What A Race

This has been an amazing trip so far. Last night we had our pasta party and it was wonderful. Our teammate and my mentee Ted was honored for the fact that he is now a triple crowner (century ride, marathons and tris) as well as actively going through cancer treatment. He is amazing and it was wonderful that he got that recognition in front of all 311 TNT participants. As a whole we raised 1.3 million and that pasta party always reminds me of the reason we are there.
Another fun part was running into a girl that I have not seen in 8 years that I used to work with. SUCH a small world. Partway through the party Chris McCormack (the Tom Brady of Triathlon, former IRONMAN champion and record holder on our course) sat right in front of me. So of course I harassed him for a picture. I think we impressed him so much because he is now crashing our after party where I am sure will lead to more pictures, and since there will be alcohol involved, most likely pictures of me doing inappropriate things in the pictures.
We woke up at 4am and were good to go, met up with the team. We did our thing, pumped tires, stapled bike numbers then rode to transition. As you can see from the pic above the sun rose over Mount Kea ( or Koa can't remember) and it was beautiful. I got to do some pro stalking and got pictures of my favorite female triathlete Bree Wee who also won the race!
We got marked up and did our thing (record here! I did not have diarrhea once!!!) By 7:33 Bri hit the water and I was about 6 minutes behind him or so. The swim was just amazing. I got kicked and punched and all that but its only because our biggest obstacle was coral that was very close to us so there was alot of moving around as to avoid some nasty cuts. I spent the first half getting into the groove and then the shoulder started acting up. I took some deep breaths (out of the water, not in it) and just went for it and enjoyed myself. It was like snorkeling, so many fish to see and the occasional foot in the eye.
The transition went smoothly, I used some water to wash off my feet and threw on my bike gear and was off and running. The prayers to the wind gods were answered. The wind was remarkable. It was pretty much only strong once in a while and provided either nothing or a bit of a tail wind which I'LL TAKE!! I saw Brian a few miles before the turn around so I knew he was cooking and I was releived because HIS STUPID WHEEL was broken when we got up this morning. His spokes keep coming loose and as a result ended up in some bad situations while training. He had a new wheel made but apparently that one sucks too! Luckily a teammate had a wrench and basically put a band aid on it with a "this might work or this might not". Brian was cookin and I was so proud of him. I was having a ball on the bike. I was singing, taking requests (afterall I have been training that way) and tried to hammer it as much as possible (despite having grown small balls again, must figure out why I keep getting saddle sores). At about mile 20 on the bike was when it happened. Almost every race I get this overwhelming sensation and I know then that my mom is there with me. It always catches me by surprise. Of course I soaked it up, shed a few happy tears, thanked her and asked her to push me in, and a push I got!
In T2 I decided I should throw on socks which took a while for me cause I kept falling over. I ran out so quickly that I forgot my handheld water bottle. Our coach has been hammering this into us all season and I have trained all year with it. It is not to drink out of, but strictly to pour over your head. Of course I forgot it and realized it while I was not even 25 yards out of transition. So I ran my little behind back to transition and grabbed it, probably lost a few minutes there but it was worth it!
The run starts off through the black lava fields (aka its hot as shit) but it was not as hot as I expected and not half as hot as Vineman last year. THANK YOU SUN GODS!! I had a great pace going, almost always under a 10 minute mile. At about mile 3 I saw Bri just after the turn around and knew I could catch him. I was feeling great. That was also about the time that I saw a fellow teammate, well heard her really as she was wheezing and pretty much having an asthma attack. There was no chance I was leaving her. At that point I knew I would still hit my goal (to beat my last olympic tri time which was over 4 hours) so I stayed with her. Did Reiki on her back while we walked and ran along side her squirting her down as we ran. It was worth it because I know she would not have left me either and I am here as a part of a team that I love very much, and that is what teammates do. UNTIL the last half a mile. At this point I knew she would not die and she waved me on so I put the petal to the metal. I wanted to do a sand angel at the finish but there were way too many people there. Instead I did a Run run leap run leap run leap like the good old days at Susan Wright's School of Dance.
It was awesome. I finished in 3:26:06!!! Brian finished in 3:23 I'll get him next time!
Mahalo for all the support this season and for the continued support I receive. This race lit the fire and will only be race number one of the season as I am already signed up for another oly in June and a half iron in October.
Congrats to my husband on his first triathlon! If he had a bike that didn't suck so bad (maybe one as nice as his wifes) he would have done even better!!

We are off to the victory party and then leaving for Maui in the morning for some serious R & R!!

XOXO from the Big Island!

wah wah wah

We are here in Hawaii! I have to say when we landed into Oahu for our stop over I was blown away by all the colors of the ocean and could not wait to dive in! We had easy breezy flights and ended up in Kona on time and rented a Caddy for the week. It was one of Bri's classic "we may have spent a little more extra money for this" seeing as I thought we got the economy car. Oh well its our pretend honeymoon. My dad keeps telling us "not to skimp" so maybe i'll just send him the bill....

