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.
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So, that was last year's race. Tomorrow I revisit the start of my triathlon addiction. Race plan later tonight.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
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. :-)
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. :-)
Saturday, May 23, 2009
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.
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.
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