Urbanathlon

This sounds like a lot of fun and something I would love to do!!

Men's Health Urbanathlon

It takes place in New York City on October 1, 2006. I have too much going on this year, but maybe next...

No stairs

Last night I headed over to Rice to do my 40 minutes and by the time I finished I knew there was no way I could do the stairs. I am so sore it is pathetic! My legs have been screaming at me since I finished my run (3+ miles – yeah, I am not the fastest person on two legs!).

This morning I had a nice long soak in the tub. That helped me be able to get on the bike to ride into work.

I stood while eating lunch, and that helped too.

And then I went for a walk with someone (about 1.5 miles) and that was good.

But I am wondering what will happen when I head home. I usually ride up the ramps in my parking garage, but I have a feeling that I might be using the elevator tonight!!

Hopefully when I attempt squats and lunges again next week I will not be nearly as sore afterwards!

Burning Buns

Last week I went running a couple times for a few miles, but I didn't do anything too serious. This week I will be better. I am going to start increasing my weekday run times to at least 40 minutes, and this will not include warm-ups or cool downs. This should help considerably on my Saturday runs.

This past Saturday was my longest run to date since breaking my toe last year. And all I did was a measly 6 miles. I met up with TNT at 6 am in the park and after some stretching we took off. And this week we didn't have to run the loop – instead we headed for the "Rose Garden". Nothing that special, but definitely nicer than going round and round!!

Everything seemed okay at first, but then my shins started acting up. I stopped a couple times to stretch them out. It took a little over a mile, but they finally settled down. Hopefully this is not a recurring problem.

I didn't bring my fuel belt with me, but think I will start. I just seem to do better when I have water readily available. When I first started running in Houston I had to have water with me all the time. Now I am not so desperate, but it is helpful. Maybe I should look into one of those hand held doo hickies.

After the run, I hung around with the TNT Tri group and listened while Coach Liz talked about setting up a transition area. I was hoping for some new tips, but I guess I already know it all!! Yeah, right!!

Once the talk was over a couple of us headed over to Biba's for breakfast. Then it was home for a shower and a nap!

My local bike shop is starting up a weekly ride, so Sunday I rode over there. This was my first time riding with them and I had a good time. It wasn't too fast of a group, but then how fast can you go in down town Houston with all the stop signs and stop lights?! A couple times we were able to get up to a sustained speed of 22 mph, but usually we were going 15 to 17 mph. Perfectly fine with me. My total mileage ended up being 37 miles.

The rest of the day was pretty lazy. I am so not used to having these two day weekends! When I was training for Tahoe - virtually every Saturday was filled with riding and driving. This running in the early a.m. and finishing by mid morning is GREAT!!

Monday, I played softball and to get in a little extra exercise I rode my bike to the fields.

This morning I went down to the exercise room in my apartment complex. I used the machines for leg extensions, leg curls, lat pull downs, shoulder presses and used the free weights for my biceps and triceps. And then I decided I should try some lunges and squats. I am so feeling those!! My buns are burning, my quads are sore! I was thinking of doing the stairs at Rice Stadium tonight, but we will have to see! Maybe I will do the loop at Rice and then just do a few of the stairs. I'll let you know.

To My Mommy

Have a wonderful day!!

I Love You!!

Jill

My uncle Norm

My uncle Norm died of a heart attack while driving to Olympia from Whidbey Island late last Thursday (June 15, 2006). He was only 63.

For the past week I haven’t felt like posting anything. It doesn’t seem right to blog when a man that was so deeply loved has passed on. I thought about flying up there for the Celebration of Life service, but after discussing with my dad and Michele I have decided to go up later this summer to spend time with my aunt Janet.

To Janet - I do not know what to say except that I am sorry. I am sorry for your loss and I am sorry for the pain that you feel. You can at least take a little comfort in knowing how Norm's life benefited those around him. He was loved by a great many and will be sorely missed. Once again, I am sorry. I am thinking of you and I love you.

