Friday, December 25, 2009

My New Tri Bike

First, I know I'm writing this on Christmas, but no, it was not a Christmas gift. I've actually had it for about 2 months now. Jeff had been looking for a bike that would really fit me properly for about 5 months (sometimes it sucks to be short) and about 2 weeks before Longhorn he brought this home!
It's a Kestrel Airfoil Pro SL with an Ultegra SL group set, Mavic Ksyrium Elite 650 wheels & a Profile Design Cobra carbon cockpit. Wow! But I had no intention of changing bikes and getting used to a new bike just 2 weeks before Longhorn. Plus, I had told Jeff a while ago I did not want a tri bike, I thought it would be too aggressive and hard to handle. Since this was the only bike he could get that would really fit me well, he decided to bring it home and let me try it out and see what I thought. It was after Thanksgiving before I really tried it out and decided I like it, in fact I REALLY like it. It's actually easier to handle than my road bike which was a big surprise to me.
This bike is fun to ride, I want to ride every day, so much that I talked Jeff into riding last weekend when it was 30 degrees! (If you know me well, you know I don't go outside voluntarily if it's below 50 degrees!) We only made it 10 miles before we were frozen and had to come home. I thought about trying to talk Jeff into riding with Mark, Adrian, and Jason this morning even though it was 25 degrees!! In the end they didn't even ride today.
This ends up being really great timing since I decided to do Ironman Cozumel 2010 and it will probably be very windy there so the more aggressive tri bike position will be really helpful.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Ironman Cozumel 2010!


I did it! At 11:00 pm on Dec. 9th I signed up for Ironman Cozumel! And I'm excited! It's Sunday November 28th 2010, so I have 49 weeks to get ready! This also means we'll be spending Thanksgiving 2010 in Cozumel...Turkey Tacos as Ingrid says!

When Ingrid first mentioned it to me, I said No Way, I'm waiting until 2011. But when I really started to consider it and talk with some friends about it I realized the only reason to wait was fear, and waiting a year wouldn't make the fear go away anyway.

I have a lot going for me this year. I have 2 full years of half iron training. I have an amazing coach and an awesome team to train with. Some of my teammates are doing Ironman Florida 2010 so I will have lots of training partners. Jeff is 100% supportive, I kept telling him "I won't have a free weekend all summer and fall", "I'm going to be tired all the time", "Ironman is going to be our entire life for a year if I do this" and I got responses like "that's fine" and "I know, it'll be worth it" and "that's ok" from him. And considering how great he's been during half iron training I don't think I could be in a better position there. Interestingly, when I told Coach Jen I signed up the first thing she said was "how does your hubby feel about this?" I think that may be the best testament to how important it is to have a supportive family going into an Ironman. Plus Ingrid, Kim, and Del are doing Ironman Cozumel too, so I'll get to train and race with them!

My only concern was that in Cozumel I wouldn't have my Tri Zones More Cowbell Corps. I love them and appreciate them so much! It's pretty tough to feel anything but joy when you run or ride by and all your friends are screaming and cowbelling for you! After I signed up, Kristen decided to come, and Kendra and Nicki may come too! So I actually will have a Tri Zones More Cowbell Corps! WOW! Thanks guys!! That means so much to me!

And then there's the fact that it's on Cozumel. Jeff and I love Cozumel, we've been there 6 times to dive, it's just beautiful and the people are so nice! I wasn't at all suprised when I read race reports saying that the entire island shut down for the race and EVERYONE was out there spectating from early morning until after midnight and it was the best race ever as far as spectator support- that's my kind of race! When Cozumel was brought up as a possibility, Jeff was 100% for it, he didn't want to hear about the pros of Florida or Lonestar (if it happens). And honestly I didn't either, the only Florida pro that mattered to me was the Tri Zones More Cowbell Corps. Even though I know it will be windy and tough I just can't wait to ride along the far side of the island and watch the waves crash into the shore and then ride into town with all the locals screaming and cheering in Spanish! It's going to be awesome!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Decker Challenge Half Marathon

Jeff and I at the Austin Farmer's Market on Saturday. Ingrid and Del came to town on Friday night and we all had a great time at the Farmer's Market on Saturday checking out all the cool local farms and getting yummy and healthy produce and meats for the week.

