How to start the week off right!

Started off my week my favorite way....coaching a swim session at Ventura Cove 6am!   I usually get up way early to make sure Mako gets in a solid run before I take off...but today still got up at 4:30 Ironman race anxiety already kicking in so eager to start the week.  And took the pups out for a nice walk and chatted with my brother in Shanghai and tossed Mako in the car and off we went..

Beautiful morning and we were at VC by 5:45 and had some fun.  Mako has been wary of the water and reluctant to go in our pool.  I tossed the ball on the beach and each time a little further in the water...within 10 minutes he was a swimming fool. It was great.

Coaching session started and he promptly retrieved his ball and dropped it at my feet. I could coach, videotape and exercise him at the same time.  Again...Mako does not understand what tapering for Ironman means.   Week off to a great start....had a little body work done- IT Bands are not cooperating with me right now- but we have 6 days... all in good time.

Next was checking off the work to do list...I will be working while in LP but want to get ahead as much as possible. I usually write athletes schedules 1 week at a time for maximum monitoring but went ahead and did 2 weeks as I will be a tad busy on Sunday.   Have  list of clients to call and contracts to review for my HPN job and then it is on to packing, last minute shopping....

Okay I checked the weather- Sunday says 

Sunday

Clear. High of 79F. Winds from the WSW at 5 to 10 mph.

I will take it.....I know it....ok back to work!

Racing, racing, racing....

Big day for racing...I know so many that toed the line at Vineman or Lake Stevens 70.3 and frankly I was just plain jealous... It was great fun tracking them along the way- many are good friends, some are my athletes and some I work with in swimming- my phone and computer were busy with updates on who was doing what where...so fun to "watch" from afar.

7 days for me....and I toe the line!  I will be done and probably have a few beers in me by now- come Sunday July22nd.  Am I ready?  hell no, I will never be ready, there is always one more key swim,bike,run to be done.   yes I think I am.... all those months worrying about my broken leg and blown ankle...now I am worried about a really tight IT Band from too much running.  Ha!  Imagine that....

One week our from Ironman, let's face it, I never feel great. And thanks to Training Peaks and my 4+ years of comments I can look back on my best races and see I felt like crap at this juncture.  This is why data AND comments are soooo valuable.  You think you will remember...but come on we don't.  So having the history is reassuring.... as long as you are honest.

Yesterday my easy ride felt like crap... 2 hour spin and I just was not feeling it.  Panic, holy cow,  I am over trained, will never be ready in 8 days.... worry, worry, worry.... Should I even run Sunday am? Will 30 minutes be too much....Mako is wagging his tail, dropping his ball at my feet, come on mom, come on....so we take off and my legs were like new. Springy and it was magical...we had to dial back the pace and quit at 30 min vs looking at the watch for how many more??? And swim was long, but good..... I did some 100's on pace and was very pleased.  Tempted to do more...but less is more when you are 7 days out from Ironman.

I have not checked the weather for race day, I have not started packing, I am starting to stress a lot all the time a tiny bit!!!

Tomorrow race week officially begins....."move with purpose" my husband says. And he is a wise man since I broke my leg tripping on the damn dog stairs, broke 2 toes dropping a 10lb weight when a 10lb weight fell off the rack at the gym, fractured a wrist on a lip in the sidewalk that was jutting out 2+ feet, that was so small that when I went find it it took me a long time to locate it....and the list goes on!

Suncscreen

Fair skin + 3 hours /day for most of my child hood in a swimming pool do not bode well for healthy skin at 45. Add skin cancer running in my family and I should really have taken up indoor track cycling...vs Ironman- where the sun is unavoidable.

My trips to the dermatologist, every 6 months are dreaded...she comes as me with the liquid nitrogen and starts blasting. The last visit I left with $225 cream ( no generic and not covered by insurance) to use liberally on my forehead.   The cream is chemotherapy based and attacks the cancerous or pre-cancerous cells and draws them out.   3 weeks and not a pretty sight.... end result 1- I now have bangs (had to cover the unsightly scene and stop the open mouth staring) 2- the dark spots are gone.

