April snow brings May....???

Ok I am not going to write more than one run on sentence about our weather this past week, or the past 2 weeks or the forecast for the next 4 days, just know that if you are sitting in something that is above 50 and have a peek of sun, you have it good, enjoy it.

And not sure why blogger is doing weird spacing games below but it reads like a childrens book, sorry!

This was today's theme for the run. Pelting snow/rain/sleet in my face that i actually had my eyes

closed for a good part of it. My eyes sting not from sweat, but from the cold rain. Nice.

I cant do anything about it ( but complain) and i seriously would go to Tucson again this weekend

If it werent Easter. But it has to get better. IT HAS TO! And i know i shouldnt think i am owed

a 3 mos stretch of 80+ deg days this summer since i am sure it wont happen.

On other notes i pretty much laid out my Tri season. I snoozed too long and didnt get into a race i

planned on, but that is ok. It closed fast and i was waiting for a few reasons, mainly bc i didnt

want to lose big bucks if my body was not cooperating. We also had planned a vacay trip so i

didnt want to plan things without my so's approval and we just havent talked alot about it.

It all worked out fine since i will now be racing locally for one of my 70.3 distances. It's always

good to sleep in your own bed, and it will give me a challenge to not be social and say hi to

EVERYONE i know on the course. Focus Julia. FOCUS. Coach is rolling her eyes at me.

The Body is playing along "pretty well." I have to believe that a few of the tight issues correlate

with our cruddy weather. I had NO issues running in Tucson, AT ALL. Trails and heat.

Here our trails are flooded ( and i mean FLOODED, not just damp) and its cold and my Glute

and Piriformis have been acting up when i run. Its no fun bc it zings me a few times and then

goes away. Not sure what to make of it, but i am religious on the corework and the glute release,

and trying to get that Pirformis to stop acting like my Glute Max. I have my first open road race

on April 30, a half marathon and i cant remember the last time i ran an open half. In my 20's?

I am prepared for a sufferfest and really have few time expectations other than to not go out too

fast and blow up at mile 7. More on that later, but the course is pretty flat but the last 3-4 miles

are false flat back up towards the finish so a great place to either rejoice that you paced right or

groan and understand why miles 4-7 felt so easy.

My hope is that April snow will bring May flowers, and maybe some temps above 40. The first

time trial is only a few weeks out, and heck that is pretty funny to think about. I have been out on

my TT bike only once this entire year.

Oh and its my birthday on April 30, too. So no matter how fast or slow i run that half I plan to

have a fun day, cupcakes and maybe even get up and do the Ironman Bike ride the next day.

It's 100 miles. Not sure the legs will like that after a half, but never hurts to have it on the "maybe"

list.

Thanks for reading. Hope i didnt c/o the weather too much:)

The Aftermath and Cupcakes in a Jar

I Realized I should have done a vide of sunday, when it had stopped and It was light outside. But it was too cold, and even today i went out and took my mittens off and my fingers were so cold. It took me about 4x as long to drive what usually takes me 10 minutes. The sidestreets are nutz, people are stupid, they just stop and try to park in the middle of the street when there are snow drifts as high as:

If i had another person i could have shown you to scale that this is about 12 feet of snow.

But my other hand had this in it:

So far my quest to cut back on coffee is going ok. But when Caribou has $2 spicey mocha's, its hard to resist, even tho i dont really like chocolate. I get it home, sip it and go "ehh" and make tea ...I keep trying to love that chocolate. But not yet. I have lovely tea choices, So far my faves are green tea with mango, green tea melange and Jasmine. All loose leaf.

In other non weather and non caffeinated news:

The Dome collapsed.

Farve gets another day to pretend his SC joint isnt killing him and he is not in excruciating pain. IT makes me cringe to think of snapping that football when your SC ( Sternoclavicular) Joint is in jeoprady, but then again maybe he can pass it underhand, get a few shots to the joint and still keep his record, whatever it is. Kari, you know what it is dont ya? :) You are such a fan. NOT.

