Friday, January 8, 2010

Sausages..Oppssss Doogs I mean..no hot dogs!

This is for Stacey, Rebecca, Andy and all my friends that are wondering...what Im doing, where Im going and when.

Tonight I had the best Chili dogs in the world! I never eaten one of those and they where deeeeeliciouuusssss!

Now as for where Im going ...not very far for now but the big picture is to try to make it to Hawaii for the Ironman in October 2010. Today I did a very hard work out with Peter Park at Platinum Fitness in Montecito...OUcHHHHHH! place for improvement for sure:) will go back.
Tomorrow Triple crown Hill climb series start with the Gibraltar 8.5 miles brutal climb to...heaven. The view up there is to die for and is worth every sec of pain:)

For the next couple of weeks I'll be here, training with great friends and athletes and getting ready for my first half Ironman of the season : Oceanside In San Diego, CA March 27th.
I will do a little trip to Ixtapa for my cousin's wedding in February. I will be heading East to Boston for the marathon, April 18th and a Charity ride for cancer in Quebec on the 24th of April. Back to SB end of April.

I will also have time to make Gnocchi just like the chef showed me for Stacey, Rebecca and Andy to repay for the chili dogs!

Happy New Year!!

This new year will hope bring all the best to all my friends and family.
Here's my resolution for 2010: Take better care of my friends and family and to not compare myself....I am me and no one else.

I am in Santa Barbara, CA. I left Beverly, MA the 30th of November with the truck, the dog, all of our bikes, bags, the coffee machine( died on the way...RIP Sylvia..) my ski boots, the maple sirup, dog food and treats, the moto helmets, my favorite spices, the computrainer, paper stuff, more clothing and of course some great organic treats for my long drive ahead.

I made it to Portland Oregon in time for the next saturday last USGP (cyclocross race) of the season. Dog was happy to run with Tim around the course and I was happy that the weather was with me the whole time. Nothing. No snow, no rain, no ice storm, no speeding ticket, niet, nothing..I wont tell you that that I saw cool things on the drive...I took I-80.

Tim and I drove from Portland to Bend where we stayed with some great friends of ours for 2 weeks. Tim raced national and Won! Then our friends took off to go spend Christmas with their family and we house sit for them. It was great! Tim got his wisdom teeth taking out so that was good for me he couldn't talk! that not true! He was hurting for a couple of days but quickly back on his feet to go do some cx skiing , mt biking in the snow and some laying low in our nice house...well it felt like our:)(thanks Chris and Gerry)

Christmas was nice and quiet. Tim me and the pooch.

Back on the road again we repack the whole truck minus one can of maple sirup...but adding the moto. Troy, the Cannondale truck driver drove it to Bend for us so I wouldn't have to drive across with it. Perfect. My little BMW back with us on her way to ride the best roads in SB!
We stopped in Napa for a day, road a nice loop with Tim's teammate Roman and made it to SB in time for the Chicago new year, Denver new year and finally stayed up till the California New year!

Now we are here for a while and that make's me feel good, I love this place.
On route to Hawaii ironman.
Oh I almost forgot I did my first marathon in October in 3h and 2 min...very happy!
I am register for Boston in April!
till next time happy riding, running and swimming!
lyne




Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Week end to remember!

So I just finished Providence and Im on my way to race my first marathon but before I need to backtrack...

Came back from Savageman on monday and rested for ...a couple hours! The Mayor's cup was coming up next with Vt 50 on tap the next day.

The Boston crit was great! Great venue, huge crowd and some good racing!
felt good, got 6th and was happy to be part of the last race of Tina Pic, one of the most successful racer in the US. Congrats to her for an unbelievable career.

After the race I jumped in y little red VW heading north to White River Jonction to try to make it to bed as early as possible for the 6 am start for the VT 50....That didn't happen but had a very nice dinner with friends and Matt O'keeff...He is the reason why I got into this race! Matt was very kind to think of me this year because last year I wanted to race but missed the deadline and didn't get in. This year I had NOT plan to race...but then one night we are having dinner at Matt's house and he said" Hey we are both in for the VT 50" I said " this year?" "yup"...he said..
At that moment I told myself that it couldn't be worst than the 5 day stage race I did in BC this summer at 100+ degres....

Woke up at 430 am with the sound of...HEAVY RAIN.
I 've never done this race so I didn't think it would be that bad. You know racing 50 miles in the mud:). I am so NOT realistic sometimes.

Everything ready Matt and I got in the elevator ( cyclist do not run, walk or take stairs...except for me of course) anyway, in the elevator with two lovely mom's. The first thing they said was:" Here's your 2 first DNS of the day" I of course asked why and they simply said:" Oh we did it in the rain 2 years ago and we hated it" Hmmmmm...

Start:
its 6am, Its dark and Im nervous but excited to try Mt biking again.
Off we go! First section is neutral, paved, than the dirt road comes and the truck leaves us...
I can barely follow the wheels in front of me, my legs are like telephone poles (or still in Boston at the crit!). I am over dressed, hot and did I said it was dark? To help the situation it was misty and a very tick cloud blanket over our heads would keep the sun from lighting the trails...
It was still dark for the first couple sections of single track. I had to adjust again from my TT bike, to road bike to mt bike so it took me a while to feel ok. I was 2nd for a while...hurting like hell, every time I got on a dirt road I thought it would help me but no I felt like I was going backwards...I told myself again that I was NOT a mt biker and that was suppose to be fun.

More than Half way:
Ok I kept going for 36 miles then I was done, so done I stopped at a private house. A lot of the course of this race pass through some private properties and people are outside helping with feed, water station to clean the MUD of the bikes and...BEER. I stopped...I was going to quit, I ask the directions to get back to the lodge. I sat down in a chair, had a beer and was motivated again by a women to finish.."There is only 14 miles to go it's not that bad, you should finish"
I guess the beer didn't help my situation because I took the wrong decision: the one to finish.

After 15 min I was getting cold sitting so by that point I had decided to get going. I get back on my bike. Those last 14 miles took me longer than the first 36. I hated every parts of it except...

A friend of mine that was in my cycling classes last fall was running the 50km. The day was so miserable that the runners where faster than the average cyclist ..and me. He came by me and said: " You look like a girl that I know she is tall , very good cyclist her name is line basset or something like that..." I said "Its me!" He turned around and then I recognized him! He was joking cause he knew it was me!
I rode by is side or I should say he ran by my side for a while and we chatted . It was like the sunshine of my day. At that point I was so out of it, I have been out there for more than 8hres ( It was like being at the gym for 8hres none stop) and I was ready for something to happen ...and there he was! Thanks Jay!

So I come in after 8 h and 35 min according to my watch...Matt had stop at the same place I had my beer because he knew how hard the second part was and didn't even want to get near it!
He was there at the finish (but I would of understand if he had left) worried that I got injured, crashed or just decided to camp until the rain stopped. He had called Tim, hi wife, gone to the medical...
I crossed the line, got my medal, was having a hard time to walk, my body was not doing so well.
Matt gave me a hug and I started to cry. I said that was to hard for me and that Mt biking was not for me... Well not true, I love Mt -biking but at my own speed, not in a race, and when the sun is shinning!
I sorted cleaned up, got food, another beer, talked with Matt about life and drove home.
Just so you know that was my last mt bike RACE for a LOOOONG LOOOOONG time!
lyne




Thursday, October 1, 2009

today...

I feel alone.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The Savageman...Savage Man!




  • barbarous: (of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering; "a barbarous crime"; "brutal beatings"; "cruel tortures ...
  • feral: wild and menacing; "a pack of feral dogs"
  • attack brutally and fiercely
  • a member of an uncivilized people
  • barbarian: without civilizing influences; "barbarian invaders"; "barbaric practices"; "a savage people"; "fighting is crude and uncivilized especially if the weapons are efficient"-Margaret Meade; "wild tribes"
  • criticize harshly or violently; "The press savaged the new President"; "The critics crucified the author for plagiarizing a famous passage"
  • beast: a cruelly rapacious person
  • ferocious: marked by extreme and violent energy; "a ferocious beating"; "fierce fighting"; "a furious battle"

That is what I found so I could explain better the Half Ironman I did this week end!
Now I know why people always want to go back...It was so challenging , fun , brutal... but like everyone else I can't wait for the next one!
I swam like ...a fast turtle ! witch is for me not fast enough, I have a hard time with the boxing match at the start of the swim and until I can swim alone my heart rate is through the roof . Getting out of the water I heard after the race that I looked tired...hhhhhmmmmm.

Got on the bike, it was like sitting in my living room I felt at home...At that point I was 10 min behind Susan William the winner of the race ( she swam like a dolphin!). The first part of the bike was fast and technical. At the 20 miles mark or so you came to the WALL a 100 m at high % and if you can make it you get a brick with your name on it at the top. I got my brick. The next 7 miles was...uphill. There is a competition with in the race for that next 7 miles.
The entertainment on the climb was great with signs like" how's your aero helmet serving you now?" or " triple cranks for sale 400$ " or " who was laughing about that triple?" ...

I was going good and thought that I was going to get that fast time...but again Susan climbed so fast I couldn't beat her time and was 2nd a min back. I forgot to tell you that when I got out of the water and ran to the transition, my bike was the only one left in the PRO section...Oppsss. When I can in from the bike, only Sue's bike was there! so I was happy about my ride a 2h55 for a 56 miles with almost 6000 feet of climbing

Now the fun part: Running 21km (or 13.1 miles for my friends American!) after a swim and a hard bike ride? Well let me tell you that I got cramps after 3 miles and got past by 3rd place...I manage to keep running, eating bananas, drinking water and gatorade with little salt pills but my run was far from what I can do and I know it.
In the end I am very pleased with the experience of my first half..

Huge thanks to the Devil on the hills that cheered for me, the organizer, my friends and the new one's, Tara for the encouragement through the run, wild Bill and his wife, the Ottawa guys who cheered me too every time we crossed...
thanks for the amazing area that we raced in , the sun and the 70 degrees water and ohhhh the french fries at the finish, the ice cream and the pork sandwiches! taste them all!

up next : Mayor's Cup Sept 26th Boston Criterium
VT 50 mountaint bike 27th of Sept

Oct 3-4 Cyclocross Gloucester, MA
Oct 10-11 Cyclocross Providence
Oct 18th First ever marathon Toronto!!