Starting Over

Today I ran 3 miles on Crissy Field! First time out on the open road, and longest distance in 6 months. It was slow and painful, and I was counting down the minutes until completion. I was happy that I managed to run 3 miles, but the world was moving by me awfully slow. Dogs were doing triple laps around me, and I barely passed a speed-walker. Ah such are the humbling lessons of getting back in to shape.

I have finally talked myself down off the Half Iron man cliff. After having a few rough physical therapy sessions and realizing we would be on vacation for 2 weeks, thereby missing 3 weekends of training, I decided it would be wise to stick to the Olympic distance at Wildflower. I really wanted to push myself to do the longer distance, but realized I will have plenty of pushing just to get myself back into decent shape. There will always be more race in my future.

On the upside, my ass seemed to hold up fine during the run!

The Best 2 Miles Ever

The gym was crowded and stinky, but I found a treadmill with my name on it. I walked briskly for about 5 minutes. OK, feeling fine, no pain. I think I can do this.

Inched up the speed to a 12 min mile. No pain yet. Legs are moving fine. Heart rate is increasing slowly.

Had to take of my glasses (still have the stupid eye infection), so couldn't really see.

Increased the speed slowly to a level where I wasn't pushing myself, but definitely in the cardio zone. Ran for 2 miles, and it felt pretty amazing. I loved sweating. I loved feeling that I was using my muscles. I loved moving my arms in that rhythmic way. I loved listening to my ipod and getting lost in the repetition. I even loved how it was boring and monotonous and I wanted it to be over. Seriously, it was such a great feeling!

After 2 miles of running, I cooled down a bit and then put my glasses back on. Thrilled at how well it went, I looked at the workout summary. Apparently, I was running a lightening speed of 11:06/mile. Oye. Well, you have to start somewhere. Even that little bit of disappointment couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I walked home.

2009 and Feelin' Fine(ish)

I'm back! After 6 months of complete and utter inactivity due to an injury, I am about to set off on my first workout of 2009. It has been a long and windy six months. Here are the highlights:

• 7/08 - Broke my tailbone from stress fracture on my bike
• 8/08 - Continued to ignore the injury and completed the Tour d'Organics, a 66 mi ride through wine country with Pam
• 8/08 - After strapping 3 ice packs on my ass, sleeping with a heating pad, and applying cream to my ass that smelled like Ben-gay, I decided I should stop exercising. (Always the smart one, I am).
  
• 9/08 - 12/08 - Dropped my trousers for a cajillion and half medical types. Got 2 X-ray, 2 MRIs, and a lot of needles, drugs, poking and prodding.
  
• 9/08 - Purchased Tush Cush. Tried to hide it on the bus.
  
• 10/08 - Embraced Tush Cush. Carried it like a purse. Used it at bars around SF.
  
• 11/08 - Started taking Fermented Cod Fish Live Oil and Butter Fat as part of treatment.
• 11/08 - Started getting eye infections. Everything is blurry. Can't drive. Got super cute hair cut and new glasses.
  
• 12/08 - Received 2nd Tush Cush as Xmas gift! Score!
• 1/09 - Green light to try swimming and running again. Speedster (my bike) sits in the backroom looking very lonely and sad.

One of the doctors warned me that if I start exercising too early I will likely start having chronic pain for the rest of my life. The other doctor said it was probably safe to try out swimming and running slowly. See how it goes.

This would probably be a fine approach, but in my ever optimistic state of mind, I signed up to be a mentor for the spring TNT tri season. So I'm sort of committed. . . . But it's still a 3 weeks until kick off and probably 5 weeks before I really need to be on my bike. . . . As I write this, warning bells are going off in my head.

So here I am, sitting on Tush Cush #2 on the sofa, wearing spandex for the first time in 5 months, and feeling a little wary about heading to the gym. But 2009 is a clean slate, and with a nod to my running mantra, I'm off (to the treadmill) one step at a time.

