GOT TIME? TRAININGS BALANCING ACT

Few of us have the luxury of training for triathlon on a full time basis. Most of us must learn to balance our training and racing with our daily responsibilities.

Jamii North – North Fitness Your Direction to Health and Fitness

It’s a fact spending your hard-earned cash and hiring a qualified coach who writes you a technologically advanced, scientifically proven training program, is going to do nothing to improve your race times if you don’t have the time to do the workouts.

While a few lucky people may have the time and flexibility to train at high volume, it is much more common to find triathletes of all levels scrounging to fit the bare minimum of workouts into a crazy schedule. Life does get in the way!

Worrying about the lack of available training time does nothing about it, finding ways to maximize the productivity of the time you do have does.

What I suggest to my athletes is that they first sit down and take a realistic look at their weekly schedule work, family obligations, sleep etc.  From there, make decisions about how much time you have to spend training. Be sure to take into consideration travel and shower time and other incidentals. Be creative about ways to sneak a workout in look outside the box, so to speak. There is often much more time available than may appear at first glance. Only when you have a realistic idea of how much time you have, can you even start to think about designing an appropriate training schedule.

Once you have a weekly schedule of available training time, then it is time to build a plan that fits. If you have 8 hours a week, then write workouts that total 8 hours a week! Seems obvious, but one of the quickest ways to get discouraged about your training is to consistently fall short of your training goals. Better to plan 2 workouts a week in each discipline and actually do them, than to plan for 3 and beat yourself up because you can’t get them in.

So you have a plan now, what’s next? That’s simple…Follow it! It is preferable to have a 6 workout per week plan and follow it, than the 10 or 12 workout plan that never gets done. You can make steady progress on 2 sessions a week in each sport if you are dedicated about getting those workouts in. If you are able to throw in an additional workout in your weakest link, then extra credit for you.

One good way to maximize limited training time is to work on a basic 2x per week schedule with a rotating extra workout every week. For example, week 1 you do 2x swim, 2x bike and 3x run, week #2 you do 2x swim, 2x run and 3x bike, and week #3 would be 2x bike, 2x run and 3x swim. I find that this is great for athletes who are fairly balanced in all disciplines.

If you are not so balanced, it is important to train your weaknesses. It is all too easy for someone with limited training time, or anyone for that matter, to get seduced into spending large chunks of time on the sport they are best at and enjoy the most. It is much better to invest time, especially in the early season, in the areas that have the opportunity for the most improvement. You’re not going to improve your slug-like swim split if you don’t get yourself to the pool as often as possible!

Ok, so now you have designed a plan that fits the time you have available, does it match your goals? Nothing wrong with lofty goals, we all have them, but it’s also a good idea to have some less challenging goals that are in synch with your training level. Not saying you need to accept less than your best, just that what constitutes YOUR best needs to take into account just how much training you are able to do.

While everyone has to deal with issue of missed workouts occasionally, it is best to make an honest effort to get those workouts in. The fewer workouts on your schedule, the more critical each workout becomes. The best way to triathlon success with limited training time is to do every workout with purpose, there are no sloppy workouts. Communicate with family and friends about your training schedule in advance to lessen the chance of avoidable conflict. Every workout you complete successfully brings you one step closer to meeting your goals.

While training more may often be a good thing, training smarter is always better! Do your research or find someone to do it for you. Finding out the methods and training principles that work best for you, your goals and your situation and then using them to make the time you spend training as focused and productive as possible will pay huge dividends come race day. Make every minute count and you will be well on your way to a successful season!

Morgan Hill Sprint Triathlon

May 20th, 2012 was a cool dark and at 4:30 am an early morning.  I took a drive into Morgan Hill with as many as 1000 other crazy people who too were up at 4am, to gather around a small reservoir by the name of Uvas Reservoir to swim, bike and run our way to a podium finish at the 21st annual Morgan Hill sprint triathlon.  The morning was cool but calm, the people were quiet and welcoming all the while the steam slowly lifted off the water as the sun barely shone above the tops of the surrounding mountains.  Ah I could sit here all morning with a coffee in hand and camera in the other.  But no I came here to do something to that day I had not done before, and that was to take part in this crazy sport of triathlons.

I arrive early enough to get a good parking spot only a 3 minute walk from the transition area.  I hop out of my car like all the other crazies, unload my bike, grab my equipment bag (of which I need to buy a better backpack) lock the car and make the short trek to fight for a good spot in transition.  I am pleasantly greeted with empty racks as I was smart enough to get there early.  No wait so I assess the entry and exit for each of the three events we have to do and find my best suited place amongst the racks.  I rack my bike, drop my bag and before I do anything else I do my morning Port-o-John visit and get my body markings done. 

