Meet Two Very Interesting People!

When a married man meets you at 6am , at his front door, in his bathrobe, you know it is time to take stock. What day is it? What time is it? Why is he not in spandex? Cece was unloading her bike, putting on her front tire, when Keith appeared. He was unsure if she was coming. He hurriedly got ready. His very kind wife Martha came out in her robe and kept Cece company.... and soon off they went!

Keith wanted to do some climbing and when he heard that Cece was not in a rush, grand plans started to form! They warmed their legs up before starting to climb and went by Tingley and then to the Hispanic Cultural Center and then back to warm up. Tingley is so beautiful in the early morning light!
Cece, Keith and Martha do not know each other very well. As a matter of fact, this was their first real time spent together. Keith and Cece had a bonding moment climbing Oak Flats last week when they both contemplated whether they were actually in hell, but that was the extent of their knowledge of each other! And so, as they cycled, they got to know each other a bit.

Cece always laughs when she discovers just who is that person under that cycling helmet? You never know. Later, over a wonderful breakfast of cheese, thick sliced fresh bread , yogurt and french pressed coffee....all of which Cece enjoyed tremendously, Keith handed her 8 business cards. Seriously folks! These just confirmed the enthusiastic conversation they had while cycling almost 30 miles together!

She had no idea she was cycling with the past president of the local and National Boards of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, an Internationally known Motivational Speaker with big cooperate clients, a wine connoisseur and wine taster/master licensed corkman..... a professor of English literature, a coffee snob (Cece is too) a published author of soon to be 2 books and a travel cruise organizer for cancer survivors and wine makers. Yes, there is much more, but that is the synopsis! No grass goes under this man's .....or his wife's feet!


Meet Martha, Keith's wife! This is a woman with abundant joy! They have been married for 25 years and Cece could tell that they are a great team as they speak and organize around the world! Cece loves to hear the stories from married couples of how they met, their first date and then how it happened that they got married...and as they both told the tale, and giggled and giggled and interrupted each other's stories with more and more anecdotes, it was clear that they had that deep love that lasts and lasts. Sometimes, in Cece's opinion, a man like Keith can over power the woman, but not Martha! She runs a large EBAY business, is a Barter and Trade Broker and organizes "FunRaising" on cruise ships. Not sure how many business cards she has...but probably at least 8! She holds her own in every way. If you are interested in a wine tasting cruise or a cancer survivor cruise click the link.

Martha agreed to be a guest blogger on October 1st on The Two Whos .

The Whos have joined thousands of Women bloggers across the world to set aside October 1st to talk about cancer in women on their blogs. Martha will be the featured blogger.Check out the Army of Women and sign up to work towards fighting cancer.



And Finally, meet the most playful fun loving basset hound! Cece loves basset hounds. Cece had a wonderful morning full of excitement at meeting new friends who graciously invited her into their home. They are strangers no more!

HDOB or I Hear that Train a Comin"

It was a hard day on the bike for Cece. They were doing a climbing route that Ellie called "Good Morning Legs!" Clyde called it, " The Afternoon Leg Burner." Cece called it "Hell in Disguise! " They should let Cece name these routes!

As they climbed yet another summit that ended in dirt at the top of a trail head in the foothills, Cece exclaimed to Sue,. "I should have worn my other jersey!" Sue said " Is it more aerodynamic?" Cece said, No it just puts into print my feelings about hill climbing!" Remember picking the petals off a daisy as a kid..."he loves me, he loves me not.....well.....she loves hills, she loves them not! NOT! Cece is not quite sure what euphoric state she was in when she heard Johnny Cash in her ears, she knows her heart rate was way high....and she was chugging up these hills when she heard "I hear that train a comin'.....its coming down the track...." She chugged and she chugged and it was only because she is so stubborn and was cursing that she made all the climbs of the day! She had to apologize to Sue about her foul mouth and her cranky attitude. It did not seem to phase Sue who cheerfully trotted up every hill with seemingly little effort.

Here they are the happy climbers Sue and Barb! You notice there is no pic of Cece...it probably would have broken the camera! Thank goodness for the great companionship on this ride. It actually made it fun!


    Johnny Cash Singing Folsom Prison  Blues......For your enjoyment!