------------------------------

Norman Jerome Josephson

Norman Jerome Josephson was born to Harry and Nora Bjorndal Josephson in Coupeville, Washington. He was raised on his parents' dairy farm in Freeland, Washington. He graduated from Langley High School in 1962 and received a teaching degree from Seattle Pacific University and a Master's degree in School Administration from Seattle University in 1973.

Norm began his 32-year career in education in the Shoreline School District. He came to Olympia in 1971 to teach sixth grade at Pioneer Elementary. In 1973 he was selected as principal for L.P. Brown Elementary, and in 1983 moved to Washington Middle School, where he served as principal until retiring in 1998. After retiring, Norm continued to work on his garden and blueberry farm. He filled in as acting vice- principal in the Clover Park School District for several months in 1999.

He began work at the Senate in January of 2000, where he was best known in his role as bill reader during legislative sessions. In the past couple of years, he also worked at Ralph's Thriftway, where he enjoyed contacts with many former students and friends.

Norm is survived by his bride of 25 years, Janet; daughters, Roberta (David) Hamilton and Chris (Dave) Fox, of Tumwater, and Terea (Mike) Fowler, of Oregon City, Oregon; five grandchildren, Karleigh, Zachary, Sarah, Tanner, and Camden; parents, Harry and Nora Josephson, of Freeland; brother, Dale (Melissa) Josephson, of Las Vegas, Nevada; sisters, Noreen (Jim) Forck, of Brier, Washington, Roxann (Rich) Cannistra, of Janesville, Wisconsin, and Joan Josephson, of Bellingham, Washington; and the mother of his daughters by a previous marriage, Donna Radtke, of Tumwater.

Norm was a devoted husband, father, grandpa, son, brother, uncle, and friend. His loss to all of us is immense. He was a tireless worker who was known for thinking of and doing things to help others. He was an unselfish giver of his many talents. He never did anything halfway! Norm was an avid gardener and a lifelong learner. His endless projects for landscaping his home and gardens were almost an obsession. He amassed a considerable library in his endless research, and we benefited from the knowledge and skills he shared with anyone willing to listen. Blueberry lovers made annual pilgrimages to Norm and Jan's farm to visit and pick "little orbs of health". We can't imagine our lives without him.

A Celebration of Life Service will be at Pioneer School on Saturday, June 24, 2006, at 11:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the American Heart Association.

Race day blunder

This past weekend was the Tejas Triathlon down in Sugar Land. I woke up early thinking about everything I needed to do before I headed out the door. Basically, make sure I had all my gear and was dressed properly. I checked my mental list, thought all was good and left the apartment at 5:30.

As I am driving down the freeway I realize I had forgot my phone. It was in my purse sitting on the kitchen counter. HARRA has been circulating some e-mails cautioning runners about thefts up in Memorial Park so I figured it would be wise not to bring it to a large sporting event. Instead I put a credit card, my driver's license and $20 in my Amphipod pouch and would carry that with me.

The next thing I realized – I forgot my biking shorts. Yes, I know that this is a triathlon event and I should be wearing tri shorts. But, I have not bought any yet! One of these days I will break down and become a "real" triathlete and buy some, but until then I will take my bike shorts on and off and add time to my transitions!

Then, as I was pulling into the parking area, it dawned on me that I had forgotten to check the air in my tires before leaving the apartment. No problem, I will just ask another participant if I could borrow their pump.

I park. I pull the keys out of the ignition and place them on my gear bag. I open the door. I lock the door. I shut the door. I say "Oh shit, I just locked my keys in the car!"

I swear!! I am so frickin' blond it is pathetic!!

I look around for a cop thinking they might have a Slim Jim and be able to help me. Do not see one. Ask a volunteer and he says there were some across the street. I run through the parking area (in sandals), cross the street, see the sheriffs and ask them if they can help me. Nope. They do not carry Slim Jims.

One of the sheriffs called to find out if the Sugar Land fire department opened card doors. Nope.

