Wildflower....The Woodstock of Triathlon

What is it that brings 8,000 athletes each year to Lake San Antonio for the AVIA Wildflower Triathlons Festival?  The Wildflower Triathlon is a triathlon held at Lake San Antonio in Central California since 1983, the first winner being legendary Paul "The Machine" Huddle.

The original course was expanded to the standardized half-Ironman distance (1.2 mi / 56 mi / 13.1 mi) in the late 1980s, and is often referred to as simply the long course. Two more races have subsequently been added to the event: an Olympic-distance (1.5 km / 40 km / 10 km) race and a short or "sprint" mountain-bike triathlon (0.25 mi / 9.7 mi / 2 mi).
Known for a particularly hilly and grueling course, it is one of the largest triathlon events in the world, with 7,500 athletes and 30,000 spectators attending each year. Traditionally it is associated with a Wildflower festival, though in recent years the festival has been eclipsed by the increasingly large athletic event.

Yeah baby......we are packing up and hitting the road tomorrow AM for the drive up and hope to be there mid afternoon to set up camp, pick up my packet and chill with so many people from Tri Club San Diego!  

I am the last wave on Saturday... 9:25 start time (very late) and with this warm weather it will be a hot run - looks like mid 80's.  Since it has been so chilly, 80 feels really hot these days.  Have to gauge when to eat, stay hydrated etc...this race is NOT a PR!  Hilly bike and very hilly trail run so I will be out there longer than O'side and have to plan accordingly.  More salt, more calories and more fun!!!

The water temp is 68! Perfect and I love swimming in a lake vs ocean.   Whats the goal of the race....have fun!! No pressure on Saturday- the goal is to swim hard, solid ride and enjoy the run... :)  So funny how my emotions are in check, not stressed this week and just excited to race with a lot of friends. It is good to have no pressure races so we remember that this sport is all about having fun!  Not that other races are not fun, but when qualifying is in the back of your mind, the pressure stacks up. 

The big fun will be Saturday night! Post race, campfire and huge tri club dinner.  Have a few bottles of Hard Cider to knock back and hang out at the campsite.

No live tracking like they have for Ironman but results will be posted as the day progresses on Saturday http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/WildFlower2011-results.htm

Easter...+++

I know, I already posted this on FB but I just love this....it makes me laugh and I can only entertain myself with it once a year.

Awesome weekend.....not because I laid down amazing rides and runs but because it was a weekend that had it all- training, coaching, family and friends

Training...of course there was some.  Super fun and relaxed 3+ hour ride on Saturday with John, Cathleen, Liz and Chelsea. Since we are all (except John) racing Wildflower it was a cruisy ride out through Poway and up Scripps Poway Parkway and home.  I tested out my massive cassette and am pleased with the cadence I was holding on the climb.  I was extremely proud of the self installation of the new cassette....well until John and I took off and there was this clanging sound, a sound like something may fall off my bike sound.  Oops...seems that little spacer is quite important. No worries, I rode home, took the cassette off, inserted the space and was back on the road in 10 minutes.  John had time for Starbucks and the girls a pottie break.  Nice day and fun times!
 - Sunday was a nice run, well until I came upon the 10 ft rattle snake on the sidewalk.  Okay, maybe it was 2 feet or even 18 inches but it was hogging the entire corner.   What the heck - Easter Sunday and there he was.  I took the long, long path around and was totally freaked out for the rest of the run.   Headed to Frogs for a great swim and called it a weekend of training!

Coaching - my newest swim client!  I am very excited about my newest client...he is signed up for an Olympic in September and is struggling swimming 1 length at time.  We have a lot of work to do but he is committed, eager to learn and we had 2 x 1 hour lessons this weekend and made HUGE gains already.  Saturday we met at the JCC and the kicked me out, no more future lessons!  Only lessons given by the JCC staff.  Dang it!  I figured we could go to UCSD but they were closed on Easter so he agreed to drive to Frogs in Carmel Mountain.  I have taught 20+ lessons there and never had an issue...not today- new head life guard and she asks us to leave.  Nice impression I am making...kicked out 2 for 2.  She called her manager and they agreed to let us stay for the 1 hour, but huge bummer!  They say it is a liability...but when he is a member of the JCC and we both paid and singed  waiver for Frogs, how is that a liability?  And, as a USAT coach I have liability insurance....Argh!   So after Wildflower we are going to meet at UCSD- he wants 2x1 hour lessons per weekend and I am excited to help with his progress and get him up to 1500 meters.

