Bye bye 2008, you kinda sucked I think.

Since Facebook came along I sure have been neglecting the blog, so I figured what better day to post a quick update than the last day of the year?

Mostly I'm writing this for me so that one day next year I may look back and read this and remember 2008 for being the awful and wonderful year it was. Lots of good stuff happened this year, and lots of bad stuff happened this year. In fact, I consider this to be the single most traumatic and chaotic year of my life I think, but at the same time, I wouldn't have learned so much without the chaos. So without writing a novel....

Big lessons from 2008:

1. Live life to its fullest, because you really don't know how much time you have. I have a bigger fear of regretting something I didn't do, not something I did. Go big and have fun doing it!
2. There are a million guys out there. Not a single one of them is worth losing your soul over.
3. There are a million guys out there. Half of them are assholes and half of them are amazing, kick-ass rock-stars. One of those rock-stars is mine, he just doesn't know it yet ;)
   
4. Believe in yourself and never change who you are.
5. There's no room in life for drama. Shape up or shut up. Life is too short.
   

On a lighter note, I also learned the following lessons this year:

1. Snowboarding fucking rocks, especially when you start carving turns, picking up some speed, and actually passing people down the mountain.
2. Rock climbing is a fun way to terrorize your brain.
3. Pump tracks are highly addictive.
4. Crashing into prickly pear cactus sucks.
5. A year off due to injury healing isn't so fun, so take care of the body! (No more stupid home gymnastics....for now).
   

And of course, what year-end wrap up wouldn't be complete without a list of goals for 2009. I always have a lot of goals, so I'm just going to list the big ones.

1. Carve down Alpental on the board. Hmmm, maybe that's a dream for now....
   
2. Kill it in XC MTB races.
3. Become a dirt studette by doing some riding and clinics in BC. I'm guessing a Fernie clinic and too much time at Whistler will probably result in a budget rearrangement to procure a big bike, but that's a whole 'nother story...
4. Qualify for Boston!!
   
5. Complete a Half Iron.
6. Do some outdoor rock climbing.
7. Find a guy who can keep up and put up with all of this stuff. And maintain my bikes :)
   

Happy New Year!!

Not sure what did the most damage....

...the 26-mi road ride I did Saturday? The hot yoga session Saturday afternoon after three weeks off? My first ever climbing outing at Vertical World today? Or the Colonnade workout and 3-mi run I clocked at Greenlake tonight?

One thing is for sure: I'm now hooked on a brand new sport. I've always wanted to try climbing but have just never gotten around to it. I accepted an invite from a friend to hit Vertical World today and had a blast. Heights don't really bother me, but I've always had a bit of falling fear, so I honestly didn't think climbing would be my thing. I was wrong. I was so freaked out on my first climb though I could barely hang on to anything. I learned pretty quickly that chalk is your friend!

After a few climbs I figured out how to move around and felt a lot more comfortable. I found the mental challenge to be the best part. There were a few times I got stuck but knew where I needed to go. It's weird how your body knows what it needs to do but your brain is screaming, "No way! You're going to fall!" Every time I went for it I made it, so it's just convincing yourself you can do it. I'm now signed up for the belay class and well on my way to making this a regular thing :)

I think tomorrow is going to suck. I'm already feeling the climbing mostly in my triceps, shoulders, and legs. Or maybe the legs are hurting from Saturday's ride. My core is killing me from yoga, but that could also be from climbing. Ugh.

Time for an update...

This month has been busy mostly due to a huge work project. I took a much needed mini-vacation to LA to visit with my dad for a week over Thanksgiving and I can happily say it only rained for a day and a half. The rest of the time I spent soaking up sunshine, hiking, running, and mountain biking. I logged 60 miles of mountain biking, about 8 miles of running, and nearly 10 miles of hiking. Now that's my kind of vacation ;)

I flew back to Seattle Thanksgiving evening mostly because of cheap airline rates and empty airports. Travel is so easy on holidays. My mom and I had Thanksgiving together for probably the first time in nearly 10 years. It was awesome!

Friday I had my final follow-up with the knee doctor concerning my IT band injury and the great news is that the MRI shows no more inflammation or swelling in either my hip or knee. Might I finally be coming around?? On the flip side though, my right shoulder has been giving me increasing trouble, so I mentioned it to the doc, who decided to take a closer look and has now diagnosed me with a very mildly separated shoulder. WTF? The funniest thing was him asking me, "Did you take a spill on that shoulder that you can recall?" Hmmm, which one of my recent 50 accidents should I point to?

I honestly don't know how I did it. I took a good fall at Tiger about a month or so ago, but don't remember hitting it. I only started noticing the discomfort mostly during bowling or lifting at the gym. It's usually sore after bike rides, but it's not horrible by any means, more of just a dull, annoying ache. I've got some reduced range of motion on that side for some reason, but I did injure it probably 15 years ago, so who knows.

Good news is the doc said it's mild and a sling probably isn't necessary. Right now I'm just icing and taking some anti-inflammatory meds. At this rate, I should probably seriously consider retiring again from bowling since it's killing me, but I think I'll try to bowl through this season and then call it quits in April. At least the doc knows me well. He said I could choose to wear a sling during periods of inactivity, but he has no idea when that would be ;)

In other news, I actually got out on the road bike today for a nice south lake loop with a friend. First time in a long, long time I felt back to my normal self, except out of shape. My knee did great and I was able to stand and climb for the first time in a while. Hopefully I'm starting to come around and I just need to slowly build back my fitness.

Good luck to everyone running the Seattle Half and Marathon tomorrow! I'll be out bright and early to cheer for folks. Wish I was out there, but maybe next year!

Bremerton CX

Sunday I finally got back to the cross scene and boy did I have a blast!! It was so good to get out, play in the mud, hang with the team, and have a great time on the brand new Kona!

I usually do a good job of staying upright in races but the course in Bremerton killed me last year and didn't disappoint this year either. Last year I showed up with a brand new pair of Sidis and new cleats. On my practice lap I found out my cleats were too tight and took a header into a barrier, leaving myself with a spectacular calf bruise that is still discolored and knotty nearly a year later. Awesome.

Sunday's race was muddy and slick and I did a fair amount of slipping and sliding, but stayed up. On the second lap though, I noticed I couldn't get unclipped. WTF? I was rotating my foot at nearly a 90 and not disengaging. This is not a good thing to find out when you're setting up for barriers. I unclipped way too late and got so off balance I took myself out and had this spectacular flop in the mud right in front of the team tent. I remember lying on my back for a few seconds imagining how stupid that must have looked and listening to everyone cheering. Ha!

The rest of the race I struggled to get unclipped with my right foot, so combined with my lack of practice, I was pretty much a train wreck on wheels! Teammates checked my shoes after the race and discovered a very loose right cleat. Duh. I need to start doing some equipment checks I guess.

I did manage to pass a few gals but pretty much got my ass kicked, which I expected. I was just ecstatic to be able to get out and ride, not have any knee or hip pain, and find out my limiter was my cardio and NOT my legs. My knee wasn't even sore after the race. Since when has that happened?

The new Kona handled like a dream and I love it, love it, love it! I've lost pretty much the entire year to injuries, so I'm eager to hit the few remaining cross races on the schedule. Competitiveness aside, it's just great to be back on the bike! I'm considering a double-header this weekend and can't wait to get the Kona out again!

Stoked!!

I didn't get my Fuji back, but thank goodness for the rider I put on my insurance policy last year. State Farm is the greatest and sending me a check now so I can run out and get a new cross bike hopefully in time to race this weekend. Yay! They're not even requiring paperwork since I've been a customer in good standing for so long. They rock.

I thought my cross bike decision would be an easy one until I started looking at bikes and realized TONS of manufacturers make really great cross bikes now. Decisions, decisions...

