Krazy Kit Kat

What are you made of?

2012-02-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

It's been a long journey to reach this place. What place is that? The mental and physical strength to be able to race. Tomorrow I will race my first marathon in 3 1/2 years. Initially my goal was just to be able to "do" the marathon distance again. Injury upon injury left my confidence shattered. Slowly I built it. One step at a time. One mile after another.

I have not done any speed work. I have done minimal mileage required. I have done what my body has allowed me to do. I have made it through weeks of training injury free. I have listened to my body and my mind. That has made me strong.

Racing doesn't mean I have to beat every other person. And I sure as hell can't beat myself. I have to work as a team - mind and body. I don't need to get a 1st place ribbon. What I need to do is push myself further then I've ever pushed. I WILL find my limit (hopefully not before mile 20!) and break that boundary. I will run win it hurts and I will do so will a SMILE and maybe a little bit of profanity.

Success is not measured by what you accomplish but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.
Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character.
A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
Promise me you will always remember – You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.
Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second.
Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.
It is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is best from the top.
I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.· Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent.
Celebrate your success and find humor in your failures. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Loosen up and everyone around you will loosen up. Have fun and always show enthusiasm. When all else fails, put on a costume and sing a silly song.·
The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings
People think I’m disciplined. It is not discipline. It is devotion. There is a great difference.
It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.
Gold that buys health can never be ill spent.
I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.
Everyone has his burden. What counts is how you carry it.
Learn how to exhale, the inhale will take care of itself.
Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt.
I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.
Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.
Anything I've ever done that ultimately was worthwhile... initially scared me to death.
I will keep a smile on my face and in my heart even when it hurts today.

Ironman Canada 2011

2011-09-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

Preface

I won. No, I did not win IMC. No, I did not win my AG. I won the battle of health. In the last year and a half I have over come achilles tendonitis, frost bite and a stress fracture (second in 2 years!) I am learning how to live and train for endurance with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. Do you know what kind of mind f*** it is to have constant "phantom pains" and muscle fatigue? Joint flare ups that eliminate a key long distance workout are no walk in the park either. I paid for a coach that couldn't keep me healthy. I had doctors tell me that I was in the wrong sport. Whenever I would get healthy something in my body would break. I started to believe the negative words I heard from professionals. I thought my bad luck was never going to end. Basically I had no hope to continue training. If it wasn't for my Mom, Jesse and Robert.... I may have quit. These 3 people NEVER doubt me. They were my night light in my darkest hours. Sue and Alanna kept my light going during training and Don ensured my bike was safe to ride.

Pre Race

I couldn't have asked for the days leading up to the race to go any smoother. I stuffed my belly with OgoPogo's famous ice cream. Butterscotch ripple became my favorite! I rested my mind by watching Joe Dirt, The Jerk and The Best of Will Farrell's SNL. LMAO! I was surrounded by people I love – which kept me strong. For the first race ever – I was never nervous to race. For me the battle was won walking up to the swim start healthy. Race day was my celebration party with 2800+ new friends.

Swim - Was kick ass! I was supposed to meet my mom at the hotel an hour prior to the start but we missed one another. Robert and I got into the water to warm up. I hear some lady shouting from the sideline, she was waving her arms all about. It was my mama! I ran through the water to her. She rolled up her shorts and walked in to meet me. I was so happy I got to see her prior to the start. At this point I lost control of my emotions and started to cry – out of joy!

The tears had to quickly come to an end. I had an Ironman to race! I rejoined Robert at the start. I'll never forget standing behind the start line, in the water, holding his hand. It was the best feeling ever. A quick kiss and off we went.

How was the actual swim? It was easy-peasy! Seriously. I never felt nervous. Never had open water shock. Never had rapid breathing, even with getting pulled under numerous times. I was in my happy place. Every 3^rd stroke I looked at the mountains and smiled before I inhaled. Life was good. This swim was good.

After rounding the last turn of the buoys (1/2-2/3 way in) I found myself alone. I had swum out wide and was close to the kayaks and sailboats. Uh-oh. No feet to draft and I was a bit off course! Agh! I focused on turning in to straighten/shorten out the rest of the course. I swam until I could touch the sand, jumped out and headed for the swim exit! 1:08:07 – 2 min PR baby!

Thanks TYR for the Cat5 Hurricane! The suit was super stretchy and comfy. No restriction what-so-ever and great buoyancy!

T1 - Was short and sweet. I ran out of the water feeling fresh and giddy. How can one not feel giddy when you know you're about to get striped? I run over to two volunteers and say “Strip me ladies!” And they did. I was out of my wetsuit and on my bike in no time! 2:52 – PR again!

Bike

There's not too much to say about the bike. I had planned on riding the course at “x” amount of watts – which equaled 2.5watt per kg. It was forecasted to be a hot day so I rode more conservatively then I had originally planned. I ended up with a 2.4 avg.

The bike started with a bit of acid reflux. I'm sure this was provoked by lake water. Maybe OgoPogo polluted the water. I took some Zantax and rode the first 40ish miles uber easy. Ritcher came and I stayed in my granny gear to spin easily up watching my watts. Then I hit the rollers. They felt MUCH less difficult this year. The out and back came and went. I stayed aero and kept a pretty good pace. The ride went by so fast I didn't really start paying attention to mileage until around 70. This was my dark spot in '09. But not for '11. This was a power zone for me. I made a lot of passes from mile 70-85. As usual my power and endurance grew the longer I stayed out. History did repeat its self as I encountered the dark zone as I started the ascent up Yellow Lake. This was NOT a good place for me. I tried to stay positive and smiled as the fatigue started to chip away. Perception is reality. If everyone thinks that I look strong I will perform as if I am strong. This carried me up the hill. I was looking forward to the descent but not so much the headwind. I had to work to go down which wasn't much fun. I could have done without the crosswind and the 3 times I had wheel wobble. I suppose it was just enough of a scare to wake me up for T2.

Finished in 6:03:18 – a :30 PR over '09, higher wattage and easier effort on a hotter, windier day. I had almost flawless nutrition and hydration. I never felt hot or thirsty on the bike. Thank you Maltodextrin and Saltstick! I had a little acid at the start but managed it well, medicating throughout the ride.

I owe a lot of “Thank You”'s for my bike leg. First goes to my bike fitter - Michael Sylvester. He found a crack in my bike frame, which resulted in a new and better bike. Michael also provided an outstanding fit, which helped with my comfort level, efficiency and run transition. I've been fit by others in the Portland area and Michael is the BEST, hands down. I have to raise my hands and praise Felt. They quickly replaced my B16 with a beautiful DA. I also have to thank my great riding partners Sue, Don and Alanna. You all made the longer rides much more enjoyable, even when my break was rubbing for 80+ miles. :). Alanna, you made bricks enjoyable....I think that might be an oxymoron.

T2 – T2 was pretty quick as well. In '09 my T2 was almost 10 minutes. I was not going to allow a repeat. I recited what needed to be done as I ran into the woman's tent. I did this again out loud so my volunteer could follow and help. LOVE volunteers. I quickly got my back shellacked in sunscreen and I was off in - 4:43. Another PR!

Run

This leg should have been called The Death March. I started running around 2:20pm. At this time the race director had requested that the locals turn on any sprinklers and watering hoses available. It was HOT. HOT like a habanero! I think the high hit 95 and I was running right in the midst of it.

I watched my pacing on my Garmin. After a measly 5 mins I ran into a wall of heat. I heard my mama cheering for me on my way in, off from the bike. I knew I'd have to put on a front and run “happily” by her, so she wouldn't see my suffering. I wish she had stayed with me for the run, if she had I may have never stopped to walk.

The “death march” started for me a little past mile 3. My 8:45 avg dropped to a 10 min pace by mile 6. It just went downhill from there. Mile 3 to mile 9 was my darkest time. I had a goal of breaking 11 hours. That was a long lost dream. The heat was pounding down. It was eating my energy alive. I feared I wouldn't be able to PR from '09. I ran up to a local athlete and I confessed my fear. We accessed the situation. From a muscular standpoint my legs were great. No fatigue, no cramping, no pain. Hydration and nutrition were also great. I was still consuming calories – even though I was repulsed by the taste and thought of gels. I was only suffering from the bubble of heat that I was encased in. When running I was avg'ing 8:20-8:40 pace. I just had to run more then I walked. He provided “hope” and off I ran....to try to salvage some kind of PR.

I opted out of bike and run special needs. I didn't want a reason to stop. Yet at the ½ way turn around on the run I stopped and walked. I wish I had packed a letter to myself. I'll make sure to do that on my next race. A little HTFU self note would have helped.

I ran by Sue on the way back. She had gotten two flats on the bike thus putting her behind me. She was feeling the wrath of the heat as well. We exchanged a quick hug; this was the highlight of my run. I wanted to stay and run with her, but we were too far apart.

My arms and lips were sun burnt. Each aid station I came upon I'd drench myself in water. I kept ice in my sports bra and sponges on my back and under my hat. I ran with ice in my hand to rub on my burning lips. At mile 15 I had to stop and go pee. It was the first time I had to go since the start of the race. I have never been so excited to have to pee, and be able to pee a lot! This girl was hydrated!

By 6pm I could feel the temperature start to fall. It was easier to hold my pace. The walk breaks became less frequent…..until mile 22 ½. Side stitch. Oh owe! The pain was immobilizing. I just stood on the side of the road and whimpered in pain. It felt like someone was cutting into my torso with a dull knife. A guy I had been run/walking past for the last 8 miles caught up to me. He advised me to stretch out my torso and press my hands firmly down on the cramp and try to run while doing so. It worked! Within minutes the cramp was gone and I was running pain free again. Thank you Greg from London, Ontario! I was able to run most of the way in and even sprint for the last ½ mile to the finish line. I crossed the line with the biggest smile ever. I am once again an IRONMAN.

Run time was 4:32:43 – 1min30 PR over last year :)

Thank you Robert for fixing my run and believing in me.

Final time came to 11:51:41. 10 min PR over IMC ’09 and this race was much hotter. I placed 21^st out of 143 females 30-34 and 90^th female overall putting me in the top 10.5%. Not bad for a non-coached gimp, eh? : )

I may have not hit the sub 11 I wanted but there is always another day and another race. I did the best I could under the conditions that were given. If I could go back in time I wouldn't change a thing.....ok, maybe I would have eliminated the side crap. :p

Post race recovery consisted of a rack of ribs, nachos and 3 martinis.

"I smile easily, knowing that of all things I wear, a smile and good humor are most important. Life's most prized possession is a pleasant disposition."

2011-08-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

I have opted to “opt-out” of blogging for 99% of my training season. Everyone has an opinion. In their opinion, their opinion is right. Everyone has an excuse, and no one wants to hear it.

“Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to the end requires courage and tenacity.”

In the present day I am overwhelmed with gratitude and it is the BEST feeling in the world. For the last 18+ months I have waited for this feeling. I have successfully executed Ironman training. Come Sunday I will walk into the water prepared. I have trained to the best of my ability and most importantly I am HEALTHY.

For a very long time I had doubt that this day would ever happen again. My body kept failing me. At the beginning it was over-use injuries. I admit it. At first, I over did it. Most triathletes do. But then I took the less is more approach and I still “ran” into set-backs. I'm aging up and hereditary conditions veered their evil head. I had endless support from family and friends, but when doctors and coaches told me that I “couldn't” or that I “shouldn't”, it mentally beat me up.

Nothing good comes easy. After I finished IMC in 09 I never felt that IM high everyone speaks about. I did the same thing that 2000+ other people did that day. But now..... I have that high. I am different. You are different. I came face to face with challenges that told me to “go home” or to “throw in the towel”. On several occasions I ALMOST did. I now feel silly for admitting this, I used to feel ashamed of my conditions. I viewed myself as weak. But that feeling is long gone. I was smart with my training and listened to my body – even when it lied. I am that 5% statistic and I am ok with that.

Whatever the race Gods have intended for Sunday I will be happy with. I know I have done everything that I could to make this day happen.

I leave you with a smile :D and a few people that made me and my training what I am today.
BTW - I'm going to kill it Sunday!

Ice, Ice baby

2011-06-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

There was a common theme for my week – ice! No, I'm not injured. I'm just trying to do everything anything possible to stay healthy. This includes stretching for 5-15 mins 3- 4 a day. The time I spend

stretching and icing IMO should be counted as training, it's over an hour per day I say!

Tuesday AM – 75 min bike

Z2 steady – trainer. More reading! I recently bought a Kindle. I'm hoping this is easier to read on the trainer then a hard backed book. It should sit nicely on my new aerobars.

Tuesday PM

15 mins of core strengthening

Swim 3800yds

200 pull; 100 kick; 200 pull

12 x 50 - 25 catch up fist/25 free; 10 rest

2 x 200 buoy & paddles; 30 rest

Main Set

4 x 500 descending; 1 min rest

(8:11; 8:00;7:52; 7:49)

c/d 300 pull

Holy Moly! The 500s descending were a challenge!

To keep the workout lighthearted I leave with this question – If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do all the rest have to drown too?

Wednesday AM – No workout :)

Sleep in until 6:30am!

Wednesday PM – LSD trail run un

75 mins / 8.8 mi

This week's LSD run went a lot better then last week. Maybe it's because I had good company? I started out at a MUCH easier pace and was able to finish faster and stronger then I had started. This is my goal for all my long distance swim/bike/run workouts. Fuel belt worked better this time and I did not end up with a fat lip. I was able to get down one serving of malto. The concentration felt pretty good. Although, I'm not fond of the sweetness from my sugar free Hawaiian Punch. I'm going to try a vegetable broth base for the run as well. Hmmmm, or maybe a salty chocolate? I figure that I'll need something different for the bike and run.

I think my running mate my have previously been a part of Cirque Du Soleil. How he managed to fully change clothes, while driving a huge truck (I could make a bad joke but I'll refrain :)), while following my speed demon tail is beyond me. Kudos to you Aaron, and thanks for the run company. Next time lets work on your pacing ;) The longest you'll ever need to last is 90 mins! LMAO!

Post run we met up with my roomie and got sushified!

Thursday AM

10 mins of core strengthening

Swim - 2400yds

w/u 200p , 100k (:20 hard/:20 easy) 200f

Main Set

6 x 150 (20r) - desc 1-3, repeat ---

6 x 100 pull (15r) - desc 1-3, repeat ---

6 x 50 (10r) - desc 1-3, repeat ---

c/d – 100

OMG this was hard! I am NOT a fan of swimming fast first thing in the morning.

I spent the afternoon with my lats pressed against the chair holding up an ice pack.

Thursday PM - Bike 90 mins - tempo

35 mins @ Z2

2 x 10 min Z4 with 10 min easy spin between

Finish mid Z2

“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something that is bigger and better than your current situation.”

I thought about this quote on tempo #2. My quads were not shy in voicing their unpleasantness with this tempo. I was able to drown out their whining with gratitude. Cheesy as it may sound (thinking of you Jesse!), I gazed off into the sunset and reflected on the last year and a half. There were so MANY times that I was not healthy enough to have this type of workout. For that, I am grateful for every muscular pain and cardiovascular push, in the present and near future. The saying “You don't know what you have until it's gone” is so true. I ended tired and sore with a full heart and a big grin.

I capped the night off with ice on my quads, feet (very briefly and not submerged!) and calves. Come to think of it, I iced most of my body today.

Happy Friday! AM Run

10 min warm up run

15 mins of drills

4 x 20 ass kickers

4 x 20 high knees

4 x 20 donkey kicks

4 x 20 jumping in placed followed by leaning forward/backward running for body position feel

4 20 high knee skips

10 min of stretching

25 min easy-peasy run around Nike bark chip trail with Ms. Hello Kitty.

It is the middle of June, for God's sake we should not still be freezing! Brrrrr!

PM – 10 mins of core strengthening

Swim - 2900yds

w/u - 300p, 200k

12 x 50

3 sets of 4 x 50 (25r)- desc 1-4 (1min rest between each set)

1 x 200 pull with paddles

3 x 500 (30r) - z2 easy, every 4th 25 do fist drill

c/d - 100k easy

There's another productive week to hold up a toast to!

PS - On a personal note.... I've decided once a week to dedicate “ME TIME”. It will be an hour or so to reflect back on the week. The objective is to find one or two things that I was not pleased with. Then focus on correcting it in future. By reviewing this weekly I should make continuous progression.

~Life is like riding a bicycle, in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.~

Red Bull gives me wings! Opa!

2011-06-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday - 70 mile ride

This was a great ride for many reasons!

1. My bike didn't fall apart. I was scared of this; after learning that I had rusted every component with 3 years of salty sweat.

2. Nutrition was flawless. Mmmmm, cream of chicken maltodextrin. I'll probably swap it out for a cream of vegetable malto. I'm fearful of drinking an animal based mixture after exposed to the heat.

3. I increased avg watts per hour by hour, finishing strong.

4. I had great company and favorable weather!

5. My bike fit was very favorable. I was able to man-handle my baby girl

Ms. Hello Kitty and I recovered with a badass burger and cajun tots.

I spent the evening with some lovely girlfriends at the Summer of Wishes – a benefit for Make a Wish Foundation.

I love this photo - tall, Taller and TALLER

We took off in the photo booth for some serious, silly fun!

Who knew Ms. Hello Kitty was really a viking! I can't explain transforming into Batman with fish lips. My room mate Jessy is always cheesy.

I think we maybe trying to look glamourous here. Funny attempt if you ask me!

Ms. Hello Kitty and I decided to break it down on the dance floor, as if the ride didn't beat our legs up enough! Dancing in four inch heels is a painful good time.

Sunday AM Run – 40 mins

After 3 glass of wine and one sugar free Vodka Red Bull (disclosure: anytime I switch to this drink I've already drank too much and now have poor judgement) I woke up a tad bit hung-over. Eh.....I was not especially looking forward to my run.

But surprise, surprise! I had the best run I've had in well over a year. 40 mins easy, pace was full over a minute per mile faster then norm and my hr was 10-12bpm lower then usual at that pace. WTF?! But on the real yo, I am NOT complaining. I grew wings and flew.

PM Swim - 3200yds

w/u - 8 x 75 (20r) - 50 drill, 25f

(rotate: fdrag, cu, fist, cu/fist)

400 pull - z2

200 kick

1 x 400 (20r) z2

1 x 300 (20r) z2

1 x 200 (20r) z2

1 x 100 (20r) z2

2 x 300 (30r) neg split

c/d - 150 choice, 300p

Um ok, this workout did not um.....work out as well as my run. I went from 10k weeks down to 7k and then 5k this week. My performance showed the lacking volume. It's time to grow some gills and spend more time in the water. On the positive, my slow, VERY easy pace is now what my comfortable used to be. So, you know what? Toot! Toot!

