Slump.

OHMYGOSH I have been soooooooooooo lazy since race day. I have literally only been swimming twice in two weeks, and only ridden my bike a total of probably 10 miles. And I haven't run at all. I need to get back in the swing of things!!!

Official.

I am officially a triathlete now.

Sunday I completed the sprint distance tri at the Arrowhead 'day at the beach' Triathlon. Here's the overview:

It was early as hell (I woke up at 4:30 am...seriously, ungodly). Still dark and cold outside. We biked over from the hotel at 5:00 and got to the race site with plenty of time to set up transition and hang for a bit. Thankfully, the waves had calmed down after the storm, so the swim was manageable. Okay, my swim was really slow. Damnit, I am just a bad swimmer. I'm going to work on it. Anyway, I felt really strong about the bike portion. I kept up a pretty solid biking speed, 18 to 20 MPH, even though the course was extremely crowded (a 3 loop course with over 1000 bicyclists. insane. 5 people crashed!) My run was quite a bit slower than my average 5k (I can run 3 miles in 25 minutes. BUT, when you put that after struggling through a swim and then using all your calf muscles racing your bike, it slows down your running stride! It took me 29 minutes. Not a time I am proud of, but hey I completed a triathlon, okay? What have YOU done!?! ... just kidding.)

Anyway. The total race took me 1:28. Not the greatest time in the world, but I guess I am happy enough for my first triathlon.

I'm already signing up for another race. November 30th. 1/2 mile swim, 14 mile bike, 4.5 mile run. Time for more training!!

Pictures soon...

xo

Home Stretch.

Well, I haven't been able to train since Monday, so I'm pretty much just flying by the seat of my pants at this point. Went to the doctor this morning and she basically told me to man up, get more rest, and I should be able to race on Sunday.

My team is staying in a hotel on Saturday, which means I need to get all packed up and ready to go tomorrow. This involves a lot of careful preparation.

To Bring:

__Backpack
__Bike
__Helmet
__Wetsuit
__2 towels
__3 water bottles
__goggles
__swim cap
__body glide (to get the wetsuit on... don't ask)
__flip flops
__biking & running shoes
__socks
__race belt (to clip your number to)
__TnT top
__honoree bracelets
__watch
__sunscreen
__sunglasses
__electrolyte packets
__clean water to rinse sand off
__Clif bars
__tubes, tire, tire levers, allen wrenches, c09 cartridges
__tickets for dinner / victory party

eee I hope I'm not forgetting anything.

Okay some awesome pictures from last week's practice triathlon:



Here I am totally reppin' TnT with the wetsuit, swimcap, AND water bottle. Yeaa!


Leaving T1 to start the bike!


...and crossing the "finish line" !


Okay wish me luck on Sunday!! Or better yet, come watch me....Hermosa Pier 7:00 AM!!

Sick.

Well, I spent Sunday morning and Monday morning in the Pacific Ocean, off of Hermosa Beach. The waves were big but I was able to get a bit more comfortable out there. I met a really nice girl, Carolyn, who trained with me for the two days. She's 20, and Hermosa is her first triathlon as well. She is almost as terrified of the ocean as I am, so we either made a really good or a really bad training team.

When I woke up yesterday I was sick as a dog. There's a strain of strep throat going around my store right now, and it looks like it's caught up to me. This completely ruined my training plans for yesterday and for the rest of the week. I am seeing a doctor tomorrow and hopefully can get some antibiotics in me in time to feel better for our swim on Saturday and of course the RACE on Sunday. This is going to be a brutal weekend if I am still feeling sick.

Things just aren't going my way this week.

I think I am going to sign up for the Treasure Island tri in San Fransisco on November 11th. I originally hadn't planned on it, but the closer I get to doing Hermosa the more I want to plan for the future. I guess we'll see how this weekend goes before I make any official arrangements.

Okay, going back to bed now.

Anyone want to bring me some soup and orange juice?

Rattled.

Well, today I had my worst tri practice to date.
I completely freaked out in the ocean. Panicked. Couldn't swim past the break. It was terrible. The waves were pretty huge and the current was absolutely brutal, everyone was having trouble, but I just froze up and couldn't do it.

So, I am supposed to race next Sunday and I am completely shaken up. I am going to get in the ocean tomorrow and also Wednesday to try to overcome it and get mentally prepared for the race. I know I need to push past this, but it's probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.

Anyway. Then my chain fell off in the middle of a bike sprint and I had to get off and fix it and was super pissed off.

Sigh. Bad practices happen, right?

So, let's take a minute to reflect on where I was 10 weeks ago, just to make me feel better about this morning.

1. Running. I am told I am a "natural" runner. I don't know, I hadn't ran since hating "the mile" in high school (my average - 12 minutes) up until February when I begrudgingly raced in the "Run for your Life" 5k because Dana was sponsoring it. I did poorly, but it encouraged me to start running more regularly. I can run a solid 8 minute mile now. I feel good about that.

2. Biking. I took a couple gnarly falls off my childhood bike in grade school, one in particular where paramedics were called because my foot somehow got stuck between the pedal & frame of the bike. I swore I would never ride again. Obviously, I eventually had to get over that and picked up a bike again last year. Thankfully, riding a bicycle is well, like, riding a bicycle, so I've found it to be fairly easy to pick back up.

3. Swimming. Well, I have written a lot about swimming already.... like the fact that up until I started with TnT I didn't know how to swim! I have always had issues with swimming. As a child, I took swim lessons at the YMCA, but dropped out when the counselor threatened to drown me if I didn't stop crying (no joke!) Swimming has always frightened me. It is really quite incredible that I have progressed even this much in the last 10 weeks. I am proud of myself, even though the ocean still scares the bejesus out of me.

Picture time!



This is our practice transition area. Almost looks like the real thing, right!?


This is my bicycle. Isn't it sexy?


My teammate, Jay. He is a total character.


Kelly and I rockin' what I like to call "wetsuit couture."


Yea, I know I look hot.


Come watch me race next Sunday!! You know you want to!!!

The Ocean.

The thing about swimming in the ocean is, while it is completely terrifying while you are out there, the moment you step back onto shore it's like "holy crap. when can I do that again??" It's almost like getting tattooed or something - while it hurts like hell, it's worth it every time.

God, I sound like some sort of "extreme sports" bro. YEA, I'M INTO AGGRESSIVE INLINE BLADING. WANT SOME GATORADE?? (kidding).

Anyway. I've been swimming a lot. It's really weird to think about the fact that 2 months ago I literally did not know how to swim. I could float. I could kind of dog paddle. But ask me to put my head under water and I would have serious trouble! Now I am at the pool or 250 yards off shore, 3-4 times a week. Who would have thought?! I'm still not GOOD at it by any means, but I am starting to really enjoy it.



"Courage isn't not being afraid of something. It's being afraid of something but doing it anyway."


If you want to come watch me race, be at the Hermosa Pier on October 12th at the crack of dawn. Come cheer me on!!