A brand new journey & adventure to the Full Vineman Triathlon, the oldest Iron Distance event in the Continental U.S.
August 2, 2010 Sonoma County, CA, 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run
Completed our first bike ride of the season, 20-miles easy ride with rollers from Foothill High School, Pleasanton to Calaveras Road in Sunol and back. It rained prior to the bike ride so the roads were still wet. My bike, clothes and gear got splattered in mud. Loved seeing the fall foliage on this route.
I rode with my friends Helen and Cori. I've known Cori for the past 2 years from the Marathon team and I convinced her to try something new and join the IronTeam. She's new to road biking and did great today. I see her soon riding up front with the Kenyans and leaving me in the dust.
Early this morning, I completed yesterday's run workout and ran a total of 5 miles.
I love running in Clayton when everything is greening up. The only thing I hate about the run is that it's a quarter-mile uphill climb with about 600 foot elevation gain to get back home. The positive thing about it is that this will make me stronger.
Here's a photo of Max, my running buddy. He's 13-years old now.
This evening was the first time I've sat on my bike seat since Vineman on 8/1/09 when I road 112-miles. We had a one hour spin workout on our trainers where we focused on pedaling drills. My area down "there" needs to toughen up again after 3 months off the saddle. Did workup a sweat with the one-legged drills.
Coach Dave leads a fun spin workout. I generally love his music selection...except that one time when he had a Bollywood/Slum Dog Millionaire selection.
After a hiatus since my Ironman event on 8/1/09, I've decided to train for another Ironman! Which Ironman is still up in the air...trying to decide between Ironman Canada, seeing if I can improve my time at Vineman or possibly Ironman Arizona. I've rejoined the IronTeam for my second year and this time volunteer on the team as staff to help ensure goals come true for the newbies on the team.
Yesterday was the kickoff of our season at U.C. Berkeley, where I graduated 20 years ago!!! Kickoff was held at Wheeler Auditorium. We had a full day there in our first Iron University where the coaches went over the plan for our swim, bike, run and strenth training workouts for the next 10 months of our lives.
Today, I completed my first run (5 miles) and strength training workout. (I made a promise to myself that I'll do a better job in adhering to the strength training working than I did last season.)
Here are some photos taken August 1, 2009 when I became an Ironman! I have a lot more photos, but haven't figured out how to share photos posted on Facebook into Blogger. Here are just a few shots. Also below are links to other photos that friends have taken.
Coach Dave told us to visualize race day from the few days before the race to the very end when we cross the finish line. I've finished preparing my race day schedule list, packing list and here is the visualization list:
Thursday:
1.Arrive in town.
2.Find over-priced accommodations you are staying a minimum of four nights at
3.Unpack bicycle, spread gear around room randomly.
4.Attempt to reassemble bicycle, realize you forgot to mark your seat and handlebar position before disassembly.
5.Guess position and tell yourself it won’t make a big difference.
6.Drive bike course at slow speeds while making wrong turns. Annoy locals.
7.Find swim venue.
8.Put wetsuit on, stand around for 15 minutes. Swim 10 minutes, take wetsuit off. Look around to see if you impressed anyone.
Friday:
9.Walk around expo looking for free stuff.
10.Go to registration tent, stand in line, get bag, check bag for goodies.
11.Go back to hotel, arrange energy products into different piles. Stare at piles.
12.Spend 2 hours preparing for bike ride with race wheels and drink systems.
13.Go for 30 minute ride.
14.Go back to hotel.
15.Decide that this would be a great opportunity to learn how to rebuild your rear hub to fix the play in it. Disassemble hub.
16.Drive to house where your club mate, the bicycle mechanic, is staying. Show him the pieces of your rear wheel. Beg for help.
17.Go to swim start Friday morning. Look for tell-tale wrist-bands on other competitors; look condescendingly at all those swimming who aren’t participating in the race.
18.Go back to hotel, spend 4 hours attaching numbers to your bicycle, helmet, and race outfit.
19.Panic that you don’t have 8 pieces of reflective tape for your run outfit, even though IMNA has never been known to enforce the rule.
20.Drive down to expo at the last minute, stand in line, pay $10 for a strip of reflective tape.
