Race Report!

I got up at 5 this morning and drove down to Quarry Lakes in Fremont so that I could do the Mermaid Sprint Triathlon. This is the same race that I did for my first triathlon last year, so it was exciting to see what has changed since then!

My times:
1/4 mile Swim: 10:04 (last year 13:38)
11 mile Bike: 36:38 (41:07)
2.5 mile Run: 34:34 (38:31)
Total: 1:27:55 (1:39:03)

More than 11 minutes faster! That makes me really excited, anyway.

I got a pretty good kick to the chest at the beginning of the swim. I don't care if people want to breaststroke as long as they stay to the sides/back of the pack, but swimming in a huge tangle is difficult enough when it's freestyle and there are no explosive kicks involved! I managed not to suck up any water, though, so it was more of an annoyance than anything.

The bike was awesome. I maintained 16.4 mph the whole time, which is not amazing considering it's a relatively flat course, but there are a lot of turns and one overpass that isn't so bad until you realize that it's a looped course and you have to cross it 3 times in each direction!

The run... always the run is difficult. At this point, it has to be psychological. I know I can run 2.5 miles in 30 minutes. I do it all the time. But I walked a little, which slowed me down considerably.

But it didn't slow me down too much! Much to my own shock and amazement, I placed 3rd among the Athena group 29 and younger (Athenas are women over 150 lbs--you can opt into this group instead of the regular age groups, which are in increments of 5 years. Athena isn't necessarily less competitive, but it's usually a smaller field).

I really had a great day, and now I'm going to do a bunch of cooking and some laundry so I'm ready for the week ahead...

Morgan Hill Sprint Triathlon Race Report

Hidey-Ho Blogging Neighbors!

So yesterday I raced. It was an exciting day, and a really hard day--some of those things combined.

It actually started on Saturday with packet pickup, then hanging out with Melissa the rest of the day. She was the best sister-in-law anyone could ask for, as she made dinner, soothed my nerves with good conversation and a Veronica Mars marathon, and even let me have the bed so that Jemma wouldn't be trying to roust the intruder from the air mattress at all hours of the night. I was really nervous about the heat, but by 9 we had eaten a light dinner and drank enough water to ensure many midnight bathroom trips, if not a perfectly hydrated race the next day.

We were up bright and early and arrived at the course by 5:30 a.m. I futzed around with my stuff for a while and was just settling in to chatting with the other Mermaids (some of whom were even earlier than we were and saved us a great spot in transition!) when they announced that everyone would have to leave transition and be race-ready when the first wave started. Our wave was the last of 12, so I had mentally planned to be lounging and pondering putting on my wetsuit for at least another 20 minutes! But of course we'd been there for hours by then, so I pulled on my wetsuit and headed down to warm up in the water and take photos until our wave started. By the time our wave started, I had scoped out that there was very little competition in the Athena category and was feeling pretty good in the water.

The swim was LONG but actually quite enjoyable! The longest open water swim I'd done previous was only 400 meters, and this was about 3 times that (3/4 mi). But I just concentrated on sighting the next buoy and didn't get too off-course. While I was definitely in the back of the pack for my wave, I did pass at least one person from the wave ahead of me. I told myself I was slower than everyone else because my wave was full of relay racers (including Melissa, who totally killed her personal goal time!) and therefore better-than-average swimmers.

Knowing that I was not the last one out of the water made the next leg all the more confusing. I headed out on the bike, nearly taking out Chris "Macca" McCormick (Molly would have been so upset!) as he turned right in front of me into the chute to finish his race. Don't worry though, he won. I headed out on the bike and pep talked myself into a nice 12-15 mph pace on the flats, climbing the small hills steadily and racing downhill as fast as I dared, given that most of the downhills ended in sharp turns. I ate my moons and didn't freak out too much when my favorite water bottle bounced right off the bike, despite the fact that I had opted for a cage inside my frame and not a back-mounted cage to avoid bounce-outs. I got to the nasty hill at mile 11 and felt decent. My goal was to stop once. I made it about half way, stopped and recovered, then headed up some more.

That's when things got weird. A motorcycle cop rode up behind me, and I was flustered and decided to stop and catch my breath again. He asked if I was okay, and I said yes, and he said something about me being last out. I couldn't believe it, and said that was impossible. He said "you will be soon, there's one lady coming up the hill right now." Sure enough, another woman gritted her way past us, swearing her way up the hill. I tried to get back on, but I was distracted. It didn't help that when I tried to go back down to a flatter part of the hill to get a little momentum, there was a full-size police car in the way. I walked the last hundred or so feet to the top of the hill, where I stood wheezing for a full minute or more. Note: I don't have asthma. I do, however, have panic attacks. I wanted to cry and yell at the cops to go away. Instead, I did some yogic breathing, thanked the awesome people who were cheering for me at the top of the hill, accepted a full bottle of water from a non-racing biker who was stopped at the top and offered when he saw I was out, and got back on the damn bike. I managed to pull it together and when the motorcycle officer who followed me for the last 5 miles joked about throwing me a rope to get us back faster, I did not swear at him. I gritted my teeth, smiled, and said "No thanks, I think that would get me DQ'd."

At transition Melissa was great--she could tell I was upset but she just yelled (cheerfully!) to get my shoes on and spritzed me with more sunscreen. They were announcing over the loudspeakers, "The last cyclist has come into transition! Look out for number 808, our last racer headed out on the run!" Oh, great, thanks. Just what I needed. I mean, I love the spotlight--I'll play just about anything for attention and laughs--but I felt more like they were saying "thank god, that slowpoke is finally getting somewhere" than cheering me on. It didn't help that I could see them breaking down the bike course behind me.

