Adventures with mermaids

It's no secret that once a year I coach a girls running club through the folks at Mermaid Series called Mini Mermaid Running Club. Running with my girls brings me such great joy and I am so thankful to the lovely ladies who developed this program and bring it to hundreds of elementary school age girls. the majority being from under served schools.

Part of coaching these girls and my own children involves encouraging the girls to overcome their fears and be confident in themselves and their bodies. The best way that I can teach my children these traits is by my example. My oldest daughter and I both learned to swim freestyle around the same time last year. My youngest is learning right now despite the fact that she was adamant about not swimming swim team six months ago.  They observe so much about my training; they notice when the swim bag comes out, they run around crazy asking for things when they see me put on my bike clothes (they know I won't get off the bike to get them drinks and snacks), and they wait by the door when I go out for a run.

This weekend I attended a tri clinic with the Mermaid Series in Alameda. The main goal for me was to swim in the bay along Crown Beach. I don't have any fears of water but I do have an interesting relationship with the ocean. Having been a scuba diver in a previous life it has made open water swimming less daunting for me. Putting my face in cold water is not a big deal, having no visibility can be dealt with, it's motion sickness that is my weakness. I have been known to get sea sick in Hawaii and Lake Tahoe (not kidding). I can't read in the car, video games make me queasy and even Soaring Over California in Disneyland is borderline. There are so many great triathlon's out there and many of them are ocean swims, and in the back of my mind I told myself I probably couldn't do them. When this clinic came up I figured it was a perfect opportunity to try it out in a very safe environment and it's not like the water off of Alameda is the open ocean.

When I arrived to the beach it was pretty cold and the water looked choppy. I know that I have dove in much colder water so I wasn't too terribly worried about the water temperature, I was however concerned about the chop and how that would bode for breathing while I was swimming. We were told there was a current and we would be swimming into it. Again, I'm accustomed to current when diving, but that also involves the use of fins. My last open water swim had been at the See Jane Run Tri at Shadow Cliff's where I already felt like I was swimming on a continuous treadmill, so I knew this would be interesting.

The only time I was cold was at the start while we were in the water listening to instructions. I felt a little concerned being in a sleeveless wet suit when nearly everyone else was in a full suit. I reminded myself of why I purchased sleeveless in the first place. I dove in and off I went. My first thought was "salt", silly I know, I hate salt water. So far the chop was not creating any issue with breathing and I was able to do my usual bilateral breathing. I think I was swimming a fairly straight line. I remember looking at my Garmin and might have thrown out a cuss word when I realized I had only traveled 68 yards. Okay, this was hard, but I was not panicked, I was fine and would keep swimming. I periodically stopped to check my sighting and how much further I had to go. I started realizing that there wasn't anyone really around me, when I looked ahead I realized there were only a few people ahead of me, including the guy on the surfboard who was paddling out to mark our end point. That felt good, even if I kept thinking that it was really, really hard. At some point I had the thought that there was no way I could get on the bike and run after this. While I stopped frequently to compose myself, at least the time spent swimming seemed to be efficient and I felt no motion sickness. I was super excited to be approaching the surfboard, what I didn't realize was I had to just get to him. I was ready to swim around him and up to the beach! It was very exciting to learn that I was done and had made it when I reached him! I looked around and realized that I was the 3rd or 4th person in. I did it! And I wasn't sick! What a great feeling.

As we walked back I mentioned to Coach Heidi that this swim was going to be the determining factor in whether I signed up for the Mermaid Tri since Alameda was the site for the race. She looked at me and said "Looks like your signing up."

So of course, I came home and registered. I obviously forgot how I felt during the swim in regards to biking and running (kinds of like childbirth).

The greatest part is that the night before we will run with the girls in the Mermaid vs. Mermen 5k. This will be Kylie's first 5k. For the past two years she has run part of the Mermaid SF course so I am so excited for her to complete her first full 5k.

It's good to be a mermaid.

Proving that we can swim too! 

. 

