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so that’s what I’ve been up to

Tuesday, May 1st, 2007

Totals for the year to date:

swimming: 115000 yds, 41:59:17 (avg pace 2:11/100yds — including resting between sets)
biking: 1625.95 mi, 109:16:56 (avg pace ~15.1 mph)
running: 329.33 mi, 53:59:12 (avg pace ~9:50)

A few others as well (mtb, yoga, weights, core, etc) and my total workout time this year is 217 hours, 18 minutes!

May 1, 2006 my totals for the year were:

swimming: 48780 yds, 19:11:40 (avg pace 2:22/100yds — including resting between sets)
biking: 1236.59 mi, 85:43:10 (avg pace ~14.6 mph)
running: 266.76 mi, 49:07:34 (avg pace ~11:03)

And the few others (more mtb by a lot) brought it to 193 hours, 56 minutes!

Then I think about how my IM is even a few weeks later this year, and I get more confident that I am moving in the right direction! Namely stronger and faster

Posted in biking, Ironman, running, swiming, Training Thoughts | 7 Comments »

my forth time…

Tuesday, May 1st, 2007

PossAbilities Triathlon was this weekend. I felt strong going in, and the day played out well. Just a short report on this one as I’ve been working on my blogging motivation lately (don’t worry, tri motivation is there and strong). Oh, and this was my 4th time at this race (although the course has changed a few times). It was my second tri ever in 2004 and I’ve done it every year

Fun parts of the tri this weekend (local reverse order sprint – 5k run, 10 mi bike, 150 yd swim):

hosting a pro lady (Kim Hager) who was going to speak to our tri club after the race. She was very sweet and I am lucky to have gotten to host her. I’d highly recommend her if you need a coach
racing at the race where I met Mike last year! Wow time flies
A 5k PR! 17:51, compared to my last 24:11!! Ok I’m not going to count it as a PR… the course turned out to be only 2.3 miles Still the PR was at a 7:41 pace, and this was at a 7:44. So that is good.
Improving my bike time (on the same exact course last year) by almost a minute and a half (over 10.8 mi). Last year: 36:25. This year: 34:02. That’s 19 mph!!! And it does have some climbing in it (about 640 ft)
Finishing in under and hour! 58:28 official time
3/27 W25-29, 14/113 women, and 91/383 overall! In that overall and womens there is also Kate Major and Julie Swail! Having a local sprint with a big purse means getting to race in a small group with some big names.

I had flying transitions and a lot of fun. The bike was a bit crazy (like last year) since the loops with all the newbies and uturns and pros get a bit… well, crazy.

Mike did awesome (of course): 46:46! 1st M35-39, 3rd male age grouper, 10th male overall, and 12th overall! Kate Major only beat him by a little bit… she was on his feet for the swim but knew you could turn and exit the pool at the start of the stairs, while he swam to the end of them.

Amanda (another PX teammate, a pro) got 3rd women overall! So the PX jersey was on the podium 3 times

Posted in biking, mike, Planet X, Race Tales, running, swiming | No Comments »

the rest of the weekend

Monday, April 16th, 2007

It was a good weekend, but man am I tired!

Got in over 162 miles of biking last week, and my biggest week ever was 163! And of those 162, a Saturday 35 mile ride involved 39 MPH headwind (up at the girls weekend), and a Sunday 75 mile ride involved rain (back down here and out through Rancho Cucamonga). Just keep pedaling…

Also got in 5 days of running last week, for a total of about 28 1/2 miles, which is also a pretty big week for me — 7th biggest ever, it looks like.

Swam this morning. It started off a bit rough. I just wasn’t feeling it, and was just going through motions. My mind wasn’t in it. Zoned out even more and started the main set: 6 repeats of 100 yards on 2min 10 sec, with the second 50 of each faster than the first 50. Well suddenly I noticed my time was about 1:55 on these! I’m usually around 2 min/100, so that was good. Then I got to the next part of the main set: 6 repeats of 100 yards on 2min 10 sec with each 100 faster than the one before it. Well the first one was on 1:54 and I thought I was in for trouble hitting faster and faster times, but I did it! 1:54, 1:53, 1:50, 1:47, 1:45, 1:41… so basically I was able to do faster than my goal IM pace (1:49), and I never felt like I was going too crazy fast (except on that last one).

