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!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
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.
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!
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!
Friday, September 19, 2008
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!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
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!
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
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 :)
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 :)
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