2Jules and a Bike

Team CARD (Iowa) 2011, Cyclists Against Reckless Drivers

2011-01-04T21:46:00.000-05:00

Team CARD now has 8 great members, JS, JH, JA, JF, PD, EK, SM and JG. How is that for giving you names...:). We are a very diverse group which is great. Some of us race some of us do not. Some ride only mt bikes, some only road bikes and some of us ride whatever we feel like. We are a group of ladies that likes to have a good time.

During the year besides riding we hope to spread what CARD is all about, educating people that cars and cyclists can use the same road AND get along.

Below are what I (JG) am thinking about as goals for the year:

BRR - February
CIRREM - short - February
Elkhart TT's April - August,
Urban Assault - August
Chequmageon 40 - Sept ,
cyclocross Sept - October
Aquabi ?
bike support DSM marathon. - October
I could be talked into swimming for a Exterra team.

Will I get them all accomplished I don't know, I might take some off and add new ones. That is what is so much fun the ability to change your mind. :)

There will also be many many gravel, road and mtb rides. We are hoping to do a Full Moon ride on Fridays and Saturdays when there is a full moon! We will also have the Women's Friday Night rides to Cummings to harass Bob. :)

Stop back often and see how things are going for the new CARD Women's Cycling Team.

Until then PEACE

New For 2011

2010-12-21T13:42:00.000-05:00

It is hard to believe that 2010 is almost over and 2011 is almost here..where does the time go. I am not going to bore you with all of the things I did this year here is a quick update:

4 Elkhart TT
Swam for an Exterra Team we got 3rd.
2 MTB races 1 was good 1 was bad
7 Cross Races 3rd overall in 45+ catagory for the Scheels series.(pays to do all of the races..:))
Countless hours of riding, supporting, heckling and just being the basic nutcase that I am.

Ok that was 2010 here is what is on tap for 2011!

A New Womens Cycling Team in DSM. The Julie's have been talking about this for a long time, starting another womens cycling team in Des Moines. We had tossed around the idea of a womens BikeIowa team however that was not feasible at this time, so after more thinking and stressing JS hit on a perfect team. Team CARD Iowa. CARD stands for Cyclists Against Reckless Drivers.... Team CARD was started in Arizona by Steve Donaldson. Team CARD Mission is "Make our streets a safer place to ride and bring public awareness to reckless driving"

Julie S. had chatted with Steve a couple of times and after she told me her idea to ask Steve if we could start an Iowa Chapter I was like "Go For It" and that is how we are starting Team CARD Iowa. Steve have been very gracious in helping us get things going. Team CARD Iowa is even getting it's own unique kit, in place of the pink we are going to have Lavender.

So far we have 7 women who have said yes to becoming a team member. I know that I am thrilled with the prospect of what Team CARD can do to bring awareness to the recklessness of some drivers.

That is all the news for now, until next time Peace!

A Fall Review

2010-11-07T21:18:00.000-05:00

When exactly is Fall: Sept 21st - Dec 21st. I learned that in school and that is what I go by...

Ok now that Fall has been established onward...It has been a very busy Fall. The cyclocross season is very short and intense. The Scheels central Iowa Cyclecross series started the last week of Sept with Capital Cross and ended Oct 31st with Spooky Cross. 7 races in 5 Weeks, with a couple of weeks with no races. My goal was to do 3 of the races. I ended up doing all 7.

Capital Cross started the season out wet and muddy while Spooky cross ended it dry and bumpy. Inbetween we had to battle the dutch letters at the dirty wooden shoe, the long and winding course at Altoona Cross and the crowds and lights at Oakley Night Cross. I can say I have learned to ride in all types of weather, on all terrains and day or night. I noticed that my riding, bike handling skills and finess have improved from last year. I do cross to keep a base level fitness.

In amongst all of the cross races i did a MTB race..Ahquabi, it was alot of fun and I plan on doing it again next year. I also was support again this for the DSM Marathon. I was given the task this year of guiding and supporting a visually impaired gentleman around the course. Karolyn Zeller help me. It was a very rewarding and enlightening experience. Never let anyone or anything stop you from trying what you want to try.

Mixed in with all of that was trying to keep that house going and working. Keeping a clean house has failed miserably. I will admit that I was getting very tired before Spooky Cross and by the time it was over I was exhausted. My mind and body are both very tired. So I decided that Spooky was my last cross race for the year. I will be at State Cross and Jingle Cross heckling and cheering but not riding.

Taking up my time now is play practice. I am doing the Christmas play with the Newton Community Theater, they are doing Mrs. Bob Cratchets Wild Christmas Binge. It is a parody of a Christmas Carol. of course I am Mrs Bob Cratchet. It is a fun part. I will do a play every two years or so. I plan on trying to ride outside all winter if possible. if not i have the trainer in the basement. I have a few things that i need to work on before next year. Hopefully I can get them worked out.

Have a great Fall everyone!

Until next time Peace!

Mountain Biking

2010-10-19T21:45:00.003-04:00

I have found a new love in Mountain Biking. I thoroughly enjoy being in the woods, not worrying about cars and trucks buzzing me while on the road. Even with my multiple bruises all over my legs right now...I'm ready for more!

This winter will be lots of gravel riding, spin classes, running, and swimming. Kind of like training for the Tri's again, but with the goal of being able to climb those hills on the Mt Bike courses SO much better!

With the ultimate final goal of joining in on the Cyclocross fun next year! I thought I'd do sprint tri's again in 2011, I'm just not ready for that route again yet. Maybe in another year or two...right now I want to ride my bike!!

JS

Chequamegon 2010

2010-09-20T10:26:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was the Chequamegon Fat Tire festival. Last Feb I kept hearing how fun Cheqy was so I decided at the last minute to sign up and hope for the best. Well I got a lottery pick so I was going to Cheqy. I had no idea what i was getting myself into. Cheqy is a 40 mile MTB race. I asked around trying to find out the best way to train. The one thing i kept hearing was ride Ahquabi by Indianola, well with all of the rain it was unridable. So I rode gravel ,tried to find as many hills that I could and hoped for the best.

I was so wrong, I did not train correctly at all. I was so out of my league that they should have thrown me off of the starting line. ok I need to back up. Friday I meet up with Dave, Dee, Maria, Heather, Karolyn and Kim in Ankeny and we car caravan ed to Cable to pick up our packets and do a test ride.

We got there to early for packet pick up so decided to ride first. We were going to ride the last 3-5 miles of the course to test our legs and test the bikes. The Saturday before I had broken a chain on one of my training ride, Bill got it put back on and I took it out for a ride Tuesday. It held fine so all was good, right?, wrong. The last few miles of Cheqy are very hilly off road. I was going up the hill and had my second "oh Shit" moment in a week, the chain broke AGAIN. I could not believe it another broken chain, I got the chain off of the bike and started to walk to the car which meant pushing the bike up and down hills. Heather stayed with me bless her heart until the mosquitoes go to bad. Many gentlemen stopped and offered to help however I needed to walk and think things out. I did not have another chain, I did not really know what to do. I was crying at this point because I was so frustrated. By the time I got back to the car I told them I was packing up and heading home. I actually told Kim that If I left then and went home I would never get on a bike again. All she said was " I know". I called Bill ,he had no idea why it would be breaking, he talked me into going to the TREK tent and seeing if they could fix my chain.

I took the bike to the TREK tent asked if they could fix the chain, thinking they would fix my broken chain, however the mechanic took the bike and put a new chain , a step up from the one that I had on, then proceeded to make sure it was adjusted correctly. He only charged me 20 dollars for the chain nothing for his labor but I gave him a tip. I am sorry to say that I didn't get his name. He said that this was his 18th year of either riding or working Cheqy. I went to pack pick up got my stuff and ran into the rest of the group, they were happy to see that I had at least picked up my packet that I had not given up yet.

I found out that the way you save your spot in line basically was first come first serve, So Dave, Dee, Kim and Karolyn got up at 4 am and set their bikes at the starting line. Maria and I decided we did not expect to win so we waited until 8 am to set our bikes, it was an incredible site to see all of those bike flipped upside down.

Dee and Daves' Tandem doing it's own thing...

very fun to see all of the bikes upside down.

The race started at 10 so at about 9:40 they had the "Bandit Patrol" remove any bikes that did not have numbers on them, then at about 9:50 they had them remove any bikes that were not occupied. They have this down to a science. After the National Anthem was sung they did the count down.5 4 3 2 1 *BOOM* and we were off, kind of, it took a little bit to get back to us but not more than a minute. You just had to hold your line otherwise you were getting ran over. The start of the race is about 3 miles of pavement until you get to Rosie's Field which is grass, next is Berkie Trail......I put Cheqy into three sections, Gravel, dirt/rock trails, and the Birkebeiner cross country ski trail. The Berkie as it is call is a cross country ski trail that hosts many activities thru the year, running races, Fat Tire Festival and various cross country ski races. Do not let anyone tell you "oh it is a cross country ski hill it cannot be that tough". It was hell. I have never had anything sap my energy so fast. It didn't help that Wisconsin has been getting rain so it was like riding on an energy sapping sponge.

It usually takes my legs a few miles to warm up and the thighs to quit hurting. They never quit hurting, I rode up some of the hills and walked others. I was walking more than I normally would however i was riding on an untested chain and didn't want to push my luck. I soon found that for me to even make forward progress on the Berkie trail i needed to put the bike in the granny gear, so I just prayed that the chain would hold.
The chain and bike did great. The rider(me)sucked. I tried to ride my own race take it easy breath easy, however there was no breathing easy on this trail, I would catch up with people on the gravel and the mud, rock trails however I would just die on the grass.

I thought that I could just take my time poke my way along. However that was not to be either at about mile 14 I started to hyperventilate going up hills, I am sure my heart rate was well into the 200's which is not good for an old lady like me. I knew that we would cross hwy 00 which was at mile 16. Once I got there I sat down and was done. I could barely move, my legs were burning, my heart was racing and I was toast. I had done 16 miles of a 40 mile race and was done.

I caught a ride with a very nice lady to Cable, found Heather our Sherpa/pack person, changed my clothes and cheered everyone else in. It took me 2 hours to get to mile 16 as I was sitting there waiting for a ride to Cable I heard their radios crack that the person in 1st was at mile 39, the winner did it in 2 hours and 9 minutes.

Chequamegon is a test of endurance, strength and mental fortitude. I had none of them Saturday, I was very unprepared. Was I discouraged, not really. When we hit the grassy fields I knew that I had not trained right and that I was in for a very long day. When I started to hyperventilate and had a hard time breathing I knew that I was done.

I can say that I did start the raced after I wanted to just go home after the chain broke on Friday, I had every intention of finishing, however It didn't happen. I plan on being there next year to conquer Cheguamegon. I have even booked my room at the lodge I stayed at this year for next year.

So what do I need to do diff:

1. I need to lose weight, I am carrying to much weight
2. my hydration pack was way to heavy, I need to lighten the pack
3. I need to get back in the pool. I need that cross training.
4. find sand and just ride through it getting my legs use to the energy sucking terrain
5. I need to ride Aqhuabi over and over again.
6. keep riding gravel.

It seems that for some people competing comes easy, it does not for me, alot of times i have to force myself out the door. I get really nervous and anxious. So for the next few months I am just going to try to relax ,enjoy cyclocross and work on base fitness.

Fun Cheqy take aways :

1. Met John and Phil from Minneapolis great guys who looked me up after to see how I had done then informed me I was going to do it next year.
2. The people are very friendly and helpful.
3. I can do the polka with a stranger from Chicago.
4. Spotted Cow beer is wonderful, so I now have a case of it. :)
5. What a fun group of people Dave, Dee, Karolyn, Kim, Maria and Heather. Dave and his women! They had us me laughing.
6. Heather and Maria make good roomies for a weekend.

...there are more but sometimes you just have to keep it to yourself...:)

My pics from Chequamegon

Cheqy didn't beat me it just set me back a little bit! Just wait until next year.. :)

Peace

Gravel and stuff

2010-03-23T20:56:00.000-04:00

I am taking a different approach this year to riding. I have always ridden road bikes, I like my road bike however with all of the car vs bike issues going on road riding kind of scares me. So I have taken to the gravel. Living in Newton, working in Pella and being from Pella I know alot of gravel roads. I have been trying to map out different routes which has been alot of fun, Hopefully I can get some of the ladies to drive down from DSM to ride some of them with me.

Since I made my decision to not do any triathlons this year, I seem to be more relaxed. Which to me means that it was the right decision.

Latest Greatest:

About froze my butt of saturday at the Colfax gravel circuit race. I was a stop sign on a corner. I think that I might have found my calling.

Sunday I rode the Chill - i - ride, this is a ride put on by the CIC, central Iowa cyclist. We got to ride around the race track. I rode 1/2 of the way with the group(I had to get a cookie or two) then took off and scouted out some gravel roads. I am finding out there a ALOT of hills around here but I knew that.

JS and I are now officially signed up for sun, mon and tues of RAGBRAI. Watch out world the Julies' are on the loose.

I have been uncovering my plants, it was a long winter for them. I think they are happy to get the mulched leaves off of their little stems. I am also trying to decide what to grow this year.

I am still swimming twice a week and actually running more now then when i was training. Figure that one out.

That is about all for now...until next time PEACE!

FUN FUN FUN

2010-03-20T21:35:00.002-04:00

Looks like that is what both of us have in tune for this year! I think it is well deserved for the both of us. We had a couple of years of working hard and I think everyone needs to take a break from the work.

I would like to do a couple sprint tris in 2011, we'll see how I'm doing with everything after this year! I may like the fun factor instead...we'll see!!

Look for the Julie's havin' fun at races and cheering everyone else on!!!

JG's 2010 Goals

2010-03-13T19:08:00.000-05:00

*DRUM ROLL*

To Have Fun! Plain and simple Just to have fun.

I want to do more off road riding,
Mountain Biking - hone my skills (ok they need ALOT of work)
RAGBRAI is on the calendar with JS
Get the girls together once a month for a gravel ride, different place and route each month.
CycloCross!!!

No Individual Triathlons, I am not having fun doing them, so I am taking a year off and will reevaluate it next year. I might go back and I might not, Only time will tell.

So there you have it JG's 2010 goals! A little late but better late than Never...LOL.

Peace

Life throws you challenges...

2010-02-14T22:34:00.002-05:00

...run with them! That is what I need to do....now to actually implement it! This winter has been hard on me. With a full schedule of work and school, then throw in the 50+ inches of snow we've received, it's been REALLY hard to motivate myself to do anything. During the week has been pretty much studying and maintaining my house. Since the snow started to fly I can count on my hands the times I've been outside for exercise:

Dec. - weekend before Christmas while at my sister's my wonderful husband made me go out on a 3 mile walk/jog.
Jan. - Got out one Sat. and helped my Mom shovel/snowblow and then played with my daughter and the dog. Also got out for a walk/jog another Sat.
Feb. - BRR bike ride

I really think that is all, in my mind I can't think of anything else, but then again my mind is a little out of it lately......PATHETIC!!!!

My plan for this next term (Feb 24-Apr 21) is:
Mon/Wed night - class until 10pm
Tues night - Wii Yoga with my daughter or roller skating, whichever sounds more appealing for the night and the budget.
Thurs night - STUDY!!!
Fri night - family night.
Sat/Sun - find time to study and get some form of exercise each day, whether it be going to the Y for a swim or forcing myself outside for a walk/jog or bike ride. I HAVE to start doing something!! For mine and my families sanity!

Send me a message if you are heading out for a ride and don't mind an OUT OF SHAPE person dragging behind!

6 Months to Hy Vee

2009-12-29T20:57:00.000-05:00

I started the 6 month training schedule yesterday the 28th. I am not sure at this point if I am going to do Hy Vee for sure however If I decide that I do want to compete I want to be on schedule so to speak.

The first 3 months I will be just doing base fitness. My fitness is still fairly good from the Fall cyclocross season but one can alway improve their fitness. I need to enjoy getting my body in shape, instead of thinking of it as a chore.

The second 3 months build up to the triathlon. It is more intense than the first 3 months. I have used this schedule for three years now. It has worked well for me and I am sure it will work well again.

That is all for now..

PEACE

Happy Holidays and some reflections on 2009

2009-12-06T22:59:00.000-05:00

CycloCross season is over, it was a wonderful experience and I am having post cross depression. I will admit that It needed to be over for me. I could feel myself getting wore out. Cyclocross helped me get a good base fitness that will carry over into my triathlon training for next year. i have not decided on what I want to do next year but right now I plan on doing only 1 triathlon and that will be Hy-Vee. I need to finish it to prove to myself that I can. I would also like to do more Mountain biking and the Elkhart time trial series. None of this is set in stone they are just thoughts.

Here are a few thoughts on this past year:

Competing is at least 50% mental. If you are not mentally tough it will not matter how fit you are.

The Pinks are a great group of ladies. They are warm, caring and fun.

EVERYONE needs to do the Muddy Buddy. You cannot help but have a great time when you are covered in mud.

CycloCross is addictive and the riders are wonderfully crazy people. My theory is that it is hard to hide who you are when you are turning yourself inside out for 45+ minutes.

Cyclists have nice butts :)(That one is for you Paul)

We are ALL winners if we give it our best shot.

Life is not a dress rehearsal...DO IT NOW! Don't wait for tomorrow.

God works in very mysterious ways!

I want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday and may your 2010 be everything you wish.

PEACE

Fall Activities - CycloCross

2009-11-21T21:29:00.004-05:00

Wow I have been neglecting this blog, sorry about that. So what have I been doing this fall i can sum that up in one word..CYCLOCROSS. I started to do cyclocross, I have been a spectator for two years and decided to give it a try this year. What a incredibly difficult sport but what a BLAST once you body quits hurting.

My summer really stunk triathlon wise i just didn't have the base fitness. I thought that maybe cyclocross would help. It helped ALOT. Riding at 170 HR for 45 minutes can do nothing but help your base fitness. I could tell I was getting stronger as the season went on. Every Tuesday night in Sept and Oct, I would fly home from work feed the cats, change clothes then head to DSM for practice. We had to stop in Nov because it started to get dark to quick.

