Riding through South Austin

This week's ride was a 22-mile route starting from Williams Elementary in South Austin.  We rode past the Creedmoor area down county roads.  I swear I was in the country!  We flew by a exotic ranch which had exotic deer and ostriches! It was a great ride with a really nice group of folks.  The weather was perfect - in the 70s.  I love how the sponsors spoil us afterwards with mimosas, cold towels, snacks, and watermelon.  Can't beat the SAG!  And I am very pleased at my progress and comfort on the bike.  I've always prided myself on being a mountain bike kinda girl but now I am seeing the beauty of road riding - the companionship, the speed, and the ease with which I am progressing.  It feels good to do 22 miles versus just 8 on the mountain bike.  Of course, they're altogether different experiences but maybe those "higher" numbers is what my psyche needs right now.  I feel myself "needing" to get on the bike or to go for a run or a workout.  I went for another 1.5 mile run in our neighborhood on Thursday morning and it was TOUGH.  The humidity was a real killer but I did it.  Slowly but surely. Tomorrow I meet up with SKB for our bootcamp.  God help me.

Texas Mamma Jamma

Today Seth and I went to our first Mamma Jamma training ride which began and ended at the Blanco Vista Elementary School in San Marcos. There were two supported route options - 17 or 34 miles. We chose the shorter route since we haven't been on the bike in quite some time and we didn't have a whole lot of time since Ella was at home with Mimi.  The route was a good one - flat, some town riding but mainly country roads with little traffic.  Our group was relatively small but all of the riders were friendly and enthusiastic.  It was definitely a very relaxed ride versus what most cyclists would call a training ride.  I was especially impressed by the overall cheerful vibe and how well organized it was.  Everyone received sheet with the route and map of the ride but even so, we were a tight knit group.  No chance of getting lost with this group.  I can't wait until the next one!

Juan Pelota Ranch

Mellow Johnny's hosted a pre-ride of next week's Mellow Classic today at Juan Pelota Ranch, the venue for the Classic and Lance Armstrong's ranch. There's 8+ miles of sweet Hill Country singletrack and it's only open to the public (mostly racers) a few times a year. So, hubby and I headed out to the ranch to check out the trails. We arrived just as the gates opened and immediately noted the line of riders waiting to sign in. There had to be at least 40 riders in line and that's not counting all those suiting up, getting their bikes ready and on the trail already. Excellent turnout of very serious riders who are probably racing this course next week. Hubs and I rolled out on the trail and were shortly greeted by several racers behind us who passed us. I'm glad I could serve as another obstacle. ;-) Each of them displayed excellent technical passing skills. I also noted that my favorite gear started slipping and grinding. Not good for me or for those behind me. I had to veer over a few times to get it sorted.

As time went on, I became more and more distracted by the rider traffic and my slipping gear. I felt like I was rushing rushing rushing and had to get through sections quickly so that I wouldn't slow down the riders behind me. This quickly led to an ugly descent where I was not properly clipped in and consequently lost my balance and took a pretty hard fall that ended my ride for the day. My left leg took the brunt of the impact and I have quite a knot on my knee - no that's not a second knee. GRRR. I'm very disappointed in my lack of performance and confidence today and especially that I didn't even get to finish out the trail. What little I saw of the trail was fun and I'm sure I would have enjoyed the rest of it. But on the upside, I much rather crash and not finish early on in the ride than about 4-5 miles in.

Lesson learned. Ride your own ride. Take your time. Racers are skilled at passing slower persons. You are not skilled when you are distracted or rushing. I also learned that I'm not quite "race-ready" as I had hoped to particiapte in an Xterra triathlon this year. The ride today just goes to show that I have a lot more miles ahead of me before I attempt to do any type of mountain bike race where I'm thrown into a start with everyone else. However, maybe I would be okay in a MTB race since you start in waves with those in your category. By the time the pros hit the trails, you're hopefully done. If my leg is better by next weekend, I just might roll up to the start so I can check out the rest of the trail. :)

On the Road Again

Since I prefer pub crawls on my single speed and the trails on my MTB, it has been a few years since I've actually ridden a road bike on the *gasp* roads. Now that I'm sort of (supposed to be) training for a triathlon in the distant near future, I decided to finally spruce up the Specialized that I purchased from a friend last summer and get it road-ready. This weekend, we made some adjustments and changed out the tires and tubes with new ones, changed out the flat pedals with my high end Shimano pedals from back in the day, and best of all, a lovely Terry Damselfly saddle as the cherry on top. I had forgotten how awful it is to change road tires. It was definitely a 2-person job this time around.

