Long workouts = dead legs

First of all, mother nature and I are NOT on good terms. I woke up Saturday at 6am prepared for a 6 hour ride. I was ready to go! I guess as excited as you can be to do a 6 hour solo ride. I took Junior outside to see dark clouds. Uh oh. I came in and checked the radar. It pretty much looked like this: (Drawing not to scale)Seriously, that's what it looked like. The weather man said it would be in Germantown (where I ride to) in 45 min. Well GREAT. Can't go ride just yet. I wouldn't mind a little green, but that big red blob was what worried me. Emailed coach...we decided as long as I got it done this weekend I was ok. I decided to go back to bed :)

Woke up at 10, and it still hadn't rained, but the sky still looked like it did at 6am. The radar still looked the same, but the storms were hitting everywhere BUT Memphis. It was like there was a force field around the city and it was breaking up the storm. It still looked like it would pour any second, so I decided to just go for the run. I decided that at 1:30pm...the heat of the day.

It started off pretty well. Until my asthma (which has been bad lately) started getting worse. I was hot. My legs hated me. Did I mention this run was supposed to be 2:15? I had mapped out an 11.5 mile course. After 5 miles, I stopped in a church parking lot and called Corky. I did NOT want to run. Scratch that...I kinda did, but my body didn't. I wanted to cry but conserved the salt. Corky said run 2 more miles and call her back. I ran a mile, and decided to stop at the gas station to use the restroom. I also talked them into letting me have a little espresso shot cup of coke. They were probably very confused why a runner was asking for coke, but it works every time I tell ya!

Back on the road, after the shot of coke, I was feeling much better. I ended up cutting the run about another mile short, so it was 10.5 miles. About 3 miles from home, I saw P$ in his truck. He pulled over and said hi, while trying to give me the toaster oven he's been trying to give me for a week. His excuse was "oh come on you're not THAT far from home".

Once home, I wanted to collapse, but instead had to babysit.

Sunday, church day obviously. Worked in the nursery and then attended 9:30 service. Normally I make my Kroger run right after church, but I was so tired I went straight home and laid down for an hour. I knew I had my ride to do. I was up and on my bike by 1:30. I was trying a new route, so I was a little nervous since I wasn't familiar with the roads. It actually turned out pretty good! This is the route I took:I did the loop twice, and it totaled 84 miles. My legs were just tired of moving by the end. Plus, doing it solo was not so fun. But I do know that when I get to IM, it will all be solo for the most part. So suck it up!

Also, I would like to speak to the two d-bags I came in contact with on my ride. To the first guy, on highway 64 with the ridiculously large truck who said on his intercom system "Get off the road, its for cars dumbass!" - you are not cool. You're truck is large, and gas guzzling. That wasn't even funny. However, I did pray for you, so I hope you experienced something post-yelling at me.

Also, to the man who drove up next to me while I was on Houston Levee Rd. and just stared me down - was that really necessary? I was already working my butt off, trying to stay as fast as possible so I don't make drivers upset. 99% of the people passing me did it correctly by going into the other lane to give me plenty of room. So did you really have to be a d-bag and drive next to me staring at me like I didn't know I was riding my bike in the road?

All in all, my nutrition was good. Though I did get dehydrated, even though I was taking my thermolytes (2 per hour) and consumed over 150 oz of liquid (100ish of those gatorade). Next Saturday, I have a 7 hour ride. PLEASE someone ride with me, even for an hour?

Where have I been?

Don't worry, I've been asking myself that too. Got an email from a friend today:

How am I supposed to know what is going on if you don't update your blog?????? I feel lost....alone....wandering in the wilderness of despair.

I feel the same way, Bill.

Well, what I've been doing for the past week is VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL. It took over my life for a whole week. I think I would have been less tired if I had trained for 4 hours a day rather than be with those kids. I was the "professor" of 22 four-year-olds. You heard that right. Twenty-two. Four year olds.

The theme of the week was Powerlab. Which is why I was the "professor". Didn't even have to get my PhD! Every day I came home and crashed for about two hours. It was EXHAUSTING. But how could you not be happy seeing these smiling faces everyday, talking to them about Jesus?

Also, I love what 4 year olds say. Some quotes from this week:

Anna: Miss Robyn, your shoes are kind of big.

Robyn: I know.

Anna: It's ok, you'll grow into them.

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Class leader: Kids, have you ever done anything wrong in which you can ask Jesus for forgiveness?

