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You are viewing the most recent 40 entries July 13th, 200912:48 am: 21, 22
No workouts on Friday, a rest day. No pedicabbing either, because then it wouldn't be a rest day... And it was quite the rest day. I went to bed before 11 PM on Thursday and was up at 7:00 the next morning, an unheard of amount of sleep for a weekday for me in a long time, especially for a Thursday, a night that I usually pedicab up until this month. For a Friday, I was strangely alert at work. Again to bed by 11, and up at 6 AM on Saturday. ( workouts )
July 9th, 200909:48 pm: 20
Texas Iron open water group workout. After running this morning when the temperatures already were verging on unbearable, I couldn't bear the thought of looking at my wetsuit, let alone putting it on at 6:30 PM to swim, even though it seemed doable at last week's swim. After work, I made the drive out to Emma Long Lake Park sans wetsuit and swam in my tri-suit. And got my workout on, as our warmup was a thirty minute continuous swim, with the first fifteen building, second fifteen strong. Yikes. I'm still not comfortable swimming bilaterally or breathing every three strokes for extended periods of time, especially out of my wetsuit, so I stuck to breathing on one side, every two strokes. The problem is that I have a bad habit of pulling harder with my left arm as I breath to the right, and it makes my left shoulder sore, and my back gets a little achey too. And my neck chafes on the right side. So I focused on pulling through more with my right catch, which did propel me along faster or at least it felt that way. The problem with that was the extra force from my right side pulled me off course and I was swimming at bizarro angles to the buoys. That was frustrating. It seemed like it did balance my body more because I don't have the usual chafing and soreness now. After the warmup, we practiced starts again, and making left turns around the buoys, doing four shorter loops. Being in the cold water felt great, and was worth making the long drive from downtown. I think maybe some of the sluggishness this morning may have been due to the hot tub last night. I consulted the interwebs about hot soaks and the consensus was it is pretty much not recommended after endurance workouts. The only exception was as a "contrast bath"- immersion in hot water, then cold water. I liked the way the jets in the hot tub felt on my legs, so I was thinking maybe next time I try it, I'll pick up some bags of ice afterwards and have an ice bath at home. There should have cold tub days at the Gregory pool- pump in refrigerated water or set up an ice machine to fill the hot tub.
02:59 pm: 19
50-70 minute run, 10 minute easy, 40-60 minute moderate. Wow it was tough to get out to run this morning. My body definitely needs to readjust to the early morning routine, not to mention the extra weekday run. I think I always managed to find reasons to skip these in previous training programs. I had to do the run before work because of the group swim workout after work today, and I really didn't want to use the indoor track again at lunch. My heel was still a little tight during the first part of my run today. I felt very sluggish and plodded through most of this, without a lot of "moderate". The Olympic schedule was fifty minutes and the distance was seventy minutes and I started on the same Congress route that I've been using for my long runs. On the way to Congress after passing the S. 1st bridge I wasn't quite ready to do my long run distance as a midweek run, and turned around to go back to the ramp up to the 1st St. bridge, which in the end didn't trim that much distance. I stopped running sixty minutes after leaving home, which brought me back to YMCA after crossing back at Mopac and taking the "pedestrian underpass" under Cesar Chavez.
July 8th, 200911:55 pm: 17, 18
Trainer workout this morning. I modified the sixty minute workout on the Olympic schedule to be a little longer by adding an extra build interval, because the trainer workout for today on the long distance schedule was seventy-five minutes, and my workout clocked in at sixty-seven minutes. It's fortunate that I'm able to position my handlebars less than three feet from one of my window AC units, and there also a fan on the other side of my bike, so while sweat soon started to pour, it was mostly evaporated before hitting the floor. After work, I headed over to the Gregory pool for another sixty minute swim workout, the highlight of which was the "swim test": 4x100 as strong as you can hold for all four, with two minute recovery after each 100. The idea of a test stresses me out in general, and I decided to not try anything fancy, like flip turns, and swim steady for all four. The first two went by with no struggle at all, the third took a little more concentration, and the fourth was harder to hold, but all four clocked in at 1:50, which is about what I expected, though I was surprised to have to struggle through the fourth, after having the long two minute recovery, which I spent swimming a very easy 50 with the rest after each length. I also worked more on flip turns during my cool down. One problem I noticed for me is that sometimes I scrape the bottom of the pool during part of my flip because it's so shallow (3'9"). I played around with the turns for fun, mainly to get comfortable with underwater manuevers with little pressure to get through the workout because it was mostly over. After the pool, I ventured over to the hot tub. Hot tubs always sort of scare me as being possibly unsanitary, but this hot tub looked very clean. And hot. Even hotter than the pool, which could be considered a very large hot tub on its own. It seemed pretty silly to be sinking into still yet even hotter water, but it performed the miracle of making the air temperature feel cool. As I let the jets massage my IT bands, hamstrings, and quads, I wondered if there was any actual scientific therapeutic value to this as opposed to say, Advil. It definitely felt good, which is enough to qualify as therapy to me!
