Catching up with Friends

Thanks to Facebook I’ve been able to reconnect with old friends/classmates.

Through Facebook I learned that a classmate would be in town for the weekend. So we got together for a little while for a drink:

Sharon (classmate and good friend), two friends of Kim’s, Shelley (cousin), Kim (classmate) and Me.

This was also a good excuse to get together with my friend Sharon. She lives relatively close and we don’t see them as often as we should.

It’s always good to catch up with friends, even if the visit is all too brief.

Sweet Potato Chips

In an attempt to eat healthy I don’t eat potato chips, as much as I love them. So to satiate my chip craving, I turn to Terra Spiced Sweet Potato Chips. The are a healthier alternative to normal potato chips, I hope.

I don’t care too much for the regular ones, I like the spiced ones – they have more flavor. The Sweets and Beets are okay but the Sweet and Carrots are better.

I found the best deal on Amazon. We buy them by the case, which makes the price better than in the local grocery store.

If you like chips, you should definitely give them a try! They are great with sandwiches, burgers, or just as a snack.

Corporate Challenge Indoor Triathlon

This looks CRAZY FUN!

Great Weather for an Indoor Triathlon

The Portland YMCA will hold a Corporate Challenge Indoor Triathlon on February 28 where Corporate teams of three will be using the Y’s heated pool, treadmills and stationery bicycles to compete in a sprint type triathlon. One member of each team has to either swim, run or bicycle for 15 minutes. The distance covered by each team member will be combined for the total distance covered.

The Corporate Challenge Indoor Triathlon is a co-ed event with each team having to have at least one female competitor. Entries will be limited to 15 teams in this inaugural year. Deadline for entries is February 18.

All participants in the Corporate Challenge Indoor Triathlon will receive an event t-shirt.  Winners will take home a trophy, plus the chance to win tickets to The Longest Dinner, the CCY’s major fundraising event to be held in June 2009.

The Indoor Triathlon will raise awareness of the YMCA’s commitment to providing programs and services to all, regardless of their ability to pay. Each year the Cumberland County YMCA awards just under $600,000 to children and families who would not otherwise be able to afford Y facilities and services.

Here is the Registration Form. For more information, please call Debbie Reed, wellness director, at 874 – 1111.

An indoor triathlon! What could be more fun for a great cause?? And “easy” too! 15 minutes – I can do that!

Rather serendipitous the way this information presented itself to me.

I’m trying to coordinate a team through my office. I’ll let you know if I’m successful!

When Will it End???

Snow predictions for Wednesday.

We are in the 10-15 range. Last storm we received it was around 15 inches. Last year it was lots of little storms that added up. This year it’s fewer storms, but more accumulation per storm. UGH.

To think I have a race team meeting Saturday.

When will the snow finally end. I want to ride my bike, when it actually moves under me, instead of being fastened in to a stationary trainer!

It’s Coming Back

I think I took too much time off the bike. I feel like I’ve lost a lot of fitness – but I really needed the time off.

My fitness is coming back, slowly, but it’s coming back. Surprisingly after Sunday’s spin I wasn’t wiped out. I managed to make it through the remainder of the day without the aid of a nap.

Tonight my run was actually enjoyable. It was still hard and I put in a good effort, but it felt good, or as good as it can.

Spring is a mere 8 weeks away. Though sometimes it takes a bit longer to arrive here in Maine. I’ll be back on the road soon (hopefully in March) and it’s time for some significant fitness building in preparation.

Surviving

Our Friday night consisted of a fun winter event: martinis at the ice bar at the Portland Harbor Hotel.

One end of the ice bar.

See at the entrance to the ice bar patio area.

Me and our friend, Ricky. (Yes, that’s an apple martini – I’m addicted to them.)

Our friend, Ricky, spotted a “celebrity” in the crowd:

Bob Crowley, winner of Survivor, Fall 2008, and me.

We had a couple drinks at the ice bar before moving onto the Portland Museum of Art to see some great photos of past, and some present, legends of rock at the Backstage Pass: Rock & Roll Photography exhibit. The place was mobbed by baby boomers this opening weekend. Great exhibit. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. I need to go back when it’s less crowded for a better look.

