Biking the Chinese way

A good friend of mine was in town this weekend. David, an ex-Microsoftie who now resides in Beijing is trying to build his new technology start up. Somehow, the subject of bicycles becomes the center of our conversation. Now, most of us know that almost everyone in China commutes by bicycle. All roads accommodate cyclists, or should I say all roads can accommodate cars? There are even traffic lights to direct cycling traffic. It is truly the bicycle capital of the world in my opinion. But, professional cycling is much too expensive for the average Chinese citizen. A factory worker makes about $4000 USD/year while an office worker might make around $12000 USD/year.


Now bike theft is very prevalent in Beijing. David has already had 2 of his bikes stolen so far. He said his first bike costed him about $10, even with a lock it was stolen. His second bike costed him $6, had two locks on it and it was also stolen. He said you can even pay some dude, show him a bike, and he will go steal it for you. How crazy is that?

5:30am ride with JFT

This morning, before the birds were up, I met Jill, Heli and Melissa at Idylwood park to ride the Lake Sammamish loop. With the exception of the Issaquah Tri, I don't think I've ever woken up so early voluntarily in my life. So the night before, I had packed up my SUV with all my gear and set my alarm to 4:30am. Of course, I was really excited because that meant I would be trying out my new bike. So excited that I could not sleep a wink.

The ride began at Idylwood, and within a few miles I noticed a thumping feeling in my backside and I was slowing down, it turns out that I had a flat. Now, I've never had to change a real flat in my life, so this was interesting. Jill had also stopped to help me out. There are a bunch of little details that I didn't know about that make changing a tire much easier, like to work with it on your feet. When applying the C02 cartridge, make sure you have your tire on the ground and you fill the tire pressing down on the valve. Also, to fill the tire on the side where your cassette is facing away otherwise, when you remove the cartridge you might bang your hand on it and it will hurt!

Now the hard part is actually putting the back wheel on properly. We somehow got the wheel back on after quite a bit of fiddling. It turns out that it wasn't quite on right, but I'll get to that later. During the ride, Jill had me working on my big ring to build strength. It turns out that on my standing climbs I should be using a bigger gear because I am still wobbling. Also, she mentioned that I should practice my balance a bit more as I tend to not stay on a straight line. Lastly, we talked about focusing on the hamstrings and gluts because that is where all the power is from. This was a really great learning ride for me, now I have things to work on. One day I would like to bike to work. The Lake Sammamish River trail is only about 1 mile from my home and I could take that safely to campus.

Jill had mentioned that I should remove 1 disk from my stear tube to get better handling and that I should fix my seat. So I took it back to Performance Bikes this evening and Matt my bike tech was there and he cleaned up my bike, fixed my seat, removed the disk, changed my water bottle cages, gave me new ties to transfer my cyclo computer to my new bike and gave me some suggestions to heal my knee faster - I swear this guy has a crush on me. It also turns out that we didn't put my back wheel on properly and I forgot to close my rear brake - oops. Lastly, it turns out that Matt also works on Jill's bike as well and told me to tell her not to let her husband work on her bike anymore. :)

Fuji Supreme

This weekend I spent some time shopping for a new bike. I bought a cheap Trek bike to see if I would like the sport at the beginning of the year. After doing my research, I have come to the conclusion that I would never be able to get a triathlon bike unless it was custom - and I was not about to spend 6-7 thousand dollars on that. I know that I wasn't completely happy with my current road bike, though it did well on climbs, I had trouble keeping up with people because it was heavy (21 pounds) and had 650 wheels which made it a little harder to maintain speed. Another thing is, my neck would hurt after my rides - thus it didn't fit quite right. Today, after trying out a bunch of bikes - I even had to wait for them to build me the bike I ultimately ended up purchasing, I took home a brand new Fuji Supreme RC. It is the 44cm and weighs only 15.4 pounds! The frameset weighs around 850 grams. And guess what? I got it for over 40% off because Performance was having their 25th anniversary sale and it comes with 700 standard size wheels! So what I will do in the future is slap on clip on aero bars and call it a day.

