Week #31

I enjoyed my rest day on Monday, but the sunburn is now present. There was a strip right where my bike shorts ended that got missed with sunscreen and there is even a blister now. That is the worst thing that hurts on my body.

Tuesday I got my swim in and a 60'bike ride up Old Tunnel Road. I was extremely excited because I was able to ride up Tunnel Road in one gear harder than I normally do and I got further than I have ever gotten before. On the way down, my teammates and I stopped to take a photo of us and the sunset.

Wednesday was a scheduled track workout, but my sunburn and blisters were hurting so I decided to get another swim workout in.

Thursday was a scheduled brick workout, but Roe scheduled a deep tissue massage as a present for my birthday so I went with that option. 11:59pm was also the deadline for my hair fundraiser - people to got pay to vote and decide what I should do with my hair. The three options were: 1. Shave head, 2. Mo-Hawk, 3. Purple/Green dye.

Friday was my 31st birthday! I was hoping to find what the result of my fundraiser but it was too close to call. I had to wait for the last minute donations to clear before I could identify the option that won. Instead, I had work training all day and my colleagues surprised me with a cake and an very generous gift. We went out to dinner so I could prepare for my 60 miles bike ride in the morning - Tour of the East Bay Alps.

Saturday morning I was up at 5:00am because I had to leave the house at 6am to get to Heather Farms and be ready to roll by 7:00am. Now there was the first wild fire of the season in Walnut Creek the day before so we weren't sure if we could ride the intended route. Coach Mike created an alternative route just in case the road was still closed but we wouldn't know that until more later in the day.

The bike ride started out fine. I knew it was gonna be a really hot day so I had been hydrating for a few days. I put on a TON of sunscreen and even wore long bike pants so my current sunburn did not have direct contact with more sun. About 5 miles in we start our first little hill climb. I could feel the soreness in my legs already. Then all the sudden, I kinda swallowed a bug but it didn't go all the way down and got stuck in my throat. Now mind you, I am still trying to pedal up alittle hill. I started gagging and had to stop. Fortunately, one of my teammates Carol, stopped with me and waited while I attempted to get the bug out. It finally came out and it was a terrible feeling. The group was ahead of us by now and Carol and I started back on the course.

We stopped in the town of Clayton to fill up our water bottles and use the restroom because we did not have access to water for the next 14 miles. That 14 mile stretch was Morgan Territory Road and that was the first of our Alps. It was so hot, there were so many hills and it was too early for me to be sweating that much. But I kept going, one pedal stroke after another. The damn road never ended. Just when I thought I was at the top, the road curved around the side again. Then I saw three people walking a dog and I knew I was close to the water stop which was at the top of this nasty hill. I later found out this was where 3 of my teammate fell. Two got up and road on but one had to go to the hospital but is ok.

So, I get to the top of the hill, hear my teammates cheer my name and the only thing I could do was stick my tongue out. Then Coach Mike said, "Happy Birthday" and my reply was, "Happy Fucking Birthday to Me". Yep that statement explained it all.

I refilled all my water supply and I talked with Patty who was the one needing to go to the ER. I rolled on forgetting one of my water bottles that had my liquid food in it. DAMN! I didn't realize this until after the amazing downhill I experienced. I was almost at the end of the downhill when I bee got caught between my skull cap and my helmet. I tried to get it out with one hand but I started to wobble so I just got both hands on my handlebars. The damn thing stung me right about the ear. Les came by about 3 minutes later and he had to take his route map to get the stinger out. I got the full dose of poison and did that ever sting. I continued on and when I saw a sag vehicle, I got some ice to put on it. Just then a whole bunch of antique cars came rolling down the road and that was so sweet to watch.

I was on some familiar roads and the wind was REALLY picking up. I was riding leaning over to the side just to stay upright. I was behind the rest of my teammates and it was getting late. I wasn't sure if my knee would be able to handle the climb up Mt. Diablo which was the second Alp in the ride. I found out that a number of my teammates were opting out of the Mt. Diablo climb so I wanted to go with them on the alternative route. I was sagged forward a few miles so we could all ride together. The six of us road back in the 20 miles together. We then cheered on the rest of our teammates that were still out there.

Coach Dave had arranged for a shopping party from 2:30-5pm at Sports Basement but he also ordered pizza. So, as soon as Patty arrived back from the hospital, we all went over to SB. Little did I know that Roe had planned a surprise birthday party for me there and all my teammates knew about it. That was such a sweet gesture and after my teammates endured a day of heat, hills, wind, falls, flats, they still hung out for my birthday. I was really touched. I then too advantage of the shopping party and bought some aerobars.

Sunday was supposed to be a run, but I opted for an additional rest day and was able to identify the winning option from my fundraiser - purple/green dye by only $20.

Here's to a great week ahead and a new do for me.
Cheers,
Dana