No Shortcuts...

OC Triathlon!

2011-05-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

It seems I have the racing bug right now. Two races in two weekends... Good stuff! I had been wanting to do the OC Tri for a couple of year now, but it was always in the fall and conflicted with my "A" races. This year it was moved to May and I was in! Even better Lesley, Tammy and Katie were game to race too!

Tammy, Katie and I headed up to Mission Viejo on Saturday afternoon and met up with Simon and Lesley at the expo. Not much of anything exciting going on there, so we grabbed our packets and headed to my family beach house in Newport Beach. We made a quick stop at Trader Joe's to get all of our pre-race essentials; Trail Mix, Luna Bars, Seaweed, three kinds of Milk, Potato Chips, Sparkling Water, Beer, Carrots, Pita Chips, etc. Sounds good, right? We even saw a "blow-fish!" Lesley and Simon whipped up a great dinner and we had a relaxing evening chatting and getting our stuff sorted out for the race.

Race morning came way too early as it always does. Up at 4:30 and luckily Tammy had already turned on the coffee; I think I drank more than my fair share! A little breakfast, threw all our stuff in the car and we were off.

Transition was pretty mellow as it is a much smaller race than I'm used to. Unfortunately there was no preassigned racks, so I was on my own to find that perfect spot. Luckily Speedracer is quite small, so he fits in to tight spots with out a problem. A little jog warm-up, a quick swim and we were ready to get racing.

Swim:

I got a little stressed out at the swim start. All I could see was buoys everywhere and not too sure if they were supposed to be on our right or left or what. Figured I would just follow the masses.

Had an excellent swim entry but about 400 yard in I got that wetsuit-too-tight feeling! Ugh! I should not have had that piece of cake at work last week... or was it all of the yummy stuff we bought at TJ's the night before? Had to work really hard to calm myself down and get out to the turn buoy. About 1/2 way through the swim, I finally found my rhythm and took it strong back to the swim exit. Never did find any feet to draft off of... bummer!

Bike:

By the time we got out of the swim, it was misting some, so I was a bit nervous to get on the bike course. Just told myself to stay off the paint! Settled in quickly and hammered away. The course was great. Wide open bike lanes and not all bunched up with other competitors. Lots of rolling hills, which I love. What I did not love was the two sections that were "off-road." Basically poorly paved road at the top and bottom of the course. Worried about hitting something wrong and crashing, but more so about getting a puncture in my tubulars; those things are expensive!

Given that it was an out and back course, I had my eyes peeled for the other girls. I knew I would probably see Lesley coming back as I was headed out, and sure enough flying by she came. Pretty sure she did not hear my yelling for her to go faster. As I was coming back towards transition, I came upon Tammy. We exchanged some words of encouragement and then proceeded to go back and fourth for the next few miles. Finally she dropped me, but it was awesome to see her in her first on-road race and to even be in the same zip code as her on the bike.

The last part of the ride was back on the sketchy unpaved roads, but worse as there were a lot of blind turns. Not knowing what was coming, I slowed up a ton! No need to crash at that point in the race! I guess pre-riding that part of the course would have been a good idea.

Run:

I literally threw Speedracer on the rack and jammed my feet in my running shoes. It was pretty chilly and it was then that I realized my feet were frozen solid. Not to sure if my shoes were on correctly, but off I went.

I felt amazing from the first step. Guess it is all the hard work we have been putting in at the Braveheart Brick this year. As painful as it is, the workout works! Just focused on getting my legs to turn over and off I went.

I loved the run course. It was a mix of trails, roads and bike paths. Lots of rolling hills, but nothing I could not handle. With all of the variety, I was entertained the entire time; just focused on the next hill, turn and boy to run down. Not too man ladies on the course at that point, but tons of guys to run down, which is my specialty!

At the last water station, a little kid yells "Great job! Only 1/2 mile more!"

"Seriously?" I yelled back. And I took off to find that finish line. Coming down the hill towards the finish I saw Simon who was yelling words of encouragement; that guy is great! The finish was along the lake and was lined by cheering crowds, just what I needed to push it to the end.

I cheered in Tammy, Katie, Chelsea and a few others. We made a quick escape to transition to find warm clothes before meeting back up with Simon and Lesley. As soon as we came back down to the lake, Simon announced podium spots for everyone! I was pretty impressed that Lesley not only won the race overall, but she managed to have every athlete she coaches on the podium! Sweet!

Huge thanks go out to Simon, Tammy, Lesley and Katie for making it a weekend to remember! Lots of good times! Also to 2XU for making the most comfortable race kit and post race compression gear I have ever worn, and to Moment Cycle Sport for keeping Speedracer in tip top shape.

Encinitas Sprint!

2011-05-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love this race! So many reason why... Small hometown feel, great expo and PB&J at the finish line.

I have a confession to make... I really have trouble pushing myself in training like I can in a race. So when I realized this race would fit in perfect with my training for Kansas 70.3, I was in!

This year I was determined to have a good swim start. Last year I got flipped head-over-heels while trying to get out and the year before I fell flat on my face two times. But this year was going to be different... and it was! Ran out hard, no falling, and dolphin dove like a pro.

The swim was HARD though. As luck would have it, my AG wave went off right when a set of waves was coming in. Every time I looked up to sight, another wave was coming at me. I swear I had to dive under ten of them! Once out past the break I found a pair of feet to jump on, and we slowly made it to the turn around buoy. There were a ton of people out at the buoy taking a "break" from the extra choppy swim.

Once I rounded the buoy I looked for my friend who had pulled me out and she was no where to be found. I was on my own to make it back to the shore. Thank goodness someone planted a huge Palm tree, as it was my beacon to the swim exit. I just focused on making my way to the palm tree with strong, steady strokes.

As soon as I got out of the water I did a quick scan for other pink caps. None in sight, and I knew I was first out of the water in my AG. This has never happened before, so I was stoked! Now just to hold them all off.

Speedracer was ready to go when I got to transition, and we hit the bike course hard. My goal for the race was to collect some numbers, but as soon as I left transition and got rolling I looked down to see my power and cadence were not working. Crap! My Garmin gets confused when it is around a bunch of other bikes transmitting data. A little bit of messing with it and I was back in the game.

The 2XU Kit just makes me look fast!

I rode the course hard. Just kept telling myself to ride like there was not a run afterwards. Somehow I got a Lady Gaga song stuck in my head, which was annoying and entertaining all at the same time.

The bike was over in the blink of an eye and I was onto the run. Hit it hard and tried not to let up. It was really inspiring to see a ton of CAF athletes out on the course. Great cheering crowds as well.... Thanks!

When all was said and done, it was a great race and a great day seeing friends old and new. I'll be back next year for sure!

NOLA 70.3…err 69.1…Race Report

2011-04-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

Sometime at the end of the last season I got the crazy idea that I wanted to race New Orleans 70.3. As I saw it, nothing better than a good 70.3 in a city that knows how to throw a post-race party. Luckily I found 10 friends who saw things the same as I; so off we headed to the Big Easy.

Going into this race, as the first of my season, like everyone I had hopes and goals; some for this race in particular and some for the season in general. Life has been crazy in the past 6 months, and a lot of my focus has been away from triathlon. With that said, I knew I was feeling good in my training and could tell in the last few weeks leading up to the race that I was peaking. Imagine that; the training plan works…. So I set my race goal to qualify for 70.3 Worlds without having to get a roll down spot (ie Top 3), and my season goal to win my age group at a major triathlon. I didn't tell anyone my goal to win my AG, not even my coach. Sometimes I like to keep my personal goals to myself. I had won my AG a few times at smaller events, but never at a BIG race. I figured since I was aging up, it was go time!

"Who wants to swim in that nasty lake anyway?"

In case you didn't hear, the swim was cancelled. Can't say I was too disappointed. We had checked out the lake the day prior, and it was nasty; like Tempe Town Lake nasty. It was cancelled due to high winds making unsafe conditions for both the athletes and support crew. They could not even place the buoys! Good call on the WTC's part.

So we all stood around trying to figure out what was going to happen. Here is where I learned my biggest lesson of the day. From now on I will always take extra food and warm clothes. We ended up starting about an hour later than our scheduled wave times, and I ended up starving. Luckily Angie saved the day with her huge bag of peanut butter filled pretzels. Plus the temps were a lot cooler out at the lake than in town, so I froze for a good 2 hours. Couldn't even go out and do a warm-up run as they closed transition, with the athletes in it. Lines for the porta-potties were well over an hour long!

Finally they were announcing the plan was to do a TT style start by wave. I was unsure how to best approach it, so I cruised over to watch how the pros would handle the start. As the majority began with bike shoes on their feet, ran to the mount line, hoped on their bike and took off, I figured that was the way to go. Before long they were lining up my wave to get out on the bike course.

"This is stupid! I can't NOT draft!"
In the end they had us line up two-by-two going out the bike-out. We were sent off in 3 second intervals and I was about 10 pairs back in the wave. I looked out toward the mount line and it was jammed up with people trying to figure out how to get on their bike. Realized there is no rule about mounting a good bit past the mount line, so when it was time for me to go I ran out hard, passed the mount line into the clear, jumped onto Speedracer and off I went.

We started off with a strong tail wind. Made me feel like a superstar as my speed was high and I was flying by people. I was able to pass a bunch of girls in my AG the first 5 miles. All of a sudden we made a u-turn and bam! the headwind hit. Yep that same wind that made it unsafe to swim, added a whole new challenge to the bike. It seemed like 75% of the race was straight into the wind and the rest was had a nasty cross wind. I actually felt sorry for people rolling discs. If I had been, I'm pretty sure I would have been blown into another state. I knew with a headwind like that I had to be sure to stick to the power and heart rate goals Lesley and I had set, or else I would cook myself and not be able to run, let alone have a good run. Just got into aero, put my head down and started grinding out the miles. Let two girls in my AG pass me; just told myself it's a long day and you never know what will happen.

The course was super flat and quite narrow (and boring!), which lead to a lot of drafting. All of the young AG guys started behind me, so I knew it was just a matter of time before they caught me. About mile 15 they began coming in packs. You would have thought it was the Tour de France. Really packs of 15-20 guys flying by. At first I tried my best to not draft, but after I while I realized it was futile. There was no clear road to go to. So I switched my focus to drafting as little as possible. I can't even imagine how the race officials could enforce the drafting rules. All I know is I saw no one in the penalty tents, and pretty much we all deserved to be there! They say Clearwater was bad, but I saw nothing like this draft-fest last November.

Finally the last 15 or so miles the roads opened up and I was able to take it back to transition under my own power. The bike flew by for me and before I knew it I was putting Speedracer back on the rack.

"Do you think Coke wants to sponsor me?"
Off on the run I went. My legs felt heavy but not too bad. Within the first 1/2 mile I came upon a girl in my AG. I gave her words of encouragement as I ran past, but she did not look like she was going to have a very good run. Ouch! Unfortunately about a quarter mile later I began to cramp. My medial quads always cramp about a mile into the run. Not convinced it is a salt thing. For me I think it is a electrolyte, hydration, fatigue combo thing. I did what I always do; a couple of salt tabs, a bunch of water and a little conversation with the quads. Luckily this time the cramps eased for the remainder of the run.

I really enjoyed this 70.3 run. The majority of it was in a very pretty city park with wide tree lined streets. Like the ride, it was totally flat, which I was not complaining about for sure. I build into the run in the first few miles and then settled into my pace. At first I was not paying too much attention to my competition, as I was dealing with the cramping issue. Then I realized it was time to start trying to get some calories into me, as I had not met my goals on the bike. A friend at Honu last year swore Coke was magic. I tried it a bit at Worlds, but only a few sips for fear it would make me sick. For some reason it just sounded really good, which is crazy as I never drink soda and usually have a lot to say on the evils of HFCS. I know they say never do anything new on race day, but I grabbed a cup at one of the first aid stations, and I swear in 30 seconds it kicked in and I was a new girl. Ended up fueling the entire run on coke, water and a few shot blocks. It truly IS magic and I am now considering asking them to sponsor me!

About mile 5 I realized I should probably pay attention on the out-and-backs to anyone who may be in my AG, as I did not have anyone out on the course to help out. I must say it is pretty hard to tell what AG people are in from the front; some of those 40+ ladies are looking good! The race induced dementia doesn't help either. Luckily at this point there were very few ladies out on the run course with me. I spotted one girl ahead of me whos jersey I recognized from the bike when she passed me. I slowly made my way up to overtake her. Figured I was gaining on her at my current pace, so no need to blow up at mile 6 for the pass. Also no idea how many more girls were ahead, so I needed to reserve some energy.

This was also about the same time I spotted Greg "The Commander" Garrison a bit ahead of me. If you know Greg, you will understand how much fun it was going to be for me to drop him. If you don't know Greg, well I just can't explain. Let me just say Greg and I are actually friends and were hanging out with the same group the entire time in NOLA, but this was going to be SO much fun! Once again I realized it was not worth blowing up for, but I knew if I just kept up a steady pace I could overtake him. Slowly but surely I made my way up to him, and at mile 10 I caught him. Unfortunately that was right when he decided to stop and walk a bit to ease his cramps, so it was not quite as fun as I had anticipated, but still….

Miles 11-12.5 took us out of the park and down towards the French Quarter. I had a plan to pick it up just bit when I hit this street. The plan would have worked beautifully, except for the fact that the street was super rough and uneven. I was having enough trouble keeping myself going in the forward direction at this point, let alone dealing with cracks, potholes and other road obstacles. My mind was taken off of this as I was passing a guy right in front of a race photographer. He yells out to her, "I'm going to kill you if you take a picture of me getting passed by a girl for all my friends to see!" She yells back, "I took two and just posted them on Facebook!" I was cracking up!

The last bit of the run took us straight into the French Quarter with the finish in front of Jackson Square. It was great as it was lined by cheering spectators, a lot I'm sure were tourists who got tangled up in this crazy race. As I was trying to look for the finish a guy yells out, "You better hurry. She's right behind you!" Now I have no idea if he was talking to me or what was going on, but you better believe I took off. Heart rate maxed out and I was not seeing straight. Gave it all I had left until I crossed the finishline.

I didn't know anyone at the finish, so I wandered off to get my gear bag, as I was expecting a special call from someone tracking me from far away. Got my bag and the call came in. The cliffnotes version is:
Special Caller: "Wow! You're superfast"
Me: "I had a good day"
SC: "Yeah but you rode x:xx and then ran x:xx"
Me: "You could do that too. You did a lot of my training with me."
SC: "But you won your AG!"
Me: "What?"
SC: "You won. I have it here on Athlete Tracker"
Me: "What? F%#@. Your kidding. Are you sure? &*$#!"
For some reason having no glucose going to my brain makes me have a really bad potty mouth.

Never in my wildest dreams would I think I would be able to accomplish both of my goals in my first race of the season. It was super sweet to be able to share the day with a bunch of good friends and party the night away! OK I admit I didn't make it out too late.

Not too sure I would hurry back to do this race again, but is defiantly one I am glad I did. Vegas here I come!

What I Learned...

2011-02-12T18:32:00.000-08:00

Not only did I have a fantastic ride today; I learned a lot!

- My bluetooth charger can double as a Garmin charger to be used driving to the ride start!

- There is a lot of roadkill on the road these days.

- Running into friends you haven't seen forever and getting to catch up while riding is awesome!

- Sometimes your heartrate won't go up when you want, but will go up when you are trying to keep it low.

- Although it is February, it is probably best to wear sunscreen on all rides.

- Firemen are always really nice when you stop to fill up your water bottles.

- Be extra careful of cars when riding near Indian Casinos; some people get really excited to sit on their ass all day wasting money, or maybe it's the buffet?

- Although it is February (as I've established), salt tabs are also good to use.

- Chamios cream really does work.

- Stopping to take off your helmet when a bee flies in is a good idea.

- Running off the bike is not too bad, even if you haven't done it in months.

- If you stop at Target on your way home and look like you are going to pass out at any moment while in line to pay, people will actually let you go in front of them!

San Diego!

2011-01-24T14:04:00.000-08:00

This was one of those weekends that I felt so lucky to live in San Diego!

We had lots to do, but managed to stop to watch the sunset...

and our toes got to play in the sand.

Life is sweet!

A New Year

2011-01-03T14:40:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to start 2011 out right by being more consistent in my blogging. I had good intentions in 2010, but things just got really busy. I know I'm a few days late in my first post of the new year, but I was busy soaking up the last of the holiday festivities and awesome So. Cal weather; then work was really busy after the long weekend, I had some training to do, and those clothes and dishes weren't going to wash themselves... so you see how it goes.

If someone told me a year ago that my 2010 would play out the way it did, I would probably not have believed it.

The winter made for tons of awesome training with great friends. From getting my butt kicked by Lesley, Tammy and the Slow Step boys to rides full of gossip with Jen, I logged a ton of miles on the bike.

Spring is when the race season began and it was a fun one! First up was the Desert International. All I can say is it was FREEZING. Tough way to try to get back my racing legs.

Next up was Wildflower. I was stoked to be back racing this course and it did not let me down. Of course the best part was hanging with the TCSD crew and eating S'mores (I swear I was carbo-loading!)

After that I was fortunate to find some great friends who wanted to go out to Hawaii for some racing and a lot of vacation fun! Although I had a great race on the Big Island, I'm yearning for another crack at the course.

In summer I took some time away from racing to get back in some base training. This down time coincided with being re-introduced to a special someone. Beginning a new relationship, increasing the training volume and continuing long hours of working provided challenging, but well worth it.

Summer also came with time to see lots of friends both old and new. A highlight was a girls weekend with my closest friends from college. It had been quite sometime since we were all together last, but somehow it seemed like no time had passed.

As summer turned to fall, my prep for 70.3 Worlds heated up. I was fortunate to race the San Diego Triathlon Classic, which only got better in its second year. Despite taking a serious fall on the run, my race went well. Better yet was hanging out with tons of friends and racing in "my own backyard."

