Wow. 100 blog posts. That seems like...a lot...
I am struggling with the theme of this post. Should it be:
A) Race Recap of today's mermaid tri? It was a great event, but the fact I did the relay and my portion of the race was a 2.5 mile run does not seem to justify a whole blah blah-blog post.
B) The fear of this Saturday's swim event? 3.6 miles. No wetsuit. Open water. To quote Sixteen Candles, "Lake. Big Lake." Pool time since Big Kahuna? Um, one pool workout. Mainly because work has been--
C) Crazy. In a good way though. We had a big event on Friday and I found myself on-stage speaking to an audience of over 150 people. If you told me four years ago when I got laid off from the mortgage industry that I would be in the non-profit world and on a stage asking people for pledges I would have been all, "Say what?!" Don't get me wrong--it still terrifies the heck out of me being on stage addressing a crowd, but I somehow got through it.
Much like triathlons. And life...
And really, the truth is, challenges make life more interesting. Getting out of your comfort zone, pushing yourself, celebrating your successes and accepting your failures, constantly looking to the future of what is next...it's pretty cool.
A couple weeks ago I was taking a walk with my 7 year-old niece. She was talking about how she wants to be a teacher when she grows up. Then she asked me:
"What did you want to be when you grew up?"
I had to think.
"Um," I said. " A fashion designer. Or a child psychologist." (Yes, even at a young age I was all over the place. Not much has changed.)
"Is that what you are now?"
"No."
She looked at me a little disappointed. Or maybe it was surprise. "Why not?"
I thought about it. How do you explain this to a 7-year-old? I barely know how to explain it to myself.
"Well," I started slowly, "I think it is because when you get older, you start to see more things in the world. You discover other things that interest you."
She was not convinced.
"Not me. I am going to be a teacher no matter what."
"That's awesome!" I told her.
I think what is interesting that for me the adult version of "What do you want to be when you grow up?" had turned more into a "What do you want to be next?" And there are so many possibilities to that. An ironman? A person who can do one measley pull-up? A member of an improv comedy troup? A writer (like, a more than an occasional blog post writer)? A better friend? A better listener? A better leader? A better follower?
When you think about it, it's pretty exciting to think that there is a different "you" right around the corner...just depends on what path you take.
ew...i know...what's with all this positive thinking stuff. ick. What can I say? It's been a bit of an emotional week...and I think I am a hugger now...plus it IS my 100th post. I can be a little sappy, right?
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Stick a Fork in Me...
because Big Kahuna is DONE!
I had planned on writing my race recap on Monday when it was all fresh in my head. But then I woke up with a fever and sore throat which was a lovely combination with the ran over by a truck feeling from the race. So, I am at home now, pumped full of cough syrup, going through boxes of kleenex and finally writing this re-cap.
A couple months ago I emailed the Race Director of the event (actually, sent emails to 3 different email addresses) to change to Aquabike. My training was all over the place and I was stressing myself out. I did not hear back from them so I took it as a sign that I was supposed to do this race. In my heart, I did not want another year to go by where I didn't finish a 1/2 ironman.
So, my good friend Diane was gracious enough to attend packet pick-up with me. And of course, when they gave me my race chip and bib I saw that it said "Aquabike." I had a feeling that would happen. I kinda flipped out on the volunteer a little (not my best moment). This is basically how the conversation went:
Volunteer: Is there a problem?
Me: Uh, yeah. I e-mailed the race director to switch to aquabike-
Volunteer: So, you want to do aquabike?
Me: NO. See, I e-mailed them THREE Times (and yes, I put three fingers up) and hadn't heard back so I trained for the full (by training I mean, I swam a lot, did some bricks and posted on facebook A LOT) and now I find out they switched to aquabike.
The volunteer graciously took down my information and they said they would switch me to the full.
Fine then.
So, Saturday night I drank lots of gatorade, ate at Fresh Choice and had everything packed and ready to go in my car. I prepped the coffeemaker. I knew I had to leave the house at 4am(!) to get to transition in time and give myself plenty of time to find free parking.
