I got a later start than normal for my afternoon/evening ride but it was sunny and dry so I couldn't complain. I headed up North along the Burke Gilman to do some interval work. But seeing as it was hovering around 37 or so I took my time warming up. In fact, I was seriously contemplating the benefit of doing an interval in that cold of weather. And just when I mustered up enough persuasion to pound out the watts, I hit a patch of ice and went down, HARD.
With my ego just about as bruised as the meaty flesh of my rump, I turned around and headed back home. More embarrassed than anything - I was really thankful for the people who came to my rescue when I went down. I thanked them profusely and headed back on my way.
Oh well - I was overdue for some drama. :)
Friday, December 29, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Too much trainer time...
I just put in a solid 3:15 on the trainer. I can't believe it myself. Little Ms "I don't ride a trainer but 4 times a year" has turned into an indoor junkie. It sucked though. My butt hurts and I think I cured myself for indoor riding for a solid week of pouring rain. All I have to do is remind myself why I'm doing this to my body and the watts keep pedaling out.
A champion is made a day at a time.
What's your longest indoor trainer session?
A champion is made a day at a time.
What's your longest indoor trainer session?
Quickie...
Christmas was great - spent it with family and had ZERO drama. Excellent. Giving gifts is such an awesome treat - and causing a few tears of joy is definitely worth it. :) Jaimie's due at the end of January so we'll get to spend some more time with them soon.
Ryan and I are still in project mayhem at home. This morning the demo crew showed up and I snuck away while they were working. Why hang out? If they need to get a hold of me, they'll find a way to reach me I suppose.
We now have HOT water! Good thing because last night I came home after my 3 hour ride in the pouring rain and 37 degree weather and hopped right in the shower. Oh it felt good. Despite the screaming barfies.
Headed up to Burnaby in two weekends to do some racing. It should be fun!
And a nice break from the steady cold rain falling from the sky this time of year....
Ryan and I are still in project mayhem at home. This morning the demo crew showed up and I snuck away while they were working. Why hang out? If they need to get a hold of me, they'll find a way to reach me I suppose.
We now have HOT water! Good thing because last night I came home after my 3 hour ride in the pouring rain and 37 degree weather and hopped right in the shower. Oh it felt good. Despite the screaming barfies.
Headed up to Burnaby in two weekends to do some racing. It should be fun!
And a nice break from the steady cold rain falling from the sky this time of year....
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Progress
The insurance adjuster came over this morning and confirmed that everything is covered. What a relief it was to hear that!
The furnace will be covered - yeah! And as I type there's a clean up crew tearing out our basement floor covering as we speak. The furnace is supposed to be installed today - hopefully they'll finish tonight. Tomorrow our walls get torn out and dryers come in and start sucking the moisture out of the air. Our office is starting to show where the moisture is traveling. Crazy.
Meanwhile, I just have to sit and wait while the work.
Training wise - I got a good ride in. Miller's basing my next training block off of kilojoules burnt - and at my peak I'm supposed to hit 12,250. Ouch. That's going to hurt.
The furnace will be covered - yeah! And as I type there's a clean up crew tearing out our basement floor covering as we speak. The furnace is supposed to be installed today - hopefully they'll finish tonight. Tomorrow our walls get torn out and dryers come in and start sucking the moisture out of the air. Our office is starting to show where the moisture is traveling. Crazy.
Meanwhile, I just have to sit and wait while the work.
Training wise - I got a good ride in. Miller's basing my next training block off of kilojoules burnt - and at my peak I'm supposed to hit 12,250. Ouch. That's going to hurt.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Update
So yesterday a plumber came over and wanted to charge $1400 for replacing our hot water heater. I called them back and canceled the work order because we were able to buy the water heater at Home Depot for $400 and will have Tom come down and install it. Considering insurance won't cover that portion of it then we might as well save as much cash as possible.
The heater guy was over and determined that the water damage was the straw that broke the camels back. He used the analogy of putting a brand new engine in a 1969 Honda. It's just not worth it. So the cost to replace a furnace and bring it up to code - $3,400.
Meanwhile I haven't heard back from our insurance agent yet to find out when they will come out and inspect the damage. So I hired Coit who specializes in water damage and restoration. They are starting the work tomorrow morning. It was kind of wierd though. Originally the manager of the company called me to tell me we were at the bottom of the waiting list. But then he found out we had Chubb insurance and suddenly we were shot to the top of the list. Funny - money does talk.
We've been staying at my mom's - she's so generous I can't believe it. We still need to get some Christmas shopping done and life must go on....
