A Girl Named Sam

Climbing

2012-02-12T19:09:00.000-06:00

Kelly and I have started climbing once again and while I talk about it a lot, I've never had any pictures to share. It seems like my hands were always too busy for pictures. This last week, Kelly's beau came along and he just so happens to be an amazing photographer. So here are some pictures. If you've never done indoor climbing, I would highly suggest it. Especially if you're in need of changing things up this winter.

Kelly checking her Figure 8 knot. Looks good!

Me with an ATC and carabiner, getting ready to belay.

Show off!

I trust this girl with my life. Literally.

I hate this blogger interface. Sorry for the stupid format.

My favorite kind of girl-time.

Hanging out in the bouldering grotto.

On the overhang!

I love the last one because the look on my face is exactly how I was feeling. This is a 5.9 route the goes up a serious overhang that requires a good about of strength and finesse. I started it two weeks ago and made it halfway up clean (no cheating). This week, I couldn't get as far and I couldn't do it clean. I was frustrated and confused. I'll try it again this week.

Thanks Jon for the pictures!

The big 3-0

2012-02-09T22:04:00.001-06:00

I mentioned before that I was aging up this year to the 30-34 age group and today is the day. I'm not much for birthdays (mine, anyway) so I'll keep this brief. I have a bunch of stuff up my sleeve for this year, but you'll have to wait. A friend made me this e-card, which is by far the coolest card I think I have ever received.

It's time for cake!

9 Mile Magic

2012-01-29T18:48:00.002-06:00

The last three weeks I've been doing 9 mile long runs on the weekend with the goal of eventually getting back to 10 mile runs at an 8:30 pace. I've only been running one or two days a week but it's been going well. In fact, I think I've been running better in the last few weeks than I ever remember. After my last post, I think running is suddenly trying to sweet talk me back into training for a running race.

Well, I'm listening. It's hard to ignore my last 3 runs. Three weeks ago, I ran 9 miles @ 8:35 pace; two weeks ago I ran 9 miles @8:17 pace; today I ran 9 miles @8:12 pace and just for fun, I ran mile 8 at 7:36.

I don't know where these paces are coming from. Two weeks ago, I swore my Garmin was broken for the first 2 miles. Today's run went really well. The 7:36 mile was hard, but give me a break! I ran a 7:36 after 7 miles at an 8:12 pace! I'm stoked! And for the record, I don't use words like "stoked".

My plan is to run 9 again next weekend and then go up to 10. I should probably start running more than one day a week, but I'm trying my own version of "Run Less, Run Faster." I seem to be running better on super-low mileage so why ruin a good thing?

I think I see a 1/2 marathon in my near future.

Confession

2012-01-21T20:22:00.002-06:00

I have a confession to make. This may come as a surprise, but after the last few months and the last week in particular, I feel like I need to get this off my chest. Please don't judge me.

I don't love to run.

Don't get me wrong, I like running well enough but for me, running is more of an activity that I know I should do as opposed to one that I really want to do. I've had individual runs that I loved and I always love finishing a run but I don't necessarily love to run for the sake of running. And I have definitely had runs that I hated, that I suffered through, that made me miserable for hours after they were over. So I'm pretty convinced that even though I don't love to run, running doesn't really love me anyway. We more or less tolerate each other.

Since a 5k is the only thing I'm signed up for right now, I'm not really training as intensely as I usually do. I run when the weather is nice. I spin at least once a week. But I'm not obligated to maintain any real training plan since it's only a 5k.

The upside to my non-training training plan is I have been doing whatever I want. On Thursday Kelly and I went to Emerald City for Ladies' Night. Every time I go back to the climbing gym after an extended break, I am reminded how much I love climbing. And I do love climbing. I've never had a bad day climbing or finished a climb in a bad mood. Climbing has never given me the runs. Running, on the other hand... well I'll spare you the details but I've had more than my share of bad runs, I've had runs that made me want to throw away my running shoes, and if there is one thing that goes along with 20+ mile long runs, it's an afternoon spent in the bathroom.

Then on Friday, I tagged along with Kelly and her beau up to a local skiing hill (mountain is being too generous) and tried my legs at snowboarding for the first time. I had a blast! I had more fun between Thursday and Friday than I've had in the last 3 months. Sure my butt is a little sore from falling and I may have bruised my palm but snowboarding has also never given me the runs.

It's not like I'm going to stop running. I do appreciate the stress relief and the time to clear my head. Sometimes I do just want to run. I like to run, I just don't love it.

I still got something in the tank

2012-01-16T20:57:00.001-06:00

I won't say that I've been training for anything or even running a lot. But I've been trying to do kinda-sorta speed work or at least run fast when I can. The good news is that I still have a little something left in the tank.

Last week I was short on the time so I went out for a fast 3 miler with the goal of sub-8 min miles. I managed it in 23:22. That last mile hurt, but I knew I only had a mile left. Since the next race I'm signed up for is a 5k, I wanted a pre-training benchmark. 7:47 min averages made me feel pretty good.

I'm trying to work back up to 10 mile long runs on the weekend as well. Except I'm trying to work up to 10 miles at an 8:30 pace like Kelly and I were running 2 years ago before my last 1/2 marathon PR. This Sunday I did 9 miles and my goal was sub-9 min. It was a perfect day, so I managed 8:35 average pace. It was actually a little slower than that because at 7 miles, I picked up the pace and ran a mile in 7:54 before my cool-down.

Man, was I excited that I can still run at a respectable pace. I start a 5k training plan next week so I'm trying to get back into a training mindset. Speed work, spinning, etc. Even better, I felt great today. My hamstrings are tight, but I'm not sore and I didn't feel fatigued after the run. Maybe I'm finally getting back to normal.

Punctuality

2012-01-11T20:20:00.000-06:00

First, I am going to throw out two things:
1) This is in no way directed at anyone personally. I am not trying to call anyone out. Please do not take anything I write personally. I am merely stating my opinion on the issue of punctuality.
2) I apologize in advance to anyone who takes this personally.

I've thought about writing this post for a long time but I have never wanted to offend anyone. Oh well. One of my biggest pet peeves is people who are late for group runs. I don't care if you show up 30 min late to happy hour. I don't care if you don't make it to our Tiki Party until 11 pm. I do, however, become extremely annoyed when I end up standing outside in the cold for 30 min waiting for a group run to start because people are running late.

For me, when people show up late (especially to something like a group run where there may be several people waiting) I think one of two things:

Whatever it is, whether a meeting, conference, or running event, is not important enough to the late party for them to ensure they are on time.
The late person values his/her time more than the time of everyone else they are potentially delaying.

Yes, that's right. When someone is late to a pre-set meeting, I take it personally. Would you be late to an interview? Of course not. What is the difference for group events with a definitive start time?

I'll admit, this is probably because my mom habitually forgot me at band practice in middle school. I was always the last kid picked up and on more than one occassion I was forgotten completely and had to call collect while the band instructor waited so I wasn't alone. As a result, I am a very punctual person. Nothing says "I care" like being 15 minutes early. And if I am even 5 min late, there is guarenteed to be a reason. One reason Kelly and I work so well as running buddies - we're always on time.

Now, before you start thinking "Wow! She is a complete tight-ass!" I do make exceptions. I cut slack to anyone with kids. I also know my close friends and some of them tend to run late so I expect it. I'll admit, I *sometimes* adjust meeting times based on who I'm meeting and when I actually want to start. For a while we had "Shelly-standard time" for my friend Shelley (who has kids anyway) since she used to ran late. But in Sheley's defense, she hasn't been late to anything in a long time and she has NEVER been late to a run.

But I don't cut people slack when it comes to group events. It's unfair (and rude) to expect the collective to wait on one person. I know life gets out of control and things come up. If you're running more than 5 min late, give someone a call. That is just common courtesy. If you're running 15 min late or more, the polite thing would be to call someone and tell them you'll catch up. If you don't know anyone to call, then I suggest being on time. When a run says 6:30, that means you should be there, shoes on and ready to run at 6:30. There's a reason for the Christmas Lights run I said to meet at 6:15 and we'd leave at 6:30 (and we still waited until 6:45. See, I'm not a total tight-ass).

So... well I hope I don't sound like a total bitch. But during the week when I'm working late, the last thing I want is to waste another 30 min. when I could be running. So please, PLEASE try to be on time to the next group run you attend. And if you don't see me at any group runs until it's warmer out, you'll know why.

Baby Steps

2012-01-04T21:21:00.001-06:00

The new year is here and in my corner of the world, 2011 quietly slipped out the door and 2012 slid in without much fanfare. Maybe it's a sign that I'm getting old, but I enjoyed a quiet New Year's Eve and I'm only slightly embarrassed (but not much) that we were in bed before 11.

I made it through New Year's Eve and the celebration of two new births in our neighborhood without a beer. I think the hard part is over for my 45-Day Beer Free Challenge. From here until my birthday, it should be smooth sailing. Salads and veggies were easy. Actually, my diet has been my only saving grace lately. Working out 5 days a week? Not so much. Ah well, 2 outta 3 ain't bad, right?

But I think I'm finally moving in the right direction. Baby steps. I have gotten to the point I would like to find a race to sign up for this year. The problem? Nothing sounds fun or exciting. I just don't really care. I don't remember the last time I was on my bike. After a mile or two of running I'm bored. I don't want to wear my Garmin because I'll be depressed at how slow I am but if I don't wear it, then I have no idea how long or fast I'm running and that seems pointless. I can't seem to shake this funk.

Enough with the pity party already. This is stupid and I clearly need to do something so I signed up for a 5k in March. Baby steps. It's just a small local race that cost me $22.70 with internet processing fees. I found an 8 week training plan which I'll start at the end of the month. I figured 1) It's a 5k so I can "train" without the huge commitment of longer distance races 2) It's cheap and local so there are no additional costs to travel 3) I don't have a real 5k PR anyway 4) Our spring vacation is the week after and we're going to Belize, so even if I'm not excited about a 5k I am excited about a Caribbean vacation, bikini and all.

I emailed my running buddy Kelly and noticed that I was using a lot of quotations: "long run" "speedwork" "base building" "run". All of these things are relative and when you're pretty much starting from scratch, it's a little humbling at what is considered "long". I think 2010 Sam would kick my ass if she knew the kind of shape I'm in now. But I shouldn't be running from Ghosts of Races Past. That's a race I know I won't win.

45 Day Beer-Free Challenge

2011-12-28T20:17:00.000-06:00

Why wait for New Year's to make a positive change? After the Packer game on the 18th and a few days home for Christmas, I was feeling rather like an over-stuffed sausage. Based on the meals I had in Wisconsin, I'm currently under belief that there isn't a vegetable in the entire state that isn't covered in cheese or cream-of-something soup.

My favorite quote of the holidays: "You have to finish your bacon before you can have a cupcake."

Seriously.

It is no wonder that I gain a pound a day when I'm home. My mom always tells me I can go back on my diet when I get back to KC. I tried to explain that I'm not on a diet - this is how I always eat. And after 5 days with too many cookies and too little fiber, my body is more than a little unhappy.

I don't do resolutions. I've never understood why people wait for one day of the year to try to make a change. I didn't see why I should wait until Jan.1 so I started a 45 Day Beer-Free Challenge on Dec. 26. My last beer was a New Glarus Spotted Cow, one of my favorites, and a good one to be my last for a while. Why 45 days? I thought about 30 days, then I thought about Feb 1 and then I realized it would be 45 days to my birthday, so that seemed like a good mark.

Besides going beer-free, I'm also eating at least one leafy-green salad every day for a week and working out 5 days a week. I am hoping that this will help me get back on track. I'm still trying to decide on a race, so hopefully a better diet and reduced calories will help me find some motivation.

Christmas Lights Run Recap

2011-12-27T20:25:00.000-06:00

Elf Hands!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Last week was the Prairie Village Christmas Lights run and we had a fantastic turnout! We had 23 people (3 kids) and 3 dogs show up for the run. We also had a lot of festive costumes. I think the bar for next year has been set fairly high.

We made 3 main stops. Here is the first:

Don't let it fool you, the moving dolls are actually more creepy than festive. Stop #2 was at the high school for the mayor's lights set to music. The last stop was Candycane Lane, which has been putting on a lights display since 1954.

This was such a hit, we will definitely be doing it again next year!

New motivation? Or something close to it?

2011-12-12T20:55:00.001-06:00

This weekend the coverage from the Ironman World Championship was shown. I watched the end of the women's race live on the internet and I read all about the men's race so I knew how it ended. Even though I already knew the ending, I was glued to the TV. Watching Chrissie Wellington battling back from a serious bike crash and still dominating the women's race was just awesome. I'm a big fan of Craig Alexander as well (since I did share an elevator with him in Boise) so watching him win back the title was awesome. John and I watched it together on Sunday morning.

As soon as it was over, I thought "Damn. Now I want to do one of those again."

Maybe.

I'm still not quite sure what I want to do. I'm still throwing around the idea of doing a bike race (or series) this summer since I can train this spring instead of study.

On Sunday night John and I exchanged gifts. I opened up wrapping paper to this:

In case you can't read it, John wrote

There was a girl named Sam

who did whatever she could

to go as far as she should,

but unfortunately her crash cast

doubt in her ability to go fast and

that she was a star. From a dirigible

view a solution to be had that she

better check in the convertible

now!

Aww, what a guy, right? It takes some serious dedication to work the word 'dirigible' into a poem! So I went to the garage and looked in the convertible. Inside I found these babies. They're Zipp 101 aluminum wheels.

Well, it looks like I'm racing in 2012 for sure, just not sure what kind of race it will be!

Christmas Lights Run II

2011-12-07T20:03:00.001-06:00

It's almost time for the Second Prairie Village Christmas Lights run. I went out tonight scouting out good streets to run down. It's a lot more difficult to plan out a Christmas Lights run route than you'd think. It has to be a loop, an out-and-back route doesn't really cut it. It needs to be on fairly quiet streets, since lots of traffic tends to ruin the appeal. It has to start and end at a convenient place for parking and meeting, preferably some place well lit and with the option of getting a holiday cocktail afterwards.

I had a great route last year from Prairie Village through Mission Hills, to Brookside and back. Unfortunately, I've driven most of the route and only half the houses that were lit last year are not lit this year. The biggest disappointment: George Brett did not light his Magnificent Tree. In case you missed the Magnificent Tree last year, it was a 30+ foot tall lit up like the tree at Rockefeller Center. Has the economy really gotten that bad that the rich people can't afford to pay someone to put up a little Christmas cheer on their behalf?

Now just so you know, I put up a little Christmas cheer myself. We stayed in KC for the first time so I took the opportunity to get decorations up over the holiday weekend.

While the Mission Hills route is out, I think I have the start of a new route. A few more evening runs and possibly a trip in the car and I'll have another festive route mapped out. Oh, if you're in the KC area, keep the evening of Decemeber 21 open.

Lost joy

2011-11-20T21:23:00.001-06:00

I haven't posted much because I don't have anything to post about. I was on my road bike for 10 min this week, but other than that I haven't touched any of my bikes. I ran a 4 mile trail race which didn't go well last weekend and haven't run since. I think I might have ran 20 miles total since Austin. I don't have any races planned and I quite honestly don't have any desire to find a race. I don't have have any desire to do much of anything. Call it a rut, call it a funk. It is what it is.

Crossroads Bootcamp

2011-11-08T21:26:00.000-06:00

This summer I bought a Groupon for 12 CrossFit classes for $30 at Crossroads Bootcamp here in KC. I wanted to wait until after Austin to start since I knew I would be crazy-sore once I started. So Austin is over and I started my 12 classes.

The first class I did was a bootcamp class. After months of Austin training, a one hour class on a Saturday morning felt like a cop out for a real workout. Later that night, I was out with friends wearing high heels. At some point, I dropped something and squatted down to pick it up. Except I got down tot he floor and then realized I couldn't' stand back up. Turns out that the hour long workout wasn't a cop out after all. Not only was a crazy-sore the next day, I was crazy-stupid sore. And everything was sore: arms, shoulders, back, abs, quads, hamstrings. My calves were about the only thing that didn't hurt.

The first class I did was on a Saturday. I was so sore I couldn't go back to class until Wednesday. But it was a good sore, the kind that reminds you of muscles you forgot you had. So Wednesday I went to another class and since I was not paying attention, I signed up for one of the real CrossFit classes instead of bootcamp. The CrossFit is definitely more intense and focused. I was sore again, but it was more localized.

I've gone to a few more classes and I really like it. I know I'm still in good shape from Austin, but I feel strong. I feel good. I can see exactly why they make you take 12 classes in 45 days for the Groupon - you're pretty much guaranteed to see results in that amount of time.

My only complaint: the cost of an actual membership. I think it's about $150/month or $25/class. I just can't justify that cost when there are so many other activities I like to do. I looked into a different CrossFit gym in the area and it was even more expensive. For that kind of money, I could probably get a personal trainer or coach. We'll see. I do love the class and I'm sure after my 12 classes I'll be seriously considering a membership, at least through the winter months.

Quinoa Salad, Take 1

2011-10-31T21:26:00.001-05:00

So what have I been doing with all my free time now that I'm not training for anything? Besides getting my ass kicked by CrossFit classes, I'm doing a little more cooking.

Quinoa Salad with Pineapple-Roasted Pepper Puree

I had an awesome quinoa salad while in Austin and I really want to try to recreate it. This is attempt No. 1. I'll give it a B+. It was good, but not quite great. Here's the recipe if you want to try it as is. All measurements are guesses

Salad:
2 cups quinoa, rinsed, cooked, and cooled
2 cups greens, coarsely chopped
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Puree:
2 poblano peppers, roasted under broiler until skin blisters
4 pineapple rings, reserve juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
Pulse all ingredients in food processor

Drizzle quinoa with a little olive oil and toss with greens and crumbled goat cheese until mixed. Serve on a plate with puree on the side. Garnish with a grilled pineapple ring and 1/2 sliced avocado.

A few additional notes: The original recipe used red quinoa, I only had plain. It also originally called for sheep's cheese but I only found goat's cheese in the grocery store. Sheep's cheese is probably a little sweeter, goat's cheese is a little more tangy.

I thought it was missing a little zing. So I added champagne vinegar to the puree for the leftovers tomorrow. On the next try, I might add one roasted jalapeno and some lime juice to the puree to make more of a vinaigrette. I'm going to track down red quinoa and sheep's cheese for the next time, too.

Austin 70.3 - a big, fat DNF

2011-10-27T19:24:00.001-05:00

Disclaimer: This race report took several days, glasses of wine and even a few beers to complete. Read at your own risk.

