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Tinman 2010

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Tinman is often a bit of a crazy race for us, as we have a business booth, both race, and drive some Exceeding Expectations kids, which makes for a number of trips to race site and plenty of things going on before and after the race. Saturday we got our gear together, including everything for both a tri club booth and an office booth, and dropping some of that off at the site.

Sunday Mike and I got up dark and early, needing to be out the door by 4:30 at the very latest, and pulled on our awesome Redlands Tri Club kits for their first race 🙂 Oh, and we were out of our normal breakfast food. So with an emergency batch of oatmeal on the stove, Mike packed the bikes into the car as I got the puppies ready for a long morning alone. “Mike, something is wrong with Gracie… she doesn’t want to eat!” Annie, on the other hand, ate her food, although less enthusiastically than usual. Chalking it up to G being a moody bitch, the time of day, and that she knew we were leaving her, we let it go and blew the puppies kisses as we were out the door at 4:25 — before our final cutoff for maybe the first time ever.

It was weird to actually be ahead of schedule, and I wasn’t sure what to do when I had Mike and all the booth items dropped off at the race site before 5am. I was picking up some Exceeding Expectations kids who were racing, but not until 5:30 and they were only about 10 minutes away. Finally I left to get them early, and it must have been something in the air: the kids were actually ready early, too. So we were all back at the race site by about 5:35, and had plenty of time to do the very little transition prep we needed.

This race is a reverse order sprint: 5k run, 9mi bike, 100yd pool swim. Fast, but not so flat (at least on the bike). Still, transition just needs a bike, a helmet, bike shoes (for Mike attached to his pedals) and a pair of goggles lying on a towel. I had an aerobottle of water on the bike, and that was about it. My run shoes and sunglasses were already on. The nice thing about being there before any one else was our choice of transition spots. And knowing this race doesn’t really have a dismount line, we got a rack spot that we ran straight to as the end of the run course, and that we could basically coast right up to after the bike leg. Although it did mean that some times random things happen… like a bike appearing between ours as the race was starting, and still being there as Mike finished the bike. And the random bike someone placed on top of Mike’s after the bike leg of the race. But I’m not at that part of the race yet! First we need to start…

So the run was soon off, and the course last year was missing the turn around marking on an out and back, so fast folks (aka Mike) ran about an extra half mile. This year it was marked, but oddly the out part was in the close lane of traffic, and the back in the far lane, which meant the lines of runners had to cross. Luckily for me there weren’t that many people still on the way out, and I didn’t have a problem getting through.

This run course always feels so long to me, I just seem to lose the motivation to run by about when we are going past the backside of the pool. But I kept going, although definitely not as strong as the first part. And then there is my tendency to slow down for the final straightaway. But this year, Gus came up beside me right then, so I had to keep running. Thanks Gus 🙂

Straight into transition and to my rack spot, and my “T1-reverse-order-tri” mantra was going through my head: helmet shoes bike helmet shoes bike helmet shoes bike. So I put on my helmet, swapped shoes, grabbed my bike and was off. The first part of the course is through the campus on the walkway, with cobblestone and narrow sections. I just like that part to be over as fast as I can get through it. But then comes the climbs.. one that is steep and short, and then one that is loooong and less steep. But there is a turnaround at the top of it, and it’s a chance to see where I stand. This time I saw Mike in 4th, and then thought I counted that I was 5th woman, or 4th. Right at the turn around another lady who kicked butt climbing that beast passed me, but on the descent I passed her right back and didn’t see her again til after the finish line. And soon I passed another girl as well. Counting myself now in 4th place, I WORKED. I was 4th at this race last year, and juuust off the podium sucks. Soon I made the turn back onto the campus and onto their sidewalks, and I don’t like that part, either. But fortunately I made it through safely. So I pedaled and pushed, through another out and back and soon made the turn for home. Undid my bike shoes, but forgot we were getting back into the campus, and had to slow as speed bumps without shoes on are trickier.

But I coasted right to my rack spot, with my “T2-reverse-order-tri” mantra going: rack bike helmet goggles rack bike helmet goggles. Goggles in hand, I ran off toward the pool. At this race, the run to the pool, and then the run from the pool to the finish, are each longer than the swim itself. At the pool I realized I forgot to take off my racebelt, so it was left on the deck and I jumped in. Right as I started swimming I saw the lady I thought of as 3rd heading to the 50yd turn. But she did a breaststroke kick, so I though I could get her. Swim swim swim and on the final turn at 75 yards I saw her beside me, and I went hard for a final 25yds. Then a run, although careful since slippery, down to the finish line, where my arrival surprised Mike and he informed me I was 2nd woman!

