MadCross

JP Weekend

2008-09-01T20:43:00.003-05:00

This weekend was the Jonathan Page Cyclocross Clinic here in Madison. Other than being too hot for cyclocross it was great. It was fun getting to know Jonathan a bit better . . . especially with our race using his name and all. Up until now I had only met him briefly at the Planet Bike party although people seemed to think I knew him. He is super nice just like everyone always says and it was great having a chance to chat with him throughout the day. It was also fun playing "foot down" with everyone at the clinic and also just getting to hang out and talk cross and see lots of people I hadn't seen for awhile.

The funniest part of the clinic was when Josh asked what happened with Ben and I that I wasn't doing a Cycle-Smart clinic (and Chicago was). I could have made a ton of pretty fun comments to that one . . . Ben prescribed one too many hard intervals last year and I yelled at him and we haven't spoken since . . . or maybe Ben caught me throwing recyclables into the garbage and he hasn't spoken to me since . . . or something more outrageous maybe. Instead I just told Josh the truth which was that I really wasn't planning to put on a clinic this year but Jonathan was in Wisconsin and was interested in doing one so we ended up having a Wisco clinic after all. I did tell Josh to ask Ben the same question just to see what he says. Ben's nice though so he wouldn't say something outrageous and sassy like I might.

I also had some lovely chats this weekend with Scott Mares who is publishing a new cyclocross book. He contacted me about getting some photos for his book. Who knew that my "fame" as a photographer reached all the way to Colorado. It's good to have some use for the zillions of photos taking up an extensive amount of hard drive space. Once the book is for sale I'll post on MadCross.

Other than that I did get in one ride this weekend . . . I tried not to whine too much about the heat but it was hard after spending 6 days in the Keweenaw with high temps of 75 everyday. I also got lots of work done on race stuff. I sent off another draft of our race's Technical Guide for approval with all the changes requested. I also heard back from the young Swiss guys who are coming to the race. I got them registered and now I just find them housing for 2 weeks. Anyone out there want to host 2 young Swiss guys who don't speak much English? My last resort is the couch and futon in my living room. At least they can spend their time playing foosball at my house so they would have some entertainment.

I also spent an inordinate amount of time talking to my mother on the phone this weekend. She's bored as my sister is working in Kansas City right now so my mom doesn't have her around to harass. Today she called and left a message for me while I was out riding, then called again a little bit after I got home. We chatted briefly but then I told her I need to stop talking so I could eat lunch. Then just as I was finishing eating she called again . . . to see if I had survived lunch as she thought maybe I had choked. My mom has taken to calling everyday and I have a similar insane conversation with her everyday. She is driving me mad! Parents, what can you do?!?!

I can't believe how fast the 3 day weekend flew by . . . next week I have tons to do at work plus I have a meeting in Wausau. I need to go to some other exotic locales as well but not sure how that's going to work or when I'll go. . . Ashland, Hayward, Hurley, Wisconsin Rapids, Appleton, Antigo, Platteville, Darlington, etc.

Crazy Things

2008-08-29T13:25:00.002-05:00

Last night I needed to check on the conditions of the barriers stored in the prairie grass at Badger Praire to make sure they would work for the clinic this weekend. Not a big deal as I could just go to ski school and then check on the barriers.

Thing is that my legs are tired from all the riding I did on vacation in the UP. That was probably more riding in 6 days than I had done all summer. However, I still went to ski school even though Thursdays are interval night. On the one hand this is a good idea because I'm desperately in need of some fitness for cross season.

On the other hand, doing roller ski intervals when you're really tired has its drawbacks. Inteval one went okay. I was V2ing pretty well up all the little hills and feeling better than expected (which still means I feel like crap - these are roller ski intervals after all and the sweat was just rolling off me - disgusting, I know).

Interval 2 I start out good. I'm V2ing up the first hill and then I loose concentration for a moment; a split second really. For most people this would not be a big deal. However, this is me. One minute I'm V2ing along just fine and the next minute I'm losing my balance. The next second I'm doing that slow motion fall . . . you know the kind. Even though you feel like it's happening slowly you can't seem to do anything to stop yourself. Clearly I lead a charmed life though as I tumbled over into the grass along the side of the road and I was V2ing so slowly that my biggest concern was if anyone saw me being a huge dork. (And for the record no one saw me, not even my ski school mates, which is why it pays to be slower than everyone else).

I survived the rest of that interval and then proceeded to V1 that section of the hill for the subsequent intervals (wuss!). And I survived (barely) the rest. I thought we were doing 6 intervals but we only ended up doing 5. It was like receiving an unexpected gift . . . especially since my legs barely had 5 intervals in them. I actually thought I wouldn't make it through the cool down ski as the last hill up to the parking lot seemed painful even at cool down speed.

Rollerskiing . . . it was only a couple of years ago that I proclaimed I would never do that - which, of course, is a sure sign that I will do something eventually.

Of course, most of my blog readers are not skiers but cyclocrossers and now you're wondering if I'm ever going to get back to the cross barriers. Since you've read through all that ski talk I suppose I will.

The barriers are in better shape than I expected based on JPE's comments to me before he left town. However, they do need a little work so we brought one home to see what the best fix will be. They will be ready for the clinic though so everyone can get in some good race prep.

Who knew how hard it would be. . .

2008-08-28T12:39:00.002-05:00

So I really want to make JP's PB Cup a "zero waste" event but I had no idea the trouble that would be. Well, not all of it is trouble but composting compostable plates, silverware, and cups has been the real trouble area. I contacted the Dane County recycling director . . . they can't do it but he gave me some contacts. I also contacted my friend at the Willy Street Coop and he said they struggled with finding somewhere themselves when they have events with more than they can compost themselves. I contacted an organic farmer friend but composting our stuff could run afoul of organic certifcation. I emailed a group that does event recycling here in Madison and they told me to forget it and to not do compostable and just buy recycled. I'm a determined gal but I was starting to wonder if I was going to be begging everyone I know with a composter to take some home. Luckily someone from the Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin emailed me (the county forwarded my info to her) and said their compost expert was out of town but would contact me next week. There is still hope . . . . Of course, I also need the sponsor I approached to help fund the zero waste effort to come through or it may be tough to afford all my ideas. I remain hopeful that somehow it will all work out.

