It was one of those weeks!

Since my duathlon was a sprint, it was nice that recovery time was minimal. Monday morning it was back to training. Then the rain started. We had predictions of a huge storm front coming through the bay area and it turned out to be a 'hit and miss' type of front. Some areas were blasted with rain and some areas just had drizzle. Around my house, it was mostly drizzle which was enough to close the parks to horses so they had a little vacation time.

I made a list of rainy day projects I had been saving for our long awaited winter and worked on checking them off. I painted some plant sticks for my new herb garden. The garden is growing great. Now I just have to remember to use the herbs!

I made a little flower arrangement just for fun. The flowers look exactly the same a week later.

The week was spent on projects during the day and my normally quiet evenings were spent going to meetings or appointments every night!

Then Saturday, Dave and I went on a training ride with my niece Molly, her husband Jeff and my nephew, Robert. It was pretty cold and there was a 30% chance of rain but the weather forecasters had been off all week so we felt pretty safe going out. About 20 minutes into the ride, I flatted so we told the others to go ahead since I had Dave with me. I think I fixed my tire in record time so it was nice to start getting the hang of it.

Off we went and about 10 minutes later, the rain started. Then the wind picked up. Then the rain started getting heavier. About an hour into the ride, we decided this wasn't fun anymore and we turned around. By the time we got home, we were soaking wet and freezing. I think it took us both a couple of hours to thaw out. I'm not sure why we were wearing glasses, we couldn't see out of them!

We spent a quiet Saturday evening at home and then we got a call from my Mom that my brother in law was headed to the hospital with chest pains. Off to the hospital we went and hung out there for a while until he was settled for the night. Monday morning he was transferred to another hospital for an angiogram and he had to have a stent put in. Overall a really good outcome and he'll make a full recovery. 

Sunday night was our church's, St Timothy's, 50th anniversary dinner. It was a great evening and fun to learn more about the church's history.

Tuesday, I finally was able to go out for a horse ride. My friend Pat was celebrating her birthday and we had a round of root beer floats, her favorite.

We enjoyed a beautiful ride with sunny skies. I took my old man, Rio out and he had liked the new scenery. The ride was pretty flat and he was able to make ugly faces to the younger horses so his day was complete.

My friend Erin took this picture and made it artsy. iPhone apps are fun :)

This week it's back to a normal schedule. Good work outs lined up and my routine is back to the way it should be. That might all change. I have a job interview and if I get the job it's going to be a shock to my system! I don't know if I'll be happy or be wearing my cranky pants. We'll see.

South Bay Sprint Duathlon Race Report

When Dave and I signed up for this race, I looked at it as a fun, short, local race we could do so I could work on some specific things. With my first Ironman at the end of the year, I feel like this is the time to really get serious about this race business. Ok, not really totally serious because I'm all about having fun :) I guess for me I feel it's more time to work on some of the things that always nag at me after a race.

I made 3 goals for myself:

1) I'm a very conservative racer. I always want to make sure I have enough in reserve to finish a race so I feel like I hold back. Then the race is over and I'm a little disappointed in myself for feeling so good.
Goal-I want to feel trashed!

2) I had aero bars put on my bike last Fall and I love them but I haven't had many chances to use them in a race.
Goal- Stay in aero as much as possible.

3) My run pace is not always consistent in a race. I like to take walk breaks when I really don't need to and I like to talk myself into slowing down when I really don't need to.
Goal-maintain race pace.

This Du was a 2 mile run, 10 mile bike and 2 mile run. The run course was flat and the bike course was 2 loops, relatively flat and had one short but decent hill.

1st Run-started out at my pace and just paid attention to ME. I was able to stay consistent and it paid off because I passed people that had gone out too fast and were slowing down. I felt great going into T-1. Time-19:57. A 9:17 min/mile average.

Bike-I stayed in aero most of the time. I just came up for some of the turns but I felt really comfortable. My speed was ok, faster than normal and I think I could of pushed just a little more but overall I was happy. Time-37:39. A 15.8 mph average.

2nd Run-I made sure I didn't go out too fast with my warmed up legs and then settled into a good pace. I knew I was going faster than the first run and I felt like I could maintain it. I actually was passing people which is not normal for me :) I have to say, it felt pretty good. Time:19:07. A 8:51 min/mile average for this leg. Negative split! This was the first time I've ever been in the 8's for a race. Actually, it might of been the first time I've been in the 9's too!

I finished in 1:19:32, 7/14 in my AG. MOP is wonderful since I'm usually more of a BOP racer. No walking, consistent pace, stayed in aero and felt fairly trashed at the finish. Overall, one of my best races for settings goals and meeting them. So fun!

The best part was racing with family and friends. I can't figure out why more people don't do this stuff, it's so much fun!

Cindy (racing her first Du!), Mike (AG winner!), Dave and me.

Molly (AG winner!), Mary and me.

Now it's back to training and taking one day at a time.

Have a great week!

Johanne