Should I be worried?

This coming Saturday, January 3, I will be doing my first open water swim at Lake Del Valle. I've never swam in open water before and am quite nervous. I went to the Lake Del Valle website, which states that the mean water temperature at the end of December is 48F. That's freakin' cold!

Unfortunately, I did a Google search on 'cold water swimming'. One website said that acclimating to the cold water is a skill. "If it doesn't kill you, you'll be just fine." The United States Search and Rescue Task Force cold water survival website also provided the following information:

What happens to the body when suddenly plunged into cold water?

The first hazards to contend with are panic and shock. The initial shock can place severe strain on the body, producing instant cardiac arrest... Immersion in cold water can quickly numb the extremities to the point of uselessness. Within minutes, severe pain clouds rational thought. And finally, hypothermia (exposure) sets in, and unconsciousness and death.

Expected Survival Time in Cold Water

50-60F (16-21C) 1-2 hours exhaustion or unconsciouness; 1-6 hours survival time
40-50F (10-16C) 30-60 minutes exhaustion or unconsciousness; 1-3 hours survival time.

I will be wearing a wetsuit, but I think that I need to find myself some neoprene gloves, booties and swim cap. The coach says that for our first open water swim, we'll spend a lot of time getting use to the temperature by running in, swimming for 5-10 minutes and coming back out and doing push-ups and other exercises before jumping back in. Wish me luck.

Week 7 Recap

I've survived 13 days straight of workouts and it wasn't so bad. I don't even feel sore or tired, but maybe it's because I took Christmas week off from work.

Mon. 12/22: We had a coached swim workout at the nice, new Doherty Valley Aquatic Center. In addition to swim drill review, Coach Nancy had us try swimming across the pool (25 yards) taking 3 breaths or less. During our event, we need to be prepared not to be able to breath as often as we're use to, especially if area around us is crowded or choppy water. I was able to swim the whole 25 yards without taking a breath. We also concluded our workout with some fun relay races. Total: 2000 yards (1.136 miles)

Tues. 12/23: Swam 1800 yards in 38:01:58 focusing on pace; also completed 60 minute spin workout simulating hill repeats.

Wed. 12/24: Ran speed intervals for 40 minutes as well as core strength exercises

Thur. 12/25: Ran 60 minutes

Fri. 12/26: Swam 1900 yards in 40:20:33 focusing on Ironman pace during the main set.

Sat. 12/27: Rode 42 miles on bike in 3:12:28, starting at Canal Trail in Walnut Creek by BevMo onto Iron Horse Trail to Dublin and back. The ride was smooth and blissful. I like having not to deal with cars on the Iron Horse Trail, which follows the Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way established in 1891.

Sun 12/28: Ran 74 minutes. Was only able to cover 5.88 miles with hills. I probably could have run much better if I didn't eat the bagel with cream cheese, two pancakes and two sausage patties before my run. I felt full.

I maintained my weight this holiday week and didn't gain or lose, which is good considering I spent much of the week eating rum cake and other delicious holiday foods. During this week's recovery, I will need to make a conscious effort to eat less calories. I'd still like to lose 10 more pounds by next August.

Sunday Open Water Swim

Today, we had a choice of either doing a 30 mile bike rolling hill bike ride or an open water swim. Since it was going to rain this morning and I don't like riding my bike in the rain especially going downhill, I opted for the open water swim. I've never swam in open water before and wanted the practice in a controlled environment. Heather Farms Park Swim Center removed the lanes of their 50 meter x 25 yard pool and place three buoys in triangle formation to simulate an open water swim. This also allowed me to practice sighting.

When I arrived at 9am, seven other IronTeam members were there including Coach Dave and Coach Wayne. After warming up, Coach Dave thought it would be good for us to practice what a mass crowded swim felt like with bumping and touching. Like a school of fish, our little group swam tightly together around the pool. The first lap was a bit overwhelming for me at first since I've always swam with a wide buffer around me in a swim lane. When I turned my head up to breath, a wave of water from the arm stroke of the swimmer to my right landed in my mouth and down my throat. I know my swim form faltered as I just tried to swim balanced in the crowd. We did variations of this drill a couple more times and I was beginning to get use to it although I will need a lot more practice to get use to what I will experience next August.

Below is a video of the swim start at Ironman Lake Placid on 7/20/08. When I watch it, I just think, "What have I gotten myself into?"