Making my way back to my bike I assess the other transition set ups, as this is my very first triathlon as the one I did in April turned into a duathlon because of poor water quality.  What does that mean?  It meant I had an extra piece of equipment in my transition area, namely the wetsuit I had to account for when I came back from the swim.  Transition area is set up and I still have 1.5 hours till gun time, so what to do.  Walk around to keep from getting nervous.  Find a "quiet" place to reflect on what I am about to embark upon today and how I may stay calm under pressure and in what ways will I stay focused on the task at hand....stay afloat, rubber side down, and on my feet. 

This day was to break me into my first mass start swim.  Going into the event I knew I could be very competitive in the bike and run portion of this triathlon being it was only a 16 mile bike and a 5 mile run.  My biggest concern was the swim.  I had not to that point participated in a open water mass start swim, and this was to be only my third time in a wetsuit.  Needless to say I was literally shaking in my wetsuit when I finally got to jump into the water, but more on that later.

Back to the transition area, its T-minus 40 minute to gun time and I start pulling on my wetsuit.  BUT first I have to slather up with body glide to make sure the wetsuit can slid on but also to make sure it will not chafe me during the swim.  Its on and I gather my swim cap, the hideous pink it was, my goggles, make a few quick checks on my transition area, make sure my timing chip is securely in place on my ankle under the wetsuit and start the long walk to the waters edge. 

Standing at the water I feel the nerves begin to rise inside me like the rising tides, the anxiousness get the best of me and I decided to get into the water 3 waves before my start (about 15 minutes).  Its murky, mushy and just plain nasty but I have to wade through it to get to the start which is about 100 meters out.  Making my way to the side of the start line with all the other pink capped ladies I notice my teeth start to chatter, I check in with myself I'm not cold, so crap I am way too nervous.  Time is ticking and my body knows its about to have to pull my using my arms for three quarters of a mile in very close proximity to many other women and some men along the way. 

The last heat before mine is off and all the ladies in my wave move to the floating start line.  I line up at the right side in the front row behind only one woman.  However as we are floating there I notice I am surrounded by too many and we are all kicking each other while we are treading water.  Oh well I cant do anything about it cause the official starts the count down, 3...2...1 BANG!!!  And what a bang it was.  The woman in front of me dove in and kicked her feet up catching me right in the nose as I lean forward to begin my stroke.  I stop dead trying to catch my breath when all of a sudden the woman right behind me is now swimming over me and I catch her elbow in the back of my head as I sink underneath her.  My god what am I doing here, I'm going to die even before I cross the start line.  Trying to regain my composure I finally come up catch a few breaths and take off trying frantically to get in a groove and stop hyperventilating.  Its no use I cannot so for the ENTIRE swim I alternate between 20 strokes and roll onto my back catch my breath for 10 back strokes, roll over and do it again.  Not the best way to do the swim but it was all I could do to stay composed enough for the swim.


The swim couldn't even end uneventful.  Nope I had to slip getting out of the water and fall right on the timing chip on my ankle.  I didn't realize it at the time but it cracked me right on the ankle bone.  Finally I am up the hill, the goggles and swim cap are off, the top of the wetsuit is off and I find my transition area.  Sitting down to get the legs off was the only way to go for me.  Throw on the helmet, socks, shoes, number belt, and sunglasses, I grab the bike and begin running out the shoot.  Once clipped in I take off like a bat outta hell.  Passing people left and right, okay well maybe only on their left but still passing a multitude of people.  I'm in my groove and hold a steady 20mph average pace for the entire 16 miles.  I felt strong and checked in with my body to see if I could push faster, knowing I still had to run 5 miles and starting to feel an ache in my ankle I decided to hold steady at 20.  The transition zone is only a mile away and I check in again to remind myself what I need to do to make a quick transition.  I slam on my brakes, literally skidding through the transition shoot, I am throwing my leg off the bike and already  running while the bike is moving, WOW that was cool!

