This weekend was pretty awesome. In my post on Friday I listed a few goals I have for April- one of them being meeting my DC area blogger friends and another one being to seriously kick ass on the bike this month.
Friday night I had the chance to meet Beth and Katie while cheering on the runners at the 5k that was happening in Crystal City. We chatted about running and triathlons and agreed to meet again for some more blogger fun and perhaps a few bike rides :) I forgot to snap a picture though!
On Saturday morning Phil agreed to take me on a 60 mile bike ride along with one of his teammates. We hoped that the weather was going to hold out so we set out on our ride. Riding with Phil and his teammate Karl is always fun- they make me laugh by the insane (and sometimes gross) things they talk about. They are also both really strong cyclists so even when they "slow down" so I can keep up, I am getting my ass kicked! I did really well and managed to hold somewhere between 18-22 mph on the flats.
When we were 30 miles into our ride the skies opened up and we got totally drenched to the core. It's also really scary to be riding on hills when you can barely see a few feet in front of you! In true cyclist style we rode to the closest Starbucks that was 8 miles away and tried to warm up and dry off.
Once the sun was shining again we hit the road to head home. Lucky for us, Karl knew a short cut that shaved about 10 miles off the ride home. We were freezing. It was the most awful 20 mile ride home ever. Phil said that cursing and singing made him feel warmer so in between the f bombs he was singing jingles of how cold he was.
Once home I stood in the hot shower for at least 30 minutes. It was awful but I still got in a 50 mile ride!
Saturday concluded with ordering Pizza Hut and playing Rock Band in sweatpants :)
This morning Phil cooked up some banana pancakes to start our day. Obviously Brizzy had to help. My parents bought me this padded kitchen mat for Christmas and the pug thinks its her personal area to sit while you are trying to cook! Look at her stare at the spatula!
After stuffing our faces with pancakes we loaded our tri bikes in the car and headed 30 minutes south to Prince William Forrest Park to do a few loops on the scenic (but really hilly!) course. We wanted to avoid DC and the trails today since it is Cherry Blossom Festival time!
Prince William Forrest Park is really great for cyclists. There are very little cars and 1 stop sign for the whole loop which is just over 7 miles. Not to mention it is lined with trees and very pretty! Just be prepared for the hills.
Phil and I were both wearing outfits that matched our bikes so of course I took a picture.
We did one loop together and then Phil sped up. He was planning to do 5 loops and I was going to do 4. I knew he secretly wanted to try to catch up to me so I made sure to go fast enough that he would not be able to lap me. You'll be happy to know that he never caught up to me :) The loop is really hilly with hardly any flats at all. I was happy to have had an average speed of about 16mph with all of the hills (and a 50 mile ride not even 24 hours before!).
There is one hill with a pretty awesome descent. On the first two laps I got off my aero bars because it was scary going over 30mph while in the aero position. On the third loop I tried to keep my big girl panties on while going down the hill but when I looked down at my computer and saw that I was going 36.8mph I quickly got out of the aero position. It's so scary!! Maybe next time?
I managed to get in a great, very hilly, 28.78 miles while Phil got in round 35. I rode just shy of 80 miles this weekend at paces that I was very happy with. It was also a total confidence booster to tackle those hills on my tri bike. Her and I are getting along verrry well so far. The bike domination has begun!
When we got back from the ride, I remembered that I was cleared by my PT to go for a twenty minute run!! My first actual run in SIX WEEKS!! I was not expecting much since I haven't ran in well over a month and I rode about 80 miles this weekend. Either way, I grabbed my ipod, laced up my shoes and hit the trail (which was super crowded!!).
I'm not sure if it was the pure joy of finally being able to run, the music pounding in my ears or just the grace of god but my legs felt shockingly AMAZING. I covered 2.6 miles in 22 minutes averaging a pace of about 8:27. Not too shabby given the circumstances! and no pain in my ankle at all! woop!
People were looking at me funny because I had this huge grin on my face as I whizzed past them. What? A girl can't (really really really) enjoy her twenty minute run!? Sheesh.
When I came in from my run Phil wasn't home for me to tell him how excited I was so I immediately called my parents and the conversation went like this:
me: I ran! I ran! and I rode 80 miles this weekend!
dad: You ran 80 miles? I thought they told you to only run for 20 minutes?
me: no, dad, I RODE my bike 80 miles. I cant RUN 80 miles.
dad: oh, okay. Yea that sounded like a lot.
mom (screaming from the background): Im proud of you Laur!
