Where'd She Go????!!!

Sooo, it has been a while. I know.  Last you heard, I was becoming a snowboarding G.  Had gotten my heel and toe side turns together and even managed to exit the ski lift with an error of only  0.32 (no I didn't really calculate it....but if I wanted to I could :-)  Well let me update you on the happenings of the last 3 months.

It all begins with a thesis proposal....

I am a PhD student (if you didn't already know) and part of our requirements is called a thesis proposal.  This is were PhD candidates present his or her great plan to change the world to a committee who will then tell you if you are lazy, brilliant, ambitious, crazy, or just out right stupid. This tends to be a slightly stressful time in a student's life. 

Two weeks before thesis proposal:  Snow Angels Clinic, Hidden Valley Resort, January 29, 2011

Hidden Valley was hosted a women's snowboarding and ski clinic called Snow Angels.  Though the clinic was scheduled for 2 days, I could only spare the time for 1 day given thesis proposal preparation and was able to register for the 1 day.  The skiers and snowboarders were separated.  There were only 2 other women snowboarders in my group which ended up being awesome in terms of learning.  Our instructor, Julia was awesome.  I also quickly became friends with the two other ladies Danielle and Newlin.

Before going to Snow Angels, I could not turn well and I could not get off of the lift well.

Danielle and I posing at Snow Angels Camp

Thuggin on the slopes

After Snow Angels, thanks to Juila's awesome instruction and a visual exercise she gave us, I was a threading machine!!! It was that day I gained a little confidence in myself and comfort in the board. I was becoming a snowboarder!  Check out my little clip taken by Julia.

Weekend before thesis proposal....... Newell Simon Hall, Mrs. Sumitra's desk

I was very very stressed about the proposal and was taking a stroll around 4th floor Newell Simon.  I decided to have a chat with Mrs. Sumitra, the receptionist.
Me:  I need to do something to get my mind off of the proposal for just a couple of hours.  I think I'll go snowboarding.
Sumitra:  No, don't do that. Got for a walk or shopping or something.  You don't want to snowboard the week before your proposal.  What if you get hurt?

OH BOI....

Day of thesis proposal, February 14, 2011

OWNED the thesis proposal!!! Passed without modification and with great comments from the committee.  Needless to say, I'm pretty amp'd and pretty excited.  The first thing I can think about doing is......yeah you guessed it. SNOWBOARD...

....but for some reason I didn't go that day.  I waited until the next day.

February 15, 2011, Hidden Valley Ski Resort

The day was beautiful and I was about to OWN the slopes like I OWNED my thesis proposal.  It was a beautiful day.  Sunny, kinda warm actually, and the slope conditions were pretty good.  I explored more difficult terrain at Hidden Valley that I had never tried and even perfected dismounting the lift!!!  It was a Tuesday in the middle of the day so there were not many people on the slopes in general.  Run after run I felt more and more in touch with the board. It was my first day on my new DC board and I was loving it.  Life was good!

It was getting to be 4:00 pm and I decided to try to make it back to campus for the weekly Graphics Lab meeting at 6:00 pm.  But before I would leave, I needed one more run!  The run was great. My speed and confidence were up. My turns were crisp.  I was approaching the bottom of the mountain towards the "Slow Zone" so I started to slow down.  I was riding heel side when I noticed a teenager on skis to the left of me riding a little close and a little wild.  So I decide to switch to toe side and turn right as to get more space between myself and the kid.  I wasn't going too fast but when I made my turn, the kid decided to come behind me at the same time and switch to my right side.....the side I was turning into!!!!! Needless to say, he was not quick enough to clear my path and I caught the ends of his skis with my board.  Queue the tumbling........

