getting around!

Most of us start the new year with goals.. I'm no different. 2009, for me, began with the following goals... seeing as how we'll be changing to December's page of the calendar later this week, I figured it was time to see how I stacked up this year.

• Lower Body Fat % -- the good news is that it hasn't gone up... will be working on this in 2010 too
• Continue with weight training -- still am, and 3 weeks into the 100 push up challenge!
• Sprint Tri  need to keep up with swimming!!! -- I did it! My very first Try-a-Tri and later a Sprint! Surprisingly, swimming was my best discipline and I joined a masters swim team :)
• Cycling trip in Quebec -- didn't happen, late spring sudden move and an out-of-town funeral put a dent in the finances. Did my first metric century ride in Sept though, and will look at doing the Quebec trip next year.
• 2500km total for the year  includes biking, swimming, running -- almost there! 2202.2km for the year so far, with 1 month, 1 day to go. Considering all I've been through this year, including another round of stress fractures, time off taken for my uncle's and ex's passing, I'm very pleased with how close I am to this goal. Imagine that my body... with my own physical strength and desire, has taken me further this year than from my house to Orlando, Florida (2138km away), where Terron and I will be heading in 55 sleeps, so we can both experience Disney World for the first time!
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• Hit 30k distance in a race -- Check! Ran the 30k Around the Bay in March. I'll be doing it again in 2010, but this time as a 2-person relay... Go Team Anamoly! Looking forward to meeting Mel and fingers crossed that Damian will be coming back... hint hint.
• Train smart, not necessarily more -- after having stress fractures, again, it was highly recommended by my sports doc to run less, 3 days/week max. No back to back running days. I'm actually doing less than that right now! I'm following a base training plan for triathlon. 2x run, 2x swim, 2x bike per week for at least the next few weeks, after which there will be a few bricks thrown in. More on this 'less is more' approach in an upcoming post.
• Try to manage heart rate -- while I stopped training solely by heart rate when I joined the triathlon clinic, the above mentioned training plan has me training with a purpose. I'm absolutely going by what's on the schedule, even the heart rate recommendations. So when it says go easy, I'm going easy. If it calls for only a 20min light spin on the bike, I'm not doing more.
• Weight goal -- not reached, weight went up about 10 pounds. I'll pretend to buy into the 'it's muscle weight' but will work on this again next year as well.

Terron has karate on Thursday, you can still participate in Cans for Comments here!

giving rather than receiving

we got an idea, were assigned our mission, presents purchased, they'll be delivered on Monday.

Last year, our running group had a Christmas get together, a feast fit for a King, delicious desserts to remind us why we run, lots of laughter, and a gift exchange. We planned on repeating this tradition, but a suggestion was made. Take the money that we'd spend on the gift, and made a donation. We thought about a number of charities and groups that could obviously benefit from this gift.

We decided on a local Children's Aid organization. We were assigned a family, a 33 year old single father with a one year old baby girl. We got a short list of suggested items, and with that, the elves hit the mall after their run last night. Our very own Mrs. Claus will be dropping off all the gifts on Monday.

Isn't this what the season is all about? I love being part of a giving group of people!

Make sure you stop by Marlene's blog... she's participating in cans for comments... donating a can of non-perishable food 5 comments she gets... every friday in December! You know what! Count me in! For every 5 comments I get on this post, I'll also donate a can for Terron's karate school's food drive.

Inspiration Showcase: Episode 2 GIRL POWER!

Inspiration. Dedication. Motivation. Perseverance. Kindness. Willpower. Innovation. Determination. Bravery. Human Spirit.

Imagine ourselves... well, any of us with girly bits, unable to register for a race. More specifically, a marathon.

Within my parents' lifetime, the marathon has gone from a male only sport, to one that both men and women are training and registering for, participating in and posting some pretty incredible times!

While training with the University mailman, turned coach, a lady by the name of Kathrine Switzer proved that she could cover the distance, and then some, so she registered for the Boston Marathon in 1967. Despite no written rules, she registered as K V Switzer so that the officials would think it was a male runner. However, the race director on the press vehicle spotted her around the 2nd mile, ran after her cursing, tried to grab her and wanted the bib removed. She went on to finish the race.

What she went on to accomplish after that is amazing as well! It took about another 20 years before women were allowed to participate in the marathon at the Olympic Games, which Kathrine also had a hand in changing. Below is an interview from 2008 that I found, and also a link to her biography here. I think I'll add her book Marathon Woman to my list of books to read...