I have been teaching swimming since I was 14. Granted I took a sabbatical for 15 years but it is amazing how it all came back so quickly when I started up again.   The Internet is such a lucrative source for learning, confirmation and giving me background on certain drills and why they work.  I have taken 4 webinars as well as the USAT Training and I get better every time.  The key really is consistency and coming back. The most success I have is when we see each other every week or every other week and they work mid week and then we correct and learn more.  Swimming is technical and most people have more than one issue to correct and sometimes you have to correct them one at a time or the brain is overloaded and everything falls apart. 

It is amazing to watch as an athlete fatigues...the stroke falls apart.  I now yell to stop, stop!  As soon as the incorrect technique returns, stop.  Building new muscle memory is not easy, but it can be done!!! Once the technique is corrected then we work on endurance, not before, not during!

Movies...we rarely, okay never get to the theaters so when we see movies they are long out of the hype and everyone has seen them, but they are good  So we finally saw The Kings Speech and The Fighter.  KS was as good as it was hyped to be...great historical fiction and Colin Forth really did a stupendous job acting the stammering.  Well worth seeing if you are one of the few that missed out. Really this was a feel-good history lesson, one that reminds us in no uncertain terms that royals are people too and have struggles like the rest of us. Riley even liked it- "even though it was kind of like a documentary" she said.  The Fighter is an enjoyable underdog-triumphs-over-adversity story. Predictable yes, most of the drama takes place outside of the ring, where lives are on the line, a family is divided.  Nothing new here but really well done and worth seeing.

And finally Easter....Easter Egg hunt for the kids and my Dad!  Great fun-  always a good time when everyone can see the final egg but for the person looking for it.   Lots of candy, money and good fun!  Wonderful dinner with my Dad and Kathi, Billy and his neighbor Irene and the kids and John.  With my Mom in Boulder, Billy brought a date ;)  Less time training so more time cooking...Lamb Tangine, Moroccan Quinoa salad and Easter treats for dessert.  A perfect finish to the weekend.

Gearing.....

So I have always (in all 5 years of riding a real bike) gone with less gears is better...why, not sure.  Well to begin with I rode my 1st bike with whatever cassette came on it.  Flat, hilly whatever...I just rode the bike.  Then I bought my first TT bike and John says you'll need to change the cassette, it's too hard for you?  Instead of questioning what he meant, seeking to understand or learn about the bike I immediately was offended? Too hard, who is he telling me this. I had done 1 70.3 at the time and was riding alot of miles.   He handled it well..and let me go off ride up Highland Valley Road (which has some serious grades at times) with me 12-23 after I had been accustomed to a 12-25 and a compact crank.

I was dismayed...I had lost my fitness, had to stand up the entire climb, hated the new bike.....ah the light went on about 1/2 way up the climb that maybe I needed to understand what this cassette thing really was.

Okay 5 years later.... I was doing most of my training on an 11-23 and riding some serious stuff.  I went to a St George training camp with my 11-23 to ride the course and when Gordo (who is kind of a big deal and really fast dude) said he was riding an 11-28 with a compact and coach suggested I add some gears I began thinking....maybe this grinding and gutting it out was not the answer.  I finally gave in and raced with an 11-25.  Did I run out of gears? yes.  Was my cadence low? yes.  Did I have to stand at times? yes.  Did my race suffer? Hard to say, it was  good day for me.

I raced O'side with 11-25 and was fine, had a great race, but on the steep climb when I was forced out of the saddle and watched some strong riders seated and riding with a higher cadence I got to thinking they are not putting forth as much effort...or so it seemed.

After the race I changed my wheels and threw on the 27 for my last few rides...and holy cow I was amazed at how my power did not drop but my PE did.  I was able to keep my HR lower on the "wall" on the GWL and am starting to see the light that KP has been showing me for some time, but I refused to see.  I keep thinking big cassette = wimping out.  Just my own little issue... seriously if you can save energy then by all means. And I do not recall getting bonus points from Ironman for running an 11-23 when others were running 11-27.

