Gear West Du Race Report..and Butt Names!

6k-30k-4k format.


Sunday started out cool. I was up early...I dont usually like sunday races. I am usually a ball or energy and excitement + + nerves the day before and to have a saturday with nothing but a tune up and lots of time to kill often = my nerves just escalating. I handled it pretty well and since it was once again windy and actually COLD saturday I was happy to wait it out.
Still saturday night when Rich called from the north woods I was all "I wish i were there, I wish I werent here. I wish i was chopping wood and clearing trails and cleaning up after all the boys ( My dad, my brother, my 2 nephews) plus a work force of 40+ at the work weekend at the cabins..wait a minute. Did I really want to be up there and missing this race? NO. But heck when you are ready to go and you are waiting..can anyone say "pre-competition anxiety?"

And why does she have a tennis court on this blog entry? As we racked our bikes next to the Orono High tennis courts it did give me a sense of calm. On our first calm day ( wind wise) I was taken back to the times when i would enter those courts and in the bright cold sunshine, work myself into a trance of repetitive motion. For now the sound of clean hit on the sweet spot of the racket, and the crunch of a well returned or hit serve has been replaced, for now, with the woosh woosh woosh of the disk wheel. Or of someone else's disk passing my disk:)

On to the race report...I havent found any official GW pics but the following were taken by Pharmie, Speedo Steve's great wife, who i found out is ALSO doing Liberty Half. YEA!

Starting "sprint"..I am tickled that i am 1/2 step in front of the great Dave Dow. I have to give him crap for that. He is just to me left and a fantastic coach at SPA, chemist at 3M, and super biker as well. And a nice guy. This is the only section of the 1st 6k that is on terra firma. Then we head to the uneven terrain. fun fun. I worked the 1st run as best i could and didnt totally kill myself. but as this went on and on, and we had 90 deg turns, 180 deg turns, uphills, bridges, soggy wood chips, cones to run around..I was thinking how tough the last 4k run would be. LATER, not now, stay here, Julia.

Leaving T1 after my T(ea) party. For the life of me if i could not waste at least 30 seconds getting my Aero helmet buckled. I mean come on...what is my problem?! Once I got out i was good to go. 1st mile was hard, but that isnt news. I took a gel about 3 miles in and washed it down with some infinit that was too strong since for the next 8 miles i had my first episodes of reflux on the bike. Check, need water, and need infinit less strong for a fast paced day. I was passed by my buddy Dave at the only hill that I needed the small ring for, a quick incline up to 24. He flew by me as I was spinning my wheels up that stinker. Back into the big ring and I was on the TNT course, the same one that less than a week ago nearly blew me over.

I love this course and the subsequent turn to 19 up to the cemetary and Hamel Road. Lots of rollers with rolling hills in between those rollers. I had a few tough spots ( read 13 mph spots) going up a few rollers but with the rest I had the week before my legs just followed as I cranked the shifters down and took the descents as a fun and sorta fast effort, all the while pedaling with as much resistance as my legs could handle. I was passing some women, mostly young-uns from the Junior team, and then came upon a woman in my age group on Hunter Road. I know Wendy, she is from chippewa falls and is a very strong runner. She was about 30 seconds ahead of me on the 1st run so I kinda hung out beside her for a bit bc I knew that Hunter road was a short road and i didnt want to try to pass her as we were turning onto a busier Hi 6. So just as we turned she got out of her saddle and started hauling. Then she sat down. Ok now, 6 had a bit of wind and some long rollers. The kind i love to grind out. So off i went. I went by her with an "on your left, good job Wendy" and off i went. I also passed a Run and Fun gal who looked quite young. She didnt smile, and didnt look to pleased to have me ride on by ..I didnt look back I just kept riding. And when we turned back towards T2 I could see that they werent close to me. Likely 20-30 seconds back. Woot woot. Keep on going. Wendy will catch you in the run but MAKE HER CATCH YOU.


T2 was alot better, and yes I took my helmet off. And yes i was not sure where the run out was even tho i had been told before we started. Thanks Marti for showing me AGAIN!

