Different Strokes

Three months ago, when I first cannonballed into the pool after 21 years, I felt like I'd come home! I love the feeling of splitting through the water, floating on top, existing underwater. I love how energizing the fresh air feels after you've spent the last hour fighting to not breathe in the water. My old strokes were coming back easily, the muscles were waking up, all I had to do is build up my endurance, oh and change everything about my stroke! Honestly, it may have been easier for those people who started from scratch, than to have to reprogram everything.

I won't go into every detail because it's hard to picture if you don't have the awesome coaches showing you how it should be done - and you certainly won't see such elegant strokes out of me. In a nutshell, we're trying to reach farther with each stroke, glide more, and use less of our legs to save them for the 2 sports that follow our 1.2 mile (or 2112 yard) swim.

I still remember the first time I got in the pool and just how bad doing 100 yards (4 lengths or 2 laps) felt. My arms screamed, my lungs burned, it was terrible! Well tonight (3 months later), I did my first non-stop 1,500 yard swim (60 lengths/30 laps) and I actually liked the last 500 best! Then, I rested for about 30 seconds and decided to do a 100 yard cool down before getting out. About 40 yards into the lap, I started feeling yucky. So I walked the last part! Yes, I was walking the last part of the lap in the pool - my kids thought this was too funny! Hey, you know, 1,500 yards non-stop, I don't feel bad about stopping afterwards. As with any of my mishaps, I learn from it - I didn't fuel or drink as much as I should.

We've been instructed to have water bottles poolside so we can consume 1 bottle an hour. Now in my defense a) the workout that used to take me an hour only took 45 min. tonight since it was non-stop so I felt I'd steered clear of that time chunk (I know Coaches, the goal is not to drink it all in the end of the hour); b) if I'm swimming 1,500 for time, I'm not going to waste valuable seconds to drink more fuel or water. I had nobody on the team swimming with me tonight, yet I was still being competitive. I had no other time to beat, besides Tuesday's "warm-up" when I swam 1,000 straight, so if anything you think I'd slow down this one to show a big improvement next time... but NO!

It's a real mind-flip that in this society all of a sudden I'm being told - make sure you get enough carbs! We're supposed to take what we weigh, divide it by 2.2 and take in that many carbs per hour when we're training. Not calories, carbs! Like in the Ironteam world, Wonder Bread is a good thing! We no longer eat Gu (which goes in and out looking just as the name implies - things that make you go Hmmm!), we are now hardcore and should try stuff called Hammer (or were they telling us to get hammered?)!

I still am not consistantly graceful in the water, I have to work very hard to put my head down lower so the water goes over my neck and back, and then turn far enough to breathe well. I sometimes feel very fluid with my strokes, and other times feel very floppy. Still, any frustration that I had over my strokes was washed away when I finished the 1,500 feeling great!

P.S.

I never did find out who the mystery photographer was who shot me in action flying down the hill, but I did get one happy photograph from the ride (after my first 20 mile loop) and I didn't look dazed or confused! Next to me is my awesome mentor, Carlos (in the red) who is training for his second full Ironman, the MDot Louisville! W*O*W*!

Torment Trifecta: Tears, Terror, Turning point

This was the first time I was considering quitting Ironteam. The idea of going out and riding in the blustery rain, on the beautiful CLIFFS of Malaga Cove, for 40 miles was just about enough to send me over the edge. I was so scared of what could happen, anytime I told friends the rest of my weekend plans, I finished with the line "It's worth trying to survive Saturday for." If it weren't for the fact that I promised the babysitter that I wouldn't cancel (after wimping out on another Rainy Saturday), and knowing that biking is my worst sport in this Triathlon, I'd have called it a day. But when I got to the cove and they said, "The hills you'll encounter on this ride are very similar to the ones 2 weeks ago [You've got to be kidding me!] only longer [instantly burst into tears]!" Because I'm an irongirl now, I didn't actually burst into tears, but my eyes definitely became wet and threatened to spill over. Dang, why didn't I put on my sunglasses before the big talk?!

I looked across the sunny parking lot looking for an escape - maybe if I was lucky my bike would get stolen and I could quit right on the spot - but then looked back at the group I was standing in and when I realized that many of them were in the same emotional puddle that I was. My emotional humiliation would hurt worse than these hills would.