Maui to Music

A teammate of ours, Mike, created this lovely video about our experiences in Maui. Mike is a talented musician and wrote the original music you hear here, too.

Post Maui

We just got back from a great week vacation in Maui. It took a while for the tri and the week after to settle into my mind. But here are a few thoughts random about the triathlon and Hawaii.

What I love about TnT is how you are connected by an important cause and it's never far from your mind. It motivates and supports and also saddens you. One of our teammates had a particularly moving, joyful, sad race experience, remembering her brother who had passed away from complications of blood cancer earlier this season. Another one of teammates wasn't with us in Maui as her father had just passed away from cancer as well. These women are amazingly strong and are an inspiration to me. I'm glad I had the chance to get to know one of them better during our time there. Just when I think I won't be able to fundraise again, I am inspired to do more.

Before the race, we had a blessing by a Hawaiian priestess type woman. I really enjoyed the sentiment of being connected to each other and being connected to the Earth, sea, and wind. Doing a triathlon in Hawaii really gets you connected to all of the elements. The day after the tri, two of our teammates, Chris and I went diving. Diving and snorkeling, like no other activity makes me feel connected, small, and thankful to be part of this life. Look at this amazing photo of Pam and this turtle we hung out with for a while at the bottom of the sea.

I spent an inordinate amount of time in the water, in Safeways, and stripmalls. Maui is a strange place. All the center of commerce happens in structures that look like tacky California strip malls. And most of the good food is found in Safeway. I also went to KMart to buy a cooler. None of these are things I do on a daily basis at home.

A straw is critical in the success of a good mai tai. We tried recipe after recipe but none tasted quite right. Unit we realized you NEED straw to have a good mai tai. (The dark rum float on top makes the drink too strong if you drink it without it. The sweet triple sec and juice sits on the bottom. Who knew?)

This is the Infinity Pool at our hotel. Hanging out in a pool like this, with fruity drinks and friends is pretty freakin' nice. I'm not a big fan of fancy resorts, but I definitely began to appreciate the appeal. We even sneaked back into the hotel after we had moved to our condo to go for a dip in the pool.

And now of course, I am happening upon the Post-Race blues. I preemptively signed up for the Marin Metric Century in August. Hope to do a few short tris or run races this summer. But for now, I'm happy to be at home without the pressure of training every day. Ready for some summer bbqs and relaxing weekend!

Maui Details

I just realized I had a camera built into my laptop. So here are some pictures from today's (Tuesday) cocktail hour on our Lanai.

Anyhow, since this is a training blog, I suppose I should give write a bit about that.

So, the race was HARD. Really hard. So hard that I didn't even bother to look at my finish times, but my watch said something in the neighborhood of 3:45 or so.




Our teammate, Kerry, had given us a description of the race a few weeks ago. She kept saying it's easier than Wildflower. . . It's flat. . .it's easy, etc. Now I realize that Kerry is in sales. . . .

4:00 am: Rise and shine! We wake up and make some bad coffee in our hotel room. Eat some delicious papaya, yogurt, string cheese (for me), and manju (a Hawaiian pastry filled with pineapple).


6:50 am: All 300 or so participants are standing on the beach in various colored beach caps and varying states of undress (or dress). I've opted for the rashguard over my tri outfit. One woman has opted for a teeny tiny blue bikini. Everyone stares (at her, not me).


7:00: A Hawaiian Priestess, dressed in traditional attire, performs a traditional blessing. We are all holding shoulders or hands to form a human lei of sorts. She sends us good energy from the Earth, the Heavens, and the Sea. She blesses us all and thanks us for our fundraising efforts. I am enjoying the spiritual thanks to the beautiful surroundings we are in, feeling connected with the land and the other participants. Then she blesses the Outback Steakhouse, one of the race sponsors. And I start giggling. I am not sure what the rest of the blessing was about after that.

