I RACED!

 Normally " I raced"  Is nothing to shout on the rooftops, however in 2020, after 9 months of canceled races, it's a BFD!   It was not a triathlon, but it was a 100% legitimate race with check-in, timing chip, aid stations, and a finish line. 

And it was a first for me—a 50K,  31.6 miles with 3200 ft of elevation of fun and adventure on the trails.

I have wanted, or at least of wanted to want, to run an Ultra for a while, but I was afraid.  Not afraid of 31 miles but afraid of 31 miles on the trails.  The idea of a 50K on the road was not appealing.  I found every excuse to not run a 50K over the years; however, this year, it was soon apparent that this may be the ONLY chance I would have to race.  So suck it up, buttercup!! 

My training was NOT conventional for an Ultra. My longest run was 3 hours in the trails and only 17 miles.  But I did some colossal strength during our September Gladiator Strength Challenge- think 1000 squats in one day and 500 burpees another day.   The month was peppered with all kinds of strength, along with a marathon in a day, a 3K hike, 2 hours of stairs with 20lbs, and more.   October I did R2R2R,  a 48 mile 10K of ascent and 10K descent, mostly hiking.   November was 4.4.48, 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours.   

I had miles in my legs for sure!

I had zero expectations for the race.  I wanted to enjoy the day, suffer at times, not get hurt, appreciate that I was out there, and soak up the finish line.  I did ALL of that! 

 Every runner had a buff   + a mask at the start.  Groups of 10 spread out went off every 5 minutes. Complete social distancing and no spectator allowed, so zero crowds. 

For the first 5 miles, I felt sluggish and was a bit worried. Was I too tired, not tapered enough? Could I really do 31 miles?  I put that out of my mind and tried to find my groove.  With Road Trip Songs Playlist in my ears, I found my happy place.  The trails were runnable until mile 18, not too technical or rocky, and I felt great.  I ran a pace that was comfortable and seemed sustainable.   I was fueling with UCAN for calories and Precision Hydration for sodium + PBJ for supplemental calories.  I had my first uncrustable at aid station 1, and it was horrific- OMG, it tasted like paste and chemicals!  Thankfully at the subsequent station, they had real PBJ. 

At mile 18, we started really climbing, and it was now single track and really rocky, those pokey jarring rocks that I could feel on the bottom of my feet.  Ugh, this is where I struggle.  I was only pissed for a few minutes and remembered my mantra, and power hiked like the others I could see ahead; whenever there was just dirt, I jogged and then resumed hiking.  Once we crested the summit, I saw the descent was similar jagged rock terrain, and I suck at this.  I tried to jog and simply quit for fear of a wipeout.   I was hemorrhaging time, and my sub-6-hour finish was slipping away, but I kept working on staying positive.

Mile 22, aid station, the last one was mile 10, and I was out of fluids.  I was thrilled for ice water to fill my pack + a  PBJ. I mixed 180 Cal of UCAN with 2x Precision Hydration,  3 times.    I felt my legs but happy to see I was back on runnable terrain and surprised to see the guy kicking back smoking a joint.   He soon passed me so, who am I to judge.   My legs were tired but feeling okay; the trial was good and bad, so I pushed the pace when I could run and hiked/walked when I was too scared I could not run.  Last aid station, I filled up ice and took a caffeine tab of 175mg.

5 miles to go, and on an uphill, I could see bodies ahead, and I went to work.   I passed 5 people in the last 3 miles; now I was racing, pushing through that pain, knowing it was only a few miles, and then I was done.  Mile 28, looking ahead at my next target, I clipped a rock and went down! Boom, thankfully on dirt and not rocks.  Tore open my knee and slammed my elbow, but I was up again and back to the hunt.

Caught the last one in sigh at mile 30 on a steep uphill; the last 1.5 miles were up and down and technical. I went all out when I could, power hiked when I was scared  I could not and finished with a smile!!! 

I loved that they gave out finisher glasses and not medals!

1- I am not a good trail runner

2- My endurance is good, and I can suffer  a long time

3- I can steal energy from other people suffering; I see them walk and use that to fuel myself. Unless it is really rocky and steep, and when I walk too.