21.Drive back to hotel, place energy products into various bags.
22.Pack transition bags.
23.Unpack transition bags.
24.Repack transition bags.
25.Drive to Carbo-dinner. Stand in line, proceed through buffet with poor food selection, sit at crowded table, remember you paid an extra $20 each so your family could enjoy this food.
26.Listen to IMNA personnel tell same jokes as last year. Realize that Dave Scott has apparently discovered the fountain of youth.
27.Stand in line to leave.
28.Prep bike to drop off on Saturday, discover your tire has a slow leak.
29.Drive to expo, stand in line, pay $80 for tubular tire.
30.Get back to hotel, realize you don’t know how to glue on a tubular, drive back to expo and have them do it for you.
31.Drop bike off, spend time covering bike with various plastic bags because everyone else is doing it.
32.Drop off your transition bags, realize you forgot your salt tablets, drive back to hotel to get them.
33.Drive back to hotel again, arrange race gear for tomorrow morning.
34.Pack special needs bags.
35.Unpack special needs bags.
36.Repack special needs bags.
37.Realize there is nothing more you can do to get ready.
38.Sit down and relax.
39.Panic.
40.Eat early dinner
41.Go to bed, lie there in a cold sweat.
Saturday:
42.Wake up at 2:00 am for 1000 calorie bottle of nasty-tasting concoction, “because Gordo does it”.
43.Lie awake listening to horrible weather move into town.
44.Wake up at 4:00 am, listen to spouse complain.
45.5:00 am. Get in car, drive to start.
46.5:30 am. Stand in line to enter the transition area.
47.Check transition bags.
48.Stand in line to get body marked.
49.Check bike, stand in line to get tires pumped up.
50.Stand in line for porta-john.
51.Realize you left your water bottles with special nutrition needs in the fridge at the hotel.
52.Drive back madly to get them.
53.Get back to start, wait in line for parking spot.
54.Stand in line for porta-john.
55.Get wetsuit on, stand in line to enter swim area.
56.Realize it’s too late for a warm up.
57.Stand in line to enter water.
58.Stand in water with 2000 other people while sun comes up and national anthem is sung by local high school girl.
59.Realize that few moments of your life have been this beautiful.
60.Gun goes off, 2000 people attempt to swim on top of you, realize that you are in mortal danger or drowning and few moments of your life have been this dangerous.
61.Get kicked in face, goggles come off, panic and tread water trying to get them back on while people hit you.
62.Remember you paid good money to do this.
63.Exit swim, stand in line to get into transition.
64.Stand in line to get out of change tent.
65.Get bike, stand in line to get out of transition.
66.Start bike, realize that there is no way 1000 people can pack onto a course within 20 minutes without massive drafting problems.
67.Hope that poor bike handlers don’t crash in front of you.
68.Ride bike.
69.Panic that you’ve already fallen off your nutrition plan that your coach gave you.
70.Make up for lost calories and fluids in the next 15 minutes.
71.Feel ill.
72.Ride bike.
73.Get saddle-sore.
74.Ride bike
75.Decide to piss while riding to save time.
76.Spend the next 30 minutes soft-pedaling, coasting, and practicing mental imagery trying to relax enough to let it go.
77.Give up, get off at aid station and spend 30 seconds in porta-john, get back on bike.
78.Ride bike, feel queasy and bloated, take 3 salt tablets at once to make sure you’re not low on electrolytes.
79.Throw up.
80.Get off bike, sit in change tent wondering why you are doing this.
81.Listen in disbelief to volunteer telling you you’re almost done.
82.Proceed to marathon course.
83.Realize that you should have practiced the 1000 calorie drink at 2:00 am before race day.
84.Throw up, walk, jog, repeat for 26 miles.
85.Start gagging at the thought of another energy gel.
86.Sample the variety of food at aid stations.
87.Discover Oreos, the food of the Gods.
88.Invent the form of locomotion called the ‘ironman shuffle’.
89.Feel proud that your 12 minute mile is technically not walking.
90.Pass your spouse. Make them swear to never let you do another one of these.
91.See finishing chute.
