Saturday, May 7, 2011

54/9 Brick - Bald Peak Badassedness

...ya...I think I just made up another word =D
Me and Morgan...and Hani, from last week's ride.

When I received the cue sheet from Captain D, it described today's workout as "A brick that will put you in bed for the rest of the day."

So...when I was laying in bed last night with ice packs on both ankles and both knees (OUCH. Thanks, Eugene), I was a little worried.

But...
I shouldn't have been. We killed it! The bike was 54.36 miles and I felt every bit of it. The first 27 miles were good - and that even included Bald Peak, which was our steepest ride yet this year. It was the last 27.36 miles that were not so fun. I think to compensate for my left ankle and both knees, I used my hammies more than usual and they got pretty crampy. My low back was pretty miserable, too. Let's just say that even though I knew I would be running 9 miles when it happened...I was totally looking forward to getting off the bike. My transition was slow but effective. I got out the foam roller and rolled a bit and also stretched out my lower back good and then Diane and I set out to see what we were made of.

Apparently we are made of tempered steel (that's strong, right?), because we killed it! It helped that at the 2 mile and 7 mile aid station, I ate about a dozen of these babies...

...in giant size and some of these, too...

....and I don't even really like candy. They were simply a bit of heaven. They totally got me through this run.

So...that whole part about it putting us in bed for the rest of the day...well, it just hasn't happened yet. Between the dog needing to be walked and the neighbors donating some items for my fundraiser and the kids begging for some time...well - bed will have to wait. I'm going to sleep good tonight!...which is great because I have to be back out at the lake at 7:30am for a 5 mile run and a swim.

Apparently, I've become a Mother's Day junkie for "growing feathers" as my brother so kindly referred to me last weekend. I took that to mean chicken feathers. He was talking about how we spent last Mother's Day...


...and tomorrow will be just as anxiety ridden as when I got to the top of the mountain and looked down and came to the conclusion I was going to slip and slide down Mount St. Helens and take out everyone with me (and there were a lot of people on the mountain that day!)
Yes...It's my first open water swim of the season...which means major anxiety attack. Oh brother! Wish me luck on keeping it together. Maybe this year will be different?? I'll let you know.

Happy Mothers Day to all you mothers and most especially to my own mom. I love you, Mom!!! So Very Much!

19 comments:

Pahla said...

Wow, awesome brick!! Good luck tomorrow - I'm conquering some open water demons tomorrow, too. Happy Mother's Day!

Penny said...

congrats on your ride. It sounds pretty steep. I would of died. You will do great at the swimming part. But I know all to well what anxiety can do. Do your deep breathing in and out. It will help calm your nerves.

XLMIC said...

You are a NAIL, woman! First, you destroy that brick (which sounded soooo hard) and now you're going to do an open-water swim and run right after! On Mothers Day! I hope you have a great day tomorrow…in every way :)

Laura said...

In response to your comment on my blog, you should plant peppers...it might teach the dog a lesson :)

Julie said...

Girl you killed that brick and you will kill the open water swim!

I love, love, love fruit slices! They would get me through that run for sure!

ajh said...

I just went and read the two posts about last Mother's Day. I am so impressed. That sounds unbelievably hard. You are a woman of many talents and so much grit! We went out west to Washington and Vancouver two years ago. My favorite thing was our visit to Mt. St. Helens. I was just fascinated by it.

Rene' said...

you are amazing! if i would have biked and ran that far on Saturday, I would not be swimming and running on Sunday. AWESOME! happy mother's day!

Anonymous said...

I hear ya on the back thing! I rode 35 miles(longest to date) What up with the back!!!!!!!!!!!

Abby @ Have Dental Floss, Will Travel said...

Total badassedness (and one of my favorite words - I've used it on several occasions :) )!

ajh said...

Forgot to ask.....what was the dress thing on Mt. St. Helens? It's like when I see people in costumes during marathon. I enjoy seeing them but I have everything I can do to do the marathon. I can't add anything to it.

Anonymous said...

Happy Mother's Day to you too Julie! This is a very badass way to celebrate the day! I hope your open water swim went really well! :-)

Natalia said...

Good job Julie! You are amazing - that ride sounds incredible, and kudos to you for getting through it, and then attacking the run. Great brick!

Michael said...

Girl you are seriously amazing!! I am so jealous that you always have these prepared rides/runs, etc planned with other people. I do almost 100% of my training on my own. It would be nice to have others to go with. You will rock the Open Water swim...no worries!

Aimee said...

Nice job with the brick. And, it totally cracked me up about the candy. Isn't it sooo good after a long bike ride??
Good luck with your OWS! You'll be fine!

Kate Geisen said...

You rock, sister!

I would've loved to be out on my bike and running. Instead, I spent mother's day with my family doing BBQs. Nice, but not the same.

Nikki Kendall said...

You are a rock star!

Jen said...

You constantly amaze me! I wanna be like you someday! Great job on the ride and run! And good luck today with your work outs! Seriously so amazing!

Anonymous said...

seriously BA! those "oranges" look tasty!

Fruit Fly said...

My knees are still recovering from Eugene, too!
I just checked out your Mount Saint Helens posts .... too cool!! I love that mountain, but never even entertained the idea that I could go ON it!