Woodsy

Oh, and then there was a race

I've taken my time with this report, trying to make it more interesting.  But nothing really catastrophic or entertaining happened on race day.  I know that's good, but makes for a boring race report.  Wardrobe malfunctions, falling over, puking- all good blog material but sorry, you'll just have to suffer on through what really happened.

Swim

I showed up bright and early for at 6 am for the practice swim on Friday morning, and was the only one there.  Hmmm.  Where are all the other type-A triathletes?  The race director was there setting up the swim start and advised me to wait until a few more people showed up, which finally happened about 6:30ish.  Interesting. 

I did 2 practice swims before the race and felt a LOT better going in than I did at CDA 2 years ago.  The water was comfortable in a wetsuit, and since the swim was actually in a river instead of the ocean it was calm without chop or swell.  There was a current, noticeable only in that my "back" time was significantly shorter than my "out" in practice.  The course was a "lollipop" - deep water start, swim out, loop around twice, and come back to shore.  My only worry was missing the loop turnaround point- which was silly as I knew there would be a FEW people in front of me to follow.  In fact, my plan was to stay behind someone/anyone as much as possible for the drafting benefit.  

Mass start.  Hurry up dude, you're behind already!

I started somewhere in the middle which was new for me, usually I move to the back so not to get clobbered and swum over.  Although I did get clocked more times than I can remember, it paid off in my swim time.  Along with several 4k+ pool workouts and ocean swims in Kona!  Swimming outside made those long workouts SO much more enjoyable.  I might even go so far as to say I liked swimming.  Went to masters practice a couple times a week too, that was a lot of fun (seriously).  There were 10 people in my lane one time!

Swimmers streaming in

My goal for the swim was to PR (anything under 1:26) and I ended up with a 1:15- super excited!!!

 
Bike

The bike course was 2 loops.  I pre-rode some of the course including "Heartbreak hill" which was a doozie but not super long.  You could see the top anyhow.  But even in the granny gear it was sure to lay down some hurt on the second lap, since it's near the end.  Overall the course was pretty hilly, comparable to CDA.  Some long flat sections but a decent amount of climbing.  The weather on race day was pretty close to perfect with the exception of some wind; headwind on the way out and tailwind on the way back which is the better scenario.  After a couple of nasty windy rides on the Queen K, I was prepared for that.  Launched a bottle almost immediately after I started riding...damn, tires are probably overinflated.  Oops.  I had the bike shop pump them up and didn't really think to check the pressure other than noticing they were "full" and figured that would be fine.  Not so fine after mile upon mile of chipseal- ouch. 

Coming into town after the first loop

Overall the bike was slower than I expected, after seeing 3:08 near the end of the first loop I was a little discouraged, but stuck to the plan and was able to hold almost the same pace on the second loop.  The week after, I compared average wattage to CDA (where I biked 6 hours) and Aus was only 2 W less, so then I felt better about it.  Had a much more consistent effort this time around.  I didn't have aero-anything at this race either, unlike CDA where I was lucky enough to have a friend loan me some sweeet aero wheels and dorky helmet :)

Bike time 6:20- I had hoped for something closer to 6 hrs but without knowing the course or conditions, hard to predict.

Run

My run mileage was pretty conservative for this race, since I was coming back from injury.  The goal was really just to make it to the start line.  I started running again last October, which seems like plenty of time except that I was starting with a half mile run/walk.  I kept telling myself in training that I didn't have to run fast, I just had to keep running.  That's really what an Ironman marathon is all about!  Did a few split runs where I ran once in the morning and then again later in the afternoon.  My longest "day" was 18 miles, split 5/13.  My longest single run was 17 miles, which I did once.  Did quite a few in the 13-14 mile range.  I didn't have any injury problems, with the exception of a slight twinge during my biggest training week 3 weeks before the race.  Think I tweaked something during big ring intervals on the bike, and one knee bothered me a bit while running.  Pushed and rearranged some runs, took extra days off, and all was fine.  But it did freak me out.  Glad to know that I have a healthy sense of paranoia about such things, now!

 

Early in the run, apparently.

As for the race, I was targeting an 8:45 pace and basically hit it, although the first miles were closer to 8:30 and I fell off pace a little in the last few miles.  I walked through a couple of the last aid stations and up a ridiculously steep but short hill, but was never forced to walk due to the stomach issues I've had in past IMs.  A very good thing!  I noticed a couple times near the end that my pace was slowing- actually didn't feel like I was slowing down, it was just happening.  Eventually it got even slower due to congestion on the course (disadvantage of a 4-loop run) and getting dark.  After each loop you got a wristband to put on- your last wristband was a different color indicating you could veer off to the finish line shortly.  The hardest point in the race for me was finishing the second loop, as my legs were starting to feel fatigued and I was only half done!  My brother was race photographer extraordinaire and I saw him on every lap, though I never knew exactly where that would be.

Run time was 3:53, PR for an IM marathon.

Finished!  8 min faster than CDA and 20 min slower than IMC.  Three very different races.

 

I got to hang out in the med tent for a while, again.  I'm always really nauseous after finishing, but that's about it.  Really, REALLY sore the next few days- had forgotten about that part!  The next several days were also spent eating and walking our way through Australia, so much fun!

Rugby game- the Waratahs

Waterfront dining by the Harbor Bridge.  We also climbed the bridge as part of a tour.

Took a ferry out to Watsons Bay

Saw the Opera house inside and out.  An engineer's dream, or nightmare?

Wine country with Hello Kitty

The Blue Mountains

More silliness

Got the nerve up to take a dip in the Newcastle ccean baths on my last morning.  Holy crap it was cold!  Was a VERY short swim.

Haven't decided on the next Ironman, but it will probably be late next summer or fall.  Considering IMC again, IMAZ or Cozumel.  As for this year, I'm deciding between the Soma 1/2 or Austin 70.3 on Oct. 23rd.  Any opinions on either?

Ironman Australia, an introduction

Wow.  I realize this blog has pretty much been decommissioned but I'm still going to use it for this race report.  Maybe I'll be inspired to write more once I am settled back into reality.  Maybe a blog-worthy change will be coming up soon.  Maybe I'll change my blog picture. 

I had 8 weeks of sabbatical time to burn so what better way to spend it than training for an Ironman?  I can't think of any other way!  Wanted to escape at the rainiest/crappiest/most depressing time of year in the Pac NW.  Also wanted to use the extra time to travel internationally.  So my choices were

1.  Ironman New Zealand - Pretty but tends to be a little cool-ish as I understand it.  It is also inland, and I wanted to be on the ocean.  Not necessarily to swim in the ocean, but to look at it.

2.  Ironman China - Seriously considered this one, as it would be pretty adventurous and almost assuredly hot.  But I decided I was not adventurous enough to swim in a river in China (won't even swim in the Willamette)!  As it turns out they cancelled the swim this year, so at that time I instantly regretted my decision.  Totally should have done it.  But then they cancelled the whole thing.  That would have been kind of a let down! 

3.  Ironman Australia - Yes!  I've never been to Australia, Port Macquarie is on the ocean, and Hawaii is "on the way".

So from Hawaii I was off to the Land Down Under.  My time in Hawaii might be a separate blog post, or a pictorial essay at least.  I posted a lot on Facebook while I was there so I'm sure my FB friends got pretty sick of hearing about how wonderful it was.  Transporting a bike Down Under turned out to be more of an ordeal than I expected.  Since I had 2 different tickets on 3 different airlines, I had to claim my bike in Honolulu and again in Sydney to take it through customs, then finally in Port Mac.  That means I got to pay twice too.  Just glad it wasn't three times.   When I landed in Port Mac on Wednesday night it was raining- arrgggghhh.  This is what I was running away from!  Luckily the rain diminished each day and race day was totally clear.

 

Race kit, courtesy of Christine.  Note the band-aids are open for use!

 

Race monkey, courtesy of Chris

 

Hello Kitty came from Hawaii, in the bike box.  The wine?  From Australia of course.

 

And my brother came from LA!

New York City *or* how to vacation without training or racing.

August was been a busy month.  Work, pack, unpack.  Rinse and repeat.  Two weekends ago, Sarah and I went up to Mt Hood to volunteer at the PCT Ultramarathon.  It was inspirational to see people finish 50 MILES of running and although I can't say I've ever had the desire to run that far, I do miss trail running.  I did the 50K a few years ago though.  A 50k is easier to wrap your head around, especially if you are crazy, because it's "only" about 5 miles longer than a marathon.  If you take on a 50 miler, you run a marathon and you're just over half done at that point.  OMG. 

