wHaT iT iS

Taking the driver's seat

2012-01-24T10:08:00.003-06:00

Reading over my last post it seems like I'm reading about another person. It's funny how quickly we can distance ourselves from situations we're no longer in no matter how recently we experienced them and how intense they were. You know...like when you have the flu and you feel like a truck ran you over and you cannot even remember what it felt like to breathe normally and have energy. Then you get well and you can't relate to having the flu at all. I guess that's why women that have had a kid go on to have another...I don't know from experience but it's clear the pain is severe.

Well, it's almost a month later and I'm proud and happy to say that I've taken the driver's seat of my life like never before and fully done a 180 heath wise. The rash/itching hasn't come back, my energy level is better than ever, and the fire to achieve my goals (some "realistic" some that others would call "impossible") is BURNING!

What I did isn't science, but it something that for the past 5 years I've been in the sport just didn't feel right to me- namely backing off the volume and the idea of Ironman. Ironman is why I got into this sport- reading about it in a magazine and seeing that documentary "What It Takes" back in 2006. So every December I'd rest but come January I'd be all about long bike rides and big base building in an effort to become strong, durable, and fit for long distance. Oh how I was so so so wrong! But it had to come to me naturally- like that whirlwind of hell I experienced last month. So this January my priority was nutrition, sleep, and finesse.

Finesse meant this: rehab in chiro, ART, and massage....core work (lots!)...yoga, sport specific weights...and working on the thing I love most about triathlon and what isn't really my "strength" per se, but definitely the one that comes more naturally to me= running!

So onto the running...To say I've developed an obsession about it is an understatement. In one month I've become quite the history buff on the sport, and the fan of some amazing athletes in track and distance running. By the time the marathon trials came last weekend, I had a new plan and desire to do whatever it takes (and it will take years!) to get the most of an elite runner that I have in me (whether that be a little or a lot- I'm going to go to the depths of discovering it).

I have never ever been so inspired watching a sporting event as I did seeing Shalane, Desi, and Kara perform in Houston. Knowing their individual backgrounds in the sport and what it took for them to get to punch that ticket to London over the years blew me away.

Primarily it made me realize that I have so much more work that I can do. As Kara said in her pre race interview when she spoke about complacency, I think every athlete at one point whether they have a conscious realization of it or not, reaches complacency. Well now I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid to work like a true professional. Over the years I've let myself fall victim to the fear of certain training that simply people with a family, an overwhelming full time job, or who are just past their prime cannot do. Well I can. I have the time, the desire, and the ability.

That said, this month has been about becoming a runner. A mere dot on the spectrum that is years of miles ahead of me. It will allow me to push my triathlon performance to the next level. Quickly it has already fixed a lot of my bike issues that came with useless long rides. I've also found that just riding 3-4x/wk for less than 2.5hrs and all at a good clip, coupled with my increased fitness from all the running, has led to much better bike fitness (surprise!).

As 2012 kicks off I am so excited to put in writing what I am training for:

To have an FUN and SOLID pro debut year racing Galveston, Honu, Vineman....2 others I don't know yet...and hopefully/maybe Vegas Worlds

To run the Rock n Roll half as a KEY race in end of November in San Antonio ....or the Vegas Half in December as a RUNNER

While still dabbling in 70.3s in the coming years, after some non drafting sprints and Olympic distance events this year, and once my new visa comes in and I can travel internationally as I please, my long term goal is to make the 2016 Olympic team for Mexico.

About that- you might ask, well wouldn't it have been better to give that a try before the eight Ironmans? Well I'll be frank- I never ever thought I could get my swimming, or my running to ITU level. But despite what Ironman takes out of you, it gave me a lot more in return! It gave me incredible mental strength, it gave me years of long rides, plenty by myself, plenty of long runs, and a lot of swimming that in a sense was my base for the speed I will now add. The opposite way to approach it by normal standards but for me I needed to believe. I now believe that I can get my swim and run there, because (whether I have any of it or not) I believe talent is overrated. I know that I love swimming, and I adore running, and I will rack up 30,000m+ swim weeks, I am thrilled to reach 70+mi run weeks, and I am willing to put in this work with the vision of a long term plan. I am now at the maturity in this sport and have the confidence to give it my best shot. There are no more doubts, it's quite simple- put in the miles.

If I fail, I don't care as long as come 2016 I know I gave it all I had. In the end, the training will still do wonders for my long course racing and since I love it I will have an incredible time in my late 20's.

You live once, JUST DO IT.

Sacrificing Health for Sport

2011-12-22T21:25:00.003-06:00

Athletes are supposed to be the epitomy of health right?...Of balance, strength, stamina, speed, agility, and power. But that’s hardly the case. To be an elite athlete, to compete at world class level, and to even go on doing so for years- decades- requires some sacrifice of health.

Putting aside health consequences of drug use- like steroids in baseball, to name one- I want to talk about sacrificing our health by pushing through injury, ignoring it until it becomes chronic pain that we just keep shutting up; or pushing through states of fatigue until we blur the line between tired and having our entire hormonal/adrenal system in turmoil; or simply too much of whatever it is that we do.

Reading Andre Agassi’s “Open” is one example. Growing up watching Andre play, I never would’ve guessed behind those ridiculous shots he nailed, the superhuman way he moved along the court, and all the victories, that here was a guy in his 30’s lying down on a hard floor before matches because his back was in excruciating pain.

Well I’m not here to write a book, nor am I claiming to be crippled or with chronic fatigue- it even makes me feel bad going into detail about my issues when all in all I’m a healthy 24 year old and (knock on wood) have never suffered a major illness or life threatening accident.

I do, however, want to provide an insight on what racing and training for 8 Ironmans from age 19 to age 24, along with multiple Half IM’s and dozens of other shorter races, has done to my body so that other teenagers out there wanting to go down this path think twice.
(emphasis on the Ironmans, not the other stuff that I do believe is healthy, Ironman I do not believe to be healthy AT ALL….but I still love it, I guess that makes me crazy).

First of all, I have no regrets, and I was warned that I was too young to keep doing this year after year. But in pursuit of my goal to conquer Kona, meaning achieve what I deemed to be “special” in that race, I kept plugging along, ignoring what would inevitably come back to haunt me.

When I came home from Cozumel to San Antonio, I expected 4-5 days of napping, being constantly hungry, and heavy legged. I did not expect to feel like a complete zombie, have constant migraine like headaches, random stomach issues, and bouts of dizziness for 10 days. I also did not expect to break out in hives 8 days after the race because of a soap from the gym. Looking back at the allergic reaction, after speaking with my homeopath and being on a med since Dec 9 after landing at Urgent Care because my entire body (I’m talking even my butt) was covered in hives- was more than just an allergy. Hives are also brought about by stress or by a detox in your system. The honmeopath made me look back and think if this really was the first flare up. No, it wasn’t. After Kona, in a week training for Coz that had me exhausted, I was in the middle of a long run and had the same reaction- think exercise urticaria.

Perhaps that whole nightmare was a blessing because it forced me to really question how quick I want to get back in to training. My plan now is not until mid January. I tried doing a duathlon with Daniel last Sunday and while I “won” that doesn’t tell the truth. When I crossed the line barely being able to hold sub 7:15 for 5ks(!!) my brother looked like he’d seen a ghost- I was puffed up….I mean like you could squeeze my fingers, my face was all swollen and cankles are an understatement. My entire body did something scary and I don’t know what the hell it was but I did not like it.

It’s been 3 weeks and today I sort of felt like half myself. I felt ok a few days before the allergy ever started but I guess it showed up to stop me because I would’ve been training again by now for sure. The day before flying back to San Diego I had this weird episode at the gym after riding 20min on the spin bike and doing some abs- I got very nauseous and lightheaded and suddenly fell- luckily didn’t flat out faint, just snapped back as quick as I fell.

Ok that’s part 1. Part 2 came today

I went to yoga. I’ve always sucked at Yoga so it was no surprise that I couldn’t touch my toes. What was a surprise was looking at the 50 yr olds in envy. It seemed reverse….like I should be middle aged seeing them be my age and thinking “oh to be young again”.

I look in the mirror and see the slant in my hip and the dip in my back from my bike accident in 2008. It’s been the cause of my constant struggle to be comfortable on a bike, but I’m used to stopping numerous times to adjust cleat bolts even in 2hr rides…I’m used to my left hip and knee, or my right knee from compensating, hurting and swelling during every ride. So it was only normal to see my legs trembling because I had no balance, and my left knee not able to stand that leg on its own without hurting really bad.

Last year when I did yoga it was not so bad, but this year was my last chance for my goal in Kona (which I still didn’t reach by 2min), and so I trained harder, ignored absolutely everything from my bike pains, and told myself I don’t care if I can’t function after Hawaii I just want to blow that race away.

Well now I’ve turned pro, and now I see the signs of a breaking tired self. It’s like these last 3 weeks all 8 Ironmans came down on me at once. I feel so weird and unlike myself it troubles me. I have no choice but to step back, really far back and address all of these things because I will not make the gains I want if I don’t fix my body inside out.

At this point I’m still sorting out the bike I’ll be riding next season, so for the next couple of days I’ll enjoy spinning a road bike around the coast. Then will be fix #1 going back to Studio DNA with a bike that fits my size and get retuled from ground zero.

In the meantime I’ll be a Yogi, and doing some work at Rehab United to work on what I can’t work on once I’m really training. I’m running and swimming as I wish and eating cleaner than ever before.
Lastly getting constant work chiro work by Rob, and ART from Dan, and getting blood work next week. This is what will really let me know if something is of deeper concern. I know my hormones are not in balance at all…I know for various reasons which I don’t want to go into.

So that’s my price for my sport. It’s not every ones price for triathlon, but we all have our own issues- some have bike accidents, some get a gnarly injury like plantar, some unfortunately get hit by illness, others mentally burn out…..some go through sport rather smoothly. I’m not the worst case, or even a terrible one, but this month I’m experiencing things I never thought I’d go through this young. It has made me value my health even more and forced me to take a much later start to the season, and address things not only for continued success and improvement in triathlon, but for my well being as a person.

I hope reading this at least makes you assess your own state of being.

Steppin it up in Cozumel

2011-11-28T05:44:00.000-06:00

I spent the week down in Cozumel before the race, meeting new people, relaxing by the pool, and eating some darn good ceviche!

I wasn’t nervous at all going into this race. After all, it’s just another Ironman. Excited though- very much so!

A few of the pros I knew going into this race, were super friendly, and lining up right before the swim I got nothing but smiles….and I’m pretty sure they weren’t the “haha little girl we’re gonna school ya”.

We got into the beautiful warm waters of Chakanab with enough time for a little warm up and then we were off.

Therein lies the first amazingly beautiful thing about racing pro: the swim was not a cagefight the whole way! It’s like there’s a mutual understanding that we’re all going to swim hard, end up on feet or next to each other and if you can’t cut it you’ll be off the back…no need to elbow you or sink you down.

I found a good pack right away and it seems I stayed there the whole time, coming in with the top girls- minus like two that swam 40s high.

Honestly the swim felt super super comfortable- cruise effort the whole way.

Into T1 all was good and off to the bike I went.

On the bike I was going to put out the same effort as in Hawaii and just ignore the girls as they went by, because I had to be realistic with my bike strength and any catching up/moving up spots was really going to come down to the run for me.

Before this race I was told numerous times that in your first times as pro, especially if the bike is your weak point you’ll be alone. This was said as a warning. I, however, adore riding alone. I train alone almost all of the time, and in age group for some reason I ended up in noman’s land all the time as it is.

This held true until half way through the 2nd loop, then I caught 2 other pro women, and some of the age groupers. I was also getting caught by the lead ag men, so really I saw about the same people as I do in other races. Certainly I was glad I was not near the age group packs that form in a flat race like this, because that is extremely sketchy! One wrong move in that one lane road and there goes your day.

Anyway, as to how I felt- I just didn’t have that spark in my legs like I did in Kona. Maybe I overshot some of my training leading in, maybe I still had some deep Hawaii fatigue, maybe it was mental, I don’t know.

I felt ok but just not on fire like I did a month prior. Also, the first 1hr my back and hips were really sore- it was weird!
That said, I am entirely happy with my effort and the result. I could not have ridden faster on the day, and to me that’s all that counts: how much you give. Plus, 2 min faster than last year, on a much windier day- I’ll take it!

T2…..oh this was a nightmare. Please don’t laugh.

So I get in, change into my comfy running shorts- best move ever in Kona (I feel like a runner, they’re dry and free-ing). Into the porta poty I go and leave my flask with salt tabs and 3 gels on my chair and tell the volunteers I’m just going to the bathroom.

I run in, and then spent 30-45secs fumbling with the safety pin for my bib number that came off. Easy to do when you’re just at home….in T2 with shaky hands and in a hurry, not so much.

I come out and my salt flask and gels are gone! They had taken them…like to return to me in my bags at the end of the race. WTF?!?!??!?!?! I don’t appreciate ignorance with initiative- that is by far the biggest flaw in humans. If you don’t know, don’t take initiative!

So the girl says “oh you needed it, it’s gone….wait can you hold on?” Uhhm no! I’m racing! I stand their dumfounded hoping maybe they will just run right in with my flask- the most important thing but no.

I sped out pissed. Actually worried more than anything because if it stayed hot the whole run like it did last year, I would’ve been screwed.

Luckily, cloud cover popped up and after the first loop, for loops two and three, the heavens came down.

I felt ok on the run. It got progressively better which is rarely the case, for me at least, in Ironman. The first lap I didn’t think I was going to be able to keep going I was in a daze. At one point I was seeing blurry, and my stomach hurt bad. I just prayed this was an ache and not the beginning of runs on the run again! But I knew I had to finish this race and I had to finish running not in shambles like last year.

Again, my legs didn’t have the spring they did a month ago. But at least I was running decent. I started eating bananas with coke in loop 2 and that saved me! I had never tried bananas and it was awesome.

In loop two I climbed back into 10th, played cat and mouse with another girl, and eventually held 9th.

I am thrilled at conquering this feeling of hell and it’s a lesson that things can always get better! I ran as strong as I could and the best definition for what I did this day was GUT IT OUT.

When it started raining and we were literally traversing a knee deep “river” of flooded streets, I just had to chuckle. It made for an epic day.

So I end the season, proud of what I’ve accomplished and sure beyond a doubt that I made the right move at the right time to start racing pro. I am also sure beyond any miniscule doubt that Ironman is out of my life for about 5 years. I cannot wait to have the spring, speed, and feeling of real racing that comes with sprints/Olympics/70.3

For now, it’s time to relax, keep moving with some other activities, and enjoy the holidays with family and friends.

Thanks to my support team:

Nytro Women- I had a ball this year racing along side you girls, and to Kristin- thank you for all you did for us! I can’t wait to see what next year holds for ya’ll.

Nytro- thanks Skip and all the guys at Nytro for being there for me, and simply being the best bike shop!

Beaker Concepts- Few people are behind me like you. I appreciate all the advice, and help.

Newton- Best running shoes in the world. I had my best year of running and no gnarly blisters or injuries.

TYR- ya’ll are swimming. Thanks for the new 54min swim PR!

Reynolds Wheels- Best out there! I knew that if my legs didn’t show up to ride, at least I had the wheels to keep me going forward fast.

Lifesport – Thank you coach Paul for an amazing season!

Nuttzo- No nut butter compares. Glad I could get others hooked on this too!

Cozumel, here we go!

2011-11-18T14:03:00.004-06:00

A LOT has happened since Kona and lucky for me, it's all been great! I enjoyed some down time, indulged in some sinful, but oh-so-delicious, *healthy* junk :) and jumped right back into some quality training for Cozumel.

Right after I ran the Irongirl 10k in Del Mar two weeks ago off a heavy 7-10 days of real workouts, I was smashed...and I mean burried 100ft below ground. So much so that I struggled moving from my bed to the couch and fridge. I even started to wonder if I could race at all and concluded that if this continued into the end of that week I'd pull the plug.

It wasn't only the training, I also moved in 24hrs to my own condo in Carlsbad- which I'm super stoked about...but going from boxes to literally "home" in that time period has its heavy price. It was worth it though- I'd rather work as if on speed and give myself a perfect living environment than dance around it and not be completely comfortable.

But, never underestimate the power of hibernation! After two days of playing "bear" I bounced right back and now am into my first day of taper having polished off some of my best-feeling rides and runs so far this season :)

I tried hard to keep the same weight I had for Kona- 110 race morning, but something about doing back to back Ironmans has me much hungrier during and after training. So while I didn't stray completely off track, I did sturdy myself with 4lbs extra weight for this race. In all I'm ok with this because I'm not feeling on any cusp, I'm healthy, strong, and I'm still at what I consider (for me) race weight.

So now it's Friday and all that's left is a few workouts this weekend, lots of packing, and off to Me-hee-co!!

No matter what the result of my first pro race, I will only ever get one "first pro race" just like my first Ironman, and that is special itself. I'm fit, healthy, happy, and grateful. I will give it my absolute best, and will toe that line with the confidence of knowing I belong. I have no expecations (really for the first time ever haha) except of myself to not let up one bit and stay mentally strong. I will say this though, the Ironman slogan got it right: ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

Can we please move on

2011-10-26T18:51:00.002-05:00

This is the last thing I'll post on my blog related to my immigration issue. But as I was recently given a glimpse of hope at a full time job here in San Diego, a new conversation with my attorney arose, and I stumbled upon an obstacle that I never knew existed.

As far as I knew, all that was needed for me to get a job here was the willingness of company X to hire me and pay for the legal fees required for the visa. Brundage, whom I currently work for, hired me right when my visa expired and since the process moved along without issue, these requirements that I recently found out about went without my attention.

Let this be a final "shut up" and middle finger raised at anyone who's ever hinted, explicitly, or implicitly, about my unwillingness to "just get a job". A) I have one that, yes, I can do from the comfort of my couch. Sorry to those who have to be in a cubicle all day. B) to please the jealous/judgmental/whatever your title should be who obviously would like everyone else including me to be 9-5ing like them, here's a last little peak at what I face:

Today, while researching PR/Marketing firms in San Diego and the surrounding areas, as I have done numerous times before in hopes that I'll luck out, I happened across Mindgruve. They are in Carlsbad which would be perfect for me, and they are hiring for a part time admin coordinator. If I was American, and they liked what they saw on my resume, it'd be as simple as "you're hired, when can you start?" and boom, I'd be on payroll in a jiffy.

But, here's what must happen in my case: Said company has to
1) offer a job that corresponds to what I majored in- marketing, ok cool check!
2) pay legal fees...does the company want me that bad over a free American employee? I don't know
3) *NEW TO ME* offer a job that is not a "sales" job...the government does not consider that "professional"
4) *NEW TO ME* offer a job that requires a Bachelor's degree...uhhhm from the looks of the job description, nope! It's part time, and while there's a lot of computer literacy, etc skills required, there's no mention of a degree needed.

Those are the basics, it then gets more complicated with other criteria such as number of employees in the company...etc

FYI I sent them an email...I am an extremely optimistic person, but I'll likely prove my point further with their response.

In conclusion (this isn't a high school paper so forgive the retarded ending phrase, but from the constant nagging I get about this issue, it appears people either refuse to believe me, or are just plain stupid), it is not that I don't want even a part time job, at the very least (if I were such a lazy a**) to build my resume/work experience, or God-forbid I suffer an injury and can't be an athlete anymore- it's that I have a dozen more hurdles than an American applicant; and from the standpoint of the company, I'm a process, while others are a quick fix.

Yes I swim, bike, run AAANNNDDDD work from home (I am well aware how AWESOME this is). I don't talk about what I do because few do talk about their work especially in social media, unless THAT IS their job. Yes I have a great life and a loving family. Yes a lot of what I have I haven't had to earn myself and with that I've stumbled upon many envious remarks/attitudes. But my family has also gone through very hard periods, as we all do in this volatile life.

Here's the moral of this post, if there ever was one...if you can look at yourself in the mirror and like, no love, what you see and are thankful for the life you have, that is happiness. Do not look for it in the success or failure of others.

Kona: where it started, where it paused, where it will end.

2011-10-11T15:01:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: As you may know, my blog is raw. Meaning you get the real me. Often times it is not PC…but that wouldn’t make it as interesting or real. You are free to agree or disagree. To like it, love it, or hate it. But I hope at least you draw something meaningful and worthwhile out of it.

PREFACE
This race was the end of the beginning. I’ve been racing in the 18-24 age group since I started the sport at 19. A friend asked me the other day “when the heck are you going to be 25?” I responded “never, I’m Peter Pan” hehe.

But, alas, I would indeed age up next year. The countless times I’ve heard that I shine because of the category I’m in are humoring. I’d venture to say 9/10 times I race I still would’ve podiumed across all age groups.

This World Championship confirmed that, as I came 11th female Amateur and 32nd F overall. In 25-29 I would’ve been 2nd. Actually given my 2min to break 10hrs, I would’ve loved to have been in 25-29…I’ll explain why further down this post.

As with most things, there’s a huge build up- external as well as internal (within ourselves), and suddenly in a blink it’s gone and you’re only as good as your last result.

4 years ago I never would’ve imagined I would just now be turning pro. With a few good results at the start, I figured it would be no time at all before I saw magnificent gains- enough to take that leap on solid ground. Often I’ve found myself in ruts of injury, frustration, accidents, being above the weight I know I would race best at, etc. However, it happens to all of us, and as a strong believer that everything works out for a reason, at the bare minimum to teach us something, I sit here without regrets, without an ounce of pity for myself, and with raging motivation and excitement for what the future holds.

Despite not reaching my ultimate goal this past weekend, I know sub 10, actually sub 9:50 was in me- and that, not the AG win, is exactly why I’m seeking Pro status. To extract that absolute magic race where your absolute potential comes out though, is few and far between. That’s why in retrospect it’s easy to beat yourself up because only hindsight shows us where those tiny but significant obstacles throughout the day (mental or physical) weren’t surpassed.

Having said that, of course I am proud of my accomplishment Saturday. Starting around April I fixed myself to set up a solid race in Hawaii and it came through. As in Vineman, where I had a good Half, I won’t let myself dwell on an instance of success for long.

Those 2min remain to be eliminated and so I’m working on getting into Ironman Cozumel to kick off my first Pro race in my own country. After that, no more Ironman- just numerous Olympics, and 70.3’s next year to try and qualify for Vegas Worlds Sept 2012.

To get my arse kicked badly and be a tiny fish in a sea full of sharks is what I’m most looking forward to. If I get last, if I wander around the middle, or if I podium or happen to win an event, it will all be a huge learning process the first year. But being forced to dig deeper by being in the back is what I yearn for the most. That is what I meant by wishing I was in 25-29 this past weekend. At some point in that marathon, our mind looks for any chance to rationalize and get relief from the pain. I wish I had been in 2nd chasing first. It was around mile 12 having just come off the slight downhill from the top of Palani heading to the Energy Lab that the fatigue was taking toll mentally more than physically and I let the thought of “well at least you have the AG win” creep in. That very moment is when I lost the sub 10- not when my coach was screaming to pick it up the last 4miles. I chose to settle instead of digging for what was still left inside.

PRERACE
I arrived in Kona Sept 17th to stay and train with my friend Brooke for our last key sessions. We had a really good time and some eye opening experiences such as riding the whole course without aid stations and other people. I had never done that and it forced me to analyze the course as it affects me, personally, and break the sections down visualizing exactly how I wanted to feel in each and what I would tell myself if I had a lull during that time.

The day before I left for Hawaii I went to see Dan Selstad- ART magician- for an emergency hamstring/adductor that I strained the week before. Someone please find out why a lot of us spend the whole year injury and sickness free only to have anything that can pop up do so before Kona!

Anyway, I spent a good deal of time icing, getting more ART, and worrying about it acting up during the marathon. These are the things that live in all of our heads before a race and that you only share with others after, and discover that you’re not alone and the universe isn’t conspiring to ruin your race ;) It’s just peaking/paranoia.

Adding to that was a hell of a wasp sting that left me itchy and swollen on my left quad for 4 days the week before the race.

The final blow was getting sick on Tuesday before the race. I woke up with a very sore throat, and thankfully started OD’ing on Vit C, Echinacea, Zinc, Oregano Oil, you name it, so it cleared by Friday. That was actually a blessing because it forced me to stay sequestered in my condo instead of parading around town.

RACE
I swam the course twice leading into the race. We were in a small group and nailing 1:02ish cruising. I was certain I would swim less than an hour. My swim was feeling the best it’s ever felt. But, typical Kona, even the swim conditions can vary your time GREATLY.

So I opted to line up further to the right nearly on the sea wall- instead of my usual spot near the Ford sign. It was me amongst a group of big dudes fighting for the very front of the line. Gun goes off and BOOM I am getting smacked in every direction and sunk to the ocean floor. I was hoping my eye was punched black so I’d at least look cool the rest of the day, but no luck.

I still felt like I was swimming well and when I exited the water I swear I head Mike Riley say “we are 55min into the Ironman” and I continued throughout the bike thinking I had just crushed the swim and feeling like a rockstar….little did I know I swam 1:05 HAHA. Classic.

Onto the bike I just rode hard and made sure to stay confident on the sections I knew were the toughest on me mentally- namely Mauna Kea resort to the Vet’s Cemetery. Well, telling myself over and over that this was MY section worked. The whole bike I felt good- never over riding, just solidly and fluidly pedaling along.

I was stoked to come into T2 breaking 5:30 for the bike, and was more than ready to throw on my run shorts… especially because (warning!) it was that lovely time of the month for me. Thus, T2 took a bit longer to get all set to run…..2min longer?? Haha

The run felt sooooooo easy the first 5k. I was cruising 6:55’s and here’s a perfect example of an amateur mistake: thinking “no that’s too fast, roughly a 3hr marathon, doesn’t make sense”. That should not have entered my head. I look back at that and want to slap myself for not having the guts to say “yes! 3ish pace, perfect! hold it till you can’t. there’s no reason at all you are not capable of that”. Maybe I would’ve still netted a 3:22, but maybe telling myself to hold it longer would’ve cut off, oh I dunno, 2min…. 

Still I kept a good clip until an intense side stitch slowed me down to almost a walk at mile 4. I dug my hand into my rib cage as hard as I could and either that or just time made it go away by mile 6. Palani sucked I was shivering and really feeling weak. However, I was on top of my salt, and taking in gels on a consistent basis- better than any IM. Palani to mile 12 was great, that slight downhill got my turnover going and I was getting a second wind.

Then came another dose of weak sauce: at the light before the Marina looking at the stretch to the Energy Lab I allowed myself to think. I allowed myself to contemplate the “endless stretch of road to the energy lab”. My mind told my body it was a long ass way and so it was ok to slow things down a bit. WTF?! WHY? Didn’t a want sub 10 sooo bad? Didn’t I know I could be well under that? …..No, see I had my AG win even if I just took down a notch. This is why athletes shouldn’t think when they race. It should be from the heart. My heart would never have settled.

Mile 15 like just before making the left to the Lab, I got myself out of the retardedness and picked it up again and fought for more pain. Bring it!

Out of the ELab to mile 23 I was all heart but my legs were just done. I tried to “pick it up” but I couldn’t enough. Once I started down Palani I was hurting. I knew 10hrs had passed but I just ran as fast as I could while trying to soak up my last stretch of the amazing Alii cheers for a couple of years. It was very emotional for me and awesome at the same time.

I crossed DONE.

Silence means...

2011-09-06T10:52:00.002-05:00

I'm too busy preparing to kick ass. Training is phenomenal and we're at T-12 days before I board the plane for Kona.

I can't wait to put in some quality swims bikes and runs on the Big I before taper with Brooke and Pierre- who both snatched their slots by dominating IM Coz last November.

There's one more little test of speed this Saturday at a local half marathon on Camp Pendelton which I expect to be a blast. Fast=fun ;)

For a bit I started regretting missing out on Vegas but the eye is on the grand prize and consistency will trump what would've been a "taper-get cooked in the desert-recover" scenario.

Ironman #7...lucky number seven.

Vineman 70.3 A Stepping Stone

2011-07-18T20:11:00.007-05:00

This trip to Vineman was an absolute ball. I drove up with my friend Eugene, and we arrived in wine country at around 1pm Friday. After check in and unpacking, we went for a swim in the Russian River with Beth & James. It was nice out but definitely cooler than the years prior. As much as I can't stand wetsuits, any fresh water swim makes me smile :)

That night we had an amazing dinner also with B&J at Willie's Raw Bar in Healdsburg- the cutest little town ever!- insane fish tacos, dunganese crab, and seared ahi that melted in your mouth like butter...heaven! I even had a glass of red.

The following day was sloooow...we lounged around in our hotel room until 10am hehe and then went to pick up our packets and eat lunch at KC Downtown Grill right in Windsor, blocks from the High School. I had a really good grilled salmon salad.

The pre race laziness continued as we went to the theatre to watch Horrible Bosses and then made our way back to Healdsburg to eat one of the most memorable meals I've had in my life at Gratitude Cafe. It's a vegan/raw/organic place and we ate POUNDS of food but amazingly felt light and energized after the meal. I am a raw food fan! The cafe also had a cool hippie bookstore and artifacts section and overall Buddhist feel with happy/grateful zen like titles for the dishes on menu.

Early to bed and RACE TIME.

Now I'll briefly go over swim bike run and then go into the core of this post which is to explain what this race means to me and how I will go forward from it.

Swim- lined up front right and had eyed the good swimmers from their warm up- you can spot a good stroke from here to China. At the first 25m I was ahead with another girl and then surely 4 or 5 more girls were with us. I was bummed they weren't hugging the edge as it negates the head-on current and instead swam right in the middle along the boueys. But oh well, you go were the draft is! In the blink of an eye the small bunch gapped my and another girl which I should've made sure never happened as the whole rest of the swim they were within sight but not quite reachable especially when we began swimming over other wave's slower swimmers. Regardless I knew the girl whose feet I was on was a good swimmer and passing her would yield the same time with a higher effort. So I was swimming super super comfortable and knew we'd be under 30. Came out in 28 and change- might've been 27low/mid with the other girls but I was content.
On to the bike.

The plan was ride hard. That's it. Just go at Olympic effort and get to T2 so I could get my run on. I had this f'ing annoying piece of dirt or maybe an eyelash in my left eye that was very irritating and didn't go away until about 15mi in! OMGosh I was praying I wouldn't have to deal with this the whole way what a nuisance. Cool thing was it took my focus off everything else so before I knew it I was close to 1/3 of the way into the bike. It rained on us a bit, the weather was cool, which had me bummin but whatever it's race day just keep on goin'!
Notice thing in my eye! haha

I got into T2 and felt good, but was sooo ready to be off my bike my hip flexors and low back were screamin...something I have to address on my set up this week.

Run- signature pee stop in T2 and I was out. I knew just holding it together mentally and staying just below 7's on the net up hill on the first half would pay off on the way home. So I saved a bit until mile 7 and then ran hard home.

Finished in 4:39, 1st AG, 2nd Amateur by a little over a min, and 15th OA.