PS thanks to papa al for doggy and house sitting this week! I'm sure the dog will be about 5 pounds heavier than when we left and probably already forgot about us...stupid dog

Hawaii is AMAZING! It will be a shocker if I get back on that plane to go home. Although Kona is not what I expected. We have yet to leave the side we are on...(not sure which side that is) but it is mostly dried up lava which is hot and black AND we get to bike and run on on Sunday! But it is beautiful. Our hotel is amazing although it is huge and impossible to find your way around. I think we have probably walked 5 miles alone today just going from one spot to another.

Last night we went out to the Kona brewery with our team to celebrate my bday. It was so nice of all these people to fly to HI for my bday! Loved the beers and I think I will love them even more after the finish, as they are a sponsor of the race and you get 2 free beers when you finish. That should do it for me. Lightweight!

Not sure if it was the flight, or the fact that the liquor loosened me up thinking that my shoulder was better BUT I awoke last night around 3am and was literally in tears. I can't remember the last time I cried because of pain. Most likely the last time I threw my back out. I was hurting. I could not sleep, every position hurt and it was just a giant spasm. I woke Brian up with my whimpers. PITIFUL! I got up went to the ice machine and iced the hell out of my shoulder. This then resulted in my side of the bed getting completely soaked through so that was also wonderful. I woke up a few hours later and it felt normal (normal is now painful but a tolerable pain in which it is difficult to lift things and move normally).

I think I did the best possible thing I could have. I got up and went for a swim in the ocean. The bay we start at is called A-Bay (insert long Hawaiian name). It is calm, it is clear, it is gorgeous, it has tons of fishies and LOTS of turtles and is NOTHING like the water we have been training in. Not sure if it was all the above attributes but I did not notice my shoulder at all! YIPPEE!! I will be able to do the swim and get through it and that is all I can hope for!

We are off to pick up our bikes and then head back to the bay for a swim/run with the TEAM!

Then off to a nice dinner with my husband and hopefully plentiful amounts of food and desserts!
I will hold off on posting pictures so that none of you hate me too much!

Aloha from Hawaii!

messed up tan lines here i come

First off a picture of Brian and our teammate playing under water. Too bad I couldn't swim this week when it was clear and tranquil and fun!

Instead I swam both days last weekend and as a result messed up my rotator cuff amongst some other parts that I don't remember after todays Dr visit. I can hardly dress myself without lots of pain, driving is hard, and at times I kind of want to hurl due to the pain. It was feeling a little better on Sunday and I had a massage which also helped. Then today I was feeling like I should see the Dr. My friends all recommended a great chiropractor at Elite. They are strictly athlete kind of people which is my kind of place. I have been to Dr's who look at me and an injury and say "well just don't do it." Never what you want to hear a week before a race. And yes this is not the first time that an injury snuck up on me. I knew it was a good place when we could laugh at the fact that I wrote in an email to them that "a shoulder issue pooped up" instead of "a shoulder issue popped up!" goooooooooood stuff.

Anyways they were able to sneak me in very last minute, I literally ran out of work, drove a bout 90 the whole way and made it there in record time. The Dr did an evaluation and then did some Active Release Therapy...ART now I feel like a real triathlete! This reminded me of rolfing aka it was painful. I sucked it up though in the name of recovery. I will do anything if it means I will be injury free or pain free. Then he did some stim LOOOOOOOOVE that. Then he did some adjustments which were so gentle and then taped me up to look like a bionic woman.

I am hoping this helps. I know I will get through the swim, but I am pretty darn uncomfortable to say the least. Kind of wish I had some happy pills cause I feel a restless night coming up.

Okay enough of the negative stuff! I will soon be saying ALOHA to 31! And on the same day that I say Aloha to Hawaii! One more day of work to get through. I am staying clear of any children that may injure me more, but then again thats not really possible.....

I guess I am just going to have to kick ass on the bike and run to make up for the swim!!! Perhaps near 80 degree ocean water will bethe answer to all my prayers!!!

Next post will be coming to you from Hawaii!!!!

Thanks again to everyone for your support this training season!

San Diego Lavaman 2010 Team Video

This is the video that I have been working on using windows movie maker. There were waaaaaaaaaaay too many great pictures from training but these are the ones that made the cut!

Can't wait to make one after this weeks triathlon! Yes thats right,,,,this week!!! Even though I can't move my shoulder I could really care less cause I'm sure the warm water in Hawaii will be therapeutic for whatever it is thats happening. I have a massage tomorrow and am going to hit up the chiropractor before we leave too. Just doing my part to help out the holistic peeps.

carmen electra

Okay so this week was a pretty successful one workout wise. Monday swim, Tuesday track workout, Wednesday sit on my ass, Thursday bike ride, Friday hill repeats running, Saturday practice tri! whoa nelly.