Early Morning Ride in The East Mountains

As the sun rose over the East Mountains, Cece got gifted with a beautiful array of sun and shadow. It was early and it was very cool and the team began to arrive and warm up for what would be a long morning of climbing up to Oak Flats. It is a 10 mile climb straight up and while you are breathing and trying to compare your suffering to other things you have survived, you can look out and see and smell a high pine forest...one of Cece's favorite places. The canyons are deep and the drop offs are steep and it is a beautiful place to be.

It is wonderful to have friends who know you and ride your pace and agree to ride and stay together! It is such a great feeling to work cooperatively with each other calling out road hazards and taking care of the other person! You know, if it is 10 miles up, it is 10 miles down...and none of us really want to go fast on the descents. Going fast on the descents could mean 40-50 mph...we try to keep it about 20-30 just to play it safe. We even stopped to ensure the safety of Toto...a cute black Scottish terrier who was running along the highway. Cece tried to give her some water but her little legs kept her scurrying along and then across the highway. None of us could bear watching that erratic little dog get hit by the fast moving traffic...and as far as we know, she did not. We tried to shuffle her off the highway.
Once on top and into the Gonzales Road loop, we were gifted with lots of wonderful rollers, sunflower fields and fast downhills that enabled us to just coast up the next hill. Ahhh! We all loved this. As we finished the loop, Cece made a point to stop into the Chameleon Cafe to see the owner Josephine. Cece rides in honor of her mother Geraldine, who passed on due to Leukemia. Jo was there and happy we stopped in. She told Josephine that visiting her is what gets her up this mountain each time! And this is true!
Yun and Cece decided to come back to the Chameleon cafe in the next few weeks and do the Gonzales Road Loop a few times. They decided they would drive up and park at the cafe rather than climb that hill any time soon! Just so you will laugh, as we climbed up, Keith looked down and saw the top of a red plastic pitch fork. He said, "We are climbing up the road to hell!" We already knew that! But Cece wonders if we were in hell or Oz....after all, we did have Toto!
Post Script: Many have asked about the person in the background. That is our 15 year old teammate who did not eat properly for the ride and she suffered and threw up as a result.

The Unexpected Beauty of New Mexico!

Race Report: Santa Fe Triathlon 2010!

For the pre-race repot, click here
We had to put these happy faces on our legs!

And....we were off.... Cece gave Monique the 3:30 am wake up call and it was answered by a Good Fairy- like voice saying sarcastically, "I am so glad to be awake!" Cece forgot her food and Monique forgot her swim cap and goggles but somehow it all worked out with emergency supplies that Cece and Barry both carried!

Ayoub ran like a gazelle and Cece thinks it is so beautiful to watch him run with such grace and seemingly little effort.But, she knows how hard he trains to get this result! Cece and Monique kept seeing a flash of red jersey as he weaved in and out of the course.....and we knew he would be first. And yes, he came in first to lots of cheers and disbelief at his very fast time.

Monique took the timing chip off Ayoub and put it onto Cece. She did her run in cleats and uphill with her bike and felt relaxed and confident. She was able to mount her bike and clip in without problem.

BUT.....in a matter of seconds, problems started to arise! Being the first cyclist out on the course has its advantages and disadvantages....this time it was disadvantage as the volunteers waved her the wrong direction and in a matter of moments, she was trapped behind a coned in, taped up barricade that she could not get though! She was yelling and she kept pedaling so as not to fall off her bike and was directed though a little 4 inch space that let rain through in the midst of a 6 inch high cement median. In order to get through she had to turn sharply through this narrow space at a 90 degree right angle then 90 degrees left angle and then another sharp right just to get back onto the ride course! She had the sense "I'm going down" but somehow she did not!

WHEW! Finally she was on the actual course! She had lost a lot of speed by this point though and it was not long before a racer guy with flashy specialized triathlon wheels , aero helmet and Asso skin suit passed her.... flying by her like a jet! Those wheels even sound like a jet engine passing when they whoosh by! "OH well." This is Cece's mantra that she has been practicing. She was prepared for this.

