Rest Your Weary Head and Let Your Heart Decide.

This was right before my race yesterday. John told me to make my game face. I think this is more of a lame face, but maybe if you could hear the, "Grrrrr!" it would seem more fierce....No? Well, at least it's scary enough.

We spent all of yesterday at the race venue. We pre-rode the course at 8:30 and I raced at 10. Holy crap! I have never been in a race with more than 100 women and man was it crazy. There were huge cluster f#cks everywhere and crashes galore. I got boxed in on the first turn, couldn't go anywhere and lost a LOT of places. I wasn't feeling very strong. Now, I know it's because I was getting a cold on top of not having trained very well, but at the time, I just did what I could. I was amazed at how good I was at not crashing into people who were crashing in front of me. I think it's from all those years of bike commuting to work and having to anticipate whether the car in front of me is going to turn right in front of me without signaling first or whether the object on the bike lane is some kind of debris I'm going to have to get around quickly, or whether the bus beside me is going to squeeze me onto the curb. Anyway, remember: bike commuting is a valuable skill.

There were about 3 other women I was battling the whole time. One was a 12 year old girl, who was about half my size and the other was a woman who was probably in her twenties or thirties, who was really cool and when she crashed in front of me up a hill, was super apologetic. I was just glad she was okay...And that I was able to pass her safely. I got pulled after the 2nd lap and boy howdy was I grateful. I was so weak and tired, I could hardly stand up, let alone ride my bike or climb limestone stairs. All in all, I was happy with my race. I was at least 20 places behind where I should have been, but I wasn't last and I didn't crash, and always, most importantly, I had so much goddamn fun.

After the race, I got to meet my role model. She is 74 years old, still racing cross and doesn't seem to put up with shit from anybody. I want to be her when I grow up.

The best part about yesterday was getting to hang out with Coadster all day. I doubt being stuck at a bike race, was her favorite thing, but she was super cool about it, she got into the races and we made many trips to the food trucks and introduced ourselves to many cute pooches. I feel so lucky for getting this time with her right now. Who knows if I'll ever get it again.

John raced in the 45+ Master's Men's race, along with a couple other men we knew from Iowa, so it was fun to have so many people to cheer. One of our Iowa guys even won the race, which was pretty exciting.

John had a decent start and avoided the huge crash at the beginning of the race. Which I was so thankful for. Of course, probably from lack of training or having a cold for the last month, his quads started to cramp up. Coadster and I both noticed that he wasn't running the stairs, which he usually does.

He still soldiered on and didn't lose too many places.

He crashed on the last lap, and broke his shifter, but he didn't get pulled and he finished the race in a respectable place, and no matter how he does, I am always proud of him.

We decided after a day of racing, we should go do something fun, so we headed to Hula Hut for dinner. We got some girl drinks and messed with the Tiki Statue things and probably annoyed our waiter. I can't help it that he didn't have a good sense of humor like us.

I'm amazed at what a good sport and awesome travel companion Coadster has been on this trip. John tells her to stick her arm in the statue's mouth and pretend like it's biting her for a photo op, and she is all over it. I'm not sure I would have been even half that "fun" and accomodating when I was her age.

I just realized that we have spent almost the entire last three days outside. What a glorious thing in January.

Time Don't Matter to Me.

I may not have time to finish writing this post this morning. I'm headed off to do my first CX "race"at Nats soon. It's called the noncompetitive race, which is the perfect title for me, since I have been injured for the last couple of months on and off and am VERY noncompetitive.

Yesterday I got to run with Coadster. She hasn't been running in quite some time and said she hasn't run 3 miles in forever. I told her I would just run at her pace and go as far as she wanted and we could turn around. She did great. She ran up all of the hills, kept a nice reasonable pace and ran about 2.8 miles. I was very proud of her. We also got to see another heron and the crew team practicing.

The views on the trails here are so amazing, it's hard to keep running sometimes.

Our day was as mellow and relaxing as the day before was manic and crazy. We walked to the sculpture garden and hiked around in there.

Damn statues are always photobombing...

They had a lovely path to hike around in and it was nice and serene. Just what we needed after the day before.

From there, we walked to Barton Springs. I thought I'd take a dip, since the temp was in the 50's already, but I though wrong. Too cold. John did try to coax me in, but I wasn't having any of it.

We checked out the cyclocross course and then went to the UT campus and had lunch at Austin pizza where they had a drag bar upstairs. Once a gain, I brought the class, and was kind of a drag...

Coadster wanted to check out the clocktower where the guy killed all of those people in 1966. John said, I suppose I should've known that Coadster would would take us to the sight of a serial killer or mass shooting...

Sooooo, for some reason, they have two huge balls on their campus with a "please do not touch " sign in front of it. Um, once again. I'm the classiest, most mature girl you've ever met. Oh, shut-up. You would have taken the same photo.

The UT campus is gorgeous and all full of beautiful Spanish architecture, and quaint ponds filled with adorable turtles sunning themselves on rocks.

I think we all have a little Iowa guilt right now. It's in the negatives for temps up North and yesterday it got up to 70 degrees in Austin. John thought this Texas snow globe was a bit ironic. Don't worry, though. We'll get ours. On Saturday it's supposed to be freezing rain and sleet, in a town that isn't used to driving in that. Eek!

In the afternoon we went to the bikes store where we registered for our race. There was a very long line, but it went pretty quickly. Then we headed to the race site to pre-ride the course. It was a really fun, tehcnical course, but I am in NOOOO kind of shape for it. I'm just going into these races with an attitude that I'll have fun, and try really, really hard not to be sad if I get last.

In the evening we met a friend of mine, that I didn't know all that well in Iowa City in the 80's, but have gotten to "know" better on FB. She and her husband suggested we meet them at Magnolia Cafe and it was such a nice evening. I had never met her husband before. He is this great poet and they were both so fun to hang out with.

Killed Him a Bear When He Was Only Three.

Today was amazing and we packed so much shit into it, that I almost don't know how to process it all.

One of the egrets we stirred up on our run along the river.

We started the morning with a nice run along the river in Zilker Park and past the downtown area. John and I started running together, then he took off and I kept trying to photograph everything I ran past.

No wonder it took me 17 minutes to run my first mile.

Also, this squirrel gave me so much attitude when I tried to take photos of the egrets just past him on the river. I told him to get over himself, but I doubt he ever will. What an asshole.

I saw this in the park. I was amazed and frightened all at the same time. I might have nightmares.

After our run, we headed to San Antonio. Coadster wanted to see the Alamo, so we went and it was cool and it was free and there were a ton of guns and Bowie knives on display and John and I wondered if Bonham and Bowie, who were the big names in the battle were the forefathers of rock bands in the 60's and 70's.

Coadster. Coadster Crockett. Queen of the wild frontier.

John isn't great at following directions.

I love cut-outs more than life itself. We wandered around the River walk and John told me to give him my camera, so he could take a photo of us. I love him so damn much.

I thought that hotel thing made a cool backdrop for a photo of us.

we wandered around until we found this cool, old church, and then headed back to our car. I wanted to check out some murals, but I didn't know where to find them in San Antonio. I'll make someone tell me where there are some in Austin and check those out instead.

We headed back to Austi nand had enough time to get in some holes of miniature golf at Peter Pan before we met our teammates for dinner. I loved it.

Coadster and John are way more competitive than me and were much into gloating over their holes in ones.

Very competitive.

They made fun of me for taking too many photos, but then look what happened when we ran into the T-Rex.

terrifying.

We weren't really sure why they made Tinker Bell an ugly drag queen, but John had fun with it anyway.

 

This one was for Stinky, who is terrified of clowns. I'm sure she was thrilled that we were thinking of her, right?

None of my Exes Live in Texas.

I think I finally got my photos in correct chronological order today. Whew!

Yesterday was another driving day, and I think I mentioned many times yesterday that I was hungover for most of it. John was kind enough to do the driving and I was kind enough not to puke in his car.

We hit Texas around noonish. Here was our initial conversation:

John: Look! They have Texas maps in literature at the rest area.

Me: Who knew they had literature in Texas?

They actually had the nicest rest area I have ever seen. They even had complimentary rocking chairs (they said such nice things about us) in which to view the Texas flag waving at us from outside.

We would be most appreciative if you would kindly not mess with Texas.

WWII monument at the rest area.

Our condo is about a block from Zilker Park - where our Cyclcross race is held and Barton Springs. Perfect.

John and I get the loft room and Coadster gets the couch in the living room. She said she was fine with it as long as she wasn't paying for anything. I would be too.

I don't know anyone with a neon sign in the shape of Iowa their homes, but it must be a thing here.

We weren't all that hungry, or so we thought, but we figured we should just get appetizers somewhere. After a little research, we found a place called Z'Tejas where we went for girly drinks and appetizers. I was smart enough to only have one lovely iced tea mojito, since I learned my lesson from the night before...At least for then next day or two when the memory of the pain fades.