true to form

It really is laughable. I cannot remember a ride we've had in CDA training that has not included wind. And not just a subtle, whisper of a wind but big wind. When we're lucky, it's a tailwind one way and a headwind the other. When we're not so lucky, it's a headwind both ways with crosswinds in between! Today, we were supposed to have winds of 4 mph. Ummm...that would be 4 x 4 mph by the time we got up and headed out to Kyle and then San Marcos. Nonetheless, we powered through it. Or rode through it. Or something. I started my day with a flat not even 5 miles into our ride. Thankfully we were on Slaughter so I hopped onto the sidewalk with sweet Nancy and Amy waiting for me and in relatively no time we had that flat changed. I use "we" because Nancy taught me some new tricks and Amy helped steady my bike. God bless my teammates. I think this easy tire change is God's way of helping me get over my ridiculous fear of flat tires.
Having taken care of that, we headed out to Kyle...parted ways with Amy who was riding 50 to our 90...and I ventured to I-35 by myself since Nancy was a ways ahead of me. (I'm always glad when people ride ahead b/c I hate to feel like I'm holding anyone up and I knew that Nancy knew I was back there somewhere and that makes all the difference in the world!) On the I-35 access road Erin caught up to me (what a pleasant surprise) and I held her until we turned around and headed into the wind and she was gone. Serious strength there, Erin! You rocked! Ended up riding the rest of the ride with some combination of Nancy, Karen, Shawnda, Cindy, Alisa, Erin, Katy, and Lindsey. I tried to hold on to Karen as much as I could. I'm determined when I'm on the bike so I never really worry about not finishing but I know that I push harder when I have someone in front of me to try to stay up with. I'm not always successful but it's a good challenge! Finished it all off with a loop around south MoPac...91 miles in the books.
And then I was off for my hour run! Funny...on the bike I thought I might worry about this brick the whole time but I didn't. Too much to focus on while riding to worry about the run after. Another good lesson about being in the present. So, when it was time for me to run, that's what I did. Felt a little slow at first but by the 1/2 way point I felt like I actually knew how to run again. This was a great feeling and one that made me think, "Elizabeth, you will, whatever it takes, make that time cut-off for the bike in CDA b/c you just might be able to hammer out a long run (a.k.a. a marathon!) after swimming and biking." And I even negative split by about a minute. Not earth shattering but something! Even sweeter than the negative split was seeing Blythe & Liz as I turned back into Kiker and having Blythe say something like, "Hey, you look like a runner" and then seeing Katy, Erin, Cindy, and Alisa waiting in the Kiker parking lot when I got back. I was pretty sure I'd be saying hello to my lonely car in the parking lot. Not so with T3 teammates...y'all rock!
I can safely say that this weekend would not have been as bearable or enjoyable without my teammates and friends. I cannot over-emphasize what they do for me. I know I'm the one moving my legs and keeping my head in the game and (most of the time...or at least trying to) staying positive for myself but just having others to go through this with makes a world of difference. And especially on a challenging weekend like this past one.
What's amazing to me is that I remember seeing this workout on the schedule back in January and questioning how on earth I'd ever do it. And then after yesterday's run I was really questioning how I would do it! But I did it...along with my teammates. Really, this was a BIG weekend in the books for all of us. I hope everyone is proud of their accomplishments - and not just the miles but the intangible accomplishments.
Here's to another weekend of training, friends...I'm looking forward to the rest of the road ahead of us...and for the sake of our camaraderie and friendships and the sheer joy of training, I'd postpone the race date a little while. Don't worry, I can't do that! June 21 it is...but not too soon, please.