Consistency... A race report

Another month goes by... so it must be time for a new post/race/ride report

I am, if nothing else, consistent.

Last Saturday, Mik, Betty, and I rode the 66 Mile Route of the San Diego Century. Here's the report on that event.

As usual, we got up at the butt-crack of dawn to drive to Encinitas. We were in the parking lot by 6:30. The ride (the organizers insisted it was NOT a race... OK, it wasn't, but for me, neither is a half-marathon. Whatever) had a rolling start. So we just needed to start some time between 6am and 8am. We figured we'd start around 7ish since we were ONLY doing 66 miles and not the full century.

Betty's beverage matched her bike!

Once we arrived at Mira Costa College (the start of the race), things went well. Easy parking. Getting bikes ready. It wasn't at all crowded due to the rolling start, so we used the porta potties, got our ride numbers & goody bags quickly. We saw the Trek ride group start (full disclosure, Mik saw them. I think I was in the hut).

Sadly, all week I'd had some nagging aches in my general shoulder and upper arm area. I think it's from a combination of grading stress, not enough sleep, and raising a teen-ager anxiety...all together. By race morning I could barely raise my left shoulder. There was a sports-massage therapist at the start, so I decided to see if he could help me out.

One of our friends, Susan, spotted this photo on the race organizer's website. She sent me a link to it. I wonder how she knew it was me???

The massage guy had really warm hands and was able to loosen my shoulder a bit. He was also pitching these machines. I made Betty and Mik try them out since he was fixing me.

The thing sorta jiggled. I think it was supposed to warm up muscles. Here's Mik trying it out.

Betty said it made her nauseas. It reminded me of those belt-jiggle thingies that were supposed to make you thin..

You know...this kind of thing...only without the belt.

So I don't want to say anything bad about the guy who worked on my shoulder for about 10 minutes, because it really did help, but we weren't so sure about the jiggle-machine.

I could tell that Mik and Betty were tired of watching me get a massage, so we thanked the guy and moved to the start.

And we are off!

 But not quite...

Just as we crossed the start line I could hear a click-click-click and felt my bike pull to the right, then left, and feel all wobbly, and then I heard someone behind me saying "uh ohhhhh"

In other words, a flat. Nice.

Of course, we could have fixed the thing ourselves, but since we were LITERALLY right at the start, we walked back to the SAG truck and let them change it for us.

Here's a shout out to the guys from Revolution Bike Shop. They were VERY COOL, change my tire in a snap, even gave me a tube (yes, I was carrying) and told some good stories, and I learned that I have been riding on over-inflated tires! (Remember when I rode on under-inflated tires and kept getting flats? Well, leave it to me to go to extremes...the over-inflation didn't directly cause the flat, but having tired inflated correctly certainly helped with some shock absorption, which over 67 miles I certainly noticed!)

My bike on the rack. Mik went to one of the food trucks and grabbed a coffee to share. Nice

So...once the tire was changed, we got a do-over and were off! Yay!!!

I won't give you a mile by mile breakdown because, really, that's crazy. But the first 1/3 of the ride, through the back-roads of North County, through Olivenhain, The Elffin Forest, were absolutely beautiful parts of the ride. There were almost no cars on the rural roads, so we often rode toward the middle of the street. The hills were challenging, but not impossible. As usual, I wish now that I'd stopped to take some photos, but you already know I didn't do that.

Along the way, a woman rode up beside me and started chatting, noting how beautiful it was and all. Her name was Ann and she was all the way from Alberta, down for the weekend because her husband was at some conference, and decided to rent a bike and ride it (LOL...in a 66 mile relatively hilly ride, you know, just for the fun of it, by herself!) and if that wasn't enough, she had a Coeur de'Alene Ironman cycling jersey on, so in my mind, she is a BAD-ASS.

She said, "we seem to ride about he same pace. Do you mind if I ride with you?"

"No Problem!!!"

Me, Ann, and Betty at the end of the ride (spoiler alert...we all finished!)

The first SAG was about 16 miles in. Pretty basic stuff. Water Refills. Some cookies. Nothing to brag about. We commented that the Senorita Century, with it's croissant sandwiches and herbed waters and teas, sorta spoiled us with respect to the SAG stop fare. At the first SAG, Betty made me give her the car keys, saying that she was thinking that she'd just do the 37 because she wasn't feeling it.

The second leg of the race to the 2nd SAG stop included a nice climb up something called "The Three Witches" which was a nice climb, but nothing worse than anything else we'd done. Later on there was a really fun ride down the Del Dios Highway, where I reached my top speed of 35mph (according to Garmin, but I swear I looked down and saw 39 at one point...but maybe it was 29 and I just can't remember).

In any event, it was super fun to go flying down the hill. We also rode through some of the of the slums of Rancho Santa Fe (For non-locals...the average home price in Rancho Santa Fe is well over $2,000,000--yep, that's a lot of zeros).

At one point before the second SAG stop, I could see I had a text message (I have a carrier for my iPhone that is attached to my handle bars). Of couse, without reading glasses, I cannot actually SEE anything on the phone, just that I have a message, so when we got the second SAG stop, I quickly checked my messages to see if it was from Betty, letting me know that she'd gone straight on Via De La Valle for the 37 mile route. I didn't have a message from her (it was from my BIL, who was also riding that day, telling me that HIS riding partner wasn't feeling it, so they were doing 37 instead...we never did catch each up with each other that day).

The second SAG was much like the first, cookies, some power bars (yukky), Gatorade, water, porta potties (of course), and about 4 minutes after I arrived...there was Betty. She decided to do the 66 with us. You go girl!

At the SAG, I wondered where the big hills were. I mean I thought that The Three Witches was going to rival Torrey Pines in terms of difficulty and length, but it didn't. Mik said that she thought the big climb was coming up.

Mik and I at SAG 2. She always looks so chipper!