We started out on the familiar route which felt great - only backwards from the direction I was used to. It was fantastic seeing people from my Marathon team days along the route and we exchanged "Go Teams!" which gave me a boost! The rolling hills are beautiful along this route, and being in a large group, the cars were steering clear of us. We started our first small ascent near the golf course, passing through some random freezing cold patches (ghosts of previous Ironteam cyclists?!) and at the top, entered horse country. I had no idea how we were going to cover 20+ miles for our first loop and stay on Palos Verdes Dr. the whole time (just the East, South, whatever routes of the same street) because this was waaaay farther than we ever ran on that road. I was also in denial that we'd see such crazy hills because I had never encountered such hills while running. Perhaps (my denial preached to me), the coaches were lying and the hills weren't that bad.

A lot of the next 15+ miles were a blur, just riding along, trying to obey traffic laws, and enjoy the scenery. Then we got into a neighborhood and the ascent started. I put my bike into granny gear, which I believe one person said is not the best idea, but at this point, I'd do whatever it took to get to the top of this hill without stopping, crying, or falling, and work on fixing it later once I conquer one hill!

I settled in on a pace that was steady, comfortable, and only focused on the 10 feet right in front of me. Once I got to the horizon, I glanced at the next horizon, and the next, and the next, but returned my focus to just 10 feet in front of me. During the tough parts I kept chanting "Auntie Carole, Auntie Carole" who was a loved one to a friend of mine, who was recently lost to cancer. Her memorial was on this beautiful day, and I know she helped get me up those hills.

I'm fortunate, too, that fellow Irongirl Tracy and I have a comparable pace, so we encouraged each other up the never-ending hill. At one point, she took a little break and I told her I'd stop at the top of the hill. After that hill turned into the next, and the next, and still the next (really it was THAT big), I felt bad that I wasn't stopping, but I was on a roll, and stuck on making it to the top without stopping, surprised that I wasn't feeling bad, so I didn't want to interrupt that groove.

When I got to Crest Drive I prayed that this was the top of the hill and celebrated for a second before the challenge switched gears as we started

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down the back side of the hill! I am a bit scared of heights, and at the drop off point it was confirmed - I was at the crest of a very big mountain. I caught a glimpse of about 3 switchbacks below me, took in the view of the Harbor and knew that if I didn't pay attention, I'd be flying on the bike off the cliffs straight toward Catalina! I alternated between free-falling terror braking, seriously thinking I was going to slide off my bike towards my handle bars, and sheer exhilaration of the blue sky downhill thinking I'd better not smile any wider because my lips will dry out and bugs will crack my teeth upon impact. A Tracy blur flew past me at one point, and I did try to smile for the random photographer out on the hill because I'm determined to get one good picture of me on the bike not looking dazed or confused.

After that the terrain went back to primarily rolling hills. As my mind and body settled into a new groove, a few random thoughts flew in one ear and out the other: I didn't know THAT part of my body would hurt more than my legs; I need to learn to train with my mouth shut - although the coaches said if we're lucky we might catch a fish during our swim which is great fuel; I don't know if I can make it around the whole course for a 2nd round - ironically due to how tired my arms got on the downhill, not my legs; I can't believe there are so many dang Bruins riding out here at Malaga - note to self, get a USC riding jersey; what a beautiful day; I'm wearing funky thigh-high leg warmers; I've never been happier than this moment to see the lighthouse!

As I entered the driveway (victorious!) to meet the group, the sharp turn/ascent stopped me dead in my tracks and I almost didn't unclip in time, but I did! I walked the bike up and my celebration ended as we were again practicing changing tires. The goal here is to change the tire quickly and get back out on the course. I won't lie, I took some time with this, the bike helped, then peeled off my leg warmers, hit the girls' room. I was telling myself that I'd better hurry myself up because I had like four people in four places counting on me that day to be home on time, but I wasn't that eager to do the full 2nd loop. I asked the support (awesome volunteers) staff if there was a shorter route but the answer I got was "I got lost last time I did that and wound up hitting major hills!" Ack!

