Tour de Bintan Training

or lack thereof....

I kind of feel like that Katie Perry song.... "hot and cold", "in and your out", "up and your down"... pretty much how I feel with my training.  Just can't seem to pull it together. 

After week 1 of training, it was week 1 because I paid for the race:  155UDS!  Training was OKAY.... definitely on my way. 

I have raced for 4 years now.  I know my body, I know my condition, I know what to do and with WHAT I do, I know how I will feel.  Only the race itself can determine my placing.  If I come unprepared, I will suffer.

Then comes Week #2, off to a good start.  Interval training, riding w/ the boys, etc.  But...  I am the PTA President.  That Saturday, we had Family Day.  Last year, we had about 250 people.  Tuesday, after picking up the RSVP's in the office, I realized we would have over 700.  We had to rethink... EVERYTHING!

The PTA Board worked nonstop for the next three days.  This left absolutely no time for riding, working, etc.  Even taking care of my family was put at a halt.  Saturday WAS Family Day, and by Sunday.... I was trashed! 

During that week, I realized that the duration of training time up to the race would be the same:  off and on...

But, with my thyroid still off, I believe my iron levels a bit off, recovering from simple rides wasn't going well.  For a simple 50km ride, it felt like a HARD 100km.  The throbbing of my legs, etc.  How would I ever finish 155km ride, let alone race it.  Not to mention I was on my ??? week of my period.  With less then 10 days 'off' of it since June, I was emotionally just exhausted.  I didn't feel up to par.

So, Tuesday, I went to bed and cried... I told Gjermund I had to let the race go.  I simply can't do it.  I can't train for it and I am not going to Bintan unprepared.  I couldn't find a roommate, so my accomodations cost would be high, not to mention I still have to fly there.  All is perfectly acceptable if I knew I could race to the best of my abilities...  but I didn't see that happening.

I cried and cried... he knew how hard it was for me to say, "no" to the race.  I talked about Bintan for nearly 10 months.  Ever since coming back from Cambodia and learning about the trial race, I desperately wanted to go!!!  After riding w/ Siw and Christina in Thailand and being part of a 14 woman team....  wow...  I don't know 14 women who ride bicycles in Vietnam...

And so that's how it goes....

I emailed the ladies tonight.  Because most don't know me they probably don't have much of an emotion about it.

To not go and race my guts out....  the thing is, given the right circumstances, I could have been good....maybe.... or at least I would die trying.

SSIS Charity Bazaar - Volume 1

Last year I was asked to be the PTA President.  I thought about it.... Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes, No... then I saw the big picture...  What good is a mom that rides a bike up and down the Nguyen Van Linh highway when I could be a mom that rides a bike, and does something GOOD!  I never had this kind of opportunity to be so involved in my kids' school.  My kids are too old for me to volunteer in the classroom.  As a matter of fact, not even sure they like to acknowledge me in the hall way. 

 So, this year.... I am the chairperson for the Charity Bazaar.  Last year, the Bazaar raised over 10,000USD in one day.  When combined with individual and group efforts, we gave over 12,000USD to Operation Smile, Anh Linh Love School, and Heartbeat Vietnam.

This is the big picture....

This year, our bazaar will benefit five charities:

Operation Smile
Anh Linh Love School
Saigon Children's Charities
Sunshine Group

and

Heart Says Move Free.

Its the last charity that really moves me.  Well, they all do.  Heart Says Move Free was established by two SSIS students and one BIS student.  It gives wheelchairs to men with spinal cord injuries.  One of the founders had an accident and now is in a wheelchair.  My understanding is that this accident was within the year or bit.  Their charity is new.  If you put a disabled man back to work, his family is saved from the dires of poverty.  Imagine, one income can do for one family!  Children can go to school, they can eat, a man's esteem is restored....

because of this kid

who had a vision....

Please watch the video!