Squashing the Bug

There has been so much illness running around my office lately. I’m putting faith in my immune system and trying to keep working out to ward it off as best I can. Here’s hoping it works!

The Days are Growing Longer

It’s not dark when I leave work these days. That’s a reminder that spring is fast approaching, though it’s hard to believe that with the 13+ inches of snow we received Sunday. With the arrival of spring brings the arrival of cycling season. So it’s time to step up the workouts so I’m properly prepared.

I’ve been taking it easy with low-key workouts. Now it’s time to bump up the intensity a bit to work on my fitness. The treadmill is going to help. This morning I managed a nice tempo ride on the bike (while trying to be quiet so as to not wake my sleeping husband) and tonight I hit the treadmill for a while. It was tempting to blow it off but I made myself. Once I found my rhythm it felt great!

Now, if I could just shed a few pounds in the process.

Enjoy the increasing light. We are up to almost 30 minutes increase in light! We’ll be back on the bike for real soon!

Cat 3/4 Race Opportunity

My friend, Stephanie Chase, sent me the following information to post for your information:

Folks,

I know CCCP has a fair amount of gals in the club as well as a fairly large following in general so I wanted to pass this along to you.

Katherine (NEBC), Karen (CVC), and Janet Ramos, have asked Julie and I (IBC) to help out in making efforts to try and get the Northeast Women’s 3/4 Series going in 2009.  I’m basically working Maine and NH while the other gals are working the larger demographic of Mass and Connecticut.   The IBC women’s team ran a couple of cx clincs for Cat 3/4 women this past fall, that were a huge success so we’d like to work with Katherine, Karen and Janet to get the road/crit scene going as well.  In order to build women’s racing, we have to ‘encourage’ girls to get on the line and we can only do that by reaching out to all involved in competitive cycling on any level, beginner, intermediate, mens, womens and masters.  A couple of us are cat2 and three gals are cat3 that are attempting to get this going but basically we need everyone’s input no matter what level they are racing at.  (read:  don’t feel like you have to be new to the sport to participate and have input)

For those of you who are not familiar with the Series (which last ran in 2006), it is a points competition to encourage participation in Women’s beginner (cat4) and intermediate races (cat3). The first 15 finishers in a race will be ranked according to finish position with the rest of the field awarded points for participating. There will be a leader’s jersey and prizes at the end of the year. With the points system it is possible to still be a leader even without podium spots as long as you participate. We’ll also be awarding merchandise at races as prizes and primes to make things a little more interesting.

Right now we’re still establishing a schedule for the year but could use your input in deciding which races should be part of the series. Karen has created a brief survey. (Email me for the survey and info.) The survey results will be used to help determine what races fit everyone’s needs and also to guide promoters in offering more women’s fields.

In addition, I’m psyched to say that Portland will have a cat4 women’s development team that will be on the line in several of these races and am very excited to see how these girls do.  We’re hoping it’s only the beginning.  It does nothing but good for the sport and the sport in Maine, specifically.

I’m happy to report that I am one of the gals she mentions that will be on the line for CCCP and quite excited about it!

No More Excuses

I have no more excuses for not doing a little cross training. For me this comes in the form of running.

My husband decided he wanted a treadmill. It was understood that if we had a treadmill I would also use it a lot. So when it came time to buy one, we decided to buy a nice one. The lesser expensive models are good for walkers, but not runners.

After all the research, we decided on the Sole F63.  It was just delivered Friday so I spent most of the afternoon Saturday rearranging the room to accommodate it. I think this is going to work with both the bike and trainer facing the TV, and near the stereo.

I really like the cockpit of this machine.

I’m not sure how well the fans will work but they are a good extra. I really like the MP3 and head phone jacks. There are incline and speed adjustments on the bars next to you for easy adjustment – very user friendly.

We have officially turned our spare room into a home gym. It’s much more appealing to workout there than in the basement and that’s why we’ve put the treadmill there. I didn’t want to put it in the basement and then it not be used because it’s not a good area. No excuses!

Since writing this post I have gone for a run on the treadmill. It’s really nice and I’m pleased with it. I especially like the speakers for the MP3 player, though I don’t think my husband was happy when I subjected him to my workout music.