San Diego Century Ride

 When I started doing triathlons I was first amazed that I could even do a Mini-Sprint, and after doing a Sprint, and then an International distance, my motivation to challenge myself drove me to want to either go faster or longer. Since I'm someone who loves marathons over 5Ks, my eyes immediately turned to a Half-Ironman (aka 70.3) as my "next" race for 2012. I was thinking about doing Barb's Race which is a women's only 70.3 when I was accepted as a San Francisco Marathon Ambassador again. Fate and duty calls! More marathons for 2012, maybe a 70.3 next year?

Bike Trainer Setup & Ready!

Faulty Cadence Sensory - Sigh!

I'm a weak triathlete and feel like I'm just a runner with a wetsuit and bike. I loathe the swim and I'm terrified of the bike. I figured at some point that I should take baby steps and overcome my fear of the bike first, then work on the swim, then put it all together for a 70.3. I decided to do a bike race of some endurance distance (century? 100 miles?) this year and decided on a 67 mile ride in May. I figured if I could tackle the 67 mile race first, and a century later in the year, I'd be prepared for the bike leg of a 70.3 and the swim would be my only significant obstacle.

Working the Indoor Trainer While Mika Looks Bored

I registered for the San Diego Century ride which would take place on May 19th, created a training plan (based on a 70.3 plan minus the swims) that allowed me to bike and run, enlisted my friend Kathryn as my bike guide, got an indoor bike trainer as a Christmas gift from David .. and then hey! I was ready to go!

San Diego Century 67 Mile Course

I am TERRIFIED of biking on the street and spend the entire time waiting to get hit by a car. To help mitigate this risk I wear a bright orange jersey each time, always assume the drivers can't see me, and try to be as smart of a biker that I can be. Over the months of January to May Kathryn patiently took me on ride after ride, guiding me through different parts of San Diego and helping me start to find a love for my bike. Although I can't shake the feeling of subdued terror each time I'm on my bike, I have found that I actually like the physical movement of biking. Compared to running its so much easier! Granted I'm extremely slow on the bike (which is such an ego blow as a fairly fast-ish runner), but I enjoy the movement, like the push and burn, and LOVE that I never feel beat up after a long ride the way I do with a long run. 

Training Ride Through Cardiff

In my training I had scheduled long rides up to a 60 mile distance. With work and life and travel, I ended up only getting to 50. Oh well. This worried me a bit but I thought whatever. I can always run the last 10 miles. Haha jk. As race day approached I was exited and nervous! I couldn't wait to go after a goal I had originally thought was beyond my reach, and I was ready to experience something new. 

Training Ride Through the Elfin Forest

As we started off in this race I had similar thoughts to those I have at the start of a marathon. A few miles in I thought WOW, I feel good! Oh, we're 5 miles in ... of 67. Eek, that's nothing! How will I keep going for so many more?? Luckily, the miles quickly passed, and soon we were at our first SAG stop. Um, or should I say fiesta? In marathons I don't feel a huge sense of community among runners. Sure some runners run together, and some run for a shared charity -  but I think most are plowing ahead for their own goal, only stopping briefly for water or fuel, and charging on. In contrast, the SAG stops at this race were like a party! Everyone was standing around socializing, taking a break, having a snack, and totally not worrying about time. Who were these weird non-competitive people?? I like them!

Ready to Ride! San Diego Century Start

I wasn't too hungry by the first stop which was around mile 20 something or so, and started out by trying a bite of an energy bar. Then I saw the peanut butter sandwich quarters. Then the tamales. Nom nom nom. Omg, did I really just shove all that food in my face? We needed to get biking again! Step away from the food! We pushed off and headed back on the course thank goodness - and I tired to forget about the fresh tamales. Oh those steamy, fresh tamales...

First SAG Stop - TAMALES!

The miles ticked by and soon we were at the second SAG stop. More tamales! jk. There weren't any tamales at this stop but I had another piece of peanut butter sandwich and a banana. I was amazed by how much real food was provided. You probably didn't need to carry anything!

Three Witches Climb

Here Comes Kathryn!

After the second stop I suddenly hit the point where I was over riding. Physically I felt fine, but UGH ... we'd been biking for forever........ I was sick of being on my bike, a bit bored with the act of working out, and just ready to finish the race. (And to think I want to do 1 1/2 times the distance. Ha! I'm crazy, I know.)

All CHEESE on Three Witches Climb

During my training I had set an arbitrary goal of finishing under 5 hours. This was a modest goal which put me at an overall 13.4 mph pace. Somewhere in the last two miles I saw that we'd probably finish under 5 hours. Suddenly I was obsessed with this! I wanted to finish in 4:XX:XX!! As we approached the last turn and cruised through the last light, I thought ... OMG... we're going to do it! 

Two Guys Did the Century on an Elliptigo!

OK Corral SAG Stop

Love the Theme!

We rolled through the finish line and I looked down at my watch and saw 4:59:XX. I was so excited and hit "Stop" on my watch. Oh crap, no I hit "Lap". How can I not know the buttons? I've run with this watch everyday for about six years! As I was fiddling with my watch and finally hit STOP I looked up and saw a fence. Oh crap, from looking down while moving forward, I was headed straight towards a fence with nowhere to go. Ahh! I freaked out and crashed my bike to the left. Um yes, about 10 feet past the finish line I crashed. Why yes, there were a ton of people around watching. About six people instantly ran towards me all freaked out. Can you say embarrassing?? I was totally fine and had only scratched up one finger. Luckily my bike took the brunt of the fall. My friend Kathryn rolled up a few seconds later and complimented me on my epic finish. Yes, quite a finish. So embarrassing!!!

We Did It!
Love that we got finisher's medals!

After shooing everyone away and repeatedly refusing to go to the medical tent, I was done! A finisher! Unfortunately I had scheduled the day poorly and had to grab food and then run off to a hair appointment moments later. Because I hadn't factored in the stop light and SAG stop dilly-dallying, I was done about an hour later than I had anticipated. Shoot, I didn't have time to shower and ended up going to the salon in the bike clothes I had worked out in for five hours straight!!! Lets all say in unison "eewwww". Yeah. Gross.

FUNKY at the  Hair Salon

My hair dresser was nice enough to pretend that I didn't smell like a homeless person, and a few hours later I was blonder and ready to shower. Looking back I am so happy I did this race! I realized I like biking (although I hate biking on the street), I was able to set a big goal and go after it, and now I'm ready for something bigger. I think a century is up next don't you? Unfortunately I have three marathons scheduled thorough the remainder of the year so my century ride will have to be after December 2nd. 

Wearing my Bracelet the Next Day :)

I'm eying my race calendar but haven't signed up for a century yet. We'll see how these next three marathons go before I pick a race. Happy biking!