To continue the weekend of insanity, after staying overnight in the cabin we drove to Larch mountain for a time trial.  I could not think of any excuses as it was kind of on the way back to Portland.  An x-mile uphill time trial also known as OUCH (Oregon Uphill CHampionship).  Appropriatly named.  Since I haven't done this race before, and haven't been "training" with any intensity, I had no expectations.  No power meter, no target heart rate, and no clue how sore I would be the next day.  OUCH indeed.  I ended up doing OK though, and right behind Sarah again.  I thought it was funny that although we haven't been training together, we still finished 35 seconds apart on a 1hr 17min TT.  We both got second in our respective categories.  To round out the weekend, I went to work at 2pm and worked until 2am.  As is normal for Sunday but didn't help work with the lactic acid buildup in my legs. 

Worked Monday, Tuesday, and then was off again, this time to the airport.  Airborne just a few hours after getting off work at 2am.  I suppose I was asking for it; caught a cold somewhere between Portland and New York City.  Landed in New York, found the fro yo place (had a sore throat, you know), and crashed at the hotel for 5 hours.  I regained consciousness just in time for my brother to text me that he had landed.  Go time.

First day, Rockefeller center.  We took the NBC studio took and checked out the Top of the Rock.

Having fun with the Empire State Building.

 This would fit perfectly on my mantle!

 Bird's eye view of a running mecca, Central Park.
 

Evening was dinner at an Italian restaurant and people watching in Times Square.  And coffee of course.  Lots of coffee throughout the entire trip.

Second day got off to a really early start.  We decided to go see the Black eyed peas who were playing in Central park as part of the Good Morning America summer concert series.  Up at 5am and joined the line filing into Central Park by 6.  With Tim Horton doughnuts and coffee of course, we have our priorities- peas or no peas.  Got into the concert area at about 6:30, and the "concert" was advertised to be from 7-9.  Imma be tired of standing around by 8.  We listened to this band called Sound Check that played the same thing over and over, and the Black eyed peas came out at 8:30 to play 3 songs. 

Peas talking with the show hosts.

So when you see these concerts on TV and they seem to cut into the show part way, they're really not.  That is the whole show.  So, free was a good price!  But it was pretty cool, and kind of strange to be at a concert just after dawn.  Off to do some shopping.  A discount department store called Century 21, where I bought a leopard-print purse.  Walked up to Soho and ran into Kanye West at Jamba Juice.

Don't know what he ordered, neither Darren or I are big fans.  He definitely stood out at Jamba Juice though.


 

Pretzel from a street vendor and off to a Broadway show, Promisies Promises.  This was just an awesome show.  

The show's billboard in Times Square.

Sean Hayes was really funny, a lot of Jack-like humor if you were a fan of Will and Grace.  We got our Playbills signed after the show.

Stage door action.  Got my autograph!

Kristin Chenowyth is super tiny, but the woman can sing big. 

Third day: haircut on 5th Avenue.  I did this after the NY marathon a few years ago, it's quite the indulgence :)  Darren passed on that opportunity and went to see a matinee of Phantom since he hadn't seen it.  I proceded to get my hair nice and sweaty with a run in Central park.  I am not supposed to run on pavement yet, which I figured would be a challenge in New York City.  Luckily the NYRR website described a cinder trail around the reservoir.  I think it was about a mile, and totally perfect.  I couldn't believe my luck finding this trail; rehabbing an injury can be fun.  If not for that I would have run just anywhere.

This is what running is all about.  I love running in new places when I travel, so being able to do that here made me very happy :) :)

After that we saw a different kind of show called Next to Normal.  Completely different than the one we had seen the previous night, but very good. 

"Next to Normal" might be pushing it for us.  Why be Normal?

The next day was basically spent sleeping in and getting to the airport.  Bagels, check.  Pizza, check.  Actually we had done a lot of the touristy things last time we came to NYC a few years ago: Empire state building, Statue of Libery, WTC site, Today and Dave Letterman shows.  So this trip was a bit more relaxed.

Back to work for 3.5 days- ugh.  Unpack, grab laundry off the floor from two weekends ago and do more laundry, pack it.  Clean the bike and pack it.  Oh, and go through the *mountain* of mail that Lindsay has piled up for me on the table.  It was literally toppling over, without much room for two more weeks of mail.  This morning was the Garlic festival 10K, where I volunteered at my usual spot on death corner and saved lives.  A quick track run followed, and then it was off to the airport again, bike box and 47.9lb suitcase in tow.  I'm blogging on the plane with an Alaskan Amber; Off to Barton springs, Mellow Johnny's and Sixth Street. And per diem.  Oh, and I might learn something.

**Update- I did!

After I return from 2 weeks of play-work in the Lone Star state, I work-work for 2 days and head north to Ironman Canada for a weekend of swim, bike, run, volunteering and cheering. Hmm...I may have overextended myself for the month of August. 

**Confirmed!  I just want to sleep for the next week, after handing off the on-call pager.

A Grape Race

Settling back in after the Vineman 70.3 down in Cali last weekend.  Since I'm still run/walking and only about 2 miles at a time, this was going to be an "aquabike" event.  The race has two different transition areas which makes the logistics a bit complicated.  Seven of us had a rental house near the coast, no cell or internet but we did have Versus for tour coverage.  Went out for a "rolling" bike ride along the coast when we arrived on Thursday afternoon.  Since I wasn't concerned about tapering, I hit the hills harder than I normally would.  The week was more of a reverse taper, I didn't ride Sunday through Wednesday and then rode TWO whole days in a row Thursday and Friday.  We did a couple of swims in the river too, sans wetsuit (with swimsuit).  The water was probably 10 degrees warmer than at any open water swim I've done so far this year.  I may never do a cold water race again, it was so nice.

Friday night we went to the athlete's pasta dinner.  During the pro panel, Tyler Stewart said that she hasn't run in 7 months but was doing the whole race tomorrow.  Everyone at our table looked at me.  She's been bike racing instead.  Christine punches me in the shoulder.  And then she said although she races in the pro division, she works a full time job.  She decided years ago not to dedicate her life to the sport and trains about 8-12 hours per week.  So basically she nixed ALL my excuses.  The only one I have left is that I don't have her physiology; on that training program she busted out a course record on the bike and a 1:23 half marathon on race day.  If only! 

We had dinner at the house on race eve.  I had a nice big glass of wine that I thought was appropriate in the spirit of the race.  The finish line of the swim had an arch made of wine barrels that I thought was pretty cool.

 
Running out past the barrels of wine.

As I made my final preparations in T1, I was talking to a gal next to me doing her first tri.  Suddenly I noticed we were the only 35-39 AG women still standing at the bike racks.  I asked her where the swim start was and said uh, it might be time to head over there.  Ended up being a bit of a scramble through the crowd but made it into the water with about 3 minutes to spare.  That's plenty of warm-up time for me.  The water was warm, did I mention that?  72 degrees according to the announcer. The swim is an out-and-back on the Russian river, going against the current at first and then turning around into the current.  Generally I felt pretty good during the swim, harder on the way back just due to muscle fatigue in my shoulders and lats.  Not the "I just want to roll over on my back and float" kind of fatigue that I usually get in open water.  The strangest thing about the swim was that the water was shallow enough in places to stand up.  So you'd be swimming along and see a couple people in their caps just standing around mid-swim.  And no, I didn't PR in the swim because I ran it!  When I got out of the water I noticed there were a lot of bikes still in my transition area, which is unusual.   I haven't done a lot of half iron races but this was a PR swim and I finally cracked the top 50% of my age group.  Hooray for mid-pack results!  Next time, I want to break the 40-minute barrier- only 21 seconds to go.