Saturday night Del, Richard, Jeff, and I went to Fred and Lori's holiday party. They made a great dinner, of course I was worried about eating anything different for pre-race dinner, but luckily it worked out ok this time. After a very fun and animated white elephant gift exchange, we headed home early to get a good nights sleep before Decker.

The Decker Challenge is race number 4 of the Distance Challenge, it's a hilly half marathon with a reputation for bad weather. It was very cold (in the lower 40's) with a very heavy mist on race morning- yuck! Although it was about what we had expected based on the forecast and based on the fact that the weather is always terrible for Decker (except last year when it was really nice, but still pretty cold). Thank goodness we could be inside before the race or we would have frozen to death out there! Ingrid and I did a short warm up run, less than a mile right before the start.
Del, Ingrid and me pre-race
At the start I felt cold but not completely miserable and I knew I would warm up after a couple of miles. Looking pretty cold, wet and nasty at the start. Photo by Jake North Photography who later posted on their FB page that the location was "the coldest, darkest, hilliest, windiest place in Austin"
In the first mile I saw Ingrid and Priscilla. I was using Ingrid's Garmin to pace myself and I really liked it. Even after 4 miles and the turn onto Lindell I was still pretty cold, that almost never happens, but I was keeping a good pace. I was really glad I had my balaclava/face mask, my ears and chin were a little cold even with it. "Little Mr. Tard" wasn't as bad as I remembered it last year at Decker and at the top, two girls saw the next long hill and started talking loudly about how hard it looked so I told them "that one's not nearly as bad as the one we just did, I promise!" I don't think they believed me. But really, that second hill looks bad from a distance, but it isn't very steep. I talked with a few people along the way, but didn't see anyone else I knew. Between mile 8 and 9, Santa was at the aid station, so I high fived him as I ran by. I tried hard to thank as many volunteers and spectators as I could because it was a terrible day to be outside and I wanted them to know how much I appreciated them.

I had planned to see how I felt and possibly go for a half marathon PR, but I knew that would be tough if not impossible since Decker is such a tough course. I have been trying to beat my very first Austin half marathon in Feb. 2008 for almost 2 years. It doesn't make any sense that I didn't beat it last year because I know I was much better trained and even ran on 1 easier course, but I just couldn't beat it in any of my 3 half marathons last year. So I planned to run an 11:30 pace and try for a PR.

I actually ran closer to an 11:00 pace for at least the first half and then slowed a little for some of the bigger hills toward the end. I was feeling pretty good even though I was cold and wet the entire race. I never took a cup of water from an aid station and had to force myself to drink my Infinit, I think I was breathing in so much water with the mist/rain that I just never got thristy.

As I came back into the expo center grounds and could see the finish I was just ecstatic, the Garmin only said 2:26 and I was easily less than 2 minutes from the finish line! I saw Kristen, Blonde Pam, and Chris near the finish. Chris even picked up a big orange pylon and yelled my name through it, it sounded like a loudspeaker! Ingrid was on the other side of the finish jumping up and down and screaming for me! I was SO happy to finally beat my very first half marathon time and at Decker! I ended up finishing in 2:27:54 which is 4:23 faster than my very first (and fastest) half marathon and over 18 minutes faster than Decker last year. I'm sure my pictures will be funny because I was pretty much laughing the last 100 meters or so and they had 2 photographers there.Update on the pictures: This is one of the first Decker Challenge pictures on Jake North Photography's FB page today. And yes, I was really that happy! Thanks Jake North Photography for a great race finish picture!

Thanks so much to Coach Jen and the Tri Zones Longhorn training this summer, Coach Tracy and the Tri Zones Winter Running Program, and Ingrid for letting me borrow her Garmin! I couldn't have done it without all of you!

