Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Busted!

Another great day for summer fun. I met Addie after her tennis lesson with my racquet and we played for an hour a half.  This, I suppose, may have been why I decided to have kids in the first place...after all, I used to get frustrated years ago when I hit with Peter, something about him making fun of my overhead and too many drop shots. Fast forward twelve years, wow! This is so fun!  So after two and a half hours of tennis in quite hot sunny weather, I thought about what sort of treat we might purchase. The only retail establishment between the courts and home is 7-11, so now, loyal reader, you might guess where I took her. Not to be overly dramatic, but the squeal of joy that the kid let out highlights the very fact that we don't visit our local store often...more like...never.  So what a surprise do we find when we walk into the store but Ashby and J & V.  We all burst out laughing....talk about busted...but it is summer, after all.

Busted!

happiness.

Mom...you said anything in the store!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Rest Day!

Ahhh. After a tough weekend of training, there's nothing better than Monday, rest day.  So here I am, picking Addie up from her tennis lesson! What self respecting parent/athlete would turn down an offer from the kid to hit some balls? Within minutes I was sprinting around the court, sweat streaming down my face. Girl is getting better and better! Forget Ironman, I've got some groundstrokes to work on!




Sunday, June 26, 2011

Brick, The Seminar

Today I went for a ride to the Dam with the guys, and Jack suggested that I join he and Mike for a brick run afterwards. I had a run on the docket for the day, so, of course! Training has bordered on lonely lately so a sunny morning with buddies was the perfect fix. This was a particularly good run because it gave us ample opportunity to discuss Ironman run training strategy. Mike is a true master, and I love to hear what he has to say. To me, Mike is a great Ironman theorizer because he balances technical training details with a considerable dose of heart (without which, the heart part, I would find the whole Ironman endeavor completely boring and as fulfilling as chewing on metal lawn furniture). When we all met up in Jack & Ave's spectacular backyard, we were all three wearing the same little fuel belt which carries fliuds and nutrition. Go team!
During our run we were spotted by no less than three of our Lake/Harlem cycling buddies plus my runner friend Mary. Jack & I were adamant that being seen bricking by our pals was a major plus. Cool cucumber Mike was nonplussed, but really, who ever knows what is going on in the mind of a champion...
After the affair, we sat down with a bit of apple juice, pretzels, deadly good salami, and cheese made in Ave's Italian home town.





Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Airport Ride

It's hard for me to believe that only two nights ago we sat at our kitchen table and argued with Jodi that we do Not want to move to Colorado or anywhere else for that fact.  But argue we did.    After all these years, frankly, I admit that I basically love my life and besides, with a BS monitor like mine, I won't do very well in any sort of place where people think that, well, their home is somehow above all *that*. And by *that*, I mean, all the stuff that we witness and tolerate here in Illinois just about every day and Peter (and now even the girls), and I amuse ourselves to no end at the hilarity of it all.  But today, as I dragged myself out of bed in order to ride early enough to miss at least some of the ghastly traffic on our roads here in the Western Suburbs, I had to wonder at the wisdom of staying here. I am an athlete and a cyclist, aren't I?  What am I thinking?  I had missed the pack of bloodthirsty riders that I ally myself with, so, again, off to the wild blue horizon solo.  A middle aged mom on a very expensive red and white bicycle, through Oak Park, River Forest, Maywood, Berkeley, Elmhurst, and so on and so forth.  The routes are tried and true, and if it weren't for my trusty cohort of male cycling buddies I would have NO CLUE where to go on a bicycle around here. In fact, I'd give up, like any other self respecting female rider and surrender to the trainer or a spin class.
Destination: Airport Ride

We have quite a few decent rides, with nice straightaways, sometimes a ridable shoulder, and a few rollers and one or two hills.  After eight years, I wouldn't know the alternative.  But because we have relatively few rides, we have named most of them, and this ride is called the airport ride. It's a ride that takes us due west and slightly north towards the Dupage County airport. It's a tiny place, but at the thirty mile spot we can go to the back side of the airport and use a spiffy clean port-o-let and adjust ourselves, eat a cliff bar, and continue on home.  Today I took a few shots of the parking pad where the small planes are parked.