Although this race uses chips, they don’t do splits, and I didn’t wear a watch. So I know I was 28 or 29 minutes on the bike, and 55:45 total time. I went 55:04 last year, so I was slower this time, but still moved up in places. I felt like I raced strong, but I could also tell that I’m just busy right now and my mind wasn’t all in the race. The Tri Club and office boothes went well, and then I rode home (about 16 miles) since I just needed bike time. And those 16 miles were painful. I guess I did work hard in the race, and in the 50 miler the day before 😉

Got home, and then more fun: Gracie was sick… yay for carpet cleaning! And Annie soon added a couple pukes of her own to the fun. Ahh well, still a successful day.

Posted in biking, Race Tales, running, swiming | 1 Comment »

back in the saddle

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

After a bit of a break after Barb’s, it is GAME ON for The Next Big Thing. Obviously my biggest focus is my swim, and then the bike. But don’t worry, I’m running, too 🙂 I love this stuff. I’ve had some awesome rides. Like hanging on through more of the speedy Saturday ride than almost ever before! And completely exploding and crawling my way home the last 20 or 25 miles — with my sweet husband tootling along next to me just because he likes me that much! And now I have a new goal on Saturday rides: Blow up. Last as long as you can, but don’t just get dropped, blow up or hang on. All or nothing, none of this “making sure you have enough left for the rest of the ride”. That isn’t the goal on Saturday. The goal is pain, and going harder than I thought possible. And trusting that I can do it.

The bike has also had some new toys: like an upgraded hub for my PowerTap so that it is ANT+, and a fun new Garmin GPS (for the bike and run, actually) that is just damn sexy! Thanks Wheelbuilder for your help!

Garmin 310xt

The pool hasn’t been such a happy story. Two swims back and I’m begging the pool’s forgiveness for my lack of attention. Nothing drastically wrong with the swims, except the reminder that to feel good swimming I have to swim regularly! Got it, will do. I’m prepared to make my world have a faint smell of chlorine again.

And running, well, that is always awesome. But lately my legs just feel good, and I’ll take it.

Of course, there are little issues. My achielles is still a bit sore sometimes, and I think it is the bike. I have lowered my seat on the road bike a bit, and I think that has helped. I will need to check the setting on the tri bike once I get back on it.

Posted in biking, running, swiming | 4 Comments »

a necessary snickers

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

Good ride today — a strong pace with the Saturday crew over to Riverside to meet up with some other clubs and groups, and then off on the fast part of the loop. I usually get dropped fairly quickly, but today I hung in much longer. I wasn’t planning to, as I was really going for an easier day. But as I started to drop off a friend gave me a push and said “You’ve got this!” and then I couldn’t just drop off and do my own thing. So I worked a bit harder than planned. A few miles later I did get dropped, but the group hit a light and I got on again for a couple more miles. Then I was perfectly content to turn off and do my own thing, which usually means meeting back up with the group at the end of the speedy loop for the ride back to Redlands.

So we met up, and refueled at the gas station. Usually just water for me, but I was actually feeling hungry so grabbed a Gatorade and a Snickers, and let Mike know that I had gone harder than planned and so would be going a bit easier than usual on the ride home. He stuck with me, even though I said he could just keep going with the group. But we had a nice calm ride towards home.

And then almost at the top of one of the last climbs, pftssssssssssssssss and my back tire was flat. We pulled off, and I set about changing it (he is faster, and I let him help if the group is waiting as they do on the way over, but on our time I get to practice). Looking for what caused the flat, I noticed it was the rim — the rim tape was really out of place and even broken in spots. Makes sense… I had grabbed the wheels I rarely ever use since my favorite wheel still has the disc cover on from Barb’s. So I had a dollar bill boot, and then needed another, and the snickers wrapper in my back pocket was perfect.