FRAMESET: C-10 SuperLite High Modulus carbon with 3K weave, Continuous Fiber Technology (CFT), integrated aluminum cupped head tube, double water bottle mounts, shaped ride-tuned Energy Transfer Chain stay, replaceable hanger

FORK: FC-330 Fuji Carbon Monocoque Integrated 1 1/8" Carbon steerer , 350g

DRIVETRAIN: FSA Energy Compact MegaExo w/ integrated spindle, 7075 CNC 34/50T, NEW SRAM Rival Exact Actuation derailleurs & double-tap shifter/brake, 20-speed

WHEELS: Cane Creek Strados

FEATURES: Ritchey Pro Biomax II alloy, 31.8mm bars, stem, Ritchey Pro carbon seat post, Selle San Marco Aspide Glamour women specific saddle with titanium rails

Underwater treadmill

I was chatting with my PT Shelly yesturday about how my knee injury has been hampering with my regular activities. I cannot run, I cannot bike and even daily things like walking down the stairs I need to becareful. I am also worried that my cardiovascular abilities might diminish. Shelly gladly mentioned that I could train on the underwater treadmill and that it would be covered by Microsoft. Woohoo, the ProClub rocks and so does my insurrance plan!

So I've setup 2x underwater treadmill classes a week, swim 3x a week and do strength training, intervals in boot camp 2x a week. This is the best I can do until my knees heal.

Lastly, I bought the Yakima King Joe bike rack for my car. I tried to figure out how to set the thing up, but no luck. There are so many straps and clamps to make your head spin. I guess I will bring it back to the shop.

Triathlon bikes don't come in my size

I stopped by Sammamish Valley Cycle this evening to pick up some neoprene booties for my swim tomorrow morning. While I was at the shop, I figure I might as check out their tri bikes. They had the Cervelo P2C and P3C, QT, Scott and Light Speed bikes. Unfortunately, none of them fit me as the standover height was a little too high. The 48 cm Cervelo came closest to fitting me, but my crotch was still touching the bar. She recommended that I get a custom titanium Light Speed made for me when I am ready for a tri bike. Did I mention the price would be $6K? Presently I have a Trek road bike. When I looked on Trek's site, they did have a 47 cm women's specific tri bike that might fit me. Felt also had a tri bike in 48 cm with a low stand over that might fit me as well. I know that standover height is not how you judge fit, but it is a quick way to rule bikes out. Man, I wish I were bigger :(

Anyways, on another note, it looks like I will be doing nothing but swimming and strength training for the next 2 weeks. I read that with my injury I need to really baby my knees, so no running even cycling during this time - must focus on healing.

Success!

Today I completed my first triathlon! As I still have knee tendonitis I went in with a game plan to complete as much of the race I could.

OFFICIAL RACE REPORT:

Night before: I had packed all my gear including my bike into my SUV.
Pre-race: 1 bowl of Special K with strawberries and soy milk.

Morning: I woke up at 4:30am to get ready to leave for the race. My intention was to get there for 5:30am so that I could pick up my race packet (which contained my timing chip, race bib and t-shirt). I arrived there at 5:30am and parked at the Sunset beach parking lot right in front of the transition area (TA).


There was not a lot of people there at the time. I picked up my race packet then walked around a little as I was not really sure what to do next, but I saw people taking in their bikes into the TA. I headed back to my SUV and grabbed my bike and helmet out of the car, proceeded to the TA and got marked with my race number. When I found my rack, I took the spot on the end so that I could find my bike quickly. I setup my gear like we had practiced in transition clinic and I had everything ready to go except my wetsuit was not on.


Swim: Close to 7am I had my wetsuit on. My wave didn't start until 7:21am. Before the swim, I got into the water to get use to the temperature - and it was the warmest that I have ever been in. I found Nicole and Emily, who were also my wave. We were all nervous and excited. Nicole and I positioned ourselves at the back of the pack as we were slow swimmers. And we were off! I reached the first buoy in no time, so far so good, but there was still a 300 meter stretch to the next one. I had decided to pull the entire swim to save my knees. As I turned I saw a girl swimming to my left that was swimming about the same pace as me, so I just used her as a guide to keep me on course. About half way to the next buoy, she started breast stroking and I'm like "great now who am I going to follow now?" So I just over took her and tried to sight on my own. About every 5 strokes or so I would look up to make sure I was on course. Things were going really well, I was really relaxed and my wetsuit felt very comfortable. My heartrate was at a steady rate. I got out of the water a little too far from the shore so the water slowed me down as I got out. But I swear the choir was singing. It look me over 10 minutes to swim that one. But I was so happy that I survived it!