Turns out Ingrid, Del, Richard, Julie M. and I (and maybe a few other Tri Zoners?) all got half marathon PRs at Decker! At some point someone said "we just had to run faster to get out of that awful weather!" There may be some truth to that!

Just a couple minutes after finishing I got really cold. I had to change out of my wet shirt, but I was still cold. I had thought I had talked Del and Ingrid into Coach Jen's Sunday Swim after the race, but since it was so cold Ingrid (Ingrid the Machine of all people!!) said NO WAY on the swim and instead we went to Homeslice Pizza!
Ingrid, Del, and Richard at Homeslice
Jeff and I at Homeslice

They were having a contest at Homeslice, whoever kept their hand on an eggplant sub the longest would win a year of free Homeslice pizza! When we got there there were 4 people left and they had been standing outside with their hands on the sub for 24 hours!

At Homeslice Ingrid said she was only going to eat about 1/2 a slice of pizza because she really wanted to go to Gordough's. Del hadn't been to Gordough's before and asked "It's just a donut shop?" Ingrid and I just laughed at him.
Ordering at Gordough's
Ingrid trying the Black Out Donut, super chocolate. This morning on Del's FB page is a picture from Gordough's with this caption "No they're NOT just donuts...trust me".

Friday, November 27, 2009

commuter bike

I meant to do a blog about my commuter bike in January when I started riding it to work but I just never got around to it. Wednesday on my way home, a guy rode up beside me and complimented my bike, but then he rode with me and asked all kinds of questions about it and told me he wanted to build up a really similar bike for his girlfriend, so I told him I'd finally do this blog this weekend so he could show her pictures. I also hit over 1500 miles of commuting on my bike this week, so that's 2 good reasons to finally do this blog.
When we got the bike, it looked like this. It's a Raleigh steel framed mixte made in Japan. We replaced pretty much everything and now I have a great commuter bike.
I have Sram front and rear drum brakes built into the wheels, so even in the rain I have great braking power. I never thought I would ride in the rain, but I have quite a few times this year and most of the time it's actually fun.
The rims are from Velocity and made to look like teakwood, Nic built the wheels for me. I get a lot of compliments on the teakwood rims, no one can tell that they aren't actual wood.
The saddle and the handgrips are from Brooks. I also have a good light setup since I ride to work at 5 am to swim sometimes. My front light is a really bright Light & Motion Stella 200, I love it, it's small but it lights up the road really well on the highest power. I can lower the power to save the batteries for riding at dusk or on better lit streets. I just use bright red blinkies on the back, but they work really well too.
My ride to work is 6.5 miles each way, the ride to work is mostly downhill with a few uphills, but the ride home is mostly uphill. This bike is really heavy (51 pounds!) for riding uphill, but I like all the components so it's worth it.
The Sram S7 internally geared hub is cool because I can shift while stopped and I don't really have to worry about dropping the chain. Because of the hills on my ride to work I need gears, and it's fairly common to have to stop on a hill. The only drawback is this hub is heavy and it's a lot of what makes this bike weigh 51 pounds.
This bike is for commuting to and from work so I have to be able to carry stuff and these Transit Metro panniers have been perfect for me. Some days I have them jam packed full of stuff for work plus lunch plus swimming stuff for before work and running shoes for a lunchtime run.

After 1500 miles of commuting so far this year, I feel like this bike is really reliable and comfortable and I still really enjoy riding it. When I take a couple days off from riding I always miss it.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving morning I ran the Turkey Trot and Jeff went for a ride with Mark, Pieps, Adrian, and Paul. I ended up running with Vickie and Kim who are both way faster than me, but wanted an easy run. I had a great run, chatting and laughing with them, saying hi to other friends we saw along the way, and hearing more of Vickie's Ironman stories. The weather was beautiful for running. I ended up finishing almost 3 minutes faster than last year and after the run Vickie said I could have gone faster if I had "really tried" instead of chatting and laughing my way through the 5 miles. Maybe she's right, and if so, that's kinda cool. Either way I had a great time.me, Kim, and Vickie, my Turkey Trot running buddies

