Furnace 666

DREAM RIDE 2010?

So really... you can’t take responsibility for people who willfully sign up to do something.. of their own free will.. right?

The Dream Ride Lancaster Century.... a spectacular 100 miles of elevationious changes, in 100 degree heat..was truly one of the most entertaining, scenic and challenging courses in the area....

And with this year’s inferno temperatures, even Satan himself watched from his shaded stoop shaking his head at the handful of knuckleheads attempting this ride.

Sometimes.. just sometimes....you meet people in your life that make you realize that...if you were to go to war... you would want them on your side....three of those people were with me today...

Joe, Denise, and Jim.

The day started off at 4am and it’s already 80 degrees.. the expected high was around 100 with heat indexes well above that. At 100 does it really matter what the heat index is?? !

We arrived at the start and started loading my bike at the amazement of people who asked if we or excuse me I... was going on a coast to coast tour.. so yes ok..I pack enough so that if I were perhaps to get lost for a couple of days.. I would be SELF SUFFICIENT..BUT HECK...I was a Girl Scout you know.. prepared!!!

We were on the road by 6:25am.. with a few banters back and forth of who was leading and which way we were going and then laughter and giggles and joyful abounds, sprints and smiles.. and happiness... for the first 30 miles..

So listen.. I tell you the first really big climb is around mile 43... and dude I need a really bigger set of lungs.. legs and a motor...how do they do that!?... Joe and Denise, up they go......damn light SKINNY people...heat.. heat..D-MN Its hoT... and try and BREATH.....legs... are... starting ... to ..seize.. up... up ... and up..

I am going to fall the F- OVER.... I get to the top...out.. of ... breath... gasping....Joe and Denise waiting for Jim and I....I tell them... through gasps that I think Jim was helping an ole man...

See smart Wendy kept Jim BEHIND her ....well at least on some of the hills... just in case I fell backwards.. you know so he could catch me...

So Jim.. the good Samaritan... STOPS in the middle of the GIANT hill to help a man with directions...... and then has to regain momentum just to make it back up... dude.. you deserve a medal for that one... hey and by the way... did ya notice that since Joe and Denise got up those blasted hills before us they got to rest a bit waiting for us!?.. and then didn’t let us rest.> WTF!... Jim mumbled to me that was some hill... and like YEAH!!...

You know when you are at the point in the hill when your legs seize up... you really have only two choices.. either stop and walk a bit or fall over.. I took the later... I got off my bike a few more times this year than last.. but I figured since it was now hovering over 90 degrees ... well that was acceptable.......

Then there was music... we have GOT to keep this Jim man around... I am like where the heck is that music coming from???......Jim is like our own sound man.... these droids...

So a little over the half way point ..rest stop... mileage is 66.66.... NO SHIT... told you when I said it was the Furnace 666..think I was kidding!?.. ....the ice packs they gave us ... were truly delightful.

Sometimes the reason you do something is not always the reason you end it.

Each of us had our individual reasons for doing the ride today... whether for training, time to think, for exercise, or just to say we did it, whatever the reason I know I needed to do this for my training... ..
what Joe, Denise, and Jim did it for.. I don’t know.. they would have to say... but what I do know.. this ride not only tested my mental strength it also tested Joe, Denise, and Jim’s mental strength.

At mile 80....MILE 80...Jim made mention that he could not go on..we all felt it.. Jim just vocalized it.... he was feeling extreme discomfort, pain in the legs, said he pulled something and that he was done.

I looked at him and not seeing any bones sticking out... said.. "NO you’re not"....

He said, "OH REALLY, I think I am.". .....I was a bit quiet... not sure how to motivate someone at this point who has done more than they ever have in their life... but I looked at him.. and there still was soo much fire left... I could feel it...

"Get something to drink... eat....rest a bit"...

Of course I didn’t think he would actually listen. I mean NO ONE.. really listens to me.. about the good stuff that is.. BUT...when I said to rest..I didn’t MEAN LAY DOWN AND DIE...

I marched myself over and told him in no uncertain terms that he was to get his fat lazy ass up and that if he needed me to massage his leg I would...that he had only 20 miles to go and that he could do it ...in his freaking sleep...!!

