Found a cool cross results site:
http://crossresults.com/?n=racers&sn=r&rID=787
If only I can mush myself into the top 25% next year. If only.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Pondering the next mogul
Another shot from day one of teleing - pondering the next mogul - if only I had the coordination, skill and muscles of Kyle Kershner to just fly through the moguls, light as a feather, like water running through creek stones. Soon. Soon. By April that will be me :)
First Day of Skiing
Here's a shot from my first day of tele skiing this year at Keystone. It was an amazing day - lots of powder and too little muscle. Looking forward to many more days like this!
Monday, December 10, 2007
The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe
I feel like I just walked through the secret wardrobe door into winter. I landed in Denver on Tues night and was greeted with a winter wonderland upon arriving in Summit County. Since then it has snowed, snowed and snowed. Literally - every day, all day from Weds through Sunday. Today is the first clear day with blue skies and mounds of powdery snow. Tele'ing has been great - but my back is now killing me so it's time for some R&R and some M&A deals, three to be exact. When it rains it pours - I am now officially swamped with work - which is a good thing, especially since I can do it all from my yummy home office facing the snowy forrest.
CX Season Wrap Up
Well, after Putney the season only went downhill.
I chose to sleep in over getting to Lowell early enough to actually warm up and pre ride the course. Despite that, I had a great start - in 4th - but promptly lost 10 places between the brutal run up and twisty turny section. The race only went down hill from there (due to the uphill part!).
The following week was Palmer - in 20 degree weather. I couldn't warm up properly and only had time to pre-ride a short section of the course. I did terrible - worst race of the year. A good start, but went so far backwards each lap it was embarassing (as was me trying to get up the horse jump - so sad).
All that being said, I still finished both races in a decent place for me, but really should have done better - last year I improved with each race. My friend Carol really put it in perspective for me at Gloucester when, me being disappointed with my mid pack finish, she asked me how I had done last year - that was when I remembered that I came in second to last both days. I also have to remember that I've been lifting weights 3x a week to get stronger for next year - and that this is probably impacting my results (along with the lack of warm up).
So, CX season is now over and it's time to ski! Off to Colorado for some powder and tele'ing in the trees.
I chose to sleep in over getting to Lowell early enough to actually warm up and pre ride the course. Despite that, I had a great start - in 4th - but promptly lost 10 places between the brutal run up and twisty turny section. The race only went down hill from there (due to the uphill part!).
The following week was Palmer - in 20 degree weather. I couldn't warm up properly and only had time to pre-ride a short section of the course. I did terrible - worst race of the year. A good start, but went so far backwards each lap it was embarassing (as was me trying to get up the horse jump - so sad).
All that being said, I still finished both races in a decent place for me, but really should have done better - last year I improved with each race. My friend Carol really put it in perspective for me at Gloucester when, me being disappointed with my mid pack finish, she asked me how I had done last year - that was when I remembered that I came in second to last both days. I also have to remember that I've been lifting weights 3x a week to get stronger for next year - and that this is probably impacting my results (along with the lack of warm up).
So, CX season is now over and it's time to ski! Off to Colorado for some powder and tele'ing in the trees.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Putney
I got the hole shot and led the entire first lap. I never thought that would ever happen, but it finally did. Despite the fact that I hadn't been on the bike for two weeks and couldn't clip in at the start or after the first set of barriers. Wow. I'm finally improving.
Tommorrow is Shedd Park in Lowell - a traditionally bad race for me due to the ridiculous hill that I can't bike or run up. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully all the weight training will pay off.
Tommorrow is Shedd Park in Lowell - a traditionally bad race for me due to the ridiculous hill that I can't bike or run up. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully all the weight training will pay off.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Fitchburg
It's been a couple of weeks since Fitchburg and I'm just now getting around to writing about it. Given that this is my first season of road racing, I'm sure some people probably thought I was crazy to do Fitchburg, especially since I'm a cat 4 and the race is a 3/4 race. Seeing as I get dropped on the first hill of every cat 4 race, it was sure to happen in a 3/4 race. But I didnt' get cut & finished! I was 49 out of 57 starters and 49 finishers - so I wasn't really last - just last out of those people who finished. Pretty good for my first stage race. Special thanks to Bill and to Scott for giving me great advice on what to expect and how to race each race - all the tips were great! Thanks to Sol, Sean, Keith and George for being so supportive, Darcy and Hannah for cheering me on, and Julie for feeding me a bottle and finding the one I tossed!
Quick summary of lessons learned:
1. Warming up on the trainer before the race works. Wish I had known that before the time trial and before the circuit race - maybe my legs wouldn't have felt like lead weights and might have actually functioned.
2. Having to drive back and forth to Boston each day is a real drag - especially when you're in a car with broken A/C. Best to stay in Fitchburg and lounge by the pool after racing.
3. Stay in the front. Let me repeat that, stay in the front. Getting to the front is not really a problem for me. It's managing to stay there. This is especially important in the crit and the circuit race.
4. Stay away from the sketchy girls. Hopefully I'm not one of them, but there are really a lot of sketchy girls in the pack - either they're aggressive but lack bike handling or they just lack bike handling. I'm not sure why people slam on their brakes in the pack for no apparent reason, spin really fast then coast only to spin really fast and then coast over and over again, or try to squeeze into spots too small for them causing other people who are already overlapping someone else's wheel to come close to crashing much too close to me.
