Yale Shoreline Ride

I can't believe it was a week ago today that I did the Yale Shoreline Ride! It was such a beautiful ride though, that I have to post about it. Sorry for such a delay, writing this blog in a timely fashion is nearly impossible with everything going on. And more apologies, this is will not be my best writing. I spent from 8:30pm - 1:30am at my SWIM Across the Sound fundraiser. I was the door girl, and had to convince semi/completely inebriated folks to hand over $10 for the cause. We raised a lot of money, although I don't think we hit our goal. I had a great night once I got into the groove of talking to people. Unfortunately it was under 60 degrees outside, and for a cold-wimp like me that's freezing.

BTW it's not too late to donate to my SWIM Across the Sound page!

Yale Shoreline Map:

This was the first time I uploaded a map to my Garmin. It came in handy when I went off course and it started beeping at me. Unfortunately it doesn't really tell you HOW to get back on the track. Luckily I had my new BlackBerry Storm with me, and I used the Google Maps app to find my way. I could have set my Garmin to have a "partner" and gave the "partner" a specific pace that I wanted to beat. Since this was my first time going over 40 miles, I decided no pace setting was necessary. As long as I was above 14mph average, I was okay with it.

I started out my day by powering up with this amazing breakfast. Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal, with Unsweetened Soy Milk, a fresh peach and blueberries. It was a fantastic blend of bright summery colors, crunchy filling goodness and sweet fruits. I'm a firm believer that color makes things taste better. This breakfast is about 350 calories. Perfect for a normal day, but I had 60 miles ahead of me. I also ate a Kashi Go Lean Crunchy bar as well. I love their Chocolate Caramel flavored bar, it satisfies my sweet tooth without being too fattening. 150 calories, with 3 grams of fat and 8 grams protein. 14g sugar is relatively okay compared to other "healthy" bars out there.

If you live in the New Haven area, I highly recommend this ride. I would say it's a moderate course, even though it's long. There are a lot of fun rolling hills, and only a few that were tough. Compared to the Bloomin' Metric ride, this was a flat course! Most of the course is spent on main roads, but they are in the country and most of it is on a bike route. The Yalies marked a lot of the turns which made things even easier for me. The traffic wasn't bad, except for a few areas, and that was only because it was the Fourth of July.

Going up to Durham, there are plenty of views of local farms and the small Connecticut "mountains". I was excited to find an immaculate Porta-Potty in Northford at a park that was right off of 17. When I opened the door and found it had toilet paper too (nice toilet paper, by the way, not dirty damp toilet paper) I gasped with glee. Near Durham center I ran into another biker, and I asked him how close I was to getting onto Durham Rd, which is the road that leads south. I don't want to sound rude, but I don't think he quite got where I was trying to go, and his directions seemed a bit off. Or maybe we both just misunderstood each other. Either way I was happy he was nice at least, and not a stuck up at all, which seems to happen to dudes when they're compressed by bright spandex.

The whole ride I nibbled on Kashi Honey Almond Flax bars. (Sorry I'm starting to sound like a Kashi commercial, I'm just on a huge Kashi kick right now!) I was never starving on my ride and I think it helped a lot with my energy level. I wanted to prevent getting overtired, and thus cranky. When the cranky kicks in, that's when my rides/workouts go horribly wrong and I end up lost, miserable and near tears. Around 1 or 2 I stopped in Madison at a little deli. I splurged and got an Eggplant Parm sandwich on whole wheat bread. The guy thought I was crazy for getting Eggplant Parm on wheat bread. I continually ask places to make Eggplant Parm on alternate forms of bread, just this Thursday I asked for one on a wheat wrap. I always get the same confused reaction, followed by a look that can only be described as, "whatever floats your boat". Oh. It floats my boat, sir.

The guy at the deli seemed a little annoyed by my request. I don't know, he didn't seem friendly. Then he complemented me on my tattoos, followed by the standard, "You're not from around here, are you?" Ha! I love when people ask me that! "Nope." I told him I was from New Haven, and he gave a reactive nod and a "Ah." "That's far, no?" he asked. (He was foreign, I'm assuming he doesn't get around CT too much.) "Um about another 30 miles or so I think." "How long have you gone?" "I'm at 24 miles now." Behind his eyes, his brain exploded a little. After that he was really nice to me and wished me luck on my ride.

