Speed Trials

I’ve been enamoured lately with all these ladies around the blog world…

http://hollyblues.blogspot.com/

http://emersonmerrick.blogspot.com/

http://petitesjoies.blogspot.com/

Who all have long, silky, brown hair. It’s such a beautiful, feminine look.  …and it’s made me want to have long hair again.

But for that, I must be patient and wait. I went to Niccio’s today for a haircut.

the 50′s housewife

Karine is really the best. Every time I sit in her chair, she amazes me with her skills.  She is a professional from start to finish. Here are some past styles she’s done for me:

the bob

the shag

the long layers

A friend of mine once made a claim that “Too many people say they have food ‘allergies’.  Only those who have fatal reactions to certain foods should call it an ‘allergy’. Everyone else just has food ‘preferences’.”

I don’t know why he decided that only the most severe kind of reaction to a food (i.e. an anaphylactic one) could be graced with the name “allergy”, but I never really gave it much thought or concern. Until today.

As you know, during my elimination diet, I determined that my soy intake was causing all of my intestinal problems (The constipation, the bloating, the general stomach pains and the sharp shooting cramps). When I stopped eating soy daily, the symptoms reduced significantly.

Still, when I talked about my reaction to soy, I only ever said things like “I don’t like soy. Soy is no good for me. When I eat soy, I can’t poop.” But I never said “I have an allergy to soy”. Until today.

Today I wanted a Booster Juice for lunch. I was all psyched for it – it’s payday, and this was going to be my special, worst-value-for-money-but-who-cares treat to myself.  But when I got to the counter, I panicked on which flavour to get, and went with an old standby (one that I know has a reasonable amount of calories). It is called “Sonic Soy”. It contains soy milk AND soy protein booster. Double-whammy.

I drank it, thinking, “Whatever, I haven’t had much soy in ages, this ONE little meal isn’t going to make that much of a difference…” Well, not 20 minutes after consuming the smoothie, I started to have shooting pains in my stomach, and I had to untie the button from my (previously) loose-fitting pants. My stomach swelled 3” (yes, I measured).

The pressure I’m feeling right now, coupled with the knowledge that my bowels will be in turmoil for at least 24 hours makes me ashamed at how stupid it was to order that drink. I know what soy does to me, each and every time I eat it, and yet I still put myself in harm’s way…

I’ve decided that if ANYONE is going to take my condition seriously, I have to take it seriously first. And that means owning up to the fact that I have a bonafide, honest-to-goodness physical ALLERGY to soy. Just because it’s not anaphylactic doesn’t make it any less real. It is “acquired, predictable, and rapid” (definition of an allergy by Wikipedia).  I’m also going to take it up a notch and completely eliminate soy from my diet. For example, I still consume soy in the following forms (in order of frequency):

1. Splash of soymilk in my morning coffee
2. Packaged granola bars
3. Earth Balance
4. Tempeh
5. Soya sauce

So the coffee thing is a no brainer. Either I keep a carton of almond milk at work, or I make my own coffee at home (save $$ too!). The granola bars are easy to avoid – I can make my own or just find better snacks (like fruit). The Earth Balance, Tempeh and Soya Sauce simply need to be eliminated altogether. (this makes me especially sad because it means no more Tempeh Sandwiches from Bread and Sons )

I’m hoping that a more stringent avoidance of soy will also help in my waist management, and I might drop an inch in my mid-section simply by not having any inflammatory food in there. Works for me – easiest inch I’ll ever lose!

As for Booster Juice, next time I get a craving, I’m going for “Strawberry Storm”. May not be vegan, but I bet it’ll make me feel a whole lot better!!!

Last Thursday I started the 30-Day Shred workout. My goal is to lose some inches around my middle, and also to inject some oomph into my strength training routine.

I am now on Day 5 of the program, which is to say I’m halfway through level 1. 

Though I’m a little late on the BEFORE measurements, here they are (these were taken on Day 1):

Waist (narrowest part): 33″
Low Waist (4″ below waist): 37.5″  <– this is the number we want to change
Hips (4″ below low waist): 41.5″

This is the equipment I’m using. A yoga mat, some push-up handles (so nice on the wrists!), and 3lbs dumbbells.

It’s still a little early in the program, but I can tell you right now that the workout is NOT kind on the knees.  I find I have to modify a lot of the moves, or else my knees are screaming at the end of it. No biggie, but I would definitely recommend anyone (doing any video) to listen to their own bodies rather than try to follow the instructor to a T.

Other than that, I’m just tired. Double workouts make me tired. I can’t believe I have to go for a run after work!!!

After Saturday’s Alleycat, I was pretty tuckered out on Sunday and never got around to my long run. But as it turns out, I got off work early today, and took advantage of the gorgeous weather to hit the pavement for a long, slow run. And I knew I wanted some eye candy, so I ran to the Experimental Farm.

I don’t often run at the farm, but I love it whenever I do.  There’s something about running in a corn field that appeals to this city slicker!

I also LOVE the greenhouses. I love the idea of greenhouses, that they can enable farmers to grow produce that they normally wouldn’t be able to grow in our climate. And I love the way they look.

My “long” run was only 5.4km, but it was the first long run since my race, and I definitely couldn’t have done any more today (those PBRs from Saturday really hit me hard).  I brought my brand new water bottle (shwag from the race) with me, and it made a big difference having some water on hand.