T2 as it is called, bike to run transition, is super fast.  I rack my bike, shoes go flying off and on go running shoes fully equipped with stretchy laces.  I grab my visor and Garmin and am out the T2 area in under a minute! On the run course my legs are heavy (as they always are the first few miles after a ride), but my left ankle is feeling really weird.  I stumble a few times and realize the timing chip slipped and is pressing into my ankle bone and hitting a nerve.  OUCH!  The damn chip is hurting me and slowing me down, but I don't stop running.  Instead I keep running but with a huge lift of my left leg to try and move then chip.  I am determined NOT to stop running, but it just isn't working.  The legs come to a halt and I bend over to see what the hell is the problem.  Taking the fastest alternative I rotate the chip so it is facing almost the front of my ankle, ahhh relief finally so off I go.  At this point in the race I know I am not in contention for the podium but I still challenge myself to push as hard as I can and keep a 7:30 mile pace.

The run course was relatively flat and exposed as we were on Uvas rd right next to the reservoir.  And because its an out and back I decided to count how many women are ahead of me and if any I may catch before the finish line.  I counted as high as 60 women heading back to the finish before I hit the turn around, and decide its "Go TIME".  So go I did, and one by one started picking off the women till I was staring down the back of woman number 39.  Its a mile to go and knowing I want to push myself as hard as I can I pace her for a short bit, maybe 200 meters, then decided I can keep a bit faster pace for the final three quarter mile and I pick up my pace overtake her and run down the finishing shoot with a smile on my face, throbbing in my feet and ankles and a sense of accomplishment I hadn't thought I would have felt after my less than stellar swim earlier that day.

My official finish time is 2 hours and 55 seconds.  I had no idea what that meant in the grand scheme of female competitors that day.  The event for me was a success, why because I did not drown, I stayed rubber side down, I kept on my feet, and I stayed present every step of the way.  I learned many things about myself and most importantly my limiters in triathlon events, but also learned about my will to press on in the face of adversity.

With the swim being my weakest event from now till July 28th I must spend many many hours in the pool working on my stroke and breathing.  In the next few weeks training is going to get pretty intense as June is going to be the last month to really push the intensity and distances on my training.  June 3rd I am participating in an Olympic distance triathlon the Reservoir tri at Uvas again, then on June 23rd (my 35th birthday, gift to myself) I will be participating in the Silicon Valley International Half Ironman triathlon.  My training plans also include a few of the splash and dash events at Stevens creek reservoir to get that little bit more mass start swim practice in.

Thanks for reading, stay tuned for more updates to my road to triathlon transition.  Cheers!

Practice Half Iron Distance Event

The morning of April 28th was to be an epic day for me.  I was invited by a good cycling friend who is also in Ironman triathlon training to join him and another friend for a practice Half iron distance triathlon.  With a little hesitation I decided to go ahead and join them.  Prior to that day I had not ran further than 9.2 miles and that day we were not only to run a full half marathon, but do it with over 1000 feet of climbing, again my most climbing was about 300 feet. In the end I am so glad I joined them and here is why...

Rise at 5:30am, make breakfast which consisted of toasted banana and peanut butter sandwich, coffee, and big bottle of water.  Load the car up and off I go.  The morning was a warm 62 degrees already and the sun was shining beautifully upon us.  Arrival at Los Gatos Swim and Tennis club promptly at 6:45 to allow time to change and jump into the pool for which we were to do 40 laps.  I knew I would not get the entire 40 laps in in the time they boys would but I just jumped in and started knocking them off one by one.  It was about lap 20 when I started feeling a bit tired and winded, so I rolled on my back and kept moving, practice for the real events right?  The boys finished 40 laps in 35 minutes and I hit 32 laps when they both jumped out of the pool.  Feeling like I could and wanted to keep going I checked in with them but they wanted to start the bike so I needed to get out at that point to be able to ride with them. 

So off we go, change out of the wet cloths which takes us about 10 minutes to transition but then off we go by bike now and a total time of 45 minutes since starting.  Headed past the reservoirs and into Morgan Hill was our route before our return leg to the swim and tennis club.  There were head winds out there this particular morning that slowed me down too much but I kept as aero as possible and just kept the legs going even if that meant I had to use my small chain ring.  Many times we were pretty close together but I kept trying not to ride in anyones draft just as I wont be able to during my events this year, so different than my former life in bike racing where you are encouraged to get as close as possible to really get the best draft. During the ride we end up going 61 miles instead of the 55 we needed to do, I felt that was my make up for not swimming the full distance. 

Back to the swim club and off the bikes. I toss my bike on the roof rack as quickly as I can, toss the shoes on, wet my head, put on my visor and sunglasses, take a few sips more of water and eat half a package of GU chomps, Peach tea flavor YUM!  Make sure my pockets have nutrition in them and turn to the guys who are still changing.  In all it took us about 10 minutes in this transition. Before we head off for the run.