After the run, it was time for the annual Tri Zones Thanksgiving Champagne Toast (although we've had LOTS of champagne toasts this year) This is just one of many many reasons I love Tri Zones.
Coach Tracy giving the toast
Tri Zones Champagne Toast, photo by Tom Marek
Kristen bragging about somehow getting a big pespi cup full of champagne

After running and riding, Jeff, Connor, Katie, and I went over to Patti's for Thanksgiving dinner. Paul was cooking so we had really been looking forward to this. Chef Paul finishing Thanksgiving dinner preparations
Priscilla, me, Adrian, and Jeff waiting patiently while Paul tells us what everything is.Pieps and his Thanksgiving dinner
Some of Paul's yummy food
Jeff and I wanted to get something for Paul for making Thanksgiving dinner for us, so we got him this knife that Mark said he would really like. This morning on Paul's facebook page was a picture of the leftover turkey breast with his new knife. I'm glad he likes it, I know Jeff and I really enjoyed his dinner. Everyone except me ate 2 big plates of food, I really wanted a second plate, but I just couldn't do it, I was already really full after just one plate.
After dinner everyone was sleepy and Adrian suggested a Thanksgiving walk before dessert. We took all the dogs and walked around the neighborhood and the nearby school where Mark and Adrian found some broken kids bikes and raced them around the parking lot! Jeff took pictures of this craziness, but he's having trouble getting them off his phone, hopefully he can get them because I'm sure they're hilarious!

After the walk we all had chocolate trifle for dessert-yum!
Bo and Pieps
Connor and Katie had a great time playing with Bo, but I don't think Mark's chihuahua Wienie Man (yes, that's really his name, no wonder the poor guy has "little dog complex") appreciated having 2 more big dogs in his house all day.
Jeff and Katie
Mark and Connor, Connor was really interested in Mark's apple

Sunday, November 15, 2009

"Irongrid's" (and my) Austinacious Weekend

Ingrid came to visit this weekend to have some Austin fun and fill me in on all the details of her Ironman Florida race. Friday night we went to the Red Licorice Events "birthday party" Ingrid was a little disappointed that they didn't have cupcakes from Hey Cupcake since it was a birthday party and they have cupcakes at all their races. Ingrid says you can't have a birthday party without cake! We were however really impressed with the blender bikes! They were putting lots of tequila in the blenders and having races to see who could blend a margarita and drink it fastest to win prizes. Ingrid and I opted out of that since we hadn't eaten dinner. They also had very discounted sign up for all the 2010 Red Licorice races at the party. Ingrid and I had talked about doing a relay again, like we did at Cinco Ranch in 2008. We went back and forth about whether we wanted to sign up, but I finally told Ingrid, "if Kim can't run we can get Cassie or Del to do it, or David or Matt, or someone from Tri Zones" Ingrid said "ok, we have tons of options" and she signed us up. So team "Straight 'n Sour" (a play on the Sweet 'n Twisted tri that Red Licorice does every summer) will be racing at the Champions Tri in March! We were a little disappointed that we didn't win any door prizes at the party but we hoped we were just saving our luck for the Texas Tri Series party the next night.

Saturday morning we met Sandra and Nicki to run at Brushy Creek. As soon as Sandra saw us she said "Irongrid congratulations on Ironman Florida" Sandra is a writer so she's really good with words and Ingrid loved the new nickname!
"Irongrid", me, Sandra, and Nicki at Brushy Creek

Sandra, Nicki and I were running 10 miles and Ingrid did about 5. It was a great run except that my left quad kept hurting more and more as we went on, Sandra finally talked me into walking the last mile just to make sure I wasn't making anything worse. I wasn't happy about that, but I know it was the right decision so thanks Sandra!

