Red Wave

When I started out on Saturday's ride, the heat had already arrived. I wasn't quite sure what my route would be, but knew I needed to ride for five hours and knew I needed to practice riding hills. I started out from my house and immediately saw a group of four riders. "Perfect" I thought, "maybe I can tag along with them." I caught up to them and asked how far they were going, "four hours", this seemed perfect for me. "Do you mind if I tag along" I asked. "Not a problem," I found out where they were going and rode with them for maybe a quarter of a mile, when their pace was just a bit too slow for me. I know Matt says, long and slow, but I think he means for me to be pedaling. I was a little disappointed to lose a potential pack, but it can be nice to be on your own as well. They had me heading South to Mopac so I continued on that way debating what route to take. I was at the Barton Creek light tossing back whether to continue straight to SW Parkway or turn right onto 360, when I sensed riders behind me. I turned around to come face to face with around ten identically clad red-jersey wearing Bicycle Sport shop riders. This made my decision, I had to see how long I could keep up with them. The light turned green and I bolted off charging down the hill. I rode for a bit waiting for the red wave to overtake me, sensing that they had to be right behind me. It wasn't until about five miles later that the first of the group rode on by me. We exchanged hellos and I kept on riding trying to keep up as long as I could, which wasn't much longer, but it did provide some entertainment. I rode to the end of SW Parkway and then onto 71 where I was hoping traffic would be a bit lighter at this early hour. It was lighter than usual, but not as light as no traffic. I felt pretty good so far and just tried to keep the pace, I still had a long way to go. I rode on around the mall and back to Bee Caves and then continued to 360. I made one full loop of 360 and headed home to refill my water bottles. On my way in I came across another rider clad in all white, not my first choice for bike shorts due to sweat making it see through but I guess it's cool. "How long have you been riding?" He asked. "Three hours" I grin. Saying it just seems to make it more real. "You?" "I've gone about two and am halfway there." He responded and then the light changed and we both were off going our own directions. I made it home, reapplied sunscreen, refilled my water bottle and ate half a PBJ then hopped back on my bike again. "Just think of it, like you are just heading out for a ride" I thought. That would have been great, but the temperature was soaring at this point and humidity was really high. I set back out for 360, the road noticeably lighter without as many bikers, but I know that this will help me come July. I make my way through the last two hours of the ride and it went faster than I thought it would although my riding was slower than I thought it would be, I think mainly due to solo riding, but I'm not sure. At the end of the ride I had gone 85 miles, drank 4 bottles of water, ate half a power bar and half a PBJ.

The Heat Is On

Three-sixty after work during the week always intimidates me. The traffic from people going home from work can be massive. Last night I had a two hour ride planned and the thought of doing more laps around Great Northern (~3 mile loop) was definitely not appealing. While I love cranking it out on the flat straight away of Great Northern, Zurich is NOT flat and I need to get out into the hills more. After my run yesterday the thought that I needed to ride later in the day seemed unreal, but after lunch, my legs felt refreshed and dreams of being on my bike infiltrated my thoughts. I was ready and this time I was going to take on 360. To make things a little better and maybe give some of the traffic time to die down I rode through town to the South entrance of 360 and Mopac. The ride there was definitely congested, but I picked a way that had bike lanes and took pleasure in passing all the cars waiting for lights. By the time I made it to 360 the traffic was MUCH lighter. Apparently around 7 PM everyone has already skedaddled. The road was mostly mine and actually I saw few other cyclists even. Maybe the lack of cyclists was from the heat, which has already been turned up here in Austin. I lost five pounds in sweat alone by the time I got home and I drank both my bottles. I guess even the 360 loop is a bit short for a two hour ride because I still had about 30 minutes left when I reached the GNL and so rode around twice anyway.