I haven't been looking forward to writing this race report but I also felt like I would be taking the easy way out to just try to forget it ever happened. I'm sure with a few more days I will have a better perspective on this race. For now I'm angry, frustrated, disappointed, and seriously questioning my chosen hobby.

"But what about all your training?" you ask. What about the speed work, over-distance rides, the fancy new shoes, the expensive race wheels? What happened to the best training cycle and recovery strategy? The new diet? The gluten-free fueling? Shit, if I knew any of the answers I wouldn't be the Grumpasaurus Rex that I have been for the last few days.

I will say that the organization the morning of the race was superb. They had ample Porta Potties and plenty of shuttles to get everyone to the start on time. Unfortunately, that is just about all the positive comments I have to say about this race.

Part of why I signed up for Austin was that I had never been to Austin but have heard great things. If you're thinking about this race for the same reason, let me save you a whole lot of time and money: Just go visit Austin and skip the race.

The race was staged entirely out of the Travis County Fairgrounds. We were no where near the city. I suppose at one time on the course, you could see downtown for about 3 minutes. But if you looked up for that long, you would have crashed. I'll get to that later. The bike course took us through the countryside where we did get to see not one, but two different power plants. Oooh. Aahhh.

The run course was in full sun between the fairgrounds and the lake we swam in. It was a 3-loop course (about 4.4 miles per loop) and of the 4.4 miles, 3 miles were on the fairgrounds access road. Oooh. Aahhh.

Ultimately, the reason I dropped out was because of my hip. I knew it wasn't 100% going into the race but I thought it would be OK. Going up the first hill, it started hurting and it only got worse. By mile 3, I was shuffling and decided I was not going out for the last 2 loops and risk making my hip even worse. The fact it was almost 90 degrees, 90% humidity didn't help. I turned in my chip at mile 4.5 on the run.

But the real story is the bike course.

I've completed Ironman Kansas, Boise, and New Orleans (all 70.3) and Redman 70.3 I've raced in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Vermont, and Wisconsin besides the 70.3 races. So I've ridden a variety of courses and I'd like to think that I have very realistic expectations when it comes to racing. Without exception, Austin was the worst, most dangerous bike course I have ever been on.

There were huge cracks, pot holes and slumping pavement. The race organizers tried to patch the worst of it. If what we rode on was the fix, I can only imagine how bad it was before. The coal patches were uneven, rough, and there was loose patch material everywhere. Since the road was so rough, anything people carried on their bike ended up in the road: full bottles, food, gel, spare tubes, CO2 cartridges, glasses, anything that wasn't fully attached. So not only were we dodging cracks and God-awful pavement, we were dodging all the shit in the road the 15 previous waves had dropped. The road was so rough that I lost most of my water before mile 20. I had to stop and get a bottle at an aid station since I was low before I even was halfway through the course. I usually keep close track of my fluids since I have over-hydrated before and I had no idea how much I had drank. Not good.

But it doesn't end there. There also was a 70 meter gravel section we had to ride through. On tri-bikes. At the race briefing the director said, and I quote "There won't be any loose gravel on the course. We have people out there sweeping the course right now." I don't think you have to be an engineer to see the problem with that logic.

On top of shitty pavement, shit in the road, and a shitty gravel section, there were over 35 turns that were 90 degrees or sharper. I stopped counting at 37. Over 37 sharp turns on a 56 mile course.

Let's recap the bike course: 2600 racers on shitty pavement, through gravel, trying to avoid shit in the road and navigate over 37 sharp turns. Awesome. Like I said, the most dangerous course I've been on. I saw 2 people being loaded into different ambulances, 2 people who had crashed but gotten back on their bikes (torn clothes, bloody backs), 3 people sitting in the ditch with their bikes (not even attempting to fix whatever was wrong) and at least a dozen flats, maybe more.

It's hard to explain what a rough road feels like. By mile 35 I was starting to get sore and uncomfortable. I had 3 rides over 60 miles and 3 rides over 50 miles in my training. There is no reason that I should have been fatigued at mile 35. Everything just fell apart.

The disappointing thing is that the terrain had the potential to be AMAZING. It was wonderfully rolling hills. I love a hilly course and this was the kind of terrain that I do well in. I could tell a big difference in the race wheels when climbing. I could attack uphill with the same effort. It's too bad that I spent more energy avoiding rough pavement and absorbing vibrations than I spent climbing hills. Comparatively, I still did OK on the bike. Out of 85 in my AG, I was 15th on the bike and I didn't consider that a good ride at all. Clearly the entire field suffered.

I've never had my bike shoes blister and I've done all my races in them, all of my training rides, and even a 112 mile ride. Both feet blistered during the bike. I had never blistered in my new running shoes. But the run course was on broken pavement, gravel and dirt. I never took my Zoot shoes trail running, and I blistered from my running shoes. I chafed under my left arm and I've never had an issue with that top. Everything about this race was awful.

The first mile on the run didn't feel bad. But then I hit the first big hill and problems really started. My hip hurt, a deep throbbing pain in my left hip joint. My hip flexor was tight which was also unusual. It eased up on the downhill and into mile 2. But by mile 3, it hurt and didn't stop. I was shuffling somewhere between 10 and 12 min/mile pace. Between my hip and my blisters, my form was terrible. It was hot and getting hotter. Aid stations had already started running out of ice and sponges. Somewhere between mile 3 and 4, I decided I wasn't going back out for my 2nd and 3rd loops. With my hip hurting, I didn't want to risk making it worse. And I didn't feel the need to grind out a 1/2 marathon in 2.5 hours when it was 90 degrees in full sun. I've done this distance before. I had nothing to prove.

I'm glad I dropped. Based on how my hip felt Sunday night and Monday, it was the right decision. But I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me. Clearly, it has bothered me a lot. The trip actually got worse after the race, but those details don't matter. Let's just say this was a very expensive trip and I wish I had never gone to Texas. I dropped the f-bomb more times that weekend than I usually do in a year.

I don't know when I will travel to race again. I have a hard time justifying something so selfish and expensive when it could go as poorly as Austin. Maybe I'm spoiled since I've never had a race where everything just fell apart and I dropped. Maybe I just don't handle failure well. But what's the point? I put in months of training to drop out. I did speed work, I drank protein shakes after my hard work outs, I cut out gluten, I wore compression socks. I had the best level of fitness I've ever had and for what? I didn't even finish and I should have PR'd.

I need another beer.

All dressed up

2011-10-20T11:59:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post before Kelly and I leave for Austin. Thelma is sporting some new wheels. No, I can't afford 404s, they're rentals from Cycle City. But don't she look purty?

There's been a few last-minute changes. The run course was changed to a 3 loop course due to the drought in Texas. I'm not sure how I feel about that. The high is now 88 (the average high is 78) and I know how I feel about that. My friend Erin is flying to Dallas to make the drive back with me, which is awesome since it really wouldn't be safe for me to drive solo 12+ hours the day after a 70.3.

Recently, I saw a Prefontaine poster with one of his many quotes: "The best pace is a suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die." While I know it's a little over-dramatic, since I've been training for a PR I think a suicide pace just might be what's in store, at least it will feel that way on lap #3 on the run. That is, if you'd consider a 9 min/mile a suicide pace. :)

See you after Austin!

Running Mantras

2011-10-11T19:18:00.001-05:00

Besides my speedy new kicks, I've fallen into using running mantras on my tough speed sessions and as corny as it sounds, I think it makes a big difference. The more I do quality rides and runs, the more I find my inner dialogue sounding like a cheerleader. I think I miss running regularly with Kelly more than I'll admit. She's usually the cheerleader while I'm huffing and puffing half a block back.

But based on the success of my last few speed work sessions, I would say the positive thinking is working. Since it works so well for me, I thought I'd share a few of my favorites. Some have been stolen from magazines, TV sports coverage and other runners. I don't have any swimming mantras, probably because if I stop concentrating, I'll loose track of what lap I'm on. Do you have any great mantras that get you through tough places?

Biking:
Do the job at hand.
Girl's got game.
Time to work.
Dig in.
Push it, push it, push it.
Engine's running, pistons' pumping.

Running:
I. AM. STRONG.
I will not give up.
The faster I run, the sooner I'm done.
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Quick steps, light feet.
This is where it counts.
Quicker, faster, stronger.

And when things are really falling apart and all I can think about is finishing my work out, then my mantras usually turn to food:
Bison burger and sweet potato fries, sweet potato fries
Pizza, pizza, pizza
Chicken pad thai

And if all else fails: B double E double R, U N, beer run, beer run!

Running Shoes or Ruby Slippers?

2011-10-08T15:00:00.000-05:00

I'd like to show off my newest gear, Zoot Ultra Race 2.0. I've had them for a few weeks and did several track sessions and tempo runs in them. The longest I've done in them is 9 miles but I plan on wearing them for Austin.

They only weigh about 7 ounces. They're triathlon running shoes, so they have a sock liner and are meant to be worn sockless. They have a quick-lace system and drain holes in the soles. The also have a hole in the tongue and heel so you can pull them on easily. In the sole, there is an arch-shaped carbon fiber piece. (I'm not quite sure of the benefit other than it forces you onto the front of your foot.)

These are a minimalist shoe, like all my other running shoes right now. They're even lighter and lower profile than the Kinvaras, which is saying a lot. I love the sockliner and have had no issues with blisters or hot spots.

It seems like the soles are a little more durable than the Kinvaras as well. I feel like I chew through my Kinvaras quickly since the lightweight sole can't handle a lot of miles. The Zoots so far still look brand-new.

I was pretty surprised with the lace-lock system. I've had bad luck with lace-locks either coming loose during a run or being too tight right across my ankle in order to keep the shoe tight enough the rest of my foot doesn't slide around. The lace-locks stay in place and when tightened, there isn't a tight spot at the top. They also have fairly small ends so they don't flop around when I run. I put lace-locks on my Kinvaras and I hate how much the plastic piece on the end flops around and hit my foot with each step.

So what's the downside you ask? Well, price for one. I found these online for half price. Full price they're $140, which is more than I'm willing to pay for a pair of shoes that will last less than a year. The other downside is availability. There's no local stores that I know of that carry Zoot shoes, so I ordered mine online and hoped they fit. Luckily, they fit my foot perfectly. But to be honest, I love these shoes so much, I might switch to these for my regular running shoes, not just speed work.

The biggest advantage might not even be a real one. They are so freaking light, and I didn't start using them until I was well into my training, so all my runs have been great. The mental effect of me putting these shoes on is a lot like Dorothy putting on the Ruby Slippers. Except when I put my shoes on, "home" is 7:50 min/mi tempo pace or 6:20 min/mi interval pace. There is no place like home.

It was bound to happen some time...

2011-09-30T17:45:00.000-05:00

If you're a cyclist, the saying goes it's not if you crash but when. After several years of riding and racing, it was finally my turn. But I was lucky - there were no other cyclist involved or cars. I didn't flip over my handle bars or wreck my bike. But I still did a good job.

It didn't take long. I was riding at the Downtown Airport and just got on the road. They have been repaving down there and they finally finished. I was excited since it was brand-new pavement and smooth.

It was windier than I expected. Apparently, I didn't pay attention to the weather and it was the windiest day of the year so far. John told me wind gust were 35 mph or more. In retrospect, I won't argue.

The road construction was finished, but there were cones with Caution tape tied between them where the construction company had put down new shoulder gravel and grass seed. I was about 3' from the edge of the road and down in my aero bars, going over 19 mph. A strong gust of wind blew, which blew the Caution tape into the traffic lane. It all happened so fast.

Top speed 22 mph and just over 19 mph at the end. All in less than 1:30.

The tape caught my right front brake lever. It caused my front end to jackknife and I went down. But when you start at 19 mph, you don't just go down. I kept moving forward, too. I landed on my left side, mostly on my hip and slid at least 10' into the opposing side of the street. I used my shoulder and elbow to stop myself and left a good portion of skin on the road. I managed to keep my head up, so my very important noggin was just fine.

Two guys were fairly close when it happened. The first rode on. The second was a good Samaritan and stopped to check on me. He had me drink water and calm down while he tended to my bike. The caution tape was wrapped through my bars, around the pedal, and around the gearing about 10 times. Luckily, Thelma was OK. I need to replace the bar tape on the front, the seat is chewed up, the front brake needs to be adjusted, and she has some minor scrapes, but no real damage. The Caution tape stopped her from sliding as far as I did.

John had class so I showed up at Kelly's house since I needed help cleaning my wounds. The pain in my hips was pretty bad and getting worse. It hurt to use the clutch. It hurt to bend it. After talking with Kelly and my personal doctor, MO, I decided it was probably a good idea to go to the ER and have it x-rayed just to make sure I didn't crack or fracture anything.

Nothing is broken and I got some good pain meds. I'm sore and moving slow but otherwise just fine. I was very lucky. I'm not yet sure how this will impact my training, but I suppose that's not a big priority at the moment. Now that it's a day later, I'm starting to get even more sore. My rib cage, back, and neck are getting sore and it hurts to sit on my hip. It looks like I'm sleeping in tomorrow morning.

You Stink! But I can help.

2011-09-28T20:33:00.000-05:00

Don't take it personally, but if you run or ride you probably know your favorite technical shirt stinks. Even straight out of the wash, well-worn technical fabrics stink. Or you get 5 min into a ride and realize you reek. Maybe this only happens to me. Either way, I have a solution. Drum roll please!

That's right, OxiClean! Seriously. My home-brewer of a brother recommended it, it's what he uses to sanitize his bottles. I bought a tub and took out the nastiest "white" technical shirt I had to try it out. This was one of my favorite shirts but it stunk. It was pitted-out beyond belief. I was meaning to throw it out, but I just never got around to it. So I filled a metal bowl with water, put 1/2 scoop in and let it soak over night.

I wish I had taken before and after pictures, but it was unbelievable. It no longer smelled AND the pit stains were gone. I soaked all of my offensive shirt and I even soaked all of my white dress shirts and tank tops. At $6 a tub, this stuff is awesome. Now, every load of workout clothes and whites gets a full scoop. For particularly funky workout clothes, we'll let the whole load soak overnight before closing the lid of the washer.

If you still need convincing, I have it on good authority that it also removes red wine stains. It takes out blood. Seriously, try it. But be careful of the spray. I've heard it can bleach fabrics.

The Adventures of Sam and Thelma

2011-09-25T18:10:00.001-05:00

I had a nice 60 mile ride planned for this weekend. I decided to try out a new route that I never rode before. Let's call it an epic ride. I didn't get a flat tire, but just about everything else that could go wrong, did.

Can you see my detours? There's more than one!

First, there was road construction that forced me onto KS 32, which is a state road where the speed limit is 65 mph. Not good. I rode it for about a mile and got off on the first paved road I found. A little later, I stopped to check my map and make sure I was on the right track. I forgot to zip up my seat pack and on the next uphill, I head "Smash! Clatter!" Oh no, that sounded like my phone. I turned around and sure enough, my phone was sliding down the hill in several pieces. Don't worry, it was just fine. But I had to walk up the hill since it was too steep to get back on my bike.

I went looking for hills and I found them!

So I kept on. Later, I missed a turn and that put me on KS 24, another 65 mph route. I quickly back-tracked and was headed to the next town. I stopped at a gas station and refilled my aero bottle with water and bought a Gatorade. Good thing I did, too.

Just south of town, I saw a sign "Road Construction Next 10 Miles." Oh no, I need this road for at least 8 miles. The road wasn't closed, but it was milled, which is very rough pavement. I tried to ride it and I couldn't. I stopped and called John.

"Please tell me you can find me a paved detour."

"Um, it's gravel in all directions. Sorry Sweetie. Do you want me to come and get you?"

"No, I'll tough it out."

I rode on the rough pavement about 2 miles until I found a side road that was paved. The rough pavement seriously hurt my hands, arms, legs, and butt. 12 mph was the best I could do. I was so glad to see smooth pavement. I was feeling good until that point and after the rough pavement, everything just fell apart. Then, two miles later that pavement turned to gravel. Shit.

Now I'm several miles off the nearest "paved" road, which isn't much help anyway. My aero bottle developed a crack on the rough pavement and I lost all my water. I'm somewhere around 55 miles in this day, I'm down to one bottle, and I hurt. I was on the verge of tears. The only option was to head south on the gravel road and hope I hit pavement soon.

So south I rode. I couldn't use my aero bars and couldn't go over 15 mph without losing control. I did another 2-3 miles on gravel (on a tri-bike) and finally hit pavement. Thank God. I headed back toward Kill Creek Park.

But my bad luck wasn't over yet. On one of the last big uphills, a car that had passed me and was clearly lost, decided to come to a stop in the middle of the uphill.

"You stupid piece of @(*$^(*ing $#@)(!!!" I wasn't happy and too tired to have to re-start on a steep uphill. I just wanted to get back to my car.

I made it back and finished 62.5 miles in 3:30. I'm hoping that I used up all of my negative karma on this ride so everything goes smoothly at Austin. It actually would have been a nice ride if not for the milled pavement. But on the bright side, my legs still felt fresh over 40 miles in. I'm still feeling good about Austin.

Another week closer

2011-09-20T20:28:00.002-05:00

Austin is about a month away and so far I'd say I'm having the best training cycle ever. I knocked out 8x400 intervals this weekend, all at a 6:30 pace. The rain kept me on the trainer inside, but I did 2:45 on the trainer and followed that with 4 miles at an 8:30 pace. It was a good weekend.

Tonight I did 11 and while I felt great this weekend, my legs are definitely feeling the accumulated fatigue of the last few weeks. I did 8:30 until mile 6 but my time fell off quickly after that. My quads were heavy, my hamstrings were tight, and my calves were stiff. But I stuck it out and did the full 11. I might need to take it a little easy as a recover weekend. I know I should, I'm about 4 weeks out, so it would be the perfect time for a little recovery before my last two big weeks. I just hate taking recovery weeks. They make me...squirrelly.

The gluten-free experience is still going well. John and I have been eating gluten-free most of the weekend and we've both noticed a difference. This just might be the silver bullet to ending my major GI distress issues. I'm no expert, but if you're prone to GI issues when working out, you should seriously consider trying a gluten free diet the day before a big race or training run. It can't hurt right? My fingers are crossed this keeps up!

Oooh, my tummy doesn't feel so good...

2011-09-13T20:59:00.001-05:00

Some days everything works well and your run goes great. Other times, you spend your post-run in the bathroom. I don't think details are necessary.

