Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The joys of motherhood...

If you don’t have children you won’t relate to this post… actually if you don’t have boys you won’t….ok maybe if you don’t have four boys under 14 you won’t… geez, yeah as I write I realize no one really relates to me… but I’ll still vent just the same.

About two years ago I purchased an older house, adjacent to downtown and began a large remodel project, doing most of the work myself with the assistance of my father. When I say large I mean, gutted the dining room, down to where you could see the crawl space dirt, gutted the kitchen, gutted the den, ripped out closets, added a bathroom, added a stairwell to the attic to finish an attic/loft space, entirely new HVAC system, etc. etc. It’s been a long time in the making, a huge mess, lots of money and sweat and stress and it still isn’t completely done, but I love it and Rob loves it, so all is well...

HOWEVER, since we have been living in it and my four boys have been using the new bathroom for their showering, I have noticed a musty aroma. I have been worried for months that the smell means the shower wasn’t built well, that there is a leak, or something wrong with the shower pan, etc. I’ve sniffed, searched, agonized, bitched and moaned, sent my father searching….whined to Rob, etc. and still we find nothing…and the smell remains.

Rob has consistently maintained that boys stink. That there is nothing wrong with the bathroom other than BOYS STINK. After the boys being gone some over the weekend, I discovered when they returned, the smell came with them. The good news is, Rob was right and I don’t have thousands of dollars to spend “fixing” the bathroom problem. The bad news is, it’s the shoes, the 8 little shoes that live in that end of the house. Not only is it the shoes, but the 8 stinky socks and the 8 stinky feet. I have started banning the shoes to the porch when they come home, but alas, the feet cannot be removed. I’m only glad that I did not call the contractor that built the shower to complain of the “shoddy workmanship”.

I suppose one day I’ll miss those stinky feet…so for now, I’ll have to tolerate them until the day arrives when I can pass the baton to another lucky girl.
On a different note, this past weekend, we made it through Prom number 2 with my non-stinky feet child. She was/is bee-u-tiful.... and a few braggin' rights are in order.


Ta-da!



Friday, April 24, 2009

Week in review...

Happy Friday.... it's been a heck of a week.

Let's see, it went something like this...

1. Raced --sucked, I only win things like clarinet and piano contests and spelling bees and catechism bees...and oh yeah, German contests and Lincoln Douglas Debate trophies and one "Most Polite" award in the fifth grade (gee, times have changed) and a couple of mile runs and relay races in my younger years. Yeah, you guessed it, I'm one of those "cool" dorks! Oh, and got my first and probably only email from Fatty at FatCyclist... I'll treasure it...always.

2. Monday, dragged myself back to Sam's athletic conditioning class while Rob swam... he decided a few strokes might help before the Tri in Hilton Head in 2 weeks!

3. Tuesday, bumped up to faster group at Donaldson, got dropped, almost blown off the road by the crazy wind...finished it out...will go again next week. Got home, had an "episode" that rushed me to the doctor the next day (you know it was a good one if I went to the doctor, since I'm an internet physician myself and believe herbs can fix it ALL).... gist.. probably not eating enough/drinking enough/sleeping enough while taxing my body...

4. Wednesday, tried out Steve Baker's class....liked it... felt good about my form, whilst watching in the mirror, left there loving my road bike even more.

5. Thursday, took all the moneysuckers to watch Rob race... they were most thrilled by how many old baseballs they found in the bushes. Love of cycling hasn't hit them yet.

6. Friday, dragged myself back to boot camp, dark and early. One of my attorneys puked again during it... great fun!

7. Tomorrow, PROM for the eldest -- which means I get no sleep. Pacing the freaking floor. Beautiful daughter + Teen age boy = NIGHTMARES!!!

Guess I'll eek in a run and a ride or so...over the weekend. Have a good one...

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Android...I am.


According to the liverdoctor.com I’m an “android” body type. Figures on the left are "ideal" body for android, figures on right are "overweight" body for android. Best I can tell, this means (among other things) that I should be thicker in the waist, (think rectangle rather than hour glass), which is true actually. I’m also supposed to have powerful thighs and muscular limbs. I should excel in athletics that require staying power, ie. body building, swimming, running (cycling???? one can hope). This all sounds lovely until you read that basically I’m a boy, trapped in a female’s body. I’m supposed to have more facial hair, male patterned hair loss and be able to “work like a man”. If I can keep the powerful thighs…I’ll take it.