When I woke up this morning I knew my legs would be tired from the run-bike of yesterday, but I was looking forward to the run. It rained just before I left the house, but the air was still thick as I weaved my way down to Pease Park. I could feel the heaviness of my legs from the previous days, but tried to keep it steady and do a few pickups to start working in some speed.

sweat equity

The clothes I took off this morning after my run fell to the floor with a thump. The sound signaled the end of a great run, well make that an almost great run. I decided to head out this morning sans water bottle as I know some fountains along the route that should keep me hydrated and the morning is usually cooler. Starting out was cool, but the humidity was high. I felt great watching all the businesses getting ready for the day and the traffic starting out light and turning heavy, kind of like the movie Koyaanisqatsi the rhythm of the city kept my feet moving. I wound my way to the first water fountain about 30 minutes into the run and I pressed the button, no water, “okay” I thought. “I’ll just try the other.” The other fountain was clogged and filled with water, so unless I wanted to dip my face in the water as I drank, I wasn’t getting any. I guess I wasn’t that thirsty because the second option was not appealing. I still felt pretty good and knew positively that there would be a working fountain half way through the run. This part of the run is my favorite because it’s on trails. I could tell UT had wound down as I only passed a few people, usually there are quite a bit more out there. Reaching the fountain at the halfway point was just in time. I probably spent a minute drinking all I could before heading back. I snaked my way back through the trail passing dog walkers and their dogs who would trot along with me for a bit and then look back at their owners and with what seemed like a shrug, headed back to them when their invisible leash tugged at them. I diverted my route back somewhat to pass another park that I knew had a fountain and drank it in again. When I reached the end of my run I felt good, but ready to finish and had slowed down a tad, until that is, I saw the light turn green by my house, if I didn’t catch the light it would be a long wait so without even thinking my legs kicked it up a few notches and I flew through the light. I guess I had more juice in me than I thought, it felt good.

A Wrinkle in Time

I've been using my new shoes for about a week now and am starting to get used to them. There are definitely still some adjustments that I need to make mainly so that my left shoe will stop popping out of the pedal at inopportune times. I had a nice swim on Tuesday morning which helped to stretch out my shoulders which have been tight since Saturday's ride. Tuesday night I got back on my bike and while not feeling 100% as far as my legs it still was fun to get back on the bike. I rode with Robby from his house over to the Great Northern loop, where we did some laps. On one of the laps after the main lap I felt my front tire flat. I pulled over and set to work changing it. I still am not sure what caused this flat, but I went about changing as fast as I could and got back on the road. I did a couple of more laps and then we headed home. Wednesday, I tried out 
my running legs. The weather was overcast after a nice rain the night before and I could still hear thunder in the distance. I love to run when the weather is threatening to change. There is usually less people out and I just feel defiant "Come on rain". This time the rain held off and after about a mile the lactic acid in my legs wore off and I felt good. Wednesday night was another night of biking and I could definitely feel the tiredness in my legs, I tried to ride consistently. The goal for me was to not feel forced to ride and although my legs were constantly tapping me on the shoulder and saying "can we get a break here" I rode them easy and soon they loosened up and felt back to normal. Another case where "Press on" proved to be a good thing. Thursday morning was another post storm run and another great one. Again my legs were tired at the start but after running for a little bit I was rewarded with a special treat from nature (no Bart not nature's napkin) but a lovely blanket of leaves and moss laid along my running route making the hard roads soft and gently to the foot fall. I hopped across the normally trickling stream as it rushed along and smiled inside as I felt like the first one to run along an undisturbed beach on this early morning run after the storm.

Two Months Out!

Only two more months until the race in Switzerland. Time has flown by and the training has been going well. Will I be ready? That is a hard question to answer. I just have to trust that I will be and do what I feel I need to do to prepare for the race.

Sunday, the day after my century ride, I joined Diego for a trail run and swim at Barton Springs. I rode my bike, Clyde, down there and my legs felt surprisingly well. I did take it easy on the ride Saturday and didn't push myself too hard so maybe that played a part in the fast recovery. On the run my legs felt a bit heavy and I found it hard to find my breath, but enjoyed being out there. We decided to turn around when I bumped my head on a low slung branch and on the run back out my legs felt looser. On the swim my arms felt tired, which was weird, I wonder if it was from being in the aero bars?

sole searching

On my Wednesday night ride I felt something weird when I pulled up with my right foot. I thought that my cleat came loose which has happened before, but when I looked down at my shoe at a stoplight I saw that the sole of my shoe was ripping away from the rest of the shoe. I knew there was a bike shop just down the street from where I was at so I pulled in there. "Yeah you are going to need new shoes" I got from the mechanic. I was stymied. The shoes looked practically new on top, but at the moment with no funds on me, my main goal was finishing my workout and getting home. He offered to duck tape me into my shoes and and that worked for now. I headed back out to the road and had a fabulous ride, one shoe sporting it's new shiny-silver finish.

