Back to the white board

This week marks the beginning of my 6th year teaching, Yes, I said SIX YEARS!  I can't even believe I have lived in Northern California that long much less teaching high school.  Now I think doing a marathon or a half ironman is hard, but I have to say my first two years of teaching high school were pretty killer.  Yes, I get 10 weeks off for the summer (although I only got 8 off this summer due to a change in calendar), but teaching is a lot more work than most people think, and also the main reason why it is hard for me to stick to triathlon training schedules religiously.

The first week of school is tough mostly because I'm not used to being on my feet for 6 hours, talking for 6 hours, or having a hard time sleeping because of the devilish student nightmares I have.  I have been very lucky in the past few years because my kids have been pretty fantastic.  I do have my share of pain in the butt students, but overall I really enjoy interacting with my teenagers.  There are also some students that are irreplaceable for various reasons.  People say that you'll never forget teachers that made a big difference on your life, but I've found teachers have certain students they will never forget for the same reasons.  As I drag myself to work for the first week of school I wonder who will inspire me next.

The Rut

Sadly, I have not had much happen in my world of training.  This is not to say I haven't been training, but I just haven't been training toward anything specific.  Which is a bit of a bummer because I planned on running CIM this year in hopes to erase 32 seconds off my marathon time.  I am registered for CIM, but I am about 90% sure I'm not going to be running it for the second year in a row. 

I still have not gotten past this achilles tendonitis/tendonosis that I have.  I feel like I've tried almost every remedy anyone has told me to end up with the same result.  I never stopped running until now because every doctor told me I could continue running just don't put in too many miles at once stick to 10%.  I took months off from speed work, hills, and long runs only to still have the issue. I've rested, massaged, acupunctured, lifted, rolled, iced, heated, elevated, and cross-trained to the point where I just don't know that it is going away.  I finally decided when I crossed the finish line at Vineman I would take time off completely from running.  Hence this is where I'm at.  I've been good about working out, but I'm just not excited about anything right now with this issue.  

Right now I'm 31 days of 42 without running or tae bo or boot camp and I'm not feeling much of a change.  I just don't know what to do at this point.  I'm frustrated and bummed out, especially since I was accepted into a masters program and I know that means I probably won't have much marathon training time come the winter.  I love cycling, but sometimes I just want to do some running and jumping, especially if I have a forced off season.

I survived 70.3...Vineman!

Today, July 15th, marked the annual 70.3/half ironman in Guerneville, Ca.  When I signed up for this back in November I was pretty scared about the idea of having to do all 3 sports at this distance, and although the swim is only 400meters further than an olympic, the idea of swimming that far didn't sit right with me.  As the year went on I was plagued by an awful injury that I'm still trying to get past, "achilles tendonitis."  I do still have piriformis syndrome, but I can deal with that one and it only flares up occasionally, although I don't always have problems with my achilles when it hurts it hurts something awful.  I told myself I was going to do this race even if it kills me and I'll give my body as much time off as it wants after.

Well I trained, but I do have to admit I skipped some swims...and some long bike rides...and I only ran 10 miles tops before doing this not to mention I haven't been able to do speed work since Wildflower (If you can't tell I didn't have a whole lot of confidence in my run time).  So I went into this race thinking I'd just have fun and finish (I knew I could I just didn't know what the outcome would be).  My goal was to try for under 6 and I wanted a decent bike time (at least 17mph avg. for 56 miles).  I am amazed with how I did today...

The story goes...

4:45 Wake-up call: got my act together, ate, headed out

6ish a.m.: Drop off bike and stuff at Transition, bathroom, socialize, sunscreen, triglide

7:02 a.m.: The guys start their wave, my friend Nicki and I wished her husband and my boyfriend good luck and watched them head out

7:32 a.m.: Nicki and I stand around and wait for the guys to get out of the water, cheering them on as they came out with some great times (YES! this is how much time we had before our waves started)


8:05 a.m.: Finally my turn, in the water waiting for the go ahead, so glad I had Nicki to keep me company for the hour wait before one of the longest events of my life (a century ride takes me a little longer)

8:06 a.m: We're off....

