What an awesome day!

The quick and dirty: La Jolla Half marathon was today...According to my garmin= 1:54:32 (granted I also ran 13.2 miles but that is expected...can't run all the tangents and there is always some zig-zagging). Previous half marathon PR in 2006: 1:58:14. A PR by roughly 3:15 on a very hilly course (1800 ft of elevation gain/loss)!!! It.was.awesome!!

The long report:
My running has been improving a lot this season and it has been a lot of fun to watch and challenge myself with it. It's been exciting, but I recently have realized that as my running has been coming along well...I didn't know if it was coming along well enough to PR on such a hilly course. I really wanted the PR and knew I could PR on a flat course, but this one? I had a suspicion that if I had good weather (check), I felt good (check) and it all came together (double check) that I could PR. But races are sorta exciting in a way because....you never know what is going to happen. It is a big surprise in a way.

Being obsessive as any other racer leading into a race...I probably checked the weather report at least a few (hundred) times every day to see how saturday's race would be. Last year it was HOT and in the high 80s...this year...perfect 60ish and at one point was supposed to be overcast...but some winds. (which in my opinion is prefect running weather...not too hot and not too sunny). In the end sunny/coolish/and a slight ocean breeze....pretty much perfection.

I am my own sherpa
Last year the race ran out of water, having run the race last year KatieB told me to carry my own water. I didn't really want to in all honesty, but I also knew that if I got myself dehydrated...even if the race went fine...i'd be mad at myself...so I carried my water...my nutrition...my cell phone (for after)...my key to my car...you know....whatever else I could cram in there. ;-) It wasn't an ideal situation, but it was what it was.

In the end there was enough water for where I was running in the race, but it was questionable to me if people at the back would have enough.

Amazingly there really isn't a lot to tell about the race. It all kinda blurred together and went by pretty fast too! There is a gnarly hill in the middle that is a 420 ft climb over a mile...that was...gnarly...but ok. The beginning of the race and the end flew by. This is only my 4th half marathon ever, but what I find the most interesting I felt the strongest for it during all parts of the race as well as it was mentally one of the easiest for me too.

My friend Sam is a runner and we were chatting yesterday before the race. She is a fearless downhill runner and during our conversation I told her I would just channel her for every downhill. So on every downhill I thought: RUN LIKE SAM! I think that in part is why I did have some fantastic downhill times.

My coach came down for the race and even ran with me for few bits of the race...which was completely appreciated.

Overall an awesome day. I had some friends come out to the race to cheer me on and go out for breakfast. It was great to share a great day with good friends.

Offically taper

My friends and i in grad school called it 'taper madness' because you do go a little crazy during taper. I've tapered some for Sunday's race, but it hasn't really been that bad. I've been more tired randomly than usual...fell asleep in my car for 10 minutes yesterday as I tried to talk myself into my swim workout...which I did...and it did go well in the end.

But the part of taper I forgot: the shopping

My friends and I joked about this during grad school. I don't think i ever really succumbed to this phenomenon at the time, but one friend when she was tapering for a marathon...bought a bike. Another friend during marathon taper bought a bunch random things. I sorta could reign it in just purely from the fact that I had not money to spend or even pretend to spend so 'splurging' on a candy bar really wasn't going crazy shopping. That was just a normal stressful day.

But today it happened, and it didn't occur to me until I came home with the most random things:skirt, jeans, ear phones, new wallet...a PASTA STRAINER...a small mirror, no two of those, a tank top.

ooooookkkkaaaaaaaaaay.

None of them actually can be considered a 'splurge' purchase (ok...maybe the skirt, but it was on sale and justifiable seeing that very little of my wardrobe fits me very well anymore...everything is getting too big) as I had been meaning to get all of them at some point I just had been too busy and in all truth...i hate shopping.

Still have a few odds and ends I still need to hunt down...in time.

Should I be nervous?

Sunday: Scattered showers and a high of 62...winds West 12mph.

I'm not so worried about the possibility of rain...i did go to undergrad near Seattle. I know I won't melt if I get rained on, but the wind...hmmmmm...not so sure about that one. Everything else is pretty awesome running weather. Overcast, 60ish...very nice. Not like this last weekend where I spent Sunday in August like conditions at an Earth Day festival trying to convince people that science is good and by learning about it they can help the environment. It was pretty hot though.

This Sunday is La Jolla Half Marathon. I can't decide if I should be nervous or not. I'm tapering for it...so I am sure some of the antsy-ness will settle in come later in the week.La Jolla is a hilly half marathon with a pretty gnarly hill at mile 6...420 ft of climbing in a mile and a lot of other hills along the way. It doesn't sound like that much, but it is a pretty nasty hill. I did preview it a few weeks ago on my long run, it'll be interesting.

I think what has come up the most with me about this race is the FACT it is hilly and the reality that this is the first time post psoas injury/post grad school/and into a new life that I have actually trained for a season.

In 2006 I trained for and went sub 2 for a half mary at Hartford, but between 2006 and now I: fell down the stairs (and subsequently stopped running for a month or so), gradschool went down hill pretty fast over the next 8 months Jan 2007-Aug2007, I finally graduated Aug 2007, I moved to SD Sept 2007, I injured my psoas Nov 2007, I thought about quitting triathlons April 2008, My training philosopy from April 2008-Dec2008 was pretty much summed up in one word: whatever.

I did some crossfit, i rode my bike when I felt like it, I met up with KatieB. on Friday's to ocean swim (but rarely actually swam in a pool otherwise), I fell in love with the velodrome and BOUGHT a track bike. And in someways looking back on where I was personally and emotionally post-gradschool...it was probably the best thing for me to do: whatever.

Things started to shift in the fall...I signed up for Vineman 70.3, (granted...I should say I signed up again because in 2008 my hip was not getting better fast and it just wasn't the right time for me to tackle the HIM distance yet) I became part of Team Barney Butter (and part sponsored), I hired a coach (which I never in a million years thought I would every do) and now I am actually training.

But the funny thing about actually training is i'm actually getting faster. Imagine that...funny how that works sometimes. I'm running really well right now and I realized the other day I'm kinda pissed La Jolla isn't flatter because I know I would PR on it if it were a flat course. I almost PR'd 13.1 miles the other week when I was just doing my long run...just one minute off and I wasn't really trying.

Granted with the monster downhill after the gnarly uphill...anything can happen. I don't actually think it is completely out of reach, but I do need to have a good day to make it happen. So i'm hoping for a good day.

Am I nervous...ask me in a few days.

Awwww yea!

I've talked about it...repeatedly...but I have a drafting problem when i ride the velodrome, and i'm sure in general. And by problem, i mean I don't draft well. So...one of the guys in charge of my class offered to meet up with me before class and practice 'bike wrestling'...as I like to call it. Bumping side to side, and then try to get me to bump his rear tire. This is best practiced on grass with tennis shoes on. Stick your arms out and occasionally your knees if someone gets too close and push into them with your arms. Go on...you won't push them over as long as you both have some speed in the forward direction. He even said cyclists have been known to even head butt during races.Check this out at about 18 seconds into the video and also around 30seconds. He was apparently DQ'd because of this.

awww...how ya doing Stuey???

I found the whole 'pushing' thing to be hilarious...as i do with just about everything. Granted I was told that if I fell over because I was laughing too hard that would not be cool. Spoil Sport. The rear bumping of my instructor's rear tire was the trickiest for me. I'd get really close and then chicken out...i did hit his tire a few times but he'd just ride around in front of me saying: I don't feel you bumping into my tire. The reality...you can hit tires and not fall over.

I'm not sure if the practice helped my confidence level or what...but i HELD to people's tires SO WELL last night. Didn't get yelled at once to draft closer. We did have a guy who was joining in on the class for fun who was quite an experienced racer. He road around with my group all evening and gave out pointers.

After awhile he seemed to pick on me a lot over the evening as he'd sit on my wheel and tell me what to do a lot and point out where I was working too hard or riding too high or whatever. It was helpful. And on many races where he was riding my tail...he'd totally push me to out sprint whomever was next to me...even if we were deep into the field and not about to come close to winning anything. It was good practice.