Perhaps I should feel offended that my massage offer didn’t even muster even a twitch of his finger...as Jim made NO ATTEMPT to acknowledge my existence.

NOW before you all go thinking I’m the epitome of hell..... I knew that if he dropped out now... he would regret it forever... and unless he was broken he could finish... I KNEW HE COULD... he just had to know he could.. ..


You can’t teach what he learned... how to quiet those demons..you have to be a person of utter superior strength internally and externally to make those demons STOP... those demons that say.. my legs are shot, I can’t go on.. I am tired, why am I doing this any way, I’m too old, too slow, too whatever... Jim beat those demons today.....

But let’s go back a bit.. so as Jim is laying there I tell him and Joe... that us gals (Denise and I) are going ahead... not waiting...

I was hoping I knew Jim as well as I did.. that he would see that yes its DREADFULLY hot.. UNGODLY HOT....and YES he should be in pain.. JEEZ US!!!.. its 100 miles... and that if he wasn’t in pain then he hadn’t done enough... and YES two gals are going ahead.. and he is sitting in the shade...

I knew... he would get his helmet back on and he and Joe would go on.... we didn’t see him do this.. but I knew he would... I knew he would be coming for us..

Of course Denise and I did have a chuckle about 5 miles down the road when we thought of ... what if one of us gets a flat tire?.. you know damn well the guys will pass us with their middle fingers in the air... and that would make us smile...

The gals brought in the last 20 miles... and yes happy... claps when we finished.. not sure if because THANK GOD they are finally done or WOW impressive that they did it.. either case .. it was nice... even the comment.. they are...gurls..... Denise and I finished at 3:45pm.

Joe and Jim showed up about 20 minutes later.. and I had the biggest smile on my face... because I KNEW THEY COULD DO IT... no one quits on my watch...

Although, Joe didn’t speak to me for about 20 minutes.. it wasn’t because he was mad...he was just physically UNABLE to speak..... and not sure if the temps ended up being 99 or 100 degrees and the index being like 110 or something ... did it matter?....with 9 hours on the road... 5,000 calories burned...and god knows how many elevation changes..

If I had to go to war.. I’m taking Joe, Denise, and Jim with me...

Smart Devices - Mom's Radiation

SMART.......

I am ....... A SMART GAL....and can easily understand simple technology.. UM.....W-R-O-N-G....because me and the Droid X have been at WAR...

See my beloved Blackberry had done it's time and I thought how cool...I'll upgraded ...to the new Droid X.. looks like a gem...

NOT...!!!!!!!
Of course it was my mistake to change phones the night before my mother had to go in for a major radiation procedure not thinking that OMG I may not know how to use the phone...

Like I said I’M a SMART GAL. ... not only did it take me 15 minutes to figure out how to turn it on.. I am still trying to figure out how to actually answer the blasted thing!...

Tears... and more tears... not only did I somehow mistakenly turn on the Querky key board(or whatever the heck that is) ..and every time I type..jibberish..and pinging...and STOP SAYING..D-R-O-I-D!!!...

STUPID F-CKING MACHINE!!!!!!!!!

SHUT UP.......STOP With THE .......I couldn’t use the phone to tell Joe I couldn’t type.... and I couldn’t type to let him know I couldn’t type..and I was staying at the parent’s house so I could drive them into philly in the am...AND OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The morning came fast.. wake by 4 am....through puffy eyes off we go to Philly... we all held our breath a bit..wondering what the day would bring.. Would the MRI show new stuff in the brain?.. If so...how would that impact mom.?... How long would the procedure actually take?...would she remember my name!??....... so many unknowns... and so much thinking....AND.. what is that smell???

We are cruising down Route 76 at 5am in the morning and I smell peppermint... sniff sniff... I look at mom......MOM, what's you doing?

Mom says, “I’m sucking on a chicklet”...

“MOM.. you are not suppose to have anything to eat or drink!”

Dad pipes in, “SUZIE so help me god if they don’t allow you to have that procedure today because you are sucking on a chicklet.......”

Mom, “ I’ll do what I d-mn well please”

....so not going to say not one more word.......

WE made it to Philly and checked in .. now to wait.....wait for the word on what mom’s newest brain MRI would show... the wait.. is sooo utterly .. horrific... and then the nurse came...

