Hel of a Du Duathlon

I had been sick the entire week before this duathlon. I had a sinus infection and was on antibiotics so needless to say I hadn't been training at all. I actually would have prefered not to race but the guys with whom I will do my next adventure race were all going to be there so I decided to show up and give it a go.

I met Shayne, Ross and Sebastian at the start line and we took off together. We started with a 3.5 mile run and it was tough for me. It was a cold and rainy day so that didn't make it any easier. Sebastian decided to run ahead and left me, Shayne and Ross together. I did terribly on the run and fell a little behind Shayne and Ross. I caught them at the transition and we moved on to the 26 mile road bike. I'm a better biker than runner so it wasn't as bad but my muscles still felt it. The last run was horrible. My feet were frozen from the long ride so it felt like I was running on stumps. We took the last run very slowly and finished the race in 3 hours and 19 minutes.

It probably wasn't the smartest thing for me to do but I'm glad I raced it with those guys. I look forward to continuing to train with them so we can prepare for our 12 hour adventure race at the end of January.

Note to self: Need to train A LOT!

Yes,,,,I RAN!

I needed to do something to combat the calories from the extravagant meal I was about to devour!

I hadn't really been running much in the last few months. In fact, the longest run I had done was about 1.5 miles and my knee started hurting! So I wasn't sure how well I was going to do, but I didn't care. I was out to get some exercise and that was it.

Turned out, I felt really good so when I saw the 2 mile marker I decided to speed up. I finished in 28 1/2 minutes which is good for my out of shape booty. I ended up in 4th place out of 31 ladies in my age group!

Just wait 'till I start training! :)

Mellow Johnny's Classic MTB Race at Juan Pelota Ranch

Lance Armstrong and Mellow Johnny's hosted the first ever mountain bike race at Lance's Juan Pelota Ranch near Dripping Springs, Texas (just outside of Austin).

I wasn't able to do the XC race because the 700 spots were filled before I knew about it. So instead I volunteered to help out and got to pre-ride the course. Doing the pre-ride was probably best since I didn't get my race bike to Texas in time. I ended up riding my new AR bike that had a different shifting system than I'm used to and I had to borrow platform pedals and wear tennis shoes!

The shifting and the platforms ended up being a pretty big deal since the abundance of rain caused the course to be pretty slick and tricky. The course itself was quite different from what I'm used to in California. It was a 9 mile trail that was 95% singletrack with I'm guessing about 800 feet of elevation gain. It was technical in that there were many boulders and rocks to manuever over and through but there were no significant downhills or ups.

I thought it was a very fun ride and I would love to do that course as a 24 hour race! What do you think Lance?

SoCal Fat Tire Epic 50 Mile Mountain Bike Race

I signed up for this race a couple of months earlier because I wanted a goal to reach for. Lately my life seems to be changing week by week so it was quite a challenge to find the time and energy to train. In between working in commercial real estate, working in custom suits, massaging with the DMS, making novelty cupcakes and taking care of Sofia, I was able to get in some road rides during the week and some mountain bike laps around the Fullerton Loop on the weekends.

My friend and adventure race "mentor" Karen Lundgren won the Pro Women's category and I finished in second place. It took me almost 7 hours to complete the super tough course which is the longest event I've done since the 24 hr Worlds in September 2007!

Amazing 1 year old climber training to scale the North West Face of Half Dome!

My little Lady Sofia is quite persistent!

Over the Hump MTB Series - Irvine Lake

Some guys decided to start a weekday race series here in Orange County and it was about time!!! I can't believe no one has done that before!

It was a huge success! The first race was at the end of August and the second was a few weeks later. Over 300 mountain bikers participated in each race and did laps around a 3.4 mile loop at Irvine Lake.

It was great to see all the different levels of riders. There were some TRUE BEGINNERS who lined up just behind some TRUE PROS! Beginners did 1 lap; Sport- 2 laps; Expert- 3 laps; & Pros- 4 laps.

Even Hans "NO WAY" Rey showed up to give his support. You may know him from this photo....


Although I haven't returned to my former fitness level, I wouldn't have felt comfortable racing anything other than the Pro category. There were 5 of us ladies in the Pro category for both races and both times I ended up in 5th place. I must say that I was very satisfied with my performances. Not only was I able to somewhat compete with these super fast ladies, but I was also able to improve my time during the second race.

Next I will be competing in a race that is more my style. It is a 50 mile sufferfest at Vail Lake. The SoCal Fat Tire Epic is on October 3 and it will be a tough one for me. I haven't had a whole lot of training time but I'm getting in rides whenever I can. I just hope to finish within the 8 hour time limit!

