9 days solid of training...Done.

What a weekend!

Friday morning I awakened debating whether or not I should run.  At that point, I had worked out in some form, training for the triathlon, every day for 7 days straight.  My body was telling me it would be ok to ignore the run – after all, running I can do.  But, guilt set in about 2 minutes after my alarm went off and I dragged myself out of bed.  After a quick cup of coffee, I decided I felt awake enough to run.  And, five miles later, I plugged my Garmin in and learned I had performed negative splits all the way up and down the hills – and even pulled an 8:30 in my last flat mile.  I haven’t run an 8:30 mile in years – and here it was my last mile of the route.  YES!  THAT was certainly worth getting out of bed for!

I went to bed at 8:15pm on Friday night after a long, hard work week – and knowing I was meeting Jacqui at the Usery Mountain Pass at 6:45am.  Jacqui had purchased a brand, spankin’ new road bike, and she was eager to break it in on a tough 20 mile run up and down – and up and down – the mountain.  When she pulled the shiner out of her Prius, the handle bars still had the plastic wrap on them.  Offering to pull the wrap off for her, she shrugged and said, “Nah, I can just do it later.”  And, off we went. 

Much to our surprise, there was a 10K road race going on at the same time.  This meant the Usery Pass would be blocked off to road traffic and Jacqui and I were able to ride up the front side of the mountain side by side chatting away.  We found ourselves cheering on the runners.  They were incredibly responsive and yelled/waved back as we passed.  As we crested the top of the mountain, we could feel the head winds on the way down – this would mean the speeds down wouldn’t be so exciting, but that we’d have a smidge of a tailwind on the way back up the 1200 foot climb.  I decided to capture a snap shot of this ride from my Garmin – so you can all see just how steep this mountain pass really is.  6 miles up, 3.5 miles down – and of course, 3.5 miles back up again (vomit). 

And, there she is...Miss Usery!

Jacqui’s new bike was exactly what she needed, because for the first time since we’ve been coming out to the Usery Recreation area – Jacqui beat me to the top by nearly a minute. 

As Jacqui and I made our way passed all of the runners at the end of the ride, I did a classic can’t-get-my-feet-out-of-the-cages-fast-enough…and I went down.  (sad face).  It wouldn’t have been so humiliating were it not for the tens of bystanders cheering on the runners nearing the finish line.  Sigh…alas.  Now I have a bruised left thigh and a scabrous right knee.  As Jacqui approached, she said half-laughing, “whaaaaat happened?”  All I could say was, “look, I rode 20 miles and just couldn’t manage the last 1/20^th of a mile.”  We both laughed.

Jacqui and I both felt Matt needed to see the knee...hence the picture!

After cleaning myself up and tossing my bike and gear into the back of my car, Jacqui and I headed out for a run.  This time we went around the lake at the park twice – amounting to about a 2.5 mile run.  We were satisfied with our brick training and ready for showers and food.

Accomplished: 20 mile ride, 2.5 mile run!

Sunday morning, Jacqui, Brent and Thuy all showed up at my house at 6am.  We had a ten mile run planned.  As we all filtered into the house, ten miles seemed long and possibly too adventurous for the day, but we headed out anyway.  Jacqui has never done more than 6 miles, so this was going to be a new feat for her! 

As always, Thuy told funny stories and we all laughed our way through the foothills.  I warned Jacqui at mile three that the next few miles were not going to be easy, but they’d be incredibly rewarding.  She toughed it out and climbed for 3 miles with us.  Brent is training for a marathon on May 6^th, so he would occasionally sprint ahead of us here and there and come back to keep pace with us.  It was really a lot of fun to have the group together.  I cannot express just how much I love running and riding with friends.

Jacqui made it to the mile 7.5 turn off and headed back to her car.  Brent, Thuy and I finished the ten miles with flying colors.  Thuy admitted that she was wasted at the end – but it was a great accomplishment!  We’ve all still got it!

Thuy and Brent -- post-10 miles!!

After a nice breakfast with D and a quick nap, I readied myself to meet members of my triathlon team for an afternoon ride-swim-ride.  But, by the time I got to the pool area, I knew it was going to be tough.  I still hadn’t had a day off in 9 days and had already completed a 10 miler five hours prior. 

Jacqui, Jim, Matt, Sonia and I all got into the crowded pool and began our laps.  Jacqui and I were tired – soooo tired.  But, we managed to chunk it out for a good 30-40 minutes.  Jim gave me some very helpful swim tips which improved my speed and comfort in the water.  I am eager to really put them to use in a non-community pool where I can focus on my swimming and not avoiding young children just out to have a fun afternoon.  But, it was good that we did it.  Jim knows a lot about technique and I just want to improve. 

As we all got dressed, Matt, Jim and I left on our bikes, while Jacqui and Sonia headed home.  I only had a 5-6 mile ride back home.  Never have I ever been so happy to be home, seated on my couch – blogging.  I need a rest…

I think I’ll take tomorrow off!