So that last 4k felt like 6k. Or more. I mean really. I dont know the last time i hurt like that. And that includes doing a 50 mile TT in hilly northern Wi, and that includes running a recent 10k ( which i think are the HARDEST races ever...) and...so i just didnt look back. I knew Wendy was there as there are all these turns, 90 deg, 180 deg so when we went around some baseball fence and on some grass ( really I mean, you run in circles) all i could think was "SHE GALLOPPING towards me." Ok so I was at peace with it really. Pretty soon Run and Fun gal comes sprinting by me. I mean ALL OUT...And kinda gives me the stink eye. Ok maybe not but...it felt like it:)
And i figure if i can keep her in my 10 foot range maybe i can pick it up a bit so I can hold this a bit longer. In and out, weave, wood chip, up and down and finally i can see the hill that is short but steep. WOO...Maybe i can scurry up that hill and MAYBE I can hold on. So i scurry. afraid to wipe out....someone is yelling nonstop for someone behind me but it is for a guy. Not for Wendy. So I do recall passing a guy along the way too...as I scurry up the hill wondering if anyone face plants after that hill...I see the track. OH man. I forgot i had to run a 100 yard dash before i can get to the finishing shoot. So off i go. Not looking back. Just ahead. dont look back. PICK UP YOUR FEET.
And all the sudden Nice Erik Hull is taking my chip off and I am wheezing like someone that needs an albuterol fix.


I dont look all that bad but trust me, this is what the Pain Locker looks like.

Dave ( who passed me on the bike!) and Marti ( who got me out of T2!) Thanks you two, Fun to see you at the races. Dave is the one who I TT with and then we run. He says he is done with the craziness of T runs, hee hee. Back to TT's for Dave.

Me and Speedo steve, who got his bowl full of sunshine shorts out and did a super job in the relay. He and his brother in law improved their time by over 3 minutes and got 2nd place ...I tell ya the guy that ran for the winning relay team was hauling. He passed me both times on my run and he was moving. Good job Steve!

I managed 2nd in my AG but since Jeanne Fleck ( who has her name on her butt!) got 3rd OA I got moved up to 1st. And actually we were talking at the awards that we all wanted OUR names on our butts. Sorta. With a butt name comes expectations...hmm....and then a lively discussion of how we would alter our names ensued. fun times!

I think i was 12th female OA and with the line up of Yndebutts, Mcgaverbutts, Hullbutts, Hoagbutts, Fleckbutts...etc...I am pretty happy with the effort. But Ouch. The MCL is a bit sore today...off camber = extra stabe needed by those supporting ligaments.

Disclaimer: As i said, to have your name on your butt you have to EARN IT. right? So those chica's aforementioned EARNED IT! I am not calling them names, really!

Rest days, what to do, what to do..and sunday races!

So how is it that there happens to be a huge sale ( 80% off) Stephanies and I also find the LOOT bin online for Lululemon. Coincidence? I think not. Rest day. There was also a Title 9 warehouse sale at the fairgrounds, but since i had already found things i didnt need i figured I had already "rested" enough. I love buying jeans. When you find a pair that fits you have to buy them, and when they are ALL $50 who can resist?


Those look weird but they are capri pants, very comfy.

Like these lulu shorts but not as much as the Speed shorts. Didnt know these dont have built in undies. Tant Pis.

So why the rest day? I am heading into a du on sunday. I have never done it but it is sponsored by Gear West and will certainly challenge me! I am excited, nervous and excited...I dont usually like sunday races but I have taken today to get organized, relax and be happy that the wind MAY die down PLEASE... forecast is for COLD COLD COLD. Frost advisory. And we start at 8am. I think EVERYONE i have talked to is in wave 1 so i wonder who is in the other waves...Bueller? anyone?
I had hopes of wearing my new tri top but, um, not so much when we are looking at 30's at 8am.
Looks like LS skinsuit. Sure hope the wind dies down. I have changed my mind a few times on wheels and just hope for a safe sufferfest.
As you can tell from above this is my last race. Shall we call this "View from the shelter?" Notice i didnt get my bike in soon enough and GOGO is getting a bath while i huddle inside:)

Skills and TT season!

Not much going on other than life, wedding planning, life, work, life, training some and just enjoying the temps being somewhat normal. Normal defined as 50's and 60's. We even had some 70's last week which makes me SO happy. I did the first of many TT's we have here in MN. There is a race a week should you want it. The road at BlackDog is particularly unsafe and pot hole laden so my goal really has to be to get a good workout. If i have to pull over to not become a hood ornament, so be it. As is my Hed Bars popped a bolt down there but no cracks in my Carbon rims. I know some people have more of a HTFU attitude to that road but I just think it is crazy. And yes I am crazy to go down there then, but will go with the understanding that I stay alive and not be out $$ for broken equipment. I had a great race effortwise and then ran 20 min HARD with my buddy Dave on the trails. We timed it so Dave would pass me in the final mile of the TT and I would meet him at the car to run. Thanks dave!

