Restin' up

The drive over to the Methow Valley took us 7 hours on Friday. For some reason traffic was insane - and even the usually deserted back roads were flooded with weekenders all trying to escape the city at the same time. Makiah and Yatzee were nestled together in the back seat - and even they started getting testy with one another at the fifth hour. Luckily the cabin we were staying at allowed dogs and there was as many dogs as people hanging out this weekend. We're all pretty funny with our pets. And every single one of our friends are dog lovers. Even Pee Pee made it (sorry PePe but you peed in my house one too many times to have that nickname wear off).

Thankfully the drive was awash in lush early spring greens - making for striking and jaw dropping contrasts between the mountain peaks and meadows along highway 20. I recommend driving highway 20 to anyone that ever visits this planet - it is seriously one of the most beautiful roads in the world, if not the prettiest. Even better if you can bike it.

We rolled into the Mazama Country Store around 10 pm and immediately inhaled the clean pine fresh air. I wish I could bottle it. It smells so amazing. That in itself is worth the long ass drive. (It normally should take 3.5 hours.) My only regret - our weekend was too short.

We spent the weekend in a nice cabin with 15 friends and one incredible baby who never cries, Sophie. They're mostly Ryan's climbing buddies who were a little disappointed to hear I wasn't racing so they couldn't get drunk and heckle me in the crit. :) Instead, Melinda, Josh and I hiked to the Goat Mountain Overlook on Saturday and had an amazing panorama view from 7,000 feet. The view was breath taking - literally. Having this short break from the bike made me super antsy to get back to it. We got home early because Melinda's dog, Yatzee is 12 and her health and agility is starting to fail her. She wouldn't have made it the 30 minutes up to the crag without an airlift so Melinda and I headed back early.

I spent quite a bit of time tonight booking flights and getting my logistics down for the busy track month of July. I'm packing in more traveling in that one month than the entire season so far. I'm super excited and really stoked about resting and healing up this past weekend in anticipation of hitting things hard and steady from here on out.

4 different velodromes in July, with only one being a new track to me. That makes me grin from ear to ear.

I'm really looking forward to what's in store for the next few months race wise. It seems all of my patience and waiting out this hamstring issue is going to pay off. It makes me want it that much more and I can't wait to express my eagerness.

The Rain's back....

Woke up this morning to a constant drizzle. Ryan said it was pouring earlier this morning. The forecast is for it to let up - but so far there's no end in site. No worries though - we're headed East of the mountains to the fantastic Methow Valley. I love it there. We looked into buying property there last fall - and then had our emergency flooding in the basement that made us lose all momentum of finding anything in the valley.

Should be fun - do a little climbing and hiking and of course hanging out with friends. There's 12 of us going. Yahoo!

This is my last weekend of relaxation before I start hitting it hard back in the gym and putting some serious quality time in on the saddle. Hope your weekend is nice!

Wednesday Night

Day 2 of 3 out at the track in a row. I secretly hope it rains tonight so I don't have to venture East. But at least I get a break this Friday as we're headed to Mazama for a rock climbing trip. Should be fun. There's a lot of moderate climbing in the area and some amazing hikes. It sure would be fun to mountain bike over there - but as directed, I'm not taking anything to do with bikes. :)

Rode with the ladies last night. It was fun hanging with Rachel and working with her within the group. I was in a 50x16 (84") gear - which felt good to get some leg speed. I love going fast and feeling the G forces in the turns. It's a lot of fun. Now if we could just get more Ti ladies out at the track...

Rolling on the track

Did my first Tuesday night Fast Track session last night and felt great. It's really awesome to have a teammate and workout buddy there to help you through some difficult training sessions. Annette and I both started warming up in a 81-82" gear with Woody's group. They start the session with a paceline - 10 at 20, 10 at 23, 5 at 25 and 5 at 28. The follow that paceline with a quicker one - 10 at 23, 10 at 25, 5 at 28 and lastly 5 at 30. I opted out of the second one to do another slower warmup with ladies - especially since I joined the second one late.

My hammy is feeling better - and I was able to do the entire workout without flinching or thinking about it. We started with 3 6 lap full out efforts. Annette was the rabbit for the first one, which was easier because you saw how to pace yourself. We switched positions for the second - it's such a mental challenge being in front and maintaining 26mph solo. Then the last effort we switched off lead positions - and increased our speed to 27. The last couple laps were leg breaking - I'm stoked with both finished them.