Saturday's 7 hour workout recap

Yesterday was a beautiful, clear, crisp winter day in San Francisco with temps at 45F. Mayor Gavin Newsom and I passed each other on our runs. And I saw the incredible Zepplin float quietly over the bay. I made it through the first three hours of Saturday's workout without eating for 17 hours prior. The coaches wanted us to experience what bonking felt like in a controlled environment. During the first three hours, we were only to drink water. No food or electrolyte drinks that had calories (like Gatorade) were allowed. Non-caloric electrolyte tablets were fine. Lorraine shared her Endurolytes with me.

In endurance sports, particularly cycling and running, hitting the wall or the bonk describes the condition when an athlete suddenly loses energy and becomes fatigued, the result of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles becoming depleted. Symptoms of depletion include general weakness, fatigue, and manifestations of hypoglycemia, such as dizziness and hallucinations. I experienced hallucinations, weakness & fatigue at the San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon at mile 19. When I started freaking out mentally, it took me awhile to recognize that I was hitting the wall but once I knew that, I knew how to take control.

The first three hours of my workout yesterday was brick workout where we would do spin drills on our trainers for 40 minutes then run for 20 minutes, repeated three times. I had a beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge for my whole spin workout from the Presidio. I also had great views of the bridge, Alcatraz and the San Francisco skyline as we ran along in Crissy Field. For the first repetition, I felt fine. During the second repetition, my stomach growled a lot and I had a harder time keeping up my cadence. Midway through my third rep, my left foot and calf kept getting cramps. Coach said that my electrolytes were imbalanced.

Finally, noon came and we had a 15-minute break to eat lunch. I had a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, mini-blueberry bagel, tangarine and Gu2O. I felt a lot better.

The next two hours, we practiced bicycle drills and I learned a lot. The first thing that Coach Wayne had us do was to remove our front wheel and spin it between our hands and turn the wheel to the right and left while it was spinning. I felt the wheel wobble and get unstable. The same feeling I get sometimes riding fast downhill around curves. Coach Wayne explained that the front wheel is like a giant gyroscope and that most people on bikes steer incorrectly. He had us do the same drill again, by loosing the grip on one arm. So when I turned the spinning wheel to the left, my left hand grip was just merely there to hold the wheel up, while my right hand pushed the wheel to turn to the left. The wheel turned without a wobble! He had us hold the wheel so we could actually feel the difference. Afterwards, we practiced counter balance steering on our bikes so that we could react quickly if we had to avoid something on the road. We also did slow balance drills, practicing balance and turning on a short obstacle course. I wasn't successful at this.

Coach Dave ran us through several nifty bicycle drills.
1) Water bottle hand-off. During the cycle event, we will be actually handed bottles as we ride through the aid stations. He taught us to make eye contact, identify by shouting out to the aid person, grab the bottle and then say thank you.
2) Setting down water bottle on ground without it falling over while moving. This is suppose to help us focus on several things at once - balance and what's ahead
3) Picking up water bottle on ground while moving
4) Riding hands free
5) Riding and lifting front wheel off ground to avoid running over objects if you can't steer to the right or left.
6) Riding and lifting back wheel off ground
7) Riding and lifting both wheels off ground
8) Putting fallen chain back on while still riding bike (this was the second best thing I learned yesterday since this happens to me once in awhile)

The last hour was dedicated to run drills and strength training. Strength Captain Doug introduced us to the TRX suspension trainer, which uses one's own body weight to build strength, balance, flexibility and core stability. We also did 90 reps of fire hydrant, 5 minutes of bicycle crunches, 75 kneeling leg presses, 30 dipping birds, 5 minutes of crunches, and 60 lunges with trunk rotation. Needless to say, I can feel the muscles in my core today.

What I'm like when I don't eat

I was reading the e-mail I received describing the training details for Saturday 12/20. Starting at 9am in San Francisco, the workout will be 8 hours long involving bike, run and strength training drills. No swimming. What caught my attention was the big red bold statement:

NO BREAKFAST FOR ATHLETES other than water and electrolytes. Last meal is previous evening prior to 6pm. No food for the first 1 hours 15 minutes of workout. Athletes are meant to work without caloric intake, only water and electrolytes. No liquid or solid food. Small lunch at 12:30.

What's up with that??? Any one who knows me well knows that I get very irrational when I haven't eaten for more than 4-5 hours in the day. I'm a grazer. I need to keep my sugar level up otherwise I can't think, get irrational, whiny, grumpy...I don't even want to be around myself when I hit this point.