He then tried to get me a wrecker, but he didn’t think they accepted credit cards and I only had $20 in cash. I waited several minutes, but no wrecker showed up. I was out of luck. Totally SUCKED!! I was dreading the event a little because I hadn’t trained properly. But I was looking forward to getting back into the local tri scene again and competing with my friends.

The only benefit to locking my keys in the car – I was able to watch the race and cheer everyone on! I saw Debi, Dustin, Dan, Consuela, Jamie, Sarah, Monica and many TNT folks who I didn't know. It was fun, and despite my blunder I had a good time.

After the race was over, Debi let me use her cell and I called my insurance company to find out if I had road side assistance. I did and they came and unlocked my car for me. I so love my insurance company!

I so love Debi and Dustin, too. They stayed with me until the guy came to unlock my door. They let me use their phone. And they even bought me a slushie from Sonic. Good friends! This is one of the reason's I started all this. To meet wonderful people like them!

The Ride

The morning of the ride started early. We were in the 6:00 am wave and needed to be in front of the hotel for pictures at 5:30. I got out of bed around 4:45, got ready, and headed out the door at 5:15. Of course everyone else was heading for the start so the elevators were full! Down the stairs I go but I could not get into the hotel!! All the doors were locked! Even some from the inside! FIRE HAZARD! Eventually I was able to make my way out the back behind the pool, then rode my bike to the front to meet up with the rest of the group. Pictures were taken, last minute preparations were done and finally we headed for the start line.

The ride begins!!

I had thought of wearing tights and gloves, but opted not. Sometimes I wish I had worn them, because it was a tad cool. But it warmed up quickly and all was good.

The first major hill to tackle was up Emerald Bay. I went part way up and pulled over to take pictures of the riders behind me. I was thinking "this isn’t that hard, what is the big deal?" Well, the big deal was that I hadn’t reached the switchbacks!! Then I did, and then it was "Oh God, Help me get up this mountain!!"


On the way to Emerald Bay

Here is one pointer if you decide to ride up a mountain with switchbacks – DO NOT TAKE THE SHORT ROUTE!! It is a not really that much shorter and is a heck of a lot steeper!! What do I mean by the “short route” you ask? I mean the closer you are to the edge of the mountain the less steep the climb, versus the closer you are to the mountain, the steeper the climb. Trust me!

Well, after a few stops for pictures I finally made it to the top, and then the down hill began!! WOO HOO!! 43.5 mph! And this is while pumping the brakes!

I had been warned (several times) not to constantly apply the brakes while going down hill. The reason became apparent to me when I heard a loud pop. It wasn’t my tire (thank goodness), but some guy in front of me. He was applying his brakes too much, which resulted in the brake pads heating up the bike rim. This then heated the air up in his tube causing it to expand and eventually burst. At least he didn’t crash and was able to make it over the side of the road.

But other riders were not as fortunate. From what I understand there were 3 major accidents with several other minor ones.

After the second rest stop my riding partners (Andrea and Laura) and I start up another hill, but had to stop due to an accident.

We are then allowed to start up again, and pass the scene. Not pretty. Lots of blood on the ground that some of the riders were trying to wash away with water.

After going for a little ways, we have to stop again. At first we were thinking it was another accident, but actually it was the same accident. After stabilizing the victim, the emergency personnel had moved her further up the road so that Life Flight could land.


The back up


Life Flight getting ready to land

After Life Flight left we were back on our way.

The accident freaked me out some and I was nervous about crashing myself and causing myself serious injury. Just had to keep saying to myself that all was going to be okay. And eventually I started enjoying the ride again.

The scenery was great and the weather was perfect. It was going to be a glorious day! The miles passed. We made numerous stops for pictures and replenished our water bottles at every rest stop. And those rest stops were stocked! This is the first time I had encountered honey dew and cantaloupe melons on a ride. And let me tell you – they were yummy! A couple of the stops had boiled new potatoes with salt. Another yummy treat! When I am on rides I try to avoid gels and sugary drinks and take my nourishment in through fruit, pretzels and cookies. So all these extra treats were great! The only thing I wish was that they had more salty treats. At one rest stop I put some salt on an orange slice to help with my electrolyte replacement.