Sunshine and High Hopes

2011-09-12T18:59:00.000-05:00

I took this picture while I was out on a 50 mile ride this weekend. I love the sunflower fields in Kansas. The weather has finally broken and I've gotten some good workouts in lately. It only took 8+ months, but I finally found my motivation and have high hopes for Austin. I usually only get one or two rides in over 50 miles before a race. I'm hoping for 5, including some over distance rides and long ride/long run bricks. Besides that, I have Kelly running with me for some weekend intervals and weekday long runs.

Once the pools reopen after the local cryptosporidium outbreak (gross) I'll be back in the pool.

The biggest difference this race is 1) motivation and 2) food. Since we've become, well, I don't really know how to describe our eating other than flexitarian. Anyway, we've been eating a lot more vegetables and I bought a vegetarian cookbook that has been amazing. Spicy tofu and broccoli stir fry, confetti vegetable stew, avocado and pinto bean salad with salsa, and the list goes on. Today, I made cucumber crab salad over mixed greens. Cooking fresh food makes such a big difference.

We've been trying to eat gluten free the nights before long runs and John and I have both noticed a difference there, too. The downside to a few weeks of good training - I was starving all weekend. I was hungry at 9 am. I was hungry at 3 pm. The upside to good training - I was finally able to fit back into my size 4 pants. That's the first time I've been able to wear them all year! Today's my day off and I almost feel guilty not working out. Yoga it is!

More food stuff

2011-09-08T21:35:00.002-05:00

I recently had another food Aha! moment, this time race-related. My favorite pre-race meal has been Thai food; I've never had stomach issues after having Thai food. Maybe I should clarify, neutral Thai food. I know better than to order the triple spicy curry before a race.

Unfortunately, I've had several races where I've had stomach issues but I had a hard time figuring it out. Two things are required for my stomach to turn south: heat and high exertion level. I've never had a problem during ultras or even running races, only triathlons. But I think part of the problem is that it's usually 11 am when I'm starting the running portion of a 70.3 versus starting a 1/2 marathon at 7 or 8 am.

After reading several articles, and taking my personal history into account, I decided to try going gluten-free for Nationals. Shelley's family was planning on veggies and pasta so I picked up some quinoa pasta. And while it's not rock-solid science, I didn't have any problems in Burlington. During the run, it was in the upper 70s to low 80s with full sun and I was definitely working hard. I think gluten-free the day before might be the trick. I still had Pop-Tarts for breakfast and I'm assuming there is gluten in them. But my current theory is that Pop-Tarts are such simple carbs that I can digest those without a problem.

The hydration and nutrition part of racing is beyond complicated. I'm still learning and I can see how having a lot of racing experience can make a huge difference in performance. And it's all so personal. It doesn't really matter if the latest research says pickle juice is the best thing to drink while racing if the thought of taking a big swig of pickle juice makes you want to vomit. I know that GU sits well, Hammer Gel does not. On a cool day when my hydration is good, I can drink Gatorade. On a hot day or if I'm over-hydrated, Gatorade makes a bad situation worse. Ice water always tastes good, but it's easy to get salt levels out of whack. Contrary to my previously held belief, vegetables the night before a race will not wreak havoc on my system. And I will NEVER drink Gatorade G3 Recovery again. I took a huge gulp of that crap after Nationals and then spit it out, almost ruining some lady's shoes. Man, if this keeps up, I'm going to have to tattoo a list of food guidelines on my arm so I can remember what to eat and what to avoid.

The Omnivore's Dilemma

2011-09-03T10:53:00.000-05:00

I know this book has been out for a while and has won a bunch of awards. But it was new to me. A co-worker read it and we got into a discussion about food and food sources over lunch at The Farmhouse. Great restaurant if you're in downtown Kansas City, by the way.

As a disclaimer, I should note that I am exactly this author's target-audience. I grew up on a farm, eating meat from our animals, dairy straight from the tank or our creamery, and helping my mom with our garden. I raised the baby calves from 0-8 weeks old and helped milk the cows, along with the usual work of pitching pens, throwing hay, and the like. I have a soft spot for all animals and can't bring myself to eat veal. Now, I live in a city and get my food the way most Americans do - from the store.

The first part of the book is all about corn and how it has infiltrated every aspect of our diet. It's interesting information, but it moves a little slow. Once you get past the corn section, it moves much faster.

The author went around the country and visited all types of farms. He spent time on a corn farm in Iowa, at organic farms on the west coast, and a grazing farm in Virginia. He follows our food, as best he can, from the farm through the system. He also makes an attempt at hunting and gathering. Again, I found it humorous since I used to hunt growing up and now have a large garden. I took so much of my upbringing for granted. I remeber when I was little, I thought everyone had cows. Who didn't own a cow?

I'm well aware of the conditions of most commercial farms and I'm well aware of what animal slaughtering processes entail. But it's easy to put that kind of stuff out of your mind when you don't have to deal with it every day. To be perfectly honest, there was a large section of the book that I was almost in tears.

If you've never hunted, gardened, or lived on a farm, you absolutely have to read this book. There is such a disconnect between us and our food. The best information in the book was the website http://www.eatwild.com/. If you're interested in getting your food from local sources, you should check that website out. If you'd rather stay oblivious, then don't read this book. I don't blame you, there is a lot of information that most people would find disturbing. I'm not trying to start a food revolution.

But John and I are starting our own personal food revolution.

As a results of the book, and several previous conversations between John and I, we have decided that we're going to eat only locally raised meat. There are the health reason of lower saturated fats and higher essential fats from grass-fed meat, but for me, there is also the moral aspect of it. I'm not going to preach on what I think your personal moral code should be. But I know that if I were to walk through a commercial laying farm or stock yard that I wouldn't be able to eat that meat. (I might also be inclined to stage a midnight animal rescue) I don't have a problem with locally raised and humanely slaughtered animals. I'm not going completely vegetarian. But I am going to do my best to avoid all commercially-fed meat and eggs.

I don't want people to have to cater to me, so I'm sure I'll still eat mass-produced meat on occasion. I'd don't want to inconvenience others or force my agenda on them. Now if you're a guest in my house, then all's fair in the kitchen. So if you're over for dinner, don't be surprised if what we're serving is mostly vegetarian. Or the most delicious grass-fed beef you've ever eaten.

USAT Age Group Nationals Race Report

2011-08-28T15:28:00.007-05:00

Intimidating. Humbling. Awesome. That sums up the USAT Age Groups Nationals in three words. When I was wandering around the expo looking at all of the incredibly fit people with incredibly expensive bikes and incredibly serious looks on their faces, I kept thinking "I do not belong here. I am in way over my head." I was under trained going in and I suddenly felt self-conscious of my aluminum frame bike and $40 helmet from REI. Intimidating.

As a side note, I stayed in Burlington with Shelley's family. They are as amazing as Shelley is, big surprise. I'll have another post just on Vermont and travelling later. But I would not have done this race if Shelley's family wasn't close and I owe them a HUGE thank you. Shelley's step-mom Mary, also raced. She is a BAMF and qualified for the World championship in New Zealand. She's my hero.

I knew before the race that I was in the 3rd to the last wave to go and I had more race-anxiety than normal. The men's 24 and under was after my wave and I wasn't looking forward to that for good reason. They had every wave corralled up at the dock and then lead us down to the water as a group. I felt like we were cattle being lead to slaughter. Did I mention race anxiety? My wetsuit didn't help the feeling of suffocation. It was a treading-water start, which was a great opportunity to get used to the water before the chaos began.

After waiting for the countdown and gun, we were off. This was probably the most physical swim I've ever done; physical meaning lots of contact with other bodies. The beginning went well - cool water temps and a good draft. Then at the halfway point, the youngsters caught us. The 24 and under men just started swimming over the top of us. Fuck, fuck, fuck, this is not good. Arms and legs everywhere. Yellow caps. Green caps. The water tasted like diesel fuel. I started leading with my elbows just to keep my head above water. Keep calm and breathe. Keep calm and breathe. Those damn whipper-snappers. No manners in the water. I'm ready for the 30-34 age group, just to get away from the 24 and under men.

I came out of the water in about 32 min, a good swim for me. I was a little dazed and had the feeling of vertigo. I found my bike and ran out the end of transition. Then kept running. Jeeze, how far is the mount line? I felt like I ran a quarter mile with my bike! The transition area routing was poor at best. Bike-in crossed over swim-in, bike-out crossed over run-out. I'm surprised there weren't any crashes.

I got on the bike and took off, ready to have some fun. It was a gorgeous course through the rolling hills outside of Burlington. I was trying not to pay too much attention to my Garmin since I knew I wouldn't place well overall. I was setting my pace based on my body and having fun. About halfway into the bike I realized why I like 70.3 races so much. It takes me 12-15 miles to get warmed up on the bike and by that time in an Olympic distance race, there's only 10 miles left. Oh well, I had a great ride and averaged 20 mph.

I passed one woman on an all-carbon set up, solid disc wheel in the back. Let's just say her rear wheel was more expensive than my whole bike. And I passed her on an uphill like she was standing still. I felt good! After the results were posted, I checked all my splits and when I looked at the bike my jaw dropped. A 20 mph average speed was in the bottom half of my age group. Damn. 20 mph average usually puts me 1st or 2nd in my age group. Humbling.

When I got back to transition and tried to rack my bike, I noticed that almost all the bikes were back already. Again, humbling. This race sold out faster than it ever has and because of that, USAT opened up an addition 500 slots for the race. I don't think the organizers in Burlington got the memo. Our personal transition area was exactly the width of a bike. It was so tight, we had to rack by our seats. So as I tried to re-rack my bike, the back wheel kept getting caught in the bars of the bikes on the opposing side. I probably spent an extra 30 seconds just trying to get my bike wedged in my spot. It was worse for the women since the racks were set so high none of our front wheels touched the ground. So if you bumped into one, they all spun around. It was a mess.

The run course was less than inspiring and there's not much to say. It was 10:15 when I started, so the sun was out and it was getting warm. I knew what pace I needed to keep to meet my 2:45 goal time and I was working hard to maintain that. The last two miles I was starting to over heat and I knew it. Two miles, anyone can run two miles. I came in at 2:43:36, a great time by my standards and also a PR. (Since this was my first true Olympic distance race, I was going to PR no matter what. Minor details.) Awesome.

It was probably my best personal race, and it was also the worst finish I've ever had if you're judging by overall finish. But I wasn't concerned with that, it was an amazing race experience and I am so glad I went. I usually finish in the top part of my age group, and top half of all racers. It was such a great and humbling experience to race against the fastest people in the country. In case you're curious, a 2:43:36 was good enough for 60/79 in my AG.

And I am damn happy with that.

Updates!

2011-08-25T12:41:00.002-05:00

...just not yet.

Let's see, there's a book review, travel and race report, new race nutrition strategy (success!), my personal food revolution, training plan and training goals, and the list goes on. But I've been swamped and I'm hoping for race pics before getting into a race report. Here's the 30 second version: I read a good book, took an awesome trip for an amazing race, tried new fuel, am changing the way I regularly eat, have a plan, have a goal, and keeping busy! Phew!!

Tonight John and I are cooking for Shelley, Kelly, and Shelley's dad, Gerry. Shelley has her second round of chemo today, so send her your positive thoughts. On the menu: homemade Vegetable Confetti Stew, homemade sour dough bread (with wild yeast John has cultivated), and mixed greens salad. I hear that fresh meals prepared with love are the best way to fight cancer. The point is you'll have to wait a few more days for any real updates.

Nothing Says "Tri-Geek" Like Compression Socks

2011-08-16T12:33:00.003-05:00

I know you've seen them. Maybe you use them. One thing we can agree on: they look ridiculous.

I swore up and down that I would never, NEVER own compression socks. You would think that by this point in my life I would learn not to use absolutes. Because "never, NEVER" has turned into LOVE THEM!

That's right, I own compression socks and I love 'em. I don't exercise in them. All the literature I've read is inconclusive on whether or not wearing them while working out is even beneficial. And the tan lines are less than attractive. I fully believe compression socks belong in one place - underneath pants.

But no one argues that they're good for recovery. I've been wearing them after long or particularly hard workouts and I'm ready to get another pair. I wore them in the car up to WI (8+ hours of driving). I wore them on the plane to Colorado. I even wore them the day after an outdoor concert in hot weather since my legs felt like stuffed sausages the next morning. I'll be wearing them flying to and from Burlington this weekend and possibly the evening after the race.

I don't know if it's a placebo effect or if they actually help, but I do feel like my legs recover faster after a tough workout when I use them. They seems to reduce the "my legs are dog-tired" feeling when you wake up in the morning, too.

So if you've been thinking about getting a pair, I would highly recommend them. But be warned: if I ever see you wearing compression socks or sleeves during a race, I will still make fun of you.

Count Down

2011-08-14T20:50:00.002-05:00

Summer seems to be flying by, and not necessarily in a good way. Nationals are this coming Saturday and to say that I am under prepared would be an understatement. Oh well, this race wasn't on my radar in time to actually train for and signing up for a race less than 6 weeks out doesn't leave a whole lot of room for improvement. I almost feel guilty going to this race. I am no where near the shape I was in when I qualified and I don't think even in that shape I should have qualified. So I may try to qualify again, and next time put in a 12 week training plan. Hopefully this is just the first Nationals I compete in.

This might be the first race that I feel unprepared for. It's not an issue of finishing, it's an issue of competing against some of the best age-groupers in the country. I don't like to do things half-assed and I feel like I am only half-ass prepared. I do have a goal, and I'm really trying to talk myself into a sub-2:45 time goal and forget about the other girls. I'll let you know how that works out.

That said, I am looking toward Austin with some amount of optimism. I'm going to use my plane time to Burlington to lay out my training plan. I don't really know what my goal is going to be, maybe a 2 hour run? I just really want to get back into the shape I was in last year.

Golden is Gorgeous

2011-08-10T20:43:00.002-05:00

John and I managed a trail run while we were in Golden. We ran up the Chimney Gulch Trail. An hour up and 25 min down. This was easily the most enjoyable run I've had all year.

At the top.

We also managed to sample a few of the local brews while we were in town.

Coors put on one of the best brewery tours that I've been on. Three full sample beers at the end and a great gift shop. It was a fun weekend and nice to have a break from the hot temps here.

Mental Clarity

2011-08-02T12:07:00.004-05:00

One of, if not THE best benefits of working out regularly is the ability of exercise to clear my head and burn off negative energy. The temperature today was forecasted to be 106 degrees, and that doesn't include the heat index. I cleared it with my boss to come in late to work so I could get a bike ride in this morning. It was great - cool temps compared to what I have been riding in, and I love getting done about the same time the sun is cresting the tops of the trees. There wasn't much traffic, just like-minded hikey-bikey people trying to beat the heat without enduring a treadmill or trainer.

Driving into work, I felt refreshed and calm, and ready to face the day. Little did I know just how much I would need that.

Today, I decided to finally speak up about an issue at work. I had been planning on meeting with my bosses tomorrow, but due to scheduling issues, my bosses asked if we could do it today. I wasn't quite prepared, but sometimes you just have to roll with it.

Afterwards, I was incredibly glad that I had gotten a good ride in before work. Even though the circumstances weren't what I was hoping for, I was at least focused and as calm as could be expected. Things at work will play out in time.

After work, I did my second favorite thing to achieve mental clarity - I went for a drink with Kelly.

Midwest Mayhem RR

2011-07-26T12:24:00.002-05:00

I suppose it's about time I write a race report, if I even remember what one of these is supposed to be.

Big surprise, it was hot. The water was bath-water warm and not pleasant at all. But I shouldn't complain because it was pancake flat and there were no broken-off sheet pile walls for me to cut myself on. I went slow on the swim since I was worried about overheating before I got out of the water. That wouldn't have been good. I didn't realize how slow I was going, but based on my swim split I was really dilly-dallying around. This isn't a water tour, Sam.

I should explain my strategy for this race. Due to the heat, I was hoping to ride hard, maybe get the best female bike split, and then jog the run. I was hoping for a sub-3 hour finish. I am not built for hot-weather running and things go downhill fast when I overheat. My German-Scandinavian ancestors were laughing at me all day. I've always said if there is a race that involves throwing bales of hay and hauling buckets of grain, I would WIN! At least I've learned to take it easy during hot-weather races. I've done more damage than good in the past.

Race strategy aside, I wasn't planning on coming out of the water in 37:54 (over 2:30/100m). I just shook my head when I looked and my watch and knew I had to make up time on the bike (wait, I thought I wasn't racing hard?). For comparison, in the last short race I did I average 1:42/100m.

I flew through T1 in 1:05, fastest transition in my AG. I got on the bike and then started to work. This race is a sadistically hilly course with the Kansas wind pushing you around the whole time. I have not been training in the hills. But I did catch every other female except 2, and I was close. Considering the hills and wind, I was happy with my bike time of 1:18:18 (19.1 mph). I was the 2nd fastest female on the day and I blame that on the farmer who decided on taking his thresher out to cruise the course. Jerk.
I took a little more time in T2 because I wanted salt before starting the run. I downed 2 S-caps and shuffled off in 3rd place in the women's race.

The best part of the run? Seeing Shelley and Kelly at the first and last aid station. I kept a modest 9:20+ min/mi pace, not bad considering it was now well above 90 degrees and humid. I held on to 3rd place until the last 1.5 miles in the race and was passed by two women, clearly with a runner's build. A volunteer tried to get me to chase "You're only 30 sec out of 3rd!". No thanks. There was no chase in that weather. I finished the run in 56:39 for an overall time of 2:55:37. I made my sub-3 hour goal.

I ended up 5th overall female, which also happened to be 5th in my AG. Nuts! There was 13 min between me and the winner and 25 min between me and the 6th place finisher in our AG. Less than 2 min separated 3rd-5th places. Oh well, since I was using it as a training race, I would say it was a success. Best part? No diaphragm pain! I think I finally have that problem figured out.

Now I'm focusing on Nationals, increasing my hill training and long runs. I'm looking forward to VT just for a break in the weather!

TDF Junkie

2011-07-22T20:04:00.002-05:00

It's Friday night, John is out of town and my big plans are... watching Stage 19 of the TDF! I couldn't be happier. Yes, I have been dreaming about passing Contador while climbing up the Alps. Yes, I have been trying to find a red polka dot dress. Yes, I find men in spandex sexy.

Hi. My name is Sam and I'm a Touraholic.

I temporarily renamed our cat Thor, in honor of Thor Hushovd of Norway, one of my favorite riders who has two Stage wins to his name. Unlike the real Thor, Thor the cat is in a heated race for who can nap on the couch the longest.