My Dearest Specialized,

Although it has been 8 years, I remember our first encounter like it was yesterday. Joe hooked us up together at Jax in Huntington and we took a lovely stroll down Main Street. I wasn't quite used to your stride yet and I tripped and fell to the ground. Joe rushed us back inside where I began to pass out from the pain in my hand. But I came to and was so embarrassed that I could think of nothing else but to take you home immediately. And that's how our love affair began, me & you...my beloved Specialized.


Just like any relationship, we've had our ups and downs. We've been through some very rocky paths and I've cursed in front of you more than a lady should. And you haven't always been an angel yourself. I can't begin to count the times that you have caused me much pain.



But no matter how dirty our relationship has gotten, we've always remained together.


Sure I have eyes and I've taken a peek at others here and there. But none compares to you and I can guarantee that I would never stray.


I often think of our trip to Greenland where the sun shone for 22 hours a day. We soaked up every minute of the sun riding amongst the glacier fed streams.


You've taken me to so many new places and I've especially enjoyed seeing the race podiums at Sea Otter, Old Pueblo, & Nationals.


I've been happy to carry you across exotic beaches in Brazil and "no riding zones" in Patagonia.




And no matter how many different styles or colors you take, I will always be there to love and care for you.


I would even go so far as to pad your landing with my body if you fell.



And now, that the baby is born. I need you more than ever.


I need you to support me on my way back to fitness. I need you to push me hard. I need you to perform like you're rolling with a fit athlete instead of a post-partum Mommy.


And I know you will. You and I will be together forever, my beloved Specialized.

I Bike to Work

After 11.5 months of taking care of Sofia and "working" from home, I've returned to working in an office. I have to admit that working from home can be really great but the next best thing is being able to BIKE COMMUTE to work! I've always wanted to ride my bike to work but with my old job, I needed a car during the day to run errands. But now that I'm in a different business, I'm able to ride to the office.

I was a bit nervous because I really don't like riding on the roads with all the traffic and reckless drivers. But I was able to search the internet and map out a route that took me along bike paths for 90% of the way.

The first day, Greg dropped me and my bike off at work in the morning. I wanted to ride home first because I wasn't sure about the route and I wasn't sure how long it would take me to ride it. I had to check the map quite a few times. Transferring from path to path can be tricky because you have to cross some streets and search for the bike path entrances. So I took a couple of wrong turns and had to back track. That first ride was 18 miles and it took me 1 hour and 26 minutes.

Since then I've ridden a few more times and I've been able to find a couple of short cuts. The route is now 15 miles and takes me about 1 hour and 5 minutes.

I was also lucky enough to find a place to shower right across the street from my office. The building across the way has a bike rack so I can lock up my bike. They also have a shower and lockers in the ladies room on the first floor. Of course the signs read that the lockers and shower are for the tenants in that office building only. But come on,,,,I haven't seen any other ladies showering in there before work. Anyhow, I just hope no one notices that I don't "belong" to that building.

However, there can be a couple of drawbacks to riding. For instance: Don't forget anything! I forgot my lunch one day and I remembered when I was 10 minutes into my ride. Had to make the decision whether or not to ride bike home and get it. Forgot my brush one day, forgot my music today. I anticipate forgetting my bra or my shoes one day,,,or worse...my deoderant! Hope not! :)

Anyhow, the ride is great for now but I'm not quite sure what I will do when the time changes. Ride in the dark? Leave work earlier? Hmmm? Stay tuned...

Before & After

Bernice Before Sofia...

& After...

People Want to Know

Ever since the first time The Alaska Experiment aired on the Discovery Channel in April of 2008, people have been asking us lots of questions like...

1) How did you get on the show?
2) Did all that really happen the way it was portrayed?
3) What did you eat? Did they give you food?
4) How long were you really out there?
5) What did you do with your time?
6) Why did you hike to get ice for water when there was snow all around you?
7) Where you scared? How cold did it get?
8) Was Sofia conceived there? :) (Yes, people still ask that all the time.)

Season 2 of The Alaska Experiment aired this year but it was QUITE different than ours. However it did bring up a lot of discussion and debate about our experience and now Discovery is re-airing our show at 11pm Eastern time every night.

Now we are working on writing a book about our experience. We were out in the wild for 3 months and unfortunately there were only 7 episodes (maybe 2.5 hours in total of us) that showed how we lived. There was soooooo much more to our story so we thought we would share it with anyone who was still interested.

We hope to release an E-book, loads of photos, and a 40 minute short movie that we wrote, starred in, filmed, edited and produced. I can't say exactly when it will come out but I'm hoping by Sofia's birthday on September 7. (Which is exactly the anniversary date of the day we left to Alaska in 2007!)

If you are interested in getting an email about when the book and movie are release, send me a line and I will put you on the list. bernicepierson@hotmail.com

Happy Independence Day!