So thanks snickers bar, I’m home now, and it was a good ride 🙂

Posted in biking | 2 Comments »

not so much…

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Yes, I know, another post right after a race report. I figured I needed to have the race report up before moving on to the recovery 😉

So after the race, and the day at Disney, plus still recoving a bit from the being sick and the rib, I was sore. I was tired. I did my workouts Monday, but my run didn’t have that relaxed feeling. With all that, and the stresses of these last couple crazy weeks at work, I felt pretty off by Tuesday evening. But I climbed on my bike, actually on the trainer for the first time in a long time. I had some music on, and Gracie was confused. She is used to the wheelthings taking us away, and climbed into her crate. But then I stayed, and she came outside with me, and then during my warmup decided it was pretty cool to be able to lick me as I built up a nice salty sweat.

I had some repeats to do, hitting about my FTP (ie the power I can hold on the bike for an hour) for 2 minutes, resting for 30 seconds, and repeating a number of times. I got the first in, and it was hard. The second interval I barely made. Struggled through 4 of them, often barely making the power numbers I should be hitting. The 5th felt the same, and my legs felt like I was going as hard as I could. I was pouring sweat, and although I had found peace with the trainer, it was time to be done. I got off the bike, letting go of the workout, and realizing sometimes it is better to stop. But stopping sure is hard when you are stubborn!

Today’s run was better. My legs are still a bit heavy, but once I was going I felt pretty good, and my pickup was comfy. Still a bit sore, but I’m hoping the heavy-dead is gone from the legs now.

Posted in biking, donutdogg, running | 4 Comments »

Disney Du

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Wow what a race! The thing with some of this shorter distance stuff is that it is over so fast! And hurts so much! And so sometimes it is hard to remember what happened. I remember the start… on Main St. USA in Disney Land. Minnie Mouse, in a run outfit, started our day. In a flash of confetti strips, around the circle in front of Sleeping Beauty’s castle, and into Adventureland. Past the Jungle Cruise, and around into Frontierland and past the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (which made me smile and think of the Mike-friend that I met there some years back). Past the Matterhorn, which I barely even noticed as I was passing the girl who led out our wave, and ended up in first for the wave for a bit! That was a first 🙂 And then we ran into the behind the scenes part where we saw people taking out trash. There I saw some of the women from the earlier waves stopping for a picture with Minnie 🙂

Into TA and onto the bike, time to hurt. Some weaving through other waves, but not too bad since the race had a huge number of lanes closed everywhere so that there was always room to go by. Pedal pedal pedal! Oh, and after being sick much of the week, a fair bit of hacking up lunggunk. Oh, and to go back a bit, Friday night I somehow got a rib out of place, and luckily convinced my wonder-chiro-husband into his office early Saturday morning, where an adjustment and some muscle stym and another adjustment got it back in place. Still not quite turning well as I left for the hotel the night before the race, and my muscles were exhausted, I worried a bit about the bike and aero position. But it was a course easy to stay aero, and I just went. My power was definitely lower than I had hoped, but later learning I had the 3rd fastest bike (another first!) made that easier to take — plus it was my first race where I averaged over 20mph!

Around the parking lot where transition was (which was a good quarter mile) and off the bike, run shoes back on, and it was time to accept it was going to HURT. Took a minute to really find my pain-desire, and soon I was moving as I headed into California Adventure. I smiled as I passed the Bug’s Life play area, remembering spending time there with Ethan. I then caught up to one of my favorite tri ladies, Cherie, one of the Exceeding Expectations leaders, and turned for one of the coolest stretches of the race. Running through the Hollywood area, there was a mural at the end of the road of buildings and the road off into the distance. It felt like you would keep going forever, and the buildings really had that Disney feel. Suddenly I was behind the scenes again, and leaving the park! The run was a bit short, 1.6 miles, and not the 2 I expected. So I pushed it a bit more, constantly thinking there were footsteps behind me. But I didn’t get passed (actually, other than I think 2 people — including one of the EE girls! — in the first run, I don’t think I was passed all day. So that was also a first!

I didn’t feel awesome the whole day, but everything just went right for me. The race had great energy, and I was thrilled to cross the finish line, and then wait around to find out how I did. Once the results were up, I was proud! 55:07 for 5th overall and 1st in my age group! This du thing sure hurts more than tris, and I do miss the swim, but it is also quite an experience, and I hope to do more in the future. Official results are here — including myself on the leaderboard! Crazy yo!

