Brick the Cancer Ride Report

After the 100 Miles to Nowhere event, I swore off of events. I figured that the craziness of the ride was an indication that I was just not ready for primetime and hosting an event is a lot of work for the family, especially if I am riding in the event.
So, when Katie decided that she was going to raise money for Athletes for a Cure so she could do Ironman Wisconsin, I thought we would just donate some money. Those Athletes for Cure folks are doing such good stuff by even mentioning prostate cancer since no one seems to be able to mention a prostate without giggling – I am a sucker for them. Well, the donation turned into “let’s host a party to solicit donations for Katie.” Then Doug did the math and realized that we needed to widen the net. Couple that with the silly brick workouts we had been doing (10 mile Mountain Park bike loop + 3 mile neighborhood run loop) x 3 and voila – another event was born!

Brick the Cancer was held on Saturday, July 30 and we raised over $500 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation via cash and donations on Katie’s site. We planned to ride three circuits of the 30 mile down-to-the-river loop, alternated with running three loops of my street (3 miles with cul-de-sacs) for a total of 90 miles of riding and 9 miles of running. Doug made awesome boiled peanuts and BBQ and we got to ride bikes with a lot of neat folks.



Adam posing for Annika




Barry and his magic shoes.




The Blackmons




Brian - Mr. Speedy.  He was the only other person to ride all 100 miles of the 100 MTN




Cindi - fastest woman alive on platform pedals




Dave, my spin class buddy and superfast marathoner




Katie the Event Girl and awesome Doug, who manned the fort despite having the flu.




Doug's awesome sister Michelle, who is going to Wisconsin with us and who escorted Susan and Lynn on their ride before running with her sweet husband.




Susan and Lynn - their run plan sounds like the most fun ever.  They skip and dance and everything.




Tom.  We are going to convince him to do a triathlon one day.  He is already way faster than me on the bike.







GU donated GU Energy Gels, neat banners and schwag and allowed me to buy event-sized quantities of GU Electrolyte Brew and GU Chomps.

You'd think I would have made my artful arrangement so that you could see the labels on the GU and Chomps, but no.



Brooks Running chipped in some schwag and discounts too and everyone loved the Brooks transition zone in the driveway!



Betcha didn't know that trees and bushes make super bike stands!



Schwag box - choose your own!

My neighbors did not complain, we had a few flat tires and other than both of the crashes that I caused, no one wrecked! Katie and Greg brought their margarita machine and made alcohol-free GU Brew-a-Ritas to cool everyone off,

plus some lovely macaroni and cheese. Becky made awesome cake and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Tom made lemon cake and Karen brought peanut butter crackers to share. It was awesome.

On loop 2, we powered through the flat tire events – good practice to change them!  Then, as we climbed back from the river to the house, the sun turned into a ball of flame.   Doug had to hose Adrienne and Marlin (who, along with my buddy Larry, miraculously appear to have been immune to Annika's awesome photography skills) down to cool them off after they rolled in early after electing not to ride down Stroup Road to visit the goats with us.  Karen loves those silly goats!

This let to our newest running innovation – the hose chair. Some strategically placed holes in the chair, a cup of iced beverage and a hose = instant relief.

After the loop 2 run, Doug packed me zip-lock bags of ice to put in my shorts and all riders refilled our bike bottles with ice and the GU-a-ritas.  As we sallied forth (or ground painfully up the hill, whichever) on loop 3, we decided to do two 10 mile loops instead of a longer loop so that we could come back by the house for more ice.  It was that hot.
 
This proved to be a genius idea because loop 3 was blazing and miserable.  Luckily, as we came within two miles of home (I had to calculate this later because my math had escaped me by that point in the ride), the heavens opened and it began to pour with rain.  The rain was a welcome relief from the heat and oppressive humidity.  After a few minutes of wrangling, the group elected to run our remaining run loop and then reassess the weather situation.  After an uneventful and rather painful (at least for me) run or run/walk, we called it quits and tucked into the delicious BBQ, cakes and homebrew.
 
I am very pleased to report that Katie met her fundraising goal and that we are all looking forward to Ironman Wisconsin next week!  YES!
 
So, I am still pretty amateurish at the event thing, but we had a great time.  Who doesn't enjoy a yard party with a little exercise thrown in for fun?

Brick the Cancer July 30!

What? Another silly workout day at the Bachman house? That's right! It's time for the Brick the Cancer workout to benefit Katie's Athletes for a Cure fundraising.

The fun happens on Saturday, July 30 at 6:30am. Three bike/run loops plus GU, Brew, PB&J, Doug's BBQ and recovery beverages. Ride or run (or not!) as much and at whatever speed you like. Finish in plenty of time to go to Kate's Cake party or the NAMC Braves game or just hang out with the Brown Dogs.

Bring your beach chair and children with bathing suits for sprinkler action.

Details here or let me know your email address so I can add you to the Evite.

100 Miles to Nowhere - Roswell, GA Edition

Or, more accurately, the "Not Quite Ready for Prime-Time Race Direction and Hot as Blazes Edition."

When I signed up for Fatty's challenge, I thought it would be cool to be part of the event and a good excuse to do a nice long ride. Originally, the plan was to do loops of my neighborhood but my partner in crime (Natalie) thought it would be more fun to do a longer loop.


A longer loop.

Of hills.

So, I thought, why not? You get extra credit for doing 100 HILLY miles, right? Brett has a joule and calculated that we actually did 8,333 feet of climbing in our 100 Miles to Nowhere. Regardless, I thought it would be challenging and Natalie and my husband would ride with me and it would be a great day.

Well.

It was a great day, but the pie-in-the-sky plans I had for a seamlessly organized and perfect event miraculously did not materialize when I overscheduled by doing the Rev3 Knoxville HIM the weekend before (race report will follow), work got crazy and it turned out that my daughter's First Holy Communion was the day before the event. I was still putting up the directional signs at dawn and screeched into the garage in time to change my shirt and hop on my bike. No shower, no tooth-brushing, no breakfast, no artfully-arranged display of GU and schwag.

Oops.

Both the City of Roswell and the City of Mountain Park were friendly and accomodating when I asked them about our event. They did not require me to get an event permit and since they were not for a commercial purpose, were small and removed quickly, there was no fee for the signs either. Yes!

