California International Triathlon race report

Marathoners fear blisters, swimmers fear water filled goggles, what does a cyclist fear?  A FLAT TIRE! Today, was just not my day...I felt surprisingly awesome although I was a little worried when at 5a.m. my legs felt achy.  This is the first year for the California International Triathlon in Pleasanton, CA and although I didn't really know the course I'm fairly familiar with the area between Tri for Real, Tri for Fun, and running around Pleasanton.  Anyway, I went through my normal routine for a race:
1) beans and rice the day before
2) getting plenty of sleep on Friday
3) shaking out the legs with a few short easy workouts
4) putting together my tri bag the night before
5) No breakfast just grab water and go

My boyfriend helped me get my transition area ready, and then I headed out for a warm-up run in my new Zoot shoes (I'll definately be talking about these soon).  Anyway, I waited until about 10 minutes before the Men's start to put my wetsuit on and jump in the lake.

The SWIM: I got a few warm-up strokes in before my start time and I was lucky enough to have the smaller wave of the two.  I sometimes feel real stiff in my wetsuit and I hadn't really been swimming long distances just short endurance swims so I was a little concerned to start.  I headed out feeling pretty good, but I felt like everyone left me in their dust.  Luckily, I think people went out too fast because I finally started passing people.  I made it out and around the first bouy and started feeling fatigue in my arms so I mentally coached myself to get through as best I could.  I got a little off track after the second bouy and I think the swim was a little long, but I finished in 30:44 which is a little disappointing compared to my 28:57 at Wildflower, but it seemed a bit choppier and other peoples times were a bit slower too.  I didn't exactly put the time I should have put in the water anyway.

Transition 1: Wildflower 2:31, Today: 1:27

The BIKE: I headed out feeling real slow and sluggish, but I found a rhythm and pushed it hard.  I felt awesome after a while and felt great as I passed the people who schooled me in the swim.  That is until the DAMN FLAT TIRE!  I swear Pleasanton hates me because I got a flat on the tri for real course.  I thought about a DNF but I was in the middle of nowhere, who was going to pick my butt up?  So I got my act together, changed it, and left pissed off and determined to finish.  This course was probably about equal to wildflower, but had I not flatted I would have shaved quite a bit of time off.  Wildflower: 1:31  Today: 1:30

Transition 2: Wildflower:1:46, Today: 1:28

The RUN: Nick saw me in transition, saw my flat tire, and knew I looked like I was about to cry.  He told me to just kill the run and so that is what I tried to do.  I headed out slow and steady powering up hills that others were walking.  I felt awful until about mile 1 and I started burping even though I'd only had 2 gus during the race and no breakfast ( I have a very touchy stomach).  I just kept going and wouldn't let myself walk.  I finally came to the finish and booked it for the last 100 yards.  Wildflower:54:38, Today: 51:24

My final time: 2:55:53...4 minutes faster than Wildflower, yay!
The bad news: I'm not sure how long my flat took me, but I'm pretty sure 5 minutes or so is a good estimate...I came in 5th in my age group and 2nd, 3rd, and 4th were all around 5 minutes or less from my time.  I'm happy with my performance, but definitely bummed over the final results.  Guess I'll just have to work harder the next time around.

I get by with a little help from my friends...

I always have been a lone soldier when it comes to workouts.  This hasn't really been by choice, but more so because I'm either too slow, too fast, too busy, too tired or I just don't have anyone too interested in what I'm doing.  However, the past week has been quite a success when it comes to running, cycling, and swimming buddies which made for a pretty successful week...
Monday: partner numero uno: Nick
my boyfriend and I hit the pool working on form and enjoying the heat.

Tuesday:
Workout #1: flew solo as I took my bike out to Las Trampas and back for a nice 20 miler
Workout #2: Lululemon run club....I started out with several running buddies that is until I hit mile 1.5 and just kept on going instead of taking in some gatorade and water with the rest of the group.

Wednesday: Double the workout double the friends
Workout #1: I hit the track and although I started early by myself it was nice to have some company as I did 4x800 and 4x400 as best I could after a long track break
Workout #2: My friend Kim and I headed up Mt. Diablo, but this time from the North Side.  The North is a bit harder and a lot less shady than the south.  I made it up and over and was not looking forward to how my legs were going to feel in the morning

Thursday: Slow and steady with Aron
I got up bright and early and met my friend Aron for a nice easy 6.  Luckily she had a few long/tough runs the last couple days and was happy to keep the pace relaxed.

