Monday, April 29, 2013

Vacay Part 1: The District


With 2 hours to kill at Dulles airport before our flight, I figured now is as good a time as any to update the bloggity blog with the exploits of the past week!

Pre-Flight Bevvies at SFO
As expected, our trip to DC was full of fun times.  We started the week off with one of my roommates from college, Krissi, and her fiance, Mike, in Reston, VA.  We rented an awesome mini-van...which we will never be purchasing!!  
Yes, be jealous...

Day 1: National Mall, Washington Monument, American History Museum, and Washington National's Game.

Here's Jay trying to install rivets in a plane - needless to say, he wouldn't be hired for that job.

Jay looks SMALL!!!
Night with the Nationals and the soon to be Chevaliers!



Day 2:  As I'm still in training mode for Wildflower - which is next weekend (gulp)!!!!, the trip was still filled with training sessions.  One of my favorite parts about traveling is running in new locales, and Reston had a great trail system which was basically connect the dots (dots being wooden markers) for a 4 mile loop.  I ran the loop on Day 2.  I made a wrong turn, but found these amazing houses and managed to extend my run to 5.5 miles, which is what I was aiming for.

New trails are my favorite!!

Can I live here, please?
Since we were away from our pups and missed them terribly, we dognapped Coolie and hiked at the Sky Meadows State Park.

Day 3:  We checked into our hotel in Arlington.  BF was sleepy, so I took advantage of nap time and did a 6.7 mile run towards Washington DC on the Mt. Vernon trail.

Navy-Merchant Marine Memorial on the Mt. Vernon Trail
Since I had to get in some swim sessions, I found an awesome gym 2 blocks from our hotel, Sport & Health Crystal City, which offered a 7 day free trial - DONE!!  Beautiful gym and great pool.

Then we hit up the Expo for the Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon, had lots of photo shoots, tested out Nuun flavors, found my name on the wall of runners, saw Olympian Sanya Richards-Ross, bought some new Nike race swag, and finally made it to dinner at Founding Farmers.  Ahhhhhh-mazing!  Definitely a very worthy splurge meal!
I found my name!!!
Wheee!!  Seriously - lots of photo shoots!

Selfie on the Georgetown Canal

Olympian and Gold Medalist Sanya Richards-Ross
Nice Coat!  Yummy Cocktails ;)
Day 4: Friday meant bike day...normally I absolutely despise a spin bike.  I really just can't get into it.  It is really nothing like riding my own bike on a trainer, but unfortunately this was my only option.  Welcome to the Sport&Health Cardio Theatre!!!! So the gym has this room, full of 1 of every cardio machine out there.  It's dark, with red accent lights, it's cooler than the rest of the gym, and it has a huge movie screen playing different movies throughout the day so you can get totally distracted from doing a long run or spin.  Far beats the mini tv's at most gyms!  So I saddled up for a 1.5 hour ride with my awesome new Nuun waterbottle and X-Men.  Good times!

Hitting up the Cardio Theatre with my cool new Nuun water bottle
After getting in our workouts, we metro'd it up to Union Station, toured the Supreme Court, walked around the Capitol building, and saw some fish and some jewels at the Natural History Museum.  I love all things Food Network, and was stoked to find that our hotel was right by Spike Mendelsohn's Good Stuff Eatery.  So we noshed on some turkey burgers, rosemary/thyme fries, and (mini) toasted marshmallow and very berry milkshakes :)


Day 5:  First I put another swim in the books, then we headed out to the National Museum of Crime and Punishment.  If you ever go to DC, ABSOLUTELY put this museum on your list!!!  Super interesting exhibits, cool interactive stuff, and obvi hits close to home for both me and the BF given our lines of work in the justice system.  


On our way to check out the home of the Prez, we stopped at the District of Pi for some early carbo loading of Deep Dish 'za.

And given that I was to run 13 miles the next day...we headed back to the hotel to veg out in front of the tv.  As much as we wanted to keep packing stuff in, we definitely took to heart that this was VACATION and RELAXATION was absolutely necessary!  Then I laid out my race gear and drifted off to dream of race bibs, aid stations, and that little blue box!

