After a lot of bellyaching (in which I actively participated) on Friday night about how freakin’ cold Saturday morning was predicted to be, Erin, Dionn, Glenda, Tim, Erin’s friend Scott and I sucked it up and headed out to the ACA ride at 9:00 this morning. On tap: 50 miles, down to San Marcos and back.
There’s not a lot to report about the ride. No wrecks, no mechanicals, we didn’t get lost and no one got dropped (and, no, I’m not counting how Glenda and sometimes Tim would occasionally just take off, and then wait for the rest of us later). It was just a sunny, glorious, perfect day to ride a bike. We had a little wind, but that’s just a fact of life. The Blanco River (or whatever river that was) was beautiful (thanks to Glenda for taking us on that little road alongside it). The water was emerald green. So pretty. My sole complaint was that I was sooooo hungry! On the flip side, to have gotten all the way through 50 miles on Clif Blocks and water alone without bonking makes me feel a little better about how my body uses fuel (it helps that I ate pizza last night, too).
After the ride, us girls swapped out bikes for running shoes to do our little one mile run. Glenda, Erin and Dionn got tired of waiting on me (I really am slow about putting up my stuff), and so I took off about 200 yards behind them. I think I was gaining on them, and when Dionn stopped to tie her shoe, I definitely caught her. We met up with Glenda and Erin at the half mile turnaround. I was breathing so hard, it was really all I could do to hang on, if I’m honest. But when we started heading up hill, well, then it was all over. Dionn and Glenda took off. I just kind of wanted to walk up the hill, but I didn’t, even though my heart was about to explode. I am in such incredibly pathetic and awful running shape. I guess the good news is that there’s nowhere to go but up.
After the workout, Dionn, Tim and I met up with Carri at Maudie’s. Oh, thank you God for food!!!! Great company, great weather for sitting outside, great quesadillas, great big family size Bud Light. It really doesn’t get any better.
Next I went to J&A’s with Dionn. I did this because I don’t trust Dionn to do the right thing and get, like, crappy components or a shitty new bike. And why do I care? Because she’s freakin’ dangerous on that bike. She’s been busting her ass, you know, running the marathon while I sat around all winter and got fat and out of shape. So she requires supervision in a bike store. ;) In truth, though, I also am considering race wheels—again, a peer pressure thing (Glenda just got some, D keeps talking about it), but I also have these crazy ass dreams of qualifying for short course worlds this year, which I somehow think is going to be much, much harder than it was to qualify for long course last year. I’d at least like to win an age group title or two, and maybe even win the newly minted three duathlon series this summer. So, race wheels. I also need a new bike helmet. I still need a new bike helmet, but at least I got some arm warmers and leg warmers and a slightly less cheap-ass pair of sunglasses than what I’ve been using for, like, six years.
And now I’m sitting here at Spider House, people watching and enjoying a Guinness. It’s a good day.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Mesa Hill Repeats--Woot!
So after Wednesday’s Parmer ride, I took Thursday off (something about not being able to stand up or sit down without my quads screaming). But on Friday we were back at it with my favorite workout in the whole world: Mesa hill repeats.
The group met in the Mangia parking lot at 5:45, which, given how cold and overcast it was, was kind of a late start. Oh well, lesson learned. The idea was to do three to four repeats and call it a day. I was a little worried about how this was going to go, as my quads were still so tight and sore from gym bricks on Tuesday and the headwind riding on Parmer Wednesday.
The first repeat sucked. I think part of the reason it sucked, thinking about it now, was that I was truly concerned I wouldn’t make it up. I stayed out of my granny gear for as long as possible, and stayed seated for as much of it as I could. Still, on the final, really steep part, I had to downshift and stand up. But I made it. And it felt awful.
Still, I headed down for another one. The second one went better. Not great. Granny gear. Standing climb. But I felt like I was warmed up. I wondered how three would feel.
Three felt better than one or two.
When I got to the top, Panther told us we were done. Only Dionn protested--it wasn’t dark, we were supposed to do three OR four. Still, we started riding back to Mangia. Michelle and I were at the back of the group, and I assumed Dionn was right behind us. But when I turned around to look, she was gone. She had turned back around and headed down Mesa again. I don’t know what I was saying to Michelle at the time, I just know I stopped in mid-sentence, turned and went after Dionn. No way was D going to get another hill repeat on me! :)
I saw her heading back up Mesa and yelled to her that I hated her (said with all the love in the world, of course). Then I made the u-turn and started heading back up for my fourth repeat. Four felt better than the previous three.
When I got to the top, Dionn was waiting. She took a drink, checked her voice mail and then said, “What do you think? One more?” She pointed out that it wasn’t dark and we weren’t puking yet. Wow. That’s HFC right there. So down we went.
Five felt better than four, three, two or one. In fact, I’m sure I had six in me, but it really was starting to get dark, so we headed back in.
So, right around 8 miles, with a little over a quarter of those miles going straight up Mesa. Five times. Not bad for a girl who’s totally out of shape!
The group met in the Mangia parking lot at 5:45, which, given how cold and overcast it was, was kind of a late start. Oh well, lesson learned. The idea was to do three to four repeats and call it a day. I was a little worried about how this was going to go, as my quads were still so tight and sore from gym bricks on Tuesday and the headwind riding on Parmer Wednesday.
The first repeat sucked. I think part of the reason it sucked, thinking about it now, was that I was truly concerned I wouldn’t make it up. I stayed out of my granny gear for as long as possible, and stayed seated for as much of it as I could. Still, on the final, really steep part, I had to downshift and stand up. But I made it. And it felt awful.
Still, I headed down for another one. The second one went better. Not great. Granny gear. Standing climb. But I felt like I was warmed up. I wondered how three would feel.
Three felt better than one or two.
When I got to the top, Panther told us we were done. Only Dionn protested--it wasn’t dark, we were supposed to do three OR four. Still, we started riding back to Mangia. Michelle and I were at the back of the group, and I assumed Dionn was right behind us. But when I turned around to look, she was gone. She had turned back around and headed down Mesa again. I don’t know what I was saying to Michelle at the time, I just know I stopped in mid-sentence, turned and went after Dionn. No way was D going to get another hill repeat on me! :)
I saw her heading back up Mesa and yelled to her that I hated her (said with all the love in the world, of course). Then I made the u-turn and started heading back up for my fourth repeat. Four felt better than the previous three.
When I got to the top, Dionn was waiting. She took a drink, checked her voice mail and then said, “What do you think? One more?” She pointed out that it wasn’t dark and we weren’t puking yet. Wow. That’s HFC right there. So down we went.
Five felt better than four, three, two or one. In fact, I’m sure I had six in me, but it really was starting to get dark, so we headed back in.
So, right around 8 miles, with a little over a quarter of those miles going straight up Mesa. Five times. Not bad for a girl who’s totally out of shape!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Wednesday Parmer Ride
Today's Parmer ride was exactly as a Parmer ride should be. Sunny, warm, good company that doesn't truly know the meaning of the term "easy ride" (um, yes, that would be you, Erin and Dionn), and windy as hell.
I rode my bike the 5+ miles from my house to Lifetime Fitness on 620 and Parmer for a noon ride with Erin and Dionn. The ride north on Parmer was awesome. We were talking, I was in my highest gear just spinning. Good fun. And then we made the u-turn at 2243 or whatever the hell it is (9.7 miles out) and--BAM!!!--there was that south wind. Conversation stopped at this point for two reasons: 1) the sheer effort required to ride into that wind; and 2) these two girls were picking up the pace (I swear to God they were!).
We made it back safely, no flats, no mechanicals, but it would be really, really nice if people in the right hand lane would move over to the left hand lane on Parmer. I know they don't have to, but that shoulder is so cluttered in some spots that you have to move over onto the white line to find anywhere to ride, and drivers don't seem to mind just barely missing you. Sheesh!
Anyhoo, the last I saw of Erin and Dionn was in the Lifetime parking lot, debating going running, just one mile. I don't know if they did or didn't, but I turned around and rode the 5+ miles back home. So, total bike mileage for me today: 30 and change (and about 2 hours on my bike, which was too long--sorry, Panther).