Later that night my momma introduced me to Ouzo

I have to say - I'm not typically a fan of black licorice, but I am a fan of Ouzo. Opa! I'm going to be the best, drunk triathlete out there! Life is too short to take seriously.

Monday AM

45 min spin - easy with a few pick ups

30 mins @ Z2

5 x ;30 Z4/Z5 @ 100-110 rpm; ;60 easy between

Monday PM

25 min easy run

AGAIN! Another kick ass run. Holy Moly. I feel like I'm running down a dream. The pieces to the puzzle are finally fitting together!

The start of a journey to self-discovery and beyond

2011-06-10T21:58:00.000-07:00

Monday – Day off! Got much needed R & R

Tues AM – an hour easy spin. Almost done with my book!

Tues PM -15 mins of core strengthening followed up with a swim -2200y

w/u - 200fr --- 300p ---100 kick

4 sets of 4 x 50 (20r)
one set=
1st- breath every stroke one side
2nd- breath every 3rd stroke
3rd- breath every 4th stroke
4th- breath every 5th stroke

600fr- buoy and paddles

c/d - 200p

Wednesday PM – Long run

I was super stoked for my long run of the week. It was time to start testing out my Fuel Belt and malto. I've decided any run over an hour I will be equipped with a fully loaded nutrition belt so that on race day I will be adjusted to running with the clunker.

I hit Wildwood at Germantown. This time opting to go the opposite direction towards Newberry. I remembered that this route was hillier then the opposite direction but I forgot by how much! Oh the good Lord! I am really out of running shape. Those hills handed me my ass on a silver platter. The first 20 minutes felt pretty good. I felt light on my feet. I hopped from rock to root to trail, like Tinker Bell; despite the fluid loaded Fuel Belt. Third mile was a b*** with a ¾ of a mile 300+ft plus climb. Heart rate is a rising! I was happy to crest and stumble down the descent. At this point of time I took the opportunity to bust my lip on my Fuel Belt bottle. “Jeez Kat, no need to beat yourself up.” Now, I'm talking to myself. This is not a good sign. I got some of the malto down, the rest spilled on my shirt. I found out later that this was a blessing in disguise. My malto mixture was too concentrated and was having a party in my GI. Garmin chirped in with vibrations, which was my cue to turn around and run back up. Oh the humanity!!! I was lacking energy and I couldn't stomach the calories I did have to make up for it. Oh boy! The way back hurt. My feet felt swollen and started to blister. I can't wait until they toughen up. I'm not fond of my new Peregrines. There isn't enough cushion. I need to get another pair of Newton Momentum. They're so cushy and comforting! The highlight of my run was counting each wooden bridge I ran over. 20 crossings total. Sometimes it's the little things that count the most.

Garmin reported 1,396 ft of elevation gain in 8 miles.

Thursday AM– 75 min spin

45 min low z2
3 x 5 min low Z4 @ 55-60 rpms/ 2 min easy recovery
Finish mid Z2

Thursday Evening bike fit w/the awesome Michael Sylvester.

Why is he awesome?

Start with a Google search.

2. He was able to see me for an ASAP appointment after hours!

3. I was late to the appointment (F***ing Hwy 26 traffic! Lateness is huge pet peeve of mine!) . He was very understanding and didn't appear annoyed.

4. I got my picture taken on a bike trainer with my aero helmet. Ha! I thought I was the only one to do that.

5. He provided lots of useful information and communicated it well, with easy to understand analogies.

6. A great sense of humor. Not everyone can laugh at powered Katie! What is powered Katie you ask? Dried salt/sweat that has crusted and rusted the bolts of my TT. It sprinkled around the room like fairy dust. LMAO! What is not LMAO is the wear and tear I've done on my baby girl. She's in a serious need for a rebuild.

7.Correcting my fit so Carnage and I can become "one" again.

Saturday I have a 70ish/4 hour ride on the schedule. It will provide good bike fit feedback.

I'll return in a month or so for fine tuning.

Friday

10 min warm up run

5 laps of drills around the Nike track/ slow jog in between drills
4 x :30 high knees (I HATE these)
4 x :30 jumping in place/mimicking jumping rope
4 x :30 donkey kicks
4 x :30 ass kicks
4 x :30 slow skipping

20 min run around Nike chip trail and then home.

Apparently I am now in Ironman training. I will be praying nightly.

Pine Hollow Pumice Man RR

2011-06-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

As always, I never JUST race. There is always a reason behind it.

1. It was a small, some-what local race with interesting people and "flair".

2. The Aussie style Olympic - 750 meter open water swim, 15k bike and a 5k run X2. That's right! I got to jump back into the water and do it all over again! It was anything but the same ol' mundane race. It was new and exciting!

Pre Race

I kidnapped my room mate for the weekend to support my crazy racing endeavor. The 2.5 hr commute to (excuse the phrase) Butt-F*** Egypt aka Pine Hollow ended up taking us 3.5 hrs. My Google map directions landed us on a closed road up in the mountains. Luckily my room mate is a smart cookie and used her Iphone to find us a route in the right direction. I think this was the first time ever that an Iphone had a signal when my Blackberry did not.

Alas, we arrive in the beautiful, yet secluded Pine Hollow. A friend of mine hooked us up with a sweet A-frame cabin. Check out our view from our door step!

Here I am infront of the little cabin.

It was little but pretty pimp. Inside fit 2 beds, a sink, dishes, coffee maker, stove top, fridge and a heater/AC. This was campin' like a Pizzimp'!

Apparently I had too much energy.

Room mate and I relaxed the night away eating corn chips and fake guacamole. She bought a dip and didn't look at the ingredients. Upon inspection we learned the dip was mostly made up of coconut oil. Ugh. The green slim with the tortilla chips made for some pretty tasty fat and carb loading, if I do say so myself!

The only thing the cabins didn't have were bathrooms. Those we had to walk to. But they were "real" toilets and not just a hole in the ground.

Right outside the bathroom there's a sign that states "Dial 911 for emergency" but the phone next to the sign had been ripped out of the wall. I found that amusing. Room mate was trying to get ET to phone home.

Race day!

I awoke rested with a solid 8.5 hrs of sleep.

There's many things about this race that I should have been nervous about.

1. I haven't been in open water in almost a year. Lord only knows the last time I tried on my wetsuit.

2. How were my feet going to react in 62-64 degree water temp?

3. How was I going to survive the second swim sans wetsuit?

4. I was trying out my new Specialized cycling Tri shoes....for the first time.

Yet none of these things concerned me. What did concern me was my foot. The same foot I fractured months ago was giving me "phantom" pains near my big toe. This was really a mind f***. I have arthritis in my feet. Sometimes when the weather acts up my feet hurt. It's not an injury but at the time I don't really know what it is. I decided to do a 10 min warm up run to test out my feet. They felt ok. I figured that I would give it a go and if anything "hurt" like it did last time I would stop immediatly. Ultimately if I was already injured there wasn't jack-s*** I could do about it now.

The race was small. Maybe 50-60 people. I suited up into my Helix.

I've lost 10-12 lbs since I bought this suit. It's now too big :(

The race had a mass start (sprinters and aussie style oly's). I love these. I started in the front and managed to end in the front pack. Woot! Woot! Go me! Sighting wasn't an issue, nor was any kind of "open water shock". Again, I'll thank my parents for throwing me in lakes when I was a kid. Got to teach your children how to love the water from any early age!

Here I am running out of the first swim. I talked the race director into letting me wear my TYR Sharkfin swim cap.

T1 - first time around. My feet were frozen solid!

The bike course was awesome! The first couple miles were pretty flat with a few descents. Perfect for the aero position and achieving free speed. The hills and rollers picked up mid-way through to the end. The route had almost no traffic and was very well marked. I'd say it's one of my favorite bike race course. I think there is something wrong with my bike fit. My right quad cramped severely. This is not the first time this has happened. It usually happens on longer (3+hr) or high intensity rides. No worries, I have an appointment to get it corrected :). Anywho....The bike cramped my right quad bad!

Starting the run was brutal. My quad was cramped and I still couldn't feel my feet which made me worry. 2/3 of the way in I generated enough internal heat to defrost my feet, and they felt ok. I finished the run feeling strong and avg'ing 7:39 min pace.

And there I go back into the water! Sans Wetsuit!

Oooooeeee! The water was cold! I had initial cold water shock but it dissipated quickly. I started swimming hard. I zoned out the chilly water. I throughly enjoyed the 2nd swim. It felt good to be free of a constricting wetsuit. The chilly water actually helped the cramping in my right quad. The only downside was I that I could feel my body position go to crap when I had to lift my head up to sight.

I came out of the water to have the little girl with paddle tell me I was in 4th position, 2nd girl overall.

Again I hop on my bike and attack the course. Well, ok....you got me. "Attack" is embellishing it a little. My quads were still pretty beat up. I ended up avg'ing almost 10 watts per lower on avg my second time around. Blah! It would have been helpful to have a rabbit in sight to chase!

The last run felt better then the first. I think the fact that I was able to feel my feet helped a ton.

I managed to avg 7:45 pace - didn't loose much on the second run around.

I finished in 4th place overall and 2nd female overall. Each transition was very slow. I would have closed the gap or possibly beaten the girl who took 1st IF I would have gotten my act together in the T-Zones. It's something I can learn from. After a year and a half off I need practice.

This was well put on race and a ton of wacky WTF?! fun. It's an event I would highly encourage local athletes to check out as a break from the norm - Pine Hollow Tri

I recovered in my fancy Zoot Compression Tights

A day later my energy is a bit low but my body surprisingly feels great.

Thanks Bryan for a great race. Thanks Jesse for being a great room mate, friend and supporter.

Holiday Weekend

2011-05-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Friday - AM Run/Drills

10 min warm up

Lots o' stretching

4 x 40 jumps /jumping rope in place

4 x 20 high knees (ugh!)

4 x 20 donkey kicks

4 x 20 butt kickers

One lap around track w/6 x stopping to lean forward/backward and run to get body position feel.

15 min easy run around Nike bark chip trail. Oh my, I forgot how hard it is to run on hilly bark chip.

Evening -

15 mins of core strengthening

1500 yd swim

w/u

3 x 100 free

200 pull

100 kick 10/20

10 x 50 - 25 drill/25 free; alternate fist and finger drag

3 x 100 descend

c/d 100

Saturday AM Run

Got up extra early to get my run in before breakfast w/my momma!

40 mins on Wildwood trail. The forest was still pretty dark when I started!
I tested out my new Saucony Peregrine's.

Love these shoes on the trail! They still have a low heel-to-toe drop (4mm) which helps promote natural running. I loved how the tread gripped the ground. I never felt out of control on a very muddy trail. These cool shoes also have gator attachments, if you fear mud. My feet/socks stayed dry and warm. I give them an A+!

Mmmmmmmmm- Bob's Red Mill breakfast with mom! We shared the ham and hashbrown casserole. It is to die for! I had gluten free french toast and 1/2 of a gluten free marion berry scone.

So yummy! After breakfast I stocked up on chia seed. You can't beat $3.97 a lb. I think I walked away with 5lbs. I'm seriously surprised I have turned into a chia.

Afternoon bike- 2:34hrs / 47mi

The plan was to go for 3-4 hrs. Forecast called for 50% rain and hail. Awesome. Do you know that currently Anchorage Alaska has warmer/drier weather then Portland Oregon? This is starting to get ridiculous.

My ride was exceptionally vivid. I rode by a sea of red.

A sea of yellow.

Um, then a sea of black came overhead and I didn't stick around long enough to take a picture. I was assaulted by pellets of hail. WTF?! Let me tell you what. Hail f***ing hurts at 25+mph. Hurts like a mother****er. After the hail let up the rain came down. I was pissed on for another 20 mins. At this point I called the ride over and took my tail home.....as fast as I could.

Sunday AM - Core, Aqua Run and Swim

15 mins of core strengthening

30 mins of Z2 aqua running (thank God I don't have to do long sets of this anymore!)

2000yd swim

w/u - 500 pull

12 x 50 (10r) - 25 drill, 25 free

(Rotate: cu, fdrag, and; fist)

8 x 100 (15r) - 2 sets of 4 x 100

set =

1st - 75 easy, 25 z5

2nd - 50 easy, 25 z5, 25 easy

3rd - 25 easy, 25 z5, 50 easy

4th - 25 z5, 75 easy

c/d - 100 kick

This rounded off a nice 11,400yd swim week :D

Room mate and I spent the rest of the day kickin' around town. First we hiked up Multnomah Falls.

During the hike I learned that my knickers were see-though! Oh my!

Garmin reported back 1500ft of elevation gain in 1.5 miles up to the top. Nice. Then it was off to Aztec Willies for some smokin' TexMex and margaritas. We finished off the day catching The Hangover 2.

It was highly predictable but funny none-the-less. I'll never look at Shitake mushrooms the same.
Ew! Ew! Ew!

Monday - Long Bike

3:53hrs / 70.3 miles

With only a 20% chance of rain I was able to get in my long bike ride - without getting drenched. My goal was to negative split the ride. After analyzing past rides I've learned that

I've been starting too hard and dying at the end. This is out of character for me. In the past I've always been one to end strong. But with a year+ off of official training and or racing, habits will change.

The only way to successful gage the negative split is to have a power meter and to go off watts. Lucky for me I have one. :) I've said it before and I'll say it again, the power meter is the best training investment I have ever made. I split my 4 hour ride by hour intervals. The first was the easiest. The 2nd hour actually ended up being my strongest. 3rd fell behind the second but not by much, and was still higher then the first. The 4th was stronger than the 3rd and just fell a bit short of the 2nd. I finished feeling strong. Over all I'm very happy with my training day. I feel as if I accomplished the workout I set out.

I'm sold on a new malto concoction. Instead of mixing some kind of sugar free Crystal Light or Hawaiian Punch (ugh, sweets provoke acid issues several hours in) I mixed in.....chicken broth. The taste was a little odd at first but I quickly got used to it. I had constant energy the entire time. No highs, no lows. Steady power and energy. I didn't find myself dreaming of killing one of the nearby cows to eat after the ride either. :)

When Nature Calls

2011-05-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

I did an over does on Waffle Wednesday. What is Waffle Wednesday you ask? The last Wednesday of every month the staff brings in waffle fix-in's and well, we eat waffles all day at work. Most of us are endurance athletes. What else would you expect? I brought in my favorite gluten free cornbread batter and went a little overboard. I ended up throwin' down 5 ham and cheddar stuffed waffles (medium sized)

and one cornbread coated in pure maple syrup. This was spread throughout a full work day.

Long run for the week – 1 hour on the Wildwood Trail accompanied by Miss Hello Kitty.

Eh, 20 mins in and I regretted Waffle Wednesday. It's going to take some time to train my tummy how to run on a full stomach again. Thankfully I was running in nature when nature called. My tummy and I may have not been in agreement but my legs and feet were on board. I jumped across rocks and trees, and slid through massive amounts of mud....all without falling on my tail! My legs were lovin' me.

Recovered with the best soup at The fresh Thyme Soup Company. This place has a lot of gluten free treats. Mmmmm, they are amazing. After sampling a few different soups I ended up with a Caribbean Chicken.

Hello Kitty went with the Bean Beef Chili (my 2nd choice!). Gluten free cornbread shellacked in honey accompanied our soups. The best part was the warmed gluten free brownie topped with crushed Butterfinger and a scope (or two!) of vanilla ice cream.

Ironically I woke up 1.5 lbs lighter the next morning.

Thursday AM Spin – easy z2. More self help books. And guess what? They are helping! I am not at all embarrassed by self help. Strengthen the mind and the body will follow.

Thursday PM Swim – after 10 mins of core strengthening I hit the pool for my long swim of the week.

warm up

300 -pull

100 kick – ;30 hard/ ;30 easy

200 free

300 - paddles and buoy

Main Set

3 x 800 - descending - mission accomplished! In fact the last 800 was an 800 PR!

c/d

100 kick easy

3400yds total

I'll say it once again. The large swim volume is paying off!

HTFU

2011-05-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

"That's what she said."

What exactly does this mean to you? Do you think it's something that you can get better at? Or do you think we are born with this ability?

HTFU to me means that there is no “excuse”.You deal the hand that is dealt.

I actually believe that you can not train to get better at this. I also do not think it's something that is genetic.

I believe that the mental strength to not live in “excuses” comes from repetitive loss and or hardship. When you lose something or someone, or are constantly against all odds, you have to learn how to dig deep within yourself to move on.....

When this happens enough it becomes habitual. It's rawness, like under cooked meat.

Meat....mmmmm. “HTFU” is bittersweet. When life/relationships/training and racing gets ugly, I have what it takes to rise above. The bloody sweetness factor. The peppery bitterness comes from 30+ years of digging deep. F***, I'm 30.

Tidbits of the last couple days

2011-05-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

Sunday - 45 min trail run along Wildwood with 2 badass friends.

Monday - AM 30 min recovery aqua run. THANK GOD these are becoming far and few between.

Monday - 10 mins of core strengthening.

PM Swim. I wore my camo shark swim cap to scare off Judy (instructor) and the aqua ladies. I wouldn't be so negative towards them if they actually used the time to workout, rather then socialize.

2700 yards

w/u - 10 x 50 (15r)

400 pull w/paddles

200k

4 x 200 (20r) -z2, odd 25 do cu w/fist, even 25s reg

500 z2

c/d - 300p

I shared the pool with my favorite swimmer. Why is she my favorite? She always brings her Ipod with kick ass tunes. Love this woman!

Tuesday - AM Swim

I have to get up at 4:30 to start my swim by 5am. STUPID 24HR Fitness closes the pool from 6am-10am Tues and Fri to clean. Seriously? Why can they not clean at midnight? Or maybe after 7am or 8am when typical US Masters is done with? Because 24HR Fitness hates swimmers. I am sure of this.

1800 yards total

w/u - 200fr, 300p

12 x 50 (20r)- 3 sets of 4x50

each set=

1st- breath every stroke one side

2nd- breath every 3rd stroke

3rd- breath every 4th stroke

4th- breath every 5th stroke

400fr- every 4th 25 do fdrag

200k- 30sec easy, 30sec hard

c/d - 100p

I was tired and flip turned into the wall....not once but twice. These swims within 12hrs apart are challenging. The lack of sleep didn't help. Tried the new chocolate raspberry GU Roctane. Mmmmmm - it was delicious! Went home and laid down for an hour before I had to get back up for work.