Oakland Running Festival 5k

It was time to put my big girl panties on. No more whining about how sick I was all winter and not being where I wanted to be physically or mentally. It would have been really easy to just go out and do it with no goals. At the same time I really needed something, anything to convince me that I was strong and I still had it.

Thursday night something about my mental outlook changed. I decided to make a new play list specifically for this race. Normally I just shuffle around my usual "gym" playlist or add a few new songs prior to a race. Last year for this race I ran without music because they discourage it. If you are racing for a top spot you will be disqualified if you run with headphones. Last year the woman who won the marathon totally ran with her ipod. Not that I would be running for a top spot, but I like to be a good athlete. This year I decided I didn't care and I was running with my music. I picked my favorite nine songs making sure my playlist did not exceed 30 minutes. Basically it would be my own punishment if I ran slower than that, I would be out of songs. I even forced my family to listen to the playlist during dinner Thursday night, I had to be sure the flow of songs was correct. I put Pink's "Slut Like You" as my last song. Yes, I would need that to get up the hill before you reach the finish line.

I focused a lot all week on stretching. My body is still kind of unhappy with me and my lack of concern for stretching after swimming and biking. I stretched and foam rolled every night. I also did a nice 30 minute yoga routine for runners hoping to loosen up my muscles. Basically I did everything I should if I wanted to meet my goals for race day.

My goals were simple. I wanted to run sub 30. When I looked at the pace I would need to maintain overall to reach that goal, I got a little scared. At the same time I knew I had to try because nothing is ever earned if you don't at least try. My second goal was to PR. Going sub 30 would be more difficult than earning a PR since my last best 5k time was 30:13.

Race morning came, I did some stretching why the marathoners were lining up. I watched them head out before I lined up. I all of a sudden became slightly flustered about when to start my music. I didn't want to start it too early knowing that I had limited my music selection to fall within the 30 minute realm. I waited until they gave the 30 second warning, started my music and crammed my phone into my race belt. Then were off. I had done a decent job in lining up. I started at the 8 minute mile pace sign. No I would not be running that fast, but with nearly 1900 people doing the 5k, lots of kids and lots of walkers that is where I ended up. it was a good choice as I only had one point the entire race where I had to squeeze between two slower runners, the rest of the course was spent focusing on pace and one foot in front of the other. Ont he other side I wasn't getting passed by lots of people, score one for me.

The first mile was good, maybe a little too fast, but I wasn't going to have a lot of wiggle room to go easy the first mile and make it up later with a hill .10 miles from the finish line. I just needed to maintain a steady pace. Even though I had hydrated very well in the days prior, I should have hydrated the morning of. I was experiencing dry mouth which i typically only get at one race a year in Sacramento. I knew this meant I would need to grab water at the aid station. Sadly, taking something from the aid station causes you to slow down, which is why I normally don't take anything at a 5k race. I downed some water and tried to be polite and not hit another runner with my cup as I tossed it aside, notice I said "tried".

I don't think I have ever looked at my watch so many times during a race. Can you say "obsessive much". When my mile two time flashed, I nearly cried. It was too slow, I would not meet my goal of a sub 30 with that time. I wanted to cry, I really had to fight back tears. I wanted this so badly, much more than I thought I did. I just kept trudging along hopelessly wondering when the slight downhill section would come before the hill so I could get some relief. It felt like the longest 5k ever. I kept looking at my average pace time, it was about 2 seconds off where I needed it to be. My only hope was that I could make it up on the downhill while not expending too much energy because i would need it get up the hill and to the finish line.

I finally reached the section, told myself I was in the home stretch, that I was strong and that I could do this, there was still a chance. I made my way around the corner and the hill came into site. So close, I checked my watch one last time, I felt like I could maybe actually hit the sub 30 but i put it out of my mind and focused solely on getting my ass up the hill. People line the street as you are coming up the hill, which helps, sort of. I was so in my own head I wasn't really paying any attention to anything or anyone. As you reach the crest of the hill you realize, shit, I still have to cross the finish line which is .10 miles away, which seemed like another mile at this point. I did my best to sprint to the line and not throw up as I finally crossed it. Holy hell, that was hard.

