It's About Time


So...uh... I guess it's time to update the bloggy blog. Not sure if I'm going to keep this going. Facebook seems to be easier to post stuff and stay tuned.

I thought about completely closing this blog, but I don't want to lose some pretty funny stories. Maybe another rainy afternoon, I'll go find all my posts and copy them into a document. Hmmm

Oops! Computer is about to die. Guess I'll figure it out later.

Might I Race This Year...?

It's possible. I threw on the new duds and rode to the coffee shop. Then I continued riding to Swan Island for some crit intervals. My knee is little tweeked, but nothing Kurt can't fix.

Nationals Recap

Tuesday night, Jeanie, Nathan, Charlie, and I boarded Alaska flight 560 for LAX. Nationals. Finally. I had light expectations, considering the season I've had and my weak motivation lately.

Our house was a 3 minute walk from Manhattan Beach. The beach was not heavliy used, even on the first hot, Wednesday morning. Brian was surfing before most of us got up. I put it on my list of things to do the next day. That afternoon I did not have a race, so I hopped on the track for a bit to regain my bearings. It takes a few laps on ADT to shake the feeling that you're going to slip. This year's turnout looked to be light compared to the past 3 years I've been here. Brian, Nathan, and Mark put out a standing 250 and the rest of us... stood. And cheered.

Thursday morning, I spent more time in any ocean than I ever had. Jeannie, Mark, Brian, and I, along with our house quiver of 1 surf board and 2 boogie boards went down to the beach. It wa about 9:00am and 70 degrees! I had SO MUCH fun. I didn't let that evening's race affect my wave time. Nothing irrigates your sinuses like a few salt water waves crashing on your head.

The water romp must have been a good idea because that night I rode my fastest 500m. time on that track, 39.021. SO close to sub 39. Oh well. I'm far from fastest though, as that time placed me 9th. But I was content with a PR at the end of a blah season. Cari won her first gold metal of the week.

Friday morning, we were awakened by members of the other house, so I was a GRUMP. I big, nasty why-did-you-not-be-quiet-and-let-me-sleep grump. But after breakfast, Jeanie and I went to the beach again. The waves were grumpy and rip-like, so we mostly sat on our boards right where the water stretched and dug our feet into the coarse sand and absorbed the sea air. Very nice.

The morning's rage was released in my first heat of the keiren. I won the heat with quite a gap. I was confident going into the semi-finals. I got into a box- no problem, but right when I decided to crawl out, another rider bumped my onto the apron. Not a huge deal. Rubbin's racing, but it messed up my rhythm, and I finished 4th. 3 went to the final. Grrr. Then in the minor final, I finished 2nd behind Liz, which landed me 8th. We later found out that Liz was disqualified after a series of bogus calls, so I was placed 7th.

Saturday morning, my legs did not agree with the idea of going to the beach. Instead, I enjoyed it from the big windows of our kitchen. I hung around, ate lots of granola and yogurt, and made a spreadsheet of everyone's 500 splits. I also looked forward to the sprints that night.

Well, I think my lack of training this... year affected my endurance. I was TIRED- during warm up, while waiting to ride... and apparently in my 200 meter TT. I posted my official worst time ever on this track. 12.9 is .2 slower than last year, and .4 slower than the 3 times before that. Crazy. The 4th-7th qualifying times were all 12.9 something. Tight!

My first sprint was against Colleen. The first ride was very close- photo finish in her favor. The second ride was not as close, but she successfully sent me to the minor final in 2 rides. I wasn't too disappointed. I rode smart and did my best. She had quite a turn of speed and eventually earned a bronze medal.