4- Only 1 BLISTER!!  Seriously, that is a miracle 

5 This was COVID - safe; everyone wore a mask, kept their distance, and was so appreciative! 

6. Trust your coach!!!  Marylin was right; the cumulative running  + strength had me 100% prepared for this.  When I was tired and hurting, I could hear here her voice and just kept pushing. 

I was quite surprised to see that I was 1st in W50-59; I am stacking this up to the
"weak COVID" field, but nonetheless am proud of my day! 

As  PSA, this run was really well done!!!  Registration was easy. Great pre-race communication and COVID updates.  Safe, efficient packet pick up- outside.   The run was well organized and so well marked, ribbons on trees every 200 yards, so you always knew you were on the right trail; at any turn, there were signs and then signs that said "wrong way" if you missed the turn sign, there was tape across turns that seemed like the right way, in case you missed the sign and wanted to go that way!   Well stocked aid stations with incredibly helpful volunteers.  AND ice old Diet Dr. Pepper at the finish- my 100% favorite!!!   Lots of other food and drinks too.  I was not cutting calories; that is just one of my favs on a long ride or post-race.  I still ate all the calories and continued to eat Sunday and well today too. I woke up at midnight Sat starving, was surfing the kitchen, and settled for pancakes with nut butter and chocolate + a protein shake.  

4.4.48 DONE

Never say never, but I will never; I don't think I ever need to do that again!

It was EPIC!  Here are my running thoughts.....  

 

- easier than I thought physically

- more mental than physical 

- sleep is overrated

- have a group to do it with, even virtually, we had 7, and the texts were motivating, funny and kept us all going.

- strength training helps!   Between our Gladiator BINGO and Squatober the extra strength was key to feeling solid all the way.  My quads were never blown, just fatigued.

- rest a few days going into it, not off but dial it back a bit

- try and bank sleep, especially the previous night.

- you will have to do laundry

- use multiple shoes; I cycled through 3 pairs

- mix up your surfaces, I did 3 on trails, and those felt so good.

- stay in the moment, don't ask, "how many more runs do I have?" 

- plan your calories, hydration, and then have random things on hand that may sound good when you just don't want to eat.

- take 5 min to foam roll, hypervolt, stretch after each run

- mindful hydration. Post EVERY run, I drank 24oz with 2x NUUN tablets.  

- after the 9:30pm and 1:30am- drank 150 cal Vega protein shake- 30g protein and amino acids

- buy or borrow Normatec's - they definitely helped!

- Epsom salt bath, I took 2, and that was helpful

- don't ever sit more than 30 min or you will regret it

- carb-up / calorie up the week of, as you do for an Ironman

- laugh a lot

- have a good headlamp and reflective gear, its DAF at 1:30, and we had a full moon

- lube your feet.  NO blisters.  I used Aquaphor before every run,

- pace yourself; if you feel restless or like, this is too easy, crush the last 4,8 or 12 miles.   We went hard mile 40-44 and then enjoyed the last 4. 

- We started at 5:30pm on a Friday, so we finished Sunday afternoon. I definitely recommend a start time around this time, finishing midday is great, you can celebrate, go out to eat and enjoy the experience.  Versus starting at 4:30AM and finishing at midnight, you will not sleep right away, and it's anti-climatic to finish so late.

- Plan to do laundry or have 12 outfits + 12 pairs of socks + hats/hairbands - nothing dries out in 3 +hours.  

- know your body, especially your gut.  My running belly is sensitive; you will see by my food log, nothing too crazy, and I had 0 GI issues and no blow outs, which is a slight miracle for me.

Here is how it went down

 

I mostly went for flat runs; I live in all hills and thus drove to many runs.  The night runs, I ran from home.   Pacing, this is around my Ironman run pace, so all-day comfortable pace, I let the fatigue come on its own. 

