The goose is getting fat...

This past Saturday I attended the annual Serpentine Running Club Christmas Dinner... it was only the second year that they've hosted this black tie affair at the Hilton in Kensington, but I think that still deserves the title of *annual*! Above is a picture of myself with some of my dinner and dancing companions for the evening, Russell, Ben and Dean (l-r).

The remainder of the weekend was spent recovering from the excesses of the preceding week... 3 consecutive nights of client/work events. The highlight was probably the canape and wine tasting evening hosted by Michel Roux Jr., the celebrated head chef of London's Le Gavroche restaurant.

While I am desperately miserable that I remain in London with no visibility into the timing of my return to San Francisco, I am beginning to adopt a better workout routine while I'm over here. I think my coach, Chris, was probably right when he told me that my body needed a solid break after racing 4 ironmans in 2 years! Well, after 3 months in London of little activity, and lots of eating and drinking, the proverbial goose (JC) was getting fat as well as out of shape and was not very happy about it. Last week I realized that I was ready to get back into training... serious training. It's not just a question of wanting to work out more and/or wanting to feel toned again, what I truly miss is that sense of accomplishment after a tough workout... but I also miss the training partners I have in SF. Too inumerable to mention but knowingly or otherwise, they encourage me to push myself to the edge and beyond of what I think I can achieve.

I also want to give a big *shout out* to friends that ran the xmas relays in SF this past weekend, especially to Dirk Vlieks, who ran a 4.5 mile relay leg just 6 months after suffering a brain AVM, and having had ~6 brain surgeries since June. Way to go Dirk!

Roman Holiday

I managed to steal a couple of days away from the office and headed to Rome to meet up with Ray and Peter for a long weekend. We were treated to some balmy temperatures (for late November) and wonderful Roman sunshine. Unfortunately we were a week too late to attend TomKat’s wedding but we did eat and drink and eat and drink in style! I’m still recovering (feeling the weight) from all those extra calories, drinking and late nights.

One could speculate that the weekend’s excesses played a direct role in *feeling under the weather* this week. I made an early exit from the Goldman Sachs xmas party last night, decided not to set an alarm today and finally woke up at 8:30am! I called the office and croaked to my colleague that I would not be going in today. I can’t believe that this is the second time I’ve been sick in just 3 months of being in London! The city does not like me? The cold, wet weather does not agree with me? Thankfully I had the last two episodes of Prison Break Season 2 to keep me occupied while holing myself up in my little basement flat!

By late afternoon I developed cabin fever and found myself offering to take my landlady’s dog, Ruski, for a walk around Hyde Park. The pooch is a newcomer to Maddie’s house - she picked up the one year old husky from the pound just two weeks ago – and it was the first time that I had walked him. The dog was completely disinterested in me (and humans more generally) but turned into a raging, uncontrollable hound at the sight of any sort of wildlife… other dogs, squirrels, birds, ducks and especially swans. Oh why did Jordan decide to walk Ruski the Husky around the Serpentine (lake in Hyde Park)? At the first sight of the white waterlogged birds, Ruski yanked on the leash with all of his 90lbs and dragged me along at sprint speed, headed straight into the water. Before I could get him back under control, I was ankle deep in the murky Serpentine waters and the lake had become a cacophony of duck and swan songs! Then it started to pour with rain…

Casino Royale... Shaken and Stirred

I’ll start by sharing my favorite line from this week’s new James Bond movie, Casino Royale.

Waiter: “How would you like that martini, sir? Shaken or stirred?”
007 James Bond: “Do I look like I give a damn?”

Well, after this week in the office, I probably could not give a damn how my martini is served. Though the *roughing up* that I endured was more mental than the physical sort that Daniel Craig faced! Between the exhausting job and a couple of work-related soirees, I’m too exhausted this Saturday evening to do anything but download and watch the latest episode of Prison Break and watch the “exciting, live results show” for Strictly Come Dancing.

In case I have not mentioned it to you all a thousand times already, I somehow lucked into the hottest ticket in London for 2006 – an invite to the Royal premiere of the new Bond movie in London’s famous Leicester Square.

I’ll stop well short of writing a movie review, as you can get that at http://www.nytimes.com/, but I did enjoy the flick, all 2hrs 10mins. But I will confess to being highly uncomfortable sitting in a movie theater for over 2.5 hours wearing full black tie garb and 3” heels. It didn’t stop me from grabbing a whole bunch of candy (white mice and cola bottles) and popcorn, but swilling it down with champagne seemed rather out of place!

Going back to the pre-movie paraphernalia (let’s face it, the premiere has nothing to do with the movie itself!), here’s my tidbit… The plebes (myself among them) were supposed to take the *pink carpet* to the theater and leave the *red carpet* to the Royal party, movie stars and other A-listers… but a quasi-menacing security guard has never stopped me. I snatched the arm of my young analyst from BGI, Spencer, and dragged the startled slip of a boy on a lap of the red carpet, to the confusion of the paparazzi, who clearly could not place us but flashed their light-bulbs anyway!

That’s pretty much my story for the week… Sunday beckons and I need some sleep before my morning swim and run, an afternoon of laundry and reading the paper followed by dinner with a college friend.

London redux

Okay… it is undoubtedly time that I give London its dues and come up with a list of things… redeeming qualities… stuff that I missed while in the US but did not realize… the list also acknowledges that I’m not moping around while I’m back home, rather that I’m having a jolly ole time!