Today I rode the neglected Giant into work and it's the first time in months I could ride round trip without blowing up my left knee. Stoked!! The road bike still puts some pressure on the hip (IT band issue) but it's miles away from how painful it was this summer. I'm still moving slow and standing on climbs is tough, but just getting back on the road feels amazing. What doesn't feel amazing is getting passed on hills. Grrrrr..... must ... control ... myself.

I even managed to climb up Irving to 31st from the I-90 bridge deck, but I probably shouldn't do that for a while. I'm hoping I can do a short road ride this weekend, but we'll see. I'd love to get out on a team ride but I don't think I'm quite up to that sort of mileage or pace yet.

Good karma coming my way?

Tonight I did laundry and matched all my socks. ALL of them. When does that ever happen? Good karma must be coming my way...maybe I'll get my bike back. C'mon good karma gods, work your magic because after unstable exes, bank fraud, and a stolen bike, I'm due damnit!

Stolen Fuji Cross Pro

After many, many years of owning bikes, today I had my first tango with bike theft. I hit the Colonnade for a ride today and when I got back to the car, my Fuji Cross Pro had been stolen right off my locked T2 rack. I have no idea how someone managed to do it, but I can only guess they may have gotten the quick release off and somehow wiggled the bike off the front wheel. Who knows. I got that bike two years ago on our Zoka team deal and it was a fantastic buy.

I haven't done much cross this year because of injuries, but was planning to get back to a series race tomorrow and finish the season. Now I don't have a bike to race with, so I'm pretty f'in bummed. I guess I'll have to race cross on the Kona and pray that my Fuji turns up or my homeowner's insurance helps me out.

I filed a police report, sent email to the WSBA, posted on the seattlecyclocross forum and craig's list, and contacted all the local used bike shops. I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed that it turns up, but I'm not holding out much hope. And of course, it's the one bike I don't have the serial number for. Drat. I miss my baby :(

Information Below:
Stolen Nov 1 between 12:30 - 3pm. My car was parked a block south of E Blaine and Lakeview near the Colonnade.

2006 49cm Fuji Cross Pro
Black/Silver/red striping
Shimano SPD pedals
Cateye type computer on handlebars (not working)
Michelin Mud tires

If you see it, please let me know, after you've pelted whoever is on it.

I pick the bike.

Last night I had a cocktail hour with a friend of mine who is lamenting the end of her 3-yr relationship. There's that magic 3-yr number again. Maybe they're just not meant to last any longer than that.

Then she asked me when I knew my last relationship was over. Hmmm, I had to think for a minute and realistically, I kept remembering this one incident over and over. I remember him looking at me one day and being very annoyed. Then he said, "Is it always about the bike with you?" Yes, I pick the bike. Is that wrong?

Happy Birthday IT band.

This morning I joined the CycleU Triathlon team for a running clinic at Greenlake and learned a ton from Toby Swanson. Thanks Toby! One thing I realized is that I never had a clue what the hell I was doing when I ran races years ago. I didn't train, I just went out and ran fast a few times a week and that's likely what did me in with the IT band.

We did some pacing drills around the Greenlake track and surprise, surprise, I WAY out ran myself. I was supposed to do a 2:10 400m lap. 2:10? I used to run the 400 in high school in 1:05. I fought with myself the whole lap to slow down and clocked 1:45. Why can't I just slow down sometimes? Being aware of "goal pace" is really something I need to work on.

Today was the perfect day to have a "track day" since I consider it the 3rd anniversary of IT band hell. Hard to believe, but 3 years ago today marked the end of my running career at the Pumpkin Push 5k race at Seward Park. About a week prior I developed horrible knee pain and couldn't run, let alone walk down stairs. I took a week off, then lined up for the start of the 5k thinking it surely had to be healed. Wrong! I remember hobbling the entire course, running on one leg down the steep hill, and gimping across the finish line. After that, I made several lame attempts at running to salvage my Seattle Half that year, but alas, I finally gave in.

About a month or so ago marked my return to running and today just reinforced what I already know: I need to keep a careful eye on myself and exercise some serious discipline. I love running, but I'm already increasing mileage too quickly and I need to back down and take it easy. That said, I know Boston was a long shot for next year anyway, but I'm officially killing it. I'd much rather postpone a year to get myself injury free than risk another 3 years of IT band hell.

Now I'm thinking of turning that Surf City Boston Marathon Qualifier into a half-marathon instead. I think I can be ready for that by February. So anyway, happy birthday IT band. Now it's time to mountain bike...

Time for an update...

Since Facebook has taken over my life it seems I'm not doing nearly as many blog updates, so I guess it's about time. The last month has been seriously busy, mostly due to work. My typical work week runs about 50-60 hrs right now and probably will for the next few weeks. I love the projects I'm working on though, so it doesn't seem all that bad.

Joe kicked me into high gear at Headquarters about two weeks ago, so I'm on the big girl's lifting plan. Those first two weeks were brutal and it's a bit more tolerable now. Already I'm seeing big changes, so I'm expecting lots of new muscle in 30 days. Sweet!

I thank a friend for getting me into hot yoga, which has become my newest addiction. I absolutely think it's helping to heal my IT band, my bad knee, and various other issues. The most amazing thing is how awesome I feel after I'm done sweating my butt off for an hour in the studio. It's a great detox and resets me back to zero.

The most exciting thing to me right now is my running progression. I almost feel like I'm back to where I was three years ago, minus the speed. I'm running regularly 4x/week and just slowly building my mileage. Probably the most exciting part is that I'm running at Discovery Park again, which is awesome mostly because it's not flat. I'm finally able to run hills, especially downhill, and the IT band isn't even twitching. Just this past Saturday I logged a 4.5-mi run. Longest in years!!

On the flip-side, biking has gone completely to the wayside. The tendinitis in my knee is calming down, but the bike riles it up, so I just haven't been riding. Unfortunately, that also means my cross season is in jeopardy, but so be it. As it turns out, I've logged 580 miles this entire year, which is a far cry from the 2500 I did each of the two years before. And 150 miles of that 580 was RAMROD. Yikes.

I know myself well and I'm a very competitive person. I don't have enough discipline to not go 150% out there. Cross is fun of course, but frustrating because I'm not in shape, and I'm afraid it's a recipe for injury to try to go Zone 5 with no base right now. I even caught myself thinking about some 5K running races coming up, but I know I'd be trying to do 7-min miles in no time, and I don't need to do that right now either.

So, I think I've basically given myself a "No racing ban" for the remainder of the year. I think my time the next few months is best spent rebuilding. I have a ways to go, but I'd rather take the time to get fully healed and be back for next year. Afterall, I'm just ecstatic to be running again!!

And next year is going to be big....but more on that later.

I need some cross practice, fast!

The Seattle Cyclocross Series kicked off today at Evergreen HS. It's hard to believe it's already that time of year! I hopped out to race this morning having not spent any time on the cross bike since last year's Kringle Kross. I had a blast as always, but finished pretty close to the rear despite having a front-row start. Ick, but I'll live with it.

The women's 4 field had a great turnout as usual with slightly over 30 riders. I seem to have an uncanny ability to place myself near the people who end up crashing or near-crashing on the start. One girl overlapped wheels with someone and caused a bit of chaos that made me unclip. Everyone stayed up, but I just lost my rhythm. My left knee has been screaming at me all week and sprinting and hill climbing right now are particularly tough. The fast start gave me trouble and I drifted to the back way too quickly. Note to self: despite a decent warmup, I still need to get more!

I lost most of my ground on the runup, believe it or not. The knee would just not cooperate and I almost bailed after the first lap it hurt so bad. Then by the second lap I seriously didn't notice it anymore. Not sure if I didn't care, if it was numb, or if it just quit acting up. My first two laps were horrible. I was less than graceful, cornering horribly, and hopping on and off the bike like a retard. The last half of the race went much smoother, so I just need some practice.

