What a race! That was the most I've hurt in my life. I was hoping on the drive there that the clear skies would hold and the rain would blow in quickly overnight leaving a hot and humid Sunday morning. Not so. It was 60s and cloudy at the swim start and by the time we were out of the park on the bike, the rain began and didn't ease up until the run. Although the rain and wind prevented me from thoroughly taking in the environment on the bike course, I loved it nonetheless as the weather made it extra brutal- mentally more than anything. Nasty wind gusts and stinging rain resulted in quite a few accidents down hills and on turns. I actually love the adrenaline when descending in slippery roads. Once again, my feet were numb, something I never thought I'd experience in Lubbock...I should have packed my toe warmers! The run had what most would call "perfect running weather"- overcast, not too humid, and low 70s (high 60s with wind chill). For me it was far from ideal. The challenge is definitely one to return for as those hills on the run are killer and the energy lab stretch is on my list of favorites. But my edge in the heat might have yielded a big enough run gap to seal 2nd in my AG and a Clearwater slot had it been the usual 90s under the sun so that was a bummer. I had a faster swim and run than 2nd place but couldn't close the bike gap on the run :(
Aside from the Clearwater slot though, I am super happy with my performance in those conditions (they seem to be inescapable this season haha). I wasn't expecting to have the bike strength/endurance in 70.3 so to have a solid swim and run was priority achieved. I was first out of the water in my AG which is awesome for me...granted we were able to run a good portion of the swim start which helped a lot if you lined up right ;)Props to Lauren Swigart the 18-24 winner, and overall female amateur. She'll be back in Kona and hope she'll have a great race!
It was a cool family trip. My mom enjoyed watching both my brother and I race and we had some pretty funny moments in the car. My brother rocked the sprint coming in first in 15-19 and 12th overall!!
Now we're back in Dallas and time for some much needed rest. 4 days off on the schedule, ez 1hr rides Fri & Sat, and open water swim and run with the group Sunday. July will be a break from racing, aside from the local Irongirl sprint in Irving on the 20smtn, and focus on my second big race of the yr, Chicago. I might head to Austin for a few weeks before school starts and get some training there with friends.
Hopefully Cancun will be rain-free/humid and scorching and I can snatch Clearwater last-minute!!!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
evil cold stalks me
forecasted lubbock weather for the weekend: low's 60-65, highs 80-85, 40% chance of rain..."a cold front" per the weather man.
WTF??????
WTF??????
Monday, June 23, 2008
On Point
That's it...training post Worlds has been awesome. Both track sessions went perfectly, I ran a PR at the mile TT we did Saturday, got in some great un-interupted rides (I really dislike stopping in the middle of a <4hrs ride), got back in the weight room 5X which is always a plus, and my swimming feels surprisingly smooth.
Last night I was beginning to wonder if Ahmed had some twisted plan and somehow I'd get all active recovery this week and still no days off, but he pulled through :) haha. So today and tomorrow it's pure chill. My brother and I are gonna go visit the Nature & Science Museum today and the Art one tomorrow. Last night we started our R&R by renting Untraceable...you gotta see it, super thriller. For some reason though I couldn't sleep very well, waking up every 2-3 hrs. Hopefully if I don't take a nap today I'll be so tired that tonight I'll sleep like a baby. My dad and I are both bad sleepers, but my mom and brother, OMG I wish I was like that, they can fall asleep standing and if no one/alarm woke them up they'd be out until the next day.
Aside from that Wed, Thurs, and Fri are very ez workouts and then Saturday we make the drive over. My mom gets here Thursday and I'm soooo glad she could come. I'm really looking forward to this race and having her there is great.
I still have some last minute errands to run before leaving like taking the bike to the shop for a tune-up and deciding whether or not to use an aero drink/bottle. I've only used one at like 2 races when I first started triathlon. But since I took off my back bottle cages after Kona, and for Lubbock I'll only need one for water and one for carbo pro/sports drink, then it's either a single back cage or a front aero one, in addition to the already existing middle one. Also, (random) must get a hair cut!! I'm a mess and it'll feel a lot better under the hot sun ;)
That, plus chiro and massage and everything's set! I feel like I'm in the best shape I've been in since before Hawaii and can't wait to test out that course!!!!