As for skills....One of my workouts last week had the "PRACTICE TRANSITIONS" label in it. I am new to this sport even though I have done some Du's and a token Tri here and there and in my 20's. So when I was told to practice transitions I was like "Um, Ok." After the meat of the workout I had convinced myself that I was just going to run out of T1 in my shoes. Who cares I mean really does it matter? Then Rich said to me, "Why not do it like the pros do it? I mean that big guns do it, why not try?" So I had a little freakout moment and said "If I dont ever try it in a race I will never get the confidence to do it." So over and over again I rubber banded my shoes to the frame and worked on getting on the bike, getting up to speed, getting my feet in the shoes and pulling the flaps. Getting off is easier for me with the behind the seat leg cross over etc...but the timing still freaks me out. Last week at Alex i planned to practice this but the T area with the mount and dismount was so short, serioulsy like 5 feet? that I didnt even bother on the way out and on the way back in I all the sudden was within a 5 foot jaunt to my rack so didnt even bother. 

I realized part of what was freaking me out was the rubber bands. Once I ditched that, especially on the left shoe it was super fun. I did it over and over again and had a deja vu to my tennis days.

"ONE MORE." I felt like I was drilling skills, drilling forehands, drilling serves OVER and OVER again so much that you dont even think about it. That, to me, is the best thing in a sport and it is the first time I have felt that way in Tri. Yea cadence drills and pedal stroke drills... but that isnt the same as really executing and trying to create a motor pattern for a move or a series of moves. 

Ok granted I am about 10% there, and the cross mount isnt gonna happen cuz my seat is so dang high, but never say never. Top tube distance from my seat to the Aero bars is just more severe than on my Cross bike so I am about 0% on that one. But if anyone has advice on mounts and timing and skills let me know. Will reimburse with cupcakes, salted nut rolls or PT advice!

Birthday and Chain of Lakes Triathlon!


Lots to blog about so i will try to be concise. Ha. Not likely.

My birthday was great, despite a bit of rain that day I had a nice swim workout in the morning, went to work and then was lucky enough that my mom gave me her massage time with our super duper massage therapist. Our family all goes to see the same person and since she is so good and so hard to get into we often just book any massage we can get! I had tried to get one on April 30th but she was booked. Then early last week my mom said "do you want my Christine at 2pm on Thursday?" YOU BETCHA! Who can say no to a CHRISTINE? ( Her name obviously is Christine!) It was a great respite in a long week and i was ready for dinner out with the family. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family that really truly LOVES to get together. Yes we have our own dysfunction I know, but all in all we really really love each other and like to laugh at each other and ourselves. Rich knows this and has had great bonding with my sister in law ( cupcake maker) Aimee, bc she knows how unique...um...weird..um...crazy...the Mairs Clan can be. My dad has 5 brothers and sisters and you get all of my aunts and uncles together, plus the cousins...and you have a huge party. Our wedding is going to be quite a fun time. I think i may need to rest for a week before and after to keep up with my east coast cousins that plan to descend on st paul this fall. Ok off on a tangent, sorry.

Here are some fun pics from my Bday dinner:
Aimee, Me, my sister Elizabeth



Rosemary ( Rich's mom), Mom, Rich, Me, Lee, Dad, Aimee, Brian Williams..Oh i mean Rob.

Best salad! HUGE Fire Roasted Shrimp, Mango, Goat cheese, strawberries, Sun dried tomato...almonds...Yum!


And next week Rich is taking me to sushi ( yea! ) and Billy Joel/Elton John in concert. Rich is learning.
I am a pro at getting him presents that can be shared. Who do you think uses the bike box i got him for HIS birthday? hee hee. So this time he got something we both could use! a fun night out. I love Billy Joel. Elton John, well I am not convinced. Sorry If I offended anyone. And I am so excited bc my brother and sister in law and my nephews got me a ROGER FEDERER beanie baby. I mean that MAY have to be the best present EVER!

Oh and I did my first Tri of the season saturday in Alexandria, MN about 140 miles NorthWest of the cities.
Now when i signed up it seemed like a good idea. I wanted to do a tri, not just a du, before my first ever half IM in june. With timing and Jen's silly advice that i cant race every weekend like i used to when bike racing I didnt have much choice since i really wanted to do the Gear West Du in a few weeks. This left no options for races before Lliberty in june unless I raced the weekend beforehand. And that was a no. I know it isnt silly advice, but try telling a winter bound athlete that is excited to not sign up for every race she can possibly dream of when she is snowbound and it is 20 below. Dreams. Alas this race "appeared to be nearby" and was short and would allow me to practice at least some transistions, even if it was a pool swim. And then about 2 weeks ago I realized that registration opened at 7am and It was a good 2 1/2 hour drive up there. Crap.

