Mental Fortitude

I received the following from Head Coach Dave:

Often we hear that triathlon is three disciplines (1) Swim, (2) Bike & (3) Run. Then we begin to peel the onion another layer and discover the fourth discipline (4) Nutrition. Rarely do we peel the onion any further because that will make us cry. What is crying anyway? It is an emotion. Under the right circumstances and in a controlled situation, crying comes in handy. Over the next several weeks we will peel that onion and discover our powers of control and learn techniques to balance our emotional response mechanism in our favor, not only for race day, but for everyday life too. Welcome to the fifth discipline, (5) Mental Fortitude.

From the American Heritage Dictionary - for·ti·tude (fôr'tĭ-tōōd', -tyōōd') n. - Strength of mind that allows one to endure pain or adversity with courage.

Yes, Pain and adversity. Before you know it, these two will be your swim buddies, your cycling companions and running partners for 140.6 miles. Wouldn’t you rather run with friends than adversaries?

Can you believe we have been at this for eleven weeks now! Come Ironman day, the cold water of Lake Del Valle and Treasure Island, the long workouts you have under your belt already and those to come will be but a memory, stored in your subconscious for recall when the going gets tough. If you have not already, you will soon have a moment of clarity, much like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, that you simply “aren’t in Kansas anymore” and things are a bit fuzzy. Welcome to Ironman, please take your seat, fasten your seatbelt and prepare for the ride of your life!

We have all heard the cliché phrases of our time like “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” or “If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger” but those simply don’t cover the incredible array of emotions an endurance athlete feels in a given week, let alone an entire season.

The first step of just about every time-tested progressive improvement plan is to come clean and admit that everything is not a bed of roses. And in our case, we need to start with the acknowledgment that the task ahead is hard and the journey will be difficult. In my tenure with Ironteam I have often repeated to athletes that we are training for Ironman, not Plasticman, and I mean that in a very literal way. Strike a match under a plastic spoon. Watch it curl up and see the plume of acrid black smoke that rises into a toxic cloud above you. Strike a match under an steel fork, forged from Iron, and you see it will begin to glow are vibrant orange yet keep it’s shape. In fact Iron is hardened by flame.

I want each of you to spend the remainder of the week thinking hard during your workouts. I want you to focus all your mental energy for at least an hour this week on one thing. Find an image, a slogan, a favorite movie moment, a mantra of some sort and let it take hold for a while and take you to your "happy place", reducing your stress and re-engaging you in the mind-body ballet called Ironman training. If it shows potential, file it away for future use. By the end of this series of weekly messages you will be asked to dig it out and formulate a plan that includes it. Trust me, this works. If you don’t believe me, just wait for the next 6 weeks worth of testimony.

Slideshow from Louis Bonpua Triathlon

ELATION!

That is the word that describes how I felt when I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon today. But I actually have stronger feelings than that because I cried the whole drive home when I thought about the fears that I knocked down today. I even thought if I feel like this now for a practice triathlon, how will I feel when I actually finish the full Ironman distance on 8/1/09?

Three weeks ago, when I did my first open water swim at Lake Del Valle which was followed the next day by a 30-mile rolling hill bike ride, I was at wits end. My head filled with doubt. I wanted to quit and not continue. But I'm a stubborn thing and I can't quit a goal that I've shared with way too many people. I couldn't face you all again if I had a lame excuse or any excuse if I gave up on my goal. What got me through the past three weeks were your sweet notes to me and donations to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. As well, my outstanding IronTeam coaches and experienced teammates prepared me well physically and mentally for today's Louis Bonpua Triathlon.

This morning as I rounded the corner around Yerba Buena Island towards Treasure Island, I saw the great view being above the Bay Bridge followed by best view of San Francisco that I've ever seen in my lifetime living in the Bay Area. The weatherman was wrong about rain and cold through Sunday because the skies were blue, the winds were calm and the temp was a pleasant 48F. This calming weather and view had a positive psychological effect because I didn't feel nervous at all...until I started swimming.