When I realized what happened, I was crouched down in the snow on my knees facing up the mountain, holding my tailbone for dear life.  I really thought I would loose my butt (literally) that day.  After the initial pain subsided a little and I was able to breathe normally, I rolled over to take my board off.  That is when I realized that I had no function in my right hand.  I pull off my glove and said "Dang, that doesn't look good".  The kid stopped and asked if I were okay.  I started to curse him out and say what the $%$# was that but I refrained and just sternly requested that he take my board off my feet.  Once it was off I picked my board up with my left hand (right hand is broken) and carried it and myself to the Ski Patrol office where I was put in a makeshift splint and sent along the way.

Here is a picture of what my wrist looked like post fall.  Swollen and shifted to the right.  Not good at all.  Now wrapping up the story.....

I decided that driving 1 hour back to Pittsburgh to the emergency room was not a great idea (at this point I figured the bone was broken but didn't know for sure).  So I drove about 15 minutes (in the opposite direction of Pittsburgh) to the Sommerset Hospital emergency room.  There I spent about 4 hours of my life, had to request ice, and the receptionist had the audacity to ask me only after my xray's were taken/viewed and I had been waiting for 3 hours if I wanted pain meds.  Seriously woman!!!! I've been sitting here for 3 hours with a broke ass wrist and you ask only after the obvious was confirmed if I wanted pain meds?  Naw I'm good.....really it didn't hurt as much as it looks.  Actually I wouldn't describe it as pain but as extreme discomfort.  I knew the wrist was broken but thankfully the discomfort was manageable.

After hearing the bad news, I am written a prescription for Vicodin and sent on my merry way.  Back to Pittsburgh.  A 1 hour 15 min drive.  At night. That I made with one hand....

I was able to get a doctor's appointment that Friday in Pittsburgh with the sexiest orthopedic surgeon ever, Dr. Lance Brunton.  I was scheduled to have surgery on February 21, 2011.  It went well.....I'll tell that story another day.  Below are some pre- and post-surgery xrays.  I sustained a distal radial fracture to my right wrist.  Apparently its one of the most common fractures in snow sports. Go figure.  I had surgery in which Dr. Brunton placed a plate and screws in my wrist in order for it to set in it's proper place.  I am happy to say that I am now bionic!!

Now that's a nasty break

My arm looked like a sausage from all the swelling

I am now bionic!

And fixed!!!! Thanks Dr. Brunton

A Story for the Yungins!

When I picture my future/imaginary family, the conversation goes like this:

Kid 1:  Mom, snowboarding is so hard.
Me:      You have to keep at it.  I didn't always know how to snowboard. I had to keep trying.
Kid 2:  REALLY! But you are so awesome at snowboarding.
Me:      Yes mommy is awesome at snowboarding but I was not always that way.  Let me tell you a story  
             of my first time at Seven Springs

Date:  December 18, 2010
Location:  Seven Springs Mountain Resort
Time:  4:00 pm - 10:00 pm

My officemate Henry informed me of a group ski trip to 7 Springs and of course I was more than ready to hit the slopes.  In my last post, I wrote about my trip last weekend to Hidden Valley and that I had learned a lot by taking a 90 min private course.  After last Sunday, I was pretty confident in my abilities to progress and that I had learned to leaf and stop both toe and heel side.  So you can imagine that I was pretty eager and probably a little too confident of my really good Hidden Valley experience.

My officemate Henry and I

Slight digression:  I decided to rent snowboarding equipment from the Peaks Ski and Snowboard Center since I am pretty determined to make this my "winter thing".  The shop is pretty nice and the prices pretty good.  They gave me new boots and new bindings since I was doing the seasonal rental and the board is used but in very good shape.  I ride a 141 and I ride "goofy" :-)

Back to the story....

I arrived at 7 Springs geared up - snowboard, boots, gloves, snowboard jacket and pants, helmet, and goggles.  I looked like I knew what I was doing.  I tried to hit the beginners area to practice a bit but it kinda sucked.  I think that Hidden Valley has a better practice/bunny area than 7 Springs.  Anywho, I quickly became uninterested in the practice area and decided it was time to progress to the real slopes.  At 7 Springs, there are 4 different levels of slopes - green (easier), blue (more difficult), black (most difficult), and then professional (self explanatory).  I was determined to conquer a green slope and little did I know "easier" ~= easy.

