21st Century Mom

People - I got nuthin'. Actually, I have one thing - it is the one thing that happened before I got sick but now I'm sick and cranky and feeling totally uninspired. There will be no Hump Day Miscellany tomorrow.

My weekend started out great - Humbly Anne came to town Thursday night. Friday was kind of screwed up because I had to work and she kept thinking I would stop any minute and we could go out and do stuff but the infernal phone kept ringing and the emails kept showing up and before you know it it was time to go see the caterer and taste some food. That part was great! The food at this wedding will be deelickcious. Friday night we went to see "Notes on a Scandal" and then had dinner.

Saturday I went out for a quick, early bike ride on my new love machine. I took a back road that has a hill that defeated me last time I went there. I was on the hog at that time so I figured I'd have no trouble getting up that hill. WRONG! I quit before I got to the top even though I was still moving at 5 mph and really didn't need to quit. I quit. I got really mad at myself. I tried to get going again but it was too steep. I fumed, I railed and shook my fist at that hill and yelled "I'll get you next time!" . And then I realized that I didn't have to wait until next time. I could just ride down the hill, let my heart rate come down and head back up. And I did. All the way to the top, down the other side and then back up again. HA! That hill tried to kick my ass but I kicked right back. Now I just need to work on that 'I never give up on hills' thing I used to have.

After the ride we went forth and shopped! Saturday was all about my under construction bathroom (total re-model). Before, during and after pictures to be posted when it is complete in a week or so. Sunday was all about wedding stuff. Sunday night was all about the Oscars although we missed the first 30 minutes which, as it turns out, wasn't that great so ho hum.

The sick part started in earnest Sunday morning. Lung congestion, headache, that "ugh" all over feeling. So - Sunday no workout, Monday no workout and today I went to the pool and scared everyone with how bad I looked so I turned around and went home and got back in bed. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I'll try to write something more inspired when I get better.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 09:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

My thoughts tend to zing around in my little head like a pinball. I read or see one thing and it reminds me of something else and that thing sparks another thought and zing! zing! zing! my brain is running open loop, hither and yon, never really getting anywhere.

Lately EveryMan has fallen in love with the Mashup as an art form and has been featuring his fave mashups on his blog. Every time I read about one I am reminded of my current fave mashup from The Buena Vista Social Club who released a CD called Rhythms del Mundo where they took the vocals off of popular rock hits and put them to their own Cuban style of music. This video takes it one step further by putting the music to a ballet mashup.

Roman's last mashup also served to remind me of the difference between women and men so I offer a second video that is a little more obvious about it.

And on that note - it's time to go take a shower.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Saturday dawned perfect and warm, the sky a beautiful cerulean blue. I was excited because I was going on the first real ride on my new bike (other than tackling 'the hill' I hadn't really ridden her) and I was going for my first ride with my fabulous race club. I had sent the organizer an email warning him that I was going to be the "B"-est of the "B" group and he replied "Great! Come on down!" so I was super stoked.

I rode from my house to the store where we started, getting passed on the way by a guy in team kit. I yelled out "tell them I'm on my way - don't leave without me!!" and tried to pick up the pace. I had thought it was about 5 miles from my house but it was closer to 7 and I was worried I'd be late. I characteristically took the wrong way into town but didn't have any trouble cutting over a block and finding a large, obvious group of cyclists congregating in the street.

I met the women going with the "B" group. There were 3 other women - 2 of them in Wildflower jerseys - my kind of people. Then team kit guy pulled up and said, "you made it - I didn't have to tell them at all". I'm pretty sure he must have stopped for some eggs Benedict on the way.

I told the "B" group leader I wouldn't go all the way because I had 14 miles round trip just between my house and the store and I wanted to do about 30 total for my first ride. After appropriately admiring my new ride (you just can't help it - trust me!) we took off.

