3 weeks and counting

Tomorrow marks three weeks without refined sugars and counting. Pretty impressive considering my last day of binging included a whole pan of triple chocolate brownies. I've noticed a big difference with my body - not only in performance but in shape. My tummy is actually starting to get firmer. Yeeee haw!
It's Halloween night though and Ryan left me home alone with not one but two bags of candy. Of course as he walked out the door he said I wouldn't be able not to sneak just one. Well guess what? I'm not going to have one just because he said that. So there! I'll show him with a big old bowl of starchy salty pop corn. Mmmmm..... starch.

computrainer observation

so last night we did interval threshold training. It lasts 47 minutes, and you have minute intervals of 120% of your max wattage. I had Tim tone mine down to 175 as being 100% so I could stay within an average heart rate zone. It really helps you concentrate on keeping a consistent pedal stroke and being fluid in your motion. Once we were finished I rode home in the dark - to be amazed with how easy the pedals were to spin around. This training is working!

moving on

So I found out what it's like to be on the other side of the fence. Melinda decided to find another team - she says she felt like she needed a bigger team with more mentors on it. The turning point for her was also the kits - the new ones for Starbucks were just not as cool as we had anticipated. To make a long story short - I found out she moved onto Group Health. Good for her - but at the same time, lame! She's a good friend and I know regardless of what team we are on - whether that be the same team or a different one - we will remain friends. Now I know how everyone else must have felt when I had my feet held to the fire. But you do what you have to do for hopefully the right reasons. I also know she's not training with Miller at the moment - and not sure if she will pick it back up again in the winter. People just move on I guess.

There's a lot to be said about sticking to something - striving toward your goals, regardless of how many obstacles are thrown in your way. It really takes a lot of time and dedication to get to the upper levels of a sport - there's no half -assing your way up there.

Rowing is going well - I got to ride in a single scull today. It was super tipsy at first but once you get used to the extra core balance you have to maintain - it's super fun. I look forward to trying it again and again. Ryan warned me about getting competitive about it - I have to keep focused on cycling... there's more time later in life to pick up a sport and stick to it.

I've been tempted to eat sweets lately - Halloween is here and I think this is the first time since I was an infant to go sugarfree! Impressive.

screaming match

Last night Ryan, Andrew, Aaron and I went to the Weazer/Foo Fighters concert at the Key. We missed the opening band - but walked in just as Weazer starting playing. They rocked the house! They have such a clean, crisp rock sound that jams and gets your blood pumping. To follow it up Foo Fighters came on screaming on the top of their lungs. Their main singer has some insane vocal chords - belting out inaudible primal noises that left my ears ringing for hours. It's good listening to that type of music that loud - it rattles your cage and makes you feel alive and not a dormant hermit. It's way to easy to get wrapped up in the same routine day after day -only to wake up one morning and go - where the hell did the last year go? Seeing a rock band on stage wakes you up - and keeps in check whether or not you are following your personal journey. I'm putting Weazer and FF on my ipod tonight for future rides - they amp you up yet some of their songs keep you grounded.

The weather is changing again. It's definitely becoming late fall. The air has a cold snap to it - one that makes my joints ache if not covered up and exposed. Last winter's achilles injury came haunting back to me in memory.... I definitely want to avoid that again.

I just found out that we're going to a Halloween party down in Tacoma. Should be a blast. I love dressing up. I'm going to be a naughty nurse. :)

feathering the oars

This morning we went out in a four person sweep. The water was perfect - as was the temp. We placed the boat in the water and then climbed in. I was in the front bow position, then Marcy then Jess and last Chow. I had the control of the rutters - which means you get to wear velcro shoes that are 8 sizes too big for steering. Chow was the tempo setter once we finally all four started rowing together. It was a little tipsy at first - if you don't feather your blades on the water then you could potentially log roll the boat. Lightly feathering is the way you reset the boat (aka keep it stable) inbetween strokes. Maintaining a rythm between all 4 people can be difficult too because if you are not mimicking the steerns positioning and catch then you have a see saw motion that gets more and more tipsy as you go along. Chow admitted that when she was setting the tempo she would forget she was and then try to match everyone else in the boat - creating chaos. It was pretty funny. We didn't go swimming! Yeah!!!

On Friday we get to take single boats out on the water. I am super excited to try that!