Now most of you know me as a morning person. I like mornings. I am most productive in the am. But when your alarm is set for 4am and you roll over mid hibernation at 3:55AM the only thing to say is "NOOOOO."
Rich once again gets the gold star Sherpa style for coming along and allowing me to pretend to sleep more in the car at least until the lights came on. ( sun came up) He got a good 70 mile ride in while i was playing around so I think he was just happy to hit the trails and not ride in the cities. I also got him a pulled pork sandwich from the nice youth Alexandria swim team that was selling lunch and of course the caribou cooler on the way out of town. And I drove home. So we are all even now!

Race report : ok finally.

Swim: 600 yard pool swim. Interesting thing about this is that it is self seeded and they assign you a lane. We had no warmup so...the first 100 was great, then I kinda lost wind for about 200 yards and then settled into a good pace. I led the lane, 2 people drafted off me the entire way and at one point the gal kinda tapped me at 500 yards. I was like "huh," should i let her go? I just sped up. After that i felt kinda bad. I asked her and she said she was not trying to pass me. She was over 6 feet and was swimming in my draft so at times when i pushed off the wall after a flip she was so close that she would touch me. Whatever. not gonna worry bout it. Ran out of the pool and out the gym doors across the mat to the bike area. ( note, it was kinda cool bc there were so many waves that the wave after yours would be sitting right in the bleechers near the lane and as each person finished their 600 everyone would CHEER! when you got out. pretty neat. thanks!)

T1: Ok so, I have never really practiced T's. So this year one big thing i want to learn to do is not take 2+ minutes in the T zones. But when you exit the pool ( that was 82 degrees, but felt really nice!) to this outside temp of 36..

How can you not be a bit ??? about hopping on your bike to ride your butt off for 13 mi. I mean i had my fast bike, my fast wheel and i didnt intend to coast. Brr. Granted this temp was closer to 7am, but by 9am it hadnt all the sudden become 70 degrees.

I ran out to the bikes and threw on a top and ..yes knee warmers. I know i know. Time. But the thing that held me up the most was i couldnt get my aero helmet buckled. Gotta work on that. I was out of there and didnt get a chance to practice with my shoes in the clips bc literally the in and out space was about 10 feet. My rack position was right near the in and out so i was good. No issues other than getting gloves on my hands and i was off. 2.02. ugh.

Bike: My temp was fine. I was happy to have the knee warmers on my legs, and for those of you who know me, the chicken legs were happy bc they were cold and wet in my unitard suit. Bike was good. Kinda hilly kinda windy on the back stretch but 13miles. I wanted to keep it above 20 mph and I think i did a good job of that other than into a bit of a headwind and uphill at about mile 8-12. Passed all the women from the 1st swim wave and had to do a fair amount of ON YOUR LEFT's. I tried to say good job to them as i passed bc I feel kinda dorky flying by them with a disk wheel when some are riding upright MTB's. I felt good spinning in and actually DID get the feet out of the shoes and was ready to do the back leg over the seat cross dismount and then all the sudden i was in the 2 foot mount/dismount area and so i didnt have time and just hopped off. Progress though!

T2: bike racked. run shoes on. Oh yes threw off my shirt. time time time I know. Grabbed my race belt and off i went. Better. 42 seconds. Still too long.

Run: OMG my first thought was "my quads feel like ice picks." shuffle shuffle shuffle. My race unitard dealie was still wet and my quads were obviously still riding the first 1/2 mile. I kept shuffling along and finally around 3/4mile i felt like i could finally stride a bit, got my breath and got my mojo going. I got into a pace that seemed to be just fine. I think i could have maybe gone a bit faster the last 2 miles but I just kept passing people and then all the sudden it was the flags to run to the finish. The ladies I passed had some really good enouragement for me and i tried to reply with a smile and a "you too!" I mean there was some serious Girl Power going on out there and it was so neat!
I made sure to talk to some of them after they finished and congratulate them as well.

Finish: since we were in waves I came in alone and knew that I did the best I could! I have a tendancy to feel that way, then get my print out of times or see that I missed a place by 10 seconds ( the time i had that extra cup of tea in the Transition area) and so this time I promised myself I would NOT do that. I promised Rich i would not spend the car ride home saying "IF IF IF." Yes I think i could have swum a bit faster and yes I think i could have run a bit faster...but I didnt. And I had fun. I was glad i got up at 3:fricking 55am and I was glad I got out and raced.

Rich arrived back from his ride and despite missing his "go JULIA!" cheers and the photo ops it was nice that he got in a great ride himself. At that point my quads were starting to get tight so I quickly went to the bathroom and we went to cool down on the trails for another 10 miles or so.

Here are some random pics from the day:

yes Marco, this is why I need LIME GREEN Recovery Sox!

