Sunday, January 25, 2009
Snow Day
We're deep into winter and the weather is behaving accordingly. Yesterday the temps were colder than my comfort level, so I deferred a long run until today. It snowed sometime during the night and I sure hope it's not slick out there. Best part of this run today will be hot soup at Panera afterwards.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Canal Connection 10K - Post Race Pizza
Starved Rock Runners holds their Canal Connection 10K every year in November. 2008 was the third year for me. Some IT band issues in late August forced me to back off the running mileage substantially, so my expectations were pretty low for this race. I figured just finishing would be enough.
Nancy was the driver today. She picked me up at 7:45 a.m., then we collected Linda and sped off to Lincoln, where we collected Deb. Here is Deb vacating her vehicle in the parking lot of a truck stop off the interstate.
With Deb safely stowed away, it was on to McLean and the Dixie Truck Stop where Helen was waiting.
It is worth mentioning that Linda was in an accident on Halloween where she was rear-ended by a young man wearing a yellow tutu. Linda herself was sporting a witch's outfit complete with cape. The police must have had a lot of fun with that one. But unruffled by this bit of bad luck, she was gracious enough to get Panera bagels and coffee for everyone.
In 2007 we took a wrong turn and ended up going through Peoria. This turned into a terrifying odyssey across northern Illinois that took us past a wind farm. A wind farm. Thanks to Nancy's stuntwoman-quality driving, we made it to the start of the race but it was touch and go. In an effort to ward this off, the Sutzmobile was equipped with a road atlas and no less than three Mapquest printouts. Travel time was supposed to be 2 hours 13 minutes. I think we hit Utica in 2 hours, and that was with three stops.
This shot of the interstate shows the first of many signs to Peoria, which is where it all went wrong last year. We're a much savvier bunch now.
We had some delicious coffee from Panera. With all of that caffeine, you would think it would be possible to run pretty fast.
Utica is a picturesque little river town. Race headquarters is in the elementary school. Basically you take the main drag into town and just follow the cars. Next to the school was an old house in the process of being refurbished. There was a bunch of old stuff in the garbage, and I saw this amazing light fixture!!!
It was a great race, I PR'd. Still slow, but two minutes faster than last year. But who's counting? Not me, I'll never get an age group award unless everyone else stays home that day. For me, a solid B.O.P., the appeal of this race is a) the awesome sweatshirts that they give away and b) delicious pizza. Just take a look at this pizza. Yeah, it's as good as it looks.
Nancy was the driver today. She picked me up at 7:45 a.m., then we collected Linda and sped off to Lincoln, where we collected Deb. Here is Deb vacating her vehicle in the parking lot of a truck stop off the interstate.With Deb safely stowed away, it was on to McLean and the Dixie Truck Stop where Helen was waiting.
It is worth mentioning that Linda was in an accident on Halloween where she was rear-ended by a young man wearing a yellow tutu. Linda herself was sporting a witch's outfit complete with cape. The police must have had a lot of fun with that one. But unruffled by this bit of bad luck, she was gracious enough to get Panera bagels and coffee for everyone.
In 2007 we took a wrong turn and ended up going through Peoria. This turned into a terrifying odyssey across northern Illinois that took us past a wind farm. A wind farm. Thanks to Nancy's stuntwoman-quality driving, we made it to the start of the race but it was touch and go. In an effort to ward this off, the Sutzmobile was equipped with a road atlas and no less than three Mapquest printouts. Travel time was supposed to be 2 hours 13 minutes. I think we hit Utica in 2 hours, and that was with three stops.This shot of the interstate shows the first of many signs to Peoria, which is where it all went wrong last year. We're a much savvier bunch now.
We had some delicious coffee from Panera. With all of that caffeine, you would think it would be possible to run pretty fast.
Utica is a picturesque little river town. Race headquarters is in the elementary school. Basically you take the main drag into town and just follow the cars. Next to the school was an old house in the process of being refurbished. There was a bunch of old stuff in the garbage, and I saw this amazing light fixture!!!It was a great race, I PR'd. Still slow, but two minutes faster than last year. But who's counting? Not me, I'll never get an age group award unless everyone else stays home that day. For me, a solid B.O.P., the appeal of this race is a) the awesome sweatshirts that they give away and b) delicious pizza. Just take a look at this pizza. Yeah, it's as good as it looks.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Still Horse Crazy After All These Years
In my teen years, I had a horse and rode every chance that presented itself. I did the 4H and Pony Club thing, then hung out at a show horse barn. Like so many passions, it gets in your blood and lies dormant in viruslike manner, waiting for years to resurface.
My love of mountain biking I attribute to the horsey past, since they somewhat parallel each other. The nice thing about bikes is that they don't eat, don't need their feet trimmed and their stalls picked out, don't get sick, don't age and die. I can afford a bike, I cannot afford a horse.
