Let There Be Light!

We've been suffering through our kitchen renovation since April Fools Day. For the most part, it's now done. We have the essentials - a working stove and running water. Just need a few things fixed, finish up the skylight, some tile behind the stove and painting. I still need to finish up my post about the kitchen renovation experience and the lame guys who did it. It just sucks the life out of me to think about it, nevermind write about it.

We do, however, love our carpenters. Yesterday, they put the skylight in the roof and a hole in the kitchen ceiling. Tuesday, they'll enlarge the hole, build the tunnel, etc. But even now with just the temporary, small opening, the light is just SO much better.

Another Event To Add To The List

As I mentioned recently, I keep a list of things I want to do before I die (going to have to add that list to the sidebar here). Today, I found something else to add to the list: L'Etape du Tour. Apparently, they let 8,000 other crazy folks like me ride up the toughest stage of the Tour de France a few days before the real peloton shows up. This year, it's up the Col du Tourmalet. I read about it in a new NYT blog. I don't know whether to admire or pity the guy. Probably a little of both.

Memorial Day Ride

Sometimes it is just SO GOOD to simply go out and ride. No computers, no hrms, no plans, nada. All the travel this spring has pretty much thrown a brick wall into my training and racing. As Randy Pausch has said, brick walls are put there to simply see how badly you want something. And sure, if I really wanted to ride while on traveling on business or vacation, I would have found a way. I've flown my bike to CA before and done some great rides after work at my SJ office.

Lately, instead of trying to tear down that particular brick wall, I've been looking at the opportunities presented by taking the long way around instead. This weekend, instead of going out on a hard, training hammer ride, I opted to ride with S and PFFC. Due to S's knee surgery, I was warned it would be slow, easy and not that far (her max right now is about 45 miles). But, she did promise it would include at least one ice cream stop. :) Hmmmm....hammer ride on my own or doing the ice cream loop with the girls who taught me how to ride. No brainer. Did the ice cream loop and had a awesome time. Spectacular weather, mocha oreo at Great Brook Farm, a stop at "The Bench" in Concord with Dunkin' iced coffee followed by some great new beer from Lucky Kat from Magic Hat once we reached home. Perfect ride, perfect day.

Cow Pies

I've never met a carb I didn't like. Plus, my grandfather was a baker so it's just in my genes to love bread. So when I come across an interesting recipe I usually try it out. While reading one of my fitness mags (Bicycling? NE Runner? Dirt Rag?), I found a recipe for Whole Wheat Walnut Raisin Rolls which would be a nice replacement for the Luna Bars I usually have in my jersey pocket. I decided to make a batch for this weekend's planned rides. As I was throwing the ingredients in my bread maker to churn up the dough (while on a work con-call) I thought to myself, "Huh...that sounds like too much water...." Instead of adding what made sense to me and adding more if it needed it, I just dumped the whole amount in. After all, I was working (sort of) and didn't want to have to monitor things too closely.

Of course, when the dough was done, it was entirely a goopy mess. There was no way I could form rolls out of this stuff and I didn't want to spend the time of mixing more flour in. I briefly considered tossing it all out, I figured, what the hell. Let's bake them and see what happens. So I scooped the mess out with my hands, put it on a cookie sheet and sure enough, they looked more like chocolate chip cookies instead of bread rolls. Baked them on 450 for about 10-15 min and they are actually quite delicious!

When S got home, she saw them cooling on the counter.

"WHAT are those?!?!? Cow pies?!?!?"

Long explanation from me about what I'd done.

She picks one up, takes a bite,........ "They're good!"

"Yeah, but they're supposed to be rolls."

"Better this way - easier to fit in a jersey pocket."

She had a point. I think I'll keep making them that way. :)

Maui Quick Pics

In my Sunday morning reading of the NYT, I came across a new site that I thought would be cool to check out. Tried it out with a few Maui pics. Here's the result. Pretty neat, huh? Check out Animoto for your own stuff.