At the swim start, Coach Nancy said she was going to swim along side with me the whole time because she knew about my open water swim trepidation. I didn't like the swim start with all the people around me swimming, kicking, splashing...and I felt panicked and began breathing rapid and shallow. Coach Nancy's calm voice said I was doing fine and reminded me to exhale under water. As I got to the first red buoy, I had to stop and grab onto the kayak to catch my breath and wit. The kayaker said to look at him and follow his breath, which helped slow my breathing. By then the swimmers were more spread out, I was ready to continue. I rounded the first sailboat and headed toward the next marker.

As I got to the next marker, I told Nancy I was done and wanted to swim to shore. Her calm voice asked, "Why? Are you cold? Are you tired? Is it mental?" or something to that effect. I thought, no, no, yes... okay, I'll do another lap. (We were to swim three laps...totaling 1.5km/.93 miles). The second lap I was beginning to feel more comfortable but would panic if I didn't see Nancy. "I'm here," she'd say. "Count your strokes to 20." That was a good distraction technique. I rounded the red buoy and forgot to site to where I was suppose to swim and was heading toward the Bay Bridge instead of the sail boat. "Not that way," I heard Nancy say.

The big sailboat had a little row boat attached to it. Painted on the sailboat was the name "Amy." Amy is the name of my best friend that I've known since the 6th grade. When I saw the name, I could hear Amy's voice in my head cheering me on. When I got towards the marker where I previously wanted to end it, I asked myself, am I tired? No. Only 1 more lap to go. I need to finish the third lap if I want to honestly say that I completed an Olympic Distance triathlon, otherwise I'd be cheating myself. So I headed out to the red buoy again. I heard Nancy say, "swim longer, deeper strokes...swim this one strong." That made me think about my body stroke and kick and I realized that I wasn't swimming in the best form. Previous two laps, I was more just trying to control breathing and brain. Rounding "Amy" my last time, I tried to swim strong to the shore. The water got really choppy and I didn't feel like I was moving forward and think that I was being pushed to my left. "Jennifer, you're almost done. Hear them cheering for you at the shore?" I hit the shore and gave Coach Nancy a big thank you hug. The swim took me 43 minutes.

My legs felt like rubber. My head was spinning. I was elated that I completed my longest distance open water swim without drowning. And I didn't get eaten by a shark (probably because I didn't pee in my wetsuit.) I had about a half-mile run back to where my bike was located. When my wetsuit was stripped off, I started shivering instantly until I changed into my cycle knickers.

For the bicycle portion, I had to ride six laps back and forth around the blocks of Treasure Island totaling 24.8 miles. Cycling west towards the Golden Gate Bridge, I faced a strong headwind. We had great volunteer support pointing us in the direction to turn and cheering. I don't know how long I took on the bike portion since I forgot to start my watch.

When I got back, I changed into my running shorts and shoes, used the port-o-pottie, and took a Gu before heading out to run the 6.2 miles. It was an out and back course that we had to run four laps. It usually takes me the first 30 minutes of a run to warm up my legs and feet and brain to the new abuse at hand. The run was on cement which is hard on my flat feet. I had bought new shoes this week and today was the first day I was actually breaking them in. Training Captain Brian ran with me the last 1.5 laps, which was nice because I tend to not give up as easily to walk when I have someone to keep pace with. I don't know exactly how long I took in my run since I forgot to turn off my watch, but I think that I took around an hour. I was happy that even though I came in second to last in my swim and one of the last bikes out, I was not the very last person to come in from the run. Brian said some encouraging words during our run that made me realize that I am making progress in becoming an Ironman and this is all really possible.

Bodily functions...to pee or not to pee?

Warning....this may be too much information for some, but this is a common subject on minds of those who train or race for endurance events...

Before any extended team workout, I have to go to the bathroom about 15 times in the hour prior to leaving my house and then at least 2-3 times more before the workout or race. This is probably due to several reason: I hydrate a lot the day before...the cold morning air... the anticipation makes me nervous...and the grapefruit-size tumor that squishes against my bladder & intestines doesn't help either.

