Let's get NAKED

New bike is on order as of Friday.

As Glenn would say, that's STINKY!

http://www.timetogetnaked.com/index2.html

Quite a shocker with the recent national news about the VTech massacre. My heart goes out to those who were effected by the horrific event. But it does make me wonder, we have slaughtering going on around the world where car bombs kill 84 people in one event - and not so much of a bleep is mentioned in mass media. The violence increases and yet a homeland event gets more press than the inhuman acts happening across the globe. I just don't get it.

Is it because we're desensitized to what's happening abroad? We don't realize that hundreds of thousands of families have lost their loved ones as well and something needs to stop? It's happening to someone else on the other side of the world - it doesn't hit home. But when it does then the questions start - the absolute frantic need to correct a screwed up system. Freaky.

Maybe I should just crawl back into my sheltered bike racing life and hope it never hits close to home. Sorry - that's my soap box for the day.

Weekend Warrior

Headed to Leavenworth this weekend and got in some sun, climbing and riding. It was awesome getting some mileage in on some new roads. The Ponderosa Pines kept dropping their big ass cones. At first I couldn't figure it out. You'd hear this strange crashing noise and then BAM! Right in front of you a cone would hit. I was convinced some evil Geiko Squirrels were doing it for insurance money.

Then on Saturday night I had a run in with a tick. After riding up and down Icicle Canyon road I tried hiking to the upper 8 mile buttress to watch Ryan and Andrew send some new climbing projects. The path and approach description were sketchy at best - and after 20 minutes of scampering over scree I decided to turn around before I got lost. I had strapped my jacket to the outside of my pack and it kept getting stuck on branches. Once safely back to the van, I broke out my book and stretched out. Then I felt a little trickle - like someone dropped something down my shirt. I thought nothing of it - until later at dinner I felt something scurry up my back - only to reach up and feel a tick on me. I made Ryan go to the bathroom with me to look for the little bastard and he thought I was crazy. After not finding anything, we went back to the table and had some more food and drinks. Then I felt something on my neck, swiped it away - only to find a tick. GROSS!!!!! Those things give me the willies. NASTY.

We poached some camping up the Tumwater Canyon Saturday night. That's the beauty of Maggie - you can pull over any where and set up camp. I swear I heard some animals scurrying outside though in the middle of the night. Camping also makes for some excellent bed head hair.

I planned a bigger day on Sunday for riding. This time down to Plain and back. It's a steady climb into town and then a super fun fast 1 mile descent into town. I passed a woman climbing up the road and scared her half to death. Road riders are not common out there. That and she was probably honing in on the cone squirrels.

All in all a great weekend. I even got some rock climbing in! It's great taking advantage of these race down times.

Back on track... well sort of

Yesterday was a slow reminder that I'm not back to where I was and still have some time to put in the saddle before any serious efforts. I felt so good after Tuesday's double day that it was nearly painful when I couldn't put the energy or wattage into the short rollers out and around Mercer Island. Poor Ryan was rarring to go - he's an off the couch kick your ass kind of athlete and his engine was ready to go. But he had to wait patiently for his slow wifey poo. My slow days are numbered though.

We ran into Chris after going through the curveys and chatted with him for awhile. He made a comment that it was almost painful to see me this way because he knows how fast I was. Oh well - like I said, my slow days are numbered.

Speaking of injuries - poor Tyler Farrar and his broken knee cap. Those cobbles sound vicious! May he have a quick and speedy recovery.

Back on track

Things are starting to get back on track. My hammy is doing much much MUCH better. I did my first hill/interval workout yesterday morning followed by an evening spin and it feels GREAT today. Which means I can start seriously looking at the calendar and start planning my race season!

And our house is ALMOST back together. I went and picked up the replacement desk stuff today. Ryan and I are going to shop for baseboards tonight. The appliance repair person stopped by today, looked at our dryer, washer (which he recommends replacing all of the motor parts that were submerged in the water), convection oven, etc. Things are miraculously coming back together all at once!!

I get my saddle bags put on the moto tomorrow. Which means I have to start hauling the gear around. No worries though - adventures here I come!

I had to pass up Walla Walla this year - bummer. But I should be ready for some big races soon!

(And I just noticed all of my previous paragraphs ended with exclamation points. Yes, I mean to shout them all.!! !!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Up and coming...

My goal was 55 single leg hamstring raises - and this weekend I made it. That means I can start officially start training again. YAY!!!!!

It's been two months of on again off again hammie issues - but I think it's safe to say I'm finally over the hump and I'M STOKED!!!!

Went to Bellingham this past weekend and did some fun mountain biking with Orien, Sonja, Josh, Seth and Bubba and had a blast. The hammie survived the ups and downs and actually felt really good the next day. The weather was awesome. I miss the Ham. It was fun to hang up there.

Grinning from ear to ear!

Picked up the new ride last night and went for a spin. I don't think I can wipe the smile off my face even if I tried.

Oh the wonders of man made machines.

75 degrees today and gorgeous - a great day to play hooky and go ride. :)

Spazzz

We just got our basement contents back from the flood that happened back in December. Half of our crap is wet and moldy - and needs to be thrown away. I'm taking an inventory of the items for recovery from the insurance company. And as I was lifting some of the moldy, disgusting, rotten boxes out of our basement two days ago, my back tweaked a little. I thought nothing of it, continued in my normal way and was fine. The next day, I went to lift some recycling to the van and it spazzed - sending shooting pain into my brain. I had to drop what I was doing and go try and lay down. Luckily I had a PT appointment later in the day and Izette was able to work on getting my vertebrae back in alignment. Ouch! I slept on a heating pad all night and unable to move.

Can I please just have a normal body that doesn't break down? Is that too much to ask for? Apparently! Oh well - one more day and I'll be powering away with 652 cc's between my legs.

hammie update

Things are really starting to improve. Yesterday I rode (for the third day in a row!) without any pain or strain on my hammie. I had to constantly remind myself to take it easy and not overdue it. Excellent.

My mom leaves for Oahu again today. My grandmother had a crazy house painting experience with my cousin's husband. To make a long story short - my mom is headed over to her rescue.

MOE

The 14th Annual Mutual of Enumclaw Stage Race is back!

When: May 19th-20th, 2007.
Where: Enumclaw, Washington (40 miles South of Seattle)

Entry Fees: $60 ($25 RR, $25 Crit, $15 TT), including USCF and WSBA surchages. Preregistration only - NO DAY OF RACE REGISTRATION. And no refunds after May 17th.

Prize Money $10,000!!!!

This is a Omnium stage race. Standings are based on points awarded for each stage. You must start all three events to be eligible for Omnium points and prizes.

See http://www.mutualofenumclaw.com/stagerace for details.

My team, TiCycles is sponsoring this event. A portion of the proceeds goes to the Special Olympics. We hope to see you there!

My new BMW F650 GS

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Motoring

Spent the last two days taking a motorcycle endorsement class. It was my first time riding and operating a bike - and the instructor approached me afterwards and asked me if I'd be interested in instructing. Ha! Two days on the bike!

If I do it then every mile I ride can be a tax write off of $.48/mile. It practically pays for itself!

Shopping for bikes this weekend - hopefully we'll pick something out for my birfday. :)

LSD (Long slow days)

Well sort of - if you consider an hour and a half a long slow day. Now add in the factor of rarely going faster than 12 mph and suddenly your efforts seem twice as long. Yep, that's right. I'm a rec rider as we speak. My existence has whittled down to what the hamstring allows me to do - and that means turtle speed. But I'm okay with that if that means I'll be back to it soon. Turtles can race too.

The other day we got together with some Bellinghamsters Ryan grew up with down in Tacoma. For some reason we started talking about Chris Wright, this sparring partner I had when boxing. He was an amazing athlete and Ryan, Andrew and Adam had some good stories about the fights Chris would instigate after school in Cornwall park. Chris had an insane amount of fast twitch muscle fiber - he would Chuck Norris people's asses. Then we started in on the Chuck Norris jokes - those never get old.

Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

If you ask Chuck Norris what time it is, he always says, "Two seconds till." After you ask, "Two seconds to what?" he roundhouse kicks you in the face.

