Last week rundown

As I was waxing poetic and nostalgic last week I was wandering away from the meat of the plan.  The day after tomorrow is April, y'all.  We've got 3 weeks (THREE WEEKS!!!!!! EEEEPP!!) til the MS150 and one month til my first post-baby tri.

So last week I did:
Monday: 3.2 mile run with a little walking.  But the distance was covered.
Tuesday: 1400 yard swim, no prob.
Wednesday: 2.25 mile run, focusing on running longer intervals and faster.
Thursday: 1400 yard swim, did I mention I love swimming?  Oh, and also I woke up early so I did yoga that morning.
Friday: P90X3 MMX.  I know, I was supposed to run.  But I just didn't want to, and I thought it might be nice to mix it up a little.  This definitely taxes my aerobic system and my legs and ass, so I figured it'd work.
Saturday: 26.6 mile HILLY freaking ride.  Yes, I planned to do the 40-something route.  No, I didn't do it.  I just didn't want to.  And I had a busy weekend and it would have killed most of the day.  And did I mention, HILLS?  (Btw Head for the Hills is an absolutely lovely MS150 prep ride.  Highly recommend!  The bluebonnets were out, it was a gorgeous day, the hills are great training, and the local fireman make a good burger for lunch after.  Really nicely run.)  The good news is I never walked, and I love my new brakes.  The bad news is I'm still fighting my big ring shifter and I need that sucker for big hills.  There were 3 hills where I ended up in the easiest possible gearing combo, going about 4mph.  But I didn't walk.  I win.

This week the plan is very similar, except I think I'm going to drop the Thursday swim in favor of MMX and then add back in the Friday run (but I'll switch that to Yoga if I'm feeling especially run down).  I would prefer to swim twice BUT it looks like rain on Thursday, plus I'm going to have a kid-free night and swimming makes me get home later, which I don't want to do because I want to go see a movie or something.  So you know I'm still sane - not sacrificing fun in favor of exercise.  At least on Thursday. ;-)

Wet and Windy Ride

The forecast for Saturday called for rain, rain, and more rain.  The ride forecast called for our longest ride of the season - R2R was offering 50 or 70 mile routes.

They altered the course again the day before, having us ride the 12 miles to rest stop 1, then turn around for a 24 mile route that we could then repeat if we chose to.

I was hoping I'd go for 48, but standing at the start line, cold, knowing it was going to rain, watching riders opt out of riding in favor of being SAG support.... I just knew 24 was all that was in the cards.  And that is frankly ok, because I rode freakin' 62 last weekend.

Then I remembered my post about worrying about not being fast enough for tris, and I thought, ok, let's go for it,  Lets kind of blow our wad today.  Try to get in 60 miles of pain in only 24.

And so it was.  I actually think I could have happily gone for the 48 if it wasn't so absurdly windy and if somehow we weren't riding into the wind for like the ENTIRE route (except for maybe the 2 most glorious miles I've ever experienced).  It was just soul sucking.  And it didn't matter how hard I freaking pushed, 12mph into the wind was all I had.  All. I. Had.

The whole MS150 isn't going to be into a headwind, is it?

Ketchup

Once again, I've been remiss.

A quick run down:  The weather has been less than ideal, shall we say. 

The week after the ride with Adron, I rode on the trainer because I was worried about riding in crappy weather.  2 hours on Saturday followed by 1 hour on Sunday, just to try to get my rear ready for back-to-back days.  While I like being able to watch TV and read while riding, it doesn't really simulate the road sufficiently for me to feel like I'm getting in great training, soooo....

The following week I went out despite the crappy weather.  It was around 50 and drizzly.  I had on 4? yes 4 layers including a somewhat waterproof windbreaker and I was MISERABLY cold.  R2R prides itself on safety so they modified the ride to 12 mile loops so that they could more closely monitor us in the crappy conditions and SAG us all quickly if lightning came into the area.  I think they said only 200 brave souls showed up.  Most quit after the first loop.  I went out for a second.  I actually really liked the little loop.  It was a nice rural area, some hills but not crazy, only a few turns, all right handers, and able to stop at my own car for each rest stop = good stuff.  This was also the very first ride where I spent almost all of my time in the big chain ring and really started trying to push on some parts for some speed.   (By no means am I fast, but I did start trying a bit.)  I really actually wanted to go for 3 loops but by the end of the second one it was openly raining and it just would have been stupid.  I must say I was so impressed by R2R's level of support.  I stopped at a stop sign on one of the right hand turns because I can get spazzy when there is traffic.  A few cars pulled up behind me and I was motioning them to go so I could take my time with my remount and feel mentally comfortable and I was asked by no fewer than 3 people if I was ok in the like 2 minutes I was stopped.  Now that's service!    As I said this was my first rainy ride, but other than the slightly slick road and need for more layers than would be expected from the temperature, it was pretty normal.  Oh!  I should also say, dry clothes are needed for after.  I had an hour's drive home and I didn't have anything dry.  I drove the whole way with my seat heater on and my heater on HIGH, as hot as it could get, and I was still shivering with blue lips when I got home.  I couldn't have known any better, but sheesh, that was messed up and probably dangerous and I need that to never happen again.

The week after that we headed to Huntsville for a little hill training.  They were only offering 30 and 50 mile routes and I was totally torn because I was really hoping for a 40-something to bridge the almost-40 I did with Adron and the 60 I wanted to do for the Tour de Houston.  I ended up settling on the 32 mile route, and BOY was I ever glad I did!  It is the first truly hilly route I've done and it SLAUGHTERED me.  It was awful.  I was having a really bad time shifting, and the first rest stop wasn't until 18, so I ended up essentially stuck in the big chain ring and blowing out my quads.  I stopped by the most excellent bike mechanic and he mostly fixed it.  By mostly I mean he got the rear shifting completely fixed, but the front chain ring still was a total bitch when I was trying to shift into the big ring, so after trying it twice, once again I was stuck in the big ring for the rest of the hills.  Oh, the hills.  First, within a mile of that rest stop, there was a beast of a hill.  One chick I spoke with at the rest stop said she thinks it is the hardest hill she rode in all of training last year.  So there's that.  It was sooooo long and steep.  I think I was going like 4mph when I got to the top.  Then I had to grump and plead and cajole my bike back into the big ring, arg!  They called the last part of that ride the "roller coaster" and it was so totally apt.  Endless upping and downing.  I was almost crying by the end.  Then when I had time to reflect on it later in the week it completely freaked me out, that I wanted to ride 60 miles in the TdH and I barely finished 32 the week before.

Next up: TdH recap.

Ride Report: Pedaling the Prairie

I've been off the grid for the past week (pictures to follow), and actually didn't originally intend to be back in time for my Saturday ride.  But we were on the kiddo's first camping trip, and we wanted it to be a flexible, fluid thing, and when Thursday rolled around she looked like she was getting sick and started asking to see the kitties, and that was good enough for us!

I was glad because I really did want to go on Saturday's ride, so that immediately went back into the plans.  This was my first official "Ride".  It wasn't a race.  It is hard for me as a runner to differentiate, but there were no timers, and there is no winner, so not a race.  But they had packets and a start line and a finish line, and food/beer at the end, etc.  So the feel of the thing was exactly like a running race.

Clothing was a major stressor for me again for this one.  It was 45 and foggy at the start, slated to warm up to a sunny 60, so I didn't know WHAT to do.  I ended up in...wow, 4 layers.  Short sleeves with my running sleeves, 2 running jackets, and my windbreaker on top.  Long pants on bottom, and skullcap under helmet.  Only the fingerless gloves this time (and that was the right choice).  At the very beginning, I was happy with all of that.  But at the first rest stop I was flaming hot, so maybe I could have started with one less layer?  I ended up taking off the skullcap and one running jacket and the sleeves at the rest stop, and again was comfortable.  By the second rest stop I was ready to remove another layer, but didn't have anywhere to store it, so suffered through.  Also by the second rest stop I think I'd have preferred shorts on the bottom.  Hopefully all of this experience will help me begin to figure out these things better.  For sure the fingerless gloves were the right option.  For sure the sleeves were very smart because they could just be pulled down and didn't need to be stored.  I definitely like the windbreaker for the bike.  When I finished and removed it I could feel a whole ton of heat come out of there, so perhaps it would have been a better layer to remove.  I'll keep learning!