My weekend plans involve running, swimming, biking, watching the tour, and making a training plan. I'm a month out from Nationals and a couple months from Austin. The intense heat we're under is making it difficult to get out and definitely not enjoyable to train. But it's the Midwest in July so I just need to suck it up.

Training plans to follow, but for now, time to watch the Tour!!

Not Again

2011-07-21T12:13:00.002-05:00

I am beyond blessed to have amazing women in my life. I feel honored to call them friends and their strength, compassion, grace, and humility leave me wanting to be a better person. You should all know my friend Kelly by now. Well, in case you're unfamiliar, it's time to meet Shelley. This is not my story to tell, I'm just here to love and support along the way. But to make a long story short, Shelley was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Read her blog. Send her hugs. Keep her in your thoughts. Love you Shelley!!

On a lighter note, John is now concerned that breast cancer is contagious. He is insisting on twice-daily breast exams, and he feels it necessary that he perform them, just to be sure. I can't get anything done around the house!

Motivation Aplenty!

2011-07-14T20:55:00.002-05:00

After spending all winter studying, I had a hard time getting motivated to get back to training. I picked an off-road race and a long-distance local triathlon to force myself to do something. Anything. Well, that is not a problem any more.

First, within a few days of learning I passed my test, I signed up for Austin 70.3 in October. I was hoping to get another 70.3 in before the end of the year and before I age up to the 30-34 age group. For those of you who may already be into the 30s and beyond, that is in no way an insult. In fact, I'm little nervous about aging up; women in their 30s are fast!
And as I posted yesterday, I'm now signed up for AG Nationals in August. That was enough motivation that when I got to work today I was able to walk right past the Bavarian cream donuts someone brought in without hesitating. OK, I was hesitating and possibly drooling but I did not eat one and that's the important thing.

And last, John and I have been religiously following the Tour, which has been exciting this year to say the least.

Maybe it's because I ride more, but there is nothing more motivating than watching those men hang it out on the line every day. And unlike most races, they're not done after a hard effort, or two or three. They have 3 weeks of killer riding, with crashes and flats and weather to deal with. The more I watch, the more hooked I get. Whenever I see a bad wreck, it almost breaks my heart to see the injuries and watch someone abandon the race. There is so much strategy, timing, luck, and pure guts involved... Man, I'm getting excited just writing about it! It truly is the most epic race on the planet.

Needless to say, I'm no longer lacking in the motivation department. Possibly setting a new bike goal for this year? It could happen.

USAT AG Nationals? What??

2011-07-13T20:59:00.003-05:00

I logged in to USAT today to print out a temporary card for my race this weekend, and this was the page that greeted me! Huh? OK, I'll be honest, I really had no idea what it takes to qualify and I'm still not exactly sure if this is a big deal. I had to do a little bit of research on Nationals.

For USAT Nationals, in special events, the top 33% of the AG qualifies. For other sanctioned, pre-determined events, the top 10% qualifies. I qualified at Redman, but I was 3rd in my AG, which was the top 15% since it was a small field. So I think they opened up the field to a roll down, which is why I only recently figured out I qualified. Although, to be honest, if I had been emailed with the notification I probably deleted it anyway.

Anyway, it's the first Nationals I qualified for. And in other news, today I received official notification the I am a licensed Professional Structural Engineer (in the state of Nebraksa). Since I celebrated passing my tests with a registration for Austin 70.3 (oh yeah, I need to update on that) I decided that signing up for Nationals for receiving my official license number was appropriate.

When is Nationals, you ask? August 20th, which only gives me about 3 weeks to really train. But let's be honest, it's not like I was expecting to go to Nationals or consider that my "A" race for the year.

I'm loving life right now and everything seems to be coming up roses. More details to come! Shelley says I should buy a lotto ticket! But to quote my brother-in-law, "It's better to be good than lucky." Then again, a lotto ticket won't hurt!

Hey Christi! I'll be in CO soon, I'm going to email you about running trails!

You Can't Pick Your Genes

2011-07-11T21:12:00.002-05:00

Every now and then I'm reminded about the real reason I train and race. Sure it's fun and I love to go fast, but it really comes down to health.

Back in November, my mom had a couple nasty falls that she blamed on her "good" knee. Unfortunately, my mom is one of many people who pay for their own insurance and she didn't want to go to the doctor because she was afraid of the cost. She finally went in on Friday to see a specialist (yes, that is 8 months after she fell) and she had surgery today.

Everything went well but she has arthritis in her knee and she had torn her meniscus in three places. She's on crutches for a few days and then starts rehab. I keep trying to gently nudge her in the direction of exercise (in the form of walking) and making small changes in her diet to lose weight, given her knee issues.

I should explain that I am not blessed with good genes. Most of the women in my family tip the scale over 250 pounds. At my heaviest I was about 165, and it wasn't pretty. My mom has the family record for age at first knee surgery; she was 30. Type 1 diabetes is in the family and several family members have been diagnosed with Type 2. So exercising and being conscious of what I eat is important. Between my mom's surgery and watching the Tour, I've been highly motivated to ride my bikes. I've seen the alternative, and it usually ends up in the hospital.

Yes!

2011-07-05T20:37:00.002-05:00

If you've ever heard a 14 year old screaming in glee at Justin Bieber, then you know what I sounded like on Saturday morning. For the last 4 weeks, I have been obsessively checking the mailbox waiting for my licensing exam results. It was the first thing I'd do when I got home and sometimes I'd check it again before bed (you know, those midnight mail deliveries are sneaky). Everyday. As soon as it was 8 weeks after my test, it was like I was the kid in A Christmas Story - "Where's my decoder ring?!?!" Well, on Saturday my decoder ring finally showed up.

Actually, it was much more boring than a decoder ring, it was just a letter. But this letter had four sweet, sweet words that I have been waiting for.

Vertical: Pass
Lateral: Pass

Sweet monkey livers, I did it. Pass rate was 27%. I'm still a little in shock that I actually did it on my first try. Clearly, I didn't screw up the double integration of the trigonometric function as I thought I did. Sorry, I digress.

The important thing here is that I DON'T HAVE TO STUDY THIS FALL!!! Which means......

70.3!

I'm eyeing up Austin 70.3 in October. It is a little over 12 weeks away, which is a perfect training cycle for me. I need to work out some of the logistics yet, but I'm 80% sure. The bad thing is that John has to take his licensing exam the last weekend of October, so he won't be travelling with me. It's a bummer, but I'd really like to get one more 70.3 in before I age up to the 30-34 age group. I'd also like to keep my streak of at least one 70.3 race a year.

The bottom line is I'm back on the training wagon and I have my life back. It feels so good.

An Open Letter to Spectators

2011-06-26T19:30:00.002-05:00

This letter was inspired while I was mountain biking this afternoon. I was off my bike, walking a rocky section when I came up to two hikers going in the opposite direction. The heavier of the two said to me "It looks like you bit off more than you can chew." Her comment turned an already difficult ride into a full blown sufferfest, with a little parrot sitting on my shoulder repeating "More than you can chew, more than you can chew." Her comment shouldn't have bothered me, but it did. Since she obviously was not an avid athlete, I'm hoping she was well meaning. I have seen and heard many well-meaning but destructive spectators, and I was inspired to come up with a Spectator's Guide after my confidence was crushed by an overweight hiker on a Sunday afternoon.

Dear Spectator,

Congratulations! Your athlete is about to participate in _________ race, which I know he/she has been dedicated in training for and you have graciously tolerated all the antics that go with training for said race. We appreciate you. We love having you at races. But if you're new to the scene, there are a few things you need to know that will make every one's day go much better.

Do not get in line for the Porta Potties before the race. There are literally hundreds of athletes that have pre-race nerves, are taking care of "business", or are regretting the jalapeno bacon cheeseburger they ate last night. Do not make them wait for the bathroom. One minute after the start, there will be plenty of Porta Johns available for you to use. As soon as you see your athlete off, you'll have plenty of time to kill anyway.

Do not wander onto or try to cross the course. If you absolutely have to cross the course for some reason, check left, then right, then left again and make sure there are no athletes coming or going. Then check left and right again. Only when you know you can cross without interfering with someone's race should you do so. People who are racing move fast. Bikes racing move even faster. If in doubt, wait some more. When you do cross, be quick about it. Don't stroll or dillydally. Don't get onto the course to take pictures. I know you want the best picture of your stud muffin as possible, but with your nose in the camera, you may miss a tired and fatigued athlete who wanders into your path, knocks you down and breaks your camera. Wait, you wandered into HER path. Take pictures from the sidelines or well beyond the finish line area.

Keep an eye on your kids. I love seeing kids at races and I think one of the best things you can do for your child is to introduce them to an active lifestyle. But please don't bring your kids and let them run wild. It's annoying to have to avoid kids in transition areas, starting corrals, and finish line chutes but it's not about the inconvenience. If some guy riding at 25 mph isn't smart enough to slow down when approaching transition and happens to hit Junior, well, let's just say no one wants that to happen. Again, people move fast and bikes move faster. Junior may not be paying attention. Maybe you don't care that your perfectly behaved child just ruined someone's race, but you should care that your offspring could be hurt. My favorite place to see kids: on their parent's shoulders. This is great for 3 reasons. Junior can't wander off and get hurt, he is in a much better position to see racing Mom or racing Dad, and the spectating parent gets a workout. Everyone wins!

Watch your language. I don't mean swearing. In fact, sometimes a properly placed expletive can be quite motivating. Watch what you say to athletes, whether you know them or not. This requires sub-guidelines. 1) NEVER be negative. 2) It's OK to lie, e.g. "Lookin' good!" We know that's a lie and we appreciate it. 3) If you can't lie and can't think of anything nice to say, non-words are good too. Woo hoo, Wahoo, Ooo Ooo, Yay, Yee Haw, and barn animal noises are preferable to negativity or silence. 4) Use names if you can or specifics. Lots of bibs now have names, but "Go Girl" or "You're kicking ass, Man" are also good. 5) Use phrases like "Push harder" or "Pick up the pace" with caution. If that works for your athlete, great. For people like me, when someone says "Push harder" I feel like they're telling me I'm not working hard enough already when I'm usually going as hard as I can and ready to puke. If I'm in a really bad place, that just might get you clothes lined. The same goes for critiques on form. My training partner can tell me to lengthen my stride or relax my shoulders and it's a good thing for me. A stranger saying the same thing only makes me feel worse. 6) DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT say "You're almost there" unless you can see and hear the finish line from where you are. You may think that 5 miles left in a marathon, ultramarathon, Ironman or 1/2 Ironman is almost finished. But any athlete can tell you a lot can happen in 5 miles and to tell someone they are almost finished when they may have another hour of running left is cruel.

Only athletes get to enjoy the post-race finish line spread. It is really unfair to the racers for you to grab a water and some fruit for yourself or your kids. The athletes had to pay a fee to race and part of that covers food. There are exceptions. If the race is almost or completely over and there are leftovers, ask a volunteer if it's OK to take something. If you or a family member are diabetic and need sugar, seriously, grab what you need. But don't just help yourself because you want a snack. I was in a multi-distance race and finished towards the front of the long course. The short-course athletes had mostly finished and I saw multiple families and spectators with their hands full of food, Gatorade and Mountain Dew. When I came through, no Gatorade, pop, or grapes, they had run out. And there were still at least 50 athletes that hadn't finished yet. It's a bummer to race hard for over 2 hours and only get water and some brownish bananas. Leave the goods for the athletes who need them. Same goes for chairs in the finish chute. Let the athletes sit, that's the least they deserve.

I know that's a lot of things not to do. But there are things you can do that every athlete will appreciate.

Cheer. Clap. Do anything that makes a positive noise when any racer goes by, not just your athlete. Trust me, everyone appreciates it. And don't you want every other spectator cheering for your athlete when they go by?

The cowbell is your friend. You can never have too much cowbell.

Signs, posters, and sidewalk chalk are great. (Don't put sidewalk chalk down after the race has started. You have to plan that one in advance.) Put your athlete's name on a poster and make some generic ones, too. Funny quotes, inspiring words and phrases, trust me, we see it. Your poster saying "You are tough!" just might help someone push past a cramp or catch a second wind.

Thank the volunteers and race officials. Thank the course marshals. They are keeping your athlete safe out there.

On one last note, I believe in race karma. Be polite and courteous. Don't push and shove. It's a big day for everyone. Maybe it's your athletes first race or maybe they're trying for a new PR. But there are most likely people there who are racing in memory of a loved one they lost, just lost 100 lb and are reclaiming their life, or it's their first race after having a child or beating cancer. Just remember, this is an important day for everyone.

See you on the course!

A Girl Named Sam

Saucony Peregrine

2011-06-22T20:17:00.003-05:00

Ooh ooh ooh! Mama loves a new pair of shoes! I recently switched from the Saucony Xodus to the Saucony Peregrine for my trail shoes and I took them out for the first time today. The Peregrine is Saucony's minimalist trail shoe and is built on the same last as it's road-running sister, the Kinvara. I'm on my second pair of Kinvaras and love those, so I thought I'd give the Peregrine a try.

They are very light weight and responsive. I was on a moderately technical but very rocky trail. Even for being minimalist, they have good rock protection. And they have excellent grip and traction. I love the low heel, similar to the Kinvara. I've only done one run on them, but I'm excited to but some more miles on them. After the Kinvara and the Peregrine, I don't think I'll be able to go back to a traditional running shoe.

Coach Kelly Kicked my Ass

2011-06-19T15:40:00.002-05:00

FASTER!!

Saturday morning Coach Kelly came with me for 400 intervals. Well, that was the plan anyway. We went to a high school except the track is under construction and in nothing more than a giant mud ring. Plan B was an asphalt "track" at an elementary school, which wasn't really a track at all. In fact, each loop was 0.15 mi, which makes 400 intervals a little tough. So my 400s became 0.3 mi intervals.

You know you have a good friend when she's willing to come watch and time intervals, especially when she's recovering from surgery. I've written before how Kelly is great at motivating me when we run intervals and I'm 1/2 block back wheezing while she's breezing up a hill. This time she was motivating me running around a track and wheezing while she was drinking coffee. She had the better end of this deal. I think our running relationship just hit S&M status.

The intervals were tough. My plan was 1:50 1/4 mile intervals, which would have been about a 7 min/mi pace. Well who can do pace splits for 0.3 mi in their head? Not Kelly or me, so we settled on 1:50-ish for the 0.3 miles. I was originally going to do 8 but in the humidity and after wasting time trying to find a replacement track, I could only do 6 and felt a little disappointed in myself. But after converting lap times to paces, I'm actually quite surprised at my splits.

Here's the lap times: 1:45/1:57/1:57/2:01/2:00/2:00. Ok, sure, whatever. I was wiped out the rest of the day and my quads and hamstrings are tight today. I converted that into min/mi paces and those look much more impressive: 5:50/6:30/6:30/6:43/6:40/6:40. I will take sub-7 min splits, especially in that humidity. I guess I'll have to stick with Coach!

Hot Hot Hot!

2011-06-16T12:19:00.002-05:00

After spending the weekend in San Francisco, I decided to take my new pair of Kinvaras out for an interval run on Tuesday. Good idea in theory, poor in execution.

I went to a paved trail after work so I wouldn't have to cross any traffic. I decided I was only doing 6-7 miles so no need for a handheld water bottle. Except it was in the 90s and very humid. Rookie mistake #1. I started my 1 mile warm up and it didn't feel too bad. "Maybe I have acclimated to this stuff." Idiot. I spent the last 4 days in San Francisco (60 degree temps, eating out, lots of walking but no running). I am not acclimated. Rookie mistake #2. I clipped off the first mile and then picked up the pace. My initial goal was 1/2 mile intervals at a sub-8 min/mi pace. I look down at my Garmin and I'm at 7:20 min/mi pace. Great! This feels fine, I'll shoot for 7:20s! Rookie mistake #3.

I made it through interval #1 and #2, somehow, maintaining my stupidly-foolish 7:20 pace. My rest intervals were obviously getting slower. Then interval #3, a 7:50 pace was all I could muster and #4 was 8:13. When I looked at my HR monitor, I was at 182 BPM running around 8 min/mi. How's that for performance decline?

After #4, I started to get a little light-headed so I made the first wise decision of the afternoon and skipped #5 and jogged back. Between the heat, humidity, and over-zealous intervals, my HR was in the 170s jogging at a 10 min/mi pace. I periodically stopped to walk and let my HR recover to the 140s before jogging again.

In retrospect, my 8 min/mi pace probably was reasonable and I should have stuck with it. If I had slowed my pace and carried some water, I probably wouldn't have spent the last two miles walk/jogging. Oh well, I seem to re-learn this lesson at least once a year. At least I was smart enough to throw in the towel when I did.

Hrrumph

2011-06-07T21:32:00.002-05:00

Today was not a good day. I went to put on a pair of shorts before going to the neighbor's for dinner and they didn't fit. I almost didn't go to dinner and wore elastic-waisted running shorts instead. Last night while running, I swore that every time I looked at my Garmin I could see my bat-wing flapping in the breeze. And ever since my last 10 mile run, my right knee hurts going up and down stairs (and running). I should have signed up for a race months ago. So I have set out my riding clothes and I'm going to spin in the garage before work. This has to stop.

It's been a long time

2011-06-06T21:37:00.003-05:00

It's been a long time, since.... I've signed up for a race, had a set training plan, updated my blog. The last week has been crazy. Friday night was the Mumford & Sons/Cake show. One word: Awesome! Then Saturday night was our 2nd Annual Tiki party. I took off the last week from working out to do party prep stuff. Don't worry, in that week, I moved and placed over 400lb of rock, hauled 100lb of ice, dug, planted, edged, pulled weeds, swept, cleaned, dusted, vacuumed, baked, cooked, and generally sweated my ass off getting ready to have 50 of our closest friends over. It was a great night.

And since I can't seem to train without a goal, I just signed up for a long-distance triathlon. Its not quite an Olympic distance, but close. I renewed my summer pool pass at lunch and ran 6.5 miles in the 95 degree heat tonight. I'm going to look for another race in August, hopefully about an Olympic distance as well. It's a start.

Updates

2011-05-24T20:43:00.002-05:00

First things first, Kelly had surgery today and it went well. As of 6 pm, she was in her room, resting and recovering. This is only step one, she has to go back to finish the reconstruction, but I think it's safe to say the worst is over.

This weekend John and I took the convertible up to WI, which made bringing back our usual beer order a little more difficult. But have no fear, I am the Master of Trunk Tetris and we easily fit 5 cases of 6-packs in the trunk. Ah, delicious microbrews from the land of beer and cheese.