10. BBC News. I enjoy listening to the news again… it helps that I went to university with one of the top newscasters
9. European accents. I can’t go anywhere without hearing French, Italian, Spanish… Russian, Polish, Russian, Polish… London is so Eastern European!
8. The landscape and architecture. What other city could I go for a 6mi lunch run along the river and see every possible tourist sight in the city?
7. Strictly Come Dancing – my favorite British TV show
6. Eye candy… there are a lot of jaw-droppingly handsome men walking the streets and working with me in London!
5. British sports - I have been so psyched to watch the smorgasbord of sports on telly - rugby, football, snooker (yeah, I know), Formula 1, cricket
4. Branston Pickle and Picallili – curiously British pickles that I can buy for a $1 (instead of $6/jar in the US)
3. Guy Fawkes’ Night bonfire and fireworks (11/5) – a British reminiscence of a failed terrorist act to blow up parliament
2. Being the foreigner… no one believes I’m British… it gives me an edge!
1. The rest of Europe… actually, I have not ventured outside England yet but I am soooo looking forward to a Thanksgiving trip to Rome!

Sick as a dawg

Okay, this is a cheating entry... I'm copying and pasting from an email that I wrote to friends.

Apart from being *sick as a dog*, there’s not much to report about my last week or so in London. I just bailed on my plans for the evening (with my old boss from JPM New York, John, who has been living in London for several years). I’m not sure that I will even go to the office tomorrow. Two different people commented how bad/tired I looked as I left the office this evening. :-( I have so much to do… and I don’t get paid if I don’t go in…

Last weekend, I went home to my parents’ house for the weekend since they were taking care of my niece, Alexia, for a few days. I hung out with Alexia all weekend. She loved me for 24 hours and then *cooled* towards me for the second 24 hours… she was basically playing me off against my father for attention. Apparently, she cried after I left and told my parents how much she loved me and was missing me already! Hilarious and intriguing to see her emotions play out. The downside of the weekend was that my parents managed to give me their colds!

I’ve not done much socializing in the past week or so since I was at home in Derbyshire and then sick all week. I did grab a drink with a Stanford alum on Tuesday evening. He works for McKinsey here in London.

Apologies if the next *blow by blow* of an athletic episode is too girly… By way of background, Paul (let's call him PB for anonynimity's sake?) is the guy that I developed a crush for… but discovered last Friday evening that he has a (cute) girlfriend. I am seeking a new crush… but I was psyched that he asked me to run with him!

There are two equity traders in the office that provide me daily eye candy in my work environment. Well, actually, there are three cute guys on the entire trading floor but the third guy is an obnoxious, fixed income Portfolio Manager for who I have developed a strong dislike. Anyway, back to my equity boys. TL (married Aussie) and PB (Brit w/ gf) run *together* every Thursday. This week they invited me to run with them. It's a 6.2mi loop from Tower Hill westwards to Westminster, across the Thames and back along the south bank to Tower Bridge and the office. However, upon induction into the routine, I discovered that the guys don't actually run together... PB sets off about 8-10mins before TL and the latter usually catches PB during the last couple of miles or so. I set off with PB and it was a reasonably comfortable pace (but not a stroll in the park). There's foot traffic and stairs but we were basically on a 7:30min/mi pace. I was chatting w/ him and his breathing didn’t appear labored or anything. Anyway, we ran the loop and TL caught us at the last traffic light from the office - 100yards from the finish. I stopped my watch and told PB that it was 48 minutes. He looked shocked and then a huge smile broke across his face as he told me that I had dragged him to a PB by a couple of minutes! As I left the building this evening, TL was walking back to the tube station with another colleague, Simon, who he introduced as the Head of equity trading (his and Paul's boss). As TL introduced me, Simon commented: "So you're the girl that crushed PB on the run today. He claims that you were running easy and could have run quite a bit faster!" I guess it's hard to replicate the scene but it was funny for me to hear that our lunch run became a *topic of conversation* on the trading desk in the afternoon, enough at least for his boss to hear about it. I've also been *welcomed into the fold* for subsequent runs/swims! London gets more fun by the day!

It seems like I may not make it to the office tomorrow (but I’d like to go but…) so I’m not sure what the weekend will bring. A Canadian friend has invited me out tomorrow night to some swanky, new private club… and then on Saturday, I’ve been invited to a Fireworks’-watching cocktail party hosted by my landlady’s daughter. I just hope that I feel well enough to make the most of the invitations!

I left my heart in San Francisco

I was thinking today about the things I miss from SF… here’s my top ten…

10. Crunchy Almond butter from Wholefoods
9. The corner store that is open until 2am… which sells Haagen Dazs ice cream (I have a drunk sweet tooth!)
8. Tivo and 250+ TV channels
7. My bed… in particularly all the pillows that I end up spooning at some point in the night
6. Viactiv calcium chews
5. Free samples in the grocery stores
4. Crossing the GGB with my biking buddies
3. My 5 minute commute to/from the office
2. My discount at Lombardi’s… I bought a new pair of sneakers this weekend and they cost me $200 (vs $100 at Lombardis)
1. The no smoking ban in all bars and restuarants

There are advantages to being in London… and England more generally. That may have to be the topic of my next list… a top 3 or maybe I can stretch it to 5?

Day trader

I'm starting to settle into something of a routine here in London as I get up the learning curve at work and life. The US embassy's consulate office is currently *reviewing my case*. I was REALLY hoping to hear something today but I think things are delayed because of this week's Columbus Day holiday.

In the meantime, I just sit and wait… as well as work my ass off. It’s hard work but I’m having fun. I'm being teased by my colleagues on the desk for flirting with our European counterparties... I seem to be able to get a quarter of a point better pricing if I'm trading with a couple of French guys at Citigroup and Morgan Stanley who both know that I speak French and insist that I speak French with them!