Makiah even senses somethings going on. She's so sweet - I brought her into the office today and she's laying right next to me. Beats sitting in a freezing cold house I suppose.
The heater guy was over and determined that the water damage was the straw that broke the camels back. He used the analogy of putting a brand new engine in a 1969 Honda. It's just not worth it. So the cost to replace a furnace and bring it up to code - $3,400.
Meanwhile I haven't heard back from our insurance agent yet to find out when they will come out and inspect the damage. So I hired Coit who specializes in water damage and restoration. They are starting the work tomorrow morning. It was kind of wierd though. Originally the manager of the company called me to tell me we were at the bottom of the waiting list. But then he found out we had Chubb insurance and suddenly we were shot to the top of the list. Funny - money does talk.
We've been staying at my mom's - she's so generous I can't believe it. We still need to get some Christmas shopping done and life must go on....
Makiah even senses somethings going on. She's so sweet - I brought her into the office today and she's laying right next to me. Beats sitting in a freezing cold house I suppose.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Mayhem
So here's the semi-long version of what happened to us this weekend.
Thursday night the national weather service had a severe wind warning for the Seattle area. They were expecting gusts up to 65mph and record rain fall. Ryan and I got home around 10:30 after hanging out with friends in Ballard to sit at the kitchen table, chat for about 5 minutes and then BOOM the lights went out. We went to bed and heard all of these emergency vehicles go up and down our street to fix some issue. We didn't sleep that well - I kept thinking about the big trees in our backyard and the proximity to our house. Luckily nothing happened there.
We woke up, walked down the street and saw that a huge tree blocked Meridian and completely knocked out the power lines and cable. The weird part though - my mom had partial power. Her building has three power sources so she had lights in most rooms but no frig or furnace. We camped out at her place for a little while and visited with my brother, his wife and Coleman the incredible.
Saturday we decided to go climbing. But Friday night I remember falling asleep and waking up to some sort of rushing noise. Ryan thought it was just the forced air but I didn't think that would happen without the power. We left early that morning and ended up staying over at Ben and Danielle's that night. They had this air mattress that kept deflating throughout the night - but it had a pump on it so we could inflate when ever we realized our elbows were touching the floor.
Sunday we headed back to the house to feed Makiah and ran into our neighbor Jo. She was roughing it at home and using her fire stove. We were chatting for a while and Ryan went inside to feed the pooch, only to come back out and "uh, Jen? Our basement's flooded." Crap.
He put on my big green boots and then tromped downstairs to shut off the water line to the house. Basically our water heater failed and the bottom dropped out and the water line ended up running for 2 days. So when we discovered it, we had about 12" of standing water. Fun times.
Ryan's step dad is a plumber and he suggested getting the water out asap. We used our garden hoses to try getting the water to siffen out but by the time we got any water out, the basement had already gotten rid of all the water. Where it went, we don't know. Apparently our concrete slab has lots of cracks in it and it seeped through. I don't know if that's good or bad.
Meanwhile our power was still out. Thank goodness. All of Ryan's computer equipment was still plugged in and would have fried our circuits and could have potentially caused a fire. Now we're in full water damage mode and are on a huge waiting list with water damage experts to get it fixed. Our insurance company has been informed and we're waiting for an inspector to come out and assess the damage.
Crazy. Our property manager at the office had a tree fall on his house! Poor guy - things could definitely be worse.
Well back to the mayhem....
Thursday night the national weather service had a severe wind warning for the Seattle area. They were expecting gusts up to 65mph and record rain fall. Ryan and I got home around 10:30 after hanging out with friends in Ballard to sit at the kitchen table, chat for about 5 minutes and then BOOM the lights went out. We went to bed and heard all of these emergency vehicles go up and down our street to fix some issue. We didn't sleep that well - I kept thinking about the big trees in our backyard and the proximity to our house. Luckily nothing happened there.
We woke up, walked down the street and saw that a huge tree blocked Meridian and completely knocked out the power lines and cable. The weird part though - my mom had partial power. Her building has three power sources so she had lights in most rooms but no frig or furnace. We camped out at her place for a little while and visited with my brother, his wife and Coleman the incredible.
Saturday we decided to go climbing. But Friday night I remember falling asleep and waking up to some sort of rushing noise. Ryan thought it was just the forced air but I didn't think that would happen without the power. We left early that morning and ended up staying over at Ben and Danielle's that night. They had this air mattress that kept deflating throughout the night - but it had a pump on it so we could inflate when ever we realized our elbows were touching the floor.
