I damn near got my ass handed to me by the biggest hills I've tackled so far.
I drove out to the country for my favorite ride, the one where the urban world falls away in favor of fields and farms, the one where I get to fly around nearly empty, corn-lined roads with nothing for company but the wind and the warm scent of distant cows. The one that's a roller coaster with barely a flat to its name.
To be honest, I wasn't sure where I was going, only that I needed to go. The loop I know well is only about 8 miles, and I wasn't in the mood to ride in circles. I started down the regular route just to get going and was delighted to find that miles and miles of my rural Roubaix, the hand-numbing, teeth-chattering, tire-flatting road I love to hate, had been recently blacktopped, the surface perfectly smooth, the asphalt so fresh it was still sticky in places. I felt like a kid putting tracks into fresh snow.
Four miles in I climbed my nemesis, the moderate hill that's come to be my personal yardstick. Today wasn't the best trip up, but was a far cry from the first time, the worst time. I was content with today's meeting.
When I reached State Line Road at mile 5, I paused. I could turn left, follow the road I knew, finish the loop, then do it again. Boring, predictable. A safe bet when I haven't ridden since my race, haven't broken a sweat in nearly a month. But I wanted to know if I could trust my training.
I turned right. West. Rode the rolling tightrope between Illinois and Wisconsin. Each intersection torturing me with temptation: Left, south, Illinois, downhill.
All other roads lead to Wisconsin.
And so I kept on, talking myself into the next hill, and the next. I soon crossed the invisible jurisdictional line where the fresh blacktop ended and the dangerous pitted patchwork resumed, making each crossroads that much more difficult to push through.
Just before mile 9 I saw the road disappear and had to choose. If I went down that hill I was going to have to turn around and go right back up it. It was the biggest hill I'd ever contemplated on a bike, and many a lesser hill has turned me back at this point in a workout. But not today.
I announced to the cows that I might regret this, picked the cleanest line I could find through the cracked asphalt, crouched low over my bars and let it all go, my cries of joy lost in the wind. I hit a new high of 36 mph.
My momentum wound down right around mile 10 and I turned around to face the hill, only to be greeted my old buddy Mr. Headwind. To be honest, I think he was really Mr. Headwind's little brother, because he was just enough to be a nuisance but not enough to cause me pain, unlike this ride. Or this one. Either way, I wasn't exactly thrilled to see him.
Considering I was at the outer edge of mileage for any ride since last year, I found a lot to throw at that hill. And I made it up - teeth gritted, sweat pouring, breath labored, grinding my granniest granny, HR spiking at 198 (!!). But I made it.
The rest of the ride was tough but uneventful. I was tiring quickly, my quads turning to jello around mile 15. I realized sleeping in and having a light breakfast was a monumentally stupid mistake when I noticed, according to my Polar, I was officially at a calorie deficit for the day. Then I felt even stupider as I tried to take in some more calories and realized I'd headed out for a 20 mile ride with only 20K of fluids on board.
Because I'd forgotten about a scenic little side loop I took on the way out, the ride wasn't quite what I thought and I found my van at 19 miles. I was thirsty, saddle sore and my right knee was starting to talk, so I didn't even entertain the idea of turning back to capture that last mile like I normally would.
Because I was satisfied. See, I thought I'd lost my happy place and I went out today in search of it. But I found it inside the first mile, and the rest was gravy.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Getting Lost
Having all but given up exercise the last several weeks for work, I'm quickly becoming a miserable human being. I'm cranky and tired and mopey and bitchy. My mind is flitting from project to project, trying to find a way to get it all done in time, and I can feel my heart racing and pulse pounding from the stress just sitting in front of the tv on Saturday night.
Even though the sun is refusing to show its face and the gathering clouds feel like an unnatural roof on the world, I'm getting on my bike and I don't want to stop until I've gone at least 20 miles. I think I lost my happy place out on the road somewhere and it's time to go look for it.
Even though the sun is refusing to show its face and the gathering clouds feel like an unnatural roof on the world, I'm getting on my bike and I don't want to stop until I've gone at least 20 miles. I think I lost my happy place out on the road somewhere and it's time to go look for it.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Taking My Lumps
I wanted to tell my blogger buddies that I miss you all terribly. I miss starting my day reading all of your funny anecdotes and motivating stats and inspiring race reports. I miss hearing about how your bikes and pregnancies and kids and dogs and goats are. I didn't realize how much a part of my day you all had become until I got so busy that regular training and blog reading - not to mention routine eating and sleeping - went out the window. I gained 3 pounds back and it makes me crazy that I want to work out but for the moment, am entirely unable to do it more than once or twice a week, which just doesn't cut it.