Next on the agenda - 3x 1 lap rolling all out efforts. We started them at 14mph and then stood up to sprint and get on top of the gear. Those kind of efforts make you realize just how long Marymoor is. I toped out around 31mph. Annette was the rabbit again for the first and last effort - I was her rabbit for the second one. I put so much effort into the last one I swear I felt fuzzy - a little lightheaded and talk about an endorphine high (apparently the dictionary doesn't like my version of that word - and I swear it's a word. You know, the runner high you get?)!

Now I'm slowly waking up and sipping my green tea. It's been 10 days since I gave up coffee and my body is starting to feel better.

Getting closer to Zen

I walked into Ed's practice today and immediately felt a sense of calmness wash over my body. He was very mellow and easy going and after filing out a little bit of paperwork we went over my medical history. I told him about my 3 ACL knee surgeries and 1 Meniscus - and he asked what they used for the tendon. Suddenly a light went off - back when I was 18 I tore my ACL and had Joesph Engman from Ballard Sports Med preform my surgery. He used a portion of my right hamstring to do the ACL repair. It's been over 10 years - and now I'm having issues with the very area where they tore a chunk of meat out of. Interesting.

Let me be clear - I made the appointment this morning despite my years of needle paranoia. Ever since I was an infant, I've had a severe phobia to needles. I suppose it was rooted in being poked a million times to help me breathe. I had serious asthma as a child - and still do - and when I started to turn blue in the face at 2 years old, my panicked mother would rush me into the doctors office to get shots of adrenaline. To this day I have a hard time with needles - and have bolted out of many doctor offices before. But not today - I was a brave little girl. :)

Ed started with me laying on my tummy and did some core rubs. He noticed my liver was feeling a little interesting - but didn't put me in any discomfort. He worked down to my legs - cracking each toe just like my dad did when I was a kid - and to his delight he heard me giggle. Then he worked my arms - cracking each finger and triple cracking my thumbs. "That was a good one!" He giggled.

Flipped over on my stomach he felt an immediate difference between my two legs. My left glute was super tight - and my right flexible and supple. Then he started sticking the needles in. The first set addressed the general pressure points. The first one he inserted gave me a zing down the leg and then a constant dull ache in the knee. He then continued to insert them - on both legs, with varying degrees of zings and aches. Then he focused on my hamstring. When he inserted it into the muscle it felt like it was severely cramping and then released. An odd sensation I've never ever felt before. I almost bolted, but told myself to relax and enjoy the ride. Then he moved to my butt and zowie! That felt strange. After the initial tinge my muscle relaxed and he was done. Next he put some Masa (sp?) on it and lit it on fire causing a warming and then hot feeling. It stunk pretty bad - Ryan asked me if I was smoking when I came home.
Ed suggested I come back in a week and do another session to fully release the hambone. And much to my surprise, I signed up again. At least the next time I'll be prepared for the zingers.

Time to watch some Fletch. Gotta love that Chevy Chase. It's out of print now and the video store keeps it behind the counter. Sweet.

Hambony

I'm exhausted.

Let me work backward from today. Woke up, slightly hung over from our kegger last night, to join the ladies on a 10am ride. We left from the shop and headed north - 70 miles round trip. Just got back 2 hours ago and have been laying low ever since - and just finished the last little cleaning from our party last night.

Last night we had a keg. Lots of yummy food - beef and chicken skewers, salmon and tons of finger foods and salsas. It was awesome. Didn't get to bed until about 1 am though.

Before the party I did the Ballard crit. Well, more like 15 minutes of the crit before my hambone started sending messages to my brain and letting me know it was on the edge. So I happily pulled off, got warm and called it a night. There was a constant mist and the roads were super wet yesterday. Not to mention it was about 55 degrees. Karen Clayes did amazing with a 2nd place finish. She was part of a three lady breakaway. Jadine from TGH won, with Leah from Byrne in third. Nice work ladies! And Annette won the bunch sprint. Well done!

Friday night we had some track racing. It was awesome. I'm starting to get my game face back on and it feels good. Rocked a bigger gear than usual - 51x15 and it felt good. Although it did me in for the following race. It's really fun racing with Annette - she's amazing tactically and very encouraging.

Friday morning I spent in prep for the BBQ and did a bunch of errands and gathering for the party. Not as many teammates showed up as they said they would - but the rest of us made the most of it! It was a lot of fun.

Now I'm tired and looking forward to sushi. Mmmmmm sushi.

In tune

Yesterday I saw Betsy, Izette's stand in while she's gone to Europe. She gave me a lot of new strengthening exercises that will not only increase my hammy strength, but also increase my inner core strength. It felt good to do the moves - and now my glutes are sore. Apparently I need to build up my booty strength.