Here is the very professional-looking result of my handiwork, which I realized once we were riding, is really small. And hard to see. Next time, I'll have to print them at a sign place. They were really cute, though. I even put "encouragement" signs going up the big hill. Like, "Suck it Up Buttercup" and "You Can Do It!"

One of my many signs indicated a stretch of downhill that was very bumpy. Unfortunately, I failed to heed my thoughtful warning and pinch-flatted my front tire on one of the larger bumps. And, because we had not had time to remove my race wheels from the Rev3 Knoxville HIM, it was a tubular tire, which I've never actually changed. Darnit!

Nat and I successfully wrestled the tire off of my wheel but could not get the valve-extender off.

It turns out that the reason Doug puts my multi-tool in my Bento box when I race is not really to crowd out my GUs. It is because you need the allen wrench to remove the valve-extender from the race wheels. AHA! Nat and I did not figure this out until Brett and then Seth and finally Brian lapped us and stopped to provide advice/assistance.

Apparently, it takes five triathletes to change a tire. (Sorry Nat, for purposes of this discussion, you count as a triathlete).

Luckily, I knew enough to stretch out the tire while Brian removed the extenders for me. Brett helped us get the new tire on and we were back on track. Whew.

During the planning stages, GU stepped in and supplied me with enough GU and Chomps to feed an army. They also said it was OK if I used the Electrolyte Brew that we had left over from the Run at Work Day event. Super! So, we were well-fueled and Doug kept the coolers full of delicious lemon-lime GU Brew and water all day. He also set-up the tents, brought out chairs, boiled peanuts, grilled BBQ, served frosty beverages, handed out water balloons to the kids and kept track of our loop times. See, it was actually super-lucky that he didn't want to ride. Or is just super-smart.

I publicized the event on BT and sent email soliciations for donations to everyone on my phone list and suddenly, my 3-person event rapidly grew into quite a party! There is a secret here, you see. If you put out Doug's beer and BBQ, the people will come. Here is a photo of a guy from Team Awesome, Doug's dad, and my friend Larry. You can see Doug and kids in the background.

In addition to the original six (Brett, Brian and Seth in the fast group with Nat, Kevin and me in the slower group), another twenty-three people showed up to ride at least one loop of the course. It was AWESOME! We raised over $1,000 for Livestrong and the Prostate Cancer Foundation!

It is not to late if you want to donate. Just click the links.

So, back to the ride. Dan and Mindy (Team Carpenter) came down from Athens ride. They are real cyclists and quickly left Nat and me in the dust.

Cindy brought a bunch of work buddies and kicked all of their behinds with five loops (on her platform pedals with no clips!). Here we are in loop 5 or 6.

Shortly after this photo, I ran over a piece of glass and flatted again. I had no repair kit on my bike, of course. After I had run about 1/4 of a mile with the bike, Doug's sister Michelle showed up and drove me back to the house where Nat's brother-in-law, Wes, who is a professional cyclist, changed that tire for me while I took a pit stop. Pretty darn cool. Here are Wes, Pookie and Ryan (Team Awesome).

Then, after one solo loop (the only one of the day!), Neal and Scott joined me for the last two loops. They waited until the heat of the day to ride so that I would not have to do the last bit alone. They rock! Justin made sure we were hydrated and we were on the home stretch.

Scott and I headed out on the final lap together. You can see him behind me, looking decidedly less loopy. He thoughtfully pretended that he wasn't coasting to keep up with my slow pace.

Shortly after the photo, I high-fived Doug on the way out, lost my balance and promptly wiped out in the driveway. Yep. Grace is not my middle name. Might have been a bit loopy also, because it was super hot. But we finished and Scott didn't even mind taking the longer loop home so that I could add back enough miles to make up for the running and car travel.

Final score: 27/28 riders in all. 8,333 feet of climbing. 101.40 miles in 7 hours, 21 minutes, and 36 seconds for a whopping average speed of 13.78 miles an hour and 2,863 calories burned while raising $1,118 for 2 great causes (plus some extra for the Colon Cancer Foundation).

And, because I can't resist photos of my kids and their cousins, are photos from First Communion. It was a beautiful Mass and we had a great party after, too. Team Bachman can throw down.

100 Miles to Nowhere

May 22, 2011 is the much-anticipated Roswell, Georgia 100 Miles to Nowhere Ride through the cities of Roswell and Mountain Park, Georgia. The Fat Cyclist started this event as a trainer ride to raise money for cancer research and the idea is to suffer for 100 miles. Every year I read about this ride and think "I should do that." Well, 2011 is my year.

My dad is a prostate cancer survivor. My uncle Joe is too, and so is my friend Allison's dad. Prostate cancer is very common, but you don't hear as much about prostate cancer as you do about some of the other cancers, so that is why I am raising money for both Livestrong and the Prostate Cancer Foundation. If you read this blog and feel motiviated to ride with us or donate, please follow the links shown below and give a few bucks to these good causes. Every little bit helps, even $5. The Prostate Cancer Foundation is a support/research organization designed to help men and their families/loved ones learn more about, avoid and/or cope with prostate cancer. Livestrong is a simlar organization, but they also promote healthier lifestyles for everyone. You can log your food, log your workouts and get information about getting active on their website - all for free!

The "official" 100 Miles to Nowhere event is on June 4, 2011 and you can still sign up by following this link.

Here is the thing, though. This is a virtual event. So, since we are busy on June 4, I've scheduled my 100 Miles to Nowhere for May 22. After I decided that I would do the 100 miles, I thought it might be more fun if some friends did it too. Hmmm. Who could I talk into doing a ridiculous athletic endurance event with me?


NATALIE!

So, Natalie and I (and hopefully Coldfire, Team Awesome, some work and NAMC buddies and others) are riding 100 Miles to Nowhere on May 22. And, because Natalie nixed my idea of riding thirty times around my neighborhood, and because we are fun like that, it is a really hilly 100 Miles to Nowhere. Our 10 mile loop includes the climb from mile 80 of the Hospitality Highway Century. Now, don't you want to ride with us?

If so, here is the route. There is no cost to ride with us and I will give you some of the schwag I will be getting because I paid to sign up with The Fat Cyclist and provide you with GU Electrolyte Brew, GU Energy Gel, GU Chomps and other aid-station fare, regardless of how or when you choose to sign-up.

