Covered Bridges

The Covered Bridges Ride is one of my favorites. Yep, we go way back. Back to when I first joined the team 5 years ago. So many memories....

But wait-- let me back up.

Our first Covered Bridges Ride of the season was Saturday. I almost didn't ride. I woke up feeling completely unmotivated. It's not that I was tired or had been training too hard (ummm, it's definitely not that). I just didn't want to go.  Even the lure of mountain scenery, white peacocks, and quaint bridges wasn't enough to entice me. I'm not sure what happened to my motivation mojo; it just wasn't there. Plus, P and Janet wouldn't be riding, so there was no one to hold me accountable. I could just not show up---and no one would care or even notice. I could roll over and go back to sleep!

But then from across the Pacific, I heard a familiar voice say:   "Come on, get off your butt!" No doubt she was sipping Mai Tai's on the beach, listening to the crashing waves, soaking up the ---

Actually, she was probably just heading to bed, but the Drill Sgt.'s message was clear:  get up off the couch and go! I know that's what she'd be doing if she were here. So I went.

Hearing the Drill Sgt.'s voice made me long for the days when the Original Four Muskateers ruled the roads together. And so I headed out on the 30 miler with a serious case of nostalgia.  Afterall, the Covered Bridges Ride marked a milestone in my Team Z "career." It was my first 50 miler. Priscilla and I struggled with the heat, I ran out of water, and it took us well over 4 hours to finish. We were the last Zs back to the parking lot, but Ed and Zoe waited  for us. 

I thought about the time Janet was sagging and brought us Rice Krispy Treats...and the time I was sagging and got my SUV stuck in the mud. (A group of passing Zs rescued me.) That's the hill where I dropped my chain; there's the stop sign where I couldn't unclip in time; this is the spot where Ed helped me with the cue sheet. It's interesting how many memories one can accumulate over the course of 5 years and many miles of shared experience.

                                                                          

Who knows what the next 5 years will bring? Without a working crystal ball I can only guess that many more miles of pavement are ahead of us...and, no doubt, quite a few Mai Tai's with the Drill Sgt. on the beach.

Let The Season Begin!

It's April and you know what that means -- tri season is here! It's happening! It's NOW!  Extra daylight, Tuesday hill repeats, nice Wednesday weather for track and boot camp,  Thursdays at Hains Point, long runs and rides with the team OUTSIDE.  wooohoo--

Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Just hold on a minute. I'm pumped, but just not sure I'm ready! Why, how could that be, you ask? I've been signing up for races, compuWTFing my butt off, swimming thousands of yards, signing up for more races...let's see, what else? Running?

Ummmm, no.

Hello, Sally? You're doing a 50 MILER for crying out loud! Put on those new running shoes, get your lame self out the door, and start logging some miles! Get your act together, dear. You don't have the luxury of slacking off. Not even in the Alleged Year of Fun!

So...here's how the first training weekend of the new season went:

SATURDAY:  SWAM WITH THE PERFECT PEOPLE
You know those perfect people. They make it all look so easy, so effortless, so....so....PERFECT. No doubt I was hoping some of their perfectness would rub off on me when I met them at the PG pool in the morning.

Smart Me:  Got there an hour before the perfect people so I could get a couple thou out of the way and maybe finish around the same time as them.
Goofy Me:  Swam that entire hour with my swim cap on sideways but didn't realize it until one of the perfect people pointed it out. LOL 
Brilliant Me:  Conducted underwater surveillance to analyze the perfect people's stroke technique.
Lame Me:  Tried to copy their technique, but....well... Ha. Ha.
Happy Me:  Got in my full 6,000 yards = mission accomplished!
Silly Me:  Thought I was going to breeze through a 10 mile trail run after that. Collapsed on the couch instead.

SUNDAY:  23 MILE RIDE + AN EXTRA 6 OR SO
I was planning to wow myself with my new biking prowess after all that compuWTFing over the winter...but...well...I was unimpressed. I didn't notice myself cruising effortlessly up the hills. I wasn't drafting off the cool kids in the "A" group. Or even the "B" group, for that matter! I felt like I was in same old, same old mode; typical BOP stuff. 

But how would I know? How would I know how fast I was even going without my computer? The Ironman Effect was in full effect as I cavalierly forgot my computer-- and my watch. Duh. So I had no idea how fast or slow I was going. On top of that, I made a wrong turn and added about 6 miles to the ride.

A less than stellar performance by me on our training season opener. But I still had fun! Chalk one up for the Year of Fun. And let's face it, I needed the extra mileage, so I did myself a favor. There's nowhere to go from here but up (as usual). So bring it on!