The swim: for Vineman the swimmers swim upstream for the first half and then back downstream.  I of course started my swim with goggles filled with water.  I was going to stop and fix them so I just dealt with it which wasn't too bad.  The water was warm and pretty ideal conditions, except that so many people had been in the water by the time I started that it was a bit choppy and toward the end a bit crowded.  The water in the Russian River is so shallow in some parts that people can literally stand up and walk parts of the swim.  I'd never swam the full 1900 straight through in open water before, only olympic distance, and even then it had been a while.  I think I kinda took my time and then I also think I kinda suck at swimming, but once I saw the finish I punched it as best I could with an ending time of 39:17.  I was a little sad that no one was going to be at the swim finish to cheer me on, but my friend Aron called my name which made me feel so much better as I rushed into transition.

T1: So normally I'm pretty fast at transitions, but I had to shove my wetsuit and all other items into a bag to be transported to the finish, and then, once I had my act together I went the wrong way and had to turn around and dodge people to get out of transition (in my defense they started breaking down bike racks and changed where people left from transition as other waves left)

The bike: this course is gorgeous, but it didn't start off well.  I was a bit stiff as I got used to the bike, but the bad part was that I ran over someone's race sticker and it was stuck to my wheel all 56 miles.  This was like having a card in my spokes making a loud annoying sound.  I ended up slowing down to try and get it off, but no luck so I continued on.  I knew I wanted to have a fairly even bike ride, but I knew to try and take it easy the first half.  I pushed myself at 18.3 mph avg. all 56 miles, but tried not to push to hard I still had the 13.1 miles in the heat to deal with.  I saw so many cool tri bikes, aero helmets, and wheels but my road bike with tri bars worked just fine, I can't say I wasn't envious though.  The wineries were glorious and made me want to stop and taste instead of do this thing, but I love riding so I really enjoyed my time on the bike.  I wanted to avg. at least 17 or faster and I did!  As I knew I was nearing the end I tried to get my last burst of energy into the bike and take in a bit more nutrition.

T2: decided to go with running shoes and didn't change the laces beforehand, so it took me a bit longer to put on socks and tie my shoes (can't do 13.1 in racing flats, my feet would come up with some other injury if I did).  Then I was off, as the USAT lady yelled at me to move my bib to the front while I tried to juggle 2 ice waters.

The run: I didn't wear my garmin I figured I could just feel that I was taking it slow.  I guess I was wrong because I was avg. 7:24 by the first check point.  My achilles and piriformis felt awful.  I walked the uphills since they cause more pain and problems for me.  I took ice at every aid station and stuffed it in my bra in hopes of keeping my body cool.  I took 30 second walk breaks, and by some miracle I ran a 1:44 half marathon.  I was so bummed out about the run before I started, I didn't think it would be anything impressive and then bam 8:01 avg., my marathon avg. is 8:10.  I totally impressed myself.  This run was brutal and pretty hilly in my opinion, I guess pedialyte, coconut water, and coke are a good combination.

The finish: I crossed the line, with no idea as to my time since I started more than an hour after the pros, but I knew one thing, I was under 6 hours, WOOHOO!
The results are:  5:34:09
(On a side note: I also managed not to get sunburned, chafe, and I have all my toenails)

Hope all my friends that raced enjoyed themselves, I tried to cheer for as many of you as I saw while I was out there.

Wildflower...the official butt kicker of triathlons

Last year Wildflower was my first Olympic Triathlon EVER... of course leave it to me to pick one of the most difficult triathlons in the nation as my first.  Although it hit me where it hurts last year I couldn't resist taking the beating once again.  I had high hopes for this race when I signed up, but unfortunately I've been plagued by a whirlwind of injuries so I figured I'd just try to go out there and have a good time (I did get the all clear from the Physical Therapist beforehand).

Everything about this race is so much fun...I love the camping, the lake, the athletes, the cheerleaders, the Cal Poly volunteers (best source of entertainment), course support, and yes I even have a love for the agonizing hills, the heat, and the cold showers.  This event should be on EVERYONE's race calendar to do at least once, even if you decide to relay it or do the short mountain bike course.

I headed down with friends on Friday morning to get ourselves set up, settled in, and to jump into the refreshing  Lake San Antonio.  I only had one open water swim session prior to the event and my shoulders don't tend to agree with my wetsuit early on in the season.  The rest of Friday consisted of packet pick-up where I once again was labeled powder blue (sadly I will leave powder blue behind if I do this event next year).  Then we did some shopping, relaxed, I went searching for a few friends, ate, stretched and slept.

