non-bike

Andrea

Home this Weekend… and other stuff

Can you believe it? After going to going to (mostly cyclocross) races every weekend for the past 6 weeks or so, Ryan and I are actually not going anywhere this weekend.

Ok, so I was mildly tempted to go to Hot Springs for a Sunday MTB race…

…but I’m not feeling another road trip right now when we’re about to head over to the cabin in Mountain View, AR for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. I’m really looking forward to the trip.
In general, I’m pretty ready for this semester of school to be over so I can get into the meat of my off-season training. I plan on swapping my SRM over to my CX bike and taking it and my MTB over to the cabin and just staying there for most of XMas break (mid Dec-Jan). With those two bikes, I should be able to ride anywhere I please (paved road, gravel road, trail, etc). The goal is to build up to all-day MTB rides by the time the Spring semester starts up next year. This should be a huge step in readying myself for NUE and other races that start in the spring.

Andrea

Moment of Silence

Text messge transcript from a friend out in Cali who happens to be friends w/the guys @ Niner:

HW: Yo. Did Jens have Bikes Plus stickies on it?If so, I’m totally holding your rear triangle.
Me: OMG Yes!!!
HW: :P
Me: You can go ahead and overnight that Air frame to me- K THX!
HW: Wish I could
Me: That’s pretty cool that you got to play with my bike. Is it taken apart and thrown in the scrap pile now?
HW: I didn’t want to say anything but yeah, pretty much scrap piled. And I could only find the rear. They’re hammering the frames to death even if they’re new. Sad to watch.

Yes. Jens is gone.

Andrea

Weekend Prep

I’m about to do a little packing & hit the hay since Ryan & I are leaving in the morning for Fayetteville and the Beat the Freak cyclocross races. It’s been interesting to ready my food for the weekend since I’m still doing the “daniel fast” thing for two more weeks. I figured I’d post up a couple of roadworthy recipes:

Trail Mix:
1 can cashews
1 bag wasabi edamame (I think that “wasabi powder” is OK as an ingredient…)
Walnuts
Unsweetened dried Apricots, chopped
Raisins

Toss all of those into a Ziploc bag, shake up, and enjoy.

Brown Rice & Lentil Curry:
1 cup brown rice
1 cup lentils
1 box Pacific veggie broth
Red curry paste

Bring the broth to a boil and add the rice. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, add the lentils and a tablespoon of red curry paste (you can add more later if you want). Cover back up & simmer for 20 more minutes. Eat as is or add to vegetables or an Ezekiel-brand sandwich wrap (they’re yeast & sugar free) with some spinach & other “burrito” filling of your choice.

Along with those, some of my other staples include peanut butter & rice cakes, protein shakes, soy-crisps, Larabars, and various whole fruits.

Andrea

The Things I do for Science… and a Rant.

So I just signed up to participate in a research study that one of the Health & Sport Science students at U of M is conducting for his master’s thesis. For the study, I’m going to go on the “Daniel Fast” for 21 days- the purpose being to look at what chages occur in the body in response to this (see link for what this diet entails- it’s generally a vegan diet with some extra restrictions). Measurements include a full blood chemistry panel as well as bodymass/composition measurements before and after the 21 day period. It’s going to be tough, but, as you, the reader, know, I don’t mind things that are “tough.”

Now for the “rant” part of this post.

When I started looking for internet information about the Daniel Fast, I realized that it’s a religious practice. Ok, fine, whatever floats your boat or finds your lost remote… However, the more I searched, the more peeved I got. Nearly every website on the topic offers some sort of “guidebook” that you can download or get as a hardcopy for some sum of money. It’s pretty disgusting, because most of them advertise it in a way that makes it seem as though purchase of said guide will assist you to a higher plane of spirituality that you could not achieve otherwise. Bleh.
Along with that, I’m generally amazed at what a difficult time people have giving up “precious” parts of their diet like meat and sugar. Granted, I’m in for a hellish bout of caffeine withdrawal, but I don’t feel the need to seek out the assistance of a higher power to assist me in the process. Some of the accounts I’ve seen from people, though… you’d think they were on a true fast rather than one where the quantity (of a somewhat restricted type) of food is unlimited.
To each his own, I suppose. I mainly just take issue with the selling of salvation that is being passed off as righteous on most of these websites. Doesn’t seem right… but what do I know? I’m just a heathen…

Of course, I’ll post some updates as to how it plays out. It’s going to be interesting considering I’ll be doing a fair amount of travel and racing during the 21 day period.