Twelve years ago, my manager at the time called my husband and told him that I was never to show up to work without having breakfast first. Since then John has made me oatmeal or some sort of breakfast every morning. Tomorrow will be the first time in twelve years when I haven't eaten breakfast. I don't even know if I will be able to think rationally on my drive to San Francisco. Gotta go...I have 35 minutes until 6pm....I better get something to eat for dinner!

Improvement in Swim Time

This evening I did my swim workout and compared my time today with previous workouts.

Date_____Total Yards__Total Time
11/12/08___1450_____ 39:06:07
11/27/08___1600_____41:42:11
12/18/08___1700_____40:12:22

I'm so happy to see swim time improvements in just a month. Hope that this improvement continues!

Next 13 days...

Received e-mail from IronTeam Head Coach Wayne about our workout for the next 13 days straight:

"Yes Virginia there is a heart that benefits from repetitive aerobic effort in that chest of yours.

From Tuesday the 16th through Sunday the 28th of December, you are an IRONMAN machine, churning out physical efforts day in and day out. The efforts are not hard, but they are efforts. Listen to your body and if you require a day off in there somewhere then be honest with yourself and take the day off. The evaluation of your ability to sustain effort over those 13 days comes down to three categories.

Pain....Discomfort...Fatigue.

If you are in pain, stop. If you are in discomfort, monitor and if your form is faltering due to the discomfort then stop. If you are fatigued, suck it up and keep going. Fatigue makes you stronger, discomfort tunes your body to your mind, but pain sets you back. Don't endure pain, listen to the discomfort and drive through the fatigue."

Prius vs Hummer

I've been very busy with work, training and household chores that I haven't had time to update. Last week, I kept up with all the training although I had to catch up on my swims during the weekend. This past Saturday, I road my bike 30 miles followed by a 40 minute swim workout. On rainy Sunday, I completed a 60-minute speed interval on my trainer followed by a 55 minute run.

Trainer rides make up a good portion of the early season bike program because it is consistent, repeatable and can be done when it's raining cats and dogs outside. Also, the variables of traffic lights and road hazards are removed so we can focus more on the specific workout. Specific pedaling drills are best done when stability is highest, like when the wheel is locked in the trainer.

On Sunday morning, I finally got a chance to set-up on my rear wheel and pedal the gadget I ordered to monitor my cadence on the trainer using my Garmin Forerunner. The gadget worked perfectly for this workout! I warmed up 10 minutes in the middle chain ring. The main workout was to practice speed intervals maintaining 95RPM for 3 minutes followed by 90 seconds at 80RPM while using my hardest gear possible maintaining RPM and aerobic heart rate zone. I repeated this drill 8 times. Even though it was 42F outside, I still had a puddle of sweat on my porch. Immediately following this 60 minute workout, I ran for 55 minutes and felt great.

Coach explained that it is very important to stay aerobic in the base phase and not anaerobic (higher heart rate). "Think of your body as a motor vehicle. you have a finite amount of gas that will fit in your tank. On a long day like Ironman, what would you rather be, a Hummer or a Toyota Prius? If you train aerobically (lower Heart Rate), you are training like a Prius. If you train Anaerobically (higher heart rate), you are training like a Hummer. You see, in the presence of Oxygen (Aerobic training) your body can convert one molecule of glucose into 36 molecules of ATP. In the absence of oxygen (anaerobic training) your body can only produce 2 molecules of ATP from that same molecule of glucose. We train at level 5-6 to increase your body's aerobic capacity and get it used to going long and steady, just like you will on race day."

I hope to run efficiently like a Prius by next August.

The Power of Your LLS Donation

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The time is now for year-end donations. Your gift will help us continue to invest in research and help save lives.

Donate today!

Set Your DVR

If you want to see what Ironman is about and what I hope to accomplish on August 1 at Vineman, set your DVR to the Ford Ironman World Championships on NBC on 12/13 2:30-4pm ET (11:30-1PT).

Week 4: Recovery

Thank goodness that this was recovery week. My calves were hurting for three days after last weekend's tough workout. I completed my swim drills on Tuesday and Friday, but skipped the bike, run and strength training during the week to let my sore muscles recover.

Saturday morning was cold with dense fog. We had a bike ride that started in Pleasant Hill and went over Reliez Valley Road/Alahambra over Pig Farm Hill to do the Three Bears/San Pablo Dam Loop. The first hour of the bike ride was though thick fog with 5 feet visibility on a two lane, narrow and curvy road. Temperature at start was 34F and 45F at finish. The purpose of the ride was just a marker set so we could time this ride and see later in the season how much we improve in time. This ride had a total elevation gain of 4927 feet, total distance of 37 miles, and total time of 3:49 including stops (total moving time 3:23:36).