I knew that I would need new shoes for Saturday's ride without a doubt, There was no way I could ride 105 with my shoe duck taped mostly because it stopped the air flow to my foot. So the pressure was on for a new pair. Now, normally I like to take my time and research these things before making a purchase, but I was going to have to rely on the trusty tri shop guys to guide me. I was in there an hour before I finally settled on my lilly white Louis Garneau shoes, I know you should wait until after Memorial day for white shoes, but I can tell you I'm sure they will be black by the time Labor Day rolls around. The pedals on my bike are so old that I've had trouble finding adapters and so I knew I was going to have to buy pedals as well.

Saturday was the tell-tale day for my new shoes and pedals and I was anxious to see if the bike rode any different although a 105 mile test ride was not my ideal. My shoes clipped in incredibly easy and felt lighter. One problem though was the cleat on my left foot as it kept popping out as I rode. Better to discover these things now then at a race I guess.

The Armadillo Hill Country ride started out cooler and cloudier than originally thought. I started about 15 minutes after the start getting all I needed together. It was a great ride by snakes, longhorns, cows, goats, donkeys, horses (that ran up to the fence and ran with me a little!), dead armadillos, and countless birds. I had a lot of highs and lows on the ride at times feeling invincible and great and at others, tired of my seat, tired of the heat and headache throbbing. You constantly have to evaluate yourself (am I hungry, thirsty, how does this feel, etc.). At the end of the ride I was ready to be off my bike and HOT (at this point the temp was hovering around 100), but made it through and felt good on the whole for an enjoyable ride.

great snakes

Yesterday was a beautiful run day and I planned on running to catch the 2K swim down at town lake. I ran from my house along shoal creek and felt really good the whole way down. My legs feel the burn from the previous day's ride on the uphills, but nothing horrible. I made it to town lake and check my watch. I then decided to run the I-35 Mopac loop to add on the extra mileage and time I would need before the swim race started. Slow and steady should have been my mantra on this run, because that is the way I felt. My legs were too pooped to kick it, but felt good at a steady pace. I made it to the Mopac bridge in plenty of time before the race and ran into a few people watching other swimmers. I met Gretch at the swim finish where she said the swim was good but COLD and then got a ride back home from her. It was the perfect Sunday morning run for me.

Saturday, I had a 3 hr 45 min ride facing me followed by a 50 min run. To help me with the ride, a friend of a friend graciously agreed to ride with me part of the way and we decided that I would meet him out at Emma Long park where they were camping. Now, I've been to Emma Long, but it has been years, and what I remember is flat. That is NOT what the road out to the park is like. After the turn off from 2222 the hills seemed reasonable and then what faced me better have been Switzerland's heartbreak hill on steroids because nervous little me hopped off almost at the top for fear of the dreaded topple over from going too slow. The hill was so large to me, I was afraid of going back down it, but you do what you have to do. I decided not to flog myself over it and continue on. The rest of the Emma Long ride was rolling and felt mostly downhill. "This is going to be another rough ride out." I thought. I met Diego and his friend Brian at the park. Brian was riding this mountain bike that had some sort of engine on it that would catapult him with "20 mph bursts". This was evidenced as we went up a hill on our way to the mountain bike entrance where Brian was going to put the bike to the test and he surge right ahead of us as we churned away on our bikes. The ride out of the park was not as bad as I had thought (this is usually the case and I try to remind myself of this when I build up anxiety about certain aspects of rides). We headed back out on 360 with a head wind pushing back at us. Diego, demonstrated his hill prowess bounding up the hills, while I made it up them at a slow crawl. We turned onto 2244 for an added loop, where Diego spotted a snake on the road, maybe it should be called Snake cave road? We rode steadily and I felt pretty good and made our way back to 360. Half way to the 360 bridge I heard my phone ring in my back pocket. I looked back didn't see Diego and figured I best pull off and see if that was him. It was. Apparently the flats continue around me and I doubled back to meet up with him. I had a patch kit and 650 tube, but after taking the tire off we discovered my CO2 bottle was empty so their was no air to pump up the tire. Diego called his friends to get a ride and encouraged me to ride on. Another day leaving my riding partner on the side of the road : ( The rest of the ride went well and Diego was picked up by his friends. I donned my running shoes after getting back to the house and took an easy 50 minute run around the neighborhood with thoughts of what was for lunch running through my head.