S Takes the Plunge and Doesn't Puke

I'm the kind of person who actually keeps a list of things I want to do before I die: learn to fly - check; jump out of a plane - check; learn to snowboard - check; learn to mountain bike - check (kind of). Even though I keep managing to knock stuff off my list, it still keeps growing. Go figure. I guess as I travel or read adventure magazines, I see people doing really cool stuff and think, "OMG! I HAVE TO DO THAT!" Current things on the top of my list: do a triathlon (need to learn to swim better), do a week long surf camp in baja ( I guess better swimming skills could come in handy here as well), do a 24hr MTB race and kayak the Galapagos. I also managed to discover a new sport, put it on the list and cross it off within the week I was in Maui (learn to paddle surf). Awesome, awesome, awesome fun! If I didn't have to deal with the f*&^%% cold Atlantic, I'd buy one. Great work out and really just a blast. We didn't managed to grab any pictures while fooling around on them which is probably just as well. I don't need embarrassing wipe-out pics of me on the web.

But anyway, I digress. Two years ago I decided I really wanted to check off "Learn to sail" on my list. And I did. I never thought I'd like it more than flying but quite honestly, it's way more relaxing and I don't have to wear headphones that wreck my hair. ;-) Alas, for two years, I've never managed to get S to sail with me. Did she think I'd dump her over in Bahstahn Hahbah? Get blown out to Bermuda? Make her clean the head? No - none of that. She trusted me just not her stomach. She gets more seasick than anyone I know. Years ago, on a daysail to Vineyard Haven, I actually saw her turn a vivid shade of green - exactly like Elphaba in Wicked. Fortunately, she's discovered this seasick medication, Sturgeron. The bad news is it isn't available in the US. Regardless, she's managed to stock up due to business travel and it definitely worked wonders. In fact, after sailing to Lahaina on a 48 ft catamaran, I convinced her to try zipping around on the tiny Hobie cat. Video proof below. (And yes, she did drag the video camera through the water off the boat for a bit.)

I Miss Hawaii

These guys were racing our catamaran as we were sailing back from Manele Harbor (Lanai) back to Lahaina. Also got a glimpse of a mom and baby humpback that day. So cool!

Running More Miles Than Biking

For the past THREE weeks I've run more miles than biked. Part of me wants to frantically run down to the local Wailuku bike shop, grab any bike and ride. But then I go for my morning run through Waikea and Makena and I'm ok. Climb two miles and have a great view of the coast. Descend down to Makena Drive, hop on the walking coastal path, and run along one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. The pic above was from yesterday's run. What you can't see are the fishermen, kayakers, sailors, snorkelers, paddle boarders or as I saw yesterday, two older women greeting the morning with a form of graceful stretching movements on the beach.

Lacing up my running shoes, I've covered gorgeous miles along Sydney harbor, NYC Central Park, under the Golden Gate bridge, through Munich's English Garden, along the mall in DC, through the AZ desert and tons of other places. Being a tourist in running shoes gives you a whole different perspective on your host city. I love it and the past three weeks have reminded me how much I enjoy running.

Back on the plane today and home tomorrow where my bike is waiting. I've missed it but I wouldn't trade the past three weeks for it. ;-)

New Fave Shoes

Picked these up at Hana Highway Surf Shop yesterday in Pa'ia. You can
expect to see these on my feet all summer. Too bad I can't put cleats
on the bottom. ;-) Guess they'll have to do as post-race shoes.
Happiness!

Slackin' Hawaiian Style

Just read a morning's worth of race reports. While my teammates have
been busy tearing up both dirt and asphault, I've had my butt planted
firmly on a boat or beach chair. I'm getting somewhat anxious about it
but then I just roll over to make sure I'm tanning evenly. ;-)
Yesterday, we sailed to Lanai. Saw a late-season mom and baby
humpback. Did some great snorkeling and hiking and were escorted out
of Lanai harbor by a huge (30-40?) pod of spinner dolphins. Oh yeah-
sunset on the water too. With champagne. More pics later.

Mojiti Maui Style

This is why I love the Four Seasons Maui. :-)

Last Night's Sunset

View from our lanai last night. Went well with the bottle of champagne
we picked up in town.

Today- more beach time and maybe zip around for an hour or two in the
hobie cat.