I also had to go to Sound Mind and Body and beg for my membership back. I had just canceled it when I realized I'm going to actually be doing weights this summer (on Kenny's new training program) and need access to an Olympic platform. SM&B is a really nice gym - I only canceled it because I was using it only in the winter. And as it turns out I'm going to be using it all summer as well in preparation for Nationals.

We had a great ladies track session last night. There were about 9 of us in total - but we were really able to work on pacelining and then ran a simulated 4x4 points race. It went really well - and our discussion was one of the best ones I've had out there. One woman is hesitant in taking the right wheel when she knows there's an opening. I could see her thinking she needed to get on that wheel but delayed herself. Afterward she commented that she knew she should've gone but didn't have the guts to do it. Practice grasshopper, practice.

I think the best part about teaching the ladies classes is watching them all grow into better track racers. It's really exciting watching someone grasp a concept and overcome a hurdle as they progress. I love working with people who are working to improve their game and enjoy what they're doing. That makes all the difference in the world.

I read it may rain tomorrow- bummer! Let's just hope if it's raining we start in the rain. Otherwise those Ballard Cobbles get mighty slick!

Cornering

Last night 11 Ti Ladies and Kenny headed out to Woodinville to an empty parking lot Annette scouted out earlier in the week for some cornering practice. It was a on a slight hill, requiring you to get some speed to stimulate cornering quickly. Around and around we went - and continued to go when the rain started. It's safe to say we are completely prepared for a wet and wild crit on Saturday. Hopefully the weather forecast is wrong. :)

So the doctor told me I'm fine - and show no signs of nerve damage. Basically my muscles over -reacted to try and protect my spin when we were impacted. That's a relief.

I'm super excited for the upcoming track season and road racing. Should be amazing.

This HUGE barge just rolled by my office window pushed by Lake Union's largest tug. And it was dangerously close to the side of the canal....

Kidney pain?

It's been a week since my mom and I were in a car accident. My back still hurts from it - this time on the left side, and has a constant dull ache. It seems to have gotten better over the past few days, but still flares up whenever I stand up from sitting for a period of time. Strange. I'm getting it checked out later today.

I've never been more in tune with my body the I have been since my hamstring injury. I frequent the PT and doctor's office so much that they definitely recognize me.

The tingling that I was experience on the other hand on my right side has completely gone away.

Hmmm... I hope it's nothing serious from the accident. Scary.

Ravensdale

I had serious doubts on Saturday if I should race Sunday. My legs felt like lead bricks, as they usually do after racing at the track. And mentally, I've been hesitant on racing on my leg in fear of re-injuring it.

On Sunday, Ti had 5 ladies show - Vicki, Annette, Michelle, Heidi and myself. Our field wasn't big - only 14 showed. But it was big enough to have our own field, for which I am very thankful. The course is a big loop with rolling hills and one short steep climb called the wall. It's 21% grade for about 300m. Talk about a grinder. You have to have strong core strength or else you might fall over.

The first lap started off pretty mellow - with Beth throwing the lone attack on the later part of the loop and gaining some time on us. Fortunately it was windy and our group was willing to work and catch her. In retrospect we should've attacked her as soon as we were close to catching her. It probably would've tired out the field even more.

Everytime I saw red on the front, I moved up. Unless she was near another red jersey. There's strength in numbers. We communicated throughout the race and it paid off.

I remember thinking at one point, after the second time up the hill that I could win this race. Holy shit - I survived 50 some odd miles and was actually going to be there in the end. Saweet!

Our plan was to have a lead out train with either Vicki or I in contention for the sprint. Unfortunately we didn't have it together to perfectly execute it - but we still managed to nearly fill up the podium. The finishing section is pancake flat with a left hand turn before you see the 200m to go sign. For some reason everyone in front stayed left, opening a huge hole on the right. I powered down the pedals and found myself pulling away. Next thing I know, I'm raising my hands and then catch Amy on my left about to pip me at the line. Hands back on the bars, a few more strokes and we were done. I had no idea where the finish line was nor who won. I was just stoked that my hammy survived! And that was my first race that I've been able to stick with the pack. And we worked well together as a team! Bonus!

My back is a little funky due to the car accident - it was sore today. I went and saw a PT that is filing in for Izette and she gave me some new inner core exercises to work on. Apparently I've been flexing my obliques too much. Ha! I'm such a dork.

Friday Night Action

I almost called off racing last night - but with a little peer pressure and determination, I made my first track appearance of the season and it felt really really good. No hammy issues. No back issues - just pure track bliss. Yay!

