I did it!

Day before...

Race number pick up burst my bubble.  I was pretty excited to pick up my number and sign in for my big day but when I was there I saw that the Vineman, a full ironman distance race, was the same day as my race.  I guess I knew that this was happening, but I did not think we would be on the same course.  I thought that it was happening at the same time, not at the same EXACT place.  So this burst my bubble of accomplishment before I had even accomplished anything.  I felt like I was being lazy with what I signed up for.  You would too if you saw the cars with shoe polish writing all over them about their travels to the Vineman.  Oh well

Race Day...

For some reason I was really calm.  No nervous energy.  I slept fine the night before and I even slept in the car on the way to the race.  I had decided that I did not want to get to the race really early, like I had in races past, because I did not want to sit around and have the chance to think about what I was about to get into.  So I got there in plenty of time to set up, stand in a really long line for the bathroom and watch a few of the people that were doing the full Vineman that day.

I saw the first Vineman guy get out of the water - the ironman gets me so emotional I almost cried right there.  To think of all this guy will accomplish today.  Ryan and I sometimes watch the coverage from Ironman Kona and I always cry.  Such inspiring stories.  If I ever signed up for an Ironman I might cry the last few miles of the run.  It really pushes me over the edge emotionally.  Then, after seeing the male leader of the Vineman come out of the water, I saw a lady (racing Barb's race with me, a cancer benefit race) with a shirt that said "I am racing for my son who is kicking leukemia in the butt" with this sweet little picture of her son maybe 5 yrs old with his arms raised in accomplishment on the back of her shirt.  And to top off my emotions for the morning there was a woman that got in the water right before me for the half aquabike she only had one leg.  It was so inspiring to see her out there.  Here is a picture Ryan snapped of her getting out of the water.  I later saw her on the bike course riding along without any prosthetic. What an amazing lady she must be!!! 

Inspiration to not focus on what you are told you cannot do

So with all of this going on I heard the announcer says 'One minute until the blue caps swim.'  I was so caught up I almost missed my start.  So I said my goodbye to my supportive family that was there to watch and jumped in the water.

That is me in the pink - Nice shot Ryan!

The swim was really fun!  No kicking or scratching.  We just all swam down the river for .6 miles and then headed back.  Easy sighting, no current pushing us off course.  Since I could not see the turnaround so it seemed like it was forever, but it was a fun forever.  I could see the rocks on the bottom, which is better to look at then the normal darkness and the thought of a looming sharks.  There were people who got tired and just stood up and walked (I did not) so everyone felt safe in the water.  It was really great!

Out of the water

T1

Clipping in to start the ride

Out of the water and onto the bike.  It was colder than I expected, but I did have a jacket packed so I was able to stay warm enough.  (Since I just swim in my tri suit I feel I am wetter than everyone else getting on the bike) Again the bike was wonderful.  56 miles of beautiful country.  Through the vineyards on rolling hills.  I really could not have asked for anything better from the bike.  There were people all along the course cheering.  At one point there was a man on the road cheering so hard for the person in front of me.  When I came by he did not even clap.  I was so put off by him.  But a few second later, when I caught up to who he was cheering for, it was the athlete that only had one leg.  There she was to inspire me again!  What a lady she was!  It was like I just had a gu, she gave me that much of a push.  (So did a lady later on that said my back looked awesome in my shirt - energy of a gu in a compliment) The bike course had a hill at mile 45 that we had been warned of.  But when I did it it was no big deal.  There were people all along the hill cheering with cow bells.  It was a climb, but with all the cheering and writing on the cement it was just fun.  Shortly after that is when I saw my family on the side of the road with signs, cheering.  Madeline even made a shirt of encouragement for Samara to wear!  The sun was finally coming out and I was have a great time.  By the end of the ride I was feeling that I had done some work, but was feeling good going into the run.

That is me in the back

All of the fun came to a screeching halt.  The run was good for a mile or so, then it was terrible, I mean painfully awful.  It was hot (Remember I  live in Pacifica, we  barely have warm days), hilly, my knee hurt, blah.  This girl in front of me in the picture was full of energy and cute as hell going into the run since she was the run leg of a relay.  This just rubbed in my face how tired I was after a mile or two of running.  I saw this little ball of energy headed back my way after the first turnaround and was thrilled that I was almost to the turnaround.  Nope, she is cute, spunky, probably really nice and FAST.   I had a long way to go to get to the turnaround.  It was not any fun.  Not for even a second.  Normally the run in the tri it is what I look forward to.  This time it was really slow and painful.  Even when I came in to finish I just wanted to walk (I technically was still jogging but it was as slow a jog as is possible before walking).  Normally you get a little burst of energy to cross the finish line.  Not me, I wanted to be carried across it.

Barely jogging!

I finished!

I did it.  I did not finish pretty, but I finished.  Crazy enough it just makes me want to do a full distance.  All the suffering I went through, just makes me want to do more.  I got to see the Vineman leader on the bike being escorted by motorcycles and again on the run.  It is amazing what they are doing and seeing it in person makes me what to give it a go.

This daily blog is getting to be less and less.  I think it is because I am writing every single day.  That was pretty fun at the beginning as I started a training schedule.  But now the training is just routine.  It is part of my day like brushing my teeth.  Who wants to hear about the details of that.  These long training days were really challenging and exciting when I started, but have slowly become easier and more ordinary.  Which is not great for keeping up a blog, because I have little to write about.  But it is great for a life change.  It is great that I have made such a shift in my mind set.  Before I started this training I had my longer run that would do once a week or so that was a five mile loop or six miles out and back to the beach (the beach run was really pushing it for me), but now those are my short run days.  My entire perspective of what I am capable of doing has shifted.  I have learned to love the long days, the intervals, and challenging myself beyond what I thought I was capable.

I feel confident in my training.  I am not AT ALL looking forward to the race.  It will just be a day of suffering.  I knew all along that I would not love race day.  But I signed up for it to do the training, which I have learned to love.  I have no doubt I will finish the race.  It will just be long and hard.

I did have a great ride with Ryan last week- Marshall-Petaluma loop.  And this past Saturday I went on a ride (47 miles) with Kim and Dave which was fun and pretty easy - so I am hoping that I will feel the same on the 31st

Day One Hundred Twenty One

Ran for 1:20.  This was first, nice run with my slow dog.  Just stayed around the neighborhood.

Swam 2800.  I am getting sick of the pool.  My shoulder are sore enough that I will not swim on Sunday.  The repetition of the laps is killing my soul.

Cycled 2 hours.  Fine, but I had a Gatorade prime to start and two gu's on the ride.  I just needed a little pep in my legs.  I guess I needed a lot of pep in my legs.  Calories canceled out, I only worked out hard enough on the bike to cancel out all of the gu's and prime I took.  Nothing gained or lost.  I was glad when it was over but it was not great or bad.

Day One Hundred and Twenty

Nothing.  I was at school all day and did not have time to train.  YIKES.  Tomorrow I will make it up.