Betty doesn't look thrilled to be at SAG 2, but she is. I swear it!

After the second SAG, we headed further east, into what I'll call the less interesting part of the ride. Pretty much we rode through the suburbs of Penasquitos, Rancho Bernardo, Poway and Sabre Springs, in other words, the 'burbs. Also, since we were so far east, the sun was out and it was getting pretty warm. Ann noted it was pretty humid (I guess Alberta is pretty dry), which was funny to me, because I thought it was pretty dry outside. I told her to drink lots and stay hydrated. Of course, she is an Iron woman, so she already knew this, but I said it anyway.

There was one more serious climb, which was made more difficult mostly because it was getting hot, but mostly because there was another cyclist in matching pink EVERYTHING who was doing silly things, like passing me then slowing after she pulled in front of me. This was especially maddening when it occurred on a hill when she slowed to adjust her music. (GRRRRR).

Even worse, she was not very nice. I'm a pretty friendly rider. I'll make jokes about lights not turning green as I approach them (I'll yell GREEN! GREEN! GREEN! just to see if I can will the light to change so that I don't have to clip out), or I'll make comments about how LOVELY the neighborhood is (imagine super-funny-bonding-we-are-all-in-this-together-type-sarcasm). When I did this around her, I felt like she just gave me a snooty look in her matching one-piece pink riding outfit. I don't know. Maybe she didn't hear me with her earphones in. But if someone smiles at you, isn't polite to at least smile back...even half-heartedly?

Whatever.

Also, I don't have a problem with other riders passing me. Happens all the time. But don't pass me, pull in front of me, then slow down to adjust your tunes. Finally, I'd had it with her and, I decided to slow and wait through a light so that she could move her pink-ass ahead of me.

After the 3rd SAG station (no pretty pix there...sorry), we headed into probably the most frustrating part of the ride, mostly because of the traffic and having to stop at traffic lights. Finally, I caught up with her and we roared down San Dieguito Road. I was so incredibly happy because I could feel the ocean breeze (more on THAT later) AND I could see the ocean, which meant we were close to the finish, which meant that I was screaming as we headed down another particularly snazzy hill "I CAN SEEEE THE OCEAAAAAANNNNNNNN!

Uh yeah, at the bottom of that hill, was, of course, an uphill...and worse yet, those cool ocean breezes at the top of the hill, became a pretty strong head-wind at the bottom...as we headed around the Polo fields (yes, there are polo fields. We were back in Rancho Santa Fe/Fairbanks Ranch...).

At this point, Francis came to our rescue!

I don't know where he came from, but as we headed around the polo fields, he said "I'll lead" and he basically pulled us for about 4 miles, where we averaged about 17mph in a pretty stiff headwind. Mik and I talked afterwards and agreed that it pretty much took all we had to keep up with him, but the alternative, falling back and not staying with him, only meant that we would have been working that much harder, and going slower, so we stuck with him.

At one point, I shouted up "do you want to rotate?" and he said, "no. I got this." It was amazing. He was also pretty funny, shouting out things like "PHEWY!" as we rode around the horse fields which smelled pretty horsey, and "OUCH" whenever we went over a bump...apparently his hoo-haw was feeling it too!

Francis was our hero...and of course, I don't have a photo, but he was wearing a BMW shirt, so when the race photos are up, I'll definitely find one!

Finally, we got to the ocean and the ride up the coast was both scenic and familiar, but we knew that the race start was inland, which meant that we had at least one small, but undoubtedly steep, hill remaining, and there it was, at about Mile 65 ("IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT" Francis exclaimed...He is so my kind of rider!)

Funny moment, as we headed into the parking lot and the finish, we had to make a left turn at a light. A very nice highway patrol officer reminded us to come to a complete stop.

And we were done!

Mik and I stretching and waiting for Betty and Ann to finish (yes, she was still with us)

And afterwards, we had....

Pancakes & Beer... I mean, wouldn't you?

So...another event, come and gone. I have some reflections on the whole trying to get through the winter belonging to both the track club and a riding club, but I will save that for another elusive post... It'll happen. In the meantime, the herd will need to come up with a new plan or event to work towards, we've got nothing planned for now.

Gran Fondo San Diego - A Grand Time

Betty asked me today if I was still blogging...

Hh yeah...sorta.

I think she was wondering if I was ever going to post photos or make comments about last Sunday's Gran Fondo. (We rode in the 60 mile Medio Fondo actually) So Betty, this one's for you.

The first time Mik and I rode in the San Diego Fondo (or as the Italians say...Gran Fondo San Diego), it poured rain. We were miserable. (Although it may have been one of my best blog titles EVAH). We did the shortest route, about 35 miles. At that point, I think it was the longest ride I'd ever done.

The second time Mik, Alberta, and I rode in the Fondo, it was sunny, but cool. We rode the Medio Fondo - or the 60 miles route in about 4:30 (riding time...not counting the stops at the really amazing SAG stops). I mostly remember the last 10 miles being absolutely brutal. It was the longest ride to date.

This time, Mik, Betty, Wilma, and I rode the 60 mile Medio Fondo...and here's THAT story. I rode it about 17 minutes faster than last year...and at the end, pretty much felt fine, tired, but fine.

We almost ended up not riding due to a race organizer snafu with the discount code which resulted in our getting a far bigger discount than the race organizer intended. Most of the trouble could have been rectified if the race organizer (or Active.com, or whoever made the error. On that point I'm still unclear) had let those of us who got the bigger-than-intended-discount right after we registered. Instead, they waited until the DAY BEFORE THE EXPO to send out an email that said something like, "thanks for registering, but to get your bib, you're going to need to give us more money in cash...tomorrow."

Uh... your mistake, your problem buddy. We were ready to get our money back, but when we went to the expo, they just gave us our stuff. I heard that they were charging people after us, but we lucked out, so we rode.

