Carbon River Glacier Hike

Biked 5 miles uphill on the mountain bikes from the Carbon Ranger Station to Ipsut Campground, tented it over night, hiked 5 miles uphill to the glacier. 

WOW.

Hiked back down to camp, rode bikes back to car & rewarded ourselves for the 30,000 steps with burgers at the Wilkeson Saloon.

And Now, Triathlon

Went to the doctor today for the pain in my foot and the ultrasound showed the tumor is practically gone, which is a very good thing. But he couldn't find any explanation for the pain in the top of my foot.

Now for something weird: There is a tiny spot on the second metatarsal bone of my left foot, the foot that hurts and its an old stress fracture.

See the small gray spot here? This is where it is.

And something different, where the 2 small bones are circled in red on my right foot, I have 3 small bones. Obviously this isn't my right foot.

He said there isn't any arthritis in my feet at all, that the xrays show my feet looking

very good for my age.

So while there is no reason for my foot pain I do have the go-ahead to train for IMCDA 70.3 on June 24th so I've got 144 days to train.

Rode Today

I actually got out on the trails at Banner Forest today on Sunshower with Karen on her mare, rode about 5 miles. What an awesome time!

 

Now I want to ride my horse every day and not do Ironman next year.

Decisions, decisions.

Dying... I mean dieting

Today is the last day of my diet again. I was pretty good until Brandan brought home a PIZZA!  I actually ate 1.5 slices. It wasn't good and I wasn't hungry enough for the whole 2nd piece but I ate it anyway.

I started out at 148.6 and lost 7 lbs. I'm totally happy with that. I look and feel better. I'll be getting on the Computrainer tomorrow and feeling better than I wouldn't have otherwise.

Today I got my hair cut and it feels so entirely light again. Amanda was there, its her mom that cuts it for me. Amanda and I like to ride mtn bikes together, shes got the strength and I have the skill so we are even. I hope I can ride with her a lot this winter, its so much fun.

Weather man has been saying its going to be super cold or else warmer than normal. Well then. 

Windy will be running her 1st marathon on Sunday, the Portland Marathon. Shes going to do amazingly well. Shes so sweet, she dedicated mile 19 to me because shes never gone more than 18 miles before and 19 is where she will think about me. Its humbling when someone says they have been inspired by you.

I bought a new used saddle for Sunshower; Cassie sold me her Circle Y Park & Trail leather cordura saddle. I've used it before on my mare and it fits her very well, way better than her previous saddle. So I cleaned up the old one & have it on Craigslist to sell. I paid $250 for the new one, asking 250 for mine and hope to get 200.

Today Lan & I tore the roof off the carport and tomorrow we will put a new roof on. I certainly hope it all goes easily. LOL.

 

 

We're going to put plastic corrugated roofing on the top now with some clear ones to allow more light into the house. That will make this a much happier home.

 

My road bike seat has been returned to me, last weekend someone brought it here and left it on our gate. Lan found it. I'm pretty happy, I can now ride that bike outside and have my tri bike on the computrainer.

Got in the 100 miles

Last Saturday Lan & I rode the bikes 100 miles. Or, I did.

We left home at 10:24am, headed through Gig Harbor. This is the northern beginning of the Cushman Trail, a paved bike & walking path alongside the city most of the way to the Narrows Bridge. Sections are pretty steep, this was 8% upgrade, one part was 10%.

Over the Narrows Bridge.

We went on the same route Lindy, Heidi & I had ridden the previous week but Lan & I went & got on the ferry, Chetzmocha, to Vashon Island. This was my first time to ride this boat & I was impressed, they have many, many bike racks inside the Mezzanine level and seating for the riders so you're not stuck outside in the cold wind if you don't have cleat covers.

How lucky we were, it was loading as we got to the dock, no waiting at all.

This is Vashon Island. When I worked at Fauntleroy ferry terminal, one of the 2 destinations was the northern end of this island. The one at the southern end is Tahlequah and that's the one we got on at. We rode up to the A but also added in some of the little island off to the right, Maury Island. That one was just so damn hilly that we decided to go back.

At the blue marker we stopped and had a small lunch.

This is inside the Wet Whisker, a small general store/deli/coffee bar. Very cute, extremely expensive. But a nice respite from the ride.

 

We were just in time for the return boat heading back to Tacoma, only had to sit there a couple minutes to wait for the cars to unload.

After leaving Vashon we rode along the waterfront for .5 mile, over to Owen Beach & headed up. UP is putting it lightly. The exit from that beach is super duper steep. I was riding at 2.3 mph, barely moving but I didn't have to walk. I'd say its easily 10% upgrade for .25 mile.