Post race amazing dinner: lamb tenderloin in vegeterian broth w veggies and soba noodles:
Post race wine tasting:

For the first time since I can remember I felt amazing in all three mentally, and more importantly on the run I was elated to be running and even though I was running hard it wasn't suffering in any sense of the word. It was a good hard effort and reflected the way I've felt in and approached my training the last few months- confidence and skilled form.

So was this a breakthrough for me? Am I over the moon with joy and pride? NO, and No. It was a "it's about f'ing time" race, and while I am happy I am also disappointed in myself for not having done this 3 years ago when I could have and should have. This is the very reason I went home in March, why I cut the volume and focused on speed and mental strength, why I re adopted my freakish ways in nutrition and stepped outside the norm in social patterns.

I have looked at myself in the mirror and have looked away in shame. I have gone to the drawing board with my coach, leaned on family and friends that I know are there for me, and have gathered the balls to correct my mistakes by accepting what works for me and DOING IT.

Vineman for me was a check mark- I've finally done what I knew I could. Not exactly too late, but really pushing the cusp. Regardless, you give yourself a pat on the back for getting your sh*t together, and piecing a good race, and move on.

There's no need to swim in a river of glory from one result. For me this result is only a stepping stone for the level that I want and know I can compete at. It's the insatiable need for bigger greatness and higher victory that makes champions.

Now it's rest, recover, take all that Vineman gave me as part of my prep and get ready to PR in Kona by so much that it will seem unbelievable. But to me it will be a slightly tardy beginning into exactly what I came to do in this sport.

What?!

2011-06-23T09:12:00.002-05:00

As we age we undoubtedly pass through many stages. But they are not merely childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, "middle-age", & old age. The intricacies of those general, numerical based, stepping stones are individual paradigm shifts influenced from preceding experiences. Over time they help us find our “true self”. That is to say, the passions and interests embedded in our subconscious.

Some people go through life with a building block that is more or less set for them from a very young age by either their parents or themselves. I have friends that in middle school knew they were going to be doctors and, of course, are now full into their residency programs. A few were simply drawn to that field on their own. Others fell into it by way of tradition- one or more of their relatives practiced medicine. I also had girlfriends that from the time they could hold a doll you could see their faces illuminated with joy. They are now happy moms.

So where am I going with this…since this is a blog (primarily an athletic one), and you certainly didn’t click the link to read an entire book! 

Well, it’s my preface to explaining- not that I owe anyone an explanation, I just like to share my journey with others- why I decided (not on a whim!) to go to law school.

First, if you know me at all you know that I love to argue. That doesn’t mean I’m aggressive or angry, but the thrill of a good debate yields as much happiness and endorphins as the feeling of an “effortless” long run. As well, since the time I could thread words together I’ve been told I’m a natural manipulator. Too often people associate manipulation with deceit, selfishness, and basically deem it a vice. In the right context/use I believe it’s a virtue. I’m not advocating utilitarianism without the premise that it be good for the whole vs simply the individual- which as an attorney plays a vital role: arguing your case for the good of society (except of course defending a criminal/murderer). Namely, if you can manipulate a situation, or rephrase it, so that you can switch others’ perception for the best, then that is a virtuous skill!

Second, I didn’t just wake up one day and say “eh, to heck with this pro triathlon thing, time to move on to….hmmm….ooh, I know: law school”. By no means am I burnt out on this sport, and am certainly not giving up on my goal to turn pro one day (the day when I legitimately belong there- not just have a card in my wallet that labels me elite). Since I finished undergrad and moved out to California, I’ve slowly come to understand, by trial, that to be the best athlete you can be you need to balance it. Being an extremist, I figured if I had 24/7 to train, eat, sleep I’d reach my potential. Friends and family can say they told me so, but I needed to see for myself, in my own way, that it’s not the case.

As well, we can pretend to not care or like certain things, but the reality is we can choose what we like better but not what we actually like, for that is entrenched in our being (the soul, if you will) and sooner or later it will resurface. I told myself I didn’t care about pinching pennies, making minimal dollar as I chased my dream. But I call bulls**t on myself. I am entirely grateful for the privileged upbringing I was afforded and certainly want to maintain that lifestyle to old age. It is easy to go up, hard to go down. Plus, my passions have always related to the study of law. All of my free time as well as my elective courses in school, were filled with philosophy, sociology, political science, the Supreme Court, and debate. Moreover, as a highly driven individual, I’ll reiterate that it kills me to be 23 and not supporting myself at least more than 50%, immigration issues or not.

However, pertaining to the immigration side of things, law school certainly supports my trajectory toward permanent residency in the US.

Allow me to digress a bit and explain the immigration law:
- Right now I am on H-1B status for a part time job with Brundage Mgt. That visa does not lead to a green card.
- If I am hired for full time employment by Brundage, or any other company (a company has to sponsor you which entails proving you are more qualified than their US applicants, as well as pay the legal fees to bring you in to their co.) then that is grounds for a Green Card. But, for Mexicans, for the Green Card to yield permanent residency there is a backlog to 2005. This means all cases filed since 2005, go before mine. Translation: I see residency YEARS down the line- meanwhile I am working at a company that may or may not reflect my interests/skills or pay well.
- If my mom, now a citizen from marriage (sadly after I had turned 18) files for me, that is backlogged to 1992!! Haha…you see where that is going: nowhere!
- Another option, or miracle hehe, would be to suddenly become so amazing in triathlon that I am deemed “world class” and granted an O-1 visa which is like a green card. That, if possible, will not be anytime soon.
- However, with a masters degree- JD, MBA, what have you- if you are hired after graduation, it is an immediate Green Card with NO BACKLOG!

Ok that’s the short bit in layman’s terms. Wait, yes, there is the other fairy tale scenario that I meet my American prince charming and overnight I’m a US Citizen. Any takers? ;)

Back to my decision…

My mother half jokingly, half really not, told me when I mentioned LSAT registration, “you know, this could’ve been a lot easier right when you finished undergrad at SMU, and it would’ve saved a lot of money that went to triathlon. Also, you haven’t been in school in over three years, don’t you think you’ll be “rusty” to say the least?”

Let’s break that analysis apart: 1) It would not have worked at all for me to get a masters straight from undergrad. The reason is twofold. First, I was entirely OVER school. I had been a hard working, honors student for approximately 15 yrs and to say my brain needed a break is an understatement. Just like you need mental and physical breaks after a long season(s) or racing, I am a firm believer in academic breaks. Secondly, I had this triathlon bug, and my stubbornness that will make a great lawyer of me one day, was not going to accept anything but packing my car and heading to SoCal to swim, bike, and run. You cannot go into something as hard, and expensive, as grad school without being 100% committed to it.

Therefore, as dreadful as pursuing law school in 2009 would’ve been, going for it fall 2012 will be wonderful. My maturity, enthusiasm, and peace of knowing I can still make the most of athletics as I chase a challenging and financially rewarding career, will allow me to be the best student I am capable of those 3 years.

All that said here’s how I am going forward:

July 5th through August 18 I’ll be taking Kaplan’s LSAT prep course in La Jolla. Then I go home to TX & will be writing my personal statement and fulfilling all the other admissions requirements before heading to Kona late September. In Hawaii, Oct 1 I’ll take the LSAT and as soon as my score comes in will send in my application to the following schools: UT Austin, UC Berkeley, USC, Stanford, & SMU.

If I get in to any of those I’m on my way to becoming a lawyer 

If not, I’ll keep seeking out full time employment at a PR/Ad agency while still working part time for Brundage.

Of course, through it all, you can rest assured that all my free time will be filled with swims, bikes, and runs.

Race Recap

2011-06-09T18:15:00.003-05:00

I'm getting tired of race reports, ha. Regardless, here's a very short version of my day which I was very pleased with. I PR'd for that course, didn't best my time from Vineman last year, but in 20-20 hindsight it was a bit ambitious given that Honu is a much tougher course/conditions.

Swim-

My plan was to find Bree and hang on for dear life. That would've worked perfect except that the whole front line(s) of swimmers were past the start boeys and they kept screaming at us to move back or they wouldn't start. No one was budging, but slowly some people began to move a bit toward the line so I turned to swim a bit in and just as I did that BOOM!

So bye bye Bree...it ended up being an all out sprint to try and escape the arms, legs, shoulders, hips, WHACK, over and over. It was a cluster F*&*# until the first turn where I was nearly sunk to the ocean floor, then it settled a bit to the finish.

I was pleased on where I came out. I intended about a 28high/29 swim and felt like I swam that pace/effort once I got that clearness on the first turn.

Lesson: never ever turn your back on the start!!

Bike- not windy. your typical slight crosses in Hawi but totally mellow. A fast day for sure. I felt great but was dying to get off my bike!!! It was to be my last ride in Look pedals/cleats that have been my nightmare for over 4 years now as the q-factor/alignment, whatever the hell, has always felt wrong no matter who fits me and it's never a pain free ride or one that I can avoid stopping at least 2-3 times to adjust them (to no avail).

At least I had set them in an OK position whereby in the end I was only feeling my left IT and right adductor tight.

Run- sooo happy I got my nutrition/hydration all worked out. I felt good and had no cramps, or stomach pains. Went 1:40. Not fast, but couldn't have run faster. Coming from TX, I can attest it was BAKING out there. Just seeing that no women ran under 1:30 tells ya.

So I finished in 4:56, 2mins faster than last yr :) I rolled the Kona slot and didn't take the Vegas one.

Now it's time to really pump in miles and hours- especially on the bike- haven't ridden remotely long since I left CA in March, so I'm stoked to go explore! Also, it will help sooo much that I can ride without discomfort, or having to stop numerous times.

I'm a bit tired, but have slept good and am not sore. Running these last two days feels awesome, and I'm easing into the weekend where I'll start my most solid/detailed prep for Vineman and then tackle on some beastly miles for Kona thereafter.

goal is right around 4:40 at Vineman, and of course sub 10 or bust in Kona :D

Texas left me right where I wanted- fresh from lack of volume, sparky with some great speed workouts, sound from excellent nutrition & recovery, and hungry/motivated from my mental recharge and inner focus.

time to get 'er done, and nothing will get in the way.

Aloha!

2011-06-02T10:57:00.003-05:00

After roughly 12 hours of travel from San Antonio to Phoenix to San Jose...I'm finally in Kona! It's hard to believe this is my 8th trip to the Big Island. 7 for racing, one for a camp back in 2008. Since 2007, 2008 has been the only year I haven't raced here. I've really come to embrace this island as a second home, cheesy as that may sound. I'm beaming with joy like a kid on Christmas morning when I step off the airplane.

The travel was real smooth- except for the $200 bike fee courtesy of United Airlines. I had pleasant people next to me on each flight, no delays, in fact we even arrived 30min early!

I got my rental car in like 15min and sped off to settle in at the most awesome condo I've stayed in out of all my trips! We're right in Waikoloa Beach Resort across from the Kings Shops, and with a lakeview :)

Last night I was solo, but today Sara C, her friend, and her ex arrive- fun group.

Saying goodbye to my family was sad, but at the same time it was rewarding to know that the last 2 months were filled with good times, solid training, and that it'll only be a few months before I'm back home.

Monday, Memorial Day, my brother & I raced CapTex Sprint and technically we both won Overall :) I say technically because my brother tied to the second 1:05:26 with another junior- really a cool sprint finish to watch- he caught him at the finish chute turn!

Anyway, I'm feeling great about Saturday. This Island has given me plenty of ups and downs, and I know that pretty much every race Half Iron or Ironman, will unfold like a rollercoaster and success will only be determined by how well you limit and handle the dips.

I'm here to PR from my 4:49 at Vineman last year, and with that will hopefully land among the top women competing.

There's not much to do at this point but be thankful for the opportunity to once again be on that start line. For that I owe my parents, stepdad, coach, the Nytro Women team that continuously raises the bar and inspires me, and our sponsors (see rght column of blog)!

Today, after 11.5 amazing hours of sleep and some Kona coffee that has me wired like crack, I'm off to swim at Hapuna, then packet pick up, and a short ride :)

May the spirit of Aloha be with everyone on Saturday!

In the Zone

2011-04-26T09:03:00.002-05:00

I arrived to Texas ashamed of how I had let myself slip in terms of "professionalism" toward my sport. How could I ever expect to be "pro", lacking the natural talent of countless competitors, without doing EVERYTHING under my control as PERFECT as possible? It was the start of a downward spiral to a plateau of performance and a pool of negative emtions.

So, since I stepped foot off the airplane I've been committed to going at this full throttle. We're nearing the end of April, and it's been almost a month, with one more to go before Honu. How's it goin'? Amaaazzziiinnnngggg!

Cliche as it sounds, I've "found myself". That inner tiger, the instinctive voice that brought me home, has been unleashed and it feels great. To wake up every morning with fiery motivation is priceless. Aiding that is my brother's inspiring drive to kick some ass at the State track meet in Austin mid May. Over the years we've gone back and forth motivating each other athletically- he did the first triathlon, Teen to Tot in 2002, then I picked it up in 2006, and reeled him back. He went to watch me race Hawaii in 2007, and then I've seen him progress in swimming, tri's, and especially running (xc & track) to the point that it's contagious to want to get fast. Watching a meet the other day it hit me. We're blood. I have speed. I should be fast, I will be fast.

Helping each other out with nutrition, ways to recover, ways to approach workouts, etc has been awesome. We've made a pact. We will see him top 3 at State and win Nationals in triathlon this year. We also will see me win my AG at every REMAINING race this year- including Worlds 70.3 Vegas and defending my IM Hawaii title, as well as get amateur at Honu & Vineman.

I make bold statements like this because I fully believe that if you cannot see and feel yourself winning then how the hell are you going to win?!

When I first started racing this is the kind of attitude that I had and it's what got me to Kona right away. My first half in Honu 2007, I had zero doubt that I would qualify for the World Champs. I got in the water that morning already a champion inside; and when I went on to train for October, I was training to win not to participate.

One of my favorite quotes is "what would you do if you knew you would not fail?"

To that dreaded word "balance"- I appologize. I have found a new meaning for it. It is not anything that counters an OCD approach to triathlon. Rather it is attaining a level of satisfaction in other things in life which ALLOW you to have that very anal approach to sport. In other words, being home and able to be with my family and physically go into an office for work (work which I cannot be handed when I am out of state), makes me not feel like I am a waste in the "real world".

Believe it or not, one of the most irritating things to me is the bashing I receive for "not working". I am tired of explaining myself. My immigration issues are not a joke. But in short, the part time job that I have when in CA takes me minutes a day. Thus other work that I could be doing, such as helping the HR department as I am now, is only possible when I'm physically present. It is a gutting void that makes me feel useless. All of my life I took pride in excelling academically and had aspirations of holding a respectable and challenging career (not sport!).

Anyway, having that void filled right now, however so small the drippings, is immensely satisfying.

----0----

Onto the training here in TX. My plan is to get to Hawaii and be cold. As it is, I will be. Getting on the trainer when it's humid beyond words under 90 degree sun for anything more than 30min does wonders.

Certain runs I've been doing in the heat of the day as well. I had never really monitored my sweat loss (weighing before and after) but it has proved very useful.

My biggest obstacle is having my stomach cooperate at the intensity I need to race at if I plan to achieve my goals (I am still kicking myself about Galveston!!). So knowing exactly how much salt, calories, and water I need to take at certain HRs and legs of the race is crucial.

I've also acclimated quite well to swimming in warm pool water. It dehydrates you more than you think. I am now very thankful to aquajoggers and old ladies that vote for those temps at my gym. For Hawaii, this matters.

That awesome 2000m swim race in Austin this Sunday will have to be scratched off my calendar :( I didn't see the crazy $115 entry fee!! But I love an excuse to go to Austin so I figured I might as well run around Town Lake and swim on my own at the Quarry to get some more open water. I love Boerne Lake because it's 20min from home but it's quite big and though they removed the gator last year, it's still very eery.

Plans to go watch IMTX have also been slashed. My mom and stepdad will be out of the country so I'm my brother's driver that weekend and I've decided to race a sprint in New Braunfels. It'll be cool as the swim is in the Guadalupe River and I haven't been there since my dad and I used to go Kayaking nearly every weekend up until I was in high school :)

** a little side note...I caved and went into Slowtwitch yesterday and read some thread on IMTX. Some dude had said that it will likely be a little cooler and less humid than Hawaii and that you don't ever see a bitching thread on Hawaii's conditions because likely its participants are more hardcore. My take: I've raced Hawaii 3 times, Honu 3 times, that makes six plus 2 training camps. 2009 Honu was the hottest I've experienced it and that's because we're running in the heat of the day in the part of the island that never gets rain/shade. The Texas 90-100F and the wretched humidity of Houston make Kona absolutely mild. To all those that think Kona is a hot race: No. The bike is hot I'll give you that. The humidity is mediocre and by the time the bulk of the age groupers are running on the Queen K the cloud cover has already cooled it down dramatically.

Just sayin'...I think anyone that does well in this inaugural event deserves some major kudos and their worries about the weather are understandable.***

Anywhoooo.....We're roughly 6 weeks out of my favorite race on planet Earth and I'm reaching the first peak of 2011 that I knew was possible.

I look fowrard to having an absolute blast the rest of the season.

Galveston 70.3

2011-04-11T05:19:00.006-05:00

The trip to Galveston was one of the most enjoyable weekend "vacations" I've had in a while. When I was little(8-14yo), my mom and I used to drive all over Texas practically every weekend for my tennis tournaments. My mind is full of great memories from those short trips. Therefore, I very much looked forward to a long time on the road with her and my brother for this race.

We got there midday Friday, and checked into the Moody Gardens Hotel. This race venue is one of the most convenient for those who stay at the host hotel. The only other one I can think of that beats it purely due to its magestic scenery/environment is Honu. My mom was able to sleep in both race days while Daniel and I, repsectively, walked over to set up our transition well before the start time. Not only that, but if we forgot something all we had to do was take the elevator back up to the room and settle the panic in minutes.

After unpacking and getting athlete check-in over with, we showered and headed to dinner on the east side of the Island (what I gathered to be downtown/historical district). Both Friday and Saturday night we ate dinner at Willie G's. The water view was great and the seafood was super fresh.

After dinner, we were off to bed early for Daniel's sprint Saturday.

I walked down with Daniel at 5:30am the next morning so he could set up transition and his warm up jog worked perfect as my 20min run so, as is extremely rare, I got to run alongside him :)

Once he had to walk over to the swim start I went to look for my mom but she was already at the swim exit, camera in hand, waiting. Hehe

But I ran into Lisa Preeg (40ish yo superstar) whom I was surprised and delighted to see the day before (I trained with Lisa a couple years ago in SD and Austin, and we both raced Kona and Arizona the same year), and we watched the swim and then walked over to where my mom was.

Despite not having swum except a handful of times since last tri-season (August 2010), Daniel held his own in the water and came out 3rd in his wave. As well, on the bike he only came back down 1-2 min (I think 3 tops from the fastest dudes) even though he has ridden his bike on the trainer a few times a max of 45min! Looks like so much run training has more than kept him in shape.

Since he was the 3rd wave of men, when he came into transition it was hard to see where he would place overall, there were some men from the previous waves blasting out into the run course.

However, I knew that it would be extremely rare that someone could match this kid's step. He blew by us and ran up to all but two of the guys from the other waves.

In the end he finished 1st Overall with a 15:04 run split! He said his Garmin proved the run to be a tad short, but nevertheless- damn!

After awards, where he ran into some friends that also race Juniors, including Breanna Hemming, who's also his age and took female overall (stud!), we cleaned up and went to lunch.

I found an awesome place called the Lunchbox Cafe that uses local and, whenever possible, organic produce and meats and we had some awesome sandwiches. I can't remember the last time I had a sandwich haha. It had roasted turkey, hummus, olive spread, cucumber, tomato, and mixed greens :P

Anyway, after lunch it was my turn to put on the race wheels and check in my bike.

Now I'll fast forward to my race:

Let me preface by saying that I came into this race tapered- and I mean TAPERED. The longest ride I have done in the previous two weeks was 2.5hrs last Friday. Since getting home to San Antonio I've shifted my focus to spending lots of time in the office and gearing my training to short FAST stuff. It's been in the back of my head that so much long course (70.3 & IM) training and racing has begunt to settle me into a "steady pace" of racing; this is primarily highlighted in my running. So I've vowed to start training like an ITU athlete and racing long course, in the hopes of getting my fast twitch fibers to work again and preserve my body for the many years I plan on being in the sport.

My body felt great going into this 70.3 and my mind has(d) done a 180 since I left California. I'm motivated and confident as ever and I'm doing EVERYTHING as perfect as possible. Never, even when I started this sport and was a geek to the max, have I zoned into my training, nutrition, and recovery as narrowly as now.

Anyway, suffice to say race morning I was worried exclusively about my own day. 5:30am I set up my transition and then went back to the room to roll on the foam roller and stretch a bit while Daniel & my mom sloooowwwlllyyy woke up.

My start was 8:20 (2nd women's wave to the 45+W)- the pros took off at 7am, followed by ALL the AG men. There were some pros and cons to this delay. It was good in the sense that the air would be a bit warmer both for the start and for the remainder of the race (careful what you wish for though!), and there would be no issues with women drafting men.
The bad I only came to realize as the race played out: we were greeted with choppy water vs the calm bay of the early morning (due not only to mother nature but the dozen waves of men mixing up the water), the tight quarters on the 4loop run course on a golf cart-width path, as the fleet of women poured into the various men remaining on the course for their 2nd,3rd, & 4th loops, and lastly, the age group women got the HEAT of the day. Galveston worked like this: cloud cover until 10/11amish, and then clear and blazing sun/humidity till 2ish. So in my particular case, I finally enjoyed some clouds my final two loops of the run. The first two were cookin'.

Ok so the swim- perfect. I lined up front and center and hammered to the first turn boey about 600-700m out. I found the perfect draft of a girl that I knew was a swimmer. We only had some tightness at that turn boey and coming into the finish from having to weave through slower swimmers from the men's waves. I was at a comfortable but solid pace behind this girl and came out 3rd in my wave. I would've normally been very disappointed with a 31min swim, as my swim is doing great right now, but relative to the AG women's field I exited in good standing (the only real point of comparison, not the pros or AG men, as they got the similar conditions I refered to earlier).

Onto the bike it took me about 30min to get into a very enjoyable rythm and I was pushing as hard as I could. At around mile 15 a 23yo girl came by me and I kept her in sight until about mile 20. I just kept hammering away hoping I wouldnt hit the run with that big a deficit and that she may not be a runner. I had no intention of running over 1:35.

The bike was big crosswind and headwind to the turnaround at mile 28, and then fun as hell tailwind from 28-about mile 40, then some cross/tiny headwind again to the Moody grounds.

Into T2 I felt great as I had made sure to really hit my calories on the bike with my EFS pre mixed gel flask that I later topped with a double latte Power gel, and I had hydrated really well with 2.5 full aero drink thingy of water plus 1/2 bottle of Powerbar Perform.

My signature porta potty stop to pee was in order (I've come to terms with this). My legs felt great but "oh shit!" the same exact stomach issue that nailed me in Honu last year for the first 5k was back to squash my dreams of pulling out the run I knew I was ready for.

There's a good and bad to this. The bad is that I lost my AG win by <40sec and severall amateur spots by a couple of minutes, as well the pure frusteration of your legs & mind feeling amazing and limited to what your stomach dictates. The good- this had happened before and I knew it was due to not having adjusted my body to caloric intake at this intensity under this heat. After Honu last year, Vineman, that Oly in Austin, and Kona presented no stomach cramping at all.

The pain is a double side stitch with extreme tightness across the bottom of my rib cage to the point that I stopped at mile 2 to bend over and try to dig/ART my way out of this.

It took the first two loops of the run at a miserable jog pace to settle the cramping down. The last two loops I felt great and was able to pick it up to what I would've like the rest of my run to look like. I had taken plenty of salt so that was not the issue either. It's purely that eating/hammering in the heat thing. So hopefully now with that behind me and some more intense workouts in the 95F temps will yield a flawless race in Honu :)!!

I crossed the finish quite thrilled with where my fitness and overall preparation is at this time, and all but that cramping issue made for a fantastic race for me.

You can't win them all and though I really dislike second places, the girl who won was the best on the day.

I would've like to have known that someone was that close to me the 3rd or 4th loops of the run, as I thought she was more like 10min ahead, but oh well.

Well, after the race we showered, grabbed lunch, and came back to awards. This RD is no joke he starts everything on the dot so it was 4:08 and I had missed my name so i just picked up my award and we hit the road home!

I want to thank all our awesome sponsors for Team Nytro- my Zoot Prophet is the bomb and my Colnago is a helluva ride!!

This week holds a few recovery days and then a fun 80miler in Austin this wknd. But the true excitement is Daniel distrcit track meet Tues & Wed- 2mi, then 1mi the next day!!

Back to fine tune before Honu ;) Cannot wait to step on that Island!

Headcase

2011-03-27T23:23:00.002-05:00

In the end, you are in charge of what you do or do not achieve. I am at a point now, 5 years since my first race, that I feel I've heard it all and read it all. We are saturated with knowledge. It is powerful but it can also be destructive.

I am my own worst enemy, primarily because I am never satisfied with my achievements- in sport, be that workouts or great races. I have a winner's high and then it's like my full glass is emptied and needs to be refilled; but this time it's a bigger glass. More more more, bigger, better, stronger, faster.

I've been told I need balance. Eh it's worked, I've normalized myself a lot more these last two years since I moved out here. Slowly, but surely. Now I've made friends, I've found a relative routine and played around with it here and there by going out some nights etc, and discovered that I still function the next day and everything will be ok.

However, I can only play at moderation for so long. I'm not good at it. I don't like it. It feels too balanced. I just don't like middle grounds. Extremities are for extremists, and I like the thrill of pushing the limits.

One of the reasons I don't like downtime is because I begin to conform. I'd rather see rest added into a gnarly block of training than something labeled a "rest period". I like wine, I notice that I have a few glasses at a party one night and I swim great the next day....next thing it's my new sleeping pill and I have an ongoing headache for a week- uhhhm hello, it could be that I'm fastracking my way to AA.....you see no good to tell me something is good for me. If so, it better not start having diminishing returns.

I digress. The point of this post is to face up to my current weakness: blocking out random noise. The facebook/twitter updates of "epic" training days, the opinions on overtaining, undertraining, intensity, lack thereof, eating right, eating TOO right, lack of sleep, too much sleep. While it's true that this can be avoided anywhere, I also want to disappear for a bit from the triathlon bubble that ironically I wanted so badly to be a part of when I packed my bags and moved out here in 2009.

Someone close to me said "you're running away".....my response is "yes". I'm running home to get my head straight. To be with my family, to be physically present at Brundage Mgt., and for 2 months stay away from all social media, and aside from some weekends in Austin, be distanced from anyone remotely devoted to triathlon.

I want to train as if I were invisible.

This is as close to a isolated camp as I can get with the comfort and support of those closest to me. I've said it over and over and I'll say it once more (if anything for my own motivation), this is my very last attempt to go Pro, at least for now. True I can go at it again a few years from now, but if this year it doesn't pan out I'm taking a break from this level of committment for a while to focus on furthering the growth of other areas of my life.

So I'm signing off until Hawaii 70.3. I have a big week ahead and leaving for Texas on Thursday. I'll probably post a Galveston race report. Other than that, it's time go to work and hold myself accountable for whatever the outcome may be.

Blog Blurrr

2011-03-20T20:20:00.003-05:00

This is a short little update on what I'm up to. I've had a lack of desire to blog frankly because nothing interesting is going on so there's not much to say. I train, I eat, I sleep. Woohooo!

Training has been good. I have some little bike issues that yield niggles here and there on IT bands, hamstrings, peroneal tendons etc etc...really very frustrating. I'm trying to get to the bottom of this issue that's been driving me crazy for the past couple of years. Through the help of Rob at Elite Care Chiro, John Howard, and my own intuition I believe I'm on the right path to getting this fixed once and for all.

Other than that, all is good. I'm not injured, just desperately trying to prevent "niggles" from transforming into actual injuries that bench me.

In two weeks I get to see my studly friends kick some arse at Oceanside 70.3...if I'd won the coin toss, I'd elect to go second, thereby I'm glad they go kick off and I follow the weekend after at Galveston's 70.3

Helps to see where the line is being drawn ;)

After Galveston I've decided to remain in Texas until departing for Hawaii at the end of May.

Why? I woke up 2 days ago with the feeling that I needed to be home. When a strong gut feeling hits me, I don't think twice. Usually when I debate things in my head, and/or seek advice it's because that instinct/deep-seated knowledge (or intuition) isn't speaking loud enough if at all. I've always been very close to my family and a homebody so despite the fact that I call Encinitas my home- the greatest percentage of my heart attaches to where my family is.

Also, it's already in the 80s mid day there, by late April it'll be in the 90s. Moreoever, I found some great bike rallies of 80-100miles pretty much every wknd before Honu, and on the few that don't have organized rides in SA or Austin, I'll be heading to Austin to swim at the Quarry, join UT masters, and get in some longer rides with friends I haven't seen in a long while.

Lastly, I will probably race Cap Tex Tri- one of my favorite Olympic distance races, or of any distance actually. Daniel is also going to race the Oly so it'll be just like waaay back in 2007/2008 :)

Some random fun stuff:
1) on March 29 I will be rocking out at the Lady Gaga concert downtown with Katya and an old friend from high school, Kailtyn- Ra, ra, Ra, ra, RA!!!
2) I finished Stieg's trilogy- Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Girl Who Played with Fire, Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest...and OMG amazing!! I went through them as if I were on speed- so thrilling! I love anything that has fraud, consipracy, murder, social/psycho analysis, etc so this was right up my alley.........now I'm onto Inside Wiki Leaks which is also really good I think I'll be done in just two days, ha. I had gone into B&N to get The Social Animal by David Brooks but they were out of stock so picked this one up and no regrets.

Cool, that's it.

Peace

Desert Tri

2011-03-07T08:23:00.004-06:00

I felt the need to cover up that Vegas post with something triathlon related. I swear, I really do train & race ;)

This weekend was the Desert Olympic out in Palm Springs- it was my first triathlon of the season and I'm always very glad I do these local races before jumping into 70.3s, where I thoroughly expect to be in top form.

The race went a lot better for me than I anticipated- not in terms of times or placement, but in "feel". Since starting up training in January my run has felt sluggish and off. But in the Palm Springs Half Marathon, despite tired legs, I felt that little bit of lightness and spark and it gave me hope. Finally in the last couple of training runs I've had that spring in my step that makes you feel like a runner and usually results in the runner's high of wanting to go on forever.

Anyway back to yesterday's race...

The swim was a s*itshow for the first 5-10min and it's my fault for not remembering what I promised myself after my good swim in Cozumel: line up as the FIRST swimmer. Our wave was elite M&F and M25&U, and I had a couple of people in front of me when they said "go", so when I dove into the little lake I didnt go out far enough and basically stayed in place getting jumped on for what seemed like forever while the group of faster swimmers that I planned to be with- & honestly should be with after what I'm consistently producing in the pool- was off and away :(
So I got a bit beat up, at one point my goggles loaded with water thanks to a kind elbow, but once we turned that first bouey I found some good feet and got into a nice rythm back to shore.

