Muenster Germanfest Metric Century Bike Ride

Muenster Germanfest Metric Century Bike Route

Team Deloitte met on Saturday, April 28th for the Muenster Germanfest Metric Century (60 miles) Bike ride! 

Team Deloitte

The ride started at 11am and it was already warm- gotta love Texas. The wind was blowing at a strong 20+ mph out of the south, which made the first and last 10 miles directly head on into the wind. Once we finally made the turn to head west at mile 11, riders cheered in glee! Forty miles later (at mile 50), we made the final turn to head back south to face the wind, yet again. We were just a stone's throw away from the Oklahoma/Texas boarder.

Ride Elevation

Once again, Darrell and I put our climbing legs in high gear! We climbed a total of 1430 ft, including one Category 5 hill! Darrell and I both hit our top speed ever on this ride, nearly 40 mph down a hill (around mile 40 on the above ride elevation chart).

Darrell and me @ start line

After the ride, we went to the Germanfest! After riding 60 miles, sausage, bratwurst and sauerkraut never tasted so good!

Team Deloitte/Professional Yodelers

April was full of bike rallies! I had a blast riding with my training buddy Darrell and my cycle friends. The MS 150 is right around the corner!

Courage

I'm a perfectionist. Always have been. As I've grown up, I've started to realize that the saying is true, my life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful.

I came across this article: Want to be happy? Stop trying to be perfect. It spoke to me. My worth is not defined by the number of licenses or certifications I have, or the number of billable hours I have at the end of the year, or the number of races I run or ride, or how fast I run or ride those races, or the number of Facebook friends I have. The list could go on and on. I am worthy. Just as I am.

My favorite part of the article was learning the original definition of the word 'courage'.

"The root of the word courage is cor -- the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage had a very different definition than it does today. Courage originally meant to speak one's mind by telling all one's heart."

My prayer is simple, Lord give me the Heart to boldly and courageously LOVE. I pray that I will love like my Savior loves. I pray that my heart will speak to my family, my friends, my coworkers, people I pass on the street; courageously and bravely speak Truth.

It is a wonderful life. I am blessed, beyond measure.

Fit for Speed: 400M Repeats

Thursday's workout was 10 400M repeats @ 5k pace, with the 4th, 7th and 10th lap (bolded below) @ 2 mile pace.

400M = 1 lap = .25 miles
5k pace: 9 min 30 second (2:22 min/lap)
2 mile pace: 9 min 5 seconds (2:16 min/lap)

400M Repeat Results
1. 2:17
2. 2:18
3. 2:18
4. 2:08
5. 2:15
6. 2:15
7. 2:08
8. 2:12
9. 2:11
10. 2:05


It was an interesting day at the track! There was another training group that didn't follow proper track etiquette, and would walk in the fast lane or abruptly stop on the track. They were an added challenge to my speed workout! My coach has her marathon this weekend, and I think she was nervous about her race because she wasn't in the best mood.  About 6 or 7 laps in, one of the other girls in the class started crying, I guess she had a bad day? And it was 87 degrees when I FINISHED my speed workout at 8:15pm. It is already summer in Texas.

I was very pleased that each lap was under the target pace! I am working on 'learning' my pace and being consistent. I think it is working! I'm looking forward to my 5k race on May 19th to test out my new speed skills and hopefully achieve my goal of a 5k in under 30 minutes!

Fit for Speed: Flagpole Hill Repeats

Today's workout was rolling hills @ 15k pace (10:15 min/mile) at Flagpole Hill.

I have a love/hate relationship with hills, and I've had quite the experiences with hills recently on my bike at Lancaster and Aledo. Until I started Fit for Speed a few weeks ago, I avoided hills.  Today, I ran 2 miles up and down hills. Willingly. I think.

Flagpole Hill Repeats

I was close to my goal, with an average pace of 10:30 min/mile. 

Training is much like rolling hills, there are peaks and there are valleys. There are times after runs and rides that I feel great- like I've dominated!  Then, there are times I feel like I am crazy for attempting to climb that mountain. Figuratively speaking, as Texas is relatively flat. Then I remember why I'm here- the feeling at the top of the 'mountain', achieving goals and making memories, there is nothing like that feeling. 

Make it count. 

Aledo Ride for Heroes

Aledo Ride for Heroes

Team Deloitte met on Saturday, April 21st for the Aledo Ride for Heroes.  Darrell and I did the longest route, 73 miles- The Moritz Challenge!

Team Deloitte

The weather was perfect! The wind was less than 10 mph, as compared to the Lancaster ride last weekend. It was a bit chilly though. I warmed up after a few climbs.

Speaking of climbs, there was no shortage of hills for the ride!

Ride Elevation

Good thing Darrell and I brought our climbing legs!! We climbed a 1647 ft, which is over 2.25x ascent as Lancaster (722 ft)!

We didn't see any exotic animals on this ride. But we did see so many butterflies. They may look pretty...until one hits you on the face going 18 mph. I was dodging butterflies like they were bullets!

