Sunday, May 23, 2010

Tour de Cure

First of all, I want to thank everyone who made it possible for me to ride in the Tour de Cure by donating to the American Diabetes Association, I really appreciate it!

The Tour de Cure is a 2 day fundraising ride for the American Diabetes Association. They do a few of them all over the country, this one began in San Antonio, we rode to San Marcos, then on day 2 rode to Austin. Each rider chose distances from 25-80 miles each day. I planned to ride 56 miles each day.

I joined Team Emerson because Tina works there and suggested I join her team when I told her I might do the Tour de Cure, turns out it was a great team, everyone was super nice and I even got a really nice Emerson jersey.

Red picked me up about 3:45am on Saturday morning so we could get to South Austin where the shuttle bus would take us to San Antonio to start the ride. It was early! Even though Red and I seemed to have no idea what was going on, we got everything taken care of and on the bus. I found Pam from Emerson and got my Emerson jersey just before our bus was leaving.

We got to San Antonio in no time (or maybe we were just asleep!) found our stuff and had lots of time to hang out. I laid down used my bag for a pillow and tried to nap a little.then I met some of the other Team Emerson riders, including team captain Peter who did an awesome job organizing and encouraging the team, had a couple bites of a breakfast taco, did a team picture with Emerson, and by then it was almost time to start. I really hate mass starts at bike rides, I tried to leave in a big gap, but it was still really crowded for the first few miles. After just a few miles the crowd had thinned a little, we were out of town, the weather was great, and the scenery was beautiful.

It was fairly windy, mostly head and cross wind, but it wasn't really bothering me and I knew that when we turned north we'd get a nice tailwind. It was a really beautiful slightly rolling route and I wanted to stop and take pictures so many times, but my phone takes pretty crappy pictures so I didn't bother. At one point it looked like a scene from the Tour de France with tons of pretty yellow wildflowers, and a long line of riders in a rainbow of jerseys going up an incline around a curve. A couple of the roads were in really bad condition, but other than that, I don't think I could have dreamed a nicer route. I stopped at the second rest stop for some water and to see if they had any yummy snacks and I found Sarah R.! We had kind of planned to ride together but lost each other in the mass start. I couldn't believe we were already almost halfway!The volunteers were all super nice and one of them took a picture for us. The route was really well marked so I didn't look at my map all day, and didn't realize that from this point on we'd be heading mostly north and get an awesome tailwind! We got back on the road and were very happy to feel the tailwind! It was so much fun to fly along at 20+mph jamming to Sarah's ipod! We stopped at the next rest stop and they gave us Mardi Gras beads. At one point we went down a big hill and I actually enjoyed going 30+mph! They had Tour de Cure signs all along the route and some of them were smiley face signs with different sayings, some said "I LOVE this Ride" so true! I was really loving this ride! I even officially named my bike while I was riding! Her name is Spinnaker and I'll do another post about that soon. I got a little ahead of Sarah and was riding through a really pretty shady forested area and was sad that I only had about 10 or 12 miles left to ride, I kind of wished I had decided to do 80 miles.
Just 8 miles to the finish!
I waited for Sarah at the last rest stop, but got a little ahead of her again. I was riding on the shoulder of a fairly busy road and didn't see any other riders for awhile, I was starting to think I had missed a turn when I saw one of those smiley face Tour de Cure signs, this time his tongue was hanging out, he was sweating and the sign said "I need a Beer!" It made me laugh and I knew I hadn't missed a turn! The last couple of miles we came into town, had lots of stop lights, traffic, and lots of riders so it was kind of annoying, but when we got close to campus there were lots of people cowbelling and cheering us in to the finish!Finishing Day 1

What a great morning of riding! Red came in to the finish after 80 miles just after Sarah and I finished our 56 miles! I needed to do a 20 minute brick run, so I figured Red would at least start running with me, but she didn't have a run on her schedule and hadn't brought running shoes, really? I ran straight uphill for the first half and downhill for the second, my legs felt great, but I was getting hungry, I finished my run right at the lunch table! The food was good and the volunteers were all so nice!