Emma: I never do anything wrong. But my brother does!

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Lisa (talking to her daughter): Molly, tell Miss Robyn what Jesus gives you the power to do.

(Molly stares at me)

Robyn: Molly, what does Jesus give you the power to do?
Molly: EAT CAKE!!!

This is why I LOVE KIDS.

Training is going well, surprisingly after this week. I have a 6 hour ride in the morning...SOLO. Here's to success at that.

Race Report: Kansas 70.3 (well, 63.8ish)

After getting yelled at by Dawn this morning, I’ve finally sat down to write my race report. I guess the reason I have yet to do it, is because of the debacle that was Kansas 70.3, or in my case Kansas 63.8ish. So here goes:

Pre-Race

I should have known this weekend wouldn’t be very good when I got a 3 hour late start due to bank issues. Finally, I was on the road around 11ish for an 8hour drive. I had planned to leave at 7:30 right after I dropped Junior off. But alas, things happen. Originally I was going to drive all the way into Lawrence so I could visit with people. Once I realized what time I was going to get into the KC area, I just decided to stay with Corky in Blue Springs, and save myself the long drive to Lawrence. Plus she offered to drive to Lawrence the next day, which saved me gas! Thanks girl!

We ate a fantastic dinner provided by the future Mr. and Mrs. Staton and pretty much went right to bed. Woke up Saturday morning, ate some food, pottied the cuddly pit bulls, and we were off to Lawrence. We went straight downtown to the expo. It was great being in downtown Lawrence and the atmosphere really was great. However, I agree with most athletes and think the expo should be at the race site. Just makes it easier all around. P.S. Downtown Lawrence is really awesome in the day time…i.e. not at 1am while you’re drunk, which is how I spent most of my days in downtown Lawrence ;)Since we got in and out of getting our race packets so quickly, we had plenty of time before bike turn in started at 2. After walking around the expo a bit, we decided to have 2nd breakfast/brunch outside at Milton’s. It was PERFECT outside, and Milton’s is always delish. I ate waaaaaay too much, but it was so good, I just couldn’t stop. Bad idea.

(Yes Corky is putting tightening her goggles while sitting outside at Milton's)

Next we were off to the race site for our last workouts. We both rode for about 20 minutes, and quickly determined it would probably be windy during the race. We made it back to the TA, and Corky went to swim while I ran. Well, Milton’s and the overeating came back to get me, and I ran a total of 10 minutes because I felt like I was going to hurl. I thought I would have enough time to digest, but apparently not. I walked down to the beach to try to find my partner in crime, but didn’t see her, so I went back to the car and started putting stickers on my bike. Biggest.......Gatorade Bottle........EVER

Cork finally made it back, and we got in line to turn bikes in. All the sudden Corky said “I see an opportunity approaching”. She went to her car to get her Trisports.com handouts. I was stuck holding both our bikes and trying to move with both of them as the line quickly moved. I kept looking back and seeing Corky mingling and passing out her handouts…good for her, but I was going to drop her bike right there and fend for myself! Good thing when I got into the chip tent, Mark Livesay was the one giving me mine. He looked at me and said, with the dumbest look on his face “why do you have two bikes?” I said “This is Courtney Crutcher’s, she’s handing out trisports stuff”. He just looked at me, looked at the bikes, looked at me again, and said “Ok I trust you”. Great! Finally Corky realized what was going on and ran up to get me (aka her bike, at this point we were already talking sh*t with each other about who was going to win).

We found our spots in TA and headed back to the car. We had been at the race site for nearly 3 hours so it was about time to head back to rest. We went back to Alyson’s house (thank you for hosting us!). We were doing the normal race prep stuff and I had several visitors (Beej and his girl, Dennis, and Sexy Mike!), which it was great to catch up with people!! Finally we thought we should get our stuff together for the race, since we had a 3:45am wakeup call! Earliest race I’ve ever done! Then it was time to snuggle with the Corkster all night long. She claimed I spooned with her in the middle of the night, but it was actually because she was laying in the middle of the dang bed!

Ready to Race!!

Be glad we didn't do this to YOUR bed the night before the race...Thanks POPE!!