As I continued along I realized I was in Guilford, CT. I passed by my new favorite place to eat outside of New Haven, the Shoreline Diner. But that's not the full name of the diner though, oh no. It's the Shoreline Diner & Vegetarian Enclave. Isn't that wonderful? It makes me laugh every time, it sounds like it's some secret vegetarian headquarters where we plot secret plans and maniacally laugh as we concoct new ways to turn soy beans into fake meats. M-W defines enclave as: an enclosed territory that is culturally distinct from the foreign territory that surrounds it. I can attest that most of CT outside of its more progressive cities can view my questions of "Is there meat in the sauce?" as culturally distinct. To have a nice place like this that "gets" veganism is exciting. I ate here once before, but it's a bit out of the way to visit on a regular basis. Next time I do this ride I'm definitely stopping there. They have a great, diverse menu, about a quarter of it is vegan.

Sigh, it's taking me forever to write this post, and I'm mostly rambling. I'll end with a couple pictures I took while on 146, the shoreline part of the ride.

I believe this area is known as Leetes Island. I saw many egrets, a crane, and soon after this picture was taken a painted turtle trying to cross the road:

Near Lighthouse Point. By this time I was nearing the end of my ride, my arms were killing me and I just wanted to float across the harbor to New Haven proper, where I belong.

End Results: 60mi, 4hrs 15 min, avg speed of 14.12. By the end I was so beat I think it dramatically cut down my speed. Oh well. It was a beautiful day, a beautiful ride, and I now have a sweet bike shorts tan that starts halfway down my thighs.

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DNF - Bloomin' Metric

I didn't finish the Bloomin' Metric. I didn't even come close. 30 miles in I gave up.

I woke up early, got all my gear together and sped down to Norwalk going 90 most of the way. I should have left 10 minutes earlier than I did. In the car I realized my legs were tight, they felt like knotted roots, but I was hoping after the first few miles they'd loosen up. (Spoiler Alert: They didn't.) So I get to my friend's place, wait for her other friend who was riding, and we left for the ride. It was cold, windy and cloudy, I referred to it as the Gloomin' Metric. We get our wrist bands, T-Shirts and head out.

At first I was keeping up with them, but slowly I dropped back. I wasn't worried I knew my legs were shot and I needed some time to warm up. I'd get closer to them but never up with them. Eventually I lost sight of them. I rode on my own, in a head full of negativity. "This is ridiculous, you're not going to finish." "You're going to have to find the sag wagon, you're beat up." Yeah those were my thoughts on probably the 5th mile! I was dealing with some heavy mental and physical barriers. I didn't want to do it at all.

I finally met back up with them at the first food stop. I ate a PB&J, a banana and an oatmeal raisin cookie. They looked at me and could tell I was beat. "I think I'm over trained," I said. They asked what I did this week. "I swam 4,000 yards, ran a total of 13 miles, uhh kickboxing, kettlebells, oh a computrainer class... uhhh yeaaah I think I'm over trained." They looked at me like I was insane and agreed I was indeed pushing my limits. We stretched and I was of course ridiculously tight. Back on the bikes, I again kept up with them but the course just went up, up and up. The hills on the Bloomin' Metric are what I'd refer to later as a "non-stop vertical assault". My glutes were killing me! I would pass people on the hills, but once we got to straight and flat areas people were going past me. I tried to follow people's cadences but my legs would not listen to me. It's like they didn't even belong to me. I'd push and they'd say, "No I'm going to do this cadence with this amount of effort and you can fuck off."

At the "Indesicion Split" where you can choose the 100K path or the 75K I said goodbye to my friend. No way was I doing 100K, and I think when I admitted that I had kind of given up a lot more. I rode alone, no chance of catching up with them. My head was now full of negative thoughts. I pushed on. I tried to be positive but I felt like I was completely lying to myself. I passed the food stop again, as it was on a loop, and stopped there again to figure out how far I had gone. I got back on and passed an intersection with a traffic cop and the sag wagon. The truck looked so good to me but I went on. Then I realized I was going to have to follow the same road I had just went on an hour before. I was going to have to do it all over again and I said fuck it. I could barely do it the first time, I'm a glutton for punishment but even I have my limits.

