Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Official race results for Tri4Real: 2:13:03

Went to Pilates yesterday. I'm sore in all sorts of new places today.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Tri4Real

No long winded report. Suffice it to say I had a ton a fun.

The water was almost warm at 7 am. While waiting for my wave to go (last) I chatted with a few other 40something women and one was at Pac Grove last week and we agreed that was one hell of swim and that today was gonna be way mellower. The ride was flat and fast with only one hill that didn't slow me down AT ALL. The run for all intents and purposes was not bad. I only got off course once but not by much, the 4 miles took about 46 mins.

Official results aren't up yet but I'm calculating somewhere around 2:11:00?
This is most likely my last tri for the season, a half mile swim, an 18 mile ride and 4 mile run felt like the perfect distance. I renewed my Y club membership, joined up with a local race club and I'd like to find a half marathon to do in a few months. More importantly I want to keep active. This summer was a good start and I'm feeling strong and positive about the future.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Momentum

Lastnight I registered for Shadow Cliffs Tri4Real this Sunday. It's a longer sprint 700 yd swim, 18 mile bike and a 4 mile run. Should be a fun workout. Recovery is going well. I walked alot Sunday at the Solano Stroll, took Monday off and I just got back from a sluggish 3 mile run, it's pretty warm already.

I'm not sure how to proceed with training at this point. The sprint will be my big workout this week so I guess I'll go light in the meantime. I'd like to swim sometime today because I may be going to the salon tomorrow if my hairdresser can get back to me ....I'm so close to the big chop!!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Pacific Grove Triathlon

i wasn't sure how to set the hotel alarm clock, so i requested a 4 am wake up call. when the call came, i was in the middle of some weird non-race related dream and was seriously disoriented. it literally took a few minutes for me to realize where i was and more importantly why and what i was doing there.

i jumped into the shower to wake up, quickly changed and hauled myself and gear down to the lobby in search of coffee. other team mates were milling around and after securing my star bucks and instant oatmeal, before i knew it we were headed out into the dark misty morning to ride the 3 mile path to the transition area.

i picked up my race packet the day before and listened to a few pointers on the swim from 2 pro athletes and went for a swim with a few team mates. the water was calm, much like it had been a few weeks earlier when we came down to practice. the race buoys weren't set up yet and there was much debate on the actual course. the uncertainty of the course stressed me out a bit, i just needed a visual. the buoys i could see were way the hell out there and i started to get uneasy. peter, one of the mentors took it all in stride and led the small ban of swimmers in a 30 minute swim. despite the uncertainty of the course, i grew less anxious, in the water i felt comfortable, the familiarity gained from previous practice and swimming in my Lake Anza assured me i was going to be fine.

The Big Bad Swim

arriving at the transition area at 6am, we were greeted with entirely different swim conditions. the tide was coming in, the water was anything but flat and calm. the swells were HUGE. i really really started having doubts about whether or not i would get in. watching the first few waves go out, bodies were bobbing up and down. my wave didn't go out until 9:15 and fortunately things had calmed down a little by then but the conditions were nothing like what they had been during practice and while the water wasn't churning like earlier, the swells were still really really BIG.

coach seth asked me what my strategy was and i too quickly replied, "get it done", he then suggested i take it easy until the second half of the bike. ....5,4,3,2,1 the gun goes off and it seemed that my fear gave way to adrenalin and before i knew i was rounding the first buoy, each buoy 225 yds apart. i made a mental note of coach seths advice to slow down and when i completed the first loop (the first of many on this loopy course) i was surprised to feel good and totally confident that i could complete the second loop of this infernal swim. i swam a mile for the first time only a few weeks ago and it took me an hour and a half, so i was really pleased when i got out of the water in 00:50:30.

T1 5 plus mins, my transition area was right near the bike out so that was cool,once my fingers regained some feeling i managed to get out of the wetsuit, grabbed a dry shirt...helped a girl get into her wet tangled singlet an then took off.