The greatest minds on the planet could not have conjured up a more perfect ride . The women were super nice, the course was about as flat as it gets in these parts and it was beautiful - just perfect. I rode out to my 15 mile mark but by then I had been dropped by about 1/2 a mile so I had to keep riding to the turn so the other ladies wouldn't wait forever for me. I said my goodbyes and headed back but of course - took a wrong turn - and then another wrong turn. I'm not kidding when I say I could get lost in a walk in closet. Put a door on 2 sides and I will invariably walk out the one I didn't use to enter.

Distance = 34.5 miles; Time 2:42:56; Bliss - Total

I'm totally in love with this bike - it is perfect! I did get a case of SGS (smashed groin syndrome) but I think that is to be expected on a first ride. I'm going to give it one more go before going back to the shop for an adjustment. Admittedly, I was a little surprised this morning that placing my pull buoy made me wince a little.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)

I had a dream last night that I showed up for a triathlon that required a wetsuit and although I had a wetsuit with me I had never tried it on. I was immediately struck by the reality that I might embarrass myself in the process because I had never gotten a wetsuit on in my life. . Then I realized that I was in my nightgown and I didn't have any other clothes with me. I thought about how really embarrassing it would be when I got to T1 and had to take the wetsuit off. Was I destined for a naked tri? I did put the suit on and it was sort of big but that was good because it went on easily - but then it wasn't on (dreams are like that). We were getting off the bus at the start and it was in the middle of nowhere. So there I was, in my nightgown, with my too big wetsuit and with no clothes to wear underneath. What to do? Dreams being what they are I was soon in my sisters house, relieved that I could probably find something of my niece's to wear. Only I couldn't. I rummaged through drawers in every room but found nothing. The start was soon approaching. I panicked a little and then remembered that my stuff was in the house, too and somehow things were going to be okay.

Tri-xiety.....I need more cowbell

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Now that we've all had a chance to drool over my bike (which btw is worth more than my car!!) let's talk about a subject that sits right on top of my little pea brain every single day - WILDFLOWER! And if you think this is too scrolly a post please drop to the bottom so you can put your 2 cents in the ring on item #7.

1). I am doing the Olympic Distance race and it looks like this:

Let's drill in to those elevation maps now, shall we??

The bike:

Hilly but not too bad - I can train for that on my sexy new bike.

The Run:

Whoa - see those hills on that run? What to do, what to do?

2). Train for Hills. I found a great article compliments of Complete Running Network that gives some really revolutionary advice. If you have a hilly race, train on hills! Love that. Will do!

3). My Wildflower goals. I have developed these goals based on women in my age group who are MOPers like me (that's Middle Of the Pack for those of you not in the know). Going for MOP is actually quite ambitious for me.
Swim: 31 -33 minutes:
Bike: 1:44 - 2:02
Run: 1:05 - 1:25
Total time: 3:29 - 4:10

I know that is a lot of leeway but it's my first Oly and it is relatively hard so that's just how it is.

4). I stayed at the Hyatt La Jolla last weekend while visiting Pookie (go Priceline!) and they have a health club there with a very nice 25 meter pool that is under utilized. I took the opportunity to give myself a 1K time trial. Of course when I looked for a clock I found 2 - one with just a second hand and one with an hour and minute hand, no seconds. I had to do a little interpolating but it was about 23 minutes. Not brilliant and I would SO love to get that time down to 2:10/ 100m but I'm not holding my breath (hahahaha.... swimming... holding my breath...) Today at masters we did monthly 200s where you swim 4 200s descending starting with your time from last months 2nd 200. I about top out at 3:55 /200 yds so there you have it. That 2:10 is a long shot. C'est la vie. My times were 3:58, 3:55, 4:00, 4:02. I don't do 'descending' - just does not happen.

5). I looked up how many people from my race club are registered and the number is ..... drumroll..... 40! We have 40 people going. I'm so excited.

6). I looked up all the bloggers I could think of who were going and the number is.... drumroll....12 that I know of! But here's the really good news - REGISTRATION IS STILL OPEN! Come on - you KNOW you want to join us.