But my big fattie cassette is a 12-27 and I do not want to give up the 11.  I HATE spinning out and like to pedal as much as possible.  So of course...new race, new cassette.  But I had to draw the line at the Dura Ace cassette- $227...vs $98 for Ultegra for how many grams.  Seriously Julie - skip a meal and save $150!   We all get caught up in lightest this and that and spend more and more $$ when well 1lb off me does not cost $1000!  And would in fact save a little time on the run...

So I had a little bike maintenance session going on tonight..12-27 off the bike, 11-28 (I know ginormous but Ultegra does not make 11-27, only 11-28) on the bike, a few adjustments and took it for a spin all is well.  Will get a few more rides with the new cassette before the sassy race wheels go back on and she i ready to roll for Wildflower.

8 days and counting.... yee haw! 

Taper time....not yet

O'side 70.3 seems like last season....really was just about 3 weeks ago.  After a solid recovery week I hit it hard last week.  I do recall coach saying something about the possibility of feeling great in training...the effects of the taper for O'side + the additional recovery.  So when we did our mid week GWL + Honey Springs my legs felt fresh and I was hitting in.  I did not go all out but did a solid 3:45 ride and with a nice run. Backed that up with a big swim and run on Thursday and a rockin run on Friday.  90 minutes of trails and hills, including the climb up Black Mountain.  My HR was good, legs strong, pace slow but well it was wickedly hilly and I felt great.  Rolled into Saturday and had a awesome climb up Highland Valley Road with exceptional power and semi fresh legs- I had my mojo back and was ready to nail another solid week.....

Then came the sleepover with 7 girls and the fatigue.  Sunday I was slow and tired....really thinking it was lack of sleep - and yes that was part of it, but it was also the training. Coach said "save your efforts for Wildflower"  Yeah I will but well it felt so good to feel so fresh- Beth and I were chatting up Honey Springs realizing how great it felt to have our legs fresh..... right- well that feeling is a memory indeed.

Monday was  recovery day and Tuesday's GWL adventure was scaled back indeed. When the ride time is over 1 hour less and power is 15+ watts lower and you feel the same after the ride...that is telling.  The run off the bike was good- thankfully!  But an indicator that coach was possibly right.

What is it about trying to cram in fitness....Rationally I know that is not much that can be done- I kept thinking I can gain fitness up until 10 days out, but at what cost? forced rest???? Someday I will learn.  Well I do in fact get it and can apply this to other athletes and it makes perfect sense, but when it comes to me.....well that is why the coach has a coach.

Funny thing is one of my riding buddies....who is in the same decade of life as I is in the same spot.   Seems she has been put on training probation as well, although she was banned from GWL this week so must be really bad!  But I am sure that will translate to a smashing race at Wildflower.

Today I knocked out a sensational swim, all on my own!  8x500 with 5-10 seconds rest-  descending - last 4 with paddles and the last one was painful but finished really strong.   Solid set and great workout-  finished up with and ez 400 and called it a day.  Run in the trails was ez but legs are coming around....good news!  Hitting the trails tomorrow for some more Black Mountain fun! 

Why am I so tired.....

I know you are thinking....why? swim.bike.run/repeat. Yes it could be the killer GWL + Honey Springs ride on Wednesday, backed up by a killer swim/run day no Thursday and then a long, hill run up Black Mountain on Friday and a Highland Valley Road ++ ride on Saturday....but you are only partially right.   

Here in lies the real source of fatigue..... 7 teenage girls 

  Here they are slumbering away after a very busy night until past 2am.  We swore off multiple people sleepovers years ago- why? I like to sleep and with multiple kids at my house that simply does not happen.   But well....Riley has a very cool group "fantastic 7" of her lacrosse friends and they come as a unit.  Sem Great girls and well.... we agreed.

People talk about teenage boys and how much they eat- well have 7 lacrosse players over and you will think again.  2 costco pizzas, costco chips,1 gallon milk, 1 case sparkling ice, entire recipe of chocolate chip cookies, ice cream sandwiches, 2 lbs bacon, 30+ pancakes, few gallons water, large watermelon ....and I am not sure what else.  All this from 2pm -11am!  WoW.

We have been in the throws of winter and suddenly on Friday it was warm and nice!  Saturday we put the solar in the pool and the pool was up to 80 and the spa 106 but the time the girls arrived.  Backyard was packed with bathing beauties. From the pool to the spa to the park for lacrosse and then dinner and a movie.  They were busy and JD, John and I were holed up in our bedroom for the evening.  What a night.... guitar and recorder playing, listening to bad cd's, playing hide from John and more ridiculous fun.  Around 2am they went to sleep as did we.  Other than that it was uneventful, although I find it odd that 16+ pack of TP is missing from the closet???