July 7th, 200910:37 pm: 16
Texas Iron run workout this evening. It was again very hot. After a twenty minute tempo-ish warmup (ten minutes easy, five minutes moderate-easy, five minutes moderate-strong), we re-convened at the section of Zilker bordered by Stratford and the Trail of Lights road where we learned our workout would be drills and strides, then the always popular ten repeats of one minute ON, one minute rest. This was my first real attempt at speed work in some time. I had done 3 strides last week during my run on the indoor track at Gregory, but those weren't very ambitious, plus we aren't supposed to sprint on the track there anyway. By the way, I think my thirty minute run on that little track (seven laps to a mile) messed with my left heel a little. The direction of the day was counter-clockwise, so I was turning on my left foot. I tried to keep it wide and stayed in the outer lane, but that's a lot of turns in a half hour, even at my pace. My heel was sore at the beginning of my run on Saturday and it was still sore today. I guess I need to get over my phobia of treadmills if I want to run inside. So I was pretty tentative when we started, and took it easy during the strides part of drills and strides, and kept basically the same pace for the first four repeats of one minute ON. We were to get an additional two minutes of rest after the sixth repeat, so I nudged up my pace for five and six and covered a little more distance. After the break, I finished with the same distances for the last four. For the last two, I was going to try and really blow it out and cover even more ground, but only was able to stay constant with the previous two. That's probably a sign that I wasn't sandbagging too much at the beginning! We ran back to the pool parking lot at Zilker and I almost didn't make it. I got really tired about halfway there, and had to revert to the basic Ironman shuffle, and was pretty much zapped by the time I got back. I had a nice leisurely ride/coast home, with a stop at Whole Foods. It is a longer ride from Zilker to my new place than it was to my old place in Barton Hills, but at least I don't have deal with any hills like Robert E. Lee.
July 6th, 200909:26 pm: 15
Sixty minute swim workout. I worked more on breathing every three strokes and DPS. The bilateral breathing is coming along but DPS is still not very high. I'm thinking too much about the breathing rhythm I forget about maximizing my stroke. I did 2x300 fartlek swim (25 strong, 25 easy, etc. to 75s) and kept up breathing every three strokes until the strong 75, then it felt like my head was going to explode and I went back to every two. I had some time to kill at the end of my workout, so I reviewed flip turns. I'm afraid I haven't been very diligent about using them. Had the perfect opportunity to practice during the swim classes at UT this past year, but no, I continued to opt for lazy open turns. After about a dozen attempts I finally watched someone else do a flip turn in the pool, then I got it and tumbled through three turns. The person I watched planted his feet under the cross on the wall, so he was pushing up to the surface. I've always land my feet, if I make it, at the top of the cross, and wind up somehow pushing down at weird, not forward, angles. Not sure if dropping my feet on the wall is correct form, but it worked for me tonight. A grad student here highly recommended the hot tub at Gregory outdoor pool. As many times as I've been in the pool, I've never ventured into the hot tub there. Apparently not many people do and most of the time, you can have it to yourself. And I forgot tonight, even though I meant to try it out. I wonder if it will help for recovery purposes. I haven't been so wiped out yet to do an ice bath, but I may be in need of one after this week, as I transition onto the long distance schedule from the Olympic distance schedule.
July 4th, 200903:57 pm: 13, 14
So I had a full night's sleep but have to get used to rising extra early again. Workout #1 was a base run. It's been so long since I've done a run first thing in the morning, I forgot about the need to let nature takes its course before hitting the road, and it was after nine by the time I was ready to start, even though I was up at 7:30. I did exactly the same route as last week, and it took almost exactly the same amount of time, sixty five minutes. Workout #2 was a base ride. After re-sunscreening, I loaded up the bike on my car and drove out to the Veloway. It was indeed hot by that time. For the first part of the ride, there were still a lot of clouds dotting the sky and helpfully blocking the sun so the heat wasn't so bad but by the third loop on S. Mopac, the sky was hopelessly clear. I had planned on three S. Mopac loops and three Veloway loops. I did one Veloway loop after S. Mopac and decided enough was enough, and rolled back to my car at two hours ride time. It was the only one parked on LaCrosse. :-P I kept everything at a high cadence and small gear for most of the time and didn't worry about my mph, especially given how hot it was, and was surprised that it was 14.6. It seemed like every time I glanced at my computer I was going 11 or 12. Or 8 or 9. And my legs felt gratifyingly fresh for not having pedicabbed last night. I'm going to have used to the idea of letting pedicabbing go some nights in order to have a quality workout in the morning, both in terms of recovery and time of day. Even with the late start today, it was only (only- ha) breaking 100 when I finished. If I had pedicabbed last night, I would probably have been starting at the time I finished. I would have been tired, and it would be too hot out anyway to have any decent training value.