Race Morning

3:45am is E-A-R-L-Y. At this point, I was also thinking how glad I was I left Junior at home, even though I missed the wittle guy. We got all our stuff together, put our race gear on, and headed out the door. We stopped at BP for some gas, and much needed (though not very tasty) coffee. We ventured to Clinton Lake, rocking out to some old school Nelly with the sub on. We were reverting back to high school. Quote of the morning was Corky: “only triathletes would wake up at 3:45am to race for 6+ hours and sh*t on themselves”. Totally true.

After a “short” walk to the TA, we started setting up. I always forget how long it takes me to set up my TA. I was able to meet a teammate I didn’t even know would be there, and BARB!!! Her husband was obviously way too busy to come meet me, though. Finally it was time to head to the swim. On our way, though, we got to look up and see some dudes jumping out of airplanes to land on the beach…and they call US crazy!

Swim: 36:57 – 1:45/100 yards

First off, this time included a 5 mile run from the beach to the TA…ok not really, but it was every bit of 250-300 yards…a long way if you ask me! Also, EVERYONE has said the swim was measured too long. My pace says so, I think. I know it was choppy, but the half I did last year, I was about 8-9 min faster. Even the pro’s were about 3-4 min slower than their usual times. Corky and I started up front. We were the first two swimmers to the first buoy. I just kept swimming, thinking to myself “holy crap, why do I do this?” I did a decent job of staying near the buoys, but could have done better. Overall, I felt really good on the swim.

T1: 1:39

Not bad, probably should have been faster, though.

Bike: 3:53:08 – 14.4 mph

UGH. It was so damn hilly. Who knew there were hills in Kansas?! I thought the only one was on campus. It was tough, but it also made me feel that much better when I finished it. Though I wish I would have paced over 15mph. The worst was my hamstrings tightened up again, and about 3 times as worse as at MIM. I wanted to get off my bike and stretch, but I also didn’t want to stop. Well, God must have been telling me to, because about mile 30 I dropped my chain. Going up one of the biggest hills! I stopped, put the chain back on, got my hands extremely greasy, and stretched out a bit. Much better! Took me forever to get clipped back in because I was going straight up it seemed like. I passed NO ONE on the bike…very frustrating. I got passed by EVERYONE. Dropped my chain AGAIN about mile 45. Not cool. Saw Dawn cheering for us right at the Iron Cross. That was so awesome and MUCH NEEDED! Thanks so much Dawn for coming out! Finally I made it back to TA.

T2: 2:11

WTF?! Why so slow?

Run: ???

I did what coach said to do on the bike, and it WORKED! Maybe she knows what she’s talking about. My run felt pretty good. The first mile wasn’t so fun, but after I got loosened up, I was cooking. Probably my fastest longer tri run to date! Yeah, it was hot, and hard, but I felt great all things considered. That is until the clouds rolled in. They looked bad, but I thought “they don’t cancel tris for anything.” Well, I was wrong. The run was kind of a figure 8 and you passed the finish right at the cross. I was coming back after finishing the first half of the run (after about 6 miles?) and they pointed me to the finish chute. I said “no I have another lap!” They said “we’re calling the race for weather, go into the finish”. I was so confused but ran thru. I felt like I just dreamed that it happened. I think my legs were happy to be done, but the rest of me wasn’t! The guy gave me my medal and said “congratulations on finishing a half ironman”…I said “but I didn’t” and walked away. I just kind of stood there in disbelief. As my friends came across the finish, hardly any of them finished, and they were all pissed…including Corky who was crying. It was so disappointing. The worst part is it rained for a few minutes, then let up. The sun came back out! In hindsight, I guess they made the right call because apparently the radar looked pretty bad and KC ended up getting hail and thunder and lightning. Still…very disappointing.

According to the results, I finished 4th in my AG, with a run pace of 5:40 min/mile. Well…I don’t think I could drive that fast, so obviously they just took my run time and put it in for 13.1 miles. Still no word on what they’re going to do about awards, times, etc. It was so nice to race with friends and teammates and to see some of my Kansas people I haven’t seen since last year! Wish I could race with them more often, but this weekend was fun.

That is until I got a flat tire in Festus, MO on the way home…but that’s a whole other story.

Race Report

I finished it just now, but I'm not posting until I get home so I can add the pictures! Look for it in a few hours.

Again, I can't make this story up!

Last night, I went over to one of my former professor's (Rick) house for some pool time and dinner. It was leisurely pool time, which is somewhat foreign to me at this point. They have two children. Evan is 2 1/2, and Madison is 4 months tomorrow! His wife's name is Chrissy. Beautiful family. I regularly babysit for them.