So...  my training took a backseat but in the big scheme of things it's all good.  Life is more than triathlon around here....and sometimes that is okay!

Wilflower Long Course....in less than 2 weeks!  Ill be ready to race again then.
  

When you fall off the bike....get back on it

So I fell off on Sunday...it took until Wednesday but I got back on.  After a 6 week sabbatical from the East County I was excited to ride GWL again.  We met at an extremely reasonable time of 9:00am....slept in, ate breakfast (not out of a package), got some work done and hit the road. Conference call en route and rolling with Riikka, Lynn, Brian and Beth (who is on spring break)  Weather promised nice and sunny but it was cloudy and breezy.

Nice climb up to the beekeeper and then we hit the crosswinds and this was the first time I was out in East County with my Reynolds wheels and well I was wishing they were at home...the 58mm depth was enough to blow around and make it pretty scary.  Now I love descending and drop in my aero bars and go but not today....1- the fall off the bike as a little too fresh in my mind and the pounding in my nose was a good reminder and 2: the wind and the wheel combo was freaking me out.   So on the awesome 6 mile descent down Honey Springs, or honey hills as Riikka calls it, I was sitting up and holding on.

Great ride....my legs are feeling incredibly fresh coming off O'side, solid ride at Gran Fondo and some runs.  I was cautious...I still have some work to do before Wildflower and did not want to use it all up today.  Skyline Truck was also crosswinds and hair raising....my arms were actually sore from holding on.  

All in all it was great fun and still so beautiful out there since it is so green. Nice T run with Beth- yes I actually ran with the speed demon.  30 minutes flew by and off to Sbux for the usual reward!

Finished in time for my next call and conducted business quite efficiently in the parking lot.  Have iPad and iPhone will travel and work anywhere!

Coaching swim at the JCC tonight for the TriClub San Diego! 

Gran Fondo

 “Gran Fondo” means “Big Ride” in Italian
And a big ride it was.....so Colnago is the title sponsor and they sponsor the Women's Nytro Team and provide us with the hot rides on the TT Flight. So all of us who were in town lined up with the Ferrari's and Ducatis and lead the ride out of Little Italy.

Sweet rides to follow.  Even Papa Skip was there to roll along!

There were 2 rides - 60 and 105. Since it was one week post O'side and technically a recovery day I was planning on riding 60....well until Beth convinced me, after a few glasses of wine the night before, to do the 105 ez. We were all well fueled after a great team dinner of pasta and wine.

Julie, Molly and Beth ready to roll

So we lined up and off we went. Riding out of downtown is NOT fun- crappy roads and very soon the scenery is wear house like and steel buildings, shipyards and lots of RR tracks.  Within 2 minutes, Polly had launched 2 bottles but no hard no foul. As we approached out (what felt like ) 10th set of RR tracks I was slowing down and the dude in front of my rolled over, bottle popped out and headed for me. Oh S&*T....missed my front wheel but rolled under the rear and then it is a bit of blur....but I was down- elbow, hip, knee and face bleeding. Thankfully it was cold do my arm warmers and knee warmers were torn and mild road rash on my body.  My glassed were jammed into my face, thus the slice on my nose and my helmet is sporting 2 major dents. 

I was stunned, John was freaked out- he watched it all, but nothing broken, just  little air conditioning.  Team stopped and helped and off we went....we had spread out a bit so I was thanked for regrouping us all.  Hey, anything for the team!

After 10 miles or so Polly flatted, torn tire...thanks to John for carrying all one could need and more on his bike - so he had a replacement tire. This was going to be a long day- 13 miles and over 1:15 due to crashes and mechanicals.   At this point I decide that 60 would actually be okay as my head was pounding and my nose was not feeling right.
Once out of downtown it was awesome! Riding through the Olympic Training Center and all the way to Honey Springs was terrific.  Rolling hills, nice roads, little traffic and I was aero most of the ride with John tucked in behind me.  We missed the turn around and at the base of Honey Springs debated the 10k time trial but decided to turn around. The way back was nice but had a massive head wind.  I got aero and rode....my legs felt amazingly good considering I was one week post race.  We were flying past everyone and soon I started to hear different voices calling clear when I moved over to pass. I looked back to see we had picked up a nice pace line, well I had picked them up.  I was happy to pull and not looking for  a break so it was all good. 