So I guess with the upcoming US Thanksgiving holiday, we can be thankful to Kathrine Switzer for taking a chance, and working so hard at changing history; giving us all the opportunity to have goal races to blog about today, without the worry of being tackled.

Encouraged at the age of 12 by her father to run a mile a day, she changed history; I wonder what our children can change by what we're encouraging them to do today! Hmmmm.

Mathematically challenged - but I have an excuse for that ;)

Sept 12, 2001, I had a right temporal lobectomy; the right temporal lobe is mainly involved in visual memory (i.e., memory for pictures and faces) -- funny since I was able to pick out Aron and Alisa from a crowd of thousands at the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco, from only seeing their pictures on their blog!

Once I returned to work post-surgery, I had a built in excuse. Didn't know an answer to something? Sorry, that info must have been taken out during surgery! Hey, if I can't laugh about it, who can?! Works like a charm too, cuz no one knows how to respond! :)

It was supposed to go something like this: 3x75m back, breast then freestyle. After each 75m set, 25m following the same pattern as above. After each 100m set, 15 seconds rest. Leave on the red top. Once that one was done, 20x25 freestyle one way, choice back. 45 sec sets; rest at the wall if you make it before the 45. After 10 sets, rest for 30 seconds. 5 second intervals between swimmers, leave on the blue top. Rest 1min 30 sec. Follow that with 500m freestyle.

WHOA... hello! Half a brain here (of course, not really, but it's fun to say...)! I have a hard enough time with moving arms, legs, staying afloat, remembering to breathe and concentrating on my form, now I have to do math and keep track and follow a clock with 4 arms, each a different color?!

Even though math, counting, multitasking or keeping track are not listed as the right temporal lobe functions, I'm still using it as my excuse lol.

Thankfully coach has quickly assessed my swimming and put me in a lane that seems to be speed appropriate, lane 3 of 5. Just like running, comfortably mid-packer. So after being told the drills, the 6 of us in the lane all decide an order based on stroke, strengths and weaknesses. When one girl asked me if I wanted to go ahead of her since I'm usually just at her toes, I shook my head no, and told her that it wouldn't be in mine or their best interest if I was first and left in charge of the counting and keeping track... I happily followed the others ;)

Coach gave me a thumbs up after our swim... sometimes it's the small things that mean the most!

*************

Today would have been Terron's dad's 35th birthday. Almost 3 months after his passing, it's still weird to have gone from being a single parent to Terron's only parent. At his request, we stopped to pick up a happy birthday balloon and he wrote a letter to his dad before we headed to the cemetery. He left the letter in one of the bouquet of flowers someone else has left, and let the balloon go into the air, which he watched until he could no longer see it. speechless.

Inspiration Showcase: Episode 1

Inspiration. Dedication. Motivation. Perseverance. Kindness. Willpower. Innovation. Determination. Bravery. Human Spirit.

Since starting this thing called running in May '07, I've come across people and athletes that display a few/some/all of the above.

The idea behind my story and my blog is to show that if I can do the little things I do, anyone can. I'm not fast, I won't be first or win a race, but that's not what it's about for me. I've taken a life-changing 'something', and turned it into something I would never have thought of doing. Think I'm the only one? NO WAY! My story and accomplishments are very little compared to most that I've seen.

The mileage that I'm tracking is putting distance between the new me and the old me-- the one that wouldn't have had any desire, interest or strength to try any of it.

Do you realize the power that running/cycling/swimming/endurance sports/being active has? I've been looking to add something new to my blog, a theme, a series of some sort, something that is consistent with what I've always tried to convey.

One memory that will always stick out for me is when I was waiting for my first Try-a-Tri to start last August. I was still in the transition area, while the Sprint Triathletes were coming in from the swim. Across the timing mat comes a man, maybe in his 30s or early 40s, wetsuit on, with the aid of crutches. He had one leg, just finished a swim in a triathlon, about to get on his bike. Amazing. What is it within a person that makes them want to take on such a challenge, rather than watch life pass them by, using negative past experiences, disabilities or anything for that matter as excuses to not bother with 'living'.