I looked at my watch and saw that i had not earned a sub 30 but did get a 5k PR out of the effort. I was bummed, but happy at the same time because I knew I gave it everything I had.

Then I got home and actually uploaded my data from the race. I saw that I had nailed my overall pace goal. I had run the course long. If I had not run long, I would have earned that sub 30 time. I was ecstatic. The idea that I was actually able to maintain that pace for the entire 5k was huge. It felt so good to know that I put myself out there to give it everything I had instead of taking the easy way out. It was also the confidence boost that I needed to keep my head up and keep trying for the rest of the year.

So now I'm on the hunt for the next 5k where I wan officially achieve that sub 30 time.

A few things to note. There were only about two points during the race, where I actually made notice of my carefully thought out music. Once when a Lady Gaga song came on, and again when "Slut Like You" came on as I wondered if the song would carry me to the finish line :) Other than I have to recollection of actually hearing any of the other songs. That's how in my own head I was. "The Hill" must not really be a hill because it barely looks like a blip on the radar on my elevation chart. I swear, it sucks ass!

Race photos, there was only one decent race photo of me and that was before the race! All the others are horrific where you can clearly see what a hot mess I was. Just like last year my bib tore off so I was running with my bib hanging down only attached at one side. In addition to that my face is bright red and I'm clearly dying.

I had a course PR of 1:16! A 5k PR of 3 seconds.

Many props to the folks at Oakland Running Festival. For all of the jokes about running through Oakland fast so you don't get shot, this event highlights what a great city Oakland is. I only wish it wasn't a once a year moment for Oakland.


Official time 30:10
AG results 32/167 (that's exciting)
OA results 484/1820

Now I must focus on my triathlon next month, even if all I really want to do it go out and race another 5k right now.

Drummers at the start line

South Bay Duathlon

Last year I volunteered at the South Bay Du, partly because my friend Molly was racing, partly because I wanted to get a close up look at transition as I was thinking about getting into multi-sport. I had a lot of fun, I love volunteering at a races because it's super fun and most of the athletes are super appreciative of the volunteers.

Doing this race was an after thought to my schedule. I had already planned out my spring races but I remembered I had a 50% discount on any USA Productions event (another bonus of volunteering) and my friends were racing, so I added it to the schedule.

As we all know I was sick for most of the winter and this effected a big chunk of my winter training. I knew I wasn't where I wanted to be for this race, but I also knew that I could cross the finish line. I should have prepared more mentally for this race, but I just didn't. I really wanted to go out and have fun and see where I was fitness wise. While I am eager to make progress, I also am trying to keep in mind that I am really new to multi-sport and I'd like to take some time getting comfortable in it and everything that comes with the sport. Adjusting to training 6 days a week and determining how many hours per week I can actually get in has been a challenge for me. With one child only going to school 3 days a week and a spouse who is gone (work/commute) for 12-13 hours a day leaves me with the constant battle of trying to figure out how to get it all in. I feel like in the past month I have nailed down a good routine that my family and I can work with. It may turn out that this year is more about about getting comfortable in the new groove and next year will be more about gains when my youngest gets to kindergarten. I think this explains much of mental shift going into the race.

The only bummer about the race was those of us doing the sprint distance had a 10am start time, which meant we spent a lot of time standing around wishing that we were already out on the race course. After a very long wait we finally got our chance. In my lack of preparedness I realized that I had never configured my display screens for the multi-sport function on my Garmin. This meant that all I could see was overall time and distance for the entire race. My plan (I at least had a couple) was to run 10 minute miles (conservative) for the first run and hopefully be able to run sub 10 minute miles on the second run. That plan went out the window when I realized I couldn't see what my pace was, oops. When I hit the one mile mark my watched flashed that I had run a 9:32 mile, so I slowed down the pace for the second mile. When my watched flashed at the end of the second mile that I had run a 10:05 mile, I felt better, until I realized that I was not all that close to transition. It wasn't until 2.17 miles that I hit transition. There went my plan of a 20 minute run one time.