But the best part of the night was we had a set of sprint races. We were told we would have 3 sets of 4 lap sprints. I can't remember if we were racing for points or not, but the first two sprint sets were pretty hard. After each set we would have to regroup and then they would send us off again. So the third (and what we all thought) was the last set...we made it through the first lap and I just got possessed to see if I could take it...I have no idea why I just WENT..i knew it was chancy since i had THREE laps to go..but I knew everyone was pretty tired too...so I decided 'why not'? I didn't know how good the endurance of the fast guys in my group were(keep in mind this is not the super fast group...but still)...so I put the hammer down and went for it.

I did manage to hold them off for the next 2.5 laps and it was only with half a lap to go that three guys had to work together to chase me down. One of the guys on the sidelines told me after wards that I had a quarter lap gain on the rest of the field and those 3 guys that did reel me in had to work pretty hard together to pull me in. Totally satisfying.

It didn't 'work'...but man it was FUN. :-)

I learned a bunch of things:
1)Three laps is WAAAAAAAAAY too long to go all out on...2-2.25 is about all I can probably manage.
2)If you time it well you can take people by surprise.
3) Don't suddenly think that, that guy over there is suddenly going to be really fast if he hasn't been all evening in any sprint. Same for yourself.
4)It's not all about speed...learning more tactics can help the game.
5)Making people work hard to chase you down...even if it doesn't work is totally satisfying.

You would have thought I actually WON the race yesterday because of how giddy I was. I didn't even place well...but it was just awesome that I didn't hesitate and just left it all out there. I learned a lot by mucking it up.

One guy afterward complimented me on pulling away from everyone...even if i didn't win...it still was fun.

I'm SOOOOO SORRY!!

I really didn't mean to...but I don't know how I 'forgot' how to get off my track bike...not once but TWICE...with the second time yielding the big gash in my front fork paint. The first time I just ran into the bench with my tire. It's only slightly challenging to get off a fixed gear...actually...it's NOT challenging, it just take some thought and preparation before getting off the bike.

How can I go from knowing how to stop my fixie and never having an issue to: uhhhh i've clipped out one foot and then suddenly forgetting that I have to PUSH backwards on the clipped in pedal to get the whole bike to stop? I kinda do this hoppy clipped out dance where i've slowed down a lot and i'm hopping on the foot that is clipped out and pushing backwards with my clipped in foot. (it's probably pretty funny to watch)

I clipped out and it was like my brain stopped functioning. Completely. Suddenly I just didn't know what to do and my mind went completely blank. I even remember thinking: "um, how do I stop now? I'm going to hit that bench." Very weird...especially since it happened 2x.

These kinds of things happen to me all the time. I'm not-so-graceful in life. At least I have a good enough sense of humor that I can just laugh at myself. But sometimes I also have to just shake my head.

The funniest part of track class tonight for me? The 'handicapped race'...where my group got a 1/2 lap head start on the other group. To do this we had to go to the other side of the track and hang on to the wall over there. APPARENTLY....ahem...they said: RIDERS READY!! (and if you ready you shout yes...and put one hand in the drops which is the international sign for READY). I did NOT put my hands in the drops because I was not clipped in...i was CLIPPED OUT with one foot. But they whistle blew anyway, so the other4 people took off and I had to tell them to go ahead...and I then had to clip into my other pedal AT SPEED. Keep in mind, clipping into a fixie has its own set of challenges mainly the fact that you can't coast while clipping in. So here my team-mates (sorta) have taken off, i'm trying to pedal as fast as I can as well as clip in with the pedals spinning pretty fast AND not get caught by the other group. I did manage to clip in and catch my group, but our lead really didn't help us much sadly.

oye...me and my pedals tonight!

Crazy busy weekend

The science festival
My weekend started early on Friday at noon...driving a UHaul around...getting lost...four wheeling it on dirt roads all to pick up lots of stuff all for the San Diego Science Festival on Saturday. This is where I had the opportunity to organize 30+ volunteers over the course of the day and deal with the chaos that having 3000+ people come through the booth brings with them.

The day was filled with its share of insanity and varied other crazy bits and pieces.The day was a test of patience at times, but rewarding and something I completely love even if it means that afterward my legs are so tired it feels like i've run 15miles and then been run over by a big truck. Not two days before this shin-dig I already signed up to help organize a booth to teach about science for earth day. It's how I roll.

An 'official' Time Trial
This week has been a bit of re-testing for LT with some timed efforts. It gives an idea of where I am speed wise in the various disciplines. My run TT on tuesday went really well aside from the massive side stitch I got. I did a swim TT on Friday and I sorta expected my times not to change that much from last time (between 1:39/100 and 1:47/100), but my pacing was pretty spot on with a nice negative split over the course of all 10 x100s so I was pretty happy with it. So that left the bike TT.

Rather than do a TT all by myself...i (stupidly) decided to sign up for an 'official' one....official as in I paid people money to time me. Note to self, the day after LONG day on my feet is not the time to RACE against all kinds of people kitted out with race wheels, aero helmets, skin suits and TT bikes. When the alarm went off at 445 I really contemplated my warm bed and how being out 30 bucks really wasn't that big of a deal. But I sucked it up and went anyway.

It did help that I knew a few other people who would be there. I hate going to races and not knowing anyone. I have learned some of the cycling world rituals of pre-racing...bring the trainer and your fight face. Wear your fight face as you are warming up on the trainer and scare everyone else. Granted I am not sure if I have learned the cyclists 'fight face' yet and doubt I could scare anyone if I could muster a fight face. In reality, I felt rather self conscience and ridiculous...like I didn't belong there and that someone was going to tell me to leave or something.

There is also a 'cyclist' way to pin the stupid number on the jersey. I noticed this at my first bike race at Bulldog in Feb, but didn't really worry about it since i didn't think it was that critical. But here I knew that a flapping number could pose more of a time problem. After 4 attempts I managed to get it where I wanted to...only to be told right before I took off...I had put it on upside down. I'm so smooth. Then there was the: holy crap moment when I knew I had 3 minutes before I had to take off, couldn't go back to my car...when I realized that I STILL had on my cycling long pants as well as my knee warmers and had to strip those off of which I had to put them in the ditch to retrieve later. Again...i am so smooth.

And then there is the fear of the unknown...THE STANDING START (or whatever you call it). This is where someone will HOLD your bike as you sit on it and the other guy says: in 15seconds...10seconds...3...2...1...GO! And the guy then sorta pushes you away. I've never done this so I'm debating whether or not to do it...sorta wigged out...but after realizing he doesn't just LET GO of you...he does sorta push you...so I realized I probably would be ok (i hoped). As he pushed me away I realize the stupid fear was...well...stupid. It was super easy.

My goal for this race was to break 20mph avg speed. The course was a 20K...3 large loops of Fiesta island. The morning was pretty calm...few spots of a slight headwind but pretty good all around. I at least had two other reference points on Fiesta island to compare against. While the other two TT were not a full 3 laps just 30 minutes...it was still a good comparison. Dec speed for 30mins: 18.5mph, Feb speed for 30mins 19.5mph...Sunday's TT for 20K: 20.6mph for 36:11! Very very happy! Goal achieved!!

It was a crazy busy weekend all around, but good. Things are settled a little bit...granted now I have an earth day booth to make some posters for and recruit volunteers and a huge checkpoint at work coming up...oh La Jolla half...err...easter is this weekend...my training this week is pretty heavy...nope things don't slow down much around here...but that's the way I roll.

29.9

Dear Mr. Garmin:
What is your insistence on being so mean to me? I clearly see from that pretty graph I get to read each time I upload my data into your system that 29.9mph was NOT my max speed from track class. In FACT...when I look at that pretty little graph it says: 32mph. And while I should not complain as over the past 4 weeks when I started my track class you told me my max speed was 28.1mph. And if I dug back into January I saw that my sessions at the velodrome only showed max speeds of only 24.5mph...quite clearly you are now jesting me. To show me such a pretty little graph that doesn't show a sharp point at 32mph but in fact the graph implies that some actual time was spent over 30mph. I understand that you don't think 8 seconds warrants registering that it was over 30mph, but 8 seconds is a pretty long time too. World record holders for the flying 200 would almost be done with their sprint (10.831 seconds).