From there all else was good- nothing to complain about. The bike is pancake flat and I just rode as hard as I could. It took me about 30min to get rid of stiff legs and get rolling, and found my way into transition chomping at the bit to put on my Newtons!

The run was the best part of the day :)! I came out in 2nd and held that for about a mile. Meanwhile, Erin S tucked behind me until a spectator said "good job ladies" and blew her cover (the whole time I heard breathing right behind me, I was like "please be a dude") haha...and that's when she passed me. I couldn't hang and she got me by about 40sec. So it was 3rd for me, and I'm psyched about probably one of my best runs in an Oly since I can remember. I'll take it so early in the year :)!

That's it. More training and 5 wks left for Galveston 70.3!!!

Vegas!

2011-02-22T16:25:00.014-06:00

I get why they call it Sin City. What else is there to do on a couple of miles of barren terrain lined with nothing but posh hotels/casinos, restaurants, and nightclubs?!
Traveling with two other triathlete friends, Tawnee & Sara, I'd say we kept things at a more appropriate level than 99% of people- especially our age. Still, for those of us with the lifestyle of a physically active 70yr old- i.e. bedtimes before 9 (ehhm sometimes 7!), our primary source of alcohol being the miniscule amount found in Kombucha, multiple workouts a day, gluten free this, raw that....it was definitely a SHOCK to the system during our 48hr adventure.
Nevertheless, it was a blast, and so worth it. To be remembered, but perhaps not repeated...anytime soon that is, ha.
So we lett Friday afternoon and hit some traffic but managed to get there with plent of time to check in and plan out our night.
We Started out with a delicious dinner at Botero at the Wynn, and then I made a little money at the blackjack table :)

Then, as Sara's friend Chelsea is one of the acrobats for La Reve- a badass show that resembles Cirque du Soleil but all about water- she scored us free front row tickets! Not only that, but after the show we went backstage to see their wardrobe room and get an insight into how the show functions so smoothly night after night- so cool! Those people are incredible athletes...makes me feel like a wimp!

Following the show we went to a club called Surrender, but the guys were very disappointing and so after a couple of hours we decided to call it a night and save up for tomorrow.
We went to bed at a very innocent 1:30am. 7am ish, we were wide awake and eager to get some sort of workout in- yes, GEEKS!
Urban running on the strip! Powered by the frequent inhalation of cigarette smoke.

Then, since that wasn't enough, I googled a lap pool, which turned out to be pretty good, and we actually cranked out a pretty solid set of 3700yds. I was very surprised to have what I'd ordinarily call a good swim. Ironic.
Can you tell we just got done swimming?

How do you hydrate post swim in Vegas at 4pm?? Pre-drinking with a bottle of wine and two or three Diet Cokes & Rum, of course.
Night two was epic....

Stayin' classy we headed over to the Bellagio for dinner at Olives where I had an amazing buffalo sirloin (medium very rare, please!) with baconed brussel sprouts and mashed butternut squash :P

Time for the Black Keys! But not without a couple of shots at the Cosmo:

One of the highlights of the night was the guy with the pigtail-ed beard in a pink onesy- HOT!

The Black Keys were awesome!! Lots of head-banging and my-feet-killing-me-in-those-heels later, and more drinks at the Chandelier Bar before Chelsea once again hooked us up with a bouncer-escorted entrance into the Marquee.
But by then I was dead! The club was packed to the point of not having room to breathe- except outside but it was freeeeezzziiiing. Yes I had a large coat but I took that to coat-check right away so I lasted like an hour and a half before I told Tawnee I was out. She was supposed to come with me but we got seperated and we couldn't get texts/calls so all of us ended up going back to the room by ourselves in intervals of about an hour haha.
By the time Sunday rolled around we were ready to get out! I'd had enough of waking up to casino lights and cigarette smoke on my way to Starbucks.
Such deviations make you appreciate our healthy lifestyle so much. I don't understand those that live the nightlife for years.
My favorite form of trashing myself in one go is Ironman.

Palm Springs

2011-02-14T15:48:00.007-06:00

What a fun weekend! I feel so lucky to be part of a team comprised of such great women!
Kristin & I drove out early Friday afternoon and got to Lori's in plenty of time to settle in & chit chat while she cooked up a delish dinner.
The next day we were up mega early (especially me with my crazy 4am wake ups, ha) to get rolling ahead of the masses for the century.
It was freeeeezzzziiiiing the first hour but then it warmed up quickly to the most perfect mid 70s in clear sunny skies. We were very fortunate with weather this weekend as this upcoming one is supposed to be roughly 20deg colder and possibly raining! I stripped off my top layer of pants, socks, long sleeve baselayer gloves, and arm warmers within the first 90min :)
I spent the majority of the ride with Polly who let me just say is a badass- she drilled the century at a solid pace as well as the half with our bonus warm up (more on this later) all with insane pain from a root canal!!
The ride was so much fun. We got to the house at 105mi at around 5:20ride time (I think).
The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging by the pool, which was the perfect ice bath temperature and definitely helped all of us for the half mary the following day.
Another yummy homemade dinner, more red wine, and then we took a short trip over to hang with the Rehab United crew. The night wouldn't have been complete withouy froyo so we hit up Golden Spoon.
Not enough sleep later, it was time for 13.1....however, I rallied Polly to warm up from the house to the race start with me which we had mapped out to be 3.6 miles. 50min of running later, we had warmed up like 6 miles to the start- we had to book it when we were told it was "about a mile and a half that way"... literally got there as the announcer was going "four, three, two, one!..." haha awesome.
Needless to say I had my gel before mile 2 :)
The great thing about this bonus run beforehand was that I logged in good mileage for the day without having to gun out a cool down jog after that race effort and it exaclty mimicked the feeling in the legs that comes in aorund mile 18-20 of IM marathon.
At 6miles into the race I was with a little group holding 6:20;6:35s and thought wow, I may just break 1:30 today. But then at mile 8 my feet were throbbing and my legs weighed a ton each. Holding sub 7:30s was a big task.
My coach was actually happy with this as it made for excellent training, and proved my run hasn't completely disappeared. Now a mellow week and then Sin City!

Finalized Schedule

2011-02-08T06:59:00.003-06:00

On the right hand side....I think this is the final decision. I'm registered for all of them except Vegas which I still have to qualify for.

I was toying with the idea of not attending 70.3 Worlds again and using all the expenses tied into that race for a longer stay in Kona before Ironman. However, I actually want to race worlds now that it is in a hilly (hopefully draft-free) venue and close to home.

Also, there are some fast girls my age in those 70.3's, but wouldn't it be cool to be 70.3 and Ironman World Champ the same year?! Yes.

After my partially self-inflicted exhaustion, it took one day- last Monday- of full blown sleep to recover. Overtraining is bull- I adhere to the belief of under-recovering as the culprit. So once I recoverd I bounced right back and the fact that it took <2 days means I was not burried, I am simply working hard.

Friday was a swim only day so I scheduled the blood work that coach Paul has been asking me for since January of last year. I hate needles, but I obliged :) I highly doubt I am deficient in Iron as I have never, and will NEVER be vegetarian/vegan (anyone that knows me knows I love a good steak!). But at least Paul can see whatever it is that my blood results will reveal.

The weekend was much lighter in training than the past few. I drove north to ride Santiago Canyon and do a short trun on Saturday. Sometimes I just need to get away from the coast, change scenery, and ride by myself. It was a good day, warm and sunny. Then I hit Mother's Market for a good late breakfast.

Sunday was a long run that felt like mile 20 of Ironman the whole time...."are we there yet?!?!" But a fun Super Bowl gathering made up for that.

That brings us to yesterday which made it very clear that I need to stay away from wine, or any form of alcohol because I have zeroooo tolerance. A few glasses the night before and I was useless that morning! Instead of dragging my unwilling a** to the pool early, I ate breakfast and went back to sleep. Then kept waiting until I actually felt like swimming. Go figure, I swam well when I actually wanted to be in the water! That's all I did :)

Today... What happens when you go to sleep at 8:30? You wake up at 3:30. FML! So I'll be swimming by 5:30 only to have time to go back to sleep for a few hours before heading over to The Wolf Studio for a run LT test. Oh joy!

Last time I got tested was back in 2008- the whole deal- metabolic testing, VO2, bike/run blood LT. Honestly, I doubt my HR zones have changed at all but at least I'll know for SURE. Now that I have my new pink Garmin I might as well use it correctly. Who knows, training with numbers again might make me super duper fast. Watch out!

Almost time to hit the pool, I'll hopefully take some post-able pics this weekend in Palm Springs century/half marathon and put em up early next week.

First block of 2011 DONE

2011-01-25T10:59:00.003-06:00

Things are going very well right now. Sunday I ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon, and though I didn't even come close to a PR, let alone break 1:30 (1:33), I am content knowing that I ran the best that I could on that day and after a tremendous 3 week build back into training.

I've tried not to sit still at all except on key recovery days and after 4ish- if I'm not s/b/r'ing you can find me on the tennis court! Bedtimes have been in the 7-8:30pm range which is grand. Sleep is great and I'm eating close to perfect.

The weather in San Diego has been spectacular- 70's by 10am pretty much this whole month! We are very lucky to live here...or smart.

There's really nothing exciting to report. I'm not going to Noosa for camp in March- it's too expensive, gets in the way of any work I have to do, and is a little sketchy immigration wise. Hopefully I get to go to Tucson, as that is another fantastic camp.

February will be cool. Our Nytro Women's team is heading to Palm Springs for that century/half mary weekend of the 11&12. Then I head to Vegas with Tawnee and Sara for the Black Keys concert the following weekend- stoked on that short escapade as I've never been to Vegas :)

I may sneak in Galveston 70.3 early April, but if not, there's no triathlon-ing in my radar until May.

That's my incredibly thrilling life for ya ;)

I'm Back!

2011-01-04T13:10:00.004-06:00

AHHHHH!!! Words cannot describe the feeling of landing in San Diego this past Saturday :)

To make things even better, we had a little get-together for New Year's Day so I went from zero humans for the past month, to socializing with my favorite peeps!

Sunday morning I couldn't wait to get on the pool deck for masters. Hux signaled me over to lane 2, and though it hurt to swim longer than 45min at that pace, being in the water daily in Cancun paid off! My swimming is at an all time best, and I can't wait to work on it even more this year. I'll be in that lane huffing and puffing as long as it takes until I can lead it...hopefully that will transfer my Cozumel swim time into Kona.

Running also feels fantastic. Today I ran my longest since IM- 75minutes. Julie took me along the coast from Carmel Valley down to the fairgrounds and it was a great route- constantly rolling with like 2 long graduals. It was an awesome way for us to catch up too :)

Also, yesterday was my first "strength" workout at Rehab United and I loooooved it! It's a fun group of people and a kick ass session. No doubt it will play a big role in my fitness this year.

Lastly, I picked up my beautiful Colnago Flight at Nytro yesterday!!! Andrew helped me swap my parts from the Cannondale, and today I'm headed to Matt's for a fit. I know it will take about 3 weeks to feel "right" on the bike again, but I also know from how fired up I am and how great my body feels that 1) I was TRASHED after Cozumel...and 2) the long break sans bike and with all short non structured stuff is key to how AMAZING I KNOW this year will be for me.

I had A LOT, and I mean AAA LOOOOT, of alone time in Cancun to think about where I am in life, in this sport, and what I want and know I can accomplish this year and a couple of years from now. But more importantly, this year, as that is what's in the present. Being away from the US, specifically from the privileged place that is San Diego and the life I live here, with such a great support system in my family, friends, and coach, helped me realize more than ever how fortunate I am and how everything is set up like a fairy tale for my success.

I'm starting 2011 with what I guess you could call "resolutions" in my head. But most of them are concepts that you really cannot describe in writing or even verbally. They are modes of approaching situations, people, training sessions, races, achievements, and failures that stem from my 23 years of life. Every day you learn something new, but new years allow us to reflect on a much deeper level and offer a globally unified opportunity to "start fresh"- a great feeling!

Some of my changes will be noticeable, others not. Some might make sense to others, others not. But rest assured, I've thought things over and what I will do is what's best for me....IMHO ;)

Anyway, I snatched a bib from a seller on Craigslist for the Carslbad Half so that will kick off my racing for 2011! After that, Palm Springs Century and 1/2 Marathon in early Feb....and the rest is on the right hand pannel of my blog ;)

So that happened

2010-12-22T05:15:00.002-06:00

The lack of a race report is due to a virus hitting my computer the second day in Cozumel...back in November.

The Wifi at the hotel was ridiculously priced, so I opted to try and log into an unsecured wireless network. A couple seconds later, my computer froze and it had to be sent back to the company when my mom got back to Texas, where it remained until my brother brought it back to me two days ago!

IM Cozumel....uhhhmmm...yea I don't have much emotion attached to my race. In large part because it's been almost a month, and my mind has been preoccupied with more important matters like being able to get back into the US.

The event itself is spectacular and I definitely look forward to coming back in 2011. The swim is a gorgeous tour of Chankanab bay- coral, fish, crystal clear, and warm! The bike is toasty and windy- mostly headwind with some cross on the other side of the island. Its pancake flat terrain I believe makes it tougher than a rolling course because you're grinding away the whole time. The run is amazing- lined with spectators (most of whom don't even know what the point of Ironman is...although I'm sure a lot people that do the sport don't know either haha), all cheering until the last hour.

I had a fantastic swim. My mindset was "I am a swimmer"...so, accordingly, I lined up in FRONT (not like in Kona with a couple people slightly ahead of me...no, no, I was the line). That worked out great and I'll definitely be doing that every race from now on. Came out in :56 hehe :)

The bike went well, I felt good. Myself and another girl got swallowed by like 30 guys and got a drafting penalty. Kinda sexist that only us girls got it, but whatever. I wasn't going to get mad. Hell I was dying to pee so I just took it as my pee break- we both did- and stood there peeing as the ref counted down the time.

Biked a 5:38...not good, not bad.

When I hit the run I thought "oh f&*#k!"...it was HOTTTTT! I love the heat, but right away I didn't feel my run there. In other words, I've always gotten off the bike in Ironman feeling ready to roll mentally and with a good little skip to my step. But this time my legs were heavy and I knew I had to get some coke and any other source of caffeine asap.

I wasn't going to run like in Kona. That was very clear. However, I figured each of the three loops in 1:12-1:15 and I might break my PR of 10:24- which was my goal for the race. I was 3rd or 4th amateur off the bike so definitely wanted to stay up there.

But come the end of loop 2 on the run and BOOM diarrhea- like on the spot, not even time to hit the portapoty. Great. In a few seconds I was EMPTY. It was weird to have nothing fueling even a jog effort, and any attempt at jogging triggered the desperate need to go to the bathroom again. So I tried to trot to the turnaround (start of loop 3) where my parents were and let them know this was going to take longer than expected.

I found 2 friends from Mexico- both Kona finishers from 2010, and both in walking-state. That was a blessing. We walked a good 3 miles and then started to try and jog/walk intervals of 2-3mins. Those 8ish last miles felt like a lifetime.

There's nothing you can do at that point. You can quit or just finish. I had no reason to quit as I had plenty of hours to even bear crawl before the cutoff, so of course I was going to finish.

11hours 19minutes later I crossed the finish line. I won my AG but a "congratulations" or "great job" is irrelevant. I appreciate those words, but really the only good job I did is in not DNFing...my race itself was not win-worthy. I really wish I hadn't won m AG.

Looking back, I think it's my fault that I got diarrhea...I don't think I ate something the night before because that would've hit me in the morning or at least on the bike. I think I made a HUGE mistake in starting loop 2 of the run and drinking Pure Kick (200mg caffeine berry flavored powder) mixed with maybe 3oz of water so it was super strong and could easily have caused mayhem in my stomach.

All that caffeine made the walking so frusterating because aerobically I felt great and I was WIRED. I went in feeling fitter and stronger than for Kona.

Once it was over, I just sort of brushed it off. I wasn't angry, sad, or feeling sorry for myself (after all it could've been my fault with the Pure Kick). Nor was I proud or happy. I was just like "ok cool, that was fun, I'll come back next year for sure to RUN that damn thing....now let the R&R begin!".

Carlos & Charlies was fun the next night, after awards, with some friends. Then I flew to Cancun the following day to be with my dad.

I've been here since, except for a 3 day trip from hell to Mexico City to request my new visa- for temporary worker status. I'm stuck in Cancun until they deliver my passport with the new visa that was thankfully approved. That could be today or in a month.

I have my flight booked to go back to SD the 30th but if the passport isn't here by the 29 I'll have to change that flight to like mid January.

I'm in paradise as my dad lives in a 5star resort in Playa Mujeres. I can run on the protected trail and golf course, I have a state of the art gym, and I can swim in one of the many pools or the ocean at my leisure.

However, I can't ride a bike. The stationary ones are so uncomfortable so at most I'm on them 30min. More importantly, I've been here alone. Yes my dad's here but that's different. If friends were here I wouldn't mind the visa taking 2 months to be ready.

It's off season so I know training is meaningless right now. I've been swimming, running, and lifting consistently but mostly because I've been bored. I believe I'm taking a much bigger off season than 95% of triathletes. I'm doing nothing over 45min, have no logs, no fixed schedule/goal when I get out the door...so it's more to keep sane than anything else. Mentally I'm super relaxed. Every year it becomes more evident how far away Kona is from January and how easily one can burn out or get injured, as well as how quickly you can get into amazing IM shape with smart training. I got onto training peaks yesterday and realized my coach had written workouts for the past 2 weeks lol. Oops. I emailed him saying, sorry but won't be doing anything you say till the second week of January :) Heck, I haven't even signed up for a single event/race.

Anyway, salvation came when my brother and his girlfriend arrived Monday. My dad and I have held off from visitng Xel-Ha, Xcaret, Xplor, fly fishing, etc until their arrival, so finally we get to have some fun. The natural parks here are incredible so these next 10 days will be action packed :)

Lots of pics are on my FB and twitter.

Happy Holidays everyone!!

Perception is Reality

2010-11-16T11:49:00.004-06:00

This title is the name of my cousin's blog (www.iampawichiz.blogspot.com), but I had to steal it for this post because I cannot think of a more appropriate phrase to go along with my approach/mindset leading into Cozumel, and all other aspects of my life.

Reality truly is what we make it. I have said it numerous times before, your mentality going into an Ironman dictates more than anything else how your race will pan out. The same goes for an interview, a trip, a date, a job presentation, your first day at a new school, etc. The way you feel inside, portrays outwardly. It affects your demeanor, and exudes a positive or negative energy which others pick up on, and thus YOU create the vibe of the environment around you.

The key perspective of an athlete is that which he/she holds of his/herself. So there are two questions: How do I feel? How am I performing?

Since Kona, my plan was basically 2 rest weeks, 2 build weeks, 2 mellow-ish weeks,& race. Right now is the beginning of the first of 2 easy weeks that culminate with race day Nov 28.

I have gone through a rollercoaster of emotions: feeling like s&h*T the first week post Kona...feeling back to normal the second week as I was just eating & sleeping with minimal "training"....feeling invincible the 3rd week (1st build week) with a lot of quality sessions and longer rides/runs in summer SoCal weather...then back to feeling like DEATH at the end of build wk1....and finally feeling good to go throughout this last build wk into taper.

Despite how I've felt outside of training, in the sessions themselves I've consistently felt awesome. Once I warm up, my fitness indicates that it's better than ever. So that is the main thing that is keeping me confident.

Because I've also let go of the anal approach to getting ready for IM- meaning I have not held back from going out, eating whatever the heck I feel like, drinking, and staying up late, I feel a lot more relaxed. I kept saying "last time, tomorrow I'll get serious". But honestly, why? Serious is boring, and forced, and unhappy. Fun is chill and energizing.

My motto is: funner, fatter, and ironically fitter.

It feels good that I've listened to my body and given myself a mental break. I'm heavier going into Cozumel than Kona, but I am a lot stronger. Before Arizone last year, I was so afraid to put on weight post Hawaii that by depriving myself of much needed fuel, half way through the bike on race day I was famished. I never eat solid food during a race, but I downed 3 powerbars in a heartbeat, and paid for it on the run.

Not this time :) I'm now an eating machine on the bike, and I know that all it will take for me to pull out a better race than in Kona is to hold myself together mentally, and have luck on my side in terms of mechanicals, a potential crash, or any other facotr outside of my control.

I'm ready to race, I'm excited to see my family, and more than anything else, I'm looking forward to closing 2010 on a stellar note and relaxing on the beach until 2011!

Just like my little brother who has been working his a** off this whole year and riding the extremeties of training/racing these last few weeks through cross country season, I am ready for some time OFF.

All of December I want the freedom of waking up with my only goals being: find the ripest fruit, perfect my tan, swim through coral, laugh abundantly, and enjoy all that Cancun has to offer at night ;)

Best of luck to all my peeps ending the year with AZ or COZ! Give it everything you have to earn that time off and bounce back even stronger for the following season!

2011 Preview

2010-11-05T13:20:00.003-05:00

First off, the most exciting thing on tap for 2011 is that I'll be joining 11 other badass girls, that are already really good friends and training partners, in the Nytro Women Racing Team. I'm stoked to be part of such a great group that constantly pushes boundaries and inspires others in multisport and life.

Secondly, here's my tentative 2011 schedule:

Jan/Feb- A couple of Xterra Trail Runs and possibly a Half Marathon (San Dieguito?)

March (whole month)- Lifesport Camp in Noosa, Australia

April 10th- Galveston, TX 70.3

May 1st- Wildflower Half Ironman

June 4th- Hawaii 70.3

June 28(ish)- San Diego International

July (early)- Carlsbad Sprint

July 17th- Vineman 70.3

August- some short local race

September 11- 70.3 Worlds Lake Las Vegas

October 8- Ironman World Championship

November (late)- Ironman Cozumel

One last time, I swear.

2010-11-01T10:00:00.004-05:00

This past weekend included my favorite Holiday- Halloween. It's not that I'm some closet dark-freak. I just love Halloween because it's independent of religion (unless you're opposed to it because you think it's Satanically infused, in which case you're way too conservative in my book), and it's just a cool way to let loose and have fun....oh yes, and a fabulous excuse to indulge in chocolate :)

So, I had asked Kristin to let me throw a Halloween party. Growing up my aunt used to throw the most AMAZING Halloween parties- her house was seriously like walking through a Haunted Mansion at Universal Studios. Kristin obliged as long as I did all/most of the set up. No problem! I did a pretty good job decorating, though it could've been a little more over the top but some of the props are just not worth the money.

We had a good turn out- a few people forgot to check the date- party was Fri...Susanne and her husband hilariously showed up Saturday while we were just casually sitting at the kitchen table. Their bewilderment was classic.

Anyway, that night was my last buzz until after Cozumel. The following day Caroline kicked my a** in the pool and I was smashed the entire afternoon. Still yesterday running my longest run- long loop of the Ranch, 11ish miles with Beth and I was DEAD. So there was no going out for me on actual Halloween.

Back at it for real this morning with a 90% anaerobic swim. A big week ahead. I'm ready, excited, and totally mentally refreshed.

Mini Break

2010-10-26T21:10:00.006-05:00

The last two weeks I did an EXCELLENT job of eating, sleeping, and ehhm boozin' it up a bit.

So much so that after my first real swim with masters Monday morning, a guy who's usually in my lane asked if everything was ok because "you look like you're getting slower, and a bit out of shape"....uhhm yea dude, I just did an Ironman 2 weeks ago :/

It was relieving to see my training schedule for Cozumel up on TP Sunday night. With the short time frame, it's more like I'll be training "towards" instead of "for" the race. The base is there, so in a couple of days my fitness will come to light again.

Two days in and a couple good sessions already in the bank and my body feels like it got out of a grave. The diet has been completely restructured these past 48 hrs as well, and coupled with actually working out, it's amazing how quickly it all starts coming together.

I could not be more excited about Cozumel and spending December with my dad and brother in Cancun.

So close :)

AG World Champ

2010-10-13T14:24:00.005-05:00

It sounds pretty cool, and it feels great. I had three goals coming into this race prioritzed as follows: 1) win my AG 2) get top 10 amateur F 3) break 10hrs
One out of three accomplished. You could say it was a really fast year, but I experienced the most wind out in Hawi than in 2007 or 2009, and the swim was back to regular suits. So, really I think each year just gets more competitve. If you look at the top AG women, the times are sick. Frankly, it's a lovely testament to the growth/future of women in sport.

I'm not going to give a race report detailing EVERYTHING because that takes too long and there's really nothing out of the ordinary to mention. In short: I swam hard, got different good drafts the whole way, swallowed some water but didn't get beat up...awesomely forgot to take my speed suit off in T1 tent so had to slip it off running along transition :)....on the bike I felt great, had a few tough patches, big head and cross winds in Hawi and some drizzle....the run was a mental struggle through mile 6, then awesome to mile 13, then a struggle through the energy lab, then just "get er done" coming home the last 10k. I bumped up my salt intake by a lot which helped tremendously, I discovered walking some aid stations helps more than it hinders, I still can't help stopping to pee a couple of times on the run.

What goes through your mind at certain lows of the race is intriguing. At mile 5, I thought I could still pick up the pace by about 20sec/mile and get myself in the top 10, and sub 10:10. By mile 15 I realized my legs had not and were not going to give me any more so suddenly it's like I let go, or gave up, on goals 2 & 3. Counting girls and miles, my mind settled and instead of getting disappointed at what I could not achieve, I embraced the fact that I was in the lead for my ag and could cross the line a winner.

We learn to crawl before we walk, and walk before we run. Thus, reflecting on my progress the last three races in Hawaii, I see that it was fruitless to set my expecations so high since 2007 and skip steps. I needed to win my AG first before I could move on and complete the other two goals. Each Ironman humbles me in a different manner, and I emerge with a stronger and smarter head, and ready to make necessary changes to execute the next one better. I will not get my pro card for next year. I will climb that ladder patiently and make the most of my last year in the 18-24 AG. For 2011 my plan is to crack top 10 overall in all the 70.3s and possibly one early season Ironman I do, get top 3 in as many local races as I can fit in my calendar, and go to Kona repeat my win and NOW check off goals 2&3.

I was overwhelemed by the congratualtions from friends and family. The love and support played an enormous role in helping me be stoked, not just content, with my achievement, and not beat myself up for having "failed" in other ways. It's twisted, demented, whatever you want to call it. But, part of what makes athletes push so hard, and be so determined, is that constant need/desire to do better- the temporary
satisfaction with recent accomplishments, that quickly turns into a blueprint for the next race to go faster. It's the endless "not good enough" that follows a couple of days of winner's high.

I had my cloud 9 feeling. I stood proudly on stage, alongside 4 incredibly talented girls, and held up my first place award. I partied my ass off that night at the Kswiss after party, and had a blast.

Now I'm home, sleeping countless hours, trying to shake off an oncoming cold, and ready to start prepping for Ironman Cozumel. I want to push harder, go faster, and beat more people.

A huuuuuge shout out to my girl friends that had amazing races: Beth Walsh who smoked the run, posting the fastest amateur split at 3:10...Susanne Davis who anihilated the field cmoning in 2nd amateur with a 9:50...Caroline Gregory, who bounced right back after an epic race in IM Canada, and PR'd yet again with a sub 10:10... Rhae Shaw who cracked 10hrs and podiumed in the super competitve 35-39AG... Sierra Snyder, who also set a Kona and run PR...Julie Dunkle who tackled her Kona demons and finished with a beaming smile...& many more peeps that are slipping off my memory right now!

I want to thank my family, my training partners, my coach Paul Regensburg,Newton Running, Nytro, Beaker Concepts, TYR, & Powerbar.

'Till the crystal clear waters of Cozumel :)

Ironman Hawaii #3

2010-09-29T14:25:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe I'm in Kona, again, for the World Championship. I feel fit, strong, healthy, and more importantly very happy with the season and life in general. Ironman is one of those things that if you're not in a good mental state going in, you're sorta, well, screwed.
You have to know why you're there, and your motivation for training and racing has to stem from a positive source within you. You must be at peace with, and confident of your preparation, execution plan, and thankful to all those around you that helped you get to to that start line. This is a very selfish sport but one which we cannot do alone.
I'm there, and it feels great.
For the first time racing Ironman, I can honestly say that I'm not concerned with anyone else's race but my own. I respect the others racing, many of which are friends of mine, that are incredibly talented. But I recently read in the book "The Secret" (aka The Law of Attraction) that as soon as you turn something into a competition, your focus/energy has shifted in large part toward another person(s) and thus you have sacrificed your maximum potential. Your focus & energy needs to be solely on yourself. Especially for an Ironman where your mind is largely responsible for the outcome of YOUR race.
For the remainder of this week, I'm chilling in my condo as people slowly start to arrive and the excitement builds. Next Monday I'll move in with Sierra & her family to a lovely house and rest up for what's in store on Saturday :)
Thank you to my family, my coach, my sponsors (Newton, Nytro, Beaker Concepts, & Powerbar), and my amazing friends/support crew (you know who you are)!
The plan is to swim hard, bike hard, and run like I stole it ;)

Hotter than Hell

2010-09-20T11:08:00.002-05:00

I will NEVER forget this ride. It was 1hr shorter than planned (5:15) and there was absolutely no way we could've done the 30min trun, but the mental struggle we endured out in Ocotillo (middle of f'in nowhere!!) will make the aid station-lined, cool temperatured Hawaii course seem like a stroll in the park!

In all the rides I've done- short, long, indoor, outdoor, in rain, in cold, in heat, on flats, up Palomar....this one is by far the hardest & the only one where the last 2hrs I seriously questioned whether or not I was going to make it back, and if so, whether it'd be rescued or actually on my bike.

I'm too tired to write and Julie, my partner in hell, did a wonderful job rehashing our adventure:

http://www.jdunkle.blogspot.com/2010/09/arrive-alive.html

Randoms

2010-09-15T11:09:00.003-05:00

51 minutes left before I can go run :)!
I made a bet with Kristin last night that I could wait until 10am to head out on my first workout- usually as soon as the coffee works its magic I'm bolting out the door.
So, in order to make time pass quicker I thought I'd blog some random $h*t...

First, after a wonderful 2.5hr HILLY (seriously only ran flat for maybe 2 miles), pavement run in San Antonio Sunday morning, my brother, his girlfriend and my mom went to Austin hoping to get in a swim at the Quarry. But, little did we know we'd drive 1hr to find out Pure Gym is 18 and up only. Great! Our next thought was Barton Springs but that was closed due to the flooding earlier in the week so we went to Deep Eddy Pool. It wasn't so great as it was packed as usual for a Sunday. But, we made the most of it and followed that up with dinner at Whole Foods before driving home.