T1 went pretty smoothly as I swapped out visor for helmet and running shoes for bike shoes and grabbed my bike. I managed to mount the bike without looking like an ass, so that's always a positive. This is the part of the race where my lack of bike training really came into play. There just had not been enough time on the bike this winter and I've only had one outdoor ride so far this year. I knew this would not be weakness  but at one point I said to myself  "you don't belong here today". I never really could get my heart rate down, I tried to relax but I was anticipating the hill that was to come. I knew it would be steep and short. You can see it coming, so there is time to gear down which I did. I passed one woman heading up the hill and then I passed a young boy who was walking his bike up the hill. He had passed me on the first run and he was really making a lot of noise as he did it. As I passed him on the bike he sounded like he was sniveling, I couldn't tell if he was crying or just really breathing hard like he had on the run. I feel really bad, I wish I had been in a better place to ask him if he was okay, but I was afraid to slow down and loose my momentum  and then possibly crash. Thankfully the hill is short followed by a downhill and than you start the second loop. I had survived the hill, but my legs were getting super tired and I knew I had to make it up that hill one more time. I tried my best to ride steady and conservative to be sure I had the legs to make it up that hill again. A runner that I had passed on the first run passed me on the bike just before the hill. As I geared down to my very last granny gear I trudged up the hill and passed her and one other woman, of course they passed me on the downhill section but I felt like it was more a badge of honor to be able to pass them going uphill. There was a huge sense of relief as I approached transition, I really wanted off that bike.

I racked my bike swapped out shoes again and helmet for visor and back out I went. Much to my surprise my legs felt like stumps. Seriously? My legs normally really like running off the bike, sadly, on this day they did not. I'm assuming it has a lot to do with a short course and not much recovery time for them after that hill. I knew right away the run was going to hurt, my right calf was really, really, angry with me. I managed a decent first mile, I even passed the woman who had passed me on the downhill of the bike. However, the second mile involved run/walk intervals. There was a point where I literally just mentally gave up. I knew I was going to come in a couple minutes later than I had anticipated and I just didn't have any more fight left in me. Knowing that the run course was long was not helping my mental outlook either. As I rounded the corner the race photographer was yelling at me to sprint for her... um, if I sprint now I may collapse short of the finish line, but I gave it my best effort and tried to smile. I finally passed these two gentleman who were apparently having a nice chat in the last .20 miles and just focused on one foot in front of the other to the finish line. Of course right at the finish line one of them passed me, but I managed to hold off the other one. DONE.

This is a totally false representation of how I felt or looked on the last run,
I was just trying my hardest for the photographer. 

Overall, I finished pretty close to what I thought I was capable of. Two minutes over my estimated time that can be attributed to the "fuck it" attitude on the last run.

They all can't be great, and I am totally okay with that. I also realize that it is early in the season, and I'm not exactly where I had hoped to be at this point. It's a good reminder that I really need to work more on the bike before my Triathlon in April. Probably need to work on my mental strength also if I actually want it to be fun. The best part of the day was getting to see friends and meet more folks from the Forward Motion Race Club.

It's Tuesday and I feel like I'm still in total recovery mode. My body hates me and I have no cardiovascular ability whatsoever, based on the very sad swim I had this morning. I'm focusing on recovery and eating well (although my body doesn't want much to do with food) to pull it all back together for my next event on March 24th!

Run 1: 21:06
T1: 1:25
Bike: 45:07
T2: 1:18
Run 2: 23:11

 9/11 AG

141/148 OA

Catching up

Every time I think "Oh, I'm going to blog about that" and then it just never happens. Needless to say, we've been busy over here trying to fit it all in.

Over the long weekend we went to Pismo Beach and had an AMAZING time. Seriously, the California weather was perfect for a long weekend at the beach. It was such a great time that we booked a return trip.