But it’s taking me a little while to get used to the 12 hour days (shocker!), plus the 1-1.5 hour commute but it just means that I don’t have time for triathlon. I’ve been running a decent amount but not so much swimming. I swam once with Matt Dixon’s brother, Peter, (another elite swimmer!) but I ended up getting home too late in the evening to do that on a regular basis. Today I came across a couple of guys in the office that swim at lunchtime so I’ll try and tag along with them for a few sessions. It's an Aussie and a Brit that did Ironman Switzerland last year... I had already checked out the Aussie as the cutest guy on the floor... but he's married! The Brit was also cute... until he spoke and I discovered he has a really strong Essex-boy accent…

Londinium

I still have a week of *vacation* before starting work next Monday. Though I’m excited to start work… call me crazy? Reality is that I have a week of *reacquainting myself with life in England*… I seriously feel like a foreigner here! I don’t quite speak the language, I don’t quite know where I’m going, I don’t quite have a job, I don’t quite have a coterie of friends…

I also received an email from my manager here in London inviting me to a black tie (work) event this coming Friday… guess what, I don’t quite have an outfit. I brought a long black (really tight) dress over from SF in case I’m here for a xmas party… but I’m not sure that this particular dress will be quite etiquette for a work event… plus it requires me holding my stomach in for an entire evening in front of future colleagues! Ugh!

Swimming across a lake...

What better way to begin a week of *Endurance* training than by swimming across a lake? I've never swum across a lake before... not even a pond! The 2006 Endurance Performance Training Center Summer training camp is being held for the second annual year in and around Donner Lake. The start of this year's training camp happened to coincide with the cross-Donner Lake swim - 2.7 miles, end to end! A fantastic way for a group of triathletes training for long distance triathlon to log some serious open water swim miles in a stunning fresh water mountain lake. Though it was quite a trip to begin a swim race by sighting on a mountain!

"Yesterday, I dared to struggle... today, I dare to win."

Floyd's Big Day Out
That quote from Bernadette Devlin is a fairly accurate summary of the courage and tenacity displayed by Floyd Landis today at the Tour de France, as he reversed almost all of the 8 minute deficit with which he started the day. Those 8 minutes were the result of his inexplicable collapse on the ascent to La Toussuire at the end of yesterday's 16th stage.

The French sports newspaper, L'equipe, has criticized Floyd for his lack of panache. Is this the panache that les francais wanted to see? Floyd's response: "Panache that!"

It takes so much character for a guy to come back from something like yesterday's fringale. Today's stage will go down as one of the greatest performances in the history of the Tour. This Tour underscores the trials and tribulations of actually being human. You see Pereiro go from a disastrous day in the Pyrenees... losing almost half-an-hour, gaining it back with a big break - some say a tactical mistake - and perhaps losing it again in the final time trial to a guy who lost 10 minutes one day and then fights back with an amazing 150-kilometer solo ride the next! As my team-mate, Mack, would say, "that's bike racin'". You cannot script a better Tour. To borrow from Paul Sherwen: “This is panache, this is banging your fist on the table and saying I am the strong man, I will win the Tour”

Quote of the day - In response to a journalist's question of whether he expects to win Saturday's individual time-trial, Landis joked: "It wouldn't be any fun if I told you what was going to happen next!" .

My final thought, from les vallees of desperation to les cols of self-belief, this was an inspiring ride!

Alpe d'Huez

Today's Tour de France stage, ending atop Alpe d'Huez, was stellar... I watched it three times... a review from Michael Fee below!
***********
I'm certain you'll agree that there was much for a cycling fan to love about today's stage.
Start with the baseline: we got to follow our riders' progress up the spectacular switchbacks of Alpe d'Huez. With a backdrop like the surrounding Alps buoying my mood, I could enjoy watching overweight men riding tricycles up those switchbacks -- let alone the world's top cyclists.

Then go to the results: Frank Schleck, a rider from one of the Low Countries, reached the top of cycling's most famed ascent ahead of renowned climber Damiano Cunego. Winning on behalf of tiny Luxembourg and downtrodden Team CSC, Schleck gave his backers a victory to be proud of. (Which makes me think: every Olympiad, someone calculates the number of medals won per capita, or per dollar of GDP, to show that, say, New Zealand winning five medals is a bigger deal than the U.S. winning thirty. I say that for this Tour, we figure out which country won the most stages per acre of land mass; unless San Marino or Andorra has a rider in there somewhere, I'm guessing Luxembourg's win is safe). Frank Schleck on the podium
Plus we got to see Floyd Landis don the Maillot Jaune for the second time -- and I'm guessing he won't relinquish it quite so easily this time.
But even more than wistfully gazing at those famed 21 switchbacks, or fist-pumpingly cheering on Schleck and Landis, I loved following today's team tactics. During the Era of Lance, we came to believe that "tactics" meant sending your incredibly strong climbers to the front of the peloton, methodically watching for any potential breaks and launching your superstar somewhere on the final climb. You ignored the other jersey competitions, and you rarely went for stage wins. It was a simple strategy, and it was the right one for USPS/Discovery and Armstrong. But with the Maillot Jaune competition wide open -- not to mention the climbers' contest as well -- and without a dominant rider or team, the squads have become far more resourceful.
Excuse for another Zabriskie photo! That's why we saw Zabriskie and Voigt hammering not just up the Col du Lautaret, but daringly down the wet roads on the backside as well, all to put teammate Schleck at the foot of the Alpe with enough time to outdistance the GC contenders....
And why Axel Merckx first got himself into the break, and then, upon being dropped, drifted back to fellow Phonaker Landis, to whom he offered a water bottle and then a slipstream-tow for a welcome couple kilometers....And why Michael Rasmussen, seemingly spent, bridged up to a suffering Denis Menchov, doing everything he could to restore him to the ranks of his Yellow Jersey rivals. It's one of my favorite elements of bicycle racing: that out of such a simple contest -- be the first to the finish line -- you can squeeze intricate tactics. (My other favorite part of all of this is imagining Rasmussen's director's screaming into his earpiece; I wonder what "Make like a real climber and get your bony orange ass up to Menchov now!" sounds like in Dutch?