After lunch, Red, Sarah, and I went down to the river to hang out in the water, it felt great! the sun had come out so it was fairly hot, perfect weather for floating in the cold river. After awhile we decided we were hungry again and needed a second lunch. Red and I enjoying our second lunch
A really nice volunteer thanked us profusely for riding and we thanked her for volunteering, she took our picture at the finish line, then told us that this ride means so much to her because her son has type 1 diabetes. That was kind of a theme for this ride, seems like pretty much everyone was really happy to be riding, volunteering, working, everything- because they or someone close to them has diabetes.
me, Sarah and Bonnie at dinner

We found Bonnie and her boyfriend Joe at dinner, which was really yummy. Later we walked into town for some beer and ice cream, beer for Red, ice cream for Sarah and I. By 9pm I could barely keep my eyes open and went to bed. The dorm beds were actually pretty comfortable, or maybe I was just that tired! But I slept really well.

Next morning my legs felt good and I was ready to ride again.
the tent city for breakfast on day 2

I had never ridden long two days in a row before, so I expected my legs and butt to hurt and I planned to stop at every rest stop and take it really easy on day 2.
me and Spinnaker before the start of day 2

Red, Sarah, and I had plenty of time to hang out before the start again, we talked with some of my Team Emerson people and looked for Carolyn and Tina but never found them.
start line day 2

I did a good job of starting in a gap so the mass start wasn't too annoying this time. Right as I was leaving campus I heard Carolyn cheering for me! Rest stop 1 was at 8 miles so I didn't stop. They had announced in the morning that there was a really bad spot in the road around mile 13 when I saw a ride marshal telling us to slow way down for gravel and dirt I really did, then I saw an old wooden bridge and a short steep hill past the bridge that was all gravel and dirt. The river was really pretty so I decided since I was already stopped I'd take a picture, as I pulled out my phone some guy offered to take a picture of me with the river in the background.
I wondered if anyone would try to ride up the gravel hill, but I didn't see anyone ride it. After our little off road adventure, we got onto some much better roads, some had little rollers and others were pretty flat. There was a pretty serious cross wind but the road was so nice that I didn't really mind. At rest stop 2 I really took my time, chatted with the volunteers and other riders and found Carolyn and Tina. I was almost halfway and still feeling great and having fun. I was so glad I hadn't decided to do the 25 mile route with Sarah. It seemed like just a couple miles later (it was 10) I came to the next rest stop, I stopped just to walk around a minute even though I didn't feel like I needed to stop.

I got going again and the next section was the toughest part of this ride, a few decent hills and a pretty strong head wind, when I got to the next rest stop I was ready for it! A really nice volunteer walked up to me as I stopped and asked "what can I get you? we have gatorade, water, crackers.....little lemon pies" I have no idea why, but lemon pie sounded good, then I realized what he meant was key lime pie lara bars- even better! The lime flavor really hit the spot, I think I'm going to try those for long IM training rides. I hung out at this stop a long time, looked at my map and realized that I only had about 18 miles left and I should get a tailwind for most of it. I found Bonnie and talked with her, then found Carolyn and Tina too.

Just 18 miles to go and I was still having fun! I was starting to feel my legs getting tired and my butt wasn't feeling great but really not bad at all for riding almost 100 miles in the last 2 days. I really had to pee so I stopped at the last rest stop even though it was just 7 miles from the finish. A really nice lady held my bike, then I chatted with her and she took my picture before I took off to finish the ride.
me and Spinnaker at the last rest stop, just 7 miles to the finish!

The last 7 miles was fun, the toughest part was a little section around Cabella's into the head wind, wow I was glad I hadn't had to ride into that all morning! At mile 53 I was riding along and Red rode up beside me! She slowed down and rode with me, I assumed she'd take off again any second and I even encouraged her since I didn't want to hold her back, but she was happy to slow down and finish the last 3 miles with me. Again there were quite a few people cheering us in to the finish- very cool!Near the finish

I actually rode a slightly faster pace on day 2 than on day 1 although it took about 15 minutes longer since I stopped at rest stops longer on day 2.