The woman next to me in T2 asked "are you allergic to sunscreen"?  I said no and she proceded to spray another coat of sunscreen on my back which was much appreciated.  She said she's been burned during this race before, and probably noticed that I am one who likely needs all the sun protection she can get.  After a leisurely 6 minute transition, I was on the bike.  We had ridden part of the course on Friday so were familiar with Chalk Hill that came about mile 45 *I think*; that is to say, it wasn't really a huge hill.  But the road was pretty rough in places and kind of winding.  Other than that I was pretty oblivious to the course details, other than we rode by a lot of vineyards and wineries.  There was one short super-steep hill near the beginning and some hard turns.  The rest was pretty rolling.  I didn't pay any attention to my power and decided just to ride by feel.  I did TT the last 5 miles into town which was fun, blowing by people like I didn't have to run afterward.  Because I didn't.  Crushed the guy wearing a pink tutu and bunny ears (on his aerohelmet) as we were rolling in the final stretch to T2.  Once I got into T2 however I was a little bewildered.  What do I do?  I didn't have any gear stationed there because my plan was to roll right over to the car.  I found a volunteer near the run exit who was able to take my chip.  I stood there for a minute looking around, thinking about how my chip was going to show infinite time in T2.  Then asked her how to get out of there!  They lifted up a banner so I could roll out into the finishers area.  But there was no food out yet, so nothing for me there.  I watched Mirinda Carfrae win the women's race with a 1:16 and change half marathon- the announcer noted that her run split was only 8 seconds slower than Chris Lieto :)  Finally realizing I was stumped on how to get out of the finishers area too, not being a finisher, I asked another volunteer how to get out of THAT area.  Thinking about it later, this was my first DNF ever.  I've been DFL and DNS, but never DNF.  No wonder it felt strange.  Not bad though, considering how long I've been racing; triathlon, running and biking.  And I had a good excuse.  My bike was also a PR but again, I haven't done that many half iron races.  And you can't really compare times across different courses. I feel pretty good though considering my bike training over the past 3 months has been lacking in both intensity and volume.

Post-race refueling consisted of chips, salsa, guacamole and Corona, among other things.  My travel partners had some PR performances and one finished her very first half iron.  We started talk of training camp in Kona next spring break ;)

I can see clearly now

Summer has arrived in Portland, just in time for the 4th of July.  Since we've hit the upper 90s, it may be time to take the electric blanket off my bed.  But last time I did that, we had 6 more weeks of winter so I'm going to hold off for now. 

Last weekend I "race directed" the ORRC 4th of July 5/10k and Kid's Run for the 4th year in a row.  Somehow it went off without a hitch, even though I was also on-call for work over the weekend.  We had around 250 registered this year, which I think is a record since I've been doing the race.  Since it's a free though, many people sign up just in casethey want to run and then don't show up on race day.  Their loss :)  Thank you to my super friends and volunteers Sarah (aid station goddess for the 4th year in a row), Dave G, the Bemroses, Sue and her daughter Gabby, Jerry and Francisco, who once again graciously "volunteered" to lead the 1/2 mile kid's run.  Thought about leading it myself but I'm not up to a 1/2 mile of continuous running yet :P .   I told the kids as they toed the starting line to follow this guy in the blue shirt (Francisco).  As Francisco started to pull off to the side before the last 100m to let the kids kick it in, one little guy was stuck to him like glue looking up like...?...I'm supposed to follow you, why are you slowing down?  Ha ha.  There was crying, confusion, and finisher's prizes for those who persevered.  Just like an Ironman. 

With all the excitement last weekend, I am ready to have a real weekend down at Wineman...er, Vineman.  I've been tapering for 12 weeks, so feeling pretty rested and ready to kick ass in the aquabike.  Although I'm officially registered for the 1/2 tron triathlon, I'm forming a secret aquabike subdivision for those who currently can not run.  I think I have a shot at placing.

Summer without racing has been good so far.  Somehow, I have found other things to do.  Of course there is still some working out.  Floundering at masters swim.  Riding my bike when I feel like it.  Jogging laps at the track.  I also finished the class I took in the spring with 102%.  Maybe I put a bit too much effort into it than was necessary!  But there were many extra credit opportunities too.  Caught up with two good friends from high school that were passing through Portland.  Beth's birthday month of June, and Bobbi Jo's baby shower this weekend meant celebrations were in order.  At the end of the month I am going to New York City.  And speaking of vacations, thanks to Eileen and Charlie I have a condo in Kona for my sabbatical next March and April, and Ironman Australia on May 1st.  That is the only race on my schedule- others may or may not be added later depending on how the running goes.

Blog on

So I have been fairly busy since May 1st.  As for training, I am in serious "aquabike" training mode at the moment.  The knees are still healing after I finally went ahead with PRP injections.  There was an article in competitor magazine this month about PRP, with a title containing the words "magic bullet".  I'm not quite sure I can vouch for that yet but I am optimistic.  Because that's the only way to be!  I will probably have a second round of injections on July 1st and then start consistent running again *hopefully* at the end of August.  The PT has me working on my gait: moving toward a midfoot strike as opposed to heel strike.  My running gait is 20+ years in the making so it certainly feels weird to change things up.  But no time like the present.  The PT also said I could probably get new running shoes if I successfully change my stride.  Woohoo, no more bricks!  I've worn the same type of motion-control shoes for a long time but since I'm not wearing them much anymore, and wearing Nike frees during the day, my feet feel trapped when I put on those big-ass running shoes.

On a less optimistic note: swimming and the weather.  Less running must mean faster swimming, right?  Well, not so much.  I am still going to masters and enjoying that a lot more than swimming on my own.  But I swam the 800 and 2000 at Hagg Lake a couple weeks ago and the results were inconclusive.  The 800 because I don't believe I've swam that distance before in open water, and the 2000 because I could not feel my arms by the time I got out of the water.  Yes, I have a full wetsuit and yes, it was that cold.  I finished the 800, thinking the whole time "not doing the 2k", and got out of the water.  The cold water made me delirious enough that I decided I couldn't "wimp out" and so ON I went into the icy waters, again.  My right hand became a "claw" shortly after starting and I immediately regretted it.  But I lived to recover in my car with the heater on full blast for about 30 minutes.  Then hopped on my bike trainer on the parking lot, did a 1 hr spin and ate pizza off a BBQ grill, in the parking lot.  Hey, I am not alone in my madness!

The real reason I am writing this blog is because I do not want to study.  I have my class final this week and am lacking motivation- luckily I only need 55% to get an A in the class.  Will be glad to be done with papers and group projects, next up is biology in the fall/winter.  Starting small with Microbiology, then maybe Biochemistry if I can fit it in.

Headed out to the Blue Lake triathlon tomorrow to cheer on the masses, and happy that I don't have to work tomorrow night.  That is apparently going to be when I study since it isn't happening tonight.  My work schedule is M-F days this week, giving me the opportunity to get my butt kicked twice on the bike if so desired; PIR on Monday night and Mt Tabor on Wednesday night.  I just recently recovered from the kicking at training camp in Bend last weekend.  First workouts of any intensity on the bike in 6 weeks, not to mention a 3700m swim workout which is a LOT for me.  Now if the weather would improve, it might actually feel like race season.

Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic

Last weekend I celebrated my 36th year of existence by racing the Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic.  Because you can have cake and ice cream ANY day.  A weekend of racing in the gorge with your teammates is a lot more memorable.  Although some parts you may not want to remember!

Day 1- Road race, 40 miles.  The plan was to stay protected and work only if necessary.  I have no problem with that!  The road was more narrow than Banana Belt, with more racers (37), so there was not a lot of room to move.  Found myself near the middle to back until the road turned up the long hill where the pack strung out.  First lap, this hill was pretty uneventful.  Fast forward to the second lap.  One gal is sitting on the front basically the entire time.  I'm wondering if she knows what she's doing, but that will become evident later.  We started up the long hill a second time, and per the plan I am watching the front.  Two riders, one who I know is strong and the other who has been pulling the whole time, start forming a gap.  My teammate's race advice is in my head: if there's a break and your team is not in it, you are LOSING.  Time to work.  My HR went from 143 to 176 in those 3.5 minutes of climbing.  I manage to hold on to the front two and on the last part of the hill it was just the three of us.  Unfortunately, we still had about 7 miles to the finish at that point.  We took turns for a about a mile, or what felt like at least a mile, and when we started uphill again I popped.  A few minutes later, I saw the gal who pulled the entire lap start to motor off on her own.  WOW.  I started the long downhill stretch into the wind, and downhill is not my forte'.  Didn't look back but knew the pack was gaining.  They caught me and it became SO much easier!  I managed 4th in the sprint, so 6th for the day and 36 seconds down. 

Photo courtesy of Shellie Holk, Sorella volunteer extraordinaire.

The "Sea of blue" before stage 1.  I'm still working on my game face.  

