No Argon

So it turns out that while Argon are good at making bikes, they are not as good as forecasting. Apparently even though it is February, they are already sold out of XS bikes. While they tried their best to find me one, it is not happening. So now I am looking at a couple other options. It's a bit hard when you have settled on something and you can't have it, but anything I end up with is still going to be better than what I have.

We have been having issues with one of our trainers (the Blackburn) and with training ramping up for both Graeme and I, we really needed to have two. So we went with another Cycleops as we have had a good experience and really good customer service. We upgraded from our current one though and it is a really nice ride.



I also picked up new shoes. Mine had been done for a while and I had been running in some old ones as it takes a while to order in my AA shoes. Well, really I have not been running that much due to my foot and being sick for so much of January. And I can tell you the past week's worth of running has been incredibly painful fitness wise. I really hope my run fitness makes a reappearance. And soon.

Big White Weekend

I left work Thursday at lunch, after a frenzy to try and get some work done to be able to leave. 6 of us headed up in my girlfriends Silverado with the truck FULL of gear. I think we had 4 pairs of skis and 4 snowboards between us, and one of the girls was renting when we got there. Another 2 friends followed later on in another car.

The drive was fine and after stops at Costco and the liqour store, we pulled into our townhouse by 7pm. The townhouse was great. Everything we needed. 4 bedrooms, a dining table for 8, 2 TVs, including a flat screen, and a hot tub.

Conditions for skiing ended up being great. Friday it snowed all day, and Saturday and Sunday were perfect bluebird days. I was really happy both with how I skied and how much I skied - second only to Graeme in time on the mountain.

Lots of fun, friend time and action! It really felt like a vacation.

Fit Session and..

Sunday afternoon we headed over to Speedtheory for a fit session on my tri bike. My tri bike is an old Quintana Roo that I have had for a few years, but which I have barely ridden since the purchase of my road bike, and which I really didn't ride that much before buying my road bike.

It was the first bike I bought when I decided to start riding, and was bought before either Graeme or I really knew anything about bikes. I probably shoould have been more aware when I bought it, or at least taken notice of the fact that the owner at the particular bike store did not seem to think that riding a bike was appropriate for a girl.

Anyway, the bike is on the large side for me, and Doug was very nice to spend well over an hour with me, trying everything he could to see what was the best fit I could achieve on the bike. It didn't end up being that bad, but then Doug tried me on a smaller (51cm I believe) P1 that was in stock, and it was pretty easy to see that I fit much better on something like that.

So then the decision became, do I spend money on the parts to make my QR fit better, but not great, or do I look at a new bike.

Well, this (not the exact build, and not those wheels) will be mine as soon as its in!



I have to thank Speedtheory again because this would not be possible without them. They have been so great to Graeme and I, and if you are in town or looking for anything tri related, this is the place to go. And of course Argon18 too. My road bike is also a red Argon18 so apparently I have a thing for them. There is a little more to this story, which will be posted soon.

I really have to get riding (and swimming and running) to be worthy of this!

Vancouver

Saw this on another blog. Love this city.

Whistler Gran Fondo

We are already more than halfway through January! After being sick for the first week of January, the goal has been to get back on track. Of course then I had a work conference in Whistler which included many late nights and too much alcohol imbibing, but I at least have managed to do something all but one day, even if the workouts that happened were not of the best quality. Better to get something done at least.

So onto the Whistler Gran Fondo. This is a race/ride that is taking place September 11, 2010. It goes from downtown Vancouver to Whistler along the new and improved Sea to Sky Highway, which has been upgraded ahead of the Winter Olympics (which start in a few weeks!).

The organizers have been able to secure a dedicated lane the entire way. This is going to be a beautiful ride. It is 120km (74.5 mi) with over 2400m (7800 ft) of climbing. It is the inaugural ride, and although the event is still 8 months out, it is more than half sold out!

If anyone is looking for a destination ride to do and is in the general area, I think this is going to be a good one. Each time we drive up to Whistler now I am looking at the odometer to measure how long some of the hills are. And they are long. And plentiful.

This is the type of scenery you will see.

Hut Trip

Following New Years we were booked to go the Wendy Thompson hut, which is located off the Duffy Road, north of Whistler and Pemberton. We headed up to Whistler Friday night and Saturday morning we got up, finished our prep, grabbed coffee and drove up the Duffy Road to our parking location.

The skin in took close to 5 hours. And my pack was HEAVY. I had a number of times where I lost my balance because of it and had a hard time getting up. The first part was not easy, especially on the steep sections, but I did eventually get the hang of it after a few there is no way I can do this moments. We did break for lunch during that time as well as a couple other breaks to refuel, and to put bodyglide on my back where the pack was chafing me, but aside from that it was straight cardio for hours.

Once we got to the hut, we relaxed. I wasn't feeling great and basically sat in the corner freezing, reading my book. Eventually I adjusted to the cold a bit, but it was still cold. Fortunately we had bought liners for out sleeping bags and I was actually warm during the night, though not very comfortable. I didn't sleep much Saturday night and still wasn't feeling that great, plus I was worried about the skin/ski out so I decided not to do any extra skinning/skiing and just stayed in the hut with my book while the boys went out. There is something about the complete pure silence of being in the middle of nowhere with no electricity that makes you appreciate how huge the world is.

I had wanted to leave around 1:30pm, worried about the darkness of the night, but we didn't get going until close to 3pm. In my head all I could think was, make it to the road before dark. Not the road where we parked, but an old logging road we had skinned up, that was pretty easy going and which I knew I could handle in the dark. And we did make it. Barely.

Eventually we stopped to put on our headlamps and did the last part in total darkness. There was one shortish steep treed part to get from the logging road down to the actual road. I just stayed close behind Graeme and took it slow. And I made it. I wasn't sure I was going to, but I did.

It was most certainly an adventure. One I am not sure I am ready for again so soon. But we'll see. I am sure feeling better would have helped!



Yes, this is me when we finally got back to the car.

Another year over and a new one just about to begin

2009 has been a good year. Generally I have a single workout log for the year, but between computer troubles ealier this year and then switching to training peaks (which I am not a fan of), it took a long time last night to compile the yearly statistics, some of which I had to glean from my blog and another journal I keep. Overall my hours per week were just over 7.8, up 3 hours per week over 2008. I was up in every area, with more running then anything else.

This year I did my first triathlon, my first trail race, ran Ragnar Relay with a group of women I had never met, went backcountry skiing for the first time, and most of all, was more consistent then I have ever been and the most injury free. But of course there is still lots of room for improvement and I will need to stay injury free and be even more consistent to get there.

I have my last workouts of 2009 done, and now to get ready to ring in the new year with a great dinner out followed by a party with great friends.

Happy New Year everyone! May 2010 bring all that you hope for and more.