This is what I found online: Ride up Owen Beach Hill at Point Defiance as repeats.
Hill is roughly 4/10 of a mile and 200 ft. elevation gain in total with an average 10-11% grade.
Recover over next 1.5 miles after climb (spinning easily), loop back around and hit it again. Do 4-8 times as fitness level and intestinal fortitude allow (sometimes once is enough). Do the longer loops around to the park entrance/exit if you need more recovery time.
Vomiting is permitted, you carry less weight up the hill.


Here is Lan at the end of Pt D, we're ready to head back toward the Narrows.

 

 

This is a map of our whole ride that day. We made it 88.2 miles, not the entire 100 I had planned but I had horses to feed and daylight was running out.

And since I had HAD to get in 100 full miles, I got on the bike trainer and finished the last 11.2. This photo is me, with tears in my eyes.  But the tears are from information shared with me from Windy.

My bib number for Ironman Coeur d'Alene this year is 868. This makes it real and for a few minutes I was experiencing sheer terror.

Totals for May 13-19.
Swim: 3.7 miles  (not counting yards now, this was all open water)
Bike: 151.67 miles
Run: 6.53 miles
Total miles: 161.90
Total time: 15:45


In horsey news:

Sarah & Lulu

Joey & me

I went on a trail ride on Joey, with Sarah on her mare, Lulu. Went a couple hours in Alpine Forest, saw a couple deer & another couple of riders. It was fun for me. I'm sure Sarah was bored
stiff, she and Lulu are used to running the entire way because they are training for a 25 mile endurance race. Joey had a good time, he LOVES the trails and he has no fear. He goes anywhere and isn't afraid to lead or follow.

And yesterday I rode him again but just in the arena. Saddled him up in the English saddle. First I let Hannah ride him while I saddled Sunshower for me to ride.
That turd would not move forward. I was so frustrated! But she finally did, then we switched horses and Hannah rode her for a while. Joey was wonderful again, as I knew he would be.

Is it obvious I've been busy?

Its been 3 weeks since I posted. In that time I crashed my bike, Lan & I went to Las Vegas, and I've been working.

Linda and I had planned on attempting 100 miles so rode out to Fox Island. We didn't realize it was SO HILLY. Took us about 5 hours & we only went 40 miles. Then we were heading home & I CRASHED MY TRI BIKE. The bike is fine but I had a HUGE ass bruise on my hip/thigh that hurt like a mother. Of course, it was just days before we went to Vegas so I had to go to the pool with that fucker on my leg.

In Vegas we got in 3 excellent rides in the desert. 19 miles the first day in the 99* heat and 6+ miles the next 2 days, one where it was 98* and then it cooled down to 78* for the third ride. So much fun & only 1 round of tears.

I went shopping while down there, got some nice bib shorts that I can pull down to pee without removing my jersey. Also got a new Las Vegas jersey and compression socks and calf sleeves. The socks ROCK for traveling, my legs & feet felt great when we got home.

After we left Vegas we stopped by Jeffs house where we attempted a mtn bike ride but gave up after .5 mile of 6-8 inch deep loose sand. But fun!

Here are this weeks workout totals (I tweaked my back on a ride this week)

This does not include The last 2 days of riding which were low miles/high hours.This does not include The last 2 days of riding which were low miles/high hours.This does not include The last 2 days of riding which were low miles/high hours.

Totals for May 6-12.
Swim: 5190 yards (2.94 miles)
Bike: 102.96 miles
Run: 6.25 miles
Total miles: 112.15
Total time: 14:45

Two lake swims worked out well for me. This photo was taken yesterday at Wildcat Lake, we all swam .94 mile, out to the 'white bucket dock'. Since I've just discovered its only .94 mile, I'm going to go past it next time. Which could be tomorrow...

Yellow cap in back-Lan
Yellow on left-me
green cap by noodle- Steve
Green cap in middle-Lindy
Pink cap on right-Windy

And work, ah, work. I do love my dock but I don't like working when it interferes with my working out. Since I'm low man on the seniority list for our dock, I get all the crappy shifts. I'm not (yet) on tomorrows schedule but if they call I have to drop whatever I'm doing and get my ass there. I'll have Tuesday & Wednesday off but they WANT me to work those days and on Thursday I get  the 4:10am-2:10pm shift. I tried to figure out a way to get out of it but only if I give up something else, like, my 2:30 Wednesday massage. Not gonna happen.

This is the ferry, Kitsap, tied up in slip 2 for the night and Walla Walla coming in at 1:40am to tie up in slip 1. When working night Watch (midnight - 4am shift) I have to set the auto bridge close to the height so the boat can slip under it without it being to high or too low. Then I run upstairs and lower the plank for the walking off passengers. That's where I was when I took this photo. The  Walla Walla can hold about 188 cars if they are parked very close together and the Kitsap can hold about 160.

Horsey news:
I haven't even been into the barn except to feed horses for most of this week. So dang busy! Only a couple more months and I'll have time for my ponies.

Riding outside so much

These last 2 weeks it's been pretty darn nice outside so I've been riding out there and LOVING it.

On Monday I had my 2nd annual Practice Half Ironman and I did pretty dang good. Swam 1.2 miles at Bremerton pool in 58:59, right where I wanted to be and then I rode my bike 56 miles in 4:05:52.
This is planned not for speed necessarily but to guage how I'll feel mostly and I planned a 90 minute T1, enough time to get changed and drive home.

Bike split times were excellent:   ( the seconds were for slowing down & getting stopped)
28 miles, half way:  2:00:14

42 miles, 3/4 the distance:  3:00:15

56 miles, completed: 4:05:52

I was really hoping I'd get this done in 4 hours and I did it. I wasn't home at the end, I still had to go another 1.5 miles to get there but I didn't come up short, either.

My mental toughness has something to be desired. At the 3/4 mark I called Lan to let him know where I was and my timing & he said he might ride out to meet me. So right about mile 48, out on Sunnyslope road, I was so tired, I knew if he was coming it should be any time now and I was feeling a bit low. I almost started crying. But its hard to ride when you're crying and I knew I only had a short way to go. But I really needed to see him, you kow, that moral support.

So I kept going and right around the very next corner, there he was. I was so glad to see him! Then I did cry!  And I was bonking, just needed a boost. So he rode with me for the rest of the ride, he listened to me cry once more and he was there when I finished. And even with the bawling I felt good to be done.

Yesterday I rode with Windy on hill repeats for 1:30 and that was another good ride. Shes only training for a half IM but shes going at it harder than I am. She can't run either so we're in the same boat.

I'm not able to run right now, my Achilles tendons are sore and I'm scared of hurting them but I am swimming and biking.

I have a long way to go before IM CDA but once again, I'm getting there.  Training comes 1st.

When I know I've got to work I plan around it, if I'm not sure about work I'll plan workouts 1st thing in the morning. Usually after 12:00 I know if they are going to need me or not but hopefully by then I'm done with my ride or swim or whatever I'm doing.

Today is cross training, cleaning stalls at the big barn with Amy.

Horse news:

New horse in the barn, Sneakers. 16.2hh TB gelding, 3 white socks and a blaze, very striking. Until you see him up close; hes got a Roman nose and the shape of his head isn't that desirable. But maybe I'm just used to Joey.

Wifi is white again, so pretty.

 Shes also shedding it pretty fast and with the warmer days (60's) she gets sweaty fast. And shes a stinker, I really need to work with her.

Other news:
WE'RE GOING TO LAS VEGAS!!!  Late April, early May. Might have time to stop in & see Jeff & Hitomi.

Park 360, again

Today Amy, Kate & I took our horses for a ride at Park 360.

Kate rode Lolli, a Bashkur Curly mare.
Kate owns the new farm down the road, Windstone and she teaches Dressage. I've recently started working with/for her and shes in turn will help me with Wifi. Great deal!

Kate was also a bit buzzed from drinking with her mom & grandma.

I love this photo of me on Sunshower, its really a nice one.

We rode for about an hour & then had to head home so Kate could conduct business. I've got the trailer at home again so there should be many more rides in the near future.

I wish we had thought to take a few pictures of Amy on Glory. Next time for sure.

Riding in the snow

I hate that this site wont let me post pictures!

Yesterday we signed up for the YMCA weight loss challenge at Silverdale Y. You're supposed to have 4 people on your team but the 2 people who I had first started out with had a 3rd person & then we lost Alyssa, then we lost 2 other ladies... I think we're on a team of just ourselves. I want to lose weight no matter what so I'm going to try, no matter what, and Lan needs to eat healthier because hes got hereditary high cholesterol. I don't want him to die!

After the Y we decided to take the mtn bikes out for a ride in the snow. Actually we were going to go to Banner Forest but I wanted something more difficult, something that would make me work harder, so it was me who said Wildcat Lake Trail. On the way home from the Y, I texted Les and asked him if he wanted to go too and even though hes not a mtn biker so much, hes got a mtn bike and he decided it might be fun.