I rode back to where the sag wagon was, trying to figure out if I indeed had to ride up that way again (I only had a 100K map on me). I got one pedal free and then somehow just fell right in front of the cop directing traffic. The looked down at me and said I was done. "Yeah, I'm toast. I can't do it." Luckily the sag wagon guy was pretty awesome and we "bonded" during the ride. As we were driving the course I kept asking, "This is it? This is what I'd have to be riding?" and he'd say yes, and every time my mind was blown. There was just no way. I literally felt like there was no strength whatsoever inside me.

So that's that. I guess I feel a mix of resignation, disappointment and well, that I did the right thing. I learned I have to listen to my body and sometimes it's just better to let that registration money go to the cause and take the day off. I knew I was pushing it, and I knew my body was exhausted but I thought I could just push through it. The day before, I was telling people if I hadn't registered I wouldn't even go. I guess I can be happy that even over trained and exhausted I pushed through 30 hilly miles. I also learned not to sign up for a long event like that less than a week before it. I was not ready, and I was not trained for that event. I was acting like it was just a long training ride. I need to build up to that kind of mileage before I go for broke and do it. I think the furthest I've gone on the bike is 40, and a flat 40 at that. Adding 20 hilly miles to that was a huge stretch. So today is a rest day, I'm eating my humble pie and taking it easy.

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Clipless Pedals, or Me vs Gravity

Saturday after hard kettlebell and kickboxing classes, I decided it was finally time I get it together and buy bike cleats. I headed over to Zane's Cycles in Branford, CT. It's a pretty big store, and I prefer the intimate setting at Devil's Gear but Zane's apparel and gear selection is much bigger. I picked one shoe in the women's section that was tolerable, but the sales guy said Look pedals wouldn't fit it. He came out with a shoe that was black and silver but the Specialized logo was powder blue. UGH! Why do womens specific bikes and gear have to have pastels and flowers?! I can't stand it. I want to be taken seriously, not "seriously for a woman". I could go on a rant here about running skirts and such, but I'll save it for a later time.

Anywho, I ended up getting black, red and silver MENS cleats that match my bike perfectly. When I got home I immediately went to work on my bike. Getting the platform pedals off was frustrating, but getting the Look pedals on was really easy. I headed off for a test drive around the neighborhood. I didn't seem to struggle and didn't fall! I thought I was ready for a real ride. I got on some biking clothes and headed out. Of course my first fall was at the end of my street.

I got to my first full intersection stop, and tried to twist out of the pedal. I ended up falling directly behind an SUV. I was laughing, but at the same time hoped she didn't over shoot the intersection and decide to back up, cause my head was right behind her tire. When I got up and got onto the sidewalk, I looked at the driver. She hadn't even noticed my fall, she was busy talking on her cellphone. Yikes. So on I went to do the usual canal ride. It was a great day, perfect for biking. I realized right away the difference the pedals made. It's much easier to reach a higher, constant speed. Hills are a bit easier since I can concentrate on my power rather than keeping my feet on the pedals. Once I got on the canal I practiced getting out of my pedals for all the intersections without a problem. Of course, there were never any cars coming and no reason for me to panic.

My second fall came at the end of the ride. I was approaching a busier intersection, and the cross street was a very steep hill. I thought I was going slow enough, but again couldn't get out of my pedals. I kind of panicked and started to go left up the hill while trying to get out of my pedals at the same time. Kersplat! I fell, harder this time. I have a nice scrape on my forearm, right where my skull tattoo's wings meet. My tattoo has been stenciled on my last few band-aids. It hurts like a bitch even though it looks like a sissy scrape. An old man on a bike came over to me when I fell and I sheepishly laughed and said, "First day on the pedals." He had no idea what I was talking about so I showed him my shoe. "I've never seen anything like that before." "Oh well... uhh I'm okay!" and I rode off. I felt like such an idiot. I know everyone falls their first few times, but I felt like I was 7 all over again falling on my bike and having a stranger help me up.

I hope I get used to the pedals really quick. I signed up for the "Bloomin' Metric" today, which is a 100k ride through Fairfield County on Sunday. Baptism by fire has always been my method. Luckily I'm riding with my friend Deborah who is probably one of the sweetest girls I know. I won't feel stupid falling in front of her, she's new to the biking madness as well. Wish me luck. I'm definitely heading back to Zane's Saturday for some THICKER SHORTS. Hopefully I can get the shorter stem for my handlebars installed by Saturday too. Otherwise my shoulders are going to KILL on Monday!