If you want a list of Chuck Norris' enemies, just check the extinct species list.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is based on a true story: Chuck Norris once swallowed a turtle whole, and when he crapped it out, the turtle was six feet tall and had learned karate.

Oh and there's more where that came from...

The haps...

This past week has flown by - I've managed to keep myself busy doing things other than riding. I'm starting to get used to not riding and healing - but I hope this stops soon! It's getting old - fast.

The memorial service for my grandfather was good - it was a trip to see all of my relatives in one spot. For some of them it has been well over a decade since I last saw them. My grandfather would have loved to be there.

Ryan and I finished painting the basement. I've been putting a lot of my free time and energy into the basement - and it's paying off. We got a delivery of the dry goods today and are waiting to hear back from Superior about all the wet stuff they hauled away in December. What a mess. It's almost over though.

I rode my bike for only 30 minutes this weekend - I'm hoping that by truly taking time off the bike I'll be back to full recovery quicker. Sigh.

George Marshall Sutton Jr

My grandfather just passed - at noon. He will be missed by so many people. He lived a great life - but it was his time to go.

Rip

I may have re-injured my lame hamstring again. Idiot!

No Redlands - they found a replacement.

My grandfather probably won't make it through the week. Sad. He had an amazing life - and was definitely an inspiration for me to pedal. I remember he used to go for 50+ mile rides solo and he loved it.

Morning Dash

I can't seem to drag my butt out of bed earlier than 8am. I've set my alarm clock to some up beat hipster music and as soon as I heard Madonna belching out some chords I decided enough was enough. Walk like an Egyptian. (Yeah, yeah - Bangles, I know.)

First thing's first - must drink coffee. Open pot, pour in water, put in filter and fill with coffee grinds. Glance outside - oh yeah, it's Friday - garbage day.

But no worries, the garbage man doesn't usually come until late morning and no one else has their bins out on the street. As I'm taking my sweet ass time and downing my second half of java - I hear the brakes squeel up the street - and make a mad dash to put some pants on so I don't show the neighborhood my pj's. Luckily my next door neighbor heard him too - and dashed to grab her two bins which gave me just enough time to grab our garbage and give it to the driver. Phew - close call! The guy just laughed at us.

I needed that though - an interruption of the typical routine. Something to remind you the world is spinning around you and if you're not careful it will knock you on your bum.

Training wise - I decided after Sunday's jaunt to start putting some mileage on the saddle and build racing miles up. The hammy seems to be taking it ok - so why not? I rode with Miller and Nick Tuesday night and we did some nice interval work. I was wrecked the following day. Mr. T wanted to go for a ride on Magnolia and I was pathetic - my legs were torn up. Thursday was better - I met up with Kari and we headed down the trail only to get drenched. It was chilly too - only 36 in the morning and it really didn't warm up all day. She peeled off in Kenmore and then I rode home solo. I really stopped and smelled the cold wet roses. And then the self -doubt and questioning started creeping into my head. In retrospect - having those feelings is perfectly normal. I'm starting to train hard again and it's been a month of easy cheesy. It should be a shock to the body. I took for granted how adapted I was to riding before - and now that my body is getting back to it - it's starting to protest.

I got home and listened to a message from Kari. Apparently the Redlands race director called her and said that Ti needs 5 women to race or they can't race. I'm frantically searching to find a replacement. Otherwise I will travel down there, use it as training and just see how long I can last. Flipping hamstring. Why did it have to blow out this year?

back to it

So the MVA Auction raised over $23,000!!!! Mad props to all the people who volunteered and played a huge part in its success. I had a blast and bought a new Raleigh track frame out of the deal.

This week I'm going to ease back into a normal training load. Hopefully the hammie will tolerate it. My goal is to be back up and running by April 1. No joke.

decisions, descisions

Well I had to choose - and I chose not to go to Redlands. Although I felt strong on Sunday - dropping my chain during a riser could've been a blessing in disguise. I chased to get back on for 8 miles and then after a longer riser my hammie started sending warning signals to my brain. So I chilled. Lame. But - it's getting better! And I came to the realization that it isn't going to be prepared for Redlands and I need to cut my loses and continue the path of recovery.
Sunday was a flat race - Redlands is notoriously hilly. Hmmmm... and I haven't even climbed a hill yet. Yeah, not such a good idea.

But the racing season is early and there's lots and lots of racing to be had. I'm starting to wonder if I should book any more flights prior to the race. Losing money in change fees is getting to be a bummer!

On a side note - Carrie Eller is looking strong! She pulled a breakaway for 2 laps!

42 degrees and pouring

I'll take it! 3 hours of water surfing and pothole dodging - not a bad day for my first real venture out in over a month. It felt good - but it was kind of hard to feel anything after an hour and a half in the pouring rain and wind. I managed to kick out some decent power - nothing to write home about - but power nonetheless.

And today, the day after, the hammy actually feels alright. So we're a go for racing this weekend. Yay!!!

I downloaded my power data after the ride and compared it to last month - holy cow. Prior to my blow out I did some serious riding for at least two weeks solid. By far my biggest block of power to date. Hopefully this month of rest will kick it up a notch and I'll be exceeding those numbers shortly! But one pedal stroke at a time.

Some poor woman got stuck in the elevator yesterday at work. The building we're in is 20+ years old and so is the elevator. The building is only 3 stories tall - but some people prefer to still ride the elevators. Anyway - some woman got stuck between the 2nd and 3rd floor and we had to call the fire department and elevator repairman. By the time the repairman showed the woman was out - apparently the cab shimmied down to the 2nd floor and opened on its own. Time for a new elevator I think. (They're not cheap - they start around $80,000 - ouch.)

Updates....

Hmmmm... not necessarily posted in order of importance:

Ladies track training sessions has been moved from Tuesday nights to THURSDAY from 7:30-9pm. A great move considering the traffic, Fast Track intimidation factor, etc. And as long as 5 women show up - we get the track to ourselves. :)

Hammie... well it comes and goes. It felt great all weekend - I managed to get in 6 hours of riding on it. But yesterday I went to go for a spin and it didn't like it that much. Granted, I probably didn't wear enough layers, etc. - so we'll see if it's ok to race on it this weekend. If I can't race - then I'm bailing on Redlands. :( Simply put, I don't want to risk ruining an entire race season because I neglected to listen to my body and do the right thing. Talk about a hard decision to come to - but there's always next year. And who knows - it could do some miraculous healing in the next 24-28 hours!

Our downstairs is almost done. The cabinet guy was over yesterday and installed the laundry room counters. It looks fantastic. Bill was over working on the bike shop/TV room area too. He should be done soon. Then it's all about paint and getting it put back together!


YAY!

My brother and his family are coming up to stay a week starting Wednesday. Should be fun! Laurel is already over a month old.

Peas.

WPCS

So our team has been contacted by the promoter for the Nature Valley Grand Prix to make sure we're aware of the Women's Prestige Cycling Series since we're registered for Redlands. I hope everyone's game to do it - that would be awesome if we could represent and hopefully get some funds toward Bermuda.....

The hammie's getting better. I put in 2 pain free hours on the trainer last night at mid to high zone 2. Sweet. No racing this weekend - but things are looking up for the following weekend. ;)

GRD

So despite a weak hammy and inability to train 100%, I've managed to occupy my time quite nicely with laying the ground work to grow women's track locally.

Knitting season is officially over. (So I have a total of 15 rows to go to complete Ryan's fuzzy wool sweater - but after that, I'm done for a while.)

Spring is almost here - the weeping willow in our back yard is starting to have bright green buds poke out all over... which can only mean one thing - racing beginnings. Gone, hopefully soon, will be the days of 36 degree pouring rain 6 hour training rides. Hello shocking white knees that will blind you if you look at them without sunglasses. Hello funny tan lines and embarrassing bikini lines.

Oh! I almost forgot! I did a PR yesterday - an hour 45 on the bike with an average of 120 watts. (If I really think about it, that's pretty pathetic.) But this time I only got passed be one commuter and passed quite a few granny's. That lifts my spirits. Let me tell you how important it is to be able to pass someone, anyone, even if I'm 40 years their junior. At least their hamstrings work. Ha!