Many beautiful sunsets were enjoyed

We'd spend all day at the pool, then the girls would take showers and put pj's on to catch the sunset

Lots of scootering along the path

We visited the beach and tide pools every morning before heading to the pool

We even all got some running in

After that it was home and business as usual. It also meant that I was going to see an increase in training with some double workout days. Which seem so much harder than if I just did the two workouts as one, but I guess that'st he idea. Finding the time to get afternoon workouts in with kids, homework, tutoring and getting dinner ready is really difficult, but I did pretty well managing it all. Not to say that I can do that all of the time. I got lucky with my husband taking Thursday off which allowed me to get a second swim in Thursday early evening. By the time Sunday rolled around I was exhausted and I do believe my family was exhausted of me and my double workouts, and I was out of sports bras.

While I'm not exactly where I had hoped to be fitness wise, I do feel like I will survive my first race of the season in two weeks. I've run the run course, so I know what to expect there. The bike course is a 5 mile loop and is unfamiliar to me, but I figure I should be able to fake it, I think.

Swim etiquette and hot tub conversations

I'm sure we could write a billion books with all of our swim related stories and funnies. I have been swimming less than a year so I am certainly no expert when it comes to swim etiquette, but I do think of myself as a courteous person in general. If presented in a situation when I have to share a lane, I always ask the person occupying the lane if it's okay to share and what they would like to do; circle swim or split the lane. If I'm swimming and I notice the lanes are getting crowded, I pick a side and swim on the side to make it easy for someone to jump in and share the lane.

Based on the three outdoor pools that I swim at the most, this is generally never an issue as most of the folks there are lap swimmers and with so many lanes to choose from I very rarely had to share a lane and I never had to circle swim.

Recently 24 Hour Fitness opened a new facility in Walnut Creek with an indoor pool and childcare. I've been sucking it up all winter with my outdoor pools, I swam in torrential downpours and freezing temperatures. The only real issue is that I have a four year old who goes to pre-school 3 days a week for 3 hours a day. In order to get my swims in I would have to drive to Walnut Creek to Clarke Memorial Pool right after her drop off to get my swim in. This would leave me just enough time to come home, shower and eat before I had to run and pick her up. This also meant that it left no time to run errands, grocery shop or go to doctor's appointments without her. The other downside was that on days that I needed to run (non school days for her) I would have to bring her to the gym and run on the treadmill, which we all know is uninspiring and boring. When this new gym opened up, I was thrilled. This meant I could swim on days she didn't have school, bring her with me and she could play at the childcare while I swam laps, sat in the hot tub and took a shower. This is also meant I could run outside on days she was at school. I became a seriously happy camper and not a mopey athlete not thrilled with her schedule or training.

This is where the fun starts. While there are some folks at the gym who lap swim like myself (like the guy who swam in his tri kit) there are way more recreational swimmers. I'm not even sure if they qualify as recreational swimmers, lets call them "plungers". The lap pool, hot tub and steam rooms are all together and co-ed. This makes for lots of good people watching during sets. Lots of folks work out (I think) and then come to use the hot tub or steam rooms. Most of these folks are older men, who I'm guessing are retired based on the time of the day they are there.

I've seen lots of fun things. A woman swimming with a shower cap on. Not a swim cap, but a shower cap. She was swimming with her head above water so I guess she really didn't want to get her hair wet. Earlier this week I was sharing a lane with a gentleman who simulated a very nice open water swim for me. Every time we passed each other I would get a nice mouth full of water instead of air. I'm not going to complain, because I really need practice with this. It was a great exercise in spitting out the water and coming back for another breath. With six of us in the three lane pool there was lots of chop to simulate an open water start, again more great practice. In the lane next to me was one lap swimmer and one lane walker. Interesting, my outdoor pools are too deep for lane walkers so this was a new one for me.

