Week 15: Finding my Pace

It's OK to alter your workouts according to your schedule, the weather, how you feel, etc. For some reason, I decided to ride my bike indoors every single day this week. Too cold out to swim, running late to the track workout, or just too lazy to leave the house. You would think that with all of the riding I did during the week, I would be a superstar on the bike by Saturday, but that's not how it works. We had a 55 mile bike ride (Walnut Creek-Danville-Dublin-Castro Valley-Oakland-Moraga-Lafayette-Walnut Creek) followed by a 60 minute run.

The bike ride was beautiful. Nothing makes me appreciate living in the Bay Area more than riding my bike. But in order to witness the beautiful lush green rolling hills, you must climb them. And that's where riding my bike indoors every day last week didn't help me. My legs felt fatigued and I had to work really hard to keep up with Jess and LuLu. I was determined not to get dropped. The other thing I like about riding my bike in the East Bay is running into friends. LuLu, Jess, Nick and I spotted Matt and Claire riding in the opposite direction on Redwood. They turned around and rode with us for awhile. It's just like Cheers!

Once we got to the top of Pinehurst, we started our decent back to Walnut Creek. I actually felt really great about this part of the ride. Two summers ago I slid out on Pinehurst due to a combination of downhill, corning, and too much speed. I went down so hard that I thought I broke my collar bone. I had to pull out of a race 2 weeks later and went to physical thereapy for months. Needless to say, decending on Pinehurst has never been the same since. Saturday was much btter. I didn't brake nearly as much in the corners, but still felt in control of the bike. Best of all, I didn't get dropped :)

Once we returned to Walnut Creek and dismounted our bikes we did a shoe change, had a quick bite to eat and set our Garmins to Run. The workout wasn't supposed to be a brick (workout with more than one discipline following right after another), but we didn't have much of a choice. "Now or Never" is what we said. Both Lulu and Jess told some really good stories, so it helped to pass the time. It was a great but exhausting day. I went to bed at 8:30 pm

Condition: Exhausted

Week 14: Iron University - Nutrition

This week I really tried to focus on what I'm eating. I attempted to put myself on a strict eating plan to see if I could burn fat faster. The eating plan limits certain thigs - sugar, alcohol, dairy, and red meat. So what's left? Whole grains, lean meats, tofu, soy, fruits, veggies, nuts, and water. Yum. I was able to prepare all of the foods I needed everyday, but the tricky part is that I needed to eat constanty. I had a really busy week at work and I found myself starving at least twice a day. My energy level was low and I didn't sleep well.

It was good timing for Dr. Scott Bergman to come speak to our team on Saturday. He explained nutrition from the molecular level. Sounds weird, but it really helped to make sense of it all. So what I've learned is that if I'm going to continue with my eating plan, then I absolutely have to make sure that I'm consuming enough calories. Otherwise, my body will break down muscle instead of fat (long scientific explanation of why) AND if I'm in starvation mode then the next time I eat, my body will store the food as fat (another long scientific explantation). After Iron University, we jumped in the pool at Dougherty High School in San Ramon. It was really cold out and from the pool we had a view of a snow-capped Mount Diablo. Luckily the pool felt like a lukewarm bath. I was able to put my new nutrition knowledge to good use. After 30 minutes into the workout, I realized that I needed more fuel in the tank, so I hopped out of the pool and grabbed a handfull of peanut butter filled pretzels. It quieted my growling stomach and got me through the next hour of swimming.

Condition: Schooled

Week 13: The Balancing Act

Sticking to my training plan and maintaining somewhat of a social life is proving to be much harder than I could have imagined. Lately, I've found myself taking extra rest days in order to have dinner with friends or to celebrate with co-workers. On Friday morning, I finally hit the wall. At some point on Thursday night, I rationalized that it was OK to miss my workout, OK to stay out late, OK to have another drink (since Iwasn't driving). I was so hungover on Friday that I had to miss another workout...oh and miss work as well. Saturday morning I hopped in the pool with the dreadful acknowlegment that I haven't swam since the Louie Tri...2 weeks prior. 90 minutes in the pool, 30 minutes of run drills, and a 5 mile run completely wiped me out. By Saturday night, I'd already decided that I was too fatigued to do the 45 mile hill ride on Sunday. Instead, I did a 90 minute trainer ride. Thank God Monday is a rest day. I need a way out of this downward spiral. So here's what I learned from this experience:

1. Try to plan evening social activities for Sunday or Monday nights (the new Friday/Saturday)


2. Never consumer more than 3 drinks (by 4 I'll forget this lesson)


3. Avoid drinking alcohol


4. Drink lots of water


5. Go to bed on time

Condition: Feeling as bad as I look

Week 12: Kaiser Half Marathon - PR!