I think about 60% right now is fitness and the rest I can chalk up to no practice and a grumpy knee. Hello Zone 5, haven't seen you since Derby Days and the first half of the Indie Series. A few practices at Marymoor along with some knee taping should hopefully get me a little further at the next race. It was great to get out there again!!

After cross I spent an hour sweating my ass off in 105-degree heat or something like that. I have a friend who raves about hot yoga. I've never done any yoga, but since this year seems to be all about healing injuries, I might as well throw yoga in the mix. I joined her for a hot yoga session this afternoon and all I can say is: it was intense! Surprisingly, I managed most poses ok, though a few were totally impossible for me. The second half of the class was much tougher and the heat started to get to me, but I made it through only needing to lie on the mat once or twice for a quick break. I can't believe how refreshed and relaxed I felt afterwards. Guess I have a new addiction now :)

This past week was a tough one. I increased my runs to about 2.5 - 2.7 miles (hurrah!). On Wednesday I did a lunch run followed by my first leg workout at HQ in a month. That was not a good combination, especially when I realized my PT appointment was set for Thursday morning. Astym was particularly brutal this week and I'll be sure not to do a leg workout, run, and PT all back-to-back. Then I hit Discovery Park on Saturday for a 3-mi jog and hike. After adding on cross and yoga today, we'll see how I feel tomorrow. I think tomorrow will be a nice day off!

Visiting with dad. The chaos Part 2.

After missing Starcrossed, a teammate suggested I head to Steilacoom Sunday for the Rad Racing GP. Great idea! My dad was on board with it, so the plan was to get up at 6am, head to Steilacoom, then do some hiking after.

Now here comes Sunday's chaos. I managed to set my alarm for 6pm rather than 6am, so I rolled over at 7, looked curiously at the clock, then unleashed some expletives. No way I wanted to do the "frantic running late trying to get to a race knowing I won't get a warmup" dance, so I went back to bed. My dad then came out at 8am surprised about the time and I told him I guess we were hiking instead!

After some discussion, we decided to hike Snow Lake, which is a relatively flatish hike. I used to be a hiking fiend, but the IT band injury made it tough for me to go downhill, so I really haven't hiked much in the past three years. I told dad I wanted to keep steepness in moderation. No need to push the IT band too hard yet.

We stopped in Issaquah for a great breakfast at Julia's, then proceeded up to Alpental where it was dumping rain. Neither of us or the dog were too excited to deal with rain, so we just kept driving. I figured there was a good chance it might be sunny east of the pass, and sure enough, a few miles over we had sunshine! Thank goodness for the iPhone and google! Weather forecast? Check. Hike suggestion? Check. I typed in 'Ellensburg hike' and got a Seattle PI review of the Westberg Trail complete with directions, so that's where we went.

This very impromptu hike was fabulous and we enjoyed blue skies and sunshine the whole day! Way better than rain right now if you ask me. Jake loved it too! I had some concerns though as we started the hike and sections turned upwards at an alarmingly steep rate. I worried I'd blow my IT band coming back down, but decided to just go for it and see what happened.

Once up top, we were rewarded with amazing views, lots of wind, and some beautiful memorials. We hung out up top for a while, ate some snacks, and let Jake run around and play fetch for a while. I realized that since I haven't been hiking due to my injury, Jake hasn't either, and he did great for his first real hike!

We started down and I descended one steep section near the top with no trouble. Before long I hit the halfway mark still going strong. I thought I wouldn't make it all the way without some type of IT band issue, but can you believe it? I made it the whole way, even through some really steep sections. Woo! I can't even tell you how excited I was!! Maybe I can start putting hiking back on my list of activities.

This trail did have one awesome little thing I've never seen before: loaner hiking poles! They were just sitting out there at the start with a sign that said "Courtesy of the local Eagle Scouts." I didn't even think to pack one and wouldn't have grabbed one unless my dad urged me to. It really helped on the way down, so thank you Eagle Scouts! What a great idea!

More hike pictures on Facebook.

Visiting with dad. The chaos Part 1.

I had one of those weekends where nothing went to plan, but it was still a blast anyway! My dad flew in from LA and we had a few days to hang out and visit. The plan for Saturday was to pick him up from the airport at noon and head straight to Marymoor for my race at Starcrossed at 2:15. First hiccup of the day: I woke up late and then had an hour to get my cross bike in working order.

Considering I hadn't even looked at it since the USGP last year, it was in sad shape. Flat tires, old tubes, no seat, no brakes, and a very dry chain. Somehow I managed to almost get it back into shape, but my rear brakes were so out of adjustment that I just put the old ones back on. Who needs rear brakes anyway? As long as I had new front ones, I figured I'd be ok.

Second hiccup of the day: Dad's flight became an hour delayed. We left Seatac around 1 with me still holding out hope I could make the race until I hit the interstate and found that every freakin' road heading north was a parking lot. Why can't people deal with rain here? I really don't get it.

Still stuck in traffic at 1:30, I realized I'd never make it, so I bailed on Starcrossed. I hadn't ridden my cross bike since last December, so it may not have been an entirely bad idea. I was stoked to race for the first time in a while though, so I can't say I wasn't a little bummed.

Dad and I instead headed downtown, where we did some shopping at North Face and took in the Seattle Underground Tour. Not a bad tour, but not as good as I had hoped. After a few hours of sightseeing we headed across the bridge so I could cheer on some teammates at Starcrossed. Talk about epic cross conditions! Mud, rain, woo! It looked fun out there!

Big strides

A few years ago I would have laughed if someone told me I'd be posting to my blog to brag about a 2.5-mi run. But yeah, that's exactly what I'm doing :) I've been running 1.75 - 2 miles pretty consistently over the last few weeks. Keeping the pace a bit slower is really key right now but I've always struggled with moderating my pace. I kick up the tunes and next thing I know I'm clipping along. Right now I have the Garmin set up to beep at me if I fall under 9-min miles and it's a good thing. Today I decided to test things a bit and try to shoot for 2.5. I kept the pace at a pretty even 9:30 and nailed it! And it felt f***in' great! I never thought a 2.5-mi run would put me on cloud nine, but this one sure did!

Starcrossed

I forgot to mention that unbelievably (at least to me) Starcrossed is this Saturday. I'm totally not ready and just got my cross bike in working order last night, but hey, it'll still be fun! My dad is visiting this weekend, so it'll be the first event since my high school graduation that BOTH my mom and dad are attending. Wow. Too bad I'm so out of shape I'll probably place last, but hey, cross is really all about the beer garden. And since I haven't done a mount / dismount since last December, hopefully I don't face plant right in the beer garden :)

Come out on Saturday and check out the fun!

Lethargy

I've definitely been a bit lethargic with the blog updates lately eh? I've been pretty focused the last week or so on a big work project. It's fucking cool and probably the best project I've worked on in years. Sounds like a press release is imminent and the deadline is quickly approaching, so I really need to slamdunk it. No pressure! :)

I picked up a little head cold that sidelined me for about a week from everything but work. Last night I hit Headquarters for the first time in 2 weeks and I swear my workout wasn't that hard before. Damn. I'll be hurting this week for sure.

Running is going well. I got back on it this week and I've found that as long as I keep my pace no faster than 9-min miles, I do ok for about 2 miles or so. Much faster than that and the IT band starts to get a bit tight. Sometimes the pace frustrates me. I used to run 7:30 no sweat, but I have to constantly remind myself that I'm making progress. A few months ago I couldn't run faster than 11-min miles and for the last three years I haven't managed much more than a run around the block. I'm not so sure about my chances to qualify for Boston next year. For a while I was hesitantly optimistic, but now I'm not so sure. We'll just take it day by day and see how it goes. One thing is for sure, I'm training up for a Half Iron next year. Kick-ass!

