E's Quick Update

Where to start? Well, A gave a brief update a week ago. Since then, we had a nice evening out on the town for our anniversary, had a soggy weekend of training, and nicer weather for the work week.

Over the weekend, our plans changed as biking the Flagstaff, S
ugarloaf, and Magnola route again didn't seem like the best idea in the rain. Instead, we got a run, shorter bike, and a swim in. A and I sharing the wall lane while swimming wasn't the best idea as we clobbered each other, but only once. The run and the bike weren't too bad in the light rain.

On Sunday, we met up Jennica and Luis from our bike team and headed out to do some shorter (but still steep) climbs around Boulder. Lee Hill/Deer Trail, Jamestown, Olde Stage (backside), Wagon Wheel, and the start of Sunshine. We had off and on rain
until Sunshine when it finally stopped for good (still no sunshine though). At one point, I commented on how I felt like I belonged on a poster like one of those soaked kittens with a cute saying...

After the ride, A and I went for a little run and then the infamous all you can eat pasta at Gondo. It had been years since we had gone there for it (first time at latest location) and although it is good pasta, we won't be back until we forget again the pain afterwards. Actually, I wasn't too bad as I couldn't put down as many rounds as A.

The weather turned for the better after all of our workouts were done and by the work week it was pretty nice. We got in a nice little ride last night that was a bit rough on the lungs and legs. It was a new one to us and I'm guessing Jared had fun dreaming it up.

Looking forward, we've got a bit of a long run this evening on tap and nice looking weather for the weekend. After that, a weekend in Wyoming for a bike race. And then more Ironman training. And more Ironman training. And more... sorry, you get the idea.

Peace Out,

E

We are alive ..... just very busy

It has been awhile, sorry! Here is a quick recap:

Hugo (bicycle) Road Race: Hot, windy, and not such a great day for either Rydholm. We both got dropped from our race packs before the first water stop at mile 40 and got to solo the rest of the race (78 mi total). I rarely use the word, but this race, this year, was Epic. Definitely a character builder and fitness enhancer, though.

Superior Morgul Classic (bicycle omnium): this was 3 days of racing over Memorial Day Weekend. It was interesting. The first day was the street sprints. I advanced to the seeding heats, then pulled a rookie mistake and started that heat in my small chain ring and was under powered. In the consolation round (final heat) I finished last for 10th place (2 no-shows, point went 12 deep). E had even worse luck and broke his chain in the first few pedal strokes. He never even got to cross the finish line, which was a huge bummer. Saturday was the crit. I had an OK race and got to play around with riding around in circles in the pack. I did some things well, some things less well, and learned a lot, ending 9th at the tail of the pack sprint finish. There were some strong, fast women racing! E had a bigger field to contend with, and ended up getting lapped by the leaders about half way through, which ended his race. Sunday was the return of the Morgul-Bismark road race after a long hiatus. I raced 2 loops of the 13 mi course, E raced 3 loops. I made a move the first of 3 times up The Wall and got away with 2 other racers, but could not hold their pace on the backside of the loop and was soon riding solo in 3rd. Then the chase pack caught me with ~1/2 lap to go, and I ended up at the back of the sprint pack up The Wall the final time for the finish, ending in 8th. Each race earned us points in the omnium, where I placed 7th. E laid down a solid effort, but lost the pack in there somewhere and ended up tired and cold. Our planned 1:20 hill run was delayed waiting over 2 h for results (and protest period) and was eventually postponed until early on Monday (Memorial Day) morning.

Memorial Day: Awesome run up and down Left Hand Canyon, Olde Stage, and Red Hills Drive. Awesome breakfast of homemade yeasted waffles, awesome massage with Katie, and fun BBQ at Tate and Paola's.

Last weekend: A Boulder cycling tradition on Saturday: Flagstaff, Sugarloaf, and Magnolia. Mountains-1, A-0 (E beat the mountains, I did not. Ouch.) Then yard work, and a yummy home made dinner of hand made (homemade) pasta and shrimp. Sunday was a run, bike, swim and another yummy home made dinner.

Garden: Holy lettuce! I was a bit ambitious this spring during planting, I guess. We are eating well now.... lots of yummy salad. EVERY NIGHT. We have spinach, chard, a spicy blend, and black sampson (like a green leaf, this one is very prolific). I thought we could not get lettuce to grow in our beds, boy was I wrong.

Cottonwoods: it is time. They (seeds/fluff) are everywhere. It looks like it snowed in our yard. And the car gets dripped on with a watery sap, then the fluff sticks to that, making for a furry car. Classy. I may give up on vacuuming for a while, but I'm not sure I can stomach the results.

Roof: needs new shingles. Let the bidding begin! We are currently getting quotes, and then we'll get to see what happens when we pick a contractor.

Anniversary: Yeah! 9 years as Rydholms, ~13.5 as the A & E show. Wow! and yipee!