Fits and Starts

Spring is coming to the Bay Area in fits and starts. Yesterday it was approaching 80 degrees and sunny. Today, it is 55 degrees with sheets of rain falling. I'm longing for Spring to take hold and usher in more predictable days. However, I know that in the end these rainy days will bring nourishment to the earth and other things that we need.

I did, however, take full advantage of our days in the sun. The Girls (aka the prayer and spiritual formation group I've been with for 13-ish years now) and I headed to Bodega Bay last weekend for a retreat. We have not been away together for a couple years. We rented this house that was constructed entirely of windows, it seemed. My friend Ann and I struggled up the windy roads in the dark on Friday night to arrive, only to awaken to spectacular views on Saturday morning. Out the front of the house was a 270 degree view of the ocean and out the back were rolling green hills dotted with cattle. What a treat! There was even a peaceful garden laden with honey bees doing their Spring thing. It was a perfect opportunity to relax, grow, and reflect. I can tell we are getting older, because the wine consumption was at an all-time low and the going to bed time much earlier than in the past. Much has changed for us over the past 13 years, but our reasons for struggling through life together are constant. It's been a spiritually difficult couple of years for me, but I find myself emerging, like Spring, in fits and starts.

One area that's been incredibly blessed for us is the financial aspect of life. Well, now that we've patched other things up, we have a little setback there. It's not that we are not OK. We are. But, certain goals will have to move to the back burner for now. I know this is all part of the rains that will nourish us and cause new growth when Spring finally takes hold. We just have to weather the storm. In the meantime, Rick's fitness and our garden will both enjoy a little tending while he looks for what he wants to do next.

Here's to the last fits of Winter and the promise of the start of Spring.

TTrying to geTT inTTo a Groove

Well, I've been pretty silent on the blogosphere. I don't really know why, but I'm a little uninspired lately. Here's what's going on.

First Race of the Season
Well, my first race was supposed to be Bariani - a 30 mile road race. But, I'd had a lousy week starting with barfing. Then, the worst allergies I've had in my life crept up on me - to the point that I could barely breathe on Sunday and was blowing 3 tissues worth of snot every time I got off the couch. And, there was an unstable cold front moving through the area that morning, which made the whole thing unappealing. So, I bagged the race and registered for a TT this weekend instead. This is probably a good thing, since this entire season is focused on TT/pursuit. It is going to be good to work some kinks out with that before any races that I care about doing well in.

The New Jobby thing
It turns out I had a probation period that I wasn't aware of - which is probably a good thing, because I would have been stressing about it. Fortunately, I passed with flying colors.

I just finished up my big research project yesterday to support the web site redesign I'm working on. I'm still crunching the data and all, but have some good hints about where I should be going. The research included a heuristic evaluation, survey and usability study. I was thrilled to find two professors who would work with me on administering my survey during their classes. In the end, I was able to get surveys from about 15% of the student body, which is fantastic. I was also able to recruit an appropriate mix of students/faculty to participate in my usability study - amazing since I've only been here 3 months and barely know anyone. I am truly grateful to have gotten what I need to move forward. And, the cool thing is that one of the profs wants me to come back and speak to his classes about what I learned in the survey and how it will shape the redesign.

Other randoms
I finished up my article to submit to Adventure Cycling while I was on Spring Break. Maybe I'll post some of it here for critique. I'm sure it needs some spiffing to be palatable.

In the meantime, the planning of our 2nd tour with the parents is going well. After we selected the route and dates, my dad has taken over the logistics planning, which he loves. It's kind of fun to see how each of us is contributing from our expertise and gifts to make this thing happen. I am really looking forward to it. Mom and Dad just completed a week of training camp in Palm Desert, so they are full of fitness and confidence for the journey ahead.

There is just so much to be grateful for right now in life. Hoooray!

Dog Days of Winter

Yep, it's that time of year. The time where I find it really hard to live in the present and really easy to focus on what lies ahead.

Normally I love training. However, there have been a few too many rain-soaked rides with flat tires or hours spent on the trainer lately to really be in love with the training. I do occasionally find a bright spot in the routine - the times I get to sneak in a weekend ride between storms with the Rickster are especially nice. So, mostly I'm looking forward - forward to the start of the season (Bariani to shake off the cobwebs) and to sunny days ahead.

Also, I can't help but look forward to longer days. One time recently, I was able to leave work around 5:30, and I got about 3 miles from home before the light completely disappeared. Very soon, I will be able to get all the way home in the light, which also means I can pull out the TT bike for some of the training/commuting rides (assuming rain is not around). The downside is that I will be departing in the morning twilight, but since I rarely go out before 7, it's not much of an issue. I have enjoyed being able to wake up on my own at 6:30 with the light peeking in the windows. I am looking forward to the long days of late spring when the alarm clock becomes merely an insurance policy. I love being truly awake when I get out of bed.

There are a bunch of things in life (work and personal) right now that are in the "just put your head down and get 'er done" category. I'm working through the list. I should be feeling free and breezy about the beginning of April. For now I am a bit stressed. But, I am grateful for a full life and good friends, family and co-workers who are relying on me. I have a sense of purpose. It is all good - just a little over-full right at the moment.