Me accepting my 40-49 yo 1st place award. I was 2nd OA female to Jen L, who is from Alexandria! How cool is that? She had her high school coaches there cheering for her:)
Me and my Sherpa, who ended up riding 70 miles instead of sherpa-ing but that was fine with me:) who needs a sherpa for a sprint tri? not me. Ride at 4am, yes. Cowbell for a 600/13/3, no that is ok. really.
I realized I didnt get a race pic yesterday so this is staged today after our 70 mile ride. Road bikes. Weird. I almost went into the aero bars and realized i didnt have any on my Bianchi. good call. Thanks to coach Jen and all the Verve Racing sponsors, June who keeps me caffeinated on a controlled basis. Wade who with ART keeps me healthy, and Excel cycle thru your generosity keeps my bike healthy and my nutrition ( other than Infinit) costs down.

Weekend re-cap:
Chapter 1

Ok no the weekend isnt quite over but It is raining and 40 out so why not curl up and do a recap.

Friday I started feeling a bit punkish. I had acupuncture and that helped a tiny bit but finally there was an ah-ha moment and all became clear as to why i was feeling like i had a small earthquake going on in my belly. And no it wasnt Swine Flu. Saturday I didnt know what to expect as I had not felt too much like eating friday night and so was being cautious even saturday. I knew it wouldnt be the end of the world if i had to stop and walk as opposed to being doubled over in pain.

Saturday morning dawned and luckily there was no rain. Cool. But no rain. Sorry but i had about a 2 mile run to the start and with wearing my garbage bags and cap and carrying a few other things i had no place for a camera. I didnt want to risk leaving it and then losing it. So all I got for pics from race day were random ones.
Ok race report, sparing you the parts about my friend Dan being a total life support bc i hate, dont we all.. standing around being cold and trying to warm up just to know you have to go coral yourself with 8000 others for 15 minutes just to get a spot remotely near the front. So we did just that.
Arm Crank riders go off ( wheelchair athletes)
Elite's go off
Then it is the 10k AND the Half Mary runners all together. Ok. Off we go. Beep beep beep. I had decided to NOT be a slave to any sort of timing device just to run what felt like a good pace and to check my HR at each mile and then as the mile and 5k splits were read i would do some math ( Which surprisingly I did ) and try to keep with it.
Coach had suggested that since i had only run 1 FUN 5k in the last...umm...well...a long time, that i start out conservatively and not forget that the 5k wasnt the finish. Mile 1, 6:55. Oops. I didnt feel breathless and it felt easy. Yea I did have to dodge people and I had to find a line, but i wasnt dying. HR was in check. So i am thinking "just mellow out, but i dont want to slow down alot. just run." Mile 2, 7:05. Hmm...that still seems too fast. Lets just see how it is at the 5k and then go from there. I wanted to be into the 5k under 23. 22:05. Ok that seems reasonable and I am not dying yet. There were some hills/kinda hills not Mountain hills, but enough that your HR showed it. Still I seemed to be clipping along and my HR was just rising nicely. I know in my distant running past I used to kinda panic and space out miles 3-5. Saturday i kept thinking "you are doing great, really worst case scenario is that you keep this pace going. and that is just fine. But...can you go a tiny bit faster? YES." And with that and with some straight aways in those miles I was able to start picking off some runners that had been ahead of me for the first 5k. The pain zone started to creep in around mile 4 and that was the hardest mile for me. I was ready for it tho and i told myself when i saw mile 4, I did the math and said "ok, if you run a 7:30 this mile then you will cross 5 miles at xx:xx and that would be great. Just stay steady, just run." So when i crossed mile 5 at 30 seconds faster than that I was like "neat." and then proceeded to suffer the last 1.2 miles. Does anyone else agree that the last 200 m of a 10k is just plain torture?
So anyways I was quite pleased, finished 43:26 and was most in shock that I negative split the last 5k.
And yea Kari, my friend Dan and I both made the members only club for the 2nd time this week.
So we went quickly thru the grub line and got the most important treat of all, the PEARSON Salted Nut Roll.
For those of you that havent had a SNR or a Nut Goodie, I am going to send you each one. Seriously. Send me your address. You need to have one. See below. We got the treat size ones for the race but as you can tell the cost/size ratio doesnt even compare to the Payday. It is just as good as a payday but saltier!
Here I am after the race, all warmed up. And ready to get home for the next chapter of saturday. Yes I ran in the beanie cap. And yes i got all my hair cut off.


Chapter 2

So got home, and waited for Rich to call as we had thought we may go ride. As i said in the last post our weekend forecast has been ominous. MY thought was "Carpe Diem," IF IF my legs feel ok ( and they did) I wanted to ride 3+ hours in light of the fact that I thought the 100 mile option was not going to happen due to rain and my own personal motivation ( lack of) to get out there at 6:30 am ( a 45 min car drive) and have it rain and be cold.
So a quick meal and off we went. Rosemount and points south on the road bike. But first we had to make a stop since i was obviously well hydrated with Recoverite and also for this.