It was great until we got back into town...traffic, lots of cyclists and right across from the convention center we stopped for a light and I rolled, well so did a massive semi- There was a curb and no bike lane....holy cow I was freaking out- it was so close to hitting me....I did not know what to do- my right pedal was scraping the sidewalk and I was afraid to stop for fear of someone crashing into me- well of course I was the only moron to be wedged between the truck and sidewalk.  Scary.....again

Time to get off the bike!  Nice spread for the VIP's - yes we qualified and there were pouring chilled Prosecco but I passed...with a throbbing head and swelling nose, coffee was more in order.  Here is a shot of the leg....no nose shots as it is not bad enough that someone says OMG what happened. It is slightly swollen so my nose looks big, my eyes a bit sunken in and dark brown bruising across the bridge.  It is just enough that when talking to someone they kind of stare but not really and cannot figure out what is going on. 



My bike....it is okay- brake is scratched to no end and bent- but rode it 60 miles and all seems okay.  Need a new helmet...this one did it's job but want a fresh one in case I need it to do it again!

Eventfull weekend indeed...... Rest of the weekend was dinner with family, hanging with good friends and JD grilling a nice Pork Tenderloin for us all to enjoy.

Thank goodness for triathlon, friends and family!

stressing about life and not sleeping is a real bummer.... but the upside is triathlon.  I am up early these days, usually around 3am it seems.  I have found I can down 1/2 pot of coffee by 6am and then forcible switch to green tea. 

Yesterday is was howling wind and threatening rain....better than being miserable at home I headed to Fiesta Island to meet J and S.  See I really dislike riding in circles (ie Fiesta) and I really, really dislike wind, but I happen really like these girls and this was where they were riding.  As I am getting ready to ride, chatting, dumping my woes on J, I take one last look in my trunk and slam it shut.....as the trunk is slamming this panicky feeling sets in and I am reaching in my jersey pocked, I hear the beep- beep confirming the car is locked about the time my hand finds the jersey completely empty.  Yes my keys and phone are in the car.  I am so pissed, I am not even pissed....come on let's just ride knowing I call AAA later and deal with the issue.

Off we go joined by S and it was pretty darn miserable, terrific headwind on the backside (more so than Fiesta usually offers) and cold.   I think maybe I should go back and get my jacket, great idea if I had keys. In any case...I am still recovering, S is getting ready to taper and J has an extra passenger so this was a no expectation ride.  A lot of chatting, solving the worlds problems and riding in circles. 

The last loop the rain came....and AAA was reasonably on time.  After watching in panic as he jammed something between the door frame and window and began inflating air so the rubber popped out...I was a bit nervous, fully expecting a whistling window from here on out.  He users the high tech tool, a large bent piece of metal, covered in duct tape to hit the open door button.  Minutes later, in the rain and mud, I am in my car.  Have not used AAA in 4+ years but got my moneys worth yesterday.

M was running today at 5:30am..... I pretty much figured I would be up to run, but in the rare case I was actually sleeping, I was not setting an alarm to get up.  She says text me in the AM if you are coming or not....well I cannot do that because if I wake up to text you then I am coming, if I am not awake, I am not texting or coming.  Last night....late close to 11 after dinner with great friends I opptomistically texted I am not coming- sleeping in.  Guess what... I ran at  5:30 - I was up, 2 cups of coffee in me and nothing to do.  It was cold and windy....really cold, really windy but well running down Torrey at first light watching the ocean on a stormy morning was the perfect start to my day.   Drove home and crawled back in the warm bed and then had GF pancakes with John. 

Training wise this has been a recovery week...I felt good swimming by Wedenesay and good on the bike by Thursday. Today was the first day my legs felt good running, although my calves are stilll mounds of knots- KP did not painful ART and I think I am back on track.  3 weeks to Wildflower....this weekend is mellow and then hitting in hard for 2 weeks and then 1 week of taper and race time again!

