Week 1 - 10K training

The week started off rough but got better day by day. My first run was good for about 1.5 miles, but the last mile was miserable. I got my heart rate up too high and just felt crappy. I took more walking breaks than I wanted but I made sure I ran a for 2.5 miles. On Tuesday, I met a friend at the track for a "tempo" run. I'm not sure if it was exactly what Hal Higdon had in mind but we were out there running in the cold December evening. My next run was scheduled for Christmas Day. I kept to the plan and went with Dad to West Cliff Drive and ran 2 miles in my new running shirt and tights. :-) I didn't expect West Cliff to be quite so busy, but it was a beautiful day!


On Saturday I met up with some Mermaids for a practice run on the Los Gatos Creek Trail up towards Lexington Reservoir. (Somehow those tricky Mermaids talked me into doing the Resolution Run on 1/1/2010. We thought it was a 5K, but no, it's 5 miles.) We did 3 miles with a little walking. Overall, it was a pretty good first week of training and I think this whole 10K thing will be a good thing.

Also, Santa was very good to me this year. Both Sara and I were lucky enough to get transition bags. At the end of the day we packed all of our gifts into the bags.


Totals:
Miles - 10.26
Time - 2:29:22
Avg Pace - 14.33

10K training begins . . . tomorrow

It all begins tomorrow. Ten weeks of training for the Mermaid Run 10K in San Diego. This is my challenge for my 40th birthday. I hope that these ten weeks of training will improve my endurance and speed. And, losing a little weight along the way will be nice.

This week I . . .
Ran: ~7 miles
Lost: -0.2 lbs

Gettin' back in the grove . . .

Yesterday was my first day back in the pool. It took me awhile to pack up all my pool toys and remember what I would need to get ready for work. It was very early and dark when the alarm went off at 5:07 am. But I got out of my warm bed and made it to the pool. The water felt so good when I in, it was warm but not too warm. I started to warm up and was relieved that I still remembered how to swim. After two laps I was out of breath. Wow, two months off and out of breath after a 50? They were supposed to kick 8 x 100 IMs. Ha, ha. I just tried to stay out the way while I tried to kick the stiffness out of my legs and stretch out my calves. Next up was 16 x 100s on 1:40. I did o.k. but still tried to stay out of the way. I was shocked at how sore my shoulders were after just a few 100s. After about 50 minutes and I was done with my reintroduction to swimming. It was great to be back in the water!!

Today was a rest day but I still have to walk the dog. After two days of running and one day of swimming my calves and hamstrings were really tight. Hello, stretching, foam roller, and ice packs! I really haven't missed you. Icing in the winter isn't all that much fun.

Well, that's it for now. An, exciting reintroduction to activity.

Catching up

Where have I been? What have I been doing? Nothing. Really, truly, nothing.

In October and early November I was working hard to have a strong 5K at the Mermaid Run San Francisco. I week before the race a medical issue (nothing serious) popped up and I wasn't able to do the race. :-( I've been out of commission since November 9th. No swimming. No biking. No real running. Last week I started reintroducing running to my legs. I start swimming again on Tuesday!

In the middle of my month off I had the amazing experience of watching my friend Molly complete her first Ironman in Tempe Arizona. Watching more than 2,500 people attempt to swim, bike, run 140.6 miles was incredible. That is some dedication and training. I wasn't inspired to complete one myself (it's the marathon) but a half-ironman in couple of years is not out of the question.

This week will be my first week back to regular exercise. It will be interesting. I haven't gone this long without exercise in years. Years! I hope one month off isn't like starting from scratch.

Next up . . . training for a 10K in February. Get ready for a lot of whining about running.

60 Mile Mermaid Ride

But first let's talk about surfing. Surfing? Yes, surfing. Saturday was a beautiful, sunny, warm, October day in Capitola and the Mermaids had the opportunity for an impromptu surfing lesson. By the way, surfing uses some of the same muscles as swimming but in a completely different way. I knew after about two hours that every muscles in my torso was going to be sore the next day. And, I ended up mystery bruises on my arms. I didn't stand up but had a good time. The funniest part was I was wearing my tri wetsuit and was on a slick board. One of the guys gave me a push into a wave and the board slid right out from under me. One of the real surfers said to be patient she spent three years on her belly before she stood up. So, we will see.

Proof that I was in the water with a board.

60 Mile Ride - What was I thinking? I haven't been on my bike in two weeks. At all. But off I went. The beginning was fine I was able to keep up. Then the hills began and kept coming. I'm 100 times better on hills than I was at the beginning of this year, but I am still really slow on the steeper hills. I was pretty much riding by myself which was kind of a bummer. We finally got to Portola which I love. It's nice and smooth with a wide bike lane and long descents before long inclines. I was joined by my coach's husband and we had fun checking out and commenting on the fancy spreads along the roads in well-to-do Portola Valley. I was going along pretty well and was joined by V who decided to tackle 60 miles for her first long ride, she did great! The route took us down Canada Road which is closed to cars on Sunday and it was really nice to have the road to ourselves. Then we ran into traffic for the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival. It wasn't a big deal for us as we flew by the traffic, but are pumpkins really worth this?


Almost to the turnaround. We had to ride passed the lunch stop (waannhhh) and ride another few miles before we got to the turn around. All. Up. Hill. I was tired, hungry, and probably thirsty. Which leads to cranky. Jill, who was heading back down the hill "whoo-hooed" at me and I just shook my head. My coach's husband was quite amused at how pissed I was, "She was so mad." Then I was fed and watered and started to feel better. And, everyone was ready go. Already? The ride back was a little better. There was a lot of down hill and I was with my buddies Gina, Wilma, & V. We had about 20 miles to go and I kept telling myself, "you love Portola, it will be fun." I got some miracle energy and cracked up a long incline on Portola at 10 mph. I don't know were it came from as my legs were pretty much toast. But I just kept pedaling. V and I made a slight route change to avoid the hills from the beginning of the ride and headed down to Juniperro Serra which turns into Foothill Expressway and takes us all the way to the end.


Heading back along Crystal Springs.

60 miles. ~5 hours. 4,747 calories burned.

Ride to Gilroy? And, back?

Okay, I guess so. My crazy-awesome friend Molly is training for Ironman Arizona and I decided to join her for part of one of her training rides. The part I was going to do was flat so I thought I might not fall too far behind. But just in case I brought Amy, a swimming buddy, along with me. The plan was to meet in south San Jose, ride through Morgan Hill and San Martin, into Gilroy and back. We left at 7am when it was 50 degrees out. Ummm . . . yeah. I don't have any cold weather riding clothes.

