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June 13, 2005
Breakfast with bloggers & 63 miles
My weekend began with the usual Saturday long run. It was dreadful because it was hot and my legs were still fatigued from Thursday’s workouts. At least it was on the C&O Canal path instead of concrete/pavement, and my friend D. visiting from Colombia ran with me the entire way despite going slow and not having run more than three or four miles in recent times. My right hip and left quad were acting up too, but looking forward to a post-run breakfast with Nanda, Audrey, Jessie, D. (and the rest of the running club) made it worth the suffering. We had a wonderful time …I feel like I’m catching up with old friends talking to these gals. Audrey and I (and perhaps Nanda when she returns from Venezuela) are trying to plan a summer triathlon. I am still a newbie, so we could both revel in the novelty together.
The afternoon was nice and relaxing. I did some work and housekeeping, then R. and I went to see the movie Crash (thanks for the recommendation Nanda!). I highly, highly recommend it. I thought it was going to be lighthearted, politically incorrect humor, but instead, it caused me to look inside myself as well as think about how I stereotype other people. I admit, there were even some teary-eyed moments.
R. and I woke up almost as early on Sunday to prepare for our 63-mile bike ride, as part of the Tour de Cure - raising money for diabetes. We rode with my spin instructor and others from our gym. This was my farthest ride to date, and it was a tough one with long hills throughout miles ~15 through 40. One guy pushed the pace early on and encouraged us to “draft”, which I had never done before (as it’s illegal in most races). Honestly, I couldn’t feel the difference…maybe I was doing it wrong. I was worried about clipping the person in front of me and flipping over the handle bars. We biked not too far from where I work, but I didn’t realize that all this gorgeous farmland/horse country was right around the corner. The homes, acres of green pastures, and unspoiled nature were right out of a magazine. We did sight a couple of rattlesnakes, maggot-infested road kill, and rude drivers that wanted to run us over, but overall, it was great sightseeing opportunity that we might not have had otherwise. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t get too tired until the last nine miles (after our last pit stop), despite the heat and not having had much to eat except oranges and bananas. The last five miles seemed to go on for eternity.
Once we got home, I took an ice bath, which felt really good now that I know how to do it correctly (pour the ice in *after* you’ve gotten in, duh). Then, I crashed for a bit before R. and I went to Ruth’s Chris to treat ourselves to yummy steaks, shrimp, and sweet potato casserole. The perfect end to a perfect weekend. We are truly blessed.
Posted by Leilani at June 13, 2005 01:52 PM
Comments
I also had a lot of fun catching up! Your bike ride sounds AMAZING! That's amazing you biked for so long, very impressive! ;) I'm sorry I missed it. I'm glad you liked Crash. I think they do a really good job mixing the meaningful message with the sometimes-funny script.
On the ice bath... it seems I'm doing it wrong too then! Why do you have to pour the ice afterwards? I feel kind of dumb now! haha ;)
Posted by: Nanda at June 13, 2005 03:47 PM
Wow - 63 miles is incrediby impressive. Funny to think some weird people actually run that far in races! ;) Hope you're not too sore! :)
Posted by: Beth at June 13, 2005 07:29 PM
i love how you ended with saying how lucky (blessed) you are! yes, sometimes all really is good! i am glad your bike ride was fun!
Posted by: Audrey at June 13, 2005 08:17 PM