After some play time with Evan in the pool, he was sitting on my lap on a lounge chair. We were just talking when Evan said, "Robyn do you have boobies?"

Somewhat surprised by this, and knowing Rick and Chrissy are very open about these type of subjects, I said "Yes I do".

Evan said "Can I touch them?"

From the background, I hear Rick say "EVAN!"

Evan started laughing, obviously knowing this is wrong. I was laughing hysterically at this point. I later told Chrissy about it and she explained that the other day they were teaching him that touching other people's "private areas" is inappropriate. She said he must have been testing this "theory" with me.

Wow...the things that come out of a 2yr old's mouth! Love it!

Travel Day Tomorrow

I leave tomorrow!!! I really am excited...but not to pay $85 per gallon of gas. Ok, so its not quite that high, but jeez... $4 a gallon!? Actually, I'm pretty excited to be a southerner because I heard on the news yesterday that the cheapest place to get gas in the entire country is East Memphis, Arkansas! It's also the cheapest place to buy gas for a reason....

I'm not sure if I'll be taking my laptop with me or not this weekend, so don't expect any updates :) I'll have my race day game face on, and I'm fully focused on my goals. Coach and I will discuss while I'm on the road tomorrow. Hopefully I don't go through too many black holes and lose phone reception while I'm doing it.

Junior is also excited I'm leaving because he gets to hang out at Bailey's and play with the doggy door. He thinks its a toy. He's a very simple dog. That's why I love him!

Also, keep praying that I hear about the job soon...STILL WAITING! Argh....

Good luck to all of those racing this weekend! And if you're going to be at Kansas 70.3...I'll be whizzing past you (at least I can dream).....

TAG! Running Q and A

I was tagged by Corky...and since I have nothing to do at work until I go swim in about 20 min, what a way to kill time!

1. How would you describe your running 10 years ago? Let's see, 10 years ago I was 14...and I didn't run. Ever. Actually I didn't run until about 2 years ago. So 10 years ago, Robyn and Running never EVER occured in the same sentence. Unless it was something to the effect of "Robyn was running away from a killer bee".

2. What is your best and worst run/race experience? Best and worst run experience are actually the same...go figure. It was last year during my first olympic distance tri, Memphis in May. I ran the whole run (10k) which was the longest I had ever run non stop. I was so proud of myself!! The bad part, you ask? Well, I competed on a stress fracture, and officially at the end of the race my leg was broken. Basically I couldn't stop running or I would have never started again...it was a wee bit painful. No one said athletes have common sense.

3. Why do you run? I'm going to have to agree with Corkster on this one: because we have to. Running is the most difficult for me, and it's really not that fun (unless you have a good run day). Although it is difficult, and most of the time I don't like it...I do enjoy getting better at it. Seeing how much I've improved in the past few years is kinda worth it.

4. What is the best or worst piece of advice you've been given about running. Best piece of advice: tuck your butt under (thanks Coach). Worst piece of advice: why don't you try running a 5k?

5. Tell us something surprising about yourself that not many people would know. I'm pretty sure everyone knows just about everything about me. And I don't want to get too crazy with this question, because my mom reads my blog :)

6. Tag Somebody. Meg H., RunningJayhawk, OutofShapeGuy, Seth, MarySunshine, Jen in Budapest, ALISSA!

I can't make this stuff up

I was conversing with Corky this morning via email, as we do pretty much daily, and the subject of being poor came up...again a daily thing. This is verbatim:

Corky: Do you have anything to sell?

Robyn: Hmmm...I can check my roommmates room? I'm not selling Junior. Myself?

Corky: FOR SALE:

5'7 medium build athletic woman. Knows how to change bicycle tires, can poop in woods. Doesn't mind eating liquid food from silver packets for nutrition days at a time. Can live in garage with running shoes. Dog available for extra charge.

So there ya go folks. Look for me on ebay in the next day or two.



Also race numbers are up! I'm #319 yay!!!

Race day is near!

First off, I'm jealous of Lawrence, KS right now. I just looked at the weather and its currently 65 there! Yeah, its already 84 here with 70% humidity, making it feel like 90!! NEAT.

Well, T - 4 days until I leave for Kansas! And T - 6 days until RACE DAY!!!

I'm very confident that I can do this distance and do it well, however with nearly half the field dropping out of Eagleman yesterday (due to heat, I assume), I'm kinda nervous about the weather. I've been training in the heat lately, and it SUCKS. The forecasted weather for Sunday is high of 86. That's like the temperature outside here right now. So I'm hoping it won't get too hot!