There's a new crop of Cat 3 men - so it was interesting to see who's going strong so far. That plays a huge part on where to hang during moves. Pick the wrong wheel, as I did on several occasions and get your ass dropped from the fast guys. I learned though - next week will be a whole new scene. Bring it fellas. :)

Spent some time in the yard - as usual. I discovered a hummingbird nest in our curly willow. I thought it was a bees nest at first until I shook it and a bird flew out.

The weather was amazing today. It makes dealing with the rain a small consulation compared to the beauty of the PNW. Time to hit the BBQ up...

1st Pursuit of the season

All I can say is thank goodness that one's in the bag. For some strange reason I had forgotten how hard those are - especially when you don't have any top end fitness. I ran a 50x15 - and at times felt a little spun out. My time was slow - 4:26:40 - but I'm giving myself a break for being injured for so long and unable to properly train.

I got the butterflies tonight thinking about Nationals in October. It felt like I was able to do some good work tonight and have a starting block to go from. I love track. There's something about being outdoors - pedaling in perfect circles and turning left. It feels amazing.

Great news - the hammy survived my first standing start of the season. YAY! And that was a lot of force jammed onto the pedals. I look forward to doing more. Tomorrow night - first night of the Friday night race season. Fun times. :)

Car Accident

My mom and I headed down to Milton yesterday to do a property inspection. We were just past where the West Seattle bridge connects into I-5 Southbound, when a Red Ford Ranger started spinning uncontrollably in front of us. My mom saw him first and already started to slow down, while he spun into our carpool lane and slammed into the wall. We stopped within 2 feet from hitting him when the cabby behind us slammed into us and rammed us into the truck. The (pardon my french) mother f-cker was tailgating us and talking on his cell phone with a passenger in the backseat. Had he given us enough room we all would have avoided colliding. To make matters even scarier - a fuel tanker clipped the truck when he lost control of his vehicle.

Luckily everyone walked away from the scene and I have a little whip lash and seat belt strap bruising. How freaky is that? So far no lingering injuries have come to surface - but sometimes it takes a few days for things to settle.

On a side note - I went to the doc yesterday to get some XRays done and should know soon why I'm having this tingling sensation.

S2S

Check out this pic of Ryan and Andrew posted on the front of the Bellingham Herald. Way to go guys!

Ski to Sea

Wow - what a weekend.

Saturday morning Ryan and I woke up and headed out to Lil' Si on our motos so he could get some climbing in. I got a call from Izette right before we left telling me to chill out during Ski to Sea and not injure myself for that race.

We got to the Ham that night and met up with our team at Brian's house. Here's a run down of our team and all the legs:

XCountry Skiing - Cam and Roanne flew in from SLC for this leg. Cam skated all winter and did some races - he completed the course in 33 minutes (unofficially).

Downhill - Brian. Consists of a monster hike and then short downhill ski. Brian rocked it in 29 minutes.

Running - Steve. 8 miles of down hill concrete running from the ski resort to the DOT station. He rocked it in 49 minutes. And lost a toe nail too!

Road riding - me. 38 miles of downhill, flat and rolling section. Not sure how I finished but when I rolled in we were 47th overall. (432 teams started.)

Canoe - Ryan and Andrew. 18 miles on the river from Everson to Ferndale. Despite not having a racing canoe - they did fantastic. In fact the only people who passed them were racing kevlar canoes. Apparently we're looking into renting a canoe for next year today. :)

Mountain Biker - Evan. 9 miles of flat but difficult sandy pit at the end. Our mtb admitted to not doing a complete safety check on his bike before his voyage - and had to adjust his seat mid way through the ride.

Kayak - Sam. 5 miles in windy conditions. Badass because he not only did well at the last portion he also raced the road bike section for another team. He was originally going to ride from Everson down to Bellingham Bay to kayak but when we heard that we made sure he had a ride. He showed up later to our post race BBQ and road up the steep hill. Animal. Cam and Ryan both think Sam will have the mother of all birthday challenges.

So some added factors - we woke up to some wet conditions and the rain continued to pour down on us up until I handed off to Ryan and Andrew. Then the skies parted and sun came out - it was awesome! All in all a fabulous weekend - and the hammy feels great! My neck is sore from being tucked in an aero position. Cam and I both laughed yesterday - in that if you didn't think what you were doing was nuts at least once yesterday then you probably weren't going hard enough. :)

We're all signing up for next year.

Ogre

I'm re-living my boxing days.

Yesterday I woke up with a super sore puffy eye. You know the type that blurs your vision and makes you feel like you had an injection of Botox gone bad? Some sick part of me wants to be able to say I got into a fight - or that I'm suing my plastic surgeon for the horrible condition he put me in.

