so behind my back comments, a big F-U!!!

I'm ready to get back to being me. I'm ready to be able to ride the trails again without feeling ill. I'm ready now, because I'm hopeful that in a few days I can stop feeling sick and tired of feeling sick and tired!

training change-up

2006-05-04T16:08:00.000-04:00

Today I went trail running. I felt the urge to spice up my routine a bit. I ran over at Sweetwater Park (West side of Atl)- ran a 4 mile in-and-out. I had a great time. I actually felt better than I expected given that my "montrails" have not been on my feet for quite some time. Before Christmas to be exact. Everything went smooth- saw two deer- Other than that I was all alone in the woods. Very peaceful. The only problem I encountered was at about mile 2.3...... the tube to the bladder in my camelback came loose and all my water came spilling out the bottom of my camelback. Got a little wet. :-)

No riding or racing for me this weekend. My husband is taking on the Cheaha Challenge this Sunday over in Alabama. It is a 100 mile road ride that has 7,400 feet of cumulative climbing, traversing Alabama's highest point- Cheaha Mountain. I am his cheerleader for this one...Not a participant. Should be a fun weekend.
Happy training everyone. :-)

Melissa,

A few things I now know aren't plaguing me

2006-05-03T15:25:00.000-04:00

As regular readers know, I got a late afternoon appointment with a new doc yesterday. He was great, definitely going to make him our regular family physician. Very thorough, listened to me without making me feel like a spaz or a hypochondriac. Ran a full battery of tests. EKG was normal. He took x-rays of my skull/sinuses to check and see if there are any sinusitus related reasons I'm feeling so bad. Took plenty of blood (I've got a sore and bruised inner elbow) and is going to run a battery of tests.

There are a lot of things that could explain the vertigo symptoms I'm having (dizziness, nausea, fatigue, occasional fever), including thyroid abnormalities (run in my family), severe sinusitis (not likely as I'm not having any sniffling/sneezing issues, anemia (not likely based on my good color), and MVP. Then there are all the scary things. MS, cancer, etc. I'm not even thinking of those things right now. No need. Why worry before you have to.

He asked me not to do the 12 hour event this weekend. Can't say I disagree. I'm allowed easy rides - short and low speed, walks (no running yet) and easy weight lifting. No swimming until we know what's wrong. I'm going to enjoy several days of exercise ease and get plenty of sleep.

I'm ready for Hashi or his alter-ego anonymous to make fun of my "perceived" illness, and I'll smile as I always do. But really, I'm just glad I found a doc who's willing to go the extra mile to ensure we find out what's wrong and fix it, finally and completely.

Hopefully the other girls will post over the next week, as I'm gonna be pretty boring blog/training-wise.

Not Drowning, Wading

2006-05-02T09:42:00.000-04:00

Yeah, before I go any further, I know the quote is actually supposed to be "Not Drowing, Waving", but if you read on you'll see the "quirky symbolism" of my choice of title. Maybe. If not, sorry!

I'm slowly trying to get back to the kind of exercise schedule I was completing before all the health issues arose. Slowly is the key. I'm not going to continue to sit like a dizzy lump on the couch, but I'm also not going to dive right back into the kind of activity that leaves me reeling and exhausted. It defeats the purpose. I want to slowly ramp back up over the next couple of weeks so I'm ready for my first triathlon, the Xterra at Arrowhead Park.

Started things off on the right foot with a nice casual ride with a friend last night. She's pregnant, so we kept it from getting too strenuous (not good for the baby) and caught up on some chatter as we hadn't seen eachother in a while. (I'm omitting her name on purpose...not sure she wants her good news plastered all over the blogosphere - locals in the know, don't mention her name in comments, please). I felt pretty OK...ears didn't start doing any of their funky ringing until the very end of the ride. But I did wake up feeling that funny empty-headed ear ringing and a bit icky this morning. I'm hoping good eating and hydration throughout the day will level me out so I can do some running intervals this afternoon.

Tried out the new Zoot tri-top on my ride last night. Fits great...like the racer-back and love the pockets on the side. I did notice it rides up a bit in the front...but it's not too small. Any thoughts from the tri-masses?

Good news. Just got a call from the doc's office and they're going to try to see me today. Yippee! Right now on the phone with insurance provider, though, as they have my birthday entered incorrectly. They're reporting me six years younger than I am. Can't beat that.

I'll leave you hanging until I get back from the visit!!!

Sooooooooooo Very Tired

2006-05-01T10:57:00.000-04:00

Me, el Jefe, Dad & Mom Dein

So...we had a nice, but short, visit with Jeff's parents this weekend. Drove 2.5 hours Friday night, spent most of Saturday toodling around Savannah and visiting, turned back around for 2.5 hours on Sunday morning. So not a lot of rest and relaxation. My special friend decided to "visit" early Saturday morning, so that added to my general malaise and sense of the "blahs".

I'm pretty sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I'm gonna bite the bullet and go see a doc this week. If it's just the vertigo maybe they can prescribe something that will help me get back on my feet faster than my present regimen. If it's something else, at least I'll know and be able to deal with it.

I hate feeling blah, feeling tired after workouts that used to be a breeze, or missing workouts because I just can't imagine having the energy to get of the couch, let alone get in a workout. So this week I'm gonna take it easy, but I'm going to work out daily (unless the doctor says otherwise). Today a nice, light, conversation paced ride with Debbie, who I haven't managed to see in more than a month. Tomorrow a fun run...just for me. A trail run where I can enjoy spring and get back some of that "lovin' feeling" that exercise usually brings. And weights. I've missed them...and maybe they've missed me!

I'll make the call on Yargo today or tomorrow. I can't do it and take three weeks off afterward. Baker's Dozen is a much easier trail and I'm still not feeling myself (not sure if it's slow, slow, slow recovery or something else) two weeks later. I just want to get the old me back again...steady and dependable throughout a workout or event. I want to turn my eyes toward my first triathlon without worries and self-doubt.

Wish me luck at the doc! I'll let interested parties know once I get an appointment and a "verdict".

Hey Mallie, Remember me?

2006-05-01T05:31:00.000-04:00

A bit late for a posting about Bakers Dozen but I what the heck......... I had an absolutely wonderful time. Mallie and I hung out all day Friday just having some "girl" talk. May sound trivial but my life is normally filled w/ taking care of 4 children so my conversations usually consist of subject like homework, stomach aches, dinner menus, progress reports, grades, etc......So a day of girl talk was just what the doctor ordered! I actually was not sure what to do with myself all day without having to make lunches, do laundry, clean bathrooms, did I mention fold laundry? :-)...........anyway, I had a fun time racing and a great time hanging out w/ Mallie.

