There's nothing better than the feeling you get from smashing your weekend workouts. On Saturday I went out and did a 55 mile bike ride (longest since Arizona) and had a great time. I almost chickened out because of the wet road conditions (wet roads from rain overnight, but no actual rain coming down). But when Brian and I showed up everyone was already there unloading their bikes and looking like they were ready to get to business. So the bikes came out of the car and we geared up. We took off and I managed to stay with the group all the way to the Exxon on 471, which thrilled me because last weekend I got dropped on Galm road. When we turned on the road towards Castroville I knew they were going to put the hammer down but I told myself to be smart and stay where I needed to be so I didn't tire myself out. Brian, Kris, Alphanso, and Shelly all took off. So that left me and Aixa. We took turns pulling each other all the way to Castroville and by the time we got to Haby's we were averaging in the 18's! I was feeling great and my knee was behaving. Aixa had to hurry because she had to drive to Houston to cheer on her husband, Allen, who was doing his first marathon that weekend. So we decided to head back to the cars instead of waiting for the other guys at the bakery. We had a nice tailwind on the way back to Helotes and we just sailed right along. We got the message that Shelly was having knee pain and needed to be picked up at the Exxon so when we finished the ride, I loaded up my bike and headed out to pick her up. I know how it feels when your knee is killing you on the bike. You just want to STOP! I finished the ride in just under 3 hours and average 18.2 mph. I do believe this was my fastest time doing this route. I was extremely muddy. My legs were covered and Chloe was filthy and I even had mud in my hair, but I had such a great time!
On Sunday I only had an 1:20 run. Little did I realize until I looked at my plan that morning that I had to throw in some fast and hard intervals in my run. I put on my mental britches and headed out for the run. I met up with the Whiners to run along the 1604 access road. It was cold, which was nice, but the wind was something else. We headed out and I was able to cruise for the first 30 minutes and enjoyed running with Brian and Shelly. I could see Linda and Kris up ahead and I made them my rabbits for when my intervals started. I actually caught up to them when it was time for me to turn around. A couple pit stops and then we hit the road again. I told Brian and Shelly that I had a few more intervals to do and I would either see them on the road because I blew up or at the car. Now this particular stretch of 1604 has always been brutal for me. For whatever reason, I always seem to loose my steam at the turnaround. I'm not sure if it's the hills or I just get discouraged because my heart rate gets too high, but for whatever reason I have trouble running strong on this stretch. So I took off and held on strong until I got back to the car. I felt great! It wasn't until after I finished the run that I realized that I had no pain in my knee on the downhills.
It feels great getting back into the swing of things after experiencing so many hurdles after Arizona. I'm thankful for Jill, who worked on my legs last week. She got a lot of the tightness out of my calves, and I have learned that you NEED to take care of your legs or they will let you know. Stretching and rolling after every workout!! In two weeks I attempt back-to-back 1/2 Marathons. Stay tuned.... :)
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