Technically I was in bed by 8, but I couldn't fall asleep so I read from my Kindle. Finally around 9:30 I turned the light off. I woke up at 2 and though to myself, "I could totally get up now." but went back to sleep. Then at 3:15 I heard a ruckus and a MREOW! Our cat Lily broke into our bedroom and was going nuts. I got up and tried to steer her downstairs. She was at the foot of the stairs so I tried to pick her up. She was having none of that and strategicaly focused all of her weight to the ground making her seem like the heaviest 12 pound cat ever. And of course our kitten was going buck wild, "MWEOW MWREOW WHAT"S GOING ON? IS IT TIME TO EAT?"
I finally got everyone situated downstairs and put the coffee on. Dennis came stumbling down (did I mention it was 3:30 am) because the commotion woke him up. I got dressed, filled up my coffee maker and headed out.
I got to transition, set up my stuff and met up with my friend Molly. Around 6:15 we headed to the beach for the race talk. It was a little overcast, but the water was calm. My coach was the announcer so she gave me a pre-race pep talk. Molly and I went into the water for a warm up swim. Then we headed to the line to start. There were a bunch of people taking photographs and Molly joked that it was like the paparazzi, to which I responded, "What are you wearing? Neoprene." Yes, I use humor as a defense mechanism when I am nervous.
Our age group was the 4th to start. Finally it was our turn and we ran to the water. It took me awhile to find my stride in the water. It got a little crowded and I could feel my breath getting out of control. I remembered my talk with coach heidi earlier this week. She said that at some of the workouts she had noticed something new in me, an aggression that she hadn't see in her 3 years working with me. She wanted me to channel that aggression at this race and she called it my Big K face. So something happened within me that made me determined to school this ocean. I put power in my stroke, I knew I wanted to do this swim STRONG. It felt strong as well. In retrospect, I should have worn a watch during the swim because I really had no idea if I was going fast. In the open water I have a hard time gauging speed. I was out of the water and greeted by people cheeirng us on. I ran the couple blocks barefoot to the transition, high fived my fellow teammate who was volunteering at the event and yelled at Heidi who was announcing, "Heidi! I am here!" Before I knew it, I was on the bike. I looked at my watch and it was 10 minutes earlier than I anticipated. I MUST have had a good swim.
The bike was my biggest mental block for the event. I knew I had to get off the bike by 1pm or they would pull me. I had calculated what my MPH should be. The first half off the bike was amazing. I felt like I was at a strong pace, and the sun was starting to poke out and the view of the Pacific Ocean was incredible. Finally there was the turn around and then BAM the wind hit me. It was brutal. There were points of the ride where I was at 5 mph. My feet were starting to hurt, and sitting on the bike seat was getting more and more painful. I looked down at my garmin and it read 53 miles. I wanted to get in before noon. So, I pushed myself and broke free from the pack I was riding in. Finally I reached the bike dismount and was cheered on by my friends Wilma and Diane. I had a speedy transition and was on the run by 11:55.
THE RUN. It was bad. It was really really bad. I made sure to keep hydrated. My legs felt like bricks and it became pretty apparent I couldn't BS my way into a good run. I just wanted to finish. The run was my longest half marathon ever. At mile 12 I said to myself, "you are almost there. You can do this." The last part of the run is in the sand. When my tired feet hit the beach I knew that it was happening. I was going to finish something. I can't explain the significance of this. These past few years I have noticed my confidence in myself was declining. Not just as a triathlete, but as a person. I totally needed some Stewart Smalley in my life because I didn't feel good enough, smart enough and doggone it liked by people. As I crossed the finish line at a strong pace it was a reminder that yes, I am strong. I may not be the fastest out there or the fittest, but I am brave. I am brave enough to sign up for events that scare the crap out of me and brave enough to put on a sparkle skirt and show the world you can have fun with this too.
And you know what? I improved my time by 9 minutes from 2008's race. My swim time was 41 minutes! This is a PR for me and makes me want to break 40 minutes in the future. I maintained a 15 mph pace on my bike. Not too shabby. The run, well the run was just "meh."
But, I finished it and felt great. I was surrounded by friends and returned home to my amazing hubby who eventually support my crazy hairbrained ideas.
So there it is. The curse of the half ironman is broken. And you know what? Completing my 2nd half ironman was wayyyy better than my first.
I had planned on writing my race recap on Monday when it was all fresh in my head. But then I woke up with a fever and sore throat which was a lovely combination with the ran over by a truck feeling from the race. So, I am at home now, pumped full of cough syrup, going through boxes of kleenex and finally writing this re-cap.
