I DID IT!

Our day started at Katy High School at 5:15am Saturday morning. It was raining, and it wasn't looking like it was going to be a good day. We got on the road at 7am and miraculously the rain lightened up, and by the time we hit the 2nd rest stop (we skipped the first), it was totally warm and we were all peeling off our raincoats (those things don't breath!). The ride was gorgeous with fields of wild flowers all over the place and constant rolling hills (about 15 miles into our ride!) The best was riding through small towns. In Fayetteville, a lot of the people were out with bubble machines and speakers with music playing just cheering us on! We passed a guy with a ginormous Lassie looking dog and huge speakers on the edge of a field rocking music and cheering all the riders. It was people like that all along the way that kept it fun. Others left signs along the road to cheer certain riders that were hilarious!
I rode with the best group for the first half of both days! This is Saihbon, Kim, and Rob. We kept a nice pace, and took long breaks and chatted the entire time! It was way fun! I lost them about 20 miles out the first day thanks to a hill that I had to power up (I would power up the hill, and they would pass me on the down hill--it was a pattern that we kept nicely), but this last time I totally lost them. Later I found out that Kim got taken down in an accident, not once, but TWICE! Poor thing. I felt horrible. The last 20 miles I tried to push it, and I was doing okay until 3 miles out. I just lost all umph and I pulled over to drink some Gatorade thinking maybe I just needed some energy. I hopped back on and not 10 feet later I look down and notice a flat tire. Wow, that's what my problem was! Some nice St. Arnold's guys pulled over and changed it for me (I had no idea how to do it, and I'm really good at looking pathetic), and I finished my ride into La Grange!
La Grange is definitely interesting. There's lots of tents, lots of cots, and l ots of mud! I jumped on a bus to a local school to shower, and then we were basically camping. It was fun wandering around because I ran into a lot of my spin people! I tracked down my friend Liz, and her team lucked out because of the rain that was coming, they got to be moved out of a tent and into a building! Live bands were playing in a couple of spots, and there were lots of stands and bike shops available for help. Each teams tent had lots of food and people were everywhere! Our tent held about 40 cots and we were all snugged in there to sleep. The rain poured Saturday night, and none of us knew what to expect for Sundays ride.
This is a brother-sister duo on our Wellfit team. They were CRAZY but funny to hang out with in La Grange. Brittany is a fellow LA Fitness spin instructor, and so we met a lot of interesting people during our wanderings!
Lining up Sunday morning was brutal. A lot of our team had gotten massages the night before, but we were all sore, tired, and beat from sleeping on cots. The Caprock team wore our jerseys and it was really easy to see our team from the other groups!
I was trying to get a view of the incredible line-up just to leave that morning. We lined up at 7am and didn't get out of La Grange until 8am.
Here's day one's finishing line, and day two's start. See the sad dark sky. Yeah, we were waiting for rain, which thankfully really didn't come. We got a little, but nothing bad. Talk about lucking out weather wise! We had a slight tailwind Saturday, and a headwind and a little rain on Sunday. I totally believed we were blessed!
Leaving La Grange, we had two options, take the express or take the challenge. We opted for the challenge, but before entering the park with the killer hills, took a detour that bypassed it. We still had stellar hills, just not as intense ones! This was a good choice for me, because I am positive my knees would have fallen off, and I couldn't get my gears to work properly so I would had to fight it more than needed to make it up the hills. I couldn't believe how many hills there were on this ride. Austin is like the San Fransisco of Texas in more ways than one! But getting there is a constant rolling. Going downhill was fun and exhilarating, but going up was another story! I think I hit my own personal wall about 50 times on day two. I have never been so miserable in my life and debated constantly when to just give up! The rest stops I would feel okay, and I did finally discover the med tents and the icyhot like stuff to stick on my knees that helped with the pain.
These were the 3 guys that saved me from the lunch stop on! I met up with them where the paths merged from the park and the expressway, and ended up riding with them for the last half of the 2nd day. I don't think I could have done it without them! We rode in a pace line, and my goal was to keep up with them for 3 miles. Thirty-five miles later, we are rolling into Austin! They tried to keep me in the middle to block the head wind, and wouldn't let me fall behind. There was a crash right behind me and the guy behind me rode over a guy, and still we kept together! I'm a huge fan of riding in a group! I know I slowed them down, but was so thankful having people constantly pushing me even when I thought I couldn't go on. Rolling into Austin was one of the sweetest things ever! People were cheering and groups were cheering and it was a huge accomplishment just to roll through that finish line!
Me and the capital building. I think my knees, shoulders, and butt hate me, but I did it! I went farther than I ever imagined I could, and I don't know how soon I want to be jumping on my bike again, but I loved it and just want to get better!