Dennis and I now have a wonderful tradition - running a half marathon the morning of Super Bowl Sunday and then pigging out at Super Bowl Parties!

I signed up to do the Kaiser Half Marathon with Dennis, but up until Sunday, 6 miles was the longest distance I've run since the Nike Half back in October. On top of being not so confident with the distance, I did a marker set bik ride on Saturday (36 miles including 3 Bears & Pig Farm), so I knew that my legs would be fatigued. Den reminded me that I was in great shape and that I wasn't there to PR, I was there to get in a day of training and to have fun. So I put myself in that exact mindset.

Perhaps my mindset was a little too lax...I was in the port-a-potty when the National Anthem started, but I did make it to the start on time (with no time to spare). I started the race with my new Run/Walk strategy. I swear by this now. I ran 9 minutes and walked 1. At first it was bothersome to have all of these people pass me as I walked on the side, but as the miles went on, I would quickly catch and pass the folks that had jogged past me. I felt really good until about mile 10. At that point, I struggled to maintain my pace and by mile 12, I was allowing myself to run 5 minutes/walk 30 seconds. As painful as the end of the race was, I crossed the finish line in 2 hours and 10 minutes, 15 minuts faster than last year!

Dennis had an outstanding race! He finished in 1:34, 21 minutes faster than last year. He went into the race hoping to maintain an 8 minute mile and he ran a 7:13 average! It think he officially has the running bug. Now we have to find a marathon for him to sign up for :)

Heather and Jimmy's and Matt & Claire's superbowl parties were icing on the cake. We ate lots of yummy food, drank beer, and watched football and commercials...ahh, bliss!

Condition: Elated & Exhausted

Week 11: Louie Bonpua Memorial Triathlon

On Sunday, January 25th, we raced in an Olympic distance trithlon on Treasure Island in honor of Louie Bonpua. Louie embodied everything Team in Training is about: Finding a cure for cancer, pushing yourself beyond your boundries, and living life to the fullest. We carry his memory in our commitment to fundraise money and accomplish the impossible. Check out the below video!

Swimming in the bay was painful. At the start of the race, my teammate, Nick, dove into the water ahead of me. So I did the same...big mistake. The water was so cold that I could not keep my face submerged. So I swam out to the first booey with my head above water. I later paid the price for this with a 2 day long tender neck strain, but it didn't bother me during the race. We had to complete 3 loops and then out of the water, up the stairs and down the street to transition. The first stop was the wetusit strip. Volunteers unzipped and stripped your wetsuit for you, awesome! Since I wasn't really competing for time, I took advantage of the changing tent and put on dry clothes. The bike course was flat with lots of turns and crater pavement. I kept my gear in the big ring and averaged 17 mph for 24 miles. This is super fast for me and for my friend, LuLu. She said I pulled her along on the bike course, which was only fair because she pulled me along on the run course. LuLu and I put our run/walk strategy to work. Run for 9 minutes and walk for 1 minute. We averaged a 9:47 min/mile with walking, it's genius! We finished in exactly 3 hours.

The race itself was fantastic! Beautifu day, fun course, great volunteers, and a great benchmark for my training.

Condition: Happy to be alive!

Happy Inauguration Day!

Week 10: Beautiful 57 Mile Ride

Another great week of training down. I completed my swim marker on Saturday. I was absolutely thrilled with my distance of 950 yards in 15 minutes. I think swimming with the Masters Team has helped me step up my pace slightly.

Sunday was our longest distance bike ride, 57 miles. We did a 27 mile loop from Sunol, to Fremont, through Pleasanton, and back to Sunol again to re-fuel. Then a 3o mile out and back on Calaveras. I surprised myself while climbing the ridge becuase I finally experienced the benefit of the spin workouts. I was climbing at a few gears ahead of the granny gear and at a quicker cadence than usual. Somewhere along the way, Kristie, Nick and I ran into our TeamShadow friends Laslo and Amy who were riding from the other direction. They pointed out a bald eagle's nest to us. Later on the ride, Kristie and I spotted a fluffy baby eagle perched on a tree right above the road. It was a beautiful ride, but I was happy to reach the turn around point. As much climbing as I thought we did, I didn't feel like there was nearly enough down hill on the way back.

Condition: Feeling Strong