First 50+ mile ride and some singing and dancing

This weekend I set a milestone. I didn't even know ahead of time I would! I met the group I ride with on Saturdays at RBM South for my 'long ride' of the week. Our group included Coach Gayle, who is training for Redman and who is coaching Davis, Graham, and John for their coming Ironman races in 2010. Yeah, they start that training early when you need to 'race' for possibly 14-15 hours at once. So to say I'm the newbie on the ride is an understatement.

The guys had 55 miles on their schedule this week. They asked how far we were going and Gayle said around 30 miles (she always makes sure I get back ok and then finishes her remaining miles). So we started out and the guys start saying 'Come on, you can make 50 miles, you've been keeping up the last couple weeks. We'll go slow.' In my head I'm thinking no way. No way I add 20 miles and not blow up. But then I start to think, 'well, I can always call someone to come get me since we'll be out close to family...and sure, I'd like to try it - sounds exciting!'. So eventually I say 'sure, why not...I'm in.' Gayle told me not to look at the miles (which was great advice by the way, just keep eating every 45 minutes, stay hydrated and just keep pedaling.

The first 25 miles was a breeze, lots of good sections with not too much uphill or wind. Even with slowing for stop signs, railroad tracks, etc we were keeping a good average. We made a quick water stop at the gas station and I thought, man I look red! So I told everyone not to worry - that's my 'exercise face'. he he

What? You brought that camera again? ;)

Then we hit the hilly sections and I had to dig a little deeper. When I'm riding up a hill I think 'just keep swimming, just keep swimming, what do we do, we swim swim swim.' Funny but it works. Maybe I'm weird but I never use that mantra when swimming. Just biking. It was actually a ton of fun riding new places!!

Me with 'exercise face of eternal redness.' Yes I love that bike jersey and it's in many pics. Please buy me a new one so it doesn't look like I wear the same thing all the time. :)

The last rest stop is somewhere around 10 miles from the finish. And those last 10 miles are hard, windy, and lots of long gradual inclines so you always feel like you're going uphill. So I refilled and got my mental game ready and made the last push. It was a struggle but I wanted to be done and get off the bike because it was well over a hundred degrees by now! The guys all congratulated me as we rode over the 50 mile mark and declared me Queen of the 50. :) Seriously a big thanks to the group for getting me to try it and helping make sure I made it. The workout took just under 4 hours - 3:47:13. 4 hours. Of pedaling. Seriously what was I thinking. We left at 7:15am and with rest stops, made it back to the car around 11:40am.

The proof! 56.87 miles!

After the ride I rushed home to shower and change because my sis and I had tix to see A Chorus Line! I showered, with a loooootttt of soap (seriously I had super-stink and was covered in dirt!), barely dried my hair and we made the trip downtown just in time to watch some serious singing and dancing. Good stuff.

Laaammmeee picture.

Here is Liz thinking...um, how can you take such a lame picture?

Why am I not blessed with cooloer siblings?

After the show I was super hungry and cranky (I burned around 3k calories on that bike!) so we stopped for some Uncle Julio's before making the way back home. A successful day!

Why I wasn't outside on my bike last night...

I went out to White Rock Lake as usual on Wednesday for my ride. I had checked the weather around 4pm and it didn't look like we would get any rain, just maybe to the far East of me. When I got out of the car though I heard thunder. Really? Was that just thunder? Waited a few more seconds and yep thunder. It's hard to see very far on the horizon because you're in the middle of some large trees but it was looking pretty dark to the North. Not good. So I checked my phone and sure enough there was a severe thunderstorm warning with hail coming south my way. Not good news since I really don't want to be caught on my bike in the rain, or lightening, but I REALLY don't want to be caught in hail. Decided it was best to pack things up and not chance it. Headed to Shalon's since she lives nearby and at this point it was peak rush-hour traffic and I just didn't want to drive home in it. Boo.