HOWEVER, if you join us, you must sign a waiver and please donate to either the Prostate Cancer Foundation or Livestrong to join the fight against cancer. You can click on the links in this paragraph to donate online, you can mail donations to either group or you can give me a check or cash and I will donate for you. Failure to donate will result in merciless teasing, name-calling and insulting of your manhood, even if you are not a man.

Doug will be cheering us on with the kids (more cowbell!), so if you poop out before the full ten laps, you can always hang with them.

Please note the following Pros and Cons to the route we have chosen:

Pros:

1. Beautiful sun and dappled shade on a lovely 10 mile loop in Roswell.




2. Fun riding buddies.
   






Horsies.





There might be singing.


Definitely some trash-talking.


GU Electrolyte Brew, GU Energy Gels, GU Chomps and PB&J for your dining pleasure.

Cons:

1. The route is very hilly.


2. It might be really hot.


3. Have I mentioned the hills?


4. We will pass your car every 10 miles. That could be a good thing, though.


5. 
   
   That thing about the hills, I'm not kidding.
   
   

If you choose to accept this mission, please come prepared to identify your division of the 100 Miles to Nowhere race. I, for example, will likely (depending on the heat) be the "38 year-old women with hives division." Creativity is encouraged so that you automatically win your division

We roll at dawn, which is forecasted to be 6:32AM on the day. If you arrive late, you will receive a map in exchange for your waiver and you can follow the turn markers (already approved by both cities! Yes!). And, what good would a ride with me be without rules?

1. Go at your own pace. Since everyone wins their division, you don't need to blow it out.


2. There are speed humps, road bumps, gravel, cars and other road hazards so you must be responsible for your own bike maintenance and safety.


3. I respectfully request that you please wear a helmet and follow all traffic laws. Yes, even the stop signs.


4. Gu Electrolyte Brew, water and an assortment of snacks will be stationed in the shade of my garage with good-natured taunting from Doug and encouragement from the kids. Bring your own water bottles and refill as necessary. You don't think 10 miles is a long way, but it is.


5. I will repeat: YOU are responsible for your own bike maintenance and safety.


6. Mountain Park Road will cause you to curse and beg for your mommy. If you could, please try to limit the cursing if there are children around. If no children around, colorful cursing is encouraged. The hilly part is only 0.5 miles, though, so try to suck it up.

Oh yeah, one last thing. In Ironman training, Doug always says that a ride doesn't count unless you cap it with a run. So, consider that too.

100 Miles to Nowhere - May 22

REGISTRATION FOR 100 MILES TO NOWHERE IS OPEN! If you want to register with the Fat Cyclist and get the tons of schwag, go here now. It will sell out today so get busy if you want to sign up that way. I will be riding 100 miles to nowhere on May 22. This is in advance of the official race day. If you want to ride with me on May 22, registration with Fat Cyclist (or at all) is not required but a donation for Livestrong is strongly encouraged. In other words, I will rib you mercilessly if you do not donate. The route is still under discussion but the two top contenders are the loop in my not-so-gently rolling neighborhood (2.85 miles) or the Mountain Park loop (10 miles), including the hill of doom. Ride as many or as few laps as you feel like. I will have plenty of GU Electrolyte Brew and GU Energy gels to share and other schwag and everyone gets an award. I'll post an official route once I decide which one we are doing and make up some rules. So, mark your calendar now!

You Have to Believe in the Publix GA Marathon

Who didn't go see Xanadu for their 9th birthday?

Go ahead and click the link. You know you want to.

So, I've only ever done one marathon and I was not running it to beat any time goal - I just wanted to finish. I have trained for the Georgia Marathon four times now and finally (FINALLY!) with mucho help from Doug, I did not injure myself and got to the start line this year.

On race morning, we drove Jamie downtown and met up with Natalie, who had graciously volunteered to run with me.

Because Natalie is crazy.

She and Doug had the ridiculous idea that I could break 4 hours in this race. Keeping in mind that my one and only marathon time to date was over 4 hours and 40 minutes. They based this theory on the fact that McMillan's magic running pace calculator says I can run 3:26 if I were fully trained.

Which I am not.

So, anyway, they decided I could do it and I secretly wanted to be able to do it so I went along with the joke. But inside, I harbored both a tiny flickering flame of hope and the nearly empty glass of pessimism (realism?) water ready to dash upon it.

I wigged out about the race and made my tummy sick worrying about it. Then, one day while I was driving home from work, I had an "aha!" moment. Sure, Doug had been telling me this for weeks, but sometimes (all the time), I am hard-headed and have to work it out myself. I asked myself what would be the worst thing that could happen in the race. Performing a walking tour of the porto-potties and taking 7 hours to finish? Well, I've done that and it's really not so bad. And if I only walk the last three miles, that is really not bad at all. It's still a PR.

And that little tiny flame just might light the way to a breakthrough performance.

Maybe.

It is interesting that what makes some people seem great or attractive or talented is that they commit to the performance or finish the drill or give it their all. Lady Gaga isn't worried about looking stupid. Singers aren't worried about someone hearing them sing. So, going all-in was the plan. No reservations. No holding back to make sure I didn't blow up.

So anyway, back to the story. On race morning Doug drove Jamie and me to the race site. I realized in the car that I had forgotten my hand-bottle of water. The one I always run with and had carefully filled and put in the fridge the night before. The one with four GUs in the front pocket for my nutrition.

@#$%*

I texted this (in letters instead of symbols) to Natalie. She was unfazed, so I made up my mind to be unfazed too. No taking it as an omen. I had packed more than enough extra GU, even after sharing with everyone. I could carry my plastic water bottle. No problem. Deep breath.

We met up with Natalie and Brent and all of our other buddies. I distributed GUs to all requestors (plain and blueberry-pomegranate Roctane for Natalie, strawberry-banana for Brent and chocolate and pineapple Roctane for Jamie).

We performed the obligatory line-standing and potty-visiting. Natalie was the fastest and had to wait for the rest of us pokey puppies.

Then, we skipped to our corral and danced to the fun tunes with the folks standing near us.