I started out jogging, but by then it was almost 10 a.m. and it was really hot. My breathing went ragged and wheezy again, and I walked most of the first 2 miles. I saw my friends heading in and they all yelled encouragement. Paige gave me the best advice of the day, which was "I'm running two cones and walking one, and it's working! Find a strategy!" But there was also a new motorcycle cop following me. When I let out an exasperated "are you going to follow me the whole run?!" he gave a kind but misguided reply of "yep, I'm your guardian angel!" I was distraught, and I could feel tears (a little hotter than the sweat, but otherwise indistinguishable) rolling down as I thought, "This is a stupid waste of hydration. Stop crying and run." Every time I started to run though, it reminded me that I needed to pee and my stomach was churning in a scary, might have an accident kind of way. Mercifully, the cop leapfrogged ahead of me and then pulled over for a few minutes at a time, so he wasn't directly behind me the whole way, but there was no way I could relieve myself roadside with the cop following me.

Finally, as I passed the second water table at mile 2, I was bored with feeling sorry for myself and the stomach churning had passed. I looked at my watch and decided to set a new goal. I thought I could maybe make it in by 11 if I started following Paige's advice. Once I turned around, I saw a blue blob up a head that seemed to be getting closer. I ran one cone and walked one, throwing in an extra cone-length of running when I could. As I passed a guy who looked more miserably hot than I was, the cop called out to me "I can't follow you anymore! Good job!" Along the way back I started to feel stronger, and I passed two more hot, tired guys. I spied an older woman (I think she was in her 70s) up ahead as I reached the last half-mile and decided to pass her before the finish. She didn't let up--I'm pretty sure she ran the entire 5 miles--but my legs were a lot fresher, or at least younger, and I passed her as we crossed the parking area and headed toward the finishing chute. Melissa was out on the road to run me in, and I sprinted as best I could across the finish at 11:03 a.m. I was not last, and as stupid and petty as it sounds, that was all that mattered at that moment.

As it turns out, I took third in the Athena division (in a field of three, but I get prizes regardless!) and had okay times except for the run:

• 3/4 mi Swim and T1 0:38:38 (stupid broken sensors!)
• 16 mi Bike 1:15:15
• T2 0:03:02
• 5 mi Run 1:12:50
• Total 3:09:45

And Melissa managed to get a good picture of me racking my bike in T2, despite my foul mood:

After waiting around for awards and collecting our gear, Melissa and I hit her place for showers, then quelled the gnawing hunger with Sonoma Chicken Coop (mmm, rotisserie chicken and grilled artichoke!) and Baskin Robbins. I dragged myself the rest of the way home and veged out while sipping ice water, but didn't end up napping. I guess the hydration and sunscreen strategy worked well, because normally I'd be zonked after 3+ hours laying around in the sun, much less doing relatively intense exercise.

I learned a lot about myself and about racing this weekend. I definitely need to work on letting it be about my own race and not how I'm doing versus others, especially since in the end I wasn't nearly the slowest overall--it's just that I was in the last wave. I also need to trust my training and push harder. While I did push on the bike, I think I could have gone faster in the swim and I definitely could have run more. Hell, I'm not even sore today. But don't tell Coach Heidi that. :P

Food and exercise log

I am starting a detailed log for my trainer. Because I'm a little lazy, and because I'm sure everyone wants to know my life to the smallest detail, I'm posting it here for you, too! Possibly informative and/or entertaining commentary is in italics.

Saturday 5/9:

• Breakfast: organic frosted shredded wheat with 1% milk, water
• Workout #1: ~500 m swimming at open water clinic--swimming felt good and I think I understand better what sighting means. I need to work mentally on being able to do the distance without counting laps and knowing exactly how far I've gone/how much farther to go, but I know I can do the distance.
• Snack: Tootsie pop, peanut butter & honey on whole wheat, big bottle of water, small bottle of G2
• Workout #2: 90 min bike at Uvas course--M and I rode at moderate exertion, so I could get to know the course. We took a few breaks to adjust shoes, etc., then ate some Luna Moons before the big hill. We stopped twice on the hill to catch our breath but did not walk. My goal in the race is to make it up with one or no breaks--I started way too fast this time. I'm feeling better about next week now that I've at least done that once. My legs are going to be sore tomorrow because with the new bike fitting I'm using different muscles (more glutes, less quads, different knee muscles because of the cleat adjustments), but I felt like I had more power and stamina than before so I think it's a good fit!
• Snack during bike: Luna moons, water
• Lunch: In N Out cheeseburger, 1/2 order fries, 1/2 chocolate shake, more water, more G2
• Dinner: 2 fajita-size (small) pepper jack and avocado quesadillas, roasted asparagus with peppercorn vinaigrette, 1 glass white wine, sliced strawberries & cream
  

Sunday 5/10:

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 veggie sausage patties, sliced strawberries (no cream), water
• Lunch: 1 slice whole wheat bread with mayo, provolone, and salami, water
• Snack: banana, chips & salsa
• Dinner: cheeseburger w/ guacamole, fries, 1/3 oreo shake (Fuddrucker's for Mother's Day, no veggies in sight unless you count pickles and lettuce for the burgers)
• Workout: rest day--played on Wii Fit for a little while but not enough to really count.