Last night I was beginning to wonder if Ahmed had some twisted plan and somehow I'd get all active recovery this week and still no days off, but he pulled through :) haha. So today and tomorrow it's pure chill. My brother and I are gonna go visit the Nature & Science Museum today and the Art one tomorrow. Last night we started our R&R by renting Untraceable...you gotta see it, super thriller. For some reason though I couldn't sleep very well, waking up every 2-3 hrs. Hopefully if I don't take a nap today I'll be so tired that tonight I'll sleep like a baby. My dad and I are both bad sleepers, but my mom and brother, OMG I wish I was like that, they can fall asleep standing and if no one/alarm woke them up they'd be out until the next day.
Aside from that Wed, Thurs, and Fri are very ez workouts and then Saturday we make the drive over. My mom gets here Thursday and I'm soooo glad she could come. I'm really looking forward to this race and having her there is great.
I still have some last minute errands to run before leaving like taking the bike to the shop for a tune-up and deciding whether or not to use an aero drink/bottle. I've only used one at like 2 races when I first started triathlon. But since I took off my back bottle cages after Kona, and for Lubbock I'll only need one for water and one for carbo pro/sports drink, then it's either a single back cage or a front aero one, in addition to the already existing middle one. Also, (random) must get a hair cut!! I'm a mess and it'll feel a lot better under the hot sun ;)
That, plus chiro and massage and everything's set! I feel like I'm in the best shape I've been in since before Hawaii and can't wait to test out that course!!!!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
2 week HIM training
That is in terms of pure focus on Lubbock since, yea, I have been consistently training all year. After Vancouver it was one day off and my schedule immediately jumped into an intense long week. I think this is really cool- to take 2 weeks and physically and mentally focus to an uber degree. This week is equal to, if not harder than last, no days off. Coach and I agreed to forgoe waiting until the off season to isolate my swim/run, and especially the swim that hasn't really come around as quickly as I wanted, and really kick it up NOW. I love big running mileage and the hurt of intervals and track sessions so I'm pumped. The swim...well, my arms are either gonna fall off or yield the desired result :) My cycling will probably suffer a little but it's two steps forward one step back.
Anyway, since my brother's here training with me it's making getting through tough workouts easier and he's there to push me when I might slow down on my own. Now I'm chasing him in all three sports, a month ago it was only the swim and run, but apparently a week of cycling outside (in SA he only used the spin room), and he kicks my ass.
Only two 2hr rides this wk and three 1hrs with hill repeats on Saturday with the group followed by a 1mi run TT...of course lots of swimming (6X) and running with track Thursday. Sunday I was DEAD and luckily squeezed in a massage yesterday to get me through the week...I needed that bad! Next week I know it'll feel awesome to get through this excellent block of workouts and absorb it all in the few easier days prior to the race.
As of now the plan is to leave Saturday morning and head back Sunday after the race/awards. It'll be a long 5hr drive back home :) and I'll post a race report after.
Anyway, since my brother's here training with me it's making getting through tough workouts easier and he's there to push me when I might slow down on my own. Now I'm chasing him in all three sports, a month ago it was only the swim and run, but apparently a week of cycling outside (in SA he only used the spin room), and he kicks my ass.
Only two 2hr rides this wk and three 1hrs with hill repeats on Saturday with the group followed by a 1mi run TT...of course lots of swimming (6X) and running with track Thursday. Sunday I was DEAD and luckily squeezed in a massage yesterday to get me through the week...I needed that bad! Next week I know it'll feel awesome to get through this excellent block of workouts and absorb it all in the few easier days prior to the race.
As of now the plan is to leave Saturday morning and head back Sunday after the race/awards. It'll be a long 5hr drive back home :) and I'll post a race report after.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Bring on the heat!