Monday morning I kept true to my routine of some sort of F up when I'm within a month of Kona. Only kona- it doesn't happen for any other race, go figure. I was SLOWLY walking down our hardwood stairs to go get breakfast and in the first two steps, just like out of a cartoon, I flew backwards and landed smack dab in the middle of my back, right on the vertebrae!! The first thing I did, trembling, was stand and move around in every which way to make sure I hadn't really screwed myself. Thankfully my fate wasn't to be a vegetable for the rest of my life :)
I iced, spread Traumeel all over my back, and hoped this soreness/bruising would go away soon.

Yesterday I went to see KP for some chiro and so he could give me expert opinion whether or not I had done any serious damage, and if not, whether I could run the next day (today) without making things worse. He gave me the "go" but warned it would hurt for the next week or so, and to just get through it no worries.

Cool.

Also, I've decided to race SD Triathlon Classic this Saturday. I'm still waiting for the final OK from coach Paul, but I'm pretty sure he'll say yes considering my "long" day is set for Sunday.

Lastly, I thought I'd post my latest fave songs on my playlist:

Riahnna "Only Girl in the World"
Eminem "W.T.P (white trash party)"
Eminem "Cinderella Man"
Shakira "Waka Waka"
DJ Khaled, Akon, & TI "We Takin Over"
LMFAO "Shots"
Katy Perry "Teenage Dream"
Ke$ha "Take It Off"
Luciana "I Like That"

Wrapping up Texas trip!

2010-09-09T11:18:00.002-05:00

I'll give a day by day play from Sun trough today, Thursday....
Sunday: morning swim at Barton Creek pool and then race check in. Then watched tennis all afternoon!
Monday: Austin Oly----> had a great race! Sunday I stopped at Austin TriCyclist and Missy, the shop owner was nice enough to lend me her personal Aquaman wetsuit. I had never heard ofthat brand but it fit so I was more than thankful!
It turned out to be a great suit that with zero body glide or any other lubricant came off in miliseconds :)
I had a good swim- great start then just past the turnaround lost touch with Desiree an continued just behind her coming up around a min from her into T1.
On the bike my legs were far from fresh but that's exactly what this race was about- pushing through and findingthat extra gear from the fatigue. Thankfully the open wave escaped the rain on the bike. It started to drizzle just as I was turning in for T2. Without my carbon break pads that wouldve been sketchy.
Onto the run it rained for about 2 miles then stopped and turned quite steamy :) I felt on pace - miles like 3-5 was inconvenienced by a stabbing little cut on my heel from the wet chafing without socks. But the last mile or so I just got usedto it and was able to close the run a bit faster.
All in all a solid day that I'm very happy about!!

Tuesday: start of the monsoon :/ But not much tocomplain about on a recovery day. We had a.m. Masters planned but it was supposed to be outside so Sierra said it was off. I was already up and coffee'd so googles a YMCA and went for a good 3k. Then an easyspin on the trainer later in the day and more tennis!!

Wednesday: monsoon continued. I was supposed to ride 5hrs with a 40mjn run but that turned into 3hrs on the trainer and a treadmill run.
Ehhh whatever. It was a solid session noetheless and you get what you get.

Today: OUCH!!!!! I really don't know how I couldve handled this workout if yesterday had Bern as long as planned in the usual high 90s sun. John, Sierra's husband, came along for my track workout and I couldn't have had better support!! It wouldve been very difficult without him. 23min rolling w up to track in steam room conditions, 20x400s hitting 1:25-1:30. Stoked to be pretty much smacking a consistent 1:28
At 5 to go I felt like I was gonna faint :/ i really shouldve taken a gel as I desperately needed salt. But gotta keep pushing and I finished strong with a 1:27 and back home in about 25min. Total run was about 1:30-1:40.
Lots of rest now and heading for a long swim at Pure Gym on the Quarry. It'll be rad cuz Ill do about 4k in the pool theb 2x the 750m course set on Quarry Lake/pond which is part of that gym- freakin awesome!!

Tomorrow: swim, 110+mi ride, 45min run. I'll follow that up with BBQ at Whole Foods and head home to sleep lots fr Sat's culmination!

Sat: 2:30 am run, swim, 45min PM run

Sunday: REST & delish brunch with the family at Club Sonterra :)!!!!

Monday: back to Cali to recover and then push a bit more before flying out to Kona!

Labor Day Weekend!

2010-09-05T04:50:00.002-05:00

Getting into Austin Riday afternoon I was reminded why this was my close-second choice after San Diego for where to move after college! Austin is just RAD! I made the obvious first stop at Whole Foods to get some real TX 'cue that I'd been craving for months :) The Bowie St BBQ joint inside the store is insanely yummy- I pounded down a full rack of baby backs and 3 spare ribs!
After that I still had some time to kil before heading to Sierra's so I went by Jack & Adams to inquire about a wetsuit rental as I forgot- or rather left on purpose as I really didn't think the race (at least for the elite wave) would be wetsuit legal. Sadly, at 73ish degrees it's wetsuit :/
J&A had a Rocket Science small that Im going to test out at Barton Springs today and if that doesn't fit then Sierra thankfully brought her Zoot swimskin that might fit.

Anyway, I got to Sierra's & Marie, our other training partner for the week, her husband, & John were already there so I settled into my room quickly and planted myself on the couch absolutely demolished!!

After Sierra flew in we all made it an early night to be up early for a swim.
That long run Thursday really did me in- you know when you're lying in bed with flu-like night sweats and the desire to sink into bed as if it were quicksand....yeah...

Luckily I got great sleep so by morning I was feeling like the semi big brick wasn't going to land me in my grave!

We swam at Barton Springs Country Club which was fab as we had the whole 25m pool to ourselves - & efficiently cranked out our 3k workout.

Then it was back home for a quick change and off on our ride! Sierra said after that she was a little concerned with the pace I set from the start but it was the best choice as I knew it was an effort we could hold and given that we all seemed to have some fatigue in our legs it's better to start out working than plan a "build"- you're likely going to get xomforable at that ez warm up pace and never really descend. It's like the start of an IM marathon. I hear a lot of people say "start slow and build" uhhh good luck! I agree you're retarted to fly out of T2 at like 6:15 pace but starting out at 9:00s hoping to drop down to high sevens or low 8's is just as dumb. Unless you have a huuuge downhill stretch home negative splitting is possible in your dreams only. I believe in starting out at a controlled pace about 20sec/mi slower than your goal pace.

But I digress....

So our ride was solid- we did a good 3x20 intervals on te Velo loop and back home for 4:30 total and 85miles. Oh and we managed to get a $200 ticket for turning left on a red light. Marie escaped the ticket as the light switched green right as she took the turn haha.

We're hoping to giro court sometime next week to get that dismissed!!

After the ride, we did a painful little 30min trun on some good rolling pavement and dove straight into the pool hehe :)

Sierra & I then hit Costco & Whole Foods to stock up Ironman style, & John grilled some chicken, I made Salad, & she roasted some sweet potatoes for a perfect recovery dinner! Yes, dinner! W finised the day at like 3:30 so after showers and the trip to the store it was time for the last and only real meal of the day :)

More couch and US Open time then hit the sack for a bit of broken sleep and up at 4:00am- that's what happens to me after any semi big training day- I can't sleep much!!! :(

Whatever. As soon as everyone's up we'll hit the pool for a swim then get our bikes ready for check in, pick up race stuff, I'll do a short jog, and chillax with another homemade dinner for the Austin Olympic tomorrow!

Everything's Bigger in Texas

2010-09-02T17:14:00.002-05:00

Apart from the monster size barbeque & trucks, there's the wonderful triple digit temps in the summer :)

It's been almost two years that I've spent the majority of my time in California living and training. So, when I arrived yesterday evening to San Antonio & did an easy evening jog to the gym, core workout, and jog home, it was clear that my heat resistance was in a bit of a hole.

However, I knew that in just 2-3 days I'd be near perfectly adjusted since growing up here I spent every day-lit minute outside playing under the scorching heat and humidity- the body does not forget that ;)

To accelerate that process, I really gave it to myself today hehe.

After an amazing 9hrs of sleep, I woke up, had some coffee and headed out on one of my favorite long loops around Alamo Heights- passing by my elementary, middle, and high schools. By the time I got started, 9am, it was already in the 90s. Usually I can run 2hrs with just a short water fountain stop. But today for my 2.5 I wanted to start my run on an empty stomach and practice fueling in the heat. I'm proud to announce I downed 2 powergels, and a full bottle of gatorade, plus another one of ice water I snagged from a gas station.

After that, came home, and....another lovely part of hot weather: I'm not hungry!!....so just some greek yogurt and fruit, a nap, and I felt ready to swim. The gym pool didn't sound so appealing plus I'm trying to be outside as much as possible so I went to the Alamo Heigthts Pool which I haven't been to since birthday parties when I was like 8, and I had the whole 50m outdoor pool to myself!!! Fantastic!!!!

The water itself was in the lower 80s so coupled with the sun beaming on my back close to 100F, it fell just short of heaven.

Tomorrow I'll do a short ride then head to swim at Barton Springs, dinner at Whole Foods Austin (best place in the entire world!!!), and plant myself at Sierra's to be her little rag doll until next weekend.

I look forward to smashing myself as much as possible and getting back to California for some recovery in the best shape of my life. Today showed me things are right on track. This trip was definitely KEY for my race.

silence is golden

2010-08-30T21:05:00.003-05:00

Actually, silence means I AM golden :D

I don't have much to say so why blog. It's simple- training is going well. I'm having fun, still healthy, & no injuries.

The work in SoCal has been done & Wed I leave for a last block in Austin until the 14th of Sept.

Back to San Diego until the 26th and it's off to Hawaii!!!

This year Kona will be rad- just from the fact that so many friends are going to both race and spectate!

If I could turn back time...

2010-08-15T22:29:00.003-05:00

This post is a detour from my usual rant on MY training & racing. Which, in short, has been stellar. This weekend ended a 3wk block & am very much looking forward to a recovery one to follow.

Since Saturday afternoon, just before starting my trun off a long bike, I've been devastated for my brother. My mom texted me saying "not good. he ran great, but was 3rd or 4th chase pack". My stomach sank, I continued my day very sad and couldn't get a hold of him to have him explain what happened.

I decided not to go watch because it was a hassle to switch my big training weekend my coach had planned and Daniel and I agreed it would probably add more stress to his morning and his race.

Anyway, now it's Sunday, I've picked him up from the relay he did with some teammates today and we both can't stop talking about "woulda, shoulda, coulda". It's good he goes back to TX tomorrow or we'd drive each other insane wanting to change the past.

I now understand what parents go through with kids in competition- I can't think of anything else all day!!!!!!

It's his fault, he knows it, and that's what kills me the most. He ran the fastest run split of the day in 15:22, was 4th out of the water, but his mistakes made his bike PEDESTRIAN.

I told him the night before "don't make unforced errors. It's one thing to be beaten than to lose. The former your competition was clearly better, the latter you f'd yourself".

So when I got the run down of how the day played out he explained his rookie ideas of changing things up before a race (helloooo!! that's the #1 thing you don't do before an A race!!)

Frist, decides to leave his trikit unzipped so he doesn't have to deal with unzipping it for the run. So when the wetsuit came off, so did the one piece- bear chested, he lost valuable time in T1 putting it back on.

Fine, moving on, that was not the end all. What was? Deciding sometime this week (so mad I didn't know about this!) to cut his shoe straps sooooo short that when getting his feet in while riding, the strap comes completely out of the buckle. Thus, he rode the entire ride unstrapped. One did strap in- getting that one to work cost him being dropped from the 1st chase pack....eventually landing in the 3rd or 4th!

I want to strangle him and hug him at the same time. He has two more years as a Junior, but he had this race. Just being in the 2nd chase pack, with that killer run, it would've been in the bag.

Unfortunately this journal/blog of mine, which I often use as a way to vent so I don't bottle stuff up, is public so many will read this as excuses I make for him. No. I've told him he sabotaged his own day, there's no pitty party only moving forward and having a great XC season this fall. It's a lesson learned. However, it does hurt deeply- & hard to tell if it hurts me more or not :'(

Kona Round #3

2010-07-26T19:13:00.003-05:00

Today Kona training started. Part of me is really excited, the other part (tiny, but it exists) is scared to the point of wanting to puke. Not scared of the training, that's the easy part- I lack no motivation. Rather, I'm scared of the sinking feeling you get at the point of the race where you've realized you've failed. I've faced this once- last year, coming off the bike, nearly coming to terms with the chance of having to hold glow sticks if I don't pull out a decent run. Thankfully I ran my PR (3:32), & climbed from dead last to 2nd. Still, I wanted to throw my bike into the ocean. I told my mom, "be happy, I'll never do triathlon again". Of course that was my shattered ego talking. It was only a couple hours of broken sleep later that yielded a desperate attempt at signing up for IMAZ just a month later.

To a lot of people it sounded stupid. I had gotten second at the World Champs, it's not my job, a lot of people would kill to just participate there...and even when it was my first IM in 2007, over and over I was told to have fun, to not expect anything.

But, I'm sorry, that's just not how I function. I like to win. If it's a race, I'm racing. I do not line up, or slap on a bib number to "participate". I may go into some races tired from training/not tapered, whatever. However, I still want to win, try to win, and go my hardest. It's called a competitive nature. I grew up chasing boys, & taking the hardest challenges- even if they were something completely out of my reach.

I digress but bear with me...Recently I read Agassi's autobiography and he talked about playing down to players that were worse than him, and playing up to the level of thhose that were better. Ah, thankfully I'm not the only one that had that issue!! I absolutely hated random matches because I could potentially lose to a 4yr old beginner hitting lobs and accidental drop shots. Yet, pair me with a world class player, and I have the match of my life.

Anyways, back to the present. I'm proud on how I've handled this year. Those around me can attest to the fact that I've mellowed out a bit. It's the end of July & I'm fit, healthy, and injury free. So my build to Kona will at least start on a completely different note than last year.

I have so many great training partners, an excellent coach whose training I've responded to quite well, and amazing travel/training opportunities. It's promising.

There are so many great athletes every year in Kona. All I can do is have my best race. But I know that if I give myself a time goal I can disregard all of them on race day. Why? Because if I hit that goal of breaking 10hrs, I will undoubtedly be top 5 amateur.

For USAT triathlon I have to be top 10 Amateur in Kona to get my Pro Card. Yes, I go through the Mexican Federation so I could get by with a more relaxed criteria. However, I don't want a shortcut.

Third trip to Kona, third attempt to WIN my AG, second attempt to crack 10hrs....I want to get my Pro card so Cozumel can be my first Ironman as a pro. It just would be really special given that it's in Mexico and a lot of my family members & friends will be there.

Roughly 10wks until I land on the Big Island.

BRING IT!

Vineman 70.3

2010-07-21T12:42:00.003-05:00

This trip was awesome! It's kind of a story....

Wednesday evening I headed to Pasadena to stay the night at Sierra's so we could leave Thursday morning for our looong drive to Windsor. After a good night's sleep, we swam a solid LCM workout & I was suprised & elated to be right behind her in the pool as she's an amazing swimmer. We followed that with a 40min trail run, breakfast at Whole Foods and then hit the road.

After roughly 5hrs of driving we stopped in Tiburon to have dinner with John & Sierra's friends. I had a yummy red snapper overlooking the Pacific with San Francisco in the distance.

It was good to take that break before driving the final 1hr into Santa Rosa/Windsor. I had reservations at an Extended Stay in Santa Rosa & that turned out to be a nightmare. We get there, get our room key from the girl in the office (motel-ish place with the doors right by the street- I was immediately not digging this place), go up to the room, and find there are people there!!! Back down we go to get a room change, and we spent the next 45min watching the girl go back and forth confused as ever by the computer as to which rooms are non smoking, which are occupied, which have two beds. Really? Is it that difficult?!?! We were tired, and just wanted a decent bed. Ugh. On the last attmept she gives us a "nonsmoking room", but as we walk to that side of the building the ENITRE thing reeks smoke. That was my threshold. "Oh I didn't realize you could not even be around smoke", she says. WTF?! No, just like I can't be around cow shit. Sierra quickly found a Holiday Inn that had rooms available in Windsor.

Ahhh, much better! Clean, not motel-ish, maybe 2 blocks from the finish/Windsor High School, & with cute little shops/restaurants within walking distance. Perfect.

Content with some good rest, we got up and went for a swim at the Russian River around 10am. It was absolutely gorgeous out! The water felt fantastic and I was sooo happy to be swimming without concern for any wildlife, chop, surf, etc. We stopped at a little fruit stand on the way back and I ate one of the best papayas I've ever had :D

The next day we just did a little jog & ride, I found Golden Spoon in the middle of my ride, checked in our stuff, and mellowed out.

Race day!...

My wave went off at 7:42

SWIM- After shivering for about 1hr in transition, despite putting my wetsuit on for warmth, jumping into the river was heavenly. The water felt like a bath. I lined up front right to avoid the brunt of the current going out, then the plan was to swim the boueys (middle) coming back to use the current in my favor. It was really uneventful. A group of about 2-3 girls were swimming ahead but in the middle, and I was fine just swimming on my own along the edge, avoiding having to manuever slower people from the waves ahead. At the turn around, I actually stood, dolphin dove onto the feet of a girl in my wave and we cruised back in together. Sorry to the (I think) Asian dude in the white cap that I almost knocked unconscious with my elbow!

I cam out of the water right under 30min which is exactly what I wanted.

BIKE- My only complaint on this lovely bike course is that it's not closed to traffic. Lauren even came by me at around mile 35 screaming she had just been nicked by an Escalde. I felt great riding, and just rode HARD from start to finish. I don't think I could've gone any faster, so am simply very satisfied with that whole leg. One thing for future races: I've been experimenting since Honu with much higher dosages of caffeine than I've ever taken, and which I never use during training, and I think this amount needs to be lowered closer to the just coffee, gels, and maybe a couple of Zenergy tabs that I used to take. A couple of times on the bike I felt like my heart was going to pop out of my chest- scary!

T2- this needs to be inclduded because I made it a significant part of my race :( See the day before a girl in my wave (F 29&U) had taped a huuuge colorful heart & arrow on the grass as our wave cardboard indicator was obscured in the middle of the race because there are few girls 29&U compared to other AGs. So rather than count rows or look for Landmarks as usual, I just planned on running until I spotted the heart & arrow. Well, I get there after dismounting from the bike and my heart & arrow are gone!! CRAP! I proceeded to spend until the next century looking for my spot in transition. Lesson: never rely on heart girl.

RUN- First 4 miles were a bit of a struggle. But from mile 5, and especially once I reached the 1mile loop at the La Crema winery, I found my rythm, felt awesome, and picked up the pace home. It was a bummer that the last 5k the aid stations had no coke to give out, just water so I made it to the finish right at empty. The good thing is, my legs felt strong, so with continued nutrition, I felt I could've continued running a lot longer.

So the race was a success. I wanted to go sub 4:50, sub 4:45 on an ideal day, & I clinched 4:49. I ran a PR for a HIM in 1:35, 1st in my AG, 7th Amateur, & 19th F. Not too shabby.

Sierra proved she's on fire & that her run is not a weakness. She won overall amateur with a huge PR!! Her job between now & Kona is to just focus on making ME fast in the water & the bike as she has it all figured out for herself. On that note, I'll be heading to TX Sept 1st through 12th. I'll spend 2 days in San Antonio then the 3rd through the 10th with Sierra in Austin training our butts off in true heat & humidity, race the Austin Oly Tri Sept 6th, and stay two more nights in San Antonio before flying home.

The day after the race, still filled with adrenaline, I was keen on racing Steelhead 70.3 in two weeks. But after the looong drive back to Pasadena Monday, and an epic failure of a swim yesterday morning (1,000meters & DONE!) I decided it's best to stay put, minimize costs/travel, & race some local stuff instead.

So I'll be sprinting at Solana Beach this Sunday, then the Surf Monkey swim/run next weekend, Santa Barbara at end of August, and the Austin race in Sept.

On the drive back home, since Sierra had to fly back Sunday night to work early Monday, it was just her husband John & I, and he is the world's best tour guide/sherpa/supporter!! He took me over the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, we stopped at the Fishermna's Wharf to buy some sourdough at Boudin's, then ate the best Cioppino at Scoma's on the water- basically the best San Fran day tour a girl could ask for!! :D

Long blog, I know. Done. Time for a week of paddling, light s/b/r stuff if I feel like it, some squash, maybe rent a kayak at Carlsbad Lagoon...who knows.....

The End of the Beginning

2010-07-11T19:53:00.006-05:00

One week exactly until I finish the 1st part of the 2010 season & start on the bigger second. Part 1 will have consisted of 2 half marathons, 1 xterra run, a 10k, 2 aquathons, 2 sprints, 1 olympic, & 3 Half IM's....Part 2 holds 1 aquathon, 1 slightly longer than olympic, & 2 Ironmans. That is one hell of a season :D

Thursday I take off for Vineman so not much time to blog until after that race- look for lots of pictures & hopefully a very positive race report, ha.

This week I had two training sessions that stand out: 1) a 4hr ride with Beth that we didn't start until 11am Wednesday as it was rainy & cold. We hoped waiting would improve the weather but it only slightly minimized the rain to a drizzle. Paul had given me 2x60min w/ 15ez at z3high to mid z4. OUCH. It looked as rough on paper as it was on the road.

I really would've struggled immensely without Beth, after the first when my legs were toast, she wasn't allowing any wiggle room & after an ez recovery out to Del Dios (reverse Swami's) she just said "ok ready? just tell me when..." So off I went for rd 2. Round 1 had been a full loop of Santa Luz with half of the San Dieguito horse tracks oval.

When I got home, all I thought about was food and getting my legs up for the next smash....a 2.5 hr run with Caroline at Lake Hodges trails Thursday morning.

That was AWESOME too :)! I'd never run out there & it sure made those minutes fly by. We held a good base pace, did a recovery version of masters after & that topped off my last push for Vineman.

Saturday was Colleen's bachelorette party & about 15 of us girls headed out to Temecula for some wine tasting. It was a blast. Pics below:

Then today Daniel, Kristin & I rode our bikes up to Tamarack for the Carlsbad Sprint. After a little jog warm up we were off! The water was a bit chilly as it's been winter this summer...but anyhow, a quick recap-

Swim was crap, not until the first bouey when we finally were paralleling the shore did I start to make way & swim. The "elites" went off with the 30-34 males & another group so that coupled with my surf entry disability, meant suckage.

Heard I was about 1min back from Jessi S. out of the water & I pushed the bike as hard as I could. The legs were pretty lead-filled but I felt good overall. Lauren came flying by around mile 5 of the bike, & I hung with her for a little while then she was out of sight. The run was the best! I felt really good and had great turnover going. Lauren caught Jessi with about 1 mile to go, & I was closing in on Jessi but ran out of real estate with like 50m left. All in all a FUNNNN day with local friends.

After the race, we hung out for awards & then Daniel & I literally raced home cuz we forgot to refill our water bottles & were hungry so rushing to get back, shower & head to pizza with some peeps.

We tried out a new pizza joint in San Elijo & watched the finals of the World Cup- amazing- so stoked for Spain!!

Now, it's definitely taper time & getting all set for my road trip to Nor-Cal!!

Whoa, Vineman is coming up!

2010-07-04T06:59:00.006-05:00

This is probably the longest I've gone without blogging :/ Lots of stuff has happened since Honu, including an awesome 2 wks with my mom here visiting.
On the training front- things have been stellar!! The week after Honu, I was hit with some sort of delayed fatigue that lasted about 5 days. It sucked. All I wanted to do was sleep. The good thing is I've learned that just because you have all day to train doesn't mean you should. I'm proud to have zero injuries, or any niggling pains. When I've felt like crap, rather than keep plugging along like a greedy rookie, I've called it a day & gone home.

A couple of days ago I went with Julie & Caroline on the infamous Henshaw loop. It was gnarly. Being my longest ride of the year- the last "long" ride logged in around Feb I think for "80 for Haiti"- J & C were inflicting a serious amount of pain on me...which I thank them for, but after the fact :D

The next long ride was yesterday & that was an awesome success. Julie guided us through "KP's epic ride": 111 miles, roughly 8,000ft of climbing, a lot of aero time, little traffic, and finally warm weather. Our group of about 8 did a really good job of keeping pace & not hanging out at frequent rest stops. In fact, we only stopped 2 times to refuel.

These were taken on stop 2 after climbing up to Julian:

Back to the car, Jen & I did a short trun around the park/bball fields, & then I sped home to get Daniel & head to a fun bbbq/pool party w/ friends...spending the next 6 hours eating non stop :D

Oh yea, before this super long ride- last weekend was San Diego International. It went really well for me. I finally swam in a manner that reflects my pool abilities/work. Also, I had a good bike- which isn't so hard to pull off on the ever-so-incredible Slice. The run....oh, the run....Caroline somehow transitioned in ITU manner & even though I pulled in a couple sec's ahead into T2, she darted out about 15sec in front of me, & I basically didn't HTFU enough to reel her back. Plus her run is ON FIRE- can't wait to see her smash IM Canada!

Anyway, ended up 5th- managed to hold off Beth. I kept looking back to see when Ms. Gazelle would come floating by. It was pretty cool to snag 4,5,6th place - some fun and friendly competition with training partners.

Daniel did AMAZING!!! Him & Garrett led the elite field on the swim, & though he lost a good chunk of time on the bike to those guys, he pulled off a 33:18 run to tie for fastest run split!! Not to mention he did that on two very cut up feet thanks to his kluts fall coming into T2. After the race I had to take him to get stitches- 8 on one, 9 on the other. He was out all this week, but it's healing well & by tomorrow he should be back at it.

The little guy beasting up the run (red mark on left shoe= blood):

Next weekend we're both racing Carlsbad Sprint- one of my favorite races!! Then the following weekend I'm off to Vineman 70.3 with my friend Sierra. I am STOKED to do that race as I've never been in that part of California, & heard it can be a pretty warm race :D :D

That's it! Heading out for a semi long run in a little while- Happy 4th of July!!!

random Hawaii pics

2010-06-08T21:43:00.005-05:00

Blake & I after our wins

Final breakfast at Lava Java Monday morning

Sunrise along the Queen K

Bike ready for check-in

Post race before awards w/ Kristin & Luke

Pretty Fairmont

another Umeke (Hawaiian bowl) :)

Sushi dinner after race YUMMMMM

Froyo day before leaving- rad place called Orange Tree right on Palani... I will stalk it in Oct.

Energy Lab: where it counts!

3 for 3 at Hawaii 70.3

2010-06-07T09:53:00.003-05:00

It's Monday, and I fly back to the mainland a little later. On one hand, I wish I could stay & train through every inch of the Ironman course until I can see, taste, feel, & smell it only by closing my eyes....but, I'm very much looking forward to an awesome summer with my little brother, some time with my mom, & of course logging lots of miles with all my SD buds that will also be gearing up for Kona in Oct.
This was my 6th trip to the Big Island, & my 5th time racing- the other was a training camp. Three times the 70.3, twice the Ironman. Now, considering this Island is known for its variable weather, you would think that before Saturday, I'd have at least experienced some rough conditions on the 4 prior races. No. 2007 no wind, heat was eh, just the 80's. 2009 the half was really hot but again no wind, and in the fall there was some headwind on the bike, but run had plenty of cloud cover.
...Saturday, however, I was finally presented with some wind! I don't mind it, because it's not like I'm in some isolated chamber, everyone gets the same dose of Pele's medicine. It was none other than great practice for what could be a windy Ironman this fall.

Anyway...onto the trip...
I got to rent a cool blue PT cruiser, which is actually a very smooth ride and really gas efficient. Wednesday night I slept over at Cassie's, my homestay. She lives ALL the way up Palani at like 4,000+ft in a gorgeous house with a beautiful view of the coastline. Thursday morning I went ahead and headed up to the Fairmont as lava Java didn't open until 630 & it was 530. I needeed coffee asap, & better to drive up than sit in the car waiting. Kristin was up so we headed to Hapuna for a nice swim & as usual (for me) the water was super calm. Then we rode a bit and spent the day laying out by the pool- perfection! After dinner, I drove back to town for a good night's sleep and to prep my stuff as Friday (night before race) I was going to stay the night at the Fairmont.
So Friday morning I check in & am greeted with the awesome news that I was upgraded to "Fairmont Gold" haha sweet! I got a cool room on the 6th floor that required a special elevator key card. As it was only one night I wouldn't get to enjoy the extra ammenitites: lounge, free hors d'oeuvres, etc....but it was cool nonetheless!
Friday night I went to dinner with Mike, Laura, Kristin, & Luke at Macaronni Grill- really yummy!

Finally....Saturday!! I was soooo ready to race. I could not believe I was in Hawaii without injury & at my fittest. Laura was nice enough to drive us to Hapuna so we avoided the shuttles. The winds were BLOWING!!! I set everything up, headed down to warm up in the water, and right away it was clear- it's gonna be a slow swim, chop, chop, chop.

However, it was all good because mentally I wouldn't be phased. I wasn't racing with HR, power, Garmin...nothing...just my watch that would tell me how close I was to noon so I could hurry to be able to shower & check out before 1pm hehe.
OK so the quick play by play before I bore anyone to death:

SWIM
Great- didn't get beat up, drafted the whole time, came out in a good position. Not my fastest swim here time wise, but definitely relative to the field and for the conditions it was my best swim. Got out feeling completely unphased- good sign of fitness.

BIKE
Absolutely no complaints, felt excellent the whole time, fueled great, and it was my indeed my fastest bike here on top of the fact that it was the windiest of the 3 times I've done this race :)! The only bummer for me was the slightly cooler temps and drizzle we experienced climbing up to Hawi because the hotter, more humid, the better I do (when I'm not fat haha), and the more most other people drop like flies :D

RUN
Well, first T2- took a bit of time to sit down and pull my short slightly compressed socks on- scientific benefit or not I don't care, I like the slight tightness and that they're also very thin so my feet can breathe. Ok so outta transition I went with only a quick stop to pee.

Right away "Oh F*&%K!!!" my legs felt incredible- like I had not ridden my bike at all (again, sign of good fitness yay!)...however, my stomach or I guess you could say both obliques cuz it was on the sides, hurt like hell!! It was sooo frustrating because my legs were saying "I wanna run, let's gooooo!!!" and my stomach would barely let me jog. So in the first 2 miles I stopped a few times, to bend over and try and dig my hands in to work out the stitch, I swallowed 4 salt tabs at once thinking maybe it was dehydration, I walked 2 aid stations to slowly drink coke thinking that would settle it. No no no. At one point, I thought I cannot continue to even try to jog, so I might either have to walk for quite a while or perhaps the whole half- great c'mon Hawaii cut me a freakin break!!

AHHHH....finally at like mile 5 after continuing at a very frustrating jog, the stiches/cramps started to go away. I think what it was is my stomach shut down and didn't assimilate the last gel and about half a bottle of my liquid cals I took in the last few miles of the bike. Luke told me after the race it was probably the heat/humidity that I haven't been exposed to yet in San diego screwing with my body's ability to assimilate calories while racing. Whatever, it still pissed me off.
At least it started to go away, & I was slowly able to increase my pace and satisfy my legs that were getting extremely bored. Nearing the 10k mark I began to pick people off, and had a good run to the finish.

