2011 BP MS150

Over 150 miles of riding from Houston to Austin. With over 13,000 participants, the MS150 is the biggest two day fundraising cycling event in North America. Pretty awesome, right? This was my very first cycling event and one that I've always wanted to try.

I rode with my brother-in-law's company team who did a great job with support and accommodations. We stayed at a private house in La Grange which was about 4 miles away from the fairgrounds. That allowed us to really just relax after the first day of riding. The ride started off well. The pace was easy and the air was crisp. The only mistake on day 1 we made was riding for extended stretches while skipping most of the breakpoints. After about 40 miles, the hard bike seat really does a number on you. That and my lower back also felt a bit stiff. Keep in mind, I probably would have been used to it had I really trained for the event. I actually never exceeded 25 miles in training. I wasn't really too concerned though because I had a sense that this ride was a pretty laid back affair. That's kind of a half-truth. There are a number of hard charging riders that take it very seriously. For me it was just another challenge I wanted to check off my list. Sure it's a physically taxing event, but it's nothing compared to running a full marathon. Would I do the MS150 again? Hmmm. Probably not unless I had other friends or family wanting to do it for their first time. It's very much a social event and there are some boring stretches. Don't get me wrong, there are also really beautiful stretches too. The section through the state park on day 2 was easily my favorite. Plus going down hill at almost 50 mph on your bike is pretty rad.

The really great thing about this event is the good it does with the funds it raises.
One of the signs on the course really summed it up for me. "Two days of pain is nothing compared to what people with MS have to live with. We're the lucky ones."

2011 Warrior Dash (Conroe)

So the next event on my calendar was the Warrior Dash. It's not a distance race but it was an event I've been wanting to do. It's basically a 5k mud run sprinkled with various obstacles. Hills, mud, barbed wire, cargo nets, a fire pit, and more. It made me feel like a kid again for some reason. The whole thing really is over pretty quickly.

And I know these things aren't really about the time but...

32:06:55

I'm saving that just so I have something to reference in the future.

2011 Texas Independence Relay

This post is about a month and a half overdue. I've finally got a little bit of time on my hands so I'll use it to do some catching up.

This is what the 2011 TIR Team 1 roster looked like:

Runners:
Phi (Team Captain)
Ashley
Bob
Heather
Julio
Long
Luis
Lyndsey
Parker
Quan (Peter)
Shaundae
Tim

Supporters:
Thuy (Team Mom)
Andre
Garo
Jackie
Zhahan

Nearly ever person on the team was a returning TIR veteran. The exception being Luis who was actually supposed to be on the 2009 team. Now the TIR is a unique event for me because it is one that I don't put any emphasis on speed. That being said, I know it's impossible for us runners to not want to improve on previous performances. This was especially the case this year since the team was virtually the same. And man, was everyone fast. At under 30 hours this was easily our fastest year ever and everyone was running strong. I'm talking about course legs run in low 8's and 7's. Simply blazing. It's always great to see everyone do so well. The real magic about the relay is how team-centric the atmosphere is. There's really nothing like it on my running calendar.