Now I just need to kick this stupid patellar tendinitis in my left knee and I'll be golden. Can you believe that I've been banned from bowling but allowed to run? Bowling is ripping me up these days. My right wrist is still half-broken from a bike crash two years ago, so I can't grip the ball anymore. My sliding foot is the left, so my tendinitis is enduring deep knee bends all night long, which hurts like hell. And my broken left thumb causes problems just standing on the approach trying to hold the damn ball. Geez. Don't tell anyone I'm trying to bowl Thursday.

Lovin' the scoot!

Last week I rode my little Aprilia everywhere: back and forth across 520, up to Edmonds, over to Ballard, and all over downtown and Capital Hill. I logged 150 miles with $8.00 worth of gas and parking is a no-brainer. Sweet! I just topped off the tank today and plan to ride it pretty much exclusively this week too. My Golf is getting dusty these days. If you're in the market for a great little scoot, check out the SportCity!

I had a great Labor Day weekend! Somehow I managed to not make it to a single BBQ or the Labor Day Cyclocross Championships, which I really had planned to do, but there was just too much happening and not enough time, so sorry I didn't make it folks! Saturday I actually hit the road bike for the first time in weeks and then motored over to Majestic Bay to watch the crazy Momma Mia movie. Hysterical, not to mention I had ABBA in my head all night. Definitely give this movie a viewing if you haven't seen it. Live entertainment!!

Sunday was Bumbershoot day and I hit the main stage mostly to check out the Keys and STP. The Keys had an amazing show and rocked their set. For just two members, they are incredible. STP played a mostly rockin' set, but as I expected weren't without some drama. They started the night 30 minutes behind schedule, likely due to Weiland drama I'm sure. They pretty much played everything I would have expected and wanted to hear, rocked out some songs, mostly salvaged lyrics and weren't too off beat, but just seemed uninspired. At one point Weiland said to the crowd: "Please don't throw beer cans up here. I'm not much in the mood for beer." Really? You don't say.

Sunday I took mom out for her first sushi experience at Blue C Sushi and then we hit the Aveda spa for some manicures and pedicures. Ahh, nothing like closing out the Labor Day weekend with some pampering. And now the weather is improving so I can bust out the sandals to show off my pretty painted toes :)

Aprilia SportCity 250

About 3-4 weeks ago I sold my Ducati. I survived a few years on it with only one crash the day after I bought it. Ah yes, that was fun. It was a great bike: black, sexy, loud, very cool, and very fun to ride. I jumped right into this 900cc Monster straight out of the motorcycle riding class. I really couldn't handle it and I realize I was lucky I didn't kill myself on it.

This past year I rode confidently and felt like I could handle the bike, but then I had a bit of a close call on I-90 and realized I've never been fully in control of the Monster. It was just too much bike for me and at a bit over 550 lbs, very heavy for me. I was sad to see it go, but secretly relieved. I also sold it to someone with the means and ability to give it the TLC it greatly needed.

After only a week though, I missed my wheels, so I considered buying a smaller bike like a Rebel. Then I thought about scooters. Never in a million years did I think I'd end up going from a 900cc Ducati sport bike to a scooter, but it happened, and I couldn't be happier!

I started test riding scoots, but wasn't super impressed. I found most of them scarier than my Duck! They were sketchy as hell on those tiny little tires. I decided after researching scooters that I was going to get a little Aprilia Scarabeo 200. I stopped by Cycle Works in Renton on Monday to put a deposit on one from their next shipment and had an interesting turn of luck.

As I browsed the bikes, I noticed this little black scoot, the Aprilia SportCity 250, sitting right out front. I'd never seen one and was intrigued. The guy at Cycle Works couldn't stop raving about it and said I had to test ride it. That's all it took for love at first test ride.

Not only did it look like a little baby Aprilia sport bike, but it had big, wide, motorcycle-like tires, dual front disc brakes, lots of pickup, and even a little charger jack in the front storage compartment. Slick! The second I hopped on it I felt totally at ease and the little scoot handled just like a big bike. Amazing!

Then the bad news: it had a deposit on it already. Damn! But, the salesman at Cycle Works said a girl put the deposit on it a few days ago and hadn't come back to get it. He was a little irked to have already turned people away from buying it, so he called her and she opted out of the purchase. So...it was mine! They claim the SportCity is impossibly hard to get, especially in black, so it was certainly my lucky day.

I really can't say enough good things about the crew at Cycle Works. They were AMAZING! Not only did they sell me the bike, and I mean sell me the bike as in, "Here's the features, here's how it handles, here's what it does, etc", but they took the time to help me get the hang of the center stand, threw in $100 of accessories, answered all of my questions, and were a very fun and helpful group to work with. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a scoot or motorcycle.

I had the great fortune of riding home in the rain and it handled flawlessly. I never rode the Ducati in the rain as the power on that bike scared me on wet roads, but the SportCity is great! I brought it home Monday and have already put nearly 75 miles on it.

I work in Bellevue, so Tuesday I ventured across 520 to see how it handled, and was thoroughly impressed. At one point I was cruising close to 70 during one short stretch and the scoot just purred along. Again, handling is amazing with those big tires. Twice this week my 520 commute has been quite windy, but it handles the wind beautifully. It's really no worse than the Duck would have been. It's got enough pickup to leave most cars in the dust, the brakes will stop you on a dime, and it's just plain fun!

The biggest difference between the scoot and the motorcycle is probably suspension. I definitely feel more bumps on the scoot and I have to watch out for large bumps or potholes for fear of bottoming out, but I'm getting used to it. Only negative I have so far is that the under-seat storage won't fit my full-face helmet. Other than that, this little scoot is amazing! Nimble in town, fun to ride, fast off the line, great brakes, bright sport headlights, nice styling (though depends on your taste I suppose), and fast enough for short jaunts on 520. Hell, I'd even consider taking it on I-5 for short stretches.

It supposedly maxes out around 80mph, so it'll pretty much get me just about anywhere I need to go. If I had known scooters were this fun, I would have gotten one long ago!

Surf City? Maybe?

About three weeks ago I flew into a rage, frustrated by what I thought to be a lack of progress in physical therapy. I've been enduring ASTYM since May and could still barely run a mile without IT band issues. I blew up at my mom, then at PT, then at my knee doc. After that dismal attempt at running Tiger a month ago I've been pretty doubtful about the whole plan.

I took a few weeks off to think about my doctor's option of having more aggressive blood injection therapy done. I then talked with PT and they assured me that my range of motion was improving, things were feeling better, and everything was healing. I decided to give them a few more weeks. Well, guess what? All of a sudden some magic happened or something.

Starting about two weeks ago, I suddenly ran over a mile with NO problem. Two days later I did it again. And again. Over the weekend I just nailed a 2-mi run, first time in years. And I did it again on Tuesday, but at a bit speedier pace. So for just over 2 weeks, I've been consistently running 1.5 to 2 miles every other day and doing it pain free! Well, aside from the stupid patellar tendinitis in my left knee that is going crazy right now, but that's mostly tolerable.

I had completely ruled out the possibility of running Boston next year and figured my first opportunity wouldn't be until 2010. But, it's 35 weeks to Boston. And it's 24 weeks to the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach that I would consider for a qualifier. If this recent running success continues, it's not completely unrealistic that I could train up in time. Right now I have about 10% confidence in this plan, but hey, we'll just see what happens. No way I'm rushing things after this injury, but if I'm indeed healing, I may just have a shot.

Joe is changing up my gym workout to get me in Boston shape. I see lots of upcoming months of brutal workouts, killer leg days, and lots of speed and endurance work. At least it won't be boring!

RAMROD

Last Thursday I rode and somehow survived the most epic ride of my life: RAMROD. 154 miles around the base of Rainier. 10,000 ft of climbing. Lots of Gatorade. Tons of food. Destroyed knees. Double the distance of my longest ride ever. Quadruple the distance of my longest ride this year. This is a LONG post, but I have no idea how you sum up a 12-hr ride in one paragraph without just saying: F***.