5. Fellow biker friends are super! I was so, so lucky that I ran into Julie Lockhart and she offered (ok insisted) to take a bottle for me - she was so right that I would need it & was so nice to offer to help me out! I was also so, so lucky to have Darcy and Hannah to cheer for me and give me pointers - they were both too awesome for words.
6. Going back to work on Thursday and Friday after racing was stupid. Especially since I ended up working until 7:30 pm both days, doing conference calls in the car on the way back while trying to stuff food and water down my throat. Not to mention getting up each day at 5 am to crank out work for an hour or so before leaving for the race. Everyone else was warming up to their iPod, while I warmed up my thumbs with my Blackberry. Next year I'll take both days off and throw my blackberry into a river so no one can reach me.
7. Working until 9 pm Mon, Tues and Weds - and not really eating anything for lunch or dinner was probably not a good way to prep for 4 days of racing.
Quick summary of lessons learned:
1. Warming up on the trainer before the race works. Wish I had known that before the time trial and before the circuit race - maybe my legs wouldn't have felt like lead weights and might have actually functioned.
2. Having to drive back and forth to Boston each day is a real drag - especially when you're in a car with broken A/C. Best to stay in Fitchburg and lounge by the pool after racing.
3. Stay in the front. Let me repeat that, stay in the front. Getting to the front is not really a problem for me. It's managing to stay there. This is especially important in the crit and the circuit race.
4. Stay away from the sketchy girls. Hopefully I'm not one of them, but there are really a lot of sketchy girls in the pack - either they're aggressive but lack bike handling or they just lack bike handling. I'm not sure why people slam on their brakes in the pack for no apparent reason, spin really fast then coast only to spin really fast and then coast over and over again, or try to squeeze into spots too small for them causing other people who are already overlapping someone else's wheel to come close to crashing much too close to me.
5. Fellow biker friends are super! I was so, so lucky that I ran into Julie Lockhart and she offered (ok insisted) to take a bottle for me - she was so right that I would need it & was so nice to offer to help me out! I was also so, so lucky to have Darcy and Hannah to cheer for me and give me pointers - they were both too awesome for words.
6. Going back to work on Thursday and Friday after racing was stupid. Especially since I ended up working until 7:30 pm both days, doing conference calls in the car on the way back while trying to stuff food and water down my throat. Not to mention getting up each day at 5 am to crank out work for an hour or so before leaving for the race. Everyone else was warming up to their iPod, while I warmed up my thumbs with my Blackberry. Next year I'll take both days off and throw my blackberry into a river so no one can reach me.
7. Working until 9 pm Mon, Tues and Weds - and not really eating anything for lunch or dinner was probably not a good way to prep for 4 days of racing.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Two Gaps - Piece of Cake
So this weekend was my team's epic 6 gap ride - ain't no way I was riding 6 gaps or 130 miles given my lack of training to date. So, I did my own two gap version with Bradley. We started out in Pittsfield, biked over Brandon, past Lake Dunmore, and over Middlebury back to Pittsfield. It was awesome! Brandon was a piece of cake compared to East Mountain Road. Middlebury wasn't bad at all either - there were only two spots where I dropped down to an epic 3.8 mph, but cranked on through. Overall, it seemed much easier this year despite my 12/27 than it did last year when we biked Middlebury, Appalacian in my triple - granted App is much harder, but still. I was pretty much done once we arrived back in Pittsfield after 67.2 miles at a 15.8 mph pace (again, a great pace for me for the gaps, although I did draft off of Bradley the entire way back, and for most of the other flat parts of the ride - so amazing to draft!). Again, we faced ridiculously brutal headwinds on the way back on 100. I think I would have been much stronger at the end had I adopted a better eating strategy - OJ for breakfast, 4 cliff blocks at the top of Brandon, two cliff gels on the way to Middlebury - probably not enough fuel. I made up for it with a turkey club and B&J Coffee Heath Bar Crunch at the Pittsfield Country Store. So, next up three gaps in July. I'd like to do Middlebury, App, Rochester.
Oh, that's right, how'd the team do on the 6-gapper? Almost all of them did all 6 gaps - crazy! Even Todd managed to crank it out, asserting that we need to do it again in the fall once he's got his fitness back. Amanda said she'd never seen anything like Todd coming up Middlebury gap - bike creaking, gears churning, body weaving, sweat dripping, guard rail crashing - so amazingly awesome that he did it! When I mentioned doing it again this fall to Sol, he laughed and said it would take a lot of convincing to get him to do that ride again - that from the die hard, hills make you stronger, bike crazy, single speed mountain biking, pain junkie. Hmm, I don't think I'll be riding Lincoln any time soon. Maybe next year.
Oh, that's right, how'd the team do on the 6-gapper? Almost all of them did all 6 gaps - crazy! Even Todd managed to crank it out, asserting that we need to do it again in the fall once he's got his fitness back. Amanda said she'd never seen anything like Todd coming up Middlebury gap - bike creaking, gears churning, body weaving, sweat dripping, guard rail crashing - so amazingly awesome that he did it! When I mentioned doing it again this fall to Sol, he laughed and said it would take a lot of convincing to get him to do that ride again - that from the die hard, hills make you stronger, bike crazy, single speed mountain biking, pain junkie. Hmm, I don't think I'll be riding Lincoln any time soon. Maybe next year.