Monday 5/11:

• Breakfast: steel cut oats made with soy milk, maple syrup, and cranberries; Odwalla Superfood, water
• Snack: hot cocoa (a substitute for the morning coffee ritual since I gave up caffeine almost a year ago), more water
• Lunch: chicken makhani over basmati rice, yellow dal, farmer's paneer, naan, chutney, mango lassi, and water. Buffet for a friend's birthday--I probably still overdid it but not as bad as usual because I didn't want to be uncomfortable for my run.
• Snack: sugar cookies and hot cocoa, more water. I need to leave the free work cookies alone--they're not that good.
• Workout: 50 min running outside--about 4 miles, felt pretty good, actually. I get very nervous and pessimistic about running. I'm working on enjoying it and letting go of the anxiety. I promise not to say "I hate running" until at least after the race on Sunday. I promise not to say "I can't run" anymore at all, because that is demonstrably false.
• Dinner: turkey & provolone on whole wheat with mayo, apple, water
  

Tuesday 5/12 (planned):

• Pre-swim: yogurt, water
• Workout: Swim 1800
• Breakfast: steel cut oatmeal (same as Monday--it's my fave and I make it 10 servings at a time in the crock pot), hot cocoa, water
• Lunch: turkey & provolone on whole wheat with mayo, banana, water
• Snack: apple w/ peanut butter
• Dinner: teriyaki chicken breast with pineapple over brown rice, broccoli, glass of white wine

T-minus 6 days until race day!

In which the blogger questions her sanity

My first triathlon of the year is in 12 days, and I have hit a wall. Not physically, but mentally. I have all these workouts from Coach Heidi, and I'm letting life get in the way, then beating myself up about it.

This weekend I missed 2 runs and a bike because I went to Yosemite and it rained all weekend. Wait, stop, amend that. This weekend I chose not to run on Friday morning because I was tired and had work to do. I chose not to run on Saturday because I didn't want to leave my friends (I did take a ~3 mile hike). I chose to nap instead of running on Sunday because I was sleepy and, yes, hung over. I chose not to do the bike workout I missed over the weekend on Monday because I am afraid of riding on the road by myself in the rain.

I didn't get my workouts in and, even if I'd stayed home, I had enough work that I probably wouldn't have done all three. Bleh.

Today I did this Friday's swim workout (1350) instead of today's (2050) because I got to the pool with barely enough time to do 2000 yards, then got stuck swimming circles with one guy doing sidestroke and a woman who would swim 10 yards, then deadfloat, then walk the rest of the way to the end of the pool. I finally got to switch lanes to a faster group when I had 700 yards under my belt and only 15 minutes till the pool closed for the night, so I made the executive decision to just do the 1350 and come to the pool in the early morning on Friday, when it won't be so crowded.

Tell me this will all be okay, please?

btw, Yosemite was gorgeous in the rain. Bridalveil's path was completely covered with water, but we went up anyway (yay water resistant boots and thick socks!). We also hiked up to the bridge below Vernal falls, which was mostly dry but the trail was closed because of ice and too much water beyond the bridge! So it wasn't a good weekend for hiking, but every fall we knew to look for and lots we couldn't name were running, all over the park. I'm not sad I went, even if I'm upset about the interruption in my training.

Big Sur 5k 2009

A story in pictures.

Warming up with the children of a photographer involves more posing than stretching:


At the starting line. Smile, Jack!


Was I leaping for joy or wincing in pain? I don't even remember.


We run for the view:


Coming across the finish, where C beat me in and was waiting with the camera:

Lessons learned for next time:

• Wake up 30 min earlier so you don't have to pee 5 min into the race
• Don't try out a session with a personal trainer the day before a run, and if you do, flat out refuse to do that second set of lunges. My quads are killing me!
  
• Wear shorts that don't slide down and create a belly overhang. I swear that doesn't exist except in those shorts. Well, at least my other shorts hide it better.

We had a great time!

News Flash

I am WHITE. Not just caucasian, or fair-skinned, or a little bit honky. Full on Northern European, never meant to see the light of day white.

One would think I would be aware of this. And most of the time, I am. I don't inflict my bare midsection on anyone but my spouse, lest someone be blinded. I own many lightweight long-sleeve shirts for days when I would like to go sleeveless but I will be outdoors for more than, say, 10 minutes. I own no fewer than 6 different kinds of sunscreen.

And yet, every spring, my incurable whiteness escapes me in the form of small mistakes in the application of SPF 1,000,000 and UV-blocking clothing. There are chinks in my armor, if you will. And that, dear readers, leads only to misery and stripey red patterns across the neglected body part. Let's survey the damage:

There is a 1-inch stripe across each thigh where my shorts rode up after sunscreen application. I have matching crescent-moons on my shoulder blades and my chest where my jersey pulled down. This reminds me that I usually put on sunscreen before putting on my clothes, and again after. Yes, I have to slather up nekkid, plus put on more once I get where I'm going.

I also think I burned my scalp. This is interesting because I was wearing a helmet for most of my time outside today.

My face, there's nothing more to do. I'm not interested in adopting the (probably very smart from a skincare perspective) face-covering customs of desert-dwelling women in the Middle-East and North Africa. So it's just sort of pink all summer long.

The rest of me (or at least the parts that were exposed to the sun) is a pretty shade of pink, which hopefully will fade soon lest my father see it and give me a lecture on how some kid in Australia sunburned his whole face off.

