I had a fabulous bike ride yesterday. It's getting just cool enough and it's fabulous cycling weather. had a nice 38 mile ride. This was after having to shell out $55 to have my handlebars fixed.
A jerk back in June who is obviously uncoordinated and an idiot with a junky piece of crap bike for no logical reason wiped out onto my racing bike. I've already shelled out money a couple of times now to get the rims fixed from that and yesterday I paid to have the handlebars fixed. Very annoying. People like that need to stay out of the way of the rest of the world. (ok this is a bit negative but the accident was completely avoidable)
I have spinning class in a few minutes. It's so lovely out, I'd rather spin around outside but it's a good class. I haven't weight lifted in almost a week-- but last night I did this water running/aerobics class with a good friend of mine and there was a good bit of pretty tough resistance work with floatable dumbbells in the water. I thought it was a nice workout and I can feel a bit of it today in my shoulders. It was fun to be with my friend too-- I think this will be a regular Tuesday night thing for me.
FIVE FAVORITE THINGS:
1. breakfast on top of the Hotel Washington
2. being sleuth when I need to be
3. blue skies
4. these lovely pink roses on my desk
5. having smallest pair of pants fit nicely (ok second to smallest pair)
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
UNBELIEVABLE!!
Today is a new start! I have been in the throws of racing season, working full time and dealing wih some other issues and I feel like I've gotten away from my true focus. It's all about improvement, discipline and feeling better exponentially. I feel like I've been a bit distant from this goal and today I am back on track and feeling wonderful.
I was at the gym this morning at 5:30 for a great run and then some leg strength work on the arc trainer. All in all a great way to start the day, then I rushed back home and made for my colleagues at work raspberry/pistachio scones. I had one, it was great and yes full of butter and cream. Life can be very rewarding this way. You gotta have a scone every once in a while.
Then, because I am recomitted to doing as much as I can to stay on track, I slipped out and went to spinning class at noon at the gym here near my office. It was just two of us in the class, which was strange but the instructor showed up. This attractive, unassuming woman with long blonde hair wearing teva sandals and baggy shorts. I'll admit I was kind of doubtful about her because she never got on the bike. Let me tell you. THAT WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST SPINNING CLASSES I HAVE TAKEN. Why, well, she's a professional bike racer.
She spent the entire time working with us on our form and we did not ease up at all throughout the class-- We had to maintain 90 cycles per minute throughout the entire thing. She gave me some great pointers throughout the class about my form and I feel like I learned so much.
After class, I talked with her and it turns out she lost 170 lbs!!!!!!!! Can you believe it? I was so excited to meet her. She lost it seven years ago when she decided to get into charity bike rides her first century being the Seagull Century (interesting huh???) Anyway, she met up with some professional racers on the Seagull Century ride and they got her into racing and she hasn't stopped.
I have all her information, because she is a personal trainer and I am thinking about taking her on this winter so I can train for the spring bike racing season-- Isn't this great???? I'm totally totally totally into this.
FIVE FAVORITE THINGS:
1. getting back on course
2. free salad in the kitchen at work
3. being strong
4. meeting people who are strong
5. a really good outlook!
KEEP RIDING ON!, KEEP GOING. GET BACK ON THAT BIKE!
I was at the gym this morning at 5:30 for a great run and then some leg strength work on the arc trainer. All in all a great way to start the day, then I rushed back home and made for my colleagues at work raspberry/pistachio scones. I had one, it was great and yes full of butter and cream. Life can be very rewarding this way. You gotta have a scone every once in a while.
Then, because I am recomitted to doing as much as I can to stay on track, I slipped out and went to spinning class at noon at the gym here near my office. It was just two of us in the class, which was strange but the instructor showed up. This attractive, unassuming woman with long blonde hair wearing teva sandals and baggy shorts. I'll admit I was kind of doubtful about her because she never got on the bike. Let me tell you. THAT WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST SPINNING CLASSES I HAVE TAKEN. Why, well, she's a professional bike racer.
She spent the entire time working with us on our form and we did not ease up at all throughout the class-- We had to maintain 90 cycles per minute throughout the entire thing. She gave me some great pointers throughout the class about my form and I feel like I learned so much.
After class, I talked with her and it turns out she lost 170 lbs!!!!!!!! Can you believe it? I was so excited to meet her. She lost it seven years ago when she decided to get into charity bike rides her first century being the Seagull Century (interesting huh???) Anyway, she met up with some professional racers on the Seagull Century ride and they got her into racing and she hasn't stopped.
