Tour Inspirations

Photo by Piper Williams

I entered a contest recently where the objective was to send in a picture of how Le Tour de France has inspired you. The winners would receive London Duathlon tech shirts. I gave the contest and the Tour some thought and came up with these two pictures with the help my husband. I entered the lower picture into the contest, but the great thing about a blog is that I do not have to choose between two pictures, so I can show you both considerations. I will spoil the ending now, I was not selected, (all three winners were male), however this contest did get me thinking:

"How can I be inspired by an event that is only open to male athletes?"

Women have come a long way in the field of athletics and women's cycling is a growing field. Women are showing themselves to be true competitors, in all areas of cycling. In this year's Odin's Revenge, an intense 180 mile gravel race, the over all winner was a woman. Yet, at present there is no women's cycling race that holds the same prestige as the Tour. Yes, it is true that this year, on the last day of the Tour there was a one day women's race, but this is not good enough. To make matters worse, professional female cyclists often do not get the same amount of prize money as their male counterparts. This occurs despite the fact that female cyclists race with the same intensity as male cyclists. It is time for things to change. There are several incredible professional women cyclist fighting for this change, but there are small ways that amateur female racers can add to the fight.

The first woman to run to the Boston marathon happen in 1967 and some officials tried to remove her from the race. Now, less than 50 years later, the Boston marathon participation is split nearly evenly between the two genders (45/55). These changes have come about by professional female racers who have challenged the standards of racing and fought to enter bigger races. However, I would argue that this is only part of the story. Over the course of past fifty years, women's track at the high school and college level has grown and is now a thriving part of school athletics. Fun runs, 5k's, 10k's, etc, have become a regular part of community activities and women of all ages and skill levels are entering. Seeing women running and competing is normal sight and has been a normal sight for decades. The participation in running at the amateur levels has certainly aided in paving the way for women to compete in the same type of races as men.

My brief study of the history of running is what lead me to my conclusion on how I could be inspired by Le Tour de France. I could be inspired to train harder and to race more, no matter where I place or how fast I ride. In my own small ways, I can increase female participation in competitive cycling. I will likely never qualify to compete in the Tour, when it is open to female participants, but I can be a part of the movement to make that happen. By participating in competitive cycling events, I can increase the visibility of female racers on the amateur level. I can train harder and become a fiercer competitor. I do race as often as my pocketbook allows.

So here is my encouragement to other female cyclists, consider racing. This could be an effective and incredibly fun way to make a difference. Female participation is amateur racing events is still rather low. Last year, when I competed in the London Summer Cross series, each race had an average of 3 women on the field and about 50 men. Some races fair better. Thanks to the outreach of Sheclismo, the Star City CX races in Nebraska had large women's fields.  Participating in competitive events in cycling will not only challenge you to improve your own cycling fitness, but it will show that women have an interest in competitive cycling. This could help lead to the changes that the sport needs to see at the professional level. The world of women's cycling will be moving in positive directions and those of with bikes can all be part of changing this sport.

So let us all train harder for the day that women cyclists get the same recognition as men. On that note, I encourage all of you to post your own pictures of your training with your own motivation.

Photo by Piper Williams

June: The Month of 1000 Miles

I have had a goal since summer 2012 that I wanted to cycle 1000 miles in a month. I have tried many times to achieve this, but life normally got in the way. The issue with doing a great distance is that it takes a great deal of time. I am not the best of planners, so allocating this type of time can be difficult.

Then June started and I determined that my schedule was such that I could finally check this achievement off my list of personal goals. To give you a break down, to do 1000 miles in a month, you need to average 33.33 miles a day and 233.33 miles a week. So if you want to try an hit this goal, these are the numbers to aim for. Also, it should be noted, that I am not a particularly fast cyclist, especially when riding in traffic, so this is a lot of time to spend riding. I worked out new, longer commutes that would give me 94 miles a week. The remaining miles would need to be obtained during 3 weekly training rides. A short training ride on Wednesday, and two longer rides on Saturday and Sundays.