I'll back up to the beginning for a second. Earlier this year my friend Ben challenged me to RAMROD. "Hey, I'm signing up. You should too." In a moment of weakness I figured what the hell, no way I'll get in. Thousands of riders apply for this thing, right? They only pick 800 so odds are against me. Of course the May lottery selected me and not Ben. Imagine that. No worries for him though, he did finally get in about a week before the ride.

I thought I'd be doing plenty of riding this year and had even planned to race the Elkhorn Stage Race, which is a few days of near 100 or over mile stages. Well, none of that happened due to my little Illiotibial band PT detour and the longest training ride I completed was a 40 mile jaunt around Magnolia. A few weeks ago I doubted my ability to pull this off and nearly bailed, but I still delight in doing things people tell me I can't do.

Realizing last minute I did not want to wake up at 3am to drive to the start, I booked a Yurt at Kanaskat-Palmer State Park for Wednesday night. It was the only thing I could find available in the area, but if you ever have a chance to stay in one, do it! The yurt rocked! It had a bunk bed, queen-sized comfy futon, lights, flooring, everything. I threw my sleeping bad on the futon, crashed early, and slept well. Good thing because my alarm was set for 4:30am so I could get a 5:30 start. That's way too early to do anything, much less ride your bike.

I drove 15 minutes to Enumclaw High School and enjoyed some pre-dawn views of Rainier. Wow it's gorgeous that early in the morning. For $10 some local organizations offered a breakfast feed and I took advantage of it, scarfing down waffles, eggs, and sausage before the ride. I hit the start line shortly after 5:30 very happy that I had packed my wind vest and some warmer clothes because the temps were frigid.

I knew I had a few keys to completing the ride: staying hydrated, keeping fueled, and NOT getting tricked into joining up with a fast moving paceline. With my lack of training, I needed to take it way beyond easy. Surprisingly, most of the morning pacelines moved way too fast for me. I could have hung for a 60-mile ride, but I did not want to work that hard so early in a 154-mi ride. I would hop in for a few minutes, then find myself going a bit too fast, so I'd hop out, take it easy, enjoy the views, then catch on to another paceline. I got to meet a lot of cool people and watch the lenticular cloud forming on Rainier.

I have to commend RAMROD for the ride support. The food stops were amazing! The first one in Eatonville 32 miles into the course provided awesome scones and coffee. I should have eaten more there, but it wasn't very long after the big breakfast, so I just couldn't get much down. The next food stop at mile 59 in Mounthaven was a ZOO. The chocolate croissants hit the spot though, so I grabbed a few, sat in the sun to warm up, and took a decently long stretching break.

Shortly after that stop I entered The National Park and started the fairly mellow 20-mile climb (4-5%) to Inspiration Point. The temps finally warmed up and I was able to maintain a fairly good pace up the climb. The amazing views of Rainier made it hard to keep going without taking a few photo breaks. What good is it to be out there and not stop to enjoy the scenery?

After Inspiration Point I bombed down Stevens Canyon at 40+mph. Man was that fun!! Being so aero definitely stressed the shoulders, neck, and back though. The Box Canyon food stop at mile 88 offered up cookies, fruit, bagels, and little baby boiled potatoes. Mmmm! I STUFFED myself because I kept getting a little hungry between food stops and had to break into my emergency food stash. Keeping up calories with my fast metabolism is always a challenge. The potatoes were so good that I grabbed a handful and stuffed them in my jersey for later. This guy next to me laughingly called me Napoleon Dynamite and shook his head. Ha.

I made the great decision to go Garminless for this ride. I had no idea of the time, mileage, or my heart rate, a refreshing change to being constantly fixated on the watch. I was very surprised to roll into the Box Canyon food stop and find out I had amassed 88 miles. Wow. 88 miles and still ticking!

After Box Canyon was a small climb to Backbone Ridge, then another awesomely fast downhill before starting the 11+ mile climb to Cayuse Pass, definitely the toughest part of the ride. I just set a pace and kept going, but near the top my stomach grumbled, I ran out of fuel, and had to pull off the road for a snack break. I took the picture at left somewhere around the century mark. Yay! My first century!

Cayuse continued....and continued...and continued. I nearly had a party when I finally saw the top of Cayuse Pass , 4720' and the 110 mile mark. A few spectators gathered to cheer on riders. Thanks for the support, it was much appreciated! Once at the top of Cayuse Pass, the remainder of the course turned downhill and I coasted all the way to the Crystal Mountain deli stop, the last food stop on the course.

Deli sandwiches, coke, and more resting in the sun hit the spot, but all I could think of were the remaining 36 miles back to Enumclaw. At this point I wanted to be done! I met some more awesome people who told me to get back to Enumclaw via a paceline. Despite the downhill, the strong headwind took it's toll, so I was lucky enough to hook up with one other rider for a while. Soon we had company and our paceline grew to about 8. About 10 miles from Enumclaw I bonked hard and it seemed the ride would never end.

When I finally hit the turn to Mud Mountain I knew we were close and the finish line came up quickly. I rolled across shortly before 6pm to make it a solid 12-hr day with about 10.5 hours on the bike. Damn. I hit the sack that night at 9pm and was out cold. Surprisingly, I felt pretty damn good the next day other than some neck and shoulder stiffness and unhappy knees. Damn that patellar tendinitis! Ah well, 150 miles with no training will do that I guess.

This ride was the experience of a lifetime for sure. Again, fantastic support and very well run! After chatting with most riders and finding that they had been training since January for this thing, I'm amazed I pulled it off. Score some points for me! Hmmm, what to try next?

More pictures here.

Looking ahead to Boston? Maybe?

This week might actually mark a turning point in my three year battle with ITBS. If you haven't heard of ITBS or read my blog before, I can best describe it as a horrible, painful, completely crippling injury for runners involving some stupid piece of connective tissue that runs from hip to knee. And it doesn't like to heal, that's for sure.

Early this week I hit the pavement and ran a mile for the first time in a long time completely pain free. The next day I did it again. And the next. Woo! I'm not necessarily running fast, and I'm not always running continuously, but just the fact that I can do this now with NO pain and NO funny hip or knee sensations means amazing progress. I wish I could explain how thoroughly excited I am to be jogging again! I was born to run!

I've already talked to Joe at Headquarters since he's wanted to sponsor someone at Boston for a long time. I came very close to qualifying for Boston at the Seattle Marathon years and years ago, and if I can get slowly trained back into shape, I fully intend to do it this time. I'm especially motivated by everyone who tells me how tough it is to qualify with Seattle. Hills? I love hills! :) So maybe in another year or two, I'll be running the Boston Marathon covered in Headquarters logos. Awesome!

The Derby Days race report

I guess I'm a little tardy but hey, it's summer and I'm busy enjoying the sunshine!

I'm glad I stuck to my original plan of racing Derby Days on Saturday. Nothing like taking the year off and showing up for the fastest crit of the season, but I had a surprisingly fantastic day! Ok, so I didn't stick until the end of the race, but I raced smart, fast, and hung in there until the very last 2-3 laps. Considering my only road races to date were VP back in April and a miserable half showing at Methow, I was pleased. My mom was a spectator too, which was awesome! She just moved here not long ago, so it was her first criterium experience. She loved it! (But not the crashes.)

We lined up with only 30 in the Women's 4 race, which was a bit of a disappointment since we've maxed out at 50 in past years. Maybe the nice weather lured folks out to other things. As usual, the race started fast and stayed that way. I really only remember one lull for about a lap and the rest of the race was just fast, fast, fast. I was hanging mostly in the back and once I started yo-yo'ing I knew I was in trouble, so I dug deep and moved up to mid-pack for a while. Sweet! I couldn't really make the jump to the front, so I just hung in, and before long, there were only a few laps left. How the hell could that be? Almost 20 minutes down and I actually felt pretty good out there!

