November 2012

The Tally:

30 minute bubble bath
12 peanut butter cookies
10 rounds of scattergories
8 bottles of wine
6 mountain bike rides
4 nights of buffalo mac n cheese
4-5 hits on the pumpkin my first time out shooting
3 hours of live Transiberian Orchestra
2 days of baking
1 spicy chicken deluxe from chik-fil-a
1 three hour post turkey nap

The incredible show in Denver

Well. Off season has been pretty darn great.
Sometimes this so nice and so relaxing that I think that this can't possibly ever have to end.
Buttttt then I'll get scribbling my race notes or season goals and start to get that itch. And I realize that the stir-crazy little athlete in my head (the one who has been watching me walk past my running shoes for a month...) is going to explode with much more of this. Then I get excited. Excited for what's around the corner, and excited to push my limits.

On that note:
I have a coach for the 2013 racing season.
Eric Kenney of EKEndurance Coaching. Hoot Hoot!

He and I met today up in Boulder to chat and lay out goals for how I will be training this year.
Then we geared up for a ride......
50 miles later......

Holy shit. What a great ride. I was pretty excited that I kept truckin' - for not being on my bike in, um, a month....It wasn't as murderous as I thought it would be. But, then again....we'll see about tomorrow. Muah ha ha.

Countdown:

1 week: 2013 Season

Quote of the moment:

Here's to peace, netflix & gearing up the motivation,
Aubs

My Brain on Road Bike

Blast from the past:
05.02.2012 70 °F

11:31am - Damn. It feels freakin' AWESOME to be on the bike.

11:32am - I think I'm getting sunburnt, already.

11:35am - WTF happened to my right hood/brake?

11:36am - Those bastards at the bike shop, seriously. seriously. you can't put a bike together right? isn't that your joooobbbbb?

11:38am - I miss New England Bicycles. If Brian was here right now I'd be riding faster, come on aubs, pick it up a bit.

11:44am - Explosive expleatives at the fatty bizotch who almost t-boned me on her way to pick up her extra super frosty mcbeef shake.

11:50am - New series of curse words for the suited up grease ball who cut me off coming out of Kentucky-McArby-Bell.

11:52am - Serious debating on what the most dangerous time of day to be cycling is and who is the most commonly offending demographic.

12:01pm - RAIN. Glorious rain. Ouch. Damn, is that hail? It stings. Ouch. Ahh. WTF!?

12:08pm - That was weird. Good thing I stopped at the gas station to cop a trashbag for my camera.

12:10pm - I should take some pictures. Eh. In a little while

12:12pm - Oh you sneaky bizotch. (woman who passed me pulling into garden of the gods)

12:16pm - Wow. Chicks out here can ride. This ain't massachusetts that's for sure.

12:18pm - Eh. Pretty close to catching up.

12:20pm - WHOA. Racoon? No way. That was definitly a wolverine. (Then I continued to make a mental list of all the things I knew about wolverines....that was a very short list)

12:28pm- Finally riding somewhere beautiful. F-you colorado springs and your 6 lane roadways.

12:40pm - Holy head-wind batman.

12:45pm- Took 4 right hand turns around a block for the sack of a science experiment. How is it possible that there was a headwind on 3 of the 4 streets??? Still puzzled on that one.

1:00pm - I miss water. rivers. streams. lakes. ponds. sigh. this is the freakin' desert.

1:01pm - Burning flesh on my arms.

1:04pm - Pouring rain, mud puddles.

1:06pm - Rain sound on a tent rain fly. Take me there right now.

1:10pm - How is it that I get lost every freakin' ride I take? This is a god-damn grid system.

1:11pm - God country. Gun country. How is the springs a combination of both?

1:13pm - blank. blank. blank. blank

1:20pm - I'm soooo glad that I don't have any babies. (brought on by the crying baby and freaking out toddler on the sidewalk with a miserable mommy....not just a random thought. well. actually, i guess I do have that random thought frequently)

1:22pm - 3 years ago I was in the Galapagos getting ready to go home. I miss Amanda. I miss juice box wine, sea lions and reading dozens on novels on the beach while my skin crisps to 27 shades my normal color. I miss Gaby, she's a flippin' teenager now. How crazy is that.

1:25pm - I should run away there again. Yes. That will happen.

1:33pm - climb. climb. climb. woof. more climbing.

1:40pm - home at least. give me my peanut butter cheerios. yup. that's right, two of my favorite things are now combined into one. holllaaaaa

Brain on Mtn Bike Today

"Ohmygodifreakinlovethis.bestsportever.
whydoirideontheroads.thisissomuchfun.
iwishiwasn'tsoscared.stopbeingabitch,aubrey.
yikes.ahhhh.shit.didijustdothat.ilovepalmerpark.
ilovepalmerpark.dontcrash.stopunclippingyourfeetyouwhore.
loveloveloveridingontrails.yay.yay.yay.happyday" Repeat x 10

Hmm....A little bit of a mental contrast I would say.

Anyways. Cheers to the trails!
Off-season is treating me well.
Yummy food, lots of beer and time to get all stir crazy for 2013.

7mile obstacle race tomorrow with Justin, in our back yard. Yup. #wincolorado.

Here's to peace, buffalo chicken, and sweat pants
Aubs

Airport Notes:

Triathletes are a funny breed. I think sometime in the future I'll do an entire entry devoted to the idiosyncrasies of a multi-sport athlete.
Until then I stand by the belief that no matter how hardcore you are, visors in the airport?
Not. Ok.

However, race shoes, clutch for TSA security screenings.
I got to practice 'transitioning' into my race shoes like 4 times. BAM. ; )

RACE DAY

SWIM

"What was the water temp?"
me: 56 degrees.
"Was it cold?"
me: blank stare. um. are you serious?
for the record anything below 60....f-ing freezing.

Profile Design wetsuit gave me quite the slashing on the neck. The abrasion was so bad that it was dripping blood onto my legs when I was riding.
It also added a nice and gruesome slit-throat look to my finishing photos. Eeek.
Product testing? Anyone? Anyone?

BIKE

Course was beautiful. 2 laps, 4 decent climbs on each one.
Was able to redeem my swim performance a little bit by jumping up 20 places.
Haven't had that much FUN on my bike since....since....the last time I raced, I suppose!

RUN

Flat. Fast. Double Loop.
The ultimate in venue set-up. New PR.
Passed by a fish market (x2). There is nothing quite like the over-powering, gut-wrenching smell of fish guts during a race.
Woof.

Overall:
16th in age group / 76 total. 1st in from the USA
64th women / 686 total

FINISH LINE VIDEO

Overall Season Impressions

Went thru quite a lot of ups and downs. The majority of the season felt like a butt kicking all the way around.
Nationals and Worlds were by far my strongest performances, which made the season feel progressive and overall productive.

A shift of overall commitment next season will be a big factor.
The small decisions develop into the big picture, which will become your performances.

New Zealand Sneak Peak:

Off-Season

Sarah Groff did an interview recently and when asked about her off season plans.
She answered: "Very little physical activity, beyond taking the dog on hikes and some yoga.
I try to get as stir-crazy as possible on my break; I appreciate my return to training more!"
Sounds good to this girl!

Countdown:
Out of Order until December 2nd ; )

Quote of the moment:
"There is a time for everything: A time to relax and a time to be busy,
a time to frolic and a time to labor, a time to receive and a time to give, a time to begin and a time to finish"
Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Here's to Autumn, Love & Chilly Mornings,
Aubrey