The five girls that went with us, as well as Cherie, also had very strong days. I was so proud to see each one smiling across the line! And then, there was a day at Disney! I thought racing hurt… but the standing in lines for hours after… that was something else 😉 Exhausted, we finally made it home.

Oh, also of note… with 5 girls, Cherie, and myself we needed to fit 7 people, 7 bikes, all the race stuff and all the stuff for a night at a hotel into my car and Cherie’s. We both have SUVs, but my CRV and her Explorer are not the biggest vehicles! Yet somehow my CRV fit 6, yes 6, bikes in the back! And that was with the back wheels all still on. The final bike went on my roof rack, and all the spare wheels fit nicely in the roofbox. And Cherie’s car easily took all the bags. At the hotel, these other ladies also racing were getting their bikes ready as we came out and got out all the bikes. They asked how we fit that many people and bikes all in that one little car, and thought it was like a clown car 🙂 But nope, just my magic little car!

So it was a great weekend, and as Lee would have said if he was there, a splendid time was had by all 🙂

Posted in biking, Race Tales, running | 3 Comments »

OC Duathlon

Friday, June 5th, 2009

See, I’m writing again! I have to now that I saw more than 2 people are reading 😉

Well last weekend was the OC Duathlon, my first du. Originally my first was going to be in DisneyLand in a week, but then this one came up, and so Mike and I grabbed an Exceeding Expectations kid and headed out. I was secretly glad since I didn’t want my first one to be without my favorite boy waiting for me at the finish!

Packing the night before, I kept freaking out, “OMG I almost forgot to pack goggles!!” and a second later, “oh right… duathlon” (so run bike run, and no swim involved). But a bit later “Mike! Did you remember goggles???” and then to remember again… Eventually though, I realized I didn’t need goggles, and was convinced I had my things packed, and went to bed. But yes, nervous — and I packed my regular run shoes and regular bike helmet, along with my race ones, as for some reason I really felt I needed them with me.

Got to the race bright and early since the site warned that picking up race numbers on the day of the race can get really busy and be a long line. We were the only people there while we got our things, though. And then down to the transition area. It was along a paved bike path, which we’d be using for both runs, as well as the first and last couple miles on the bike. But the organization had done a great job of making sure the ground was flat, and although it was a dirt lot, there weren’t thorns and so I wasn’t concerned. It was definitely a June gloom damp and gray morning, and some people with speedplay pedals were worried, since the dirt was pretty sticky and they didn’t want their bike shoes to get the cleats gunked up and not work. Mike, who uses speedplays, was glad he leaves them on the bike. And I was glad to have Look pedals and not have to worry about springs in my cleats.I was also impressed with the USAT refs that were at the race, checking each bike as it went into transition, but quickly and effectivly. It’s one of the first races I’ve done where there were checks and still no backups.

As we were setting up, Mike turned to me. “I know who is going to win. That’s Luke Bell.” The strong pro triathlete was setting up right behind us. We headed out on a warm up run, and on our way back into transition (for my so-not-Canadian-when-it-comes-to-temperature boy to grab arm warmers) I turned and told Mike I knew who would win the women’s race, as we had just walked past one of my personal favorite triathletes, Michellie Jones.

It was time to toe the line, and we headed out. As always, I gave Mike a kiss right before leaving him on the front line, and I moved back a bit so that I wouldn’t be trampled in the start. The gun went off almost right after we were there, and it was time to hurt! I pushed a bit on the run, but kept in mind the nice hilly bike course, which started with a 4 or 5 mile climb. And it wasn’t an easy run course, either — a slight downhill the first half, and the last 2.5k were a slight uphill. Mike passed on his way back, in a group of 3 within a couple people of the leader, and I cheered for him (yes, I even talk when I’m racing). Soon I was on my own way back, into transition. Helmet on, shoes off and cycling shoes on, and sunglasses in my mouth I grabbed my bike and headed out.

Out the narrow transition opening, and onto the bike. A nice steady grind up for a while. But I knew it would end, so I went a bit harder than I thought I should. I figured it was not that long of a race (40k bike) and that I should leave my comfort zone and see how well I could run after that. So there was some back and forth with one guy, as I’d pass him on climbs and he’d go by on the downhills. One one pass, he laughed and said it would be a cat and mouse day. And all I could think until the next time I saw him was how dumb the mouse would have to be to chase. So I said that as I went by. And I encouraged people, and enjoyed the June gloom weather — misty and damp, but not too cold. Just enough moisture that your glasses were a bit hard to see out of, and there was enough road gunk that you didn’t want to take them off.