In November I had the opportunity to race the 70.3 World Champs in Clearwater. There is a lot of controversy surrounding this race, but I had a blast. I'm sad that it's leaving Clearwater for 2011 as I would have definitely gone back! Highlights of the weekend included hanging with my coach and good friend, Lesley in our amazing hotel room (we got the upgrade of the century!), my parents coming out to see me race, and finally having the swim I had been working so hard for all season. As a bonus, I came home to find that I had been voted in as a partner at work while I was away in Florida!

The triathlon season ended just in time for the holidays (that is actually a bad thing as I find myself now a little pudgy around the middle). I've truly enjoyed having more time to spend with my boy and my family.

I really have no idea what is in store for me in 2011, but I have a hunch it will be a good year. I haven't made any true New Year's Resolutions, but there are somethings I will be focusing on for sure. For now if I can just keep up the blogging...

Starting out 2011 right. Riding and coffee on a gorgeous day! What's better?

Where have you been?

2010-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

The past few months have been crazy busy! All of my time and energy have gone towards working, training and spending time with friends and family. Too hard to recap all I have been up to, so I will sum up the last few weeks and months with a few pictures...

I've spent a bunch of time sucking the wheels of these ladies.

I've seen this sign multiple times... and often several times on the same day!

Round and round in circles I've gone. Watching the sunrise and the sunset... Which is this?

Been up this hill more times than I can count on fingers and toes! Gotta love the fire station.

I've taken in some amazing views around the county.

My new "secret" training grounds. Can ride for miles and miles with no stop lights and very few cars; just like I like it!

Lots of good post-training meals and great conversation with this guy!

Super Sunday!

2010-07-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

This post is totally late... but I've been busy! Work, Training, Hanging Out with Friends, Sleeping... You know how it goes.

Sunday was the San Diego International Triathlon. It's the only race I've done consistently since I began triathlon, so I use it as a benchmark of my improvement. Luckily I saw improvement again this year, so all the training has been working for me it seems.

My favorite part of this race is seeing all my triathlon friends. Even though we all live in the same city, it seems like I only see people at races. This is a bit of a problem for my pre-race warm-up, as I'd much rather talk, than actually do a warm-up. Point-in-case: Mer didn't think I was actually doing the race just 15 minutes before our wave went off

I had it in my mind to be aggressive on the swim. To that end I lined-up front and center. The horn went off and we surged into the bay. I caught some fast feet and made it my mission to hang on. About 300 yards later I knew I'd made a mistake. I became super nauseous and got that "my-wetsuit-is-way-to-small" feeling. So I had to back it off.

I think the lack of oxygen got to my brain, as I rounded the turn-around buoys and began swimming back to the swim exit. The next thing I noticed was I was way off course. I usually do a great job of swimming straight and staying on course, so I'm blaming oxygen deficit! Corrected my error and took it hard back in.

The bike was awesome as always. Backed it off a bit up Cannon, as to not fry my legs for the rest of the race. Once to the top I just put my head down and hit the rollers hard. I love the ride out to the end of Point Loma! Just gotta make sure I'm racing and not taking in the views too much.

The best part of the bike was my clear shot from the guard shack to the bottom of the hill. Usually I'm trying to dive-bomb it down, but have to slow up due to all the guys who can't remember to "Ride Right, Pass Left" This year it was just me and Speed Racer!

Started on the run and could tell my legs were cold. They felt all tight and not in the mood to run like I wanted. Could have been due to my pre-race gabbing and not stretching. Settled into a nice pace. As we went onto Shelter Island I came up on a guy in the 25-29 AG. I made a move to pass him, but he picked it up. This happened a few times, so I decided to draft off him and see what he did. Was pretty funny as his pace would drop, so I would come up even with him, then he'd pick it up again. Finally I started to make comments to him and got him laughing. We ran together a good 3 miles. Took my mind off the pain in my legs.

At around mile 4.5 I could hear someone coming up fast from behind. As she passed, I knew it was Kim Muller. First thought, "She's super fast. Don't go with her!" Second thought, "Hey wait. She's dry. Must be doing the relay. Really DON'T go with her!" I told my little pacing buddy not to go, but he went anyways. Needless to say 1/2 mile later I saw him. He'd run out of gas! Sorry buddy, but bad move. So he got chicked x2!

Took it hard to the finish, and knew I'd given all I had on that day. Was supper happy with my effort. Didn't stick around to see the results as I had been invited to brunch with friends and knew the food would be much better than any post-race food they may have.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out with friends I had not seen in a long time. I think they were appalled by the amount of food I consumed. Recounting my race stories, I may have talked some of them into trying out the sport! I was awesome to just be able to relax knowing that I had had a great day at one of my favorite races.

Honu Done!

2010-06-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

Sometime last year, one of my best friends mentioned she wanted to do a 1/2 Ironman this summer. I told her I would do which ever one she choose; and being a Hawaii-girl (she lived 18years on Oahu) I was soon informed we would be racing Hawaii 70.3, AKA Honu!

I ended talking two more friends, Kris and Jay, into racing with us, and a trip was planned.

We got in Thursday afternoon, and Friday was for race prep. The am plan was to swim the Ironman World Champ course (OK just a little of it!), run Alii Drive, eat breakfast at Lava Java and go to the market in Kona to get all the stuff we needed to stock our condo. Check!

Then it was off to the Expo. The day turned quite stressful, as we had three bike to pick-up for TBT and one from Bike Works Kona. At the Expo, also T2 the run stuff had to be left and then the bikes had to get to T1, some 6miles away and we had to be back for the pre-race meeting. Two rental cars, a ton of luggage and gear, and four bike were not going to make the trip up. Jay and I decided to ride up, which was perfect to squelch nerves and get the creaks of of my legs.

Finally after what seemed to be the worlds longest and most stressful pre-race day, we were able to have a great pre-race dinner and get to bed early.

Race morning was actually uneventful. All our gear was already there, so all I had to do was give the bike a once over, get body marked and do a quick warm up swim. The wind was already blowing something hard, and there was a chop on the water, so my nerves were on edge.

Honu is a mass start swim, which was totally new to me. You have the option of starting on the beach or in the water. I did a hybrid start. My only orders for the swim, was to stay out of trouble. This was an impossible task! It was a washing machine from start to finish. I got hit, I got kicked, I got pinched, but it was actually a really fun swim! My time was a bunch slower than I would have liked, but it was super hard to get around anyone, and I was trying to conserve some energy for what I knew was going to be a long day. I did decide that I like swimming without my wetsuit. Arms not achy at the end!

T1 was pretty good. Everything for the bike was in a bag. So it was all about the dump the bag, get the stuff on and the swim stuff back in the bag. I had a quick freak-out moment when I was unracking my bike and saw a speedsuit on the ground. Quick check... Not mine!

The bike plan was to Hold Back. I have a history of going too hard on the bike, and then cramping on the run. I had no intention of getting a spot to Kona, so this race was to be a little of an experiment. Everytime I saw a girl infront of me (no AG #'s so no ideas if they were in mine) I would tell myself they were racing for a Kona spot and I was just racing for _____. I filled in the blank with things such as ice-cream, a cold glass of water, a nice ocean swim, etc.

The bike was tough! Mentally and physically. Long stretches of black asphalt surrounded by black lava, left me feeling like I was riding on the sun! Also the field was pretty bunched due to the mass start. Lets just say men DON'T like being passed by a small girl on a small blue bike, so they tortured me all day long with the pass and then be passed game. And riding right and passing left is not a skill that many people have developed. The good news was that the "hill" to Hawi, was really not that tough!

Finally we were headed back to the resort and T2. I had no idea how T2 was going to work, so I just got my feet out of my shoes and tried to pay really good attention to what the volunteers were yelling. It actually went smooth. A volunteer ran me to my transition spot and helped me sort out what I wanted. She told me to leave everything on the ground and she would repack it and put it in my spot. Thanks!

The run has been my nemesis of late. I love running, and actually do it quite well, but I have been cramping a ton the past year. So this race was all about NOT cramping. To this end I held back on the bike and took in a ton of salt! The only thing left to do was to go for it! The first mile felt great, so I knew I was golden. I got in a small pack of girls in the first few miles; I had to go really deep into myself to make sure I was going MY pace. The heartrate monitor really helped me.

This was honestly one of the most challenging runs I have ever done (Yes I'm comparing that to Wildflower!) No big hills, just constant rolling. Off and on the golf course (soft but hot and humid) and the road (hotter and hard). It was a series of out and backs and circles. I never quite knew where I was. But the aid stations were awesome! I began to think of them as buffet stations. Found a good aid station rhythm: Cup of water- sip in the mouth, rest on the head. Cup of Gatorade- Sip or two in the mouth. Cup of ice- down the shirt. Sponge- Squeeze out on the head and chuck it.

With all of the out and backs, it was great to be able to see friends and cheer them on. Mile 9-12 was the "Out and Back to Hell!" Black pavement, lots of lava and no shade. People were comparing it to the Energy Lab. I saw a friend up ahead who I wanted to say Hi to, so I just put my head down and slowly made my way up to her. Singing to myself helped too!

Finally back on resort grounds and I knew the end was near. I could not see the finish chute, but knew it had to be close. Picked up the pace and all of a sudden the clock was in front of me and I was done. It was very anticlimactic!

Post race was all about getting fluids in and watching friends finish. Then off for a nice ocean soak. Unfortunately I totally cramped while sitting in the surf. Ouch! Luckily I have nice friends who brought me water and salt tabs down into the ocean while I spent the next 30minutes trying to uncramp.

Results were up and I had placed 5th! Very excited but I knew this meant I was in the running for a Clearwater spot. What to do? Could think of nothing better than to debated it over some nice fruity, tropical drinks and french fries and.... Well let's just say I'll be going to Florida for the first time this November!

The race was brutal, but hanging out with the best race friends ever and seeing my friend Kristin complete her first 1/2 Ironman with a smile on her face made it all worth it!

One Last...

2010-05-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

This week has been fueled by the expression "One-Last" before Hawaii 70.3. I'm super excited about the race and feeling ready to have a good one. You never know how the day is going to play out, so I just want to go into it as prepared as possible.

I had been reading some blogs and Facebook posts, and was confused why a lot of people seemed to be really keyed-up about this race. Then I remembered it's a Kona qualifier. I have no intention of going to Kona, so I guess that I why I have maintained a more mellow out look. My main goal is not dehydrate like I am know to do!

Last weekend was "One-Last" hard brick. Started off with some efforts and some easy around the GWL to Honey Springs. I was super nervous about the TT I was gonna do up Honey Springs. I have a few TT's that I do ever so often, to gage my progress, and this is one. The last time I attempted it went awful! Head-wind and dead legs made me turn my Garmin off half way up. Couldn't bear to see the time.

This time I was not feeling super fresh, as I was at the end of a hard block, but I was determined to give it my all. Pushed it pretty much as hard as I could from the bottom to the top, and was shocked to see I had taken a significant amount of time off of my previous PR! That boosted the confidence.

Then on to "One-Last" tempo run off the bike. I've done harder, but after 4 hard hours on the bike and three solid weeks of training, I figured this was good run-on-dead-legs training. In addition I had forgotten my water bottle, so I was getting more and more dehydrated the further I went (?Dehydration training?) Got it done!

Sunday was "One-Last" long run. Let's just say it hurt. Not in any specific place or that lungs and quads burning hurt, but more of a total body, achy hurt. Had to play mind games and crank up the MP3 player real loud to keep going. And a good Epsom's Salt bath was defiantly in order that afternoon.

Tuesday I was up for "One-Last" tempo ride on my trainer. My bike was shipping out to Hawaii with TBT that afternoon, so I knew I had to put in a solid effort. It was all about visualizing how I want to ride over in Kona and trying not to spray too much sweat all over my living room.

Later that day I did "One-Last" tempo run in Balboa park. It was a gorgeous night and the legs were feeling quite springy. I hit each interval hard and negative split them all!

Wednesday was "One-Last" Master's Swim. It was a great morning, as it was just me and my two favorite lanemate ladies. They are both the age of my parents, and can kick my ass! But are both so nice and encouraging while doing it. We had some long sets, and after getting dropped a few times, I threw on the paddles to keep up. Too bad I can't wear those at Honu!

Thursday was "One-Last" Braveheart Brick session. I'm finally able to approach these without the anxiety I had last year. I know it's gonna hurt and I just accept it. As it's a go-at-your-pace workout, they NEVER get easier. My legs were crap during the first set, and after the second Lesley shut me down. "Your work is done! End on a high note!" is what I was told. And that I did, with only a little whining about how I really wanted to finish the last set.

So now it's time for some serious tapering and getting ready to have a great race in Hawaii!

Progress!

2010-05-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

The Encinitas Sprint Triathlon is one of my absolute favorites! It was the first tri I did just a few years ago and memories from that race include racing with Jen, meeting Tim for the first time, being super happy just crossing the finish-line and not understanding the USAT age rules and starting in the wrong wave, so it looked like I was super fast. Things have changed just a bit for me as far as triathlon goes...

Leading up to this morning, I was just not feeling it. I had a tough week and was super tired by Friday. By Saturday I had to decide if I was gonna take it easy in prep for the race Sunday or do some hard training and either not race or go slow. As I was not committed 100% to the race, I decided on the later. After a tough am on the bike and a solid transition run, I headed to the race Expo just in case. Just being at the Expo got me more and more excited, so I decided the race would be a go!

Sunday was an early wake-up call and off to the race. There were no assigned racks, and the signs for where we were supposed to rack were non-existent. I wandered around a bit and then picked out a spot that looked like it would be good for a quick transition and had a bunch of ladies who looked about my age at it. I began going about my pre-race set-up, music on and doing my thing. I then noticed that my rackmates were standing around in their fancy, sponsor-laden racekits chatting, but staring me down. Not too sure what their issue was... My awesome new (OK slightly used, but new to me) Skinfit suit, or my super cool bike, or maybe I just look fast and they were scared. Honestly I felt like I was in high school again and the "cool" girls click were my rackmates. Little did they know, all they were doing was firing me up for a great race. I really don't understand why people have to be like that. Whenever people ask me why I love triathlon, I always say it's because the people are so nice and supportive. Well let me tell you I was not feeling the love from these ladies. All I have to say is "Grow-Up!"

Wandered down to the water for a good warm-up swim. The water temp was higher than the air temp, which made it feel nice and warm. But as soon as I got in I figured-out the problem. Strong current and rough surf! Now I'm pretty confident in the ocean from growing up in So. Cal, but racing is another story. I just don't have that much experience racing in rough surf.

Lined up as far south as possible, knowing that the current would pull us North. I got a good running start at the swim and after a couple of good dolphin dives (and managing not to fall flat on my face this year!) I took off swimming. It felt like swimming in one of those endless pools. As hard as I tried I could not make forward progress. Waves were coming crashing in at a quick rate. All of a sudden a huge wave came in, I tried to dive under it, but before I knew it I was tumbled upside down and looking at the sky. Stood up to try to get my bearings again, and noticed most everyone else was still running in the surf. So I did a few more dives and then took off swimming again. Finally able to make some forward progress and see the turn-around buoy coming closer to me. The way in was less eventful, except for swimming into numerous people heading the other way... Did I say the current was strong?

Like always I got my wetsuit off ASAP, and even had a little help from a volunteer. This made for a much easier run up the steep ramp to transition. I was on Speed Racer in a flash and down in aero, hammering it for the duration. A much as I love hills, sometimes it is nice to be able to just hammer on the flats. I was super stoked with my ride this year. Took more than 2 minutes off from last year! The 12.4 miles pass so quickly that I totally forgot to take my feet out of my shoes before I hit the dismount line. Had to clip-clop through transition to my rack. Don't think it slowed me too much though.

The run was awesome too. Except for a little blip of a hill at the turn-around, it is pretty flat. I put my legs on auto-pilot and my mind on going hard. Don't remember too much of the run, except my heart rate being really high. I was happy with the way the legs were responding after a hard effort the day before. Sprinted to the finish, racing no-one but myself.

After not really feeling up to racing the days before, I am super happy with the way the race played out. Reaffirms that all of the training is paying off. Oh yeah... and I beat each and every one of the snobby tri girls. Ha!

Was I Adopted?

2010-05-09T07:12:00.000-07:00

What kid hasn't asked this at one time? I think I have finally figured out that the answer is NO, but on this Mother's Day I'm thinking about all the reasons my mom is so special to me, yet so different than me.

My mom is a girly-girl, and I'm more of the rough and tumble type. She comes home with her nails and hair done, while I come home with bike grease under my nails and hair caked in sweat.

My mom is an accounting wizard. Her checkbook is aways balanced and her bills paid on time. All I can say for myself is thank goodness for automatic billpay!

My mom is NOT a morning person. She loves to sleep in. I'm up at the crack of dawn, ready to roll.

My mom hates to cook, but is awesome at baking. I love to create new recipes, but my baking skills are terrible. Just last week I ruined a cake.

My mom loves to go shopping. She attacks it like a sport. I get bored after 15minutes.

My mom never swears, but I have a potty mouth!

My mom loves to travel. She always has at least one vacation planned and is working on the details for the next. I like to stay home.

My mom loves to read mystery books, while I stick with non-fiction.

My mom loves to go to the movies, any kind. I can't sit still for longer than about 20minutes.

My mom loves sweet foods. I'm more of a salty girl.

With all that said, I owe a huge THANKS to my mom for putting up with me and accepting me for who I am. She taught me to be a strong and independent woman. I could not ask for a more wonderful mother and best friend!

The One and Only...Wildflower!

2010-05-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

I was SO excited for Wildflower this year...and it did not disappoint! Been working my butt off in training this winter, all with this race in my mind.

The morning started off great, with beautiful skies and not too cold temps. Despite not sleeping too well and a nagging calf injury, I was feeling rested and ready to rock.

Positioned myself front and center for the swim start. This new for me. Before I had always hung back a bit, thinking I did not want to get trampled at the start, and I was not "good enough" to line up at the front. This year I've decided that no matter where I am, there is always some elbowing, kicking and other mayhem that will occur, so I might as well be up front and trying to hang on to the fast girls.