Another fun thing on the course was the PB&J sandwich handoff point. I didn’t really need a sandwich, but I wanted the experience. So I slow the bike down a bit, move over to the right and say yes when they ask if I want one. Out comes their hand, out comes my hand and we attempt the handoff. Attempt one ended in failure – PB&J on the ground. Attempt two was a success – PB&J in my hand and not squished!!


Andrea and a tired Laura on our way to Truckee


A view of the lake as we are getting closer to the lunch stop

We eventually made it to the lunch stop and met up with a couple other participants from our group.

Cancer Survivor and TNT Mentor – Patrick. "I have conquered!!"

As we were heading back to get our bikes after lunch, Andrea felt something poking her in the butt. It was a splinter from the picnic table we had just gotten up from, and Laura (being the wonderful friend she is) helped remove the offending piece of wood from Andrea’s shorts! The picture opportunity was too tempting to pass up. Just one problem, I had a bunch of pretzels in one hand and I needed both to take the picture. I shoved the pretzels in my mouth, quickly got my camera out of its case and was able to snap this picture, much to Andrea’s chagrin!


Laura removing a splinter from Andrea’s butt


America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride, Lake Tahoe 2006

After lunch the next major hurdle was Spooner – an 8 mile long climb with a few down hills thrown in for a nice break.


Getting close to the top of Spooner – final elevation 7044 feet

After Spooner was a very well deserved down hill!! I was able to get up to 33 mph on this part of the ride. And the only reason I wasn’t able to go faster was because of the monster head wind. If there was no head wind I could have easily gotten up to 50 mph (not that I would have wanted to!!)


Andrea taking a break

After Spooner – next stop Zypher Cove. This is where our whole group was regrouping so we could ride the final 4 miles to the finish line together.


Zypher Cove – 4 miles to go!


And I thought it was hard riding up those hills on a bicycle. Can you imagine doing them on a unicycle?!

Finally, everyone made it to Zypher Cove, and then it was off. Finish Line here we come!

About a half mile from the end we regroup again and we hand out the final prop for crossing the finish line – Texas flags. We were going to hold them, but someone put theirs in their helmet and eventually we all followed suit!


Getting ready to cross the finish line

And then we were done!

Finis!


100 miles!

And this is one of the things that helped get me across that line:


The Ride!

This event was absolutely wonderful! It was my most challenging ride to date and I loved every minute of it (even those hills!). I can’t wait to do it again!




p.s. here is a link to the elevation chart for the ride, just in case you are interested.

Before the Ride

Last Friday started bright and early. I finished getting everything ready, loaded the car and off I went. Dropped Beazer off at Noni's then hurried over to the airport where I eventually met up with everyone else and boarded the plane.

The fun begins!!

Everything was calm, then the drink cart came by!! And even though it was 10:00 in the morning - the alcohol started flowing!! Heck, some of the participants had started way before that! So, a couple vodka tonics and vodka cranberries later we land in Sacramento.


Let's Party!!


Lake Tahoe from the plane.


The view as we get closer to Sacramento.

After landing and picking up our luggage we made our way to the shuttle. I am expecting a small bus or a couple vans that will haul us up to Tahoe. But no, we get this -


Liz posing in front of the limo.

A stretch Excursion limo!! Sweet!

We finally make it to the hotel, check in and go pick up our bikes. It is then time to explore and get some food.

I met up with a group of friends and we headed into Tahoe. First stop - the souvenir shop where I purchased a "Biked It Liked It Tahoe 2006" t-shirt, sweatshirt and socks. I contemplated a picture frame but decided I had enough. Next stop was supposed to be dinner, but I decided to join another group of friends for a couple brewskies prior to dinner! I just didn't have enough alcohol on the plane!