It's funny because this is what I wanted - to be a successful writer - but after 18+ months of barely scraping by (not that the money's rolling in yet, just the work, with luck the money will follow soon), there were no way I could predict it would take off like it has. I literally went from, in July, having one sad website the clients have been dragging out for months, to now, when I've got.... (counting, counting... oh dear) six websites, some brochures and a bunch of stuff (PSA radio spots, newsletter, a brochure and website in dire need of an overhaul, etc) for this charity I just joined the board of, plus 2 more sites that are almost guaranteed jobs plus one more that just hasn't started yet plus leads on at least 2 more. And the six websites and one brochure are pretty much all due within a few days of each other (end of next week). No, I'm not that stupid... I get most of my web work from development companies who don't have a writer on staff, and the sites are already in progress and the timelines are already established. So sometimes it just works out like that.
And that's just work.
My mom had to put her dog down last weekend, so I'm trying to schedule a trip to spend some time with her real soon. My Grandma (with the still-broken arm) was just moved from the hospital (after 2 months) to a short-term nursing home situation while she continues to heal and relearns how to dress herself with the newly stiff arm, so I need to travel to see her too. My aunt, who's been primarily helping Grandma, is recovering from back surgery and I feel awful I wasn't there to help (travel). I barely spent 2 hours with my nieces and nephews the entire year (travel yet again). My grandparents-in-law just moved into assisted living and we're trying to help as much as we can - the house needs a bunch of repairs before it can sell. Travelling to Minnesota next weekend to help with that - we want to help the family up there as much as we can, they've been bearing the brunt of this complex and painful process. Was in Montana last weekend for a wedding - our first vacation in 4 years - and Scout the foster monster got extremely upset when we left and freaked out the poor petsitter by regressing after 5 months of good laundry behavior and eating a sock and some underwear. So I got to spend the morning of my one true day of vacation on the trip trying to locate enough of a cell signal to talk the the doctors and stuff to make sure it all worked out (gotta love peroxide!) Walking around the lovely hills in Montana, my calves seized up on me very painfully - guess that injury isn't entirely healed yet! Spent yesterday (and today is shaping up the same) trying to work with a migraine. Just got back from the vet with my dog, found a lump on her the other day. They not only checked that one out, they checked every inch of her and found two more I wasn't aware of (I love these doctors so much) - one of which is so scary (and so hidden! inside the fold of her upper lip - did I mention I love these doctors!?) they want it off immediately to send in for biopsy. So she's going in for surgery tomorrow. I can't think about it too much or I'll lose my mind - I can't imagine losing both my dogs to cancer inside of a year. And there's still the might-maybe-who-knows chance of us being handed a baby in December, depending on the whim of the pregnant child who keeps vacillating. Nothing like 5 years of infertility, followed by getting a nursery ready and lining up adoption attorneys and such but having to remain completely detached because it all depends on the mood of a 15 year old!
Phew! There's more, but you get the picture.
I'm really really, really really really looking forward to my weekend at IMWI in 2 weeks!
It's funny because this is what I wanted - to be a successful writer - but after 18+ months of barely scraping by (not that the money's rolling in yet, just the work, with luck the money will follow soon), there were no way I could predict it would take off like it has. I literally went from, in July, having one sad website the clients have been dragging out for months, to now, when I've got.... (counting, counting... oh dear) six websites, some brochures and a bunch of stuff (PSA radio spots, newsletter, a brochure and website in dire need of an overhaul, etc) for this charity I just joined the board of, plus 2 more sites that are almost guaranteed jobs plus one more that just hasn't started yet plus leads on at least 2 more. And the six websites and one brochure are pretty much all due within a few days of each other (end of next week). No, I'm not that stupid... I get most of my web work from development companies who don't have a writer on staff, and the sites are already in progress and the timelines are already established. So sometimes it just works out like that.
And that's just work.