Took it out hard to the first buoy, and managed to not get trampled too much. Once we cleared the first turn it was time to look for some feet to jump on. Unfortunately I had let the lead pack get away and I seemed to be leading the second pack. Onward I went.

Soon I began to catch the wave in front of me. First I was passing green caps, then yellow and then the lake became a rainbow of caps. All of a sudden what looked like such a big lake, felt so small; I had no where to go but over and around people.

T1 was somewhat of a disaster. Still having trouble getting the wetsuit off! Suggestions?

Before I knew it, I was on the bike. Kept it mellow in preparation for the nasty hill at mile 2. It was painful... enough said! Rolled out of the campground feeling great and ready to have some fun on the bike.

The ride was uneventful but fantastic and beautiful. I was in a great mindset and having so much fun. I sang to myself as I dropped boys left and right. Just focused on keeping my heart rate where I wanted and keeping it strong and steady. The headwind was pretty strong this year as compared to last, but it didn't bother me too much.

T2 was much better than T1. Was able to nail the flying dismount and get out in no time.

Legs felt good going into the run. I had kept it conservative on the bike, so my quads were not as thrashed as usual. Was yelling at all the "walkers" going up the stairs to move over. I was a girl on a mission!

I was really enjoying the first two miles of the run. Roller hills, but nothing too bad. Came up to a sharp left turn and BAM! The next thing I knew I was sprawled out on the asphalt! Seems the guy in front of me tried to cut the corner short as I was passing him, and I clipped the back of his shoe. The worst part was it was in front of about 20 people... Huge abrasions on my hand and elbow, but nothing that would prevent me from continuing.

Hit the trails and the big uphills. Unfortunately I began cramping... again! I was really diligent in my nutrition/salt, so I have no idea what is going on, but I'm really over the cramping thing. Luckily it did not keep me from running, but not as fast as I know I can.

The run seemed a ton shorter than last year. I think having done the course before helped. It was not too long before I was heading down Lynch Hill. Used my new "Flying Scotsman" technique to really fly down the hill and into the chute.

Overall it was a great race! I was heard saying that I wish they ran it twice in the year... and I meant it!

I usually don't do this, but I owe HUGE thanks to a ton of people. First and foremost to my family for putting up with and feeding me during my huge training blocks. Second to my coach, Lesley Paterson, who continues to push me and inspire me in so many ways. To Jane of Biolaser Therapy for getting my calf back into shape for the race. To the people at Compex for letting me pretty much steal one for their machines for the weekend. To Jes Motyl for being an awesome travel partner and keeping my mind off of my nerves. And to Moment Cycle Sport and especially Dave for making sure Speed Racer was in top shape.

It's Almost Here...

2010-04-28T14:56:00.001-07:00

I can feel the excitement building in me right now. Wildflower is almost here! I've been looking forward to this race since I did it last year. It really brings together all of my favorite things about triathlon; good friends, a challenging course and a lot of fun!

I really thought that I would be freaking out at this point, as this is one of my major races of the year. I don't really do the whole A/B/C race thing, but I am actually tapering for this one, so call it what you want. I do have some goals in mind, but the biggest one is to have as much fun as possible... Oh and to at least try to work on my pacing and nutrition. Let's just say I get really stupid while racing. Luckily my coach says I'm "focused" but I still need to pay attention to the details.

So the bags are packed (for the most part). The race wheels are on. The taper continues. And the excitement is building.

Best of Luck to all my friends racing this weekend; From IM St. George to Wildflower to Spring Sprint!

Under the Weather

2010-04-02T06:50:00.000-07:00

So as soon as my recovery week began on Monday I started to feel a little ill. You know that scratchy throat, dry cough, stuffy head feel. Thought it was just my allergies as Sunday I had done a really hard workout in East County where everything is in bloom and then sat outside that night at a friends BBQ.
But as the week has gone on I've had to face the facts that this is the real deal. Not surprising as I see about a bazillion people with colds on a daily basis! Many like to cough right in my face to prove how sick they are (Thanks!)

So as a doctor, what do I do to combat a cold?

1. My friend the Netipot. Sure it's kind of gross, but it really works to get all those boogers out and feels really good!

2. LOTS and LOTS of water!

3. Allergy Meds just to keep those at bay.

4. Citrus Fruit! Lots of Vitamin C and other vitamins.

5. Peppermint Tea soothes the throat, and is tasty!

6. More Vitamin C. OK so it's not proven that this works, but I'm still going with it.

7. Oh yeah! And lots of sleep... only if I didn't keep waking myself up coughing...

Hoping I'll be ready to rock and roll with another solid block of training after a restful weekend.

Rain? What rain?

2010-03-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

I was very sad this morning driving to work, thinking that I was going to have to do my after work ride on the trainer. Weatherman calling for rain by this afternoon.
I worked hard all day, and kept peering out the windows; watching for the clouds to roll in and the rain to begin. By 4:30 it was still looking clear, but was it cold out? A quick trip out on the balcony told me I should be OK for a little outdoor spin!
By the time I got down to Mission Bay, the clouds had cleared and I was rewarded for a hard days work by the perfect night for a ride!

Spring is here...

2010-03-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

...which means it's time to hit the trails!

And run and run and run some more

Taking in the beauty surrounding me!

Hungry, Hungry Hippo

2010-03-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

Did you ever play this game as a kid? Really, a game that takes no intellegence, no artistic ability and no skill... I loved it!

Well this week, I have been refering to myself as the Hungry Hippo. Came out of winter base building and into some higher intensity training, and now I find myself starving all the time! Really crazy hungry. Trying to eat more calorie dense foods to fill me up, but feeling like I could eat non-stop and never get full! I gotta get this under control or I'll end-up looking like a Hippo!

And the Collection Grows!

2010-03-14T07:06:00.000-07:00

Some girls have an addiction to buying shoes.... I seem to have an addiction to buying bikes!

I actually bought her while riding the GWL yesterday. Garage sales rock!

She's a bit rusty, and needs some oil on her chain, but I'm looking forward to cruising the boardwalk at my families beach house this summer!

Stay tuned for my other new ride. Hopefully coming soon!

Out of Touch

2010-03-08T20:09:00.000-08:00

It seems like the days, weeks and months just fly by and I loose touch with some of my friends without even realizing it. This was made extremely apparent recently as I found out two of my friends had babies.... and I didn't even know they were pregnant!

Clara Padilla Alonzo. Born December 28, 2009. Daughter of Marta and Rafa, good friends of mine from Madrid, Spain. I guess I'll have to go visit soon!

She is growing up fast!

Ajax Kiran Sethi Choudhury. But wait....

... and Tristan Salim Sethi Choudhury. Yes it's twin for my friends in New York! Rajni and Si are two of the smartest and most fun people I know. These kids have a bright future!

And the Season Has Begun...

2010-03-08T14:41:00.001-08:00

AKA: Desert Tri Race Report

After a few long but very fun months of base training I decided it was time to get back in the swing of things with a little race. Was not too sure how good of an idea it would be in the end as I was coming off a very tough block of training and the weather reports were calling for rain... again! None-the-less I headed out to Palm Desert with Andrea and Eddie for a fun weekend.

Couldn't really find it in me to get all excited for this race. It's still pretty early in the year, and I have done no race prep thus far, just base. Excited to see how the arms and legs would respond.

Twenty minutes before my wave went off, I went down to the lake to get in a little warm-up swim. Turned to Andrea to zip up the wetsuit, and... the zipper breaks. I ripped off the wetsuit to take a look and realize it is very broken. I had remembered seeing Wetsuitrental.com in the expo area, so I took a chance and ran over. I pled my case to the girl working there as she was putting the wetsuits away. Luckily she was super cool and nice and set about finding me something to wear. Found a wetsuit that was OK, a little big, but had to work. I am very indebted to Wetsuitrental.com!!! Thanks for allowing me to race.

So I got back down to the lake with about five minutes before my wave went off. I ran full charge into the water, not my usual tip-toeing in and try to warm up as fast as possible.

The start was a beach start, but no true corral, so everyone was spread out along the shore. I took up a position that I thought would give me a nice line to the first buoy and off we went. Swim was pretty uneventful. I really think all the swimming I have been doing this winter is paying off; if not in speed, then in confidence in the water. It seems I have not forgotten how to site either!

Once out of the water I had to struggle to get off the borrowed wetsuit, and hopped onto Speed Racer. We have only been reunited for two rides, so I was not sure how it would go. That coupled by the fact that rain started to fall about five minutes in made for not the most ideal racing conditions.The good news was the course was pretty much a big rectangle, so nothing technical to crash on. The bad news was my legs do not like being cold, so I had a really hard time getting my cadence where it should have been. Rode conservative, but had a good bike none-the-less.

T2 was a bit of a mess for me. As I approached the dismount line on the bike, I loosened my shoe straps and tried to slip out my feet. They wouldn't come out! Seems being soaked with rain makes the quick dismount impossible. So into T2 I ran carrying my shoes. Threw on the running shoes and headed out. But something not right... Were my shoes on? Were they on the right feet? Had to stop dead in my tracks to check it out. Sure enough my shoes were on correctly, but my feet were so frozen I couldn't tell.

The run was pretty uneventful as well. Between frozen feet, frozen legs and running on uneven terrain, I didn't feel it was my best effort. Just tried to give it all I had on that day and enjoy my favorite part of the race. Felt better as I continued to warm up on the run, and the 10K flew by.

Felt like I had a solid race; just where I should be right now. Tried out some things and found out what I need to work on in the coming months. Can't wait for my first real race of the season... Wildflower!

Sometimes...

2010-02-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

... you just have to have a good crash. It had been about three years for me, so I suppose I was due. How it happened is not so important; only that no one was really hurt and I didn't have to go to the hospital on my day off.
Better yet was my stop at Henry's on my way home. Everyone was staring at me and my ripped up shorts. The produce man even offered me a papertowel to mop the blood that continued to ooze from my elbow.

Looking better after a good shower!

That's gonna make for a good story, especially when I'm sport a bathing suit on Monday at Masters!

Commitment

2010-02-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

While cleaning my house the other day (I know... shocker! But it is rest week) I found this poster I've had since I was in high school. Not sure where it came from, but I have always loved what it says...

COMMITMENT

is what transforms a promise into reality.

It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions

And the actions which speak louder than words.

It is making the time when there is none.

Coming through time after time after time,

Year after year after year.

Commitment is the stuff character is made of;

The power to change the face of things.

It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism.

This is the way I intend to live my life. Whether it be triathlon, medicine or anything else I endeavor to do, I want to be 100% committed!

Good Times on My Trainer?

2010-01-21T14:41:00.000-08:00

So if you missed it on the news, everyone's blogs or have not looked outside in a few days, we are having a serious storm in San Diego. I find it really funny how everyone is freaking out, and most of these people are from cities across the nation that get worse weather than San Diego could ever dream of. Being a native, I kind of like the change, plus anything to avoid the wild fires that come in the fall!

I am currently recovering from a serious case of Achilles Tendonitis. It sucks, but it is getting better; for that I am grateful. So this means no running and a lot of swimming and biking. Sounds good to me until I realize that all of my biking will have to be done on the trainer, and I have a decent long ride scheduled for this morning.

Instead of looking at the negative (OK... I admit it. I did that for a while), I decided to think of all of the good things about riding my trainer in my living room.

1. I could continue to drink my cup of coffee during my warm-up.

2. No need to bundle-up. Threw on a sports bra and cycling shorts.

3. Could get my laundry done while I rode (except the folding of course)

4. Forget having to look for a Starbucks or a large bush when nature called. Just hopped off and into my nice, clean bathroom.

5. No eating bars or gels while I rode. About half way through I made a toasted PB&J. Yum!

6. Got to watch a movie. Too bad it was a terrible one!

7. No wasting time and gas on driving. Rolled out of bed and started my work-out.

8. When the phone rang, I didn't have to stop. I'm sure the person on the other end was very confused why I was breathing so heavy.

9. Didn't have to worry about running out of water. Had a fridge full.

10. No sitting around sweaty afterwards. Got to hop immediately into a hot shower.

In the end, I'm hoping that the sun comes out for my weekend of long rides, but the trainer wasn't too bad I suppose...

Last Day

2010-01-11T13:32:00.000-08:00

I'm currently obsessed with Nickelback's song "If Today was Your Last Day." I play it over and over as I drive. The below to passages really sum up how I want my 2010 to be lived.

"Each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride"

"Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the price is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you're never living twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life"

A friend told me she thought it was a depressing song, but I don't at all. To me it is all about taking the opportunity that is in front of me and living my life to it's fullest.

Just thought I'd share...

A Day in My Life

2010-01-07T18:37:00.000-08:00

Through many recent conversations, I came to realize that most people have no idea what goes on in my day to day life. My work friends don’t get my tri life, my tri friends don’t understand my work day, and my parents don’t get any of it! So here is a look at what occurs in a “typical” day. I warn you it’s long, but my days are long!

4:15am- Alarm goes off. Ugh! Not ready to be up yet, but I have a ride to get in before work. Luckily I love riding, so it’s not too hard to get up. Throw on the warmest cycling clothes that I have, eat some cereal , make sure I have all the “equipment” I’ll need for the bikeworkgymrun day, and out the door.

5:15- At Mission Bay. I’m the only car here. Set-up bike and off I go. Not too cold, which is good. Music blaring in my ears to get me fully awake.

5:30-7:30- Soledad hill repeats. I must admit I really like the early am work-out when I feel like I’m the only one awake. Plus seeing sunrise from the top of Soledad never gets old. I am all pumped up to have a good ride this am. Get a flat at the end of my last repeat. Decided it is a small leak and I can make it back without having to change the tire (esp since I did not allot time for a tire change this am!) Just keep inflating with CO2.

7:30-8- Literally speed over to the office. Luckily there is a 24 Hour Fitness in the building, so I make a quick stop to shower and change. No time for drying the hair this am.

8:05- Make it into my office just on time. First patient is already in a room, so I drop my stuff and throw on the white coat. Have to make the mental shift from triathlete to doctor quickly. Ugh!

8:07- First patient of the day. She is a new patient, who is transgender and wants to become a man. Her (his?) friend saw a doctor here and is getting help with that. Can I prescribe testosterone? Thought I was awake, but really not ready for this yet! Definitely not something I learned in medical school. Mind won’t comprehend this one right now. Tell her I have to look into it and will be in touch.

8:20- Next patient is ready. She has missed her Depo Shot this month and is afraid she is pregnant. Luckily the preg test is negative. We discuss contraception.

8:29- Beg someone to make coffee as I go between rooms.

8:30- Patient in for a physical exam. Notice she is only scheduled for 15min visit. Gonna have to kill someone over that later. Luckily she is a very healthy 84 y/o Japanese lady. I try to get her to tell me her secret to being so healthy at her age while getting the exam done.

8:50- A patient who is transferring care to me from another doctor. We do a quick review of her medical problems and medications. She’s fun to chat with but I know I have to keep moving.

9:00- A few minutes to check my e-mail, sign-off labs/x-rays/consult notes, and call back a patient who has left a message. Coffee is ready so I grab a cup. Now I’m hungry. Throw oatmeal in microwave as I head out to see another patient.

9:10- New patient who has made a New Year’s resolution to quit smoking. Yeah! We discuss options and then chat about his recent move to SD from Maine.

9:25- Haven’t done any of my dictations yet, so I power through four. A few bites of oatmeal go in with a few sips of coffee which is now cold

9:35- One of my favorite patients is in for a breast infection. It seems to be healing well. I take the opportunity to discuss her diabetes and blood pressure with her. She seems to be doing well. I notice she has lost 10lbs. Lots of praise for doing that over the holidays!

9:45- My am 15min “break,” which I use to sign off more charts (they seem to be breeding like rabbits while I see patients), do some more dictations, write a letter to another physician about a mutual patient and talk to our lead nurse about some issues. Oh yeah and shovel oatmeal into my mouth.

10:00- A well known patient who has been trying to run, but keeps getting foot and knee pain. We discuss referring her to PT versus Ortho. She wants to go to Ortho despite my urging for the other.

10:10- Sign a few more charts, look through and answer some of my messages (which are now piling up), and call a patient who is insisting on an MRI for her headaches. Not in a mood to fight it, so I agree.

10:20- See a patient who has been trying to get pregnant for a year. She wants fertility testing. I get her set-up for that.

10:30- Next patient needs a PAP smear and some skin lesions frozen off. Freezing things is good fun! Get them both done quick which gives me some extra time for paperwork

10:45- More charts/ dictations/ messages/ phone call. Do you see a pattern? Starving again. Grab a string cheese stick.

11:00- A Medicare eval. Super sweet and relatively healthy lady, so it goes well.

11:20- Need to do my prescription refills. Mostly your standard anti-hypertensive, cholesterol and anti-depressant meds, but there are three requests for anti-herpes meds. Is it going around?

11:30- Last patient of the am. Oh, she is a painful one! Having left arm pain (mostly in her wrist) and is convinced it is a heart attack. I try to get a good history and assure her it is not her heart. We do an EKG. She wants a carotid ultrasound, which I agree to. Wants some other diagnostic studies too, which I somehow talk her out of. I feel bad that I am not that patient with her, but it’s been a long am already and I want to get to the gym for lunch.

11:50- Do more charts/answer messages (luckily my secretary and nurse will call people back for me)/fill prescriptions and dictate. Very motivated to move fast as the gym is calling my name. Feel like a glorified drug dealer!

12:15-1:00- Yeah I have 45min to get in some stretching and core at the gym! The front desk girl at 24 Hour Fitness remarks on my second visit of the day. She’s used to it, and even knows my name. Get my gym work done which helps clear my mind for round two on the work day.

1:10- Back in the office to inhale some lunch while, yes you guessed it, doing more paperwork stuff. Lots of new messages over lunch. Need to call back some people. including one person who doesn’t understand why to antibiotics given to her by the ER are not working for her cold. She seems mad at me about this… Briefly check my e-mail, which is luckily mostly junk.

1:20- A recheck on a well know patient. We chat about her blood pressure which seems to fluctuate a lot and decided to up her meds. She also tells me she heard that running makes womens’ internal organs fall out. This leaves me laughing and pondering.

