Snow, Snow, Go Away, Patriot Sangria Wants to Play

TRIDi just emailed me the following from Channel 8 Stormtracker:

"We are starting to watch an area of rain in the Gulf of Mexico that will be moving into the southeast this evening. This system will increase our clouds tonight, but ahead of that our low temperatures will dip into the upper 20s to near 30. That system will slide across North Carolina on Saturday and that puts us under the gun again for another round of wintery weather. This will be a different system than Thursday's as we will be getting colder as the weather moves in. That means we may start off as rain for Richmond and points south and east but transition to snow during the afternoon and evening. The timing of that change over will determine exactly how much snow we receive, but it currently looks like we may see a couple of inches here in central Virginia, including the Metro Richmond region."

And Popsrcr has confirmed, "This is a proper storm to bring snow. With the arctic airmass in place, I agree with the forecast."

I don't like this weather forecast. Can someone bring me another one, please?

Yesterday, I moved Patriot Sangria from off the trainer inside our house to the garage. She has been waiting there patiently in anticipation of tomorrow's ride.

She is going to be quite sad if the weather forecasters are actually right this time.

Wipe Out!

Put me in a roller coaster – one that goes every which way, as fast as possible – any day or time – and I will love it.

Or let me ride as a passenger on a motorcycle or plane while someone else navigates its dips and turns – and I’ll think it is cool.

Place me on a bike with clipless pedals - and I’ll start envisioning being splayed out at a traffic light in front of a truck.

My fear of clipless pedals started about five or six years ago when I first purchased a used pair for Vinho Verde. I expected to fall a few times. The problem was I kept falling. When trying to stop, I’d push my foot down, twist and end up mangled on the curb. When climbing a hill, I’d reach a point where I couldn’t turn the pedals fast enough to keep moving forward and would perform an oh so graceful little dance of slowing to a crawl on the incline with my handlebars veering right, then left, before plummeting to the ground. Note the amazing aero form and pedal power from my early triathlon days. (Thank goodness for all the bike class training which will hopefully help with making it up those hills - or at least with taking a better photo.)

After about six months of embarrassing spills and countless bruises, I gave up, and put the pedal cages back on Vinho. As a matter of fact, probably a few months after that, I put Vinho in the garage for a few years for all but an occasional outing.

Until a little over two years ago, when Vinho and I started to hit the road again after joining TRIgirls. At first, I didn’t even notice who was riding what. And then, when I did, it was just the hard core folks with the upscale bikes who would be clipping in and out. But after more and more members of the group were dressing up their bikes with the clipless pedals, I started to feel the pressure and decided to give them another try.

This time, I purchased a new set - and a well known brand – after hearing that my problems may have been exacerbated by using a defective or worn out used pair. And I haven’t fallen – yet. Then again, I have only taken my bike on very safe and protected roads – places where I could clip out yards (and I mean yards) before needing to turn or stop.

But I want to feel comfortable using them. Like Mundy, who recently took a tour, not only through the hills of Brooklyn, but also across the Verrazano Bridge. Like my seventish aunt and uncle who ride together nearly every morning for 20 or 30 mile trips, with a regular donut stop along the way.

So, I’ve practiced clipping in and out – at various stages of a pedal stroke – during bike class the last few months.

Yesterday, we had a particularly tough class with Coach B. Lots of speed and intensity intervals. All of a sudden, the person next to me had a problem - her bike fell off the trainer - and was heading my way. It was one of those split seconds where a bunch of thoughts start flying through your head.

Oh my gosh, is she going to be OK?
Aack – she is falling onto me.
That can only make her fall worse.
Can I break her fall?
Can I stop myself from falling?
Are we both going to break our legs?

Next thing I knew, my training buddy (who I hope will please forgive me for posting this on my blog) was sitting on the ground – my bulk may have possibly slowed down her fall a little. Her elbow had a nasty cut and her back was a little sore, but overall, she was OK.

After the excitement died down and class was about to resume, I realized that I never did fall. I had made it through - still standing with my left foot out of the pedal. I didn’t remember consciously thinking about pulling my foot out. And I don't know if this whole clipping thing has become instinctive yet, but who knows, maybe it will after a few more scares on my trainer...

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Chapter 1

When I first started this blog, I mentioned there would be times when I’d share the good, the bad and the ugly. The past few days have seen a little of each.

The Good
90 minute bike class on Saturday – Tightened my trainer to almost Coach B’s standards. One and a half hours in aero position. Actually enjoyed the standing drills at levels 9 and 10. After class, Coach B said I did well in the aero. Felt strong.

Five mile easy run on Sunday – Met up with TRIgirls DL, Devil Face, TD, SJG, and LD at my favorite local park for a two loop run, including hills. Was my best time of day to run (late morning) and my preferred weather conditions (cool and dry). Finished up the last mile of run with TRIgirl SJG at a 9:15 pace – and, for once, felt like it was a little push, rather than a major effort, to keep up that stride.

The Bad
Missed the Saturday pre-bike run - Made the choice to stay in bed for an extra hour instead of doing dreaded half mile repeats. Little bit of guilt, but I got over it.