After a lot of laughing and socializing we made it to an Italian restaurant for some dinner. After that it was off to the grocery store for breakfast items and beverages (i.e. more beer!). Yeah - I hang out with a bunch of lushes!

Finally, we get back to the hotel where I meet up with the other mentors to do some door decorating. Not all of it, but we wanted to give everyone a taste of what was to come.

Then it was time for bed.

The next morning I made it down to the hotel casino where a group of us met for breakfast before we headed out for that morning's short training ride and pictures. The ride and scenery was great. The only problem I had was when I followed Patrick up a hill at 20 mph! Not the wisest decision at that altitude!! Oh well, I recovered. Over half way into the ride we stopped at a golf course and took some team pics and then it was off to Chevy's restaurant for lunch. I had fish tacos and a watermelon margarita. Yummy!

We then made it back to the hotel where a bunch of us met up to go check out the Pearl Izumi and Adidas factory outlet stores. Can you believe it? I ended up not buying a thing!

Back to the hotel to get cleaned up then off to our team meeting before the Pasta Party. And what a team meeting we had. It started with all the instructions we needed for the ride the next day. Then we were given our packets. Then the tears began to flow.

This is when Coach Rich told the story of a friend's son's battle with cancer and his eventual loss. The family of the boy asked Rich to take their son's cross up to Tahoe a couple years ago and place it at the highest point on the ride. So he did. The next year he placed it on a rock next to the lake. This year he decided to take it back with him to Houston to give back to the family, but before this he passed the cross around the room and had each of us tell our story. Some told of their own battles with cancer. Some talked about their family members who had battled or were battling the disease. Some just asked for a moment of silence. It was very emotional and made us all realize how lucky we were to have the opportunity to even get on our bikes and ride in this event.

We then broke the tension by showing them their helmet decorations and handing out gifts.


Team Gulf Coast's helmet decoration. "Houston, we DO NOT have a problem."

After that we set off for our Pasta Party at Harrah's. There were so many TNT participants (1900 from what I understand) that they had 4 separate pasta parties!! Crazy! Anyway, it was another fun and emotional time. This is where I was recognized, with 4 other individuals, as being a Triple Crown!! Yee Haw for me! But this is also where we heard the story of how one man was affected when his wife was diagnosed with cancer. The story was heart wrenching and ended sadly, but he is keeping the memory of his wife alive by continuing his involvement with TNT.

After the Pasta Party it was back to the hotel where I met up with the other mentors and our staff members and we set out to do the final door decorations. I think we did a pretty good job.....

Door Decorations

It was then back to the room to prepare for the ride the next morning!

Triple Crown!!

I'm back!! What a totally awesome experience!! I promise a report on the whole weekend (especially the ride) along with a ton of pictures!

But first - I wanted everyone to know (who I haven't already informed in the months leading up to this event) that I am now an official TNT Triple Crown!!

What does that mean, you ask? What it means is that I have fundraised for and comleted all of the three major TNT events. First was the Houston Marathon, second I did the CapTexTri and this weekend I completed America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride!!

Woo Hoo for me!!

Yes - I am rather excited and proud of myself!! But then, wouldn't you be proud?!!

Tahoe here I come

Tomorrow morning I am heading for Tahoe where I will meet up with a couple thousand other Team In Training participants for America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride.

We will play, we will bike, we will have a grand time!!

But, most importantly, when all is said and done - we will have raised several million dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Thank you to everyone out there who has supported me in this endeavor - either by contributions, words of encouragement or both! Without you behind me this adventure would not have been possible.

Expect a full report, with pictures, next week. Until then....

It has begun

Today marks Day 1 of the 2006 Hurricane Season.

Are you ready?

Are you going to get ready before the first tropical depression makes an appearance?

We were fairly lucky in Houston last year - except for that little traffic jam!!

Others - not so lucky.

Aftermath of Hurricane Rita

Wonder what is in store for us this year?