I have met alot of great people that I hope that I am friends with for a long time. I missed JS, she didn't get to do the practice due to school, however right now school and her family are priority and I can certainly understand that.

I did learn that there are enemies of cyclocross riders...ACORNS. They are evil little nuts. I was out practicing, minding my own business and WHAM 2 acorns took me out. The little suckers body slammed me. Talk about stunned especially because I wasn't even under an acorn tree. I think they migrate to throw people off. I had the biggest darn bruise I have ever had, proof below. This happened the first of Sept and I can still feel it, but at least I dont look like I have big celulite pocket anymore.

I have done 3 races so far, the technical part still makes me nervous but I am getting there. Next week I am doing two races at Jingle Cross. I take it easy and slow but at least I am trying.

So that is a very quick update. I have not decided on next years plans. I am still thinking about what I want to do. I do know I am doing HyVee and I am finishing this time.

Until next time...PEACE

Where did I go....

2009-10-03T15:13:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I ask myself the same thing. I don't have much to post about exercise as I don't have much time right now. I'm definitely feeling the effects of it and am itching to find something to do.

I work 35hrs a week. Go to school for 12hrs a week. I also need to study, keep Alexa entertained, spend time with Kyle, and maintain my house. Did I also mention that if I don't get at least 7hrs of sleep I am a wreck!!

Here is my week:
Monday - work till 5, with Alexa while Kyle gets a ride in, Alexa in bed by 8, I have to study and would like to fit some exercise in.

Tuesday - morning class, afternoon work till 5, with Alexa while Kyle rides, Alexa in bed by 8, I LOVE Biggest Loser (maybe trainer during last half) homework assignments during show and after.

Wednesday - work till 5, class until 10

Thursday - work till 5, class until 10

Friday - work until 5, would like to have a night with family, but feel I need to study, most times forgo studying.

Sat/Sun - clean, bike races, study, sleep(catch-up)....hard to make a schedule when every weekend is different.

only take about 45min lunches, and some days need that to study.

Any suggestions??

Something A little Different..

2009-08-05T21:52:00.004-04:00

Sometimes you just have to do something a little different and this is exactly what JS and I did this past weekend. We participated in the 10th annual Muddy Buddy in Gilberts, Illinois. Now I know you are scratching your head going "What is a muddy buddy". Well I am here to tell you that it is a blast.

Here is a quick overview:
- two person team
- One starts off biking the other running. The bikers start first then 3 minutes later the runners.
- there are 4 obstacles, when the biker gets to the obstacle they do the obstacle then start running, when the runner gets to the obstacle they do the obstacle and start biking. So you leap frog every other obstacle. the obstacles were 1. a climbing wall 2. Balance Beam 3. a canvas slide 4. army net that we had to crawl under.
- Now here comes the muddy...before the finish line you have to wait for your buddy and army crawl through a mud pit...yes a mud pit and since we were the last wave, there was 16 waves, The mud pit was muddy.
- Each team has to have a name, me in my creative genius chose, Muddy Buddy Virgins. I know real original. So we dressed up as brides. Did I say that there was a costume contest?

Before:

After: The muddy gentle men in the photo is our friend Dan who came support us and take pics.

JS and I carried cameras so here are pics..I hope you enjoy them.

On the way home from Chicago we were already discussing next years costumes. We are always open for suggestions.

I will let JS tell about her experience...

Until next time..Peace..JG

Hy-Vee and I'm a winner!

2009-07-18T18:41:00.002-04:00

First off, I never posted about my Hy-Vee Tri swim. I was really nervous going into it as my back had been out of whack all week and I hadn't made it to the pool/lake as much as I wanted. I went in with open as a mind as I could muster up.

Once Julie and I arrived at the transition area, I found Kristin's bike and made sure I knew exactly where to run to for our FAST transition. I found some of the people I knew that were participating and wished them luck and then headed to the beach.

My first intention was to get a good warm-up in, but then decided against it when I got down to the beach and there was a nice cool breeze that if I was wet would have had me shivering all my energy out! Since I had 30 minutes before my wave, I stretched my arms and sides and tried to loosen up a little that way.

Once our wave was ready to go, I finally felt ready! Ready, set, GO...I stayed to the outside and got a good start in. Round the first buoy and got ran over by a BIG guy! A little composure and back off on my way. It was feeling really good and I thought I was sighting pretty good. Let's take a few side strokes and see where the buoys are and make sure I'm on track...CRAP...I'm way too far from the buoys!! As I start angling in I ran into a bunch of guys doing backstroke, back out to get around them and angle in again!

I finally got closer and headed around the last buoy, so with the last stretch left I try to kick it in, once again getting off track on the sighting...NOT my DAY!! I finally hit the beach and book it into transition. I about collapsed while Kristin was taking the time chip. I look over and she is trying to put it on backwards...I help her quick and off she goes!

Final swim time of 35:40 (1.5K)...not too bad, but not as good as the year before.
Kristin rocked it on the bike with a time of 1:10:14 (40K)
Kelly kicked it in the run with a 1:02:15 (10K)
We ended 14th out of 53 teams!

Second, I am a Winner! I posted a comment on Steve Stenzel's blog and won a supply of Monkey Drink mix! Here I am with the winnings and my first go at a Monkey Drink, I will need to add more flavor next time, but it was good! JG will be getting some of the supply too...since we do share this blog!

Hy Vee in the books

2009-06-28T22:32:00.004-04:00

Well things never go as expected and for me the Hy-Vee was no exception. It is my first DNF(did not finish). I felt good in the swim, I took a little side trip which didn't help my time. I started sighting the wrong booy. OOPs. but I got back on track. Since I DNF I do not know what my official time was because they did not post the swim and bike however my watch said 32 minutes. I am happy with that.

Out of the water and on to the bike, I started out slower this year, I did it on purpose. I wanted to get my legs warmed up before I started to pound them. Up Grand I went I found out that I am a better hill climber than most, I was passing people right and left. I guess riding into the river bottom does help. On the top of the first hill I was met with the sight of the "Hecklers", most of the biking hecklers had been out riding and drinking all night. So they were pretty well wound up, and one even had a speedo on, I will refrain from naming this speedo wearer to protect the identity of this wife and daughter..:)who have to put up with this speedo wearer. After the Grand hill the gound was flat for quite awhile. I was going between 18-19 mph. we had a slight head wind. I would pass some people, people would pass me. People would ride by yelling "go pink biker". Go to love the All9Yards pinks tri kits. About 2 miles from the turn around the hills started again, they were long and fairly steep. On the way back I started to crank it a little harder. I was going between 20-22 mph. Nice little tailwind. My shoulders were starting to ache really badly, i need to ride the tri bike more to get use to the position. Well back to Grand Ave and the Hecklers. Julie Hugo was cheering and yelling as was SS. I is nice to see your friend yelling for you. I think I did the bike in about an hour 20-24. I am not unhappy.

Now the Bike to run. I knew that this would not be good, I was not feeling energetic at all, i just wanted to stop. So I get my bike racked, my calf sleeves put on and head off to the run. I waved at Julie, Bill and my mom, sister, niece and nephew, then trotted on down the trail. It was miserable, my hips hurt, my stomach would not settle and I was thirsty. I tried not to drink to much water because that did me in last year. I ran maybe a mile then walked. Once I started walking I knew that it was over. I just could not get any kind of rhythm. The cycling hecklers were now the running hecklers. They cheered me on but It didnt help much. I was talking to myself about what to do. I really didnt want to walk the whole thing. It is a tri Swim, Bike and Run. Not swim , bike and walk. So I decided to hang it up. I have tried to starting listening to my body more. As I was walking back I ran into Kyle, Rob, Joe and Kurt. They tried to talk me in to walking it but I had made up my mind. I was done. No tri finish for me. I got a ride back to the park with a nice gentleman with a golf cart. Then went and found Bill. He felt bad for me but knew the issues that I have been having with my legs he was surprised that I stopped but not that I was having to walk.

I am upset with myself but at the time it was the right decision for me. I need to reevaluate how I am training and eating. I was having a hard time this year getting my mental attitude ready for this race. I was much more excited about it last year. Will I do another intermediate tri, I don't know. I hope to keep doing sprints.

I need to work on my nutrition, my stretching and my running. I need to maintain my swimming and cycling. I also need to lose weight.

I want to say I failed. I did fail in my mind but I tried and it was not to be. Life is full of disappointments you just have to deal with them.

JS also participated and did great. I will let her tell you about her adventures.

Thanks for checking in... until next time PEACE

Hy-Vee Tri...here we come!

2009-06-25T21:32:00.001-04:00

hopefully...my back is all whacked out right now...lots of ice and rest before my swim on Sunday!

JG is once again taking part in the whole tri....she'll do great!!

Come on out and watch the fun!

Win a $75 Gift Cert!

2009-06-16T21:50:00.002-04:00

Want to win a $75 gift certificate? Check out Steve in a Speedo, read the blog posts and find out how! Onlineshoes.com is using his blog to give one away!

His blog is funny and inspiring all at the same time!

Pigman Sprint PR!!

2009-06-10T22:17:00.002-04:00

JG and I headed over to Cedar Rapids with Alexa on Sat. morning. We arrived in time to eat lunch and then head out to get my packet and check out the water! After arriving at the lake and seeing how windy and chilly it was, we opted to head back into town and see what we felt like doing. Stopped at the grocery store for some needed items and then headed back to my in-laws. We were both pretty lazy, but all of a sudden, Julie popped up and said, I need to go run and you need to do a little something today! OK, OK, I'll go for a little jog with you. We had a nice 2 mile jog/walk and then headed out for some pre-race pasta.

With my alarm set for 5am, I quickly fell asleep, only to be woken by a thunderstorm about 4am! hmmm...not getting back to sleep anytime soon! The rain stopped about 5am and I got up to eat my oatmeal and get ready.

Off to the course by 5:40, we arrived and there were already a bunch of people there. I didn't get the spot I scoped out the previous day, but at least there was room a couple spots in from the end. Transition set up...after 2 trips back to the car for stuff! I was pretty out of it from being up so early!

Off to the beach to warm up and get ready for this race! The water felt good at 67degrees. I wore my sleeveless wetsuit and it was perfect!

This particular race started with a time trial start. Each wave lined up in the shoot with a person going off every 3 seconds. It was nice not to have to fight for a spot in the water. I swam a solid swim and didn't once run into anyone!

Out of the water my legs felt like jelly, a slow jog up to transition! Off on the bike and my legs just felt really heavy and it didn't help that we had to go uphill out of the park! About 3-4 miles into it, my legs are finally feeling better. Into Palo was about the halfway point, so I downed my GU and some water and pushed out of town back towards the park. Big hill up to the park entrance...but wait, we keep going...so it's down the hill, around to the turn around and back up the hill into the park...my legs were not liking it at all...not a good sign for the run!

Slow transition so my legs could loosen up a little and I headed out! My goal, run all the way to the mile water station! I did it! Slow to a fast walk to drink my water and off jogging again. A little walk up a little hill about 1/2 mile down the road. Jog the rest of the way to the water station again, this time, just slow down the jog a little and keep going while taking more water. Run another 1/2 mile and walk for a minute to slow the heart rate. Jogging again...dang...one more hill, walk up that....dang, there goes another in my age group! I'm not going to lose her...I keep her in my sights. As I head down the last stretch I hear people cheering and I decide to finish hard and catch that girl! About 20 yds to go I meet up with her and say: "come on...let's go!" She didn't follow, she let me have it.

It was a great race and I am really happy that my run and swim were good. Kind of sad that my bike time was slower, not sure what was wrong with my legs for that!

Here are the official times:
Swim - 500yds - 9:57
T1 - 3:38 - it is a pretty good run up to the actual transition, I didn't start running until about halfway.
Bike - 15.5m - 52:47 - avg 17.7mph
T2 - 2:01
Run - 5K - 32:43 - avg 10:32pace
Total - 1:41:04 (last year was 1:44:30)

My swim, T1, and run were faster than last year. My bike and T2 were slower. Oh what could have been done if all were faster....1:39??

I am happy with it!

Bluff Creek in the books

2009-06-01T22:29:00.005-04:00

For a fun, training-workout for the day it went good! My fastest time in a tri last year was 1:44:??.

I had a great time, let the "serious" swimmers have at it, helped some girl with her gearing into the wind during the bike, and had a good walk with JG on the "run"!

Official times are:

Swim: 14:31 - I do believe that includes the LONG jaunt up to transition. My watch said 11min when I checked it out of the water.
T1: 1:51
Bike: 52:23 - 15miles
T2: 1:20
Run (walk): 32:27
Total time: 1:42:33

That put me 10th (13 total) in my age group and 44th (51 total) overall in sprint women. I am very happy with that and am excited for Pigman Sprint June 7th!!

JG did great also...I will let her post about her race experience!

Ok i am a little slow but I finally made it for my update.

Swim: 10:48- my watch said 9:13 so I am not quite sure where they took the time but I am ok with this.

Bike: 49:05 - 15miles

Run (walk): 39:25, I need ALOT of work on my run, my leg did start to hurt again so I decided to walk most of it because of Hy Vee coming up. A couple of weeks ago I pulled a muscle in my left calf and dropped a table on my foot. Not a good thing to do.

Total time: 1:42:43

I am happy with my results. I tried to be more relaxed and enjoy the experience this time. I was better but need to work on that more. Next up for me is Hy Vee on June 28Th. So the next three weeks i am going to focus on the bike to run transition and just the run to see if I might be able to get something going.

Thanks for reading. Until next time. Peace

Bluff Creek Triathlon

2009-05-26T22:58:00.002-04:00

This Sunday is the Bluff Creek Triathlon. You can either opt for the Olympic or Sprint distance. I myself am a sprint distance person! I am using this tri as a workout/run through to make sure I'm good and ready for the Pigman Sprint Tri on June 7th.

I'm still nervous and excited all at the same time. My swimming has been lacking, but I swam down at Gray's Lake on Monday and it felt OK. I'm feeling much more confident in my biking and running this year, so hopefully that goes better.

Last year my Pigman time was 1:44:30. I would like to beat that time this year and I'm hoping Bluff Creek will give me a good idea of where I am at in the 3 elements.

JG is also doing the tri...I believe she is also using it as a training tri. Check back for race reports!

With Regret

2009-05-02T09:32:00.006-04:00

It is due to this thing called life that i am having to say that I am scrapping all of my goals for the year. That includes all of the tri's. JS I will do Muddy Buddy with you, we are signed up and I think I can get ready for that one.

I do not have the time to train seriously for the triathlons which if I am going to do them I want to be in the best shape that I can be in. There are just to many others things that need my attention right now. So I am just going to back away for awhile.

It really hurts when someone that is suppose to care about you and support you Does not and only cares about themselves. I need to step back and evaluate things to decide what is best for me as I go forward.

I will still exercise, I need that to relieve stress and for just general overall health.

Maybe if God shines on me I will be able to put my goals back in however at this time I do not see that happening.

UPDATE: I went on a 35 mile bike ride today. nothing like a ride to clear your mind. I have decided that what I need to do is to evaluate each event as it gets closer. I will look at the event and how things have been going for me about a week before and decide if I feel that I am ready. I know that it is a mind game but for me this relieves the stress and pressure of YES YOU ARE DOING IT TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN..NOW NOW NOW..I get enough of that at work.

I will keep you posted as to how things are going.

Until next time...PEACE

Healthy Living...

2009-04-29T21:47:00.002-04:00

I use a healthy living site to help me keep track of my exercise and food consumed. It has really opened my eyes to what I am putting into my mouth. Yes, I still eat things that are "not good" for me, but I now do in way better moderation! In doing this, I also have a better idea of when I need to consume more calories because of the exercise I've been doing. It's amazing how many calories one can burn on a bike ride or a run. I ruined one HRM while swimming so now I just use their calorie estimator for my swim workouts. I'm guessing they are pretty close.

Anyway...I started in Jan 2008 and was 175lbs and am now at 160lbs. It's amazing how 15lbs can make a difference. Last summer I actually got down to 155, but with medical issues I had a relapse and gained, so now it's a quest to get down to 150lbs and keep it off, while keeping my body well fed for training! It's a great site and when I need extra motivation I just visit one of the "teams" I am on, or post a blog and get all kinds of encouragement and words of wisdom from people all over the US and Canada!

This year I bought the day to day calendar. Here are a couple of my favorite items from the last month, some are no-brainers, but it's always nice to have a refresher:

1~Make yourself a priority. Are you always doing for others but neglecting yourself? Your goals are important and you deserve to take time for yourself each day to achieve them. give yourself the attention and love that you need!

2~Drive away from the drive-thru. When you're at the bank, pharmacy, or fast food joint, park and run inside to complete your errands. You'll get a fitness boost (and save gas too).

3~Swap whole for white - grains that is. White flour, bread, rice, and pasta are highly processed and low in nutrients. Whole grain varieties are packed with nutrients, fiber and filling power.

4~Know your "red flag" menu words. Avoid restaurant items described as: battered, bottomless, breaded, buttery, cheesy, country, creamy, crispy, fried, giant, loaded, smothered, and stuffed. These are signs of a diet disaster!

5~Fill up on fiber. Found in fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans and nuts, fiber will keep you fuller longer and reduce your risk of a variety of diseases. Gradually increase your daily intake to 25-35 grams for best results.

6~Don't expect perfection. You will mess up, make mistakes, and forget along the way. The key is persistence and a willingness to learn from your mistakes. Focus on what you have done right instead of what's going wrong.

7~Spread the Spark to others by living as an example. Use positive peer pressure by practicing healthy habits in front of others, and they'll be more likely to do the same!

I have posted my race goals to the right....time to eat even better and track my fitness to get me more motivated!

Trying a different type of training.