92.Sprint madly down the road high-fiving people and cheering while announcer screams your name.
93.Realize it was all worth it.
94.Get to finishing chute, wait in line while a man takes his extended family over it with him.
95.Cross line, collapse into arms of patient volunteers.
96.Spend next two hours in med tent realizing that you should have drunk more fluids when it got hot.
97.Go to massage tent, eat cold pizza and wander around in a daze while wearing an aluminum foil blanket.
98.Stick around finish line until midnight to share in “the ironman spirit”.
99.Beat off 12-year-old to grab free socks thrown into crowd.
100.Look in disbelief at fresh and bouncy professional athletes dancing at the finish line.
101.Cheer last few athletes into the finish before midnight.
102.Ask your spouse if you looked that bad.
103.Be amazed that they spent 16 hours out there moving the whole time.
104.Go back to hotel, collapse in bed.
105.Wake up, go to bathroom, collapse back into bed.
106.Repeat all night until the 6 IV’s the med tent gave you are through your system.
Sunday
107.Wake up at 4:00 because your legs hurt so much.
108.Eat first breakfast.
109.Sit around until spouse wakes up, eat second breakfast.
110.Shuffle around town Sunday morning wearing finishers T-shirt and medal.
111.Smile knowingly at other fellow shufflers..
112.Graciously accept congratulations from locals thankful you came to their town to spend money.
113.Eat third breakfast at all you can eat buffet.
114.Go to Official Finishers merchandise tent. Stand in line. Pick out $200 worth of clothing with prominent logos on it.
115.Stand in line, pay $600 for clothes.
116.Contemplate getting a tattoo to immortalize your achievement.
117.Fall prey to peer-pressure and marketing techniques.
118.Cough up $450 to sign up for the race next year - since it will sell out today, and this is your only chance to sign up!
119.Proceed to IM Hawaii role-down.
120.Hold out hope that, even though you finished 80th in your age-group, this will be the year everyone leaves early and you get the last spot.
121.Eat first lunch.
122.Go back to hotel, stare at the disgusting, sticky, smelly mess that is your bicycle and race clothes.
123.Start packing things up to fly home.
124.Eat second lunch.
125.Go to awards dinner, stand in line.
126.Get poor food from buffet, remember you spent $20 a head so your family could enjoy this magical moment with you.
127.Watch hastily-produced race video. Closely examine each frame hoping they caught a glimpse of you on the course. Be disappointed.
128.Watch age-group athletes get their awards. Wonder how many of them actually work for a living, and where you can get some of the performance enhancing drugs they appear to be on.
129.Realize that you have to go all the way up to women’s 70+ age group before you find an age-group your time would have won.
130.Listen to long, excruciatingly boring thank-you speeches from various professional athletes.
131.Stand in line to get out of awards dinner.
Monday (I’m actually not flying anywhere, but I thought this was funny.)
132.Go to Airport, stand in line.
133.Deliver $5000 bike to Neanderthal-like baggage handler. Pray.
134.Reluctantly take finishers medal off to pass through metal detector.
135.Proudly tell TSA personnel what you did on your weekend.
136.Get home, contemplate unpacking disgusting bicycle, decide to leave it until tomorrow.
137.Eat Bon-Bons and watch TV.
Tuesday
138.Contemplate unpacking your bicycle and training again, decide to leave it until tomorrow.
139.Repeat above step for 2-10 weeks.
140.Step on scale. Look at your fat, disgusting self in a mirror and remember you signed up for next year’s race.
Wow! So, it's been awhile since I've updated this blog. After the 3/4 to Ironman Weekend at Clearlake in June, training has been go, go, go until last week when taper started. The past 9 months have been quite a journey and an experience of a lifetime in which I've gotten to get to know some fantastic people and where I've gotten to know my physical & mental capabilities.
After I conquered swimming open water 2 miles in Clearlake, my open water fears disappeared the rest of the season. And now that the water is warmer than during the winter, I never thought that I'd ever say that I now prefer swimming in open fresh water over a swimming pool. (I only tolerate swimming in salty San Francisco Bay). Today, I completed my first official swim race, the Catfish Crawl in Stevens Creek Reservoir. I learned that I can handle a mass swim start (this event only had about 300 people at the start) without panicking. So, I feel ready for Saturday Vineman swim start.