Even before I laid foot, or board, on the slopes there was the task of successfully getting on and off the ski lift.  Now this task should not be looked at as trivial.  First there is the problem with having a board stuck to one leg that will be hanging. Second, the lift does not stop moving so you must be rather quick with your boarding and unloading.  I haven't quite mastered the art of walking with the board let along doing it in a timely matter as to get on the lift.  Third, the darn thing is just out right scary.  Once you get onto the lift and start ascending the mountain, you realize just how flimsy the contraption is.  I mean really, I kinda freaked out and was talking to everyone around me to keep from focusing on the height.  Lastly, the probability of a beginner getting off the lift successfully (success defined as getting the board onto the snow and gliding down a safe distance away from the lift while maintaining one's balance and vertical posture) is pretty low.  Here are my lift scores from 1-10:

Attempt 1:                            Attempt 2:                   Attempt 3:                  
Loading     8                        Loading       9              Loading     9                
Staying Calm   5.5               Staying Calm    7        Staying Calm   8          
Dismount    5                       Dismount       6           Dismount     6              
Balance    2                          Balance         8            Balance 8                    

Attempt 4;
Loading    9
Staying Calm  7
Dismount   5
Balance    0

At my 1st attempt at dismounting the lift, I successfully got out of the lift, glided about 10 ft away from the lift area, and then fell and twisted my left knee. It's pretty difficult especially when there are others in the area and because you have a foot that is not connected to the board.  My knee still is actually sore from that.  After a little "sit down" time, I pick myself up and look ahead to the trail I am about to embark on.

I take the Lost Boy Trail to another lift that took me to another green trail.  In total that day I rode over 5 miles of trials.  It was the most frustrating thing sometimes though.  Unfortunately I had not retained much of recently learned techniques and to much avail could not successfully ride "toe side".  I pretty much resorted to riding the brakes for a lot of the trails when there were more down hill areas. The session we attended was a night ski session.  One would think that the trails would be well lit but that was not the case. In fact, there were times where I was the only person on the trail, with trees around and darkness.  Pretty creepy.  Attempt 4 of the lift was going to be my last time down the hill back to the lodge.  There was a toasty fireplace and water waiting for me.  I was exhausted so I didn't even try to balance on the unloading of the lift.  I kinda half-heartedly let the lift help me down the little slope to clear you from the area and then just let myself fall.  Hence the 0 score on balance.  I had about 5 really bad falls total:

1)  The chair lift fiasco I told before
2)  While trying to ride toe side I caught the edge.....like REALLY caught the edge.  A couple seconds later I was on the ground on my right knee with my face inches from the snow.  That knee, the right one, is swollen. Agh :-(
3) 4) 5)  The worst thing about the snow at 7 Springs for beginners is that it's really packed, really slick, and really hurts.  Needless to say I fell right on my tail bone 3 times where each time I kinda just laid in the snow a couple seconds to let the throbbing pass.  For the next couple of days, sitting, standing, and a number of other things made me grab my butt in pain.  Not good when your in public but hey, what else could I do?

At the fireplace in pain after 5 hours of boarding

Honestly, if I were a normal person, I'd return the board today and give up on snowboarding.  But I'm crazy and I WILL CONQUER THE SLOPES!!!! It just might take a lot longer than I was hoping.  I know one thing is for sure.  Next time, I will have KNEE PADS and ELBOW PADS.  Also, I will take more lessons at Hidden Valley.  I like my body too much to keep banging it up.  I need to learn and I need to do it soon.

At the end of snowboarding, a defeated beginner sits at the fireplace trying to figure out how the hell she could suck so bad.  But this is the making of not only a snowboarder but an athlete.  Take the beatings and the frustration and one day it will be rewarded.

