Mockathlon

No, I didn't go wander the streets mocking people all morning. Today was a run through of the triathlon. It was by time, not distance. The swim was 12 minutes, the bike 45 and the run 30.

The ocean swim was AWESOME. I'm not sure if it was the salt water or the fact that I was making my my own Micheal Jackson video as I was putting on my wetsuit, making sure the crotch was all the way up. (I had a couple of people suggest that my wetsuit wasn't pulled all the way up and that could have been causing it pull down.) Except for getting some salt water every time I took a breath and not really putting my head in the water (for someone who likes salt as much as I do, I'm not so keen on swallowing as much salt water as I did, or tasting the salt water as I breath out) it was great. I'm pretty sure that I didn't complete the 1/2 mile swim distance.

The bike was okay. I could have been faster, but the path was narrow and well populated, making passing difficult. I also didn't want to push myself to hard until I knew how my legs would feel for the run. I did about 8-9 miles of the 12.

The run was as usual. I think I should be able to keep my short distance pace for the run. My knee did start talking to me, this is normal after a long run and I don't think I'm completely rested from Monday's race. I'm hoping with proper rest, I'll be able to complete the mileage. As it was I did about 2.5 miles with the walking.

I loved that I did this mockathlon (a term coined by my husband). It gave me the confidence I needed. The knowledge that I can do this, although I do need to work on my transition time.

Back in the Saddle

Thanks for all the comments about my freak out. I've decided it no longer gets to be on the top of the blog. I'm putting it behind me.

So today, although I didn't really feel like it when I got home, I did my brick. 12 miles on the bike (hill repeats because that's what I have near me) and a 20 minute run. So I put on my cycling clothes and headed out.

Who should I see as I'm doing my first down hill? Coach Martha. She had 112 miles on tap today. Have I mentioned she's training for an Ironman next month? This assured me that I made the right decision to get off my arse and train.

The 12 miles on the hills took me an hour, I'm hoping that I'll be faster on a flat course. I'm hoping that there will be flat courses...

The running was more like 17:30-18 minutes running not quite 20. I felt great coming off the bike. I was running my short distance pace, peeps, the fast pace! After about 10 minutes, my knee started to tell me that I'd reached my limit for running on my "recovery" week (recovery for a 1/2 marathon, challenge week for the tri).

I'm glad I got back into training instead of drowning my sorrows in reruns of Project Runway and Top Chef. Yeah I know it wasn't a wetsuit in the lake, but I'm not letting yesterday kill my buzz.

Freaked Out!!!

I freaked out in my wetsuit yesterday. It felt hard to breath. Not actually in my lungs, but it was hard to get my head in the right position to breath. I felt like the neck on the back of the wetsuit was pushing against my head when I lifted it up or turned it to the side to breath.

I don't know if the wetsuit is too small or just not the right fit. I'll need to check peeps out on Saturday, our mock Tri, and see how high it goes up on their necks.

Now I'm just embarrassed at the whole episode. I finished all my laps, after my fellow Diva, Cathy, fixed my neck so it wasn't so high, and I raced into shore because I just wanted to be out. I ended up crying in front of Martha when I just wanted to ask if she thought it was too high on my neck.

I don't cry. Not because I think it's a sign of weakness but because I'm not a pretty, cute, QUIET crier. I heave, I gasp and I'm loud.

Martha made me calm down and I still ran. I needed to put that episode behind me. The best thing to do for me was to try and finish out the session. It's never been this bad before.

This Saturday is the mock tri in Seal Beach. (read in the ocean) I'm hoping it will be better.

Game Day!!! - Laguna Hills Memorial 1/2

I'm alive and I crossed the finish line in one piece, with 2 new blisters.

My time : 20:31:15

Cal Burned: 1320

Cal Eaten Whilst Racing: 400

Cal Eaten Since: ~300*

*it will be if I can shove these Smart Puffs down. And I know I didn't do it for the calorie burn, yeah that's it.

I thought we were cursed. As I drive toward the start line parking it starts to drizzle, then rain lightly, then drizzle as I park and walk around to the port-a-potty line. It's Surf City all over again. It stopped misting about 10 minutes before start, which was when I found my friend Stacey, her SIL and husband. We took a picture before the race (see below) and then we were off.

