August 31, 2006

Now and coming soon:

• New haircut. (Purple mohawk.)
• New music. (The Delays, Joshua Radin)
• New textbooks.(Preface to Marketing Management, Portfolio Theory and Construction)
• New doctor. (From quack to skilled expert, I hope.)
• New friendships. (Improving my empathy.)
• New bike jerseys. (White team jerseys in which the bike shop manager accidentally charged my Amex $12,000 for. Oops. That's $6,000 a jersey.)
• New month. (Happy September!)
• New training plan. (The "Winning Isn't Everything" Plan.)
• New diet. (Modified South Beach.)
• New clothes. (New season, update wardrobe.)
• New website. (My client's site to be released on Sept. 9.)
• New season. (No more falls in the fall.)
• New bike. (Possibly a Scott. Or Bianchi.)
• New 20/20 vision. (Lasik in a few months.)
• New Year's Eve plans. (College reunion.)
• New --- (shhhh. It's a secret.)

Posted by megabeth at 11:35 AM | Comments (4)

August 29, 2006

Classes began last night and it looks like I am going to die of work overload, but I'm probably lumping everything into one task instead of looking at it as a series of tasks. I expect to be busy, though. I'm looking forward to my Portfolio Theory and Construction class. We have broken into groups to compete against each other in a competition to see who can turn $10 million play money into the largest amount over the course of the semester. We're using a mock trading site called Stock Trak. In the meanwhile, I freed up some cash in my brokerage account to use as play money if I see any interesting investment opportunities while playing the mock portfolio management game.

What cracks me up is the commodities market. When I grow up, I want to be a pork bellies trader. If that isn't possible, I'd like to be a HO trader. (HO = Heating Oil)

My second marketing course seems to be nearly identical to the first course, with similarities between the professors regarding their disciplinary procedure. I thought MBA students were mature adults, but I am apparently wrong. We are not allowed to eat or drink in class. We are not allowed to use our cell phones during class break time. We are not allowed to be late for class. We are allowed, however, to act like petulant children in imitation of our mentor.

Posted by megabeth at 01:59 PM | Comments (3)

August 28, 2006

My surrogate cycling father told me on Sunday that if having a malfunctioning bike is the worst of my problems, then life is pretty good. If I stress out, he puts things in the right perspective.

My girls on the women's cycling team have been very supportive and have helped me tackle various stressors that have popped up recently. I'm slow to warm up due to the scars on my back from failed friendships with females in college and high school, but I'm getting there.

At a dinner party last night, we managed to spend at least a little bit of time during four hours to talk about topics other than cycling. It's a start. I spend so many hours with these folks and what I know about them is limited to their training schedules (except for closet training) and how they feel about bikes.

Since college I've played USTA league tennis and ultimate frisbee before finding a home in the sport of cycling. The running folks are nice, too. This is a good place I've found. The thaw can begin; I'll warm up in time.

Posted by megabeth at 02:11 PM | Comments (3)

August 27, 2006

In one of my race packets was a free sample of Hammer Nutrition's Perpetuem, which is a powder that is mixed with water and provides energy for endurance workouts (over 2 hours). It contains a small amount of protein, which seems to be beneficial towards muscle recovery when doing long workouts. An alternative to drinking a mix containing protein would be to snack on a bar containing protein, such as PowerBar or Clif Bar.

This flavor of Perpetuem is "Orange Vanilla" or "Creamy Dreamsicle Flavor". DreamSICKle is correct. When you are in the middle of a hard workout in 90 degree heat and humidity and your body is dripping with sweat, do you want to drink something that tastes like orange flavored MILK? I think not. I know not.

I thought about barfing on my ride today, but instead I chose to become dehydrated until I had access to some water.

Posted by megabeth at 03:57 PM | Comments (1)

I don't need to be taking Portfolio Theory and Marketing courses in business school. What I really need is a course called How to Relax 101. Just the basics on how to slow down and enjoy life a bit, since I missed that life lesson growing up.

