Week 11: 50min Run/1:30 Bike

Late evening rainstorms on Wednesday night cleared the air and finally cooled Austin down to more reasonable Fall-Like weather. I just could not bear the thought of hopping into a cold pool this morning when the air was so cold and breezy. Instead, I got up at 6:00am and ran in my current temporary neighborhood of Great Hills. Need I say more? Great...Hills...oxymoron. I wasn't out to break any records, but the run started out by climbing a huge hill and continued for the rest of the run. My quads were pretty hollow, leading me to quickly realize that they were still sore from yesterday morning's hilly run. I don't run much in this hood, so it was a pleasant change of scenery, if you can call running by moonlight "scenery." It was just me and a few random deer who were looking at me like, "Are you kidding me? Get back to bed girlfriend." With all the external stress in my life right now, running in the dark provides a little solace if nothing else. I ran by a street named "Zeus" and I laughed out loud. It just sounded powerful and potentially brutal. What did I so? I turned on the street preparing for a climb. What I got instead was a small flat cul-de-sac. I still applauded my tough intentions. I finished my 50 min run and was going to go to the pool and swim, but traffic was horrible, so I ran out of time and just headed to work and got a much-needed headstart on some work projects.

I'm not used to serious training this late in the season, so I've learned to try to take advantage of every spare moment to squeeze in a workout, even if it's a small one. Today was the day of the infamous "Battle of the Media Stars." Basically, all of the radio stations, TV stations and some ad agencies get together and compete all afternoon in activities such as tug of war, the potato sack race, balloon toss, etc. While it is a fundraiser for AWRT (American Women in Radio and TV), it's also an excuse to leave work and drink in the middle of the afternoon. While these activities can hardly be considered a workout, I did sneak out at about 5:15p, hopped on my bike and headed out on South Mopac for what turned out to be a 1:30 ride. It was a breezy, gorgeous afternoon. Unfortunately, it was also rush hour and I was riding on some of the busiest streets in town so I was being extra cautious. I started on South Mopac and headed up 360 to Bee Caves. At that point, I turned around and headed back South and made a turn onto Lost Creek. I drive this road when heading towards my swim class, but I've never ridden it. This road is full of some monster hills. I'm not sure why I was a glutton for punishment today with all of these hills, but I decided that I wanted to climb them...Yowsa. My quads weren't happy, but I got up the hills and headed back towards Zilker Park. I got a new saddle a couple of weeks ago from the fabulous Jack and Adams and it seems to have solved my problems! I actually feel comfortable now. They tweaked my height and positioning, making a huge difference in my comfort level. The real test will be this weekend during my 60 Mile Ride.

I'm nervous about tomorrow's 16 Mile Run. Not only are my quads tired, but several of these miles are going to be at an attempted 7:30pace. I hope I can hang...