X-mas List:

• one of those really light weight wind-breakers that can fit in a bike jersey pocket
• leg warmers
• gloves
• toe covers
• long sleeve, warmish jersey

Anyway, I braved the cold in my shorts, running jacket, arm warmers, & running gloves. It worked. My legs were numb after about 5 miles. Just as we passed the sign "Welcome to Morgan Hill" my front tire felt a little squishy, I looked down and yep I was getting a flat tire. :-( Amy and I pulled off on the sidewalk of a little sub-division to take care of the problem. I knew Molly had a big training day ahead of her so I texted her to keep going. Once I got my super tight tire off, it turns out a teeny-tiny thorn caused the flat. Amy and I had to struggle through my super tight tires twice. We think the CO2 cartridge blew out the first tube. Great, I left my second tube back in the car. Luckily, Amy had a tube. Fingers crossed that we wouldn't need another tube! After about a half hour we were back on the road to Morgan Hill.

Morgan Hill was a little trip down memory lane. We passed the duplexes where we lived when I was a baby & toddler, the park where we had fun 4th of July parties, the site of the first Nob Hill Foods, and the school Dad taught at for 30 years. We headed east and Amy and I had a great time riding through rural areas. There was very little traffic so we were able to ride side by side and make snarky comments about the giant McMansions out in the middle of no where.

When we got to Leavesley Road in Gilroy we decided to make a slight change to the route. We stopped for a potty break, had and exciting sprint at the intersection with 101, and rode through Gilroy to Santa Teresa Ave. (Road?) By the time we go back to the edge of Morgan Hill both Amy and my butts were done with the ride. Too bad we still had another 10 miles to go. I got a text from Molly saying they were back at the cars and were heading out for the first of the hilly loops. Amy and I continued on and on and on. We finally made it back to the cars and Molly's husband was there waiting for Molly and Nigel to get back. They showed up about 10 minutes after we did. Amy and I were done! Molly and the guys had more work ahead of them.

Amy invited me back to her place for brunch. Score! We got there and her husband had made an egg, zucchini, mint, & parmesan cheese thing and had fruit all ready for us. And, coffee! It was so nice. Especially, since I didn't have much at home.

Sore butt, tired legs, 40 miles in 3:18 = a well deserved nap and a day of vegging out.

Mermaid Santa Cruz Tri 2009 - Report

I went in to this triathlon feeling a little unprepared. I didn't train the past two weeks like I thought I "should" have. Heck, I hadn't been on my bike in almost two weeks. But I was going to give it my all. (Both of my personal photographers were out of town, so fewer pics than usual.)

I was up at 4:50 and quite surprised when Sara showed up early at 5am. But that was fine we were on the road at 5:30, over The Hill and in transition at 6:15. It was very dark but luckily Sara had grabbed some headlamps from the camping gear.


Setting my transition. In the dark.


Heading down 150 stairs (that we have to come back up after the swim).

Swim: I think I like the starts at ocean swims better than lake and river. More people are intimidated by the waves, but not me! They sent us off right as a set was coming in and I dove under a wave to begin my swim. :-) I swam and swam and swam. About 2/3 of the way through a jet ski came by and created a big wake. Lame. There were no waves as I was coming in, I waited for my hands to touch the sand and then popped up and ran for the mat.
Time: 11:25.8 (2008: 11:40.4)

THE STAIRS: 150 stairs done. Not fun, but done.

Bike: Made up all the nasty, gross hills and even passed people going up The Hill of Doom. Felt good on the bike and flew down my favorite part of Sumner. The course is a little trip down memory lane as I ride past friends houses from my childhood. When I made it up the last nasty hill I saw that my time was at 48 minutes and booked it to the dismount line.
Time: 51.37.5 (2008: 1:10:22.9)

T2: The only reason I mention this is I was faster this year then I was last year. What's funny about this is I didn't have to change my shoes last year. What was I doing?
Time: 3:02.9 (2008: 3:16.8)

Run: Well, its running. I was trying to keep a steady pace under a 14 minute mile, it came and went, I walked for 30 secs here and there. (Turns out that I averaged a 13:46 pace.) My legs were toast from bike. But I power walked up the long hill and at the top busted into a fast pace and booked it to the finish. Yay! I was done.
Time: 34:24.0 (2008: 36:18.5)


Heather caught my strong finish. (It looks like I am running for a change.)

Total time: 1:49:07.1 (2008: 2:05:58.9) It's amazing what a year of training and a new bike will do, huh?


Some triumphant Mermaids!

It was great and I felt like I finished strong and the tank was 99.9% empty. Very pleased with the whole day. They've started doing raffles at the Mermaid events. The prizes vary from water bottles, t-shirts, massages, and wetsuits. And I won a wetsuit!!! So stoked!

Labor Day Weekend

While many people were celebrating Labor Day with BBQs, trips to the beach, general merriment, I decided to be active everyday of the three day weekend. And, not just a little active, but I did some significant stuff.

Saturday: Epic Swim
On Saturday morning, bright and early, I headed to Santa Cruz with a bunch of friends to join Molly on her 1.5 hour open water swim. The plan was to swim around the wharf. Twice. Swimming around the wharf isn't my favorite thing in the whole world. The water is salty and filled with bacteria. There are sea lions that bark and come to close. The water can be cold with spots of colder. But Molly is training for an ironman, so if she needs swimmers I'm there. Especially, if we get to go out to breakfast afterwards.

I took control of Molly's rad waterproof camera:

Most of the group at the end of the wharf, 1/4 of the way done.


Molly coming in to the 1/2 way point.


I really had fun with the camera.


Swimming buddies

Molly's new Garmin produced this image:

Good sighting!

Sunday: Climb a Mountain
Two of my swimming buddies (A and N) who also ride wanted to conquer Old La Honda Road. Really? 3.35 miles, 1290 feet, 3-18% grade, with an average of 7.3%? Really? Are you sure? I decided to give it a try. I figure I can make it up almost an incline if I can stop. So, we headed out. "A" reminded me to keep my heart rate down and just keep pedaling. I completed the first mile and then took a break. "A" hung back with me for the first mile and "N" came back to find us and took over babysitting duty for mile 2. Mile 2 was the hardest part and I didn't make it the full 2nd mile before stopping. We eventually found "A" and finished the last mile together. Oof. There was a lot of swearing and giving my friends a hard time. But we made it to the top!


At the top getting ready to go back down.

Going up killed my legs but going down killed my hands! OOOW! Heading back the car we had a great descent before a big hill so I used gravity to my advantage and flew down the hill. (later when I looked my max speed was 33.5 mph.) It was funny and scary at the same time. Thanks to " A" and "N" for getting me up the mountain! I really think we need some "Wave Swimming Cycling Team." ;-)

Monday: Family Fun Ride
Mom, Dad, Sara, and I met in Monterey for a fun ride on the Monterey Bay Coast Recreation Trail. (or, something like that.) It was a little dicey riding the rec trail through the touristy areas of Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf. Once we got past the crowds it was a nice ride. Beautiful weather, good conversation, and a nice spin for my legs.


Practicing my photography while riding skills.


Mad rear photography skillz.


The Triumphant Red Hot Johnsons.

Happy Labor Day!!