I have all her information, because she is a personal trainer and I am thinking about taking her on this winter so I can train for the spring bike racing season-- Isn't this great???? I'm totally totally totally into this.
FIVE FAVORITE THINGS:
1. getting back on course
2. free salad in the kitchen at work
3. being strong
4. meeting people who are strong
5. a really good outlook!
KEEP RIDING ON!, KEEP GOING. GET BACK ON THAT BIKE!
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Ode to the Muscadine
Oh but to think of you, big, firm, so very sweet
and not here for too long it seems.
One brief taste sits on these lips,
but forever you are on this mind.
A year of dark winter, spring rains, and summer heat
will again bring this sweetness to me.
And yes, all the while
it is indeed worth the wait.
It was a great weekend. I was busy working on Friday night, but it paid off, I have a nice clip today in the New York Times. On Saturday I had some great time with my family, well needed. And then it was a lovely and speedy bike jaunt on Sligo Creek Parkway. The scenery at the beginning of the ride was not so great but as I quickly rode off, it got much better. I hooked up with this young bike racing guy and we were talking and speeding along- It was really nice and yes, I did manage to keep up with him. His last words "How do manage to do all this?" It's easy- I love it and I have a great network of family and friends who make me very happy.
FIVE FAVORITE THINGS:
1. Muscadine Grape season
2. $200 dresses being on sale for $99
3. Iced Coffee
4. Fun weekends
5. Perspective
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Scary Ocean Swim
Ok, so I did my FOURTH triathlon this weekend. It was truly a sprint in distance but I have to tell you it was likely the scariest one-- It started with a half mile ocean swim. I don't know what it is about my luck but everytime I've had an open water swim in any kind of salt water, it has always been very rough waters. The Atlantic ocean was incredibly rough on Saturday. In fact, they were considering calling off the swim part of the triathlon and changing it out for a one mile beach run (yuck). They didn't-- we had to swim out about 150 yards past a buoy and then swim due south parallel to the shoreline (but mighty far out there) for half a mile. Getting out there was the hardest part-- many of the triathletes quit at this point or had to be rescued by the coast guard or lifeguards. I even pondered going this route myself but by the grace of God made it through the swimming portion. There was one point during this swim where I really thought I might actually be in danger. I was happy to finish the swimming part. The biking part was very very brief, only seven miles. This is short compared to the typical 19 miles I do on a traditional sprint triathlon-- But they were doing construction on the Indian River Inlet bridge so it was a quick short jaunt. I focussed on keeping my speed up because I knew I'd be slow in the running part.
The running portion, five kilometers, was mostly flat, running through downtown Dewey Beach into Rehobeth. It was fun, spectators lined the streets cheering us on (I was too embarassed to stop running, which was good). I finished the running part, but probably at the speed a 90 year old could do it walking!!!! The running is not my strong point and I have to say I was really a bit shaken up still by that ocean swim.
I will do this race again next year, but I will be much more respectful of that Atlantic Ocean. Oh, and this time I'll remember to bring my wetsuit. 72 degrees is chilly for a distance swim!
FIVE FAVORITE THINGS:
1. not drowning
2. completing 4 triathlons
3. sunny skies
4. tan lines
5. caramel popcorn
Friday, September 15, 2006
RACES RACES RACES
Geez, I've been terrible at this! Since I've last posted I've done two triathlons and now I'm off to do another.
In Early August I did the Culpepper triathlon. It was great, in the foothills of the Shenandoah mountains-- The lake was beautiful-- steam was rising off of it just minutes before my toes touched the water. The bike ride, 30K, was very very hilly but all the while I was smiling as I looked at farmland and the Shenandoah off in the distance. I was really worried the night before because all these stuffy triathletes were in the town with really fancy bikes. Turns out, just a lot of uppity Bethesda, Md types who just like to spend money-- I passed many of them on the bike ride and a lot folks just didn't know how to use their equipment- snapping chains etc. Hmm. Oh well. I crawled to the finish line for the running part. I hate running.
In late august, the joy of my life, i did the Iron Girl in Columbia-- wowwee, what a race-- what a killer-- I ranked 1208 out of 1800 racers though-- wld have been better if I were better at running. It was am 850 meter swim in the lake- lovely. 30K bike- the hardest I've ever done-- the first hill was a 1000 ft incline over a mile and a half and then about a 4 mile hilly run around the lake (very mean running course)-- i did it-- I ranked 848 in the biking and 870 in the swimming so I'm a fast average in those areas. I had a great time and Tom Ben, Jack and Kathy were there at the finish line cheering me on-- it was great fun. We then went out and got really big burgers at this place in columbia and decadent decadent onion rings-- good stuff.
