Fun in the sun!

Thursday night code posts at work are always a crap shoot. If we're out by 10 it's awesome, but then we're expected at work on Friday. If we're there late it sucks, but then we get Friday off. Our post was running smoothly this past Thursday and I thought I'd be out by 10, but we hit some last minute snags and 10 quickly became 3. The good news: Friday off to enjoy the most beautiful day of the year!

I caught a few hours of sleep, then hit the bike for a quick jaunt around the south end of the lake with a friend from TGH. We had a great time and couldn't have picked a better day for a ride. My hip held up well and I think I got more road bike miles in last week than I have all season.

I spent the rest of the afternoon boating around Lake Washington with a friend, drinking Dos Equis, and enjoying the sunshine. Thanks for the outing! I couldn't believe more people weren't out given the gorgeous weather. After bringing the boat in, the weather was still too nice to call it a day, so we hit the jet skiis for about an hour and I had probably my best run yet. Not until later did we realize we forgot life jackets. Oops! I can't believe we got away with that one.

Saturday I packed up the dog and my mom and headed east to Winthrop for the next mountain bike race on the Indie Series. Since my mom just moved here and hasn't seen most of Washington, I knew she'd love the drive over Highway 20. She also couldn't believe the climate change going into Winthrop. Ahhh, I love Methow Valley!

I woke up this morning ready to kick some ass but damn this course was tough! Thank goodness I only had to do one loop on the lower loop of the course. I heard the upper loop was pretty gnarly and tough. I found out quickly that Friday's jet skiing taxed my hamstrings, which I rely on heavily for climbing. My Garmin registered 1600 ft of climbing in just about 10 miles.

I got a great start and was 3rd going into the single track. The trail had some fast downhill sections, some steep climbs, a few edgy areas around a lake, and some steep, sandy descents. The terrain rolled just enough to not give me time to recover, so I hurt bad most of the race. The worst part was only getting a drop of water here and there because of a kink in my Camelbak tubing. Ugh. I lost a few spots a little ways in probably because I went out way too hard. Bummer.

I hiked a bike on a few steep climbs but my legs were completely blown halfway through the race. I started singing "the wheels on the bike go 'round and 'round" just to keep myself going. Don't laugh, it's a great strategy! The last mile or so I suffered the most. The trail gradually climbed just enough to be annoying and keep the speed down. I did manage to pass one girl towards the end, so I got myself into 5th, which is where I finished. That's my best finish yet, so I'm happy with it, though a little disappointed I couldn't keep myself in 3rd.

My saddle was too low the entire race, and I could really feel it on the climbs. I almost thought about stopping halfway through and raising it, but worried too much about losing my placing so I just kept going. My hamstrings are wrecked now and I think it's partly because of the jet skiing, and partly because of the doofy saddle height. Oh well. One thing is for sure: I'm sleeping well tonight!