Day 6:  RACE DAY!!!  In an effort to keep this post manageable, my specific race recap will follow in Vacay Part 2!  But suffice it to say that the Nike Women's 1/2 is one of my new favorite races, and I might be tempted to make this an annual race...

Day 7: Sad Day - Vacay is done :(  I fit in one last swim before packing up our stuff.  Not gonna lie - I'm super proud of myself for sticking to a general training schedule while out here.  Hopefully it was enough to prep me for Wildflower!  We fit in one last stop to Arlington National Cemetery before heading to the airport.  The beautiful weather from the rest of the trip gave way to the last of the April showers, which was very fitting for such a thought provoking stop.



JFK Gravesite


All in all, we had an amazing trip, but can't wait to get back to the pups, work my muscles at FNS, and start tapering for Wildflower!

Monday, April 22, 2013

I'm on a plane, hey! and My first ever race recap!


Seriously, I'm on a plane, heading to DC for a week of fun, adventure, and relaxing with my man. And running a 1/2 marathon.  But mostly fun and adventure.

But now it's the moment I've been waiting for...I give you my very first ever race report!! I love reading these on other blogs, so I'm super excited to write my own!!  It will be long - my apologies - but since this is my first tri, I want to remember all of the little details.

Saturday was my first ever triathlon.  I couldn't wait for the moment that I actually got to say I was a triathlete, as opposed to just training for a triathlon.

April 20, 2013: Silicon Valley Sprint Triathlon, Morgan Hill, CA

Pre-Race

My wave of the race was slated to start at 7:57 am, but transition opened at 5.  I wanted to get to the race site as early as possible, but I was dragging along the BF, so didn't want to make him wake up too early, however i quickly found out he was a total beast and actually was so excited to watch my first triathlon that HE NEVER WENT TO SLEEP. I MEAN FOR WEEKS. It was crazy...and actually a little scary. I guess after significant amounts of sleep deprivation, your mind becomes a little fuzzy. So when I noted he was easting the towels in the laundry closet I became concerned. I am going to end this story now because although I am having an absolute blast, my girlfriend is getting extremely annoyed with me, which is really too bad because I only took up a few minutes of her time and in the end it was actually pretty fun for both of us.  (this is what happens when you type your race report while the BF is sitting next to you on the plane, bored out of his mind and steals your computer ;)

Now back to the race report: I decided on a 4am wake up call...which actually turned into a 2:39 wake up call.  Pretty typical for me on the night before a race.  I always wake up multiple times in the night because I'm freaked out I will oversleep.  Not a chance this morning.  I tossed and turned from 2:30-4, imagining all aspects of the race.  Once the clock struck 4, I was out of bed and in the shower.

For breakfast, I had my standard 2 whole wheat waffles with peanut butter and honey.  In the rush of the week leading up to the race, I forgot to buy a banana for race morning...whoops.  Definitely something I need to remember to have stocked in the house.  


We got out of the house around 5:15 and arrived at the race around 6...later than I hoped, but there was still a bunch of room in transition.  I claimed a spot near the transition exit, and sent BF on a mission to find my fellow FNS racers, Bo, Lisa, and Mario.  We chatted and mingled around the transition area, and I did my best to not get nervous.  I ran into another of my 'soon to be coach's' athletes (more on that later) who was doing the Aquabike race and gladly accepted some words of advice as we were getting marked up.
About 20 minutes before my wave, I ate one Mint Chocolate Gu.  Thank goodness it's no longer a "holiday special"...best flavor ever.





Swim: 750 meters, 18:25







The Long Course race started at 7 that morning, so as the race officials were moving the buoys for our swim distance, the FNSers and I made our way down to the water.  The swim was in a reservoir, around a island/peninsula thing.  It was a deep water start, which I wasn't expecting. I lost the FNS crew because everyone looked the same with wetsuits and swim caps! As I started to make my way out to the start buoys, I realized that my timing chip was coming loose, so had to swim back to where I could stand.  I fumbled with the chip, but managed to secure it and eased my way up to the buoys.

My wave was the first female wave, with 2 mens waves ahead of us.  It felt weird bobbing around before start. The water felt good, not too cold.  As soon as the timer went off, I put my head down, and just started to go.  I saw a bunch of girls to my right just taking off, so I tried to swim as fast as I could.  My shoulders started to get tired and I knew I couldn't keep up with them.  I took a breath and realized that I just needed to swim my own swim.  Once I came to that realization, I settled into my stroke.  I felt slow, but 1/2 way around island caught up with 2 waves before, so I felt a bit better.