Day 2- Circuit race, 5 laps, 30 miles.  My first mechanical in a race.  Left foot would...not...clip...in.  From the very start.  I did the pedal dance for the first couple of miles.  Toe down.  Toe up.  Wiggle sideways.  Stand up.  Haul ass back to up the pack and repeat.  No go.  The left pedal had always been a little harder to get into, but of course catastrophic failure happened the moment I started racing (it even clipped in during warm-up).  At one point I thought I had it in, and it slipped out the moment I started applying pressure to go uphill.  Not good and definitely not safe to ride in a pack.  In a stage race you have to finish each stage in order to go on to the next.  So I cruised 4.5 laps solo, my left foot sitting lightly on top of the pedal.  The sun was out and I was out on the bike.  Now the only other thing I want for my birthday is a new cleat.  And thanks to Judy and her connections out in the Dalles, I received!

 
The spectators and volunteers were very supportive.  Each of the 5 times I cruised by :) 

It really was a beautiful course, check it out.

 
"Orchard Run" circuit race.  Photos courtesy of Bob Reuter.

Day 3, stage 3- Time Trial, 10 miles.   There is really not much to say about this race.  It was cold.  I passed a few and didn't get passed, except one re-pass.  Although I took it very easy on my solo ride the day before, my performance was not stellar.  I did get to take the TT bike on it's first race ride of the year, and it's fun to ride- especially for 10 miles instead of 112. 

Day 3, stage 4- Criterium, 25 minutes.  The race I'd been dreading since I signed up for Cherry Blossom.   I've never done a crit, but luckily this is an "easy crit" (an oxymoron if there ever was one).  A rectangle with nice wide turns.  The plan was to stay near the front and stay in for 12.5 minutes- the minimum to get scored, as we were told at the start.  The stay-near-the-front part of the plan was blown within about 15 seconds in and I found myself dangling.  I have to say this race hurt.  As much as I was worried about crashing, I should have been worried about hammering at threshold for 20 minutes on tired legs.  At least in a TT, you have the option to just slow down (which I did, earlier that day).  Here, it's slow down and get dropped and eventually pulled.  Managed to stay on the second group- we were pulled at 20 minutes so didn't "get to" sprint, which didn't tear me up too much :)  SO glad to be done.  A few more thoughts on criteriums. It was fun to be part of the downtown action, with lots of people constantly yelling and encouraging you (GET UP THERE!!!).  Not sure if it's better or worse that I know what to expect next time.  My legs don't really know the word "sprint", they are better in the long haul, but with practice that could be improved.  Fast twitch baby.

AND crit photos are pretty bad-ass.  Courtesy of Tim Schallberger who took a ton of amazing shots for our team.

Sorella sister Christine and myself.  I probably should not be braking here.

 Cornering.  And again, braking.  I assure you I am also thinking "inside pedal up", though probably unnecessary given how wide the turns were.

Overall it was an awesome weekend.  My first stage race is in the books.  There is another coming up in June called the Elkhorn Classic Stage race and I'm currently on the fence.  The road races are 76 and 101 miles.  That is a LONG day if you get dropped, or even if you don't.  Also, I went ahead with PRP injections for my patellar tendinitis this week.  Biking should be OK starting next week, but I'll probably need a second round in 6-8 weeks.  Being able to run again is my priority and I'm optimistic that this will kick the healing into gear.

From Bananas to Cherries

This weekend I will be racing in the Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic, my first stage race.  My cycling team sponsors it, so the sisters will be out in force.  Definitely excited and trying not to worry about the crit.  It's just riding in circles, how hard can that be?  "Outside pedal down", that's my mantra!  The good news is that there is a time trial as well, so the triathlete in me is happy.  I have my TT bike all set and ready to go.  First time out with the race wheels this year.  Oh, and the race hasn't started yet and I've already won something- the wheel lottery for stage 2 :)  Feelin' lucky! 

I did 2 of the 3 Banana belt races and felt pretty good; they went a lot better than my first race of the year.   I didn't really keep on top of the race reports for Banana, but I learned a lot.  Like that I prefer uphill finishes.  And the dam(n) hill is really deserving of it's name in a race.  For those not familiar with Hagg Lake, there is a long hill right next to the dam: the damn hill.  I'll be back, hill.  For one of many Hagg Lake rides coming up this spring and summer.

On the topic of races, here's my current schedule:

May- Hagg Lake Open Water Swim (my favorite :P)
June- Pacific Crest Oly
June/July- Mt Tabor bike races
July- Vineman 70.3
July- Cascade Lakes Ultramarathon relay with the "Sick Sisters"*
May 1st 2011- Ironman Australia!
Aug 2011- Ironman Canada

*Depending on how my running is going by the end of July

I may be walking all or part of the triathlons over the next few months, depending on how patellar tendinitis healing is progressing.  I am up to running 4-5 miles on the treadmill/track every other day or so.  Except this week I'll take a big 0 since running is bad for cycling, especially cycling races.  BAD I tell you.

I've been icing post-run, stretching and strengthening per PT, taping and scraping per the chiro (2x per week now- PITA), boosting my iron as I'm still low, getting more sleep (i.e. healing time), and rolling like there's no tomorrow. 

Exhibit A:
Note the "stuffing" falling out of the end.   It may be time for a new roller.

I can't find my TP ball at the moment but it's starting to get flat.  Maybe I can land a sponsorship with Trigger Point.  So there's all this, and maybe more to come after my dr appt next Tues.

Ironman Australia 2011 is part of my master plan for sabbatical next spring.  Ask me about it and I'll make you hate me.  March/April in Hawaii, followed by 2 weeks in Australia for the race and recovery.  Anyone who would like to join me for part of either one of these trips is more than welcome.  My intent is not to train for two months by myself.  You can swim/bike/run, or not.  You can sleep/eat/drink.  So don't hate me, join me.
 

 

A Real Vacation

I'm back from Tucson and the numbers are in- 26 hours of training in 9 days (about 25 hours in the full seven days, excluding travel days).  Most of my training weeks so far this year have fallen into the 11-14 hour range so this was quite a push!  We didn't have any single epic 7-8 hour BT days as I'd done for Ironman training, but between 3.5-4 hours most days.  Every day.  We had a house in Tucson where we started almost all of the riding and running, which made things convenient.  There were only 3 of us plus the coach so we had a lot of space too, and personalized attention!  And a pool in the backyard to ice down the legs after workouts.  All we had to do was swim, bike, run, eat and sleep.  Seriously, that's it.  No cooking even.  There was wine and dessert.  There's all this, and then there's family-time vacations.   Sometimes the two overlap (as I'm hoping to do with my sabbatical next year).  All the best ways to spend vacation time, for me. 

The highlight for me was the ride up Mt Lemmon- 6000ft of climbing in 26 miles.  Some pics courtesy of our coach:

Happy before the start.  We're all "Pac NorthWesterners" and haven't seen this much sun in months! 

We struggled with the wind during the first part, but it's still warm.

 
And now...snow!

8000 ft and more snow!

8600 ft and DONE!   In more ways than one.  Time for a ride to the bottom and In-N-Out :)

Thankfully we didn't have any killer swim sessions, although some were more difficult than others since they were in the evening after a bike and/or run.  But in a nice outdoor pool.  I was able to do some running, still doing the run/walk routine although I'm up to 9 minutes of running at a time for a total of 50 minutes.   I think I'll stay at 40-50 minutes until I'm actually in some kind of running shape- ugh.  Still hard.

I swam in the morning before leaving Tucson on Thursday, then was easily coerced into driving out to the Dalles for a team ride on Friday.  TOTALLY worth it.

This picture tells a thousand words.  Not a cloud in the sky, and a view of Mt Hood.

My longest ride of the year so far, 70 miles.  Including "Rowena Crest" and "7 Mile Hill".  Doesn't quite sound like an "easy" ride does it?

After the 7-Mile descent.  We take our rest stops very seriously!  

Today I was planning to meet Ashley and A.J. for a ride at 9:15a and totally overslept!  I slept 11.5 hours :P  Maybe the body is trying to tell me something.  Rest day it is.
 
  

 

February Fitness

Well, we are nearing the end of February Fitness.  If I make it to the pool each of the next three days, I will have achieved my goal of swimming 20 days in February.  All but 3 of those will have been at masters.  I may publish my yardage here or maybe not.  I guess you all know I'm a slow swimmer so it won't be a real shocker.  I <3 fins and paddles- I can get in more yards with them than with out :)  I will definitely post a picture of any February Fitness swag I get for reaching my goal.