Mallie, don't be shocked by this next little section and don't worry I have not switched over to the dark side....OK? ha ha!!

I bought my road bike for training purposes but it has grown on me a bit (just a bit)!! Craig and I completed our first century this past weekend. We rode in the BRAG Spring tune-up ride this past weekend. I still jump up onto cloud nine when I think about how many miles I actually rode (which was 105) . My legs are feeling it a bit but not anything terrible. I was good until the last 25 or 30. The last ten were hard. Every slight incline hurt BUT I did it. I am quite proud of myself. 9 months ago I was not even riding a bike and had not done so since I was in college (early 90's) and I would have never guessed I would ever ride 100 miles on a bike in one day! And here I am. Yippy! It was a lot of fun riding that far and I did enjoy my road bike. I actually found myself looking on active.com for the next century. Mallie, this may require an intervention.
choices, choices:

This bike............. (my cute little Orbea)

or this bike...............(my awesome scalpel 3000)

Melissa,

PS- Hey Mallie.....I posted...you know what you have to do now right???!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vanity? Or a sense of self-worth

2006-04-28T15:39:00.000-04:00

Sara posted something recently about growing into yourself, and it struck a chord with me, as I've been dwelling on some seemingly unimportant and to some, petty, issues of late.

It all started with the pics from Baker's Dozen. The scale weight looks good to me, and the clothing sizes are smaller than I've seen since my late teens...but I still felt I looked awfully darned fat in the photos. Is the old fat me lurking and trying to sabotage me into guilt eating. I'm well aware that I'm nver going to be skinny. Too many years building my soccer thighs for that to happen. But, to me, the photos didn't flatter or show how hard I've worked.

Then I latched onto my straggly long hair. I'd been griping about it being hot on my neck ever since the temperatures started riding. And I hadn't been doing anything with it except twisting it up into a less than attractive twist with a butterfly clip.

Finally...my teeth. Yellow. Yuck. I knew they weren't snow white, but BLECHHHH.

Much like Sara's post detailed, I didn't grow into my appeareance until I was in my twenties. I'm not as cute as Sara or as striking as Wil, but I don't curdle milk or crack glass. AND I just haven't been feeling it lately. Basically I've been too busy trying to get over illness and still get in my workouts and haven't bee paying attention to my appearance. Which is more important.

Really they both are. The old saying that if you look good, you feel good is damned true. So...I've been paying attention to my inner vain bitch these last few days. I bought bleach strips for the teeth and it's worth the half hour of constantly spitting out backed up saliva...as after just a couple days I can already see a huge increase in "whiteness".

I've dug through my closet and found my nicer clothing. Still casual Mallie style...but stuff that makes me feel cute. You gotta feel cute from time to time.

And I went back to the haircut that suits me best. Sure it will take a little more time in the morning...but it takes years off my face and it makes me smile to see it swinging and not piled into a messy knot.

Sure...Hashi and the other anonymous crew aren't going to be hailing my hotness. Who cares. I feel better. And that's what matters.

The blog's been short of training stuff, at least from this poster, for a short while. It will get back to that next week. Off for a weekend of in-law visiting...then the week before Yargo. Worries, final workouts and other weirdness next week. Plus I'll show off my new tri-top which just got delivered today. Yippie!!!

Couple More Baker's 1/2 Dozen Pics

2006-04-26T11:44:00.000-04:00

Me, clean on the road...mud won't come until I hit the singletrack!

Melissa just before they called the race. She's muddier in the face...maybe the height difference?
I had more mud on my back than she did. Who knows! You really can't tell how dirty we were here.
Our washing machines took the full brunt of this event. My clothes weighed thrice their normal weight.

Blog Hopping

2006-04-26T10:21:00.000-04:00

This isn't really a training post and it certainly isn't a race report, but every once in a while you just need to give props to the folks who inspire you. Lately there's a pretty large crop of online enduro-girls that help me get out of bed when the alarm goes off at 4:15 a.m.

Danielle Musto not only podiums at endurance and marathon mountain bike events, but she's not afraid to share that she's sometimes a sketchball on the trail. She's fast and strong, but she's also quick to give some applause to those that beat her. Can't be a better ambassador for the sport than that.

I so want to be this lady when I grow up. Hell, I want to be her now. Check out the recent pics. 52 years old and sporting a pretty impressive athletic figure and she rocks the sport of triathlon as well. Plus she's not stingy with advice, and she's quick to reply to an e-mail. All things I much admire!

Though I'm giving Mark D. more fodder for his pretty girl blog-stalking, I have to recognize Trisaratops and Iron Wil. These ladies not only know how to train hard, they're also masters of the entertaining post. It isn't all numbers and power output, you know. If you can make people laugh out loud, guiltily looking over their shoulder as they're supposed to be filling in a company spreadsheet, then you're a damn good blogger!

It's almost May and Jill's still slogging through snow and ice. She's been chased down by maniacs in a white minivan and she's addicted to goldfish crackers (my salty orange food of choice is Cheez-Its, but the similarity's there, damn it!!!). She just got her first fully sponsored ride invite and I can't think of anyone who deserves it more!

Namrita's had a rash of bad luck lately. But she's kept her chin up and even though she couldn't compete in some of the events she had planned, she didn't pitch a fit or sit and sulk. She still went out to the Cohutta 100 and volunteered. Nam understands that volunteering is what makes riding in these events possible and she doesn't hesitate for a second to do her share. I only wish I had a few more blog friends like her!

Installment two to come later today!

74 Degrees and Still Swimming

2006-04-25T00:10:00.000-04:00

Scott and I met Iron Bill Causey at Lake Juliette Sunday afternoon and we finally got to try our wetsuits in open water. It was kinda cold, but otherwise fantastic - and not just because of the wetsuits, although they did make us faster. The reason it was so great was that I had forgotten how badly the pool sucks compared to open water. It's like the difference between running on a treadmill compared to outside. There's just no substitute for the real thing.

Swimming in open water has an almost meditative quality about it to me. I'm never more in the moment that when I'm swimming in the lake. You're forced to regulate your breathing when you swim. You can't listen to an iPod or talk to anyone while doing it. You don't have to look both ways before crossing a street or do flip turns at the end of a lane. And you're not distracted by traffic or dogs. Granted, the occasional snake, alligator or boat CAN be a bit distracting, but you take the good with the bad.