Still managed to cross in 4:58, and run my fastest run here of 1:37 despite the pedestrian first 5miles. 1st in 20-24 AG, 11th F. Plus, at best, I think my run could've gone down to the low 1:30's so in the grand scheme of the 70.3 miles, I can only say it was a good solid day for me :) That in itself gave me huuuuge confidence for the rest of the season. With some more big training days where I'm taking in calories at high efforts, & now in summer temperatures, the stomach issue should be gone & I will be able to have my best RUNS. My fitness is SOOO there and I could not be happier. There's an insane amount of time and work to be done before October & coming to Hawaii now once again offered priceless lessons for the fall.

After the race we had some lunch by the pool, then I enjoyed an awesome sushi dinner with Janna & Blake- who despite a flat & a hand me down replacement wheel from sag, finished 8th overall & won his 25-29 AG for a ticket back in Oct!!

What's even better is that along with fitness and multiple Ironmans and 70.3's comes the beautiful short recovery window :D!!! I have ZERO SIP ZILCH soreness and am only a little tired overall, partly due to not being able to CRANK that half marathon. I think what will require most of the downtime this week will be the effects of travel.

Alright that's it- back to work tomorrow! Cannot wait to see my mom & brother!!!!

IT IS TIME

2010-05-30T20:00:00.004-05:00

This is it. It's finally here- race week!!!!!
My next update will be from paradise, aka Kona :D
Random stuff in my head....

- I haven't packed. Actually, I haven't done my 2 massive loads of laundry, cleaned my car, my apt, organized stuff in order to pack, or even taken the suitcase n bike box outta my terrace closet. THIS WILL BE DONE TOMORROW. It'll be easy tomorrow cuz I only have a swim on schedule.

- Speaking of swim tomorrow- 8am instead of 6, sweet. & a special Memorial Day workout that'll be longer than usual and likely bring a large crowd which will make it even more fun....taper's all about fun, ha.

- I don't really feel super, which doesn't have me too worried considering it's 6 days until the race and the DRAMATIC decrease in volume before then will likely having my jumping out of my own skin. Overall I feel pretty good energy, but my legs only started to feel more like in taper vs recovery-from-a-big-block in today's ride.

- The bike, which will be crowned with a Hawaiian name once Honu is in the books, is ready to rock. The race wheels are in their bag, so all I have to do is tune the bike, give it a good clean, take it apart, box it, and pray the airline people are having a good day at work when they touch my sh*t!!

- I'm uber uber uber uber uber uber excited and happy and confident going into this race. I AM THE FITTEST I HAVE EVER BEEN GOING INTO AN EVENT. That, plus, I'm not injured, I haven't been sick in who knows how long, I'm right at the weight I want to be for mid season/first peak, I've slept & eaten as perfect as possible, & I've added that infamous "balance" thing to my life which has included some fun times with friends & a little bit of vino here & there....I do love my wine, ha ;)

- today there was a lot of "8%" talk going around as Brazil unfolded & thus I created my own little experiment for Honu- my initial goal was top 5 F, but I'd like to see if I would make the hypothetical cut (as Honu I believe doesn't give out prize money). So, motto for Sat: "don't get (hypothetically) 8% 'ed". If I want this to be my career some time soon, it'd be good to know if I would be bringing home even a little bit of dough!

- Nervous thoughts: that some new rule requiring some visa/passport/stamp/Mexican ban from Hawaii whatever the heck, hasn't sprung & I get on my damn flight this time! ....that the airline doesn't loose my bike box or do any damage!....in other words, that my entire TRAVEL is smoooooooth.

- Excited to see Cassie & her family! They are the nicest, coolest people on the island, and I feel right at home when I'm there :) :)

- Excited to se friends from TX, and elsewhere that I haven't seen & are also racing, as well as some fun times w/ my west coast homies.

- I can taste the sweet reward of hard work at that finish line on Sat. I've been visualizing every meter of that course & possible good & bad scenarios.

- Finally, triple duper excited that two days after I get back my mom & brother come for the summer!!!!!!!! well, my mom only for like 10 days but still :)

I AM THANKFUL FOR EVERY OPPORTUNITY I HAVE BEEN GIVEN. FEW PEOPLE GET TO TRAVEL & RACE IN HAWAII. MANY HUGE THANKS TO:

My sponsors: Newton, Nytro, Powerbar, BeakerConcepts, Raha Sports

My coach: Paul R.

My family, & friends that constantly care for & demonstrate their belief in me.

This first big race of '10 is for ya'll!

Yep, I found my 2010 theme song....

2010-05-26T07:27:00.004-05:00

Winner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMFegf6tT2s

Biggest Brick & Helloooo Taper!!

2010-05-25T06:38:00.005-05:00

What a gorgeous day it was for my last big training session before taper! I'm sooo happy I waited out the psycho (& cold) winds & opted for a mere 1hr run on the treadmill to recharge my batteries. I didn't get back to 100% by any means, but hours in bed coupled with a yummy steak dinner at casa Walsh, and I was nearing 75%.

I hit the pool first thing, just 45min, as I only wanted to feel the water, and let it get a little later in the morning before heading out on the bike.

I broke up the day into 6 sections: 1) warm up to Pendleton 2) 3x20min(10min) efforts in the Base 3) ez/steady back down the coast to Saxony Rd. 4) 6x saxony hill repeats 5) home at 4.5hrs........

6) Run! :D

As for the ride, my legs were basically flat. I didn't have much power, yet overall my body felt pretty good, not unmotivated or really tired. So, I was able to do the efforts and hill repeats just fine- a bit in the "get through it" mode. I got a flat halfway through my second 20min interval, & since I suck at changing clenchers, I was on the side of the road for about 15min :/ I only had one spare and CO2 so was praying I would change it right and not flat again otherwise my day would be kind of ruined.

All in all a decent ride but, by the time I got home, I was more than ready to be off the bike, and quite honestly I thought I'd have a pretty harsh time on the run. It's interesting, because on the bike I had that torn-muscle feeling where you know
you're on the verge of doing more damage than good if you try and push a little too hard....

However, as soon as I hit the pavement running I was elated! I guess doing a series of short runs in the 6min/mi range does wonders for your long runs in a very short window of time, because holding low 7s was the most comfortable, almost effortless thing. Time flew by as I was having a ball :D Suddenly I was by Ki's on the coast at just under 1hr, and ready to turn around...the way back is always a bit longer as it's mostly uphill home. I never once faded, and I couldn't help but sing songs in my head, and just be so grateful at getting to spend a whole day outdoors in the sunshine. It was by far my best run across any distance. I ran strong the whole way and actually negative split!

Stoked, I showered and darted to Rimel's for the best fish tacos in the world!! It's my usual refuel spot after a big day

Done, & done! Into compression, lots of sleep today in intervals, ice, and rolling into taper.

9 days....

TCSD Sprint & girls ride

2010-05-23T08:29:00.004-05:00

Early in the week I had asked coach Paul if I could race the TCSD Sprint on Sat and he had given me the go for the thurs Aquathon but not the sprint. "Okay" I responded...but by Friday evening Andrew had put my TT bars on the pretty Slice and I just could not pass on the chance to do a little test on it. Plus, coach had an open water swim scheduled for me anyway, which given my reluctance to become a victim of a shark attack, and the low probability of finding a swim buddy, the race made perfect sense.
So Saturday morning I headed down to Fiesta Island to join several other Tri Club peeps for a little throwdown. The beauty of a small just for fun race is the utter relaxation before the start, and no aero wheels, helmet...just good ol' fashion hurt :)
Plus, there is a lot to be said about racing frequently leading up to a key event, because honestly practicing transitions makes it just robotic after a while, so that come the important race, you just go with a natural flow.
Anyway, it's been non stop intensity mixed with volume since I can remember, and the late afternoon aquathon on Thurs really put me into fatigue mode. Therefore yesterday was all about just pushing through it and seeing what my body could do. I didn't expect any sort of spark like I had last weekend, and that definitely was the case. However, I am stoked to report that the whole race I felt "solid" - it's just the perfect word to describe it. I didn't feel fast but I did feel strong and fit- a very very good feeling and sign of what's in store for Honu.
A brief layout of the race:
- got in a good 2mi jog, and about 10min in the water to warm up
- had an ok swim, got onto the bike behind Julie D.
- 5 loops around south loop on the bike, saw Julie who is a rockstar for racing 3wks post her awesome race in STG near the end of the first loop
- passed her and continued riding strong, feeling surprisingly good and came off the bike in the lead
- the run was good, my legs didn't have any niggles to worry about and they felt, like I said before, "strong/solid", a little heavy so didn't have the 4mi SPRINT speed, but all in all an excellent training brick
- Beth...other stud who just got done with a killer STG race...caught me soon into the run and was outta sight
- I knew I had second in the bag, so continued running at a hard effort but nothing stupid or overkill

A word on the last bullet point: when we near taper time and are peaking for a key race, we walk a fine line between holidng onto that peak and getting into "form" through taper and being overzealous and pushing a little too much- leaving our race on the training grounds, or openning the door to an injury.

I've learned my lesson, so am being utterly careful that leading into taper at by the end of next week, every training session's purpose makes total sense, and I don't overdo anything- not to prove fitness to myself or anyone else.

Well, after the race i joned Julie, Jen, Beth, and later on John came along, for a mellow 2.5-3ish hr ride from Fiesta to Del Mar & back. It was so much fun, we chatted away, and it actually helped flush the race out of my legs.

*This wonderful pic is of Beth, sporting the utmost fashionable riding attire. Thanks to me joining in on the ride, she had wear her aero helmet as well- that's what ya get for getting me on the run Beth!

*OK ok, I also looked super intense with my speedsuit ;)haha

After lunch, and a nap, it was time for some relaxing & wine with friends :)

That brings us to today- have a 4.5hr ride and 2hr run on tap, but mother nature brought GNARLY wind & cold to Southern Cal in mid-May WTF?!?! So, that coupled with the solid day yesterday, and my philosophy of no stupidities before I get to Honu, I've decided to hop on the treadmill for an ez hr run, and swim later...saving my big brick to be done with higher quality tomorrow when it's warmer and not windy- remember it's 80s and humid in Hawaii...not training for Arctic 70.3 here!

Ok so now the gym is open so off I go!

Encinitas Sprint

2010-05-17T11:08:00.005-05:00

Once again,I got to race in my backyard at the Encinitas Sprint Triathlon. It’s an incredibly fun event, that also features a 5k, mile swim, a mini sprint tri, and paddleboard race!
I decided to race Elite, as in all the local races that allow me to do so, because there’s no better way to gain experience and challenge myself as I continue to try and make a career our of this sport than by racing against the best.
After crossing the line, in an absolute SPRINT finish, I can say this was by far the most fun and exciting short course race experience I’ve had! It has always been a wish of mine to come neck and neck into the chute with another girl, going all out, and taking in the thrill of raw racing. Wish granted :D…

The weather was overcast but not cold so actually perfect for racing. Also, the surf was really mellow which made for a good swim. I lost touch with the front pack but still managed a good swim- spending 6 days a week in the pool is really paying off! Onto the bike, I was beyond excited to be racing on the Cannondale Slice, I loooove it! It fits me perfectly, and though I just made the switch a couple of days ago, it’s like I’ve been riding it for years.

I was sitting in 4th, then about mile 3 Katya caught up to me and there was no sticking with her- she took off like a bullet. My legs felt pretty trashed from the whole week’s training, but in a sprint the good thing is it’s short enough that you can just push through that without much consequence other than physical discomfort (unlike an Ironman where you’d pretty much be walking come the marathon).
Into T2, it took me a bit to find my shoes as they had been scattered to opposite sides away from my spot. Finally got in my Newtons and hit the pavement. Running actually felt fabulous- the bike had woken up my dead legs just enough! I had, for me, a great run, clocking 19:32.

At the turnaround of the first loop (2loop course) I saw a girl- Darlene Hunt- that I knew I could catch, though it’d be close to the end, if I kept pace. At the bottom of a tiny steep pitch before turning toward the finish on the 2nd loop I was right behind her and chose to make my move.

Thinking back, the smartest thing would’ve been to stick quietly behind her, at a more relaxed pace than the one I had been running to catch up, and once we crested GO! But, I went at the bottom, she responded and we ran flat out side by side to the line. She managed to nick me by 0.1/sec!!! AHHH!!!! Haha. Regardless, it was the coolest thing ever and added unspeakable amounts of fuel to my fire for Hawaii 70.3

After the race, I rode home quickly to change, refuel, and then headed back down to hang out at the awards as our local studs took the podium, overall, and in their respective age groups. I had some time to kill waiting for Beth to finish her 3hr ride so we could do an afternoon run on some trails I've been wanting her to show me.

At the start of our run my caffeine high was beginning to die down but that's the beauty of training partners....without Beth I likely would've napped first then felt pretty out of it to run after that.

Once we hit the trails though, I felt awesome. Following the sprint effort, an aerobic run felt so great, I could've run through the night- literally! 75min flew by.

Immediately I took my disgusting self to Frog's for a long hot shower then blasted to Encinitas Ice Cream/Yogurt for a monster "fro-yo"....it's actually Only8 which is supposed to be all natural, fruit/fructose sweetened, & dairy free. If it's not a scam, it's the best thing man ever invented!!!

The day ended with a fun night drinking wine and catching up with good people.

....2 wks to Hawaii baby!!!!!!!!!!

*photos by Brightroom

Summary of the last cpl days

2010-05-11T11:13:00.003-05:00

I'm tired- my brain can't function at all right now. But in a few years I'd like to be able to look back and see what I was up to right about now...

1) Ran the Irongirl 10k on Sat. That was fun :) They give out sooo many things, you really get your entry fee's worth! Also, there are tons of first time 5k and 10kers out there...literally HUNDREDS of women out there enjoying a gorgeous SoCal morning in a healthy way.

I raced OK- pretty much screwed up what could've been sub 40 in the first 1/2mile of the race. I was just feeling so good and wanted to just go out hard, totally didn't even think about pacing. Also, to my defense hehe I got caught up with the fact that PNF was the leader's cyclist for a second there I felt like Heather Wurtele at IMSG....yea haha not quite ;)

Anyway, came in 3rd overall, 40:22...garmin actually showed 6.3 miles, a solid workout and with warm up and cool down got in 10miles for the day.

After a delish Jama Juice smoothie, I was feeling sooooo energetic like someone spiked my coffee that morning or something. Or, it could've been the insanely awesome 70degree weather that made me jump on my bike and ride down to Solana B&G's club for an outdoor swim.

2) Sunday was overcome with absolute exhasution- babysat Saturday night and by 10:30 when I got home I was a zombie. A couple hours of procrastinating Sunday morning, and a 3hr nap later, it was clear I needed a day OFF. So I emailed coach, and listened to my body. Fabulous move- yay me :D!

3) Yesterday, Monday, was EPIC. I had a ride to Palomar planned, but given my recharge Sunday I asked coach Paul if I could make it a big day and swim and run off the bike as well. Fortunately I got the go ahead....so 5:40am, I hopped in the pool, had a super swim, then was off with a group of about 7 or 8 to ride Palomar. We parked just off the 15 and San Pasqual- headed up Wohlford and back for 4.5hrs total. I was the only one on a tri bike, which made me really jealous halfway through Palomar when my back started to get quite angry. However, as soon as I put on my Newtons for my trun, I felt awesome! My legs were uber loose, my HR at low steady, and holding a good 7min/mi pace. I ran through the San Pasqual trails which was something new for me, and loved it. Perfect little out n back from where we parked.

Then it was off to shower, & hit Rimels for a BAMF meal of fish tacos, veggies galore, and a glass of red wine that I savored like never before.

4) Despite the big day and the glass of wine, I slept kinda crappy, but thanks to my Zoot recovery tights, once again my legs surprised me 2hrs 15min of strong/steady running. My best long run to date! My HR was on point, mentally I never faded, and neither did my pace. In fact at 1:55 in I upped it another gear to the end- sooo cool!!

5) Now all refueled and ready for noon swim. Swim only tomorrow, some tune ups stuff Thurs/Fri ez Saturday, and Sprint race Sunday :D What a great week.

Day by day

2010-04-28T06:56:00.002-05:00

My blogging has been quite sporadic. As they say though, "no news, good news". Training has been going fantastic since Super Frog. This week is the second of a heavy 2 wk block, next week will be a lighter recovery one, and then one last 2-3ish wk block before taper!

I recently read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. I'm a big Tolle fan, as I consider myself spiritual rather than religious. Applying his present moment advice to training is helping out a lot. I still keep my short-term end goal for Hawaii 70.3in mind, but not while I'm engaged in a specific workout. I am focusing on each second, within each minute, within each hour of training and giving it my best effort NOW without thinking of the next session, what I'm going to do between sessions, what tomorrow holds, etc. In other words, I'm freeing my mind of incessant thought of the future for the sake of making the most of the present. With that, I have a great sense of peace/calm as I go about my training- for there are no worries other than giving my absolute all for what is required of me NOW.

Applying that to race day itself will be of huge benefit because I will no longer be anxious or nervous pre race as my mind will be in a quiet place only concerned with carrying out what needs to happen at that point in time to make my end goal possible. I won't have doubts or fears because I won't turn any foreseable scenario into a doubt or fear- what is will be, what's isn't will not be. Tolle says there are no problems, thing are as they are, we choose to turn them into problems....An example he gives of silencing our inner voice and tackling situations is in emergency cases where rushes of adrenaline/ the shock cause people to have an intense focus and zero mental disturbance. People display incredible strength, and often "superhuman" feats, because they simply do, they don't overthink because the pressing situation doesn't allow for that. I digress....

In other words, I'm not saying I won't visualize a flat, mechanical, getting my goggles ripped off by another swimmer, or any other possible race day hiccup. I accept that those things can happen but they will not be fears or worries. They will just be and if they arise, then at that moment, rather than freak out, I will take it as is and deal with it one second & task at a time. My training up to then will be fully accomplished and my fitness will be what it is- not what it could have been. Knowing that I gave 110% for each and every moment in training gives me great confidence.

Anyway, that's my spiritual/philosophical spill. I'll likely check back in as taper approaches. I'm all signed up for that 10k and the sprint :) Good luck to all racing St. George- I will be inspired on my long ride Saturday!

For NOW- it's off to swim :D

Super Frog data analysis

2010-04-14T10:22:00.004-05:00

...It's actually more like split analysis given my lack of a powermeter, or even cat-eye on the bike. I do have a Garmin but the lovely gadget failed to read the HR monitor so it only provided me with a map and speed in mph to go with the bike & run sections of the course. Hence the delay in posting any sort of race report- had to wait until splits were up online today.

I am really happy about this weekend's performance/outcome. Surprisingly, I've been asked by several friends/acquaintances if I was satisfied or not, which I have to laugh at because I don't know whether to find that flattering or insulting. It's ironic, since after Kona last year, which for me was my worst IM time and a terrible race mentally, physically, and results wise, I got nothing but "congrats!". Sunday, I felt strong the whole day, placed 10th in quite a solid elite field, and got my second best half IM time on what is hands down the toughest half IM (or pretty much any distance) course I've done. Even more exciting is the promising fact that I still have 8wks to go before my first planned peak/ "A" race of the year: the Hawaii 70.3 June 5th.

Experience has taught me that in 8wks time you can go from decently fit to Ironman RACE (not just completion) ready. Thus, I am beyond confident, barring any injury or major illness, that this time period is more than sufficient to take the fitness I have now and add quite a significant amount more (speed & endurance combined) and get the top 5 OA result I want. Paul has proven to be the best coach I've worked with. He thoroughly understands my imminent goals, the stage of my life that I'm in relative to where I want to be in 5 & even 10yrs time, and the best way to bring out my potential.

After talking to him yesterday, it looks like I'll be adding the Irongirl 10k at the start of May and the Encinitas Sprint mid-May as tune ups for Honu. I love racing and these two events seem like the perfect combo.

Anyway, back to Super Frog and how the day panned out (in short)...

As far as expectations go, I had just one: to test my fitness and go as hard as I could within each present moment. In other words, take the swim as a swim, the bike as a bike, and the run as a run- no thoughts of the latter leg of the race- just focus on each individual sport and maximize my effort.

Racing this half was the best decision I could have made to start out the season- 2miles into the run I thought "simply finishing this race will make me stronger, let alone finish it with a steady hard effort".

The swim went AWESOME! I have been putting in a lot of pool time so to have it pay off is an incredible feeling. The surf was BIG and we had two loops with about a 100m stretch of beach run between each and in the second dive in all I could do was look at the waves and think "ready? under! ready? under!".....and I am thrilled to announce that I made it out without any washing machine effects and pretty much right in the front group (minus Hillary B. who was in a one-man lead group of her own...actually Caroline was right with her I believe- go C!!). It also helped tremendously to be sporting the new ZOOT Zenith wetsuit which is by far the best suit I've ever worn- perfect arm/shoulder movement, excellent bouyancy, easy to take off...just perfect. Thanks Sonja!

Onto the bike- eh, not much excitement here, flat windy with increasing headwind one way after each of the 4 loops that I'm sure trumped the tail wind benefits we got going the other direction.

Run- sand, sand, sand...did I mention sand? & yes, it was soft too :) I think only a little more than 1/4 of the run was on pavement. It took me 30min to get my run legs. As usual, I really had to pee after the bike but saw no porta-potties in transition so I resorted to a sand dune somewhere before mile 2. I should have waited another mile because there they were by an aid station, and had I done that, I wouldn't have deviated up the beach away from the run course. Must learn to pee while running!

I was off the bike in 9th, I think, and had Miranda Alldritt right in front of me the whole run. At the start of the second loop I was about 20meters behind her about to catch her and she suddenly picked it up, I tried to respond but that was my cap, so never did get her. Roughly 12ish miles in, some other girl came flying by and gapped me leaving me in 10th. It was great to realize I had no extra gear to go with her because that meant my job was done and I had given my best effort for the day.

Now the analysis of this race as it pertains to Honu goes like this (& yes I do realize there are many external factors that can alter my predictions):

- I'm swimmng better than ever. Did 34somtn here, and have done 30-31 in Honu the two times I've race so that'll transfer to a 29ish this yr in Hawaii as that swim course is a piece of cake in comparison (no surf, crystal clear, one loop, mass start thus more draft opportunities....this race spread out due to the surf/waves/loops so I was alone for 90% of the swim)

- Biked a 2:35 here...I do better on hilly/rolling courses as I'm small so get more climbing benefit than any sort of power on a flat quad crushing course. It was windier at this race than Hawaii the two years I've race the half. June seems to be less windy than October. That could change this time around, but whatever. I don't expect a sub 2:30 in Honu, but the same 2:35 is reasonable. Not to mention (per my scale reading this morning) I have 8lbs to shed which will not be that difficult at all so I'll climb even better than now and that'll also help my run.

- Run....ahhhh the run. I'm looking forward to actually RUNNING this year. Last year sucked!!!!!! I will have no knee brace, I will have run in the month leading in, I will be fit and at race weight. The goal is to run 1:30-1:35. This course is pretty tough as it winds a lot through the resort/golf course and has some grassy area. However, there is no sand, and it's hot n' humid :) 3 years ago, in 2007, it was my first Half IM and I ran a 1:43, I am a lot fitter and more experienced now, and pulled out a 1:45 this Sunday on what I've established is a much slower run course.

So those are my goals/ predictions. 8wks to go, and back to work at the end of this week after some quality recovery days. I'm feeling surprisingly good post race. No soreness or stiffness, and lots of napping has resulted in full energy.

As always, thanks to my sponsors...the Newton "All Weather" trainers prevented any sand from getting in my shoes, CEEPO for my comfy rad ride, PowerBar for the best gels on the planet (I didn't need one salt tablet, and had great energy the whole day), & Nytro for providing me with top of the line race wheels and keeping my bike mechanically sound!

On a completely different note, but still triathlon related (duh!), the BEST OF LUCK goes out to my little brother, Daniel, this Friday as he races the YOG qualifier in Monterrey, Mexico. The top male from the U.S. will be headed to the Inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore this August. He had a fabulous cross country season last fall, some good swim training winter break, and though he came down with an eye infection and flu a cpls wks ago, managed to bank some quality trainer sessions, a couple swim meets, and good track workouts in the months prior. You can do it buddy!! :D

Black Eyed Peas

2010-04-05T10:38:00.004-05:00

...was a lot of fun! LMFAO & Ludacris were the intro performances & they kicked A**!

A pic of us before we stood up & got crazy ;) ....I didn't get any shots of the actual show cuz the iphone just didn't cut it.

Not much else to talk about- tapering this week leading into Sunday's race & lovin it! A good swim this morning & I'm done for the day :D My focus is on deep prayer to influence the forecast that currently reads rainy & cold for race day.

Speaking of mother nature....yesterday I felt my firs earthquake! It lasted like 30sec & like a total idiot, my first reaction was to check facebook (to verify I wasn't crazy) & google "earthquake what to do"- my school drills growing up in TX covered fire, tornadoes, lockups/shootings, but not earthquakes....& for some reason I forgot the important skills I've learned on survival shows on the Discovery Channel :/

Anyway, no harm done here, thankfully, just a good heart racing experience!

Intellectual Conversation...hahaha

2010-04-01T11:46:00.003-05:00

The following conversation, via text, with my brother this morning made my day...

Me: Sup fool?
Daniel: I wanna convert to Taosim.
Me: WTH??! well, since we don't really practice Catholicism, u don't have to go thru trouble of converting
Daniel: tru, yea look up Taoism beliefs, I kinda like it
Me: I'm familiar with Taosim...personally I like Buddhism better :)
Daniel: Ehh and Confucianism. Buddhism is like forgetting about what u want and not having needs. kinda not good for an athete cus a guy passes u and ur like ohh it's ok I don't need to win I am on my way to enlightenment.
Me: hahahhahahah wow...that's not really how Buddhism would work in that scenario but ok.

& that was it- subject changed at that point & I had a second ab workout of laughter for the day.

Season Kick Off!!

2010-03-28T13:56:00.005-05:00

What a weekend! First & foremost, a huge congrats to my RAHA team mates Tawnee & Sara for their fantastic races at Oceanside! Also a major shout out to Colleen, Beth, Kristin, Julie, & Rhae who all came in top 5 in their AG's!

I made it out there in time to see all the athletes out on the run course and it gave me a great new perspective toward the sport. I had never spectated a half- just some local sprints when my brother would race. It was eye openning to be on the other side witnessing the focus, determination, effort, satisfaction, ahhh just so much emotion out there!

I've been lucky enough to train with all of these girls and their results are proof that there are no short cuts- it's pure hard work and passion that leads to success!

After witnessing all that I felt kind of guilty/lazy at not pulling through with my run off my 3hr ride earlier in the day but now, after a solid 12hrs of sleep and a decent 90min run where I felt back to normal again, I see it was a smart decision.

Friday morning I woke up with sniffles, congestion, and an overall crappy feeling- aka a slight head cold. I only had a swim that day so I didn't allow the sickness to get worse, but Saturday's 6:15am ride start where I underdressed for the mid 40s temps had me frozen and breathing with 1/4 of a lung. Add to that the headache/congestion and I had no desire to do anything but take a hot shower after getting off the bike.

Anyway, good news is I managed to go out there and enjoy the race environment and today Mauricio helped me start out my run which turned out pretty good :)

Off to swim a little later and enjoy some time laying out in the gorgeous San Diego summer weather!

Two more weeks until Super Frog Half & this weekend it's Black Eyed Peas Concert w/ the team :D

2010 racing is underway........

Oceanside 70.3

2010-03-25T19:30:00.003-05:00

Really really regretting not signing up!! The Ironman storm is brewing- social media all over the race, the 101 lined with TT bikes, aero helmets, & compression socks, lean/frantic humans buzzing around town, etc etc.

I thought about racing but didn't register on time and instead went for Super Frog Half April 11th. Entry was cheaper as it's not WTC, and there's a prize purse- not that I'm counting on collecting it but it sure would be a great way to pay for the remainder of my races and/or the potential $400smtn ticket for my red light violation that's been haunting me for mths.

For sure I'll be out there to cheer friends on as they finish but refuse to (like other tri-friends that aren't racing either) change my sat ride/run to Fri in order to watch the whole race. Why? For one, I had a solid longish ride today with Mauricio and could definitely use my swim-only-Friday as coach scheduled. But more importantly, watching the race unfold step by step is like being designated driver at a party- pretending you're having fun, or at least trying to, while completely not on the same page as everyone else. I'd rather, like the des. driver who just picks people up as they call, come at the end when everyone has completed, or is on the verge of completing, their craziness for the day & I can giggle at their lifeless appearance as they cross the line with nothing left....while at the same time enjoying the feeling of heavy/tired legs from my own self destruction earlier in the day :D

So that's that. Tomorrow will be mega chill day for me with a fun Expo visit. Good luck to everyone racing- get 'er done!!!

PowerBar Team Elite

2010-03-22T11:12:00.003-05:00

I'm sooo stoked to be part of PowerBar's Team Elite for 2010!! Their gels are second to none for training & racing- no other company matches them in taste or sodium content.
I consistently drop my salt tablets at the start of every marathon in Ironman and if it weren't for the sodium in those gels, the outcomes wouldn't have been pretty.
But it's not just the gels- the awesome variety of bars never leaves my taste buds bored. When I'm in a rush, or simply out of town for a race where I can't really get a pre race breakfast like I would make at home, I just down 1 or 2 Performance Bars and know I'm ready to race!
I look forward to a great season & wish all the other memebers of the Team the same!

Xterra!

2010-03-16T18:18:00.003-05:00

I'll be adding whatever Xterra trail run I can every year- freakin' awesome! I'd been told Black Mtn was a flat course. Clearly, whoever thought that is mad. This 15km ended up nearing 2,000ft in elevation gain with 2-3 significantly LONG hills. It was a blast and always good to see familiar faces. With fellow tri nerds there- Tawnee, Lauren, Kristin, Caroline, & Linsey, I was able to get in a good 2hr run with w/up & c/down. Adding to that my surprisingly strong treadmill session in the afternoon- I banked 3hrs running Sunday :D

Monday I woke up early to swim & walking as if I'd done Ironman. Not too mention, quite FRIED. I guess I'm a softy for trail races- hence the need to add lots more to the schedule. The bummer is this year two were already canceled due to rainy weather.

I soaked up the rest coach gave me and had a great time with my mom. She left this afternoon and I'm now counting down the days until her & my bro are here in the summer.

Back to work tomorrow starting with Swami's Wed ride!

Bahati Foundation Launch Event

2010-03-13T13:54:00.008-06:00

4:30am and I was at Starbucks getting my fix before swim. After a decent practice (the day before I couldn't stay afloat- not to self the day after a 90min massage I'm useless), I headed out on a 4hr ride which went by sooo fast as I had 2 fun sets- one 3x20min mod-hard efforts w/ 10mins recovery, then 6x3min hard hill repeats. Plus, it was insanely gorgeous out :) I was supposed to follow that up with a short trun, but given the time frame to get eat, get ready, and drive up to L.A....and how beat my legs (& self) were from the day and days prior, I pulled the plug on it.
I digress, but scratching off a scheduled workout is something that would have killed me mentally in the past. If it was written I would do it in spite of even food poisoning or the flu. However, part of my growing process in the sport is to learn when to listen to the body and when to not sweat the small stuff. So now, to call off a short run when I'm pretty dead and rushed, is all good.