Why do you want to lose weight?

This was the question posed at WW last night. We were supposed to write down why we want to lose weight to remind us why were are counting points, moving more, and drinking lots of water. Other people had things on their list like:

• reduce my blood pressure or cholesterol medication
• get a knee or hip replacement
• prevent cancer/heart disease
• play with my kids/grandkids

My list:

• look better in clothes
• buy cuter bras
• wear jeans with a belt
  
• feel more attractive and confident
• be more active

My WW buddy looked at my list and said, "be more active? are you kidding? you are more active than most skinny people!" Hmm . . . that is kinda true. What do I really mean? Okay, how about:

• feel more comfortable while active
• swim/bike/run faster
• be able to ride up hills more easily

Other than the "more active" part of the list my list seems a little vain. I guess I'm lucky that I don't have to take medication or have any weight related medical conditions. Yet. So, I will add:

• to prevent potential weight related medical conditions

Next up, we'll see how this list helps my "weight loss journey."

Back in the saddle again . . .

After two weeks with no bike time, today I got back in the saddle. I met two of my swimming buddies, A and N, for a 2 hourish ride with some hill repeats. Just as we were heading up the hill on Kennedy (just past my Gammy & Gaga's old house) I hit a milestone on my bike.



1,000 miles! One thousand miles? How did I do that?

It was a fun ride. I huff-and-puffed my way up Kennedy (only one stop) with A & N saying things like "we are almost there, the top is just around this corner, keep going." They lie. Or, they have a different idea of "almost there" than I do. But we did it and they kept me pushing when I would have stopped. Thanks, A & N! We went back down the hill to do it again. And, weirdly, it was easier the second we went up. My legs were more tired but my heartrate and breathing were under control. I see more hills in my future.

I'm trying to back in training mode, the Mermaid Tri is one month away!

The slope really IS slippery

It has been three weeks since the Vineman 1/2 AquaBike and my training schedule is non-existent. One week of recovery is normal. Two is acceptable. But three? Time to put down the remote and leave the house.

Not that I have been completely sedentary. I've been swimming, working out with Team Mermaid, run/walking in the mornings, and a few big hikes. It's the weeknight rides and bricks that have disappeared. It's time to my butt back in the saddle. Literally.

I'll be back with updates.

2009 Vineman 1/2 AquaBike Race Report

So, this is what I have been working towards for the last 6 months. Warning: this post is kinda long, feel free to skim.

Race Morning:
Sara and I got up at 5:30 am and started the double-check ritual. You know, double checking all the stuff we got ready the night before so we wouldn't have to check it again and just get going in the morning. Yeah, right. When I went to braid my hair and realized that I never got around to buying new little red hair ties the day before. "No red hair ties on my adorable braids?! Whatever will I do?" Big black hair ties at the end of my little skinny braids would have to do. Then, I pulled on my tri top to discover a hole on the front seam. Great. I scoured the hotel room for a sewing kit and nothing. Crap. "Do a race with a growing hole in my tummy?" On the way to the race we stopped at the front desk and snagged the last sewing kit in the hotel and I sewed up the seam while Sarah drove to the start. We ended up at the race start about 30 minutes later that planned due to the sewing and parking 1/2 a mile away. Ack! My wave starts at 8:10 and I'm getting body marked at 7:50? Crap. I squeeze my bike on to the rack, much to the chargin of some of the ladies on my rack. "Sorry, the rack holds 10 (I think) bikes, move it!" The family showed up and helped by taking stuff like sweatshirts, glasses cases, and keys off our hands. I slathered on the sunscreen, got my post swim gatorade and PB&J out, socks, shoes, etc. out, in no particular order, on my towel.


Bob (Molly's Dad), Molly, gnome mascot, me, Sara

The Swim:
Finally headed down to the water to warm up. I was in the water for all of a minute before they wanted us out of the water to walk through the "corral" to activate our timing chips. Alright, fine. More walking on the rocky shore. "Oh my god. I'm really doing this." Luckily, the water was lovely. Perfect temperature. I positioned myself towards the front, but not at the front and to the outside. BLAAAHH!! The start horn sounds and off we go. I start off nice and steady and fight off the people trying to run over me. I find it fairly amusing that triathlons have all kinds of rules for the bike (no drafting, ride single file) and run (no ipods) but the swim is a free for all. I get in my groove and just keep swimming and swimming and swimming. It was in a river so I couldn't see the whole course and was wondering where the turn around was. We reached the turn around and it was pretty shallow so people were standing up, walking or running in the river. I popped up for a few steps and then dove back in. It was pretty shallow on that side of the river so I stayed close to the buoys where it was the deepest. I was having a great swim trying not to kick too much, but really enjoying myself. When I got to the last bridge over us and I could see the finish it was time to pick up the pace. I started pulling and reaching further. Then I was out of the water and walking to my bike. Jill, super spectathlete and injured mermaid) was right at the fence screaming her head off for me.


Doesn't the swim start look fun?


Just keep swimming, just keep swimming . . .

Time: 36:52.7 PR!

Transition:
I took my time at transition to pull on my bike shorts, slather on some more sunscreen, drink some gatorade and eat a half a PBJ sandwich. Dad was right there snapping pics. I brought my arm warmers and wasn't sure if I needed them. I looked at Jill and she was talking to someone, so I turned to Dad and said, "arm warmers?" He said, "yes," so I struggled them over my damp skin. I didn't want any more of my sandwich so I got Dad's attention and tossed a 1/4 sandwich at him. Isn't he lucky? Time to head out.


Ready to go! (note the excessive sunscreen)

Time: 9:59.4 (maybe I took Heidi's comment, "what do you care how long your transition takes?" too seriously. at least it was under 10 minutes. barely.)

Bike:
As I headed out of transition I had a great surprise and saw my friend Christina, yay! The ride starts with a small hill, but in my rush in the morning and didn't put my bike in a good gear so I walked up the hill. Then is was time to start the long 56 mile ride. My goals for the ride: Take time to look at the beautiful scenery; take the first 10 miles of rollers easy; enjoy the experience; and finish in 4:30 hours but 5 would be acceptable too.

I spent the first few miles spinning to warm/wake up my legs. I was immediately grateful to Dad for telling me to put on the arm warmers. It was chilly at 15-17 mph. Almost after the first turn, not even a mile into the course, there were two guys stopped. One's face was bleeding and the other was picking up bike stuff from the street. I have no idea what happened but what a crappy way to start the race. I kept going and all the super fast women from Barb's Race (the women's half ironman tri that started 5 minutes behind me) started passing me. Including my supafast friend, Chris. She had a great swim and was off on her big adventure. I kept riding, hit the first big hill and the the section of rolling hills. Heidi joined me on the rollers and asked how I was doing and reminded me to eat and drink. What a good coach! Then she laughed and said, "You have so much sunscreen on your face is white! You are so cute, I wish I had a camera." Great. Then she went on to rock her Barb's Race. Well, the excessive sunscreen gave me something to do for awhile. I started rubbing my face when I could. Not too much later, Marisol past me, she was going fast!