Longest Ride of the Season
Well, it's hard to believe that I did my longest ride of the season last saturday, and it was only 70 miles. So much for training hard early in the season to be strong for Fitchburg.
All in all, last weekend was the best training weekend so far. Did a nice hill climb on Friday - climbing up East Mountain Road in Killington to Killington Peak and then back down the access road and up Killington Pass. It was hard at points (my cadence was probably at 20 for too much of the ride), but once we got to Killington, my thoughts were: gee, that wasn't that bad.
On Saturday, it was a leisurly ride from Pittsfield to the Warren Country Store, where we promptly pigged out on all the awesome food there. The way back is fairly flat to downhill, but there was a fierce headwind (I think there are only headwinds in VT) and I managed to TT with Jamie from Rochester back to Pittsfield - dying out on the slight hill right before Pittsfield (damn hills, need to work on those still!). So awesome to draft behind someone going fast - so much easier than going fast alone.
Sunday was my team's mountain bike race out in Dalton, MA. I was registered to race beginner, but didn't really plan to race. I'm really glad I did! Sol and Jamie convinced me to do it, and the course was not nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be last year (of course they did eliminate one crazy hill). I expected the rocky, rooty, gnarly trails of the Fells, Lynn Woods, Hinesburg State Forest, but it was not at all like that! I managed to bike over ALL of the bridges, save two (one had two planks and the other came up after I had broken my chain). I never bike over the bridges - and there was one with big mud puddles on either side that made it look impossible - good thing I had some people to follow - helped me realize what was bikable and what was not. I broke my chain at around mile 5 and had to walk out the last 3 and only finished 30 minutes after the leader in my age category - all in all, an incredibly successful race for me. I did awesome on the uphills - managed to pass most of the girls, but then got crushed in the technical and downhill sections (still can't make left turns). So, I may actually consider doing another mountain bike race. I was really surprised that the other girls weren't all that fast - I'm so used to riding with Sol, Jamie, Nicole, Bradley and all the other super fast people that can bike over anything - I get so discouraged. Now I'm encouraged and am looking forward to a weekend of biking up at East Burke on the finely groomed Kingdom Trails.
All in all, last weekend was the best training weekend so far. Did a nice hill climb on Friday - climbing up East Mountain Road in Killington to Killington Peak and then back down the access road and up Killington Pass. It was hard at points (my cadence was probably at 20 for too much of the ride), but once we got to Killington, my thoughts were: gee, that wasn't that bad.
On Saturday, it was a leisurly ride from Pittsfield to the Warren Country Store, where we promptly pigged out on all the awesome food there. The way back is fairly flat to downhill, but there was a fierce headwind (I think there are only headwinds in VT) and I managed to TT with Jamie from Rochester back to Pittsfield - dying out on the slight hill right before Pittsfield (damn hills, need to work on those still!). So awesome to draft behind someone going fast - so much easier than going fast alone.
Sunday was my team's mountain bike race out in Dalton, MA. I was registered to race beginner, but didn't really plan to race. I'm really glad I did! Sol and Jamie convinced me to do it, and the course was not nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be last year (of course they did eliminate one crazy hill). I expected the rocky, rooty, gnarly trails of the Fells, Lynn Woods, Hinesburg State Forest, but it was not at all like that! I managed to bike over ALL of the bridges, save two (one had two planks and the other came up after I had broken my chain). I never bike over the bridges - and there was one with big mud puddles on either side that made it look impossible - good thing I had some people to follow - helped me realize what was bikable and what was not. I broke my chain at around mile 5 and had to walk out the last 3 and only finished 30 minutes after the leader in my age category - all in all, an incredibly successful race for me. I did awesome on the uphills - managed to pass most of the girls, but then got crushed in the technical and downhill sections (still can't make left turns). So, I may actually consider doing another mountain bike race. I was really surprised that the other girls weren't all that fast - I'm so used to riding with Sol, Jamie, Nicole, Bradley and all the other super fast people that can bike over anything - I get so discouraged. Now I'm encouraged and am looking forward to a weekend of biking up at East Burke on the finely groomed Kingdom Trails.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Race #3
Lake Auburn was a fun race - same story as the others, but I think I'm actually learning with each race. This time there were two hills on the course - a steep one right off the bat and another right before the finish with a slight uphill the rest of the way to the finish. Goal was not to get dropped on the first hill - acheived! The pack was filled with sketchy riders, so it was challenging to maneuver and I felt myself becoming sketchy around them. One girl was constantly over the yellow line. Next time I need to maintain my spot nearer to the front - once again I got dropped on the second hill b/c I was at the back and just couldn't catch back up to the pack - almost caught them after the finish at the first steep hill, but got to lactic-y and couldn't make it up the hill fast enough. Results aren't posted yet, but I'm hoping I finished less than 10 minutes behind the pack. Next up: Balloon Festival Classic (tentative) and Fitchburg Longjso. Fitchburg may be biting off more than I can chew, but I don't care. The only way to improve is to keep training and keep racing. I just hope I can make it up Mount Wachusett without walking...
Monday, May 28, 2007
WWMS Training Weekend
Last weekend was our annual WWMS tri team training weekend up at Newfound Lake, NH. It was raining and 45 degrees (ok, maybe 50) the entire weekend. Despite the rain it was a blast! There are lots of new members this year and many of them braved the miserable weather to come up, especially brave since our rooms were unheated.
Sunny and Julie did a fabulous job organizing lots of activities including smores night in front of an awesome old stone fireplace at the camp. Many people braved the weather and swam in the heated outdoor pool - there was absolutely no way I was doing this, even though I desperately need to start swimming again since my first race is in July and I haven't swum a lap since December 4th.
The food was actually really good and we all ate a ton. We also got the chance to try out our new team bike kits at dinner - which look really cool thanks to Jamie for his great designs.
Hopefully we can organize another training camp weekend before Timberman and get nice sunny weather, but it seems like me + triathlon = rain - every race I did last year save one was all out rain or light rain turning to mist. Maybe I'll have better luck this year!
Race schedule so far is as follows (theme this year is Massachusetts!):
7/15 Lowell Mill City Olympic
8/5 Greenfield Olympic
8/26 Cranberry Country Olympic
9/9 Hopkinton Olympic (tentative)
Lowell and Greenfield will both be river swims - which will be interesting to say the least. Not sure which is worse - river or ocean swim. But at least there are no sharks in the river - just water snakes. Not sure which is worse, sharks or river snakes.
Sunny and Julie did a fabulous job organizing lots of activities including smores night in front of an awesome old stone fireplace at the camp. Many people braved the weather and swam in the heated outdoor pool - there was absolutely no way I was doing this, even though I desperately need to start swimming again since my first race is in July and I haven't swum a lap since December 4th.
The food was actually really good and we all ate a ton. We also got the chance to try out our new team bike kits at dinner - which look really cool thanks to Jamie for his great designs.
Hopefully we can organize another training camp weekend before Timberman and get nice sunny weather, but it seems like me + triathlon = rain - every race I did last year save one was all out rain or light rain turning to mist. Maybe I'll have better luck this year!
Race schedule so far is as follows (theme this year is Massachusetts!):
7/15 Lowell Mill City Olympic
8/5 Greenfield Olympic
8/26 Cranberry Country Olympic
9/9 Hopkinton Olympic (tentative)
Lowell and Greenfield will both be river swims - which will be interesting to say the least. Not sure which is worse - river or ocean swim. But at least there are no sharks in the river - just water snakes. Not sure which is worse, sharks or river snakes.
Race Report
Ok - two races down - and still can't climb hills. Need to work on climbing, plus sprinting, plus endurance, plus... ok, just everything.
Sterling: Sterling was a great first race to do - a 3 lapper with a short but steeper than it looks hill. I was psyched to stay with the pack through the first lap, but didn't realize we were coming up on the steep hill, was at the back of the pack and promptly got dropped. Despite that, the pack remained within sight for 1/2 of the second lap, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't catch back on. So, for lap 3 I hooked up with Cathy, Julie and Stephanie from NEBC and finished strong, well actually weak - too little training and too much lactic acid made for a sad site of me struggling in my 12/27 to make it up the steep hill to the finish. Oh well, 23/26 was a good first start. Forgot the sunscreen and got sunburned too - hmm, maybe the sunburn caused me to struggle up the hill...
Mount Sunapee: Cold and rainy. Normally I would be mopey and not want to do the race, but I was actually psyched to race. Looking forward to seeing my NEBC friends and to doing better than at Sterling. Mission accomplished! I still got dropped on the first hill, but I had much better pack placement and managed to bike the 2nd half of the race by myself, but finished ahead of the girls I finished Sterling with. Thoughts during this race were: my shoes are too loose, need to tighten them; my toes are cold; ok, I can't feel my toes; why did I switch from my triple?; are my toes numb?; why did I switch from the triple?; ok, here come the pro men, there aren't that many of them, I wonder why, oh that's right it's raining and 45; my toes really are numb; ok, where is the next turn, am I on the right road?; ok, there's the rotary; my toes!!!; where do I go now?; there's Darcy cheering us on!; down shift, no more gears, sigh, why don't they make a 12/29?; finish line! 13/18
Next up, Lake Auburn and Great Falls.
Sterling: Sterling was a great first race to do - a 3 lapper with a short but steeper than it looks hill. I was psyched to stay with the pack through the first lap, but didn't realize we were coming up on the steep hill, was at the back of the pack and promptly got dropped. Despite that, the pack remained within sight for 1/2 of the second lap, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't catch back on. So, for lap 3 I hooked up with Cathy, Julie and Stephanie from NEBC and finished strong, well actually weak - too little training and too much lactic acid made for a sad site of me struggling in my 12/27 to make it up the steep hill to the finish. Oh well, 23/26 was a good first start. Forgot the sunscreen and got sunburned too - hmm, maybe the sunburn caused me to struggle up the hill...
Mount Sunapee: Cold and rainy. Normally I would be mopey and not want to do the race, but I was actually psyched to race. Looking forward to seeing my NEBC friends and to doing better than at Sterling. Mission accomplished! I still got dropped on the first hill, but I had much better pack placement and managed to bike the 2nd half of the race by myself, but finished ahead of the girls I finished Sterling with. Thoughts during this race were: my shoes are too loose, need to tighten them; my toes are cold; ok, I can't feel my toes; why did I switch from my triple?; are my toes numb?; why did I switch from the triple?; ok, here come the pro men, there aren't that many of them, I wonder why, oh that's right it's raining and 45; my toes really are numb; ok, where is the next turn, am I on the right road?; ok, there's the rotary; my toes!!!; where do I go now?; there's Darcy cheering us on!; down shift, no more gears, sigh, why don't they make a 12/29?; finish line! 13/18
Next up, Lake Auburn and Great Falls.
Pond Skimming
Well, it's been a few weeks, ok over a month, but here are some pics from the Annual Killington Pond Skimming:
Getting Ready
A Good Skim
Last Day of Ski Patrol (yeay!):
Me & Lisa soaking up the sun
Check out all the snow and it's 4/22!! Even Lower Ovation looks ski-able.
Take off!
Getting Ready
A Good Skim
Last Day of Ski Patrol (yeay!):
Me & Lisa soaking up the sun
Check out all the snow and it's 4/22!! Even Lower Ovation looks ski-able.Saturday, April 14, 2007
I did it!
Yup, I am officially an NSP Senior Ski Patroller - finished off my last elective (Avalance I) in February and got the official pin. I guess this means that my days of volunteer patrolling aren't over yet. After this winter of flying to Colorado to see Sol and doing 21 days of patrolling, I'm exhausted and psyched for the season to be over. Although I wish I could have one more fabulous powder day. There's always next year.
Bike Racing
Day 2 of the NEBC bike clinic ended with a fun game of gladiator - biking in a circle trying to push other bikers out of the circle - it was a blast! I'm so much more comfortable touching wheels and bumping into people than I ever thought I would be - I guess I really have come a long way over the past two seasons. Not long ago I was descending Bear Mountain Road at Killington, riding the brakes the entire way down - smokin'! Now I just need to get into shape for Fitchburg - after slacking for the past three months, not sure if I'll make the cut, but I hope so, just so I can at least finish it.
Bike Racing
Day 2 of the NEBC bike clinic ended with a fun game of gladiator - biking in a circle trying to push other bikers out of the circle - it was a blast! I'm so much more comfortable touching wheels and bumping into people than I ever thought I would be - I guess I really have come a long way over the past two seasons. Not long ago I was descending Bear Mountain Road at Killington, riding the brakes the entire way down - smokin'! Now I just need to get into shape for Fitchburg - after slacking for the past three months, not sure if I'll make the cut, but I hope so, just so I can at least finish it.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
It's Here!
Yes, my new computer arrived at work today - I'm so excited! My trusty 6 year old desktop died right when I got back from vacation - I've been thinking about replacing it with a lap top for a while, but couldn't bear the thought of deep sixing it, even though it was becoming unbearably slow. I think it's something with the motherboard - who knows... Hopefully my IT guys at work can figure out enough to get it to run so I can download some old files and programs off of it.
Now I just need to get the new lap top (and new printer) home tomorrow night - which means either a cab ride or going home, getting my car and double parking in front of work (risking a ticket) while my IT guys help bring the boxes down. I don't quite understand why the boxes are so big - one of them is just the lap top, so it should be small, right? Not. There are two huge boxes - I can understand the printer box being big, but the lap top? Not sure I understand that. We'll see when I open them up! Maybe there are more surprises in them. Like free stuff... I love free stuff :)
Now I just need to get the new lap top (and new printer) home tomorrow night - which means either a cab ride or going home, getting my car and double parking in front of work (risking a ticket) while my IT guys help bring the boxes down. I don't quite understand why the boxes are so big - one of them is just the lap top, so it should be small, right? Not. There are two huge boxes - I can understand the printer box being big, but the lap top? Not sure I understand that. We'll see when I open them up! Maybe there are more surprises in them. Like free stuff... I love free stuff :)
Tri Night
For all you triathletes out there, it's that time of year again! Wheelworks Multisport's annual tri night - this Friday April 13th starting at 6:30. We have fabulous speakers again this year - Candy and Andy Noble - local Xterra triathletes who are great people as well as phenomonal athletes. Check out their web site www.caansports.com. All of our sponsors will be there and we're having some fun raffles too. But more importantly, there's the popcorn machine! Hope to see you there!
Latest Read
So I just finished Tracy Kidder's book Mountains Beyond Mountains. I received this book last fall (or was it spring?) when I attended the Boston Public Library's fundraising gala. Since I read all day at work, I hardly ever read books any more - just mindless magazines - except when I'm on vacation. I only managed to read this one book while I was on vacation (possibly due to the fact that I worked 1/2 days on my vacation - fun).
So, back to the book. It's the story of Dr. Paul Farmer - who has devoted his life attempting to eradicate TB from Haiti as well as other developing countries like Peru and Russia, but primarily Haiti. It's amazing how one person really can make a difference. More importantly it drove home to me that donating money to causes is all well and good, but it can be so much more meaningful and rewarding to devote one's time.
Next up is Paulo Coelho's Warrior of the Light.
So, back to the book. It's the story of Dr. Paul Farmer - who has devoted his life attempting to eradicate TB from Haiti as well as other developing countries like Peru and Russia, but primarily Haiti. It's amazing how one person really can make a difference. More importantly it drove home to me that donating money to causes is all well and good, but it can be so much more meaningful and rewarding to devote one's time.
Next up is Paulo Coelho's Warrior of the Light.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Back to Reality
Well, back to work this week - not as bad as I thought it would be. Things are finally settling down, which is nice. I'm sure there will be a lot of chaos still, but I'm hoping things calm down permanently in another 4-5 months. We'll see. Now I just need to get back into a work out schedule.
