Tues - Spinning again:
Couldn't drag myself out of bed this morning for the swim, so instead I went to a spin class after work. It was great; the instructor (Boku you rock) really worked us hard. I have been complaining that I am not biking enough and the weather is poor, and it is not light enough... Bunch of silly excuses. While not the same as real biking, I should try to make spin class more. So my new hope is to add it into my routine twice a week, as I am clearly never going to make the Thurs morning rides as it is on the other side of town and I have to be at work in Emeryville by 8:00am. I wish I could put training first (it is so much more fun), but work keeps getting in the way. Ah well, there is still time before the race to improve my bike speed, so that is my new mission!
Mon - weights:
Not too exciting. Just the usual day of 15 min warm up run, then 1 hour weight circuit. But it is keeping me strong so I am going to keep on keeping on! :)

Bike = 15 miles (based on an hour of riding the spin bike, it counts!)

I know you have all missed me...

So they say it takes 3 weeks to create a habit, clearly it takes just three days to break it. I was in Calistoga for 3.5 days without internet, and my journals ceased. So now for a catch up on last week (sorry this is going to be a bit long).

Tues-Fri - at lovely Indian Springs in Calistoga I "swam" everyday. I use the word swim loosely as the pool made it a challenge. It was an Olympic pool heated by the hot springs to a blazing 101 degrees! Fabulous for chilling out, not so conducive to swimming. Like the good triathlete I am I attempted to really swim. Max at one time was 10 lengths, and then I had to stop, get out, and cool down. I tried taking off my cap to see if that would help, not really. So after a few rounds of that I gave up. Joined the rest of my colleagues floating on noodles and basking in warmth. I also would take off on my noodle and do some fast kicking drills up and down, then return. It is now official; my department thinks I am NUTS! So I figure I was able to get in about 700-800 meters a day, so about 3000 in my four swims. Not terrible. I also went for a “bike ride”. I think my version should be incorporated into all future tri training. While I was in Calistoga for work, we had one afternoon off for fun and team building. We went on a bicycle wine tasting tour. Fabulous combination! We rode to 4 wineries, tasting, buying, etc as we were there. By the trip home I think some of my colleagues were feeling it a bit. We rode a whapping 16 miles total! While I love our rides, between the scenery and the wine, this was tough to beat.

Sat-Sun – The weekend to remember. Sat was the teams first open water swim. I “volunteered” to join the age group to be with my mentees (seriously, that water is cold and one big loop is a good start even for us experienced folks). Everyone did so well; I was very impressed with the first timers just gutting it out. Then Sat night was the “marathon” party with Team Trouble. Big shout out to them for including everyone in their drunken debauchery. It was a great time (see photos if you don’t believe me)! At the time staying out until after 4:00am playing my new favorite drinking game of “Buffalo” (thanks Lora) seemed like a good idea. Of course since I was helping organize and lead the “buddy ride” Sun morning and 9:00am, when my alarm went off at 7:30 I was cursing myself. But as a true “endurance” athlete, I rallied and headed to our brick workout. I am so glad I did. Can I just say Sun was one of those days you never forget? We had a big group gathered to ride over the Golden Gate bridge and up the headlands (including a few loops around to make 2 hours), back to Sports Basement, and a little 15-20 min run to top it off. I had several “Aaahhhh” moments during the workout. Enjoying the view on top of the headlands on the front side when you look across the bay at the bridge and the city. It was so beautiful Sun, it was hard to believe it was real, and well worth the climb up! Then after we got back and I was running down Crissy Field. I had this amazing feeling (besides just jello legs). This was exactly where I wanted to be and exactly what I wanted to be doing right now! It may sound silly, but I spend lots of time wishing I was somewhere else doing something else, so when you have that, it is special. Ok, have I gushed about Sun enough? By the time I got home my previous night caught up with me. I barely made it through my shower awake, I went directly to my nap! Good times!!


Swim = 2.25 miles (over the week)
Run = 3.3 miles (not much)
Bike = 42 miles (Yeehaaa)

I have officially exercised my creativity away. I have nothing interesting to say today. So it is going to be a quick report. Went to the gym, warmed up with 1.5 miles on the treadmill. Did a one hour weight circuit doing a reverse pyramid (heavy weights, less reps to start, then more reps lower weights). Now I am resting and looking forward to a swim tomorrow.