I guess I should stop whining, though. I rode my bike 20 miles today, including one big-ass hill, and the worst injury I have is stripey legs. :)

Mermaid 10k Race Report!

I am fried! But happy.

This morning was COLD and WINDY. Yes, that requires shouting. But I was out there at 7:30 a.m. to meet M and the Smofit crew, plus MK, the Team Mermaid folks, and the other 900-odd women who were planning to run, walk, wog, or otherwise make their way through the 5k, 10k, and half-marathon courses. We prayed it would not rain during the race, and for me that was mercifully true. The half-marathoners were not so lucky.

So MK and I set out to hit 80 minutes or fewer, since we managed the practice run at 85. I thought going in that it would either be a breeze, because I'd be running so fast to keep my toes from falling off, or it would be miserable and slow. It ended up somewhere in the middle--my toes finally defrosted as we passed the 2-mile marker, but I can't say it was a fun race as these things go. What was fun was all the company we had out there! Most of them are people I've met through M, but have now become my friends. It was great to cheer as Heather, Molly, Chris, and Justine blew by me on their way in, as I was nearing the turnaround. Once MK and I hit the turnaround, we got to cheer for M--she was right on our heels!

MK is really hitting her groove these days and honestly is much faster than I am, but she insisted on keeping our 8 min/2 min interval and waiting for me to catch up on the walking intervals. Once we got to the 5k turnaround--3/4 through our race--I insisted she should go as fast as was comfortable and finish strong. She had a great last mile and a half and finished at 74:32. I came in not too long after, at 78:07, which means we both hit our time goal! M also blew hers out of the water, by quite a large margin. Yay all of us!

I thought I was going to Sonoma for a much-deserved wine tasting adventure, but last night my friend E, an old buddy from my camp counselor days, called and said he was in town for one day only. A graciously offered to postpone the drinking trip, and so C and I met E and his girlfriend to wander around North Beach and catch up. Hopefully all the walking (from Washington park to St. Mary's Park in Chinatown and back) stretched out my legs well enough that I won't be hurting tomorrow.

Want pictures? Go see Molly's race report and Facebook.

You may notice that I updated my list of races--it's an ambitious schedule, but it should keep me on-track all summer. I haven't signed up for anything past UVAS, just because circumstances can change so quickly, but I hope to complete them all.

Happy Sunday! I'm going to collapse now. :P

Happy Day!

This morning I was up bright and early and headed to Shoreline for my long run so I could see the course we're going to run next weekend. M, MK, and some awesome Smofit buddies all did the course, though we all went different speeds since we're at different stages in training and have different goals. MK and I left the parking lot with my watch set for 8 min run/2 min walk intervals and the goal to run for 80 minutes and hopefully cover at least the 5.5 miles that we were scheduled to run today.

Here's Shoreline (it was cloudy today):


We started out strong and when my watch beeped for 40 minutes, MK pointed out that we were just short of the turnaround for the 10k! So we kept going, and made it all the way back at 84:30!!

Our friends were waiting for us in the parking lot so we stretched and then went to Tied House Brewery for lunch. I had the steak taco salad, which is MUCH better than most taco salads because it has tri tip, avocado, and lovely fried flour tortilla triangles instead of that soggy bowl that most places have. Yum!

Another minor miracle: my new bike is ready! I'll pick it up tomorrow and blog about it then!

This is not a swimming blog

But this is another swimming post! (If you want to read a swimming blog, go read I'd Rather Be Swimming.)

Tonight the heater in the pool was out, which means the water was a somewhat chilly 71 degrees when I hopped in and started. I did 2100 yards in under an hour, including a set of 6 x 200 free on the 6:30, which I'll have to tell Swimplan was too easy--I kept coming in at 4:15 and having another 2:15 to wait around, which normally would be lovely but was mostly just cold.

The lifeguard was amused by my jumping up and down while waiting for my watch to beep for 6:30, so I started talking to him and found out he does sprint triathlons. I'll have to remember him and talk more, because by the time I got out the guards had changed places and, anyway, I was focused on taking the shortest way to the hot showers.

Tomorrow I run 3 miles--we did 2 this morning because we missed Tuesday. This weekend is the last long run before the race!

I bought a bike!

This weekend ended up great, though the ride was a little bumpy.

Saturday I did my loop around Lake Merced with practically no problems--one running interval in the middle was interrupted because my foot was falling asleep, but after a little bit of walking and a pep talk to myself, I ran the rest of the intervals and finished the 4.5 miles in just barely under an hour.

Sunday I went to ride bikes with M and my father-in-law (her dad). He just got a bike for the first time in many years, but he loves riding so we were excited to get him back into it. Unfortunately, I'm not very coordinated with my clipless pedals (still) and I tipped over. Normally, no biggie, right? Wait though--I managed to break my seat! Far beyond repair, in fact. So my mother-in-law (M's mom) very graciously played SAG wagon and picked me up, taking me to the bike shop where I wanted to buy a new bike anyway.

Once I was there, I learned that the bike I've been drooling over was sold--sad, but to be expected when it's a closeout at a great price. Instead, I got this year's base model Specialized Roubaix--a full-carbon frame with Shimano 105 derailleurs and a Gossamer crankset. In short, a really nice bike. I had to order it in my size, so I won't actually have it for another week or two. I can't wait!

