Austin Danskin SheROX Bike Course

(click to see it full-size)

So this is the map of the bike course for the 2009 Austin SheROX. If all goes well this weekend, I may go out on Saturday to ride it. There are 2 large hills on the course that prove to be challenging, and not to scare anyone, but many dismount and walk over the top. Just be prepared... find some hills near you and drill, drill, drill.

From the website: The bike course is a beautiful 12-mile loop around Decker Lake, featuring rolling hills. Participants will exit the transition area and turn left along the park entrance road, then they'll exit the park and turn right onto Hog Eye Road, which will then merge with Decker Lake Road. Turning right onto Decker Lane, participants will proceed until Lindell. Participants will turn right on Lindell, which dead-ends at Blue Bluff. Participants will turn right on Blue Bluff, which then turns into Bloor. Participants will follow Bloor to the SH130 frontage road, where they will turn right. Participants will then turn right onto Highway 973. At the top of the hill, participants will turn right on Decker Lake Road, and then right at Blue Bluff, which takes them back into the park. The transition area will be on their right. Some of the bike course is completely closed to traffic, and other roads will have one full lane marked off with cones.

The good thing about this course is that it has changed since 2003 (thankfully). There was a long strip of really rough, uphill road to the FINISH. Seriously, it was like riding on the cobbles at Paris Roubiax.

Good luck... 18 days and counting! Are you ass-cited!?!

I am!!

Trek Recall

Model Year 2009

Trek 7300, 7300WSD, and 7500 bicycles manufactured from August 2008 to April 2009

Brick Today!

Today's training was a bike/run brick. I'm pretty happy. :)

First the bike I did in my neighborhood, instead of meeting up with BAM -- I just didn't have time to do my brick so late in the evening today. The ride out was awesome with tailwinds and speeds of 20+ mph! I paid for it on the way back. Ended up averaging almost 15 mph... Totally acceptable given the wind.

I've decided that I am no longer going to "check" for wind. All I have in Houston is wind. The only "hills" we have are bridges and overpasses... so I may as well take the resistance where I can.

I wasn't sure how the run was going to go. I intended to do 3, but 2.6 had to do; I mis-routed the course I guess. Anyway I averaged as 12.06 pace... that's my best pace to date! I think that long 5 mile run helped... I don't know.

I'm a happy girl, and feeling very accomplished today.

2009 MS50 or "MS75"

Our ride into La Grange...
"MS150 or Bust - Ride or Swim"

This was the first time in 25 years any part of the MS150 had to be canceled -- figures it has to be on the 25th anniversary of the event. The cool thing was that 11,000 of the 13,000 registered riders showed up to play in the hills, wind and bike grease... and there was lots of bike grease. For some, more than others. LOL

E and D offered the use of their RV for the event, and it was the way to travel! I'm so grateful! We managed to leave Houston before the torrential rains on Saturday and arrived safely, with D's superior driving skills... I think he must have been a bus driver in a previous life; he takes it *very* seriously. :) D is E's husband... and now our "Rider Support" dude.

We made it to La Grange and just chilled on Saturday night. Doug made us some sketti and meatballs (YUM!) We went into town and took a walk -- La Grange's population is 4,400, so there's not much to see. But we found this home decor/custom jewelry store that we loved. I picked up and *MS75* souvenir, in the form of this handmade cuff, studded with freshwater pearls. It is so unique; I love it!

So, the next morning was the start of Day 2. We headed out at about 7:45, and opted not to go through the official start, which proved to be the right choice because we heard later that people were still waiting to start at 8:40 am. The winds were bad; and they were expected to get worse (and did) as the day went on.

E's Cousin led us out safely to the course and then we were on our own. Not even a few miles in we said a rider down... it didn't look good. The good thing was the MS150 support folks were right there, taking care of him. Their SAG support and volunteers are the best.