2009-04-18T21:57:00.006-04:00

I know it has been awhile since I have posted never fear I am still training. However the past 10 days I have done a different type of training. Landscaping. I decided last fall that I needed to do something with the decorative grasses in the backyard, they were huge. So The Thursday before Easter, I took off work to start digging them up. They were brutal. I think each of the grasses weighed at least 50 lbs. Did I mention that they were huge grasses. About 6 feet tall and 42 inches round.

Grass chunks. This pic shows only 2 1/2 of the original 12 chunks. I broke each chunk into 1/4's. So each of these chunks produces 4 little starter grasses.

There were 12 of those, then 5 smaller grasses. I didnt start out with the intention of digging them all up however once I got going I kept digging. Bill came out to help, he dug I pulled. Finally all were out of the ground and lined up along my neighbors garage. At that time I decided to move the weeping pussy willow tree. I didn't like where it was...can you see what is happening here.. it is like the snowball rolling down the hill effect, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger...

Here is a before picture it is actually a couple of years old however it give you an idea of how close the grasses were.

Another before pic. The big grasses are the ones that have a tan color to them, they take longer to get going in the spring.

So once again Bill dug and I pulled. Quickly moving it to it's new spot. The guy at Earl May said I can move it but do it now and do it quick. I think this was because it was already starting to bloom.

So now I have an empty landscape bed and another 1/2 empty. After some looking and thinking it was decided to make one bed for the tall grasses and the 1/2 bed for other stuff. I should back up a little. I needed to move the grasses because they were so big they were covering up my pussy willow and weeping cherry trees. The trees were fighting for the sun.

After Picture, this shows the pussy willow and cherry trees. I also moved a bench down.

Each of the big grasses could be split in 1/4's so that would be 12 x 4 = 48 plant able chunks...I used 6 of the 48 split chunks.

After Pic, These 6 grass are all that I kept from the original 48 split out chunks.

The rest I gave away. I took the little grasses, split them moved them up along the house.

Before

After

I took a couple of little fire bushes that were in front of the house and moved them down by the pussy willow tree. Then bought a Whipcord bush. That was the only plant bought for this project. This was all done on Thursday and Friday.

Whipcord bush..turns gold in the fall and winter

Saturday I started putting the rocks around the landscaping clocks. Did I mention that I had dug up all of the landscaping blocks and raised them. They were to low and once raised I noticed that I needed more rocks. The rock went round the house by the grasses that I had just planted and around the fire pit.

So we had 4 tons of rocks delivered. So with wheel barrel in hand I trucked over to the rock pile and proceeded to haul rocks. I did that for about 2 hours till my back started to hurt. So I switched to spreading mulch. In the beds that I had just redone.

On Easter Sunday I figured I needed to get a bike ride in so i rode my bike to Pella, then to the damn because we were having Easter at my aunts. Of course I fought what felt like 25mph winds all the way down. I about gave Bill a call a couple of times, but since I am very stubborn I kept going.

Monday I took the day off, Tuesday I hauled rocks after work, Wed, Thurs and Friday I hauled rocks. I finally hauled that last of the rocks Friday night. I celebrated by drinking 1\2 a bottle of wine. So today Sat the 18th I was going to go for a nice ride and run. I woke up "lame" I had strained a muscle in my left leg throwing rocks. So today was basically a light duty day.

I am anxious for everything to start growing and flowering. I am thinking it is going to look great. I will post more pics once things start to grow.

How does this all pertain to training....It is much more physical than biking, swimming and running. Hauling rocks, toting grasses etc is great training. I am ready to get back to my tri schedule it is way easier than this.

Until next time..PEACE

Not a Julie...but I couldn't resist posting...

2009-03-21T23:32:00.003-04:00

So with 2 parents that live an active lifestyle and growing up around bicycles...here is our future cyclist in the making...by the way...she loves to swim and run too!!

From Hotwalk (2008, no pedals) to...

Hotrock (2009, with pedals)...12" version!
I'm sure next will be 16" and up and up and then a road bike, and a then a tri bike....ohhh, I better start putting more money in savings!

Muddy Buddy...

2009-03-06T23:12:00.003-05:00

...what the heck have we got ourselves into...

MUDDY BUDDY

a whole lot of fun is what that looks like we've got ourselves into!
We are taking part in the Chicago Muddy Buddy! Who wants to join us?

Hello Hello Hello

2009-02-14T23:05:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone I am still around. It has just been awhile since I have posted. It is amazing how there are just not enough hours in a day. Well I started my official tri training on January 1st. I have a schedule that I follow. 3 months of base building then 3 months of training. I have it timed out to the Hy-Vee triathlon on June 28th.

Hy-Vee will not be my first tri this year I am doing the new Bluff Creek Triathlon on May 31st. I am going to use it to judge just how well my training is going. I also signed up again for the Hickory Grove tri in August. I did the sign up for both get a discount deal. I will take all of the discounts that I can get.

I am already stronger this year at this time than i was last year. I am focusing more on my running. I will never be a great running but I think that I can manage 10 minute miles and if I do that I will be completely happy.

JS and I joined the All9Yards Women's cycling team so we are now officially "Pinks". I will say i was hesitant at first. Except for JS, I train by myself and am a loner in some ways. So going to the team setting is scary for me, however all of the meetings that I have gone to so far have been great. The "Pinks" are a great group of ladies. I need to just remember that we all are interested in biking and women's health so enjoy the company.

As you read in the Post below. JS has been busy already this year..WAY TO GO Jules!!! She is starting off great. I know that she has signed up for Pigman and I plan on being there as her support crew. Pigman is the first weekend in June.

There are a few other races I would like to do this year besides Tris. I would like to do the Elkhart Time trial series, I know that there is the snake alley criterium and one thing I would like to see the team do is get a time trial team together, and do the state team time trial. Then this fall give the cyclocross races another chance.

oh JH also joined the "Pinks" so there ARE three Jules...JS, JH and JG. So if you yell Julie you are more than likely to get a response.

Keep following your dreams dont let anyone tell you that you cannot do something..

Until next time..

PEACE

Ice Breaker Tri "official" times....

2009-02-14T19:56:00.001-05:00

The swim was timed by one person watching both people in the lane and looking at the watch when we told them we were done....this might be perfected a little better for those really wanting to compete. The girl next to me in my lane finished after me and they said her time was 4:55, but they had my time as 5:00....hmmmm.....anyway, here is the "official" results.

Swim: 300 yds = 5min
Bike: 7 miles = 14:57min
Run: 3 miles = 36:48min

Total time of 1 hr 3min & 45 sec.
So that gives 7 min for both transitions.

It was fun and for a good cause. I just hope that the people that were there for a competition got the times they wanted and thought they had.

My first Tri of 2009!

2009-02-09T21:38:00.002-05:00

Yep, you read it right...I already did a Tri for 2009!

Sunday Feb 8th was the Ice Breaker Tri at the YMCA to raise money for Partner with Youth. I usually have the Y take funds out of my paycheck, but this year I decided to participate in different activities for my donations.

The Tri was a 300yd swim, a 7 mile bike, and a 3 mile run. Now after doing a true sprint tri outside, I was a little bummed she didn't shorten the run a little too! As you all know, the run is my worst!!

Anyway, it was fun, I used it as a workout for the day and used it to gauge how my running is right now. Well, let's just say....my running SUCKS!! Will definitely be adding some more running days to my workouts.

Not sure on exact start to finish time, but my approximates are:

300 yd swim - 4:50
7 mile bike - 14:30
3 mile run - 36:00

Ahh...let the training begin, as my registration for the Pigman Sprint on June 7th has been mailed!

2009 Ideas...

2009-01-21T21:59:00.003-05:00

...here is what I would like to do for 2009....

Pigman Sprint
Swim for Hy-Vee Tri
Hickory Grove Sprint
Cy-Man Sprint
Elkhart Time trial series
Race like a Girl series
Dirty Du

This way I get to do my Triathlons, some road racing, and a little Mt. biking with the Dirty Du. Not sure if I will do the whole Dirty Du, or recruit my sister to do the running. We'll see how my fitness level is and if anything happens medically with me in the next few months!

So now it is time to make a weekly plan and STICK TO IT!!

So it Begins

2009-01-12T20:46:00.002-05:00

The off season is over. Today is the start of my 6 month training schedule. 3 Months of what they call base fitness, then 3 months of building until the HyVee on June 28th. I am having a difficult time getting myself excited. I really do not know what is causing this issue. Hopefully I will be able to work through it.

I will be posting my progress as I go much as I did last year.

thank you for your support!

PEACE

Multisport Clinic

2009-01-03T23:08:00.003-05:00

Today i went to a multi sport clinic that was held at the Pella Swimming pool, It was sponsored by Sterling Physical Therapy In Pella and was taught by Tate Behning. The clinic was from 8-11. The first thing that we did was introduce ourselves so Tate could get an idea of what our experience was. It was basically a beginner group. There were a few people that had done multiple multiple tri's before.

I will just go over a few things that he said.

Three training zones.

1. Aerobic - Comfortable enough to talk. Your heart rate is below your target.

Swimming - Long sets 4 x 400's with a little rest in between,you can swim continuous however that can get boring.

Bike - 2 hour bike ride

running - Long runs 40+ minute runs. It does not matter how fast or slow as long as you do it.

2. Threshold - Mildly uncomfortable

Swimming - 10 x 100 10-15 second rest

Bike - Hour ride with 30 minute tempo riding

running - 15 Minutes tempo during 30-40 minute run.

3. V02 Max - Hurt - no more than 1 per week per discipline

Swimming - Broken 200's (50 hard 10 sec rest repeat)

Bike - 4 x 5 min rest 5 minutes

running - 400 repeats slow jog 200 between each.

The above are just suggestions but you get the idea.

Other Items discussed:

-not a big fan of weight training. He believe in doing the strength training with in the discipline. Using paddles in the pool, cycle in the big gear, do hill intervals.

-CORE CORE CORE...you have to build up your core. Sit ups or however you can.

-Avoid High sugar drinks such as Gatorade. Look for amino acid, b vitamins, complex sugar drinks, minerals etc.

-It takes 30 minutes for your body to absorb water, Tate said he basically stops drinking about 5 miles from the end of the bike portion. Then will only take small sips if needed. (he is talking sprint and intermediate distance tri's)

Tate then went over a few drills etc that we were going to do. Then in the pool we went. Did it go well...well not my best swim but it was a good experience. I am not sure how far we swam it was at least a 2000, I lost count. I was totally drained by 11:00. I did learn that I am dropping my elbow so I will need to work on that.

Almost everything that Tate told us for drills, repeats etc I have been doing because it is in my schedule. That made me feel good. I just need to work a little harder. I know I need to work on my core. It was a very useful day.

For those interested next Saturday is the nutrition clinic at the Sterling office. I will be there unless the roads are bad. We are suppose to be getting an electronic copy of the notes of if you are interested let me know and I will send them on..

PEACE

What is in store for 2009?

2009-01-01T12:38:00.002-05:00

In all actuality I really don't know for sure yet. I have a doctor's appointment the end of January and the results from that will determine what I will be able to do. After that appointment I will actually sit down and figure my goals for the year.

In reality, I would like to do Pigman, Hickory Grove, and Cy-Man again. I would like to find at least one more sprint tri to add to the mix also. Kristin Reese and I are already talking about our team for Hy-Vee again this year also.
JG and I are now a part of All9Yards Pink team, so some bike races will need to be on my list also! Will definitely want to try a couple of the Elkhart time trials, the Race like a Girl series, and a Mt. Bike race or two!

But...for right now, I'm going to try and start exercising again, ibuprofen may become my friend, and get back into shape.

I bought Jillian Michael's 30 day shred video. I LOVE the Biggest Loser and would love to have her as a personal trainer. I've heard great things about this video and am anxious to get started!

We are also on the hunt for a Wii Fit. Once we have one, I'll be up in the early AM doing fitness and yoga with it! If I can't motivate my butt out of bed, then it will be at night after Alexa heads to bed.

As for cardio, I need to get back into Kyle's Bikes and catch up on the indoor cycling league. Got a little behind with my medical stuff going on. I also plan on doing the Sat. AM spin classes at the Y and picking one night to head to the Y for a swimming session.

We'll see how this works out...wish me luck!

2008

2008-12-23T20:36:00.006-05:00

It is true what they say the older you get the faster time goes. Which is not really possible, we just get busier and do not take the time to stop and enjoy life. I had set goals for 2008 and am happy to say I met them. I was going to write about the goals that I met however I think that there are more important things to write about.

During 2008 I lost a few friends. 2 of them were 4 legged and furry and 1 was someone I had meet back in 1981.

Bill and I lost Charlie our cat on Feb 29th. Charlie was 17.5 years old. I adopted him when he was about 6 weeks old. On November 28th, I had to make the decision to put our cat Sophie down. She had wondered into our lives 12 years before so we do not know how old she was. Sophie was quite a Sophie. They are both in a better place now, however I miss them.

Just this past month a friend Mark passed away from cancer, he was 47. He had cancer and thought that it was gone, however it was not to be. He is also in a better place.

Why am I telling you about this? we seem to keep our feelings to ourselves and then when someone passes we tell everyone else about how much they meant to us. What good does the do, the person being talked about is gone and will never know. So I decided that it is time to let a few people know that I appreciate, love and care for them.(I am not including family members)

Julie S, what can I say who would have ever thought the first time we rode together on BRR that we would end up doing so much together. I value your friendship immensely. No matter what we do we have fun and you are not afraid to have fun. I know that I can always count on you to give me your honest opinion. I look forward to many more fun times ahead.

Dan A. When we you first started talking to me I was like "who is this snot nosed collage kid and why is he talking to me". Thank you for all of your help with my swimming and for being patient with me on our runs. You never once got mad because I had to stop and walk. I enjoy your company. Oh by the way have you signed up for HY-Vee?!.

Mindy, this past summer is when we started to hang out. You, JS and I always have fun when we are together. Be it biking, a girls night out, or just cheering everyone else on at a race. I know that we have alot more fun times ahead. Thank you for your fun, sweet self.

Julie H. I had seen you at races and knew you were SS's other 1/2 but never talked to you. It is alot of fun when You, JS and I are all together then people ask our names. Julie, Julie and Julie. It freaks them out! You will need to get a cross bike so you can do some races with the 2jules. I also admire how much you and SS do for the biking community. Keeping BikeIowa going. I know that is not a small task. I hope to do more things with you in the coming years.

There is one last person that I want to mention, I dont even know his name. He is an older gentleman that rides the cross races, has a mustache and is usually towards the end of the pack. Why do I mention him? He always has a smile on his face, and he says "Have fun that is what it is about having fun". He is right it is about having fun.

There is a saying that I think says it all. "Life is not a dress rehearsal". We cannot go back and make it right or try something that we didnt. We need to live each day to the fullest.

I hope that 2008 was good to you that you got to try something new, spend time with friends ,family, and just took time for yourself.

Here is to 2009, may it be everything that you wish for!

PEACE

JG's Fall Project

2008-12-14T21:18:00.001-05:00

I have been doing something that does not deal with cycling andor Tri's for the past 4 months, click on the link to find out what I have been doing.

The Julies' at Jingle Cross

2008-12-01T23:24:00.002-05:00

Julie Anne, Julia Ann and Julie Ann having fun at Jingle cross

Cranksgiving

2008-11-22T23:46:00.004-05:00

JS and I participated in Cranksgiving today,what a blast. I picked up JS and we headed over to Mars Cafe on University where the race started. We were there early so we had coffee and hot chocolate before we registered. I would say that there were about 100 bikers in all. About 5 minutes before 1 all of the participants had to place their bikes by the "garages" and then go and stand next to the wall. There we were given our list of "12" items that needed to be purchased from "12" different stores. JS and I were not even going to try to make a race of this we were aiming for DFL. Once "GO" was said you ran to your bike and away you went. Did I mention that it was snowing pretty good at this time. I am not exactly sure where we were going so I just followed JS, and went where she went. You could not help but get into the spirit of the adventure. We would ride and run from place to place. It was fun watching the people reaction to all of "those" cyclist. It almost looked like RAGBRAI was in town at some stops there were bikes everywhere. I had the BOB trailer so we piled the heavy items on that and put the rest in our backpacks. On the way back to Mars cafe we decided it was to cold to try and get DFL so we unpacked our stash and went in to warm up.

All of the items collected are to be given to the Food Bank of Iowa. It was great to see so many familiar faces, they had a great turn out and had some great prizes to give away, JS won a gift certificate to a place in Ames, and I won a 12 pack of Bud Light. JS had just said to me "You are going to win the beer", I replied "Probably" then they picked my name. I told JS and JH that it was beer for next weeks Jingle Cross.

This is just a very quick over view but they say that a pic is worth 1000 words so just check out the pics below and you will see for yourself how much fun we had.

Just a quick note there are 4 Julies' that bike it is great if we are all together and someone asks our name and we all say Julie, or if someone yells "Julie" and we all look. There is Julie Ann, Julia Ann, Julie Anne and Julie Ruth. otherwise known as JS, JG, JH AND JV.

JH enjoying herself

JS being a nut

The truck with all of the items.

JV having just a little too much fun with Cam :)

Sunday night it is on to Tour De Lights...wait till you see the full costumes of JS, Mindy and JG.

This holiday season do something nice for someone less fortunate than you, it is good for the heart and soul.

PEACE

What are U doing next weekend?

2008-11-16T17:08:00.011-05:00

If you are a cyclist and enjoy doing charity rides, then you should have a busy weekend coming up!
JG and I are participating in Cranksgiving (details somewhere on the link) on Saturday. We know we don't have a shot at 1st place, so we were thinking we would go for the DFL category! We even have a strategy in place!

On Sunday we will be riding for the 2nd time in the annual Tour de Lights, to benefit Make-a-Wish, down at Waterworks park. Last year we went as Rudolph, Santa, and an elf. I was Rudolph pulling Santa (Alexa) in his sleigh, and JG was our elf helper. We won 1st place in the costume contest and are busy getting our costumes ready for this year.
Mindy is joining us in our festivities this year and has the same spirit of the costumes...it's going to be GREAT! Here is a sneak peak of what is to come....

