Lady of the Beard

Biking in Napa...no whine and no wine

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 May 2011 00:28:00 +0000

I've been asking and scouting a bike route local to me in San Francisco city that is a flat long ride.
I need to get more flat rides in for similar terrain training to IronMan Arizona....which is flat flat flat....

Someone from SF Tri Club mentioned the Silverado Trail in Napa so I decided to give it a try today as a 50 mile bike ride.

Driving took close to 1 hour, so this needs to be a weekend drive (perfect for the upcoming Memorial long weekend I think!) and there are soooo many roads to explore for great biking....so very happy we came here.

The map isn't great but gives you a sense on it's location...between Napa and Calistoga and on Highway 121 parallel to Highway 29 (the main road for wine tour traffic).

The goal was to ride a 50 mile distance...but then I had to ask myself to set the details. This was harder for me...I'm not the fastest biker but trying to get faster. I also am trying to build up endurance and distance as will need to get to 112 miles in November.

What can my body take and not bonk? How much can I push myself to feel good but also be realistic?

I decided that I've wanted to get an average pace of 17mph....just a target I heard many people in IronMan say...so a good place to start. My average has been more in the 14-16 range so knew this was a goal I had not accomplished, and could be a stretch, but a first goal to set.

Here are the results with some notes for my future reference:

Great that I was below 3 hours, I expected a 3.5 hour ride
Heart rate was in the cardio zone of 160-170 for most of the ride
Average moving speed above the 17 mph goal. woo hoo!

It was a great ride overall. I felt great, my legs felt able to keep going, and I was especially happy with the rolling hills - I have had to slow down on hill climbs to a slow slow pace but this time there was only 1 hill I went below 10 mph. On others I actually practiced increasing my speed...and what a rush that was!

I drank my IronMan perform drink for nutrients and ate 1 bag of Cola chews at the half-way point (man they tasted good!) and then decided to do a negative split going back....legs went into gear and I felt like I was flying!

There were points I felt tired and slowed down...but when ever I saw the speed dip below 17 I told myself to pick it up and keep moving....and I did!

Graphs show the details below, some points I'm noting for myself:

Speed: happy to see that negative split seen in higher speed on return half
Speed: standard variations in speed from hills and stop lights and pee breaks...but a good visible average in there at 17-18 mph
Elevation: higher than I expected overall and most was in the form of rollers through the ride, added a good element of practice to not reduce speed
Heart Rate: sticking around 170 area....will look to reduce this over time as I build up endurance and get long slow rides in..reasonable target in a 6 month time frame?

Finished the ride with a great feeling and achievement that i pushed myself and got a new goal.

T-Run: keeping up the practice for a t-run after the bike....just 10 minutes...but OUCH...shooting pain in the knee....which just leaves me going "oh crap!"
So a new action item to find a doctor in my new city and see what options I have....I'm staying positive (or naive!?) and believing I'll get to a place I can run again...by IronMan...

A change of mindset

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 May 2011 00:28:00 +0000

I've spent the past few weeks working things through my mind....time to share

I was really proud to have finished Wildflower, it marked a halfway point for me as well as an achievement and a proof point that I can do the IronMan.

At the same time, I was left with a sense of disappointment in myself.
The rest of the team and group are all much better athletes than I am...and have shown great progression in the past few months. Very proud of them all.

I turned that lens back on myself and realized I was not thinking about the IronMan as a chance to "compete" but rather as a "chance to finish and cross the line" and I've been vocal that my happy target is "16:30 hours".

But somehow, after seeing the rest of the team finish well...seeing my glorious "bottom 5 % result"....and especially after seeing the photos of me from Wildflower....a shift occurred in my mind.

I'm 32 years old and physically able and fit to be able to do this thing....and yet I'm "just looking to finish" and happy with "bottom 5%"?

I guess the competitive gene in me woke up and said "WTF!"

I also was just not happy with the photos....I want to LOOK like I'm an IronMan and not just cross that line for a medal.

The heavy legs and spare tire around my middle that shows up on every single photo from every race photo I get has finally got to the point of me saying "it's got to go!"

So I have made the mental switch....and suddenly feel alive...awakened...with a new purpose

#1 Signed up for p90X and I'm 2 weeks in. I lost 6 pounds (although expect that to come back in muscle) and feel fitter. My 2 recent bike rides have seen improvements...though not sure I can claim 2 weeks of cardio/strength training for that yet?

#2 Committed to more biking. Running is out due to knee (that I have to keep moving forward to fix) so even more reason to increase biking... finding a rhythm here but using all options I can to make it work from spin class, indoor trainer, and outdoor biking on new trails. I'm aiming for double bike rides on the weekends....2 weekends have proven this true.

#3 Announce this new mindset to the world (or at least publicly in this blog). Quite scary as I have to be held accountable to this now....but I guess thats' the point.

Looking forward to the next 6 months of training...and the New Lucy it brings.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 02 May 2011 05:06:00 +0000

Wildflower Long Course Triathlon Race Report and Photos...3 flat tires!! http://bit.ly/mzrM0T

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 20:17:00 +0000

Looking for a cool job in social gaming? Dir User Experience at Zynga http://bit.ly/i1SWNq

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:51:00 +0000

Race report and Pictures for SuperSeal Triathlon http://bit.ly/fS4i73

Race Report: San Dieguito Half Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 02:07:00 +0000

Here is my race report for my first Half Marathon this morning...

The overall theme for the day was "No Drama"....so to some this might not be a very exciting race report...you decide.

I had a good night of sleep so woke up at 5am rested and excited to take the day in hand. Another tip I learned (more from bad race experiences than forward thinking) is to get everything ready the night before, including the list of "what to do in the morning" as a step-by-step guide. Really helps....meant I didn't forget money, or my fuel belt....food was not good, bad stomach (this is a theme lately, going to have to assess at some point)

Drive to park and bus facility, got on the bus and got to the location. Again no drama. Put on bib, walked to start, and tried to keep warm (it was VERY VERY COLD!!!) which led to a last minute race clothing change.

Met some Geocaching / TCSD racing friends and stood at the start with them. Got the last minute race tips, listened to a gorgeous rendition of Star Spangled Banner, and 'Bang' the gun went off. Shuffled across the line and kept to the strategy.

My Race Strategy

Run at pace I know I can take for most of the race (11 minute miles).
Pick it up at Mile 10 with what's left in the gas tank.
Run the whole time, do not do a race/walk approach in this race.
Drink my fuel drink at each mile marker
Drink water at each station
Eat GU after 1 hour.

All completed successfully. Well except for the 'run the whole time'.....

I decided to turn down the BEER at Mile 1 and SANGRIA at Mile 3. I did see quite a few take it up though....

Race had hills and many people said "man this is a hilly course" and indeed it was up and down the whole time, but I have to say it HILLS WERE NOT BAD AT ALL. Perhaps my training has prepared me for worse than this, but Barrie's Wednesday hikes see more than this, my Hill repeat runs has more incline in 1 hill than most of the hills together. So I guess GOOD MARKS for me on this one. It just never really phased me.

So all was good until Mile 9.5 when I got a twinge in the knee. Crap! Typical that Nigel does nothing, has a bad knee and is fine whilst I train and do plenty of knee strengthen exercises and get the knee issue.

I got with what I got, try a lopsided run to take the weight on other knee but eventually at Mile 11.5 I have to stop, stretch it out, and walk it. Tried a knee brace but didn't help. Went into my mental funk that did not accomplish my goals on running the whole time, but you got to deal with these things...there were many people around that had walked in the race - either as strategy or not.

Did a "run a bit, walk a bit" for the next 1 mile but hurt more to start running after the walk. So at Mile 12.5 I turned up the music, put on a power song and picked up my pace. The pain subsided and I felt good so the final hill was a fun climb, passing many people up and seeing what I had left in the tank for the finish.