And yes, I have been working out. Other than the trip to WI, I've been pretty consistent lately. Tonight was the first 10 mile run I've done in months. It was probably a little more than I should have done. By mile 8, I was getting pretty fatigued but I stuck it out. I have a feeling I'll be sore tomorrow. Until I'm back to my comfortable weight and usual cardio base, I'm going to try to get 4-5 workouts in a week that are at least 90 min. My blue jeans will thank me.

What next?

2011-05-18T12:33:00.002-05:00

I find myself asking this question a lot. Sure, I signed up for the Wakarusa Off Road Challenge, but that is in September. I'm planning on the KC 1/2 Marathon, but I haven't actually signed up for that one yet. And I'm starting to get a little stir crazy. I need a race, some speed, some adrenaline, something.

So what next? Any suggestions? I've been talking with a few friends about a 12-hr adventure race in northern WI in July. A friend suggested a Oly-distance tri in July as well. Since starting the Run Less, Run Faster training program, I'm thinking about a 5k or 10k to try to set a new PR since mine are old and crappy. I'd still like to try a road bike race at some point, but my biking base is embarrassing. I'd also be up for a mtn bike ride/race, but I'm probably not technically good enough for that yet.

I'm still undecided. I'm hesitant since I'm still getting back into shape. I'll admit I like to race for PRs and knowing where I am now versus where I was last year is disheartening. But I'll get back there eventually. Maybe a 5k is a good starting point.

New Wheels! Again!!

2011-05-10T20:49:00.002-05:00

I'd like to introduce my newest set of wheel - Moxie! Moxie is a 2010 Specialized Myka Elite Sport. And for the first time in my life, I was able to buy a bike off the shelf, in my size, and on sale! It doesn't get much better than that.

Until I rode Moxie around, I didn't realize that my neighbor's bike I had been borrowing was a men's 17.5" bike. I bought a 17" women's bike. Here's the differences between a men's and women's bike.

Dropped top tube - lower stand over height

Reach to the front end is shorter

Handle bars are narrower (for narrower shoulders)

Smaller grips (smaller hands)

Women's sized shocks (require less force to activate)

In short, she's a whole helluva lot easier for me to handle. And since she was on sale, I actually bought up a model and got an extra gear, hydraulic disc breaks, and a lighter aluminum body compared to the Myka Disc Sport. I am a true believer in the benefits of a women's bike. I could go on and on, but I'll spare you. John and I went up to Smithville to ride this weekend and I had a blast. I can't wait to get back out on the trails!

Hello Speed Work!

2011-05-09T11:59:00.004-05:00

Saturday was the first day of speed work on my new training plan. Kelly and I ran on a paved trails, which meant a few hills and turns, but no interruptions from traffic. The plan called for 8x400 with 400 rest interval. Ugh. I wasn't sure where to start, so I set 7:15-7:20 min/mi as my goal pace.

I set a workout in my Garmin, but I need to manually adjust it. The pre-set paces had a 7:00-9:00 category, but it kept telling me to slow down and we did all the intervals between a 7:13 and 7:47 pace. The 7:47 was a fluke, I was still listening to the Garmin and slowing down. After #2, we decided to ignore the "Slow Down!" warnings and keep running. Other than the one 7:47, the rest were between 7:13 and 7:21. That pace was about perfect. The first few were fairly easy, but by #6 - #8, I was really pushing to keep the pace up. The last one was 7:15 exactly and got my HR up to 180 bpm.

I like the HR graph from the workout. I can clearly see the 8 intervals with the rest in between. Pretty cool. We did 6 mi in 51 min and there was even a little walking. After the last few intervals, I walked until my HR dropped below 170 bpm. So far, so good. We'll see how I fare on my tempo run tomorrow.

Next Adventure: Wakarusa Off Road Challenge

2011-05-04T12:20:00.002-05:00

I think I have finally managed to find some motivation in the form of a new race. I just signed up for the Wakarusa Off Road Challenge for September. It's put on by the same people who organized the two Adventure Races I did last year.

This race is somewhere in between a triathlon and an adventure race. There is trail running, mountain biking, and paddling. While there are two-person categories, I decided to sign up for it solo. If I'm in good shape for the race, I have a good chance at placing well. If I'm not in good shape, I don't want to worry about dragging down a teammate.

There are a few minor logistical items I need to figure out between now and September. 1) I need to buy a mountain bike. 2) I need to rent and practice kayaking. Minor details, right? At least that means I will have a lot of new posts related to buying and inevitably crashing a mountain bike, and possibly dumping a kayak. With my new running training plan, I can easily add a few days of biking and paddling, mainly on the weekend.

I haven't downloaded any of the course maps yet, but the race is 2.2 mi running/17.2 mi biking/ 4.2 mi paddling/ 4.2 mi running. The trails where it's at are rolling and fairly smooth, and pretty much protected by trees. So other than the paddling, it should be shaded and low wind. This should be a ton of fun and is just what I need to stay motivated!

Kick in the Pants

2011-05-03T20:34:00.002-05:00

Last night I sat down and made up a training plan for the month of May. I'm using the Run Less, Run Faster training plan for a 10k. Sometime in June I'll start the 1/2 marathon plan to train for the Kansas City 1/2.

Tonight was the first day of the plan. 5 mi tempo run with 1 mi warm up, 3 @ pace, 1 cool down. Since I could barely do a mi at an 8 min pace last week, I thought I'd set my sights fairly low. I was hoping for 3 @ 8:15 min/mi pace.

I managed 8:06/8:17/8:08 and when I finished, I had to walk a little just to let my HR recover. It went better than last week but it's still slower than the pace I ran for my current 1/2 PR. Ouch. Oh well, it is what it is. And it was a much needed kick in the pants.

Inked Up

2011-04-25T21:10:00.006-05:00

While I am slowly (and painfully) getting back into shape, I thought I would put up some pictures that I haven't gotten around to earlier. These days, 8:30 min/mile feel hard and 8 min mile is about all I can do for speed work. I use the term speed, loosely. Anyway, since mediocre running times aren't really worth writing about, now is a good time to show off what I was up to this winter.

First off, I like tattoos. They're not for everyone and I don't like every tattoo, but I have several small ones in easy-to-conceal locations. Good tattoos are art, or badges of honor, or memories put into ink. At least that's my perspective. If you think tattoos are the hallmark of a subversive personality or criminal in the making, you probably don't want to waste your time on this post.

This winter, I had a very nice and fairly large piece done. I absolutely love it. It took several hours over a few sittings. The ribs are a very tender place to be jabbed with a needle repeatedly. So here's the pictures, as the tattoo progressed.

Day one, before Jessie got started.

She's amazing and now her waiting list is about a year long. I might as well make an appointment for my next one at this rate. Exile Tattoo is awesome - no walk-ins, no piercings, so it's as classy as a body shop can be. Very queit and private. I would highly recommend Exile to anyone.

This was about an hour into day one. Kelly was there the first sitting and took several pictures.

End of day one. The most "interesting" part was the bandage. Since I am allergic to medical adhesive, Jessie couldn't just tape a bandage over it. So she wrapped my midsection in plastic wrap. Good thing it was December or it would have been even less pleasant.

After that, I went alone so I only have pictures at the end of each sitting. This is the end of the second sitting in January. Pardon my undergarments.

Sitting #3 and by far the most uncomfortable. Those were some tender riblets when she was done. You can see how inflamed the whole area was.

Last sitting in early March, a little bloody and inflamed, but impressive. I actually left an engineering conference early to make it back to my appt. With Jessie's waiting list, you don't cancel.

Finished! It's hard to get the whole thing in one picture since it wraps around my torso. (No, that's not a sunburn, just weird lighting from the camera. I know to use sunscreen on something like this!)

Here's a close up of the angel's face and wings.

The angel is an adaptation of Salvador Dali's illustration of Dante's Inferno. The canto I chose was Canto 16 from Paradise, the title roughly translates into "Angel of the Ancestor." Like any good tattoo, there are layers of meaning behind the piece I choose and this post has gotten long enough. So if you really want to know the meaning, or just to see the tattoo, you'll have to buy me a beer sometime. :)

Me? A Hugger??

2011-04-20T19:10:00.004-05:00

I'm not a hugger by nature. But as I get older, I feel like Life is trying to turn me into a hugger. This Monday at Boston is a great example - I was so happy for Kelly, and proud of her, and relieved for her that it went so well. We hugged a lot after the race, and all for good reason.

But my need to hug isn't just for happy reasons. While travelling on Friday, I received a call that a friend from undergrad was killed in an accident on Thursday. I didn't tell Kelly (sorry Kelly), I didn't want her to worry about anything. If you've been reading my blog for a while, then this is all going to sound like de ja vu. It was less than a year ago I lost my friend Andy in an accident. He left behind a wife and 1 year old.

John and I met Matt on the Concrete Canoe team in undergrad. John was the team captain his senior year, I was captain my senior year, and Matt was captain the year after that. We spent a lot of time together then and John and I even went down to Oklahoma to watch the Concrete Canoe National competition Matt's senior year. We did our best to try to talk him into going to grad school. He would have been great, but he declined. He took a job with a firm in WI and became a bridge inspector. He was a certified diver and his company sent him all over the midwest and southeast doing bridge inspections. Last week, he was on an inspection when the man-lift he was in came into contact with power lines. Matt just turned 27 a few weeks ago and he left his wife and 11 week old son behind.

We hadn't talked much in the last few years; Facebook and emails here and there, mostly exchanging job site photos. But he was an old friend who died too young and died during a bridge inspection, something that I do on a regular basis. Andy and I were much closer, but Matt's death has still hit too close to home.

Life is starting to feel like a cruel joke. Kelly has cancer. Matt is the third friend in less than 5 years who died in an accident and left behind a wife and child. Besides Andy, another college friend, Jim, died over 4 years ago and left behind a pregnant wife.

So I'm going to try out this whole "hugging" thing. Life is horribly unfair and chaotic and unpredictable. I can either be angry at life, or I can choose to embrace those around me I care about. Life is too short to be angry. Hugging it is.

Boston!

2011-04-19T20:52:00.002-05:00

Hey Cancer, You picked the Wrong Bitch!

I just got back from Boston today, Kelly is taking another easy day in Boston. To make a long race short, Kelly rocked it! She was worried about finishing, but I think she was just sandbagging. She finished in 3:43:50, while 3/4 of the way into chemotherapy. If that isn't the definition of a show-off, I don't know what is.

I can't tell you how happy I am that Kelly had a great race. She's absolutely amazing!

For Better or Worse, It's Over

2011-04-12T20:55:00.004-05:00

Well, the test is over. Before you ask, the results won't be sent out for 8-12 weeks, possibly 14. So I'm doing my best to try to forget about it. How did it go? How can a 16-hour structural engineering test go? I don't really know to be honest. I'm optimistic about day 1, not about day 2. One thing for sure, my back, neck and back side hurt like crazy from 16 hours in a metal folding chair. But I'm am so lucky to have the support that I have had. It's a little tough, since there are that many people to tell if I fail. Oh well, that isn't what's important. It really meant a lot to me to have that many people wishing me well, sending texts, calling, FB messages, etc. Here's a card that Kelly gave me before the test. Awesome. Shelley, AKA Granola Goddess, gave me a pound of You're Bacon me Crazy and Blueberry/Sesame granola to take with. Another friend dropped of a package of passing potion for after the test. He was adamant that the first thing I do when I walked through the door was take a drink. He swore that everyone he knew that passed the PE (professional engineer) exam drank the potion. Everyone who did not pass, did not drink the potion. Who am I to argue? In fact, since I took two tests, I took two drinks.

John was travelling, so he was not there when I got home. But he left all of my favorite things - a card, chocolates from Stam, flowers, Fruity Pebbles, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Bombay Sapphire gin and 1800 tequila. I did not open the 1800, but gin and tonic was my drink of the night.

And the next day, I slept in, walked to the grocery store, and cooked myself breakfast. All things that I have not done since I've been studying. Yes, that is biscuits and gravy. I deserve it, damn it all.

Since Sunday, I'm now officially whipping my body back into shape. John and I rode 10 miles on Monday after I spent the majority of the day working on the landscaping. Tonight, I did 17. It feels so good to be without pressure. Sunshine, free time, and fresh spring air has me in a better mood than I have been in months.

Waiting to Exhale

2011-04-06T12:22:00.002-05:00

Well, my test is finally here. Am I ready? Good question. Some days I feel prepared, somedays I feel woefully inadequate. Do I want to study anymore? Hell no. At least I can finally see past this test and I have a few things this summer to look forward to. Still no race on my horizon, but part of that is the thought that if I don't pass both tests, I will be spending late summer studying again. That makes it hard to commit to any long-distance race. But I'm out of shape and my pants are tight, so I can definitely commit to working out regularly again. I leave tomorrow for Lincoln. I'm going to take my running shoes and hopefully at least put a few miles on the treadmill between tests. Any positive thoughts you can send my way on Friday and Saturday would be much appreciated.

Required Gear List

2011-04-01T12:49:00.003-05:00

If you're familiar with Adventure Racing, you know of the Required Gear List, a list of mandatory and suggested items that vary depending on the time of year, length of race, and types of activities in the race. There is usually a list of prohibited items as well, typically anything related to GPS devices. Here is the list from the 8-hour Adventure Race I did in St. Louis.

Synthetic cap/beanie

Synthetic long sleeve top

Synthetic underwear bottom

Water proof pants and jacket

Fleece jacket

Gloves

Pack with hydration system

Headlamp

Whistle

Lighter

Emergency blanket

Mountain bike

Bike helmet

Flashing red tail light

Spare Tube

Waterproof map case

UTM scale

Compass

Iodine tablets

Cell phone in waterproof container

First aid kit

Bike multi-purpose tool

Tube patch kit

Tire pump

Restricted:

No cotton clothing

No GPS unit or GPS phone

Now keep in mind, this list is to keep you safe in case you get lost while out in the middle of the woods in November and need to survive until 1) they notice you haven't returned and 2) they find you.

Similarly, there is a list of required and suggested items for the test I'm taking next week. The test is 16 hours total, indoors, and even has assigned seating. It is open-book (with restrictions). This list is more about preventing cheating and keeping the playing field level versus a life safety issue. Here is the list of mandatory and suggested items. (I'll even ignore the "Vehicle Preparedness" list)

Mandatory List:

Letter of admittance

Photo ID

Required codes (See previous post)

Personal references

Suggested List:

regular dictionary

engineering dictionary

plastic milk crates

primary calculator

spare calculator

instruction book for your calculators

extra calculator batteries

triangles

scales

protractor

compass (different kind than above)

straight edge and rulers

scissors

stapler

tape

magnifying glass

jewelers screwdriver

snacks or candies

two bottles of water

travel pack of tissues

headache remedy

personal medication

$3.00 in miscellaneous change (WTH?)

comfortable sweater

loose shoes or slippers

chair cushion

earplugs

wrist watch

several large trash bags

wire coat hanger

extra set of car keys on a string around you neck

copy of application

proof of delivery

light lunch

beverage in thermos or can

sunglasses

extra pair of glasses or contacts

raincoat, boots, gloves, hat

street map of exam area

parking permit

battery-powered desk lamp

cell phone

piece of rope (to hang yourself with??)

Restricted items:

cell phone

radio/tape player (I don't think they update this list much)

battery charger

extension cords

scratch paper

note pads

pencils

erasers

hooded sweatshirts

hats with a brim

desk clock

Post It notes

loose paper of any kind

If I truly believed this list, I would have a lot I need to buy. Some of this stuff I can see, but some I can't even begin to explain. It also sounds like a freaking arts and crafts fair. I don't know what you are taping, cutting or stapling, but they are pretty restrictive on what you have to hand in and what they will not accept. And you cannot take any piece of loose paper out of the exam roof with you. I hope someone else sees the entertainment value in this. Otherwise I really have been studying too much.

I better leave my Walkman at home, too.

30-Day Ironman Challenge

2011-03-28T12:43:00.009-05:00

Since I have no race or training plans, I'm going to do a 30-Day Ironman Challenge in April with some other friends. It is exactly what it sounds like - complete the total distance of an Ironman over 30 days. Since my test is the 8 & 9, and I will be travelling to Boston from the 15-19, I'll actually be doing it in closer to 20 days.

When you look at each distance, it's really not that bad. But for someone who has barely been working out, I thought it'd be a good way to ease back into working out. Hopefully it will also inspire me to find a race to sign up for too. My biggest problem - finding a pool.

Swim - 3900 m or 4250 yd

Bike - 112 miles

Run - 26.2 miles

I'll try to post my totals through out the month. Anyone else interested?

Hitting the Books

2011-03-20T20:02:00.002-05:00

It's been a long time since I spent the weekend wearing the same clothes, but I realized today that I hadn't actually changed my clothes from the day before. I also have eaten lunch at my desk at work for the last 13 days in a row. I swear I will stop complaining about this exam. But I finally had all of my materials in one place and it does make an impressive pile.

The stack to the right is the mandatory codes and specifications required to take the exam. The bottom three binders are the bridge code, which weighs 16 lb alone. It's open book, so you can bring any reference materials in you want. The pile to the left is my personal arsenal of reference material and text books. No loose paper allowed. No blank paper allowed. No sticky notes allowed. I thought I did pretty good. I've heard stories of people takes suitcases and dollies full of books and references. I've also been told if you need that many books, there's no way you'll pass the test. I have so many numbers and Greek letters swimming around in my head I can barely remember my own name. What's the equation for stress in an element subjected to combined axial and flexural loading? P/A +/- Mc/I. What's the equation for maximum deflection of a uniformly loaded beam? D = (5wl^4)/384EI. What did I have for breakfast? I couldn't tell you. But that's not going to be on the test, so I'm not worried about it.

Pink and Done!

2011-03-15T20:22:00.005-05:00

This weekend was Kelly's party and it was easy to spot with all the pink-haired people milling around. I had no idea that anyone else went pink. The total raised from Bald for a Cause was $2140 and the total for the whole night was over $4000!

Kelly went first, but went with the super-classy "skullet": male-pattern baldness on top, long hair in back.
There were several people that went bald that night. As promised, I also went under the shears.

I decided to take a unique situation and go with a unique haircut.

That's a pink mohawk! I've had a lot of comments, one high five, and a few random strangers take pictures of me with their cell phone camera.

Later, Kelly shaved it all off.

I love this girl. As if the mohawk didn't already say that.

Shelley (the one with hair) sold her AWESOME granola and for the last month, she donated $3 from every bag and she made over $200! That is a lot of freaking granola!