Friday: Long and fun with Kristin and Aron
Another early morning and despite my sleep deprivation I had a great 13 with these two.  We started off nice and easy and then ramped it up a bit, there were a few hills in the middle slowing us down, but otherwise we negative split it! Yay!

Saturday: Paradise Dr. with Nicki and CJ
Headed to the city to meet Nicki and her husband for a ride.  We headed across the bridge through Salsalito, into Tiburon, and back over the chaos that is the bridge.  37.8 miles total with great company.

Sunday: I have a big midterm paper due tomorrow so I figured today I'd rest, especially with such a successful workout week (yes, I know my swim is still lacking).

Now I'm tapering?  We'll see how ready I am next weekend.  

When life gets the best of you...or me...

Since I last posted there has been a lot going on not to mention a lot of places I've been.  After surviving Wilflower I was feeling a bit of burnout but I still managed to survive Bay to Breakers despite the agony my piriformis had been giving me (my literal pain in the butt).  So what better to do than spectate, and spectate I did!  The Tour of California was in town, well not exactly in town, but close enough to play hooky and head to Solvang.  Nick and I headed down to Southern California for Stages 6 and 7 of the Tour of California...  First Time trial in Solvang!!!

Team Sky

Garmin Team 

All set up for team Radioshack

Team Leoppard...Love the looks of this bike!

One of the 13 women speeding by in the Time Trial

 

After leaving the time trial we headed further South to visit my friend Mary in beautiful Glendora, Ca.  Glendora is home to Mt. Baldy, the intense climb at the end of stage 7 (the final stage).   They came by so fast and intense I didn't ever think bicycle racing could be this exciting.

Not only did I get to spectate some intense cycling competition but I spectated the final days for my seniors as they graduated from high school.  The class of 2011 has been a memorable group because I've had them since freshmen and if I were a student this year would commemorate my graduation from high school as a teacher.  So what did I do?  Well... there was prom at treasure island...

  Then after all the papers were graded and all the yearbooks signed there was graduation... Congrats Class of 2011, good luck in all you do!

Then there was some sad stuff as we bid farewell to our friend Glenn and wished him well as he headed to Houston, TEXAS!
But, what would a farewell be like without a whole lot of celebrations!!!

Once school was out of session I transformed from teacher to student as I started taking 2 sociology classes at  

I wasn't so sure I was going to like this school, but turns out I LOVE IT!  Right now I'm taking Sociology of Education and Sociology of Childhood and I'm really enjoying all the food, people, and classes I'm taking.

Of course there has been some training, probably not as much as I'd like, but one other BIG thing happened in my blog absence...We celebrated the 9th anniversary of Nick's 21st birthday!  We headed down to so cal to watch Mexico vs. USA in the Copa de Oro Finals!  Despite our Mexican background we sported our USA jerseys and had an amazing time!  

Next week will be my second Olympic triathlon and I'm a world of doubt since my training has been all over the place so we will see how it goes.  There are many more posts to come...

Why I run...

So in honor of National Running Day!  I thought I'd talk about why I run and what running means to me  (Yes cycling is my #1, and yes running gives me a huge pain in my butt, but I still love it!).

I run for cupcakes so all the calories don't go to my hips

I run away so all the ungraded papers don't catch up with me

I run with friends because it is a great way to meet people and catch up with old friends

I run because it is the 3rd sport in triathlon and you have to in order to reach the finish line

I run because I can breath it's the best prescription meds you'll find...You'd never guess I have asthma

I run because you think the view from the car is awesome you should check out the scene on foot.

I run because if zombies attack I will last a little longer than most people

I run because it makes me smile and laugh and I sometimes just get lost in my music or my podcast (catching up on my Kevin and Bean show)

I run because there is some guy/gal out there that can't and I can

Running means freedom, friendship, and fatty food to me.  It keeps me going and keeps me sane at the same time.  So why do you run?

Pain in my butt!

So I'm sure I've mentioned before how I have been told by numerous doctors and massage therapists that it looks like I have piriformis syndrome.  Now some of you may not know what the piriformis is, but this picture gives a pretty good idea.  The best way to describe it is a literal "pain in the butt."  Some people feel it other places like in their back, foot, calve or IT band.  The worst part about it is the more I sit the more irritated it feels/gets.  I almost always sit on a racquetball while at work to help remove some of the tension.