GRD

Get R' Done.
I've been procrastinating long enough about getting my real estate license. And now I have incentive - once I complete the test and have my license I will then be able to work guilt free on obtaining a Level I Cyling certification from usa cycling in attempt to get some tax breaks. I spend so much time and money on cycling - why not use that loop hole to my advantage?

On the training front - things are going well. I've been putting the time in at the gym and on the dock down at the boat house. Winter is well on its way and on Sunday I rode through the pouring down rain and smiled to myself the whole time.

Ski season is coming -hopefully with more gusto than last year - and I'm looking forward to getting some turns in.

a wet cold hangover

went for a ride this afternoon despite partying last night and staying up late. It's been drizzling all day - your typical Seattle sunshine. Training is going well - I'm starting to notice some improvements in my stamina as well as increased muscle mass in my thighs. My pants are starting to get tight around areas they used to be baggy - and baggy where they used to be tight.
I'm looking forward to relaxing the rest of the evening.

making it count

yesterday we went on a serious hammer fest ride. it was hard - but good. I was talking with Leif and Melinda last night about it - the question is whether or not we should be going that hard in October. My response was - that may be what it takes to be a National Champion. I'm beat.

We went on a nice ride this morning - and the weather was amazing. I was wickedly tired though by the time I got home.

making it count

ok, so I'm not sure if I really like this obnoxious pink blog color. I'll change it eventually - once I get through my Barbie phase.

Yesterday we went on a straight up hammer fest ride. I'm not sure why we rode that hard for 2 hours - but we did. I was worked! Leif and I were talking about it later with Melinda - he was saying it was like a mid season ride. And then we started talking about the program... wondering if it's too hard too soon - and my response was - if you want to be a National Champion - then damn it, you do it. Making it count - each time. It still hurt. :)

The weather was amazing - one of the last beautiful fall days that one should savor for the rainy, cold winter days that are a comin'.

fly by week

this week passed quickly. Rowing started up on Monday and has been a blast. My sister and I are taking it together so we can spend some time before she heads off to Australia for a year. The instructor is hilarious - and it'll be comical to see what happens tomorrow when we try to put a boat in the water. Fun times!

Yesterday I went for a nice casual ride down to Seward and home. I got to wear my new Ibex knickers and they were fantastic, if not a little on the warm side. I smiled the whole time. I've been going through some old family photos from the nineties to put them in albums - and noticed how my weight will fluctuate significantly if I don't maintain exercise. Simply put - I LOVE to eat and if I'm not burning the calories then the pounds surmount. Then I thought about how cycling has put even more joy into my life - not only from a physical aspect but being outdoors, doing something that is in harmony with the environment and having fun while doing it. I will definitely be a lifelong cyclist.

Oh yeah - on a side note - it's been over a week since I vowed off the sweets and it's going great! I'm feeling good and not feeling guilty whatsoever! This is working well. Now if I can just push the drive for cycling into the seat next to my no sweet diet, I'll be rocking the house!

power testing

Tonight we did two tests at Computrainer. The first was a 5 mile time trial... hard out from the gates to give us a gage to see improvement over the training period. My average wattage was 230 with a time of 13:38. That set the bar and will give me a measurement from where I can gage my progress from this point on. It hurt. I had several peaks and valleys of power - every spike was followed by a valley of weakness. It is definitely an art to learn - I look forward to figuring out a solid conistency and doing much better.

The second test was on a Floscan to measure peak wattage and how long you can maintain that higher level of wattage. I peaked at 830, 171 max rpm, 143 avg rpm. I forget the other numbers but Ryan's holding onto them for future reference. Halfway through the first testing I had a stomach cramp creep up on me and I requested to be tested again. The second go around was much better.

It was an interesting test - although I am so friggin competitive that I feel like I could have and should have done better. I look forward to doing it again and seeing some progress.

whine, whine, bitch bitch complain

this morning I woke up a little sorer than usual .... my hammies were not used to that type of movement and I probably lifted too much weight to start with. I woke up a little unmotivated to head to the gym this morning so I did my total body workout at home. My target weakness - stretching. Spent several minutes doing lower body exercises and it felt great.