And even better than that - we got our kits last night. Hello Team Capitan Incredible. Bright red with a black superhero Ti Cycles logo. I'm going to Archie McPhee's today and buying masks.

taking it easy and playing it safe

Talk about a hard thing to do - when everything around you continues at its normal speed and you're not there. I just keep repeating to myself, "you have to go slow to go fast." Well if that's the case, then I'm going to be unstoppable. :0

Just watched the ToC - nice work to all the fellas putting in an early season effort.

I'm working with Carol and Izette to grow our local women's track scene. Hopefully we'll grow the fields so we have a 1/2/3 field again.

39 degrees and pouring rain

but I had a grin on my face from ear to ear. I got to ride outside today for the first time in 16 days! It felt awesome! My hammy cooperated - and although I've got a long ways to go - I'm tickled to death it's finally getting better. Actually this injury has been good for me - it's forced me to take some down time and work on mental training. It's been going really well actually. I'm super excited and motivated to get back on the bike - just in time for racing!

Hope you're training's going well. Keep smiling - that's why we do it!

tour of cali

If you're looking for some serious surfing coverage - check out the Tour of Cali;

www.amgentourofcalifornia.com

Their live coverage is sweet - you can follow them on satellite and track your favorite rider. Coverage may be a little hazy today due to the heavy rain but it still does the job.

My hammy's getting better!!!! I'm able to do a steady 30 minutes in zone one around 100 watts! I went and saw Erik Moen yesterday and he said I could ride outside this weekend too. Boy am I excited to get off of the trainer.

Smith Rockin' Good Time

Ryan and I canceled our Beaver Creek trip last minute due to my hamstring issue - which saved us quite a bit of dough and put more time off in Ryan's bank. Instead we ventured south 6.5 hours to Smith Rock - just outside of Bend, Oregon. Ryan drove Maggie (our 1990 VW hippy bus) the entire way. For entertainment we turned on the always strange hick talk radio through Biggs, OR to be pleasantly rewarded with a debate on cock fighting. Should men be allowed to fight their cocks legally? It was funny. (On another trip we were listening to the same station and some guy called in to say, "we should bomb Mecca.") And oddly enough we heard a Colorado Mountain Pass report stating that Vail pass was super slow moving and battling a severe snow storm. Dang. Oh well.

The weather on Saturday was super nice - it was great soaking up the rays and Vitamin D. Ryan and Orien were climbing buddies for the day and Katy and I got to hang out. She has a gimped leg so we hobbled around together and got some much needed exercise. The following day we planned on hiking around the odd volcanic formation and do some water painting. We took Makiah and Hobbes, Orien's pup. Hobbes is crazy.

Sunday the weather was chilly - with a strong prevalent wind blowing the entire day and making temps chilly. You could see Hood and the surrounding mountains were blanketed in snow clouds and nasty weather - and slowly but surely it worked its way toward us. By 4pm it was too cold to hang out so I headed back to the van and the fellas were only 10 minutes behind me. We hit snow in Cle Elum and luckily the temps were hovering right around 33/34. If we had waited another hour we would've gotten stuck.

It was a great trip and really nice to get out of the city for a weekend. My hammie's starting to feel better - and I'm starting to be able to do a little more than before. It's healing - but will take more time. I had a strange voicemail this morning from Gary, Ryan's dad. Apparently there's some missing mountaineers on Mt. Hood and he thought he heard we were in the area. My heart goes out to those people - I hope they're found soon!

It's really hard to come up with alternative exercises that don't involve your hamstrings and get your heart rate up... any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

I went to see my primary care doctor this morning and his response about the hamstring was what do you have planned in the next 6 months? 6 months? Yep, that's how long it could potential take to heal. It's a long slow healing process and in order to avoid 100% of fitness loss then I'm going to have to figure out something to do.

More importantly I have to keep my spirits up.

WahWah

Just saw Genevieve. She rules. Basically there's nothing major going on muscle wise - just a bunch of little bumps, which she rubbed out and maybe a slight tear. So time will tell how long I need to recover. But that makes my day and is something positive to focus on!

mental training

Even if I have to keep rereading the same passage over and over again -it's helping. Focusing on the positive and accepting injury is the first step in healing. It's all part of the natural process we call life.

All of this down time allows me to concentrate on the most under emphasized aspect of racing - the mental prep. And I picked up my paint brush again .... look out Picaso! We head to Colorado Friday for a fun weekend of skiing. Yeah!!!!

WTF? A neighbor up the street has belfor over to do some emergency water repair. Crazy - that means 4 houses on my block are in construction zone. Parking's TIGHT.

Record slow ride

All I kept thinking to myself today was - you gotta go slow to get fast. Don't worry - this is only temporary. You'll be 100% in no time.

I attempted an outdoor ride today. I'm not even close to being healed. I realized that about 12 minutes into my ride, right near the U when a ZING ran through my inner tendon on the back side of my right knee. It felt like it was going to seize up. I stretched it out and slowly continued on... man, this sucks. I'm itching to be back where I was. Did my mental strength out grow my physical self? It took me 45 minutes in what usually takes 20. Sad. You have to go slow to get fast.

I'm getting a massage tomorrow to hopefully knock it out. Bummer. Oh well - my body is telling me it's time to chill.

How to Kill time when you're injured...

1. Surf - I'm seriously almost pro at surfing the web. I spend hours of day on the puter and can't seem to tear myself away..... yet I frequent the same sites in hopes that someone has updated their content. Nope. Same shit. But I look again any way.

2. Knit. Yes, I'm a closet knitter. I used to knit socks - until I got sick of using these tiny needles which would take forever to show any progress. Ryan heckled me until I finally recently committed to making him a sweater. It's been 5 days since my hamstring pull and I'm already 3/4 of the way finished. (Usually it would take me all winter to complete one.) Yes, I'm compulsive. That's okay though - at least it's not something bad for my health. But now my wrists are clawed with carpel tunnel.

3. Eat chocolate. I am still searching for the world's best milk chocolate. Thank goodness my face doesn't show it. Yet. Scientists have found chocolate is a sure fire way to cure a slightly torn hammie.

4. Ignore chores. I'm really good at this because I can occupy myself doing all of the things listed above.

5. Clean my entire fleet of bikes with a tooth brush. Just kidding. I've never done that. That would take a lot of time - and I have sweaters to compulsively knit.

6. Stare into my back yard and imagine how nice it would be to have grass that would grow. I honestly went back there this weekend to fix our sagging planter boxes, only to discover our drill won't fit inside of the boxes for me to sink some lag bolts into the decking. Thankfully I didn't empty all the dirt out first to discover I didn't have the right tools. I must be getting smarter. Ha!

7. Read. Actually I really enjoy this one. Lately I've been reading a Tao Sports book and it's giving me great insights to often neglected mental aspect of sports. I'm trying to use this time to strength my mental preparation for the season - and eagerly look forward to each section I read and reflect on. Two seasons ago I pulled my achilles tendon right before racing started and had to sit out ML#1. I visualized the race and what it would be like for two weeks - to wind up 3rd in my first race, and come back to win the second one. Nice. Now if I could just do that for something more than ML's.


That's all I got.

Owie

I think I over did it this time.

After Tuesday night's slaughtering (really, my legs felt like lead weights later that night) - I had this great idea it would be a good time to test my FTP and do Cougar. Miller thought it was a good idea too - testing while I'm fatigued, just like what will happen during a stage race.

I felt fine - although I had a little soreness behind the knee - but it didn't hurt while I pedaled. IDIOT!

Up the hill I went - in record time too. But that night I started feeling some tenderness and then yesterday I had to hobble around. It was swollen - not like ligament swollen, but swollen from over use. Dang it - I had a to miss a 4 hour ride - with NO RAIN. Oh well.

Here's what I think happened - after doing this one monster climbing Tuesday night - I stopped at the turn around point and waited about 10 minutes while everyone else rolled in. I had this brilliant idea to stretch - and because my muscles were open - I over stretched it. Then I did some more climbing that night - followed by another day of climbing.... thoroughly fatiguing my leg. And now I sit - icing and maintaining positive thoughts to heal back up and get back on my bike.

Lesson learned - if you feel the slightest inclining that you might have over done it - don't continue and then beat your body to shit through hundreds of thousands of revolutions. Chill out - figure out what you did and relax. An injured leg won't help you at all.

