Hotter 'N Hell



Before we headed out

We did it! Today we rode 25 miles in the Hotter 'N Hell. Last year we did the 10K race, which is on a different course, so this was the first time for me to ride in the "real" race.

Chad works for the TV station that provides the live coverage for the beginning of the race, so we had to be out there around 5:30 (which beats him setting up at 2 like he's done in years past). We couldn't begin until they had gone off the air at 7:30, but we still weren't last. In fact, it was nice not to have all that chaos to battle at the beginning of the race.

It wasn't too hot to begin this morning, but it was definitely heating up quickly. There were some hills, and that was something we hadn't really practiced. Luckily, I have learned to shift gears now.

We stopped a couple of times to fill up on water. The most amazing part of the race is this...

The course takes you right through Shepard Air Force Base, and the airmen come out to cheer you on. It is absolutely amazing! My husband said it best when he said, "It's hard not to be motivated when these guys are cheering you on."

All in all, it was really a good ride!

After we'd caught up with Mom at the finish

My parents rode today as well. Unfortunately, Mom had a blowout, which she changed on her own. However, just a few yards down the rode, it blew again and she didn't have any way to fix it this time. She had to take a sag wagon back to the finish. I hate that this happened to her...especially when we didn't even have tools, tubes or air with us!

Dad rode the 100K! I know it was seriously hot by the time he finished, but I am so proud of him!

I'm liking this bike riding thing. It's very different from running, but it's a good change up. And I get to ride with my amazing hubby...can't get any better than that!

Mileage Report
Weekly: 9 miles running + 25 miles biking/2 = 21.5 miles for my count
YTD: 503.85 miles

I feel guilty counting my biking miles, even half the way I do, in my running total challenge. Eh, well...it's still miles I'm putting in. And I'm now over 500 miles for the year!!!

Lessons learned

This morning was full of lessons. Since my husband and I are signed up for a 25-mile bike ride at the end of the month, I am substituting my Wednesday run for a bike ride and working in a long bike ride on the weekends (hopefully). He rides on Tuesdays/Thursdays, and I run or ride on Mondays/Wednesdays. We'll have to figure out the weekends soon, but we are hoping to ride a longer ride together by getting a sitter for the kids. I'd still like to fit in a long run, but I haven't quite figured that out.

I learned several lessons on this morning's ride. It's interesting because a lot of these lessons are things I'm going to incorporate into my classroom this year.

Lesson #1: Know where you are going. So, this morning was my first time to head out on my own. I wanted to get to the trail out by the lake to avoid traffic, but first, I had to get to it. Easier said than done. Chad had told me where to find the entrance to the trail, and I listened...I promise, I did. It just didn't translate well once I was on the bike. So there's lesson #1. If you don't know how to get to where you're going, it just might take longer to get there.

Lesson #2: It might seem all uphill. I swear the whole ride was uphill. I don't remember the downhills. I kept wondering how in the world I'd picked a route that was all upward inclines. But that's kind of like life...we remember the struggles, but we don't notice when we're coasting.

Lesson #3: Keep track of how far you've gone. I forgot to start my Garmin. More than once. I didn't start it when I left my driveway and only noticed when I hit the trail after a few detours, which was disappointing considering I had no idea how much I'd added to my distance just finding the entrance to the trail. Then I went to the end of the spillway and stopped to turn around a grab a drink, stopping my Garmin (why, I have no idea). Yep. Forgot to start it after that too. It's amazing how if you don't know how far you've gone, it can be really frustrating. You have no idea if you're doing well or not. Once again, another life lesson. I think it's important that in any endeavor you pay attention to where you've been and the progress you've made. Otherwise, it's really easy to lose yourself in frustration.

This year, at the beginning of the school year, I'll be guiding my students to make some plans for their lives, roadmaps for where they want to go and how they are going to get there. So, this morning's ride was a test in that. I knew where I wanted to go (sort of) but didn't have all the steps to get there as easily as I could have. And because I wasn't paying attention, I wasn't sure how far I'd gone, which added to my frustrations this morning. Once I mapped the ride and knew how far I'd really been, I was much happier :)

I still have another 15 miles to find somehow in the next month. I really thought my running would make the biking easy, but I really struggled. There were times I thought, "Hmmm...if I stash my bike here, I could run home and come get it later" and "I wonder if Chad would mind loading up the kids to come get me." But in the end, I enjoyed the ride and am really looking forward to completing the HHH with my husband.

HHH, here we come!

It's official! My husband and I are registered for the 25-mile ride part of the Hotter 'N Hell 100! We have right at a month to train, which is good, because we need it!

We're not entering it competitively at all. We're in it to finish it!

Last year, we each pulled a trailer with a kid for the 10K ride of the HHH. We won't be pulling kids for this one :)

HHH 2010

The trick will be for us to both get our training in. Right now, he's riding a couple of days a week on the days I'm not running. The problem will be for me to get some rides in. I'm guessing I'll trade out a run or two a week for a ride. I'm hoping we can ride a few longer rides together on the weekends, but we'll have to drop the kids off with family for that to happen easily.

I'm really looking forward to it. I love doing stuff like this with my hubby.

Change Up

We, the hubby, SB, and R, all rode in a 10K bike ride this morning. We divided up girls and boys with the bike trailers/bikes, and went after it. It was just one ride as part of the Hotter N Hell weekend. We had family in some of the other distances as well: mom in the 25 mile, dad in the 50 mile and sis in the 100K. Everyone finished and did well. Our ride was on a trail, which was very nice, but it was an out-and-back trail which made passing difficult once you started to meet those who had already turned around, especially with us pulling trailers.

It was a definite change-up from my running routine, and while I missed my long, outdoor run a little this morning, the family outing was an adventure and so much fun. I'm hoping that next year, we can make 25 miles!

Bike riding is not my favorite cross-training activity, but my husband prefers it to running. He was a rock star this morning and did so well. I couldn't be prouder :)