Vail
Phenomonal powder day at Vail last week - 8" of fluffy powder made for fantastic skiing in the bowls and in the trees of blue sky basin. Loved it!
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
50's and Sunny
Wow - spring is here in Colorado. It's been in the 50's and I've been skiing in only a fleece. Can't say I've ever skiied in only a fleece before. Tomorrow we're off to Vail - hopefully the good weather continues.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Ahhh, Vacation
So nice to be on vacation again! Last year I only took one week off and a few days here and there. So to take two weeks off so far this year is just amazing. That being said, I'm spending far too much time working while I'm on vacation. Guess that's just in the job description for us laywers. Too bad no one really appreciates us or our hard work which benefits others.
Anway, back to the vacation! Yes, I'm here in Silverthorne Colorado getting in some final ski days. Conditions are ok - spring skiing mush. Not ideal, but good enough. Planning on getting some biking in too - hopefully biking at altitude is better than swimming or running. It's impossible to work out at all here, the altitude kills me. Guess I must have below average Vo2 max. I'm so out of shape anyway - haven't bike, run or swum since Jan 15th - wow - that's crazy. So much for improving my fitness this winter. It's been nice though - despite the initial exercise withdrawal, it's amazing to get up late and do other stuff after work, like sleep. Now that it's actually light out for more than 5 hrs a day, I think I'll get back into the swing of things soon - I hope.
Ok, back to the vacation. Ahhhh.
Anway, back to the vacation! Yes, I'm here in Silverthorne Colorado getting in some final ski days. Conditions are ok - spring skiing mush. Not ideal, but good enough. Planning on getting some biking in too - hopefully biking at altitude is better than swimming or running. It's impossible to work out at all here, the altitude kills me. Guess I must have below average Vo2 max. I'm so out of shape anyway - haven't bike, run or swum since Jan 15th - wow - that's crazy. So much for improving my fitness this winter. It's been nice though - despite the initial exercise withdrawal, it's amazing to get up late and do other stuff after work, like sleep. Now that it's actually light out for more than 5 hrs a day, I think I'll get back into the swing of things soon - I hope.
Ok, back to the vacation. Ahhhh.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
The Saying Goes
your true friends are the ones beside you in a time of crisis.
I'm so fortunate to have made the most amazing friends, whether through school, work, or my hobbies - I'm so lucky to be able to count my co-workers, former clients & collegues, and other lawyers as my friends, advisors, work family, and confidants. These are the people that believe in you and stand by your side when times are tough and self doubt creeps in. I'm always amazed at the generosity and goodness of people - true friends are hard to come by, but it seems like I've come by so many! So, this post is really a tribute & a thank you to everyone who has given me advice, lent an ear (or three), reminded me of who I am and what's important, and just generally been there for me. I've relied on you a lot recently and appreciate everything you've done for me. I hope everyone is as lucky as I am to have such truly great friends.
I'm so fortunate to have made the most amazing friends, whether through school, work, or my hobbies - I'm so lucky to be able to count my co-workers, former clients & collegues, and other lawyers as my friends, advisors, work family, and confidants. These are the people that believe in you and stand by your side when times are tough and self doubt creeps in. I'm always amazed at the generosity and goodness of people - true friends are hard to come by, but it seems like I've come by so many! So, this post is really a tribute & a thank you to everyone who has given me advice, lent an ear (or three), reminded me of who I am and what's important, and just generally been there for me. I've relied on you a lot recently and appreciate everything you've done for me. I hope everyone is as lucky as I am to have such truly great friends.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Mountain Views
make me happy! After another week of dealing with the lunatics I work with, it was so refreshing to work ski patrol at Killington, depsite the manual labor involved. Hopping off the gondola at 7:45 am, skis in hand, I turned to ski down to the patrol room and was confronted with the most amazing view of the mountains slowly being lit by the sun through the morning mist - I could almost see Mt. Washington. Just beautiful! Almost made me forget that I would have to go back to the real job on Monday.
The rest of the day was just as wonderful. I had another fun day shadowing a rookie - it's so nice to go out on calls, but not have to do any heavy lifting - just oversee. I'm lucky that the rookie I've been shadowing is a great guy - amazing skiier and super strong at first aid and running sleds. I'm also lucky he knows how to use a drill - our bamboo fence project would never have been completed in time for us to get in some skiing if he hadn't noticed I had the drill in reverse - there I was, under the lift, drilling away, but not making much progress - and not quite understanding why - hmmm, is it me, or is the drill just not working well today, maybe it's too cold, or umm warm, what's wrong here - good thing he noticed I had it in reverse. I guess I wouldn't make a good construction worker (for more reasons than that one probably). After the drill escapade, we spent the morning skiing bumps before settling in at the ski patrol hut to wait for calls to come in. Another exciting day on the slopes.
