Racing Against Mother Nature

Today's bike ride home was an adventure, but this time it was all my doing.

Since I still can't run,  I convinced myself to bike to work this morning with the promise that I'd take the bus home if my knee protested or if the weather didn't cooperate. My knee and I were feeling good this afternoon, and the radar showed the rain was nowhere near yet, so I left work on my bike even though the heat index was supposed to be 100+. I was immediately assaulted with a wall of heat, and I felt ill.

I convinced myself that biking home in the heat was a bad idea, and that it surely would start pouring on me any minute, so a mere 2 miles later I turned left on Rouse to catch the bus at Colonial. I waited at the bus stop for about 15-20 min, and the bike racks were full! Ugh! So I trek back to the trail, thankful that it has cooled off a bit. This is probably due to the thunder I hear in the distance and the impending rain.

I tell myself that I can take the bus at Goldenrod, so I take the long way that adds an extra 1/2 mile to my trip when I get to the bridge. I am still too early and would have to wait another 15-20 min to catch this bus IF it even has an open bike rack. I reason I'd better use that time to make some forward movement before the rain arrives, and so I keep trekking along.

As I cross Semoran and turn onto the Cady Way trail, the air feels much cooler and the clouds look much darker. I pray I can make it home before it starts to rain, and I speed up in an attempt to beat mother nature. With about 4 miles to go, I see the biggest and loudest lighting strike ever. It's surely near me and I now fear for my life. I consider calling Amy to rescue me, but with only 3 miles to go and still no rain in sight, I don't want to inconvenience her unnecessary. Plus I figured it would take me about the same time to rush home from the mall as it would to wait for her.

While the clouds still look menacing, and there is the occasional rumble in the sky, the rain has stayed away and I'm almost home free. I urge the light to turn green at Colonial, and I speed off as soon as it does; of course, I catch every red light. After I turn onto Livingston from Primrose, I see what looks like a wall of rain in the distance as I near Bumby. I take off my glasses in hopes that I am seeing things. No such luck. Sure enough, the rain catches up to me at Bumby and I get drenched during the last mile of my ride home.

I arrive home 2 hours after my departure from work, starving, cold, wet, and looking like a drench rat.  Had I ridden home without the detour in the first place, I would have missed the rain, thunder and lighting, and been home at least 30-45 minutes earlier. Oh well, you live and learn.

ETA: And of course, as soon as I finished writing this, I got an email alerting me of a severe thunderstorm warning. I'm so glad to be home where is dry and away from the lightning :)

Stopping to Smell the Roses

I have not done a single workout this week, other than incidental exercise -- walking to the bus stop and at Universal. After I fell off my bike last Sunday and realized I would not be able to run for a few days until it healed, I opted to make lemonade out of lemons, take a much deserved week off, and have some fun. So we took Wednesday off from work and spent the day at Universal/IOA. The knee is healing, but the foot is still nagging. I may have a hill spur, so I'm going to go to a doc to get a real diagnosis so I can heal and not do more damage. Wednesday was an amazing day, and I plan to take it easy this weekend and enjoy it too.

We woke up at 6:30 Wednesday morning. After a big breakfast, we hopped on the bus to Universl at 7:45 am. We almost missed it, which would have sucked because it only comes once an hour. We arrived at IOA just after 9 am and headed to the Harry Potter land. The line to get into the land was already long, but we got passes to return for priority access at 11:20. In the meantime, we rode a few rides with very little wait: SpiderMan, Doom, Cat in the Hat, Seuss Train, and Poseidon's Fury.

We walked right into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at 11:15 and headed straight for the Castle and the Forbidden Journey ride, which had an hour wait. The line moved quickly, and I am sure we didn't wait that long. The inside of the castle was really impressive, specially the projections of the characters. The ride was amazing and very well done, but I was not as impressed with the land as I thought. It's just not Disney :) It was crowded with longe lines just to get into and browse the various shops, so we left, ate some lunch then headed to Universal. We saw Shrek 4D, which was pretty good, then ate some Dipping Dots. Why have I never had these before? Yum!

We took a break from the sun and let our feet rest while watching Inception on IMAX, and eating some popcorn and curly fries. WOW! The movie was incredible and had an amazing cast. I am already plotting to go see it again. After the movie, we headed back to Universal for a few more rides before dinner and the concert: MIB and Mummy. Dinner was shared tofu bowl at Moe's with some chips and salsa.

With no more ways to kill time, we headed to the concert early to rest in A/C and met up with Aaron before the Weird Al concert started. The concert was pretty good, although I could have done with a few less costume changes because I did not care so much for the videos they played while they transitioned. We were exhausted and wanted to hop on an earlier bus, so we left the concert early. We got home at 11 pm, promptly passed out, and slept like a baby. I think I'm too old to pull an all day of fun, but it's worth it every now and then :)

Bike Camping Adventure

On Saturday, we had the (maybe not so) brilliant idea of biking to Blue Springs State Park to camp for one night with some friends.