Rob was very disheartened to find that he falls closest to the body type of “thyroid” (these are really geared for women…but fun to categorize him, just the same) He has been put on this planet purely for aesthetic purposes and hey, I do enjoy having a pretty face serving up my coffee in the morning! He’s supposed to be a model or dancer and should crave nicotine, caffeine and other stimulants (like his ol’ faithful can of yoo hoo after races). Next time he bosses me, I’m going to tell him to shush up, know his place and just sit there and look pretty and leave the “man” work to me. Heh heh heh!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Other random race pics...

Le Amis on the podium... reppin' the Upstate!

Quasi "racers"...

Look at this number now, you'll only see it for a minute!

What's a Crit??

Rob on Sunday...hanging on.

Rob and Randy on Saturday....
Calm before the storm...lovely blue kit standing out...
At the finish line...lungs begging for mercy...
Back where I feel safe...
Angela and Sam...focused.


Rip from Mock Orange winning the prime....


Vanderkitten's Laura Bowles... oh to be small and FAST!
Homeward bound...

Monday, April 20, 2009

Pics 2...

POA...more local talent,

John James...Saturday...


Samantha Hartung early on -- Sunday...




POA tent...warming up.

Riding the course before Sunday's race...
John James....chillin' -- in gloves.




Sam on the podium....again... with Thea Kent and Dawn Strickland
Sam taking second place in the SC Crit Championship...
Blair, Pait and the Darin Marhanka (I think)...explaining the "win"...

Happy about taking first...
Happy fans...

Pics one... GWCT

Greenville Women’s Cycling Team

Formerly the Bi-lo girls… new sponsors this year, some new faces, awesome new kits from Catherine James. Some pics I caught of some of our local talent this weekend…

Susan Jones-Morgan putting the hurt on Laura Bowles from Vanderkitten in the Women’s Open race on Saturday.





Warming up for Sunday…



Jen setting the pace…


My first race, first crit, first DNF...


I remember earlier this season telling people that I would like to race “at some point”….perhaps much later in the season. This past Thursday, I threw all caution to the wind and on a whim decided to sling myself into a race without much fitness, without many base miles, without many skills and with a healthy dose of, “I don’t give a shit”. To further my agony, it was not just my first race – ever – but my first criterium. I’ve seen quite a few first hand, I’ve read a good bit about them, etc…. but never actually experienced one on MY bike. Crazier yet, I grabbed another girl, Danielle, a runner/triathlete/beginner road cyclist and took her along for the ride. She, too, had never raced a Crit, she hadn’t even seen one, but she was all in.

Friday we loaded up after work with my duly betrothed, the only one actually capable of racing and headed for Mount Pleasant for the Pivotal Fitness VW racing weekend. My excellent research skills snagged us the last cabin at a KOA camp ground and we were off. We got there in time Friday night for Rob to remove Danielle’s aero bars and attach my new cleats to my shoes and that’s literally all the prep we got!

Saturday morning we raced in the I’on Village Smackdown. The race went about like I expected. Cat 4 women’s fields usually have a vastly varying degree of skill/talent. This weekend was no exception. There were quite a few very strong women from Greenville, Sam from POA fairly new to road racing, definitely not new to the bike, speed, or strength, Angela from Hincapie (racing on the bike she bought from my duly betrothed – good seeing it recycled!), quite a few Greenville Women’s Cycling girls (Caroline, Catherine, Jen, etc.) Rip from Mock Orange (recognized her from Cross races) and on and on it went….. we were screwed.

I expected to get dropped from the start line, I was pleasantly surprised as I was sitting comfortably in the middle of the pack through turn 1, turn 2 and into turn 3… I remember thinking, I’m actually going to make it around at least one lap, NOT DROPPED….hooray!.... alas, no such luck. After the third turn there was a bit of a mishap, I’m not really sure how, or who…I just remember clanging, hard braking, a few girls right in front of me bouncing off each other….long enough for me and a few others, Danielle included to be gapped out. I’m not savvy enough mentally or physically at this point to recover and close a gap that large. After riding most of the race alone, I quit, which made me not just a loser, but also a quitter…puh thet ick. I assumed it was best to get off the course, clearly I was wrong and I’m stuck with my DNF in black and white *sigh*.