I tried to turn on my very-carefully-crafted-just-longer-than-4-hour running mix, but alas, the i-pod was dead. Almost bad omen #2. Very disappointed that I would not get to hear "Superfreak" or "Sickbed of Cuchulainn" or Prince on my run, I tucked the headphones in the back of my shirt and put it out of my mind. I have run plenty of long runs without music and if all else failed I could always hum "Tom's Diner" which always works to calm me down. No problem. Deep breath.

Here is the start! Whee!

Just after the start, my Garmin said it was full and I had to quickly delete all of the bike history as I was running, which is not as easy as you'd think. Whew! Crisis #3 averted! Lisa zipped up to us and posed for a quick Brooks Babes photo before she was gone in a flash.

The start was chaos and I kept trying to speed up because I knew we had to bank time in the beginning. Natalie had to tell me to slow down, that we were going too fast. That was not a good sign. I was scattered because of the Garmin and the headphones and the crowds.

We made it to North Avenue and met up with a nice guy named Kevin, who decided he would run with us. We had lots of fun discussing the relative merits of padding in jogbras and other similarly inappropriate topics.

Kevin is in the Army and was running his second marathon in a very short time. Here, we are flexing for Natalie, because we are buff like that. OK, I'm really just sucking my tummy in because my shirt kept showing it, but I told Kevin to flex and he obliged.

We met up with the 4:00 pace group at some point and ran with them for most of the race. They were a nice bunch and Matthew, the guy who ran 20 miles in the mud and rain to pace a total stranger at the GUTS Reactor Run was one of the group leaders. It gave me some comfort to run with them, even if I forgot that they had started behind us. As you can see, the rollers had begun already.

What you don't know is that running with Natalie is always fun. She is the life of the party. Even if you are feeling like crap or having a bad day or your GI is acting up, she sings, makes up distracting games or generally acts silly. And, she takes photos and meets everyone. Just before this photo, she tried to explain a very complicated punch-buggy game to us to distract us from the fact that the hills had begun. Like a couple of drunks, Kevin and I could not follow the logic of the game other than that it did not involve actual punching. Then, Natalie zipped ahead for a potty stop and (apparently) photos with Santa.

I got some water and continued forward progress. Except that this was the aid station dedicated to the Amanda Riley Foundation. Amanda died of cancer at age 17 and her foundation works for children's cancer research. At the end of the aid station there was a poster with photos of her running a race a year before her death. It made me cry. When Natalie came back, she thought something terrible had happened. No, just too sad. And mile 18-ness.

Just after this, I think - it could have been before this, we turned into the hills of Druid Hills. The plan was to continue progress on the uphills and recover/pick up time on the downhills. Natalie reminded me of this, but my legs were already on fire and every downhill step hurt. I told her to go ahead. I did not feel like this until mile 22 of the Kiawah marathon, so it was very upsetting for it to happen so early in this race. So, Natalie went ahead to challenge the hills and I plugged along with (behind) the 4:00 group. Kevin had dropped off before Decatur so I was on my own. This required a small pity party but I gave myself a stern lecture and worked it out.

In Piedmont Park, John, Desiree and Kim were a happy oasis. I knew they had ibuprophen and had planned to stop, but just didn't do it. Stupid, I could have gotten some water here and may have not needed to walk up North Avenue later. Dumb mistake #3? #4? Who is counting?

I was worried about the GI and walked just in that last bit. Once I hit Marietta Street, I knew I was home free so I turned up the pace. It hurt less! I realized I had less than 2 miles to go. No need to conserve anything for any additional hills because Marietta Street is more of a grinder than a hill. Why not see if I could turn it up more? I could! My cardio was still OK. It was just my legs that hurt so I turned it up even more and sprinted to the finish. YAY!

I just missed 4 hours. My chip time was 4:00:55.

It is OK, though, that I missed the "magic number" because I had a fabulous race. It was a complete breakthrough for me. I think I am prouder of this finish than of the first marathon because I didn't play it safe (and I'm a safety girl). I committed to the race and now we know I can run a marathon for time and not be dead at the end and not tour the porto-potties. Yes!

What else could I do if I really tried? If I really gave it my all?

Here we are after some water and food.

So, at several points during the race, I thought to myself "this sucks - I'm never running this fast again" and "Kirk was right - getting fitter doesn't make it hurt less, you just get faster."

But you know what? Those thoughts passed (usually after I had some GU - low fuel makes me very negative) and after the race was over, I found myself making plans for next year and hoping that we would get the great 2-for-1 deal so that we would HAVE to sign up again. And 'lo, Doug has already signed us up for 2012 so there you go. Publix Georgia Marathon, I'll be back to run with Doug and Natalie and all of my other friends next year. : )

If you want the gory race details, here is my BT race report.

GU the Brew!

Hooray!

The new GU product has landed at last! GU Electrolyte Tablets!

The tablets are quarter-sized servings of electrolytes with little to no calories. They dissolve by fizzing into your water in about 2 minutes. You can either drop them into your water ahead of time and let them sit for a few minutes before applying the lid or leave the valve open on your bike or hand-bottle for a few minutes and the extra gas escapes by itself. The tablets are sweetened with stevia leaf extract (unlike the acesulfame potassium/aspartame found in some other tabs). The GU Brew tabs will be great to add to my hand-bottle in longer runs or races when I'm sweating like a fiend or to use on the bike when I don't need the calories of the regular GU Brew.

I got to try the Lemon-Lime flavor and it is very tasty. In the interest of full disclosure, I received a tube (size shown above) of the Lemon-Lime tablets to try for free. I have used it on several runs and enjoyed some while paying the bills after my long run on Saturday and could even imagine drinking it on a hot day at the beach. Just enough flavor and a hint of bubble.

I am very excited to try the Peach Tea flavor and will be ordering some for myself because the Peach Tea GU Chomps are my favorite flavor yet. They taste to me like peach Jolly Ranchers. I did not notice the tea flavor at all, but my riding buddies say that is very smooth and comes in at the end.

I have not tried the Orange flavor, but I like the Orange flavored GU Electrolyte Brew's light taste, so I think it will be OK.

Happy riding and running everyone!

Don't forget the Wiphan Warthog Waddle 5K this Saturday at the Fellowship Bible Church. In-store registration at Big Peach Running Company has closed, but you can still register on-site on race day. Doug is racing for time and I will be running with the "sag stroller" in case Dagny or Annika (or their friends) needs a little drink or ride during the race.