Speaking of plates, food waste, etc . . . . the Market Street Diner is going to be doing the food sales at Angell Park Speedway race weekend. That should be pretty tasty. Not sure what beer is going to be sold yet but I think the speedway understands we don't just want Miller. The food and beer are going to be sold out of the pavillion as they built a stage area there this summer.

Back Home

2008-08-26T21:45:00.003-05:00

Gocation is over and it's back to juggling work, race promotion, and trying to ride. It was great being away for a few days though and it was nice to not have all the life distractions and be able to focus on riding and event promotion.

I want to say that I love, love, love the Keweenaw Peninsula. The weather was unbeatable with temps in the 60s and 70s with nice chilly nights. According to the news we just missed the summer heat wave . . . 3 daysin a row with temps over 80.

Thursday we drove up to the UP and on the way we rode at the Underdown trails outside Irma, WI. Friday we rode the Churning Rapids trails and Maaso Hiito trails outside Houghton/Hancock, MI. Saturday we did a 5k trail run in Chassell, MI and then rode some of the Swedetown Trails in Calumet, MI. Sunday we rode the trails at Michigan Tech in Houghton and then some rollerskiing and a short run. Monday we rode all the trails at Swedetown. Today we drove home with a stop at the Standing Rock trails outside Plover. In between the riding I could be found in our cabin on my laptop taking care of race business.

All I can say is that my legs are tired but the trails we rode are worth it. I'm totally in love with the singletrack at Swedetown in Calumet. Actually I'm totally in love with the Keweenaw. I want to spend some time living there one day. Of course that day is 16 years away when I am old enough to retire.

Gocation Continues

2008-08-24T21:51:00.002-05:00

Another day on Gocation . . . this morning we headed up to the trails at Michigan Tech. There are tons of different trails including lots of freeride obstacles. There are also tons of fast flowing trails with well designed climbs.

Later on after recovering from riding we headed out for some rollerskiing. After which I had a crazy idea of doing a little run. My legs are fried now!

Gocation

2008-08-23T21:07:00.002-05:00

I needed a little vacation before things got any crazier so Dave and I headed up to the UP of Michigan . . . once again heading to the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Thursday we headed up and we stopped at the Underdown Recreation Area for a little mountain biking. I always enjoy the trails there although they've been doing a lot of logging so they weren't the usual tree lined trails.

Yesterday we headed out on the Churning Rapids trails as well as the Maasto Hiito trails. We did have a map for MH so we only got to hit some of the singletrack there but I really enjoyed the trails at Churning Rapids.

This morning Dave and I hit up a local 5k trail run. OUCH! I haven't been running since the trail run up here in July and I really haven't been running a race pace you need for a 5k. Dave really hasn't run at all but he flew off with the front runners and ended up 5th overall in the 5k and got 2nd in his age group with a time of 21 minutes. I had the good luck to be in what the race director said was the toughest age group in the event (women 30-39). However, I pulled out a very painful 3rd place finish and was only about 30 seconds out of 1st. I always feel that if I get a top finish up here in the UP then I'm doing good as they gals up here are tough, tough, tough.

This afternoon Dave and I headed out to the Swedetown trails. We've done ski races there before and I've always liked the ski trails. Well, the mountain bike trails are even better. Fast, flowing and totally buffed out. I was tired by the end of 2.5 hours of riding as the 5k took it out of me a bit but very fun.

Goings on

2008-08-18T15:27:00.002-05:00

Life is passing by way too fast these days . . .

Last week was spent in Eau Claire, WI for the Wisconsin Bicycle and Pedestrian Conference. I kind of ended up being the primary organizer for the event (I didn't intend for that to happen but . . . ). Anyway, good conference but exhausting. You'd think at a conference like that I would have gotten out for some good rides but no. I didn't even get to take a bike (the minivan I took was full of display items, 4 people and luggage so no bike for me). I got out for 2 short runs which I traded for getting adequate sleep. That's just the way conferences go.

Last week was also moving week in Madison. You'd think that wouldn't affect a home owner like me but you'd be wrong since our house is 2 apartments. Our summer tenant moved out and our new tenant moved in. Of course, we rented the apartment for the summer as furnished so all that furniture had to be moved out (well, we gave the new tenants a bunch of stuff so we didn't have to deal with it). When I got home from Eau Claire we had way too much furniture in our apartment and more that still needed moved. I started giving stuff away and selling stuff on craigslist (why do people make appts and then stand you up???). Our apartment is total chaos still but tonight someone is supposedly coming to buy our extra queen size bed which will free up some room.

The rest of my time is devoted to cross stuff. Now would be an excellent time to register for the race and an even better time to register for the clinic. And I would just like to mention that trying to get sponsors is exhausting. Thanks to Planet Bike, Lawton and Cates. SC and Harlot Wear for jumping on board and supporting our event!

Dave's Weekend

2008-08-11T11:08:00.003-05:00

Normally this blog is about me, me and me. However, Dave's weekend was WAY more interesting than mine so I thought I'd blog about it.

Friday - It was our 16th anniversary so we decided to stop being lame and do something different. We went to the Weary Traveler because the cool kids hang out there and we wanted to be cool in our old age. We had the mediteranean plate and a mojito. Very nice. Then we pedaled up to Natt Spill where the other cool kids hang out and had the pear and brie pizza with a black cherry chocolate martini. Now we're having a good time. Next we swung by the Terrace to hang out briefly with some drunken ski friends. After that it was off to Sucre for the bread and relish plate, a chocolate raspberry torte and a rhubarb capriosca. That was about as hip as we could get so we went home.

Saturday - Lots of excitement . . . well, not really. We had to clean our bike shed to make space for new tenants in our upstairs apartment that are moving in this week. Pete and Britt have bikes, boats and other gear. Our shed had been overtaken by race supplies (bike and ski) and home project left overs (12 window and screens and wood parts, etc). Not to mention our crazed collection of bkes that include some that aren't working or safe to be ridden. Cleaning the shed took most of the day actually. Funny story - Dave had this bike that had been dumped at our house that he rode to work briefly. It was a piece of crap with a bent front fork and now everything was rusted. I put it on the curb and someone took it (along with various other junk). I love living downtown!

