summer semester wall

so there is the wall in running...i'm not sure i have even encountered it...well maybe a knee high one...but TWICE i have experienced the summer semester wall...

once first session...and again...now...it's the wall where i want to throw my stuffed animals and stomp around my room in my stripey socks yelling "i don't wanna!!" i know i just need to gather up a little more strength and push through...just two weeks and a day...but at the moment...

i don't wanna!!!

wahoo

on occasion i am able to get together with friends i met my first month in austin at rogue running marathon training...these guys have been so much fun to get to know...and train with and just keep in touch with...even though we are all doing different programs now...triathlon, trail running, road running, having kids etc...there is something that draws us together that i really like...we all trained for our first (ok maybe some not first) marathons together...that is something that i will never forget...a lot was on the edge of change for me at that time...and well i had finally started making decisions to become the person that i wanted to be...i was getting out of a not so great (rather down) spot in life..was moving to a new city and was training for a marathon...these guys mean a lot to me...even if they don't know it...ok they know now :)

...we need to hang out more...and well i need to make time to hang out more with people...i really like being a little social (early in the evening)...

so this evening i had the pleasure of getting together at our sometimes usual hangout...wahoo's fish tacos...yum...good food, beers (for some) and company...conversation is always easy...and well i wish that i didn't need to be studying the kidney tonight...but it makes the time that we do get together even better :)

thanks guys!

okra ...free association

so j has this funny thing about free association...i will say something or he might...then 10 minutes later he's singing a song...that after a stint of 45 minutes...the same three lines or line starts to get...well...then it goes something like this..

me: OMG!!! stop singing (insert really terrible song here...tonight the theme from Weeds...yeah that song)

j: ok..ok...wait...why am i singing that song

me: because like 45 minutes ago i asked you _____ (something maybe very vaguely connected...tonight it was "can you bring me a box from work")

so long story long...here is my free association for the evening

cutting okra in the kitchen...making okra, zucchini, tomato saute to go with dinner...

me: mmm i love okra

me: yeah me too...maybe we will get more in the farm box this week

me: oh that would be great...we could make gumbo

me: gumbo...we would need file powder...we are out of that

me: yeah and chicken sausage...

me: i wonder what real gumbo tastes like...

me: yeah hard to believe we have never been to NOLA...we should go sometime...

me: yeah and find someone who makes gumbo with out butter or pork products or red meat of any kind..

...insert me day dreaming about driving to NOLA...on a vacation...with time that is not there...yeah so maybe gumbo this weekend...is it going to be less than 100 degrees??

raisin bran muffins

i knew the minute i saw these muffins here i would be making them in the next day or two...thanks for returning my muffin pans Betsy...i was too stoked about this recipe...made them today as a study break...they are surprisingly light...and perfectly not too sweet...

if you like a good light bran muffin i would go with this one...though next time i will add more orange zest...they remind me of Appalachian trail cookies from sentient bean in Savannah...Liberty's secret recipe...i'm not giving that one away :P

detox.needed.now.

this week has been all about a break for me...from some things that is...like my nutrition plan...lots of wine and cupcakes...a break from training...i think the most active thing i did was mow the grass (non-gas hand mower)and ride my bike to school...but unfortuantly no break from school...that is ok i don't know if i could have changed things that much and not freaked out completely...

today i just felt weird...like some one else entirely...i don't think my body likes not working out...and it's a good thing because tomorrow (monday) starts marathon training...and marathon training/racing nutrition plan...goodbye wine and cupcakes see ya in november...

and at the moment...i'm a little nervous of the goal i have set for my nutrition...but i know i can do it if i decide to...guess i just need to get through the first day as they say

cupcake detox...here we come

and please don't give me any even if i beg ;)

French Laundry...aka foodman

i know that it has been almost a week since j and i had our meal at French Laundry and i have not said a word...well i have been trying to get my thoughts together and organize them into a cohesive post but i don't think i can really do that without just putting pen to paper so to speak...so here goes...

sunday after i relaxed for a bit by the pool...had a nap and j a massage...team mates started returning...Coach Chrissie had earned a spot at the 70.3 championships and stayed at the race to accept her spot...nice job coach!...so folks were returning and ben brought out the champagne and the celebration had begun...

it was really nice to sit around the pool and chat with the rest of the team and hear about their races...a lot of people had a tough day...some kicked butt...there was a whole range of races...and well, that was reassuring to me...this really was my first A race that i didn't achieve what i set out to do...i'm still processing...but i think i figured out my down fall...and well, we move on...

so after a few glasses of bubbly i was off to shower and pack up and head off to french laundry...chrissie gave me my spa treatment (scrubbing my race numbers off)...i showered off the day and put on my pretty blue dress...j and i had decided to say good bye to boon hotel and spend the night in san fran...not far from the airport (so our drive in the morning was 5 minutes rather than 2 hours)...so we said bye to the rest of the team and were off

the drive to French laundry was really gorgeous...we had a really nice time chatting and driving over the mountains...checking out vineyards and the sights of CA...and CIA west...wow that is a pretty campus...even though we drove about an hour and a half it was a lot of fun...and nice to see some of the spots where my favorite wines are grown...and made...

we arrived just before sunset...and found the pretty gardens that were across the street...they had little french laundry tags on them...very pretty...i was excited to eat what was growing there...j and i walked to the door and were greeted and went out to the courtyard to wait for our table to be ready...

the grounds were totally beautiful...roses and green green grass...there was one building that was the main spot...where all the tables were...like an old house...and two out buildings...one attached (the kitchen) and another that housed a rest room and several rooms that we couldn't figure out what they were...i guess private dining rooms of some sort...

about 10 minutes later we were brought in to the house...they took j's jacket and my sweater...and we went upstairs to our table...the first thing that we both noticed was that the tables were kind of crammed in the room...there was a 6-8 top three 4 tops and our 2 top crammed into a room that would have been more comfortable with 2 less tables...we got menus and the wine list...the wine list was maybe 30 pages long...couldn't even read the whole thing...read the first few pages...uh spendy to say the least...there was a half bottle for a grand...seriously...we found a (relatively) cheap half bottle of wine to split since we knew we were driving after dinner...

we checked out the menu...there were two options...both tasting menus and nine courses each..with a few options along the way...like choose between this and that for course 3 etc...one was a vegetable tasting...the other...not so veggie...the veggie one was not entirely veg...there was some lobster broth in there...but nothing over that...j got the meat option i the veg and we were resolved to share...well he would share with me :)

the food....well that was just fantastic...from the amuse bouche (a black pepper tuile filled with house made creme fresh topped with beet tar tare...j's with Scottish smoked salmon)...to the espresso...to the tiny diced melon...and peeled toy box tomato salad...eggplant confit...nectarine sorbet...uhm wow...my gnocchi was meltingly good...every vegetable was the most flavorful that i have ever tasted...white alpine strawberries with the cheese course tasted more like strawberries than the reddest one i have ever eaten...and the presentation was also super beautiful...the artistry of the knife work from the kitchen was fantastic...i think my favorite thing was something of j's...it was a lobster knuckle in a biriani curry with basmati rice...best Indian food ever :D

there was nothing about the food that could have been recreated...even if you studied the menu...there was just such perfect produce that you could not get anywhere else...just very perfect...and i was really impressed with the food...we were there 3 and a half hours (we were seated at nine pm) and actually had to hurry up the service since we needed to drive to SF...and hopefully before sunrise ;)

but there was something that i just couldn't put my finger on that was off about the meal...i thought that it was the four top that was across from us...two couples...it was very clear that one of the guys was trying to impress the other couple...i had thought it was his in-laws but it wasn't the in-laws...they were sitting the kid...(yes the tables were that close that we didn't even need to try to hear...oh and the wife of the trying to impress dude was having some GI issues...yeah...like we needed to know all this)...but j really nailed it the next night when we were home sitting on the porch...i was drinking cheap wine and he was having a tall boy of lone star...(love it)

the whole thing was inauthentic...the experience was manufactured...i feel like i have more of an experience at my neighborhood starbucks since each employee is a true human and does not speak from a script...the courses were timed for each table the same way...so much so that we wondered if there was a stop watch set in the kitchen for each table and course...each presented in exactly the same way...it was all very very much the same...what was really disheartening was that the waiters even asked each table the same questions to make small talk...seriously...it's strange...i think i would have liked it better if i had a story to tell that a waiter at the french laundry spilled an iced tea on me...or told me that they were working their way through school at the the Culinary Institute of America down the road...something to make it more real...more down to earth...

don't get me wrong...it was amazing to have the opportunity to eat such fantastic food at such a legendary restaurant that had launched so many chefs into stardom...and i would not change that for the world...it was just surprising that it was really cookie cutter...and forced...