Other weekend highlights of the season since Clearlake:
Week 30 Tour of the East Bay Alps - 75 mile bike ride, 9000 feet of climing, including up to the Mt Diablo summit, followed the next day by 12 mile run
Week 31 Rode 107 miles in Napa - the longest distance ever for me on my bike
Week 32 First time I've completed 16-mile trail run at China Camp State Park in Marin County. Next day followed by 1 hour open water swim and 30 mile bike ride
Week 33: Triple Brick (30 mile bike/5 mile run, repeated 3 times) in 107F heat. Crazy huh? Followed the next day by 1 hour open water swim
Week 34: Ran 19 miles solo in Walnut Creek in 90F heat. Next day followed by 1 hour open water swim and 45 mile bike ride.
Week 35: Swam 1.7 miles in open water immediately followed by 13 mile run. Next day biked the East Bay Century, taking me up and over Mt. Diablo again, in hot weather. Experienced first bike fall of the season.
Week 36: Began taper. Ran 10 miles in beautiful, foggy San Francisco. Next day biked 45 miles
Week 37: Catfish Crawl - my first open water race! Followed by Louie Bonpua Memorial Run.
Week 38: This week...pack for Vineman!
If you are interested in going to watch the Vineman race in Sonoma County, details are posted on the Vineman website: http://www.vineman.com/triathlon.htm
Thank you all friends for your support all season! Also, if you are a member of Facebook, let me know. I've been posting my photos and actually doing mini updates there.
Monday, June 1, 2009
The 3/4 to Ironman Weekend in Lake County, CA was incredible! I completed my longest open water swim distance to date, 2-miles in Clear Lake, biked 100-miles and ran 16-miles.
Although the water temperature felt perfect, the first swim lap seemed very choppy as I was swimming against the current causing slight difficulty to maintain course. The return trip was smooth and fast. Once I knew what to expect and where I was going, the second lap out didn't seem as bad. The staff also provided really good water support and keep us on course. Coach Dave was on a jet ski fending off the boaters from entering our swim area. This weekend was the Clear Lake Bow Fishing Championship where burly men used these large bows to shoot carp off their rigged boats with platforms.
The bike ride seemed to go on forever since for most of the 8 hours, I was riding alone and always wondering where if I was still on course. Luckily, I didn't get lost. We road around the whole perimeter of Clear Lake, California's largest natural lake and one of the oldest lakes in North America. I've never been to Lake County before and the scenery was pretty, especially riding thru the vineyards on the steep hillsides. The roads felt more bumpy than smooth, causing my hands and shoulders to hurt after awhile. Today, I went and got a massage, but somehow feel more sore after the massage than before.
What did I learn this weekend? 1) After awhile, I can't stand drinking my electrolyte/carbo-loading concoctions, or eating Gu, Luna Moons, pretzels, or bananas. And the rest stops didn't have anything I felt looked appetizing. I'll need to find another variety of food/drink the second half of the day for variety, if possible.
2) I experienced heat rash for the first time on my top of my thighs where my bike shorts elastic rubbed. Will need to remember to Body Glide that area in the future. I also had heat rash on my cheeks. Website says that heat rash occurs when sweat can't exit the pores. After a few hours, I did stop producing sweat even though I was drinking a lot.
3) I experienced sharp jaw pain for the first time during my run. I still have this pain and it's killing me when I eat. I don't think that I clench my teeth when I run, but I must. A website search says to keep mouth open when running and breath thru mouth to help relax jaw. The only reason I don't like doing this is because I don't want bugs flying into my mouth when I bike or run. Another website says that need to run a smoother step, from heel to toe. But thinking about it, the jaw pain could have started with the bumpy bike ride and finally blew up during the run.
4) Having my own pillow with me is comforting at night. I know that I slept good this weekend in the stinky motel that we stayed at only because I had my down pillow with me. Need to bring it with me to Vineman.