A couple months ago I emailed the Race Director of the event (actually, sent emails to 3 different email addresses) to change to Aquabike. My training was all over the place and I was stressing myself out. I did not hear back from them so I took it as a sign that I was supposed to do this race. In my heart, I did not want another year to go by where I didn't finish a 1/2 ironman.
So, my good friend Diane was gracious enough to attend packet pick-up with me. And of course, when they gave me my race chip and bib I saw that it said "Aquabike." I had a feeling that would happen. I kinda flipped out on the volunteer a little (not my best moment). This is basically how the conversation went:
Volunteer: Is there a problem?
Me: Uh, yeah. I e-mailed the race director to switch to aquabike-
Volunteer: So, you want to do aquabike?
Me: NO. See, I e-mailed them THREE Times (and yes, I put three fingers up) and hadn't heard back so I trained for the full (by training I mean, I swam a lot, did some bricks and posted on facebook A LOT) and now I find out they switched to aquabike.
The volunteer graciously took down my information and they said they would switch me to the full.
Fine then.
So, Saturday night I drank lots of gatorade, ate at Fresh Choice and had everything packed and ready to go in my car. I prepped the coffeemaker. I knew I had to leave the house at 4am(!) to get to transition in time and give myself plenty of time to find free parking.
Technically I was in bed by 8, but I couldn't fall asleep so I read from my Kindle. Finally around 9:30 I turned the light off. I woke up at 2 and though to myself, "I could totally get up now." but went back to sleep. Then at 3:15 I heard a ruckus and a MREOW! Our cat Lily broke into our bedroom and was going nuts. I got up and tried to steer her downstairs. She was at the foot of the stairs so I tried to pick her up. She was having none of that and strategicaly focused all of her weight to the ground making her seem like the heaviest 12 pound cat ever. And of course our kitten was going buck wild, "MWEOW MWREOW WHAT"S GOING ON? IS IT TIME TO EAT?"
I finally got everyone situated downstairs and put the coffee on. Dennis came stumbling down (did I mention it was 3:30 am) because the commotion woke him up. I got dressed, filled up my coffee maker and headed out.
I got to transition, set up my stuff and met up with my friend Molly. Around 6:15 we headed to the beach for the race talk. It was a little overcast, but the water was calm. My coach was the announcer so she gave me a pre-race pep talk. Molly and I went into the water for a warm up swim. Then we headed to the line to start. There were a bunch of people taking photographs and Molly joked that it was like the paparazzi, to which I responded, "What are you wearing? Neoprene." Yes, I use humor as a defense mechanism when I am nervous.
Our age group was the 4th to start. Finally it was our turn and we ran to the water. It took me awhile to find my stride in the water. It got a little crowded and I could feel my breath getting out of control. I remembered my talk with coach heidi earlier this week. She said that at some of the workouts she had noticed something new in me, an aggression that she hadn't see in her 3 years working with me. She wanted me to channel that aggression at this race and she called it my Big K face. So something happened within me that made me determined to school this ocean. I put power in my stroke, I knew I wanted to do this swim STRONG. It felt strong as well. In retrospect, I should have worn a watch during the swim because I really had no idea if I was going fast. In the open water I have a hard time gauging speed. I was out of the water and greeted by people cheeirng us on. I ran the couple blocks barefoot to the transition, high fived my fellow teammate who was volunteering at the event and yelled at Heidi who was announcing, "Heidi! I am here!" Before I knew it, I was on the bike. I looked at my watch and it was 10 minutes earlier than I anticipated. I MUST have had a good swim.
The bike was my biggest mental block for the event. I knew I had to get off the bike by 1pm or they would pull me. I had calculated what my MPH should be. The first half off the bike was amazing. I felt like I was at a strong pace, and the sun was starting to poke out and the view of the Pacific Ocean was incredible. Finally there was the turn around and then BAM the wind hit me. It was brutal. There were points of the ride where I was at 5 mph. My feet were starting to hurt, and sitting on the bike seat was getting more and more painful. I looked down at my garmin and it read 53 miles. I wanted to get in before noon. So, I pushed myself and broke free from the pack I was riding in. Finally I reached the bike dismount and was cheered on by my friends Wilma and Diane. I had a speedy transition and was on the run by 11:55.
