Weekends Are Made For Fun!

My husband and me

I live for the weekends!!  My husband and I have had a weekend full of fun and fitness.  We love being in the outdoors together, and the weather here in South Texas was perfect!

Love my pink bell

Saturday morning, we headed out for a bike ride on our beautiful trail system.  I hadn’t been on the bike in awhile but we went for it – full speed ahead!  We rode 22 miles and I loved every minute of it.  It was a challenge for sure, and my legs are still feeling it.  I actually woke up in the night with horrible soreness – that has NEVER happened to me.  I guess I should’ve stretched just like I do after runs.  Lesson learned!  Then we enjoyed a delicious late night meal at one of our favorite restaurants (bonus – we had a gift card!).

Hotel/restaurant on the Riverwalk

This morning we headed downtown to explore our beautiful city.  The Riverwalk is one of San Antonio’s biggest attractions.  There are restaurants and shops along the way. We love playing tourist in our own town.

Kayakers down river

Take a hike!

As if all of the activity wasn’t enough – we decided we should go for a hike this afternoon.  Government Canyon is our local State Natural Area.  It has miles and miles of rugged trails.  We’ve run here before and my husband has been mountain biking also, but today we decided to take a hike.  It was PACKED!  I think since it’s a long weekend, people are taking advantage and camping or hiking.  We love seeing all the active people in our city.  We ended up hiking for 3 hours which amounted to about 7 miles.  It was an awesome challenge!

The sun setting on the trails

The pot of gold at the end of an amazing weekend

We loved every minute of our weekend together.  I hope everyone else is having a fun-filled, active weekend with the ones you love!!

It’s Just Like Riding a Bike

It’s just a little rain water!

I found out where the expression “It’s just like riding a bike” came from a couple years ago when I got back on a bike – for the first time in 20 years!  I was nervous nauseous terrified a little apprehensive about getting on a bike but I was determined.  Once my husband came into my life I had the courage I needed.  He’s a guru – a true cyclist.  He customized my sister’s old Trek bike to fit me like a glove.  I got on that bike and wobbled my way down the paved trail.  Every tiny pebble seemed poised to send me flying.  But, before I knew it I was zooming down the trail again, just like when I was a kid!

My sister and me! (Yes we’re twins- that’s me in the pink!)

And soon after that day, I signed myself and my sister up for the 26-mile Trek Breast Cancer Ride – yeah, 26 miles.  I know.  It wasn’t a race, just a ride, I told myself.  And despite me falling over onto my sister’s bike at a stop, and her getting a bee sting right on the tip of her nose (What are the odds??), we finished!

My bike in my transition area

So next on my list was a duathlon.  I became obsessed with the idea of competing in a multi-sport event.  This one was called the Hell of a Du and that it was.

Let’s do this thing!

We ran 3.5 miles, rode 26 miles on hilly roads, and then ran again 3.5 miles.  I swear when I got back to transition after the bike portion, running again seemed a ridiculous, and impossible, prospect.  We saw a buff, vaseline-smeared rider as we were racking our bikes and getting ready to run again – he was already scarfing down BBQ ribs and beer – he said “How was the race?” and we were like “oh we’re not done yet!”  He looked puzzled.

But most importantly, I didn’t die!  It was, however, the hardest physical challenge I had ever been through aside from birthing my two children.  But so worth it!

Triathlon – let’s do this thing!

And finally – this happened.  A triathlon – my ultimate goal.  This was actually easier than the duathlon for some reason, and I really enjoyed it.  There were a lot of first-timers at this” Freshman Tri” and when each competitor crossed the finish line, the announcer yelled  “You are a triathlete!”

I shed a tear for the progress I had made.