Catching up

My, my, my, life is busy and it is MUGGY here in Killeen. Muggy is not new to me as I have lived the majority of my life in “muggy” environments. I can function just fine in it, but that doesn’t mean I love it. I am not huge fan of completely dry, I think I like a little bit of moisture in the air…a nice cool breeze never hurts either.

The bike ride this weekend was really great. It was a 62 miler, or 100K and that makes it my first “metric century.” It was truly a great ride, albeit challenging with the hills, but that is actually what I need right now in prep for BSLT 70.3. I wanted to ride it like I want to ride in the Half-Ironman, so I only stopped at one rest stop and that was at the 40 mile mark and I wanted to use the porta-potty. Not sure about the whole “go” on your bike concept…maybe I’ll be competitive enough to give that a shot in a race, but NO need to in a training ride. The Infinit that I bought for bike nutrition worked just like it was supposed to: no cramps, no stomach issues, and I never really got hungry at all either. I’ll be using it on all of my future long rides too. I do not think I’ll use it for the run as I am fond of GU2O and GUs for the run. I did have a hill on the ride (it was like a TX mountain to me) that kicked my dairy aire—I got half-way up it, working hard, out of the saddle and came to a pretty much complete stop. Well, with clip in pedals, there was NO WAY I was getting momentum to try again, so I clip clopped my way to the top! I didn’t let it bother me at all though because this whole course was a.) longer than anything I had done, and b.) much more hilly than anything I had done. I expected more hills to be like that, and while there were some ones that had me just making it up them, I did make it up them. I finished at 3hrs 31mins, averaging me 17.63 mph…so for hilly, newest long distance, and staying pretty darn slow for the first 5-8 miles because of the big pack of riders. So, the ride was a thumbs up. I will doing many more of these for the rest of the year (and really, rest of my life!). They are fun, they are supported, someone is there to help you out if you breakdown, and there are other people to talk to and encourage. A very strong looking female triathlete (by the outfit and bike) complimented me at the end by telling me that she thought I was a strong cyclist, I was thrilled! Right now I have visions of race wheels in my head though. J

Ladies night was great—it was a long, well, for us, night—we finished up at about 11:45PM and that was WAY past the four us that were still there’s bedtime…when you have 3 triathletes who either raced, supported a race, or rode a long ride and a mom of 4-year old twins, 9:30PM-10PM is the typical bedtime! We had a really enjoyable time though, and it was not a crazy group, but rather a very engaging and enjoyable group. The next day three of us went outlet shopping. The other two got some GREAT clothes—I got two (much needed) skirts…but that is it. They both are tall and athletically built (lean/muscular) and have brown and blond hair—there are SO MANY CHOICES for those body types and colors. Then there is me…5’3” with red hair, short legs and long torso. I need normal tops, but petite bottoms, and finding things that look good with red hair and freckles, well, it’s just not a piece of cake. Oh well. I still DESPERATELY need shoes for the wedding…guess I know what I’ll be doing on Mon/Tues next week when I’m at home in Houston.

Yesterday I went with several ladies from the Temple/Belton area (with my swim coach) to Lake Belton for an outdoor water swim (OWS). The lake was choppy, but not too cold (at least not with a wetsuit) and we were able to mark off a good 400m one length. I did 3 down and backs for a total of 2400m and I was happy with my time, especially pushing through the chop. I was required to breathe on my left much more than I typically care to on the way back otherwise I’d be sucking in water due to the chop. Really good swim though, I need more OWS practice for usre.

Today I did get my grocery shopping done during lunch and picked up my clothes from alteration—truly trying to maximize my trips when I’m in the car so as to save on gas. I can’t believe it’s pretty much gone up a $1 in a little over a month. This is truly ridiculous and something has to give soon…I guess that’s about all I have for today—just a catch up. The rest of this month is pretty busy, but should be a lot of fun as well! Cheers!