Woodsy

Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic

Last weekend I celebrated my 36th year of existence by racing the Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic.  Because you can have cake and ice cream ANY day.  A weekend of racing in the gorge with your teammates is a lot more memorable.  Although some parts you may not want to remember!

Day 1- Road race, 40 miles.  The plan was to stay protected and work only if necessary.  I have no problem with that!  The road was more narrow than Banana Belt, with more racers (37), so there was not a lot of room to move.  Found myself near the middle to back until the road turned up the long hill where the pack strung out.  First lap, this hill was pretty uneventful.  Fast forward to the second lap.  One gal is sitting on the front basically the entire time.  I'm wondering if she knows what she's doing, but that will become evident later.  We started up the long hill a second time, and per the plan I am watching the front.  Two riders, one who I know is strong and the other who has been pulling the whole time, start forming a gap.  My teammate's race advice is in my head: if there's a break and your team is not in it, you are LOSING.  Time to work.  My HR went from 143 to 176 in those 3.5 minutes of climbing.  I manage to hold on to the front two and on the last part of the hill it was just the three of us.  Unfortunately, we still had about 7 miles to the finish at that point.  We took turns for a about a mile, or what felt like at least a mile, and when we started uphill again I popped.  A few minutes later, I saw the gal who pulled the entire lap start to motor off on her own.  WOW.  I started the long downhill stretch into the wind, and downhill is not my forte'.  Didn't look back but knew the pack was gaining.  They caught me and it became SO much easier!  I managed 4th in the sprint, so 6th for the day and 36 seconds down. 

Photo courtesy of Shellie Holk, Sorella volunteer extraordinaire.

The "Sea of blue" before stage 1.  I'm still working on my game face.  

Day 2- Circuit race, 5 laps, 30 miles.  My first mechanical in a race.  Left foot would...not...clip...in.  From the very start.  I did the pedal dance for the first couple of miles.  Toe down.  Toe up.  Wiggle sideways.  Stand up.  Haul ass back to up the pack and repeat.  No go.  The left pedal had always been a little harder to get into, but of course catastrophic failure happened the moment I started racing (it even clipped in during warm-up).  At one point I thought I had it in, and it slipped out the moment I started applying pressure to go uphill.  Not good and definitely not safe to ride in a pack.  In a stage race you have to finish each stage in order to go on to the next.  So I cruised 4.5 laps solo, my left foot sitting lightly on top of the pedal.  The sun was out and I was out on the bike.  Now the only other thing I want for my birthday is a new cleat.  And thanks to Judy and her connections out in the Dalles, I received!

 
The spectators and volunteers were very supportive.  Each of the 5 times I cruised by :) 

It really was a beautiful course, check it out.

 
"Orchard Run" circuit race.  Photos courtesy of Bob Reuter.

Day 3, stage 3- Time Trial, 10 miles.   There is really not much to say about this race.  It was cold.  I passed a few and didn't get passed, except one re-pass.  Although I took it very easy on my solo ride the day before, my performance was not stellar.  I did get to take the TT bike on it's first race ride of the year, and it's fun to ride- especially for 10 miles instead of 112. 

Day 3, stage 4- Criterium, 25 minutes.  The race I'd been dreading since I signed up for Cherry Blossom.   I've never done a crit, but luckily this is an "easy crit" (an oxymoron if there ever was one).  A rectangle with nice wide turns.  The plan was to stay near the front and stay in for 12.5 minutes- the minimum to get scored, as we were told at the start.  The stay-near-the-front part of the plan was blown within about 15 seconds in and I found myself dangling.  I have to say this race hurt.  As much as I was worried about crashing, I should have been worried about hammering at threshold for 20 minutes on tired legs.  At least in a TT, you have the option to just slow down (which I did, earlier that day).  Here, it's slow down and get dropped and eventually pulled.  Managed to stay on the second group- we were pulled at 20 minutes so didn't "get to" sprint, which didn't tear me up too much :)  SO glad to be done.  A few more thoughts on criteriums. It was fun to be part of the downtown action, with lots of people constantly yelling and encouraging you (GET UP THERE!!!).  Not sure if it's better or worse that I know what to expect next time.  My legs don't really know the word "sprint", they are better in the long haul, but with practice that could be improved.  Fast twitch baby.

AND crit photos are pretty bad-ass.  Courtesy of Tim Schallberger who took a ton of amazing shots for our team.

Sorella sister Christine and myself.  I probably should not be braking here.

 Cornering.  And again, braking.  I assure you I am also thinking "inside pedal up", though probably unnecessary given how wide the turns were.

Overall it was an awesome weekend.  My first stage race is in the books.  There is another coming up in June called the Elkhorn Classic Stage race and I'm currently on the fence.  The road races are 76 and 101 miles.  That is a LONG day if you get dropped, or even if you don't.  Also, I went ahead with PRP injections for my patellar tendinitis this week.  Biking should be OK starting next week, but I'll probably need a second round in 6-8 weeks.  Being able to run again is my priority and I'm optimistic that this will kick the healing into gear.

Sublimity

I decided to jump back into road racing with Sublime Sublimity as my first race of 2010 today.  This race has *ahem* a lot of hills, and I like hilly courses for road racing.  Seem to break up the field a bit.  Wanted to "challenge" myself and do this instead of the Jack Frost time trial that I've done for the past few years.  And finally, because what doesn't kill you makes you stronger! 

Goals

1.  Ride near the front.  In all the past races I've done (Tabor excluded) I've kind of hung onto the back due to lack of confidence in the pack.

