Training Week Ending April 21, 2007.

This was another NOT a run-focused week. In fact, I didn't do much running (or training) at all. I did manage to get in one run and one swim, but only three bike work outs before Saturday, which is the focus of this entry.

On Friday night, Steve flew into Houston for a law school class reunion. Lisa and I drove down that evening so we could see him and so that Steve and I could get in a training ride with Hao on Saturday morning. We got in around 9:30 PM and stayed with Steve at his hotel that night. The following morning, Steve and I got up and met Hao at Starbuck's and then cruised over to the ride. We were a bit late getting there, though, so I didn't have time to get all my stuff together before we rolled out. In fact, the group rolled out without me and I had to sprint to catch up. Turns out, I forgot my sunglasses, but it was cloudy enough that I didn't need them.

Steve got to ride my Guru tri bike while I rode the Colnago. In fairness, I offered him the opportunity to ride the Colnago, but he thought the seat was too high and we didn't have time to adjust it before we left on the ride, anyway, so it worked out for us. For the record, Steve was right. The seat was a bit high, so I ended up lowering it a bit.

This was Steve's first time on my Guru. He seemed to like it okay, and if he didn't, he was too polite to say so! In any event, I have to admit I was a bit concerned he might get dropped on the ride. It was a 50-mile out and back ride with a fairly fast group, and Steve had been talking about how out of shape he was, practically begging me to "take it easy on him." Needless to say, I think Steve must have been sandbagging me. I checked on him a lot, but he was doing just fine, barely breathing hard at all as we rolled on at a 21-22 mph average. In fact, on the way back to the start, he took a few turns in the pace line pulling the group along. I was duly impressed! He'll tell you it was the flat terrain and the dense Houston air, but I'm not buying it. He's in better shape than he let on.

Anyhoo, the ride was great. It was fantastic to see Steve, and Lisa and I had an absolutely fantastic time hanging with him.

Lisa and I spent the rest of the day with her friend Becca and her husband Grant in Pearland. They had a small get-together that evening to celebrate a friend's graduation from grad school (in Genetic Counseling) and we just hung out and chatted most of the evening.

On Sunday (today), I got up early and went running with Steve at Memorial Park. I don't know exactly how far around the loop we did was, but we ran for about 55 minutes at a decent clip. I'm going to guess that we did about 7 miles total in two loops. It was a good workout, and again, Steve seemed to be faring pretty darn well. He's been totally sandbagging to make me ease up a bit! I'm on to you, pal!

After the run, we headed over to IHOP for breakfast. We tried to go to the Kolache Factory, but the only one we knew about was closed for remodeling and we were starving! So, we hit IHOP for some pancakes. The waitresses were staring at us when we walked in as if they'd never seen twins before. It was a little bit unnerving.

Afterward, I dropped Steve off at the hotel and drove back to Pearland. Lisa and I got cleaned up and then headed out in the early afternoon. We stopped by the Johnson household in Katy and chatted for a few hours with Courtney, Cliff, and the girls. It was a nice visit, but too darn short! Courtney and the girls had made some dewberry muffins that were REALLY good!

Lisa and I rolled back into Leander in the late afternoon, just before dusk. The boys were REALLY glad to see us! It was a great weekend trip!