March will bring more vertical kicking, or as the coach calls it "fat guy's revenge".  LOVE vertical kicking.  I got better at it though.  My head was under water when I started in December, and I was able keep it above water by the end of January.  This makes breathing much easier!  On that note, one of many bad habits I'm trying to break is to stop kicking when I breathe.  How dumb is that?  Makes no sense, but I know I do it.  And now for the most part, I'm kicking continuously through my stoke.  Just keep kicking.

Also, March calls for a new swimsuit.

  
I loved my white/pink polka dot suit but learned not to wear a mostly white swimsuit in Hagg Lake :(  It's now more brown/pink.

The original plan for tonight's trainer workout was a 20 min TT, but I got a slightly easier rendition since I'm racing BB on Sunday.  Was it easier though?  I'm not sure.  4 minute threshold intervals, as many as I could do.  I did 3.  Max was noted as 5- whew, glad I didn't get close to max'ing out!  I think those were more painful than my VO2 intervals.  The last 10-30 second of those hurt, but I was up to about a minute of "just hanging on" tonight. 

Sublimity

I decided to jump back into road racing with Sublime Sublimity as my first race of 2010 today.  This race has *ahem* a lot of hills, and I like hilly courses for road racing.  Seem to break up the field a bit.  Wanted to "challenge" myself and do this instead of the Jack Frost time trial that I've done for the past few years.  And finally, because what doesn't kill you makes you stronger! 

Goals

1.  Ride near the front.  In all the past races I've done (Tabor excluded) I've kind of hung onto the back due to lack of confidence in the pack.

2.  Not crash, as much as I can help it.  See goal #1.

2.  Not get dropped on a downhill :)

Last year I did Mt Tabor once, but besides that one I haven't done a road race since 2008.  So I was a little nervous before this one to say the least.  Really nervous.  The field was 22 women, a good size.  The race went really well until Basil Hill; a long, grinding b*#%@ of a climb.  I had been doing well as far as riding close to the front (see goal 1) but wasn't close enough.  By the time we crested the hill, I was on the wrong side of a gap.  Dang it.  Big downhill, and then we're on a series of rolling downhills.  The pack isn't that far ahead, and working with two other girls I was sure that we would catch them.  Almost there.  Nope.  OK, we're getting there.  Uh, not yet.  Dammit!  So frustrating.  This continued until we turned another corner and started heading uphill again.   I thought about totally burying myself to catch them, as they still weren't too far ahead, but was worried about burning myself out with another lap to go.  Might catch them and not be able to hang on anyhow.  In hindsight, I should have gone for it.  Next time I will.  Because you just never know.  We turned the corner into a hellacious headwind, and the opportunity was gone.

Rode by myself into the wind for a while- really demoralizing.  On the last lap, four of us regrouped and worked together and that made the remainder of the ride much more enjoyable, as much as that was possible.  One of the gals had "House of Pain" on the back of her kit.  So we all had a reminder of where we were, when riding behind her.  I think this course needs more hills.  Oh good, the finish is ~200m on an 18% (or so I heard) grade.  WTF?  Whose idea was THAT?  There wasn't much sprinting happening, as much as trying to stay upright and turn the pedals.  I could feel my front wheel lifting off the ground.  And then it was finally over.  Last year the cat 4s did 3 laps, and I was thanking GOD that they cut it back to 2 this year.  House of Pain girl got off her bike, fell down onto the road and started crying.   Hmm.   

Goals accomplished!  I actually felt pretty comfortable and feel like I got the first-race jitters out of the way.  Excited for "Banana Belt" next weekend and hoping it doesn't get snowed out like last year.

Sunny day

Sweeping the clouds away...

I spent last weekend in Phoenix enjoying the sun, it was a nice little escape.  Fit in a couple rides on the rental bike, swims in an outdoor pool, glasses of wine (maybe more than a couple!) all with good company!  Even waited 'til afternoon for my Saturday ride so I could go without leg and arm warmers.  Just to say that I did.  Started to get anxious to run outside again, but must have continue to have patience.  Still bustin' out my 2 min run/1 min walk intervals on the 'mill.  At least 10 of these are not as draining as they once were.  I think my next run with have longer running blocks- still waiting to hear from the PT but I'm guessing 4 minutes.  4 minutes, 4 minutes...do I hear 5? 

Hopefully I will be running outside by March 10th, the day I leave for camp in Tucson.  I'm irrationally excited about this camp and getting my butt kicked for 10 days in a row.  I've done shorter camps and love the simplicity of eating, working out, eating, foam/trigger point rolling, sleeping, eating and various combinations of the above EVERY single day.  Reminiscent of Cycle Oregon when the only thing I had to worry about was getting from point A to point B in time for dinner.  That's what I like to call "vacation".  When I first did that ride I was a novice cyclist and didn't have a whole lot of time to spare.  On my second Cycle Oregon years later, I made it in time for the beer garden AND dinner.  Now we're really talking vacation.

All this talk of sun has me thinking about sabbatical next year.  I have a plan forming in my mind that involves escaping the rain around January/February.

Fly away and train in warm weather, ~8 weeks.
Race
China, ~1-2 weeks.

Some details need to be filled in. 

Sabbatical is earned every 7 years at my company: eight weeks of paid time off.  You can add vacation time to make it longer, thus increasing your desire to never ever EVER go back to work.  The point of sabbatical is to refresh yourself and come back with renewed drive and motivation.  This post-sabbatical "glow" lasts approximately one week, until reality sets in. 

I took my first sabbatical in the spring.  Went to Italy with my mom and drove to New Mexico throwing in a Colorado bike ride (Iron Horse) and a run (Bolder Boulder) along the way.  I spent time with friends in Albuquerque, my former stomping grounds.  I also visited family in Montana and Minnesota, and rode around Crater Lake on my last weekend before returning to work.  It was awesome.  This time I'm going to make people come to me, but I don't think it will be a hard sell. 

Easter's almost here

Dang, the Cadbury mini-eggs are already out.  I don't know what it is about these eggs, but they're like crack to me.  Never been a big fan of M&Ms, and these are roughly the same concept, so I'm not sure why I like them so much.

Part of the problem is that these mini-eggs are also offered in mini-bags, as an alternative to the mega- bag.  I can't buy Halloween, Christmas or Valentines day candy in mega-bags because I will eat the whole thing (no self-control).  This is the same reason my Clif/Luna bars in the freezer and my peanut butter is in the fridge.  Yeah, it only takes 20 seconds in the microwave to thaw but that's 20 seconds to think about it: to eat or not to eat, and how much to eat (which is my issue with peanut butter).  I'm not saying it always works, especially during IM training, but sometimes.

But there isn't the potential for too much damage with a mini-bag.  Except if you buy a mini-bag every day for 30 days, or...how many days until Easter?  Maybe my "February Fitness Challenge" should include number of mini-eggs consumed < number of yards swum.  OK, too easy ;)  How about eggs < number of days swum.  I'm shooting for 20 as my goal.  That doesn't sound like a lot considering there are 28 days in February, but masters is 6x per week so that's only 24 available practices, and I'm out of town for 3 of them next week.  So I'm pretty much going every day I'm here.  Will update on that later.

Fish Tales

Going for this

 
Feeling more like this right now  
  
But my masters group is called the Barracudas, not the Goldfish. 

Week two- so far, so good.  I committed to showing up for THPRD masters swim practice 4 times a week, and survived week 1.  My arms still hadn't recovered from week 1 when I went to practice on Monday morning (after 2 days rest)!  Also during the first week, I was so excited to swim that I showed up 30 minutes early for the 11:30 am practice and 15 minutes early for the 5:15 am practice.  Or maybe it's been so long since I attended regularly, that I forgot what time the practices actually start.  Well it's week 2, and I've got that down.  Dolphin kick?  Don't have that down.  Usually when I show up for the Tues/Thurs IM practice I am allowed to do freestyle, since I have enough trouble with that stroke as is.  No point in adding other bad strokes to the mix at this point.  But last Thursday he asked me to dolphin kick.  Legs together, use your abs...what?  My abs?  I tried it and didn't even move forward.  Yeah, I'm going to substitute flutter until I figure that one out.  I did OK with the breaststroke kick though.  Flexed feet= good.