2.  Not crash, as much as I can help it.  See goal #1.

2.  Not get dropped on a downhill :)

Last year I did Mt Tabor once, but besides that one I haven't done a road race since 2008.  So I was a little nervous before this one to say the least.  Really nervous.  The field was 22 women, a good size.  The race went really well until Basil Hill; a long, grinding b*#%@ of a climb.  I had been doing well as far as riding close to the front (see goal 1) but wasn't close enough.  By the time we crested the hill, I was on the wrong side of a gap.  Dang it.  Big downhill, and then we're on a series of rolling downhills.  The pack isn't that far ahead, and working with two other girls I was sure that we would catch them.  Almost there.  Nope.  OK, we're getting there.  Uh, not yet.  Dammit!  So frustrating.  This continued until we turned another corner and started heading uphill again.   I thought about totally burying myself to catch them, as they still weren't too far ahead, but was worried about burning myself out with another lap to go.  Might catch them and not be able to hang on anyhow.  In hindsight, I should have gone for it.  Next time I will.  Because you just never know.  We turned the corner into a hellacious headwind, and the opportunity was gone.

Rode by myself into the wind for a while- really demoralizing.  On the last lap, four of us regrouped and worked together and that made the remainder of the ride much more enjoyable, as much as that was possible.  One of the gals had "House of Pain" on the back of her kit.  So we all had a reminder of where we were, when riding behind her.  I think this course needs more hills.  Oh good, the finish is ~200m on an 18% (or so I heard) grade.  WTF?  Whose idea was THAT?  There wasn't much sprinting happening, as much as trying to stay upright and turn the pedals.  I could feel my front wheel lifting off the ground.  And then it was finally over.  Last year the cat 4s did 3 laps, and I was thanking GOD that they cut it back to 2 this year.  House of Pain girl got off her bike, fell down onto the road and started crying.   Hmm.   

Goals accomplished!  I actually felt pretty comfortable and feel like I got the first-race jitters out of the way.  Excited for "Banana Belt" next weekend and hoping it doesn't get snowed out like last year.

A pint low

Attempted a team ride this morning, and failed. Starting out uphill into the wind certainly didn't help! My legs were like bricks. Luckily, another gal on the ride was falling behind and also had to be back early, so I saved myself a couple hours of suffering by turning around with her. At least it didn't rain! Since I haven't done a leg workout in a few days, I'm sure the problem was that I donated blood yesterday afternoon. Turns out I needed it today. Despite drinking a lot yesterday, and by that I mean water not wine, I was still dehydrated this morning. Well, I did have *one* glass of wine too. But next time I'll schedule my bloodletting more wisely.

 

Spotted on today's ride.  I think I've been down this road before...

Time trialing

Last weekend I did my first real race of the year, the Jack Frost time trial.  As a triathlete, I love the TT.  No drafting, no attacks, and no crashing.  Liking it.  My legs didn't feel that great during the warm-up so I was almost glad I didn't get there in time to do the full hour routine my coach had given me.  I'm not sure why my legs didn't feel 100%...did a 3.5 ride two days prior but that was not too stressful.  Paying a lot of attention to nutrition since my resting metabolic test a few weeks ago- that's for another blog. 

My main goal for this race was to improve my time from last year.  My secondary goal was to hit my power target from the Computrainer TT I did a few weeks ago.  Borrowed my coach's Powertap for the race and of course now I want one, dammit!  Got off to a slow start due to a jack-frost brain freeze. I was sitting there on my bike at the start line, the guy is holding me up so I'm ready to go except my pedals were at 12 and 6.  So when he said "go" I had no push.  "Go!" he said again.  I guess I was expecting a push from him!  Actually I'm pretty sure they do push you off during the VBC TTs so that explains my confusion, maybe.  Race was pretty uneventful after that.  I passed a few people and didn't get passed, except by one of the guys from the next group.  Thought my wattage really dropped off during the second half but actually was not the case, so I felt good about that.  After the race.  Nothing felt good during the race.  So I ended up improving my time by 35 seconds- I'll take it.  Of course I do have a new bike but hey, it is what is it is.  Full results here.  Average power came in about 15 watts lower than my avg on the trainer TT but that's not too far off.  Next year I may have to show up with a disc wheel, aerohelmet, tighter skinsuit and small jet engine to catch up to Sarah ;)  Still can't quite get myself to wear an aerohelmet.  At one point I said if I was in contention for a Kona slot I would wear one at IM.  So we'll see how the training is going come June.

Actually I found a sweet helmet in my dad's garage after IMC last year...

 Aerodynamic.  And Anonymous!

*Cue evil laughter*

And most importantly, it matches the color scheme.  Scary huh?!  Especially with that sunburnt lower back tattoo, I am looking bad-ass.  All I need is some duct tape for that bite out of my bike seat (um yeah, some of you know what THAT's all about) and I'll have the psych advantage at IMCDA.

Critical views

Or "men in tight pants".  This is how I lured Beth into coming down :)  Last night several of us bikers met up at the North Park Blocks for the Portland Twilight Criterium.  As the website states, a criterium is a bicycle street race in which competitors must complete the most laps in a set period of time.  Very fast.  Must say it was nice to be on the sidelines watching others suffer on the bike...savor the taper.  Savor it!!  Did all the excitement make me want to try a crit?  Hell no. 

Lots of dangerous corners.  That's what a crit is all about.

