Snow in March

not just the weather is messed up

The crew gave me a hard time that today was defiantly one to bog about.. so I kind of have to. lol
We went back and forth about riding this morning with the final go around 9ish. We met up at Seward Park - of course we were running late. But Col and Bryan were nice enough to wait for us. We started with a 4 mile run just in case the weather turned bad we could still bail on the bike ride. The run went well - did not quite get 4 miles but ran for 34 min or so and felt good.
Luckily when we finished running the weather was agreeable so we changed and headed out for a 2 hour ride. It was chilly but not to bad - I of course had toe warmers in though. Kyle and Bryan rode their singles and cruised along - it was very impressive. Col and I took it easy and I really just enjoyed being on my bike. We did most of the Mercer Island loop then felt we had enough time to continue onto the south lake Washington loop. Te temp warmed up enough that i was pulling my glove off every onec and while and finally just gave up on wearing a hat under my helmet.
I got a flat front tire as we came into the Renton area, Col helped me change out the tube and we were back rolling pretty quickly. The guys were really good about waiting for us at key locations so we were back as a group as we rolled through Renton. Col was trying to make sure she got to a pedicure appointment , and there were dark clouds coming so kept moving in hopes of beating the rain home.
We were riding on the Perimeter Road at the south end of the lake down by the Renton Airport. Col and Kyle were out front and Bryan was in front of me on the right. We came around the corner and there was a Renton police car in the oncoming lane. For some reason I was on the outside edge of the lane and I must have sort of panicked and locked up my brakes - my rear tire skidded out and then I over corrected and totally lost control. I just wanted to get away from the car and I wound up on the ground twisted up in my bike screaming and crying all at once. I see a blur of navy blue of the car right by my head and I closed my eyes and just kept screaming so that everyone would stop and know I was down.
Of course the crew stopped and came to help me immediately. Kyle checked me over while asking what hurt, Col tried to get me to calm down and breath. Other than that it was a complete blur. They made me stay laying in the middle of the road. My head and and elbow hurt really bad. They put a blanket on me and the weight of it hurt my elbow. they supported my neck so I could lay my head down, and they made me open my eyes so they could see if I had a concussion I guess. I felt I could sit up and I did not want to be laying on the street anymore. At this point the fire department showed up and asked me questions and checked me out. they offered me a ride in the ambulance and if I wanted to go to the hospital - really did not want either. I wanted to just get on my bike and ride back - we did not have that much further to go and I felt it would be the best thing for me and the crew.
I think I seriously freaked out the cops in the car. But I have to say this - if you are going to crash - crash in front of a cop car. the ambulance was there sooo fast lol. It was not their fault at all - it was all mine and I even stayed in my lane the entire time but I was very close to being under the car when I landed. I was very lucky.
I did ride the rest of the way back mostly with only my left hand on the handlebars - I had a hard time finding a comfortable position or my right hand that did not make my elbow hurt. But even so I made it back to the park - up and down a hill or 2. Of course it started raining before we got back which sucked. Also my rear tire was flat when it got put in the truck at the end of the ride..

Once back I finally looked at my elbow and it is scarped up and a bit swollen.

I tore a tiny hole in my favorite blue jacket and broke a bit on my helmet. My head has a tendor spot but nothing to bad - I think my handle bars or something hit my helmet. But not to bad all and all. And now a couple hours later I don't see any other bruises. My neck is sore. So I have been icing both my elbow and neck through out the rest of the day. I'm pretty sure I did not brake or crack anything but will be keeping a close eye on my elbow the next day or so and if it gets worse I will be seeing a doctor. I think I was very lucky and will recover quickly. I may need to work on my bike handling skills some though so I feel more in control and comfortable.

Now I'm not sure I will be skiing tomorrow or swimming. I'm going to see how I feel in the morning and go from there. Saying that I am seeing at least 2 in of snow outside - yes it is March and there is 2 in of snow in Bellevue. IT IS CRAZY. Were is spring - I want spring.