1:35- Two nurses come in to tell me that one of our medical records staff is feeling dizzy and nauseous. Can I squeeze her in? Of course. See her and make sure she is not pregnant (Negative…Phew!) Can’t put a finger on what is exactly the matter, but send her home for the day.

1:50- Still really hungry. Off to the vending machine for some pretzels. More paperwork.

2:00- Physical exam and PAP smear. The girl has her boyfriend in the room. It doesn’t bother me if it doesn’t bother them, but really…

2:20- Try to catch-up on dictations again. Chat with some staff, one who didn’t think I was in the office for the day since she had not seen me all am.

2:30- Patient comes in with a cough. She is a smoker, so I try to talk to her about quitting. That falls on deaf ears, so I move along. Think she has pneumonia. Send her for a chest x-ray and prescribe antibiotics.

2:45- My pm “break.” But a patient walks in needing an EKG and labs for a diet program. I’m a softee and can’t say no. We discuss the diet program briefly.

3:00- A patient with dizziness. I hate this complaint as it is so vague and often hard to find a cause. I do some testing and have no idea what is causing it. Tell her to rest and drink lots of fluids. She wants a flu shot, which I tell my nurse. Unfortunately she miss understands and checks her for flu. Whoops. We get her the shot and out the door.

3:15- Afternoon is a bit slower than the am, so I catch-up on paperwork and phone calls/messages. Call a patient who wants me to explain what HPV is and all about it. Then another tells me she has been exposed to Natural Gas for the past year and thinks she needs to be tested. No idea what to test for so I’ll have to call her back.

3:30- A patient comes in for a rash. She thinks it is due to an antibiotic she has been on for the past two months. I’m not sure but it seems to be going away now that she is off it. We’ll keep an eye on her. She doesn’t need the antibiotic anyways. Wants a PAP, but I have her re-schedule for that.

3:40- More paperwork/prescriptions/etc.

3:45- An athlete patient comes in with water in her ear from swimming. I don’t see anything, but bust out my mother’s home remedy of alcohol in the ear. She gets relief. We chat a bit about her up-coming marathon.

4:00- Last patient of the day. Very cool old lady for a Medicare eval. She tells me that she’s been a cyclist for the past 40+ years. We chat about bikes and routes. I love that I don’t feel rushed with her.

4:20- Gotta finish up the dictations, phone calls, and paperwork. As I’m working, another doctor comes to inform me that one of her patients is coming to see me tomorrow to follow-up on an HIV test. It’s positive and I’ll have to tell him. Can’t wait for that… NOT!

4:50- Pretty much done. Chat with my nurse about some things that need to get done by the end of the day and some stuff for the next day. She tries to convince me to change my work hours so that she can have different hours. When she implies that my triathlon training is not that important, I get irritated, but keep it to myself.

4:55- Last check on some X-rays and any messages.

5:00-5:20- Ready to go as soon as the clock hits 5! I love days when I get out on time. Make some personal calls on the way home. Good time to catch-up with friends.

5:20-5:30- Go to my parents’ house as I am going to eat dinner with them. Easier to begin my run from their house. Get a little snack and I’m off.

5:30-6:30 Doing another workout in the dark, but I don’t mind. Good way to relieve the stress of the day. Ipod is on and I’m able to zone-out on my day and focus on the run.

6:30- Back at the parents’ house and starving! Help finish up making dinner (I’m always on salad detail), and we sit down. Nice to be sitting finally today. Great conversation. Use their computer to check my e-mail.

7:45- Head home to get ready for another busy day tomorrow. Gotta get the bike out of the car, and remember that the tire is flat and I need to change it. Put together a bag of food for tomorrow as well as unpack all the clothes and equipment from today and pack for another busy one. Try to clean up the house a bit.

8:45- Finally in bed. Got a heat pack on a sore ankle. Reading an OK book. Sound machine on to hopefully help my head stop spinning and help me fall asleep. Out of bed a few times to throw stuff in my gym bag that I forgot to pack earlier.

?9:30- I’m out for the count.

An Epic Start to 2010

2010-01-03T17:00:00.001-08:00

I wasn't joking about seizing every opportunity in 2010 that came my way. So when invited to do the Julian Pie Challenge ride with Jen, Tim, Elizabeth, Julie, John and Pat, I quickly cleared my calendar.

It was an amazing day out! Perfect weather and we could see all the way to Point Loma and beyond.

Don't be fooled by our small size... Jen and I can put away a lot of pie.

Julie likes pie too!

I think team Idropboys.com wore out the boys!!!

Here's to more Epic adventures in 2010!

Thoughts on 2009

2010-01-01T15:57:00.000-08:00

This morning I thought to myself, "Where did 2009 go?" and then I looked at my training log. Swim: 131 hours Bike: 362 hours Run: 165 hours. I know this pales in comparison to others logs, but add in 2200 hours of work, and I'm starting to get an idea.

It was an fabulous year... one of the best yet! Here are some highlights:

January: I started working with an awesome coach, Lesley Paterson. This time last year I had no idea that the game would be totally changing. I feel incredibly blessed to have meet a coach who understands me so well. We have been told (by her husband!) that we were separated at birth. Along the way I've had my ass-kicked, but have formed a wonderful friendship.

February:
My little bro, Mark, married Renee! It was a beautiful day. One that won't be forgotten by our friends and family for long to come. Those two were definitely made for one another. It's been fun watching them grow as a married couple.

March:

Somewhere during the month I realized that the severe nerve pain I had been having in my left leg for 3 1/2 years was magically gone. After three PT's, two internists (myself excluded), a neurologist, an ART therapist, a MAT therapist, a chiropractor and many tears, I was finally pain free. I pretty much didn't believe that the pain would remain gone, but it has! What did it you ask? K-Laser therapy. I now swear by it... but it's expensive. Thanks Jen Litteral!

April:

I raced Oceanside 70.3, and it was a terrible day. I'd never had a race go so badly. It was a very humbling experience though. I often learn a lot more from my failures than from my successes, and this experience taught me a lot!

May:

I finally got up my courage to race Wildflower. It was a fantastic weekend from hanging out with friends, to camping, to wine tasting afterwards, to a fabulous race. I now understand when people say "There is really no other race that compares!" I'll be back in 2010 for sure!

June:

I raced every weekend this month. The Rock and Roll Marathon, then a club race, then a 10K and finally SD International. It was a great month filled with lots of hard efforts and even more smiles. Was it too much?

July:

Finally got some time off of work and training to go to Oahu with Kristin. We had a great time laying on the beach, eating a ton of local food and visiting friends. And then there was the Freedom 10K. It was on the same course as the Xterra World Trail Running Championship, and it was amazing! I managed to get very muddy, lead a pack of strong guys totally off course and still win the race!

August:

Spend an awesome weekend in Santa Barbara hanging out with friends and racing the Santa Barbara Triathlon. Loved walking around State Street and eating lots of great food. We even made it to the wine country for an afternoon. Very pretty race, with lots of hills, which I loved!

September:

I began riding with the Slow Step Boys. I'm like the little sister who tags along for bike rides with the boys. Along the way I've been teased, laughed at and yes even dropped... but I've also become a stronger rider!

October:

SOMA was the final race of the season, and I was so happy to share the experience with my parents. We had a great time exploring Scottsdale, and I think they enjoyed seeing me race? The overall race didn't go as well as hoped, but I was still really happy and had tons of fun.

November:

My practice at work really began to take off. Tons of new patients, some new responsibility and lots of long hours. I realized how fortunate I am to have job I love so much!

December:

It has been a month of seeing friends and family, which I think has left me more exhausted than the rest of the year. I've had some good laughs, great conversations and eaten too much good food.

So what's in store for 2010? My focus will be seizing all opportunity that comes my way! And have lots of fun along the journey...

Oh Christmas Tree

2009-12-12T07:42:00.000-08:00

I'm a true San Diegan through and through. This becomes very apparent at the holidays. While other kids spent their Christmas' playing in the snow, I have very fond memories of playing on the beach with all my cousins.

To this end, we do Christmas trees a little different in my family.

Instead of hiking into the woods to chop down the perfect tree, my Dad goes into the backyard and selects the perfect Christmas palm to decorate. A few red balls and a string of twinkle lights later, I think to myself "It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!"

December in San Diego!

2009-12-11T07:41:00.000-08:00

Just a few pics from my ride today. Luckily all two people who read this blog live in San Diego; so I hopefully won't make anyone jealous...

I'm looking forward to a white "sand" Christmas!

Running Away? Or Becoming More Present?

2009-12-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

"I have a theory that most endurance athletes are running away from something… when you’re not zoning out during training to endure the pain, you’re too tired to even think about anything else. It’s almost like training can numb those emotional nerve endings."

I read this on a friends blog today and it got me thinking. While this may be the truth for many people, the sport of triathlon has the complete opposite effect for me. I find that training makes me feel more and more alive as the days go on.

First of all let's talk about the physical pain the sport inflicts. We have all felt the burn of the lungs in the pool during a tough session, and the burn of the quads while pedaling up a seemingly endless hill. I'm not sure about others but this is when I become my most present. For me it is very easy to zone out on those long, L2 work-outs. I call this my therapy time and with all the stress I have in my life, I know I need it. It sure is a ton better than spending time and money to sit and chat with some therapist. Give me a bike or running shoes, my Ipod and the open road, and all my problems seem to sort themselves out.

But once I take it up a notch, and the heart rate goes up and pain begins, the focus kicks in. I like feeling that pain; it reminds me that I am alive. I use it to help me take myself to a level I didn't think possible. I am always elated when I finish a work-out that I am sure is going to kill me.

On the emotional side, triathlon has me feeling more emotions than ever before. I'm not just talking about the racing. Sure I've felt some of my highest highs and my lowest lows while racing, but it is the day to day training I'm thinking of. It's the joy I feel when seeing the sun rise over the hills in Mission Trails. It's the peace I feel when taking time out of a cove swim to admire the beauty surrounding me. It's the pride I feel when conquering a really tough ride. It's the frustration I feel when a session does not go the way I want.

I would argue the point that I use triathlon to keep myself from becoming another one of the passionless people that our over-technologed society is creating. Most people in the U.S. today spend more time interacting with their computer, phone, television and other electronic devices than they do interacting with the world around them. They don't know how it feels to have the cool ocean waters glide across their skin or what it sounds like to have the wind rush pass their ears. They have never felt their heart beat so fast it feels like it may pop out of their chest or the shear joy of crossing the finishline of a race and looking up to see that PR. They don't stop to admire the endless beauty of the San Diego coastline or reflect on how their body and mind is becoming stronger on a daily basis.

So the question remains, "Am I running from something?" I'd say probably, but that's my secret! More than that I think I am running towards something...becoming a happier and better me!

Cinderella!

2009-11-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

So to know me, is to know that I LOVE my TT bike. She is called Speed Racer by those who are close to her. While other people have pictures of their kids and pets as backgrounds on their computers, I have a picture of Speed Racer. But the honest truth is Speed Racer was not my first ride.

People often ask me how I got involved in Triathlon. I had been running a lot in college, and then when I moved to NYC for medical school, I happened to have the three best roommates ever. Two of them were big runners, so we started training for half marathons as a way to relieve stress. I fell in love with running and by my intern year was doing full marathons. I distinctly remember somewhere between mile 20 and 21 of the Rock and Roll Marathon during my intern year thinking, "All this running is totally destroying my body. I gotta find something a little less jarring to do. Maybe I'll look into the triathlon thing. I hear it's big in San Diego."

Fast forward a couple of months to me being on a rotation in the hospital where I worked 8pm to 8am admitting patients from the ER. I was miserable! I decided that it was time to stop thinking about becoming a triathlete and make a move. But I needed a bike. So during those rare calm moments I began to research road bikes. Looking forward to learning how to really ride a bike kept my spirits up during that LONG month.

Basically all my research on road bikes was for not, because in the end a friend hooked me up with a guy he knew at Cal Coast Bikes (I don't shop there anymore, but I do need to give them a shout-out as the guys there were always really helpful!) I tried out a few bikes and settled on one that was in my price range and seemed to fit me well (Honestly I couldn't tell a thing. Just being on a bike felt so foreign at that time.)

So I finished my horrible rotation and bought my bike a few weeks later. First it was little rides around Fiesta Island and up and back on the Coronado Strand. Then I did a beginner ride with TCSD and realized I was not to bad at this cycling thing. Next on to the TCSD Saturday ride, where I really learned how to cycle. Thanks to all those unsuspecting people who let me chase and draft off them, I became stronger and stronger on the bike.

My road bike and I had lots of good times over that first year of my triathlon career. She was with me for my first triathlon and for my first time on the podium. We rode everything from the coast, to GWL, to Mount Laguna. But like all triathletes, I eventually decided I needed a TT bike, and Speed Racer came into my life, and took over as my main ride.

So for the past year and a half, the road bike has been sitting in my garage with flat tires, collecting dust and unfortunately rust in a few spots. Save for a few quick trips to the grocery store, I had not ridden her. Lately I have been doing more serious riding with roadie types who have encouraged me to get back on my road bike. I made a commitment to get the road bike back in shape after my tri season was over this year.

The week after SOMA, I made good on my promise and took the road bike down to Moment Cycle Sport to get fixed up and ready for some off season training. A new saddle, handle bars, bar tape, a stem and new tires and she was ready to go.

Took her out to the GWL to get reacquainted this past weekend. The ride went great and I was more comfortable on the road bike than ever before. Not sure if this is due to the new set-up or my over all better bike handling skills, but I realized my road bike is just not that bad- and she handles awesome descending Lyons Valley!

The last thing to do was name the bike. I have had her for this long, and she was still with out a name. I tossed around a few, mostly things related to her black and yellow color (I'll allow you to figure out some of these) but nothing really seemed to fit.

Back out on the road Thursday, I got to thinking about how much I was enjoying my road bike again, but how she really needed a name. While apoligizing to her for the neglect and treating her like the forgotten step child it came to me... Cinderella! As I see it she was cast aside for the prettier child. Made to collect (sweep) dust while the other got to go out and play, but she never complained. Then a fairy God Mother (Moment Cycle Sport) took her and dressed her up all pretty so she could go to the ball (GWL). Now she is the talk of the town! Hopefully I will meet my prince charming while riding her!

Top Ten Reasons I LOVE Recovery

2009-11-04T18:48:00.000-08:00

...in no specific order

10. Wearing something other than Spandex on the weekends (I forgot about some of my cute clothes!)

9. Not having to eat 6 meals a day

8. Saddle sores are properly healing

7. Not smelling like chlorine constantly

6. Eating pancakes on Sunday morning, not just dreaming of eating them while doing my long run

5. Being able to stay awake past 8PM

4. Not always being the first to leave a party

3. Making it to the Farmer's Market before it closes

2. Not having to set my alarm for 4AM

1. Being able to spend quality time with family and friends

SOMA Race Report

2009-10-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

I've been in full off-season mode since the second I hit the finish line at SOMA Half this past Sunday, which includes procrastinating on writing my race report, but now the time has come to get back into real life. In the spirit of getting back to reality I hit up the pool for an easy swim this am. Coach said to do what-ever I wanted the next two weeks. No plan, but if I want to run/bike/swim just do it easy. So when she showed up to the pool 5 minutes after me, all she could do was laugh and say "We're both the same...Type A!" Turns out her coach wanted her to take off 2 weeks too, and she made it 4 days. Did I mention my coach placed 2nd at Xterra World Championships in Maui this weekend. I'm so inspired by her! But I digress....

Pre-Race:
When I signed up for this race back in the summer, I realized it was the same day as my mom's birthday, so I hatched a plan to get my parents to go over with me to Arizona. Just promise my mom a night in a hotel and a fancy dinner out, and she is game. They were actually really excited to watch me race and be my sherpa's for the weekend.

We ended up flying over due to work commitments, and my bike took a ride over from Rick. I was really nervous to have my bike out of my possession for those two days. Speed racer is my baby!

I was able to grab the bike from Rick and get all checked in on Saturday early afternoon. Then it was off to the hotel for a little work-out; 15mins on the treadmill and a few laps in the hotel pool- which was more than interesting. All the guests around the pool seemed fascinated by me swimming back an forth- I think it was about six strokes each way!

Then it was time for the spa. After relaxing some more, the family decided I needed a pasta dinner, so we hit up Marcella's in Scottsdale.

Carbo Loading?

Up early on Sunday and tried to QUIETLY make my race breakfast. 1/2 PB&J, a banana, some chocolate soymilk and a cup of coffee is what I'm liking these days. Then down to the race site.

Despite getting down early, I felt like I had way too little time to do all I needed. Did get in a little warm-up run, but couldn't take the bike out and no pre-swimming allowed. Bummer as I now swear by my pre-race swim warm-up.

Swim:
As soon as I got on the stairs to enter the water I realized just how disgusting the water is in Tempe Town Lake. Green and very murky. I just prayed I would not swallow too much water and give myself some strange disease.

For some reason I was not nervous at all. I was ready to race. I only had one goal in mind for this race and that was to "WIN!" No, that does not mean to be on the podium or to place in the top of my age group. It meant to do my best and keep a positive attitude no matter how the race played out.

I lined up one row back from the front hoping that would give me a chance to get off well without getting swum over by the fast girls. And we were off!

Had a good swim for me. A little slower than I would have liked, but everyone (except Rachel who had the fastest female swim time, and beat all but 5 guys!) had a slowish swim. I blame the person who felt the need to grab my right foot at least 100 times and all the guys in the wave ahead of me who I had to zig-zag around! But really I felt great, which is all I asked of myself. No panicking... breathing every 4-6 strokes... good sighting... straight line... caught a few drafts. I'll take it as a victory.

T1:
I was really excited about the fact that they had wetsuit strippers at this race. I was expecting a super speedy transition, but... So the lady who initially tried to get my wetsuit off couldn't do it, so she called for back-up. Then I had two ladies tugging on the wetsuit to get it over my calfs. It took way too long and I could have had it off much faster, but I'm still thankful to the volunteers who got up early on a Sunday to peel wetsuits laden with gross water off a bunch of crazy people. I did manage to yell "Thank you" as I ran off towards my bike.

Bike:
Hopped on the bike and sped out of transition. It was the first time I had ever race a flat course, so I was excited to see how fast I could go. Was also the first time I had raced a multiple lap course, so I wasn't sure how that would play with my mind.

Spent the first few minutes settling in to a good pace and heart rate. 56miles is still a long way, so I was trying not to push it too hard at the beginning. I really had to work hard to keep from drafting as the course was packed and narrow. I kept it clean for the most part. The entire ride went pretty much like this: Settle into a good rhythm... Oh no, I'm kind of drafting off that guy/girl in front of me... OK I guess I'll have to pass him/her... Oh no, now I fell like a jerk because I'm not sure if I can sustain this pace with out the draft.... Oh well, that's the person behind's problem now. Sometimes they would pass back, sometimes they would fall off. All in all I did an excellent job of keeping up my membership in idropboys.com.

To keep the bike interesting I played a little game with my parents. They did not tell me where they were going to watch the race from as there were a ton of great spectating spots. I had to find them. Lap one was a bit too early for them to be out as my mom stated she was not getting up "at the crack of dawn" on her birthday. Lap two I was determined to find them. Not in the transition area, not on the bridges, not on the far side of the lake, and just as I was coming in for the final lap, there they were at the Hot Corner. "Happy Birthday" I yelled out.

I can honestly say that all of my hard work training on the bike this year really paid off. I felt awesome on the bike. My heart rate stayed right where I wanted, my legs felt fresh from start to end and I had a pretty fast time. The weather was perfect. The best part was that I was smiling and even laughing almost the entire time.
The course flew by and before I knew it I was headed back into transition. I was so surprised to be back so soon, that I forgot to do my little mental prep that I always do before T2. Usually I go through all the steps I need to take in T2, but I was rapidly approaching the dismount line and I had to get my feet out of the shoes.

T2:
Bike on rack... Bike stuff off... Run stuff on... Gels and Salt up shorts. Away I go!

Run:
I was ready for this run. I'd been doing a ton of bricking this season and my running was going great. As soon as I got off the bike all I knew was I had to pee. OK, I could deal with that. It's a good sign that I'm hydrated. Just look for the nearest port-a-potty. So some people didn't look for a port-a-potty and were penalized for "Indecent exposure!"

There it was, just up a short hill. As I charged up the hill all of a sudden I was over come with sharp cramps in both my quads. Crap! I have not cramped in a race for two years. Why now? What could I do to make them go away? Figured I should start taking more salt tabs and maybe sitting to pee would help.

Back on the course my quads continued to be cramped up. Think sharp knives into the quads with each step. Tried my best to keep up the pace, but could barely extend my legs. The pain was extreme. I was reduced to running for as long as possible and then stopping to stretch. NOT the way I wanted this run to go. I was frustrated to say the least. Tried to keep a positive attitude and keep moving forward.

Later rather than sooner I found my way to the finish line. I had left everything I had in me out on that race course and was exhausted! All I wanted to do was lay down.

In the end I have mixed emotions about this race. It was the last race of my season, and I wanted to make it my best. The leg cramps seriously de-railed that plan. I have spent a bunch of time going over what I could have done to prevent the cramps and have ideas of what I need to do next season to prevent it from happening again. On the positive side I had a great swim and a fabulous bike. More important than anything I gave it my all and had a really fun time. I'll be back next season. Now it's time for some off season resting!

October Already?

2009-10-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

Sometime a few weeks ago, I realized summer was officially over and fall had begun. I tried to hold it off as long as possible, but now I have resigned to the fact that the weather has definitely changed and the holiday's are rapidly approaching. I must admit, I love the feeling of the air in fall! Makes me miss living on the East Coast, but I get over that real fast when I remember the cold and snow.

Things have been crazy busy lately (note the lack of posts), but I have been having a ton of fun. Some of the highlights of the past month have been...

San Diego Triathlon Classic
The inaugural San Diego Triathlon Classic hosted by Moment Cycle Sport was last weekend. People kept asking me if I was doing it, and I had to tell them it was not on my race schedule. Honestly I was scared to race again after my pathetic attitude towards Santa Barbara. I thought for sure I only had one more race left in me and I would have to save that for SOMA. Well, about a week out from SD Tri my coach gets the great idea that both should do the tri since it is local and would make for a great training race. When I found out that a ton of my friends including Jen, Murray, Kris, Jay and Paul were doing it, not to mention all those volunteering, I was in. Had not seen some of my friends in way too long!

This race was just like a huge club race to me, which I think helped a ton mentally. I did not taper, gave my "race plan" no thought and threw my stuff together in a frenzy the night before. My race strategy was to have as much fun as possible while seeing how hard I could push my body now.

The swim was interesting from the time I put my feet in the water to warm up. Realized the sun would just be barely coming up as we went off, and I had tinted goggles. Duh! No idea of the swim course, except that it was an out and back. Figured I would not be in the lead anyhow, so I could just follow the people in front of me. Got off well, but still felt like I was struggling on the swim. As usual, I was praying the whole time not to drown and to be out of the water NOW!

The bike was the best part of the race. Took us up a "killer hill" through the sub base and out to Cabrillo. OK, so after hearing how hard the hill was, I was totally underwhelmed. I was riding mostly among the guys, and had a ton of fun dropping as many as possible. Too bad the idropboys.com singlets weren't ready yet!

The run was nice and flat. Unfortunately part was on a narrow dirt path, which made it hard to really open up the stride. Looking at my watch I got really excited when I saw the time as I approached the finish chute. Thought this would be a 10K PR by a lot... until I heard the course was 1/2 mile short!

In the end, the girls had a good day. We all (Jen, Kris, Lesley and I) all ended up on the podium!

I Like To Ride My Bicycle!
I've been getting a lot of good riding in lately. I'm not sure if I'm getting any faster, but I'm having a great time. I've been riding with some roadie type guys who sort of adopted me into their group. I'm pretty sure they just like having me around to have someone to make fun of, but laughing the entire way around the GWL is good by me! I'm looking forward to being able to spend more time riding with them in the fall, and getting back on my road bike so I can stop hearing how I'm going to skewer someone.

I've done a few Palomar ascents... some awesome and some sucked. Just a matter of what state my body and mind were in on the day. It never gets easier. And riding the coast still makes me happy, but more and more I get freaked out I am going to be hit by a car. But who can resist those ocean views?

Sure I'm Sponsored...It's Called a Job!
Work gets busier and busier as the days go by. We've had one doc leave the practice and another on maternity leave, so I have been given some extra responsibility. It's great, but leaves me exhausted by the end of the day. I've met some great patients lately and seen some really interesting things. I'm amazed day after day the strange things people come to the doctor for, and have to continuously remember to keep the laughter to myself. Just as long as no one gives me their cold or flu, I'm happy! Loading up on the vitamins before SOMA.

This Is Not The AIDS Walk Ladies
Or so my friend Tim would say when he wants Jen and I to run faster. So it wasn't exactly the AIDS Walk, but it was the AIDS 10K. Have been working a ton on my running speed lately, so I decided to enter a local 10K to see how fast I could run. Was one of the best races of my season. Cheap race entry, lots of entertainment, great post-race food and a very festive atmosphere. Ended up having a great run too!

Open Letter to My Coach

2009-09-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Coach,

Oh yeah... I see how it is. You finally got tired of listening to me whine about how I want to become more efficient in the swim, more powerful on the bike and faster on the run. So now you are going to make me work for it.

This new block of training started off with a killer bike. I thought getting up at 4:15am to get on the trainer would be the most painful part, but I was wrong. It only took about 20 minutes for my quads to start screaming. At several points the legs tried to quit on me; I had to consciously remember to keep pedaling. I was SO happy when the intervals were done, until I noticed the "extra credit" at the end of it all.

You ordered me back to the pool on Tuesday. I bailed on Masters and did a version of the sets you wanted me to. I was feeling pretty good on the first set and was even getting some rest. Unfortunately holding that pace over the next 1800 yards was more than challenging. When I thought I couldn't take one more stroke, I had to finished off with sprints. This left me with burning lungs and tingling, noodle like extremities. I could barely get myself out of the pool at the end and was staggering like a drunk person as I walked to the locker room.

Next up you had a little run for me. This was similar to a run you had given me earlier in the season, which had proved very challenging. I was stoked to redeem myself. An hour and a half later, I was over-heated, dripping with sweat, nauseous yet starving and left wondering if I would be able to walk the next day. The good news is I only threw-up once this time!

Back in the pool again. This time I stuck to Masters. The work-out didn't look too bad on the board, but I was wrong. It must have been the combination of swimming in a lane with one swimmer who moved down from lane 1 to "take it easy," two ladies with fins on and the 82degree water that left me dizzy and sweating in the pool. If that wasn't enough, I finished the morning off with your killer core session. At the end of it all, I was so hypoglycemic, I couldn't drive home. Had to go across the street to Starbucks and eat until I could once again think straight.

So here I sit contemplating my workout schedule for the rest of the week and exactly what I did to make you torture me so. As far as I can figure there are only a few explainations...

1. I am getting too big of a head these days and you have decided to show me how a real triathlete (like yourself) trains.

2. You are trying to help me cure my insomnia issues through pure exhaustion.

3. You have bought stock in Costco and are trying to give me a Costco sized appetite (it's working!).

4. You have heard that I never cry, and you have made it your mission to get me to cry like a little girl.

5. You are in collaboration with my friends and family to try to get rid of the endless amounts of energy I seem to have.

6. You are actually a top-secret Scottish agent working on new forms of torture.

All I can say at this point is THANKS! I look forward to the pain you will be inflicting over the next several weeks.

Stacy

Santa Barbara Triathlon...and much more!

2009-08-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

So I have the best group of triathlon friends who are always up for a fun adventure. When I decided to do the Santa Barbara Triathlon this year, I had seven friends jump on board for a weekend in SB. Last year we all went up to Big Kahuna and had a blast in our crazy rental house; so we decided to try to repeat the fun times at this race.

We all headed up to SB on Friday morning. Being triatheles we made it to Camarrillo before we had to stop for food. Mike and I decided sushi would make a great pre-race meal. Too bad the all-you-can-eat sushi deal was not going on, because we could definately gotten our money's worth! When the lady told us to come back on Monday we almost made a reservation.

The condo Tina found was great, and we made quick work of filling it with bikes, tri gear and of course lots of food! It definately reminded me of my college days as we tried to figure out how to best arrange 8 people into two beds and three air mattresses.

The boys were in charge of the pre-race dinner, so we headed out to "Lazy Acres" a Whole Foods/Jimbo's type store. I am really glad I don't live near, as I think I would have trouble keeping myself out (did end up there 3 times over the course of the weekend!) Everything looked so good, and so healthy, just like I like it. The boys ended up making an awesome pasta dinner with garlic bread and salad. Then to bed early-ish.

Pre-Race: Up EARLY to eat and get ready to go down to the race. I love getting ready with other triatheles in the house; the energy is great. "Who's having oatmeal?" "Do you think we'll need arm warmers?" It really helped me get my mind into this race.

Got to transition pretty early as the guys had early waves. Open racking, but luckily not too many girls there yet. I was able to get a spot three bikes from the end. Then I turned into super-bitchy tri girl when I told the chick next to me that she couldn't take up both sides of her bike with transition stuff. I really did not mean to be bitchy, but it was early and I was nervous, so the words just came out of my mouth. I'm sure she didn't like me too much.

Set-up transition and fussed with my bike some. The race directors announced over and over that anyone who tossed, dropped or launched a water bottle would be immediately DQ'ed. I was really nervous as I have been launching bottles all over SD county lately. Did some last minute Macguivering to make sure the bottles would stay-put. Thanks to the boys who lent me all types of tape and a few spare hair rubberbands, I was set to go.

Got in a great little warm-up run and a few strides to get the leg fully warmed-up. Not too polite to the TCSD guy who yelled at me to "Save it for the race!" while I did my strides. As I got back to transition they were shouting they were going to close transition. Of course I fell for this AGAIN and rushed to get on my wetsuit and out.

Down at the water they were giving another pre-race talk. Again they were going on and on about no bottle dropping and then they started in on how people DIE on this course. Oh yeah... that puts me in the mood to race.

I hopped in the water for a warm-up swim and was completely unprepared for how cold it was going to be. I have become such a wuss with the warm water in SD, that I was in shock. My face froze and my breath was taken away. I reminded myself that I have swam in water colder than this before. Just kept swimming up and down the shoreline and finally got nice and warm.

Swim: Like always it was super crowded the start. Luckily it was only about 200 yard to the first buoy where we turned. I knew it would thin out from there. Focused on keeping calm until that first buoy. Didn't get knocked around too much.

Once we started up the coast, I tried to grab onto some feet. I really suck at this. I have no awareness in the water. I can never tell if the feet I jump on are going too slow or if they are even going the right direction. Not too sure how long I lasted trying to draft, but eventally I ventured off on my own. Then I got worried about swimming off course. By sighting I felt like I was headed straight for the buoy, but then I could see a ton of people to my far right. Were they inside the buoy line? Was I off course? Like Don said, it would be nice to have a little GPS that tracked you so you could go back and see your exact course. I am pretty sure I was all over the place.

T1: Ran hard out of the water and focused on getting the wetsuit off ASAP. It came off smooth this time, for which I was grateful; but I had used a TON of BodyGlide!

I really think this is where the race turned around for me, at least in my mind. I ran it hard into T1 passing people all the way. I will never understand why people saunter into T1. It's a race... the whole thing!

Bike: Hopped on my bike and knew I had only a few miles to settle in before the hills hit. Legs were certainly not feeling fresh. I had three pretty tough weeks leading up to this race, including a time trial up Palomar just five days before, and only a two day mini-taper. Quads were begging for mercy but I knew they would come around in time. Just put my head down and let my legs take over. Now I was excited!

Up and over the first of many hills in no time flat. Then came the big descent... the one people "die" on! I know myself and I knew I would be pretty aggressive. Unfortunately I did not have that opporunity as it was an open course and I got stuck behind a yellow Xterra who did not want anyone to pass on this narrow stretch of road. I watched as a bunch of guys tried and some succeded in passing the Xterra, but I decided not to risk it. I'd rather finish a bit slower than be taken off the course in an ambulance.

In the valley I formed a group with four guys. None of us were drafting per-se, but I was definatley feeling the beneficial effects of having big men infront of me. Out of nowhere came a chick on a pink and black bike yelling something. She passed us all and then the guys jumped on her wheel. It was pretty funny watching four big men draft off a small girl in pink.

We hit the next set of hills, and our little group thinned out. It rapidly became clear that my new girlfriend was strong in the hills, so I made it my mission to keep up with her. She was not in my AG so I figured this was a fair race strategy. I did a great job until I had to move my bottles around (read: deal with all that tape and rubberbands I had used in transition) and she dropped me. I thought she was gone for good. Finished off the hills pretty much alone and was really into my groove by then.

As I rode the flats between the hilly sections I looked ahead and who did I see but my new girlfriend. I am pretty sure she was not as happy to see me as I was to see her. We traded back and fourth a bit and then hit the last set of hills. This time I was not going to loose her.

Once out of the hills there were some good flats back to transition. The quads were finally happy and ready to run. I was happy as I had dropped TONS of boys! Trying to keep up my membership in Idropboys.com.

T2: For some reason I was all confused in T2 ( I have coined an new medical term: race induced dementia) Everything was laid out as always, but I couldn't quite figure out what to do with it all. Forgot to take my helmet off, and was confused why my visor would not go on. Got that sorted out, but left without my race belt and number. Whoops.

Run: Legs feeling surprisinlgy great after a killer bike. Settled into a nice pace and ran like I know how. Realized about 5min out that I had forgotten my race belt. Spent a lot of time trying to figure-out how not to get a DQ for that one. Lots of great excuses came to mind.

Wound our way through the harbor and then up the only big hill. Someone had written inspirational messages on the hill which were awesome! Helped me push up it for sure.

Once we crested the hill it was some flat and then a gradual uphill out to the turn around. This is where it got gnarly for me. Stomach was hurting like it never has before. Not sure what the problem was.. I think it was a combo of things. Could not get anything in! Ended up doing the entire 10 miles on 1 shot block and two sips of water.

Despite the stomach problems I was feeling really good and keeping up a strong pace. Saw all of my race buddies looking awesome!

The last mile was sheer will to keep the legs turning over. Saw Mike about 3/4 of a mile out. I croaked "How much further?" He tried to explain where the finish was but I continued to be demented and could not understand. I told him it was time to pick-up the pace and he ran me to the chute. Took it in hard the last 200m to the finish.

Everything at the finish was pretty much a blur until I made my way over to the food tent and got some calories in. Next stop, an ocean soak. After complaining about the cold ocean earlier in the morning, I was really happy about the temperature several hours later. Ended up going in twice!

Watched all my friends come across the finish with big smiles and then headed home to the condo for some R&R before a big night out on the town in SB and wine tasting the next day..... That's for another post though.

Vacation Rocks!

2009-07-17T06:23:00.000-07:00

After a busy first half of 2009, it was time for a vacation! I can hardly believe that I have been at my job for a year now and I had not taken vacation. When I was invited to go to Hawaii with my friend Kristin for our mutual friend Molly's wedding, I jumped at the chance.

Classic Waikiki Photo!

View from Our Hotel Room

View the Other Direction... Equally Pretty!

This hotel looks so serene from the photo, but I promise it was full of screaming children and Japanese tourists. Needless to say we did not spend much time there.

Deciding where to eat was probably the hardest decision we had everyday.

The wedding was beautiful. They held it at the Royal Hawaiian (aka "The Pink Palace" as dubbed by Kristin and I) in Waikiki.

Molly and Jason and Family

I don't think they could have asked for a better day or setting for the wedding reception!

The traditional Lion Dance.