But my sister, who is far, far more successful in matters monetary than I am, CAN afford a horse, and she now has a beautiful Quarter Horse mare. I got to meet and ride Contessa today and I have to say, it was a little like coming home. The last time I rode a horse was about 3 years ago on a trail ride at Rend Lake. Today it was in a ring. I was a little nervous initially, but it didn't take long to find my balance and get a rapport going with the horse. Contessa is a dream to ride. You can ride her using just your legs and voice.
So now I'm dusty and have the horse fever again, can't wait to get out there and ride again!
My love of mountain biking I attribute to the horsey past, since they somewhat parallel each other. The nice thing about bikes is that they don't eat, don't need their feet trimmed and their stalls picked out, don't get sick, don't age and die. I can afford a bike, I cannot afford a horse.
But my sister, who is far, far more successful in matters monetary than I am, CAN afford a horse, and she now has a beautiful Quarter Horse mare. I got to meet and ride Contessa today and I have to say, it was a little like coming home. The last time I rode a horse was about 3 years ago on a trail ride at Rend Lake. Today it was in a ring. I was a little nervous initially, but it didn't take long to find my balance and get a rapport going with the horse. Contessa is a dream to ride. You can ride her using just your legs and voice.
So now I'm dusty and have the horse fever again, can't wait to get out there and ride again!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Jen rehydrates
It was great when the leaders finally stopped and there was a chance to get some water.
Road Ride today
Perfect weather for a 35-mile ride from Chatham to Thayer to Auburn. Legs were dead at the end.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Revenge of the Trees
So, I'm on a self-imposed moratorium from running. No problem, that just means more time for biking. S didn't "have" to golf this morning, so we loaded up the mt bikes and took them over to the Lick Creek trailhead. I wish I had taken a camera, but since I didn't I guess I'll have to go back again.
A buddy at work who is like the zenmaster of mountain biking said that the entrance was blocked by a huge fallen tree and you had to climb around on some rocks to get back to the trail. A greater person probably would have ridden over those rocks, but I chose to hoof it.
The one thing I noticed about the trail today was that there are like twice as many tree roots busting up the surface as last year. We have had lots and lots of rain, so the soil is slowly eroding away. The north and far south trails, not so much, but the middle trail was like riding over corrugated metal roofing in spots. It was as if the trees were angry and wanted to kill you.
Funny part of the ride, to get from the north to the south parts you have to come out on the paved bike trail and ride for about a quarter mile to the next trailhead. It was so hot and muggy, the bugs were just terrible in there and would eat you alive if you stopped. Plus the poison ivy is healthy. We paused to get a breather and a bunch of boys, junior high age, came tooling down the paved trail on bmx bikes. I figured they'd head into the woods but they didn't. I heard one of them say something like "oooh, they're going into the woods..." like something sexy was going to happen. When they cruised by I said something stupid like "hey guys" and they freaked out and started pedaling like crazy. One was harping at the other saying "she HEARD you man, I KNOW she HEARD what you said!!!!"
A buddy at work who is like the zenmaster of mountain biking said that the entrance was blocked by a huge fallen tree and you had to climb around on some rocks to get back to the trail. A greater person probably would have ridden over those rocks, but I chose to hoof it.
The one thing I noticed about the trail today was that there are like twice as many tree roots busting up the surface as last year. We have had lots and lots of rain, so the soil is slowly eroding away. The north and far south trails, not so much, but the middle trail was like riding over corrugated metal roofing in spots. It was as if the trees were angry and wanted to kill you.
Funny part of the ride, to get from the north to the south parts you have to come out on the paved bike trail and ride for about a quarter mile to the next trailhead. It was so hot and muggy, the bugs were just terrible in there and would eat you alive if you stopped. Plus the poison ivy is healthy. We paused to get a breather and a bunch of boys, junior high age, came tooling down the paved trail on bmx bikes. I figured they'd head into the woods but they didn't. I heard one of them say something like "oooh, they're going into the woods..." like something sexy was going to happen. When they cruised by I said something stupid like "hey guys" and they freaked out and started pedaling like crazy. One was harping at the other saying "she HEARD you man, I KNOW she HEARD what you said!!!!"
Winding Down
Is anyone else glad that the season is coming to an end? The constant grind of scheduling life around workouts and letting everything else slide is easing somewhat and I have to say it's a relief. I'm not even slightly thinking about what next year may hold. I had a race on the calendar for today, but an IT band injury changed all of that and here I am blogging with a cat sleeping blissfully on my lap, drinking coffee and planning my day, while my running buddies are probably crossing the bridge into Iowa at the Quad Cities half Marathon. It doesn't bother me at all. All I'm feeling is relief.
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