Although it is good training for Ironman Louisville. Kentucky in August is NOT pretty.

Congrats to everyone who raced (i.e. braved the heat) yesterday! Liz rocked Eagleman and placed 8th in the pro division! YAY! Seth competed at the Lancaster Half, and even though his bike revolted against him, and the heat was brutal...he finished...which a lot of people can't say they did!

And everyone racing in Kansas next weekend...get ready! Race day is near!

Sometimes I think Junior hates me....

I put his ears in a "Bam Bam" ponytail!!

Ahhhhhhh

For the past 2 weeks, I haven't been sleeping well at night, which means I usually end up taking a nap the next day, which means I do not sleep well that night. It's a vicious cycle, really. Since I've been babysitting my weekends away, I decided I really needed to get a massage. I truly think this is part of the reason why my hammies cramped up so badly during MIM. I hadn't gotten my normal 4-6 week massage, due to lack of funds.

So, I set aside some of the money I made this weekend and yesterday I got my massage! 45 minutes of heaven. My arches feel tons better, my legs feel refreshed, and my back is no longer tight. I think my back grows about an inch in length when I leave Pam, because she releases all the tightness. Not that I needed a bigger back/shoulders, but at least I feel better.

I knew it was an amazing massage for two reasons: 1.) I fell asleep on the table, which I never do, and 2.) I slept sooooo well last night. In fact, I almost feel refreshed today! Almost being the key word. Let's not get carried away.

Last night was The Loop and we started a new series about the Proverbs. If you are in Memphis, you need to check this out! It gave me a very refreshed feeling about where I am in my life right now. I feel like good things are heading my way :)

Saturday's Ride

I had a 5 hour ride + 20 min run planned on Saturday.

I decided to hit up the group ride at RB's Cyclery in Bartlett, and when I called the shop Thurs, the dude said they were going to do about 50 miles. I knew I would need about 75 for a 5 hour ride, so I decided to ride there, and hopefully ride back. Getting there was about a 12 mile ride.

Friday night I packed all my stuff up and made 4 bottles of various drinks: Gatorade, Accelerade, and GU20 just so I wouldn't get bored. I was in bed by about 10:30.

Saturday morning I woke up at 6am, to depart by about 6:45. Made some coffee, walked the pup and ate a peanut butter sandwich. Yummy! I finally got everything ready, dressed and was out on my bike departing at 6:55am. Only ten minutes off. It's probably because I laid in bed exactly 10 minutes too long. Oops!

The 12 miles to the shop wasn't bad. I used it as an easy warm up. I had to ride on a busy busy road unfortunately, but at 7am on Saturday there aren't that many cars out. Well, less than normal anyway. The ride was leaving the shop at 8am, and I arrived at 7:45am.

When I got there, there were already about 30 riders getting ready! With more and more cars pulling in every second. It was already hot, as I was dripping with sweat and my eyes were burning from sweat and sunscreen. It was hot...AND humid. Finally the ride was departing. About 50 riders were in this group. WOW. This is the "B" ride that averages about 17.5 mph. Before we started going, the dude leading the ride said "remember this is a 17.5mph ride, so don't drop my ass like you did last week". GREAT. I hoped they were listening to him!

He said we were going to do 55 miles and we were off. It felt pretty good at first since I was already warmed up. We were probably averaging about 16 right off the bat to let everyone warm up. I was right in the middle of the pack chatting with some older gentleman. Then, we hit the first few hills. I kept up at first, until we got to a much bigger one. Then, I fell out of the middle of the pack like I was riding a unicycle. I ended up riding in the back with one other guy (who was 63, that was his excuse). We were several bike lengths back, when after about 10 miles we pulled over to a rest stop to let everyone use the restrooms. Since it had been about an hour and a half, I figured I better go because who knows when I'll get to go again. Of course I was the last one out of the restroom and as soon as I got to my bike, they said "Let's go!" I jumped on my bike, chugged down a gel and was off.