As I was spinning on the rollers, waiting for the 5-8 final, a lady in a USADA shirt came up to Jeanie and I and asked who Heather was. "Guess what Brian, we're going to be here until midnight again. I have to pee in a cup." At that moment, I began drinking lots and lots and lots of water. I still had to race, so that bought me some time. After finishing my sprints, where I finished 3rd in the group to earn 7th overall, I continued to take in liquid and change bike wheels. Eventually, I decided to go with the lady to the super secret place. And in a surprizing short amount of time (read August 2005), I "produced." It helped to have the lady talk to me about everything else but peeing. I was back to the track in time to watch Brian and Dean in their keiren minor final.

So, all in all, it was a good week. I'm glad to have had successful races under all my circumstances. Cari swept the sprint races- 500, keiren, sprints, and I ahve to assume the team sprint. What a great birthday gift for herself. We hopped to 6:15 morning flight back home and I spent the entire day laying around and cuddling with kitties.

It's not a Bucket List


On the sly, I've discussed with a few friends my plans for the fall/ winter. They say, "Oh, like a bucket list." No, it's more like a "I've ignored it for 8 years and now I want to do other things than ride my bike...list"

There you have it. How did I get here? First, I fell off my bike last December... onto my shoulder. This injury put me off the bike for a while, but I wasn't too sad. Then, I caught the super flu in late February and couldn't get out of bed, let alone train, and I wasn't too worried (since at that time, nationals was, 1..2..3...8 months away.) Then I began my Mary Kay business in April. All those little white boxes and trips to the bank (to make deposits) are pretty intoxicating. When that happened, I set my training aside. Then my close friend's mother passed away and I began thinking about what I've done in the past few years... and what if it all ended tomorrow. Once the new Mary Kay adventure reduced to a simmer, I was struck with Guido, the intestinal demon that destroyed my system.

Finally by August, I was healthy, my business was underway, I was looking forward to a new school year, and...



I'm still not motivated to train.


At this point, I'm going through the motions. Ryan Triplett passed away last weekend and again, I"m reminding that it's a big world out there to explore and I need to get on it. I LOVE racing, but I'm not IN LOVE with the training anymore. I need to be IN LOVE with something to give it my all. I want my last hoo-rah at Nationals to be fun and worthwhile and I have the motivation and the spirit to hang in there and do the work for 3 more weeks.

This fall and winter, I'm planning to do all the things that I've put aside. Some are get-back-to's and some are want-to-try-them's. So, add my on your list to join you...

hiking
climbing (want to try)
fishing
quading
dating (you may need to help me supply the date)
riding- yes, i still plan to
snow shoeing
xc skiing
snowboarding- i have a little- 10 years ago
backpacking
camping
um...
dating
hash running
kayaking
ok, now i'm starting to visualize the floor plan at REI
rugby
football (i think)
dating
bbq
chili feeds
running- a little at first

I think that's about it. The point is, my goal is to be outdoors every weekend, and some weeknights from mid- October- end of February and beyond.

Call, email, post to my facebook, whatever!

A Fortnight Condensed

1. Began a new school year. So far kids are pretty cool. And we have a collection of 7th and 8th grade teacher assistants, so its nice to have help throughout the day. I've already changed 2 projects in my curriculum, and this reignites my motivation.

2. Kitties are still not friends. Nougat is totally into Pepper. Pepper wishes Nougat would go back to the pound. What a bitch. I'm trying to give Pepper her own loves, but she still won't get along with the little one.

3. My dear friend, and amazing cyclist, Jennifer lost her husband on Sunday. Ryan was rock climbing and fell. My heart is breaking for her. I love you very much, Juice! Ryan was your perfect partner and a funny ass story teller.

4. My other friend and racer extraordinaire, also a Jennifer (Featheringill) won the match sprints and 500m. TT at Master's Nationals. Great job keeping it in the Alpenrose family! Woo hoo!

5. I've made the decision not to train seriously this winter. I'm going off a formal training program. I want to ride still... for fun and fresh air. I might get back into a program next spring, maybe not. It's time to chase other activities. So if you hike, campy, ski, sled, walk, boat... invite me any weekend after Nationals! My goal is to do something active and outdoors every weekend possible.