Then there was this random guy in the bar. He and his family were so moved by all the people with pink and shaved heads that they donated money and he even got a mohawk!

Here's a fairly odd couple. John came straight from a school function, still in his suit.

Here's Kelly attacking, I mean hugging John. Don't let him fool you, he liked it.

Here's the pile of hair at the end of the night. Gives a new meaning to "Locks of Love."

All the bald people at the end of the night.

Kelly helped me finish off the mohawk on Monday. First to go: the long pink locks. This is not my favorite look.

And it's all gone. It's going to take a little getting used to, but at least it doesn't take me as long to get ready as it used to.

Overwhelmed

2011-03-12T16:04:00.001-06:00

Overwhelm: verb, to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress. See Sam K.

Pink! (Good Girlfriends are Good for the Soul)

2011-03-04T21:47:00.005-06:00

My friend Shelley said it best when she said the night we dyed my hair was good for the soul.
(I'm a classy broad, what can I say? I was told to wrap my bleaching hair in a plastic bag, and a Wal-Mart bag was the best option. I don't think I need to explain why I have a glass of white and a bottle of red in my hands. The "unicorn" touch was all Kelly.)

This was a group effort, too. And I'm glad! I would have ended up with spots and streaks and probably would have burned my scalp even more than I did!

This whole thing has been an experience. On Thursday, I had a structural engineering conference to attend and if you want to stand out at an engineering conference, show up with pink hair and in high heels. One thing I didn't really think about is all the attention that comes with pink hair and it has been a little overwhelming. I bought a few more hats to have on hand so I can at least try to blend in. So far there has only been one parent who tried to shield their children from me. I thought that was funny.

I will admit that I've learned a lot from this. When this whole thing started, Kelly and I joked around about wig shopping and I really thought that wigs weren't really necessary. They're hot and itchy, and what person is going to make comments about a bald woman? But I think I get it now. It's not about how you look, really. It's more about just blending in. You don't get to blend in when you're bald. While people may not say anything, the lingering stares say enough. The last two days I have been very uncomfortable, to be perfectly honest. I can't imagine going through chemo, feeling like garbage, and knowing everyone is staring. So now I hope Kelly does get a nice wig and a proper fitting.

Pink! As of today, we have $1265 and it's not all in yet! There were two engineers at the conference that want to donate and my bosses still have promised my a check. How absolutely amazing.

That was one of the most fun nights I've had in a long time, and not just because of the fumes. A friend commented that the smile on Kelly's face would have been worth the pink dye, even if there was no donation involved and I couldn't agree more. (Insert collective "Awww" here) I hope you're feeling OK today, Kelly.

Bald for a Cause Update

2011-02-24T21:40:00.003-06:00

I have to say, while the circumstances are not ideal, this has been an amazing experience so far. I have been blown away by the compassion and generosity of Kelly's and my family, friends, co-workers and even complete strangers. After one week and a Facebook page, we're somewhere around $800. My bosses have not only been supportive, they have promised $250 and said if we got close to $1000, they'd throw in some extra to reach the mark. But I don't think $1000 will be hard. I have about $400 in hand, plus $200 pledged by one of Kelly's military friends stationed in Kuwait, the $250 from my company, and three $100 pledges from people I know. I have also had several people say they plan on donating but I don't know when/if/how much. Now, I'm thinking that $2000 will be a better goal.

I received a donation from someone I don't know who lost his sister to cancer. One of my co-workers recently lost her mother to breast cancer. The wife of another co-worker has a friend currently being treated for breast cancer at the same hospital as Kelly. It's amazing how many people have been touched by cancer and how compassionate everyone is.

When I realized how close we were getting, I had Kelly pick out the hair dye. Cupcake Pink is the official color and we're planning a little girls night to turn my hair into cotton candy. It's already been ordered and shipped. This time next week, I'll look like Strawberry Shortcake. Which should be interesting since I'm going to a structural engineering conference next week. Oh well, it will be a good conversation starter.

Christi - I don't know if you saw my response to the last post. I was in Vegas all weekend so I didn't see it until this week. Either way, you can email me at run_sam_run@rocketmail.com if you still want to donate! If you want to include a note, I'm keeping all letters/messages to give to Kelly with the donation.

Bald for a Cause

2011-02-16T21:54:00.002-06:00

Well, the cat's out of the bag. My best friend and regular running partner, KM, was diagnosed with breast cancer back at Thanksgiving. She has been undergoing treatment since then and started chemo last week. Healthy, 30, no family history, no risk factors, nothing. This is total crap.

There is no way to describe the helplessness that goes along with watching someone you care about go through cancer. And besides that, she had already registered for Boston and is now training while going through chemo. All of you athletes should appreciate how extra crappy that is. Yet no matter how much I hate the waiting and questioning and uneasiness about not knowing what comes next, I know whatever KM is going through is worse. I wish I were a cancer-curing genius. But I'm not.

The point behind this post: KM will be losing her hair soon and she didn't really have any say in the matter. So the least I can do is support her by shaving my head. But I'm only going to shave it for $1000 in donations for KM. And to make it even more interesting, as soon as we reach $1000, I will dye my hair pink and keep it pink until it's gone. Thankfully, I have compassionate bosses.

If you want to donate, just contact me. There will be pictures, I promise.

Jeepers Crimeny!

2011-02-13T09:25:00.005-06:00

Sometimes you just gotta cut loose and celebrate. And this last week, celebrate I did. First, there was the Sunday night Super Bowl party with an impressive spread and a keg. Since we were lucky enough to watch our beloved Packers win, we stayed longer to celebrate than was probably necessary.

Then on Monday I worked until 6:30, on Tuesday I worked until 7. The temps last week were in the sub-zero range so I did not run before work. I'm pretty bad at working out after a late day at the office and I don't sleep well if I work out after 7 or 8 pm.

Then there was my birthday.

Drinks and food with friends on Wednesday since John had to work until 8. Dinner and wine with John on Thursday. On Friday, I stopped to see my friend who just started chemo and went out to dinner with her family. Yesterday, I had an 8 hour review course. Today, only 6 hours. Either way, I've been eating, drinking, and working too much and now I'm paying the price.

A 5 mile run this morning at a 9 min pace was about all I could handle. The GI aftermath was more than I could handle. I think my pants felt a little tight this morning. As we say in WI, jeepers crimeny. I keep saying this, but I seriously need to get back on the exercise bandwagon. Hopefully, with the Packer football season and my birthday behind me, I can try to find some normalcy. The weather also appears to be warming up and the days are getting longer. At least I'll be running out of excuses.

Black Bean Soup

2011-02-08T12:38:00.002-06:00

I love homemade soup in the winter and with the high today of 8 degrees, I made soup last night for lunch today. I didn't take a picture, but here's the recipe:

1 med onion
2 red bell peppers
2 tomatoes
1 T minced garlic
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 jalapeno
3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 T chopped cilantro
6 c stock
salt and pepper

Heat oil in large pot and chop all veggies. Saute onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomato, jalapeno, and oregano until onions are translucent. Add stock and black beans, bring to simmer. Simmer 10 min, add cilantro. Using a stick blender, coarsely blend soup. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve with fat free sour cream and a few sprigs of cilantro. With all the protein and fiber in this, you can't go wrong!

Overwhelmed

2011-02-06T13:40:00.002-06:00

This is a good illustration of how I'm feeling these days. Work has been crazy busy and this stupid exam has already started keeping me up at night. I had a 12-hour review course last weekend and I spent most of yesterday studying. I have another 12 hours of class next weekend, too. My plan today was more studying. But then I woke up and somewhere between making eggs for breakfast and putting away laundry, I realized that between work and studying, my brain hasn't had a day off since Jan 8. If my brain reacts at all like my body, then it definitely deserves a rest day.

You know you're a little overwhelmed when doing laundry and dishes is an appealing weekend activity. I feel a little guilty for not hitting the books today, but I also know that I'm much more efficient and productive after a little rest. I've also noticed that when I focus this much energy into work and studying, that I can't focus on other things. Halfway into a conversation with John, I'll realize I have no idea what he's talking about. Or at work, I forget the second half of a list of things to do. Or I'll stop at Wal-Mart for something I absolutely needed and then forget what it was. When someone asks me where we should go to get lunch, I can't make a decision. Yesterday, I officially registered for 8 hours of the 16 hour exam and then immediately started having dooms-day-type thoughts. I'm not a forgetful person, so when I start misplacing things like my keys, then I know I'm in over my head.

So instead of working through sample problems and summarizing all of the important geotechnical and foundations-related equations, I went for a 6.2 mile trail run with some friends. I'm going to do a little more laundry, and I might even throw a nap in before the big game. The only numbers I looked at today were time and distance on my Garmin, and I'm OK with that.

Snow Shoeing vs. Running, by the numbers

2011-02-01T20:23:00.003-06:00

I downloaded my Garmin data recently and I was pleasantly surprised at the calorie totals from snow shoeing. I thought I'd download some of my recent workouts and compare running and snow shoeing. In true engineering fashion, I put the data in excel and made a table. I threw in my last spinning workout for fun.

So what does this all mean? Snow shoeing is almost as efficient at burning calories as interval running and a little better than spinning. I should note the running numbers came from my last mile intervals run, the snow shoeing was from when I went out with SF and we "ran" a little over a mile and then hiked the rest, and the spinning was from an interval set. I wouldn't be surprised if a complete running workout in snow shoes is more efficient at burning calories than running. Running in snow shoes is pretty tough and so far I haven't been able to run much more than 1 mile. I'm not surprised the spinning numbers are the lowest since it is a non-impact workout.

I was pretty surprised at the amount of calories I burned. Snow shoeing isn't the best workout if you're trying to train for speed or do intervals, but it's a great option when there is 8" of snow on the ground, like there is right now. I plan on taking the snow shoes out again this weekend, and hopefully make it running 1 1/2 miles.

Protein Muffin V2

2011-01-31T19:19:00.003-06:00

I went back to the protein muffins tonight. I should say, I started the protein muffins over from scratch. I pulled out a baking book and found a muffin recipe that I thought I could modify. Then I went online to do a little research for butter replacement and egg yolk replacement in baked goods.

There were a few mistakes I made with the last recipe that I should have noticed. First, that other recipe had no leavener. There also was no mixing order. And there were too many things going on. There are several different egg and butter replacement options, like applesauce, pumpkin, yogurt, and bananas. The previous recipe used all of them. So using a blueberry muffin recipe, I'm starting Protein Muffins V2

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c oat bran
1/4 c ground flax seed
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c Greek yogurt (blueberry or vanilla flavored)
1 tsp olive oil
2 egg whites
1 tsp lemon juice
1 c blueberries

Preheat oven to 400. In a food processor, blend flax seed and oat bran until fine (optional if you like more texture). Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Combine egg whites, yogurt, and lemon juice in a large bowl until well blended. Fold in dry until mostly combined. Fold in blueberries. Do not over mix.

Place in muffin tins and bake for 18-20 min, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Before baking:

After baking:
Now these turned out good! Much better than the last batch. Moist, with good flavor. John still didn't like the texture but any bran muffin is going to have more texture than a normal muffin. I probably will try once more version, but I haven't quite figured out how I can get any more protein in these muffins. I did a rough calorie estimate based on the raw ingredients. Here's my breakdown per muffin:

84 calories
2.6 g fat
6 g protein
2.5 g fiber

The actual values will vary depending on the yogurt you use. Be careful to measure out the yogurt since I noticed the serving sizes can vary. If you want to use plain yogurt, you will probably need to add some honey. There is enough sugar in the flavored yogurt that the recipe doesn't need additional sugar.

I haven't quite figured out how the previous recipe had the calories and protein it said. Unless they were jumbo sized muffins. I'd like to try to get the protein up to 10g per muffin, but if I add any more volume to the recipe, it will increase the number of muffins in the batch so it won't be a complete gain. I could add whey protein, but I'd prefer that these stay as natural as possible. Hmm, sounds like a challenge. I'll be coming back to protein muffins again.

Run Less, Run Faster book review

2011-01-30T18:09:00.002-06:00

I recently read Run Less, Run Faster while travelling and I thought I'd share. It was written by a couple of guys at FIRST - the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Technology.

The guys who wrote the book got the idea when they started training for triathlons and noticed their running times improved even though they were running less. Obviously this sounded like something I'd like to try. The whole idea is 3 days of running and 2-3 days of cross-training. The authors highly recommended biking and swimming (duh) but any cross training could be used. They also talked about nutrition and stretching, basically saying what we all know. At the end they had a Boston-qualifying section.

The main principal behind the run 3 days, cross train 2, is that each workout has a specific purpose. I can't say that I learned anything new: the three runs were speed work, tempo run, and long run. In between is high intensity, low impact cross training to work the cardio system and give the legs a break from impact. But I did like how they laid out all the information.

With my current work schedule and studying, I thought this would be a good mentality for my "non-training." I've only been working out 3-4 days a week, so I need to be more focused and make sure when I do work out, the intensity is high.

The other thing I found interesting was some of the tables in the book. One in particular predicts your marathon time based on your PR in a 5k, 10k, or half marathon. The half is supposed to be the best predictor. Based on my half marathon time of 1:44:28 "predicts" a marathon time of 3:40. 3:40? Really? Not that I put a lot of stock in predicted times, but it was enough to make me think I should try this marathon thing and see what the hype is all about. I'll turn 30 in a little over a year, so I thought a marathon before 30 sounded like a good goal.

I plan on using the Run Less, Run Faster plan for a marathon to be determined this fall. KM and I were talking about it, and the goal for my first one will be to finish. But if that goes well, we may try to qualify for Boston together in a year. Never thought I'd say that...

Protein Muffin V1

2011-01-25T19:25:00.002-06:00

I know, I know, I'm a little late on this one. I made these yesterday but didn't have time to put up the recipe.

This recipe I got from Triathlete magazine but I didn't make the recipe exactly as specified. It called for pumpkin, yogurt, cinnamon applesauce, bananas, peanut butter, blueberries and honey. Optional was walnuts, crasins, and coconut. That was way too many conflicting flavors in one recipe for me.

And I somehow managed to lose the recipe, but here's what I remember:
1 1/2 c oat bran
1/2 c Greek yogurt
1/2 c pumpkin
1/2 c unsweetened cinnamon applesauce
1 T PB
1 c egg whites
1 banana, sliced
1 c blueberries

I added 1/2 c ground flax seed and 1 T chia seed. I eliminated the blueberries and applesauce and doubled the pumpkin, yogurt, and peanut butter. I also added a tsp of baking powder to try to get them to rise.

They turned out pretty good, but I think I can do better. For all the ingredients, they didn't have a ton of flavor. I'm going to make them again, but I think I'm going to mix all the dry ingredients in a food processor so it has a finer texture. I'm also going to try beating the egg whites and then folding them in, so lighten the texture. I think they could use another banana and possibly a little more peanut butter. I also wouldn't mix the chia seed it, instead I might sprinkle the tops before they go in the oven. Chia seed in any amount of moisture turns...gelatinous. I probably shouldn't have added them in.

Snow Shoeing at Prairie Center

2011-01-18T18:11:00.002-06:00

John and I took our snow shoes out this weekend for the first time. I should preface this by saying that we both got sick. Again. This time it was a chest congestion, fever, runny nose, and wicked headache we brought back from San Diego. We're both feeling better now, but I still have a little bit of a cough left.

So long story short, I wasn't feeling up for more than one loop around Prairie Center. It was a lot of fun, but I was huffing and puffing and my heart rate was through the roof for an easy effort. Oy vey. Feels like starting from scratch.

I'm hoping the snow sticks around a little bit long so I can go out again. It was an awesome break from running this time of year. Maybe next year I'll look for a snow shoe race...

Poor Man's Fra Diavolo

2011-01-16T17:07:00.005-06:00

This last week, while trying to unfreeze our hot water pipes, I was rummaging through the kitchen for dinner. We didn't have much food in the house, but between the pantry and freezers, we had the makings for one of my favorite dishes - Fra Diavolo. Typically it's made with shrimp, but I've also made it with chicken. Since I didn't have shrimp or chicken on hand, I used tilapia, which we had several fillets frozen.

1 lb shrimp (or chicken or fish, cubed)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried crushed red pepper

3 T olive oil

1 medium onion, sliced

1 can diced tomatoes

1 cup white wine

3 cloves garlic

1/4 tsp dried oregano

3 T fresh Italian parsley, chopped

3 T fresh basil leaves, chopped

Toss meat in a bowl with salt and red pepper. Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat. Saute meat until just cooked through, set aside. Saute onion until translucent. Add tomato (with juices), wine, garlic, and oregano. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 10 min. Return meat to pan, cook about another minute. Stir in parsley and basil. Serve over pasta.

I like this recipe since it's not a cream-based sauce. I used canned tomatoes and dried basil from our garden, in the summer I'll also use some fresh tomatoes for the texture and flavor. Homegrown food tastes so much better. I also added a package of frozen chopped spinach to increase the veggies. I also tossed the whole wheat pasta in the sauce pan at the end.

Everything simmering together:

Pasta tossed in:

Man, I love this dish. And this recipe is so good, I hardly ever order this out any more because I can make it better at home!

We keep track of our garden on our house blog, but for those that don't read it, here's a picture of our garden last summer. We have 5 raised beds and planted tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash, herbs, and wildflowers, among other things. John started canning and we dried herbs, so we're still eating out of the garden in January. We have even bigger plans for the 2011 garden!

Ginger Pork

2011-01-05T20:31:00.004-06:00

Since we are out of town this weekend, I decided to cook tonight and take a few pictures. John had stuff going on (and is still out somewhere having a beer while I write this) so KM came over to help me test out the recipe.

Tonight I made ginger pork with winter roasted vegetables. The pork recipe I found in a magazine, the veggies were spur of the moment.

I chopped 2 leeks, 3 sweet potatoes, and 4 parsnips and tossed them in olive oil, coarse sea salt, and dried basil (from our garden this summer). I put them in the oven at 450 for 30 min, then turned them down to 300 while I finished the pork, tossing once so the top didn't get overdone.

Ginger Pork Rolls
3 Tbs reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 c chopped red onion
1 lb pork loin, thinly sliced
whole grain buns or bread
1/2 to 1 c thinly sliced cucumber
fresh cilantro

In a large skillet, combine 1 cup water, soy sauce, ginger, and onions. Cover and bring to simmer over medium-high heat 5-6 min until onions are tender. Remove onions with a slotted spoon and reserve. Add 1/4 tsp. black pepper to onions.