And, of course, there is the Wanderlust. It has been bugging, itching, prodding screaming I NEED AN ADVENTURE!!!! Watching Rick Steves marathons on PBS does not help with this issue. I'm watching the foreign currencies take a nose dive and wanting to pounce on that. Fortunately we have the Fall tour of the Olympic Peninsula already in the planning stages. This will likely curb my appetite for a bit longer. Next spring we will need, need, need to bust out of the USofA and find an adventure - maybe Argentina will be back on the table, maybe the Danube tour, maybe just go for somewhere we know we will like - Umbria, Dolomites, Provence. There is some part of my soul that needs to ride through the countryside on my bike and linger through 3 hour meals sipping wine, soaking in scenery and 24x7 Rick. That is just the best thing ever, as far as I'm concerned. But, for now I must work in anticipation of that future time when we will commence our next adventure. And, I must find a way to make an adventure out of every day!

Fitness update

Since Twinkie asked, I will give a little fitness update. I am currently in week 2 of my quest to be less squishy in the upper body....meaning that I should be able to lift something weighing more than a Danish. However, this is possibly at odds with the general cyclist aim of having arms and shoulders that look like those of an emaciated prisoner of war while having legs that look like the dead lifters in the Olympics. If you want to read up more on the fitness plan, you can visit hundredpushups.com

Well, I'm happy to report things are going well. When I started, I could only do 3 consecutive pushups (man style). That means I am following the "wimp" plan in the far left column. Yesterday, I completed 24 pushups in my workout. I almost lost it on the last one, but teetered and wobbled my way back up from the brink. In between the push up sets, I did my normal stretching/foam roller/situps. I also did 30 situps with nothing/no one holding my feet down. We'll see if I can get back in the hundreds with that again soon, too. In the next 4 weeks I should be able to do 100 pushups in 5 sets. We shall see....

I am sooooo aero!

For the first time ever, I got a TT-specific bike fit. I am focusing my season around TT and pursuit, so it seemed I should have something better than "road bike fit with aero bars slapped on" for my TT setup - especially since I have a bike dedicated to the purpose. I think this will make a massive difference. If nothing else, I should finish races without tweakage in my back, which will be a good thing!

Commute Reconnaissance and Training Notes

Well, I finally have a rest week this week. Hooray for that! The great part about that is I don't have much structure and shorter morning rides, so I can go out and explore new ways of connecting Sunnyvale with Menlo Park (really Atherton).

Today, I decided to explore the new Mountain View Bike Boulevard. I've been pretty happy with the northern part of the route (Bryant through Palo Alto, over the bridge, left on Willow, right on Laurel, left on Encinal to campus). But, there have been many variants on the south end of the route (cross 101 immediately and use Middlefield or Evelyn) or take Moffett Park/Manilla up to Middlefield or continue on Fairchild to Moffett Blvd. to Central? All of these leading eventually back to Bryant street.

Today, I headed across Moffett Park/Manilla to Ellis to Fairchild to a left on Moffett Blvd. and then right on Montecito (the new Mountain View Bike Boulevard), which dropped me off nicely behind the old Mayfield Mall. That made for easy connection with the Bryant bicycle route to the north. Overall, it was a good, quiet route. It has some nice signage (5 minutes to Rengstorff, 10 minutes to San Antonio - assuming a 10mph average, I think). It is not as well calmed as the Bryant section south of downtown Palo Alto, but about as well calmed as the northern section of the Bryant route. There were a few more stop signs than I would have liked. The only bad part of the route was a veer left on Jane St., which had no controls, so it was unclear who had the right of way (needless to say, I did not assume right of way with speeding vehicles heading to nearby Monta Loma school). Once past the school, all was well with the world again. The route was a bit longer than the straight Middlefield shot, meaning a slightly longer riding time. However, the riding time vs. running time was much better, with only about 5 minutes lost to stopping, as opposed to the usual 10 minutes lost on the Middlefield/Bryant route.

Training Notes

Well, I've just come through my second build of the season. I'm getting pretty close to being ready to race. Unfortunately, this build started off about 2 days early after only 5 days of recovery. And, it started with 3 days of training camp, which put me into pain city right off the bat. I was happy that my body lasted as long as it did. I finally hit the wall on Sunday after 3 weeks of really high quality, progressive training. I had planned to ride 3.5 hours on Sunday, and after 1 hour, it was clear that was not going to happen. I limped back home and spent the last two hours of my workout sleeping. I followed that up with 9 hours of sleep on Sunday night and 10 hours of sleep on Monday night. Today, I finally feel human again. My legs are coming back. I am going to be really strong going into my last build before racing commences. Yay!

On another note, I've taken up Sabine's "100 Pushup" challenge. Oh my! I did the "test" and could only do 3 pushups. I felt a little better last night when one of my non-cycling/pilates-doing girlfriends could only complete 2. So, yesterday, I did the first "workout", which was 5 sets (2-3-2-2-3). Yikes. That was hard. Today, my chest and back are super-yeeeouch. This is either going to help my with my TT and sprinting, or it's going to broaden my already broad shoulders and increase my frontal mass. Time will tell. If nothing else, it should increase my core strength and pain tolerance, which are never bad.

Hallelujah! We have a tour!

Well, after reading journal after journal, perusing maps and photos and Google Earth, and many phone discussions, we've finally selected a route for Mom's 60th Birthday Tour Extraordinaire. We will be doing the Adventure Cycling "Washington Parks" loop. It is actually a double loop, and we will be doing the smaller one at about 300 miles.

The loop encircles the Olympic Peninsula in Washington and has very little terrain, but lots of views and fun. We're even hoping to throw in a day trip by ferry to Victoria, since Rick and I missed that when we were in Canada in 2007.

Thanks to all who gave suggestions and advice.