My June got off to a pretty good start. I was right on pace for the first half. Then my schedule got hectic. I had to take a day off during the week to train into London. Both of the people I ride with sustained injuries, shorting our rides. (Friends always come before miles.) I over did it on a weekend ride, got heatstroke, and had to take a few days off, or my body was going to revolt. I entered into the last week of riding with about 300 miles to go to hit my goal. I did not think I was going to make it. Then I made a choice. I knew I need to achieve this goal. I needed because this year has been a tale of a lack of achievement for me. I have tried to hit marks in my research, etc, only to miss them. I needed a win where I could prove to myself that I could still pull up from being behind. Even if it was only a personal goal. So I kept riding. I snuck in miles anywhere I could throughout the week. I skipped some of my running workouts to do bike rides. I ran 10 miles Sunday morning and rode 63 miles Sunday afternoon. On Monday, June 30, I was only 24 miles shy of 1000. So I cheated on my rest day and met my goal. It felt wonderful. I will be taking it easy for a few days this week, but it was worth it.

Endomondo Screen Shot of my Miles Cycled in June

I am one step closer (or is it miles cycled?) to my fitness goals, but I still behind on my fundraising for Scope charities. Scope offers services to individuals with different types of disabilities, including helping educate families and the general public. This is so important because it gives different people the opportunities to set and achieve their own goals. I am looking to raise £250 for Scope by the end of July. If you are willing to support this charity, click on the banner below to go to my fundraising page.

Thanks for reading now go out and achieve one of your personal goals. I will be cheering you on.

Finding a Place to Call Home

One question that I dread in small talk is "Where are you from?" I know my usual answer, "I am from the United States" will likely not be accepted and I will need to get more specific. This is difficult. However, this problem is not new to me. I am a third culture kid all grown up. Finding a home identity has been an ever changing quest further complicated by a nomadic stay in the United States. And for those of you who want the list of places I have lived, here it is. (This does not include all the houses and apartments I have lived in.)

1. Kentucky (born - 9 months)
2. Madrid, Spain (9 months - 5 years old)
3. Kentucky (5 - 7 years old)
4. Madrid, Spain (7 - 12 years old)
5. Kentucky (12 - 15 years old)
6. New Jersey (15 - 17 years old)
7. Indiana (17 - 26 years old)
8. Nebraska (26 - 26 years old)
9. Oregon (1 month stay)
10. New Jersey (permanent address, for now)
11. London area, Great Britain (27 - present)

This list may seem short to some and long to others. It really is all a matter perspective. There have been times in my life when I felt like I had a place I was from. Most notably, when I was living in Indiana, I felt as though I was from New Jersey since I had graduated from high school there and my immediate family lived there. However, most of life can be classified as being confused. When I was growing up in Spain I did not know the country of my birth all that well and I was not from the country I was living in. Both felt a little like home and both felt foreign and I did not sense that I belonged to either. I did not develop a sense of cultural identity until my mid twenties, when I finally accepted my American background. (Besides being from the land of pioneers who survived the worst of conditions is pretty cool. I like that about my heritage and I am proud of it.)

However, America is a big country, what state, or city am I from? Where can I call home? What do I define as home? These questions pressed more heavily when I relocated to Great Britain. When I asked where I was from, I would either avoid the question or make an attempt at humor to disguise that I did not have any sense where to call home. It was painful. I found individuals to be predominately unsympathetic and was sometimes told where I should call home based on their definition. Naturally, others who have spent their life in transition can understand this dilemma, and do not expect understanding from those who do not know a nomadic lifestyle. I realized that I needed to define what "home" and being "from somewhere" meant to me.

For me, it needed to be more that just a place I had lived. It needed to be a place I could return to and still feel safe. It needed to be place where people still remembered me and would be excited to see me if I returned. Home is place full of people that make you feel like you belong. It is the smells that you miss once you leave, the streets you could walk with your eyes closed, the foods you crave, the place that makes you smile when you talk about it. The place where you are the most you. This for me is home. This is where I am from. The location has changed a few times over the course of my life, but I know where I am from right now. In my heart, I am from Lincoln, Nebraska.

From the first time I landed in Lincoln to go to a physics conference, I felt comfortable. When I left three days later, I wanted to go back. I spent the following summer there in the wonderful heat. I fell in love with the prairie and it's wild, untamed beauty. I became myself again. I left at the end of that summer only to return four months later to live there full time.

Moving so far away on my own was terrifying and I was afraid I had made a mistake. I had a small apparent, one block away from the towering state capitol building. However, within a month, I started making friends. I found a friend to go on long bike rides with. I found people who invited me to their homes and helped me learn how to be car free. I found someone to drink cheap wine with and talk about life. I found a team of amazing women to ride bikes with. And then there were the gravel roads. The stunning paths of rocks and dirt that could carry you for hundreds of miles through wilderness, planes, tiny towns, and breathtaking beauties. There were so many long bike rides and each one ending at the state capitol.