Anyway, we didn't hit that much traffic, though I should've taken the 405 not the 5. The event was a blast. Our whole Raha Women's Tri Team was there and it feels great to be a part of Bahati's contribution efforts for the less fortunate.

The musical peformance was done by the band/choir from the High School Bahati attended as a kid. Then they showed promo videos of the Pro Cycling team- amazing talent and diverse backgrounds- impressive group of guys!

The night ended early for my mom and I, 9:30ish, as we had to drive back. It felt like 3am though after being up since 4! Somehow I managed to stay awake and drove the whole way home- yep I'm a trooper :D!

Here are some pics from the night....

My RAHA homies

Bahati Pro Cycling Team

mom & I

Quick little update...

2010-03-07T17:01:00.002-06:00

Last night Tawnee drove down to stay the night for what was supposed to be an epic 100miler with 2500 of our closest friends- starting & finishing in downtown SD. As forecasted, the rain began to pour down as soon as we had picked up our packets (6:30am ish). So we collected our $100 Gu Chomps, Snickers, & jersey and drove back up to Kristin's for a 3hr trainer sesh. Deep down I wondered if I really just suck at HTFU, but after hearing that pretty much everyone bailed at some point due to the weather, I was more than pleased with our quick thinking - :) - and the fact that by 10:30 we were done with a log-able bike workout.

Tomorrow...unless coach disapproves...I'm planning on heading out with Julie & Caroline for our own 100miler in the SUN(!).

Thursday my mom arrives, Friday we'll head to LA for the awesome launch of the Bahati Foundation at the Nokia Center, & Sunday she'll get to "watch" me race Xterra Black Mtn Run....unless of course mother nature decides to throw another tantrum. I'm really looking forward to this week & weekend, as I haven't seen my mom since Xmas :)

That's about it. The year's going by pretty fast and my fitness is coming along at the right pace- definitely being cautious on not being too hard on myself (mentally & physically) until post Honu. On that track, I'll be eager to adopt my monk-ish ways & get down to Kona business in the summer!

Might as well...

2010-03-04T18:54:00.008-06:00

Before I get caught up with this weekend's activities (Gran Fondo Century- yay!!), I'll go ahead and give some insight into The Next 100 Years by George Friedman...

No one can really predict how the 21st century will unfold, right? Well, that's true, but only to a certain extent. Friedman makes it clear that he's not out to tell a story that'll make us feel like we're diving into a science fiction book or visiting the Jetsons. He does, however, confidently state that while the nitty gritty details of his forecast may play out differently, the grand picture (countries involved, technological advances, statistical figures of population density, etc) will look a heck of a lot like he says it will.

How does he know this? Does he have some sort of crysal ball? No. But what he does have is precedent, history. In retrospect, he's able to analyze economical & political patterns & cycles within countries, and between them, that are evident from hundreds of years back in time.

Friedman's analogy is that of a chess game. To the utter beginner there are an infinite number of moves. Yet, to a Grand Master player the moves are quite limited and strategic. A game between two great players is almost predictable- when A moves one way, B can be guaranteed to react in a certain manner.

That, argues Friedman, is world politics- a chess game. Despite what party a presidential candidate is elected from, what his background, values, beliefs are, what he promises to change...he/she cannot break out of the cycle in time we're in. Friedman says these cycles are broken into periods of roughly 20 years with too may factors (economy, social dogmas, popoluation/immigration make ups, etc etc etc) for one individual or a "party" to completely shift us into a new paradigm. Changes are slow and not sudden from one man's decision to the next. We evolve as a collective- a sum of the parts, not by the particular parts themselves.

Anyway, that's the short version of why Friedman should be given the benefit of the doubt. I cannot lay out every event described in this book (& that would defeat the purpose of you reading it for yourself). So instead, I'll bullet point the key changes (which fyi, I actually agree completley with & had contemplated along those lines before reading this)that are worth taking into account:

** only the first bullet point will be discussed somewhat in detail **

1. End of Population Boom (2020's through the major impact in 2050s)- Initially this shocked me, but then a few sentences into his reasoning my thought was "Duh, that makes absolute sense". The world population went from 1 bilion to 3 billion between 1750 & 1950, & had doubled that by 2000. Compared to the 728 million people in Europe today, the UN forecasts that number to drop to a range of 557-663 by 2050. Further, as a whole, the UN predicts only a 50% growth between 2000 and 2050. At that rate by 2100 our population will have decreased substantially.

The factors contributing to this change are financial & societal. Financially people are realizing that kids are expensive! Yes, that's an obvious statement nowadays but only a couple of decades ago, and especially a century ago, children that survived childbirth, let alone made it to adulthood, meant increased family weatlh. More children meant more hands to tend to a family farm, or more money adding into the household from kid's jobs. Now with the simple cost of higher education (as competition in the workforce increases dramatically) having multiple children is no longer justified by it being "traditional". Additionally, Women are having less and less children because of the dramatic societal changes. More women constitute today's workforce, & many of them in high ranked, overtime positions. The mentality of women has obviously changed as a result of their career & social (outside the home) opportunities so many aren't even contemplating starting a family until their mid or even late 30s.

On that note, Friedman never discusses the issue of global warming, for given the end of the population explosion, & space based energy (next bullet point), the major threats to nature & Earth's resrouces will be heavily diluted.

2. Space based Energy- I'm sooooo not an engineerish/sciency person so this will be brief: basically we'll have many "panels" in space that will be generating energy to Earth from the sun. This spaced based energy will play a big role in the war (bullet points further down).

3. The collapse of Russia (waaay too much going on to compress)

4. China will NOT be a threat- the foundation for Friedman's theory on this lies in China's geo & demographic layout. There's a wealthy, more industrial concentration along China's eastern border, where it meets the Pacific that simply cannot expand (at least in this century) to meet the rural and sparingly populated inner to western region- it's simply too challenging to break down/traverse. As well, Friedman argues that China is "held together by money, not ideology" and with the outstanding growth it has seen recently, which will innevitably come to a halt, China will not be in a position to bolster what's needed to challenge the United States as a global super power in the 21st century: a strong navy.
*Control of the sea has been a key asset for maintaining US as the global super power since WWII

5. Poland will rise, and Germany will play Switzerland in the upcoming war.

6. Turkey & Japan will be the two countries of dominance and concern in this century. By mid century, they will form a coalition in hopes of being the Eurasian super power (Pacific to Mediterranean). Japan has the ability to develop a strong navy and space technology/presence. Turkey is religiously/ideologically able to permeate the middle East and Eastern Europe.

7. The US & Japan will be dominant in space where they will have military bases(orbiting & more stable ones on the moon- manned & unmanned).

8. Japan will target the U.S. when & where it least expects it- hitting their Battle Stars (phrase Friedman has coined for the spacial military bases). It will do so on Thanksgiving 2050.

9. Not going to give the outcome of the war away- READ THE BOOK!

10. Last, but not least....with the decline in population, by 2030, the US will not have a high rate of unemployment. On the contrary, it will be desparate for workers, and will actually be creating incentives for immigrants to COME INTO the US. (Given my immigration issue I loooooooooved reading this :D ). Talk about IRONIC! By this point, Texas, Arizona, California...all the already heavily hispanic areas will be overflowing with Mexicans. By the END of the century, tension within these states will be boiling over and Mexico could be in a position to formally (as by mere population and political inlfuence it already will have) take back what it lost in the Mexican American War.

That's it form my end! Disclaimer: I don't do the book justice. In fact, the way I summarize it may lead to you thinking "haha, yea right" about one or more of the situations posted, or leave you feeling shorthanded. As long as it intrigues you, I'm pleased. Take that curiosity and read what Friedman has to say so you can make muuuch greater sense of all this and truly form your own opinion of the future.

Whatever you take out of my blog or his entire book is up to you. If I have challenged what you think is possible then I have achieved something great because, as Friedman repeatedly warns us, what popular opinion holds as likely rarely develops.

This book has increased my excitement when I pick up the morning paper and will certainly help me navigate my career & life path as I grow old in the 21st century.

Yes, I'm Alive

2010-03-04T10:56:00.005-06:00

Whoa this post is heavily overdue. I just haven't really had the desire to write much. Rather, I've been doing some quality reading. After college I picked up 1 or two books here and there but didn't really have that burning desire to flip pages and learn, learn, learn!

Well it's been over a year since graduation, and I am feeling reenergized to dive into literature of my choice (!) and get my brain going. Each time I went into Borders I walked out with a book I hadn’t heard of that simply caught my eye, and that in glancing at the first few pages I was sold.

The first was David Livingstone’s The Most Dangerous Animal- Human Nature & The Origins of War. Now, I know you might be wary given the title. However, it doesn’t advocate or discourage war, nor is it gory or a detailed (boring!) account of specific battles throughout history. Rather, Livingstone takes a profound look into the human psyche, our evolutionary & ancestral influences that drive us to war, & the many sociological factors that support war.

Referencing, among others, the great works of Freud (conscious v. unconscious thought, regression, the sexual dilemma) Nietzsche (particularly from Beyond Good & Evil), Descartes (mind/body dualism), Hobbes (from Leviathian, regarding social contract theory and man’s state of nature), as well as the philosophical writings of Socrates and Plato, Livingstone pieces together a fascinating understanding of why we have been, and will continue to be, involved in war for thousands of years. Note I didn't say since the beginning of our existence, for according to the author, caveman behavior paralleling war of recent centuries began alongside the discovery of lethal tools (spears) & the clash between more static groups & those that tended to roam & invade the territory (and resrouces- animals, land, etc) of the former.

A few focus points throughout the book realy stuck with me...

I found it particularly interesting that high ranked Veterans of Vietnam & WWII attested to the fact that the majority of men buckle at the time of battle- many failing to pull the trigger at all and many aiming high on purpose. It is a testament to the deeply rooted guilt and shame that we (rational, “sane” people) have toward taking the life of another human being. On that note, Veterans also concurred that truly psychotic people (aka cold blooded murderers) make the best soldiers…great so we could just let prisons loose for the next deployment!

Based on the premise that as individuals and a collective we are against killing, the paradox of war is ever so evident with media/propaganda portraying it as an act of “honor”, or “patriotism”, and our inclination toward such Hollywood films. For one, Livingstone differentiates murder with killing for war- the former to which society is against, and the latter which it promotes. He also spends a good deal on the semantics of war. Labels such as the “target” or “neutralizing the enemy”, he explains, allow us to distance ourselves from the reality of killing. As well, and this ties in to the recent horrific murder of teenager Chelsea King in San Diego (RIP), we tend to call the culprits of such atrocities "animals" or "beast" when in reality, few species kill amongst their kind, and the few that do don't elicit such actions in formation (i.e. groups) & with premeditation.

That leads to the two other factors that Livingstone touched heavily upon: the chimpanzee connection, and evolutionary & reproductive influences for war. Chimpanzees are actually the only other animal observed forming opposing groups and brutally killing each other- even those that had previously befriended each other. It was an astonishing discovery (I cannot recall the location/year…already handed my book over to a friend) as it so closely paralleled human behavior in group v group conflict (war from tribes thousands of years ago to countries nowadays). Most other species challenge each other to duels where eventually they either both tire, or one backs off.

Lastly, as I don't want to write an essay on the book (go read it!!), there was the concept of war as a necessity to human evolution & reproduction; in other words, our survival. Livingstone gave counteless examples of how participation in war has always been attributed to masculinity and given men greater appeal among women and society- thus making them of higher worth/honor and in turn, sexually attractive. Despite woman's supposed peaceful, mostly anti-war, stereotype, the book argues that females only lacked participation in war because of societal limitations, but nonetheless played pivotal roles as nurses, caretakers, and huge moral supporters.

Well there's some clif notes for ya on the book. I highly recommend it not just for an understanding of why we "can't all just get along" but for its insight into the human mind and behavior across a broad range of circumstances/issues.

..........
The other book I recently finished and cannot wait (!!!!) to share info about is George Friedman's The Next 100 Years- A Forecast for the 21st Century. It is absolutely fascinating, and a MUST READ for my generation and the ones after as these decades will make up the bulk/prime of our lives, we'll consistute the majority of the workforce, and be on the greatest platform of influence.

Change of Plans

2010-02-13T06:28:00.004-06:00

Life sometimes takes 180's and it did so for me yesterday.

I woke up at 5, had a solid breakfast (to avoid airport food- first because it sucks and second because even water is priced as if it were Holy water). Then I drove to Julie's house so I could park my car there for the week as she was nice enough to take me to the airport before her morning swim.

So I get to the airpot at 6:30ish and my flight was scheduled for 8. There wasn't much of a line for United, I had all my papers, & all my lugagge...I was ready to fly to camp!

ONE EIGHTY!!!!!!!! Boom, just like that- get to the ticket counter, lady asks for my passport and visa, I show her my new passport, my H-1B worker's visa approval, etc and she says "where's your Canadian visa?". Uhhm, come again? Since when do I need a Canadian visa? I distinctly remember traveling to Vancouver in 2008 for Worlds and simply showing my TX license and Mexican passport with only a student visa for the US, not Canada.

Well, it turns out that a new rule came out in late 2009 sort of primarily aimed at Mexico for our fabulous drug shenanigans, that unless you're a permanent resident of the US or have a valid Green Card (which you can get after x # of years on an H-1B), you have to have applied and received a Canadian visa at your local Candian Consulate.

"Sorry ma'am, without it you can't travel". I call my attorney to verify and yes, it's true...I, we, was/were so concerned with having all set for my way back IN to the US that the new rule escaped the radar.

Anyway, there I was bags all packed, ready to go, sitting curbside waiting for Julie to come pick my sorry a** back up after her swim. I called my homestay in Canada, and she was really nice and understanding, and encouraged me to go to the Canadian Consulate and still try to make the camp. I smiled, but realistically, it was over. By the time I land an appt at the LOS ANGELES Canadian Consulate (if they even have an appt available for the next couple of days), apply, and receive the visa, camp will be ending or over.

However, as I sat outside the aiport, I tried to brush this ordeal off my shoulders, realizing that I'm not "stuck" somewhere horrible and losing a trip to freedom, safety. Or, on the less extreme, I'm not in a shabby training location like the Midwest. I'm in beautiful San Diego- THE mecca of triathlon, and if I have to miss out on meeting my coach, some testing and hard workouts with great athletes, so what? I can continue to work hard and train my butt off here with the incredible athletes that fill this city as well. There will be plenty of other camps, and everything- EVERYTHING- happens for a reason.

So, I proceeded to sign up for the San Dieguito Half Marathon this weekend, and planned to ride the 80 for Haiti cycling event, today (Saturday). They closed the registration for the bike ride, but as long as I don't use their aid stations or eat their post race food, then I won't feel in the wrong for riding bandit :) Heck, I'll even take my check book to make a small donation.

Well, back to the hectic day...I made it hectic because I was sort of on an adrenaline high from the sudden change of plans, that I decided to hit noon swim and ride as soon as I got home. Julie had to make a quick stop at KP's for some ART, so I ended up home at around 11:15. In literally 10min I assembled my bike, unpacked a swimsuit, cap, and goggles, and headed to 11:45 masters. It turned out to be a good swim, I even moved up a lane :D Then it was pit stop for a clif bar and meeting Caroline for a 2hr hilly-ish, but ez/steady, ride. Some gym & core later, and finally I sat down for a meal at dinner time and was in bed at 7pm. What a day!

Now, I'm off to Julie's again in a bit, only this time it's to drive east for the start of the 80mile ride!

Moral of the story- make lemonade people!!!

Stay Tuned

2010-02-11T12:26:00.004-06:00

Don't really have much time to blog today as I leave for camp in Victoria tomorrow :D!! But I just wanted to give a little update and tell ya to stay tuned for lots of pictures and tales of my time in Canada.

This week I started to see a major increase in fitness. I'm loving the training plan, and it's comforting to know coach Paul is steering me in the right direction. Gotta trust the plan for it to work- first and foremost!

One of my favorite workouts ever was yesterday's 20x400s. After my 3hr hard ride in the morning...which was supposed to be Swami's but I got inpatient, left too early from home, and then never got caught by the group, so ended up just hammering on my own...I went into intense sleep for almost 2hrs and woke up eager to get my run on.

I had intended to do them at the pretty La Costa Canyon H.S track but got there and there were a bunch of kids and supposedly a game starting later. So I veered over to the local middle school dirt track and it turned out fabulous. There's just something about that old school dirt/rugged track that inspires me when I run there. The time flew by, and after the set, I just cooled down around the neighborhood.

So today it's lots of laundry, a swim (done), ez 75min run, and pack pack pack!!

I'm fired up to get in a beast amount of quality work with the LifeSport peeps :)

Crazy Calendar

2010-02-05T10:59:00.008-06:00

The past couple of days I've been trying to pin point my races for the year with greater accuracy. I thought I had it down until last night when the Xterra Running RD sent out an email saying Mission Gorge 15k was to be rescheduled in lieu of the upcoming rain for March 7th. Great!

March 7th was first going to be Desert Int'l- that sold out, so I replaced it with Gran Frondo Century ride, and as much as I was looking forward to MG, I'm not missing out on Gran Fondo this year! After all, it ends in the Little Italy 'hood of San Diego- what more could a hungry 100-miler possibly ask for?

Tawnee and Lauren will be doing the same (Sara might be out of town), and the following wknd- March 14, is Black Mtn 15k Xterra run, so we at least get to do one trail race :)

Oh, and yesterday as I was waiting for Caroline to join me for our morning track session at UCSD, I registered for Super Frog Half April 11th. That'll be really cool because the age groups are bracketted larger than normal, 18-29 in my case, and there's also an amateur prize purse! I could really use some extra cash...like yesterday!

About our little track workout. Well, it was one of those that look rather easy on paper but then by the time we had warmed up, the butterflies started setting in- excitement and slight anxiety that this would actually be quite painful. Ahh pain is good though!! :D

So main set was 8x1mi not all out, but goal half mary pace. Cool. We planned to descend from 6:40 to 6:20, having 2min RI between each. Thanfully, Caroline had done this workout with Katya and they discovered a set point in the track where you can do an 800 then run road (flatish) to a stop sign for 1mi. Another point on the track you basically leave from and run some road/most trail for another mile. So we varied it and only had the last one as ALL track. That was tooons better than going around like nervous hamsters for over an hour.

Result: we freakin' killed it!!!!!!!!!...& it us:

It could not have gone better, granted we were hurtin', and the last two well both of us had voices screaming inside our heads to STOPPP. But, that's what training partners are for..off we were for the last two. From 6:38 on the first, right down to 6:15 on the last :D Yeah baby!

To refuel before noon swim, which ended up being quite a solid session as well, ironically (I thought I'd flat out sink to the bottom!) I headed to Ki's for some good 'eatin

An update on a new personal sponsor for this year- I say personal, because our Team has decided to leave certain partnerships like shops and running shoes to individual preference because a shop is usually something local to you and things like a running shoe brand are difficult to please each one of us- having unique running biomechanics, etc.
After incredible support from Edge Cyclesports which started, and continued, as a great friendship when I was living in Orange County, I am happy to be racing for Nytro from now own.
Nytro was the first shop I ever purchased something triathlon-related from. I kid you not, I made my order from Dallas, TX my first year racing in 2006 upon recommendation from a friend. Anyway, now that I'm settled in Encinitas, it makes perfect sense- they are indeed my "local shop".

Before I sign off, on the team front, RAHA Women's Triathlon Team is thrilled to be associated with the RAHA Pro Cycling Team & the Bahati Foundation. If you haven't already checked out this video do so! The power we have as athletes to improve the future of younger generations is massive. www.youtube.com/watch?v=53xa5DHwvG4

A good start

2010-01-25T13:25:00.004-06:00

Sunday's Half went well. Although I paced it like a total rookie, I'll take that 1:30with a smile on my face at this point in the season. What we perceive as flat on a bike definitely changes once you're running that's for sure! Those rollers along the Carlsbad coast made for some good hurtin'.
It was chilly at the start- low 40s, but we couldn't have asked for a better day- light winds, sunny, & clear as can be. It's always enjoyable to come up to, or be caught by other runners and motivate each other along the way. I had two guys in the middle of the race that I exchanged words of encouragement with, and a girl the last 1-2mi that accompanied me to a fun "sprint" at the finish.

Today's a much needed day OFF, which is good because I can finish some extra work to free myself for the wk ahead, and take care of errands, among them getting the oil changed in my car that's about to die on me.

This week will be gnarly, and in turn a blast :) I've got the Swami's ride that's made a permanent mark on my schedule on Wednesdays, and two other longish ones for the wknd with some long runs after each- should be a good challenge!

Friday be sure to stop by the Tri Expo in San Diego!!! I'll be with CEEPO roughly the whole day (11am-7pm).

Saturday I debated getting a ticket for the Endurance Sports Awards, but with the upcoming trip to Canada and other race fees left to pay, it's just not worth it. Plus, it looks as though my Team and I wil be getting together for dinner up in OC- no offense ESA's but that sounds way more fun ;)

No racing this weekend, but am already signed up for Xterra Mission Gorge 15km trail run on Sun Feb 7 which I am thrilled about. I just loooove running trail and this will be my first trail race! I'll be doing that one & Black Mountain in March.

The week after it's off to Victoria for some a** whoopin' (where I'll be the lucky victim hehe).

Ready? GO!

2010-01-23T18:17:00.004-06:00

Yay! Let the racing begin! First event of the year tomorrow- Carslbad Half Marathon. So glad I got to in thanks to a friend deciding to transfer her entry over. This run is in my backyard, though I've only cycled along the course, never really ran north of Leucadia along the coastline- note to self to start heading that direction.

Anyway, the weekend kicked off good. Last night was Beth & James' bday get together at Wine Steals. I'd never been there and loved it! The food looked delish & the wine kept flowin' so will make a plan to revisit soon!

The season hasn't really started (right?!) so I had a few glasses :)

Today was an early start for a mini run on the treadmill and straight to swim practice. Thankfully after the warm up I remembered coach had told me to include a 30min straight swim for distance because the main set sounded too similar to Friday's. So I hopped into my own lane and got that taken care of.

After breakfast it was off to the Expo, then came home and crashed into a 2hr nap! Ahh soo wonderful. Tonight, I'll be having dinner with my friend Katherine and her husband who came in from Arizona for the race. I met Katherine back in July when I visited the CEEPO gang. See, Gus, who works for CEEPO, also manages a tri coaching company with his wife Bettina called Racelab, so in the weekend I spent there we did some training with there group of which Katherine's a member. I kept in touch with a lot of them and was happy to catch up again during Ironman Arizona.

Tomorrow should be fun and beautiful as the rain has finally cleared out! However, I do suspect slightly cooler temps...Another reminder to look for Tawnee and I after the race to donate your race shirts for Haiti.

RAHA Triathlon

2010-01-18T18:54:00.004-06:00

We finally got together for lunch, after a couple of weeks settling down from our off season travels. Tawnee, Lauren, Sara and I met with Brad, our agent/manager at Sundried Tomato Cafe in San Clemente- which by the way is super good!!

What we have coming up for races in 2010, non profits we want to align ourselves with, and sponsorships for now through years to come is super exciting! We're young, driven, and passionate about the sport of triathlon and a healthy lifestyle. We have much to achieve and together, am sure, will be able to surpass our expectations, and have a positive effect on others along the way.

Week 1

2010-01-17T18:13:00.003-06:00

Finished to perfection :)
I thought my arms wouldn't function by today- but am absolutely loving 6day swim weeks!! I've always thought swimming is like tennis- where one day out and your "feel" is gone. It has been completely verified.

Rainy weather got in the way of me joining the "Wednesday ride" for the first time. All last year I steered clear of Swami's & other group rides but am glad coach has them on schedule now because it's a sure way for me to get in a hard workout and be pushed more than I would myself riding alone. I'm apprehensive of such groups now that I'm sans road bike, but know to keep off my aero bars so knock on wood there are no accidents to come.

Anyway, that morning I was ready to go as it was only slightly drizzling, but by the time I stepped out the door, bike in hand, it came down hard! So I said "screw it" and pulled out the trainer. 15-20min after it died down, but by then I wouldn't make the start of the ride so just went out solo for my own tempo 3hrs and came back drenched anyhow.

Aside from lots of swimming and semi long riding, today marked my longest training run since pre-Kona! 2hrs of trail goodness :) It was cold for my standards so gloves, beannie, longsleeves/pants I drove out to RSF early and got a good 30min warm up on my own, then joined Caroline G for the 11ish mile loop and we were clicking along at a solid pace. We were both pretty surprised to be running this well, low HR's and perceived effort (as we planned for a cruisy long run), having both ridden pretty long & hard yesterday- Caroline had climbed Palomar.

So that's that- all's good. Feeling the fitness coming along well and the body is whole.

Next week's forecast sucks- all rainy and chillier. Good thing is it's more of a swim/run focus for me so aside from having to suck it up this Wednesday on the Swami's ride, I'll be on the trainer for short periods the other days.

Swimming everday except Sunday and getting the legs going w/ track Tues, another long run Thurs, and hopefully having some step for the C-bad Half Mary on Sunday!

Speaking of Sunday- Tawnee & I will be collecting finishers shirts from those wanting to donate them for the victims of Haiti. If you're running please come find us near the finish, or if you're just spectating, bring an unwanted NEW shirt to give away :D

We'll be shipping those off the following Monday to Fashion Delivers- an organization sending items to Haiti.

Turning Pro

2010-01-11T10:35:00.002-06:00

It's no secret that's my immediate goal. I want to get my pro license at the end of this year. In 2009, I moved to California with that same goal in mind, and boy was it a learning experience. Looking back, I am soooo greatful for everything I experienced despite not even coming slightly close to that achievement. There are a lot of reasons for why I came up short on my overall finishes that would've prompted me to get my pro card; and as I start this year, I will take all of the lessons learned and make the necessary changes.

2010 will be a more mature journey on the route to racing as a pro and I look forward to blogging about it and invite you to read along :D

First- a look back at my 2009 mistakes/obstacles:

1) Lack of stability.
They say moving is as stressful as getting a divorce, the death of a loved one, or losing one's job. Well, thankfuly, neither of those have happened to me but after moving 4 times in less than 6 mths I can definitely tell you it's no cakewalk!!
I went from nannying at a family's house in Mission Viejo that I had only met online/by phone from Jan - early March, to the house of a new friend I made in those few months, in San Clemente, to a more stable/comfortable environment at the Mayer's house in Encinitas March- early June....and FINALLY to my own apartment in Encinitas as well mid June to the present.

CORRECTION: This year, definitely gets started with much greater balance having my apartment and zero plans to move an inch other than to a few races & a training camp.

2) Financial/immigration mayhem.
I spent all last year under OPT status (optional practical training) where I could only work part time in a marketing (my major) related field. After the nanny gig, I had to keep relying on my parents for money, albeit sending tons of resumes to any place that would file me under a part time marketing position. Damn the economy! I never got lucky. I babysat here & there, and did some packaging stuff for my friend Andrew- Beaker Concepts- but 99% of my expenses were still provided by my family (mom & stepdad).

As well, I raced scared, which looking back took some of the enjoyment off my racing. I got into this sport and fell in love with it because it was MY thing. MY goals, and I got a bit of satisfaction that my family knew close to nothing about it so the tennis expectations/pressures that led to my burnout were gone. Why was I racng scared? Because I felt like every race was make it or break it in regards to the plan of filing me P-1 or O-1 visa (for athletic accomplishments) at the end of the year.

After Kona, I realized how stupid this was. Not only had I lost perspective on the fun of the sport, but also on how little it mattered at the end of the day, because nothing really changes if you win or lose on the grand scale of things. My family and friends still love me and are alive/healthy, and actually getting my green card visa was the smartest option for my long term future. I just didn't know if I was going to be able to land a job that would grant me a H-1B workers visa until my stepdad offered me a job at Sun Loan.

CORRECTION: I now have a part time job with Sun Loan that enables me to have greater financial independence, and feel like I deserve what I'm doing in triathlon a lot more. In 2009, I felt like everytime I'd swim, bike, or run, I was a bum because I wasn't pro, I had no job, and it felt like I was just going out to "play".

3) Waaay too many equipment changes.
This sport, like any sport or skill, requires practice of repetitive motions. That in essence is "training". I made soo many changes particularly to my cycling that never enabled me to adapt and improve. I went from a Cervelo 49 P3, to that same bike with a 56/46 chain, which led to a knee injury, a change in bars, stems, you name it. Finally back to a 53/39 on the P3, then to a CEEPO 45 (too small), constant cleat, saddle, bar adjustments to feel comfortable on a frame too small, to finally a CEEPO Venom 51, 700c right before IMAZ (like 1.5wks before).

CORRECTION: I finally got a fit that works. I am comfortable and am not making any changes.

4) Too much steady effort/emphasis on volume, no intensity, no listening to my gut/body.
I did 1 track workout the whole year, added road intervals on my own a couple times because I craved intensity, and my rides were ALL steady and only saw power spikes/HR elevations because of terrain changes (ie climbing).

CORRECTION: I feel the coaching philosophy/background of LifeSport matches what I believe in and what I need at my age for the level I want to achieve. There won't be crazy volume (obviously for Kona prep it does get high), but the main emphasis will be on intensity- getting fast, increasing my FTP. Also, because so many areas of my life (home, financial, equipment) are stable, I will be able to devote an insanely larger amount of time to recovery/rest.

5) Being FAT. Like VERY fat!
I spent the whole year at roughly 10-15lbs over my ideal weight. True, in the early part of the season you don't want to be at your leanest, but that means 2-5lbs not carrying around a layer of insulation that leaves you huffing and puffing. I was able to swim a bit better due to bouyancy though haha.

There are no excuses when it comes to weight. It's logic. Calories in, calories out. While that's true, it is bullshit that because you did a 5hr ride you can eat whatever you want. It is also BS, that what I eat you can eat or vice versa. Everyone has a different metabolic rate. Some people can get away with eating crap, or just eating a lot of calories, and never gain weight. Others eat a carrot and balloon.

Although I've eaten insanely "clean" no junk, sweets/deserts, sodas, as little processed food, etc etc as possible since I was 16, 2009 was a year where I did not listen to what my subconscious was telling me, and I became a wimp. I was a wimp because I ate whenever I was hungry, I obliged to the athletes need carbs mantra, and I ignored my gut that told me "No! Although a lot of professinal athletes keep it a bit hush hush, there is a great amount of sacrifice that needs to be made to race at that level, with that little body fat." As an example, no offense, but the tour riders are not healthy, they are in amazing "form" but not what I would call healthy.