Because riding 40+ miles in the middle of the day heat is apparently not enough torture for us, I ran 11 miles that morning at 4:30 am and Jason spent a few hours helping with the mountain bike park clean up.

When I got home from the run, I showered, packed our gear, ate breakfast, and took a nap. When Jason got home, we walked to Graffiti Junktion for some lunch, loaded up the bike trailer, and headed out just before 1:30 p.m.

Cargo

Because we had to carry everything we brought with us, we only brought the necessities. We were not camping alone, so we could have sent extra stuff with the others, but we wanted to try to be as self sufficient as possible. We skipped a lot extras we'd normally bring for added comfort, such as chairs, sleeping bags, and the air mattress. We improvised a bed with blankets and towels, and used our bags of clothes inside the pillowcases as pillows. It turned out to be a lot more comfortable than expected, and certainly a lot lighter and compact to haul for 40 miles :)

Here's what we brought:

I rode my comfort bike and carried a grocery bag pannier with snacks (granola bars, gu gels, bananas), bike repair kit, and wallet. We both wore camelbaks with ice water, plus extra bottles on our cages. I attached a case to my camelbak to carry my iPhone and camera.

Jason hauled the bike trailer attached to his mountain bike with the following:

small tent
I think its supposed to fit 4, but really it fits 2 comfortably with extra room for our stuff

small plastic bin - camping/cooking supplies

• first aid kit, flash lights/glow sticks, bug spray, hand sanitizer, 
• skillet, metal cooking utensils, lighter, garbage bags, ziplock bags, napkins, paper plates, plastic utensils
• can corn, can beans, peanut butter
• inflatable pillow, pump (for the air mattress that we did not bring)

big plastic bin - bedding, clothes, food

• 2 pillow cases, 2 sheets, 2 towels, camp blanket, poncho
• bagels, bread, small cooler with veggie dogs, veggie brats, veggies in foil, and jelly
• a change of clothes, underwear, socks, bathing suits

The Journey

We used Google maps to find a suitable route. We opted for a longer route that kept us on trails most of the way, and it was great for the most part. We took the Cady Way Trail to the Cross Seminole Trail, then cut across Tuskawilla to shave off a few miles. We averaged 13 mph for first 17-18 miles, which was faster than I planned. That plus the heat was really taken a toll on me, and I wasn't even hauling all the cargo! I was glad when we took a break at the Environment Center to refuel and cool off around the 20 mile mark. I've ridding the Cross Seminole Trail before, but had never stopped here before. It's gorgeous!

I was already exhausted at this point and was seriously questioning my sanity. The heat and humidity was absurd, and I simply could no longer maintain that pace. Our pace started a slow decent during the 2nd half of the trip, and I must admit it required more mental toughness than I expected. I had ridden this distance and similar before, so I did not think it would be a problem, but it was cooler last time and I had not run 11 miles prior to biking. I was so tired and achy towards the end that I felt like crying, but I pressed on somehow. It's possible that this was more mentally challenging, or at least as much as running a marathon.

We got our first and only honk at mile 29 after we turned left on Oregon St from Rinehart Rd as the lady in the passenger seat of the car that passed us on the left lane advised us to  "find a bike path." I just laughed and commented that at least we made it 29 miles before that happened. Around mile 38, Google had us turn right onto Dutchman's Bend Rd, which is a narrow sand road and things quickly went from bad to worse. I guess the "enter street at your own risk" sign at the intersection on W Highbanks Rd should have been our first clue. The sand was so bad at places that we had to hop off our bikes to walk a few times, but I was grateful for the break. When I was on the bike, I just got in a low gear and rode slow while continuously chanting "you can do this" and "you are ok." It's amazing how much a little positive affirmation can help.

We "rode" this perilous rode for about 3 miles before we realized we had missed our turn. I was ready to just pitch our tent in the nearest patch of grass. We turned around and found the "road" Google wanted us to turn into, Magnolia Ave, was non-existent. It was a narrow service road inside the park behind a "no trespassing" gate that was mostly sand and overgrown grass. It was barely driveable, let alone bikeable.

We called for an assist, but no one answered, so we began walking for about a mile. It felt like a death march as we walked under the hot sun and I risked a twisted ankle with every step. I seriously started thinking about what I would do to survive if we got stuck out there, when our friends called! It took a little while for them to figure out where we were and come to our rescue. Thank god one of them had a truck to haul us and our bikes back to camp. I really wish I had taken some video or photos of these roads, but I was just too tired and irritable at this point to think straight.

Once we made it to camp and got some food, I felt much better and I slept great that night. I still felt really worn out the next day and was glad we did not have to bike 40 miles back home. Our wonderful friends made room for us, our gear, and our bikes and drove us home. We promptly when out to dinner then spent the rest of the afternoon/evening lounging around. I was too tired to even blog or upload photos :P

Lessons Learned

Even though we had to be picked up, I would call this a success because we did bike 40 miles and make it to the general area with all our camping gear. We would have made it there by foot eventually, and certainly could have made it with better directions. Yes it was tough, but I would do it again, maybe in October, with a better route.