The Ugly
February’s schedule – Received our schedules for February. Runs are gearing up – several 6 and 8 mile brick workouts. Did I read that right – is there a day where we do 6 half mile repeats?

Floor work during this morning’s swim – Knew it couldn’t be good when the other guppies started groaning when Ironwoman Canada laid down mats at the far side of the pool. Boy, were they right. Swim 50 fast, plank pose for a minute, swim 50 fast, “V” kick for a minute, swim 50 fast, wall sit for a minute, swim 50 fast, push ups for a minute – repeat from beginning. And, oh, did I mention, throw in some sculling afterwards for good measure? Could barely lift myself out of the pool after the hour.

Yummy!

At least once or twice during bike or weight class, Coach M will call out a resounding “Yummy!”

But it has never been about food.

Nope, his yummies are about how he and the other coaches have concocted new devious ideas to take training up a notch (or three).

Let’s do push-ups resting our hands on an exercise ball. Yummy!

How about with two exercise balls? Extra Yummy! (I’m convinced one day I am going to nose dive right down between those balls and land smack on my face.)

Chest presses lying on the exercise ball – using a tough weight. Yummy!

Now let’s hold the dumbbells up in the air instead of down by your chest during the rest part of the press. Extra Yummy!

Four sets of 30 second intervals on the bike trying to hit 50 or more revolutions. Yummy!

Why not a fifth set for a full minute? Extra Yummy!

Level 5, Level 6, Level 8 – oh, how about Level 9 - on the bike trainer? Yummy!

Level 9 – and stand up. Extra Yummy!

So, I guess what happened at TRIgirl Devil Face’s birthday dinner (Happy Birthday, TriJinx!) shouldn’t have been a complete surprise. Devil Face had selected a fabulous sounding restaurant to celebrate. Even during the morning bike class (yes, the one with the infamous fifth set mentioned above) we were drooling with anticipation for the delectable meal that awaited us. TRIgirl Molly Who? reminded us about the number of Weight Watcher points our classes burn up – so we had already justified picking whatever we wanted on the menu.

I ordered a pasta dish with wild mushrooms and truffle sauce. Giddy with excitement as the garlic smell permeated the air, I grabbed my fork, gingerly wrapped the pasta around it, carefully selected a mushroom – and took my first bite.

“Yummy!” I exclaimed.

And what did I start thinking about? The lovely flavors in my mouth? A sip of wine to make my tastebuds even happier?

Uh, no, I envsioned exercise class – and the torture that usually follows after hearing a “Yummy!”

I’ll be looking up synonyms for “yummy” to use at my next restaurant outing.

Why Coaches Make a Difference

So yesterday I went to weight/bike class. After doing various exercises for an hour – including like 1000 lunges (well, 80 anyway), it was time for bike class.

Coach B strolled by as I was setting up Amarone – and made “an adjustment” to the trainer tension. I swear the wheel hardly budged when I tried to spin it with my hand. After some negotiation, he loosened it up a bit. I hopped on Amarone and started to pedal. There was no easy spin, no virtual flat road. At best, it was a long, gradual hill. Coach B convinced me to give it a try – and I figured if worst came to worst I would get off the bike and loosen the tension later on in class. And the challenge would be adequate penitence for my holiday indulgences.

I made it through the class, feeling at times like my thighs might explode. There is no way I would have set my bike up at such a hard level, but with Coach B’s motivation, I pushed myself further than I would have on my own. I can think of a bunch of other times when Coach G’s guidance over the past two years made a difference in what I have accomplished or tried.

But I am not guaranteeing I’ll expose Amarone to those conditions at every bike class.

Waiting for Bike Class to Start

Bike class doesn’t start for two more weeks. In the meantime, we’ve been assigned having our bikes tuned up (done) and taking them over to reserve a spot in the classroom (not done). Amarone and I will be making the trek over in the next week or so.

Amarone is my bike – joining Vinho Verde – my previous ride – in wine related naming convention. (“Amarone is one of Italy's wine treasures that is loved by wine drinkers looking for ripe fruit, power, roundness and a sense of adventure in their red wine” – nice description for my bike, too!) Vinho Verde was named after TriGirl JB started the tradition by christening her bike Claret. New TriGirl KB will be taking care of Vinho next year.

Amarone is a black Cannondale, entry level pseudo tri-bike (has some tri-bike features, but not all). Between the better gearing and smaller frame, she’s been a great investment.

But back to bike class…

Coach E. (our indoor cycling coach during the off-season) posted this tid-bit on the TriGirl forum.

“In the first class we will focus on proper elimination of urine, snot and spit. Once we've all mastered these techniques we can move on how to ride the bike.”

Pretty funny, since many of us TriGirls were surprised to learn that “non back packers” will just “go” on the bike during longer triathlons. This is not a skill, thankfully, that I need to worry about.

Though, I have a feeling, “proper elimination” will continue to be one of the many running jokes that we will be hearing throughout the upcoming indoor bike classes.