Sofia's first Independence Day! We loaded her up in the bike trailer for the first time and rode the wild streets of Huntington Beach!

Greg riding the Santa Ana River trail towards Huntington Beach on his big cruiser with Sofia in tow.

Mommy's "cruiser" is a Singlespeed Niner! :)

Sofia likes the ride!

4th of July in Huntington Beach! Bikes, bikes and more bikes!

We hopped off the bikes for a little while to enjoy the parade.

Sofia got a bird's eye view!

Jax Bicycle Shop parking lot on Main Street Huntington Beach. Downtown roads are closed for the parade and the bikers.

Sofia's first time at the beach. We couldn't stay too long because she just wanted to eat the sand.

Sofia's first dip in the ocean. The water was only about 61 degrees so it was a quick dip.

Daddy & Sofia riding under Huntington Beach Pier

Sofia had a busy 4th of July. She was worked!

Sofia's First Time In the Pool

I love multi-sport!!!

Cal Multi Sport Vail Lake

The feeling of completing one discipline after another is so utterly satisfying to me.

We started with a quick 1.8 mile bike ride to the kayak section. Although it had been over 2 years since I'd paddled, I was confident I could make it around the lake. I dropped my bike and quickly put on my PFD and hopped in the boat. Bike shoes, helmet and bike gloves still on, I started paddling. I was doing well until about 15 minutes into it when I started to wonder how big Vail Lake really was. I put my head down and just concentrated on using my core and couldn't wait to switch disciplines. 7.5 km later, I was done and so were my shoulders!

I had been passed by a few folks who had faster boats than mine. Notice I didn't say they were better paddlers. Yup,,,I just told myself they had faster boats. But I caught them in transition and swooped right passed. I had made it a point to transition as quickly as I could so that I wouldn't waste any unnecessary time especially since I knew my actual racing would be slow.

I rode back through the starting gate and on to the 15 km MTB course. Since I had raced the 12 hours of Temecula at Vail Lake many times, I was very familiar with the entire bike course and it was super fun. In fact, I was having so much fun that I totally missed a turn sign and ended up having to back track to get back on course.

My transition from bike to run was super fast also. The TA attendant said I was in and out of there in 20 seconds. Not bad for a gal who hasn't adventure raced in a couple of years.

I took off on the run section which I affectionately call a "trot" section. I trotted over and around the trees, through some trickling water and then through a thigh high creek. But after the first 20 minutes, the fun was over. I hiked up the dam climb and remembered why I prefer to be on my bike. I lost some time on the run (trot) but surprisingly no other ladies caught me and I ended up finishing in 5th place.

It took me 3 hours and 30 minutes to complete the course and I was TIRED! But it was so fun and I can't wait to get in better shape and do it again!

Juggling

No, I haven't taken up juggling (although some of you wouldn't be surprised if I said I had). I'm talking about the constant juggling of life, especially with a baby.

My juggling act requires me to constantly prepare bottles

Sofia

My Little Ladybug is 8 months old already! Some days I get home and it seems like she grew longer in the few hours I was gone. She is a pretty good sleeper with 2 regular naps a day and nighttime hours from 7:30pm to 6am. She likes to baby talk and crawl around all day long. She's quite the busy body and wants to investigate every single little thing. She's been pulling herself up to her feet for a while now and I suspect she will be walking within the next month. She is a mover and a shaker and always wants to be on the go. (hmmm, I wonder where she gets that from?)



Training
I finally feel like I can call it training now instead of just working out. I'm feeling more and more like my old self when I'm out on the mountain bike trails. A few months ago there were some dark moments when even the weekend warrior guys were kicking my butt up the climbs. But yesterday......well let's just say there were a few guys who were bummed when they couldn't hang with this 8 month postpartum mommy. :)

Running has become a necessary evil in my training program since it's relatively easy to take Sofia out on the trails by my house in the baby jogger. So when she starts to get grumpy around 9:41am, I quickly throw on my running attire, strap her into the baby jogger, and out the door we go. She immediately falls asleep. I get in a good run and she gets in a good nap.

Mother's Day
My first Mother's Day was special because I got to climb up a mountain and then go back home to a beautiful baby girl.

Tim (from The Alaska Experiment), his friend Kim, Carl & his wife Marlyce & me on Mt. Baldy

Cupcakes

I made some sunflowers for the special ladies in my life. I also have a cupcake website going now too. Check it out......Clickity Click!


Race or Work?
I was planning on running (walking) the 24 hours of Nanny Goat this weekend but plans have changed. I've got my real estate license exam on Thursday so it makes better sense for me to study and get that done. Back in my care-free selfish days, I would have raced, however this is one step closer in my quest to finally settling on a career. Plus Sofia's grandparents are coming from Texas and they can't wait to spend more time with us (her).