Super Sunday (no football, but lots going on)

Today the sun was shining again, a nice incentive to get out of bed and face a big day of training and activities. First up was the swim and bike at IVC. I think I have been assigned to a lane too fast for me. I need to demote myself. We had 5 people in the lane and on the longer sets the first 2 or more were lapping me. I felt bad getting in their way, but I need to stick to my pace or I won't be able to finish. Still, it was a great workout. Challenging with some mix of drills and distance. I have to say I am not a fan of the "Tarzan" drill. I have spent the last 3 seasons trying NOT to swim like that!

On to the bike… I was SAG car so not a great workout, but great fun! Lili joined me and we had a great time yelling for the participants, taking photos, and providing an impromptu water stop for the Pros. While it looked tough, it was such a nice day for a ride and I was jealous of those who participated.

The rest of the day flew by in a flurry of eating, showering and activities. First up was Mark's wine party to celebrate the completion of his marathon and new job. We went to Que Syrah (cute name), a new place not too far from me. Got to catch up with a few TNT friends and tried a great Honig sauvingon blanc (yummy). Then quickly went a few blocks away to Craig's kickball fundraiser. Even though I came late and only played a few "innings" it was lots of fun. I especially liked the "down a beer to leave 2nd base" rule. And I won a free bike rental in the raffle. Now I will have to try out one of those tandem bikes or something like that. And if that was not enough, I then ran home to clean up again and head to the East Bay for dinner with my friend Tony and the David Gray concert. He played at the Paramount Theater in Oakland which was an awesome venue. He was just brilliant as usual. I love his voice and he sang my favorite song and a few older ones I had not heard before. He finished off the evening with an incredible cover of the Cure's "Friday I'm in Love". FABULOUS!!! So it was another "endurance" weekend!

Swim = 2300 meters (1.4 miles)

True test of endurance

After not one, but two nights out on the town with my favorite group of triathletes, I was a bit apprehensive about this morning's run. Lack of sleep and more than a few pints of Guinness were on my mind as I struggled to get myself out of bed. But the sun was out for the first time in weeks (at least it felt like it). And once moving I was looking forward to the run. Mike had asked me to sweep Pro, as he didn’t think he could make the two laps (recovering from injury). This sounded goood as it would force me to do the full two laps, but I could take it easy. I took it easy for half of the first lap, then started to feel my stride, feel good, and was enjoying the bright morning sun and the lake view. At the water stop I hooked up with Peggy and Jill and met our new participant Roman. We headed off in good spirits on the second lap. I convinced Jill to do the whole thing and we had a nice time running together and chatting a bit. As I am sagging the bike tomorrow so will not get as big a workout then, I start to think about a third lap. I know I am crazy but I feel guilty about missing the bike tomorrow and knowing I won’t ride after our workout as I have plans in the afternoon. So when I finish lap two and am still feeling pretty good I head off for lap three. Philip (my carpool) is not doing a third so I agree to take the bridge shortcut. I thought this would cut the route in half. Turns out it cuts off less than one mile. So he had to wait a bit long for me, for which I felt bad. But I ran about 13 miles for which I feel GREAT!!! Well exhilaration wise, now I am tired. I was starving when I got home, chowed down, and after a nice hot shower took a nice long nap. Now I am ready to do it all again tomorrow!!!

Run = 13 miles

As swim is not my favorite event, I always need some motivation. Lately it has been drinking, and I am not talking about the pool water (though I tend to do that too). No really it is a night out with friends, and I can only afford those extra beer claories by working out. So since tonight we have staff training and then "Irish Girl" partying, I drug my butt out of bed for a 6 am swim. With visions of Guinness dancing in my head I plunged into the pool for the workout. Today's was tough, just distance swimming with brief breaks. I felt like I needed to get in the full amount though so I didn't participate in the stroke class. Joe did watch me a little and offer some more suggestions. He said my stroke was looking much better but I am kicking with my legs too far apart. So you can guess what happened when I tried to fix that. First I kicked myself, then my stroke started to suffer. It wasn't too good. So next workout I am going to do some kick drills so I can focus on just one thing at a time. I still feel pretty slow, but I was able to finish the 2200 meters in an hour, so that is not too bad.

Swim = 2200 meters (1.25 miles - Yeah Baby!)

Karen at Team Building via cooking in Jan 2005 

Dedicated to Karen Williams

I headed to the track with a bit of apprehension tonight. I told Menekse that I wanted to share my story about my personal honoree Karen Williams. And while I did want to share because I think it is important to remember why we are all here, I knew it was going to be very hard for me to get through it. Though public speaking never usually frightens me (stop laughing), I was a bit scared. It is tough to show that side of yourself to 60 people, you know we are all supposed to be so strong. Just remembering good times with Karen should make me smile, but I am still getting a bit choked up. Still I am blessed that I knew here for over 5 years. I am lucky I can go out and do a tough track workout. I am proud to be part of an organization who is really doing something about cancer and giving its sufferers a fighting chance. I miss you already Karen, and tonight you had a team of triathletes pulling for your family! Thank you to the whole team for your kind words, for the moment of silence for Karen and so many others who are no longer with us, and thank you Mark for your comforting shoulder. We are fighting the good fight every day, Go Team!

So onto the workout. I hope I didn’t bring anybody down, but offered a reminder of why we are all here, to complete “uber” Coach Steve’s workout. It was 3 warm up laps up top, some stretching, our 2 laps of striding and slow sections, then onto the meat. 25 minutes continuous of fast (L5) 200 followed by EZ 200. It didn’t sound too bad, 25 minutes compared to the 80 we did on Sun. But if you really went all out on the fast, which I tried to do, boy it kicked your booty! I did stay pretty consistent at 2 min per lap so completed 12 ½. And if that weren’t enough as we were just about to drop after our 25 min, we headed off to 2 man mile relays. Menekse and I got our signals crossed and both went first, so we had kind of a retarded relay. But that is Ok, it was fun! We capped off the evening with 3 cool down laps up top and some stretching (great way to enjoy the stars).

Run = 5.5 miles (with warm up and cool down)

Preparing for ride, before sun came out, freezing! 

End of ride when the sun came out, laughing with Mira 

So far behind, here is last week in review...up to today

Tues March 14 - Swimming in a new pool
This morning I tried out a new pool. While I love UCSF, I am not ready to commit to join a second gym and the drop in rate is too expensive. So I headed off to a public pool, the Garfield pool in the Mission. It was actually great! The pool is nice, clean, not crowded, warm, and the people were very friendly. I went because lap swim was 6-8. As I headed into the pool at 6:15 a gentleman on the side asked if I was here for the stroke class? I didn't know they had one, but everyone knows I need to help, so I joined in. Joe (the coach) was very helpful. He gave us a few drills to warm up. Then we did some ladder work, increasing the length and trying to concentrate on one aspect in each. I think the best part is just having someone watching who can point out the areas to think about. I was able to finish 2000 meters and felt a bit better about my stroke. He is there every Tues and Thurs morning from 6:15-7:15. Yeah I have found a new pool!!!

Mon March 13 - Weight work
While part of me said "take it easy today, you ran over 9 miles yesterday" another, smarter part of me said "you want to take Fri as your rest day so there is more time for Guiness". So I went to the gym, did a quick 10 min warm up on the bike, and did an hour circuit with weights. I am really noticing the difference in my strength. Things that were difficult 2 months ago are much easier. So of course that means I had to step it up to where it was hard again. I will be sore tomorrow, but with a sense of acomplishment!

Sun March 12 - Great run on Great Hwy
You know it is going to be a great morning when it starts with an old song you love on the radio (Gloria from Flashdance, we were all singing), you look across the ocean and see a rainbow painted across the sky, and you are with a great group of people (the whole TNT gang). Well that is how my Sun run started, so I was quite pumped up for a nice hard run. I was also motivated to go fast since I figured I would get warm faster that way (it worked). So I took off with the Pro group on our 80 min run and tried to keep up with Meghan and Philip. I am trying to increase my run speed so I figure I need to run with people faster than me. I was able to stay with them for the first 40 min, and then they pulled away a bit as we headed through the park. But I kept them in my sights the whole way and felt good and strong at the end of our run. I wish I knew exactly how far we went. I clocked the first half (to Sloat and back) in my car and that was 4.8 miles, which I did in 40 min. I don’t think I went quite as far in the second half since it is a little hillier through the park. Still I am sure I did more than 9 miles total, not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning.