When I finally got to the mental realization where I settled on the fact that I'd be riding 40 miles, the coaches said "Y'all are doing a different course for the 2nd loop..." and a big sigh of relief was heard (or was it my deflating tire?).

We did another 10 miles on the bike to get us to 31+ miles and called it a day, on time, and in a GREAT MOOD! I had a great bike ride! I didn't fall, I didn't die going up or down the hills, I survived, I was still walking well, I had feeling back in all the numb parts (they happen anywhere!), and now I had a beautiful sunny day to enjoy after a week of relentless rain!

I packed a lot into Saturday, covered many more miles in my car, got to catch up with a bunch of friends, and got home and ordered pizza with the kids to celebrate a full but fruitful day. At 9:30pm, my switch flipped and I was going downhill so fast that I actually turned out the lights before my kids did because they weren't brushing their teeth fast enough.

What a difference 11.5 hours of sleep makes! The next day, as the fun of the Pinewood Derby wound down, I was trying to convince the kids to go for a bike ride. I shared my own cycling psychosis with my daughter who is going through her own struggles learning how to ride her bike! I told her how scared I was on Saturday but that I did it anyway and I felt so happy afterwards that I did! She said "Well you're bigger!" and I said yes, but that means I have farther to fall, and my feel are locked to the bike, I can't fly off and try to land standing. Myself and Menchie's (frozen yogurt) convinced her to give it a try. The goal was to have them ride while I run a steady 90 min. or more.

The run turned into fartleks - Run trying to keep up with the kids, slow down to push them through the sand-choked bikepath, stop and pick up Lauren, brush her off, kiss boo boos and REPEAT! Lauren fell way more than I ever did in one run and she kept getting back on, with a little persuasion.

As I tucked the tuckered out kids into bed, Carson told me that one reason he liked me for his mom was that I didn't used to be a runner, but then I became one and ran 2 marathons, and now I'm trying a Half-Ironman Triathlon! I said why is that, and he said because it makes him want to try big things! I told him it's true, no matter how crazy your dream is, you can accomplish it! His goal is to be the first man on Jupiter, but that because it's a gaseous planet he'll have to invent special shoes first so he doesn't just fall through the planet and back into space. Then he said that perhaps next thing you know, I may be trying a full Ironman! My response was, not til I can do one on Jupiter!

Indoor training on the road

I was out-of-town, on the east coast, for this past Saturday workout, so to make up for it, I woke up at what would be 5:30am PST and hit the hotel gym. When I arrived, someone had already commandeered the bicycle so I headed to the lobby to get a banana and wait out the 15 minutes. After a few peaceful minutes of slowly getting up to speed with the day, I found my Grandmother's cousin coming at me in the lobby! He said he didn't expect to see me up that early, especially not going to the gym! I explained the goal that I'm striving to achieve and explained my plan for the weekend - bike and run today, swim and run tomorrow. He asked if I'd be on tv, I politely explained that I'm not that fast, and I excused myself and returned to the gym to start my workout so that I could get it done in time.

I got started right away choosing the "Alpine Trail" programmed workout and opted for level 4. I mentally wished that anyone that needed to ride the bike would go back to bed because riding the stationary bike for 90 minutes would be really annoying if I had to get off the bike every 15 minutes to give someone else a turn. I loved that I could sit there and not worry about clips, not think about cars, and not wear a helmet - although perhaps I should have because when my foot caught the pedal slightly, I wavered in my chair and tensed up anticipating an impact.

When the bike was finished, I hopped up on the dreadmill and ran for 30 minutes with a 1 incline and doing 12 minute miles. That went a lot smoother because neither the stationary bike nor the treadmill subjected my joints to the jostling of last week, so it just felt good! Hindsight is 20/20 and I can tell you that I should have stretched right after the workout, (I hadn't since my deadline to leave for my Grandmother's memorial was encroaching, nor had I stretched the day before after running before hopping on a plane).

Despite feeling strange to have done the workout alone, it felt great to know that I didn't wimp out that day and completed a reasonable Irongirl workout.