Bert took both of these awesome photos.  We were all for the most color-coordinated guy with lime green shoe covers (not pictured) until he got pulled.  Saw a couple crashes.  Walked full-circle around the entire 1/2- mile course.  Ran into lots of peeps.  Stayed out of the beer garden for once! 

 
This guy is rocking the blue bike, blue gloves and blue skinsuit.  Nice pic.

Hang ups

My "short" 3-hour swim/bike at Hagg came to an end fairly abruptly this morning.  There was a triathlon in progress so we paused our ride at the transition entrance where I proclaimed I didn't want to go around the lake and finish the ride as planned- just totally beat, hungry, and cranky.  So there I was complaining in the shade while Ann, Lindsay and Chris were out on the run course suffering in the heat!  Tough girls!  Anyhow, I came home after eating a huge lunch, took a nap and ice bath and commenced productive activity.  Yes you read that right.  Prepare to be impressed. 

Got bikes?

We do!

Wheels?

A few.

Have to admit that 5/7 of that bike population is mine.  They multiplied over the long, rainy winter.  One  bike is soon to depart for the community cycling center: the beater mt bike I set up as a commuter and rode to work exactly ONCE, no joke.  Back to the tasks at hand, suffice to say I've had a couple garage projects lingering for a while.  First off, my garage door opener has been sans cover since the garage door incident I think.

Before

After!  Go ahead- ooooooo

OK, that wasn't a big deal but it did require a visit to Home Depot for the proper size nuts and bolts, a place I avoid at all costs.  It's huge and swallows you whole.  But I do own a power drill and am not afraid to use it. 

Told you.  Next blog, Blondes with Power Tools.  Up in a bit  :P

Dad would be proud.  Actually I think he'd be mad because I'm finishing all his projects before he gets the opportunity.  Don't worry, I'll probably do something to break my CAR before you get out here Dad.  These projects also involved the use of a rotten-wood but electrically-insulating ladder.

I almost stepped here 'cause I'm CRAZY like that.

I know what you're thinking now...how many beers did she have before doing this?  The answer is one. Here is the result of the bike and wheel management project

GASP!!  Amazing.

Check the pink mountain machine that will emerge from hiding come September (after IMC).  Can't wait.  Also note several months supply of Clif Bars in case of nuclear attack or weather-related catastrophe.  Like a Portland winter.

Standalone bike rack serves double duty as a wetsuit hanger

Of course I am available for hire to help with your garage-organizing needs.  NOT!  But stay tuned for the next episode of Trading Spaces where we take it indoors and use one of these

Here we have a studfinder.  I know what you're thinking and no, it doesn't work for that.  Why do you think I'm doing this crap myself? 

Sit on it

Triathletes and cyclists develop an intimate relationship with their bike saddle over the long haul.  My road bike saddle and I have a good thing going.  Others have come and gone, but this one's a keeper.  I had an Avocet O2 on my bike for the first several years but somehow we outgrew each other.  That's always been kind of a mystery to me...my butt changed shape?  Wait, don't answer that.  And then there was the Specialized Jett.  That relationship was short-lived; it was relegated to the 'cross bike and is now happily embedded with mud.  Finally, the WTB "Devo" won out and it's been on my bike for about a year now.  That one is the marrying kind.

But now...there's this punk of a tri bike presenting me with new challenges.  Did I tell you the bike mechanics had to hack-saw the seat post to shorten it, after it got stuck a few times from efforts to push it down?  And then it was slipping so I had to go buy some pink goo to lock it in place.  And then there was the saddle.  Since I could ride it for a maximum of 5 minutes without pain, I replaced it with the WTB "Silverado".  Same brand as the Devo but sounds that much sexier.  Saddle up, pardner!  And now say it with me: the "SILVERAAADOO"!  Well, it may sound slick but it's breaking my ass.  Egad.  Monday's ride was a whole hour and a half long and I wanted to kill someone.  Tonight's ride was 2 hrs but I was feeling the pain after 45 minutes.  It's a good thing these past two rides have been solo because I would have been a very cranky riding partner.  Words you've never heard come out of my mouth before.  The thought crossed my mind that ripping the saddle off and riding the rails would be more comfortable because the pressure would be distributed to the side.  Not comfortable, but at least painful in a different way. 

Now I certainly don't expect to be loving the saddle after 4-6+ hours of riding.  Expecting to lose a little hide, as I vividly recall from such epic rides as STP in ONE DAY.  Whose idea was that?  Couldn't sit properly for a couple days afterward.  But extrapolating 2 hrs worth of pain tonight to 6 hrs is blowing my mind.  Seriously.  Therefore I'm hoping Coach can work his magic on my bike fit tomorrow and all will be right with the world again.  Or at least the southern hemisphere.

Taking it to the streets

My new bike was finally freed from the trainer last night.  It was WAY overdue.  Finally decided to get real and accept that the fact that I live in Oregon, therefore the bike is going to get wet eventually.  Luckily I only got a few sprinkles and wind, but a lot of sun too.  Rode it inside for so long that it was about to be dubbed the "trainer bike".  Since you know, it's important to be aero on your trainer.

Here's your bike porn for the day.  I don't *think* you'll get in trouble for viewing at work.

Oh and the other thing is I don't have a trainer anymore.  I "forgot it" in Montana.  And I'm selling my e-motion rollers to help finance a computrainer so those are on the block at the moment.  Do I hear $700?  Sarah thought I should keep the trainer, rollers, and sell the couch to buy a computrainer.  No way to sit and watch TV without working out- haha!  Honestly I turn on my TV once in a while just to see if it's working but that's about it.  I miss Grey's Anatomy though - that was my one hour of indulgence per week until Chinese class conflicted.  I digress...so about the bike.