Day One Hundred Nineteen

Run/Swim

I swam yesterday and today.  Boring to swim in the pool.  I just look at a black line and go back and forth.  My shoulders are getting sore and since I have nothing else to focus on they seem extremely sore.

Quick run....Samara continues to be slow

Day One Hundred Eighteen

Bike -

Since I have a flat tire and I want to feel secure that I have patched it correctly before I take it out, I went for a mountain bike ride.  It was nice, just up and back. 

Let it be know I did not patch the tube correctly.  It could not have been done because I rode on it for too long while it was flat and destroyed it.  oops

Day One Hundred Seventeen

BEST RUN OF MY LIFE.  Oh how I love sea level.  I had to pick up Samara in Santa Cruz so I ran at Nisene Marks.  I had a two hour run.  I loved it. I could breath and was out of breath because I continually was challenging myself, not because I was in thinner air.  The run was going to be a rather flat loop that I would do twice, but I just kept adding climbs and instead of doing a second loop I decided to run up the ridge trail for 30 minutes.  It was WONDERFUL!!!  Also I have been great at ending on time, my two hour run finished at 2:00:15 - I am a crazy good time keeper.

Day One Hundred Eleven to One Hundred Sixteen

There is no sense in trying to go back and recap all of our trip to CO, so I will give you a glimpse of the days with some pictures.

There were a few rides, few hikes and one swim.  I was active the whole trip, but not up to training standards.  The goal was not to lose the fitness I have spent the last few months working for.

This is Chrissy and I on a ride with Ryan.  It may look like I was having fun, but I was not.  As we know the first two days of workouts were difficult with altitude so I was a little down on myself.  We were on this bike path so you can only ride two up, the third person has to follow behind.  Ryan started up front with Chrissy, I trailed behind. This was fine, I was content just keeping pace with them.  Within the first ten minutes of this ride Ryan dropped back and asked if I was okay that I 'was not even keeping up with his coasting speed.'  Geeze that was a blow I did not need.  I felt I was keeping up fine, I just had to stay back as a courtesy to riders that may be coming the other direction.  Ryan felt he was just coming back to check on me and he did not appreciate my frustration at his statement. I felt he was being rather rude.  Anyway we rode for a hour and 45 minutes.  Ryan up with Chrissy most of the time and me following behind.  The only communication between him and me was him asking me to smile for this picture. So if you want to know what my fake smile looks like....check out that picture!

This is a real smile!  As sports fans we went to a Rockies game, wanted to check out the ballpark.  Great fun!  Loved the ballpark and being there with friends!  We were with Chrissy and a couple - Lindley and Ryan.  At the top of the 9th the couple thought they should head back home so they could be rested up for work.  Ryan and I never leave a game early, but the Rockies were down 3-9, and we are not Rockies fans so we all took off at the same time.  No biggie.  Ryan Chrissy and I had come in our own car, so there was really no reason for us to leave, we just did.  Bad decision.  The Rockies had a the best ninth inning comeback in franchise history and tied the MLB record.  Rockies ended up winning 12-9.  We missed it, but we still had a great time.   Check it out

We checked out a few breweries in town.  One day I did not train I just tasted beer.  Maybe not the best decision, but we are on vacation.

We went on a few hikes.  Fun to see new places and spend time absorbing them.  The area was beautiful.  Got to experience beautiful warm sun along with rain, hail and thunder storms.  The last picture is of us picking up the pace so we do not get stuck high up while the lightning passes.

The morning before we left I went on a ride with Lindley.  A couple of hours to ride and visit.  Very nice.  After Ryan Chrissy and I toured Fat Tire Brewery.  Great last day in Fort Collins.

Day One Hundred and Ten

I ran today for an hour and 50 minutes.  It was terrible.  It is so difficult to run at altitude.  It was an out and back run.  On the out I felt good.  I fell three times, but that is no surprise.  The run was on a beautiful single track trail.  It made me feel like a real runner.  On the way back I struggled, struggled is a kind way of stating how I felt.  The way back started with an incline.  I almost hyperventilated. I just could not catch my breath.  I even stopped to try to get deep breath, but it was impossible to completely fill my lungs.  I had to stop a number of times on the way back, almost started crying at one point because I felt so out of shape.  I felt terrible because I know I am in better shape than this run let me feel, but I still felt terrible and I cannot get over that.  I was exhausted when I finished.  I was covered in salt and just wanted to lay down, lay down not even just sit down that would be too much work to keep my body upright.  I was beat.  Ryan was happy to see me defeated since he thinks that I am always too happy with my training.

The afternoon consisted of sitting in an inner tube and floating down the river for a few hours.  Nice way to make up for a disaster of a run.

Day One Hundred and Nine

Today I should run 150, but since we are recovering from the long car ride I am taking my rest day today and will run on Monday my scheduled rest day.

One Hundred and Eight

After a drive that included a lot of traffic and driving through the night we arrived in CO.  Within an hour of our arrival we went for a bike ride (ride was 2 hrs 30 min, schedule was to ride 3 30 but we got out of the car after over 20 hours of driving through the night and rode so I am happy with the amount of time we spent on the bike!!)  Our friends that we are visiting are really active so it was easy for a group of five of us to get out on the road.  The altitude was harder than I thought. My legs felt great but I struggled to catch my breath when riding and talking - kinda embarrassing to feel so out of breath after all the training I have done, but I have to acclimate before I judge myself.

Day One Hundred and Seven

We are headed out to Colorado today.  20+ hours in the car.  We started the day with a early morning run at the beach.  I got in my full hour and five minutes and felt great about it.  I had woke up early to swim, but the pool looked really busy.  This is going to be a week that the training schedule is not followed perfectly.  So no swim today (but I feel great about my swimming) but got a good run in.

Day One Hundred and Six

Two hours on the trainer.  I don't really want to talk about it.  Watched the Botany of Desire which made it even worse. Maybe PBS is not made for trainer workouts

Day One Hundred and Six

Easy run in the morning with the doggie - who was slow from the mountain bike ride yesterday.  Swam in the bay and it was GREAT - really warm day and top layer of water.  Every time I swim at aquatic park someone asks me a stupid question- 'is this where you train for triathlons' 'Does the Escape from Alcatraz end here' 'are you going to swim here (no I just wanted to go get some fresh crab at pier 39 in a swimsuit cap and goggles!?!)' But today was the best question 'are you a professional swimmer' oh thanks for making my day!