Running Scared

Today I am supposed to run 5 miles, and I'm scared. I've never run that far before, ever. I think I'm going to head out to Lake Merced--it's a 4.5 mile loop, and I'm familiar with the course form biking it (to think a year ago, that was a tough bike workout!) and walking with M. If I do a little extra at the end I'm going to call that 5 miles because the last two weekends I've missed my long runs--it was so rainy, and I hate driving to work to use the treadmill there on the weekends. So I'll go out with my watch set to beep at 5 minutes and 2 minutes, run my intervals, and hope for the best. It's a beautiful day out, so even if I end up walking a lot it should be enjoyable at least.

Last time I went to the doctor she was concerned about my weight. To wit, it has not really changed from the all-time high I hit a few months ago. In October I lost about 10 lbs, but they reappeared over the holidays. So she suggested that rather than count Weight Watchers points, which I have been doing, I should try calorie counting instead. I signed up for the Daily Plate and tracked this week, and it's okay so far. Amazingly (to me), I've actually been undereating on my "good" days. Obviously on days when I binge on bagels, doughnuts, or (and?) cookies, that's a different story. I now have to weigh myself and recalculate my calorie allotment every day. At any rate, I lost a pound over the last three days. One down, 27 to go till my doctor is happy. I am pretty much happy now, but I'd be even happier if more of my clothes fit.

I want my California tax refund to come so I can buy this:
That is all.

swim success!

I have a bit of catching up to do, as I had a blog-worthy weekend and it's a new month, but let's start with the swimming!

This was the workout for today:

Duration 45-60 mins Distance 2000yd Pool length 25yd

Warm up
•	8 x 25yd Any Stroke (even pace), rest 0:10 / 25yd
Build up (repeat 4 times)
•	1 x 50yd Front Scull and Kick, rest 0:15 / 50yd
•	1 x 50yd Freestyle Push & Glide, rest 0:15 / 50yd
Core
•	12 x 50yd Freestyle Swim, target time 01:30 / 50yd, rest 0:15 / 50yd
•	4 x 50yd Freestyle Kick with kickboard, rest 0:15 / 50yd
•	6 x 50yd Freestyle Swim, target time 01:30 / 50yd, rest 0:15 / 50yd
•	2 x 50yd Freestyle Kick with kickboard, rest 0:15 / 50yd
Warm down
•	2 x 100yd Easy Any Stroke, rest 0:20 / 100yd

I finished in 50 minutes--not too bad, I guess. I did all the 50 frees on 1 minute (plus 15 seconds rest) instead of 1:30! I have never timed my swimming before except to note the total time, so it's neat to find out that I go faster than the plan required. That means I have to get a tougher workout for next week, right?

No rude swimmers this week--had the lane to myself for a long time, then had 2 different people split the lane with me for short periods. I may be spoiled from when I was a lifeguard and could have the whole olympic pool to myself, but I can certainly handle splitting. As long as there aren't 3+ swimmers--I despise swimming circles. I know, I have to get over that. I will.

Swimming fail

So I finally tried to implement the swimming workout that I got from Swimplan.com forever ago. This is what I was supposed to do:

Duration 45-60 mins Distance 1600yd Pool length 25yd

Warm up
•	2 x 25yd Freestyle Easy, rest 0:10 / 25yd
•	2 x 25yd Backstroke Easy, rest 0:10 / 25yd
•	2 x 25yd Freestyle Easy, rest 0:10 / 25yd
•	2 x 25yd Breaststroke Easy, rest 0:10 / 25yd
Build up (repeat 4 times)
•	1 x 25yd Streamline Kicking, rest 0:10 / 25yd
•	1 x 25yd Freestyle Push & Glide, rest 0:10 / 25yd
Core
•	8 x 25yd Freestyle Swim, rest 0:10 / 25yd
•	4 x 100yd Freestyle (25yd Easy, 25yd Effort), rest 0:30 / 100yd
•	4 x 50yd Freestyle Swim, rest 0:10 / 50yd
•	8 x 25yd Freestyle Swim, rest 0:05 / 25yd
Warm down
•	2 x 100yd Easy Any Stroke, rest 0:20 / 100yd

Unfortunately, I didn't exactly finish all that. I swear I tried! I studied my workout before I hopped in the pool. I had it in a plastic sleeve so I could drip on it when I checked my progress. My warm up was stellar and the build up was easy. But I somehow missed that I should have repeated the "build up"4 times. No biggie, right? I'll fix it next time.

I got into the core of the workout and was having fun with the 4 x 100 free, thinking about checking what was next, when I realized my workout sheet had disappeared! I couldn't figure out what had happened--had it fallen in the pool and floated away? Had someone decided they should use it and walked off with it? Had a gust of wind taken it into the grass? I never did find the damn thing. I guessed that after the 100s I should do some long distance, since I had no memory of the actual workout, so I set off to do 400 at a moderate pace. No problem, right? I still get the distance even if I'm missing my drills.

Only then the lifeguard interrupted me at 175 yards to inform me that I had company in my lane. Not just one person, but three people who neglected to alert me to their presence. There I was, merrily swimming in one half of the lane in case someone arrived, and they were swimming circles and apparently on a collision path with me when the lifeguard noticed (thanks for doing a good job, lifeguard!).

The new swimmers were slow and discourteous. That's a lot coming from me, because I'm slow and not that well-versed in pool etiquette. That means they were even slower and ruder than I am, whether intentionally or not. I heaved a sigh--no swim plan, suddenly crowded lane, errant arms and legs threatening my well-being. I did another 225 slow breaststroke to cool down and then gave up. That means I did 1250 yards (in about 40 min? next time I need my watch) instead of 1600, which really annoys me.

I do like the Swimplan workouts though--I will print out another and hope it doesn't up and disappear next time.

My lunch

Butternut squash soup with creme fraiche and cayenne

run report

Checking in... post hacking death running on Tuesday was not fun. It was okay, but MK and I decided that 2 miles was enough even though there were 3 miles on the schedule. We've settled into a comfortable 5 min run/2 min walk pace, though, which is great.

Wednesday I did not exercise. Sorry Hal Higdon! I didn't make it up in time to swim in the morning, and then the dentist made my head feel like it had been jackhammered so there was no evening workout. I'll work out tomorrow--either a swim or a good hour on the bike, I promise!

Tonight MK and I did 3 miles to make up for the missing mile on Tuesday. We're going to try to run the whole 2 miler next week, but the longer runs will have to be okay at the interval pace. I think by the race we could probably push the interval to 8/2 or even 8/1 but we'll worry about that as we go along. For now, we're both pretty happy to have found a comfortable pace--I'm stubbornly running despite my non-running nature and she's been out of the game for a while.

Before the headache took away my will to live last night I did manage to acquire a lightly used bike trainer from Craigslist at a steep discount. This weekend the spare room/C's closet/yoga room/future nursery (that's all one room with many purposes) will be converted into the yoga and bike training room!

Rainy day, again

Rain, rain, take a break
Come again to fill the lake
But for now, take a hike
'Cause I would like to ride my bike!

I am looking forward to going to work tomorrow after a full week of convalescence. Wonders never cease! The cough syrup with codeine is a miracle drug, seriously.

Sadly, I gave C the hacking death so he had to miss his sister's family birthday celebration brunch in Santa Cruz yesterday. I made a yummy egg scramble with chorizo and her mom made buttermilk pancakes. Then we hung out with her friend H for a little bit, ate some cake, and headed downtown to the Spokesman to talk bikes--M's getting one with her bday and Christmas loot, and I'm thinking about it too. After getting our ears talked off (in a good way!) and learning a lot about bike shopping, we headed back for a friendly family game of cribbage before braving the rainy drive back over Highway 17.

I know we desperately need the rain, especially if M and I want to swim in the Uvas Reservoir in May, but it's been 2 weeks of rain and hacking death, and I still haven't really tried out my new pedals! I'm hoping to bike sometime this week, at least, so I'm not a complete mess if I want to try out new bikes with my own pedals.

Tomorrow I try to run 3 miles with my other friend M--wish me luck!

My Valentine

My Valentine works at a patisserie, and he learned to pipe my name in frosting!


That is my very own personalized cookie, decorated by my artistic, caring, wonderful husband C.


















And he brought me a raspberry chocolate cake too!

Shopaholic

I just got an email saying my new purse is en route. Preview:

(I did not pay what Zappos is charging, for the faint of heart and light of wallet)

So excited!

The Hacking Death

I has it.

Fatigued and sore on Monday? Check.
Feverish and congested on Tuesday? Check.
Mostly dead on Wednesday? Check.
Coughing up a lung on Thursday? Check.

High on inhaler + cough syrup with codeine on Friday? Double check!

Why don't I fall asleep? I really tried, but just managed to snooze for about 20 minutes before waking with an itch to clean (to be fair, my roommate came home from school and said "it smells like sickness in here." And she was right.). Picking up the living room accomplished, I have moved on to trolling the internet for something interesting. Facebook? Nothing new. Message boards? Always quiet on a Friday. Hulu? Already tried to sleep through The Office, 30 Rock, My Name is Earl, and several episodes of CSI: Wherever they are today.

I'm going to lie down again, but please, someone make something fun happen soon!

Tilapi-yum!

I made baked tilapia with papaya-mango salsa and avocado for dinner, to which I added steamed green beans tossed in a hot orange-garlic sauce. I'm pretty pleased with myself. Now I'm enjoying a very small glass of Bodega Bay Portworks white port.

Dentist appointments really freak me out, but I made it through 3 fillings with little problem today, thanks to my new dentist at Atherton Dental. She's not cheap, but she's worth it.

Not much else to report today--planning to hit up the Tae Bo again because the dentist cut into my planned yoga class. After that, good night!

Fits and Starts

We have done very little of what we planned to do today. But it has been a great day anyway!

C woke up early after 4 straight days of opening at the bakery, so when I rolled out of bed around 9 he had already been awake for hours and was ready to Do Stuff! He made a yummy scramble (eggs, potatoes, and cheddar) that I paired with fruit and we made plans to take a bike ride and then hit up the movie theater to see Coraline, after which I was going to make tilapia with mango salsa for dinner.

However, once breakfast was over things went all pear-shaped. First, it was too rainy and cold for biking. So I decided that I would do the Firm video I bought over Christmas instead. Ten minutes of staring at the tv, bewildered at the dancing people, and I gave up that idea. I need to "preview" that like 50 times because I am no good at dance aerobics and they move fast!

C tried to hop in the shower, only to discover that we have no hot water! That sort of nixed things like washing dishes, showering well, etc. I took a shower anyway but literally yelped when I ducked into the full blast of the shower. C called our landlord and they were not nearly as concerned as we are. We might get someone out here on Tuesday. Seriously?? Argh.

After our totally unsuccessful midday, C suggested we hit the theater at matinee time, so we hopped in the car and headed to the movies only to encounter the world's worst traffic while trying to park. Seriously, like 20 minutes to go up one floor in the parking structure.

