Tapering

We are officially in taper! 7 days to go and lots of strange thoughts and emotions going on:

1. Why was the last aquatic park swim and run so hard? I was dizzy, nauseated, and out of breath. Aren't we supposed to feel strong?
2. My latest obsession has been potholes in the road -- no, not while riding my bike. I'm living in fear that I will gracefully trip on the street while walking along and twist my ankle next week. No heels allowed.
   
3. I'm already getting post-race blues. How is that possible? This has been such a trip, and I am already sad that I will have to come down off my high. I've combated this by investigating my next adventure. Hawaii anyone?
   
4. I love ice cream. And I love that I can eat all the ice cream I want right now. Especially Pollyann's banana chocolate chip ice cream, or lychee flavored, but definitely not Durian flavored.
5. I feel honored to have had the chance to train with my team. What an amazing group of people. What an amazing effort.
6. There is way too much gear involved in triathlons. I am betting myself a dollar that I will forget at least one critical piece of gear (e.g., a bike).
7. I am still fearful of the big-ass hills on the bike. And have no idea if I will be able to run the run.
   
8. Chris and I are not drinking for two weeks before the race. My liver seems happy.
   
9. Today I was passed on an uphill by a rollerblader. I kept thinking he has 8 wheels, and I only have 2. Unfair advantage.
   
10. I cannot wait to get to sleep in on a Saturday morning again. Hallelujah!
    

We're taking Friday off work to drive down to Lake San Antonio. The long course is on Saturday and Chris and I will race on Sunday. The weather forecast looks good - 70's or 80's and sunny.

I'm ready to be inspired, humbled, exhausted, and exhilarated. Wish me and Speedster luck as we complete our journey to the starting line and embark on our celebration across the finish line.

Quiet Doubts

10 days this time
Speedster and I will wait
Nervously, patiently, hungrily
To begin our journey.

Today
Speedster rests and I relax in body only.
I rest doubtfully, anxiously, curiously.
This may be the longest case
of pre-race jitters ever.

Confessions of a Wimpy Rider

This morning, I woke up and was saddened by the fact that it was sunny and clear.

Today's ride was supposed to be the Alpine Loop + 7 Sisters ride on Mt. Tam. 37 miles, 3700 ft of climbing. The most challenging ride of the season. Our captain had said yesterday that if it were raining, we would not do the ride due to the steep descents on the wet roads. So when I saw the sunshine, I knew I was going to get my butt kicked today. My stomach did little flutters all the way to Larkspur.

Upon arriving, I learned that it was still raining at the top of Mt. Tam and last nights rain had caused a fair amount of rock fall on to the roads. We would not be doing this ride. My heart silently sung. My brain was a little saddened because I knew if I could do Mt. Tam, I would be fine for Wildflower. But my heart of hearts was doing a little dance of joy.

Our ride was still 37 miles, but much less steep. Lots of fun rolling hills, horses, cows, and a wild turkey or two. All and all a great day. I do hope to someday tackle Mt. Tam . . .

My mom sent me a check for "Two Big Juicy Steaks." We will be eating them tonight! (Thanks Mom!)

Muppet Me

All of my color sense seems to go out the door when I am getting ready in the morning. Today I particularly look like a muppet. Here is a picture of Elmo at the run transition at Alpine Dam, with a whole bunch of other people's shoes.

Beautiful day on Sunday. 8 mile bike + 35 minute run + 8 mile bike. Weeeee!

Sleepy, Grateful, and Charmed

This morning was cold and dark as I hit the alarm at 5:30am. After having gotten up at 4:30am yesterday for a day trip to Portland, I was exhausted. But today was our "practice tri" on Treasure Island, so I mustered the energy and rolled out of bed.

As I sleepily awaited the start, I slowly started added layer upon layer of clothing. First the hat, then the fleeces and sweat pants for warmth. Then the rain jackets came out. First a drizzle, then steady, cold rain. Eventually it just made sense to put the wetsuit on to fend off the wetness and chill. By the time we made it down to the water, the skies had opened up pouring down upon us. Standing on the beach was exactly where I did NOT want to be. But right before we got into the water, someone said to me, "Be grateful to be here. Be happy you're alive." Thinking of Brenda, I hopped into the water.

It was strangely not that cold, though it had a funky smell. It was actually pretty great out there -- only 600 yards and fairly warm. No one kicked me in the face and I only swallowed a minimal amount of bay water.

The bike transition was tough. I spent what seemed an eternity trying to snap my bike helmet on. A few bruises on my chin later, and several layers of clothes, I got on my bike. The course was very flat and consisted of series of turns around the island. We were to do 3 loops for a total of 12 miles. Somewhere along the way I got lost and ended up doing close to 14 miles through the rain and wind. Unpleasant to say the least.

The run was tough. The first 1.5 miles were almost impossible. Legs felt like jelly. I ran too fast out and my lungs were unhappy. But the second loop was good and I finished strong. We even got a "medal" for completing our sprint triathlon!

Thoroughly soaked and shivering, I arrived home with 2 thoughts on my mind. Warm shower and my personal guilty pleasure, Charmed. Annoyingly, while I indulged myself in front of the television, the sun came out. I kept the curtains closed, ignored the irony, and got lost in Wiccan stories.

All and all, a good Saturday. I am, in fact, grateful to be here.

