May(hem) is in full swing! Some of the kids activities are coming to an end, along with another school year, and some are just beginning. Vincent and Madeleine are doing swim team again this summer and we enjoy it. There will be a few Saturdays that will be a challenge for me get my workouts in, but I think all of my significant training events that were on my calendar (the scheduled events)are all under my belt. My last one was the Austin Triathletes Open Water Swim on Saturday. It was the third time for me to do this event, but the first time to do the longest distance swim option. This year the longest distance was the 2.4 mile swim. I know, it was very convenient for me this year :)!! They usually offer a 5k swim and I thought that I would have to do that distance. Thank goodness for the 2.4.
The swim went well. I didn't have any goals, but to stay calm, find some bubbles and stay with them. Oh, I also didn't want to go into my usual treading water panic mode which is normal for me at the beginning of most races and/or organized open water swims. Not much to say, but that I found some nice steady bubbles and stayed with them very easily. I thought about passing a few times, but by the time we started the second loop...it was pretty lonely out there and I was comfortable. The pace was nice so I thought I would pass this nice girl (that had been dealing with my constant tapping) towards the last stretch of the swim....good plan and it made the swim a little more interesting. I was ready to make my move and I had plenty of energy left to go for it, but this girl was not going to let that happen. Oh well, I drafted a little longer then I tried again so it was sort of a race to the finish with this girl and the man she was drafting off of...yes, for most of the swim...I rarely had to kick. I was going to thank the girl when we got out of the water then she turned to look for me and it turned out to be Leah :)!! I should have recognized those familiar bubbles....very comforting. I need to make sure that I follow her at CDA. She was great with sighting and keeping us on the course. I'm usually all over the place. I sure do love my training partners. Great swim...no issues and no drama!!!! I hung out for a while and talked to some other friends that I haven't seen in a while then we (Cathy, Leah, Claire, Amy B.) set out for a two hour bike ride. I was very excited that this was going to be a short work out day...and on a Saturday. The ride was short, hilly, but very nice.
The rest of the day was full of activities. Vincent played his last coach pitch game ever and it was a heartbreaking game (they lost by one point). I won't go into details about that, but I had few tears after this game. The next day David was flying out to Japan (again) and I had a 5 hour ride on my schedule for Sunday. My mom was going to stay the night so I could get an early start, but it turned out that Madeleine got invited to a sleep over and Vincent had a Boy Scout camp out.
I never have my house to myself on a Saturday morning so it was hard to set out for my 5 hour solo adventure. I had been so busy that I didn't make plans to ride with anyone. Robin, Jeannie, and Erin had done their ride on Saturday so I was OMO!!
The ride itself was uneventful. I set out for Parmer via Great Oaks and Avery Ranch, then headed to Mopac and turned around...still on Parmer all the way to 3405 then right towards 2338(?) then left to Andice...then turnaround. A new section was open (at the end of Ronald Reagan/Parmer) so I was able to add some mileage...that was very nice. Finally, I turned around (again) and headed home...with a big smile on my face. I've been so spoiled with some very nice supported rides in the last few weeks that I was just sort of bored with this ride. Towards the end of the ride I started to feel empowered about what I had just accomplished. Not long ago, a 2 hour ride alone would seem daunting, but now I'm riding over 70 miles (73.2 to be exact) with out any real planning. I did all this before noon....that is taking care of some serious business!!! Returned home and my mom had already picked up the kids so that was very nice. I ran for a quick 20 minutes (felt great too), took a shower and enjoyed a very nice day (which included a great meal at Papasito's) with the kids and my mom.
I dropped my bike off at J&A's for a tune up. I had to schedule this 2-3 weeks before I drop it off to the Bike Transport folks on June 12th. It was ready by Monday and it needed a new tire, hubs (?), and a wash. My bike is ready and I think I'm ready too!!! I have never felt so confident going into a race. Six months ago, I would have never thought that I would be feeling so confident, strong, and extremely empowered by my training at this point.
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