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First Bike Commute

After weeks of saying I was going to do it, I finally commuted to work via bike! I ended up riding 20.71mi in about 1:30min. I gave myself 1:45, just in case I got lost, which I sorta did. Here's the commute map:


Today was the perfect day to ride. The morning air was already in the 60s. I only had a tank top and shorts on and was only cold a few times. I woke up around 5:30am and got out the door for 6:20. The first few miles felt so long and I was nervous it was going to take me forever. I got up the hills with hardly any problems, and my average speed was 13.5 which isn't terrible considering I didn't stop my Garmin for crossings.

In the Woodmont section of Milford, I had the biggest surprise of my ride. I had been in the Woodmont section twice, once in my car checking out the commute and again on my birthday ride. I immediately noticed what I thought to be giant squirrel nests. Well on my ride this morning, I saw what I thought was a brilliantly bright Goldfinch. On further inspection I realized it was NEON GREEN. What are PARROTS doing in CONNECTICUT?! It wasn't until later at work that I found out more about the Monk Parakeets of Milford.

Most of the ride was really enjoyable. The shore areas are beautiful, so are the colonial style New England town centers. I went from urban New Haven, through West Haven and Milford's shoreline, suburbia and quaint town centers, across 95, down the Sikorsky bike path which crosses a scenic Housatonic River. For all those out there who may happen upon this blog, the Sikorsky bike path can be reached at Wheeler's Farm Rd in Milford. I tried so many times on my morning commute to figure out where the entrance was when I got on 15.

I arrived at work for 8am so I got on the treadmill and ran 2.25mi. I need to get used to running after biking, and I figured it'd be a good opportunity to practice. Unfortunately I did not ride back home. I was feeling great and energized til about 3pm when my body crashed. I tried to drink some highly caffeinated tea, but it only worked for about half an hour before I was feeling tired all over again. Lame. Thankfully my coworker drove me home, and he lives close enough by me it's not too out of the way for him. I hope to ride in once a week, and perhaps one of these days ride both ways.

In other news, I purchased pedals tonight. After much research and guesswork I decided upon the 2009 Look Keo Sprint Pedals, in red:

I really hope I made a good decision, though who the hell knows. I searched for so long, liked the reviews about them and found a site with them for the cheapest price. As soon as I added it to my cart, when I looked again at the description it said sold out. So apparently I had the last ones available in my cart. Either that or they have some coding trickery going on. In any case I felt it was now or never at the price I was getting on the site, and had to make a decision. I'm sure they'll be fine, I just wasn't expecting to pay over $100 for freaking pedals.

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Week of April 12, 2009

Goals for the Week:
Swim: 4000y
Bike: 60mi
Run: 15mi
Strength: 2hrs
Rest: 1 day

Actual Totals for the Week:
Swim:2000y
Bike:75.92mi
Run: 16.85mi
Strength: 1hour
Rest: 0

So I ended up biking 15 miles more, and almost running 2 miles over my goals and not meeting anything else. Whoops. I have to admit my goals were pretty lofty. This week was insane. Mid-week my roommate decides he's moving out, out of NOWHERE. He just wrote me an email saying some friend of his asked him to move in with her and decided to pack up and go. Whatever, his cigarette smoking was disgusting and out of control. I found a new roommate within 3 days, a new record for me. This was the third time since moving into this apartment I've had to find a roommate. This place seems cursed but I love it so I deal with it. Thought I'd give a quick run-down of the week.

Sunday: It was Easter Sunday, the Trifitness group met up in Fairfield for a group ride. I decided it'd be better than riding alone like I had planned to. We did 27mi and it was so hard for me to catch up. First of all I'm still kind of dumb when it comes to shifting. Secondly, everyone had clip shoes and pedals except for me. Third, I only had a protein shake before I rushed down to Fairfield and not enough carbs. After I shoved down a mini Luna bar around the 15th mile or so I felt a lot better. Later in the day I tried to bike one of my commute options. Got to the most ginormous hills I've ever attempted and decided I'd plan a different route. Rode 40mi total.