I am one happy lady right now!
Hope you had a fantastic weekend as well!
Friday night I had the chance to meet Beth and Katie while cheering on the runners at the 5k that was happening in Crystal City. We chatted about running and triathlons and agreed to meet again for some more blogger fun and perhaps a few bike rides :) I forgot to snap a picture though!
On Saturday morning Phil agreed to take me on a 60 mile bike ride along with one of his teammates. We hoped that the weather was going to hold out so we set out on our ride. Riding with Phil and his teammate Karl is always fun- they make me laugh by the insane (and sometimes gross) things they talk about. They are also both really strong cyclists so even when they "slow down" so I can keep up, I am getting my ass kicked! I did really well and managed to hold somewhere between 18-22 mph on the flats.
When we were 30 miles into our ride the skies opened up and we got totally drenched to the core. It's also really scary to be riding on hills when you can barely see a few feet in front of you! In true cyclist style we rode to the closest Starbucks that was 8 miles away and tried to warm up and dry off.
Once the sun was shining again we hit the road to head home. Lucky for us, Karl knew a short cut that shaved about 10 miles off the ride home. We were freezing. It was the most awful 20 mile ride home ever. Phil said that cursing and singing made him feel warmer so in between the f bombs he was singing jingles of how cold he was.
Once home I stood in the hot shower for at least 30 minutes. It was awful but I still got in a 50 mile ride!
Saturday concluded with ordering Pizza Hut and playing Rock Band in sweatpants :)
This morning Phil cooked up some banana pancakes to start our day. Obviously Brizzy had to help. My parents bought me this padded kitchen mat for Christmas and the pug thinks its her personal area to sit while you are trying to cook! Look at her stare at the spatula!
 |
| what a Fatty. |
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| ready to go! |
Phil and I were both wearing outfits that matched our bikes so of course I took a picture.
We did one loop together and then Phil sped up. He was planning to do 5 loops and I was going to do 4. I knew he secretly wanted to try to catch up to me so I made sure to go fast enough that he would not be able to lap me. You'll be happy to know that he never caught up to me :) The loop is really hilly with hardly any flats at all. I was happy to have had an average speed of about 16mph with all of the hills (and a 50 mile ride not even 24 hours before!).
There is one hill with a pretty awesome descent. On the first two laps I got off my aero bars because it was scary going over 30mph while in the aero position. On the third loop I tried to keep my big girl panties on while going down the hill but when I looked down at my computer and saw that I was going 36.8mph I quickly got out of the aero position. It's so scary!! Maybe next time?
I managed to get in a great, very hilly, 28.78 miles while Phil got in round 35. I rode just shy of 80 miles this weekend at paces that I was very happy with. It was also a total confidence booster to tackle those hills on my tri bike. Her and I are getting along verrry well so far. The bike domination has begun!
 |
| so sweaty |
 |
| lots of people at Gravelly Point! |
People were looking at me funny because I had this huge grin on my face as I whizzed past them. What? A girl can't (really really really) enjoy her twenty minute run!? Sheesh.
When I came in from my run Phil wasn't home for me to tell him how excited I was so I immediately called my parents and the conversation went like this:
me: I ran! I ran! and I rode 80 miles this weekend!
dad: You ran 80 miles? I thought they told you to only run for 20 minutes?
me: no, dad, I RODE my bike 80 miles. I cant RUN 80 miles.
dad: oh, okay. Yea that sounded like a lot.
mom (screaming from the background): Im proud of you Laur!
I am one happy lady right now!
Hope you had a fantastic weekend as well!
It was great meeting you and Phil and the pup on Friday! We will definitely get together for some rides this spring/summer!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like an AWESOME weekend! I'm really impressed by your rides. And totally jealous of your bike :)
Sounds like a fantastic week! Congrats on all the bike miles and super congrats on the running!
ReplyDeleteok, we are going to ride together and soon. i would love to try that loop, i am so bored with the trails around here!
ReplyDeleteand congrats on 20 minutes!! HOORAY!
I want to check out that loop! Next time you go and want company, I'm in!
ReplyDelete