I managed to do the rolling bottle exchange thing at the first aid station (tossed my bottles out and grabbed new ones while still on my bike). I was so proud of myself that I grabbed a mini Clif bar, too. More beautiful vineyards. I was managing to look around. But at the same time I was wondering what the hell I was doing out there. I wasn't even 20 miles into the race and I was tired and my legs hurt every now and then. Why? Why was I riding 56 miles? This was going to hurt. But I kept pedaling. I heard a group of women chattering away behind me. I guess it wasn't a difficult race for them. They passed me and then came Molly. She commented about how the group was breaking a bunch of rules, they didn't seem to care. Molly had a great swim and was off for a fast ride. Bye Molly!

I checked my bike computer and saw I was at mile 25. Almost halfway there! I passed the spotted where I ripped a hole in my tire on the training ride and gave it a little wave. Mile 27. This was the area I missed on the training ride and there was a pretty long incline. I was steep just long, that's why I have all those gears, right? Mile 28! Yes! Halfway there, it was all "downhill" from there. My time was around 2 hours. How did that happen?

I stopped at the second aid station in Geyserville to finish off my liquids before getting more, take off my arm warmers, and rub off the excess sunscreen. The sun had come off and it was a beautiful morning. Then off I went to the lovely Alexander Valley. My legs were tired, my quads were burning, I was worried because I still had Chalk Hill to deal with. Then I started an internal (occasionally verbal) conversation about what to do on Chalk Hill. Walk? Inch worm?

"If I inch worm (ride, stop, catch my breath, repeat) I will have ridden the whole hill. But my legs are already tired. Maybe I should walk. But then I'll be bummed that I walked. However, I don't want to get in the way of the people doing the full vineman, if I stop and start I might bug them. So, I'll walk. No, I'll inch worm. But, then again . . . "

You can imagine the rest. My final decision was, "we will see when we get there." I stopped at the aid station at mile 41 to use the porta-johns. I guess that means I was drinking enough. my hydration solution was: if you think "should I have some gatorade?" that means you should. I had a little trouble getting my two pairs of shorts back were they belonged so I had to stop make some adjustments and add a little lube for the last ~15 miles. Two guys passed me and I heard one say to the other "this is Chalk Hill." Then as he passed me he said, "no stopping on Chalk Hill!" Um, dude, this isn't the hill. I kept going over the rolling hills before the really steep part. When I finally got to the steep part I pedaled until I couldn't go any further, then stopped and walked one steep straight part. I got back on the bike in a little shady spot and rode to the next shady spot by a group of Team in Training spectathletes. I stopped took a breather then got back on for another short burst of riding to the next group of spectathletes. They were playing some nice mellow music and told me the top was just around the corner. I got back on my pedals and they gave me a big cheer for riding to the top. Now it was really downhill! 8 miles to go!!!

On the training ride, the last 8 miles were torture. "Where is the end?" So, I prepared myself for the long final 8 miles. At this point the lead Full Vinemen athletes were passing me on a regular basis. I was trying to stay out of their way and they were encouraging me to keep pushing. There are some lovely views so I took a moment to appreciate them. Said hi to some beautiful German Shepards dogs playing in front of their historic house, asked some spectathletes to do something about the wind, and thanked all the volunteers and law enforcement at the intersections. I was dreading this part so much, that it went much faster than expected. And, I was much faster than I expected. This is it, this was the end. I didn't have to do anything but cheer my friends after this, so now was time to push. I was pedaling hard the last few miles and came flying into the finish. I was focused, but I could hear Mom, Dad, and Cabe cheering as I made the turn into the finish.



Time: 4:19:59.6

I did it! I was done! I swam 1.2 miles and rode 56 miles!! No flat tires! No falls! I did it!!! Christina was there at the finish for a hug and Mom was right there to give me a big long hug.

Total time: 5:06:51.7!

Now it was time for Sara to come in. She had a good ride and me all her goals. We were done!


We did it!

All photos courtesy of Jack D. Johnson

Random photos . . . long story

7/18 - Mermaid Ride

I'm going to do this post quick before I forget and get caught up in my training and work next week.

Saturday was the day of the 40 mile Mermaid Ride. There was a nice big group with some new faces, including Nancy from masters. I wanted to wear my tri top to expose my skin to the sun a little before the race. (in 2 weeks!) However, it was a cold foggy morning in Santa Cruz so I bought a pair of sleeves to keep me warm. And, after we started rolling I was glad I did. I would have been really cold.

The route went along the coast from Santa Cruz to Capitola to Rio del Mar. In Rio I had to face my nemesis, The Hill of Doom. I made it further up the hill, but decided to walk the steepest part. *sigh* Then it was a lovely ride (with some gradual hills) through the strawberry fields to Watsonville. When I turned on to Beach Road there was a nasty headwind so I took some pics since I wasn't going anywhere very fast.


Still working on my photographing while riding skills.


Okay, that's better.

We had a nice lunch and then headed back to Santa Cruz.


Mermaids in front of me . . .


Mer . . . umm . . . need to work on shooting behind me


Better . . . let me try again . . .


Out of focus Mermaids behind me.

Here is where I found my happy pace last year and remembered how much I liked bike riding.


The Hill of Doom is too steep to stop and take a pic of going up, so here is going down:


We made our way through busy Capitola Village, up another hill, by the beaches in Santa Cruz, and finally I could see the Rio Theater. I was never so happy to be back and done in my life. (Well, maybe except for the ride in Sonoma last week.)

Nancy and I at the end.

Why does Nancy's hair still look normal? I was a sweaty mess.

40.91 miles
3:19 riding time

This was my last big ride before the Vineman AquaBike on 8/1. Starting to get nervous.

Long time, no post. Too busy training.

Rather than try to write about all my training I'll hit the highlights since 6/29.

>>Lots of riding & swimming.

>>On the 4th of July I celebrated with a 3 hour, 15 minute ride on the Peninsula with a bunch of friends. No one got lost or injured, we all made it back pleasantly exhausted.

>>Having some trouble with my Achilles Tendon. Hurt's when I point my toe so it mostly effects my swimming.

>>On July 9th I did the "Splash and Dash" at Stevens Creek Reservoir. Dude, those were some fast splashers and dashers. Usually, I'm in the middle of a swimming event, but this time I was at the end of the middle. But it was nice to swim in the open water. Whoever thought they would see me write that? Not me!

6/29 - :55 run/walk & 6/30 - Masters & Mermaids

6/29 - I jogged 4 minutes & walked 1 minute eleven times. My achilles felt okay during the "run" but later it was tired.

6/30 - Masters was canceled to due extreme chlorine problem, hopefully it will be open again on Thursday. I swam with Cindy and Nancy at the Fremont High School pool. It was set up for long course, it was an interesting swim. Damn, 50 meters is a long way. We made some attempts at 200 IMs and I was doing okay until my foot cramped during fly.