Stacey and her SIL were awesome. We were talking until about mile 5 when I realized A) my knee was talking to me like we were already at mile 10/11, B) I was running my short distance pace, not my long distance pace and C) I had taken no walk breaks, except a short one when I got water at the aid station around mile 2.5.

Carp! I told them about my knee and not to worry about me. I started running MY race about 1/2 way through the race. Not good, not good at all. I started my run a mile, walk 1-2 minutes. then run about 5 minutes walk 1. I blame this on my fast start.

On the course they had Cliff Shots, awesome!! AND they had the mocha ones with 50 mg of caffeine, so my last 2 Cliff Shots were the mocha ones, the first 2 being apple pie, natch.

Around mile 10.5 ish I met up with this woman who had come out to run the last 3.1 miles with her friend. In fact, the woman actually running the race had a total of 3 friends that came out to run the last bit with her. I thought that was awesome. It was great for me too, because Katie, she was the only one who's name I got, ran with me for a quarter of a mile and the last half mile of 13 another one of her friends kept me going. I wanted to wait and watch her cross, but after I finished I couldn't stop moving, or my muscles were going to freeze up.

Did I tell you there was a hill at the end? There were hills through out, but how do to they end with a hill? Well, it was ending a the community center and the hill was just us running under the street and to the park.

I wanted to cry so bad, my hips were aching, my knees were aching, the right one more than the left, but I was done, and Martha was right there at the end, talking to some other peeps, so I know she wasn't really waiting for me, but it was awesome to see her there. I then filed in line for the food and drink and got my commemorative finisher's glass.

I wandered around for a bit after that, kinda dazed. I had called Jer back at mile 10 telling him if he couldn't make it down in about 30 minutes, not to bother, because I was going to finish faster than I told him (my estimate was 2:40-2:50). He got up early for no reason. There was no way he could get down and at the finish line in 30 minutes, and I knew that. He promised me that he's be early to the next one. It wasn't his fault, really, it was mine for being too speedy!

I did end up seeing Stacey and her husband again, where I mistakenly told them there were medals. Well, there were, for the top 3 in each age group. California Pizza Kitchen was there, giving out slices of BBQ Chicken Pizza. It smelled good, but my tummy said no. I signed up for a massage, but there was about a 10 minute wait, so I walked around and picked up a FRS peach mango can (my fav) and headed back to the massage place.

I stretched whilst waiting for the 5-10 minute massage I was going to get. I loved every minute of it. After I was done, I ran into Martha and her daughters. She asked how I felt, and I told her great, for not really running my race. She and her friend from the OC Tri Club were talking about starting out too fast. Funny really.

I trekked out to find the shuttle back to the start line parking, where I saw Stacey again, and I headed back to my car and drove home. Here's my after picture.

I was greeted by my wonderful husband and my animals. I didn't realize, but my face was all covered in salt, as was my whole entire body. I tried to take a picture of it. Please realize it's not a glamour shot! Also, following are pictures of my salt removers.

Can you see any of the salt? My salt removers helped get me cleaner.


Dusty and Buckwheat licked my face. It was their way of helping...

Today was the last run for these shoes. Oh New Balance 1123's you served me well. I'm sorry I over estimated the mileage/cushion I had left on my shoes. I think this contributed to my early knee pain. I hear by retire thee.

I came home and iced my right leg after I took a shower and rid myself of all the salt I excreted. I even used a stuffed animal/dog toy to hold the ice pack on my leg. I knew that monkey would be good for something (thanks Jesse).

Now, 3 and 1/2 hours after I finished, I feel better, still a bit sore and walking funny, but better. I've had my Luna Recovery Drink mixed with milk (it's chocolate milk people), I'm drinking water. I'm eating my Smart Puffs, but I don't think I'm going to finish them all.

You know, for all I talked/bitched about having to find a bathroom around mile 9, I didn't need it. Maybe that's because I ran in the morning instead of the afternoon? Or because I sweat it all out running too fast. Who knows?

Thanks everyone for all your support, good thoughts and words of encouragement. I really appreciated it.

2 days away...

Yesterday's workout was an indoor brick and today's workout was swimming.