So this year's worlds is now a thing of the past. This afternoon I fly back home to Dallas and as much as I enjoyed Canada and learned a lot over the weekend, I'm elated to return to Texas summer :)
Ahmed sent me this week's schedule and I'm ready to work the increased volume. Two three hour rides this week and 3 other 1hr-2hrs...I'll be taking my brother on the South Ride as that's a little over 2hrs plus a loop around White Rock and back home makes 3. For Sunday we'll join the RBM peeps to make things a little more interesting. 5 much needed swims, the usual Track Thursday, 2x weights (yay!!!), and another of the weekend open water swims at Joe Pool with the group followed by an hr run (hopefully along the infamous dam).
In two weeks I'll be at beautiful Lubbock, TX haha for the 70.3. Everything about that race seems like it was created just for me- heat, hills, distance. I'm hoping for the hottest day of the yr with no clouds :)
It'll be fun to see what isolating myself into short course for the past couple of months does to my long distance performance. I'm hoping that I don't get my pacing all messed up from going out to the run as if it were a 10k or sprint haha, that would be an ugly ending. Also, though I've been trouble-free nutrition wise at all previous races, not having trained with any gatorade, cabro pro, etc since Ironman,(the only sport products I've used are like 2-3 powergels IN races), has me a little concerned that my stomach may freak out. So this week and the next I'll be re-introducing my body to that good o'l engineered stuff...after all, they say we're a quickly-adaptable species. The lovely fact is that the whole day I'll be in my comfort zone and a happy mind usually produces great physical results, at least I'm banking on it hehe. Plus a number of Dallas/Ft. Worth people will be there either racing or spectating along with friends from Austin and Houston which will make it even better.
Ahmed sent me this week's schedule and I'm ready to work the increased volume. Two three hour rides this week and 3 other 1hr-2hrs...I'll be taking my brother on the South Ride as that's a little over 2hrs plus a loop around White Rock and back home makes 3. For Sunday we'll join the RBM peeps to make things a little more interesting. 5 much needed swims, the usual Track Thursday, 2x weights (yay!!!), and another of the weekend open water swims at Joe Pool with the group followed by an hr run (hopefully along the infamous dam).
In two weeks I'll be at beautiful Lubbock, TX haha for the 70.3. Everything about that race seems like it was created just for me- heat, hills, distance. I'm hoping for the hottest day of the yr with no clouds :)
It'll be fun to see what isolating myself into short course for the past couple of months does to my long distance performance. I'm hoping that I don't get my pacing all messed up from going out to the run as if it were a 10k or sprint haha, that would be an ugly ending. Also, though I've been trouble-free nutrition wise at all previous races, not having trained with any gatorade, cabro pro, etc since Ironman,(the only sport products I've used are like 2-3 powergels IN races), has me a little concerned that my stomach may freak out. So this week and the next I'll be re-introducing my body to that good o'l engineered stuff...after all, they say we're a quickly-adaptable species. The lovely fact is that the whole day I'll be in my comfort zone and a happy mind usually produces great physical results, at least I'm banking on it hehe. Plus a number of Dallas/Ft. Worth people will be there either racing or spectating along with friends from Austin and Houston which will make it even better.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Survivor: Vancouver
OMG, that was an experience!
First off, I'm glad to say that overall I had a great day out there.
The conditions were tough for everyone, but since I particularly don't thrive in the cold am very happy with my race.
The water felt like an ice bath. After about 500-600m, or roughly halfway...the swim ended up being about 1k or 1.1k...the water started to get pretty choppy. Apparently it progressed throughout the event because someone told me the 40+ male categories got their race turned into a duathlon since boats couldnt even control themselves and were hitting swimmers.