Spider Woman

One of the regular guys at my gym is always trying to talk me into going to his climbing gym. I've always thought it would be something I'd love to try and would be halfway decent at. Unfortunately, his gym is in Everett and while that's not far as the crow flies, is a total pita for me to get to.

But while on Family Cruise on RCL's Liberty of the Seas, I got to give it a whirl. There are 11 routes up the wall - I chose the easiest given it was my first time. After signing my life away and getting fitted for a harness, helmet and shoes, I headed for the wall. It's located on the aft deck about 13 stories above the water. Throw in another 4 stories of climbing and it feels pretty high up there. At one point about half way up, I stopped to look around (including down - really bad idea) and felt my stomach do flip-flops. I've never had any problem with heights before but clinging like Spider Woman to that wall but a whole new spin on things. My hands got pretty sweaty - not sure if it was from being nervous about being beat up to the top by my sister, the heat or fear of falling. Once I did slip and swung out, I realized I wasn't going to die and it became a whole lot easier.

So I'm thinking next winter I may spend more time indoors at the climbing gym. Fun stuff and a great workout.

DFL But Not DNF

Wasn't sure what to expect for the outcome of this race. My training, while not non-existent, has been a bit sporadic due to work and family travel. On top of that, throw in a self-diagnosis of giardiasis that made it hard to keep any food in for the previous 4 days, I was thinking I'd be lucky if I finished. But who am I kidding - secretly I wanted to be sharing the podium with Cathy and any other NEBC woman who showed up (wouldn't that be cool?!?!).

Pre-rode the course with Cathy, Mike and Wayne. Knew right then I was in trouble - instead of being fun and easy, I was holding on for dear life and marveling how fast those guys rode so effortlessly. During the pre-ride, we came up to THE LOG (same from last year) that I didn't ride because the girl in front of me endo'd. I dismounted and was about to step over when Cathy chided, "Ride it, Teri!" So, I backed up the trail and rode it! There's even photographic proof (thanks, Mike! Pic on left stolen from Cathy's camera.) The course was fun, twisty single track. No rock gardens, no stream crossings, pretty much just plain fun. Loved it. Better than last year's beginner course which had a lot of fireroad.

I spun out in the sand at the start of the race but passed two women who got stuck in the stand at the uphill right turn. I held my place for the first bit (including dusting a few riders as I rode THE LOG -thanks, Cath!). By the time we hit the first uphill section, I knew I was toast. I had absolutely nothing. HR was pegged at 95% and I was going miserably slow and being passed. Wah.

During the second lap, besides feeling horrible I had to deal with the masses of men sport riders passing me. Not fun and really messed with me getting in a rhythm. I did manage to pass two of the older male sport riders. Gotta count the little victories. As I finished the second lap, all the men were heading for the finish line. Very hard to go out for another lap.

Third lap was all about survival and just finishing. Which I did. (Click the map to the left to see all the gory details). First sport XC race completed. Compared to my performance last year, my skills have really improved. No falls, rode everything. Never dabbed once. For me, that's an accomplishment. Just have to get the fitness back to last year's level (or better). Best part: seeing Cathy and Wayne on the podium (I missed seeing Mike up there as I had to leave early.) I think I have some new converts to MTB racing!

Desperate Measures

Our kitchen has been demolished for three weeks now. Many of you who know me know I really don't enjoy camping so this kitchen thing is pushing me to my limits. S is traveling this week and when she's gone, I like to slum it with a garden burger and tater tots for dinner. So today while driving home in a foul mood (they've canned my project at work and while they've offered us positions somewhere in the company, it's all very vague - need to find new job. Anyone need a software engineering manager who specializes in video? I found a outdoor instructor position at REI I thought was enticing. No, I'm not kidding.), I tried to cheer myself up with the thought of snarfing 20 mini tater tots. Uh oh. No oven. Time to improvise. A tin foil boat on the BBQ works very nicely. :) I may not have a job (more time to train!) but at least I have my tater tots.

Day at Sea

We spent it boogie boarding and rock climbing (really like that- I
think I've found a new sport. Fun!)

And So The Fun Begins...

Can't believe they make us do the lifeboat drill.