Get Your Motor Running!

Or, How My Bike is More Efficient Than My Car.

I rode my bike to and from work twice this week. With Cobb County schools out for winter break and the nice springy weather, it was a perfect opportunity to reaquaint myself with the joys of traffic on the bike.


I had a lovely time. People waved at me and I got to enjoy the outdoors. You really feel like you are getting away with a good trick and sticking it to "the man" when you use your bike for commuting. And, taking a detour down a pretty street on the way in is almost scandalously fun. : )

As I rode, I was thinking about how on days when the kids are out of school (not as much traffic), I am not that much slower on the bike than in my car. Aside: I know that I would be faster if I rode up to the front of the line at stoplights, but I think that is rude. I only lost about eight car lengths between my office and the Corner Grocery, which is about 3 miles. Pretty good given the hills involved!


So anyway, I began to calculate in my head while waiting at a stoplight and here is the math:


My car goes 30 miles on a gallon of gas. Well above average. Doug's Aviator got 12 miles to the gallon.

A gallon of gas costs roughly the same as a gallon of milk.

A gallon of milk is sixteen 8 oz servings of approximately 125 calories each (2% milk since that is what we use) or 2,000 total calories.

I burn approximately 40 calories per mile on my bike when averaging 3-4 minutes per mile.

2,000 calories divided by 40 calories per mile = 50 miles to burn 2,000 calories.

Therefore, I get 50 miles to the gallon! Almost double that of my car!

Now, I know that my bike (40 lbs when loaded with rack, panniers, computer, clothes, toiletries, etc) and I (125 lbs, give or take) weigh significantly less than my very small car (2,496 lbs) so that means that my legs powering my bike are not *really* more efficient than the car, but it does beg the question of why everyone insists upon driving such large vehicles - the automotive equivalent of carrying your house around on your back everywhere like a snail.

I keep my work shoes under my desk and leave my purse at home when I ride to work because every extra pound makes it harder for me to pedal. Maybe we should think of that when we shop for transportation. Hm?

I Would Go Out Today

The title is a lyric from this song that came to my mind when I started writing. Humming it will make my afternoon happy. : )

My cousin Caroline asked me at Christmas how she should dress for running in the winter. So, I've been keeping a mental log of what I wear at various temperatures so that I could make her a list. Then, I thought maybe other folks would benefit from this list.

Sooo, ta-daaa, here is a very general, Steph-specific guide to cold-weather run apparel. I'll link to actual products that I own and like in case you need to do some shopping.

Below 20 degrees: I don't generally run outside in the teens because I don't have a balaclava and my neck gaiter makes me sweaty. My nose gets too cold to be outside below 22 degrees for any length of time without covering it.

22-25 degrees: Headband, jog-bra, heavy or mid-weight half-zip, arm-warmers, vest, gloves, tube-socks on my hands, running capris, running shorts, running socks, shoes.

25-30 degrees: Headband, jog-bra, mid-weight half-zip, vest, gloves, tube-socks, capris, shorts, running socks, shoes.

30-38 degrees: Headband, jog-bra, lightweight long-sleeved shirt, vest?, gloves, capris, shoes, socks.

39-50 degrees: Jog-bra, lightweight long-sleeved shirt, gloves, capris, shoes, socks.

Caveats:

1. This seems counter-intuitive, but a vest is better than a jacket. You want to keep your core warm but allow any extra heat to escape so that you don't get sweaty (because that will make you cold), so a vest keeps your chest warm while allowing heat to escape at your pits and elbows. Perfect. If you don't sweat buckets like I do, a jacket would work fine.
2. Some people prefer hats and some people prefer headbands but you need to keep your head warm when it is cold. Pick what works for you and what you don't mind carrying if you get hot. Doug prefers a hat, but I prefer a headband. Because I am such a hothead, sometimes I just use the band from my visor to keep my ears warm.
3. The same is true with gloves. You don't have to buy fancy gloves - they just need to keep your hands warm. I have some fleece ones from Sears (gift), some brick-layer's gloves from Home Depot (race gift), and some "official" running ones (volunteering gift). Socks also make great gloves in a pinch if, for example, you have forgotten your gloves while on a trip. Not that I've ever done such a thing.
4. Sometimes your regular gloves are not enough, but thicker (or windproof) gloves won't keep your hands any warmer because your fingers are too far apart to retain any warmth. That is where the tube socks come in. I wear them over my gloves to keep my hands warm. They are also very handy for the inevitable nose-wiping. I read about this on a running board and it works like a charm.
5. I do not notice much of a difference between running tights and capris. I always thought capris were lame, but I bought some because I needed some winter tights and could not find any in my size. Surprise! The capris are actually perfect because they keep your knees/calves warm and you can wear them in a larger range of temperatures than tights. Apparently, you don't get a lot of temperature sensation from your shins because I don't feel noticeably colder in them. If my tights or capris are dirty, I just wear capilene long-johns instead with running shorts over the top.
6. While we are on the subject of the shorts, I will tell you that my bottom gets cold when I run. Doug and I used to joke that this happened because my bottom was so far from the rest of my body. Ha! Anyway, I usually wear a pair of running shorts over the top of my tights when it is under 30 degrees. Men also have this problem with their "equipment," so if is really cold or windy, put a base layer under your tights or wear a pair of running shorts over the top.
7. The slower you run or walk, the more clothing you need. If I am doing a long run at my slow pace in the low 20s, I will put fuzzy long-johns over my running tights. Very good look, I'm telling you.
8. The windier or wetter the weather, the colder you will feel and the more clothing you will want to wear.
9. You do not need brand-new running clothes every season. Running clothes are not like regular clothes because they don't go out of style and they don't seem to wear out. Sure, the labels and reflective stuff may wash off eventually if you wash in hot water (I do) or accidentally put them in the dryer, but the actual clothes last forever. I linked to some stuff on the Brooks site that I have in the 2000/2001 version with no apparent wear except that the labels have fallen off.
10. Go out a little chilly because as your muscles warm-up, you will feel warmer.
11. Layers are important because if you forget to go out chilly or if the wind dies down or the sun comes out, you will need to shuck some clothing to stay comfortable. This is another place where your running vest comes in handy - the pockets. For my run today, I wore my Equilibrium Vest and used the pockets to carry 2 GUs, my ID, $5 (in case I need to stop and have to buy something), my tube socks, my hat, my arm-warmers and my gloves. Granted, I looked like I was about 6 months pregnant with all of that stuff in my vest, but I was quite comfortable despite the gusting wind blowing me off of the sidewalk.