Anh Linh Love School

Family Day silent auction donations when to the Anh Linh Love School in District 7.  SSIS has a long standing relationship with the school.  They have been a recipient of both SSIS finacial and volunteer capital.

Today, Quoc and I got to present Sister Thuy and the school with the proceeds of our silent auction held on September 11th. 

1,235USD were donated today!

The children line up according to grade.  Many are much smaller then you would expect for their age.  When we first arrived, many just wanted to speak English and say, "HI!"... 

The school is 20 years old.

The children sang us a "Thank You" song...

English class..

This sign shows the teachers name on the left and teh grade level on the right.  Mot = 1, Hai = 2, etc... the number of children (hs) is next to it.  Imagine 44 first graders...

and they are very well behaved.

The middle schoolers are working on craft items today.  They sell these to make money for the school as well as sell at our Charity Bazaar.  They are very cute little bead ornaments, jewelry, etc.  Sister Thuy is so proud of their work, as are teh students.

Many students attend during the morning hours and have a school provided lunch.  Then either back home to work, or they have training at the school.  Sister Thuy teaches the boarding students (16 girls) everything from simple household organization, cooking, cleaning, and caring for themselves.

Middle schoolers sewing the school uniforms.  They are learning this trade while earning money. 

Some of the graduating students have gone on to University we were told today!  without Anh Linh Love School, none of these kids would have had a chance.....

Raising their hands

Remind me why I thought I wouldn't like Vietnam... Okay.. the jury is still out about some things...

That said, I am so grateful to be here!

Little Dude

is so sick. 

Eirik came back from his school four day field trip in Dalat.  They had a GREAT time!  He learned a lot of valuable lessons and how to play poker (hmmm....)

They went to a farm and picked fresh vegetables.  Eirik is cleaning them now.

But then Sunday, he wasn't feeling well.

He had a slight fever, about 100.  I kept him home for the first half of Monday.  But they were working on group projects and he would NOT be able to make that up if he didn't come in.  So, he fever was broke and I brought him in for the last two classes.

At 6:00pm Monday night, his fever skyrocketed to 39C or about 103F.  Its been nearly 48 hours of this.... I took him to SOS and they confirmed Influenza B. 

Gotta tell you..... Swine (H1N1) flu was a LOT easier then this one.

He's really sick.

Recovery Ride?

I was exhausted Saturday night!  Go figure!  Eirik and Gj watched Fletch Lives (Gj's all time favorite and so happy to share Chevy Chase's wit with his son.... ) I was sound asleep in front of the TV.

Sunday, I wanted to ride with the girls from school.  Its a fun group of women who ride their market or mountain bikes in the Industrial Park.  Hope to catch up with them and perhaps Alex and a Quan 7 guy after they finish some freakishly crazy interval training.

 

I decided to ride my Opera.  I haven't ridden it since Thailand and we discovered that I broke the front break lever CASING, not the lever.  So, a good tape job would fix it. 

Gj wanted me to ride with him.  So, that meant it would be late in the morning (well after 9am when everyone else is home, even after social time).  so I said, "fine, but we go to the Industrial Park.  I refuse to ride Nguyen Van Linh on a busy Sunday morning.  Not only is it a death wish, but definitely a recipe for hating cycling!"  I hadn't told him how much I hated cycling just before the Tour.  I was so sick and tired of the traffic, the danger, the near misses... etc...  I was done.  and to have the poor results in Thailand....  just made it worse!

I take him to the IP (Industrial Park).  He was really surpised how nice it was in there.  He wanted to look around at all the factories, etc.  I just said, "Don't take in too much information at a time, save something for the later laps..."

When I reminded him that I would do up to 10 laps in here while training he was shocked.  Kinda boring, huh? 

yeah!

Kinda!

You have to be disciplined and play games or do intervals. 

Its after 11:00 by the time we finish.  We head to the Club House (the coffee shop that the 'team' - Gj has decided he's a team member!  ha ha!).  Of course.... the locals left HOURS ago.  Regardless, we have our 'coffee'.