These are the types of stories that move me. Keep me going, and leave their footprint on me. Now I'm taking my footprint (a picture of my 3d looking foot??! that I took a few years ago on vacation) and starting an 'Inspiration Showcase' so that I can share their stories with you. I've sought out some of amazing stories, some are well known, others, not so much; a lot of them are people like you and I, that have done some pretty incredible things.

Motivation is as much a tool for me as my running shoes, my bike, my Garmin or my goggles. I hope you get the same warm fuzzy feeling.

Thinking of those that are doing the Philadelphia Marathon this weekend, and as a late tribute to Veteran's day/Remembrance Day, I found this clip (only the first 2 and a half minutes really...):

Haven't we all been called crazy at one time or another?

Good luck to those racing this weekend!

ultimate strength?

one thing about being part of the blogging community, with an obvious interest in running, swimming, cycling, triathlon, there's no shortage of motivation and inspiring stories.

While eating lunch, I turned on the local news channel, airing from a nearby hospital to raise funds to support a Rapid Diagnosis Center for breast cancer. They've been speaking to patients and survivors, some that have had the opportunity to participate in the one-day diagnosis pilot program, and others that had to wait several weeks to find out results. My ears perked, but heart sank even deeper as soon as I heard the word triathlete.

Sharon Ingle appeared on the screen, swimming and triathlon race medals around her neck of races she's won since being diagnosed with breast cancer, while in treatment. WOW. What a phenomenal lady. You can read more about her story here.

Composition and comparison

Fat. Weight. BMI. Lean muscle vs. fat. Water retention. Bones. Organs. Skin. All combined, it produces a number that stares you back at you on a scale.

But, it's just that; a number. I know, I get it. I'm more interested in being healthy, active, and able to open a jar by myself, than being stick thin. I'm not a slave to the scale, and rarely weigh myself, I go more by how my clothes feel. (there's my disclaimer so that you know I'm not going anywhere unrealistic here...)

Since the beginning of November, I've been tracking my food, keeping an online diary of what I'm eating. I'm doing this for 2 reasons... 1) I want to see how many calories I'm eating in a day and 2) Trying to figure out how many calories I need given the amount of exercise I'm doing. I seem to have plateaued where weight loss is concerned, even though I'm much more active, and am wondering if it's because I'm not eating enough. Slowing down my metabolism? I have some weight to loose, but I assure you that my goals are realistic.

Funny that the battery in my scale dies now as I wanted to measure my progress after a solid week of weight training, monitoring my food, and a new training plan... literally, died. We replaced the battery, still dead. Boooo. It's one of those digital scales that measure weight, body fat (lbs & %), BMI, water and bone weight.

I'm eating breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner, small meals, every few hours. I'm trying to be diligent with drinking my water. I'm eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, choosing whole grain/brown bread and rice any opportunity I can.

Am I the only one that does this? Find out someone's weight, then think of yourself in comparison? I hate to admit this, but I did it again last night; I've done it before, and have ended up in tears!

I'm writing this post not because I'm proud, or because I'm having a pity party. I really just want to understand.

For those of you who watch The Biggest Loser, Rebecca was voted out last night (hope I haven't spoiled it for any of you who may have DVR'd it)! She looks great after 10 weeks on the ranch, and after a make-over; I think it's unbelievable how far these people have pushed themselves, how hard they've worked, and the weight loss they've been able to achieve. She weighs 157.

I then watched her on Jay Leno. Again, I give her all the credit in the world -- she looks fabulous.

But I'm struggling to understand. When I look at myself in the mirror, I don't see me like that. I don't see a 'fat' me. I'm comfortable in my skin. It's just that she's 2 inches taller than I am, and (now) weighs less (no, i won't divulge by how much...lol). Do I just have better mirrors, or shaded glasses that I'm looking through that make me not see something I should?

I know muscle weighs more than fat, and yes, I have thick legs. Thank you years of gymnastics and figure skating as a child. (this is yet another reason why I will never be stick thin, I like what muscles I have), and am continuing to strength train to increase my lean muscle, and tone.

What is it in my body composition that makes me weigh more, when she is even taller than I? Muscle? Water retention? I'm sure it's not my ass since Jay is always complaining I no longer have one since I started running! lol

Any thoughts? What am I missing or doing wrong?

oh, how i've missed you

here I sit, on my couch, under a comfortable blanket. It's 11:30pm, mostly caught up on blogs, thinking I should really go to sleep. Jay is out for a beer with the boys after playing a game of hockey. Typically this wouldn't be an issue, but tonight it is.