Add pork to cooking liquid in pan. Simmer uncovered 7-8 min, until pork is cooked through, turning once. Remove from liquid.

Serve pork over bread or buns with cucumber slices, onion, cilantro, and jalapeno (if desired).

I couldn't find whole or multi grains buns, so I used regular bread but I think the buns would have been better. The veggies turned out awesome. I've had parsnips once but I never cooked with them. They have a really nice, mellow flavor that worked well with the leeks and sweet potatoes.

Back on the Wagon

2011-01-04T17:46:00.002-06:00

While driving into work this morning I realized: I was a little sore. And it felt good.

This morning I ran 4.8 miles with KM, last night I went to spin at Cycle City, Sunday I ran 6 miles with MO, Saturday was off and Friday I ran 11 miles with KM and Meeka. Man does it feel good to be working out consistently again!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T19:26:00.005-06:00

It's 2011 and a fresh start! I'm not one for resolutions, but I have decided that this year I am going to do one food-related post each week. John and I are making it a point to cook more and eat out less. We don't stick to any type of diet, but we are trying to follow a "whole food" diet with little to no pre-packaged food or highly refined foods. My goal is to post mainly healthy foods for fuel and recovery, with the occasional indulgence.

To start the year off on the right foot, I'm going to make my first food post. I'm going to try to post pictures with the recipes, and any suggestions. Obviously, I'm only going to post recipes I've made and tried (and would suggest to others). But if I get any recommendations or requests, I'll try find a recipe to make and post.

I thought since it's winter, stew would be a good place to start. We hosted a Wisconsin-themed cocktail party recently and for the party I made a venison stew. This could easily be made with beef, but the venison was awesome. To give proper credit, I found this recipe on the Food Network website. It's from Emeril but I did tweak it just a bit, mainly added more veggies and cutting out salt. And the venison I was given from a friend, so I'm not exactly sure where you would buy it commerically.

Venison Stew:
3 T olive oil
2 lb venison stew meat, cubed
1/4 c flour
1 1/4 T paprika
1/2 T salt
1 T garlic powder
1/2 T black pepper
1/2 T onion powder
1/2 T cayenne powder
1/2 T dried oregano
1/2 T dried thyme
2 c chopped onions (about 2 small or 1 large onion)
1 c chopped celery
1 c chopped carrots
1 T chopped garlic
1 T fresh basil
1 T fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cup red wine
4 cups stock
2-4 c potatoes
8 oz mushrooms

In a large pot, heat olive oil over high heat. In a bowl, mix flour and highlighted seasonings. Toss venison in flour mixture. Sear the meat in the pot for 2-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 2 min. Add the celery and carrots, saute for for 2 min. Add wine and stock, deglaze the bottom of the pan. Add the fresh herbs and bay leaves. Simmer for 1 hour or put in a slow cooker on high for 6-8 hours.

Here's a shot of the meat and veggies prepped before I started.

I used Idaho golds and Baby Red potatoes. I also didn't used any dried thyme since we didn't have any. I'm not a hug fan of thyme anyway.

The original recipe called for simmering for 45min- 1hr. Venison can be tricky. I didn't know how old the deer was or where the cuts came from, so I wanted to simmer it all day to make sure the meat was completely tender. The house smelled awesome. As it turned out, the quality of meat was fantastic. I made the recipe a second time and simmered it for 1 hour and the meat was perfect. Thank you JP!

A few other notes:

1) If you want the original recipe, you can find it here. But here's a quick rundown of the changes I made:

I omitted 1 cup chopped tomatoes.
I added the mushrooms and potatoes and I doubled the amount of carrots. For me, a good stew requires potatoes, carrots and mushrooms.
I added the garlic earlier and deglazed with the wine and stock. I needed more liquid to deglaze the pan than just 1 cup of wine.
I cut the salt in the seasoning blend in half. I eliminated the "season with salt and pepper" the recipes directs at several points. There is enough flavor I don't think any additional salt is necessary.

2) If you don't like a spicy hot food, you may want to reduce the amount of cayenne.
3) You can substitute smoked paprika for all or part of the paprika. I like about half and half.

4) I found a "no salt added" beef stock that is really nice. It had about 150 mg sodium per serving compared to 600-700 mg per serving for typical stock and 300-400 mg per serving for reduced sodium stock.

5) You can put it all in the slow cooker and just cook it all day. But I think searing the meat and sauteeing the veggies and garlic with the seasoned meat makes a big difference.

This recipe turned out really nice. And you can see from the ingredients that there is no fat other than the olive oil. and you can increase the veggies and reduce the meat if you want. You can change the proportions of the veggies pretty easy, too. I don't actually measure anything, I just eyeball it. We liked it so much, I made a second batch the next day so we had leftovers to eat that week and plenty to freeze for the future. If you try it out, let me know what you think!

A week of quiet

2010-12-27T12:33:00.002-06:00

I love this week every year. After the parties, travelling, food, drinks, and general wonderful chaos that comes with the holidays, I love the quiet week in between Christmas and the New Year. It's a good time to reflect, and for me, it's also a good time to jump back on the exercise bandwagon.

This has been an interesting year for me. As far as racing goes, it was great. I set a new PR in the 1/2 marathon and 70.3. I knocked a few items off my bucket list, including run naked, average over 20 mph in a 70.3 and finished two adventure races. I started mountain biking and got to watch John finish his first triathlon and talk with several old friends back in WI while they did their first triathlon. I bought my first carbon fiber road bike. For Christmas, I got snowshoes, a Camelback, and a compass. It was a good year.

On a more personal level, it was much more "interesting". I lost a close friend in June. It was the first person I lost that I was close to and who had a profound impact on my life. My dad lost his job and health insurance. My mom picked up a second job. My oldest niece (at the age of 5) is being bullied. One friend started having heart problems and another close friend was diagnosed with cancer. Other than my parents, all these people are 36 or younger. My brothers have had their own challenges and I've had my own personal struggles. It was a challenging year.

I'm ready to leave 2010 behind me. PRs are great, but I will gladly sacrifice all the PRs in my future if that will guarantee good health and happiness to the people I love. I always thought those wishes were empty, like a sales clerk saying "Have a nice day." But now I meant it sincerely to everyone around me:

I wish you nothing but love and happiness, good fortune and great health in 2011.

Christmas Lights Run 2010

2010-12-15T20:44:00.004-06:00

It's that time of year again! Time for another Christmas Lights Run!! This year, I'm sticking close to home. A couple friends are meeting John and me tomorrow to run about 6 miles through Mission Hills. We're starting from the Blue Moose. If you're a local and you want to see some great lights, here' the route we're using.
John and I drove it tonight and it's pretty darn good. The highlight of the route: George Brett's house and the spectacular tree. The highlight after the route: $1.50 beer night at the Moose!

Next big race

2010-12-12T18:06:00.004-06:00

You're thinking Rocky Raccoon, right? Well, my weekend started off with a chilly 11 mile run on Saturday morning. I had plans to do another 13 today, but between the weather and last night's activities, I decided it was a good day to stay in my sweats.

What was last night's activities, you ask? Well, here's a hint:

That's not a dentist chair. Still not sure? Here's another shot:

It's not finished, so I'm not going to post any other pics just yet. Once it's done I'll do before, during, and after shots. But if you're wondering, I was sitting in the chair for longer than I was running yesterday. All I can say so far is AWESOME.

I really hate to say this, but I probably won't be running Rocky. I started another kind of training this weekend, studying for the SE or structural engineering licensure exam. Another reason I wasn't outside today was I was parked at the kitchen table studying. After 4 short hours of studying, I realized that I have a whole lot of information to cover before April 8. While that may sound like a long time, I know that I don't have enough time to train for a 50 miler and properly study for this exam at the same time. That might mean a $75 race entry fees goes down the drain, but I've already put more than that into this test and I haven't even paid my registration fees yet. So, I don't think Rocky is going to happen for me this year.

The saddest part of this picture is that I only have half of the design codes books here that I'm required to have for the test and that doesn't include the personal references and text books that are allowed. I still need to figure out how I'm going to get all of this into the exam sight. I'm thinking a little red wagon.

Castlewood 8-Hour Adventure Race Report

2010-12-06T12:31:00.005-06:00

I don't even know where to start on this one. I raced with a guy named Jake in the 2-person co-ed division as Wahoo 2, but we were actually racing with Wahoo, a 4-person co-ed team. The plan was to stick together, so I told Josh, Wahoo's navigator, that he was making all the calls and I was just along for the ride. Too many cooks spoil the pot.

So then there were six. Other than SF, I didn't know any of my teammates, which was a little unnerving since I was going to be spending all day with them out in the woods. Oh well, I thought it would be interesting no matter what, and I still believe that an 8-hour race is good training for a 50 mile ultra. Did I mention that I was racing with a sinus cold which just happened to move into my chest the day before the race? I am a snot-rocketing machine!

OK, so the race. We parked at the finish and were taken by bus to the start at a different park. They could have used a few more porta potties. I don't actually know what time we started or what time we finished. This course was a little different than Smithville in that almost all of the CPs could be done in any order. Since there is usually a bottleneck at the first CP, we decided to go to #5 first.

The race started and we took off. Josh was moving fast, and I was working hard to keep him in my sight. SF was just ahead of me and one of the Jasons passed me. I looked back, but I didn't see the other two guys. So I walked. Still nothing. Crap. I yelled ahead to get the rest to stop. The other two guys missed the turnoff and followed the main pack to CP #1 so we had to backtrack to find them. Not a good way to start the race at all.

We got the first orienteering section with no other problems and headed for the first paddle. I had taken off my fleece since we were running pretty hard and I didn't put it back on. Big mistake. I was freezing by the time we made it to the first bike section. It didn't help Jake dropped his paddle in the water and I had to pull it out for him.

Back on land, I put my fleece back on, put my heavy MTB gloves on and tried to warm up. There were teams everywhere on the bike trails going in every direction. We lost two of the guys again. Crap. We waited at an intersection until we found everyone. By this point, I think we all knew any chance of finishing well had flown out the window and it became a race to finish and not freeze. This MTB section was pretty tame, boring almost. We hit all the CPs and headed back to the canoes.

This is where is gets interesting. We had to put both of our bikes in the canoe with us and paddle to the next orienteering section. We took off and Jake and I got ahead of our leader and almost missed a CP that was in a back channel off the river. We navigated through some downed trees and other obstacles and made good time. At this point, paddling was still fun.

The sun started to peak out during the first paddle, but then changed its mind. There was no sun, only clouds and wind followed by more clouds and more wind. We'd work up a sweat only to freeze the next time the wind blew. You had to keep moving.

The last orienteering section was brutal. Hills and bluffs are an understatement. We were trekking into and out of 200-300 ft steep ravines. Everyone was getting tired and a couple of the guys were having knee issues. Team dynamics were... let's just say sketchy. It was probably good Shelley and I were there to buffer a little of the tension.

We had to hop back into our bike-laden canoes and paddle to the final bike section. The paddle never seemed to end! Then, Jake and I were on an open section of water when a huge gust of wind hit us broadside and the canoe tipped. Holy shit! We had two bikes tied to the canoe, if it tipped over, we were screwed. We held on and then wind calmed down but our hearts were racing. OK, paddling isn't fun anymore. I couldn't feel my finger tips and I was having a hard time gripping the paddle. I just wanted to be warm. I started daydreaming about warm, cheesy pasta.

SF and I were so cold after the last paddle that we put our rain jackets on as a wind breaker for the last bike. This section included carrying our bikes up a huge stair and some major descents over loose rocks. We hit all our points and headed for the finish.

We finished in 8:50 and we were glad to be done. We did make it back in time to get some of the free beer at the finish, always a priority. It was a great experience and a gorgeous and challenging course. I'm really looking forward to getting a mountain bike of my own. But in all honesty, it might be the last cold-weather AR I do for a while.

Afterwards, we went out for Italian and I had the best penne alla vodka con mare I've ever tasted. I slept like a baby that night.

Cycle City Spin

2010-12-02T12:29:00.003-06:00

My husband is an earth-hugging hippie under all of his engineering-ness. So I wasn't surprised when he bought an indoor composter and put it in our garage. It's working great! I was surprised, however, how unpleasant the smell can be. Which means the garage is no longer my winter haven for spinning. That's OK, I'm not too bummed about it since spinning by yourself in the garage at night is not exactly the most enjoyable workout in the world.

After buying my Felt and keeping in touch with the guys up at Cycle City, I decided to drop in on their Wednesday night spin last night. I'm sure I'll spend some time in the garage, I'm just hoping not 3 times a week.

I'll be honest - I was kinda sand-bagging it last night. I'm trying to kick the last of this stupid sinus cold and I'm racing on Saturday, so I didn't want to go all out and pay for it dearly. But I had a blast. There were 17 people there total, good music and it was a good set. Actually, I was a little disappointed when we finished after an hour - I wanted to keep going! I think the one-legged drills were the most interesting for me - clearly something I can benefit from.

I'm hoping to make the Wednesday night a weekly thing and I'd like to make it to the occasional Monday night ride, too. It sure beats my (stinky) garage.

Countdown to Castlewood

2010-11-30T12:27:00.002-06:00

Why stop at 1 adventure race? In four days, I'll be racing with a guy from STL in the Castlewood 8-Hr. It's not MO, actually, I haven't even met my teammate. His name is Jake. And he's from STL. You now know just as much about my teammate as I do. Oh well, should be fun anyway!

The only problem I foresee is this damn cold. I was hoping it would pass quickly, but I'm feeling worse today than I did yesterday. It could be a very long day on Saturday. And with Rocky Raccoon just around the corner, I need to run 10 miles on Sunday after we get back to KC. Oh the endurance life!

Actually, I have a feeling that Rocky will be my last ultra for quite a while. After doing an adventure race, I don't see myself doing more ultras anytime soon. I'd rather train for an 18- 24- or 48- hour AR than train for another 50. There is no course, there is no boredom. I never once asked myself "Why in God's name am I doing this?" which goes through my head regularly during an ultra. Adventure racing requires you to pay attention and requires a much greater skill-set than ultras. And, a repeated theme here is this: I like to go fast. And going fast in an ultra can be devastating. My goal for Rocky is to just have a good race so when I'm done I don't feel like I have any unfinished business. I'm sure I'll come back to ultras eventually. Just not anytime in the near future.

Curses!

2010-11-29T12:28:00.003-06:00

I thought I was going to make it out of Wisconsin a little road-weary, but no worse for wear. Wrong. Enter my kryptonite: 2-year old Kayden with a running nose and sneezes that can (and did) cover an entire dining table. But she's just too cute not to play with, so Aunt Sami came back with a cold.

So I'm taking it a little easy, drinking lots of water, and going to bed early. Hopefully the worst passes and I can breathe freely again before Castlewood on Saturday. Yikes!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-26T11:01:00.002-06:00

I have a laundry list of people and things to be thankful for: my husband, my family, my friends and training partners, my career and house, and the annual holiday trip to WI; just to name a few. Since it is currently 18 degrees outside and I have a 15 mi run planned a little later, I am also thankful for Smart Wool, thermal running clothes, and hot showers.

I am well into my Rocky training, I'm doing an 8-hr adventure race next weekend in STL, and I've been climbing well and actually started a 5.10a route at the gym which I'm confident I can finish. So while I haven't been blogging consistenly, I haven't been hibernating, either. I recently joined www.dailymile.com and have been tracking my workouts there. I'll post more on that later. I have some holiday shopping, a winter run, and a nap on my to-do list today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Smithville 8-Hour Advenure Race

2010-11-14T10:10:00.013-06:00

Found a couple more pictures!

It was 30 degrees when I woke up the morning of Smithville. I had my coffee, my gear, and I was getting everything ready outside, waiting for MO to come pick me up. First thing we notice, I had a flat on my front tire. Again. This was the 4th tube I had changed and I was starting to get annoyed. We decided there must be something in the tire that keeps puncturing the tube. Wonderful. We (by we, I mean MO) changed the tire at the bike drop and hoped it would hold air through the race.

Even with all of the required gear and layers, I was cold waiting for the start. There were people everywhere with packs, lights, maps, coffee, food, and God-knows what else. I felt woefully unprepared. And more nervous for a race than I've felt in a long time. MO seemed fine - he had more faith in my navigation skills that I did.

The race started with orienteering, then transitioned to canoe, orienteering, bike, orienteering, then bike to finish. The Adventure Racing atmosphere is informal and laid back, exactly what you'd expect from a bunch of people who were ready to spend their day tromping through the woods. We started with a simple "Go!" from the RD and everyone took off.

The beginning is chaos - people everywhere in dark wilderness. Really, you can follow the steady stream of headlamps for the first half hour or so. We were doing well, running some sections until I made a very stupid mistake. After check point (CP) 6, we followed a team dead ahead of us to #7. Except it didn't make sense. I felt disoriented and confused, I couldn't make sense out of where we were or what was on the map. We wandered around for a little while until I realized that was CP 8, not 7. Damn damn damn damn! So we quickly backtracked to 8, punched it in the correct spot on our passport, then headed to 7 to punch that in one of the "do Over" spots, and then get back on course to CP 9. I felt awful. I should have been paying attention. Newbie mistake, I guess. But we were the only team that backtracked, so the team ahead of us had to have missed it too. Oh well, on to the canoe!

We canoed for 1.5 hours and I really enjoyed that part of the race. I was in the stern, since I have raced canoes back in college. I knew I was going to be sore the next day, because that is a specific muscle set that doesn't get used often.

After we landed, it was more orienteering, which actually went very well. Team had spread out and the points were more difficult to find, which meant I had to pay attention. This was the first time I really ate anything, even though I wasn't hungry. It was somewhere around 11 am and I couldn't believe how fast the race was flying by.

Next, we picked up our bikes to start the first bike leg. We also had a random gear check. MO started giggling when the volunteer asked about my headlight. Real mature, MO. :) I was apprehensive about the bike after the last few weeks and my biking frustration. But actually, the bike was my favorite part of the race! It was definitely the fastest I have ever biked. We did get passed by one co-ed couple, but we passed 2 co-ed couples, a 2-person female team, 2-person male team, and a 4-person male team. I was starting to feel good about myself! Back to the trail head for the final orienteering section.

The last section was going to be tough, but I was feeling good after Orienteering #2. We had 4 CPs left. We found the first two right away, and they were not easy. At the second, I talked to a team and they said they looked for CP 33 for an hour but gave up. They were hoping we hadn't found it either. But we did. I wished them luck as we headed out to the last point.

