6/17/2008

Happy Birthday to MyKaren! Last week was pretty humdrum, nothing new happened. The workout on Tuesday with BlakeE was hard, and I got a little mountain biking in on Thursday in preparation for the Xterra Sport race on Sunday. I love mountain biking. Both MyKAren and I decided to do the Xterra Sport, as our sprint race this year. We both rode 50 miles on Saturday with about 10 people, including BlakeE. OK, Blake needs some directional instruction, because we got lost several times and had to depend on Jeff W, our country-ambassador to get us back on track. We ended up riding the correct number of miles, and the countryside was pretty. It would have been nice to know where we were, but it was an adventure!

The Sport race was a blast! I had done it 3 times before and really was hoping to have fun and maybe break the 2 hour mark. The swim seemed longer than usual, but the current wasn't bad and even though I got into some shoving in the water with some other women who happened to be going my exact speed and were not going in the direction I wanted to go in, it was fine. It was strange to come upon rocks in the water, but I decided not to stand up, when they came up, and just pushed myself along them until I could push off with my feet. I thought I was at the back of the pack out of the water, of course MyKaren was long gone when I transitioned to the bike. The bike was fun, I had a few minor issues, got a stick wrapped around my rear wheel early on and then dropped my chain on a long climb, but it wasn't bad. I rode some things I never have before, so I was happy with that, and the fact that my legs felt pretty darn good, even with the ride on Saturday! I had always bonked on the run before, so I was kind of taking it easy at first, until I saw a woman in front of me...and then as I got a little closer, I saw a 45 on her leg. And I knew I had to pass her, since she was in my age group, I, too, had a 45 on my leg. I passed her on the Mayo Bridge, and decided I'd not push it too hard until after the Mayan Ruins. Those are steep and tall log steps up an old train trestle just below the Manchester Bridge. I got up them pretty easily and then knew I had to pick it up. So I did. I finished strong, did not bonk and nearly finished in 2 hours (2:01). Both MyKaren and I won our age group, she came in 4 of all 37 women, and I came in 11 overall. A good day!