I always like when the derm asks if I can train before the sun comes up... um- hard to get in 6 hours on the bike before 7am- although maybe there is market for the vampire training.  Okay, I know there is the trainer option but I live in SD and darn it if I am paying the price we pay to live here I am enjoying what the city offers....some of the best outdoor cycling anywhere. 

So the goal is cover up- I always wear a short sleeve jersey (no this picture is not me since she has NO sleeves)   and 90% of the time my Zoot arm coolers.  They block the sun...and do a good job of keeping me cool- they are especially effective when they are wet.  

face and legs are covered in sunscreen...I use Solbar most of the time and it works well. But when I am lazy or too tired from training I take the easy way out and use the Neutrogena "wet" spray on sunscreen.  Not sure how well it works as my back has some wicked tan lines from the pool - but I am sure it is better than nothing and I use it more frequently. I keep it in my car, swim bag, in the garage near the dog leashes to spray before a walk etc,..

So why this really boring interesting post about sunscreen? In 10 days I am racing IM Lake Placid and that is 10-11 hours in the sun all day....and well I don't stop in Ironman to reapply nor do I let the awesome volunteers slather on the think, gooey, zinc filled NO-AD sunscreen for fear of clogging my pores. This is not a hygiene acne issue but a cooling issue...I need my pores open and pouring out sweat to keep myself as hydrated as possible.  I have used heavy zinc sunscreens and had my skin stay white and barely sweat.  No sunscreen is a really bad idea as well. 

So I just ponied up $23 for Endurance Shield Sunscreen...developed by Pro Triathletes so it will make me faster during my Ironman it must be good.  Right? Hoping so....they know what it feels like to have glue on your body or to have sunscreen run in your eyes at mile 10 on the bike that feels like batter acid and causes you to lose all your aerodynamic benefit of your bike fit because you are sitting up and trying to rub out the burning sensation and not crash or take out another triathlete.   And then you effectively rub off all the sunscreen and allow a full burn....

At this point the amount of $ spent to get to the starting line is ridiculous and makes me wonder how I will ever retire if I keep doing this sport which really is not that much...another $23 is good investment in healthy skin!   I'll happily review the sunscreen post Lake Placid which will go like this- if I PR then the sunscreen was amazing and well worth the $23 but is anything goes wrong...of course it is the sunscreens fault.   No new things on race day,..I know...I will proudly wear it daily before the BIG DAY,

See what a taper does.....more time to obsess consider the small stuff.

Training Peaks update

If you are not a triathlete or you are don't know what Training Peaks is you may want to skip this post....

For those who use TP as a coach or as an athlete... There is a new release that states....

The new data editing capabilities will enable users to: 1) delete segments of data such as warm-ups or cool-downs and erroneously created segments, 2) edit specific points where data spikes have occurred, and 3) drop entire channels like heart rate, power, pace, temperature, and more. Workout totals, average and peak value calculations will adjust automatically after editing, and edited values will be reflected in Training Peaks charts, like the Peak Power and Peak Pace by Distance charts.

OK so blah, blah, blah....but my little twisted mind read it this way (not the red)

The new data editing capabilities will enable users to: 1) delete segments of data such as warm-ups or cool-downs and erroneously created segments, like when you ride 20 watts over what coach says or when you are hammering up a hill because you can and well you just want to  2) edit specific points where data spikes have occurred,when you could not let that guy cruise by and say "nice ride ladies"  and 3) drop entire channels like heart rate, power, pace, temperature, and more. when you kill it on a recovery ride Workout totals, average and peak value calculations will adjust automatically after editing,and your coach will never know  and edited values will be reflected in Training Peaks charts, like the Peak Power and Peak Pace by Distance charts. and when you are flat at a race or have major fatigue it will be baffling since you edited what you did!