This ride was so much fun! Great organization, awesome volunteers, good food- freebird's post ride on day 2- beautiful route, the nicest people, and a really great cause! I definitely want to do it again next year!

Bike to Work Day

I love Bike to Work Day in Austin! I had fun last year and planned this year to be even better! Kendra and Linda were going to ride with me and we planned to stop at The Peddler, Thunderbird Coffee on Manor, Freewheeling, Mellow Johnnies, and City Hall. I even took an hour of vacation time so I'd have more time to hang out and have fun.

We left my house a little after 6:30 and got to The Peddler before 7, they hadn't even finished getting the food ready yet, but it was worth the wait! The Austin Culinary Academy made eggs, bacon, and potatoes all very yummy!Guys from the Culinary Academy serving up breakfast

Kendra, Linda and I at The Peddler
We hung out, ate and drank coffee, then decided it was time for the next stop. Walked over to my bike and saw that my front tire was flat- crap! My tires are really tough to get off and on, so I knew this would take awhile.
Working hard to get my tire off the rim- I'm not even smiling!! The guys from The Peddler were super nice and offered to change it for me at least twice. I found a piece of glass in the tire from our Thursday hill repeats, there was a ton of glass on the road out there. I knew if we rushed we could still make all the stops, but I wanted a leisurely Bike to Work Day especially after hill repeats the night before and the Tour de Cure on Saturday and Sunday. So I decided to skip Mellow Johnnies and City Hall and let Kendra and Linda do those on their own.

On to Thunderbird Coffee, crossing I35 was actually pretty easy, they have a nice bike lane on Dean Keaton/Manor that I hadn't ridden before.
Linda, Kendra and I at Thunderbird

More coffee and breakfast tacos here, we hung out awhile and then went on to Freewheeling.
Linda, me, and Kendra at Freewheeling

More coffee-yeah it was almost like the Tour de Bean, I had almost 3 cups of coffee and was wired by the time I got to work! and more breakfast tacos. We talked with the owner of Freewheeling, he's a pretty cool guy. Then the KXAN news van pulled up. The reporter was looking for someone to interview and Kendra said "you should interview her (pointing to me) she rides to work a lot" So he came over and interviewed us.




Here's the segment that was on the news that day.

After the interview it was getting close to 9 so I headed back to campus and work while Kendra and Linda went to Mellow Johnnies.

Another very fun Bike to Work Day even with a flat tire!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Spectating at Skeese Greets

Tri Zones at Skeese Greets Photo by Tom Marek
I had a Skeese Greets pre-race dinner as a fundraiser for my Tour de Cure (which is this weekend!). As always pre-race dinner was a ton of fun, and again I forgot to take any pictures! I had a great time talking and laughing with everyone!

I got to the ski ranch around 7:30 and found Kelly and her husband in the parking lot. As soon as we walked through the ski ranch gate there were Tri Zoners everywhere! Every time I turned around I saw another Tri Zoner to hug and wish luck! One of the first people I ran into was Katherine Mudge who was doing her very first tri that day! She introduced me to her daughter and son and showed me the shirts they had made. They all said different things on the front like "Momma Mudge making triathlons sexier since 2010" and "if it were easy they'd call it basketball" worn by her basketball coach son! How fun and what an awesome support crew!!
Katherine and her support crew photo by Tom Marek
I also saw Theresa who had been pretty nervous about her very first tri at the swim on Saturday. She looked great! She introduced me to her husband who made this awesome sign! and her son who had a special made Tri Zones shirt- another awesome support crew!Theresa's awesome sign Photo by Tom Marek