THE RUN. It was bad. It was really really bad. I made sure to keep hydrated. My legs felt like bricks and it became pretty apparent I couldn't BS my way into a good run. I just wanted to finish. The run was my longest half marathon ever. At mile 12 I said to myself, "you are almost there. You can do this." The last part of the run is in the sand. When my tired feet hit the beach I knew that it was happening. I was going to finish something. I can't explain the significance of this. These past few years I have noticed my confidence in myself was declining. Not just as a triathlete, but as a person. I totally needed some Stewart Smalley in my life because I didn't feel good enough, smart enough and doggone it liked by people. As I crossed the finish line at a strong pace it was a reminder that yes, I am strong. I may not be the fastest out there or the fittest, but I am brave. I am brave enough to sign up for events that scare the crap out of me and brave enough to put on a sparkle skirt and show the world you can have fun with this too.
And you know what? I improved my time by 9 minutes from 2008's race. My swim time was 41 minutes! This is a PR for me and makes me want to break 40 minutes in the future. I maintained a 15 mph pace on my bike. Not too shabby. The run, well the run was just "meh."
But, I finished it and felt great. I was surrounded by friends and returned home to my amazing hubby who eventually support my crazy hairbrained ideas.
So there it is. The curse of the half ironman is broken. And you know what? Completing my 2nd half ironman was wayyyy better than my first.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
6 Days...
Until Big Kahuna Triathlon. The nerves are definitely starting to bubble to the surface. In fact, I baked two nights in a row to deal with my nervous energy. Fortunately, my husband's co-workers are more than happy to help me deal with my neurosis by taking one for the team and eating home baked goods.
So, it is what it is. I have had quite a few solid weeks of training under my belt. I did have some paranoia about the bike cut off, as I had flashbacks of being pulled from the race at last year's Wildflower. But, I will have to do the number crunching to figure out my sweet spot for mph on the bike and pay attention to that. The run...well, as my coach said, "The run will be the run."
In other news, something amazing happened this weekend. In addition to swimming, biking, running, celebrating my 5th wedding anniversary, and getting in some much needed family and friend time, I did something I NEVER had done before.
(wait for it)
I poached an egg.
Seriously, this is like an amazing feat for me. This past year I have mastered the creamiest scrambled eggs (the trick: melt butter in pan over low heat, while it melts whisk your eggs about a minute, and a tablespoon of milk and then whisk the eggs like crazy, to the point of your bicep hurting, then add to melted butter, let is sit 30 seconds, and every once in a while scrape the eggs around in the pan. slow. low heat. perfection!). For some reason I could not figure out how to poach eggs. The whites would separate and float all over the pan, or I would overcook the yolk. I even watched a Good Eats episode for guidance. One day I went through a whole carton of eggs with no success.
But something got into me Sunday morning. I wanted to make breakfast for hubby and didn't want to go to the store. I made mixed berry muffins from scratch, but used up the rest of the milk, so couldn't make scrambled eggs. I eyed the carton of eggs and grabbed my America's Test Kitchen cookbook with authority. You better watch out eggs, because today you are getting poached.
I analyzed the recipe and the accompanying picture for submerging the eggs in the water. I took a deep breath and got all the utensils ready. My skillet was filled to the brim with water and some vinegar. I set the temp high to get the water to boiling point. I took out two ramekins and cracked two eggs in both. I could feel beads of sweat forming at my forehead. Hubby came into the kitchen and asked in a cheerful voice, "What are you making?"
"I am poaching eggs."
"Whoa," he said and gradually inched backwards to make an escape. See, he was there through a majority of the poaching attempts and may still be a little traumatized by all the swearing.
The water was boiling, now time to reduce the heat. I gradually tipped the eggs into the water, put a lid on the skillet removed from the heat and set the timer for 5 minutes.
Longest. Five. Minutes. Ever.
Finally the "beep beep" came and I removed the lid, scared at what I was going to see. I carefully took rhe eggs out with a slotted spoon and placed two on a plate with a muffin and presented to hubby.
"So," I told him, "I think I did it. I think those are poached."
He cut into the egg with his fork and the right amount of yolk oozed out. He took a bite.
"Yup! Those are poached!"
