This is why I love living in Texas

I was going to take a picture of the beautiful weather outside, but then I realized I left my phone at home. So I guess me telling you it's January 21st and it's 75 degrees, sunny, and beautiful here will have to do for now.

RunTex 20 miler

The RunTex 20 miler is race number 5 in the Austin Distance Challenge. It was also Sandra's and my first 20 mile run. It was absolutely frigid on Sunday morning, 20 degrees and the weather said calm wind, but I could feel a little breeze at times.

This was by far the coldest weather I have ever attempted to run in! I was fairly comfortable in my compression socks, a pair of regular tights and a pair of fleece lined thicker tights over them, a long sleeved wool base layer, my warmest long sleeved fleece lined bike jersey and a fleece jacket over that, light gloves, a balaclava, a hat over that and a scarf. I hoped having a couple of layers over my face and mouth would warm up the air going into my lungs and keep my breathing working well. I hoped to be able to take off the fleece jacket after a few miles. I was only really cold for the first couple of miles but I never got hot and I didn't take off my fleece jacket until mile 13, so I guess I was dressed just about perfect for the conditions (and considering I have zero cold tolerance).

The first 10 miles went by quickly, Sandra and I were feeling good, chatting, noticing livestock and wildlife, and frozen ponds along the way. We saw Kristen and Kendra cowbelling around mile 2 and again a few miles later, of course it was awesome to see them! Both my breathing and my stomach were ok, not great but not terrible either. We made a pit stop at the mile 10 rest stop and I noticed my legs really didn't want to get going again after the stop. Not cool but I figured it would just take a minute to get them going again. Over the next 3 miles they just started to hurt more and more, very not cool because my legs haven't hurt like that in a long time, maybe since Longhorn 2008. They didn't hurt on our 16 mile runs, our 18 mile run, any of my half marathons, so why did they hurt today?? I was starting to think it was going to be a long last 7 miles. We saw Kristen and Kendra again just before mile 13 and we stopped at that rest stop for a few minutes.

At this point, Sandra was obviously feeling great and I was hurting, but she told me over and over that she didn't mind taking the last few miles slow "it's just a training run", she reminded me to drink, asked if I needed to stretch, told jokes, pointed out livestock, and everything else she could do to just keep me going. She talked me into a stretching break at mile 17, but honestly I think the most painful part of the run was getting moving again after that break, oh well, it was worth a try. I knew we would see Kristen and Kendra again between mile 18 and 19 and I just tried to focus on getting to them, since at that point I would have less than 2 miles to go. We saw them at 18.7, they ran/walked with us for a little while then we just had 1.2 miles to go. Finally we made it to the finish line! We ended up finishing in about 4:25, but about 15 minutes of that was pit stops and the stretching break.

I finished the run, and that was really my only goal, but man this one hurt! I don't know why my legs hurt today when they haven't in a long long time. I guess it just wasn't a great running day for me. Hopefully I got my tough run out of the way and the marathon will go well for me now.

Super Huge THANK YOU to Kristen and Kendra for coming out and cowbelling for us today, and especially to Sandra for everything today! You guys seriously helped pull me through today and I really appreciate it!!

My New Tri Bike

First, I know I'm writing this on Christmas, but no, it was not a Christmas gift. I've actually had it for about 2 months now. Jeff had been looking for a bike that would really fit me properly for about 5 months (sometimes it sucks to be short) and about 2 weeks before Longhorn he brought this home!
It's a Kestrel Airfoil Pro SL with an Ultegra SL group set, Mavic Ksyrium Elite 650 wheels & a Profile Design Cobra carbon cockpit. Wow! But I had no intention of changing bikes and getting used to a new bike just 2 weeks before Longhorn. Plus, I had told Jeff a while ago I did not want a tri bike, I thought it would be too aggressive and hard to handle. Since this was the only bike he could get that would really fit me well, he decided to bring it home and let me try it out and see what I thought. It was after Thanksgiving before I really tried it out and decided I like it, in fact I REALLY like it. It's actually easier to handle than my road bike which was a big surprise to me.
This bike is fun to ride, I want to ride every day, so much that I talked Jeff into riding last weekend when it was 30 degrees! (If you know me well, you know I don't go outside voluntarily if it's below 50 degrees!) We only made it 10 miles before we were frozen and had to come home. I thought about trying to talk Jeff into riding with Mark, Adrian, and Jason this morning even though it was 25 degrees!! In the end they didn't even ride today.
This ends up being really great timing since I decided to do Ironman Cozumel 2010 and it will probably be very windy there so the more aggressive tri bike position will be really helpful.

