Another Training Update. Well . . . things are starting to look up for my training prospects. Although I got no training in last week because of the trial, this week is off to a spectacular start.

Saturday, March 3:

On Saturday, Hao came to town and we met down at Austin Tricyclist for the Saturday morning Taco Ride. I hadn't been on the bike for a week, and I knew it was going to hurt. Plus, it was 35 degrees at the ride start time of 8:30 AM. The ride went okay, but I was redlining pretty much the entire first half. The group did its 3-mile warm-up and then the fast guys put the hammer down before we even go off of MoPac. Usually they wait until the group turns onto Southwest Parkway, but they took off early. I got dropped in a heartbeat. I was alone for most of the ride on Southwest Parkway. I kind of like it that way when I'm on the tri bike, though. I can ride the aerobars and not worry about the other people around me.

Anyway, I'm cruising along when I look back to see a group of riders about to catch me. That's not unusual because packs tend to ride faster than individual riders, especially on windy days (and it was fairly windy!!). Unbeknownst to me, Hao was in that pack! I'm riding along and hear this voice as he goes by me saying "Hop on the back, Lone Ranger!" How embarassing! I got caught by a flatland rider on my own turf! Well . . . I had to jump onto the group to keep up with Hao. We stayed together for the next couple of miles taking turns pulling the group and swallowing up other riders as we went along.

The end of Southwest Parkway (at Hwy 71) is slightly uphill. The group split up a bit there with most of us accelerating ahead. At least I redeemed myself with Hao! He was at the back and we dropped him when we turned onto Hwy 71. I got to the turnaround and waited for a couple of minutes until he made it in. Then, we took Bee Caves to Hwy 360 and headed back to the shop. It was a great 30 miles . . . harder than it used to be, but that's because I'm a bit behind on my training. It was great to ride with Hao again, though.

Sunday, March 4:

Lisa is the greatest fiance ever. I'd missed church the previous two Sundays and was all set to go this past Sunday. But, with Hao in town, she graciously told me not to worry about it and to go out and ride with him again if I wanted. Being who I am, I took her up on it! Hao and I met or friend Shelley at Jack and Adams Bicycles at 7:15 AM. Shelley is training for the Wildflower Half Iron distance race with a Team in Training group. They did hill repeats on Lost Creek Blvd. that morning, but Hao and I rode out there with them and then continued on to do our own version of the Dam Loop, a 45-mile ride that goes out past Mansfield Dam. We took it VERY slow and easy since we'd worked so hard the day before. It was a nice leisurely ride and we stopped at the Davenport Ranch shopping center (at about Mile 35) to have coffee and panini at this awesome Italian cafe. It was a fantastic riding weekend, and I finally feel like I'm getting back into the swing of the biking.

Monday, March 5:

I took the day off of work, but had an MRI scheduled at 7:30 AM, so I ran down to the medical center for that and then did a few errands later in the morning. I brought lunch to Lisa and her co-workers at the elementary school and then went home. I was pretty tired from the biking this weekend, but I did get in about 30 minutes of slow running. It was pretty much a recovery day for me.

Tuesday, March 6:

I did a five-mile run at Town Lake at lunch. The goal was to go easy and avoid the pain that's been persistent in my left leg since Ironhead last July. I didn't have any pain during the run, but it was definitely tight afterwards. I hope the MRI shows something.

Wednesday, March 7:

Today was the bike ride from Hell! I met up with my friend Jason and we went out to Lost Creek Blvd. I haven't really ridden a bunch of hills in a while and Lost Creek is full of them. It starts out at Hwy 360 and you follow Lost Creek south. It's a really nice downhill into a valley, but once you reach the country club, it gets hellish. There are three super steep hills. They're not long, but the watts you need to push just to get up them are incredible. I made it up all of them, but I was wheezing like an asthmatic and my legs were wobbly. To make matters worse, rather than follow the easy way out, Jason wanted to turn around and do the hills in reverse. So . . . we did. Climbing up to the top of Lost Creek is agonizing when you're out of shape. The last hill (up to Hwy 360) is not too steep, but it's relentlessly long. It felt so good going DOWN that hill, but going up? Yikes!!! I need to do more of these. I just hope I haven't tired myself out too much for swim group tonight.