July 3rd, 200910:45 pm: ef pedicabbin
Rode down to the pedicab shop this evening to get my cab for the night, was dismayed to find one my tires flat. &@##2**! I picked about a hundred bits of glass out of my tire, replaced the tube, and decided it was a sign from the training gods to bail on riding for the night. Went home, got my stuff ready to run and ride tomorrow, made a big batch o' pasta salad for the week (and tonight) and am about to crash. Just like old times.
11:56 am: 12
75 minute trainer workout again this morning. The schedule didn't specify using a trainer, but it looked like a trainer workout [2x(6, 4, 2 min strong all with 3 min rest] and since my bike was already parked conveniently in the trainer... I used Coach Troy again for the warmup, the thirty minute technique and drill workout. I need to decide on what I'm doing this weekend. Saturday is slated as a day off, with a run and bike on Sunday. I may switch that because Saturday won't really be a day off because I'll be pedicabbing in the evening, so it makes more sense to do the run and bike before pedicabbing, and have Sunday as a true rest day. The question is how much I want to pedicab tonight. I didn't work last night, and apparently it was pretty good money, and tonight promises to be more of the same, with everyone celebrating the short work week and the holiday on Saturday. The run on the Olympic schedule is 45 minutes and 75 on the distance, and the bike is 90 minutes for the Olympic and 2.5 hours for the distance, so it's pick a time between the two, preferably landing closer to the shorter times.
12:44 am: 9, 10, 11
whew, almost had to break my streak. I came home last night and discovered my water was off, thanks to Austin Energy. The guys in the house in front recently moved out and apparently ordered their utilities stopped and the Austin Energy crew who came out didn't bother to check to see if the meter they turned off was actually for their order, or to my place. Argh. ( Read more... )
June 30th, 200909:13 pm: 7, 8
Yesterday was an off day, so I went grocery shopping in the evening. During my time off from training, I tried to develop a consistent routine for shopping and cooking, to get out of the Jimmy Johns and pizza rut that my diet became over the past year. ( one day off and the streak continues )
June 28th, 200910:26 pm: long run
I pedicabbed until late last night and blissfully slept in this morning. I was thinking of doing the run scheduled for today late at night, as in 10 or 11, but got restless about it and talked myself into going out at 8, with the sun and temperature still fairly high. But the sun had set enough to cast deep shadows which made running doable. I think the workouts on Tuesday and Thursday did a lot for my courage about venturing out to run in this heat. The run on the sprint schedule was 55 minutes and 80 minutes on the olympic schedule and I set out aiming for a time in that range. I kept everything very slow and easy for the first thirty minutes and was comfortable, but decided I better end it on the 55 minute side, being my first try at a long run in a long time. And after I decided to do that, I had a few unplanned fast intervals, fast enough to be breathing hard. I didn't make a conscious decision to pick up the pace, just seemed to happen. I wanted to complete a full loop from where I started on the trail so maybe that pushed me a little harder. I started from home, accessed the trail at Lamar, near the Y, ran to the left/east around Congress, then back on the other side of the lake to Mopac, and back to Lamar. That took 1:04, which, really, isn't bad for me given the stoplights and water breaks. I think that distance is about six miles, five for the Congress loop, and one to the trail. I had a couple walking breaks too. After exiting the trail, I walked back home, happy with a sixty-four minute running effort.