Had a pretty cool Saturday evening. I was up at the ST gal thing still (I ended up leaving that night as I just needed to sleep in my own bed and by my own boy) and ended up meeting Mike part way there to get the bike case from a girl who had gone up through my house but found another ride down the next day. I mentioned I was going to do a bike fit with Dan that evening, and so he ended up coming back up with me. Dan is sort of THE bike fitter. He designed the main certification for fitting triathlon bikes, and was a huge part of developing tri bikes in the first place! So this was definitely a cool treat (and Mike hopes to take his class, so wanted to see him in action)! Since he was busy this weekend, he was only going to do a 10 minute “no foreplay, no cuddling” fit (it can take 2-3 hours for a first round). But he loves his work, and we got in a groove, and an hour and a half later we were wrapping up! And my bike already feels much better, and I have a few adjustments left to do on it (getting a different stem, for one). Man I’m lucky I was able to do that.

Posted in biking, mike, Planet X, running, swiming, Training Thoughts | No Comments »

gals of slowtwitch training camp

Friday, April 13th, 2007

Ok, so I’m not really a trifuel trader… I actually post on trifuel, but very rarely on ST. However, the gals training weekend is in my backyard (about 1.5 hours away) so I decided to go. I’m there now — it’s Thursday (yesterday) through Sunday. Up in Valermo where Dan Empfield (of Slowtwitch and QR and tribike fame) and Mark Montgomery (who was a pro) have a great setup of housing and training routes and food and everything we could need.

Lots of girls and bikes and exercise… So far a run yesterday, a bike this am, a swim this afternoon, and some possible plans for a run this evening. And Emilio DeSoto (of DeSoto tri clothing) bought us all lunch. He brought some clothes stuff and we get to check it out later.

Oh and on my ride today my bike was still having chain issues and hopping a bit. Emilio was able to fix it though! He said it sounded like it could be a tight link or one slighly off (since it was a new chain and new cassette) and by just putting lateral pressure on it fixed it, and it was great the rest of the ride! So the ride was good.

Good times

Posted in biking, General, Planet X, running, swiming | 2 Comments »

weekend tri-lights

Monday, March 19th, 2007

The bad:

shortened the Saturday ride due to time constraints
missed the Sunday ride completely with getting the new bikes (mine and Mike’s) more ready and doing tons of new house errands

The good:

Got into a karate class (although I don’t find I’m missing it much any more) and got movies on DVD of a bunch of my forms, so I can use them to refresh my memory.
Got in about 20 miles ON THE NEW BIKE! It rides beautifully! It doesn’t feel like anything is attached to the pedals it is so light, and I flew on it! Even with a headwind for the slight downhill direction and being on a slight uphill the return trip I held a good pace. And Mike was beside me on his bike, and time with him is also good
Saw a hockey game Saturday night (tri related since it was with the tri club ) and called a friend I haven’t talked to in a while just to learn HE IS ALSO AT THE GAME. So we met up at a break. Amuzing since my first hockey game ever, and about the 3rd time I’ve ever called the friend.
Got many errands done — including a bike rack for the kitchen! Man it looks hott with Mike’s Cervelo and PX and my PX on it! I’ll have to post a pic once I have one. Oh, and also got some new biking gear, which is always fun
My swim felt nice and comfortable this morning, and I was holding a better pace than lately!

Posted in biking, Life Outside of Tris, Planet X, swiming | No Comments »

first race of the season

Sunday, February 11th, 2007

So today Mike and I did our first Tri of the season. It was a local (Redlands) race, and reverse order (run, bike, then swim). Very short for us: 5k run, 9 mi bike, 100 yd swim. A few notes of interest on this race: it was the first tri I ever did (although the location was different that year). And this was the first race for Mike and I since the one we met at.

I didn’t wake up ready for this kind of day. The RAIN (yes rain finally here and just for race morning) was very loud, and my head felt like it was going to explode and I was all stuffy. What better when feeling a bit under the weather than to go at a high heart rate for an hour in rain? Exactly. Nothing. So we got in the car and headed out just in time for sheets and sheets of rain. Driving east we got through those, and realized it would reach the race in about 2 – 2.5 hours — right as the race was starting.

Got registered and set up pretty fast. It’s easy when all you need is a helmet and bike shoes and goggles at your TA. Spent some time inside the high school gym to keep a bit drier and warmer, did some stretching. Went for a short warmup jog, and then lined up as it was near start time. The race (like many local ones) did of course not start on time. About 10 or 15 minutes late though there was a count down, and we were off! Some light drizzle, but nothing horrible.