The workouts have been hard, especially when there are other people in my lane making it harder to cheat.  I try to avoid getting lapped by my lane mates.  At last Friday's practice I had two gals in my lane that are a little faster than me, but not much.  So that was good- just enough to push me.  The coach told me this week that I'm already getting faster.  But maybe he was just trying to encourage me, as I clutched the edge of the pool gasping for breath.  He also said that I need a nickname since AH-LAH-NAH takes too long to yell.  Can't wait for that one.  Also he informed us all that we'll soon be kicking off the "February Fitness Challenge".  Again, can't wait.  I feel pretty challenged already, really.

Swimming goals for 2010!

1.  Masters practice 4x per week through April.  With the exception of one week each in February, March, and April that I won't make it due to being out of town.
2.  Learn how to flip turn.  This may be You Tube material.
3.  A half-ironman swim time that starts with 3.  Any number starting with 3 will do.
4.  Move up from lane 1 at masters :P  This may be a year-long project.

Swim events
1.  Geckos Hagg Lake open water swim on May 23rd
2.  Some swim meets with masters, TBD

The best part of all this?   I will be buying more swim suits.  Got one in the mail right now.  And a new wetsuit since the one I have is about 4 years old now and pretty hole-y.  Maybe it's all about the wetsuit.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Sorella team ride from OMSI

Testing out the Garmin Connect -> Typepad transfer

Garmin Connect - Sorella team ride from OMSI.

Sweet ride today.  Again, no rain!  Not feeling back to 100% yet but much better than yesterday!

A pint low

Attempted a team ride this morning, and failed. Starting out uphill into the wind certainly didn't help! My legs were like bricks. Luckily, another gal on the ride was falling behind and also had to be back early, so I saved myself a couple hours of suffering by turning around with her. At least it didn't rain! Since I haven't done a leg workout in a few days, I'm sure the problem was that I donated blood yesterday afternoon. Turns out I needed it today. Despite drinking a lot yesterday, and by that I mean water not wine, I was still dehydrated this morning. Well, I did have *one* glass of wine too. But next time I'll schedule my bloodletting more wisely.

 

Spotted on today's ride.  I think I've been down this road before...

A Knee Story

Hello 2010!  And hello blog that I am hoping to revive this year.  I miss the creative outlet.  Some of my posts may be short, uninteresting, and/or triathlon-related but that's the only way I will keep it rolling.  I have some goals and stuff for the New Year, some races, lots of training. But rather than blow my blog wad right away, I'll start out with A Knee Story.

I can't remember exactly when the pain started, but sometime after I resumed training post IMCDA.  6 months ago.  After taking some time off running, I started Graston therapy and limited my running to ~20 min at a time on soft surfaces.  As of November I was still having issues, so on the recommendation of my dr I went in for ultrasound imaging of my patellar tendons.  Honestly I didn't expect this to show anything. They would tell me to rub some dirt on it and go home.  Probably RICE, which I had already been doing.  Oh and my favorite, "quit running" (doc it hurts when I do this...).  Instead he called me an "interesting case".  Never good to be interesting.

 
What is wrong with this picture?  I'm not a doctor, but I see something! 

This is a lengthwise shot of my right knee.  On the bottom far left we have my kneecap.  The bright white striated parts of the tendon are normal but the slightly darker area in the middle is not.  The "rock" in the middle is a "rock", or calcium deposit.  That's what first caught my attention but I'm told this isn't necessarily a problem.  The darker area is degenerative, so that is actually the "messed-up" tissue for lack of a better description.  There could be some partial tearing.  Sometimes the rock goes away, sometimes it doesn't but either way it's fine.  Some people just live with a pebble in their tendons and it's cool.  Seems odd, but OK.  A pet rock.

The colored area is blood flow.  In the live version of this shot, it was pulsing.  Pretty cool.  I was joking with someone that it looked like doppler radar until I read in the doctor's report  "doppler imaging".  Who knew?!  All in all, it was good to see what was going on.  Now I know that the diagnosis is correct, and I know that it's not all in my head!  And the "messed-up" area even corresponds to where it actually hurts- what a coincidence.

After reviewing the images, my doctor's recommendation was prolotherapy.  This would involve injections of a dextrose solution to irritate the area and thus stimulate healing.  Due to holidays and other technical difficulties, a month passed between the time I got the images and when I was actually able to talk to the naturopath regarding injections.  At that point I had been off running for 5 weeks and also seeing a PT, so I'm continuing down that path first before poking with a needle.  If my tendon is actually healing now, it's going to be pissed off if I poke it with a needle.

The PT introduced me to my new best friend, the foam roller.  Actually I knew this guy before, but we had to get re-acquainted.  Yesterday after 6 weeks off running, I did 2 minutes running/ 2 minutes walking 3 times on the treadmill!  But that's all I get for now.  More stretching and foam rolling and strengthening, through next week.

A Knee Story.  I'm thankful that the radiologist's office staff didn't laugh at me for asking for my ultrasound images.  They transfer them all to DVD for you, but I'm thinking this is usually done for baby images :) 

Barrels of fun

 
Barrels at Ken Wright Cellars, photo courtesy of Joe.

One of the great Northwest holiday traditions is to spend Thanksgiving weekend in Wine Country.  And the weekend before Thanksgiving if you can swing it.  Now that I'm back on my 3-and-4 day weekend schedule, I felt I could almost justify these extra days spent wine tasting.  I'm still not quite sure if I like wine.  Must keep tasting.  I think it's an aquired taste.  And I'm willing to try anything once, twice...twelve times.

 
Artsy picture by Joe.  These are not all my glasses.

 
Hesitant to taste from the barrel, but I'll give it a try.  Four tries- that's it.

I purchased one bottle of wine from Ayers, my favorite stop on the weekend-before-Thanksgiving excursion.  I won't bother reviewing the other wineries to offer my insightful comments such as, "these wines were good". A lot of "OK, nothing special".  Or the ever popular "poured by cute guy".  After a few years of experience, there are some common themes I can taste.  Red fruit for example, but don't ask what kind.  I might even use "earthy" on occassion.  Lisa noticed one wine described as containing "forest floor".  We agreed that forest floor is really tasty! 

Even if I'm using the sip-and-dump approach, I am bascially totally worthless after a day of winery-hopping.  Full of bread and cheese.  So on the second day of Thanksgiving weekend, this is the third day total for those who are counting, I decided to limit myself to two wineries with Maggie and Lisa.  We went to taste Owen Roe wines at the Horseradish in Carlton (Yum!  another popular adjective) and then to Carlton WInemaker's Studio where we hit the mother lode with eight winemakers and 30 different wines to taste.  So much for two quick stops!

 
Displaying our haul: a case of wine and complimentary wine glasses.
 

Back to the grind

More or less.  Fall in Portland has been fairly mild so far, which makes the transition from summer a bit easier.  Finally finding time to blog!  I was basically away from work and the computer for about 2 1/2 weeks in October.  It was much needed.  Though I have missed blogging, there is just too much else to do with my time.

After Grand Columbian I took 3 weeks off running and 2 1/2 weeks off workouts completely.  Nice in a way, but not totally sure it did me much good.  After basically going 3 years without injury, I came back into action with patellar tendonitis in both knees.  Actually this has been an issue since my break after Ironman Coeur d'Alene.  It was my right achilles that hurt on the bike first, then the tendonitis in both knees during running.  I'm not sure what it was about my time off or coming back into workouts that caused these issues, but I'll definitely be thinking about that during future "recovery" periods.  I spent most of that time on vacation in Montana, being lazy and reading books.  That is one thing I miss when my training hours get longer- I don't have time to read.  During this time I made it through 3 books, my 4th is in progress but going much slower due to actually having to work.  Stupid work.  Five days a week no less!  I'm training on day shift for a few weeks but will go back to my shift 8 schedule after Thanksgiving.

Returned from Montana and unpacked/repacked for Hawaii!  A few of my triathlon friends and I took a trip to the Big Island to train and watch the World Championships.  The training was hot.  Oh my was it hot.  My reintoduction to training was a 2 hour ride out-and-back up a long-ass hill followed a 20 minute run that about killed me.  I was so excited to run again; that lasted about 5 minutes and then I was sucking wind with my heart rate climbing to astronomical levels.  That reminds me, we took a drive up Mauna Kea to the observatory one night.  Had to wait out the rain but it was pretty cool to see some stars and planets through their telescopes. 