Hope to see you at one or both of these events!!

JG here just got done with my Helmet.

I know I know I look like Raggedy Ann on LSD...What can I say you live once you might as well have fun. I hope that Cranksgiving is not to cold because I do not dare take this off of my snowboard helmet..:)(snowboard helmets great for winter riding). I have my helmet safely tucked away. My kitty Kats were a little to interested in what was on the helmet for me. I can just imagine coming home and finding ribbon remains all over the house.

Come out and join us for Cranksgiving and Tour De Lights this holiday season!!

Peace...JG

The Power Of Pink

2008-11-07T13:40:00.006-05:00

Go anywhere now a days and you will see the color pink. It is on shoes, purses, hats, scarves, cars... you get the idea. Aside from being considered a "girly" color it is most noted for being the color of Breast Cancer awareness. If by chance you have been living under a rock here is the Susan G. Komen Story.

The Julie's started a thing that something on each of their bikes had to be pink! It started with the Pink Terry seats and grew from there!

JS story/list of pink...
I have always had a passion for the Breast Cancer Awareness. A good friend of mine had her mother survive it, a couple of former co-workers have survived it (one went on to lose her battle with bone cancer), and then finding out my husband's best friend lost his mother to it.
I for one am partial to my ta-ta's and don't know how I'd react if I found out I had Breast Cancer. Thus the pink bike parts, some of them even have a portion of the proceeds go to Breast Cancer Awareness.

Road bike - Silver bike - Terry breast cancer seat, it has the logo on it. Jagwire pink cables, and pink Crankbrothers pedals. I also have the Livestrong and Pink bracelets around my seatpost.
Time Trial bike - this one was harder as the bike is red/white/black. I found a pink seat that has red/black/silver stripes on it. It's pretty cool!
SS 29er - Brown bike - Pink grips, Jagwire pink cables, and pink Crankbrothers pedals.

Kyle even got into the spirit of pink and when he built up his red Specialized Stumpjumper for me to ride, he added one pink cable to it!
I'm going to continue to keep pink on my bikes regardless of the color of bike it is, and continue to watch for the products that help support awareness.
OH....and each year I buy raffle tickets to Speedgoats bike raffle...one year I WILL win it!

JG story/list of pink...

I have known many people who have had cancer, be it breast, bone, colin, prostate. Cancer is something that affects us all. What started the pink item on all of my bikes was when Bill was building up my road bike, the bike was gray and he had found a Pink headset made by Chris King which a certain amount would go to breast cancer. It built from there, I ordered pink handle bar tape(at that time I had to search the internet for Pink handle bar tape), then found the pink Susan G. Komen seat made by Terry and pink speedplay peddles. During this time is when JS and I started to ride together ,things kind of grew from that. I am not sure who said it but one of us said we need to have something pink on each of our bikes. It does not matter what is pink but something has to be pink.

My red specialized cross bike has the terry seat. The seat is black but the ribbon is pink. The bar ends are also pink(ok I only have one at the moment, I lost one during my first cyclo cross race). My red Cinelli mt bike has pink handle bars, I asked Bill if there was such a thing, he did some looking and found some. They are really neat. My tri bike at the moment just has pink tape holding the handle bar tape on. I told Bill that I want to switch bar tape to pink for the coming tri season.

10 years ago when I first started doing the Race for the Cure, it was very difficult to find pink except in clothing. Now you can find almost anything in pink. I know when I see pink the first thing that I think of is breast cancer awareness.

I am also aware of the power of Yellow..again unless you have been living under a rock..the power of yellow is the "LiveStrong" bracelets. What Lance has done for cancer awareness is amazing. However the Power of Yellow has a long ways to go to catch up with the power of Pink.

The other day at the Iowa Cyclocross championships I noticed the Kim Eppen's bike, which is red has pink handle bar tape. I do not know if she did this for breast cancer awareness, however it was the first thing I thought of...now if everyone that was at the race thought the same thing just think how many people at that moment were aware of breast cancer..it is amazing..Never forget the power of pink

That is the two jules' story of what the power of pink means to them. As long as breast cancer is affecting our family and friends we will continue to support the Power of Pink. The next time you see the color pink dont think of it as just a "girly" color think of it as the "girly" color that is bringing awarness to a very deadly disease that has/will affect us all.

PEACE...

Spooky Woods Ride/Iowa Cyclocross Championships

2008-11-02T19:28:00.004-05:00

It was a full and fun filled weekend. Usually on Halloween I turn off the lights, Lock the door and hide. This year I saw that there was going to be a spooky woods ride. I asked JS about it, at first she said that her and Kyle were not going to go, then she e-mailed me and said that "yes" they were. So I talked Bill into going. I am glad that I did. We had a ball.

If you wanted you could meet at Rassy's bike shop at 8:00pm on Halloween and then the group would head over to Denman's ride the trail and end up at a campfire. As Usual Bill was pookie but they knew we were on the way so they waited. Most in the group had not dresses up but hey we did.

Bill was an inmate, Kyle the drummer from Def Leppard, Mindy pricess Fiona,and Kurt as Elton John even had a mirror ball. Then Andy a guy that Bill works with was "Mark", if you had ever been to Irwin's about a year ago you will know who Mark is. At the campsite we meet up with Kristin and Bruce Reese. Bruce went as Kristin and Kristin as Bruce.

JS was a jail bird, I was Country Bumpkin Eve even had fig leaves.

Off we went basically Over the river and thru the woods. The trail is good for beginners, Since Mindy had never done a night ride, JS, Mindy and I all hung back so we wouldnt slow anyone down. We put Mindy in between us. JS took the lead and would call out what was ahead..."Left", "Log", "Sharp Right", "Tight", "MUD", "UP, then down, then sharp corner..WATCH OUT FOR THE TREE AFTER THE CORNER!"...Mindy did have some costume malfunction. Her long dress kept getting caught so eventually it was tucked into her tights... We could see the campfire and hear the music yet the trail kept winding around and around and around....Finally we got to the campsite. (I will say I only hit the ground once I was so proud of myself...but I bent a fig leaf...drat).

Squirrel had carved faces out of a couple of log and had lit them they were so cool.

It was amazing how many people were there, it was fun to see all of the bikes decked out with headlights and flashing lights.. More and more people kept showing up. Cam, Julie, Fry Man, Duffy, and Alot of bikers that I recognized but do not know their names. Chili was available and of course beverages were everywhere. There was even a quarter race. We left around 10:30 everyone was getting tired. So on the bikes and off we went back to Rassy's to load up the cars and head home.

Spooky Woods Ride Pictures

Saturday was the Iowa Cyclocross Championships in Altoona. It was a beautiful day and the course was great. I wish that I would have signed up for this race. I think it would have been a little more beginner friendly. I have come to a conclusion. You can blindfold me, tape my mouth shut, and tie me up and I would still cheer. I am just a cheerleader. I cannot go to a sporting event and not cheer. It was fun to watch the juniors, beginners, womens etc. The last race the 123's was awesome. Brian Eppen and Tony Nichols went back and forth for an hour. Brian was having bike issues, He even had a single speed mt bike for a lap. It was a great race, on the last lap people were lined along the trail to the finish line, Tony made the first move however Brian over took him by about a wheel. That is what cyclocross is all about. I spent Most of the Day with Julie, Scott Sumpter's girlfriend, since JS was in Colfax. She finally arrived around 4:30 with Alexa and Kyle's mom. So there were 3 Julie standing together...It was a good day.

Iowa Cyclocross championship pics

Next on the list for JS and I is Cranksgiving, Tour De Lights and Jingle Cross. I thought that once Sept hit things would slow down but that has not happened. I think Dec will be slower but you never know.

Until then PEACE!

DO NOT FOLLOW WHERE THE PATH MAY LEAD. GO INSTEAD WHERE THERE IS NO PATH AND LEAVE A TRAIL- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Spooky Cross

2008-10-26T17:52:00.002-05:00

JS and I did our very first cyclocross race,Spooky Cross, which was held out at Living History Farms. There was alot of mud and ALOT OF WIND!!! Did I mention the wind....When you are riding on the flat and you are out of gears it is windy. Well enough about that. I am not the best bike handler, I found that trail very unnerving for me. Bill and I did a practice ride ,by the time we got done I was crying, I told Bill that I couldn't do it. I just couldn't do it I was that unnerved by the conditions. I sat in the truck for a while then JS showed up,told me that I just needed to take it easy and that I would be fine. I needed to just do my own race and not worry about anyone else. Thank you for not going easy on me, you just stated that you can do it and that was that.

I had been practicing at Maytag park in Newton, I was thinking hills and turns, this trail was not so many turns and hills for that matter it was more like a mt bike trail I think. After last week I was kind of gun shy on the whole mt biking thing. I did learn that bruises are a "Badge of Honor". Well by golly I am full of honor then. :). Ok I am getting off track here.

JS, gruncle Kurt and I did another practice lap and this one went better for me. I was starting to calm down. By the time the race started I just wanted it over I was so cold. I started in the back so I could just go my own pace, I was surprised at how tight and tired my legs were. They just did not want to move. It is kind of disheartening when a little boy about 10 on a mt bike passes you, but hey I was doing my own race. I made it thru the mud and over the bridge, up the first hill just fine. The next part I knew that I would be walking some and i did but that was ok. It actually went better than I thought. I got in two laps, I was coming up on the finish, Bill had just passed the start/finish and they flipped the lap counter to 0. I asked if I was done and they said "Yes". Thank goodness I could have done another lap but it would have been a very long lap. So I became a cheerleader for those out on their last laps.

Overall I came in 18 out of 20 finishers. How would I rate my first cyclocross race? I guess that I am disappointed in myself, I thought that I would have an easier time of it, I had been doing fine at Maytag park. I was disappointed in myself that I wanted to not even try. I am usually out there trying and if I mess up ok that is life. I do not know what was going on today.

Bill did great he was having alot of fun, he is a good bike handler and has done alot of mt biking not lately but he still has the skills. I am proud that he wanted to do it with me. Julie S. did awesome. She is a very good bike handler, a determined individual, and a great friend. I am very proud of you JS. Thank you for not letting me quit.

We had a great cheer leading crew. Thank you Kyle, especially for the push up the hill and the push after the bridge. Is that cheating? :). Thank you Mindy, Alexa, Taylor and Bruce for all of your encouragement. Sorry Taylor I will never yell at you again that you are having the time of your life when you are riding the last lap of a race...bad JG..Bad JG...:)

This is the last "race" of the year for me. There are a couple of rides coming up that JS and I are doing. Cranksgiving and Tour De Lights but no more races. I plan on being a cheerleader for The Iowa cyclocross championship and Jingle Cross. Then until January 1st just rest and relaxation. After the 1st the Tri training starts.

I will reflect more on the year when January gets closer.

SELF-DISCOVERY IS THE SECRET INGREDIENT THAT FUELS DARING- Grace Lichtenstein

PEACE

Fall Update

2008-10-19T21:37:00.004-04:00

Time sure does fly. I was reading the old posts and realized I have not posted since Cy-Man. Bad me bad bad me.

Once Cy-man was done it was OFF season for me. Well I soon came to find out that I am addicted to exercise. I guess that you can have worse addictions. So I have been trying different stuff. Instead of road riding I have been doing some cyclocross type riding. I have cut back to one day a week swimming laps and the other day I am doing the aqua jogger. The aqua jogger what a hoot. It is a belt that keeps you floating and you basically run in the water, it takes all of the pounding out of running and lets you keep training. When I bought the jogger I got the ankle "weights" and arm "weights". I use the term weights lightly. it is not the actual weight of them that makes you work it is trying to keep your arms and legs from floating to the top of the water. The first time I uses the ankle "weights" I had a real difficult time keeping my butt and ankles in the water...Jan the aquatics director had a great time laughing at me. It is a workout.

This past saturday JS, Mindy and myself went and took the Women's only mt bike clinic, or as Mindy likes to call it the "Free" clinic. :). It was held down by the old science center. Cam Kilpatrick was the coach and he had help from Kyle Sedore, Taylor Webb, John, Dave and Matt. I am bad I do not know all of the last names. Well anyway we were taugh how to corner, do front weelies , back weelies. The front and back weelies were to help go over logs, how to climb and go back down.

The cornering went ok, it takes practice. I had the most troube with the front weelie. No trouble with the back weelie. Now let me back up a bit, when Cam was giving us instructions at the beginning he said, "When you go over logs we will be there to catch you so you dont fall". I think he forgot to let Kyle and Taylor know this. Here I am putting my life in their hands..I ride up to the log pop the front tire up...then the back...the next thing I know my butt is higher than my head and BAM! I hit the ground...first thing out of my mouth was "YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO CATCH ME!". I got up brushed myself off and got back on the bike. Cam, Dave, Kyle and Taylor kept asking "are you ok!". Matt tracked me down asked if I was ok then watched as I went over the log again. I gave them a hard time but They were really concerned, it was nice to know they cared.

It was a good day however a long tiring day. I hit the ground 3 times in all. Come to find out the peddles that I was using are called "Widow Makers" because you can clip in them but cannot get your foot out...I think Bill is trying to kill me.

Julie and Mindy left early so they gave me their raffle tickets and we cleaned up....2 pairs of oakleys, a bike computer, pair of socks and bar grips...woo hoo. I never win anything I was happy for all of us.

I will say that today I am bruised and sore. Instead of a "Butt topper" tatoo, I have a "Butt topper" bruise...I think the seat hit me in the back when I was doing my bike flip.

ok enough about my mt biking adventures. Next Sunday JS, Bill and I are doing Spooky Cross...our very 1st cyclocross race. At Living History Farms. I am excited. I plan on just taking it easy and doing what I can.

oh oh oh ...I am now a member with JS of the All9Yards Cycling team. It should be alot of fun.

Well until next time...PEACE.

Fall is here...Winter is near!

2008-10-01T15:42:00.002-04:00

What have I been doing since Cy-Man? LOTS of relaxing!

Finally the end of Sept. I got back off my butt and started exercising more frequently. It was good to take some time off and spend it with Alexa and Kyle.

What have I started?
Monday nights - abs/back strength class into a Yoga class! I LOVE it. I wish there was another good time during the week for me to add one more yoga class. I think it would really help with my strength, flexibility, and my IT band issues!

Lunch Hour - I have 3 different loops that I have "created" to power walk on my lunch hour. I will do this through the winter, weather pending. It won't hurt to put on some hat and mittens and get out of the office! I love all 3 routes. I have a 1.8m route, a 2.1m route, and a 2.4m route to choose from.

Thursday - my variety night. I haven't done much with this one yet as Alexa was sick one week and Kyle wanted to ride another. Oh well, he's doing cross right now...let him ride! I plan on taking some classes at the Y, running, and swimming this night. Mix it up!

My other plans are:
Tuesday - run outside when Kyle is done riding, go to the Y after Alexa goes to bed, or sit on the trainer after bedtime.

Wednesday is waterbabies night.

Friday - night off, unless something comes up!

weekend - whatever I can fit in! Between candle parties and cross races, we'll see what can get done!

Go Out...Enjoy the Fall weather...I know I have!!!

JS CyMan report

2008-09-09T13:08:00.002-04:00

Things started off on the wrong foot the night before. Somehow, Taylor, who was also doing the tri, decided that sushi was the way to go for a meal the night before. As I really didn't want to argue with my husband and they had already made the decision, I complied. WRONG idea...I usually have some good protein and carbs the night before.

Sunday morning I woke up at 5:45 and had my usual bowl of 2 packets of instant oatmeal. After getting everything together I rushed out the door...without even making my PB&J sandwich that I like to eat after I get transition setup. Another WRONG thing to do!

So at 9:00 when the first wave goes off, I am already hungry! I figure I can't do anything about it and try and stay warm. The water was 70 degrees, air temp about 60 degrees! I was the 3rd wave in and I settled into my groove and only got run over once! Once again my arms felt heavy at the end. I'm thinking it was the cold and the fact my arms were shaking before we started. Once out of the water, I was trying to decide if I wanted to wear the jacket I brought for the bike...NAH...it was sunny and I didn't feel too cold.

Off on the bike, it took a while for my legs to adjust, once again, I think the cold took some energy out of me. Once I found my groove I felt really good and started passing people! YIPPEE, that's a great feeling! At about mile 10 we turned east, right into a head wind...have I mentioned I HATE wind! My legs really started feeling it and I think a couple people I had passed in turn passed me back...bummer! All in all it was a decent bike, but it could have been better.

Off to the run, oh yeah, the run. It felt HORRIBLE! I couldn't get my feet up, my legs felt like dead weights! I did run all the way to the first water station...which I think was the first mile. Walked a little and drank some water, then it all went downhill. As soon as I thought I had a good rhythm, my heartrate would sky-rocket! Walk, breath control, start running again. That's how it was for the last 2.1 miles! Yep winter project...running!

I really think my lack of proper nutrition had a huge part in it. For Hickory Grove, I had pasta from Olive Garden for lunch on Friday and pasta for dinner. Saturday I had some leftover pasta for lunch, and a good balanced meal for dinner. That morning I had my 2 packets of oatmeal, a PB&J and a banana after set-up, and I had a good race and felt good....so that is my meal plan next year!!

Back to final results
Swim - 10:29 - 1 min slower than HG, but it was colder too!
T1 - 1:28
Bike - 48:49 avg of 17.6mph - I think this was only 14.5 instead of 15miles
T2 - 1:11
Run - 35:46 - avg of 11:32 per mile Total time - 1:37:41

Working on my training plan for this winter to maintain, work on running, and more strength training! Next year I'm going to be a lean mean tri machine...hee hee

Cy-Man and the end of the season

2008-09-08T21:09:00.004-04:00

Sunday was Cy-Man and the end of my tri season. I was not feeling my best but that cannot be an excuse. In the past i have had some of my best work outs when i was not feeling tip top. The one thing that didnt help me was I had not eaten enough breakfast. As I was setting up my transition area my stomach started to growl..that is not a good sign.