After a stern scolding from Sam, I now know differently. She vehemently told me to NEVER EVER quit that I need the experience and that if nothing else, the women’s races need the participation. Rob reiterated as he shook his head, since he had told me this before and I didn’t obey so well. Obstinacy is my strong suit after all.

Laura Bowles from Vanderkitten was there “mentoring” if you will. I was very appreciative to be approached by her afterwards for “tips”. She was very encouraging, thought I did well, but maybe needed some help with “gearing”, thought maybe I didn’t understand that I needed to be in a much larger gear and she didn’t realize that it was my first race. I explained that no, I just started really riding in November…that I fully understand gears, that I’m relatively good with them (so he says) and that in theory, I “get” shifting very well…. knew my gear choice wasn’t the best, but my quads were shot from boot camp that week (dumb move on my part) and I just couldn’t push a bigger gear. We also had a short discussion on my 650c wheels vs. 700’s (she is small like me) and she even offered to bring back a bike of hers before her race for me to try out the 700’s…. I never found her, we didn’t hang around…but it was a nice gesture just the same.

What I took away from this weekend…

The “Cons”:

No matter how strong I may think I am (muscularly that is) I cannot pound my legs to muscle failure on Monday and Tuesday and expect for them to race well on Saturday. I’m too “new” to cycling and just aint got it yet. One cannot pause or sit up when mishaps occur… that split second of reaction causes too much damage, from which I, at this point, cannot recover.

The “Pros” --- I felt confident, very solid in my handling, I had a good start and I know “he” has taught me well. My bike looked pretty and as we all know, good looks matter! I had great conversations with some great women racers and I had fun… can’t ask for much more than that.

Many race pics to follow.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Glutton for punishment...

As if I didn’t have enough on my plate, what with work, finishing out the school year with the moneysuckers, cycling, running in an upcoming triathlon relay in May and wedding planning, I decided to throw one more stick in the fire and sign up again for boot camp. Fitness boot camp, that is, much to my duly betrothed’s chagrin. He does not care for me torturing my body in this fashion. He prefers punishment through steep, torturous climbs.

Two of “my” attorneys wanted to do it and so, since I had done it before, I got roped in. It started bright and early Monday morning at 5:15 a.m. in the pouring rain, outside for almost an hour and a half. Good times. If you’ve never done a boot camp, you might want to check out this link for perspective http://www.gobootcamp.com … it’s over an hour of constant running, pushups, plyometrics, abdominal work, arms, legs, etc… a full body thrashing, not for the faint of heart or the sane, really.


I’ve always been a firm believer in strength training and have kept in above average form (you know, for an old, washed up mother of 5)….but devoting these past months to cycling has let the arms/chest/abdominals go a bit. I’m feeling it today. I cannot laugh without my abs seizing up on me, my triceps feel as if the knife should not be removed, lest I create more damage. These guys do a good program, it's tough, physically risky sometimes if you don't force yourself to let up, but very motivating in that you truly are mentally challenged to go beyond your physical threshold.

If the rain lets up and we actually do ride tonight at Donaldson…I’m in for a treat. It’s only 6 weeks…this too shall pass.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Training and what not...


I don't usually do back to back days yet with my training. This week though, due to high winds and just a feeling of some bad juju, we got back in the car at Donaldson, didn't even unload the bikes and headed home. Since I skipped Tuesday, my schedule was a bit out of whack and I did intervals in the park on Wednesday and then our climbing route yesterday. Today, I feel sore and sweaty...just a constant overheated feeling. Tomorrow I'm tackling Caesar's Head for the first time... not really looking forward to that... and Monday morning, bright and early at 5:15 a.m. I'll be starting another boot camp.... just to get my running kicked back in and up to at least a half-ass speed before the May triathlon in Hilton Head. I seem to have found a good riding partner (other than my duly betrothed)... thanks Danielle! She's more fit than me, a marathoner, etc... but we seem to have some varying strengths/weaknesses, she's faster on the hills, I'm maybe a little stronger after them... so it's good...we rotate and take turns pushing each other...looking forward to getting stronger/faster together.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Ode to BMC...