TI: OK, I had a picnic here. It took me 5 minutes to transition. I had decided not to wear my tri-suit (that was probably a mistake), I ended up having to put on my bike shorts and shirt. I had my race bib pinned onto my bike shirt which ripped off and I had to fix that. I decided that I could not bike without my gloves instead I went sockless. Man, it sure didn't feel like I took 5 minutes. I spent too much time figuring out what to wear :) This was no time to be a girl Angela!

Bike: The bike was hard, everyone was passing me and I was working pretty hard too! I think I did well on the first hill climb, as soon as I saw it I picked up my speed and slowly stood up and climbed that sucker. Then about half way through the bike my knee started to complain. The last hill climb was really tough. I think overall I averaged about 16 mph. This bike took me 55 minutes.

T2: One picnic wasn't enough for me, so I decided to take another. When I arrived back into the TA I could not find my bike rack. I saw Coach Josh and remember him telling me "Put you bike on the rack!" I finally found my rack, put on my running shoes and off I went. This took 2:33 minutes.

Run: The run was painful. When I started my run I had this really tight sensation in my gluts and thighs that was new to me. This didn't feel so good, but eventually it went away. I didn't want to make my knee worse, so I tried to jog as much of this as I could and had to walk at times. Overall, I found the running trail quite nice and I was happy that it was not on concrete. 30:30 minutes - that some serious speed walking there. It sure didn't feel like 3 miles.



Post-race: I'm so glad that I did this. It was an amazing experience and I could not be happier. I ended up coming in 603/703. God this sport is so humbling! I'm a changed woman!

Swimming with the fishies at Idylwood

It turns out that there are a lot of people that swim early in the morning. I found a group of ladies to swim with on a regular basis. Today we met at 7am and jumped into the water. There are fish jumping out of the water there! On my previous swims, I had not gone past 30 yards from the shore. But today, with encouragement from Jen (a lady from Jill's team) I just went for it. When I reached the buoy I was a little tired, my heart rate was up because I was still very anxious. I went on my back for a few seconds, then we swam to the next buoy. Jen kept going, but I swam back to shore. I think that was about 1/4 mile. Some of us were planning to swim the course after work this evening but I have to pick up my new car not to mention my race packet for tomorrow still.

Wish me luck in my first triathlon tomorrow, I'm going to need it as I am going to be racing injured. My knees are still sore from tendonitis, but I told myself to just go and have fun out there. I will walk the run if my knees start to hurt too much.

Honda CR-V

I just bought my first car ever! I'm so excited it's the 2008 Honda CR-V, finally I found a compact SUV that gives me ample storage space, good on gas, 4WD and handles well.

I was at the dealership for 3.5 hours negotiating with them. We finally came to something we were all happy with. Goodbye to Max (my Nissan Maxima - which my dad bought for me) and hello to my new CR-V. Don't have a name for her yet, yes my car will be a "she" this time. No soccer mom comments please!

Why exercise can be so addictive

I'm reading this amazing book by Eckhart Tolle called "A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life's Purpose." This is a very interesting explanation as to why I find challenging exercise so addictive.

Our brains are in constant thought, and psychologists have found that 98% of our thoughts are quite useless and repetitive. He explains why many people love strenuous physical activities even sometimes dangerous levels. When you climb a mountain, you need to be totally focused on the present, if you loose your presence something bad can happen. And the reason why people feel so much more alive during this time is for a moment you are free from thinking. This is the essence of presence - it is a moment of bliss where everything is at peace.

Open water swimming

I stopped by the Triumph wetsuit demo on Saturday and it was a good thing that I did so. I got to swim in the freezing water and get some coaching. I met a really nice lady called Jill and she encouraged me throughout the swim. She even told me about her triathlon club. They have weekly training events and a really good community of people who train together. Today, I actually went and swam with a lady from Jill's team at Idylwood park. We swam back and forth and I found it difficult. You cannot see a thing and that got me a little flustered which sent my heartrate through the roof. When we got out of the water we ran out of the water, and ripped off our wetsuits as we headed to our transition area. In my opinion I really think EVERYONE should swim in open water before doing any race. I think I would have had a little "panic" thing otherwise.