Tuesday PM Bike - 90 mins of rolling hills. Challenging ride. Issues breathing and a sour tummy. Somehow I managed to pull out decent watts despite the oxygen restrictions.

Recovered getting sushified with my roommate.

A Panini Of Sorts

2011-05-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

It happens to us all. It was only a matter of time. Saturday I had my first meltdown. It was nothing spectacular. No cursing, bike throwing or crying. I felt like more of a half-assed grilled cheese without any special sauce or toppings.

Saturday morning started off well enough. I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to attack the 3100yd swim on the schedule.

w/u - 300 pull, 100k

10 x 100 (20r) - first seven z2, last three z3

20 x 50 (10r) - z2, alt each 50 with catch up and free

5 x 100 (10r) - build each to z4

c/d - 200 easy

With 2300yds

(w/u - 200 pull easy

1 x 1000; every 4th 25 fist/ 1 min rest
2 x 500/ 30 sec rest (descending and fast then 1000 split)
c/d - 100 pull easy) less then 12hrs prior, the 3100yd swim attacked my ass. There goes my bright eyes and bushy tail.

I went home and ate a solid breakfast. Took care of a few chores and got in a very short 20-30 min catnap. Enough sleep to to wake up in drool but not enough to really feel asleep at any given point. I shoveled in a few caramel rice cakes heavily coated in PB and met my friend Alanna for a ride.

The ride is where my grilled cheese got burnt. I'm trying to piece together the error of my ways and figure out what the turning point was. There are so many factors; it's hard to know if it was just one, a combination, or just a “bad day”.

Highlight/Lowlights

*There was nothing outstanding in terms of distance, time or elevation gain. 56 mi with a little over 3100ft of climbing. 2 solid 1000ft climbs w/no attacks, a lot of rolling hills and a stretch of flat land with craptastic paving. “F” you Sauvie's Island. 4Hrs w/Carnage – 3:30 pedal to the metal. Finished in low Z2 avg/ low Z3 norm avg per watts.

*For the first time in forever I hit energy lows. I was using a new bottle to hold my malto and for some reason my malto didn't mix evenly. At the end of the ride I found a clump of it stuck to the bottom. My bottle was filled with 800 kcal. I drank my 80kcal increments every 20 minutes. I wonder how much of the clump (caloric#) was stuck at the bottom. The poor mix may have made a deficit early on.

*Allergies were in fully swing. My eyes matched my red Oakley's and my nose was a snot rocket machine. H-O-T! I was careful not to hit my riding partner.

*Dark clouds taunted but the rain stayed away. My Little Hotties kept my feet toasty. For every low point I picked myself up with a positive. The weather was dry, I could feel my feet and I had a great riding partner.

*My lats ached from the swim. Aero for the 40 min loop around Sauvies hurt. A few times I sat up to stretch. They responded with a whine in the form of pain and fatigue.

*I had asthma issues. The first time in almost a year and a half. The only thing I can think that would provoke the attack was maybe my allergies combined with the climbing. I was hit the hardest during the last 1000ft climb up Germantown. In my easiest gear I struggled up that stupid road. 20 minutes uphill was not ok. My airflow was shallow. My lungs wouldn't open up enough to get a big enough breath in. It took what felt like forever to recover once I reached the top.

*Once we crest the top I asked my riding mate which way she wanted to go home. We could either take a short cut home and shave off climbing and an additional 20-30 mins, OR we could go home the way we came....which would mean more climbing and more time in the saddle. At this point I could care less what we ended up doing. I was most concerned with how she felt. She was 3 weeks post IM Australia and technically still in recovery. Miss Hello Kitty was in a much better state then I was. Her reply was that the training for her race was done. This was my training. It that was exactly what I needed to hear. I decided to HTFU and go the long way home. I can't short-cut a race now, can I?

I dug deep and managed to keep a smile even when I felt like crying. No childish bike throwing or cursing. Sometimes these are the BEST training days. Live and learn. It's good to get them out of the way before race day. So what will I do differently in the future?

1.Always carry my inhaler

2.I'm stick with my old malto bottles (they're still good :)

3.Going to experiment with my wattage range. A decreased avg might be needed. This was my first long bike after a long swim.

I'm thankful for having such an awesome riding buddy on such a challenging day.

Half full

2011-05-19T21:59:00.000-07:00

My official start of Spring is the day I can take Carnage out for a ride before work. That day was today. 5:59am and the sun was already up to great me. Well hello Morning Glory! The high for the day was supposed to be 70. The temperature when my ride started? Mind numbing 42 degrees. Agh! At least it wasn't raining!

From a core point of view I was dressed warm enough. Castelli's thermal tights, Zoot's thermal jersey and my Pearl Izumi windstopper baselayer kept me protected from Jack Frost. Who, by the way has over extended his welcome. Go the f*** home and while you're at it take that f***stick Mr. Rain with you. Ahem, let me gather my composure. I did not dress my extremities appropriately. I went with bootie covers but left my Little Hottie thermal adhesives at home. Big mistake. My hands and toes were frozen solid within 5 mins. I think my nose and ears fell off right around 143rd and Cornell. Oy! My only hope was the heat I would generate climbing up to Skyline.

Let me describe an unpleasant wake up call. Climbing up Skyline, big ring Z4/Z5...20 mins after climbing out of bed. My quads cried. I tried to reason with them, explaining the need for thermal heat. They responded as need and got the job done.

A pleasant wake up call (my glass is now half full) is the view from Skyline, the glaring fireball in the sky and a soundtrack composed of a rooster's cock-a-doodle-doo and birds chirping.

I finished my ride by climbing up to the cemetery and then descending along HWY 26 – bike path. Brrrr that was a long chilly descent!

It's nice to have 1600ft of climbing in 20 miles under the belt before 7am.

Skirt Sports was in town to throw down their fun run 5k dash. My outside rep extended an invite which I kindly accepted. After the morning suffer fest and week long build up I was not set up to “race” the dash. Nor had I any desire. The whole point was to run with friends and to be a little silly (Kat-like). I finished in 23:45 which included 25 push ups at mile 1. Right after the push ups was a .5-.75 mile straight up hill climb. Oh the humanity!

Post run I indulged in some vino and food with a good friend. Hello Kitty.

2 glasses of vino in and I was convinced to walk the Skirt Sport catwalk Fashion show. Oh what fun! How I managed to flash the crowd is beyond me. :) Today was a very good day!

Mid-week update

2011-05-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

Monday AM 30 min aqua run

10 min w/u

10 x 1 min hard/1 min easy

PM Swim - 2500yd

w/u - 200p

4 x 500s (30r between each set of 500)

- 5 x 100 (15r) - z2, the second 25 of each 100 do fist

- 500 pull with paddles (20r)

- 200 z2 (20r), 100 build to z3 (10r), 4 x 50 z4 (5r)

- 5 x 100 (15r) - z2, the second 25 of each 100 do fing drag

c/d - 100 k, 200 choice

10 min core strengthening

**********************************

Tuesday AM Spin -

1hr 45 min low to mid Z2 - Read more self-help books and finished with a little Dane Cook comedy.

PM Trail Run

31 mins on Wildwood. Oh how I've missed running in the forest.

********************************

Wednesday AM aqua run - 45 mins

15 min w/u

tempo - alternate low Z2/high Z3 per song - Goodlord how I miss running in the forest!

10 min core strengthening

PM Swim - 3000yds

w/u - 200f, 300p, 100k

12 x 50

3 sets of 4 x 50 (20r)- desc 1-4 (30 sec rest between each set)

200p - easy

2 x 600 (30r) - z2 easy, every 4th 25 do fist drill

c/d - 100k easy, 300p

GOODNIGHT MOON! I've got a 5:30am date with Carnage. My baby and I are going to hit the West Hills!

Words of thought

2011-05-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

"When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bustling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity."

"Don’t let what you can’t do stop you from doing what you can do."

"There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of the people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will have truly defeated age."

"Practice hope. As hopefulness becomes a habit, you can achieve a permanently happy spirit."

"It takes seventy-two muscles to frown, but only thirteen to smile"

"Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart."

"Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder."

"We smile because we are happy. But we also become happy because we smile. Act the part and you’ll become the part."

Weekend Recap

2011-05-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

I don't have a whole lot of time to write. So I'll just recap the parts that stood out.

Got in a 3.5 hr bike ride on Saturday, 60ish miles. The first and last 22-23mi were pretty flat and the middle 11-13 were rolling hills. Sue was kind enough to pull Alanna and I along. I've missed riding with these two. We compliment each other so well.

Saturday night I went to the LLS Singled Out Date Auction. The event was a singles auction to benefit Leukemia and Lymphoma. I got the chance to catch up with a LOT of really great people.

My tall friend is gorgeous!

After the auction my other friend Alanna drove us to the Hot Cake House on Powell. After one too many drinks (it doesn't take much!) and one too many hours of not eating, we were all ready to eat each other's arms. I knew better then to eat the toxic gluten pancake....but it taunted me. "Katie Eat Me".

So I did :(

After a pathetic 6hr nap. I got up to start to the day. I was uber swollen and stiff from the pancake the night before. Damn you gluten! Went to the pool and worked out a 3200yd swim.

Warm up
1 x 600yd F

Repeat 6 x
1 x 50 - 25 zipper/25 free, :10 rest
1 x 50 - 25 catch up 25/ free; 10 rest

Repeat 2 x
1 X 200
1 X 300 buoy
8 x 50yd Freestyle Swim (1 to 4 progressive, 5 to 8 progressive...), rest 0:20 / 50yd

Warm down
1 x 200 pull

That swim ended another 10k week. My speed is becoming more and more consistent at long distances.

Came home and took a much needed hour and a half cat nap...or cat coma. God, it was good.

Late afternoon I hit up the beautiful Wildwood Trail for my long run of the week. 32 mins :)

The trail was muddy and beautiful. I'm oh-so thankful to be back!

I made this for dinner -

Bacon wrapped steak with truffle salt. Sauteed garlic portabella mushroom with parmesan and goat cheese and grilled onions. There was a huge spinach salad as well but that was to big to post :)

I stumbled upon this picture this evening.

Me and my crazy friends (who I love). Silly pictures are the best. They have a way of bringing out all the good times.

I am a firework

2011-05-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

I'm lively and animated. Volatile and outspoken. So much it could be viewed as a weakness. I could end up as THE grand finale or MY grand finale.

Or, one might view as a strength. To live with full heart. To feel the sharpest pain inflicted from a dull instrument. To experience love so strong that I can grow wings and fly. A firework of colorful passion.

I guess it's one of those glass half-full, half-empty perspectives. To feel and be able to experience such emotion I think is a blessing. Too many people walk around as zombies.

Controlled by substance or by what other people might or might not think of them.

I'm working on skills to control this firework. How to allow myself to feel with full strength, yet hold back on acting upon emotion. It's kind of like training. Allow the heart to explode and drive motivation to train. Listening to the cues of my body to set my mind straight – backing off and resting (keeping to myself) when needed.

I'll still allow the occasional explosion ...at the right time. (Like on raceday!)

The Aftermath

2011-05-11T18:11:00.000-07:00

I had forgotten what it feels like to race. More importantly I had forgotten about the DOMS of racing. I was plagued by restless legs Saturday night. Sunday I got up and stumbled out of bed. I just about fell over! Not sure how my legs had the chance to stiffen. They had been running around all night. In addition to the stiffness I had areas on my legs that were painful to the touch. I was pretty sure I had strained my abductors (inner thighs) while riding the bike. I felt like I had been tossed up against a wall and not in the good kind of way. On a positive foot, my foot felt fine!

I spent most of Sunday stretching and spending quality time with my beloved Trigger Point. I managed to drag my tail to the pool in the evening. I thought the water might help loosen things up.

Swim - 2800 yd

2 x 200 easy (uh-oh....legs are sinking to the bottom. I'm an anchor)

3 x 200 buoy and paddles; rest :30

8 x 100 rest :20 (buoy did not help, legs still sunk like an anchor)
:30 rest

8 x 100 rest :20 w/ buoy and paddles

Warm down

100

I thought wrong! This sucked. Energy sucked. My muscles were tight and limp at the same time.

Sunday night I managed to sleep a solid 9.5-10hrs.

Monday the DOMS slightly improved but my energy level decided to take a dive. I lacked all motivation. I found this as my cue to take the day off from any physical activity and rest my body.

Tuesday I woke up motivated to swim!
Swim - 2500yds

4 x 100yd, rest 0:15 / 100yd

1 x 100yd Single Arm (arm out front) 6 x left, 6 x right, 6 x full stroke, rest 0:20 / 100yd
Freestyle using one arm at a time, focusing on shoulder and hip rotation. Complete 6 arm strokes with the left arm then 6 strokes with the right arm followed by 6 strokes using both arms. The non-stroking arm is held out front in a streamlined position.
1 x 100yd Freestyle DPS, rest 0:20 / 100yd
Freestyle swim with maximum Distance Per Stroke (DPS). Concentrate on long, efficient strokes and a high streamlined body position to reduce drag in the water. Count your strokes per lap and try to reduce.

1 x 500 buoy & paddles; 30 rest
1 x 500 free (landing on 8:10 - ugh);30
1 x 500 buoy and paddles

Warm down
1 x 200

Muscle fatigue and energy was improved but still not stellar.

By mid afternoon my legs were completely pain free and muscles felt lose and free again. Energy was slightly improved. I was motivated enough to do an easy aqua jog for 25 mins in the evening.

Wednesday – AM Spin
90 min low Z2 spin. Legs felt pretty good and energy felt almost normal. I entertained myself by reading mental self-help books for the first 40 mins. I finished watching Chris Rock's - Never Scared. Not as good as Bigger and Blacker.

PM Run - 20 min easy grass run.

Grinding Gators

2011-05-07T18:38:00.000-07:00

Canby Gator Grinder Sprint

I'll provide a little history for those that have never read my blog. This was my first triathlon since Ironman Canada 09. It was my first time running off the bike since IMC 09. I fractured my second metatarsal 8 weeks ago. I've been without pain now for 2-3 weeks. I tried testing my run twice in the last week for 10-15 mins each time. Both times felt ok. This would be my longest run since injury. I spent the last year and a half dealing with running injuries and other sorts of health problems. My confidence in my athletic abilities are nowhere near what they used to be. So what do when faced with fear? Run away? Or saddle up?

I opted to do race this sprint in a TYR training bikini. I did this for a few reason. Contrary to my profile photo, I am actually pretty shy inside. I still have the fat girl image of when I was a kid. No matter how lean I get; I fear I will always see myself in that way. Today my goal was to destroy that image. The other goal was to rebuild my confidence by doing something that I feared. After all is said and done - mission accomplished. When pushed to the limits it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks or sees. It's what YOU DO.

For the swim I rocked my TYR Metallized Nest Pros, Fish Fin swim cap (BTW - I was the only one with a fin!) and my TYR Tri training bikini.

Swim 500yd - I started in lane 2, 4th(last) position. First and second guy claimed to swim 7:30, second guy said 7:45. My most recent TT had me at a 7:37. I would only need to pass one guy......or would I? The last whistle blew and I was off. Holy Moly! I think I was dropped within the first 50-100 yds. Not completely out of bubble drag, but dropped none the less. Holding my own was a struggle. My form was out of whack and I felt like a fish out of water. Flip-flop, flip-flopping around. By 300 I got control of my breathing and my form straightened its self out. It was around this time that dude #2 past dude #1. Dude #3 took a pass at #2 and I took the opportunity to follow suite. #1 went out too hard and we all passed him. Now I was stuck behind #2. I kept tapping his foot and he would not allow me to pass. With 100 to go I just didn't have it in me to sprint past him at the middle lane. Rules said only pass at the wall. I shoulda, coulda, woulda pulled his ankle down and downed him. Oh well, another day. 500 and I jump out of the pool and run to my bike.
Swim time - 7:30 / 500yds - new PR! (7th woman)

I don't remember much here. My head was a blur. I tried to put on my jacket but I was wet and it was a tight fit. I said f*** it, mounted Carnage and we were off.
T1 - 1:04 (first woman for T1)

Bike - Hurt like a motherf***er. I knew that it was possible that I may not be able to run 3 mi. I knew that I may end up walking part of the run. I've thrown down massive watts/climbing in the last week or two and had no foot pain. If I was going to race I was going to push with all I had in the swim and bike and do what I could with the run.

It is no secret that my bike handling skills need improvement. It doesn't help that my feet turn into cement blocks sub 60 degrees. I think loosing feeling in my feet and hands due to the Reynaud's plays a big part in balance and coordination on the bike. On this wet, 50 degree day, I was fortunate to keep the rubber side facing the ground. The course was pretty curvy and hilly. My lackluster handling skills hurt my time. Too many times to count I slowed down and took a cautious approach to the corners. To make up for my time lose I attacked every incline. In 11.5 miles my PowerTap recorded 23 power surges. My quads cried and I told them to STFU. This was not their race. It was my race. What good is racing if you can't see what you're made of? I kept repeating that in my head. The pain in my quads felt like an inferno....yet I think the fire originated in my lungs. Goodlord! Where is the air?! No time to breathe. No time to think. Only mash!
After reviewing my Power Data I hit a new 20 min avg watt PR! And a new 30 min normalized watt PR! I managed to pass a few dudes, poor handling skills and all.
Bike time 37:11 - 3rd woman (beaten by my 2 kickass co-workers Anna and Michelle! I wouldn't want it any other way:))

Transition - My room mate took this little footage of T2. What a clusterf****. I love how my mom offers to help in T2. LMAO!

T2- 1:17

Run - Ok, can't feel my feet. They're like huge cement clunking blocks. Ugh. Both feet were completely numb. Not good. I focused on a slight lean forward, keeping my knees high and landing under my center of mass. Oy! My quads were screaming at me again. And again I told them to STFU. What were they b****ing about now? I wasn't running with my quads. The course was flat. They could rest. It was now time for my backside to put in work. Although I didn't push my pace my breathing was f***ed from the bike and swim. I felt like I was having a panic attack. This brought on a few nasty side stitches that stabbed into my abdomen. I focused on slowly exhaling my breath. I thought a lot about my time in hot yoga and meditation. This helped. By the halfway mark I was in control of my breathing again. Which raised the question, do I push it? You're not really TRI'ing if you can breath. At least not in a sprint. But the answer I came to was NO. I still couldn't feel my feet and didn't want to risk a pick up that would crush my dreams of IMC this year. So on I ran, with my comfortable breathing. The race ended on a track and for the last 200 I picked it up through to the finish.