Once he wedding was over, the real relaxing began. As Kristin grew-up on Oahu, she knows all the best beaches. My favorite is Kailua. Warm, blue water. White sand. No tourists. It doesn't get much better than that.

This paddle boarding thing is really popular. I wish we would have had the chance to try it out.

Ko Olina. The word on the street is that Disney is planning on building a resort here... Bummer! Right now it is a pretty unknown stretch on the north side of the island.

Kristin and I had been taking about MaiTai's at the Halikulani for months. They're the best on the island! We were not disappointed.

So Pretty! And So Tasty!

I was supposed to be resting from my training while on vacation, but when we heard about a 4th of July trail run 10K on this gorgeous ranch, we couldn't resist. It was great to experience a local race. Very low key. Those cones are the finish chute. It was like a TCSD race, Island-style.

Who could resist running through this beautiful area? Not me for sure!

The race director sporting her WonderWoman Splish suit. Kristin swears she is getting me one for my birthday.... but I have to promise to wear it to Masters. Like I don't get made fun of enough at Masters, this would sure do it!

The podium. Like I said... really low key.

After all of hard work at the race, it was time to meet up for a 4th of July picnic and to watch fireworks. This picture does it no justice, but we had enough food to feed a small army! All local which was the best part.

Instead of fireworks; In Hawaii they just have rainbows....

After spending all week eating, it was time to eat some more. Kristin's long time family friends invited us over for "Mr. Mike's Mai Tai's" and sushi. The Mai Tai's were awesome, but that second on did me in... I think Mr. Mike made it a bit strong!

The infamous Mr. Mike. His house has the best view on Oahu!

Why does vacation have to come to an end so fast?

Tour de Counrty Store

2009-07-14T09:01:00.001-07:00

**Before you even start reading this post I need to put the disclaimer that Jen's blog about this ride totally rocks, so you should probably save yourselves time and just read her post. But none-the-less, I have to give my own account of our epic ride.

Somehow I ended up with an extra day off work after my vacation to Hawaii. Any sane person would use it as a day to relax and catch-up on laundry, etc, but I promptly called Jen to see if she wanted to ride. We never get to ride together mid-week due to my less than flexible work schedule, so this was going to be a real treat!

Jen has been adding a lot lately to her already super strong base, so I was worried about holding her back. She assured me she was not rested. I came to find out that was code for, "I rode a double Great Western really fast the day before!" Well at least she wouldn't hurt me too bad, I figured. My only excuse for being slow was that I had been lying on a beach drinking and eating for the past week.

We both love the GWL, so a plan was hatched to meet at the Starbucks. I showed up only half awake to be greeted by Jen who was raring to go. I just prayed my coffee would kick in sometime soon.

The beginning of the ride flew by as we had a lot to catch-up on. We tackled every subject from how our training was going, to interesting work cases, to what new things Jen had cooked and baked for Tim, to any new gossip we had heard. Before I knew it we were already climbing "the wall." Being the occasional dumb-blond that I am, I actually had to ask Jen "Is this the wall?" She just gave me a look and took off up it. I guess she figured if I wasn't hurting bad enough to know it was the wall and I could still talk, she would show me how a real cyclist climbs.

We were both lured off the loop and into Descanso by thoughts of ice-cold Double Shot Espressos. Little did Jen know I was riding with only two dollars in my pocket as I had spent my cash on Malasadas and Shave-Ice before boarding a plane back to San Diego. Carb Loading? So what started out as a friendly ride, soon turned into a bad date for Jen, who had to pay my way at every country store along the way.

I am not sure if it was the heat or the large amount of caffeine we had consumed or what, but the next thing I knew Jen and I came up with a plan to tackle the Laguna Loop. We both maintain that our bikes made us do it! They love riding together.

Off we headed towards Pine Valley, without a map, and a somewhat vague idea of how we were going to get where we wanted to go. Jen assured me that we could always use her I-phone to look at the route... but soon enough we found she had no service. It was then we began listing all of the people we could call if one of us blew-up; I was placing bets on myself to be the first to be lying on the side of the road in a pile. Luckily I was riding with a superstar ICU nurse, who could perform some BLS, ACLS, ATLS or just pour water and Gu down my throat until I perked up.

The sights and smell of the mountains lured me up Sunrise Highway. All the way up boring Jen with my stories of family camping trips and summer camp experiences in the Laguna Mountains. I've had a lot of good times in those mountains and this was definately another day full of memories. I find it funny how I used to think it was SO far from our house in central San Diego to the Lagunas. I would honestly pack like I was going to be gone for a year and snacks in the car were a must... I guess some things never change! Yet this day I had covered the majority of the distance on my bike, with snacks still abounding.

Next stop the Laguna Store. Both of us must have been a bit bonky at that time, as we promptly parked our bikes on the porch right under the "No Bikes on the Porch" sign. Classic!

I had somehow convinced Jen that popsicles on the top of Laguna would be awesome; my plan to trick her into buying me a popsicle worked! We chatted with some guys in the store as I continued to reminisce about my childhood. One of the guys mentioned how suprised he was by how fast we had climbed Sunrise Highway. Thanks random mountain-man for helping expand our egos and lighting a fire under us to get our bikes and ourselves off the porch and back riding. Without you we may have just sat up on top of the mountain taking and eating popsicles until dark.

It was a good thing that we filled our bellies with popsicles, water, G2(I think Jen should be sponsored by them. She would make a great spokesmodel!) and energy bars, because as we reached the summit the wind began to blow. It would have been one thing if it were a headwind or even better a tailwind, but no it was a crosswind trying it's best to blow us right off the road and into Anza Borrego Desert. I love my super light-weight Guru, but this one time I was wishing I had one of those old-school heavy bikes. I looked up the road to see a gust blow Jen sideways towards a steep drop-off. If riding with her was not enough to get my heart-rate up, that did it! How would I explain to Tim that I lost her over the side of a cliff? I could hear myself trying to explain how she just blew off like a little kite. All I can say is that girl needs to keep it up with the cookies!

Next up was the Lake Cuyamaca Store. Yep... that's #3 for those of you who are counting! Not too memorable, but I am still confused by the duck sign...

All of our hard work had finally paid off and we got a nice long ride down the 79 to Descanso, and of course we stopped at the store to fuel up some more!

The back side of the GWL turned a bit ugly for me. The heat was killer and I know Jen could tell I was struggling. She just kept telling me funny stories which I could only half listen to. I just had to focus on not falling off my bike and having to get picked-up by the TCSD Cares van. I really think triathlete road-side assistance would be a good use of that van between all of the races.

Just when I thought I was destined to turn into a big piece of beef jerky, we arrived at the Lyon Valley store. We were exhuberantly greeted by my new BFF David and his slobbering dogs. I was really in no mood to deal with a very hyper little boy and his dog who felt the need to lick all of the salt off my legs, but this stop turned out to be a highlight of the day. David insisted that we needed a card to enter the store. Jen got to pick and it said "ENERGY!" We were both giddy with excitement; just what we needed.

For some reason, David decided this card should be thrown away, but Jen pretty much tackled him to get it back. We needed that card to get us home, oh yeah and several bottle of cold water apiece.

We were able to hammer it home from there; riding high on pride from tackling the "Loop of Doom." In true Jen form, as soon as we hit the parking lot she had changed into a super cute outfit and was providing me with a post ride PB&H sandwich. All I could do was lean against my car staring at my Garmin... 104miles... 7:20 of riding... Sweet!

SDIT Race Report

2009-06-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

This was the race that almost didn’t happen for me, due to my procrastination in signing-up, but in the end I was able to scrounge up an entry… and I’m so glad I did!

The week prior to the race had been a really hard one which left me feeling beaten down by Friday night. Decided to do the cove swim for some salt water therapy. It felt awesome to do an easy swim out to the ¼ mile buoy and just float out there taking in the beautiful views… and watch a somersault competition!

Saturday would have been a great day to relax, but I had to work the expo; pimped myself out for that race entry! Too much sun… too much on the feet! Just drank as much water as possible. To make matters worse, I slept horribly on Saturday night. I think in total I slept 3 hours. I was really nervous. People kept telling me how good I was going to do, how I was going to podium, blah, blah…., which really played with my mind. I would so much rather race invisible. Just want to go out and do my best and not worry about how that places me, but I know others are watching!

Last year at this race my head was up my ass the entire time, so decided this year my only goal was to be focused on the race. To this end I had a theme/mantra for each portion.

Race Morning: “Prepare like a Pro” Up early to eat, and my new favorite thing, spin on the trainer at home. It is so much easier than trying to take the bike out at the race site. Ended up getting really stressed-out prior to the race due to parking issues (pretty much just made my own spot and hope I wouldn’t get towed!), and having to set-up my bike stuff in transition, as the bike had to be there over night. Luckily I had taken my bike down early Saturday so I had a prime transition spot. Got in my warm-up run with Darrell, who is so great to talk to pre-race; he always has such encouraging things to say! Diverged from Darrell and spent some time running alone to clear my mind and get focused on what I needed to do.

Then on with the wetsuit and down to check-out the course and get in my warm-up swim. Did a nice warm-up swim which I am now realizing is key to having a good swim. Keeps me from feeling like my wetsuit is too small. Timed it so that I finished my warm-up a few minutes prior to our wave start and then just swam over to the start.

Swim: “Swim like a Fish” Lined up front and center. All the fast girls were crammed over to the right along the buoy line, but I decided it would be worth the short extra distance to start the swim by swimming at a bit of an angle into the first buoy then taking it straight up and back along the buoys. This worked out wonderfully. Had a clear path from the horn to the end with the exception for a few stragglers from the waves in front of me. Still haven’t figured-out the drafting thing.

T1: “Get the Hell out of Transition”-Part 1 My biggest complaint about this race is the transition area situation. The women’s transition is terrible for the swim in, OK for the bike out and in, and sucks for the run out. I like running, but all that barefoot running on concrete is painful! Secondly they have VIP racking up front and center for teams and people who pay extra. There are honestly girls who beat me strictly due to their transitions. With that said, I had a pretty good transition. Trouble getting the wetsuit off my arms again. I’ll just keep telling myself that it is because my arms are getting so muscular from all the swimming…

Bike: “Try Harder” Hopped on my bike and settled in quickly. Have the advantage of knowing the course pretty well and loving hills. Started dropping people, especially lots of boys right away, which lit a fire in me. Kept in my mind to constantly be trying just a bit harder than I was at that moment. This was good to focus on as I found myself taking in the beautiful views from time to time. Had to remind myself I was racing. Sight-see another day!

Half way on my first trip out to Cabrillo I got passed by a girl in my AG with her name on her shorts. I figured if she was special enough to have her name on her ass, she was probably good enough to drop me.

My favorite moment was dropping some guy, who then started peddling really hard, got about ten feet in front of me and then totally blew-up. I had to refrain from making a “Got Chicked” comment as I passed him back.

T2: “Get the Hell out of Transition” -Part 2 Finally got the feet out of shoes/shoes still on bike without falling off the bike thing right today. Grabbed my run stuff and off I went.

Run: “Run like You Know How”
Legs felt awesome straight away off the bike. Maybe this means I should have been pushing it harder on the bike or else all the bricking is paying off... I’ll take the later. Settled into a nice pace right away and just tried to enjoy the ride.

I passed a bunch of people on the run, but unfortunately at about mile 4 a girl came flying past me. She made me look like I was standing still! I looked to see if she was in my AG but she had no body marking on. I could only figure she was in my AG due to her race number, but really the race induced stupidity had already set in.

I was hurting a bit so I decided to try to entertain myself. First I tried focusing on my form, but that got boring quick. Then I tried singing to myself, but could only think of really annoying songs, so I went to my gold standard; counting in multiple languages. That always works to get me to focus.

Once we entered Seaport Village I picked-up the pace. Unfortunately it was further to the end than I expected as the course was changed from last year and I failed to look at the course map. Running out of energy but pushed to the end; the cheering crowds helped.

All in all, I’m super happy with my race. Third place in my AG is great! More importantly I took over six minutes off my time from last year. Best of all I felt great the entire day, kept my head in the game for the whole race and had a blast hanging out with friends!

Coffee!

2009-06-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

So I had a new addition to my office on Monday... a coffee maker! This could be really bad for me. I love coffee but it makes me really hyper. So the coffee pot stays on a trial basis...

I never really drank coffee until I went to Medical School. Between the very cold winters and the late night and early morning studying I became a fan. Let's just say I spent a lot of time studying in coffee shops all over Manhattan, so I drank my fair share. It even got to the point where the shop owner of the little market at the end of my block knew exactly how I took my coffee, and often had it ready before I had a chance to order. Residency was more sleepless nights than I want to remember, so the coffee kept flowing.

Lately I had been trying to cut back. I only keep decaf at my house now, but there is always a pot brewing at work. Often I am the one who is begging for the coffee to be made as I drag myself into the office after an early am workout.

This coffee maker is now on it's third home in the office. When I first started it was in the central administrative area, but the admin decided no more food or drinks out in the office. Then it moved to an empty office, but now someone is taking that over. Knowing my addiction to the caffeinated stuff, the nurses asked me if I would be able to provide a home for our little friend. I almost said no, as I was having visions of me drinking cup after cup and bouncing around the office. But then that would mean no coffee at all, and I can't have that. So it has come to live in my office, as far away from me as possible.

The some-what nerdy, Type A, evidence based doctor in me decided that it would be a good idea to research the benefits of coffee drinking; mostly as to allow myself the addiction without guilt. Here is what I found:

"Harvard researchers calculate that compared with not partaking in America's favorite morning drink, downing one to three cups of caffeinated coffee daily can reduce diabetes risk by single digits. But having six cups or more each day slashed men's risk by 54% and women's by 30% over java avoiders." OK that may be a little too much for me, but I say stay away from the cream and the sugar for sure and it may be true!

"At least six studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson's, with three showing the more they drink, the lower the risk." So you mean to tell me I can either have the jitters from the caffeine or get tremors when I'm older... I'll keep drinking!

"The remarkable thing is that a simple cup of coffee appears to have more effect on preventing Alzheimer's than the expensive pharmaceuticals currently being used to treat the disease." I've got a strong family history of Alzheimer's, so I'll keep enjoying my morning cup.

"A research team at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has shown that a combination of exercise and some caffeine protects against the destructive effects of the sun’s ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation, known to induce skin cancer." I'm not as good as I should be at wearing sunscreen, so another reason to drink up.

"Coffee has numerous health benefits, and the amount of antioxidants it delivers can make a significant contribution to your fight against the damaging effects of free radicals in your body." Any help I can get on limiting the amount of damage to my body I'll take.

"It's also caffeine that makes java a powerful aid in enhancing athletic endurance and performance... So powerful, in fact, that until recently, caffeine in coffee or other forms was deemed a "controlled" substance by the Olympic Games Committee, meaning that it could be consumed only in small, designated amounts by competing athletes.

That (caffeine) may include signaling you to ignore fatigue or recruit extra units of muscle for intense athletic performance. Caffeine may even have a direct effect on muscles themselves, causing them to produce a stronger contraction." Heck yeah! This is why I have made coffee a part of my pre-race breakfast! Even works better if you cut out all caffeine about 2 weeks prior and then have a cup on race day.

So for now, Mr. Coffee and I will share an office. I will have to employ some strong will power to keep the consumption under control, but I am looking forward to all the "health benefits" my morning cup of coffee will bring me.

Getting Stupid

2009-06-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

When reading triathlon "literature" (AKA Triathlete Mag, SlowTwitch, and other peoples blogs) there is a lot of discussion about that fine line between just enough training and over-training. I have worried a lot about this recently, as this season I have increased not only my training time, but also the intensity. People say that when you are reaching that overtraining point, things start to happen like insomnia, lack of appetitie, moodiness, etc. I am not saying I haven't experienced any of these (just talk to my family about the moodiness!), but the one thing that keeps coming up is that I'm getting really STUPID!

Here is a list of some of the stupid things I have managed to do in the past month:

- Lost my cell phone for a good 24hours. Convinced it was gone, I had already looked into replacing it. On the way to the Verizon store, my Dad tried calling my phone, and there it was... in the car.

- I keep taking the wrong off-ramps on the freeway and making wrong turns on well know routes. Twice I have even gone the wrong way when driving from work to my house, something I do everyday. Half the time I forget where it is I'm going!

- I keep turning in half completed forms at work.

- I set out on a ride only to realize a mile in, I didn't have my car keys. When I got back to the car, they were there, hanging in the trunk.

- I left an entire load of groceries in my car, overnight. Let's just say a bunch of things had to be thrown away.

- I crashed my car into the side of my garage. Luckily the garage was not damaged and my car only scratched.

- I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get my back wheel off my bike, something I've done countless times. Took it to Moment Cycle Sport (they rock and didn't laugh in my face!) where they easily popped it off.

Looking back on all these things, it seems really funny, but at the time I was NOT amused. My biggest fear is doing something stupid at work. Really... someone could get hurt if I don't watch it!

Please someone tell me I'm not alone in Training Induced Stupidity!

Double D and Double R

2009-05-31T16:11:00.000-07:00

Double D: Del Dios x2! Dirty and Damp!

Saturday as usual was excited for a long ride. Unfortunately I had not been able to find anyone to ride with. The usual suspects were either on an off day, injured or didn't want to ride long. I was looking to do a hilly ride; GWL would have been my preference but I'm not comfortable riding out there alone, so I decided the Del Dios loop would be the second best. When I was trying to figure out which way is better to go, I came up with the crazy idea that I should do it both ways and find out for myself.

Despite weather reports, it didn't look too wet out to me, so I headed out in the car into the May Gray. As I got further West the "rain" began to fall. Now I put rain in quotes because what was falling was what people from most parts of the country would call mist or heavy fog, but for this San Diego girl, it was the real deal. Had momentary thoughts of turning around and heading East, but convinced myself that if I rode East it would be dry. Let's just say I was wrong! About 20 minutes in I was soaked and my feet were squishing and swimming in my bike shoes. Very gross feeling! Decided that this ride was all about building character... or else I'm just crazy. I was thinking more the later when I realized that there were very few cyclists out on a road that is usually packed on a Saturday. Still convinced that the rain was going to stop and the sun would make an appearance.