Knowing when to stop, that's wisdom

I am driven and set realistic goals for myself, but not to the point of alienating all the other aspects of life that make it enjoyable. This demonstrates that I recognize the importance of what I call, "work, life and work-out balance."

Another important life lesson is knowing when to slow down. A few years ago, I had suffered a terrible groin injury put me out of commission for over a year. That had to be the most painful and agonizing time in my life and I will never forget it. If I had listen to my body then, I would not still be plagued with the chronic pain I feel today.

So here I am again, in the same boat only with my knees. It is not nearly as painful as my groin injury was - well at least not yet. But this time, I know better. As an athlete, knowing when to slow down so that your body can heal itself, that's wisdom and putting yourself in a situation where you will always win.

Two week workout plan

So I tested out my knee yesturday at practice and I could not run more than 4 laps of the track. It probably would have been fine, except I swam afterwards (pulling the entire time), then headed over to the U-district fair where we spent 6 hours walking around. My knees were moderately achy by the end of the night.

As I am an injured athlete, I really feel I need a good workout plan for the rest of the month, here is mine:
Sunday: 30 minute run in the pool, 1000 yard swim
Monday: Movement prep & strength training portion of boot camp + stationary bike
Tuesday: Get to pool early for 30 run in pool + triathlon swim class
Wednesday: Movement prep & strength training portion of boot camp + stationary bike
Thursday: Get to pool early for 30 run in pool + triathlon swim class
Friday: rest
Saturday: Swim + outdoor bike if knees feeling good.

Plus doing my PT exercises everyday.

Grieving - the triathlete way

As a new triathlete, being able to train on a consistent schedule plays a very important part when it comes to building that confidence. Then when it is suddenly taken away, it can get very hard to cope. I felt like I am going through the same stages as I do when I grieve.

1) Denial: "Oh, I'll be OK. It doesn't hurt too badly. A little ice & rest and in 2 days I'll be back to normal."

2) Anger: "Why did I push myself so hard to put myself into this situation."

3) Bargaining: "Dear God, please make me better soon."

4) Depression: Today, I heard myself say, "What if I can't run my race. I really wanted to do that one."

5) Acceptace: I am at this stage now. I will be in the pool and biking. No running until I get better.

To track or not to track

My knee felt much better this morning. I had PT at 8am and Shelly showed me a lot of love by massaging my tendons - Ouch! Then she proceeded to give me a brutal butt workout, my gluts are so sore. Anyways, I got iced afterwards and my knees are feeling much better, not back to normal just yet though. So I guess I will not be going to track practice tomorrow and hoping that maybe I can bike on Sunday? I guess time will tell.

UPDATE: OK I just got a new pair of running shoes and I am dying to try them out. They are suppose to help my over pronation. The Brooks Ariel are in the category of motion control shoes that help people like me with really flat feet. I've been walking around in them for the past few hours and so far, I like them a lot.

Couch potato is not for me

Tonight I have the rare opportunity to catch up on episodes of Smallville. I can't believe I have missed so many of them! I just watched the season finale.

Anyways, my knees are still achy today. They were alright last night at boot camp where I avoided the run and took the stairs. I even went to triathlon swim class, but decided to pulled the entire time - one can never been too careful this close to the race. So I've been icing them like crazy today and foam rolling. I hopped onto my bike to see how they felt and it hurt. It looks like I will be swimming a lot this weekend and being a bit of a couch potato.

Knee Tendonitis

I knew escaping injury would be wishful thinking. This Saturday while doing some hill work I tweaked my right knee. Many people run through pain, but I have been injured enough to know that the shortest recovery comes when you catch the injury before it gets bad. On Sunday I did some swimming and my knee was fine. Last night we had boot camp and I tweaked it again during our endurance run but it bothered me a bit more than on Saturday as my knees felt like they were burning while I was sleeping last night.

This morning we had triathlon swim and I my kneed started to bother me after a few laps. Coach Michael said to just pull, so I pulled for the rest of the class. He also said, "Angela no boot camp tomorrow night. See what Shelley Hack has to say." I have my appointment with Shelley this afternoon. Meanwhile, I will not be running the rest of the week I think.

UPDATE: I've been diagnosed with knee tendonitis. My feet are really pronated so it puts more stress on those tendons. So some rest from running, lots of ice, hamstring stretches and glut excercises (clams) is what Shelly has prescribed for me. She mentioned that I can run in the water or try the stationary bike meanwhile.