Race Report

4:59:44

Swim:28:14....this was the most disappointing part of the day.  Not during the race- as seriously I was sure I clocked a PR in the swim.  I swam hard, harder than ever before.  My arms were sore as I exited the water and sore on Monday.   So when I heard a 28 I was dumbfounded....oh well - I have heard from a few others their times were slow compared to swim fitness and expectations.  It was rolly out past the protected area.  I swam alone, well until I swam over others- but no other purple cap in sight. I have to say I love, love my new wetsuit-  Zoot Prophet .  This is the first race- every my neck was not chafed and raw.  So comfortable. The O'side swim is fun because each wave lines up like cows going to slaughter (ok kind of gruesome) but you are in the shoot for a while as each wave goes off.  It was fun to watch Andy Potts come flying back in and meanwhile chatting with everyone.  This race is the least stressful in the AM due to so many friends about.  Amy and I hung out, chatted about everything but the race, and happily passed the time- sort of like we did in Kona.  And suddenly it was time to line up. 

Bike 2:46:04  Definitely slower than I had hoped...1 minute slower than my 09 split but my normalized power was 5 watts higher. So I think the ride was a "better" ride but there was a lot more wind inside Pendleton.  Out of the water my legs were flat, did not feel a lot of pop in them and my gut was unsettled.  I was a bit worried as I kept burping up salt water etc.  I stuck with water only for 20+ minutes to allow my stomach to settle and at 30 min I wanted to start taking in calories- slowly I started sipping.  45 minutes my legs were not feeling great and I made a decision to suck it up and ride- nail the power, trust the training and go from there.  My HR was spot on so on I rode. Around 1:15 my legs opened up and I was feeling great- I was holding back and sticking to my power guidelines.  KP said the last 10 miles I could pick it up if the power was there and to expect to feel tired and ready to get off the bike.  I felt great, I picked it up and think I could have given it more...(hindsight is a beautiful thing)  Rolling down Vandegrift when a lot of people are starting to die and slow down, I was feeling awesome.  I was singing, giving encouragement to people I passed, called out 2 pace lines with 3+ people in them and before I knew it I was rolling into T2.  The time was slower than I hoped but the headwinds were strong and I knew it was not a PR day for the bike.
 
Run 1:40:30  KP reminded me the 1st mile is usually painful and tough and then the legs open up.  I felt great, had to keep dialing back the pace as 7:00 is too fast for me on mile 1.  My garmin kept freezing up and shutting down so I just ran and tried to not worry about it.  At this point I knew I was in 1st but no clue how far back 2nd place was.  So I stuck to my plan and started ticking off the miles- each mile was feeling good and I was thankful for each mile that I felt that way.  I soon found out I was up 6 minutes but that was only at mile 3 so a fast runner could easily run me down.  I stuck to my plan and kept running.  I love this course because you see everyone on the run as it is out and back x 2.  Great to see my teammates out there and all the other Tri Clubbers.  Soon I was at the turn around- shout out to Mom and John and then the miles did not feel so great nor did they "fly by." Garmin was dead so I jumped behind a guy, asked his pace and followed him.  Around 8 KP said I 2nd place put 2 minutes into me on the 1st lap, but she was slowing down and I had picked it up.  I was not worried- my pace was good, I was able to hold it and just get this done.  Troy, guy I was tailing had a fast cadence and he was great.  On the way back KP said no worries, this race is yours.... but I was not going to let up.  All the cheering was so helpful, the Nytro guys were awesome, Danielle and the Nytro team members were loud and encouraging, thanks to John for bringing my Mom, the tri club on the course and volunteering all makes such a difference. 

It was so fun watching  Beth run down first place.  I was giving her updates on what the girl was wearing and how far back she way.  The girl is such an amazing runner...she breezed by my like it was effortless. Well done- she not only caught her to win but was also the 1st Amateur overall!

Back to my race...around mile 12 Troy started to slow down so it was my turn to pull him....he wanted to stop at the aid station and I said "come on,1 mile, gut it out"  and we took off.  He was on my heels up the last hill and fell off.  Rounding that corner is so sweet!  Crowds and yelling and knowing it would all end soon! PR on the run!  I sooo wanted to break 1:40- but oh well.  Pulled off the run in my Zoot TT's- no socks, shoes were awesome. and no blisters. 

And finally the monkey off my back....1st place at O'side.  Fun to share the fun with so many good friends at the finish! Congrats to Noko for an awesome race,  James - the dream crusher and AG winner with Beth, Amy for staying tough, Kristen for not giving up, Darcy for rockin the run and to everyone else who raced! 