I have never been so overjoyed to reach land!!! I fumbled a little on the shore being numb from my knees down. On the bike, it was actually quite pleasant; the trees all around blocked any wind so I was able to get my body temp up to a comfortable place. I felt great on the bike and made up a lot of time from coming out of the water in the middle pack...especially on the flat sections and downhills, man I love riding downhill into corners :) Onto the run...toes were numb for about 2k. It was 3 loops and I was feeling stronger each time. My legs felt like they hadn't just biked. The lead girls were flying and i knew some of them from natl's and collegiate nat's (at least the USA ones) so their runs + awesome swim times, had me standing no chance of making up positions over a 10k. I did want to pee pretty bad (sorry for being so blunt but it's triathlon so yea hehe) but obviously stopping to use the portapotty in an oly takes a lot from your race vs in an ironman or half were the time spent is worth it to feel good for running; so that was kind of annoying. Anyway, I had a great race, and gave all that was in me. Unfortunately the splits aren't up yet as I'm eager to see where I lost the most time. Back to work when I get home, keeping on the focus of progressing the swim the most, secondly the run, and maintaining my bike speed for now.
After the race i changed quickly and had brunch at the best place i have ever eaten in my life bar none- the Fish House. I'd be happy to sit there all my life waiting for the next meal to come haha ;)
Now I'm back at the hotel so thought I'd post a quick report before I take the biggest nap of my life.
Congrats to everyone who not only finished the race, but even started it!
First off, I'm glad to say that overall I had a great day out there.
The conditions were tough for everyone, but since I particularly don't thrive in the cold am very happy with my race.
The water felt like an ice bath. After about 500-600m, or roughly halfway...the swim ended up being about 1k or 1.1k...the water started to get pretty choppy. Apparently it progressed throughout the event because someone told me the 40+ male categories got their race turned into a duathlon since boats couldnt even control themselves and were hitting swimmers.
I have never been so overjoyed to reach land!!! I fumbled a little on the shore being numb from my knees down. On the bike, it was actually quite pleasant; the trees all around blocked any wind so I was able to get my body temp up to a comfortable place. I felt great on the bike and made up a lot of time from coming out of the water in the middle pack...especially on the flat sections and downhills, man I love riding downhill into corners :) Onto the run...toes were numb for about 2k. It was 3 loops and I was feeling stronger each time. My legs felt like they hadn't just biked. The lead girls were flying and i knew some of them from natl's and collegiate nat's (at least the USA ones) so their runs + awesome swim times, had me standing no chance of making up positions over a 10k. I did want to pee pretty bad (sorry for being so blunt but it's triathlon so yea hehe) but obviously stopping to use the portapotty in an oly takes a lot from your race vs in an ironman or half were the time spent is worth it to feel good for running; so that was kind of annoying. Anyway, I had a great race, and gave all that was in me. Unfortunately the splits aren't up yet as I'm eager to see where I lost the most time. Back to work when I get home, keeping on the focus of progressing the swim the most, secondly the run, and maintaining my bike speed for now.
After the race i changed quickly and had brunch at the best place i have ever eaten in my life bar none- the Fish House. I'd be happy to sit there all my life waiting for the next meal to come haha ;)
Now I'm back at the hotel so thought I'd post a quick report before I take the biggest nap of my life.
Congrats to everyone who not only finished the race, but even started it!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Vancouver
It's only 3:45am right now haha so I guess I'm still functioning on Dallas time. Yesterday afternoon I got into Vancouver. Luckily I ran into a friend from Dallas that's also racing and he and his wife were kind enough to give me a ride to my hotel. I LOVE MY HOTEL. I'm at the Hyatt Regency and the room is gorgeous not to mention the location. Vancouver is an awesome city! Yesterday I couldn't see too much of it as I unpacked, etc and it was cold/rainy all evening. Since everything's walking distance, very NYish, I headed over to one of the Mexican team director's hotel to pick up my race uniform and other stuff. But I forgot she told me she would leave it in the front desk for me so when I got there and she was not in her room, I left and yea made the walk there for nothing! At least I got to check out the cool little shops/cafes/restaurants on Robson St hehe.
After that I came back to the hotel for a hot shower and went to dinner with a friend from Mexico City, he's not racing, but goes to the University here. Dinner was awesome, we landed at an Italian place called CinCin and I had a really good risotto. Then went back to the hotel and pretty much fell asleep immediately.
