How Hard Can It Be? Year 2

[Veronica]

I think it counts a hit for every time I post in the thread. But I don't think I've read it 1400 times. Maybe 140 times, but not 1400.

We're in for some hot weather this weekend - mid 90s both days. I think we're going to head back to the coast to ride on Sunday.

Veronica

[MM_QFC!]

Congrats, Veronica - you look great and yes, defend your right to 'bare arms' a la Michelle Obama! Yes, you'll look much better than the Patagonia model in that beautiful dress too!
Great job on the training too...am sure that you'll keep meeting all of your goals...very inspiring to all...thanks!

[Urlea]

I should read this thread more often, it's great inspiration!!! Go V. !!!

The results of all your hard work are fantastic. That's gotta feel good! Keep it up, you're looking to have a great race season this year.

Kacie- you aren't the only one jealous of that swim time. Maybe if we grunt really hard our feet will turn into flippers. Or maybe we'll pass out, either or.

[Veronica]

When running or riding I wear a pair of sunglasses with an MP3 player in them - Thumps. Music can be very motivational. Some songs just push me to go a little harder; Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker” is one of them.

It’s gotten hot here in the Delta. Every year we get one weekend in May with “unusually hot” weather. Yesterday’s official high temp was 106! We had planned on heading up to Marin to ride the coast again this past weekend. But an opportunity to buy a cargo liner for the new truck came up. The seller was in Santa Clara, so we changed our plans and decided we would ride out of Woodside, over the ridge and down to Pescadero on the coast and back.

The first challenge was Kings Mountain Rd. This road climbs 1500 feet in 4.3 miles for an average grade of 6.7%. It’s mostly shaded by huge redwoods and has lots of switchbacks. The climb began right away so it was my warm up. I turned on my Thumps when the climb started and I predicted it would take me ten songs to get to the top.



I was moseying along, enjoying the music and the scenery, with an average heartrate in the 160s until the fourth song - “Heartbreaker” came on. There’s something about that driving beat; it just propels my legs to go faster.

I passed Thom on the next hairpin and kept going. I thought he was right behind me, but when I looked back the first time he was no where in sight. Now I was in a groove and I was going to push hard all the way to the summit. I knew I had to keep my heart rate right around 175 or I’d blow up. On the steep hairpins it would top out at 178 and I’d bring it back down. It’s funny the difference of just three beats. I can climb at 175 beats per minute for hours, but at 178 I’m hurting.

I could see Thom below me on a couple of the hairpins; he was slowly reeling me in - pacing himself in the heat. He caught up to me about 3 miles in, a mile from the summit. As we got closer to the top, there were several sections that were not shaded and it was HOT! Much hotter than the 80 degrees the weatherman had predicted for this area. We entered one of those really hot sections just as “Smooth” by Carlos Santana came on my Thumps. I was singing out loud:

"Man, it’s a hot one
Like seven inches from the midday sun.”

Thom and I kept up the pace I had been setting and eventually arrived at the summit. It was an 11 song climb. There were a couple other groups there and everyone, including us, was discussing how much more riding they were going to do. The temperature was about 10 degrees warmer than the forecast called for, so everyone was trying to decide how hot was too hot. I had had fun pushing hard up this climb. But I was worried we would find ourselves seriously suffering when it came time to climb back up to this ridge from the coast. We decided we would just roll back down Kings Mountain to the car and have a nice lunch before getting the liner. Thom took a few pictures of me descending.





Once at the car we discovered it was actually 95 degrees. Boy, did the weatherman get it wrong!

The rest of my training has been much the same as past weeks’ - a little running, a few trips to the gym, a little yoga. I bought a waist hydration pack from REI on Saturday. I have to start running in our heat and I really dislike the handheld pack I bought last year. Hopefully this will be comfortable when I run.

Veronica

[Veronica]

I've posted my latest training update on our website.

Veronica

[roadie gal]

V, when it gets hot down there you need to come up here and ride... especially if you like hills.

The road around Lake Tahoe is partially closed for road work, but there are lots of other places to go. And we're at least 10-15 degrees cooler than Sac.

[txred9876]

Yes your notes do get read even if we do not post comments!

Your doing great!
tina

[Veronica]

My clothing situation has become a real problem. All of my size tens are falling off of me. I’ve lost ten pounds since March and five percent body fat.I ordered some size eights from Eddie Bauer last week. I was so excited when they arrived, couldn’t wait to get home and try them on. Alas, they were too big! Apparently super-sized Americans still want to pretend they are little and clothing manufacturers are happy to oblige. Bear in mind, I was a size 8 in junior high and a size 10 in high school. My wedding dress was a size 14. If size 8 is now too big, what am I? a 6?

We took the size eights back to the Eddie Bauer Outlet store on Saturday. I tried on some sixes and found some that fit, but I didn’t really like the style. We went off to the Gap Outlet. I couldn’t find anything that fit properly at the Gap, which was fine since I didn’t really like any of the styles anyway. From there we went to the Anne Taylor outlet. Here I discovered I am a Petite, Curvy 4? What? Yeah, I am lean, but I am NOT a size 4! The only pants they had in this cut were really ugly. I did try them on. They did fit, but white flat-fronted pants with tiny gold chains at the waist is not a look I’m into.

We gave up and went to lunch at Baja Fresh. This was the best part of our day. Our local Baja Fresh has closed and I really like their shrimp tacos.

On the way home we were near the Anne Taylor Loft that has opened locally, so we decided to give it a try. Loft seems to be a younger, “fresher” version of Anne Taylor - slightly less tailored look, a lot more trendy. In this store I am a size 6, Julie cut. I think Julie means curvy. Whatever. I did find three bottoms that fit and that I liked. Good grief, all I want is to look decent at work.

Nothing really new on the training front to report, just more biking , running, yoga and weight lifting.

Check out the details on our participation in Race Across America.


Veronica

[Crankin]

You are absolutely correct about the sizing. I buy most of my clothes at the Loft and my size keeps getting smaller and smaller, despite the fact that I am the same size! It makes it hard to shop on line.

[roadie gal]

You are absolutely correct about the sizing. I buy most of my clothes at the Loft and my size keeps getting smaller and smaller, despite the fact that I am the same size! It makes it hard to shop on line.

I wish women's clothes were sized like men's. A guy can go into any store, grab a pair of pants that are sized by waist and length and know they'll fit. I have clothes ranging from size 6-12 in my closet that all fit. feh

[Susan Otcenas]

Yeah, I am lean, but I am NOT a size 4!

Veronica - I know what you mean! I am 4 pounds lighter than I was when I was 25 (15 year ago. ack!) I was a size 8 then. Now? My newly purchased size 6 jeans and shorts are already getting big on me, and I just got two pairs of jeans which claim to be size 4s.

I keep saying the same thing - I am NOT a size 4. Except these days, apparently I am.

It's no wonder that we at TE always hear complaints about how cycling clothing "runs small". While the whole world has been vanity sizing like crazy, cycling apparel has actually been relatively stable in it's sizing over the years (with some exceptions of course). I'm a good solid medium in many brands (sometimes a small in jerseys, depending on the brand) which fits with my mental image of me as "really a size 8".


When I was in college, I worked for American Eagle Outfitters for 2.5 years. The very smallest size we carried was a size 4, and that was for teeny weeny people. We usually only received one item in a size 4 in a given style. These days I see lots of size 0 & 2's on store shelves, which is nuts.

Susan

[tribogota]

I've tried to explain this sizing thing to people and they don't get it, glad to hear it from others, I am sometimes a O, yep, zero, as in NO SIZE??? and I am not that small, I am what I consider a totally healthy weight of 135, for 5" 6, so I don't know WHO they are dressing

[Crankin]

Yep, I once asked the manager at the Loft how could it be that I have gone from a size 4/6 to a 0 or 00 in the last five years when I am the same size. She got kind of mad and didn't know how to answer me. When I was in high school, I weighed about the same as I do now and I wore a size 7 for years after that and in college.
I can't believe American women are that vain. I mean, our population is getting heavier and they think their size is going down?

[OakLeaf]

I guess the bright side is that now that they're down to zero, it'll have to stop. Right??? Right??? Or will we have negative sizes next year?

It's not like it's new, though. I've read that "misses" sizes got their name because they used to be what "juniors" are now. An average 12 year old girl would wear a misses size 12, etc. Adult women would wear (duh) "womens."

I guess I've answered my own question about what happens next...

[Veronica]

We’ve been looking through some of our older photos. I thought it would be interesting to do a similar photo shoot.



May 12, 2002



June, 7, 2009


In 2002 we were just getting back into cycling after an eight year hiatus. We did our first organized century in early June that year on our mountain bikes with slick tires. It was America’s Most Beautiful Ride - around Lake Tahoe.

Here I am seven years and several thousand miles later, training for a Half Ironman Triathlon.

Speaking of training, I’m a liitle freaked. My race is in eight weeks. This is the last week of school. Yippee!! But oodles to do as I am changing rooms again. Next week I’ll spend Monday - Thursday taking the first class for my Masters. I think it’s going to be a little intense - 8 hours a day as a student. Early Friday morning we fly to San Diego to hook up with our RAAM team. I KNOW that week is going to be intense. So, I’m a little concerned about how much training I’ll get in the next three weeks. In July we’re spending ten days in Maine and Vermont. While we’re in Vermont we will be riding the Six Gaps . I plan on doing some running those days after riding. But vacation plans don’t always go the way I think they will.

Yet, I’m really looking forward to my various adventures. Sometimes, it’s the journey, not the destination that matters.