There's Place Like Home....

Especially during the holidays!!!!

I was able to score a quick trip home to Oregon, at the cost of Adam having to do some work out there. Business for him in Oregon and I got to tag along, lucky me!!! I needed a "mountain and fresh air fix" and headed west for a few days. Along with visiting my family, I was planning on doing some running, and playing in the mountains.

I packed my "medium" warm running gear. No need for the heavy stuff running in the outskirts of Portland, even in December. However 10 min. into my first run, I am stripping off a layer. It was a damp 50 deg, out in the morning and I was too hot. I have taken some down time from training since my last cross race, so I was looking forward to just going out for a run with no agenda. My parents live in the foothills of the Cascades 40 miles from Mt. Hood. So it is very hilly there....like real hills, and way too scenic. I had a big fat smile on my face the whole run. Even huffing up the hills.

We also did a little Christmas shopping, Christmas cookie baking, relaxing, and decorated a tree.....but

the other part of this trip was supposed to be a "no work, no computer, no Blackberry, no "training or racing" trip for Adam and I. I try to nail him down on this 1 x a year. I think the only way for this to really happen would be to take a cruise (no cell towers.....but I'm not a big fan of cruises), or trek off some remote location like Mt. Everest. But we came really close with a trip up to the top of Mt. Hood and a night stay at Timberline Lodge. We weren't looking to summit the peak, just hang out in the mountains. The ride up there is amazing, even when raining. We hadn't planned to ski, or really know what we were going to do, which makes it even more adventuresome. I had wanted to snowshoe/hike, but daylight hours were limited by the time we got up there. We checked out the lodge (very cool old place actually filmed in parts of THE SHINING!), with the snow has high as the windows on the 2nd floor. My only request was to get out there and do something in the snow. So we decided on night skiing, and it was awesome. The slopes weren't crowded and as the sun started going down it cleared up and it looked like you could see all the way to California!


Its always hard to leave there, but stepping off the plane back in Chicago, and I am faced with work, a Christmas party, 2 days left until Christmas, hosting Christmas eve dinner, and the start of our basement being framed and dry/walled. I may have gotten a little out of shape during the past 2 weeks, but I am up to the task. I know how to dig deep during crunch time like late in a race when you've dropped your gu, or salt tabs, ( or like the time during Horribly Hilly when I missed the last aid stop and its 100 deg. out) Its exhausting, sometimes but worth it in the end!

Happy Holidays!

Ick

The brown and pink explosion template was over the top, too much for me!
The basic black is much better :)

Winter Wonderland

Winter has arrived with BLAST. With it are all the fun things that makes winter in Chicago so enjoyable....hats, gloves, many layers, cracked skin,( I have looked like Rudloph for 3 days with a red nose.) And the gloves....I can never manage to find a matching pair... I have to say though, I do like the snow. It makes winter a little more fun to be able to go out and play in the snow. I'll take 30 and snowing any day over 2 degrees and dry.

My first cyclocross season has come to an end. The last race was held at Montrose in the city and Brr it was very cold and winter like, but the snow just missed us by a day. For a newbie to cylcross I was reminded frequently that it was a "cakewalk" with the weather this year. Most of the races we wore shorts and short sleeves. I wonder what it would be like to race accross the snow? Since my main weakness in cyclocross seems to be riding through sand......as evident by many wipeouts at Montrose, riding through snow could be interesting. The last race was fun and I have to say of the races I did the most technical. These courses are harder to use your fitness as a strength (give me the hills and hard run ups!), especially when you wind up on the ground 2 x in the first lap. I finished up 8th in the series using a couple 9th places, then 6th, then 4th, then 2nd place finishes to score points to move myself up in the standings. I had only intended on giving a few races a try, but I got hooked and it was great having a new challenge, racing in some different places, and racing against different people (many of the girls are crit racers) Many thanks to Rob Kelly for helping me with some great workouts and teaching me how to do starts, barriers, and run ups, along with Ara and the other Bicycle Heavan guys for all their useful tips, and to Thomo for the awesome run workots, they were a huge in having the high end fitness. Of course thanks to Adam for helping with the kids. There are races every week,and if you want to do well, you better show up each week which means they had to be carted along for a few of them. They must think their mom is nuts!