Andrea

Uneventful

I heard someone compare life to baseball once. There’s a lot of waiting around for something to happen… followed by fast, exciting stuff, then more waiting around. Right now, there’s a lull in the action. So I figured I could sum up anything interesting that’s been going on with a quick list:

  • Ryan is trying out a Titus Racer-X 29er. I really hope he gets it so we can go on some trail-riding road trips this winter
  • Along the same line, my parents just bought a cabin near Mountain View Arkansas… it’s just a few miles from the Syllamo Trailhead, so that should be a great source of future entertainment.
  • Apparently the phenomenon of not being able to fart without someone talking about me extends past the city limits of Memphis.

papa

  • I’m hoping the weather holds off for a weekend of trail riding over in Arkansas- the plan is to meet a group at the Womble tomorrow then check out the CARP trails on Sunday. The rain may make it a road weekend in town, though. Which would be a little disappointing, but not too bad since I could definitely enjoy a weekend at home with my honey…

trail

Andrea

The Quiet Weekend at Home

After a couple of crazy race weekends, it was nice to not be traveling. I’d originally planned to go to the Devil’s Den Adventure Race, but turns out my high school reunion (Germantown High c/o 99!) was scheduled for Saturday the 29th, and, besides that, I still can’t run without my hip adductor starting to hurt. On Friday, Ryan left town for the River Gorge Omnium in Chattanooga.

Friday: after finishing up the shopping I needed to complete my “little black dress” ensemble for the reunion on Saturday, I spent a night out with friends at Flying Saucer. We ended up meeting up a little after 9:00, which, oddly enough, is about the time I start thinking about going to bed… FYI, Trois Pistoles beer is freaking awesome, and if any of my readers knows where to buy it in Memphis (other than in a bar), please tell me… or just buy some and send it to me. That’d be cool, too.

Crappy camera phone photo:
tres

Saturday: go to bed at 1:something. Actually get up and drag my tail to the Trinity ride. Luckily I think I wasn’t the only person on the ride to have a late night (early morning?), and the ride was just “hard” instead of “eye-bleeding hard.” My legs actually felt pretty good, but my brain wasn’t into it. I’d suffered so much the two weekends before, it was tough to convince myself to keep doing it. I stayed with the group nonetheless, though there was a bad wreck just after I split off at me street, and local legend David Lacek was badly injured (broken pelvis & ribs and a partially collapsed lung). He’s still in the hospital as I’m typing this, though he’s expected to recover & be alright.

That evening, we met up again at Flying Saucer for a couple of pre-party beers then headed to Falling Creek in Eads where the reunion party was being held at the mansion of one of my former classmate’s parents. Wow. It was really, REALLY nice! There was an open bar, too.
I’ve heard a lot of disaster stories about class reunions, and I wasn’t sure how this one would turn out. I was friendly in high school, but I generally kept to myself because most of my friends weren’t in my class (a lot were at other schools, too). However, when we arrived, everyone was awesomely friendly. I have to say, it was one of the most fun times I’ve had in a looooong time. Everyone was happy to see everyone, I got to see some old friends, and got to make a few new ones with people I hadn’t really known back in the day. It seemed like we’d just arrived when the music stopped… though it was nearly 1am. (again) Somewhere, there is photo evidence that I rocked the hell out of the Little Black Dress. I’ll post those when I find them.

There were a couple of after-party get togethers, but I opted for home. BTW- designated drivers are the most awesome people on earth…

Sunday: I didn’t bother to set the alarm clock, but ended up waking up a little before 7:00. Apparently the dogs did NOT go out & party the previous night, so they were up & pacing the bedroom floor when the sun came up. It was a little late to make the Outdoors group ride, and I didn’t have the mental capacity for a hammerfest anyway. So after a big breakfast, I headed out in search of gravel roads. I found a couple… I got some OK shots w/the camera phone that I’ll post later.