We had some long climbs and with long climbs comes long descents. This time last year when I was first learning how to ride a road bike, I road this Three Bears loop. The first time come down Papa & Mama Bear, I was terrified and in tears and had to stop midway down the descent to regain my composure. I've improved since I didn't have a nervous breakdown nor did I have to stop, but I still came down the hills cautiously. I never exceeded 27mph speed in descent. I wish I could learn to just relax, feel confident, and just let go like the other cyclists who pass me down hill at 40mph or more. Iron Teammate Belinda was great and always waited for me at the bottom.

This morning, we had a 90-minute Coached Swim workout followed by a 50-minute run. It was another cold (38F) and foggy morning. We first took a team photo. I'm the one in the red knit hat. All that white behind us is the fog.

After a 10-minute warm-up and some drill work, the coaches timed us on how far we could swim nonstop in 15 minutes at a level 5. I swam 15 laps (750 yards) in 15 minutes. The next concept that the coaches wanted to introduce us to was "sighting". I've always swam up and down the length of the pool for years and have never swam in open water. In the pool, it's easy to swim straight with the lane lines and the black line at the bottom of the pool. Not being able to swim straight in the open water can add unwanted distance during the race and impact time. So the coaches want us to learn how to sight to see where we are going.

Today, we learned how to lift our head at the beginning of a breath. I was suppose to lift my head just enough so that my goggles are just above the water to site the object on the other end of the pool. It is actually more difficult than it sounds, because every time I lifted my head to look forward a bunch of water would go up my nose, my legs would sink semi-vertical and it would take a stroke or two to even out again. I'll need to practice more sighting this week so I get more graceful and comfortable with it. As I was doing this drill in the pool, I worried about the open, cold and choppy water that I will swim in the next few weeks. But then I remembered that I need to concentrate on the present drill and not think of anything else.

After the swim, we did a 50-minute out and back run. The first 15 minutes of my run was difficult. It was 42F and my hair was still damp from the swim. My head felt cold with an onset of brain freeze developing and I became light-headed. So took a couple minutes to walk and take some Gu. After that I felt better. Completed 4.5 miles.

I've completed my first four weeks of Ironman training and I am loving it! So far it's a decision I don't regret and am looking forward to the new things that the coaches have scheduled for us in the upcomings. Thank you for donations to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society that I received this past week from Julie, Jill & Pete, and Jeanne & Don!!

My calves are so sore today

After Saturday's workout I felt tired but not sore. Sunday I felt stiff, but was still able to run 5 miles. I think that Sunday run did me in. Today, my calves are so sore. I feel like I just ran a marathon. I should have taken an epsom salt or ice bath. Will try massaging my muscles with the foam roller today.

Last night, I got an e-mail from Coach Nancy stating that this is Recovery Week. "Keep in mind that we DO want you to recover this week, so if you think the workout is not enough PLEASE trust us and do not do extra. The body needs a break in order to then ask a little more of it in the next 3 weeks. This periodization method has been proven very effective." You don't have to tell me twice to not do extra.

These are photos of me stretching at the end of Saturday's workout. I'm the one at far left end. Nice to see muscles in bum and legs firming up.

Week 3 = Exhausting!

I've completed my 3rd week of Ironman training and it was an exhausting week.

Mondays are suppose to be rest days, but I find it difficult to get both the swim and bike workout done on Tuesdays after spending a full day at work. So this past Monday evening I did my 1600 yard (.909 mile) swim drills. Tuesday, I set up my bike trainer on my porch and completed a 90-minute long hill spin interval (15 minute warm up, followed by 10 minutes in hard gear with last 2 minutes standing, 3 minute spin in easy gear with set repeated five times, then 10-minute cool down). On Wednesday & Thursday, I prepared for my Thanksgiving feast as well as fit in two runs and strength training. Friday, I completed my 1600 yard swim drills.
Saturday was a long training day in San Ramon. Coach Alex started us out with 45 minutes of dynamic run drills (high knees, butt kicks, side steps, quick steps, strides) and then 45 minutes of strength training repetitions of push-ups, planks, bicycle crunches, kneeling leg presses and dipping birds. At 10:30, I changed into my bathing suit and had a quick snack before 90 minutes of swim drills.