The Bike

i really fell in love with my bike this summer and the ride was pure bliss. i had a smile on my face the entire course which consisted of (4) 6 mile loops. i averaged 24 min loops and finished in 01:37:56 boo ya! i managed to forget my sun glasses but the overcast never burned off so it was all good.

T2 4mins pulling off my bike shoe, i noticed blood on my left big toe. i then decided NOT to change socks and crammed my running shoes on for fear of making something out of nothing...turned out to be a good call, later when i did take a look it was a teeny tiny blood blister ...it didn't bother me on the run...not that the run was pleasant by any means but the blister was not the culprit...just my lack of running in general.

The Run

off all 3 disciplines, running was most neglected this season and it showed. The (3) 2 mile loops were monotonous and i just wanted it to be over. i took a few walk breaks so i could finish with some semblance of dignity, run done! 01:12:12

i met my goal for under 4 hours by 10 minutes. i'm most proud of my swim, i really can't believe i did it. i free styled the whole time, not needing to roll over or back float once. not that there's any shame in that at all! hell, you do what gotta do but i've struggled for so long to get comfortable with swimming and i am still a stunned at the conditions i found myself in on saturday. i think i will be for a long time.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Pre Pacific Grove

after some fancy negotiating i was able to wrangle getting to work half day so i can head down to Pacific Grove for my BIG WEEKEND!

i'm filled with equal amounts of excitement and anxiety. i know i can finish the .93 mile swim i just hope i don't take a freaking hour and a half to do it! i'm hoping to get the bike done in 2 hrs and the run in 1 hr. i've seeded myself to finish within 4 hours so depending on when my wave goes out 9:15 am? with any luck i'll be basking in glory sometime around 1:00 pm. i know i'm cutting it close and i know i shouldn't get hung up on the numbers...but i still gotta have a goal right?

i'll try to check in over the weekend. TNT has a slew of events and whatnot planned for us over the next few days . what a fun summer it's been. i got back into shape while raising money for blood cancer. all the hard work is going to pay off when i cross that finish line!

Saturday, September 05, 2009

the last 2 nights or rather mornings i've been waking up around 3am. i guess i'm getting pre-race ansy a litle early. today we swim/run at shadow cliff...the same place i tri-ed in '06. i'm excited to see how much better i'll swim there this time around. every time i swam there in the past i could never get my face in the water. irregardless of what i could do in the pool it just never carried over into open water. now granted, in '06 i was just learning to freestyle and the first time i swam at shadow cliff it was late spring, cold as fuck and when i hit the water sans a wetsuit it occurred to me that maybe i had literally gone off the deep end.

My swim lesson with Liz was good. as i said before i wish i had gotten together with her sooner but i got some good tips and was able to carry a few of them over. my swim has come a long way but it still needs alot of work. it's so important to put speed and endurance on the back burner and focus on form first!!!

i bit the bullet and bought a tri back pack. my neon orange duffle bag worked fine in the past but it's hard to deal with on the bike. we have to ride about mile to get to the swim start, so a back pack will be easier to handle while riding. the triathlete store, while there was some confusion about available colors offered excellent customer service and a wide range of product at affordable prices.

my right thigh is still quite sore from last weeks hilly ride. i'm pretty sure it'll be fine by next week and if my massage therapist can get her act together and not overbook herself again ..like she did last night and had to cancel...i'll get it worked out. so for now the dreaded foam roller will have to suffice, ouch!

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Butterflies

M goes back to school today. She's grown up alot this past summer and despite being a little nervous she's got the cool 8th grader vibe down to a tee.

After dropping her off, I'll be heading out for my private swim lesson with coach Liz. Unlike my cool 8th grader I'm more than a bit nervous, fortunately it's all the way out in Dublin and I'll have time to settle down. It's going to be fine as long as I can get past the thought of "WHY IN THE HELL DIDN'T I DO THIS SOONER!!" Whatever coach Liz has to offer isn't going to reveal itself on race day...it's less than 2 weeks away. I just need to be open to her direction and keep focused