After completing a "test ride" around my neighborhood, I decided that it was indeed road-ready and headed out with my training group for a short ride out to the Veloway and back. I also forgot how fun it is to go really fast and have a bike that responds so quickly. I'm happy to report that she rode like a dream, there were no mechanical issues, and I had a great time. I'm so looking forward to my next ride. Pics to come!

Slow Ride Single Speed Style or SRSSS for short

Wow. Today was gorgeous! I came home to a flat tire on my road bike so instead of fixing it, I decided to take the Single Speed for a ride around Big Country. After about the 3rd climb, I was kicking myself for not fixing the roadie's flat. But then I started looking around and instantly discovered the benefits of a slow ride. The views were amazing and the neighborhood dogs did not consider me a threat. It turned out to be a nice spin and one helluva quad workout.

Drills Drills and More Drills

I hit the pool yesterday with my Tri Group after not swimming for about a month. I was surprised that I was able to hang with the group for a solid hour of drills. It's amazing how much awareness I have now of my form or the lack thereof. It was a good day at the pool and now I'm getting more excited about actually doing a triathlon after the adventure race in May. I'm thinking either the Danskin Women's tri or something in the Fall. I really want to the do the Xterra at Muleshoe but I will be on vacation that week and I really don't want to miss my vacation!

Spring Break

Ahhhh... Day 1 of Spring Break and a much needed staycation. My husband and I are staying close to home getting things done and riding as much as we can. Today, we ventured out to Rocky Hill Ranch in Smithville, Texas. It's been a long time since we've ridden there but today we had a blast. I love the beauty of the tall tall pines.

Fire-breathing Kittens?

This picture sums up our ride and run perfectly yesterday at Slaughter Creek. A three-mile run does not feel good after a ten-mile mountain bike ride. I've got a long way to go fitness-wise to be somewhat competitive i.e. comfortable at the mid-May adventure race.

Now on to the fun part. My training partner and I are having the worst time trying to come up with a team name. I like funny girly names and she likes tough brutal or monkey names. Any suggestions for us?

On the Trail Again

New Kicks

Got my new trail kicks today! New Balance WT101. Beautiful, lightweight and fast. Can't wait to burn up the trails with these.

Big Country

Yesterday we decided to do a "pre-game" ride on our mountain bikes. The weather was perfect - sunny and in the 70s. It was in the 20s on Saturday, the day before. Central Texas weather. One day your pipes are frozen and you have no water, the next day, you're riding your bike in short sleeves and shorts.

We explored another section of the trails that we haven't ventured before and ran into one of our neighbors who allegedly built many of the trails. We're so glad we "ran" into him because he showed us a few more trails - all technical singletrack. It was a great day on the bike.

Artic Blast is over!

It was 20 degrees yesterday and now it's 60 degrees. Only in Texas. So, we had a light spin on our mountain bikes around the neighborhood followed by some good ole calisthenics.

Hubby/Me
Pushups - 30/12
Crunches - 75/50
Leg lifts - 20/10
Supermans - 20/10

It's not a stellar performance but it's a starting point. We can only improve, right? Tomorrow we're hitting the trails.

Let's keep moving

So, a week ago I committed to training for an adventure race which meant it was time to pull away from my desk and get moving. I'm easing into it so as not to inflame old injuries and I want to mix it up. I'm not one to train on the treadmill. Instead, I prefer to use the nearby trails, the pool, and of course do whatever I can to spend quality time with my husband and pups.

01/29- 30 min hike with Hubby and pups
01/30- 1 hour mountain bike ride
01/31 - REST
02/01 - 20 min trail run with pups
02/02 - 30 min swim at the Y followed by 1 hour massage
02/03 - 1 hour workout with PT (warmup, stretching, recovery)
02/04 - Snow Day :-)

I feel good and I'm looking forward to doing what I can to "move every day".

A New ADVenture

In an effort to lose a few pounds and have a little fun along the way, my husband and I have decided to start training for a sprint adventure race here in Texas. Due our busy schedules, we have to do as much as we can at home. Luckily, we have a sweet trail system just steps from our front door. Seriously, we can ride our bikes across our yard and we're in a top secret location that only the "locals" know about. The terrain is varied with singletrack, doubletrack, climbs, and bushwhacking. Perfect for easing us into "training" without killing us technically or with elevation. It was a perfect weekend - sunny skies, 78 degrees and tacky trails. We hiked with our dogs on Saturday and then grabbed our mountain bikes on Sunday and hit the trails. It was rough going at first but once our legs (and lungs) warmed up, we had a blast. We came across only two folks on horseback and scouted all the trails for which would be best for running, riding and "orienteering". This trail system is going to be perfect for our busy lifestyle. I love life in the Hill Country.