Andrew Pulsifer is a Genius (or, my race report for Lake Logan Sprint)

Lake Logan in beautiful weather...

The mountains around Lake Logan today...

Lake Logan sprint tri was this morning. For this one most of the appreciation had to go to the support crew - it POURED down rain for the whole race, and I didn't much care because I was wet anyway, and I rode my bike in the rain a lot this spring so that wasn't any big deal, and running in the rain is actually pretty pleasant. But standing around in the rain for over an hour - that's just not pleasant at all. So the lion's share of the "way to go" goes to everyone who stood there cheering. But a significant amount of appreciation also has to go to Andrew Pulsifer.

Andrew's the coach of the Asheville Masters swimming group, and also gives swim clinics pretty often, and I've attended both rather faithfully since I decided I was going to try to learn to actually swim this spring. Or really, I decided that if I was going to take up a new sport at age 37 I didn't have time to do it badly for ten years and then find some good instruction - I needed to start with the good instruction. And clearly that's what I did, because, in what I consider a complete miracle of his good instruction and my actually getting up at 5:15 in the morning to drive to the swimming pool, my best ranking for swim, bike or run was in the swim - seriously. I was the 5th woman out of the water (out of 78), and when I climbed up on the dock after the swim and the guy said "Fifth woman out of the water," literally the first thing I thought was, "Andrew Pulsifer is a genius." That might mean I could stand to have a little more focus while racing, but SERIOUSLY - I couldn't even swim 4 laps of the pool in a row in January, so this is surprising stuff.


The rest of the race was pretty good - 9th on the bike and 6th on the run, to finish 6th overall and first in my age group (yay!) My revelation for this race was - I've really got to ride the bike more. Because I seem to have a good thing going with swim training, and I can kind of fake my way through the run (which is totally what I've been doing - I don't think I've topped over 10 or 12 miles a week since April because my foot's still not so great), but I can't fake my way through the bike. I don't have any background on the bike (having gotten my first road bike in January, and also having not ridden my mountain bike more than 2 or 3 times in the last 3 years), which means I've got to put in some miles on it. An actual training plan might not be a bad idea either. It's not that my rank on the bike is so bad, it's that the bike is long enough that when you aren't riding as fast as the women in front of you they can put a few minutes into you. And it's hard to make back several minutes on the run - it's just not long enough - especially not in my current shape. So a little more focus on the bike is in order - and I feel sure Robin can help remedy that.

Running out of T1 to get on the bike - I'm smiling because Sam was cheering so loud.
Sweetest kid ever.

Overall we had a great time. Emmie did her first tri ever (yay Emmie!) after mountain biking at Tsali yesterday (which I thought was a rather bold warmup), Dawn did her first tri since having a baby 3 months ago, David placed in his age group, and Geoffrey had a good showing as well. So friends and neighbors all had fun. Also, Lake Logan has got to be one of the prettiest race venues anywhere, even in the pouring rain, and that's a pretty good way to spend a morning.

Farms Pics

Yep, it's that time again - the time when I remember to bring my camera to the farm. Friday is pretty much "get ready for market day" - so lots of cutting of flowers. In no particular order, here's how the day played out:



Zinnias! Tons of them - they're in full swing these days.


The cockscomb and celosia rows are taking off too - these have wreaths in their future.


Random flower rows. You might notice from this picture that I am not as johnny-on-the-spot with a hoe as I could be. To which I reply - sue me. Not that I'm defensive or anything. But yes, if I'm really telling the truth I'd admit that a weedeater has occasionally made its way down my rows between the flowers to restore order. The thing is, usually the decision goes something like this: I *could* be OCD about weed control. Or I could go run. And here you have pictorial proof that the run usually wins. Balance is good, right? Right??



The castor bean plants that are considering eating Oakley. Seriously, look how high those things are. This is definitive proof that chemical fertilizers are not required to grow things. And that having a few horses on the property really helps in that department.


