Well it has been a while since I have blogged, maybe it was too much booze, fajitas, and pizza over Memorial Day weekend that has my mind and fingers lazy. So here is a brief recap since the last blog....
Saturday I did my first brick workout with Team Affliction: a nice 2 mile warm up run, then a 16 mile ride, followed by another 2 miles of running. The second run was not as hard as I expected but I was still wiped out after finishing. Luckily I was able to ride home before the really heavy rain began to fall.
Sunday and Monday nothing but poor food choices, mucho cervesas, and household chores.
Tuesday was running of the Henges which are the evil cousin of the Marshes. Nothing like doing these in about 1 million percent humidity. Is that even possible? Not sure if it is or not but that is what it felt like.
Wednesday 20 mile ride.
Now you are caught up, get back to work.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
Running All Week
After the two day Tour de Cure I have taken most of this week off from riding and have been doing nothing but running. Three days of running for me in one week, what am I trying to do to myself? Last night we had the monthly Austin Duathletes pub run and between the running in the downpours, Kenny and his amazing pirate chest full of booty, and playing ring toss at the Barton Springs Saloon, I must say this was the most enjoyable pub run ever.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Tour de Cure 2007
This past weekend was the 2007 Tour de Cure bike ride from San Antonio to Austin. Here is my recap...
Saturday morning broke nice and early and Carri and I headed over to the start line. At the start line we met up with my friend Dave who rode with my team "Wedding Crashers" this year. After the Star Spangled Banner we were off at about 7:45 AM. Within the first 2 miles Dave realized he had put his front tire on incorrectly and his speedometer was not reading, so we pulled over to fix that issue. That was just the start of Dave's issues for the day. Dave has been in the process of moving and has not had much time to train and with work and the move he has been burning the candle at both ends so his energy was really low. We did get to ride together for the first 25 miles or so until the 50/80 mile route split. Dave decided to do the 50 miler while I was gonna stick to the original plan of riding the 80 miler. After making the split it was time for my usual day one wrong turn. The past two years I have somehow missed one turn sign and added some mileage to the route. This year it was a wrong turn that added a short 3 mile out and back to the course. Besides that the winds and the temperatures were low for this time of year and I finished the 83 miles at about 12:30 averaging a little over 18 mph.
After the route met up with my pit crew of Carri and Dave and found out Dave was not feeling well and was gonna head home instead of riding Day Two. A real bummer but sometimes sleep is the thing that will cure what ails ya. Of course he did come out and did raise money for the ADA and that is what really matters. After heading to the hotel and catching some zzzs it was time to head over to the Saturday night celebration for dinner and to see if I was the top fundraiser for Central Texas.
The Saturday Night Celebration is always a fun event and a nice way to relax after a long day of riding. This year the entertainment was hula girls and a Hawaiian band. Very interesting choice but also tons of fun. Unfortunately, I learned I was not the top fundraiser for Central Texas and finished in second place with $4,100 raised. The first place fundraiser came out of nowhere and raised a whopping $6,500. He is however being investigated by Operacion Puerto for potential illegal doping (a little cycling humor). As always I thank everyone who donated towards the cause.
After the celebration it was back over to the day one finish line/day two start area to help Carri set up for the start of Day 2 as she is the start line coordinator. We stayed there until about 10 pm and it was too dark to do anymore work for the evening. Back to the hotel to help her make a few more signs for the morning and tell her to go to bed since she was getting up at 4 AM to head back there.
I was up and over to the start by 7 AM and even with all her worrying the start line area was fantastic. Carri has done an amazing job the past two years with the Day two start and her efforts are not only greatly appreciated by me as a rider but I am sure the ADA staff could not do this event without her. Way to go babe, you rock!
Another fantastic riding day, low winds, cool temps for this time of year, 82 miles with no incidents is a good riding day to me. Finished at around noon with an average speed of once again roughly 18 mphs.
Great job by Carri with the Day Two start area, amazing support from my family and friends, and large buckets of money for the ADA to continue the fight against diabetes. Sounds like a great weekend to me.
Saturday morning broke nice and early and Carri and I headed over to the start line. At the start line we met up with my friend Dave who rode with my team "Wedding Crashers" this year. After the Star Spangled Banner we were off at about 7:45 AM. Within the first 2 miles Dave realized he had put his front tire on incorrectly and his speedometer was not reading, so we pulled over to fix that issue. That was just the start of Dave's issues for the day. Dave has been in the process of moving and has not had much time to train and with work and the move he has been burning the candle at both ends so his energy was really low. We did get to ride together for the first 25 miles or so until the 50/80 mile route split. Dave decided to do the 50 miler while I was gonna stick to the original plan of riding the 80 miler. After making the split it was time for my usual day one wrong turn. The past two years I have somehow missed one turn sign and added some mileage to the route. This year it was a wrong turn that added a short 3 mile out and back to the course. Besides that the winds and the temperatures were low for this time of year and I finished the 83 miles at about 12:30 averaging a little over 18 mph.