The swim didnt start out to well, I couldnt seem to break out of the traffic and get my rythem but eventually I got into open water and swam good. I checked my watch as I got out and it said 9:30. I think it differs from below because of where the sensors are and I had to stop and jump in the little pool to get the sand off of my feet. That took a whole 4 seconds. :)

My legs were tight on the bike but I just kept telling myself that I need to work through. I didnt care for the wind, There seemed to be a perpetual head wind. I averaged 18.5 mph so I cannot complain to much.

The run well we will not say much about the run. It is one of my winter projects.

10:24 (4)
46:24 (2)
37:03 (8)

Total time 1:36:53

I am glad that the season is over, I am tired and I can really feel the fatigue in my body. I need to remember that I take longer to recover, now that I am older. I need to start listening to my body more. I will say that I am becoming more attuned to what it is saying.

I have been thinking about next year. I am not sure what my schedule will be but I am looking at 2 intermediate distances and 1-2 sprints. I will see how this winter goes before I make that call. I am going to do Hy-Vee again and will sign up in November like I did last year. It was my motivation last year and will be again this year.

JG and JS setting up transition

Taylor taking off for the run. I saw him coming and yelled "Hey Taylor come and get me". My wave started before his so I was ahead of him, he caught me with about a mile left in the run.

JS finishing, once again doing a great job.

Well that is all for now. I will keep you posted on how my winter maintance is going and what I decide for next year.

Until then PEACE.

You only fail, if you fail to try!

Two Down One to go....

2008-08-31T23:11:00.006-04:00

One down one to go another town and one more show....ok Name that tune.

One more tri for this year, it is Sunday Sept 7th Cy-Man. I am as ready as I ever going to be. I can tell that my body needs a break.

After Sunday I am going to switch and work on some of the things that I have found that I need work on.

1. core training
2. weight training
3. stretching ALOT of stretch

Those are the major one. I am also going to try aqua jogging just for something alittle different to do.

I need to thank a few people for their support last week at Hickory Grove. Thanks goes to Kyle S., Kurt, Mindy and Alexa for encouraging me. To hubby Bill for being my pit crew and yelling encouragement during transitions etc. To Julie S for asking me to do the Cy Man last year and getting me hooked then being there to help support me through my ups and downs.

I am excited about this coming Sunday however am ready for a break. I will let you know how things go until then...PEACE

12 minutes-Hickory Grove triathlon

2008-08-25T21:37:00.007-04:00

I took 12 minutes off of my tri time from last year. The run was my downfall again this year as it was last year.

Here are my results:

2007
swim: 11:52 (8)
Bike: 52:05 (3)
Run: 44:03 (12)

2008
swim: 9:10 (2)
Bike: 48.39 (4)
Run: 36:52 (10)

The girl who won my class, swam slower then me, was 10 seconds faster on the bike however she ran 8:30 minute miles. Yep the running got me again. It is going to be my main focus this winter.

I have to say that I am happy with my results, it is funny as I am doing the tri I keep asking why am I doing this, it is nuts, I am crazy, I will never do another one. But once I finish I am already thinking about the next one and how to improve. I think that I am crazy most of the time.

JS did a great job but I will let her tell you all about it herself.

JG and JS in the water warming up and trying to stay warm.

My pretty pretty bike

My finish time.

Cy-Man is next on my list, that is Sept 6th then it is time to do some cross training and relax a bit. I am in the process of setting my goals for next year. I will post them once I have them figured out.

PEACE

SUNDAY...

2008-08-19T16:57:00.002-04:00

...is the day!
My second sprint tri of the season. JG is also participating. Are we ready?

I would like to say I am. But I am a nervous person. I think it could be my 20th one and I would still be nervous. I feel like I am in better shape. I still haven't got the training that I would have liked in, but that's how it goes when you have a full-time job, a 2 1/2 yr old, a husband that also needs to get out and ride his bike, and a house to keep clean!

This is the same course as the Cy-Man last year, but is now called Hickory Grove Tri. My time last year was 1:46:40. My goal is to beat that by 5 minutes. Transition work should be better, I have a better bike, and I've been swimming with hand paddles and flippers to gain muscle strength. The running will still be my main issue...concentrate on breathing and just go for it is my mentality right now!

deep breaths...try not to think about it...until Sunday!!

A new swim workout

2008-08-12T22:21:00.003-04:00

A couple weeks ago I bought hand paddles for swimming. I LOVE them! The Speedo Contoured swim paddle....
I have made a workout and I really like it. It keeps me moving and get my heart rate going. All Freestyle in increments of 200yds...

1. Full swim warm-up
2. Pull only with paddles
3. Kick only with flippers - fast down, easy back
4. Full stroke with both paddles and flippers
5. same as #3
6. same as #2
7. Full swim cool down - no gear
That adds to a 1400 swim and I can get it done in about 25 minutes. It works great for my short lunch hour swims!

RAGBRAI

2008-07-23T22:51:00.011-04:00

What do you get when you takes 2 Jules and put them on 2 pink seated bikes......A heck of alot of fun.

JS and I rode the first three days of RAGBRAI. We signed on with the Pella Cycling Club. The charter bus picked us up at Irwins at 10:00 am on Saturday. This guy steps off of the bus and proceeds to tell us we have 7 minutes to load we did it in 3. He was impressed. The bus was loaded with all of the other Pella group. I knew alot of them because I work with them. There were a few new faces and my Tri buddy and his girlfriend had made the trip from Illinois and were already on the bus.

JS and I found our seats in the back and we were on our way. I have no idea why but I think that we were marked as "trouble" from the start. Maybe it was when they asked our name I said "Julie" then they asked Julie and she said "Julie" We soon became known as Jules Jules. It was a nice bus ride over to Missouri Valley we chatted with each other, other people, Did some crossword puzzles and watched a tape of the tour de france.

After we got to Missouri Valley we found the "blue" Pella bus and set up our tents. After that it was the drill sargent again, we found out that his name was Mike, "We will be riding to the Missouri River in T minus 30". Then T minus 29......Who could want to be late for that...so after we changed clothes off we went.

Erica, Dan, JG and JS Dipping back tire in Missouri River RAGBRAI 2008

JS and JG Dipping back tire in Missouri River RAGBRAI 2008

Then back to Missouri Valley and food. I will say that I was not impressed with the shuttle service of Missouri Valley we had to wait forever to get a shuttle to the Expo and decided to walk back to our tents instead of waiting for the shuttle. Did I tell you we were across town from the expo so that was a 2-3 mile walk back. Not impressed at all.

Day 1 Missouri Valley to Harlan Mileage: 59 Miles Climb:3797 feet

Going through Beebeetown, Underwood, Neola, Minden, Shelby and Tennant

I had set my alarm for 6:00 well at about 5:25 all you could hear was ZIP ZIP ZIP ZIP ZIP ZIP...tent zippers opening and people getting ready for the day. JS and I soon realized that we didnt really need alarms, the zippers worked just fine each morning. Everyone got ready to go at 6:30 we all gathered for a prayer since it was sunday. This was the only day that the group started out together. I figured a prayer never hurt anyone.

JS and I started our trek to Harlan, we stopped at Chris cakes for breakfast. Each day we had something different to eat for breakfast. One thing about RAGBRAI is that you are using up alot of calories so you can afford to eat a little more than normal.

JS taking a pic of people riding by as we wait in line for Chris Cakes.

It was a beautiful morning very nice for riding. We took our time and it took us about 5.5 hours to get to Harlan. When we decided to go on RAGBRAI we said that we were going to go slow and enjoy the country side and people.

2 Jules having fun, notice that JS is the brunette and JG is the blond we decided to switch hair color for the pic.

More of the Pella Group in Shelby feeding their faces with good homemade food.

Shelby had a sign for people to autograph, Dan and Erica leaving their mark.

In Harlan we stayed on a country club driving range...no no one was practicing. The manager of the Country club was a peach. She came and told us that she had sandwiches that we could purchase. In an air conditioned Club house. She was very accommodating. Dan, Erica, JS and I all went to check out the pool. It felt good to take a dip in some water and we had to check out the slide. JS and I only stayed for an hour or so then decided to take a shower and take advantage of the club house. We ended up finding a corner somewhere and lying down and resting for awhile.

We found out that Dan does not know his directions, JS wanted to correct him but I told her to bank it for later..JS I still don't think that he believes us when we tell him that I told you to bank that bit of information about his lack of navigation skills.

We checked out uptown but didn't find anything to interesting so headed back to the club house and stayed there until it was time to go to bed. I guess that we should have been ready for what came next since it was so humid out. At 2:15 am I woke up for some reason and it was just still,very freaky. I could then hear the winds coming and the tent starts to just shake. I called out to JS to see if she was awake and threw on some clothes. About that time a police car came by with the lights flashing telling us to get up and seek shelter that there was tornado and thunderstorms coming. Dan yelled at me and I told them to get up and get out. So basically the group ended up in the maintenance shed of the golf course for about an hour. Luckily Harlan was on the edge of the storm and we didn't get much if any damage. The ZIP ZIP ZIP of the zippers came way to early that morning.

Day 2 Harlan to Jefferson Mileage: 83 miles Climb: 5,239 feet

Going through Kimballton, Elk Horn, Exira, Larland, Coon Rapids, and Scranton

We knew that this was going to be a tough day. It has been a while since I have ridden 82 miles and with all of the hills it was going to be a challenge. Away we went todays breakfast was Biscuits and Gravy in Kimballton. They were good. I have a garmin computer and i was seeing some 8-11 percent grades on some of these hills. JS and I had gotten into a comfortable routine. I ride faster on the hills so I would ride my speed then once I got to the top I would slow down and wait for her to go "WHEE" as she flew by me on the down hill or if there was not a downhill I would just peddle slowly until she caught up.

The name tags on our bikes said 2 Jules on a bike. So JS would get alot of comments as she rode up the hill "Where is the other Jules" she would just point up the hill. Or people would just stop and talk to us as they rode by going "Hi 2 Jules". The men in our group said they could always tell that it was us because we were the only two on the ride with pink seats. So they would look for the pink seats. I think that it was just an excuse for them look at womens butts.

We stopped at Pastafari for lunch. Some of the best pasta that I have had in ages. All freshly made. On this stop a corn leaf got alittle friendly with JS. We had to use the restroom and there was this beautiful corn field well since we are both farm girls...no problem. we each picked a row and away we went. I heard her burst out laughing. As she was picking up her stuff she bent down and a leaf decided to go up her nose. For no reason just because it wanted to I guess.

After getting things situated away we went. About noon is when I could tell that it was going to be a long hot day. However it was not until we were headed into Coon Rapids that I knew we were getting ditzy. we were going coasting down a hill and I noticed a big hill ahead and then I realized we didn't have to go up this big hill. So I thought that I would inform JS...the conversation went something like this.

JG: "We don't have to climb the big hill"
JS: "yep" I thought she had said "HUH" so
JG: "We dont have to climb the big hill"
JS: "I heard you"
JG: "oh I must be going deaf"
JS: "Why would we go left"
(dumb look on my face)
JG: "I said I must be deaf"
JG: "Oh I thought you said we needed to turn left"

*hysterical laughter insued*

We actually turned right not left. We stopped in Coon Rapids for a while to eat and rest up.

Then as we were in Coon Rapids more stupidy insued. JS needed an ATM I followed her and set my full water bottles on the sill and waited for her. As we walk away I pick up my water bottles...

JS: "dont you want your water bottles"
JG: "Yah I have them"
JS: "No you dont they are still on the ledge"

I look at my hand and i had picked up a bottle cap instead of my water bottles

JG: "Yah I guess that I will need them"

*hysterical laughter*

We saw some more pella people..."Heys Jules Jules"

As we were leaving JS stated that we only had 10 miles to go...

JG: "No we have 27 miles to go"
JS: "No only 10"
JG: "Nope 27"
*JS looks at map*
JS: "OH I missed a town"

no laughter this time more like groaning. JS here - LOTS of groaning!!

After Coon Rapids the road leveled off not so many hills. What we did notice was the destruction that the storm had done. There were some corn fields where some of the corn was flattened. Grain bins tore apart. Trees down everywhere. Made me glad that we were in Harlan and not Jefferson the night before. I could tell that JS was getting tired so on the hills I would slow down and ride with her up them. I have had much much more time to practice then she has. JS did a fabulous job on all of the hills. That night we stayed on a baseball field. It rained for a bit just after we got in then cooled off. We went and checked out the town then back to the campgrounds and bed. It was a great night to sleep....ZIP ZIP ZIP.

Hey..JS here, it's JG who's still a little delirious. I do believe the hill and deaf conversation came after Coon Rapids as we were heading into Scranton. Luckily we really did only have 10 miles left at that point!! JG-Me delirious NEVER!!

Day 3 Jefferson to Ames Mileage: 57 miles Climb: 1,377feet

Going through Grand Junction, Dana, Ogden, and Boone

JS and I had noticed that Mama Ralphael's Had designated it Bike Iowa Day so we both wore our Bike Iowa jerseys. Breakfast was at Mama Ralphaels breakfast burritos. My goodness, eggs, pancakes, make your own burrito, biscuts and gravy. It was a feast and of course I ate to much but it was good.

JG and JS in Bike Iowa Jerseys. (I didn't wear those shorts riding! I had to get my wet icky chamois shorts off!! JS)

After yesterday this ride was a dream flat as can be. We enountered alot of trains today but we both like trains so it was no problem. We ran into Taylor Web in Ogden.

Ogden cheerleaders

The pink seats came in handy we could always find our bikes.

After Ogden was Boone in between Ogden and Boone was the one hill so I was going to stay with JS on the hill but she told me to go so I did. She again did great.

JS at the top of the hill. Good Job JS!! Burn baby burn...that's what my legs were saying..JS

Today we rode and talked to people. When we enountered a head wind JS would just tuck in and I would ride a steady pace. Dan and Erica caught up to us just outside of Ames so we all rode in together. Ames sent us through campus and handed us bandanas with Cy on a bike. This night our group was staying at the 1st Christian Church. JS and I were however headed home. However we had to wait for Bill to get off of work. So we were there for awhile. Took showers went to the food court then went back to the church and waited for Bill.

I had alot of fun. here are a few of my favorites.

food: I dont like pie but there was a religous group that made the best homemade ice cream. I would guess that they were either Amish or Mennonites.

JS - definitely the Apple Dumpling I had in Coon Rapids...YUMMY!!

Team: Team Where's Waldo. a group of 7 and each day someone dressed up as waldo and put the "I Am Waldo" sign on their bike. while the others had "Where's Waldo" signs on their bikes.

JS - I also like Waldo...but you have to like the Air Force team! :)

Best Moment on Bike: The "why are we turning left" conversation. (JS notice I didnt mention the Air Force Guys :))

JS - OK, I'll have to say the Air Force comment. One guy had "give-aways" tucked in his shorts. My comment to JG..."We have to find the Air Force guy with the balls in his shorts!" her reply - "JS, I think all the Air Force guys have balls in their shorts!" my reply - "I need to find the one with 2 on the left and one on the right"...by the way, I never did find him! JG here, believe me we looked at every Air Force Guy that went by.

Best conversation with Group: The explaination of regular butt butter compared to the "Europeon" butt butter

Best town mascot: The coon rapids road kill Raccoon. What a funny stunt.

JS - I think that was the only town mascot. I was kind of disappointed with the pass-through and overnight town themes. They didn't seem to get too crazy with them. Cy was in Ames...but that's a given!

JG here did I tell you that Cy does not like it when you say "Go Hawks"!:)

We both had a great time as Bob Hope use to say "Thanks for the memories!"

Until Next time PEACE JG

Getting back in...

2008-07-16T12:01:00.002-04:00

I didn't get my bike ride in on Sunday...Kyle had a lot of trail work to do and got back minutes before I needed to get to the Y for coaching.

Monday - Swam for 25 minutes and got 1000yds in. It's amazing how much you lose when you have been sick! After work I took Alexa over to NW pool and played for about an hour with her. She loves the big slide, so I got my workout in carrying her up the steps about 10 times!

Tuesday - nothing over lunch - my pants rubbed the hose to the gas pump and got gas on my pants, so opted to go home and change instead of smelling gas for the rest of the day. Headed over to Newton after work and walked up and down the pool cheering our swimmers and trying to get them to swim faster!

Today - heading over to the Y for a swim at 11:30. Hoping to pull Alexa in the trailer over to the Y for waterbabies class.

Not too bad for a first week back so far! Feeling good and starting to feel encouraged again!

Maintain....Train!

2008-07-12T16:04:00.003-04:00

JG talked about feeling lost....I think I would too after training so hard for an event like that.
She looks great and I think all she needs to do is maintain for her upcoming sprint triathlons...they are going to seem like a breeze compared to what she just did!

Anyway...I on the other hand need to TRAIN! After being sick off and on since the Hy-Vee tri I need to get back into training...you are seeing it here. I am going to start swimming/running on my lunch hours again T-Th and going for bike rides, with our without Alexa after work! 3 days of RAGBRAI will help the biking a little. I just need to stay aware of what I'm eating, but still enjoy some of the "fun" foods on RAGBRAI! hmmmm.....pork sandwiches, pie, donuts (looks like Jefferson has some donut guru!), etc.

Hickory Grove (old Cy-Man) is August 24th. My goal is to better my time from last year by at least 3 minutes! My time was 1:46:40, so that means I need a 1:43:40 or better and that would also be a better time than Pigman, which was 1:44:30.

Starting tomorrow, I'll be riding my bike to the Y for work. Hopefully early enough to go lift some weights before practice. I will be posting every couple of days on my progress. Don't be afraid to send a message asking what I've been doing, it will help motivate me!

Take Care! JS

Now What?....Kind of Lost

2008-07-02T13:16:00.002-04:00

It is like planning a wedding or a vacation. It is all that you think about for months..the day arrives...Then...It is over and you are completely lost. I have been working on ,focusing on the Hy Vee triathlon since I signed up in November and now it is over. The Monday after the tri I felt good, i think that I was still on the adrenalin high. Tuesday I started to feel tired by Friday I was exhausted. I forced myself to do an activity a day to keep moving. It became difficult at times. I figured out that I was suffering from Post Triathlon Depression. I have other events coming up. RAGBRAI, a sprint tri in Aug and one in Sept. However I just cannot get myself excited about them. I need to figure out how to become excited about them.