I order, "Cafe da", she said, "Cafe su dan?", no, "Cafe Da".

Gj orders, "Ngoc", HUH? "Ngoc (nook)", HUH?

okay, Bia Saigon! 

The coffee grounds are put int he metal tin with hot water.  After three minutes, it drips into the glass.  You then pour it over ice that's in the tall glass.  This is traditional Vietnamese Coffee.  Cafe Su Dan is also amazing, but it is with Sweetened condensed milk, and I estimate nearly 300 calories for the drink.  so... only once in a while.

The waitress was laughing at us taking each other's pictures.

Look, I didn't take the picture of myself!  ha ha ha...

Italian Team kit when riding the ex-Bronzini bike!  Always a must.  Pity it makes my figure look even worse than it already is!  ha!

Gj's Sunday Best....

We detour on the way home through the local market.  Fresh fruit, veggies, fish, etc sold in the middle of the street. 

Recovery ride?  Ha!  Average speed over 31kph in the windy Industrial Park with average about 30 for the entire 40km ride... there's no recovery when riding with my old man!  I guess the recovery is taht I sucked his wheel most of the time.  There are big benefits to riding with a big man!

 

Boy Talk

This month I have actually been excited about riding.  Probably the first time I have really been excited about riding while living in Ho Chi Minh City.  Mui Ne riding is amazing... and makes it all worth it.

Rachel came last month.  Riding with her is great!  She's a triathlete so she doesn't ride as many days as I do, and with Family Day, etc... its been hard to connect the last two weeks.

Breakfast of champions?  ha ha... coffee, clearly! Oatmeal with plenty of brown sugar.

I get up at 4:40am.  My body is used to this now.  Follow the same routine, turn on coffee pot, prepare breakfast, get dressed.  Talk myself into it...  Ignor the feelings of, "Oh...its so early"....

I get ready to go about 5:00am, take my bike out, and there are a few sprinkles... hmmm..

I do one lap of the bridge (slow, incredibly slow and don't know why?)

See Alex.  I knew I would see him as he's standard scenery on a Saturday.  Luckily, saw him at the base of the  bridge so could chat the ride up

It isn't this light at 5:15am, but eventually is...  This is our 'hill'.  47m climb over 1km.  We do what we can on it.

We arrive at the bridge on time... early actually becasue Alex does nothing slow.  There's no commute...just ride hard.  I could learn a thing or two.

The guys look at the rain coming from the east and say, "We go to the Bridge!"  I think, who knows... we are completely dependent on Sa whose English is amazing!

I have a big grin on my face!

Alex and I talk, "Who will be the best up the hill"...  lets face it, no one goes up the bridge at 5:30am just for the scenery of the Saigon River!  And if they do, they are not part of these guys.... so I tell myself.

We take off and clear fom the group, so do others, a few pass me, I look back... they are coming....

but..

HA!

I am 5th to the top.....  out of all those Vietnamese guys that continually put me to shame each and every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday....

Same on the way back, except I over took two that took me on the wat over.

Happy girl!  VERY happy girl.

So then I go to meet Kristof and a few in front of Saigon Cycles bike shop.  We chat for a bit.  I realize, I am in deep trouble.  These guys are all way bigger then me, two equiped with Tri-bars, the other two, experienced cyclists... I am going to get killed....

We do three laps...

Lap 1:  Okay, we organize, they are tight so I try to stay on the wheels, but its a bit hard.  Not as comfortable as i'd like to be.  I think this training will be good for me.

My turn to pull, I keep it at 38, seems to be what they are doing.

Lap 2:  We seem to split a bit, the Dane and Swiss in front, me in the middle, Kristof and Chris in the back.  Can't catch up, don't want to fall back.

Lap 3: Chris goes home, Kristof says, "Yeah, lets just take the last lap easy"....