Moch tri - race report

Today we had our transition and nutrition clinic. We were told to bring all our gear as we would be doing a mini moch triathlon to practice our transitions T1 and T2. I will post up meeting notes a bit later when I have more time to write them up. Basically, we would have our bikes racked up and a tiny area the size of a towel for our gear. We were to setup all our stuff on our towels - our running shoes, bike shoes, helmet, sun glasses, socks, bike clothes etc. After our gear is setup, we should head into the water and soak our wetsuits up so that they are nice and flexible for our swim.

Both T1 and T2 for our moch tri were in the multi-purpose pool area. I did not bring my wetsuit, but some folks did. We were all placed in lanes according to our speed, I was in the slow lane. So I'm use to being the slowest swimmer and usually I just go last and follow other people. But today, I was the fastest slow person in my lane and had to pass everyone. Now, passing in a lane is not that easy as it is sort of like passing a car on a one lane highway - in that you need to watch for on coming traffic. I had to "drop the hammer" to pass quickly. I seem to shave a few seconds off my time everytime I get into the pool.

After our swim, we headed towards T1 to grab our cycling shoes and towel off. I had my tri suit, so I didn't need to change. Then we headed up to the indoor cycling studio for our bike. After our bike, we headed to T2 to change into our running gear and did an outdoor run. Running seems to be my strongest out of the three - but it is not very consistent.

Anyways, this was not timed as we were focusing on the transitions. Overall I had a lot of fun. I was tired though. Emily and I were going to do the duathlon tomorrow then hit our bikes to make it a full sprint distance, but we decided not to do that. This is good, as I need a break.

Building character - the triathlon way

When I made the decision to train for my first triathlon, I understood that it would involve a lot of commitment on my part and hard effort. I was new to all 3 sports, thus I knew that I had to stay motivated to be successful. I had to WANT this.

Yes I have been fearful many times. This fear comes from an inner voice that whispers, "Angela, train hard, you don't want to mess up your first triathlon. This is not what you had imagined, not what you have dreamed, but it could happen if you don't put down 110%."

What I have come to understand is, if you slow down just a bit, you will realize that when fear rises, it will subside. What goes up, must come down. That is Karma. With this, I think I am learning to become more of a spiritual warrior - one that can accomidate fear, not run away from it.

Conquering my demons

Today in triathlon swim class we did timed 100s as our main workout. Coach Michael (who is a USAT tri coach) made us swim 5 x 100s and timed each one to get an average of our times. He said, said, "OK, Angela take off your fins." Today I really appreciated how far I have come. Two months ago, my swimming ability was such that I could probably save myself if I fell out of a boat - and if we were really close to shore. Lastly, I have spent many moments over these past 2 months fighting these demons that have fed me nothing but anxiety, doubt and fear.

So there I was, in lane 1 (because I was the slowest swimmer) thinking "Boy am I going to be so slow without my fins."

1 x 100: First 100 I didn't know I was suppose to time myself, I thought that Coach Michael would be doing that, but I thought that clock said 2:17 minutes. From the look of his face, I don't think he believed me.

2 x 100: This time, Cody a ProClub trainer I was sharing my lane with helped with my time and this one took 2:27 minutes. Cody was doing his 100s at 1:30 minutes - why am I sharing a lane with this guy? In fact, I think half the class can do 90 second 100s. I heard Michael Phelps can do a 100 meter in 49 seconds.

3 x 100: My third 100 took 2:19 minutes. Coach Michael timed it himself, he raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Hey, that's a good time."

4 x 100: My forth 100 took 2:21 minutes

5 x 100: My last 100 took 2:18 minutes. Coach Michael, was kinda excited said "Good!"