I wished everyone I could find good luck then headed over to the swim exit to watch for my Tri Zoners and cheer like "the Crazy Cowbell Lady" as Ingrid says!
Watching intently for the next Tri Zoner out of the water photo by Tom Marek

There must be a Tri Zoner coming by! photo by Tom Marek. I cheered for everyone else too, but probably not as enthusiastically.
Stacey H., Carolyn, and Coach Gina hung out with me at swim exit too. Photo by Tom Marek
We waited and cheered the very last person out of the water (not a Tri Zoner). Then Stacey, Bonnie, and I headed over to the bike finish. Everyone looked awesome finishing the bike! I didn't realize Theresa had gotten a new bike, it looked pretty and zippy out there! Annette looked SO happy to be racing, she zoomed by us on Buzz and scared the volunteers she was coming to the dismount line so fast! We thought Jody might be the last person to finish the bike (she was one of the very last people to start) but she wasn't last by a long way! But we went over to transition to cheer her out onto the run.
Bonnie and I at transition photo by Tom Marek

Then we headed to the finish line to watch lots of new Tri Zoners become triathletes! very cool! We missed a lot of our fastest athletes finishing, but we got to see most of the beginners finish.
Kendra, Diana, the bunny (who still needs a name) and me cheering at the finish. photo by Tom Marek
Tom Marek our favorite Tri Zones photographer! Photo by ?? Ed Sparks I assume, who also took lots of awesome pictures out there! Ed works for KVUE and has been known to post race pictures to their website.

I was really impressed with the number of friends and family who came out to spectate for our Tri Zoners at Skeese, it seems like almost everyone had a great support crew out there. And how fun to finish your first tri to the cheering of your friends, family and lots of other Tri Zoners! I had a great time and it was just awesome to see how strong everyone looked during the race and how happy everyone looked during and after the race!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

The Rookie Tri

Pre Race
The Rookie is a super sprint and the first race of the Texas Tri Series. I had a hard time getting excited about The Rookie this year. At the Tri Zones open water swim Nick yelled "See you tomorrow Heather" while I was out in the water and I thought, how am I going to see Nick tomorrow, he's racing. It took me a minute to remember oh yea, I'm racing too! Geez! Jeff and I had Torchy's Tacos for dinner- yummy but terrible pre-race dinner! I did manage to get to bed early and sleep well which was good since Red picked me up at 4am- thanks again for the ride Red! We were the first people to get to the Ski Ranch besides the crew and Red took off for her volunteer parking duties. I got my transition area set up, said Hi to Katherine volunteering in transition, and hung out with Ron & Roger for awhile, Ron would be doing his first tri today-awesome! Roger helped me set up the Tri Zones tent and then the other Tri Zoners started arriving. I knew I wanted to do a swim warm up, but I knew I would get cold getting out of the water and waiting for my start so I brought my sleeping bag to use as a blanket. And I'm glad I did! I was freezing when I got out of the water and I still had 40 minutes until my start! The water was chilly but not bad and it didn't seem too dirty, although I did smell something gross a few times while I was swimming, was that smell from the goats?? I'm not sure but it wasn't good.