No 32mph is not fast compared to those world record holders, but Mr. Garmin...i'm just saying 8 seconds is a lot of time and hence i do not understand how you think that my max speed was only 29.9mph. I mean 8 seconds of time over 30mph...could you just pretend and give me the 30mph? I mean how hard is that? I even got a shiny new cog and managed to get the right chain for it last weekend and now you just tease me with the idea that I might have actually gone faster than 30mph. sigh.... You are so mean.

And to top it off...what in the world did you do to yourself? You have managed to clear all of your information from the past in my data file off my computer and you have become resistant to your power switch. As well as refusing to store very many of your previous pretty graphs. I do not understand, but I worry about your health. Have you seen a doctor recently? You should really get that checked out.

But in the future would you kindly just give me the true max speed...the one that your graph implies...and if that is truly NOT the max speed...don't put it on there. That is just mean.

Sincerely
'pants

Re-tests and race week

Its Oceanside 70.3 on Saturday and a big shout out to all those I know who are racing! Chris, Charisa, Max and my Coach are the few that I do know who are racing.I'm kinda disappointed that I can't be there to cheer everyone on. Last year I worked at one of the aid stations, handed out food, lost my voice from all the yelling and generally had a great time. This year...I get to organize 30+ volunteers, herd 100s of kids and generally try to explain why science really IS so cool at the San Diego Science Festival instead of being at Oceanside. I'm in charge of volunteers for a booth...so it will be 8AM-6PM of non-stop fun or non-stop chaos...take your pick.

Granted this week did not started smoothly and yesterday I really wanted to hide in my bed until next Monday. I was skimming my last few posts and I realized that I have perpetually been in a bad mood and extremely stressed out for quite awhile...and this week my mood is pretty horrid. I can get to points where I'm so sick of it that I just wish I could get away from me and my bad mood. Something has to change...it can't continue like this.

So as far as training for me...this week is filled with time trials...re-tests of my swim-bike-run. We do this every 4-6 weeks or so. Today was a run TT. Basically 30minutes as hard as can be sustained. Continued improvement from the last one...granted I only accomplished 25mins of a 30minute test because I had a can't-see-straight kind of side stitch that stopped me in my tracks.

First 10 minutes 8:00mpm HR 170bpm
Second 10 minutes 8:00mpm, HR 172bpm
Next 5 minutes 8:13mpm, HR 170

As a comparison from my last TT(2/20/09):
1) First 10 minutes 8:17mpm 168bpm
2)5minutes 8:17mpm 166bpm
3)5 minutes 8:26mpm 168bpm
4)5 minutes 8:26mpm 166bpm
5)5minutes 7:53mpm 172bpm

I had a fantastic tempo type of run last week where I found myself sustaining a 745mpm pace for a mile at one point in the workout. I don't really know where all this speed is coming from, but I'm pretty excited about it.

I read an interesting article yesterday by a local tri-coach who was talking about using tools like HRMs and powermeters and whatnot. He made the comment that I've heard from other people about how some athletes need to cover their info or they sometimes 'freakout' when they see how fast they are going. I'm facinated by this comment as I have heard it before.

I don't really have an idea of how fast or slow I really 'should' be able to swim/bike/run. Is there even a 'should'? I don't know. I find training tools as sources of entertainment: oh look my HR went higher...my pace is XYZ...interesting...i wonder if I could go faster...even just a little bit?Could I hold that pace longer? What might happen if I just go flat out? Will I blow up? What happens if I were to completely blow up?Let's go really fast on this last mile and see what we hit...how much is still in the tank?

Maybe i"m too much of a scientist who is constantly looking for patterns. Patterns in how my body responds...patterns in how my HR responds...patterns in how I feel. I think one aspect of training I do find frustrating is when I wake up...i don't know generally how that workout is going to go until I get into it. And while some things can be tweaked during a workout...not to the degree I'd like it to be able to be tweaked. I realized this bothered me the other day because it is not like playing an instrument.

As a violinist if i'm struggling with a section I know I can just repeat...repeat...repeat...repeat...and generally by the end of it I've got it. But training isn't like that. Some days are GOOD days...some days are OK days and some days are not as great days. I feel so out of control. I realized that bothered me more than I'd like to admit at times. But i'm learning how to stay in the now...and just try to enjoy it...even if it isn't going perfectly.

Ugh....

Paceline burnouts...paceline burnouts and more paceline
nice picture of a paceline taken from Wikipedia.

burnouts...ugh...Track class on Wed proved to be some good paceline work. Problem is by the end of it, i was SICK of hearing my name yelled at by one of the teachers to: CLOSE THE GAP! I am not such a fan of sitting close enough on someone else's wheel. I mean the whole lack of brakes thing really gets me sometimes. Granted I am one of the first ones off the paceline which I was told because I end up working too hard because I am not drafting and if I did...i would be strong enough to stay on there much longer. sigh

Also the SD velodrome is sorta 'square-ish' and has 4 corners and inevitably in corner 1 (where typically you switch who is pulling the pace line) the next person jumps and the paceline stretches out (or more typically this is where I lose the paceline) and then in corner 3 people aren't powering through it for some reason and we all end up squished up on one another. Never makes me very comfortable. So it is this weird accordion and I just don't like being that close to the rider ahead of me.

So...here is the advice that I was given...go practice what I call: "bike wrestling". (No he did not call it that...but that is what I call it). Put on tennis shoes, find a buddy, find some grass and practice bumping into one another...front wheel to back wheel, side to side. Now here is the thing... i've done the whole side to side bumping thing, but not with anyone who was really all that intent on actually bumping me like I would be bumped in real life so it kinda doesn't count.

I haven't tried the tire bumping thing, but I think what I actually need to do this properly is a "roadie mentor" who is used to racing in tight groups and is actually intent on actually hitting my tires or bumping into a shoulder. Whenever I go to a bike clinic and practice this it is always: ooops...bump....ooh sorry...i barely hit you or a VERY light tap on the shoulder done by other people who are not used to the claustrophobic nature of pack riding. While useful in a clinic to understand you won't fall on your butt if someone does tap you on the shoulder, generally I don't get the feeling of if someone were to actually bump me while we both were going at speed. I'm going to work on paceline work with a road bike this weekend and see how it goes.

Nuances of trackbikes

And I was TOTALLY bummed on Wed too. My new pretty cog...the one I was soooooooo excited about putting on...my new 15 where I would have graduated to an 86 gear inch because I would then have a 48x15...sadly...sadly sadly...I could not ride on it on Wed. The thing that sucks about learning a new sport is there are all these little nuances that you are unaware of until you screw up. So...got the new gear put it on. Put my chain on...and hmmm...my chain won't STAY on the gear! What? Apparently I have what is called: a road chain. On cheaper track bikes/fixies (like mine...just entry level)...they are sold with road chains and road cogs. NOW here is the crazy thing. ROAD cogs will take a TRACK chain, but a TRACK cog will not take a ROAD CHAIN!! I bought a 15 track cog so the reason the chain won't stay on is because it is a road chain on my bike. But if I go and buy a track chain, it will go with my 15 track cog AND it will still go with my 16 road cog. Confused yet? I am. Only thing I understand is if I want to use my shiny new cog I need a new chain. Lame. So that is the plan for the weekend...get a new track chain so I can try out the new gear and see if I can keep up with those silly boys on Wed.


Update: New chain put on!! Can't wait to try out the new cog on the TRACK!

It is what you make it...

Over the past week or so I have spent quite a lot of time visiting the hospital. One of my closest friends had surgery a week and a half ago that went from "it will be a minor operation and you will go home tomorrow" to "oh it was 9x worse than expected and in the hospital 5 days on heavy pain meds"...and even after 5 days I wondered if it was a good idea to be sending her home. She's on the mend now and is recovering at home, but I still try to see her every other day or so.