How does it feel?  The first words that come to mind are small and unstable.  That's more the rider though...as in I'm used to riding my 56-inch road bike (this one's a 54).  And it should come as no surpise that I'm unstable.  Talking about shifting in aero, and feeling the crosswind more than usual that was particularly strong yesterday.  Just wait until I get the race wheels on!  I'll be dangerous for a while so the group will have to steer clear.  The Sunday Irregulars @ Longbottom can stick Jerry (now with aerobars) and I in the back of the pack to weave around and crash into each other.

What did you do last weekend?

Bonnie completed her first mountain bike race at Horning's Hustle, and has already signed up for the full Cross Crusade series come fall ;)

Lindsay completed her first half marathon (and longest run EVER) at Race for the Roses.  Congratulations!  She's gearing up for a Half-Iron triathlon in August, after Short Course Worlds in June.

Sorella teammates Sarah and Libby survived the Willamette Stage Race, a battle against the elements and some aimless guy on a mountain bike.  Hopefully Kristin won't mind me referencing her blog for the full story.  Have you visited your pain cave recently?

Also in the "my friends are nuts" category, Tom did the De Ronde Van Oeste Portlandia ride on Saturday followed by the Race for the Roses half marathon on Sunday.  He's hoping they can make De Ronde a bit more challenging next year, maybe throw in a ride out to Bald Peak for a double double.

And last but certainly not last, I know *really* fast people: Speedshot teammate Josh took 2nd place in the Beaver Freezer triathlon and Jeff had a speedy time @ Race for the Roses.  I "catch" them at Tues night track workouts...or don't.

I personally took 2 naps this weekend, each over 2 hours in length.

Try to be a little smarter

I'm trying, Lisa.

   
This is not working

Sunday morning I found myself riding out in the elements with who else but Jerry and Sarah.  Elements of rain, wind, hills, pain and suffering.  I asked Jerry during the ride if this qualifies us for another Goofy medal and he replied "oh we're WAY beyond that!".   Sorry, but I just can't face 4 hours on the trainer yet.  I can make it up to 2 hours now before wanting to shoot myself.  That equals one movie plus warm-up and cool-down.  So I did a 1.5 hour warm-up on the trainer before meeting Sarah outside of Longbottom's which was closed for Easter, denying us the option to stay there and drink coffee.  We proceeded over to LA Fitness because I needed to change clothes, but really it was so that Sarah could pull Jerry out of spin class- ha ha!  Sometimes riding the spin bike bothers his knee; not an issue during our ride because when you can't feel your legs your knees do not hurt.   Problem solved.  Damn, maybe we are smart!!

We rode up to Skyline via Rock Creek - that part wasn't too bad through my feeble attempt at repeats was discouraging.  Couldn't get my HR up.  And hey- where oh where did my little gear go?  Oh that's right, Sarah replaced my triple with a double.  I asked for it, I guess :P  But what goes up must come down, and that's when the fun ended in a hurry.  The endless, chilling descent.  Speaking on behalf of my Goofy partners I think we all felt pretty core, and Oregonian, although maybe not so smart for riding 29 miles in the rain...once we were able to feel our extremities again, with a little help from the LA Fitness hot tub.

I popped into Starbucks after hot tubbing to continue the warming process with tea and ran into Victor, our spin class instructor.  After some hazing for pulling people out of his class, he asked "so how did Walter do?".  Walter, Jerry- close.  For some reason that struck me as extremely funny, clear evidence of lingering dementia no doubt.  Must say Victor is very good about learning names in his class.

I might just have to revisit Trainer Movie Reviews, back due to popular demand and bad weather.

But let's hear it for WOOL- not just for sheep anymore.

Freeze frame

Banana Belt II photos, courtesy of Bert.

Obviously I need to work on a more menacing "game face" before Canada.

Pre-race focus.  Can you sense the enthusiasm here?

Now THIS is more like it!  Sarah and the Audi pace car.

Winner of the Cat 1/2 men's race- I am lovin' the pink tights.  Key to his success.  Charlie also noted that someone in the back is pretty excited about 20-something place! 

Kids need shoes

That is a fact of life I suppose.  But why all at once??  Shoes, tires, same same. 

1- Two weeks ago I bought new tires for my road bike in prep for my first race of the season, simply because I didn't like the tires I put on about one year ago. 

2- I purchased sweet new wheels for that new tri bike I don't ride.  Of course those wheels, never ridden upon, need tires first.  More justification for buying the aforementioned road bike tires- I'm testing them out.  To see if they're good enough for the new bike.  Uh huh.

3- And THEN I got a flat on my car Wednesday afternoon!  Guess what?  Four new tires for that baby. 

So now eight tires and two wheels later, I'm flat broke.  Pun intended. 

Yes, we have some bananas

I swore that I wasn't going to do any mass-start road races this year, for fear of breaking some part of my body and derailing my Ironman training.  That was in January.  Then the weather started to improve, I busted out a few big-ring trainer (hill) workouts as part of my training plan, and thought what the heck...I've always wanted to try a Banana Belt race.  Figured I could play it safe (SAFETY FIRST as a Sorella bad-ass once said) and possibly not get dropped halfway through like I did at Cherry Pie last year.  That was my first foray into road racing outside of PIR and Mt Tabor.  I found Banana Belt to be a much kinder race for a few reasons: 1- the field was less than half the size of Cherry Pie (around 20 vs 40), 2- the riders appeared less sketchy, minus one braking incident early in the race, and 3- the course is 3 laps around Hagg lake so everyone is pretty well aware of the road hazards upon completion of the 1st lap.  Plus they DID have bananas for all!  No Cherry Pie in Corvallis unless you win.