Goals for this race1. beat my Skeese Greets (same course) time from last year2. beat my Skeese Greets swim time from last year
3. beat my Jack's Generic (fastest bike pace at the Ski Ranch) bike pace from last year4. beat my Skeese Greets run time from last year
Swim
I started fairly close to the front of my swim wave, about 3 rows of people back, but as soon as I started I was blocked in and stuck behind slower people. I should have known to start right at the front, the best swim I've had at the ski ranch I started at the very front of my wave right next to Desiree Ficker, so I should have known better. Kendra was volunteering at the swim start and said later "yeah you should have started at the front, I could see you got stuck behind people right away". I finally pushed my way through the slower girls and just a couple of strokes later I felt my watch fall off (don't feel bad for me, it's a crappy $5 watch that I've had for 2 years) I tried to grab for it but it was gone, oh well. I really noticed how much nastier the water was since I did my warm up, all those guys before my wave really stirred up the muck from the bottom- yuck! I got around the buoy and was heading back toward shore when the girl beside me decided to breaststroke, she kicked me hard right in the kidney and it really hurt! Ugh! The swim was not going as well as I had hoped. I finally got out of the water and they had a volunteer telling us "stand up and wipe off your face" I really appreciate that because it's not cool to do the rest of the race looking like you have a beard and mustache from all the muck and gunk in the water! I didn't know until after the race, but my swim was 8:04 compared to 8:02 at Skeese last year, I guess that's not so bad considering I had a pretty bad swim this year and a great swim last year.Side note about the swim
The ski ranch water is pretty dirty but it's no where near as bad as the old Cinco Ranch venue or from what I hear Tri Andy's (I've never done Tri Andy's). And the ski ranch water is WAY better at Skeese than at Rookie just because it's a smaller race and the muck doesn't get stirred up as much at Skeese.
T1
I got out of the water just ahead of Southie Bonnie and she said something about drafting off me on the swim. As I was leaving transition, Shelley came in looking like she had had a great swim. T1 was 3:12 compared to 3:43 last year.

Bike
I got out on the bike and had to pass quite a few people right away. Amy flew by me around mile 3 or 4. I remembered this course being pretty hilly, but it didn't seem too hilly today (maybe that's from all those hills with Coach Jen last year!). I had some trouble getting into my big gear so I ended up just using my small front gear, I'm sure I could have gone a little faster over the first half of the course if had been in my big gear. Shelley and I played tag quite a bit. I really enjoyed the bike today, the second half was hillier but still fun. Amy flew by me again around mile 8 or 9 and said "I rode 105 miles yesterday without a flat and now at the RACE I flat!" That sucks! But it sure didn't seem to slow her down much! I was really wondering where Eva, Julie, Sandra, and Kim were, they started after me, but are much stronger cyclists so I expected them to pass me between miles 6 and 9. Finally on the I35 frontage road with less than 1 mile to go Eva passed me. At the dismount line Julie passed me. I was happy with my ride and knew I had beaten my goal. My Jack's pace last year was 14.2 and my official pace today was 14.8, although my Garmin says 15.1 and 11.4 instead of 11.1 miles, so I'm going to go with that :)T2
I got into T2 and someone had racked their bike right in my spot! That has never happened to me before, I quickly asked the volunteer what to do and he said "just rack right on top of them" so I did, then changed shoes, grabbed my stuff and got going. T2 was 1:40 compared to 1:33 last year, I'm going to blame that on taking time to ask what to do about my stolen spot.
Run
I knew I would have to work really hard to beat my Skeese run pace from last year so I tried to keep my pace up and my feet fast from the start, my legs felt really good. I saw Katherine as I headed out onto the road. I had forgotten how much fun this run is since you get to see everyone on the way to the finish on your way to the turn around and everyone heading to the turnaround on your way to the finish. I high fived Southies Bonnie & Jessica, Julie, Eva, Sandra, Kim, Shelley, and a few other Tri Zoners on the run. I remembered the hill on the run being worse than it felt today. There must be something to all this hill work with Coach Jen! I was working pretty hard, but still having fun. I came around the lake knowing I would hit my goal. I high fived Cheryl and Anna, Annette, Red and Kendra and crossed the finish. Wow that was fun! Run pace was 9:18 compared to 10:02 at Skeese- cool!My over all time was 1:16:51 compared to 1:20:53 at Skeese last year so a 4 minute PR for this course! We hung out post-race and it seems like everyone had a great race! I decided to go get my transition stuff and missed Julie and Kim getting their awards. We headed over to help Eva and her brother take down the tent, but I saw Ron & Roger and stopped to see how Ron's first race had gone- he did awesome! I headed over to the tent area and everything was gone- thanks for taking care of all my stuff Red, Kendra and anyone else who helped!

What a fun morning!! And now I can't wait to go cheer everyone on at Skeese next weekend!