Sunday, I wimped out. Admittedly due to how I wasn't feeling up to par between the alcohol consumed by 3 generations of cousins catching up on the past 30+ years and my muscles were still sore. Also due to the earlier start to Sunday's activities. My grandmother's cousin caught up with me when I arrived in the lobby to get a coffee and said he'd been looking in the pool for me! I guess I really did have the support staff even all the way in Maryland!

This week, I'm working to fit in every workout to try to hit this new normal of doubled up workouts. I'm trying to take full advantage of the training that Team In Training offers! My schedule has several obstacles in the next few weeks so I want to be there for as many other workouts as possible.

I'm asking the kids to wake up earlier 2 days a week so that I can run on Tuesday and swim on Thursday. I've notified their teachers to help look out for any adverse effects on their schooling. While I am unselfishly trying to raise money for Leukemia and Lymphoma as well as other blood cancers, I'm selfishly trying to achieve this goal for myself as well. However, I don't want to be so selfish as to sacrifice my kids' well-being and education - it's a delicate balance!

30 Miles on a bike makes my butt hallucinate!

Saturday, January 9th started off as any other Saturday. I usually prefer to remain somewhat ignorant as to the training at hand because the less I know, the less I worry. I remained fairly calm on this morning as I looked forward to exploring the new area of Ventura, and figured it couldn't be much worse than the week before with the hilly 15 mile ride.

As Debby and I arrived, we removed our gear, pumped air into our bicycle tires, and welcomed teammates. We searched for any reference as to what to expect, and the one mentor we found simply smiled and said, "I don't know what to expect, I've never done this before." Somewhere during our inquisition, I heard the words "We're doing 30 miles today" float into one ear and out the other but without another confirming statement, I chose to release the thought.

I searched for our newest teammates hoping to offer some sort of support since this would be their first time with clips. Now that I was a week past being brand new on clips, I sounded so wise suggesting that they practice in the parking lot. I passed the "new to bikes" stigma and my confidence went up a notch...

...Until they handed out the workout and the bottom number definitely has 30 before the decimal point. It also contained a street towards the end of the workout with the words "Conquer the hill" or something kick-ass, causing my mind turn to instantly turn to jello to prevent me from dreading the hill on my 27-mile approach.

As we pedaled into the empty business park road to begin our large 30-mile loop, my optimism (or gelatinous brain) got the best of me and I convinced myself, that it could be equal, but no worse than last week.

The first hill was already visible within the first 100 yards. It was a long but gradual uphill and push come to pedal, I talked myself out of stopping and resting, arriving at the top victorious and panting.

The city streets gave into residential streets, which melted away into beautiful horse country. The fields were waving in the wind, the roads became narrower, the scenery became relaxing. The ride, however, became a bitch! I don't recall when the wide open spaces became a vertical, rocky mountain road, but next thing you know, I'm riding up a 2-lane road trying to curse at myself again "Don't stop or you'll never get started!" I did exceed my first goal of making it to the turn but when I arrived there and saw how much longer the hill was, my legs started to shake. My muscles were very tired from the first hill, I didn't want to ride 'til I slowed down and fell over into jagged mountain rocks, so I stopped, took a breather and planned to push off a rock and sheer determination would get me started again.

As people started to catch up to me, I attempted to start again at least 3x with the last one toppling me over into the street right next to a moving car. Anticipating this fall, I was able to turn to land on my cushiest part of my body, and tried to make myself as small as possible to avoid denting the car, or having it dent me. I don't know how close I was, and my life didn't pass in front of my eyes, so I'm telling myself I must not have been that close - please don't try to talk me out of that idea for now.

My coach had caught up to me at this point and said my choices were to either ride downhill to get started then repeat the first part of the hill, or just get started. I opted for option "C" which was walk to the next part where a flat feeder road fed into the street so I could go long enough to get clipped in, then we screamed our way to the top of the hill - literally screaming, cursing, groaning - whatever it took.

Screaming down the backside of the mountain meant that I hit speeds of 32 mph on the downhill even bending down to be more aerodynamic! I sped past the roadside thoughts reading "What if you hit a rock," "Hope your tires don't blow," "Hope a bug doesn't sacrifice itself on your teeth!" If there was an aid station for us, I blew right past it. As the wind made that little windmill in my brain operate, the lessons learned so far that day became clear: a) When on a busy street, always remove the left foot so that if you start to fall into traffic you can catch yourself with a free foot and b) When going uphill, never, ever, under any circumstances, no matter how slow you're going, or how much it hurts - never STOP!