Tuesday Climbing and Wednesday Testing....

Last night I made it to the weekly Tuesday night hill climb ride. TGH gets together at T-Mobile in Factoria for a 2.5 hour jaunt up some of the local hills on the east side. Melinda clued me in to going - and now I'm the lonely non-groupie who showed. Although we do a lot of hills - I think my climbing is coming along at a great pace. I finally feel like I'm getting in shape - and the fitter I am, the more hurt I can do. :)

We sprinted for the city limit sign - Trish, Erin and Izzette were lined up ready to give it a go. I had no idea where the sign was - so happily pulled. They sat in and I could tell it was coming up. Finally they got sick of sitting behind me and making me pull so Trish, Erin and Izzette all came around me. I sensed the upcoming jump - Izzette went first, Trish to her left and Erin coming up from behind. That's when I threw the after burners on and flew by. Trish said, "FUDGE" and then Izzette, a little further up the road, "FFFFUUUUDDDDGGGGEEEEE." And I just giggled in glee. Oh I can't wait for the road season to start. I haven't used the sprinting efforts in a while - they feel a little dusty. But I'm sure it'll come back in no time.

This morning I woke up with heavy legs - knowing full well today was another Cougar test. I've built up some confidence from attending the Tuesday nights - but it's hard when you go solo to truly 100% push yourself. I parked on Mercer Island and warmed up to the bottom of Cougar via McDonald's. The first section went well - shaving another minute off my PR last November. Then I hit a wall and for the life of me could not put out any power. Where did it go? I can guarantee it was partly due to last night's effort and then letting those negative thoughts seep into my consciousness. Oh well - I still did a PR to the summit - 34 minutes. It felt good - but I know I still need to work on thinking the best and getting into a rhythm even when I'm in the hurt locker.

Racing starts in little less than a month - and I'm excited to see what happens this year.

Fixed Gear Fever has been interviewing the new women attending the Manchester World Cup. This includes Kele Murdin and Liz Reap-Carlson. FGF showcased Liz today and had a link to a recent blog she wrote. It was super inspiring to read it - especially considering I just met Liz this year and have literally watched her get to where she is now. Check it out if you have a moment....


http://womenonwheels.bicycling.com/2007/02/livin_the_dream.html

Both are shining examples that you can do anything you put your mind to.

brownsvilleholio

Did some great riding this weekend and met the newest addition to the family. Ryan joined me for about 80 miles - not too shabby for off the couch. He pushed me up the climbs - I averaged a high of 326 watts for 1 minute - not bad, not bad at all. Now if I could just kick that out at all times - that would be amazing. The roads down in brownsville are fantastic - I highly recommend it.

Boring blog, I know. But I haven't gotten in my quota of surfing yet.

Ridin ridin ridin

The past couple of days have been amazing riding weather - with temps almost reaching 50 in the afternoon and clear blue bird days. Every morning I wake up, choke down some breakfast and coffee, head to work for a couple hours and then jump on the bike. If only every winter ride could be like this - it would make more sense for us to have racing start in March!

Days have been filled with tempo and sub LT work - making me one tired and hungry puppy when I get home at night. I love it! So far I've already logged 10 hours on the bike... shooting for almost 20 by the end of the weekend. Solid. It's been a slow process but I think I'm finally starting to build my aerobic engine. And yes, it has a long ways to go. :) But it all fits into my bigger picture.

Looking forward to pounding out some racing mileage soon!

Ahhhhh... isn't that cute!

Poppa George with the newest addtion.




Coleman's loving his new baby sister up.

It's a GIRL!

Please give a warm welcome to the newly delivered Laurel Elena Sutton born this morning at 7:45am, weighing in at 9 pounds 1 ounce. I'm an aunt!!! Again!!!!

We head down south on Friday. Yahoooooo!!!

Sweet! (As I pump my fist in the air)

My neighbors connection is back up and running tonight. That means I don't have to keep checking every hour to see if it's running or not. Yes, I fully admit I have a problem. And not having Internet all weekend? It made me feel helpless.

Went out to the peninsula this weekend with the TiLadies. We had a mini training camp which composed of one seriously long ass hilly ride around Mason Lake and part of the TST course. It was nice to do those hills again. They are long and steep - and a perfect reminder that I need to be able to put out some serious sustained power to make it up in one piece. 85 miles was good - but every muscle in the body started hurting for the last 12 miles. It was good to get some new terrain and mileage in - not to mention so team bonding.

Ryan headed to Whistler for the weekend. He said Jesse got so wasted he passed out on the dance floor. Crazy kid. His little sis Molly went with in my place and I'm sure they had a blast. I can't wait to hear their stories.

Our pirated connection at home came to an end - and now I can't blog as much. Bummer. Suddenly it's Thursday and I haven't posted since Monday - whoa! Where does the time go?

I'm finally feeling better. YEAH! But poor Melinda is sick sick sick. I wish her a speedy recovery.

Let's see.... what's happening...... went to my first MVA Board meeting last night. It was good - they definitely need an active board. It'll be fun to contribute my efforts.

Tuesday night was great - went out with TGH and did some hills. I almost missed their departure but flagged them down at the last minute. We went up the shallow side of Cougar, then Tiger and finally back up Newport. Tiger was amazing - the road was lined with tall firs and the stars were out in full effect. It was mystical. We managed to get 4 flats that night - Izette had three! She and I both hit the same hidden pot hole - she double flatted and I got a rear flat. Some fireman pulled over and shined his lights so we could see - what a guy. We were all pooped by the time we got back to the car. Let the final building toward race season begin!

I ran into my dear friend Marika this morning at PCC. It was so good to see her! Dana is getting HUGE! Her first birthday is April 8. She'll be walking in no time.

My mom went down to Oregon because Jaimie was having labor pains and is due 1/29. She jumped the gun a little - the little one hasn't arrived yet. :)


That's all to report for now - time to go ride. Later, Jen

I woke up dreaming about the world cup. I imagined being there and feeling the excitement - and anxiety of competing at that level. And all this time while I was sick, I should of been working on my mental training. Once I came to - I picked up my Tao Sports book and read some chapters for inspiration and insight.

Often I've thought back to Nationals about the move I missed, the opportunity forgone, etc etc. The following excerpt really hit a chord...

"You can focus on that backhand volley you missed, on the strike you looked at, on the pass you dropped in the end zone, on the shot you blew at the buzzer, on your failure to surge the last two hundred meters of the race, on the putt you almost made. You can focus on th past and upcoming problems forever. But this will only put pressure on you and impede your concentration on the next move, play, or shot you make. The only way to make something positive happen is to focus on the present moment."

(Taken from Thinking Body, Dancing Mind by Huang and Lynch)

You have control over the here and now - and making the most of what you've got will make all the difference in the world. And don't forget to smile and make it look easy. :)

Wow

Sarah Hammer is my hero.

Points race champion and soon to be pursuit dominator.

It kept me glued to my saddle for 4.5 hours today and excited about getting back on tomorrow.

GO SARAH, GO!!!

on the ball

Valentine's day is approaching quickly... what will you do for your sweetie?

Ryan and I are headed to Laugh Lovers Ball at the Moore. Should be fun - last year we giggled the night away. Tickets are still available if you're interested... a fun night for sure.

85%

I must be getting better. Now when I plug my nose and blow to try and ease the sinus pressure, both ears unplug. Before I couldn't even get my right ear to unclog and once I would it sent my equalibrium all out of whack. And my cough is almost gone - but I have that back-of-the-throat-dry-itch/tickle thing going on....

It is soooooo tempting to go for a ride right now. But I know I may relapse... so one more down day and I should be golden, I hope.

bored silly

day 2 of being home... and i'm going stir crazy!!! Hopefully this is the last down day and I'll be back to normal shortly.....

All signs point to

Global Warming. It's scary, really really scary. Considering New York is typically blanketed in snow this time of year and Seattle usually dangerously close to people committing mass suicide from lack of Vitamin D. And considering our harsh storms - much harsher than I last remember them being - and no signs of this progression easing. It's scary.

If Global Warming is some term you've heard and don't know the definition of or think is some myth - then please rent "Global Warning" by Al Gore. It breaks down the evidence in undeniable facts.