Shortly after arriving at Shal's here is what we got:

Metroplex Sprint Triathlon Race Report

A few weeks ago Shalon and I completed the Metroplex Sprint out at Joe Pool Lake. It's a 400 meter open water swim, 11 mile bike, and a 2 mile run. I think this race had somewhere around 315 competitors.

I was so nervous. My first event in awhile and I was just glad to be getting to the starting line. Arrived at 5:30am and got my transition area set-up, timing chip on and body-marked. Walked around and talked to friends. It was great to know so many people at this race! I didn't really warm-up much. My wave was first at 7am so as soon as the pre-race meeting was done we were called to the water.

That's me in purple on the mid-right. Wading in and talking to my friends about where they want to line up. Shalon always goes to the front. She's a fast swimmer so she lines up closer to the fast peeps. Usually I try to stay farther to the outside so I don't get caught up in the washing machine. When the gun goes off and everyone starts, you get hit, kicked, people swim right over your back. So at first it's a little hard to 'swim'. Then it was time so ready, set, GO!

This is my wave start, it's Men and Women 30-34. There are boats and kayaks in case anyone gets into trouble. Yes, this happens and people get pulled from the race if needed (no one did at this race).

Within a minute or so the faster swimmers pull ahead. We're swimming from right to left in the picture above towards a yellow buoy that can't be seen to the far left outside of this shot. Yes, the water really is kind of a brown color. It's also the drinking water for the city. Yuck.

A little further progress. Luckily, the waves weren't too bad at all. Even the smallest chop can make your breathing difficult. It's much different than swimming laps. Of course, like any Texas lake you can't even see the end of your hand so sighting (looking up to see where you are going) is important. Sometime in here my right goggle started to leak. I stopped to fix it since I had my contacts in, plus it's annoying. At some point I got a mouthful of water and flipped over to try and burp that up. Worst part of the race.

Here is the swim course. It begins to the right beyond this photo and out to the left around the yellow bouy and back paralell to shore until you turn in to the end. I estimate I'm somewhere in the yellow circle at this point. I didn't care about my swim time at all during this. I just wanted to stay calm (I tend to think negatively while swimming) and keep making forward progress. I finally felt warmed up just when it was time to get out!

Finally I exited the swim. This guy in the pink cap passed me in the swim (he was in the wave behind me which started 3 minutes after us) but I ran past him on the ramp :). Swim Time: 11:35 for 400 meters. Terrible but done. For comparison, I swim this distance in about 8:40 in a pool.

Ran into transition and threw down the cap and goggles. Put on socks, bike shoes, race belt (number is required on this race bike leg), sunglasses, helmet, and ran to the mount line. I heard Jeff in transition yell out for me loudly like it was a football game, 'Let's go Sabin!' It made me laugh. Best case time for me. T1 time: 1:35

Glenn (Shalon's DH), my Mom, Dad, Liz, and hubs all hung out under the tent Glenn brought. Here they are lounging before the race. A big thanks to all my family who came out at the crack of dawn to see the race. It's fantastic to feel supported and there is no greater emotional booster on the course than to see and hear them cheer for you. And thanks for all the help so I could actually train to finish!

Here's me taking a happy point to give the camera a peace sign. The bike was flat and fast. I passed two in my AG here and don't think I got passed by anyone in my AG. But the rest of the race, the next four waves, were behind me including some super fast people on super fast bikes! So yeah, I got passed by a lot of them. It was starting to get hot here but I LOVE the bike so just enjoyed this ride and working hard. This route goes out and back over the Dam so it's slightly windy. It's closed to traffic but not walkers/runners. A guy a little in front of me actually hit a girl who was running in the middle of the road! Hello idiot girl...do not veer into the middle of a road when there is a bike race going on. He crashed and had a little bloody road rash and looked ticked as can be. Everyone asked if he was ok and he said yes. But he was fine and got up and eventually carried on - and finished in front of me I will add. Bike time: 35:23 / 11 miles, 18.65mph avg

Came back into T2 and did a regular dismount, ran bike to rack, bike shoes off, run shoes on, grab visor in hand to put on while running and run out. I dropped my left shoe when trying to put it on and actually thought for a split second 'well I don't want to bend over to pick that up.' lol. Fast T2: 0:58.