Day One Hundred and Five

Needed a change of pace so took the dog on a mountain bike trek.  Rode up the normal route which seemed really easy since it has been a long time since I have done it.  Then I decided to ride up to the radio tower - one of Ryan's crazy rides.  Normally his rides are difficult but doable.  Not this time.  I could not ride up the hill fast enough to stay upright.  I decided I would walk the bike up the steep part, then I could at least enjoy the ride down.  Walking the bike up this steep of a hill was still cardio anyway.  Once I turned to come down I could not ride that either, really difficult because it is just a gravel road, nothing for my back wheel to hold onto.  I was sliding all over, so I had to walk the bike down what I had just walked it up.  Not great.  Despite that it was a really fun ride, good to change it up.  Brought the excitement for mountain biking back (if I ever had it)

Day One Hundred and Four

Rest Day!  Feel great, better than I do on an average Monday

Day One Hundred and Three

Race Day

Olympic Distance Triathlon

.9 mile swim, 20.93 mile bike, 6.2 mile run

I was pretty nervous last night.  Not because I don't think I can complete this, but because I feel like I need to complete this and feel wonderful after - otherwise I will fail when it comes time for the half.

We woke up really early - 4 am so I could eat (hopefully digest) and calmly get ready for the race.  Things were unclear going into this race.  I got an email that said I was going to have to cycle 5 laps, the website for the event said I had to ride 8 laps, and the prerace meeting yesterday said I would be riding 6 laps...I need clarity.  I like to be organized and know what I am doing.  So I got to the event early set up my transition area and headed down the path to the swim.  I was there right on time 6:45 with about 10 other athletes ready for our meeting.  It did not start until about 15 minutes later.  These are all minutes that rack my nerves.  I just want to get going.  The race director explained that we would be starting after the men's sprint distance and doing two swim laps.  Between the laps we had to get out of the water, run a hundred or so yards and jump back in for our second lap...weird right?  Then we would run .78 miles to transition one (T1) and proceed to bike 6 laps and then run over the Golden Gate and back.

The first group to start was the woman's sprint distance.  Surprise to these girls there was a current.  These poor girls were really off track and drifting away from the course.  They had to swim much farther than they anticipated.  Then the men's sprint took off.  The same thing. They were doing a little better because they had just seen what happened to the girls, but the men were also victims of the current.  Once the guys started I jumped in the water to warm up (really cool down in the bay) for my swim.  After seeing the guys struggle the race directors decided to reverse the course for the Olympic distance competitors. This meant I had to freeze for a while to let the men's sprint athletes finish their swim.  It was about 45 minutes later that we actually got in the water.  I met a nice lady in the meantime.  This was the only other person competing that I really talked to and she was also doing this race as a prep for Barb's Race, my final half iron man. Fun to meet and talk, killing time while we waited for the guys to finish their swim. 

The swim was difficult for me, that is an understatement, I felt like I might drown.  I am comfortable in the bay, but not with people.  The first few minutes I was doing great, finding my rhythm.  I had started to the left of everyone so was not jockeying for a spot.  But as I approached the first buoy (which was yellow - bad planning to give all the swimmers yellow caps, it would have been nice to just look up and quickly sight the buoy, but I had to look not only for color, but for the correct shape to make sure I was headed to the buoy not the head of an off course swimmer) things got rough.  Everyone funneled from a broad group to a tight line to get around the buoy.  All the reasons I only played two weeks of water polo came back in flashes as I was kicked in the stomach, kicked in the face and then someone actually reached over my head and ripped off my goggles forcing me to freak out and find them behind me in the water.  Now in my water polo days (all ten of them) all of these things would have been on purpose, but in this swim it was all just friendly accidents. This put me into a bit of a panic and I struggled to swim to the next buoy.  Once I got to the final buoy I more comfortably headed to shore, fully intending not to get back in the water.  But knowing Ryan's Uncle and my friend Rheana (both actual open water swimmers) were on shore pushed me to jump back in - throw caution and my fear of being drowned by another well intending swimmer to the wind.  The second lap was much better.  I quickly found my rhythm and was on my way.  No problems, just a comfortable bay swim!

Love these two images - thank you Ryan

After the run I stuffed my wetsuit in a bag and ran .78 miles to my T1.  Sweet Ryan accompanied me on his bike.  I got to bitch about how I got pushed around in the water and then I was able to let it go for the rest of the race.  I am not really into the transition areas, not speedy, just get ready and head out.

Bike - Looking at the bike course R and I thought that it would be a mile climb a mile flat and a mile downhill - repeated 6 times.  But somehow we misjudged the mile flat.  The ride was either up or down.  Really difficult first lap, but after that it was a pretty fun course.  My mom, brother, Madeline, Rod, Kami and of course Ryan were at the top of the climb - both ways, so each time as I was looking to end my climb I had the encouragement of family there cheering me on. 

Run- I look forward to the run.  Maybe because it is the one thing I know I can do for a long time (slowly) without falling down or drowning.  The run was across the Golden Gate Bridge. I started out great and then suddenly found myself at Fort Point - the tri's poorly marked course did not send me on the right path, I missed a turn which added some distance - as I stood at the base of Fort Point I wondered how I would get up to the bridge - an elevator??  No I have to go back and find a path up.  So I did.  The run across the bridge was nice, but it would have been good if there was a sign letting the tourists know that a run was going on, we really had to weave through people.  Ryan met me a little over half way, a nice treat to be able to finish the run with him.  Hey check out this picture - I almost look legitimate.

Overall the race was good.  Slow, but good.  I felt like I could have done it twice.  That is how I needed to feel after.  This sort of comment drives Ryan nuts, he wants it all left out on the course.  I need to know there is more in the tank for next month. And I need to be smiling

Day One Hundred and Two

Easy rest prep day. I just had to get o the trainer for 20 minutes...keep the legs loose.  I, of course, waited until 9pm, but got the spin in while Ryan attached my race number to my bike.  Nothing like making the bike multitask. 

Day One Hundred and One

That makes for a long title...

Today I did a quick run with the dog- 50 minutes.  Felt good, but my stomach is still not doing great.  I am still feeling irritated from the flu symptoms I had earlier in the week.  Then Ryan joined me at the pool for a short swim 1800.  This is a recovery week so everything is easy.  My shoulders were tired from swimming with the wetsuit on Wednesday, but other than that it was a fine mid-day swim.

Day ONE HUNDRED!!!!

If I was in my mom's kindergarten class we would be celebrating.  In her class you would have to bring 100 of something.  To celebrate my 100 days the boring kids would bring in 100 pennies or paperclips.  But the cool creative kids would bring in something that related to my 100 days of training.  Maybe 100 hair ties, 100 dirty Wright Socks, or 100 gu and bar wrappers.  Yeah! we can celebrate!  Drink Gatorade and eat Probars!!!

Today to celebrate I think I broke the trainer.  I tried to fix it in a respectable manner, but I could not.  So I got picture hanging wire and fixed it.

This got me off to a late start on the trainer, but I finished and made dinner before Ryan got home!  I have a couple vegan cookbooks but I am finding my favorite recipes on a site called VeganYumYum tonight we had Fried Rice and it was great. 

Since I had the camera out I thought I would show you my trainer set up...don't know why you would be interested but now you can think of the hours I have spent there.

Day Ninety-Nine

Swim/Run

I am feeling better today.  I ran early to get it out of the way.  My muscles were not happy to start out with.  They were really painful in the upper hamstring and glutes, no explanation for this.  It was just a strange pain that I have never experienced.  It had me worried that my sick day was going to ruin everything.  That the last almost hundred days of training would be killed by one sick day.  My mind goes to worst case scenario very quickly.  I think this might be because I still cannot believe that I am really doing this!  But the pain went away after a few blocks and running was fine - and the world is not going to end today!  I don't know why I go to doom right away.  I was actually just reading Jon Carroll from the Chronicle (if you don't read this guy he is great - check him out) and his article is 'The Approximations of Doom' and it linked to the World Clock These are the type of websites that train my mind to go straight to yelling that the sky is falling!

I swam today at aquatic park and tried out my wetsuit.  I rented a wetsuit for my SF triathlon.  I can swim in the bay fine without a suit, but I come out shivering for a good 20 minutes.  I don't think that would work in a triathlon, especially in SF where the weather could make the bike a cold experience.  So I gave in and rented a wetsuit.  Swimming in it today  - blah.  It is easier because you are floating, you are really buoyant, but it is much harder work on the shoulders.  I came out of the water warm, but did not really like the experience.  It made the swim work, not a fun swim like a kid in the bay.  But I feel I should use it in the tri this Sunday, after that I hope not to have to use it this season (maybe if I try Alcatraz, with the goal of swimming it later without a wetsuit).  

Day Ninety-Eight

Bike

No bike today.  Stomach is a mess on both ends.  The only thing I had this morning was juice so I have to blame the juice for how I am feeling.  I have just moved from the bed to the couch to the bathroom.  At one point I thought I would head downstairs from the bedroom but I got to the top of the stairs and thought I should lay down there - stayed there for about 20 minutes before I could regain energy to finish the trip downstairs.  Tried to take a shower but just ended up throwing up in the shower...not going well.  By 3 I was able to have some 'no chicken noodle soup' and kept it down.  For dinner I had a different Amy's soup.  Hoping to feel better tomorrow.  Training is not an option today!

Day Ninety-Seven

Rest Day....ahhhhhhh!

Day Ninety-Six

Swim-Bike-Run

A little triathlon today.  In the past when I have had these brick workouts it is 1 hour bike 20 minute run, so today is a significant jump.  Went swimming with Rheana, I did my 2800 and the hopped out.  She was going to stay for the full 2 hours and try to get four miles in.  Thankfully I did not have to do that.  Swimming in the pool can get boring, I don't think I have the mental capacity to swim in a pool -straight freestyle - no drills for 2 hours.

I drove down south a ways to do my bike run.  145 bike and 45 minute run.  I felt great.  I am so happy that yesterday we did not do the hard climb because today I feel refreshed and ready to conquer this bike run.  I started off on a bike path, not the best idea on a sunny, weekend afternoon.  It was really crowded and I was weaving in and out to get past families.  I kept my speed slow enough to respect the walkers, so it was quite tedious.  Then jumped back on the road at my first chance, finished going out for 50 or so minutes and turned around.  On the way back I got a little lost since I did not want to take the bike path, but a few wrong turns followed by a few correct turns and I made it back.  The reason I park by this path was so I could do my run on it after my bike.  This was good in theory but it was all down hill on the way out so after my swim, 145 bike and 23 minutes of running I had to run all uphill to finish.  Bad planning can only make me stronger.

I think I did a good job eating on the bike, but I had one gu before my run and I think it was too much.  My stomach got upset about half way through the run and I had to use an outhouse on the way back :(  But all in all I felt strong and learned a lesson about how much gu my body can handle.

Day Ninety-Five

Father's Day Ride

Went on a nice (early celebration) Father's Day ride with Ryan and his parents.  My ride needed to be 230 and we almost perfectly did that.  We were down in Santa Cruz and did the Hazel-Dell loop, a ride I have done a number of times.  It is a nice easy enjoyable loop.  The loop takes you through some orchards and then through a beautiful wooded areas.  The boys had planned a more difficult loop but changed to this easier ride because my legs were beat.  It was great, nice sunny relaxed ride.  Perfect to rejuvenate my love of cycling.

Some picture from Ryan...Rod and me.  

Day Ninety-Four

Hike

The plan in my training guide has me running today - but Ryan and I took a day trip to Yosemite and counted our hike as the run.  In the morning I was a pill.  I had slept funny on my arm so it was really stiff and sore all night not allowing me to sleep well.  I was tired with a sore arm and debated going to Yosemite at all.  But I knew that Ryan was really anxious to see how much water was at the falls since we have had such a heavy snow pack this year.  I tried to cheer up and hopped in the car.  Then I quickly fell asleep for the first few hours in the car.  This is a known compromise.  Ryan wants to wake up super early to get to a destination and he knows, for me to be in a good pleasant mood, I need to sleep the first few hours in the car.  It makes the trip better for both of us.  I just don't do well on little sleep, I turn into such a grump.

We hiked to Vernal Falls.  This is a hike we have done a few times but it has never been easier.  Of course I started off slow with legs that felt like they had nothing in them - maybe just lead - lead that was poisoning my entire body.  But my legs quickly loosed up and this hike, that in the past had been a challenge, was a walk in the park.  Super easy.  I was barely out of breath 2 or 3 times.  It was remarkable.  As I am getting nervous about this next triathlon - wondering if I have the strength to do it - it was a nice reminder that I have increased my fitness level!

We started our hike up the mist trail.  This is not my favorite trail.  I am hiking along thinking how much I dislike this trail.  It is one of the top 10 most dangerous trails in the country.  I do not so much mind the trail, I just hate that it is popular and I have to trust that the person taking the step before me is not going to lose her footing and send me off the side of the steps.  This nice girl is drilling this into my head as she continually questions her footing and takes a step or two backward towards me (towards me falling into the depths of this canyon). As my mind is running about how dangerous this climb is peppy Ryan chimes in 'this is the best waterfall walk ever!' ...well at least I feel my efforts are appreciated by him. This is an image right after we got past the mist trail.

The hike was fun, lots of water as can be seen below.  Ryan hiked off the trail to take this image.  I stayed on the trail and hoped that he would return unharmed.

We stopped at the top of Vernal Falls for lunch.  There was a fearless squirrel up there.  It came up really close to Ryan.  Don't worry we did not feed him, but were entertained by him

Then a nice hike down the horse trail.  I have hiked down the mist trail for the last time a few years ago.  Great trip, worth the drive, nice change of pace for my training!

Two nice images by Ryan of Nevada and Vernal Falls.

Day Ninety-Three

Bike

After a failed bike fit - they scheduled me an hour early and then after driving over an hour and waiting for an hour (which turned out to be a nice time visiting with Kami) I only got a few seat adjustments - I went for a ride in Pescadero.  I took Stage road to 84 to Pescadero Creek and back to the car.  I thought about turning around many times during this ride.  The beginning was a lot of climbing so the only thing that kept me from turning around was knowing that I had to do that Stage Road climb again.  I hated the entire ride.  My legs are beat making the ride less and less fun (remember it started out at a zero on a fun scale of 1-10).  I did complete the whole ride, found out the cheverons that I thought were going to kill me were only half uphill the other half downhill. 