My mom had to put her dog down last weekend, so I'm trying to schedule a trip to spend some time with her real soon. My Grandma (with the still-broken arm) was just moved from the hospital (after 2 months) to a short-term nursing home situation while she continues to heal and relearns how to dress herself with the newly stiff arm, so I need to travel to see her too. My aunt, who's been primarily helping Grandma, is recovering from back surgery and I feel awful I wasn't there to help (travel). I barely spent 2 hours with my nieces and nephews the entire year (travel yet again). My grandparents-in-law just moved into assisted living and we're trying to help as much as we can - the house needs a bunch of repairs before it can sell. Travelling to Minnesota next weekend to help with that - we want to help the family up there as much as we can, they've been bearing the brunt of this complex and painful process. Was in Montana last weekend for a wedding - our first vacation in 4 years - and Scout the foster monster got extremely upset when we left and freaked out the poor petsitter by regressing after 5 months of good laundry behavior and eating a sock and some underwear. So I got to spend the morning of my one true day of vacation on the trip trying to locate enough of a cell signal to talk the the doctors and stuff to make sure it all worked out (gotta love peroxide!) Walking around the lovely hills in Montana, my calves seized up on me very painfully - guess that injury isn't entirely healed yet! Spent yesterday (and today is shaping up the same) trying to work with a migraine. Just got back from the vet with my dog, found a lump on her the other day. They not only checked that one out, they checked every inch of her and found two more I wasn't aware of (I love these doctors so much) - one of which is so scary (and so hidden! inside the fold of her upper lip - did I mention I love these doctors!?) they want it off immediately to send in for biopsy. So she's going in for surgery tomorrow. I can't think about it too much or I'll lose my mind - I can't imagine losing both my dogs to cancer inside of a year. And there's still the might-maybe-who-knows chance of us being handed a baby in December, depending on the whim of the pregnant child who keeps vacillating. Nothing like 5 years of infertility, followed by getting a nursery ready and lining up adoption attorneys and such but having to remain completely detached because it all depends on the mood of a 15 year old!
Phew! There's more, but you get the picture.
I'm really really, really really really looking forward to my weekend at IMWI in 2 weeks!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Calling All Seattle Area Athenas
Jayne Williams, the Slow Fat Triathlete herself, is going to be in the Seattle area this week/weekend. (Can I just tell you how jealous I am you west coasters live so close to Jayne you can see her at events?)
Thursday, August 17th 7:00 PM
Center Cycle3950 Lind Avenue (Near IKEA)
Renton, WA 98055
- Giving a talk, chatting with fans, signing books
Saturday, August 19 11 AM - 3 PM
Danskin Seattle Expo
Sand Point Magnuson Park Hanger
277400 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 981151
- She'll be at Sally Edwards' booth (Heart Zones) signing books, hanging out and chatting with triathletes
She said if you're going specifically to meet her, contact her just to be safe, in case they move her location at the expo.
Thursday, August 17th 7:00 PM
Center Cycle3950 Lind Avenue (Near IKEA)
Renton, WA 98055
- Giving a talk, chatting with fans, signing books
Saturday, August 19 11 AM - 3 PM
Danskin Seattle Expo
Sand Point Magnuson Park Hanger
277400 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 981151
- She'll be at Sally Edwards' booth (Heart Zones) signing books, hanging out and chatting with triathletes
She said if you're going specifically to meet her, contact her just to be safe, in case they move her location at the expo.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
It IS possible...
... to find a tri other than Kona on TV!
Husband was channel surfing late this afternoon and he found coverage of the Spirit of Racine Half-IM!
I kinda can't believe it - a triathlon in my neck of the woods, that I'll probably do sooner rather than later, on TV. Sure, it's on a lame channel (ComCast SportsNet) but it's still TV!
The cameras were all over this poor guy (an elite, I think) whose came into T1 way at the front of the pack but lost the lead because his wetsuit zipper got stuck and he couldn't get out of it! Add THAT to the list of things I'll worry about in future races.
Lead woman out of the water in about 25 minutes. DAMN. Lisa Bentley was 4th out of the water - wow! Who knew a champ like her did little races like this? (By the time I finished typing that she'd pulled up to 2nd on the bike.)
The irritating thing is that the announcers are total idiots - one of them was informing the viewers that the racers use Vaseline on their bodies to help them exit their wetsuits. Now they've got an overzealous twit explaining about "elastic shoelaces." I'm thinkin' I'll have to watch this on Mute to reduce the risk of throwing something at the talking heads.
Husband was channel surfing late this afternoon and he found coverage of the Spirit of Racine Half-IM!
I kinda can't believe it - a triathlon in my neck of the woods, that I'll probably do sooner rather than later, on TV. Sure, it's on a lame channel (ComCast SportsNet) but it's still TV!
The cameras were all over this poor guy (an elite, I think) whose came into T1 way at the front of the pack but lost the lead because his wetsuit zipper got stuck and he couldn't get out of it! Add THAT to the list of things I'll worry about in future races.
Lead woman out of the water in about 25 minutes. DAMN. Lisa Bentley was 4th out of the water - wow! Who knew a champ like her did little races like this? (By the time I finished typing that she'd pulled up to 2nd on the bike.)
The irritating thing is that the announcers are total idiots - one of them was informing the viewers that the racers use Vaseline on their bodies to help them exit their wetsuits. Now they've got an overzealous twit explaining about "elastic shoelaces." I'm thinkin' I'll have to watch this on Mute to reduce the risk of throwing something at the talking heads.
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