First Race of 2008

Yesterday was the King of Burlingame MTB Time Trial in Charlestown, RI. I signed up a few weeks ago when I realized that I'd be missing a bunch of races in April due to "Family Cruise". The race came a little early for me. My training hasn't been exactly to plan due to work/kitchen renovation/lousy weather/work travel and other events conspiring against me. I figured by signing up for this race, I'd put a stake in the ground and feel at least somewhat compelled to not embarrass myself.

Drove down to RI very early in the morning. Geez - last year, Beginner races were always at 9am. This race had Sport (my new division) at 9am and Beginners at 11:30am. What's up with that? Low clouds, slight drizzle, and temps hovering around 40. RI for me is synonymous with college. As I passed signs for University of Rhode Island, I had the little diddy we used to chant in the dugout when we played them pounding through my head : "U-R-I! U-R-I! U-R-I-N-E!" (And, of course, the response from their dugout was "What's the color of Brown? S-H-I-T". Potty humor at the college level.)

Arrived at the race a little too late to do a pre-ride of the entire course. Rode about two miles in and then backtracked back. The first mile had probably the most technical sections in it: a couple of rock gardens, a couple of stream crossings (about 1/2 wheel deep), a few logs but nothing terribly hard. There was one uphill rock garden that I tried a few times and rode successfully about 80% of my attempts after I figured out a good line.

Since it was a TT format, I didn't have to worry so much about being forced off my line, getting the hole shot, etc. My goal for the race was 1) finish 2) try to actually stay on my bike 3) catch the woman in front of me 4) don't let the woman behind me catch me 5) finish in 45 min. (I had looked up times from last year and settled on that being a decent time for me to shoot for.)

My division was small - only 5 of us. They started the men first - everyone going off at 30 sec intervals. Took about 30 min before they worked their way through all the guys and started the women. First woman goes off, 30 sec later it was my turn. I caught the first woman in probably less than 5 minutes in. About a mile in I hit the uphill rock garden. No one around, had the line I wanted and there was a small gap near the top behind two rocks. Wham! I whacked one of my pedals into the rock ("Your feet, Teri! Be aware of the position of your feet!" - I tend to talk to myself A LOT out there.) I didn't totally fall but kind of stumbled down the rock pile, lost momentum and then had to run up the rest of the hill. That's when the woman who started behind me caught me. Wah! Ok, get back on and use her as a rabbit. Go hard for her. Somewhere in the next mile, I got passed by the woman rider who started 4th. Grrrrrr..... But I could still see both of them ahead of me.

Around 3 miles in, there was a series of about 4 drop offs. None were truly nasty but they were about 2-3 foot drops. A single one is fine but given there wasn't much distance between them (10 feet or so?) they freaked me out a bit. Plus, I hit them with some speed since I hadn't ridden this part of the course so they came up a tad unexpectedly. I almost endo'd on the first one and quickly thought, "Better get my butt back for the next one." I over compensated a bit and went over the remaining ones like Missy Giove demonstrates in this picture here.

Now, one thing to be pointed out. Her back tire isn't buzzing her butt like this rookie's was. I have never been on that position on my mtb - not so sure I like having the saddle under my chest - and all I could think about was if I didn't get up, each of these landings were going to hurt. I also thought the tire had a great chance of wearing a hole right through the chamois and that definitely wouldn't be pleasant. :)

As I (successfully) landed the last drop-off, I said aloud, "Well...OK, then!" and my one happy moment was shattered by a "On your left!" as the woman who started last passed me. Plus, I thought she must have been laughing herself silly watching me negotiate that stretch. Oh, well. Onward.

The rest of the course was pretty much just fire road and a series of wooden bridges through a bog. I didn't have much left at that point. I just put it in the big ring and rode as fast as I could which felt fast to me but obviously wasn't good enough since none of the women who passed me could be seen ahead.

Finished in about 47 minutes. Haven't seen official results yet but I believe I finished 4th out of 5 starters. ~sigh. Welcome to the sport division. I did have fun, though. And it felt SO great to be out on the trails again even if the weather was nasty.

