Let the Taper Begin

Sunday we did a practice triathlon at Crissy Field. A 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, and 3 mile run all in one of the most beautiful places in San Francisco. It was a gorgeous day and I felt pretty good.

I swallowed an enormous amount of Bay water at the start and had to stop to prevent myself from throwing up. And then I really had to pee, so stopped a bit to try to do that. With no success and people swimming past me like mad, I pressed on. The water was cold and I got a bit dizzy. Wasn't my best swim. Oh well.

The bike was great. I love biking through the Presidio. There are a few nice hills and lots of rollers. The forest of Eucalyptus trees and the fancy Sea Cliff neighborhood keep you well entertained.

And the run was mostly flat, with one steep hill down to Aquatic Park. Jello legs didn't last too long, and I felt fine when I finished.

Someone ran into me on the bike, and I cut my leg. I didn't even notice but had a nice stream of blood running down my leg by the time I got back. Nice!

Anyhoo, now we begin the official taper. Light workouts, and no more drinking. Trying to get lost of sleep this week, too. Woohoo!

We head down to Lake San Antonio on Friday. Wish me luck!!

Sweepers Unite

Sometimes you just have to embrace your inner slowness. A group of four of us were officially the sweep team. We kept each other company and none talked of how utterly far behind we were from the rest of the group. Sort of an unspoken rule. With the pressure of catching up off of us, we had a lovely ride together.

We did a very hilly 36 mile ride around Mt. Tam. It was probably 2500+ ft of climbing and there were points were I was nauseous from exertion, wanted to give up, and pretty much thought I'd just fall off my bike or roll backwards. But I did none of those and am pleased to call that a victory.

One of our teammates had some flat tire issues, so there was a good 30 min break in there to help her out, not that I minded the rest. We had a good view of the fog over Stinson Beach and watched the paragliders set up shop and fall off of cliffs.

It was still a lovely day in the city when we got back. 65 or so. A teammate of ours had a fundraising bbq in Dolores Park, which is a fabulous people watching park in the mission. I scarfed down a hot dog and a burger. Ahhh training! This is my favorite part.

Tomorrow we do an open water swim in the Bay, which will be great, since it will be warm outside. But the best part of the swim is that it marks the beginning of TAPERing!!

Driving Workout

This weekend I was on SAG (Support and Gear) duty for the bike/run workout. I didn't actually get to ride, but drove the course making sure no one had any problems with their bikes. It was actually really fun because the course is so beautiful. Part of it overlooks Stinson Beach. The day was glorious and it was just great to be up there. First picture is of me and Coach Tom before the ride started. Second one is the view from the course. Amazing!!

I had hoped to get in a nice long run when I got home, but I had failed to eat lunch and ate way too much Easter candy, so was feeling a little loopy. My tailbone also ached from all the sitting, so I took the afternoon off.





Saturday, we had an open water swim at Aquatic Park. It was another glorious day and I had a great time in the water. Here's a pic of us practicing a mass start of the swim. Lots of splashing and kicking.


We have one more hard week of training and then we begin the taper. Ack!!

Tapering

I've been so consumed the last few weeks with starting my new job and dealing with all the stuff that comes with ending one chapter of your life and opening another that I haven't really given much thought to the fact that we are now officially tapering. (My new job is great so far. It's at WestEd, an educational research organization here in SF.) And now that I am more or less settling in there (read: can now find my desk without getting lost after going to the bathroom), I am starting to get itchy and nervous.

This past weekend, we went down to LA to visit some friends from Germany who were in town. I ate a lot of meat and lounged on the beach quite a bit. I did manage to get some HOT training in. We did a 45 minute run in the 95 degree heat. It was just enough to remind me how much the heat affects me, so that wasn't terribly encouraging. Yesterday I swam for only 20 minutes, per the training schedule.

I keep thinking I'm going to get out of shape, gain weight, or forget how to ride my bike. It's strange how difficult it is to NOT workout. But, I have done all the hard work already, and I can't cram for the race, like I would for an exam. So I guess all I can do is go along for the rollercoaster of a ride that my mind likes to take me on.