Highlights of the ride

• I saw quail.  These little birds crack me up.  I don't know why they insist on running everywhere when they have wings.  They are not like an ostrich who cannot fly, they just choose not to fly very often.  I like that you often see them in pairs or as a family line.  I also enjoy that they start off so slow walking and then turn up the speed then slow back down then fast fast.  It is like they only have slow and turbo, no in between speeds.  They are very entertaining animals
• I saw a coyote.  Not such a fun animal a little more intimidating.  It ran across the street as I was riding.  It was beautiful, unlike most coyote I see around our house.  This one had eaten lots of rabbits and had a good strong build to it.
• Stopped in at Norm's Market and got the best artichoke bread of my life.  Still warm when I picked it up.  This bread is worth the trip to this small town!

Day Ninety-Two

I have a few things I have forgotten to talk about so here they are

1. I am dealing with Bank of America on a daily basis.  Literally on the phone from 8 to 530 (with a quick break to swim on wed and fri). This means I am allowed wine in the evening.  I need something to take the stress off and not direct it at Ryan.
2. I have the skin of a high school wrestler.  This working out is great for me but my skin is hating it.  I have a dermatologist appointment and at the age of 29 when asked why I needed the appointment I had to say 'acne'  humiliating.
3. I have had a guilty pleasure of Taylor Swift but now I hate her.  I was riding and hating every second of my ride.  As people were passing me in trucks I was wondering how much I would have to pay some stranger to give me a ride back to my car.  My seat was killing me and I wanted off the bike.  I was willing to do ANYTHING to get off the bike (don't take that  lightly I was willing to do anything).  Then Taylor Swift came on my ipod.  She is so happy energetic and sweet I wanted to rip out her vocal chords.  I had to quickly move past her songs and find something more edgy or more angry, just something that matched my mood better.  And now I hate sweet little Taylor.  I thought it was just going to be on that ride, but it has been a few days and I still hate her.  Maybe there is some relation with the acne (a high school phenomenon) and my love of Taylor (a high school phenomenon). Maybe the end of listening to her music will clear up my skin??

Today I ran in the morning. Just took the dog out and got it over with early - since I had to be on the phone with B of A by 8.  In the afternoon I went for a nice walk with a friend at the beach. It was needed after the bank had me running in circles for the day.  The slow pace of the beach was great to refocus.  Then I headed out to do swimart's 630 swim in the bay.  It was 515 when I left but at 630 I had not even made it to the bridge.  Lots of traffic.  So I took off and went to aquatic park.  It was beautiful!  The change of plan worked out to my benefit.  The sun was low casting beautiful light on everything.  As I swam I look to my right and see Alcatraz or the Golden Gate. Left was the famous Ghirardelli sign - the building had amazing light on it and then behind me are these wonderful old boats.  It was a great experience.  I was freezing after and my heater was not working, but great experience!

Day Ninety-One

Bike and make up swim

I just did the trainer today.  It gives me a good hill climb workouts, it is quicker and it is just how I have come to do my Tuesday hill climb or interval workouts.  During the spin I watched Earthlings.  This is a fascinating movie about animals and how we as humans see ourselves as superior and all of the harm we cause animals.  It examines many of the ways we abuse animals -  puppy mills, factory farms, slaughterhouses, the leather and fur trades, sporting events, circuses and research labs.  If I was not on the trainer 'stuck' I do not know if I would have finished the movie as it is very violent, but it is important to see.  There were many times I had to look away, but these are events in animals lives that I have caused and continue to cause so I need to be aware of my impact.  I like animals as much as the next person, but I am in no way an animal lover.  I just want to live a peaceful life and how my life impacts animals is violent and not how I want to live.  I still have many changes that I need to make to fully be in line - beliefs and actions.

In my mind I keep relating it to the BP spill.  That it is easy for us to condemn BP, but in reality I need to look at myself and my responsibility.  I drive a lot, I use a lot of gas, and if there was not a demand we would not even be drilling in the gulf.  I create that demand.  I see my responsibility in the environmental impact of it. I don't want to see that, but I have to be honest....

Back to training

Swam at the pool on the afternoon with Rheana.  She is training for a bridge to bridge 6 mile swim  she is crazy and swam longer and faster than me. I just did my 2600 and took off.

Day Ninety

Rest

I thought I would make up my swim from Friday today.  I am still struggling from the ride yesterday.  REST REST REST

Day Eighty-Nine

Bike/Swim

Went to the pool this morning.  I was planning on meeting Rheana and swimming at the High School.  For some reason the pool was closed again. This makes no sense.  We decided to go to Treasure Island and swim for a while.  It was nice.  I used my new Barracuda HotHead Cap  I don't want to give the cap more credit that it deserves but I was not cold at all - swimming or getting out of the water.  I can't wait to try it again and see if I continue to stay warm!

After the swim I loaded up and went for a ride.  I did the Tunitas Creek to 84 Loop (Click for Map).  I started the ride with terribly tired legs from my run the day before.  Before I left the house I could barely bend down to pet the dog goodbye- so I knew this would not be my favorite ride.  With that in mind I chose a route with a difficult climb that I had never done before and chose to add an extra climb at the very beginning just to avoid crossing over highway one on a busy summer weekend. 

The ride started okay.  My legs were killing me but I was able to make it up my first climb - Lobitos Creek Cutoff.  This actually loosed up my legs and allowed me to feel much better as I started Tunitas Creek.  Ryan has made Tunitas Creek one of these legendary climbs, letting me know how difficult it is as well as reinforcing its place in the Tour of California.  The climb was difficult but I was plugging along.  I saw a marker on the ground stating '4 miles to the top!' since I do not yet have a bike computer I really appreciated this.  As I went from mile 4 to mile 3 I figured I had missed the next marker.  There was no way I could have been climbing for this long and not have gone a mile.  This happens sometimes, I will be in a race and not see a mile marker so it seems like mile 11 is very long, but soon I see the next marker - realize that I missed a marker and happily continue knowing that I just ran a mile farther than I thought.  But today on Tunitas Creek that is not the story.  As I begin to look for '2 miles to the top!' I ride past '3 miles to the top!' DISASTER.  I am so bummed because I assumed I had just missed this marker and my legs are blowing up.  I decided I should stop and eat a gu ( I am not coordinated enough to try to do this while I am riding).  As I am taking in the gu I read the label and see that it has whey protein - great! I am defeated by this ride and now I am eating animal product.  This is not going well.  Thankfully between the gu and the climb leveling off I made it to the top with much more ease than I had expected.  There was also a charity ride going on.  These always make me feel better about myself as a cyclist (not as a person because I would be riding for their cause if I was a better person with more $$) because they have participants that have not gone for a ride in months, that lube up the chain and go for a 120km ride.  What I am saying is that they are out of shape so as I blow past them on the hill I feel better about myself.  It also allows me to take it better when I get blown by 2 minutes later by some superfit cyclist.

