Time Trials are THE MOST fun I have had on a bicycle!

So I PR'ed by over a minute from 2 weeks ago. I finished the 10.2 miles of rolling hills in 28:51. A full minute and 4 seconds faster. I think it was 21.2 mph average (note to Ryan: the spreadsheet doesn't work).

I almost didn't go because the platform piece on my TT bars had broke, so I have been without them for about a week. The replacement part came in today but it's the wrong size. So I demanded Dominic rig it so I could ride them tonight, and for my race Sunday. He had them taped up and back on my bike in like 5 minutes. He is so good. Every girl should be so lucky to have her own bike boy....

Since they start you at the slowest to fastest, the last time I started #2, only one girl to try and catch. This time I started at #13. Amanda was #22. WOOOOT.

We all lined up and got ready to ride. The guy holding the bikes sucked. The girls in front of me were actually pushed into the grass and all got wobbly starts. The guy holding me did not have me leveled, I was leaning to the left. I asked him to please not push me in the grass, and then it was 5, 4, 3, 2,1 and off I go. I hit the start button on my watch and then stood up and hammered.
Time trials are like trackwork. It's all balls out for a short distance and then you're done. Short and sweet. Painful. It hurt.

From the get go I was convinced I wouldn't beat my time. I have been sick, and coughing shit up, sneezy, snotty, lots of excuses in my head. But I had rabbits to chase! As soon as I saw the people that started before me, I just pushed. Passed one girl. Pushed. Then passed another. A few guys, a Clydesdale, and then I had about a mile to go and I had passed 7 people. I glanced at my watch and screamed out my number at the finish line.

28:52? Could it be real? A full minute faster than 2 weeks ago?

So when it was over, me, Amanda and Ryan finished about a 5 mile recovery ride. Then everyone sat in the grass for results.

They called out my time: 28:51. HOLLA!

Ryan Tolle - 28:55.

I looked at Ryan, the look on his face, that I beat him, was fucking PRICELESS.



He's become an exceptional cyclist over the last couple years. So it's totally blown my head up that I beat him. Haha!

Amanda finished in 28:11 so she kicked both our asses. I hope I can catch up to her sometime this summer.

Solo swimming

I had a really bad swim today. I went out to East Fork, a tad later than I wanted. I slept in because we were out late last night (ACK! 11:30pm!) and I was tired. Anyways, it was gorgeous out. The humidity was gone, the sun was shinning, and it was windy!

I checked out the water, looking out at the first buoy. Seems so far away. Do we really swim that far out? I realized this would be one of the first open water swims I have done solo. And I wasn't feeling real good about it. And I don't know why!

I got in the water, and started swimming. I was all sans wetsuit just cuz I didn't feel like putting it on. I reached the first buoy and then turned towards the next one. DAMN, this water is CHOPPY. It was like this: stroke, stroke, stroke, GULP, stoke, stroke, stroke, and then lift my head up, try and site the buoy. Where the fuck is it?

I kept swimming, looking up every 10 seconds. The water was rough and it was a struggle to get to the other end of the lake (about 750m). I saw a flying fish and started to freak out. I NEVER freak out in the water but recently Sandi sent me a link to an article about a giant fish that someone caught in this very lake I was swimming in. She was like "how'd you like to have that swim along side ya".

So I got all caught up in my head and freaked out a bit, decided I hated doing open water swims alone, and cut the swim half.

Then I went to the trail and ran for an hour. I love the trails at East Fork too. So smooth and easy to run on. On the way home I texted Amanda about doing more open water swims together. She agreed.

When I got home, Dominic had ripped up the carpet in our bedroom! I am finally in a carpet-FREE house! YAY!

On our way out to the Y, Dominic started playing around with the nunchuks.

Bring me some chicken soup

That was my first triathlon, June 2007. Look at that mountain bike racked up. I rode that thing for 40k in some big ass climbs in Harrison for this race. Instead of a wetsuit, I wore a scuba suit. HOW DORKY!