June 27th, 200903:16 pm: two more
on my schedule, workout #1 was a swim and bike, and workout #2 was a run. Hmm, that seems it ought to count as three workouts but I'll stick to the rules of my game. ( Read more... )
June 25th, 200910:32 pm: three in a row
That coffee maker will be mine. How crass is that? I motivate myself to train for the Ironman, an athletic test that inspires achievement by people from all levels of fitness and with different personal challenges, with kitchen appliances. ;-) . I do what it takes. Made it to another Texas Iron workout where I both biked and ran. Pretty much just did whatever Coach Geoff instructed. On the second run interval, I remembered the word turnover. Mmmm...flaky little pastry filled with fruit. Oh yeah, and my feet. So I tried to keep them moving quickly and my arms too, so at least it looked like I was running. Have I mentioned my new cycling shoes? I got a smoking hot deal on a pair of Sidi Carbon Pro excellent uber shoes at the Bicycle Sports Shop tent sale a few months ago. These shoes will practically pedal the bike for me. I went to the tent sale looking for shoes because my Shimano tri shoes are pretty worn out, and I kept forgetting to bring them back from the pedicab shop on the weekends. I couldn't believe it when I saw the markdown on the Sidis, and snapped them up. They are obnoxiously shiny and silver so maybe that why they were priced to move. But unfortunately not tri-specific, so it might take awhile to make them work with transitions. So far, I can do the flying dismount on my trainer but haven't tried it on the road, and wasn't gonna risk it today at the workout. So the whole "transition" part of my workout was sorta lame, but it was OK switching from the bike to the run, and the run to the bike. As OK as it could be for being 105 degrees. At 7 PM. Tomorrow is an off day on the schedule, I think. Better check that. Don't want to break my streak. On the way home with my bike on my car, I stopped at the Mini-Storage where we store our pedicabs. It's a medium sized lot with three main lanes that are connected on each side, like a box, or track, with a lane down the center. I zeroed the distance on my bike computer and rode around the lot. Three laps around the Mini-Storage equals 0.4 miles exactly. Six laps is 0.8, fifteen laps is two miles. The Mini-Storage also is locked with a fence and has an indoor bathroom, plus a place to park or leave my bike. And a water fountain. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?... the heat situation here is becoming an issue, especially when I pedicab until the wee hours. I can't get up early enough to beat the heat of the day. I might try doing some runs after pedicabbing when it's about as cool as it will get for the day. I could hit the street too, but it seems safer to stay behind the locked gate, plus pedicabbers are around there until almost sunrise. Maybe not as exciting being out on the road, but a little better than a treadmill. Well, I probably could watch TV on a treadmill. But running circles around a dark storage facility in the middle of the night has its own sick appeal.
June 24th, 200909:09 pm: Go Horns!
Fingers crossed for a late inning rally- I'm gonna pedicab if they win. Yeah, I'm kind of a mercenary fan, hoping to profit on people celebrating a College World Series victory downtown. Got my swim on after work. That's two workouts in a row! I made myself a promise in April that I would get myself a new coffee maker after thirty consecutive workouts. That was April, and I still have the crusty old machine with the failing warmer. Twenty-eight to go...
June 23rd, 200911:47 pm: confessions
Dear Live Journal, Please forgive me for neglecting you. I used to log religiously about my workouts and various life details then got self-conscious about it all and spending so much time online. My attention span for blogging has dwindled to the limits of Facebook updates, and usually can't even handle doing more than a quick scroll over my LJ friends page most days. I will try to do better. I have another confession. Until today, I have not run farther than across the street to beat traffic since last fall. Yes, since early October. It may have even been September. I can't remember exactly when to be honest. No matter, it's time to move on, and I went to my first Texas Iron run workout since last fall this evening and did not die, even though it was 103 and the workout was Wilke. Ironman Wisconsin is a little more than eleven weeks away. September 13, 2009. With a short taper that gives me about ten weeks to get ready. Get ready for lots of updates to skim over! Yr pal, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) cruisergirlp.s. One more confession: My cruiser was having some safety issues so I started riding my old road bike as a commuter until I finally got everything on the cruiser fixed. The problem is, and I was afraid this would happen, is that I really really like using my road bike to get around. The cruiser doesn't feel right, like it's too small, especially after a long weekend of pedicabbing, and riding the cruiser feels like being on a flimsy two-wheeled version of my giant tricycle. The road bike on the other hand is a delight to ride after my pedicabbing shift- feels very solid, and-- so light. cruisergirl may have become an outdated username for me.
