Stuck in the middle of nowhere

So I'm stuck. Nowhere. I've gone from training crazy hours a week, to completing the big-dance race, to now just doing stuff for fun for a while. And I feel stuck. I actually miss all the crazy training, even though toward the end I was ready for more free time. But now when I go out to run or swim or do whatever fun activity has found its way into my schedule, about 10 minutes in I'm done. I want out. I don't want to do anything! I'd rather sit on the side of the pool and chat the whole time than jump in and do laps.

I think most people call this the off-season. It takes a little getting used to. I'm taking up new activities - yoga was on the schedule this past week. I am quite awful at yoga. But it was fun and apparently I'm not as inflexible as I thought. And ohhhhh, it makes you sore! Who thought stretching could make you so sore!? I better keep going!

I finally watched Ironman last night (not the race - the actual movie). I believe when it came out I was busy training. It was a fun movie. I need an ironman suit!!

I swim like a lizard?!

So in the off season I've decided to finally focus a little on my much neglected swim stroke. This is what I've got so far "You swim flat - like a lizard." Hmmmm, that can't be that bad can it? I mean, lizzards are neat - they breathe fire and look REALLY REALLY REALLY cool! (NOTE: This should be read in the voice of Ben Stiller in Zoolander - it's funnier that way).

I have a video of myself swimming, but when I actually did look at it I realized it is too horrific to put into blogland. Give me a few weeks of stroke technique and then maybe it will be worthy of getting thrown up on this site!

Challenged Athletes Inspire

Sunday I had the privilege of standing on one of the steepest hills of the San Diego Triathlon Challenge race and cheering the athletes up the hill. We showed up prepared with a cowbell. If you are not familiar with the Challenged Athlete's Foundation (CAF), it's a program that helps war veterans, kids, adults - basically anyone who might not otherwise be able to participate in sports, be able to do so. And these athletes do it all - triathlon, basketball, swimming, you name it - the fact that they are missing a limb or might be blind does not stop them at all!

The hill we were standing on was STEEP - I'm a good athlete and it hurts me to ride my bike up it. We had athletes with one arm riding their bikes up this hill no problem - and then waving at us to top it off! Some of the triathletes with prosthetic legs were going up the hill faster than those with two legs.

But the highlight of the day that I will never forget is when a gentleman came through who was missing most of his hip and leg and was therefore riding with only one leg - no prosthetic. He was a very big, strong guy - all muscle. I got tears in my eyes as he went by - he powered up that hill with a determination that I will always remember. On the steepest section of the hill he had to do a bit of slow zig-zagging because it was so steep. He had a graceful balance the entire time. I can only imagine how many times he must have gone down while learning to master his art of riding.

I often have trouble staying upright on my bike with two good legs. I really have no excuses now. And next time I whine about how my legs hurt or how I was worked over on some ride would someone please smack me and remind me of this post!

Hippie headbands and great golf

This weekend was the final cross country race (before the FINAL RACE) and - our (meaning my friends and I) annual par 3 golf tournament. YES - all of this in the SAME DAY!!!

Shortly after arriving at the cross country race Lisa informed me that Sergio had made matching hippie headbands for all the BSK teammates. Seriously, could there be better news?! 

Fast Brian, Lisa and I quickly decided we needed a photo of us "floating" in our hippie headbands. (Amazingly the 3 of us all have graduate degrees - surprising from this photo, no?!) We are jumping and NONE of us are off the ground. Lisa looks pretty normal, Brian's face just makes me laugh and me - I sadly just look like I'm about to pee my pants. 

So the actual race - I believe that for the first minute I was leading the race (for the girls) although it was pretty hard to tell since the course was a winding trail. This however quickly came to an end as Amanda Felder flew past with my teammate Alisa in tow. I tried to go with them, but my legs promptly told me NO!

Brian and I are both still blaming our positive splits on "that big race we did 2 weeks ago." I believe this might be the last week we're allowed to use that excuse, but people seem to still be buying it right now, so we're using it as long as we can. I finished 5th and the BSK women won - must have been those cool headbands!

