I ran a race without intending to run a race!

Ashley asked if I would like to WALK the 2 mile route of the Frostbite Four Race in Beresford today (Saturday). Since the forecast was calling for above normal temps I thought, "why not."

I love to watch the serious runners...they all have a sleek runner's body and just seem so self disciplined. The music was blaring and there was a lot of energy as we registered at the gym. There was a record number of people registered with a total of 394. Most were running the 4 mile route and about 150 were running or walking the 2 mile route. They loaded us up on school buses and took us south out of town so we would have the wind to our backs.

Ashley and I started out running but then kept on running. I kept thinking I'll run to the next farm house and then walk, but then I thought I still had a little more in me, and kept on running. I am NOT a runner and had not trained at all for this event, so I was quite surprised that I was able to run the whole thing. For most people it would be no big deal, but for me it was. I have ran only one other race in my entire life and that was the Wakonda Centennial 1 mile Fun Run in 1985!

I wish I would have looked at our time as we crossed the finish line - but at the time I was just trying not to puke.

Regardless of how I did on time, I had a lot of fun. The puking feeling didn't last long!

After the winners were announced and door prizes given out there was a chili feed at the golf course club house/community center. I saw a few "bikers" there; Chad and Kwen. Hope I'll be seeing them both within the next couple of months on a bike ride. Days like today helps to make the winter go a bit faster!

RAGBRAI 2009 Route Announced

Drum roll please.....the RAGBRAI route has been announced! Last year was my first RAGBRAI and though I was really glad I had the RAGBRAI experience, I knew it wasn't a ride that I felt I needed to do every year. I think I'm kind of strange, but I prefer Tour deKota.

My main complaint with RAGBRAI was that it is just too long, with the travel to the starting point and the travel home, it really takes up 2 consecutive weekends. And then the Pedal the Plains MS Bike Ride is held the following weekend. I guess I just feel a little guilty leaving my non-cycling spouse home for three weekends in a row.

Riding a few days of RAGBRAI would be ideal. And this year, I need to be at work the Wednesday of RAGBRAI week (we've been warned well in advance to be present that day for a pre-accreditation 'run-through') so I know riding the entire week is not possible anyway.

No decision has been made yet, but I am contemplating riding the first few days from Council Bluffs to Indianola. It would be worth returning to RAGBRAI for the food alone! Pasafari, Peace Coffee, Farm Boys, Mr. Porkchop, Beekman's Ice Cream, etc. We'll see what develops! (I'm definitely planning on riding Tour deKota.)

Here is a little teaser about the route from Des Moines Register:

Start training, people: This year’s RAGBRAI is going to be just as hilly as it was last year.

The 37th Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, from July 19 to 25, cuts a 442-mile route through the southern half of the state, with overnight stops in Council Bluffs, Red Oak, Greenfield, Indianola, Chariton, Ottumwa, Mt. Pleasant and Burlington.

“You go south and people just assume it’s going to be really hilly, but this year will be pretty close to last year,” said RAGBRAI director T.J. Juskiewicz. “It’s the sixth-shortest route of all time, and it’ll be an extremely scenic adventure.

Home and Healing

Charlie had rotator cuff repair surgery on Monday morning in Sioux Falls. It was all done through the arthroscope - just 4 small incisions. The surgeon said the tear was quite large but with the help of several and sutures, the tendon was repaired nicely. We even got to see pictures!

Charlie woke up right away with severe pain because unfortunately the nerve block didn't work - although his ear was very numb - the block didn't seem to do much of anything to the shoulder and arm. It took awhile then to get the pain under control but between the oral meds and the IV meds (which I 'kind of' demanded - in a nice way, of course) we finally got on top of it and Charlie was dismissed later in the afternoon.

Today he is looking more perky, but with his right arm and shoulder immobilized, I have him completely under my control!

Tour de Kota 2009

I was happy to receive an email this afternoon from the Argus Leader announcing registration is open for TDK 2009! I have to admit I was a little concerned that TDK might not happen this year. A friend of mine had contacted Tym Allison, the manager of the Shuttle Guy camping service, to ask if they would be supporting TDK this year and Tym said he had heard rumor TDK had been canceled! That made me a little nervous but now with the official email sent to former registrants I think it safe to say there will be a TDK 2009.

The route is from Harrisburg to Yankton to Wagner to Gregory to Chamberlain to Pierre to Gettysburg. I would imagine that this TDK route will have the more climbing than any of the previous routes. Let the hill training begin; that will be on the trainer and spin class for me until we get some temps in the 50's.

I hope lots of Lane Hogs plan to sign up for TDK so we can show off more of our awesome karoke talents!

Sweat Fest

I did the Carmichael Time Trial workout on the trainer today. It was definitely a good workout. One of those workouts where after I'm done I have a little cough for about half hour because I've opened up some aveoli deep in my lungs that haven't used for awhile! The workout was an hour long so I'm patting myself on the back for finishing it. I normally ride my trainer 30-45 minutes max at a time.