I was really happy after that workout. I was working hard, really high in my heart rate threshold but still managed to hold my ground. There's still time to improve, and now I see that I can only get better at this. I will try to get faster, otherwise I might be easy pickings for a trout with a bad attitude :)

Week in summary

The Issaquah tri is just around the corner so I have been training hard. Since I got back from my trip:

Friday: weights and 4+ mile run
Saturday: track workout (I ran a bit more than we were suppose to, I calculated 5 miles)
Sunday: rest
Monday: weights + swim
Tuesday: triathlon swim (drill day)
Wednesday: swim
Thurday: triathlon swim (endurance day)
Friday: outdoor run (3 miles)
Saturday: indoor cycling followed by an immediate short run, 26 mile outdoor Lake Sammamish bike ride (moderately hilly with a big hill climb at the end)
Sunday (today): rest...I'm so sore. I actually fell over because my cleat fell off my left shoe, luckily I was stopping so just ended up with some scratches. The screws of my shoes all came out and I had to pick up them off the road. On a good note, I was able to clock a PR on my speed, according to my bike computer my fastest pace was 51 km/h (31.7 mph) with the aid of a hill of course :) I was impressed that I wasn't scared.

I notice that I don't run or do weights consistently enough, so boot camp should help with that as I will force me to do that regularily.

I would say that the only set back this week was my dinner tonight - chicken club sandwich (grilled chicken breast, bacon, avocado, swiss cheese, no mayo) + french fries. I devoured it! It sure was yummy though. It's not what you do once in a while that determines your fate, but what you do in the long run. At least that is what I told myself as I stared at my empty plate.

Triathlete killed by shark in California

A bunch of triathletes were training off the ocean in California, one was attacked and killed by a great white. They estimate it was around 12-17 feet long. According to the article, the group of swimmers were wearing their wetsuits and were probably confused for a sea lion. He was only 150 yards off shore in 20-30 feet deep water.

They saw him come up out of the water, scream 'shark,' flail his arms and go back under," Hill said. "The flesh was just hanging."

On another note, I had once heard that in Hawaii, they have special devices to send out frequencies in the water to protect swimmers from sharks.

I can do it!

Yeah! I was able to keep up with the rest of the swim class today. I just told myself to relax. Coach Michael said, "that was the best swim I have ever seen you do." I was really slow but did all the laps without stopping or him having to adjust the workout to make it easier for me.

Warm up:
200 yards swim
200 yards pull
200 yards kick

Main Set:
10 x 50 yards swim (1:20 send off)
500 yard swim
250 yard kick

Cool down:
100 yard swim

Total: ~2000 yards (That's 40 laps people!)

@#$% you Gertrude!

My manager Sylvia and I side tracked a little today and we started to chat about my training. I told her that I was really frustrated with how my swimming has been going, that I was scared that I will not be prepared for my race in May. She said this, "Realize that you are there to learn, don't put any expectations on yourself. For some reason you do better when you think this way."
This made me remember why I wanted to do this, which was to be in the best shape I have ever been in my life. I knew that it had to challenge me or else it would not be fullfilling.

She said that she grew up in a family where there was a lot of expectation - this was the case for me as well. I remember when I was growing up, that if I came up with a 97% on my test that my father would ask me where I lost those 3%. I still remember the expression on his face and it really had an impact on me. I still have that voice that shadows me around. I've decided to give this voice a name "Gertrude." Whenever I hear this voice inside of me, I will tell it where to go - straight to hell.

Anyways, on another note we got invited to try out Boot Camp for free. Yep! I was going to sign up for it anyways, but never got around to it. Now that it is free I should sign up.

Rocks don't swim very well

Ouch, my shoulder is hurting right now. I'm still struggling in the pool because my pull has issues. Coach Michael told me to practice tomorrow and do 1000 yards alternating between kicking and swimming. I was very frustrated in the pool today - I actually teared up a little (luckily no one can distinguish tears from pool water). Looks like I will need to put in at least 4 swim practices a week until race day. I don't know what else I can do. I know I can get this, just that I need more time and patience which I sometimes feel I am running out of. I swear I must have been a rock in my former life, because that is how I feel in the water.

Vacation's over

I'm back from my road trip and it was a lot of fun! The Redwoods were absolutely stunning. So today, I moved into a new decade. Like turning 18, 21, 25, when you turn 30 it is a milestone. I would say that I am really looking forward to my 30s. I feel a lot more comfortable in my skin and I have a better sense of self.

Here I am standing beside the 297 feet Brotherhood tree at the Trees of Mystery in Klameth, Oregon. This gigantic redwood has a diameter of 19 feet! I think this tree must be at least 2000 years old. It has been standing before most of humanity's recorded history. Makes me feel really young to stand beside this giant.