I have spent a good deal of time with her over the past 2 weeks from the hospital to home. She is one of my closest friends so it is not difficult for me to spend lots of time with her in general, but it is so hard to watch someone I care about struggle so much and be in so much pain and not be able to do anything about it. It feels so helpless.

While she was in the hospital she made the comment of "thanks for coming, not many people like to come to the hospital". Hospitals don't really bother me that much aside from the heeby-jeebies I get from thinking about MSRA resistent bacteria. Especially when the soap free hands dispensers say: not effective against c.difficile. Curious name for a difficult to get rid of bacteria. Granted I did want to go to medical school in undergrad up until I discovered a love for organic chemistry (yes i am weird). I mean I struggled in my bio classes cuz i was so bored and did my organic chemistry home work to procrastinate. I finally switched majors and decided not to be pre-med.

But I still have always been fascinated with medicine and highly respect what we even are able to do with modern medicine. I mean people can go in for SURGERY where they cut a person open, sew them back up...and then many times will get better. That is pretty amazing. No...it's not perfect. Trust me...i'm quite aware of how imperfect surgery can be. And when it isn't perfect, it is devastating. But that still doesn't take away how incredible the fact that as a society we have figured out how to operate on people at all.

I thought a lot about why people are not keen on hospitals while I was there. I do think part of it is having to watch those close to us suffer so much and feel so helpless, but hospitals also fundamentally remind us of how fragile our lives are and I think many people are uncomfortable with their mortality. But the truth of the matter is that we really aren't as in control of our lives or health as we like to pretend.

Last summer I had a weird test result that dragged into a month of different doctors and tests to chase down the possibility of cancer. The chances were small and the doctors reassured me that it was most likely 'nothing'...but most likely also isn't 100%. Fortunately nothing was amiss. Literally the day after I was given a clean bill of health, I found out my cousin had a massive tumor on his leg for which he went through 6 rounds of chemo, radiation treatment, surgery last week and finally it looks like all is well. Yet it was discovered 3 weeks before his surgery.... after all the treatment he just went through...that his wife has breast cancer. Life is so much more fragile than it seems.

Many a day I know I take for granted how healthy I am, how active I am, how blessed I am with all the activity I can do and actually get out there and DO. Last week i logged 8 or so hours of activity and my training only holds more. This is such a contrast to another friend of mine who has Lupus has to be so careful about not over-doing anything. And while quite an active person, she also has learned how she needs to slow down and not push so hard. It's not easy on her.

A few weeks ago I was having a miserable run. I was over heated, dehydrated, had a side stitch, my legs didn't want to run, and I felt like throwing up. The negative thoughts started to creep in. I wanted to quit. I literally started counting all of the things that were blessings in my life...and my perspective changed as well as the run. The run became easy.

Thank you all for the well wishes on my last whinging post. Sometimes it is easy to complain and much harder to be thankful. But the truth of the matter is: there is so much to be thankful for and much to be grateful for. It is what you make it...

It's kinda not fair

I complain in my head at times, but I actually try to keep it under wraps in daily life because I am a firm believer in trying to focus on positive thoughts, even when it is hard because it helps to pull me through times that are harder...but I can't right now. Lately I've encountered two things with training: 1) I'm hungry ALL the freakin time 2) I need more sleep, but I'm not getting it.

The food thing...its weird and annoying. I actually don't like thinking about planning food. It is the 4th discipline I know...and have actually been seeing a sports nutritionist for over the past year. I've learned to clean up my eating habits and have seen many positive results because of that, but I have also discovered I hate going to the grocery story and planning food and don't really enjoy cooking either. I can cook when I need to...but I don't enjoy it like many friends I have. One of my closest friend is a professional foodie, free lance food writer and used to be a personal chef. She invents new recipes and tests many for others too and to read what she has to say, I love the passion she has towards this topic, unfortunately I just don't get it. (and I kinda wish I did).

But the weird part lately about being hungry are all the odd cravings. (no... i'm not pregnant). My nutritionist and I had a discussion about it awhile ago. She just said: the body knows what it needs and will tell you. She encouraged me to keep a closer diary of the types of training I am doing and then when I get food cravings after I can see better what I might be lacking post-workout. I admit...since I find the food thing a little bit of a hassle anyway, i haven't done this...but i need to...and soon.

Past few days it's been salt craving. I am not much for potato chips but I had a few the other day and all I wanted to do was lick the salt off of the chips. The next day I had some pulled pork...again salty...yummy...could not stop myself from eating it if I had tried. Few weeks ago it was INTENSE carb cravings. Granted... I have a little bit of a sweet tooth, but over the past year that has been put at bay a little bit and I don't actually want candy all that much, but candy...potatoes...pasta. It actually was a little weird.

And then there is the meat craving...especially after weight lifting. Even in Nov-Dec when i was only moderately lifting the next day all I craved was protein and meat. Granted, I gained two pounds of lean body mass then too...and lost two pounds of body fat.

So the food thing, i'm not so impressed by it to be honest. I wake up hungry in the morning a lot and am finding that if I miss my mid morning snack all hell breaks lose. I even ate a half a bagel the other day when I was in a morning meeting because I was hungry. I hate bagels.

But the sleep thing...this is the unfair part that I'm sorta whinging about right now. It is 3:38AM. I am awake. And I have been since oh...midnight. Lately work has been hectic to a degree and two days a week I have 730 am conference calls. Many days i'll just get into work around 7 and then leave earlier to get whatever workout that needs to be done in. But the thing is if i'm getting to work around 7, I am getting up between 5 and 530. I should be going to bed around 9 at least. I haven't been. And I've been tired.

BUT yesterday i was excited...8 pm rolled around and i knew I could get to bed BEFORE 9pm. 845 I was IN bed and quickly fell asleep actually. Midnight rolled around...and I am WIDE awake. I tried to convince myself to fall back asleep for an hour and a half before I gave up. I've since been stalking people's blogs and drinking herbal tea in the hopes that my body and mind will quiet and I can slip back into bed.

I know the problem...i think too much. If you are one to subscribe to the 'Meyers-Briggs' personality type...it falls in line with my 'personality' description that I basically think too much. (INTP or here...but I'm not really as cold and uncaring a person as all those profiles try to make me out to be!) The sucky part is I think too much even when I am SLEEPING. Since moving to CA, I have had this brand of insomnia where I just WAKE myself up because my mind is running.

Lately work has been too stressful and I have worn that over-thinking part of my brain out so sleeping hasn't been a problem. But things have backed off, almost a little too much and now I can't shut it off. There is a sweet spot of busy-ness that I need with work and life lest I get really bored with what i'm doing and then my brain wanders. This week...my brain has been wandering a lot. This means a lot of random internet searches on whatever types of strange 'questions' that pop into my brain.

This week I did further investigation on my personality type...which I find rather ironic because it is within my personality type to actually DO that. Granted it shed a lot of light on my perspectives on training and where I was mentally limiting myself in some areas.

I also investigated aerodynamics on the bike. Specifically the physics of aerodynamics and the impact of clothing, aerobars, helmets, wheels, position and even shaved legs (no there is no advantage boys...but admittedly it is pretty hot). This is the only time I ever lament not still being in grad school. There are all these scientific journal articles that I want to read on the subject but have no access. Bummer.

And if you made it to the end of this post...wow. impressive. Crazy rants from the middle of the night :-) It's 4:30 am...i'm going to try to see if I can sleep...maybe just a little bit.

What LANGUAGE are you speaking?

yea yea...I've got an 81 gear inch because I have a fourty-eight x sixteen, but I'm thinking of getting a fiveteen so I'd have a bigger gear inch...what is that? oh yea, 86 gear inch or so...

bla...bla...bla..yea i've got a 11-23 for my rear cogs...with a 53 on the front...

Sound familiar...or not familiar or make ya think...what ARE they talking about?? This is my sixth season of doing triathlons and when people have talked bikes inevitably gears will come up. And then gibberish ensues...at least in my little brain. I used to think: what are they talking about? Why do they care so much? who really, REALLY cares? I did not think I would ever become one of them. Just 10 months ago someone mentioned their rear gearing on their bike and my reaction was: blink...blink...blink.