To date my longest run was 9.2 miles which I did in about an hour and 20 minutes but it had little climbing.  Today's route was to do the Over and back loop up Lexington.  I told the guys I may have to drop back early, so the plan was to head out for about 56 minutes then turn around.  Well 4 miles in and we get to the bottom of the reservoir.  I'm a bit nervous but load up with water as this is also our last water stop for the next 6 miles.  Up we go, and wow some of those "ups" were killer.  But my good buddy Adam kindly reminded me about this YouTube video on HTFU.  Some of you may remember it if not look it up and please share it.  In any case HTFU quite simply means, "Harden The Fuck Up".  Adam was reminding me if I wanted to attain my goal of finishing the Ironman triathlon this year I needed to suck it up today and just do the run.  So every time we hit one of those nasty climbs I would just say in my head and sometimes out loud HTFU, HTFU, HTFU!!!!!  It sure did help me because before I knew it we were at the top of the ridge 1300 feet up and 6.1 miles into the run.  I did it I made it to the top of the climb and the half way point of the run, much further than I thought I would be able to do, and much harder than I have had to push myself to date.  We took maybe a minute to stop look at the view take in 2 GU chomps each and then off we go back down.

The run back was still difficult because we needed to descend all that which we climbed plus a few other small climbs on the way back down.  Knowing I could keep pace with these guys I would allow myself to slow a little on the climbs but promised myself they could not get more than 20 feet ahead at which point I MUST pick back up my pace.  Well mile 10 rolls around and my feet are getting sore (blisters on top of blisters) but we are back at the watering station.  I think I drank at least 24 ounces and also held back tears of accomplishment.  To date I had never ran that far.  I felt such a sense of accomplishment in not only running that far but doing it after already having swum and rode my bike.

The last 4 miles of the run were gruelling but I have to say I hit the wall at mile 12.  My legs were saying no more, my blisters were screaming at me saying no more, and my will to push on was telling all these parts of my body to HTFU!!!!!!!!  I even told Adam if we get back to the club and we haven't hit the full 13.1 miles I am going to keep going till I get it.  I didn't go this far NOT to do an entire half marathon!  So just as we are approaching the club I realize we are going to hit 13.1 miles and I might be able to get it in in under 2 hours.  I pick up my pace just enough and at 1 hour 59 minutes and 32 seconds I complete my first half marathon!  Not to mention I at that same time completed my first Half Ironman Distance triathlon.  With the times we did today everything included my final time on the day was 6 hours and 22 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I'm excited and nervous all at the same time for my next attempt at this distance but this time it will be under race conditions and in open water with a wetsuit so transitions will be different.  My goal for the day was not just met but exceeded, I managed to push past the mental blocks I had of running that far and being able to push after each transition.  Looking forward to my next adventure...Auburn Half Iron Distance May 20th dubbed "The World's Toughest Half", and I AM ready to HTFU and meet that challenge head on!

San Jose Metro Duathlon

All week leading up to this weekends event, what I should have done and what I actually was able to do were two completely different things.  This week should have been inclusive of 2 swims, 2 runs and 2 short rides.  Did I get that in? NO!  Why is a very easy one to answer...work!  I allowed myself get distracted this week and thus my work got a little backed up causing me to work during my regularly scheduled "my training time".  The only saving grace for me is that I already had a very good base of fitness and training under my belt for this year.

On Saturday afternoon I received an email from the race director stating the water in Lake Almaden was deemed unsafe for swimming so as a last minute change the triathlon became a duathlon.  In a way I was relieved since I still do not feel comfortable in the "open water" portion of the triathlon.  However I was also disappointed since I really needed this  experience since next month I was planning on doing the Auburn Half Iron Triathlon.  Due to the new event I had to take a bit of time to myself and review my race strategy and prep for a faster ride since we will not have swum first. 

With the new event plans I unpacked my already packed race bag (I did that on Friday afternoon), took out all the swim stuff and thank goodness packed a small backpack in my big race bag, I'll come back to that later.  Run portion items running shoes, hat, race belt and sun glasses...check.  Bike portion items needed tri bike, helmet, water bottle, bike shoes, heart rate monitor and Garmin Forerunner 305...check.  Amongst the other little things like my cooler which I packed my extra water, Gatorade and protein shake for post event consumption.  Also had to make sure I packed a towel, flip flops for post event and my package of baby wipes for cleaning the face after the event.

