I Joined A Gym

I am finding that I am feeling a little out of my element these days.  I am so accustom to a schedule that leaves no time to even think about how busy I actually am.  I oddly enjoy the robotic repetitive nature of my life.  It allows me to accomplish all given tasks in a set amount of time.  Lately I have had the freedom to be a little spontaneous in my adventures.  As an Urban Cow Half rehabilitation attempt I decided I wanted to try an elliptical and do some yoga today. Unfortunately I don’t, or didn’t, have access to an elliptical and the P90x video Keith downloaded was far from the Namaste vibe I was going for. 

I have actually been toddling with the idea of a gym membership for some time now.  The only thing that has been holding me back is the simple fact that I just don’t want to have another expenditure.  However, the truth of the matter is I could really benefit from the increased hip range of motion from kickboxing and the relaxation and flexibility from yoga.  I also wouldn’t mind testing out a spin class as an alternative on a cold and rainy winter day.  I had my mind made up.  I put on some workout gear, grabbed my bag and walked the maybe 2 blocks to the gym.

FYI, I used the stairs!

I was greeted upon arrival and sent back to a little cubby to discus membership with the sales associate.  I sat through his painful personal training sales pitch, which I kindly declined.  I now realize that personal training is actually where the gym makes its money with its 59-70 dollar sessions depending on bulk of purchase.  It’s certainly not the $44 dollars a month (no contract!) I’ll be paying for the membership itself.  I’ll be sure to get my moneys worth by taking extra long post workout showers and getting my cable TV fix, a luxury I do not have a home.  Just as I assumed we were wrapping things up the sales associate then insisted on bringing “Josh the personal trainer” over to talk to me about all the things he could do for me and how much I would benefit from personal training.  Feeling both bombarded by the sales team approach and leery of the personal trainers qualifications, I explained that I not only hold an advanced degree in the subject matter and successfully passed my sports medicine exam, but I am also very accustomed to 12-15 hours of hard training a week.  I guarantee I can handle my own off-season exercise routine.  He stuttered before saying anything, as he knew is online certification and rehearsed sales pitch was not going to result in any extra money in his pocket today.

HaHaHa

I finally made it over to the elliptical machine I had been dreaming about for 2 hours now.  It felt so good to move pain free!  It is a monster of a machine though.  I admit, it totally kicked my ass the entire hour I used it.  I then bypassed all the machines and found myself in the very corner of the gym all alone with a mat, foam roller and stability ball.  I did all of the core work and foam rolling that I could have easily done at home, but it was much less distracting without Mahoney in the way or the refrigerator in the other room.  I am not sure how long I will keep this membership as I hope to be back on the bike like a rock star in the coming weeks.  I can’t wait to try out a yoga class.  If I like it I may actually keep my membership.  I think I handle the nominal monthly fee if it means increased flexibility, core strength and less injury!

I guess that’s all for now.  Time to get a massage! I’ll have to tell you all about the “gym going people” in another post, quite entertaining.

Thanks for Reading

JenniferMarieJ  

Urban Cow Half Marathon – 2013

Well, I ran the Urban Cow Half Marathon on a whim this year.  Keith was headed to Sacramento for a CX race anyway, so I figured why not?!  It is the month of freedom after all.  I am not exactly sure what it was that all of a sudden prompted me to register for the half, more than quadrupling my longest run in 2 years.  Who knows, but following an epic 10-mile hike with friends on Saturday, I went straight home to do so.

Hiking Around Windy Hill Open Space Preserve With Friends

Ok, that’s a lie, I actually got a speeding ticket first, so it looks like I’ll be adding traffic school to my list of off the bike October activities.... CRAP! 

This is actually a photo from 2009..... but I thought it was funny!

Saturday night Bill put together a swank little Pinnacle team dinner at the eloquent Piperade Restaurant in SF.  I didn’t pass on the opportunity for a fine Hen dinner with a side of champagne and wine x2, maybe 3?!  Regardless of how much I had to drink, how many miles I hiked, or how little sleep I received.... I was running this thing!

Dinner Table

Me and Keith all dressed up

 Keith and I arrived to Sac at 6:15am, just in time to pick up my race packet.  My name of course wasn’t in the group of pre registrants since I hadn’t even registered 12 hours prior.  I just stood in another line, got my number and AWESOME cow shirt.  I quickly laced up my running shoes and pinned on my number. 

Pre Race Pic...... Look at my shirt!!!!

I found my way to the runners corralled at the start line in order of prospected finishing times.  I took a gamble and headed to the back of heat 1 (under 2 hour finish), and stood by the 9 min mile sign.  I knew I could bust out a quick mile or two, but 13?!  If I learned anything from pursuiting it is NOT to go out too fast! 

Nine minute mile corral sign

I listened to my country music Pandora radio and cruised along the American River.  I don’t have one of those fancy iphone holding running gadgets, so I just had to tuck mine into my sports bra.  I suppose I just figured all sportswear came fully equipped with pockets in the back.  I pulled my phone out every once in a while to make sure my STRAVA app was indeed recording my comeback run.  I needed proof.

Thirteen plus miles later I crossed the finish line and received my cowbell..... and found a cow!

Negative Splits..... the longer the distance the faster I get!! 

A cow, cowbell and chocolate milk..... SCORE!! 

My legs were instantly debilitated.  I iced them in a freezing pool, busted out the Marc Pro, and slithered into the compression tights.  All I can say is, I thank the lord for the handicap rails in the bathrooms........ my legs no longer work!

Post Race Ice Cold Pool

In the back of the truck Marc Pro'n with my feet up

Thanks for reading

Jennifer Marie

PS.  Keith won his CX race!!  I was confined to a blanket and unable to moooooove, but I was most definitely able to ring my cowbell and make a collage! 

I love this awesome CX winning stud! 

 PSS- The weekend was waaaaaaay tooooooo much fun!!!  I can't wait for my next crazy October adventure! 

Fall, My Favorite Season of All

Here we are, October.  It has been a long while since I have updated my thoughts.  Last time I was in touch, I was flying off to Indianapolis, IN.  Life pretty much remained the same throughout the summer with the Wednesday night red eye flights out to NTC racing destinations, and the Sunday night flights back into SFO just in time for the workweek.  The crazy schedule didn’t matter though.  I was having a blast racing and learning from the top women in the USA.  I had the opportunity to see other places and meet some wonderful people.  All made possible by the amazing support I received from the Hellyer Velodrome community and title sponsor Jakroo Custom Cycling Apparel. Unfortunately, this crazy cycle continued and the combination of the travel, training, racing and work definitely took its toll on me.  I ended up losing focus on the bike, which led to a string of bad judgment and injury.  I ended up crashing pretty hard the night before track nationals.  That crash ended the season early for me.  I attempted to ride, even race, but finally realized that I needed to take a mental a physical break from the sport of cycling. 

Me and Sara - My Twinsie

I must give a huge personal shout out to Michael Hernandez and Beth Newell for training, teaching and believing in me.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting me on my NTC journey.  I also want to thank Bill Nicely, not only for the countless hours you spent in the car traveling to races to support the Pinnacle road team, but the time you took out of your day to volunteer and support me as an individual at the track.  I have so many memories from this past year that are mine forever, and for that I thank you all.

As of right now I am enjoying the freedom October.  Hiking, running, friends, family, sleep and hopefully soon skiing! It’s been nice to catch up on life..... and to take even more pictures of Mahoney!  

Mahoneys October Freedom Enjoyment Face

Thanks for Reading

JenniferMarie

PS. I actually intended to blog about this past weekend’s festivities, but realized I owed my readers and explanation for my absence.  As a result of the weekend, I can barely walk (please don’t say “I told you so.” Sara Clafferty), so I’m sure ill have time to update later this week.  I'm currently hungry, time to eat!

NTC Adventure-Fixed Gear Classic-Blaine, MN

Ok folks, Fixed Gear Classic (FGC) in Blaine, MN was stop number two for Korina and I on the NTC.  I am going to keep this one short because in less then 3 days we will be back at it and on our way to Indianapolis IN.  Therefore, I don’t have tons of time to talk nonsense....... OK, actually I have tons of time for that.  I’ll just cut the racing part short.

The Travel: We departed SFO late Wednesday night and took a red eye over to Cleveland, Ohio.  The flight was full (why?!) Anyway, little to no sleep was had.  That was rough because I was up at 5 am and worked a 10-hour shift prior to boarding the plane.  Generally I hate layovers, but the napping on the CLE airport floor was the highlight of my night.... sleep!  We boarded our plane for Minneapolis, MN and luckily no one was on it.  Korina and I both took up a row of seats and went to sleep!  As soon as we arrived to MSP we grabbed our oversized bags and met our awesome shuttle driver/tour guide extraordinaire Adam.  We weren’t too exciting since we had been up all night.  He took us straight to the National Sports Center (NSC) dorm.  After a little power nap, we built up the bikes and tested out the NSC Velodrome.  LOVE IT.  It’s a beautiful 250m wooden outdoor track.  We met up with Lindsey who had helped us a ton in the previous weeks with getting travel details worked out.  She got us some rollers and took us to target to stock up on some food.  This time Korina and I spent 20 bucks each at the Super Target.  We had left all of our money at that natural food store in TX, so SUPER Target was!

Testing out the post flight legs

Korina checking out the rail.

Our Racing Schedule:

Thursday

            20 lap Scratch- FUN

            60 Lap Points- FGC Endurance Omnium/NTC

Friday

            20 Lap Win and Out- FUN

            40 Lap Scratch- FGC Endurance Omnium/NTC

Saturday

            Miss and Out- FGC Endurance Omnium

            Team Sprint- FUN

            40 Lap Scratch- NTC (replaced Madison)

Just to clear up the importance of each race........ The Fun races were low pressure and just plain fun.  Granola bars and sweatshirt prizes were at stake.  Results of the FGC races were tallied up to determined the overall winner of the FGC Omnium.  Prize money and PR is the incentive.  The NTC races count toward the overall USAC NTC endurance standings.  ALL races...... are great training!!

Korina and I representing Hellyer (yes- mine is the retro version) 

There wasn't much time to rest, because racing was on tap for Thursday night.  Luckily we had taken several power naps and felt ready.  First up was the 20 lap scratch race.  This was a great leg opener for the points race that was to be held later in the evening.  Korina had gone out on a solo attack with about 5 laps to go.  The field never got anything going, but a few riders did some IP’s to catch.  Kate chased, followed by myself, and Shelby.  I was able to catch Kate and sit on her wheel until we made contact with Korina.  At that time Shelby had made contact, the group was now 4 and I made an attack.  I was able to hold to the finish with two to go for the win.  I won a sweet sweatshirt........ it was cold, so that was great! Haha.  The points race was fun and fast.  Korina is always an aggressive rock star in the points race and  took 2^nd just behind Cari Higgins. 

The sweatshirt I won was a large, but it fits Keith well.  Mahoney likes to fur it up:)

After the racing a BBQ was held for the riders.  By the time we arrived, the sprinters had already gotten to the beer, as their events were earlier in the evening.  We may have missed the beer, but we didn’t miss the food.  We were sure to stack our plates high; head back to the dorms and hit the shower!  I think we went to bed at 1am.  It had been a looooooooong 48 hours.

Post Race Jakroo Hotness

Friday racing was again in the evening, so I slept till 10!!  Oh that felt great! I strolled across the street and enjoyed a soy latte and fruit parfait at Caribou Coffee.  I spent the rest of the day hydrating, riding the rollers, reading, and facebooking-(is that a word?!)  The line up for the night was a W&O and 40 lap scratch race.  The W&O turned out to be a 29 lap race for me as I was the 5^th rider out (ie 5^th place). The scratch race was of course fast and fun again, only with an even more competitive field then the one the previous night.  Korina and I both stayed with the front group for the bunch sprint finishing 4^th and 6^th.  The racing ended late that night and everything was closed.  Korina and I huddled around our dorm room floor eating carrots, crackers and hummus for dinner. 

It's freshmen year dorm room fun....... bathroom and shower down the hall!
The dorms were super great though.  We just walked right out the door and onto the track.  

Saturday racing was at noon, so we didn’t get to sleep in like a couple teenagers.  The M&O was the last race of the FGC omnium.  The M&O is a tactical race and can be very difficult for riders like myself (ie. Not always smart).  Omnium points were close and we needed to ride smart.  We both got to the rail quick and stayed up front.  We ended up succeeding in not only maintaining Korina’s second in the omnium, but bringing me all the way up to a 4^th place tie with Kate Wilson.  If only I had gotten 1 more point!!!  Ag.  Beth had told us to sprint for EVERY spot.  I wish wish wish so bad that I had done a better job of that as I ended up getting 5^th due to the tiebreaker rule.  Kate has scored a 3^rd place in the scratch, which entitled her to the 4^th and me the 5^th.  I have to say though; I can’t be ashamed of 5^th place.  My points were short of Cari Higgins, Korina and Shelby Reynolds..... all exceptional and talented women.

Awesome picture taken by Erika Fulk

The team sprint looked like a fun little event and the officials were looking for more women to join in, so Korina and I did.  We were both total armatures.  The official went over the rules and yada yada.... the gun went off........ neither Korina or I moved a muscle.  The official came over to us, confused as to why we did not go at the sound of the gun.  We asked him, “Well, don’t we get a count down?”  He replied, “No, you said you were ready.” Ok Ok, apparently that fancy beeper and someone counting down with their fingers is not done in MN.  I swear you learn so many things when you travel to different tracks.  No booties.  No countdown.  Got it. 

Ok..... Ready

GOOOOOOOO

We headed back to our dorm room to shower and relax before the big catered rider dinner at one of the local restaurants.  We had a yummy salad, pasta, bread, chicken and fruit.  It sure beat the cracker and carrot dinner we had the night before. 

Sunday was fun day!  Korina and I got up and did our ritual morning rollers.  We turned up the techno and chatted.  When we were finished the other riders in the dorm asked what was going on and if we were arguing........ haha.  Ooops.  I guess we were screaming over the rollers and the techno music! The funny part was, we were actually brainstorming ways to get more people out racing the track. 

I almost forgot about the pants!!!  Pants like these will for sure get people out to Hellyer!  

Our flight wasn’t until the evening, so we had the day to kill.  We packed up our stuff and had Adam show us around Minneapolis before heading to the airport.  We ate at an amazing local joint for lunch and headed to Minneapolis for some tourist fun....... we rented bikes and practiced our Madison of course. 

How does this work?

I think we have our Madison technique down... Michael?

It had just rained, and everything was green and beautiful! 

Waterfall- Say Cheese!

We found out Batmobile!!!! Later- Mario Cart!

Hmmmmm Ya- I STRAVA'd the Cruiser rental ride!!!!

We had a straight flight over to SFO, watched Parks and Rec, the office, and Top Chef.  It’s always a bummer when the pilot or attendant gets on the intercom and disrupts the show!  Aaaaaa. I didn’t care about a seat belt or turbulence..... I wanted to know who was getting kicked off Top Chef!  Whew, well it ended up being a dude that made too big of an appetizer.  I would have kicked off the deli meat soup guy.

Anyway, Korina and I are home for exactly 68 hours.  At that time we will be at SFO again and headed to Major Taylor Velodrome in Indiana.

Thanks for Reading,

JenniferMarie

Addendum: Korina and I are waiting to board for IN now!  Sorry it took 3 days to post this.... life is busy!  Wish us luck.... thank you all for everything!!!!

The First NTC Adventure-Frisco TX- Part 2

THE RACING

Part 1 was all about the travels, yes stressful and never ending.  Part 2 is all about the races...... ok and maybe a little entertainment fluff.  Duh, this is my blog.

Friday Night

Match sprints, ya, I probably wouldn’t have competed in this event if I was at home, but it was a perfect opportunity to get in some track time and do a couple of leg openers before the endurance racing the next day.  We were seeded based on our flying 200.  Why did no one tell us to bring an aero helmet for this?!  Sprinter newbie’s:/  We ended up 4^th (K) and 6^th(J), so we got seeded with people slower then us for the first heat......... and yes we both won.  Unfortunately, we both lost the second, which was soooo frustrating!  I just don’t know what I’m doing.  Sprinting is mentally challenging.  Korina and I were both a little disappointed, but then we had to remember the purpose of this trip.  It was not to win the match sprints.  It was to contest the NTC endurance events and the match sprints were to be smaller gear leg openers.  That they were!