I rode my bike the 5+ miles from my house to Lifetime Fitness on 620 and Parmer for a noon ride with Erin and Dionn. The ride north on Parmer was awesome. We were talking, I was in my highest gear just spinning. Good fun. And then we made the u-turn at 2243 or whatever the hell it is (9.7 miles out) and--BAM!!!--there was that south wind. Conversation stopped at this point for two reasons: 1) the sheer effort required to ride into that wind; and 2) these two girls were picking up the pace (I swear to God they were!).
We made it back safely, no flats, no mechanicals, but it would be really, really nice if people in the right hand lane would move over to the left hand lane on Parmer. I know they don't have to, but that shoulder is so cluttered in some spots that you have to move over onto the white line to find anywhere to ride, and drivers don't seem to mind just barely missing you. Sheesh!
Anyhoo, the last I saw of Erin and Dionn was in the Lifetime parking lot, debating going running, just one mile. I don't know if they did or didn't, but I turned around and rode the 5+ miles back home. So, total bike mileage for me today: 30 and change (and about 2 hours on my bike, which was too long--sorry, Panther).
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Let Duathlon Season Begin!
Ahh, yes, now I remember why I do this multisport thing....
This weekend was the most fun I've had in a very long time. It didn't start off so well, as I had to miss my Friday night workout thanks to a proposal for work that HAD TO GO OUT TONIGHT!!! But I recovered from that disappointment, starting with the 50 mile (actually 46.83 miles) version of the Peddle thru the Pines out in Bastrop. What a great ride. The first 14 miles or so were through Bastrop State Park. This means it was all twisty-turny, narrow park roads through pine forest. There were hills, too, and I was really worried about them, since I haven't been on my bike much. I was expecting Lost Creek-esque hills, but that didn't turn out to be the case. They were still a little steep, but nowhere near as long. The big similarity is that they came in quick succession, so it was a little like a roller coaster ride. The truly scary part, though, was that a lot of people fell over on the hills. And when you don't have much road to work with, people falling over left and right really rattles the nerves. Fortunately, I (and the rest of our group) managed to dodge the downed riders and stay upright ourselves.
Anyway, moving on...we finally left the park and headed out on open, straight, relatively flat roads. The sun appeared from behind the clouds at about the same time, and suddenly it was a gorgeous, relaxing day for a nice ride at a respectable clip. Here was one of my other favorite things about the ride: pacelines. Everyone who reads this blog (all three of you) probably knows what a paceline is, but I'll explain anyway. It's where you get in a single file line, one rider behind the next, and you get right on the wheel of the person in front of you. The idea is to draft off each other (it's truly amazing how much less effort is required the further back in the paceline you are), with the person at the front of the line "pulling" for, call it a half mile or so, and then dropping to the back and letting the next person in line pull, and on it goes. There's a rhythm to it and a level of concentration required that make the miles fly by. The only problem with a paceline is that you occasionally--and yesterday, especially--attract people (well, men), who glom on. It's usually fat dudes who just want to ride your wheel, so when it's their turn to lead, they have a way of disappearing. Very uncool.
Okay, so, anyway, the turnaround for the 50-mile ride was in a town called Winchester. There was a rest stop there, with a simple, pretty little school house and church. Here we all are (sans Michelle, whom we caught up with after the ride)...
This weekend was the most fun I've had in a very long time. It didn't start off so well, as I had to miss my Friday night workout thanks to a proposal for work that HAD TO GO OUT TONIGHT!!! But I recovered from that disappointment, starting with the 50 mile (actually 46.83 miles) version of the Peddle thru the Pines out in Bastrop. What a great ride. The first 14 miles or so were through Bastrop State Park. This means it was all twisty-turny, narrow park roads through pine forest. There were hills, too, and I was really worried about them, since I haven't been on my bike much. I was expecting Lost Creek-esque hills, but that didn't turn out to be the case. They were still a little steep, but nowhere near as long. The big similarity is that they came in quick succession, so it was a little like a roller coaster ride. The truly scary part, though, was that a lot of people fell over on the hills. And when you don't have much road to work with, people falling over left and right really rattles the nerves. Fortunately, I (and the rest of our group) managed to dodge the downed riders and stay upright ourselves.
