Spring on the mountain

Thanks to all of the rain this season, Mount Diablo is the more beautiful than I can remember for this time of year. I journeyed up the mountain a few times this Spring and have enjoyed the colorful canvas of wildflowers, particularly on the Northgate side as well as the Summit. Though the Southgate side of the mountain has breathtaking mountain views, the terrain is more rocky and too stressful for the more delicate flowers. You will see lupine and larger blooming brush that are well-acclimated toward the South. On the North you will see fields of mustard, poppies and lupine abound. If you listen, you will hear water rushing down the Mountain's natural culverts, and the water tanks are now at capacity. I can't wait to see the more hearty summer flowers later this year. I will keep you posted. :-)

What year is this?

Sometimes it feels like I've just stepped out of a time machine... Yes, it's been a while since I've posted anything, not saying I haven't been cycling... but I have some catching up to do with my bloggin'. I am planning to post more adventures soon. Some will be cycling, but I might throw in some other fun stuff just to mix it up a bit. For now I'll show you a pic from a ride we (me and my sweetie) did in 2014: Crater Lake. Actually we biked about 250 miles throughout southeastern Oregon and had a blast. I highly recommend it!  So enjoy the view and stay tuned!!!

One more Tri

I was rinsing off my wetsuit after Wildflower and realized I wanted to do one more triathlon this season. I found a really fun event in Pleasanton called the California International Triathlon and signed up for the Olympic distance. The venue is Shadow Cliffs in July and it actually turned out to be nice day, not too hot. Since this was the first event for USA Productions at this venue, there were some small glitches (like, not enough volunteers), so there were some lessons learned that day. The bike route had some funky turns and the run route was down-right strange with a couple of out and backs and probably some accidental extra mileage for the Sprint folks (ouch!). But all in all, it was a fun event. I finished in 3:01:16 and am finally getting my transition times under 5 minutes (there's no where to plug in a hair dryer, I've finally accepted that fact). My sweetie was there to cheer me on and that was the best part of all. =)

Back to cycling...

I would not have completed the Wildflower Triathlon without the training and support from my Team in Training comrades. I had never participated in a Half-Ironman before, and Wildflower is one of the toughest. I had a good swim in Lake San Antonio, I even felt good riding up "Nasty Grade," yet I did end up walking up the hills during the half-marathon as my legs started cramping up. But I finished! Yay! The whole camping thing with this event turned out to be a blast and everyone: participants, spectators, and volunteers, were there to have fun. And we did. =)

So, with a triathlon under my belt this year, it's time to focus on my cycling again as I get ready for Levi's Gran Fondo in October and Solvang's Finest Century in November. More miles to come....

Serious stuff

These triathletes are serious about working out, omg! Our first workout was a full range of dynamic warm-ups and strength training that helped me find muscles I thought I never had! Coach Dave literally had us on our knees begging for more (well, sort of).

As for the strength training stuff, I still can't do more than one push-up, nor can I even think about doing those burpie things, a little too much jumping around for me. While watching the other athletes with amazement, I've noticed that most of them have really cool workout mats and sweat bands and other awesome workout stuff. I have a pink beach towel. So I usually stand way in the back of the group and grunt so no one can tell I'm really winging it (don't tell the coach).

Nways, our training plan has us doing something for an hour just about every single day and I've got the "REST" days marked in RED on my calendar so I know when I can take a break. Today we did a nice bike ride around Calaveras and did what is called "Hill repeats" where we ride up the hill for about 10 minutes, turn around and descend for about 3 minutes, then turn around and do it again 3 more times. It sounds redundant, but it is kinda fun. It's even better when you do it with the team as you give a shout to a team mate both coming and going. But that's not all!!!! later today, we have do a 5-mile run so by dinner time I will have earned that beer!

I'm Back for more TNT in 2011!

That's right, I'm back for more! I was honored to have completed the Death Ride in 2010 (ALL 5 passes!) in my first season with Team in Training. This year I'm on the team again, and am training to participate in the Avia Wildflower Triathlon, on April 30th, in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. I chose the Wildflower triathlon since it didn't have the word "Death" associated with it. Not that I'm worried or anything......

The training proves to be an adventure in of itself, and I look forward to making some new friends in the process. I also plan to take in A LOT of calories and will keep you up to date. I encourage you to visit often. Be sure to post a comment to let me know you stopped by, and thanks for your support!

TNT Death Ride Team 2010

It truly was an honor to ride on behalf of Team In Training in the Death Ride on July 10th. After speaking with my team mates regarding their post-ride thoughts, at some point during the ride, each of us questioned ourselves, wondering if we were going to finish. But we were all finishers, completing the event to best of our abilities. We came together as a team and supported each other throughout the day. We were easy to spot, all wearing our lavender TNT jerseys. We became known as the "purple team" where the countless spectators along the route, even in the outskirts of Alpine County, were all shouting "GO TEAM!" as we passed. The spontaneous acknowledgement of the LLS mission was gratifying and pushed me along. It meant so much to me to hear a team mate shout my name, encouraging me as s/he passed by. Complete strangers would yell out my bib number, and say "You GO girl!" And the best part of all, was coming in to the finish, having completed ALL 5 passes, to the Team in Training tent where I was greeted with cheering and hugs from the TNT staff, coaches and team mates. What an honor!

On the drive home, it felt like I had been away for a long, long time. The fullness of event day: the people, the scenery, the emotions, and the grueling physical journey, just overflowed my mind. Though I am glad to be home, I will miss my team mates and hope we have a chance to share the road again soon.