I love Penn Cycle

I’m going to say it again…I LOVE PENN CYCLE!

I’m sorry Gear West, you don’t really care about me and I have moved on.  Ok, unless you have what I need and then I guess I need to go back to you but I try really hard not to need you.

Sounds like a bad relationship doesn’t it?  Or maybe the realationship I had with my bike that didn’t fit that I bought there.  ANYWAY…

This is Rich, he’s the manager over at Penn Cycle.  I bought my new-wonderful-amazing-fast-hot bike at Penn Cycle AND they fit me on the right size, imagine that!

Rich is holding up race wheels.  Those race wheels are now on my bike for the big race, for free.  Those wheels cost more than my bike, I better not mess them up.  The one draw back, if I flat, there really isn’t a way to fix it. I know, I can feel your worry.  Don’t, I’m trying not to.

How did I get these you ask?  Cute, fast (in a racing way), funny, chatty, hot Di was at Penn getting new bike shoes and told Rich I needed some for race day. Sure enough, he told Di to have me give him a call.  So I did.  And while I was one the phone with him, I told him that I was pretty sure that if I had just walked in and talked to him, he would have NEVER handed me a pair of very pricey racing wheels.

That kinda stuff just doesn’t happen to me.  I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m funny and I have a great personality, but I don’t get free shit from boys.  I am at least glad he found that conversation funny because it could have been very weird and awkward.

Of course, I also found out he liked Surly, so I felt that the least I could do to repay the favor was to pay him off with beer.  I’ve never seen a bigger smile on someones face than when I walked in with a bunch of Surly under my arm and handed it over, along with my bike.

Thanks Penn, may these wheels make my travels very fast.

Vicki Update

Vicki just got word from her doctor, who read all her MRI results from every part of her body, and it looks like her knee is fine.  No breaks or tears, just one big’ol bruise and if she can tolerate the pain, she won’t do any damage to it by running on it.

Her wrist, which they thought was a hairline fracture, turned out to be a complete break along the radius.  Since she feels jarring while on her bike, the doctor wants to cast it.  So Wednesday, 4 days before the race, she will have a cast put on.

How bad ass is that going to be?  I hope she gets a glow in the dark one.

So YES, she will be doing the race with a cast.

Bumps in the road

This ironman race is NOT for the faint of heart.  Anything can seem to happen, in the blink of an eye.

The day we came home from Ironman Camp in Madison, Jackie forgot her bike was mounted on the top of her car and ran it right into the garage.  Needless to to say, it broke in two, IN TWO!  So three weeks out from the race, she was on the hunt for a new bike.  Not really the thing she wanted to be doing.

(Old)

(New)

Last weekend, when we were all on our Clover Leaf of Death ride, the LAST hard ride of training, 15 miles into it Vicki went over her handle bars.

Out cold for a good 30 seconds, just laying there in the road still as a stone.  Her wrist is broken, her body is scraped up and they are is still trying to figure out why her knee swelled like a blow fish.

She is getting run through the paces; x-rays, MRIs, pulling, prodding.  She is doing everything she can to move forward and YES, still complete the race.

These are the moments, after all the months and miles and sweat, that you sometimes hit.

You can either be torn apart by them and quit or move forward and persevere.

Let’s hope the rest of the days leading up to the race are smooth sailing.

PIKE BOYS

These two eldest sons went off to overnight camp for the first time last week.

Running in a pack for four days, sleeping in bunks, eating camp food, exploring and hang’n out with each other with no parents around…their world will never be the same.

And on to the adults

Seriously, three posts about one weekend.  Trust me, it will be short or not.

I just had to throw out the kudos to my amazing friends who also did the race last weekend.

Jon kicked in a 5th place finish.  Seriously Jon, I am expecting more from you. SHAME!

Nate, who did not really train for the sprint, took the most Swedish Award at 18th.

Jen, who travels with me each and every year to hang out and cheer me on and then get Chipotle afterward, now calls herself #27!  Woot, woot.

Becca, who kicked this bitch Athena style.  Ends up #2.  Way to take it home Becca!

Those are my homies!  Without you guys, it is just not as much fun.  Thanks for making triathlons a social event.

Then, then there are the other people in my life that I train with.  The people that I have shared large chunks of time, blisters, bitching, saddle sores and all the other stuff that comes along with all of a sudden sharing a life with random strangers that happen to become training partners.  These people also…are amazing.

These are the people I work out with MANY times a week.  And all this training, paid off for this collective group of 40 somethings.  Jackie (far right) took 3rd in her age group.  Next in line is Di, who is in my age group and if I didn’t like her so much would HATE her.  She makes me a better racer.  My one bike goal was to stay ahead of her.  She took 2nd in our age group and had the fastest bike split of ALL women, even the pros!  Next, Vicki, this was her first half ironman race and she finished with a smile on her face.  As for my coach in the back, he realized once he was home and analyzing the results that he took 3rd in his age group.