Today, I was happy to have a lane to myself, sort of. I was done with my main set and getting ready to do my cool down when I turned around to notice a woman getting into my lane. The other two lanes were open, but she was getting in my lane. Okay, I swam past her as I started my cool down hoping she would just swim under the lane line to another lane. She didn't. She was a plunger! She had come from the hot tub and was looking for a cold plunge in my lane. Okay, I won't give you the stink eye over a plunge, but it seemed to be more than just a plunge, it was more like a soak. As I headed out on my next 50 I made sure to kick really hard and splash her. Let's be honest, I'm a puller and not a kicker, so I may have exerted myself a wee bit much on that but I was trying to get my point across that there was a better place to lounge than the side wall of my lane. She sat there for my entire cool down, in my lane with an empty pool. I'm sure that was good practice for something.

After that I got in the hot tub, ah the best part of a swim. Unless you are in a gym filled with old men who like to talk, a lot. One was a skydiver, the other a former B-52 pilot and the third was a wannabe who liked asking lots of questions so the other two could talk on and on about about skydiving and free-falling and packing parachutes. I tried really hard to close my eyes and tune them out. I'm not sure what it is about the hot tub that drives people to talk endlessly. The first few times it was about the new gym and how all the other ones suck. For the most part, I close my eyes to avoid eye contact so that I don't have to engage in any conversations, this is my quiet time damn-it!

Don't get me wrong, I love my new schedule and that I can bring my youngest with me, I just need to get used to the new "etiquette" with the plungers. Maybe some ear plugs for the hot tub.

2013 TriSports.com Champion

I am super excited to be representing TriSports.com for 2013 as a TriSports Champion! This means another year of great discounts for you! I have a new referral code for 2013, MYOX (easy to remember) and this year my referral code earns you a 15% discount, so use it lots! It's always listed in the right side of my blog if you forget what it is.

I had started my training for 2013 in late November only to be plagued with one illness after the next. Needless to say I am just picking back up on my training for the year. I may have to rethink some of my early year goals based on this (as I recover from a sinus infection) but I am confident that I can get back on track for the rest of the year.

First up is the South Bay Sprint Duathlon in Morgan Hill. I had a great time volunteering at this race last year so I thought I would give it a try this year. This will only be my second duathlon and there are a lot of super speedy folks who compete at this race. For me, this will be a race to gain experience and work on transitions and nutrition. I'm also very excited because so many friends will be there, and one of the big aspects of the sport for me is the social part!

Right after that I will be running in the Oakland Running Festival's 5k. I was so impressed with how well run the event was that I really wanted to do it again this year, and maybe next year I'll do the 1/2 marathon to get one done early in the year. In addition to that I have signed on to help the race director this year. That means you may see me at some other race expo's promoting the Oakland Running Festival! In addition to that I am looking for high school or college sports teams and clubs who would like to volunteer the day of the race as course marshal's. With three distances we need about 100 marshals out on the course. All volunteers receive t-shirts and community service credits if you need those. The race is on March 24th, please let me know if you or someone you know would be interested in volunteering.

2012 in review

I feel like 2012 was finally a good year! It seems like the first time in a long time where I wasn't reflecting on the end of the year and thinking "phew, glad that one is over!" While there were lots of challenges this year, we seem to be ending the year in a good place and for that I am very thankful.

I PR'd in every running distance I raced this year, I did my first duathlon and triathlon this year, so it was a very exciting year for me. I hope next year is as much fun as I continue to try and balance being a wife and Mom and making time for my hobbies.

As 2012 comes to a close here are my stats for the year.

Swim: 39,666 yards (yay for a new sport this year!)
Bike: 536 miles
Run: 310 miles

For a total of 125 hours.

Dam Run 10k - January 2012

Oakland Running Festival 5k - March 2012

Diva's Half Marathon - 19 minute PR

Diva's Half Marathon May 2012

Daffodil Duathlon - May 2012

See Jane Run Triathlon - September 2012

Finishing my first triathlon

Walnut Creek 5k - December 2012

 Happy New Year and many thanks to TriSports.com for helping me to meet all of my goals and encouraging me to complete my first Triathlon!