May 5th, 200902:37 am: MS 150 Ride Report
As you all probably have heard by now, the first day of the MS 150 last month was cancelled due to the weather. The MS Society made the call the day before the ride was to begin in Houston after massive rainfall (over eleven inches overnight) flooded the Fayette County Fairground in La Grange, where most of the riders camp out for the night after day one. But, everyone regrouped for the second day of the ride and on early Sunday morning (April 19), converged on La Grange which had dried out enough by then to send off the more than 11,000 cyclists (out of 13,000 registered) out on the ride to Austin. Instead of the usual line to start from the narrow and damp paths inside the fairground, the ride began on the wide avenue in front of the courthouse in the middle of La Grange, a nice bonus both for pictures and for seeing the thousands of determined cyclists roll up for the one day ride. There was a steady drizzle when I arrived in La Grange a couple hours before the start of the ride, but it cleared up as it got light. The northwest wind that was kind enough to strip away the clouds from the blue sky didn't stop blowing as the sun broke through, which added to challenge of the ride back to Austin and made up (a little bit) for missing the first hundred miles the day before. I chased a lot of pace lines, always a risky sport in the MS 150, and I think I worked harder to keep up with my drafting victims than if I had fought the wind directly. It was an exhilarating ride! With your help, I've surpassed my fundraising goal of $1,000 again this year, and so far have raised $1,378, my highest total of five MS 150 rides. I haven't been the best about sending out followups to my campaigns, and please know that I appreciate everyone's support and thank you all for your generous contributions. And, there still is time to donate to this year's ride if you have not already using this link http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/TXHBikeEvents?px=5501708&pg=personal&fr_id=10222Or get in touch with me for information on how to send a check or cash. You can donate through May 19 and it will be counted as part of this year's ride. It was sad to lose the first day of the ride, with the mad crazy dash out of Houston, the potatoes for lunch in Bellville, the soap bubbles in Fayetteville, and hills covered in wildflowers. I didn't realize how much I'd miss those hundred miles until being DENIED by the weather! I'll be ready to ride again, the entire distance, in 2010. Fingers crossed for fair skies (and a tailwind)! With much love and gratitude, P.S. Pictures from the 2009 ride: http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesofmycatsandstuff/sets/72157617115265648/Pictures from the 2008 ride (not very organized): http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesofmycatsandstuff/sets/72157604812182314/And 2007, all taken with one-time use cameras (my first Flickr photos!): http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesofmycatsandstuff/sets/72157600230405102/
April 30th, 200901:37 am: check, and check
I filled up four boxes with the last of the stuff that didn't sell on Craigslist and dropped it off at the Safeplace warehouse this morning. It still amazes me how much room "little stuff" can take up. I guess it took moving into a place where space is at a premium for me to figure that out. The four boxes, plus two (gently used) litter boxes and one bike wheel took up most of the interior of my car! I actually still a couple larger things left because they wouldn't fit in my car with the rest of the stuff, so I can try Craigslist again or make another trip. But I'm done with the Great Stuff Dump of 2009 for now. As I loaded my car this morning, I wryly remembered the To-Do list that I jotted on my white board for the winter break last December, before I had any inkling that I might want to move. On the list was cleaning my apartment and to take a carload of stuff to the Safeplace warehouse. I think I've accomplished that now. Next on my list from December is getting my car washed. I'm telling myself that washing my car does not equate to buying a new car...
April 18th, 200909:19 pm: Ready, set, go, take 2
Saturday 5:10p - Confirmed: Day 2 of BP MS 150 Rolls from La Grange to Austin
Starting at 8 a.m. Sunday, April 19
The 2009 BP MS 150 will roll from La Grange to Austin on Day 2. The annual fundraising ride begins with a rolling start for cyclists from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Sunday, April 19, at the Fayette County Courthouse in the town square of La Grange.Today was sad- I missed riding the crazy first day century of the MS 150, blasting across flat east Texas, lunch in Bellville, soap bubbles in Fayetteville, and giant fields of bluebonnets. Didn't realize how attached I've become to doing this ride. My bike was sad too so we went for a little spin to Fresh Plus for some groceries:  Pretty fun for a commuter those I don't think I'll ever get used to clip-in pedals on city streets, at least on two wheels. At every stop sign, I had to remind myself about that, that I was on two wheels, not three... About those shoes- a KILLER deal at the Bicycle Sports Shop tent sale. I was looking for some new bike shoes and had just read a review about those shoes (Sidi Ergo 2 Carbon) but didn't even consider buying them because of the M$RP. I was trying on some shoes at the tent sale in my price range when the BSS person helping me mentioned that there was a pair of those Sidis in my size on clearance, at a price on the low end of my range! Whee! The poser look is almost complete- I only need a pointy helmet now!
April 17th, 200909:20 pm: revised update
Ah-ha, new paragraph added to the 8:30 "update"- there must have been a flood of phone calls or messages or something: Friday 8:30p - At this time the Lone Star Chapter of the National MS Society plans to have the 25th Anniversary of the BP MS 150 take place on Sunday, April 19 from La Grange to Austin. Cyclists will start at the Fayette County Courthouse in La Grange in the town square (151 N Washington St, La Grange, TX 78945). The ride will start at 8 a.m.
If you already paid for transportation from Austin to Houston, we will be providing a shuttle from Austin to La Grange on Sunday, April 19 from 17th and San Jacinto. Buses will begin loading at 4:45am and will leave promptly at 5:30am.