7). Last but not least - a few people have asked me what I'm going to name my bike. I'm not a 'thing' namer but I thought I'd open it up to my readers. What do YOU think I should name my bike. It is a Specialized Ruby if that helps. I already thought of Ruby Begonia but I"m too PC to really enjoy that name.

Oh- And Happy Valentine's Day! I.love.everyone!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

That one is mine.

Here is a professional shot of the same bike

Anyway you look at it - it's hot! I had a fitting - it feels good... oh so good. I just wish it would quit raining so I could ride it.

Specs can be found here if you are so inclined.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 08:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)

A couple of days before the Kaiser Half Marathon someone from my new, terra firma race club Forward Motion, a.k.a. FoMo, sent out an email asking if anyone wanted to car pool. Since I'm new to the group and am trying to meet people I jumped at the chance because that's why I joined the team - to attend events with people instead of by myself.

On Saturday I went down to the store that sponsors the club and picked up my official team kit singlet. That was my first thrill. Sunday AM I headed out to the meeting place and much to my chagrin realized I was a couple of minutes late. Way to show up! It wasn't really a problem, though. I found Larry and hopped into his truck and off we went.

I was going to call Julie because she was running, too but Larry had a lot of trouble finding parking and then the porta potty lines were a million miles long. Turns out I should have called because she called me from - the porta potty. We could have hung out together squeezing our knees and dancing while we waited desperately for the line to move forward. I didn't get the message until later, though. Larry bailed on the porta potty line 'cause he's a guy and has options so we picked an after race meeting spot and parted company.

The very best part about running a race in team kit is that there are other people in that race wearing the same thing. It was such a thrill to be passed by people in FoMo shirts early in the race and to have them slow down for a second and say hello. I told someone my job on the team was to bring up the rear and she said, "Oh I doubt that" but really, it is and I'm okay with that because just having a group to do these events with fills me with joy.

The last part of the race is an out and back where the slower people see the fast ones coming back the other way. That was the bestest part. I found one FoMo runner who had stopped for a walk break. We said Hi and then she and her friends started running again and blew past me. I saw most of the FoMo people, including Larry coming back the other way. I waved like a loon and sped up because the first one heading back was my ride and I didn't want to make him wait any longer than necessary.

When I finished the race I found Larry who was chatting with a bunch of other FoMo runners. And there I was, in a shirt that matched, a part of the group. It was special - so special. Every first time should be so good.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

My heart goes out to the family of Anna Nicole Smith who just lost her son Daniel and now her.

That' having been said - enough with the non-stop coverage! She wasn't that big of a deal. My paper this morning said "To many women her age, it's like losing a girlfriend". I doubt it.

Enough - really. The only thing I want to know is if that evil product she was promoting (TrimSpa) is what killed her. At least then the FDA could take it off the market so it doesn't kill any more young women. Is it any surpise that the entire site is a tribute to ANS right now? blech.

I

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Actually I am definitley here and Jeanne is in Miami but Laurie told me my updates don't show in Bloglines so I'm testing.

No news here - please move along.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 04:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Today we get back to hump day miscellany in which we see that my mind is running free form like a small child set loose in Toys R Us. So many things - nowhere to settle!

1). During my half marathon on Sunday my left glute started to seize up a little. It made me happy. Honestly. Running through that sort of pain gives me something to focus on and something to overcome. I can concentrate on good form, relaxing and breathing to the exclusion of my mental chatter that sounds something like this: "where is the freakin' turn around? If we don't turn around soon I'll be in Mexico by the time this race is over. Shouldn't we be getting near the end by now? Where's the mile marker - I'm tired. WHERE IS THE WATER STATION!!??? Are we almost there? huh? huh?" I get like that toward the end of a race. Running through pain helps - it really does.

II). I have a note on my Hump Day notes page that says "stress". Indeed. But I can't remember what I wanted to say about stress except that I noticed I had quite a bit of it the other day. I feel better today.

trois). I'm pretty sure that every single woman who has both given birth and completed an endurance sporting event like a marathon or an Ironman or even a small triathlon has used the birth analogy. It just makes me smile whenever I see it. You know the one. "Racing an xyz is like having a baby. Right after it is over you think 'NEVER AGAIN!' but a few days later you realize you are in love and want another one". You mens have no idea.

