I Had a Dream

Last night I had a very vivid dream about doing my first Triathlon. It was one of those that when you wake up, you really wonder if it happened. What keyed me into the fact that it was probably a dream was the fact I did the bike portion in 27 minutes and the running in 21 minutes! (talk about a good dream!) Apparently even in my dreams I block out the swimming though because there was nothing about that! Anyways, my excitement in my dream is just another motivation to really see this through!

I will....

I will go swim.
I will not be insecure about my swimming.
I will not be intimidated by the "real" swimmers.
I will remember that no one is paying attention to what I am doing but me.
I will stop putting this off.

In other events, I loaded up my bike and went to a local park to ride. It was gorgeous with several small hills to practice on. The bike routes were not really long enough and after a couple laps, it got boring so I think I will ride there next time in order to get enough miles in. It was a nice change of pace though and next time I will remember to take my camera since it is just about the only scenic ride I have been on in awhile.

Besides the swimming goal, I am also going to learn ride without my camelback and be able to reach down and grab a water bottle without becoming one with the road. Or on the road. You know what I mean. I have been riding long enough to have the balance to do it so it is time! I keep reminding myself how much cooler I will be without the camelback and that is helping to motivate me.

I have also figured out that my 10 year high school reunion is the same weekend as the Sprint Tri I had wanted to do. It was supposed to be my first and I am loath to put it off, but it keep going back and forth. Obviously a reunion is only held every few years and they have triathlons all the time, however I do spend a lot more time working out and thinking about working out than I ever do thinking about people from HS. Hmm....still time to work it out. If I can find one in the area the weekend before or after I guess that would help make up my mind.

Since Rachel Asked....

Our first show several years ago.

Blame Rachel for this post this is not about the kind of riding I usually blog about. This one is going to be about horses! Horses are really my passion. Unfortunately, they started to take over my life so that is when I decided to get another hobby that was really just a hobby and not let it consume me, which is why I started riding bikes. I wanted something I could do when I wanted to and feel no pressure to do it unless it was something I really felt like doing that day. Horses don't really work that way. If you don't go see them, they have a way of making you feel extremely guilty.

Anyways, I ride Dressage on a black Arabian horse names Czecher. Czecher thinks he is a Labrador and has tried to climb in my car before. He is truly the perfect male. He knickers when I whistle for him and comes running. When he ticks me off, I can lock him up and not see him until both of us have cooled off. When I find these qualities in a human male, it is possible I will consider keeping him too.

Currently Czecher and I are riding at 2nd and 3rd level and compete when we can afford it. Mostly right now, we do local shows. Which unfortunately I have to organize since I am president of our local Dressage club (see what I mean about this stuff taking over and not really being a hobby any more??). It really is a lot of fun, but a lot of work too. Luckily even though we have a small group here, we are all pretty active and there is a lot of enthusiasm.

This last weekend we put on a show that was really was more like a clinic. Everyone got a chance to ride their dressage test and then the judge coached them on what they could do better and then you got to ride your test again. It was just a cool training exercise so that way you could correct what you were doing wrong and then got a second chance! Wouldn't that be cool if you could do that in races? "I am sorry, that was a really bad swim, I am just going to fix that and come back and do it for real".

Anyways, that is a lowdown on this horse stuff I do. It is a lot of fun, but keeps me busy! I hope to get in some good bike rides this weekend so I can have something to blog about!

Sleepy Monday

Unfortunately, my weekend did not allow for as much training as I had hoped due to a horse show, but luckily, the rainy weather has stopped which makes commuting by bike possible again! This morning was wonderful and cool so it made the ride very enjoyable. I am sure this afternoon will be warmer, but it is still fun and makes me feel so much better in the afternoons.

I just got an email saying the Hotter N Hell 100 will have a trail run the morning after the bike race which I think will be a lot of fun. They offer a 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon. I think that will make for a great weekend...a 100K race on Saturday and then a 10K run on Sunday. They also offer a mountain bike ride on Friday afternoon, but I think I will skip that for now until I have a little more experience on mountain bike trails.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Book Advice

Ok, I am on an Amazon kick and I need your help. Best triathlon training books? Suggestions?

Tour De Nowhere

I love this name for a bike ride in Levelland, Texas. It is so appropriate! And the bike ride really did seem to take us to the middle of nowhere!
After way too few hours of sleep on Friday night and waking every hour afraid that I had over slept, I loaded up the car to make the 30 minute drive from Lubbock to Levelland. I ended up getting there before they even opened the registration desk. Oops. I at least had a full hour to sit there and get all of my stuff ready! Luckily I brought my ipod along and so I was able to sit there and try to relax before the race started.
This was a pretty small race; there were probably about a hundred riders spread among 5 courses. I really only saw about 10 people on mine. There was a nasty headwind that made me wish I had just stayed home and in bed. Luckily the race did a loop so the second half was bliss!! I was practically singing! In retrospect I wish I had done the 78 mile route, but that extra 35 miles could have made a huge difference between loving it and hating it. Plus it was nice just enjoying the morning and getting home early enough to take a short nap and then getting other things done in the day!
I think overall this was a good thing for me to do because each ride I do alone gets a little easier and the nerves calm a little more. And eventually maybe I will be able to convince someone to ride with me so I won't always be alone!

P.S. I got compliments on my super bright pink handlebar tape! From a guy!!

Shopping Trip

It just dawned on me that since I am going on a ride tomorrow, that means I can go shopping at the bike store! (yes, I know I am hardly going any distance at all, but I still get to go shopping!!) I need tubes, co2 cartriges, gu.......oh, maybe some new handlebar tape. Maybe they still even have that bright pink I wanted!!! Hmm...maybe this ride will be more fun that I though. I am such a geek. Is everyone like that about getting accessories from the bike store? I love going in and scoping out all of the bikes I can't afford and then finding all of the little random stuff that I don't have to have but want anyway. And the smell.....bike shops have a certain smell...and I love it! Mmm...nothing like the smell of new bike tires in the morning!