i love my bike

after last week's wonderful and committed training, i decided to back off a bit (not really, it just kinda happened that way!). i had a busy week this week with a lot of work (who does that?), and a lot of time consuming extra stuff around the house. doesn't the world understand that i'm trying to train for an ironman and i need all other aspects of my life to be perfect?? right?? is that too much to ask for? and while complaining, what is it with these people i read about that work full time, have 4 kids under the age of four, and do ironman....really? cuz, i think my simple life = complicated when paired with ironman training. ok. back to me. so the highlight of this week definitely revolves around the fact that i went on an AMAZING bike ride and then had a successful long run on sunday without any PAIN! yeah!! my bike ride is the best story by far. actually it made for a fantastic day. i rode with the fresno cycling club up at shaver lake (hard to go wrong there, i know).

we started at the community center and then rode out dinkey creek road. i have ridden my bike on dinkey creek rode many times while training, and during the shaver triathlon, but never this far. i found out about this ride from my spin instructor nancy who RAVED about it, thus making me think i must do it. the ride was out and back, turning around at courtright reservoir, 70ish miles round-trip. when describing the ride to me i remember nancy saying something like beautiful with nice climbs. i'm thinking, perfect! so, first of all....i'm hanging out at the community center with everyone....not knowing anyone by-the-way, looking for nancy, and wondering the plan. i knew this was an organized ride with food stops and everything (nice)....but wasn't sure the plan of attack, or who to ride with. suddenly this huge group of riders just starts heading out... thinking i will eventually find nancy (as we typically ride at a similar pace) i head out alone. i started out super duper slow (also not knowing the extent of what nancy meant by saying "nice climbs"...?). finally, by the second large hill, i realized that the group i was with wasn't just starting out slow in an attempt to not die later in the day, they were just too slow for me. i ended up passing them and trying to find another group to ride with to no avail. a few minutes later some of the "tri guys" from faron's group go flying by me with their disk wheels-a-roaring. i knew i couldn't hang on to them, but it definitely gave me a little burst of energy to imagine myself hanging onto their wheels. by the end of the dinkey creek road, at the turn off to wishon, i was ALL ALONE. luckily there are actually signs out there or i would've felt totally lost.

the climb up to wishon is a slow steady climb, very similar to climbing the 4-lanes for those of you who are familiar with that. my legs felt great, and at this point i'm loving nancy for inviting me. i have a huge smile on my face, i'm singing along to my amazing music, and just enjoying the wonderful day. in the back of my head though i am well aware that there is still a lot of riding to be done. finally i see the turn off to courtright, and with nobody else in sight assumed that this was the correct way to go. immediately in my easiest gear, i started on my journey of understanding what nancy meant by "nice climbs" i was averaging about 6mph, and knew i had about 10 miles of road left to cover..........and started to feel like they were all going to be similarly straight up. hmm? thanks nancy, i'm now thinking sarcastically! sometime naivety is wonderful.....because i really didn't know how hard this was going to be, i actually DID it. at the same time, with no other riders on the road i started to question if i was even going to the right place or not...i started to wonder if i was really headed in the direction of food, and water........i started to panic....because i was now in desperate need of food and water. as i had only one gu and not even a full water bottle left to get me back the 35 miles to the car if there was nothing ahead. lucky for me as i reach the top (EXHAUSTED!) i see a little old man waiving me in. the food on the back of his truck LOOKED AMAZING! it was costco cookies, bananas, water, soda.....i instantly started shoving things in my mouth as he's asking me tons of questions....little did he know i totally wasn't listening....i was so focused on getting some calories in my very depleted body! as many of you know i quit soda a couple months ago. cold turkey. it's no big deal now, but this was the moment of truth and i caved. i drank a mtn. dew and i don't feel bad about it either. this was a life or death mtn. dew. really, my body needed the sugar, the salt, and liquid. moving on......a few more massively strong looking riders approach as i'm recuperating, and they are talking about the sandwichs down at wishon dam. my ears perk up like a puppy, as my calories hadn't kicked in yet and i was still totally bonking! SANDWICHES!? i think most of these riders were comforted by the fact that i actually had NOT stopped at the sandwich stop, because that meant this girl in pink on the tri-bike didn't actually beat them!! :) heading back out to the car, i was continually amazed at how much i had climbed, and thoroughly enjoying myself just cruising home.
in summation i'm glad i didn't quit and ask the old guy with the truck for a ride back, because it was actually super duper fun to ride home DOWN hill. the total bike ride took about 5 1/2 hours with food stops. making me actually ahead of the game for ironman. now just imagine running 26.2ish miles after that. hmmm? we'll save that for later i think. the rest of my day also continued to be amazing after being able to visit with brynn-e and keyanna after my ride. sadly for keyanna, aunty katymoe was too tired for kangaroo jumps, but it made for a wonderful day to combine my training with hanging with wonderful friends!!! thanks for reading.

coming up next:

i'm not complaining (lake shasta trip)
planning for ironman

i'm baaaaack

not to toot my own horn or anything, but this last week (two weeks ago, i posted this late) was the GREATEST in terms of actually feeling like i'm training for an ironman again! phew! the few weeks before i had been struggling to get my workouts IN and when i did them, i was struggling to get through them. so maybe the grand canyon trip, and the subsequent week off afterwards did do me some good afterall? :) hhmm. how woulda thought?

ok. so the week started off with an unexpectedly nice early morning swim before work on monday. i met my co-worker and new swimming partner (she doesn't know what she's in for) kelly. she hasn't swam since high school and totally KILLED me! now, high school isn't as long ago for her as it is for me, but regardless...this is why she's my new official swim partner. :) luckily for my ego, she was really really sore. i'm just excited to have a new friend who likes to swim and is approximately the same pace as i am.

so after kicking monday off with a bang. tuesday morning i went to a spin class (not my typical spin class with nancy, b/c i was leaving town that afternoon). it's always weird going to a new spin class, people are very territorial and they like "their bike". it seems that the same people always go to the same classes too, so it seemed everyone in this class knew everyone else leaving me to feel a little like an oddball. after we started the class, the instructor commented that she liked my hat. it was that awkward moment, when you're not sure if the person is looking at you....so you look behind you and around...and smile. eventually she pointed....then EVERYONE looked at me! agh! the class was pretty ok, not the best better than not at all. i swam wednesday evening...yes, i swam twice in one week!! whoo hoo!! i actually felt GREAT. it was truely the first time in a long time that i've felt good and enjoyed the pool. motivating? yes.

i ran 9 miles thursday just my regular route by home. north on fruit, west on barstow to van ness by all the HUGE beautiful homes (there is actually a nice little trail over there) then i ran north on van ness until i felt like turning around. :) i was a little unnerved by the pain in my pelvis as it hasn't been this bad in months. friday (stupidly) i went for another run (to get my miles in!) i KNOW i can't run two days in a row without having terrible pain/inflammation in my pelvis. i did it anyways and ran 5.5 miles with quite a bit of pain. after my long run, i headed to physical therapy where i was then scolded for running two days in a row and encouraged to not race my ironman at all. boo. "you wouldn't be able to do it if you had an acl tear, why would you do it with a chronic painful injury?" good question. we'll see. i love ironman, and i love ironman training. but, because i love them now is even more reason to not race this year (if it comes to that) and BE able to run the rest of my life. hopefully LONG LONG LONG runs. moving on. saturday lead me to a wonderful bike ride up to prather first of all this is one of my favorite rides. especially because it was not that long ago really that i rode to prather for the first time, only because someone had doubted my ability to do it. it's nice to remember those days of barely making it, add ten miles and be able to power up there now without a care. :) so, in summation, this was a great week, i'm feeling strong and confident now, hopefully my pain subsides again and i can train with comfort and confidence. :) thanks for checking in. leave me comments, beg me to post, and maybe i will. ;)

my favorite grand canyon

as i mentioned before, i had the pleasure of accompanying the amtrekker and his pals on his journey to the bottom of the grand canyon (#50 on his list by-the-way). now, most people reading this know the whole story front to back, back to front, and sideways, because it's the only thing i've talked about since i got home. but, i'm starting at the beginning and not skipping a detail until the end for those people who i don't talk to incessantly (yes, they're out there). i was nonchalantly invited on this trip, and kinda assumed i wasn't really going to go until the very last minute. i was secretly trying not to get excited, knowing that it may not happen. at the same time, i was jumping out of my skin with excitement because.....#1 it's hard for me to turn down any fun adventure, #2 i've never even seen the grand canyon, let alone hiked to the bottom, #3 i've been aching for a great backpacking trip, and #4 it sounded like an adventure with some fun folks. i was a bit concerned that i was going to be gone for a whole weekend and unable to get my "training" in.......and a little concerned with the fact that i only knew 2 people out of the whole group, and hadn't seen them in 8+ years. most of my friends said, "don't go, you're crazy". luckily there was the select few who said, "live a little!".......then came the news i was a shoe-in! yay! bags were packed on tuesday! i got up friday morning at 4 am for a quick run before the arduous journey in the car! 9 hours sitting still....? not my style at all. we finally arrived at the hotel brett's parents were staying in.....in the pouring rain by-the-way. i was so worried about the heat that i didn't think twice about thunderstorms! great! in true brett fashion this would be the only day they close the grand canyon! right?! brett and his friends arrive a while later......(still pouring rain by-the-way). we discuss the possibility of all 11 of us piling into the hotel room for the night rather than braving the wet weather at the campground. we got brave though, ran to the cars, and on the way to the canyon itself the weather started looking a bit better. we set up camp at the campground and discussed our plans for watching the sunset (as we still hadn't actually seen the canyon yet!). we quickly gathered our snacks for the show and headed towards the "trail to the canyon". there's a "trail to the canyon" right?.....? we can ask some people right? "hey, is this the way to the canyon...?" uh, huh? well....let's just say we walked and walked and walked...and split up....and walked....and hurried.....and hurried a bit more.......and....then i was running.....we're going to miss it!!! we are going to come all this way and miss it!! running running running...dodging branches....i can't see a thing, and then suddenly i was there...on the edge..........."woooooo hooo! i see it, hurry, it's amazing!!"

and as you can see it was. the group finally reconnected and we spent a while taking pictures and chatting. breathtaking. i couldn't believe i was actually there! that's when it hit me, i was there! back at camp we all settled in as it had been dramatically decided we would leave camp at 4:00...ish to make it to the sunrise at the top of the canyon....for the first group picture of the trip. well, needless to say, a few missing keys later and we all happily got to the trail head in one piece. separated, but in one piece, so there was actually no....first day group picture....but who's keeping track anyways. right. and the downhill began. yuck. i hate downhill. mostly downhill anything. it just hurts! i twisted my ankles a million times...and if i didn't have cat-like reflexes i'm sure i would've been "down" more than once! phew! my pack was no joke either! what can i say, i eat a lot. by the first rest-stop, i was over it!

on and on....down...and....down....ouch my ankles....this can't be good for my training.......down, and down.....story after story........finally! i hiked with erica most of the day. so much fun. we reached the "bottom"....i mean it was flat......we were crossing creeks. we started to get frustrated....really?! i mean we're at the bottom. it's got to be around the next corner! we had been talking all day about enjoying the day...blah blah blah, and the moment...it's so beautiful blah blah blah. our attitude was suddenly. get us there! fo' get this beauty-photo-taking stuff. we want to be done! well, we finally made it. believe it or not. nothing like hiking down-hill for 6ish hours. i was BEAT and really to get in the creek! as it was getting HOT.

we played in the creek for the rest of the day/night. the boys making dams in the river.....sorry fish. it was entertaining to watch and somewhat fun to join in on. we finally called it quits and headed back to camp for some serious sleep sweating. i think i became more dehydrated that night sleeping than i did all day hiking! the air was perfectly still not a hint of movement just the screech of these large disgusting bugs. talk about rest! and it was AT LEAST 98 degrees in my tent. agh! talk about horrible. we all hit the trails the next morning between 3:30am and 5:00 am to beat the heat, and surprisingly climbed up to indian springs (the approximate half-way) rather quickly. i think we are all napping by around 9:00 am. hmmmm. what are we going to do the rest of the whole day!?! luckily this fun group came up with some interesting ideas, ie: hiking...(who woulda thought) out to plateau point (a beautiful lookout point!), group stretching sessions, squirrel chasing, spoons (yep, the card game) which was abruptly stopped by the ranger at 7pm saying we were too loud for her camp. okay...?.

the last day of hiking started nice and early. my legs felt like they were one big knot from my calves to my waist! ouch! it took about 2 miles of hiking to get warmed up! thank goodness for jolt gum to get me started every morning as there was no starbucks in the grand canyon. sucky. the last day was of course bitter sweet. i had soo much fun getting to know everyone on the trip, but getting to the top and taking my pack off was going to feel soooo great. at the last rest area. most of the group was able to re-group. in my mind giving everyone a fair chance at the shot at "being the first to the top" which was a priority in my book. i was planning it all day. trying to run brett ragged early in the morning. just as we are reaching the final switch back to the top of the grand canyon. brett and nate begin to throw down. i see an opening just past them and go for it! i had a solid 25 yard lead and was using my race-walking skills to keep my lead. up ahead about 3 yards from my win, there is a family of about 6 old to young taking up the WHOLE trail and slowly i might add. i thought i could nicely weave my way through the family, and just as i'm planning my attack to take the gold, i hear nate yelling, "katy!!! go!!!". just as i turn to look i see brett coming fast from behind. just as i'm reaching the slow family, he pushes past me (rudely i might add) almost pushes an old lady, and trips a small child...just to get to the top first. selfish. not to mention cody was definitely first, and hiked back down to get us, and rebecca also beat us to the top, but really that stuff doesn't matter. fair and square, i probably would've won. that's all i'm saying....the rest is history. i had a GREAT ride home with my new pals. lots of napping, lots of reading, and a bit of girlie music to top off the drive. gotta love it!

you know you can leave me comments right....? don't be shy!! stay tuned for the "back on track" week, blog. i'm doing SO well!!! can't wait to tell you about it.

discombobulated

those people who know me well, know that the first thing you see upon walking through my front door is numerous calendars. one, that has all twelve months so i can plan ahead. a large dry erase where i can plan my details each month, and my large color coordinated training calendar where i can obsess over each detail of my training month. yes. this sound really lame, and actually i'm thinking about taking the 12 monther down, and hiding it, just so i don't look quite so lame. regardless, those who also know me well know, i hate to put laundry away, i hate dirty dishes in my sink, i like things to be "in order", i and i always have a few to-do lists on my back burner, ok actually hanging on my fridge (yes multiple lists, i know!) . another very important aspect in my life is having at least one precious day per week (maybe once every two weeks, let's not get crazy) of just relaxing and getting my brain organized. just a quiet mellow, humdrum day. all that being said, yeah, the calendars aren't going anywhere (that was just an example of my "crazy"), i have about 4 loads of laundry that need to be put away, my house is quite cluttery, and i can't think of the last time i got my humdrum day?!? again, there hasn't been much humdrum #1 because i've been having so many exciting adventures (who's complaining?) and #2 i have so much laundry because i've been having so many exciting adventures. now, the definitions of "exciting adventures". many people may think, wow! what has katymoe been doing?!? well, basically there has been ONE big adventure. but for a girl who typically works and swim, bikes, runs, eats, sleeps. anything out of that box may seem exciting to me. give a girl a break, i'm no amtrekker. this leads me into another topic which seems to be.... training, ah hem! (oh yeah, isn't that what this blog is about??) well, it's hard to train/adventure. so there may have been a bit of "downtime", "cross training", "slacking" (for lack of a better word). in the last couple of weeks. in summation, the first of july brought some exciting news that i was going to have the opportunity to hike to the bottom of the grand canyon, yay! i worked the few days before while quickly trying to pack/laundry/organize for the trip. i spent friday the 4th in the car, hiked down saturday (ouch!), out sunday, and monday...then drove home monday. barely made it two work tuesday, wednesday, and thursday attempted to recover friday (yes, i was still sore), and let's not get into saturday. by sunday i was feeling like quite the slacker and decided it was the day to get "back on track" (that blog to come). in double summation, i'm thinking i will blog separately about the grand canyon journey (because it was incredible!) but i just wanted to send a quick update for today since i think i may have another hectic week ahead. goals for this week obviously "get back on track" with training, and organize my life :) (no big deal).

p.s. the picture is just to get you excited about what is to come in the grand canyon blog. yay/wow!

p.p.s. just because "spell check" doesn't recognize them as words doesn't mean they aren't. just sayin'.