~
cycling February 19th 2010
~
It’s SUNNY. OMG, it’s SUNNY.
In the Pacific Northwest, on Memorial Day Weekend.
That never happens.
I’m giddy & positively drunk on vitamin D.
I started out the holiday weekend right with happy hour on the patio of Dukes with Michealene and Tony.
Today, I did a five mile run at Pt Defiance and did it 6 minutes faster than last time.
Afterwards, I went and picked up the Icky Boy and we drove out to Five Mile Lake to meet Annie & Jill for an open water swim.
Tom was fine relaxing by the lake, reading a book and watching us stuff ourselves into our wetsuits.
I brought my lifeguard can in case any of us got a cramp took on water or got into any trouble. (of course, Tom would have dialed 911)
Here we are getting ready to go swim.
and a picture we took just for Bill…
the water was quite nice (if you were wearing a wetsuit)
After the swim, IB and I had a lovely picnic.
I made a nice salad and he brought a Dungeness Crab. (I can neither confirm nor deny that there was wine in our thermos/coffee cups because I’m not sure if it was allowed in the park.)
I bet you’re jealous of our picnic…
And with that, I don’t have time to waste indoors on the computer.
I’m heading over to IB’s for a BBQ…
Tomorrow is a bike ride.
~L
Mood: Lovin’ the sunshine 
~
~
It’s a beautiful sunny day here in the Pacific Northwest (amazingly enough on a weekend, on my four-day weekend even…)
The party last night was so much fun. It was for a guy from the Mountaineers (not the “social” mountaineers, mountaineers who really go out and do mountaineer stuff) who was turning 50.
There was mention on the invite about a trail he made in his back yard and a treasure hunt.
OK, I thought, no fancy clothes, but I’m not showing up in hiking boots and looking like a dork.
“How steep could it be?” I asked myself.
OMG, I wish I had taken a camera.
He lives on acreage, on top of a hill above the Auburn Valley and the trail was pretty darn steep.
I wore some Merrell slip on shoes that did not have appropriate tread, were a bit loose and had not ankle support.
It was probably not the smartest thing I could have done the day before trialthon even if had worn my hiking boots, but in those shoes… teh dumb… I took one near fall when I slipped, (typicaly wet, slimy PNW trail under tree cover) grabbed a big tree branch to avoid going over the side and it broke off in my hands.
When I heard it crack, and felt myself starting to go over, I lurched for the trunk of a small tree, grabbed at and swung around on it on one arm like a demented monkey. Hey, it worked, and it provided entertainment for others on the hike.
Further down the trail I twisted my ankle just a bit, but I think it will be fine for Today’s triathlon.
Speaking of Ankles… The Icky Boy’s is not getting better, it’s getting worse. I (and a lot of his friends) have convinced him that he likely has a torn ligament (or worse) and that he needs to go to the doctor today.
We’re guessing they’ll put him in a boot to immobilize it, and he’s not going to like that one bit.
We understand that he had no choice but to hike out of the Grand Canyon (wearing a heavy pack) on it, but he continued to not stay off of it/take care of it when he got back, so he needs to suck it up and do what the doctor tells him.
Oh, the best part about the trail?
It was a treasure hunt. We all got bags and the point of the little hike was to see the trail, and find the buckets of goodies…
Yes, a bunch of professional adults and family members ranging from their teens to 60′s had a blast finding goodies for their bags.
Here’s what I came back with.
I went back for more shiny things when it got later in the evening (like around 9:00 PM) and there wasn’t going to be a shortage. I had serious shiny thing envy when one of the older guys was more decked out in “bling” than I was.
I’ve added them to my collection…
I’m hoping that the good weather yesterday and today has warmed the water up a bit for today’s triathlon (which thankfully isn’t until 2:00 PM, giving me plenty of time to get ready, eat, and hydrate)
That swim was so incredibly painful and miserable last month (but at least it’s toughening me up right?)
I don’t remember if I posted this before but a friend posted this funny “training” video (actually a Cliff commercial)
How to train for a triathlon swim start….
And with that, I’ve got a ton of things to do…
~L
Mood: Busy 
~
~
Today was the Daffodil Classic Bike ride. The Icky Boy (taped up sprained ankle and all) and I rode the 60 mile route (which was more like 64; 63.97 to be exact)
It was a beautiful sunny day, and it even got up to 73 degrees in Orting where the ride started and finished.
I chose not to layer. I wore bike SHORTS and a short sleeved jersey. I knew that we’d be climbing up out of the valley and that I’d warm up quickly. That saved me from overheating like most of my riding buddies did.
Bill was there, but did a different route… here he is flipping me off
Leo rode with us for most of the ride as well…
And of course, the Icky Boy (who I tried to convince not to ride on his sprained ankle, but wouldn’t listen and just taped it up)
We ran into Claire and her DH David at the rest stop in Eatonville.
