Week 7 ~ ??? ~ $1695

Yeah, I was lazy on tracking my training this week. I know it was down a bit, and I'm not sure why. I think I kept getting sidetracked and was losing focus. I could definitely tell, too, that it wasn't good for me in that my confidence and overall mood weren't where they usually are. Good motivation to really stick with the program. I'm going for a bike ride tonight - outside! It's a beautiful day and it will be great for clearing my head. I tend to want to make up for workouts I missed in previous weeks, but then I get overwhelmed. It's silly anyway. I'm fit enough to do the workouts in the program and adding extra ones because I feel guilty for missing them previously is only going to burn me out and increase the risk of injury. Just going to stick to the plan this week (plus abs classes)! Time to refocus and not be so hard on myself.

Yes, that fundraising number is correct. I'm just shy of $1700. That puts me at over 73% of my fundraising goal. Some of that was from the raffles held in Michigan, and the rest was unexpected generosity from some friends and coworkers. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support. I know a couple more checks are in the mail as well, so that number should bump up again next week!

The 28th Annual Shamrock Shuffle is coming up on Sunday. It should be a lot of fun. I'm hoping I can run the whole thing. (I'd better be able to!) With 30,000 participants, it is certainly going to be crowded, and I'm guessing it will be at least a mile before it breaks up enough for me to get up to pace, so then it makes it only about 4 miles on pace, which I think is doable. I'm shooting for 10 minute miles, but that may be wishful thinking. I know a few other people running in it, including an old college friend that I haven't seen in years. Hopefully I can find her and at least say "hi" and catch up a little. There is a post-race party that starts at 10am with beer, food, and live music. It should be fun, though I'll definitely be eating something before I start in on any beer!

Thankfully, I was able to con my way ;) into overnight accommodations near the train so I won't have to drive into the city for the race or the expo. That will make things a lot less stressful and more convenient. No worrying about negotiating closed streets or paying for parking. I'll definitely post an update post-race to share how I did.

Week 6 ~ 4:30 ~ $1060

I was able to focus a lot on my swimming this past week and ended up slacking a bit on the biking. I'm having a harder time balancing progress in the three sports than I thought I would. I'm also feeling a bit guilty since I haven't been doing the circuit my trainer set up for me, nor the stretching she wanted me to be doing. I'm definitely going to be focusing on running this week, since the Shamrock Shuffle is Sunday, but I want to be sure to not slack on the other areas while I'm at it.

The gains in my fundraising were larger than they appear this week. I wasn't able to make it up to Michigan to collect the money from the raffles that my family held at their workplaces. I'll have that money some time this week and my total will jump up quite a bit! :)

A MILE! This morning before work I swam an entire mile!! Not continuously, but 1650 (so actually a tad over a mile if you want to be specific) total. 2 x 50 (those were only because my left goggle kept leaking, ugh), then a 500, then a 200 then 8 x 100, then another 50 (go ahead, add it up, I know you want to). Whoohoo! "Real" swimmers may scoff, but I've never swam that far before, so I'm extremely pleased. I'm all adrenaline-y right now and not too tired. I also made my goal of getting in the pool 4 times this week. I probably covered between 2.5 and 3 miles total. I'm debating running after work again, but we'll see how tired I am this afternoon.

I'm not a great swimmer by any means, but I think I do alright. I'm getting a little better and a little stronger every time I get into the pool. I've gone three days so far this week, and am planning on getting my fourth swim in tomorrow, hopefully during lunch again, since that seems to work quite well. It seems that no matter how clunky I feel in the water, or how smooth, or how fast I try to go, or how tired I am, my pace is ALWAYS the same. I'm kind of happy that I'm able to maintain, it, but at the same time, it's a bit troubling that it doesn't seem to deviate from 2min/100m AT ALL.