My favorite part of the swim was looking up around the back half of the island and it looked like confetti in water with all of the different colored caps!  Very cool.  When I finally reached the exit, my feet hit the boat ramp and I tried to move my legs as fast as possible.  I was NOT expecting the jello legs I experienced getting out of water.  My feet felt cold and my legs felt wobbly, but BF was right at the exit and it was a huge boost to hear him cheering for me.

T1: 1:35

The transition felt fumbly, but I got my wetsuit off easier than expected.  When I started to put on my bike shoes, my feet were still full of gravel, so had to take extra time to wipe.  Next time I'll need to remember to leave room on my towel to wipe my feet off first.

Bike: 16 miles, 59:12

I actually felt pretty good on the bike.  This is definitely the sport I feel is my weakest, but I passed more people than passed me, mostly dudes which was awesome. I kept on the lookout for other women in my age group, but didn't see any pass me.  There were 2 women who passed with no numbers - and they were flying.  They looked like they could have been in my age group, but luckily they weren't!

4 miles into bike, I realized that my ankle felt empty.  I looked down, no chip!!! Well $h!t!  I knew I couldn't do anything about it until I got back to transition, so I kept riding as hard as I could.  I felt like I pushed my pace, and felt great after the turn around.  I was pretty stoked that I was able to stay in aero most of the ride, mainly except for the small hills.  The morning was hotter than I expected, and even though this was a short race, I definitely need to figure out my nutrition while on the bike.  When was comfy in aero, I didnt want to break it by drinking or eating, but when I was on the hoods (like my cool bike lingo? Thanks Dave Thompson!), I was either focused on trying to go faster or going up a hill, so didn't want to deal with food then. On the bike I had 2 pieces of Clif Block cran razz and only 1/2 bottle cherry limeade nuun.

I cruised by BF on the way out and back on the bike and got to hear him cheer me on :)

T2: 1:07

Time to deal with my missing chip!!! Once I got back to transition, I immediately started calling out that I lost my chip. The timing company was great.  They had someone right at the timing mat who manually checked me in.  The race official in the transition area told me to look in my wetsuit, and there it was!  Phew! I was bummed that I wasn't going to know my bike time or my T1 split, but luckily I'd get my run time! 

Anywho T2 was pretty easy, slipped on my chip, then shoes and socks.  I'm good riding without socks, but I'm still scared to try running without them. 

Run: 5k, 23:47

Almost done...I promise!  Once I started off on the run, it took a while for my legs to kick in. It felt like my calves were going to explode! Felt like I was moving ok, mostly passing people. For the first time in the race, I saw another person in my age group, a woman with 34 on her leg.  I knew that I could reel her in and I did, around mile 1. I didn't really see any other women.  Most of the other people around we're dudes, so i kept trucking along. My legs still didn't feel great, and it was definitely hotter than I expected by 9:30am!

Around mile 2, I caught up with my FNS teammate Bo, who had smoked me on the bike.  We were able to run together for a bit which was awesome. I was very cool running in a team kit and seeing everyone on the course...way better than a normal running race!  My cardio felt good and I could chat semi easily but my legs were definitely feeling the effort I put in on the bike.  I guess I should work on actual transition run practice!

When I finally made it to the finish shoot, I slowed down a little so I could have a decent finish photo.  Usually I go into an all out sprint and end up directly behind someone else for my photo. Thank goodness it didnt bite me in the butt because the girl I passed on the run was only 21 seconds behind!

I got a big hug and a kiss from my awesome and hungry BF. We got to cheer on the rest of the FNS crew and snag some yummy grub, burritos, muffins and fruit. 

Once I saw that the times were posted, I got the best news of the day...I won my age group!!! So stoked! I had no idea where I was in the age group and I'm just glad that I was able to reel in the other girl on the run.  

















Female Overall 13/130
Age group 1/29
Overall 52/264

The race had a great awards ceremony, with a real podium and everything.  I got a bottle of wine and a pint glass.  The under 21 categories won boxes of clif bars - is it sad that I wanted the clif bars instead of wine?