I have a special fondness for small regional airports--in fact, I once took a flying lesson!  Earlier this year, when I was boarding an American Airlines flight to visit Mom and Dad, I found myself sitting between two  male pilots.  One of the guys turned to me and said: "If you want to know anything about flying, you can ask either one of us."  I looked him in the eye, and said: "If you want to know anything about flying you might want to ask me....in fact, I once took a flying lesson!" I sure told them!  They seemed to enjoy my story, because it was really the tale of me trying to overcome my nervousness while flying on jet planes.   It gave me a sense of what is actually happening when we're in a plane.  We've still basically got to surrender control, but now turbulence and how the craft works makes more sense to me.
You might want to ask me about flying!


And then for the remainder of a long day's ride.  I head back towards home, but instead of coming all the way in, east toward Oak Park, I turn on Finley and go all the way south to another one of our rides, the Bluff Road ride.  After I was about sixty three miles into the whole affair, I took notice of a pond that I've passed many times on my bike.  The wildflowers are in bloom, plenty of birds, a pretty white farmhouse on the frontage road.  Not all bad, right?  It was a scene worth taking in, on this not too hot day, when I had a good solid ride under my wheels, and, I might add, I was the fastest woman I saw all day.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Illinois Wildlife, Again

Solstice came and went, and it's time to start loading on a bit of volume, particularly on the run. Went out midday and the winds and dark clouds were grim but not hot and no threat of thunder--perfect long run weather! I've come to accept that summer around here involves crazy weather. Sometimes, it's worthwhile to take pause and notice how surreal it all is. Like this scene I approached about four miles into my run. A solitary young deer, standing at the corner of Thatcher and Greenfield, as if waiting for the traffic to pause so that he/she might cross back into the Cook County Forest Preserve. The deer stared at me for a long while and a few drivers slowed to gaze. Finally a break and Bambi was off like a shot. I continued for another hour-plus, aided by my little bottles of sugar water and Pandora Radio.


What is a catch basin & why do I care?

The tornado alert siren went off a few nights ago. Meanwhile the kids were already in the basement getting ready for an episode of The Next Generation, and I was getting ready for an hour of jigsaw puzzling. Yes, it was the solstice and high summer was upon us.  The rain and wind started pounding, and soon after I got comfortable, I realized we were flooding.  The catch basin had risen rapidly and we were caught offguard.  Peter was in DC and here I was, in a stinky basement, with two kids and possible threat of damaging storm coming through. The unencumbered woman knew that she was in over her head...thus rescued with a call for help. Mark raced over to help me clean the area. The man actually showed up in leyderhausen!!! The wonders of my friends never cease.  Today my catchbasin guy came by with one of his daughters helping him.  Dale was wearing a fabulous shirt that I had to get a shot of.  And, by the way, if you're scratching your head wondering what in the world a catch basin is, all I can do is shake my head, chuckling my favorite refrain: "only in Illinois".


Saturday, June 18, 2011

Another run in beautiful...

Today, the day before Father's Day, a sweltering, hazy, Chicagoland day.  Weekend of the epic Father's Day (youth) swim meet in the blistering sun and heat. I had already ridden a hearty fifty miles this morning, and then between swim meet responsibilities I ran for forty minutes, then another forty minutes after dropping Addie at her final event (that would be four hundred meters of freestyle).  Here I am, admiring the scenery from the overpass over the so-called Eisenhower Expressway.  Temp? Most likely about eighty with a heat index of about eighty five (don't worry, in another month it'll be ninety and we'll be wishing for this temp!



Monday, June 13, 2011

Only in Chicago

One of my perennial complaints about this place is the absence of quality bike shops. I've made peace with the issue, and have embraced our local alternative, which comes in the form of a basement mechanic. My visits to my guru have come to symbolize turning of the season and royal treatment. My guy is an off duty firefighter (so Chicago).  In the past few years another guy has opened a back room shop that is closer to home...but, heck, this is Chicago! I have my loyalties and Mike has served me well!



Sunday, June 12, 2011

All dressed up and not ready to go

Birthday morning. I managed to get all geared up but not quite ready to leave the peace of the house and my current project (my first experience in broomstick lace crochet). Needless to say, I did get out for a hearty ride, followed by a brew at John's house, a nap, and finally a run with my trusty training buddy alongside me. Today I felt better than my forty-four years and I pulled out the TT (time trial/triathlon) bike. It's showtime! Sixty miles later, a northeast wind picking up, and twenty- two miles to go, I'm not so sure today was a good idea, but I'll make it, with my good ol' fashioned pluck and gumption!


Peter says: This is the shot that you need for your blog!
My running buddy--pit stops necessary! Drinking so-called sugar water and loving life!
What better cycling terrain....suburban industrial park?

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Thus Unencumbered

Friends know that exactly one week ago I was liberated of my camera and laptop. How terrible! I would miss my everything! Did you back everything up!? Says everyone. Alas, I don't want to get into the details, but there is a way to take this experience and further lighten the load. After all, what am I doing with all this stuff, anyway? And so, here I sit, smartphone in hand, in the shade of my backyard. It's about ninety degrees with a heat index of ninety three. It feels fabulous and the essence of summer. I'm finding that the New Yorker's review of Annie Proulx's new memoir feels accurate to me, but it's readable.




Sunday, June 5, 2011

Triathlon 101: brick

 A brick is a workout in which we combine two of the activities in triathlon into one workout. Usually, a brick refers to a run following a bike ride. In my own training, as races near, I try to run one brick per week. Today I had the pleasure of going for a quick run after an unusually long ride. Sometimes a brick feels like running is useless and I get cramped up and feel as though I'm completely famished.  Sometimes I'm really too busy when I get back home after a ride to even think about leaving again for something so self-indulgent as more training.  Sometimes I'd rather pick up a magazine, take a shower, prepare a great meal, or check my email.  Today, however, after tidying the kitchen up and putting some laundry in the washer, and checking email and trying to coordinate evening plans with Peter, I had enough energy to get back out there in what had become one of the most picture perfect days of the year.  Motivation is certainly improved when it is sunny, not too humid, and about 76 degrees. I often think: "there's a reason why triathlon was invented in San Diego...not Chicago".
Tomorrow we can expect another onslaught of hot, humid weather, so for one day I enjoyed the feeling of effortless training.

 
Peter had some fun making the video.  Caption for the final seconds..."Where is Karen going?  Oh, not to her house!"  Implying somehow that I am running from my own life....well....quite possibly, but I'm back here, now.

Free frappuccinos & bad business advice

Another long Sunday ride, destination Starbucks. I'm meeting Jim and he had a flat. The surly suburbanites who work here seem to be having a tiff about their work. The gal who behaves as if she's in charge is grumbling something about "so we can make this store as efficient as possible." Great way to make being a coffee house employee miserable.  But I have fake money, in the form of preferred customer status. I whip out the coupon that Peter gave me and I ask what their biggest, baddest drink is. I'll sit outside and drink it while I peek in the FedEx office storefront and gaze at the rack of books for sale.  I love these titles...how to work for an idiot...survive and thrive without killing your boss; working with you is killing me...freeing yourself from emotional traps at work; can I wear my nose ring to the interview?; how to keep your job; happy; how to spot a liar; how to change anybody; and, finally: suddenly frugal.  Yeah. Maybe if we started at frugal we wouldn't have to be so miserable at work. But what am I saying, our beloved boss quit just last week.