Sorry for the pessimistic look on things - I stayed home today from work in attempt to kick this cold. Maybe I'm a little delirious from no exercise and too much snot - but the harsh reality of our environment is sobering and shouldn't go without mention.

In all seriousness though - I think that's what draws me to bikes. The thought of being 100% self reliant for transportation is completely appealing. It's a vicious cycle I know, considering how much fuel and energy goes into producing, shipping, assembling and maintaining my bike. But if it keeps one less car on the road and inspires one more person to ride instead of drive, well then it's a step in the right direction.

Way to go Kele!

Kele did it - she made the track talent pool mass start test time this past weekend. It puts her in the pool for world cups and participating at a higher level of racing on the track. It's a brutal test - you have to complete the first 500m in 33 seconds (from flying) and then finish the remaining 2k in 2:33. (I think, I may be off a second or two.) I tried it at Nationals and it is very painful. Kele's been training specifically for it the past couple months and all that hard work and dedication has completely paid off. Way to go!!!!

fighting

Just when I thought I was in the clear because I was being such a good girl and doing my training indoors, a stinking cold snuck up on me and bit me in the ass. Lame! It's just a chest thing - but making breathing difficult and my body feels like someone pushed the off button and I'm powering down. Bbbbbbbbeeeeeeesssssssssshhhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrrrtttttttttttttt.

But armed with a box of satsumas and enough H2O to drown a small country - I hope to kick this in the butt and feel better tomorrow!

(And here I thought this morning I was feeling great, despite waking up and not breathing right, headed to the gym and was able to do my normal exercises with such ease - there was no way I could be sick! Well now I'm paying for it.... three hours later. Time to hit up the miso soup and see if I can sweat this out sushi style.)

Pep Talk

Just when I started to hit the panic button - Miller gave me the pep talk. The extra miles are going to put me where I need to be for the season, which hopefully will be a dominant local force. Battling the weather and putting in the serious miles will only help my game - and in the long run is what I need to do to get to where I want to be. Luckily I can take the mileage and have the opportunity to train 20+ hours a week.

But it sure is getting nasty out there.

Green

with envy. I just read Murdin's blog - sunny and 85 down in LA. While they're predicting a serious snow storm up here in the PNW. Oh well - look at the beauty we're surrounded by. But being warm through and through sounds pretty nice right about now.....

Today's a double day with serious mileage. Just got back from the gym and tonight am headed out with the TGH ladies for their weekly hill ride. I'm planning on riding out there and meeting them, doing the ride and then coming home. It should be a solid 4-5 hours on the bike. All of which is putting money into the bank for the season which is only 10 weeks away! That sure snuck up fast.

6 Day

Just got home and put in a mammoth load of laundry. Phew - what a fun weekend!

Annette and I left Friday afternoon to get up to Burnaby and find about 6" of snow on the ground and covering the driveway up to the dome. Our little Golf rallied it - and we made it up and unloaded the car. I decided to park across the street so I could get out later and ended up walking through a puddle about 8" deep. Needless to say my shoes have been wet all weekend and now stink.

Our first race, and only race as it would turn out, was the Kierin. I can safely say I am now fully over my anxiety for that race. I went in with no expectations and ended up doing much better than the previous year. I can honestly say I think it's all the mental training I've been doing lately, not to mention the mileage put in. Shortly after our race they had to evacuate the building for fear of the dome caving in. Bummer! So we went to this really cool locals hang out with the Fast Twitch team and Gina Grain. I stayed the weekend with Glenn and Danielle not too far from the track.

I spent ALL day Saturday at the track. It got a little old. Poor Ryan - I can only imagine what he goes through sitting there and watching it without participating. I'm still working on him to get him in there. He'd be super good, I'm sure. My bike was locked up with Kenny and Annette's and they ended up coming much later in the day so I ended up borrowing a rental to ride with the novice women and get some spinning in. It was fun to help coach them and keep the pace a little higher and make them work harder.

Later that night I attempted a 80 lap B points race - and didn't last very long. Talk about a shock to the system. I had no problem keeping up with the women's intensity - but the men proved a little too much for me right now off the couch. Gina tore it up out there - she's in prime form for the upcoming World Cup.

I ended up 3rd in the Scratch race - not too shabby and Annette was 6th. It basically came down to a final move. Fun. Then we had an elimination to a scratch race and I placed 4th, Annette 3rd. Not bad for neither one of us having any anaerobic.

The men's Madison saw some drama - with a crash involving Dan, Tyler and some Canadian Symmetrics National team member. Poor Tyler and Dan both were picking splitters out of their booties. Ouch. It's really amazing to watch the Madison and see how chaotic it looks at first and then all come together at the end. It's fantastic to watch. Kenny and Tyler did well - they may have secured 2nd overall.

Sunday morning we woke up and headed back early. I decided to save my legs for our 50 lap points race and go down a gear to an 88". I managed some points early on in the race but then kept finding myself back behind the slower people. Dang it! I need to seed back in faster. It came down to Annette fighting for 2nd so I decided to give it all I had and lead her out. It might have been a little early - but with 5 laps to go, I started winding things up with her right behind me. I remember looking down and seeing 47 kph and then once I saw it drop down to 46, I yelled GO ANNETTE, GO! She easily won the final sprint with Jenny Tru right on her wheel but unable to come around. Nice work. Annette pulled 2nd and I had enough points to place 5th. We work really well together and I look forward to racing more with her.

Oh - and one more mention. They had a couple courier races on Saturday evening - and one poor girl showed her black thong the entire 30 lap race. It was hilarious! She definitely stole the show.

Thanks to Glenn and Danielle for letting me crash at there house....

Now back to wet winter training. It was great to have a break this weekend.

Hwy 527

Last night I rode up to Ryan's work in Mill Creek. Unfortunately I had to traverse Bothell/Everett Highway - but it had to be done.

I pulled up to one light, right before Ryan's work. I stood next to a tricked out Hummer with phatty wheels and a fatty driver. He was blaring Kube 93 - but it was during a commercial so it sounded ridiculous. I really wanted to look over at him and flip him off, just for driving that thing. But instead, I just ignored him, which apparently pissed him off more. As soon as the light turned green he burned rubber for 1,000 feet. Wow dude. You rule. You just had more jump than a cyclist. Nice work.

What compels some people to do that? I just don't get it. Next time I'm going to flip him off.

Comment away

Ok Jimmy - you're good to go on the comment scene. I originally moderated my comments because I kept getting garbage.

Linda gave me a 4 leaf clover as good luck this weekend. What a sweetie! It's awesome having such kick ass teammates.

I just pumped my track tires up - I'm getting excited. It's been three months since I touched my track bike. Whoa - time flies. She's purring though and ready to go fast. :)

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

Had a solid week of training last week despite the weather and holidays. I was just shy of 20 hours on the bike and now am on a steady progression to build up to about 28 hours. I must be getting in decent shape because a 6 hour training ride didn't completely wreck me on Saturday.

Annette and I are headed up North on Friday for the tail end of the Burnaby 6 day. Should be fun and interesting to see if I am any faster than last year. :)

It's windy outside right now and 53. Strange, strange weather.

Laid er' down

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. :)

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?

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....

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.

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.

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....

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. :)

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. :)

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!

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.

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.

Amateurs practice until they get it right.
Professionals practice until they can't get it wrong.

BTW - the yoga/climbing/boxing/weight lifting is working! I was able to climb like a billy goat today. Sweet!

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!

Thinking about new years....

I decided last night that I am going to try and ride the rollers everyday before I have my first cup of joe. Why? Well why not? 30 minutes a day - can only increase my fitness and help me use my dusty skin suites.

I've been climbing a lot lately. It feels good to get some upper body and core strength going. I set a record this week by climbing three times. Amazing. I even bought a new pair of climbing shoes. Wow - things are getting serious. I swear it's the only thin keeping me sane while we experienced this winter storm. I don't see how the people in the heartland do it - training indoors that is. I would go stir crazy. Actually - I probably wouldn't have any interest in cycling. Maybe I'd be a professional curler or something.