Mermaids = more swimming and running. My achilles was tight during the swim this morning so I decided to walk at TeamMermaid. We started with a swim at Camden pool which is hot and salty. (whatever happened to cool pools? all I'm asking is 80 - 82 degrees) I jumped in at the deep and went all the way to the bottom and pushed off the bottom. Ow! No that hurt my achilles. Duh. We did a 200 warm up and then swim at 85% for 20 minutes. I did something pretty close to 1000 yards. Then it was time for transition from swim to run. Ha, ha! We must have look charming with wet boobs and butts. After the first lap, I stopped to get a rock out of my shoe and Coach H was shocked when I pulled off and put on my shoe without untying the laces. "Well, no wonder your achilles hurts! You need to tighten your laces!" Then she proceeded to tie my shoes for me. I did feel more stable but, dude, those were tight. I guess I need to find the right tension for my feet. Something to work on.

6/27 - Ride 1:30, easy run :40

I've been looking forward to this workout all week. This was a tough week for me. The time on the bike increased and I had a little trouble figuring how to do the workouts and go to work. But I did it and I'm very proud of myself.

This morning I met up with some of the Mermaids. Gina F., Ashley, and Naama were doing a 3 hour ride and I joined them for half of it. We met up the Campbell Track and headed west on Campbell, which turned into Prospect, and continued on to Saratoga - Sunnyvale Road. Then when we headed for the hills to Highway 9. I was a little worried about the hills on my clickity-clackity bike, but I did okay. I took the hills nice and easy so I didn't have to worry about the random gear changes. I had planned to stop after 50 minutes and head home, but I decided to make a loop instead. I left the Mermaids at Blossom Hill and Los Gatos Blvd. I found my way to the LGCT and headed to Wheel Away to address the clicks-and-clacks.

The guys at Wheel Away were great! They seemed to know what "clickity-clackity" meant and adjusted the cable and gave it a little oil. And, it was as smooth as silk. Thanks Wheel Away Guys!

Oh yeah, and there was no running. The top of my foot was hurting.

6/26 - Ride 1:45 (and bonus swim around the wharf)

After yesterday's 2 hours and 20 minutes? No problem. Well, except for my clickidy-clackity gears. I don't know what happened but my easier gears are clicking and clacking and dropping all over the place. Basically, I have about three gears that don't make me nervous. I'll be stopping by the local bike shop tomorrow morning to see what is going on.

Okay, on to the ride with 3 gears. I headed out at 2:00 and it was kinda hot. I decided to ride to the Los Gatos Creek Trail (LGCT), find my way to Highway 9 and ride down it until it was time to turn around. The LGCT had much fewer people on it this afternoon, I didn't have to say, "on your left" a zillion times. Nice. I ran into a group of four boys (12-14?) on their mountain bikes. It was kinda cute. They were all wearing their helmets and having fun going off some jumps and riding together. The only problem was that they got in front of me, went a little too slow, and rode 2 and 3 abreast. I hung back for awhile and took a little break. The we came upon a group of three girls (junior high-ish) on their bikes. Riding with their helmets hanging from the handlebars. Tsk, tsk, tsk. The boys and I passed them. When I passed I heard one of the girls complaining, "how much further?" and another respond, "oh my god, we haven't been riding very long." Again, cute. I wish I was on summer vacation.

I eventually found my way to Highway 9. First I turned the wrong way from Blossom Hill and then ended up on N. Santa Cruz. I don't recommend N. Santa Cruz too much traffic. I almost took a tumble but thanks to my mad unclipping skills I caught myself. When I finally got to Highway 9 my lack of gears got to be really annoying. I made it to the intersection with Quito and wasn't sure when I would be able to turn around again so I turned back. This time I skipped N. Santa Cruz and tried University Avenue. Much better.

As I was heading home with the clickidy-clackity gears I thought about stopping at the LBS but remembered that I needed to get on the road to Santa Cruz. I went straight home. While I was riding I checked my time 1:30. 1:30! I rode long again? How did that happen? It happened because I forgot that I was supposed to do 1:45. No doy. I must have been thinking about my ride tomorrow. :-}

I had a quick rest and ice my sore foot. (&*@$#%!) Gathered all my stuff and joined the Friday traffic over 17 to Santa Cruz. I met up with Molly and Chris for Molly's inaugural swim around the wharf. Woot! The water was warmer than last time and it was pretty calm. We had a nice swim around the wharf with no sea life joining us and not too much seaweed. Molly had a great swim and beat the time she was expecting.

One more workout until Restday.

6/25 - Ride 2:20 followed by :20 run or walk

But, its Thursday. But, I swam this morning. But, I have to work. But, it's a school night. But, who's gonna cook dinner. But . . . . .

*sigh* Okay, let's try and turn this around or its going to be a miserable 2:20 hours.

#1 - Find a new route. I checked mapmyride for some ideas. Since this was a brick I wanted to start and end at the apartment so that I could change shoes and grab the dog. I wanted to try Foothill Expressway because a lot of cyclists like it and it has a nice big wide shoulder. So, I found a route from my place to Foothill.

#2 - Figure out the best setting for the bike computer. Having it set for time keeps me looking to see how much longer and on a 2:20 ride that would drive me nuts. Setting it for mileage also has me checking it all the time. So, I decided on my average speed.

Headed out at 5:30pm and had to make a quick pit stop at Pam's 'cause I didn't want to disturb the dog. I set the bike computer for average speed and told myself I could check the time when I got to the intersection of Shilling and Homestead. When I got there it had been 45 minutes. Pretty good. I continued on with the goal of turning around at 1:15. I thought I would gain some time on the way back due to elevation and wind. Foothill Expressway is a great road to ride on. Big wide shoulder. Few intersections. Smooth. Great! I turned around at Arastradero at 1:19. I made it all the way to Arastradero?! Oh my god! I was so amazed I had to call Sara.

Then it was time to head back. I was a little tired of being in the saddle but had to get home. It took longer to get back than I thought so I played a little game of counting intersections. It worked and I made it home!

Then it was time for the :20 run or walk. It was a walk. The post long ride top-of-foot-pain was pretty bad. Jemma and I walked for 20 minutes to cool down the legs. Ahhh . . . home at 8:30pm. Good thing it's summer.

Time: 2:31:59
Distance: 30.36 miles
Average: 12 mph

6/24 - Ride 1:30 with 7 x 3min push, 3 min recovery

Or, something like that. I really need to learn to manage my time better. And, remember that there is traffic between work and my destination. *sigh* I had WW tonight so, I had to cut my workout by 30 minutes. I parked by Lake Almaden and rode down the Los Alamitos Creek trail and then south on McKean. Is it always windy on McKean? Of, the two times I have ridden on it there has been a nasty headwind going south. It's hard to recover when you are fighting the wind. And, why can you feel a head 100 times more than you can feel a tailwind? The ride on McKean was a little un-nerving this afternoon. There were more cars than Saturday morning and not much shoulder. Most of the drivers gave me plenty of room but one or two felt a little too close. I think I will save it for weekend mornings.

