Family Matters

CONGRATULATIONS to my Aunt Carolyn, my sister Lauren and her friend Laura! The 3 ladies completed their first triathlon at the Danskin SheRox Tri in Massachusetts.

Week 36: Sleeping in can be Overrated

I jumped at the opportunity to join the Redwood/Wine Country crew for a ride out of Santa Rosa around 1pm on Saturday. I can't remember the last time I slept in, so this sounded like the best idea EVER!

Unfortunately, I didn't consider all of the facts. Like that Santa Rosa is about an hour and a half away from Oakland or that it would be over 100 degrees by noon in Sonoma. I had gone to my friends' wedding the night before, so my hydration was lacking to say the least. We had a great ride group: Me, Moddie, Mike Kyle, Paul Kinney, Megan, Sedonia, Les, Wendy, Tony and Dan. We set out on our "short" 60 mile ride. Around mile 15, we started our 30 minute sustained climb up Pine Flat. The ride was beautiful, but it was hard to notice with the unbearable heat. The wind felt like the gust you sometimes get when opening a hot oven. My eyeballs were hot. At 29 minutes, I couldn't take it anymore, my heart rate was too high and I needed to stop. As soon as I clipped out, I started feeling dizzy. I felt like I was on the verge of fainting, so I put my bike down and took deep breaths. Eventually, the spins went away and I headed back down the hill.

As planned, we all met at the country store to buy some more ice. Mike K. had a broken spoke and Megan slashed her tire on the bead, so their day's were over. At this point, I was so overheated and dehydrated that I needed to go to plan B, and that was to shorten the ride. A group of us crept on to finish at 45 miles. I've learned that I need to do more to prepare for hot days. Once I get to the point that my stomach doesn't want to digest calories, I know I'm in trouble. And let's face it, Louisville is going to be HOT.

Pine Flat is a famous road for cyclists. Earlier this year, Team Asatna came out to Sonoma to train and used Pine Flat to simulate the long climbs on the Tour. Check out this video that some local cyclists shot.





Condition: Wilted

Week 35: Going Long

On Saturday, we started the morning with an open water swim at Shadow Cliffs. We did our normal triangle swim around the lake (about 2 miles). Then someone started a bad rumor that we were supposed to do another out and back to the rock pile. At first, I said I wasn't going to do it since we still had a 17 mile run to do and that was going to take a lot out of me, but when Jess and LuLu said that they were going, then I said "OK, I'm right behind you. " Turns out that we were only supposed to go half way and turn around. The 3 of us ended up on the other side of the lake looking around for the others. I was starving, my stomach wouldn't stop growling, but the only way to food was to swim back. Once we returned, everyone else was dressed and ready to run. We got lots of laughs and high fives for our 3 mile swim. I stuffed my face with a Luna Bar and changed for the run.I adjusted my routine 9:1 run/walk plan to 4:1. We had to do 4 loops to make it 17 miles. The first and second loop felt good, the 4 minutes flew by. The third loop was really difficult. It was getting hot, I was sick of drinking accelerade, and I was starting to chafe under my left arm. The chaffing got so bad that I had to take my shirt off. I NEVER run without a shirt, but I had no choice. When I returned to my car, I lathered my arm with body glide, chugged cold water, added ice to my bottle, and set out for the 4th lap. My second wind came just in time. I'm amazed that I'm able to go these distances. My brain says keep going, and my legs obey. It's hard, but it's not impossible. Even when I'm hitting a low, I know I can come back from it. I just hope it works out this way on race day.

On Sunday, we set out from Walnut Creek for 85 miles of non-stop hills. The Dublin Grade, Redwood, Skyline, Grizzly Peak, down Wildcat Canyon, 3 Bears backwards (!), Reliz Valley, Pig Farm, and some random long hill after we missed a turn around mile 80. Wherever there was a hill, we climbed it. Normally, this would be a challenging ride, but to do it 24 hours after a 17 mile run was ridiculously hard. It felt like non-stop climbing, and the downhill didn't seem to balance out the incline. Once the ride was over, we rewarded ourselves with deli sandwhiches and cookies. It's the little pleasure in life :)

Condition: Pooped!

Week 34: Happy Independence Day!

I had Friday off from work, so I was able to spend the day with my Team Shadow (club) Teammates. We did a really nice, yet hilly 50 mile ride. And the best part? Brunch afterwards.

How did I celebrate the independence of our country? With a 14 mile run of course. My teammate Tony set up a very well marked course in Alameda, which is right on the water (perfect weather) and is super flat (heaven). The Vineman athletes had to do a 19 mile run, so I showed up an hour after they started so that I could jump into their mile 6. For some bizarre reason, my Garmin wouldn't turn on. I was frustrated for a minute, so much of training is about building a routine. How was I going to be able to run 14 miles without knowing my time, rest interval, pace, and heart rate? Then I realized that I was overreacting. It turned out to be a fantastic run. Not having all of that information on my wrist allowed me to just go with the flow. Belinda, Tony, Nick and I kept close so were able to stay on the same rest interval and encourage each other when it started getting tough. At the end of the workout, we treated ourselves to ice cold coca-colas, nothing better! We had lunch at the local BBQ joint and watched the Alameda parade, how All-American of us?

Condition: Feeling really good about my run

Week 33: Double Brick in 105 degrees

I love training for an Ironman. I sometimes complain that I'm tired or hungry (always) or that I have no time to socialize or take care of things in my personal life (like laundry), but at 8 months into my journey, I wouldn't change a thing.

Saturday's double brick workout was the hardest day of training that I've experienced so far. (A brick is when you stack a run after a bike ride). It was 30 miles on the bike, 5 miles of running, 30 miles back on the bike, and 5 more miles of running. The actual distances were hard enough, but the East Bay was experiencing a heat wave, so the 105 degree heat took the challenge to a new level. By the 2nd loop on the bike, I was nauseated and physically drained. At the mile 10 water stop, Kristie and Helen doted on me with ice, water, and anything else I needed. Coach Nancy was really encouraging and suggested that we slow the pace down. Over the next 10 miles, I bounced back enough that I wasn't thinking that I couldn't go on. By the time I returned to our starting point, Coach Doug was doing a check in with everyone. When was the last time you peed? Are you dizzy? Are you taking salt tablets? He suggested that we alter the workout for those that could continue - run out to the water stop and turn around. I ended up doing 3.5 miles instead of 5 and I walked for about half of it. By far the hardest day of training to date.

It wasn't an easy day for anyone. The Vineman athletes were scheduled to do a triple brick. I think a few actually completely the full workout, but most were physically unable to continue. 3 of my teamates crashed their bikes. Speaking from experience, nothing is more discouraging that hitting pavement. Everyone is ok, meaning no broken bones, but there will be a lot of healing wounds and bikes.

Post workout, I was presented with the "Spirit Cape" by my team's staff - completely unexpected. I think it's ironic that I received it on the day where my mental and emotional state were at its lowest. I was recognized for my perseverance aka my comeback on the bike. So now I will adorn the cape with something creative and it will be passed on to another athlete in a few weeks.

Condition: Feeling like a wilted flower

Fundraising Update

My teammate Tami and I hosted a wine tasting fundraiser at Dashe Cellars in Oakland. The night included wine tasting, tasty appetizers, and lots of awesome raffle prizes. Together, we raised almost $1,000! Thanks so much to Dashe, Sports Basement, World Ground Coffee, and all of the super generous attendees.

I am currently 78% of the way to my fundraising goal! With the help of my friends and family, I've raised $6,245! I still have another $1,755 to go.

Want to help support the cause to cure cancer? Click here!

Racing Against Cancer Video

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