One thing that I always like to figure out in advance before I arrive at any extended workout is the bathroom situation...will there be clean bathrooms with real toilets available? Port-o-potties? Or nothing at all? If I know that there are only port-o-potties or nothing, I'll stop at the closest Starbucks prior to arriving to my destination or figure out places to go with real bathrooms along the route. I haven't yet gone in bushes like many runners or cyclists.

This coming weekend, I'll be on a man-made island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. Yesterday, during spin workout, I asked a teammate what the bathroom situation would be like at Treasure Island. He said no bathrooms and maybe a few port-o-potties..."but you won't need them because you can just pee in your wetsuit at the start of your swim. It'll flush out when you swim. Everyone does it."

Being someone who likes to have lots of information, I searched "peeing in wetsuit" on Google and 207,000 results came back on this subject:

1) It helps you stay warm in cooler water. (SF Bay water temp is around 48F)
2) Sharks can detect bodily fluid in water and senses lost fluid as weak prey. But don't worry, sharks don't like humans and are more attracted to seals (...hmmm, SF Bay has sharks and I'll look like a seal in my black wetsuit)

3) If wetsuit not flushed and rinsed well enough afterwards, fungus will grow and cause bad rash on skin as well as permanent stink in wetsuit.

4) Inner layer is glued on the neoprene and urine can work like a solvent on both the seams and the inner lining causing harm to the wetsuit.

5) Timex tri website: okay to use wetsuit like your own private port-a-potty with no worries, enough water gets in the suit during the swim that there is no harm.

6) After swimming in cold water for awhile, you will automatically pee without bodily control (what??!!)

The list goes on and on with 207,000 more articles and discussions on this subject. I'll lay out a plan for this weekend. I'm not ready to go this direction yet in my new wetsuit, but then again I may not be able to control the situation on my own.

Louie Triathlon

This coming Sunday, January 25, I will be participating in the 8th Annual Louie Tri, which will be my first Olympic distance triathlon (swim .93mi, bike 24.8mi, run 6.2mi) and the first time I'll be swimming in the San Francisco Bay. The Louie Tri use to be known as the Iron Team Olympic distance Practice Triathlon, however 8 years ago, a few days before the event, Louie Bonpua passed away after losing his battle with Leukemia. Now, the Louie Tri is held every year in his memory.

If you are interested in coming to volunteer and cheer, let me know and I'll send you the details. The event is held on Treasure Island. Even though I've lived in the Bay Area all my life and driven past the island many times going across the Bay Bridge, this will my first time on Treasure Island.

I've posted this video previously. Watch to learn more about Louie Bonpua, my inspiration to complete Vineman and become an Ironman.

Ride with me at the Primavera Century!

I just signed up to ride the Primavera Century on April 19, 2009. Consider signing up. Still plenty of time to train for it. It's more fun to ride with friends! The route begins in Union City, goes through the suburbs of Southern Alameda County before hitting the Calaveras "Wall", winding down Calaveras Road and heading east to the Livermore wine country, Altamont Pass and back through Pleasanton, Palamares Road and back to Union City.
Here's the link to the brochure: http://www.ffbc.org/PrimaveraBrochure2009.pdf

What I love most about my training to date

I love going to track practice, which allows me to focus on my speed work which I can't do as well while running on the street. I also always get in a good stretch which I don't do enough while working out on my own.

At the Three Bears Marker ride, I loved seeing the many calves, cows and horses grazing on the green hills. I am fortunate to live in the San Francisco Bay Area with so many beautiful ride routes.

I love going to Coach Dave's spin class at the SportsBasement. After a long and stressful day, it's a great relief to build up a sweat and listen to his nice selection of music.

I love the swim workouts (in the pool)...another great getaway and break from the long work day. I swam three times during Week 10 and completed my longest yardage yet: 2000yds, 2300yds, 2500yds.

I also love to see that my body is slowly getting stronger and more toned, but gosh it takes a lot of effort.

Citius, altius, fortius

"Citius, altius, fortius...swifter, higher, stronger." ~ Olympic Motto

Every few weeks, our coaches have us complete markers in our swim and bike so we can see whether or not we're improving.