6/23 - Masters + Mermaids

Masters:

• 12 x 25 on the :30, :30, :20
• 10 x 50s kick on :55 (but I pulled)
• 10 x 100 drill (what?)
• 16 x 50 fly (double what?)
• 8 x 100 back (oh, alright)
• 4 x 200 breast (I'm outta here)
• 1 x 400 free

We're not sure what our coach was smoking when he came up with that workout.

Mermaids:

Brick workout. Bike 3 mile loop, quick transition, run 3 minutes out, 3 minutes back x 3. Pretty good day. My calf and achilles started acting up on the last loop and run, so I took it easy. Not much more to report.

6/22 - Run somewhere fun for 35 minutes

Run and fun in the same sentence? Okay, I'll give it a try. I took Jemma for a run in Vasona Park. I've never run there but running near the water sounded nice. And, it was for the most part. The geese were pretty entertaining. Three times there were hundreds of them blocking the trail. One time we divided the group when we came down the trail and there was one goose that couldn't decide which group to go with. It finally sprinted across the trail, very cute. Later, I got to witness a geese stampede. I guess Jemma freaked them out (and they freaked out Jemma) and they created a dust cloud when the ran for the water. I finished my run and headed home with a tired dog.

Riding Twofer

Two, two, two posts in one!

Friday, 6/19 -
I had a "brick" on my calendar. 1:20 ride, followed by a :20 run. I don't know if it was that I was tired from the day before, or cranky, or just plain stubborn, but I really didn't feel like doing it. :::sigh::: I finally got my act together and headed out on the bike. 8 minutes into the ride I knew it was going to be a long ride. "8 minutes? That's it?" It was time for "Let's Make a Deal Cycling Edition." "2 more minutes and you will be a 1/4 of the way through the first half of the ride." I didn't choose the most exciting route, straight down Williams, its a pretty long straight street. "13 minutes? Just keep pedaling." It was kinda windy which isn't that unusual for the evenings in San Jose. "20 minutes! 1/2 way through the first half, 1/4 done." My bike shorts and skirt were drying so I was riding in my running skirt. Maybe not the best choice, I felt a little exposed when the wind blew back my skirt. "30 minutes. Getting closer. You can turn around at DeAnza whether it's 40 minutes or not." And, I forgot my gloves. "36 minutes . . . 4 more minutes . . . 3 more minutes." Oh, look DeAnza. Fine keep riding. "2 more minutes . . . 1 more minute . . ." Then the street ended at exactly 40 minutes. Ahh . . . heading back. Much faster then going out. Turns out that I was going slightly uphill the way out. I ended up getting home 5 minutes faster. My sore achilles tendon was irritated so I decided to skip the run. Stretched, iced and fueled for my big ride on Saturday.

Saturday, 6/20 -
3 hour ride. 3 hour ride?! Where? How? Why? I enlisted the help of my friend, C. She planned a route that she was pretty sure would take about 3 hours. 39 miles in 3 hours? Yeah, right. We headed out for Morgan Hill at 8am. With a headwind. blech. "wind is a good training partner." yeah, yeah whatever. We were on a "country" road with rolling hills. Some were easier than others. At the top of a hill by Calero Reservoir I tried to change into a harder gear and the chain wasn't catching. My left foot (the one with the irritated achilles) was flung forward and I had a pain go up the side of my ankle. Eek? We stopped at the parking lot so I could stretch my calf. I was worried but it was fine for the rest of the ride. At 1 hour we had made it all the way to Chesboro Reservoir in Morgan Hill. How did that happen? Then we took a smaller country road through some nice trees and horse ranches. There was a surprise hill, but after a little break I was okay to continue. I had a lot of fun on Hale Avenue, which I remember from my childhood. It was fun to be on a straight flat road without intersections. I was going pretty fast, ~18 mph. Too bad the road surface wasn't smoother. Then it was time for Bailey Hill. Dun, dun, duhhhh. I've heard about this challenging hill. C chose this route because it is similar to the route for the AquaBike on 8/1. I got myself in a good head space and tried to remain calm. I did pretty well. I think it was about a mile long. I stopped three times to catch my breath, but rode up that darn hill. Then we were back on McKean Road and had some fun on the down hills. We ended up back at the cars 30 minutes early. "What the heck?" So, we continued on Camden for 15 minutes out and back. Which included Camden Hill. Oof. Usually, I stop once on Camden Hill, but this time I stopped twice and used Coach H's counting technique to get to the top of the hill, "30 . . . 31 . . . 32 . . . 33 . . . 35 . . . 36. Done!" We headed back to the cars and were back in that headwind. Grrr.

I have tired legs but I'm very pleased. 36.25 miles in 3 hours. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to do 56 miles on August first, but I still need to work on the chafing.

By Popular Demand: The Tour de Cure

When I was living in LA (well, Pasadena) in 2000, I remember my dad calling and saying, "I'm thinking of getting a bike." Umm . . . okay, dad sure. he started looking but was shocked at the price of bikes. Keep in mind that he hadn't bought a bike since the early 1970s. Last year after I started this whole triathlon thing he was interested in bikes again. Then, when I bought my new bike this spring he was caught up in the bike buying frenzy and got one for himself. Also, this spring he was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and knew he need to do something for his health.

He recruited Sara, Cabe, and I to ride with him as a team in the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure. The tour is a ride (not a race) to raise money and awareness about diabetes. At first, Dad was interested in doing the 25K (~12 mile) ride. Sara and I got together and nagged until we signed up for the 50K (~30 mile) ride. We did a few training rides together, including part of the Tour de Cure course two weeks before the ride. I was a nice ride, but there were more hills than expected. Apparently, I need to learn how to read elevations.

Sunday, June 14th was the day of the big ride! Ready or not, the Red Hot Johnsons were ready to roll. We got to the start area with Mom as our SAG wagon. Perfect timing! We had time to pick up our packets, Dad got his "Red Rider" jersey which identified him as a rider with diabetes, make a pit stop, and line up at the start.

I was a little nervous at the start, I could just see a big crash with the start. But we made it through and headed out on our big adventure. The first few miles are a gradual climb and the team did a great job! We even passed some people. :-) Unfortunately, no one brought a camera, so we don't have any shots of our beautiful ride through Palo Alto, Woodside, and some other towns on the Peninsula. We enjoyed the snacks at the rest stop. But I was very sad when I dropped some of my trail mix. Then we were off for the trek to the turn around. I absolutely loved riding on Portola. The road was smooth and I felt comfortable flying up and down the rolling hills. We all just kept pedaling and pedaling. I couldn't believe how good I was feeling even up the hills. There was a group heading the opposite direction, they saw dad's jersey and yelled out, "Go Red Rider!!" (I think we have a new alter ego for dad.)