Really I am kidding.....come on why pay a coach and lie about what you did.  I believe in full disclosure and then think of really good excuses as to why I went to hard, too long etc.   Never seems I am making excuses for slacking off..... As a coach now I can see through most excuses because I have used most of them - really you went to hard because you are lacking self control.  Been there, done that...in fact I was way over my power guidelines a little aggressive on Saturday and instead of a litany of excuses I gave myself the lecture in training peaks. Coach still chimed it, but I know, I know....

http://blog.trainingpeaks.com/posts/2012/7/9/trainingpeaks-introduces-data-editing-to-the-web.html?utm_source=tp&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=coach_2_july2012

Tapering, quite house, restless dog

13 days and counting to Ironman Lake Placid!  Kids arrived in Shanghai safely and Mako does not understand what tapering means...

This weekend I had a lot of extra time on my hands....why?  3:30 was my LONG ride - wow...amazing to be done riding before noon, even after a luxurious post ride coffee at Peet's with Jen.   I was home and showered and not wiped out for the day.  

I decided to ship my bike with Tri Bike Transport since the kids were originally coming with us and with 4 people + a bike we would need a BIG car...and I signed up tor TBT last year- anyway it is nice to not have break down and pack the bike, BUT I have to give up my bike 2 weeks early.  So I had to have it ready to go and at Nytro by Sunday noon  -  we decided to drop it off Saturday and have a date night-  Actually out to dinner on a Saturday night in Encinitas-   we had a great time, ate too much and still manged to be home by 8:30! 

And the house is quite....with 2 teenagers gone there is less mess no mess and less stress.   I love my kids but summer and teenagers = late nights and continual texting of "can I go..." and usually the texts come in around 10pm or 10 minutes before they promised to be home. So my sleep is interrupted and I really don't fall into a deep sleep until they are both home.  So with them  over 6000 miles away, somehow I can not worried.   Makes it easier as they are with my brother and family for the 1st 2 weeks.

Thanks so Skype we are in touch and I am up to date on their trip so far....fun weekend exploring the city and settling in.  JD Skyped me after his 1st day of school.... "holy F Mandarin is HARD.  This is REAL school"  Not sure what they expected but seems they worked from 9-12:30 with a 20 minute break- they drilled them on vowels and sounding them out. JD and RM are the only 2 in the class as the other kids have been there 2 weeks and are more advanced at this point. After 5 hours of hard work they headed out on the town for some sightseeing and shopping.

Today's taper ride was one of the best in a long time.....catching up with rock star Beth and Noko for a ride that was all about chatting and enjoying the beautiful Southern CA day.   I have 3 more big swims.... checking them off 1 at a time... I know they are good for me and good for my IM and now with the race in sight I can do them. Yesterday I knocked off 2x 1000  3x500 and then 10x100 and I was shocked at my pace on the 100's...double take on when I came in and was thinking okay that is just the 1st one and then I knocked them off 1 at a time.   See I have NOT been swimming with the clock- I was just too frustrated with my times and pace so for the last 3 weeks I swim all by feel and have pushed it hard and now to see the clock- I am liking it..... In a weird way and very unlike me I am looking forward to my next swim- and will be using the clock :)

From here on in.....focused on eating well and sleeping well!   Dinner tonight- Kale with small amount of sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, toasted hemp seeds, dried blueberries and cherries + toasted almonds...marinated all day and it was delicious!  Small amount of salmon for good protein and I am satiated and happy.  

Checking them off

18 days to Ironman Lake Placid!  And it is taper time.... Last long ride (done), last long run (done)  Cha ching, in the bank.  Still some work to be done...but the long stuff is finished.

Maureen and I rolled out Sunday for a tour of San Diego....starting in Carmel Valley and heading West.  Along the way we came upon a "friend" having breakfast.  Yes there he was on the frontage road consuming a mole.  We had to stop and take a look and snap a picture... and off we went.   Next up the spectacular San Diego coastline and Torrey Pines Beach.  We hit the coast early, you don't want to be near the coast on a bike in the summer...traffic, tourists, car doors and cyclists are not a good combo.  And from there we headed through Elfin Forest, made it through before the parade closed the road and soon we were heading East.  Nothing like leaving the coast and coming upon Vineyards.  Orfelia....truly beautiful to ride by, too bad their wine is terrible.  And then it was time to go up.... only 1625 feet but a nice climb up the 78 after passing the very stinky the lovely Wild Animal Park.   Soon we were heading down Highland Valley Road, one of my favorite descents, more so on my road bike but still a really fun road.   And the we cruised through Rancho Bernardo and back to Peets Coffee, had to do a "hot lap" to get to the magic 100 miles!  And that was it....done.   One of my favorite rides - spectacular weather and good company,