So...race day started early...we had to check my cell phone photos to remember how to get all four bikes in the back of the car. 

This photo was taken before the Senorita Century last month...see how light it is outside? Yeah.  It was darkish when we were doing this last Sunday.

We found good parking at the County Administration Building and unloaded the bikes.

The two guys in the Nissan watched us for 15 minutes as we got all our gear together. I think they were mighty entertained. 

Mandatory pre-race potty stop. BTW...if you look back at last years ride-report, yes, I am wearing the same lime-green top. Whatever. 

On our way to the start, we waited for the trolley... Well, Betty, Wilma and I waited. Mik had already gone ahead.

Smile!

It was a great morning for a ride. It was a bit cool, but not too bad. I started off with long sleeves, and arm warmers over the sleeves. But by about 10 miles, the arm warmers came off, then so did the long sleeve shirt.

Somewhere between the beginning of the ride, I changed my Garmin settings (apparently twice) so that the whole ride is in three parts...very frustrating, but by about Mile 7, I had it on the right settings.

Here are the first three miles

Here are the second three and a half miles

Here are the last 52 miles

The route was familiar, we rode south toward National City. Riders were polite for the most part. We were near the back of the riders. Wilma and I fell behind Mik and Betty and in the crowd near the beginning of the ride, but I caught up with them around Bonita, and we pretty much stuck together for the rest of the ride.

SAG Stop 1 - At the Olympic Training Center 

Again, nothing is better than cycling SAG stops. This one had PB&J sandwiches. Several kinds of cookies, muffins, donuts, gels. The volunteers were FABULOUS. Just walking up to the table, someone would ask before you even got there "hey, you need your water bottle refilled?" We refilled, refueled, and  chatted about the ride.

I checked my text messages from Wilma. I didn't have one, but I saw her friend Anitra who said that she'd seen her on the road and that she was holding her own (I think Wilma's longest ride to date had been the Senorita ride, which was 45 miles. We kept telling her that this one was longer, but easier. I THINK she agrees with that now).

I sent her at text that said she was doing great and that I was so proud of her!

We took a loop around the Olympic Training Center. The field hockey team was practicing so I took a photo for DramaGirl and sent it to her.

From the Olympic Training Center, the route took us out past Otay Lakes to Jamul. This is a two lane rural road, and it is really my favorite part of the ride. There was very little car traffic, and for the most part, the cars were polite and gave us plenty of room.

The turn around was at a little country store in Jamul, about 10 miles past the training center. Since it'd only been 10 miles, I really didn't need to refuel or rest BUT I did need some, uh, well, shall we say lubrication in the hoo-haw area where I was starting to feel some chafing. I'd been carrying a trial size of this stuff called DZNutsBliss... I just needed a corner where I could smear it on with at least some amount of privacy, so I went behind a the general store and...yeah, you guessed it, stuck my hand down my shorts.

As Betty and I started our ride back into town, she started complaining about the exact same issue, so I shared the rest of the Bliss with her. I mean, what are friends for? Unfortunately for Betty, we were on the road by then, so we just pulled over to the side, and she did what I'd done behind a building, only she was on the right shoulder of the road.

No worries. I'm sure she's glad I shared.

We were both happy. And as for DZBliss...let's just say I now LOVE THIS STUFF!

As we headed back to town, we saw Wilma headed out to Jamul. Again, I was so so very impressed. She was smiling and gave us a thumbs up! Yay Wilma!

Back at the Olympic Training Center - 20 miles to go. Are we done yet?

The ride back from the Olympic Training Center to the County Admin Building in Little Italy is, happily, mostly downhill, including a couple of pretty fun descents through Otay Lakes. On one descent Mik was ahead of me and must have missed the signage (which was, overall, pretty darn good) that indicated we needed to turn right. As I saw it, and saw Mik speed through an intersection, I bellowed

MIK! MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIK!!!!!!

Apparently, she heard me (as did the rest of the neighborhood).

The guy behind me thanked me for drawing the turn to his attention. He said he would have missed it too.

We eventually made our way to the last SAG stop at the Bonita Vista Mall. Betty was there only a few minutes, and headed off. I, on the other hand, enjoyed cups full of Smart Chips (yum....salt....)

The last few miles were pretty uneventful although I felt compelled to apologize to anyone who was from out of town for the state of the roads on the north-going-lanes of Harbor Blvd. They are just about the worst-crappy streets in San Diego, and we go through a particularly ugly, non-scenic, railroad track filled (seriously, we crossed tracks at least 5 times, each way) part of San Diego. There are so many beautiful parts of San Diego, one has to ask, why this road?

Whatever. Moving on.

At the end, we got what may be the coolest cycling medal I've yet to receive, and better yet, a real-life-actual beer, beer garden, and a live band (they looked like high school students, but I swear the drummer was all of 10 years old, tops), but the band was playing Cheap Trick, which made Betty happy. They served Sierra Nevada ales and lagers, and they certainly served a medicinal purpose. We needed some of those calories back. So we hung out in the sun and waited for Wilma to come in.

Post Race Happiness... After I took this photo a girl at the next table offered to take another group photo of us. They hadn't ridden, but saw the beer garden, heard the band, and decided to join in the fun.

Wilma coming in for a big finish!

DramaGirl and Millie drove down to the post race. Which was a good thing because after a few beers (and some just so-so pasta), it was good to have someone else drive home.

The crew...Betty, Mik, Me, Wilma, and Anitra, very tired and very, very, very happy!

One final thought...

60 miles is far. 100 miles is farther. I'm sure I could do it, but not sure I really want to.