After the run Ingrid and I planned to go to the Mellow Swap, but while looking up the times I found out the Austin Bike Zoo was making "pedal powered ice cream" so we decided to check that out first.
Ingrid with the Austin Bike Zoo's butterfly bike
We got there and tried some pumpkin ice cream made with coconut milk-yum! Jeremy and Sachi from the Austin Bike Zoo were really nice and they even let us pedal to make some ice cream.
I pedaled for just a minute since I was a little worried about my quad from the run.
Then Ingrid pedaled, and pedaled, and pedaled! It only took about 15 minutes total, that's faster than my electric ice cream maker can go!
You can see the set up pretty well in this picture. The coffee ice cream that Ingrid made was awesome! So yummy and much more frozen that most ice cream when it comes straight out of the ice cream maker. So we say pedal powered ice cream definitely wins over hand cranked or electric made! Ingrid is now obsessed with getting/making/or buying a bike that can blend and/or make ice cream!
The Mellow Swap was next, Ingrid got these great new sunglasses and I got a new running skirt.
We also got to meet Elliott of Austin on 2 Wheels fame, he was at the Mellow Swap with his Violet Crown Bikes. Elliott is really active in the Austin cycling community and I have read his blog for awhile now but hadn't met him until today.

Gordough's was next, I knew Ingrid had been looking forward to it all day. Gordough's is a doughnut trailer on South Lamar, but that really doesn't describe the gooey yummy goodness that is their doughnuts at all!
Ingrid created her own doughnut topped with peanut butter, chocolate, marshmallows, graham crackers, and grilled bananas. Look how happy she looks! and that was before her first bite!
I had the "funky monkey" with cream cheese icing, brown sugar, and grilled bananas. These were SO good! Definitely worth completely negating any health benefits from the 10 mile run I did that morning!
That evening was the Texas Tri Series party. This was my first year to complete the series but I had heard the party was really great. We were not disappointed.
Drew and Nicki at the party
All the tri series finishers got a tech shirt, socks, and a big metal finisher award- very cool. They had lots of beer, wine, and appetizers.
Julie and I at the party
They had a cool slide show of people from all the races going, we all loved seeing people we knew on the slide show. We all saw each other on the show and they had the cutest picture of Tom and Carolyn too. Dinner was salad and lasagna and they had cake for dessert! Ingrid was so happy to finally get her cake after Red Licorice didn't have a cake!
Ingrid, Annette, and Kim with their cake. Kim didn't really eat 2 pieces, I saw her give the big one to her husband!
They gave out awards for volunteers and tri series winners. Julie won her age group and got this award, behind it is part of the finisher award we all got.
They gave out tons of door prizes. Ingrid, Nicki and I won shirts, Julie won a visor that she really wanted, Nicki also won a pair of shoes and I think everyone won a water bottle or two.
Nicole and Sandra
The grand prizes were 4 entries into all the Tri Series races for 2010, that's worth between $600 and $700! Julie's was the second number they called, she was so excited that Dan said "now that's the kind of excitement we like to see when someone wins!!" When she sat back down I was hugging her and so excited for her! Then they called Ingrid's number!! Really? Wow Ingrid won too! I was so excited! She went up to give them her name and when she came back I hugged her and she said "When they asked my name I said your name, so YOU won!" I asked "Really? Are you serious?" She said "YES!" with the biggest smile on her face! I gave her a huge hug and said "I love you Ingrid! You're the best friend ever!!" I think I even cried a little! Later Ingrid told me "I was wishing in my head 453, 453 (my number) because I really wanted you to win, so when they asked me my name I just said your name" WOW! How many people can say they have a friend like that! What a selfless thing for her to do for me! I really hope karma repays Ingrid big time!
me, Dan of Jack and Adam's and Julie. Texas Tri Series 2010 here we come!!! I think my hands are still shaking in the picture from all the excitement!

Ingrid and I had planned to ride on Sunday morning, but I did a test ride around the neighborhood to see how my quad felt. It didn't go horribly, but it didn't go great and Ingrid informed me "you are NOT riding today!" So instead of ride then brunch, we just went to brunch at Chez Zee. Ingrid was craving creme brulee french toast so she got that and eggs sardou- yum! I got a crabmeat omelet-yum!
Ingrid wanted to make sure the leftover boxes were in the picture as proof we did not eat all that food at once! What a great weekend!!