The rest of the day was just as wonderful. I had another fun day shadowing a rookie - it's so nice to go out on calls, but not have to do any heavy lifting - just oversee. I'm lucky that the rookie I've been shadowing is a great guy - amazing skiier and super strong at first aid and running sleds. I'm also lucky he knows how to use a drill - our bamboo fence project would never have been completed in time for us to get in some skiing if he hadn't noticed I had the drill in reverse - there I was, under the lift, drilling away, but not making much progress - and not quite understanding why - hmmm, is it me, or is the drill just not working well today, maybe it's too cold, or umm warm, what's wrong here - good thing he noticed I had it in reverse. I guess I wouldn't make a good construction worker (for more reasons than that one probably). After the drill escapade, we spent the morning skiing bumps before settling in at the ski patrol hut to wait for calls to come in. Another exciting day on the slopes.
So Much for the Snow
So, as quickly as it comes, it also goes. After another stellar ski day on Saturday, the light rain on Saturday night resulted in a nice crusty, iced-up mountain. I was so looking forward to another great day in the moguls and trees, but it was not meant to be. After scraping my way down the hill all morning, it finally started to soften up, but by that point I was bored and decided to switch gears and hit the cross country area to do some skate skiing. Unfortunately, the cross country place hadn't groomed at all, and it was impossible to get in any good skate skiing. All in all, a disappointing ski day. Here's hoping for at least another storm or two to take us through April.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Vermont Fun
Wow, can't believe it's been well over a month since I last posted. I have a newmuch more portable lap top courtesy of work, so hopefully I'll be able to post more often.
So, Vermont. What more can I say - the skiing has been phenomonal over the past few weeks. The best skiing in a couple of years at least. And far better than the conditions out in CO the few times I've been. Every weekend I find myself saying - wow, best day this year, won't get better than this...but it does!
Today I skied with my best snowboarding friend Jill (aka Slydog), fellow patroller Hal, and snowboarding phenom Keith. We started out at Bear, headed over to Needles (Vertigo was amazing) and then headed toward the Canon for some fun runs down Big Dipper, Double Dipper, & Cascade, then back to Bear for a rather crusty run down Devil's Fiddle (should have skiied the trees instead!). The afternoon was a tree skiing dream - it snowed all afternoon and the trees were already filled with fluffy snow. Skiied so many trails haven't been skiiable for a couple of years. Skiing Ovation was like skiing on pillows - so amazing. So sad to have to come home and go back to the box tomorrow - I know it will be another dreamy day on the mountain again tomorrow. Ahh, there just isn't enough time in the day to ski every single one of my favorite trails, but, all in all, phenomonal day.
Hoping to get in some skate skiing at Weston Ski Track this week - that will require leaving work early, or actually just "on time". Also need to get in some trainer time - will need to dust the bike off - last time on the trainer (or doing anything other than ski) was Jan 9th. So much for improving my power/endurance on the bike. Oh well, there's always next winter.
Happy skiing everyone!
So, Vermont. What more can I say - the skiing has been phenomonal over the past few weeks. The best skiing in a couple of years at least. And far better than the conditions out in CO the few times I've been. Every weekend I find myself saying - wow, best day this year, won't get better than this...but it does!
Today I skied with my best snowboarding friend Jill (aka Slydog), fellow patroller Hal, and snowboarding phenom Keith. We started out at Bear, headed over to Needles (Vertigo was amazing) and then headed toward the Canon for some fun runs down Big Dipper, Double Dipper, & Cascade, then back to Bear for a rather crusty run down Devil's Fiddle (should have skiied the trees instead!). The afternoon was a tree skiing dream - it snowed all afternoon and the trees were already filled with fluffy snow. Skiied so many trails haven't been skiiable for a couple of years. Skiing Ovation was like skiing on pillows - so amazing. So sad to have to come home and go back to the box tomorrow - I know it will be another dreamy day on the mountain again tomorrow. Ahh, there just isn't enough time in the day to ski every single one of my favorite trails, but, all in all, phenomonal day.
Hoping to get in some skate skiing at Weston Ski Track this week - that will require leaving work early, or actually just "on time". Also need to get in some trainer time - will need to dust the bike off - last time on the trainer (or doing anything other than ski) was Jan 9th. So much for improving my power/endurance on the bike. Oh well, there's always next winter.
Happy skiing everyone!
Friday, January 19, 2007
All Work and No Play
makes me annoyed.
Yup, it's been almost two weeks since I've been back from Colorado and I've been too busy with work to be able to post anything. It's pretty much work, ride the trainer, sleep work, ride the trainer, sleep, work, sleep, sleep. Yeah, I'd rather just be sleeping.
Hope to post something vaguely interesting soon, maybe a parody of my work experiences lately. Dilbert probably sums it up best.
Yup, it's been almost two weeks since I've been back from Colorado and I've been too busy with work to be able to post anything. It's pretty much work, ride the trainer, sleep work, ride the trainer, sleep, work, sleep, sleep. Yeah, I'd rather just be sleeping.
Hope to post something vaguely interesting soon, maybe a parody of my work experiences lately. Dilbert probably sums it up best.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Training Totals
I couldn't figure out a way to post this as a picture, so it's going to have to be a post instead.
| 2007 Training Totals YTD | ||
| Cycling: | | |
| Running: | | |
| Swimming: | | |
| Skiing: | | |
| 2006 Training Totals | ||
| Cycling: | 1,222 miles | 121 hours |
| Running: | 265 miles | 45 hours |
| Swimming: | 46 miles | 40 hours |
| Skiing: | | 140 hours |
| 2005 Training Totals | ||
| Cycling: | 1,090 miles | 104 hours |
| Running: | 252 miles | 45 hours |
| Swimming: | 50 miles | 48 hours |
| Skiing: | | 120 hours |
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Snow!