This point was going to be a lot of bushwhacking, but shouldn't be hard to find. There's an access road on the map, so we needed to get to the road, head west until it made a 90 degree turn, then shoot a bearing to the point. Easy-peasy, right? Wrong. There was no access road. So we walked, enjoying the afternoon sun and the gorgeous weather, until we hit the paved highway and I realized we had gone way too far. Damn damn damn damn! Not again! At least we didn't have to backtrack, we just had to get to a known location so we could shoot a bearing and get the last damn point. We got it, and still cleared that section of the course faster than most, but I was disappointed that I again screwed up because I wasn't paying attention.

The last bike was 30 min, and we made quick work of it. It was an absolutely awesome day, but I was glad to finish. We crossed the line at 8:00 exactly. If we were playing by The Price is Right rules, we would have won!

This was the most fun race I've ever done. Hands down. When we finished, I was tired and I was sore the next day, but it wasn't like after a hard 1/2 marathon or 70.3, where I can barely stand and want to throw up. It was just plain fun. Not everyone enjoys being tossed out into a park with nothing but a compass, map, your wits, and your partner, but I absolutely loved it. There are definitely more adventure races in my future!

Sock Monkeys!

2010-11-09T12:36:00.002-06:00

OK, I know this is a little late, but we've been busy. And I wanted to get pics up while I'm still waiting for more pics of this weekend. I'll post about the AR soon, but at least you now know that I made it out of the woods alive. So you get Sock Monkeys instead.

Here's the gang at the race start. I ran the first 9 miles. Perfect weather, and no pressure. I ran into a friend doing the full, so I ran the majority of my 9 miles with her. Since John and I had a wedding to go to, I missed all of the post-race activities.

Josh's mom graciously made the 4 of us Sock Monkey hats for the race. They're awesome.

We finished in about 3:47, 24/132 teams total, 10/63 co-ed teams. Not too shabby, especially considering most team were 5 people and we only had 4. It was a lot of fun and I'd definitely do a relay again, but this time I'd like to stick around afterwards.

And I want to give a huge shout out to KM, who finally got registered for Boston!! If you were following the news, there was a HUGE SNAFU during registration and it filled up in 8 hours. KM just found out she got in! Who would have thought that qualifying was the easy part and registering was the hard part? Congrats KM!!

Countdown to Smithville!

2010-11-03T12:46:00.005-05:00

Less than 3 days until my first Adventure Race and I'm feeling much more optimistic than my last post. Last Friday, I took off work to travel back to WI for a concert and to see family. My plane didn't leave until 5, so I took the morning as an opportunity to get a little more mountain biking in before the race.

I drove up to Smithville and I biked all of the trails rated Easy and More Difficult. I left the Very Difficult trails for another season. It was about 13 miles total and I didn't fall over once! (I also walked through the creek crossings and the rockiest of sections. Better to be slow than sore.) I then ran 3 miles and met John for lunch. It was the perfect morning and I only saw one person on the trails. I did see two people having sex in their car at the trailhead. Apparently I wasn't the only person having a good day!

Tonight I'm going to go through the gear list and pack my day pack. It is a 3 hour time penalty if you don't have any of the required gear. They have posted a little more information on the website and they said the check points will all be plotted on the maps for us. Which is good, but I'm also a little disappointed. I wanted to try that out, too. But if all we have to do is find the pre-plotted point on the map, then we should have no problems getting our points. I'm not saying we'll be fast, but I thought I would be more likely to incorrectly plot a point than not be able to find a point.

I'm excited. Smithville is fast becoming my favorite set of trails to bike/run in the area. I just wish it was closer.

More Than I Can Chew

2010-10-25T20:22:00.005-05:00

I'm going to admit it right now, with this Adventure Race, I bit off more than I can chew. I have (rather unsuccessfully) been trying to acquire some mountain biking skill before the Nov. 6 race. While I thought it was something I could do with a little practice, I realize now I am in way over my head.

I haven't quite figured out if I'm going too fast or going too slow or if I'm just too stubborn and trying to ride through large, jagged rocks that I should not be riding through. I fall. I fall a lot. In fact, on Saturday, if I fell once, I fell at least two dozen times. I managed to re-open the cuts on my right leg and I also managed to fall squarely on the end of my handle bar. That one left a perfectly round mark and bruise on my chest. It didn't knock the wind out of me, but it was close. Ironically enough, it hit me in the same place that I was hit one time by a golf ball. But that's another story.

I was doing well, actually. I had gone out by myself last week and then MO and I went out on Saturday. We were having a blast and I was doing well until the Dreaded Red Trail. It is a rocky and twisty new section of trail and that trail clearly had a bone to pick to me. I fell once, twice. Then I got frustrated. The more frustrated I got, the more I fell and the more I fell, the more frustrated I became. I was on the verge of tears (and I'm not a cryer) so about 1/2 mile into the trail (yep, that's all it took - 1/2 mile) I told MO I was going back. I was not going to cry. I was not going to cry. There's no crying in mountain biking. I didn't cry.

Almost back to the trail head, and on a much easier trail, I fell for the last time. That was when I landed on my chest. It hurt. It hurt a lot. But I was not going to cry. Instead, I was doubled over in the middle of the trail, gasping and wheezing and cursing at that stupid rock. I gave up and walked a good portion of the trail back in. Not my best moment, but I was scared shitless to go over another rocky section and I could walk faster anyway. I hurt, I was bleeding, and covered in bruises.

So yeah, more than I can chew. Every time I rolled over Saturday night, I groaned in pain. At least my chest doesn't hurt as much. John told me if I wanted to start doing 2-a-days, he would beat me with a stick before bed. The good news is that we also practiced orienteering and that part, I loved. I can rock a topo map and hold a wicked bearing. So I will be holding up my end of the bargain. I just hope MO brings enough bandages.

3rd Time's a Charm?

2010-10-17T20:06:00.001-05:00

3rd time out mountain biking. Believe it or not, I'm getting better.

Watch out for that Tree!

2010-10-15T12:07:00.003-05:00

My second time out on a mountain bike was slightly less successful than the first. I was riding out at Shawnee Mission Park, which is much more technical than the River Trails we were riding last weekend. I had a slight misunderstanding with a small tree. It wasn't a crash, but we were both trying to occupy the same space at the same time, and if you remember anything from physics, you know that just isn't possible. The tree won. I'm still not very quick to get re-clipped in to my pedals either, which can cause problems. Right now, I would say my skill level is just slightly above that of a drunken monkey. Ok, maybe not that bad but I have a long way to go.

I have to admit, I know next to nothing about mountain biking and I have WAY underestimated the concentration, skill, and athleticism that mountain biking requires. Not to mention the risks involved. Mountain bikers are serious bad asses, and I totally understand why they think road cyclists are pansies. Cuz we are.

Bumps and bruises aside, I am having a ton of fun out on the trails. I love being outside and I love adrenaline, so this is an awesome combination for me. I think I'm going to try to continue mountain biking into the winter as cross training for Rocky. That seems like a more-attractive option than biking on the road in the winter or sitting on the trainer. Just what I need - one more sport!

I'd Like to Introduce

2010-10-10T20:52:00.004-05:00

Adventure racing team Old Dog/New Trick!

Team Member: Old Dog
Name: MO
Age: Old as dirt
Occupation: Doctor (to stitch up SK when she crashes)
Sign: Virgo
Interests: Dressing up as prima ballerinas
Turn ons: Women

Team Member: New Trick
Name: SK
Age: Younger than dirt, wasn't born yesterday
Occupation: Engineer (to keep MO from getting completely lost)
Sign: Aquarius
Interests: Beer and bicycles
Turn ons: Bike shorts
We signed up and made it official. Someone should start a pool for how many checkpoints we get before we're totally stinkin' lost. I'm excited - this is something totally new for me. I was out on a mountain bike for the first time today and luckily only lost a little blood. Talk about adrenaline rush! I'm hoping to get at least 3 bikes in a week between now and then. As for the orienteering, well, hopefully I remember something about topo maps that I learned in school.

Should I??

2010-10-06T12:43:00.002-05:00

I've always wanted to...

I have a good cardio base...

And a potential victim, I mean teammate...

Damn you Bonk Hard Racing and your very tempting Smithville 8-Hour Adventure Race!

Should I? Or should I wait until I have more than 30 days to prepare??

Tour de BBQ

2010-10-05T12:16:00.004-05:00

Genius! Someone decided to combine two of my favorite past times - cycling and BBQ! Last weekend, 11 of us did the 35 mile route in Kansas City's Second Annual Tour de BBQ. Last year, they had about 400 riders, this year they said it was closer to 2,000 and all the proceeds went to the Livestrong Foundation.

It was a little chilly the whole day but fun none the less. John flatted out about 7 miles in, but otherwise it was a fun and relaxed ride. Until...

They ran out of food at the first stop! What started as a ride, turned into a race. We decided it was every man for himself and we all rode with purpose to the second stop. Our whole group passed enough people we made it there in time for food, but the second stop ran out, too! The last stop was our favorite - Oklahoma Joe's - so we rode the last legs even faster.

But Oklahoma Joe's doesn't disappoint and they had plenty of food for everyone. We made our way back to the finish for more food and beer. I think we probably spent as much time in line waiting for food than we did riding, but it was still fun. My strategy for next year: ride the first 10 miles hard to get in front of 80% of the riders and then cruise from there. Clearly these cyclists are serious about their BBQ!

Redman 70.3 Race Report

2010-09-29T12:20:00.015-05:00

One look at the soil and it's clear where the race and the state of Oklahoma got their names (Okla means red, homa mean man in one of the local Native American languages). I didn't have any expectations for this race other than I wanted the swim to go smoothly and I wanted to have fun. And I was hoping for a PR on the bike legs since it's flat, and really I was hoping for an overall PR too. Ok, there were expectations. Let's be honest - I don't think I can actually enter a race with no expectations, unless there is beer or costumes involved.

In the days leading up to the race, MO caught some nasty GI bug and was vomiting with a fever at 4am on Thursday. Friday morning on the drive down, he was finally able to eat something. Not exactly a good way to taper.

Luckily, MO was feeling well enough to race. It was an interesting race... MO and I took our friendship to a whole new level. Not only did I apply Body Glide (photo above) and help pull his wetsuit into place (photo below), but John was there photographing the whole giggling mess.

Thankfully, the water was calm and it was perfect condition. Ironically, the environmental conditions were probably the best I've ever swam in and it was the most physical contact in a race I've experienced. There seemed to be a lot of first-timers, thrashing and splashing and freaking out in general. Until the realized it was shallow enough, all they had to to was stand up.

I came out of the water in 39:47, a full 6 min faster than NOLA and my fastest swim to date. I averaged 1:53/100yd. MO was out in about 35 min.

The bike was gently rolling with not-so-gentle pavement. I thought it was a slightly more difficult course than NOLA, but I took about 1 min off my time. 2:45:36 for an average of 20.3 mph. At this point, I knew I could PR but I also knew my stomach was already a little off and it was going to be hot on the run.

It was a 2 loop run course, and totally flat. I saw MO's friend Eric 3 times on the course but kept missing MO. My run was going downhill and I was getting hot and I started to worry that MO might be holed up in a porta potty somewhere along the course, given his recent GI illness. I finally saw him on the last leg (Actually he saw me) and he looked good! At least he looked much better than I felt!

MO had a great day, setting a 12 or 13 min PR. Considering he was barely able to eat in the few days before, that was awesome!

I had to stop and take walk breaks at miles 6, 9, and 12 but I was still doing much better than NOLA. I barely looked at my Garmin, other than to check mileage so I really had no idea what the time was when I was coming down the chute. My official time was 5:41:13, an 18 min PR and good enough for 3rd place in my AG! My first long-distance podium! Too bad the awards were on Sunday or I would have stayed for the presentation.

I can honestly say when I finished, I had nothing left. I sat in the finisher tent for several minutes and when John and I walked to get my finishers t-shirt, I started getting dizzy. At least I know I laid it all out on the course. The last 2 miles of the run, all I was thinking about was how good it would feel to sit in the lake. So I sat, enjoying my new PR and the cool water.

Schooled

2010-09-20T20:11:00.003-05:00

I got completely schooled at the pool on Friday by a woman in her 50s. And I was totally fine with it. I enjoy seeing older women at the pool or gym and while it is humbling, I do enjoy seeing them totally kick ass. Hopefully I'll be one of those ass kickers when I'm silver-topped spitfire.

Usually, I hate tapering. It drives me crazy and makes me feel bloated. But for once, I'm actually looking forward to this taper. Rest, food, stretching, and sleep sound great. This morning was my last run before the race. I've been riding a lot and my quads are praying for a few days off. I was going to swim tonight, but when I realized my legs were tired walking down the stairs, I thought an afternoon off was a good idea.

I haven't really set any goals for this race other than I want to have fun. Of course, I'd love to PR and I think I'm capable if I have a good day. But as anyone who races can tell you, a bad day can throw a monkey wrench into any race. So I'm going into this race without any expectations.

Time to Taper

2010-09-15T17:52:00.002-05:00

Less than 2 weeks now. This week, I did a 57 mile ride on Saturday and then ran 10 miles on Sunday and even went to a yoga class. The taper has begun and for once I'm looking forward to it. I've been tired and sore and I'm looking forward to some extra rest. I'm a little worried about the swim, but that's nothing new. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to a fun weekend.

And my Felt now has a name. Anyone who's known me for a while knows that for some reason, going all the way back to high school, Hispanic men seem to have a thing for me. I can't explain it, but I get cat calls and honks on a regular basis. So, I decided to name my bike Mamasita. That way the next time some guy in a low-rider yells "Hey! Mamasita!" out his truck window, I can pretend he's yelling at my bike and not at me.

It's a Girl!

2010-09-07T19:42:00.006-05:00

Born: Sept 2, 2010
Weight: 17 lb
Name: Well, it's too early for that but I have a few ideas.
I would like to officially welcome the newest set of wheels to the family! She's a 2010 Felt ZW6 frame with 2011 ZW5 components (carbon fiber, full 105 group set). The saddle is a demo Fizik saddle from the bike shop. It's a little pricey, but I'm pretty close to ordering one. On her inaugural ride yesterday, the saddle got more comfortable the longer we rode. That never happens! I'm going to ride it the rest of the week before I decide.

I have to give a huge thanks to Cycle City up in Parkville, MO. Those guys were awesome! When they couldn't get the 2011 ZW5 in before November, they offered to take the new 105s off the only 2011 they had and put it on the 2010 frame, which was my size. And for once, I had a positive customer service experience with a bike shop. My only complaint - I wish they were closer. Thanks Joe!

Peer Pressure

2010-09-07T12:35:00.002-05:00

I am such a sucker when it comes to peer pressure! I swore it would be long time before I wanted to do another 50 mile trail race after the beating Heartland handed me. But I signed up for the Rocky Raccoon 50 and then regretted it immediately.

I have 4 other friends running it and KM is coming down to crew so it seemed like a good idea. Then I ran 11 miles this weekend and it totally kicked my butt. Clearly, I've been riding more than running and I'm a little worried about my running base. Forget Rocky for a minute, I'm worried about Redman. I'll be disappointed in myself if I survive the swim, have a good bike and then burn up 3 miles into the run. We'll have to wait and see for Redman.

Rocky will be fun, at least as much fun as running 50 miles can be. Sometimes I wonder about the decisions I make. When it comes to racing, I just can't say no. The good thing is my friends all seem excited about it and their enthusiasm is contagious.

Blogging Slacker!

2010-08-31T20:15:00.003-05:00

I know, I know, I've been a blogging slacker. But while I haven't been blogging, I have been training and planning, working and recovering. I've logged some awesome 40-50 mile bricks, a few decent swims, and the usual early morning speed work. I've also been logging some serious hours at work and I'm getting over a chest cold. Redman is now 3 weeks from Saturday, which means one more big weekend.

But more exciting than that, I've also been doing a little window shopping for a new road bike. I think I've found The One. It's a Felt 2011 ZW5. Why the 2011 you ask? Because this year, Shimano revamped the 105 group set. After test riding the 2011, I can't justify the cost upgrade to Ultegras. With a carbon fiber frame, I can always upgrade components later and not lose any thing. Ain't she purty?

Besides the sweet ride, it was also more than $100 less than the comparable Trek and Cannondale. I also have a %15 off coupon for one of the local dealers, which will save me an extra $300. I haven't put in the order yet, but I'm pretty darn close.

And with the future requisition of a road bike, I'm also doing some preliminary research into bike racing for next season. I plan on going to watch some cyclo cross races this fall to get a feel for it, but I may look into a race series for next season.

Then, I have a few friends that want to run their first 50 mile trail race in Feb and asked if I was interested. After very little arm-twisting (or none at all) I agreed to train for it and if my PF flares up, I'll just head down to crew.

Since I don't have enough hobbies and WAY too much free time on my hands, I'm also looking at a 24-hour endurance climbing competition next Sept with some of my lady climbing friends. It would mean getting lead-certified sometime this winter and adding more climbing into training. But I heard "24-hour climbing comp" and I was in.

Oh yeah, I have a completely different kind of endurance event this spring. I'm going to take my licensing exam for structural engineering. It's 16 hours of testing over two days. So some of this may get pushed back or dropped completely since I will also have some endurance study sessions. But for now, I'm happy with planning for everything and letting the execution take care of itself.

Running in the Dark

2010-08-16T19:24:00.002-05:00

I seem to be doing a lot of running in the dark lately. We did run, but we helped out with the Trail Nerds Psycho Night 10k, manning the only aid station on the course, located in the middle of the woods. We made it a tiki theme, with tiki torches and leis. I made quite the tasty treat for the mosquitoes, even with bug spray and tiki torches.

Then last Friday, I got together with 50 of my sweatiest friends and ran a sweaty ass run. It's kinda like a fat ass for you ultra runners, just done in summer at night. I didn't do any ultra distances but had a blast.

KM and I ripped off 9 miles at a decent pace and beat *most* of the storm. The lightning show off in the distance was awesome. It was not so awesome when it was overhead, but it was one of the coolest experiences I've had running.

And finally, I got new shoes! Trail and road. I stuck with the Saucony Xodus for my trail shoes. I just love the fit. I almost bought a pair of their traditional road shoes but went with these babies instead: the Saucony Kinvara. It's their light-weight neutral shoe, similar to the Nike Free (which doesn't fit my foot at all). So far, I absolutely love them! They are lightly cushioned, very flexible, and at 6.7 ounces you barely notice them on. I've been wearing them after long workouts and love how much better my feet and legs feel (as opposed to flip flops or dress shoes). Whatever Saucony does, their shoes fit my feet to a T!