I made it to the top - where resting were the two guys that blew past me - the tortoise is making her move!! I head down Skyline to 84.  84 should be all downhill, but at this point it seems like a huge effort.  I finally, with immense pain (especially from my new seat that will be returned asap) I make it to Stage Road, sit on the side of the road and have a bar, letting my bum have a 5 minute rest from this god forsaken seat, and then head home.  This ride was not fun.  It takes me forever to load my bike on the car and get set to go home.  I am beat!

Day Eighty-Eight

Run

Today Ryan ran the Xterra Half Marathon.  I decide that I will take the dog on my 1:40 run while Ryan is running his race.  I do just a portion of his overall run.  This run is CRAZY.  It is just up and down, no place to rest and find you rhythm, just intense climbs followed by sketchy downhills. Here is a elevation profile of his run.  Now remember I only did part of this, but it was one of the hardest runs I have ever done.  Before, when I was thinking about the run, I thought the run to hill 88 would be challenging, no! that was just a quick little nothing compared to the rest of the run.  I struggled on my run, running where there was no trail, running uphills that were so steep my shoes could not keep grip, running sideways downhill to keep from falling.  We laid around most of the rest of the day.  I was tired, I can only image how tired Ryan was.  I am thrilled I only did a short run yesterday so my legs felt fresh as I did this run, otherwise I would have been toast.

Day Eighty-Seven

Run/Swim

No swim we are on a little break staying at some hot springs, but we did go for a mini run.  It was just 30 minutes, but good to keep my legs loose.

Day Eighty-Six

Bike

We took the new bike out for her first ride.  Since we were headed up to Wilbur for a night for Ryan's birthday we were able to go for a ride in Napa.  We did the classic Dry Creek Rd to Mt Veeder Loop
(click for map) This is the ride that Ryan crashed on a few years ago, but it remains a favorite ride for us.  The weather was great and the ride was a blast.  I even enjoyed the descent, I felt I had more control and could ride without holding the breaks the entire time!!  GREAT FIRST RIDE FOR THE CERVELO!!

Day Eighty-Five

Swim/Run

Swam today in the bay at Aquatic Park.  Whenever I swim in the bay I do not do the full workout that is required of me from my training guide.  I always have to keep the workout to only 35 minutes to keep me from freezing.  Today I swam a mile in 27 minutes so called that good and got out.  It was cold but the cold has gone from being exhausting to being fun, refreshing and exhilarating - at least until I hit the 30 minute mark.  I did not ever have my 'normal freak out' as I got into the water today,  I was just comfortable and had fun swimming.  It is especially nice knowing that there is a sauna to jump in after I get out and it was nice to have a friend to swim with -Rheana joined me in the bay today.

I ran with Samara.  Nothing big just did my 44 minutes, it was easy kinda boring but completed.

Day Eighty-Four

Bike

Best workout ever.  I was testing new bikes so I rode each one for 45 minutes.  FUN! This is not a workout.  I got the Cervelo, I will take pictures and post them next week after we get back for a weekend trip away. 

Day Eighty-Three

REST DAY YEAH!

Day Eighty-Two

Swim/brick

The pool was closed for no know reason.  Luckly the swim coach for the high school showed up to swim himself and let us in.  I had a great swim and was soooo thankful that the coach opened the pool, otherwise I would have been heading up to aquatic park, which is a trek I was not planning for.

For the brick I did the trainer in the house (this bike is not to be trusted on the road until fixed) and then ran up and down the street.  These brick workouts really let me know how much my fitness has improved.  I felt great and was happy to do the whole thing!

Day Eighty-One

Bike make up swim

I went to the east bay to watch Madeline complete her first half marathon.  Since I was there I decided to do my training in a new area.

I swam in lake anza.  Kinda strange set up.  There are lines marking off a large rectangle.  The kids playing in the water are kept to the shallow area but I could swim out a little farther and do laps.  They say the laps are 40 m.  I was out for 45 minutes.  The water was warm but murky and lots of plants growing, which freaks me out.  There was also a sign up for 'swimmers itch.'  Which is the result of something with the snails in the water.  That kind of thing gets in your head and I kept feeling itchy as I was swimming.  Now I think it was for good reason because I have many many bits all over my body.  Itchy bites.  I will not be swimming there again.

I cycled in the area as well.  Nice for a change.  I rode for about 20 minutes and my big chain ring stopped shifting.  AND it stopped inbetween gears.  I rode the rest of the 1:40 using four gears in an unknown area.  It worked and I got back to my car, but not without plenty of worry.  Worry that my bike would stop and worry that I would have too much pride to call my dad so would walk for miles on old country roads.  Good think I did not check but I did not even have signal during the ride so I would have definitely been stuck walking.

The good news is that I rode downhill more comfortably than I have in a long time.  Maybe because I was listening to music and that loosened me us. I have never used music on the bike before.  Second great thing was that I got that great hot sweaty ride in.  Where we live I never get that and I miss it.

Day Eighty

Friday

Run Swim.

I skipped out on my swim today.  I had to work and I have just been too tired.  I will make it up tomorrow.  Ran a not fun run, tired and unenthusiastic.

Day Seventy-Nine

Long Day.  I had to work - come home take the dog for a walk - go to an artist opening in the city - come home eat - fix a birthday dessert treat for a friend - get on the trainer for an hour and a half.  It was nine by the time I got on the trainer so it  was only an hour workout. Good for me for doing it at all.  Again yeah for training schedules! because normally at nine I think I would like to be sitting on the couch - with my dog if I am so lucky to have her company - and for sure my husband because he is much less moody than the dog and will always sit with me.

Day Seventy-Eight

Swim/Run

This is my SwimArt day.  Since I got called into work I did not get my run in in the morning like I had planned.  This being my day to swim in the bay I cannot run before the swim unless it is separated by many hours, which is what I normally do.  I once swam after I did the stair master and my legs were really tired and it made me nervous in the water.  Nervous that I would get tired and not have my legs to get me back to shore.  This all being said I had to come home - walk the dog - swim at 630 in the bay - hit the gym on the way home to run for 40 minutes.  It was not fun by any stretch of the imagination, but I would not have trained today if I did not have a schedule I had to follow, so yeah for training guides. 

Today in swim class I learned that I should not kick if I don't have to do it to keep my body horizontal.  I should be saving my legs for my bike and run

Day Seventy-Seven

How long could I put this off.  I did not get on the bike until 8:15.
Did my 1 hour 15 minutes to the Lost final episode.  It was a chore,
but it is done.  I also did my first shopping trip at Rainbow Market
in the city.  This was a difficult experience because I was reading
the label on everything to make sure there were no animal products.  I
took me at least two hours in there finding my way around and finding
the products I wanted.  But I got them all.  The market is a great set
up.  Most things are sold in bulk so I just used my reusable vegetable
bags and filled them with grains, nuts and vegetables.  There is going
to be so little waste produced by the Mowbrays this week.  It was
really a great store and I will be back!