The bike course was a lot of fun — a route that I had done numerous times having lived near it before, and actually the location of the first organized ride I ever did (the one that had me trade in a borrowed hybrid bike for a tri bike of my own on the way home!). Never anything flat, but nothing crazy steep either. Just lots of rolling, with a couple decent climbs because of their length. It was a lot easier than I had remembered, and I thanked Marky in my head. Near the turn around, I started slacking a bit, and told myself how Scott can ride faster and for a whole Ironman with a single pedal, and that I should start pedaling harder, so I did.

Now, I have done reverse order triathlons, where you run, bike, and then swim. And I have done tris, with swim, bike, and then run. So I had ran and then biked, and I had biked and then ran. But never ran, biked, and then ran again. So I wasn’t sure what to expect. And on the final 4ish miles of descent, I tried to stretch a bit and relax, but every time I stopped pedalling, my legs shook and shook. So I kept a light pedaling going, but with the narrow bike path I slowed a bit once I was in that section. Back to transition, off the bike, helmet off, shoes off and runners back on, grabbed the visor again, and headed out still setting the Garmin for another run.

And the run was much like the first 😉 although more painful, and more stubborn since there was a light at the end of that run-tunnel. Only one difference in this run than the first one, and that was an added climb in the last half mile to the finish line up in the parking lot of the hosting church. It hurt — I went hard-comfortable on the way down, and then from the turn around back I tried to pick it up in effort. I ran hard on the little steep downhills to get under overpasses, and drilled my way up on the other side. Finally to the turn to the final climb, and found it to have another of those little down-up parts, so pushed and pushed and up what seemed like a boat ramp and into the parking lot and then all you could see was a serpentine — zigging and zagging, although really it wasn’t that long. And I knew the finish had to be at the end of it, so I went. About 200-300 feet from the finish I got that tight, almost asthma feeling in my chest, and knew I had given what I had for that run. Finished strong, and proud of my work.

Across the line, many people came up to me. I was told I should get the spirit award for the day, since I had encouraged so many of them! And others thanked me for cheering for them, and supporting them. And I was glad my chatter, which helps me stay relaxed and enjoying the day, had helped other people as well 🙂

Back to transition, packed up, rised road grime off with a towel and water bottle at the car, and then we hung out for awards. Mike was second amature, and 5th overall! I was 3rd in my age group! The race was a regional duathlon championship race, so there was a strong field, and I was proud. I am also proud that my run and bike strength is getting more even (I was 3rd in my age group in each run and on the bike, and no one in front of me ever passed me after the start). Also, in a duathlon Mike said one goal is to be able to run the same times in both runs, and I was pretty dang close (more so than most people). So the official numbers?

1st 5km run: 23:28

40km bike + transitions: 1:15:04

2nd 5km run: 23:45

for a total of 2:02:17, 3/12 in age group, 23/91 women, and 119/321 overall.

Next time I’ll go under 2 hours 🙂

My legs were definitely sore after that effort! It was such a satisfying sore though. At least I say that now, after Super-Masseuse Suzy fixed them 🙂 It was really a fun race. Way more painful than a tri I think, but mostly just different. And I enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to the Disney Du next weekend! Running throuhg DisneyLand and then California Adventure will be very different scenary, but I’m excited!

Oh, and on the winners? We were both right. Congrats Luke and Michellie! 🙂

Posted in biking, Race Tales, running | 3 Comments »

too long

Friday, May 29th, 2009

It has been too long since I wrote, and I don’t know where to start. I don’t want to disappoint the 2 people who still read this, so I’ve gotta write something! And yes Gracie, you count in those two 😉

So I have a race tomorrow. My first duathlon! And my next one is in two weeks. Although I have done a number of reverse sprints, so running then biking is familiar, and with the whole tri thing the biking then running thing is familiar, so it will be fun to see how it is to do both in one race.