Sunday - Dave heads off to the Kewaskum WORS race. Here's his story:

"I was so excited to be out mountain bike racing on such a beautiful day with the rest of the Chain Smokers. Pete and I had a fun drive up talking about races past, present and future. We had fun cheering on Brandon, Troy and Steve at the start of the sport race. Pete and I get ready and go for a nice warm up spin. I was happy that it appeared I had recovered from the 24-9 race. Things were going well. I decided to throw in a short fast sprint to test out the heart and muscles for the race to come. My foot pops out of my pedal and straight into my front wheel! I go down hard landing on my left side. Wow! That is going to leave a mark. Pete immediately stops to help me. My foot is jammed into the front wheel and fork. Pete has to take my shoe off so I can get my foot out of my front wheel. Adrenaline is flowing so I don't have a clue how badly I am hurt. Pete tries to get me to stop and take a breath to assess the body damage as I struggle to get my chain on to ride back. My front wheel is rubbing on the fork as I have busted or bent about a third of the spokes. I start walking back the mile or two to the race. Pete says he will go get the car to give me a ride but I assure him moving will keep me from getting too stiff. I eventually convince him to ride back so he does not miss the start of his race. I start walking faster and faster thinking maybe I can get back to cheer them on at the start. As I break into a light jog I realize my chest hurts a bit. About then a sherrif's deputy drives up that Pete flagged down and sent to assist me. He gives me a ride back to the race. Shortly after he drops me off at the ambulance Pete and Ryan show up. Ryan says Wendy's isn't riding right now and her wheel will work for me. They race off to get Wendy's wheel and when they get back I throw it on my bike. I ride around a bit to discover that the wheel and bike are working great. I don't know if my body is going to work after the adrenaline wears off but I figure if I at least start I can get at least one point for DNFing. I don't look at my wounds as I don't want to know yet. The start goes well I must be still running on adrenaline. I get up the hill in about eighth place in my wave. I keep pushing on through the first lap wondering when the adrenalin will run out. I maintain my position fairly well. At the end of the lap a couple guys go by in my age group and I assume my crash is catching up with me. I keep pushing and eventually get back around them on some climbs. I keep pushing on lap two and go by others in my wave but not my age group. I wonder when the crash aftermath will start slowing me down and I will start going backwards. I hear Wendy and others cheering for me. It helps me keep pushing on and surprise on lap three I pass a couple guys in my age group. This is too good to believe. I start to notice that my chest hurts when I hit big bumps on the downhills. I think my rib is bruised. My chest muscles start to tighten up by my bruised rib making it hard to breath right after each big bump. This has got to be the beginning of the end. Fourth lap starts well with a good climb up the hill eventually passing Holly Liske. I can't believe things are still going so well. I try to baby all the big bumps on the descents so my chest doesn't tighten up. I am in the last quarter of the last lap. When the trail passes close by I see some of my competition not too far back. Can they see me grimacing every time I hit a big bump? I push on up the climbs and easy on the bumpy decents. I keep pushing hoping the people closing fast are in a different wave. I keep riding hard on the ups. I think I can finish this! Woohoo, I make it to the finish line without anyone in my age group passing me. Wow! I survived and there aren't that many people standing around that finished. I cool down trying to keep from hitting any bumps as my chest is getting worse. I couldn't believe it when I looked at the results and wound up 3rd in my age group and 19th in comp overall. Woohoo! P.S. So far I discovered rasberrys on my shoulder, elbow, a couple on the hip, right thigh is bruised and my left chest probably has a bruised rib. Yikes!"

Dave's suffering today and we'll be getting some margaritas to try and cure his pain tonight. He has lots of tegaderm all over his body and his ribs hurt more than he had hoped. What a stud though . . . getting 3rd!

Podium Shot (he's not lifting his arms up like that anymore!):

(Thanks for the photo Wendy! Certainly one to remember.)

Catching Up!

2008-08-10T17:45:00.003-05:00

So much happening and yet so little time . . .

Last weekend was the 24 Hours of Nine Mile mountain bike race. Given that I hadn't been riding much I opted to do a 4-woman 12 hour team. However, since that made me feel like a sandbagger I opted to do it as a 3-woman team with my pals Sam and Pam. Sam took the 1st lap and put us in the lead. I took the 2nd lap and proceeded to have a flat. I did a decent job repairing the flat but that put us in 3rd. Pam took the 3rd lap and kept us in a decent position. Then Sam got us back into 2nd and on my 2nd lap I got us back into 1st but not by a ton. Pam had a strong lap but we slipped to 2nd. Then Sam put in another fast lap just before dark to put us back in the lead. I then went out for the last lap, our night lap and put some more time into 2nd place (I like night riding so I usually do a good night lap). I have to say my team was completely shocked that we ended up winning by around 30 minutes (which was really thanks to Sam being a great racer even when she isn't riding much). Dave also had a good race with his team getting 2nd in their category and only missing out on 1st by 1 minute.

The rest of my time has been taken up with Jonathan Page's Planet Bike Cup. Lots happening. Working on sponsorship stuff, opening registration, paying 1,500 swiss francs to the UCI, getting the USAC permit, starting to do press releases, emailing with potential elite athletes looking for host housing, etc., etc. It's exciting but there's a lot to do!

Work is busy. Next week is the Wisconsin Bicycle and Pedestrian conference in Eau Claire so I'll be gone all week for that. I've been busy organizing that . . . sponsorships, food counts, room arrangements. It's not unlike race planning!

I've been trying to get out on the bike as well as I have bought my UCI license and plan to race on Sunday of the JP's PB Cup. I look forward to getting my *ss kicked by all the great women that I think are going to show up. Canadian national team member, former US national team member, and the usual local gals plus I'm sure a whole lot more as we start to get the word out about the equal prize payout.

America's Next Top Model

2008-08-01T09:54:00.002-05:00

So a couple weeks ago I was invited to be a model in the midwest's outdoor retailer fashion show . . . held at the beautiful rooftop of the Monona Terrace Convention Center.

A model's life is never easy . . . . sometimes you have to model winter clothing in the full sun of a July day. There's nothing like a winter coat over the top of a fleece top to make you appreciate just how hard the life of a model really is.

Luckily I also got to model some non-winter items which was a much easier job. However, I don't think I'll be giving up my day job and appearing on America's Next Top Model anytime soon.

The Weekend Reprieve

2008-07-27T22:24:00.004-05:00

So I got a reprieve this weekend and my mom didn't have to stay with me after all. I was relieved. Of course, my mom was disappointed the moment she wasn't coming even though she had come up with a zillion reasons why staying with me wouldn't work.

WARNING: THIS NEXT SECTION IS A GIRLIE POST ABOUT HAIR STYLES

With my weekend suddenly wide open I decided to kick it off with the longest hair salon appointment ever. I decided that the time had come for change as my recent boring hairstyle trend was starting to make everyone wonder what was up with me. Unfortunately, if you let your hair grow for 2.5 years but continue to dye it then you can have issues when you try to make drastic changes. Yes, my hair was starting to suffer from being over processed and my poor hairstylist had quite a challenge. (Luckily, she is a multi-time Ironman so she has what it takes to go the distance!).

However, after many hours of processing, vast quantities of bleach, and two haircuts I have a fun new look. It's refreshing to have cut off so much of my hair especially on a hot day as our car doesn't have air conditioning and my previous long hair was impossible to keep secured at 65mph on the freeway. My hair also can dry in less than 8 hours now. I'm not complaining about thick hair as when I'm older and it starts to thin a bit I'll still have more hair than a person needs.

The best part of the hair appointment was when I decided I needed to cut off a lot to get ride of the overprocessed hair. My hairstylist gave me a hair magazine and told me to pick something and I had to pick something in like 2 minutes since I had already had one cut. I flipped through a few pages, saw something that looked doable and said "how about that." I laughed when I realized I picked something from the "Teen Spirit" page. I'm willing to admit that my new look may be age inappropriate!

GIRLIE POST OVER

With my weekend suddenly freed up I used most of Saturday to do errands - grocery shopping, laundry, etc. Well, first I watched the Tour time trial. I also did sneak in time for an hour trail run in the Arboretum. It's been two weeks since my 25k trail run and it felt nice to be out again. However, an hour was plenty and I found it hard to believe that I did a 25k not that long ago.

Sunday was Dave's birthday and I dropped him off at at a teammate's house so he could carpool to the WORS race. He got 4th in his age group and had a fine time. Nice job as always!

I went and did some mountain biking at Cam-Rock after dropping Dave off. After just over 2 hours I was hungry and tired and ready to be done. I like Cam-Rock but I have to admit that I don't love it. I never seem to get in a good flow there . . . plus the mosquitoes were out in force on every slow part which wasn't helping. It was fun though and the only other time I'd been there this year I went running.

After that it was back to my landscaping project. I went to two different greenhouse to try and get some more plants to add to what I planted last weekend. Things are starting to shape up but I have a lot still to do. I have a feeling that this is about it for this year though as things are starting to ramp up with cyclocross.

Sunday evening I made Dave a nice birthday dinner of Fennel Ghoulash. I totally recommend this recipe. I used a mix of sweet hungarian paprika and half-sharp paprika so that it had a little bit of zing. Finished watching the Tour while we ate dinner. I know the Tour is probably "uncool" these days but I love to watch it. Dave and I have been to France twice to see a variety of stages and I continue to enjoy watching it.

Some of the weekend I used to work on cyclocross stuff. I'm getting ready to open up registration, working on finalizing sponsors, and trying to get everything in order for a Jonathon Page cyclcoross clinic at the end of August. You can expect to hear more on that and more very soon.

Family Times

2008-07-23T09:36:00.003-05:00

So my mother called me the other day to see if she could stay with me this weekend as my sister and her family were all going to be else where (my mother can't stay on her own for that long). Being a dutiful daughter (and not having any other options) I said that would be fine. Of course, things are never that easy with my mother.

Last night she was in a frenzy waiting for me to get home so she could work out the details of her visit. As worked up as she was you would have thought I stayed out all night but in reality I got home before 8pm. Anyway, she had many pressing matters to discuss with me.

First off was figuring out what time she would be arriving Friday. When would I be home? I told her not until probably 7pm as I had a hair appointment but that Dave would be home from work by 5:30pm. Well, couldn't I cancel my hair appointment. I said no but it was no big deal because Dave would be home right after work. Well, she didn't know if this was going to work as my nephew wanted to drop her off so he could get where we was going before dark. I told her that if 5:30pm was too late that Dave could easily come home from work, let her in and just go back to work. Oh no, that certainly wouldn't work as she couldn't stay in that house all alone. The way she said it was so funny as if there was something wrong with our house. In reality she meant she couldn't stay alone in a downtown neighborhood in a city like Madison as that would certainly be too dangerous. (The joys of my small town family who think Madison is a big city rife with crime).

Then she broke the news to me that her dog would have to come with her. Subconsciously I probably knew that would be the case but I was trying not to think about it. Her dog is the most annoying dog ever. I think it's a pug. I'm sure some pugs are very nice dogs but unfortunately my mother's is not. I do feel bad for the dog because it probably could have been a nice dog if my mother had trained it be well-behaved but I think letting it behave badly is just a way to torment my sister (who has to live with it all the time). I told my mother she needed to bring the dog's crate with her. She proceeded to tell me how she just didn't know if this was going to work. Her dog couldn't stay in its crate all weekend. I told her my cats weren't going to spend all weekend in the basement either. I said we'd make it work but she didn't know if this was going to work now.

Then she said she was worried about staying with us as she needs to eat on a very precise schedule. You see she's diabetic and she really does need to eat on a schedule but normally you have to force her to eat the way she is supposed to and she could care less about what she's supposed to do. She just didn't know if this was going to work because we eat at such strange times. I told her this was not a problem as she undoubtedly would not want to eat the same things as us anyway so she could eat when she needed and we'd eat when we wanted. Then she wanted to know what she was going to eat as she realized that she was about to spend the weekend with vegetarian crazies who eat things she's never heard of before. I assured her we would go out and buy her some things that she would like to eat.

Then she wanted to know if we even had a couch she could sleep on. I assured her that she would be sleeping in our bedroom and that we would sleep on the futon in our living room. Well, she didn't know about that as she's pretty restless. I said she could be restless in our bedroom but it would work better for her to be there with her dog and us in the living room with our cats. Well, she didn't know if this was going to work out.

Then we had to have a long discussion about how we'd need to be trained to help her with her insulin shots. Given how much I hate needles this was probably the only real issue with her coming to stay but I assured her that we could do whatever it is that she needs help doing. Apparently my nephew can show us.

Finally she couldn't think of any more reasons why it certainly wouldn't work for her to stay with us this weekend. Then we had to have a long discussion about whether I would be home for her to call and finalize the plans on Thursday night. I told her I wouldn't be home until 9:30pm because I had a meeting (for UCI race planning) but she could call and tell Dave when she was arriving. Then we had to have a long discussion about whether I would be biking home from this meeting at 9:30pm or if I would have the car. At this point I just wanted to shoot myself and end the suffering.

You just cannot imagine how much I am looking forward to the upcoming delightful weekend with my mother. Luckily for Dave there is a WORS race this weekend to escape to because by Sunday my mother and I will likely be on the verge of killing each other.

Revolutionizing my skiing

2008-07-22T15:52:00.003-05:00

I have officially passed the first "semester" of ski school. And the good times that I have had! Last night started the next phase of ski school and we added in some agility drills around cones. Agility is not my strong suit and on the downhill drills I missed cones a couple of times. Ooops! We also did some great hill climbing drills and I finally figured out what I am supposed to be doing with my arms/poles during V-1 climbing. It seems that I need to stop bending my elbow on the left side and bend it only after it passes by my hips on the right side. Apparently that was what Dave kept trying to tell me last ski season but I never could quite grasp what he was talking about. I'm a slow learner!

Got up early this morning and went running for the first time since the Keewenaw 25k. I definitely run harder when Dave is along. He was even on his good behaviour and not inciting me in any way. I guess I was feeling good after taking 10 days off from running.

The Weekend

2008-07-21T08:10:00.004-05:00

This weekend was the usual busy time. I realized with cross season fast approaching I needed to finish what I could with my yard landscaping project. It had been weeks since I had done anything and I really didn't want to continue with big dirt and mud patches in the yard. I was thinking our yard was looking worse than the student rentals in our neighborhood!

The one thing that I wanted to get done before I planted anything was the removal of the last shrub stump that I hadn't dug out. Over the last couple of years I have ripped out two hedges, 3 medium sized shrubs and 1 huge shrub. I had removed all of the roots and stumps except for one. I had dug some on the last stump but I had a lot to do so Saturday morning I got out my shovel and axe and went to work.

It was a miserable job especially with the heat and humidity but I was determined. I was digging and digging and then chopping at the roots with the axe. I have to say that little progress was being made but I kept plugging away it. Then the axe broke. I took a good swing and the blade went into the root and when I went to pull it out the blade stayed and the handle snapped off. That was the final straw (I had previously snapped two shovels doing this project).

I was hot, after hours of work the stump was no where near even moving so I made the decision that I would just landscape around the stump. My yard is already starting to look more respectable and may eventually not long like one of the run down student rental houses in my 'hood.

Here's a shot of the 4 barberry bushes that I planted that will one day grow big enough to camouflage the ugly concrete foundation of our porch.

Here is the start of the flower garden that I intend to put in the front yard. There used to be a hedge in this spot so I started here as it was already turning from a dirt patch to a weed patch. The great part is that I used cocoa mulch so our yard has a pleasant smell of chocolate now.

The rest of the weekend was boring and uneventful. Grocery shopping, laundry. I got out for a ride on Sunday and tried doing a couple of sub-threshold intervals that were on my schedule at this time last year. That sucked but I toughed it out as I realize that cross is fast approaching. I also have been working on UCI race stuff as I want to open registration soon. Right now I'm trying to line up the rest of our sponsors. Know a company that really wants to sponsor a cool event, then let me know. I have to pay our $1,500 UCI fee this week so money is on the mind.

An Ode to Copper Harbor

2008-07-16T22:31:00.003-05:00

Copper Harbor how do I love thee? Let me count the ways . . .

1. I love Copper Harbor for its amazing summer time temperatures. I read that the average summer time temperature is 75 degrees. Pure heaven, I tell you. The trail run morning it was maybe 60. As you can see I was wearing a light jacket before the start and on the whole run I never felt like it was too hot.

2. I love Copper Harbor for its fine winters. On the way up the Keewenaw Peninsula from Calumet there is the signs in the photos below trumpeting the awesome winters to be experienced. This area's worst winter was 160 inches. That's the kind of horrible winter I could come to love. And as you can see 390.4 is the best winter they've had. NICE!

3. I like Lake Superior. It is probably my favorite great lake. No real reason for that. Maybe it's because it has a moderating affect on the temperatures and brings lots of snow. Maybe because it sounds so nice as waves hit the shore. Because of the opportunities to do fun things like kayaking. For it's great islands.

4. Copper Harbor also has great inland lakes and streams to enjoy if you want calmer water or warmer water.

5. Copper Harbor also has amazing trails. I would almost call these photos "The Bridges of Keewenaw County." However, these are just a small part of all the great trails in the area. They do illustrate how much work goes into developing them though as these are no small projects. They were working on one trail while we were there and it was already very rideable. They also are adding cross country ski trails this year and are working to develop more skiing opportunities.

6. I love The Jam Pot. It's actually between Eagle Harbor and Eagle River. The monks at the monastery there make incredible baked goods and jams/jellies. The monk told us they aren't sinful baked goods but they are decadently good and may bring a person to commit the sin of gluttony.

7. Copper Harbor is also great because it is small and quiet. You can walk across town even after doing a 25k trail run. You can ride your bike out to the state park and tour the old fort site for free.

8. Let's face it . . . Copper Harbor is beautiful. I didn't even see the northern lights because it was too cloudy but that would just be the icing on the cake.

Suffice it to say that I can't wait to go back. I'm thinking maybe in August I might be able to take a long weekend again. Truthfully I'm already imagining spending some serious time there when I retire (a mere 15 years and 364 days away!).

Keewenaw Trail Running Festival

2008-07-16T06:47:00.007-05:00

This last Sunday was the much anticipated (by me, at least) Keewenaw Trail Running Festival 25k. On Saturday there was also a 10k and a 3 mile hill climb but I opted for just one event in the festival given that doing all 3 would be more running than I've done in one week in a really long time.

I'm not sure why I decided to do this run as I'm really not a runner and I'm really not someone who does running in the summer. However, the idea of a trail run lodged in my mind and would not let go. It rattled around in there for awhile as I thought of all the reasons not to do this:

1. My knee hasn't tolerated running that well since my acl replacement surgery
2. I hate running when it gets hot so doing a July run would be silly
3. I was planning to take up rollerskiing this summer so I didn't need something else to take up my time
4. I don't really like endurance events and 25k would push the limits for me

However, I felt like this was the run for me so on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend I did a 5 mile trail run on the North Country Trail outside Cable to start off my training. I figured I needed to do 5 then if I were to make it to 25k by July 13.

Now about the run . . .

It started at 7am Eastern Time which made me a bit nervous as I'm not a morning runner. I was excited/nervous though so I was able to get up and get ready in time. However, when the alarm went off on Dave's watch I hit every button on the alarm clock in our hotel room in an attempt to turn it off. (Dave thought it was my watch alarm and he couldn't figure out why I didn't just turn it off).

The race starts on the Golf Course of the Keewenaw Mountain Lodge. That means you go down first and up at the end. I had driven over to the lookout point on the ridge above the lodge on Saturday and it was pretty intimidating seeing Lake Fanny Hooe where we run to and how far up it was back to the lodge.

Here is the start line at the golf course.

Here we go across part of the golf course.

Then you run a little loop right near the lodge. This part was just like a mountain bike race. Everyone charges off through the open part and then you hit the first singletrack section and the line comes to a stop. The first bit of singletrack was real mountain bike singletrack - narrow with rocks, roots, etc. I was totally in my element there as I'm used to picking a line and watching where I'm going.

After you do the loop right at the lodge you head down the Red Trail which is this awesome downhill with good terrain and some rocky sections. This takes you down to Lake Manganese where you run briefly along the shore. Then you head out towards Lake Fanny Hooe where you run the Kamikaze trail. This is a flat trail along the lake. However, you don't really ever get a chance to take in the views as this trail is super rooted so you have to watch every step. I like it as I like the distraction of obstacles. It helps me forget about the challenges of running. I did hear a couple of guys lamenting the lack of a good surface to put your foot so I guess it wasn't universally loved.

Eventually we complete that part and head up Paul's Plunge. The picture above is me just after coming up the plunge which is this steep rocky trail that was meant to be mountain biked down. One of the women in front of me told Dave that it was like mountain climbing. It was steep but at this point I was still going pretty good so I kind of liked it. I thought it looked like a rather hard downhill on the bike (Dave rode it later though and said it wasn't as bad as I thought so I guess the perspective of trying to make it up on foot made it seem worse than it is).

There was one spot on the course that you came by 3 times and that is where they had the aid station. This photo is my 2nd time at the aid station and I'm getting my water bottle refilled with water. In this race they require you to carry a water bottle so they don't have the waste of paper cups. I spent too long at the aid station my 3rd time through as I wanted to make more Luna drink mix but I couldn't get the packet open. I guess I was getting tired!

After the 2nd time through the aid station you head out to do Black Bear, Rock and Roll and French Annie trail. These are all nice little pieces of singletrack linked together with some forest roads. There was one stretch of mud bog on French Annie and I passed a guy there as he tried to gingerly pick his way through without getting muddy. I just saw a line of least resistance and charged on through getting a little muddy along the way. I think that was the cyclocrosser in me! There were also a couple of creek crossings. I only got a little wet on those and used the trees/stones to get across mostly dry. I didn't think I would want to run the rest of the way with wet feet but it would have been kind of fun to blast through (I bet the leaders did).

It was during this section of the run that I told myself that if the person I could see in front of me was walking that I didn't have to. Somehow seeing someone else walk a section made me think I should too. However, I decided that I needed to treat it like Chequamegon . . . the guys might get off their bikes (or walk) but I can just keep riding (running) and get up the hill. I just felt better very slowly running up the hills versus walking them. I knew that there would be plenty of walking to be had later and Dave will tell you that I like to get into my "all day" pace and just plug away at that speed with no variation.

For a big chunk of the last half of the course I was going back and forth with several guys. They would pass me, I would pass them. I think my strength was picking a line in the singletrack and theirs was running. It was fun not to be out there all by myself though. I did sometimes pass them on hills as they seemed to prefer the walking break on the hills and I tried to avoid it and just plug away.

I also spent some time telling myself that when I got done with this run I didn't have to run again for as long as I wanted. Another thing I did was always drink or eat if I needed to walk a hill. It made me feel like there was some larger reason to walk besides exhaustion and the challenge of running some of the steeper bits.

After French Annie Trail you finally reach the final time at the aid station. I had told the guys around me that I knew if I made it there I would finish as I knew I could always make it by just walking if need be.

After the aid station the tough part of the day starts and this is when the true difficulty of this race hits you. You know it's going to hurt when you go further downhill after the aid station. Let me tell you that you have no desire to lose more elevation when you know that you have to get up to the top where the Keewenaw Mountain Resort is located. I was still upbeat though as the singletrack is fun and I had ridden this piece the day before and remebered it fondly.

However, before long you get to the cut off down into town on the Stairway to Heaven trail and make the turn to begin the long, long, long slog to the top on the Here You Go trail. The funny part was this mountain biker who told us that it was only 2-3 miles to the top. True, I suppose, if we took the direct way but that was not the case. Instead we were faced with switchback after switchback after switchback all uphill. I would say that for the first mile (or maybe less) I kept a nice slow, steady running pace.

One of the hardest parts was when we got to a point in the trail when we could hear traffic on the road to the lodge and then we turned and ran the opposite direction. And we kept going and going and going. Slowly I started taking more walking breaks and it got harder to start running again. I tried to distract myself by thinking about what a fun trail it would be to mountain bike down. That didn't help. This part of the race was tough going and sometimes all I could do was make myself walk fast (I told myself I needed to at least do the hill walking pace of ski school drills).

It also seemed to stretch on forever. Finally though I got to the end of that trail and I knew the trail I was on would lead to the finish. It did but it snaked around a lot first. My legs were hurting by this point and I really, really wanted it to be done. It went walk, walk, run slowly, get to a small rise, walk, walk, force myself to run slowly, walk, try to psyche myself up to run again, run a little, wonder how much farther. Finally I saw someone standing in the woods so I started my pathetic jog and then I saw that I was at the edge of the golf course at the resort. Great joy came upon me and I told myself that I needed to do the best run I could muster as I was almost done. Jog, jog, jog, see the finish timers. Try to follow the red flags in the ground. Finally get close enough to see the time clock says 3:17. Hope I can get there before it says 3:20. Finally get there and it still says 3:17. Feel very happy and very tired all at the same time!

Here I am after 3 hours and 17 minutes of running ( and some serious walking) with the 3 guys I ran a lot of the race with. 1327 beat me and the other two came in just behind me.