Time	#	Pace/Mile	Elevation	Post Run	Calorie	Total Miles
5:30 PM	1	9:13:00 AM this felt stiff getting toing	95	24oz w/2x NUUN + 2 cups GF pasta with EVO + daiya cheese	500	4
9:30 PM	2	9:13:00 AM cool out and legs are feeling better	151	24oz w/2x NUUN + 1 cup pasta, 2 pieces black licorice + 1 T nut butter	500	8
1:30 AM	3	9:08:00 AM hill run, legs are feeling good and really enjoyed this	335	12 oz w/2x NUUN + 12 oz with Vega Sport protein powder	135	12
5:30 AM	4	9:04:00 AM Full moon, super foggy but legs relaxed and easy	89	24oz w/2x NUUN + 2 pieces WF Pizza dough cooked as rolls + avocado + Coffee	600	16
9:30 AM	5	9:33:00 AM hit the trails and this was a nice change, slower pace but worth the soft surface	131 trails	24oz w/2x NUUN + 1 small WF pizza dough roll + coffee	125	20
12:30 PM	6	9:07:00 AM super boring run	233	Candy Corn + York Peppermint Patties + red bull	400	24
5:30 PM	7	10:03:00 AM back to the trails, careful footiing	165 trails	24oz w/2x NUUN + 2 pieces WF Pizza dough cooked as rolls with Myokos butter	450	28
9:30	8	9:16 dodging people in costume in downtown Encinitas. Lookinga the crowds and lines at the bars, What COVID?"	112	12 oz w/2x NUUN + 12 oz with Vega Sport protein powder	135	32
1:30 AM	9	9:22:00 AM scary car that slowed and freaked me out, holy shitballs, totally freaked when he passed me stopped. It was either an UBER or a bootie call as someone came out to the car	351	12 oz w/2x NUUN + 12 oz with Vega Sport protein powder	150	36
4:30AM (daylight savings)	10	9:46 legs are stiff from sleeping. While the 2.5 hours sleep was great, this was hard to get rolling	167	24oz w/2x NUUN +bagel with almond butter + candy corn + pumpkin pancake + coffee	600	40
8:30 AM	11	8:27 - lets see how fast we can go. Why not? HR was in 170's but pace was slow....but we did what we could	131	24oz w/2x NUUN + 1/2 XO Chocolate Bar + coffee x 4 + red bull	350	44
12:30 PM	12	10:20 finished with a group and enjoyed the final run- 100% social and fun!	141	ALL the food I could find!!!		48

I slept 10 hours Sunday night and woke up stiff and tired. I swam and walked the dogs and felt too much better!  Starving all day, much like post-Ironman.   

Monday night, another 9 hours, and then went for a short run this AM. I am feeling pretty good.  Spin on the bike, and I feel even better. 

4.4.48

 

What is it?
Run 4 miles
Every 4 hours
48 hours = 48 miles of running
Why? check out the video

David Goggins created this and his video sums it up.  Why now?

1- COVID
2- No races

3- COVID

4- Because we can

Everyone has an opinion about how endurance athletes should approach COVID, there is not right or wrong answer and there is not one approach for every person.  Everyone is different and we all have different life stressors, motivators, limiters etc.  

For 9 of us, 4.4.48  in on the calendar this weekend! 

I was planning on this in July, but after my incident with the refrigerator  I was off running for 5 weeks.  I know have the fitness to pull this off!

Goals

- finish strong

- have fun

- don't get hurt

- push through physical and mental boundaries 

Today feels a bit like race week, the planning is in motion.  

1: increase the carbs exponentially!   Fuel up 

2: Rest up a bit, trying to go to bed early and bank sleep.

3: Plan my food. When it gets hard and I am tired I need to have good food that is easily accessible.

- sweet potatoes, rice, plain pasta, applesauce, pancakes. banana's, coke, more coke, coffee, chocolate, peanut butter pretzels.  The goal is 2-300 calories post each run, at some point I will want more, but the min is 2-300.  60g of protein /day which will likely be Vega Sport Protein powder as I am worried about anything else. 

Today's menu

- Pumpkin Pancakes 

- Lots of coffee with coconut cream

- giant kale salad with garbanzo's, craisons and nuts  + 2 sourdough rolls

- mid day dark chocolate

- banana + almond butter

- more kale salad with garbanzos, avocado, nuts and a bowl of gf pasta with vegan Parmesan + evo and onion salt

- more dark chocolate

 

Macro's for the day

Total Calories 3150

Carbs 403 grams 

Protein   60 grams

 

 

 

One and done is good for me.

I wrote these words in a blog on 11/8/2016.  WHY don't I listen to myself.....   This was the first time I did R2R2R.    

But then Covid-19, races canceled, epic challenges that included Everesting, and one of my business partners mentioned R2R2R, and my gut reaction was NO!!!  But almost immediately, I knew I was in.  The FOMO would have been too much.  Recovering from my broken toe, I knew the prep would be tight.  

My approach to R3R3R was to enjoy it, no goal for a PR and embrace what it brings! Be thankful I can do this, appreciate the amazing people that are with me and make the most of whatever the day brings. 

Goal accomplished!  

We had a group of 9, with 7 of them looking to dig deep and see what they could do.  I wanted that to be me, but it was just not in the cards right now, that my friends is maturity or wimping out. Alex and I had a plan to listen to your bodies, be safe, embrace what the day brought!  We were thrilled to go someplace! 

The planning was necessary and reminded me of what else I miss; packing, weighing nutrition and counting calories, etc

I packed 4500 calories- planning for an extra-long day; turns out it was a long day 

• 4x PBJ Sandwiches 1200
• 2 Packages Organic Poptarts 800 
• 2x Salted Watermelon Shot blocks 400
• 1 packet Yum Butter 1080
• Black Licorice 400 
• Cliff Bar  250
• 4 GU's  400 

  
  

  
  
  

Alarm off at 3:00. Grabbed my overnight oats with blueberries, which froze because I turned down the fridge wanting my post R2R2R Local Roots Kombucha to be icy cold, Priorities!  The room did not have a coffee maker, thank you Covid, so I had cold coffee with cold/frozen oats.  Not a great start to the day, but seriously 1st world problems. 

Our crew of 9 met a 3:30 and pilid into Lauras SUV, and John drove us to South Kaibab. He was regrettably not running due to a foot injury.   We are psyched and ready to go.  The temp was not too cold, so we opted for long sleeve tech t over:

• Camo running shorts
• compression socks (3/4 length)
• Do Epic Shit tank
• NYX Buff
• Baseball hat 

We did a "hoorah"  cheer and took off.  Within a few miles or maybe 500 feet, we were dropped by the rest of our group, who are kick-ass trail runners.  I was scared of falling, we all know how frequently I fall, and well, I wanted to make it to mile 48.  Alex and I both did fall early, but nothing too bad.  And let's be honest, I suck at trail running and it pisses me off!  I am scared and want to run fast and then I trip and I am scared.  I am a water mammal, but really I want to be a cheetah.

Down we went, nearly 7 miles in the dark on a sketch trail, and at least 500 people or maybe 50 people passed us.  We decided we were likely the slowest people in the Canyon that day.  The sunrise at Phantom Ranch was as stunning as I remember.  No pictures can portray stunning beauty!  I am not a nature kind of girl, you will not catch me a lookout point, or admiring the view, but the Grand Canyon, this is stunning!  

Temps were warming up, and we filled up our water, started on the calories, and started the next 7 miles toward Cottonwood. This is the "most" runnable part of the Canyon, and we ran where we could, and power hiked where we couldn't.  It was clear to me that my legs were not fresh; this was not going to be an epic day of "crushing it"  A month of BINGO, along with a long ride the weekend prior, did not help freshen my legs. 

The key was Alex and I was on the same page; we were looking to enjoy the day and stay together. There was a lot of, "should we run now?" Ok, let's go, "are you okay if we power hike this""  We were well matched for the adventure.  We suffered for sure, but not in that deep dark place I go when racing. which I miss, not going to lie. 