It’s true…. I have a wee small BMC fetish… it started when I was given my splendid little BMC. Then we brushed shoulders with some of the crew last year at the US PRO championships in Greenville. Out one night for a few drinks, spotted a few of them in front of Connelly’s…exchanged words in passing, walked to our cars simultaneously, they smiled, waved and acknowledged my BMC on top of the car as they passed. I started perusing, reading up, paying attention to them sometime after that and have been hooked ever since. What’s not to like? They are unique. Their bikes are great, their Assos kits are awesome and even their mechanics/trucks/rigs, etc. all pristine.
BKW did a post earlier this year with some great pics http://www.belgiumkneewarmers.com/2009/02/atoc-team-bmc.html. You can’t help but like the team when you read about them, hear them quoted – their riders are young, scrappy and likeable. I’m delighted they are going to Paris-Roubaix, though in our television and internet free home, I don’t suppose I’ll see it firsthand, but I’m hoping they kick ass just the same. Oh, and ladies, they offer some eye candy also (Taylor Tolleson) which, out of respect for my duly betrothed, I won't comment on further. I'll just leave you with this... http://www.bmcracingteam.com/index.php?id=140&tx_gooffotoboek_pi1[fid]=18&tx_gooffotoboek_pi1[srcdir]=ZX_action&cHash=53476c3bff

Monday, April 6, 2009

I'm every woman...it's all in me...


I have always prided myself on being the girl that looks, smells, talks, feels like a girl, yet can still pound out some pushups, sling a hammer, hang drywall, demo a roof, heck demo half a house and yet still be considered “girly”. A true conundrum, yep that’s me. You can imagine, then, the devastation I felt when I discovered there is an entire cult following in the making of girls that ride bicycles and blog specifically about NOT riding their respective bicycles in spandex. Alas, they are pretty, chic, liberated and according to them, I fear, I fall into the class of the girls that “aren’t”. I no longer carry the girly torch since I don a helmet, padded shorts and “practical” shoes geared specifically for “racing” and pedaling efficiency.

I refuse to be stripped of my girlie title…just yet. So this weekend in order to reclaim that title, I whined to my duly betrothed until he had no choice but to succumb and next thing you knew, I was test riding a bright, playful, orange, Electra “Townie” bike… dressed up, in stilettos…. I can do it... now back to the spandex!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Happy anniversary...


Today is the very happy anniversary of my “new” life as I, now, know it. A year ago today (to the Friday that is) “we” shared our first kiss, our first conversation that lasted until 3 a.m. (many, many more were to follow) our first, “wow, you truly are the dork for me moment” and my first introduction into the wonderful world of cycling. I knew when he was shopping for a bicycle frame for me the day after our first “date” that this one, just might be a keeper.

It has truly been one heck of a year from 1 new job for him, to 2 physical moves for him, from the metamorphosis from triathlete to bike racer for him and from “fitness” dabbling for me (think gym rat and quasi running) to beginning cyclist. We began with sharing a few laughs over drinks and moved quickly to many flirtatious emails, to a few early morning runs together, to late night phone calls that drained our cell phone batteries back to early morning packing the car for races. We progressed from having a blast together, to dating exclusively to a few sentimental almost weepy moments and then engagement.

I’ve gone from scrapes, bumps and bruises while riding in tennis shoes on a high school track in circles, practicing starting and stopping without falling, listening to countless hours of scolding and head shaking from him – commands like “PEDAL”, “GET YOUR HANDS ON THE FREAKING BRAKES”, “GEEZZZZZZ BRUSH YOURSELF OFF AND STRAIGHTEN YOUR HELMET” and my personal favorite after one of my crashes over the handlebars off the side of the road, barely missing a telephone pole as his audibly shaking voice said, “this is NOT for you”. That statement was all the convincing I needed to buckle down, learn this thing called “cycling” and make him eat those words. I think he ate them…since these days I hear things like, “hell yeah” and “that’s the best you’ve ever ridden.” He’s been an excellent “coach”, mechanic, and motivational speaker all the while holding steadfast as a realist (“No honey, you aren’t going to be Pro 1/2 in six months”) Most importantly, he has been and still is the love of my life. We’ve come a long way…literally and figuratively.

Happy anniversary, sunshine! Du hast mich! xoxo