When I woke up this morning I was in a daze, didn't know what day it was, felt very dehydrated (probably from the previous days photo shoot at Filoli Gardens and not bringing water) and my legs felt like lead weights.  But I forced myself to rise from the comfortable bed I slumbered in, got dressed into my very own North Fitness Tri Kit, made my breakfast, tossed the bike on the car and bag in the back seat and off I was.  The roads were quiet since it was only 6am and it was smooth sailing to the race site.  I parked my car and took a few minutes to watch others in what they were doing.  Since this was my first triathlon, er Duathlon I didn't know what the protocol was.  I figured it out though, unpack bike, toss small bag on back with cycling shoes, helmet and other stuff you will need for race and head over to the transition area to drop it all off at.  So off we go bags on backs and bikes under our hands the morning crew took off walking our quarter mile to the transition area.  At this point I am very excited, my heart rate is low about 70bpm and I am about to walking T1/2.  I immediately pick the first open spot I saw and set my bike in the holder and head off to registration. 

The registration line was long, I think next time I will plan on getting to the event site no less than 2 hours before the start instead of today's 1.5 hours.  I got nervous looking at the length of the line and my still unknowing of the events to come. Finally after watching my heart rate rise to almost 100 bpm I get my registration packet, my nifty race shirt and bag and off to my bike I go. 

Again back at the bike I do not know what to do so I waste time looking at my new bag while really I am watching the other participants.  Ok so I really could have figured it out on my own but we did have to put these silly stickers on our arms for our race numbers and I had ot watch how it was done, then had to go back and get my age written on my leg.  That again will come up later.  Now my transition is set up, I have my number on my race belt and my sunglasses are firmly affixed to my head, I start to make my way to the starters shoot.  Thirty minutes early so I sit down and meditate, I focus on the first run of 1 mile, I know its going to be fast and its going to hurt but I just remind myself that getting a good position off the start will be better than getting stuck in big groups later where I will have to slow on the bike to avoid time penalties.

Race time...my friend Beth Lubov was there today and she was looking strong.  She also helped me relax in the shoot since she started racking out and dancing to the awesome music the event staff were playing for us.  Yeah Thanks Beth for the prerace rock out!  3...2...1....GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!  And we are off.  I begin at about the 20th position and quickly take the outside path to get in front of all but 5 of the women.  I wanted to stay at the front and that I did, by keeping my pace at 6:54minute per mile.  This gave me a 5th place finish on the first run.  Once in the transition area I tossed my hat and shoes off, ans as quickly as I could get my cycling shoes on, helmet on, and change my computer over to bike from run.

Run through transition to the bike mount area and we are off.  My legs are feeling better than the start but still pretty tired.  I also left with a group of about 5 women and we all got bunched up for a very long time, and of course when that happened the moto ref came by and hung out near us for way too long.  I thought for sure I was going to get a COUPLE time penalties, but turns out that I was just far enough away that I was free and clear but the other women all got dinged.  After the ref took off the wind hit us and for the next 8 miles we had nothing but headwind.  Me and the wind do not get along very well, as I am so tiny I just get blown all over the road.  However with the tri bike I am borrowing it made a huge difference cause I was able to get into a more aero position and push through the wind and pain.  Just when I was moments from giving up and sitting up I could see the turn around in the distance and stayed aero and wow that was a good idea.  I kept my distance from the woman I was tracking and on the turn around we now had a huge tailwind.  Ahhhh I'm in heaven now!

Legs are hurting, lungs are starting to get tight and the shoulders are burning, yep I forgot sunblock, go ahead say it I'm a block head. We get to the base of Bailey climb and I shift down into my small ring and just buzz up that puppy, re shift and bomb down.  The way back was pretty much uneventful except that I need to adjust my saddle because I got rubbed raw somewhere I never want to be raw again. 

Up the shoot we go and I slam on my brakes do a little fish tail, leave burnt rubber on the road because we cannot take the bikes into transition while riding.  oops I was too excited to be done I wasn't paying attention.  Run the bike now to the end of the transition area and change.  Grab my hat, change shoes and I'm off.  At this point I'm terribly hot, my legs feel like lead pipes, my ankles are stiff, and I have salty sweat dripping into my eyes.  Thank goodness there was a water station a mile in so I grabbed 2 tiny Dixie cups of water one for my mouth the other for my eyes and face. 

