Tough Brick

Man, I haven't done a brick workout in a looooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnng time. Shame on me.

Today, in my effort to do the Patriot Half training to see if I can cut it, I cycled 4o miles then ran 3. For the bike, I met a posse in my driveway at 7 a.m. I had on my cute new sleeveless pink Biker Chick cycling top with a big yellow chick graphic. Quite amusing, to me anyway. Richard, Kermit, Katheryn, Melissa and I set off for West Creek, then did loop after endless loop before riding back.

As soon as we arrived at WC, Katheryn and Kermit dropped us. That girl must be eating her Wheaties 'cuz she's smoked me the last two weeks! We used to be fairly compatible, up until less than two weeks ago. Impressive. I want to be that fast too!

Melissa decided to ride the main loop and hooked up with some other TriGirls, which left me and my buddy Richard to go it together. I like to blast through the rails into Cap One and loop around the campus to add two miles. Richard did not like the small space to get through so after wiping out on the first attempt, he started cutting over to the other side, laughing and thinking he was all smart. (Which he is as a matter of fact.) I like the challenge and the danger myself.

At about mile 22, we made a quick stop at the XTerra parking lot for a drink and a snack and we caught up with my little sister, Jen, and Annnnnnnnnnn, who are both so cute. We were actually a little chilly starting back out but it didn't last long. I was sweating again before we made the turn.

Richard groaned when we got to the end of that loop and I said we had one to go. I must admit, I would have skipped it and headed home if he hadn't been with me. Those hills at West Creek were kicking my butt. I did see Mary Jo for a brief chat towards the end. She was looking strong on her 75 mile jaunt.

We passed Melissa at some point, and she yelled that she'd wait for us at the intersection to head back. Katheryn had already zipped through her laps and headed home, and we hadn't had a Kermit sighting for awhile. But when we got to the intersection, we didn't see anyone. We waited awhile and hydrated, then decided they must have left us. That last stretch, going home, is tough for me. Mentally, I think I'm done because I'm finished with WC but actually I have five more miles of rolling hills to go.

We had a good ride - 41+ miles at 17.2 mph average speed. Much better than last week!

When we got back to my house, I was horrified to see Melissa's car still there. We had inadvertantly left her! Being the good friend that I am, I started out on my run while Richard tried to reach Kermit on his cell phone.

The aptly named brick kicked my butt next. My legs felt like stumps as I set off. Running feels so slow after the speed of the bike. I was in the 8 minute mile range early, then 9:12, then slower and slower every time I looked - 10s, 11s, 12s... better pick it up! I somehow managed to throw down 8:53, 9:02, adn 8:47 minute miles respectively with an average of 8:53. I was surprised and happy with those times.

As I was finishing up my run, Melissa zipped by in her car, cell phone working, and looking all cute. (I should mention that I looked like a monster at that point). I ran past my street and saw Richard and Kermit. Fortunately, I only had 0.2 miles to go at that point so I finished up and walked back to chat. Kermit and Melissa had been at the Cap One entrance waiting for us and ended up riding back together.

Taz popped outside in his Scooby underwear to entertain us, followed soon by Rainbow. They went back inside to get dressed then started zipping around us on their bikes. I guess they were motivated by seeing ours.

My shower and the huge bleu cheese burger that I inhaled were fabulous. I'm still trying to work in a nap...