5) On Saturday night, teammates and volunteer staff shared their personal connection to our cause of raising funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I was reminded how fortunate I am for my health and to be able to do all this as my own choice. Cancer patients don't have a choice.
6) Although this weekend had it's challenges, I'm feeling more and more confident in myself that I will rock the Vineman course on August 1, 2009.
Sheesh...it's almost 10pm and I still need to pack for my 3/4 to Ironman Weekend. Packing for a triathlon is more work than just running a marathon. Here's my packing checklist...seems like I'm missing something...
SWIM
Body Glide
Swim Cap
Goggles (2)
Swim Suit (under wetsuit)
Wetsuit
Ear Plugs
Sun block
Watch
Towel
BIKE
The Bike!
Bike Shoes
Bike Gloves
Helmet
Bike Shorts
Bike Jersey
Floor Pump
CO2 accessories/cartridge
Bike pump
Patch Kit
Tool Set
Socks
Spare Tire
Spare Tube
Chain Lube
Sunglasses
Tire Levers (2)
Water Bottle (2)
Hydration Pack
Map holder
Garmin
RUN
Fuel Belt
Hat/Visor
Running Shoes
Running Shirt
Running Shorts
Socks
CLOTHING
Flip Flops
Post-workout clothes
Towel
MISC.
Breakfast food (oatmeal, hot chocolate, tea, bagels, juice)
This weekend will be our 3/4 to Ironman weekend, our longest distance of training in all three events so far this season...118 miles!!! Swimming 2 miles in Clearlake, followed by a 100-mile bike ride and 16-mile run. I am looking forward to achieving this milestone!
Open water swimming has felt a lot more comfortable and bearable with water temperatures now around 72F. I'm actually starting to like swimming in the open water better than my gym's pool which gets crowded with the hotter weather.
However, I still have my freak out moments swimming in open water (but fortunately haven't been hyperventilating). Our swim coach has told us that we need to concentrate on our swim stroke & cadence and not let our mind wander during our swims because it could result in slower speeds. On Friday, I swam 75 minutes at Shadow Cliffs Lake in Pleasanton just outside the swim lanes. I like swimming the length of the swim lanes so that I can track if my lap times are improving. The water is actually sort of clear where I can see the bottom of the lake in some spots. I couldn't keep my mind from wandering as I saw many little minnows swimming along the plants on the bottom and various piece of trash partially buried on the lake floor (empty Gu packet, swim cap, pipe, etc.) The first time a large black catfish swam under me caused my heart to jump. But there was one part that I just had to keep my eyes diverted away from looking straight down because my imagination got the worst of me when I swam over the spot the first two times. The creepy, hair-standing-straight-up-on-your-neck feeling returned each of the remaining 18 times I passed over that spot. Probably due to my vivid imagination, I swam each lap 40 seconds faster than two weeks ago.
On Sunday, the IronTeam met at Lake Del Valle where we swam 1 hour followed by a 10-mile trail run. Water had very little visability. I only freaked out when my hand got caught in some algae during the swim and when a very large fish passed in front of me.
I just remember the very first time that I experienced open water swimming, I uncomfortable not being able to see underwater clearly like in a swimming pool. This week, I think that it may be better not to see what is lurking with me in the water.
Our team honoree Kev, a 32-year survivor of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in remission for 26 years and great supporter of our IronTeam, sent this inspirational e-mail to our team:
I wanted to send you a quick note to say hello and to thank you for being part of IronTeam. You all know what IronTeam symbolizes to the group but I am not sure if any of the honorees have shared what IronTeam means to them.
IronTeam is a team made up of all kinds of people, men and women of all age groups, some fast, some not so fast. You all have different strengths on the swim, bike and run. For some it may come easy, and for some it is more of a challenge. Then you also have to add nutrition in some format liquid, or not. You all also add to your hat fundraising, and that is not any easy thing to do. You give up most of your personal lives so that others can live.
The one thing you all have in common is the passion to find a cure for cancer, and are relentless about giving up, just like cancers survivors we are relentless about giving up. Many regardless of how hard they fought were not able to overcome the horrible disease. While people are surviving cancer there are still not enough people, everyone deserves a to survive cancer.
