Hot summer fun

My Thursday night ride was much like my Monday night run - low pressure, no pushing, just enjoying the scenery and feeling the wind and loving the smooth riding surface...just fun. And I still managed a decent pace for 30 miles.

That was also the day that I'd asked my dad if he'd run this 5k with me on Friday eve. It was predicted to be hot hot hot, but I was so hungry for some competition...

So, after work Friday, we met at the race site. It was 93 degrees with a "feels like" temperature of 101. Sheesh! The field was small (almost 400) and there were quite a few young, fit women. I was sizing up my competition, but that racing exercise Coach had a do a while back also came to mind...and I had realized then that to focus on anyone else for the race was guaranteed catastrophe for my race.

They called all men running under 19 min and all women under 25 min to the front. After a 2 mile warm-up (required after having been sitting at my desk and wearing heels all day), I was already dripping sweat. My legs were feeling a little heavy. I spotted a guy I'd seen running out at East Fork Lake a couple weeks prior, chat with him in the six mins prior to gun, a fellow Ironman.

Then the countdown. "30 seconds"..."15 seconds"..."10, 9...2" and the gun! And in those last ten seconds, that familiar old feeling of adrenaline pumping came back to me...that same feeling I used to get before the gun at a cross country race in high school...the kind where my legs feel detached from my body...and we were off! I knew in the first mile that quite a few had gone out too fast. It was during that time that fellow IM starting line guy passed me. I saw his M-dot, made a comment...and held him in sight for the remainder of the run.

It was a two-loop course, the first half of which was uphill, the second, downhill. Obviously, that first loop felt pretty good...and then you PASS the finish line (ugh) and head uphill. It wouldn't have been so bad if not for the 93 degree heat. and the week of training under my belt. and that stupid hill and how you can see the stoplight where you know you'll turn and head downhill from ABOUT A MILE away! OK, maybe a half mile. Once on the back stretch, I found my legs and cruised on home.

I wasn't super excited about my time, but I was 3rd female and 25th overall. Dad crossed the finish a little after me and after I talked with Mr M-dot about triathlon for a bit. Then it was time for hotdogs at the after party!

By the time I got home, I was feeling that lack of a good cooldown. Slept in the compression tights so I could do the 3 hour ride in the morn. I showered, ate and hit the hay.

I decided to bike with Judi and Ryan, but I needed to get in an hour or so more, so I started at 9am and went out on my own for a bit. Going out east was great. Coming home...a heavy headwind. Ugh. So, I warned them both when we met. It was no surprise we went out averaging 19 mph...and then coming in, we dropped some. All in all it was pretty good. We took turns pulling in that dastardly headwind on the way back in and made it...safe and sound (even though Judi didn't wear her helmet).

Judi wentout for a run in the 90 degree heat and Ryan and went home, but not before I fell over, clipped in in the parking lot. It was in total slo-mo. And no pictures :)

I got home and found I have some sweet new tan lines! One big line on my leg. My back is ridiculous. I have lines from sports bras, lines from tanks, lines from jerseys... I'm all stripey!