Butter

Today's workout:
Swim-45 minutes (1.2 miles)
Ride-286 minutes (75 miles)
Run-40 minutes (4.4 miles)

Holy cow. I got tired just typing what we did today! Hahaha! Can't believe this training. To do what we did today and still be alive, awake, and actually happy to talk about it, is truly amazing. My workouts started at 6:20 this morning. I was at the pool swimming 45 minutes. I was only up so early because I went to sleep so early last night. I actually slept pretty well, given that I was in a donut coma. The swim was good, uneventful. Easy pace, and I still managed to do the 1.2 miles which I was happy about.

Then at 9:30 the gang showed up and we got the bikes ready to go. Wayne had a total flat. And it was the back tire. Always a little trickier. He changed his tire for the very first time ever all by himself! Now he'll know what to do if he gets a flat on the event day. We all kept our fingers crossed that it would hold out for the whole day and it did! Nice flat change Wayne!

Here's the route we did today.




It was an out and back route to San Marcos. We were hoping to get 80 miles in, but once we got into San Marcos the road that we were supposed to turn on had crazy traffic and no shoulder, so we just turned around there. Which is fine, because 75 miles was about the max for today anyway. We usually see how many hours we're supposed to ride and then try to average about 15 miles an hour. Today was a 4-5 hour ride, so 5 hours would have us max at 75 miles. It only took us 4 hours and 46 minutes which means we must have averaged more than 15 mph!

The wind was insane out of the south today. It was 18 mph. So we headed into it on the way out so we could have a nice ride back home. We averaged 14.1 mph on the way to San Marcos and it took us 2 hours and 45 minutes. On the way back we averaged 17.5 mph and it took us 2 hours and 4 minutes. Hugh difference thanks to Mr. Wind! The road conditions changed along the route, depending on who took care of it. City or County. There was a long section of really bumpy chipseal. It just makes my body ache. It's as if my joints become the shock absorbers and my back tightens up to compensate. Very uncomfortable. But then, after a turn in the road and county, it was smooth sailing! It was like butter! Even into the 18 mph headwind, it was such a relief!

We had a great rest stop in San Marcos where we took the break time to do some yoga. Here are some pics.

Here is Kristi striking the "Flipped Over Beetle" pose.

Here I am striking the "I Hope I Shaved My Armpits" pose.

Here's Wayne striking the "All That's Missing Is the Kilt Irish Jig" pose.

And here's Bonnie striking the "Who Me?" pose.

It definitely felt good to stretch after 38 miles of headwinds.  The ride back into town was fun. We went from San Marcos to Buda, 17 miles, averaging 19.1 mph with the wind at our backs! Yeeehawww!

The second stop in Buda was nice. We only stopped three times over the 75 miles which was pretty good. In Buda we all refilled our drinks and had some snacks. Bonnie went for Coke Zero number two. She's going to use it along the course.

There is actually going to be de-fizzed coke on the run section of the event, so it's not a bad idea to try it out now!  

The sun was bright and hot today. The temp started in the 60s and ended in the 80s. We all ended up with some sun-kissed skin.

Kristi ended up with a tri-color tan. One red stripe from the skin that was exposed in between her sleeve and her arm warmers, then a pale stripe which stayed under her sleeve the whole time, and then a tanned arm from where the arm warmers were. She took them off half-way through the ride.

And I ended up with crazy farmer tan legs. But mostly on the left side of my body. My left calf is really red and painful. And my right shoulder is pretty bad too. And the inside of my right arm, from where I was in the aero bars. I'm sort of a splotchy red mess. I put suncreen on, but clearly missed some spots. But I didn't put any on my arms, because I had on a long sleeved shirt when I put on the sunscreen and then decided to take off the long-sleeved right before we headed out. Lesson learned. Sunscreen first, get dressed second.

The aero bars are awesome. I'm loving them. So glad I got them. My back gets sore in between my shoulder blades, but not painful sore, just sore like I'm using new muscles. The bars really came in handy  on the ride today. I practiced eating while we were heading straight into the wind. I had a tendency to want to stay in the aerobars and not move because I was in the flow, but I knew I had to practice eating and drinking in all kinds of conditions. I figured out today that even though I can physically eat while I'm in the aerobars, my stomach doesn't like it. I think I need to be upright for the food to travel comfortably to where it needs to go.

We had bee sting number three today. (K and W have both been stung before on rides.) Bonnie got nailed on the back of her upper arm. We're still trying to figure out how it flew all the way up her  long-sleeved shirt, over her shoulder, and onto her upper arm. Cheeky little bee.

After the ride we had a 35-45 minute run. The run felt pretty good. I was surprised at how good I actually felt. Granted I kept it at a snail's pace, but a snail's pace should still get me across the finish line in under 17 hours. Bug and Carib came and it was pretty hot for them. Lots of stops for business and water.

Phew. What a day! And now Chris is taking care of me. First dinner and now he's out picking up dessert. A nice big oreo milkshake from EZs. Yummy! After the milkshake it's time for an ice bath, tv, snuggles with the pups, and bed. I hope the ice bath won't be extra painful with the sunburn!

G'night!

M :)