Cherry Pie taught me that hanging off the back or outside the pack for too long eventually costs you.  Last year I yo-yo'd in the back for a while until I ran out of gas.  I did a much better job of staying with the pack last weekend, though I did tend toward the back and outside left.  Discovered that it was much warmer in the pack too, so that was some more motivation!  A lot of my time was spent staring at the back of another woman's kit that urged me to GO VEGAN.  I'm guessing she was from team "Organic Athlete".  Nope, still not going vegan though she was a steady wheel that's for sure.  I felt great the entire race and even better cresting the last long hill right behind the lead pack of 5-6 women.  And what happened then?  Not entirely sure.  Clearly I got my butt kicked, but it happened so quickly that I didn't quite understand how at the time.  So I did my cool-down lap in the same direction to re-live it.  Cruising down from that high on top of the hill, just before the sharp right turn at the bottom I believe 5 or 6 women WHOOSHED right past me.  I tried to recover on the last rise but my legs would not cooperate.  I find road races so odd that way- 2 hours of riding comes down to 2 minutes at the end.  In a triathlon or running race it's unlikely that you're going to have a whole passel in your age group charging for the finish line at once.  Coming down that long hill, 2 women in front of me kept turning around to look for the pack which was annoying because they were slowing down in the process.  In retrospect I might have just gone around them and built some more momentum for the final sprint, as opposed to waiting it out.  Post-race recovery nutrition consisted of Winchell's donuts offered up, strangely enough, by Team Group Health.  I think they're trying to sabotage us! 

I expect at least 2 or 3 more 12th-place finishes before I figure this out, and a lot of work on my sprint.  Unfortunately I won't have the chance next weekend as I'll be Sham-rocking the 8K run downtown.  Back in my comfort zone!  It was great to see teammate Libby capture 2nd place, and Jessi cruise by in the cat 3 women's field.  Congrats!  And thanks to Sarah for volunteering (driving a pace car with one good eye was no problem whatsoever ;)  and Bert for coming out as well.  Good luck to those racing next weekend!

Jacked Up

Not referring to my heart rate specifically, but the Jack Frost time trial yesterday.  Several riding buddies and Sorella Forte teammates turned out to race, many folks making their time trial debut.  It turned out to be a GREAT day for riding.  I will never complain when the weatherman is so far off in this direction.  I collected some of our photos here courtesy of Jeff Stong, Passionwerks.  I would've liked to take some myself, but getting your bike stuff organized and hauling butt up to Vancouver is harder than it sounds.  Improving on last year's time was my only goal and I took 4 minutes off, so was pretty excited about that.  All attributed to wearing a skinsuit, of course.  Preliminary results here.  Many thanks to our cheerleaders: Shari, always there to support the team and Tom, who rode out from Hillsboro- wow!

Sarah and Lisa raced their sexy new bikes yesterday, as you can see in the photos- sweet :)  Also, can I just suggest that we score extra points for color coordination?  See Lindsay (red/black) and Lisa (green) for good examples of this. 

Now if I could just get my new tri bike out on the road...

After the race yesterday Sarah, Lindsay and I went on a 1h 45 min recovery ride.  When I got home at about 5, I proceded to demonstrate (to myself) why one should not drink wine and work on a bike after a day of racing/riding.  First I managed to get the seat post stuck in the bike when I lowered it- that was a little scary.  Pretty sure that was going to be my new seat height, like it or not.   Finally got the stupid thing out.  THEN I "leveled" the seat and tightened it down, feeling all handy using an actual level to do this job.  Bubble in the middle and all.  Then I realize the stupid bike is on the trainer so of course the whole bike is tilted- duh.  Didn't think it looked quite right!  That's when I gave up before doing any real damage. 

Running in Circles

Ever feel like you're chasing your tail?  Happening way too much here lately.  If I had half that wasted energy back for my run last night, maybe it wouldn't have sucked quite so much.

You may remember I got my laptop "refreshed" at work a couple weeks ago, twice.  Another painful process but I will spare you those details.  The new computer actually works, but in the confusion I only received one power cord.  Hang with me here, I'm trying to explain succinctly.  Engineers supporting the fab need two laptop power cords but they not only work at their desk but most everywhere else including but not limited to the fab, cafeteria, car, Starbucks, and bed.  To name the most common.  So after a flurry of 16 (yes one-six, I counted) emails over two weeks, one of which suggested I get yet another NEW LAPTOP, I am back to where I started.  Trying my initial request again.  *sigh*.  That's the way things work in The Corporation.  Nothing is easy.  If it is easy, you've probably screwed up!  Another example: it took 5 calls and 3 open tickets with the IT TAC (tech assistance center) over an entire week to get a new program working on my PC.  That is because when you call the TAC you are now forced to choose an option, there no bail-out option to "stay on the line and wait for a customer service rep to assist you".  There is no more customer service, which became apparent pretty quickly.  After going down the wrong path a few times I finally got someone who told me the right choices for my program were option 1, option 5 and option 8.  Option 8?!  My attention span is just not that long.  I've completely tuned out by option 4.

