Week 12: There are freaks in them thar hills!!!
Hello
I probably had THE HARDEST workout I have ever had in my life on Thursday. We started off with a long bike ride up Foothill Expressway into the cupertino hills then we did something called hill repeats which entails riding up and down these really steep hills as many times as possible within an allotted time frame. After our ride back we were told to transition to the track as quickly as possible and run 2 miles. This was followed by some stretching. All I kept telling myself is "This is Thursday?!?!" Realistically I think that what made it hard is the fact that we did this after a long day at work. I really think that if it were on Saturday it wouldn't have been so hard.
On the bike ride up I kept waiting for it to get really hard like it used to but it never did. Don't get me wrong It was not easy but it didn't kill me either. What did kill me were the hill repeats. It frustrates me that I could never get up this one steep hill. It seems like everyone else can. I am normally at the head of the pack when I leave mountain view high school. I typically stay near the front until we start getting to the mountains then everyone passes me. Today I came in to work early so that I could get some hill work outside. My goal is not to have to get off my bike at Wildflower. I'm not quite sure how realistic that goal is but that's what I'm going to aim for. The good news is that I am quick enough on the flats and downhill that I typically finish my rides in the middle of the pack which should also be the case during the triathlon.
The running felt really good. I just got these new orthotic insoles and they seem to be making me a lot more efficient in my running. When I got off my bike to start running it felt like I had suction cups at the bottom of my shoes. This sensation is due to the fact that I was using one set of leg muscle groups for biking and then another for running. After about 3 laps my legs were back to normal and running became easier. The second mile felt good and I was able to finish strongly but exhausted.
Friday was my birthday so my family surprised me with a great dinner and drinks at Taragon in Mountain View. The food was amazing and so was the wine. Too amazing. On Saturday I was in no mood to wake up early for practice but it looked like it was going to be a fun one so I went.
Saturday's practice took place at Bayland Park in Menlo Park and we participated in a game called Ride N Tie. We were asked to pair up with a buddy, wear costumes (we were hippies) and bring a mountain bike. We ended up using my mountain bike and boy was it heavy!!! When I got the bike I thought it was the lightest bike ever and loved it now I still love it but not because I think its light. There was a 2 mile course in which we had to complete 3 times as quickly as possible. There was also an optional hill that we could climb (as a pair) that would take 3 minutes off of our times. One person would ride a mountain bike while the other person ran. At some point the biker would drop their bike and helment then begin to run. The first runner then had to pick up the mountain bike and ride it past their partner for them to pick up and commence running. There were also objects that we could pick up along the way which would take time off our finish. These objects range from water noodles and footballs to crutches and boogey boards. The object was to take 3 laps around the course in the shortest amount of time. We looked pretty silly running around a random park all in costume. Here is a picture of me drinking my hippie juice in my costume:
People kept trying to ask me why we are running around the park in costumes carrying around these odd items. I didn't want to lose any time so I told them it was a race and kept on running. One couple came as the big bad wolf and little red riding hood. They looked awesome:
People kept trying to ask me why we are running around the park in costumes carrying around these odd items. I didn't want to lose any time so I told them it was a race and kept on running. One couple came as the big bad wolf and little red riding hood. They looked awesome:
