Its the middle of the 24 Hours of Booty, so why am I online.  Probably because there were huge thunderstorms that basically blew through our campsite crashing bikes bending tent poles and having all three of us struggling to at least maintain the 45 degree angle it was left in.  It took me about 1:45 minutes to get from Raleigh to Durham due to a tractor trailer wreck and explosion on I-40.  My friend Greg called me from New York to see if I was in it because he was watching it on CNN.  I ended up trying to cut over to a back road where I ran into another wreck and traffic avoiding I-40.  After an hour on that road I cut over to another where yet another wreck had just occurred but I got there just after it happened and traffic started.  These are the kinds of events that are more suited to fiction than real life.

So in the end a three hour trip was bordering on 4 to 4.5 hours if I hadn’t ended up speeding the whole way.  I rolled into Bootyville, the 24 Hours of Booty headquarters, an hour and 15 minutes before the ride was set to start.  This year the “bootyville” is two rows of shops and tents instead of one with a much larger crowd of participants.  Ron and Brad were already there with the campsite setup and ready to go.  So all I had to do was hang out, get into my gear, and all of us roll up to the starting line.    As usual there were photographers standing on ladders to take pictures of the field before the start.  We got close to the front but wont end up making the website like last year.  The first lap went fairly smooth even with the crowd but by the second things had slowed to a crawl due to the traffic of so many cyclists.  Our average speed was too low to even register, with us even having to unclip from our pedals to avoid falling.  The first drops of rain set in so we decided to go ahead and head in and eat the free dinner to let the crowd thin out and hopefully the rain to subside.  So in the first half hour of the event we had only gone 5 miles.  Not a great start but we knew that things would start moving once people got into the groove and the crowd spread out.

After dinner we got back out on the road and Brad and I were able to get our totals up to 2o miles while Ron got up to 13 miles, due to a pit stop, before all hell broke loose.  The thunderstorms rolled in and by the second lap of the rain I could barely see cyclists right in front of me.   Thats with the mandatory headlights and taillights. In addition, my brakes were so wet they were basically useless so I pulled of the course into the campsite to find Brad, Ron, my dad and his friend waiting crowded under the tent with Shiner Bocks in hand.  The storm got progressively worse and eventually my dad and his friend left while we ducked into the tent only to realize that we should have stayed and watched the main tent.  We got out just in time to catch the tent collapsing with our bikes knocked over.  We spent the next 20 minutes holding up the tent until the storm let off enough for us to break everything down and pack it up.

The three of us were so cold and miserable we decided to head over to my dad’s who lives in town to dry off and get warm.  We’ll be heading back to the course first thing in the morning to get some miles in until the rain thats forecasted for the afternoon comes in.  Here’s hoping to salvage some of the ride, because it is a great event.

This past weekend has been a busy one.  It started off with the monthly charity poker tournament to raise money for my Livestrong Challenge ride.  Unfortunately we had a lot of people out of town so we only had four players playing.  It was bad timing but it had to be last weekend because this weekend is the 24 Hours of Booty in Charlotte, next weekend is the Virgin Music Festival in Baltimore, and the next is the Phillies/Braves series in Philadelphia.  So in the end, even with the low turnout, it was still a fun night.  We raised $30 for the LAF with Richard beating me out for the overall.  We followed up the main tournament with another H.O.R.S.E tournament for fun.  I wont bother getting into the details of H.O.R.S.E, because its confusing enough to play let alone explain.  Suffice it to say its a different game for each letter and I lost that one too.

Saturday I put in my long run that was scheduled for Friday.  I went up to Lake Lynn and ran laps there again for variety which is a circuit of about 2 miles.   My run called for 90 minutes and I managed to knock it out but my feet paid the price.  A while back I mentioned that I bought some new running shoes but didn’t start using them because i read my old shoes still had miles to go.  A few weeks ago I decided it was time to make the switch and started out with the new shoes.  I had a few small blisters from a long run in the old shoes that were aggravated by the new ones.  I figured it was just because the shoes were being broken in and the blisters hadn’t healed enough.  Now after a couple weeks I know it is the shoes.  Every single time I use them I get blisters and Saturday ended with a nice blood blister the size of two quarters end to end.  Needless to say those shoes are retired, but unfortunately I cant take them back since I waited so long before using them.  Ill be heading out to Inside-Out sports next paycheck to get refitted for a new pair and just use the tainted shoes as a casual pair.  Inside-Out is a local running/triathlon store that has a really good reputation for fitting shoes correctly.  New Balance did me right for my first two pairs but i’m getting up there in mileage and I dont want to risk a repeat of this last pair and be knocked out of commission from avoidable blisters.  Sunday was 90 minutes on the trainer for my cycling fix.

Monday I knocked out my first full mile in the pool, well it was 10 yards short but Ill call it a mile.  I did 70 laps that worked out to 1750 yards and a mile is 1760 yards.  As I’m writing this I just got out off the trainer for another hour and a half at a pretty good clip.  That was my last cycling session till the 24 Hours of Booty Friday.  I’m looking forward to getting over 150 miles which will be a nice dent in my weight loss bet.   And as a final update on that side I’m ranging between 190-195 while last week i was between 195-200.  Anyone on a scale knows that it will fluctuate all day long if you watch it.

Out at trivia last night Ron gave me the info on an insanely tempting offer.  Ive wanted/needed a new bike for awhile, but at every turn my efforts are foiled.  My air conditioning for the house goes out and has to be replaced costing upwards of 4K.  My car is in a wreck and totaled by the insurance company and now I have to buy a new one.  Its one thing after another and the new bike just slips further and further down the list of priorities.  A bike is a luxury and not a necessity as long as my old heavy aluminum Raleigh can still pedal.

So Ron tells me that for 3000 he can get me a Trek Madone SL 5.9 Project One bike all decked out with the best equipment money can buy and only has 2500 miles on it.  The bike retails for over $5400 and from Ron’s description and enthusiasm this bike is worth way more than that.   I realize how crazy it sounds, to normal people like me, to spend 3K on a bike but that’s not out of line with what you find in the cycling shops if you go and look for a decent bike thats got the bells and whistles and is most importantly light.  If there were any way possible, and any way financially responsible, at this point I would buy it in a heartbeat.  In the end its another of the deals that got away stories.

This morning I put in another 50 laps at the pool for 1250 yards and yesterday I rode the cycling trainer for an hour and 20 minutes for 21.29 miles.  Word to the wise, don’t bump your leg against the fan of the trainer after riding if you can help it.  It’ll leave a nice burn on your leg.

I got an email yesterday from the LAF letting everyone know about changes to the Austin Livestrong Challenge weekend.  It turns out that they have moved the 5K running race from Sunday to Saturday.  For those already registered for the cycling event Sunday the entry is free to do the 5K.  Now the opportunity exists for Livestrong Challenge participants to not only do the cycling portion but also the running portion of the weekend.  And yes I have already signed up for both and talked Ron into running it with me.  Will it make Sunday harder for cycling?  Possibly but I’m not expecting it will because a 5K usually has little to no effect on me physically since the distance falls short of my average daily runs.

So now there’s a bit more incentive to mix up your training plans if you are attending the Austin weekend.  Think about the sense of accomplishment you’ll feel by knocking out both events that weekend.  If you are committed to only one event, then you’ll have even more time to enjoy and support those who are doing the event in which you aren’t participating.

Here’s the official announcement, and note that to find the registration link for the 5K you must follow the link in the text below.  I could no longer find the fundraising tools from the main site and had to use this one.

Dear LIVESTRONG Challenge Austin Rider,

We have some exciting news for you about your registration for the upcoming 2007 LIVESTRONG Challenge Austin, October 12th-14th.

You may have seen recent news that Texas Governor Rick Perry signed HB 14, which establishes the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and that the Texas legislature passed the companion legislation, HJR 90, which offers Texans an opportunity to vote to provide $300 million a year over 10 years for cancer research and programs in Texas.

The LAF was part of a coalition helped pass these bills but our work isn’t over yet. This fall, Texans will vote on November 6th and decide whether Texas will invest in cancer prevention and research over the next ten years.

Because of this historic opportunity, the date of the LIVESTRONG Challenge 5K run/walk has been changed to Saturday, October 13th, and will take place on the Texas Capitol grounds and include a rally in support of the November vote.

The Challenge ride will remain Sunday, October 14th  in Hays County and Dripping Springs. With the date change to the run, you are now invited to attend the 5K run/walk at no extra cost! To register for the run, login to your fundraising tools and click on “Register for the Austin Challenge 5K.”

Events like the LIVESTRONG Challenge help the LAF unite people in the fight against cancer and raise funds to provide information and tools for cancer survivors. In addition, the LIVESTRONG Challenge funds our programmatic and advocacy efforts to prevent cancer, ensure access to screening and care, invest in research and improve the quality of life for cancer survivors.

We look forward to a tremendous showing of unity in support of the LAF and cancer research, prevention, early detection and control programs in Texas. We thank you for all of your support and can’t wait to see you on October 13.

If you have any questions or need more information, please contact austinchallenge@laf.org or 888.424.2553.

Sincerely,
The LIVESTRONG Challenge Staff

It seems to be a pretty popular opinion from those I’ve talked to that its great to run after it rains because it feels so much better outside and everything is cooled off.  I’d have to break with tradition though and say that 90% of the time I really dislike running after rains.  The humidity is so much higher it makes me feel like I cant get a deep breath while Im running which makes the whole effort uncomfortable.  Such was the case yesterday when I had to put in my 45 minute run which ended up being about 5.3 miles total.  My average pace was pretty slow which I attribute to the humidity and more likely the Moe’s burrito.  Those things are like crack and I have to have at least one a week.  Maybe someday Ill get to a point where I can get a sponsorship from them and get some free ones.  How nice would that be?  Then again I’d have to win something first.

Today was supposed to be a 2.5 hour bike ride but I dont have the time to squeeze it in.  I need to catch up on some work, pick up my tux for a wedding this weekend, buy a wedding present for the same wedding, and then go out to eat with my dad whose in town.  I did knock out a quick 30 minutes on the trainer for a little over eight miles before I sat down to get some work done.  Not the same as what I was supposed to knock out but its always better to do something than nothing.

Swimming is out of the picture this week with my back issues.  I want to make sure I give it time to heal up before hitting the pool again.  I hate the fact it’s keeping me out of the pool because swimming is still a major issue to me, or at least I feel like it is.  The flip side is my back isn’t cutting into my Livestrong Challenge training, only the half-Ironman training.