the opposite of heat training

I felt like it was November again.. Tonight Col and I met up to run and IT WAS SNOWING! and pouring rain at the same time. It was very very wet and cold. I was happy I brought my rain jacket with me - just in case this morning - otherwise I would have been even more wet. My hands, legs and feet were cold with in minutes and never really warmed up. The worse was the first couple of miles the wind was blowing the snow into my face and I had flash backs of coaching ski racing - standing on a mountain freezing. The savings grace was we did intervals so at least I got to warm up a tiny bit each time we picked up the pace - though it made me not want to slow down between pick ups. I am so glad tomorrow is my rest day and hopefully by Friday this crazy weather will be over.
That said I'm looking forward to the idea of getting up into the mountains to ski some fresh snow this weekend ;)

what is the deal

Tonight I took my single out for a ride and I was flipped off, honked, and yelled at by multiple drivers. Now I would understand this if I was riding in the middle of the road or did not stop at a stop sign but no I was riding on the white line or on the shoulder the entire time. I used proper hand signals when I was turning, I stopped at stop signs. I have no clue what the deal was. Do people need to go back to kindergarden to learn how to share and respect other people.
Ok I'm done. It was just really frustrating and made my ride way less fun.

spring is here

Which just means the weather has become more inconsistent and I never know what to wear - but I'm very happy to see sun more.
It has been wonderful I have managed to get outside on my bike the last two Saturdays - last week was very very wet and this week was sunny. It is way more fun than sitting on a trainer and I'm slowly getting used to my new flight deck and bar end shifters. I don't change gears as often and I should or used to but I'm getting better as I spend more time with them on the road. The best part with the new set up I'm already feel better down in my aeros which is amazing compared to last year when I barley ever used them. I have also been pleasantly surprised at how well riding is going - I was able to hang with the group for the entire ride and still had energy at the end. I'm looking forward to adding a midweek ride in so I can get some more time on the bike and continue to build on how good/strong I feel now.
In general I'm struggling to get enough sleep and I have a soar throat that won't go away (probably because I'm not getting enough rest). Even so training is going well - at least I'm getting everything in. Last week I had 9:39 as total time, Swim Distance 4550 yd, Bike Distance 36.09 mi, Run Distance 17.01 mi. I also had 2 hours of pilates and a very painful massage to try and help loosen my right side.
Ok time to get that much needed sleep so I can survive this coming weeks training schedule. Happy Easter :)

Big Climb 2008

For the third year in a row I joined my mom's company's "Team Jetstream" to climb 69 floors of stairs in the Columbia Tower. I was the only person on the team doing the timed version. It went really well - I did a great job pacing myself. It is really easy to go to hard at the start and get your heart rate way to high. I did this the last couple of years and it was imposible to recover till the finish. I realized at about floor 10 that I had forgot to start my watch so I had no clue how I was doing against the clock. So I just kept going as hard as I could manage while not overdoing it. I felt pretty good the whole way - it felt easier than in the past and before I knew it I was done.
The view was great from the top and I could see the first group of running finishing the Henry Weinhard's St. Patrick's Day Dash - probably saw Kyle down there somewhere. I hung out and waited for the rest of the group to reach the top. My mom and her friends all did wonderful.
After getting a yogurt in the "recovery room" we went back to the lobby and they had results already posted. My chip time was 12:55.95 and I came in 35 / 333 for my age group. I was surprised I was not really sure if I would beat my time from last year because I had not really done in training for stairs specifically and I was still recovering from the half marathon the week before. But alas I did by a full minute- I guess all the rest of the training I have been doing helped :)

