WAM 300, or really 67 + 115

Well, the ride is over! I was waiting to get some pictures from FM.. but I will post the pictures when I get them! :) I do have 1 of the 2 of us on day 1 at the first break stop.

So here is the abridged recap. I will leave the medical issues for each of us out of this telling. I hope FM does the same! :P

Day 1: woke up at 4:something am.. that is early! We ate breakfast, got ready and packed up our gear. We thought there would be some sort of a starting line or something... but people were just going.. so we got going at about 6:15ish on the ride. Right out of the parking lot, a hill that while not steep, went on for a long while. Someone was already walking up that first hill. I suspect she didn't do a lot of miles that day. The hills were HORRID... I walked up 1 because my hips were grinding... (ouch!).. but with those bike shoes.. I didn't walk any more. A couple of the hills made me want to cry when I would see them looming ahead - but I conquered them.... Slow and steady! You know it is bad when you have bottomed out your gears and are only going like 2 mph and still struggling. We did 67 miles on day 1. I think with those hills it should have counted for 167! The pavement was something else on a lot of the ride too! It had this gravel that had been put in for the last course and rolled in or something. I am not kidding you, I slowed down when going down hill on this stuff! I kept checking to be sure I didn't have a flat tire or sticking brakes. It was nuts! SOme of the pavement was really nice, I hit 39.4 mph on one downhill - THAT rocked. :) was trying to hit 40.. maybe next year. We sagged from the break stop at the 67 mile point to the end. Would have been 98 miles had we biked it all.

Day 2:
115 miles. We both did our first century ever on day 2. Somehow we hooked up with this group for 16 miles towards the end (up to the last 10 miles) that was going 19-21 mph and we kept up with them. Not at ALL sure how in the heck we did that! It was awesome though. This day was a LOT better because the hills were smaller. They were hard in the morning but seemed to get easier as the day progressed. We didn't sag.... well FM had to for a couple miles due to technical problems, but that wasnt her choice or her fault!

Day 3:
for reasons out of our control we couldn't/didn't ride. But that was okay. we were both REALLY REALLY tired..... Unfortunately FM left before meeting our wish hero Abby. She's a great girl that had a wish granted which was a week at Disney world, a princess experience! I am so glad that we were able to raise money for this amazing organization!!! I am going to do this again... FM - ummm probably not so much. Her husband is a farmer and this is not the best time of the year for her to be away.....

anywa I promise more pictures when I Get them!!

taper time

Well, bike ride is in....5 days.. EEK!!! I think I am ready... I have lots of GU (I like it better than the other gels.. when DID I become such a snob anyway???), chamois butter, etc etc etc...

My hip has been bothering me a lot lately. So I really do need to adhere to the taper I suppose! I was told about 5 years ago that I have Degenerative Joint Disease starting in my hips (Osteoarthritis if you are nerdy like me) and that was before pregnancies, weight gain, etc. etc... I suppose after this ride I should take my lazy behind to the Dr. and get it checked out. Actualy I should have done this BEFORE - but it really didn't start until a few days ago. I have always had some pain in there, as long as I can remember so I don't pay attention. Dumb huh?

Anyway.....

time to relax because, it is too late to do anything else! wish us luck, though I have my suspicion that FM will do better than I will. :) Yes, I do think so. :)

Thank you to everyone that donated, cheered on, or in anywa provided support. Without you all there is NO WAY that this could have happened. I would have given up ages and ages ago when the rides started getting hard, the weather getting hot, my body hurting.... but I didn't and I have you all to thank! THANK YOU!

25 pound mark!! :)

So.. a few weeks ago I quit weighing myself out of sheer frustration. The dang scale wasn't gonna budge then I wasn't gonna visit it!! Well.. today I got on and I am down 8 more pounds and I have lost 25 pounds since Jan 1. :) :)

WOO HOO!! I am at the weight I was when I got pregnant, and in the same size... though oddly it doesn't fit the same since having kids. I have more to go - but I am excited and re-invigorated. Lately I have been feeling like I am not accomplishing anything - but I am!! :) yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

map my ride

Mapmyride. Go there, check it out!
I am using it to tell me approximate calorie burn and to track my walk/runs and my bike rides. You can also map on there (obviously) as well as find other maps made by other people. This site rocks!!

much better this time

So I took 5 days off from working out last week. After Sunday's fiasco and feeling incredibly horrid both Sat & Sun of last weekend.... And taking bike into REI for a minor tune up in anticipation of the big ride, rain !!!.... Well I just ended up with 5 days off.

Here is the funny thing, yesterday I did the 1.2 mile run/walk loop in my sub (the somewhat shorter loop I sometimes take - felt awesome... Today did the 40 miles without a rest break, again felt a TON better. I guess it was a combination of the high mold (allergen BIG time for me)and pushing myself too hard, and too little sleep.

I didn't fall off the bike, I didn't need to get off bike and rest, I could have gone longer without dying! yay!!! :) :)

too much rain

So.... I figured out why workouts were so bad last weekend, the outdoor mold levels were high, and that is my biggest allergy trigger. All this rain - well have you seen some mushrooms growing in lawns?? I have!

Anyway... REI has my bike until tomorrow, getting a minor tune-up before the big ride, just to be sure nothing is about to fall off or anything strange like that. Have been taking some days off from exercise since it has been so hard to do - but I will try to either swim or run today, depending on time today! (and weather)

That's gonna leave a mark

Okay. I am embarassed to type this, but I will anyway. Yesterday I fell off my bike, twice. Rookie mistake that I haven't made in ages.. but I did... So go ahead and laugh at the clumsy cyclist! I was distracted and just off. I was doing a 2nd 40 mile bike ride... (the last one being a week ago). So I was coming up to a red light.. thinking, "please turn green, please turn green" and completely not getting my foot unclipped... bike stops.. wait a second... as the bike starts tipping - my foot isn't out!! OUCH! That time kinda hurt - seat hit me rather hard and left a nasty bruise - never mind how great that concrete felt. This is why I wear the gloves - when you land on your hands it feels a lot less bad than it could.. The 2nd time I was stopping for a break - my foot was out and I was leaning towards it and somehow I fell in the other direction - that foot was still in. WTF????!!!!????!!!!

This was just a bad workout weekend! I ran on Saturday - worst run EVER! It was was worse than when I first started. Lungs were burning, legs were burning.. I just felt lousy. Sunday really wasn't better for the bike ride. I completed the 40 miles.. somehow.. It was slow, I almost ran into stuff left and right, I was a wreck! But... I did it.. I am taking 2 days off.. I need a rest apparently!

UGH!!!!!!!!!!