It made no difference to me...and I had no interest in understanding it. AND THEN....(insert scary music)...i learned to ride a track bike. And that is one HUGE topic that that gets talked talk about on the track...well because there is one...maybe two (if you have a flip flop hub) gears on your bike at any given time. Granted if you want to 'change' gears you have to take your tire off and flip it around. But this is pretty typical to see on a track bike that a rider will have two different gears in the back.

Serious track riders carry around a serious gear bag( as in full of different cogs and chain rings). It is quite impressive. And I am happy to say...i'm starting my collection! I have a 48 chain ring on the front and currently a 16 on the back...but I just got a 15 for the back. (Wasn't able to try it out tonight though sadly). So a 48x16 = 80ish gear inch. And a 48x15 = 86ish gear inch.

Gear inch? Again, I hadn't even heard that term, let alone cared to understand it until I discovered the velodrome. Here is a pretty cool explanation of gear ratios from How Stuff Works if that whole big gear little cog thing never made much sense. The animations are cool.

Gear ratios are related to 'gear inch' and it is possible to calculate how fast one can go with a specific gear inch at a specific cadence...ect. I like this site to calculate gear inch. Bigger gear inch = harder to push. But the tricky thing when on a track bike is...there is no switching a gear mid ride like on a freewheel with lots of gears. Want to go faster...spin faster...that is the only choice given. So i'm going to try a heavier gear next week...maybe I'll keep up a little better...or...maybe not...

got a talkin' to

I still hear a lot of random screaming from one of the guys in charge about me needing to 'CLOSE THE GAP'...yea, i lost the pace line a few (ok a lot...like normal) tonight. That being said...we did work on paceline technique mainly 'getting back ONTO' the paceline after taking a pull at the front. I get dropped a lot off the back of a paceline after I have pulled because I don't do this correctly. On a track it is important to GO up to the board and then when the end of the pace line comes to shoot down to the end of the pace line so that you have enough momentum to catch the pace line AND the draft as you get in. I typically will come into the end of the pace line too 'cold' and then have to waste a lot of energy trying to catch the back fo the pace line. Coming in a little too 'hot' means that you come in closer to that last rider and then slide back behind that person.

But...the 'talkin' to...i've sorta known is an 'issue' i deal with. It went a little like this: You are strong enough to hang in there...you leave TOO much of a gap in your paceline and then catch the wind. Get over your fear.

Gee...thanks...that's the advice? Get over your fear of being too close to that person in front of me: WHO HAS NO BRAKES?? NOR DO I?

Here is part of the reason I have issues with holding close to the person ahead of me: I will get the proper distance and then I swear then i'm ON the person ahead of me, and now have to slow down (which means lightening the pressure on the pedals) and then SUDDENLY a gap gathers and now I have to close it...and then I catch too close...and again...repeat. I know it takes time. And I am getting better at it...but sheesh.

Enough random talk of gearing out of me tonight.

I have a talent...

I don't know what it's 'usefulness' is...but it does create some bizarr-o situations and funny stories. Like tonight...I get a txt from Chris: Did you go to XYZ high school?

me: um...yea?

Chris: Do you know RD???

me: um...yea?!

By this point its too weird so I just call him because WHY would he be asking me if I went to my high school and KNEW this person? Apparently...RD showed up at the tri club masters swim tonight for the first time...works where i WORK...and I had no idea. I haven't seen her since I was 15. Very weird. Chris remembers from the first time that he met me that i have this 'talent'. I don't think he believed me until now. ;-)

This is where I have to point out: I am NOT from California. I have only lived in CA for a little over a year and a half. So far...just since i've lived in San Diego...I have run into my roomate from my tiny undergrad, run into another classmate from my tiny undergrad, run into a girl that I lived down the street from growing up, and THEN there are a few other randomly small connections...those are the most outstanding...but this one...I know her from high school...she works at my WORK BUT it was NOT through work that we find ourselves connected? oooooookkkkkkkkkaaaaaaaaaay

This happens a LOT to me and not just since I moved to San Diego...but it is seemingly freakishly honed in since I moved out here. Quite the talent I might say.

I do this for fun??

I was not impressed when my alarm went off at 6am this morning. CRANKY is not quite a strong enough word to express how I was feeling this morning. I really just wanted to sleep in, drink coffee and find a paper to read. Getting up so early seemed so uncivilized. I just thought: this is what I do for FUN??!! I was grateful I was meeting Katie to ride. Riding with a friend was the accountability I needed at that moment. Had I just been jumping into a group ride where I might only generically know a few people or no one actually knew i'd be there and be waiting for me...i would have ditched. I just didn't WANT to...for no good reason. My lazy roots were trying to take hold.

Training recently has been easy for me to motivate myself. I'm not saying training itself has been easy...but shuffling the time around, getting into work at a stupidly early time so I can leave early to run or get UP stupidly early so I can swim before I get to work even when I have to be at work for a 7:30 teleconference, or getting in early and staying late and then taking a long lunch to run hasn't actually taken too much convincing. But this morning...you would think I had lead boots on.

Katie and I kinda gate crashed in on another group's ride of elfin forest loop. (it wasn't quite this loop outlined) Ironically as we waited for this group...we would eventually completely lose the group.

Elfin Forest Loop

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

I've done this loop in various ways, and this route isn't quite the route we took...but there are many variations on the theme. Part of this route is actually what I did for my birthday bike ride back in November. I really like this loop for some reason. Doesn't matter which direction you go...lots of hills (3400 ft of climbing in 54 miles), it's beautiful and challenging to a degree.

Unfortunately I discovered that my little 'spill' at the velodrome on thursday ...seems I bruised my butt pretty good. This in effect induced weird spasm at mile 40 and my whole leg decided to tell me it did not like this biking thing. Shooting pain down my leg...but very intermittent and doesn't hurt at all off the bike.

I also discovered that while Pop Tarts have no nutritional value whatsoever...they are great mid ride when my tummy is grumbling and a gel is NOT what I want...if my stomach is wanting food it wants something solid. Pop Tarts: not hard on the stomach and surprisingly didn't just sit there...dirt cheap too compared to something like shot blocks. Shot blocks are about 1.50-2.00 per 200 calories...Pop Tarts: 60 cents for 400 calories (but I don't suggest you eat both of them...THAT would be too much food on the stomach). One pop tart did the trick...so 30 cents per 200 calories. Granted they are full of yucky things like high fructose corn syrup...but anyway...still yummy.

The ride was fun and went well. I'm glad I went and had a great day of riding.

Level 2

Track class is back and I have 'graduated' to level two...um...i made a total fool out of myself though. I may be level 'two'...but I still managed to tip myself over after pushing (or maybe NOT pushing hard enough) off the rail...yea, ego bruised and maybe my hip...but nothing hurt.

Level two really only means one thing: I took level one. Our group is tiny compared to the level one newbies...but I have secured myself as the slowest. Awww...i even got screamed at from the side lines to close the gap and get out at one point. (i came so close to closing it and i was about to get out anyway when I was told to get out ...ok...ok...i'm going.)

But still a few things happened tonight that were interesting: I hit my max HR...191...never seen that on a bike. While I was feeling a little lack luster about the evening, I looked at my garmin data only to see that I was hitting speeds i've never hit before at the track. I came close to 30mph...ok...briefly (and i'm sure I was drafting someone and hanging on for dear life)...so that is very cool. Training is about progress and even when it sometimes seems that progress isn't happening, sometimes it is more about a matter of perspective. I threw my data from tonight up against data even from a few weeks ago...I am getting faster...it just takes time.

Swimming is now full contact sport...

Apparently circle swimming has turned into a full contact sport. My lane mate tried to wrestle me to the bottom of the pool today...or at least pin me to the end of the pool as i was attempting to turn around. I usually flip turn if I am not circle swimming, but I haven't yet mastered the angled turn and I was worried I might run into one of my lane mates today if I tried. So I swam to the end, grabbed the ledge, turned around and suddenly in a mass of confusion and flailing arms I swear he pinned me to the wall.

uh...oh...sorry!