We met at the trailhead at 12:30 and started out, and it was pretty fun. The temps in the parking lot were about 34* and I was scared I'd freeze but starting out uphill warmed me perfectly so I was pleasantly heated up.

The only problem I had was that Les was in front of me & he had to keep stopping and I had to stop for him. There were a few spots where I could have kept going. I felt bad for him but then realized that I used to be in his shoes on the mtn bike and that while we're out on the road bikes its me slowing him down. So I had plenty of patience and tried to encourage him.

It was funny, though, to come around a corner and find him spread eagle on his back in a bush alongside the trail.

From the trailhead to the top of Green Mountain on Wildcat Lake Trail its about 1000 feet of elevation gain. We were only able to go about 4 miles up & had to turn back because the snow was getting a little deep and then we came to a place with trees down across the road and it wasn't cleared on the other side. it wold have been too hard to ride thru the hard crunchy snow so we had to turn back.

Coming down was a lot of fun. We had all brought extra clothing to wear down & after bundling up we headed down. I wasn't too cold, it was about 30* up there, but its hard work on the core & legs to come downhill. I did great, no crashes, no getting off to make it over rough areas. I was rather proud of myself.

My official Ironman training plan had called for 90 minutes of riding, we rode for 2 hours. I was going to call that good but last night I got on my bike trainer and did the entire 90 minutes too, timed perfectly. I went to bed and slept for 15 hours.

Today I have an easier workout so I'll get to that in a few minutes, just 50 minutes of running and 35 on the bike. Easy peasy.

My First Duathlon

Today I participated in my first duathlon, the JFROG (the J is silent). It was very low key, just 11 people from the triathlon group who showed up to do it but 1 guys bike broke so there were 10 finishers.

2 mile run through trails, 6 miles on the mtn bike & 1 mile on trails again.

I ran with Lisa and Lan for the first run, finished in 22 minutes.  Changed into biking stuff, was last one out of T1. 22 minutes.

I got lost on the trails 3 times in the first section, they were poorly marked, everyone said it & many went the wrong ways. I was getting discouraged that I was so slow. I was about 5 miles on the bike when I came upon Lisa pushing her bike. Its an old bike and the derailleur pulley was broken. She pushed/ran for a while, then Lan took her my bike to finish up. 49 minutes.

We both ran together to finish up, deliberately cutting the last mile short. Well, she was leading, I was following but it was nice to be done. 11 minutes.

Afterward we all enjoyed hot cocoa and spiced cider, then we all participated in a WHITE ELEPHANT gift exchange. Lan & I had brought a light blue Alaskan Amber sweatshirt and a DVD of War of the Worlds. The first place guy got to pick first, I was #9. The gifts we bought were taken right away (yay!) and I brought home 2 books, something about rock climbing & Jurassic Park. Lan chose a small trophy and we WILL be putting in on display and he WILL say he got it in his first Duathlon!

This is the post the organiser had on FaceBook:
Congratulations to Dane Ballou who came down from altitude for todays muddy duathlon. Getting separation on the initial run leg he poured it on during the bike and cruised off the trails in the final run. Also, a great job by Lisa B, Denise, Lan (da Hammer), Egan, Ed, Keith, Riley, Joe and the Amazing Frog, Greg Pelton...aka crash. Thanks to the support crews who kept the hot water hot and the spirits high. It was fun, challenging, muddy and fast.   Get outside and play people!

War Horse Movie Premier in Seattle

How is training going? Very good.

I was given tickets for 4 people to go to the Movie premier of War Horse.

I've heard its a real tear jerker so I'm going to take a handful of tissues.

The movie is in Seattle tomorrow night at 7pm, we have to be there before 6:15 to be guaranteed a seat. Meghan, her mom and her friend, Ashley, are going to go.

The movie isn't set to be released until Christmas Eve so we're seeing it a whole 10 days early, how cool. I can't freakin' wait!

I won't get a chance to work out tomorrow, will work from 7am till 3pm then meeting Meghan for the movie. I'm pretty sure I wont get home before  11:15pm and then I have to turn around and go back Thursday for the same shift.

I did get a good workout this morning, even though it wasn't what I had planned on doing. I wore my bathing suit to the gym and got there early enough to swim for at least a half hour. But I forgot my goggles! Changed and had 20 minutes to run on the indoor track instead, then got a bit of an early start on the spin bike. I went 13.5 miles in 43 minutes instead of the usual 10.

Torrey challenged me and the rest of the class, but specifically me, to this awesome race. Run then do 4 minutes to push-ups, run & 4 minutes of squats, run & 4 minutes of ... I don't know if I COULD do it but it will be in April and I'll (I BETTER BE) in excellent condition then.

Lan has been extraordinarily kind and has said some very nice things about me lately. First he told his mom that my Ironman is THE thing going on next June, not 'See what else is going on' as she keeps putting it. But her sister is dying and I've got remember that.

Then today he said I wimp out way less than he does when I feel like I wimp out more. so that meant a lot to me. He's the best.

99

How is training going? 99

I am at 99 miles ran for the year, so far. I woke up this morning at 6am and told myself I need to get out there and run, so I did. I was only going to go 1 mile but after putting on workout clothing I figured I might as well go a little farther and 2.4 was my limit for the day.

I also had a Body Camp session with Ginger this evening and that kicked my ass. In 3 weeks this is only my 2nd time to actually go to it and I had hoped to get to all of them. But life gets in the way sometimes. Friends need favors, I have other activities to do, like mtn biking or the horses, or I'm just not into it for the day. I won't be there for the last free session on Friday because I'll be at my

30 year class reunion

I wil be seeing people I haven't seen in about 32 years so it will be quite interesting. Some of them I saw a month ago and it was very fun. I hope Lan can have a good time too.

When friends blog

How is training going? Good.

I cross trained today but not at the gym. I sold 2 truck loads of composted horse manure (yes, my horses DO make me money!!) and I had to deliver and shovel it out of the trucks. The first load was in my little Ford Ranger

but the second load was in my Dodge 1 ton  and it was a lot bigger, probably 50% more than the Ranger had in it. My arms were beat when I was finished unloading. But I did get a workout and for that I am glad.

I had another person who wanted manure today but Lan told me to wait on it, its not done composting so I had to postpone their delivery. I hope they don't just go someplace else for a load. Lan turned all of ours and has it all covered up again and we'll check it out in another month. There are a lot of farms around here that give away free manure but with most of them you have to shovel it into your truck yourself. I have a tractor to load it into my truck and I charge for the delivery.

As for the title of this post, my friend, Kris, is now blogging about her Iron(WO)man training. Shes got just over 150 days to go. I've never met Kris before, I just know her on FaceBook and through our mutual friend, Linda. I will be meeting Kris this weekend right after my swimming workshop and I am looking forward to it. Kris makes me laugh every day on FB and I've enjoyed her new blog. Shes working her ass off to complete the Coeur d'Alene and here I whine about a measly half Marathon. If she can do an entire Ironman then I need to shut the fuck up and get my ass out there and run for my little 13.1 miles.

Sleep

How is training going?  I woke up in pain.

Because Lan and I have the worst mattress on earth. I hate it and have hated it every day since we got it. It is at least 3rd hand to us. But Lan liked it better than the BRAND NEW ONE we had before.
I have made the decision that we are going to go purchase a new bed this weekend. Lan wants a king size TempurPedic but I doubt we can afford that. But I can't afford to go to bed feeling good and wake up hurting any longer.

The TEMPUR-Cloud Collection

The Tempur-Cloud

Some people want more than a soft mattress—they want to feel like they’re “sleeping on a cloud”. The TEMPUR-Cloud delivers Tempur-Pedic support with wonderful “floating on a cloud” softness.
Feel: medium-soft

The TEMPUR-Cloud Supreme

If you believe that softer is better, step up to the TEMPUR-Cloud Supreme. The deep comfort layer means a pillowy-soft feel, along with body-aligning support. This is truly softness you can believe in.
Feel: soft

The TEMPUR-Cloud Luxe

With the most TEMPUR-ES material of any mattress, the TEMPUR-Cloud Luxe envelopes you in pillowy-softness. When you want Tempur-Pedic support along with ultimate softness, this is the perfect choice.
Feel: soft

I slept on a bed once, (mind you, just ONCE) that I need to have in my life. It was the softest bed on earth but also firm. I laid down on my back, crossed my arms over my chest and fell alseep. I didn't wake up all night and in the morning I woke up on my back with my arms still crossed and I felt more rested than at any other time in my life.

We will go to Sleep Country.

And we will go to Mattress Ranch. I hope the goofy old man is there, I'll get his autograph for my mother in law.

We're going to need a new bed frame also if we're moving up to king again. I like the one I have now, its queen and the head board has a built in light that I never use but there is room for lots and lots of books and I can shove my pillow into the headboard when I'm ready to sleep.

Getting better sleep is going to make my training go that much better.

I did cross training today, the spin/strength class with Torrey. I didn't go all out, my leg/hip is hurting just a little so I'm taking it wasy today. but Torrey informed us that shes going to be working us hard on tuesdays and easier on Thursdays so our weekend runs will be a little easier for us. Very thoughtful.