Monday was a family day with my Dad turning 80!  My sis and I spent the night with him at Montage in Laguna Beach.... sensational and horrifically expensive dinner and a great night!

I can only hope to be as energetic, articulate and put together at 80.  Maybe I can get a Porsche too when I'm that age....

Tuesday was long run on deck!  First 90 minutes with Mako and then dropped him off  and hammered the last hour on my own....ooof!  Not all that easy or confidence building but well- training is not always easy and I can only hope the marathon at LP is a bit faster and more enjoyable. 

There is a sense of relief and anxiety to have finished the last of the big training....Relief as it gets tiring but anxiety as in holy cow it is done...there is not much more I can do to get fitter, faster and prepared for Ironman. So I go from confident and excited to worried and filled with trepidation. This is where my coach is so helpful in grounding me.  

I recently read a great article from the US Olympic Swimming Trials and my take away is " Cocoon of Confidence" 

http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=0&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en&ItemId=4559&mid=12758

16 today is not what 16 was in 1982

All I remember about my 16th birthday was getting out of school, rushing to the DMV, getting my license and dropping my mom off at work and blasting Scorpions "No One Like You" in our Honda Civic. I was elated to drive to swim practice alone....it was such an amazing feeling. I went to a school where 50% of the kids received new cars for their birthday- if I saw one more Convertible Cabriolet in the parking lot with a bow on it I knew I would vomit.

I did inherit my "own" car.... much to my sibling chagrin - see they had to share the Ford Grand Tornino with my parents ( I think) Where as my mom bought a new car and "gave" me the Honda... Why...I had to be in the pool Mon-Fri AM by 5:15am and I think she was just plain tired of it...so by all means here is a car!

My kids are "spoiled" in some sense as they get to share a new Kia Soul...hold the applause. JD drove the 1999 Infiniti QX4 for 1+ years....225,000miles and that car was a gem. Really, few problems and we got our money’s worth- but we decided it was time to sell it before the next repair was more than the car was worth. The Kia was cheap... we bought it with 5000 miles on it, 100k bumper to bumper warranty- really how can we go wrong.

So I digress....no new car for Riley but what was her gift....Ombre - you ask what is Ombre....please you are so out of it - Ombre" literally means gradation in French, which refers to the dark-to-light fade of color that is used in the technique. Instead of color that starts at the root, darker roots blend into a lightened mid-shaft and end. Riley has wanted to die her hair for a solid year....and I simply said no.

1- once you start you have to keep it up or have ugly roots
2- or you keep doing it on your own and trash your hair
3- you have no $$ how will you keep this up
4- no, no no....you are 15!!!

this is not Riley but gives you the gist of Ombre

She showed me what Ombre was... (this is not Riley by the way) and I considered it as she would not have roots. But I was not paying for it- she did the research and found it was expensive...so she dropped it and then found a "good deal" at the beauty school- um no..... not a good place to get a good deal. Few days of attitude and then it was forgotten.

So I decided to for once in my life be the cool mom surprise her and get it done. It was a great guessing game as to where she was going.... and she was shocked, elated and loved it.

So I am now one of those reality shows... died my daughters hair for her birthday! She loves it, I am happy we did it!

Okay full confession.... we are at the Paradise Point for the night with her friends- Bungalow Suite and my adjoining room. Over the top..... or perk of my job- they are loving it- a day at the pool and the beach. We filled the car with drinks, food and snacks...and they are having a blast. I brought dinner and they invited me to stay and now they are off in the Jacuzzi, bonfire at 9:30 with s'mores and then a big slumber party.