Thursday, April 30, 2009 0 comments
nice 22 mile ride, with half mile sprints thrown in, looking forward to the 160 miles at the MS150 from Frisco to Ft Worth this weekend
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 0 comments
Bike Rumor showing Grease Monkey Wipes some love: http://ping.fm/kFdoV

Run Far Time Trial

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Run Far puts on a free time trial every two weeks from April to September for all the cyclists in Austin. Since the event is held about two miles from my house I try to ride it every chance I get.

Last night was the second week in a row that I have set a personal best time, and last night I crushed my previous fastest time by over 14 seconds. That might not seem like a lot but I think it is pretty good considering the time trial is only 8 miles and usually takes me about 20 minutes. So a 14 second drop equates to an improvement of 1.16%

There are a few things I did right last night that I think helped me get this time:

- Proper warm up
- Not pushing too hard at the beginning and having nothing left on the back side
- Taking the U-turn a little wider to maintain speed
- Having a rabbit that helped me push through to the end
- Relaxing

Sub 20 minutes is still alluding me, but I will catch it before the end of the summer.

- Tim
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 0 comments
new Grease Monkey Wipes review from MTN Bike Riders at http://ping.fm/zWPjm

And in local music news

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Today the lineup for the 2009 ACL Music Festival was released and I have to say I am pretty impressed. Here are the bands I am looking forward to seeing in October...

* Pearl Jam - have not seen them in over 10 years
* Beastie Boys
* Kings of Leon - have missed them the last few times they have been in town
* Ben Harper and the Relentless7
* Thievery Corporation - always have an amazing live set
* The Dead Weather - interested to see Jack White's new band
* Sonic Youth
* Toadies
* Citzen Cope
* The Decemberists
* STS9 - been a few years since I saw them last
* Bon Iver
* MMW - thankfully they finally return to Austin
* Michael Franti & Spearhead - How you feelin'
* Heartless Bastards - missed them at SXSW
* Dan Auerbach - can his solo stuff be as good as the Black Keys?
* Dr. Dog
* The Knux - a little rap at ACL
* School of Seven Bells - enjoyed them at SXSW

Plus the many bands that I am sure I will learn about between now and then. So this is who I like, how about you?
Friday, April 24, 2009 0 comments
as much as I like the concept of social networking sometimes it just wears me out, whatever happened to just saying hello to someone?

Pretty frickin' cool

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Saw this on Bike Commuters and just had to share.

Thursday, April 23, 2009 0 comments
A little Lance, a little Shepard Fairey, a little UNKLE, very cool http://ping.fm/kwYre

Some random IM thoughts...

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After a really hard weekend, I'm glad to say that I'm still smiling and energized. I thought I'd share some thoughts on my current mental state...

1) I think the weekend I just completed was perhaps the hardest weekend to date - at least for me. I only made 17 out of the 20+ miles I was supposed to run yesterday. My body had not hurt that much all year, and I frankly had nothing left to give. Today was much luckily much better, granted the wind was killer for half of the 90 mile ride. My legs actually felt fine, but mentally I was done at mile 80, and knowing I had to run for an hour made it all the worse. If it hadn't been for Katy, I wouldn't have made it out of the parking lot. This weekend was all about "getting it done" & "just make forward motion." Yet, I now have 2 more big building blocks to add to my IM pyramid.

2) Looking at the upcoming training weekends, they don't seem so bad. I feel nuts for saying that, but a 100 mile ride (with no brick run) and a 20 mile run weekend doesn't seem too bad. How did I get to this place?!

3) I'm still not sure why I hate running so much. Katy asked me point blank today, and I didn't have a good answer. Can we say "MENTAL?" I'm gonna work on that. I really have no fears about IM at all except for the run. And that will take up a huge part of my day... great... (sorry, Amy, I will work it at. Your pep talk will stay in the back of my mind....)

4) I don't know if I'll ever want to do this again, but I sure am glad I'm doing it now. It is so fun to work towards such a huge goal with such an awesome group of people.

5) I learn something new every single time I go for a workout. Today I learned that I need to take some type of caffeine on the bike, or else I end up with a huge headache. These findings won't change the world, of course, but they are really interesting to me.

6) My parents are, as usual, awesome. Every time I talk to them, they want to know how my workout was, how far I went, how I'm feeling, what my outlook is. They think I am crazy, but they have fully embraced my training with me. I am so thankful for their interest and support and encouragement.

7) Whenever things get really tough, I just think about "Ironman: The Musical" and I can't help but smile.

8) More than anything, I have most enjoyed my time with my training partners. Take just this weekend: I had the best time this afternoon hanging out in the parking lot, sweaty and stinky and tired, with Alisa, Elizabeth, Katy & Cindy. I could have given Jim the sweatiest hug ever given how sweet and encouraging he was after our workout. I was so inspired watching Jess hammer out of sight on the bike. I loved running with Alisa, Amy & Natalie yesterday- they pulled me the whole time and I was never without a laugh for more than a few minutes. I love that Maggie always checks in on me after every long workout and encourages me. I have really loved watching Priscilla's 180 adjustment about IM - and it has certainly inspired me and many others. And... seeing everyone's encouragement and excitement every night on Facebook is really cool! (I often wonder what my non-tri friends think of our workout posts...) I'm a huge believer in sharing the things that make you happy, and I feel blessed to have these people to share with.

9) Compression socks are damn sexy. And by sexy, I mean - not sexy whatsoever, but wow they sure help my legs feel better!

10) We only have six more weeks of hard workouts! Then three weeks of taper! I can't believe this has gone so fast!!!! I'm trying so hard not to get ahead of myself, but I already know that I'm going to miss this training so much in ten weeks. So, I'm going to keep embracing it and not have any regrets. Time is really starting to fly now, and I want to enjoy it all.

- Erin
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 0 comments
Happy Earth Day everyone. What does today mean to you? For me it means running all errands on my bike. Have a good one.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 0 comments
only rode about 40 miles today, but I am completely cooked, it is not supposed to be 90 plus degrees in April
Friday, April 17, 2009 0 comments
tough break for Tyler...Tyler Hamilton has tested positive for a banned substance and is retiring from cycling.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 0 comments
20:24 for the Run Far TT last night, not the best but still a PR by 2 seconds, looking to drop below 20 mins by end of season
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 0 comments
about to head out to the first Run Far Time Trial of the year, just trying not to blow up before the turn
Sunday, April 12, 2009 0 comments
Masters going into a playoff looks like a ride on the trainer for me tonight as I have been sucked into golf all day
Friday, April 10, 2009 0 comments
just did my first dam loop, in honor 10% off all products this weekend, use damloop in comments at http://www.greasemonkeywipes.com