saddle time

so it's been two weeks ... TWO since my last post. i think of so many things throughout the week to write about ... i even send myself emails with ideas and keep a running list ... but damn if i can find the time to write them ... or when i try ... find the talent to make them sound as good as they did in my head while i was running (i am a brilliant, witty writer while running).

so i revert to the obvious ... "what i did today" (or this weekend).

i rode my bike from irvine to san diego.

fun!!!

the l.a. tri club organizes a ride down to S.D. every year. a lot of people ride down in order to attend the ESA's, some just do it for the fun of it. you can bail out at oceanside, solana beach or go allll the way down to san diego.

last year i trained for olympic distance races all season. i rarely saw a ride on my schedule that was more than 2 hours ... in fact, i'm not sure i ever did. i get it though ... it didn't make sense for the distances i was racing, but ya know what? ... i missed the distance riding.

my "tenders" didn't, but i did.

this year i'll be racing 1/2 IM and a weird little hybrid that consists of a 30 mile ride followed by a run/swim/run/swim/run/swim/run totaling 18.4 miles of trail running and 2.1 miles of swimming.

so ..... cue heavenly music ... i get to ride longer!!

there is something so satisfying about getting into that strong and long cadence that comes with a longer ride. sure i get crabby like the best of 'em. there are times when my neck cricks, my blood sugar drops and my unmentionables hurt that i say "this is fun?", but yes ... it is. it feels so ... i dunno ... solid. i love feeling tired and thinking i can't go any further and then riding right through it to a second, stronger wind!

i even loved feeling wind beaten last night. i loved the deep soul yawns (the kind that involuntarily and with no sadness make tears spill down your cheeks) i was having at 7:00pm ... though i am not so sure it was much fun for my dinner mates -- lisa roo and charisa. two really fun, sweet women who i wished lived up north!

anyway, this is all a very long way of saying it was nice to be back in the saddle. as always, after 2.5 hours my stomach began to stop processing the liquids i put in it. when, oh when ... or rather, how, oh how will that issue get sorted out!?! by the end of the ride i looked like a woman in her 7th month of pregnancy ... with twins. thank GOD i didn't have to run off of the bike.

today we jumped on the train from san diego back up to irvine. if you've never done it, do yourself a favor. it's 18 of the best dollars i have spent in a long time. no traffic, lots of pretty views and heck ... you're on a TRAIN!

it was a great adventure and i thank the tri club for putting together the ride, supporting us with three s.a.g. vehicles, schlepping our overnight gear down there and to 'el poco grande' for being a good little steed and getting me down there safely.

sorry for the lack of pictures, my camera is just too big to take on the bike. i think i mentioned that fact to j. six or seven times as we rode ... so hopefully that'll be changing in the near future.

here's to more long rides ... and to more frequent blogging ...

^..^