Jersey Shore Time Trial Race Review

Today was my first Time Trial ever! It was a lot of fun, passed several woman who started way ahead of me, but at the same time, got passed by two who came flying out of no where. It was an interesting race with lots of wind, yet completely flat grounds.
I managed to hold a solid 22-23 pace and didnt let the woman behind me pass me in the last couple miles. :)

Def could race to work on my speed in my bike leg, tougher comp than last yr, thats for sure!

Gossip Concert Review April 30 2010

I first discovered Gossip last spring when the "Heavy Cross" music video caught my eye. I didn't get into them until I heard the catchy "Love Long Distance." Once I heard this song, I was obsessed and HAD to see them live. They are most known for their lead singer named Beth Ditto, who's stage presense is best known for her looks and her magnetic voice. Her voice can be described as electro funk disco-soul. Her range is amazing and she seeks to amaze me with her audience interactions. The whole show was just a blast, and by the end the whole entire audience became one big mosh pit.

Beth's interaction with the crowd had gotten everybody dancing and singing at the same time. It was so much fun and different from any concert I have been to in a while. The audience consisted of many from the LGBT community in which was heavily promoted by. Beth is loved by many gays because she is both volupuous and hard at the same time. She also portrays an image of what isn't the norm as she is a large lady but can still pull off her stage presense because of her voice. That voice once would never expect to come from within her, but it does. She belts out until you feel it within you and close your eyes and have the lyrics to her songs touch your soul.

That to me, is a Gossip concert, a night of mayhem, fun, and community bonding. Sold out at terminal 5, they took over nyc again.

BX Biathlon Review April 2010

I was more than xcited for this one because it was at the end of April except only problem, worst rain storm in the entire month of April... I decided to tough it out, as afterall I trained my ass off for this race. Like the NYC triathlon, they close down a major highway for this race like the cross bx or the huntchington pway + they do this only once a year. Two yrs ago I was gonna do this race, but same thing, pouring rain... I didn't race last year because I was praying I wouldn't fail my Psy class so I could graduate last May and I rmr it fell over a critical wkd of my last college finals ever!

It was so cold that morning, when I got there, I didn't even want to get out of the car. The race was held all the way in "Pelham Park" in the BX on the east side where I almost ran to while at MC on 1 of my crazy 3 hr "exploration" runs while the BX bitches would be off somewhere wlking.... :rolls eyes:

I sprinted to the start to because the rain always makes me run to the bathroom, prob nerves.. thankfully, the race started later than expected except the downside was that they left everyone standing there shivering. I on the other hand was fine since I just had made a mad rush from the bathroom which was a mile away on the beach... lol The race distance for this one was R3 B20 R3.

The race started and there were two strong female runners I saw already that were faster than me. All I wanted this race was 2nd or 3rd overall. First is usually always rediculous, so I was trying to be realistic....I KNEW that the 2nd pl female would have NO leg strength on the bike, just by looking at her, and I was right. I passed her within the first five miles. I felt GREAT on the bike except my hands were so cold, by the last 4 miles I was losing grip ! (good thing it wasnt longer than 20 or I woulda been in trouble... ) When I got back to transition my hands were so frozen I needed assistance to even unbuckle my helmet. (pretty sad) But yet I was still in 2nd place female overall..

I left just as she came into T2 and I ran, and man did I run... nxt thing I know, my soakin wet sneaker comes untied shit I said, I go to tie it as fast as my frozen hands allowed me and woosh she passing me! :/

I jumped up to try to catch her, but a combo of stopping from running fast, being frozen, and then cramping from popping up, I could't catch her. The good thing was, was that I closed the gap but she picked it up even more at the end. She eventually only beat me by 1 minute. That was a great race because I really pushed myself despite the weather. I coulda used the rain as an xcuse, but since I felt good, no knee pain, no stiches, no stomach gastro issues, I pushed. I pushed and ganed both mentally + phycially and it sure did help me with long branch :)

Long Branch Pier Duathlon Overview

I came into this racing having very high expectations. First and foremost, I had wanted to race last year, but this race had fallen on the same morning I was graduating college on. The year before that, I was still coming off divison I track and I wasn't in shape enough on the bike to race by that point in time. This time around, I felt different, ever since the BX biathlon, despite the rainy weather, I have never felt as strong as I have been feeling this season. I think its a combination of the right training, right recovery, and the right intensitys.

Being that this particular year, the race held cash money, I didn't find out till race morning, more elite competitors came than I thought. The distances of the duathlon were as follows with a 2 mile run, 10 mile bike, and a 3 mile run. My splits were: 13:20, 1:50 T1 apx, 29:12 apx bike, 1:30 T2 apx, + 21:20 apx R2.
This put me in a 7th place female overall and a 1st pl in my age group who gave me $100 bux. I had such a great sprint to the finish, not quite battling it out like @ tati, but I did pass a woman at the tail end who beat me last sec out of no where in my bike... lol and trust me, I was flyin in the bike portion and passed about 15 pp who passed me in R1. Sorry, I wasn't gonna do a 10 min 2 miler...

This kid who was only 19 named conner stayed w me in Run 1 and he was brave enough to confess to me at the end that he threw up on the bike. I decided to motivate him to keep it up, as I saw myself in him for a moment because I started these races when I was just 19and it changed my life, and I was never ever the same. And they so say, "A woman who starts a race isn't the same woman who finishes.' and it holds so true. Thanks Doug for the money + the narly Sweatshirt Werq!

A-HA Concert Review May 2010

When I first discovered 'A-HA' I was five years old and I would hear 'Take On Me' play on the radio but I never knew who sang the song. Fast forward ten years, while googling the lyrics to 'Take on Me,' I finally made my discovery of the band.

I had tickets to their sold out farewell 'Ending on a High Note' tour and I was beyond excited. I was prepared to hear a major portion of their greatest hits They opened with several songs off their newer albums such as 'Foot of the Mountain' and 'The Bandstand' followed by some Classics. My favorites are those of which I call the "three S's which are 'Summer Moved on,'Stay on these Roads, and 'Scoundrel Days' because Mortan clearly demonstrates his voice to his capacity on these tracks and his range is nothing but amazing.

Mortan, the lead singer, has a voice of very few as he is able to hit even the highest notes, ironically the tour being called "Ending on a High Note." What's so special about the band is that their songs can range from 'upbeat,' 'dramatic,' 'fast paced,' and 'soulful.' The lyrics are filled with passion and meaning and are easy to relate to.

The encore would be the number one song that the band is most known for which is 'Take on Me.' The song that I would hear as a child, and finally get the opportunity to see as an adult one final time. There lies their colorful music video which came to life right before my very own eyes, in the front row. I will always remember how timeless and classic "A-HA" will always be and most remembered by Mortan's powerful vocals.



SET LIST:

Foot Of The Mountain
The Bandstand
Analogue
Forever Not Yours
Minor Earth Major Sky
Summer Moved On
Move to Memphis
The Blood That Moves The Body
Stay On These Roads
The Living Daylights
Scoundrel Days
The Swing Of Things
And You Tell Me
Early Morning
We're Looking for the Whales
Manhattan Skyline
I've Been Losing You
Cry Wolf

Encore:
The Sun Always Shines On T.V.
Hunting High And Low

Encore 2:
Take On Me