My bike in front of the Nebraska State Capitol at the end of a Century Ride

I crave the ice cream from Ivana Cone, the food truck tacos, the pizza from Yia Yia's, and the treats from countless local restaurants. I miss the heavy heat of the summers. I miss Tuesday night bike rides with stops to drink cheap beer. The art shows, the jazz, the amiable openness of the residence, and the feeling of belonging. It is clear, that though my time was short, Lincoln left its mark on me. I have kept my ties there through wearing my cycling team's colors, sporting the goods of Lincoln artists, through emails, letters, and cards, and sharing my found memories with anyone who wants to know me better. I know that should I return, I would be welcome.

For now, the place I am from is Nebraska, because it is the place I miss the most. Home will likely remain fluid for me and I may move to another place later that will also capture my heart. That is okay, but for now I can finally answer the question I used to dread.

Tri Shorts and Transitions

One of the elements of doing a multisport event is learning how to do a transition from one discipline into the other. In the case of a duathlon, I will need to make a transition from running to cycling and a transition from cycling to running. The time I spend in transition will count against my overall finishing time. Therefore practicing transition is highly recommended on just about every multi-sport website out there. (Transition practice is different than brick workouts.) So two weeks ago, I did just that.

When I ran my marathon back in 2010, one lesson I learned was the importance of training in conditions as close to race conditions as possible. This includes clothing. (I did not follow this advice on my marathon and had the red marks to prove it.) I have been shopping around for a pair of inexpensive but well made tri shorts for a few weeks. Tri shorts are made to go from swim to bike to run. They fit closer than running shorts (running shorts would also be painful to cycling in) and have less padding than bike shorts (imagine running with all that padding) and dry quickly. I researched several companies and spoke to the multi sport athletes I knew. In the end, I order a pair of Sugoi tri shorts that I found for a very reasonable price. (Quick note if you are new to buying professional athletic clothes. These tend to run small as athletes are normally smaller than the general population. Always check the sizing guide for any athletic company. I almost always have to buy a size up.) Transition practice seemed like the perfect time to break them in.

Sugoi Tri Shorts (Photo by Piper Williams)

I set up a transition zone on the concrete patio outside of my apartment. This included laying out my running shoes, cycling shoes, bike helmet, and a water bottle. Some people clip their cycle shoes into their pedals for transition. I have elected not to do this. I will have enough on my mind and my race nerves have a good probability of making me clumsy. I have also elected to run with my cycling gloves on. This will save a little time in transition and, on the gross side, will give me a medium to wipe sweat off my brow while I am running. For this practice, I had mapped out a 2 mile run and a 6 mile cycle. The purpose was to repeat the transition multiple times, not get my milage in. My husband would watch my bike while I was doing the run. Now that everything was laid out, I could begin.

Where I entered my "Transition Zone" (Photo by Piper Williams)

I stared off with a run and tried to relax. After the run I went up to my patio and put on my bike helmet (duathlon rules state that you cannot get on your bike until your helmet is on and people are regularly disqualified for this). I then struggled to get out of my running shoes (mental note: buy stretchy tri laces) and into my cycling shoes. I downed some water and grabbed my bike. I ran with my bike down the apparent sidewalk and mounted once I reached the street. (Duathlon rules state that you cannot ride your bike in the transition zone.) I went through my bike ride, a little slower than I would like, and returned to my transition zone. I set my bike on the patio, quickly got out of my cycling shoes and put on my running shoes and fussed with the laces once again. This repeated two more times over the course of this workout.

This exercise proved to be useful in several ways. First, the transition was easier than I thought it would be. I have some ideas of areas that I need to improve. Second, it is another step in adjusting the weird feeling of running after cycling. Next time I may time my transitions and I will transition more than four times. To you multi-sport athletes, how do you practice your transitions?

Training Update:

I have been a little bit of slump due to an increased work load and additional responsibilities. I will write more about this later.

I am participating the London Ultra Duathlon to raise money for Scope, a charity that provides services for individuals with disabilities. If you would like to sponsor me please visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=EmilyGrace. Any amount helps and is appreciated.