Post race, BF and I got to celebrate by BBQing with one of my college roommates who was in town. Awesome way to relax with beers on a sunny afternoon.  Then I parked my butt on the couch in my Zoot recovery compression pants.  Next best thing to recovery boots!  I topped off the evening with my first trip to Yummi Yogurt...it definitely lives up to the hype, and I might become an addict.  

I absolutely loved my first race, timing hiccups and all.  I have LOTS of room for improvement, but that means I can only get better.  I cannot wait to start working with my tri coach and join a masters swim group after Wildflower!!  I'm excited to improve and get some personalized training!









Personal notes to remember:
Swim closer to shore
Get reflective goggles
Make sure timing chip is on before exiting transition!!!
Make sure to eat/drink on the bike!



This week we will be exploring DC, sneaking in some training, eating yummy food, and running the Nike Women's 1/2 marathon.  Updates to come!

Friday, April 19, 2013

Almost a Triathlete!!!

So tomorrow is the day...I get to wake up at 4am (yay?) and put all the pieces of my training together! 

At exactly 7:57am, I will start my swim in Uvas Reservior!  I cannot wait!  Today's training left me on a high note...I swam this morning and I was am pretty surprised and excited about my 100 m splits.  It's the first time in a while that I've actually timed my splits...I swam 6x100 at 1:43 pace, then another set of 4x100 with negative splits of 1:36, 36, 35, 34. We shall see how this actually translates to my race where people are swimming over and around me.  I'm most afraid that I'll get kicked in the face - I'm definitely used to my own lane at the pool and always get bummed when I have to share :(  But I suppose a black eye would be a pretty righteous battle wound.

Then took bike in for a tune up...

apparently the tension in the cables needed to be tightened, so now my bike is quiet as a mouse!

I was in a dilemma with my wetsuit situation.  After trying out the Xterra one that I bought, I realized that it was too big.  I immediately ordered the next size down, but since it's not set to arrive until Monday, I headed over to trusty Sports Basement to rent one for the weekend.  Well, I tried on the size that I should have and WOW - now I know what a well fitting wetsuit is supposed to feel like...like a catsuit. I feel like a not so sexy cat woman in that thing!  Hopefully it will help me swim like a fishy tomorrow.


I wrapped up the day with an amazing recovery stretch class at FNS, then headed home to get all of my gear in order.  Fingers crossed that I have everything!  I checked my list twice, so I should be good.  Only time will tell!

And this is just the start to a whirlwind 3 weeks. Tomorrow, first tri ever. Then the BF and I travel to DC for the week for our first actual vacay! While there, I'm running the Nike women's 1/2 marathon. Then we come home, I work for 2 days, then I'm off to slo to the infamous Wildflower, my first A race of the year! Whew... I'm tired just typing that, but I can't wait for all that is in store

Now it's time to trust in my training and have a blast! Sweet dreams!! although I'm pretty sure I won't be able to sleep because I don't want to miss my alarm!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Wetsuit Tryouts


Shopping is a love hate relationship that I am learning is one of the biggest parts of triathlon, next to training, eating, and sleeping!  One of the main big ticket items that I get to invest in is a wetsuit!! 

It's a big investment, and when I started looking, I really had no idea what I was looking for.  In my obsession with souring all of the triathlon race websites, I luckily came across an awesome promo code for Xterra wetsuits and started doing my research.  Before I bought one, though, the awesome folks at Concept Cyclery let me try on some past seasons suits to potentially buy on the cheap.  

So on a warm thursday afternoon, just before a trainer class, I made my first attempt at wriggling into a wetsuit...not an easy task, let me tell you!  I spent about 15 minutes inching my way into the wetsuit, seriously starting to sweat about 1/2 way through.  By the time I finally got my arms and legs in, I thought that there was no way I had the correct size...it must be too small.  Luckily, Rachelle from Concept was at the store to render her opinion.  As I waddled out of the fitting room to make sure she agreed that it was too small, she immediately said it was too big!!!! I couldn't believe it.  She had me squat and bend and lift my arms and was soooo helpful showing me all the places that it was too big, where water would enter and slow me down.  Thank goodness she did, because otherwise I would have invested in a very expensive anchor!

