First outdoor ride of the year!

This weekend the weather finally warmed up enough so that I, the biggest cold weenie in the world, ventured out onto the roads. Having suffered enough on early Spring rides, I had learned my lesson...so, here I am (in the middle) safely clad in darn near every stitch of cycling clothing I own.

(l to r) Dave, Tiffany, Jen, Me, Kathy, Steve, Josh. Not pictured: Jessi and Roger

Roger took pity on me the first half of the ride by not pushing the pace on his sweet new ride, and I actually felt pretty good for the first hour. I have been tweaking with my position recently, in an effort to get more aero and hide my chest from the wind. My latest "tweak" actually turned out to be a major drop in my handlebars, and while on the trainer I "looked" really aero, I was curious to see what riding outside would feel like. It took some getting used to and some pushing through the discomfort in my arms/shoulders/neck, but all in all it wasn't too bad. Steve even said at one point that he could tell I looked better. But the first downhill while in this new aero was, uh, a bit scary and unstable. I was hanging on for dear life! After that little wake up call, I decided that I needed to pay more attention to my handling. I also spent some time playing games with myself to see how long I could stay down in aero, just to try and speed up the adjustment period. My 5 min goal was easily met, so then it was on to 10, 15, and then even 20! Yipee!

As we left Riverside, I knew the inevitable "drop" was coming, and somehow, being mentally prepared for it seemed to make it easier to take. I didn't get into a negative space when I did get dropped, I just put my head down and continued to ride my own ride. Felt pretty good! I also knew that we were going into a bit of a headwind and climbing somewhat, so I just tried to make it up to the turnaround.

After a brief CHOMPS stop at the turn, I set a silent goal to hang with the group no matter what until we hit Riverside. Once off, the hammer went down and we were flying! It was tough, but I made it into Riverside without losing a wheel, and it brought back all the awesome memories of pace-lining and working my butt off with my awesome training partners.

Leaving Riverside again, I let the group go and settled in for what I knew was going to be a long, hard hour-ish of solo suffering. I think I would have probably made it, but it definitely would not have been pretty or fun. Fortunately, Dave also decided to take pity on me and wait to ride in with me. We shared the work and pulled eachother in over the last 10 miles, which really would have sucked solo. So thanks to Dave! Fun ridin' with ya, and looking forward to the next time where we will stay on the wheels just a bit longer.

Came in feeling tired and ready to get outta the saddle, but overall, pretty darn happy with my effort. First ride outside and I got close to 47 miles! Nice!! I'll take that any day. Oh yeah, and while it did sprinkle a few times, the weather was pretty darn nice. And the roads were mostly clear, but SOMEHOW, all of my wheel-sucking resulted in a pretty muddy bike and Tim.


Not as bad as in the past, but still a look of "I was out doing some good, hard work"


Now THAT is some sweet mud!! No wonder I thought I felt like something was rubbing my tire! Ha ha ha ha!


My new "paint job" :)


That's what you get for sitting on!

Unfortunately I didn't finish my ride so far behind the group to allow them time enough to go out and do their transition run.....so, I was talked into a short run. Ugh. Just like old times, Steve dragged my slow butt through the first 2.5 miles before he decided he'd had enough of slow running and took off.

All in all, it was an awesome day. My first real brick in who knows how long. And, yes, I still remember how to ride a bike! Woo hoo!

So.......I decided I deserved a nice reward once I got home. Ahhhhhhh, a bit of my own concoction, in the IM glass, of course!

Its (baby) game time!

Well, the days remaining until our due date are rapidly dwindling, and things are starting to happen.  We can see very clearly from looking at Andy that Elise has "dropped", and Andy is starting to feel some new things that indicate that labor is most likely imminent.

Elise's room is pretty much ready to go, with all the essentials in place.  Andy has done a great job over the last few weeks doing lots of laundry and organizing things in preparation for our baby's first trip home.  We have said a number of times lately that we are ready to go, and all we need now is a baby!

We had a doctor appointment yesterday, and have another one in a week.  As we were leaving yesterday, we said "ok, see you in a week".  To which the doctor said "or tomorrow...she could decide to come any time now."  Yikes!!

So.....with all that said, its time for all of you to get the competitive juices flowing and start thinking about your guesses as to when we will get to meet Baby Elise!  We have set up an online game (see link below), where you can go to enter your guesses (birthday, length, weight), or you can just post a comment to this blog post.  We are all pretty confident that she's a girl, but hey, if you are feeling daring and want to try and outfox the competition to earn some extra points, I suppose you are free to guess that she's actually gonna be a "he"  :)  Please note, however, that if you go this route, you will send Andy and I into a nervous fit which may take years to recover from, so choose carefully!  :)

Wanna know what you're playing for?  Cause really, what would a good game be without prizes!!  The winner of this awesome game will receive a) bragging rights throughout the entire world, b) a $25 gift certificate to the ice cream joint of your choice, and c) the first invitation to view a special, private on-line photo album where we will post the first pictures of Elise!  Worth playing for?

Okie dokie, let the games begin!  Good luck to all!  Especially us!!  :)

http://www.expectnet.com/games/Elise_Swanson

Shifting priorities

Hmmm, 2 months, no blogging. Guess I've been a bit preoccupied. Between the holidays (8 people in our house), the feet and feet of snow (I think I actually developed a mild case of wrist tendinitis from all the shoveling), and the little freight train bearing down on our lives (56 days to go as of this writing), blogging has dropped way off the to-do list.

I had a fairly successful string of December workouts, getting in a few 2hr + rides in the sweaty, smelly Thompson basement, and a few decent long swims. Running hasn't been all that consistent, which I find odd because running has always been "my thing" that I always go back to.

Still having fun.... :)


As predicted, once 2009 hit, the impending arrival of our baby girl quickly assumed a position in the forefront of my conscience. I find it funny how one day (Dec 31) it can seem so far off by saying "next year", and mere hours later its like I'm in full-on crisis mode. Waaaaaaa!!!! Baby arriving THIS YEAR!!!


After a few weeks of trying to balance my weekly schedule of workouts with baby preparations, I finally had had enough. On Jan 15, as I stood in my daughter's nursery, I was paralyzed with feelings of dread and being overwhemed and underprepared. It literally looked like a cyclone had ripped thru the room, the result of random attempts to try and organize it. Lets just say that it was in no shape to be a first home to a newborn. I think it looked kind of like a college freshman's dorm room.


As a result, I made the tough, but right, decision to pull back significantly from my group workouts and focus on the home front. Taking my bike out of its cozy home in the Thompson's basement was difficult and a bit sad, but I knew that I needed it. While I sorely miss my training partners and the many great memories made while sweating for hours on end, the progress we have made at home on the nursery and house in general have been awesome. I feel so much better prepared to bring this kid home, and it has lifted an enormous weight off of my shoulders.


Of course, I still get the occasional good-natured "where you at's???" from my crew, but I think (hope) they understand. I feel much more grounded and at peace by making good decisions on which workouts to get to, and which to skip. I am thankful for the workouts I can make, and I have finally learned to stop dwelling on and regretting the ones I don't make. I knew that this triathlon year would be different for me with no Ironman, and now I'm finally in the execution stage of this "change". It has been hard, and I know that the next 8 months will be harder, but I continue to be super-excited to get to this next great adventure!
Still working out....just maybe not as much.

What will tomorrow hold? Who knows.....but I bet it will be pink! :)