Slowly my legs loosen up and my ankles begin to respond and at 1.5 miles in I start to pace better and now am having a mental fight.  "Is it really worth pushing hard in this heat? Shit yeah, why aren't you pushing harder? You can run a 7:15 pace but you are only doing 7:30 right now."  All this plus more was racing through my mind and I just had to put a brick wall up and stop the negative talk.  I kept my ears open for my pacer on my watch and just kept picking off participant after participant till I got to the few women who were in front of me.  I started counting the return leg competitors, one, two, three, four, five then I hit the turn around and want to catch at least one of them.  So now I refocus and do exactly what I wanted to do.  I caught three of the ladies in front of me, and hear there is only 300 meter to go, so I pick my pace up to 6min and finish strong.

I could hardly speak or do much once I came to a stop at the end of the finishers shoot.  The race people had to take my ankle timer off, hand me a water and make sure I didn't drop my finishers medal.  When my sanity comes back to me I realize I needed water and nutrition.  Thank goodness the race promoters had fruit and snow cones.  I got me a banana, plum, orange and strawberries and sat down to consume while waiting for the results.  Also during this time I started thinking maybe I did get a time penalty and maybe I wont finish in third place like I thought I got.  Wow did it seem like it took forever to get the results.

They announce the women 30 to 34 and my name was not mentioned, also during the awards they said what the times were and my time was right there.  Hm now I'm thinking I sure did get that time penalty, so just as I am about to walk away the announcer calls me and a guy to the podium and says we are in "Time Out".  Both him and I walk slowly almost dragging our feet wondering what the heck this is all about.  Then the announcer says we both had the fastest run splits in our distance and won a free pair of shoes from Runners Factory in Los Gatos.  WooHoo!!!!!!!!  That was so awesome!  The look on my face was priceless as a few people commented.  Now I'm excited and I get my phone out to text someone my good news and at the same time they are now announcing the women's 35 to 40 category.  I know I am not in this group so I turn my back and then hear my name being called.  What?  I stop dead in my tracks do an about face and look at the announcer with a look of you guys got my age wrong give that first place to someone else.  Well no I got my age wrong, it is just like in cycling your race age is the age you will be by December 31st of that year, not what you are that day.  Lmao!!!!!!  So without even knowing it and almost missing it, I WON my AGE group in my first ever Duathlon. 

What an amazing day but now I need to truly focus because the next event WILL start with a swim. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more exciting stuff with North Fitness!

Let The Countdown Begin....

When I fist signed up for this summers Vineman triathlon I wasn't planning on doing any other triathlons, actually I was planning on getting back into my bike racing.  Well that hasn't happened and I do miss my racer friends, and the scene, and the competition.  However looking at all the time I am spending to get ready for the swim and run portions I know I just wouldn't have been a very strong competitor this year on the bike.

So here I sit with less than a week till my first open water Olympic Distance triathlon.  This past weekend if you had asked me am I nervous I would have said no.  Now Monday morning and looking at everything I have to do this week, work, errands, equipment prep, race prep, workouts, personal life...YIKES!!!  I think I may be shaking in my pants right now.  I feel unprepared especially for the swim, as I've only done one open water swim in my wetsuit and it was not very successful. 

The one time I was in the wetsuit a client and friend of mine took me with her to Gull Park in Foster city for an easy mile swim.  The day was warm for April and sunny, the water was calm and murky but no creatures to scare me were swimming in it (at least that's what I kept telling myself). The wetsuit went on easily with the help of TriSlide all over my skin, and the suggestion of my friend to sit down. Once on we made our way down to the waters edge where our most fearless friend just walks right in then dives under.  Me however I took a few slow step into the murky sandy water.  Once past the visibility point I stepped on something slimy and weird so of course I screamed, jumped back and said no I am not going to do this.  My dear friends told me the best thing is to not walk in, but just swim right over the "crud", so I did just that.  I was standing in knee deep water about where the drop off was to begin and I just dove in head under and all. Ahhhhhhh I came up screaming cause I was cold and tasted like nasty salty crud.  Once in the water and wet I was told to pull the wetsuit away from my chest and duck down to let the water in and create a layer between the suit and my skin.  I did this but thinking back upon it probably didn't let enough water in because the wetsuit felt very tight around my ribcage.  During the swim I ended up spending a quarter of my swim on my back trying to calm my breathing down, not sure if it was anxiety from being in the water, or the tightness of the wetsuit but the whole breathing thing was not my friend this day.  I managed to finish the swim with only once swimming into my friend. 

