Saving Lives, One Bridge (or haircut) at a Time

Wow!!!  This has been a very hectic two weeks for me.  Makes sense the team settled on McFlurry as a nickname (to go along with Coach Bryan Big Mac, Nikki McNugget, and Kris McCafe).  

Mom & Dad 1987

I did not post last week as I was out of town taking care of some family business.  You see, six years ago my Mom passed away.  In September '10 (only two days after returning from Nation's Triathlon) my Dad passed away.  This last weekend was the 6th anniversary of my Mom's passing and we chose that day to spread both of their ashes (and the dog's ashes) in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.  Bittersweet, really.  What tough day it was; however, it was the end of a chapter and now I am ready to begin another.

Since I returned this last Friday it has been RUSH RUSH RSUH to get things done.  I had chores to do, training to complete, and a fund raiser for LLS.  A very busy weekend.  

I drove home from Atlanta, GA (my last stop on my trip) on Friday (a total -from the entire trip- of almost 2000 miles alone on the road) and straight to my nail salon I went (not a minute to waste).  Yes, I know... I am an 'athlete' what do I need all that for?  Um...  I am still a GIRL too!!!  Then after getting home at 8pm from a week away, I took care of the cats then off to bed for an early morning of TNT Training the next day.

Training... Well, more like TORTURE!!!  I love my coach.  No, Really, I do.  I know Big Mac is just making us better bike riders at the end of it all.  (Cue the evil laugh 'buahahahahahahahahahaha!')

We were scheduled for our Summer Season Mock Event.  This is when each team puts their training to the test and runs through the motions of race day.  For the cycle team, it is normally a 30+ mile bike ride.  Well, this time we were only doing 20 miles.  That was the good news... The Bad News????  It was 20 miles of BRIDGE REPEATS....  And once again, Coach Brutal Bryan Big Mac earns his nickname.  (Cue the evil laugh #2 'buahahahahahahahahahaha!')

So after some quick announcements, off we went.  A quick mile (+) out and back warm up before 6 up and over bridge rides on the Lake Worth Intercoastal Bridge. Like your shampoo bottle says: Lather, Rinse, Repeat.... We were out and back again then another 6 bridge repeats.  And then AGAIN....  (Cue the evil laugh #3 'buahahahahahahahahahaha!')

Well, I will not lie... While the rest of the team managed all 18 (or more) I managed only 10 bridge repeats and the out and back 3 times.  My long drive home from Atlanta on Friday had taken a toll on me.  Not to mention that my inhaler was still packed away in my bag from my trip.  I decided NOT to kill myself the first day back.  I still managed about 17.8 miles of bridge work and flat rides.  

With the time change back on our side for longer days, I can start to really get my weekly miles in biking on Tuesday and Thursday nights.  The extra miles during the week will certainly help my weekend biking.

After the Mock Event was finished, the Cycle Team had a team meeting over breakfast to chat about fundraising (important stuff) and also our upcoming Clermont Trip for REAL hill work.  With all that out of the way, we left each other to get on with the rest of our weekend.  Now it was time for me to switch into FUND RAISER role. 

So much was still undone for the event planned for Sunday (today). After a quick shower, down to the salon for last minute review of the schedule of events, raffle prizes and food shopping.  After several hours of planning, shopping, prepping, etc.... I finally made it home to get a few hours of sleep before heading back to the salon.  

The Staff at Hello Gorgeous Salon with myself
After the very successful event!

Sunday Morning I woke up and started the prep for the big day...  Cuts for Cancer at the Hello Gorgeous Salon in Davie Florida (2853 S University Drive).  Carlos (the owner), Amanda (the assistant), and Nicole/Nancy/Freddie (the stylists) donated the salon and their time to cut hair all day today to help support my goal with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  And what a FANTASTIC DAY it was.  39 Hair Cuts, several other donations, and in total a $850 donation to LLS!!!  Rock Stars!!! 