Swimming in the ocean was unexpectedly fun!  We went to the pier where the Ironman begins since they had the buoys out AND a floating coffee bar.  Ha!  We didn't get there until about 8:45 and they were closing at 9:00.  Sue asked me if I could swim that far in 15 minutes, for coffee.  Heck yeah!  Unfortunately they were out of coffee by the time we got there and handing out GU2O instead.  Probably a better choice and hey, I was there to see the mythical coffee bar in the sea that I've read about.  I took a swim lesson in the endless pool from Eric Neilsen, Aquatic Edge.  He and Karlyn were in Portland for a clinic years ago so I knew their technique was similar to the one my coach teaches.  The lesson was fun- I had been assured by Charlie and Eileen that I wouldn't end up pinned to the back wall of the pool.  They adjust the flow based on your speed, or lack of.  The coolest thing was that improvements I made were immediately apparent because I would start bumping into the front.  There are also mirrors on the front and bottom, which made it easy to see that I was fishtailing like crazy.  He also took a video so I could see this action from the top.  Yikes!  No wonder swimming takes so much effort.  By widening my arm entry I was able to get reduce the wiggle quite a bit.  Anyway, definitely worth the time and money for this lesson.

Here are some more pictures from the trip.  We rode the Ironman course, not all at once.  Got some snorkeling and coffee tasting in as well.

Click here to view these pictures larger

Two weeks after the Hawaii trip, I took off for the mountain.  This was the sixth annual Escape, aka Stamping Retreat, aka Girl's Weekend on Mt Hood!

 
Our mountain hideaway

 
Hard at work!  Not me, but some other escapees.

 
Check out our backdrop!  It was absolutely gorgeous up there.

There may have been some alcohol consumption as well.  As Lisa told me every time I screwed up a card, "drink more, care less".  It worked!

There is already talk of reviving our spring retreat, hope that works out.  I may have my Christmas cards done by then! 

And now, I have to decide on some races for next year.  I'm really not ready to decide this early!  I am really just planning to get back to pain-free running and go from there.  I think it's coming around based on my run this morning, limited to 20 minutes at a time which is just fine with me right now.  But there are a couple races opening for registration this weekend that I was considering: the Vancouver Lake 1/2 marathon in January and Vineman 70.3 in July. 

My only definites for next year:
Cascade Lakes Relay in late July as part of the Sick Sisters ultra team :) 
Ironman Arizona in November

Looking for a spring triathlon since Ralph's is full.  Recommendations?

 
 

The Grand Finale

Last weekend Bob, Karon, Coach and I made the trek to Eastern Washington for the Grand Columbian triathlon.  Since my running has been slow to come back around since Ironman Coeur d'Alene, and I mean really really slow, I decided not to do the half ironman race that I'd registered for.  Instead, I did this silly event called the "Aquabike" where I get to swim just as far, bike 56 miles and then not run at all.  I don't get it- why leave out the best part?!  More on that later.

Since I had done this race two years ago, I was familiar with the location.  The swim is flat :o) and yes, flat is a good for swimming.  In fact that is where I PR'd my swim two years ago and haven't beat it since.  The bike is hilly, again :o).  Two years ago the course was changed due to fires and smoke in the area but this year I would get to experience the original course in it's 3800 ft of climbing glory.  We camped at the race site thanks to Karon and Bob and their connection with the Geckos Tri club.  Since the race didn't start until 9:00 we could sleep in and mosey on down to transition at the last minute, which I took full advantage of.  Unfortunately, this is when I had a wardrobe malfunction and the race start became a little more stressful than it should have been.  The zipper on my tri suit broke- seriously?!  After failed attempts to repair I *zipped* back down to the campsite for some safety pins and my bike jersey. So with that and my wetsuit I was reassured that I would not be flashing everyone on the course.  Whew!  Jumping into the water at the last minute, I found myself pink in a sea of bright yellow as the aquabikers were starting with the men.  Here comes another pink cap swimming back to me; Ashley asked if we were starting with the boys and I noticed she was race number 1- sweet!  As she told me later, there is a lot of pressure (and harassment) that goes along with being numero uno.

The swim felt just normal, though I haven't done a wetsuit swim in a while.  The crowd spread out pretty quickly and I got into a rhythm.  Believe I managed to swim pretty straight this time.  The water is really great- calm and perfect temperature.  As we're exiting the water, a guy running next to me out toward transition says "thanks for pulling me in from that last buoy!". I said "sure" but kind of laughing to myself as that's something I've never heard before!  I was hoping for a PR time but since I didn't have my watch on, I didn't know.  Later I found out that I PR'd by about a minute.  Good enough!

Then I'm off on the bike after a somewhat leisurely transition, later confirmed by my T1 time.  The course starts out with a climb up Almira grade and I kind of like it.  The legs are aching but it's a good chance to spin and get warmed up.  I see Mark as I round the corner for the out-and-back at about 12 miles in.  A.J., Ashley...missed Bob somehow.  I really like this course- it's not fast but the hills keep you occupied although they are not a lot to look at.  I passed A.J. and knew that something was wrong there, later find out he's been sick. Since the last 10 miles is pretty much all downhill, with about 15 to go I decide to punch it a bit.  Ah, the luxury of knowing you don't have to run 13 miles afterward!  I continue to hit it after the downhill into T1 and...we are done!  That was a pretty good feeling!  Ashley is still in the transition area so we just hang out there for a bit, pitying the triathletes that are heading out to run.  Thought I would be disappointed that I couldn't go out and catch more people but as it turns out I was not disappointed in the slightest.  I was just looking forward to margaritas and mexican food.  After a dip in the lake and some coffee I claimed my 3rd place finisher's plaque and beer mug.   Ashley was second.  Yay for podium finishes, regardless of how many people are in the race!  I will tell you there was more than 3.

Right now I can not run nearly as fast as I want to and my legs have convinced me that it's time to take a break.  My VO2 test results 2 weeks ago also confirmed this.  So in am in the midst of a 3 week break without running, 2.5 weeks off workouts altogether.  I've made it a week and a half and now I'm in Montana for 9 days.  My running shoes didn't accidentally find my way into my suitcase , so it looks like I'll make it my prescribed 3 weeks.  I took 3 months off running a few years ago due to plantar fasciitis, but never this much time off workouts, period.  My to do list:

1.  Reading.  I'm almost through book #2 on my list.
2.  Packing and unpacking for MT and then packing for Hawaii.
3.  Retail therapy.  Need a new tri suit at least!
4.  Sign up for a bike maintenance class.
5.  Sleeping around 9 hours a night.
6.  Daily ice/heat and torture with the TP roller and ball.
6.  Eating normal amounts of food.  I'm not hungry less than 2 hours after every meal, it's crazy!
7.  Picking out Christmas cards to make on the upcoming stamping retreat.
8 . Worked a bit longer last week to finish some things before my extended vacation.  I'm not working on vacation though.

As you can see I'm quite busy, but the nice fall weather is making the sedentary life difficult.  I might have to go for a walk!

Chillin'

Sadly, the summer of beer is quickly drawing to a close.  We had our first fall weather preview this weekend and I really didn't care for it too much.

Here are my Top Ten Signs that Summer is over...

1.  The pumpkin spice latte is back.  When the eggnog latte comes back, it's really all over.

2.  Our 6th annual Friendiversary came and went.  Unfortunately, we could not celebrate together this year due to travel.  However, we did celebrate one of our own getting married; Bobbi Jo and Brian threw a big party for us at Cooper Spur.  "Montana chic" indeed.  We rode the train (c'mon ride it), rode bikes, danced, ate cheese and drank in the hot tub.  GOOD TIMES. 

 
Awesome view

 
Sarah and I at the reception before it dipped below freezing!  This is also a sign that summer may be over soon.

Turns out the traditional 6th Friendiversary gift is pie.

3.  Bootie-licious cycling attire complete with wool socks, rain jacket and fenders.  Rain bikes come off the garage ceiling- yes I said rain bikes.  If you don't live in the Northwest, you may not understand.

4.  Going to work in the dark, coming home in the dark.  Blah.  When I'm on shift I manage to get some daylight for a few hours before going in at 2pm, but Woodsy Owl is soon going to join the day shift for 6 WEEKS.  Hello 4:30am alarm for masters swim.  So not looking forward to this.

5.  The Scoggins Valley triathlon happened last Saturday.  Don't let the lovely picture of purple wildflowers fool you; after an early morning downpour the roads were wet and nasty.  But it didn't actually rain on us during the race so can't complain too much.  My race was mediocre, about the same as every race since IMCDA.  My legs still hurt most of the time.  Feeling slow and unprepared for my second and last A-race (supposedly) of the season, the Grand Columbian half-iron.  Problem is I did this race 2 years ago, so coming back to post a slower time after two seasons of long-course training is not something I am excited about.  So I'm still contemplating this one.