Oscar Pereiro with two Aussies, Michael Rogers and Cadel Evans, in tow
But the best piece of today was the sheer determination with which so many of the riders raced. Whether it was Menchov twisting himself around his bicycle in a futile attempt to stay with Landis, or de la Fuente going never-say-die after every possible polka-dot point, or Pereiro riding like a real grimpeur, spurred on by the Yellow Jersey on his back; or Schleck himself, gritting his teeth through the final kilometers and then collapsing in a tearful heap on the steps of his team's bus -- each one of these guys and many others "reached deep into his suitcase of courage" and gave us a stage to remember.

cycling distractions and hand update...

I had surgery on the hand two weeks ago and it's becoming much more useable... the range of motion remains constricted (swelling persists) but my dexterity improves each day. I'm ready to get back on the bike and rode with Tommy for a couple of hours today... but I've developed an awful head cold so it was a pretty bad ride... I'll be taking it very easy for a few days!

Thankfully, I have some televisual distractions to entertain me while camping out on my bed. July means that it's Tour de France time. If I thought I was a tad obsessed during the Giro d'Italia in May, I've now taken it to the next level for the 2006 edition of the Tour de France. I tend to watch the morning and evening viewings on OLN, read articles, race commentary and interviews as well as watch videos on every cycling website that I am aware of! I also manage to get insensed at the incompetence of some of the OLN commentators... while Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen have some wonderful, colorful descriptions and vernacular... Phil is losing his ability to recognize and correctly name a rider in the peloton, and Paul just doesn't have the heart to correct him! As for Bob Roll and Al Trautwig... the former has such a narrow and superficial grasp of race strategy that even Al's insistent attempts to *get to the bottom of what is going on in the race* do not enlighten the audience.

Floyd in yellow
Let me expand on this point and use the example of "Phonak giving up the yellow jersey" to Oscar Pereiro by way of exposition of my superior knowledge of Tour history and race strategy ;-)

Bob Roll keeps referring to the fact that Oscar Pereiro finished 10th on GC at last year's Tour as evidence that Oscar is too dangerous a rider to be given back the 30mins he lost on the stage. What Bob fails to remember and point out to the OLN audience is that the composition of Oscar's time gains and losses in the 2005 Tour are similar to what he is experiencing this year... he gained (or rather was awarded) time on stages where he was in breakaways - the mountain stage where he was beaten at the line by George Hincapie and the stage he won after being led out by Cadel Evans who was racing for GC time. In the 2005 Tour Oscar did not ride with the cycling heads of state GC contenders in the big mountains and he lost a decent amount of time in the time-trials. He's strong but he has never shown himself to be a GC rider.

I'm also adding a couple of great pictures that I've come across while perusing all those cycling websites! George Hincapie sporting the sunglasses that make him one of the most recognizable riders in the peloton... not that Phil Liggett seems able to recognize any rider these days. I also like Floyd's shades too... see above!

I also had to include a picture of Dave Zabriskie and this TT pic was the best I could find... unfortunately that TT did not go so well for Dave Z!

Life as a one-handed southpaw

Here are some observations from my first few days as a single-handed southpaw:

Things that are close to impossible using only my left hand:

1. Tying back my hair
2. Opening a bottle of wine (a corked bottle – not a screwtop)
3. Cutting steak
4. Taking notes quickly during a phone interview
5. Opening a boxed vase of flowers ;-)

Things that are easier (surprisingly) than I would have thought with only my non-dominant hand

1. Eating sushi with chopsticks (at least no one has to cut anything for me!)
2. Writing legibly… not fast enough to take notes though
3. Shaving my legs (less cuts than usual… go figure)
4. Opening jars and bottles… though the insides of my knees are getting bruised from being used to grips things
5. Changing the side of the bed that I sleep on in order to prop up my broken wing… (okay, this is not dexterity related but it’s a big deal… side of the bed can be a relationship dealbreaker!)

spiral fracture of the 4th metacarpal in my right hand

yup... i broke my hand while riding, well, falling from my bike yesterday. sux, but could have been worse, i guess. i see the hand surgeon manana and will know more thereafter. hopefully i can run and ride my bike?

Guy Q

This month’s “Men’s Fitness” magazine has an article, a questionnaire really, called “Guy Q”. According to the magazine a guy can have “the looks, the body, the moves, and the style – but if [he] doesn’t have the right Guy Q, the rest won’t matter”. But what is *Guy Q*? Apparently, it’s the thing a guy has that “makes a girl feel like a girl”. It’s the sense that “guys can protect and defend women, even when they don’t really need it”, which is why it is so desirable. The task-oriented questionnaire includes things such as installing a ceiling fan, slapping together a bedroom set from Ikea, catching a baseball in a mitt. Hardly life-saving… but decidedly masculine. Below are a few more of my favorites from the *quiz*:

- Remove a cork from a wine bottle in one piece, without getting chunks in the bottle (or just pushing the damn thing in).
- Drive a stick shift as well as an automatic – and lay rubber at will.
- Get your girl a drink in a crowded bar – in less than 5 minutes.
- Perform at least three pull-ups without your arms shaking.
- Um, spell – words like their and there or you’re and your do not serve the same purpose.
- Perform a basic slow dance (nothing too fancy – you just need to blend in with the other dancers on the floor).
- Split wood with an ax.
- Parallel park on a busy street on the first try.
- Play poker well enough to consistently win money.
- Open a beer bottle without an opener.