Monday: Swam 2000y on my own, no drills. Timed myself for my second set of 1000y and did it in 21:50. That comes out to 2:11 for every 100y. I dont know what's a decent time, but 21:50 had me pretty happy.

Tuesday: Ran 6.77 miles before work down in Shelton. Decided to start by running up a giant hill without much of a warmup. Lesson learned. My boss seemed horrified that I'd even attempt the route I did. The giant hill (Coram Rd) is not only steep but cars usually speed around it and don't think to look out for runners. Saw a dead possum followed by a dead beaver, gross. Road kill is a lot more disgusting when it's at your feet.

Wednesday: Kettlebells and kickboxing. Kickboxing was intense. I did about five 3min rounds with kettlebell/medicine ball/ab work between each set. First kickboxing session in a long time where I felt totally wiped afterward. I loved it.

Thursday: Ran 5 miles in the morning at an 8:20 pace. Not bad for running up some hills. At night I did my first computrainer class and I loved it! It was only me and another woman which was sort of nice, until she wouldn't stop talking. The bikes are set up to trainers with special equipment which connects to a computer. TriFitness has a projection set up, so you can see the route on the computrainer program you are doing. When you go up a hill, the trainer tightens as if you are going up a 2%, 6% or whatever grade hill you're supposedly on. During the session you see where you are on the route, how fast you are going, the watts you are putting out, how far behind you are the leader and so on. I did okay, especially for no pedals or shoes. I was completely soaked with sweat. I actually had to have Pascale run and get me more water because my right calve started pulsating and I knew immediately I was dehydrated. We did a 10mi route with two gigantic hills.

Friday: Ran almost 4 miles with Kelly. It was my first time running with someone and it was pretty nice. My pace was awful since my legs were still tired from Thursday's madness. Left her behind after the second mile, my legs just needed to go faster. I hate leaving people behind even though she was fine with it.

Saturday: Birthday! Instead of resting like I was supposed to, the day was far too beautiful not to go out. I planned out a 25 mile route to celebrate my 25th year. I actually ended up doing almost 26 after getting a little off course. Rode down to Milford, CT along the shoreline. It was a good time until I saw a horrific car crash. I was going really fast down this one giant hill and when I turned the corner to go up a hill realized the road was blocked off. There were a few ambulances and a few cop cars. Got off my bike to walk around it, neighbors were out watching the scene. The totaled car was the same make, model and color as mine. I started to dry heave a little when I realized the entire driver side door was crushed. It looked like a comet had exploded into the car. I couldn't see into the car or make out how the accident happened. Ever since my accident when I was 18 I have a really hard time seeing wrecks.

Out of nowhere one of the neighbors I walked passed said, "Woah you have a lot of tattoos. I only have one." It was some random guy in his 60s. I looked over at him and he rolled up his sleeve to reveal an ancient tattoo in old school lettering that read "Vera". "I was just a chicken shit, I only got one. I wish I got as many as you, they look good on you." It was definitely a nice change from the old man scowl I usually get. To my left an old woman who either saw the accident or didn't know what to do because the road was blocked was sitting on her car looking really upset. I couldn't tell if that's just how she always looked or if she needed attention, I wanted to say or do something but I didn't know what to do.

Overall my birthday was awesome. The weather was awesome, my parents came down to visit and that made them really happy. I wasn't completely excited to have them come down, but seeing how happy they were was worth it. I showed them how East Rock is a beautiful neighborhood, and the cherry blossoms in Wooster Square. My party went well and as usual I have way too much beer left over. I didn't get too drunk so I was fine going to swim class on Sunday.

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Vietnam

Late November into early December 2008, I was traveling in Vietnam. I went through the travel group Bike Hike Adventures on their Vietnam "Paddle and Play" trip. I finally got around to finishing up editing together a video from footage I took while I was there. I'm not 100% satisfied with it, but it has been four months or so since the trip. I figure it's about time I get something up. The trip included several days of biking, hiking and sea kayaking. It went from Hanoi north to Lao Cai and Sapa, then back down to Hanoi and then to Halong Bay. This year I hope to bike from Hanoi south, into Laos and Cambodia. Maybe Thailand too if I can fit it in.

I recommend playing it in HQ, which you can select once you start playing it.