Unfortunately, none of the wetsuits at Concept fit, but at least I knew what to look for in picking the right size.  So I scoured the size chart for the Xterra wetsuits and the try on/return policy, punched in my discount code, and the next day, my wetsuit was in the mail.  The Xterra site is incredibly helpful, and their return policy looks great...unfortunately I'll have to actually put it to use, but more on that later.

The day my wetsuit arrived was super exciting, and I couldn't wait to get home from work to try it on.  I took it out of it's packaging like it was going to break!  I didn't want to put any scratches on the neoprene or get it dirty at all!! But I was nervous to try it on...not quite sure why...probably because I knew how difficult it would be to put on!  I locked it in our guest bedroom so that the pups wouldn't get too curious for the next few days until I got the courage to squeeze myself in.  When I finally worked up the courage, it was far easier than I remembered, which was not a good sign :(  

I have learned that if it is the right size, a wetsuit should be the hardest thing to get into, and have absolutely no gaps between the suit and my skin.  Well, this one fit better than the other one that I had tried on, there was still a big gap between my lower back and the suit, which the Xterra sizing page says is a sign that the suit is too big.  Major Bummer!!

Just to be sure though, I was determined to test it out in the water, and also get my feet wet (pun intended ;) with actually swimming in a lake!  I have heard and read lots of horror stories of people having panic attacks because the murky water, etc.  and I wanted to check on that fear before I actually raced!!!

Luckily, the Quarry Lakes Park in Fremont has a lake that is open year round for the crazy people like me who decide to hop in the water in the middle of winter.  (I know that it's not actually the middle of winter anymore, but it was overcast, cold and windy, which is like winter for my sissy blood!) So I headed over there around 10 am.  As I drove, my nerves were definitely creeping in and I was NOT excited about the prospect of freezing cold water and a potential panic attack.

I arrived at the park, explained to the attendant what I was planning on doing and asked for directions to the swimming area.  As she directed me to the "beach", she claimed "oh there's other people swimming too."  Ummmm, not true!  I parked near the swim area and scoped out the area.  The only person around was a volunteer tending to the roses.  The beach and the water were DESERTED!!  The sand had weeds growing in it, the lake was low enough that the first set of buoys was laying on the sand, and the grass looked like it hadn't been mowed in months.  NOT the ideal "first open water swim" experience.

But I was determined to test out the wetsuit and get my butt in the water before my first race (which is this weekend - AHHHH).  At my car in the completely empty parking lot, next to the BART tracks, I stripped down to my bathing suit and wriggled into the wetsuit.  As I started my trek down to the water, the sun started to peak out, and I actually started feeling hot....maybe the whole wetsuit thing is true and actually keeps you warm??   Two geese were hanging by the water when I finally made it down and I just hoped that they would ignore the crazy lady in the wetsuit.
After I put on my swim cap and goggled, I finally inched my way towards the water.  I put my feet in - not too bad.  I kept walking - ok, I'm not freezing.  I got to the second set of buoys and realized that I had to put my head under - ok deep breath, not too bad!  I was amazed at how warm the wetsuit actually kept me, and how floaty I felt!  Then came the best part - I peed in my wetsuit!  Note to self...make sure to hold it on race day to make my wetsuit warm :)

The wetsuit definitely expanded in the water, and I'm pretty sure it's too big, but I still needed to see how the swimming thing was going to go...unfortunately the "swim" portion of a race isn't just bobbing up and down in a wetsuit for a few minutes.  I swam 4 lengths of the swim section of the lake - No Panic Attack - Yay!!  I did see some fish and the abandoned red solo cup, but felt good for the swim...and FAST!  I definitely felt like I was cruising along way faster than normal, probably due in part to the current, but also to the suit.

All in all, pretty stoked about the swim part of the race now that I have tested the unknown.  I did order a smaller wetsuit and will try it on to compare with the current one I have before returning this one.  Hopefully the Xterra returns are seamless!   I'll be training through the race this weekend - only "tapering" on friday so I'm not going into the race sore, but I can't wait to actually call myself a TRIATHLETE after Saturday!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Puzzle Master


I love logic puzzles.  I like having to work through things, move things around to get to the right answer.  I loved doing that when I took up rock climbing and bouldering.  And I have come to realize that is exactly what tri training requires…so I guess it’s a good thing I like it, right???  