Anyway, triathletes have developed a reputation for training out there, so the park has made special arrangements for us this year. In the past, we'd always take off from this one area that's away from the boat ramp, but they've closed it to day users. Now it's reserved for campers and triathletes only. There's one catch - you have to buy a $35 year's pass. It’s totally worth it because you’d spend $3.50 every time you go anyway. Otherwise, you'd have to brave the boat ramp and the kiddies splashing around - much more dangerous than anything UNDER the water. :)

If you want to try it, go in the Dames Ferry entrance off Hwy 23 (Riverside Drive,) tell them that you’re a triathlete & give them cash. You’ll get a plastic hanger thingy with a big "T" drawn in black magic marker. And then you’ll KNOW you’re cool. So cool in fact that a gator every now & then will just make your day a bit more interesting. AND it'll make you swim faster, kinda like my runner buddy who learned to run faster in Iraq. There's nothing like incentive to get you moving.

Baker's Dozen = Sloppy Good Times

2006-04-24T06:36:00.000-04:00

Hey all. Sorry for the lack of posts. I spent last week trying to feel better, getting ready for my first event and getting ready for a long weekend of camping and biking.

Baker's Dozen 2006, scheduled to take place 4/22/06 was my first event of the season. There was early concern about the event (rain was forecast for much of the weekend), but late Wednesday night the event web site said it was all a go. Frantic shopping and packing ensued on Thursday then I took myself up to Edgefield, SC. I was the early-bird crew, on a mission to get team Sorella some good camping/viewing/transition/hollering spots. I nabbed two on the shady side of the road and settled in (after a half-assed attempt to put up Aimee's tent without instructions).

James S. from the Northwest GA SORBA chapter had also arrived early, so I spent the afternoon hanging out with him. He came with me on a pre-ride lap and was very kind when I had a bad spell at the top of the one climbing section and also tried to help me with some squealing brakes. Thanks James and all of the NWGA crew...your cheers were awesome.

Melissa showed up to keep me company around 9:30 Thursday night and we gabbed for a few hours before we realized how late it was. We woke up about 6:30 on Friday and decide we'd take our pre-ride lap early and enjoy a relaxing day. It was a slow paced ride in the early morning cool. We broke all the cobwebs for future pre-riders and shared a water bottle as Melissa had forgotten hers. No vertigo issues for me on that ride.

It rained a bit and thundered hard Friday night, but the big issue was the call for an 80% chance of rain on Saturday. Though Melissa and I woke up extra early on Saturday morning and Melissa was the champion of the good vibes/wishes we got poured on just when all the rest of the Sorella crew showed up. We all huddled under the pop-up that Alison and Travis quickly set up and waited to hear the word. The rain slowed around 9-9:30 and we heard that the race would commence at noon instead of 10, and that if it started raining enough to cause damage to the trails we'd be given a 2-hour warning (this didn't happen, as a deluge hit during my fifth lap and the trail quickly showed the damage that only a large group of riders on wet trails can do. The race was called at a few minutes after six.

So...how'd we do? Lots of Sorellas on the podium (no I wasn't one of them). Melissa had a blast during her first event, along with Juliet and Alison. This three "woman" team came in first (there were no other three women teams, but I still think these girls would have rocked the house, as they never let up). We also won the two-person category by default, but Justine and Ashlie didn't rest on their laurels or their asses either and kept pounding out laps. Aimee came in second and I Ling came in third behind a powerhouse (but super sweet) solo rider that they immediately started trying to recruit to the blue and orange.

Me? I was pretty happy. I'd woken up several times during the night with dizzy spells and the weird head funk that my vertigo often leaves me with during a bad spell. I'd had a moment early in the morning where I had to lean on a tree until I could stand on my own with the dizzies. I'd almost decided not to do it, to bow out, because water in the ears only makes things worse for me, but the awesome Don Bill kindly and firmly counciled me to just toodle around as if I was on a Dauset fun ride. So I planned to toodle.

I was slow. I was sixth out of six solo riders. But I wasn't that slow. I did 40 miles, 5 laps in 5.5 hours. I was expecting to get lapped by some of my Sorella sisters and I did, but not until Aimee at the very end of my third lap, I Ling on the 4th and Jennifer at the middle of the 5th...so I didn't feel like a complete slacker. My average speed was slower than last year, but I was steady and just kept going. The second and final deluge came just as I hit the singletrack on my last lap. I couldn't see through my orange lenses so those came off and it was me and the mud and the rain (which was incredibly salty for some reason). The course was a mass of mud, water running in channels down the trail, roots slick and crafty from rain and mud of riders gone by and there were some fun slips and slides as I finished that lap. I decided to end the day there as I'd gotten serious water in my ears and the left one was aching and very hot. They called the meeting to call the race about fifteen minutes after I got in, so I changed clothes and tried to get warm.

On my way home, alone, that night, I started running a fever and my ear was feeling red hot. I wondered if I'd added an ear infection to the mix (but some careful "doctoring" when I got home helped out and I'm starting to think maybe the harsh conditions helped get my ear balance back on track). So I'm hopeful to be close to 100% for the upcoming 12 Hour at Ft. Yargo.

Some thank yous need to go out. Jennifer thanks for the cotton balls, they made the first laps much better! Aimee, I Ling, Jennifer, Jackie, Lori B, Justine, Ashlie, Juliet and all other Sorellas, thanks for cheering me on even though I was at the back. Rob Murphy, thanks for fixing my brakes. Don, Angie and Donna thanks for all the hollering and for getting me out there despite not feeling well and for taking pics (this is one of me hunched over laughing as I'd just shoved a Fig Newton in my mouth and Donna and Angie were taking pics as a piece flew out of my mouth). Alison and Travis, the easy-up was so nice to come "home" to after each lap, and Alison will soon have pics for all of us to check out and share. Juan, thanks for being super support to me as well as to Justine (the girl you came up to support). Javaun and Tim, thanks for cheering and calling out about our smiles, even when they were really grimaces. And Melissa...thanks for being a camping buddy, a super-fast racer and a great help when I was feeling like shite. You're a real rock star and you're only just beginning to accomplish all of the great biking achievements that you've got inside you. Now post on the blog, you slacker!!!

I'm sure Renee will be posting about some of her adventures this weekend, even though most of her posts went on the TdG blog she and Karen were keeping. Look for more from all of us as we get back into the swing here at enduroeejit! Look for pics as soon as I can wrangle them out of the crew.

Mallie

Tour de Georgia

2006-04-17T18:47:00.000-04:00

So for the duration of the Tour de Georgia, I'll be posting from a new blog. Karen and I are blogging about the Tour for The Telegraph (where we both work). So if you're in the mood for funny tidbits from the Tour (including some photos of super-sexy bike legs) then head on over to macon.com and go BEYOND THE SPANDEX.
Here's our cute promo photo (just had to share).
:)

Butch?