That is what I will tell my kids....

Officemate after skiing

The New Biker is now The New Snowboarder

Winter has hit the Pittsburgh area making cycling not too appealing.  Snow + 8 degree windchill + me + bikes + hills just don't equal anything positive.  So what am I to do for the rest of the winter season you ask?  SNOWBOARD!!!!  This past Sunday, a friend and I headed to the Hidden Valley Ski Resort in Pennsylvania.  The official opening of the resort season occurs on December 17, 2010; however, because of early season snow, they opened this past weekend.  Sunday was Free Ski/Snowboard Day when you bring 2 canned goods per person.

The morning of, the weather was pretty rainy....actually very rainy and after much coercing, I finally convinced my friend to get out of bed and drive the 1 hour to the slopes.  To little avail, it was raining still when we go near the slopes.  After more coercing and resorting to my "sad face", we decided to go into the resort anyway and check out the scene.  Guess what we found!  SNOWBOARDERS, SNOW AND LIFTS, OH MY!

Too excited, I rent my gear and hit the bunny slopes.  The only way to describe the first hour of my snowboarding experience is "too fast, too soon".  My friend was impressed by my apparent need for speed and disregard of personal well being.  My "style" was to bend my knees so that i was lower to the board. Good for seasoned racers, Bad for beginners.  I learned quickly that falling is the most energy draining and butt hurting experience and I was tired of doing it.  I signed up for lessons to speed up the quest for snowboarding awesomeness.  Lessons were being held for $15 and lasted 1.5 hours.  Because there were not many people at the resort I ended up having not one but TWO teachers for the entire lesson and THREE for 30 minutes of the lesson.

By the end of the 1.5 hours, I was a "leafing" Princess and my friend could not believe his eyes.  I must say, I was pretty proud of my natural athletic abilities and the transformation I made in just a few hours of practice.  Next time, we take on the big slopes muh ha ha ha (evil laugh)!!!!  It was a good day!

Next time videos and pictures will accompany the post but until then, Adios!

Sunday Ride to the Strip!

Today, my lab mate and I took a ride to the Strip District in Pittsburgh. The weather was pretty good for cycling. The ride started off a little cool and cloudy, but by the end of it, there were blue skies and it was pretty warm. We started out in Squirrel Hill and took Shady Avenue to Penn. This was my first time cycling through East Liberty and though the city is trying to rejuvenate the area, there are still many old, abandoned houses. Nevertheless, East Liberty has a certain charm of it's on. Some may disagree; however, I tend to find beauty in the unlikeliest of places.

First stop was Nature's Way Market where I got an awesome homemade gourmet candy cane (Oh how I love Christmas!). After, we continued to the Strip District to Penzeys Spices. This place has more spices than you can imagine. Definitely a must for trying your cooking skills on some exotic cuisine. I got the Bicentennial Rub compliments of Ronit's free coupon! Holla!!!

To return to Squirrel Hill, I had the brilliant idea of taking the Panther Hallow Trail. Lets just say, when I got off of my bike at home finally and went to carry it upstairs, my thighs were shaking. Whew, today was a workout. It was great to hang out with Ronit again! I will miss my cycling buddy when she graduates.