My pedals and I seriously don't get along!  
I have a big binder full of my training plan and what I’m supposed to get done during the week for my swim-bike-run workouts.  If I was just doing those workouts, it would be hard enough to plan, around work and attempting to see the BF before crashing in bed at night.  But I also have my FIT (strength/cardio) classes at FNS that I need to schedule, and FLOW (stretching/trigger point), and errands, and being out of town, and rest days!!!  Seriously, when I look at my calendar, it’s like a giant puzzle that I have to rearrange from week to week in order to get everything in.  And every Sunday, when I sit down to look at my week it is a giant puzzle.  I definitely need a white board with every activity for the week magnetized so I can move things around until it is just so.

But just because I figure out my schedule on Sunday, doesn’t mean that I’m good to go for the rest of the week.  One missed workout or an unexpected activity can throw off all of the planning that was done and then it’s a mad scramble to rearrange the rest of the week.  I’m realizing that sometimes you just have to breathe and let it go.   

Last week was one of those weeks…It started out with a bite from my bike before my ride on Tuesday because I clipped in, then decided to let my mind wander.  Then I overslept on Wednesday morning and missed 2 workouts, which put me in a funk for the rest of the week.  Luckily it was a recovery week, and I didn’t miss too many miles, and I got back on the horse on Saturday morning with a great 10.5 mile trail run up at my brother’s house near Sacramento, and a solid trainer ride watching Game of Thrones when we got home on Sunday.
 

 
  
My lesson from this experience is now to work on going with the flow and not be too frustrated when my week doesn’t unfold like I had planned on Sunday.  It’s definitely not easy for my Type A personality, but every day is a chance to learn something new, so I’m working on it!


Even the doggies were  tuckered out after my week!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Cesar Chavez Day = Best Rest Day Ever!

Rest day!! It's hard to fathom now, but before tri training, the phrase 'rest day' was not in my vocabulary! There were a million things that I wanted to squeeze in, from a hike with the dogs, a tennis match, a yoga class, rock climbing, etc.  A day off from the gym only meant that I could add another dose of physical activity.
I never gave my body the opportunity to recover and heal itself. On the days that my body rebelled and refused to let me get a workout in, I would feel guilty for sitting on my butt.
  Now that I'm doing 3-4 workouts a day, rest and recovery are my new best friends and Monday is my favorite day of the week. It's the perfect day to take a break after long workouts on the weekend, and its a great way to start the week off feeling fresh.
 

This Monday was the best recovery day yet. I didn't realize that it was Cesar Chavez day, which is a county holiday for all of us government workers, until late last week. So I took full advantage of my day off with 40 minutes of trigger point and an hour in recovery boots.

If you have never heard of Trigger Point, it's basically a foam roller on crack.  TP uses Myofascial Compression to work release all of the kinks in your body to help everything work together.  There are 6 components in the TP kits that we have at FNSFootBaller & Baller Block, QuadBaller, TP2 Ball Sleeve, and 2 TP Massage Balls.  Each has a specific purpose, and you roll around on them in a "hurts so good" kind of way.  I focused on my IT band and my quads, and my legs felt nice and refreshed.  Then I moved on to the Recovery Boots! 

Recovery boots are compression boots that help re-circulate the blood flow in your legs to help athletes recover faster from tough workouts.  We at FNS are super lucky that our coach invested in a few pairs!  

According to the website, "The RecoveryPump System increases blood circulation via the sequence of applying compression to help clear metabolic waste build-up and restore the natural delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the muscle. The RecoveryPump System can be used daily as an aggressive recovery treatment for fatigued muscles."  

Basically, you sit in a chair with things on your legs that feel like blood pressure cuff at the doctors.  Then you sit back and relax as the boots fill with air (to your desired compression level), squeeze your legs for a few seconds, then deflate and start over.  The system helps your blood to flow freely, and forces "the body to evacuate the metabolic waste causing fatigue and soreness in the muscle." Recoverypump.com After nearly an hour in the boots, my legs felt brand new and super ready for the week. 

 To top off this awesome day of rest, BF and I celebrated opening day with the Oakland A's and a pre-game beer sampling at The Trappist in Oakland.
Our free swag - Rally Towels!