I love the coached swim drills because Coach Nancy, Skip & Scott were all there on deck to provide me instant feedback on what I am doing wrong with my swim. I learned that I am not swimming level. My forehead is above the water thus causing me to swim at a slight angle creating drag. I need to practice pushing my chest down more so that my head is below the water which should level my body and even my kick to be from the hips. I need to break the habit of looking forward when I swim and concentrate on looking straight down at the bottom of the pool. I was introduced to closed fisted swim drills and learned how to use my forearm as a tool to power through the water as well my hands. I will keep all this in mind and practice this week.

After the swim, we set-up our trainers for 3 hours of brick workout led by Coach Dave as well as a sweat test. Before each brick, we weighed ourselves with our water bottles to figure out how much water we were losing. In all, I lost one pound, which means I needed to drink at least one more bottle of water. We did 3 repeats of 30 minute spin and 20 minute run.

During my second brick run, I felt hot and tired and my mind was turning negative and filling with doubt on what I signed up for. We were already working out for over 6 hours and I was wondering if I would be able to complete Vineman within the 16 hour time limit. I shared my doubt with Coach Alex. He said to concentrate on the training at the moment and not think about anything else. He said Vineman is 8 months away and I shouldn't be worrying about that right now. Just concentrate on the drill at the moment. His words really helped. In my 3rd brick run, I ran my strongest and fastest.

I was so tired when I got home but knew that I had to eat. My husband and I went out for Chinese food for dinner. I was sound asleep by 8:30pm and slept 9 hours. I woke up sore but not sore enough to skip my 5 mile run. I weighed myself this morning and did not lose weight after working out so much this week. I blame it on water retention from the Chinese food that I ate last night. Will try weighing myself again tomorrow.

I want to be able to begin monitoring my cadence and ordered the bike cadence accessory to my Forerunner 305 via http://www.iGive.com/SupportLLS. If you shop via the internet, sign up on this link and make purchases through the over 600 stores listed. Same deals as going directly to their websites but the only difference is that the retailer will donate a percentage of the sale to the LLS.

Weekend Workouts

Saturday, I completed my first brick workout. What's a "brick" and why is it named so? Brick = Bike + Run + ICK (that's how your legs feel for the first part of the run). A brick is usually a bike/run combo, which simulates the bike to run transition.

Yesterday, I rode my bike on my trainer for 60 minutes, which was immediately followed by a 55 minute run. I actually didn't feel too bad on the run part, but my legs were getting tired on my run back home which is a steady and steep uphill climb that seems to go on forever.

Today's workout was to go on a bike ride with rolling hills for 45 miles. I knew that I would be scared to ride such a distance by myself in the middle of no where, so I hooked up with IronTeamers Belinda, Maria and Tony (who did a great job mapping the route). We started in Danville, rode past Blackhawk up to Highland Road to Livermore and back.

My Garmin shows that we rode a total distance of 48.88 miles, moving time 3:34:24 with total time of 4:19:23 and total elevation gain of 3,122 feet. The coach's workout description shows that the 45-mile rolling hill workout should take approximately 3 hours. I have a lot of work to do in the next eight months to improve my cycling time if I ever want to finish Vineman within the time limit! At this pace, it's going to take me over 10 hours on my bike ride, which I don't want to happen.

At the end of Week 2, I've lost 1.2 lbs, which is 3 lbs less than when I began training 14 days ago.

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Week 1 & 2 IronTeam photos

Body Balance Drills

This evening, Coach Nancy led us in our first coached swim workout at the Pleasant Hill Adult Center's large, salt water pool. Temp outside was 54F and it was definitely warmer being in the pool than out. In our first drill, Coach wanted to see if we could naturally float without moving our legs or arms. While I did float, my arms and legs sank, which apparently indicated that I would need to work harder to stay in a balanced position. Next we did body balance drills. Unfortunately, I did not swim balanced like this guy on the YouTube video.

I did learn that I need to narrow my kick, not bend so much at the knees when I swim sideways, use my whole leg more and point my toes. I am suppose to imagine myself swimming through a narrow tube. With a narrower kick, I would encounter less water resistance thus swim more efficiently. I'll practice this more when I swim again on Friday.

Tyler's Thanksgiving Thankful list

Tyler is one of my IronTeam's honorees, who is currently battling non-hodgkin's lymphoma. When our workouts become challenging, I will need to keep in mind what Tyler endures every day. I received this e-mail today from Tyler's mom, Holly.