I am racing in about 10 days. And I am sick. I had an ear infection that is mostly gone now. I am all stuffy, coughing, feel like shit, and whiny. If you are on Facebook, you already saw me bitching about it. I never get sick, so this sucks ass. I always feel bad for other people when they are sick too. It's just. The Worst.

DRAMA.

Have a good weekend everyone.....

Worst ride EVER

Made up my mind today. I am riding with Dominic ONLY from here on out. Trying to follow other people's routes, speeds, meet up times, it just sucks. From here on out, I ride where and when I want, and not on anyone else's schedule or time.

I had 75 miles on the schedule today. I felt pretty good when I woke up so I decided to go ahead and do the ride. Ryan had a route he wanted to do, and I warned him in advance that Dominic was coming and that we weren't doing hills. Rolling hills is one thing. But huge climbs were out of the question. For one - Dominic's groin is just starting to feel better. For two - I could have rode an out and back on route 8 for similar IMKY rolling hills and would have been content with that.




Instead, we meet up with Ryan. I was worried about Dominic overdoing it. He has been doing some shorter 30 mile rides with a few climbs and hasn't had any groin pain. He insisted he was fine for 75 miles, *if* it was going to be an easy ride with few hills.



We were climbing 4 miles into the ride. After that, it was pretty flat for about 20 miles. Then came another big hill. Once Ryan realized that Dominic was starting to have some pain, he tried to re-do the route without hills, but it was going to be impossible. We stopped at a gas station for fluids. Did I mention it was 95 degrees outside and HUMID as all hell?



Once we started up Harrison, at mile 48, Dominic pulled over. He was done. His groin was killing him and he was afraid if he continued, he'd be off the bike for weeks. So I had to leave my boyfriend on the side of the road. I left him with fluids and my cell phone and then I was just mad.



I rode up Harrison, through heavy traffic, construction, horrible road conditions, and just hauled ass as fast as I could, back to the car. I felt SO bad leaving him there. All I wanted to do was get back to the car and get back to Dominic.

I got in just under 60 miles, and drove like a bat out of hell to go pick up my injured boyfriend.

Cycling is what brought us together. For me, it's more about having fun, riding with my boyfriend, than trying to see how fast I can go, or how many feet of climbing I can get in. I am done. And if I have a 7 hour IMKY bike, who the fuck cares. Not me.

CRAP

I have an ear infection and I have to stay out of the water.

I woke up with a sore throat so I couldn't do the time trial again this week. Amanda did however, and beat my time by almost 2 minutes.

I have a 75 mile ride scheduled tomorrow that I probably won't get to do cuz I feel like total shit.

I am fighting with my Mom and all the stress from my family is now taking a toll on me physically. BOOOO fucking HOO.

HOT

Had a good couple of days of training. I rode 40 with Amanda and Ryan on Saturday. We averaged about 18.8 for the ride. The headwinds on the way back brought our average down. My legs were tired from all the fucking running this week (41 miles!). After the ride, I ran 6 miles and it was HOT.

Training in the heat again, I remember all the hot runs/rides/swims from last summer with Amanda, when we first met. Hard to believe it was almost a year ago. SO much crap has happened, it's hard to believe sometimes.

Sunday Dominic and I rode to my swim club, and we took the long way there (totaled 27 miles alltogether). We saw Amanda, running along the river downtown. Again, my legs were tired. I was riding with a messenger bag full of crap for the pool so I was slow. Once we got to the pool, I swam.4x1500 w/u (swim, pull) and a 1900m ladder. Starting with 300, then 275, then 250, increasing speed all the way down to 25. It was hard.

My swimming is really coming along though. And with it, an ear infection. I have a lot of pain on the left side of my ear so I am going to the doctor today. I have a feeling I am not going to be able to swim this week.

Last night Dominic's family met up at a pizza place nearby and we chowed for Father's Day. Their family is so loving and kind. They really have a close family. The love just shines though. My Mom and Dad didn't come.

Dogs, back pain and Dominic's dorkness

Getting the dogs exercised in the morning is getting to be a challenge. Dominic doesn't want me to take them to the woods anymore because Lucy got hurt the other day, chasing some kind of animal. I am thinking it was a coyote. She had to have 4 staples put in her leg. It was a clean tear, she must have ran into a branch. It could have been a lot worse.




When I let them off leash, I have to scream and scream for Ari to come back and little Fausto started taking off with him. It's too stressful. Though I really think they need to be off leash to run and play somewhere. So far we've just been walking them around to local parks. Walking 3 dogs on a leash is a pain in the ass.


This picture was taken this morning, and it was HOT out.



So last week I started seeing Dominic's chiropractor, Dr. Robb. Beth Mason has been making suggestions for the one-sided back pain I have been having on my bike, and she finally suggested I see a chiro. He did xrays.



Turns out I have scoliosis, my lower spine looks like a backwards "C". That's not the worst of it. My right hip is 15mm lower than my left. My legs are the same length but because of this imbalance, my right side is always pulling, trying to catch up to the left, when I am riding. This is the cause for my lower, one-sided, back pain.

So Beth has suggested I shim my right cleat 2mm. I found a bike shop that had the Bit Fit System shims that are compatable with Time pedals, so Dominic installed them this week. I'll have to wait and see how my long rides go next week. I hope this fixes the pain, or I will be in a world of hurt when it comes to any kind of cycling.

I am getting adjusted twice a week, a full massage once a month, and acupuncture once a month.

This week's focus has been running. Tomorrow I am taking a few hours of comp time from work and doing a 2 hour ride and an hour run. Next week the focus is the bike. I am looking forward to lots of riding.

One last thing - Funny story:
Dominic sold his old motorcycle so he took the money and upgraded to Dura Ace components, and a SRAM RED rear cog. Yesterday, he left to go try out the new gears. He came back in the house about 3 minutes later, holding his jaw and carrying his bike. He was so busy looking at his new parts, he crashed into a parked car on our street, going about 5mph. He went over the bars, and somehow managed to land on his feet. He threw the bike over his shoulder and ran home. He probably looked like a complete DORK.

P.S. If you want to buy his old Ultegra compenents, let me know.

Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend.

My first time trial - NO xanex required!

I have been going through it with my Mom. Family drama that makes me wonder why I didn't just stay in SF all those years ago, or die of a fucking heroin overdose.

Having an aging Mom, and a brother with schizophrenia who is unable to care for himself, stresses me the fuck out. TO THE MAX. My anxiety levels have been crazy high.

Today's training was put on hold until PM because a) Lucy tore her leg open in the woods and it required stitches b) I had a full body massage appointment that I absolutely needed, and c) the Cleves time trial was tonight and I wanted to try it.

So I met Ryan at his house and we rode down to the time trial starting line, which was about 5 miles away. He took me through the course which was 10.2 miles of rolling hills. The hills weren't too bad but there were some long stretches of going slightly uphill, especially near the finish.

They started us out, slowest to fastest, with 30 seconds in between each rider. I had no idea how I would do, and thought I'd go with a 31 minute finish time. They start calling names and I am second! SHIT! So the first girl leaves, and the next thing I know, some guy is holding my bike and I am clipped in, he counts me down, and off I go (and I managed to start my watch too).

I look down. 24mph? Really? I get down in my aero bars and stay there. I see Erica, the girl in front of me. I push hard to catch her but she is skinny and she is going really fast. I look behind me and see no one. Push harder. Stay above the 20's, I tell myself. I am keeping a good pace. All I want is to break 30 minutes. That's what I tell myself. I look at my watch. 8:31 in. I keep pedaling. I just tell myself it's for a short period. Just stay in aero. The roads are damp. My glasses are fogged up. It's steamy out! The hills suck. I go really fast on the downhills to catch up. 25 minutes into it and I know I am almost done. The last couple miles are slightly uphill. I stay above 20. I look at my watch and see 28:30. SHIT SHIT SHIT! Here comes the finish! Uphill, and around the corner! I think about how good it will feel to stop pedaling.

I scream out my number when I pass the finish line and manage to stop my watch. I stop. My heart is exploding. I think I broke 30 minutes!

I never passed Erica, but then, I didn't let anyone pass me.

I stop and talk to Erica and find out she's doing IMWI. She's a super sweet girl.

Ryan finishes and it starts to rain. Like, really hard. The fastest guys are finishing now, and we're all waiting around so we can get our times. Me and Mary hide under her van's door.

Finally, after standing in the rain for what seems like hours, the times are ready. I stand under some guy's umbrella and hear them call out Erica first. 29:12. Then me. 29:55.

That means I managed a 20.5mph average! HOLLA!!

I won't be starting second next time either.

Ryan finished in 28:54. He did better than a few weeks ago but hasn't beat last year's PR yet.

When we left, I slapped hands with Erica, said "good job" but was secretly thinking "I'll be back bitch".

Thursday Timeline

7:30 am - wake up, walk dogs for an hour.

8:30 am - feed dogs, feed me.

9:30 am - leave for chiropractor appt.

9:45 am - fill out paperwork.

10am - x rays. find out I have scoliosis, and my right hip is 15mm lower then my left which is the cause for my one sided back pain on the bike.

10:30 am - get adjusted.

11am - head to eyebrow wax appointment because my eyebrows are growing into a unibrow.

11:15am - run into co-worker at eyebrow appt. Bullshit with Holly and Gabby while Holly gets her hair blow dryed. Learn about hair straighteners.

11:25 - get eyebrows waxed.

11:30am - discover xanex bottle is not in purse. Freak out.

11:45 am - head home and hang up on Dominic when he refuses to leave bike shop to check house for xanex.

12:00 noon - arrive home and discover xanex bottle is hidden in desk drawer.

12:15pm - head to other side of town to help Mom.

12:40pm - Arrive at Mom's. Unhook DSL cables and hook up dial up. Run virus scans. Eat.

1pm - walk Mom's dog due to the unbearable amount of pain she is having in her leg and back. Find dog walker for AM walk.

1:30 - go to Mom's bank to be added to her account "in case anything happens".

1:45 - go to Y near Mom's house.

2pm- swim 4500m. This was supposed to be an OWS, but shit got in the way, like being a good daughter. I did 4x75 (50free, 25back) and then 4x1000. 100kick 100p cooldown. From the times of my 1000's, I am predicting a 1:20 IMKY swim time. My swim stroke is good, I feel good in the water, efficient and at ease. I could have kept going, to be honest.

3:45pm - finish swim, check voicemails and have a EAS protein drink.

4:15pm - arrive home. Eat again.

4:30pm - Fausto is at the bike shop, so I walk Lucy and Ari for 30 minutes.

5:00pm - shower, check emails, Facebook, talk on the phone.

6:00pm - start getting ready for Kelon's birthday "slow and steady Thursday night" ride.

6:30pm- Dominic comes home and starts getting bikes ready.

6:45pm- Ryan arrives on a BMX bike.

7:00pm - Head over to Northside.

7:15pm - park at the baseball field and ride to the meeting place.

7:30pm - wait.




7:45pm- wait some more. No one talks to us.

7:50pm - Head out finally, with a shitload of people that the Bike Snob New York makes fun of on a weekly basis. Me and Dominic have the coolest looking fixies out of any of them though. Kelon's too.

8:30pm - while riding, I see a guy I know and we catch up. The mother of his daughter and I used to be friends. We met at the methadone clinic. She ended commiting suicide about 6 years ago.

8:45pm - still riding along slowly, a girl on a fold up bike comes up on my right and I end up pushing her againest the curb since I can't stop pedaling.

8:50pm - finally realize the two guys in front of me aren't passing a water bottle back and forth. It's beer.

9:00pm - arrive downtown. An hour to ride about 10 miles! WOOT! Take pictures, sing Happy Birthday to Kelon.

9:10pm - me Dominic and Ryan leave group and haul ass back to Northside. We see lightening.

9:45pm - arrive at car just before the rain starts.

10:00pm - arrive home and head straight to the fridge. Eat.