Here I thought I'd look super cool wearing my movie star sunglasses down the bumpy burke. Karma! Just past Mathews beach a bee flew into my enormous glasses and stung me on my left check bone. I'm mildly allergic - and carry any epi pen. But the risk of dying did not outweigh turning around and going home. Not to mention jabbing myself in the quad with an epi pen. (That leaves your quad sore for a week!) I did a body check - breathing, fine. Limbs, fine. Check bone? Sore. Ah - brush it off. That's nothing like Angel Bolee's right cross. Your not bleeding or have a concussion. You and your sunglasses just took one for the team. I'll save the jabbing for next time one flies in my mouth. I continued my ride.

Speaking of which - paranoid I'd have another bee fly in my mouth I spun home breathing solely through my nose. That'll make sure you stay in Zone 2.

I woke up Thursday with a HUGE swollen eye. And the funny thing? The swelling didn't go down all day. I took antihistamines like they were candy. Still - nothing. Oh well. Day two and I still slightly resemble Shrek. Sweet. Now why can't a bee sting me where it matters? Like my booty or something.

Oh and check this out - hilarious!!!

http://sjl.funnyordie.com/v1/view_video.php?viewkey=3efbc24c7d2583be6925

Sophie

This is Sophie. She's turning one next week. She's running just like her momma. Go GIRL!

1st time out

Ahhh the Bumpy Burke. Everyone loves it. It's the gateway to Seattle recreation. Chances are if you live in the Puget Sound then you've used this trail. I only need to ride 2 blocks before I enter the Spandex Highway. I often take the trail for granted - or complain about it's bumpiness. But in reality - if it weren't for this trail who knows how much inner city riding I would do. And who knows how many near car incidents I have avoided by simply riding the Burke.

Yesterday I was reunited with the trail for the first time in a week. A week you say? Well for a neurotic cyclist a week without the bike is worse than watching paint peel. But now I'm on the slow path to recovery. And I get to ride slow - smelling the spring unfold into summer. Feel the cool breeze of the shady parts of the trail envelope my skin and send goosebumps down my arms.

It felt amazing to be outside yesterday. And I get to repeat the experience again today.

Fired up

I'm getting antsy to start riding again. I know I need to take it slow but taking this past week off the bike is really starting to bug me.

I can't wait to start kicking some booty. Even if it's in cyclocross. :)

Enumscratch

It's miserable outside - 45 degrees and pouring rain. Where did this cold snap come from? And those poor poor racers who battled it out by doing laps in Enumclaw up and down Mud Mountain Road.

TiCycles hosts the race so I had my volunteer duties. Yesterday I helped set up the crit course and then got to watch some action packed racing. I rode the moto down there - with the severe chance of getting caught in a thundershower on the way home. In the same token though I need more freeway driving practice so it was fun to freeze my ass off on the way down there.

Izette rocked the house in her last Cat 4 women's crit. She won every single prime and then held the field off for the win. She also placed second in the time trial and the road race - giving her the lead in the omnium. Good for her! It was super inspiring to watch.

Then the 1/2/3 ladies field went - with a stacked Canadian contingent from Symmetrics, Giant and Colavita (Stacey Spencer). They ruled the crit and Jeremy Story helped the ladies pull off the win. Jenny Trew had an attack right off the bat - but you could hear her wheezing after awhile. And when Kele Murdin decided to reel her back in with the pack in tow, things mellowed out. Then a crash took out a couple riders (not sure what happened) things slowed down. It was good to watch - Karen did AMAZING. The Ti Ladies are starting to gel and I have high hopes for us in the coming races.

Being a spectator sure gives you a new perspective on racing. You see immediate who has a good bike fit (usually the lower categories still need some serious tweaks), who has biomechanical issues they should address before they address them, etc. I like observing what was going on - and learned a lot. I am super interested in learning more tactics.

So my mandatory 2 weeks off the bike is going to be shortened. We signed up for Ski to Sea and I'm doing the biking portion. I'm definitely taking a full week off the bike - but need to start introducing my leg to circles soon. 40 miles off the couch does not sound pleasant.

I just spoke to Ryan - he's flying back from SLC tonight. Apparently Cam, Roanne and he hopped on Cam's scooter and road to breakfast this morning. He said they got quite a few double takes this morning. I wish I had photos!

Mellow Yellow

The foreign yellow bike woman is back at it on the trail in front of my office building.

Thank God I'm not riding.

Remember last year?