So after all that frustration, we got creative. We abandoned the movies and headed north, without a particular destination. Once across the Golden Gate we drove west around the Marin Headlands and stopped at various gun batteries and missile silos to look at the interpretive signage (M--I know you need to know--it wasn't very good) and climb around imagining the massive guns that sat guarding the Golden Gate from WWI until they were declared obsolete during WWII.

We stopped and bought some maps at the visitor's center because we had very little idea where we were, and then decided to drive up Highway 1 to Point Reyes Station and buy cheese at the Cowgirl Creamery. We did, and then munched on apples (that we brought), cheese, and chocolate on the way back to 101. By then it was raining pretty hard, so we didn't want to take Highway 1 all the way back.

As we were approaching the bridge again, C made the astute observation that we would not be able to clean up after cooking since we have no hot water. So we stopped on Chestnut and wandered (with the umbrella I keep in my trunk--yay!) until we found an Italian place that smelled delicious. I had lobster ravioli (yum!) and C had lasagna bolognese (even Yum-er!). On our way back to the car we happened upon a candy store called The Sweet Dish, and they were having a party! A friend of the owner sells vintage jewelry and there was a crazy bustle at the back of the store where she was hosting a trunk show. There was champagne and free samples and all the things you want in a candy shop.

Now I'm finishing up some laundry, posting, and about to do some old-school Tae Bo so I can say I did my cross-training for the Higdon plan. (Yes, I still do Tae Bo. It's the only video workout I've really ever liked, try as I might to expand my horizons.)

In short, it's been a fantabulous day, even though it was nothing like what we had planned! Nighty night!

Dead Leg

Warning: whining ahead!

Today I ran 3.5 miles, as per the Hal Higdon plan. But lately, around 2.5 miles, my right foot quits the program--it falls asleep even as I'm trying to use it to propel myself across the pavement. As you might expect, it is disconcerting, if not terribly uncomfortable, to run while you cannot feel one of your feet. So while I was planning an ambitious 6 min run/1 min walk interval, I ended up quitting that after the first 2 miles and defaulting to a run till foot goes numb/walk till it comes back schedule. I finished the distance in 49 minutes, which isn't going to win me any awards but I think is respectable considering. I already have an appointment with a podiatrist who specializes in sports medicine so I'll ask him about it in a few weeks.

I also tried out the new pedals, to great effect. I only rode around our neighborhood a little, starting and stopping often to practice clipping in and out. I only fell once, no injuries. Tomorrow we'll take her out for a real spin!

My one other complaint is, as always, about my weight. I've been pretty decent overall--eating tons of fruits and veggies, not too much bread or sweets, and certainly have been getting my exercise. And yet, over the last few weeks, I've gained weight. I generally just don't think about such things if I can help it, but my clothes don't fit particularly well right now, and a simple 5-10 pound loss would do a world of good in that department. Instead, here I am ~35 pounds overweight and gaining. It's a bit frustrating at the moment.

But regardless of weight, I did get C to take some awesome "Blondeez in her running gear" photos this afternoon. Here you go!

C always takes pictures while I'm talking. He never did take one where I was just smiling.

Demonstrating what I'm about to go out and do:

Hasta luego!

New and improved, with pictures!

Hidey ho blogger buddies, it's Friday night and you know what that means . . . Bike Repair!

Actually, usually it means lying on the couch as if I am about to die, watching tv until I fall asleep. But today it means bike repair.

So as you may recall, on Monday I put together my new shoes and cleats, only to foolishly attach my left shoe to its pedal, with no means to detach it. Here are the shiny new shoes, with left pedal firmly attached to left shoe:

Oops.

And here is my 1987 Trek Pro Series, in all it's retro teal glory!

It really is a great bike, even if I have been lusting after something better geared for my weakling legs.

Here is your intrepid blogger/bike repair novice and her array of tools:

I soon discovered that the old pedals had not been cleaned or oiled in quite some time--much longer than the approximately 10 months I've owned the bike. It took a lot of elbow grease, some WD-40, and my lovely strongman assistant C to get them off (I swear I did the first one myself, but I needed someone with more leverage for the second). You can see the remains of the broke toe cage on the one I removed.

Then there was the installation of the new pedals, which was actually quite easy despite the presence of a shoe attached to one of them:

Here is the newly freed shoe on my foot (why yes, I could use a pedicure!):

And the most excellent final product! I can't wait to ride, and probably fall on my face. But more importantly, ride faster with my clipped-in shoes and Speedplay Zero pedals!

Holy Carp I have commenters!

For some reason I thought that Blogger would email me when I got comments, so while I knew a few people were aware that my blog existed, I didn't realize until this morning that you all had left me nice little notes. I fixed it, and now I really will get an email every time someone comments. Which will encourage me to respond and keep posting!

I'm waiting for my dinner to cook, and I am HONGRY! I am making curry-mustard chicken breasts, which I'm planning to slice up and serve over baby lettuces (arugula, spinach, and mixed greens). I don't know what else to eat with it--I have broccoli, a sweet potato, or I could just make some toast. I'm also contemplating israeli couscous as long as I have some time.

I'm done with my exercise for the day (30 min easy elliptical, 30 min easy stationary bike, stretching) though I might play Wii Fit later tonight. For now, I'm concentrating on not ripping into some kind of junk food while my dinner cooks!