The last push to the turn-around was long and I was really happy to turn in to the aid station. I got off my bike and took of my left shoe because the top of my foot was hurting. But that's okay, there were cookies! I got a few cookies, a banana, and some trail mix. And, what happened? I dropped my trail mix. :-( Anyway, we had our snacks and then it was time to head back. It was all downhill, from here, right?

Well, almost. We had a good ride back, mostly down hill but a few up hills. As we were hitting stoplights with other riders things got a little backed up, but we all found our own pace. At one of the last lights before the end another rider was getting tired and turned to dad and said, "I'm doing this for you, you know." :-) I told dad, our team captain, to lead us in to the finish. It was so great to have people cheering at the finish and mom was right there to take our picture!



50 K in 3:34 hours. We had a great time and thank everyone who made a donation to American Diabetes Association.

2009 Mermaid Tri Fremont Race Report

Sorry, never got around to posting a race plan last night. Oh well.

Goals:
1. Finish the swim in less than 7 minutes.
2. Have fun on the bike.
3. Run the whole run.
4. Finish around 1:30.

Got to the race super early and got a nice spot on the end of the bike rack. Had about 2 hours until my wave started so plenty of time to hang out with friends and take a pic or two. Luckily, Super-Spectathlete Molly was there to document the day. (Thanks Molly!)

Sara, me, and Heather

After watching Julia, Lauren, and Riley run in the Mini-Mermaid Run (1.5 miles for girls 6-12) it was time to get in the water.



Finally, it was time to go!


(I'm somewhere in the front.)

Wow. The 30 - 39 year olds are fast! I stuck with the group for quite awhile, past the first buoy. When I dove into the water I hit the water kinda hard and ended up with a goggle full of water. I tried swim with the water in my goggle but finally gave up, took a break, and empty the water. I calmed down and hit my pace about halfway through the swim. Then it was over and I ran for the timing mat which was nice and close to the shore. :-)



I had a pretty quick transition since I didn't wear a wetsuit. I put on my socks and shoes, grabbed the bike and headed out. It was a really nice bike course closed to traffic, mostly flat, with one no passing zone on a bridge over the BART tracks. I turned on my bike computer so I could see my average time. I wasn't sure what to expect and was very happy when I saw that I was averaging a little over 15 mph. I had a really good time on the bike. It was fun going fast and passing people for a change. I had some time to think about why I do this tri stuff and the best answer I could come up with is: I enjoy the sense of accomplishment and people clapping for me.


So fast, Molly couldn't focus.

Next up, the run. My favorite part! Not. I walked out of transition to get my legs and started running when I hit the timing mat. I decided not to wear my watch which turned out to be a good thing. I knew the route from last year and just kept running. And, running. And running.



As I got closer to the finish, I started thinking about the finish which is on the sand and then up a small hill. Oof. I was pretty tired. I hit the sand and got up on my toes and kept running. it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Lauren and Julia joined me for the finish and I yelled for Riley to come, too.





And, the power finish!!



I am so happy with my race! I pushed hard and had a good time. Molly guessed that I met my goal of around 1:30. Yes!


Sara and I at the finish

And, my sad, lonely transition. It cracked me up so I took a pic.


And, the results! (with last year's time)
Swim: 7:07 (9:44) Missed my goal by 7 seconds. drat.
Bike: 36.33 (50:19) Had a great time and felt strong and fast.
Run: 40:47 (43:35) Ran the whole way!
Total time: 1:32:09 (1:53:23) Finished around 1:30.

Had a great day with great friends and family! Thanks to everyone I raced with and who came out to watch me huff, puff, and sweat.

Looking back at June 2008

Last June was my first triathlon, the Mermaid Sprint Tri in Fremont. At that time I had never done an open water swim, had a used hybrid bike I bought off craigslist, and didn't run. I had a few friends who had been bitten by the tri bug and thought I find out what it was all about. I went back and looked at some posts on a forum I'm a part of:

6/9/2008 - 10 mile bike & 2 mile brick on Sunday. I guess I'm ready for Saturday. I was hot, tired, sweaty, had moments of "what was I thinking" combined with moments of "you can totally do this."

6/13/2008 - A brisk walk to wake my body up for tomorrow. (And, Jemma needed a walk.) The rest of day? Eat small healthy meals, drink lots & lots of water, pick up my packet, put bike in my car, get all my stuff together and packed (and check it obsessively) and go to bed and try to sleep.

In response Molly posted, "Tomorrow you become a triathlete - welcome to the crackhouse!" Little did I know . . .

2008 Race Report

Swim: I started near the front, but got trapped by some swimmers that should have gone later. But I worked my way around them. The swim was nice, I may have to rethink my position on open water swims. I saw Chris when I came out of the water. My family said I was about the 5th in on the swim for the For Fun group.

Bike: My transition was fine, got all dressed, drank some gatorade, and got on my bike. I hit a tiny wall on the second lap but persevered. I really need to strengthen my legs. I heard "On your left" a bazillon times. I did manage to pass 5 people!

Walk: My legs were like cooked spaghetti noodles when I got off my bike. I racked my bike, took off my helmet, drank some water, put on my hat and off I went. The walk was the least fun. The course seemed soooooooo long in front of me. And, it was a little disheartening having so many people pass me because they were running and I was walking. The best part of the run/walk was the end. It finished on the beach by the lake and I was struggling walking in the sand. About 50 yds from the finish a women came up behind me and said, "c'mon you're running to the end with me. On your toes! Let's go!" So, I ran to the finish! I stopped and thanked her, I hope she knows what it meant to me.
-----------------------

So, that was last year's race. Tomorrow I revisit the start of my triathlon addiction. Race plan later tonight.

Lazy blogger . . .

Everyday I think, oh, I'm so blogging about that. But I never seemed to get to it last week. Another busy week full of training, work, and a wedding. Now that I'm trying to, I can barely remember last week. So, I will just go with the end of the week.

Friday - I went back to the bike shop to adjust my fit. My hands and elbows were killing me after an adjustment on Wednesday. The plan was to fit the bike and then meet friends for a swim around the Santa Cruz wharf. The bike shop was running behind schedule so I missed the swim. *shrug* I went to the folks for dinner. We did a little review for a friends' wedding that I was officiating and dad was photographing.

Saturday - The pool was closed for repairs, again. The joke at the pool is that the city was complaining that the old deck only lasted 20 years. Too bad they can't get the new deck to last 20 days. Har, har, har. I had a bike ride on my schedule and headed out early so I could get ready for the big event that evening. The wedding was very nice and I got many compliments on the ceremony. I was delighted when I cracked up the bride with my choice of readings, "The History of Love." :-)

Sunday - After a very late night at the wedding I dragged myself out of bed to try swimming around the wharf again. I went over the hill with Molly, Nigel, and Steve to meet Chris. We didn't dwaddle too long and ventured into the water. The freezing cold water! Brrrrr . . . I really wished I had sleeves. We eventually made it around the wharf and didn't go to the hospital with e coli. Pics courtesy of Molly and her killer waterproof camera. Then there was a really long nap.