The MRI showed no new lesions, and they would just do a clean up around removed tumor and then recovery and she can go home. I realized I was holding my breath because now I could breathe....and thank you GOD for this....

The nurse brought us to mom so we could visit briefly with her before the procedure..when we walked in the room, she had this metal cage screwed into her freaking skull.. jeez us...!!!

She looked like Darth Vader (when he removed his helmet)... GOD BLESS MOM!!!!.... so dad is like ...get her picture so she can see it... and I tell him I can’t figure out how to use the phone...let alone take a picture..

So as mom is laying there with the helmet thing on her head... dad and I are fumbling around with the phone.. .try this... no that doesn't work.. try this... ugh.. I can't get it.... mom is watching us... and finally says, “GEE...THANKS guys for coming”..

OH sorry mommy.. kiss kiss... now smile..CLICK....... (NOTE: this is NOT a picture of mom....)
http://www.pennmedicine.org/neuro/gammaknife/video.html
SO I swear I will never post her pic ... and I swear there is something really mentally wrong with our family.....

Now both our phones are dead... and we didn’t bring the chargers... and.....UGH...!!!

BUT THE BEST THING OF ALL IS.....Moms procedure went really well, and with her eternal great spirit... we got her home and out of philly before rush hour...

GOD BLESS MOM!

Hate the Droid by the way............

GEARING UP

So I'm gearing up for a couple of interesting days..

Friday, July 23rd
I will be taking mom and dad into Philly so Mom can get her radiation treatment. The procedure is called the Gamma Knife.

Which is a highly advanced machine that delivers a powerful
dose of radiation to a precise target in the brain. Patients experience little or no discomfort during the procedure, usually go home the same day, and are generally able to resume normal activities almost immediately.

This treatment is suppose to eradicate any left over lung cancer cells in the brain. We have to be there by 6AM… which of course means leaving for Philly tomorrow by 4:30AM ….and then mom having to stick her head in a machine and get zapped for a few hours... .MOM, YOU ARE MY HERO!!

Saturday, July 24th
Is the DreamRide 100 Miler Bike Century.. it's now suppose to be 99 degrees.. YES I think that's just really really WRONG... I mean with the heat index.. what's that? 115? ..Did I say I was interested in doing the Furnace 666? ..

Meeting Jim and Denise in Lancaster around 6AM... which means leaving the house at 4:30AM... and UGH.. WTF!... BTW.. how much water CAN you haul... ? Perhaps I should get a camel...I figure we will be cooked by noon and anything we post.. well just be kind to us...

Sunday, July 25th
Camper leaves at 9AM… so that means all the clothes, gear, bikes, kayaks, and CAT.. has to be packed and in the truck by 9AM….Dad and Mom will be ready to leave at same time… um slight problem ... I signed up to compete in the Keystone Games in York, PA…a couple hours away... just doing a couple events… like the 3000m, 1500m, 400M, 200M, and the Javelin throw.. so Joe can handle the camper himself.. right... ???....UM yeah.. UM YEAH…!!!... I'll let you know THAT day if Joe just binds me up and throws me in the truck.

.. who likes reality...?

The Duffy Mastripolito Camping at the beach excursion starts in 3 days..................

Dream Ride Lancaster - Saturday 7/24/10

On Saturday, July 24th, Joe, Denise, Jim, and I will be riding what I consider to be one of the most fun.. and HARDEST 100 Mile Bike Rides in the area.

It’s not necessarily the distance that’s hard, I mean that's hard in itself.. 100 miles on a bike in 6-7 hours...yeah your hinny will hurt.. but it’s MORE so because of the elevation changes, and the couple of STRAIGHT UP hills… that make me want to cry.. as I PUSH (walk) my bike up them... yeah.. Joe has NEVER had to walk his bike up.. but I can honestly say... I have, on two of the hills... had to... if I didn't.. I would have fallen flat over and just laid in the street to die...