After shaking off the Post-Traumatic Hill Stress, the roads turned into suburban neighborhoods and things were challenging, but great. We regularly used our road-signals, turned from left-turn lanes and our support staff was fantastic as always about circulating throughout the riders to ensure we were still moving.

At one point, one mentor questioned me on the hills, and I excitedly reported that I'd ridden to the top of the first hill, but not the second. He replied, "Really? The first hill? Great job!!" Then when I explained my brush with death on the mountain roads of the second hill, he said, "I thought that was the first hill." Apparently the first hill I'd overcome didn't even rank as a challenging hill to the support staff. While I wanted to rip his legs off (for those of you who've never seen me crabby, come ride 20+ miles with me and get to know my Gemini darker twin side), at the same time, I felt calmly hopeful that someday, those hills will be small to me as well - if they can ever convince me to get my butt back on that course.

As we worked our way through the residential neighborhood, I noticed that my bike seat moved from side to side, my arms ached, my ass alternated between numb and throbbing, and my leg muscles roared. When the idea floated in one ear and out the other, "Hey, you still have that hill at mile 27 to worry about!" About that time, the support staff rotated back to me again and I told them I needed the bike seat tightened because it was moving, and I knew it had to be making my stroke less efficient. I did realize in my head that if it was really that loose, my seat should also have gone down, not just side to side, but immediately discounted that rationale.

Turns out, I was having butt hallucinations! My seat was fine! The support staff took me stopping them as a cry out for a rest, so I didn't argue that fact as we rehdrated. Finally, I took off to face the final frontier and my goal was to not be the last one back.

I don't really recall that last hill, except it was long, it was gradual, and I did stop one more time and was struggling to get started again, but this time the roads were wider and I didn't start when there were cars around for my own safety. I celebrated the fact that we were in the home stretch now and I couldn't wait to get rid of the bike and hit the road for 10 min - our first "Brick" workout!

As I started my mental celebration, the odometer on my bike crept upward to somewhere around 34 miles! I started to panic that I'd passed the turnoff for our parking lot and was just about to call someone when the welcome sign of the 101 Fwy showed up and I finally recognized where I was. Re-entering the business park loop, the 30 miles had taken it's toll and while I've never ridden a carbon bike, I was imagining that my arms would not feel like glass had I ridden a carbon bike rather than aluminum. I contemplated how 58 miles will feel and optimistically hoped that my body will be fine with a bit of glucosamine.

I pulled into the parking lot victorious, the support staff were there all clapping and cheering - MAN! I LOVE TEAM IN TRAINING! That makes it so worth it!

I rode to my car, changed shoes, put away my bike and saw that Meghan returned a minute behind me. As I waited for her to change so we could run together, I saw our coach scoping out our situation impatiently. He barked "Enough time girls, hit the road!" The coaches words of advice consisted of "Start slow!" Truly, that was the only option as after sitting on the bike for 30 miles, my hips felt like they were dislocated and that my pelvis bones were going to fall apart to pieces in my ankles. I realized that my posture and gait changed completely from my normal running form and I felt more like a triathlete, yet I chuckled at the thought that this form was because it was the only one that felt comfortable after the other 2 sports, not because it maximized efficiency. Somewhere along the route, my hips re-engaged with the rest of my body and I felt somewhat normal again. Meghan and I did our due 10 minutes and trotted back.

Debby magically brought chocolate milk for us to start our recovery and it tasted and felt like gold - THANK YOU DEBBY! She and I didn't linger in our success for long, as we both had to be elsewhere. We headed back to our hometown, speeding up to the pace of the rest of our day.

I surveyed my legs for new bruises or hints of a large one where I'd made impact, but didn't see anything. However, somehow, I managed to bruise my abs! A few bruises did show up on my legs within the next few days. I admit that I was proud that when I got home and shared with my ex, who was there watching the kids, how far we'd ridden, he sincerely showed his amazement stating it was farther than he ever rode back when he was a regular road racer. That and the fact that we now had one thing that we could talk about that was completely out of our regular carefully choreographed and scripted discussions on the children, made the day even sweeter.