It also got me thinking about what the equivalent “Gal Q” questionnaire would look like. Nothing immediately leapt to mind. Well, a few things did come to mind (e.g. perform a blow job on demand) but they seemed to betray the tone of the article. I thought a little more and got a few more suggestions from Jen and Halee. It's actually kind of scary that I don't know the "little things a woman does that make her a woman" and that "make a man feel like a man." Maybe that's part of my problem!

- Tying her man's tie.
- Wear heels through impossible-looking terrain.
- Pick perfect birthday and holiday presents for her own family *and* your family.
- Clinch a dinner reservation at the hottest new restaurant.
- Prepare a delicious meal… and clean the kitchen while doing so.
- Iron a dress shirt in less than two minutes.
- Remember birthdays and other important dates, seemingly without effort.
- Arrange flowers tastefully in a vase and keep them alive for more than a day.
- Get red wine (or beer) stains out of your man’s favorite shirt.
- Soothe a crying baby, even if it’s not hers.

Btw, I scored 36/65 in the Guy Q questionnaire – good enough to sneak me into the “pass muster – barely” category. To be honest, I’m not sure than many of my San Francisco guy friends would score much better than me on this test… if they complete the test honestly, hand on heart! I know that I’d rather date the guy that is impressed that I can change a tire, set up a home theater system, swim (and not like a dog)… even though I’d probably let him do it. Haha. Let’s face it, as old-fashioned as it sounds, the guys that *provide, fix and participate in a variety of sporting events* are incredibly attractive.

racing... why do i do this?

it seems trite for me to write much about my honu half-ironman race while a friend and training buddy is fighting for his life in a honolulu hospital... it's been a weird few days.

the water was really choppy and the sun position made for some difficult sighting... even the pros got off track allowing my coach, chris hauth, to be second out of the water. okay, he's an olympic swimmer but he's a self-confessed drafting whore in the swim so he's rarely out of the water among the first two or three. my swim time sucked. 38min and change... 2mins slower than last year! grrr...

the bike started pretty well. i soon caught and passed one of my training buddies but the climb to hawi seemed slow-going. however, it was not nearly as hot as last year. we even rode through a small rain shower. right before the turnaround i saw a guy, spread-eagled on the ground. a volunteer was attending to him so i continued on my way and was psyched to have a little recovery on the return to the Mauna Lani. about 5mi from the hotel, i passed a couple of girls in my AG... i wondered if i had reached the *pointy end* of my AG race? but i had no real clue what position i was in. as i turned into mauna lani drive i was disappointed to see 2:4X on my SRM. i was hoping for 2:3X. oh well. time to run.

mile 1 of the run is uphill and it felt less than great but i soon found my feet, running 8-8:10min/mi. i felt reasonable, taking the course a mile at a time, and thankful that it was not as hot as the prior year. the course is very undulating with varied terrain, sand, grass, concrete and tarmac but the multitude of out and back sections do allow you to get a sense for placing... alas, my *sense* was that i was in no better than 4th place or so in my age group. a trip to the bathroom at mile 9 allowed about three girls to pass me (too much coke?) but i did recatch one girl and crossed the line in 5:19 and 6th place in my age group. no kona slot for me! damn w35-39 age-group. i'd have qualified in w30-34... c'est la vie.
Katie & Sandy on the W30-34 podium


however, the post-race situation quickly diverted my attention away from the race. a close friend and training partner, dirk, had suffered some sort of brain hemorrhage during the race. that's *the guy* that i had seen on the side of the road. ugh! he was transported by helicopter to a neuro ICU at Queen's hospital in Honolulu... any disappointment i might have felt about the race quickly evaporated as i helped friends pack and travel to be by his side. currently his condition is improving but he's still in critical condition. life is fragile. dirk's as healthy as can be... but a congenital brain condition does not care how much you exercise or how healthy you are at mealtime... life is not fair.

honu - hawaiian for turtle

This morning was another swim… and yet more turtles! The ocean was flat and the water was even more crystal clear than yesterday… which for most people would present excellent conditions for snorkeling and checking out the fish and ocean life… but for the four dorky triathletes (me + 3 boys), the clear ocean blue-green waters translated to perfect draft positioning and sighting practice! So, I put my head down and swam hard for 20 or so minutes, but then I backed off to *smell the proverbial roses* on the way back to shore and spied a turtle or two, a ray and a bounty of colorful fish.

Then I threw on my sneakers for a 6mi hard run… as you can imagine it’s hoT here and while I get used to it while riding/running… when I stop it takes me forEVer to cool down! I was still sweating (sorry, perspiring) while taking a cold (outdoor) shower.