The goats that ran away from the circus and met up at the barn. These goats are *supposed* to be living in the overgrown paddock with Max and Charlie - but these wily goats, who arrived in two separate pairs within a day or two of each other, all immediately found the one tiny hole in the woven wire fence and took off for the barn. And they are so entertaining up there that my dad and I haven't had the heart to corral them and take them back to the paddock. We refer to them as our tiny herd of tiny goats, and they have a fabulous time running and snorting and knocking horns with each other all over the pasture. So poor Max and Charlie are fending for themselves in the weeds that are way taller than they are, while Bonnie, Clyde, Thelma and Louise are living it up. Life is not fair.




Dexter, king of the barn cats. He had an encounter with Thelma (Supreme Commander of the Renegade Goats) that convinced him goats are NOT SUPPOSED TO LIVE IN THE BARN. He wandered straight up to Thelma to introduce himself, and she took one look, backed up a few steps and scooped him up on her horns and sent him flying. He was hissing as he flew through the air, and I confess my dad and I could not stop laughing. He landed with a thump (you'll notice he's well padded) and stalked off to nurse his wounded pride. It was the only thing wounded, but he was highly offended.


Extreme electric fence building to combat the tiny herd of tiny goats. Goats like to get on anything high - like, for example, the hood of your towing vehicle or the wheel wells of the horse trailer. Four strands of electric tape have now convinced them otherwise.



Most ridiculous shoes in history. And they're on *my* feet. After investing untold $$ in plantar fasciitis treatments (orthotics for bike shoes, orthotics for run shoes, special arch supports for other shoes, god knows how much athletic tape for arch tape...) I have now gone the other direction. All of that worked for a week and then it hurt again. So I'm beginning to give more credence to the cult of barefoot runners. I'm not running barefoot, but I do think there's some sense to the argument that my arches need to figure out how to support themselves again. So I've been walking around barefoot at the farm. But sometimes I'm walking around places where barefoot just isn't the best plan - enter the Vibram Five Fingers. They totally look like muppet shoes, but I swear the plantar fasciitis is feeling better. And even if it's just because I'm distracted by these ridiculous shoes, that's fine with me.

Best of Asheville Survey and A Race Report

First - it's time for Mountain Xpress's yearly Best of Asheville survey. And this year for (I think) the first time, they've included a Best Local Farm category. So you know where I'm headed with this - if you take the survey and are inclined to write down Spotted Dog Farm for the Best Local Farm I'd definitely appreciate it. (I'm not really looking to win - some of the big veggie farms have quite the following - but showing up on the survey would be nice.) And while you're at it - our good friends Take the Cake from the City Market (you know - Cupcakes A Go-Go - the incredibly delicious and beautiful cupcakes and other pastries from the tent right beside the Coffee Caravan) were my choice for Best Bakery - and could by yours as well. Click here for the survey link.



In other, totally unrelated, news, I did my second ever triathlon last weekend - the Asheville Triathlon at Rec Park on Azalea Road. It was a rather short Sprint - a 400m pool swim, 11 mile bike and 5K. It was super fun, although it started at 7 and I'm kind of OCD about not being rushed before races (or horse shows, or whatever), so I insisted that Clark and I get there at 5:30 to set up and get ready. And Clark wasn't even racing. He was just being the uber-sherpa and camera man. He's a really, really good sport.

So the swim, being a pool swim, should have been super easy, and actually was, but in fact had me more stressed out than the open water swim at Biltmore Lake. I was feeling kind of pressured to actually perform good flip turns and look like someone who had been getting up at ungodly hours and swimming in a pool for the past few months. But then somehow when it came down to it the flip turns didn't really seem like the thing to do - because we were having to flip and turn under the lane lines and there were a lot of people in the pool at once, and I was pretty sure I would pass out from lack of oxygen - so I just did these incredibly slow and clumsy open turns while sucking in air like a bellows, and it actually all turned out fine. Believe it or not, I was pretty decently placed (17/129) after the swim. So take that, flip turns. I always knew you were overrated.




The bike was fun, nothing particularly exciting (although I had been a little worried that I was going to freeze since it was 55 degrees at the start and we were jumping onto our bikes wet.) But actually I was fine - not cold at all. I guess adrenaline and exertion can get you past a lot of discomforts.