7:10 am: The first wave jumps into the water! It's island time, so that was pretty good for a 7am start.

7:22: 12 minutes later, my wave starts. I run in and start swimming. I quickly realize that the water is fairly choppy. A line of about 7 women are in front of me breast stroking. I can't get around them or between them. I get kicked in the face twice. It feels like an eternity before I reach the first buoy. I also realize I have forgotten to start my watch.


7:48: Still swimming. I manage to draft off a woman who was in the 50+ age group for about 3 minutes. At this point, when I breathe, the sun is in my eyes. I have some water inside my goggles in the right position, such that every time I breathe, I see a rainbow. It was really trippy.

7:52: I have overshot the last buoy. I backtrack.

7:57: I finally approach shore, slightly nauseous from the swim.

Transition 1: I have no idea how long this takes, but I remember sitting down, picking grass out from between my toes, spraying sunscreen on, realizing, I'm too wet. Drying off, doing it again. Spraying my face, then realizing I have my sunglasses on. Doing it again. Some curses later, I am on my bike and running towards the bike start.

8:15 : The path out from the transition area is on a golf cart path. There is a very steep short hill you have to go up. I am going slowly and on the right of the path. Some woman comes up behind me yelling "On your right. Right! Right! Right!" Now, I'm no serious biker, but I know you are supposed to pass on the left. I stay right. And she finally passes me on the left, muttering an explicative at me on the way up. Hrmph.

8:20: I am on the main road and enjoying the flat roads, thinking this is going to be fun. I reach down to change my bike computer over to the Distance reading. I push it down and then watch it fly off my bike. I look back, stop, and don't see it. A quick calculation tells me it's not worth stopping. I keep going. Now I have so sense of the distances, my pace or my cadence. Oh well. I have my watch, which I started too late. I feel somewhat liberated.

8:40: Kerry had told me there was one major hill, and it was nothing compared to what we had been training on. At some point, I wonder if I am on the hill. I see people walking their bikes up the hill, so assume this is the hill. OK, this bike ride will be easy!

8:50: There are more hills. I am getting annoyed. It's about 90 outside. But the views are stunning and everyone is happy and in good spirits.

9:05: I complete the first loop of the two loops. I'm feeling good. I have been hydrating well, eating well, feeling strong.

9:10 - 9:55: The second loop is much much harder., but still fun. I'm exhausted and very very hot by the time I roll into transition

Transition 2: I go through the exact same sunscreen fiasco as T1. I change my shoes, use my inhaler and head out on to the course.

At this point, I've lost all sense of time. I had stopped my watch accidentally in the transition.

The run is a two loop down towards Makena Beach. This is a stunningly beautiful stretch of Maui. Unfortunately, I was completely miserable the whole time. The run was a series of very short steep hills, up and down. Really hard to get your stride. I also stop twice to pee.

Thankfully, there are waterstops with iced sponges every mile or so. I douse myself at everyone. By the second stop, my shoes are filled with water and weigh about 2 lbs each. I start to get blisters from the wet socks.

I'm told it was 90 degrees pool side at the hotel where the race was. So on the blazing asphalt, it was probably close to 100. Several times, as I am looking at Makena Beach, I am about to rip off my shoes and dive in. Bail on the race completely. Look at the view. Wouldn't you?

But finally, finally, I complete the second loop and cross the finish line. After a few minutes of rest in the shade and an iced Gatorade, I am able to reflect on how amazing an experience it really was. It was tough, for sure, but like the Outback-Steakhouse-Blesser said, we are lucky to be alive and experience the beautiful place all for an important cause. I definitely felt at peace (or maybe that was just from the free massages they were offering after the race).

With the aloha spirit~

Never Satisfied

Excited, and terrified
Crystal blue water, and sharks.
Warm sun, and blazing hot, dehydrating heat.
Tip-top shape, and raging self-doubt
Soon it will be over, and soon it will be over.