The temps hovered around 85, but it sure seemed hotter than that. By the end of the race, the heat took it's toll. Someone put in an attack into the headwind after corner three and that was it for me. I just couldn't quite close the gap and poof, done! I only needed to suffer for another few laps to finish, but I was so ecstatic that I made it nearly the entire race that I didn't care! Damn it feels good to be back to racing and not be that far out of shape! I'm truly shocked, but maybe the mountain bike races have really helped my fitness. They're pretty much an hour-long crit on dirt.

I stuck around the rest of the day watching other races and saw too many crashes in the Men's 4/5 field as usual. It seems that every year it's a dicey race for those guys. The little road turtles caused some havoc in the corners I think, especially with a huge field like the Men's 4/5s. I swear they had 75 people out there!

My hip feels 150% better on the bike now and I'm attributing it to a saddle change. After having a casual chat with Matt Hill he suggested a narrower saddle and it's amazing what a difference it has made. Thanks so much for the tip, Matt! I owe you one! I'm stoked things are finally starting to come around and I think I will hop out there for the upcoming LWV series and see how things feel. Cross season, here I come!

Derby Days

Tomorrow is Derby Days. At first I didn't think I'd race, but what the hell. I did my first leg workout at Headquarters in about six months yesterday. That's great prep, right? I have a feeling I will be so sore tomorrow it'll be misery, but hey, I love it. I've come very close to being crashed out in this race twice, so I hope third time isn't a charm.

I don't think I'll be able to stop myself from mountain biking at Tiger in the morning, so my legs will be tired, I'm not in race shape, and the course will be fast, fast, fast. What the hell am I thinking? But it'll be so much fun!

If you're bored, come to Redmond tomorrow and cheer us on!

The best mountain biking trip ever

This past Sunday I headed over to White River near Rainier with some kick-ass mountain biking guys to do some camping and epic riding. I had more fun than I've ever had on a bike!

We started Sunday with a brutal 6-mile or so climb up to Palisades and Noble Knob, threw in a long hike-a-bike in the snow, and then got to experience some fun, fast singletrack on the descent. At one point we were forced to take a mechanical break as Dan found his pedals at 3 and 5. Ooops! It took some magic to get the crank off and fixed, but we were underway again shortly. (Picture of guilty crank at right...)

The guys I rode with were unbelievably fast, so I was definitely outmatched all weekend, but it was fun as hell. I hiked a few of the the more technical sections of trail, especially a rocky, tight switchback section after some stairs. Those of you familiar with the trail probably know where I'm talking about.

The fog and clouds obscured our views but definitely didn't take anything away from the awesome ride. We were out there pretty much all day Sunday and I didn't do the best job of nutrition, so I bonked hard about an hour or so before the end. Somehow I managed to rally and make it, but barely. I crashed over during the last quarter mile and nearly couldn't get up I was so tired! I haven't been that wiped out in a long, long time. What a killer workout! We hit the Naches Tavern for some much needed fueling and beer and then set up camp near Skookum Flats.

Monday we hit the trail again and did a 7-mile climb up to Suntop. My legs were pretty unhappy the first mile, but it's amazing how the body finally settles into a rhythm and resigns itself to hurting for the next few hours. Then it's not so bad! Unlike Sunday, we had an absolute blue bird day, the temps were warm, and the views were incredible!

We stopped a while for lunch at the Suntop Lookout, but shortly after heading out my knee started giving me some trouble on the climbs. I called it a day rather than risk pushing it too far, and rode back down to camp to sit in the sun.

Dan went on to finish the ride and do Skookum as well. I've never done that much mountain biking, so I was happy to have made it that far! I think Skookum might have been a bit technical for my ability anyhow, so I felt good knowing Dan could haul ass through and not be hung up waiting. Sitting in the sun was heaven, especially after all that awesome riding.

Again, we topped off the day with a visit to the Naches for food and beer. Cheers to an awesome weekend! And thanks to Dan and Milos for being great riding buddies! You guys rock!

Relax and enjoy life

Yesterday I rode my bike all day and it seemed that everywhere I went, people were in foul, shitty moods. C'mon already! The sun is out, the weather is beautiful, what gives?

My patellar tendonitis flared up again in my left knee, so I took it easy riding to work in the morning. Halfway across the I-90 bridge I coasted for a bit to give it a break and next thing I know this guy rides right up next to me, half startled me, and then proceeds to bitch me out for stopping pedaling without telling him! WTF? I gather he was drafting behind me and almost hit me when I slowed. Not my fault if you do that and don't announce your presence. That sort of thing drives me nuts.

Leaving Bellevue after work I was cruising down the bike line alongside traffic backed up on 108th. Traffic started moving but a car stopped to let another merge in from the gas station. This dude in some convertible Lexus starts screaming at the top of his lungs, "Go F***ers! Go F***ers! F***ing idiots!" Then he sees me about to pass and purposefully pulls his car into the bike lane to impede my path. WTF? I told him he was in a beautiful convertible on a beautiful day and should be enjoying life a little more. His response was great. "You f***ing bikers. You should have to deal with traffic like the rest of us." Hmmm....that's why I ride my bike. I avoid traffic and get to relax.

I rode to Greenlake for drinks with some friends and ended up in a tangle with a fellow commuter as well. I've done a fair amount of riding lately in just street clothes, and I find that without the team kit, I get yelled at more by other bike commuters. Weird, isn't it? I pulled up at that crazy Greenlake intersection next to another biker who then screams at me for pulling up next to him and not telling him I was there. He wasn't even moving and was in the far right area of the bike lane so I assumed that meant he wasn't turning left. Sorry dude....whatever.

Are there too many freakin' people here from California now or what? Everyone needs to take a serious stress pill and enjoy the sun. Damn folks.

Excitement

Frustration with Saturday's Tiger jog turned to excitement today. I think I'm making progress in healing the IT band and just pushed it a little too hard. I was able to go out today and run nearly a mile, which is a huge accomplishment! Of course it wasn't all at once, but it was still a breakthrough. I have a routine of jogging a few blocks, then walking, then jogging, etc. I made it further today and felt better than I have in a long, long time. PT just reaffirmed that I can't really do hills right now, so I'm keeping it flat for a while.

I rode Mercer Island last night and had the strongest ride I've had in a while as well. My hip still fatigues towards the end, but I'm able to push it much harder now and I feel like my limiter is my cardio, which is expected. All I need to do is start hitting the training and I might actually be back in action for cross! Woohoo!

It feels awesome to be biking again and if I can get my running going, I may make a return to triathlons. It was so awesome to run today and I had this huge smile on my face. What a dork eh? I'm set for a return to Headquarters tomorrow, which should kick my ass and really get me back in shape. Can't wait!

Sailing pics!

Check 'em out!

Love the sun!

Unlike most people around here, I love it when the temps go up and the weekend is filled with wall-to-wall sunshine! Fabulous!

Saturday morning I hit Tiger to do a light jog and test out the IT band. I made it halfway up the Nook Trail before I got concerned about the increasing steepness and turned around. It took me about 10 steps before the damn "IT snap" set in. All of a sudden, bam, and that stupid lateral knee pain snap was back. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. Ok, sure, I had done some jogging on the flat trail and might have pushed it a little hard jogging uphill, but come on already. After two months of ASTYM I was really hoping to have made more progress than this. Once I got back to flatland I could barely even walk. Guess I have a topic of conversation for physical therapy this week....

Saturday afternoon I had an invite to go sailing and I spent a beautiful afternoon on the Sound. I've always wanted to go and the outing was awesome! In just over eight hours, we sailed north out of Shilshole, eventually made our way south to Blake Island, then headed back up to Seattle. The marina at Blake Island was too jammed up to allow us to stop, but it was cool to cruise in and check it out.

