Black Bear and Katy Perry

I went on blogger the other day and looked at my posts....3/25 was the last post. It is hard to imagine it has been that long. I had a number of events happen over the past month that have caused my training to take a bit of a back seat. I looked on my Training Peaks and I saw my time log go from 12:30 to 7:29 to 9:07 to 5:06 and then the last two weeks were about 10 hours. I don't regret not training, I spent a lot of time with family and friends and shared some wonderful moments and many sad ones.

I have had tons of ideas with posts and will probably just bombard you with them this week if you are still there.

I have a lot on my plate right now with work, and the countless obligations that come along with summer. I just found out I got a great project but that will mean going away for 2 weeks to Canada and Mexico and getting home just in time for Black Bear Olympic race. Black Bear is not just any race. I recently checked into last year's results and the average bike pace for the top female was 19mph and the top in my 35-39 age group was (gulp) 16.8....ummmm can you say hilly?? It says "scenic yet challenging" hills...I already knew what I was getting myself into, because a friend of mine said things like "people fell over" "some were walking it and they were good cyclist" and well the Ironman brand is coming in and using the course for the 70.3...should be interesting...

So here's the issue...where do I go to train for this? I have been doing a lot of heavy gear riding to get ready but nothing is going to get me ready for what they call "sling- shot hills" (that is where you climb and then you turn and you think you are flat and there is another hill immediately). I would have loved to get out there but there is just no time.

My other conundrum is that I don't know whether I should take my new tri-bike "Aura" or my road bike. I hear mix reviews so if you have any advice - PLEASE GIVE IT!!

I have a couple 13 hour training weeks over the next couple week before I travel. I figure the weeks I am away I will have to do some running, weights and exercise bike and just be a weekend warrior. I am fully prepared for an Olympic but I need to up the ante a little on the HIM plan. I have lots of obligations so it means take some deep breaths, wake up a little earlier and get'er done. I usually just get a little anxiety, start freaking out to my husband and friends and then about 5 minutes later just figure that what happens happens and I'll get through it!


So back on a good note I leave you with Beyond Dishonor's latest video - covering Katy Perry's ET (I guess you were trying to figure out the Katy Perry connection). This is a MUST-SEE and not just because I am the wife of a drummer that BTW recently got sponsored by Dark Horse Percussion - check out the link!!

How to Keep Sane During a Northeast Winter - Part 3 - Winter Beer List and "Travesty" CD Release

This is the last installment of my 3 part series - How to Keep Sane During a Northeast Winter. So we had swimming, eating and well we can't forget the last part - beer....Okay, I love good wine as well, but there is something about getting cozy with one of these babies during the winter.


1. Southern Tier Chocolat - this is a great stout, it is smooth and not too sweet. A nice dessert?









2. Scaldis Noel - okay this is also dessert... this was an expensive keg but it was so worth it. It is a higher percentage of alcohol so be careful while drinking, 12%...It is a fantastic sweet and a little spice added to it.













3. Weyerbacker Merry Monks - another great beer from this fine Pennsylvania brewery. It tasted like it may have some pear notes to it. It is delicious...enough said.







4. Lefthand Milk Stout - OMG - this is amazing. If beer could be like a chocolate milk shake - this would be it.











5. Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu - I have to say - Dogfish Head may be my favorite brewery. I got this one for Christmas and it was exactly as the label describes: Wildflower honey, Muscat grapes, barley malt, hawthorn fruit, and Chrysanthemum flowers








6. Terrapin Hop Karma Brown IPA - this was a good beer, more of an everyday beer.











7. Trader Joe's Vintage Ale - this was a nice surprise when I walked into Trader Joe's....I bought it not having a big expectation. It was a great belgium style ale with some spices for the holidays.










8. La Chouffe Golden Ale - A belgium pale ale that deserves the 99 points it received from Beer Advocate.











9. Delirium Nocturnam - Belgium dark ale. This was very tasty and surprisingly not that strong.










10. And last but not least...












JUST KIDDING!

Nah, seriously, last night we had an amazing beer. I think I stated earlier that Dogfish Head does not disappoint - My Antonia actually started out as a collaboration beer with Birra del Borga - now they brew it in Delaware. This was very tasty, smooth, pilsner that's a bit hoppy.












So my husband, Mike Lock, as you know is the drummer in an awesome metal band - Beyond Dishonor (you may hear me talk about it from time to time).
They just released their second album - Travesty - I placed a little sampler below.




If you have some time, "like" them on Facebook or check out them out on Reverbnation.





And I will leave you with a short video of Mike drumming to "Otis" from the new album...