2006-04-16T21:14:00.000-04:00

Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth for a little while, folks. As some of you might know, I've been out with what might be some serious kidney issues. I'm battling a patronizing doctor who's basically telling me not to worry my pretty little head. I don't believe him and am pushing for a referral to a specialist but I'm feeling much better and have decided to press on regardless. News at eleven.

I've been back to regular training for a while now. It may seem slightly suicidal, but I feel fine despite my persistent low-grade temperature and the doc certainly seems to think that I'm ok. (%#!@/&%!) I did my first 30-mile solo ride and then a short run yesterday. I've done plenty of brick workouts like that before, but never one by myself that was that long. Very liberating - gave me a lot more confidence as a rider and I wasn't lonely or bored 'cause I listened to the "Zen and the Art of Triathlon" podcast the whole way. Being relatively new to clipless pedals, I was pretty proud of the fact that I only lost my balance once, but out of all the secluded places it could have been on the mostly country course I'd carefully mapped out, I had to fall on Zebulon Rd in front of Wal-Mart and Saturday afternoon traffic! I'm sure I'll get at least one e-mail tomorrow from someone who got a kick out seeing me collapse sideways into the landscaping. I do have a good excuse - there was a gaping hole in the sidewalk that you couldn't see until you were right on top of it, but I'm still red-faced.

Hey, tell me something, y'all. Now I've never denied the fact that I'm a very girly version of the typical girly-girl. But I went and committed a traditionally male act yesterday by using masking tape to attach my iPod between my aerobars (works very well by the way.) Then, in an extremely female moment during my ride, I wondered if I could also attach a shoebox to my bike and finish the 25 miles I still had to go if I stopped and bought the pair of high heeled sandals I’ve been drooling over the past few weeks. I didn’t actually do it, but do you think that the mere thought cancels out the macho cyclist ideology of the iPod thing? Perhaps if it had been duct tape...

I pondered it for a few fleeting moments after my workout, then shrugged my shoulders and decided to give myself a pedicure. Might as well stick with the tried and true. A girly-girl's gotta look the part, especially if she's gonna wear those sick new 3-1/2 inch heel sandals. Hey, something besides an injury's gotta put a wiggle in your walk once in a while!

the good...the bad...the final thoughts

2006-04-15T18:08:00.000-04:00

First off, the GOOD! Loved Ft. Yargo. Loved the trail, loved getting to meet and ride with Cathy Halgat and her awesome super cool husband, Jay. Loved the variety of the terrain (it's basically a cross section of various parts of all our local trails). Really great. And, with Jeff's new larger platform pedals...no toe pain! WOO HOO!

Then, the BAD! About halfway through our first lap the vertigo kicked in hard. Dizziness, fatigue, nausea. Blechhhh. I had to walk one of the trail climbs and part of the new improved and longer power line climb. Which was even more annoying because long, steady non-technical climbing is something I'm quite capable of doing.

So, we took a food break and tried to head back out. I just couldn't shake it. I had to stop a lot, thinking I was going to puke or faint (once I had little lights flashing before my eyes and came to an abrupt and immediate stop because I refused to faint while riding - good call, eh? Now most of you who know me know that I'm not fast, but I'm not turtle slow either. I'm pretty moderate...but today I just couldn't do anything. I was in granny on things that I would normally climb in the higher side of my middle ring. Seriously, for long stretches I was lucky to put out 3.8 to 4.2 miles per hour average.

But back to the positive with my final thoughts. I powered through the vertigo, while being smart. I just did what I could and on the second lap, even feeling pretty damned ill, I made all the climbs...just in really small gears! More positive, I know I can handle this course with no real worries when I'm 100%. My awesome husband (tomorrow we celebrate our 7th anniversary) was worried and concerned and waited for me at every big intersection, and at each one listened without irritation to which symptom (luckily they didn't hit me all at once...I'd either feel dizzy and faint or nauseous, not a lovely combo of the two which is "oh so lovely") had plagued me most over that two or so mile stretch. Cathy and Jay never made me feel like I was holding them back, though there's not a snowball's chance in hell that I wasn't. Even feeling quite sick, I didn't just decide I couldn't hack it and I finished 24+ miles.

And I was smart enough to know to quit. Another lap would have involved me fainting or puking on the trail. Not something I aspire to.

I can't wait for the Yargo 12 hour in three weeks. I'm very hopeful that continuing to be smart will ensure I am at close to 100% before that event.

Down...but not out

2006-04-13T16:06:00.000-04:00

This week has been depressing and difficult. Hence lack of posts. The toe/nerve issue hasn't gotten any better...but I've got a new pair of shoes and I'm going to swap pedals to see if that helps. If not, orthotics and foot massage, followed by doctors and all that mess. Sigh. really hoping the shoe/pedal switch helps.

Anywho...got a ride in on Friday, which with the stress from a really busy stretch at work and the worry over the toes was nice. Toes were an issue, but I worked through it for a nice 30+ mile day out at Dauset with Karen & Melissa. Yeah...Melissa who never freaking posts!!! Had a dorky little wreck over a roller at the end of the ride. Dorky but painful as I managed to bruise up both legs and one arm...but no lasting damage...or so I thought.

I suffer from vertigo...I have since a nasty ear infection in my late teens, but it didn't get bad until my mid-twenties. Stress is a huge factor in flare-ups. The stress of work and worrying about my toe seemed to get that last little push from the wreck and I could tell on Monday night that an attack was imminent. I woke up Tuesday with all the fun, fun, fun symptoms. An empty feeling between my ears, a dull headache, nausea, dizziness, clumsiness, etc. It knocked me out Tuesday and Wednesday. I feel almost like my normal self today.

My first event is next Saturday. 13 hours. Baker's Dozen. Between the toes and the vertigo, I've not done much this week. If I can't get back on the bike this weekend and do a decent set of rides, I'm thinking I'll have to change my "goals" and look to this as simply a "B" event/a training ride.

Anywho...that's why the lack of posts. Not as amusing and sassy as Renee's last post. Hopefully I'll have some good news after spinning with her tomorrow night. Send good vibes my way!

I am so lazy

2006-04-12T15:09:00.000-04:00

Indeed. I am lazy. I didn't realize that many of you reading this are avid Enduro Eejit subscribers, daily checking this blog in hopes of finding an update as to what us crazy ladies have going on. I know you looked at my calendar and thought, "hmmm ... Renee had a race last weekend. Wonder how it went?" So forgive me for not posting sooner, you eager beavers.