So the goal was under 5 hours, hoped to go 4:55 (but would have been tough on that day) and to win. So 2 for 2 and I will gladly take it.  Expensive day as well....hard to complain though- coughed up money for 70.3 Worlds Championships in Vegas on 9/11 and and more money for the big show....Ironman World Championships in Kona 10/11.  Yee haw another Ironman... :)

O'side 70.3....race week report

Finally.....yes I did it.  Won my AG at this damn race!  5 years racing and I am thankful to have been on the podium the last 4 years but never in the coveted #1 spot.  This was my year and yes, aging up has it's advantages. But let me digress......

Race Week..... well it was  tough one. John was sick and come Monday I knew something was off.  Cloudy head and scratchy throat- did an easy run and my IT Bands were to tight.  KP did some painful ART and broke up a lot of what was clogging up my legs.  Took a nap and headed to bed early hoping to awake whole again.

Nearly 11 hours of sleep and scratch and headache were hovering...that heaviness when I would breath and I was scared.  I called out for help and was loading up on The Wellness Formula, a homeopathic immune system builder, Wish Garden Herbs which is some of the nastiest tasting drops you can fathom- when  my bro in law said "think Fear Factor" he was spot on, Congaplex (thank to my neighbor who say my please for help) Now this one is fascinating as it's active ingredient is Bovine thymus Cytosol™The thymus is a lobular gland located under the breastbone near the thyroid gland of a calf -a homeopathic remedy to support and strengthen the entire immune system by nourishing the organs and
tissue systems that synergistically work together in the body's immune response.  And of course Emergen C and Zinc.   I was on overload but hoping for the best.

With each new product I would carefully read the label and then research each ingredient to make sure there was not some freakish banned substance amongst the roots and extracts.  In any case I did an ez swim and run and felt ok.

Wednesday the fog was lifting....low grade headache remained and I had a nice ride and run.  Legs were not popping....felt heavy and I was worried.

I was a head case....once again KP was there to talk me off the ledge, remind me of what I had done, take it day by day.  It is also great to have such good friends- I was in touch with 4 of them all week and it seems the consensus was we were all a wreck, worried that we had trained too hard, started tapering too late or too early,  not feeling the pop, avoiding reading what others were doing, our spouses were ready to kill us.....nice knowing that I am not the only head case race week!  It is amazing I manged to effectively work each day.

Thursday my head was clear and I felt great swimming and running. The ride was still not there for me....but well it was going to be what it was going to be.   I got registered, saw some good friends and continued to rest and sleep.  Friday was the best day and I decided to take it off - I usually do a short swim.bike.run but just decided to lay low, rest and eventually had lunch with KP, Gordo and other athletes.  Rockin Baja Lobster - avoided spicy food cut grilled Mahi Mahi and lots of guac seemed great pre race food.  Riley had a game in the afternoon and team dinner at Souplantataion- I was planning to eat at home as I am wary of eating our pre-race, but well I was hungry and went for it.  Stayed away from a massive salad- but did have some nice grilled chicken, corn bread- real treat, broccoli and corn and could not resist the dark chocolate frozen yogurt.

In bed by 8:30....and asleep my 9pm! 

I paid attention to my meals all week...tapering is hard- less training means less food or you gain weight - which is not desirable race week.  But your body takes longer to realize it needs less, so tapering also can mean being a bit hungry at times.  My dinners each night were perfect- 2 nights Alaskan wild salmon with brussel sprouts and yams.  Thursday night we had organic beef, broccoli, sugar snap peas and more yams.  I am not a big carbo loader in the grains and pasta sense, I increase my carbs through more fruit, yams, corn etc.   I must have eaten 20+ apples this week- Jimbos has the best Organic Jumbo Fuji's- really like candy, bags on cuties- extra Vit C and a few bananas come Thursday/Friday.  As a family we had smoothies most mornings- blueberries, strawberries, stoneyfield vanilla yogurt and coconut water. A lot of people give up caffeine but I did  that once and decided that changes race week are not good for me...there is enough going on.  I do cut back to 50/50 decaf/regular and am careful not to have any after 4pm - sleep is priority race week.  During big training I am not a big sweets eater so I carry that through taper time as well- keep any sugars to a minimum and avoid processed foods as much as possible.