Lake Sammamish ride

This morning Coach Michael took us on a 26 mile ride around Lake Sammamish. It was such a beautiful day, so I decided to do his ride and skip out on the CTS ride because I was a little worried that 55 miles would be a little much. I've never been very good at judging what I could handle and what I couldn't. Coach Michael said, "Yeah, Angela that 55 mile ride would have been too much for you. Your last ride was 36 miles, but the Mercer loop is easier than the ride we're doing now."

This was my first longer ride with my new clipless pedals and things went flawlessly. I had been practicing clipping in and out over the week. It feels pretty natural now. I actually discovered that it is better to keep one foot clipped in, so since I push down with my right, I keep that one clipped in and stop on my left foot. Overall, I thought the ride was super fun and very safe. There were quite a few rollers and one big hill climb from Marymoore to the Pro Club. That climb was really tough for me. Coach Michael thought that we averaged about 14 mph which is the fastest average pace for me thus far - keeping in mind that we were out on the open road not something easy like a the Burke. The last ride I did we average around 10-12 mph, thus this is a good improvement. Right now, I feel pretty good. Not tired at all which is great since I have to pack for my trip. Sand dunes, white water rafting, skiing, hiking here we come!

Blueseventy Synergie wetsuit

I stopped by Speedy Reedy and also called Everyday Athlete to get a wetsuit. I tried on the Zoot Zenith, Blueseventy Reaction and Blueseventy Synergie. They had a Blueseventy 2007 Helix on sale but it was a really small size.


http://www.blueseventy.com/products/synergie08.html

This is a new suit model for 2008. It has the same arm paneling as the Helix which makes it really comfortable. I know I definitely want to be comfortable during my swim.

My "AHA" moment

I just had a spiritual moment. I call them my "AHA" moments. For weeks, I have been worried - so worried that I will not cross the finish line in my first race. When you are training and working so hard - the idea of not crossing the finish line makes me nauseous to say the least. Then I stumbled upon this quote, "Behind every negative self-concept is the hidden desire of being the greatest or being better than others." This was really resonating because it surfaced the real reason why many of us think negatively.

What I really need to focus my energy is on the present - the now. My need to succeed has been draining me of my power and it has to stop.

The wheels on the bike on go round & round....

The wheels on your bike will keep spinning unless you have fallen over while trying to learn how to use your clipless pedals. This was the beginning portion of my experience last Saturday during our bike clinic. I was really nervous. Coach Josh was patient enough to watch me practice clipping in and out over and over again.
I look back and realize that I might have been over nervous. A wise person said to me that nervousness is an act of selfishness because you are making it all about you. This made me stop and think a bit. Was I being selfish?

After class, I went and practiced some more on the trail. It was fun and I was going much faster because the shoes make you more efficient with your pedal stroke.

We also learned how to change a flat and maintain our bikes. While practicing on my own bike I ended up pinch flatting my tire because I did not tuck the tube inside the tire completely. So I really had to change a flat tire now. One thing I noticed is how difficult it was to pump up the tire with a portable pump. I think I need to get me some C02 cartridges now.

Triathlon on Biggest Loser

I have a secret. I am a really big fan of Biggest Loser. There's something about the final weigh in that just keeps me hooked. Anyways, last night, the remaining contestants had to do a short distance triathlon in Austrailia: 300 meter open water swim, a bike then a run (not sure what the distances were) and the finish line was at the top of a really tall sky scraper so they had to climb the stairs to get to it. This is a pretty big accomplishment considering that these folks 12 weeks ago were 100 pounds above their recommended weight. They have lost so much weight, in such a short period of time. This cannot be healthy. I did read in some article that most of them gain their weight back after the show is complete. One guy said that after 1 week he regained over 30 pounds of water. They workout like 5 hours a day with their trainers. Kai, one of the contestants from last seasons show said that she would soak in a hottub for hours to dehydrate herself before the final weigh in. Unfortunately, the TV show knows that America is more interested in seeing weight loss than weight maintenance.

Anyways, my bike is in the shop for my 90 day tune up - free of course. I also told them that I had a really hard time braking because the levers are too far out and I have a really small hand. So Gregg's said they will take care of that for me. I then asked them about how to take off the pedals on my bike, as it was unclear to me and he said that if I brought my pedals they could install them for me - of course I left those at home :( Apparently I need some wrench, which I don't own I'm sure. I sure hope someone brings a wrench to our bike maintenance clinic on Saturday.