My sister in law had an emergency cupcake delivery saturday mid snowstorm. She gets a call asking for 6 dozen cupcakes in a jar. Lets back up.

CC in a jar =

1/2 a cupcake baked in a glass jar

topped with frosting

another 1/2 like a muffin top ( cooked separately) put on top of the cupcake and then more frosting.

They are then eaten with a spoon, out of the jar.

*** And having just seen the originial Gene Wilder "Charlie in a Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl, dont you think Aimee would be on to something if she were able to create a jar that then could be eaten? Like when they are drinking tea near the chocolate river right before the blueberry girl explodes?

Turns out she could only turn around 2 dozen in the short timeframe she was given, but the customer was insistent. So Aimee drops the 2 dozen CC in a jar off in a snowstorm saturday morning, and Mrs. #4 has her party favors for that night's party. Wonder if the party took place of she was trapped in her house with 2 dozen of the best buttercream frosted cupcakes known to humankind?:)

I rode my bike on the trainer alot this weekend. I mananged a short T run, and no butt pain. and when is say butt pain gotta just trust me it isnt piriformis and maybe i will write a post about what it is/was but for now its too long a post and too much that i will lose Kari, and i want her full attention since i have included all her favorite things thus far except

Yorks. There, now i did it.

YORKS are better than Junior Mints. I agree.

Ok that is all from the winter wonderland, but really this is going to make my outdoor riding a bit tough for the next few weeks.

What to do when it is snowing..and some advice for Roger.

What about think about what to do when it is NOT snowing. Now really I do like winter, sort of. I have grown to like it less and less mostly bc I really do not like being cold. I think that one of the most empowering moments I had in my entire life was when I realized that I could actually turn the heat up at our house. When i grew up we used to wear down vests and hats around. IT was just how it was. Nobody really grumbled ( I am sure i did) but when you are young you just adapt. I do remember studying under quilts in bed. My parents still live in the house ( fondly called THE COLD HOUSE) and really it is cold. Big old Victorian house, that is cold in the summer even, so that is one plus. I think It was when I was living at home AFTER college, so yes this really is some arrested development in my growth and ability to take risks I would say. And finally my mom and I said "To heck with it..lets turn the heat up."

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

Wow. That was easy. And it actually warmed up. A little.

So now that I am in a house where the heat is on, and the house is a bit newer I am realizing alot of what i didnt like about winter was being cold and to live here I have a blank check when it comes to buying things that help me stay warm. This means workout gear and chemical heaters. I dont feel like I have to save those puppies, bc If I have a 1-2 hour ride with warm hands and toes ( or actually they are never warm, they are always GETTING COLDER...the chemical heaters just make it a bit more comfortable) it is worth it. AND....

For anyone who is going to use the chemical hand warmers...if you dont use them for 4-5 hours they can be reused. Put them in a baggie and get all the air out and seal it up really tight. I only do this if I know i have a shorter ride bc I dont want to risk them running out of JUICE mid ride. The toe and foot warmers are not that great IMO but they do help make your toes go numb and maybe that is better than frostbite.

Since at some point i need to figure out my 2010 plans I will post a few options and anyone that has advice, or thoughts on potential races feel free to advise....

January U of MN swim meet, where Jen will have me swim every event including a relay, even if i dont have anyone to swim a relay with.

February: Hope it isnt leap year bc 28 days is long enough.

March: Tucson Tri camp. Followed by extended camp at Rich's mom's in Green Valley.

April: Lonestar 70.3 ( maybe) end of April. Sister Heide lives in Houston so this is a likely race but I am too chicken to sign up since i cant imagine riding my bike on a trainer for 4 hours to get ready for this.

May: ? Wait for the snow to be gone. SAD. SAD. SAD. Go visit Kari and Kate if this is the case.