It's hard to believe it's already Thursday and my vacation is almost over. But, the good news is, that it's finally snowing again! We're expected to get 6-10 overnight and another 4-8 tomorrow. Finally. It was getting rough out there.
I spent the last two days skiing at Keystone - lots of fun in the Outback area - great tree skiing and great moguls. Although it's been getting a bit rocky! I also spent a morning skate skiing over in Frisco - a beautiful area, right on Lake Dillon. So, here are some pics:
Pretty Grass
View of Breck from Keystone
Taking the Lift
Lake Dillon
The Drive Home
I spent the last two days skiing at Keystone - lots of fun in the Outback area - great tree skiing and great moguls. Although it's been getting a bit rocky! I also spent a morning skate skiing over in Frisco - a beautiful area, right on Lake Dillon. So, here are some pics:
Pretty Grass The View
Skate Skis
View of Breck from Keystone
Taking the Lift
Down the Trail
The Drive Home
Monday, January 1, 2007
Latest Read
Downhill - Life Story of a Gravity Goddess by Marla Streb
Sol found this at a book store going out of business sale and I spent the last two days reading it. It was surprisingly good and made me excited to mountain bike more this summer. It's definitely inspiring that Marla took a chance by quitting her bio-tech lab job and attempting to turn pro. It's also inspiring that she's 41 now and still winning downhill races. Pretty amazing and great motivation for those of us that got into biking later in life. Another inspiration in the Boston cyclocross scene is Julie Lockhart - she comes to every race and usually finishes last, but she won her age group 65+ at Nationals. It's good to know one can get involved in cycling at any age and have a blast.
Next up, Raising the Bar - Integrity and Passion in Life and Business by Gary Erickson (the founder of Clif Bar). This is a borrowed read from the CFO of my company, who pointed out the section where Gary notes "I want to encourage entrepreneurs to use legal counsel from day one...I've come to depend on legal counsel and trust it." Hello! It's about time someone appreciated us lawyers and the value-add we can provide! I think I'm going to like this one.
Sol found this at a book store going out of business sale and I spent the last two days reading it. It was surprisingly good and made me excited to mountain bike more this summer. It's definitely inspiring that Marla took a chance by quitting her bio-tech lab job and attempting to turn pro. It's also inspiring that she's 41 now and still winning downhill races. Pretty amazing and great motivation for those of us that got into biking later in life. Another inspiration in the Boston cyclocross scene is Julie Lockhart - she comes to every race and usually finishes last, but she won her age group 65+ at Nationals. It's good to know one can get involved in cycling at any age and have a blast.
Next up, Raising the Bar - Integrity and Passion in Life and Business by Gary Erickson (the founder of Clif Bar). This is a borrowed read from the CFO of my company, who pointed out the section where Gary notes "I want to encourage entrepreneurs to use legal counsel from day one...I've come to depend on legal counsel and trust it." Hello! It's about time someone appreciated us lawyers and the value-add we can provide! I think I'm going to like this one.
New Year's Eve
Didn't have any real plans for New Year's, and since Sol was working at Keystone for night skiing, I ended up at Keystone for the light parade (ski instructors ski down with red flaming torches in an s-shaped line) and fireworks.
Night skiing was interesting - last time I night skied (not counting the night time skinning trips up Pico) was back in 1992 or 1993 at Nashoba Valley. Let's just say I wasn't looking forward to night skiing - I mean, ski in freezing temperatures in the dark on boring blue groomers wearing way too many clothes to be comfortable? I can think of better things to do. Surprisingly it was fun, albeit icy. Just like skiing at Killington. Except there was snow.
After night skiing, Sol and I headed home and rang in the new year drinking red wine with his roomate Amber and her dog Cassidy. All in all, another fun and memorable New Year's.
Night skiing was interesting - last time I night skied (not counting the night time skinning trips up Pico) was back in 1992 or 1993 at Nashoba Valley. Let's just say I wasn't looking forward to night skiing - I mean, ski in freezing temperatures in the dark on boring blue groomers wearing way too many clothes to be comfortable? I can think of better things to do. Surprisingly it was fun, albeit icy. Just like skiing at Killington. Except there was snow.
After night skiing, Sol and I headed home and rang in the new year drinking red wine with his roomate Amber and her dog Cassidy. All in all, another fun and memorable New Year's.
A-Basin
Well, the parking lot at Keystone was full, so I kept driving to A-Basin yesterday. It was sunny, warm and the skiing was great! Here's a pic.
It was still a bit rocky in some spots, but there was still good snow, like under cliff bands.
It's a lot easier to bomb down double black tree runs when one is with a group. Since I was by myself, I was a bit more timid, but had a lot of fun cruising down the rocky, tree lined slopes off the Pallavicini lift.
Here's a great pic of the back country. Apparently there was a slide at A-Basin yesterday. So glad I don't back country ski - scary.
It was still a bit rocky in some spots, but there was still good snow, like under cliff bands.
It's a lot easier to bomb down double black tree runs when one is with a group. Since I was by myself, I was a bit more timid, but had a lot of fun cruising down the rocky, tree lined slopes off the Pallavicini lift.
Here's a great pic of the back country. Apparently there was a slide at A-Basin yesterday. So glad I don't back country ski - scary.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)