Although the humidity was down, the sun was HOT, and I got pretty warm by the end of it, despite my relatively slow pace. But who cares about pace when the weather’s so nice??  These are the kinds of days that are just made for running!

36 racers met up at the World Exchange Plaza in Ottawa yesterday to take part in the Apocalypse Now Redux Alleycat. It was a great turnout (especially on a day that was calling for thundershowers). Racers biked for an average of 2h to complete the race, which spanned from Little Italy, to Old Ottawa South, to Vanier, to Hull.

I was manning two checkpoints on this race (yeah, I’m baddass like that).  The first checkpoint was at the polo court, and it was all over before it ever began. All 36 racers showed up within ten minutes of each other, but I made them line up and wait their turn.  I would wait for each racer to get on their bike and leave the park before signing the next person’s manifest. Angelo thought this would space out the racers enough to keep things interesting.

(When Ange developed this race, he tied it into the movie by keeping the course close to the river. Ottawa South substituted for Vietnam, and the crossing into Vanier acted as crossing over into Cambodia. Ange’s manifests were great, detailed, and had maps too, so it was a nice, fun alleycat for newbies – while still being challenging enough for the vets.)

As soon as the last racer was on their way from the first checkpoint, I packed up my stuff and biked it over to the second last checkpoint as fast as I could. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get there before the first racers hit the checkpoint, so I pedaled like crazy for those 7km.

Of course I made it there first, and even had time to catch my breath and take a few pictures of the site.

Pretty!

Here I was supposed to give racers their third and final manifest, which told them where they could find the general.

I was in constant contact with Angelo over the radio, and it was clear that Johnny Rockstar had a sizable lead over everyone else.  He showed up to my checkpoint first, where he discovered that the final destination was still about 6km away from my checkpoint, and kind of hard to find (squaw bay is off the bike path over in Hull, and not marked in any way). Lots of racers were SUPER disappointed that I wasn’t the last checkpoint, especially those who had been pedaling for +2h.

Rhys and Devon. Devon took a wrong turn at the very end, and fell a few places in the rankings. Oh well, just add it to the bank of experience, right Devon???

Some racers

Pascale was first female overall, even though she flatted out during the race! She was super fast!!!

Once the racers had come through the checkpoint, I collected my stuff yet again and made my way down to Squaw Bay. it was amazing coming through the bush and seeing a sea of bikes on the ground!  We hung out there for a while, drinking some drinks and recounting favourite parts of the race.

Look at those smiles – you’d never guess they came in DFL!!!!

Slowly we made our way over to Brian’s house, where the afterparty was held. Angelo still had to get the beer for the party, and figure out the prizes (who would get what). He is a man who knows his priorities – beer was DEFINITELY first on the agenda.

In total, Angelo bought 36 cases of PBR. It was a little obscene.

The biggest outdoor cooler I’ve ever seen!! A trough of PBR.

Once the masses were appeased with beer, Angelo and I slipped away to get some food and go over the results, and he figured out who would get what prizes.

Here are the results:

1st place: Johnny Rockstar
prize: Giant Omnium 50″ frame
prize sponsor: Cyclo-sportif G.M. Bertrand

2nd place: Rhys
prize: Brooks saddle (!)
prize sponsor: Phat Moose Cycles

3rd place: AK
prize: gold Steelwool hubs
prize sponsor: Tall Tree Cycles

1st female: Pascale
prize: $100 Gift Certificate for a tattoo
prize sponsor: The Ink Spot Tattoo and Body Piercing

2nd female: Oleha
prize: Wool bike jersey
prize sponsor: Tall Tree Cycles

DFL: Alexis
prize: kickstand and brake lever
prize sponsor: Pecco’s

There were enough prizes for almost everyone, including socks, tires, and spokecards from past alleycats. It was a really fun awards ceremony. It’s always my favourite part of the night, because everyone is always SO HAPPY for everyone else, and there were big cheers for each racer when they went up to pick a prize.

Once the prizes were all handed out, then Ange was really done his duties as race organizer, and proceeded to shotgun five or six beer. I imbibed a little too much as well last night, and really felt it in the morning. Oh well, that’s part of alleycats too, I suppose!

Here is the final ranking of all racers:

1 – Johnny Rockstar
2 – Rhys
3 – AK
4 – Rishi
5 – Shamus
6 – Eric (Apocalypse Now Trivia Award)
7 – Sailor (PBR Award)
8 – Fathead
9 – Devon
10 – Pascale (first female)
11 – Marc
12 – Tomas
13 – Chris
14 – Oleha (2nd Female)
15 – Bryon
16 – Mark
17 – Emma
18 – Jamie
19 – BG
20 – Emily
21 – Courtney
22 – Jizza (Cpt Willard Award)
23 – Tiffany (special mention – ate shit in the HUGE pothole on the trail)
24 – Adam
25 – Jesse
26 – AB (farthest traveled – all the way from Pensacola, FL)
27 – Johnny Crash (Lance Johnston Award)
28 – Texas (DFL)
The next racers finished before Johnny and Texas, but got some answers wrong on their manifests, so they got bumped down the list:
29 – Zach
30 – Nicole
31 – Nick
32 – Barry
33 – Raph

DNF – Cam

DNS – Omar

Congratulations to all who raced, and big ups to the volunteers and sponsors! It was an awesome turnout and an awesome race!

NOTE: If you raced and are not on this list, please email me at baddirt@gmail.com. We’re short 4 racers, and we DON’T leave any soldier behind!