I knew she was out doing laps back and forth on the trail. She wears a bright yellow jacket to match her bright yellow bike. Well as I was going up the on ramp by Ponti's Seafood, she comes screaming down and runs smack into my front fork of my brand new Carbon Fiber bike. Then she starts swearing at me in a foreign language. She tries to keep going and her chain fell off. I check my bike, make sure it's ok and yell back at her, "I HOPE IT'S BROKEN!"

Good times, good times.

Perspective is everything.

Thank you Danielle for your words of encouragement - it means a lot to me. And thank you to everyone who asks, "how's the hammy?" Often I feel like I'm on a broken record - but it's helpful to talk about it - so thanks.

LeMond dropped a bombshell today at the Landis trial. All I can say is holy shit hit the fan. Some worlds just came crashing down. It's funny how LeMond stays involved with pro cycling after this many years and has such a connection to current events. Interesting, very interesting.

I started working in the yard yesterday to blow off some steam. I pulled up all of our stepping stones, weeded the entire backyard and got it ready for some tilling. The plan is to rent a tiller and then go to town in prep for some new grass. I also hired an arbor.

Then today I got a little antsy while waiting for track class to start (don't worry - I'm teaching it from the infield) and went to town on the south facing wall. I pulled up these crazy purple plants with an extensive root system. Tomorrow morning I'm going to keep going and get all of the roots up. It's hard work - but very rewarding. My garden should be stellar this year.

Ryan heads to SLC to climb with Cam this weekend. We're hosting our annual MOE race - hope you all can make it. The new road course should be fun. I'm also looking into motoref while I'm taking some time off.

I've probably started writing this post 4 different times. I'm having a hard time just coming out and saying it - which I guess is a sign that I'm having a hard time accepting it.

I'm taking time off the bike completely.

It's been 3.5 months since my slight tear and I only took a week off the bike completely. And guess what? My hammy is still tender and feels like it may pull when I strain it. Racing strains it. And riding hard puts pressure on it. More than anything I'm frustrated with it and want to be back to where I know I can ride. I've done the PT - I've tried relaxing and not overdoing it -yet it's not responding well to that. Time for more drastic measures.

Thank you Ryan for talking me through this one and helping me realize sometimes you have to ignore your passion and let time heal your wounds. I really have the best husband in the world.

Gurgling

Our nightmare basement flood keeps resurfacing. This time it's in the form of insurance and Superior Restoration battles. I can't wait to close this chapter in my life - only a few more days and it should be resolved. Now it's nit-picking between Superior and what they claim was non-cleanable verses what they could have cleaned. Well what if the items (climbing ropes) were still coiled as they were when they were hauled out of our dripping wet basement? Argh. It's enough to drive me batty.

But if that's all the drama I have to deal with in my life - I'll take it.

80 degrees and gorgeous outside. Yay!

Getting the hammy ultrasound tonight. Hopefully that will clear it up for the weekend.

Wenatchee

My hammy was acting up after Thursday night's track session. Apparently my leg isn't ready for the full blown intensity I'd like it to be at - so it zinged at me mid session when I was doing some jumps. Moron! I knew better - so why did I continue to test the waters with tired legs?

I signed up for Wenatchee last minute - actually I didn't sign up at all until I got there Friday night. At which point I only registered for the time trial just to make sure I wasn't locked into spending additional money on my picky hammy. I warmed up for the TT with the Starbucks ladies who were mentioned there was a serious headwind coming back on the course and it was hard to maintain 12 mph. I told myself if I felt any tightness at all - I would back it off.

Lining up at the start line I felt good - and flew out to the turn around point. I passed my 30 second person in mile 2. There were times when I thought I should probably slow down - for fear of losing control of my bike. As soon as I hit the turn around point I hit the wall. A solid wall of wind that is. My hammy was still feeling alright - up until about mile 6. And then I started backing it off. By the time I rolled through the finish line I was at 80% and completely frustrated. Oh well.

I'm looking forward to the day when I can throttle it and not think about my hammy at all. I know it's coming - but it seemed like a set back this weekend. In reality though I've come a far way and my fitness is starting to improve. I ended up 9th in the TT - out of 30 ladies. Not too shabby but I can't wait to display my engine running at full speed to see where I stand.

Back to mental training I suppose.

Nice work to the Ti Ladies this weekend! Allison won the TT and the RR. She rules!

Keeping busy

And then some. Monday I rested, Tuesday I had a double day with intervals on Magnolia in the morning and the SIR racing in the evening. I actually sprinted for the first time in awhile and felt some speed returning to my legs. But talk about being tired afterward. I came home and barely had any energy to get into bed and take my clothes off. Wednesday I spun the legs out with a Z3 25 minute interval at the end and was tired. And then yesterday, with very tired legs, I went to track practice and did some jumps. Idiot! Now my hammy is tired and cranky. Oh well.