I could just about see the outline of Mauna Kea through the morning sunshine haze… but no snow. It’s summertime and I don’t think there’s any snow up there right now… but I could be wrong. The Big Island and the Four Season is quite the home away from home for the monied class of SF ;-^) For a self-professed mountain chick that does not care much for sun, sand and beaches, I’ve been to Hawaii far too many times in recent years… of course, with the exception of a spring break trip to Kauai, each trip has been triathlon related, so I’ve hardly sat on the beach and drank mai-tais all day… just at sunset! Though, I’m slowly getting accustomed to the lazy days… perhaps that’s my age catching up with me ;-)

Hualalai

Well, Hawaii is relaxing... I have no agenda for the week – nada - except the odd swim (which was more like turtle-viewing this morning), bike and run to keep me *limber* pre-race. Mark’s house is ridiculously nice. The layout, design and architecture of the house is thoughtful and luxurious without being ostentatious - very accommodating… I appreciate the designer’s taste… I think a lot of the design pieces were brought in from Bali (‘cause Indonesia is so close to Hawaii, eh?) – but it’s subtle and calming, and incorporates the outdoors. I can just imagine the architect’s design notes: “a seamless transition from the interior to the traditional lanai allows the cooling breeze and fresh Hawaiian air to permeate your surroundings and draw your attention towards the conjoined hot-tub and infinity pool and beyond to the pacific ocean…”

Yeah, it’s not so shabby here. I have my own (‘til Sandy arrives on Wednesday) little guest complex with a 2 shower bathroom… and I’m not talking a double-headed shower (though that would be a nice touch). No, I have two showers for myself - one indoor and the other one is outdoors in my own little, private walled garden ;-) and on the other side of my *complex* is my own, semi-private lanai, where I’m currently sitting, reading and emailing (wireless network, d’oh!). I remember the days where there was crappy cell reception and my blackberry didn’t work on the Big Island.

Team Pacific Bicycle Photo Shoot

 

giro d'italia fanaticism

why do i love watching cycling? there's a lot of downtime, repetition, hum-drumness to the sport... i sit, watch in eager anticipation of an unexpected or even predictable attack? i even watched the highlights of yesterday's TT? who does that? there's no action in the TT? what am i trying to find? contrast der kaiser's cadence with basso's? gain some insight into how deep they are digging?

i *invoked* images of my cycling heroes while riding my hill repeats yesterday. ouch! the hill repeats hurt. while doing them i recalled zabriskie's description of time-trialling as "scraping the bottom of the [pain] barrel as quickly as possible and staying there". i also thought of ullrich pushing his big gears at 32mph in the giro TT and how hard he was probably working. i also told myself that this [the pain] is for honu. i'm excited and scared for the race. two more weeks!

i rode ~70mi and ran 3mi today. i thought that i'd be weak after yesterday's LT intervals. i did not feel great, but i was riding pretty strong. it reminded me even more of the sensations i felt at the wildflower race... the fitness is there (tapered or not), it just does not feel easy. i also realized that i like the *fitness feeling of having extra gears*... that is, after a winter of nurturing my diesel engine, the intensity training is adding a little extra torque to my fitness. okay, that's probably a mechanically incorrect auto analogy!

well, back to the giro... needless to say i'm psyched for the last week of the giro. wednesday's "plan de corones" stage should be epic. i've been wearing my white team csc hat all week. what a dork!

Taper Interrupted

Wildflower Long Course Triathlon '06
I finished 5th (AGAIN - 3rd year in a row) in my AG and recorded a personal best by a mere 35 seconds... what's that? A couple of hundred yards?

Most coaches recommend a 3-10 day taper for an event as long as a half-ironman. Since this was not a key race, my coach recommended that I go into the race completely untapered... I did not skip a single workout, hard session in the week prior to the race.

How did this change my race?
I don’t think the hard Thursday bike intervals or easy run on Friday hurt my bike power but it made me feel like I was “working” the entire way. The non-taper probably impacted my run performance the most… my legs never quite got going, even during my favorite section from mile 7-10, which is net downhill and I usually feel like I’m flying. I was about a minute slower on the run compared to last year. I got off the bike in second place and was passed in the first 4 miles by two women in my AG and by a third woman in the last, downhill mile… there was no way (recovery purposes) that I was going to hammer down that last hill!

The non-taper thing is interesting and Chris and I discussed several things. He thinks the body acts weirdly when you give it rest so the “Taper Interrupted” strategy can still lead to an effective race result.

A couple of other things happened in the race that struck me as interesting. I passed the *ultimate* winner of my AG at mile 37 or so on the bike. I went by like a freight train, a very clean pass… but she jumped on my wheel and followed me back to T2. Basically, I paced her back. She was not drafting. She then proceeded to run very solidly so she deserved the win. Kudos for her running skills.

The other pacing thing came up with a team-mate. Laura Lyster (F20-24) went off several waves ahead of me. I caught her at mile 28 or so and she told me afterwards that my going by was a *wake-up call* and after I passed she tried to hold my wheel for as long as she could. It helped her to a sub 3 hour bike split.

Things I don't like to do

I am organized, timely (too timely for my friends' liking ;-)), disciplined, independent, highly-motivated and generally have an upbeat, positive demeanor. However, there are a few things in life that I will procrastinate about until the last possible moment or change *my* plans to avoid something. You might assume that a list of things I don't like to do might wind up being a list of chores - don't get me wrong, household and other chores figure prominently - but my list also includes things that I like to do! Does that make sense?

10. I don't like going to the movies on my own... even if I really want to see a movie and no one else does, chances are that I won't go.
9. Cleaning my bathroom... who does?
8. Riding my bike across the Golden Gate Bridge - the views are stunning, but the wind, the tourists and other cyclists are too unpredictable for my liking
7. Getting a bikini wax. This is a chick *necessary evil*. It's the weirdest personal service out there. Not much talking, weird positions, embarassment... need I say more?
6. Cleaning my bike - it's real pretty and all, and deserves to be squeaky clean but...
5. Going on blind dates. They are 100% of the time a disaster. I've never had a good one!
4. Vacuuming - I don't procrastinate on this, it's more a question of it not really occurring to me to vacuum on a regular basis
3. Getting a massage. These used to be relaxing treats... ironman training has rendered them painful necessities!
2. Starting a new book. I find it stressful to begin reading a new book... I fear that I will not be able to get involved with the topic or the characters. It's also a fear of failure... I don't like "not finishing a book"!
1. Swimming - I'm not very good and I get bored staring at the bottom of the pool.

idiosyncrasy

id·i·o·syn·cra·sy ( id eo s ng kr se )
n. pl. id·i·o·syn·cra·sies
1. A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group.
2. A physiological or temperamental peculiarity.
3. An unusual individual reaction to food or a drug.

A friend recently asked me what my “idiosyncrasies” are. Nothing sprung immediately to mind. At any point in time, I probably have a few “odd habits”, but are any of these behavioral characteristics? Besides, my habits morph over time, so is it truly an idiosyncrasy?

Definitions aside, I figured a daily or weekly log, might reveal certain behavioral patterns that I could, for the time being, label an idiosyncrasy. I’ve made a note over the last week of a few “things I do”.

Here goes:

1. I sleep on the right hand side of the bed (left if you’re looking from the foot of the bed!)
2. I eat a jar of almond butter a week – it tastes best smothered directly on a banana.
3. Practically the first thing I do when I get into my apartment is check my email.
4. I clip out my right cleat when stopped on my bike – I know that’s a Fred thing to do!
5. When purchasing bulk items (e.g. mixed nuts, yoghurt-covered almonds, raisins) at Wholefoods, I usually eat a couple of pieces before tying the bag.
6. I carry my purse on my left shoulder (unusual for a right-handed person).
7. I don’t cook.
8. My room-mate tells me that I run the dishwasher when it’s half-full.
9. I weigh myself every day.
10. I need a glass of water and lip balm by my bed at night.

Are any of these truly idiosyncrasies? If I were to repeat this exercise in a year’s time, how many items on the list would be different?

Fortitudine vincimus

In the few days leading up to Ironman Arizona I read the book "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" by Alfred Lansing. The book recounts the astonishing tale of survival of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his 27 men for over a year in the ice-bound Antarctic seas after their ship "Endurance" was crushed in the South Atlantic's ice pack in January 1915.

Fortitudine vincimus - "By endurance, we conquer" - is the Shackleton family motto. The book turned out to be a thrilling, suspenseful read and remarkably apt and motivating ahead of an Ironman race!

The swim was a single loop in the temperate but brackish waters of Tempe town lake, a dammed river, in downtown Tempe. I chose an inside line and this route was, for the most part, collision-free. The swim to the turnaround passed quickly but the return trip seemed to be very slow-going. Was there a current? Was I tiring? I didn't take a mid-point split but I reached the swim exit steps after a mind-numbing 1:19.

The bike is usually my sanctuary in an Ironman. My favorite and strongest discipline... I don't mind suffering on two wheels! However, my bike preparation for IMAZ had not gone as well as I would have liked. I can't pinpoint the reason but it was some combination of a very wet winter in San Francisco, a bike crash in late February and a lot of mental distractions and missed workouts. I tried to put that out of mind on Sunday and attempted to push the watts I wanted to ride (rather than the watts my current training told me I should ride). So I hammered my way to a 5:23:16 bike split (10th fastest bike split of the day for all female pros/AG'ers) and I entered T2 in 4th place in my age-group.

But the race does not end in T2, there was still a 26.2mi footrace to be completed! I set off feeling less than stellar but the legs came around quickly and I was running 8:30/8:45 pace each mile. I was passed at mile 2 by a woman in my age-group but besides her and being lapped by Michael Lovato, Spencer Smith and Tim DeBoom (top 3 pro men), I spent most of my time navigating the *walkers* on the 3 lap run course. It was a sunny, hot day (92 degrees) in Tempe and the weather clearly took its toll on many people. I received many comments about my solid pace... but my overall time was swollen by my incredible slowness through aid stations. For the last few miles, I was running scared in the fear that the *runners* were catching me but I managed to hang on to my 5th place and finished the run in 4:12:52 for a total time of 11:06:10. An Ironman personal best.

The highlight of the day was probably a very cute, blonde cyclist (wearing a kit that looked like old Alessio gear?) who was spectating on the run course... I saw him at practically every turn... I thought/hoped he might have been following me :-)

The lowlight of the day was hearing about my team-mate, Sandy Liaw's, crash on the bike. She collided with a cyclist on the Beeline Highway turnaround (mile 56mi) and cut her face badly. She still completed the bike and ran 6miles before being persuaded to stop. She'll be back. Studette.

Hawaii-Five-O... Unfortunately, 5th place was not quite good enough for a Kona slot. There were just 4 slots. It's bittersweet... at least I don't have to race another Ironman in 2006... it hurt!

Penalty, ref!

Football (a.k.a. soccer) is the national sport of England, my homeland, and receiving a penalty is usually a wonderful thing since the penalty kick taker has a great chance of scoring a goal, and unlike American sports, goals/points do not come easily in football!

In fact, USA Today ranked "saving a penalty kick" No. 9 on its Top Ten list of hardest things to do in sport! Penalty Kick
Though, once you read the rest of the "Top Ten", this source of information can be largely discredited ... c'mon, hitting a baseball is harder than the Tour de France? Ten Hardest Things in Sport. Perhaps I am biased because I run marathons and ride my bike ~10,000mi/year rather than hang out in batting cages. Also, after the Turin Winter Olympics, perhaps "landing a quad" should be downgraded?