This and That - By the Numbers

• 4 - Number of Blog Posts for March (counting this one - so long as I manage to post it by midnight).
• 10 - Miles I ran this morning - longest run since the Carlsbad Half in January.
• 4 - Miles I ran yesterday
• 1 - Number of condoms I ran past this morning.
• 2 - Number of times I ran past above mentioned condom.
• 1 - Number of bugs that flew into my eye during the run.
• 4092 - Code to get into the ladies room at some coffee house I ran into in Encinitas. "Please!" I shouted, "A bug flew in my eye, can I use your ladies room?" She gave me the code immediately. I may have to remember this next time I have that other type of runners emergency...
• 4 - Times I yelled "BIKE BACK!" this morning, so that runners ahead of me would get out of the way of riders.
• 0 - Number of photos I took during the run this morning, which is a shame because we ran on the coast, and the surf was awesome!

4 - Number of photos that were taken of us consuming mimosas after the run - Priorities, priorities

• 46 - Miles that Mik and I rode last Saturday with the Trek bike group. By the end of the ride, I KNOW I needed someone barking "RUNNER RIGHT!" at me, so making runners aware of bikes is now my thing.
• 473 - Times I barked "SLOOOOOOWINNNNNNNG" and "ROLLLLLLLLLINNNNNNNG" on that long ride. I am slowly realizing that riding in a group is a LOT about letting everyone else know what's going on.
• 7 - Schools we rode past last week. I have no idea where any of them are though. One of the things I do notice about riding in a group. I'm paying so much attention to what everyone else is dong ("SLOOOOOOWINNNNNNNG, STAAAAAWWWWWWPING, ROLLLLLLLLLINNNNNNNG, POLE!, HOLE! RUNNER UP! BIKE LEFT, WALKER RIGHT! CAR DOOR!) that I barely pay attention to where I even am!
• 200 - Number of riders who stood in line to use 2 restrooms at our 1/2-way point SAG stop.
• 10 - Number of people who would have stood in line if it were runners. Come on, you know that many of you would have found a bush.
• 4 - Times I've seen the play L'il Abner this week (you weren't expecting THAT were you?)

Turbo is playing "General Bullmoose" in the PPJT production of Li'l Abner. No, I wasn't familiar with the play either. Here he is after Thursday night's performance with DramaGirl and Millie

• 9 - More days until I have to teach again...thank GAWD for Spring Break this year.
• 188 -Papers I graded last week.
• 16 - Number of classes I taught.
• 4 - Meetings I attended - Three of them were on Wednesday.
• 3 - Spinning classes I've now gone to, and nobody is more surprised by that than I am, but I like the workout!
• 1 - Number of massages I got this week. I have NO IDEA why I don't get massages more often because It was WONDERFUL. Next time, however, I'll get one AFTER a long run, and not before. I certainly felt the effects of the deep tissue massage...well basically the whole time I ran this morning.

Run then Ride - Senorita Century Ride Report

Tooth update: I no longer look like Quasi or Marlon, but I still have to go back to finish the root canal, so stay tuned, that may change.

Despite my dependence last week on painkillers, I still did manage to get in a pretty nice run over the weekend, and one pretty challenging 40 mile ride.

First, the run, briefly. My goal was to meet up with Mik and Elsie with the track club at Coronado. The club is up to 2 hour long runs. I am no where near that, but they were running around Coronado, which is lovely, so I figured I could do one lap, about 6 miles.

Sadly, the Tylenol 3/Ibuprofen combo interfered with my plan to get up early on Saturday to meet Mik and Elsie, so while I managed to pull my ass out of bed EVENTUALLY, I missed the actual start of the track club by about 20 minutes and didn't see EITHER OF THEM on the run.

That being said, there may be no place better in all of San Diego County to run than around Coronado. The homes are beautiful, the streets are wide, and there is precious little traffic other than when we cross 4th street, which is the street that goes into the naval base, and this particular Saturday morning there was plenty of this...

Ahhhhhh. I love running by the ocean. I'll never get tired of it. Never.

Beautiful weather...Clear. Cool. Sunny. Perfect place to run an easy 6 miles.

But the big story of the weekend, had to be the Senorita (sorta) Century. This was the inaugural event of this all women's metric century ride. Our Heffer team consisted of Mik, Betty, Wilma, Alberta, and Me.

We learned that we CAN put four bikes in the back of a Honda Pilot...and also have four seats for riders (this is VERY important information) 

At the start, Yours truly, Alberta, Mik, Betty, and Wilma. It was Wilma's virgin organized ride. 

My initial plan was to do the metric century - 64 miles. My longest ride so far this season has been 36 miles, but I figure, if I can do 36, I can do 64 right?

We took off from Torrey Pines High School and headed down some nice hills toward the coast (oh yeah...we'd have to get back up those hills at the end). I was cruising along, about 15 miles into the ride, with a nice group of women. Alberta and Mik were a little bit ahead of me (we'd gotten separated at a light), and suddenly, I see Alberta's daisy shirt. She was on the side of the road, bike upside down, with a flat. So OF COURSE I stopped to help, even though, as we all know, I am not a fast tire change. We examined the tire for awhile, and I'll admit, I didn't try that hard to deal with it because this was an all women's bike race, and so I called the SAG bus to see, and a really nice guy showed up to change Alberta's tire.

Yes, I was a wuss. I admit it. I didn't want to break a nail.

Our own personal tire changer...and yes, Alberta was texting someone about it...or maybe she was posting it on FB, or maybe that was me doing the FB posting. 

I'm not sure how long Alberta and I were dealing with the flat (or more accurately, watching our SAG guy deal with the flat), but I knew by the time we started riding again, that there was no way I was going to catch up to Mik, and if I didn't catch up to her, that I wasn't going do the full 64 because I'd be doing the hardest part of the ride, all the hills, by myself...and with all the meds I'd ingested all week, I thought this was the excuse I needed to just take it easy.

Quite frankly, as we found out later. Alberta's flat was a very good thing.