Am I the only person who gets this way? What do other people do? Hmmm, I will have to Google this, it will be my search for the day. If I come up with anything tangible I will be sure to post it.

Until then keep moving...PEACE

I Did It

2008-06-22T22:06:00.004-04:00

When JS and I first started this blog at the first of the year. One of my goals was to do the Hy-Vee triathlon, the WHOLE thing. Well I did it. The Hy Vee was today Sunday June 22nd. I must say that Fri and Sat I was nervous, anxious and scared spit less. I finished in 3 hours, 20 minutes and 57 seconds.

Swim 31:51
Bike 1:24:28
Run 1:17:40

I was thrilled with the swim, we could use wet suits so that made a BIG difference. It took me a while to get my rhythm but once I did I just kept telling myself swim like you do at the pool and you will be fine. I felt good. JS was waiting to cheer me on in T1. JS makes a great cheerleader. She had finished her swim for her tri team and was waiting for me to come in.

I was hoping for a little better time on the bike but looking back I am happy with it. It was a semi hilly course but what was worse was the wind, we had a strong head wind for part of the course. I also had to pee. So I made a kybo stop. felt much better.

I knew that running would be difficult and it was, I walked alot of the first three miles. I was hot and just didn't feel good. For some reason about mile 3 I tried running again and ran most of the way. I ran 12 minute miles. So I have my winter project get my running up to par. I think that my running will improve as I lose more weight also. That is a lot of weight on my tiny little ankles.

I need to thank the following people:

JS for telling me that I can do this, for cheering me on ,for meeting me at the finish with some nice cold water and for being my friend I enjoy your company JS.

Hubby Bill for the great tri bike, for coming today and helping me get home. I was feeling pretty tired and he drove me home. Our friend Dan Mendanhall for coming with Bill today and helping him take care of me.

Dan Applegate for helping me with my swim and for training with me for a couple of months. I am sorry that you couldn't make it today.

For everyone on the side of the road today that clapped and said good job you can do it even when I was walking. That kept me going.

All of the volunteers goodness the shear number of them was amazing.

Lastly for my mom, sister, Gerard and everyone who called to wish me good luck or stopped me to tell me good luck and to tell me how proud they were of me trying this. It means alot.

On a sad note someone did lose their life today. a 46 year old gentlemen didn't drown but was pulled from the water able to talk then stopped breathing. My heart goes out to his family.

This picture was on the Des Moines Register page, why I do not know. One of these days I will take a decent pic.

Coming in from the bike Bill took picture

Rounding the corner to the finish line Bill took picture....I was tired but happy

Until next time

Peace JG

Hy-Vee Tri

2008-06-11T12:12:00.000-04:00

Check out my family blog for info I received from the race director!

Rain Rain....go Away

2008-06-09T10:54:00.002-04:00

Will we be able to do the Hy-Vee Triathlon...Gray's Lake is closed!
It will be an interesting couple of weeks to see how the weather cooperates and if the flooding goes down enough for Des Moines to have this great event!

On another note...Kyle was up at Seven Oaks in Boone Sunday for the IA Games Adventure Race. He says it's going to take a lot of work to get the course ready for the 24hour race Labor Day weekend. I see many trail work days on many Sunday's to come in his future!

Let's all pray for better weather so the people affected by the floods can get some relief and so we can participate in these awesome events our area has to offer!

14 Days and counting..

2008-06-08T20:33:00.003-04:00

It is 14 days until the Hy-Vee triathlon. At this point I am ready for the swim and the Bike. the running still eludes me. I have resigned myself to the fact that the running is going to be alot of walking, I can deal with that this year however running is going to be my winter project.

This spring has been very strange, colder than normal then all of a sudden it is hot and humid. I rode 40 miles yesterday, was suppose to run for 45 minutes, I didnt have it in me. The humidity had taken its toll. I drank 5 bottles of water and was still dehydrated. Today I ran 6 miles As with the biking it was hot and humid. Drank alot of water. I have come to the conclusion for me to get through the run I will need to be drinking and eating pretty much constantly. How I am going to pull this off I do not know. If you see me during the run just hand me some food and/or water. I will be grateful.

The rain has me worried. I keep thinking how are we going to swim in Gray's Lake if is it flooded. I am hoping that they have thought of this and have a plan in place. I know that it is not worth the worry, I cannot do anything about the rain.

I am excited, scared, nervous, doubtful, and hopeful. I have worked hard for the past 6 month for this, I need to keep in my mind that I am competing against no one but myself. I am doing this for me not for anyone else. It has not been easy there have been many days I have questioned why am I doing this. There is no way that I can do this. I still have doubts. But it is all worth it today I stepped on the scale and have lost 20+ lbs. That is why I started this whole triathlon training was to force myself to lose weight, eat better and get healthier.

The next 14 days are going to be critical. I need to eat better all day not just before I exercise. My exercise schedule is starting to taper. I can see the tri coming, I will give it my best shot and we will see what happens.

Until then PEACE

Pigman...DONE!

2008-06-02T13:47:00.005-04:00

I finished! I wasn't completely ready, but I had fun and the race felt pretty good!

Setting up transition...it was about 6:00am!

Swim (.5K or 543yds) out and back went good. I used a wetsuit (water 67) and even though I had practiced in it. I wasn't real comfortable. After rounding the last buoy I felt a tightness in my chest and had to breastroke it for a while to get my wind back.

Out of the water after the swim...I was having troubles with my wetsuit. If I can suck it up and bear the cold water next year...I'm not going to wear it!

Bike (15.5miles) went REALLY good. I rode my BMC time trial bike and it felt good! I need to get a new seat and adjust my shoe clips for a little more comfortable ride, but all in all it was good! I'm not a hill person and I even passed a few people on hills!

Coming back in on the bike...I played catch and pass with the girl behind me for the last 2 miles!

Run (3.1miles) went OK. I ran what I think was the first mile. I then did a run/walk until about the last 3/4 of a mile. The cheers of the crowd really helped to kick it in at the end and I finished strong. I have a really hard time not thinking about my breathing when I can't listen to music. When I run on the treadmill or out around the neighborhood with my headphones I run better and longer!

Heading out for the run...I was actually about ready to choke on the water I just drank!

Anyway...here are my times:

Swim 10:33 - would have been better if I didn't have a little panic attack in the water!
T1 4:02 - I couldn't get my wetsuit off my ankles!!
Bike 51:25 - avg 18.1mph
T2 1:42 - have to work on leaving my shoes clipped in so I can run better with my bike!
Run - 36:51 - 11:52pace
Overall - 1:44:30

I also need to work on getting on and off my bike while moving!

Pigman Tri...

2008-05-30T13:15:00.001-04:00

...am I ready...maybe...we'll see come 7:30am on Sunday morning!

If you are awake...send me some good vibes!!

Saturday biking in NW Iowa

2008-05-20T16:35:00.004-04:00

OK...forgot my camera, but then again I don't know if I could have held onto to take pictures anyway.

Saturday morning I woke up after driving to my parents and not getting there until 1:00am I was still tired. Knowing I needed to go for a ride I headed downstairs for breakfast.
Found some cheerios with fresh strawberries and then downed a banana.
As I was getting ready Mom asked how soon I was leaving. "very soon" was my reply. "Good as the wind is supposed to pick up today" was her reply. GREAT...I hate wind!
As I'm getting ready I can't find my sunscreen...of course my mother has none as she rarely burns! So I take my little stick and at least coat my face and tattoos. Yep, the important things!

Finally headed out at 10:00am.
As I head North out of Marcus on Hwy 143, I am already getting blown to the east because of the wind. I figure only 3 miles and then I'll have a tail wind...no problem.
As I turned east towards Cleghorn, I had a GREAT tail wind. It's not very often I get to go anywhere from 25-30mph!! Then I started to get nervous. What is the ride going to be like coming back....should I turn around? Nope keep going, it's only 8 more miles to Cleghorn, you can do it! Turning south into Cleghorn, I still had a slight tailwind, with a slight cross wind. Still able to keep it going at about 19-21mph.

Heading into Cleghorn I get a few weird looks from the Softball girls. I suppose it's not very often they see someone rolling into town in spandex and wearing a bike helmet. I'm guessing most don't even own a bike helmet...I know I didn't growing up!

Stopped at the pop machines at the community center to get a water to mix up my drink. GREAT...the dollar thing is working. Well, the next machine is cans and only 50cents...let's hope the dollar thing works. Got a Coke, stretched the legs and mentally prepared myself for the ride back.

Heading back out of Cleghorn, I was already dreading the next 8 miles. As I headed north the headwind was pretty strong, but not too bad....oh and this was slight uphill as coming in was obviously downhill! Only 4 miles until I had to head west into stronger wind. Not bad kept this around 12mph. Then I turned west...holy cow...where the hell did this wind come from. I managed to keep my bike on the road and go along at a pace of 8-10mph! Every mile intersection was a saving grace...it was awesome to finally see the cars on Hwy 143!!

Heading south back into Marcus was a pretty good tailwind with a slight cross wind...woo hoo only 3 more miles and back up to the 19 to over 20mph range!

As I got back into town, I needed to spin slowly for a little bit, so I did a loop around town. I was at 22m and wanted to get in 25m at least. I did the main perimeter around town and headed back to my parents...who live on the east perimeter. By the time I rolled into the alley I was just over 25m and pooped! Oh...and all of it done in 2 hours and 1800 calories burned!! My butt hurt bad...but it felt so good!!

Back to the no sunscreen...well, as the night went on, I kept getting more red and started getting the chills. NOT good!! I think I had a combo of wind burn and sunburn. I have never had a sunburn feel so tight and itch so bad! Even today it is still bright red on my shoulder blades as I had a T-back jersey on! Oh...and when I arrived back in DM, I found the sunscreen in the bag with Alexa's pull-ups...aauughh!

I also have to commend the drivers in NW Iowa! Every single person that passed me went all the way into the other lane and didn't come back over until they were far in front of me. It was nice to see all the friendly waves too. It's not very often you see a driver of a car waving at a cyclist! WAY TO GO!!

Watch out world

2008-05-18T20:18:00.003-04:00

Yep watch out world 2 Jules are going on RAGBRAI...JS and I are going to be riding Sun, Mon and Tues. of RAGBRAI. JS has never gone so we are doing the whole camping experience. However we are not doing the find your bag amongst a semi load of others. We will be going with the Pella Cycling Club. Both of us are excieted. So watch out world 2 Jules are on the loose....

PEACE

Trader Joe's?

2008-05-12T15:35:00.003-04:00

So in visiting some of my favorite websites I keep hearing about this place called Trader Joe's.

Basically it's a large commercial health food store. The more people I talk to, the more I hear about people wanting to eat healthy, and I think something like this would be beneficial to our community. There are so many people that want to eat healthy and organic, but we just don't have much to choose from. Not sure how their prices would compare to the small health food stores in DM. But for us on a tighter budget, it sounds like it may be a good option.

Check out the link above and if you think it sounds like a good deal:

Click on the contact us tab, then the email us stamp, select Location Requests from the drop-down, and fill out the info and submit.

Dan and Julies' Biking Adventure

2008-05-10T23:07:00.008-04:00

My training partner Dan is graduating on Sunday May 11th and we had been talking about doing a long ride so I took off of work on Friday and we hit the Raccoon River biking trail. It was a perfect day for riding. Our intentions were to try to get in 100 miles. I know that was aggressive for me but I figured why not try. We got on the trail at Waukee....

Dan at the start of the trail in Waukee.

I made him take a picture with the porta pottie..one of the best comments i have ever heard was at BRRR..someone had come out of the Kybo and said "if you have never used a porta pottie you do not ride bike in Iowa"

There was very little wind Friday, for some reason all of the blustery wind just quit. I was thankful for that. We were averaging about 19-20 mph to Adel it was a nice ride. We stopped in Adel for a rest and to stretch then headed for Redfield. Once in Redfield we took a little break and talked to a man coming from the other direction. We had him take a picture for us.

Dont you just love what jog bras do for you. My boobs are not oblong and it looks like the girls were cold.

Dan and I both noticed that there are alot of brick factories along this trail. Going out of Redfield I stopped when I saw what looked like old fashioned brick baking ovens. I am not sure what they are.

What are these?

After the Redfield break we both noticed that our legs were very heavy feeling it took a while to get them warmed up so we didn't stop in Linden. Our next Stop was Panora. By this time I could tell that Dan was starting to drag. Did I tell you that he had been out drinking until 3 the night before? And had just finished finals and was going to graduate. I think he was coming down off of a big high with trying to get everything done. During our workouts we always took along propel and wafer cookies so he was downing those to see if it would help him.

Propel anyone

I asked if he wanted to go on and he did for a bit. We rode to the next town which was Yale, we had turned North and were facing some wind.

After a little break we headed back to Waukee. It was a long trip for Dan his knees started to hurt on him. I had packed some cheese, crackers, fruit and wine so we stopped in Linden and had a break. In Linden we ran into the group that we had encountered in the parking lot in Waukee. When we arrived at Waukee there was a group of bikers whose bikes were loaded down with gear. Dan asked where they were headed they said Jamaica. After looking at the map we decided it was Jamaica Iowa and that they were not really lost. Any way we met them in Linden they had been riding and stopping at each town drinking beer. They were pretty happy by the time we ran into them. One of them almost fell off of his bike. We found out that they were headed to Jamaica for the night then headed to Saylorville the next day. It was training for RAGBRAI. They were funny.

After some nourishment off we went. I almost became a hood ornament at one crossing after that Dan kept yelling clear or stop at the intersections. About 16 miles from the truck Dan basically hit the wall. I told him to get behind me and I would pull him. Again we had started to encounter the wind. Dan felt bad about having to draft and said that I could go on. I would have nothing of it. Before when we had been training and I had been hurting I would tell him to go on but he would not do it he kept saying we are a team. So I was not going to leave him for anything. I told him that we are a team and to let me help him for once.

We got back to Waukee and had put in 67 miles in about 6 hours. I didn't think that was bad for a day. I was tired but it is a good tired. Dan was really tired but being young he will bounce back fairly quickly.

I will miss not having him around to train, he has helped me alot. It was/is great having someone around to push you. We are going to keep pushing each other by e-mail. time will tell if the e-mail push works or not.

Until next time keep on keeping on.

PEACE

Another good week

2008-05-09T11:52:00.003-04:00

This was another good week of training for me. In addition to the regular cardio the website I'm using to track my food and exercise has started a Swimsuit Bootcamp for the month of May. It has really helped in doing some light strength training this week.
Sunday started the bootcamp and I did the video each day...sometimes twice if it was an easy one!
Saturday - taught swimming lessons - not vigorous, but holding kids up in the deep end gives you a good leg workout!

Sunday - When Kyle got back from the Waverly race I headed out for a quick loop....from our house, to the trail by targhetto, loop around to Sycamore Access and back up through Johnston via trail....15 miles....done in 57min! Not bad for having to slow for traffic on the trail and the roads.

Monday - day off - played with Alexa

Tuesday - treadmill run - 35min - 2.25 miles.....I really need help with running!!!

Wednesday - 33min swim - 1500yds

Thursday - 32min swim - 1600yds
Ride to Y - 5.5m - 35min....coach...ride home from Y - 5.5m - 29min. Ride home was dark and I was a little nervous so I think I cranked a little harder!

Today - hopefully get up to Boone at a decent time to go for a run...either on the trail or just up and down the road, depending on where Kyle wants to set up camp.

Have a great weekend!

What a Busy Week

2008-05-04T21:59:00.002-04:00

What a crazy busy week. I cannot even remember what I did Monday, Tuesday I did my usual swim then tues night my training partner and I went to Des Moines and ran the Hy Vee route. It will be nice to know what to expect and not to have any big surprises. Wed we did just a short ride Dan was checking out a tri bike. Thurs I did my regular swim then went and did the Duathlon that PRC put on. I got there late and had no time to warm up. So the first two miles were tough however I didnt walk any of the first two. The biking was awesome. Bill has built a great bike for me. I just got low and relaxed and peddled. I was passing all kinds of people. However some of the people that i passed ended up passing me on the run. I would run then if I needed to walk I would count to 15 then run again. I came in 31 out of 38. It was a great experience. I need to do more of these.

Friday I could barely walk my ankle hurt so bad. I talked to my sister and she thinks that it is the shoes So I have invested in a new pair of shoes I hope to try them out tomorrow. I also took Sat off however I spent the day in Pella walking around town for tulip time. Sunday I rode down to my mom's in Pella. It was a tought ride strong head wind.

Well that is about all for now. I am going to try and up my running I hope to be doing 7 miles by June or shortly after.

PEACE

Punk Rock Cycling Training Duathlon

2008-05-01T23:14:00.003-04:00

First off, thanks to PRC for hosting this training duathlon. I had fun, got a good workout and found out that I need to work on running!

The Duathlon was a 2m run, 12m bike, 2m run. It was tough! I really like swimming first instead!

OK...so the running needs some work. I didn't have a ton of time to warm up and got a cramp in my side on the first run. So a little walking to stretch it out. On the second run my calves tightened up. Yep, more walking.
I used to eat a banana a day....I think I need to start that again.

I LOVE my new BMC bike! Part of the course had a pretty strong headwind with some small hills and for some reason, wind/hills are NOT my friend! Other than that, I felt like I was FLYING on the other parts of the course. Definitely loving the bike!

They didn't do split times, but I did finish in 1 1/2 hours, mainly because I had to walk a bit on the second run. So I'm hoping that is a sign I will maintain/better my last years sprint tri time of 1h 46 min. As each course is different, I think I'll do alright!

I did finish DEAD last...so Congrats to JG for coming out, doing great, and finishing ahead of me!! I think we need to get together on her hilly routes more often and work on my hills on the bike.

how do they do it?