Last weekend I ran a 5K race with the Reuters running team. I am very slow but I ran the entire course-- I did about 12 minute miles. but i did not stop! that's the main thing. I kept going- ran down Pennsylvania Ave up to Capitol Hill and then back toward the White House-- great fun!!!!!!! We had a big pancake breakfast at the National Press Club afterwards--
I've been doing a good bit of running lately-- I think I've finally gotten religion on that. I've had some good influences in that area too. My goal at this point is to shave off at least 30 pounds over the winter so I am lean and mean for the spring/summer/fall 2007 racing season. I will intermittently add some 5Ks,10Ks and I'm likely to throw in a 10 miler or a half marathon-- it's all about fun. Obviously the Seagull Century, which is coming up in a few weeks will be a great highlight as well. My friend Dean is doing that with me and we are meeting up with my friend Rob Wells who is a great cyclist and his friend-- forgot his name. That shld be a great day more than 6000 riders for that.
Tomorrow I have the Dewey Beach Triathlon-- it's my only ocean swim race this year and I'm a little nervous about all the critters! It's a short race otherwise, whch is good b/c my training has been a little lax. It's a 1/2 mile ocean swim, only a 7 mile bike ride-- i will sprint this-- and then 5 k run on absolutely flat course-- i will try and boost my speed here as well. This one will be about not drowning and then picking up some speed-- wish me luck!
FIVE FAVORITE THINGS:
1. Iced coffee
2. not wearing the uncomfortable pants I wore to work yesterday
3. dark chocolate
4. driving alone
5. email
In Early August I did the Culpepper triathlon. It was great, in the foothills of the Shenandoah mountains-- The lake was beautiful-- steam was rising off of it just minutes before my toes touched the water. The bike ride, 30K, was very very hilly but all the while I was smiling as I looked at farmland and the Shenandoah off in the distance. I was really worried the night before because all these stuffy triathletes were in the town with really fancy bikes. Turns out, just a lot of uppity Bethesda, Md types who just like to spend money-- I passed many of them on the bike ride and a lot folks just didn't know how to use their equipment- snapping chains etc. Hmm. Oh well. I crawled to the finish line for the running part. I hate running.
In late august, the joy of my life, i did the Iron Girl in Columbia-- wowwee, what a race-- what a killer-- I ranked 1208 out of 1800 racers though-- wld have been better if I were better at running. It was am 850 meter swim in the lake- lovely. 30K bike- the hardest I've ever done-- the first hill was a 1000 ft incline over a mile and a half and then about a 4 mile hilly run around the lake (very mean running course)-- i did it-- I ranked 848 in the biking and 870 in the swimming so I'm a fast average in those areas. I had a great time and Tom Ben, Jack and Kathy were there at the finish line cheering me on-- it was great fun. We then went out and got really big burgers at this place in columbia and decadent decadent onion rings-- good stuff.
Last weekend I ran a 5K race with the Reuters running team. I am very slow but I ran the entire course-- I did about 12 minute miles. but i did not stop! that's the main thing. I kept going- ran down Pennsylvania Ave up to Capitol Hill and then back toward the White House-- great fun!!!!!!! We had a big pancake breakfast at the National Press Club afterwards--
I've been doing a good bit of running lately-- I think I've finally gotten religion on that. I've had some good influences in that area too. My goal at this point is to shave off at least 30 pounds over the winter so I am lean and mean for the spring/summer/fall 2007 racing season. I will intermittently add some 5Ks,10Ks and I'm likely to throw in a 10 miler or a half marathon-- it's all about fun. Obviously the Seagull Century, which is coming up in a few weeks will be a great highlight as well. My friend Dean is doing that with me and we are meeting up with my friend Rob Wells who is a great cyclist and his friend-- forgot his name. That shld be a great day more than 6000 riders for that.
Tomorrow I have the Dewey Beach Triathlon-- it's my only ocean swim race this year and I'm a little nervous about all the critters! It's a short race otherwise, whch is good b/c my training has been a little lax. It's a 1/2 mile ocean swim, only a 7 mile bike ride-- i will sprint this-- and then 5 k run on absolutely flat course-- i will try and boost my speed here as well. This one will be about not drowning and then picking up some speed-- wish me luck!
FIVE FAVORITE THINGS:
1. Iced coffee
2. not wearing the uncomfortable pants I wore to work yesterday
3. dark chocolate
4. driving alone
5. email