OH YEAH and the fact that this particular bike ride is usually in mid July and it's HOT doesn't help..but I just love the course... the countryside is beautiful..limited yuppies in their elitist vehicles talking on cell phones running us over..not much to worry about, except those d-mn hills... (disclaimer: oh yeah the occasional farmer in his combine - who by the way looked awfully big in the middle of the road to me as a tiny biker)... well there we go.. I just checked the weather and its suppose to be 96 degrees on Saturday… holy sh-t and a half…

This will be the third time that Joe and I will do this Bike Century (100 miler) and the second time that Denise has… and Jim being the newbie… well hopefully he can put up with us for 7 hours! I wonder if I should wear the camera sunglasses... this may make for some great video play backs..

The 15th Annual Dream Ride Lancaster - J uly 24, 2010

Our bicycle tours will take you through the rolling countryside of Western and Northwestern Lancaster County with continuous views of preserved farmland, some covered bridges and the less traveled country roads.Rides start between 6:00AM-6:30AM (depending on fog) and usually finish around 6:00PM. Day-of Registration begins at 5:15 AM.
http://www.dreamrideprojects.org/BicyclingEvents.html#Dream_Ride_Lancaster

I need a VACATION from my weekend….

Saturday, July 17th
Glorious day to drive to Ardmore to meet the daughter and her entourage (bridesmaids) to find the perfect bridesmaid dress.. and possibly the dreaded MOTHER OF THE BRIDE DRESS…sigh... now don’t get me wrong.. I LOVE shopping..and I love shopping with my daughter… but the idea of actually getting up early on a Saturday morning, fighting traffic, then having to deal with overly happy girls, trying on dresses, well .. the shop was exquisite... and I can BUY A USED CAR FOR THAT..

So after looking at a gazillion dresses… the girls decide upon some lovely ensembles.. in marine.. and they still had plenty of energy left..I'm exhausted... I'm resting in a fluffy, oversized chair, when Heather rushes over, "OH MOM, you have GOT>>>GOT... to try this one on"… I take my ___ and walk to the fitting room.. I stuff my body in the too small dress… so what you think?

"I don’t know mom… kinda makes you look like a skunk”…

So just gotta say.. it's soo wonderful to see Heather soo happy, and I am SOOO glad that she has such nice girlfriends. ..

I'm home now, contemplating my long run… How to get in 20 miles in 89 degree heat?

I didn't really notice much at first… I mean there is a slight breeze, and it's sure hot… STINKING HOT... STINKING .....AFRICA HOT... and not until about mile 7 do I realize I HEAR SIZZLING… is that my brain.. on FIRE?… and then I see Joe.. he drove the course backwards to find me and brought me more fuel! WHAT A SWEETHEART!!

After a quick couple minutes of replenishing my fluids, I'm back in business… Joe had agreed to meet me at the house when I got to mile 14-15 and then join me for the remaining 5 miles…

I circled back to house, grabbed Joe and off we went … should have known he would have tried to push the pace a bit… I am in some SERIOUS hurt now… and it came on fast… my toes went into spasms…..I thought if I ran one more step I may die… no.. I WILL DIE... EVERYTHING SCREAMED …… STOP.... RIGHT.... NOW… but I didn't.. you can't listen to the demons...no matter what they promise you... and so I drug my chaffed body in.. 20 miles…3-1/2 hours … then proceeded to deal with cramping for the next two hours… crawling to bed at 7pm….on a Saturday night... just saying... some of us party..

Sunday, July 18th
Oh lookie.. it's another day... so Joe.. let's go up to Blue Marsh Lake for some open water swim practice…(poor Joe)... … onroad and in water... Swim.... Swim.... Swim… a couple hours later..… one dead carp and a hallucination of a man on a raft… it's all good… it happens… SO BACK HOME…

....laundry, cut Joe’s hair, trim tree (so camper can get out of drive way), ride bike 15 miles..run another 4.... then my legs SCREECH to a halt… NO>>

Dude I HATE when that happens ........

Celebration Triathlon - June 27, 2010

My fingers nails are too long, thus I guess was the delay in getting the Celebration Triathlon Story up.. the great news is Joe is officially a triathlete!!!!...

Here is our little story:
Joe and I arrived in Columbia, MD on Saturday, June 26th and proceeded to pick up our race packets, check into our hotel, and rack our bikes. The weatherman was predicting hot and humid weather and we were just really thankfully that this was a sprint triathlon, only a .6 mile swim, 17.5 mile bike, and a 3.4 mile run.

Of course race morning arrived way too early. Seems like no matter what we do, race weekends fly by. So 4am wake, oatmeal, coffee, stretch, check weather (yup still going to be HOT), mentally review list of things in truck for transition, head towards race. By 5:15am we were parked and on our way to get body marked and to set up our transition area, and of course to find a port-a-pot.

I want a muffin... I do NOT get a muffin.. and then I proceed to recheck my stuff in transition… like what do I think? My helmet will just walk way???!….so now to find Joe and wait 3 hours until our swim waves.. UGH!! Joe’s wave would be going off 40 minutes before mine, and mine was near the end… I guess that’s good.. I get to compete when its even that much hotter… sweet!!

I got to watch Joe’s wave go off and concentrated on his swim cap… he had a bit of a rough start and I had a slight moment of panic.. debating as to if I should jump in and “save him”… not sure two poor swimmers equal one good swimmer… but Joe gets himself into a rhythm and off he goes.. … whew… now to line up for my swim.

I know.. I know.. I am not a fast swimmer.. so I just line up in the back.. and we are off.. instantly I get my foot entangled in swamp grass… EWE>>>>>>I passed the first buoy no problem.. sun glare couldn’t locate next buoy.. so I just followed the gals ahead of me.. the blind leading the blind… after the turn around… the swim went fairly smooth. Everyone was really great about not swimming over each other..this was a first… even the waves behind us. Only one man in the relay division tried to drown me, that’s good!

Had to stop and catch my breath a few times and sight, but all in all swim was doing well until I hit MORE swamp grass towards the end. Literarily got stuck in it.. to the point where when I lifted my hand out of the water for a stroke, gobs of grass were hanging off it… I probably lost about 2 minutes untangling myself and giggling.. dude are you kidding me... this is fun??? Finally made it to the shore and I jumped out flipping grass off me..EW.. EW>>> EWWWWWWWW

Ran up to my bike in transition, Joe had stated that when he got out of swim .. he WALKED to transition… (trust me this will make a difference at the end – the running up… just you wait)… transition time not bad, ran up small hill to start the bike, official had to remove MORE SWAMP GRASS that was attached to my back. um.. EW?!

Took me about 2 miles to actually get into my “bike gear”.. meaning that after about 2 miles I actually stopped PLAYING around and started to “drop the hammer”..lucky for me I have a HEAVY bike and the down hills.. well I maxed out going 40+ mph.. yes sir… LOVE SPEED.. but you know if the hill is long and steep enough to go 40 mph down.. and it's an out and back course.. WELLLL.. what goes down must come up…

The course is rolling hills, with two large climbs and I SOO need more hill practice…but I was passing hordes of people who beat me out of the swim.. and that boosted the confidence…
Joe will end up doing a GREAT bike split but will come to find out later (after race) that he did it with his back brake partially locked on.. DUDE!!!


The run is usually my strength but JEEZ US IT WAS HOT!!!!... I mean like just really REALLY HOT..
I sooo wanted to walk.. especially when I saw others doing soo.. but I knew I couldn’t allow that .. pace was way off my normal pace, but I was passing people.. It was the longest 3.4 miles ever!

The heat was definitely a factor. D-mn shoelace came untied at mile 3 and I was not stopping to tie it. I finished strong with a sprint and was NEVER so happy to be finished a race.

I need to work on my swim, as does Joe. The slow swim puts us too far back in the age group standings and is frustrating. But here are the specs:
Wendy Specs:
Swim: 58th out of 75 in age group.. THIS IS A VAST improvement from when I used to be like last or next to last in age group!
Bike: 14th out of 75 in age group
Run: 10th out of 75 age group.
Overall: 16th out of 75 age group

Joe Specs:
Swim: 94th out of 102 in age group
Bike: 39th out of 102 in age group
Run: 39th out of 102 age group.
Overall: 67th out of 102 age group

Celebration Sprint Tri in Columbia MD was great even with the seaweed, tough hills and 90 degree heat!

Wendy’s 2:13:28 to Joe's 2:15:55.. WHO’S YOUR BABY!!….the transitions will kill u...told him so :)

We did fairly good in the couple's listing too… 9th out of 20 couples.. next year we will be in the top three!!!..
http://www.tricolumbia.org/Sprint/