CORRECTION: 2010 and beyond it's performance over health. Call me crazy, stupid, I don't give a crap anymore. I know what I want to achieve, and I know how to do it. I am not blessed with a Ferrari of a metabolism, so for me to be lean/get to my ideal race weight, I do have to go to bed hungry more times than not.

If when I'm 40 and older this comes back to haunt me because I get osteoperosis, or whatever other illness people can come up with as a result of what I will practice the next 15 years, so be it. As long as I have a winner's crown to justify it, I can deal.

............

So, it's simple- all out, no regrets. There's a fine window for professional sports and I will make the most of it.

Today marks my first day in 2010 of a coached schedule. Carlsbad Half Marathon will be my first event of the year, and I'm off to training camp in Victoria, BC at the start of Feb.

Let it be in writing - my goals for 2010:
Win my AG at every tri I enter
Top 3 amateur F, top 10 overall F at all 70.3s
Top 3 amateur at Kona, win my AG, get my Pro card

I hope everyone has a great season and may you reach all your goals!!

Cheers

Exciting!

2010-01-08T07:58:00.002-06:00

Starting this year 3 friends and I- Sara Davis, Lauren Chiodini, and Tawnee Prazak- will be racing for/represented by RAHA SPORTS (www.rahaglobal.com).
We're very excited about this opportunity as we feel that being young women in such a fast growing sport, gives us a platform to promote health, fitness, and social responsability to both older and younger generations.
Our key mission is to align ourselves with companies that understand the significant relationship between our environment, sport, and well being. We're driven not just by love for triathlon, competition, and to achieve our utmost potential, but also by the desire to be a strong force in the green movement.
Our sponsors for 2010 and beyond are still in the making, and we look forward to establishing relationships both inside and outside the multisports industry. Given that we're all in our early 20's, we have plenty of time to inflict change and fulfill our role as leaders.
Look out for us at an event near you ;)!

Immigration 101

2010-01-03T19:58:00.002-06:00

Ok so my life's pretty much an open book- I tell things like they are and I vent about issues that some may deem very personal (which has bit me in the butt more than a few times) but that's just who I am.

That said, if you know me in the least, you're aware that I have an immigration problem- namely the fact that after living in the U.S. for >16yrs I still struggle with visas, employment problems, etc.

Many friends have reached out wondering how this can be, offering advice, or just seeking to understand why the hell I have such a hard time staying here. After all who is oblivious to the millions of illegal workers that cross the border from Mexico every day?!?!

So let me explain......(I'll do this in bullet form to make it shorter and more reader friendly)

- unless you plan on washing dishes or picking strawberries, hopping the border isn't going to enable you to make a living in the U.S.

- there are tourist visas where you have to prove an intent to return to your home country (ie no family ties in the US, etc) and you go back at max every 6mths. - which is what my parents did for a long time

- you are a student F-1 visa at a private institution in the U.S (you prove residency and stable family income in your home country, and other stuff)...this is what I did through college

- you marry an american citizen, or are the son/daughter of an american (<21yrs old), or you are born here...my mom remarried (a legit relationship btw) but did so after I turned 18 so I was an adult and couldn't be filed under this new family tree

- you are an outstanding athlete (or musician, artisit, whatever) 0-1 visa, or secondary to that P-1 visa...I sought the P-1 in 2009 but my accomplishments fell short and also a P-1 only allows you to live/train here not work so how would I eat?! Also, I would have to prove, as in a tourist visa, an intent NOT to stay in the US- impossible now for me because my little brother was born here and my mom is now a resident, almost citizen, and I've lived here so long it's obvious I like it here ;)

- you invest a certain amount of a couple hundred grand, or open a company that employs a large number of Americans,....perhaps if I won the lottery

- you get a Green Card through a company that hires you for work- where you prove that you have qualifications that are needed, no other American can fill the job (more or less), etc ....this is what I'm doing for Sun Loan company....it is an expensive process for the employer so 99% of companies avoid it and hire an American instead of me. This is my best option and the one I chose because I can earn money, which I need to live.

- for those wondering about getting my masters, ie another student visa. well, do you want to pay that extended schooling for me? also, again, I cannot prove an intent not to stay anymore.

- ideally, there would be exceptions in US immigration policy for unique cases like mine. good, honest, hard working people, that have fully assimilated to the American culture and language, and seek to pursue their own American Dream

- I would give anything to be able to work like all other Americans and have equal chances to being hired. But hiring me is a pain for the employer and expensive. I'd love to work part time at a bike shop, as a receptionist at some office, whatever to keep pursuing my athletic goals. Were it not for my part time job from Sun Loan I would literally be facing having to go back to a country where I do not feel at home.

So now......

I go to Mexico for a new visa- Green Card one. More mountains to climb
1) get there 2-3 days ahead of set appt date to renew passport and pay the Mexican bank, Banamex a processing fee that you need to show a receipt for at the consulte
2) arrive at 6:15am at the consulate and wait 3-5 hrs...this is Mexico so plan on waiting the full 5hrs
3) present your documents to the consulate, one little thing wrong or not filled out and they don't have time for you and say bye bye make another appt come back again (weeks more of waiting if that happens)
4) say you get the visa, great...now wait 5-10 days, Mexican terms this could mean WEEKS, for it to be delivered in your passport to your home.
5) some day, hopefully by Christmas, I can fly back to California and may also be denied entry at the airport for whatever reason (unlikely but still it's a fear I cannot get rid of)

Why is Mexico so bad Tatiana? Lots of people live there, lots of people do triathlons, run marathons, etc from Mexico...You guys have pretty beaches....

Mexico City does not have a beach. It is a smog filled valley with approx 29million people. Anything a mile or more away takes at least 1hr due to traffic. I don't feel at home there at all (I feel the same way an American would if they were thrown into my trip), I don't have a car, my mom and brother are in the US, I refuse to eat the meat, yes I'm a spoiled American first worldist who needs her Trader Joe's/Whole Foods (people this is not my fault, my parents brought me here when I was young to have a healthier life)....I become a gym rat because I will cough up a lung trying to do any activity outside, I have constant fear of being assaulted (there's lots of white people in Mexico believe it or not, but I'm still "guerita" and that does me no good). Plus, my discomfort shows and I could easily be labeled a tourist because of how lost I look.

I could go on forever.

Anyway, this is the summary of my immigration issue. Thanks to all who care and I my hope is that one day (I pray soon) my story can touch the ears of more powerful people in government and perhaps change legislation and set precedent for future cases like mine.

Merry Xmas & a Happy New Year!

2009-12-26T08:11:00.002-06:00

A great time was had on Christmas eve with my dad and bro. My mom & stepdad were having a large get together hosting my stepdad's family in our house and Daniel & I went with my dad to a family friend's house to celebrate his last Holiday in the US- as he will be moving to Cancun early next year. The company was wonderful, and we enjoyed some backgammon and pool. It was hard to stay awake past midnight drinking water though haha.

Yesterday Daniel and I opened our presents and hit the movies to see Sherlock Holmes- it was reall good! Today I'm uber refreshed as I promised myself to take 2 days OFF and then lightly finish off December training because Jan 1, 2010, the work begins.

I've decided to join the LifeSport team and am excited to see what I can do next year under coach Paul's guidance. They've worked with/developed numerous world champions both ITU and IM, so have no doubt I'm in good hands. For a while I thought of coaching myself but who was I kidding? I need direction and someone to tell me when it's too much.

Tomorrow is my last Sonterra brunch :D before heading home on the 30th. I'm thrilled that my H-1B visa got approved and it was perfect timing by my attorney to send me the notification email on xmas day! I have to get to SD to pick up my passport and fill out some paperwork before making the trip down to Monterrey early Jan and getting stamped by the Embassy...now I'll be able to travel outside the U.S. again!

Good stuff...hope everyone had a fab Christmas and that 2010 treats them well.

Sunday Brunch

2009-12-20T15:16:00.005-06:00

Sunday brunch at Sonterra is one of my favorite things about being back home :D Anticipating the food fest, I was up early to do a short but intense trainer ride, have enough time for a nap, and then hit the pool for a 3-4k.
My stepdad couldn't join us as he left mid morning to go hunting, so it was my mom bro and I.
Now it's onto the couch and perhaps goin to the movies later. We had planned on seeing Avatar in 3D last night but it was sold out and Daniel had a swimming holiday party...tonight it's sold out too :( so I guess we'll see Brothers.

I loooove seafooooooddd!! Rd #1 of many

Daniel on his 100th serving of apple pie

Dear Santa:

2009-12-18T16:12:00.002-06:00

Next year I just want my family and I to be healthy and for my brother and I to go VERY VERY FAST!!!

Thanks :)

Holiday Celebratin'

2009-12-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

That's it!! Booze/food quota met. Intense morning after headaches serve to remind me why I steer clear of alcohol. Last night was fun, the Morrisons actually came with Camilla & Collum (yay, people my age!), whom I hadn't seen in forever- went to St. Mary's Hall with them through middle school. Daniel disappeared with his buddies after practically eating all the food- well deserved for his 16k swim he did earlier.

Here's some pics of the night...

Guns- I gots 'em ;) ....haha looks like I'm trying to immitate Price is Right

Pork roasting for traditional Mexico City tacos called Tacos al Pastor- served on mini corn tortillas w/ cilantro, onion, salsa, lime, & a slice of pineapple

Bad news...

Mom & I chillin (literally) outside- sooo cold!

The Office

2009-12-07T05:44:00.002-06:00

Today will be my first trip down to the Sun Loan office. For two weeks I'll be doing some hands on training & meeting all of the Brundage Management folks. I'm excited!
This week I'm easing back into what you could actually call training vs. working out. I haven't run since early last week when my legs & joints were screaming after 10min. My rides are all on the trainer while in San Antonio- I just cannot get out in <50F weather unless it's for an epic/long ride & I'm only doing 2hrs or less right now. Plus, I'm spoiled now & feel unsafe without a bike lane and at least the confidence that drivers are used to seeing cyclists- here you're an anomaly that should get "the hell out of the road!!"
I found a masters program because the pool at my club, The Spectrum, is heated for sr citizens & babies, it's like 90degrees! So after a ride on the trainer this morning I'm off to the JCC for M.O.S.T (masters of S. TX). After work (damn that sounds strange), I'll attempt a 30min run.
Saturday's my brother's bday as well as the company Holiday party for which there have been too many people running in and out of my house the past 2 weeks setting up for. Unfortunately for me, there's not gonna be anyone my age- just a couple of my brother's teenage friends, and the 40+yr old party-invites. My mom scared me when she tried to hire a dj and hinted that they might be dancing. First off the dj talked at one million mph, loud/obnoxious character. Second, I wouldn't be choosing the music, obviously :( hehe. Plus side is there'll be amazing catering and by then I'll be done with the juicing part of my "fast" so I'll be able to take full advantage!
Alright, time to get on the bike. Happy Monday!

22 Double Trouble :D

2009-12-06T09:02:00.004-06:00

Some pics from bday dinner w/ my family

Texas

2009-12-02T09:00:00.002-06:00

Off I go! Heading home till first wk of Jan. I'm excited to see my family, go into the Sun Loan office to meet everyone and get some hands on training, and of course celebrate my bday & my bro's bday off-season-style ;) Oh yes, and Xmas and New Yr's celebrations!
I'm bumming about leaving the sunny 70s here, but it's comforting to know that I can enjoy the cozyness of winter clothing and not worry about suffering through a cold/long ride or run.
Not much else to report, gotta go make sure all's set to leave!

Squash!

2009-11-27T20:20:00.003-06:00

After 4 days off and a killer Thanksgiving dinner last night at JDs house, I was ready to get moving this morning! I spent a couple hrs at Andrew's helping him get some orders out and then he convinced me to joing him on a 20-30min trot along the Rancho golf course. I obliged- warning that the pace would be around 11min/miles. Well clearly the pace didn't matter because either way the 25min shuffle took the life out of me. I get props for being a trooper for Andrew ;)
By then I had some endorphins going and immediately hit the squash courts. It was awesome! After about 20min I got my rythm/feel for the ball again and eventually got recruited into a game with some guys. The short sprints around the court were not very nice to my legs though, so after 2 games I called it. But we're on for tomorrow at 3 and Sunday at 10. Sweet! At least I'll get some good rallies in before I head home on Wednesday.
I have an off season checklist of all the things I stayed away from during the peak of my season: alcohol, a burger, pizza, frozen yogurt, & pumpking pie (dessert). All I have left after today is the pizza which I'll likely have tomorrow :D
From squash I went directly to Berry Happy on Coast Hwy for some fro yo and I don't know if it was the sugar crash that followed or the impact of the little workouts come-too-soon that sent me into a 1hr coma immediately upon getting home.
there were a couple of late nights this week and I'm done with those basically until Xmas and New Yrs. I'm just such a homebody and love being in bed reading or watching movies.
Monday is the start of my juice fast. Since the whole thing lasts 2 weeks it will run into my birthday, Saturday, but who cares, I really want to do this!
I can't wait to be home with my family- 4 more days!!!

what now?!

2009-11-24T09:47:00.002-06:00

Well for a while- NOTHING! :D
My plan is to take 1mth off structured/triathlon-focused training. I plan to play quite a bit of squash, dial in on gym work (core, balance, overall weights), and just have fun day by day.
I'll start with one week of absolutely no activity. I'll keep up with swimming especially because that's the easiest thing to do in the winter and I'll have my brother's club team back home to kick my butt- however only max 4x/wk.
My main focus will be running through late March. Although I have no running background, I consider it my strength and would like to give it special attention for a couple mths.
I've got some races in mind for nxt yr- the only two that are set in stone are Vineman which I just registered for and, of course, Kona. I'd like to go do Honu again it just falls at a really good time in the yr and refreshes my mind/body on racing in Hawaii.
I start training for my job late next week and am very excited to contribute to my Stepdad's company- Sun Loan. It will add great balance to my life and keep me at peace with the financial and immigration areas of my future.
Hope everyone has a fab Thanksgiving :D

race day- in short

2009-11-22T23:50:00.001-06:00

two glasses of wine in me right now- & without alcohol for months my tolerance is that of a child's so please excuse any sentences that make no sense whatsoever...

swim- didn't feel very sparky the whole swim. got a relatively good start- fight free which was good. spent a good amount of time swimming without draft for safety reasons but it didn't matter because somewhere before the turnaround i got punched in my right eye. i think the cold water aided in me not getting a swollen eye for the remainder of the race :D gotta love swimming in an ice bath!

i got out 2min slower than last yr but was worth it to take it less aggresively because i had no clue if/when either kona in my legs just a month prior or the serious lack of training leading up to it was going to come back and bite me.

changed again in T1- smartest thing ever. was not cold at all. worth the extra minutes. only feet numb for the first loop.

bike was good. was happy to be on pace for 5:30 first loop then 2nd loop and 3rd loop had no flying tailwind after the turnaround :( bummer lol. but still felt good and was happy with it. i did feel a bit depleted which is never the case as i always have the same nutrition plan that has never caused me stoach issues and i never eat anything solid - but i totally craved powerbars and had two...not a good idea

t2- ez, quick. threw up a tiny amount (powerbar issue #1) but not really a biggie, was just like a reflux deal.

got out of there haha and went into porta poty and when i got out actually ran a couple feet in the wrong direction before i got directed to run out...oops!

run- felt awesoem the first loop. stomach was not bad at all. second loop started getting some irritation not bloating but like i dindt want anything but desperately needed it. stopped 2 times to try and ***WARNING** foul descriptions ahead......go #2 but that didn't happen unfortunately. loops 3 slowed down significantly stopped 4 times to try and go again. the3rd and 4th were horrible as i had already crapped my pants but when i would go in to the porta potty nothing would happen it's like i was meant for public embarrasment :/ thankfully i had black shorts on. but at that point i had less than 10km to go so i was just holding on for dear life.

came in in 10:30 a min faster than last yr and broke my course record but given all the circumstances, i had a solid race and am happy to start the off season this way :D :D

had a yummy steak dinner with sierra her husband and dad, and two VERY deserved glasses of wine.

now hoping the wine puts me to sleep. up early to claim my slot and get awards before heading back to SD.

thanks for the support and congrats, looking forward to a fun and successful 2010. lots lots lots learned this yr. i'm a whole new athlete and person because of the miles of trials and trials of miles.

nothing compares to the multisport community and i'm blessed to be able to share this journey with all of you!

IMAZ #2

2009-11-21T15:00:00.003-06:00

Well, albeit sickness, I made it to Tempe for my second go at the Ford Ironman Arizona. About a week and a half ago I was 100% healthy and left with the choice of continuing tiny workouts or try to cram and explode. It's one thing to do a heavy short build up and then taper slightly less like I had planned (say 5 days) but it's down right retarded to try and cram volume and/or high intensity a week and a half before an IM.
In the end though, being sick was a blessing. Ironically, I'm feeling much more rested and in turn, energized/motivated now than I was before Kona. I had to face reality when 3hrs on the bike would wipe me out and I kept wanting to cut masters short that I really did have deep fgatigue and rest was more impotant than any sort of "key" workout my mind had convinced me of.
I have the base, the mental fortitude I gained after 3 IMs- particularly the most recent, and the will to succeed. It's just a matter of staying relaxed and having a smooth day without petty mistakes. Everything I can control I believe I have under control so now it's in the hands of God.
Staying with my friend Sierra, who also did Kona this yr, has been great. We've had some funny conversations regarding what we're up to tomorrow- all in good spirit!
A shout out to the peeps from Ironmex (Mexico's Ironman Club) and the founder, Luis Alvarez who's on his way to his 62nd IM tomorrow!!! Holy smokes!!
Best of luck to everyone racing, and to those first timers- there's only one day where you'll hear those special words, and it's worth every sacrifice you made to get to that start line.
I've recently been reminded of what it means to race and what keeps things in the right perspective. At the Iron Prayer service yesterday, where Sierra shared a great story on how belief has helped her through sport, the head guy of FCA said something that stuck with me- he replayed the evening of his first IM and how he thought something dramatic would evolve from his finishing such a task, but when he opened the drawer that held his finisher's medal the next morning, he looked around and saw that nothing had changed- he still tied his shoes the same way, his friends and family were still there; life went on with or without IM, with or without a finish, or a win, or capturing a goal time. When we line up it's important we know who we are outside of triathlon, and how blessed we are to just be able to hear the gun and GO!!!

BOOM!

2009-11-09T19:26:00.003-06:00

That's the sound of my "Ironman Experiment" blowing up in my face late last week :(
Since I got sick again, my awesome 2wk high volume build into a tiny taper and a stellar race sort of went out the window as I found myself with fever, chills, and frightened at the thought of walking two steps Friday night.
I even considered having to pull out of the race. But here I am, now Monday evening, cured I hope for good and thinking again that Ironman in less than 14 days is possible, and if it's meant for me to have ONE FREAKIN GOOD RACE this yr, then that could happen too :D
Now my schedule resembles cramming for a final the night before. Riding and running are feeling quite good, surprisingly, and I can't complain about the couple of lbs I lost over the weekend. Had trouble doing that all yr, should've gotten sick sooner.
I was never a fan of cramming for things, I hate procrastinating. School was always so easy just from going to class and doing things early; that way while everyone gathered at the library days before an exam, I'd be home watching movies...or training.
Swimming feels terrible. I can't hold the slowest interval at masters and my arms feel like they are loaded with bricks. Hopefully that too shall pass and by the week's end I'll have my confidence back and be gunning to race.
I just want a good end to the season and (icing on the cake) to break 10hrs- is that really too much to ask for?!?!

End of Yr Juice Fast

2009-11-06T06:52:00.002-06:00

I'm sick again- cold returned Thursday morning after a great training day wed where Caroline G and I had a solid AM swim, followed by a 3hr strong ride out to the Base end & back, & finished off with a trun. I thought I was golden on that day's end but it turns out my body is too weak.
Ever since I stopped eating like crap in high school my junior yr I've been focused on living as healthy a lifestyle as possible. That's one of the reasons I got into triathlon in the first place. However, it can be argued that long term endurance training and Ironman racing is not exactly healthy.
At the end of the yr, if not by the middle of a heavy season, our immune system, adrenals, and hormones get places under a lot of stress and get totally out of balance. That's why it's so important that we recover right- eat good foods, get good sleep, have ez or days off, etc.
It's been a while since I got a cold- and this year I've had two less than 3 months apart- the most recent lasting now 10 days and not going away!
So that's it! Enough is enough! I've wanted to do a juice fast for a loooong time. In fact I event tried it one time with my mom only to last 2 days. This time however, I see a much greater need and long term benefit associated with finishing the fast.
I plan to do it after Thanksgiving, first because I love Thanksgiving food, and second because it falls a couple of days after IMAZ.
My body would really appreciate it right now but there's no way I could properly carry it out so close to AZ.
The fast will go like this: 4 days of only raw vegetables & fruits, 4 days raw fruit & veg juice fast, 4 days of reintroducins fruits & vegetables in solid form, and then gradually over the course of 3-5 days introducing bland foods like brown rice, quinoa, beans, yogurt, eggs, etc.
In total it's about 2wks including the adaptation before and after periods so you can see why it's important that I do it at a time when I won't be nearly as physically active. Plus there'd be no point in fasting right now only to load my body with gu, bars, sports drinks, coke, caffeine, etc on race day- YUK!
If anyone wants to join me let me know- moral support always helps ;)

My Ironman Experiment

2009-11-02T17:15:00.003-06:00

For me this will definitely be a first, and it goes against popular Ironman protocol. Sure you have your Biscays of the world- the superhumans who can do an Ironman and a wknd later do another and not just DO it, but WIN it. But that's not me.
So what is my awesome little experiment to which I will be the guinea pig you ask?? It's a 5 day taper leading into Arizona :D Brilliant, I know. No, but seriously, this could prove to be awesome....then again it could also prove to be down right stupid. We'll see.
The reason I'm feeling optimistic about this approach is two fold. One, I know from experience it doesn't take weeks and weeks to get IM fit (granted that you've been consistent in training and haven't gone into complete off-mode). In fact, I notice that in roughly 2 weeks of high volume with some key IM specific sessions, I feel invincible. There's a lot of fatigue I'm carrying at that point, but a high amount of fitness. I also know that following such a block, if I take say a day off and like 2 recovery days, my next solid session is phenomenal.
The second reason I'm gunning for this approach is that, honestly, after what I experienced in Honu 70.3 this May- where I had basically just been swimming for 1 month and only trying out tiny runs/rides with an f'd up knee- there's no way in hell I want to go to another race undertrained. The old sayind "better undertrained than over".....uhhm, I'll take the latter, thanks! I've got nothing to lose at this point. If there's one thing I learned this season is that in the end, all the pressure I put on my self, all the hype I gave to one race (Hawaii), all the things I thought would come crumbling down if I failed, they're all in my head. A week or two later, I opened my eyes and saw that my friends and family are still there, I'm healthy, I have a wonderful life, and little problems are simply obstacles, you go through them and move on. Win or lose, I'm still me and I have a lifetime ahead of me to succeed.
OK soap opera aside, what I'm trying to say is that, I want to go into this race with a risk, a risk that could yield a great reward. I hate being cautious, I don't like the easy way. Sometimes that screws me over, but sometimes it gives me great things.
Then there's also the timeline issue, haha. I might not have taken this route had I not gotten a cold last week. After a weekend spent in bed sneezing and coughing, I finally managed to feel human yesterday and got back into training. That leaves me 3wks out from race day. A week, really 5 days, of taper= 2wks for training. Rephrase: Ironman training, because you could argue I've been training a crapload longer than that.
So here goes! :D

3hr ride sans legs

2009-10-28T19:06:00.003-05:00

Backtrack to yesterday, I was feeling really good and headed early to do my 90min run. It's already cold enough in the mornings to wear longsleeve & tights, which after warm up is the perfect temp for a solid pace run. I ran strong almost the entire hour and a half- toward the end I could feel some fatigue overall, not like dead legs or anything, it's just the run as a whole felt like a 2hr run- especially after. I came home to eat and take a short nap then headed to the gym for some upper body work with the elastic cords (I love those things...got on them religiously since I broke my collarbone) and abs. Then back home to veg out some more before ending the day with an ez 30min spin.

Clearly my 90min run needed a lot more recovery than 24hrs as today's bike ride felt more like a Universal Studios ride - akin to "King Kong" or "Earthquake" - this one could've been called "Mad Coastal Wind". Colleen and I started at 12:30, so my morning started with a swim, feeling the best I have in the water since IM, then some breakfast. The ocean looked chaotic in the morning, and by noon the wind was vicious. 15min into the ride, I knew my legs were not going to oblige. They wanted to be indoors and static. We pedaled 2hrs into the headwind along the coast and into the Base. I had the torn up end-of-Ironman leg feeling where all I could and wanted to do was ez gear and spin- hard to do against mother nature, but I tried. I told Colleen to go ahead in the Base, and finally when we turned around, the tailwind helped a bit to keep us together and we rode back in 1hr haha. This time though, we were greeted with crosswinds, like in Kona but with lots of sand. Fun! Now my throat feels swollen, and I feel like I have sand everywhere, despite a trip to the hot tub and a long shower.

So the planned 4hr ride ended up being 3hrs thanks to the wind, and it's a blessing because another hour would've killed me. Tomorrow's only a 30min run and ez hr spin which I'll do in the evening so it'll almost be like a day off.

This delayed fatigue thing is freaky, either that or I got too excited the last couple of days feeling strong on the short stuff and went a little too hard. I have no room to be stupid with this short gap between the two IMs so I'm erring on the conservative side from now own.

3 Things I wish I knew in January

2009-10-26T19:38:00.001-05:00

1. Day 1 of a bike purchase or any significant change in bike set up- seek the BEST fit- not just bike shops with certified Joe’s- people that actually know biomechanics….my top two: Eileen Olson and John Cobb. I visited Eileen late last week and her Ph.D in biomechanics makes a world of difference. Cobb I was lucky to meet early in 2007, when he visited a local Dallas shop and he fit me on my P3. I should have never changed the way he set me up (I did so late in 2008) but my body changed over the first 2yrs racing and I upgraded some equipment.

2. Never ride a frame too small for sake of not spending uber dollars- little component changes add up in cost & only mask what’s bad- better to invest up front than pay more in the end (in physical and monetary damage). Even if you’re fitted to it, if it takes ridiculous effort to make it feel sort of OK, it’s not OK.

3. Unless doing an acceleration test, 700s trump 650s in comfort and effort to keep rolling at pace

Dust yourself off and try again...

2009-10-19T17:35:00.003-05:00

So I'm headed to IMAZ in 4 wks. I learned this year that you cannot train for an Ironman a whole year (go figure), and if you put yourself in that mindset you risk injury, deep fatigue, and more importantly the magnitude/importance of your goal is dispersed and consequently minimized through time. All year this particular Kona race was soo huge for me that in some ways I think when the day came it suddenly felt, I don't want to say insignificant, but just rather plain. That may not have any correlation with how the day played out, but it's definitely food for thought.

I do know that I worked very hard to get to that race as fit as possible and would like to think through the taper, and recovery from the race I've still held on to quite a bit of fitness. That, coupled with the mental fortitude that I gained by finishing what for me was an emotional battlefield of a marathon, I feel can be of great use in Arizona.

Having raced and qualified there last November, I'm in good spirits with that race, and love the spectator friendly course. As well, I have plenty of friends racing.

Defeats often precede victories, and the fire inside me is lit more than ever to finish the year with a race that reflects my hard work and potential. Plus, if I manage to get my slot there again, I will undoubtedly take a looong off season, enjoy some other sports, and use the first half of the year to just race frequently for fun but dedicate the bulk of my time to the work side of things.

A New Approach

2009-10-14T12:08:00.002-05:00

If a psychologist were to evaluate my behavior and comments the night after IM and part of the next day compared to all the moments after that, he would diagnose me as bipolar.
I went from "This is retarted, I hate Ironman, what a waste of 9mths of my life, I am pathetic" to "How soon can I be on another start line and prove to myself what I know I'm capable of? I'm not going anywhere without ticking off plenty of IM wins, getting that Pro card, and being a contender at the Elite level".
Part of this shift in consciousness came from the fabulous email reply from my attorney saying 2nd is fenomenal, there's a high possibility in getting my P1 visa. Given that with that visa granted I cannot work here, just live and train, I sat down and had a chat with my mom. I explained that as great as it sounds to live a whole yr doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and training, after a couple of months it really did start getting old. I'm bored easily and I don't do well with spare time. Hence my desire to take as many hours as possible each semester in college. As well, I feel pathetic that at 21 I can't even buy my mom dinner with my own money.
So, I offered to help my mom in all of her marketing and whatever else she needs for her real estate business, as well as help my stepdad for as many hours as he wants in his company.
With that scenario, I would have to move back to San Antonio. It does break my heart considering how hard I fought to move to Encinitas and how absolutely perfect the training is there. But I'm actually very much a homebody and really miss my family. Plus, San Antonio is not as bad as Dallas in the winter and the summer is spectacular for Kona training.
So that's where I'm at right now- getting everything finalized to take my P1 petition to court and see what the judge decides. If I get to stay, you can bet on me getting my slot once again for the World Champs and toeing the line in Kona with a whole new perspective on training and racing- a smarter, tougher, and more rounded athlete ready to get it done.

Hitting the Wall

2009-10-11T16:20:00.004-05:00

The 2009 Hawaii Ironman is now a thing of the past. It's been a long journey and one that I will never forget. I've grown as a person and athlete this year in more ways than I could've imagined and it will transfer in positive ways to whatever path I follow in life from now on.

People have always spoken of the "deamons" faced during IM. Honestly, I had never gone through those before. I had experienced debilitating pain, some lows, but never tremendous mental hurdles until today. Ironman is truly a humbling experience. It is a race that does not give a damn how hard you've worked, how much you want it, or how much you have placed on this one day. It will strike you when you least expect it- and it is not a dazzling experience.

The day-
I was a little concerned when I lined up at the pier race morning and thought "this is it? This is what I've worked so hard for? Why can't I get that same beginner's excitment, anticipation, and motivation? Why when my immigration status, career expectation in sport, and payback to my family, sponsors, and friends for their unrelenting care and support, is banked on this can I not muster a bit more fire inside me?"
Things started to get a bit better in the "it's go time, get it done" department once the fun went off. My swim was solid, I was happy to exit in relatively good standing. I did discover, however, that as you improve your swim, you're exposed to a more agressive group of swimmers- namely those that seem to try and prove their cage fighting skills every time we near a bouey. Thankfully I got out injury free.