All that said, I am so lucky to have friends, team mates and a supportive family to make this ironman dream come true.

Thank you to all of you.

The hood takes it to Chisago

What do you get when you have a neighborhood of adults that spends part of their free time hanging out and drinking together and the other part of their free time doing road races, bike races, marathons and triathlons?

You get all their kids wanting to do what the adults are doing.  Racing that is…I am guessing the drinking will come later.

So here are the cast of characters who participated this year.

Dunc:  He is 3 and can ride a bike without training wheels.  He stands about 2 feet off the ground, is a touch shy and is FEARLESS.  Yeah, took 4th in his age group.  Yo Yo littlest racer.

Pete:  He’s 6 and runs so fast his legs blur.  He took 3rd in his age group two years ago and is back for more.  He held the bar high for EVERYONE and crossed it, bringing home another 3rd place finish.

KP:  Clearly looking nervous here.  We walked through the transitions so he would know where to go and when it came down to it, he was rock solid.  He took 11th in his age group.

Super Cal:  With his dark eyes and steadfast demeanor took to this race and did not stop.  Coming in 6th in his age group.  At the end, when his twin brother was sad he did not get a metal, Cal gave him his.  I know…seriously!?

PJ:  Coming in strong and looking for perfection, found this year’s race a little more difficult.  Her brother’s bike got caught on hers in the transition area, which caused a little bit of an upset to say the least.  After taking a deep breath, chucking her brother’s bike to the ground and moving past it, she took 12th in her age group.  Way to overcome baby!

Ellie:  One of PJ’s closest friends came to join the fun this year.  Her parents are amazing athletes in their own right but don’t do triathlons.  That said, without even knowing what the hell to do, Ellie kicked in a 4th place finish.  Then she got on her bike and rode another 30 miles to a camp site with her family.

CT:  Wanting nothing more than get a top 3 slot this year.  He and Sam worked hard on trying to swim through the water this year, instead of walking through the water like the majority of the kids.  I think it paid off for both of them.  CT had a good race, he worked hard, tried his best and ended up with a 5th place finish.

Sam:  As one of the veterans of the race, Sam knows the twists and turns well and is extremely skilled at navigating the process.  With a swim stroke as pretty and elegant as a swan, he swooped in to take the 10th place slot.

When it was all said and done this little amazing group of athletes cheered each other on, supported one another and had a wonderful time eating pancakes at the end of the race.

Great job Team So Ty!

Who the hell is this?

I have never raced with a strangers number.  I’m a rule girl.  What if I get busted or disqualified or killed or something?

But, many people do.

And this past weekend, Speedy, gave Nate Vic the best race of his life.

Yeah, I have no idea who Special Agent Nate Vic is, but I do know that he is 32 and just won first place in his age group out at the Lake Minnetonka Tri.

Ohhh those 30-35 year olds are going to kill Jon when they find out he is 40!

Boys of summer

I couldn’t resist this shot…it’s really less about the boys and more about the wicked cool clouds overhead.

I’m stills stuck in Hipstamatic heaven, bear with me.

The hood

My neighborhood homies showed up last night with a Princess cake and Prosecco to help me celebrate the big rollover.

Thanks you guys…you make forty feel just fine!

Cake tally: 3

And the winner is….

So last night, Omar and Becca headed off in all their finery to The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year^® gala to see if Omar would earn the prestigious award of Entrepreneur of The Year for Consumer Products.

AND HELL YES HE DID!

Congratulations Omar, Becca and Surly Brewing Company!

“Ernst & Young LLP is pleased to announce the winners of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® award in the Upper Midwest Region. This group of leading entrepreneurs was selected by an independent judging panel made up of regional business, academic and community leaders. The winners were revealed at a gala event on Thursday, June 10 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“Ernst & Young believes in the power of entrepreneurship,” said William Miller, Partner and Strategic Growth Markets Leader with Ernst & Young LLP’s Minneapolis office. “These Entrepreneur Of The Year award winners are best in class, and we are proud to honor their outstanding success.”

The Upper Midwest program recognizes companies based in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota. The Upper Midwest winners for the Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2010 are:

·    Lifetime Achievement – M. A. “Mort” Mortenson, M. A. Mortenson Company (Golden Valley, Minnesota)
·    Master – Jack Link, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky (Minong, Wisconsin)
·    Emerging – Joe Keeley, College Nannies & Tutors (Wayzata, Minnesota)
·    Technology – John Romans, BioMedix Vascular Solutions (St. Paul, Minnesota)
·    Retail – Rollie Benjamin, ABRA Auto Body & Glass (Brooklyn Center, Minnesota)
·    Distribution – Jimmy Vosika, ShopJimmy.com
·    Consumer Services – Peter Taunton, Snap Fitness (Chanhassen, Minnesota)
·    Health Sciences – Jerome Ruzicka, Starkey Laboratories, Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minnesota)
·    Consumer Products – Omar Ansari, Surly Brewing Co. (Brooklyn Center, Minnesota)