Time: 1:45:47
Distance: 13.96 miles
Bike: 2009 Giant Seek 2

What Rolls Down, Must Roll Back Up

In my previous post (Oh Schenley), I alluded to a new purchase made at Pittsburgh Pro Bikes.  Well, I would like to introduce you to Gabby, the newest addition to my cycling repertoire.  She is a 2009 Cannondale F5 and I got a GREAT deal!  Today was my first time out with the new bike.  I had everything all planned out:  church at 9:00 am, meet up with the girls for a ride at 10:30 am, get a little bit of Schenley in before heading home, get ready for the game.  Well,  needless to say, the plans changed.  Unfortunately my downstairs neighbors had a very loud party last night with a bunch of very obnoxious people who wanted to "wooo whooo" all night.  The weather was a little chilly this morning so I decided to hold off until the sun came out.  Of course, when the weather got a little better, I had to make a trip to Frick.  I started off on the Beechwood entrance (by the playground) and took the Riverview trail to the Lower Riverview trail to the Firelane Trail Extension.  Two-ish miles of nice fast downhill riding.  Unfortunately, I had to ride back up :-(  Besides the fact that I sucked plenty of air going back up and stopped a few times, I finally made it home, thighs throbbing and all.  I must say, mountain bikes are more fun!!!! I can't wait to get back in the woods and try out some of the single track trails.  Since I was alone I decided it was probably not the best idea to go hard core right away. I'm looking for a teacher though so if you would like to go mountain biking, let me know ;-)

As if the day couldn't get any better, I went to a nice mass at 6pm, cooked smothered pork chops, and watched the New Orleans Saints beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.  I'm tempted to wear my Drew Brees jersey to work tomorrow but I'm not sure it's the safest thing to do.  Until next time.... WHO DAT!

Distance:  5.96 miles
Time:  53:33
Bike:  2009 Cannondale F5 FÉMININE

Oh Schenley....

I'm BACK!!!!  I know it has been a while since I've posted about cycling but rest assured I am back and back on the bike!  Today I decided to stay *local* (the Squirrel Hill area) and I must say, my neighborhood kicked my little lazy butt!  I decided to try out the trails in Schenley park (map).  I have previously used the Lower Panther Hollow Trail to get me to the beginning of the Eliza Furnace trail but never took the time to appreciate the trails there.  I started out by taking the Upper Panther Hollow (Bartlett Street entrance) to it's conclusion.  There were still a good bit of leaves around which I thought made the ride even more enjoyable.  I love the Fall season in Pittsburgh; especially when the leaves are changing.  I unfortunately missed the peak of the season but am happy to get a few rides in before the winter chill hits.

View of Panter Hollow lake from Panther Hollow bridge

The weather was pretty decent.  I had purchased some Pearl Izumi tights from REI during a sale they were having (rei.com) and today's weather was the perfect opportunity to try them out.  I LOVE them.  I would definitely recommend them if you need some nice, affordable (well on sale at least) tights to add to your gear.

All in all the ride was great! It was a short ride because of all the hills and my poor cardio at the moment.  A lot of it went quick in the downhill of course.  I must say, some of the trails in Schenley excited me and made me wish I had a mountain bike ;-)  After the ride, I stopped into 61C cafe for a fresh fruit and juice smoothie. Yummm.  And as any addict would, had to stop into my LBS (it's on the way home) to check out the offerings.  Let's just say I didn't leave empty handed ;-)  I look forward to hitting the trails again tomorrow with some of my friends.  Until next time...


Distance: 5.18 miles
Time: 38 minutes

Beth Pruitt - Denise Denton Emerging Leader Award

I had the pleasures of attending a talk by Dr. Beth Pruitt, the Denise Denton Emerging Leader Award.  Dr. Pruitt told us about her personal career path as well as the research being done in her lab.

I found that I surprisingly have a lot in common with Dr. Pruitt.  She is an avid outdoors sportswoman, participating in hiking, mountain biking, skiing, and whitewater rafting.  Given the theme of this blog, you can probably guess that I love cycling too.  She even for a summer enrolled in whitewater rafting school that she participated in on evenings after going to the lab.

It was fitting that Dr. Pruitt spoke in the session following the impostor syndrome panel because she took the opportunity to tell us about times in her career when she too felt like an impostor.  Her current research deals with the use of MEMS technology to study the sense of touch.  She had to learn a lot of biology in order to be successful and expressed some of the difficulties she faced in doing so.  I too had to learn a new set of terminology and techniques when I went from the Computer Science to Biomedical Engineering field.  Dr. Pruitt definitely inspired me to continue learning and never give up.