I wanted to ride and run outside, but the storm from Thursday or one of it's babies, decided it was not to be. So being the trooper (read scared shitless that I won't be prepared) I changed into my workout clothes and headed to the gym. 40 minutes on the bike, then another 2.5 miles on the treadmill. I wanted to go the whole 5K, but my right leg started to talk to me, so I stopped. No need to have a horrid race because I'm stubborn.

Today's swim was rain free. It consisted of a 100 yards of warm up, 100 yards of skills and drills, 2 500 yard time trials and a 50 yard cool down. This is where I got the shock of my life, but not until about an hour after I was done...

I've shaved almost 3 minutes off my very first time trial. WTF?? I know that lesson helped. Even though I'm not perfect every single time, the difference is now I KNOW when I'm doing something wrong. Every 10 strokes or so I check my arm position and placement. Every 3rd breath or so I check my head position. Is my cheek parallel to the bottom of the pool, am I seeing my toes, or a building behind me? I am so getting another lesson.

Tomorrow is packet pick-up!!! But I'm not excited or anything.

Rough Waters

After being at the lake tonight, I can honestly say Viv is my hero for swimming in rough waters.

I spray myself down with Trislide, expensive wetsuit lube (yes I know I can use Pam, but have you tried to squeeze yourself into jeans 2 sizes too small? you'll take any shortcut you can to get it on) and start rolling on my wetsuit.

This takes about 5-8 minutes. It was faster than when I was in the dressing room at Trizone fo sho. I had my race uniform (Tridiva top and trishorts) on and I believe this made it easier to fit my hips into the suit. I can't zip it up myself, but who really can?

Side Note:
In case you live outside Southern Cali and it hasn't made national new, we're having some really cracked out weather. This time last week it was starting to get very hot and got up near 100 on the weekend. Now it's rainy, there were mudslides, hail, thunder, lightening, a tornado and some snow. This will lead into my training recap.

Back to your regularly scheduled blog:
Martha, our TriDiva's coach, regales us with her tale of the century (that's 100 miles peeps) ride she did today AND IT HAILS. So with that, we can't balk at swimming in the cold, maybe rainy, weather.

We line up, run in the water, swim to "the line" which is basically the deep end of the swim area in the lake and start our laps. I get 4 laps in (most people got 5). I took in a lot of water in the beginning because the lake was rougher than the last few time we've been there. Of course it was lap 4 that I finally got into my groove, and we were called back to shore. It was raining and lightening was predicted, which was why they pulled us out of the lake.

That was when official TriDiva sanctioned practice ended. A swim-run was on the schedule, so a few of us decided to finish the 20 minute run. This is when it started to pour.

All in all, I was pretty happy with the whole session. I wish I would have gotten into my groove sooner, so I could have done more laps, but such is life.

Oh, have I told you my 1/2 is only 3 days way? What was I thinking?

Better Now...

Today is much better than yesterday. I shook out of my funk and I think it's because of 2 things.

1. I got a text from Jo to tell me that she and Jasmine (her cat) got in safely.
2. I got a massage. It was wonderful and this morning I woke up with no lower back pain or stiffness.

This will be a 2 post day as I was so relaxed after my massage, I didn't want to think about sitting up, let alone typing.

Anyone in Orange County or the Inland Empire want a massage? She comes to your house and works on you until you're done. It was ~1 hour 30 min and it was a very good rate. I'll give you her number.

Really that's it. I wanted to thank you peeps for letting me know that even though it does suck, it's not like we don't have phones or email or planes or even cars.

Tonight's post, will Yas continue on her streak of no Lake Itch? These are the days of her life...

Sadness

Jo is leaving tomorrow. She will be boarding a jet plane and doesn't know when she'll be back again. Well, that's not true, we know when she'll graduate and she'll probably visit on one of those random holidays that college students have, like Spring Break.

I tried to find a picture of Jo that I took in the last year or so, but all I could come up with was from a friend's bachelorette party. And chickies, you know you don't want those pics published. My male friends, if any read this blog, you know what happens at the bachelor party, stays at the bachelor party. Same here.

If you didn't catch my blog on her before, she's going back to school. And it isn't your run of the mill, just trying to better myself or kill time, type of Master's Degree Program. No. It's a hardcore earn 2 Master's Degrees in ~2 years type program at MIT. MIT peeps! She's not just trying to fit it in between work and life. No. She decided to pick up her life and move to Boston.