Fruits and veggies mania

I've been craving fresh foods (good!) so yesterday I made this soup that I discovered through Rachel's blog. It was awesome! And just as good for lunch today. I usually don't like soups but for some reason Asian soups make me such happier than American varieties. I think it's the soy and sesame.

To that I added an apple and an orange, a banana for a snack, and then a big plate of grilled asparagus and a Jamba Juice Mango Metabolizer for dinner. I know that sounds totally random, but the asparagus was leftover from the catered lunch at work (I try to snag veggies that are still out just before the caterer comes to throw it away) and there's a JJ right across the street from my running buddy's house, and it's irresistible just after a run. There's a plate of cookies sitting right next to me right now, but I'm so full of asparagus they're not really tempting for the moment. (Ask me again in half an hour!)

I did my 2.5 miles for the 10k training plan and it felt pretty good--much better than the 3 miles this weekend. I think we're getting a little faster, and we're definitely walking less and less. Our goal for Thursday's 2-miler is to finish between 25 and 30 minutes, and maybe cut out one of the (now short) walking intervals.

The Biggest Loser is a huge waste of two hours every Tuesday night, but I continue watching. Someone save me from myself!

Home depressed

I didn't get the stuff I needed to do done, workwise, this weekend. One might say "well of course, you packed it full of other stuff!" but really I had time and I just didn't do it. So this morning I woke up feeling sore (from the bike fall maybe?) and generally yucky, and decided not to face up.

I got about half the stuff I should have done while I was home today, so I'll go to work tomorrow. I also made a yummy potsticker and veggie soup, which helped with the sniffles that have been haunting me for the last several weeks.

I bought pedals and cleats tonight, and I did a stupid thing, and tried them out without attaching the pedal to the bike (by setting the pedal on the floor and stepping on). That worked great, but now I can't unclip it! I'm going to have to try to put the pedal on the bike with a shoe attached so I can get the leverage to clip out. Oops. Live and learn about the bikes, I guess.

Time to do a little more work so I can face the office tomorrow.

Two days in a row!

I don't promise this kind of frequency, but I'll try to do better than 2 posts in a month for February.

January goals update:

• Do my diaries on time, every day. Um, nope. Don't want to talk about it.
  
• Do the Wii Fit progress chart every day. Pretty much, yeah!
  
• Go to boot camp 3 times per week. I went a few times, but more importantly I'm sticking to my training plan.
  
• Go swimming once a week. No, gotta try that again.
  
• Bring lunch from home at least 3 days per week. I think I did that, yeah.
  
• Eat 5+ fruits and veggies every day. Very close to every day!
  
• Make a dentist appointment. Yup!!

February goals:

• Do my diaries at least once a week (more achievable!)
• Do the Wii Fit test every day
• Go swimming once a week
• Keep up with the Hal Higdon 10K training plan
• Bring lunch from home at least 3 days per week.
• Eat 5+ fruits and veggies every day.
• Complete my dentist appointments (3 appointments, don't wanna talk about how many fillings)

Today I rode my bike and crashed, but not badly. Thanks for putting my bike back together, Molly! Then C and M and I wandered around the farmer's market and hiked at Lexington Reservoir for a while. Now I'm chilling and watching the Superbowl, thinking about doing some work or taking a shower or one of the million other things I should do before C and I spend the evening putting together our new bedframe.

Uphill both ways!

I'm training for a 10k right now, and according to the guru of jogging, Mr. Hal Higdon, I should have run 3 miles today. Which I did, if you count walking plus running as "run 3 miles." I ran in my own neighborhood because I wasn't meeting anyone else to run, so it seemed silly to drive somewhere else.

My neighborhood is nothing but hill! I tried to choose the flattest option available, but in the rolling hills of the upper Peninsula, there's no such thing. I walked the steepest bits and jogged as much as I could stand, and ended up finishing 3.2 miles in ~45 minutes. It's not gonna win any awards, but I think Hal would be okay with that.

Today has been full, and tomorrow will be the same. Today C and I drove out to Walnut Creek and bought the most beautiful lingerie chests! I love Craigslist. We set them up and rearranged some of the other bedroom furniture, in anticipation of putting together the new bed frame we bought. That will have to happen tomorrow, I guess.

Tomorrow M and I are going to run C ragged in the Southbay--a short bike ride and the farmer's market in Campbell, then a hike around Lexington. Then more furniture arranging!!

January Goals

A mix of work, personal, and fitness goals.

• Do my diaries on time, every day.
• Do the Wii Fit progress chart every day.
• Go to boot camp 3 times per week.
• Go swimming once a week.
• Bring lunch from home at least 3 days per week.
• Eat 5+ fruits and veggies every day.
• Make a dentist appointment.

Wii Fit Rocks

Seriously, I'm having so much fun with this thing. I wish it didn't make me look fat in my avatar (it adjusts according to one's BMI, but honestly since I don't carry all my weight in my belly like the Mii does, it looks so much worse!) but otherwise it's awesome. The hula hoop is surprisingly tough. I think I've unlocked all the step aerobics, but I'm still unlocking longer and longer "runs" (up to 9 minutes) and just tried boxing, which was pretty entertaining.

Next step, doing all the strength training exercises! So far I've mostly been doing cardio and balance becauce cardio feels like hard work and balance has fun games (at which I'm exceptionally bad).

I'm chilling until Monday--gotta put away my Christmas loot (second Christmas was great!) and make some healthy food for my inevitable return to work, but that's about it. Anybody wanna come Wii? I have all the sports games that we can play together, not just the Fit.