Sailing was just an entirely new experience. It was quiet, peaceful, fun as hell, and just a good, mellow time. There is definitely something beautiful about being on the water completely under the wind's power. I even got a crash course and got to captain for a while! Our hosts cooked chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen and we saw a school of porpoises shortly after leaving Shilshole. It just doesn't get any better than that!

I've had some trouble on boats so I was happy that I didn't get sick while sailing, but somehow I managed to get seasick once I got home! I felt disoriented, dizzy, and like I was still rocking on the water. After talking to a few friends, I guess "land sickness" isn't entirely uncommon after a long time on the water, but give me a break already! I went to bed and by morning was fine.

Sunday I skipped the Des Moines crit to give the knee a break. I don't need to push it right now. I was disappointed but it was the right decision. Sunday afternoon I headed over to Marcus' and we hit the water on the jet skiis for a few hours. Damn those things are fun! I'm getting much better and even caught some air, though I can only hope to be as good as Marcus is on them.

We were playing in the wake of the larger boats and I managed to launch myself and have a less than spectacular landing. Going down nose first isn't so good and I somehow flipped over the ski. At least I gave the people in the boat some live entertainment. I cracked my knee pretty hard on the ski and now have another bruise to add my awesome collection. Between softball, mountain biking, and jet skiing, my right leg is all sorts of pretty colors now. Ridiculous!

The lightning storm we had last night topped off a spectacular weekend. Can't wait for the temps to go up again! :)

Tapeworm hell

Last night I should have stayed home and watched a movie. Instead, I had the most horrendously awful ride on Tapeworm I think I've ever had. Two of my friends bailed due to traffic, so it ended up being me and my friend Ben riding. When I pulled into the parking lot, I found Ben standing over his bike with a confused look and figured this wasn't a good start. Performance had installed a new rear hub and cassette on his bike and somehow turned it into a fixie. Awesome.

He took a quick jaunt down to Center Cycle to get it fixed while I did a warm up and then we met up a bit later to ride Tapeworm. I knew the night was off to a bad start when I wiped out in a flat sandy area trying to practice track standing. That should have been a sign. I just couldn't get into a groove and areas I usually ride gave me all sorts of trouble. Ben was having a rough night as well, so I didn't feel so bad.

About halfway through, something felt really wrong with my right shoe. I stopped and found out my cleat had come completely unscrewed and was sliding all over the place. Naturally, neither of us had brought any tools, so I had to suck it up and finish the ride that way. As we were nearing the end, I came around a corner and crashed HARD. It was one of those crashes where you find yourself laying on the ground thinking, "WTF!? What the hell did I just run into?" Seriously, the trail was dirt. There was nothing there!

The side of the trail sloped downwards, so I took a pretty good tumble. Of course I landed right on a tree stump that bruised up my right thigh and managed to jam my handlebar straight into my calf. When I got up it was cramping so badly I didn't think I'd be able to ride. Handlebar into the calf? I don't know how that happens. Once I got up, I found the crash culprit: a little stump on the right side of the trail covered by foliage. I must have caught my rear tire on that thing and just washed out.

As much as I would like to ride Tiger tonight, I'm taking the night off. I've got my calf wrapped in a compression bandage because I have a massive knot and every time I flex the muscle it cramps. Between softball and mountain biking, this week has beaten me down badly, so I'm having doubts about racing the Des Moines crit on Sunday, but we'll see.

30 miles!

I never thought I'd actually write a blog entry to express my excitement about riding 30 miles, but here it is! Since starting physical therapy in May I haven't completed many rides, let alone any over 20 miles, so this was a big win yesterday! At the same time though, it was quite humbling.

I rode the Magnolia loop with Marcus, who is an incredibly strong rider. Once upon a time I could stick to his wheel like glue, but that's definitely not the case now. I can usually hang with him partway up a climb, then I'm blown and clunking at my own pace. It's frustrating to have lost so much of my climbing and sprinting ability, but I know it will come back eventually. I'm just happy to be able to ride again mostly pain-free.

My hip was pretty fatigued towards the end, but considering the race in Methow Sunday, all the base running I did Monday night in softball, and the ride yesterday, it held up pretty well. Maybe I'm finally back on track for racing AND the Boston Marathon!

Apology

I've noticed lately that lots more people are actually reading my blog than I realized. Go figure. Sometimes I write real stupid stuff folks!

I said something a little while ago I feel bad about now, because I wrote it while I was a bit pissy about other things going on, and I over-reacted and took things out of context that I normally would not have. Regarding the weekend in Methow, I really did have a great time, so I apologize for making it seem like I did not.

I expected to have a crappy race weekend, but not being able to race is still aggravating. I love the guys on our team, but sometimes it would be nice to have some estrogen in the house. My frustration over my inability to race and my lack of female teammates made me a bit defensive and sensitive. The bottom line is that I took a few negative comments said by one person and turned it into a much bigger deal than it was. For that I'm sorry. I really did have a great time, and I would be happy to travel with any of the guys on our team.

This blog thing is getting me into all sorts of trouble lately, geez. Since I seem to have such a large crowd, does anyone out there have any softball shin guards they're not using? I swear if I field another softball with my shin I'm going to have permanent damage.

Fun in the sun!

Thursday night code posts at work are always a crap shoot. If we're out by 10 it's awesome, but then we're expected at work on Friday. If we're there late it sucks, but then we get Friday off. Our post was running smoothly this past Thursday and I thought I'd be out by 10, but we hit some last minute snags and 10 quickly became 3. The good news: Friday off to enjoy the most beautiful day of the year!

I caught a few hours of sleep, then hit the bike for a quick jaunt around the south end of the lake with a friend from TGH. We had a great time and couldn't have picked a better day for a ride. My hip held up well and I think I got more road bike miles in last week than I have all season.

I spent the rest of the afternoon boating around Lake Washington with a friend, drinking Dos Equis, and enjoying the sunshine. Thanks for the outing! I couldn't believe more people weren't out given the gorgeous weather. After bringing the boat in, the weather was still too nice to call it a day, so we hit the jet skiis for about an hour and I had probably my best run yet. Not until later did we realize we forgot life jackets. Oops! I can't believe we got away with that one.

Saturday I packed up the dog and my mom and headed east to Winthrop for the next mountain bike race on the Indie Series. Since my mom just moved here and hasn't seen most of Washington, I knew she'd love the drive over Highway 20. She also couldn't believe the climate change going into Winthrop. Ahhh, I love Methow Valley!

I woke up this morning ready to kick some ass but damn this course was tough! Thank goodness I only had to do one loop on the lower loop of the course. I heard the upper loop was pretty gnarly and tough. I found out quickly that Friday's jet skiing taxed my hamstrings, which I rely on heavily for climbing. My Garmin registered 1600 ft of climbing in just about 10 miles.

I got a great start and was 3rd going into the single track. The trail had some fast downhill sections, some steep climbs, a few edgy areas around a lake, and some steep, sandy descents. The terrain rolled just enough to not give me time to recover, so I hurt bad most of the race. The worst part was only getting a drop of water here and there because of a kink in my Camelbak tubing. Ugh. I lost a few spots a little ways in probably because I went out way too hard. Bummer.

I hiked a bike on a few steep climbs but my legs were completely blown halfway through the race. I started singing "the wheels on the bike go 'round and 'round" just to keep myself going. Don't laugh, it's a great strategy! The last mile or so I suffered the most. The trail gradually climbed just enough to be annoying and keep the speed down. I did manage to pass one girl towards the end, so I got myself into 5th, which is where I finished. That's my best finish yet, so I'm happy with it, though a little disappointed I couldn't keep myself in 3rd.

My saddle was too low the entire race, and I could really feel it on the climbs. I almost thought about stopping halfway through and raising it, but worried too much about losing my placing so I just kept going. My hamstrings are wrecked now and I think it's partly because of the jet skiing, and partly because of the doofy saddle height. Oh well. One thing is for sure: I'm sleeping well tonight!