So for the ride itself: I don't have anything to compare it to since it was my first, but I was impressed!  They had breakfast before AND lunch/beer after!  Very nice.  There were real bathrooms in addition to the port-a-cans at the start.  There were 4 route options: 24, 45, 55, and 70.  I chose 24 (of course!).  There were 2 rest stops on the route: at 8 miles and again at 13 miles.  They were both well run and well stocked.  The 8 mile one was super crowded because it served all the routes and the riders weren't well spread yet.  The 13 one also served all the routes but everyone was spread out by then so it was far less hectic.  There were hills at the beginning and end, but not bad ones.  There was a hardcore headwind on the first half of the route.  I was beginning to think 10mph was just how fast I was.  Then somewhere around... 11? miles in, suddenly pedaling became easier.  I looked down and I was going 14mph and more easily.  I was confused.  I puzzled over it and eventually realized it was the lack of wind, ha!  I'm not quite as slow as I was beginning to think!!

For me personally on the ride: ate half a bagel and my coffee beforehand.  Just wasn't super hungry. Was hungry by the first rest stop but didn't want what they were serving - need to get a bento box for crackers and oreos.  Second rest stop I actually considered skipping because it was only 5 miles farther but I was glad I didn't, because I was really hungry by then and they had crackers.  Also, I didn't realize it would be the last stop and I would have really regretted it if I hadn't stopped because around 18 miles in my legs were totally in WTF land.  I was having some numbness, but then mentally began questioning if it was actual numbness or if it was the warm pants compressing me.  It was weird.

Oh, also, I still suck at starting.  I need to start off at the back of my wave.  But I also need to not panic.  All my starts yesterday were rough, and I was panicking, but I always found my balance and I never fell and that IS something.  I can do this and I WILL get better at it.

Despite my spazziness, it was a lovely day for a ride, and overall it was a great ride!  I finished and I keep improving, and that is all I could ask for!

Final stats: 23.8 miles in 1:59:30.

My splits were: 8.9 miles at 48 minutes (11mph), then 13.4 miles at 1:11 (11.75mph), then 23.8 in 1:59:30 (12.75mph).  Ha, well the headwind isn't quite as obvious as it felt, but wow, I sure felt it!

Ah, one more thing: an ibuprofen right after really helps!

My first MS150 prep ride!

And my first ever group ride.

I was nervous.  Super nervous.  3 trips to the bathroom nervous.  But I went.

I went and I met a nice man and his wife who chatted with me at the beginning.  They really made the waiting easier.

I went and bought 2 jerseys and a saddlebag for cheap at the "garage sale".

I went and no one teased me about my lack of clips.

I went and I rode with the last pace group because I don't really know how fast I am any more, and I just wanted to focus on finishing.  Speed isn't important.  And I finished.  And it wasn't.

I went and just focused on riding straight and true while 80 million people passed me and I passed only a few.  But like I said, I rode with the last group, so I think they seeded themselves badly, not the other way around.

I went and ate Oreos at the halfway point.  Yum!

I went and FOUGHT my way into a killer headwind on the way back.  It was rough.  But that is good practice.  Good practice.

I went and didn't fall.

I went wearing my favorite long sleeved undershirt, a bike jersey, and 2 running jackets.  I wore my bike gloves and running gloves over the top.  I wore my skull cap under my helmet.  I wore long pants.  It was probably 40 and sunny at the start.  It was maybe 50 at the turnaround and I removed my running gloves and considered taking off a jacket, but I didn't and I was SO grateful because that headwind made it colder on the way back, even though it was warmer.

I went and had one creepy moment where my left thumb got numb.  Need to find a way to relieve the pressure on my hands more.

But I went!  And I did it!  And I am so proud of myself!

Cold Snap

My first official MS150 training ride was supposed to be this morning, but yesterday I got the notice that they were cancelling it since the great north sent down one heck of a cold snap this week.  It is about 30 outside and not really supposed to warm up today and they decided that torturing beginners may not be the best way to start off the season.  I tend to agree!

So instead I spent an hour on the trainer yesterday and thrillingly, I survived with nothing worse than a sore ass.  So I'll take it!

Today I'd like to accomplish Core III plus something fun with the kiddo.  DDR or yoga or climbing.  Something.  Something fun.