We ask that cyclists find their own transportation to La Grange on Sunday. Due to the minimal parking available we ask that cyclists either car pool or arrange to be dropped off in La Grange. We will be providing both rider and bike transportation back to La Grange from Austin on Sunday evening. We will also be providing transportation from Austin to Tully Stadium in Houston.Maybe I should just stay up all night Saturday pedicabbing and go straight to the shuttle bus to La Grange after the bar rush. ;-) I kid. Actually I think my pedicab is at a mechanic's shop at the moment, having its front brake fixed or "bled"- I thought about checking on it tonight but decided to lounge at home tonight. I don't have many Friday nights off.
08:38 pm: Anyone going to La Grange tomorrow or early Sunday AM?
Friday 8:30p - At this time the Lone Star Chapter of the National MS Society plans to have the 25th Anniversary of the BP MS 150 take place on Sunday, April 19 from La Grange to Austin. Cyclists will start at the Fayette County Courthouse in La Grange in the town square (151 N Washington St, La Grange, TX 78945). The ride will start at 8 a.m.
We ask that cyclists find their own transportation to La Grange on Sunday. Due to the minimal parking available we ask that cyclists either car pool or arrange to be dropped off in La Grange. We will be providing both rider and bike transportation back to La Grange from Austin on Sunday evening. I don't want to drive all the way to La Grange, ride to Austin, then catch a bus back to La Grange to drive my car back to Austin, especially if it's all on Sunday. :-( Maybe if I can find a place to stay in La Grange, I'll drive out tomorrow. It might be better for me on Sunday morning to ride out from the finish line in Austin instead and meet the ride halfway around Bastrop, turn around, and ride back to the finish. Hmm. Guess I've got tonight to sleep on it at least.
04:57 pm: MS 80?
I was late as usual getting to the bus that takes people from Austin to Houston for the MS 150 this weekend, and as the bus was filling up at about 3:30, an MS 150 official got on and announced that the first day of the ride on Saturday, from Houston to La Grange, was cancelled! Apparently La Grange got eleven inches of rain so far today and the fairground where almost everyone stays overnight is under water and/or turned into massive mud puddle, and the big team tents are collapsing or blowing over. They didn't think it would be possible to have it cleaned up by tomorrow night, so made the call to cancel. No mention of road flooding but I imagine the low water crossings along the way might be under water too. I was thinking we might be able to ride with the rain, but it would be really hard to support, from tending to the inevitable crashes to getting people and stuff to and from the breakpoints. So, good thing I was running late- I'm home now in Austin with my luggage and bike, and was able to cancel my hotel in Houston for no penalty. Day Two is still supposed to happen, but possibly with a different route! Nobody knows yet, or knew when I left the Austin registration tent. I tried the MS 150 website a few minutes ago but it was slammed. I'm not mad about it but it's funny in twenty-five years of doing this ride, there apparently wasn't a plan for a rain out. They said it was the first time this has ever happened in the twenty-five years of the Houston-Austin MS 150. I supposed that's a pretty good record, though for me, it was about to be my second consecutive century ride in the rain! I was getting Ironman Lake Placid flashbacks this morning!
April 16th, 200912:03 pm: MS 150, ready set go
The big weekend is almost here, and I leave tomorrow for Houston on a bus, and will return to Austin by bike via La Grange on Saturday and Sunday. Getting ready for the MS 150 requires a lot of training. I'm not quite ready to tackle the 180 mile route from Houston to Austin with my pedicab, yet, but it's true I have spent way more time on the seat of my giant passenger trike than on my bicycle lately. A few weeks ago, I rode my pedicab in the Rosedale Ride, which raises money for the Rosedale School in Austin. Usually a pedicab spends most of its service life in the dark, bumping through alleyways and car-choked streets, and it was fun to take my special form of urban transportation with its extra wheel and weight out on the sunny country roads alongside its sleeker and aerodynamic two-wheeled cousins. I made sure to take lots of pictures too: http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesofmycatsandstuff/sets/72157615958839719/ . While my experience at Rosedale convinced me of the wisdom of using one of those two-wheeled machines in the MS 150, it also showed me you don't have to move as fast as everyone else to enjoy the ride. I'm almost at my fundraising goal for the ride and any extra money you can add will be great. A donation also will help Team Tacodeli meet its goal of raising a total of $75,000. Tacodeli is a small local breakfast/lunch place with two locations in Austin, and it is awesome and inspiring to see its jerseys and fundraising totals shoulder to shoulder with the big corporate teams. To donate online using a credit card, please use this link and click on the donate button on the left side of the page: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/TXHBikeEvents?px=5501708&pg=personal&fr_id=10222To make a donation by check or cash, you can send it to me at this address: (leave comment or email me for info). Thanks for all of your support!