Day Seventy-Six

This is my rest day but I still had a swim from Friday to make up.  I
had wanted to get in the bay because I feel that my body needs to be
in the water at least once a week to stay acclimated to it.  I stayed
in for 30 minutes.  I freaked out for the first ten, enjoyed the
second ten and then the last ten started to run into people.  Because
it is Memorial Day everyone and their group of swimming buddies was
out there.  My goggles were fogging up so I could not tell where
people were so I kept stopping to take inventory.  By 30 minutes I am
freezing and ready to get out.  It was a big effort to get up there
and go swimming, but I was happy that I did it.

Day Seventy-Five

This plan is really getting me ready for my half ironman.  It is set
up so I am completely exhausted by Sunday.  When I am so tired during
my triathalon I will just have these Sunday runs to pull hope from.  I
woke up and ran about nine miles.  Hating every single step of it.  I
was tired and running was not going to be fun.  After I ran I swam.
It was the same as the run, every stroke was a huge effort that was a
pain in my ass.  I just wanted to sit, have coffee and read the
newspaper like a normal person does on Sunday mornings.

Day Seventy-Four

Bike

Ryan and I had the morning to ride.  I was going to make up my swim
from yesterday, but my head needed some advil before I wanted to get
out of bed.  A swim in the bay is out for me anytime I am not feeling
100%.  I fear I could be lost at sea forever.  The day turned into a
slow morning and then a bike ride.  The ride was to be 3 hours, it
ended up being a little longer.  It was nice.  We climbed Kings
Mountain which is one of these legendary climbs to me.  Anytime Ryan
talks about a climb and I have not done it, I assume it would be
impossible for me to do it.  That was my mind set with Kings Mountain,
but I just kept my pace and finished fine.  Then we went up Old
Lahonda Road, which was another good climb, but fine.  BUT THEN we had
to come down the other side of Old Lahonda Road.  This was hell.
Narrow, curvy downhill.  My hands were killing me from having to break
for so long.  I will always prefer to climb over descend.  A normal
person makes up time from climbing on a descent.  This allows you
overall mph to look decent at the end of the ride.  This does not work
for me.  I go so slow down hill it is actually slower than I go on
flats.  Killing my mph average.

Day Seventy-Three

Run/Swim

Today I ran down to Santa Cruz to check out bikes.  I think I will be
getting a new one.  I am currently deciding between a Cervelo and a
Look.  The Cervelo was set up more comfortably for me so I of course
enjoyed that ride better, but I have my heart set on the Look...we
will see how this all ends up.

After testing the bikes I stopped by Ryan's parents house to see if
his mom wanted to join me for a run.  She was out but Rod, Ryan's dad
was around.  He literally dropped everything and joined me on my run.
When I say he dropped everything, he stopped in the middle of mowing
the lawn to go to the park for a run.  Now I have already stated that
Rod is intimidating as hell when it comes to any sort of activity.  He
is an endurance guy that can run anyone into the ground without him
even being out of breath.  But the run was great.  It was actually a
wonderful experience.  The night before I was up, unable to sleep,
  journaling about how my dad  is not really apart of my life anymore,
that he no longer cares and so he has no idea what is going on in my
life.  Same old sob story I have been trying to get over for the past
few years.  But here I am running with Rod who knows so much about
what is going on in my life, and actually seems to care.  This makes
me realize I should just be happy and enjoy the relationships I have
and not long for a relationship with my dad that really is never going
to be what I want it to be.

As we were nearing the end of our run I fell...all the way to the
ground, hand sprawled out in front of me.  I think I must have tripped
over a root because the trail is covered in them, but maybe I just
fell.  It was no big deal when I did it, especially with Rod who give
you about five seconds to take inventory that nothing is hurt too bad
and then back to running.  I figured a few cuts on my leg and I was
fine.  But on my drive home from Santa Cruz I had a terrible headache.
 So much so that I did not do my swim in the evening and I called Ryan
and asked him to walk the dog so I could just sit when I got home.
Ryan was great and made and cleaned up dinner insisting that I stay on
the couch and let my head rest.  Later that night I actually had blood
in my ears (not much, but still!!).  I think I have hit my head one to
many times so this little fall ended up giving me a headache that
lasted two days.

Day Seventy-Two

Bike

I was planning on going for a nice ride..but it rained.  Instead I watched "The Visitor" a so so movie that was 1:45- exactly how long I needed to be on the trainer.  I just did intervals of 8 minutes standing climb, 8 minutes seated climb, and then 8 minutes recovery. 

A week or so ago I got myself a new cycling tank top.  I wear mostly black this was a nice color and has a back pocket for cycling.  I have wore it twice now and each time the same problem.  This is why I always wear black!!! but I had forgotten since it has been so long since I have had another color.  I don't really understand why this happens - both with running and cycling - but it is pretty embarassing!

Day Seventy-One

Swim/Run

Not all that exciting of a day.  Swam in the morning.  Ran in the afternoon- 40 minutes with Ryan. It was nice outside and I enjoyed the jog, but that is about all I can say about it.

I think I have a crush on Scott Jurek.  What can I say...he coaches high school track, took care of his mom when she was sick, bows in respect to the Tarahumara, he is vegan and don't forget he is a crazy runner that likes yoga.

Day Seventy

Bike

Half way.  Today is my half way point, 20 weeks, 140 day and today is number 70.  Yay for me for sticking to this plan.  Today's workout was not much of a celebration.  I did not get home until 630, fixed and ate dinner and did not get to hop on the trainer until 730-745ish.  But I stuck to it and did it.  80 minutes on the trainer with six 5 minute hill climbs.

I also am committing after the clam bake (this weekend) to trying a vegan diet for 4 weeks.  I would like to say I will commit for the rest of my life, but the book I am reading says that at 4 weeks you will feel the benefits.  It should not be that big of a change for me, although I am sure it will be.  I already omit meat, so no biggie there.  I am lactose intolerant, so I should already not be eating dairy, although I do.  So that just leaves eggs.  With all the reading I am doing connecting dairy and eggs to cancers, awful animal treatment and destroying the environment, I should cut them out.  I do not think they are inherently bad, but I think the way that we produce them here in the states make them terrible for me, the animals, and the planet.  So I will have my last day to indulge and then I will embark on this new plan.  It is something I have wanted to do for a long time, but I had some questions.  As I am reading through The Kind Diet and the blog The Kind Life (both about being kind to your body) I know this is a good decision.  I also have been worried about offending people or putting people out, but in reality I have to chose if I want to offend people or hurt and kill animals and the earth.  And I do not need to put people out I can always bring a side to a party that works as a meal for me.  So here it goes.  When I told Ryan he of course knew by the stack of books I have read that this was coming, he said "I will do my best to follow along in support of my wonderful wife" I thought that was so kind.  Later in the evening he realized no cheese, then no glasses of milk, and a new cookie recipe!!  Now he is going to try and be supportive.  I will have to work hard to make tasty convincing meals for him.