I also have the Spinnerval 30 Minute Time Saver DVD. The Carmichael workout starts out with (after the warm up) sprinting intervals; 5 minutes on and 5 minutes off X3, as opposed to the shorter Spinnerval intervals that are a minute on and a minute off X12. One thing I liked about the Carmichael work out was that during the 5 minutes off they put in clips of Lance Armstrong and they interview the people doing the workout about the benefits they see from this particular workout. So you get a little "inspiration/motivation" along with the workout.

The best things in life are free!

We spent the weekend in Sioux Falls with three other couples. It was a nice get away with good food, good drinks, good conversation with good friends.

Anyway, we spent most of our time downtown since that is where we were staying. We were browsing in the used bookstore and I found a box of books with a sign stating they were free, help yourself. Not expecting to find anything too interesting, I decided to see what I may find that no one else apparently wanted, and guess what I found? A new Carmichael Train Right; Time Trial DVD, brand new, still in the cellophane wrapper. I felt like I hit the jack pot!

I'll be trying it out tomorrow on the trainer - trying to burn off at least a few of the calories (the Puget Sound crepe at Minervas, the blue burger and malt at the Diner, etc., etc., etc.) consumed the last couple of days!

What a week....is it over yet?

This has been the longest week I've experienced in a long time ... snow storm ... dangerously cold temperatures ... and the sadness that blankets the school with the sudden death of a highly respected professor ... he left us much too soon.

Have you ridden your bike on South Dakota Highway 1806?

If you have, run out and get the January/February issue of South Dakota Magazine! There is an article on "A River Road Called 1806" with awesome pictures. The picture above is of the Big Bend Dam that I took from my ride on this highway on Labor Day 2007. I started in Fort Pierre, riding from north to south, for a total of 80 miles, not quite making it all the way to Chamberlain.

The article focuses on the 59 mile stretch of this highway - now named the Native American Scenic Byway - between Fort Pierre and Lower Brule.

Writer Bernie Hunhoff states: "The 59-mile route between Fort Pierre and Lower Brule is slowly but surely gaining popularity - not for travel amenities (nary a single store or rest stop along the way) but rather for its extreme lack of commerciality."

This is the understatment of the year and why it would be difficult to do this ride unsupported - I was fortunate to have my husband SAG for me. The cooler full of cold drinks and snacks was most definitely a neccessity. And having Charlie to change my flat tire for me was priceless - what a guy!

We went out for supper with friends last night for supper (at the Pit of course!), and we were talking about this article and Charlie and I were reliving how we enjoyed our journey along this route. One of our friends said he really wanted to take a road trip there next summer. But somehow I just don't think it will be the same experience as we had.

Charlie had a lot of wait time to take out the binoculars and take in the scenery. And I most definitely experienced the scenery up close by bike. At times it was a bit too close. For example, since the morning started out very cool with temps around 50 degrees, I saw several snakes curled up on the road trying to absorb the heat of morning sun. A couple of snakes sure looked like they could have been rattle snakes but I decided it was best to just assume they were and not get too close!

At another point of the ride I kept hearing an odd noise, like chattering. Finally as I really started to look around, I noticed it was the prairie dogs, large numbers of them, standing upright on their haunches next to their boroughs.

Another aspect of this route not truly appreciated by car are the long climbs but likewise the ecstasy of the long descents!

I know several of my biking buddies have ridden the entire 1806 highway between Chamberlain and Pierre on the inaugural Tour deKota route in 2005. And I look forward to riding this route with them on TDK 2009. But I'm kind of glad to have done this ride alone. The Mayor would probably call my experience "the church of the bike," I found it to be a very spiritual experience. You're alone with a lot of time to think and reflect and commune with nature - I know this is the stuff that restores me!

If I haven't bored you completely here is a link to my photos on flicker and a web page I put together about this ride.

My Woman Cave

Welcome to my world! You've heard of the corner of the basement that the man of the house claims - well, I claim this corner of the basement for myself. Our basement has always been a scary part of our house. When our girls were young we even turned our basement into a "haunted house" and opened it up to all the kids in town. So I'm quite proud to have my 1921 basement look this good! It makes it a little easier (just a little) to go down to the dungeon for a workout.

Here is my Christmas present, an iPod speaker for my bike. It is so cool! It fits in my water bottle holder on my bike and has a little remote that mounts on the handle bars. If it looks familiar, it is because I am copying Tez. Ever since I saw this on her blog I've wanted one!

I could've had a V8!

Remember that commercial? I've been saying something like that to myself since New Years "I could've gone on the Spoke-n-Sport New Years Day Ride!" I saw he TV coverage on KDLT and from the blog reports (Cycle SD, Hooterville Mayor) it sounds like a good time was had by all!

The trainer is already getting old. I hope we have some nice weather on upcoming weekends (it's not very nice this weekend in southeast South Dakota with the freezing drizzle we're getting). I'm a cold weather wimp but a chilly ride outside would be a nice change from the trainer.

Going to spin class with other people is also a nice break from the trainer. We have limited spin classes being held over the holiday break but Killer Kevin has a class on Monday over the noon hour and I plan to be there!