The run was about the flattest run imaginable in Asheville - it just went down Azalea Road for a mile and a half, and then turned around and came back. So I started the run, and felt neither great nor terrible, and my mental discussion went something like this: "Self, you could run yourself into the ground here, or you could decide that you don't really want to hurt that much on a Sunday morning and take it back a notch." And my self replied "take it back a notch." So that 's kind of what I did. I ran 30 seconds slower than at Biltmore Lake (after a much shorter, easier swim and bike.) And the me of my 20s would find that very hard to swallow, but the me of my 30s has mellowed considerably, and is considering slacking off now and then to be one of the perks of learning a new sport.

And it turns out the me of my 30s also can't remember how old I am. I was running back at about mile 2 1/2 and saw a woman ahead of me with a 30 on her calf, and thought, well I should at least really try to catch her, that's a place in my age group. So I did, and was feeling pretty good about that, and then it didn't even occur to me until after I had finished and was eating a burrito from Moe's (at 8:30 am!) from the catering table while waiting for the awards, that she wasn't in my age group at all. I'm 35-39. And not by a narrow margin either. I guess one shouldn't really count on a lot of brain function at the end of a race.



So overall the results were great - second in my rather large (26 women) age group. And I was going to downplay it by saying, well, it's a pretty easy race so it has a lot of beginners. But then it hit me - I *am* a beginner, at this whole triathlon thing anyway, so instead I'll just be happy with the results. Here's a super dorky picture of me holding my award (turns out putting yoga pants under your dress isn't such a great look), but my favorite part of the pic is that in the bottom left corner you can barely see Clark in his black jacket grinning at me as I get my award. Up at 5:30 and happy with my results - he's a keeper.

Folly Beach - *Best* *Beach* *Ever*

Can you tell from the title we enjoyed ourselves at Folly? It's got just the right mix of walking distance to good restaurants, great beach, lifeguards on the beach (always reassuring when you have a 7 year old who likes to play in the waves), good roads for running, a fishing pier for the 7 year old. Basically just a very good time. And our friends Leslie and Tracy went with us, and it was kind of the perfect sized crowd - enough people to always find someone to do something with, not so many that you couldn't get seated at a restaurant. And everyone was so mellow. And indulgent of my desire to watch the Tour. What more could a person ask for??

Here's photographic proof - best beach trip ever!


Sam looking pensive on the pier. There was a King Mackerel fishing contest going on, and he *really* wanted someone to catch one. Alas, it was not to be.



Sam and me. Sweetest kid ever.



Sam and Clark doing crazy beach yoga.




Tracy about to get squeezed to death by the sea serpent Clark and Sam made.




All 3 of us boldly cavorting inside the serpent.





Sam and me - with me pretending like I fish. I don't. But someone had to hold the rod so Clark could take the picture. Also notice sexy bike shorts tan - pasty thighs are always a good look on the beach.




The actual fishermen.



The 3 Musketeers. I met Leslie the first day of college (1990!!!) and now we all live a block apart. Of course I should also point out that I met Tracy the week before law school (1994 - random roommate lottery), and we also now live a block apart. It's a loyal little group we've got here in Five Points.

100 Pushups

No, I can't do 100 pushups - don't let the title fool you. But while lazing about in Folly Beach last week (best beach trip ever! pictures to follow!) I was browsing through this entertainingly and unabashedly neo-feminist magazine (is neo-feminist a word? It should be - that's what this magazine felt like it was going for) called Skirt. And while in general it wasn't a hotbed of good exercise advice (although it was all about hearing oneself roar, and I suppose that can also be applied to things physical), I came across this teaser for a website that trains you to do 100 pushups. And I've been doing 10 after I run, and that still feels embarassingly challenging, so I thought eureka! If you purport to have some foolproof method for training anyone to do 100 pushups, sign me up! So today I started, and it wasn't that hard. It's like an interval sort of thing, where they give you a set number to do in five sets, and you do them three times a week. (That's not a good explanation, but go to the website and it makes sense.) So I'll report back, because today I started, and by the end I had done 30 pushups without feeling like I was going to bust anything (taking the full amount of rest they recommend is key.) Hopefully this is the beginning of me doing 100 pushups. Will report back. Hear me roar.