If you haven't realized, we went to dinner tonight. A last hurrah. It was Mexican food, as I didn't think they'd have as good Mexican food in Boston as we do in Cali. The four of us talked through Becki's upcoming wedding, Leia's wedding that just passed, my trip to NZ. It was almost like nothing was going to happen early tomorrow morning.

I wish Jo luck. I know it'll be hard to start up in a new city with no support system. I know she's up to it. The four of us will be meeting up soon, anyway. We'll be meeting her in Boston in July.

I'll let you all know how she's doing then.

The Swim Lesson

I did it. I took a lesson where I was video taped in a swim suit whilst swimming. *faint*

It wasn't as bad as I thought and now I have a tape of me in a swimsuit swimming to keep for the rest of my life. We worked on breathing (my head placement) and my stroke (focusing on pulling with my forearm and keeping my fingers closed whilst pulling). These may sound like little things to you, but I noticed the difference right away.

By the end of the lesson I was crossing the pool faster but using less energy to do it. What the heck? I also have a video to remind me what it's supposed to look like if/when I fall back to my old ways.

I bet you all are expecting to see a clip of me swimming like a pro. Um, no. As much as I love all you peeps in blogland, I really don't want to subject you to Yas flailing around in a pool. Think of how it'll ruin my wonderful career when that gets on Youtube.

Alive!!!

I'm alive, I promise. I got a bit overwhelmed by the thought of my 1/2 marathon next Monday (Memorial Day). I haven't run longer than 10 miles. I've gotten over it, though. It'll be the first race I've run where I haven't actually covered the distance before game day.

In other news, Viv ran her 1/2 today, Elph (Jen) and Amber who ran their 5K and Amy and Eli who ran the Bay to Breakers and probably never recognized each other or even knew the other was there. Amy and Eli, please don't send me any pictures of the nekid peeps you saw on the run.

In other training news, I bought my own wetsuit. It's an entry level suit that I had a very hard time putting on, so it must be a good fit. Also, I couldn't zip it up on my own, so that's a plus, according to the tri shop owner. I'm just hoping it'll fix my little breathing problem so I can swim longer in the ocean (read lake, we haven't done an ocean swim yet).

I'm in the market for a fluid/fuel belt. I'd like something that's around my waist, but relatively small. So anyone who has suggestions or a fav product, let me know.

For Monday, I'm just going to drink what the course has and bring my own gels. Success will be mine!!!

1000...

calories is what I burned on my 10 mile run. I also learned why a) you don't take "new" shoes out for a long run, and b) why you rotate shoes so you don't have to take "new" shoes out for a long run.

My New Balance 1223s are dead. They may not be officially dead. I may even use them to run that 13.1 mile thing at the end of the month. I also got a card in the mail saying they're endangered. Now I may have rushed out to get a few pair if I hadn't visited the New Balance booth at Race for the Cure's Expo on Saturday. The new 1224s are lighter than the 1223s. I'm excited as that's my biggest complaint about shoes, when you add my orthotics they're frakkin' heavy. Come August, I'm going to be faster without trying.

I've also officially signed up for the Laguna Hills Memorial 1/2 Marathon. Even though, like clockwork, I need to use the bathroom around mile 8 and also like clockwork, I get upper leg pain after my longest run to date. So if things go as planned, I'll be scouting out the port-a-potties and walking after mile 11... huh?

Well, I'll be scouting out the port-a-potties, but I'll be doing some run/walking (run 1 mile, walk 1 minute) for the race. I know it helps the muscle fatigue, so I'm counting on it to help me cross the finish line.

Oh, and whoo hoo to Viv for completing her triathlon. And anyone else in blog world who raced this past weekend.

Cancer Sucks

and I hope never to wear pink. I did run/walk the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 5K in Sacramento. The survivors wear pink.

You know the biggest factors for getting breast cancer are being female and getting older. Crap, that's me, so please women, check your boobs. One of our good family friends, as in she knew me before I was born, is a 16+ year survivor.

The race was great. I stuck with my cousin's daughter, as even I won't leave a 15 year old girl to fend for herself so I can get a better time. Especially when she's related to me and I like her.