Day Sixty-Nine

Rest Day

I just did a triathlon.  My legs are soar.  In the last few days I have taken a bit of a break, missing one day of training and on two days simply riding the bike for 45 minutes which is far less than I should have.  But Ryan was on vacation.  We were up in Mendocino.  But I feel SO LAZY.  My body does not feel right, I feel like I have not exercised in weeks.  But I did a triathlon yesterday.  This is hilarious to me.  Hilarious.  My body had adapted to all of this stress I have put it through.  There is no turning back now.  Lazy, four months ago I would have considered this a great week of activity.  Oh how the times have changed. 

Day Sixty-Eight

This is my fist triathlon for the season.  It was a sprint triathlon - but a long one so I will call it a sprintlympic distance (somewhere between a sprint and olympic distance)

I felt prepared and did fine overall.

The night before we had planned to camp at an auburn triathlon recommended campsite.  After I registered and got all the race information we went to look for our campsite.  It was over an hour away.  So we scrapped that and just camped out on the soccer field next to the second transition area.  They were set up for people to camp there.  Besides the railroad that woke us up it was a fine place to camp.  I slept comfortably listening to the rain throughout the night.

The worst part of the day was the beginning.  I had (as did most everyone else) to ride my bike 7 miles to the start.  They race organizers said that this was a great warm up, but it was all downhill!!  So I was freezing before the start.  It took me at least half an hour to regain feeling in my fingers.  To try to put my vibram five fingers on when I could not feel my toes was a painful challenge.

Swim.  The swim was beautiful in the canyon that holds Folsom Lake.  Steam was rising off the water, so much steam that I did not even know where I was going to have to swim because I could not see all of the buoys that mapped out my course.  The water was much warmer than the outside temp (water 64 degrees).  I was thrilled once I touched the water, the fear of freezing was now out of my head.  There were only a few spectators at the swim, only the people that wanted to walk/bike in, since cars were not allowed in the park.  This was really sad not to record the beauty of the swim.  I felt fine at the beginning of the swim, but in the middle kinda had a freak out breast stroke for about 2 minutes.  I think this was because I was so far out.  Normally I swim open water staying close to the shore, so to be all the way out there was a little unnerving..even though I felt strong and was not worried about being too tired.  Actually looking at the course I was really close to the opposite shore, but I did not know that.  Then I missed seeing the last buoy so had to swim longer to get back in line to finish properly.

Bike. The bike started with a 6 mile uphill.  I thought this was going to be hell, but once I was getting ready for the switchbacks I was told that I was done with the switchback.  Nice surprise, except I may have pushed up the last hill harder if I knew that was it.  They must have been very wide, because I never felt like there were any switchbacks.  After the climb the ride was explained as being easy, but it was really up and down and never easy.  The whole time I just wanted to get off the bike.  I was not overly tired, I think I was just bored and done with the bike.  It was through neighborhoods and although it was very well organized and controlled by officers, it was not fun. 

Run. In T2 before the run I had a big gulp of water, which turned out to be a bad decision because it gave me a cramp at the beginning of the run.  As I ran out I took Samara with me.  I thought she might be nice company, and since I was not competing to win, I figured no one would kick us out.  She was thrilled since this was the first time I had seen her in a few days (we had been away and mom was taking care of her).  The beginning of the run was on a somewhat narrow path.  I got stuck behind a number of people here, making me run at their pace, not mine.  After the trail we headed down towards the dam to a turnaround.  This was scary because going down meant we had to come up, but it was not that much of a climb back up.  The mile markers were only at mile one and four, so there was a long time in there I thought that mile two had to be the longest mile of my life.  Running felt good.  Swimming and cycling I was ready to be done with but running I felt I could have gone for much longer. 

What I learned
1) I need to get comfortable open water swimming away from the safety of shore
2) Drink more on the bike, and don't try to make up for that with a big drink before the run
3) Set my pace on the run, don't assume that I will run at the same pace as someone I kept pace with on the bike.   This really slowed me down at the beginning of my run.

Day Sixty-Five to Sixty-Seven

Not much of anything

We went up to Mendo to return Ryan's Aunt's motorcycle and to spend some time with his Aunt and Uncle.  On Thursday before heading up there I woke up early to get a spin in.  Only about 45 minutes, but something.  Friday I did absolutely nothing and Saturday I did another quick spin on the bike.  We had planned to go backpacking, but the weather did not cooperate.  Instead of of backpacking I ate a lot of yummy food, drank wine and did not exercise....perfect build up for a triathlon?!?  but I had a nice time

Day Sixty-Four

Swim/Run

Swam in the am with Ryan.  This was not the best workout because I tended to talk and take longer breaks than I should have...how can I catch my breath after a 'pushing it' 200 yds and talk in 45 seconds.  I wasted so much time that I could not finish my full workout. 

Run was fine, 40 minutes around the neighborhood. 

Next few days are going to be out of wack.  But Sunday I have my first real tri....

Day Sixty-Three

Bike

Just rode the bike on the trainer. 1:20 with five 3 minute pushing it 3 minutes rest.  Not really that exciting, not really that bad.

Day Sixty-Two

Swim/Run

This is my make up day.  I skipped out on Sunday and this is my day to get those workouts in.  I swam in the morning.  I have never swam on a Monday and I hope not to do it again.  I like things neat and orderly.  Well on Monday mornings in the pool you swim without lane lines.  This makes no sense to me.  People cannot follow the line on the bottom of the pool, we need lane lines.  There were swimmers all over the place.  It actually allowed fewer people to swim because it was so disorganized.  People were switching lanes, swimming perpendicular to the lines, it was a mess.  WE NEED LANE LINES.  When I asked if this is how it is ever Monday, they told me it was.  I would much rather be in open water where you assume you will not always swim straight than in a pool without line that you are suppose to swim straight in.  I want to assume that I was swimming straight, how hard can it be, but I am sure everyone thinks that everyone else is the crazy zig-zag swimmer.  Madness....I will not swim in that pool on Monday ever again.  I cannot start my day with that kind of chaos.

Run - I did not feel like running, but it ended up being fine.  I ran for an hour and a half with a long climb (160 meters over a mile and a half).  Samara got attacked(ish) by a dog who was aggressive but the owner just had knee replacement so when her dog pulls she said she 'just has to let him go.'  Maybe she should not be walking her aggressive dog.  At least she mentioned they are in training.  So there was Samara cowering, tail between her legs, hovering somewhere between standing and laying down screaming for help, for fear, for doggie angels, maybe for the Big Dog to rescue her...I am not sure for what but she was screaming loud.  I had to take the leash of the other dog and walk him back to his owner.  My little dog was fine, just scared and pulling me for the next few miles, hair on her back standing up and tail between her legs at every dog sound that occurred.

When I got home I tried my new POM Recovery drink.  I was exhausted from my run and must have misread the directions. I made it too strong and within minutes I was in the bathroom, head in the toilet for at least four rounds.