One word about this salon.... Hello Gorgeous is a highly professional Salon with TOP NOTCH stylists.  This is not a Super Cuts or Tiger Cuts type of salon.  These ladies and gentlemen are highly talented in what they do and the only ones I trust with my hair.  I travel 30 miles (not on my bike though) to have them do my hair every 4-6 weeks.  For them to donate their time, their day, their salon to this cause means so much to me!  AND, to top it off, they are looking at making this an ANNUAL event!!!  I am so excited to have these friends in my life.

I have to thank ALL the people who dedicated their day to making this an amazing weekend!  Yes, A very busy and hectic one, but I would never have it any other way....  I love my Life, my Family, my Friends!

On The Road Again

In the words of Willy Nelson, our cycle team was On the Road Again this weekend: Our first official training ride.  Up to this point we have spent each weekend sharpening our bike handling skills, learning to corner at high speeds, sprinting, jump-sprints, weaving, and even learning to pick up a water bottle on the ground without stopping.  This week was a 30+ mile ride with a few climb-repeats at the Hobe Sound Water Tower.

Let me start by explaining the challenge we have training in Florida for a not-so-flat ride in Tahoe: we have very few hills to train on for challenging climbs.  However, as Coach Big Mac explained to us this weekend, we have a little advantage being in Florida, believe it or not.  In Florida when we training for cycle events, we are always pedaling.  In areas that have more hills than flats, they spend part of the time coasting.  Our advantage is we training for constant pedaling, never coasting, never resting, a cadence of 90 is the goal at all times.  What does that mean for Tahoe... Well, considering the hills, not much.  But on the long 8-mile climb in Tahoe, this means a lot.  We should be able to manage a constant motion pedaling the entire 8-miles without wearing down too much:  or that is our goal, at least.

Now, for those of you in the South Florida area, you know this weekend we have had some very uncharacteristically high winds. I am not exactly sure what the metered wind speeds were this weekend, but by my estimate (based on years of working in Emergency Management with hurricanes and such), I would say the winds were upwards of the high teens with gusts that were easily in the mid to upper 20s.  (miles per hour that is)  Yes, it was VERY WINDY this weekend.  At some point Coach Big Mac noted "Wind is our friend!", however, I beg to differ!

If this was a true headwind or tailwind, maybe I would think differently.  The winds this weekend were a very nasty crosswind.  One word... YUCKY!!!  At first I did not think it would be too awful.  That lasted about two miles into the ride when a nasty gust caught me and almost blew me off my bike.  My front wheel swerved and I struggled to hold on.  All of a sudden my grip on the bike was tighter (not necessarily a good thing...)

Hobe Sound Water Tower - Google Maps
Although you can't see the actual hill,
you can see the distance of the ride on
Water Street.  Note: It is all Up Hill!!!!

Our normal bike route when we travel to Juno for training is from Loggerhead Park to Hobe Sound and back.  That is roughly a 30 mile ride.  Just for giggles (well actually for hill training) Coach Big Mac took us to the Water Tower.  I was slightly scared when the previous season's team (training for triathlon season) snickered and offered wishes of luck to us all.  Not all that comforting for someone who had never been to the Water Tower.  Being the wonderful coach that he is, Coach Big Mac led us to the Water Tower and with about two seconds notice hollered "Get ready to climb!"  As I turn the corner on to Water Street all I saw was this nasty hill in front of me and I suddenly forgot how to shift gears.  Half way up the first climb I was suddenly stalled.  Kind of a scary thought when you are clipped in to your pedals and not able to move much.  I unclipped real quick, stopped, turned around, and headed back down the hill.  What a wus I was!!!  Could not make it all the way up the climb on my first attempt.  The fact that I was caught slightly off guard did not help matters much.

At the top of the hill at Hobe Sound Water Tower
Photo By:  Debra Buwalda Vanderlaan

I was determined, not about to give up.  This time I took a little stroll down the street, gained some speed, and just as I approached the climb I quickly shifted to the little gears and up the hill I went.  About half way up I felt as though I was barely moving, but at least I made it up.  I got to the top and realized I was barely breathing.  A quick hit on the inhaler and down to the bottom and back up again.  This time I got to the top with a little less effort; but given there was a 15-mile ride back to the start, with a little more of a headwind than a tailwind, I knew I needed to reserve some energy for the bike back.