After the route met up with my pit crew of Carri and Dave and found out Dave was not feeling well and was gonna head home instead of riding Day Two. A real bummer but sometimes sleep is the thing that will cure what ails ya. Of course he did come out and did raise money for the ADA and that is what really matters. After heading to the hotel and catching some zzzs it was time to head over to the Saturday night celebration for dinner and to see if I was the top fundraiser for Central Texas.
The Saturday Night Celebration is always a fun event and a nice way to relax after a long day of riding. This year the entertainment was hula girls and a Hawaiian band. Very interesting choice but also tons of fun. Unfortunately, I learned I was not the top fundraiser for Central Texas and finished in second place with $4,100 raised. The first place fundraiser came out of nowhere and raised a whopping $6,500. He is however being investigated by Operacion Puerto for potential illegal doping (a little cycling humor). As always I thank everyone who donated towards the cause.
After the celebration it was back over to the day one finish line/day two start area to help Carri set up for the start of Day 2 as she is the start line coordinator. We stayed there until about 10 pm and it was too dark to do anymore work for the evening. Back to the hotel to help her make a few more signs for the morning and tell her to go to bed since she was getting up at 4 AM to head back there.
I was up and over to the start by 7 AM and even with all her worrying the start line area was fantastic. Carri has done an amazing job the past two years with the Day two start and her efforts are not only greatly appreciated by me as a rider but I am sure the ADA staff could not do this event without her. Way to go babe, you rock!
Another fantastic riding day, low winds, cool temps for this time of year, 82 miles with no incidents is a good riding day to me. Finished at around noon with an average speed of once again roughly 18 mphs.
Great job by Carri with the Day Two start area, amazing support from my family and friends, and large buckets of money for the ADA to continue the fight against diabetes. Sounds like a great weekend to me.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Weekend Activities
This past weekend was a great one here in Austin. Even though the temps are steadily climbing they are not intolerable yet. Saturday was the Armadillo Hill Country Classic. I chose the 76 mile route and rode along with several people from Team Affliction including Panther, Lulu, Erin, Chris, and Justin. We stayed together for most of the afternoon. I went a little ahead at the end as several of those folks were far surpassing their previous long rides and faded a bit, but overall they all did incredible. After the ride I did a short run and dreaded that more than the approximate five hours in the saddle.
Sunday, Carri and I participated in the first annual Wiley and Lulu 5k trail run. Man was that fun. I have not done much trail running but thoroughly enjoyed myself, even though Carri passed me with only about a quarter mile to go. Dang her. Just kidding.
Overall a great Mother's Day weekend. This upcoming weekend is the Tour de Cure and I will have many updates leading up to that event.
Enjoy.
Sunday, Carri and I participated in the first annual Wiley and Lulu 5k trail run. Man was that fun. I have not done much trail running but thoroughly enjoyed myself, even though Carri passed me with only about a quarter mile to go. Dang her. Just kidding.
Overall a great Mother's Day weekend. This upcoming weekend is the Tour de Cure and I will have many updates leading up to that event.
Enjoy.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Team Affliction Week One
Tuesday night I began training with Team Affliction which is a duathlon training team for the Darnd'st Du. Tuesday was the first time I have run since the March Crossfit bootcamp classes. Let me tell you my legs were screaming and felt like someone replaced my hamstrings with exploding cherry bombs. And they were only worse for Wednesday's run. Thankfully Thursday night was a bike night with about 25 total miles and an 8 mile time trial sandwiched in the middle. I have another short ride today and then the Armadillo Hill Country Classic tomorrow and a short trail run on Sunday. More on those as they occur.
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Shiner GASP Report
After last years rain soaked, high wind, thunder and lightning Shiner ride I swore that I would never do this ride again. With some coaxing from one of my regular ride partners, I changed my mind and did the ride again this year. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. This year was definitely the last time I will do this ride. Here is the recap...- Two flat tires within the first 8 miles
- Riding partner not feeling it and struggling within the first 20 miles
- More rain this year
- Long expanses of road with little shoulder and high speed limits
- Final 45 miles into a severe headwind
- Average speed for the 85 mile ride to just over 15 mph
- Hour and a half drive home after ride
So basically not a very enjoyable afternoon even though the Shiner Bock at the end was very refreshing. So my enjoyment of the beer remains high while the enjoyment of the ride enters into Bush's approval rating territory.
Cheers.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
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