That is all. Hope this helps. Happy Running!

The Ballad of the Resolutioneer

It's that time of year again, when the gyms fill up and everyone starts planning how this year is going to be different.

We are going to get in shape, get ahead at work, get involved at church or do more in the community. For about a month.

And then, that wagon starts a-bucking and a-shaking and we fall off.


I regularly visit a couple of on-line communities for people interested in endurance sports and every January, the whining begins: "The gym is too crowded" "Someone is on my spin bike" "A slow person is in my lane" "People are walking on the treadmill" "I can't get on an elliptical machine" "How long until these Resolutioneers are gone?"

It's almost like people see the gym as an us versus them struggle.

Seriously.

Why not embrace the newbies?

Aren't we all at the gym to get in better shape? Isn't everyone happier as we get in better shape? Aren't looser clothes more comfortable than tight ones?

Full disclosure here => I had to wear a suit to work a couple of weeks ago and I chose one of the ones that I bought and wore before the girls were born. The jacket was fine (one of my work buddies thought it was too big), but the pants turned out to be too tight, way too tight, and hurt me all day. It was torturous. I was seriously crabby just because of those stupid pants. Now, can you imagine if all of your pants felt that way? Like they were torturing you? Biting into your waist all day? Reminding you that you used to be smaller? How pleasant would you be? How much would you be giving (time, energy, kindness) to those around you if all you could think of were those damn pants?

So, give the new folks a break this month. They have taken the first step and are poised on the edge of making activity a habit! That is such a great thing!

Help them out if they don't know how the treadmills work or where to find the paper towels to wipe off the equipment or that they even need to wipe off the equiment. Show them how to set up the spin bikes and where the earplugs are. Offer to split your lane or circle-swim.

Smile.

Say hello.

Give advice or answer questions if someone asks you.

Because you could make the difference between the newbies feeling welcome and coming back and making activity their habit or getting discouraged again and quitting. Soon, those folks that stick with it will be getting in better shape and their pants will fit better and they will be getting stronger and happier and that is good for everyone.

Happy New Year!

What You Don't Know

I wussed out on my run this morning and lazed around the house. And brought a shelf of dishes crashing to the floor, but that is another story.

We ran errands this morning, scoring some after-Christmas deals and using up the gift cards the girls got before we could lose them. Then, we met some Doug's family who were driving through town on the way to Key West for a late lunch at Chilis.

Then, we got back and Doug said I could go for my run. I sucked it up, donned my winter gear and sallied forth.

Into the snow.

It was GREAT! I had so much fun catching snowflakes on my tongue and feeling the flakes melting on my face. Doug had loaded some tunes onto my i-pod since I finished listening to "Once A Runner" and they were great to hear as I was crunching around. Jimmy Buffet has an album called "Songs You Know By Heart" and my running mix today was like that, except that they weren't just songs to which I know the words. They were my up-tempo life's soundtrack. So fabulous. I'm sure I broke into song more than once.

I ran up to the park and around the trails. Even in the wind and snow, there were at least three couples there walking their dogs. They looked like there were having as much fun as I was. I was careful not to slip on the icy bridges, but I still tripped over a root (I think) and Superman-ned onto the path. I tried to channel Doug and roll, so it didn't even hurt.

So, the point is that the people in the cars that passed me on the way to the park and on the way home were totally missing out.

They don't know how much fun it is to feel the soft flakes on your head or to jump into the snowy yard when a car comes too close or to hurdle over the icy patches or to shake your booty when Morris Day says "oh, the THINGS I could do to YOU!" or to wave your hands in the air because the guy on the song says so or to take smaller steps on the turns so that you don't slide out of them (I've made that mistake before!). They don't know the joy of running so fast down that hill that you can feel your legs straining against your tired muscles as you struggle to stay on the path or to race your kid on the last bit home.

I so wish that I could explain it.

Over the Hill and Through the Woods

Doug and the girls and I volunteered at the Pine Mountain 40 mile trail run last weekend. Doug has run the Twisted Ankle Marathon, but that is the closest that we have come to an ultra marathon. To save the trouble of linking, I'll just tell you that an ultra marathon is any running race in which the distance is longer than 26.2 miles. Doug and I have been interested in the ultra-running for a while and who wouldn't rather run on trails than on the road?

So, anyway, we signed up to volunteer for fun and to get a window into the action. Doug may be ready to run an ultra in the next year or so, but it will be a while yet for me to build the mileage. Volunteering was great fun despite the frigid temperatures. The race was held at the F.D. Roosevelt State Park, which is basically a mountain plopped down in the middle of the piedmont near Callaway Gardens and the Little White House. The mountain is hilly and the trail is what they call "single track," which means that there is only room to run single file. And there are rocks, lots of rocks, on the trail and they are covered with leaves, which meant that the race was very challenging.

Here is a photo of the girls on the trail. Notice how you can't really see a trail? You navigate by keeping the blue blazes on the trees on one side of you.



We arrived at the site to find a happy band of volunteers and a very organized set-up. Victor, aid-station director extraordinaire, had lugged three coolers of water, a table and 2 bins of food down the trail about 1/4 mile from the parking lot to the Fox Den location. There was a lot of talk amongst the regulars about how Sally would want to see the aid station. Here is a photo of the famous Sally (who was really darn fast, by the way) and the delightfully tidy and organized aid station.

Here is our happy band, from the left: the guy who runs 100 mile races, Amanda, me, Doug, the guy who was both volunteer and sweeper, and Amanda's husband?

And again, with Victor on the left. Not only was Victor super-organized and seemingly tireless, he had a really nice camera and took photos of all of the runners and got their email addresses to send them race photos. He sent all of the good photos included in this post. The grainy ones are from my phone.

The guy who runs 100 mile races was a trail veteran who started running ultras after he finished running a marathon in all 50 states. He told me all about ultras and was a cool guy. He left us right at closing time because he had to give a guy whose knee was tweaked a ride back to the finish.