Run 5k - 23:09/ 7:27 - VERY content 2nd place

Total time 1:10:13. 1st AG, 2nd place female overall

Now comes the Props

Way to go Anna (co-worker) for breaking course record and winning female OA! You are incredible hun!
Great job Michelle (co-worker) for taking 3rd place!
The top 3 women all work for Team Estrogen and DOMINATED our age groups! Maybe this is because we have a kickass boss?! Thanks Susan for a great TEAM BUILDING event!

Thanks to all the support from my friends over the last year and a half. You picked me up while I was down and accepted all my flaws.

And last but defiantly not least - I have the BEST momma who came out to support me. She also made incredible gluten free monster cookies! My BEST friend MessyJesse Jo for putting up with me for so long. You're what I need when I need it, always. Jessy gave me this beautiful gift afterwards. It's a sparkly snow globe! My favorite. The best part is the message written on it.

And I thank the wonderful man by my side (from a far), who has NEVER doubted me and always encouraged me to shoot for the stars. He often tips my glass over, making if half full again.

I pray that this is the start to a long and healthy race season. My confidence is growing.......

Cheers!

2011-05-05T21:49:00.001-07:00

To the best room mate ever!

Hungry, hungry hippo

2011-05-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

I've been a hungry, hungry hippo all day! Appetite is insatiable.

Got ride of the gallon of urine this morning. OMG that was disgusting. Lab tech was impressed with my hydration level and "plump", ideal for pricking veins. Now I wait for test results, yet again.

I've come to face the fact that I have an addiction

PB and caramel rice cakes. I've been eating these everyday, for way too long now. I think my heart is shellacked in PB :). Not sure this is going to help my abs racing in my TYR bikini this weekend.

After properly fueled up on PB I joined my friends Sue and Chris for a bike ride. Sue said 45 miles of hills. The map she sent out had 3k of elevation gain. Not the 4k we ended up doing per Garmin. 3k or 4k. Tomato, Tomato same to me. I took the ride overall pretty easy with good effort expended on the hills. Here's the elevation profile.

And here I am mid ride

This was a confidence building ride. My power and energy grew as the time passed. Endurance is coming around. At the end my muscles felt fatigued, as they should....but energy was still on point. :) Thank you malto!

Later my momma came over and made me dinner

Baked salmon with garlic spinach - so that I can turn into Popeye over night.

And the icing on the cake? These bad boys -

Gluten free peanut butter cups! I LOVE my Momma!

Tinkerish

2011-04-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

AM Aqua jog - 50 mins
20 min Z2
10 x 1 min Z4/Z5; 1 min high Z1/low Z2
10 min Z2

I'm now at 7 weeks from fracture and have been without pain for the last 2-3 weeks. Today I tested running. 10 mins on the treadmill and I felt ok. Finished with 10 mins of core strengthening.

I went back to the doc to get another X-Ray of my foot to clear my mind and put me at ease. My RA doc had a few tests that I needed to take as well.

The lab tech tells me that I need to take a 24hr urine sample. I look at him with a blank expression because I have no clue what that means. He signaled me in close with the curl of his index finger and whispers "You'll need to gather and store your urine for 24hrs and bring it back us." He then hands me a jug and some weird thing to help collect and drain the urine. He then tells me how to use the collection device. If I don't want to use it he suggested I could always put it on my head like a hat and dance around. He demonstrates. LMFAO! I swear I was dreaming. This was a little too funny and disgusting for me to wrap my head around. I was instructed to keep the urine cold, or on ice. Oh yea, how I going to explain a jug of urine in the refrigerator to my room mate. I think that could be grounds to kick me out of the house. Luckily I picked up a cooler bag from a food show. Hmmmm, I wonder if I'm allowed to drink libations during the collection process. There is nothing that says I can't. Oh man, now my doc is going to know I'm a lush.

Feeling a little blah-zay, I decided to go to Ultra Cosmetics for a pick me up. I spent over an hour (and way to much $$$) looking at glitter and sparkle. Really, I'm a little girl at heart. Anything with sparkle catches my eye and I'm star struck. I want to grow up and fly around like Tinker Bell.

No, I have not started drinking.......yet.
Lots of glitter, gold and sparkle later and I'm feeling pretty again!

Afternoon Swim - 2800 yds

Warm up
• 1 x 300

Drills
4 x 50yd Freestyle Catch Up, rest 0:10 / 50yd
1 x 300 paddles; rest 30
1 x 100 kick; 10 hard/20 easy

Core
• 6 x 200yd Freestyle Swim, target time 03:10 / rest 0:30 - landed on 3:03-3:06

• 3 x 200yd Freestyle Swim, target time 03:10 / rest 0:20 - landed on 3:06- 3:08

Warm down
1 x 100 easy

I ended Saturday night with a lush and velvety 47lb Cock. For a girl, it doesn't get much better.

Back to the daily grind

2011-04-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

Wednesday
AM Long run - 75 min aqua run
15 min Z2
high Z3/Low Z2 alternating per song tempo - 1 hr

PM - 45 mins of strength training
2 x 20 w/10 sec rests
Upper, lower and core with free weights, cables and body weight stabilization.

Thursday -
AM Bike - 60 min easy low Z2 recovery spin

PM Swim
1 x 100

1 x 500 TT- 7:37 PR BABY!

Build up (repeat 6 times)
1 x 50yd Zipper, rest 0:10 / 50yd
1 x 50yd catch up

8 x 100yd Freestyle Swim, target time 01:35 / : 20 rest (landed 1:31-1:33)

Warm down
200 easy

Total yardage - 2200

Friday -
AM Bike 80 mins
Z2 for 30 mins
4 x 5 min mid/high Z3
3 min Z1/Z2 recovery
Finish mid Z2

I made the roomie and I dinner to end the week

Gluten free cheyenne cornbread pancakes topped with red snapper and fruit jalapeno salsa. Washed it all down with a bottle of citrus sangria.

The Getaway part two

2011-04-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

As I waited for the train I was comforted with Mr. Pinot Noir. The train ride from San Diego to LA was absolutely beautiful.

Monday

AM Swim at the Rose Bowl

2500 meters

W/U

300 free; 100 kick - :10 hard/ :20 easy; 200 pull

Drills

1 x 100 – 50 free; 50 fist

1 x 100 – 50 free; 50 catch up

repeat 1 x

1 x 100 kick - :30 hard/ :30 easy

Main Set

1 x 100 – breathe every 2 strokes

1 x 100 – breathe every 3 strokes

1 x 100 – breathe every 4 strokes

1 x 100 – breathe every 5 strokes

1 x 100 – breathe every 6 strokes

1 x 100 – breathe every 5 strokes

1 x 100 – breathe every 4 strokes

1 x 100 – breathe every 3 strokes

1 x 100 – breathe every 2 strokes

Cool down –

200 pull

200 easy

In the afternoon I went for a ride from Seal Beach. The first 90 minutes I rode alone, along a bike path. Heading out was an effortless 24-25mph, coming back was a brutal 15-16mph with wind coming from every direction. Damn you Casper! I was very happy to have company for the last hour of the ride. It was a beautiful day for riding and I enjoyed every part of it; despite being tossed around like a rag doll by the wind.

Recovery at In-N-Out Burger! I'm a cheap date :)

Robert surprised me by taking me to a baseball game. My first real baseball game ever! I was so excited! I grew up watching the Cubbies with my dad, but I never went to a real game. The Anaheim Angels played the Oakland As. The games was everything I imagined and then some! It was such a great experience! I even had my first ballpark dog! Mmmmmmm! I defiantly want to do this more often! “Take me out to the ball game. Take me out to the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks. I don't care if I ever get back!”

Tuesday –

Swim – 2500 meters

W/U

300 free; 100 kick - :10 hard/ :20 easy; 200 pull

Main Set

6 x 150; 20 rest – descending 1-3

6 x 100 pull: 20 rest descending 1-3

6 x 50; 20 rest – descending 1-3

Cool down

100

In the afternoon Robert took me to the Manhattan Beach. It was sooooo beautiful, words can’t describe. I stepped into the ocean. The wet coldness sent chills up my body. I looked down and watched the waves crash up over my feet. As this happened I felt doubt, sadness and fatigue wash away the waves, along with the beach sand. It was thoroughly a cleansing experience.

What have a learned from this 4 day Getaway? Live for today. Not for tomorrow and not in the past. I will make the most of today. I went home with a fuller heart and a content inner-soul. Life will be lived to the fullest; one day at a time.

The Getaway part one

2011-04-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

Saturday

I knew I was going to get lost. I always get lost. I didn’t think I’d get lost 10 min into the ride. Here was the S22 and I…pedaling along I-5 in San Diego. How did this happen? Obviously I took a wrong turn! Then I made another wrong turn onto a different freeway. Agh! Miraculously I ended up finding the correct route in one piece. The route I was taking (sub detour) was an out and back to Santee. I’d never ridden out that way and thought it was mostly flat. Until I started to ascend an 800ft mountain pass. It was a nice climb in the hot, exposed sun.

The first thing on my mind upon reaching town was must find bathroom and water. I stopped at a fuel station. I enter and politely ask to use the restroom. The cashier says “No restroom here!” I respond back “I’m a customer and would like to buy something.” He says “No bathroom for you!” WTF?! As I leave I slip out…..”So you sit all day and piss yourself, asshole.” He stands and starts yelling at me. This is my que to get the f*** out of dodge.

The next attempt was a KFC. Thankfully these people were uber friendly, allowed me to use their facilities and even told me to “have fun ride.” Would you expect any less from Colonel. Sanders?

Re-hydrated I make my way back. I took a detour off and hit two threshold loops (4-5 mi) on a nearby island. Upon heading home I get lost again! Ending up at Mission Beach instead of Ocean Beach. I should never end my rides with loops around an island. I always get topsy-turned backward. I call my dad for directions and make my way back. Finished the ride with a kickass 48.5 miles and had a painful sunburn.

We were supposed to BBQ but surprise, surprise. Dad is drunk again. Unmotivated to cook he ended up buying a local rotisserie chicken, potato salad and anti-pasta for dinner. I bought a bottle of Pinot Noir and dark chocolate and made the best of it.

This would have ended as an “OK” night if my dad hadn’t drank his weight. He went on his usual sob story. Apologizing for the past. I accept the past. I will not forget but I have learned how to forgive. The fact that he brings it up every time he drinks (which is every time I see him) gets on my last nerve. After never ending apologies he turns volatile and insulting. And once I’m at the point of crying he turns to the fact that he is going to die and it is going to be soon. I should feel guilty? I REALLY do not need this. I wanted to spend time with him and enjoy what time “we” have left together.

Thanks to my horse tranquilizer I was to cry myself to sleep.

Sunday

I was able to get out for a ride at the crack of dawn.

I rode for about 2hr rides which included 3 hill repeats and two loops around the island. This time I did not get lost. :D.

I landed back home at 9:00am. The plan was to go to Easter Mass with my father. But alas it’s 9am and my dad is drunk. He had started to drink right after I had left for my ride. WTF?! What happened to not drinking before noon rule? Since he was already inebriated I was left with the responsibility of making breakfast for everyone before we left. I was looking forward to Mass but my dad had a way of running that. He took his sweet time getting ready. This made us10 mins late. We had the option of standing in the main church or taking a seat in the smaller hall. I left the decision up to him, which seated us in the smaller hall. As we sat in church he complained the entire time. He insulted the church, he insulted his lady friend and he insulted his daughter, who he never gets to see. I have never been around a man who was capable of turning every word into an insult or argument. I prayed a lot. I kept reminding myself to think of the positive. There has to be some positive. The priest must have sensed my sadness as he blessed me aside from the others. I realized that I have nothing more to say to my dad. Anything I say he turns into a fight. I just let him ramble on, smiled when I could and stayed remained silent.

Here’s a picture before church

I take many photos with smiles. Because even if life is sucking ass, when you look back at a smile you know that inside there is happiness.

My father dropped me off at the San Diego train station. My last words to him were – "I love you. Be nice to me."

I'm really tri'ing here and I don't know what to do. I love my dad. I WANT and NEED to have a relationship with him. His behavior and actions make this extremely difficult. I'll just keep reminding myself that we are blood...and look at the smilie face on my hand.

“I'm like a Peacock – You gotta let me Fly!”

2011-04-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

Thursday

Spin - 1:30
45 min low Z2 @ 80-90 rpms
4 x 3 min mid Z3 @ 80-90 rpms /2 min Z2 in between
Finish mid Z2

************

In the evening I unleashed some stress in the form of laughter watching The Other Guys!

“I'm like a Peacock – You gotta let me Fly!”

“Have you done a Desk Pop today?”

“I was so drunk I thought a tub of toothpaste was astronaut food.”

I can always count on Will Ferrell to cheer me up. And what woman doesn't like looking at “The Rock”? Mmmmm, The Rock.

****************
Friday

30 min Z2 aqua run

Followed up with.....swimming!

Warm up
• 1 x 400

Build up (repeat 2 times)
• 1 x 100yd Single Arm (arm out front) 6 x left, 6 x right, 6 x full stroke, rest 0:15 / 100yd
Freestyle using one arm at a time, focusing on shoulder and hip rotation. Complete 6 arm strokes with the left arm then 6 strokes with the right arm followed by 6 strokes using both arms. The non-stroking arm is held out front in a streamlined position.
• 4 x 50yd Freestyle DPS, rest 0:10 / 50yd
Freestyle swim with maximum Distance Per Stroke (DPS). Concentrate on long, efficient strokes and a high streamlined body position to reduce drag in the water. Count your strokes per lap and try to reduce.

Core
• 6 x 100yd 01:35, rest 0:25
• 5 x 100yd 01:35, rest 0:20
• 4 x 100yd 01:35, rest 0:15
• 3 x 100yd 01:35, rest 0:05

Warm down
• 1 x 200 easy

Total yardage – 3000yd

Landed all on 1:34-1:35 except the last two 100s, those ended at 1:35. FYI :05 is NOT a rest!

Had an uber productive day at work creating the new Pearl Izumi F'11 product. The highlight of the day was checking the new Gore 25^th Anniversary cycling kits. DROOLING!

25th Anniversary Phantom Jacket, 25th Anniversary Ozon Jersey, 25th Anniversary Ozon Short

This kit has a ton of bling with top-of-the-line functionality to match! Gore Bike Wear is by far my #1 favorite cycling brand. You can't get better styling, functionality and comfort anywhere else. This being said from a girl who has accessibility to over 50+ cycling brands. But alas..... If I could only keep white....well white.

Post work I hit the gym for 40 mins of full body strength training. I did 2 x 20 reps with :10 rests. All free weights, body weight (but none weight/foot bearing) and cables. Feel the burn baby!

Tomorrow I'm heading down to San Diego to ride my bike in the sun and get in some quality family time. This time WILL be BETTER then the last.

Mirror, mirror on the wall

2011-04-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

Mirror, mirror on the wall
I have no fear as I stand up tall.
I am confident and strong and with will I write.
My goals and dreams are within sight.

Training recaps

Monday -

75 mins High Z1/low Z2 spin. I flushed out all the lactic build up from the deep tissue massage. No flu symptoms this time around. I think I might be in love with my massage therapist.
Tuesday -

50 min aqua job - intervals

20 min warm up

1min hard/ 1 min easy x 12
cool down
****Holy Moley!!!***

Swim - 2500 yards

w/u - 1 x 500 buoy

Drills
6 x 50 - 25 drill (c/u, finger,fist), 25 free; 15

Main Set
300 - every 4th 25 z3
100k - 10 sec hard/ 20 sec easy
5 x 100 (15r) - build each to z3
100k - 10 sec hard/ 20 sec easy
10 x 50 (10r) - neg split each

cool down
200 free

Wednesday -
Long aqua run of the week - 1hr 15 min

20 min warm up

tempo - alternating Z3 / Z1-Z2 per song.

***Kicked my a$$!***10 mins of core strengthening before Swim - 2000yards
w/u - 200fr --- 300p ---

3 sets of 4 x 50 (20r)
one set=
1st- breath every stroke one side
2nd- breath every 3rd stroke
3rd- breath every 4th stroke
4th- breath every 5th stroke

500fr- buoy and paddles

200k- 30sec easy, 30sec hard ---

c/d - 200p

I'm a toasted cookie!

Something to believe in

2011-04-17T18:55:00.000-07:00

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh!" he whispered. "Yes, Piglet?" "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you.

   Friday - Sleep. Hooray! For the first time in 10 days I slept 8hrs solid. I woke up and felt amazing! So amazing that I drove to the gym at 4:30am to aqua jog.

w/u 15mins
1 x 1 x 10 = 1min Z4/Z5, 1min recovery low Z2/high Z1
5 min cool down

I then went home to sleep another hour before having to get up and go to work.

   I have a huge window behind my computer at work. I think I'm pretty lucky for this. At previous jobs I was forced to stare at white walls or even worse...the other side of a cubical. Now I get the beautiful countryside for my view. I am appreciative, I really am. I just wish Oregon didn't piss-pour down rain every freakin' day. The weather is really weighing down on me.

  I grew tired by evening. I probably need solid sleep for a couple days to catch up on all the time lost. I dragged myself to the pool and managed to knock out a short 1600y swim.

warm up - 400pull, 100k

4 x 75 (20r) - z2, 25 fr, 25 fist, 25 fr
3 x 200 (30r) - build each to z3

cool down -
50 - dolphin kick - core strength
100 - easy
50 - dolphin kick - core strength

I stretched and melted away in the sauna for 15 mins.

   Saturday - Mr. Sandman disappeared and left behind Mr. Insomnia. I hate Mr. Insomnia. I'm not supposed to take my sleep aid for more then 3 days a week max. I'm predicting Mr. Insomnia will be an unwelcome guest for the next few nights. What good are unwelcome guests? I'm going to leave a note and ask for hot coco by my bedside the next time he wakes me up.

  Stress! Agh! Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with stress? (This is the current reason behind Mr. Insomnia's visits.) I'm usually good at finding solutions to my problems. Recently I've stumbled upon the fact that I am not good at handling personal stress. Which is weird, because when work gets hot with deadlines I put the fire out. I work well under pressure. But I think this is only a case with work performance and or racing. On a personal level I hold myself to a certain bar. When I don't reach that bar I get down. When I get down I stress about what I could/couldn't have done. These are things out of my control. Yet I still worry about them. Dale Carnegie wrote this great book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. I picked it up long ago but only just now have I started to read it. I'm a type-A planner. Planning is a HUGE part of my life. It's one of my main job responsibilities as a buyer. Since I am now self-coached I have to plan my training again. Ugh. (I don't regret this decision). And I have long-distance relationship with a whole lot of logistics to work out. Is planning bad? I think not. What is bad is how I deal or cope when things don't go as planned. Outside of work 90% of my life doesn't go as planned. Since I don't know how to productively deal with this, it is making a negative impact on my entire life. As I reflect back on my past I think this became habitual from unhealthy relationships and set expectations.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
"When you suffer an attack of nerves you're being attacked by the nervous system. What chance has a man got against a system?"

