Scheduling Showdown

Law school hijacked my training. I don't know how it happened, but it definitely happened. And coupled with a Thanksgiving weekend at home with fantastic food, my family and friends and a place far far away from the law library, I've slid into slackerdom. So a quick run through of the last week + . . .

Tour de Tuscon was great! It was my first competitive cycling event (I did the Portland (Ore.) Night Ride this summer, but really, how competitive can you be when wearing a bumblebee outfit complete with wings?) so I had no idea what to expect, other than a lot of people pushing and shoving at the start line. It was exactly that to begin with! But it was good energy and a lot of fun. The actual race was even better than the start, and thankfully I had to eat only 2 Clif Bars and a couple of Espresso Love Gus (my favorite, in case you were wondering) during the event. Someone put some serious hills in that 66 miles, though!

But really, I had a great time and even made friends with the race bandit* who was trying to draft off me during the middle third of the race. I got all mad and feisty, let him pass me by and then drafted off him for a bit, then he drafted off me again and I slowed down, went aero and shook my head at him. "It's hard to draft off you," he commented. "You're too small." Ha! And then we rode together until about mile 45 when his chain fell off his bike. Crossing the finish line was pretty cool, too, although for how much we paid to ride I expected filet mignon and champagne instead of stale bagels and warm water. Oh well. Next challenge is the ride + the 1/2 marathon right after. Yikes!

I was a bit sore Sunday but put in 8 miles on the treadmill anyway and was less sore afterwards. Monday was super easy at the gym (read: beginning the slackerdom), Tuesday & Wednesday included no gym time, unless carrying around my suitcase counts, but I did make it home to Portland in one piece! Thursday morning in between pie baking I organized my very own Turkey Day 10k on the treadmill. I got in a couple more runs over the weekend, but they were little; I should be thankful for all the training time I put in during the last few months which gave me a little leeway for finals time. The next couple weeks will be tough in terms of trying to fit it all in with three finals and a 15 page paper than I still need to research for, but I can sleep when I'm dead.

This weekend is the Fiesta Bowl 1/2 Marathon (still need to sign up for this) which I swear is the cheapest 1/2 I've ever heard of: $45! That's it! Very exciting. Chances are that I will run that, or at least as much of it as I can coming off my vacation.

So that's that! In the Thanksgiving spirit, I am so so thankful for my supportive friends and family, enough food every day for my 6+ meals (2nd lunch, anyone?), and for my health. Even though I'm not super fast or super buff, I can't help but think how awesome it is to be powerful enough to ride a bike 66 miles, to run 8 miles or more.

*race bandit: a person who participates in a race, often using the aid stations along the course, without paying the entry fee. Give-aways are lack of race number and timing chip, sneaky moves when race officials are present, and ditching just before the finish line.