The longest train ever.I think my Powertap shut off 3x. And then I can see the Cabooze and there are two cars left and I can see rich on the other side meeting me and it STOPS. Another 3 minutes...dang. We had to be back by 4pm so we still had 3 hours or more ...great ride, nice temps, a good wind and lotsa hills. I even got in a good sprint sign win over Rich as he seems to daydream while i can see those things coming even when i dont know the course. Hee hee. May be why my quads are tad sore today. ( oh yea and the pavement pounding) It was a super day and I diverted a near bonk at the end and made it home intact. Then it was off to have dinner with Ruby, Rich, and my mom and dad. The only fun pic i have is that i was in all green and decided to share my new awesome shoes you all should get: Yes they are asparagus green and yes they go well with Pink RecoverySox.


Last but not least was the thought of 100 miles. Hmm...I will spare you all the radar checks that I have done in the last 24 hours but just know that Rich is out there. I am not. He and his TeamTT group are all hearty on this ride and they are apt to be doing the 100 miles as we speak. I said "you are going to get wet.." and he said "ok," but for me 40 and rain isnt my idea of fun. So my gift to him was not to be the "Whiner and ball and chain!" So:

Why not do a little educational trainer time? I learned some stuff in this and hope to shorten my tea parties in the T zone:)


So that in a long winded recap, is how i have spent my weekend. I leave you with one last fun pic that Rich and I took finishing our saturday ride: We have never had Chivas Regal. I dont even know what it is, but we liked the slogan:) We both thought that was a perfect end to our ride...thanks Honey for being you! I hope all the racers had successful racing this weekend both locally and in FLA and VA. And those that are training for a race or just for Life... more power to ya!

Race #1
Despite a less than stellar forecast for the weekend I am heading into my first running race in a long long time. My emotions are mixed and mostly I am excited to run in the rain ( 80% chance with mid 40 degree temps, oh joy) with 8000 other runners. As i swam today..when it is 80 outside and I was in the pool wishing we could move days and move workouts..I realized what better day to run 6.2 miles at a slightly faster pace than my body wants to and not have to do it on the TM! Bonus. I am lining up right at the start!
That isnt true actually but i suspect there will be some FAST racers out there with TEAM USA housed in our backyard. And Jen can ask me if i wore arm warmers. Likely YES.

What ruffles my feathers a bit more and makes me feel a bit more pouty, ( insert pouty lip HERE) is that sunday we are signed up for the Ironman 100 miler. Last year it snowed. I never do this ride. Now i know why. Too much anxiety about what could be a super 5 hour ride with all the salted nut rolls I can stuff in my pocket ( and my mouth). But it will be what it will be and if that means trainer, that means trainer..after Perkins of course. I dont really like Perkins but if it gives me some time to "de-pout" and coffee load before the trainer, then so be it.

Happy weekend to all racing wherever you may be, and just know that if you are out of the midwest you are likely in the right place.

Oh and Jen C asked if i was going to do 100 miles on the trainer. OH NO WAY. NO KATE O Ironman on my calender. Nah. just kinda want to put the trainer away.

Latissimus dorsi muscle: This is for my coach..read on.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  (Redirected from Latissimus dorsi)

Latissimus dorsi
Latissimus dorsi
Muscles connecting the upper extremity to the vertebral column.
Latin	musculus latissimus dorsi
Gray's	subject #121 432
Origin	spinous processes of thoracicT7-T12, thoracolumbar fascia,iliac crest and inferior 3 or 4 ribs
Insertion	floor of intertubercular grooveof the humerus
Artery	subscapular artery, dorsal scapular artery
Nerve	thoracodorsal nerve (C6 - C8)
Actions	adducts, extends and internally rotates the arm
Antagonist	deltoid, trapezius

The latissimus dorsi (plural: latissimi dorsi) is the larger, flat, dorso-lateral muscle on the trunk, posterior to the arm, and partly covered by thetrapezius on its median dorsal region.

[edit]Actions

The latissimus dorsi is responsible for extension, adduction, transverse extension also known as horizontal abduction, flexion from an extended position, and internal rotation of the shoulder joint. It also has a synergistic role in extension and lateral flexion of the lumbar spine.

[edit]

While i love these stretches..I want to add one important piece of advice. NOTE that in the ACTIONS of the Lat....

ADDUCTS...so to stretch you do the opposite, you ADBUCT your arm by moving it palm up/thumb up into a jumping jack plane of motion.

EXTENDS...so to stretch you do the opposite, you flex your arm or bring it overhead..thumb up.