For Week 9, I'm happy to have shown some slight improvement:

• 15-minute swim marker, I swam 750 yards (50 yards further than Week 2)
  
• Three Bears/San Pablo Dam bike marker time 1:45 (5 minutes faster than Week 4).
  

I've also began doing visualization exercises this week. I hated my Lake Del Valle open water swim and didn't swim well. I spent the week prior to the swim, worrying a lot about it. And afterwards, I questioned my ability to swim in the Russian River, which I heard was not so nice to swim in as well. A timely inspirational article came out in the Contra Costa Times this week of open water marathon swimmer Dido Clark, who got over her fear of swimming in dark, murky water by swimming in the Hudson River filled with floating rats, dead bodies and garbage. If she was able to get over her fear, I can too. My next open water swim is on January 25 in the San Francisco Bay. Each night, before I go to sleep, I've been visualizing myself swimming in the Bay with confidence.

This past week, I did my swim drills with my eyes closed so I wouldn't be able to see the straight line in the bottom of the pool and pretend that I was swimming in the open water. Funny thing is I noticed a difference in my stroke count. With eyes open, it takes me 22-23 strokes to swim 25 yards. With eyes closed, I swam the 25 yards in 19-20 strokes. I'll try doing this again this week.

Great shots from the Lake

Our Honoree Captain Judy took wonderful photos that truly captures the essence of our workout at Lake Del Valle this past Saturday.

Click on this link to view all her great photos:
http://judyhall.smugmug.com/gallery/7021261_L6bDv/1/449524307_2JBAH#449524307_2JBAH

High Anxiety and Strong Willpower

"Goal setting is not a mind game. It is a process of developing the internal willpower to accomplish what you have set out to do." - Joan Benoit Samuelson

I need to start out by saying thank you to all those who have donated to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and have sent me encouraging words of support through blog posts, e-mails, U.S. mail, and phone calls towards my Ironman training to date. I'm teary-eyed right now just reflecting on this and cannot express how much this truly means to me. Your positive responses keep me going during this time in which I feel particularly insecure and anxious.

I was highly anxious all week about my first open water swim this weekend. It was 37F when I arrived at Lake Del Valle yesterday at 8:30am. We were to start out the day with the swim, but Coach Wayne decided that the temperature was too cold and a danger to our muscles for the workout they had scheduled for us the next six hours. There were also many fishermen out on the lake and they would have been mad at us for scaring away the fish. So for the first 45-minutes, we did bicycle drills on our trainers, followed by a 60-minute run and post-run stretching.

Around 11:30, we squeezed into our wetsuits, took a group photo and headed out down to the lake. The drill was to swim out 25 yards and back to shore four times. Each time we got back to shore, we were to do a set of crunches, planks and push-ups to warm-up our body temperature before going out again. The water temperature was 52F.

I did not enjoy the open, cold-water swimming experience at all. As much as I wanted to swim with the confidence and knowledge that I built up these past 8 weeks with the swim drills, all was lost in my anxiety each time I entered the cold, green, murky lake. I could not force myself to keep my head under the water and had difficulty controlling my breathing. I swam mostly breast stroke and slowed my breathing by flipping onto my back. After the swim, we changed into dry clothes and got back on our bikes to spin for 2 hours to warm-up our bodies.

Captain Tom was great in coaching us five newbies. He said that it would really be much easier to swim if the water wasn't so cold. It's the brain's natural reaction not to want to place face in 52F water. All the coaches thought we did great for our first open water swim and should get better the next time we go in since we'll now know what to expect.

Our next open water swim is at the end of this month in the San Francisco Bay, which is suppose to be colder than Lake Del Valle. If I want to be successful in the 2.4 mile swim next August, I will need to get in much more open water swim time in the upcoming months. If anyone lives locally and wants to swim with me in one of our local lakes once it warms up, let me know. I wouldn't want to go out by myself.

Today (Sunday), I road the 25-mile Pig/Bear/Deer loop from Pleasant Hill with lovely Rita. I cannot express how much her company today meant to me as well. She also volunteered to go open water swimming with me in the upcoming months. If anyone ever wants to go on road cycling with me, let me know that too since I'm always looking for good company. I'm not fast, but steady.