Mini - 'Me' Makeover..and ramblings

So, out of nowhere a few weeks ago I was like, I want Race wheels..... So, i started diggin around on Ebay and got my head wrapped around the HED 3s..... Our friend Ric has them, and well they LOOK cool, and he says they are FAST...

Just so happens that a girl that swims masters with us has a pair of 650s, and she's retiring from cycling (only used them for about half of an IM race).... Hmmm.

Well, someone was set to borrow them for IMAZ, so I would get to try them out after that. Unfortunately due to the nasty conditions here over the weekend, that girl did not complete the bike leg so the wheels once again, were barely used.

So, I picked the wheels up yesterday and my bike biatch did some switcharoo of the cassettes and, wah-la.... Mini Me before....

and mini me 'big pimpin'

She looks pretty hot huh? Funny thing is, the wheels make her look EVEN smaller!

So - I took her out for a test ride today. Shane's been feeling crappy so he hasn't done much training in the past week or so... He is FIRED up now. So, It's hard to tell what the difference was, but a loop that usually takes us 1:35-1:40 too about 1:28.....

Bad news. 1 mile from the house the tire EXPLODED. Ok, kinda over-dramatic, but it popped. I was a little worried when I started. When I got the wheels on Monday they seemed HARD as a Rock. Shane checked the air pressure on Tuesday night. It was STILL 115psi. 650s should max at 110. I think the girl who used the tires had them like at 120! Maybe even higher.

I took the wheels to the bike shop to have them checked out (also having some gear issues). It was a HOLE in the tire. There was just too much pressure so anything that hit it could have caused it. They are switchin out the tire for me, then checking the back one as well... Sucks cause that tire had less than 200miles on it....

So, I will be testing the tires out this weekend at Rage. The course is TOUGH as all get out, and crazy wind is expected so it will be a hard one...

Speaking of the race, if you notice on my training log it's a TAPER week. I'm loving it. My weeks, with the exception of the sick week have been rough. My body really really needed this break..... I've avg's 12hrs from week 1, up to over 19hrs thru week 10.

Most people go crazy on these tapers, but honestly I enjoy them. They always seem to hit me at the right time. I do get incredibly sleepy, but I figure that's just the body healing, right? No big goals for the race. Last year I went in with them, then the swim was cancelled, then my hip locked up on the bike and I didn't run... Just not thinking about it this year.

So... Friday we are off to Vegas, racing Saturday then back on Sunday. Schedule to resume next week... and it's basically 6 more weeks of TOUGH TOUGH building....

We booked our tickets for CDA today... It's getting all so real, once again :-) This year I just know it's going to be so much fun. With all of our sherpas and spectators coming into town, I just don't know if we could be any more luck!

For a good laugh peak over to momo's site... then Bolder's to read the recap of this weekend's century :-)

And last, but certainly NOT least. Happy Happy Birthday to my little princess Abigail. She's 3 going on 1.5 today.....

This was her then.....

And now ....