Tough Road Ride

Distance: 21.7 miles
Start Time: 10:35 am
Ride Time: 1:15
Rate: 17.4 mph
Weather: 73 degrees
Notes: I rode all the way out to Estrella Parkway today via PIR. It was kind of tough. I felt strong for the first half but the last 5 miles I was feeling pretty beat. I got to get in shape because I have to do what I did today 5 times when we do our 100 miler in May. It was also warm out there today, which is a good trial because it will definitely be warmer in May. On the bright side, I didn't have a whole lot of nutrition in me. I ate a couple of pancakes this morning about an hour before the ride. Other than that I was only fueled by a McDonald's double cheeseburger from yesterday at around 4 pm and water. On the long ride I will eat a good pasta dinner the night before and be sure to have Gatorade, snacks and Goo on the trail. According to the Gmaps Pedometer I burned around 2,621 calories on the ride. I'm not sure if that is accurate but it felt like it. Here's my map: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2587694.

Texas Run 2

Distance: Approx 3.4 miles
Start Time: 7:45 am
Run Time: 0:32
Rate: 6.4 mph
Weather: 47 degrees with clear skies.
Notes: Today is our last day in Texas. This morning I just went for a run through the neighborhood near Cassie & JD's house. I have to be honest that I thought I ran further than I did, but I mapped it out and it says I only put in 3.4. So here is my run: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2584312.

O.P. Schnabel Park, San Antonio, Texas

Distance: Approx 8 miles
Notes: So I can now add Texas as a state where I have gone mountain biking in. I don't have stats on today's ride. I went out on the same trail that Max and I ran on yesterday, except I went further. I borrowed JD's bike and Cassie's helmet. The trail was not challenging. It was mostly level with some ups and downs in the wash. It would be a great beginner trail since it is not technical but still a lot of fun weaving in and out of trees. Here is my route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2584335.

Texas Run

Distance: Approx 5.5 miles
Start Time: 10:30 am
Run Time: 1:20
Fellow Runners: Max (Cassie & JD's dog)
Weather: 63 degrees and windy
Notes: We're in San Antonio for a few days and today I needed to go for a run. Cassie told me about a park that is about a mile and a half away. I took their chocolate lab, Max, for a run. We got out on the dirt trails that interlink throughout the park. I found a lot of spots that would be fun to mountain bike on (I think on Monday I'll steal JD's bike and take it out there). Max and I did a lot of exploring but got totally lost. I had a sense of direction as to how to get back but couldn't figure my way out of a neighborhood I found my way into. We finally found our way out but my feet are a little sore. The ground was pretty uneven and there were some rocks so I got some blisters.

Road Ride

Distance: 13.8 miles
Start Time: 7:15 am
Ride Time: 45 minutes
Rate: 18.4 mph
Weather: 46 degrees
Notes: Another road ride out to PIR and back. I did tack on a little more mileage today, but couldn't do the 20 I was hoping for since I have a 9 am meeting. Here's today's route.

Road Ride

Distance: 12.5 miles
Start Time: 8:30 am
Ride Time: 40 minutes
Rate: 18.7 mph
Weather: 53 degrees
Notes: First ride on the road bike in quite awhile. I finally got a new tube in there. I also had my new helmet for the first time. (I just picked up some gear at Performance last night.) Here is my route. I am joining Bettijo's dad on a century ride during the first week of May so I figured I'd better get out and start doing some distance riding on a road bike. I also ordered myself this aerobar:

FINS

Distance: 5
Start Time: 7:35
Ride Time: 1:30
Fellow Riders: Spencer & Jeff Bigham
Weather: A nippy 43 degrees
Notes: Spencer invited me to join him as he took Jeff on a rookie ride. It was a slow ride on which I barely broke a sweat. Still it was good to get out and spin the tires.

Javelina to Mormon Loop

Distance: 7
Start Time: 9:45 am
Fellow Riders: Spencer
Weather: 65 degrees and freakin' perfect
Notes: It's been a couple months since I last rode at South Mountain. We started at the Beverly Canyon parking lot and rode up Javelina then linked into Mormon Loop and rode that to where it hooks up to the Mormon Trail, then we turned around and came back down.
I love that route. Javelina provides a good challenge with a steady uphill grind and several technical sections to get through. And of course the downhill coming back is just awesome.
I really felt the effects of a bald back tire on this ride though. There were several sections that I spun out but would not have if I had some knobby tires.
The one downside to this ride was that there were a bazillion hikers out there today. It's understandable. It's a Saturday and the weather is absolutely perfect. Most were very polite but a few gave us the stink-eye. I'm not sure why they do that, we are always very polite to hikers, but I guess some just don't like bikers.
I was proud of myself for getting up over the rocky section on Mormon Loop in the picture below. (This picture is from about a year ago.) It took me two tries but I hit it. I think this is only the second time that I have made it up that section.

I really wish we would have gone further. I was feeling strong and wanted more climb and more downhill. But Spencer needed to get back for a family thing.

Run

Distance: 4 miles
Start Time: 10:15 pm
Run Time: 35 minutes
Notes: Miserable. I started hurting from the very beginning. I just couldn't get my legs to move. I realized that it must be cramping and that I had drank very little water all day. I've never really experienced that kind of cramping before. It was miserable and something I definitely want to avoid.

Run

Distance: 4 miles
Start Time: 9:00 pm
Run Time: 32 minutes
Rate: 8 mph
Notes: I went out and ran the power line road. Afterward Adam showed me a website that allows me to map my run. It's pretty cool. Here's a link to my route .

Run

Distance: 2.2
Start Time: 9:40 pm
Fellow Runners: Choxie
Weather: 60 degrees
Notes: On Saturday we went to cheer on Ryan and Dana as she ran the Surprise Marathon and he did the half. Afterward Dana was challenging me to do it next year. That got me thinking, maybe I should try it, just to say I've done one. Tonight I went out for a jog with Choxie to see if I could possibly enjoy running 26.2 miles. I did 2. Still have a ways to go before I hit 26. I came home and celebrated by drinking some orange soda. What the heck is wrong with me?