End Stats:
Day One:
81 miles
3500 calories
7hr 30min total journey time
14.5 average speed

Day Two:
70 miles
3000 calories
7 hours total time
13.8 average speed

Next time . . . I need to do more hill training, and more longer rides. My longest ride was 50 miles before this weekend. Those additional 30 miles is all mental! I want to quicken my pace, and figure out my gears so my knees don't take the brunt. Yeah, I think I'll do it again!

It's here!

Tomorrow is the big day--what I've been "training" for (or at least stressing over) since October (or December . . . it's all a blurrr!). It looks like we'll be getting rain, and I really should be asleep right now because I'm getting picked up at 4:15 AM. (who do they think I am?!) I'm so excited and so scared, but I just pray all will go well, and I have to remember who this is for. Ever since I've signed up to ride, I've found out so many people I know have been connected with MS. Whether it be family members, spouses, friends, or whatever, their lives have been touched. It's these people I ride for and others I don't know. I'm overwhelmed with the sheer number of people who will be out there riding for this cause. It's AWESOME and I get to be a part of it! Next post will be how it went!

The Final Countdown

The ride is almost here! I can't believe months of waiting and all the sudden I'm not feeling so sure about it. I most worried about the rain, wind, and my knees and shins. My knees have really been bothering me lately and that's not good when riding 80+ miles two days in a row. I am excited about my team and actually the stay in La Grange! It sounds like it'll be a lot of fun!

I've been writing my to-do lists and editing my packing list, and I hope I'll remember everything, not pack too much, and not lose anything. It's only overnight, but it's amazing how long my list is. Everything from going out and getting a rain poncho/jacket thing, to a different type of knee brace, to remembering tylenol pm and shampoo! I don't know exactly what to expect, and I think if this was the 8th time I was riding it, I wouldn't know what to expect!

The Ram Challenge

Saturday I went to my last group ride before the actual MS 150 next weekend. It was the Ram Challenge and its' proceeds went to the Ram marching band (being a nerdy band member myself, I thought it was a good cause! This is me before the ride. There was a fantastic double rainbow and the sun was shining and it looked to be a gorgeous day.

Me and the other riders getting ready to start. Still sunny with a slight sprinkling of rain. Not bad, still looking okay.

First stop: 12 miles in. We had been rained on relentlessly. I don't know where the sun went, but it ran away and in its place came thunder, some lightening, and a lot of rain. I felt like I was riding in a wet diaper thanks to my padded shorts, and to top things off, my computer quit working. At this stop I debated on turning back, only doing the 35 miles, or begging SAG to drive me back to my car! I'm proud to say I went on and at the turn point to go 35 or the higher miles, I turned for the higher! The rain stopped, and we started drying up, and then it hit hard again. By stop #2 we had to wait while they decided what to do with us (the rain was pouring at this point). They finally decided to shut down the 75 mile route, and so people could take the 60+ mile route or the 44. I went for the 44 and was glad I did. We had a head wind the majority of the time, but the ride was really pretty with the gradual hills. Minus the occasional pelting rain which felt like hail stones, I finally basically dried up! Near the end of the ride my knees were burning from the fight with the head wind, but magically it warmed up.

This is a "glamor shot" of my legs post ride! Please note the white knees from my knee braces--that's not a tan, that's dirt--also to be seen at my ankles (nice mud ring around my sock line), and then my pruny feet from sitting in wet shoes for hours. I don't know if I'm exactly prepared for the big ride next weekend. I know I can handle rain for about 30 miles before it really starts annoying me! I also know I have a low tolerance for major headwind, and my knees hate me. I do know I love group rides and enjoy the people. Next weekend will be an experience to say the least! Worse case scenario, I know I've raised the money for a great cause and I'm riding for 2 people who totally deserve it! Whether I finish the ride or not, I've done what I can!

Ugh!

Today has kind of been a great and frustrating day. Great because Jon got off early and we went to Zoobilee and had a blast at the zoo. Frustrating because I retook my VO2 Max and it lowered. What?! Okay, it really was not surprise because I took 10 days off for a trip to Idaho where I only biked twice (once for 30 minutes of hills and the other for a 5 mile loop around our block). That was my grand total exercising for the trip when my body is use to basically 10+ hours a week. Anyhoo, I thought I would do at least a bit better, but my return to reality week this week made me realize how quickly I lose what I do! Oh well. I was kind of bummed. Tomorrow I'm doing the Ram Challenge and shooting for 75 miles. Stoked about this ride because the weather is suppose to be gorgeous (but possibly breezy). Next downer. I looked at the expected forcast for next weekend--the weekend of this ride I've been stressing over--mind you this weekend is like 75* and partly cloudy--next weekend, thunderstorms and 80* which means HUMID. Are you kidding me?! They had this issue last year and only got to ride one day (this wouldn't be that bad in my opinion!) but I was really hoping for good weather. Ugh! Please pray for nice weather next weekend!