I shouldn't have thought I'd be able to race it anyway. I tear up every time I see a pink shirt, an in memory of sign, or even an in celebration of sign. There were so many people, we must have walked .1-.25 miles before we could start jogging. Although I should be annoyed, I'm not. This many people coming out for a great cause can only make me smile.

Thanks to everyone who helped me reach my fundraising goal. I actually exceeded it by more than $50. Thanks peeps.

Yas: 2, Lake Itch: 0*

* I did find a red bump or 2 under my left boob. It itches a little, but that might be psychologically induced by me thinking it's lake itch and it just being a little pinched skin.

Now that we have that out of the way... The lake swim was great, and did help me draw a conclusion: Yas may need to buy herself a wetsuit.

Wetsuits are required for TriDiva training. They make you buoyant and I float without trying. Right now I'm borrowing one from my coach, who's a bit taller than I, but apparently was a bit bigger than she is now when she bought this suit. I think the collar is a bit high in the back and it's jamming my neck when I try to breathe. I'm glad that I have it for now. I'm happy that coach Martha lent it to me. I'm glad I'm learning what does and doesn't work for me. And it's all about what works for you in this wacky world of endurance sports, probably in any sports.

The swim was supposed to be 10 laps of the swim area in the lake. It ended up being 8 as we were waved in by the lifeguard (well really another TriDiva who had finished her swim, but the lifeguard told them they were going to kick us out). It had been overcast all day, so I think it got darker faster than planned, and I'm slow.

The big fish didn't scare me this time, I knew they were going to be there and look for them. I actually got excited when I saw them. The danger this time: Geese.

Sometime during lap 5 or so geese flew in and started floating on the water. Apparently this offended other geese and there was some dive bombing, driving the offending geese away. They came very close to a fellow TriDiva's head, not sure if she got kicked or not.

All in all a very entertaining time.

2, 4, 6...9

My big challenge today was not only completing the 9 miles, but trying to get the 200-300 calories/hour recommended by coaches and my reading material, alike.
My plan was to eat a gel (I chose Clif Shots) on the even miles and make an executive decision on mile 8, since there would only be 1 mile left, to eat or not eat my last 100 calories. (I did shoot for the lower end of the calorie range.)

On mile 2 I had the strawberry flavored gel, it has 50 mg of caffeine, BONUS! I took it and kept running. At about 2.6 I was at my "aid station" on my porch drinking my Nuun. I took my chocolate flavored gel on mile 4, it was thick like pudding. I was back at my station a bit after 5 miles, downing more Nuun. Took the mocha flavored one (50 mg more of caffeine) again pudding thick and that was it. I didn't take the last shot, more because I was focusing on mind over bladder than nutrition. I ended up walking a bit of mile 8 trying to keep from wetting myself.

Once I was back at home, I ran in then peed, drank some Nuun, and shoved off to finish the remainder of mile 9.

All in all this was a great run for me. I loved, and I do mean LOVED, miles 3-7.

Some Random Musings:

I've found my new favorite recovery meal, fajitas. Mmm fajitas. I still like a great PB and J, but for the points, I think I get more for my "buck" with the fajitas. I should have taken a picture to show you all.

Salt. I didn't realize that the grit I had on my face and body was actual salt/mineral granules. I thought it was dirt or grime. With the amount of salt that I produce, I bet I could scrape it on to some filter paper, rinse it over a beaker, dry it and use it at my kitchen table and not buy salt for the season. I produce that much salt, I feel.

I have an M dot tattoo. Well, it's really a bruise and more of a V dot than an M dot (squint and get yourself in the mind of someone wanting to see Jesus or Mary in an oil stain on the side of a tunnel), but I'm wondering if it's a sign. I tried to take pictures, but the light didn't pick it up well.

Maybe I'm reaching.

My First True Brick

First, let's just acknowledge the elephant in the room. If you look to your left there is a subtly titled widget asking if you'd like to donate to a great cause, the Susan G. Komen foundation for breast cancer research. On Saturday, May 10th, I will be running in Sacramento to support this cause. My Aunt's hospital actually has a mobile mammography and examination RV thing that was funded by this foundation. It's a cause that near (figuratively and literally) and dear to my heart. So give to me, or give to your local chapter. Besides, I'll probably be hitting you up for another donation sometime soon (has anyone done a Team in Training event?). On to bricks.