I have, in fact, had my reasons for not posting sooner. I was digesting, if you will, the events of said race. Let me sum up my thoughts this way: WTF? (mallie, can i say those real words on this blog?? didn't know if we were keeping it PG13).

Why in all that's good and holy would whoever runs the Georgia Cup races think it's a good idea to mix ALL CATS of women together? Why?

So I went up to Gainesville Saturday to do the crit for practice for the Komen Crit exactly less than one week from today. I went to Gainesville not expecting a stellar performance, just wanting to hang on and try to learn something. What I learned is that I'm no where even close to possibly maybe able to keep up with those women, nor do I care to try.

There I was, sitting on the line with about 25ish other women. I'm looking around and see the Aarons pro cycling team surrounding me. These are PRO women. I look back at Graham with a "I'm so screwed" expression, and we laugh as just then the official says "I will exercise the right to pull those of you who appear to have no chance of hanging on. You poor miserable CAT 4 souls (that would be me) should just turn in your numbers now." OK, so that's not EXACTLY what he said, but that's what I heard.

Sure enough as the Pope is Catholic, I get dropped and left as road kill 10 MINUTES into the 30-minute crit. As I turn around and see the lead pack coming up behind me, I hit the brakes and pulled off the course. Game over for Ms. Martinez.

I was assured afterward by Graham -- who hung on like a pro, by the way -- that the Komen Crit wouldn't be nearly as brutal, as they're actually racing Pro1,2 and Cat3,4 separately. What a concept! Racers of differing abilities and experiences racing in separate races! Wow! How novel!

So look for me at the back of the pack again on Tuesday at the Komen Crit. I'll be the one gasping for breath. I swear I'll stick it out this time. I can't let down my fans. lol.

Pinched Nerve?

2006-04-05T14:01:00.000-04:00

Something weird happened during the long ride Sunday. A couple hours in I noticed my three outer toes on my right foot hurt a little bit. I rotated my foot inside my shoe thinking maybe my sock had bunched...or something like that. But it just kept getting worse and worse. It was the "little piggie that had none" that hurt the worst. It felt like it was one fire. Stopping to take off my shoe and investigate, I expected my toes to be bright red and swollen, and thought I'd see a bug bite or something. The pain was the intense, hot kind of pain you get when you step on fire ants. But nothing. Toes were normal size, color and appearance. I walked on the foot a bit, sans shoe, and the pain started to go away. I got back on the bike and rode without pain for another hour or so before it started to happen again. Same shoe/sock style combo I always wear. No change to my pedal or cleat position. No changes whatsoever.

It happened several times during the ride. I could always make it subside, but it would flare back up like crazy. It hurt when I pedaled, when I stood with that foot in the down position, when that foot was in the up position and when I went over the log stacks. It would start in that one toe then sort of radiate out to the two around it and down the outside of my foot.

Finished the ride and looked at my toes again...normal. I had minimal pain as I walked around that night and it was pretty much gone Monday. But I noticed it a bit on Tuesday so forewent a ride in favor of weights and core workout. I just got back in from a short sprint and big ring interval session and it didn't hurt at all. I'm going to try a run before our club meeting tonight to see if that causes the same symptoms.

The couple folks I've talked to about it say it sounds like a pinched nerve kind of thing? Anyone out there have any thoughts?

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

2006-04-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

Sunday was the first race of the GSC (Georgia State Cup) series, hosted by the fantabulous duo of Mr. & Mrs. Berger. A great first event took place at the much groomed and much talked about East Macon Park trail system.

Jeff raced beginner Clydesdale, so no pics of him or other beginners on our camera (I was not there...explanation later in post). Jeff came in 3rd (got some nice schwag), right behind his buddy Chad Lossiah and less than a minute behind the winner. I'm sure sandbagger comments about the BMX pro racing beginner might come about (jokingly though, as folks with brains realize there's a huge difference between the two).

Jeff took a spot by the BMX track to watch the sport and expert do their thing and got some pics of locals and my teammates. I'm posting for their pleasure. First the locals...

Sterling goes for it in expert class

Stan...the Grand Master!

Monte making his way to the podium

Mr. Duffus takes on his age group

And now for the team!

Jody, Alison & Trish

Kari, race promoter and racer extraordinaire

Jody...using the skillz el Jefe taught her...

So, where was I? Well, I don't do fast. Don't do race pace (at least not short XC race pace). So I headed out to another trail system and put in not quite six hours of steady dirt, roots and rocks riding. 5 hours 40+ minutes, 49.4+ miles. It was a gorgeous day...the tunes on the MP3 player never got boring, the sun was shining but I remembered the sunblock. All as good. And I even headed out after three to help clean up after the race. So I get goo "club" member points.

Follow it all up with some yummy cheese enchiladas and it was a pretty darned nice day of riding and racing for all those who got out on the trails!

Bicycle Pornography

2006-03-31T15:35:00.000-05:00

Here's some porn of the new Baby Rush. It's not for the faint of heart!

this is the new baby, in all her glory!

Lil' Pea checks out the cranks for quality control purposes.

Look at that beautiful hub and shiny new chain rings!

A sturdy Thomson seatpost straight from the local factory!

A view of the hydraulic brake levers and fancy Cannondale logo on the handlebars.

Girl's Night

2006-03-31T08:13:00.000-05:00

In the late fall, early winter we had a regular Wednesday night ride going on...called by some "the ladies pines ride", or some variation thereof. It was a small group of us girls, set up with helmet and bar lights, getting together to have a nice spin at a chat-easy pace. We didn't hammer...we didn't bow up and challenge the nightlife. We talked, caught up on eachothers' lives and enjoyed being out on the bike.

Resurrected it a bit last night by doing an easy, late afternoon/early evening ride with Beth. On Wednesday Beth and I had both beaten ourselves up a bit at East Macon. Beth because she's just clipped in and is going through the quite normal spills and chainring stabbings (her co-worker, and our riding friend, Karen told her to tell folks she'd been attacked by a bear and luckily she had her pepper spray, so got away) that come with those feet being attached to the pedals. I'd not fallen, but had done a brick annd probably should have stopped the run portion of the workout a half-mile to a full mile before I actually did. So we both wanted to spin and just loosen up (tight, slightly swollen knees for me, bruises and cuts for Beth).

Watch out for them bears...and always carry pepper spray!

It was a short, but fun ride. We didn't push it...just spun. The trail was fairly populated. We were suprised everyone wasn't out at East Macon getting final laps in before Sunday's race. My knees didn't feel any strain and Beth didn't re-open any of her scratches or the nasty big ouch she was sporting on her knee.