Okay so we got to the practice tri which was a sprint distance around 6am. We had the typical pre workout kinda stuff and off we went. The ocean was looking grim, it was brownish orangeish due to the sand they had to add to the ocean. Besides that there were giant waves. Not sure what was going on but it was the type of waves that all the surfers run out to ride. Not so much the type of sea that I rush out to swim in. Anyways we went in to "warm up" and I was not so much worried about the freezing temperatures as I was the ridiculous swells and currents. It took a bit to get out past the waves, and when we did we were being pushed around like crazy by the currents. I started to get pretty whoozy and was pretty much yelling for Brian to stay close. This is where it got ugly. I got tossed by a large wave. The type of wave where you are just begging to get another breath of fresh air. It scared the shit out of me but I tried to stay calm. I took in way too much water and when I came back up I was without goggles and without alot of pride, and full of puke. I threw up in the water pretty bad. At that point I kept getting wrecked with waves. I was "unresonsive" as Bri put it which scared him but at this point I could stand up so I just dragged my sorry ass to the shore.

Since this was just the warm up I decided that I had swallowed enough water and was pretty shooken up. I bowed out of the actual swim which was more of a try to get through the breakers and then get pushed back to shore. The kayakers who were supposed to be there to save our lives could not even make it out so everyone was on their own. On their own with the dolphins!

I shook it off and waited til I knew Brian was safe and we ran up for the transition. I am soooooooo slow getting out of that damn wetsuit. Thank goodness we don't have to wear them for Lavaman! I got on the bike and hammered out our bike course. It was just up the coast so nothing too crazy there. On the way back I thought there was tons of dirt flying. Turns out it was swarms of gnats. It was nasty. I was covered in them, they were stuck all over. I just ducked my head down hoping the helmet would shield me from eating them. EW!!

Had a nice quick transition to the run course and I was pretty pleased. I ran the 3 miles at or under a 9:30 pace. I even ran a sub 8 minute mile on the last leg of the run. I was pretty pleased with that. Brian did awesome and was pretty psyched to finish his first triathlon. He is going to kill it in Hawaii and is looking trim and slim. I am not even going to recognize him once he shaves his triathlon beard....

Tonight I went to a pole dancing class that my friend from the team was doing for a fundraiser. It was HILARIOUS. I wore 8 inch heels, stripper heels that is. We strutted, we did all the sultry moves and of course I made a mockery out of it any chance I could get. Turns out there are just some stripper moves that are not exactly made for lanky broads who were coming it at about 6'5". Made for some laughs thats for sure. Definately have to go back again for a GNO!

dna has been tested

Yes after watching Oprah the other day about dna testing I have determined that I am in fact part Kenyan. This is due to the fact that I ran my mile time trial a whole minute faster than my last one. While it is still nothing to brag about and most people can pull out a whole marathon at that pace, I am still pretty psyched. I ran it in 7:56. I find that I definately hold my self back on most occasions. Well on races I hold myself back, not so much in regular daily life situations. (I certainly did not hold myself back on todays bike ride. I didn't make it across the street while the cross walk sign was on cause my clip wouldn't work, so the car came cruising at me, so I did what any Bostonian would do. I flipped the jack ass off!) I may have flipped off someone, BUT I also decided I am going to throw the peace sign to all the people who are a bit more understanding on the road. Its more fun to flip the bird though. GFY guy in the white truck!
Okay so back to races and holding myself back. Yes I thought I was stuck in the slow poke marathon pace, and always wanted to finish races with that "oh yes I can't wait to do that again!" While that has been successful for me, this is a shorter race coming up and I am looking forward to not just going through the motions but to push my limits like I haven't done before.
I have to thank my coach for teaching me so much about pace and limits and feeling it, and not just looking down at my garmin. For the record I did not check the garmin at all, but instead just ran til I puked in my mouth. Good stuff!
We have our practice tri this weekend which I am totally psyched for! So many great things coming up! My dad gets here next week and then we will be in Hawaii within a week! WHOO HOO!!!! I hear the Kona winds are picking up so we'll see how that goes!
I will end on one final note: I CAN'T WAIT FOR DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME!!! THIS SUNDAY BABAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY! Let spring begin!!

how i spent my weekend

I am trying to put together a video montage for my teammates before the big event and practiced. Belle was my muse to practice this skill.

hodge podge

So many things to rant about:

First off WE HIT OUR FUNDRAISING GOAL!!! Yet again I raised close to $7200 and the funds are still coming in! Its pretty mind blowing that that is the average that I raise each event. (still trying to top the 20+ thousand that I did for my first event ;) ) I am so truly grateful! I have been continuing to read some blogs about myeloma and am moved each day. Although people continue to lose their battles there are more that are able to power on and live full lives with their family and friends. Thats what its all about! so THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

On even better news our friend Keri who was diagnosed at the start of our training just had her last chemo treatment on her birthday! I'm sure she will never forget that birthday! She has remained quite an inspiration taking this whole cancer thing like it was just another bump in the road.