2008-04-30T14:55:00.002-04:00

OK...I've seen people out jogging while pushing a stroller. So I thought Alexa and I would try it last night. It is one of the hardest things I have done!
You can't get into a good rythm, can't relax because you have to control the stroller....it sucked!
I'm sure I'll try it again sometime soon, but I think I'll try and stick to just pulling her with the bike!

Still keeping on

2008-04-26T22:29:00.006-04:00

I see it has been awhile since I last posted..never fear I have been continuing to train. I have actually picked up the training. I have been Swimming, riding and running with a guy from Central who is also training for Hy Vee. We have been riding the trail at Red Rock to the end and beyond then running and riding the trail back to Central. So we are getting anywhere from 23-32 miles in riding on Wed and Saturdays and the running just varies. Dan is actually very good at the swim,bike and run but he says that by helping me it forces him to get out and train.

Last Sunday JS and I took the tri bikes out to get a feel for them. We only did about 10miles but that is enough to know what need to be fixed I think that Bill has my bike set up quite well. I am still trying to get one of the Terry tri seats, they must be a hot commodity because they are always on back order.

My running is still dogging me, I dont know if it is a mental thing or what. I need to keep working on it. If I have to walk I will walk there is no shame in that.

Well that is about all for now....until next time PEACE

Even more motivated now!

2008-04-25T11:27:00.002-04:00

Last night I did get a run in before coaching....2 1/4 miles in 30 minutes....yoo hoo!!! It was hard, but it felt good too!

What a week so far....

2008-04-24T16:19:00.003-04:00

This has been by far the best week yet! Now that tax season is over, I am going to take 2-3 lunch hours a week and go swim, plus the warm weather...lookin' good!
Starting with:
Saturday 4/19 - see previous post about I CAN ride!

Sunday 4/20 - went out with JG on the time trial bikes to test it out and see what we need to adjust. I only did 10 miles, but since I had the Bon Jovi concert, I couldn't push the time too much!

Monday 4/21 - day off - but I did get some quality play time in with Alexa!

Tuesday 4/22 - 1/2 hour swim - 1600 yards - some with flippers to work legs and get some breathing control sets in. Bike ride with Alexa down to Irwin's to check out the sale. 11 miles total...hrm said 1200 calories burned! Last big hill (Madison Ave that curves off MLK on NW side of DM) was HARD! But I did make it up even though I ended up in granny gears!

Wednesday 4/23 - bike ride to the Y with Alexa to teach Waterbabies - 6 miles total...pulling her up hills is brutal, my legs were burning!! Kyle had to come get us as it is too dark to ride home by the time we are done with class.

Today 4/24 - 1/2 hour swim at the Y - 1500 yds - only 300 with flippers to do a kick set and some breath control! I'm looking to do 35min or under in the swim at Hy-Vee!
I have to coach tonight, but will head to the Y early to get a run in. Hopefully I can get more than 1 mile in tonight!

Starting to feel better about Pigman on June 1st!

I CAN ride!

2008-04-19T22:52:00.002-04:00

I didn't get to race in Kyle's Mt. Bike Crit today, but I did get out for a ride.

I rode with Kristin & Kim from All9Yards, and Maria from PRC. I was a little nervous as I knew these girls were in lots better shape than me.
Well come to find out...if I don't talk too much, concentrate, and just keep spinning...I can keep up! Yes, I did take advantage and stayed in the back for a little pulling, but I figure riding with these 3 I could cheat a little! We rode to Cumming and back, with a little stop for a drink, and I'm pretty sure the pace stayed anywhere from 17-19mph! That's pretty quick for me.
My legs are tired, but I'm ready to try out my NEW bike tomorrow with JG!! She has had her bike out a couple times, and tomorrow we are going to ride together, with Bill following in case we have any issues with mechanicals or adjustments! Thanks Bill!!
It felt GOOD to get out on the bike again!

In another note. On Thurs I had just a few minutes before swim practice and was determined to get a mile in on the treadmill. Well...11 minutes later...one mile! That is really good for me. I'm taking it as a good sign my training is better than I have thought. Considering I've been sick, taking care of a sick child and still accommodating my husband by letting him ride more!

Now that tax season is over, I plan to swim over some of my lunch hours and if I can find a decent route and ride in to work from the babysitters house a couple days a week.

Just call me stupid

2008-04-10T22:10:00.003-04:00

Yep just call me stupid. For the past 4 weeks or so it has felt like my fitness has been going backward. I have noticed that I have been gasping for air. I actually thought that I was sick flu or something, however it just wouldnt go away. So I started kind of a regression, thinking over what have I changed in the last few weeks. Well I had started to eat yogurt and for some reason yogurt makes me phlemy. So I stopped eating yogurt. Helped a little not much.... I have increased my training following my schedule, So I started to cut back some. NOPE didnt help...*LIGHT BULB*....I cannot drink red wine it stuffs me up and give me headaches..however there has been so much written about the good effects of drinking red wine I wanted some of those benefits, so I started to take a grape seed supplement about 4 weeks ago. I stopped taking them Sunday. I cannot believe how my breathing has improved. I can breath. Breathing is a good thing. It has really raised my awareness on how food affects me. Chocolate for instance, I love chocolate however I have noticed when i eat chocolate I just dont feel well. Kind of back to the phlemy thing.(I have given up milk products except for cream in my coffee and an occasional ice cream)

The next time you just do not feel right think back to what you have eaten it might be the food making you sick....yep Just Call Me Stupid...:)

The training has been going well since Sunday. I took the Tri bike out on it's maiden voyage last night...what a sweet sweet machine. I found a flat road and just road back and forth trying to get use to the position. Beauty and I are going to get along just fine. I will probably do a couple of blocks this weekend...bike to run. I need to get my body use to the transition. I am hoping that the weather starts to look up I need to get some open water swimming in and I am anxious to tryout my new wetsuit. Getting that puppy on is a whole workout in itself.

Until next time....PEACE

Reality Check

2008-04-05T21:22:00.002-04:00

Today was a reality check for me. The lifeguard at the pool where I swim who has been helping me with my swim wanted to do a tri today to see where his fitness was. I was game because I figured I would be able to see where my fitness was. Well it sucks there is no other way to put it. We swan a 1500 it went ok, however the bike stunk. I was pretty much done after the first 2 miles and there was a long way to go. We even had the wind on the way out which meant it was going to be a long and windy ride back and it was. It was pretty much limp my way back to the pool. There was no way I was going to run. I really didnt think of any thing on the way home I just wanted to get there. After a nap I evaluated the days event and came up with the following.

1. I need to get outside on the bike, start doing hills and getting miles on.
2. I have to figure out what to eat. Once we reached Peoria I was shaking. I could feel how weak my legs were.
3. I need to rethink my tri goals. When I first signed up for this I wanted to do the following. Swim = 30 minutes, Bike 1 hour 15 mins, run 1 hour. I need to reevaluate this I am thinking it needs to be more like swim 45 minutes, bike 1 1/2 hours, run 1 1/2 hours.
4. I need to keep telling myself that I am not 30 anymore. I am 45 and need to realize that.
5. I need to learn of a way to keep my heartrate down. After the swim it just shot up and took to much time to come back down.
5. The goal should be to finish, have fun and get in shape.

I have to get in my mind that I can do this. I dont have to be the fastest, I just need to do my race and not worry about what other people are doing.

I can do this, I can do this, I can do this....

PEACE

Finished....

2008-03-30T23:02:00.003-04:00

Well Bill finally got my bike done. She is a beauty. I took her out for a test ride today. I must say it will take some getting use to but I Think that we will get along just fine. There are a couple of slight adjustments that need made but Bill did a great job of setting her up..

A good week.

2008-03-27T23:09:00.002-04:00

I am very happy with what I accomplished this week. My eating was very healthy and I got a couple of good workouts in.

Monday - swam at the Y and got in 2000 yds in about 45 minutes. That includes stopping to stretch out a cramp and water drinks.

Tuesday was coaching and then home to dance and sing with Alexa!

Wednesday - headed to the Y for a run on the treadmill. Set it to the 5K loop. Done in 36 minutes!! YOO HOO...not bad for me! I only walked about 3/4 mile, and when I walked I did it at an incline.

Saturday JG and I are heading out for a ride from my house to Gray's lake and then a run around Gray's. Then it's back home to clean up and reward ourselves for doing so good the last couple of months....Wine Experience! Can't wait!!

Finally!

2008-03-19T14:12:00.002-04:00

I am finally getting a good week of training in! Hopefully I can keep it up over the next few weeks.
Sunday - 30 min on treadmill - run intervals - total of 2.5 miles. I then had to coach, with only 6 swimmers total in my lanes, I decided to swim with them. I only got about 700yds in, but did some good sprints to get my heartrate up every now and then.

Monday - 45 min spin class - my legs hated me! I started to bonk about halfway through. Sat up, spun the legs out and finished with some good sprints. computer on the bike registered 10.5 miles.

Tueday - after coaching, I headed back up to the treadmill. I did a little different version of the intervals and got in 2.25 miles in 30 minutes. One circuit on the Freemotion machines and I was pooped!

Tonight will be a off night. Alexa and I are going shopping for Easter outfits!
I will work out again on Thursday after practice and then again on Saturday. A good week so far and I feel great!

Work In Progress

2008-03-16T22:07:00.003-04:00

This weekend Bill got started on putting my tri bike together. I love watching him work, there is no way I could take all of the components , put them in the right spots and order to make a working bike. It also takes time, not just a snap of the fingers and it is done.

Below is a pic, there are no cables on it and we just put some cheap peddles on so that Bill could set the tri bars. I think that it is a georgeous bike.

Training it going well, I have noticed lately that I cannot breath very well. After wracking my brain it finally dawned on me what was going on. I have been eating yogurt, .LIGHT BULB! That is why I cannot breath. So I have quit eating the yogurt and hopefully the breathing will come back. I have to be careful with milk products because they make me product mucas and I get bronchitis, well everything that I have read says that yogurt will not do this. Except for me. So no more yogurt.

I have also started to see a chiroprator, I had to do this when I trained for my marathon way back in the early 90's. My hips etc would start to lock up, so the chiro would help keep me in working order. Massage therapy is also a good thing. I wish that I was a low maintance athlete however when running is involved it is not to be.

I have aquired a wetsuit so once the weather and water warms up I can pracitce my open water swimming. Let me tell you putting on the wet suit is a trick in itself. I am glad no one had a camera, Talk about a full body girdle. Now I know what a penis feels like...only I am not ribbed or tropical banana flavor...sorry couldnt resist that visual. :) JG'S adventure in condom buying...

There have been some bad days but I keep telling myself that yes I can do this and I will do this. That is about all for now.

PEACE...JG

Yes, JS is back

2008-03-09T19:51:00.002-05:00

Today was the Chili Ride in Newton. The route was a 20 mile round trip to Reasnor and back. This route has some nice training hills. On the way down I would scoot right up the hills then slow down and wait for JS to catch up. Well on the last hill coming into Newton, I am going up this hill for all I am worth look over and JS is right there at my shoulder. I did a double take and thought "What are you doing here" as long as I have been riding with JS, I have always been better on the hills. I could hear her saying to herself something like ,"Yes I can" "Yes I can" Like the little train that could. Yes JS is back and doing great! Way to go JS you are figuring out how to conquer those hills. Before long you will be scooting right up them without a second thought. I will be fighting to keep up with you. Keep up the good work!! I am proud of how hard you have worked!

PEACE...JG

I'm BACK!!

2008-03-05T22:30:00.003-05:00

After a week of battling a bad cold....I'm back!! It feels good to get some exercise in again!

Tuesday - a nice lite workout to get back into things
6.5 miles on the funbike at the Y
1 mile run/walk
1/2 mile swim

Tonight - 55 minute spin class at the Y - not sure who it was but we did hill after hill after hill for the first half hour. Then it was interval sprints....my butt hurts!!!

but....it feels SO GOOD!!!!

Oh...and I'm down 10 lbs from when I started using sparkpeople to track my eating and exercise. I can fit into pants that I couldn't wear in November!! YOO HOO!!!

Tri Bike

2008-03-01T12:48:00.003-05:00

I will be the first to admit I have no idea what are considered good components, bad components and great components. I do know that I have everything for Bill to build the bike except the seat. He will have to correct me if I am wrong. I believe that some of the components are SRAM and from what I hear they are in the great catagory. The Rims are Roval and the tires hutchinson. The seat I want is from Terry, they have a new tri seat and at the moment are sold out.

Rims and tires

Posom checking things out.

New motivation

2008-02-29T10:05:00.004-05:00

As if the new bike wasn't motivation enough....I have officially signed up for the Pigman Sprint on June 1st! Definitely time to get working!
I'm going to have to make some sacrifices and give up some of my, already depleted, time with Alexa, but I have to get my butt moving more!

I was looking at course records last night...WOW...women's winning overall time was 1:09.47! I could only dream!! I'm hoping for about the same or better than my race debut at the Cy-Man at 1:46.40.

I just have to tell myself...I can do it...I can do it...I can do it...

JG had a meltdown

2008-02-27T20:54:00.003-05:00

Monday things caught up with me, work, housework and training, I had a melt down and it was not pretty. I am wondering if my workout schedule is to intense. It has me doing something 1-2hours + a day except on Fridays. I know that does not sound like much to some but to someone who works all day ,has a house to run and is old and out of shape, it might be to much.

Below is what I did this week, there was more but I did what i could. Sometimes I cut stuff due to time other times I just couldnt do it.

Your Workouts for Saturday:

Workout #2: Bike, Planned duration: 1:30 , Planned distance:

Start in big ring, easiest gear. Spend ~30' gradually working your way up to the hardest you can handle riding 30' in, not worrying about cadence. Leaving it in big ring, hardest possible gear, do 10 x (30" grind, 30" all out, 30" grind, 30" stand) into 5' grind in big ring, hardest gear you can handle. 10' easy small ring spin. Do 5 x (30" grind, 30" all out, 30" grind, 30" stand) into 10' grind in big ring, hardest gear you can handle. Gradually work your back to your easiest gear by 1' for cool-down. Grind means sitting back on saddle, turning pedals over, not worrying about cadence, which should be around 60 or so.

Your Workouts for Sunday:
Workout #1: Run, Planned duration: 1:30 , Planned distance:

Run on a flat course or treadmill. Keep HR in Zone 1-2, no higher than the top of Z2. Include 2x30' of running at 20 beats below LT from run test. Recovery is 5' in Zone 1. Think about running like a Kenyan - smooth and efficient! Stretch when done and add in Core 1, 2 or 3. This run should be between 75-90' long depending on fitness level.

Monday:
Workout #1: Bike, Planned duration: 0:40 , Planned distance:

WU: 10' - CD: 10' After WU, alternate 20-60" with 1 leg off the pedals, and up on a chair. Get a total of 7-10' of ILT on each leg in workout. Alternate legs as you feel like it. Work this at 95-100 rpms, and focus on eliminating dead spot at top of stroke by pushing toes forward in shoes at top.

Your Workouts for Tuesday:
Workout #1: Swim, Planned duration: 1:00 , Planned distance:

400 Warm-up 3 * 200 0:45 rest 8 * 25 kick :10 rest 4 * 100 0:25 rest 8 * 25 kick :10 rest 5 * 50 :10 rest 100 loosen easy swim 6 * 75 pull with paddles 0:20 rest 200 warm-down
Workout #2: Strength, Planned duration: 0:45 , Planned distance:

Your Workouts for Wednesday:
Workout #1: Bike, Planned duration: 1:20 , Planned distance:

10' wu, 10' cd. 10' hard (at LT), 2' easy (zone 2). Do this 3x. Workout #2: Run, Planned duration: 1:00 , Planned distance:
I ran for 30 minutes

Your Workouts for Thursday:
Workout #1: Swim, Planned duration: 1:00 , Planned distance:

WU: 400 warm up (wu). 8 x 50 on 15 sec rest. MS: 1000 yd TT (time trial) for time. CD: 200 - This time for the 1,000 is divided by 10 , to get your avg. pace. This pace is now known as your T-Pace. Only did a 200 warm up otherwise did all.

Your Workouts for Friday: My favorite
Workout #1: Day Off, Planned duration: 0:00 , Planned distance:

Relax

That is all for now...keep on keeping on!

PEACE

What is wrong with this picture....

2008-02-23T11:20:00.006-05:00

Ok I want everyone to take a look at JS's new bike

see how nice it looks....... now take a look at my bike......

Do you see anything ..... missing.....like EVERYTHING!!! Here is the problem,the frame is in the garage at home and the components are at Irwin's...Bill says that since I gave him so much grief over the price of some of the components that I need to find someone else to put it together. So I am in the market for a good bike putter togetherer/mechanic. You will have to go and see Bill at Irwin's to get the components and you might have to fight him for them....But I would like a bike. Now really is that to much to ask, I think not.

Remember the old saying Bill darlin..."Hell hath no fury like a women who does not haveth her bike putth together" :)

PEACE...
ok Bill says it is not the cost of the components we are arguing over it is who is going to pay for the components....men!

A deal we couldn't pass up!!

2008-02-21T21:43:00.004-05:00

Kyle and I headed up to Frostbike at QBP in MN this last weekend. On Saturday morning we headed over to the scratch and dent sale and found a deal we couldn't pass up! Yep, a BMC 2007 TT02 Time Machine. The only thing it needed was wheels, and of course pedals, but every bike needs those! For the picks we just put some regular wheels on, but are keeping our eyes open for some better ones.
The best thing is, with a different seat post Kyle will also be able to use it for the Hy-Vee Tri as he is doing the biking leg again on his team.

So I now have a time trial bike for my triathlons! I can't wait to get out and get some training on it. I'll have to make it to the PRC girls training duathlons this spring.

size medium frame

full campy chorus
w/out wheel weight - 13lbs

It's so pretty!!!

