April Events: A Recap

March 28 (technically not April, but blog worthy), El Toro Hike, Morgan Hill: This is the only day of the year El Toro is open to the public to hike. I had hiked it before, but never to the top. It is a great hike, but whooo---eee! The last stretch of the climb has two ropes that you hold on to because it is way steep. My heart rate was maxed out, but I made it to the top and enjoyed lovely panoramic views of Morgan Hill. Going down was a bit challenging. I slipped 5 times, but luckily had a firm grasp on the ropes. I must have looked ridiculous falling in my aqua blue running skirt and "Find Your Happy Pace" t-shirt. Fortunately I didn't take any small children down with me. All in all, a great challenge and way to get out of my comfort zone.

March 29, Training ride for Cinderella: My friend LaRee and I biked 45 miles of the route. I hadn't been on a bike seat in a month, so after two hours I was toast. We biked through Livermore and the wind was brutal! We were going 6 MPH on a FLAT road. Ugh.

April 4, Cinderella Ride: Super duper cold in the morning as we left the Pleasanton Fairgrounds. Lots of people dress up for this ride. Not to toot my own horn, but our costumes were the best. We were ladybugs. Thank goodness for the internet, because you can buy halloween costumes year-round. I had black and red knee high socks, wings, and antenna attached to my helmet. The ride was great and it finally warmed up at the end! Some of the beginner riders need to become a but familiar with the rules of the road (i.e. don't stop suddenly in the street if there are a pack of riders behind you)

April 5, Wildflower 5k: Another fun event in Morgan Hill. I probably could have gone a tad faster, but still recovering from the 63 miles from Cinderella.


April 11, Icebreaker Swim: This was a fun, non-competitive open water swim in Lake Folsom. Brrrr! The water was cold and I forgot how panic-y I can get when I haven't trained in open water. Only swam 1/2 mile---my hardcore friend did the loop twice!

April 12: Biked from my house in Cupertino to parents house in Morgan Hill. Lovely ride except for a punk kid on a mountain bike not letting me pass him on Camden ave. He was struggling up the hill, so I poised myself to pass and then he saw me and went faster. This went on for about 5 minutes. Ugh...egos of teenage boys.

April 18, bike ride in Castro Valley with Team Mermaid and Giant for Women: Super fun and great group of women.

April 19, Bike Uvas tri course with the two Gina's from Mermaid: I am only doing the run for the relay, but any opportunity for a training ride is important for me. One good hill. I love cycling in Morgan Hill

April 25, Mermaid Swim Clinic: good to get back in the open water. Was supposed to go on a bike ride after, but bike was unrideable after being scraped down the freeway.

April 26, Mission City 5k: I did this race with Dennis, and my 11-year-old niece. It was a blast because you get to run through Great America. Dennis did great considering it was his first race ever (very cute how he looked befuddled with putting the bib on). My niece, whom I did Girls on the Run with last year, did fantastic! She yacked towards the end (did the same thing last year, and Aunt Jill even made sure she had breakfast this time!)---but that just makes her more hardcore because she finished strong!

On the radar for May: The Human Race in Sonoma, Uvas relay, and Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras 5k/10k.

On a side note---I miss my bike. :( Hope the parts come in soon!

Triathlon season has begun!

Seriously lagging on the blog. Perhaps I was waiting for an epiphany....like the voice over narration on "The Wonder Years" where adult Kevin Arnold goes discusses a life changing event and starts the monlogue with "and then it happened."

whoa...side note...is "Wonder Years" on dvd? I am so Netflixing that.

Anyways, April has been great and crazy. I raced 2 5ks, hiked a crazy hill, swam in a lake, and biked a little over 150 miles, turned 32, celebrated my one year anniversary in the non-profit world, and---still don't feel strong. Like, sporty strong.

I blame the triathlon training--I keep introducing a different sport while the other sport goes, wait wait, we aren't finished yet. Case in point: I probably have ran max 25 miles in April. Why? Getting back to the biking makes the running less desirable. Add jumping into the pool in the mix, and I totally stress about being slow as molasses in my freestyling.

My solution to all of this is two-fold: get back on to Calendars with Coach Heidi AND join a masters swim program.

Stay tuned for reports for April events. I swear they are coming!

FYI: the above picture of my bike handlebars was taken this weekend. My bike fell off its rack while I was driving, got stuck to the rack and was dragged on the freeway! The bike is ok, but I am out one road bike until the parts come in (seat got destroyed as well). I think I will take the folding bike to my workout tomorrow. That should be interesting.