We made it to North Carlsbad and to Magee park, the first rest stop. I'll just say that the Rest Stops were AMAZING. This one had croissant sandwiches, cucumber water, too many different pastries, coffee, tea, freekin' quiche...who could eat all that and get back on a bike? I have no idea. I nibbled a little bit, drank a lot, refilled my water bottles.

I did walk in on a guy in the men's room. I mean, it was an all women's race. The line to the ladies room was long. Who would expect there to be an actual DUDE in the men's room. His back was to me. I didn't look. I am a lady after all.

Mik, of course, has no patience with long rest stops, so she'd already taken off for the hills, and so I decided to ride the 40 miles and head back to the start with Betty, Alberta, and Wilma.

On the way back we advantage of the photo opportunities. Forgive the inside joke, but Betty knows that I was thinking about a snorkel and flippers for the rest of the ride after we took this shot.

So...now that I've gotten past the spoiler alert (I didn't do a full metric century), Here's my route

Uh...remember that nice downhill part at the beginning? To be honest, neither did I...but I do remember the up part now...I think it's mean to make riders climb in the 39the mile of a 40 mile race...really I do.

Wilma crossing the finish line...which brings up the observation...THAT'S the finish line? I missed it...I wasn't the only one. It really wasn't well marked 

As for the finish line festivities? Well, unlike the rest stops, there was a food truck with what they called Thai food (white rice with some chicken stuff or beef stuff over it...I mean really. It was called The SENORITA Century. Don't you think that warrants a taco?

Also... huge props to Wilma. There were some pretty long climbs...maybe 8% to 10% grades at places, and she's still pretty new to cycling. She hung in there. She finished the race. I'm so proud!

She really deserved a taco...and probably a margarita, but that would come later.

We were the main cheerleaders for all who came in after us. We do look happy to be finished.

And that's Mik... She is such a stud. She finished a really, really, really difficult 64 (she called it horrible, which coming from Mik is something) only about 20 minutes after we all finished our 40. Here was her climb.

See those little descents and climbs at that I was just complaining about at the beginning and at the end of the ride...then take a look at what Mik did between Miles 50 and 90...we just rode the flat part. Again...she's a stud.

We figured we needed something more than meat-type foods on rice, so we ended up at my house, where we consumed beverages and snacks and relaxed about the day.

I know...it's not a stellar shot of any of us...we were tired and VERY focused on food, drink, and relaxing at that point.

So..some observations about the Senorita Century.

The Good Stuff

1. The 40 mile route was beautiful and for this beginning rider, challenging enough
2. The 64 mile route was very challenging, and I'm glad I didn't do it at this point of my training, but I'm proud of Mik for doing it for us.
3. The rest stops had great food, maybe too much good food.
4. The race organizer was super nice and answered all of my emails, sometimes within an hour or so.
5. It was a small field, and for an inaugural, that's probably a very good thing

The Not-So-Good

1. It was kinda expensive. The full registration fee was $125.00. No race jersey. The medal at the end was kinda cheap. I'm glad we got in on a "tres senoritas" discount, so it was about $65 a person to ride. The only reason I ended up with a race jersey (it's a nice one) is because I signed up 6 people, and they messed up our registration once, so the race organizer sent me one. Let's just say that if it wasn't for the discount, we'd have never done it.
2. The race end was really disappointing. A food truck? The food was cold? There was no beer garden (granted...we were in a high school parking lot, so of course there was no beer), but still. The finish line was completely unmarked. I felt bad for the race organizer (who was EVERYWHERE that day. As individuals crossed, she would chase them down and hand them a medal. 

So, we enjoyed the ride on the coast, and of course being with friends. We are all signed up for the Gran Fondo San Diego in about a month, so more fun will ensue then. 

Call me Quasi

I had a root canal on Tuesday. I've known people who've had root canals and gone back to work the same day. I hate those people right now.

You could call me Quasimodo this week

Or maybe Marlon

see the resemblance?

BECAUSE that is not how dental work seems to work for me. What started off as a toothache last Friday, became a really effing bad toothache over weekend, which became an OMFG I need to see a dentist NOW toothache on Monday, that resulted in an emergency root canal on Tuesday morning, which didn't really improve things so I had to go in yesterday morning AGAIN for a SECOND opening of the tooth at which time I had a complete sobbing melt-down in the endodontist's office as a result of the frustration and pain.

In short, it's been a pretty sucky week. I seem to be OK on the pain front right now (tylenol 3 + ibuprofen is a beautiful thing). But it's not like I've been able to run or ride this week. Pretty much, I've just slept.

So...on Sunday, I'm supposed to do the Senorita Century (100K - a metric century), and I'm still planning on riding. But I may just do the 40 mile ride instead. I'll take along some ibuprofen and tylenol (not the tylenol 3 stuff...that seems a little risky) and see how it goes.

I'd really like my old face back though.

Runs, Rides, News

I ran twice this week and rode once. 10.5 miles running, 33 miles on the bike...and all of this took place in the last three days.

• Friday - Run - 3.21 miles, 33:36 (10:29)
• Saturday - Bike - 33:6 miles, 2:32:52 (13.9 mph)
• Sunday - Run - 7:02 miles, 1:12:58 (10:23)

I don't really know how to think about or represent the riding time. I am riding with a 14-15 mph pace group, so this week I averaged a little less than 14. What I do know is that I am not at the BACK of this particular group, and we did ride UP Torrey Pines.

Learning to ride with a large group has been a learning experience. I'll admit, some of the whole riding with a pack thing makes me nervous. For example: I will never understand how people go flying down hills with abandon. My top speed going down a hill yesterday was about 30mph...and it was scary. I slowed down repeatedly on Torrey Pines (That's not where I hit 30mph). Although we were going downhill for about a mile, it was not my fastest mile.

See that 400 ft to 0 ft descent around mile 5 and then the ascent  around mile 30...that's Torrey Pines. It's a little more than a mile each way.

