Getting Ready

[update: January 23, 2006]

A lot has happened since my last update…....

First there was the big trip home to Maryland for Christmas. I was fortunate to spend quality time with my parents, two brothers and friends who are still living up there. I also traveled downtown to DC by metro several days I was home to work in my agent Carri’s office…..giving her partners a workout out on their lunchtime hour was the best part. We did a strenuous 50 minute lunchtime circuit gut wrencher, you wouldn’t believe the complaints and grumbles the next day! It was raining and cold on Christmas day in MD but I had a lovely long run (a Christmas day tradition!) on my favorite home trails of the C and O canal. It is always so nice to go home and revisit the old training paths, especially when it is raining and everyone else clears out, I feel very close to the nature down there during those times. Friends and family came over for a festal Christmas dinner. We had ham, Ma Ficker’s pie and the ever reliable “interesting” gift exchange…my parents are infamous for bizarre gift purchases, despite my many pleas and urges for “gift cards only!”. I won’t make fun of them too much but I have two words: Puppy Calendar (sorry Dad! it was very cute). My mom and I did take a trip to Ikea to make some purchases there for my place and to buy the delicious lingonberry jam and Swedish muesli. Yum! The last day home my Dad gave us all tickets to see James Brown, still going strong with his hair looking very sharp, despite his older status, it was a fa bulous show and I had the pleasure of watching my dad dancing as well as my brother with his beautiful girlfriend…..awwww. It was very nice to be home as the time with my family and friends up there is so limited living so far away. Back in Austin for New Years and the real training had to begin. Friends David and Scott came in for the big weekend, I got to show off the town to them and we had a small but gregarious “party” group on New Year’s eve, ending after midnight in Don’s Depot, a famous old railcar they have turned into a bar. Older couples were really gettin’ down in there and Paul tried to drag me out to dance the two step. That lasted for about 2 minutes, for the only place I was stepping was directly on his feet! Not really my style, this two stepping thing…..but fun nonetheless. The last three weeks have really been hard in training but so much fun as we have been blessed with incredible warm sunny days and no rain, much to the avail of the Fire Department. I finally smartened up and had some testing before Christmas done on my stomach that was plaguing me all last year. I have been put on medication that seems to have quelled the issue, thank you Dr. Ellis!! and I have been able to get in some great running miles with Paul and Gilbert’s Gazelles. The majority of the group is gearing up for the Freescale marathon, Paul is looking to run under 2:35, go Paul! and Gilbert 2:20 wow! so our long runs have been exhilarating. It amazes me how many people in this town totally dig the running. Saturday mornings at 6am it seems everyone is already out of bed and running. How cool is that?!! I ran the Run Tex 20 miler on Jan 20th and with a very strong headwind on part of the course ran a 2:08 and change- I was pleased. No tummy troubles- horay! The winds have been incredibly fierce on some days, making the riding difficult, but I like it like that, at least looking back I like it like that. Last weekend my friend Dan and I rode 5 hours through open farm fields into wind that seemed to blow our scalps off, we finished the ride with bright red faces and the feeling like the wind was still going. Makes you tough! Back into my hard training routine, I am resting a lot and currently reading “The Kite Runner”, which I highly recommend if you want to become obsessed with a book, if that works with your schedule. Next up will be the Counte Of Monte Christo: L1 Compact. Carri and I have also been working on some new sponsorships, soon to be announced- very exciting! Looking forward to the season and upcoming races, I am off to the track for one of my favorite and arduous track sessions, 20×400’s…... Safe and happy training, thanks for reading, Desirée

Guru Photo Shoot

[update: December 22, 2005]

