hey there

congrats to everyone that raced this weekend

and thought I’d celebrate my first little v pathetic ride with a joke I wa sent from the Lady who was to be my Lake Placid homestay mama

It kinda on life perception-

“Excerpts from a Dog’s Diary”8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!

9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!

10:30am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!

12:00pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!

1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!

3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!

5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!

7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!

8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the peopleon the furniture! My favorite thing!

11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

“Excerpts from a Cat’s Diary”

Day 983 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre
little  dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other
inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets.  Although I make my
contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something
in
order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my
dream
of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the
carpet.

Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their
feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it
clearly
demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending
comments about what a “good little hunter” I am.  Bastards!

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was
placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I
could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement
was due
to the power of “allergies.” I must learn what this means, and how to use
it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my
tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try
this again tomorrow — but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and
snitches.  The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released -
and seems
to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.

The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicate with
the guards regularly.  I am certain that he reports my every move. My
captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he
is
safe.

For now . . .

This weekend I was out on the Lake Placid course, one of the advantages of living less than 2 hours away, and I had a solid weekend full of self inflicted pain! However, this was not a normal weekend training camp. My bike training (and hopefully racing) was totally revolutionized…why? For the first time ever I rode with a power tap . What an enlightening experience!! Now with a grand total of 3 rides under my belt with this tool I am still very much in the learning phase and, believe me, knowing the power you are producing minute to minute is awesome, but there is much, much more to training and racing with power than just watts.
There is a lot of science and theory that also must be incorporated into training with power. For example when I uploaded my file to my computer I was able to see histograms of my ride including power output (seen below), heart rate, cadence, speed as well as some estimates of the physiologic stress of my ride. The following chart was also spit out…Oh man do I have some learning to do.

Lake Placid Second Loop:
Duration: 2:35:14 (2:35:15)
Work: 2134 kJ
TSS: 140.8 (intensity factor 0.726)
Norm Power: 240
VI: 1.08
Distance: 56.14 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 684 222 watts
Heart rate: 0 0 0 bpm
Cadence: 29 193 91 rpm
Speed: 0 54.5 21.0 mph
Pace 1:06 0:00 2:51 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 297 85 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 797 207 lb-in
Regardless of the fact that I am a newbie to power I am already aware of the amazing amount of information that can be gathered and analyzed using a Power Tap. My coach, Kurt Perham, is being very patient as I ask a million questions and begin to wrap my head around the power of this tool. Training with a Power Tap will definitely taking my training and as a result my racing to the next level!

Train Smart! Rest Hard!

I’m pumped to watch and cheer everyone on at Ironman CdA this weekend.

Good luck to everyone!

hey there

Sorry to hear about the crash Cat that sucks hope u heal up for your big day sucks when u worked so hard.

Well done to everyone out there racing and I am glad I logged on to see all the new kit you guys are wearing it looks “well smart” maybe if I get of the bench maybe, I’ll be earn some kit =0)

Right now still on a run ban turned out the knee joint was messed up a bit and the patella is still mad after the crash it’s amazing how much you need these little things to work-going up stairs still hurts.  It’s weird it such a little injury and you can’t really see much yet its enough to keep me out of the game. 

Am hoping it’s not the end of the road for Pro Racing and trying to be prepared for if it is and sort out the other areas in my life that have been severly sacrificed due to trying to self finance racing and school with jobs allowing me the flexibility to go and race.  Anyone, trying this will know it just dont add up-so got some stuff to sort out.

It’s weird learning that impatiently wanting to be able to do stuff by being strong willed or determined doesnt mean its gonna happen or work out.

Not being able to train and race and facing that racing Pro may have come to and end is hard it’s kinda lik the end of a relationship where you revisit old memories, am trying to learn to accept the things I cant change and focus on the ones I can.

If nothing else I will try help out newbies that are just getting into the sport.  I am sad that it may be over and I am grateful for having had the opportunity.

Meanwhile-will be following you guys =0)

Under-19 age grouper Avery Visser surprised us with a victory at Danskin in Austin.  What a great moment for the future of our sport. 

The day began a bit stressful.  Uncharacteristically of me, I didn’t get to the race early enough for me to go through my ‘pre-race warm-up routine’.  Danskin caters to the masses, and the parking-to-race venue busing takes a significant chunk of time.  So, I wasn’t warmed up.  And, for my 37-year-old body, that is not recommended.  For a sprint triathlon, I need to sweat before the race.  This is not an excuse - just a reminder to get the HR up prior to a fast race, particularly for those of us who seek long events.

Pre-race I felt tremendous energy from all the athletes and spectators.  Many women are competing for the first or second time with lots of support from friends and family.  I flew solo that day, as Autumn (my 7-year old) bagged going to the race in favor of playtime with Grandma (Michael was playing in a golf tournament).  She did the expo with me the day before and thoroughly enjoyed the Crocs booth, where she scored a sweet pair of pink shoes with a bicycle, ‘ruby’, dog, and turtle Jibbitz (why didn’t any of us think of that idea).  She absorbed the extra attention the Trek and Bontrager wheels received as we checked in the speed machine.  Trek sponsored the race, so we had the opportunity to meet Julie and her compadres. 

Race day comes quickly and the race went fast — 71 minutes as hard as I can go.  In Austin, you never know if that will land you at or near the top or not.

I have been swimming better, so I was pleased to see that my BlueSeventy goggles helped me gain on the field in that area (relative to last year).  The stunning part of the swim: when Avery came blowing by me in the swim.  I raced with the first wave in this race, so when I felt her come by, I knew she had already put a minute on me (and several others).  She had the fastest swim of the day, and put over 3 minutes on me in 800 meters.  Now, this isn’t totally surprising, as I learned to swim 4 years ago, almost to the day.  So, I’m grateful for the progress my body continues to make.

The Trek and Bontragers ride sweetly, and even without a warm-up, we put down the fastest bike split of the day, just a smidge under 25mph, in the attempt to chase down the race leaders.  I ran smoothly — it was a ‘trail run’ — so that shook things up a bit. It was a bit strange, though, as the gaps ahead and behind me were fairly substantial, I didn’t see racers out on the course.  The support was fantasic, and the energy high.

Overall Results:

1 - Avery Visser 1:08:44

2 - Jeannie Sampson 1:09:09

3 - Katherine Bertine 1:09:44

4 - Juli Fiocca 1:11:31

5 - Joni Moore 1:14:14

http://results.timberlinetiming.com/results/index.cfm