Run = 9+ miles

Sat March 11 - COLD bike and run
We were warned and we were prepared, but it was still COLD this morning as we headed to IVC for a bike and run. We got off to a late start due to a huge accident that closed 101. I rode with the Elite group today, I need to do a lot of work on my biking. Considering where I was at the end of last season, this ride was just a bit too hard for me. My fingers were FREEZING, but maybe that took my mind off my lungs, struggling as I climbed the Lucas Valley Rd hill. My chain slipped half way up the hill. While I got it back on without too much trouble, that was a very tough place to start going again (I had to talk myself into getting going). After the turnaround while heading down the hill Josh got his first flat. Since I was right behind him I stopped to help out. We got that fixed and were on our way again. I promised to help him with directions for the way back, unfortunately he totally left me in the dust! Once back I changed my shoes and headed off for the 2 loop run. Oh that familiar jello legs, brick feet feeling. Love it! I think the best leg of the workout was brunch at Dip Sea! A big group showed up and we had a great time.

Bike = 22 miles
Run = 2.2 miles

Thurs and Fri - No workout
Great customer meeting in Atlanta, but the parying left no time for working out. But one good thing, I remember why I like my job. It was very rewarding to spend 2 days with the customers and hear how much they appreciate all of the things we are doing for them. And they are a fun and crazy bunch. We had a blast at "Tongue and Groove"

Wed March 8 - Run and Fly
Tonight was another great (wait I mean wonderful) track workout. We did some more pacing work with alternating 7 min at L4, 3 min at L1. I felt pretty good and was doing a good job staying consistant in my pacing. I managed to do 3 3/4 laps in each of my 7 min blocks. We did that for 40 min, so if I kept count Ok I did 5 miles. I was able to stay through half the stretching then I had to run home, take a quick shower and it was off to the airport to catch my redeye to Atlanta. Work keeps getting in the way of my life! I am glad I was able to go to the workout but hear I missed a good time at Kezar Pub!

Run = 5 miles

Monday make-up day:
sun was supposed to be a long, hilly bike ride. But rough winds and pouring rain prompted the ever intelligent captains to cancel our workout. The rare chance to sleep in and the terrible weather prompted me to take Sun as my day off this week (I didn't set an alarm for the first time in months and slept until almost noon). So today I had to kick it up a notch. I ran hard for 20 min on the treadmill and then hit the weights for an hour. My trainer had me doing these torture sit-ups! They were more like "hold-ups" as you had to hold in a crunch for a really long time. Ouch!!! But now I have officially removed my guilt from not working out on Sun!

Run = 2.3 miles

Tues, swimming for mojitos:
Tonight my mentor group and our two buddy groups are having a lovely social gathering at Cha Cha Cha's (a great tapas place in the mission). But this leaves no time to workout after work, and I need to earn those mojitos I know I will be drinking, so I did my swim workout this morning. I am still able to complete the whole Elite workout, but it is taking me a long time. I think it is time to face facts, that I am just slow!!! But it was a good hard workout and now I can indulge a little this evening! Aqui esta a TNT. Las vivas!

Swim = 2100 meters (that is 1.3 miles, longer than the race!)

It's all about the nap!

Ah, one of the greatest things about a good workout is a great post-workout nap. Of course when you get home it is always a struggle (eat, shower, sleep... shower, eat, sleep... sleep, shower, eat... decisions are tough)! Well I went for eat, shower, sleep and it was fabulous! Today's workout was tough but good. The swim workout was, shall we say, challenging. I would never use the word "fun" to describe a swim but it did have its moments. And did you see that kick ass picture of me, I look like I know what I am doing. Philip must be a great photographer! We had a fun lane and I met a new person. My goal is to meet at least one or two new people each week. So in my lane I met Andrew, new to the team. Hopefully by writing it down I will actually remember his name next week (if you are reading this test me, I need it)! After our one hour swim we went for a run. I was sweeping the Elite group on an out and back along the bike path. Most of my group missed the turn around so I went a little extra as well to retrieve them. So we ended up doing a little more than 6 miles. I met a new person on the run as well, June. We had a lovely little chat during the first half (you can test me too).
Now back to that nap, it was really good! I am sad to hear we are not biking tomorrow. I was looking forward to it. Now I can sleep in, but I will have to workout on my own and that is not nearly as much fun. I am so happy to be back!

Swim = 1200 meters
Run = 6.5 miles