Last night I went to Computrainer - it was fun. I talked with Tim for a little while... he's definitely a good guy to know. Asta la pasta.

will power

in attempt to lose the flab that's been hanging around my tummy and test my will power, I have vowed off sweets. I'm pretty sure this is the only way to get the rock hard body I've been dreaming about... so no more Belgians, cookies, ice cream, etc. Damn - this is going to be hard. I'm giving myself 3 months to see what happens. If the flab remains, then why deny myself of the simple pleasures? If the flab goes - then I'll take some nude photos and submit them to Playboy.

achy knee

yesterday I did some squats in attempt to learn the proper positioning for injury free weight lifting. But unfortunately my knee started screaming at me while doing them. It left my knee feeling slightly tender today... it's aching while I'm sitting here. So until I get down better form then I'm going to avoid using weights to do the squats. I also attempted these dead leg lifts that for some reason I couldn't get the form down... maybe it was because the gym was filled with muscle bound men and i felt intimidated.... I usually go in the morning when I have the entire gym to myself. It makes a huge difference. I practiced the movement in the mirror today and it's looking a lot better.

Other than that - it's a beautiful day today and I'm looking forward to riding in it.

birthdays, climbing and broken bones

Coleman's 2nd birthday was a blast - there's nothing like a healthy dose of birth control to do a body good! Kids are cute and all - but we're just not ready yet for the mayhem.

On our way home we stopped in Portland off highway 84 to do some cragging. It was interesting rock - a basalt that was somewhat soapy at the bottom and then increased in texture the higher you climbed. Ryan of course was a hot stud and lead some excellent climbs - and yours truely seconded them. It was fun and a great way to take advantage of today's nice weather.

On Friday however, during a sprint practice down at Golden Gardens, I watched Tim overlap Ryan's rear wheel and go down, HARD. Turns out the poor guy had a concusion and broke his left collarbone. It was agonizing. We were working on some advanced moves, where I was to be right on Ryan's wheel and then Tim was supposed to work his way between us. Well when Ryan took off I immediately gapped off, Tim took advantage of the hole, Ryan looked back to see where I was and slowed just slightly so that Tim's wheel overlapped. Down he went. I was off to the right far enough so when he hit pavement I didn't get caught up in the spill. I slammed on the breaks immediately, causing my rear wheel to skid and then turned around. Tim didn't get up that quickly and some poor bystander helped block traffic so we could get out of the way. It spooked me out. I had a weird fear of falling today because of it. Strange. Traumatic.

Oh and for all you random readers, if there are any out there - I'm talking about two different Ryan's. Ryan my husband, the hot stud and Ryan Miller my coach.

random acts of kindness

so this morning at the gym, Janet, this perky personal trainer who has a thick New York accent, made an unsolicited compliment on how toned I look compared to last year. that made my morning! Now if I can just get rid of the junk around my tummy - I'd be really toned up!

Weight training is going well - getting back into the swing of things. I'm actually enjoying it a lot more now that there's more variety in my routine.

back to the gym

yesterday was my first day back at the gym - and I did the same routine that I did last year. I thought to myself, bare with it, this is for a good cause. But then I got my weight training schedule and it's new! it's exciting and most importantly it's different!!! so putting time in the gym won't be so bad anymore. I actually did my first circuit training this morning and feel a little pooped from it... I'm looking forward to the benefits already.

on a fender note - I'm trying to commando them myself and have already put in about 4 hours of retro fit of my old fenders. all i need is this one piece to fit and then i'll be good to go. but the hard part is it is nearly impossible to rebend to the proper shape. i'm tempted to take it in to the shop....

tomorrow's a cross training day - hopefully i'll be able to hold onto the wall at jonah's house. i did upper body today and know with that type of effort, i'm bound to be sore tomorrow.

underwater pedaling

it poured rain today while we were on our ride. I'm talking the typical Seattle weather that scares all of the southern Californians away... the rain that chills you to the bone and makes you thankful for wool and hot soup when you get home. The type of rain that makes you want to curl up in bed with a novel that you can read by dosing in and out of sleep because who in their right mind would go outside on a day like today rain. Inspiring rain - one's that helped the invention of gortex, aqua socks, thermal wear and synthestics that stay warm even though it's 45 degrees and raining. Rain that would give some Hawaiian islanders a serious life threating flu. I'm not mocking the rain - not in the slightest. For I know that when it gets really impossible and you wonder why the hell am I training in the rain - you know it will come down to winning or placing second. That puts a smile in my face regardless of how many inches per hour are coming down from the pale grey sky.

the rain is here

today we had a serious rain storm sweep through the Seattle area. Lighting and thunder - the full nine! It makes me realize just how lucky I was last season when we had an unusally dry fall and winter. I miss it already! Time to break out the old fenders and booties. Fun times!