My taper has taken an interesting approach, called “kick Kylie’s butt into shape” and involves Marky sending me email containing phrases like zone 4 and zone 5 and “just do it!” and “well find a way”. So yesterday I ran in the morning, and then went for a swim. And I did a ride for lunch. And this morning I ran, biked (the long way) to the pool, and then swam. So yes, I have done a tri each of the last two days, and tomorrow I’m racing and I won’t! 🙂 I find that amusing. So yes, getting back into more structured training this month. It’s fun — but Gracie still gets to do my runs with me!

I’m feeling pretty good today — feel like my legs are strong and the biking is getting easier and swimming is feeling more natural. And I”m feeling lighter, and have lost a good bit of the weight I put on since the wedding. I like progress! And cute little mesas… which is all I think about during my intervals on my bike rides — gotta make cute little mesas in the power file!

I’ve been doing some riding lately with a new rider — one of my coworkers, who I actually met through Gracie and her puppyclass, joined the Redlands Spine and Sport run group on Wednesday nights. After chatting with me, and Mike, and Bjorn, she wanted to try a tri. And with the Tinman reverse sprint coming up, she is in! She was a cross country runner in college, and is definitely strong! It will be fun to see how she progresses in the sport!

Ok enough rambling for now, and I will try to be better about this whole updating thing!

Posted in biking, donutdogg, marky, running, swiming | 5 Comments »

first cycling race

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

This Sunday Mike and I headed to Piru, a bit north of the LA area, for our first cycling race: a 20k Time Trial. I needed to do another FTP test, so this seemed like a good way to do it.

Dark and early we packed up the bikes and headed out, only forgetting the trainer, which made it hard to warm up (plus we only have one!). We found the site pretty easily, and soon learned that the basically flat route we for some reason thought we’d find wasn’t so flat. It is a regularly used course, and experienced riders were talking about the steady climb section on the way back, and the rollers both ways. We had heard though that it would be not a question of if there was wind, but which direction it would be going.

We got registered, and learned to pin on our numbers for this sport (on your side, sideways, with the bottom of the numbers toward your belly, and using a pin at each corner, the leading and back edge, and on the top). We also learned how hard it is to pin a number on a trisuit that leaves little to the imagination 😉 But I do like my new outfit! Super comfy.

I was to start at 9:18, and Mike at 9:18:30. We waited around the start once things were moving, and soon I was up. The guy at the line held my seat, and they told me to hold my breaks and clip in. Then they gave me a warning to start putting pressure on the pedals, and to release my breaks, and I was off! Ok make it hurt time.

So I did. I pedaled hard. It hurt. I pedaled some more. I wanted to keep that pain in my legs and that pressure on the pedals. I stayed aero the whole time. And I flew. When I looked at my PT data later I found that for the out part of the 20k I averaged 24.7 mph, and 152 watts. And the 6.13 miles took me 14:52 (I missed the first bit since the PT had fallen asleep). And Mike (who passed me about 2 miles in) was only about half a mile ahead – results of my ability to realize the downhill/wind and push a bit harder than he does in those cases.

That was the tailwind and net downhill direction. After the turnaround it no longer seemed like my work was paying off quite as much. And it was definitely a bit climbier, to where I did sit up once or twice, and I did use my easiest gear in the back (but never needed the small ring in the front). So I just kept focusing on how close I was to the finish. Heck the whole bike race was shorter than my run race the previous weekend… how bad could it be? 😉 A turn, and the end was in sight. Pleased and with sore legs I pushed through the line, and then was onto the brakes and done.

As a testament to the course and the wind, for the second half I only averaged 16.7 mph although I averaged 167 watts. And those 6.24 miles took me 22:23. All said and done, my official time was 37:40something I think. 1st place in the women’s public division. From the PT: 12.38 miles, 161 watts avg (166 norm), 19.9mph, and 37:17.

It was a nice, small, family feeling race. I hope to go back and do more of their 20ks and maybe 40ks once they start up later this year.

Posted in biking, Planet X, PowerTap, Race Tales | 1 Comment »

a week with two races

Monday, December 15th, 2008

Holiday race season is here in full swing! I joined the Exceeding Expectations crew for a couple more races, a 15k and then a tri (which Mike also did). This time instead of helping during race time, we helped them get set up and ready and then raced on our own.

The EE kids had a huge showing, with a number of new runners for the Loma Linda Holiday Classic 5k and 15k on December 7th.

Although we need to work on “visor use” and “race belt function” 😉

For more shots of the kids, check out the foundation webpage writeup of the day.

