Is Texas Drying Up?!?!

So it was another fun-filled week of "adventure race training." Tuesday we had a long session on the bike, hitting the green, yellow, orange and purple trails, and riding to 610 and back. This is where it got a bit whacky. We got split up from the rest of the group so the group that was with me did some cals and then a quick run around on the purple loop to get our 2hrs of training in. Wednesday I decided to go for a 6mi run on the jogging loop and I felt pretty good. I kept the speed constant and didn't feel like I was bonking at any time during the run. Then comes Thursdays practice--wouldn't you know it, but we're back to the jogging trail and right after a quick set of cals we are ordered to go for a 9mi run, or 3 loops on the jogging trail. Wow, like I didn't have enough of this trail. The best part was that I had to run with Tom. He played coy with me for about 8miles, letting me stay up with him, but then turned the jets on at the end. I had nothing in the tank, so I just let him go and continued on at my same pace.

This weekend Mo and I went over to Austin to watch a portion of the Urban race and also get some paddling and trail riding in. Debbie was our gracious host again, letting us stay in her apartment with Eric and Caroline. We got up the next morning and went to the race after having breakfast at Katz's. They had already started and were off somewhere running around. While waiting for them to get back, we stopped by the farmer's market that was going on at the same time, right next to TA. It was wierd because it was almost if each operation was totally oblivious of each other! Anyway, we did some shopping and went back to see the teams transition out to biking. Everyone looked good! We stayed for a bit longer, but then had to leave to get some paddling in before it got too late. We put in at the Rowing Dock on Town Lake and proceeded to paddle for about 3hrs. It was laid back for the most part, but we did have sessions of hard paddling in there. We went to the western dam, over to Barton Springs, and then just short of the eastern dam. Quite a bit of people were out on the water, despite the ominous-looking clouds rolling in. It sprinkled a bit, but didn't dump on us the way it apparently did here in Houston.

We had dinner at the Iron Cactus and then stopped at a bar or two to take in the Austin nightlife, then called it a night pretty early. The next morning we had breakfast at Kerbey's Cafe--it was awesome! But we were not warned that the portions were huge--we couldn't finish any of the plates we got! Apparently Mo hasn't acclimatized to the sun yet and had sunburn on her legs again, so we decided to skip today's paddling session and I instead went to Muleshoe by myself to get some trail mileage in. I had remembered to bring the helmet cam but again I was having issues with it! I had put in new batteries the last time I checked, but apparently that was too long ago. Oh well. I had a pretty good ride, but didn't try to scale any of the rocky portions (4 or so) since I was alone. They had also blazed new bypass trails which were a bit confusing, but I was still able to stay on the main trail. I got back to the car then I decided to explore the lake...the water had receded big time! I had to ride almost a mile farther down to the beach to actually get to the water! It was crazy! Those trees to the west that used to be under water...not anymore! Looking at my gps track, it shows me deep in the middle of the lake/river! I really wonder if it will be back up by the time of the sprint race...

We pretty much packed up and left for Houston after that. It was a pretty laid back trip...nothing really planned, just wanted to get out of Houston for the most part. It was also some good training for me...Lake Whitney is this weekend...and apparently it will be the last race for Rattlesnake this year and possibly the 2nd to the last (if not the last) in the history of Rattlesnake Racing!

Oh and by the way, if you haven't experienced this before (yet), this is what it looks like when you try to pull into your garage with your bike still on your roof bike rack. It was bound to happen for me--I'm so forgetful!! I heard this crunching noise and my heart dropped when I realized what was happening. Thankfully my bike seat took most of the punishment--makes for a good failsafe fuse! My new seat is nice and it worked well during the Muleshoe ride! Don't say I never warned you...