Sunday we headed back to the house to feed Makiah and ran into our neighbor Jo. She was roughing it at home and using her fire stove. We were chatting for a while and Ryan went inside to feed the pooch, only to come back out and "uh, Jen? Our basement's flooded." Crap.
He put on my big green boots and then tromped downstairs to shut off the water line to the house. Basically our water heater failed and the bottom dropped out and the water line ended up running for 2 days. So when we discovered it, we had about 12" of standing water. Fun times.
Ryan's step dad is a plumber and he suggested getting the water out asap. We used our garden hoses to try getting the water to siffen out but by the time we got any water out, the basement had already gotten rid of all the water. Where it went, we don't know. Apparently our concrete slab has lots of cracks in it and it seeped through. I don't know if that's good or bad.
Meanwhile our power was still out. Thank goodness. All of Ryan's computer equipment was still plugged in and would have fried our circuits and could have potentially caused a fire. Now we're in full water damage mode and are on a huge waiting list with water damage experts to get it fixed. Our insurance company has been informed and we're waiting for an inspector to come out and assess the damage.
Crazy. Our property manager at the office had a tree fall on his house! Poor guy - things could definitely be worse.
Well back to the mayhem....
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
As if!
As if my last squabble about the weather was really all that bad. Today we had gusts up to 60mph and up to 85mph expected tomorrow night! The wind is blowing like crazy! So I thought I'd post before the power goes out.
Miller gave me a game plan - the pain and long miles begin today. Sweet. I knew it was coming - it was only a matter of time. :)
Miller gave me a game plan - the pain and long miles begin today. Sweet. I knew it was coming - it was only a matter of time. :)
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
The Weather outside is Frightful
Seriously, who wouldn't want to ride in the mid-forties, with wind gusts up to 35mph? I mean if my trees can't take, and trust me, our backyard has some serious carnage from last nights storm, then why wouldn't I want to go out today? Indoor trainers - bah!
I've been reading some mental training books recommend by Carrie Chattel (Sorry if I butchered the spelling of that one!). She's the mental training coach who came to Starbucks and did an informative clinic. Anyhoo - one of the books, "Body Mind Mastery" has some interesting takes on training. First of all you have to treat training just as importantly as racing- mentally and physically preparing for your peak event. (I'm of course picking and choosing what I think is most applicable to me at the moment - when I reread this book again I'm sure the meaning will completely change.) And another tip was to train in less than desirable conditions. I knew there was a reason I live in the PNW during the winter! And probably why PNWer's have such a high success rate when racing abroad. At least that's my theory and I'm sticking to it.
It's funny - I keep the book next time my bed and read little bits and pieces out of it every night. It seems to be helping - so why not? It sure beats the typical trashy romance novel. Well, not always. :)
I've been reading some mental training books recommend by Carrie Chattel (Sorry if I butchered the spelling of that one!). She's the mental training coach who came to Starbucks and did an informative clinic. Anyhoo - one of the books, "Body Mind Mastery" has some interesting takes on training. First of all you have to treat training just as importantly as racing- mentally and physically preparing for your peak event. (I'm of course picking and choosing what I think is most applicable to me at the moment - when I reread this book again I'm sure the meaning will completely change.) And another tip was to train in less than desirable conditions. I knew there was a reason I live in the PNW during the winter! And probably why PNWer's have such a high success rate when racing abroad. At least that's my theory and I'm sticking to it.
It's funny - I keep the book next time my bed and read little bits and pieces out of it every night. It seems to be helping - so why not? It sure beats the typical trashy romance novel. Well, not always. :)
Monday, December 11, 2006
Weekend Warrior?
So I'm starting to wonder if I fit into the weekend warrior athlete description. Usually on Saturday mornings, I'll wake up at 8, eat a good breakfast and jump on the bike to meet the ladies at 9:30 at the shop. Then we go out for a 4+ hour ride and battle through inclement conditions. I usually make it home before it gets dark - but just barely. We've been putting in the serious mileage. It's super fun though and helps us bond as a team. We attempted our first pace line in nasty windy rainy weather - and it blew apart really quickly. Thank goodness Annette was there to get us going again - and we were quickly back to it. I was behind Liz though and she didn't have any fenders so I was seriously sprayed the entire time. By the time we stopped I was caked in mud/road grit from head to toe.
Sunday we went climbing - and my body is getting used to the movements. I'm able to do 4 solid pull ups in a row now. My goal was five - I'm almost there!