INTERNALLY ROTATES...so to stretch you have add to the above prayer stretch. Grab your Trigger point hip roller...or the calf roller is even enough.  A smaller water bottle will do.

As best you can hold your elbows together...and hold that trigger point roller or the water bottle horizontally. TRY TO KEEP YOUR ELBOWS TOGETHER. You are now externally rotating your shoulder. I often do this kneeling next to a Rx ball and have my elbows on the ball as close together as i can. Then I hold the TP roller and "gently" force my forearms out, therefore rolling the head of the humerus outward or externally. You dont feel that, you just feel like THIS IS REALLY TIGHT. So if you have foreward shoulders this could help a bit with that...Pec minor...another culprit..but another tougher one to stretch.

Good luck. I will try to post a pic if i get someone to take one of me when i do this. IT makes a huge difference to my shoulder health and my swimming!

Ruby, Rides and Trader Joes:
Not much time today but for non FB peeps Ruby is here. She is a doll, very shy, but so wonderful. She has been moved around alot so we think she is just taking it all in and despite fetching and retrieving like there is no tommorrow, she is still suspect of her sorroundings.
She lived a good part of her life ( she is 3yo) in a kennel. She was either outside in a kennel or inside kenneled. When she went to her foster home she had other foster dogs around to play with. And after 3 weeks she is with us. So it will take time for her to trust that she isnt going to be moved. AGAIN. In the meantime she wont eat much, but she does like hotdogs ( that is how she will take her antibiotic) and she ate chicken. Wonder how long till my parents are making her a plate:)?
I reminded my mom that Iona was a very hyper dog and Ruby isnt. Iona climbed up her kennel and onto the table and fell off and broke her leg. Then she ate her last place obedience school ribbon ( seriously I think she was like 10th out of 10 dogs) So think Marley,that was Iona! Not till she was about 12 yo did she mellow out. Ruby is going to be mellow!



On other news...I nearly was minivaned off the road today while riding. I wish i had a pair of socks that said "YOUR VAN SUCKS." Sad thing is it was intentional. A slowing mini van at your side and a very close pass with a VEEEEEER towards your front wheel. nice. He even gave me the bird out the window. Lovely. I was moving too. Not like i was taking up space..the west river road speed limit is 25mph and I was easily going 23 mph. ( tailwind. dont get thinking i can ride that fast for very long)

Trader Joes is new *sorta* to this area. With one more coming this summer within bike distance for me! Woot! As my SoCal blog friends know i mourn our lack of fro-yo options here. "why butterfat? Meet MN...you are the healthiest state so we will only sell premium ice cream to you." Dumb.
So this FRO-YO from TJ's is awesome. It is tart and tangy and not too sweet.
I just wish i could put it in a soft serve machine. Oh well.

Ruby Update:

Soon we hope she will be home in MN. Ruby was supposed to come up to MN this weekend but in the middle of last week she had a stomach virus and was throwing up and not eating. She had a temp of 104 and needed IV ( well they dont do an IV but they inject fluids under their skin).
So far she is doing better and my mom is in constant communication with Karen, Ruby's foster mom, shown in the pic. As of now Ruby is scheduled to come home to MN on Wednesday. The Vet in Iowa isnt sure if she has a UTI or if possibly since she is a rescue dog this is part psychological.
Last night I attempted to watch Marley and Me but was met with a sudden outburst of tears at a turning point in the movie so I think i am the one with psychological issues :) My sister got out of the room in time, but I didnt. oops. Went upstairs and did dishes and weeped for a bit and let the movie run out while Rich and his daughter shed a few tears.

Today is a new day, I rested ( I always sleep well after a good cry!), did a killer workout (Just when I think Jen has given me the worst it comes full circle and then some...)Ruby ate, ( I ate too, alot...) and so... we hope that we will soon meet our Easter Pup.

Happy Easter to you all.

Things that make me go YUM

I think it is interesting to see how different and how alike we all eat. Sometimes i get in food ruts, just bc I feel like i am eating alot/frequently. Here are some things that i turn to pretty regularly and dont seem to get sick of them. Usually!


Kefir. Does a tummy good.
I could post 25 pics of fruit and veggies so here are just some i happen to have around.
OOPS how did THIS get in here??? I have to say I have less and less interest in the Dirty Martini because the next day doing a hard wko on that is just not smart. ( Jen, told me to say that as a PSA)
Justins nut butters ROCK!

Ooops sideways cottage cheese.
I am not allergic to wheat but I still like this cereal. Goes down easy with 1/2 banana at 5 or 6am pre swim.
The Dr.Smoothie mix is new. It is a mix that you add to water and ice and it blends into a wonderful coffee mix that actually is relatively healthy. Sorta. We had it in AZ and wanted to bring that frosty goodness back to MN. Since we dont have enough frosty goodnes with our weather. HAHA.