In the midst of the end of cyclocross, it has become full blown Christmas around our house. I LOVE Christmas and have gone all out already. I am sad to report though that we broke down and got a fake tree. :( For the first time ever. It is frustrating for an Oregon girl to fork out big dough for a tree that is lame, drops needles, doesn't smell Chritmasy enough. The fake one is very perfect looking. We kicked of Christmas by spending the weekend after Thanksgiving in the city, going to Macy's, the Walnut Room, Daley Plaza tree and Santa, and seeing the Zoo Lights. The kids had a blast and the city was nice to us.

Now I think I'll break out my snow shoes, for some snow shoe running, and show up to a few more swims per week in Naperville. My poor cross bike is toast. It wasn't in great shape to begin with, thanks to several years of Ride n Ties....and literally throwing it to the ground to my partner. Then add many rides through MUD this fall. I'm not really looking forward to indoor trainer rides. Other than 1 short session per week, for hard intervals, I have managed to stay riding outside. I'll give the biking legs a break for a bit. But, Mt. Lemmon is calling me. I want to see the top again this spring!

STUFFED

No, its not Thanksgiving quite yet, but today on my run I realized my legs were stuffed. Stuffed full of Cotton, fuzz, or turkey stuffing. Simon had on my schedule was an abbreviated tempo run session, shortened because I am running a Turkey Trot Race on Thursday. Initially thought to really go for it. But today my legs were gone. M.I.A. I think they were left in Woodstock; the venue of the most recent cross race.

My little tempo run turned into just making it home without walking. Yet plodding along wasn't much better. Visions of hanging Christmas lights on the porch when I got home kept me moving. After all it is 50 deg in NOV!!! There is no way I was putting it off anymore and hanging the lights when it is 20 deg when we've had all these nice days!.

My legs were stuffed. I had all the motivation and intention of doing the hard set. In my mind I had recovered from the cross race yesterday. After all its only 30 min. HA! Reality set in as I hit 20 min into my run and I stop to do some drills and foot work and the legs still aren't coming around. Hmmm. This is a little pathetic. I had put in some really hard efforts of training last week. Basically no garbage but a lot of hard efforts both running, and biking, plus some hard work with the personal trainer. Oh and I started swimming again making my shoulders sore. I wouldn't call it a HARD training week, but an intense training week. My legs felt pretty beat up going into the cross race this week. The course was open with several hills and open sections. Less technical good for someone with some fitness. I just went as hard as I could for 30 min. I had my best finish yet with a second and moved up a few more places in the overall. But, I think I lit my last match in the legs for a few days. (quoting Joe Friel there). There wasn't much left in the legs today.

So looking back my legs were done. Which makes me wonder how the Turkey Trot will go. In the past I have done the Turkey Trot attempting for a PR... post removal of a screw from my knee..for fun.. for speed post pregnant... under all types of attempts I have turkey trotted. This year it will be attempted with some running and with bruised cyclocrossed legs. I love doing the Turkey Trot. It makes the turkey and pumpkin pie taste so much better. I think it may be snowing/ raining this year...all the more fun.

Only 1 more cyclocross race left in the series, Montrose... in the big bad city. Its been a crazy off season, of not really being completely off.....just shifted into different focus which can be "off". If that makes any sense.

Go stuff yourself, with workouts, races, hard efforts, or Thanksgiving feast!

Gearing UP

Believe it or not I still have 3 athletes still waiting for their " A " race of the season! What a long haul! But their day is finally almost here and they are ready to go. Good Luck to my IM AZ and IM Cozumel athlets racing in just a couple weeks. Clearwater is finally almost here for those athletes too! Good Luck

I think the retailers are gearing up for the holidays before anyone else is really ready. Isn't it always that way? I love Christmas and the holidays but dont' want to be sick of it before it even gets here. Patience people. Let me eat my Turkey and pumpkin pie first!

I was talking to my coach Thomo the other day and telling him I still haven't a clue what races or goals I'd like to chase next year. After 20 years of doing triathlon every single year minus 1 to have a baby...I am left to wonder what motivates me in the triathlon world. For a while I thought I might try ..a couple 70.3 races and Clearwater, but .........I would never want to still be triathlon training this time of year, and Ironman is so not appealing to me anymore and I've done the nationals and worlds thing with some great success. So what to do. Hmm. The jury is still out, but ....as long as I'm still having fun and getting fit and fast then there is a goal out there for me. But this is the cool part and my coach even agrees....I don't have to decide right now! Plus, I am having so much fun doing the cyclocross series, that I havent' even been thinking about next triathlon season. Same routine, same triathlon races, same goals....= stagant and boring.