And to answer your question...Yes, I have a stress ball. I've dug my nails into it.

To start the weekend off right my momma and I met up for SlappyCakes. This time around we physically made our own pancakes. The savory ones were made out of sauteed mushrooms, bacon, goat cheese in a gluten free batter and topped off with creme fresh. The sweet were dried cherries, milk chocolate chips in a gluten free batter topped off with maple syrup.
   Here's my momma flippin' cakes. Note that I posted the successful photos :)

   And here I am about to devour one, notice the devilish grin :)

  I am soooo tired of this weather! I took the 20% chance of rain and I took Carnage outside. Baby girl and I rode for almost 3 hours on a pretty flat route. I'm rounding off week 5 of my stress fracture. I'm still a little cautious to take on hills. I avg'd mid to high Z2 for the 49.7 mi. I would have rounded the block for the last .3 but it started to rain and 50mi really didn't mean anything to me. My avg speed was 18.3mph, which doesn't really say anything. But I figured I'd mention it as my watts are for me to know :)
  Later that evening my quads were feeling the ride. Oh my! After reviewing my power data, my normalized watts (pedal to the metal with force vs. avg watts- pedal spinning w/no force) was low zone 3. It made sense my quads were fatigue. It has been...oh say, 6 months since I've ridden that long. My muscular endurance is not what it used to be. Lesson learned. Now, time to work on changing that.

   Sunday - Was a rude awakening.  The tops of my quads and hip flexors were swollen up like they were smuggling golf balls. My lats were also fatigued from the 2+hrs of riding aero. Energy overall was low.

   I modified my training day and cut my long aqua run down from an hour 15 to 30 minutes. This was extremely tiring. Has anyone else had the experience of aqua running? The resistance can be brutal. After the previous bike day I felt like I had been jumped by the school bully. Speaking of cutting my long run short. This is/was the perfect time to do so. After much research I think it is most beneficial for my long runs to take part mid-week. I've been training endurance for the last 4-5 years. I know I can do the distance. I know what fatigue feels like. There is no reason that my quality long distance training needs to be back to back - Sat/Sun. I think I will get more "bang for the buck" in training and in regards to staying injury free with a long weekend bike and long mid week run - all in quality.

Post run I swam.

Warm up
500 buoy

12 x 50 (20r) - 25 drill, 25 free
(Rotate: cu, fdrag, & fist)
8 x 100 (15r) - 2 sets of 4 x 100
set =
1st - 75 easy, 25 z5
2nd - 50 easy, 25 z5, 25 easy
3rd - 25 easy, 25 z5, 50 easy
4th - 25 z5, 75 easy

Cool down - 100 buoy


Total yardage - 2000.

   I cooked, slept and ate for the rest of the day. What's on the menu this week? Pork chili with a chocolate, espresso twist. Low fat Alfredo made out 3 italian cheeses, ricotta, and surprise - greek none fat yogurt, accompanied with gluten free pasta, chicken and veggies. Did I mention I napped? :) Finished the night off with a 90 minute deep tissue massage. As I write, I am flooding my stomach with H2o. The goal is to flush all the lactic crap-o-la out of my system.

I'm not asleep... but that doesn't mean I'm awake.

2011-04-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

After the weekend of fun drama filled chaos I was in dire need of my normal routine. Boring? Yes. Calming? Yes.

Wednesday -
50 min aqua run

20 min warm up Z28 x 2 min high Z3/low Z4 picks with :90 Z2 recovery

I spent my work day back and forth from my desk to the kitchen; refilling coffee and savoring the delectable chocolates my boss brought back from Belgium. Sharing is indeed caring! Now I know what you're thinking. Cut out the caffeine in the day time and you might be able to sleep. But alas, I am in an endless toxic circle. I've gone so many days without rest I MUST have coffee in the day to survive.

In the evening I knocked out 40 mins of strength training. 2 x 20 w:20 restsUpper body free weights and or cables. Core - in the roman chair, cables and body weight. Lower body - I'm still using machines as to not bear weight on my foot - Hamstring curls, Abductor, Adductor machines.

After my room mate and I proceeded to get sushified.

My doc answered my crying request for sleep. It's a sad day when Ambien CR doesn't work. She prescribed another sedative. Wikipedia's description made me think I was digesting a horse tranquilizer. It helped......some. I still woke up multiple times but fell back to sleep quickly. No restless, stressed out mind. I think the waking was habitual after doing so for the last 8+ days. The second time I woke up I walked down stairs and made sugar free Hawaiian Punch. I remember that I wanted to not wake up (?????) so I kept the lights off and proceed to mix the beverage in the dark. I drank a full glass. Walked back upstairs and went back to bed. Who does that?

Thursday - Oy! I'm still hung-over from the tranquilizer. I spent my Z2 75 min spin watching IM Kona 2010. I'm 4 1/2 weeks out from stress fracture. I'm still not pushing any bike intervals. My focus this morning was to keep my cadence above 80. This was difficult. My muscles were in a drugged induced comma from the sleeping pill. My mind was kind of mushy too. But I kept focus and got it done.

Evening swim brought to you by SwimPlan

Warm Up

• 8 x 50yd Freestyle Swim (even pace), rest 0:15 / 50yd
Freestyle swim at a steady pace.

Build up (repeat 6 times)
• 1 x 50yd Front Scull and Kick, rest 0:15 / 50yd
Streamlined body position with straight arms and kicking. scull with hands flat and fingers below the wrist. Try to hold your chin on the surface of the water.
• 1 x 50yd Freestyle Push & Glide, rest 0:15 / 50yd
Freestyle swim, pausing at the end of every stroke with arms out-stretched, one held out front, the other held loosely against the body.

Main Set
• 8 x 50yd Freestyle Swim, target time 00:48 / 50yd, rest 0:10 / 50yd - actual :46-48 (kept allotted rest)
• 4 x 100yd Freestyle Swim, target time 01:35 / 100yd, rest 0:20 / 100yd - actual 1:31 (kept allotted rest)
• 2 x 200yd Freestyle Swim, target time 03:10 / 200yd, rest 0:30 / 200yd - actual 3:03, 3:04 (kept allotted rest)
• 8 x 50yd Freestyle Swim, target time 00:48 / 50yd, rest 0:10 / 50yd - actual :45-46 (kept allotted rest)

Warm down
• 1 x 200yd Freestyle Easy, rest 0:20 / 200yd
Freestyle swim at a slow, relaxed pace.

Total yardage - 2800

After all this writing I am TUCKERED out! Time for bed! Au Revoir!

PS - Got my bone scan results back. My density is normal! Yay! I should have no problems making a healthy recovery.

Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream!

2011-04-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

Praying to get some sleep tonight. Night 8.

Passion is universal humanity. Without it religion, history, romance and art would be useless.

2011-04-11T19:55:00.000-07:00

I went on a self-discovery adventure this weekend. Here are a few of the highlights and lowlights.

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what make you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

*I landed at LAX and was left all by myself. It was the most sickening, gut wrenching feeling. At this moment I lost a huge chunk of heart.

*Never under estimate e-friendships. My buddy *fish head* provided uplifting smiles and my girlfriend Nicole allowed me to crash at her place for the night. Hun, you saved me!

*I found myself on Crenshaw Blvd at 7:30am waiting for the rental car company to open. I must admit I was a little freaked out. It's been a long time since I've been in the hood; I've lost all my gangsta edge. I was wearing blue jeans, blue t-shirt and a red TYR hoodie. Bloods or Crips? What side would I take? I found comfort in a little Mexican restaurant. There I sat with my spicy sausage and 10-12 Mexican men. They kept referring to me as "chica bonita blanca". I wish I knew Spanish. I kept referencing what they were saying on my BB. We watched soccer/football and ate breakfast together. I think I may have been mixed in.

*After 5hrs of sleep and some mean sausage I started the 2hr drive down to a whale's vagina. San Diego.

*The point of driving down to SD was to see my dad. I haven't seen the man in Lord knows how long. We don't have the typical father- daughter relationship. He is sick and will die soon. I needed to salvage what relationship we do have and make sure we are both at peace.

*I rented a Felt S22 from Moment Cycle Sports. This baby girl was my ONLY saving grace this weekend. Saturday I went out in my Bippie Dress, white lace liner shorts and my white bolero.

5 minutes out and a cyclist flipped a U-Turn, and took me on a 2+ hour hill climbing tour. I was thankful to have a local show me around. I had to bike like a girl since I'm still 4 weeks out on my stress fracture. No badass power for me. Just relentless spinning.

*The glue that kept my sanity together was composed of emails, txts and phone calls from friends and family. I love you all! Special thanks to Jesse, MJ, Lauren, Mom and Mike.

*I spent the evening reconnecting with my dad and grandpa. They both have cancer. It may be the last time I get to see either of them. My grandpa still has a full head of "Elvis" hair. Even with no teeth he still looks handsome. I felt the night called for some good 'ol Rocky Road - my dad's favorite desert.

Here's a picture of my dad on his bike - he carries beer in his basket. He taught me how to swim and bike. I'm often reminded that he "pottery trained my a**" - in his words.

*I wake up at midnight to my dad and his gf fighting. Do I need to mention the crazy b**** is 20yrs younger then he is? Anywho the drunk girl proceeded to make a scene for the next 3 hours. She is very abusive to my dad. It makes me sick to my stomach that he puts up with her. The girl was very lucky I didn't get up and kick her a**. I was VERY tempted to doing so. I'm fatigued and hostile at this point.

I finally fell back to sleep around 3:30am.

*A restless 4.5hrs later I got up and started my day with a strong cup of java and stared off into the ocean. I wished I could have been swept out to sea.

*The vitamin D lifted my spirits and I went out for another ride. This time I was all alone.

2.5hrs of MUCH needed therapy! In these photo's I'm rockin' my FAVORITE shortsleeve jersey - Icebreaker's Rhythm jersey. I heart wool! Riding in 65-70 degrees and I never felt hot. With 5 pockets I was able to hold a water bottle, my blackberry, a map, multi-tool and cc/id. I may have been able to fit the kitchen sink if I had tried.

*I arrived home to find my dad drinking/drunk again. If I was dating such a nut job I might do the same. Wait.....I'll retract that statement. I have my own relationship issues at hand....hence broken heart. Anywho, his child-like behavior got on my last nerve. He was supposed to take me to return my bike. This is one of the many reasons we do not have a relationship. He has no sense of responsibility and I am just not OK with this. After the ride, lack of sleep, travel, and emotional stress my energy was at sub zero. Then he forced me to see my sister who avoided seeing me the night before. Awesome. The last time I heard from her she wrote me a "hate" email on my birthday. I did NOT choose this side of the family.

*Hoping to salvage what little heart I had left I opted to leave San Diego a few hours early and head back to LAX. No one was waiting for me in LA. Ugh, sad. I sat at LAX for the next 3.5hrs and filled my heart with Vodka. I ended up in the fetal position in the corner and got in a much needed 30 min nap.

I followed my heart and I went to LA. Although it hurt, a lot, I accomplished what I needed to.

"Love is like a puzzle. When you're in love all the pieces fit but when your heart get broken, it takes awhile to get everything back together."

Today is day 7 with a batting avg of 4-6hrs of sleep per night. I'm praying I will get some Zzzzzs tonight.

I live

2011-04-08T06:06:00.000-07:00

Life to the FULLEST and with PASSION. When you lose heart you lose everything.

Running down a dream and trying to catch some Zzzzzz.

2011-04-05T20:35:00.000-07:00

Sleep deprivation feels like a never ending nightmare. But unlike a nightmare sleep deprivation is real.

I was so tuckered last night. I passed out as soon as I laid my head upon my pillow. Falling asleep was not the problem. Insomnia wasn't a problem. My mind was exhausted. The problem lied within my soft tissue. Any movement and I would wake with a dull aching pain in my back and shoulders. I tried adjusting my pillow position several times but nothing worked. 11:50, 1:15, 2:45, 3:30....by 5:10 I had enough and got up for the day.

I don't think it's good to arrive at a location and not remember driving yourself. Especially when the drive was almost an hour long. This girl – finger pointing at moi, had two at-fault accidents last year. A third would not make a charm for my pocket book. I don't know how I went from zero in twenty-nine years to two in one year.

Another visit with a new PT. This one uplifted my mood, just a little.

My soft tissue pain went away an hour or two after waking. The fatigue from the lack of zzzzz's stuck around all day. 3 cups of coffee, a five hour energy and I made it through the day.

I decided to make the most of the Twilight Zone spin and took a nap in my aero bars. I'm always surprised at how comfort my TT can be....or how tired I am.

A muscle relaxer and off to bed I go.....

"What is the opposite of two? A lonely me and a lonely you."

Another day, another workout, or two, or three

2011-04-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

"The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't."

Today was long....but solid :)

AM - 40 mins of aqua jogging.
w/u 15 mins
10 x 10 - 1 min Z4/1 min Z1/Z2
5 min cool down

PM- 10 mins of stretching. 35 mins of upper body weights, core, non-weight (foot) bearing lower body. Light weights - 2 x 20; w/10 sec rest.

Swim
Distance: 2700.0 yd
Pace: 01:51/100yd

Description:
Warm Up
4 x 100; 15 rest

Build Up
1 x 150 pull
1 x 150 pull w/ paddles
repeat 1x

Core
8 x 100 on 1:35; 20 rest
repeat 1 x
(landed on 1:31-1:33 for all 16. I'm only pushing off the wall with one foot. For that, I am pleased with this time).

Cool Down
2 x 50

Spent 15 mins melting away and stretching like a Gumby in the sauna.

A FOODIE kind of day

2011-04-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

I look up at the clock. I look back down at the pool floor. My gaze again goes to the clock. Tik-tok. Tick-tok. It's 6am on a Sunday morning. I wouldn't be dreading my workout if a swim was on the agenda. But today is not a swim day. It is a run day. Not only is it a run day, but it is my long run day. Ugh. The only running I can currently do is non-impact running. I stand there submerged up to my chest in water. In the past when I've aqua ran, I've actually wished I was completely submerged. Never to surface. I have a long lonely run ahead of me. Again I look up at the clock. Tik-tok. Tik-tok. I look down at my hand and see that stupid smilie face looking back at me. :) I hit play on my Mp3 player, press start on my Polar HRM and I'm off! Like a tortoise on race day - with a much higher heart rate.

Aqua run - an hour 15 mins

20 min warm up z1/z2

Tempo'd each song alternating mid Z3 w/ low Z2

Post run I met my momma and my good friend Lauren at Slappy's Pancakes. This establishment has been on my "to-do" list for some time. They offer gluten free alternatives and a griddle in the middle of the table for you to make your own pancake. Lauren had pb batter filled with bananas and topped with creme fresh and a lavender honey (I think). My momma got a gluten free (sharing is caring!) fresh blueberry pancake with traditional maple syrup. I went a little nuts with a gluten free pancake filled with chocolate chips and coconut flakes, topped with peanut butter and maple syrup. Yum! Yum! Aqua running was SOOOOOOO worth this!

After breakfast my momma took me to the NW Food Convention. Here we got to taste all kinds of delectable treats, cheeses, meats and alcohol. Here are a few of my favorites.

Pinacolda cake

Habanero Sugar

I tasted a black truffle salt from these guys SaltWorks. It was amazing. I'm going to buy different savory salts to start mixing into my malto. The goal is to have one sweet and one savory during training to help fight flavor fatigue on long workouts.

What girl doesn't love a vast selection of sausages?

Then came the liquor tastings - Uh Oh

My favorite was the Cherry Bourbon. I was surprised by my 2nd favorite - the Whipped Vodka. It was so light and fluffy. That doesn't make any kind of sense at all.

My momma and I both over indulged in everything. When in Rome.....um.

The weekend ended blissfully with a masochistic deep tissue massage. Mmmmm, I <3 my massage therapist.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

2011-04-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

I wake up to Boom! Boom! Boom! Shit! Was I reliving a nightmare of my past? Then my alarm clock goes off. 3:40am. Frick! I swear I had just gone to bed. An overdose on honey corn chex cereal before bed inflicted GI distress all night long. Gluttony could be the sin that spells my death. Anywho... dazed and confused I took my roomie to the airport.

Jesse and I have the best conversations while we're both half a sleep, or drunk for that matter. She helped me come to a realization this morning. The traits that some people have, that drive me most up the wall, are traits that I need in my life. A reason that I love them so. An orderly person needs chaos. A messy person needs cleanliness. A plan needs to be changed....once and awhile.

After I dropped Jesse off I hit the pool to get w/o #1 out of the way. Since I'm no longer coached I've decided to pick up Swimplan.com for my weekly/daily workouts.

Description:
Warm up
• 1 x 200yd Any Stroke (even pace), rest 0:20 / 200yd
Swim your choice of stroke at a steady pace.

Build up (repeat 2 times)
• 1 x 100yd Zipper, rest 0:15 / 100yd
Freestyle drill to emphasize arm recovery. Adjust your stroke recovery by grabbing an imaginary zipper between your thumb and forefinger and pull the zipper up your leg, hip and the side of your chest.
• 2 x 50yd Freestyle Push & Glide, rest 0:10 / 50yd
Freestyle swim, pausing at the end of every stroke with arms out-stretched, one held out front, the other held loosely against the body.

Core
• 3 x 400yd Freestyle Swim, leave on 06:50 / 400yd
Freestyle swim, starting every 400yd set on the defined time period. The departure time combines your swimming target time and rest time, so the faster you go the more rest you will have. Conversely, the slower you swim, the less rest time you will have.

Warm down
• 1 x 200yd pull with buoy
• 1 x 100 freestyle

It's now been 3 weeks since I injured my foot. This was the first swim that I was able to kick, and not have any tenderness. Yay! I'm still flip turning, and only kicking off the wall with one foot. My times are overall a couple seconds slower. I'm sure that will come back when I'm actually able to push off the wall again.

I got home and it was only 7:30am! It was time for a Kat nap.

When I got up I stumbled upon this Runner's World article WingSpan. A friend FB linked. She said it reminded her of someone. Hmmmm. It hit close to home and stirred up a whirlwind of emotions. Discontent with myself I turned to the one form of therapy that ALWAYS makes me feel better - cooking. I whipped up these bad boys for dessert later that night. Cheesecake cups with melted dark chocolate, bananas and a strawberry sauce.