The open water is nothing like being in the pool.  There are no lane lines, there are no ends to push off from.  It is just you, your wetsuit and creatures or plant life that reaches the surface and the dark cold murkiness underneath you.  I learned that when swimming in these conditions you need to actually life your head up and look forward every now and then to make sure you are taking a straight line to your destination.  Ha, not me, I took the most crooked line i think in the history of open water swimming.  I just had to keep laughing at myself, but also realized that I am pulling harder with my left arm thus the reason I wasn't going straight. 

With less than a week till San Jose Metro Olympic distance triathlon I feel I need one more chance in the water.  If all goes well I will have another go at it this time most likely at Redwood Shores, otherwise known as poop lagoon. 

This weeks workouts will be more focused on keeping the body fresh and limber.  No need to try and go 100% effort on the workouts since the fitness gains will be minimal and in order to race at full capacity I will need the extra energy savings.  Swimming will be 3 sessions, one run of only a mile on Saturday, and 2 times on the bike.  My Saturday will consist of packing my bag and checking the race packet for information on the event.  Also on Saturday the bicycle will get a nice little clean down and a thorough check of the tires with potentially a replacement of both tubes just to be safe.  After all is packed it will get put away into my car so I have nothing to forget in the morning. 

Okay let the nerves set in, I can feel it just sitting here right now even.  Let's just add meditation to my list of workouts this week too.

2 tri's and a 10k down...next up the open water...

Since February 28th, I have been very focused on improving my swim in both form and distance.  For me the swim is still going to be my weakest link, but in knowing that I am working hard to make sure I will still finish strong.  Since a month ago I have increased my distance from 400 meters at a time to an entire mile without stopping.  I have every bit of confidence I can swim the 2.4 miles required of me come July now.

The past fours weeks have been the first "build" period of my Ironman training and it has included many hours in the weight room working on keeping my body strong and limber.  The limber aspect should not be taken lightly as I learned the hard way after a really tough run, I didn't stretch out properly and it left me struggling to do an easy ride the following day.  In the end my ride suffered and left me feeling frustrated.  Instead of shrugging it off like I used to do, after hoping off the bike I decided to spend an entire hour doing foam roller, massage stick and general  body dynamic and static stretching post ride.  I felt so much better for my next workout  which happened to be a swim day that I ended up finishing my mile swim in record time (for me) of 35 minutes and then decided I needed to get into the gym and work my legs and core.

In the course of the past four weeks I have also done a few hard brick workouts and am learning the what-to-and-not-to-do's of brick training.  First and foremost you must eat properly the previous two days, and preferably not go ride a 70 mile ride at intensity with 6000ft of climbing.  It only leaves your body worn out and extremely tired to be able to handle the bike run brick.  In my very near future (this week and next) I have 2 brick workouts coming up and will be much more prepared in both nutrition and pre workout planning. 

Before I can go run any distances though it is time for me to replace my running shoes.  I cannot believe its time already, I only bought the shoes 6 months ago.  I've really only put on the miles in the past 3 months, but I am having issues with them that weren't there in the beginning.  The issues I know are related to the traditional shoes since I switched to my minimalist shoes for today's Sprint Tri and had no pains at all.  I think I may end up getting both a pair of traditional runner and another pair of the minimalists because they just felt so good. 


Next up April 22nd, San Jose Metro Olympic Distance Triathlon, my first open water tri.  This is a scary thought since I haven't even tried on a wetsuit yet.  Since January I have been telling myself I have plenty of time, well the time is a flying by and now I cannot sit back and be slow about this.  Next up, new shoes to replace my worn out ones, and getting in to try on wetsuits.

FIRST TRI...AWESOMENESS!!!

WHEW!!! I was so nervous this morning about an hour before my first ever triathlon. I hadn't felt race day jitters like this since 2010 when I was bike racing. Now this is a whole new experience because I have 3 sports I have to do all in one day. But thanks to my very good friend and also fellow triathlete and Vineman participant Kimber, she was there for me this morning. Reminding me to stay calm, giving me some last minute reminders and pointers for setting up my transitions. But most importantly she was there to witness this awesome day for me.

The morning started with a very cold walk to the registration table at 7:30am, it was still cold enough to see the breath coming out of my mouth. Me and cold temps do not get along so I was a bit nervous about this. However my wave didn't start till 9:45am so there was plenty of time to warm up a bit. Timing chip in hand I head back to the car I go to get a little relax, stretch and find my focus. Again thank you Kimber for keeping me sane.

At about an hour till my start I make my way back to the pool deck, get another bathroom break in and begin to set up my transition area. I was lucky enough to not have someone in my lane in the heat before mine so I could get my pedals on my WATTBIKE before the others. That kind of felt like I was getting an unfair start, so I sat back down and waited like all the other competitors. But I just couldn’t sit still so I went off for a warm up run only to come back to us being allowed to start setting up our bikes. YAY!!!