I was trying in the meantime not to A)laugh and B)not inhale massive quantities of water. Since he must have been in such a hurry I just let him go by...besides he kept smacking my feet earlier in the swim...which by the way is the most startling experience and made me want to kick my feet harder.

THEN a different lane mate decided to take my kick board. I don't typically dish out snarky comments to strangers, but I really wanted to because seriously if someone is SHARING a lane with more than 1 other person I would think that if there is a kick board by the end of the pool it is probably one of my lane mates and go and get one of my own. Nope...she just took it. Why don't you just take my flip flops while you are at it lady?

On other rambling topics...
I've been trying to help my sister out with her exercise routine to try to keep her A)going to the gym and B) not bored, so I gave her a 1300y swim workout since she said she swam about 30 minutes or so. After calling me rather ODD for the weekend of training I did in Palm Springs this last weekend, she then just about had a heart attack when I gave her the workout. But she did it all! I'm very proud of her. She then made the mistake of saying that she would do a triathlon if it consisted of riding the stationary bike, using the elliptical trainer and swimming. Um...I think I may have to cook up a fun indoor triathlon for her. She does have an ODD sister to thank for that too. Maybe I'll have another triathlete in my family soon. ;-)

Good idea?

The original plan laid out by my coach for me this weekend as I headed to Palm Springs for a training weekend was:

Friday: run 7miles after arrival
Saturday: AM bike 60 miles, run 6-8 miles and a PM 40 mile bike
Sunday: Do the Desert Triathlon either the sprint distance or the International

Kinda the point of the weekend was to push the envelope and see what happens. Everything was laid out, but I also had the option of scaling where I wanted to and not doing everything if it was too much. It was my call.

I already knew 100 total miles on the bike on Saturday was going to push the 'too' much button and I wasn't sure how I felt about that 6-8 mile brick off of a 60 mile bike this early in my season. Granted, I've never attempted this kind of volume anyway, so I really don't have a mental concept of where I 'am' on the endurance spectrum 99% of the time. I surprise myself with so much of my training these days so it is a constant process that is always unfolding.

The run on Friday was fine and on Saturday AM, I headed out with my route slip and many gels and an idea to try some shot blocks to see how I trained with them (since normally they don't mess with my stomach). It was a nice day, warmish, and the route was pretty nice...granted there was a LONG stretch in the beginning that was chalk full of false flats which just does a number on my head because it is sometimes hard to realize that the reason it seems like I am going so slowly is because I was actually ON a hill...but with false flats it doesn't seem quite like a hill. BUT with every up hill comes a downhill.

In all truth i'm not the hugest fan of descents. I know, that's weird...i could climb all day but descending sometimes is just not my thing. So finding a decent that I am a FAN of...well that is unusual...but the decent proved to be highly ranking in my book. Open, not technical, and a grade where it was steep but not something that made me wonder if I was taking my life into my hands on two wheels. In essence, my kind of hill...so it was great. In the end our ride was actually a little shy of 50 miles...not quite 60...so I decided to attempt all 6 miles I had planned out since the ride was 'shorter'.

The run was uneventful aside from my legs telling me they hated me...but I pressed on. What was the most interesting though was getting back to the house only to realize that my legs didn't just hate me they were PISSED at me. It felt like every tiny muscle fiber was on FIRE simultaneously. I was in pain and perplexed at the same time. I didn't really know what to do so I actually wondered if what was going on was that each of the tiny muscle fibers were CRAMPING...rather than one large muscle cramp. So I downed a big does of some salt tabs that I had and almost instantaneously the cramping went away.

I blame the shot blocks. I usually only use Powerbar endurance which has almost 2x the salt as the shot blocks...so even though I am trying to expand some things I can eat while exercising, i'm not sure how to address the shot block issue...especially how difficult they are to deal with since it is not reasonable to down 100 calories at a time and you have to eat them slowly. Very fussy.

Got back from all the training and ate a post recovery snack, showered and changed and then headed out to pick up our packets and find some food. Sadly (although somewhat predictably in my book...even though I ATE another granola bar to try to stave it off)I did turn into Ms. Crankypants due to low blood sugar. Oye. But we did finally find some food and then I was super ready for a huge nap....pretty much immediately following lunch, like I could have fallen asleep at the table but I do have better table manners than that so I didn't.

I bye-passed on the second bike and opted for a long nap and was sooooo happy I did that. Amazingly it didn't even affect my ability to fall asleep that night which is pretty impressive considering daylight savings. And let me just say: Day light savings SUCKS the night before a race. Race morning is early enough without losing an extra hour of sleep.

Is this really a good idea???

So today as I was setting up for my race (I had opted for the Sprint) and I started thinking about all the training i had just DONE the day before on top of this race. This race was not even a C race...maybe a D or E or anything that is: does.not.matter...kind of race. For me it was a 'just see' how I did kind of day.

What was interesting though was on the swim. I never have been too terribly freaked out by open water swimming. I grew up swimming in lakes so I think that is part of it, but I started the swim and i'm not sure if was the cold or what but my LEGS started to burn and I almost started to panic. What I find interesting about myself is in scary situations I get severely analytical. I do actually think this a huge benefit because I basically tell myself: Right NOW is a NOT OK time to freak out. You can do that later...but RIGHT NOW...keep it together.

I remember thinking: Am I going to have to call a life boat? AND then thinking in reply: Well that would be severely stupid because you might end up with a small fear of open water swimming for the season so that would just put a damper on things. Don't do that. If you NEED to just lie on your back and back stroke or float until you can regain your composure. But freaking out is really stupid right about now.

I look back on that mental conversation and sorta laugh. How I could just tell myself NOW is not the time to freak out and force myself to calm down was pretty instrumental to getting through the swim. I did finally find a rhythm and pressed on.

And over all...i was really happy with my race. It was freaking COLD and my feet lost feeling on the bike and I didn't gain it back til mile 2 of the run...but it was a good race. I learned a lot about how my body responds when it is tired, when it is cold and what factors I can tweak and others I have to work around. And one of the best surprises was to discover that even though i had just done all of this training on top of my race...I got better than 50% in my AG...which is a tough AG for women...30-35. Which for me is pretty awesome. I was just explaining the other day how GREAT I am at 50% in my AG....almost SPOT on +/- a person. I have no problem with being such a midpacker...it was more of a general observation...so to see that I almost made the top 1/3...i was pretty stoked.

Overall it was a fantastic weekend of training and meeting some new people. I learned a ton and I actually think I'm going to be able to walk tomorrow. That's a good thing.

Being heckled

Some runs dumbfound me...sometimes they are just runs that EVERY GUY feels the need to heckle me or give their input on my run. Within a block of taking off I heard one guy say: just 28 miles to go!! I even had these two middle school boys decide to take up singing a song about exercise while I ran past. I guess I should be flattered that they made up a song just for me...it did make me laugh pretty hard. And last week, when I was on the run where i thought I was broken because my heart rate kept diving through the floor, a guy who was doing road work proceeded to sing a the theme song from a sports movie (can't remember which one)as I ran up the hill....seriously??

What I find the funniest about the heckling is sometimes I can go for a 10 mile run and the only issue I have is trying to get people to get out of my way and they are none the wiser that I'm even there...and other times I can't go more than a mile without some some guy insisting on interjecting some comment...like he is the funniest person on the planet. Like I haven't heard a million times 'just keep running!' Granted it is a few steps above being cat-called.

Today's run was fantastic. Being slightly over trained over the past week I've had to dial things back a little bit and sadly have missed out on two fun training days at the velodrome. Sadness. But I'd rather address things early, not get sick or injured and still continue to enjoy my training so dialing things back didn't mean no training just easing up a bit. Granted I am always amazed at how connected the body is to the mind and what is going on mentally. To say I've been stressed out doesn't quite capture the breadth of all that's been hitting me over the past few weeks. Life comes in waves, never in just manageable bits does it? But I think I'm cresting this wave at least a little bit right now so I am pressing forward and always hoping for the best.

First bike race ever...