I mixed in a few race type goods as well for your viewing pleasure. I love the Green Apple Gels and the Plain. And the powerbars, well..cant go wrong there with the caramel cookie or the vanilla crisp OR the Protein vanilla one or the recovery or the...kinda like candy I think so wonder if eating a snicker ( or M and M's? or a cupcake? or....) isnt just as good.

Hope this helps if you get in food ruts come spring. And i mean COME SPRING. We are supposed to get to 55 this weekend. HEAT WAVE. BRING. IT.

Tidbits


Not much going on really. My sister Elizabeth and I went to hear my brother Rob perform his voice recital at Mcphail school of music in downtown Mpls sunday. My nephews and my sister in law, her mom and her sister were also there. Rob did awesome. What a voice. I am seriously thinking if he could stretch out "If I only had a Brain" and add on "Somewhere over the Rainbow" and a few others he would be my pick for musical appearance at my wedding. Nephew Will burst out with "Doe a Deer" and Joe finished it off with tunes from the Chipmunks. Which i cant understand one word of, so that would be perfect for the reception dont ya think? Plus Will ( who is 4, btw) was all about the microphone and "How ya all doin today?"After sitting thru opera and a few others I was thinking those boys deserved a bit of Mr. Microphone time.

It was really fun and special...also bc Rob and I used to support each other at tennis matches all thru juniors and college. And so at first I was like "uh sure, I can come hear you sing..um..want to play tennis after?" In all honesty Rob has a phenomenal voice and so i knew he would do a great performance. He has the confidence and stage presence to pull it off, wheras I tend to get the mike and start the shakes or talk as if i have just had 5 cappucinos. toastmasters anyone?

So where am i going with this post? Lots of fun with my family upcoming this spring and summer.

Chippy will be up from TX ( another nephew!) and will expect my dad to be ready for the water balloon throwing..oh i mean TOSSING... contest at the cabin.

My mom saw me race last summer for the first time, and tho there will be less of this...I hope they come to see me do a Tri this summer, or a road race or a TT. But to be honest, even posting this crit picture makes me want to do them this summer. That is me in the inside corner. Super fun even if i am scared of someone taking me out again this summer.

On Good Friday my mom and dad will drive to Iowa to pick up their new rescue golden. I just wrote IONA, instead of IOWA. So although Iona is no longer with us in body she is with us in spirit and we hope that our love for Iona will carry over to love for Ruby. She is a rescue dog and has been with a foster family in Iowa. I tell ya, if you ever thought adopting a baby from China was full of hoops you should see what my parents have gone thru. I am so excited to meet her and I know my parents cant wait for another "BABY!" to love.

Iona, gone but not forgotten.


And i will finish this random post with some neat pics Jenny just sent ...LOVE IT. Sunday i did my long run in sleet and wind driven snow. I think you all have seen enough of my snow / ice winter pics so i have to tell you that I sure wish i had been running with Jenny and Mary. But sometime soon I hope to be running in sun and warm temps. No Cacti ( plural for cactus?) in MN but I will take the heat and humidity as soon as it is time.

And yes, note PINK socks. Happy Easter week to you all.

KFC



Funny how this works. I go to camp. I learn that my swim stroke is ok, but that i drop my elbow when i enter the water and I also enter the water with my thumb "down" or with my hand sideways or...to not dumb it down i am entering the water with my shoulder in Internal Rotation, SlightAbduction moving towards Adduction and full flexion to nearly 180 degrees..ie overhead. Anyone out there ever have shoulder impingement? Do you know how we test for that?
Flextion, IR, Adduction ( or lift your arm in front of you..elbow up, drop your forearm and now bring it across your body) Good thing I can treat others, but obviously not myself. This is why PT's have their own PT's.

So the point is Kari's recent entry about "make like a chicken" helped me click on a few fronts. The up and over the Barrel helped a bit too but for whatever reason TODAY it all came together. I cant say my shoulder never hurts but it sure doesnt hurt as much and today I really felt like i was grabbing the water.

I wont bore you with lotsa details but for todays swim I held 1.21, 1.20, and 1.19 on multiple 100's. I finally felt like i was grabbing the water, chicken winging thru my stroke and ALSO rotating thru my obliques and core. IT was awesome. We did some other stuff based on a 400 and my final 400 was 5.35, 15 seconds faster than the first one i did.
Sweet. I may have to pay a visit to the Colonel and get a big bucket of wings in thanks for the help with my stroke.
On second thought i think i will just thank Kari.