Finding Solace in a Bike Ride

Last week I felt like I got into a fight with life and walked away with two black eyes and a bloody nose. I am struggling to be the scientist I want to be. My work feels so passionless and this is reflected in the results. I live with a daily reminder of the price and sacrifices my husband and I made so that I could have a career in physics. The burden seems almost too heavy to carry. I am so tired.

This is naturally reflected in my workout. My energy levels are not what they normally are and my muscles feel sore even after light workouts. I normally do my long rides on Saturday and my long runs on Sunday mornings. I woke Saturday morning in the pain that I have allowed stress to inflict on my body. I set my mind to ride. I need to work on my pace and I should do interval training, but I set these goals aside. Saturday, I needed my cycle to be more than training, I needed to be comforted. So I worked to get myself out of the house, which took longer than usual. I set no goals on distance, I had no plans for pace. My aim was to enjoy the feeling of pushing pedals and taking in the spring air. Piper, being the wonderful man that he is, told me to take as long as I needed. So I set off.

I live about 6.5 miles  away from a large park with roads that are mostly traffic free. I road the long way to get to the park and went through small towns I had never before seen. I could see the signs of spring in the various farms I passed. I arrived at Great Windsor park. I could see fields of yellow flowers and flocks of deer. Round and round the miles of park roads did I ride. It was comforting. It gave me solace. After I was calm, I road home through a different country side. The ride was a little more than 50 miles.

Once I entered my apartment, tired and sweaty, I pulled on my running shoes and dragged myself through a 2.7 mile run. I was able to run the first 1.5 miles fairly strong and this was an improvement from my last brick workout. (A brick workout is when an someone does one exercise work out immediately followed by a workout of a different type of exercise. Like a bike ride followed by a run. These are an essential part of multi-sport training.) Running after a bike ride feels like running in full armor through a field of molasses. So I will count my successes when they come.

Sunday came and I slept through the time I would normally run, but I woke up rested for the first time this week. Sometimes our bodies need more than just exercise. The more I do endurance events, the more learn about listening to what my body needs.

My research may continue to be a struggle, Piper may still be looking for work, my shoes may continue to break and be thrown out without replacement and the wears in my jeans may turn to holes. I have a husband who I am in love with, my bike can still take me to new places and I can still put one foot in front of another, and that is a win. Perhaps 90's grunge will continue to come back into fashion and I will look extra stylish. Next week, I will have more energy and I will train harder, but this week it was enough to remember that I still have so many opportunities to find joy.

Pre Bike Ride Looking a Little Tired
Photo By Piper Williams (500px.com/PiperWilliams)

Training Update:

I have been focusing on running hills and doing bricks. I am also working to run and bike at a faster pace consistently.

I am participating the London Ultra Duathlon to raise money for Scope, a charity that provides services for individuals with disabilities. If you would like to sponsor me please visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=EmilyGrace. Any amount helps and is appreciated.

Finding Inspiration

I step out into the wide expanse of the internet and immediately I am drowning in words. The sensation of screaming opinions overwhelms and I long to escape to the safety of a secluded library with the scent of books and card catalogues.

This is how I often feel when I enter the world of blogs on the internet seeking to learn from someone else's experiences. There is so much information, some of which is misinformed and/or unintentionally de-motivational. As a result, I am very picky as to which blogs I read to follow someone else's training journey. I am not looking to read anything that is overly opinionated on training and nutrition or to read about how a professional athlete trains. I will be unable to learn from these people as I am not a professional and sometimes the training methods that work for me contradict some of the advice. What I am looking for is to read about someone who works full time, like me, and who has a life outside of work and training, balances an intensive educe training schedule. Of course, what one person finds inspiring can be as different as training and nutrition needs.

There are two individuals whose writing I particularly enjoy and have learned a great deal from. Both are Sheclismo team members.

The first woman is Molly Nance. She is a marathon swimmer and presently she is training to swim the English channel this July. She is detailing this training in her blog: Mollysbigswim.blogspot.com. She is one of the reasons I am writing about my own training experience. What I particularly enjoy about her writing is the amount of detail she gives about her training schedule. I have learned a lot about how to carve out time in my schedule to fit in long workouts. She also describes different nutritional options for fueling while exercising and gives her own reactions. Also, when I read about her goals, I realize that there will always be new goals for me.