Last year in the golf tournament Brian beat me by one stroke. I was determined to take the title away from him this year. (Side note: the main competition lies between Steven, Mark and Jeff. However, since Brian and I are not, shall we say - quite as skilled - we have our own competition.) 

I thought about practicing golf all year to prepare for this tournament and destroy Brian, but somehow that cycling thing kept taking away from my precious golfing time. And it showed in the tournament. The lack of preparation was my downfall. Mind you - Brian hadn't played since last year either and after the front 9 I was ahead by 4 strokes. However, a disastrous stream shot, a sad sand shot and 4-put were the end of me. I now owe Brian lunch.

This photo and a video of me hitting my ball out of a stream are the only evidence that I was actually on the golf course. I'm pretty sure Brian will remind me though - at least until I buy him lunch.

Slowing Down

I am very talented at cramming as much as possible into the least amount of time possible. This is an excellent trait to have, except in the off-season.

Two things I really love, but don't do nearly enough are going for walks and sitting in coffee shops. Walking is great - but I always end up running instead. It's so much more efficient and it's fun to fly by everything! Oh and that endorphin high just rocks - walking produces none of that!

Coffee is a key food group in my book. I'm all for the daily soy latte (or 2). But I don't ever sit and do nothing while drinking it. I'm always amazed at the masses of people that can be found in the middle of the day at a cafe, sitting, talking, doing not much of anything. Don't these people work?! Don't they have things to do, places to go?

So I decided to try it in the off-season - the walk and the coffee shop doing-nothing experience.













The walk was nice. I noticed nice scenery, my heart rate stayed pretty low. It was not too difficult. The coffee experience lasted about 2 minutes and then I decided I had way too much to do at work and jetted out the door. Oh well, I tried!

What I learned this season

My 2008 season is over. Well, almost over. I have two more cross country races and the annual Tinsel Triathlon in December where my friends and I will do our best to destroy each other for bragging rights. I currently hold the title among our friends and have no plans to relinquish it this year.

However, in the meantime I thought I'd share with you what I learned from my 2008 tri season:

1. Being injured makes me grumpy and grateful.
2. My friends are what makes this sport so amazing and incredibly fun.
3. Sprint tris and cross country races hurt (I already knew this, but somehow forget each season and continue to sign up for them).
4. I do not look fast in cycling pictures. And no, an aero helmet wouldn't help this cause either. My friend Diana is on the left. Steven took both these shots at Vineman this year. Diana looks FAST, hardcore, etc. I am on the right - "Hi Steven!" I'm usually waving. Then thinking, "Oh crap, get back in the aero bars." It's hopeless really! 
   
   
5. The swim portion of Escape from Alcatraz triathlon is not as scary as everyone makes it out to be. And the run rocks!
6. In every ironman there is a brief moment where I will swear I hate IM and will never do another. Guaranteed an hour later I will forget this.
7. I am not good at matching cycling or running outfits. Patterns, colors, etc. - they generally do NOT go together. My friends seem to notice this more than I do.
8. About every few months I will have a ride where I feel like I'm going backwards. It is best not to talk to me during this time or to try to pull me back up to the pack. I will most likely just fly off the back again.
9. Road-tripping to races in Northern CA is fun. And the trip home is harder than the actual race since we drive back for work Monday.
10. I can accomplish a lot more than I thought possible. These "AH HA" moments are awesome and sometimes indescribable.

The Tie

A common question I get is "What do you think about on those long rides?" Let's rewind to April for a minute here. Brian and I were riding through Rice Canyon and we saw a tie in the gutter. For the next 45 minutes we created an elaborate story as to how the tie had ended up on the side of a country road. Our final story involved a man who passionately hated his job and finally worked up the courage to quit. On his last day of work, feeling absolutely free for the first time in months, he ripped off his tie and tossed it out the window - carefree at last!