Always a Mishap or Two or Three. We got out of the track late and back to the house around 12pm.  We decided to change up the bars before bed since we needed to be up early.  Korina over tightened her headset and stripped it.  Oh CRAP!  Thank goodness for wonderful hosts that worked until 2am calling people, finding parts, setting up a meeting with a mechanic, etc so that we could get everything resolved.  I packed up the car and got our food ready for the next LONG day. 

Bike building- well trying

Busting out all the tools for Korina's broken headset 

Saturday Morning

I woke up STARVING, ate and we headed to the track for the morning IP session.  I decided I wanted to be cool too, so I over tightened my front skewer resulting in totally stripping it!  The front wheel was so loose I couldn’t ride.  I tried to remain calm since the IP was in 2 hours.  Thank heaven we arrived early.  I found a super nice guy that gave me a new skewer. Yay!  Why do these things ONLY happen when we are a couple states away from home?  A Wednesday night track race would have been a much better time for a mishap. NOT before my first NTC IP.  Ag.  To top it off, my name wasn’t even on the start list!  I had to run up to the officials and enquire about why I wasn’t on the list.  They quickly added me on. Whew, just another thing to deal with.  I needed to clear my head.  I got on the track for a few efforts and made sure I was comfortable on the bike and in the pursuit bars.  I got on the rollers, hydrated, more rollers, stretched, more rollers, hydrated, more rollers, repeat and repeat.........

Korina on Rollers

Me on Rollers.... with my booties before I was told to take them off.

This is what track racing is all about- putting your feet up

The Individual Pursuit. Korina and I somehow kept it together and totally rocked the IP. We didn’t know what a good IP time for the Superdrome was or what our splits should be. We just did as we were taught and rode consistent and smooth as we encouraged and cheered for each other. We ended IP 2^nd and 3^rd at 4:08 and 4:11.  We had a few hours before the evening races, so we headed back to the host house and got in the nice ICE pool and ate some lunch. 

IP Podium 

Pinnacle Poolside

Saturday Night Racing

Korina’s Aunt and Cousin happily greeted us as we returned to the Superdrome for the evening races.  It was sooooo wonderful to have some support away from home.   We wanted to show off for them in the 250, Points and Elimination.

Flying 250.  They flying 250 was a new one for me.  I got to practice a bit during the match sprints night, so I knew what to do. It was just a matter of executing that!  I finished 3^rd... who knows how.  Keith says the only reason why I did well was because it was a “flying” start as opposed to a “standing.”  Oh, I did find out that aero booties are not allowed on outdoor tracks.  I must have missed that memo.  I tried to tell the official that my feet were cold, but he wasn’t buying it in the 90+ degree heat and horrible humidity. Geeee.  Can’t give the endurance gal a break.

Points.  I just love the Points race.  There really isn’t all that much to tell.  Korina and I just did a lot of attacking so that we could get gaps on the field to take points.  She finished 1^st and myself 2^nd.

Elimination.  Oh my.  I generally hate this race.  I am soooo horrible at it.  I attended one of Larry Nolans Elimination clinics a few weeks ago to get a little practice in.  I learned a few tricks of the trade.  My trick of the trade (not so sure I learned this in the clinic) was to ride the front the entire race.  Yes, that IS exactly what I did.  I couldn’t complain when Korina got me at the line for 1^st.  I was completely satisfied with second and I didn’t have to slow and surge and slow and surge.  I just got to ride my own happy pace.

Points and Elimination Podium

 (Yes i know this is upside down- Ill fix it later)

The races were over for the evening and we were in serious need of some calories.  Before we headed out for Applebee’s I had to demonstrate to Korina’s family the magic of a changing skirt.  Well, it was windy.  Lets just say the demonstration ended with, “Well, it works at Hellyer.”  My love for her family grew to an entire new level when I found out her aunt is a nurse and totally into nutrition and physiology while her cousin loves cats! YAY.  It was another late night.  We did some hand washing of the Jakroo Hellyer skinsuits and went to bed around 1am. 

Sunday Morning

I AGAIN woke up starving a 5:30am. Ag.  I even ate a big dinner!  A girl can’t sleep with a growling belly.  I grabbed a snack and headed back to bed till 8am, and got up to eat again.  Haha.  We packed our bags and headed for the track!  I again tried to be cool..... but this time decided NOT tighten my front screwer before getting on the rollers. Doh!  I forgot I had only hand tightneded my wheel when I took it out of the car. It took 20 min of wabbly rollers before I realized it.  I swear someone up above was watching over me this weekend.  That could have been bad, really bad.  Luckly I had survived to compete in the last two races, scratch and 500.

Drying Jakroo skinsuits on our way to the track

Scratch.  The scratch race was 40 laps.  Korina and I were pretty excited about that.  The longer the better!  We ended up lapping the field with Lauren Stevens (who rode the TOC TT!) and one other rider.  Lauren, Myself and Korina got off the front again taking 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd respectively.

Scratch Podium

500.  Oh the 500... you suck!!!! I suck.  I need to work on my standing start for a start. Oh my, I don’t want to talk about it. Korina got 5^th though.  We would both really like to get better at that one.

Wrapping Up The Omnium. The races were over.  We had competed in 7 events over the course of 3 days.  We were pooped.  We ended up taking 1^st and 2^nd in both the Matrix Cup Omnium (accumulative overall) and the NTC endurance omnium (IP, Points, Scratch).  It looks like I not only need to work on my 500, but my podium pictures. Oh well.  After the podium shots I was told by one of the officials that I was needed in the Press Box. I had never been called away to a Press Box before.... Fancy business!  I made my way up to the official Superdrome headquarters and met with the race promoter.  The weekend races were dedicated to a local teenage girl (Megan) that lost her life too soon in a tragic biking accident.  Encased in a large glass frame was a pink jersey with her beautiful young image imprinted on it.  The promoter handed it too me and explained that as an omnium winner, my name would be added to the frame in Megan’s honor.  I was so honored and touched as I met her father and shook his hand.  Tears were brought to my eyes as I gave him my condolences. It was such an emotional moment for me on so many levels.

Overall Matrix Cup Omnium

Photo With Megan Baab Scholarship Jersey

The Rush. The evening wrapped up and Korina and I quickly dismantling our bikes.  We packed them away in the Mario cart and headed out on the road.  We were low on gas and siri once again gave us a run for our money.  We made it to the car rental, missed our first shuttle, couldn’t fit the bike bags in the elevators and had a heck of a time checking our oversized “massage tables” .... nope, didn’t get a discount, but we tried.  Darn UNITED.  Well, we made it!  Sweaty, gross, bike greasy and tired, but we made it!

Lugging these bags around is even more difficult on no sleep and lots of exercise!

Waiting for our "Odd size baggage"

After Keith so kindly picked us up from the airport, he quickly began

checking for travel (aka Jen) damages.  I passed!!

Upon my arrival I was completely surprised to find a little

something from a special friend, Sara Clafferty.

Our NTC adventure will continue in Blaine MN for Nature Valley Fixed Gear Classic June 6-8. Maybe next time we will get a batmobile?!  For now- signing out - Luigi.

Korina found this picture- I love it!

Stay Tune, Ride Safe, Have Fun!

Thank you for reading,

Jennifer Marie

Thank you again to all of our sponsors.  Without you the NTC would not be possible for us.

HWTPP Sponsors Jakroo           Fast Forward Wheels           Rocktape         Enduro Bearings      SportVelo  Hughes Allmart  Insurance         Limar Helmets         Selle SMP Saddles       Betwixt Chamois Cream   Clif Bar            Clean Bottle         Rose Garden Health        Zealios Sun Barrier        Albabici  Pinnacle p/b Argon 18 sponsors Pinnacle Argon 18 OSMO Nutrition  Goodbye Frisco, TX and until next time!   Thank you to all the people that made the Matrix Cup possible. In Honor of Megan