I'm a big chicken when it comes to speeding downhills. I'd rather go up 'em. I'm not kidding. I was really happy about going up Torrey Pines at the end of the ride. It wasn't a fast climb, but I never felt like I was shaky or had to stop, and I've felt that way about this hill before. Like I said, it's a long climb. AND I'd already ridden 30 miles...so BOO YA!

You may have noticed that all my riding and running activity this week took place over the weekend. In the long run, that is not good for me. This I know. Overdoing it on the weekends is a sure-fire way to get injured, but I had some good reasons for not getting in any mid-week runs or rides this week.

Walter's father was in the hospital all week; he has colon cancer. He didn't go TO the hospital because of this, but it was something that was unexpectedly found because he was there for something else. 

Yes, it sucks. There was a surgery. Modern medicine is downright, freekin' amazing! A surgeon, who did  the surgery (and who not really look old enough to be a surgeon BTW),  removed the tumor laproscopically (is that a word?), which is the huge, effing, amazing part to me. For my FIL to be able to have that kind of surgery (three small incisions) was a godsend because we were not so sure he'd make it through an actual surgery. He's 89. He came through the surgery like a champ. 

So, I mention this because this is a running (sorta) blog, and my father in law is the person who really started my running adventures. He didn't really do it on purpose, he just signed up the whole family for a 5K about 6 years ago, and I got the wild idea that I could actually run a 5K since there were so many other people running who looked a lot like me...meaning they didn't really look like what I then thought ALL RUNNERS looked like...you know like this

(Full disclosure: I still pretend that I look like that when I run, which is probably why I never purchase race photos, which never look like that, but I figure it's the photographer's fault for that, not mine).

So, really, today's blog is dedicated to my FIL. If it wasn't for him, I may not have ever started this craziness. He is just a stud, is doing well, flirting shamelessly with all the nurses, and is going to be OK.

Mental Work

OK...so here's the deal.

We started riding with a local cycling training group (run through the local Trek bike store) two weeks ago...and by "we," I mean Betty, Mik, Wilma, Clarence, yours truly, and hopefully soon, Elsie. In these two weeks, we've learned lots about what it means to ride in a pace line (yes, much easier to go the distance, if you know what I mean, by doing this). We've also learned loads about using the various hand and voice signals cycler's use in large packs in order to keep from a) running into one another and b) running into something or someone else.

And mostly we've learned that, honestly, cycling in a large group has been mentally exhausting. 

I'd have to look back a few years at some earlier blogs to see if I complained about being über concerned about whatever-the-heck-every-other-runner-around-me-was-doing when I started running, and trust me, if there was something to whine about, I suspect I did.

But I don't really remember complaining about THAT particular thing (THAT = having to think). But it is a concern of mine now. When I ride, I really have to pay attention to EVERYTHING!

This is different than running. When I run, I can pretty much zone out every now and then. When I run, for the most part, I am rarely concerned that a partial zone-out is going to result in my becoming road-splatter (Full Disclosure: Yes, I have been known to trip over sidewalks and end up being road-splatter while running.) 

And yes, one must be somewhat aware of his/her surroundings while running, if for no other reason than to avoid being run over by a car...or by a zoned out cyclist, but still...there is a certain amount of zone-i-ness that can occur while running, especially if running on a sidewalk or walking/running path.

HOWEVER THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH I CAN ZONE OUT WHILE RIDING. PERIOD. 

It'd be just plain dangerous.

And thus, riding = exhausting.

Or at least so far.

Yesterday we rode about 30 miles with the Trek Training Group. Mik, Betty, and I rode with the B-3 Group (Ave 14 to 15 mph). I have no idea what any of this means, but I know that I was pretty much in the middle of the group, did pretty well on the flatter parts of the ride, fell back when going up hills, and tipped over once while still clipped in when there were too many people going too slow up a too steep entry to a bike path (really...my bad. I should have just waited). 

Tipping over feels like such a rookie mistake.

Overall, riding 30 miles felt pretty good. It was nice to ride with a group where I felt like I was pushing myself. Usually on a bike, I kinda feel like I'm just cruising.

Then this morning, Mik and I met up for an hour run (6.5 miles, 1.04, 9:55 pace). My legs felt a bit heavy, but overall, a nice run at Lake BP.

Balancing running and riding into a weekly routine is going to be a definite challenge. The Trek training program meets every Saturday at 8am and is supposed to end with the San Diego Century on May 19. The Rockin & Running training program meets every Saturday at 7am, and it ends with the Rock and Roll Marathon on June 3. We weren't planning on doing the RnR again, but we have been looking at a sweet little half on June 3 on Ojai. We haven't decided on the San Diego Century yet.

The Trek group offers a weekly training plan that says I should ride 10 miles on Tuesday, 20 on Wednesday, 10 on Thursday, 5 on Friday, and 35 on Saturday.

The RnR training program says I should be running 50 - 60 minutes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 2 x 20 minute intervals at my threshold pace on Tuesday, then 9 miles on Saturday.

So...do we rotate (RnR one day, then Trek)? Overall, do we rotate weekend long runs/rides and do our favorite runs/rides and then make up runs/rides on Sundays? 

Bwahahahahahahahaha... I so don't have time for all that. Anyone have any advice for me on how to balance this? 

I know in the absence of an actual training goal, it probably really doesn't matter, does it?

BTW...it's been a nutty two weeks, but I did want to mention that the young guy turned 14 today! Happy Birthday Turbo!

Randomness Over 9(ish) Miles

Yep, it's been going around...the flu, head colds, and the 11 random things tag... I was due.


Maggie @ Run Happy (who is too darn adorable and a newly-wed to boot!) tagged me with the ubiquitous 11 random things meme, and since I haven't had much in the way of blah-blah-blah blog fodder recently, I'm in.


For those of you who are not in the loop, here are the rules
The Random Eleven Rules

1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Tag 11 people (can't be the person who tagged you)
5. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag
6. Go to their blog and tell them you've tagged them (Tag! You're it!)