I may have ridden 30 miles, but I felt like I covered even more ground!

Swimming time trials!

Just a quick note about the swimming workout for this week... We did time trials this week for 100m swims and did 6 of them! We did 3 fast 100m then 1 slow 100m to rest. I positioned myself in our rotation and the first time just went all out trying to do "fast"! The first time, by the time I was done, I thought I might die, my heart was pounding, my arms were sore, I was flopping around by the end of the 100m. So I decided to relax and settle at somewhere between "slow" and "fast" so that I could swim them, but not kill myself. (Oh funny, I just realized why the ads in my blog had "Suicide prevention" - not a laughing matter, but funny that it comes up because I'm whining about Ironteam).

So, we did 8 total, and I was pleased that I was able to remain fairly consistent with my timing! I was excited that I passed a few people along the way - even a few guys. When I got out of the pool with arms that felt like rubber, I was surprised to find that the first set that I did was my slowest out of all of them! Partially because that was my "warm up", partially because I was probably being messy instead of working on the most efficient stroke!

Then I didn't do anything after Tuesday to Friday, which I'm regretting. I can't do that again for the rest of the season. Alright, going to bed "early" at 12:24am since we're hitting the road early to ride in Ventura! Should I wear knee pads this time?

It's like riding a bike, once you learn you never forget...

I will never forget my first time back in the saddle again! It started off as a great day, I got to Santa Monica and found my group. They gave us a piece of paper with entirely too many streets and turns on it and I immediately thought,
"Nobody told me I had to get a clip for my helmet to hang directions so I can read them hands-free?!"
"They don't expect me to let go of the handlebars, grab this out of my pocket, and read it while I'm trying to balance?!
"Wait! We are going to be riding on Sunset Blvd.?! with cars?!"

Coach Rad, who should be named Coach Awesome, gave us newbies some tips:
"Don't brake with only the front brake - you'll flip!"
"Watch out for the crap in the road from the windstorms last night, those little palm things can take you out!"
I started to feel cocky that I wouldn't make THAT mistake (as I'd already made it when I was 9 - OUCH!).
We slowly got on the road and started our first downhill of the ride.

There are some people that don't like uphill, others that don't like downhill. I'm of the first breed. I don't mind the downhill because I figure the faster I go a) the workout will end sooner b) the uphill side may be easier if I get farther up the hill before I have to pedal c) I feel like Lance Armstrong even though he's pedaling at his 90rpm while I'm sitting there with my feet out at both sides, streamers fluttering off my handlebars, and my pedals rotating faster than I could ever keep up. Not quite, but that's how it feels.

At the bottom of the hill, and after a successful unclip and reclip while crossing a street, we regrouped. "This, Team, is the first hill! You should be in the middle gear, in the front, the easiest in the back (which one is that?!)" Another mentor mentioned that we should try to avoid the "Granny Gear" because we'll regret it. Since I don't know what it is, I figure I won't be using it. The first hill was fairly gradual going up a hill until the veeeeery last turn. We had to go wide and then drastically ascend the last bit. I was ready for a break so thankfully, we regrouped at the top of the first hill. Again, I successfully unclipped and put my foot on the curb.

Guess what folks, hill #2 is a fairly steep descent and then a really sharp ascent and you want to be pedaling on the descent because if you all of a sudden start on the ascent you can either throw or break your chain! My awesome mentor Carlos gave us some amazing words of wisdom, which I totally appreciated and promptly forgot after he said them because I was back in my "Roll forward, pedal at 3pm, toes flip over the pedal, keep moving, clip in front, don't slow down, then press to click in the rest" mode.

We rode to the end of the street and I was excited to see that on Ironteam, we don't just use chalk writing on the street to mark our path, we have authentic yellow film production signs with arrows to guide us! Yah, we're the Ironteam, that's right!! Again, I rode down that hill, hoping that if I flew down the hill, that I could coast almost all the way to the top (like I did in 7th grade riding through Hillcrest in San Diego to go to Jr. High). Well, we're playing with the big boys now. That hill was so steep that all my speed was sucked into the ground by about 1/3 of the way up. I seriously didn't know how I was going to get up that hill, my speed was being taken from me with every rotation of the pedals BUT my alternative would be to stop on the hill and somehow unclip while trying not to fall, NO THANKS! I pushed with my whole body with each leg stroke and somehow got to the top of that hill. When we regrouped again, my heart was pumping big time - I'd beaten Chainbreak Hill!