Before I knew it I was heading into Harmony Grove. Super excited to see they had repaved the road; smooth ride! So nice to not be bouncing around. And not too many of those aggressive drivers in their huge trucks trying to run me off the road. The only problem was I would get all excited that the rain had stopped, and then it would start again.

Had a cold and wet descent out to the coast, rearranged my stuff and headed back the other way. Stopped for water at the little church and it was there that I realized I was filthy and my bike even more filthy! Looked like I had been mountain biking!

In the end, I still have no idea which way is better; both have merits. Highlights of the ride were trying a new gel product and finally finding something that I think I may be able to tolerate after years of trying everything out there... Honey Stingers! Also remembering that solo rides are actually quite fun!

Double R: Rock and Roll! Running Relay!

The Rock and Roll Marathon had a relay this year, and when one of my colleagues heard about it, he not only convinced a bunch of us to form a team, but also he got the company to pay for it and buy us (very ugly!) team shirts. As I'm trying to keep my running miles down this season due to a nagging leg injury, this was a great opportunity for me. A training run with aid, cheering crowds, bands and 18000 running partners... what could be better? All the fun of a marathon without all the pain!

Luckily my relay leg turned out to be the third, which meant I could sleep in! Actually watched the start on TV while drinking coffee. Took the trolley to Fashion Valley and headed up to cheer on the runners. The plan was for me to pick-up Jen and run her to my transition spot as a warm-up. She told me she would be running with the 3:40 pace group and there she was, right behind the guy with the sign. Unfortunately there were a million other people in the pack, so I had to push and shove my way to get to Jen. She looked great and was running strong. I knew at that point she was on her way to a Boston qualifying time!

All too quickly I was at my transition and had to send Jen on her way. Luckily not too far behind was my relay partner. He handed off the baton, an annoying wooden drumstick, and I was off. I took it out fast and felt bad as I passed tons of people. It brought me back to Wildflower and how irritated I was by the relay runners passing me. I decided at WF that the relay runners were cheaters and now I was being a BIG cheater myself. Felt bad taking aid and having people cheer me on. Had to just focus on my pace goals and keep the heart rate under control.

My leg was only 8 miles, which was shorter than what was on the plan for the day. So once I passed off the baton to my teammate, I ripped off the timing chip and kept on going. Didn't want to get my team DQ'ed by getting timed for two legs. Ended up being able to finish the run and through the finish chute. In the end it made for a nice long training run.

Afterwards I met up with my teammates, who were all smiles. It was awesome seeing how excited they were. They kept talking about next year and how they were going to train harder. I just love what endorphins do to people.

I'm Really Fast?

2009-05-17T18:21:00.001-07:00

Or so says the pint glass that I won at the Encinitas Tri this weekend. I'm not so sure....

This tri holds a special place in my heart as it was my first official triathlon back in 2007. This is also the first race I remember racing with Jen and where I met Tim for the first time. The best part was I was aging-up that year to 30-34, but knowing very little about the sport I raced as a 29 year-old. Went off ten minutes early and my time was all messed up. Ended up with results in the pro field until I informed them of the mistake. Ah... memories.

I decided to do this race on a whim about a week and a half ago. Wanted to do it, but was not sure what shape my body would be in after Wildflower. As soon as I realized I was actually feeling pretty good, I paid the way too high race entry fee, and had another race to look forward to. Coach didn't try to stop me, so I figured I'd be OK.

By Saturday I was not so sure it was the best idea to be racing for the third straight weekend, especially after a hard week of training. Saturday I did a mellow ride with the tri club and the ladies. Felt like I was asleep the entire time! I was totally napping in the aerobars. Never really woke-up all of Saturday. Did try to nap at home, but failed! Luckily I am getting used to the packing part of triathlon, so I was able to throw a transition bag together without too much problem.

Sunday was up at 4:30 and trying to get down a PB&J, coffee and Chocolate Soymilk. Stomach really not interested in food, but I figured I could get away with less food for a sprint.

Got to transition pretty early and set-up in a good spot. Learned from WF that it is better to be close to the Bike Out, esp since we were not allowed to start with our shoes on the bike. Jen still had not shown up, so I decided to go out for a little warm-up run. The weather was really foggy, but I was actually hot on my run. Felt good to stretch the legs and remind myself where the run would take us. By the time I got back, Jen and Elizabeth were cruising into transition. Social time! Jen and I did another little run and then on with the wetsuits and down to the water.

The water is actually starting to feel a bit warmer to me. Did a quick little warm-up and then hopped out before I could tire myself out. The waves were bigger than I would have liked, and I have not been practicing surf entry, so I was a bit nervous.

Time to line up for our start. Everyone was hanging back from the front of the start, so I made a move up front and center, hoping that I could pull off a good entry if I had a clear shot in. The gun sounded and I took it out hard. One... two... splat was how my entry went. Hit a hole in the sand about two feet in and fell flat on my face! Felt like I was lying there forever trying to figure out what to do. Up I got and ran another few feet and fell again! At this point I decided to start swimming so I grabbed the sand, launched myself forward and off I went.

I really don't remember that much of the swim. Think I had to duck one wave and then was trying to find the yellow buoy. Hard to see around all the swim buddies and lifeguards, plus it was still really gray out and I had the super tinted goggles on. Saw the orange buoy which I knew was directly in front of our yellow turn-around buoy so headed for that. Not sure how I got so far south... Also saw in front of me the lead pack of girls. How I wanted to be up with them, but really too far away. Would have to make up time on the bike and run.

Hit the yellow buoy and started in. Wanted to sight off the swim exit flags, but could not find them, so I just followed the pack in, hoping they were on course. Kept looking for waves to come, but nothing but a few swells passed me. No breakers to ride. Finally got sick of swimming so I stood up and ran in.

Hopped out of the water and got the wetsuit off. I like to get it off as soon as I can because I think running in it tires my legs. I knew we had a steep run to transition, so in this race it had to be off ASAP. Once it was off, I set off up the hill. I knew I could make up time on those lead swimmers. This was going to be a "quadrathon" for me... swim-run-bike-run. Smoked T1!

Jumped on my bike and out of T1. Had to make sure I really kept my head in it however, as the road was really wet and there were a bunch of people already out on the course. This is a great ride for me, as I do it as part of my coast ride so often. Knowing where the ups and downs are is a huge advantage. Just tucked into aero and tried to drop as many people as possible. Had no idea at his point where I was in my AG. All the while I am just waiting for Jen. She is super fast on the bike and was rolling her disc, so I knew I would see her any moment.

Lots of twists and turns through the city part of Encinitas made it a bit dicey, but managed not to crash. Quads were burning pretty much the entire time, and I kept thinking I should save some for the run, but then I just kept pushing. By the second out turn around I saw Jen was only a few seconds back... I knew I was toast! She flew by looking fabulous as always. I decided then the name of the game was to keep her in my sights... no matter how small she got. Follow the pink bike! Right after Jen passed me, I passed a guy on a fancy Felt. He yells out "What's with you girls?" All I could do was smile.

Wove back through Encinitas and to the Bike In. Right as I'm going to dismount the guy in front of me stops dead and asks where the turn around for the second loop is... Dude you missed it and I need to get in to T2.

Another super speedy transition and I follow Jen out on the run. Really excited to see what the legs will do as I have been working on running a lot lately. I had a plan and was ready to execute.
Spent the first few minutes just getting the legs used to the idea of running, then I was able to open it up. The run turn around was a steep, short hill. I made my first surge there. Up and around. Used some new downhill running skills too. All the while I have that little Scottish voice in my head.

Pretty uneventful run. Skipped all aid in favor of just getting it done... 3.1 miles is just not that far. My favorite part was seeing a guy running along and then someone runs out into the street and squeezes honey into his mouth. Brilliant! I have never been able to do Gu or stuff like that, but I love honey. I am so getting packets to try it out!

Surged the hill again and took it strong on the way back. I knew it was a left and then a right and then the finish would be in sight. After the left I picked it up. Once I made the right I put everything I had left into making it to the finish. Legs felt great!

Grabbed some water and went back to cheer on Jen as she finished. We had a plan to run after the race as we both had on our schedules to get in another hour or so of running. On the way to clean up our stuff, we ran into Marit. I had never met her before, but I know her name through some other friends and as I admitted to her, I am her blog stalker. I love reading her blog and seeing what she is up to. It is funny how cyberspace can make you feel like you know someone before you even really meet them... Scary too! She was super down to earth in person and told us that she fell on the swim entry as well. She had an awesome race placing third overall woman. Gotta get out and ride with that one.

Then Jen, Elizabeth and I headed out for a chill run and chat of course. Elizabeth turned around early as she was starving. We made a plan to meet back at the race awards. Elizabeth knew she won her AG. She is super fast and one of the nicest people I know.

When Jen and I made it back to the expo, we decided to look up our race results. At first I could not find mine, but then realized there was another area. Scanned for my name and found it. All I saw was a 1 by my name. Jen looks over and say "You won our Age Group!" So happy I forgot to even look at my time. And that is how I won a pint glass that say "I'm Really Fast!"

Thanks to Jen and Elizabeth for a really fun morning! And thanks to all the TRULY fast girls for being in another Age Group and thouse in my AG for not showing up!

Energizer Bunny?

2009-05-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

No... I'm not talking about that Energizer Bunny that I saw 3/4 of the way up Nasty Grade at Wildflower; I'm talking about me and the fact that I seem to keep going and going. I'm not too sure when I am going to need a rest. I was thinking after WF I would be exhausted and want some time off, but I came off it feeling great. Jumped back into training.

This weekend was another crazy but great one. Started off on Friday night with a Mother's Day dinner. Mark and Renee were going to be gone for the weekend, so we decided to do Mother's Day on Friday night. I got a bit stressed when making dinner was pretty much dropped in my lap. Not feeling too creative. But I pulled off a great dinner and Renee's dessert was spectacular, if not really rich as always.

Saturday was up early for the club race. We were headed back to Gloretta Bay, and I was ready to see if the legs remembered how to sprint. There is so much that I love about these races; I know the course, my friends are there and the food afterward is always great!

I made a plan for the race to see what I was capable of. Hard but steady on the swim until the second turn then power it in, strong and effecient on the bike, and strong on the run with negative split the way back. I was pretty much able to hit all these goals except for the run. Had an awesome run, but felt like I was running out of gas towards the end. Next time I need to remember to eat a bit before the race instead of talking so much!

After the race we ate and chatted and then Jen and I headed out for 2.5 hour ride. It was nice to ride flat, although there was a nasty headwind which did not seem to get better when we turned around. I was feeling kind of bonky the entire time.

Saturday night was Lynne and JT's engagement party at Moment. Nice to see people I have not seen in such a long time. Caught up, ate and headed home early for a big day on Sunday. I'm pretty sure everyone thinks I am totally lame for heading home so early, but it's for the best for me.

Sunday was up early again. This time to try to run all five peaks in Mission Trails. Leanne and Nikos had set up this run and I promised to be there; not that I minded. There were about 15 of us crazy people who set out to tackle the peaks. Within the first 10 minutes I was already off course as I followed some dumb guy who thought he knew the way and then dropped me. Luckily I know the park so well that I knew where I wanted to go, just not how to get there. Picked up Edgar and we ran together for the rest of the day. Hit North and then South Fortuna no problem. Descended S. Fortuna and down to the Visitor's Center. Picked up Zach and ran out to the trailhead of Cowles Mountain where Gino had a much needed aide station. Cowles was a bit slower due to tons of people on the trail and legs that were getting sore. On from there to Pyles Peak. Then it got interesting. There is no true trail off the back of Pyles Peak, so we trail blazed all the way down looking for Niko's pink arrows to follow. I think this is where I did real damage to the quads, as it was really steep down. Once we finished this, it was a group decision to skip the fifth peak. It was getting hot and late.

Headed home, but first a stop for ice and sushi. Was finally able to sit for a few minutes, if not in a bath of ice. I'm actually getting pretty used to this, and kind of like it. Unfortunately not too much rest for the weary... as if was off to the parents to spend some time with them and my grandfather. Nice to chill in the backyard and eat some good food.

Weekend came to an end too fast. Now back to work... time for some rest!

Victory! Wildflower Race Report

2009-05-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Pre-Race:
Coming into this race things had been up and down for me. On the positive side my training was going great and I was finally sleeping again. Unfortunately work had been kicking my ass, and my confidence in my training had been shaken a bit by others who felt the need to comment unsolicited on what the plan was. I was told that I should not be running so long after my long rides and that I did not have a long enough taper. Now I say "Ha! What do you know... The plan works!" I made the decision to view Wildflower as an "experience" not a race. I think this went a very long way in helping me mentally focus on what I needed to do and keep a really positive attitude.

I had been feeling crappy all taper week; tired, achy and tight. Kind of had me worried. I decided on Thursday am since I had no training to do and the am off work, I would take the chance and get a massage. Paid off! Felt much better.

Friday Mike and I headed out for Lake San Antonio. Had a nice drive with no traffic and a great chat. I'm so lucky to have such a good friend and tri buddy. As we were approaching Paso Robles, Mike points out the fact that the cows are laying down and informs me that it means rain is coming. Yikes! I am not a fan of racing in the rain, so I got a little stressed. Luckily the rain fell on Friday night only and we had great race conditions.

Was nice to get to the campsite and have everything set-up and people ready to hang-out. I did get in a little run, but no swim (lake was nasty and did not want to get wetsuit wet) and no bike due to the rain. Down to pick-up the race stuff and visit the most awesome expo I have ever been to. Had an early light dinner and off to sleep.

Race Morning:
I really like the fact that this race starts a bit later. Not that I mind getting up early, but it saves me from trying to choke down food at 4am. Was able to get in a good breakfast, then it was off to set-up transition.

Transition was a huge, scary jungle of bikes and people. I pretty much got my stuff set-up as fast as possible to get away from an annoying rack-mate, and then went to hang out with Jen. Just being around friends really helps me to stay calm. We chatted and joked, found secret Port-a-Potties with no lines and before I knew it, time to go swim.

Swim:
This is the part that had me the most worrried out, in light of what happened at O'side 70.3. Luckily in this race they let us get in and warm-up. Had a nice little 10min warm-up with a few surges and was ready to go. Lined-up right in the middle of the field as the start funnels you out between two docks, so there was not going to be any finding open water at the start anyhow. I realized how much I prefer running starts to floating starts. Just works better for me.

Got out past the docks and went looking for clear water, but it was packed, so I instead tried drafting. Think I actually did it for a bit, but then I decided to pass the girl. Was able to chill out my breathing after about the first 1/4 of the swim and then just let my arms do the work. OK on the sighting but need to work on it a bit more. Pretty much was swimming over and into people the entire way out and part of the way back. That got annoying! On the way back I think I got a little off course, but then was able to correct my line. Just kept looking for the dock to cut over and in. Couldn't see the dock, but then I saw a group of people who appeared to be standing on the water... the dock! Once I knew the end was near I picked up the pace. Cut in and was happy to see the swim exit!

T1: It was a long run up a concrete ramp to T1. No wonder my feet hurt now! Had a little trouble getting my wetsuit off my arms. Heard others had the same problem; maybe it was all the algae making it stick? I had cut the legs of my wetsuit shorter since O'side and it came off the bottom much easier than before; Good move!

In transition I saw Nikee who looked like she was already showered and changed. She's a super fast swimmer (23:24! I need to learn from her!) and wasn't doing the rest of the race due to injury. I did notice that most bikes were still in T1... that put a smile on my face. Had a pretty fast transition, but really took care to make sure I was ready to go before unracking the bike. Hopped on and off I went!

Bike:
Now it was time to rock! With all of the awesome training rides I had been on in the past month, I knew the legs were ready. We had driven up "Nasty Grade" and knew it was nothing compared to the climbing I had under my belt. Like a friend told me, "Training is like making deposits to your bank account. And race day is the time to make a huge withdrawal!" I was ready to cash in!

The course begins with a pretty steep climb out of the park. I put it in an easier gear and mellowed out as I spun it up to the top. No need to blow-up early. I was already dropping boys, which added fuel to my fire. I had to remind myself constantly that it was going to be a long day, so chill out! The next 30ish miles were rollers, nothing too bad. I did loose one of my CO2's but was able not to freak once I realized I still had one left. Did a little begging of the tires not to flat as I passed at least 15 people changing flats on the road.

All in all I just kept my riding efficient and steady. Was really able to keep my head in the game and work the ups as well as the downs. It was beautiful out on the course with farms, vineyards and rolling hills. Every mile was marked which I loved. The strange thing for me was riding with almost all guys. I usually use other women, especially those in my age group, to try to motivate me to pass them or at least to keep up the pace. A lady did come up from behind me and tried to tell me I was in the lead for my age group. I was pretty sure she was wrong, and really did not want to go there mentally. She and I worked together from about mile 30-50... Don't tell USAT!

Before I knew it Nasty Grade was rising in front of me. I had already decided that was where I was going to really work it. Right as it started I came upon a girl in my AG; finally someone to push against. We went back and forth a few times, but I was able to drop her in the end. Unfortunately I dropped that super famous Challenged Athlete, Rudy Garcia, too. Felt bad for a few minutes. Made it to the top quickly and painlessly.

The nice part of the course is the fact that for all of the climbing, you get some good descending too, and it comes at the end. I was taking the downhills like a pro. Everyone was talking about how fast they took the descents... I have no idea how fast I was going and I really don't want to know. I just kept praying I would not have to be taken off the course in one of the three ambulances that were on the side of the steep hill.

A few more rollers and a steep descent on Lynch Hill and I was back in transition. I had been working on getting off the bike with my shoes still on the pedals, so I went for it! Made running into transition a lot easier.

T2: Bike stuff off, run stuff on. As I was running out of T2 a group of people started cheering me on. Clearly TCSD members, but why were they just standing around?

Run: Amazed at how good my legs felt coming off the bike. OK, good is a relative term, but I think the BH Bricks are doing the trick! They did try to cramp, but I took a few salt tabs, although I am not convinced that was the problem.