Anyway, moving on...we finally left the park and headed out on open, straight, relatively flat roads. The sun appeared from behind the clouds at about the same time, and suddenly it was a gorgeous, relaxing day for a nice ride at a respectable clip. Here was one of my other favorite things about the ride: pacelines. Everyone who reads this blog (all three of you) probably knows what a paceline is, but I'll explain anyway. It's where you get in a single file line, one rider behind the next, and you get right on the wheel of the person in front of you. The idea is to draft off each other (it's truly amazing how much less effort is required the further back in the paceline you are), with the person at the front of the line "pulling" for, call it a half mile or so, and then dropping to the back and letting the next person in line pull, and on it goes. There's a rhythm to it and a level of concentration required that make the miles fly by. The only problem with a paceline is that you occasionally--and yesterday, especially--attract people (well, men), who glom on. It's usually fat dudes who just want to ride your wheel, so when it's their turn to lead, they have a way of disappearing. Very uncool.
Okay, so, anyway, the turnaround for the 50-mile ride was in a town called Winchester. There was a rest stop there, with a simple, pretty little school house and church. Here we all are (sans Michelle, whom we caught up with after the ride)...
We rode back the way we came and then out onto 71. The shoulder is nice and wide on 71, but traffic is doing, like 70 miles an hour. Our paceline was pretty disorganized at this point, in fact, it had all but dissolved. But we were still drafting off each other. Case in point: Panther drafting off Erin. Apparently she slowed, he caught her wheel and suddenly he was out in the right hand lane of 71. I have no idea how he stayed upright, and thank God (seriously!) no cars were coming at the time. Anyway, we all got a good scare but recovered. After a couple of nice hills on 71, we turned up 95 to head to Bastrop H.S., where the ride had started. The only problem was that we were only at, like, 46.85 miles, and we (well, Triscuit, Dionn, Glenda, Erin and I) wanted to do an even 50. So we rode around for another 3.15 miles (Panther accused us of being anal), and then went back to the parking lot and...
...put on running shoes. The goal was to run a mile. It was funny, because the second we started running, we all, practically in unison, went, "Oh..." in that way that you do when something dawns on you that maybe you hadn't thought of before, like, I don't know, that maybe it does actually hurt to run after a 50 mile ride when you haven't done a brick in about four months. Anyway, that was one of the worst one mile runs I've ever done, I never loosened up, never got comfortable. I suppose that's what you get when you haven't really done much since October.
So that was Saturday. Fast forward to today. After a one loop warm-up on the veloway and another loop trying out bike drills, it was time for a time trial. I will tell you this much: 1) Erin hasn't lost a thing on the bike (damn it!); 2) Triscuit is an animal; 3) Dionn is so strong it's scary; 4) Glenda just freakin' dominates; and 5) Michelle has spirit by the truckload. I just consider myself lucky that I hung on and was able to finish pretty much in the same time as Erin, Dionn, Triscuit and Panther (8:49 or so, kind of depends on where you stopped your watch).
After the bike was a six mile run. Once upon a time in the very recent past, I could do six at 8:00 pace with no problem. Today...I was okay for about four (slower than 8:00) miles, and then I fell apart. Did I mention I haven't done much since October? The worst part was that not only did I get dropped, I had carnival music going through my head for the whole last mile and a half (there were all these unicyclists at the ride yesterday, and you couldn't help but have carnival music pop into your head--which someone (Panther) just HAD to start imitating on the run today). I know I'll get back into shape pretty fast at this point, but, damn, it's disheartening to get dropped when I used to be able to keep up, no problem. Oh well. It builds character.
So, I consider this weekend's work a success, I really couldn't be happier with it. Oh, and a final thought...I finally got my Gold's Gym membership set up, so now I have no excuse not to work out when I'm downtown. Yay!!
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