oh yeah i forgot to mention my dessert...it was so cool...there was apple wood smoke trapped in a sphere of chocolate....best presentation ever...the server poured a warm sauce over the ball to release the smoke...very cool...and one last thing that was fantastic about this place was the kitchen...lots of windows...a flat screen live to per se in new york...and totally immaculate...loved it...

and no way around this...it was totally memorable...something i will not forget...thanks j and happy anniversary present to me :D

and with that...that is the race report for foodman

Vineman...the report

i don't even know where to start this report...this summer has been a totally insane...i have not been able think much beyond school...so...leading up to this race has been less than ideal...it's not really the training it's more the mental training (that i really like) that i have not been able to do...so part of that brings less anxiety leading up to race morning...but there are drawbacks as well...so anyway that is the background for this...

i had a test friday after class...my prof was very cool...and let me take my test early...(thanks!) then j and i had a little time that afternoon to get ready to go...i had to pack still (so not like me...i usually do this a week before i go anywhere) and get my self together...decompress and think about my race plan...seriously...i really don't do this the day i leave...but my brain has been fried...totally...

so...our plane got in about 8.30 pm CA time...then we had a two hour drive to the hotel...would have been great and fun...but we were SO tired by that point we just wanted to be there...so we got to Boon about 11.45 and promptly crashed...

got up in the AM to grab a quick swim in the river...me and jeremiah got in and swam a bit then got out...back to boon and hooked up with chrissie and ben for a run up to the redwoods and back again...then it was time to grab packets and drop run gear, pick up bikes and do the pre-race thing...back to boon...and chrissie and i headed out to test the bikes...did a 20 minute (or so) ride...felt good...but a little stiff...

rest of the day was spent chillin around the pool...michelle came by to hang...then amy and etg stopped by and brought us dinner...(thanks for that!) then back to the room to get the race stuff together...still i was not nervous about this race...it's as if i was just going out for a big brick the next day...

got up about 5.30...made my breakfast...had some coffee...and was ready to go...chrissie, lory and i rode our bikes down to the start (half a mile from the hotel) transition was a mess...it was wicked disorganized by my standards...thanks austin race series....you make us jaded...found a spot on a rack..dudes were racked there (not the right spot for them..grr...) but hey what are you going to do...walked down to the beach...put on my wet suit...with some T3 peeps...then it was time to race...(it was nice not to sit around and stew before the race) got in the water...felt like there were a lot of people creeping in on my space...so the start was a bit of a mess...went off with the gun...was in the washing machine...i wasn't down...popped up and moved towards the line of big orange buoys and felt a lot better...then about 5 minutes later my goggles fogged and well i couldn't see anything that was not 15 feet in front of my face...so i just swam...it felt long...hit the turn...was breathing and saw that peeps around me were standing up and walking...weird...i swam faster then they did...so i swam...uneventful swim...out of the water about 36.00...not great but not bad...found my rack...got my stuff packed up (swim)...grabbed my bike and was off...found ETG...to drop my bag (thank you !!!) hopped on my bike and was off...

was odd that there was not any road closure on the bike course...very strange...but it was very pretty...first thing we road through was the Korbel vineyards...then to the first turn off...and about a mile later there was a crash...at the bottom of a hill so that was tough...momentum down...then up the hill you go...argh...about a mile later (ok maybe 5 or 8) there was a much more serious crash...i was about 50 people deep in a totally stopped pack of racers...there was a tree that had fallen on two riders on the course...screaming riders loaded into ambulances...very disconcerting...then the 100 people stopped behind the wreck were allowed to pass...we all tried to be careful but that many riders all at once is tough...we made it out ok...but it took a while for the course to clear out...i settled in to a good pace...nothing too aggressive...just riding well...

it was a weird race for me...i didn't really get into the bike until about mile 20...part of it was seeing those two crashes earlier...and well just getting settled in...saw matt on the ride...we played leap frog for a while...then i lost him somewhere in the town where T2 was...he took off...i didn't want to push it...made it in to town just under 3h on the bike...about a 19 average...good deal...

T2 was smooth and fast...saw jon on the way out (surprise)...turned away from the school...out on to a really hot and sunny run...i was already starting to get really hot in the first few miles...i kept on my plan...taking in my electrolytes...grabbing water and ice at aid stations trying to cool off...the hills were tough...and a lot of the folks i saw on the way back in didn't look all that happy...saw kevin teh and chrissie...they both looked happy...as i was about 5 miles in...they were headed back...at that point i was running by the sonoma airport..lots of planes taking off...and a good stretch of HOT road...got up the the la crema winery and was able to run through a mist station...and grab two cups of ice...that felt great...so at each aid station after i got as much ice in me as i could...in my tri-top, my hat, held some in my hands (your palms really help to regulate temp)...but could never get my temperature to come down...pushed on...my pace was not very happy...i felt really slow...and never found it on the run...i did run the whole way...pushed though those last few miles and finished with very wiggly legs in just under 2 for the run...9 minute miles average...no the 8.30 i was shooting for...but hey...

total time of 5.38...the goal was 5.30...and i am disappointed that i didn't hit it...trying to figure out if i went too hard on the bike...i never felt like i was really pushing it to hit the average i hit...nothing different than my training...or if it just was the heat that got to me...my legs mostly felt ok running...and the cardio was fine...so we learn and we move on to the next race...

jon and i had to take off pretty much as soon as i finished...he had an appointment back at the hotel...so put the bike with the tri bike guys and headed back to boon...hung out by the pool with a glass of wine after the race...took a nap on a lounge chair in the shade...great recovery for sure...

couples.tri.

so kind of on a whim i decided to do couples tri today...it's a tri you do with a partner...you combine ages and combine finish times to compete for awards...

it's a big T3 team event...and a lot of fun to get out there and race with someone from the team...and we compete against each other as well as the general austin racing population...with a huge handicap i won the T3 team race with my partner last year...i never would have thought that possible...but hey it WAS a HUGE handicap...

this year i wasn't going to race...my "a" race of the season is next weekend and my bike got on the transport truck yesterday...so i was without a bike...but i made a proposition to erin...erin just raced Ironman and had signed up to race couples...the T3 team draws names out of a hat to see who gets partnered up...but i could tell she wasn't feeling like racing...so i suggested that i race for her...on her bike...and with her partner...but as my self...(no erin costume)

so yesterday we put my pedals on her bike and the race wheels...and well i tooled around the hood to see if i could ride it...it was fine and i figured it was 11 miles...so couldn't be too bad...

ended up having a great race...a 6 minute PR (i thought for some reason that it was 16 minutes...not sure what numbers i was thinking of)...good swim...i felt like i swam hard and needed to be in a swim start with people just to get the jitters out for next weekend...bike was good...i didn't push it cause it wasn't my bike...so i took it easy...and had a great run...felt really strong on the run and ran 7.40 miles for the 5k...and it was HOT out there...wow...

so not sure how we did in the team competition...but we did get first in the 80 and over age group (our combined ages)...it was my first podium finish at a tri...so that was fun...and now i know that i remember how to race...and am looking forward to that in a cooler climate...

feelin it

i am really feeling tired these last few days...i think i am a little drained from the pace of summer class...i have today and tomorrow for lecture and thursday is a lecture exam and a lab exam...we get friday off...and second session starts monday...no rest i guess for me there...

since i am going to still be traveling on the 20th...i am taking my first exam for second session friday the 17th...so this weekend...i am going to be reading ahead in that class so that i know what the heck is going on for the exam...yikes...

i am looking forward to racing on the 19th but i feel like i can't even think about it yet...and i need to...i need to get an idea about how i want to race and how hard i am going to push...i have a time goal in mind...and i think that it is possible to do it...but i have not even looked at my pacing to see if i will be able to reach beyond that goal...

at the moment though my brain wants to shut down...and take a nap...

but alas it's time to get ready for class...

one good note about today...i finally got the guts to move up a swim lane...and i didn't get passed...i hung on...and will try again next time too...hope my other lane buddies are not mad...but it was time

and another...

had another triathlon dream last night...

this must mean i need to get my race plan together for vineman...bike goes in sunday for a final tune up...and the training chart says "taper"...it feels like forever since i last raced...might get to do couples if i ever hear back from my partner from the T3 hat drawing...if not i might just race it myself just to get the cobwebs out...on erin's bike...since mine will be on the way to CA at that point...this is all still up in the air...but i think it would make me stop having whacked out dreams...where i am making my mom go and get my nutrition and running shoes...and etg is giving me a wetsuit...

dreams...

i had a dream last night...that i was doing an ironman...and i forgot to do the bike portion...oops