Here’s the route (the blank is where we walked with Tom’s flat tire thinking we were closer to the end than we were)
So here are my/our stats…
My average heart rate was 131 BPM (in zone three, a good training zone where fat & glucose are burned and roughly an equal rate)
Maximum heart rate, 154 (safely in zone 4)
Even on the hardest hills, I never got into zone 5 or was anaerobic.
61.68 miles ridden and an additional 2.29 miles walked for a total of 63.97
Total moving time (not including the walk) 4:51:18
3183 feet elevation gain and loss with a maximum uphill grade of 14.2%
Average speed 13 mph
Maximum speed 34.8 mph, likely on the stretch flying down the hill back into Orting.
The 60 mile loops is far more scenic and beautiful than the 40 mile loop (which although has less overall elevation gain, had three NASTY hills on it)
It was a great day and we had a lot of fun. I also got a good workout (I’m not certain how happy my legs will be tomorrow, but I’m only scheduled for an easy swim.)
Here are Tom and I at the finish (after having yummy strawberry shortcake)
*notice Tahoma (Mt Rainier’s real name) in the background…
And here we are (L to R) me, Bill & Tom) at the Hub having pizza & beer at the HUB after the ride.
Now, I need to get ready for bed and for the work week ahead.
It was an awesome weekend!
~L
Mood: Tired by happy 
~
Fitness, The Great Outdoors, cycling, friends, weather April 19th 2009
~
Today was the Harmon Bike Club Tuesday ride. Matt, the guy that runs the group and I both thought we had convinced people to come out. The weather had been dicey (snowy in some areas this morning) and cold all day, but as my train pulled into the station the sun came out as if to say, “Don’t clean your kitchen, don’t practice your fiddle, get on your bike and RIDE.”
I’m telling you, those of you that weenied out, missed a fun ride and a beautiful afternoon.
See this? This is our shadow… You know WHY there are shadows? Because there was SUN!!! Beautiful, glorious life giving sun that needed to be ridden in.
Here’s the route we took today. (I wasn’t in enough pain after my triathlon, so I had to add a trip across the bridge with it’s nasty inclines on both sides to get a good workout)
*for those viewing this via LiveJournal (WHY will LJ not accept iframe html code?) or RSS feed where the map/tracks don’t show up properly, you can just click the “view larger map” link and you’ll see it.
We went 16.65 miles and had 1687 feet of elevation gain and loss. I averaged 135 for my heart rate, most of the time spent in zone 3 (a good cardio zone that burns fat & carbs at an equal rate). My max speed was 29.1 which oddly enough wasn’t on the downhill, it was on the flats (probably on the way back when I was thinking about sweet potato fries with spicy aeoli sauce) At one point, we hit a 24% grade. I’m thinking that was up 25th street…
Here we are on the Gig Harbor side of the bridge.
And what ride is complete without Beer (and sweet potato fries… yummy!)
I haven’t officially joined the club yet (but I am on payday it’s a bargain for a one time fee of $25 you get a shirt, a growler of beer and two pint glasses. The $25 also goes directly to the Courage Classic bike ride) but Pat (the owner) decided that I needed a shirt, so he went in back and got me this one…
Now I need to get ready for bed. Tomorrow is a long day.
~L
Mood: tired but in a good way
~
~
[just time for a quick update while someone I’m training needs to be left alone with the task at hand for a moment]
Last night after work, Kris from the Tacoma Wheelmen lead a “Tacoma Sunshine Tour” bicycle ride.
We blinded the world with our white legs. It was my first unveiling of the season.
Kris, Karen (she’s an animal, we couldn’t keep up, she rode loops around us) Marian, Bill and myself headed out for a sunny tour of our hometown.
We rode downtown (amusing at rush hour traffic) down on the Foss waterway, along Ruston Way (which was a parking lot because everyone wanted to be on the waterfront), through the tunnel (quite a thrill), up the hill out of the tunnel to Ruston (quite the slog), around the loop at Pt Defiance, and then wove our way through town back to the HUB.
We split up with Kris and Karen after the park so that they could go a bit faster (Bill and I already had worn out legs from other rides and Marian was on a more difficult bike to move) but we all met up at the end.
If you are viewing this on LiveJournal (why LJ doesn’t allow iframe code, is beyond me—DORKS) or via RSS feed where the map and track doesn’t display properly you can click on “view larger map.”
I don’t know what I was more excited about, being on my bike, being on my bike in the SUN or being on my bike after work during daylight hours, or being on my bike in shorts and a short sleeved jersey…
How’s THIS for BLINDING white legs?
Bill and Marian in the SUN (did I mention the SUN?)
And of course, what ride is complete without a trip to the HUB for microbrew and good food?
(L to R) Kris, Bill, Karen, Marian & Me) sitting OUTSIDE on the DECK!!! (I’m excited, I’m finally getting some healthy looking color back in my face)
I have a slideshow, but there aren’t a whole lot of photos. We kept up a pretty good pace and there wasn’t much time for snapping piccies
Surprisingly enough, I had a difficult time getting to sleep last night. I guess I was too wound up from the ride to go to bed within an hour of getting home…
My legs felt pretty good when I got up this morning, but since I didn’t take my rest day yesterday, I’m going to swim this afternoon and oh, actually REST when I get off work today.