April 9th, 200904:31 pm: MS 150 fundraising update-
In about a week, I'll be leaving Houston for another two-day ride to Austin in the MS 150. As most of you know, I ride a pedicab (bicycle taxi) on the weekends, and last week, I took fundraising for the MS 150 to the streets. By last Friday night, the pedicab-a-thon had raised a total of nearly three hundred dollars for my ride. It's always a treat to meet the many different people who ride in my cab; letting them know their fares were going to be donated in support of the MS 150 brought out the best from some passengers, and several shared their own experiences with MS and other diseases that impair mobility. I'll remember them when I'm on the road next weekend. I'm grateful to all my supporters from the past five years and there's still time to add a donation for this year's ride, and for the Lone Star Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. To donate online using a credit card, please use this link and click on the donate button on the left side of the page: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/TXHBikeEvents?px=5501708&pg=personal&fr_id=10222To make a donation by check or cash, you can send it to me at this address: (leave a comment). Thanks again for all of your support!
April 2nd, 200904:13 pm: turtle writing= WRONG!
really, people, there are other forms of self-expression! from UT Campus Watch"TURTLE POND (Just north of the Main Building) Criminal Mischief: An unknown person(s) used a pink marker or paint to write words on the shell of a turtle. The officer was unable to take photographs of the turtle or retrieve the turtle from the pond as the turtle would be frightened and swim to the bottom of the pond upon approach of a person – and wouldn’t you be afraid of people too if they wrote on your back. The School of Biological Sciences will retrieve the turtle to remove the writing. Discovered on 03/31/09 at 12:54 p.m. Crime Prevention Tip: Really? Do we really need to tell people to refrain from writing on the animals? This is just wrong. I trust that if anyone has any information pertaining to this crime you will call the police department."
March 26th, 200906:01 pm: MS 150 fundraising
Dear friends, Triathlon training combined with driving a bicycle taxi (pedicab) at night and during special events made last year a blur of dirty alleys, hot asphalt, streetlights, sun, wildflowers, parched roadsides, and one waterlogged triathlon in upstate New York last July. Startling as it for me to realize, next month, I will be riding in my fifth MS 150, the two-day, 180 mile cycling tour from Houston to Austin that raises funds to help people living with MS. I've been asked if the pedicabber gig benefits my solo cycling efforts at all. In fact, during training rides and races, the long shifts of towing football fans, tired tourists, and wasted locals around downtown Austin have been sort of daunting to my motivation because I know, alone on my bike, nobody's gonna give me twenty bucks for climbing up that next hill. But you have a chance here to give me that twenty, or whatever is right for you, for riding in the Houston-Austin MS 150 next month and raising money to support multiple sclerosis research, aid, and education through the Lone Star Chapter of the National MS Society. I'm taking the fundraising to the streets this weekend and donating all of my pedicab earnings to my MS 150- can I ask for your support as well through a tax deductible contribution? If you will be downtown, let me know and I will give you a ride as an incentive gift! To donate online using a credit card, please use this link and click on the donate button on the left side of the page: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/TXHBikeEvents?px=5501708&pg=personal&fr_id=10222To make a donation by check or cash, you can send it to me at this address: (leave comment with email for address). Thanks for all of your support!
March 3rd, 200909:03 pm: Well, I'm going at least.
Just booked my plane ticket for IM-Moo! Whoo! Thank you Citi Thank You Points and letting me snag one last fixed point redemption from your crumbling reward program (and bank). Now I just have to start training...oh well, some people have New Year's resolutions...I have March, uh, mid-March resolutions.