I hurt. Everywhere. (But it's a good hurt... I really really missed it.) Last Wednesday, I started my new training plan, a 12 week base building triathlon for the winter (a wednesday start is weird, I know, but the swim days on the schedule matched the Master's swim sessions, so I decided to work everything around that, since that's not in my control).

Figured that it was also the perfect time to get back to my strength training too, which I let slip away during the 'freshness' of triathlon training. Also, after some procrastination, I finally committed to Lisa's group challenge of 100 pushups. I've tried it once before, and stopped after a few weeks. Anyone that knows me knows that I ♥ my iPhone. Since "There's An App for That" maybe I'll be able to stick with it.

It'll all help with RunToFinish's HBBC Challenge! Starting Nov. 23, there's still time to sign up if you need some additional motivation to stay active during the holiday season!

So, after one week of a new training plan that includes swimming, cycling and running, 2 challenging swim sessions as the newest member of the Master's swim team, another swim session with the soon-to-be-completed-triathlon-clinic, weight training x 2 and week 1 of the 100 Push Up challenge.... I, um, cannot take off my bra right now, and am not sure how I'll even get my arms up to take off my shirt. I might have to sleep with what I have on tonight unless Jay comes home to my rescue here soon. Gah!

negotiation, decisions, and choices

With this year's triathlon season completed, I've been stalking browsing the race sites see if the 2010 dates have been posted. They've been up for about the last 2 weeks, so I put all possible events (no, I won't be doing them all, but haven't yet decided which ones I want to do!) into my training plan spreadsheet in a bold blue font. With an italic orange font, I've repeated the process with events posted on TriKids!

Gone are the days that I'm planning only my races, I'm having to consider and think about Terron's triathlon dates! How crazy is that?! There's already some overlap of days, races in different cities. There's no way I'd miss one of his events to do one myself, so while it hasn't come down to a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors... yet, we've done some negotiation.

There are 5 consecutive weekends of adult events starting June 6th, 2010, but regardless of which ones might interest me, June 20th will be Terron's day... no negotiation necessary.

He honored his dad 3 weeks after he passed away by completing his first triathlon, wearing a t-shirt we made together.

June 20th, 2010 will be his first Father's Day without his daddy around... when Terron and I were checking out the dates, and realized the significance of that date, he asked me if he could participate in the triathlon wearing the shirt again, then head over to the cemetery to tell his dad all about it and show him his medal. My heart still breaks for him.

Terron has also inspired Jay's daughter so much that she will doing her first triathlon on Father's Day too! There will be 3 triathletes in this household!

Seeing the reactions of people when they find out I'm doing triathlon is one thing, but when they find out that my 11 year old is too, I can't help but smile! Tonight was parents night at his swimming class, his instructor was impressed that he's so interested in triathlons at such an early age, and his swimming is improving! I love it! By the way, did you know that Lance Armstrong had a 2nd place finish at the age of 13 at an Ironkids event!

Runnerdude wrote a great post the other day about being a healthy role model for our kids... This time, I'm inspired by my kid. A caring, polite, funny, loving child that has suffered a loss greater than anyone his age should have to go through; yet, he's embracing his opportunity to re-write potential chapters of his life later on.

I know that since I started running, then cycling and swimming, I have an even greater motivation to take better care of myself, making better food decisions to fuel my body and take care of myself. With heart disease in his family history, we will obviously have to stay on top of his health more than ever. But, the fact that he's excited about being active in swimming, karate and triathlon, knowing that an ACTIVE lifestyle is a HEALTHIER lifestyle, makes me feel more confident that he understands the importance.

Triathlon seems to have become part of his own way of healing, and hopefully will continue to provide motivation towards a healthier and longer life than his dad. I'm inspired!

Grease monkey

I posted yesterday about my failed attempt to changing my bike tire. After work, I walked into the bike shop with my head hanging a little, and within 10 minutes, I walked out of the new tire installed. They nicely stroked my ego a bit and told me that I had been on the right track. With the bike still in the car, I headed out to Terron's karate lesson, then picked up some dinner with Terron before getting home to get ready for my masters swim. As I walked into the house, Jay came and squeezed the tire, which was deflated. 'Didn't he pump it up for you?' "Um, ya, I'm pretty sure I watched him do it too!" I just hung it on my wall mount, and proceeded to get ready.

At lunch time, I mounted it on the trainer, pumped up the tire, then did my Spinervals dvd. With the bike still beside me as I taught this afternoon, for some reason I squeezed the tire, and it was flat!

So, next opportunity to practice try presented itself a lot earlier than anticipated. Here we go again!

Terron had just come home from school... told him that I was going to have to try changing the tire once again. His response... "Mom, you should probably just stick to computers for right now..." WHAT! Game on kid, you don't think you just fueled my fire even more!!

This time I managed to get the tire off the rim. and the tube out. Already much further than yesterday. I pumped up the tube once again, and could feel the air coming out of a tiny hole.

Slightly inflated the new tube (phew! had an extra one!) and started the process of putting the tube back in the tire and onto the rim... then getting the tire back on! Hard work!! Almost there!!!

Carefully used the tire levers for the last part, pumped it up, and back on the bike.... fingers crossed. I certainly didn't do this in the 3 minutes the guy on YouTube said I could yesterday, but it's still within the same 24 hours since I started, and didn't need to take a break this time!

Tire back on the bike, brakes work. Check. Changing gears works. Check.

Notice the pile of greased-up gloves next to the bike :) Back on the trainer, finish filling it with air.

SUCCESS! 30 minutes later, it's still inflated!!

By the way, anyone know how to remove grease from a favorite pair of sweat pants? :/

FAIL .. I admit it.

About once a week, I get a call from my dad, asking me how to do something on the computer regardless of how many times I may have shown him the same thing before. The kids come to me to fix all things electronic in the house. Jay came home with a bluetooth headset the other day, handed me his phone and the bluetooth, and with one eyebrow raised and a goofy smile, said "please?"

Surely, this should be a piece of cake. Besides, I was the kid in my dad's workshop helping him "fix" things, ever the tomboy.

With much colder temperatures looming, daylight becoming scarce, and the following two weekends unavailable for an outdoor ride, I figured it was time. My bike will set up temporary residence on the indoor trainer, so I got a different tire that will hopefully be quieter, and won't damage the one I use outdoors. My new training plan calls for two rides per week during this phase, and would rather continue to use my bike than a stationary at the gym.

Latex gloves on, from the box I scored during my last visit with my mom. She does foot care, so had a large supply! Thanks mom!

Due to the aerobars on my bike, it's not too steady upside-down, so my work desk is helping hold it up...

Look! I managed to get the back wheel off. Yay me! Deflated the tube, expected a clincher tire. (At this time I'd like to thank YouTube for some added knowledge and new words introduced to my vocabulary... certainly not things I knew when I woke up this morning.) Seems like there's two types of tires... clincher, which I've been shown how to change, and tubular, which, from what some of the YouTube videos I checked out said, were one piece, and glued onto the rim as I understand it. One video even said I could change the tire in 3 minutes!

Clearly being shown 'how to' and doing it yourself are two completely different things.

Mine doesn't appear to be the two pieces, tire and tube, but it also doesn't look like my tube is glued down. Tried to consult the other resident expert... Mr. Google. Nothing found that makes me feel definitively confident that I'm doing the right thing, or leading me to believe that it will end with success. Oh ya, and 3 minutes have long-since passed. Did I mention that I also had to take a break to eat lunch?

So, with the tire deflated, I figured no harm (hopefully!) in trying to put the wheel (despite the now deflated tire) back on, at this point. I'm certainly happy that this wasn't a flat tire in a race situation; I fear that I'd still be sitting on the curb, crying, trying to fix it with the rule of no outside help allowed!! With the bike still upside down, took some twisting and turning of my body to see if it 'looked right.' Pedals move, breaks work, fingers crossed.

I called Jay... "ummm, it's not a computer, i dunno what to do" After a bit of mocking, he politely suggested that I take it to the bike shop after work. Sigh. Will do.

In other news, I'm committing! I will be filling out my waiver, writing out my cheque to give to my new Masters Swim Coach tonight. I got the answer to the question I had posed on Monday, and even seem to be on the distribution email list already! Exciting stuff!

Heading out for a mini getaway this weekend, Barton Hill Hotel & Spa and shopping in Lewiston, NY. Catch ya next week -- hopefully on a fully put together bike! :D

Day 1 with Rest

Gotta love a training plan that starts with a rest day! (most I've seen typically do, but it makes me giggle.)