After Cottonwood, you have 1.5 miles to Manzanita, and then it gets f'ing real.  5.5 miles up to the North Rim, and it's steep, and I was slightly grumpy at times.  You climb up to over 8K, and the altitude is real.  I felt reasonably good, other than my heels were on fire, the start of 4 of my 9 blisters.   We took a reasonable break at the North Rim, it's a surreal feeling of WOW. We just did Rim2Rim!  And as soon as you start to relish in that, you realize you are half way, as in holy shit we have to go back.

This is when Ironman's brain kicks in, stay in the moment, and focus on the next stop.  5.5 miles down to Manzanita, which we rolled through and stopped at Cottonwood to refill and take a break.   It was getting challenging; my feet were on fire, hot spots all over, and I knew they would suffer.  My legs felt tired, but okay.   That kind of yes they hurt but we can hurt like this for a long time. 

We trudged on chatting,  meeting friends, soaking up the beauty; this was the point that we could have "gone for it,"  but we both knew that we were going to keep trudging along; next stop Phantom Ranch!   On the one hand, we are "almost done." On the other, these will be the hardest miles of the day.   9 miles to go, a few rolling and then 7 miles of "dead man walking" out of the Canyon.  I took off my shoes and socks, and it was not pretty; dirt pouring out, blisters on blisters, bloody toenail, and not a lot of options. I lubed my feet, basically rubbing the dirt into the blisters with the lube, and returned the stiff rank sock to the discussing foot.  It was clear, my feet were not happy!  

9 miles in 4 hours and 20 min, yep do that math; it was hard as fuck and 100% mental, one foot in front of the other, and just get it done.  I kicked a rock, and it was searing pain, like my toenail ripped off, lots of F-Bombs, and we just kept going.  It's dark now, so the views are gone. All you can see are headlamps up and down.  When I'd see a light way ahead, I would then look down and realize there were just as many behind us.   We were yo-yoing with a few groups, there were the hares and we the tortoise.  They would run past us, wave and say hi and then we would see them splayed out at the water stop, we would make a quick stop and keep rolling, the would run past us, well you get the picture.  BUT, after the last stop, which we rolled through, 1.5 miles to go, they NEVER pass us!   Yass!!!  Not that it was a race, but well we beat someone anyway. 

When we knew we had to be close, I heard "our" whistle, the one John and I use in stores, when we get lost, my heart lept, OMG, we are close, and soon thereafter, we hear his voice. OMG, we are nearly done....it seemed like forever, but soon enough, we saw John, and just like that, we were OUT!  The finish is very unimpressive, you are trading in the dark uphill, and then suddenly, you are out.  But FUCK, we were done!   

R2R2R is physically challenging for sure, even if we only ran 15is miles, but it's mental,  It just never ends.  There are no aid stations, there is no way out except on your feet, so you do mental gymnastics to stay in the moment and just get it done!  You want to quit many times, you want to end, but there is only one option, just keep moving.  

I'd love to say we crushed it, left it all out there, dug deep, but I did not, and I am a bit disappointed, looking back.  My head was not in "race day mode"; I did not prep for that mentally or physically.   The rest of our group went for it, turned themselves inside out, but well, I did not.  It's easy to say coulda shoulda, but I did not.  

My feet are trashed, hard to walk due to the blisters.  2 toenails are lifted due to blister under the nails, it's not pretty.   My feet don't like 17 hours..... 

I am tired, yes, sore, yes, but not destroyed!   Alex and I had a great time, and we are in one piece!  So that is a WIN!  And we crossed the Grand Canyon twice, so not total slackers.  I will find a way to do that this year; I need another "leave it all out there" event, as I did Everesting.  

So mentally, I am going to start working on that... It may be 4.4.48, or it may be a 50K.   Most of my training has been long, slow distance, so my brain is not in the "hurt locker" mindset, but after a bit of recovery, it's time to get back to that place.  I am looking forward to pushing the limits... I want to feel that pain, push through it, and keep going! Sick I know. 

Calories:  total 3450 - I did not feel like I needed any more, likely the pedestrian pace. 

• 4x PBJ Sandwiches 1200
• 2 Packages Organic Poptarts 800 
• 1x Salted Watermelon Shot blocks 200
• Black Licorice 400 
• Cliff Bar  250
• YumButter 400 

Fluids:  12 liters of fluid

Sodium: 6600 mg 

- 3am: 1200mg salt tabs

- 5am- 900 mg Nuun + 300mg salt stick   = 1200

- 7:00 - 1500mg Precision Hydration  -

-11 am 900 mg Nuun 

- 1:00  600mg salt stick 

- 3:00  1500mg Precision Hydration 

- 5:00  600 Nuun 

Here is our packing list; it's a start and something to go by.

It was still 48 miles and 20K of elevation, 10K up and 10K down in 17hours...so there you have it! 

Who the Fck invented Burpees?

The Burpee is named for a physiologist named Royal Huddleston Burpee. For his Ph.D. thesis at Columbia University in 1940, he invented the exercise as a way to assess the fitness of non-active adults. Burpee made participants perform only four Burpees at a time, and he actually specified that the movement should not be performed for a high number of repetitions. He was testing  generally unfit people and he warned that Burpees could be harmful to the knees and back and detrimental to those without proper core strength.

Well, F you Royal Burpee!

Okay, not really, but man, they are HARD.  As the NYX Endurance athlete prepares for September BINGO, we are ramping up your burpees.  See, depending on which card you chose or which card your coach chose for you,  there is a day with 100, 200 or 400 burpees in one day.  Right? You can all thank Laura for this insanity. 

So we are training for our day of burpees.  Much like we are building up to 200/500 or 1000 squats, 100/250 or 350 push-ups, each week we add more so when the DAY comes we crush them, don't get injured and possible just survive.

Personally, I am absorbing the squats, push-ups, wall sits, planks pretty well but not the burpees they still feel just as hard as day 1.   Why is that?  Because they target your entire body- upper, lower and core + cardio.  The cardio + lung workout is a bonus.  They are anaerobic, the respiratory and circulatory systems are working hard to compensate for the lack of oxygen in the muscles, that is what HURTS SO GOOD.  I have found if you yell FU Larua, that helps a bit. 

When recently asked,  'will this help my Ironman?" The answer is yes!  Going anaerobic is good, and something few triathletes do ever and think how easy other strength moves feel after burpees.  

And in case you were wondering what the Guinness Record?  The most burpees in 12 hours is 5,657.  So NYX Bingo players, NO COMPLAINING on your burpee day.    

 

 

 

Anger, fear, frustration, accepance

I wrote a blog on 4/5 about where you are in the COVID process. If you missed it here, it is.   Honestly, at that time, early in this process, we all assumed that by now, we would be back to "normal."  

Clearly, we are NOT!   For me personally, I have accepted the canceled race season, let's face it, there will no significant races in 2020, but there are some small local races, there is a way to race if you really want to.  I'm finding that most of my athletes and most of the athletes at NYX Endurance are not holding out for a race this year.  

What I do see is that we are athletes, we want to remain fit, we are motivated to train!  And we can create our OWN fun, get stronger along the way and crush goals.  My coaching has evolved from periodized training, tapering, and racing to working with each athlete to find what they want to do, what excites them, what scares them, what do they want! 

Me personally, I started by creating some personal goals; running 5.4.24, running 5 hours every 4 hours for 24 hours in April,  May was Everesting, climb 29,029 feet in one day on my bike, and then I was planning 4.4.48, and I broke my toe!  Plans changed, I rolled into 10K swims, monster days on the bike, pivoting to have fun and keep going.  What started out as my why, were soon embraced by most of our athletes, in one form or another. The camaraderie, goals, and finish line "feels" were there.  

Now, we have a goal to create challenges everyone can do, we have options so each person has their own goals!   We grew into this and its the best thing ever! 

Along the way through this pandemic, I co-founded a fantastic company!  NYX Endurance with 2 other coaches who inspire me every day.   NYX is a COVID baby, and I am thankful for that.   We are building something really cool, and what we are seeing, triathlon is not just swim bike run.  Its community!   It caring about each other, supporting each other and stepping out.  So without races, we have close to 50 athletes training and embracing our crazy ideas!