Today on my schedule is a 30min ez run (more of a jog), 30min swim, and 1hr spin. I've decided to run on the treadmill at the hotel fitness center as soon as it opens, or as soon as it is a reasonable hour for someone sane to be running on the treadmill and 4am doesn't sound like it. It's sooooo cold outside and coming from 90 degree weather that we've had in Dallas I'm very worried. My friend and I plan on riding around 10am, but the forecast says it's going to rain all day and if that's the case then I'm going to bag that workout because there's no point in being out wet/cold the day before, or risk falling, or getting a flat on my new tires(99% of the flats I've had were in rain). Then comes the swim...it's 53 degree water. Someone said they might change it to a 900m swim. I'd be thrilled about that if it were some local meaningless race, but Worlds? Uhhm no, I didn't fly all the way up here to freeze my a** off and race an unoffical distance. So as much as I'd enjoy not being cold that long, if I'm going to suffer anyway, let's have it be worth it to its max. I'm hoping to find a bike shop close to the hotel because I forgot arm warmers and that looks like it will be a must for tomorrow.
Anyway, I'm happy to have made it in fine, had a good flight, and all looks ready for race day.
P.S. A warning to report to anyone flying on American Airlines soon...you'll now pay for check-in luggage(!!!), and bike boxes (at least to Canada) are $100 each way. If that's not a sign of our economic crisis I don't know what is.
After that I came back to the hotel for a hot shower and went to dinner with a friend from Mexico City, he's not racing, but goes to the University here. Dinner was awesome, we landed at an Italian place called CinCin and I had a really good risotto. Then went back to the hotel and pretty much fell asleep immediately.
Today on my schedule is a 30min ez run (more of a jog), 30min swim, and 1hr spin. I've decided to run on the treadmill at the hotel fitness center as soon as it opens, or as soon as it is a reasonable hour for someone sane to be running on the treadmill and 4am doesn't sound like it. It's sooooo cold outside and coming from 90 degree weather that we've had in Dallas I'm very worried. My friend and I plan on riding around 10am, but the forecast says it's going to rain all day and if that's the case then I'm going to bag that workout because there's no point in being out wet/cold the day before, or risk falling, or getting a flat on my new tires(99% of the flats I've had were in rain). Then comes the swim...it's 53 degree water. Someone said they might change it to a 900m swim. I'd be thrilled about that if it were some local meaningless race, but Worlds? Uhhm no, I didn't fly all the way up here to freeze my a** off and race an unoffical distance. So as much as I'd enjoy not being cold that long, if I'm going to suffer anyway, let's have it be worth it to its max. I'm hoping to find a bike shop close to the hotel because I forgot arm warmers and that looks like it will be a must for tomorrow.
Anyway, I'm happy to have made it in fine, had a good flight, and all looks ready for race day.
P.S. A warning to report to anyone flying on American Airlines soon...you'll now pay for check-in luggage(!!!), and bike boxes (at least to Canada) are $100 each way. If that's not a sign of our economic crisis I don't know what is.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
taper, cold, mixed feelings
It's Tuesday which means I leave the day after tomorrow and perhpas it would be a good idea to start packing...hmmm, for some reason I've been delaying this. I haven't even glued my tires, actually cuz I want to do that after my easy 1hr ride tomorrow morning so I don't have to switch 2 times (yes, i train with my rear zipp 404 cuz it's got the powertap hub on it and getting another hub for the training wheel is not in the budget right now hehe). I still have to go buy gels, Powerbar chocolate of course, and two water bottles since somehow I managed to loose 4 last wk.
My mom and brother get here this evening. Hopefully around 8ish because I still have to clean my apartment, not like it's messy but if you knew my mom you'd understand. Color coordinated, measured, and shiny everything is bare minimum.