11pm - swig down Nyquil and an Ambian and wait to pass out.

This week in pictures JUNE EDITION

Fausto rolled in deer shit and got his first outside bath.



Fausto took all the pillows off the couch so he could sleep on them, on the floor.



Had my first open water swim of the year with Amanda. Followed by a 90 minute solo bike ride. The lake was wonderful and I was wayyyy faster than last year.

Had the fixed gear fever with Dominic.

Dominic and Kelon.

Dominic's latest creation, built for Kelon. It's his old Lotus. Restored, painted, and fixed.

My beetredface after my 1st track workout since the Pig.

Friendship

A comment from the below post:

Anonymous said...

The people that post comments on your blog show you unconditional support no matter what you do or think. Yet, this blog is so quick and final to rip people apart for any imperfections.

Nate

*******************************

I don't know what that means. I rip people apart. Huh?

I don't have that many friends. When I quit using dope, I threw most of those "friends" away. A few, who made it out alive, are still my friends. I have a couple close friends, but they are few and far between.

Wikipedia says this about friends:

A friend is a person that someone likes or knows. People who are friends talk to each other and spend time together. They also help each other when they are in trouble. Friends are people that can be looked up to and trusted. A friend is one who admires a person's skill and helps or encourages them to make the right choices.

People sometimes call their closest friend their "best friend." If a person become very good friends with someone, they are called their boyfriend or girlfriend. This means that they like them very much, and have formed a relationship. Women often use the word girlfriend when referring to their close female friends.

I don't make friends easily. Trust is an issue. You might judge me. My past makes me different.

When you are my friend, I do anything for you. I am there for you no matter what. I expect the same from you too. And when this doesn't happen, I am disappointed.

Sometimes I tell it like it is. And this hurts. But friends don't lie. They tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.

I don't think I "ripped" anyone apart, Nate.

Wild week

It's been a recovery week. A lot less mileage and a lot more sleeping in. I actually got 10 hours of sleep one night. I feel pretty good. Physically, anyways.

25 running miles
50 riding miles
3550 yards of swimming
22 minutes of Crossfit
30 minutes of weight lifting

Monday Dominic and I had acupuncture. He for his pulled groin, and me for, well, everything. It was nice. We both fell asleep with the needles in.

Tuesday I went with my Mom to buy her a new computer. I also went and hooked it all up for her. Cuz that's what good daughters do, right?

Not much else going on.

I do have a rant for you though.

Friday I had a 90 minute run scheduled and was supposed to meet Sandi and Heather at the trail where the Stone Steps are. I haven't ran trails in a while and this trail in particular is not easy, with lots of rocks sticking out. It was slick because of the rain the day before and I went down about 1/4 mile into the trail. No big deal though. I got up and we continued running, slowly.

I had Ari with me and Sandi had Mica with her. So about a mile into it, Heather informs me that she has to be done in an hour and that I am going way too slow. She wanted to skip the best part of the trail, the Stone Steps, so I just told them to go on. And to never ask me to run with them again.

So I was dropped after a mile and THEY invited ME to run with them! I was so fucking pissed off. After the 5.3 mile loop, I just got in my car and went home. It almost ruined my whole day.

And when Heather emailed me to apologize for being such a bitch, I told her she was a TOTAL bitch and that she and Sandi could train w/o me. Heather thinks an apology just gives her a blank check to be a bitch to people. Wrong.

Do you ever invite people to run with you, knowing they run slow? Or do you just train alone or with people more your speed?

I have fucking HAD IT with training with anyone except Ryan and Dominic.

After that big explosion, our bike shop was invited to Mary's big Wellness Expo at GE. We had to help man the booth. It ended up being a really fun day.

This guy talked to Dominic about fixed gear riding for an hour.

Here is Ryan and his girlfriend Kristie.

I kept myself busy when the booth wasn't, doing cartwheels.

And Dominic played on the bikes we had brought.

Here is Mary and I. She is a great human being. Love her.

Ron, the bike shop owner, and Dominic.

Look who bought a helmet