Then I found a bridge that was out between me and home. I had to detour to highway 64 though Oakland and ended up having to dodge traffic and ride on the sidewalk where I managed to run over something that ripped the bejesus out of my nearly new Conti Gatorskin. Crap. I made it home nonetheless, though my plan for ~60 miles turned into 81. Glad I brought that extra Clif bar along!
I got home around 3:30 and remembered that I had a Marx and Bensdorf team party to go to at 5:00. Yes. Another party. It was reletively sedate, though I did enjoy several Fat Tires in the process…

So that about sums it up. I haven’t been “out” so much in as long as I can remember, and I doubt I will for a while, but it was more fun than I’ve had in a while, and a great way to cap off a wonderful summer. Today, I’m back at school for the start of the Fall semester. Time to get back to work!

Andrea

Restless- Confessions of an Adrenaline Junkie

I think that the term “Adrenaline Junkie” is something that’s pretty cliched, but now that I’ve got excess time to sit around and think, it makes more sense.Â

With the exception of the torn adductor, I’m ready to get out and bend some cranks. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been this motivated to train. I want to shake things up on the MTB next year, and I’m ready to get started NOW. Something about the anti-inflammatory med the doc has me on (Voltaren) seems to make me feel a little crazy on top of being restless.

I don’t know. Maybe it’s the whole weekend experience that’s making me crazy. Here’s a quote from someone RBR about people that do ultra-endurance sports: “People do this stuff for the same reason heroin addicts OD…. they keep chasing the high and it takes more and more to get that high.” This is how I feel right now. If I can’t get out and ride my bike, I want to get in my car and do 100mph on the interstate or something.

After thinking that you’re going to die for even a fraction of a second, ordinary life suddenly becomes the most painfully boring thing you’ve ever experienced.

At least for me, it’s like that. Other people would probably just be happy that they’re alive (of course, other people wouldn’t have been going fast enough to wreck and think that they’re going to die during mid-flight). I guess that’s the “adrenaline junkie” personality type. I keep sitting here while my hip mends wishing that someone would bust through my front door and try to rob me just to add some excitement to the mundane. Maybe it’s a psychological side-effect of attention deficit disorder… certainly sounds less goofy than “adrenaline junkie”!

It’s why I’ve decided to go ahead and race the Oak ridge Omnium this weekend. I want to take my frustrations out on the race. It’s gonna hurt, but I can’t wait. Really- if I have to wait any longer, I’m gonna go nuts!!! So, it’s time to defend the TN State Champion Road Race title. I’m very much looking forward to it :)

Andrea

Kitty Integration

Chunky the Ninja Kitty is venturing downstairs a lot more now that she & the dogs are getting used to each other.

Her favorite place to snooze & hang out
Her favorite place to snooze & hang out
She also enjoys watching cars out the window
She also enjoys watching cars out the window

However, they still have their differences…

smackdown

Andrea

Nothing to see here for now

I know I haven’t posted for a while, but ever since I got home from my fouled trip to Arkansas, nothing has really been happening. I had a tough training weekend- I kept up with the Trinity ride on Saturday (until near the end when Ryan dropped me), which, even though a lot of the fast guys were “missing,” resulted in post-ride exhaustion (for those of you who use Training Peaks- TSS was 203.3 for the ~3hr ride).
Sunday, Ryan and I rode to the Outdoors ride and split off from the group to ride home across northern Shelby County instead of going back through town like usual. Taking the back roads meant no stoplights & little traffic, so we were able to keep the pace steady the entire way home. We ended up with 80 miles for the day, and I was beat! (Once again, for Training Peaks lovers, TSS was 279.1)

So that was my way of welcoming myself back to Memphis. I’m trying to be ready for the Fool’s Gold race on August 15th. I chickened out on the 100 and emailed the promoter telling him to move me to the 50 mile race. I haven’t trained enough to feel comfortable trying to ride that far through wilderness. Attempting a 12 hour on an “easier” course where the car/pits are no more than a mile or two away is one thing… trying to ride two 50 mile loops in the mountains of North Georgia is another animal. I’ve got to get my isht together and do some serious training before the endurance season starts back in full swing next year. I need to be fit on my MTB, too.

Today is rainy and dreary. I’m heading up to the Honda dealership in a few hours to possibly purchase a new Element. I’ll be trading the Fit. It’s been a nice car, but I’ll be getting rid of my car payment and getting something with more space (not complaining that the Fit wasn’t enough, because lord knows I could pack a LOT of stuff in there). I test drove an Element the other day- it was like driving a toaster. I’ll miss the awesome handling and insane MPG of the Fit, but other benefits of the Element win out. It’s got rubber flooring and for garsh sakes! I’ll post some pics once it’s in the driveway.