Cramming Down the Food

yep, that's right, I'm spending this morning trying to cram down some food. A lot of food. Because it turns out that if you get up and go engage in masochistic torture [I mean swim with the Masters group] at ungodly hours of the morning, and then try to go work at the farm, and you don't consume a LOT of calories somewhere in the middle of there then you crash. Who ever thought you could bonk while using a hoe? Not me. But then I did, so it turns out I need more food in the morning. Here's the tricky part - not so much more food over all (there's still a suspicious looking blobby spot post ribs/pre hipbones that could remove itself, thankyouverymuch), just more food in the morning. So this morning's routine has been Gu blocks on the way to swim (because I just can't eat real food before swimming at 5:30 in the morning), a Luna bar as I drove home, an egg sandwich right after I got home, and a bowl of cereal as I'm typing. Seriously, and it'sonly 8:31 in the morning. Surely to god that will do the trick.

In other exercise related news, I can check Elk Mountain off the list! You know, that list of things you'd like to accomplish but that kind of scare you sh!tless. Well biking up Elk Mountain Scenic Highway to the Parkway was on that list for me. And then Robin asked if I wanted to go biking on Tuesday [yes! yes! am getting a little tired of entertaining myself while biking!], and then said "why don't we ride up Elk Mountain and then see where we want to go from there?" and since I'm desperate for someone to ride with, and also don't want to sound like a wimp (or actually be one for that matter), I say "sure, sounds great, see you at 5:00". And then I hang up the phone and say "Oh Clark, wait'll you hear what I've gotten myself into." But you know what - it was fine. Dare I say, actually fun. Turns out good company will distract you from a multitude of painful moments. And, my game is still intact - the game where I try to avoid shifting my bike into the smallest chainring. I'm not sure this is a smart game, but it's one that's still entertaining me.

Wedding Flowers

So I've gotten a few requests for weddings since I started selling flowers, and I've always been kind of reluctant to follow through. The very idea of getting embroiled in a wedding has seemed a bit. .. stressful. Because some brides (and grooms) are super mellow and happy and fun, and some are. . . not. So I had steered clear of it, but this year I decided to dip my toe in, and so far it's been a rousing success. I sold flowers to an incredibly nice fellow named Zach a few weeks ago for his wedding in Celo (and as an aside, it really has to be a good start to your wedding when the groom cares enough to drive all creation buying flowers.) And I have a customer who's getting married on July 4 that I'm providing flowers for. And she seems super cool and relaxed, so I'm feeling like if I screen customers carefully, this wedding thing may work out. :)

Speaking of wedding flowers, here's a bucket we put together last weekend for a picture for my soon-to-be-created Spotted Dog facebook page.


I really do love a big bucket of flowers. You'd have to be the grinch not to.

And speaking of wedding flowers, and great timing, I checked my mail on Monday, and look what was waiting for me like a big delicious surprise:




A copy of this book! It was written by a friend, Mardee Morris, who has a wonderful floral design studio in Florida called Blooming Branches. Mardee's sister Carson and I went to college together, so after Mardee's book came out Carson mailed me a copy. And it's *beautiful*, and clever, and filled with good ideas. So anyone who's getting married and likes flowers really might want to pick up a copy (you can find it at her website: http://www.bloomingbranches.com/)

And one last tale of wedding flowers - here's how I ended up with mine. It was 12 years ago, and I wasn't so invested in flowers at the time, seeing as I was studying 12 hours a day for the Bar Exam. So we met with a florist, I made a few vague suggestions (I think something along the lines of "I like bright colors"), she suggested something and I agreed and forgot all about it. So the week before our wedding is the week that FedEx goes on strike (seriously, who knew?), and she calls on Thursday with a slight edge of panic in her voice to say that, thanks to the strike, our flowers appear to be stuck on a dock somewhere rotting away, and would I mind if she substituted some others? I say no, of course not, since in truth I couldn't even remember what we had agreed on to start with. She arrives with the bouquets, and they were absolutely beautiful - lots of bright colors. Sometimes going along with the flow of things really works.