Quad). Where is the outrage over the subtext of violence that was so common in the SuperBowl ads? Last year (I think it was last year) the entire country had its collective panties in a twist because we got a micro second shot of Janet Jackson's pastey covered nip. "OH THE CHILDREN!! WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN??!!" But endless come-ons for super violent episodes of Criminal Minds and trailers for violent movies? Meh - who cares? What is up with that, people?

Quatorze ('cause when it comes to counting Bono got nothin' up on me!) - My new, new bike will come in this weekend and I won't be able to pick it up because I'm going to visit my little Pookie and that's okay because I'm very excited to see her. We're going to the zoo or the wild animal park. Too much fun!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I haven't been doing much running lately. My monthly average miles run from Nov 1 to today was about 11. That's right - 11 miles per month.

Today I ran a 1/2 Marathon. I had thought about pussing out and running the 5K but the turn off for the 5K must have been right at the beginning and I was on the wrong side of the start so that didn't happen and I'm really glad it didn't. I was thinking I would really rock the 5K and PR but when that ship sailed I started focusing on the 1/2 mary.

I totally rocked it, people! According to my Garmin (and my official time will undoubtedly be a couple minutes slower because I was way back from the start) was 2:20. That's a 22 minute PR over my last official 1/2 (which I ran untrained and sick and which was super hilly) and 8 minutes faster than my 1/2 time at the SF Marathon.
Here are my splits:

Update:
My official time is 2:23:35. Bah! Such is the pain of running a race that doesn't use timing chips. I know it took me 2:21 to get to the start and I assume that extra minute and a half is from sauntering through the loooong chute waiting to turn in the tear off from my bib.

I'm keeping the 2:20, though. Forerunners may lie about distances but they do know how to tell time.

I lost it at the end. The final 300 yards involve running up hill and my legs were just shot. I couldn't seem to muster the strength to go faster until I crested the hill and could head down the hill into the chutes.

The great part about this race is that I didn't let my head tell my "I can't do this". My usual MO is to look at my Garmin and think "I'm going too fast - I need to slow down" or "My legs are so tired - I never run this fast - I need to walk". Instead I kept thinking "hey - I'm moving at a great clip - I just need to keep this up" and I did. I decided that any pace between 11 and 10 mins/mile was fine and I just went with that and it paid off. My average pace time was 10:34.

What this event really taught me was that I'm not even close to giving it my all - I have a whole lot of something else in there and I just need to tap in to it. With a fierce new bike on the way that's a good thing. So excited.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

I really need to trust myself more. I need to listen to the little voice of reason in my head instead of going with the louder voice that is so often compelled by all of the wrong reasons (wanting to fit in, not wanting to make a stink, wanting it NOW).

The reason I'm not comfortable on my new bike is because it is too big for me. It just is. The top tube is too long by a few inches so I'm all stretched out. I took it in to get fitted this AM and the guy said he could make the bike work for me but really, it was too big. I knew that when I test drove it and I knew it more and more on the other 2 rides. But I wanted a new bike and I wanted it NOW and it was such a great deal.

It will be a great deal for someone else, too. I'm going to sell it for what I paid. If you want a really sexy, light, cool Pinarello Galelieo for $1500 let me know ASAP. It's a great bike for someone with a longer torso than mine. I'm 5'2". You should probably be at least 5' 5" for this bike and my 5' 10" son told me it felt pretty good for him.

Next weekend I'm going to pick up my new bike, New, new.... mmmmmmmmmmm.... the bike I've been lusting for for the last year. The bike I KNOW fits me and feels great. Stay tuned for bike p0rn.

Meanwhile, I picked up a Spinervals DVD and I'm going to do it on the hog. If I can do Spinervals on the hog then riding a nice bike will be like buttah.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)