So, here we are in action. Doug would grab the runners' water-bottles or camelbaks and fill them while he explained how many miles they had to go and that this was the last chance for calories though there was water a couple of miles down the road. Some of the runners were totally with it and hogged out of the food, while others were loopy and had trouble with conversation. Several runners were bloody from close encounters with the trail. You can see the 100 mile race guy in his chair on the right. He was taking down numbers of each runner and the time they came through. This is a safety measure to make sure that no runners got lost on the trail and that we didn't leave anyone out there when we closed the station.

Here are the girls enjoying a snack. They like to run down the trail and greet the runners and collect their water bottles to bring back to refill. When they got too cold, we put them in the car with a movie on the computer, which worked great. Then they returned to help out with the volunteering and run around like crazed monkeys. Notice that Annika is wearing her Brooks Ghost shoes too. Hee.

Victor put me to work making PB&Js, which is a good job for me, so I did that while I watched for numbers and called them out for 100 mile racing guy (across the trail) while Doug greeted runners and refilled waters with Victor.

It was really cool. We got to see all kinds of folks running in all shapes and sizes and levels of tuckered-out-ness. The guy who won was holding a 7:XX min/mile pace and looked as fresh as I would after 3 miles. He ran down the hill from the aid station like a deer. The two guys behind him were holding an under 8:00 min/mile pace, but they showed a bit more strain.

Some runners brought their own aid crews. Every few minutes some people would hike down the trail with a backpack and ask if their runner had come through. If not, they would hang out with us and bust out a buffet of food/drink from their backpacks and wait. One guy's girlfriend had a whole grocery store in his bag, but all he wanted was jerky. Beef jerky. There is apparently no "I-can-only-take-liquids-on-the-run" in an ultra. People were scarfing down the PB&Js faster than I could make them. This girl volunteered or ran last year (I can tell from her cool beanie) and she hung out with us for a while because she was early to meet her runner. She had on the Brooks Green Silence shoes. I've been lusting after these Green Silences but haven't been able to justify a purchase yet since I'm currently rotating through my four pairs of Brooks Glycerine 8s. But soon they will be mine. Yessss, they will be mine. In case you want some, I noticed that the Brooks site has a bunch of stuff available with free shipping. Whoo!

It was cool to see the different clothes and gear everyone brought. Lots of people had on these cool gaiters to keep the junk from getting into their shoes. They are called Dirty Girl Gaiters. Hee. As an aside, Ms. Dirty Girl looks like a heckuva lot ot fun and they have free shipping too. Score!

So, anyway, a good time was had by all and Doug and I both joined up with the G.U.T.S. crew for the year so we can aspire to trail greatness. : )

Bing Says

Bing (insert sound effect here) advertising on one of the blogs I read says that it takes 200 crunches to burn off one 10 calorie cookie.

1. I hate Bing (except for the cool sound effect). It does nothing but clog up my computer as I attempt to get back to Google to actually find whatever I was looking for. I know my preposition is dangling. Get over it.
2. You can't turn Bing off. That makes me hate it more. Forcing me to use or work around something that doesn't work won't make me like it. Au contraire, mon frere.
3. There is no such thing as a 10 calorie cookie. That would be a crumb.

Gu has a new flavor, out just in time for Kona. Island Nectars Roctane. Click on the link if you will be in Kona for the race because they have free schwag or you can order some online. The advance word is that it is a fruit-punch-type flavor, which sounds awesome to me.

The Ironman

Or, how time waits for no man.

So, Doug and I have been training (with a bunch of friends) for Ironman Louisville. We signed up after Ironman Florida closed out in 30 minutes last year and we missed the registration window.


A marathon. In August. After a 112 mile bike ride. And a 2.4 mile swim.


What a fabulous idea.


We've been talking of nothing else for, oh, seven months.


So, the race number list came out last week. Which means that it is actually going to happen. The race isn't next year, six months from now, next season, next month, later. It is now - August 29th.


I am scared to death.


I am bib number 480 and Doug is number 1941 (appropriate because of his birthday on Pearl Harbor Day, no?). Everyone on the Beginner Triathlete board tries to find meaning in the numbers we have drawn. I thought I was #840 and just had to check it online again. Nope, 480. That number sounded familiar so I went to check the numbers pinned to the wall in our garage and look, there was #48. It was my South Carolina HIM number. Cool.


But, the race. Holy cow. People like me don't do the Ironman. Interestingly, that is what Doug said when we were discussing the "motivation" (quotes are to be read in a sing-songy, derisive tone like Boortz uses to talk about things being "for the children") to do the race. It's funny, though, because I totally could have seen Doug doing the Ironman, even when we first met. He is tough like that.


Me, not so much. We don't camp because it's too dirty and buggy for me. My primary exercise until about 1986 was high-speed popcorn consumption. People like me don't do the Ironman. And I know I'm not fat. I haven't been fat in 24 years. OK, maybe I was a bit fluffy there for a while in the late 90s, but bear with me. Being bigger makes you doubt your worth, your abilities, your possibilities. And it takes a lot to overcome that. Like 24 years. Or the 26.2 miles in a marathon.

Or the 140.6 miles of the Ironman.


I have no affirmations, no motivational phrases, no magic words for my race. I will just keep moving forward until I am forced to stop and hopefully the finish line is where that will happen. Sure, there will be slow-downs or rests along the way, especially if the Fogle GI makes an appearance, but whatever. They give you 17 hours to finish for a reason.


Here is what I've learned in the months of training leading up to now:

1. My husband is awesome. He has planned my workouts, encouraged me in my many moments of doubt and saved me from my own stupid ideas more times than I care to count. And, he doesn't think Madonna-muscles are gross like Tosh.0


2. You have to eat a lot of food to fuel the Ironman training. At least double what you would otherwise be eating. It's a little gross.


3. If you do all of the prescribed training, you will turn into a big slab of muscle. You can't help it. With the calories burned by the hours of training, you might not lose any weight, but the layer of fat turns into muscle. Seriously. Our little gang is totally buff. Six packs and Madonna-ish muscles abound.

Insert musical interlude

-* - * - * - * - * -

So, I never actually finished that post, but I DID finish the Ironman and you know what?

It wasn't that hard.

Granted, I did walk about 20 miles of the run and I was last of the eight people in our triathlon club plus the three other guys we knew, but still. At no point was it insurmountable and most of it was really fun. I will do it again!

In the two weeks before the race, I had an epiphany and realized that by putting in the training, I have become the kind of person that does the Ironman.

That anyone who puts in the training can be the kind of person that does the Ironman. Sure, maybe some of us will never win or even be competitive, but it is fun to your bike and swim and run. It just is.

So there.

If you are interested in my stats, here are the official results - I'm finisher #1793, on page 26. Photos are here. Yes, I was totally crying on the bike and that run photo is very indicative of how I was feeling at the time, but I went on to finish, so it is OK. And, if you do not mind too much information about my GI and poop, here is my race report on BT.

Dancing in the Running Store

This morning I loaded up the girls and drove over to the Big Peach Running Company to talk about my toe problem.

My big toe joint has been hurting me. I came up with several possible problems:

1. Gout
2. Hallux Rigidus
3. Arthritis
4. Running Gods are Angry With Me
5. Bunion
   

Originally, I had dismissed the bunion because I don't have bunions. My sister and Grammy have them, but I don't. At least I didn't. My orthopaedist said that I had a little bump when he did my MRI last spring, and he thought that I probably had shoes that were too narrow that were causing irritation. Really? All of my shoes are mens or wides!

Well, the beautiful Defyance2s that worked so well for me while traning for Kiawah still feel fine. But it turns out that the new Defyance3s in which I've done most of my long runs for ING don't feel as great. There is a line of fabric (like a strap) that runs across the bunion area. This area is frequently called the "bunion window" but my window in the new shoes has a bar across it. Screwed by the shoe revision!

So, I packed up all of my running shoes and took them to the Big Peach to see what they thought. I showed the guy (bless him for putting up with me) all three pairs of my shoes and told him which ones worked and which didn't and why I thought it was. He watched me run and walk. He did not not laugh or say that I was full of crap. He also did not think that I was overpronating and putting too much pressure on my toe. He didn't think I overpronated at all! He thought my feet were swelling and that was causing my big toe to point towards its neighbor toe and that was causing my joint to displace and swell and the swelling was causing the joint to rub on my shoe, which causes more swelling, etc. He offered to "fix" the Defyance3s for me.

Hmmm, what have I got to lose?

So, here is a photo of the new Defyance3s that I was going to return to Brooks, but which I will now probably just "fix" instead. : )

And, here is the altered shoe that I am wearing now and feeling great! : )

It never occurred to me that you could fix the shoes. SCORE!

And, since I was taking advantage of the shoe store's knowledge and expertise, I also bought a pair of new shoes to try out. Ooh, they are coool! They even look fast!

In other news, Annika lost her other tooth so now Dagny can't make fun of her any more.

And tonight, we are doing GNO for the birthday party. Japanese steakhouse for dinner, followed by a movie at the theater. Woo!

Snaggle-tooth

So, as I was reading Anne's blog during my lunch today, I thought "I should send her a copy of Annika's tooth." And then I realized how easy it would be.

Voila - here is the photo Doug sent me while I was out of town on Monday with the following comment, "the other one is hanging at a 45 degree angle, but she won't let me touch it."

That tooth is stubborn. We even let her have an apple for dessert after dinner last night to encourage it to come out. No dice. It is wiggly (so much so that it grosses Doug and me out) but not coming out.

In other news, March is Red Cross Month so get out there and give blood. I will be doing so as soon as my phlegm stops being a color. Really.

The Need for Speed

I've been running very slowly since my plantar fasciitis injury in the fall of 2008. Once I was finally able to run again last spring, I was out of shape and afraid that any attempt at going fast would re-injure my foot.

Now, in 2010, I'm still not fast. I run most of my mid-week (shorter) runs at 10 minute per mile pace. This once was my long run pace. My long runs are 11-12 minutes per mile, depending on how many times I have to stop to go potty.

Last week, I had to get some work done overnight. I decided to get up early and do it since I'm no good after 9pm. I finished my work about 5:10am. It was very frustrating, though, and I was in a bad mood when I got finally outside. So, I took off. I ran the shorter version of my usual loop with the bazillion hills but I went fast. I felt my tension bleeding away with every gasping, tortured breath. It was AWESOME.

I came home with frost on my head (it was 25 degreest that morning) and a song in my heart.

I had forgotten what a joy it is to run without a plan or the i-pod or any brakes. Just for the joy of it. : )

I hope to run fast more often. 6.03 miles - 8:32 minute per mile pace.

Every Little Step

I had a post saved that I started on New Year's weekend. It had resolutions and stuff in it and I talked all about how cool it was to see the bazillion folks at the gym working it out to start off 2010.

But then some life happened and it's February already! So that post got deleted and here we are for February. Bygones.

Today, a friend of mine went back and looked at his last 4 Januaries worth of training for his month-end review and he's at his highest training level ever. I don't have 4 years of logs, but it was interesting to look back and see where I was last January (nowhere!!) and compare that with where I am now (slow, but consistent). So that is pretty darn good. Go me! It was also interesting because I could see exactly what I did to injure myself last summer - three months of over 100 miles of running without any kind of base to do it. It's a good reminder not hold back so that I don't do that to myself again.

Today, as I was working, I made yet another mental note to tell Doug about something later because we can't talk about everything in front of the kids and I try not to bug him on the email during the day. We walk the dog for 10 minutes each night in front of the house and talk about the non-kid-friendly stuff while we are out there. Dagny climbs up into her window to wave to us but she can't hear us. : ) It's weird that we have children old enough to require censoring the conversation. I really like that few minutes we get to spend together. When it's warmer, we take the kids with us, which is also fun because they are a hoot outside.

So anyway, this made me think about how I'm going to have to streamline some life stuff so that all of this working out will fit in as we start into Ironman training. I don't know where it will be yet, but I'm betting it's the facebook and possibly some of the blogs in my reader. I just don't want to give up my 10 minutes of quiet walking. Lent is in 2 weeks so that will give me a head start on whatever it is and by the time Lent is over, it will be a habit and I'll be so busy swimming, running and biking that I won't even notice. I still notice not sending Christmas and birthday cards, though. I miss that. And I miss knitting.