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Long Ride, Long Day

I woke up this morning around 4:50am trying to get up for Kettlebells and Kickboxing at 5:30am. I hit snooze over and over again. Nope, wasn't going to make it. I looked outside, the weather's been unpredictable all week. It looked good and I readied myself for a long bike ride. By the time I got some food in me and geared up it was 5:45am. I started my ride around 5:50, figuring I'd have about an hour and a half to ride. My goal was to go about 20mi and speed up my average of 14.5mph from Sunday's ride.

The more I ride the Roubaix the more I feel I made the right decision. I was going down the top of Whitney Ave around 16mph. With my Amphipod blinking, and only a few cars on the road, I felt safe. The only thing that sucked about my ride was the amount of snot pouring from my nose. It was unstoppable! Many times I had snot running down my face, flinging off in the wind. I felt like a 5 year old! I stopped about every few miles to blow my nose and wipe off. When I stopped completely, I'd stop my Garmin.

Once I got onto the canal, I didn't see anyone else for 5 miles or so. There was one section by some water where it sounded like a thousand song birds were meeting up. It was a beautiful but eerie sound, like they were having some giant convention. At one point, around mile 8 I noticed what I thought to be pollen floating down. I looked around for the culprit tree, until I realized the "pollen" was melting on my leg. It was snow!! It flurried on and off for the rest of the ride. At mile 9 I stopped and ate a mini Clif bar, and enjoyed the scenery.

At mile 11 I realized I should turn back and move it! I decided to stop stopping so frequently and just deal with the snot. I pushed myself and kept checking my Garmin, I really wanted to up my average speed. I thought back to spin classes, and the trainer I like shouting encouragement. I got back to the apartment around 7:35am, which was my goal. Stripped, stretched and plugged in my Garmin. Damnit, there was 14.5 staring back at me. I hope when I get the proper fitting, pedals and shoes I will do better. Also, it is only my second time on a road bike!!

Overall it was a great ride, and made me feel confident that I can commute the 14 miles or so to work no problem. I plan on talking to HR tomorrow about getting a locker in the warehouse to keep things overnight so I have less to carry with me. They offered me a spot there before, but I was slacking in my gym time around then. I also hope to see if I can chain my bike up in the warehouse or... (crosses fingers) maybe in the game room? The game room would be ideal for me since I don't exactly trust the warehouse staff, and the game room is pretty empty most of the day. We'll see.

Twelve hours after my bike ride, at 7:30pm I was at pilates on the pool deck. I was WEAK! Could hardly finish any of the exercises. The pool swim was a struggle. Thankfully I was in the second lane with two girls I talk to and a guy who was pretty cool. At first I felt like the slow poke, and wondered if I should just go into the slow lane. At some points the water felt like pudding, everything was so heavy and I was so tired. My lane was doing the B distance, 2800 yards. Gulp! I wanted to do the C workout of 2150! I sucked it up and just pushed myself.

It wasn't until we were doing kick only drills I had an Ah-ha! moment. Without the kickboard, my kicking is AWESOME! I was coming up on the guy in front of me every time. Oh! I CAN be fast! My kicking ISN'T HORRIBLE! It was the BOARD! I mentioned to the guy this discovery and he said, "Oh yeah! I hate the board! My kicking is WAY better without it!" I proceeded to flip off the kickboard on the deck and beat it with my catch-up stick. "Hey hey Heather! Tsk. Behave!" Pascale, the coach chided me. I don't know why, but it makes me feel like a naughty little kid being scolded by a heavy French accent.

After that I felt much better about myself, and my times improved. I concentrated on kicking like I did during the drill and noticed I was going faster. It was the boost I needed to get me through the rest of the workout. Luckily my comrades decided they didn't want to do the last 150y drill, and just do the cooldown. Yessss. Turns out we only got to swim 100 more yards before they kicked us slow pokes out. It was great being in a lane with people about my speed, and we pushed each other on. I didn't have to stop, and I only got caught up to once. It helped me to push myself and we all walked away a little annoyed we didn't finish the entire plan, but happy we did it together.

Tomorrow is definitely a rest day!

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Bike!!!

I finally got a new road bike! A 2006 Fuji Roubaix RC! For 40% of the original price, new, I think I can live with this purchase. If only it wasn't so windy today! I'd be off for the rest of the day riding! Absolutely excited for long rides!!

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