The rest of her ride was a blurr. At some point, she went into the zone and felt like a bird flying through the air with no thought at all...there was just movement and space. Soon, she was over the final hill and wondered how she got to this point already? Back into the transition zone , she saw Ayoub waving her in....he took the timing chip off her and put it on Monique.

Monique had a long run too. And she decided to do it barefoot and without her glasses. She had to run down and then back... along what Cece had to run one way...and then down a ramp and into the pool.

By the time Cece got her cleats off and got into the pool area, Monique was already on her final lap! How did she do that? She looked so graceful in the pool cutting though the water with ease...out she jumped and down she ran over the timing mat, and we were finished with our triathlon! We were all happy and pleased by our own individual legs of the race. We all met our goals for the race.

Ayoub went out for another run after he was finished... and we knew that this distance for him was just like a warm up exercise...but perhaps he got "the itch" for triathlon ...perhaps for later on in his running career.


Cece

Race Day at the Cochiti Triathlon

When Cece left Albuquerque on Sunday morning, it was pouring rain. She remembered the last triathlon she was in with a bad shoulder when there was down pouring rain...hard to control the bike, hard to get warm and hard to see through the rain drops and fog on her glasses. Wet, wet wet! She hoped things would clear up for the race today and she kept reminding herself that going north might change things weather wise. As she travelled, the sun started to rise and Cece kept pulling over to take pictures, which resulted in her being late to the triathlon! But it all worked out fine! The lake was over cast and there was a great deal of cloud cover which made the 75 degrees with a slight breeze very pleasant for all the athletes.

Cochiti Lake is VERY rocky and we had to climb over many barriers made of rocks....hard on the feet!

Here is Cece's friend Ellie and her son Jacob. She told Cece the last pic she took of her made her look like she was eating a bug! Cece told her to get rid of the bug face then!
Remember our mothers told us not to make that face because it will freeze that way! She looks fantastic and Jacob won some raffles at the tri this am!

Stephanie, Cyan and Misty pre-race....working on their game faces!

The triathlon had a separate feature this year! In addition to the tri they held an adventure race. Here are the adventure racers taking off. They rode and then had to use GPS signals to find clues which led them to kayaks and they had to paddle 8 miles....then use the GPS continually to find their other destinations which involved swimming, rock climbing and much more. This was an 8 hour race! WHEW!

Cece had a bird's eye view of the transition area for the triathlon. She was at the Leukemia Society booth which she set up so that she could observe the transition technique! Cece will be doing this next Saturday! Running in cleats and then hopping on the bike and clipping in is not a graceful maneuver! She saw falls and near crashes, a person who lost their shoe, and many had to stop and fiddle around with adjustments just to get going. Many had their bikes in the wrong gear and were pushing too large gears and could not get their bikes to move once they hopped on! Then from that cold start, they had to climb the boat launch wall that was a 12 percent grade and then climb the dam wall. URGH! Lots of climbing with cold legs.

Misty did a fantastic job swimming in open water with a personal record that she set for herself today. Then Stephanie took off from the transitional area...with one of the more graceful exits Cece saw all day. Cece is looking forward to her own...graceful exit next Saturday!

This is Cyan getting her mojo on before she takes over the run from Stephanie on the bike. Focus. Cyan. Focus! She told Cece she has never run a 10K before...but Cece knows she is a capable runner and this should be no problem for her at all! But it was getting real hot by the time she started running.....

But still, she had no problems at all!

Besides a few open water rescues, it was a great day and fun was had by all. After the race, they had a big BBQ and handed out prizes and it was fun to hear all the stories of the day as people lay down and got massages to unwind their tired bodies!

Bernalillo Here We Come!

It was a beautiful day this morning! Perfect cycling weather for our 30 mile trip to Bernalillo and back ...by way of Corrales. Coach Clyde gave the ride directions. Today we brought family and friends on the ride and we totalled about 30 cyclists. Cece rode with Amanda today. Amanda arrived all smiles and ready to ride despite having two very bad falls last week. She was still all bruised up, but she laughed and joked and smiled all through the ride. She is a lot of fun to ride with! We worked on clipping in and clipping out and putting your foot down when you stop. ...anticipating problems, watching for road hazards. Amanda is very strong and did a fantastic job today with no falls! HURRAY!