Back in the Saddle

I had the most fantastic weekend. After a beautiful spring, the last two weeks have been super cold and rainy, and I lost so much motivation. This weekend was sunny and gorgeous. I finally got my gardens planted, and I had great workouts.

Saturday, I met up with a group of 7 other bikers to ride the Liberty Half Iron Distance course. Most of us will be doing the race in four weeks. The sun was shining, the lilacs are still blooming, and the hills were calling us. It reminded me so much of the IM WI course - the green farm country, the hills, and all of the other bikers we saw out there. It was one of those rides where you're just so thankful to be out there. My friend Jess rode the first loop with us. She will be doing her first duathlon next weekend, and I asked her to come along to get a feel for the course since it will be similar to our du course. She just bought her bike a couple of weeks ago, and even though our ride definitely was not beginner friendly in terms of hills, she did great and got a lot of practice shifting :) I am so excited to be able to cheer for her at the finish line of Gear West du!

After Jess left, we headed out for a second loop. I got to chat with Sarah, Amy, Nat, Matt, Adam, and a woman and a guy whose names are escaping me (sorry!). Sara, Amy, Nat, and Matt are all training for their first Ironman in Wisconsin this fall, and once you get me talking about Ironman and tris in general, I can't stop! I got to talk to Sara the most before we lost the shoulder on our road and had to ride single file. All of the talk about Ironman made me really excited to head out to WI in July for WIBA. Including the "extra credit" Jess and I got for missing a turn on the first loop, my ride totalled 59 miles. I thought about tacking on an extra mile for that even number but had to get back to gardening... I don't often get to ride with other people, and I had so much fun. I think the hilly tempo rides I have been doing are paying off. I felt really strong on the hills, and though I was plenty hungry by the time I was done, my legs still had gas in the tank. I'm hoping to get in at least two 70+ mile rides before Liberty.

Today I went on a long(ish) run with my friend Haley. She'll be doing her second half marathon next weekend. We talked strategy for her race, caught up on life, and enjoyed another lovely day in Minnesota. Nine miles flew by before we knew it. I'm so proud of her. She has come a long way since her first race in January, and I'm really excited to see her smash her previous time.

Next weekend will be my second duathlon of the year. Gear West Du is an intense course with a deep field. Then it will be full speed ahead for my sister's wedding. June and the tri season will be here before we know it!