Headed to Wenatchee for the weekend - opting out of the road race though to give my hammy some relief.

Check out this amazing photo my sis took of Makiah. She's such a sweet fury little thing.

Bringing up the rear

Trying to suck the draft off Amara's passing vehicle...

Detonated

Have you ever had lactic acid build up so much in your legs that they feel like they're going to explode? They felt like they weighed 200 pounds a piece. Have you ever climbing something out of the saddle where if the pitch increased anymore than you would have to more than likely walk your bike? Well that was today's race for me today. But the good news - my cardio is okay and now it's just getting my racing legs back. The hammy survived without incident a super hilly road course today and I'm extremely happy with that.

I probably should start working on the mental aspect again - now that I'm getting closer to being where I was before my injury. Amara took some photos today - hopefully she got some of my pain face somewhere in the mix.

Wines won again - they sure are dominating the field this year. But crit season is almost upon us. Yay.

Ladies night

Last night, about 12 brave souls braved the looming thunderclouds and chilly-it-feels-like-October weather for this season's first ladies night training out at the track. I was happy we had such a big turnout - and hope we are able to get more ladies out there to grow the fields and skill levels. Only a couple ladies were brand spankin' new to the sport - which is good. And in one instance, I could tell a woman was overwhelmed by the training session. The ladies night is meant to be the least intimidating of all - and we had a good mix of people who can go fast and others who are learning to go fast. All that's required is a positive attitude and the willingness to jump outside of your comfort zone for 1.5 hours.

After a nice warm up we did some team pursuit work, which I think I might avoid next time. Although fun, it's best to do it when you're going fast to really feel the transitions. Maybe in the future we can incorporate a moto. Then we did some jumps. Jane and I demo'd - 2 laps and then a flying effort out of corner 4. We both ran baby gears 48x16 - which is super easy to spin out. Jane let out this rebel yell when we launched - that girl cracks me up! Then the ladies had a go - one group at a time and I think it would be good to spend a little time breaking down the sprint.

Intervals yesterday morning went well. By the 9th one I was pretty pooped. This weekend is our State Road Race. I hear the course is hilly - and we do a loop several times. We'll see how my fitness is progressing!

Ryan's First World Championship

I totally bailed on mountain bike racing for the first time last night - my legs are pooped from racing and intervals and the weather was wacky!

Ryan, Orion, and Sonya all braved the weather though and had fun doing it. I got to play around on Orion's new camera and took some sweet videos and photos. It was fun. I met some guy who was visiting his friend Jo Jo and on his way up to Alaska to do some glacier guiding for the summer. It was nice to have someone to hang out with and watch the races.

This morning I woke up to beautiful blue skies and intervals. Fun times. Tonight's our first ladies only session out at the track - I hope it goes well!

SIR

In to each life a little drama must fall.

Remember four months ago over Christmas our basement flooded? We had to deal with the moving company, the construction company, the water damage people, etc etc.

Well Monday night after we had a yummy dinner for George, Jaimie, Coleman, Ellie, Mom and Marcy, I came downstairs to check on the laundry and discovered some sewage backup in our utility sink. LAME!

We thought maybe it was because our sump pump wasn't plugged in, so we plugged it in and then all this shit brown water started spewing out of the sink. Nnnnnaaaassssttttyyyyy! (Several years ago we had sewage back up in our apartment on State Street in Bellingham - the owners had to spend quite a pretty penny dredging out the sewer line and drying out our place. So at least we knew not to panic and who to call - Roto Rooter.)

The plumbers showed up in the morning and around 1:30 had the problem fixed. Apparently some roots had grown into our sewer line and partially blocked the line causing the backup. $650.00 later - we can poo all the bean burritos we want now!

My bro was in town and brought his enormous-shouldn't-be-street-legal-monster-truck diesel engine that sounds like a tractor. Not the best thing to use in the city. He fell in love with my moto and has been eager to just look at it. (Ryan and I give him a month until he gets one.) He and Coleman helped me do a dump run and we finally got rid of the dryer that's been in our garage for 6 years and the rusted out water heater. Yay!

But the real reason I blog - and what you've all been waiting for ... my training. Yesterday I was able to do a double day despite the poo. Morning intervals that felt solid (2x3x6 min, Z4, 1:0.8) and then SIR last night. The leg felt great! I'm attempting to jump start my fitness back into some sort of form to be able to hang with the ladies the entire race. I give it about a month - and should hopefully be back to where I was.

