Half way there!

It is really nice to be back in Los Angeles after all of my holiday travels. I flew into Illinois to attend my brother's graduation, and then drove with my family through 5 degree weather and a blizzard back home to Ohio for Christmas. Quite a change from our palm trees and 65 degree sunshine!


I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday and New Year. I had a very busy couple of weeks trying to fit in as much quality time with friends and family as possible, from making Christmas cookies with my mom (and then having our sweethearts eat them), going to see the Zoo lights with old friends, and snuggling up on the couch to watch White Christmas.


With all of that going on I had hardly a chance for exercise or biking. I did manage to make it to the gym a few times, but my priorities were definitely focused more on family than training. Compound the lack of exercise with the fact that I ate my weight in chocolate and pie, and I would say I was not prepared for our latest TNT ride.

Here I am in my swanky new cycling windbreaker, a generous gift from my Uncle Don, a long time biking enthusiast.

On Saturday I met up with the team at the LA Zoo in Griffith Park, across from the Autry Museum, where we embarked into a cool and cloudy day to explore the Glendale/Pasadena area. The ride was marked by expensive and beautiful homes, a couple of huge and challenging hills, and what would have been exceptional scenery if I hadn't been too darn tired to really appreciate it. The first ten miles or so were a breeze, (says the girl who thought 12 miles was a long ride a few months ago). I was warm with my new bike gear, and excited to be once again on a bike and out with the team. Then we got to our first big hill-La Tuna Canyon Road. 4.3 miles of seemingly never ending hill that had me thinking things that would have made my mom say "Elizabeth Lee!" if I had dared to say them in her presence. Luckily the top of the hill was our first SAG stop of the day, so I could catch my breath and temporarily ease my wobbly and untested legs.

At the top of La Tuna Canyon, refueling with a Luna Bar.

After SAG, I made the mistake of taking off my jacket, which I discovered is that last thing you want to do before careening downhill at 25 mph into the wind. I was quite chilly. From there we went along several wonderful miles of rollers, past the Rose Bowl, Suicide Bridge, and some absolutely stunning million dollar homes.

I thought at that point "OK, so I can do La Tuna, I can handle anything else this ride has to offer..." And then we got to the next big hill, Lida, which is about half as long, but at that point in the ride I was twice as fatigued. Luckily I had coach Sheldon behind me cheering me on, so I eventually, if slowly, made it to the top. From there I gave my breaks a work out as we raced down the hill to Chevy Chase Drive.

Here's Brad waiting at the top of Lida St.

This was mile 41 out of 50, and I could definitely feel the difference that a week of eating Christmas treats makes during a training season. I was pretty tired. Our route included one more hill like Lida St, but Coach Sheldon gave us the option of skipping it in favor of a flatter route, an option I gratefully took.


In the end, I made it safe and sound, if a bit shaky from fatigue. This week marked the half way point in our training season, and we've done half of our distance goal! Every weekend training session I am a little more amazed and excited about how far I can push myself. Hopefully next week I will be more into the biking groove, both physically and mentally.


Next week we are meeting back in Long Beach for 55 miles. Go Team!