All in all I was pleased with the race. I had fun although I did suffer but I didn't suffer so much that Iwished I weren't doing it. The last 3-4 miles was where my lack of running really showed. I really needed to finish every one of my runs with a really long climb and I really needed to run more than I did. However, I didn't run so much that I hated it or that I had injuries of any sort. I was pleased with a 3:17 finish time on a tough course. I expected to be slower but I ran the first 12 miles faster than I expected (and the last 4 were as slow and as hard as I imagined).

Would I do it again? I would but maybe not right away. I enjoy running especially trail running but I fear that too much of it would kill that enthusiasm. Who knows though. If you'd have asked me last year if I would do this I would have said no!

Who wore it best?

2008-07-10T06:57:00.006-05:00

Just like US magazine, I now have the Who Wore it Best poll . . .

Family 4th

2008-07-07T07:19:00.006-05:00

Long weekends are great but also incredibly tiring. The 4th took Dave and I to Fairmont, MN (think western MN) where Dave's cousin Ryan was getting married.

Just a couple of days before the wedding I had been thinking I really need to sell my 1969 AMC Javelin that I wrote about in my last post. However, whenever I see Dave's Uncle Frank and his cousins Ryan and Kevin I always change my mind.

Here is Ryan's Chevelle sitting outside the church.

And here is Dave's Uncle Frank's Chevrolet (which we got a ride in later that evening).

As if those two cars weren't enough to remind me of my not-so-secret love of old cars, one of the ushers at the wedding is just finishing up the restoration of a 1970 Javelin. I got the full story and photos and he told me that he had his car sitting in storage for 13 years before beginning work. Looks like I'll be keeping my car and continuing to think that someday I'll get it going again.

Here are some photos of the Fairmont, MN fireworks from outside the wedding reception.

And here is Dave's cousin Ryan and his new wife Geri (welcome to the family!).

The rest of the weekend involved driving back from MN. Then a way, way, way too short visit with Dave's other cousin, Mattie, and her two awesome sons, Alex and Lucas. Then on Sunday Dave did the WORS race where he didn't have his usual stellar race but still had fun riding the great trails in Eau Claire. I did an hour and 40 minute run in and around the Arboretum. Then I had the distinct fun of painting the windows we had replaced in the upstairs apartment. I wish that I had our own windows done but I still have a little left to do on the two upstairs before I even start on ours. I don't think our home projects will ever be completed.

In addition, things are happening in the cyclocross word. A Swiss rider emailed me that has an interest in attending our race so we'll see what happens with that. Dave Towle would like to come do the race announcing. The race technical guide is getting ready to be sent off to the person assigned as our race "president." The UCI sent the bill for the various UCI fees so this week I have to transfer $1500 to the UCI. Fun stuff!

Been Tagged

2008-07-03T14:16:00.003-05:00

So Amy tagged me . . . so here's my 6 random things (although in reality this blog is just 6 million random things).

1. Reading Chris's random things made me thing of this one. I do get bored easily and it's kind of a running joke between Dave and I. I like that feeling of the new and unknown. I also have trouble staying interested in things after a certain point in time. For instance, once I was a mediocre alpine skier I had to learn to snowboard. After I ran my first 10k I decided to run a marathon. Once I put on a small event I try to make it into a big event. Sometimes I do wish I was one of those people who could stick with something and really master it. I think my attention span is just too short.

2. I would rather speak in front of a group than have to mingle at a party. I'm actually a very socially awkward person and I'm no good with the small talk with strangers. If you watch the Cycle-Smart video and watch the camp promo you'll hear me saying I have a phobia of camps. It's true really and I can't believe I actually went to that camp. (And I tore my ACL there so maybe I really wasn't meant to go to camps).

3. I own a 1969 AMC Javelin (343, 4 barrel in case you are interested) that I got when I was 16. It's purple. I was a punk rock/motor head back in the day. I should sell the car as I've been paying for storage for it almost 20 years. It would take a bit of money to get it running again and even if I had the money I have no where to keep it here in Madison. I'm not usually very sentimental and am pretty good at getting rid of things from my youth or that I inherited. I'm a big believer in keeping the photos and memories but not the stuff. However, I still have this car. Someday I'm going to have to get rid of it but I probably won't face that reality until the storage facility I use is sold and I have to make a decision.

4. Since water has been a theme with Chris and Holly I will just admit that I don't know how to swim. By that I don't mean that I swim poorly . . . I actually mean that I do not know how to swim. The last time I took lessons the poor instructor finally decided that if I could swim with a life jacket on that we would consider that a success. With 40 looming I've been really thinking about trying to learn again. Kite boarding and kayaking sound like appealing sports to take up as I get older and it would be fun to try surfing.

5. In high school I received grades of D- and F quite frequently in Physical Education. I really hated everything about PE. However, I was fortunate that my teachers hated having me in PE as much as I hated taking it. They would always make sure that I got a D- for the semester so I wasn't required to retake it to graduate. They would only give me an F for the mid-term grade. Our freshman year as part of President's Physical Fitness Challenge everyone in my grade had to run the mile. I was the 2nd to last person to be able to finish and I think there was a lot of question as to whether I would be able to make it.

6. At least once a year when the weather is really hot I swear that I am going to give up biking forever.

Okay, that's 6. I'm not going to tag anyone since a lot of people I know already have been.

Levis Trow Run

2008-06-30T14:42:00.002-05:00

This weekend was the WEMS race at Levis Trow trails and since Dave had plans to go I went along. I figured it would be a good place to get in my week's long run. Originally I had planned to run the course and I kind of did that although not quite how I had planned. It was all good though.

However, it was tough run. I was having some stomach problems on Friday and they plagued me on Saturday during the run after just short of 2 hours of running. I also had some problems with heat rash even though it wasn't hot (I usually only have that problem when it is really hot but I guess there was plenty of humidity Saturday morning).

Anyway, I ran for 3 and a half hours for some unknown distance that was probably 16 miles or so. I did two laps of a modified course. I ended up not doing the full 12.5 mile course since I missed a turn the first time around (the race hadn't yet started so there was a missing sign and I, of course, went the wrong way).