September is BINGO, we have JV and Varsity.  25 squares of fun and adventure.  Everything from 2 hours of stairs with a weighted backpack to a fast 1 mile run to 1000 squats to 100 mile rides to a 70.3 in one day to max 1 min power to 15 min of single-leg bike drills.  Some squares are quick and fun, others are a big ask.   We created a JV and a Varsity Card, so if 1000 squats are too much, you can choose another option. Don't want to do the swim row, don't.   Every athlete chose a card, JV, or Varsity and then worked with their coach to decide how many rows/columns they wanted to tackle!   And of course, there is the Black Out option. 

 Everyone has their OWN path, we took August to train for this.   So we have workouts that include 400 squats in one day, stair climbs, push-ups all day, and more.   A mantra of NYX embraces the darkness, so we have a run in the dark. 

Because we realize not everyone wants or needs a coach, or maybe they have a coach who is less fun and creative,  we offer the NYX MOB, join for $10 a month, and you can play BINGO along with us, and join all future challenges.   Our goal is to push some to the extreme, motivate some to do more than they have before or to offer just enough to keep others moving.   We even have an app to keep track of, thanks to the wickedly talented Alison! 

As a coach, this is incredibly fun!  We are training for events, executing events, and getting strong!   SAF strong as fuck  Thanks to Laura, who is a strength monster, hence the 1000 squats!   Coached athletes and MOB members get access to a free coached Zoom Strength session every Thursday, led by Laura.   

I had to write this blog today to remind me how excited I am.  I woke up in a foul mood, frustrated with the f'up situation we are in with COVID, as you may or may not now, my other business is contracting meetings and events.  What hat means now is canceling and moving meeting, which I am going to say, simply sucks!   I do see some hope in 2021, but getting there is rough.

So to plan for BINGO, work alongside coaches who motivate the fuck out me, is why I have a smile on my face now!  

We have so much fun, pain, and suffering planned for the rest of the year!.

We have a small group doing R2R2R on 10/10!  And then I need to embrace the darkness and knock out 4.4.48 the infamous David Goggins event. Run 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours. 

The tale of the stolen sign

We have had this sign for a few months, happily sitting in our front yard.  Friday, I was driving home from my weekly Social Justice Run,  Run4Breonna, when John called and asked if I noticed our sign was missing? 

What, NO, I had not noticed.

He went to our cameras and we quickly found the feed of the thief.  Car drives by, U-turn to the front of our house, conversation with passenger, and he gets out, rips the sign out of the yard and puts in his backseat.  WHAT?  Let me go back a few weeks, this same car, stopped one afternoon and left a note in our library, on a cocktail napkin, that said All Lives Matter.

Clerly we have a racist in our hood and now he is stealing.

So we went to work.

1- Poste a video and 4 clears shots of the car and the man, stealing our sign, asking for help in identifying him.

2 - Ran the neighborhood the next day  and aha!  John fondd the car in a driveway.

3- With the help on the internet, one you have an address you have a name and off he went.

4- Next we paid $4.99 on ReverseWhitePages and found a phone number.

5- Meanwhile NextDoor has blown up, eventually topping at 181 comments and it was insane,  No one identified the culprit but man there were many many tangents and it got ugly. Politics, racism, accusations, name calling and it went on and on.

6- Called the number, no answer, shocking.

7 -Sent a text and asked him to call Julie Dunkle.

8- 3 hours later a call comes in from a blocked number and it was HIM!  He immediately apologized, no excuses, took ownership and says he put an apology in the mail wtih $20 to replace the sign.   

9- I accepted his apology and did not engage further.

10- He asked how we found him?   Ah video cameras + internet and it was not hard.

11- He then asked if I would take the post down.    

So, that tells me, someone in the neighborhood saw the post, recognized him and reached out to him.  While NextDoor can be out of control, it did the job!  Sure we found him but I am guessing his response to me would have been a bit different without the public shaming.