About a month later I was riding the same loop with my Dad and came upon the tie again. Brian wasn't on this ride and I decided it would make an awesome gift. I turned around, went back and stuffed said tie in my bike jersey for the journey back to Carlsbad. The gift (as I suspected - who WOULDN'T want a used tie with a great history?!!) was a great hit.

This weekend Brian's sister got married and the tie got to make its grand debut in the wedding.

Walking down the aisle I'm not sure which I was more excited about - seeing Brian so proud to give his sister away, or seeing how well Brian's tie went with Bethany's gorgeous dress.

The tie was thrown over Brian's shoulder for dinner and survived the evening unscathed. The chocolate cake even ended up on his white shirt rather than the tie!

So you want a few non-tie wedding pics? Wedding pictures generally speak louder than words, and Bethany and Josh's wedding was no exception. Probably the most beautiful wedding I have ever been to.

This guy was my hot date. I even got him out on the dance floor with me. (I believe this hasn't happened since our own wedding when he had to do the "first dance.") Steven LOVES dancing.

The groom and I are dancing here - I'm not waving - that is dancing!

Brian has a little-known talent of guitar playing and I thought this was a perfect parting shot. Austin provided a great weekend of fun. We will be back!

Austin's Greatness

So Austin has lived up to what everyone told me it would so far. Friday Brian and I went to check out the Barton Springs pool. As one of the largest fresh water spring-fed pools in the world, it was pretty cool - literally - the chilly 68 degrees made sure that we swam fast. The diving board was also alluring and I managed a few twisting flips without killing myself - it's been a few years since my gymnastic and diving skills have been tested.

Roo had warned me that "everything is bigger in TX" and she was not joking. This is a SMALL iced tea. We also saw a rather gigantic snapping turtle when returning from the pool. Thankfully it was on the non-swimming side.

Everyone rides bikes here. Not just for fitness, but for transportation. This was the best sign I've ever seen! 

We visited Mellow Johnny's and this De Rosa is a shot for Baywatch Allan.

This is a shot of the groom (Josh), Brian and I. I must add it is also proof that I have a few instances in my life when I am not wearing spandex! (Few yes, but they do exist! There may even be a few more images captured at the wedding!)

This morning the wedding party ran a 10k. Being that I am 1 week away from Kona I didn't think it would be wise to race it. But then we got there and I realized it was a small race and I figured well, maybe I could just "cruise" it and place. So I cruised - until the last 1/2 mile when there were 2 girls ahead of me and my inability to turn off the competitiveness kicked in. The last 1/2 mile was the only part that reminded me I did an IM 7 days ago. 4th female (ummm, it's a small race, this is not that exciting), won my AG (this ended up being exciting because I won a $60 gift certificate to a sporting goods store) and a PR: 38:36. If I ever figure out that racing rested is a good idea I might be able to kill that one again someday. 

This is us pre-race. I do believe Brian commented at one point that being hung over is not the best way to race until he realized they were serving lasagna at the finish. Steven also mentioned that at one point he thought about sprinting, but also thought he might crap himself, so opted not to. They both also PRd. 

This is the wedding party - Josh and Bethany (bride and groom) are on the far right. Now THIS is an awesome way to begin your wedding day!

Whoa . . . it's over?!

How does something you plan for all year long finish in the blink of an eye? I keep thinking I should be heading out the door to train, then realize Hey - it's off-season! I went to the pool today (mostly just to see my friends) and got out before the workout was over - just because I could!

The best part about Kona is not always the race. Sure, I love the race and it's the reason I ship my bike all the way across the ocean and spend crazy amounts of time training all year, but what I love more than the race is the fun I have with all my friends while I'm there. 

Forgetting about work and laundry and bills is something I wish we all did more often. In fact I have thought of moving to Europe just to capitalize on the summer vacation they partake of! Seriously - why do we not have siesta and take the whole month of August off here in the States?!

Tomorrow I leave for a wedding in Austin. Never been there before, so I'm sure I'll have great pictures to post from Texas! But I'll leave you with what I think is one of the most awesome shots Steven captured in Hawaii. Aloha!

