I'm TTing away...

I ditched the diet for the weekend. Ok, not exactly ditched... I just ate non-boxed food like chicken, veggies, and fruit. Racing on no calories is not exactly the way to win big. Not that carrying around junk is a way to win big, either.

The Canal TT course is beautiful. Where else can you get a drag strip, closed course, along a beautiful canal? Not to mention that the trip down was full of such wonderful sights as the pelicans coming in for a landing on the river. If that's not something that will get you out of bed at 5 am, I'm not sure what will.

I've been without a computer at home for about a month now so Sharon had to tell me my start time. Normally I'm really anal about the details, but did I check when I got to the race? Nope. I also didn't bring the necessities of TT'ing, like chamois cream, gum, extra water, etc... Lucky for me I have Sharon.

No, really lucky for me I have Sharon. I was out warming up thinking that my start time was 9:20 and hers was 9:12. I was going to zip in and yell for her at the start when I found out that nope, MY TIME WAS 9:12. I've never missed a tt start and my love for my team mate kept that streak alive.

Did I mention there were more 40+ women entered than cat 1-2 men? Who says women wont race. It was AWESOME. Kudo's to BJ and the Vanderkitties... I just love it when anyone does anything that brings more women to this sport. I told BJ that when I used to direct and promote Women's Distance Festival races to bring women into the sport, that it was almost always women 30++ who were my first timers. They were not normal runners, were at a point in their lives that they decided to do SOMETHING to change their lives. They needed lots of support, but in the end, they become lifers. So KUDOS. I'm awful proud of you all.

The TT was good for me. With a hard week of dieting, and spotty training the distance played up to what I do best... riding by analysis. I went out relatively easy with the goal of building from the turn around and crushing the last few miles. I was really happy with what I did. What time did I ride? No idea. I'm sure that I was 2nd or 3rd, but we'll see...

Thanks to Brian (Stormyworld) who saved my butt during my "barking seal" routine after the race. Yes, the asthma has been giving me fits, but at least it waited until I crossed the line to rear its ugly head. And yes, I'm going to start leaving a drop bag with an inhaler at finish lines from now on. (and yes, today my chest feels like a bus landed on it. ..)

Thanks to the Pyeman for doing all the great things that he does, like suffering thru taking my booties off my feet. I know that was a bad job. Love ya man, mean it. We really do only hurt the ones we love.

Thanks also to Sharon who went over to the PLT course with me so that I could get some more miles in. Now if there was ever a place that is going to set off an asthma attack, its out there. The swamp was all the way up to the road, and just looked slimy as all get out. It didn't seem to be bothering the ducks, geese, turtles and SNAKES in it that we saw though!

6 miles in to that ride, the hunger pains started knocking... and never let up until we finally got to the VA Diner at 1. While everyone there was eating fried chicken, macaroni and cheese and collard greens, Sweatsalot and I were eating grilled chicken and salad. Dieting is NOT fun.

And while everyone thinks that bike racing pulls families apart... watching the Tour of Flanders I had to call my Dad. He would always laugh at me and tell me how flat Belgium is. Hah, so I called him when Devolder was just crushing the field and told him to turn on VS to see the Belgian "flatland..." Getting to share the experience with my Dad... "PRICELESS...."

Day 3, 2 lbs and gut lock

One of my attorneys in Florida went on Nutrisystem and just raved about it. I think he's lost about 50 lbs., was never hungry and trust me, he doesn't exercise. Since time is my biggest problem- I decided to give this stuff a whirl. With food in a box, that doesn't even have to be refrigerated, I really have no excuses.

Started Monday, and I've lost two pounds. The food isnt bad. Ok, the minestrone soup is really bad... the chocolate cake snack is actually pretty good. So that balances out. Yeah, the chicken breast patty smells until you heat it up. That kind of turned my Princess Gut a bit. But you have to add your own veggies and fruit which is just fine with me. The garden is tilled and the seeds have sprouted on the kitchen table under the grow lights...

What I'm not digging... gut lock. You'd think with the amount of fiber this stuff packs that we'd have some kind of movement... but you'd be wrong. Something is going to have to give here soon or the TT on Sunday is going to be another exercise in pain.

Nothing ever comes easy. Lunch today is fettuccine in a dehydrated soup container. I bet thats just yummy! And trust me, that picture of Nutrisystem pizza... it doesn't look like that in real life.

Picking your wins....