The second woman is Laura Anderson. I rode with her a few times when I was still living in Nebraska. Laura does triathlons and shares my passion for extra eating that being a runner allows you. She was also the first person I ever received multi-sport advice from. Her blog, http://fitfreshandfunny.wordpress.com/, follows both her training and day to day living. She makes it seem like fitting in running, biking, swimming workouts throughout the week is easy. She, like myself, did not start running until her mid-twenties. I have enjoyed reading about her journey of realizing that she is now indeed an athlete.

These are just two examples of excellent and inspiring blogs on the internet. I do believe that is important to choose who you read with care, whether it be training, home improvement, or whatever subject. If you find that pieces of writing perpetually leave you discouraged, then it might be time to realize that you are not the intended audience. There are others that might be a better fit. I would love to hear about any blogs you find particularly motivating.

Training Update:
I have started increase my weekend mileage on both the bike and on foot. This past weekend, I did a 40 mile cycle on Saturday followed by a 10 mile run on Sunday morning. This is the first time I have done two longer workouts on two consecutive days. I only felt a little sore on Monday, so it seems I am taking my training on the appropriate pace. I also learned this past week of the importance of a rest day. I had too many workouts too close together on too many days, and as a result, my weekday workouts left a little to be desired. I hoping that this will be a better week. I am sure that many running parter Thyla is ready to push me so we can do more runs at her pace. (My workouts can be found here: http://www.endomondo.com/profile/4756204)

With Jake (my bike) Post 40 Mile Ride
Photo by Piper Williams (http://500px.com/PiperWilliams)

I am participating the London Ultra Duathlon to raise money for Scope, a charity that provides services for individuals with disabilities. If you would like to sponsor me please visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=EmilyGrace. Any amount helps and is appreciated.

Happy Exercising.

Running and Biking and Running for Charity

Endurance training, like getting an advanced education, can become an incredibly selfish venture. Your training schedule becomes a priority, you start focusing on your diet, you are constantly listing to your body and everything becomes about you. While these activities are not inherently bad, (in fact they can be quite good for you), it does become easy to give into the temptation of becoming very self absorbed. I speak from experience on this point.

A practice I began engaging in when I first started doing long run was using this time for meditation and prayer. Those of you, who know me well, know how busy my mind generally is. Seeking quiet and silence is challenging for me, but not so when my legs are carrying me across pavement and trails or pumping bike pedals. In doing this, the time that I spend training becomes about something greater than just my athletic endeavors. In these moments, I begin to realize how incredibly blessed I am. I have a life that allows me to make time for endurance training. I have always had enough in life. I am physically capable of doing athletics. These things are not afforded to everyone. I have tried to invest my time in helping more people realize that they can make time to have the fitness levels they want. I have taken multiple individuals on their first runs. I started a column on commuting advice to encourage more people to take up cycling and bike commuting. I have tried to be generous with my finances, though this is something that I could always do better. Still, I want to do more.

This led me to the decision to run this duathlon to raise money for charity. While I am excited to work towards new athletic achievement, I want this effort to be about more than me. Scope is a charity that works to provide services for individuals with disabilities, both mental and physical. This gives people who have different challenges than the rest of us to have more normal lives and to go after their own goals and dreams. I believe that this is an important service and I am excited to contribute to this cause. If you are able, please consider sponsoring me financially for this event. All of your contributions go directly to Scope to fund the services they provide. My fundraising page can be found here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/EmilyGrace. I will have this link at the bottom of every blog post I write about training during this time, but I wanted to dedicate at least one post about my reasons for training for charity.

Training Update: Over the past week, I have been focusing on rebuilding my distance running and increasing my running pace. I have an excellent running partner, whose natural pace is faster than mine. We have been running throughout 2-3 days a week after work. We usually do one run for distance and one for hills. After each run, I hop on my bike and ride 6.7 miles home. This is starting to give me a little more of the feel of a run followed by a bike ride. I also did an 8 mile distance run at an average pace of 10:28 min/mile. This is my fastest distance running pace yet and gives me hope that I will be able to run the miles of the duathlon at a sub 10 min/mile pace.

I have been using the free workouts available on YouTube heavily throughout my training. I have found some really good workouts, so I have decided to post a link to one in each of these training blogs. Here is a link to a good 20 minute interval indoor cycling workout http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGGvKt8vWho. This is the perfect workout for busy days.

Post Hill Run and Cycle Home Celebrating the Sweaty Disheveled Goodness of Exercise
Photo by Piper Williams (http://piperwilliams.500px.com/)