I did Bulldog bike race this past weekend up at Camp Pendelton and it was quite the experience I might say. I've never done a bike race before so my only reference of bike racing is something like tour de france. So when my coach
suggested this race to many of his clients my internal response was: hell no. I did not verbalize how I felt about this race and quite frankly I was having an internal drama over it mainly because I do like to challenge myself with things I won't do at first glance. So I was having a lot of back and forth on my own personal excuses of why I didn't want to do this race and why I should just shut up challenge myself and sign up for the race.

Then my roadie friend Elaine got into the mix: SIGN UP FOR BULLDOG....ugh...i was quickly running out of excuses. It was her first road race too and she had talked our friend Mark into racing also (although he's a seasoned crit racer so the whole bike racing isn't new to him). So now it went from sounding terrifying to sounding still terrifying but at least with friends. I can do terrifying much better when I have company for some reason.

I can hear it now: But you ride the track...bla...bla...bla. Yes, riding the track has gotten me much more comfortable with pace lines, and riding in close quarters with other people, but overall I'd much prefer people keep their bike and their distance from me. Seriously, the kinds of crazy people they let ride bikes in the country....sheesh.

I showed up pretty early, but still got crappy parking for some reason. Managed to check in and meet up with my friends Elaine and Mark and headed to my car when I finally connected with my coach about the race. I chatted with him and one of his other clients about the race and basically what I was told from them and other people was: the first 8 miles are a hammer fest, hang where you can, then there is a hill where the pack will fall to pieces and then try to find people to work with on the way back in. I took some mental notes and then headed back to my car to grab my trainer.

Now...i had a ton of time before my wave took off since my wave was last, and I wanted some company...so yes...I dragged my trainer 2blocks down the road so I could warm up with Elaine and Mark. I think I did it more for moral support. The guy in the car parked next to mine sorta shook his head at me...but I needed more moral support at that point I knew it would be 'worth' it to me.

Mark and Elaine had 5 rules of racing: Don't crash, hang to the front, make it hurt, have fun and win. Although it ok to be a bit of a rebel and break rule 5...but try not to break the other rules.

Elaine and I lined up AT.THE.FRONT. Ok...i knew this was the right thing to do...but i started to second guess myself too. I knew to not be the lead person, but rather find a wheel and sit on it and being at the front of the pack is a little safer in general because there isn't the crazy accordion-like action happening with people hitting their brakes like in the rest of the pack.

It's a rolling start and we take off. Once we are give the thumbs up the race is on...but weirdly...there is no 'hammerfest'. I keep waiting for it to happen, but seriously...we are totally lollygagging and really only going around 20mph which for a pack of cyclist is not that fast. The other women are chit chatting like it is a liesurely saturday ride and while I got a little annoyed and wanted us to go faster I knew I had to just go with the flow. That's a sucky thing about riding in a pack, if you don't want to pull at the very front there is little control over the speed.

We hit the hill and the pack falls apart...i totally get dropped...and sadly on the way back there is no one from my wave I can pick out to work with. Every person I came upon was a guy so they were from a wave before me and not going a speed i wanted. I thought for a moment this other woman might want to work with me on the way back, but we hit the final hill and I dropped her pretty soundly at that point. So I just had to tell myself: well...i'm a triathlete I'm used to not drafting...but it did kinda suck, I mean I actually got to draft I might as well take advantage of it...right?

Overall I surprised myself and really enjoyed the race. This is why I try to push myself to do new things, I tend to surprise myself even when things seem like I won't like them...i sometimes end up liking them....I think it is good in general to push internal boundaries and mental walls because with each wall I knock down I learn a little bit more about myself.

Next up... Big training weekend this weekend and first triathlon of the season! Should be lots of fun!

I guess i'm tired?

odds and ends...

My final TT from last week was a bike TT...I am happy to say...i improved my speed by 1mphto 19.5mph for 30mins and did it at a lower heart rate than last time in pretty darn windy conditions. Note to self: Don't do a TT when people are wind surfing in the same vicinity as you are riding your bike!

Granted all this TT from last week made my back freak-out...in a major way. I had a 7ish mile run on Sunday planned and after 5 miles...no MAS. Usually these things ease up and loosen up with some time but I was in pain the whole time and just thought: this is stupid....so I stopped.

Went to a massage therapist on Monday because my back was bothering me and I have concluded I think i'm the only person in the world who probably hates massages because they hurt so much. I hate those pictures of people looking all relaxed and happy when they are getting






(see this lady looks sooooooo relaxed. Maybe this place where this picture is from gives really good massages or something. )
a massage...for me I have to focus and relax into the pain. Then the lady tells me: you are too hard on your body you need to not be so stressed out. Yea...good luck with that one lady.



I think i'm broken...

Had a great run on Wed where I increased the pace incrementally over each mile and i really enjoyed it...granted the last few miles my right hamstring started to sorta pitch a fit and not be too happy. But i ignored it...stretched a lot when I got home...but was still feeling it today.

Had another 7ish mile run on the books today and headed out during lunch to get it done. Zone 2 and 3...nothing really special....but I kept looking at my HR...and started to wonder: am I broken or is my HRM? My HR was reading in the low 100s. Actually for awhile...I was seeing between 70-90bpm. Uh...what? Granted I wasn't going terribly fast...AND I was going down a hill, but i've run this course so many times I knew something wasn't right.

So I tested the HRM...run faster....yep HR will pick up...but then rapidly would bottom out. I wasn't going very fast mainly because of the hamstring, but the HR's I was seeing were so low you would think I was walking. My avg HR was a mere 118bpm for a pace that was only 1 minute per mile slower than I did last week...with an avg HR of 154bpm.

Verdict from my coach ...i'm not broken, but probably need to ease up a little bit...i might on the slightly over trained side. So sadly no track tonight...but as I sit here and type this...I guess I am a little tired, so I'll go to bed on the earlier side tonight...take it easy for a swim tomorrow because....

SATURDAY I AM DOING A BIKE RACE!!!!!!!!!AKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Little mortified about that...but I think it's scarier in my head.

More pics and another great test

I just got sent a few new pics from last weekend's adventure up to the ADT track in LA. I like this pic of the track better as it gives sorta a better 'feel' of the curvature of the track.








And well...I like this picture cuz it's COOL. Yep...that IS me. I like the pic. I can at least pretend I was going really REALLY fast or something.














Running Time Trial

I was very happy with it! It's a 30minute time trial to basically see fitness/LT with it. Last time for the 30 minutes the first 15 minutes I was averaging about 8:34mpm pace...and then...well...i got a massive side stitch and the wheels fell off. The last 15minutes were divided into 5 minute increments looking like: 8:37mpm, 9:14mpm, 9:02mpm.

This time things went much better! I broke the 30minutes into 10-5-5-5-5 minutes to help me focus.
1) First 10 minutes 8:17mpm 168bpm
2)5 minutes 8:17mpm 166bpm
3)5 minutes 8:26mpm 168bpm
4)5 minutes 8:26mpm 166bpm
5)5 minutes 7:53mpm!! :-) 172bpm

Seeing progress is really fun and encouraging to know that the training is working...and I was just told that the next 3 months will be intensity work. That should improve times even more too. Fun stuff.

Retest

The fun part about having a coach is that I get to try all kinds of new fun training/workouts. I've read the books and all that and looked at some online training plans and in the past I would put a semblance of a plan together for a season, but I'm not very imaginative or really have a clue what I'm doing when I put these things together so my workouts were pretty dull and boring and really not very focused. And when it came to SWIMMING...yawn. I probably skipped more swim workouts than I actually did during a season. Of the three disciplines, i'm not the biggest fan of swimming...but not for typical reasons of many triathetes. The water doesn't freak me out. I actually love being in the water, its just...i donno...i get sorta bored. But amazingly through MUCH more imaginative training sessions provided by my coach...I've been warming up to swimming and the training involved(ohhh and I discovered fins...THOSE are FUN)...a bit at a time. (THANKS COACH!)

Another thing that shows up every so often in my training plan that I would never do these things on my own...time trialing... to see my progress. Last time I did my swim time trial it bordered on 'fiasco' in the dark. I'd never done a time trial in a pool so I didn't really know what to expect. Basically a 10 x 100y as fast as possible with minimal rest between each. What I found was that my times for 10 x 100y were between 1:46 -1:52 per 100y. What was interesting was that after this point it took me awhile to see anywhere around 1:50 in my workouts until I had a breakthough workout back in January. So I was curious what would happen for this time trial...I was pleasantly surprised.