With this off season my goals started off the same as the always are. Run.....because its easy to fit in, and do a bunch of 5ks. But this year I threw in "try a couple cyclocross races". Change is good. Same old Same old gets very boring. Riding through the trails and woods even when the weather is a little nasty has been fun. Its as close as I can get to the feeling of being in the mountains back home as I can around here. The Chicago Cross Series has been a blast and what a great change of pace. Different people, differnt attitutdes. The courses are so crazy and different every week you never know what to expect, and the venues have been so awesome and the crazy crowds just make me laugh. You'd NEVER see this at a triathlon......I guess thats why it seems so fun to me.

This week's race was called "Save Ferris", not sure why, but what a cool name. Bueller? Anyone? The hecklers were out, this time 1 guy dressed in a type of Belgian get up with an antler as megaphone....I had my best race yet on a tough technical course, and who can top, short sleeves in Nov.! The best part of the course was a barrier right before a gully at the base of a steep uphill. At one point I even found myself in about 4th place until I kissed a hay bail coming out of the sand pit 2nd time through..... still not sure how that happened. I finished 6th and keep moving my way up in the overall standings despite missing the first 3 races being on the island. There are just 3 races left in the series, everyone gearing up for the final race in Dec. Secretly I think some are wishing for snow and mud.

Oh and haven't quite made it to any 5ks yet this fall, but have been running some. Maybe I'll get to one of the jingle runs. And....I do still love triathlon, enough to even sign up for Sue Welker's new swim program and I may actually get back to swimming like I used to.

Cyclocross Pics

I tried putting these on facebook, but FB was being testy and making it difficult.

Halloween Mud Ride

Iced Hula
Lap 1



Halloween on a weekend, with the end of daylight savings, and a full moon, who could ask for more?......well how about a Cyclocross race, 10 min from my house complete with mud hills and soggy grass! I needed that extra hour to fit in all the fun extras this weekend.

Halloween was in full force around our house. We really got into it this, year, I even dressed up as a "iced" hula girl. The kids loved it and think its hilarious when we dress up. Trick or Treating with a 6 and 7 year old ninja and lady bug is like watching them complete the race of their dreams. This year they basically sprinted from house to house, had to come home for pit stops, unload, and then head back out. Needless to say there is an over surplus of candy in the house. I'll end up taking it to work where it will be devoured, freezing it, and hiding some. Maybe I should use some of it as ornaments for the Christmas tree.

My 3rd cyclocross race was right here at home at Campton baseball fields. I have been practicing some of my "techniques" here so I knew how tough this would be, but would be the most fun. Then add all the rain we've had and now the hills and turns are saturated and muddy .....to make it even more crazy! So far the races I have done have been very technical, but flat. This was by far the hardest physically. With big hills and powering through mud. I have to say this made the lungs and legs burn the most but, made it the most fun. Adam is in taper mode for IM FL and came with the kids to cheer which was awesome. I've watched him do this the past few years, and always wanted to try it, but am usually triathlon fried and don't even want to look at a bike in the fall.

My start was the best I've done yet and was right with the lead girls through most of the first lap. I'm still not used to accelerating and trying to hammer, but going nowhere because you are in mud or soggy grass. My turns through the sharp 180s have gotten better, but still slowing down too much going over the barriers. I manage to hit my bike on them every time. This course race had several gullies or drainage ditches full of standing mud and water. You basically had to hit it full force to come out the other side without tipping over or getting a wheel stuck sending you face first into mud. I was sucking air and laughing at the same time, with mud flying in my face. I think I even tasted mud here. After the first lap there was so much mud all over, me I did most of the next not clipped in, but the key is to keep moving forward. In 30 minutes we did 3 laps of fun. I wanted more! At the end, I was covered in mud, my bike and shoes,,,,caked.

Now with all the mud washed away I see I am covered in bruises. So pretty.
There are a few more weeks of fun, who knows what the next races will bring!