You all have your own reasons for being part of the cure for cancer and I am proud of each and everyone of you. I would have rather been out playing with my friends, or riding my bike than being sick in bed from my cancer treatment.
I didn't have a choice but to fight, and you do - so when you climbing up a hill that you just want turn turn around or wait to be picked up, think of the children, men and women whom are not able to be outside or enjoying time with their loved ones.
These women and men are you - the ironteam - Go Long, Go Strong, GO Ironteam YOU ROCK!
Honoree Kev
If you would like to provide support in finding a cure for cancer, click here.
I haven't posted anything since April 28th since the past two weeks were build weeks = long days = no time to do anything other than work, train, eat, sleep, repeat. I'm swimming up to two miles in the pool now, which takes me about 80 minutes. I also started swimming with a Masters Swim group on Thursdays to help improve my swim time and get further coaching. My long run is up to 12 miles now with a slow but steady pace (10:00-11:00/mile). Here are some photos from the past two weeks:
5/9: Bike 63 miles of Vineman course, Sonoma County
5/12 I feel myself getting stronger riding further up Mt. Diablo with easier effort. Made it past the 1000' marker sign and almost to the ranch house before I had to turn around before sunset. This was the first time it occurred to me that I can ride up to the 3849' summit on my bike.
5/16 I rode 60 miles in Napa county through Pope Valley & Silverado Trail. I love this photo of teammate Belinda who supported the ride by volunteering at a water stop. Although the ride seemed challenging because the temperature was in the upper 90s to 100F, the scenery is so beautiful, it helps take my mind off the heat.
5/17 The workout called for an on your own triathlon. I swam 1.3 miles in 45 minutes, biked for two hours and was suppose to run 70 minutes, but decided to pull back (temp was 102F) and walked for 40 minutes instead.
After three weeks of build phase, this week is finally recovery week where the workouts ease off a bit. I need this time to give my muscles a break and prepare for next weekend - 3/4 to Ironman, where I'll be swimming 2 miles, biking 100 miles, and running 16 miles. It is so hard for me to believe how much I have accomplished in these quick 27 weeks. Only 12 weeks left until my event!
Yesterday April 27, I celebrated my 42nd birthday by enjoying the day off from work and swimming 3450 yards (1.96 miles). It was a good day as well because I survived the Sunday swim at Aquatic Park.
Sunday morning was beautiful in San Francisco. Sunny, mid-50s, blue skies, no wind. We were to swim 3 laps around the buoys at Aquatic Park (about 1 mile) or no more than an hour. The San Francisco Bay water is a greenish teal color and full of particles in which I cannot see my hand in front of me while underwater. The water felt cold initially and was tolerable once I started swimming. When small waves of water splashed into my mouth as I turned my head to breath, an instant burning sensation was felt in my throat from the salty water. I flinched and paused each time I felt something touching my hands or wrapping around my fingers. OMG! Is it the stinging jellyfish??? I would pause from swimming, lift my hand out of the water and fling the slimy seaweed off and continue swimming
Reflecting back 4-5 months ago when I was being introduced to open water swimming, I've since come a long ways. I did ask wonderful Mike Kyle to swim alongside me at Aquatic Park on Sunday since I've never swam there before. Having someone swim with me initially is sort of like a security blanket until I know what to expect. But once I started swimming, I realize that I do now know what to expect. I didn't have a panic attack or hyperventilate as I did in my swims a few months back. This is progress!!
Total time in water to swim the three laps including my first ever pit stop (just had to do it) took 53 minutes. On the beach, Coach Dave was bringing in his kayak and said, "Jennifer, I have something for you." On his paddle was a 2" swimmer-eating jellyfish that he pulled out of the water. Photo on right is of a jellyfish floating on top of the the mucky bay.
After the open water swim, we went to Coach Doug's TRX training center less than a mile away and did TRX strength drills. I think I would have enjoyed the experience better if we were doing the workout outside. The studio's atmosphere (air and bright yellow walls) gave me an instant headache when I walked inside, but once back out in the fresh air, my head cleared up.
In the past three years, I've completed four marathons, a few century rides, and an Ironman! I enjoyed training for the Ironman so much, I'm doing it again!