Details of the ride can be found here: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5328072

Future Ski Bums of America

Ok, even though I have a race coming up in a few days, my training has pretty much been sporadic. Actually, that makes it sound bad. It really hasn't. I'm just having some trouble being a bit consistent. Lots of distractions. Last weekend the training schedule called for two long rides. Instead, I spent Saturday helping to pack up our kitchen for the remodel that was starting on Tuesday. Then my sister called and said, "Hey, we're going boarding tomorrow. Wanna meet us?" I should have been riding, doing some spring cleanup outside (like it's about time to take down the outdoor Christmas lights, don cha think?), etc. Instead, I headed to western MA for a day on the slopes. Sunny, warm, came back looking like a reverse raccoon due to goggle tan. :) Had a great time and the kids are good enough for the blues. A total blast to spend the day with them on the snow.

The 5 Year Milestone

Last week I had my annual appointment for my mammogram and check up with my surgeon at Beth Israel. Oddly enough, it was almost exactly 5 years from the day I had my first mammogram at 40 that I was certain I'd pass with flying colors but crashed and burned instead. I don't really stress about these annual checkups now, but this one was a biggie. 5 years means I no longer need to get all the additional mammogram views (top, bottom, sideways, magnified, stand on your head, etc. ;-) ) and my risk for recurrence while higher than the average woman, falls a bit.

S and I headed downtown early Thursday morning and headed for the radiology department at Beth Israel. Get undressed, put on one of those stellar johnnies, and hang out in the waiting room until they call you. I still think they should offer manicures and pedicures in there while you wait - make some use of the time! While I'm there for a routine mammogram, there are other women there waiting for more advanced procedures like getting a wire marker inserted before heading off to lumpectomy surgery. Having been in their hospital slippers before, part of me wants to say to them, "Don't worry - it'll be ok." But I never do because I remember how much I hated hearing that said to me at the time. I always wanted to calmly reply, "No, we don't KNOW it'll be ok. But we can hope." So sometimes I just catch their glance, kind of nod and give them a look of encouragement.

Finally they call my name. My technician let me look at the digital pics with her and while I certainly can't say I'm an expert in reading mammograms, I do know what my first ones looked like. Happily in the magnified version, I didn't see the the telltale clusters of microcalcifications which resemble a beautiful view of some distant galaxy and yet instill a feeling of dread. Headed back to the waiting room to nervously look at (but not really read) one of the magazines on the table while the radiologist reads the mammogram. Finally the tech returns, calls my name and instead of telling me to go get dressed says they need to take a few more shots. ~sigh . Brain goes into overdrive.

What did they see? Is it back? Which side is it on? What will treatment be like this time? Can I still ride my bike? Will I be ok by 'cross season?

How is it possible to think all that in a split second? The tech tells me they spent so much time getting multiple shots of the left side, they forgot to do a side view on the right. :) So we have some more fun with the mammogram machine, back to the waiting room again, and finally I can get dressed to go meet with the radiologist. She briefly comes out to meet me and tell me everything looks good! Yay!

Next, we head upstairs to see Dr. Troyan. She performed my lumpectomy and skillfully removed the area on the first try with clean margins. The mammo technicians always comment, "That Dr. Troyan does GOOD work." when they try to find my scar to mark with the wire for the mammogram. And she's just plain nice - I'll always love her for crafting a safe way to attach my lucky Abominable Snowman finger puppet to me as I was wheeled into surgery. Had a great checkup, took a few pics and was totally playfully ridiculed when asked if I had any complaints and replied that I had gained 3 lbs since last years checkup.

After the visit, we headed out for a day of celebration. Every year it's something different. Last year, spent way too much money at French Dressing but lingerie shopping after a mammogram/checkup just somehow seems very appropriate. This year, since it was even relatively warm out, we strolled upper Newbury Street. Bought a very appropriate tshirt at Life Is Good and some sweet recycled seaglass plates at Fiddlehead. Then lunch. Last year - fancy lunch at a wine bar on Charles St. This year I felt like slumming it and headed over to All-Star Sandwich in Inman Square. Falafel burger and huge plate of fries. Not the healthiest choice but yummy and washed down with a really good coffee porter from B.B.C.

A good day. No, a REALLY, REALY good day.