Final Results: 2:16:59 against my goal of 2:20 hours. Feel good. Knee got iced for most of day, feels sore but not broken, so got to focus on this.

My mile splits were fairly consistent with my plan. Not trying to go out too hard, and pick it up towards the end (more 9's than 10's) and adjust for the knee issue in Mile 11, 12.

Congratulations to the whole team that did a great job across the board. There were a few sub 2 hours in the pack - great running overall!

On to the next race: Super Sprint Olympic Tri in March when the focus is to put the triathlon package together...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:15:00 +0000

Preparing myself for the San Dieguito half-marathon tomorrow http://bit.ly/hkoqj2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 20:30:00 +0000

Swim Video Analysis as I train for IronMan Arizona http://bit.ly/dQxxQ1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 20:26:00 +0000

Combining Geocaching and IronMan Training http://bit.ly/dUxViC

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 03:34:00 +0000

Santa hid a geocache? http://bit.ly/hbptl8

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:07:00 +0000

Swim little fishy....my triathlon swimming classes http://bit.ly/hmZ1QV

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 02:46:00 +0000

Here's my write-up of the Geocache Meetup event http://bit.ly/fSch9w

Arizona IronMan 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 01:51:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 18:54:00 +0000

12 hour adventure race report....border patrol, crazy dogs, bike crash.... http://bit.ly/bVJUYh

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 19:27:00 +0000

Geocaching news through your Nokia Ovi http://bit.ly/dzrvZQ

The statement of intention

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 03:46:00 +0000

So a friend has an item on his "bucket list" and stated I could join in his effort....an Ironman!!

I thought at first it was crazy, then thought exciting, then how much work and commitment it would be,....so a yes, then no, then maybe...

But need to make a statement of intention. Decided I will enroll (have to do so 1 year in advance) and then during training I will do at least a full triathlon and a 70.3 half ironman.
And the icing on the cake would be the full Monty. So here we go....

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A shift in thinking small

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 12:22:00 +0000

As I have grown in my career the big shift I've had to make is to think big, or end to end. Don't sweat the small stuff etc...
If I have the strategic vision as the leader then all working well.

But now I have seen a shift through the SCRUM and TPS process that it's about the bite-size work. Outline and write the small details, time bound them, and iterate on improvements to the smallest detail.

I'm finding it hard in my mind to welcome this new reality. I have lots of excuses and pushback in my mind of why this won't work.

I guess that is natural state in this big shift, but it made me realize how I thought I was open minded and welcomed change and as I have gotten older I have shifted out of this. I guess the risks of change are higher now.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:06:00 +0000

I'm looking for an experienced Xcelsius dashboard developer for a short term contract. If you know someone, please contact me direct.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 21:55:00 +0000

You've heard of podcasts...but what about a podcache? geocache http://bit.ly/cQ5mTB

A wonderful day

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:49:00 +0000

Some days are just great and I'm terrible at celebrating this and remembering so thought I'd write it down.
I led a design session on 20 leaders today with complex activities that built customer empathy.
I had lots of great feedback from the participants how energetic and great I was at facilitation and going with the flow.
I was written up as an example of a leader with my mobility and career path sent to over 400 people.
And I might have found a very interesting next development step for me...Duke cross continent MBA program. Quite interesting...

Off I go back to the grind, but with an added smile to my face :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 03:35:00 +0000

What I need to know about geocaching coins http://ping.fm/KYKoL

On a boat

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 23:16:00 +0000

This afternoon I am on a boat traveling around San Diego as part of team building event.
Here is my foot and Coronado Bridge.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Coronado,United States

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:40:00 +0000

New post: How to update your Geocaching Statistics http://tinyurl.com/255fte8

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:33:00 +0000

Blog update on my Earthcache find at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe http://bit.ly/bQXLzY

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:33:00 +0000

Blog update on my Earthcache find at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe http://bit.ly/bQXLzY