So I've written a cute diary, a happy birthday Ronald Reagan diary, and a fangirl-y one. What I haven't done is talk about training. And I haven't raised near enough money, so here's a link to my fundraising page.
I do a lot of athletic events every year, but the Hill Country Ride for AIDS is the one I care about. And it isn't a race, it's a ride. Completely non-competitive. In fact, the super-fit people who do the century ride stick around & cheer in the other riders.
Still, I really want to some day ride every inch of one of the main routes (either 53 or 70 miles). But I doubt that will be this year. I really need to train more. Most of my workouts have been track/walking. And those have been hard, no doubt. Since last fall, I've gone to this free group from RunTex, a great local store - they run, I walk. Earlier this year, I signed up for the Diva Dash, a women's obstacle course race. They have a free training group, so I added that. And since I do triathlons, but I can't run - I always walk the 5K that is the last event - I signed up for RunTex University, and I hope I'll learn how to run at some point.
Have you noticed what isn't in the list of training stuff I do? The Ride has training rides on Saturday mornings, but I've overslept for most of them, so I haven't been on my bike near enough. I'm doing a lot of working out, but not losing weight. Now, I read the Biking While Overweight diary, and it is fantastic & has great info. But the fact remains that BWOW is rather uncomfortable, and I had hoped doing all this walking & core work would lose me some weight, then getting on my bike would be easier. The Ride is 6 weeks away, and I really haven't lost that much weight. So I really just need to get on my bike, right? If I'm going to ride even the shortest route, I need to ride some now. My triathlon training group starts Saturday, and it'll include bike training -- and they'll push me hard. I hope between all these groups & classes - my rest days are Tuesday & Sunday - I can do the route without needing a SAG wagon (the volunteers who drive the route & pick up riders who either have mechanical trouble or who just can't go on. (if you have weight loss tips for me, those are welcome -- I'm vegetarian & really sure I'm eating a healthy, low-fat diet)
So I can't do a diary about the Ride without saying how important the funds are to organizations like AIDS Services of Austin & the other beneficiary agencies. This event is one of their biggest fundraisers of the year, and they provide direct care to people who really need it. Food bank, subsidized medication, legal help..... things people really need. Here's the link to my fundraising page -- you'll notice I haven't even raised 10% of my goal, so when I say that every little bit helps, I really, really mean it: my fundraising page.
Also - those of you who are creative, I need ideas for decorating my helmet. Something that a klutzy, non-creative person could do. The theme could extend to the handle bars, but again, need to be something I can do.
And one more time, please donate if you can -- even 5 or 10 dollars would help: my fundraising page
and hey, sfbob does the California AIDS Ride & needs your contributions, too: http://www.tofighthiv.org/...