I started my run at 6:20am which was super painful for me as I am not in any way a morning person. That was good though as the actual race I'm doing starts at 7am so I needed to practice getting up and running. I had a little trouble getting going but once I hit the singletrack I started to enjoy myself. I felt a little stiff but I put that down to the early morning hour. I was feeling pretty good on the Yellowjacket singletrack and the Hermosa Trails. Things were going well until we got to Porkie's Point at which point I took a wrong turn. The next thing I know I can hear the start of the 12 hour race and then suddenly I'm back at the trailhead.

Dave sees me, checks his watch and I let him know that I clearly missed a turn and am now short of the needed mileage. At this point my stomach isn't feeling so great so I just go back out before I loose my drive. I probably should have given some thought to how far I'd run and how far I needed to still go but I just decided I would do the same route again. That was a bit of a mistake.

I had a little trouble getting motivated on the double track start to the course but once I hit the singletrack I felt more motivated. At this point though my stomach is killing me but I try to not think about it. I keep going with the occasional walking break to drink.

However, when I hit the long double track up to the second aid station I'm suffering mentally and physically. My stomach is feeling better but my heat rash is killing me. At the start of the double track climb I just start walking and hope that some Gu and energy drink will make me feel better. I'm feeling bad enough that even when I hear a bike behind me I don't start running but just keep walking along the far side of the trail. Pride be damned! Jesse says a friendly "hi" as he's out getting ready for the SS Championship. I say "hey", keep walking, and think to myself that I must look strange plodding along looking like death warmed over.

Finally I start jogging again as I decide I don't want to walk all the way to the top of the hill. At the top I steal a little water and then hit Porkie's Point trail. I have to alternate some walking with some running at this point. Frank and another 100 mile rider come along behind me and I get out of their way and cheer them on. I think I was actually running when they saw me so hopefully I looked better than I felt. I did muster the energy to finish at a semi-respectable run through the finishing area so I still had some pride left.

I felt totally spent at the end though. It was all I could do to get cleaned up and changed. I drank a soda and ate banana muffins to get the energy to change clothes and stretch. Then I remembered that I should drink my recovery drink. At this point the 50-mile racers are starting to arrive and I try to have coherent conversation with all the people I know. I was none too perky though!

Finally the recovery drink starts to kick in and my energy levels come back up. I finally get enough energy to grab my camera and get out for some shooting. I take along my lunch which I ate in between photos. It was super fun to get out on the course and see the racers. The 100 mile racers were pretty chill and were chatting it up as they went by. Spencer even stopped for some deep philosophical thoughts (photos and philosophy are me!). Then the 50 mile racers started coming by and I got some shots. Then I noticed the time and hiked back to the start area to see if Dave needed anything before his race.

That's when I learned of Lee's injury and made the offer to drive him home since I wasn't doing anything. Plus I knew that a shower and a bed would feel pretty sweet compared to camping. I got Lee home after a fine drive with pleasant conversation. The rest of my evening was cleaning up and eating. I also found enough time to get my photos downloaded and online so not a bad day all in all.

In retrospect I feel pretty good about the run especially given that It was several miles (3-4 miles actually but who's counting) longer than I had planned. I also dealt with running a long time while feeling like crap so I should be fine come July 13. The 25k there will be harder than what I ran at Levis but I think I ran at least that far or farther so I think I'm as ready as I can be. To be more ready I would likely have needed to decide to do this run sooner so I had more time to prepare and run more than 2-3 days per week. Instead I decided to make this as hard as possible but it's still fun and with only 2 weeks to go it's almost over.

Some photogs

2008-06-28T22:41:00.003-05:00

A few photos from the Levis Trow WEMS race are online

Cooking

2008-06-26T22:26:00.002-05:00

I was supposed to be getting ready for going up to Levis-Trow for the WEMS race but mostly I was making food. I guess we'll have some snacks this weekend.

We had a banana that was not holding up to the heat very well so I made some banana muffins.

I had some rhubarb that needed used and I have a ton of strawberries right now so I made some yummy strawberry-rhubarb bars. I had hoped to have enough time to freeze some of my remaining strawberries but I ran out of time. I guess I'll have some for breakfast, some for lunch, take a few with me and hope the rest last until we get home.

Here's dinner. I made a frittata with kale and garlic scapes and to go with it some sugar snap peas in a great lemon and mint sauce with chopped pistachios (the recipe was in the Vegetarian Times that arrived in today's mail).

Food like this makes me love my CSA even more! It did slow down my packing for the weekend but I think we'll get organized and get going in a timely fashion tomorrow. I've got my running shoes packed and it should be interesting to run the course but I can't promise I'll have enough energy after that to do the race!

What's that . . . .

2008-06-26T15:40:00.002-05:00

Oh, I guess that cross is in the air this week. It was first reported by Chris. Then followed up on by another Chris. And then word got out about Josh and his coutdown timer. Craziness!

Of course, I kicked off the week by meeting JPE for margaritas and discussion regarding MCPJPPBC. Thanks to Josh I now know for a fact that there are only 3 months to go. I guess I better get cracking on some news, a logo, some scintillating details, something for the cross fans.

Togetherness

2008-06-25T10:03:00.006-05:00

Dave and I decided to take a couple hours off from work this morning and do something together as a couple. Just a romantic morning together really . . . . .

Well, I don't know how romantic it is if you're ski coach is there . . . and you have to work hard . . . while breathing into a mask. I guess different couples approach romance differently.

Here's Dave nearing the end of his test

Here I a mid-test

And here I am near the end of the test

What are the results? Nothing too suprising really. I need to some workouts where I go really easy and then I need to do some harder intervals. It's hard for me to compare where I am at right now as I've never done a VO2 test running before. I also generally am biking a lot at this point in the summer and not running and skiing.

It's unclear if I'm going to actually do anything with the info from the test as I'm pretty happy just living life and doing whatever. The testing is free with Ski School and everyone does it so I felt I should too even though part of me doesn't want to know as I don't really want to train in that organized of a fashion. If I wanted to do that then I probably would need to pick something to focus on . . . I just want to focus on fun. I will admit though that I had already been planning to do some bike intervals starting later in July. I do still want to race cyclocross after all!

I did enjoy riding my road bike last night so that bodes well for my continuation as a cyclist . . .

Some Frazz for your day

2008-06-24T14:36:00.003-05:00

From Frazz:

This one is so true . . .

This one is like letting me navigate on a run or ride . . .

And two in honor of a task that I need to take on . . . swimming: