FLASH-POINT BLOG ARCHIVE: Mar 2008

Not your shorts or your shirt or your watch or even your shoes.

I'm now convinced it's Body Glide.

I did forget my shoes though...or, I forgot my light-and-therefore-fast shoes, so I had to race in my trainers...which is actually fine because now I don't have to deal with blisters, and let's face it - the couple of seconds the other shoes would have saved me don't really matter at all.

I ran the Freehold St. Paddy's Day 10 mile Race this morning, and considering my lack of running lately, I'm pretty happy with the way it went.

The chaffing, though? That's not so cool. I won't be able to wear jeans for at least a few days...and how am I supposed to be a college student without jeans?!?

Anyway, the weather was chilly at first, but ended up being perfect for running. I wore shorts (hence the need for Body Glide) and a long sleeve t-shirt, but I really could have been in a t-shirt once I started running. It was about 35-40 degrees and sunny, with almost no wind. The course was rolling, but there was only one hill that made me groan. The last 2 miles were mostly downhill, and I believe I managed a negative split, with my last mile coming in at 7:36 (and since my 5k pace is 7:26, that's pretty much as fast as I was going to be able to go). According to my watch, I finished in just over 1:22. The only other 10m race I've ran was last year, and I did it in 1:20, but at that point I had been hard-core marathon training with lots of speed work, so I'm kind of pleasantly surprised that I can run at an 8:15 pace for 10 miles right now.

My drinking water while racing skills are getting a little bit better, although plastic cups are harder to handle than paper ones, and I still had to slow down a bit and I kind of choked at one point.

It was nice to race; I haven't really ran since the Philadelphia Marathon, I think. Although, when I was in the midst of it, I was definitely thinking 'What the hell? This is stupid. I'm never doing this again. I just want to ride my bike at a reasonable pace and not feel like I'm going to puke.' But you know, afterwards it feels great and sprinting across the finish line makes you feel like you really accomplished something.

The Obligatory Splits:
mile 1 - 8:19
mile 2 - 8:16
mile 3 - 8:26 (water)
mile 4 - 8:17
mile 5 - 8:07
mile 6 - 8:24 (water and hill)
mile 7 - 8:08
mile 8 - 8:15 (water)
mile 9 - 8:12
mile 10 - 7:36

total - 1:22:05 (but I was like 30 or so seconds behind the start line, so the official results will probably be a bit slower)

Oh, and the post-race food? Hot Dogs, Bagels, Donuts, Apples, Coke, and Beer...couldn't be better, really...

Not your shorts or your shirt or your watch or even your shoes.

I'm now convinced it's Body Glide.

I did forget my shoes though...or, I forgot my light-and-therefore-fast shoes, so I had to race in my trainers...which is actually fine because now I don't have to deal with blisters, and let's face it - the couple of seconds the other shoes would have saved me don't really matter at all.

I ran the Freehold St. Paddy's Day 10 mile Race this morning, and considering my lack of running lately, I'm pretty happy with the way it went.

The chaffing, though? That's not so cool. I won't be able to wear jeans for at least a few days...and how am I supposed to be a college student without jeans?!?

Anyway, the weather was chilly at first, but ended up being perfect for running. I wore shorts (hence the need for Body Glide) and a long sleeve t-shirt, but I really could have been in a t-shirt once I started running. It was about 35-40 degrees and sunny, with almost no wind. The course was rolling, but there was only one hill that made me groan. The last 2 miles were mostly downhill, and I believe I managed a negative split, with my last mile coming in at 7:36 (and since my 5k pace is 7:26, that's pretty much as fast as I was going to be able to go). According to my watch, I finished in just over 1:22. The only other 10m race I've ran was last year, and I did it in 1:20, but at that point I had been hard-core marathon training with lots of speed work, so I'm kind of pleasantly surprised that I can run at an 8:15 pace for 10 miles right now.

My drinking water while racing skills are getting a little bit better, although plastic cups are harder to handle than paper ones, and I still had to slow down a bit and I kind of choked at one point.

It was nice to race; I haven't really ran since the Philadelphia Marathon, I think. Although, when I was in the midst of it, I was definitely thinking 'What the hell? This is stupid. I'm never doing this again. I just want to ride my bike at a reasonable pace and not feel like I'm going to puke.' But you know, afterwards it feels great and sprinting across the finish line makes you feel like you really accomplished something.

The Obligatory Splits:
mile 1 - 8:19
mile 2 - 8:16
mile 3 - 8:26 (water)
mile 4 - 8:17
mile 5 - 8:07
mile 6 - 8:24 (water and hill)
mile 7 - 8:08
mile 8 - 8:15 (water)
mile 9 - 8:12
mile 10 - 7:36

total - 1:22:05 (but I was like 30 or so seconds behind the start line, so the official results will probably be a bit slower)

Oh, and the post-race food? Hot Dogs, Bagels, Donuts, Apples, Coke, and Beer...couldn't be better, really...

As usual, I need to go grocery shopping.

I'm back home after having some really screwed up dreams on the plane...of course ones about the plane crashing, but also weirder things that I can't even really describe.

Anyway, it's nice to be home. I'm not looking forward to being back at school and dealing with everything I had failed to accomplish over the last month, but it's still good to be in my own apartment and sitting in my own bed.

Being really and truly away for a week made me realize how unsatisfied I am with my life here. I don't like my classes and I don't have any friends that I can count on. The flute stresses me out and training has become a chore. So I need to take a step (or a leap) backwards and figure out exactly what I'm doing, and how to fix the stuff that just plain sucks.

Of course, everything is going to start up again tomorrow and I'll barely have time to unpack before my first spinning classes and rehearsals. It's so easy to get completely buried underneath all the CRUD; I'm going to try to take it easy this week - I need to get a lot of stuff done, but only one thing at a time so that I can do things well.

So, I biked a crazy number of miles over the past week. I had never even biked for 7 days in a row before, and I managed something like 518 miles over 8 days...

Day 1- 33m to the cactus park
Day 2- 88m from Tucson to Tombstone
Day 3- 77m from Tombstone to Wilcox
Day 4- 56m from Wilcox to the Chiricahuas (the wheels fell off on this day - the ride was supposed to be 91m, but I bailed on the last couple of sections), 4m run
Day 5- 79m from Wilcox to Tombstone
Day 6- 52m from Tombstone to Bisbee and back (cut this ride short too - it could have been something like 86m - but it was an optional route, and a lot of people did the trip I did - I still managed 2 hard core climbs)
Day 7- 100m from Tombstone to Tucson, with 8m around Tombstone before breakfast
Day 8- 6m run and 33m to the cactus park again

The only day I was really disappointed in myself was on Day 4. I just gave up; it was a really hard ride, and going home would have been uphill into a headwind...I rationalized stopping by saying I needed to be able to make it through the rest of the week without blowing up, which is true, of course...but still, I could have finished. So, I made myself go for a run when I got back to the hotel. Running at 4500 feet of altitude? Not all that fun. My legs felt fine, but my breathing was totally spastic.

The rest of the week, I pushed myself. Like I've said repeatedly, I'm not all that fast. But, by the end of the week, I could climb the mountain without crying and manage to stay on the wheels of people who were specks in the distance on the first day. So, I'll keep working and one of these days, I'll be a strong rider.

And you know what? 518 miles over mountains in the desert isn't exactly weak. It's just perspective, I guess.

So, that was bike camp. I'll definitely be back next year...I already checked out my Spring Break dates and what week I'll be able to attend. It's so tempting to get up and leave all the complications and stresses of New Jersey and school and just be on the road all the time...but eventually the crap would catch up with you, and it's nice to have the road as a place to escape.

And this summer? 9 weeks of just riding and seeing the country from a bike? I can't freaking wait.

First of all, let me say that Curly Su's Bike Camp sounds like an amazing week! Great Job!

My own biking has been a little non-existent the past few weeks. I have the dreaded Patello-femoral Pain Syndrome, ie Runner's Knee. I've actually done very little running so far this year but I HAVE been pushing myself pretty aggressively on the bike and now I'm paying the price. I went to a sports doctor just to make sure it wasn't anything more serious, and now I'm going to physical therapy 3 times a week. Normally I wouldn't go through the hassle of PT, but I have a half-ironman triathlon in one week and I need to do whatever I can to get my knee back in shape as quickly as possible.

The knee gave out as soon as I started a ride March 1st, about 3 weeks ago. I thought it was just a simple problem of a pulled muscle or something. I tried a ride a few days later and had to turn around after about 5 miles. I laid off of it for a week, tried some light rides on the trainer but could only go about 45 minutes, even in very low gears. I waited another week and was able to do about 10 slow miles on the bike.

I went out again today, and this time did 36 miles. I stopped after 15 to do some stretching to relieve some tension on my knee, but it was holding up fairly well. It would have been nice if I could have just stopped at 25 miles, but when you're out in the middle of a bike trail there's not much you can do. I'm actually kind of glad I was forced to put in the extra miles, because my legs really needed the work. My knee might be the week link in the system, but my legs still need to do 56 miles next week (followed by a 13-mile run) and they haven't been doing much work over the past 3 weeks.

I have 2 more PT sessions and a follow-up doctor's appointment this week. Hopefully my knee will be healed enough that I can do the race on Saturday, but there is still a chance I'll have to drop out. I don't want to injure it further. I should know for sure in a few days.

Today was the last official day, and I did my century ride. I woke up early and rode about 8 miles and then rode from Tombstone, AZ to Tucson, AZ...over the other side of the same mountain that we rode on the first day, and I felt stronger than I've ever felt.

It's so interesting how after a week of long rides, I don't at all feel tired or worn out. Each day (with the exception of the third day--more about that later) I felt stronger. It definitely had a lot to do with mental confidence, but it was also just plain physical strength that I gained. Of course, both are invaluable.

This week has been one of the best weeks I can remember. Meeting new people, getting away from everything, improving on the bike, and finding out more of what I'm capable both mentally and physically - it was the best Spring Break I could possibly imagine.

You know, it's a weird thing, but I always feel like if I can do something, then it can't be that difficult; it can't be extra-ordinary. I know I'm just a normal person living a normal life...so if I can climb the mountain, surely everyone can.

But here's the thing to try to remember: even if that statement is true, even if anyone and everyone can climb the mountain, it doesn't mean they are, in fact, doing it.

And I am.

I'm out there; I'm not going to be a biking superstar or a world famous flutist, but I know what I love and I do those things and I don't give up. It might be stubborn-ness; it might be endurance or perseverance. Whatever you call it though, I'm glad I've got it.

[The picture is of last night's sunset over the mountains in Tombstone; it wasn't blurry on purpose, but I think it actually works well.]

I'm so sad it's coming to an end. Getting away from everything was just what I needed; I can't remember the last time I felt so relaxed. It's kind of scary to realize how wound up I was - and that I didn't even really know it. I have absolutely no desire to go back to real life. Here, I have no responsibilities or unnecessary stress - nothing to worry about besides getting from Point A to Point B...and hopefully avoiding saddle sores in the process.

I think I'm converted.

Could it really be true? Could there be a cyclist inside of me after-all?!? After spending the week as a roadie, I'm seeing more of the appeal, and I've almost completely forgotten about triathlon aspirations. Instead I've been thinking about RAAM and Brevets and PBP and the biking world is basically in a different solar system than the one in which I've been operating.

And I kind of love it.

And it turns out, I'm not such a horrible biker. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm slow and I'm not fast and I'm uncoordinated and everything else bad, but I'm also getting stronger every day, and I now know there is actually potential there.

So, tomorrow is the last official day (I have all day Saturday here too, so I'll probably go out on my own for something like a 35-50 mile ride), and we're scheduled for 92 miles over a mountain, back to Tucson. I'm getting up early to do 8 miles beforehand so that I'll have conquered a century ride this trip. I know that in terms of training, 92 miles isn't that different than 100 miles...but hell, that 8 miles is 8 miles and I'll have done 100...and somehow, that makes a difference.

The photo is of me at the top of Mule Pass on the way to Bisbee, AZ (where there is the cutest bicycle shop I've ever seen - it's called 'Bisbee Bicycle Brothel', and I got a couple of awesome t-shirts featuring naked ladies on bikes).

This is just a temporary, 'I'm not dead', post.

Biking has been awesome. Insanely hard at times, but all in all, I'm holding my own. I'm not the last person in, which is a relief (even though it shouldn't matter).

Yesterday was 86m up a mountain and today was 77m and much more manageable. Today was supposed to only be 75, but I had to turn back around at one point because I had forgotten my helmet at lunch. Yeah, I'm a goober.

Just one quick story: Yesterday, as we started going DOWN the mountain (after an 11m climb), the headwind was so strong that I was in my smallest gear, pedaling as hard as I could, and still only going 6mph. Unreal.

But then we turned and the wind was at our backs and we were going 25mph without working at all. Awesome, and totally worth the work.

Today I got sleeted and snowed and rained on. Tomorrow and the rest of the week are supposed to be basically ideal weather though. Hell, if I had wanted to wear winter gear and freeze my ass off, I could have stayed in NJ.

But really, it's been awesome so far. I have a bunch of pictures that I'll post as soon as I can gather up the energy. Lon and Susan (the couple that runs the PAC tour) are amazing and the whole thing just runs perfectly smoothly. I definitely recommend their tours to anyone.

On the downside, I'm gaining about 15lbs a day. We just eat and eat and eat and I can't stop eating and my clothes aren't going to fit for long.

I've been getting massages at night, and it's like I'm at a resort. Except you have to bike 90 miles to get your massage. Tomorrow is a huge climb and a total of 91m. I'm not scared anymore.

Last night, I ate dinner with Mohammad Ali. Or rather, he ate dinner at a table about 10 feet away. He hugged kids and signed autographs; it was way more heartwarming than I thought possible.

This morning, I arrived at bike camp. After spending a couple of hours putting my bike together (it survived!) and stallingstallingstalling, I went for my first ride. I rode 33 miles through the desert and ended up at Sagauro National Park. I didn't do the loop through the park, but the view from the top was pretty awesome.

I felt great on my bike. I had forgotten to eat lunch and was STARVING by mile 25, but other than that I felt solid and strong. Today's ride; however, was mostly flat with ideal weather conditions (aside from a bit of wind).

Tomorrow will be a different story. The weather is supposed to take a turn for the worse (40s and rainy), and we're climbing something like 3000 feet. Ugh.

But, after tomorrow the weather should be back to the Arizona norm of a cloudless 70 degrees. So, I'll make it through the day and it'll be easier from there on out.

Unfortunately (but for obvious reasons), I don't have my good camera with me (you can't exactly bike with a digital SLR), so the pictures leave a bit to be desired. I'm doing the best I can with my little point-and-shoot and hopefully there will be a significant learning curve and the pictures will get better as the week goes continues. Check out more pictures at www.curlysu.com.

IronMin is right; this is my week and my trip. I'm here, by myself, because I want to be. I arranged it, used all my savings to pay for it, and got myself here - because it's something I desire.

No more complaining. I'm ready.

If you can believe it, I'm at a resort in Arizona. My mom was coincidentally in Phoenix this weekend for a wedding, so I flew in a day early to see her.

I've never been to a real resort before and so didn't know what to expect. Yeah, I'm definitely not complaining so far! It's perfectly gorgeous weather; I already have tan lines on my back from swimming for just 45 minutes (yep, I managed drills and sets in the hotel pool with kids swimming around and on top of me). It's the curse of the easily tanned--you're destined to horrific tan lines all summer long.

My bike came with me and is still in its box. I'm holding my breath that it's okay; I'm too scared to open it and check so I'll just wait until tomorrow in Tucson. It should be fine; it's in the proper box and I followed the directions when packing it...but you know, it's scary to put a $3,000 bike on a plane no matter what. Hell, it was scary taking the thing apart. I almost took my other crappy bike just because I didn't want the Orbea to get scratched. But I refuse to be a grandmother with plastic over her couches, so I crossed my fingers and knotted my hair and sent the bike on its way, entrusted in the care of our loyal TSA employees.

So, I have the rest of the day to relax and then my mom is bringing me to Tucson in the morning. Tomorrow is just a simple on-your-own ride; Sunday is when the everything really kicks into high gear.

I'm nervous. I don't know if I can do it, and I don't want to be the pain in the butt last arriver everywhere and every time. But then again, I signed up for the camp to get better, so even if I can't finish or even if I am the slowest, I'll still do my best and I'll still improve. And if my ego suffers a little in the meantime? It could be a good thing.

One week from today, I'll be on my way to Arizona for PAC Bike Camp. I have to admit, I'm kind of nervous.

It's 80-100 miles a day for 7 days, and umm...I haven't ridden more than 65 since June 21, 2006 (yes, the IronMan).

I'm in good shape right now; I'm strong (weight lifting works!) and relatively lean. I've been teaching Spinning three times a week all year, and done lots and lots of trainer riding (a.k.a. Sex and the City watching). But, 80-100 miles a day with a bunch of guys? Yikes.

I'll be fine. So what if I'm the slowest person there? (I just might be.) I'll finish and by the time I'm done I'll be a biking rock-star. I've never done anything like this before; I'm nervous, but I'm also incredibly excited.

I'm bringing my computer and my camera. So, get ready for some posts from the roads of Arizona.

Oh, and...does anyone know what a gear bag is and what you're supposed to put in it?!?

I received my Bike and Build sweatshirt in the mail on Monday, and (with the exception of yesterday when I tried to will away winter) I've been wearing it ever since...because it's really freaking comfortable. And because I look SO good in gray.

I'm getting increasingly excited about this trip with every passing moment. June 11 is take off day! So far, I've raised about $2,400 of the $4,000 I pledged. If you have a couple minutes and a couple dollars, please donate. Every little bit helps.