11 Random Things About Me
Since I ran about 9ish miles this morning, I had some time to think about lots of random things, so what follows are a compendium of randomness from this morning.

Lisa was wearing a fabulous pink tutu!

1. I love it when I accidentally run into other bloggers. This morning I saw Lisa during my run. She was running in a Half Marathon at Mission Bay and I was on about Mile 6 of my long run. That we happened to be at the same place, at the same time, was truly random. I had just left a SDTC water station, and was making sure I avoided runners who were in the race  and as I looked over my left shoulder, there was Lisa...She looked fabulous, so I took a picture! 
2. I make a regular habit of doing accidentally embarrassing things. So...you all know how the herd wears some super-brite-neon-dayglo-lime-green on race days. This is how we find each other. What you may not know is that I also have a lime green iPod Shuffle, and a lime green iPhone case. In my last post, I wrote about how Irene's hubbs Michael and I were joking about whether or not my underwear matched. What I didn't write about is that this whole line of conversation was started by a guy from the track club who I know, but you know, I really don't know. He looked at all the green and, trying to be funny, he said something like, "Oh look at all the green, do your underwear match?" I paused, because what I WANTED to say was "I don't wear underwear" because isn't that what you all do in these situations? Double-down? But since I didn't know the other guy that well, in a moment of mature filtering, I didn't say THAT to him. Fast forward to this week, and I'm running and I pass a guy who I THINK is the same guy from last week and he's wearing a super-brite-neon-dayglo-yellow shirt, so (OF COURSE), I ask him if his underwear match...turns out it wasn't the guy from last week...uh yeah...duh.
3. So, no, I don't wear underwear under my compression shorts when I run.
4. One of the great things about running around East Mission Bay is that there are plenty of restrooms if one is needed. I didn't need one this morning, but the strangest place I ever peed during a long ride was behing a bush, a bush that we eventually renamed as "Cindi's Bush." I know, not that interesting, but it is random.
5. I've sorta gotten used to using porta-pottys
6. I'm always surprised by the random stuff I see when I run. Recently I seem to notice a lot of ponytail holders. I'm always tempted to pick these up because I never seem to be able to find one at home when I need one.
7. Still...to this day, I think the most random object I've ever seen on a race was the broken bong in Ocean Beach. I've never seen one since.
8. My favorite breakfast is a bagel thin, whipped cream cheese, and an egg while. I make a sandwich out of it. YUM!
9. I don't really like the competition shows, but I am currently intrigued by The Voice
10. The last TV show I watched was the "Encore" performance of SMASH, but I only watched it a second time because Saturday night TV is dreadful.
11. Tomorrow we were planning to go skiing for the first time this season...then Turbo was hanging out with his crew today, and now his hand is all swollen...maybe just a sprain? srain? fracture? We'll see in the am, but until then, no skiing for us. Ah Boys!

11 Questions from Maggie

1. What’s your favorite TV show? 

I am eagerly awaiting the return of Mad Men, but until then, my default fave show is The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

2. If you could have lunch with an actor/actress of any era, who would it be and why?

That's a tough one. I always think that Lauren Bacall or Katherine Hepburn would have been fun to chat with for a bit. I think they'd both be heffers.

3. If you could tightrope walk across anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Tightrope? Yikes! I guess across the Grand Canyon because I think there are things you'd see from that perspective that are unlike anything other than that, but how scary!

4. What do you do for a living?

I teach adults to read and write at a community college. Then in my spare time, I do professional development with high school teachers, so that fewer adults end up in my courses.

5. Do you crave sweet or salty foods?

Yes

6. Can you remember your last dream?  What was it?
I'm not sure, but I think it had something to do with being behind on several projects.

7. How big is your bed?

California King

8. What was the last thing you ate?

Risotto (I made it with shrimp and wild mushrooms)

9. Who was your last phone call or text from?

Cali

10. If you could have any super power, what would it be?

To be two places at once.

11. What are three things you can't live without?

Running, The Herd, My family (and you all thought I'd say wine...or mimosas)

My 11 Random Questions

These are the questions I asked myself to come up with my randoms, so I'm subjecting the following people to my randomness.

1. Who was the last person you randomly ran into at a race or during a long run?
2. What was the last embarrassing thing you did?
3. Do you wear underwear when you run? why or why not?
4. Where is the strangest place you've ended up having to pee during a long run, ride, or race.
5. Which color porta potty do you prefer?
6. What was the last random object you saw on your last run?
7. What was the most random object you've ever seen on a long run?
8. What is your favorite breakfast?
9. The Voice or American Idol?
10. What was the last TV show you watched?
11. What are you doing tomorrow?

So Now I'm tagging:

1. Keith
2. Irene
3. Petra
4. Diana
5. Lily
6. Carly
7. Al
8. Michelle
9. Lisa
10. Jill
11. Glenn

Oh yeah...I forgot to post a race report

Saturday was the SuperRun 10K - The fifth anniversary of the running-heffer crew (Betty, Elsie, Mik, me). Five years ago, we ran together for the first time (well...not together exactly), and we haven't stopped since.

You just never now what a morning run will lead to...

One thing that five years of running led to on Saturday morning? A sub-hour 10K

Let me repeat that for myself - A SUB-EFFING-HOUR 10K.

Let's be honest here...it's really not something that I ever thought I would do

Does this look like someone who would run a sub-1-hour 10K? Yeah...I don't think so either.

Amazingly...opix still has photos on it's website from 2008! Oh, If only there were photos from 2007. On the other hand, maybe I don't wanna know...

Jump forward to Saturday 2012... It was just one of those days when everything worked.