This week I have replaced long hours of bike riding with socializing. For most people, going to parties or to dinner with friends is relaxing, but for an introvert like me, it wears me out. Last night I talked so much, I came home and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

I think that in order to truly relax, I have to remove myself from my home environment. If Ernesto passes by the Panhandle in favor of other locations, then I'll soon be relaxing at the beach, taking in some late summer rays before fall settles in.

Posted by megabeth at 10:20 AM | Comments (4)

August 25, 2006

School starts again for me on Monday, and I'm not looking forward to going to class anymore. But I made a goal to finish my graduate degree, and I'm going to finish it. The next four months will be paced frenetically. I'm still cranking out code for my freelance project as well.

What I'd really like to do is reduce the amount of complications in my life and slow down a bit. When people ask me what I plan to do with my MBA degree, I'm starting to think that "nothing" is a good answer to that question. The most important thing I've learned from attending school and working full time is that life is meant to be taken slowly, so that one can savor the things that bring pleasure to life. I'm more than tired of running around with my hair on fire.

I've been getting back into volunteering mode lately and enjoying every minute of it. There is nothing as fun and low stress as unpaid work. It's not like I have to actually be GOOD at it — what are they going to do, fire me? And the people who volunteer are always in such a fun mood. I wish I had more free time so I could do more volunteer work and sit around smelling the roses. My ideal life situation is to be independently wealthy and spend my time volunteering. I realize it's unrealistic. But one can dream, right? Anyone want to be my Benefactor? Ha ha.

Posted by megabeth at 10:39 PM | Comments (2)

I visited one of my favorite places in Birmingham for the Stokin' the Fire BBQ festival. Sloss is one of my favorite places because urban decay is like porn to me. (Not that Sloss is decayed really; they are taking good care of it, but it IS retired industrial equipment.) Ah, I feast my eyes on the abandoned furnaces and maze of rusted metal pipes, steel trellises and crooked wooden walkways. It's all so beautiful I could sit on a bench and gaze at it for hours. I've been a fan of urban decay since I was an architecture student in New Orleans. In college I used to wander around the warehouse district, sneaking in open doors and taking photos of the inside of decaying warehouses and metal sheds. It was much like wandering a maze, making turns here and there, and sometimes finding a delightful surprise.

Sometimes I drive by Sloss, slow down, and stare at the massive metal structures that make me feel small and insignificant. The trains pass right next to the site, squealing and creaking as they rock back and forth on the tracks. Pure aural and visual beauty. I wish I could have observed the furnaces in action in the early part of the 1900s.

I'd love to be let loose on the grounds while they are empty.

After my eyes and belly were full with good nourishment, I headed home smelling like a roasted pig. Then my dog ate me.

Posted by megabeth at 10:19 PM | Comments (1)

The time to get a new bike came earlier than I expected. I've had two bike shops work on my bike trying to get it to shift correctly, and the consensus is that the components are heavily used. If I start replacing components like chain rings and shifters, then the rest of the components will need to be replaced... like a snowball effect. I've put a lot of miles on this bike and would rather sell it 'as-is' instead of putting beaucoup bucks into a new component set. Then I will buy an all-new bike with carbon frame.

In the meanwhile, I will continue to ride my Specialized Dolce Comp until I make a decision. The bike is ride-able, but it takes more energy to ride it than one that is newly constructed.

Last night I was deep in the throes of a sprint at 30 mph, when PINGGGG!!! my chain popped off the outside of the chain ring and the back of the rear derailleur. My gut reaction was to take the bike (which ended up being a dangerous wobble) to the side of the road for a gradual descent in speed. After looking at the chain, I saw that I had made the right decision because the situation with the rear derailleur would have prevented me from recovering the chain with the shifters during flight.

So I guess a bike that shifts like crap can be kinda dangerous.

Posted by megabeth at 11:30 AM | Comments (2)

August 24, 2006

I saw Jesus walking along Euclid Avenue, when I was on the way home from my ride this evening. At a distance I was wondering why a woman was wearing a long white dress. The style was rather outdated. But then as I got closer, the person became male, with a white robe and belt, and long brown hair and sandals.