A happy Beth...nothing new to hurt her tonight!

As we headed out to the grassy road leading to the parking lot we came across six deer. That's right, six! Looked like four adults and two adolescents. My camera blew both shots I tried to take, so no photo evidence. But it was a really nice way to end a really nice ride. Looking forward to one of these each week. Sometimes you gotta ride just for the sake of riding, without any training guidelines or pre-race prep planning. Once again...it has to be fun.

Betta Recognize!

2006-03-30T14:40:00.000-05:00

We made Bike Blogs!!!

Aren't we the most urbane and cosmopolitan endurance gals in Georgia!

The countdown begins...

2006-03-30T09:38:00.000-05:00

So, Renee's got her first event of the season under her belt and she's looking ahead to all else that she's got on her plate. Amber, Melissa & I all have events coming up (though Amber is a slag and won't get me anything to post).

For me, the countdown begins...Baker's Dozen. April 22nd. Thirteen hours on and off the bike (if I don't do something stupid like go out too hard like I did last year), ingesting calories on the fly, trying to stay hydrated and making sure I don't endo over the one bigger log stack (Renee did this last year...though I got tired and fell on the one small rock garden...so I had wreckage too).

I've got things going for me this year, certainly. I'm about 20 pounds lighter than I was at last year's event. I'm stronger, my endurance level is much higher and I've learned to love my granny gear. I have none of those "granny is for wussie" thoughts this year. I'll use granny and spin whenever I want to this year baby. Plus, and this is key at BD, my arms are stronger, so I'll recover better from the near constant root chatter.

I've got the hydration thing under control...the slightly salty Cytomax mixture I prefer will ensure I keep drinking throughout the ride and the added calories are also a bonus, as I just can't ingest the 300-400 calories per hour that I should. So if I can glug them down during flat moments, I'm more good to go. I'll be pre-riding the course on Sunday, noting the least chattery spots so I'll know where to get my long pulls from the C-Max bottle.

I've been finalizing my food choices as I ride on my training rides. I won't add anything new to the diet that I haven't tested beforehand. The last thing I want to do is blow up digestively (the mental image there is pretty, ain't it?) and have to bow out early.

I've got the shorts picked out and I've for my Chamois Butt'r so saddle soreness and chafing shouldn't be an issue. Plus I'll get off the bike and walk it out every few laps as I ingest my calories. Gotta keep the pardukey happy.

Despite my varying levels of readiness, I'm nervous. Even several weeks in advance I've got a bit of nervous tummy. And it's not even a race I don't know. I've done it before, last year. But nerves are good. They keep me from getting complacent. They keep me goal oriented. So in these last weeks of training I'll set some goals for this race, and perhaps for the others that will follow. As with any event I do, I'm only competing against myself, trying to do the best I can and make the greatest gains I can over previous years. It needs to stay fun. Once it stops being fun, there's no point, right?

Om-ni-ummmm? What?

2006-03-27T16:33:00.000-05:00

So the Perry Roubaix Omnium was this past weekend. It was my first race of the season, an event I did not train specifically for, and probably one of the hardest weekends of racing I've had in a long, long time.

For any noobs to the sport, an omnium consists of three events, a time trial (TT) and criterium or circuit (crit) race on one day, and a road race (RR) the next day. The distance depends on your racing category (Cat). I am a Cat 4, which is the entry-level road cat for women. You have to earn points (in a singular 12-month span) to get moved up. You cannot move up by choice. You can race an entire season, and if you don't earn enough points -- the point system is waaay too complicated to explain here -- you stay at cat 4. (this point comes in to play later).

So my omnium started with a 9.5 mile TT Saturday morning. It was WINDY AS HELL. Steady breeze of about 15 mph, with 20 mph gusts. Sounds real good when the wind is at your back, but when it's a headwind, it's like you're standing still. Let me illustrate this point. The TT course was an out-and-back. Tailwind out. I kept an eye on my average speed: 26-30 mph out. About face. Headwind back. Average speed: 9-15 mph. No, I'm not kidding. I took 9 of 11 in the TT. I didn't go as hard as I could because I wanted to conserve energy for the crit race taking place 1.5 hours later. So, I'm not disappointed in the finish, because I wasn't giving it my all.

Crit: Our crit was actually a circuit race. A circuit race differs from a crit in that the loop is longer. So we did 5 laps on a 2.5 mile course. Tailwind for the first 1/2, headwind for the second 1/2. I started on the line with 9 ladies. A few of whom didn't race the TT that morning, and were riding on fresh legs. A few of the others earned just shy of their points last year to cat up, so had a vast difference in experience and skill than me. A few of them were former Ironman triathletes. Jesus! I think I was doomed from the start. I sat on the line. The official asked how many of us had never done a circuit race before. Only one other lady raised her hand. Great. Did I mention the start of our crit was only an hour and a half after the TT? not a lot of recovery.

So we get going and the first lap is fun, but not hard. The second lap was brutal, and I was dropped on the last turn into the headwind. The strategy of crits to to hammer out of the corners and drop folks who can't hang. I COULDN'T HANG. So I rode the last 3 laps alone, in the wind, with only my bruised ego to accompany me. I finished 8 of 9.

Sunday afternoon brought the RR. 12 ladies on the line. Twice around a 12.5 mile loop. I thought I would be dropped on the second hill (which was sooooo hard) but I wasn't. I got dropped of my own doing. Seriously. There was this "pave" part, aka "dirt road" we had to ride. The official was all "be careful, enter at a 90 degree turn, take it slow." Being the MTBer that I am, and having ridden that course before, I took a different tactic. We got up to it and the group slowed, the ladies got all twitchy and went wide for the turn, I cut up the inside at a 45 degree angle to avoid the slow line, and was followed by ... no one. I was now up ahead of the group. I kept pedaling. I loved the dirt! The group took my lunge as an attack and unleashed the hell and furry that happened Saturday at the crit. They toasted me before we got to mile 10. I was left trying to hang on the back thinking, "wait, i was just kidding, i wasn't attacking!! wait for meeeeeeeee...." One other lady got dropped at that point too. We rode together the rest of the time. I pulled her 80% of the way. Our "equal" turns at pulling were more like me for 5 minutes, her for one. This was fine by me ... until our mutual agreement that we'd sprint out the end. So we sprinted out the last 100 meters, and she beat me by half a front wheel length. Bummer. Guess I should have forced her to pull more. So I finished up that one 10 of 12, I think.