I learned that we could camp with a lot less gear than we thought, and I think we could have been fine with even less. Comfort on the campsite means less comfort on the ride there, so we have to make some tough choices, but camping is not about comfort; it's about adventure and stepping outside your comfort zone for a bit. That being said, I think things would be a bit different in the winter, but still manageable.

I want to try this again just the two of us at Turkey Lake, since it is only a 10 mile bike ride, to see how we really do with minimalist supplies and no friends to bail us out. Granted, this park is not as isolated, but it would still be a great experiment.

One thing is for certain, me and my body can handle a lot. I love the person I have become who was even willing to give this a try. Two years ago I would not have even considered it, let alone want to try again.

View all photos on Flickr

Shaking Things Up in May

May is my month to let loose and try some new adventures before I begin marathon training in June. An exciting opportunity awaits me every weekend in May, starting with playing paintball yesterday.

Many years ago, I sort of played paintball with my boyfriend at the time. However, I was terrified and mostly hid behind a bush the entire time hoping no one would shoot me. This time I was determined to get out there and get the full experience.

I am a different person today, not (as) afraid to take risks or get a little dirty, so I was pretty excited to give this a shot (no pun intended). I was a bit anxious at first, but winning our first game without getting shot gave me the confidence I needed to let loose. I got shot plenty after that, and have 3 huge bruises to prove it, but it was so much fun that I am already plotting to go back.

Here's what awaits me the rest of the month:

5/8 - Muddy Buddy
I've never really been too keen on getting muddy, but I want to share in the fun with Jason and do something a bit out of my comfort zone. I'll have to push myself a bit to keep up with him, or at least not hold him back too much, but we're just going to go have fun. Jason did this last year with Caleb, dressed as Mario and Luigi, and they won the costume contest. We've worked hard on our Alice in Muddyland costumes this year, so I'm excited to unveil them.

5/16 - Bay to Breakers
This will be my first out-of-state race, and I'm really excited. I love San Francisco, and this is an awesome fun race. I'll be running it, in costume, but I have no time goal in mind. Being my first 12k it is already a PR, but the main goal is to go have a blast while getting some exercise and taking in the "sights." I'll be running with my camera :)

5/22 - Left Behind Left Over Half Marathon
This is an unofficial fun run race that our training program puts on to end the off-season training session with leftover race shirts and bibs. The idea is that many travel out of state for a spring race, so this is for those who are left behind :) After the race, we have a potluck breakfast. I missed this last year, but I hope to attend this year while Jason is in Georgia competing in the Warrior Dash with his dad.

5/29 - Firefighter Challenge 
I'm still deciding if I want to do this. Jason did it last year, while I took photos, and he said it was really hard. He is not doing it this year, but I wanted to try it. I planned to train for it by running stairs or using the stair master at the gym, but I haven't. He didn't really train for it last year, and he wished he had. This will probably be a last minute decision depending on how the rest of the month goes. The truth is that I'm likely be burnt out by then and need a rest week before doing the magic mile the following weekend.

Other things I'd like to do this month, but that I have not yet scheduled, include rock climbing, ultimate freesbie, kickball, and racquetball. If you are interested in any of those, let me know and let's plan something!

What I Do When I'm Not Training

Chelsi commented in the post "Who's out there? (Comments Requested)" and said that she'd like to read more about my non-training adventures. The truth is that training, work, and sleep takes up most of my time -- especially when training for a marathon or triathlon -- but I really want to make time for other things.

About 6 months ago, I realized that I needed a better balance and a hobby that did not require physical activity, so I took improv classes again. It was just what I needed and I had a blast at the SAK Graduation Show. I hope to take classes next time they offer masters classes and will be sure to post about them here.

Other things that I enjoy doing when I am not training, which I need to remember to do more often, include: reading, bike hashing, run hashing, geocaching, camping, and photography. I also used to be an avid swing dancer, going 3-5 times a week, when I was in my 20s. That is how Jason and I first got to know each other because we were dance partners. We go occasionally, but I really want to start doing it more regularly. It's a great workout and so much fun. We're planning to go the UCF Valentine's Dance tonight! I'm excited! :)

In my 101 Things in 1001 Days list I outlined several adventures that I'd like to try that have nothing to do with training or running. Here's the list:

• dine in the dark (it's an actual restaurant where you dine in complete darkness)
• do a corn maze
• get SCUBA diving license
• go cross-country skiing
• go fishing
• go hang gliding
• go on a real primitive camping trip (where we have to hike or canoe to the site with our gear)
• go on a yoga retreat (with Chaz from YOGAmazing)
• go sailing
• go shark cage diving
• ride in a hot air balloon
• try a float tank
• go on a road trip with no pre-planned destination
• visit 5 new states
• visit a new continent

I'll keep you posted if I do any of those and will be sure to write all about it here.