The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good (New Pace, New Hills, New Friend):
We rode almost the race distance in less than our goal time over a course with rolling hills and wind. We upped the pace, went longer, in moderately challenging circumstances - and I felt great! I was tired by the end but it was a good morning on the bike. I found out afterwards that our peak speed was 32 mph which tops my previous record of 27 mph. I feel more confident on Vivian than ever before.

We also stopped and helped a fellow cyclist who'd blown a tube on his first ride on his new bike. His name was Charlie. We shook hands and I asked him if people drove him crazy saying, "Wake Up Charlie. We're going to Candy Mountain Charlie." He laughed and said, "It's a land of joy and light...and joyness."
After waving goodbye to our new pal Charlie, Donna and I spent the rest of the ride saying things like "Shunnnnnnnnnnn" and "It's a magical leopluridon" to each other and cracking up. Ahhh, it takes so little to amuse us.

The Bad (Blowout > Wipeout?):
The ride had actually started off craptastically. On the first hill in the first quarter mile, I heard, "SSSSHHHK. SSSSSHHHHK." Then I heard (and felt), "BOOM!" My back tube exploded. That was unnerving. Have I mentioned my PTSD and sudden, loud noises? I'm impressed that I didn't eat concrete. I had to wait a minute for my hands to stop shaking before I could get my wheel off. If you look at the charts above you can see my heart rate spike from being startled before it drops while I change my tire. Not fun - but good practice (again) changing tires. Better now than race day, I tell myself in the vain hope that it might somehow magically prevent raceday mishaps! (Don't you think this picture of the three inch split in my tube looks like it's laughing at me??)

The Ugly (Sunscreen Works Better When Applied!):
Stupid, stupid, stupid head!! I have sunscreen. In my bike bag. I just forgot to put it on my body. Have I mentioned I come from a Scottish/Irish family of redheads and fair skin? Grrrrrrrrrrr. I was in pretty bad shape by noon when we started our run.

Speaking of the run... I so very much wanted to be able to put the run in the "Good" category today but I can't. The sun was zapping me, the transition was rough, I had to take walk breaks, and the negative voices surfaced to say all kinds of horrible things. I was struggling on all levels - physical, mental, emotional to get through it. Now, I do give myself credit for fighting against and purging some of the critical voices, for moving forward when I wanted to stop, and for choosing the world's best partner. Donna talked me through the roughest part, was encouraging and empathetic, and somehow knew exactly when to run on and let me keep slogging. Where I gained new confidence on the bike, I lost confidence on my run. The run seems to be getting harder. I don't know if that's because I'm making progress in the other two sports or what. I'm trying to "Re-rax" as John tells me in his best Scooby-Doo voice. Intellectually I know that I have time, that the training plan from Runner's World will get me ready for the half-marathon in SF, that it dovetails nicely with the Tri-TP for the Oly in Pacific Grove, and that it takes going through some ugly workouts in training to get to good race days. But still I worry. Gah.

The Bonus Brag:
We found the 2007 Blue Seventy Reaction wetsuits on sale for $161 (down from $275)!! This wetsuit got good write ups for an entry level suit (at full price!) and having tried it on, we know it fits well (enough) through the hips and boobs. You should have seen us in the tiny room with plastic baggies on our feet, wiggling and squiggling, trying to get these suckers on. Donna took one look at herself and flat out declared she would never wear hers in public. (I waggled my eyebrows at her and asked her if that meant she'd be wearing it in private around the house - which made her laugh and also hit me.) They are ridiculous. But hopefully less so in 60 degree water on the morning of the race! Did I mention we saved $114 each?