Tyler was in the hospital last week to have a Hickman central line put into his chest, and then get some high dose chemo. We thought he’d be in the hospital through the weekend, but luckily, he responded well enough that he got to come home on Friday. Physically he’s doing well, but he was feeling very depressed about the Hickman. Until recently, he had a Port central line, which was completely under his skin. Unfortunately, they had to remove it because the doctors thought it might be the source of a fungal infection, so they replaced it with a Hickman, which has two fairly long lines that come out of the chest. Tyler really had a hard time with it the first few days. He cried a lot, and talked about the things the he wouldn’t be able to do with the Hickman, such as sports, running, and bending over. Most of the things he was worried about are actually still possible to do with the Hickman, but I think he’s had so many changes recently, that he focused his anxiety on the Hickman.

Then, last night, Tyler told me he wanted to write a “Thankful” list for Thanksgiving. Here is his list, which he told me was in order of importance:

1) Family (that made me tear up a little)
2) Love
3) Food
4) Drinks
5) Medicine
6) His Doctors
7) His Hickman

I was really touched by the list, and also surprised he included the Hickman. When I asked him about it, he said, “Yeah, it took me a few days to figure out the good things about the Hickman. Last week it was getting in my way and making me sad, but now I’m used to it, and I’m happy I have it.”

If you know Tyler, you know this is just another example of how resilient my little guy is. He has an amazing capacity for taking a tough situation, processing it, and then deciding it’s a good thing. I think that is at the top of my “Thankful” list this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Holly

The Power of Together

When I began training for my first marathon in 2006, a friend e-mailed me this video about the Hoyts. Brenda, Louie, and the Hoyts planted the seed in my mind that it is possible for me to complete a triathlon like they have. We all have some sort of challenge that we face. In the end, if the program is followed, it's down to mind over matter and strong will and desire to accomplish our goals.

Together, Dick and Rick Hoyt have run in marathons, competed in triathlons, and once even trekked 3,700 miles across America. It's truly astounding when you consider that Rick Hoyt is unable to walk or talk. But with Dick supplying the ability and dedication and Rick the inspiration and motivation, Team Hoyt exemplifies the power that is in "Together."

Met Jessica & Marin this morning in Martinez for a 30-mile round trip bike ride from Martinez to Danville. It was 50F when we started at 7:15am and the left side of my head was cold and numb throughout the whole ride from the wind chill but the rest of my body was fine. I definitely rode faster riding with people than if I rode by myself.

Stats from my Garmin Forerunner 305
Distance: 30 miles
Total Time: 2:18:03 (we waited at a lot of stop lights)
Moving Time 2:05:45
Moving Speed (mph) 14.2 avg; 30.4 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +1284 /-1231 (72% Flat, Ascent 17%, Descent 11%)

After my first week of training for Vineman, I weigh 1.8lbs less than 7 days ago. Let's see if I keep it off.

Catch up day

No team workout today so I was able to go on a leisurely 90-minute walk on the Clayton trails with my AAUW friends. Nice sunny day, 78F, no wind. I loved seeing the fall colors as well as all the green sprouts of grass from the rainfall received two weeks ago.

Prior to the walk, I completed my run as well as the strength workout that I didn't have time to do on Friday. I need to go catch up on household chores now.

Week 2, Day 8:
Run 60 minutes on Oaklhurst/Clayton Loop (4 miles)
Strength Workout (3 sets):
Lunges 15 reps
Calf Raises 20 reps
Front Planks 30 seconds
Side Planks 30 seconds each side
Crunches 1 minute
Bicycle 1 minute
Push-ups 20 reps
Dipping Bird 10 reps each leg
Kneeling Leg Press 20 reps
Bird Dog 15 reps

This evening at 6pm, the temperature was unseasonally warm at 70F with clear skies, still air and a full moon (earthquake weather???). I opted to go for a swim rather than the bike and run workout listed on the calendar to see if I could improve my time from the Tuesday swim workout.

After I finished a 500 yard warm up, another swimmer asked if we could share the lane and the guy was Michael Phelps!!! Well, he wasn't actually the Olympic swimmer, but he swam fast--50 yards to my 20. As he propelled forward, the water divided in front of him, followed by lots of little bubbles and a big wake that always swept me into the plastic swim lane separators. I concentrated on imitating his arm stroke and the way his body turned like a corkscrew with each stroke. I saw a slight improvement (10:34) and shaved 1:15 off my Tuesday 500 yard baseline time. Still room for much more improvement.