Day 1 On Wednesday morning I woke up for a quick run before my early flight to go to Montreal where the headquarters for my bike sponsor, Guru, is located. I had plans to attend a photo shoot on Thursday for their upcomming advertising campaign. Even though it was December 14th, living in Austin, I adorned shorts and a tshirt for my run. The air outside was thick and warm and by the end I had worked up a sweat. Arriving back at my house, I hurriedly went inside to prepare for a quick shower but had to return back outside to wait a few minutes as the heat was too much to bare. I took provisions in my packing, aware that my trek up north would be a shock to my Texas blood. Oh how right I was! Once on my way, I arrived into Chicago. As most people do, i enjoy people watching in airports, with my ipod in my ears I sometimes feel like I watching a movie with no dialogue, only a soundtrack and images of people walking…..I especially enjoy the various angles people try to use to find out “what I do”. In Chicago I was contemplating a muffin case, deciding between a pumpkin or a blueberry. A voice behind me erupted, “Girl, if you keep staring at that case, you’re gonna lose the aerobic capacity you’ve gained from whatever yoga, aerobics, joggin….straight through osmosis! So…..what is it you do to keep that figure anyway, because God can only do so much…...!” If only he could imagine….... Once onto the plane to Burlington, Vermont various accoutrements I had only seen in the J Crew catalogue surrounded me. Passengers were swaddled in all sorts of wooly, fleecy outfits covering all parts such as ears, necks and heads, parts we Austinites only really need to cover when we feel the need to get in the holiday spirit or to feel “cute”. Touching down in Vermont the steward’s voice came over the mike. “Welcome to Burlington, the temperature is 8 degrees.” 8 DEGREES! Say what? I began wishing I had brought more cute wooly fleecy things. Once in the safety of my trusty little rental Nissan, heat blasting, directions in my lap and required night driving Starbucks in the plastic cup holder, I set off into the night up north to Montreal. The drive was lovely as I was surrounded by grass pastures glowing with snow and French Christmas carols blasting on the stereo. Franc and his wife Celin met me with double kisses at their door and I was welcomed by a healthy warm meal and little black ballet slippers! to wear around the house. We spent some time going over the new Guru campaign for next year and I was getting very excited when I saw the ads that are to be coming out soon…we went over the details of the ads my picture would be taken for the next day, making sure I was comfortable with everything, etc. Celin gave me a fleecy jacket and one of those bank robber masks for my run in the morning. As I got ready for bed I felt excited about the photos shoot but a little nervous thinking about what the 75 degree! difference my run the next morning would feel like….. Day 2, 5 am Brrrrloweegee!!! A blast of cold air shocked me from my lack of sleep as I stepped outside for my run the next morning feeling more like a mummy than an athlete. I thought of Natashca Badman, as I often do when I am tired and started off onto the snowy road…..after about 20 mins I was warm but my eyes were watering and my hands were getting numb. My tears turned to icicles that clicked together when I blinked. A story of a deranged ice princess came to my mind, possessed by an exercise bug, running herself into and ethereal icicle state buried in a snow bank. The only way she could be identified would be through the DNA in her eyelashes…..I turned around. Canadians are so tough! Franc and Celin were waiting for me with coffee on the burn when I got back, we had a quick breakfast of fruit, toast, jam, and nutella and we headed into the city for the shoot. The photos were set up to be taken in two sessions that day in two separate locations….the first one being a beautifuly funky night bar called the Ballroom. Montreal is fascinating to me in that everyone is English- French bilingual and will change from French to English and vice versa so fast it makes your head spin. The advertising agency in charge of the campaign offered a production entourage including photographer, stylist, make up artist, graphic designers and various other equipment people. It was amazing after each shot the way everyone played into their role discussing details such as lighting, my expression, etc. They would gather around the computer in a bilingual huddle and pick apart my pictures. It seemed synonymous to an operating room in that everyone had their special job and role, or maybe it was all the bright lights they had in there! Frank was with me the whole time, making sure I was comfy and telling jokes. French and English discussions of each series of shots took place and small changes were made accordingly. The Ballroom was quite freezing and the little top i was wearing provided little comfort. I was giving off a forced stiff look in the pictures. One of the Cossette guys graciously offered me his huge wooly coat. “Jacket off!” Click click click…..”Jacket Jacket!!” or so it went for several hours. We breaked for lunch and changed locations for the second part of the shoot, into a studio setting for an action shot. Once makeuped and number painted (we chose the lucky number 7), we discussed the fact that I needed to look sweaty and glowy for this shot. I asked around for a jump rope and there happened to be one so for the next three hours, I jumped rope, posed for shots, waited for the team to discuss the shots, jumped rope some more, etc etc. I was happy for the extra exercise but needless to say my shoulders were sore the next day from all the jump roping!! This shoot was much more exciting in that it required a simulated running movement and was complete with fan, water “sweat” spritzer. Such a peculiar series of events- sprayed, fanned, sprayed again and fanned all the while wearing a pound of natural looking makeup and perfectly placed “tousled” hair. Happy with the accomplishments of the day, Franc and I bundled up at 8pm and met up with Tony and Rob, the rest of the Guru team, for a delicious Italian meal. After several bottles of wine split around the table, we quickly became the loudest table in the place. At the end of the meal they surprised me with a large chocolate birthday cake with a beautiful white chocolate covering labeled “Bonne Fette Desiree!” or Happy Birthday! etched with a tiny chocolate bicycle. Exhausted from our long day but happy and satisfied, Franc and I bid our goodnights and drove back to his house, arriving at midnight where I prepared for my 3:30am departure for Burlington. I cannot tell you how good it felt to lie down….....

Run from the Lion

[update: November 26, 2005]

have rediscovered the joy of running over the last several weeks. After months of running on legs tired and broken down by long hours in the saddle, I have been realizing what it feels like to run free again. With very little biking in my weekly routine, it has been amazing to feel the change in my legs. This morning my day began at 5:15am and as I stretched in bed my ears pricked up to the sound of torrential rain. Unable to remember the last time I had awoken to this strange sound due to the dry, summer-fall here in Austin, I began to contemplate retreating back under the covers, delaying the 18 miler I was previously looking forward to. Once out onto the roads I was thankful for my running coach, Gilbert, labeling Paul a “wuss” for thinking of delaying the run and encouraging us to get out there and get the run done. Running in the darkness towards the hills of Mt. Bonnell (known to Gilbert as “Mountain Bonnell”) I had the pleasure of running the first few miles with a small group of talented men, including Paul and Gilbert. Fat raindrops pounded on top of our heads and dripped down off the brims of our hats as we hurdled puddles and streams on Town Lake Trail. Once out onto the roads we ran in silence. My form felt fluid and in my mind I felt extremely lucky. Lucky to be in such great company and lucky to be so healthy and alive. Gilbert, who is originally from Burundi, often times will sing to us while we run, either to boost moral, clear out the trail or both. The song has the most beautiful rhythm, perfectly in tune with the rhythm of our feet and we all take part in the chorus by chanting “Ngwe” (young-way), “Ngwe” (young-way). This morning the singing began in the early miles of our run and made for a prefect combination of darkness, raindrops, fast running and “Ngwe”....

Here are the lyrics to Gilberts’ song about how the Gazelle wakes up everyday knowing that they must escape the Lion.

Lyo Ngwe (The Lion)

Ngwaho Irabarya(It will eat you)

Ngiyo aho Inyuma (coming from behind)

Ingo tuyisige (Lets hurry)

Ngiyo aho Imbere (Waiting upfront)

Ingo tuyifate(Lets catch it)

Lyo Ngwe Iyo Ngwe Iyo Ngwe