Mercer Island Half Marathon

The morning of the Mercer Island half marathon the weather was overcast and high clouds not to cold and not to warm - In my opinion it was perfect running weather - a tad chilly to stat but once warmed up it was great. The start/finish moved this year to the community center at Mercerview and the course was revised since last year. I ran the 10k last year so I did not really know the old course. Traffic was horrible - I guess last year was easier because we go there so much earlier and it was pouring rain. I sat on the exit for 10-15 min alone - Kyle road his bike to the race and beat me there. I finally found a spot that was so far away it gave me a chance to warm up as we made our way to the start to meet up with Bryan and Coach Col with only a few minutes to spare before the 9am start. I did not have enough time to use the restrooms once more before the race. We gave our stuff to sherpa Kyle and lined up.
The start area was not really the best - it was hard to find enough space to stand. We sort of placed ourself in a good pace section not to far back or to far forward. Once the race started it took about 15 seconds or so to cross the start line and we were off. Now Coach Col had told Bryan and I that she was going to run easy the first couple of miles (like sub 9s) then ramp it up a bit and finally go hard the last 3 miles or so.. She also told oh no big deal we should be able to run together.. hahaha soo funny. First mile out - super crowded just trying to not trip over someone and so on - my garmin beeps for mile 1 - 8:19 - yeah I guess sub 9... But I felt ok so I stayed with her. She continued to pick up the pace. I was so focused on staying with her I barley noticed the gradual hills. Mile 2 was 8:15, mile 3 8:10, mile 4 8:02, mile 5 7:54! I have to look twice... really sub 8 min where did that come from. I was so happy to see Kyle so I could toss my long sleeve shirt which even tied around my waist was making me to hot. Mile 6 was still an 8:10. Col just kept cruising along running as strong as always and I started to let her go. Now my goal was sub 1:54:00 or a 1:50:00. I knew I was running faster than my dress rehearsal run a couple of weeks ago and I started to feel it a bit. I kept going hard but never caught back up to Coach Col - I did manage to keep her in my sights for a mile or two. I just knew I had to maintain mid 8 min miles to make my goal time so I kept at it.
Around mile 7 or 8ish I started to need a restroom but every time I passed one at the water stations they were occupied or had a line - no way was I going to wait so I just kept running. My pace slowed but stayed in range - mile 7 8:22, mile 8 9:18 (not sure what happened there).
I think Bryan caught me somewhere during mile 8. He was doing pretty well and inevertantly helped distract me from needing that restroom - though it still took a lot of extra energy to control it. I was able to pick the pace back up and keep going - mile 9 8:28. I should have eaten another gel but my digestive system wanted nothing to do with it so I sipped cytox as much as I could.
We saw Kyle again and then during mile 10 I saw my Mom and Jerry - with a HUGE sign cheering - my mom with her camera going a mile a minute. Bryan and I gave them hugs and were back at it so mile 10 was 8:42. Well worth it.

I did my best to stay with Bryan so mile 11 was a strong 8:06. Then I started to fade on the rolling hills mile 12 was 9:08. Coach Col and Kyle where in front of the finish shoot cheering me up the final hill - which was a killer. All I wanted was a restroom and a bottle of water lol. It was strange they had no medals, but I guess that is ok - though I'm a tad bummed since I did PR.

I finished right at my goal with a 1:50:19 chip time :)

A full 10 min off my previous half marathon time of 2:01. I am very happy with my times - especially for such a hilly/challenging course. I'm also pleased that i ran so well even though I had a sore throat since Thursday and had bathroom issues. The best part as Coach Col yelled at me at the finish "you have the monkey off your back" - I have gone sub 2 now who knows how fast I can go in Vancouver especially with coach Col's help ;)

I don't have many pics yet but when I do I will be sure to post them.

A new addiction

First a recap of last week
Swim 2100yrds 54 min, Bike on trainer 2:20, Run 6.53 miles 1:02, Pilates 2 hours, Cross training all weekend in Sun Valley playing in the snow :)

Then kind of light this week to let my legs get ready for Mercer Island on Sunday. So far Swim 2100yrds 45min, Bike on trainer 30 min, Run 4.5 miles 37 min, Pilates 2 hours.

I have had some soreness in my right hip, actually my whole right side has been temprrmental. ART and massage has been helping but it is a process to get it back to normal. Otherwise I am feeling good, catching up on sleep and feeling ready for Mercer Island half marathon.


Now my new addiction - skate skiing. I have wanted to try it for the past year so when Kyle and I went to Sun Valley last weekend it was the first thing I wanted to do. We rented gear and they hooked me up with the top of the line Fischer carbon lite skate ski. We started at the base of Dollar mountain and immediately I was in love. That does not mean it did not take me awhile to get used to skinny skis and a fall where my skis slid out from under me sending me on my ass and straining my right ankle a bit. But I kept with it and patiently got more used to it. Kyle of course got it right away and climbed up the mountain and tucked down all on skinny skis.
I got to go again on a long path that goes through the valley and is groomed - though there were a lot of dog tracks that made it less smooth. I was able to get a rhythm going and felt like I could go forever. My legs were a bit weirded out since I had been on my alpine skis earlier but still. i had a great time and felt like I got a good work out in. I was defiantly wearing way to much. I was hot with in a couple of minutes.
I am so excited to have a new way to play in the snow. Kyle and I are both looking at getting gear so that next year we can get into it and maybe do a rec race or two (if we can find them). I think it maybe my new winter passion - how could I not like a sport based in the snow though.. really.

some more pics just for fun :)

Seattle Lodge Sun Valley

Valley Trail

Galena Yurt

Snowshoeing out of the Yurt