I get to ride me bike outside for the first time since Saturday today. I'm stoked! Marcy and I are headed to the gym so I can beat the shit out of their heavy bag. Should be fun. I broke out my old pink gloves. Last time I fooled around I was sore for a day afterward. What a different kind of fitness! I miss boxing's intensity and discipline. It's the same in cycling - but I haven't found how to direct my workouts yet without the help of a coach. But I'm working on it.

I've been having a hard time with my dad lately. To make a long story short - he wants nothing to do with Ryan and have a relationship with me. I don't get it. I've expressed to him that Ryan and I are a pair - he is my world. And I told him that for us to have a relationship then he's going to have to soften his approach with Ryan. He said he wasn't willing to do that. Ouch. I refuse to get in the middle of it anymore though - but it still makes it a struggle every time the mud gets stirred up in the bottom of the pond. Funny how holidays bring out the monsters. I guess everyone needs a little Jerry Springer in their lives.

ice ice baby

The parking lot is empty. Only a few SUV's with 4WD and studded tires decided they could fare the weather and come into work. Unfortunately I live at sea level - near Fremont - where it doesn't quite get cold enough here to prevent me from walking/biking/driving the 1.2 miles into work. Dang. Everyone else I know stayed home. But seriously - I only see a dusting of snow on the shady parts of the Canal. Although Ryan said it took Ben 3 hours to get home last night in what usually just takes 1/2. Crazy!

I'm going to try and make it in for a spin class tonight. Hopefully the instructor will show up. If not, then it's a solo venture on the trainer.

SNOW!

So this weekend while most of America was at the shopping malls adding to our obesity and over consumption problems, Ryan and I headed to the mountains. After our big extravaganza on Thursday and a late night, Josh, Molly, Ryan and I went to Crystal to get some turns in. They had a lot of powder - and although we didn't make it there until noon, we still skied our brains out and had a blast. Talk about being sore the day after though!

Saturday I went on a team ride - good thing too because it's now chilly out side and threatening snow. Do you consider 3 people a team? We did some mileage but I had a really hard time warming up and was thankful when I got home and we had clocked 50 miles. I came home to a trashed house - but who cares? It's all my mom's china and stuff anyways. It'll go back eventually.

Because Sunday was supposed to be snowy at sea level we decided to head north to Mt. Baker. Boy were we in for a treat. Powder was piled up to our thighs. We had a cut a trail to get down the mountain. It was amazing. We skied all day - despite Ryan's fogging up goggles. I have missed skiing so much since I started cycling. But all of the pedaling has paid off because I'm in the best shape of my life and things just keep getting better! It makes me smile just thinking of what a great time we had at the mountains. I wish I was better about taking a camera with me. All I can bank on is my memory - and creating more powder memories in the future!

The drive home was LONG. It snowed all the way to Bellingham. It took us 3 hours in what normally takes 1. But we made it home safe and sound and were sound asleep by 10. Nice. Let the recovery begin!

I'm not sure if it was the weather, what I ate or what - but the last couple of days I've been in a serious funk. I think I'm finally over it - but holy moly I was down and out! Then yesterday, half way through - it felt like a curtain lifted and returned me back to my normal self. It was weird.

Now I 'm back to it and ready to tackle a day filled with prep for Thanksgiving. We're having 11 people join us - should be a packed house! Wow - there's a lot of work to do leading up to that dinner!

What's more work....

Going around the lake in 55 degree pouring rain, with the last few miles in blistery winds

-or-

Coming home and raking leaves. (We have a curly willow, red tree from the neighbor, red tree from our house, and two baby Filbert trees in our front yard. Not to mention the neighbor across the street who has the biggest tree on the block but definitely produces almost as much waste as our willow.)

That's a tough one - good thing I just did both in one day! Lucky me when I got home the wind died down and the rain stopped. And feeling guilty about having a trashed yard for our Thanksgiving company, I figured, why not? It's all or nothing.

Oh - and I washed the car today. Now I'm considering going to the climbing gym. Yeah, I'm nuts.

Poor puppy

Did hill repeats on Juanita today. On my way down the shallow side I noticed a scared sweet puppy on the side of the road. I yelled at it to go home and continued down the hill, thinking it had just escaped and was looking for a cyclist to bite. Turns out it was a run away and while I was coming back up the hill my heart sank down when I saw a bunch of cars stopped on the road - honking. Luckily the little pooch was still ok - just scared and in the middle of the road. I called her over and searched for a missing collar. This woman pulled up in a BMW - she was going back to work and saw the dog in the middle of road and was concerned as well. My only option was to go to a neighbors house and call the humane society. But she did a good deed today and took it to her house, put it in her backyard with her dog and was going to call the humane society from home. Who knows - maybe she'll keep it? It was a sweet and really cute dog. But it's middle name is Hudini.

The repeats went well - some random guy in a white Buick honked at me and flipped me off for no apparent reason. I just laughed. :)

Not that I'm counting or anything

But it has been 12 days of rain so far. As long as it stays cold and the mountains are getting ample snow - then I'm happy. Winter sports will start in about 2 weeks!

Anyone have any skate skis they'd like to off load?

mazama bound

Whoa that weekend flew by!

Friday night we went climbing with some friends and then ended up at Ben and Danielle's house for a fabulous dinner of black cod and chantrell mushrooms. Then we headed out to Sunset Lanes and got our bowling on till the wee hours of the morning. Fun times!

Saturday morning I was up bright and early for a team ride - which headed north up to Hollywood Hill. The majority of the crew split off from there and headed north and I headed back with Kate because of a previous obligation for a female psychologist workshop. We crested Hollywood at 11:30 - the meeting was at 1 so I tempo'd back home. Kate has a back injury so she ended up peeling off while I got in my intensity.

The meeting was good - lots of information and how to deal with your own inner demons about cycling. Carrie gave us each a list of different books to use as resources if we're interested. I'm definitely going to check them out.

Saturday night we headed out to the Palace kitchen with Lincoln, Shelly, Johovah, Annie, Annie, Jean-Paul, Sema, Ryan and Nicole. Quite a crew! Lincoln had made reservations at Jazz Alley to see the Average White Band. It was awesome! We were out late again - this time only till 1am because the garage closed.

Sunday we went to our first Seahawks game. Ryan's employer Pacific Ridge Homes won box seats from an auction and had a fully catered suite for about 8 of its employees. He won the tix about 2 months ago. Seahawks won over the St. Louis Ram's - a HUGE win for the division title and getting into the Playoffs.

We were exhausted by Sunday night. I didn't make it on my Cougar ride - but think it was wise to chill considering the blizzard outside and how physically tired I was.

And now it's Monday and Ryan and I are making plans for next weekend to go to Mazama and view a property we're potentially going to put an offer on. Should be cool!

Gobble gobble

So I put this decorative turkey on my breakfast table - and everytime the table slightly moves it pecks. It's pretty funny really - I think I'll name him Al. It's nice to know a turkey's got your back when you're typing.

Ah the rain and COLD is back. At least it's snowing in the mountains. The freezing level has dropped to 2000' and it's about 45 and raining here in the low lands. Isn't that right Al? Peck peck peck.

This is the third day in a row where I woke up with a stiff neck. I'm not sure when I pulled something - but it's not happy with me right now. Now if I could only get Al to peck the shit out of my neck....

beta or not to beta, that is the question

I really struggled on the bike today. I had the past two days off after a three day block and I feel like my legs are lead weights and they just won't put out the power my mind is trying to tell it to. And because I'm so damn competitive, I start getting down I'm not reach my specific interval. I pulled over, called Mr T and had him do a pick me up. And really, it is all in the mind of the beholder. After having a border line panic attack - and consoling with Ryan - I was able to pull it around and get in another solid effort. But that was all I had in me unfortunately. It just wasn't my day today.

These LT efforts are much harder than I initially thought - especially when fatigue starts to set in. I'm just working on the adaptation phase - and soon I'll be solid again. It's hard - but it's supposed to be. Truth be told - I ate like crap yesterday which is probably the reason my legs feel like shit. No more cookies, chocolate, mango and ice cream all in one day. What was I thinking? BINGE....

Coleman the incredible

I must admit, I have the cutest nephew in the world. See?...



He loves, loves loves to laugh. And throws his head back like his auntie. :)

5 days and counting

So the cold weather moved east and the wet and wind took it's place. It's rained HARD the past 5 days in a row. I'm keeping track because last year we almost broke our record of 60 days in a row but on the 37th day it didn't rain in the particular spot they keep track of the precip and the record still stands.

I'm prepared for riding in this crap though, let me tell you. Last winter I put in the miles and hours on the bike - peaking at 22 hours last January. Needless to say I have my system down now. And good thing because I'd rather be wet and poured on than spending hours inside on the trainer. So for all of you wondering what I wear:

1. Bomber rain coat (rainypass.com) - keeps you dry from the outside in and has vents in the pits to help get rid of the sweat.
2. 3mm Diving gloves - sure they make your hands stink like an underwater basket weaver - but you're warm and that's all that matters.
3. Knee high wool socks.
4. 2mm Neoprene Booties
5. Dorky cycling cap (deflects the rain from getting into your eyes)
6. Clear lenses that cover 1/2 your face.

Hmmm.... am I forgetting anything? The only bummer is - as soon as you stop all of that heat you've been generating causes additional moisture and unless you plan on moving again in 5 minutes, you get chilled down to the core and then your mind starts playing tricks on you.

Training has been good the past 3 days. We're working on increasing my threshold by riding just below and around it. 11 more hard core training days and then I test again up Cougar to see if it's making a difference.

Cougar Test

It was chilly yesterday - high of 44. Miller and I talked and I'm ready to get down to business with training so yesterday I headed out to Cougar Mtn to do the shallow side and put out some serious power. I managed to get on my bike by 3:30 pm - knowing full well I would be riding home in the dark. So I strapped on my lights, pumped my tires and got a flat before I even left the house. Good thing it happened at home. I changed it quickly and was out the door trying not to burn all my candles on the hour and and half ride out to the base of climb.

This is the first test I've done where I haven't psyched myself out - and really put the pedal to the metal. I made it to the half way point in 18 minutes - not bad! Last year my PR was 25. I summited just as the last sliver of sun set over the Olympics - in 37 minutes. I made up the most time in the first section - now I need to work on continually putting out the power in longer duration. I was pretty happy about it but from here on out I have to do some serious threshold training to improve my power.

The ride home was SLOW - but it was cool doing it on Halloween and seeing all the kids out trick or treating. Oh I remember those days. MMMMmmmmm candy.

Miller was going to put on a training camp this upcoming weekend for his athletes - which I was uninvited to. Apparently it's a guy thing and unless I want to sleep on the floor - NO THANKS! - then I get to battle my threshold training solo. Even Molly is staying home. Manfest 2006 continues on...

Halloween?

Last time I checked, today is Halloween.

Yet when I wore my fish head costume into work - riding my bike over Fremont bridge, waiting for the bridge to go up and down, waiting at the light on the Queen Anne side that takes FOREVER - only one lonely person honked and yelled. Where's the spirit? Does it only come out at night?

Saturday night Ryan and I were treated like rock stars. Today - nothing. Maybe it works better when there are two loonies out and not just one.

But that's not going to stop me. Maybe next time I'll go naked with just my fish head on. Surely I'll get some honks then.

On a serious note - today I do power testing up Cougar. The pain and hard core dedication begins today. Fun times!!!! I'd do it with my fish head on but the head wind in the tail would prevent me from swimming upstream as quickly as possible. Make sure you honk if you see a fish head riding around today. It'll make their day.

Today was Chil-ly! It's supposed to get down to freezing on Monday night - and I-90 has closed the mountain pass to vehicles due to inclement weather. Crazy! And to think last night it was dry as a bone and Ryan and I wandered the streets of Fremont and Ballard with fish heads on. It was awesome. I love getting into Halloween. We went to a couple of parties and saw some excellent costumes. Fun times! This morning I woke up a little groggy though and pooped - so I ended up spinning on the rollers inside. Shame shame. But you have to have fun every now and then. :)

Team wise - I decided to go with TiCycles. We are hoping to have a regional sponsorship where several riders can go to the bigger NRC races of the season and represent. I'm stoked - especially considering we'll be able to train together and work toward a common goal all season. Saweet.

Back to lounging....

The obsession

I think I'm a blogger junky. I seriously check blogger before what's happening in the world around me - before eatting breakfast, before heading out for my ride, before making my bed. I'm obsessed. I'm the reason your visitor counter jumps high every day - I return over and over again just to make sure I don't miss anything. It's like getting a present when people write in them. Some people go to forums where they can have discussions and dialoge - I go to blogger. Sad, I know. But someone's got to do it.

Now if I can just slowly ease myself off of blogger I'll be good.

Training news - the new off season hasn't started yet. I'm still in the maintenance phase. It's nice not actively working for something on the bike - but I'm ready to get back to it. Miller and I talked and my first goal is project 110%. That means I'm going to raise my overall power in my zones by 10% of what my highest outputs from last season. And I'm not going to stop until I get there. The actual hours on the bike will decrease this winter, but my quality is going to spike and I'll be crying home to Bubba more. Fun times - you'll all get to share them with me. :)

Having a life!

I'm beginning to really love October and it's nearly over. The weather is a little chillier but the days are still somewhat long. But most importantly - I'm just riding to ride and maintain some fitness - not training to increase my fitness. Actually that begins next week. :)

Team wise - a couple of options are opening up for me in the near future. More on that later....

Team News...

I just got the word today that Tamarack will not be funding a women's road team next season. Bummer.

I have sent a couple of inquiries out to various teams but know that what will happen will happen. Miller thinks I should just fly solo for the season and get some results. Even if nothing pans out I'm doing what I love and am paying for it anyway.

So the question is - do I join something locally or do I just venture on it solo?

Hmmmm.... decisions decisions.

Blogger blogger blo blogger

Sorry blogland - I actually took some time off the bike both mentally and physically and am just now easing back into it. I almost stopped riding altogether the other day. You know the lead weight feeling you get where you don't think you can turn the pedals over even if you wanted to? Luckily Ryan was there to talk me out of throwing my bike into the canal and just calling it quits. Thank goodness I'm not training for a world cup right now. My mental attitude was in the dumps! But we all go through it - and always come out on the other side. In fact, I picked myself up, dusted off and am good to go.

Ryan and I are looking at property over in Methow Valley. We took a day trip yesterday to Mazama and met with an agent. She showed us some "rustic" cabin and also an A frame that had some seriously sweet vintage lamps in it. And then she showed us this amazing new green construction that would be totally awesome. Too bad it's 299 k - way out of our price range for a recreation property. But who knows, maybe we'll end up getting something similar. The drive over and home was awesome - it's absolutely beautiful out in the Northwest.

I have a serious craving for Bran Muffins.. gotta go.

drizzle on my shizzle-nizzle

I too join the hundreds of cyclists in the Northwest that are making it back to the gym for the first time since last winter. Luckily I knew not to add any weight but am working on getting my joints prepped for later season mud slinging contests. Well apparently using the bar was a little too much. Or rather I did a psuedo squat and now am in a little pain in the lower back. Just goes to show I need to strengthen my core and lower back. Yowsa.

Last night we had our first Tuesday night ride - it was fun. About 8 people showed up and we all had lights. Super fun! Today the rain's back....

Back into the mode....

LONG travel day home - we were dealing with customs, flying and long lines for about 9 straight hours on Sunday. But it was all worth it the moment my skin hit the sheets. Slept like a baby.

I've been gathering my thoughts about the upcoming season - ways to tackle my lofty goals and getting all my ducks lined up in a row, so to speak. My number one goal next year: Aggressive. Time to put the hurt on. But that in turn means to put the hurt on myself in order to reach my goal. I'm putting more focus on LT this year than before because I need to start winning some stinking races!

I reluctantly re-joined the gym down the street. They changed their dues recently and upped the price - but it's super close and I'll actually go. Plus there's that added motivation considering I'm paying for it month after month. I'm going to try and incorporate weights throughout the entire season, not just in the fall. And they have yoga and spinning classes.

Training log - why did I stop keeping one? What was I thinking? Time to jot down everything including my resting HR each AM.

Diet - limited sweets and no beer. This is going to be hard. But I've done it before - so I can try it again. ;) Ryan has been bringing home some tastey IPA's and Belgiums.