1) 1:39
2)1:46
3) 1:48
4) 1:46
5) 1:46
6)1:42
7) 1:45
8)1:45
9)1:43
10)1:41

YEAAAAAAA!!

Last time my fastest time was 1:46 and I only hit it once...this time I was hitting round that number pretty well most of the time. Seeing progress is really encouraging. Next up...run TT tomorrow and a Bike TT on saturday...should be interesting. :-)

ADT center pics

A history of the location where the ADT center is located. The track used for the Olympics in '84 is not this track. This track was built recently and is located in the same general location as the Olympic track used then.


This is a pic of that 8yr old kid riding a 42 frame. It's hard to tell how small he is, but gives a bit of an idea of what the track looks like.



















The trusty steed hanging out waiting for a wild ride. (mine's the bianchi)














So here is a explanation of the ADT track. Keep in mind it is in the corners like this one, where the track is pretty much at its steepest...45 degrees. It is also about two stories at this point too. The SD velodrome is a mere 27 degrees and has everything except for the region called the Balustrade and the Blue Band. Balustrade actually means 'railing'. It takes a fair amount of effort to get up there and then well...stay up there without slipping off in the corners. I didn't venture up there...this time...next time maybe. Also the blue band is to 'aid' in getting onto the track and off of the track. The SD velodrome doesn't need because it such a steep track.

Here is a fun pic down the side of the railing, it's hard to get a feeling of the steepness in this picture, but my friend has a great picture apparently during a race where the cyclist basically look like they are perpendicular to the ground around this corner. It is pretty trippy and I refused to look down this corner until after I had ridden the track so I wouldn't freak myself out. I think that was wise.

Awesome adventure...looking forward to going again!

"Your fear will keep you safe..."

There are pictures of this adventure to the ADT center up in LA...but I can't find my cable for my camera at the moment so they will have to wait.

Thursday at track training here in at the SD velodrome I was hardly able to contain my excitement of today's adventure up to the LA velodrome although a few people made me start to question my sanity.

From one guy who used to train on the ADT track regularly:

It's so cool...you can actually feel the g-forces pushing you onto the track when you go around the corners.

Me in my head: g-forces...on a bike? What did I just get myself into??


From another guy who just got certified and begun racing up there:

You have to do a flying two hundred, remember you are dropping two stories down from the top down into the sprinters lane and you really FLY on your 200m.

My response:

I might throw up if i try that.

His response:

Yea, well...the wood on the track isn't sealed...uh...maybe not this time.

When we showed up the juniors were out riding and training...this kid who is 8 years old and a munchkin is flying around the track(his bike size...a 42). Apparently...he's been riding a track bike for three years....um...since he was five. Ok...so little kids can do this it can't be that bad...right? And then there was this awesome lady in my the session. It was her birthday on Friday...she had turned...seventy. Yep...5 year olds and seventy year olds can do this...i sure hope I can do this.

We got the schpeil...don't slip off the track, don't slip off the track...oh and...don't slip off the track. Gee thanks for that advice. Actually the best advice was: Your fear will keep your safe...mainly because you are so freaking scared of slipping off the track that you end up giving a super HARD effort around every turn when you approach it. (as well as just with your comfort of riding with other people around you.)

My first go at the track I came off shaking pretty hard from all the adrenaline, but as time went on I got the hang of it and didn't have to go quite FULL speed the whole time. But you do have to power through the turns pretty hard.

In a nutshell: It.was.awesome.

I only ventured above the sprinters lane up to the relief/blue line...any higher kept wigging me out...but next time...next time...maybe the blaustrade...the tippy tippy top. :-)


And the best part? We got an extra hour on the track too. I am now TUCKERED out, but I can't stop smiling. Looking forward to more adventures up there! I'll try to wrestle up my cable to upload those pics this week. Pretty trippy looking down over the side of the track and it is a steep drop...but super cool.

adventures

Track
Track training at the velodrome. This is preparation for the race season(don't get any silly ideas, i'm not racing the track this season...i'm just riding/training). We were doing all kinds of whatever for the training session, and one of them was a 6 minute hard effort, but not all out effort. I was where I needed to be...but I think for the really stupidly fast group at least in my mind it became:

how many times can we lap her in 6 minutes?

(I have no idea if that was their goal...that's just what it felt like from my perspective). Quite a few apparently. And when I look at my HR data, I was where i should have been if not a little high for what we were supposed to be doing. Here's the part that sorta cracks me up...you can go pretty fast on a track bike because of the gearing and the track geometry/surface...so I was cranking around 22-23mph, but I was getting passed like I was standing still. I'm just glad our track is 330m...and not smaller or I would have gotten passed a whole lot more.

Headed up to LA this weekend to try out the indoor track. I'll try to get some pics of the crazy adventure...and may actually post them. ;-)

Today's adventure has encompassed 1)attempting to get my bid together for the condo I'm putting an offer in on. 2)a swim workout where a 4x50 IM drill set had me almost laughing because my butterfly was so pathetic I thought I was going to drown my lane-mate and 3) Someone took my flip flops from the side of the pool.

When I saw that my flip-flops were gone and some tiny flip flops (of the same color) were left in their place I had a pretty good idea that someone just made a mistake. Granted it didn't stop me from thinking horrible thoughts. I mean...i have somewhat larger feet...i wear a size 9....these flip flops that were left were very worn and looked to be about a size 7. HOW it wasn't noticed immediately was beyond me.

I left the suspect flip flops on the pool deck...and headed into the locker room now checking every ones shoes out. And lo and behold....the woman changing next to my locker was wearing my flip flops.

Um...what does one say at that point? I finally just said: UH...i think you have my shoes. Interestingly... she had realized that she had made the mistake when she came in. I'm sorta mystified that it took so long because my feet are so much bigger than hers AND her shoes were really worn in. The part that also sorta boggled my mind...she kept wearing them even after she realized they weren't hers. I think that's weird...is that weird? Am I being weird for thinking that is weird? Granted I don't really like feet...so if I realized I had made a similar mistake I probably would have taken them off immediately. And now what do I do with the flip flops? Bleach them? Trash them? Then I'm short some good flip flops. I had *just* started wearing them in too.

Thin line

Sometimes I feel like that of ALL people, I should be able to figure MYSELF out. Nope. I am beginning to believe that OTHER people are way easier to figure out. Overall I tend to run a thin line between being SUPER busy and LOVING it...and being SUPER busy and it stressing me out so bad that fall off the side of an emotional cliff. Granted one thing I have learned over the past 6 years or so is the signs of being close to that edge...and I now have learned at least a little better how to pull myself back from the edge, even if it means that I only fall half way down the ledge. Half way is better than all the way into the abyss I think.

Unfortunately in the midst of all of this...i am attempting to add just one more very stressful thing into the mix...buying a condo. Yep...i saw one... and i'm putting a bid in on it this week. Scares me out of my mind, but i'm also super excited about it too. It's in my current neighborhood where I caught myself last week just walking around saying: I love my neighborhood. Dorky...i know...but I love where I live. I'm sure there are other great places here...but my slightly quirky neighborhood is great in my opinion.

Training is going pretty well overall. Not a whole lot to talk about of interest at the moment aside from that midweek velodrome track riding (twice a week!) is going to become a regularly scheduled plan...which I am SOOOOOOOO excited about. This winter has been predominately 'Track Sundays'...which have been lots O FUN, but real trackies are getting ready for race season so more organized stuff in the evenings is opening up. I'm pretty sure I'm going to make a mockery of myself and it will be hilarious. And a rodie friend of mine is trying (as well as my coach) to get me to ride in a 'road' race. I ALREADY eat a lot of humble pie on the bike ...but looks like it will be the main course being surved this spring.

And of course...Saturday is the LA Velodrome/ADT center. EXCITING! I'm trying not to think about it...otherwise I fear it will just freak me out all week.