Point To Point

Tomorrow Jen and I are riding to Maine. I thought I might have to do this solo as it proved sketchy whether Puremadness Jen could actually convince her man to drive up to shuttle her back to MA but it's a go. Thanks Dave!!!! You don't want me riding by myself do you? ;-)
We'll be starting from my house in Stow MA heading up through New Hampshire and then to the southern portion of Maine called Eliot. Not massively hilly but it's a good solid century day in the saddle with some coastal ocean segments toward the second half in New Hampshire which are really nice. Nothing quite like the clean salty ocean air.

The best part is we end up at my sister's and all my weekend needs/gear will be carted up there by Mr. TGP/Sherpa dude who will rescue if need be. Wish us a safe and no major issues day!

Have yourself a good training(eating) and racing (beer too) weekend everyone!
xx
e

Women's Olympic Trials Marathon Part 2

Women's Olympic Trials Marathon Pix- Part 1

I live for this stuff

This weekend Boston is hosting the Women's Olympic Trials Marathon on a tight 4 loop course deemed for some serious spectating of top notch women gutting it out for those coveted 1,2,3 spots to the Olympics. There are roughly 160 women declared.
To qualify one must have an A standard of 2:39 or better
or a B standard of 2:39:01-2:45:00 to race.

tic tock.. tic tock.... I hear little voices in my head

..... you have 8 weeks left, TGP.. CDA is rapidly approaching.

I've come to terms with the following: My coaches past and present must think I'm a nut job. Picture me.. I have spirals in my eyes and thank god I wear a night guard (the hardest plastic they make) while I sleep or I'd have no teeth left from grinding them down to stubs.
Spastic, unglued, suffering from some undiagnosed mental disorder? It's a rest week for me. LOL.. rest week? Just not good for me or rather my head... If I'm not tired and sore shuffling or hobbling out of bed from a session of suffering the day previously, then I'm not gaining anything, right? Twisted, I know.

On a brighter note, this week has been labeled Shock Therapy at masters. Right up my alley, ya think? Whoo hoo!!! Mit Masters swim coach Bill came up with this one. He is sick of the bitchin', moanin', people coming late and leaving early so he sent out an email Sunday night basically telling us to suck it up, or rather HTFU (my mother loves this btw) and snap out of our little high maintenance-selves with constant whining and incessant need for coddling. Get your ass here on time, complete the given workouts and be prepared. No wussified workouts this week. He wasn't kidding. We did 4100 on Monday and 4300 today. I never wanted my toasted bagel with peanut butter so much.

Happy,judicious, sane and safe training this week!

xx
e

Elaine and Jen's Epic Hilly Adventure

Meet my friend and riding buddy Jen




Here we are at her wedding all cleaned up and partying hard.




Here we are about to challenge gravity and climb some hills today per order of
my coach.



So off we went in 70 degree temps and blue sky.



No toe warmers, no jacket, no heavy gloves and no frigid hands and toes....
Thank you God.






So climbing we sought.




Up to Wachusett Mountain where snow is still on the slopes






The actual summit climb was closed due to snow on the roads. Boo Hoo


But we had a great day. Climbing,chatting,comparing notes and racing schedules and filling in each
other on the latest dirt.

A perfect combination to take the edge off the grinding.. up up up.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The sun is shining, yay.The flowers are out,double yay, and what could be better than having an entire week off from your job to do what you want? Yay x3.

The original plan was to go out to AZ this week and get some time in the saddle in Tuscon, then head over to Tempe and watch a friend who lives in Chicago participate in his first Ironman. Things didn't pan out with Mr TGP's work schedule and my friend Ali seems to want to go by himself and conquer IM without any fanfare so home I am. It's all working out very nicely though. My new coaching has started just this week and it's great having the time to absorb everything and get into a good routine.
Because I'm playing pro-triathlete this week with this being my only *job*, Jen is working me hard and I love it. I just have to get through this one really tough week and I get a rest week. So far so good. Today is a rest day, but I had the dreaded swim test some of you know about plus a run and an ez bike scheduled. One down, 2 to go which will begin shortly after my Tassismo espresso kicks in and the grogginess leaves me from my power nap I just took. ahhhh. Life is guuuuud.
Yesterday I got out on my tribike for the first time this season. Time to get down and dirty. I did a three hour ride with 3x 10K at LT wattage (ouch)after an hour warm up. It was great getting in my aerobars and big chain ring and firing away at them. The run following this was not so pretty but I was prepared for that not doing any running off the bike since last August.

Minutes into my last 10k interval, I noticed my Team Psycho colors coming toward me
on the opposite side of the road and I thought who the heck is that in the middle of a work day? Of course I had to abort my interval (sorry Jen, that's the blip in my Power Tap file) to stop and chat with teammate, KS All you ladies heading to St. Croix, she'll be there too. She's battling back from the flu and a sinus infection
plus laryngitis but you watch, she'll surprise everyone and pull it all together come race day. I swear, she has a hidden switch that she just flips to ON and
her body just knows what to do and gets it done come race day.

Anyway.. I hope you are all having a great week too and I wish you warm temperatures, blue sky and good training!

By The Numbers Ride

97%
percentage of possible forecasted rain for Boston and surrounding cities
Sunday, April 6th 2008

15
Number of times I dropped the F bomb during the ride

3
number of times I removed my clear glasses so I could see in the drizzle

1.5
ride time in which I had to switch the crappy gloves I had on with
Mr. TGP's to try and warm up my hands


0
hours my hands and feet stayed warm

16.2
average speed on a cross bike with knobby size 35 tires on the road

1
number of comments from a speeding car "viva la france" while grinding
up a hill

5
total of other noted cyclists out enjoying the day

4
total times I had to expose my ass in the 40 degree temps in drizzle to pee
in the woods

50
minutes added on after dropping off Mr. TGP at home to continue the suffering

300-10
total minutes spent gaining mental toughness

How perceptive are you?

Something is different on my blogger page. Can you pick it out? It's very subtle, so look hard. There are 3 people who are not allowed to give it away, and Marit.. you are one.