Workout # 2 was an hour 45 min spin. The pain in my foot pretty much stopped this last week. I want to be completely pain free for a week before I trust riding outside where I could potentially hit Z3/Z4. This left me alone with my compu in the twilight zone (Z2) and the incredibly stupid, but somewhat amusing flick - Zoolander.

I recovered in the evening with a great friend (girl time is priceless), good food (bacon wrapped ribeye over a bed of arugula and balsamic vinegar, mashed red potatoes with garlic & shallots, and sautéed asparagus, mushrooms and onions...oh my!)

a bottle of vino and The Roast Of Donald Trump. Which I had previously watched but just can't get enough of. I'm a big fan of Whitney Cummings. That girl is a hoot.

My night ended with a great phone date. Le sigh.....distance makes the heart grow stronger. I keep telling myself this.

1,2,3 Tequila!

2011-03-28T21:08:00.000-07:00

Have I ever mentioned just how awesome my room mate is? Seriously, she's a pretty cool chick. When ever I get down she's always there to pick me back up. Awwwww. I <3 you MessyJesse!

For the first time in 6 month we went out to have a "girls" night on the town. This was way overdue.

The night started out with this delectable dish - deep friend green beans. It's perfectly ok turn a normally healthy food into a small heart attack waiting to happen.

Then came the drinks - always in sets of 3s

What's a night if I didn't end up humping a random street object?

This fine gentleman taxi'd us around, from bar to bar to bar

By the end of the night my room mate had me dancing on stage of a dueling piano bar. Dressed in DAS Boot and all. Oddly I had my own cheering crowd. Or maybe I just thought I did? I danced long enough in that stupid boot that I strained my right (non-injured) quad. Can't a girl catch a break?

Sorry folks, no pictures on stage. But I will leave you with a kiss g'night

Eh.....recovery the next day? That was brutal!

I'm not done yet.

2011-03-25T21:36:00.001-07:00

Here I sit. Once again I am injured. I've gone through all the ups and downs. Sadness, which turned to anger. Anger, which turned back to sadness. Humor, as all I could do was laugh to keep myself from crying. I've had this smiley on my hand for the last week. It's a pick me up. How can I cry if something is smiling at me?

How did this happen? Who in the bloody hell knows. It's was either the combination of shoes that were half a size too short and poor pedal placement on my bike OR my body is slowly deteriorating. For 3-4 months I was training....healthy. No injuries looming. No over- training. I was running pain and injury free. Then one day (almost 2 weeks ago) I went for a 7 mile run. The top of my foot started to hurt. I've never experienced this type of pain before. Since it wasn't a sharp pain I didn't pay much attention to it. One thing I have learned about the fibro and RA is that my body isn't always honest about pain. One thing I have learned from this injury; if it hurts, then stop. Real or false. It doesn't matter. I rested for a day and did my easy 4 mi run the day after. No pain."Ok, good" I thought to myself. I ran again on Saturday, 2 days later for 10 mins to ensure I would be ok to race the next day. Still, no pain. "Yay!"
Race day was here. I ran nice and easy for 15 mins with a few pick ups at the end. I still felt good. I thought to myself "Yay! I finally get to race a run!". I was excited. My 110 HR at the start line was a testament to that. The final 10 second countdown started and I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest. Moonshine and I exchanged a quick kiss and we were off! The first mile felt amazing. I finally felt like I was able to fly. My chest got hot and heavy but legs felt light and quick. I knew this feeling would come. I hadn't really done much of any speed work prior. I knew I could hold 180-190HR for a long time. I was only at high 170s. I still had a way to go. Not really. It was going into the second mile and that the dreaded foot pain came back. All of a sudden it felt like someone was stabbing the top of my foot with a f***ing pitch fork. Seriously? WTF!? I ran 1/2 a mile or longer hoping it would go away but it didn't. It got worse, very quickly. Right past mile two I ran off the side of the road. I stood there for a moment and bowed my head and had my first DNF. "F*** My Life!"
So what's the injury? I still don't know. That night I woke up from slumber with excruciating pain. The next day my foot was swollen like a marshmallow and I had problems walking on it. I went to the doctor and got an X-Ray. The bone was not physically broken. I week later came an MRI. MRI showed a possible 1.2cm length wise stress fracture to the second metatarsal with soft tissue edema. My doctor put me in a walking boot and referred me to a fracture clinic. Fracture specialist is not so sure it is indeed a fracture. It's too soon to tell and I still have a lot of edema. He thinks it could possibly be a bruised bone. Either way I'm looking at a 6-8 week recovery time.
What was the cause? I have three possibilities all which could have been a combined clusterf****.
1. I rotate between 3 pairs of shoes. 2 pairs are half a size too small. Usually I size up in running shoes to account for a narrow toe box. The shoes I was running in had a wide toe box so I opted with a snugger fit. This is not a good idea when one foot is almost a full size bigger than the other. It's also not good when the second toe is as long as the big toe. Then let's factor in Gortex socks and or thermal adhesives that I have to wear to keep feeling in my toes. Reynaud's is a b**** to deal with. I'm thankful I had those Gortex socks on race day. If I hadn't been able to feel the pain I could have broken my foot.
Several months of constant knocking can cause bone stress = fracture or bruise.

2. When I had achillies issues last year I moved my cleats on my bike shoes all the way forward. This took off strain from my achillies. It also pointed my toes down. My calves and achillies are healed. I need to put my cleats back.

3. My body maybe shutting down. I've had one if not two fractures in the last two years. I have Reynaud's and am still dealing with the effects of frost bite on my toes a year later. I have tested positive for Rheumatoid Arthritis and am feeling the fallout. I haven't had a menstrual cycle in 15mo, even though all testing shows that I am normal. Normal? Really?

What's the dilly-o now? I've got a bone scan scheduled in 2 weeks. This will show if a fracture is indeed present. But the main reason of the test is to check the density and for osteoporosis. If my density is f***ed at least I know what I'm in for. If my density is ok then my recovery from the fracture/bone bruise shouldn't take longer then the 6-8 week projection. I will be spending a lot of time swimming and aqua jogging in the next few weeks. What doesn't kill me makes me stronger. I will either die or become one hell of a tough cookie (peanut butter:)).

I am continuing forward with IMC 2011. I do have time to fully recover and successfully knock out a 12 week training plan. I have recovered from injury before and trained myself into a successful IM before. I have faith that I can do it again. My only goal at this time is to prove to myself that I can once again be an Ironman....even if it takes me all 17hrs hours to do it. Since I have decided to go back to being self coached I will start to blog again :)
Thank you to everyone who has given me hope. Especially you, moonshine. You are my light in my darkest hour.

KitKat - Katie

PS -
If anyone reads this has done endurance events and deals with RA or fibro please send me an email. I'm really looking for hope. My heart is big and my mind is strong......my body needs to step up its game.

Too much TV

2011-02-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

I was watching Ironman Western Australia on my DVR during my spin the other night. Normally I just fast forward through the commercials. This night I happened to zone out and a few caught my attention.

"Get BIGGER, HARDER and STRONGER!" My first thought was this was a male enhancement infomercial. Bigger, harder, stronger would naturally entice any female so I left the channel where it was...hoping for a little excitement other then the lackluster feeling my saddle was providing.

"If you're ready to get crazy, check out the mother of all workouts" - ooooh you tease! Doooo tell!
"11 minute" - oh snap! You lost my attention there. The informercial then went on to your typical easy way out workout. You know what I'm talking about. First there was 7 min abs, then 6 min abs...now 5 min abs. But with moves like "The Warrior", "The Demon", "The Freak" you can become a shredded machine in just 11 mins! Lol. I don't know about a machine but with moves like that I'm sure you could find an agent down in Mexico to represent you in the WWF.

The best part? The "unit" arrives 100% assembled with a picture book of each move. That means you don't have to know how to use "man" tools and even the illiterate can become "shredded machines". Hear that guidette's? Perfect for the your musclehead juicehead!

The best part? Get BIGGER, STRONGER and HARDER in 30 days or your money back. How does one judge that? I wonder how many people have tried to cash in on that guarantee.

"Jake" even had the audacity to challenge me at the end of the ad. Taunting "Let's go princess". Really? You don't want none of KitKat.

"It's T-Shirt Time!" immediatly segued into Slim Tees.

Is that how "The Situation" gets his famous abs? All of Jersey boys throw on their man girdle before hitting the club?

I love the product reviews.

"In 2 minutes slim tees solved a 20 year problem." - I just don't know how to respond to this. Ahahahahahahahahahahaha!

"The job market out there is really tough, and with the Slim Tees I look good. I felt good and that's why I got the job." - What he doesn't tell you is this infomercial is the job he landed. Way to go!

The best thing about this product is they disclose their secret - 12 specially engineered structured panels - Ha! Is this the way to the 2011 twelve pack? Situation?

Anywho....my spin was cut short due to a flat during my 2nd Z4/Z5 interval. For the love of?!How do you get a flat going nowhere? Everything happens for a reason. My sanity was clearly gone.

Uninhibited

2011-01-26T19:33:00.001-08:00

Free
Spreading my wings I fly
Without fear and without pain
1-2, 1-2, 1-2 I repeat over and over again
Always quick and sometimes quicker-foot prints
they tap 1-2, 1-2, 1-2
I run to my own soundtrack
The pitter patter of my feet and screaming thoughts console me
Nothing holds me down
I fly

PS - I can not put into words how I long I have waited to feel this way. I am in a good place.

Thank you Vitamin D

2011-01-22T21:04:00.000-08:00

It was one of those days......amazing that is!

It started off right with my roommate, some Kona peaberry coffee, blueberry oat (gluten free) waffles and my favorite meat of choice -
After properly fueled we headed down stairs to attack the task at hand.....minimize crap.

This took us down to the basement where I stumbled upon 10-20 years worth of s***. Not all of it was s***, just 80%. I learned something about myself today. I am a huge pack rat.
YUP. That's a 12yr old Salted Nut Roll. Hehe - who wouldn't hold on to a salted nut roll?
Eh, I need to change my pack rat ways. As I was rummaging through all of the boxes I came across stories I wrote many moons ago. Apparently my writing starting when I was a kid and I would fantasize about shoes going on dates and murder mysteries. Oh my! I had an imagination. Not only did I write but I painted, colored and drew lots of pictures. These are all things I found myself doing this summer when I couldn't train. When we're stripped of what we've come to know we go back to our roots, right?
And I found this picture!

Yes! I was a fat kid. I suppose Snickers and Slurpee's are not a breakfast for champions.
I also found these

I had a few first place swim meet ribbons. Maybe if I got fat again I'd be a better swimmer!
A couple hours later and I got rid of boxes and boxes of crap. That stuff only weighs you down, right?

Thankfully Sunny-D-ecided to bless the Oregon skies and I got an afternoon bike ride in the sun! I have not been outside on my bike OR on a ride of 2 hours for 6-8 weeks. Ooooooweeee It was a good one. I wish the sun would say Hi a little more often.

Post ride I indulged in some good 'ol masochism. Mmmmm, a deep tissue massage. I have a great therapist who turns into the Incredible Hulk as soon as I lay over on my back. She's such a tiny girl I don't know how she inflicts a whirlwind of pain. I think she climbs up the side of the wall like a ninja and suspends all of her body weight in her elbow which pulverizes my lats. If Bikram's Yoga didn't hurt me this sure as hell will. Tomorrow will be a "tri'ing" day to say the least.

What's a Saturday night without a good ending?

Guesses on my poison of choice?

Yogi Bear

2011-01-22T14:40:00.001-08:00

I went back to Bikham Yoga Friday night after 4-5 weeks off. Oy! Part of me was dreading it while the other part was looking forward to it. I knew my poses wouldn't be complete and I'd suffer craptastic DOMS. The mental and flexibility benefits were worth it. I went in realistic - my glass was half full. To my surprise my glass was 3/4 full! I accomplished all of the standing floor series 100% without losing strength and falling out. I think this was a first!

The easiest standing floor pose has to be The Eagle or Guradasana. The hardest is the Toe Stand or Padangustasana. Thus far I've only been able to balance on the floor on one leg, one hand touching. I'd like to be able to complete the pose one day.
On we went to the floor series. I don't know why but I always feel like this series should be easier or less difficult than the standing series, but it never is. The only pose I'm able to not execute is the Half Tortoise Pose -Ardha Kurmasana. That's usually a 50/50 for me. Sometimes my knees and ankles b**** so I don't even attempt it. This was one of those times. With 2 poses left to the end I lay in Savasana and pray for it to be over. My breathing is deep and fast and I'm laying in a (WO)man made lake. Ewwwww. Breathe Kat Breathe. Alas it is over and I reap the benefits of my effort.
Here's a great run down of the poses

I started Bikram Yoga during the off season to help with my flexibility and autoimmune issues. I was surprised at how much more it has helped over time. Not only am I able to turn myself into a backward pretzel but my mental state is much clearer and focused. I can go into class completely stressed out and leave floating on a cloud.
Who would have thought an such un-coordinated, inflexible, clumsy girl could pull this off? I've really come to love Bikram Yoga.

Small accomplishments

2011-01-20T19:20:00.001-08:00

Tuesday I had my swim stroke reviewed. I swam 500y and was pretty easy to spot the error of my ways. After watching it on video I was a little astounded that I wasn't in pain from my jacked up stroke. It looked like my right arm was doing the breast stroke once it hit the water WTF?! was I thinking? It looked like I was reaching out to touch someone. Wow! Ok. I need to work on that. I was given a few drills to do to correct the "wide one armed stance".

Wednesday night I ran by the moonlight w/my coach. This was the most invigorating, stimulating, and confidence boosting workout I've had in months. I've been limited to running on flats at *said* pace for sometime now. I completely understand and respect the logic behind this. But that's not to say it didn't get boring *YAWN* Wednesday we ran at a nice clip (for what I'm used to that is) maintaining comfortable conversation for the duration of the 6 mile run. I didn't pay much attention to my Garmin until after the run. We finished :10-:30 faster per avg mile then what I've been running at yet the perceived effort seemed about the same. My HR on the other hand was jacked up to 175-180avg. PE is a funny thing. Most people would feel exhausting effort at that high of a HR. But then again I ran a marathon with a 180 avg....my run HR is high. It is what it is. I'm sure the mid 30 temperature didn't help much in that department either.
I finally found a way around running in the cold. I've been avoiding it, sticking to the dreaded treadmill for the last couple months. My Reynaud's gets so bad I can't feel my feet. When I can't feel my feet when I run I can't feel the ground, which means my form turns to shizzit. And this is something I can not afford to f*** around with. A friend of mine suffers from the same condition and recommended I put Little Hotties on my toes 30 mins before I go out to run in the cold. I put on my thickest pair of Smartwool socks, the Little Hotties and stepped out into the frigid air. My toes got cold but they never went numb. After 10 minutes of running they were warm and stayed warm throughout the entire run. Yay!

A short recap - I found a way to productively run in the cold. My confidence was boosted as I was able to comfortably run faster at moderate effort with no pain during or after.

This evening I had my next swim w/o. I focused on my keeping my right arm closer in. Damn, I think that w/o was more challenging mentally than physically. I had to focus so much and when I'd loose it my right arm would wander again. They say habits are hard to break. It's just something I'll have to keep focusing on. The good news is that my 200s decreased in time by 7-9 secs, 100s decreased by 5-6 secs and 50s by 3-4. Hmmmm, if I can fix this little oddity in my stroke I may actually become a decent swimmer. This calls for another round of "YaY's"!

I swam in my first one piece swimsuit since I was a kid tonight. For the most part I dislike one pieces. I usually feel like the straps dig into my shoulders thus causing pain and annoyance. My torso is a fair bit long relative to my height and two piece suits have always had a non-constrictive comfortable feel. TYR has a new style one piece suit - the Rockstar with a Thin X-Back that I wanted to try out. When I originally put the suit on I thought it was too small. I really had to stretch the thing to get it over my shoulders. But once in the the water the fabric relaxed just enough to create a perfect fit. The thin, open straps gave great freedom of movement. I never felt restricted. Made with durable rubber straps and a poly blend I know it's going to last.
I give it 5 stars for us long torso girls.

Self Confidence

2011-01-17T20:37:00.000-08:00

I think most people don't understand the value of self confidence. I don't think I ever understood the value until recently.

I lacked a lot of confidence growing up. I think this was due to moving around a lot. I was never at any school long enough to build long friendships. I was a fugly kid. There was a reason that in 4th grade my nick name was "marshmallow" - I looked just like one. A fat little blonde girl shaped like a stumpy, soft rectangle. My self image needed a lot of work.
I left home early and was pretty much thrown to the wolves in my mid-teens. This is where my self confidence was formed. When I hit the bottom of a well I had no where to look but up. Stone by stone I climbed myself out. I could only rely on myself. And how can we let ourself down?

With each obstacle I over came grew a seed of confidence. Reflecting back on my past I should have been one of many statistics. If I would have accepted the life that was thrown at me I'd probably have a dozen or more children, have a heavy drug abuse problem, be on welfare, a victim to physical violence and just over all F***ed up. For many years I didn't think I would ever make it to 25, let alone my 30s.

Anywho - what doesn't kill us (literally) makes us stronger. And I became STRONG. My strength came from knowing myself. High integrity, discipline and what I believe are good ethics had me climbing to the top. I climbed in my career. I grew a huge circle of friendships - long lasting. I soared in volunteer work. I excelled in physical sports. I WAS self confident.

Then a hard year came around. Probably one of my hardest to face since I was a teenager. In my opinion it may have been the scariest. Dealing with health problems that destroyed my goals and would change my life forever. It was all out of my control. Having no control and massive amounts of fear slowly ate away my confidence. Month after month I felt like I was chipped away. Until I hit bottom......alas, the well.

I'm not sure when it hit me. I think it may have been the last week....or two. Or maybe even last month when I was sick for 3-4 weeks. Who am I to sit at the bottom of the well staring down? I can't dig my way out. I'm not going any further down into the hole. I have started to climb. To reach out for the next stone and pull myself out of this hole or wishing well. I am NOT weak. I still have my integrity, discipline and ethics. My health may have changed but my values have remained the same. I am strong. I am confident. I WILL be back racing for 2011. For those that have believed and supported me - Thank You. I will not let my self confidence run astray ever again. It is time to start moving mountains.