• We got to the race early enough to get good parking on the riverbed, but not so early that we had to wait in the cold for too long.
• The race started at South Shores Park, where there are actual, real, flushing, toilets, and the line for the real-actual toilets was not ridiculously longer than the porta-potty line, so I got to use an ACTUAL, REAL, FLUSHING, GD, TOILET!
• We all were healthy - meaning no injuries for the herd.
• I got to make jokes with Irene's hubby about whether or not my underwear matched my shirt, iPod shuffle and iPhone case (all are lime green).... I'll let you guess about the rest....

The sun was out, but it was a little chilly, so we huddled before the race

With Irene and Laura, waiting for the start.

Before the race, Betty asked me what time I was shooting for. I shrugged... coming in under an hour in a 10K would be tough for me. It would mean running consecutive sub-10 minute miles for more than 6 miles, which isn't something I'd done before. We agreed that if I came in at 1:01, it'd be a pretty good race. I'd set my previous 10K PR last year (in 2011) at 1:01:55, so I figured knocking about a minute off of that would be pretty good. Turns out, I'd knock of almost two minutes.

Miles 1-3 - What was I THINKING?
I thought I'd start off taking it easy and work for negative splits...we'll THAT didn't happen. We took off, and there was a fair amount of weaving in and out, trying to get around slower people. For the most part, in this race, it's not too much of a problem since about 3/4 of the field are SDTC members, but I still weaved a bit (which is why my Garmin says I ran 6.31 miles and not 6.2). Also, I was running behind Walter and his friend Bob, trying to keep pace with them. Garmin buzzed at Mile 1, and I was pretty surprised to see 9:15 (I never notice seconds...).

"Uh, yeah," I thought to myself, "I won't be running negative splits I guess. Just better try to keep somewhere near this pace"

One of the best things about the SuperRun is that it is, if nothing else, scenic. Running around the bay, over a few overpasses which offers some really nice vistas of Mission Bay and Crown Point. The sun was out, but it wasn't hot. Beautiful.

The worst part of the run is through the Seaworld parking lot. I mean, let's face it. It's a parking lot. But in the beginning of the race (miles 1 and 2) it doesn't matter so much because you're running easy and entertained by my music, and the crowds, and the 2nd mile just flys by.

So, how was I doing on the way out?

Mile 1 - 9:15:87
Mile 2 - 9:15:28
Mile 3 - 9:01:57

Uh, yeah...I'm surprised too! Especially about that third mile where we run over a couple of overpasses - they're not big hills, I suspect I made up some time on the downhill side, as well as a pretty sweet downhill stretch into the Crown Point parking lot where we turned around and headed back.

Around the 2nd mile, I'd caught up with Walter (Bob had run on without him), and we ran a few feet away from each other for most of the rest of the race.

Mile 2 ish...I am nowhere near interested in smiling at the camera guy - I had a overpass to get over 

At the turnaround, I high-fived and smiled when I saw Irene and her hubs Michael (who yelled out "GO HEFFERS!" which he always does, and every, single, time. It makes me smile when I wonder what people think of that, especially when I fist-pump and cheer back "GO MICHAEL!!!!"

Miles 4-6 - GAH - The Seaworld Parking Lot
After the turnaround, I decided that it was way too warm to be wearing the long sleeve neon-lime-green shirt, so I took it off and tied it around my waist.

Much better.

Of course, after Mile 3, I also started to feel the effects of running about as fast as I could for three miles. Also, remember that hill I just ran down? Time to go back up it. All of those things added up to some heavy feeling legs and, of course, that desire to just walk a bit. But I was determined, so I powered up the hill and tried my best to either stay ahead of Walter or just behind him (yes, I am THAT competitive that I'll use my husband that way. He knows).

The good news was that after the 4th mile, the overpasses were behind me.

The bad news was that the last two miles were back through the Seaworld parking lot and up Seaworld Drive. Being no longer fresh and energetic and distracted by people and my music, the mile through the parking lot is just boring, and painful, and since I run with only one earbud in (so that I can hear the world around me), full of complaining people.

But things still worked!

• A track club runner runner told me I was looking good (thank you!), which gave me that extra boost!
• I could see Mik in the distance ahead of me. So that you know, at five miles I NEVER have Mik in my sights - although this is also a double edged sword because I find myself thinking, "oh, I wish I were up there with Mik because I WOULD BE THAT MUCH CLOSER TO BE DONE!"

So of course, these were my slowest miles, but still...I managed to keep it under 10 minutes.

I'm still not quite sure how I did this.

Mile 4 - 9:35:47
Mile 5 - 9:39:37
Mile 6 - 9:34:33
Mile (in this case) 6:31 - 2:44 (8:54 pace....thank you very much)

In other words, the exact opposite of negative splits. I'm beginning to think that negative splits are highly over-rated.

What I do know is that when I came around the last corner and could finally see the clock time, it was just turning from 58 minutes to 59. I knew I was about 30 seconds behind the clock time, and I was determined to not see it get to 1:00:xx before I crossed the finish, so I sprinted.

Final - 59:00 - 9:20 pace (official)

((YES))

I have to say; there have been several races in the past couple of years where I've set PRs, but still haven't been satisfied, thinking that I could have/should have run a smarter race, a better race, a different race.

Not this time. I am completely happy with how I ran the whole race.

Don't I look happy? I stole this from the SDTC FB site (thanks Doreen!), and Yes, that's Walter in the background...glowing in the green.

Time to celebrate! So off to The High Dive we went!

LOL...all of us trying to take photos of the bevvies 

More photos by Irene 

Sadness that there was no more coffee

Happy campers (this was right after I yelled at Walter to drink some juice or something because as we were driving to The High Dive, his calf muscle cramped up. He's not a big believer in a recovery beverage ((rolls eyes)). 

Michael wanted to make sure he knew his pace

Yep. Completely Satisfied (thanks Elsie for sending me this) 

Happy Anniversary to my Herd. Thanks for making the last five years so much fun. Here's to many, many, many more. I love you all!