Cat Attacks Mouse- Only in Bedroom.

The latest is that Pepper has a "private" area in the spare room. There is a big rubbermade tub that blocks the way to the room/ bathroom (not that Nougat couldn't jump it), that Pepper seems to feel is a good barrier. She is sitting on top of it. If Nougat walks by and pauses or even looks at her, she cat growls at her. Yes, I read all th website about keeping them separate and putting new cate in a separate room. But now that Nougat has been here a couple days, it throws a different dynamic in. Now Pepper is sort of like the intruder. These videos were taken from the other end of the hallway. Notice how Nougat only daudles with the play mouse in the hallway. Then she picks it up and carries it into my room before the beating begins. It's like she doesn't want to play in from of Pepper or have Pepper take her toy.

P.S. Made my first meat loaf tonight. When the recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of onion, do not add more. Too much onion not good

Guess who was crying to get inside when I got home from the track today? Pepper. She was a little pissed when, as she was eating, I little kitty came tip-toeing into where she was. Since she was gone for about a week, she was pretty hungry and now pretty tired. 20 minutes later, she has fallen asleep in the spare bedroom. And as long as Nougat stays out of the room, all is balanced in the world for now.

The track racing has been fair to good lately. Last week, I qualified for nationals by getting 3rd in the 500 with a 40.7. I also did a team pursuit in order to help a couple of other ladies qualify in the endurance races. Yesterday was Masters State Championships. This time,my 500 was on par with others when I've been in shape 40.35. I really cannot complain. I didn't even really like my start and my quad is still a little weak. Then I got 2nd in the sprints and 3rd in the keiren. I'm back.

Hey, this is Pepper. I snuck on to give my 2 cents on the new pooty tooty. I am not happy! I am free to come and go as I please. So flippin' what that it was a week this time. I'm 3 years old. I can do whatever the heck I want. So I finally decide to come home, since I was famished and there's a stupid burnt marshmellow meowing and following me around. Right now, I'm bathig myself and she is watching me. If she gets closer... I'm going to have to remind her who rules this place!

"New" Gut

Don't worry this has nothing to do with my digestive system....

Nougat came home with me yesterday. She's a Blue Point Siamese and Domestic short hair mix. She came with the name Esther, but I wasn't keen on that one. Jeanie and Courtney came over shortly after we came home to go for a ride and eat dinner. We rolled around the names Dulche, Mak Pao (coconut in Thai), Coconut, Praline... All were either harsh, too long, or lame. Since we ate a Tiger's Garden (Thai, Loasian) we asked the guy how to say coconut in Thai. It sounds a little sharp for a cat. So late last night I was trying to think of other names that were creamy and fluffy. Mmmmm... Nougat.

I originally went to the Humane Society to see if Pepper was there. She went outside over a week ago and hasn't come back. If she does come home, she's in for a surprise! So after not finding her amount the 40-50 cats there, I spent some time looking at the dogs. There were a couple that stuck in my head. I finally decided that between school, training, racing, and Mary Kay, I don't have time to walk, run, hike, and love on a dog. Maybe once the season is over. Also, I got a little upset, almost crying a couple times- somewhat because they were there, and a little because I kept thinking of Sadie.

As a side note, later, when I was adopting nougat, 2 of the dogs that I stopped a little longer at were getting adopted too, so I didn't feel so bad about leaving them behind. Yey for Buster and Porter!

Then I went over to the kitty ward. Nougat was the second one to catch my attention. She didn't say much, but when we took her out of her cage, she was very cuddly on me. And after 5 minutes, she was in no hurry to get off my lap. Of course, now that she's home, she's all over the place and doesn't care too much about me. And in the time that I've written this note, she's found a head band... and a tennis ball... and my duffle bag.... She obviously has a big day ahead!

She just noticed that I was talking about her and wants to say. "aau4lq2[nlfjyf" as you can see below.