There are some big changes going on around here. Actually, there's a big one that you can already see if you look closely... think you found it? Really? (*Stay tuned for more on this!!*)

September and October were tough months for us; I really needed November to be a fresh start for me.

• I've lasted a whole week... of tracking my food. I've tried this in the past with a cool little notebook. FAIL. Online tracking. ANOTHER FAIL. Hoping that the third time is a charm... I'm now using www.trainingpeaks.com to track both my training plan and nutrition.
• I purchased a training plan this time... a 12 week base building triathlon plan. I'm still too new at this triathlon stuff to keeping messing around with multiple plans to make it work for me or switching things around to accomodate. I'm too prone to injury, and recovery time just sucks. I just didn't find any generic, free plans out there really seemed to fit my schedule or goals. I start it tomorrow with a rest day!!! YAY Today ended up being a rest day as well... if only work would stop interfering with the fun stuff! ;)
• Last week I mentioned that I stumbled across a masters swim program. Sunday night I sat in the gallery watching Terron's swim class, a few butterflies in my stomach, watching the clock approach 7pm; my turn. Entered the pool area, met with the coach who I had been emailing in the past week. Whoa, there's a lot of people coming in, and uh oh, they look like serious swimmers. Hope I don't make a fool out of my self, but f*ck it, I'm here! 2 people from my summer triathlon clinic, and later found out that two others also usually come, just weren't there that night! So happy to have familiar people!
• Masters swim was awesome! A very structured swim workout -- What a difference! It was intense. I left the pool with a confidence I didn't have going in... I also got some pretty awesome feedback... ;)
• Monday's night's triathlon clinic swim found me with a little less energy than normal, which I somewhat expected, but was still great! I haven't yet committed to the Master's swim, I'm awaiting an answer to one final question. Should I decide, the overlap would only be 3 weeks since the triathlon swim classes end after November.
• I've always just... trained. Find my pace and run, do the distance. Go the pool, find my pace, and swim some lengths. Hop on the bike, find my pace, and pedal it out. Will be interesting to see what can happen when I train with a purpose.
• Moi?! While trying to catch up (yes, I'm behind, again) on some of your posts tonight, warm-fuzzy feelings when I read Damian's post... check it out here :)

warm feet, warm fingers, warm heart

Louis Garneau shoe covers $59

Louis Garneau cold weather gloves $59

Heading out for a 55k bike ride on a beautiful sunny saturday, outdoors, almost mid- November, in Canada.... Priceless.

There was no way I was going to waste the day... so I checked mapmyrun.com to play around with different routes. I knew I wanted a longer route than I normally do, kind of looking for a flatter route and to keep it easy today since I'm starting my new training plan on Wednesday... more on that in a later post. Started plotting and realized that I was heading towards our friends' place. Actually, my original chiropractor/ART doc. I knew he was teaching at the clinic, but his wife is home on maternity leave... maybe she'd be around. About 30k to get to their place from home, good turn around point. Told Jay of my plan (since I usually give him a pretty good idea of my route ahead of time, just in case), he agreed that it would be a pretty cool surprise.

Mostly uneventful getting there, except that I pulled off to the side as a funeral procession passed me. Nice tail wind heading both north and east, such a treat. The construction that had begun when they moved in last year, still not completed, but thankfully it wasn't difficult to get through.

Got to their place, took off my helmet and hood so that I wouldn't scare the kids and be recognizable, knocked lightly on the door, just in case the girls were napping. No answer. Hesitantly, rang the doorbell. Still no answer. Too bad. Time to head home.

Took no time to realize how much help I really had getting there, the headwind now was brutal! I have a new appreciation for buildings and homes that shelter the wind! Being in the country, with nothing but wide open fields, blew me around like a raggedy-Ann doll -- thankfully traffic was lighter since I changed the route a bit on the way back. Wanted to avoid the construction, a single-lane road, and give me a bit of a break from the northerly winds while heading south.

Best.ride.ever.

As an afterthought, and much to my shock, I realized that I hadn't been passed by any large group of fully-kitted cyclists. Didn't wave to any going the opposite direction. Didn't even see any! Hello cyclists, where were you today!? Please don't tell me that the wind and cooler temperatures scared you indoors already! (hopefully you were hardcore and woke up and headed out much earlier than I did... I slept in till 10, and headed out at 11...shhhh).

Congrats to the B2B HIM/IM participants and Ironman Florida! You guys inspire me!