"Do not follow where the path my lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

Bad TV

2011-01-10T19:32:00.000-08:00

My momma saved me on Sunday. She graciously spent the day with her comatose daughter. The highlight and event of the day? Going out to eat for soup and gluten free sandwiches. Oh yea, we live life on the edge. The rest of the day was spent watching really, really and I mean REALLy bad TV. First we watched the end of The Flinstones. Next was The Cat In The Hat. I actually enjoyed this. Then again I was on my second douse of codeine for the day. Plus I've always had an odd crush on Alec Baldwin. The original Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory came next. Which in my opinion is the one exception of good TV for the day. Jean Wilder is a hoot. I really want an orange oompa loompa....kind of like a pet. Is that discrimination? My favorite part of that movie is when Violet turns into a blueberry. I've always been afraid I would turn into what I eat. There is some truth to that, ya know? I would have been axed in the bubble chamber. With my inability to make myself burp I would have chopped up like chop-suey by the fans in the ceiling. Now that I think about it that movie is rather frightful.

I saved my new found guilty pleasure until my mom left - The Jersey Shore. Yes I did catch the boat too late for this one. I'm ok with that because I'm still ashamed to say I've watched it. My room mate first tried to turn me onto it a few months ago. She DVR'd a few episodes and suggested I see what all the talk was about. I think I made it through maybe 15 mins? It was disgusting, disgusting and disturbing. Do people really act like that? I left it alone for a couple months. Then one day I was on JetBlue swapping through channels. Stuck on a plane bored out of my mind I decided to give it another try. Somehow I became intrigued. I think I'm just amazed that people like this exist. The next few times I watched it I was under the alcohol influence and couldn't look away. It was like a bad train wreck. I had to keep watching. So alas....doped up on Sudafed and Codeine I turned toThe Jersey Shore to kill of a few more brain cells. When I first thought to write about this show and the characters only insults filled the page. I can't just insult people. I mean they are human right? Maybe? Anywho, I think that would bring me to their level. But I have to ask.....When is it ok to show your undergarments or private areas to strangers at the club? Or on live TV none the less? And how can you be a man and generalize and insult all women whom you make contact with? Which one is going to get skin cancer first? Or how many have STDs? I am rather amused how they get mad at one another for being fake. Fake, really? How do these people live with God-like complex's? Did MTV cancel this series or is it still on?
Oy! I need more drugs....

On a positive note my sinuses are better today - Monday. I'm no longer taking the cough syrup w/codeine and my antibiotics are clearing up my head. My body on the other hand is turning on me. Three days of doing nothing, just sitting is making my fibro very pissed off. This morning was a struggle. I hurt for most of the day. I'm still supposed to lay off the cardio so I came home and did Pilates. Which were very hard but I think helped. Tomorrow I have an easy spin and easy run. I hope to feel back to normal sooner than later.....I can only take so much of bad TV. :)

Supernova

2011-01-08T16:49:00.000-08:00

Is what my room mate calls me. Is this a compliment or an insult?

I have been sick now for 3 1/2 weeks. I thought I had fought and won the battle last week as I was feeling mucho better. Then Tuesday came and I found myself with an annoying throat tickle which turned into a nasty cough. After 3 nights in a row on no more than 2 hours of solid sleep due to coughing fits I decided it was time to go to urgent care.

I dragged my ass out of bed around 7am. Oh, I was in a state of confusion. I contemplated getting my bike w/o in first. I quickly dropped that thought when I almost fell over from coughing while making the morning coffee. Ugh...cream. Black it is today. I get online and was happy to see urgent care didn't open until 10am. I needed the extra time to pull myself together to drive.

Hungover from NyQuil is the perfect state to deal with bulk style grocery shopping. It didn't really bother me that parents let their children run around like wild animals at the zoo eating candy out of the bulk bins. Gross! Nothing really bothered me. I was pretty numb. My trip took a little longer then expected. I always read nutritional labels when shopping. In my doped up state it took much longer to read and cypher through what was good and what was toxic. Alas I made it home, on my magic carpet.

I left for the hospital about an hour early. Saturday morning urgent care had to be busy.
I take ticket number 41 and was told to grab a seat. I was the first one there that I knew of and number 41 threw me for a mind****. I really didn't want to wait behind 40 people. And where were these so called 40 people? Anywho...I sit criss-cross apple sauce style in front of a color blocked puzzle/toy thing-a-ma-jig

The nurse comes over and asks me if I'm number 41 and then says that I am first. There were a few elderly people and children behind me and she wanted to know if I'd be ok with letting them go ahead of me. My first thought was no. I got there early because I knew there'd be a big line. Then I thought about how craptastic the children felt AND that if I was old I'd already spent a lifetime waiting in line. Plus I had this puzzle thing to entertain me, so I let them go in ahead and I continued to color block.

Eventually I got called up and sat alone in a cold, bright room waiting for the designated doc. I opted to count all the holes in the ceiling. I counted 3/4 of the ceiling before the doc came in. Quick stats and questions resulted in a sinus infection. Ugh. I'm prone to these and usually know from the massive pounding going on in my head that I have one before it ever gets this bad. I've been taking big doses of Ibuprofen daily to deal with my RA (an alternative to nasty steroids). This resulted in keeping a fever and headache away. The infection was an aftermath of the cold I had a couple of weeks prior. Ugh, Can't someone break me off a piece of a Kit Kat bar? I got a mass of prescriptions filled and headed home. The doc even gave me a surgical mask so that I could still prep all my food for the week. Sweet!

Once I got home I immediatly took all that was given. Suped up Sudafed, Robitussin w/codeine and antibiotics. Oh Alice fell down the hole and Wonderland was delightful. I'm lucky I'm drugged up because I'm being forced to take a couple of days off from training. I can't lose sanity if sanity is not present, right?

The rest of the day I found comfort in organizing and cleaning. Yes, this is proof that I am sick as normally you couldn't pay me to pick up a broom. I utilized my surgeon mask and made a delightful peanut Thai chicken dish for dinner.

I made it spicy as all hell so that I could taste it.

Tomorrow I look forward to another day of cleaning and organizing. These words should be quoted as I may never say them again.

Who Ya Gonna Call?

2011-01-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

Ghostbusters!

I swear a family of phlegm is using my lungs as a hostel. That or I've recently been on an episode of "You Can't Do That On Television" and I've been slimed. My easy recovery spin was mind numbingly boring. It wouldn't have been so bad if my breaths weren't so short. Not short like I was exhausting actual effort as my HR sat around a comfortable 135. Short from the phlegm monsters multiplying surround my lungs like they were at war for territory. David Blaine's magic tricks kept me somewhat entertained and provoked a smile here and there.

The slime grew as the day went on.....I was stuck in the movie Ghostbusters. Instead of pink slime mine was green. Environmental, eh?

I managed to go to the pool in the evening. Probably shouldn't have but we all know 24hr Fitness doesn't like swimmers. So this swim I decided to give back to the great hospitality that 24hr has given me. I think my body position was awesome! My lungs felt like they were weighed down by a bowling ball. Great! Chest down, legs up. Inhaling pretty much sucked. But what is better than swimming with a heavy chest? Aqua running! Oh yea! I got to do 30 minutes running up and down the pool lane with a few z3/z4 pick ups. My chest lit up like a f***ing inferno....which was exactly what I needed to starting breaking down the wall in my lungs. Burning.....but I could breathe by the end :)

As much as I b**** about how much my training today sucked it sure as hell beats sitting on the sofa in a ball of snot.

For the love of.....

2011-01-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

Oh you people! Muah!

It's hard to write when everything you've ever written about is gone. 99% of what I've blogged has gone back to triathlon. And yes, I do consider drinking alcohol the 4th unspoken discipline in triathlon. :P The question I ask myself is "Have I trained in the last year?" Yes. So logic tells me that I should be able to write. BUT logic doesn't account for human emotion. I have lost most of the love I had for the sport. Being stuck in the vortex know as Zone 1/Zone 2 can drive a person mad. And not racing for a year? What do you think that does? I've never been one to sit on the side lines.....watching and supporting. Yet that has been 2010 in a nutshell. If we got medals for cheering I think I would have received a gold for all the IMs I went to and supported. I once again circle back to the "Negative Nelly". If you don't have anything positive to say/write then don't say anything at all....so I've been quiet. I've always been a proud person. Pride is one of the 7 deadly sins and once my pride was diminished I understood why.

Now that I have no pride my confidence is shot. I'm scared of everything. Do you have any idea what it's like to confess that to the world? Humbling to say the least, eh?

But alas.....I still have hope. There is no hope mingled with fear and no fear unmingled with hope. AND thankfully I'm paying someone to provide the confidence I can't achieve on my own right now. We all need a helping hand at one time or another.

I have races planned for this year. I will be back. Hopefully sooner than later.
Thank you for all your kind words.

A big kid at heart

2010-12-10T08:10:00.000-08:00

I thought the best way to celebrate my 30th birthday would be to age down and go to Disneyland! Considering I have never been and I'm just a big kid anyway. Anywho..... I'll be going next week (on THE DAY) and have 2 days there so I need to pack in the most rides, the most sugary goodness and the most kid-like activities I can. This will be huge endurance undertaking. Please share your favorites from the Magical Kingdom.

I'm hoping to post photos and blog after.

Thanks!
Katie

Here I am.....

2010-12-02T21:11:00.000-08:00

Healthy and breathing. One day I will write again.....just not sure when that day will be.

A bike commute...or two!

2010-09-29T19:25:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, I have been a lazy Kat. Last year I commuted 100% of September for the annual Bike To Work Challenge. This year? Well two days a go I was at 0%. Um, I've been busy. That's a lame excuse. Really I haven't wanted to deal with the additional 30-40 min each way. It only takes an added 5-10 mins to pedal to work. The times loss goes to prepping (food planning) gearing up/down and showering. Juggling it with my multi-sport lifestyle starts to become a major PITA. Let's not leave out the fact that Portland rains 90% of the year (exaggeration) and it's cold. With my recent issues with coldness and the loss of feeling/pain experienced in my extremities I would rather not.

THEN my co-work sent me a bike commute challenge email. She asked me to bike just one day out of the month to work. In exchange she would ride one of our famous West Hills with me on the way home. The title of this challenge? RAWR! How could I say no?

Yesterday I got on Carnage and pedaled to work. Yes, I rode my TT to work. My TT is all I ride....or is it? ;) Anywho, the weather was fantastico and EVERY light was green! Either I lucked out or it was an omen I should bike commute to work more so than not. I have to say it was the first morning in a long time that I felt so alive. Number Five is alive! Oops, got side tracked.

One the way home I got my West Hill as promised. I huff and puffed up in my big ring as my kickass co-worker flew effortlessly up. I contemplated grabbing on to her wings...but she was just too fast :)
The ride home was beautiful....but I'll let you make that call for yourself.

I had such a great ride to and from work I decided to do it again today! Maybe a trend forming? Weather permitting I will tri to give it a little more effort.

PS- Let me end by saying that my company goes up and beyond to encourage bike commuting. We have showers, bike racks, open air lockers. We have a kitchen and my boss often brings in home made treats. She is an AMAZING baker/cook/chef! We also get a few additional incentives that will go without saying ;)

I just happen to be the lazy one out of the group

Adventures at InterBike

2010-09-26T09:47:00.001-07:00

Night one was low key. We checked into the condo and then headed over to Margaritaville for good food, good music and a GREAT Margarita! Hit 7-11 for basic grocery shopping needs ie cereal, eggs, milk. It was here that I was able to see the value in the Big Bite vs the 1/4 lb Big Bite....and no I didn't go there but found it amusing to take a picture.

In bed by 10pm as it was a work weeknight. Hehe....I have to be good one night. Susan and I got up early to run the strip. Close to 7 and the sun was already blazing. Legs felt good but HR was high. Damn heat!

Off to work! Got to love a job that encourages rockin' fitness apparel.

Our first appointment was with Ms. Sheila Moon. Super excited for her S'11 line. Prints are gorgeous and her fashion style is as MAD as a Hatter!

One of my favorite pieces was this compression tri suit by CEP. It's surely on my S'11 race line up.

In the afternoon there was a Bike N Ride Fashion Show - here's a few honorable mentions

One of my favorite dude outfit's - he was a cutie fo sho!

Um....bike lingerie? Not so sure about that.

Totally diggin' her argyle socks

He caught my eye again

Ms. Sheila Moon's Bo Peep Dress- I totally own this and have biked to work in it!

We finished up work and then Susan and I got "pinked up" for Gore's 25th Anniversary dinner. Here we are with the Gore model :)
Gore Bikewear has to be one of the best cycling apparel brands on the market. They are innovative, pay attention to detail, offer great cuts and product that will literally last a life time - Gore guarantees it. Much to celebrate in the last 25 years.

A few of us stayed out *ahem* a little too late...dancing and drinking the night away.

Photo time!

Ummmmm, another drink over here please

Uh oh...It's going to be a long night!

MJ Impersonator was rather decent

In bed by 2:30am....up at 6:30am for work! 4 hours of sleep is enough in Vegas, eh? I've said it before and I'll say it again - Coffee is an elixir of the Gods.

Wednesday was another day of shopping the show floor and vendor meetings.
Most of it was work shopping but I did take 5-10 mins for some personal shopping.....and ended up shipping this bad boy home. Merry f***ing early Christmas to me!

No it wasn't free but I did get a deal :).

Here are a few sweet cruisers that caught my eye. Thought they'd be great for recovery rides.

Pink Camo maybe the next TT.....

Maybe not. I can't foresee staying from my Felt. She brings the Carnage.

After 10-11 hours of work....4 hours of sleep....too much alcohol and a 5 hour energy later it was time to hit the hit the Strip yet again.
Lauren and I at The Plazzo fountain.

I think it's fair to say we like one another :) It was one year ago "IT" all started...and "IT'S" still going. Maybe we'll be like the Energizer bunny.

The night ended pretty early with great food/drinks as Sushi Samba and great friends Lauren, Mike and that special someone Robert.

A full night's worth of sleep and I was ready to knock the last day of Interbike outta the park!

I thought this Catlike TT helmet was fitting for a KitKat

Sugoi took us out to lunch. I was immediatly drawn to the friend chicken over waffles with maple pecan syrup. My tummy on the other hand was giving me a fair warning not to. Now I was in trouble. The table was daring me....even double dog daring me. I really wanted to do it but after several nights of drinking and eating....um not the healthiest options I knew it would be a very bad decision. I opted to go with the Ahi tuna salad. The president of Sugio decided to counter that with fried chicken and waffles for the table.

We all shared it and I have to say it was everything I dreamed of. Sooooooo good. My tummy and I made a compromise. I got my craving satisfied with a couple bites and saved my body from a sugar/fried induced food comatose.

Our team finished the convention off with a regroup. All three of us had split up for most of the show with a few shared meetings and lunches. This was a great plan as we got a s***load accomplished! A few new brands/products to bring in. Many show special discounts. And a very cool TE exclusive up on the horizon. Sure it looks like we partied hard.....but that couldn't have happened if we didn't lay the work smack down and work twice as hard.

I stayed an extra night with a special friend and I went out with a bang! When in Vegas......

I woke up to this bad boy for breakfast.

PS - On a side note. This is probably the FIRST time all year that I have taken 4 days off from swim, bike or run. I drank myself in alcoholic weight. I ate anything and everything that I desired. This lack of food control and missed training was over due and done completely guilt free. I recovered from Sin City with almost 12 hours of sleep in my own bed. I haven't slept this much since I was a kid. I stepped on the scale scared of what I might see. S*** you not I didn't gain an ounce! Suppose I danced and walked it all off. Goooo me! My body and mind is well rested. I'm looking forward to getting back to my training routine.....tomorrow :)

Pain is only what you allow it to be

2010-09-19T11:34:00.001-07:00

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I plopped back down and tried the other side. Damn! Both are bad sides. Today I hurt. My quads were sore. I didn't need the evil scale to tell me I packed on 2lbs over night as I was visibly swollen. My feet, ankles and hands made me think I was a distant cousin to a puffer fish. My joints ached and I felt bruised. This was not a good way to start the day. I kept telling myself that the pain wasn't real and that it would away soon.

I thought a good breakfast and an hour of pilates would turn my frown upside down. That was wishful thinking. Pilates did help loosen up the stiffness and made my muscles a bit more pliable. I was also able to crack almost every bone in my body, multiple times which felt really wrong but good at the same time. I took a dose of HTFU and went to the pool to get my swim on.

How in the hell I knocked out Z4 50s (16 to be exact!) during the main set was beyond me. Lack of oxygen numbed my mind I suppose. I'll take "One pain for another" Alex. Ooooo, it's a Daily Double! I recovered and stretched in the sauna nearly passing out. I was able to keep myself together until I made it home...in which I melted into my bed for a short Kat nap.

A few hours later it was time to lace up for my LSD run. Thankfully I had Sue and Rufio to keep me company! Training with friends does wonders for the morale. The first mile felt a little awkward and tight. 2-3 miles in I found my comfortable zone and everything loosened up. The glass that I had drank 1/2 of was no long running on empty...it was (cheesy as it sounds) half full :) Thanks Sue! Another mile added to my longest run and I knocked out 8 miles at a cool, comfortable 8:40 pace.

I think I'm going to take another nap before bed...hoping to find the right side this time.

Sprinkle me

2010-09-19T06:44:00.000-07:00

Eh...I was dreading Saturday's workout, at least part 2 of it. Part 1 consisted of a nice and easy 3 mi run. I got part one done as soon as I woke up. If I hadn't then I'd have to wait several hours after part 2. I was pretty sure part 2 was going to tear me a new one so it was best to just get it over with. Part 2 consisted of either a 3.5hr bike ride in the hills or 2.5hrs on the trainer with a few intervals. Now the first choice wasn't a bad choice. I have been doing 3-3.5hr hill rides for the last 4ish weeks or so. The trainer option was thrown in because Oregon has crap-tastic weather and has once again decided to rain. The pussy I am (Kat's don't like to get wet) did not want to bike in the rain. I really don't have a problem with getting wet per say. What I have a problem with is my extremities freezing off from the Reynaud's. Biking several hours cold and numb is not enjoyable for me...nor safe for that matter.

When I went out to run the sun was shining? Such a tease she is. The forecast called for heavy rain late afternoon. Maybe if I started early enough I would miss it? Within the 2 hours of my run and massive waffle baking the clouds rolled in. But still...no rain. The outside temp was warm. I opted to go with shorts and a shortsleeve jersey. I packed arm warmers and my Castelli Windblock/water resistant vest just in case. My toes were armed with Smartwool. Out the door Canage and I went...praying that the weather Gods were on our side.