On a related note... I'm no pool etiquette expert, but today at the pool something strange happened. The pool is four lanes. I was the only person in the pool, in one of the outer lanes. Some dude comes into the pool area as I'm just starting my 1 min rest between 200's. As I am standing (clearly visible) at the end of my lane, he gets into the pool. IN MY LANE!! What the heck?!?! I KNOW that can't be proper pool etiquette. So after a period of confusion and a quasi-standoff, I ducked under the lane line thingy into the adjacent lane and resumed swimming. Totally threw me off. What would posses a person to do such a bizarro thing?

I've been quite proud lately for how much I've been teaching myself about taking care of my bikes. I'm not terribly knowledgeable yet, but I'm getting better. It's pretty satisfying to be able to fix or adjust something by myself. Plus, it's going to make me feel a whole lot better on longer rides (like in Ireland), knowing that I will be equipped to deal with mechanical issues should they arise. Tonight I decided to work on the brakes on my 2nd bike (the one I'm taking overseas). When I was putting new tires on yesterday, I noticed the brake pads were set way too tight, even with the quick release levers open. I managed to mess around with the cables and the various adjustments to get them working properly. I also cleaned up the drivetrain, which was really gross and gunked up. Now it's all shiny and clean. This weekend I'll be looking at and working on my old mountain bike at my parents' house in Michigan. I'm hoping it's still in decent shape and I can get it cleaned up and in good working condition without putting too much money into it.

Week 5 ~ 5:00 ~ $990

Made it through week five. I skimped again on swimming, so my goal this week is to get in the pool at least four times. Otherwise training is going well. I want to make sure my running is solid since I've got the Shamrock Shuffle coming up in 2 weeks. It should be fun, though I'm still up in the air about how I want to get downtown for it. The weather was great this past weekend, and I was enjoying being able to train a bit outdoors. :)

Almost to a grand!! I'm really happy with how my fundraising is going. I got a donation from an Triathlete/Triathlon coach that works with my mom, and he offered to answer questions and provide advice as needed, which is so great. There are still other fundraising activities going on up in Michigan on my behalf. I'm confident that I'll make my $1200 incentive goal by March 28th.

This is from a weekly newsletter I get (www.roadbikerider.com). Those of you who have had to tolerate my bike-related ramblings may appreciate this. Then again, it's probably only funny to us bike geeks...

SCOTT'S SPIN: Smart Mouth

Went to dinner with some cycling buddies the other weekend. Spouses were invited. None came.

"You guys are just going to talk bikes," said one weary life partner. "I'd rather get a root canal. With a rusty drill. In a sewer."

Oh, no -- proof positive that I've become a bike geek, incapable of engaging in normal conversation without using words like rotating weight, ceramic bearings or kilojoules.

Don't let this happen to you. Using my handy guide to dialogue for roadies, you too can learn to chat with humans about current events, culture, philosophy and other non-cycling trivia.

Heed these do's and don'ts and your next cocktail-party appearance will be a smash.

Topic: Foreign Affairs
What to Say: Anyone who thinks multilateral talks can solve the simmering tensions along the Serbian frontier need only look to the failed diplomacy on display during the Prussian renaissance of the late 19th century, don't you agree?
What Not to Say: So, Campy or Shimano?

Topic: Economics
What to Say: If you ask me, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act will sound the death knell for sheltered debentures unless fourth-quarter revenues turn this bear market around and housing starts cease declining in the face of Third World micro-lending policies.
What Not to Say: My bicycle cost four thousand bucks.

Topic: Politics
What to Say: As everyone knows, this front-loaded primary system makes a travesty of our so-called democracy by placing inordinate power in the clammy hands of activist voters in a few small, unrepresentative states where the price of hog bellies is more important than the cost of freedom.
What Not to Say: I wouldn't vote for Obama even if he rode a bike. Dude's a smoker.

A coworker friend and I have started going to the gym at lunchtime on Tuesday and Thursday. It's good to get a break from the monotony of the office and get in a quick workout. We're taking the "six-pack attack class." (Yes, lame name, but it does the job.) I'm anxious to see how my middle looks after a few weeks of this.