Saturday morning is race day for all the Long Course males and females.  Since we got up a bit late we raced to eat breakfast and run down the hill to try and catch the pros as they jumped in the water.  2000 meters and 21 minutes later they were out of the water and off on the bike.  Since 56 miles takes a while to finish, even for pro-athletes, we waited around to see the age groupers jump in the water one by one.  I had a few friends competing in different age groups so I tried to catch all of them on the bike transition as they headed out.  Once all the waves were off we headed back to camp and parked ourselves at mile 7 of the run.  Here we enjoyed the entertainment of Cal Poly volunteers as they danced with their super soakers and sang along at the top of their longs to the tune of Ingrid Michaelson's "Maybe."  To add to this already hilarious image, our Cal Poly aid station entertainers wore their most fashionable bathing suit attire all decked out in neon colors with matching sombreros.  I tried to stay and watch all my friends come by, but the heat got the best of me so it was off to nap and try and regain some energy for the next morning.  The day was almost over, but not until I got a 20 minute shake out ride and 10 minute run in, congratulated my studly friends and carbo loaded for the next day.

The kids next to us decided it was time we wake up at 6a.m. so since our lovely alarm clock would not shut up we started the a.m. B routine breakfast, bowel movements, bikes and backpacks.  Time to set-up transition and begin the morning butt kicking...

My wave doesn't start until 10:10 so I spent a good half hour sweating my butt off in my wetsuit before my wave was off.  The guys were already in the water so I tried to cheer them on as they came out and headed off on the bike.

The Swim: I tried for this not to look like drowning 101, I was successful at first, but getting toward the final bouys the water got a bit choppy and my arms got a bit sore, but I kept coaching myself: "1,2,3,4, sight."  I got out of the water finishing the swim in about 30 minutes.

T1: I am proud to report I was top 5 in my age group for T1... I grabbed my bike and ran out

The Bike: Lynch hill felt like nothing which was amazing which felt like a sign of a good ride.  I headed out trying not to hold back on the downhills.  I was doing awesome on my way out taking my time on the uphills and racing down the downhills, but then came the turn around.  All of a sudden my body went south a bit.  I popped a Gu in hopes it would pep me up.  My legs felt sore and heavy, my arms even felt sore.  I kept pushing through as best I could, but it just wasn't what I'd hoped for.  I am happy to say I broke even, but I will be taking revenge on the bike course even if it isn't for a few years.

T2: 1:41 minutes I got through transition...fast, but could be faster

The Run: I was super excited about this.  I started off sore and uneasy about my achilles and my knees.  My only goal for this race was no more breakage.  After the first couple steps I could feel my heel, but it was not bad so I thought I was just adjusting to the impact, and luckily I was right.  I started to feel great!  Yes, it was hot, but I did not feel nearly as awful as I did the year before and I had a smile on the face my whole way.  I cheered on people around me and I took it slow and easy.  I told myself that if I had to walk I would and in some spots I did, but I made rules.  I was only allowed to walk for 30 seconds at the most at a time and I had to run for over 60 seconds in order to be able to walk again.  I found that I would actually pass all the people who had just passed me even if I stopped to walk for a bit.  I finished with a time that was 3 minutes faster from the year before.

I WAS SO EXCITED that everything felt great going down Lynch hill and that it was almost over.  As I approached the finish I looked at the clock and saw I was going to manage to be 1 minute faster than last year.  I never thought I'd be so excited over a minute.  Especially since it isn't a PR overall, just a PR for Wildflower.  This did give me a confidence boost toward Vineman which I really needed, especially since I've been so depressed over my training after my achilles issues and needing to take a break from training.

Congrats to all my FOMO racing friends...other friends...and to MEGA MEG (who took 1st place overall)!

Core Focused: my battle with injuries

After the Napa Marathon I was plagued with yet another injury, and a serious one at that.  I was struggling to get through achilles tendonitis.  I actually decided to consult the doctor on this one after reading about the seriousness that is this injury.  Luckily I had just changed insurances and was very pleased with my doctor's diagnosis and recommendation for physical therapy.