So the reason for my rant is because I've been a little depressed over it lately.  Some days are better than others, but I am signed up for CIM in December and I'm starting to lose hope that it will go away.  Now if you have a problem with this these are a few things I've tried that have helped, but not cured the issue... These are stretches recommended by people and websites I've encountered during my time with this injury

 I have rolled and rolled...and rolled, which really helps, and relieves the pain when I sleep at night.  I will even rub my butt against a lacrosse ball (this may be TMI but oh well) to get that oh so awful yet kinda awesome deep painful feeling to release some of the tension on my sciatic nerve and piriformis muscle.





Otherwise, I'm working on putting more strength training and yoga into my routine since as I get closer to triathlons and running events I tend to neglect these important aspects of training.  I love running and I'm stubborn so I refuse to let this injury get the best of me...

Has anyone had any success with improving this condition?  Any other recommendations for care?

Devirginizing my bike

I'm the midget on the far left

I've been away from my blog for a while because I went out of town to watch 2 stages of the tour of cali. (posts with pictures to come soon), but I am excited to report that upon my arrival back my brand new Mondone was ready for a pick-up and fitting! Yay! I was so excited I think I started speeding a little.

Yesterday I took her out for her first ride, up Mt. D with fellow members of the forward motion team.  She rode super smooth and it was easy to feel the 5 pounds I had just dropped.  I pushed it as hard as I could up to the junction and then used the last bit of gas I had to make it to Juniper (2.25 miles past the junction).  She held up great the whole way.

if you ever find yourself wanting to take your bike out on a Tuesday, come on over to the Danville Train Depot and head out with the group, there are people of all abilities!

100 year tradition and never a dull moment

This year I was roped into doing one of the craziest races in the bay area...Bay 2 Breakers!  Now I haven't been all that into my training lately like I should be so I figured I would run this race just for fun, but I was oh so wrong.  Running B2B is like going through basic training camp, there is dodging, leaping, climbing, and avoiding the oh so awkward naked guy.  This race is so notorious that it is even listed as one of the 1000 things one must do before they die.  So here is how it went...

Unfortunately, I'm not fast enough to get a seeded or sub seeded spot (place in the front) so a friend and I settled for Corral D status.  By D I mean there is an A,B, and C that goes before this corral, hence most people are walking in this group.  We decided to strategize a bit by making our way to the front of the corral and although this seemed doable we ran into a bit of an obstacle...two naked men standing on the street with prince Albert piercings.  In San Francisco this doesn't seem odd, but I'm pretty sure I've never had a lesson on how to go around a naked person, especially when they are standing on the curb making their pierced "unit" at my very eye level.  Needless to say I survived the nude awkwardness and made it to the front.

Just as we made it to the front they started the countdown to release our corral and I figured my only goal at this point was survive (I know it is only 7.5 miles, but that is the easy part).  I was off, jumping around people and relieved I left my IPOD at home because this race was going to take all of my motor skills to make it through.  I passed angry birds, Charlie Sheens, and even a few one eyed one horned flying purple people eaters.  The thing that always surprises me the most is how many men are wearing dresses and tutus.  It is like they wait all year for the opportunity to slide on women's clothing.  Anyway, I survived mile 1 mostly by staying on the sidewalk.

The porto potty stop at mile 2 just didn't make sense, why would you have the porto potties facing the street while people are running through it?  After I made way past the debauchery that was mile 2 and cheered on by the whole Smurf gang I approached "THE HILL."  Now normally I don't mind hills, but this hill was long and full of slow people who don't love hills.  So much so that they would stop right in front of me or run so slow in lines of 4 people that created a wall almost impossible to get around.  I definitely smiled and laughed when I saw a full school of salmon making a salmon run (Swimming upstream) through the middle of the crowd.  After making it over the hill I saw salvation...Golden Gate Park.

I continued to dodge care bears, 80s hair bands, and the occasional naked guy of course.  I didn't see many naked women, but I still don't get how these women run without sports bras.  I noticed I had run a quarter mile further than the mile markers by dodging people the whole way.  Then finally, the end, the ocean!  I crossed the finish line and then began the 2 mile trek up to get my medal and then the party began.  I didn't do awesome, I actually hadn't even intended to race this, but I finished with an 8:02 pace and negative splits.  If you ever want to try this one I recommend you practice your agility skills, you will need them, but remember clothing is optional, I just hope I don't have to pass you because I still haven't found a good way to pass a naked person.

My favorite costumes included:
Obama's birth certificate
One Eyed one horned flying purple people eaters
The Centaur
The IPODs (They were very detailed)