Sunday's TriDiva training was all about hill repeats and wobbly legs. The hill repeats were hard, but I had done them before because we used the trail by my house. As I said in a previous post, I'm a lazy athlete, why disassemble and reassemble my bike for an easy flat ride, when I can ride hills?

We did a total of 3 hill repeats with the first one as a warm up and the remaining 2 were timed. They told us the first one would be the worst, and it was. I took 12:44 for the first repeat and 11:36 for the second. I coasted too much on the not so steep parts on my first way up and wanted a better time. It's good to know that my choice of places to cycle is a good one.

After we (the sprinters) did our 3 hill repeats we were off for a run. She told us peeps new to running after biking to go 5 minutes out and 5 minutes back and to the experienced peeps, go 10 out and 10 back. Of course Stacy and I, to whom running is old hat (please cover your snickers with your hand), decided to do the 10 out and back.

My legs didn't feel as wobbly as everyone else said. Maybe I'm not pushing myself hard enough on my bike? I also had a relatively fast pace on my 20 minute run. I felt good enough at the end of the day to attempt another 2 miles run (notice I said attempt, I only ran about 1.5 miles and was on the lookout for rattlesnakes the whole time). In fact, after I ate a big, not necessarily good for me, recovery breakfast, I went home and took a nap. The second run was to loosen up my stiff legs, and it worked.

Yes, sometimes even I think I'm crazy.

Ch,Ch, Ch, Chi Running

But chia pets are much cuter...

Yes I know, long time, no post. Before we start talking about running, here's the skinny: UPS was correct with their estimated delivery date, the package did arrive on Tuesday, 4/29. I think Tammy talked to her bro and made this happen, or maybe it was on a truck heading straight from TN to the west coast. More about that later.

On to running, or on to Chi Running to be more specific.

Wednesday was track training with the TriDivas and I was really excited. One of the lady's is being trained by Master ChiRunning Coach Kathy and Coach Martha invited Kathy to our running session, to give us a mini lecture on ChiRunning and how to apply the basics.

I had bought this book last year, before I got hit with my IT band issues and stopped running for ~2 months. It looked really interesting, but I couldn't tell if I was doing it right, and eventually, whilst injured, lent the book a friend and I haven't asked for it back yet. So I was excited to see if I could take what I read in the book, with some show and tell from Kathy and start practicing this concept.

It's deceptively easy sounding. Lean forward, pick up your feet behind you, use your core to power yourself. It's a lot to think about when you run.

On to our track workout. Like on Sunday, we did intervals. Run 2 minutes (maybe it was 1 minute?), strides (sprints almost) 30 sec, recover (walk) 30 sec, repeat. I didn't count how many of these we did. We took a break then did a bit longer intervals. Run 3 minutes, strides 30 sec, recover 30 sec, repeat a total of 4 times. I did note my HR after each stride and noticed my max HR reached went down by 10 BPM. I don't know if it was do to the ChiRunning techniques I was trying to implement or the fact that we weren't running up and down hills in 90+ degree weather.

I tried it again on my 5 miler yesterday. Ran the same route I always do, with a little detour as I was warned about a big rattle snake on the trail, so I ran the streets of the neighborhood instead. I ran about the same pace I usually do, 11-11:30/mile. My HR was still lower than it usual. Maybe it is easier on my body. I may call up this lady, with a few other TriDivas, and get a running session from her.

My review of the sportband so far: meh but fun.

I tried it out Tuesday when I got it and it needed calibration, badly. It was about 1/2 a mile off after running 2 miles as indicated by my garmin. I, however, was sportband loadingtarded and wasn't able to calibrate it. Ran with it yesterday, 5 miles, it was over 1 mile off my garmin. Was able to calibrate it this time, but not before it uploaded my run. I figured it was okay for the WeWa challenge as I had deleted my 2 mile run from Tuesday. You can't reload those runs after you delete them, you know. When you read the FAQ about deleting your runs, it says nothing about not being able to reload them. So the meh is more about using the software than the system itself. I will report back on what happens Saturday with my 9 mile run and the calibration.

One thing about the calibration, it mentions to run a known distance with a relatively steady pace. My pace did vary from a bit faster than 11:30/mile to a bit slower than 11:30/mile. This could have factored into the distance error.