Know When to Hold 'em...Know when to Fold 'em

Sometimes, only 'we' know when enough is enough. Actually, it should always be 'we' who know that more than anyone else, but it is easy to ask opinions, and try to draw on others advice to know what choices to make. I try to make my own decisions in most things I do, and when it comes to training, I make most all of them. Derick is my 'sounding board' and while in past years asking his advice often led to an argument, these days, I can take it much more reasonably...well, sometimes I take it, others I just do my thing.

I had a nice week last week, and on Tuesday night headed out to the Jack and Adams 3rd summer Splash and Dash at the Pure Austin Quarry up in north Austin. This is such a fun time, I did the first one and had to skip #2 having just competed 2 days prior to it. It may not sound like much, but a 750-meter swim followed by a 3k run can really wear you out! I just use it as a short, hard swim/run workout...I even did a 1k run before and after it, so I ran 5k total. I was the first woman, as James Bonney was just too fast to catch on the run...but in this weather (6:00 PM, was probably about 95-100 degrees), your limits are somewhat set by the conditions, not by your aggressiveness...meaning, I was only going to go 'so' hard on that run. But, a fun time had by all and how cool...we go compete for 20 minutes and then hang out for 2 hours! Fun times.

I found that on Wednesday and Thursday, for some reason, the hard day of training Tuesday really stuck with me and the feeling of 'heavy' in my legs/quads just did not want to let up. I was planning to do the Lake Pflugerville Triathlon on Sunday (today), however after a hilly ride with Derick on Saturday, I had to say...no way. I even returned my race back to J&A's, so that if someone else wanted to race they could. I know it is not a big deal, but this was a 'team race' and they had divided everyone into 3 teams of 8. I was on Team Zane (Castro), and there was also Team Drew (Wolff) and Team Jack (the 'J' of J&A's). I knew it'd be a fun time, but I KNEW that after riding 3 hours on hills, my quads were just toast. I made a good call, and this morning, after sleeping until 8:30, I managed a 9-mile run and was very surprised at some of my mile splits! Hopefully that means good things to come. It sucked to have to pull out of the race, but I think it was by far a smart decision on my part.

BIG NEWS on the Source Endurance "Racing Front"...Saturday was the Austin AT&T Downtown Crit...a HUGE bike race that brings in the names such as Tyler Hamilton, Freddie Rodriguez (supposedly?) and a few others...this thing kicks off at 2:00 downtown and runs 'til about 9:30. I headed down there with Derick at about 4:30 to watch one of his athletes race, and I have to give up props to PAUL HURDLOW who was 4th in the Cat 4&5 race and looked INCREDIBLE out there! This guy loves to ride his bike and works his ass off, so he deserved the result. Hot on his heels was SE's Marketing Man Joe LaFico, who WON the Mens Cat 1,2,3 race...in incredible fashion. We all watched this from the top of Six ("Lance's Bar" downtown), and we could see 1/2 of the race from here. LaFico really sat in the whole time until the end, working his way up and finally going for it. Bike racing is not only about the strongest person, but so much about tactics...these guys really showed it. BUT WAIT! Not done yet. Today was another crit in which (Derick raced too but thank God he was safe and sat up @ the end, as to avoid the sketchiness of the finish and help keep me more sane) Stefan Rothe of SE also took a win, beating Tyler Hamilton in a sprint finish of the mens pro race! I believe Ian Dille was second, as well? WAY TO GO GUYS!

I have to say, watching this bike racing really makes me feel like a complete pansy with what I do...but hey we all have our 'thing', they revel in bike racing, I thrive on slow, steady pain for 4+ hours. It's all a bit insane, but we just keep on comin' back for more...

Have a great week & thank you for reading. Next up is Buffalo Springs next weekend followed by a trip to Santa Fe, NM and then Durango, CO...VACATION!!!