RAMROD is when?

A friend of mine somehow talked me into signing up for RAMROD a few months ago. I figured what the hell, and did it. I knew exactly what would happen: I would get in and he would get wait-listed and sure enough, I was right. He's dropping quickly on the wait-list, so I'm confident he'll get in.

Today I fell into a mild panic realizing that this event is slightly over a month away. Wah!? 154 miles with over 10,000 ft of climbing? Shit. I really thought I'd be trained up for this, but this year has gone so far off plan with the physical therapy that to say I'm off track would be an understatement. I guess we'll see what happens.

Last night I cruised around Mercer Island and felt good for the first time in months. My hip got a bit fatigued towards the end, but overall, I felt great! Of course, my riding partner completely annihilated me and I was Zone 4 the entire ride just sucking a wheel. Thanks for the workout though, I needed it! It was nice to be able to tax the cardio for a change. I did a brief foray into Zone 5 climbing up the east side of the I-90 bridge deck and I swear it took me 10 minutes to recover. Looks like I know what I need to work on, but just being able to ride hard last night was exciting! Woo!

The meth bust

I didn't have as much fun as I had hoped this weekend in Methow Valley. Sure, I certainly had fun watching the races, supporting teammates, and enjoying sunshine and warm weather, but overall, I was a bit bummed.

I finished the TT on Saturday with a horrendously awful time that put me in last place by minutes. No surprises there really. The hilly course wreaked havoc on my hip and I could not get my heart rate up at all. It was strange to roll across the finish having barely pushed my cardio, but knowing I physically went as hard as I could. Hey, I had fun with it, cheered on other riders, and tried to take it in stride.

I started the afternoon crit but only raced two laps before pulling myself. I hung with the pack but had no acceleration, no pop, nothing, and it was clear the morning TT had fatigued my hip more than I thought. Sunday morning I woke up incredibly sore, so I took the day off and didn't even start the RR. I'm making progress in PT and after dealing with this injury for almost three years, there is no way I want to set myself back over a race I'm not even in contention for.

So sure, racing didn't go well for me over the weekend, but I expected that and I didn't travel to Methow to race. The disappointing part of the weekend to me was being razzed by some teammates about not finishing the crit and not starting the RR. I may piss off a few people by saying this, but believe me, it's really not my intention. I was asked more than once, "So how does it feel to come all this way and not race?" I was honestly a little shocked and a bit pissed.

I signed up for Methow way back in March not thinking my season would be derailed. Sure, I knew my chance of having a good race this weekend was next to zero, and I knew I wouldn't make it through all three stages, but I still wanted to go to have some fun, enjoy hanging out with teammates, and generally support the team. I was out there all weekend on every corner, yelling for everyone. I was at the finish yelling for ALL of our guys that rolled across, even Chris Hill who finished late in the day. I love the guys on our team, and they're all class acts. Maybe I took things out of context, but it really did piss me off and put a negative spin on a weekend that would have been a lot of fun.

I don't regret going because I got to reconnect with some racing ladies I haven't seen in a while, and it was good to chat with them. To be honest, I think I will start exploring some new teams for next year. I've been with Zoka/Cucina Fresca for three years and I love my teammates, but I'm tired of having no women to train with, no women to race with, and no women to travel to races with. I will get my hip back into shape and I'll be out there training this winter. I just hope to train with some ladies for a change and stop dealing with guys' bullshit.

Methow concerns

This weekend I'm headed to Methow Valley for a stage race and although I know it will be fun, I'm not thrilled from a racing standpoint. I've had little road bike time since starting physical therapy to heal my ITBS and Volunteer Park has been my only road race this year.

The treatment is going very well and I'm seeing substantial progress. I've been able to jog a few blocks, lightly run the Coleman Park stairs, and even get back to the gym. It's very exciting, but I still have a ways to go. It turns out the problem is really in my hip, but the pain presented in my knee.

Luckily I've been able to mountain bike race and for some reason, the mountain bike just doesn't bother me that much. The climb at Leavenworth was a bit rough, but tolerable. The road bike; however, is a much different story. It doesn't take long to fatigue my hip and hills really cause havoc.

I did a 25-mi flyer around Mercer Island last night that turned into a suffer-fest. Just climbing up the east side of the I-90 bridge was tough and once I hit the hills on the island I couldn't get my hip to crank. I guess I'm using a lot of new underdeveloped muscles and stuff is still healing, so it's just not working so well.

I don't think I will be able to pull off a 40-mile road race on Sunday, but I'm hoping to do the TT and crit and just get some training and intensity. It's frustrating to be at about 50%, but the weekend will be a blast regardless. My team rented a cabin, we get free pasta all weekend long, and the weather should be sunny and warm. I'm almost tempted to pack up the Kona and take a XC spin on Sunday!

Stupid Lakers

This is a pretty funny read if you're into basketball. I especially love:

"Unfortunately, Tuesday's crowd of power players, millionaires, industry frauds, celebrities and trophy girlfriends were afraid to stand because they thought the change in atmospheric pressure would affect the Botox in their cheeks."

Oh yes, it must be the Lakers playing....

Thanks bro!

Just got an email from a friend of mine who was witness to my creek swimming escapade in Saturday's race.

"Sometimes there are moments when timing, grace, and athleticism all come together mere seconds before disaster and you astound the crowd with your amazing ability to dismount your steed and avoid the inevitable. Your creek crossing was not one of those moments. Get your cleat stuck?"

Hmmm...maybe the endo would have been more graceful. Thanks bro!

Leavenworth Bike and Brews Fest!

The Leavenworth Bike and Brews Fest took place this weekend, which is the third mountain bike race in the Indie Series. I drove over Friday night with my camping gear to secure a spot at the race site. Many thanks to the land owner who let everyone camp out -- it rocked! I even enjoyed sunshine and warm weather, making the trip completely worthwhile!

I don't even have words to describe how insanely fun this course was, but damn I'm sore today. The first 4 miles were straight uphill, then the last 4 miles were straight down. The women's beginner class had a fantastic turnout of over 20 riders, so I knew I needed a good position at the start for the climb. Until nearly halfway up I rode solidly in the top five but then lost it. My endurance isn't so great right now, so I slowly started falling back and getting passed. I'm usually a climber, so this frustrated me, but I hung in there.

Once at the top, we were rewarded with a fantastic 4-mi downhill complete with waterbars, which are perpendicular dirt mounds that help prevent erosion. The first couple I took pretty easy but then started hitting them faster and faster until I had a near death experience on a steeper one towards the end. A few more pounds shifted to the front would have endo'd me for sure, but I saved it and continued on down to take 10th place. My climbing disappointed me, but given my sporadic and limited training this year, I'm happy with my finish.

I wish I could say I had an accident free race, but the third creek crossing sent me for a shallow swim. The trail dropped down a bit into the water and caught me off guard. My weight was too far forward and then I had a big no-no and grabbed a little front brake. I tried to pull off the "jump over the front of my bike and push it under me maneuver" but got my left foot caught in my cleat and took a hard tumble right into the water. Damn that was cold! My shoulder is a bit angry at me today so hopefully it heals up in time for softball tomorrow. Ugh.

The fourth creek crossing was nearly identical to the third and I managed to do the EXACT same thing on that one too. Nice job. Too bad there aren't any photos, but maybe that's a good thing! After the race I supported some teammates, drank lots of Fat Tire, then hung out at the beer festival. After heading into town and grabbing dinner with friends, I crawled back into my tent around 10pm and slept better than I have in weeks.

Cucina Fresca had a great weekend, taking home three podium spots and several top 10s. Way to go guys and gals! Cheers to a fantastic weekend of mountain biking, drinking, hanging with teammates, and meeting tons of new cool people!