Man running fast was hard! Ok, fast for me. I averaged 8:14 miles, and a heart rate of 183, which isn’t exactly where I’ve been training this base season The run started with a slight uphill, then a drop and then ended a bit uphill again. But I actually felt ok on the run — a bit of complaint in the legs and lungs, but that was expected with this length race. I finished it, grabbed my bike.

I jumped on the bike for more of that same gradual grade of climbing. About 2 miles of it, then a downhill with some fun turns with sand and wet gravel across the road. I saw Mike on this first of 2 laps, and how close he was. AND THAT THERE WAS NO ONE IN FRONT OF HIM! And one of my goals was not to get passed by him, but another goal was him winning, which he laughed at. And he was closer than I thought possible. So that was good motivation. Maybe a bit too good — I actually went off road on one of the turns. I had a bit too much speed going in. Luckily it was a rounded blacktop curb and then decently flat dirt, so I just pretended it was a mountain bike. I saw him again a bit later in the loop, and that time he heard me cheer for him and realized how close he was. The bike loops ended with a uturn just past the TA entrance, and on that uturn I heard him behind me. “noooo” it was a slight uphill again and I tried, but he laughed and made it past me about 50 feet before the turn off where I would have been safe. So I almost made it.

As he climbed off his bike and ran for the pool I had one lap to go on the bike. Only one lap, I told myself as the burning of the climb started again. Oh shut up, you can do this. And so my legs did, and we made it to the top. As I got there the rain caught up though. Suddenly the barely drizzle, that had stopped for the most part, was pelting rain. It hurt, and visibility was rather reduced. Well I could see the guy marking the next turn, so I just aimed for him, and then the next one. Oh yeah and I remembered to slow a bit more and actually make all the turns while still on the road. As I rounded that uturn at the end of the course, I prepped for the transition. Rack bike, shoes and socks off, helmet off, grab goggles and run.

A 150 meter run brought me to the pool. Jumped in, pushed off, and swam like Mike tells me to: pulling hard. I felt the water pushing me forward, and just kept going. Push of the next wall, and then next. On my last push, my goggles flipped down. Happily bouncing into both eyes with each stroke. I broke my flow to pull them down and around my neck, and chased down one last guy as we got to the stairs, out of the pool, and were done. And then I got my first finish line kiss, which was kinda awesome. And the kisser was… the overall winner (yeah, Mike won!!)!

In the days leading up I was trying to guestimate our times. In the end I told him to go 45 minutes, and I hoped for an hourish. So he did (45:26). And by doing so he won overall, for his first time ever! I must be good luck. Then I got the full results (although Mike’s last name has bonus characters added to it) and those for me… and I won my age group (1:03:06)! And for once it actually had a significant number of people in it! I was 1/16 And overall women I was 9th! Which is awesome for me! And then there is the fact that a few women came in a bit before me that Mike saw who had pretty clearly only done one lap on the bike. So taking that into account, I give myself 7th overall in women! So yeah, it was a good start to the season.

Posted in biking, Race Tales, running, swiming | 5 Comments »

a good week so far

Thursday, February 8th, 2007

So far this week is going great. I worked from home Monday to order the bikes, which means I didn’t swim (since the good pool is by work). But for once I didn’t then blow it off! Tuesday morning found me in the water being all fishlike (or at least attempting to be).

I also got in a great brick on Monday — about 20 miles on the bike and then 3 on foot. Threw in a bit of climbing on the bike just for fun, and pushed a comfortable pace on the run to see what kind of 3 mile pace I can hold after a good ride. Managed about 9:17 miles, which is good for me

The long run on Wednesday also felt pretty good. Last week was off to give my knee some healing time as it was sore, but it only bothered me for a second during the run and not at all after it.

And this morning brought out the bike (although with leg warmers again as it was a bit colder here today) for a quick ride chasing Mike. And I tried to use him during the section with a strong headwind, but it was coming from mostly everywhere so it didn’t do too much good.

I think I’m more rested this week. I feel much less sleepy just in general, and like I have more energy. I think I’ve been eating better as well, and it’s paying off.

Tonight will not have a workout. And will have indulgence in bad food and good company. After I teach I need to scurry home and head out to watch the Premier of Survivor! Cheer for Anthony with me!

Posted in biking, Life Outside of Tris, running, swiming | 3 Comments »

smiling lobster

Tuesday, February 6th, 2007

Another great weekend for riding!