So as my teammates, much more experienced on the bike than I, continued to go up and down the hill, I rested with the coach.  Although the goal here was to get in as many climbs as we could, double-digits is what he was looking for, I explained that although I only got two and half climbs in just think of how much room I have to grow over the next few months as we continue to challenge ourselves through our training.  (PS: I don't think Coach Big Mac was buying my positive twist...)

As we were about to take off and head back to the start line, Coach gave us a few tips for heading back.  After I thought he was through, I started to head out.  Coach Big Mac was still talking so I turned around to listen to him...  I was still clipped in on my bike, still in my little gear, and as I was spinning my feet the bike was barely moving and I started to slow.  Realizing I was still attached to my pedals, I attempted to clip out on one side (my right side).  Unfortunately since I was barely moving, when I attempted to swing my foot out of the clip I jerked my bike to the right and pulled myself over.

Yep, that is right... I fell.  I have gotten quite good at falling: not that falling is something you want to be good at.  However, if you are going to fall, you don't want to do so with your elbows out, that will cause more injury.  I just kinda tucked in a bit when I realized I was going down.  My head was still turned a bit and that jar against the ground cause me to pinch a nerve in my neck.  The 15-mile ride back was not going to be fun.

I got up, brushed off (both my rear and my ego), and got back on the bike.  Off we went for the ride home.  About two miles in I realized my neck was hurting.  This was going to be a long 15 miles.  After about 7 miles the pain traveled down my shoulder.  This is when I decided I needed to call it a day.  Coach Big Mac agreed and called for the SAG Wagon to come get me.  What is a SAG Wagon you ask?  This is a volunteer support crew for our long rides.  They are there to help ensure all riders make it back to base.

Coach and I agreed I would stop off at Coral Reef park (actually Coral Cove Park) and wait for the sag to get me.  This is approximately 7 miles from the start.  I waited and waited.  Half hour later when they had not actually made it to me yet, I decided it was time to ride the last 7 miles back.  "Suck it up and head home" I said to myself.  I figured they would find me along the way.  What I really needed was ice for my neck/shoulder.

So battling the wind on my own, I powered home averaging only 15 mph on the bike with the crosswind that had a touch of a headwind fighting me the entire way.  I just wanted ice.  In my head I was seeing visions of Finding Nemo and instead of swimming, I heard Dori singing "Just keep spinning, just keep spinning, what do we do we sppppiiiinnnnn!"  Ya, I know, I am a bit on the crazy side.

Back at base I immediately reached for the ice as the team called the Sag back.  It turns out they could not find me because we had the park name wrong Coral Cove, not Coral Reef.  Good thing I took off and battled back on my own, or I would be camping at Coral Cove for the night!  (Oh, I am sure the team would have eventually come to get me!  Maybe...)

All in all it was a not so bad day.  Yes, a little injured; but, nothing a nice hour massage wont fix.  After training, the team grabbed breakfast at Seagulls in Jupiter.  While there we planned our trip to Clermont where we will get a good 35-Mile ride in on Friday April 8th, then at least 60 miles on Saturday April 9th.  This is the one place in Florida where we can actually train for hills.

Stay tuned for more in the upcoming weeks as our TNT TAHOE Team trains to complete America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride on June 5th.  Until then:

Just Keep Spinning!!!

The Beginning: The First Time Trial

Last weekend at training, our coach set up a time trial for us.  This is a race against the clock to set the bar for our future training.  With this baseline we will be able to see the payout of all our training over the next several weeks/months.

This is not going to be a long posting, just a quick note about the time trail and my time.  I will follow up at the end of our training when we return to the training ground one last time trial prior to taking on Tahoe.  For now, just know I have room to improve.

This was a 3.8 mile trial and our TEAM times ranged from 10:48 to 15:36.  Fell close to the middle coming in at 12:08 (18.78 mph average).  Yes, that means room to improve.  But, 18+mph is an improvement from last summer when training for Nation's Triathlon.