Onto the bike, the plan was to race according to power so as to have my best possible run. I was hesistant to follow this strategy for weeks leading into the race, but decided that my coach who's been in this sport much longer than I have even knwon about triathlon, knows best. Every other Ironman, and race in fact, I've biked according to perceived exertion. In some ways, I believe this method works best for some people, myself included. I'll never know and woulda shoulda couldas are just that, predictions of what will never be possible of proving. I lost the AG win by 90 sec, could that have been made up in the initial 5-10 miles of the bike where I went at below training pace watts (which I otherwise never would have done)? That will haunt me forever.
Anyway, my legs felt a little flat up until the 2hr mark it's usual for me to not get into the groove of things until 3ish hrs into the race, I get stronger with time so that was all going as usual. I found my bike legs and continued at a steady pace wanting to push harder, but being "smart" for the sake of the run. I got to Hawi turnaround at 3 and change. I figured since the way back would be around 2:30-2:45 which would put me right where I expected to bike. It was hot, which I was loving, and there were zero crosswinds. People always love to say there were lots of crosswinds at Hawi to make the race sound even more brutal- there wasn't- it was an uneventful Hawi day. BUT....once at the right turn onto the Queen K, helloooo headwind. Suddenly I realized it was going to be a long ass bike. What I didn't expect was to be the only one who basically can't handle a headwind. I figured the other girls would have a slow bike. Uhhm, nope just me :) and a pathetic one at that. 20min slower than my bike here 2 yrs ago with much better fitness, and almost 40min slower than in AZ.

Into transition I was petrified when I stepped off the bike and my knee was killing me. I thought that was it, I'd probably make it 3 miles of the run, if that, and have to stop. As soon as I got my Newtons on and hit the pavement though, the knee pain was non existent- the only blessing of the day. Once again, I repeated my classic rookie mistake of leaving my salt tablets in T2. So when I reached for my salt tabs 2miles into the run- I discovered I was going to have to run the marathon without salt.

That added large insult to injury for this was a run I did not want to be running. It sounds horrible and I felt like I was taking this race for granted given the thousands who try to qualify for this event every year and have the honor of racing on such historic grounds, but all I wanted to do was stop, not walk to the finish, but pull into a corner and hide from the world and myself forever. My legs felt ready to run and my mind was in a complete breakdown.

Making things worse, was the seeing girls I had no intention of ever being behind far far ahead on the out and back on Alii. I had so much ground to make up and on top of that my usual spark of competition was completely missing. I kept thinking "great, just waiting for the goose bumps and the cramps to start, please somebody drop some salt tabs on the ground. Oh there's a corner I could pull into and just fade away from the race, but then I'd have to report my quiting decision to the race officials. My parents and step dad gave so much for me, I can't stop now, this is no longer for me just keep running for them. I owe them the finish. Just move forward and shut up!"

At the base of Palani I was on pace for roughly a 3:20, from then on I started to get very cold, goosebumps all over. My pace slowed into the 8s. At the energy lab I saw my coach and brother, that helped keep me from humbling myself to a walk. I stopped to pee at the turnaround in the energy lab and found a salt tab on the ground upon exiting. I swallowed it with some spit and don't remember much more of that stretch. At mile 23 my coach let me know that 1st place was only over a minute ahead and walking aid stations. Well so was I but I know I was running much faster. At mile 25 she was right in my sight but the final rush of adrenaline sped her up like it does everyone, and I ran out of real estate.

So that's that. 2nd place, light years slower and tens of places down the list than what I had fully expected, . Now I'm left with my haunting thoughts and only my coach, sometimes my mom, and myself knowing what I was capable of. It kind of sucks, but I threw this onto myself and am now paying for it.

Wednesday I head back home, trying to find a job before the Holidays roll around and companies stop hiring until the beginning of 2010. Given the economy it will be hard to find a company willing to hire an entry level person without a masters who they need to sponsor a visa for. Most will intelligently pick the American who can go on payroll at no extra legal cost. It's that or back to my country, where I haven't lived since I was 3, and where I cannot train without risking getting mugged for something as simple as my wheel skewers. I doubt a judge would grant me an athlete's P1 visa, and if he/she were to be so open minded, my family doesn't deserve nor are they financially equipped to keep funding what seems to be a fruitless journey in sport.

So Close!

2009-10-07T13:25:00.001-05:00

A little less than 3 days to go till race day and I am boiling with excitement. This week has been very mellow- less than an hr of each s/b/r just to keep the engine firing. The bulk of the days I spend indoors- yesterday I got to enjoy endless episodes of Bones :)
Today I'm all done and will just drop off my bike at Bike Works for a simple race day tune up and then hit the expo for a little bit, catch up with sponsors, and then back to being a couch potato.
So that's it, nothing exciting until Saturday, so my next post will be Saturday night when I'm wired from all the caffeine consumption and hopefully enjoying a winners high (knock on wood hehe).
Best of luck to everyone else racing!

Shout out from the Big Island!

2009-10-02T19:08:00.003-05:00

Travel was uneventful- thank God! I managed to escape a bike fee thanks to a made up story but they did get me on my overweight luggage- oh well. I sat next to a nice Cuban couple on the long flight from LAX to Kona and chatted with them for the first hour before falling into deep (yet uncomfortable) sleep for the remainder of the flight. At least that made time go by quick.
Aunt Cassie was there to pick me up and accompanied me, as I was starving, to Lava Java where we ran into Mitch Thrower and I quickly gobbled down some eggs and potatoes. It helped to refuel as my condo happened to be on the third floor so Cassie and I had to drag the bike box and heavy bag up 3 flights of stairs- actually 6 flights cuz each level had two sets.
Anyway, I was a bit wired from napping, eating, and the mini workout of getting the stuff up to the condo so I unpacked and built my bike up. By 11:30pm (2:30 Cali time) I was asleep and then woke up ironically refreshed at 4am. That was awesome because I like getting into the 4am wake up routine as promptly as possible so that come race day it's no biggie. I had some breakfast and then rode down to Kona pool for my last "big" swim of 10x400s. The water there's a little warm, but I felt super. After that I planned to do my 90min ride but had no C02s so while Bike Works openned I made my way to Lava Java for breakfast #2. Then it was food coma time- a 90min nap and finally I headed to Bike Works to get my flat kit good to go. It was a bit on the windy side coming back to town, nothing scary but definitely not calm. Since we still don't have groceries because I can't rent a car until my mom gets here, I stopped by Island Naturals for lunch and am now back at the condo waiting for my mom and brother to come knocking any minute!!!! I hope we rent a scooter, that would be uber fun :D we'll see.

'Tis Time

2009-10-01T11:00:00.004-05:00

Well, it's here- October! I just wanted to say thanks again to a couple people for making this whole season possible for me.
First and foremost, my family. It will be memorable beyond words enjoying such a special Ironman with my mom and brother. 2007 meant a lot to me as it was my first IM, but this year is a whole different kind of "special".
Secondly, my coach Kevin Purcell. I cannot imagine what I would have done without you. Likely I'd be injured, overtrained, or just plain lost! It's been miles of trials and trials of miles and I could always count on you to have my best interest at heart and help me get to Kona in peak form.
Third, thanks Kristin. Who knew that a random hello at the gym two years ago would lead to you having my back like family. Oh, and I'll make more than 5yrs (was that the number?) out of this- starting with day 1: Oct 10th.
Last but not least, my incredible sponsors: Newton, CEEPO, Hank & Mary Ann at Edge Cyclesports, Blue Seventy, Gu, and Nuun. I'll toe that line equipped with the best!
Cheers, I have a plane to catch :D

#1872

2009-09-22T13:08:00.003-05:00

Cool thing is, 1+8 and 7+2 both equal 9...and according to the Chinese, 9 is a VERY lucky number. Wikepedia says it's a homophone for the word "longlasting" and since Ironman is obviously an endurance event in which I hope to be longlasting-ly awesome at, I cannot help but think this sets me up for a great race ;)
I haven't blogged lately, mostly because, as you can see, I've been busy researching things such as the significance of my bib #. Actually, the reason is more along the lines of I've been thinking inside my head too much and also getting things prepped for my departure in...OMG totally unintended...NINE days!!

This past weekend was my last set of big training. Saturady I headed out to OC so I could do my long ride on Santiago Canyon Rd- a lovely stretch of road with ample shoulders, little to no traffic, hotter temps than Encinitas and a bit humid, and the best copycat of the Queen K that SoCal offers (IMHO). So I started out the day just like IM, at 4am, got in a quick breakfast and made the hourish drive out there to swim the 7am masters workout at the Nadadores Club (aka the swim factory). My car was my transition area and from there I quickly hopped on my bike for an awesome 5hr ride with some speficic pacing that was super important for me to nail. After that it was onto a run along Lake Mission Viejo and off to Mother's Market for some awesome food. I've noticed that wherever old people eat, is the best place to eat especially close to a race when everything can go wrong. What I mean is, old people are the most concerned about their health, they usually have tons of limiters to their diet (because of their meds, conditions, whatever) so a place that can cater to old people can cater to me.

After that I dropped off my bike at Edge so Hank could strip it down and build it back up like new :) I picked it back up yesterday and took it out for a spin- all good to go!

Sunday I did my 2hr run in the morning which went spectacular. I had no feeling of the load from Saturday's session and after a short nap I was off to the gym to hop on the treadmill for my second 30min run of the day and some core. My legs felt even better then!

This week is pretty much the start of my taper- the big stuff is in the bank. Now I just need to get organized for next week's travel and keep my mind and body healthy.

I plan to do my next update in Kona and when my mom arrives on the 3rd I will begin posting video clips of each day's adventures on the Big Island!

Don't think, just do

2009-09-14T02:06:00.002-05:00

Since a car alarm managed to wake me up at 11:30pm, I might as well blog now...and hey, then I can go back to sleep and wake up midmorning when it's warmer out for my ride and run!

Yesterday (as it's now 12:07am), I was coerced into doing the 1 mile La Jolla Rough Water Swim and a couple hours later the infamous 3 mile Gatorman swim up at the Cove. My coach basically just signed me up over a month ago, otherwise there are plenty of excuses I could've come up with to avoid that adventure.

See, I actually do enjoy swimming- in a pool, or in clear, calm, warm open water. I do not however enjoy swimming in cold, choppy, swelling, dark ocean. At all costs I tend to steer clear of lakes in places like Florida (gators) and ocean water with shark-sighting/trauma history. My limbs don't grow back if chopped off last time I checked so it's best to take care of them.

Anyway, Julie and KP were both going to do the double and it was the perfect 3 day training summary- 6.5hr ride Fri, 2.5hr run Sat, 2ish hrs of swim Sun.

I woke up pretty early as usual, had breakfast and wasted time at home. Around 9 I drope up to La Jolla and found a good place to park around the shops on Prospect St and headed down to pick up my cap, get marked etc. Things went super smooth and I had about an hour and a half to kill. I luckily stumbled upon the Compex booth and given that my legs were pretty trashed after the long ride and run the days prior, I got hooked up for 30min on their recovery mode. The Compex system rocks!!!!! My legs felt golden afterwards :D They also offered to hook my shoulders up and that really had me thinking of purchasing the things- took my knots out like no massage had before.

I wasn't really nervous about the mile- I mean it's not long at all and my wave- 39& under women, was like 400 people so when it came down to it, sea creatures were the least of my worries. I had two main concerns: 1) water temp, 2) waves/swells when coming back to shore. I don't mind chop so much, that's just a mental struggle and endurance issue (for the Gatorman not the mile) but I suck at taking waves back in. I can time them going out but having them behind me always ends up in me doing ten thousand waching machine reps.

When we went off I loved it! The temperature was 73ish and it felt perfect. It was pretty clear and calm with the current in our favor to the turnaround and the sun had actually started to creep up from the cloud cover. I found a pair of feet and didn't have to look up almost at all. Then the way back happened. Suddenly chop and the realization that this was going to take a bit longer than the first half. Whatever, almost done with swim one so just keep moving. Ahh shore! BAM, BAM....that was my quick surprise as a wave that I must have only imagined to be the size of a house, smashed me to shore. Some circles and a refreshing gulp of salt water later and I was out.

I dried off quickly, and scarfed down 3 powerbars. Had I known that the Gatorman was going to be delayed over 1hr I would have eaten something more substantial like a sandwich, but I thought I only had about 90min before going off again and the last thing I wanted was gulps of salt water mixing with undigested food while swimming forever.

So by the time we started I was kind of hungry, thirsty, and already needing my afternoon nap- great, bonking in line before we even go off! I think we went off just before 3pm vs 1:30 scheduled time. We make our way down the stairs- all couple hundred of us- and greeting us is a beautiful sight of huuuuge waves. Ahh, can this day get any better?! Up to this point I'm feeling exactly like I do before an unconquered rollercoaster ride, or more specifically the Elevator at Universal Studios that I rode with my dad when I was like 9 (the one where you just freefall with like no support except a bar in front to hold on to). You know that when people are done they're only smiling because it's over not because of how much "fun" they had while on it. Everyone always says "yeah, it's great, don't worry" because they want you to have to suffer just as much as they made their sorry a** suffer.

I digress...so KP and I had planned on swimming together. Hahhahaha that plan went to hell in the first 2 seconds. My only thought as we plunged in was avoid getting smacked and injured. I didn't care who the hell passed me, I would have gladly been dead last and not even made the cut off as long as I came out scratch free. One thing I was not going to ever let happen was to lose sight of another swimmer. Heaven heard my call and sent me a wonderful pair of feet that led me without worry to the turnaround. 37 min out- nice! But I knew to expect the worst on the return. Well clearly my imagination needs to expand because my idea of "worst case return" was nothing in comparison to what took place.

1) I lost my original pair of draft feet- thought I thankfully found another girl with a respectable pace and swim etiquette shortly after
2) I swallowed half of the Pacific Ocean- soon I was nauseaus, thirsty, burping powerbar(s), and dizzy
3)The sun went away and the water got cold- my right hand started to get tingly and numb

At this point I was done talking inside my head and shut off into a robotic, survive this thing by just moving mode. Seriously, a shark nibbling on me started to sound appealing as I could then yell for a kayaker and get back to land. This is where you realize there's a reason we don't have gills, fins, etc...we were not meant to be in the water!!!!!!!!!!!! You would think mother nature would think to cut us idiots some slack, but nooo the chop just kept coming. I now have an immense appreciation for the back of the pack at IM swims who probably feel like I did on the last 1.5miles but they proceed to bike and run. Also, I learned that open water swimmers (like the poeple that actually do this shit over and over and for waaay longe distances) are wired entirely different than the rest of humanity. Whoever thinks Ironman is outlandish (no pun intended)- think again.

Thankfully I avoided getting smacked by waves like I had at the end of the 1mile swim, made it to land, tried to drink some water, and proceeded to shiver uncontrollably for, I kid you not, the next hour. Where did the sun go, why is it cold?!?! I bolted out of there straight for whole foods- got in some well deserved real food, and came back home to my warm bed.

Moving on- now Ironman seems like a cakewalk. I guess this is the benefit of what I did, aside from the two finishers medals and t-shirt. This week I'll be rolling through with some moderate stuff, mainly bike and run, and my final big weekend before taper.

Ok, I think I'll go back to sleep now, it's almost 1am...

Proceed With Caution

2009-09-09T20:21:00.000-05:00

That would be my task for the upcoming days leading to race day Oct. 10th. After 2 full days off following my 10 day block-end last Wed and some easier stuff until today, I'm freshened up for the key sessions that remain and absolutely the fittest I've ever been. In fact, the only time all year that I can say I'm fit to what I deem race-ready. What remains now is to protect my fitness, health, and confidence. Then, into taper shed fatigue and gain "form".

With that plan in mind, I have to proceed with utmost caution. Today Julie D., KP, and I headed for a swim at Scripps Trails, a 3hr ride to the base of Wohlford (spelling?), and finished with a 30min run (for me). Clearly this has been the only bike ride I've felt fresh for in a looooon time so I felt uber uber sparky :D KP quickly warned me that in the next couple of weeks I must go a gear or two less than I feel up to because it is very possible that I could let myself go and peak too soon. So the goal is to have my "best day" be Oct 10th. Makes sense ;)

Personally, my biggest concern and the focus of my paranoia leading into race day is the many little f* ups that I've lent myself to in the past pretty much from 4wks out of a race and even into taper time....
1) Food Poisoning Kona '07- for this I am being extremely obsessive about every tiny little thing that goes into my mouth...suffice it to say I'll even be packing my rice cooker for the flight to Kona!
2) bike crashes- Summer 08 collarbone fracture before the crux of my season- being especially cautious on bike paths with runners that cannot understand "on your left" and move left when told that.
3) car accidents- again 08 3weeks before IM AZ- this is almost out of my control but really trying to have my old-person-who should have their eyesight checked again for license renewal-making a right turn in front of me-radar.
4) injuries- this year all of the 2mths before Honu Half- being avid in my stretching, hottubs, ice baths, key gym sessions, equipment, etc
5) last but not least...hasn't happened, knock on wood, but any other type of sickness or disability- trying to stay away from anyone with a slight sniffle or cough, and thank goodness I'm not around little kids or in school anymore (especially college- dorms are breeding grounds for flu 24/7).

Yup, that concludes my Ironman OCDness. :D

Monster Block Finished

2009-09-02T19:51:00.002-05:00

All done as great as I had hoped :D Roughly 50hrs of training banked for Kona and now it's time to rest & recover for a few days.

This morning I was up at the not-so-bright and early 4am, ate some breakfast and headed to KP's house for a swim at Scripps Trails. It's a really neat masters group- few people in a small 25yd country clubish pool. I loved that the pool was about 3ft deep at one end so I could stand and feel tall for once while on rest intervals hehe.

After 4km in the water, we changed and got on our bikes for a 5hr ride out Scripps Poway climb to Ramona, Dudley's Bakery in Julian, and back home through Highland Valley and Pomerado Rd.

Some solid climbing and pace! My legs were definitely feeling it and once we were done my body definitely said "ok you said this was it, now I'm shutting down, feed me and don't move me for a good amount of time". So, I'm obeying and loving the rest from all this work!!

After an easy week I'm looking forward to a epic ride with Julie D and KP next Friday followed by an epic run Saturday and the uber epic La Jolla Rough Water Swim Sunday where I'll do the mile and the Gatorman (3mi).

More fun ahead for Hawaii prep, but for now, I'm enjoying some couch potatoing :)

180 & Stoked!

2009-09-01T18:25:00.003-05:00

Today I did a full 180 from the last 2-3 days. My cold symptoms went away completely and I was shocked at how awesome and strong I feel :D
Two great things that resulted from this cold (always find the good in the bad) 1- I eliminated coffee from my diet...I did substituted tea as it would help with my cold anyway and lo and behold it regulated my sleep patterns and erased the mid-day crash. Yes, I'm still taking in caffeine with the teas and gels during rides, etc but I have no intentions of cutting out every little stimulant ;)
2- Going from fatigued and pushing through a big block with a slight cold to still pushing with no cold made the latter feel like a cake walk. So this morning I went for an hour run- parked my car at the entrance of the Lagoon in Rancho and ran to the golf course, one loop and back to the car. Running felt amazing!! I've only been doing a series of 30min runs since Thurs on top of the mega bike volume so going a little longer felt like a good change and I was delighted to discover light legs and a quick turnover, something that I totally did not expect this far into the big block.
After some chill time and breakfast I went on an ez 2ish hr ride along the coast as I agreed to cut some bike time today for my run gift :D Then I hit up Frog's for an aewsome core workout.
Tomorrow ends the block with a very early 5:30am swim and long ride probably out to Dudley's with KP. It's supposed to be near 100 out there and I cannot wait!
My 2 complete OFF days will be well deserved and I'm so looking forward to absorbing all this work and freshening up for a couple more key sessions left before I depart in 4wks time for the Big Island :D :D :D

Feeling like death

2009-08-31T18:49:00.002-05:00

That's the routine for me since the last couple of days...starting around Friday. When not training I feel like I just did an IM, actually worse because of this slight cold that still has me congested and sneezing. Basically my immune system, despite vitamins, wheatgrass, raw vegetables galore, aminos, you name it, is absolutely shot to the ground :/ Oh well, gotta give it all ya got!
At morning swim I found refuge as all symptoms were gone in the water :D The only thing that remained to remind me of my current state of fatigue is the lack of any sort of pulling power. However, it was not a dreadful swim where you might as well just throw the towel and call it a day. Aside from having little pull power, some soreness from the gym yesterday, I did feel relatively good and my stroke felt smooth.
75min later I was driving back home to get on my bike for 4hrs. It turned out to be a wonderful ride with few lights (only on the last 30min coast stretch home) and pretty darn hilly. I remembered Justin saying in AZ that when he was feeling tired and needing to be pushed he just sought out lots of hills to force on the work. So that was the task today, go uphill!
It started out soooo foggy I could barely see 10ft in front of me, but soon enough the sky opened up and it was another hot SoCal day.
Back at home, showered and fed, I feel like death. Tomorrow's early run and then easier flatter 3hr ride is "recovery" for Wed culminating swim and 5.5hr ride.
Come race day, no matter what happens, I know that I'll toe that line ready and that I gave absolutely everything I had to reach my goal(s). At the end, all that matters to me is that I didn't take for granted the amazing opportunity given to me by family and loved ones to train like a pro (I've decided to call it my year 'interning' as a pro triathlete haha) in one of the most perfect locations on earth.
....
Oh yea, and I guess the whole visa, not having to be sent back to Mexico thing is important to...but that'll only be in my hands on Oct 10, 2009.

The thing I'm most looking forward to is the final miles starting at the Energy Lab coming back to the Pier- nothing compares.

Weekend mileage

2009-08-30T20:14:00.003-05:00

Saturday I woke up pretty early- 4am, unintentionally. Since my computer once again crashed Friday night thanks to a new windows update that according to my computer guy, Eric, is busting comps left and right, I made my way to Kinkos before any coffee shop opened. Once I spent some time browsing the web, I got my coffee and headed to Julie's house for our long ride. We started out the first hour or so with John, her husband, and a friend Johaan. JD and I continued after Scripps Poway toward Highland Valley and then the Wild Animal park, etc etc to the coast back up 56. It was a hot ride, I think I went through 5 or 6 water bottles.
The best part was that my legs felt awesome. I feel like I'm getting stronger and stronger every day riding since I'm not trashing myself with any unnecessary intensity.
After the ride we did a short run off the bike and then plunged in the pool- heaven on earth!!!
After lunch and a visit to my computer guy's house again, I was feeling pretty run down. I had sniffles and was sneezing. This had me petrified! So I cancelled a movie and dinner trip and went straight to bed.
This morning wasn't much better...I tossed and turned all night feeling super congested. But after breakfast and going back to sleep for another 2 hours, I woke up a bit better and headed on my 3hr ride. This turned out to be 2.5hrs as I got 2 flats and barely made it home without having to walk the dang bike.
But, once again, the legs felt incredible so I was happy. Given that I'm not coughing nor do I have a sore throat or body aches, etc, I'm continuing with the schedule. In fact, at the gym later this afternoon, I felt awesome doing my treadmill run and weights. So I think it could be allergies because indoors it's a little better.
Well, that's the weekend. 31hrs down, 17 to go till Wednesday :D Back at masters tomorrow morning and 4hrs on the bike!

BIKE CAMP

2009-08-28T19:56:00.002-05:00

First off, this post was supposed to be up 2 days ago but my hard drive crashed leaving me with limited time & $$ to check emails and log workouts at Kinko's. I finally have my computer back with only a backup I made in April which at least has my essentials from college and my favorite pics. Other than that, I don't keep music on here, nor am I some exec with important info, or video game geek, etc.

So- the essence of the post- Bike Camp!! After Santa Barbara it became apparent that my run is coming along right where it should and that my swim will obviously not improve in such a way in the weeks left before Kona as to make a difference in my overall performance. I just need to keep swimming my 5-6x/wk and running my usual with long runs and some intervals thrown in and those two are golden.

What really needs a little boost in volume is my riding, to get me and my bike feeling like true compadres :) I have a set goal in mind (obviously given conditions are netural in Hawaii, haha that's almost a paradox but still) that will lead me to my task of breaking the 10hr barrier and catch some target-girls a bit earlier on in the marathon :D So coach and I decided on a week of some significant saddle time Wed through Wed.

It goes like this: 2hrs, 5.75hrs, 3hrs, 5.5hrs, 3hrs, 4hrs, 3hrs, 5.5hrs

In between are some swims and short runs and plenty of core exercises.

So Wed I swam, this whole week has been up at UCSD for LCM which I loooooove in lieu of the YMCA being shut down for repairs this whole week. After swim, I biked from home on my rolling 2hr route through Rancho. Then a beautiful nap prepped me for the short evening run.

Thursday, yesterday, I met up with Sierra who I hadn't ridden with since way back in '07 when we were both also training for Hawaii, and we did an hr of masters and then left from her house for the long ride. We took the coast down to Camp Pendelton and across to San Clemente, some of the base stretch there, and back. No run that day, just some evening babysitting duty and crashed in bed after!

Today, I felt surprisingly good- could've been the ginourmous cup(s) of coffee haha- and hit up masters again, came home and quickly left for a flatter and more mellow 3hr ride to the bike path and back with some extra stretch of the coast added in. Another very long nap and then a toasty short run.

Tomorrow- meeting Julie D. for a long one from her house down to Highland Valley, Wild Animal Park, over Del Dios, to Elfin Forrest, back onto the coast, and up 56 to her house again....basically the backwards version of the ride I did with her two weeks ago. That'll be followed by a 45min t-run.

I think by Wed I will have trouble even knowing who the hell I am but after 2-3 days completely OFF and some easier ones to follow, I know that absorbing this insane volume (roughly 48hrs in 10days) that I have never ever done will pay huuuuuge dividends come race day.

It'll be fun blogging about my quest to nail this block with absolute perfection and toast with a double shot of wheatgrass after it's all said and done!

Confidence Booster

2009-08-22T19:42:00.004-05:00

Today's "long course" race in Santa Barbara was just what I needed as I roll in the creme de la creme of Kona prep weeks. All year I've struggled to find my race mojo. Aside from the SoCal Half Marathon where I PRd on exhausted legs, every race thus far has left me without much satisfaction. To reminisce...Desert Oly- OD's on salt tabs before start thinking they were my Vantage ones from Sportsquestdirect, forgot my inhaler, and rode in the frankenstein position/bike set up (and yes I mean WHOLE SET UP) that I stupidly exposed myself to from Mr. KGS bikes- worst mistake of my life...which led to months of discomfort and a knee injury. But I digress....moving on...Honu 70.3 OMG that race I really wish I could just forget. But, as I've noted before, it was the best serving of humble and toughen-up pie anyone could've asked for. Let's just say there's a reason we bike and run aside from swim training to get ready for a HIM. It just killed me on the inside because this race is so special to me and I had looked forward to smashing it since Nov last yr. From there, once the knee injury was in remission, all the local sprints and Oly's where OK but things just didn't feel like they clicked. You know when you race and there's constant little struggles and you cross the line but it's just sort of OFF? As opposed to when you're out there hurting but from digging deep, not a case of lack of fitness or whatever. It's the racing where you're strong, the pain is ironically satisfying, and with every step you're just more and more confident!
Well, that's what went down today :D Things are clicking better than I would've imagined at this point. I felt reborn.

Onto the weekend and race itself...
I drove up yesterday, Friday, after a quick bike and run in the morning and a stop at Edge Cyclesports where Hank dialed in my CEEPO for the race. I even found out I had a recalled chain link. I was beginning to wonder if I had forgotten how to shift as the last few weeks I dropped my chain no less than 3 times every ride!! Well, glad to hear I do know how to operate my bike ;) Anyways, I made it straight to packet pick up and asked a local where a Whole Foods-type market was and she pointed me to Lazy Acres, an awesome health food store that had a delicious prepared foods section. So I grabbed a late lunch/dinner and then proceeded to the hotel.

I've never stayed in a motel before, and given my last minute reservations and the fact that Santa Barbara is probably the most expensive city to bunk in in the world, I had no choice. I was a little frigthened because I'm just a wuss like that, I've been scared of the dark since I left the hospital 21 yrs ago. To add insult to injury, the cross street of my hotel was called Hitchcock Drive- get it? Psycho...yeah! Not cool.

So I stayed up watching Project Runway Allstars Finale and then fell asleep till 5am wake up. After breakfast and coffee at a really cool retro espresso bar I found on my way to the race site, I made it to a great parking spot and chilled for a bit. I called my bro to wish him well as he was doing a local 1mi and 2mi swim out in Boerne Lake- which he not surprisingly kicked ass in ;)

After getting set up I chatted for a bit with Colleen and Tawnee and then Tawnee and I got in to "warm up" in the frigid water. That didn't feel so good so we exited quickly and opted to jog along the beach for a few min in our wetsuits before we got called to the start.

We happened to be the last wave. Great. I don't think I've ever been in the last wave. The only plus about this was that all the men had gone waaaay before and the sketchy bike course where apparently a woman died last yr, was not going to consist of egos passing me dangerously. The last thing I need right now is an accident.

Into the swim I immediately found myself way in front and basically swam alone until the 3rd boey where I had to traverse some of the slower swimmers from the previous waves. It was a shocking yet fun change to be leading the swim. Actually, it was kind of funny. I absorbed as much of this honor as I could knowing it may well be the last time I lead a swim :/ hehe, I do wish the 25-29s had been with us though to get some draft. But oh well you can't it all!

The bike course was a freakin' blasssstttt!!! I thoroughly enjoyed being relatively alone with all the men and most of the women gone. Only 2-3 other 40somtn women and I saw each other at similar parts of the bike course. I did drop my chain once haha, on the way back. Luckily it was on a downhill so I was able to get back up to speed again quick. I guess I just need to get used to SRAM Red. Or I'm inept, either one.

My plan was not to hammer, but bike hard/strong and not think about the fact that a run was to follow. Well, it didn't matter because when I got out for the run I felt like no swim or bike had taken place at all. That's what I'm talking about! Finally!!!! AHHHH the arrival of fitness!!!! It feels so good.

I made my signature pee stop after T2 (I just cannot pee on the bike, and this wasn't even a HIM so whatever) and then continued on. Running felt so effortless. I knew I was running a solid pace but it felt so comfortable. I helf off a gear or two for the turnaround and managed to pick it up just as planned for the stretch back to the finish. No knee pain whatsoever :D The only BAD thing was I went sans socks and that screwed me over. I knew from the previous races I got blisters without socks but I've been using it as a way to take my mind off any potential knee pain by forcing a focus of agony on blisters/broken skin :D Not recommended. At mile 3 it was a "pain is temporary, pride is forever", "pain let's you know you're alive" type of motivational sayings over and over in my head to keep me from stopping and ripping my shoes off. And it's not Newton's fault, it's my stupid toes, and heel. So I ran to escape the pain knwoing it would end sooner if I held my pace, but at the same time I was also making it hurt more by running faster so yea it was a good little warrior moment. The great part was finishing with my shoes all red from the blood. Hardcore- that's how I roll.

After the race I went for a quick dip in the cold water and then bummed a hotel pool to rinse off. A quick change of clothes and I was back at Lazy Acres...YUMMY! As such, I missed the awards, but Colleen kindly grabbed it for me. I rushed back home so as not to drive later when I'd begin to get tired, it'd be darker out, and the traffic maybe worse.

In the end I came 1st in my AG and 4th F. Lauren Swigart (25-29) took the overall and knowing how that girl can bike and run I was happy to be only 3min down from her in the middle of IM training. Things are just where they should be, if not better, and I am so so excited, confident, and eager for Hawaii.