Oh - and I can't forget to mention my new shorts! On Saturday Liz had an awesome Christmas party with a white elephant gift exchange. And one lucky person got to take home some nude colored shorts with a penis screened on it. They were awesome! Guess who that lucky person is? Yours truly. Don't forget to wave when you see me on the trail because I'll be saluting!
Sunday we went climbing - and my body is getting used to the movements. I'm able to do 4 solid pull ups in a row now. My goal was five - I'm almost there!
Oh - and I can't forget to mention my new shorts! On Saturday Liz had an awesome Christmas party with a white elephant gift exchange. And one lucky person got to take home some nude colored shorts with a penis screened on it. They were awesome! Guess who that lucky person is? Yours truly. Don't forget to wave when you see me on the trail because I'll be saluting!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Excess? That's my middle name
Ok - so maybe I over did it for once. :) First it started with sugar cookies that ended up making me feel sick to my stomach for three days, and then I decided that dark and white chocolate cookies were just what I need to feel better. I know I have no resistance - why do I do it to myself? This time it was in the name of Liz's party - but I'll be lucky if a single chocolate morsel even makes it there.
It's official!
I'm officially a Cat 2 on the road now. Sweet. I was starting to stress a little about obtaining the upgrade - but turns out I had enough points all along. So now I'm on board for Redlands!
We had a good meeting last night. Basically we're concentrating on regional events and getting the BARR as a team - and doing a couple of NRC's. Our calendar filled up quickly. But it should be amazing.
We had a good meeting last night. Basically we're concentrating on regional events and getting the BARR as a team - and doing a couple of NRC's. Our calendar filled up quickly. But it should be amazing.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Ahhhh... there's nothing like waking up to the glow of a morning sunrise illuminating my house. Usually it only happens in the summer - but today I got a treat. It's just what I need because I test again today on Cougar to see if my LT has gone up. A little extra bonus definitely lifts the spirits.
I went for a night ride with Melinda last night down in W. Seattle. We did a nice big loop - about 30 miles worth and it was nice to get on some new terrain. We almost made it on the freeway and added the Portland ride just for kicks - but then realized we didn't have enough food or water - so maybe next time. :) Lucky girl - she's headed to Cabo this morning for a 5 day diving trip. 90 degrees sounds mighty good - as I look down and see it's currently 37. Burr!!! (Just remember the sunrise Juice!)
We're actually looking to take a girls trip over to Leavenworth in January for a week full of snowshoeing, skate skiing, downhill and biking, not to mention cooking yummy food and doing some yoga. I'm going to see if any cabins are available while she's away.
Wow - racing will be here soon! The off season sure does fly by when you're having fun and occupy your winter with other sports.
I went for a night ride with Melinda last night down in W. Seattle. We did a nice big loop - about 30 miles worth and it was nice to get on some new terrain. We almost made it on the freeway and added the Portland ride just for kicks - but then realized we didn't have enough food or water - so maybe next time. :) Lucky girl - she's headed to Cabo this morning for a 5 day diving trip. 90 degrees sounds mighty good - as I look down and see it's currently 37. Burr!!! (Just remember the sunrise Juice!)
We're actually looking to take a girls trip over to Leavenworth in January for a week full of snowshoeing, skate skiing, downhill and biking, not to mention cooking yummy food and doing some yoga. I'm going to see if any cabins are available while she's away.
Wow - racing will be here soon! The off season sure does fly by when you're having fun and occupy your winter with other sports.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Saturday, December 02, 2006
So I took a gamble this morning - staying home rather than getting some tracks in up at Baker. But seeing as it's the second of December, and the race season will be here before we know it, I decided it was time to put in some hours of training with the ladies. It's beautiful out - although 35 degrees. We may run into a couple patches of ice - but that's much better than fighting the wind/snow/rain mix so I'm happy that I stayed home. We have a meeting next week to discuss the calendar and look at the sponsorship - I'm excited.
Glenn reminded me of the upcoming 6 day at Burnaby - time to inflate those race wheels and get back to some anaerobic breathing. Fun times! I'm still not sure if I'm ready to get back on my track bike yet. :)
Tomorrow I head to the Summitt with Melinda to do some skate skiing. Should be fun!
Glenn reminded me of the upcoming 6 day at Burnaby - time to inflate those race wheels and get back to some anaerobic breathing. Fun times! I'm still not sure if I'm ready to get back on my track bike yet. :)
Tomorrow I head to the Summitt with Melinda to do some skate skiing. Should be fun!
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