The Reason

Last night, we received some very sad news about one of our honorees in the Bay Area. Although I have never met Brenda, I am literally reduced to tears reading about her amazing spirit as she struggles with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Below is a team email me received. We can all use some of the strength Brenda has. And I thank her for her inspiration and reminding me to be grateful for what I have.
m.
---

Hi Team,

For those of you who were at the track workout tonight, here is more information about Brenda Donato, the honoree Todd spoke about tonight. Todd says, "It goes to show us all how much work there is left to do when some of the treatments we have at our disposal are as dangerous as the disease itself." Read on to learn more about Brenda. Please, let's all keep her and her family in our thoughts. This is an email that was sent on to TNT honorees from one of Brenda's friends:

"Its with a very very heavy heart that I send this to you. Brenda Donoato, who is a dear friend and has been one of hour honorees for many seasons has been given 12-36 hours to live. My good friend Lindsay is at the hospital and has been helping Brenda quite a bit over the past few months and we are all just devasted. As an FYI, the summer team for the TNT has been named Team Brenda. I'll be doing the Summer Team so I hope you join as well so that we can find a friggin cure for cancer. The ironic thing is that its not cancer that is killing Brenda, its a complication of the bone marrow transplant she got called Graft vs Host where the host organism fought the incoming bone marrow and weakened her lungs and they coudn't reverse the damage. She is amazing woman who was so strong, so upbeat, so giving and so inspirational. If you'd like to read more about her, see her myspace account if you can log into it:
http://profile. myspace.com/ index.cfm? fuseaction= user.viewprofile&friendid=10230644&MyToken=ee6f7c5c- 5a87-4c34- 81b2-755d3a5ce0f 7

__._,_.___

Learning to Eat

As if I've ever had a problem eating . . .

But this whole "endurance sport" thing (and I continue to hesitate to call myself a triathlete-in-training (which should be evidenced by the fact that to this day, I still do not know how to spell the word athlete and must rely on spell check every time I type it - like i just did twice in this aside)) requires some clear attention to what, how, and when I eat. I can't just rely on hunger as my indicator of when I should chow down.

Here are a few things I've learned.

• I have to eat at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours before I work out or I get very bad cramps.
  
• 1 cup of coffee and no more before a morning or afternoon workout. If I work out after work, another cup is okay before noon.
• Caffeine has a half life of 11 days. Consuming a gel with caffeine will have no effect, except psychological, if you have had coffee recently.
  
• Fried rice is the perfect pre-race meal.
• I am hungry all the time. 3rd breakfast is not uncommon.
• Eat apple or vanilla gels and electrolyte drinks while running. Eat Clif Bars, Power bars, electrolyte and protein drinks while biking. Don't eat chocolate flavored gels, pretzels, or crackers.
  
• I probably burned about 1600-1800 calories in my workout yesterday.
  
• Eat a recovery snack with protein shortly after working out ( Yesterday - Powerbar 229 calories, Wheat Thins 136 calories, Gatorade - 80 calories)
• Then eat a more substantial meal later on (roast beef sandwich and potatoes)
• And don't be afraid to have 2nd dinner 3 hours later (spaghetti and meatballs)!

Yowzah! and Some cows

Today we wrote 37 miles (officially a 34.5 ride, but we took a little, um, detour), on the "Cheese Factory" ride. Gorgeous green rolling hills, cows by the roadside, and low hanging fog. Great Northern California scenery. Days like today remind me why I choose to live here. We are so blessed.

The ride took for freakin' ever to finish, but I did it. Downhills getting better and only one minor mishap with the clips. Managed to actually drink from my bottles while riding and not dropping anything.

I think I'm beginning to really like this bike things (did I just say that?)!

Perspective

Training for these events is really an exercise in perspective.
For example:

• I think the bike at Wildflower is painfully hard.
• Chris thinks its easy.

• Chris thinks a marathon is hard.
• The guys on the Ironteam do them as part of their training.

• I swam 3000m last night and thought I was a rock star.
• I watched the masters team do the same distance in half the time.

I find it so easy to compare myself to others and feel bad about it. But I guess what I need to remember is something more like this:

• I used to think running 2 miles would kill me.
• Now I run 4 miles to clear my head.

• I used to thinking triathlons were for crazy people.
• Now I think I am crazy.

• I get freaked out by clipless pedals.
• Some of our honorees face cancer every day and never freak out.

Training Weekend Goodness

We went down to Lake San Antonio for a practice run on the Wildflower course last weekend. What a terrific time! It was a nice opportunity to get to know some of the folks on my team. One of my teammates graciously drove us down there. It was lovely to get to know her and learn about her work as a pediatric oncology nurse.

We also saw lots or large cut-out farmers along the highway.

On the training side of things, it was definitely challenging. But it was good to get a mental image of the course and to know that I have completed each of parts of the race.

Swim:
It's gorgeous in the lake. Fresh water and warmish (probably 60 or so). I tried out wax earplugs today, but found that, oddly enough, I feel like I can't breathe with them in my ears. I guess I have some amphibian qualities about me.

Bike:
Major victory on this front. The course was hard. I struggled with a lot of it, but didn't have to stop. There were times when I am sure I could have been running faster. I still need to work on the not-dropping-my-water-bottle challenge, as it was hot out there and will more than likely be very hot on race day.

Run:
Run was the hardest, even though it was on Sunday. It's a steady 4 mile climb before you get to a flatish part. Then a nice long downhill to finish it off. My legs ached and I had to walk a good part of it. The long-course folks were running circles around me as they did a half-marathon as part of their training.

In any case, I did it. Yay!

My Left Side

I think my left side
must be very attractive.
Or smell really bad.
Something must account for
the steady stream
of friendly voices that call out
"on your left"
"left-side"
"left!"
Maybe it's not me.
Must be my bike.