Big Island Adventure

Last night we went to the awards ceremony and it rained. Actually, it POURED. This is fast Brian and I under the table trying not to get soaked. Actually, we didn't care so much about ourselves, we were trying to save our cameras, phones and award certificates. It worked well until the downpour turned into flooding and the water started seeping in under the table. We then left the comfort of "under the table" and headed for better shelter.

Today was "explore the big island" day. Wendy and LeighAnn planned the adventure and I just went along for the ride - awesome! We made it around the entire island and stopped at a million awesome beaches, swimming holes, etc. This is Steven jumping off a bridge - I took the "my back is sunburned, I don't want to smack it on the water" approach to getting out of this one.

I did however smack my back on the water several times off the tree swing that we found. Thankfully it wasn't too high off the water. It was awesome to not have any "Be careful, you don't want to get injured before Kona IM." Hawaii has got to be one of the most beautiful places on earth - I took a million pictures today and these only show a small bit of the beauty of the island.

So other than jumping off high structures and rope swings, swimming when we felt like it, checking out a volcano and taking a ton of beautiful pictures, we also ate every few hours. It was pretty much a perfect day in paradise!

Clobbering, wind and fun times: Kona Report '08

So here it is: all the nitty gritty details - first off, my friends rock - they are the best cheering crew ever!!

Entering the water I saw a big huge turtle - soooo cool. I thought it was a sign I'd have an awesome swim. Oops! So I've done 5 IMs now and never been in such a full contact clobbering match as Kona was for me yesterday. It was one of my slowest swim times ever. And the clobbering just didn't end - I was still getting whacked in the head when I got back to the pier. I lost my swim cap completely after the turn around, lost my goggles (but saved them), was sure I'd have a black eye, but thankfully don't. So 1:09 just made me laugh when I got out. Oh well, it's a small part of the race.

I felt good on the bike yesterday. I actually got my heart rate up for once and kept it there. And it was windy. Last year I thought it was windy and it wasn't - it was just because I'd never done Hawaii before. Yesterday, it was windy. And I was happy because I wasn't scared like last year. I was pushed across the road and had to lean sideways, but it was kind of an adventure. 

I got up to Hawi and saw my friends (best cheering crew ever!), threw my bottles (because I get new ones at special needs) and go to get my special needs: And no special needs bag. "#1587" I yelled this lots as if it would made my bag appear. Volunteers scrambled "sorry, it's not here." OH NO (except replace "no" with swear words). I do NOT like Gatorade Endurance, it makes my stomach feel sick. 

Plus I was really looking forward to this PBJ sandwich I'd put in the bag. I leave special needs area with nothing but a little water on my bike. I envision my entire race falling apart and then decide that won't happen and I'll make gatorade work.

Back on the bike screaming down from Hawi (didn't use the breaks the whole way down like I did last year - YEAH!!) First aid station I get a power bar and 2 bottles of gatorade. I am dumping water on my head and then toss the bottle and the power bar flies out of my hand as well. AWESOME! I think for a second about going back, but don't. Next aid station: some guy has crashed in front of it and there is an ambulance - they are handing out gatorade and water but no power bars. I start scraping the remaining power bar out of my bento box (NOTE: power bar mixed with pretzels actually tastes good!) I finally get a power bar right around the time I turn back toward town into the massive head wind. My HR will not stay up now. UGHHHHHH. I'm at mile 90 and I am thinking: I hate Ironman, I'm DONE with Ironman. This of course always goes away once I start running.

So I did some very elementary math in my head and determined I was going to be close to breaking 6 hrs on the bike - that had been my goal. After the race I found out my bike split: 6:00:01. REALLY!? How does this happen? Oh well, 23 minutes faster than last year and in a windier year, so I'm happy with this.

Out on the run - it was HOT when I started. But ice at all the aid stations helped and I felt good. But I am hungry. The type of hungry where a big pizza sounds good. So I grabbed some saltines. NOTE: when eating saltines in a race, make sure you have water to wash them down. I ate 3 and then had the feeling I had chalk in my mouth for the next mile. Also - saltines w/ GU is GOOD! It's the whole salty/sweet thing - nice combo!