Upon attending physical therapy I found out that almost every problem whether it be runner's knee, ITBS, piriformis syndrome, achilles issues, patellar tendonitis, etc. often stem from a weakness in ones core.  I always felt like I had a pretty strong core since I usually get through core workouts and pilates sessions with very little complaints and squirms, but that may stem from a high pain tolerance more so than as a ruler to measure the strength of my core, plus I realized how little I really had been doing pilates lately.  I also was surprised to find that your core is not just your 6-pack abish muscles, but includes your whole abdomen region including glutes, hips, etc.  Which makes sense, but I always just focused on my abs.  This is why the physical therapist said crunches and sit-ups just won't cut it!

I was given homework to perform several ab exercises to help improve my alignment and balance, and I've always been good at doing my homework.  I was so pleasantly surprised to find it actually works!  I haven't had knee pain when running, I've had fewer issues with my piriformis, and my achilles is getting much better, I may even get to start increasing my mileage soon pending how Wildflower goes this weekend.

I thought I should share my homework for those plagued with injuries:  (You will need a stop watch and a set of bands, I got mine at SB, but some gyms already have them for public use)

1) Bridges: tie a stretch band around your legs and then lift your pelvis into a bridge.  You are to try and force the band out a bit as you hold.  Lift up one leg and then hold that leg for 15 seconds, then switch legs.  You are to hold the bridge switching legs for 10 x15 seconds.

2) The squat: My knees turn in when I squat so I have to tie a band around my thighs and do a traditional squat focusing on my knees pushing out toward my middle toes.  You can always add weight to this exercise or do it on a bosu ball
to add difficulty to this.  I really had to focus on form, because I do boot camp classes, weight classes, and even running downhill involves a squat and all this time I hit my knees at the wrong spot which makes for some uncomfortable runs

The clam

The Plank

3)  The clam: So there are 2 kinds of clams, one you do stationary on the floor, but I got the added bonus of the side plank while doing clams.  I couldn't find a picture of both, but I have to put the 2 together for 90 seconds on each side with a band tied around my thighs.  They started out real shaky, but I'm getting real good at them.

4) the plank: I don't get to do traditional planks, I get to do planks with leg lifts.  I plank making sure I have good form, meaning get my butt down.  Then I get to alternate legs for 90 seconds.

These were just to start, yesterday I got a whole new set of fun exercises to torture myself with.  I'll let you know about those after I have tried them.

For my achilles:
1) Heel lifts: lift both heels at the same time 20 times 2 to 3 times a day
2) single leg heel lifts: lift one leg off the ground and then lift the heel still remaining on the ground 20 times then switch
3) Stretch, Stretch, Stretch...


Happy Training everyone...off to Wildflower

Dearest Achilles...

First of all I want to thank you for all of your hard work and support that has gotten me through countless events with finishing times I only dreamed about, but with that being said I have a few issues I'd like to talk to you about.

I know relationships are hard and they all have their ups and downs, but you are keeping me from getting through all my ups and downs (climbing hills that is).  I feel as though I have treated you well both pre-and post-marathon.  I only ran 3 days a week giving you days of swimming, cycling, and stretching to recover.  I iced, rolled, and stretched like crazy so as not to make you mad, and I even took it easy at the Oakland half despite your throwing a tantrum at mile 5/6.  But, I have been devastated devastated since you decided to turn on me and throw tendonitis in my face.  I know it was just a mild fight, but these relationship issues need to be resolved so I may add some run, bike, tae bo, and zumba to my routine.

If you don't set aside our differences for me then do it for my track friends, who have had to pick up the slack for me in my absence rounding the track.  Or do it for my few cycling friends who want to get outdoors and enjoy the sun as we train for 70.3 this summer.

I have already made accommodations towards reconciling, I just need you to meet me half way.  I've spent a full week in the pool and have been working hard to have my arms take on some of the burden you've had to bare.  I even visited the chiropractor and went for a massage to give you some extra recovery help. I've iced, stretched, and even did heel lifts like the doctor asked me to.  I feel I have been more than reasonable, and I have every intention of visiting the physical therapist on Friday.  I'm begging you, please be happy, Wildflower is less than 4 weeks away and I although I'm willing to compromise on a relay I still would feel better if you are in working order so I can slowly progress toward Vineman.