I LOVE cycling

Cycling is so dynamic. It's never the same - it is always changing. I love the challenge of not being able to predict outcomes - only taking what you think is an educated guess at best at something. Seeing if that works, trying it again in another scenario, failing and then trying again.

I love that there are so many ways to give back to the sport. From waving to the daily commuter, smiling and making someone's day, to pushing my competition to be the best they can be. From getting involved with grassroots projects to being one less car on the road.

Today's race was a nicely baked and brought to room temp humble pie. Luckily I didn't set any expectations on myself for todays race - other than just finishing it. And guess what, finish it I did! DFL. But for those fleeting moments when I was in the pack spinning my crank and putting power to the rear wheel - it felt amazing. It inspired me to get back in shape, as quickly as my hamstring will allow, and get back to the level I want to play at. My inner voice, for the most part, was positive. The sun was shining - Elma is one of my favorite courses - and I am on my way back. So what DFL? I am so very proud I was able to finish my first 2007 road race without injuring myself. That in itself makes me smile.

Plus it was very encouraging to have a million hellos and nice to see you backs. Thanks friends - I appreciate it. You're another reason why I love this sport.

I cannot believe track season is just around the corner. I spent a good 6 hours out at Marymoor today helping Hyun with a class and got to do some efforts. I did one flying lap effort that sent my lungs into serious shock. I had forgotten how painful it is those first few times rolling on the track - talk about track hack!

I ran into my neighbor this afternoon. He was eating a Mango and soaking up the sun. We've only just waved in passing and never really said much more than that. Jo, my other neighbor, mentioned Charlie was a serious gardener. We have this greenhouse in our backyard that we barely use and it has collected a bunch of random things - weed killers, cat shit, turf, branches from the last wind storm, etc. My little bit of use really doesn't do it justice. The previous owner had it all rigged up with lights, growing tables, etc. I would much rather see it being put to use rather than collect spider webs - so today I spent some time cleaning it out and then offered it to Charlie to use as well. You should've seen his eyes light up - he couldn't believe that we had a green house. Well have at it my friend - just teach me a trick or two while you're at it!

Resting up for tomorrow's big adventure....

First race of the season

Well, that's not entirely true. There were those two races in March that were pretty much pathetic displays of my hamstring injury. Both resulted in me pulling myself out of the race and the last of which making me realize the best medicine for an ailing hamstring is just to take time off the bike. I sought out a new PT for another opinion, got a motorcycle endorsement and worked on our basement. It took some time to get over the initial shock of not being able to do what you've been training for and investing your time in for the past three years - I'd say about a month of mourning. But then the skies parted, I realized only I could help myself heal better with positive thinking and viola! My hammy started feeling better and I started seeing some serious improvement. A new bike fit for my entire fleet, several trips to the dump (basement stuff), several 4+ hour mountain bike rides at Gallbreth, and about 200 miles on my rally machine - and I think I'm ready. This weekend, I'm headed to Elma despite rain or shine for one of my favorite bike race courses. In my head, as always, I have thoughts of winning the race with a breakaway move. But in reality, I'll be thankful if I can finish the race without any hamstring discomfort. Notice I said hamstring discomfort, not just discomfort. It's been way too long since I put in that sort of intensity so I know it's going to be a mind, leg and lung expander. But I welcome it with open arms!

This Weather!

So last night I had to make a call as to whether our track class would be held or not. Seeing the dark omnious clouds cover the East side made me panic and then cancel. About an hour later the sun started breaking through the clouds and then it didn't rain until this morning. Bummer!

The forecast made it sound like today would be better - with only a slight chance of showers. Well at noon there was a full on downpour. Stinking rain. Oh well - I'm headed out there regardless.

Keep your fingers crossed!

Rumor has it...

I've stopped racing and my hamstring is no where near recovered. So what that I've gained 30 pounds and my bikes are collecting dust? Ha! Chocolate just takes better when you're a couch potato.

Just teasing. The hammie's coming along - able to do 4 hours of mtb riding Saturday, followed by some TT threshold training Sunday. It felt super good to ride my speedy reedy cervelo. Looking forward to some racing this weekend.... YAY!!!!

UP to the ham

Camille's having a birfday party this weekend. So we get to head up North and do some more single track! Yeah!!!

Actually the weekend should be filled with two wheel pedaling adventures. I'm riding out to meet Ryan in Mill Creek and then a tour around Index on Sunday. Sweet. I just hope I can walk come Monday. :0

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.