Darrell and me @ Start line

The ride was tough, but Darrell and I finished strong! Only one more long ride until the MS 150!!

Fit for Speed: 800 Repeats

I had the final Captain's meeting for Bike MS, so I had to go to the AM running class. I was absolutely shocked as to how crowded the SMU track was at 5:30am. There were all sorts of running groups out running the dark. The lights didn't get turned on until the SMU soccer team came out for practice around 6am. The warm up was 2 laps around the track, at a comfortable speed. Today's workout was 800 meter repeats @ 5k pace (9:30 min/mile). My goal time was 4:40 min (lap of 2:20 min). Consistency is key with speed training, I was monitoring my pace watch like a hawk. Thankfully I had a pace buddy, she had the exact same speed target as I did, so we ran together the entire morning. Of course talking was kept to a minimum since it was early and we were running fast.

800 meters = 2 laps around the track = .5 miles

800 Meter Repeat Results

1. 4:37 min

2. 4:44 min

3. 4:45 min

4.4:43 min

5.4:41 min

Total miles for the workout (including warm up): 3 miles

Fit for Speed: Speed and Endurance

Today's Fit for Speed workout was not only about speed, but incorporated endurance too! We took the long way from the RunOn! store to the SMU track for our warm-up, it was about 1.25 miles. At the track, we did 10 minutes at 15k pace (10:15 min/mile) and 10 minutes 10k pace (9:50 min/mile). I finished the 20 minutes with an average pace of 9:55 min/mile and ran just over 2 miles. For the cool down, we ran ~ .75 miles back to the RunOn! store. If you're counting, that is about 4 miles for the workout!!

Lancaster County Ride

Team Deloitte met on Saturday, April 14th for the Lancaster County Ride. Just a week and a half before, tornadoes blew through the city, but the ride was on! This was my fourth year to ride in the bike rally but this year was my favorite, mainly because I have the best riding buddy and the bluebonnets were breathtakingly beautiful!

Team Deloitte @ the Start Line

The ride started at 9am, and the wind was already blowing strong at 20-30miles per hour. It was a south, south east wind, which meant the first 30 miles were directly into the wind.

The Route

The Lancaster ride is also known for its hills!! Who said Texas was flat?!? I can attest that it is not.

The Climbs

Darrell and me @ mile 18

Another great thing about this ride is there are plenty of photo opportunities along the route! The scenery is beautiful. And you never know when you might climb a hill, turn a corner and ride right through a zoo!!

Team Deloitte + Camel @ mile 52

The climbs were tough, but we all finished strong!! I think we're ready for the MS 150!

Darrell and me @ the finish line (mile 63!!!)

Fit for Speed: Ladder Drill

After my Magic Mile Tuesday, I was excited for my first Fit for Speed workout! Tonight we did ladder drills at a 10k pace! Fit for Speed uses the McMillian Running Calculator to determine the pace for the workouts. Based on my Magic Mile results, my 10k pace is 9:55 min/mile. In interval training, consistency is key! The middle distance (1200M- 3 laps of a standard track) was by far the hardest set. On the last distance (400M- 1 lap of a standard track), I felt like a horse headed for the barn!

Ladder Results:

400M 2:04 min

800M 4:40 min

1200M 7:11 min

800M 4:52 min

400M 2:09 min

It was much easier going up the ladder than coming down! My favorite part of the class so far is the team dynamic and social atmosphere. The first lap or two around the track, I could hold a conversation with my pace buddy. By the end, we were doing less talking and more breathing!

I'm looking forward to my upcoming bike rides this weekend! Let's hope the weather is nice.

Fit for Speed: Magic Mile

After running 4 half marathons, I wanted a new challenge! The speed training class offered at RunOn!, Fit for Speed, sounded like the best way to not only improve my mile time, but learn new running techniques to incorporate in my training! I registered a few days ago and was nervous before the start of class today! I felt like a little kid before kindergarten.

Today, I met my coach, Alissa. She's a distance runner too and I am really looking forward to learning tips from her throughout this training class. As a warm up, we ran from the Dallas RunOn! store to the SMU track. Then, the fun part, the magic mile- a mile at 100%. The time is used as a base for my training for the rest of the course. I ran my little heart out, cough and all! I am quite pleased with my magic mile and I'm really looking forward to improving my mile time!

Magic Mile Result: 8 minutes 35 seconds

1/4 mile splits: 1:50, 2:06, 2:17, 2:22

Tour Dallas +

There are many things I love about April, it is my birthday month, wild flowers are in fresh bloom, the weather is perfect, and it's the month of bike rallies!

The first bike tour of the season is one of my favorites, Tour Dallas. Darrell and I did the 30 mile route, but we wanted to get extra mileage, so we rode to and from the ride from a teammates house and did an extra lap around the lake. We ended up with 52 miles for the day!

Tour Dallas Plus

Me with my favorite training buddy