Have Met the Course!

Saturday we were up and out at the crack of dawn - this time change between home and training is a real bear - but at least we get back 'early'!

Our first official outing at Gregg Park - we were told to be ready to swim at Rainbow Beach (the outdoor pool at Gregg Park - and no, I don't know why they call it that) because they would let us in if the water was a minimum of 70 degrees. That's not as warm as it sounds, as Tiffany was quick to share with us that the indoor pool at the YMCA, which we usually complain about being cold, is at a minimum 81 degrees! So we weren't too terribly heartbroken to learn we would not be swimming!

So we were off to run then bike - and going at our own individual paces - we set up our own little 'transition' area. One of the more experienced angels had a well decorated bucket with a towel, swim cap, goggles, and perhaps a bottle of water. Might have weighed a pound - at most. My bucket, however, weighed about 10 lbs. because I had 2 of everything known to man that could possibly have been needed for 2 hours in the wilderness - swim gear, extra shirt(s), extra sunglasses, extra water and granola, extra sunscreen (2 types), batteries for the MP3 player, bandaids, banana, bandana x 2, and a bunch of other stuff that if I really need it I'd probably need to pull out of the event anyway. Will revisit the bucket situation before our next outing for sure!

As we were headed out of the park for our run I decided perhaps a potty stop would be a good idea - this didn't occur to me of course the 15-20 minutes we were standing around stretching and yip-yapping - go figure. So I was well behind the pack from the get go but was pleasantly surprised to note 2 bikes were still waiting for their riders when I made it back into the park! My moment of smugness was quickly (and appropriately!) dashed when I encountered the first of the bikers RETURNING to the park as I was getting my feet into the rat traps ... that pride goeth before the fall thing and all must have caught up with me.

First time actually pedalling on the route but once you turn right out of the park and then left at the T you can't really get lost. As suspected, the route does seem to be fairly steady incline even when you may think you're on 'flat' ground. Tiffany was waiting at the 2 mile mark of the 8+ mile ride (counting chicks) and at the turn around point I picked up a wingwoman who stayed with me all the way back. Traffic was light but some drivers were better than others about skirting us - there is no paved shoulder on the route and one can only move over so far!

Got back in 52 or 54 minutes - but right on my usual pace - not bad for a first trip on an unfamiliar route! The other angels had moved the car up closer and tossed my bucket in for me so we were able to quickly load up Traveler and get on our way - thanks ladies for schlepping the stuff! Sorry the bucket weighed a ton!

So now we've seen the 'run' and bike routes and survived both - whoooo hoooo! 4 more official practice sessions before the event since we are 'off' on the Memorial Day holiday!