The first hour sucked serious ass. Literal ass. I did strength weight lifting the night prior and the one legged squats and walking weighted lungs took a serious toll on my backside. My body did not hold back from expressing how angry it was. It also didn't help that my first 1000ft climb was within 20 mins of being in the saddle. That was a rude awakening.

The rain kicked in a little after the first hour. It started light and manageable. The temperature was warm enough (high 60s) that even when wet I was able to keep warm. There's that and the fact I was working hard enough throughout the ride to keep my core temp and extremities warm. The bad thing about the route I was doing is that it was close to my house. I had the option to turn in (give up) if it got too bad. I was never more than 13 miles from home. Hmmmm 3.5hrs and only 13mi from home kind of sounds boring....but it's not when you ride the Skyline and have 10-12 long climbs to choose from. Up one side, down the other....rolling, back down around and climb again. Random dude joined me at about 1:45 in. I swear he was a saving grace. I had tackled 3 hills already and ridden Skyline once. I was starting to get tired and the rain had started to pick up. Got to love how cyclist pick up on one another...."You have a hot hub". "Yea it holds high powered wattage". :) Amazing I still have wit when tired and fatigued OR that I get hit on rockin' the sewer rat look. Anywho - dude kept me company for 30 mins or so....until I decided to drop down to find another hill to climb up.

I should have stayed with the guy as he was good for my morale. I've been doing 3-3.5hr rides alone for the last 3-4 wkends in a row. One might think I'd get used to the solitude, but I don't. I'm good for about 2 hours then my mind likes to turn b**** on me. It's very vocal (like my body) and I don't care for the vocab that is expressed. It also didn't help the rain really started to come down. I was 2:30in and could have easily just called the ride good at that point. But why would I do that? One more big climb and several rollers to go was all that was left. So I decided to suck it up and turn up to climb Thompson from Beaverton side. 40 rpms in Z4 is hard when the sky is pissing heavily upon you. I thought maybe if I sang the weather Gods may be a little more forgiving.

Download this mp3 from Beemp3.com

Ok, maybe not. The singing did help keep my spirits high but I think my tone deaf voice pissed off the weather Gods even more as now I had wind and heavy rain. F*** me. Luckily I just had to descend down. Lol - I used descend and luck in one sentence.

I rolled in home tired and completely soaked yet accomplished. I knocked out another 3.5hr ride alone...just me, the rain, the hills and some random hot dude (for a short period). I knocked out 4300ft of climbing in BIG ring intervals.Hills Baby!
I told my body and mind to shut the f*** up when it b****ed and moaned. I stuck with it....this is why I am who I am.

7 miles....

2010-09-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

just me and the sun RUNNING....pain free! :D Today is a very good day.

What were they thinking?!

2010-09-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

Let me start off by saying I am a HUGE fan of TYR. I have been wearing their 2pc training suits for going on 3 years now (some of which you may have seen via bike:)). I have been a satisfied customer/buyer/retailer. The new S'11 2pc line has my head spin and I completely question the thought process of their design team. Let me explain what I mean.....

Here are 2 suits to compare

The Rockstar Triangle Bikini

This suit retails for $47 and is categorized on TYR's website under "Training Suits"
It is constructed of highly durable long lasting Durafast Polyester and has rubber gauge straps. The back style is a thin X back.

Pop Rocks Reversible Bikini

This suit retails for for $78 and is categorized on TYR's website under "Reversible's" which makes me think more fashion than function.
It is constructed of Lycra....not as long lasting as Poly let alone the Durafast Poly. Backing style is the strong and supportive diamondback. The suit also has soft molded cups for shaping.

I feel I can give valid feedback and constructive criticism as I have trained in both of these style suits and am a long time customer/supporter of TYR.

The Rockstar price point is right on. They should have gone with the Lycra fabric as it is unlikely that anyone will use this style of suit to train in a pool with. You might be able to pull if it off if your an A/B cup but ladies that are C and bigger this is surely a No-No. The X back is nice and non-restrictive. The high gauge rubber straps could have been supportive enough to hold it all in IF they didn't make the triangles cups spaced so far out. Seriously WTF? If you were going to add molded cups for shape THIS would have been the suit to do it in. It would have also been nice to be able to order the top separate from the bottom. Not many girls are sized the same on the top and bottom.

The Pop Rock Reversible price point is high for a Lycra suit. Sure it's reversible but it's not going to last that long in chlorinated waters. This suit has a great supportive top. If they had ditched the molded padding (DRAG bonus!) and went with the Durafast Poly fabric it would have been one BAD ASS training suit.

Le sigh...I've said my peace. I'm going to have to buy a couple of S'10 Ringbacks to me through another year or training..

To end on a positive note - TYR has amazingly vivid colors beautiful prints for S'11. If you're a one piece kind of gal I highly suggest checking them out.

Rain drops keep falling on my head

2010-09-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

It's the first full week of September and once again PDX is drowning in rain.
It's safe to say summer completely abandoned us this year.
Cold, miserable, uninvited rain.
Sometimes I think I'd like to get washed away with it.

3 day weekend - Woohoo!

2010-09-04T18:24:00.000-07:00

The weekend started off with a bang! A bang of pain that is. As soon as I got off of work I hit the gym for 30 minutes of upper body weight lifting follow up with a 40 min row. I had some nice Z4 intervals thrown into the row 20 minutes in. My rowing is based off of watts and I had no clue what my Z4 was. I know I can hold 120-130 comfortably for an hour. I figured I'd just go all out and see where I'd blow up/end up.
#1 - 175-180
#2 - 165-175
#3 - 160-175
#4 - 155-170
As you can see I blew up (BANG!) on #1. That s*** is hard and I don't have the muscular strength to hold those kind of watts. I think it's fair to shoot for 160w Z4 and try to grow from there.

Saturday I woke up stiff with moderate upper body and quad pain. I hoped on Carnage and hit the hills for a little over 3 hours. Big ring baby! Oh man the first hour was tough. Quads felt heavy and tired. The fatigue was short lived. A few hills and my pistons were broken in and pumping away like a Chevelle big block L78! Not even a nasty bee sting to the side of my face could phase my grind session. Climbing up Pumpkin Ridge Bambi and his mother ran in front of me. My first thought was what's for dinner? Kind of f***ed up, I know. It's also not a good thing to start thinking about meat 1 malto serving/an hour 30 in. Pumpkin Ridge has to be one of my favorite climbs. It's about 30-35 mins of steading climbing and the descent is gradual enough I can still push out watts coming down.
Side note: my bike reports could totally put one's mind in the gutter.
I've come realize I'm not a huge fan of riding by myself for over 2hrs. I can only talk/sing to myself for so long. I hit Germantown for the last bit of mileage/elevation work. The county is repainting the road and fumes are intoxicating. If I was my room mate I'd be floating on cloud nine - she's such a weirdo! :) The fumes went on for too long and soon I was riding high as a kite! My new found high made the last bit of riding fly by - literally.
I finished 49.5 miles in 3:07 w/ 3k of elevation gain....and some very tired pistons.

When I got home I made a pizza out of a savory oat (glutten free) Belgian style waffle

OMG it was sooooo good.

Pre ride I whipped up some home made sausage brown/rice/veggie gumbo

My room mate treated me to dinner with a BADASS Ribeye Steak!

The evening was nice and relaxing. Good food, a little wine and some R&R with my bloody Trigger Point.

Sunday I woke up in a world of hurt. Upper body was extremely painful. Most of it was localized to my forearms and chest which made me think it was a bad case of fibro vs. the training load I was under. I was not looking forward to my 3k swim, not at all. My momma was my saving grace by joining me in the pool. She poked fun of my fish fin swim cap and Nest Pro (spidy) goggles which brought a smile out of the pain. I just have to keep telling myself to HTFU - some days are worse than others.

As a thank you for picking up my lack luster motivation I treated her to breakfast - home made cinnamon oat (gluten free!) waffle with pb and maple syrup. Unfortunately no picture but they were delish!

My room mate surprised me with hideous tie dye

I swear she's really my mother's daughter. This will be the one and only time anyone will ever catch me in tie dye!

Next I met up with a friend for an LSD run - 7 miles.
This was going to be my longest run since April and I was scared. Each week for the last 2-3 weeks I've gotten a mile added to my long weekend run. I've been running since mid June we've just taken the mileage build up VERY conservative - which I am thankful for. The fear/risk of re-injury is still very great for me. I'm lucky to have the coach I do. Not sure if I'd listen to anyone else. I was also thankful to have a running buddy....even if I did drop him 5 miles in ;) A for effort!!! :D
Speaking of which......why is it I've dropped 3 dudes on the bike/run within the last 3 weeks. Come on fellas - you totally need to step up your game. How can you let a little blonde chick hand it to you? :p I kid, I kid.....kind of sort of :D
ANYWHO - All fun aside I had a great run with Aaron and we recovered with bomb ass brunch and bloody mary. When in Rome!

Then it was on to ladies night!

My very own home infused blackberry vodka. Delish I must say!

Jesse and Alanna being silly

Jesse and I - cheese!

Yea that's right - I licked a table. Sadly I wasn't even drunk at this point!

Ended the night off street dancin'!

And today?! I'm not even hung over! Another day of livin' the triathlete dream - swm/bike and food/fuel!

IMC 2010

2010-09-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

The day before -

Eh, Saturday morning I woke up feeling like I got rocked by a hurricane. I am not good on a little sleep depravation, 4-5hrs is just not enough. A little dose of HTFU and I got my tail down to the lake side for a wake/sober the hell up open water swim. Equipped with my trusty Helix I attacked the water. Ahahahahaha! That was an exaggeration at best. I was lucky I didn't drown as I was still hung-over/semi-drunkly swimming. The water started out feeling pretty good. Cleansing I might say. 10 mins in I got hot and started to over heat. Due to limited timing I cut my planned 40 min OW down to 30 and returned safely to shore. I had a date and I was going to be late!!!!

Date IE training part 2 - 100 miles of IMC Bike course
That was what was on my training schedule from my coach...along with a few zone/power rpm directions. Really though she said I could ride the IMC bike course and not to exceed 100 miles....I took that as I'm not racing this year and mileage was up to me as long as I didn't exceed the maximum. If it wasn't for my commitment to ride with two others I probably would have crawled back into bed.

I picked up Micah at the Lakeshore hotel and we drove to Okanagan Falls to meet up with Alanna. On the drive there I forced in as many caramel rice cakes shellacked with PB and chia seeds as I could get down. I didn't eat much if at all the night prior (does wine calories count?) and caloric intake in the AM was only an Odowalla Bar. I prayed that the chia seeds would hold on to all the h2o I was guzzling down my throat. Hydration was at an all time low. I was fully prepared to suffer.

Thankfully for me this was the longest ride Alanna had been on in some time as she would normally hand me my tail on a silver platter. If all else failed I could draft. Micah was also new to the distance and the course. At least I was amongst good company.

We started a tad bit late as I got lost finding Alanna's place. Then it took me what felt like forever and a day to get my s*** together. As a last resort I threw down a 5hr energy. B vitamins and caffeine - elixir of the Gods. We were off.....

The ride out from Okanagan to Osoyoos was forgiving. A slight downhill and wind at our backs was comforting. I'd like to express my thanks to the grueling hours of core support from the TRX suspension. Without a strong core/abs I would have surely eaten dust one too many times. Not paying much attention I ended up riding over a lot of road bumps and random crap in the road while aero. At times I soared through the air only to land wobbly back on the ground clutching my aero bars. Whew! That was close one. I repeated this over and over again.

At Osoyoos we turned to climb up Ritcher Pass. It was time to gear up and hit this baby in the big ring - slowly grinding away. The wind that was once at our backs was now hitting us straight in the face. 5hr Energy, chia seeds and malto is a powerful combination. Ritcher was not difficult at all. In fact it was rather enjoyable as Alanna and I were able to catch up on life.

The notorious 7 b****es lived up to their reputation. Nuff said.

Rehydrating took place at a fruit stand. I found comfort in riding this course and not racing. Saying it is beautiful doesn't give it enough justice. Breathtaking - literally :)

Mile 50 and I was feeling pretty good. Time to tackle up Yellow Lake!

The wind was now blowing down pretty hard on us. Ugh. I was starting to grow annoyed with my big ring. Muscular wise I felt fine but the lack of sleep and copious amount of alcohol was catching up. I was not in the mood to battle the force that was being pushed upon me. Alas I pushed forward....one positive pedal stroke in front of the other while my head hung down.

Alanna and I reached the top! And check this this out - we're smiling YO!

That didn't last long because we got pissed upon (rain) the climb up and waiting around at the top made us chilled. Enough with waiting we had to make our descent down. It would have been quicker if Casper the Ghost aka brutal wind wasn't trying to push us back up the mountain or off the side of the cliff. F***ing wind!

The descent was more energizing than taxing and we both rolled up to the house feeling done - but good.

Later I was able to analyze my wattage data vs my race in 09.
For the 77 miles I ended avg'ing 15w higher then race day. This was without a race taper. Massive built up fatigue. A hangover. Sleep depravation. Caloric deficient and dehydrated. AND riding at a comfortable pace. I'm also 10lbs lighter which I think is a sign of power/weight ratio growth. Does this show signs of growth in my riding strength? :) If anything I'm not as clumsy! I didn't fall of my bike once!

I'm happy to report I did not die into the night.....I just caught some zzzz's a little early.

Race Day - 8hrs of blissful sleep makes a WORLD of difference!!!

Another early morning - volunteering started at 6:30am. T1 bag and gear check - easy peasy as I've done it before.
My favorite part of the IM race is watching the swim start. It always brings chills down my body. So exciting!
It was a ton of fun to see most of my friends get wetsuit stripped and run off to the changing tent.

Post volunteering Alanna and I got to tag along with TYR to spot the female pros on the bike course. This was a new point of view for me - very cool! Then we raced down to the run course to spot the lead Pro men. Another cool adventure! Time was limited for fuel/food between spotting which started to invoked "Oscar" my evil head. The Bear fruit stand was a saving grace. Not only did I stock up on fresh oh-so delicious Canadian fruit but I also go a massive Bavarian sausage! And an "O" bite sized piece of rocky road fudge.

Sitting in the car tucked Alanna and I out so we decided to replenish our senses with endless wine in the VIP tent. Those little cups start to add up. Too much vino down the road and I lost my ID and credit card again! Mother%^#%$! I was lucky I didn't lose my passport or I'd be stuck in Canada. We finished the day off by cheering on friends at the finish line and talking with some old guy -(pretty sure he was a Kona qualifier) long into the night. The quote of the night goes to old dude - "If I sprint my pop will bust". Ahahahahahaha!

AND THE DAY AFTER -
I signed up for IM Canada 2011....I'm going to pin this on the hang over from the vino. As I walk out of the sign up tent the volunteer ladies ask me if I'm excited. I reply "Eh...it's just another day" Maybe I should have more excitement? Maybe I've lost my mojo? The WTC IMs are so commercialized it's hard to get excited. Maybe an INDY is in my future as well....Hmmmmmm.
I'm hoping for a healthy 2011.......

Beauty

2010-08-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

Merriam Webster's definition of Beauty-

1: the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit
2: a beautiful person or thing; especially : a beautiful woman
3: a particularly graceful, ornamental, or excellent quality
4: a brilliant, extreme, or egregious example or instance

When I think of the word beauty I think of good health by definition. Anything/anyone in good health is beautiful. It is colorful and lively and will provoke a smile to another person. It amazes me how something can go from beauty to ugly so quickly. When health fades confidence fades with it. What you thought you knew no longer is certain. Does beauty exist in the damaged or weak? Are we weak if we are not in good health?

Alas beauty is in the eye of the beholder, eh? Perception is an interesting take on view. We may look in the mirror to see a wilting flower while others may see a blooming rose. It's our choice what we want to perceive, right?

Does a tree fall if no one is around to hear it? Or is it a figment of your imagination?
Does pain actually exist if your pain receptors are off? Or is it an excuse to complain?

I'm pouring on the Miracle Grow trying not to wilt. Some days hurt worse than others.

Ride Into The Dark Side

2010-08-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

Typo /grammar declaimer - this was written after a very long day and I'm sooooo tired I can't really think straight.

********************************

My crazy but highly respectable boss is riding another 600k this up coming weekend. She got a new light that will be generated off her front hub and needed to test it out before the big ride day. Of course the only way to test out this light was a 3am bike ride up and OVER the west hills to Voodoo Doughnuts and back. I opted to join her for one of two reasons. I'm scared of the dark and scared of descending (although I have gotten much better over the last few months) on their own. Combining the two is a bit of an (excuse my language) mind f***. The second reason was company. She's great at riding long distances on her own but a ride is always a little more fun with company IMO. Plus I wanted a good reason to eat a Voodoo doughnut.

2:30 am - Beep! Beep! Beep! Ugh, is it really time to get up? I feel like I just laid down for bed.

3:15am - It's wasn't as dark as I thought it would be. We're very close to a full moon. The beaming glow helped light the way.

There is nothing like a 700ish ft climb up Cornell within the first 30mins of getting out of bed to wake a girl up. Susan let me borrow her Stella light (Light & Motion) to mount on my helmet for the descent. As she's mounting the light to my helmet she points out that it is not the "sexiest" accessory. Lol! I love her random observations. Really though, who does she think I'm trying to pick up at 4am on my bicycle? The lightmade a world of difference. Woah Nelly it was dark! Dark and chilly! Descending at 20mph when I could only see a couple of feet ahead was scary. Susan was great though. She led the way and slowed down to make sure I was doing ok. I can be such a girl!

4:15am - Voodoo Time! They were fresh out of the famous Memphis Mafia and Bacon Maple Bar so we had to settle for an Old Dirty Bastard and a Raspberry filled glaze.

The Magic's In The Hole!

http://voodoodoughnut.com/about.php

After proper fueling we mounted back on to our steady steeds and hit the West Hills up and over the Zoo. Going up into the Zoo was much darker than the main road we took in. I found climbing is much less difficult mentally when

1. You can't see the watts

2. You can't see the road increase in grade in front of you.

Instead I grinded away, pedal stroke after pedal stroke. The descent over the Zoo was much less scary then the ride into town. Susan showed me the bike path that parallel HWY 26. It was well lit and we straight coasted back.

5:30ish- Arrive home - bright eyed and bushy tailed. Ready to attack a full day of work!

Ride stats - 23 miles 1800ft+ elevation gain fueled by a raspberry filled glazed doughnut, part of an old dirty bastard (chocolate cake doughnut covered with PB and oreo cookie). Hydrated with coffee. This was a workout for the champs!

Have a mentioned how badass my boss/mentor is?