Week 1, Day 5:
Total swim time: 35:00

Wednesday Night at the Tracks

I know that this is only Week 1 o f the next 9 months of my life...and I've only been on the IronTeam since Saturday, but so far I AM LOVING IT!!!! Tonight, IronTeam Mentor Kristie led us in our strength and run work out at the Diablo Valley College track. (The track is brand new and just reopened after a full summer of it being closed for upgrades. Running on the new track almost tops my swim yesterday in the crystal clear pool water.) When I got to the track I was happy to see my marathon buddy Danette, who is training for her first triathlon, Lavaman. Personally, I'd like to see Danette switch to the IronTeam and complete Vineman with me. I was also happy to see that my Solvang Century cycle Coach Lorraine, made the decision to join the IronTeam in celebration of her 50th birthday next year!

We began with a 10 minute warm-up run, followed by core exercises, and then more running. The weather was perfect for this evening's workout. 58F, clear skies, no wind. I could see my breath when I layed down at the end of the field doing my crunches.

Kristie was too easy on us for our first strength workout:
Double Leg Squats 3 sets of 10-15 reps
Calf raises 3 sets of 20 reps
Crunches 3x 1 minute
Bicycle 3x 1 minute
Push-ups 3x 20 reps
Kneeling Leg Press 3x 20 reps
Supermans 3x 10 reps

Our main run was a warmup for 3 minutes, accelerate for 3 min 30 sec to threshold, decelerate for 3 min 30 sec to aerobic, steady aerobic for 3 min 30 sec, repeat this cycle 4 times and then cooldown for 3 minutes. I lost count right away and decided it was easier if I accelerated on the straight parts of the track and decelerated in the curves.

Total run: 4.20 miles in 40 minutes

Swim & Bike Trainer workout

Did two workouts today...swim and bike. The focus of today's swim was to get a marker to send to Coach Nancy on my 500 yard swim time (11:49:05). I've always just been a recreational lap swimmer and I just seemed to swim at the same speed and couldn't figure out how to make myself move through the water faster. And I can't seem to concentrate on two or more things at once, such as remembering what lap I'm on or the higher level pace I'm suppose to swim at and remembering to extend my arms further. If I lost count on the lap, I always erred on the lower count or started counting over at the last lap I was most sure of counting. One thing that made the swim great today is that Renaissance ClubSport just reopened their swimming pool after a thorough cleaning and the water is almost crystal clear.

Hopefully, I'll improve in time as the season progresses. In Vineman, the women's wave begins at 6:45am and the swim course closes at 9:15am. 2.5 hour limit for the 2.4 mile swim portion.

The second workout of the day was trainer workout, held in front of my favorite store, SportsBasement Walnut Creek. Coach Dave had us do peddling drills for an hour on our trainers. I overdressed again and had a puddle of sweat under my road bike by the time I was done. The spin class was fun and energizing. I'll need to get a cadence sensor so that I can track my cadence.

Week 1, Day 3:
Swam 1450 yards =.823 miles (Total Time 39:06:07)

Peddle Drills (1 hour)
Warm-up 10 minutes in middle-middle chainrings. Repeat the following drill set TWICE. Stay in big ring up front the entire workout, Shift to 3rd from largest ring in back. Alternate removing one foot from the pedals for one minute at a time, returning to two footed pedaling for one minute @ 90 rpm between single leg efforts. Repeat 4 times per leg.(12 minutes total). Shift to 4th from smallest gear in back. Pedal at 85 rpm. Focus all mental energy on the 1:00 to 3:00 position of the pedal stroke for 2 minutes. Focus all mental energy on the 4:00 to 6:00 position of the pedal stroke for 2 minutes. Focus all mental energy on the 6:00 to 9:00 position of the pedal stroke for 2 minutes. Focus all mental energy on the 9:00 to 12:00 position of the pedal stroke for 2 minutes. After second time throught the drills, shift to middle middle and cool down at 90 rpm for 10 minutes.

Louie Bonpua Tribute

Louie Bonpua is my inspiration in my goal to complete Vineman and become an Ironman. I hope that this video moves you as much as it inspired me.



If you would like to learn more about the cause or donate on my behalf to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, please click here.

Mt. Diablo Hill Repeats

Today I officially began my base phase.

Description of today's workout: Hill Repeats. 20 miles (approx 2 hours) on a roadway with a sustained uphill grade or uphill rolling terrain of at least 3 miles. Emphasis is on hills. Peg your heart rate at a steady level 5-6 aerobic level for the entire climb. Recover HR to Lvl 1-3 during the down hill return to the bottom of the hill. Complete this at least 3 times or untill you have ridden 18 miles (including the downhill). Plan your route to include at least 15 minutes of Lvl 2-3 warm-up and cool down.