I’m off tomorrow (traded Wednesday for my Friday) so that I can get a training run in with recovery days and before the weather turns back to crap and a rest day Friday before my triathlon.
That’s it for now, all I had time for was a little bit of cut and paste…
I’m going for a swim at lunch.
When I get home today, I’m going to open up all the windows in my apartment and give the place a good airing out!
~L
Mood: Happy Happy Joy Joy 
~
~
Ha!
I typed this up (all but the last two lines so most of the “this morning” stuff is from yesterday, I’m only taking a quick break to eat so I’m not going back to fix it) last night and got so tired, so quickly that I just went to bed without posting it…
I often joke that Pacific North westerners are “seasonally bipolar” but it’s really not a joke.
By the end of one of our crappy springs, we’re ready to off ourselves. We do OK through the winter busying ourselves with holidays, parties, etc…
We in the Seattle area have one of the highest depression and suicide rates in the world. It’s not so much the rain (New York City and Atlanta get more annual rain fall than we do) but the shortness of the winter days due to our Northern latitude combined with the relentless GRAY skies due to the clouds being trapped between the Olympic and Cascade mountains.
Seriously, people in Alaska have an easier time of winter than we do.
But these horrible springs we’ve had lately with the violent weather and never ending frozen and semi-frozen snot falling from the sky… OMG.
We were all sluggish, depressed and wondering why in the hell we live here…
and then it came…
The bright orange ball in the sky.
The SUN!!! The glorious, beautiful, warm, life giving SUN!!!
We all go batshit-insane-manic-crazy at the first sign of sun.
Everyone was out today.
The waterfront was packed.
A sure sign of spring… “Rolller Disco Dude” was out on the Ruston Way Waterfront.
Pt Defiance was INSANE. When I left for the 2nd time today, the line to get in the Pearl St entrance was two miles long.
I don’t feel so bad about still packing around some winter poundage. Looking at even the elite/mutants that stay in awesome shape year round (men running with shirts off and women running in sports bras) everyone had just a tiny bit of extra “stuff” around the middle.
It was a rough winter and an even worse spring.
Those of us who like to ski and snowshoe had problems this year due to record snowfall that created extreme avalanche danger. It wasn’t even safe to drive in the interstates half the time.
Saturday I got to spend time with my girlfriends up in LaConnor for the Tulip Pedal 46 miles of nearly constant headwind and no tulips (don’t you just LOVE our bright yellow shirts?)
I managed to drag my tired legs out this morning when the light was good to go on a little photo safairi out to Pt Defiance.
I already posted the link
to the slide show of the pics, but I wanted to share a few of my favorites.
Pretty daffodils
The pagoda
The garden
Hyacinths
Rhodies
After my little photo safari, I came home, at a big healthy breakfast (OK, it was a chili dog) and then headed back out for my “recovery” run.
I figured that since a 5-mile run on hills (and I go UP the STEEP and down the mild) is really not a “recovery” run that I’d be painfully slow.
I came in 24 seconds faster than the last time I did this same run (March 30th) with the same average heart rate, 145 with a maximum of 161. I actually spent a bit more time in zone 3 than 4, so I actually expended less effort to go just a bit faster.
HOLY CRAP! Does this mean that I’m actually getting faster with less effort?
OK, it sounds good, but it’s still too bloody slow. To not be able to break an hour around that loop, even going the steep & deep direction is making me crazy. I don’t have that much to cut off the time and it should be “easy” but I want to go kick it’s butt!
This run includes around 900 feet of elevation gain (and loss) which more than a bit of climbing and hard work.
This is an AMAZING run through old growth forest surrounded on three sides by the salty Puget Sound. (and only ten minutes from my house)
If you are viewing this on LiveJournal, via RSS feed or for some reason don’t see the map/tracks properly, you can just click on the link that says, “view larger map”
It’s days like this that make me NEVER want to move away. They make us forget the dark cold winter and the cruel spring.
Basically we’re easy… give us a couple days of sun and a few good runs of Sockeye, Coho or Chinook salmon or Dungeness Crab and we’ll claim where in heaven (weather
we believe in heaven or not)
Today (this part typed today, Monday) was supposed to be a rest and recovery day, but I feel good and a bunch of friends from the Wheelmen are going for a ride after work. I can always cut the ride short if I feel too fatigued.
I can’t turn down a sunny ride. I may even wear shorts (PSA for the Tacoma area, please remember to wear your sunglasses, the glare will be blinding)
Now, I need to eat and get back to work so that I can go play after work.
~L
Mood: sunny
Life, Photos, Weekend Update, training, weather April 6th 2009
Erik on 
Kevin Van Dyke on 
Randy Weiser on 