Update for JG

2008-02-18T21:15:00.003-05:00

It has been a while since I checked in. Last week was a tough week. If anyone ever tells you that a tetnus shot will not hurt DO NOT believe them. I had a physical last week and my doctor said I needed a tetnus booster. It about put me down for the whole week. I was struggling just to make it through work let alone exercise. However I plowed on through, it was not pretty but I kept at it. If I couldnt do the whole scheduled workout I did what I could. I am still tired this week which makes me wonder if I might be coming down with something. I could just be tired from having to scoop that lovely wet crap we got this weekend. If you ever want to know when it is going to snow. Just call and I will let you know when Bill is going to be out of town. It will snow alot.

I did find out that I have high cholesterol. My doctor wants to put me on medicine, However I will fight that to the end So I need to buckle down and eat right and lose some of these weight. I am a very bad stress eater and when I stress I want sugar, if anyone has any suggestions for a replacement to sugar PLEASE let me know. I have started a food diary except I am terrible at keeping a diary. I am just terrible at alot of things.

Bill about has all of the parts for my tri bike. We did get into a little spat over it. He wants the best and I can understand that, I would just like to know so I am not shocked by the price. He even gets things at great prices. I keep telling him that the bike is going to be alot faster than the person riding it. I might suck at the tri but by golly I will have a great looking bike!

If I had to put the sports in order of how I feel I am doing I would have to say swimming, Biking and running. The running is going terrible. I need to get outside and with the weather the way it is it is not happening. I still have time.

Until next time...

PEACE

no progress

2008-02-12T11:30:00.000-05:00

I think I'm in the middle of the winter blues!
Stress at work, not sleeping due to my daughter, and (sorry boys) a LONG menstrual cycle (working on 13 days to be exact...once again, sorry boys!) just doesn't make me want to exercise.

Yes, I know exercise can help with the stress, but the lack of sleep really inhibits that.
For some reason Alexa has been waking anywhere from 3:00am to 5:30am and sometimes more than once. Once she wakes, she does not want to lay back down in bed, she just wants to rock or sleep with us.
Well, we DO NOT want her to get in the habit of crawling in bed with us, so I rock for about 10 minutes and then try and lay her down. The other night I resorted to getting my exercise mat, a pillow and blanket and laying beside her bed so she would lay down. I tried to get up about 15 minutes later and she sat straight up and said "stay here, Mommy". OK, back down on a cold hard floor. I fell asleep and woke up about 45 minutes later and went to bed, only to have the alarm wake me 1/2 hour later.
Anyway, some relief is on the way, Kyle and Alexa are heading to CR on Wed, Kyle will then be back on Fri so we can head up to MN for the weekend. I will get some sleep and hopefully some good exercising in!!

A trip to the Dr. on the 18th will hopefully alleviate the other problem aforementioned.

Work stress, that is already getting better as we have year-end stuff pretty much done, now it's just getting everybody's taxes organized after the guys enter them. Big swim meets are done, so less computer work. It was just A LOT all at once!

Winter blues - mother nature needs to help with that one....bring on the warm weather...PLEASE!!
Ah the trials of trying to get healthy and fit....and being a woman!

BRRRRR...no not the bike ride BRR just BRRRR

2008-02-11T22:28:00.000-05:00

It is just cold out. I would like to do my running outside but that does not look like it is going to happen anytime soon. BRRR.

Training is going well, I think that my body it finially getting the idea that we are doing this so quit complaining. I could also be getting numb to the whole thing. Who knows but I like not aching so much. I ran 4 miles the other night on the treadmill and it felt good.

Friday night I went Ice skating. Now that was a treat I only fell once, Thank you Jack he is about 8, It was great exercise and something different.

Complaining aside the exercise is doing good things for me. I had my yearly physical and my blood pressure is normal to a little below. It has not been that way for a long time. I use to have very low blood pressure.

I also splurged this weekend and bought a memory foam bed topper and my body is getting supported better so I am sleeping better. Just little things but they all add up in the end.

That is all for now....PEACE

One goal down!

2008-02-06T18:04:00.000-05:00

I did it...BRR is done...one goal down for the year.

I posted a recap of the ride on our family blog...check it out.

As for the other fitness regime, it's still not going so well.

Tues Jan.29 - after coaching I headed up to the fitness room/track. I did 25 minutes on the exercise bike, which took me 14.5 miles on the hill setting. I then did a 3 mile run/walk on the track. I ran a total of 1.5 miles...not bad! Off to the mat to do some sit-ups and stretches. A good workout, but only once a week just isn't cutting it.

Sat. Feb 2nd - BRR ride

Sun. Feb 3rd - Super Bowl Sunday - no exercise and bad food...a good and bad day!

Mon Feb 4th - Winsor Pilates 20 minute DVD - thanks Beth! I'm borrowing hers until she has her baby, then I'll get my own!

Tues Feb. 5th - after coaching I went up for another 25 minutes on the bike. 14.5 miles is the standard, next time I'll try and go a little faster!

Tonight - I went outside and shoveled our walks. Yeah, we are supposed to have the association do it for us, but when you have someone coming over to drop stuff off and it hasn't been cleared you have to take action! They also don't clear our drive as we have the Mountaineer sitting outside and they can't get in with the plow. So I did the driveway too.
I will also do the Pilates DVD again and maybe some of those great exercises I found on New Years day.

Peace Out!

BRRRR

2008-02-03T10:24:00.000-05:00

JS and JG in Rippey,
Ok I look like a giant lemon but remember I have on a lot of layers. Take note of JS's Pink head cover it was adorable she looks like an Indian lady with her hair covered. Except I don't think they allow Pink. I was wearing a snowboard helmet. Very warm.

Yep yesterday was the Brrr ride, JS and I got all of our winter riding gear out and proceeded to take off with the rest of the crazies. It was actually a nice day for riding. The wind was in our face on the way to Rippey however we knew that riding back to Perry was going to be fun. I would say that we averaged around 12 miles per hour, we were not trying to break any records we just wanted to put in a nice steady ride. It felt good to get out on the bike and not have to settle for the trainer. I felt pretty good. My knees were sore but as Bill said I have not been riding many hills lately. I also noticed that my legs got tired. I would think after of month of intense training that the fatigue would start fading. Maybe I am just kidding myself and I need to get use to it. All in all it was a very nice ride and I really enjoyed it.

PEACE

How it goes.....

2008-01-29T21:33:00.000-05:00

I have always exercised in some way. At times more than others. Lets just face it I am not physically fit at all. Even though I have swam two times a week for 4-5 years. Even though I have put alot of miles on my bike the last two years. I am out of shape. I have been on my base fitness schedule for almost a month now and I have been following it close, there has only been a couple of times that I have cut time short just because I physically couldnt go on. I am finally starting to notice slight changes. I have noticed that I have gotten alot stronger at swimming. I have noticed that my rpms on the bike are way up and I actually ran 4 miles the other night. They were not fast miles or pretty miles but I did them. I have noticed that I want to eat better, I am choosing fruit over candy. I drink alot of water however now I am drinking more. I have noticed my stomach muscles feeling tighter, my legs are shaping up and I am walking straighter. The down side is that I ache all of the time, I think that it is just the body rebelling against what I am forcing it to do a match of wills between the mind and the body. I am hoping that by the end of the second month some of the aching starts to fade. The first month has been tough and I have questioned my sanity many many times however I am not ready to hang it up.

PEACE

Another week down....

2008-01-28T13:36:00.000-05:00

....and not much done!
When you work full-time and have to get deadline computer work done for the swimteam, it's really hard to find the time to exercise. Especially when you aren't truly done working until 10:00pm! Very frustrating!! Season is officially over the end of March and it will slow down considerably after Feb. 10th...then the hard work really will start...I promise. You are all reading it here!

Anyway, the only thing I got done last week was Tuesday after coaching. I headed up to the track at the Y. Completed a 5 minute warm-up...I'm guessing close to 1/2 mile...need to track that better. Ran 1/2 mile, walked 1/4 mile, ran 1/4 mile, walked 1/4 mile, ran 1/4 mile, finished with a 1/4 mile walk. So about 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 miles down! Not too bad.

Then it was off to one of those fun little exercise bikes. Picked a 6.5 mile hilly course this time. FUN!! Took me about 18 minutes.

After that I did a round on the freemotion machines. I did all of the arms machines and picked my favorites on the legs. Love the freemotion at the Y. It gives the ease of the machine, but is designed to use more muscle control like freeweights. Very cool equipment.

So all in all, Tuesday was a great exercise day. I did random stretching throughout the week. I also played with Alexa and we worked on counting while I did some chest presses with her, some legs lifts, and some hip raises. She has fun and it adds a good 26lbs to my little exercises.

BRR on Saturday...hope I don't die!

Stretching

2008-01-22T19:00:00.000-05:00

My training has been going well. I will admit that I am tired. I dont know if it is the increased exercise or maybe the weather. One thing that i have noticed is that I am stiff. I know that stretching is a very important part of a persons life. Not only an athlete but anyone. I am terrible about stretching. I hope to change that. My massage therapist told me about a dvd that she says works very well. It takes a different approach to stretching. Instead of holding the muscle stretch. The dvd has you hold the stretch for two seconds however you do the stretch at least 10 times. I will do the arm and finger portion of the dvd at work when I feel my arms tightening up because of using the keyboard so much. My goal is to try to do these stretches everyday or at least every other day.

The dvd called Stretch for Health was created by Michael Young.

In 1991, Michael Young, NCTMB, decided to change his lifestyle and his career. He and his wife moved to Colorado and settled in Evergreen. Michael enrolled in the Colorado School of Healing Arts where he studied to become a certified massage therapist. Michael had always loved massage. As he learned more about the benefits of massage therapy, he decided that was his new career choice. In school, Michael was trained in Swedish Massage, Deep Tissue Massage, Neuromuscular Massage, Therapeutic Massage, and Relaxation Massage. Upon graduation, he opened up his business, Massage Works.

The DVD it is very cheaply made, there are not gorgeous girls in skimpy work out clothes. Michael narrates and has a slight stutter and his wife is the model. However if you can over look that there are some great stretches.

PEACE JG

A better Weekend

2008-01-22T12:58:00.000-05:00

Got my butt moving on Saturday and did some needed catch-up!

I headed over to the Y and caught the 9:25 spin class. About 10 minutes late, but worked hard and then headed to the pool.

Warm-up
200 Free 100 Breast 200 Free
Kick set 500 total - 100 increments w/flippers - different kicks each increment
Alternate 6 x 100's
Free and Breast
1 mile total in about 45 minutes. A swimmer's mile is 1600yds. Short breaks between sets and a pee break in there too! Too much water during spin class!

Sunday was finishing cleaning and relaxing.

Monday night I got on the bike trainer for 45 minutes. Put some minute sprints in every now and again and did some 2 minute hills also.

Bad week!

2008-01-18T22:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I didn't get my Sunday workout in on Sunday or Monday.

Tuesday - see post about New Fun!

Wednesday - was going to ride the trainer, but ended up being up until 11:00pm trying to finalize swim meet entries for the meet on Saturday....very frustrating!

Thursday - went to bed early, Wed night was to bed at 11:00, fell asleep around 11:45, up at 3:00 with Alexa, up at 5:00 with Alexa again!! Lack of sleep created a big headache by the time I got home!

Tonight - was going to ride the trainer again - Alexa didn't get down until 9:00 and then low and behold a call from the head coach - needed a new email with the team database as the first one I sent didn't work....aauugghhh.....at least I get paid every time she calls and takes up my time!!

Tomorrow - spin class at 9:15am, then it's off to swim laps. have to get back into it somehow!

Very frustrating week, work wise, both jobs, and with lack of exercise.....I feel HORRIBLE!!

WHY?

2008-01-17T21:12:00.000-05:00

I have been doing this schedule for 2 weeks and there have been many times I ask myself , WHY! am i doing this. If I were to just stop no one would care. It has always been a dream of mine to do a tri well I did that last summer. WHY, part of the reason is that i like to challenge myself, I like to see how far I can push me. I believe that a bigger reason is that for some reason I feel I need to prove to myself and others that I can do this. Why do I need to prove myself.....sometimes I just feel lost in the crowd. I get tired of hearing how everyone else is so great. I know that If I do this it will be the same I will still be lost in the crowd but I will have an olympic tri under my belt to go along with my marathon. If no one else cares I still know that I did it and gave it my all. That is why.

PEACE JG

New Fun!

2008-01-15T22:11:00.000-05:00

The YMCA has a new fun exercise bike. The handles move and you ride a course on a little screen in front of you. Kind of like a video game. It has a shifter knob and tells you the % grade, how fast you're going, and tracks your time.
I did the "campus tour" tonight. A 2 mile bike ride around a scenic college campus. It took me just over 8 minutes.
Before I found these fun new bikes I did a walk/run on the track.
5 minute warm-up, 1/2 mile run, 5 minute cool-down.
Total of about 15 minutes....not real sure of the time. I also did some leg exercises on the freemotion machines.

I just started with a new website to help me track my nutrition and fitness.
It's FREE and I hope it will help me find some better ways to eat and help with what I need to buy for groceries and also keep me on track for my fitness. Thanks for pointing it out Suzie!!

Update

2008-01-14T13:23:00.000-05:00

Friday...Rest Day, YIPPIE!!

Saturday was a bike day, was suppose to do a long ride in low heart rate zone. I rode for 45 minutes. I am having issues with my right hamstring, It might be a stretching issue. I will have to work on that more.

Sunday was a run day...the run like a kenyan. Well they will just have to put up with a plow horse. I ran for 45 minutes and it was not bad, not the best that I have ever done but I have done worse.

Today is biking again working on the one leg at a time. I am glad people are not watching me they would think that i have lost it.

Not much else to say...PEACE JG

My week

2008-01-13T19:46:00.000-05:00

This week went pretty good. Still not quite up to par from the surgery, but at least I'm doing some things and getting some small workouts in.

Tuesday - coached for an hour and then headed up to the treadmill. I got a good 35 minutes in, but when I tried to run, it didn't work...so it was only walking.

Wednesday - sat on the trainer for 45 minutes. Everyone tells me how boring it is, but I didn't realize it could be that boring! Did the same routine of a good spin during my show and fast, hard spin during the commercials.

Thursday - I had to go do some computer work at the Y for team. After I was done, I started my swimming. Got a good 1/2 mile in before the pool closed.

Friday was off as I drove to my parents house so I could go watch my nephew play basketball one last time.

Saturday - walked on the treadmill during the first half of the Packers game....GO PACKERS!!! I even got a few jogging sets in during the commercials.

Today - decided to do an off day as I had to drive home from my parents. I'll do today's swim/run tomorrow night after Alexa goes to bed.

Eating went great until I got back to my parents....mmmm.....Pizza Ranch pizza, cookies, and doughnuts! I did good all last week so I know I can get back into the good eating this week.

JG talked about doubt...my doubt is...can I really give myself more time like I say I'm going to? Working full time I feel so guilty not being around Alexa at night and I know that I have to take time away from her to do the running and swimming. Biking I can pull her and get a harder workout in. So my doubt is that I'll be able to get past the guilt of leaving her at night too!

Tues, Wed, Thurs

2008-01-10T22:30:00.000-05:00

Swim, Run, Swim.

Tuesdays swim went very well it was alot of drills. I really enjoy the drills helps keep the mind from getting bord.

Workout # 1: Swim, Planned duration: 0:40, Planned distance: 0
WU: 500 easy. 4 x 100 free/50 kick on back, 10" rest between. 4 x 100 kickboard (free/breast kick mix). 10" rest. 500 pull easy straight into 200 non-free mix.

Wed was running. Not so good Houdini was up to his old tricks so I was running on the treadmill trying not to step on kittens and trying not to break something. I was very tired.

Thur was more swimming. I was very tired today. I also was having issues with goggles and swimcap. Can someone tell me what is a good pair of goggles. They either hurt my eyes(the eye socket), to close to my eyes(lashes rubbing) or do not seal. I dont know how many goggles I have and I have not found a pair that really works. Same goes for swimcap. They keep sliding off my head. I know fat head.

Workout # 1: Swim, Planned duration: 1:00, Planned distance: 0
WU: 10 minutes alternating slow-fast pacing. Play with different strokes while warming up. MS: 30-minute steady swim. Swim without stopping. Count your strokes on the first 25 of each 100. Are they staying constant? CD: 5 minutes very easy. Choice of strokes or floating on your back and sculling. Total: 45 minutes

I have been having doubt issues it is only January and I am questioning my sanity can I really do this. I get this way when I am tired and have to much to do which is usually most of the time. Eating was bad today. I dont know if you have had your work computer just go blitzo on you but mine went KABOOM. So they reprofiled it and it takes about a day to get everything back, so I spent most of the day yesterday and today pulling things off and putting them on other computers so that they could reprofile mine. I am all for paper and pencil. :). So chocolate was my comfort food. I just need to take deep breaths and keep going.

Until Next time...PEACE..JG

I'm here...

2008-01-08T09:56:00.000-05:00

This weekend didn't work out like I wanted. Sunday became a lazy day, so I forced myself to go sit on the trainer at 8:30pm after Alexa went to bed. I ended up doing 45 minutes. Nice and steady during my show and fast spin during the commercials.

I found a little triathlon workout in my Fitness magazine. I am going to follow it as a guide for what I should do each day. It is for beginner and some of the distances are not much at all. So I will bump it up to fit me more.

Monday is rest day, so I didn't do anything last night.
Tonight is supposed to be biking. But since I am at the Y coaching I will switch and do Wed. walk/run/strength. I will do the biking Wed night at home.

Eating has still been going good.
Sunday was a bowl of cereal for breakfast, leftover mexican lasagna for lunch, Pork roast and veggies for supper. Snack was a cookie.

Monday was small baggie cereal and banana for breakfast, leftover pork roast and veggies for lunch, carrots and celery w/peanut butter for snack, breaded fish/veggies/tator tots for supper.

It's amazing when you don't eat as many carbs how fatigued your body feels. I don't know how anyone can do an Atkins diet! I would not be able to handle it!!!