Tackling One Goal At A Time

Well, hello again... I hope you did not miss me too much.  I know I promised to update my blog weekly, so I apologize... just a day or two over due... =)  I hope you all forgive me!!! (I know how exciting my blogs can be...)


This week I wanted to update you on my progress for one of the goals I have set for myself.  DIET AND NUTRITION...  Yes, I know, most of you would suggest that I do not need to lose weight.  And for the most part, you are right.  However, when it comes to trying to increase your endurance and performance in relation to training for all the wonderful events I do (for Team in Training, and on my own), weight is a huge factor.  

The picture to the side here is a comparison of what I am today (or two weeks ago) verses where I was 1 year ago.  On the left is A1A Half Marathon 2010 (160 lbs); and, on the right A1A Half Marathon 2011 (197 lbs).  As you can see, the weight is there to be lost.  I am not talking about starving myself or even getting to an unhealthy weight.  That is not my goal.  You see, at 6' tall, I hold my weight well.  This is the one advantage of height I have embraced since I started to get older and my metabolism started to slow down.  For someone of my height to gain or lose 25 even 35 lbs looks more like 10-15 lbs.  That is the advantage.  The disadvantage is I have to work twice as hard as someone only needing to lose the 10-15 lbs.

I am up to the challenge.  Why???  Say it with me folks... BECAUSE I CAN!!!  And you can, too!!!  With small changes to the things you drink and eat.  No Pills!  No Fad Diets! No Cutting off of limbs... (ok, so a little humor never hurt anyone...)

So where to start?  First things first... My weight.  How many women do you know who would share this info on the internet?  Well are your ready?  Two weeks ago I weighed in at 197.  Yes, that's right... 197!  After I take you through what I have changed and why I will share with you my weight today.


The first thing I changed was WATER INTAKE!!!  Some studies state that water drinkers actually shed pounds faster.  Water is calorie free and has a tendency to fill you up.  These studies indicate that drinking two glasses of water prior to eating a meal. This will give you the sense of being full.  One study found that water drinkers ate 75 to 90 fewer calories per meal.  Over the course of a day, this could amount to almost 300 calories - the equivalent of a Danish pastry or a pint and a half of beer.  To that I say "Bring on the water!!"

Over the last week I have increased my water intake.  I have gone from only drinking water when exercising (yes, bad I know) to drinking about 5 20oz bottles a day (more when I run, bike, or swim).  

Second, I have had several people telling me to limit my 'animal' foods.  That is a tough one to change since I was raised a 'steak and potato' girl.  What I decided to do instead is alter my selections of meat: rather than eating meats with processed diets, I am selecting only those that are grass fed naturally (from Whole Foods Market).  Sure a little higher in cost, but worth it if I can still have a steak from time to time.   Although I will not cut out meats completely (I think the iron and protein are essential when training) I did decide to limit my animal food meals to once a week.  

Let me clarify though, I do not consider fish animals.  Fish are fish; and, fish are high in proteins and low in fat. One of my favorite foods is fish... Tuna, Grouper, Shrimp, Lobster, Swordfish... I could go on, but you get the picture.  These items I will not limit.  


Sweets... I am not a big sweets eater. This one is easy for me.  I do however think one should not deprive themselves of a sweet treat every now and then. Just remember to limit your enjoyment of sweet treats to every now and then and not every meal.

All the little changes above have actually increased my energy even though I am limiting the calories I am taking in.  As such, my training routine is getting back to normal.  I am back to at least training once a day.  Attempting to fit in a few two-a-days when I can.  (As long as the two work outs are different: for instance swimming in the morning, running in the evening or vice versa.)

All in all, as I stepped on the scale this morning I realized I am almost 9 lbs down from two weeks ago.  You see, little changes can help.  Generally it is the little things that hurt as well.  So if you keep it simple it is easy to stick to the plan.  

I will leave you with this...  

More die in the United States of too much food than of too little.  ~John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society