With towel on the ground I laid out my bike shoes with my socks on top and rolled down to make it easier to slip my wet feet into them. Then I pull out my run shoes, hat and sunglass and put those off to the side of the towel. Last can’t forget my water bottle for the bike, and my swim cap and goggles for the swim. Okay my transition is set up time to hop on the bike and get warmed up.

Three minute warning, I jump off the bike throw on my ear plugs and swim cap, and as I am about to pull the goggles over my head the strap went flying off. Two minute warning goes off and now I'm jittery and nervous I may have to swim without goggles. But no I am able to keep calm and restring them. On the face they go, take two deep breaths as I stare down the water I am about to jump into and splashdown. Wow I'm in the water for my first real tri, and I get really nervous now. I have 16 laps to do my 400 meter swim in. Okay how am I going to stay focused enough to count my laps.

Gun goes off and away I go!  Lap one the excitement of the event gets me going. Lap two the excitement is starting to wear off and my body is talking to me.  Argh I mess up by starting too fast! I couldn’t help it; it’s in my nature to just dive right in. My first 200 meters were blazing fast (for me) but I ended up having a very slow second 200 and realized oh my I may be the last one out of the water. I stop on my second to last lap to double check my laps and catch my breath and gain composure. Dive down push off and away I go for my last 100, I can do this, I can do this is all I'm telling myself. By now my arms feel like lead pipes they don’t want to lift out of the water and I end up dragging my fingers a few times. I manage to finish the swim but had to use the ladder to get out because I couldn’t pull myself up out of the pool. Run to the bike, dry off my toes a little and slide on the socks and shoes.

Getting on the bike was a relief, I had gotten the hardest part for me done already, and from now on I am back to familiar ground. My WATTBIKE won’t start so I fumble with it for about a good minute and a half, finally it kicks in and my pedaling begins the meter countdown. I set my pace at 1min40sec per 1000meters and away I went. Grabbing for a sip of water every now and then I find my rhythm at about 105 cadence and just zone out. The announcer gets on the horn to say the first person is off the bike, then the second. By this time I have 1600 meters to go and I punch it. With less than 100meters I give one last sprint effort jump off the bike and toss my cycling shoes. CRAP!!! My run shoes were not laced up!!!!! ARGH!!! I'm freaking out now. This is a sprint and every damn second I waste tying my shoes is that much faster I will have to run. I start talking myself through this shoe tying experience and realize it took me almost 2 minutes just to get me shoes one. Grr lesson learned, next time shoes are laced and slide them on. Well finally the shoes are on and tied up, I grab my hat and off I go.

The run starts off with two sets of stair then a gradual up hill. As I pass the person who left a minute before me, I feel this nastiness in my stomach not to mention my legs felt like cinder blocks. Ok I can't breathe so I unzip my trisuit. Not what I needed. So here is comes, my breakfast...wow I feel better. Now that breakfast is out of my stomach and my gosh I'm so much lighter time to pick up the pace. I catch two more people and am making good time, so I think however I do not have my Garmin to help me with pace so I just have to wing it by feel. It felt slow but again I didn't know how much I could push. I ended up passing all but two men who were just a bit in front of me. I was third in my heat and 1st women in my heat. WOW!!!  There were still two more heats after mine and I am pretty sure they were the faster people, not to mention the Lavelle’s.

I’m happy with my ability to push through the nastiness of the upset stomach, and not getting down on myself for being so slow in the water especially since I more than made up for it on the bike and run. After the finish I get to chat a bit with my support system, Kimber, and she had noticed a few things in my swim that I will need to work on for next time. The most obvious I went out WAY too fast the first 150 to 200 meters of the swim. But also my feet were doing some really weird movements out to the sides, which is different from when I first started swimming as they would nearly drag on the pool floor. She even had a little video clip to show me for review of my swim.

 To me the swim is by far the most difficult as I have not used this much upper body before in my life not even when I took martial arts, I was a very good kicker so that’s what I did and my arms just blocked. Well not anymore these puny little pipe cleaners I have for arms are going to have to bulk up and get used to pulling me around for at most 2 hours come July.

Looking forward to my next chance at the Threshold burn Series tri on March 25^th.  Then the “real” fun will begin after that with the San Jose Metro in April, the Auburn Half Ironman in May and finally ending with the Vineman Ironman distance triathlon in July.