Ironman Cozumel 2010!

I did it! At 11:00 pm on Dec. 9th I signed up for Ironman Cozumel! And I'm excited! It's Sunday November 28th 2010, so I have 49 weeks to get ready! This also means we'll be spending Thanksgiving 2010 in Cozumel...Turkey Tacos as Ingrid says!

When Ingrid first mentioned it to me, I said No Way, I'm waiting until 2011. But when I really started to consider it and talk with some friends about it I realized the only reason to wait was fear, and waiting a year wouldn't make the fear go away anyway.

I have a lot going for me this year. I have 2 full years of half iron training. I have an amazing coach and an awesome team to train with. Some of my teammates are doing Ironman Florida 2010 so I will have lots of training partners. Jeff is 100% supportive, I kept telling him "I won't have a free weekend all summer and fall", "I'm going to be tired all the time", "Ironman is going to be our entire life for a year if I do this" and I got responses like "that's fine" and "I know, it'll be worth it" and "that's ok" from him. And considering how great he's been during half iron training I don't think I could be in a better position there. Interestingly, when I told Coach Jen I signed up the first thing she said was "how does your hubby feel about this?" I think that may be the best testament to how important it is to have a supportive family going into an Ironman. Plus Ingrid, Kim, and Del are doing Ironman Cozumel too, so I'll get to train and race with them!

My only concern was that in Cozumel I wouldn't have my Tri Zones More Cowbell Corps. I love them and appreciate them so much! It's pretty tough to feel anything but joy when you run or ride by and all your friends are screaming and cowbelling for you! After I signed up, Kristen decided to come, and Kendra and Nicki may come too! So I actually will have a Tri Zones More Cowbell Corps! WOW! Thanks guys!! That means so much to me!

And then there's the fact that it's on Cozumel. Jeff and I love Cozumel, we've been there 6 times to dive, it's just beautiful and the people are so nice! I wasn't at all suprised when I read race reports saying that the entire island shut down for the race and EVERYONE was out there spectating from early morning until after midnight and it was the best race ever as far as spectator support- that's my kind of race! When Cozumel was brought up as a possibility, Jeff was 100% for it, he didn't want to hear about the pros of Florida or Lonestar (if it happens). And honestly I didn't either, the only Florida pro that mattered to me was the Tri Zones More Cowbell Corps. Even though I know it will be windy and tough I just can't wait to ride along the far side of the island and watch the waves crash into the shore and then ride into town with all the locals screaming and cheering in Spanish! It's going to be awesome!

Decker Challenge Half Marathon

Jeff and I at the Austin Farmer's Market on Saturday. Ingrid and Del came to town on Friday night and we all had a great time at the Farmer's Market on Saturday checking out all the cool local farms and getting yummy and healthy produce and meats for the week.

Saturday night Del, Richard, Jeff, and I went to Fred and Lori's holiday party. They made a great dinner, of course I was worried about eating anything different for pre-race dinner, but luckily it worked out ok this time. After a very fun and animated white elephant gift exchange, we headed home early to get a good nights sleep before Decker.

The Decker Challenge is race number 4 of the Distance Challenge, it's a hilly half marathon with a reputation for bad weather. It was very cold (in the lower 40's) with a very heavy mist on race morning- yuck! Although it was about what we had expected based on the forecast and based on the fact that the weather is always terrible for Decker (except last year when it was really nice, but still pretty cold). Thank goodness we could be inside before the race or we would have frozen to death out there! Ingrid and I did a short warm up run, less than a mile right before the start.
Del, Ingrid and me pre-race
At the start I felt cold but not completely miserable and I knew I would warm up after a couple of miles. Looking pretty cold, wet and nasty at the start. Photo by Jake North Photography who later posted on their FB page that the location was "the coldest, darkest, hilliest, windiest place in Austin"
In the first mile I saw Ingrid and Priscilla. I was using Ingrid's Garmin to pace myself and I really liked it. Even after 4 miles and the turn onto Lindell I was still pretty cold, that almost never happens, but I was keeping a good pace. I was really glad I had my balaclava/face mask, my ears and chin were a little cold even with it. "Little Mr. Tard" wasn't as bad as I remembered it last year at Decker and at the top, two girls saw the next long hill and started talking loudly about how hard it looked so I told them "that one's not nearly as bad as the one we just did, I promise!" I don't think they believed me. But really, that second hill looks bad from a distance, but it isn't very steep. I talked with a few people along the way, but didn't see anyone else I knew. Between mile 8 and 9, Santa was at the aid station, so I high fived him as I ran by. I tried hard to thank as many volunteers and spectators as I could because it was a terrible day to be outside and I wanted them to know how much I appreciated them.