Killin' time in Toronto...

Ryan and I have spent the last 5 days in the area - mainly relaxing and taking in the fall colours. We arrived on Monday and stayed at Roanne's parents house for a couple of nights before being booted out to make room for their English relatives. No worries as we headed up north to check out another Great Lake and help Cam celebrate Send Fest 2006. Unfortunately the day we ventured to this really cool crag called Rockwood a serious down pour started. Luckily the rock was over hanging but the climbs themselves were too steep for me. Ryan styled it despite hurt fingers. He's been itching to exercise since we left Seattle.

The following day, Thursday we headed Old Baldie near Kimberly, a small country town with some amazing rock bands. It was CHILLY that morning - with highs in the upper 30's. The fellas jumped on the rock and it started snowing! Talk about cold!!! They kept climbing though despite the weather and I huddled underneath a down sleeping bag. It was the first snow of the year and temps are still super cold.

Tonight Ry and I headed to Mississauga Ice Dogs to watch a hockey game. It's fun experiencing hockey games with Ryan because it was such a huge part of his life when he was younger. I think he's going to rejoin the Tuesday night hockey league once we get home.

Speaking of which - I'm really looking forward to getting home and putting some miles in! This low key lifestyle has got to go!!!

new year

Well it's the end of the season and almost the beginning of a new training one. With that being said, I'm already starting to think about goals for the next one. Here are some of my new season resolutions...

1. Yoga sessions 2-3 times per week in the off season, once a week during the season. (mental training, flexibility, strength)
2. Weight training 2-3 times per week (strength so I can push bigger gears)
3. Rock climbing at least one a week in the off season (strength, core focus)
4. Diet - limit alcohol to once a week, same with ice cream. :)
5. Try either skate skiing or short track skating in the winter.

Calendar wise - I'd definitely like to do a ton more NRC races. 10-15 in total. Hard core stage races included.

We're headed this morning to Toronto for a week of relaxation and rock climbing. Our dear friends Cam and Roanne are getting married. Should be a blast!

scratch race

I've been laying awake in bed for the past hour replaying and reliving the scratch race in my head to try and digest and learn from what happened. First and foremost - this year was the strongest women's field at track natz for a long time. To have to have qualification heats says a lot about sheer numbers. And also that each heat is stacked with the nations best track racers. I'm excited to have experienced it but somewhat dissappointed in my own performance. I was hesitant and did not express 100% of my ability. I know I had the fitness no problem but I wasn't willing to take the risks necessary to go for winning moves. Why? Maybe lack of experience, maybe fatigue and mental defeat. Something I can certainly train for next year though. Someone once said, "You can keep making mistakes, just never make the same mistakes twice."

I ran a large gear for the scratch race -51x15. My legs felt a little tapped and tired from the previous night. But all in all I just didn't have the grrrrrrr required to make it go. Damn. It makes me hungrier.

Points race final

By nearly making the mistake that would have cost me the qualification heat and using the points as a miss and out - my game plan was entirely different for the final. First I upped my gear - knowing that the race was going to be fast and furious. I also wasn't going for any hard efforts in the first several sprints because the pace was going to be constantly fast. So I rode in the back - sucking on Hammer's wheel. I knew her move was coming too to lap the field but I don't know why I hesitated to get on her wheel when she made the move from the back. I keep playing that moment over and over in my head. Everything in my body was screaming at me to stick on her wheel and it would have been a free ride around for 20 points. But my slight hesitation cost me a better placement.

The rest of the race went well - although i have never seen so many women pass on the apron. One offender finally got DQ'd - good! Those cheaters. Kick em out. I managed to gain a single point on the 30 to go sprint placing me in 11th. Had I positioned myself better for the final sprint I would definitely had 5th. Oh well - next year I'm working my pursuit so I can be that much stronger and make moves all the time. I had such a good time last night - and am headed back today for some scratch racing.

By the skin of my teeth...

This morning we had the points race qualification heats. I didn't sleep well last night because I kept rolling my mass start test lameness over and over in my head. Plus the pressure was on to make the race tonight so I had some serious anxiety. I think I only slept a total of 7 hours.

I got a really good warm up this morning though on the track. I hadn't quite reacquainted myself with the track so it was nice to do some hard efforts and feel the wood out. The transitions are sooooo smooth - you seriously can't feel them. I sat on a motor for several laps - just to wake up my legs and remind them that they are fast and I did train all season for this so HELLO!

I was in the second heat. The first heat contained World Champ Pursuitist Sarah Hammer - so it seemed like everyone was watching her every move. She really dictated the pace of the race and got her points early - leaving the rest of them up for grabs. I couldn't really watch that closely though - super nervous. We lined up at the rail and the pace was fast from the get go. I kept getting boxed in time and time again during the sprints so my fate was decided in the last go. Luckily I made the sprint and was the last woman to qualify. I almost was taken out by Laura from lipton - she came down in the sprinters lane and almost chopped my front wheel. My right foot actually came unclipped - and I had a wavering moment where ladies behind me were squealing - but i managed to clip back in and handle myself for the second to last sprint. Phew! That was a close one.

Our final points race is going to be screaming fast. I'm uping my gear and playing a completely different game this time. Should be fun and exciting!

Uh, can I have a redue?

So the mass start test pretty much sucked. I don't know who was riding my bike - but it wasn't me today. The legs felt heavy, the gear too big and I couldn't kick the gear over. Strange. My time was 2:50. The time standard is 2:34. But only one woman made the time standard - out of 20 women.

A lot to work on - but that's in the past now and I'm ready for the next race!

Dan's Bronze and Gold Medals

Dan rocked the 4k pursuit final in the bronze medal round. He also won the gold for the U23 classification - he's floating on cloud nine!

Unfortunately Jimmy narrowly missed the scratch qualification. Which may have been a good thing because at about 20 laps to go in the final 5 guys crashed and one poor guy had to be taken to the hospital with a head wound. Scarey.

I did some flying efforts to feel out the right gear for the mass start test and hit the nail on the head first try in a 50x15. Ryan timed me and I made the 500m in 33.5. Then I'll just need to settle in and get er' done with 6 laps to go. It's time to push myself and express 100% of my ability.

headed to the track....

Track natz day one

Arrived into LAX yesterday afternoon and almost upgraded our rental car to a Hummer. Ha! Ryan would have died. If we weren't staying for so long we might have seriously considered it. Can you imagine? Bright obnoxious yellow with shiney rims to match.

We hooked up with Dan and then Jimmy - to discover my head set disintergrated. Apparently they give up the ghost after two years or so - and luckily I didn't have any events today so we were able to get it fixed by Andy the Shimano rep. What a stud. I owe him a bottle of red wine because apparently he's overloaded with beer.

Dan is a rock star. He made the final four in the pursuit with a time of 4:45. He's stoked!!! And he won a championship for the U23 classification. Excellent!!! Jimmy has a scratch heat this morning and we're headed back to the track to root him on.

More to come....

Starcrossed

Yesterday morning I woke up early, all excited to get on my bike and do some hard fast efforts on the track. Only to arrive and discover the track has 4 Saturns parked on it, yellow tape across it and a 3" think electrical cord running across it. Silly me, what was I thinking? So I headed down to Golden Gardens to do my efforts and was reminded how hard it is to simulate the track. :)

No worries though - I still made it count and the legs are feeling good! I finished my fish head last night too - just in time for us to leave for LA and Toronto. I'm really looking forward to some down time with Ryan.

Then last night Melinda and I headed to Hagen Berman's Starcross at Marymoor. Cross looks like an awesome sport -super fun and those pro men make it look so easy. Kabush came out too - he ended up third. Sundt put on a show with his young teammate who at one point had a nice lead. But nothing really got away from the lead group of 9 guys. One unfortunate soul had his tubular roll off his rim near the front of the course and had to run the entire 2 miles with a bike slung on his shoulder to the pits. He was looking strong too and putting on lots of attacks. But his attempt was in vain. I wonder if he ended up in 9th anyway - that group passed everyone a couple of times.

Cross looks like it humbles most people. It's a throw down sport - and that really appeals to me. But after track I'm resting until the winter training starts. Maybe next year?