Many on NextDoor wanted to put Social Justice and BLM signs in his yard, expose his name and address and more.  But I updated my post with " We have found the individual who stole the sign and have come to a peaceful resolution"   I left that up for a while but eventually deleted the entire post as it was out of control.   

To say I was shocked, minimized that for sure.  I am relieved and feel confident that this individual will think twice before he says  All Lives Matter and I am confident he will not be stealing signs.    

Of the 181 comments, that was about 60 people and 90% of them were cordial and rational so I am feeling good about my neighborhood.  I dont mind people with differing opinions or politics, but I do mind hate speech, name calling and beligerat behaviour.

Thank you Encinitas4Equality!  

FORM Goggles for Open Water

I was gifted a pair of FORM Goggles literally days after the pools shut down from COVID.   With great anticipation, I waited for the pools to re-open, while the goggles collected dust.  I used them while swimming tethered and it seemed the clock was slow, but really it just a testament to how boring it is to swim in place.  People complain about a treadmill, swimming tethered is 10x worse.

I digress.  I was able to be a part of the beta test for the FORM Open Water Swimming upgrade. I was excited.  The initial pairing, app, etc was a bit of a challenge for those of us who don't live in the tech world, but I figured it out and now it is quite easy using the app store, etc.  

I programmed my goggles to show running time, and then to cycle through distance, pace per 100 and average pace.   

1- the only time I would really want this data is in an Ironman and well at this rate the next race will be in 2022, so by then I bet the kinks will be worked out

Swim 1- paired my goggles and headed to the water.  Started on my watch and off I went.  For 4 minutes I could see all my data and I ran into my swim partner and a buoy, distracted much?  Suddenly it lost signal, hmm, I trod water and stopped my watch and restarted and nothing.   So for the next 41 minutes, I could see a timer but no other data.  I hit 2 more buoys and my ran into my partner twice.  I was not impressed.

Swim 2- upgrade to app and firmware and I am ready to go, swimming alone, less hazardous and my partner was "busy" LOL.   Paired up and off I went, I had full data for 11 minutes and it was interesting to see the pace and distance.  I decided that current pace needed to go and all I wanted was average pace, distance, and time.  Well, when I turned I lost everything so it did not really matter what I wanted to see.   My brain began to adjust to the running clock and I did not collide with anything.   Reported back and was told that likey the issue was bi-lateral breathing.   Well, I am not about to change my stroke for more data.

Swim 3- I changed my mind, I will change my stroke (for this test) and breath, right side only.  For 12 minutes I had data, time/distance/average pace per 100 which started at 2:20 and jumped to 1:05.  Now I love the goggle, see how fast I am going (LOL), and then nothing, disconnected.  Now my neck is sore from breathing on one side only and I still don't have any data.

0-3 and I am out.  I see now they have launched the  OW Upgrade. Well best of luck. 

2- these are pricey,  so I would put them under your cap because if a wave knocked them off, your race just got even more expensive.   Plus you will need to think about throwing them in T1, not that I do that. I carefully wrap up my gear and put it away.

3- If we ever have a mass start or a race, I'd hate to have them knocked off.

4- Wear these a LOT as it takes your brain a while to get used to the numbers running on the side.

5- Pool use- I have only been back in the pool twice and I was already worried about the walls and flip turns after 5 months of OW swimming.  But I will give them a go next week and see how I like that.

I enjoy coming into the wall and looking at the clock and either being happy or sad when I see the number.   My first pool swim I was so confused when I did my first 200, I was sure I swam a 2:44-46 and I saw a x9 and at first, was "yes"  2:39 but then I realized it was 2:49, I had to really sit for a minute and realize oh ok, I missed the send-off and was much slower than I thought.  Maybe that OW swimming is not translating to pool fitness, or maybe it was my first pool swim.   Who knows.... its not like I have a race to worry about.

 Another Review 

In other news, my toe is healing and I am running!   Man, I am happy about that... I am SAF (sore as fuck and slow as fuck)  but that is okay!  I am running, did I mention that.  

And I have big big news....but that is another post!  #embracethedarkness