I had planned to see how I felt and possibly go for a half marathon PR, but I knew that would be tough if not impossible since Decker is such a tough course. I have been trying to beat my very first Austin half marathon in Feb. 2008 for almost 2 years. It doesn't make any sense that I didn't beat it last year because I know I was much better trained and even ran on 1 easier course, but I just couldn't beat it in any of my 3 half marathons last year. So I planned to run an 11:30 pace and try for a PR.

I actually ran closer to an 11:00 pace for at least the first half and then slowed a little for some of the bigger hills toward the end. I was feeling pretty good even though I was cold and wet the entire race. I never took a cup of water from an aid station and had to force myself to drink my Infinit, I think I was breathing in so much water with the mist/rain that I just never got thristy.

As I came back into the expo center grounds and could see the finish I was just ecstatic, the Garmin only said 2:26 and I was easily less than 2 minutes from the finish line! I saw Kristen, Blonde Pam, and Chris near the finish. Chris even picked up a big orange pylon and yelled my name through it, it sounded like a loudspeaker! Ingrid was on the other side of the finish jumping up and down and screaming for me! I was SO happy to finally beat my very first half marathon time and at Decker! I ended up finishing in 2:27:54 which is 4:23 faster than my very first (and fastest) half marathon and over 18 minutes faster than Decker last year. I'm sure my pictures will be funny because I was pretty much laughing the last 100 meters or so and they had 2 photographers there.Update on the pictures: This is one of the first Decker Challenge pictures on Jake North Photography's FB page today. And yes, I was really that happy! Thanks Jake North Photography for a great race finish picture!

Thanks so much to Coach Jen and the Tri Zones Longhorn training this summer, Coach Tracy and the Tri Zones Winter Running Program, and Ingrid for letting me borrow her Garmin! I couldn't have done it without all of you!

Turns out Ingrid, Del, Richard, Julie M. and I (and maybe a few other Tri Zoners?) all got half marathon PRs at Decker! At some point someone said "we just had to run faster to get out of that awful weather!" There may be some truth to that!

Just a couple minutes after finishing I got really cold. I had to change out of my wet shirt, but I was still cold. I had thought I had talked Del and Ingrid into Coach Jen's Sunday Swim after the race, but since it was so cold Ingrid (Ingrid the Machine of all people!!) said NO WAY on the swim and instead we went to Homeslice Pizza!
Ingrid, Del, and Richard at Homeslice
Jeff and I at Homeslice

They were having a contest at Homeslice, whoever kept their hand on an eggplant sub the longest would win a year of free Homeslice pizza! When we got there there were 4 people left and they had been standing outside with their hands on the sub for 24 hours!

At Homeslice Ingrid said she was only going to eat about 1/2 a slice of pizza because she really wanted to go to Gordough's. Del hadn't been to Gordough's before and asked "It's just a donut shop?" Ingrid and I just laughed at him.
Ordering at Gordough's
Ingrid trying the Black Out Donut, super chocolate. This morning on Del's FB page is a picture from Gordough's with this caption "No they're NOT just donuts...trust me".