6.  Bobcat Nation unites!  

A disappointing sign of fall was the Bobcats getting crushed in their season opener on Saturday.  No worries, they just need some time to warm-up.  Should be on fire by the time they come here to play Portland State on Nov 7th. 

7.  Our Ironmen and women are in recovery mode.  Made what has become an annual trip to Penticton for IMC and enjoyed the view from the sidelines.  The conditions were warmer than last year and smoky to boot, but Chris persevered to finish strong!  Or so we were told an hour and a half after the fact- oops.  Sorry :( .  We did see Sue and Tim finish- hooray! 

8.  Cross season is beginning, and I'm making excuses for not doing it.  My work schedule did nicely last year since I was working on Sundays.  Of course, the blog-ability of 'cross is unmatched.  'Tis utterly ridiculous.  The only race I'm "seriously" considering at this point is the Halloween race in Astoria.

9.  You are making plans to escape to drier climes.  First stop will be Grand Coulee for the half iron in two weeks.  Next will be Montana at the end of September.  OK, that may not be warmer but it should not be raining.  Maybe just snowing.  Then there's Kona in October.  As a spectator instead of a competitor.  Yeah!!  Also I've also decided to do Ironman Arizona in 2010 instead of Ironman Canada.  Still trying to escape the IM rain curse, I'm 0/2 so far.  This also justifies a winter training trip to Arizona and a fall training trip to New Mexico since the race is in November. See how that works? :o)

10.  The Summer of Beer evolves into the Fall of Wine.

The Summer of Beer

Just saw Chris off on her seven hour training ride for IMC.  Can't say that I was too disappointed to ride a whopping hour and fifteen minutes myself!  I will say that BT day is a lot more pleasant here in August than in May/June.  A little warm perhaps, but better than the crap we rode in for Coeur d'Alene.  I'm all about the late season Ironman now.  We even swam out at Hagg Lake this morning sans wetsuit- the water was warmer than the air.

As far as training goes, it's been hard to get back into it without the giant Kona carrot looming.  It's still there, but almost too far in the distance to see.  I am going to Kona this year anyhow; that trip will be more about lounging by the pool than racing or training.  And a heck of a lot more fun!  Though I am bringing my bike of course.  I will also be cheering on my teammate Sue who will be qualifying at Canada in a few weeks.  That's right, there is no try.  Do or do not.

I did a sprint triathlon out at Hagg Lake, my first sprint tri since the Black Diamond triathlon in 2005.  It didn't suck.  The pain is so short-lived.  Tomorrow I am doing an Olympic tri, my first in two years.  More of a training race, with the goal of negative-splitting the run.  Uh-huh.  My running has been slow and painful lately, trying to do intervals that are clearly beyond my ability at this point.  Of course the warmer temperatures have not helped either but I am kind of getting used to it, though there's no "getting used to" 105 degrees as we had earlier this week.  I've also been having Graston on my right achilles and calf once per week (*%$*#!).  Finally this week the dr said it "feels a lot better", obviously from his own perspective!  But honestly it has been feeling better during workouts so now I have 2 weeks before my next visit.  Then I ran 7 miles on Leif Wednesday and made my knee angry for some reason.  It swelled up and everything (wth?) but I think it was just due to the camber of the road.  Who knows, that has never been a problem before.  Seems to be OK now.

Other fun- we've had two bachelorette celebrations for Bobbi Jo.  I think she should postpone the wedding so we can continue to party like it's 1999!   A big group of us did Cycle Oregon Weekend.  Last weekend was the waterfront brewfest, this Wednesday Beth hooked us up with tickets to a Beavers baseball game.  All of these activities revolve around the "beer" theme.

Next weekend I take off for Grandma's house in MInnesota, where the roads are long and flat and perfect for run intervals!  I will need to pack running shoes in my "Going to Grandma's" suitcase- ha.  Then it's wedding festivities the weekend of the 15th at Mt Hood, and IMC volunteer and sign-up on the 30th.  Hopefully I will be blogging about these events but summer is short and more time must be spent outside.

Floating Holiday

All of the holidays in my group at Intel are "floating", meaning you have the option to work that day and take a different day off. Often these are the best days to come to work and get stuff done, since there are fewer people around. In addition, if you work on shift (different than M-F 7:00-4:00), you get all the holidays regardless of whether it is a work day for you or not. So basically today, I am getting another day off AND not working. Some things about my job are sweet. The on call pager, not so much. I have it this weekend.

So I am playing with my new iPhone and l must say it is ALL THAT. Just to test my Typepad mobile blogging capabilities, I'm uploading some random pics of my loaner '09 Audi. Discreet, with the lettering on both front doors. It has a fancy non-key that you push in to start the car. And a button for the parking brake. Fascinating, no? OK- I promise some more interesting blog pics later this weekend.

Oh, my car is just at the shop today for scheduled maintenance. That's not very exciting either.

IMCDA Race Report, part 4

Off and running!  Considering how poorly the second half of the bike went my legs felt pretty good.  I've experienced this phenomena before, it's called "thank God we are doing something different"!  I was cruising along at the pace coach had recommended until I talked him down 10-15/sec per mile.  I knew this but figured since my race was less-than-stellar thus far I had nothing to lose.  Suspected my legs would give up before anything else. 

I'm not sure if going with that pace was the right decision or not; 10-15 seconds per mile may have delayed the stomach upset that occurred at mile 10 but I think it would have happened eventually anyhow.  In hindsight, I'm wondering if that is just how I'm going to feel in an Ironman marathon and should I just HTFU and keep running.  On a hurl scale of 1-10 I was probably about a 6-7, i.e. not in imminent danger of hurling.  Of course that's easy to say now.  I walked through the aid station at mile 10 and took pretzels and coke.  That seemed to help and I ran a couple more miles, then became nauseous again.  More pretzels and coke, probably too much in the stomach at this point.  Now some more running, then walking.  Here's another armchair quarterback observation: I probably could have increased the run-to-walk ratio in the second half but mentally I was pretty much defeated.  In the end I came in under 4 hours for the marathon and with a little more perseverance I probably could have managed a 3:50 or better.  So this is another lesson learned- don't give up.  Around mile 17 I suddenly got ravenously hungry despite all the pretzels and coke and had more pretzels, coke and a cookie.  No way I was touching gel or anything resembling that- my nutrition plan was officially out the window.  Then I saw coach walking up ahead and stopped to walk with him for some real-time coaching advice, something to the effect of "lay off the cookies and finish this thing".  WIth him I probably walked about 4 minutes or so, and that was enough stomach settling to run out-and-back to the turnaround, past mile 20.  Held on reasonably well running with Johan until mile 23, then more tummy disagreement.  

The IMCDA finish is awesome, much more exciting than IMC.  The last ~0.5 mile is a gradual downhill through downtown with people lined up on both sides and standing in the rain at this point, mind you.  Although it started raining about halfway through the marathon, I was fairly comfortable temperature wise.  I would have been more comfortable RUNNING the second half and generating more heat but that's the way it goes.

   
I'm now 2/2 on finishing Ironman in the rain.  Next time- IM Arizona.

 
So excited to have a real finishers photo this time!  

  
Last year's finisher's shot at IMC. 

Tomorrow, post-mortem with coach.  Hoping to learn something.

Food log

Until I can finish my race report, thought I would throw together this food log to make sure I'm not missing anything.

Day of race (it's important to get calories in during the post-race window)
Pizza  < 1 hour after finishing
Latte'  < 1 hour after finishing (thanks Tom and Sarah!)
Beer  < 4 hours after finishing.  With more pizza.

Next day
Cookies- ate one during the race too.  Wait for next blog.
Ice cream - we made stop at DQ on the way home from CDA :)

Week after
Chips- just finished the bag.
Krispy Kreme doughnuts (2)- but since they were eaten right after masters swim practice, they don't really count.
Beer (1) - obviously been slacking on my alcohol intake, that will have to be remedied this weekend.  I have yet to consume my two favorite M's: margaritas and mojitos.  I <3 M&Ms. 

That reminds me, chocolate is obviously missing here too.  Also, today I was craving a BIG cinnamon roll.  I've still got some boxes to check and luckily, I'll be working out again soon!  Can't add too much mass to that a$$.