It's not often that one sees Jesus walking on a sidewalk in Mountain Brook.

Posted by megabeth at 02:13 PM | Comments (2)

August 22, 2006

That is, I picked up some confidence. After taking a break from hard riding for a few weeks, I rode a hilly 55 miles this weekend in 97 degree heat and felt good amidst the suffering. That gave me confidence for today's ride, and I had a great ride.

I learned some new things today.

One: Bibs rock the house. I never want to wear shorts again.

Two: The Red Bull people gave me a free Red Bull before my ride. I drank half a can and it made me really nervous like I get before starting a race. But I was excited and wanted to ride hard because of the jittery feeling. I liked it. I wish they made Red Bull in 4 ounce servings. Like those mini cans of Coke.

Three: My shifter is worn out, which explains why my bike has been shifting poorly for the past few months. I learned that when a bike shifts well, my performance is significantly better. This gets me even more excited about buying a new bike this winter, because then I will really kick ass because my bike will kick ass and I will have more confidence.

Four: Confidence counts for a lot on the bike. I've been having some weird symptoms lately (getting tests done at the doctor tomorrow), and it's been worrying me. However, I've removed some external stressors from my life, and I'm feeling much healthier and vibrant. I am amazed at how much my physical strength is affected by stress. One thing that's good about athletics is that it reminds me of the importance of balance in life. It has increased my awareness of my diet and what I'm putting in my body for fuel. This winter I plan to take a look at my nutrition and make some changes (specifically, breaking my addiction to simple sugars). Be prepared for some grumpiness. ;)

Posted by megabeth at 07:32 PM | Comments (2)

August 11, 2006

The Tour de France for Wimps is now available from a South Carolina travel agency. During the "tour de wino", a local staff member will be on call to deliver wine. Since the trip covers only 86 miles of the TDF course over nine days, I suspect the local staff member will be quite busy with deliveries.

Posted by megabeth at 02:20 PM | Comments (2)

The sport of cycling appeals to my inner geek. I used to watch Mr. Wizard's World on Nickelodeon when I was a kid. And I took physics in high school and didn't understand that much of it, but cycling is mostly elementary physics, so I can grasp that now.

The other day I was thinking about how a car's gas mileage decreases as the car's speed increases. For example, if you drove 100 miles at 60 mph, your car would use less gas than if you drove 100 mile at 70 mph. That's because the wind resistance against your car increases exponentially as its speed increases. The same is true for cyclists. Thus, it would require more energy for me to increase my average speed from 20 to 21 mph as opposed to an increase from 19 to 20 mph. So, let's say there are three triathletes riding the same bike in a time trial, and athlete A averages 20 mph, athlete B averages 21 mph, and athlete C averages 22 mph. Athlete C put in a larger proportion of work to beat athlete B than athlete B put in to beat athlete A.

Capiche?

In the 2005 Tour de France, Dave Zabriskie beat the average speed record of the 19 km (11.5 miles) time trial (the first stage of the tour).

"When Dave Zabriskie finished the 19km time trial, the average speed was said to be 54.68 km/h. If this is accurate, today’s victory will be the fastest non-prologue time trial in the history of the Tour de France."

54.86 km/hr = 33.97 miles/hr. That is THIRTY FOUR MILES AN HOUR, and that is REALLY FREAKING FAST. Those TDF riders are amazing.

Posted by megabeth at 08:06 AM | Comments (4)

August 10, 2006

I have heard many times that exercise helps reduce stress, but I also think that excessive levels of stress leads to poor training performance. My ride last night was tough because I was tired from start to finish. I have a lot of irons in the fire and I'm struggling with juggling (haha, it rhymes) all of my commitments. I want to wrap some projects up before classes begin in a few weeks. Soon I'll switch gears and start running again. That should put some variety back into my exercise regimen.