Monday - Happy Furlough Day! And, last brick before the Mermaid Tri on Sunday. I had a good ride from home to the Los Gatos Creek Trail and into Vasona Park. While I was riding I was thinking about how last year my longest ride was about half of what I'm doing these days. I got home, grabbed Jemma and headed out for the run. After much mental debate I decided to run the full 30 minutes. No breaks at 10 minutes or 15 minutes. Straight through to 30 minutes. And, I did it! I kept busy really cleaning the kitchen, paying the bills, and doing laundry.

This week I have a few good workouts on my schedule and then some good rest days. I'm looking forward to the tri on Sunday. Lots of friends will be there! I will have to make a lot of recovery cookies to hand out. :-)

Busy Week, Lot's o' Stuff

Monday: ahhh . . . rest day. After being at Uvas I got the tri itch and decided to the Mermaid Sprint Tri @ Fremont on June 7th.

Tuesday: Double workout day! Master's was good. I have no idea what the workout was but probably about 3,000 yards. At Team Mermaid, Coach H said that there were only two hard workouts left before the Fremont Mermaid. We warmed up with two laps around the track, followed by 6 x 20 second striders & 1 minute recovery. Then it was time for the big part of the workout. 2.5 miles with a pace time. Coach H told me, "you are going to run all 2.5 miles. It'll be good practice for June 7th." Me, run 2.5 miles, aka 10 laps, without stopping? Coach H said I could do it so I gave it a try. I did it! I ran 2.5 miles without stopping.

I've been having trouble with my energy and I'm not losing weight. Coach H gave me a calorie range that I truly can't believe. ~2,250! What?! It's been challenging to switch my thoughts about food from Weight Watchers to training.

Wednesday: I was still tired from my big 2.5 mile run but went on my lunch time bike ride as planned. My legs were pretty dead after that. At WW I was pretty pissed. -0.2? What the heck?! I've been working my @$$ off for 3 weeks and my weight has not gone down. Grrr . . . I'm not asking to lose 5 lbs a week, but c'mon a 1 lb a week would be great.

Thursday: Was a big, long day.

Oh, so tired. Master's workout was some crazy IM torture. I did the best I could. One rave: Coach T said my butterfly looks good, no corrections on technique. Now, if I could only do more than a 50 of fly. I moved over to another lane and had a nice "social kick" with Sarah. It really helped loosen up my legs.

Shout out to my buddies Lauren & Julia. Their school had a jog-a-thon on Thursday. They dominated that jog-a-thon! They both did 5.5 miles. I'm so proud of them. Oh, and did I mention that they are 8 (almost 9) and 6? They are going to do the Mini-Mermaid Run on June 7th, they will rock it!

I missed my schedule run due to my Sports Basement party! I invited everyone I know to the party for munchies, drinks, and, most importantly, 20% off! It was a lot of fun and think everyone got some good deals and stuff they really needed.

Friday: Back on the bike. Oooff, the chafing.

Saturday: 6am swim. Why do we swim so early on Saturdays? I dragged myself from my bed and made it to the pool. Everything was find until I saw the 16 x 100s on decending intervals. Ugh. I surprised myself and made it through those. Then went on to Coach's new favorite thing pulling back or breast.

After a few hours at work (don't ask) I headed out for my last workout of the week, a brick. 1:15 ride up Winchester to Vasona Park, around the park twice, and back home. On my way back there was a guy selling cherries and strawberries near my place. Cherries sounded so good so I stopped and bought some. Then I did a quick change and grabbed Jemma and headed out for a 30 minute run around the neighborhood. After my performance on Tuesday I decided that I need to run most of this workout. I decided to run 10 minutes and walk 1. Eight minutes into the run I really, really had to pee. I was near Pam & Richard's and decided to impose for a pit stop. They were surprised to see me but very accommodating. :-) Great friends! I knew my legs would be pretty tired to I took an "ice bath" as recommended by Molly. I just be able to tell tomorrow if it helps the knees.

Phew! That was a long, busy week. Tomorrow is a rest day! Well, at least a rest from training. I'm watching my god-daughter while her parents move into their new house just a few miles from my place. :-) I'll try to post more mid week so the posts aren't so long.

Morgan Hill Sprint Tri Relay Race Report

Forecast: ~100 degrees. 100??!!! Oh boy.

Today I was the swim leg of a relay with fellow Mermaid Jill and her husband Dennis. We were the Smart Hot Cookies:


The race got started a little late so the Athena/Clydesdale/Relay wave was the 12th and last to take off. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a water start. None of the frenzied dash into the water. And, the wave was nice and small. :-)


I started out with a little sprint to get going. I was turning pretty fast to get going and pull away from "crowd." It was a left shoulder swim which was a bit of a problem because I like to breathe to the right. When I started looking for the buoys they were really far away and no one from my wave was near me. :-( I found the next buoy and started heading that way and sighting a lot more. It was a long swim to that second buoy, I thought, "at this rate I'm never going to make my goal time. I finally made it around the second buoy and fell into a nice rhythm.



Here is an aerial shot of Uvas Reservior. The 3/4 mile swim was around the peninsula sticking out in the lake. It started swimming toward the bottom of the image and then counter-clockwise around the peninsula. No wonder the first part felt like it too so long, that's a long way until we turned.

The rest of the swim when well. I started passing people from wave #11 (men 50+) and wave #10 (women 45+). That always feels good. When we made the last turn toward the finish I kicked up the effort and pushed to the water's edge on the boat ramp. The boat ramp was kind of a pain and hard to run up. I tried to walk up quickly. I made it to transition, Jill took off the timing chip off my ankle, transfered it to Dennis, and he was off on the 16 mile ride.

According to Jill's watch I finished in ~21 minutes, meeting my goal of a sub 23:00 swim! We are still waiting for them to post the race results. (click refresh, click refresh, click refresh)

While Dennis was out on the bike course Jill, Wilma, and I cheered Gina, Sara, Gina, Paige, and Harj through their transitions.



I transfered the timing chip from Dennis to Jill and she headed out for a hot run. It sounded like Dennis had a good ride and powered up the evil hill at mile 11.

We had a great area in the transition area for watching the finish. We saw the pros come flying in. Saw some crashes at the bike dismount, and cheered all the Mermaids and other friends in to the finish.


Jill rocked the 5 mile run and finished in ~50 minutes. (I think. Still waiting for the effing results.)

We hung around for the awards and I'm glad we did. Sara placed in the Athena division! Go Sara!!

Overall, a good day. I was very, very hot but I seemed to have escaped without a sunburn. It was fun to be there with so many friends. Go Mermaids!