Here is me headed out on the run - yeah, way to the right. Uh, not sure why my sis cannot use this camera. ha ha, love ya sis! Again with the happy peace sign. Or maybe it's 'V for victory' because I am closer to finishing! :)

I am a slow runner. But I just kept doing my best and to tried to hold off the few gals in my AG who I could see behind me. When you get off the bike and immediately run your legs feel very heavy, like bricks. I'm very happy in this picture because I'm coming into the finish line with a best case run time for me! I saw about 10 people from my team plus a few more I knew out on the course and it was great - everyone yelling out encouragement to each other.

Yay I finished! Run time: 21:28/ 2 miles, 10:44 m/m

I was so glad to have finished this race. It took a lot of work to get me here and I didn't even feel like throwing up at the end. Afterwards I walked around and talked to all our friends and my teammates who also did this race. Here's me, Shal and Coach Gayle. My goal was to come in under 1:15 and I made it. :) Total Race Time: 1:11:02

Well, it turned out that my time was good enough to win an award...I won 3rd place in the overall Athena division. The timing company prints results near the finish and my friends came over to tell me 'hey I think you placed in your division'. So I went to check and sure enough I did! Thanks for teling me guys - I wouldn't have stayed for the awards and would have missed it! If you don't know, you can race one of two divisions in USAT - either in your Age Group or in the Athena division (which is anyone above a certain weight...because it's harder for larger gals in case you didn't know). So I won third in my class in the entire race (1st in Athena W30-34) and all those skinny gals can suck it! ha ha. Here's me and hubs with my 'major award'. It's Fra-gee-lay. lol. This was a fun course and I would definitely do this one again.

The Tour... 2009 edition

Who out there could retire from a professional sport, take 3-4 years off, and then return at the top of the league? How about break their collar bone, a serious injury for cyclists a month before and arrive prepped for a major race?


Lance Armstrong, fellow Texan and Plano native, that's who. Talk about determination. These guys ride all day every day and Lance isn't exactly a spring chicken anymore. Yet here he sits in 3rd overall at the Tour de France, the biggest bike race on the planet, after only returning to competition six months ago. You can believe no one is cutting him slack. I don't care how much help you get, you don't sit in the Top 10 unless you've got the talent and the work put in.



I love watching the tour videos...you can check them out at http://www.livestrong.com/lance-armstrong/videos/. Lance has posted a few from the Tour.

If you don't follow the TDF, today is one of the days to watch. Stage 4 is a Team Time Trial and Team Astana (Lance's team) is noted as one of the favorites for this stage. It's a little over 24 miles and these guys will be speeding along at greater than 30mph all close enough to touch the rider in front of them. You have to keep the team together (assuming you don't get dropped, i.e. left behind) and the last guy over the line is the time. Truly a team effort and will be very exciting!

Practice and trying not to think about the fish...

If you've been trying to reach me and I'm not home I am likely out swimming, biking and running (or at least shuffling).

Me, happy and a little gross after a good bike

Shalon and I decided to train for the Metroplex Sprint triathlon in June. I've only ever done one tri so I'm really a rookie. And out of shape. So this was a good way to shed a few pounds and have a goal.

The hardest part? Just trying to arrange schedules between all of us was exhausting. If I didn't lay it out at the beginning of the week there was no way to make it all happen. Plus the amount of laundry I'm keeping up with just multiplies. I joined fit2train, a local triathlon team so I could get some additional advice from more experienced athletes. It was fantastic and we were lucky enough to have Coach Gayle work with us over twelve weeks. She is a great coach, 3 time Ironman finisher, and super all-around person with a big heart.

I've been out a lot either early a.m. or right after work doing our workouts. 6 days a week. We swam with Dallas Aquatic Masters, rode with the team, and had track workouts.

Two weeks before our event we had a practice triathlon at Lake Ray Hubbard. I am always nervous during an OWS (open-water swim). I always think it's freaky swimming where you can't see anything. And I mean anything. I couldn't even see the end of my arm extended. But you know there are ugly fish and things in there...*shiver*. I try really hard not to think about it.

We swam out to the first buoy, down a couple buoys and back in. Approx 800m took me 18 minutes. Of course the start totally freaked me out, my goggles fogged up and I really only swam well the last 600 or so. :) Quick transition and out for a 13 mile ride. Finished in 44min (17.3mph), fast transition -something like 40 seconds- and off for 2 mile run in 21min. Total time 1hour 23min. It was so much fun, it makes me remember why we do this. Here's a few shots of our practice tri:

Amanda and Kerry from the team ready to go...

Setting up transition...


Shal and I (on the left) after we finished...Seriously I call this my 'sausage suit'. This is the part I hate the worst...squeezing myself into the gear ya just gotta wear for this sport.

We practiced changing a tire. Here's my bike in progress...

I love taking pics of my bike. You grow to love your bike, but seriously who wants to see pictures of my awesome bike? lol.

Victoria and Kerry working on a tire...or maybe just standing around

after our 25 mile ride to Seagoville from White Rock. Love this route!

Coach Gayle and Deighton...finally figuring out her pump didn't work


Finished! Yay!

If I flat I won't be fast but at least I will be able to fix it and get on my way.

Our group had a very respectable showing at the Metroplex sprint and it was so much fun! So now that I have done two races I feel comfortable that I can call myself a triathlete. Race report to come next!

Pre-K Graduation

My first-born recently had the first of many 'graduation' ceremonies to come. It cracks me up that you need to have a graduation when you're really not even in school yet, but I found every aspect adorable. It's still fun to watch your kids perform something they have learned. So bring on graduation!

The event had a 'Texas' theme to it and the kids learned all different facts about the state of Texas which they recited on stage.

Tristen's was 'What is the capital of Texas?' Austin! He can also tell you the State small mammal. Seriously, Texas has a state small mammal? Huh.



The school made 'scrapbook pages' for each child and hung them up for everyone to peruse. I thought it was a fun touch.


Graduation hat cupcakes. Fun.

First, the kids sang several Texas songs and recited their Texas facts. Tristen was so busy singing he forgot to clap. He enjoyed being front and center.

In a quick intermission the kids put on their caps and gowns. They were each asked what they liked most about going to their school.




Tristen and Dad

So excited to get 'my paper'!

The kids presented each of their Moms with a 'yellow rose of Texas'. I had to get a picture of that. The kids were so proud to give their Moms a flower.

Tristen did a great job in Pre-K and loves learning new things. We are very proud of him. Love you big boy!

One of my favorite traditions...scrapbook conference

As is tradition, Mom and I attended the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington this year. I didn't have as much time available to spend the whole weekend there but did spend a few days at Mom's house working on some new projects. Also spent a day at convention and did LOT of walking and shopping.

Me and a sign...yay!

Mom using a magnifying glass to catch the details of a page..made me laugh

Mom is so organized!

Mi madre

A little family vacation time

Recently we took a little road trip to Houston to visit some friends and then to San Antonio to visit my brother's family and one of our favorite places, Sea World!

Houston was so hot and humid. But we had a great time visiting the Houston zoo (seriously fantastic zoo) and then having our own little pool party complete with poolside fajitas!

Then it was time to drive over to San Antonio where the kids enjoyed playing Wii with their cousins and two fun-filled days at Sea World.

The kids really enjoy feeding the dolphins and playing at the waterpark. Tristen adored getting his face painted. Grrrr!

This time we decided to enjoy the Dining with Shamu show. It was absolutely a blast to see the whales so close. The kids had a great time asking the trainers all kinds of questions about 'Shamu'. Here's a video of the fun! (Ignore my funny voice...)

We highly recommend the show!