Running through downtown Oakland...half marathon #10 #

2 years ago I decide to take my chances at the first annual Oakland half marathon and today I challenged the city once again.  Back in August, my friends and I passed around an uber deal of a discount code for the Oakland half marathon.  At the time I thought I'd try to PR not realizing that I'd take my chances with the Napa Marathon just 3 weeks prior to this race.

I decided going into this marathon I would take it as steady as I could and try not to injure myself.  I thought a 1:45 was realistic since I ran most of my marathon at 8 minute pace, but I wasn't really thinking too hard about it.  Success!  I ran a 1:45 chip time, which is not a PR, but around what I thought I'd do, and I managed to end up with NO STOMACH PROBLEMS, which is the biggest success I've had with ANY race.

Now when people think of Oakland they don't usually have too many positive thoughts, but I actually think Oakland is a pretty awesome city!  Unfortunately, I was not able to enjoy the course too much because I was having some major achilles issues/pain, but I still made it to the finish line.

This is how it all broke down:

Mile 1: I started off slow, but a little speedy since we headed downhill for the first mile.  I planned to run with my friends Kristin and Amy, but this proved to be an epic FAIL by mile 2 or 3 when we all got separated in the crowd with the twists and turns.
I managed an 8:14 for the first mile as we winded past the Paramount Theater

Mile 2: We made some more twists and turns through Oakland heading into what seems like a Chinatown district.  The course was pretty flat here, but I tried to stay as close to the corners as possible.
8:02

Mile 3: This is where I tried to slow down and find my friends, but sadly I'd lost them so I headed on trying maintain a steady pace 7:55

Mile 4: So many spectators out to cheer us on!!! We reached the first water station and since I was feeling pretty good I ventured on with no H20 break.  However, this is where my time got a bit off, we headed through a tunnel where my garmin lost signal which explains the 7:28 mile.

Mile 5: This is where the trouble with my achilles began, and I contemplated a DNF, but managed to push to the end.  This is also where we encountered the Raider fans decked out in their black and silver, greeting us with high-5s. 8:01

Mile 6: With the pain in my leg and the scenery becoming very industrial I started to stop paying attention to the sights and start focusing on finishing.  I kept looking around for friends, or maybe even a way to cut back to the start, but no luck.  7:55

Mile 7: Half way through this mile we met up with the Marathoners, this was uplifting, because whatever pain I was facing they were hitting their rough and tough 18 mile mark.  8:09

Mile 8: This is where I ran into a few familiar faces.  Apparently I wasn't the only one struggling to the finish.  I had a few friends having some aches and pains of their own, but we cheered each other on and kept pushing toward the finish.  I finally took in some water and I'm pretty sure this is the mile with the fire cave, by the fire arts building which is always a cool sight to see.  8:11

Mile 9: From this mile I could see the sights of Lake Merritt.  We winded back through down town passing the HUGE Amtrak station and headed toward our last miles around the lake.  We headed over a little bump of a hill passing the beautiful civic auditorium. 8:11

Mile 10: Yay! only 3 more to go.  I was really struggling with my achilles by now, but I knew I only had to make it around the lake and I would be home free.  I was feeling pretty good in terms of nutrition so I kept pushing on toward the lake with the final few twists and turns of the course.  7:52

Mile 11: We had to climb a tiny hill here, but I was pushing a bit harder since the park was just across the water.  Although I don't want to swim in Lake Merritt anytime soon, being by the water has some kind of serenity to it, but maybe that is because my favorite races are close to the ocean.  8:05

Mile 12: The countdown continues as I push toward the finish.  I started to pick up the pace a bit more passing the rowing club and other scenery surrounding the lake. 7:47

Mile 13: We wound past Lake Chalet, and since we had done a shake out run the day before around the lake I knew we were almost to the finish line, plus the mile 13 sign helped.  I used my garmin to coach me to the finish running a 7:26 mile

Mile .17: The last bit was up a small roller so I pushed up the little incline relieved I was so close to the finish...I stopped my garmin reading 1:44:35.  Crossing the finish line marked the end of running season for me and the start of tri season heading toward Wildflower and eventually VINEMAN 70.3.

Today was a beautiful day in Oakland for a race, and then we headed off to eat and celebrate a friend's birthday!