They took off and I didn't know they were going to do that.  By the time I figured it out, they were to far to catch.

I was a bit pissed to be honest.  Even though I told them they didn't have to wait for me if I drop.  But if I knew the plan and got dropped....well... oh well.

So, apparently, "Let's take it easy" is boy talk for "Let's drop the GIRL!"

Today's ride:  96km....  probably the most intensity since a race.

ha ha ha...all that said, it was a good ride!  Only teasing the boys...definitely want an invite back!

Say...WHAT?

Wednesday was going to be one of my regular 100km a week days... (just starting the program).  So, I go out... 8:15am, in the midst of rush hour.  For whatever reason, its particularly bad this morning.  I go up the Nguyen Van Linh, but in the scooter lane.  Traffic was so thick and frustrating, it was quite a while before I could actually pedal. 

Enough of that!  So, over the bridge... again...  motorcycle after motorcycle after motorcycle.  Yes, there is typically a lot of traffic, but not this much at this time.

Fine...forget the long ride!  Just stay on the bike for 3 hours.  I'll be happy.  Sometimes, I am just amazed I don't quit cycling for good.  Today, it just plain sucked!  If you don't get it, click on the links in the prior article to understand HCMC traffic....

So, to the Industrial Park... its quiet, but I always feel it is a failure spot.  Gjermund can do the traffic and do  his 42km loop in 1:18... why can't I?

Oh, look....it's me... and who took the picture... me!  Yup, the joys of riding solo...you get to be your own photographer!

So, I do a few laps.... negotiating with myself... 3 laps, no 4 laps, okay, just 3 hours on the bike... I am so bored...frustrated... and realize this is a complete JOKE.  Hopefully, I am burning a bit of fat.

and another bummer... the head wind.... 

I see this group of guys riding mountain bike being escorted by guys on a scooter and they are all wearing white and blue striped jerseys.

They take a smaller loop within the big loop.

Finally, they motion for me to turn around and join them.

I do... they check my speed... 30kph and the scooter guy gives me a thumbs up indicating faster... okay 35.... faster... 40... faster... 45... faster... I top out at about 48... completely dropped them and then notice that I missed the turn... oops! 

The scooter guys chase me down and I go back with those boys.  I pull them for a while.

check it out:

street shoes

mountin bikes

street clothes

most were leaning over their bars with their hands on the tops of the shocks... 

and that's when I got off their line....  my skinny tires... their big fat tires... nope!

They held a very tight line at 35kph!

I guess the bikes are Taiwanese?  I tried to speak chinese, but no one understood me. 

Just gotta say, sometimes you never know what you will see out there!

Cycling Saigon

Its really hard to 'discribe' traffic in HCMC.... you have to live it.  Looking on You Tube for any information about Cycling in Vietnam, I came across some home videos.  Have to share:
Crossing the street...check out the school boy.

and... on a bicycle...

What I love... these videos capture the N O I S E!!!  the noise....so noisy, all the time!

CLB Xe Dap - Race

Didn't even contest this time... ha ha...  The day before we had Family Day at school and we had over 1000 people.  Originally, we thought we would have about 400, max...  in the last two days we realized we would have over 1000....  we worked NON STOP for 3 days straight.

Fun to just go watch a race:

Go boys!  Go Boys!  GO BOYS!  that's right boys, boys, boys, boys....  when I arrived, I asked Alex if Claudia and the kids were coming, "No, but you can stand next to the beer girls!"

Oh my cycling career has definitely gone...

backwards....  less then 1 year ago my breakaway at 2009 Giant Cup securing my #1 position for the racing year amongst the 80+ women who raced age 30+...

3rd year in a row winning the Giant Cup, curciut race...

to being BANNED....

well, actually this year they said I could join.  too late... too exhausted... and with my 4 week periods, thyroid screwed up, just not in the mood....

No surprise they put Alex up front to bridget he gap... course was dangerous as it rained cats and dogs...