Up Palani and out onto the Queen K and my stomach starts to feel sloshy. Oh joy! I take some coke - my stomach is more unhappy. I stop at the bathroom then down some TUMS. Mmmm, much better. Right around this time the clouds rolled in and it started to cool off - OH SO NICE!

Running out to the energy lab is just boring - nobody really wants to talk at this point and it's just lava to look at. I kept looking at the sun. NO SUNSET this year while running! A couple people had my same cool Alii shoes on, so I chatted with them "Hey nice shoes." "Oh thanks," then they would laugh when they realize I have the same ones. My run special needs bag did make it and I grabbed my GU - oh fun, new flavors! Back out the energy lab, stomach gets upset again - dangit! I stop at the bathroom and this time have to wait for someone. Feel much better, and back out to repass everyone that just passed me while waiting for bathroom. My marathon split of 3:31 was an IM PR for me and I accomplished my "qualify for Boston" goal.

So my other goal had been to come in around 10:45 (well, that was a 

secondary goal to trying to PR and go sub 10:35, but I figured in Kona that might be a long shot depending on the wind - so after the bike I figured that might not happen.) And I got really close once again: 10:46:03. REALLY?! 3 seconds?! haha!

It was a great race. This picture at the right kind of shows it all - I am HAPPY with all of it. I learned if your bike special needs bag isn't there it'll still work out. TUMS rock when you start to feel sick. And I really do love this sport.

Gobble, Gobble & here we go!

This turkey was in our yard this morning. At one point he came up on our deck. We also saw some Mongoose, which I am not talented enough (or fast enough) to capture pictures of.

Bike bag, special needs bag, I need new legs bags - these were all filled and quadruple checked. It is amazing to me how much time can be spent getting ready for a single event!

And I finally went and got rid of the bike. She's spending the night with all the other bikes. I told her to be nice. Some very nice local gentleman took me through transition and then asked me if I was married. 

So this is it - today I was nervous for the first time, and then I realized once again that it's JUST A RACE, and whatever happens tomorrow doesn't change who I am as a person. So now it's time to have fun! Next time I blog the 2008 season is OVER and I'm officially on vacation in Hawaii! Most excellent!

Underpants and the privilege

So it's not every day you get to run through town in your underpants. The Kona underpants run was originally started to poke fun at the Europeans who love to wander around town in their speedos. JUST their speedos, oh and the occasional fanny pack. 

What I love about this picture is the diversity in underpants. Notice the gentleman in the front right of the image: tighty whities. The lion:  boxers. Wendy and I:  boy shorts underpants. The gentleman right between us: more of G-string. And the man to the left of me: sparkly purple undies. 

Wendy and I were the only ones brave enough in our group to prance around town in our skivvies. 

After the underpants run I went for a swim (more fun fish!) and then went to check in. The man who checked me in made a profound statement. "How neat it is that we live in a time when we can focus on preparing for and racing such a special event. This is a privilege!" He's absolutely right. 

To be able to have the time to train and the ability to focus on fun events such as an ironman, this is definitely a

privilege. There are many people who physically could not do this event, or circumstances beyond their control would not allow it. 

The afternoon consisted of wandering around in the heat at the expo to try to score some free schwag and then realizing it was much more relaxing to sit under a tree.

Steven and Jason went off on a golfing excursion and I decided it was time to get my bike back into one piece again. 

Chris helped me out. I'll let you decide for yourself what happened here, but I'll say that I'm quite sure I almost peed on the bike before the race even started because I was laughing so hard. 

I also love these pictures because we are indoors and for some reason I have my helmet on. 

Safety first!

A gift arrived from Laura (Thank you!!!!) Awesome shortbread macadamia nut chocolate dipped cookies. 

Tomorrow I check my bike in, and make the final preps - and then it's fun-time . . . race day!