Pedaling in circles...an update.  My new bike has new pedals.  Hooray!  Which of course are not compatible with the old-school pedals and cleats on my old bike.   Bah!  So what to do?  Get new shoes of course!  That is always the default.  OK, so I got some tri shoes on order, then started thinking that those old bike pedals are just a big wrench in the whole machine.  If I got NEW pedals for my OLD bike, then all compatibility issues would be resolved.  Net result is one new bike, two new pairs of pedals and one new pair of shoes.  Going forward my new Fuji shall be referred to as the Aloha CF2 Money Pit, or CF2MP.  Because it ain't over yet.

For my 10-mile run tonight, I think I'll do a loop or two.  The next few days are all about recovery for the Jack Frost time trial on Sunday which is, of course, a out-and-back.  BE THERE or be warm and dry at home.

HAWT

One word.  My new triathlon bike, as Miffy and Kiffy would describe it.  And a second word?  FAST (I hope).  Yeah yeah I know It's Not About the Bike, but I am working on the engine too. 

This is just a tease; bike porn to follow soon.  No pictures until I get the pedals on and the saddle/ wheels swapped out.  Those would be the pedals I weighed on my kitchen scale last night (you know you're a weight weenie when...).  No, I'm not that person who is always looking to swap out components for speed, but since this is my first new-new racing bike I feel justified in spending a little more for less :o)

What else can I tell you.  The frame is carbon but the aerobars and wheels are not.  It's color coordinated with my kit which is very important.  It's missing a chain ring on the front- there are only two!  Yes, my current bike has a triple.  If I think I'm missing it now, just wait until I'm climbing oh say Dorland or Laurelwood.  Ugh- not gonna think about that just yet, it's still early and the weather is still miserable.  I'm probably going to follow Joe's lead and not ride it in the rain.  Maybe I'll just tote it around and never actually ride it.  But I can definitely tell you it will never ride on the top of my car...may I remind you of the danger?  See Blondes with Racks.

Trainer movie review #2

Flashback to 1988:  last week's trainer movie was Cocktail.  After narrowing the choices down to Cocktail, Top Gun or Risky Business I decided that I would really like to be WAY down in Kokomo this week.  So this movie basically documents Tom's misadventures as a bartender, entrepreneur and man-whore.  I would say it ranks low in the thought category, yet high in the eye-candy category.  Definitely appropriate for big-ring repeats on the bike.  Boy meets girl, boy seduces girl, boy takes stupid-ass bet from other boy and loses girl, boy gets smacked upside the head, boy comes crawling back to girl and they run away together.  Happens every day.  But Cocktail has the added bonus of 80's hairstyles and fashion statements- that is always good entertainment.  The movie is 103 minutes long and I estimated my workout would take 90 minutes, so the length was perfect.  The soundtrack is, according to the back of the DVD box, "sizzling".  Sure. 

AND I actually saw a movie at the theater last weekend too.  Out with the chicks to see "27 Dresses" on Sunday afternoon.  The dresses did not disappoint - hideous!

Trainer movie review #1

Last night was the first ever trainer, movie and dinner night at my house.  The guest list is limited by space in my living room, so last night I hosted Sarah, Lindsay and Tom.  Having people over is Kind of a Big Deal for me because I'm not exactly um...a domestic goddess.  You know that I run, bike and swim.  Cook and clean?  Not so much.  Maybe there was an incident last time I used my slow cooker.  Undaunted, I was determined to try again.  Problem with the slow cooker is it's just too damn slow.  I mean come on, 5 hours on low?  How about 2 hours on high?

Since cooking is such a big deal for me, you've gotta work for it.  Therefore I asked my guests to bring their bikes and a towel to wipe up the sweat puddles.  Tom didn't get the memo so he was designated volume controller for the TV.   Many thanks to Sam for the use of his extra trainer.

Lock 'n load, girls

Last night's movie showing was Caddyshack.  I've decided to review those movies I watch while riding since I forsee a lot of trainer time over the next several weeks.  Not to say I don't enjoy freezing my extremities outside , just not every weekend.  Suggestions and guest reviews are encouraged!  Movie reviews will cover the following:

Overall length- appropriate for endurance or a short, hard effort?
Content- Does it require a lot of thought and attention?  Because you really should be focusing on your workout.  Excessive laughing or crying is generally disruptive.  A lot of nudity is also distracting.  These are things that should be considered.
Action- Is there some ass-kicking going on?  Something to get you fired up?   This is generally good.
Key words- So this would be like, "nenenene" in Caddyshack.  A word or other trigger that prompts you to ride a hill, sprint, or do something.  For example, Sarah and I watched the Ironman World championship and sprinted every time they profiled an athlete.  It was usually some sad or inspirational story but we didn't care 'cause we were spinning like hell.
Music- Can also be used as a trigger.  Peppy music is a HUGE plus.
Athletic interest factor-  A good example: Running on the Sun.  A movie about the lunatics who run the Badwater Ultramarathon.  We watched this one during dinner; turns out it's not exactly appropriate mealtime entertainment, but whatever.

So Caddyshack is 99 minutes long.  Good for just about any kind of workout.  There is definitely NOT a lot of thought required, and the funny parts are short and sweet.  Nudity- yes, but I wouldn't say excessive.  This is an individual judgement call of course!  I wouldn't say there is a lot of ass-kicking, but there is some silly dancing and good music.  Athletic interest: Golf.  Are you kidding me?  No, the athletic interest factor is small.  I would recommend this movie for a trainer workout.  You're lucky I don't have a lot of time right now or I would've come up with a full-on ranking system like 4 spokes instead of 4 stars or some such foolishness.  Instead I'm going out to ride.

