Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Back In The Saddle

Last night when I got home Erik was ready to practice some snaps for football. He is thinking seriously about going to Hastings and being the special teams long snapper so we're working on it.

After he was done practicing I jumped on my bike planning for 10 miles, at the 3 mile mark I realized I hadn't brought a drink and the humidity was high so I did the quick 6 and headed home to finish making dinner. My right leg is still a little tight so hopefully a week of vacation will help to rest it and get it ready for more training. After dinner I met my mom for a pedicure (you have to have pretty toes for Ely!) and a little light shopping and then the dogs and I had a nice long walk.

Monday, July 11, 2011

I Didn't Make It

Saturday was supposed to be our 50 mile ride. Unfortunately, my body was done after 30 miles. For the first time ever my legs cramped up. We were about 5 miles from home when it started and had planned to ride there for a sandwich and drink refills before finishing the last 20 miles. The cramps really are nothing short of torture. I took in salt, liquids, potassium and calcium in an effort to get back out but couldn't get over the hump. Yesterday and today Lincoln is under a heat advisory and we're leaving Friday for vacation - hello Ely, I've been missing you!!! I'm not sure what kind of miles I'll be able to get in this week. My new goal is 50 in one day for our anniversary weekend, 2 months from now. So I'll just have to keep on training =)

Friday, July 8, 2011

Two Rides - One Night

Last night Brian got back in to town surprisingly early so once I started laundry, and cleaned the toilets, we went out for 15.5 miles. The interesting thing on the trail yesterday was a woman carrying her pet bunny. He was black and white and super fat, pretty adorable really. It was a little steamy at the end but it was a good ride followed by salsa chicken, rice, fresh corn and the nicest cantaloupe of the week. While we were eating my mom called and wanted to ride too so I met her in the garage and we cruised around the cemetery for almost 3 miles.

After the second ride I did more laundry, took a GLORIOUS shower and spent some quality time with my textbook. The reality of my Capstone project is setting in. The next few weeks I'm going to have to REALLY buckle down and spend all my free time typing, researching and revising. With any luck this is the last year I'll have to share my vacation with my homework =)

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Beginners Luck

Last night I rode 15.8 in 90 minutes. It was pretty steamy and there seemed to be tons of dads out with kids working on riding their bikes on the trails.

The ride out went well and I was happy that none of the underpasses were flooded. On the way home I stopped at the gas company and the cable company to pay the bills and then got caught in Beginners Luck during the last mile of the ride. While I think Beginners Luck is awesome having 400 "new" runners in a small stretch of trail at the same time really bogs down the system. They meet at the high school down the street from us with 200 going North and 200 going East. I made my way around the largest part of the group and rode in the street instead of on the trail from the baseball field to the turn onto 14th Street.

It has been a wet week for Lincoln with nearly 3 inches so far this week in our rain gage. Hopefully it will be nice and dry for my long ride on Saturday.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Happy Trails to You

Saturday morning we yawned and stretched, and loaded up on cereal, toast and peanut butter and then jumped on the bikes for a trip to Cortland. Our friend David Hefley told Brian he would catch up with us and about 10 miles into the ride we looked back to see him racing toward us. I always thought that I liked trail riding best because the highway is hilly, or because I was afraid of getting hit by a semi. Saturday I learned that I like trail riding best because there are a lot of interesting things to see on the trail.

On Highway 77 between Lincoln and Cortland (40 miles round trip) there was a lot of road kill, a limited amount of property, one man-made lake with people fishing, a LOT of road kill, the hood ornament from a newer Toyota, a slew of motorcycles, and some other cyclists to wave at. On the trails there are runners, walkers, all size and variety of dog, pretty yards, funny yards, memorial sculptures, little league games and neighborhood parks. Having lots of things to see and familiar landmarks helps the ride to go quickly for me. I suspect that if I rode the same stretch of highway regularly I would learn to like the familiarity and develop landmarks, but the road kill appearance and stench would likely do me in over time. We'll try some more highway riding this summer, but I think deep down I'm really a trail rat.

Sunday we took the dogs for long walks but didn't ride and yesterday, early in the morning, we did the quick 6 up to Shopko. Tonight is all about mowing yards so the next ride will be Wednesday. Hope this finds everyone with all their fingers and toes!