On the training front, this week started off strong and ended kind of EH. My knee has been a bit of a shit, a very odd muscle pull is what I think it was. Anyways we did a mini brick on Sunday where I got to feel my bike out a bit and he felt goooooooooooooood. My knee felt like shit but the bike felt smooth like buddah! Monday I met up with some teammates and swam at the local boys and girls club. I tried to see what a difference I had in time doing 500s with and without the pull buoy. Yeah it was a difference of 2 minutes with the pull, thats quite crazy if you ask me. Why couldn't my ass act more like a flotation device, then i'd actually be a more efficient swimmer.

Tuesday I got into work at what felt like the ass crack of dawn so I could get a bike in on Coronado Island. A great place to do some lavaman specific training with the crazy winds, except I was alone and I was spooked.
Allow me to back track. A local high school girl went missing last week after a run through the trails around lake hodge. We do tons of training there and I run in the trails by my house alone on a regular basis. While I was always cautious and did not run with music, I also never had anything to protect myself. Anyways this young girl was raped and murdered by a convicted child molester. It hit home for just about every person in the country and especially here. When you live in an area that has so many inviting places to be active its troubling to have to keep yourself from these activities because of fear. All week long I wanted to ditch work and volunteer to help find this girl who was just training for her high school cross country team. As I was riding out on the strand all alone I felt like my head was on a swivel, always looking to see who was coming, were there groups of people, never wanting to be riding alone. I got a text from Bri during my ride that they finally found the body near the lake. So troubling.
At this point I was into my 30 mile ride, feeling great on my bike, testing out my aero bars and feeling like I was flying. I rode with a nice guy for about half of it and then found myself alone. At one point I was in between two bodies of water with 5 guys riding by and got spooked. THAT SUCKS! I am sorry but it totally sucks that this is how we have to think while we are just trying to live!!! It is so frustrating that now I can't just head out to the trails for my run, that I have to figure out who else might want to run 8 miles with me. SUCK IT PSYCHOS!!!! Unfortunately I am realizing that the system fails many people and its not always easy to help these people who are clearly messed up. And while the system is failing people are getting hurt. Eh enough of that rant. Now I have to find some mace or pepper spray so that I can once again continue to do the things I love. There is nothing better than just hitting the trails, hearing nothing but your heart beat, your feet hitting the ground, and your breath. I am sure that this has been a valuable lesson for so many and that this young womans death will change things for many people, but it is just so unfortnately and unfair for her, her family and friends.

Ugh just so terrible.

I was pretty beat from the week and did not get to work out Wednesday or Thursday. I thought Friday would be a day to play catch up before the weekend but nooooooooooooo. Instead I woke up with the same nasty head cold that my husband had that week. Niiiiiice. I barely made it through the day at work, came home and just tried to sleep it off. Saturdays team workout got changed to a open water swim since we were expecting rain again for the 7th weekend in a row. With the run off into the ocean it is not safe to swim after rain so we have been pretty screwed with those. Anyways coach changed it to saturday so we could get the swim in before the rain. Since I could not breathe whatsoever and felt like crapola I stayed in bed and Bri went off for the 2 mile open water swim. So proud of him. That is more than double the distance for the triathlon so he will be all set. I set my bike up on the trainer and did a mini brick by myself. I ran a mile loop around the hood (of course couldn't go into the trails alone) and then would hop on the bike for a 15 minute interval workout. I did the run 4 times and the bike the same. I gotta say the first run/bike was ridiculous for me, my heart rate was through the roof, I was dizzy, and felt like I had rubber legs. By the 3rd time around I was feeling a little more normal but was thankful to have the aerobars to rest my tissue box on. BRUTAL!!! Turned out to be a good workout but I wish it was with the team instead.

We ship our bikes to Hawaii in two weeks so I am hoping to get at least two rides in during the week and of course our rides on the weekends. THis means some early days at work and some grinding out on the road! Can't wait!

And luckily the 3 days off this week must have been what my knee needed because it is feeling almost back to normal!! Hoping this cold is on its way out because I have to get all my workouts in. I feel totally ready to do this thing and could do it tomorrow if I had to but I really do need more time on my new bike to get comfortable.

Big Al will be here in less than two weeks and Hawaii is just around the corner!!!!!!!!!