I did my hill repeats at Mount Diablo North Gate. The temperature was 55F and I was overdressed and heated up after I finished my warm up. I removed my base layer before I began my first 3 miles. It's been a long time since I've been on my road bike and I felt out of shape and was breathing hard climbing up. I caught up with another cyclist who was stopped on the side of the road and he said he would follow me up a little bit. The man was 76-years old and said that he rides up to the Mt. Diablo Summit (3800') every weekend! I hope to be able to do that one day.

At the 3 mile point, I turned around for the descent. My biggest fears in road biking are riding on busy roads with cars and riding down hill on curvy roads. Luckily, I only had to deal with the down hill curvy road today. I grip my drops so tightly while constantly pumping my breaks that my arms and hands cramp up. I also tend to hold my breath while riding down hill. So I had to keep reminding myself to breath because I don't think I could have held it the whole 3 miles down. Finally, I hit the ranger station and turned around to go up my second time. The second time up, I did a lot better and did not breath as hard going up. And the second time down, I felt a little more comfortable since I knew what to expect. The third time up, I was getting tired and so were my muscles. Coming down the third time was harder than the second time since my arms were tired.

This was a nice, scenic ride with blue skies and no wind. Hopefully, at the end of this nine month period, I will be able to ride up Mt. Diablo as quickly as all those thin cyclist passing me. I'd like to try to lose 10-15lbs and reduce body fat by Vineman in 9 months. Hopefully the increased workouts will help achieve this goal if I also watch my caloric intake.

Miles 1-6: 37:40
Miles 7-12: 31:20
Miles 13-18: 36:50

Total Mileage: 21 miles; Elevation Gain: 3,029'

Weight: 137lbs. 31% body fat; 30.8% muscle

How it all started

When I was in the sixth grade, my childhood friend died of leukemia. Back then, I didn’t really understand what that meant, but I thought that I would never forget about Eric. When I was 30, I developed a goal to run a full marathon before I turned 40…because Oprah did it. Crazy idea – since I wasn’t even a runner. At 36, I signed up for various races to build up to 26.2 miles, but ended up injured during the marathon since I didn’t train properly.

In 2006, at age 39, my deadline was coming near and it looked like I wasn’t going to meet my goal. During this time, I developed a friendship with Brenda, a 36-year-old mother of two young spirited boys, who was in remission from leukemia. While in remission, she had completed the same half marathon that I first did by myself, a full marathon, as well as an Olympic distance triathlon. Brenda convinced me to join Team in Training to get professional coaching for my marathon, and in exchange I would raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Wow, I thought, this would allow me to achieve two life goals at once…honor the memory of Eric as well as complete a marathon!

I shared my goals with friends and received strong encouragement and support. As well, I began to develop a long list of honorees to run for as my supporters asked me to run in memory and honor of their family members and friends who battled leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma. Once I made my promise, I couldn’t turn back and this cemented my goal to complete the marathon. While training with Brenda, her cancer returned. She received a bone marrow transplant but later developed host vs graft disease of the lung and sadly passed away the following year. I had another name to add to my list.

Since meeting Brenda, I have completed four marathons and a century ride. Because of Eric, Brenda, Chip, Shelby, James Henry, Cole, Maxx, Victoria, Caroline, Ray, Maddie, Richard, Thomas, Kendra, Joseph, Porter, Paul, Vanessa, Frank, Cheryl, Sandi, Ruth, Ellie, Chris, Ian, Justin, Lynn, Corinne and Sonny, I am beginning my third year of continued involvement with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and plan to complete my first triathlon, The Vineman Full Triathlon on August 1, 2009, an Ironman Distance event with 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike & 26.2 mile run with a 16 hour time limit. Team in Trainign will provide me the training in exchange of me raising funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Visit my fundraising page for more details about the cause.

I'm looking forward to these next nine months. I feel excited, anxious and scared, but confident that if I stick with the training, I will be an Ironman in 2009. I will use this blog to document my journey and daily workouts. I hope you visit often to follow my progress and offer words of encouragement because I will need it.

Today was the IronTeam Kick-Off. I met my coaches & teammates and received my initial base-phase training schedule (Mondays rest...Tuesdays swim & bike...Wednesdays strength train and run...Thursdays bike and run...Friday swim and strength train...Saturday Coach workout... Sunday bike). Coach Alex, our strenth coach, also took a baseline of our current strength level.

Day 1: Strength Baseline: 42 push-ups, 15 right planks, 25 left planks