commuter bike

I meant to do a blog about my commuter bike in January when I started riding it to work but I just never got around to it. Wednesday on my way home, a guy rode up beside me and complimented my bike, but then he rode with me and asked all kinds of questions about it and told me he wanted to build up a really similar bike for his girlfriend, so I told him I'd finally do this blog this weekend so he could show her pictures. I also hit over 1500 miles of commuting on my bike this week, so that's 2 good reasons to finally do this blog.
When we got the bike, it looked like this. It's a Raleigh steel framed mixte made in Japan. We replaced pretty much everything and now I have a great commuter bike.
I have Sram front and rear drum brakes built into the wheels, so even in the rain I have great braking power. I never thought I would ride in the rain, but I have quite a few times this year and most of the time it's actually fun.
The rims are from Velocity and made to look like teakwood, Nic built the wheels for me. I get a lot of compliments on the teakwood rims, no one can tell that they aren't actual wood.
The saddle and the handgrips are from Brooks. I also have a good light setup since I ride to work at 5 am to swim sometimes. My front light is a really bright Light & Motion Stella 200, I love it, it's small but it lights up the road really well on the highest power. I can lower the power to save the batteries for riding at dusk or on better lit streets. I just use bright red blinkies on the back, but they work really well too.
My ride to work is 6.5 miles each way, the ride to work is mostly downhill with a few uphills, but the ride home is mostly uphill. This bike is really heavy (51 pounds!) for riding uphill, but I like all the components so it's worth it.
The Sram S7 internally geared hub is cool because I can shift while stopped and I don't really have to worry about dropping the chain. Because of the hills on my ride to work I need gears, and it's fairly common to have to stop on a hill. The only drawback is this hub is heavy and it's a lot of what makes this bike weigh 51 pounds.
This bike is for commuting to and from work so I have to be able to carry stuff and these Transit Metro panniers have been perfect for me. Some days I have them jam packed full of stuff for work plus lunch plus swimming stuff for before work and running shoes for a lunchtime run.

After 1500 miles of commuting so far this year, I feel like this bike is really reliable and comfortable and I still really enjoy riding it. When I take a couple days off from riding I always miss it.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving morning I ran the Turkey Trot and Jeff went for a ride with Mark, Pieps, Adrian, and Paul. I ended up running with Vickie and Kim who are both way faster than me, but wanted an easy run. I had a great run, chatting and laughing with them, saying hi to other friends we saw along the way, and hearing more of Vickie's Ironman stories. The weather was beautiful for running. I ended up finishing almost 3 minutes faster than last year and after the run Vickie said I could have gone faster if I had "really tried" instead of chatting and laughing my way through the 5 miles. Maybe she's right, and if so, that's kinda cool. Either way I had a great time.me, Kim, and Vickie, my Turkey Trot running buddies

After the run, it was time for the annual Tri Zones Thanksgiving Champagne Toast (although we've had LOTS of champagne toasts this year) This is just one of many many reasons I love Tri Zones.
Coach Tracy giving the toast
Tri Zones Champagne Toast, photo by Tom Marek
Kristen bragging about somehow getting a big pespi cup full of champagne

After running and riding, Jeff, Connor, Katie, and I went over to Patti's for Thanksgiving dinner. Paul was cooking so we had really been looking forward to this. Chef Paul finishing Thanksgiving dinner preparations
Priscilla, me, Adrian, and Jeff waiting patiently while Paul tells us what everything is.Pieps and his Thanksgiving dinner
Some of Paul's yummy food
Jeff and I wanted to get something for Paul for making Thanksgiving dinner for us, so we got him this knife that Mark said he would really like. This morning on Paul's facebook page was a picture of the leftover turkey breast with his new knife. I'm glad he likes it, I know Jeff and I really enjoyed his dinner. Everyone except me ate 2 big plates of food, I really wanted a second plate, but I just couldn't do it, I was already really full after just one plate.
After dinner everyone was sleepy and Adrian suggested a Thanksgiving walk before dessert. We took all the dogs and walked around the neighborhood and the nearby school where Mark and Adrian found some broken kids bikes and raced them around the parking lot! Jeff took pictures of this craziness, but he's having trouble getting them off his phone, hopefully he can get them because I'm sure they're hilarious!

After the walk we all had chocolate trifle for dessert-yum!
Bo and Pieps
Connor and Katie had a great time playing with Bo, but I don't think Mark's chihuahua Wienie Man (yes, that's really his name, no wonder the poor guy has "little dog complex") appreciated having 2 more big dogs in his house all day.
Jeff and Katie
Mark and Connor, Connor was really interested in Mark's apple