This morning I got up at 3am STARVING so I ran to the fridge ate a banana and then was knocked back to sleep until 6ish. Once again I couldn't get rid of the hunger...the last week or so I've been abnormaly hungry, weird....so made myself some ezekiel toast w/ almond butter and jelly and was off to starbucks for some coffee. I actually don't like Starbucks so much but I broke my coffee machine and haven't been around to getting another one. Boy did I need caffeine today. After Sunday's training was over I was DEAD! Yesterday I pretty much layed on my couch staring with no motivation to even think. I like tapering but the absorption of all the training makes me feel slow and weak.
Anyway, then once the sun was up it was time to ride and hour with 9X5mins as 1min efforts of 1st half of race pace this time, then 4min training zone. Once riding I felt great which was pleasing cuz I thought I'd be dragging.
So now I'm home still delaying the inevitable of getting ready for Vancouver, my mom does such a great job at packing haha :-) After an appt at noon I'll get my 30min run and 30min swim in before heading to work.
The weather for the race is supposed to be in the 45-60F range which has me at an excitement of about 2 on a scale of 1-10. Add to that my mixed feelings about the whole thing...it's odd but I'm more pumped about Lubbock, which is not an A race in the least, than I am about Worlds. What the hell? I dunno but I just can't bring myself the eagerness and fire that I've had for previous big races like Kona and the qualifier. I hope the next 72 hours of more r&r gets me in the zone. A little voice in the back of my head creeps in every now and then saying "maybe the last couple of training races are a sign that you're meant for long distance". But I'm reminded that this is as much coach's decision as it is mine and whether by the end of the yr we discover that hey, longer is better in my case, it's still smart to lay off super long (ie IM) for now. I guess patience is my biggest fault, in waiting to discover what potential I have especially in swimming, but also in getting speed in my legs. It's not speed "back" as I can't say I ever had it...before triathlon I didn't run more than 2-3miles and only because we had to for tennis maybe once a month.
Well, enough dwelling...day by day, we'll see what goes down come Saturday
Cheers.
My mom and brother get here this evening. Hopefully around 8ish because I still have to clean my apartment, not like it's messy but if you knew my mom you'd understand. Color coordinated, measured, and shiny everything is bare minimum.
This morning I got up at 3am STARVING so I ran to the fridge ate a banana and then was knocked back to sleep until 6ish. Once again I couldn't get rid of the hunger...the last week or so I've been abnormaly hungry, weird....so made myself some ezekiel toast w/ almond butter and jelly and was off to starbucks for some coffee. I actually don't like Starbucks so much but I broke my coffee machine and haven't been around to getting another one. Boy did I need caffeine today. After Sunday's training was over I was DEAD! Yesterday I pretty much layed on my couch staring with no motivation to even think. I like tapering but the absorption of all the training makes me feel slow and weak.
Anyway, then once the sun was up it was time to ride and hour with 9X5mins as 1min efforts of 1st half of race pace this time, then 4min training zone. Once riding I felt great which was pleasing cuz I thought I'd be dragging.
So now I'm home still delaying the inevitable of getting ready for Vancouver, my mom does such a great job at packing haha :-) After an appt at noon I'll get my 30min run and 30min swim in before heading to work.
The weather for the race is supposed to be in the 45-60F range which has me at an excitement of about 2 on a scale of 1-10. Add to that my mixed feelings about the whole thing...it's odd but I'm more pumped about Lubbock, which is not an A race in the least, than I am about Worlds. What the hell? I dunno but I just can't bring myself the eagerness and fire that I've had for previous big races like Kona and the qualifier. I hope the next 72 hours of more r&r gets me in the zone. A little voice in the back of my head creeps in every now and then saying "maybe the last couple of training races are a sign that you're meant for long distance". But I'm reminded that this is as much coach's decision as it is mine and whether by the end of the yr we discover that hey, longer is better in my case, it's still smart to lay off super long (ie IM) for now. I guess patience is my biggest fault, in waiting to discover what potential I have especially in swimming, but also in getting speed in my legs. It's not speed "back" as I can't say I ever had it...before triathlon I didn't run more than 2-3miles and only because we had to for tennis maybe once a month.
Well, enough dwelling...day by day, we'll see what goes down come Saturday
Cheers.
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