Tuesday was a great workout, which I definitely felt, particularly in the upper abs. We did a lot of pilates moves, and it was relatively low key and slowly paced. Today, however, was completely different. We got our butts kicked. As the instructor barked at us and our legs shook, my friend kept looking over at me as if to say "she can't be serious." I will certainly be a sore girl tomorrow. Abs, butt, back, inner and outer thighs, quads, all worked WAY past fatigue. Both our legs felt like jelly walking down the steps in the parking garage afterwards.

But is that enough for me? Nooooo, of course not. I'm heading back to the gym in a little bit to run 2 miles then take my spinning class. I'll sleep well tonight. And hopefully be able to walk tomorrow. Tomorrow will be sort of a recovery day with swimming and a low intensity bike ride.

Ah, bike tires. I am completely new at buying bike tires, so I've been doing a lot of research on them and talking to various people lately. The Michelin tires have consistently gotten good reviews as far as comfort, performance, and durability, so I've sprung for some of those. I decided on the Michelin Krylion Carbon tires for general training and for my trip Ireland. They are built for durability and puncture resistance, so while I'll be bringing a spare to Ireland, I doubt I'll have to use it. I'm going to put them on both of my road bikes. I got the grey/black ones, figuring red or yellow wouldn't look too great.


Those ones are rated great for lots of miles but are not so great for racing. When I'm going to race, I'll switch over to the Michelin Pro 2 Race tires. They have a lower rolling resistance and are lighter. These come in lots and lots of cute colors, including the lovely sky blue (pictured below) that I got. I think they will look great on my Kestrel for races.


Tires are sorta expensive. But, I'd rather have good ones that will last me (and I fully trust these will) than have to replace cheapies over and over. Plus, anybody that knows me knows that I found THE best prices possible on these. eBay was the winner for both types. For each set, I got the PAIR for about $10 more than ONE tire would cost at a bike shop. I can't wait to get them!

The current overall standings for the time trial series are posted on the ABD website and my category standings are shown below (click for a larger image that is actually legible). For the individual race, I was 4th out of 7, and I'm 5th out of 11 overall right now. I'm pretty happy with that. I was really hoping to catch that Joy Houser person, but as you can see, she blew her previous hilly time out of the water. Just goes to show you that all you can do is race your best, since it's just you against the clock. In time trials, you have no control over how other people race, only yourself. I'm happy with my improvement over time. The Fraser Memorial TT (10 Miles) is the last race in the series. It's April 1st in Maple Park and will be my first outdoor cycling race, and my first time racing in my aerobars. Yikes! Should be interesting.

The final indoor Time Trial was today. I raced really well. The girl next to me was pushing really hard and it was all I could to to hold her off. It paid off, though, since both of us ended up going a lot faster than if we hadn't been going head to head. My time was 18:41.11, with an average speed of just under 20mph, which is the fastest time I've managed. I'm interested to see how I placed in my category and where I'm at overall. I'm going to try to get some pictures up of the race. Here is the progression of my performance over all four races. Note that my power increased from race to race, it indicates that I'm getting stronger and stronger every time.

Race 1: 19:16.24 / 19.3mph / 178watts (flat)

Race 2: 19:15.26 / 19.3mph / 191watts (hilly)

Race 3: 18:53.16 / 19.7mph / 199watts (flat)

Race 4: 18:41.11 / 19.9mph / 202watts (hilly)

Update: I put some pictures of the race up on Photobucket. Still waiting on ABD to post the results. Below is one of me warming up before the race started. I'm SO rocking those pink socks.

Week 4 ~ 5:05 ~ $870

Week 4 is now behind me and went quite well. I managed to keep up on the training as needed, except for not getting in enough swimming. I'll try to improve that next week. I'm motivating myself in general right now by watching my "What it Takes" DVD, which is so great. I just love it.

I've gotten another $200 toward my goal. Donations came in from some friends and family and there are some additional fundraising efforts taking place this week and this month. Hopefully those plus additional donations in response to my letter campaign put me over my end of March incentive ($1200).