Posted by megabeth at 08:46 AM | Comments (3)

August 05, 2006

I've choked down quite a few energy bars in my life; none of them taste that great. Sometimes I'll eat a few bites before my evening rides to stave off hunger pangs until I'm done with my ride. Otherwise I won't eat them unless I'm going on a three or four hour ride on weekends. The protein in the energy bars helps to keep the muscles from getting fatigued on long rides and also aids in recovery after the ride. One can circumvent the eating of such not-so-tasty foods by using an energy drink with a small amount of protein, such as Accelerade.

My energy bar of choice is PowerBar. Many times I have jokingly called it a PowerTurd. It's basically a block of solidified mush in various flavors such as wild berry, vanilla crisp, chocolate, and peanut butter. None of which are all that tasty, but I like the smooth texture of the bar. They don't make a mess when sitting in my cycling jersey pocket, melting in 90 degreee heat. I used to eat Clif Bars quite a bit, but they tend to get really dry, and it's hard to eat a dried out hunk of ground up oats and soy product.

The local bike shop, Birmingham Bicycle Company, started selling an energy bar that is much more palatable, even delicious. It's called Cup of Gold, and it tastes like an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Yummy. It has 11 gms of protein (PowerBars have 10) and generous potassium, sodium, and of course, calories (195). I also found the bar sold at Alabama Outdoors.

The difference is not only in taste, but also price. If you want something to taste good, you probably have to pay more for it. I can get PowerBars for less than a dollar at Wal-Mart or Academy Sports, but Cup of Golds are sold for $1.99 each.

The problem I'm having with Cup of Gold is that it's too good and thus I want to eat it for a snack at times when I don't actually need the protein, potassium, and sodium. A sedentary snack when I'm sitting around on the couch reading or working. So, there's a good side of buying only the poopy tasting energy bars. They're around when you need them. I also found Jelly Belly Sport Beans to be a failed experiment, because those things are so freaking good that I ate them when I was having a sugar fix. I'll stick with the nasty tasting Hammer Gels and GUs since I have no willpower.

Cup of Gold may go the same route of the Sport Bean, since I lack the ability to restrain myself around yummy food.

Posted by megabeth at 04:06 PM | Comments (1)

August 04, 2006

Older folks (note I didn't say "OLD"... I only use that with my parents) usually have some good perspective about life. One of the men I ride with occasionally has a daughter my age, and I think he is cute because he acts like a father to me and other women he rides with. Sometimes he nags us a little. At 54, he is a respectable endurance triathlete. My parents are 59 and 61, and they might have a few more years left before they start using a walker.

He asked me what kind of races I have been up to lately, and I told him I had already dropped triathlons in favor of competitive cycling, but was still playing around and trying to figure out what I want to focus on. He said it doesn't matter and not to stress about it, as long as I stay active on a regular basis. A person's VO2 Max level drops around 1% every year after the age of 30, but if that person stays in excellent physical condition, the decline of VO2 Max can be slowed or even halted. If you keep a high level of fitness up for a period of years or even decades, you may be able to maintain your youthful physical condition. That explains why so many master cyclists and runners (those above the age of 40) are making some incredible accomplishments and in many cases, beating the socks off of the younger athletes they compete against.

When I was in my twenties, I assumed that my body would fall apart as I aged and I would have to give up my athleticism for hobbies such as knitting and walking. As long as I stay in the game and don't lose my fitness, I should be able to remain strong (and get even stronger) for years to come. In twenty years, I hope to be in similar physical condition as the 54 year old triathlete I train with, instead of on a rapid decline like my mostly-sedentary parents.

Posted by megabeth at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)

August 03, 2006

I haven't ridden since Sunday. Since I theorized that I was exhibiting symptoms of overtraining, I'm taking a few days off. In the meanwhile, I've been working like a fiend on a freelance website project. A BIG one that will require most of my free time until the end of the month. I want to race again, but I am undecided at this point if, where and when I will. My season is winding down. I start two classes in late August for my MBA. Training time is already decreasing as the summer wears on.

I already feel like I need a vacation, and the busy work season is just getting started.

Ugh.

Posted by megabeth at 08:39 PM | Comments (2)

August 02, 2006

How does a female grow muscles that large?

Posted by megabeth at 10:53 AM | Comments (5)