brick one

We had our first brick of the season. Yes.

Roughly 32 mi bike, followed by a 2 mi run.

Just after the halfway point on the ride, my front tire blew. Such a ridiculous sound; first the pop of the tube, then the sudden rush of air out. My teammates rode by, some stopped, and all asked if I was okay and if I needed help. I am grateful for their thoughtfulness, but it really just takes one to change a bike tire. And as I told Coach Bob afterward: Nascar ain't got nothin'.

The entire second half of the ride was into the wind. There are no windbreaks on county road 47, and it was terribly, constantly windy. Legs were screaming. After the challenge of the flat tire, and now the wind, I got frustrated.

Then I thought, things could be so much worse. No matter how tired I felt, it wasn't even close to how our Honored Teammates have felt. Yeah, I thought, chemo. Now that's tough.

Rolled in, left Ruby with the others and set off on the run. I could feel every muscle in my legs. I was anticipating how I felt during my first brick last summer: out of breath, quads ready to simply fall off the bone. Again, it wasn't nearly so bad. I was further encouraged by my teammates, some who were finishing, while others were coming in behind me.

Marc yelled at me, you make it look easy! Well, it wasn't quite easy. But it was damn fun.