Jake and I didn't hang around to see how we played out in the overall omnium standings. I wasn't last, and I wasn't in the top 3, so it didn't really matter. I guess when they post the results online I can see how I did. The one thing I did take from the event is that I have to work harder if I want to do one of these again. Just like any other specific event (12 hour race, tri, etc) training for a TT, crit and RR takes specific training and planning. I was hoping I could do it on sheer will and bike riding. A mountain biker does not a road biker make.

If you need me, I'll be in a random parking lot ... riding in boring circles ... trying not to lose my mind as I train for the next crit I plan to do. As for other road racing on my calendar, yeah, those may be replaced with something a little more fun, and something a little less grueling. God knows I have my fair share of trials on this year's race calendar as it is!

And just in case you were wondering how hard I worked this weekend, let me just say, I earned my bratwurst, pizza and mexican food with aplomb.

Headwinds & Hoo-Hahs

2006-03-24T15:58:00.000-05:00

Brrrrr...it was chilly today. Yeah...not IOWA chilly, not MICHIGAN chilly, but chilly for late March in GA. And for those of us who live, ride and run in GA, well, we all probably noticed the chill. Had a nice 45 minute trail run at Thomson (put together a nice loop that I really want to do again- yeah...I'm really ENJOYING the trail running) and then got the arm warmers rolled into place for my ride with Karen.

Karen's doing the Perry-Roubaix time trial tomorrow, so didn't want to do anything too strenuous, just wanted to spin her legs a bit. So that's what we did. Spun on the road, battling the headwinds, then spun on down (after the trick bridge DH that is) the Kudzu loop a couple times, then a leisurely climb back out to the grass field...yep we bypassed the advanced section, and another spin on the road for a cool down. Again...buffeted pretty hard by some chilly wind.

I stuck around and did some climbing work after she had to hit the road...forgot how much I love some parts of Thomson. It's funny that steep, technical DH sections freak me, but gradual Dh with drops, I love. I bomb down the drops and get pretty decent air (OK, not el Jefe kind of air), but I'm not averse to both tires being off the ground at the same time!

Now for the Hoo-Hahs! Several real-time and blog-time friends tackling their first (or near first) events of the seasos and they all deserve a shout out!

Of course, Karencita...doing the Perry_Roubaix TT. And Renee, blogger extraordinaire (though nutritionally suspect!!! JK), for tackling the entire Perry-Roubaix omnium. Her beau, Jake,is apparently on for the omnium too. And super-duper popster of the blogosphere, Don Bill, is doing the road race (and maybe more).

Danielle, now blog pal from the cold parts up north, is tackling the Ouachita Challence in the wilds of Arkansas. Go girl! Mr. 24, Jeff Kerkove is making his 2006 debut at the same race.

And I can't forget my Sorellas, Kate, Norma and Namrita (and I know one more...but having a brain fart)who are taking on the thirty hours that make up the NGAR. You guys are the super-duperest!

I think I've super-dupered myself out here! So, despite the chill, I leave you with the signs that spring really and truly is here. At least down in GA!

My purty pink azaleas

Our dogwood...sadly I think this is it's last year

and the reason the 'rents-in-law are in town...
the glory that is one of our two ornamental cherry trees

I'll have what she's having

2006-03-24T11:44:00.001-05:00

So I've been posting lately about some little-known secrets to success in this whole athletic competition endeavor. Now I will continue that thread with the latest from my friend Stephanie. Now, Stephanie may not go out and run marathons, and she may not ride her bike for hours at a time. But the girl stays thin. And she can yoga with the best of them. I've always wondered what her secret is, and thanks to an e-mail from Sarah, I have found it. I think this may be the key to protein-loading before events.

I'm still here...

2006-03-22T18:42:00.000-05:00

For anyone who noticed my absence (and maybe I'm getting delusions of adequacy here)...I'm still here.

I've been off the blog and off most of the exercise for the past couple days because of impending in-law visit (you know the kind of frantic cleaning you get embroiled in when out of town 'rents come for a visit) and because of some twinges in my knee that developed after my off-camber running expiriment.

Easy run on grass today didn't seem to give me too much trouble...so I'm going to get back on it full speed tomorrow with a gym brick (spin bike for an hour and then a five mile treadmill run), probably followed up with some light weights.

This pic's from my last ride with Renee. We went out and tackled the parking garage, the dirt track, the levy and did some hill climbing on Walnut. A good time was had and some good leg workout occured with the climbing and some standing big ring intervals on the dirt track. Renee's giving her non-verbal"impression" of the lovely artwork that graces the top level of the parking garage. Not for the delicate!

From wine to ...

2006-03-22T13:23:00.000-05:00

MILK!!

So for those of you who don't prefer to booze it up, check out this gem from the Los Angeles Times. I tell you, the AP wire lately has been a wealth of beverage-related information!

"One little milk study and everyone's having a cow.

For decades, biochemists and physiologists in the dog-eat-dog world of sports drink technology have struggled to find the perfect elixir -- the right balance of carbohydrates, electrolytes, protein and fluid to keep athletes in peak form after various types of exercise.

So it was big news when exercise kinesiology professor Joel Stager and co-workers at Indiana University in Bloomington declared they had stumbled upon the perfect drink for elite cyclists recovering their energy after strenuous exercise.

That beverage was chocolate milk.

In three trials administered at one-week intervals, nine male cyclists performed a strenuous workout then drank one of three drinks. One group got standard 2 percent chocolate milk, another drank fluid- and electrolyte-replenishing Gatorade and a third group Endurox R4, a specially formulated beverage with a "patented 4 to 1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein" and other ingredients aimed at replenishing muscle glycogen stores and helping rebuild muscle.

Then, after a rest period, the cyclists exercised again, this time to exhaustion. The study, published in the February issue of the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, and funded in part by the dairy industry, reported that cyclists who drank chocolate milk at the break were able to continue cycling about 50 percent longer than those who drank Endurox R4 and about equally as long as those who drank Gatorade."

Pass me the cow, baby!

Gimmi a spritzer

2006-03-21T15:50:00.000-05:00

I recently read a report that confirmed what I have always known to be true: alcohol is good for you. Yes, indeedy! Consider the following information from The Washington Post:

"Chemicals in red wine may keep gums and teeth healthier by changing the way the mouth responds to bacteria, indicated one report last week.
Another meanwhile suggested that heavy exposure to fluoridated beverages -- including drinking water -- can cause severe discoloration and erosion of children's teeth."

So from now on, while everyone else is sipping their pom juice, sucking down Hammer HEED or heaven forbid ... drinking some water, I'll be the one relaxing with my nice glass of pinot. Dental hygiene is important! Gotta have those winning pearly whites when you roll across the finish line!

