Work Hard, Race Hard, Play Hard

Work Hard, Race Hard, Play Hard

Monday, May 21, 2012

My "Bike" Family


I am sooo excited to introduce Theodore (aka "Teddy") to my "Bike Family".  Teddy is a 2012 Trek Speed Concept 9.8.   I have been anxiously awaiting his arrival for months!  I ordered my new bike at the end of February on my trip out to San Diego to visit Sissy and it has been sitting at the Trek store since March.  This was such torture for me. I was finally able to get back out to San Diego a few weeks ago to get fitted and take it for a test ride before it was packaged back up to be shipped to NY.  I can't thank the guys at Trek (Jason, Angel and the rest of the team) for all their help. These guys are seriously Awesome and were sooo incredibly helpful to me during the whole process.  Teddy FINALLY arrived in NY on Thursday, and I picked him up on Friday night at Bicycle Planet in Syosset.  Thanks BP for putting it all back together and having it all ready for me to take out  on the roads this past weekend!



                                                Teddy                                                    
I am sooo excited to spend a lot of quality time with Teddy.  My first ever road bike that I purchased before my first triathlon in 2004 was a Trek and I'm happy to be riding one again.  When I was deciding on a new bike for the 2012 season, I obviously wanted something FAST (we all know I need all the help I can get on the bike) and truth be told… when I discovered I could custom paint the Speed Concept in RADIOACTIVE PINK, I could hardly contain my excitement and I was sold...I NEEDED this bike and I knew it was the perfect bike for me.  Now if only I could start riding like Julie Dibens and Chris Lieto (haha).

Since I tend to get very attached to my bikes, I will not be selling Oscar (2009 Orbea Ordu).  Oscar holds a very special place in my heart.  Oscar was my first Tri bike. Well technically this is Oscar II,  I also own a 2007 Orange Orbea, Oscar I.  However, my relationship with Oscar  I was short-lived as I was riding Oscar I when I was hit by the car in Aug. 2007 and I haven't ridden it since ( I still do own the frame though, and may eventually turn it into a fixed gear bike...again see my attachment to bikes :)  Back to Oscar II….Oscar has been with me through my triathlon journey and we have raced many triathlons together, but most importantly he was with me when I did my first Ironman (Cozumel 2009) and qualified for Kona, he was with me when I raced Kona 2010 just 8 weeks after shoulder surgery, and he helped me to finish Ironman Cozumel 2011 as First Female Amateur.  I absolutely loved this bike and was so comfortable on it, I couldn't  possibly ever give him up!  Oscar will still be involved in my training occasionally, I just won't be racing Oscar anymore :(


                                                          Oscar II

                                                       Oscar I


I'd also like to introduce Onda, my Pinarello road bike. Onda was love at first site for me and my first Pink Bike...she is a Beauty!!  I purchased Onda in 2008 after my bike accident and she was instrumental in getting me back out on the roads and comfortable riding again. I knew I wouldn't be racing very much as I was recovering from the accident and injuries so I decided to purchase a road bike first and then replace Oscar I in 2009 once I started racing again.  You probably have noticed a theme here…yes all the bikes have Pink in some capacity. I LOVE PINK!!

                                                            Onda

Since I love all of these bikes,I  couldn't imagine giving any of them up!  The tricky part…fitting them all into my 1 bedroom Manhattan apt..haha!

Ok, enough about the bikes.  A little update on the injuries, race
schedule, etc.  I was finally able to get a diagnosis on the hip injury.  I partially tore my IT band off the anterior superior iliac spine.  Doc was quite surprised by this injury and said its not very common at all.  Leave it to me to have some weird diagnosis!  Given how difficult the decision was to drop out of the Boston marathon, this news made me feel validated.  I was relieved that it was an injury that could be diagnosed and I could just focus on getting better.  Nothing worse then being injured and not knowing what it is.  I am pretty much pain free now, have been able to get some runs in on the Alter G (thanks Finishline PT!) and hope to be back out on the road running in a week or two.  I am being conservative, I do NOT want any setbacks.  Oh, I did run outside this past Tuesday...I could not pass up the opportunity to run with Macca!

I was bummed not to be racing Fla 70.3 this weekend as planned.  I think it’s the right decision, it didn’t seem worth it to push it and potentially re-injure my hip. I had also decided to skip Eagleman for a trip to Turks & Caicos and had planned to do the now cancelled National Harbor 70.3.  But now my race schedule seems oddly light...until the fall.  So I need to figure out what's next.  Tupper Lake?  Syracuse?  Racine?  Calgary?  What to do, what to do?!  I'll likely have this planned out by the time I write again...so stay tuned :)
 Other exciting news, this past Thursday I only worked a 9.5 hour day and WOW..truly amazing what I can accomplish when I'm not strapped to my desk for 14+ hours a day. I walked P&R (adorable pups) before work and got in a Swim/Bike & a Run. I felt like a REAL triathlete for a day!!  Now if only that could happen a little more frequently I may actually have a shot at achieving some of my goals :)
                    Hope everyone had a great weekend of training and racing!! 

Xox
C