Some weekends you just have to pick your wins. Sunday was Jeff Cup and my race was over well before it started. With no fitness, and heavy fog to niggle my asthma I was out on the course to have a day on the bike. I made it with the pack half way up the hill at the winery, and then just rode what the lungs could do. That is until the sun came out and dried up the fog. Then miraculously I was fine.

Poor J wasnt fine, she was with the lead pack until 1k to go, and then cramped so bad that she couldn't pedal. Some days.

And Sharon who I would say in horse lingo... "full bloom with dapples" was raring to go. All week she was up on her toes, pulling at the bit. And she got stuck behind 2 count em 2 crashes to have her day effectively ended early. Some days...

So this week we are celebrating GEORGE! Georgie Baby is kickin butt and takin' names on the show circuit with my buddy Gina. He won Best of Breed both days this weekend over the dog who is going to be the new #1 Brittany in the country. (Thats 3 for 3 in head to head competition for George with that dog.) Last week Gina took him down to Danville for the Gun Dog Nationals and George got to hang out and be a dog. This week, he's brushed and fluffed and playing the part of a show dog. Go GEORGE!

And if the next time you see me I'm a little meaner... today was day one of Nutrisystem. It's 8:00 and I'm starving already. A little less junk in the trunk might make me climb a bit better though.

The Bob Waddle

When I go away on business, my dogs go on a vacation to Cliff's house. Think of going on a cruise, but on land. There are rides, swimming, hiking, and of course... EATING. Cliff is sure that my dogs never get enough to eat. They tell him that all the time.

So there is breakfast with the Captain, brunch on the veranda, mid-morning snacks after a swim. Oh, then lunch. And after a Kubota ride, you have to have cookies... Then there is a formal dinner, and late night buffet on the Ledo Deck.

Poor Bob. He comes home and all the goodies are gone. I got home just in time. Bob can hardly waddle. I had to take his collar off as it was too tight. To pick him up... man, thats a weight lifting session.

The guys are looking at me like they'd really like for me to go away again. I was drinking a Slimfast this morning for breakfast to try to help with my own little Bob Waddle.... Bob just looked at me like there was no way he was going to be forced to drink that crap... you know, unless it was served on the Ledo Deck. Maybe after cookies, for a late, late, night snack...

Back on the ball again...

There is no place like home, there's no place like home. You'd think that I'd love being in Florida for work, and you'd be wrong. I was soo glad to get home, to sleep in my own bed, to snuggle with my dogs, and to ride my bikes. Oh, yeah, and to do over the phone coaching with my girls... Geez, you really do miss your buds when you are away.

Saturday it was the team presentation for Richmond Pro Cycling and Craig and the boys looked fabulous. The food at Savour was great, the wine, not so much. But, I'm hoping that it was a good fund raiser for them and for the Faison School (Autism). I have a friend with an autistic son who is a math whiz. Autism is near and dear to my heart.

Sunday, J and Colsweatsalot went down and had fun at the Sleepyhole crit. As the first real crit of the year, its tough to get the kinks out and Ive been told that the women's race was squirrely as hell, but no one died. Its always a good day when everyone come's back alive. Sharon was kept in place by J and Pave Maria... J said that I didnt even have to be there to be there. Maybe I can get my boss to believe the same thing... really, I dont have to go to Florida for trial, I'll be there even if I'm not there.

Now Sharon says that she knows that she's ok when she can hear my breathe. Maybe I can play tapes of me snuffling in courtrooms and people will think that I'm there, too...

And to Maria: riddle me this: How in the hell do you manage to get off the bike, barf, and get back in with the pack? Crap, last year I got off the back wheel of someone and sat 9' off the back and couldn't get back on to save my life. And I didn't barf. Although I really wanted to!

One little Karenism for the day... as a small word of encouragement for our newbie cat 4 chickies... if you have an open field, remember that those girls are out there racing with the cat 1 old timers. You guys dont throw your newbies to the wolves like that. Give the newbies a wee bit of encouragement. Have a separate pay out... of SOMETHING for the chicklets. It doesnt have to be much. We're getting an fairly high percentage of cat1 and cat 2 women in the area. Lets do what we can to encourage newbies.

And on that note: our Ft Lee race will again have a separate cat 4, 40+ womens race. Yeah, there are some cat 1 40+ers out there, but at least they are older! (and wiser)

Spring Break?

Ok, so I'm down here in Ft Meyers with all the teeny boppers with perky ti, well you know...