For the 15k the goal was for it to feel fast for the first 5k. And then for the next 5k realize it was going to keep hurting more and more. And the last 5k I should just want it to be over. It was a challenging course — I don’t think it was ever flat. I can sum up the race quickly: yes, it hurt. No, I didn’t puke at the finish. PR’ed, as it was my first time racing that distance. But I also almost went faster than my 10k pace, and just generally felt like I smoked my expectations. It was the first time that at the turn around I started counting women, and actually was in the top 10! Thrilled, I worked to hold onto where I was. I got passed by a couple, but I was doing all I could and at the finish line was proud of what I had given. 1:12:30 with a 7:47 pace. Good enough for 7th out of 169 women! My age group was FAAAST though – but I was still 4th out of 27 W25-29. And 62/339 overall. Works for me!

Although downhill finishes hurt… it was a holiday race so I had to dress the part!

Then this weekend we took a smaller group of kids to the Tinsel Triathlon and 5k. This time Mike came along (he was in class the previous week). Again we helped kids get ready beforehand, and drove a few of them, but then had our own race. And it was another successful one.

It was a reverse sprint so we started with a 5k run. It hurt, and I wasn’t able to find the same zoned feeling I had during the 15k. I think there was some fatigue still there, and some of it was just how cold it got (for here). Later I learned my “sluggy” feeling 5k was actually pretty close to my standalone 5k times, but it didn’t feel it at the time. I just kept going, wanting to be done and on my bike.

On the bike I flew! New bar set up, and it felt goood! I wasn’t putting out the power I expected, but I was passing and passing and passing people for the 12 miles. Just staying aero and pushing. Out and back, complete with some wind fighting, and jumped off the bike. Oh geez my quads were not too pleased with running to the rack. Forgot my goggles, Mike (already done) screamed at me and I grabbed ’em. Off to the pool, wondering how I’d be able to actually breathe in the water.

Jumped in and just went. It was a crazy, horrid swim. Too many people and with a 50m pool made into 3 lanes that you zigzagged through meant no one swam the same direction as anyone else. Some one used my back to push off with 2 hands, one hand grabbed my ankle. I kicked some guts that were over my feet pushing me down. But I swam hard and passed people and focused on just pulling and kicking and going. And then it was the end, and I passed people who were walking to the edge of the pool when it was still deep. Then out of the water, and done.

No official splits, but my watch had the run at 22:42 (7:39 pace), and my PT had the bike at 32:16 (20.9mph). My final time was 1:01:24! 1st of 57 in my age group, 11th of 403 women, and 134th of 1002 overall.

And Mike kicked butt 🙂 1st in M35-39, 1st male, and 1st overall! Yup, I have a pretty speedy husband! And the swim did matter, even though only 150m. He was 3rd into the water, but passed both the other guys. I’m proud of him.

The top 3 guys: Mike (in the Inland Inferno jacket), Ronnie (yes, he raced with the bear head on for the run — and not much else), and Ryan.

Our club, Inland Inferno, had a pretty good day!

[thanks to Lee of Exceeding Expectations for the Loma Linda pictures]

Posted in biking, Race Tales, running, swiming | 1 Comment »

holiday habits

Sunday, November 30th, 2008

The holidays. Eating too much, and getting lazy… no thanks.

This year Mike and I had our first family Thanksgiving – just us and donutdogg. And I’m please to say that (well, until the donut I just had) I was coming out of the holiday weekend feeling in better shape than going in.

With just the two of us, even Thanksgiving day turkey meal was somewhat a normal meal. We didn’t gather house ahead and start snacking (well ok I had some clam dip with breakfast, but it wasn’t like some hors d’oeuvre sessions). We didn’t stay at the table chatting for hours, but instead cleaned up once done and went for a chatty walk. We didn’t have a thousand desserts, but kept it simple. So that helped.

What also helped was some family workouts. Still running everyday (on day 60 or so now). The pool was closed for the holiday, but we also got on the bike each day. A big ride up to the cider area in the mountains near us, and some shorter stuff. And a ride on the tri bikes, which hadn’t been out since Muskoka 70.3.

Here are some pics from the climby ride:

Oh and there was a walk. Started as a 2hr walk, but with some crafty path choices we made it out alive in about 3hrs and when it was no longer light enough to easily find the car. Even donut was done after that one! Here are some walk pics: