Disappointing speed workout

It is so depressing after feeling so good on the bike last weekend to feel so not good running tonight. I admit I haven't been doing speed workouts, but still I feel like I have lost so much speed (and speed here is relative of course - it isn't like I am doing 6 minute miles or anything.....). Maybe it is not the best way to compare, but part of what was so depressing was that my running buddy - who I have always been faster than, was running better than I was. I am not trying to be catty or ultra-competitive - I think we all know that having someone who runs close to your pace can help push you. I started out ahead of her for the first repeat, but the second one we were pretty even then with each successive one, she got a little further ahead of me. I should probably learn to use my heart rate monitor properly and use that to help gauge my effort. I felt like each repeat was equally as hard for effort, but not equally fast. Now I need to think about what I can do to make next week better. Should I eat a different snack? eat at a different time? I did drink a lot of water today, so I don't think that hydration was an issue. I am just getting slower and need to use this to motivate me to work harder at getting faster again.....

One thing that is not disapointing are blog giveaways Check this one out from Shut up and Run. CSN must be trying to get their name out in the blog world - I have seen a few giveaways they have sponsored - so hopefully I win one.

Does just watching the Tour make you faster?

Yesterday it seemed that way. J and I went on our usual weekend ride on our tandem. We have been trying to add a few miles and ended up doing about 48 yesterday. I don't know if it was favorable winds, we were working harder than normal or we just had one of those days that we just clicked and our legs worked together - or maybe all of them? We left pretty late in the day, so we headed to our coffee stop first otherwise they would have been closed. So our first leg was much shorter than the second leg. The longer leg, included climbing up past the dam at Lake Berryesa then turning around and heading back home. Next time, definitely need to bring more water - we were both out of water with about 10 miles to go. So by the end, we were hot, tired and very thirsty.

I admit that I don't really follow bike racing much - really all I do watch is Le Tour. I didn't even really follow the Tour of California which is practically in my back yard (and I think we even did 10 or so miles of one of the stages yesterday). There is just something about the tour - the fact that the riders are going for 3 weeks, riding 100 mile days, up mountains. It is just one of those sporting events that you can't help but admire even the last place finisher for what they have done. The thing I don't get about bike racing is the team tactics. It seems like it would be hard to be a "domestique" working the whole time for someone else to win (or attempt to win). I also get a little nervous riding in a large group of riders. I would not be at home in the peleton, so I am glad that triathalons don't allow drafting.

Other exciting things from the weekend -

A trip to the CA State Fair. Unfortunately many of the kid rides still had a height requirement of 36 inches and I think Jake is about 34. Daddy had to ride some rides with them. He didn't fit so well in the kiddie rides.

Zach usually looks bored on the rides - the only one he seemed to be smiling on was the jet ski one. He said he liked the pony ride, but from his expression you would never guess that.



Jake liked all the rides and was even about to milk the cow - but he didn't want to wash his hands, so he couldn't do it. Poor Jake was so tired out that he feel asleep with me carrying him around the fair. I guess the stroller would have been a better idea.



And we have been working (or better said having work done) on concrete for the front of the house. Zach loved watching the trucks and the guys working. It looks really good and I can't wait for them to finish it up next weekend.

1 in 10

I think that is the odds that a blog post that I thought about and/or composed in my head actually makes it published. There are so many times that I get a random thought and mentally "write" my blog, but it seems that I never actually get it out. I often think of posts when I am running - especially lately as I have been running mostly by myself and I can get lost in my thoughts. But post run, I end up doing other things and think I will do it later. Then the thought is lost or it just seems silly to post what I thought about 2 or 3 days ago. Seems lately I haven't even been able to keep up with blog-stalking and I don't even follow too many.....

I am happy to say that I have actually signed up for a few sprint triathalons. I did an open water swim with Holly and a few others last weekend in Lake Berryesa to test out how "ready" I was to do a 1/2 mile swim with out any training (I do miss having a pool in my yard this year.....). I know I am ready for the bike and run.

I also started half marathon training with Fleet Feet Vacaville today. I debated between the half and full groups and decided that I just wasn't ready for the time commitment of a full marathon. I think for now I will focus on the half distance and maybe try and build some speed. Or at least getting the speed back that I had cause my last half was definetly not my best.

Lots of updates

I realize that my blog has it's ups and downs as far as activity. I actually wanted to post something this weekend, but our internet was down.... grrrr. Anyway - some updates....

We have a new family member -


Her name is Minnie (although I wanted to change it, the boys didn't). She is a one year old german shorthair pointer. I wanted a girl dog to help even out the male/female ratio in the house, but I am sure that she will be more attached to J than to me. All dogs seem to love J. The boys like her - she is kind of small and she doesn't knock them around as much as the Gma/Gpa's labs do. Of course, this changed some plans as far as work around the house - we ended up fencing an area in the back because she is such a hunter that we can't just let her out and expect her to come back when she is called.

And as I have promised long ago - some house updates. Besides just moving all of our stuff in (which was a lot more work than I thought - where did all this stuff come from? ) We have done some painting. J did his first ever tile project in the downstairs hall/storage room. And J has made good use of the tractor and has done work outside preparing for concrete for the driveway and a patio.






About 6 weeks ago I went to Dream Dinners. I have gone through almost all of them and most of them were pretty good. Zach even tried some. I could probably do similar types of things on my own, but that would require finding a recipe, making sure I had the ingredients and putting it all together - these meals require little thought. The only real negative is that you still need to come up with a side dish and/or veggie to go with the main course.

Epic ride

Did you have fun?

My husband usually asks me this at the end of a long ride. What do you say - it isn’t really “fun”, in fact it is a lot of hard work and suffering. At the same time it is an accomplishment and there is satisfaction in pushing yourself further or harder than before.

So today we went on an epic ride. Overall we did 87 miles, 6:27 and an overall average of 13.5 mph. Sounds pretty slow until you realize this included over 7,300 ft of climbing. Yes, there is down hill too, but still that is a ton of climbing. And this was probably one of the 2 or 3 furthest rides I have ever done.

We had only decided the day before to join a few of J’s work friends for the ride. Not surprisingly we were late to meet up. Realizing this, we called the group to let them know we were going to be about 30 minutes late. We were supposed to meet by a Subway and well, our GPS wasn’t up to date so we ended up going to the wrong Subway (after our GPS directing us down this 3 mile narrow single lane road). Guess it is time to update our maps. Arriving a fashionable hour late, part of the group already took off.

We managed to catch up with the group at the first planned rest stop. The group was kind of mixed – a few faster, stronger riders (J included) and a few slower but steady riders. I fit right in between the 2 groups which made be happy because although it was a “no drop” ride – I didn’t want to bring up the rear all day.

After a bit more climbing, we got to a nice downhill section. One of the slow and steady guys also tends to descend like a madman. Unfortunately this did not work to his advantage and he crashed off the road on a hairpin turn. Thankfully, he wasn’t really hurt and neither was his bike. He did manage to tear up the tire and got some road rash. We patched him up enough to get to the next general store. From there he found a ride back to his truck. So his epic ride was cut down to about 25 miles, but I’m sure he will remember it. I am a little curious how the ride back his truck went….

From there it was just more and more climbing. My legs were burning and I just didn’t have the strength to keep turning the pedals. I did learn a few things: (1) Get a triple ring – I actually got off and walked portions of the steepest part of the climb – I know – very shameful, but I just wanted to keep moving forward. (2) Be more prepared with food and drink. The country stores were few and far between. I had a few gels, a few granola bars, some Luna moons, but this was not enough. I think I would have bonked had I not gotten ½ a PB&J at the top of the biggest climb.

We got a break from the steep climbing, and it felt like it was faster. That is until you looked down and realized that “fast” was now equal to about 10 mph. Finally after all that climbing, the bulk of the ride became downhill. This was nice, but still not easy. I think by this time we were all hurting a bit. Just hanging on to the bars was hard – and I am cautious on the descents, so all that braking wears my hands out.

By this point any slight rise because a granny gear grind. The road stayed mostly rolling and down, but every time I saw the road ahead kick upwards at all it was all I could do to motivate to keep going. I was alternating between trying push through the gears and actually feeling kind of strong (plus I wanted to use every last bit of momentum to get up the rises) to just having grind it out and hope that it would end soon.

Finally we finished and pulled into the parking lot. I was glad to be done and enjoyed a really cold drink. It was a long hard day. So, was it fun? Hmmm, I still don’t know how to answer this question. If you would have passed by me while I was riding, I doubt I had a smile on my face too often. I know there are some people out there who can run a marathon or even an ultra with a smile on their face and enjoy it for what it is, but that isn't me. I spent a good portion of the day riding alone between the riders so I was mostly just out on the road with my own thoughts. Not always a good thing when you are struggling up a hill – it is hard not to question what the heck you were thinking when you agreed to do this. I can’t think of the right word to describe it – not fun, but it was satisfying (once it was over). I admit that I do like getting those looks from people – the ones where they are puzzled why anyone would willingly do such a thing. Or even better the looks from other cyclists who are impressed with what you did. Maybe it really is just all about bragging rights?