This next part is part truth, part speculation because I don't remember the whole accident. We regrouped again and after yet another successful unclipping, I was resting comfortably against the curb, we were chatting about how we are going to go a little bit farther up, very gradually this time, then leave the neighborhood as we head out to Sunset where we cannot ride any more than 2 next to each other and really we should go single file. While it's downhill, we shouldn't go to fast because we'll have a turn at the bottom of the hill. When the coaches finished talking, a CA earthquake with a seismic measurement of 8.0 happened knocking me off my feet and... OK, fine, really I somehow lost my balance slightly and started falling away from the side that had a free foot to catch me so I was done in, and hit two other people on the way down, but they didn't get knocked over. The rest of the group took off, I got up and back on the bike, Coach Rad, fixed my bent brakes and I was off! I caught up to the pack as quickly as I could on the downhill.

Turns out Sunset wasn't the scariest part. After one more uphill that either they forgot to mention, or I forgot to listen, we hit San Vicente. We had to worry about a) moving cars, in or on the side of the street, b) car doors, c) those palm things, d) other bikers, e) turn lanes (where the heck to the bikers go?), and f) a bike lane about 18" wide. Still it was the home stretch, so it felt great!

We got there, regrouped again and they said "Congratulations, you're going again!" Not just once but twice! The cool thing was that despite the hills, at least we knew we could make it, what to expect, etc. In addition to our increasing confidence, I felt tough because by then, my knees looked as you saw above.

The second time around, there were a few changes a) they encouraged us to keep going after the hills, no panting on the side of the road because it's bad for our hearts to go from pumping so fast and then stop, b) I noticed that we were riding right by Shanna Moakler and Travis Barker's old house (Even Irongirls have a reality show weakness), c) I actually stood up and pedaled, despite thinking there was no way I'd be able to do that at all, but the alternative is falling over flat, d) I got up to 22 mph on the downhill (while pedaling, not just free-falling), e) I had a moment where I couldn't unclip and was slowing down to a stop, but when the bike threatened to topple, my instinct kicked in and pedaled me forward so I had more time to release my foot - YAY! VICTORY!

This time I headed back to get my jacket because I figured I was done, gotta get back to the kids and onto our afternoon obligations when "Oh crap, I do have time to go around again." I stalled a bit to wait for Meghan. I was whining to Coach Paul that "This is only the 2nd time that I've ridden the bike, sort of" and he flat out said "Well you should have been riding more!" which is exactly what I needed to hear. Irongirls aren't whiners! Meghan came around and was a great motivator, but I warned her, I could be cursing for the duration of the ride.

The third time around, we got up the first hill, got half of the way up Chainbreak Hill, and I did successfully unclip and walk it up the rest of the hill. Then we got back on the bikes and I noticed that my bike was rattling - FLAT TIRE! I immediately hopped off, pulled out my tools (which I'd thankfully walked back to my car, in my awkward bike shoes, to retrieve that morning), I successfully got the back and more complicated wheel off the chain and bike, as I pulled out my handy-dandy tire remover piece, it wasn't working. Thankfully at that moment, shining hero Mike pulled up! He had the right tools and the kindness to help me out.

We had some difficulties with the tire still, and thankfully, Ironteam has a SAG vehicle which came to rescue us as well. The tire got changed, we were on our way back to the group! All of the patient support staff were waiting for us, smiling, when we got back, they're so awesome!

After the ride, it was time for the team to go to tacos, and I rushed home to get Carson to a birthday party. Lauren and I went to get our nails done, she got black paint with glowing polka dots, me - I just wanted the foot massage.

Later this week, I set up my bike trainer so that I could ride in my apt when the kids are asleep, and it turned out to be louder than I thought. So I wrote my neighbors the option that I could ride in the late evening, crack of dawn, or for a sizeable donation - none of the above. They were very understanding, but we'll see after they hear it!