Cross-mas Carol

'Tis the season for sharing, and stealing with pride as necessary.  My friends are providing some great blog material to keep you interested while I scramble to get out of town.  Thank you!  Now excuse me, must get ready to leave for our work quarterly at Rock Bottom this afternoon!  Busy busy.

======================================================
The Twelve Days of Cross-Mas (lyrics by Sarah Tisdale)
======================================================

On the __th race of cyclocross, my true love gave to me...

A tired and sore body
2 bent wheels
3 hours of cleaning
4 pounds of mud
5 golden beers
6 pack of barriers
7 cowbells clanging
8 crazy costumes
9 kooky kross fans
10 freezing fingers
11 crashes with no road rash
12 pinch flats

How many flats did you have this year Sarah?  I'm thinking 12 might not be too far off!

Sunday ride report: Changes in Latitudes?

Thanks Sarah for leading Jerry and I on a balmy Sunday ride this morning from Longbottom's (42 degrees), quite a change from last week!  We did a nice loop through Cedar Canyon.  AND I could still feel my extremities at the end of the 35 miles- always a good thing.  AND I didn't have to sit in the sauna to warm up afterward.  But I did that later, anyhow. 

I'll be in Montana the next two Sundays, thinking about that tropical Hillsboro breeze we had today.  See some of ya'll at Victor's spin class tomorrow.  Don't forget to sign in...no fighting for bikes now.

DNF vs. DFL

Which is worse?  That is the question.  I considered this during 'cross season but managed to come up empty-handed on both counts.  Lisa did achieve her very first, long-awaited DFL finish!  She may have been DFL but she kicked boo-tay on the jumps.

Lisa in full cowboy getup.  Wish I'd heard some of the responses when she went "looking for her gun" after the race, lost on the jump.

Photo credits to Lisa's pal Dan, who took a collection of awesome pics throughout the season.  I have racked up TWO DFL finishes in my athletic career so there is yet another level to aspire to, my friends.  I have not DNF'd a race yet but odds are it will happen someday.  Let's hope it's not IMC. 

My first DFL...(insert chimes and cloud-machine effects here).  It was exactly one week after the Twin Cities marathon.  My legs were toast.  I headed out to an X-DOG event called Rumble at the Ranch with several running buddies.  For those not familiar with their events, the actual distance is only approximate (+/- a mile or so) and typically involves a lot of drinking before, during and after.  This was only a 5-mile trail run, but since I was still "recovering" my plan was to watch and take pictures.  Whatever.  Once I got there, the lure of the slippery, sloppy un-runnable trail was too much and I really wanted to do the race.  So I took off running in my full length lined windpants, all I had at the time (this becomes important later).  Promptly fell behind, way behind, and hijinks ensued.  Lots of scrambling up steep, muddy hills using hands and feet, quickly sliding down the other side on my butt.  Actually windpants were still a good idea at this point.  Try to run with 5 lbs of mud stuck to each shoe after sinking in ankle-deep.  Go ahead, try it!  Then there was a RIVER crossing.  No, not a creek.  A creek does not come up to mid-thigh.  This is wear the pants became a problem.  After getting completely soaked they were pretty heavy and the fun wasn't over.  Eventually I took a wrong turn and got LOST.  I remembered the race director Kevin saying something about coming out to look for stragglers, but when?  Help!  You can just picture how pathetic I look at this point; muddy, wet and disoriented.  To make an entirely-too-long story shorter, I survived to cross the finish line probably at least 20-30 min after the second-to-last finisher.  Holy crap was that embarrassing.  My friends are looking at me like WTH?  My only saving grace was that everyone was good and drunk already, they had some time, so didn't pay too much attention to me. 

Whew.  My 2nd DFL story will have to wait for another day.  That was enough humiliation for one post.  Anyway, the moral of this story is...I've forgotten.  Evidenced by the fact I am doing the Goofy Challenge at Walt Disney World on January 12-13, which is a half-marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday.  Not one week later, the VERY NEXT DAY.  My justification is that this event is on my "to-do" list and I have two willing, and goofy, partners to experience it with.  Though I'm not convinced that traveling across the country to run back to back long-distance races is going to be a good experience.  Jerry is the instigator (I see people nodding ah yes, that makes sense) and Sarah and I are the suckers.  The lure of the bling is just too much: not one, not two, but THREE medals for the challengers.  Time to put on the mouse ears and get serious about training! 

Baby it's cold outside

Check out my heart rate profile from this morning's bike ride with Sarah, Charlie and Bert.

Actual data, not made up

As you can see, my circulatory system pretty much shut down after 30+ miles of riding in 30-ish degree weather.  With falling snow, no less.  Or maybe the monitor strap got too cold.  Charlie notices the numbers on his gps show up slower than usual when it's frigid.   Yes it was that cold and no, we don't know any better- we've signed up for an Ironman for crying out loud!  Better judgement is long gone.

What to buy me for Christmas

'Cause I know you've been looking...

Hello Kitty road bike tires.  Yeah!  Bonus points if you can find the knobby edition for my new pink mountain bike.

Mudder of all mudfests

Splashing knee-deep through muddy puddles and fully laid out on the ground in mud...a great way to end my first year of 'cross.  Seriously, this was the most fun I've had all year.  Until it was over and I had to thaw out my fingers and couldn't stop shaking...yeah.  But until then it was awesome!