June: Kansas 70.3 That yellow brick road was too enticing.

July: Minneman on July 4th, local fun sprint that Rich may do:)

Perhaps Qualify for AG NATZ at a race in Iowa. I was hoping there was a qualie in MN so i wouldnt have to drive and sleep in Iowa. Sorry, I just would rather race closer to home. So that is a big maybe.

August: Firehouse 50 TT and Best of Both Road Race ( run) the next day. I can only dream winning another trophy as big as me, so that my nephews can each have one and no fighting over the 2009 BOB trophy.

Sept: Go volunteer and sign up for IMOO with some other people. KATE?! Have nightmares about this already, well not nightmares, but some nights when i struggle to run 6 miles that day I say "AM I INSANE?"

Perhaps AG NATZ?

Oct : TCM 10 Miler.

November: Be super happy I am not racing in November. Hats off to anyone who really wants to race in November but in all truth, Ick. I am struggling to get thru October and riding my bike in the fall is FAR more exciting to me than trying to get into OW and trying to Stay On It this late. I would like to go to Clearwater, but I realized the only reason i wanted to go to Clearwater was bc everyone else goes ( well not everyone) but it would be nice to say I have DONE IT. But really it sounds like i would be happier just doing a race for the right reasons for me. Not bc I feel left out!

I am also interested in the Rev 3 races, but living in MN its obvious that most of the races are well over 8 hours from me. Driving is preferred, travel on the airlines with the bikes just annoys me. Delta/NWA.com just is evil when it comes to STEALING our money. I get all worked up thinking about my hometown airline. Yes how nice you are. ...NOT.

I have lots of other ideas, but I like to think that I am young to this sport. I will have one more year in the 40-44 ag, and then will age up to 45-49 so who says that 45-49 cant be super fun and full of new adventures as well. All you peeps who are so dreading 40....well..that is another post for another day. My life took so many GREAT turns when i turned 40 and I am so much happier and fufilled than my 30's that I am excited for you gals!

Hope I am not snowed in wednesday, I still have my trainer bike at the condo and I have some other stuff to do! Drive safe all you midwesterners and cant wait to post some snowy bike pics~!

PS: Many of you know of my respect/awe and admiration ( OK OBSESSION) with The FED.

Some of you may not know that Tiger, A-Rod, and the Fed are in Gillette Commercials together and also Tiger has flown in to watch Roger play some of his bigger matches. I just have a few words for Roger: DONT DO IT. Stay true to Marika and stay true to me. :) Otherwise your picture is coming OFF the refrigerator!

THIS IS GETTING OLD


So did you know that wednesday I rode outside for 3 hours? I had a rare day with no work till 2pm.
Did you know I ran hills thursday and the road/hill was clear? Last time i ran hills on snow my calves let me know that was a NO-NO. It took me 4 weeks to get the Soleus and the Flexor Digitorum ( let me know if you want a post on all the cool muscles in your calves and the extrinisic/intrinsics of your feet bc at this point I am really not going to post anymore about weather. After today! HA!)
This is Friday. Sun is out. Last night it was seriously a Blizzard. I couldnt see a thing. I was a white knuckle driver coming home from work. And i didnt even get to work bc I couldnt see and the ice on the windshield wipers was crusted on my windshield.
More snow in case you didnt get enough of it in the earlier pictures.
Moral of the story is this: I know WE LOVE to talk about the weather and how cold it is. But really March is our snowiest month. And it isnt March yet. Luckily it will be gone. Sooner or Later. Likely later.But no whineing from anyone that doesnt have their streets covered in white.
Poor lost bike.
But soon.....
Go-Go will get her time on the dry roads of TT land and Tri land and...
I can dress like a colorful posterboard and ride to Aravaca. This way the Border Patrol driving up and down Aravaca Road will see me and so will the folks trying to bust into AZ from Mexico.
In the mean time I have plenty of snow in the freezer for upcoming ice baths.