I get by with a little help from my friends...AKA...the mental game

2006-03-18T06:03:00.000-05:00

Karen and I had a great ride out at the Pig yesterday. Of late I've been hanging out on one side of the trail, mostly just getting miles and long steady climbs in. It's become obvious that my skills have deteriorated and that my puss-factor has grown a bit too much during my base time. Karen wanted to do the entire trail, so we did.

The morning started off right with some hilarious Turkey Trot shenanigans.

TT playing in my sweat pants

I went out early to get in a trail run. Had a good hard 45 minutes of running, with only a few trekking intervals (one part of the run was very offcamber, and when my left leg was on the high side my knee started some serious complaints). I stretched while I waited for Karen and we did a little recovery spin lap through the pines to get me loose, but I still got the jelly legs when we got to the first steep climb in the "advanced" side of the trail.

Now, as background, Karen and I both had mental issues with different spots on this part of the trail. Mine were a little dip and left hand turn into a climb (I've wrecked spectacularly there in the past) and a loose rock downhill. Karen was a bit wigged out by a short, but steep whoops with a large root in the middle and one downhill with a difficult entrance.

With the jelly legs in tow, Karen led off and I followed. First off, Karen's made huge strides in her climbing endurance...she looked like a little mountain goat. Way to go Karen! My two "obstacles" are very early in the trail, and with jelly legs giving me a hard time getting up out of the saddle, I did the smart thing and walked them after watching Karen handle them like a pro. I knew I'd be doing a second lap and clearing them just fine after watching her do them effortlessly (and I did, Karen, WOO HOO). We had your typical, haven't been on this part of the trail foibles...but we soon came to Karen's first weak spot, the whoops with the root. So she got to the side to watch and I backed up to show her it wasn't so bad. The root sticks up quite far, and she needed to see that even when your wheel hit it, you weren't going to buck off into an endo. I went for the meaty part of the root, let her see my slight bounce and went down fine. She immediately backed her bike up and did it like a pro, being smart and choosing not to follow my "teaching" line and tackling the root in a more benign spot.

We completed the advanced section with no other real problems. Karen had trouble on a few rutted climbs, but I know she'll get most of them dialed the next time she gets out because we discussed lines and she's so determined. (Karen all the lines we discussed worked like a charm the second lap for me...sailed up even that one with the big rut).

Back in the more familiar pines side of the trail Karen had one more fear to conquer. Descending Chandler's Challenge. It looks steeper than it really is when you're looking down or looking up. And it's got some ruts and small drops caused by erosion and riding it downhill when it was designed as a climb. The entrance is the hard part. A tangle of roots between some trees is the most direct route, but again...the roots look scarier than they really are. The other approach is to swing out around a tree and make a pretty tight turn to the actual descent. I showed Karen this way, thinking we could tackle the roots another time. In typical Murphy's law fashion I futzed up the turn on my first attempt and scraped my arm on the tree, but finally got my shiz together and showed her the move and the made the descent. Following the left line which has more bounces and bumps so she could see she wasn't going to slingshot over her bars. We realized that Karen could park her back tire in some grass and pine needles so she could clip in and not have to negotiate the full turn...and there she went, around the tree and down Chandler's. Down I went as she hiked her bike back up so we could get photo evidence.

Karen tackling Chandler's

Over the rooty drop

just about down...WOO HOO

Good friends and riding partners are patient when they need to be and realize that everyone has their own little phobias. Karen had already left, but I know when I went down the rocky downhill that gives me the heebies, in spirit she was woo-hooing me just like I did for her as she came roaring down Chandler's. I hit the whole section better than I ever have before on my second lap...bar one tree hugging moment when I hit some loose pine straw between two trees I was trying to navigate. Good friends instill the boost of confidence you need to tackle those mental fears. Karen and I will enjoy our rides all the more knowing we've tackled those last few obstacles.

Off-topic note: Technical rides need to be a bigger part of my last month of training before BD. Neither BD nor Ft. Yargo are technical, but I need to build my tech skills back up after long months of endurance building. Posts on this coming soon.

Do I need a new deoderant?

2006-03-17T15:54:00.000-05:00

I've been stood up twice in three days!!! Not by dates (I'm hitched), but by trail partners. First Graham called and left a message on Wednesday saying she was running late and for me to hit the trails and she'd call again so we could meet up. That call never came. Then this morning, Amber weezed out of her trail riding inauguration. Bad Amber!!! Is it me? Am I wafting B.O.?

Karen, stalwart, awesome, true to the trail Karen and I had an awesome ride..so pfffffffttt to you who can't take my "stench"!!! Read about Karen's long awaited and awesome accomplishment in a post later this evening!

new look

2006-03-16T16:26:00.000-05:00

I'm still fiddling and editing. For some reason I can't get the sidebar to extend the full length of the content. Plus I'm working with a small amount of photos only. Still need some of Melissa. But here we are...the new look.

Antioxidants and other good stuff...

2006-03-16T05:14:00.000-05:00

In my quest to have an illness free training and event schedule in 2006, I've also stumbled across something that's helping out with my recovery. Meaning I am recovering well from hard workouts without leg heaviness or soreness and I wake up without feeling drained and/or fatigued. So what's the "something"?

It's Lakewood's Heart Healthy Pomegranate blend. I didn't really stumble across the concept so much as the product. I'd been catching up on other bike blogs and saw that Mr. 24 was talking up Pom, a pomegranate juice concentrate. The stuff was freaky expensive for small amounts. I did some internet investigating and found numerous articles on the benefits of pomegranate and other high antioxidant pure juices. So I checked out the health food section at my local Publix and found Lakewood's much more reasonably priced alternative.

According to their site: "Modern research has confirmed that fruit and vegetable juices contain a wide range of micro-nutrients considered essential for maintaining good health. No supplement alone can provide the important complex nutrients found in a variety of fruit and vegetable juices."

The ingredient list is short and there aren't any chemical concoctions I can't pronounce. CERTIFIED ORGANIC FRUIT JUICES (ORGANIC POMEGRANATE, ORGANIC CHERRY, ORGANIC BLUEBERRY, ORGANIC APPLE, ORGANIC GRAPE, AND ORGANIC ACEROLA CHERRY FROM CONCENTRATE), ORGANIC GRAPE SEED (200mg), AND ORGANIC GREEN TEA EXTRACT (200mg).

I can tell a difference. After hard workouts I'm not feeling the leg and back strain I used to. And I wake up without feeling sore even after the hardest rides and runs. Check it out for yourself and let me know if it adds to your training.