Yay!
So, you are probably thinking what the heck do poached eggs have to do with a half ironman?
Well, I guess what I realized was that I poached the egg succesfully because I focused on all the steps. There is no room for error. My plan for Sunday: stay focused and in the NOW of the event. Every stroke of my swim will be deliberate.If I find myself slacking on the bike, I will evaluate my posture, ensure I am pushing through pedal strokes. On the run I will just keep my legs going and remind myself I have done 13 miles plenty of times. And that even though it feels like a long time, it's really about the same amount of time as a Transformers movie with previews in a theater (and I will repeat to myself that sitting through Transformes would prbably be more painful than the run). I will ensure that I drink water and eat enough on the bike. I have a couple friends who are making the trip to santa cruz just to cheer me on. How awesome is that?
My plan for Sunday? It really boils down to one thing: I plan to cross that finish line.
So, it is what it is. I have had quite a few solid weeks of training under my belt. I did have some paranoia about the bike cut off, as I had flashbacks of being pulled from the race at last year's Wildflower. But, I will have to do the number crunching to figure out my sweet spot for mph on the bike and pay attention to that. The run...well, as my coach said, "The run will be the run."
In other news, something amazing happened this weekend. In addition to swimming, biking, running, celebrating my 5th wedding anniversary, and getting in some much needed family and friend time, I did something I NEVER had done before.
(wait for it)
I poached an egg.
Seriously, this is like an amazing feat for me. This past year I have mastered the creamiest scrambled eggs (the trick: melt butter in pan over low heat, while it melts whisk your eggs about a minute, and a tablespoon of milk and then whisk the eggs like crazy, to the point of your bicep hurting, then add to melted butter, let is sit 30 seconds, and every once in a while scrape the eggs around in the pan. slow. low heat. perfection!). For some reason I could not figure out how to poach eggs. The whites would separate and float all over the pan, or I would overcook the yolk. I even watched a Good Eats episode for guidance. One day I went through a whole carton of eggs with no success.
But something got into me Sunday morning. I wanted to make breakfast for hubby and didn't want to go to the store. I made mixed berry muffins from scratch, but used up the rest of the milk, so couldn't make scrambled eggs. I eyed the carton of eggs and grabbed my America's Test Kitchen cookbook with authority. You better watch out eggs, because today you are getting poached.
I analyzed the recipe and the accompanying picture for submerging the eggs in the water. I took a deep breath and got all the utensils ready. My skillet was filled to the brim with water and some vinegar. I set the temp high to get the water to boiling point. I took out two ramekins and cracked two eggs in both. I could feel beads of sweat forming at my forehead. Hubby came into the kitchen and asked in a cheerful voice, "What are you making?"
"I am poaching eggs."
"Whoa," he said and gradually inched backwards to make an escape. See, he was there through a majority of the poaching attempts and may still be a little traumatized by all the swearing.
The water was boiling, now time to reduce the heat. I gradually tipped the eggs into the water, put a lid on the skillet removed from the heat and set the timer for 5 minutes.
Longest. Five. Minutes. Ever.
Finally the "beep beep" came and I removed the lid, scared at what I was going to see. I carefully took rhe eggs out with a slotted spoon and placed two on a plate with a muffin and presented to hubby.
"So," I told him, "I think I did it. I think those are poached."
He cut into the egg with his fork and the right amount of yolk oozed out. He took a bite.
"Yup! Those are poached!"
Yay!
So, you are probably thinking what the heck do poached eggs have to do with a half ironman?
Well, I guess what I realized was that I poached the egg succesfully because I focused on all the steps. There is no room for error. My plan for Sunday: stay focused and in the NOW of the event. Every stroke of my swim will be deliberate.If I find myself slacking on the bike, I will evaluate my posture, ensure I am pushing through pedal strokes. On the run I will just keep my legs going and remind myself I have done 13 miles plenty of times. And that even though it feels like a long time, it's really about the same amount of time as a Transformers movie with previews in a theater (and I will repeat to myself that sitting through Transformes would prbably be more painful than the run). I will ensure that I drink water and eat enough on the bike. I have a couple friends who are making the trip to santa cruz just to cheer me on. How awesome is that?
My plan for Sunday? It really boils down to one thing: I plan to cross that finish line.
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