I held on for about another 10 miles, and then the hills started again. I had been in the middle of the pack when we hit a pretty big one. I was pushing and pulling like my life depended on it, and I look over at other women, who appear to be in the same gear riding at the same cadence, not exerting much energy, and they dropped me like I was standing still. SO FRUSTRATING. Once again, I was in the back of the pack. My legs felt like jelly, and when I tried to stand up on the hills, I felt like I had had a quadectomy (that's the medical term). I had NOTHING. I managed to keep at least one rider (the 63 year old dude who was kicking my ass at this point) in sight, but I started to lose him because I had nothing in the tank. I guess I wasn't recovered from my long run on Thurs. I saw a guy circling back up ahead and immediately felt embarrassed that he had to come back for me. When he pulled up beside me, he said "is anyone behind you?" I said "I don't think so."

He circled around and rode with me. His name was Wes. I was so thankful he came back because I had NO idea where we were or where we were going. We chatted a lot, and I felt like we were crawling, so I kept apologizing for him having to come back for me. But then, I looked down at my computer and realized we were going 19mph! Wait...first of all, we're flying and we're still this behind? Secondly, this is supposed to be a 17.5mph ride! WTF?! The hills are what really killed me. Anytime I hit them, I would end up going like 12-13mph but I felt like I was recruiting every last muscle fiber in my legs. How is this possible?! I wanted to blame my bike, and the heat, but knew it was just me. Which was super frustrating.

We finally made it to "cat pee", a small convenience store in the middle of nowhere, TN. Wonder where it gets the name Cat Pee? Just take a whiff when you walk in...A few things that gave away the fact that the Saturday ride that stops there every week is the biggest day in sales for them:
1.) There were products (dog leashes, fishing equipment, etc.) that had about an inch of dust on them and the packaging was obviously from the 1970's.
2.) It smelled like cat pee.
3.) They don't take credit cards.
4.) When I bought a coke and a bottle of water, the woman at the front looked at me, looked at the drinks, and said "$1.25". Since when can you buy a soda AND a bottle of water for that cheap?!

When we walked about, Wes said "We're pretty sure they just make up prices". haha. Great. Once I chugged the coke, and filled one of my bottle with the water, we were off again. The coke worked...for about 8 miles. Then, once again, I found myself getting dropped on the hills. This time, however, since I had about 50 miles already put it, I was quickly falling behind. I was hoping Wes would come back and get me, but at the same time I felt bad and wanted him to get a good ride in. I was so frustrated and wanted to cry, stop, and call someone to come get me. I had actually been considering this since the first time I got dropped about 30 miles ago.

Finally, I was starting to lose sight of the even the last rider. I needed to eat, and finally decided to just pull over and grab a gel and rest my legs. I found a little side street and pulled over. I ate a gel, and pulled out my phone. Thank goodness for GPS!!! I looked up where I was in relation to RB's. Great! Only 12 miles away! Then I realized that was if I took the interstate. Probably not the best idea on two wheels.

At this point, I just decided to follow the road I was on and then look at the GPS in a few miles to see where I could go. I started praying, hard. God, just get me back to the bike shop. I had Heather on call to come get me if I needed her to. I had text messaged her the night before telling her I might need a ride back! She had texted me at this point to ask if I needed a ride and I said yes! She left to meet me at the shop.

God must have been watching over me, because I got to a T in the road and either had to go left or right. I pulled out my phone, only to realize since I was in the middle of no where, the GPS couldn't find me. I started to try to move around a bit, hoping that would help, when a rider that wasn't with our group, flew past me and turned right. He said "Hey how's it going!" as he passed me. I thought... "Thank you GOD!" I decided to go right and try to follow him.

As soon as I turned, I started seeing markings on the road for an annual ride that RB's does. They put the markings on the road so that if anyone gets lost they can find their way back. Good thing! I followed the markings and had ended up being about 12 miles away when I stopped. Heather came to the shop and picked me up. Thank goodness for that!

I found Wes on facebook, due to my amazing facebook stalking abilities and thanked him for coming to get me the first time and to let him know I didn't die. He said some people were worried and tried to go back and look for me, but couldn't find me. OOPS! He said not to worry, and this group ride is hard, because a lot of people are between the "A" and "B" groups abilities, and tend to start taking off after a while.

I emailed coach in frustration, and she said not to worry also. Group rides are hard, especially when riding on trashed legs.

All in all, it was a learning experience, and I will do it again. Just not for another few weeks :) Thanks to all those who rode with me, and especially Wes for saving me!! At least the first time....

Y'all thought I was kidding

Apparently it's official. I thought it was just me, but no: Memphis is one of the worst cities for cycling. And all along I just thought I had a huge target on my back!

I just hope it makes me a better cyclist?