Anyway, I bring up the topic of penalties since I received my first ever penalty in a triathlon this past weekend. It is not a positive thing... you are stopped mid-race while the referee marks a red slash on your race number and tells you that once back in T2 you will have to find the sin-bin and hang out there for 4 minutes before proceeding to rack your bike! Despite some notable recent examples of "how to receive a drafting penalty" (Nina Kraft and Natasha Badmann at Ironman Hawaii 2004 and 2005 respectively), I did not remain as cool as I should have done and spent far too much time and energy getting flustered and trying to protest that I was waiting for the guy to pull over so I could continue passing the field ahead of me... lessons learned - yell at the dude I'm trying to pass to pull over earlier and don't waste time contesting a penalty!

One other notable thing from the California 70.3 race:
At registration a young marine asked me my race number. I replied, "Number 2004". His reply: "that's the year I graduated high school". That's young!

Ready to race?

I just spent a week in Southern California to watch the Tour of California and to do a little riding down in Ojai. While loitering around the start area before the beginning of Stage 7, I introduced myself and chatted with Fabian Wegmann of Team Gerolsteiner. In typical cycling groupie fashion, Fab became my latest crush... more because he squeezed me so darn tight for about 2 minutes while we were taking the picture above! Who knew that cyclists had upper body strength!

The training did not go well (partly because I crashed my bike on day 1) but watching the bike race got me psyched to start the race season in 2006. Since returning to San Francisco I've been working on my mental preparations for Ironman Arizona. I’ve been practicing the Haka and singing Ka Mate in the comfort of my bedroom (wall-to-wall mirrors) the last few nights. This will be my signature pre-race, energizing dance ritual to be performed prior to the gun going off at each race this year :-) It does need face paint, but I have not gone there yet.

I slap my hands against my thighs, puff out my chest, bend the knees, bend my hips, and then stamp my feet as hard as I can while chanting the following.

Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
Tenei te tangata puhuru huru
Nan nei I tiki mai
Whakawhiti t era
A upa… ne! ka upa… ne!
A upane kaupane whiti te ra!
Hi!!

The curse of a Stanford MBA

I keep being told that I'm over-qualified for jobs and roles that I would like to do... Grrr. A friend recently asked me if all my career choices consisted of roles where there was the constant pressure for upward mobility and continuous career progession. Isn't that what is expected of a Stanford MBA? Wouldn't I be bored if it was any other way? What if I got my kicks and stimuli from other aspects of my life... could I survive with a more humdrum job?

You know you're a 24 addict when... top ten reasons

10. You refer to the bedroom as "Division" and the bathroom as “District”.
9. When ordering pizza and they give you the delivery time, you scream back "Dammit, that's not enough time, I'll have to do it myself!"
8. Every call you get at home, you let the caller know you are putting them on speaker phone.
7. You tell the guy fixing the copy machine in your office to “do a manual reboot of Hub 5” when he is done.
6. Schematics is now a word you use everyday.
5. While adjusting the thermostat in your apartment, you wonder if someone is in possession of the override.
4. You become the self-proclaimed “Acting Director of Field Ops” in your office.
3. While on the phone with Allstate Insurance, you pray that the operator says “Please hold for President Palmer.”
2. When caught helping yourself to your assistant’s secret stash of candy, you request a “Presidential pardon in exchange for Marwan’s location.”
1. When given a project at work that you don’t want to do… you tell your boss: “I’m not doing it. I’m not CTU.”

My life. My card.

American Express is running ads that ask *celebrities* to complete the following questionnaire... for giggles, here are my *10 second responses*...

My name... JC
childhood ambition... British diplomat
fondest memory... travel has provided too many memories/tales to list
soundtrack... cleats clipping into bicycle pedals
retreat... riding my bike along Hwy 1
wildest dream... to sit down at a piano and play/sing!
proudest moment... graduating from Stanford
biggest challenge... writing my own obituary
alarm clock... Mack/Tommy texting me before a dawn patrol ride!
perfect day... running on Mount Tam followed by brunch at the Dipsea Cafe
first job... picking potatoes
indulgence... Haagen Dazs dulece de leche and choc peanut butter ice cream
last purchase... baby shower gifts
favorite movie... Shawshank Redemption, Top Gun
inspiration... my friends - they all push and challenge me in different ways

My life... is hard to encapsulate in a single phrase
My card... Visa... oops!

Happy New Year

On New Year's Eve I did an awesome 1:45 run on Mount Tam, with Chris Hauth and about 8 others. We started ~ 10am, the morning after a huge storm - though the weather was still stormy, we had some rain breaks and the trails were fairly sheltered from the wind. We ran Matt Davis trail from Mountain Home Inn to Pantoll ranger station, then Dipsea trail to Steep Ravine trail. We traversed overflowing streams, rivers, clambored over felled trees and even negotiated a landslide. Epic! Combination of fun and insane. A couple of times we had to stop and help one another crawl up and over landslides where the trail was completely eroded. The New Year's Day plan was 100mi ride to Pt. Reyes lighthouse... but after 20miles of riding I was chilled to the bone and soaking wet. Mike and I had ridden from Tam High to Nicasio, through the mud-slicked streets of San Anselmo which had been closed to traffic due to flooding. The Northern California storms were the #1 news story of January 1, 2006!

Here's a view of the bike path in Marin... Tymoff, that guy rides on water!