Saturday I checked out a fireroad I had seen on a map. It connected to my favorite loop, and cut out some of the busier road sections. And it worked, and was a good ride. I did have to walk one hill. But that just means it’s a new nemisis hill. Which is good — since I conquered the old one! Ok, not perfectly yet. It’s a very sharp uturn to a downhill, to a left through a stream and up a hill. If I set up at the top, I can make it. It will truely be conquered once I can just ride right through the whole thing.

Sunday was back on the road chasing Mike. This time on his tri bike getting those muscles ready for racing again. Did the loop of bike paths down to the beach and back to the hills. 80 miles. And over 80 degrees out! We both forgot sunscreen, so ended up with tan lines already, and February has just started! My nose and arms and legs were a bit red… but it was still a fun ride!

I gave my legs a bit of a rest from pounding last week, and should be back out on a long run this Wednesday. And I’ve been in the pool, but nothing too exciting to report. I really like having swim workouts planned with me and my goals and abilities as their only target audience. It makes it hard to cheat on them since I know they are right for me!

Posted in biking, mountain biking, swiming | No Comments »

OMG snow is kewl

Friday, January 12th, 2007

This morning as I got off the freeway I saw what appeared to be white flakes hitting my windshield, and I smiled, knowning there was a chance of “rain/snow showers”. But I still didn’t expect that when I turned the corner onto the street with the gym I’d be greeted by tons of cars with a coating of snow! Or that I would be able to make a snowball as I walked to the gym (shhh… don’t tell… I’ve just never lived in snow and gotten to the point where it isn’t exciting). Or that I’d step into the pool from snow

Let me take this time to remind you I live in southern CA and it was in the 70s and 80s a few days ago. And that this was at 1160 feet of elevation and only about an hour from the beach.

[1800 yards done in a pool that felt sooooo warm compared to air]

Posted in Life Outside of Tris, swiming | 7 Comments »

another weekly update

Tuesday, December 12th, 2006

This is almost becoming just weekly updates. I think with the boy around I’m just spending less “free time” at the computer, and more of it on the bike or in good company. Which is just fine with me.

Thursday night was a pretty bad run, and I was just feeling tight and sore and not finding my rhythm. So after a call to the massage center at my gym Friday morning, I sadly had to tell my coworker around 10am that I had to leave to get in a quick swim and a massage, and that life is tough That helped a lot… I was feeling much more comfortable after it!

Then on Saturday Mike and I went swimming so that he could check me out. My stroke, that is… it was “Coach Mike” time. He told me that my stroke is pretty good — balanced, straight, no cross-over, etc. But that it lacks power and acceleration. And then he taught me a good drill for working on that (“heads up”, swimming with your head up and eyes on the far wall). I’ve been working it, and I think it’s helping a bunch! For example, my time always averages 50yds/min for swimming, and a bit slower with drills. Yesterday I was hitting 1 min on drill 50s! And I did 3 x 200 where the swim time for them was around 3:40!! I’m definitely pleased — maybe it was that it was night, or that I was doing good rest time, or that he helped me (or more likely a combo of all) but they felt comfortable and easy and I did it! Wooo! Yet another pool breakthrough story for the week

In more regular workout news I got in 85 miles on the bike riding to the beach and back Sunday. Mike took a slightly different trail on the way down, making it 94 for him (with one flat). I ended up waiting a few minutes for him at the 22 miles from home point and we finished together. We had headwinds BOTH DIRECTIONS — ug! And the 2 bottles of nuun and 2/3 of a cliff bar that I had were probably not quite enough. But as much as the ride kinda sucked (I also go to ride through a partially flooded undercrossing and ended up fairly wet and cold for a number of miles), I really do like riding with him. It’s going to do good things for my IM bike split I predict! He learned that I’ve once done a month over 400 miles, and was shocked, later admiting he would have been scared to go into an IM like that. I just didn’t know any better Oooh and I did beat him up one of the final mini-climbs! Nothing big, but it’s not often I can say that he saw me pull away from him and had found he had nothing to respond with. So I’ll take it.

We also watched Kona at the tri club IM party Saturday, which was pretty low key and mostly amounted to hanging out with Mike. And then went for a run… and then to the gym for triceps and core… and a swim (and that’s where Mike helped me with my swimming). I love having a guy who thinks it’s a great Saturday when we watch an IM, run, lift, swim, go out to dinner, and get to bed early for a ride the next day!

Oh and I got through the weekend without getting stung — one bee landed on me during the beach ride, and before he could figure out where he was, SMACK he was a bit flatter.

Posted in biking, running, swiming, Training Thoughts | 11 Comments »