So, I already mentioned the wind, right? It was very, very windy. When you have no hills to train in, and have to combine hills and wind, it makes it challenging. Last year everyone said the wind was the worst ever (they usually have tail winds going in to Austin), but this year felt twice as bad to me -- I mean, we didn't even have a Day 1 ride, and Day 2 was killing me! I just knew it would be a long day.
<--- me (odd team out, S, E A and L) I ride along, enjoying the sites, cursing every single flag I see flying full-out in the wind (which I'm riding into) and I try to remember to be in the moment. Be present. Really recognize what is going on. The scenery is mostly green and lush, and I'm physically able to ride... and ride decently.

Along the route are volunteers... cheerleaders. People who just sit out on their lawn chairs and scream moral boosting support. But there are those few that really get to me and I'm definitely touched. There was a woman sitting on the tailgate of her minivan with a sign that simply said, "Thanks for saving my life."

I teared up... got snotty.. the whole nine yards. She's why we're doing it! We struggle to get through the ride in the wind. They struggle for their life; I'm sure at times it feels like they are walking into 20 mph headwinds every day.

As quickly as I am reminded of why we are here, I got my first flat (God is funny that way, I think LOL). Rear tire of course (even funnier still, I think). A Ride Marshall comes by about 10 minutes later and says, do you know how to change it? I said, "I can change the tube and tire, but have problems with getting on the rear. He said, "I'll take it off for you, but then I'm on my way."

? ? ? ?

Anyway, that's exactly what he did. 30 minutes later I finally got the tire back on -- and during that time no other Ride Marshall passed. I felt like George Hincapie with an eff'd up mechanical stop. Admittedly though, I felt good when I was finally able to get the tire back on. :) Thanks Darren -- my tire changing coach. LOL

So I make it to Lunch.. it's sometime between Noon and 12:30 -- I roll in and quickly grab my grub and pop a squat on the lawn. I finish up in like 20 minutes and head back towards my bike. The wind was only expected to pick-up and get worse throughout the remainder of the day, and it did.

Here's something for the totally weird category though: I know in sports athletes get comfortable around one another. But the MS150 is a FAMILY event.. you know, G rated. I get back to my bike and the guy next to me makes small chat, "How's your ride going?" then he opens a package of chamois butter with his teeth. I am thinking (sunscreen?). I tell him, Okay... could be worse, blah-blah-blah. He responds with more blah-blah-blah (and seriously that is what I heard) as he proceeded to slather his privates with the butter right in front of me. He's sticking his hands down his shorts, right there, applying it his "package" and butt.

O
M
G

I was sort of laughing inside, but a little taken back too. To world has all kinds, I figure.

Down the road I go... make the next rest stop a quickie and leave. I get a quarter mile from the rest stop and I have another flat! And guess what? It's the rear. AGAIN. So I pull over on the side of the road, where came upon a this small RV, a white-haired man, his wife and their beautiful Somoya, Daisy. They were so sweet and helpful. Carl is a member of the 300 club -- that means he's one of the MS150's top fundraisers. His wife follows him with the RV along the course and gives him private rest stops. Carl joked and said it was because if he stopped at the regular rest stops, that he would talk to much (I believe it) and never finish the ride. LOL

I enjoyed their company (and Daisy) for a bit and then got the tire changed in half the time of the first. Yay me!!

Not so quickly.

Whatever I did, I screwed up the derailleur... I couldn't shift gears without losing the chain. I had to deal with it until I got to the next rest stop for support to check it out.


It was quickly becoming no fun at all. Seriously; I think this event defined what my level of fun is: 40 to 60 miles max. And even at that, after 40 miles I'm getting bored -- it's not really the training, having stamina or the hard work. No one can accuse me of be "afraid" of training hard. I'm like a tug-boat... I can chug and pull all day, it just gets boring. When I get bored, the idea of crossing the "Finish" loses it's excitment and it's just the last step in getting it over with and not a victory. That said, the MS150 is an awesome cause. So I guess I should never say "never", but it certainly won't be anytime soon. LOL

After I got my bike checked (I had knocked the derailleur out of whack when I turned the bike upside down to change the tire) I decided wind up SAG'ing 8 miles; I just needed to collect myself. I was frustrated, covered in grease from hands to ankles and not having any fun. So on the bus I just thought about all the reasons why I was there and in that place at that particular moment in time connected to all these people through this common cause.