February 17th, 200901:16 am: Marathon videos
Marathon start, as I decline to take a spectator to Mile 10 (Pecos and Enfield) on my pedicab...that would be a long way...: ( Read more... )
February 12th, 200909:38 am: churning
I've been moved in for almost a month, and I'm still unpacking boxes. Arg. I got most of the essential stuff unpacked and set up pretty quickly, leaving the giant box forest that towered along the walls in my living room for the first few weeks. I finally tackled this stuff this week. Books, CDs, and DVDs were easy to unpack, though I'm a little short of shelf space for all of them. Or more like short of space for the bookcases that held them. I've got the bookcases, but they won't fit in the room where I want to keep all my books. So I'm thinking of committing dual heresy and getting rid of the bookcases AND thinning the library some. This is painful to contemplate but really, when am I going to re-read some of these books? The rest of the boxes I sort of wanted to nuke. If I've lived without missing it for a month, do I really need it? But no, I've been sifting through them these last few days, and making decisions on each item: add it to the new pile of stuff in my living room destined to go away, by craigslist, eBay, or Goodwill, find a home for it here, i.e. put it away; throw it in the garbage, or toss it into another box to decide later pending how much stuff I have in this box at the end, and closet space available. The last option ("churning") has been maddening because I'm re-packing stuff into boxes with the prospect of having to go through this crap again but also a relief because the ratio of churned boxes vs. emptied boxes is gratifying low. I had so many boxes in the move. I estimated that I would have thirty-five boxes to the movers when I made the reservation from the old place. That was a serious underestimate. I've given away fifty-two empty boxes so far through craigslist and have another batch of fifteen empties started, about thirteen boxes of churned stuff, and about twenty more boxes to sort through. So, about a hundred boxes total used for the move. (!!!). I'll have to keep the figure in mind for the next time I move. I estimated I have room for about twenty-five boxes in my closets and under my bed here, so I'm optimistic about being able to store whatever doesn't go away- it's just a matter of how crowded I want to be. The difficult boxes will be the papers from graduate school. I was very careful to sort out my notes and research for each class and put them into files, but I've drifted so far from the academic path, I have to ask myself how realistic it is to expect to ever return to these projects. I'm so sick of unpacking too and do not relish the prospect of examining the papers in these boxes. I miss training and doing fun stuff! I'll give this another weekend, and see how sentimental I feel about the stuff that's left...
February 3rd, 200909:46 pm: so how many do you have?
I'm still unpacking and figuring where everything will go. My clothes haven't all been sorted out either. I did laundry (downstairs-yay!) this past weekend and had most of my clothes still out tonight so I decided to count all of my tshirts. Yes, an inventory. Real exciting stuff! Maybe if I know exactly how many tshirts I have, it will be easier to offload some. More- keep in mind, I combed out a large trash bag of clothes before moving last month. The rules for the inventory are the shirts must be cotton or cotton blends (no tech tees) and have some kind of printing or design. My total: 66, including 23 race finisher and 9 ride shirts. I could only make myself throw one in the Goodwill box. Sigh. I guess it will take another three years before I can let go of some more. Probably due to having accumulated more in the meantime. I did figure out a new way to store them. I've never had enough drawer space for all of these shirts, and had to hang most of them on hangers, which could be confusing when the tshirts got mixed up with the tech tees, jerseys, and the small minority of non-tshirts in my closet. I have these plastic soda cases left over from my Coke machine operator days that were on the way to Goodwill. But, I found that all of the tshirts stack neatly upright in three of them, and the three cases fit neatly side-by-side on one of my closet shelves. Who needs Ikea? Organization is MINE!
January 26th, 200908:00 pm: square one
Today was the first day in the water for this semester's swim class, and wow, I'm de-trained. It's more like a total derailment really. We had a timed 50 (yikes) and I managed to pull off a 47 but I was having issues with the 4x50 later in the workout. It's like I have no upper body strength now and was kicking to get through. Still need to break in my run training...there is the Tuesday Texas Iron workout tomorrow. I'm sure I'll find some excuse not to go. Heh. And, it's still a comfortable time away but there is the MS 150 in April, and I have not done any endurance cycling since last summer. I can only fake so much with pedicabbing. So, lots of work to do! I've been in my new place for over a week, and am really enjoying it. It's weird to have such a short distance to go back and forth to work. I'm still unpacking but it looks like there's plenty of room for everything. The move went smoothly (with help from mizmizuno), but was a lot of hard work. I think my place is on the Castle Hill, literally, and there's like a 20% grade in the alley that accesses my place. My second floor place. I hired movers and a truck but it still was a lot of work getting everything in. The movers worked on an hourly basis, so mizmizuno and I carried stuff in too, which was made more fun by the steep grade. (I'm not exaggerating by much, if at all, about the 20%!). I've got some pictures too that I'll post soon. I had to do more surgery on some of my homemade furniture to bring them down to scale from an 800 sq ft apartment to a 700 sq ft apartment, and the operations were a success!
January 7th, 200910:19 pm: Really moving on
So the move is officially on. I was approved on Monday finally. I got a message that the owner approved me (and the cats) on Friday but they still needed to check some things on me...sheesh, I must be special. I spent the weekend going through my accumulated stuff and throwing most of it out, figuring that would be constructive even if my application got shot down and I stayed here. But I was not shot down, gave notice and will be moving to the new place next Thursday. It is rather liberating to be free of all that stuff. I feel like my life got really disorganized over this past year, and taking this time to literally sort stuff out was very healthy. I took garbage mountain out to the curb today. (Actually the useful stuff went to Goodwill). I still have to go through my clothes. Anybody want some race t-shirts? Garbage mountain part 2 is already underway.
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