Sorella Forte had many of the usual suspects come out ready to race, undaunted by the rain.  I swam over at LA Fitness in the morning and after sitting in the hot tub followed by sauna, I questioned my sanity in venturing outside.  SO warm in the sauna...I left my stuff at the gym to return later.  Thanks to Sage we had stylin' knee socks that stayed nice and blue for about a minute.  In my infinite preparedness I forgot arm warmers and heavier gloves, luckily Sarah had an extra pair of arm warmers which most definitely saved my life (considering how cold I was before and after even with them on).  However my fingers froze and were painful to warm up afterward- lesson learned.  When in doubt wear more clothes even if they're going to get completely soaked.  Melissa and I did our pre race warm-up next to the propane heater which was a brilliant idea by someone- thank you!!

Highlight for me was the wipeout below on the big muddy hill, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Can't...get...foot out!  A defining moment.  Photo courtesy of Ironclad Cycling. 

A second earlier I was fully lying down in the mud.  I was way too clean before this anyhow. 

Wish I had a pic capturing the huge clump of mud that welded my left hand to my left brake lever after I remounted.  Not to mention it became almost impossible to clip into the pedals.  For the record I did actually ride this hill sucessfully 2 of 3 laps.  Before the race I was all excited about running long stretches of the course, because I'm a better runner than cyclist, but turns out running through the mud carrying your bike is HARD.

Could not believe how this mud permeates.  Standing in the shower it just kept streaming down the drain and I'm thinking, where the heck is this coming from?!  Thought I was done and then forgot my hair was still tied up, that was good for another river of dirt.  Thanks Sarah for letting me trash your bathroom instead of mine!  Trying to rinse off clothes, I kept wringing out muddy water time and time again.  It was truly amazing!  Rinsing out my gloves I thought you know, these are pretty old and ratty.  Seems like a good time to just throw them away.  So I did. 

Great pics from Shane Young of Oregon Velo

This is the best Sorella picture I saw- Colleen with her game face on
http://oregonvelo.exposuremanager.com/p/cc070706/cc0707mjb111012

I thought my crash was pretty good but these are exceptional
http://oregonvelo.exposuremanager.com/p/cc070706/cc0707smy062455
http://oregonvelo.exposuremanager.com/p/cc070706/cc0707mjb125852

Cutest picture
http://oregonvelo.exposuremanager.com/p/cc070706/cc0707mjb108047

Thanks to everyone who came out to witness the insanity, and gave a whole new meaning to the term "pit crew".  I'm sure to forget someone but let's see...all the Sorella husbands, Maureen, Michelle, Francisco, Greg, Todd and Jerry who did his first race ever!  Quite the initiation.

Francisco and Sarah, who was frowned upon by the flat-tire gods again.  Photo courtesy of Jerry.

I was busy unthawing my hands so wouldn't turn around, but you get the idea.

One other experience of note:  on my last lap one of the "fast" women came up behind me cussing a blue streak about how she needed to pass and I should get the $*@! out of the way.  She kept going off depsite the fact she had plenty of room to pass, but obviously didn't have the energy to actually do it.  I've been sworn at before which is definitely un-classy IMO but usually blow if off, considering the heat of competition brings out the worst in many.  This time I almost said something back to her...a mud wrestling match would certainly delight the spectators but I'd been down on the ground enough for one day.  Last night on the OBRA forum I saw that a women posted apologizing for her rant- not sure if it was the same person but definitely possible :)

Cyclocross update

I am staying upright in 'cross for the most part.  Still can't mount.  I passed lots of people on the run-ups at Barton Park only to get passed right back at the top if the hill, screwing around trying to get back on.   I'm sure it's painful for the spectators to watch (will someone PLEASE teach that girl a 'cross mount). Someday I will actually practice and then- watch out!  Right now all my skillz practice time is dedicated to swimming.  5-6 days a week, baby.  Last week my pool buddy Tim was out of town but I still made it there at 4 o'dark thirty 3/5 days. 

Aiiright, back to 'cross.  Check out this run-up.  At first glance I thought I had my bike upside-down across my shoulder, wheels in the air.  Thank god I'm not that retarded!  Scared me there for a moment.  Barton Park is basically a gravel pit so I was pretty tentative after wiping out on gravel in Astoria.   One fairly steep but short downhill that I had to stop and contemplate on the practice lap, since several other women were standing around at the top looking down.  Colleen's advice on this topic is: "it's best not to think about riding down the hill. Just go".  So after a few minutes I backed up, got on my bike, clipped in and went for it.  Amazingly I made it down unscathed on every lap, yet in general there were a lot of spills and first aid needed throughout the day.  Colleen and Sandra crashed and got some nice dirt and gravel rash to show for it, and I chalked up another mid-pack finish (13/44).  Bring back the hills! 

On to Estacada last weekend.  I really enjoyed that course and was told I'm a "real" crosser if I did.  I like powering through the mud and up the hills.  But every week there's that thought in my mind: if I actually had some huevos I might do pretty well at cross.  I blame skills but to be honest, fear is holding me back more than anything.  The first lap was painfully slow because I freaked when every little rock knocked me sideways.  The following laps I was able to handle a little better.  Another thought in my mind: how many years can you race "beginner"?  I mean technically every season is a new beginning, right?  I was only 33/44 beginners this week so I think I'm safe from the upgrade fairy.

Great job Sorellas, as usual.  Colleen and Sarah raced in the singlespeed championship as well, which sounded like a riot.  Tequila shortcut?  I would be SO all over that.  Both Lisa and Sarah took the jump on the course this week- yeah!  Next week's race is the finale at Hillsboro stadium.  Have my skills developed enough such that I can drink a beer while riding?  Does it matter?