Hopped off the SAG and furnished out the last 15 miles of the ride. I made it into Austin sometime around 4pm. Not a stellar performance. I thought I was going to do so well, considering I made it into Bastrop for lunch between Noon and 12:30. It's not a race though; it's a ride.

A (E's son) crossed the finish behind me at around 5. then L, then E. I think I was so happy to see them finish!

I think this ride solidified for me what I kinda knew, but wouldn't totally, 100% commit to knowing, was that long rides aren't my thing. In spite of knowing how to spell the word "derailleur" I really can't claim myself a "cyclist" (what do you expect? I do "ride like a girl.") LOL A cyclist NEEDS to feel that wind in their hair and doesn't mind grease under their nails. LOL I like riding... but maybe 60 miles of riding tops and preferably no wind or ginormous hills LOL. Maybe I have a little ADD in me? I need to know I get to do something else after - maybe that's the allure of triathlons... you don't have to do one thing for very long, so you don't have to get bored. LOL

The 2009 "MS75" gets a 6 on the Funtivity scale. :)

GU on the Go

Here's a tip from Georgena of Terry Bicycles!

"Ever bungle around trying to eat a Gu® when you're bundled up from head to toe and there's no way you're going to stop riding? Here's my tip of the day: first, unzip your jacket about 7 or 8 inches; then, if you're right handed, use your teeth (gently, please) to remove that glove. Stuff the glove in your open jacket -- a placeholder for a while. Now, go for the Gu. Follow the instructions in reverse when done. I learned this after losing one of my favorite gloves. I thought it was snugged away in my back pocket. Still looking for that glove on the road..."

Of course this is for winter riding... but I thought sharing it would makes us cool :)

Race Report - 2009 Space Race

I cannot believe I had such a great ride today, consiering how windy it was. I'm not sure where my legs came from, as I stil feel pretty under the weather, but definitely better than yesterday.

I averaged 15.2 mph for 42 miles... I've never sustained that kind of average over a distance more than 15 miles, I don't think. If I did, it would be because there were tons of tail winds helping along.

Elysha rocked it too, joining me for the the second day of fun! She's a touch chick, for sure. Not much in the way of pictures... but heres's a few

The race is sponsored by Ronald McDonald House, if you can't figure that out from the pictures:

Elysha finishing!

Tour de Houston

Great ride... better than I expected. Great company -- thanks *E* and Linda! Near perfect weather. A little windy, but bearable. The tour takes you through different areas of Houston (some of which I'd never seen. There were some very pretty spots. Overall an enjoyable ride... except for the lack of coordinated traffic control at the lights.

39.8 miles
3:03:00
13.5 average
High Speed: 28 mph
Average HR 141

And now for pix...

The Start line

Just some scenery

Houston looks kinda nice from here

End of ride... *E* and I

War Wounds

Well, I had my first (and hopefully last) fall of the season on the bike trail today.... I'm sporting a few emerging bruises, so they should be REALLY purty tomorrow :( I did about 20 miles on the bike today, with my cleats on in hellish winds (almost as bad as at last year's tri!) so I'm pretty proud of myself. The fall was rather odd... it was a controlled fall. I was pulling off into the grass (which is pretty smooshy turf thanks to the snow-covered winter) and I didn't clip out in time and so the only way for me to avoid hitting the tree in front of me was to just fall over like a tipped cow, bike and all.... so I did....

Bruise #1 that emerged right away and is now turning into a welt (think I should go ice it...) is on my arm, if you touch the tip of my pinky and trace down my arm it's about a foot down.... if that makes sense... It's from my arm colliding with the tip of my handlebar... Bruise #2 is on the inside of my left knee, probably from hitting the bike seat or something....

Speaking of which... the new saddle is WAY different... I'm not 100% digging it yet, but I think it'll be better with my shorts (I was wearing my capri lengths). It's better than the other saddle, but just very different, so it's going to take a little getting used to.