Except I'm here working, in a freezing cold courthouse. I can save businesses and municipalities in Florida a ton of money... turn off the a/c. When I got to the hotel my room was set on 62 degrees. First day of trial and I'm in a cute little short sleeve suit and just about froze my whatsit off. Today, I wised up and wore a long sleeve suit. Tomorrow I'm out of suits and will have to make due with a long sleeve dressy shirt. Its just nutz. Everyone over 25 is in long sleeves.

And everywhere I eat, some 20 something calls me "sweetie..." Baby, I stopped being sweet a looong time ago. It could be worse, they could call me ma'am. Oh, and in the land of fresh fruit, no one is serving fresh fruit. The hotel has a 12.00 breakfast buffet, and the fruit is melon from Mexico. No strawberries and no citrus. Nutz.

Now if I can just get the other defendants at trial to bring me some oranges, life would be good. If not, tomorrow there is a farmers market, and somehow I'm going to get there and eat until I get sick.

Oh, and I'm going thru serious withdrawal. First no bike. Nuff said. Second, no wine. I refuse to drink crap, and since my hotel is in the boonies, and I have no car, its a hike to get to anywhere. We had lunch at a bistro near the courthouse today and the ladies in the table next to us were drinking what looked to be a really nice Chablis... just like any coke head I started to drool, and shake and go into the dt's. I went so far to drink a beer at dinner, and sweetie, its just not the same.

One more day of trial tomorrow and then I'm flying back on Friday. Let me tell you, there are liars, damn liars and statisticians. Any series of numbers can say anything you want them to. Please don't let facts get in the way of whatever you want to say. And my favorite phrase of the day is that " I know this from my long years of experience." Which means exactly whatever you want it to mean. If I drank a whole bottle of that nice Chablis at lunch I'd probably know that the sun rises in the West. You know, from my 43 years of experience...

Saturday, rain or shine, I'm on the bike. There really is no place like home...

God is trying to tell me something...

Everyone has their own little tricks to get them thru a time trial. I play music in my head. Happy music. And I plan which songs I'm going to have go on in there for different parts of the course. Today was not going to be a happy music day.

I'm heading down to Dismal Dash... and I realize that I have left my towels by the door.

Then I realize that when I packed up the truck Saturday night that I left the Garmin on the charger. Ok, its raining, its cold, I have no towels, my fitness level sucks, and oh, I have no computer. All ok. I dont flap easy. I can deal with all this.

Then I pick up my chip as this race is chip timed. And by the time I get back to the truck I discover that I have dropped the chip somewhere. And I cant find it. So I have to go beg for another, with the understanding that if it doesn't turn up I'm going to be out some dough.

Ok.

And then I take the bike out of the truck and start to put the wheels on it. Whereupon I discover that my hub on my disc wheel has separated from the wheel. (just the body, not the actual spindle.) I almost put the bike back in the truck, but said f'it. It wasn't a crit, and since I could jimmy everything back on, and got it real tight with the skewer, I figured if I crashed, I wasn't going to take anyone else out. Plus it was raining, and you usually get hurt less crashing in the rain.

Riding around the parking lot, I found the chip in a pothole full of water. This after getting a new number, so I just turned the chip in.

At the start there was a huge gap in the 40+ chicks field, so the likelihood of me having carrots to run down was small. Oh, and my team mate who had gum for me ended up on another part of the course.

When I got going I had no idea what kind of speed I was carrying. Which was probably a blessing as my finish time was a new personal worst. What happened to the happy little diddy that I normally play in my head? It kept getting taken over by that song from the Color Purple... God is trying to tell you something. You know, right now. I kept battling back with the theme from Rocky, but I'd get half a verse in, and then whammo, the record would change. Kind of schizophrenic time trial thinking...

Oh, and if anyone finds these really cool gel arm pads for aero bars... they are mine. After the turn around I kept feeling this hard edge on my arms, but just decided to suffer thru. I'm figuring when I got out of the saddle to get back up to speed the arm pads must have stuck to me instead of the bars and took the chance to liberate themselves.

I made it back in, new personal worst time ever, but somehow with a few $$ to pay for a whole new set of arm pads. Tommorrow I'm off to Florida for the ultimate stupid trial of the year. I'll spend a whole week listening to hydrology, climate, crop, economic experts and will try hard not to rip my eyes out. By the end of the week, I think I'll have set a new sufferfest record. First today, and then the trial. I figure that I should be ready to kill tt's after this week. After this week the rest of the season is going to be EASY!

Thanks to all the officials and volunteers for suffering thru me today. Yes, I actually have done this before. Maybe once or twice...