Goals and Rituals!

Happy New Year all! THIS is the year that I will beat Wildflower! Training is officially ON!

January marks the start of our more stringent 18-week training program. Up until this point we were focusing on technique, drills, and building a foundation. Our workouts are already at approximately 1/3 the distance that we'll do on race day, we just haven't done them all at one once yet. My runs are up to about 5 miles (no intervals needed yet, running about 2 minutes/mile faster than I was in August!), my highest biking day (out of 2 that I've done so far) was 18 miles, and our swims are around 2,000m.

Now we will start increasing the workouts, doing more than one workout in a day, and learning how to be triathletes!

One of the most important parts of training is to experiment with different things such as clothes, what you eat the night before or during the race, transitioning, etc. so that nothing is new on race day. From doing my running races, I've developed a few pre-race rituals. I do the carboloading, do extra hydrating the week before, get my clothes ready and get number onto my jersey the night before. I set two alarms, eat oatmeal the morning of, and get out there early to feed off of the adrenaline of the crowd.

I even have rituals for the night before Saturday practice (which is usually a larger or more challenging workout). My ritual is to make sure I haven't eaten anything too crazy the day before, and then to stay up late the night before worrying about it. This is a habit that has carried over from my previous Team In Training seasons. I've only been to two of the IronTeam Saturday practices so far, one was a run and one was my first biking workout with a tire-changing clinic. Tomorrow is my first time riding with clips as we do our first big hill challenge, plus it's my first time riding in the big pack in real traffic. While I passed my parking lot test today, doing 45 minutes of clipping in and out, I'm still here at 1:48am watching Jamie Durie create an Outdoor Room, wishing I were in Bali and trying to keep my mind off of tomorrow's ride.

For marathon, this plan was alright because rolling out of bed, showing up to practice and not really waking up until 1/3 of the way into the run was fine, but I only had to put one foot in front of the other. For Tri, especially at this stage, nothing is simple, nor is it second nature - it's all new and requires a lot of thought! I know it's not the smartest thing to stay up late then get up and try to have my best wits about me for the challenge ahead of me, but at this point, my rational mind isn't in charge. The silly thing is, I know that in the past, at the end of every workout I was worrying about, I'd say "I can't believe how great this felt, I can't believe I was stressed about it!"

My first goal for this season is to overcome that ritual. Instead of being stressed or worried about the process, I'm going to hit it head on, and be prepared to do so with a great night's sleep and a positive attitude.

My second goal for this season is to improve my running time for my upcoming marathon in the fall, and as you can tell, I'm well on my way with that! I'm super excited at the progress so far and can't wait to see how much of an improvement occurs by the end of the season. Part of that is due to the cross-training, which in turn has strengthened my core. I'd heard all along that if you really want to get in shape to try a Tri, and they aren't kidding! It's only been about 8 weeks and I feel and see drastic differences in my body.

My third goal for the season is to form a more routine schedule. Doing this training while working and being a single mom requires a lot of tightly fit scheduling to ensure that nobody suffers and nothing slips through the cracks. It's something that I crave and hate all at the same time. Part of me is really resisting being that scheduled down to the minute, but the other part of me knows that I will be able to relax and be more in the moment if I know it's all got its time and space.

My last, but not least, goal is to accomplish something large while raising a large amount of money to find a cure for blood cancers! For me, the ritual of giving is very important. No matter what this economy is doing, people are getting diagnosed every day with blood cancers. These are indiscriminate, aggressive, brutal diseases that people must endure harsh treatments for in order to save their lives. Especially in this time of a tough economy, when budgets and public assistance is being reduced, we need to help fund a cure, and fund the efforts to improve the quality of life for current patients and their families. When I did my first Team In Training event, I had no personal tie to blood cancers. By the time I was training for my 3rd event, a family member had been diagnosed with blood cancer. Since then, I've gone to work for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and have met and lost so many honored teammates along the way, how can I not continue to do events with TNT?

Yes, I skated around the obvious goal of finishing the race in one piece and within the time limits (if they exist, not sure yet). However, as some people say, the journey is more important than the destination, and I'm embracing the journey!