Tomorrow morning if it's not too cold in the morning I'm going to bike to work, swim, bike home at lunch and then drive back after lunch... We'll see if the weather cooperates. I have fall/early spring gear, but NOT winter gear ;>

Happy Training everyone!!!!

In Love....

.... with the Trek 1.2T 2009 model. I haven't purchased it yet, but I got to "test ride" yesterday and it was awesome. Brandon, the bike shop guru, measured me and got me fitted up for the bike. I need a 54cm for my 6ft tall self. He got the seat height correct right off the bat. He showed me how to use the shifters and everything, then I headed out to the test track (a next door Taco Bell parking lot). I think I will take to the bike pretty easily. Hopefully I can purchase in the next few weeks.

I'm head to the gym to lift. It's leg day, so I should be ready for the pool when I go this evening.

75 days to go.... anyone else as freaked out as I am? Heeeheeeheee

Let's go Tri Divas!

Run then Ride... Saturday

A backwards brick... LOL

Ran 5K: 12:30 pace
Spin Class: 55 minutes
2830 Calories burned

Off to pick-up my packet for the Tour de Houston then BBQ tonight in celebration of Darren's Birthday!

Friday Cycling and Bug Swallowin'

Today's ride was fantastic (for calorie burn), but the wind made it a tad bit miserable and I swallowed a bug. Mandatory positives: I did 22 miles and maybe the bug has fat-eating powers and I'll be at goal weight on Sunday. Hey, it can happen!

Tomorrow's plan is a group ride with RBM.

Hope you all have a great weekend...
C

Saturday Brick

Met up with *E* at 24 for Swim then spin this morning.

Did 2 x 300 (finished each 300 in just over 8 minutes) and then right to spin.

Also discovered the lap counter on my Polar. LOL

I feel pretty good.

I like the new kixx so far.

It's really crappy weather, but hopefully I will get to ride in the gloom tomorrow... just so long as it doesn't rain.

Saturday Ride

Mileage: 25
Average speed: 13.9
Total Ride Time 1:40
Average HR:152
Max HR: 178
Calories: 2865

Notes: Overall a good ride. Felt good after and not "wiped" Did a great job with speed and cadence today, thanks to my riding partner. Interesting guy; works for FEMA and is here for a few months. He's 62 and does multi-sports also officiates triathlons.

Took the Kema bridge pretty good too -- I think better than last time, for sure!

Ignore the bike, it will go away

This is my current philosophy. It's irrational and unrealistic. I get that. I just do so much better in the pool than on the bike. Once I get to 2000 yards in the pool, I'm going to switch the majority of my workouts to bike work. Sadly.

I guess it's positive news that I'm hauling my bike with me this weekend when I go visit my mom. She just had knee replacement and is getting discharged from the rehab clinic on Saturday. I'm taking my bike because I know that I have to ride no matter how much I don't want to...and Mom's house is on a hill. A small hill, but a hill I can practice on.

Am I the only one that prefers the swim? lol

Ok, I confess

I went riding with Donna on Sunday morning. Despite the nasty drizzle and the cold. Sadly, my back tire had a slow leak which lead to only 2 miles [how sad and pathetic]. I was actually enjoying myself *gasps* while riding. Despite the Peruvian Butterfly Syndrome, here's what I learned:

Donna rocks it with her iHome2Go. I'm envious and will have to budget for this handy little gadget.
I need bike shorts.
I need to ditch the reflectors (handlebars and seat).
I need to find my repair kit.
I need to CHECK MY BIKE before getting to the park.
I need a class in basic bike repair -- like, oh, say...proper tire pressure, how to change that slow leaking tube.
I need a nifty bike pump like Donna has. Mine is uber-portable but tires [ha ha...no one fall over laughing now] me out in 10 seconds.
No more gel seat. My butt wasn't sore or numb the entire ride [all 2 miles] or afterward.

Progress. I can actually say I didn't hate my ride on Sunday.

P.S. Did you see the news about Lance Armstrong's time-trial bike getting stolen? $10,000 bike. You'd think they would have armed security at the equipment truck. Three other bikes were stolen. What idiot steals a one of a kind bike? Are they going to ride it? Are they going to dip it in bronze? Are they going to ransom it?

P.S.S Does anyone read PastaQueen? I just found out about her through a cousin. So far, she cracks me up!

Bike saddle

Now that the coughing and stuffiness are nearly an end, I feel like I can actually commit myself to a workout program. *sighs* One that involves a lot of weekend biking. Have I mentioned I hate cycling? Give me a twelve mile swim and a half mile bike ride. I can do that. I might being freaking exhausted, but I wouldn't flinch at that. Cycling? More than two blocks? I'd rather not, thanks.

I'm actually considering buying the cushiest [perhaps I should say, "most comfortable"] bike seat saddle [while I hate the actual activity, I can at least use the right vocabulary, lol] I can afford. Any recommendations?

2008 Turkey Roll - Flash Forzen for Freshness

I left Houston on Friday afternoon for a leisurely drive to Dallas. It's about 4 hours from city-to-city and then another hour or so to Denton, TX where the Turkey Roll was to be held

I stopped by my old office and shared coffee with a couple of long-time friends who are former co-workers at the compay that laid me off a few years ago. Our meeting must have been destined though, as minutes before we met one of them he found out that the board had just voted out the CIO who was responsible for orchestrating projects, which led to significant losses, which led to layoffs for IT.

Anyway... moving on...

Feeling how cold it was I knew I needed some gloves for the ride on Saturday. I had forgotten how cold my ears got too, so I made 2 trips to Richardson Bike Mart. Met up with the Cycling Chick Extraordinaire, Coco and WonderTwin Mama Alana and had some dinner and headed to the hotel Got my gear... I was good to go

I knew there was a possibility it would be cold... but I had no idea it would be as cold as it was. I rode in the Frost 50 last year, and I don't think it was this cold. Let's just say that by noon it was a balmy 44 degrees, according to my car -- it was easily 30-something (I heard 34) at 9am, the ride start

Let me be clear. There is nothing fun about riding in cold weather. NOTHING

It could have been a nice ride, but it went sh*tty only because of the weather. We cut our distance short to 23 miles; a lot of folks were too. No sense it turning something you enjoy doing into something you hate -- there's nothing to prove. It's all in fun.

On the upside, I got to see Courtney, see Corinna do her first ride and met Larry, the grumpy the Kiwanas information man. LOL

Here are some pics... and yes, it was as cold as it looked! My face is wind-burned today:

Me & Courtney

Courtney and Corinna

Official Ride Results!

You can click on the results to see it larger.

So remember how I was beating myself up? After receiving the ride results today, it is clear I definitely was not the only one having a hard time! There is no way that out of nearly 500 riders, that I finshed as well as I did.

Just some confirmation that this course was challenging for everyone. :)

All in all a great experience (except for the road conditions of the course -- still hated that). Should have the official race pictures next week!

LiveSTRONG Ride Race Report

Last night I sat down to the computer and started writing a blog entry that pretty much found more failure on my behalf than success this weekend. The things I said about myself I would never have said to a friend. On the ride home, after talking about the weekend, several things occurred to me.

This weekend is not about me and my accomplishments. I mean, it is to some degree, but that's the least of it in the big picture. The weekend was about everyone challenging themselves by doing what others cannot, while raising money and awareness for Cancer... all kinds of Cancer.

Darren reminded me of what one of the announcers said, "This weekend is about giving YOUR 100%" And that 1 person's 100% might not be the same as someone else, so there is no reason to feel badly about what I did or did not accomplish.

I did the 5K at a 12.2 pace -- that's phenominal for me. The ride, well, that was a different story. I registered for the 65 miles and decided to do the 45 mile ride and it turned into 30 miles.

I started the ride and was quickly separated from my friends once we hit the hills. 2 of them were new to biking and through no fault of their own, they were going to be slower just because they were on mountain bikes. I felt badly, but there was little I could do except sit on the roadside and wait. I took liberty meeting some of the folks who were on the roadside cheering everyone on to show appreciation (and to give my friends a chance to catch-up). The cheerleaders along the course are so inspiring... just when you think you have nothing left, they just talk you through it. We had cattle ranchers, cowbells, marching bands and just good ol' fashion lawnchair observers watching us do our thing.

The ride started out fun, but I knew immediately the 5K took a ton out of my legs. I didn't want to admit it. I thought that if I just kept spinning I would get my legs back.

The course was immediately challenging. Keep in mind (I didn't know this before I started) these are the same roads Lance rides on routinely. The climbs were steep and the downhills were freakin' scary -- even with a head-wind, imagine 30+ mph, downhill, on a bike! I passed up the first rest-stop at just 4 miles in (it was BUSY!) and went on to the 2nd.

Things quickly went downhill (no pun intended). I got 2 flat tires before the 10 mile mark. Ugh! I changed one, then a mile up the road got another (the tube was bad). Had 1 tube left... if it went I would get a DNF, as the SAG wagon didn't stock tubes with the extra-long valve.

I got back on the bike and my legs and hips were just tired. No burning no anything, just tired... like I had no juice. I had to get off my bike several times to make it to the top of a couple climbs. I even called my friend Courtney for some inspirational speech on my cell phone -- or to at least let someone know that if I didn't return to send out the search parties. Seriously, at one point we were joking as the raven's were circling over our heads. LOL I was feeling pretty badly physically and was beating myself up pretty good mentally. I just couldn't understand why I didn't have it in me... I mean, I did the MS150... never had to dismount my bike once! I thought about all the things I had managed to do, but couldn't see why this was such a problem -- I thought, "It's just another challenge."

I got to the second rest stop and I took a long break, ate and hydrated. Went potty and checked out the map. At just 15 miles in, the thought of SAGging back crossed my mind briefly as my hips and legs were killing me. I realized that people were cutting their distance down by re-entering the ride at a different spot.

So after much argument with myself, I decided I would do the same -- at least I wouldn't be SAGging, and 30 miles in these hills was still a huge challenge. By the time I allowed myself to take the shortcut they were packing up the rest-stop -- that's how far behind I was. As I headed up the road I came across my friends. They were plodding along trying to make it to the stop to get some food and hydration. I stopped them and told them they were packing up, but a SAG wagon came by and gave them some food and drink. I told them my plan, and they were for it too. They were giving it their 100% -- we all were. It was just hard!

We re-entered the ride, and thankfully had tail-winds. I needed every bit of help. The chip-gravel, bumpy roads were causing my elbows to ache. Everytime I rode over a set of cattle grates I prayed I wouldn't wipe out. Cattle grates are almost like shallow ditches with pipes spaced out across them to keep the cattle from going up the road. They're hard on the bike. In fact, I think that's how I got my first pinch flat.

I can say this though... I was ahead of Lance on the course! That is until he passed me! LOL He was doing the 90 mile route. I had hit about 23 miles and a cop car came up behind me. The SWOOOOSH, like a swarm of bees, Lance and his guys zipped past me. Then, a couple minutes later, the group of guys that he dropped s. It was kind of wild to know that I just rode next to Lance, even if it was for a nano second. LOL

Word on the course was that some woman beat Lance's time by 5 minutes... evidently she hangs out at Mellow Johnny's, Lance's bike shop in Austin. Don't know if it's true, but that was the word.

The last coule miles were a welcomed change from the chip-gravel country roads. We were on the regular pavement and with no hills and a tailwind I was actually going 23 mph!

I crossed the Finish and felt a little defeated. But I'm not going to focus on that. Because having done the 5K the day before and riding the following day is something new for me and my body. Just because I can ride 2 days back-to-back, doesn't mean I can just waltz in and over-achieve.

I have every reason to feel good. I did give this MY 100%, and I do.

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