The first part was rolling which I used to get my legs into it. Then I hit the hills. This is where it got really mental for me. Legs just plain hurt and running on very uneven ground uphill was not making them feel any better. I was able to find some crazy inner strength and really push through it. I just kept thinking of all of the training I had been doing and picked out some key workouts to help me remember how well my legs know how to run. I am pretty sure I looked really gimpy at times, and the people behind me were probably laughing, but at least I kept running. I think 75% of people were walking at that time!

Just when I thought the hills would never end and I was cursing under my breath (or was that out loud?) a huge downhill appeared and I was on to flatter terrain. The steep downhill was a bit tricky to navigate as my legs felt like two wet noodles attached to my body and I could no longer feel my feet. It's amazing I didn't fall flat on my face!

Cruised through the campgrounds which helped pass the time seeing and hearing everyone cheering. It then began to get really hot, especially since we were on asphalt. I got the good idea to have the aid-station volunteers dump cups of water on me, which help to cool me off. I continued this through the rest of the run. Luckily no one decided to dump Gatorade on me...

The out-and-back was another good mental challenge as I was running out all downhill and trying not to focus on the fact that I would have to run back up the hill. This is also where I realized something was really wrong with the course marking. I saw the mile 11 marker but knew we had a lot more than 2 miles left. Couldn't really figure it out due to race induced stupidity. Someone told me later that they accidentally put mile marker 8 at mile 7 and it was all messed up from there.

The course ended with a huge downhill and then flat into the chute. I took it pretty hard down the hill, still trying not to trip and then sprinted the chute to VICTORY! I could barely believe it when I saw the clock and realized I had PR'ed in a big way! I got all choked up.

Post-Race:
Hung-out at the finish to see Jen cross and then we went straight for the food. I was super happy not to be in Medical this time. Once we fueled up, it was down to the lake for a post-race float/ice bath. Think this really helped with the recovery! Then off to the TCSD BBQ and party. I'm really lucky to be part of such a supportive group!

Nutrition:
Breakfast: Banana, PB&J, a cup of coffee with milk and a bottle of water with 1 scoop CarboPro and 1 MotorTab.
Pre-Swim: 1/2 Bag Sport Beans
Bike: Aero Bottle (32oz) with 2Motor Tabs and 2 Scoops Carbo Pro, Concentrate Bottle (24oz) 2 Motor Tabs and 3 Scoops CarboPro, 4 Shot Blocks, 1 Bonk Breaker, 8 salt tabs and as much water as I could get in. Total 1135 cals. Ate BB mile 5-30 which worked better than later in race. Run: 1 package Shot Blocks, 4 Sport Beans, 6 Salt Tabs and as much water as I could handle.
A little less cals then before, but I think I am really getting the nutrition dialed in. Really just depends on what my stomach will accept on that day.

Summary:
I really did not know what to expect of this race as I had heard it was such a tough course. I went into it with the attitude that I was going to have fun above anything else. This went a long way in helping me keep my focus for the entire race. It was the complete opposite of O'side. I felt in control of my race the entire time. Not only has all of the training paid off physically, but I really think it is paying off mentally as well. My body felt strong the entire race, despite the pain the course was trying to inflict. Mentally I was super focused. I was able to recall key training days, ie Palomar climb, Hill repeats, and remember how I just kept going. I'm pretty sure luck was on my side too! I'll be back next year!

Sunny Sunday

2009-04-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the type of day I dream about!

Started off with a nice run up the coast.

Then got a pedicure (Don't think I am obsessed; Do you?)

Then time for some relaxing with the fam.

And a dinner to remember.

Simply Epic... Simply Elegant

2009-04-19T15:59:00.000-07:00

Palomar Mountain. What more can I say. I had been wanting to do this ride for a long time, but had been making excuses. When it comes down to it, I was really just scared! But Monday I see on my training schedule, "Climb Palomar." I decided it was time. Just as I was wrapping my mind around this ride, Michelle and Rachael posted a TriClub ride up Palomar. No more excuses. Up I was going to go.

I was up early to get everything ready for the LONG day. Ate a PBJ sandwich, some plain yoga yogart and coffee with milk. As usual I was late getting out the door; so many last minute details.

We met in the parking lot of Kit Carson. A bigger group than I expected. All of these people are crazy enough to ride up the toughest climb in San Diego? In the first few miles through Escondido we pretty much hung together. Better to fend off crazy drivers in a peleton. Before I knew it we were at Lake Wolford Drive. A small group broke off and charged up the hill. As much as I wanted to go, I kept it mellow, knowing that it was going to be a long day. Luckily I knew the Wolford hill from ToCa so I was able to pace myself well. Flew through Wolford area and the next thing I knew we were descending. Was super fun until I had the realization that I would have to climb that later. Able to catch-up to Beth on in Highland Valley, so I had someone to chat with to pass the time.

Headed past the casino and hung a right on the 76. Saw the Taco stand, but Rachael said we were going to stop at a gas station instead. Beth and I kept looking for that gas station, but it never came. I'm still upset that I did not get to start my watch at the bottom of the hill; think I was 15 min into it. Had to stop to rearrange my bottles and clothing. Beth took off, I would have to catch her! Before South Grade road took it a bit easy. Kept to low tempo work.

Then there it was; South Grade Road! The game was on! Off I went. Did some High Tempo work and then picked it up to Threshold. Spotting people ahead of me and picking them off. On my own with my thoughts and the beautiful view. Then caught Alex. He could hang. Chatted as we climbed. Then the phone rang... On call! Was able to answer a call, give a prescription while keeping on pace. Kept HR at 165-171. Legs felt great, and kept climbing. Every once in a while one of us had to ask "Are we there yet?" The funniest thing was thinking how unpretty I was; Snot, sweat and salt running down my face. Ironic that I was going to the Mercy Ball later in the night. Just as I was about to ask if we were there yet again, I saw the top! Gunned it up. 1:29:59! Probably could have gone faster, but was my first time and did not know what was ahead.

Cruised to the store where I found I was the second girl up. Ate a Powerbar, a bottle of water, a bottle of Gatorade and a bag of pretzels. Hung out for 30min and then we decided it was time to descend. I knew this was going to be the scary part, but decided to be a big girl and descend like Garreth taught me. It turned out to be really fun! I actually love descending. Didn't brake too much. The sad part was seeing all of the slow people in our group still climbing. Was at the casino before I knew it.

Wasn't sure how the legs were going to take the climb up to Wolford. I was pleasantly shock at the strength they still had, so I pushed it up the climb. HR 165ish. I think Alex and I were pushing each other, which works for me! Flew up and over Wolford and back to the car, pushing it the entire way.

As we got closer I realized how hot it was. Change of plans. Go West for the run. Transition runs are good, but overheating and dehydration suck. To Mission Bay I went. Had a great run out and back and out and back, and dodged about a hundred kids on bikes, scooters, rollerblades, etc. At least there were lots of water fountains and bathrooms. Had to stuff phone down my bra... On call! Now it is not working so well. Guess it doesn't like sunscreen. My left foot and lower leg went numb for about 30min. Last time that happened was Cal 70.3 in 2007. Dehydrated? Salt? Buy the last 15 min my legs had had it, but I was determined to finish. Last five went great.

Jumped in the car and straight to the gas station to buy a large bag of ice for a nice ice bath. Then consumed a ton of food (cereal, yogurt, flax, rice and eggs, spinach, kiwi, crackers and PB). Then had to hustle to get ready for the ball. Was I going to stay awake? I felt great. Ready to do it again... in a few weeks maybe!

Food for the day:

On Road:

2x 1Motor Tab and 2 scoops CarboPro

1 Gatorade

1 Bottle water

1 Powerbar

1 Gun Bar

1 Bag Sport Beans

1 Small Bag Pretzels

16 Salt Tabs

Fluid: 100oz, Cals 1210, Salt 3525mg

Run: One bag Sport Beans

Easter Challenges

2009-04-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

I am not an Easter celebrater, but this one was definitely memorable... from many angles.

A few weeks ago I got the idea that I wanted to have Easter brunch. I was thinking some friends, but I mentioned this to my parents and the next thing I knew they were inviting G. Marty, who invited friends. So I settled for a family brunch.

The challenge began when I was informed that it is also Passover, and so no pork (not a problem) and no bread! There went my french toast casserole idea. I was able to come up with plan B.

Easter am I woke up to a beautiful morning, after the prior day had been cold and gloomy. Brunch was later, first a run. Les had a great Easter run planned for me. Since Wildflower is so close, it was hill run day. I decided to conquer Colina Dorado, a crazy hill. I have actually had a recurring "nightmare" regarding running up this hill, and now I was willing going to do it. First I did a good 30 min warm-up, which I pretty much ran in circles as to not have to go up hill any more than necessary. Then hill time it was. The first interval I pretty much just wanted to see how it felt and how high I could get. Not too bad. I was able to make it to this really pretty plant with purple flowers. After that all I focused on was "get to the flowers!" The six intervals went by pretty fast. Then on to 20min of fast flats. I did pretty well, except for having to mess around with my MP3 player.

Before i knew it I was done and in the car home. I got a crazy idea to take an ice bath, so I stopped for ice at the gas station and headed home. Spend a very cold 20 min and then time for brunch prep. By now i am starving, but of course the family can never be on time. I had to work on being calm as much as possible until they arrived an hour late!

Brunch went well. I am doing much better with being patient with my grandfather. His little old lady friends were cute and they brought awesome cookies and Matzo Ball soup. We ended up with Granola, Fruit and Yogurt as well as eggs. Dietary restrictions met!

After a nice meal the old people were packed-up and sent home and I was able to convince Mom and Dad to go for a walk in La Jolla. This reminded me how lucky I am to live in San Diego. A gorgeous Spring day!

Fun on the GWL

2009-04-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

By mid-week I was getting the itch to head out to the Great Western Loop for a nice Saturday ride, but all of regular riding pals were otherwise occupied or sick. Just when I was starting to fret, an e-mail popped up from the Tri Club that a group was heading out. Yippee! Not only that but they were picnicing afterwards; what could be better?

We meet at Grossmont High School and rode out through El Cajon (Yuck!) to the loop. Jay and Kris were out with us, and I had forgotten what a strong rider Kris is. She says it's genetics, but I think she has got some secret she is not telling me. It was great to have another girl out there to show the boys how it is done. The rest of the crowd included Mark, Cami, Dailey, a bunch of older guys, a girl on a awesome Orbea and an annoying girl who had to get a ride home.

I was really happy and a bit surprised about how strong my legs have gotten. I was able to power up Dehesa and then keep going up Japatul. It is scary when I actually want to go out to Desacanso, but no one else was up for it, so we continued on. I am actually thinking I am now ready for the "Girls Ride" with Jen, Elizabeth and Julie. Now the question is how to get the time off of work? Call in sick?

The biggest problem was the freeezing cold weather. I luckily had enough clothing, but had no idea it was going to be that cold. I couldn't feel my fingers, toes and other assorted body parts. We did manage to avoid the rain, which was obviously falling from the wet road we travelled. It only spit a little.

Right before the store I was crusing along when I spotted a Bassett Hound up ahead. He looked innocent enough, but as I approached he tore across the street and I almost hit him. He supposedly did the same thing to a bunch of people. That would have been a sad story to tell!

Some in the group wanted to desced Skyline, but I prevailed and down Lyons Valley we went. I love that part! So pretty and fun twists and turns.

Before I knew it we were back to El Cajon and some more city riding... Ugh!

I was able to tack on a 45minute brick run after the ride. It went so well, which is good, but makes me upset that I couldn't pull that off last Saturday at Oceanside. Maybe I should become a duathlete... Nah!

Then on to the best part; The picnic. Chicken, Chips and Hummus, Fruit and Vegies. I brought Rice Krispie Treats.

My rant for today is about people who post their workouts on Facebook. I find it really annoying and have decided that those people are really just immature and insecure. I really don't care that you did a 20 mile run all up hill at a 6 min/mile pace. We are all out there on a daily basis busting our asses. It doesn't matter if you are riding the GWL or Fiesta. I swear half the time I work harder on Fiesta. Not that I want to sound unsupportive of other triathletes, but really...

Week(end) Recap

2009-03-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

So I have been thinking lately that a lot of cool stuff is going on with me, and I should blog about it so I can remember. Here is a recap of the past week.

Tuesday: Did Masters that went well. Not too notible. Then in the pm, I had a run to do. It was supposed to go something like 10min warm-up, 5x 100m strides and then 5x (8min Threshold, 1min rest, 2min 95%, 2min rest) The beginning went OK, but then when I tried to go to my 95% my stomach went crazy. I have never known runners "D" but now I do. I had to walk to the nearest bathroom, and spend sometime there! Then I tried to run again and back to the bathroom. In the end I did the Threshold work and then ran as hard as I could for as long as I could; mainly 1min @ 175HR, 1 off, 1on, 1 off. I was really upset. I don't do well with not meeting goals!

Thursday: Masters again! We did a bunch of short and fast stuff. Super fun. Then it was a trainer/run brick. I was supposed to go to Braveheart Brick, but had a work committment. The ride and run went well. I was happy with my run after Tuesday's failure.
So then off to work and then that night was our 5th Floor Grand-Opening party. I will say I was totally not looking forward to it, but in the end it was great! Saw lots of my friends from my Mercy days: Bobak and Ali Salami, Bobby Garg, George Zorn, The Handlers, Manish Wadwha, Dan Girgiu, and even meet a new doc who did IMAZ. Cool! This night reminded me that I am not only a triathlete, but also a doctor, and a very well respected one at that. I needed the perspective. It is all about balance.

Friday: Did my own swim, but the cool part was I saw a ton of friends at the Y. Keri was back as well as Amy and Wendi. I was talking so much that I did a bad job on my hair and had to suffer with crazy hair all day.
That night was off to sushi with Kristin. I had been wanting to go to Zenshi sushi forever and it totally disappointed. Not that good, and very expensive. Then off to Fro Yo. That too was not as goo as i would have liked. Yogart World is the best...

Saturday: Early ride. 1 hour up the coast to Del Mar and then 1 hour back. Leg felt like crap when I got up and I knew it was going to be a painful day. The legs loosened up a bit after the first hour and felt good on the way back, even felt good on Torrey. Then it was to the island. I had a bit more to ride when I got back to get in my second hour. Then the drills began. I totally had my head into them, but then the legs would not cooperate. I had a ton of trouble keeping cadence up to 100rpm, and even more trouble getting hr up where it should be. I was super frustrated with myself and had a out-loud potty mouth! The good thing is I finished the intervals. The most interesting thing on the ride was seeing my bikes evil twin. I did not stop to chat with the girl riding it, but she did not look like she deserved that bike. And those Zipp wheels... Sucks!
Then on to the run. I knew I had to redeem myself here. And that is just what I did. I keep my hr in goal the entire time. Did notice it takes a bit of time to get the hr to go up. My legs were really sore though. Felt like they had been hit with a bat!
After the run, I scooted over to see Tina's new place; awesome views and a great yard. Can't wait to see what she does with it! Got to take a tour of Angie's place too. I was pretty unhelpful on the moving part. Did breakdown some boxes, but pretty much just laid on the floor. Those girls (Tina, Jess and Elaine) are great. They understand me!
After the moving we all went to Noozmi for sushi and the fish part salad. Yummy! Much better than Friday. And then to Yogart World! Totally made up for Friday.

Sunday: Did my 1:30 run. I was supposed to keep hr 140 and below. Pretty much had not choice as my legs were NOT moving any too fast. I did manage to avoid the rain. Then did errands, home stuff and hung out with the family.

It has been a great last few days!

A Weekend Filled With Friends

2008-11-16T20:47:00.000-08:00

This was an awesome weekend, because pretty much all I did was hang out with my friends. Here is a recap:

Saturday I met the IMAZ ladies at the Coronado Strand for a taper ride.... meaning they only had to ride 30 miles instead of the usual 80-plus. Honestly I find the strand incredibly boring, but give me seven girls to talk to and the time just flies by. My only complaint was that there were a ton of people on the bike path, and I was freaked out that someone would crash and get injured the weekend before the big event. Luckily everyone finished on one piece.

After the ride we all went to Tent City for breakfast.... and a gossip feast! I must admit I did not know a lot of the people they were talking about, but it was fun non-the-less. I think we were there for longer than it took to complete the ride. So nice relaxing and enjoying the beautiful day.

Sunday I had the honor of riding with another IMAZ lady, Mer! I am not doing any running right now so I took the opportunity to do a ride on Sunday instead of my usual run, and it was a blast. We rode up the coast and enjoyed another beautiful San Diego day... and of course talked the entire way.

Then I met my friends Kristin and Noel at the mall to do a little shopping for work clothes. Of course I did not find anything for work, but did find an awesome summer dress... thank goodness it was almost 90-degrees here today! We all held up pretty well across two malls, seeing as none of us are true die-hard shoppers. Seeing as we had all bought cute clothes, we decided that we needed a night out, so to La Jolla we went. I took the opportunity to go down a little early and see an beautiful sunset at my favorite spot in the cove.. and it did not disappoint. Then it was off to meet the girls and two other friends at Wiskanladle. I had been wanting to eat there for a long time, and it did not disappoint. All of the food is fresh and local. I am really into that right now!

This weekend reminded me how fortunate I am to have some of the most athletic, intelligent, funny and kindest friends around! Can't wait for the next weekend... only five days away!

What's with the title?

2008-11-12T18:03:00.000-08:00

So I finally entered blog land. After over a year of being a faithful reader of my friends blogs, I have decided to start my own. If you know me, you know that I am a huge fan of weighting my options and the pros and cons of stuff... so why should my blog be any different. Pros: I get a diary of what is going on in my life, I get to share a bit about myself, and I get to share all of the fun, strange, funny and crazy things that happen in my life. Cons: Anyone can read this, and then make fun of me! After a consult with my friend and professional blogger Jen, I decided to give it a shot!

The first question is "What's with the title?" That's an easy one. My favorite quote is "There are no shortcuts to any place worth going!" I have no idea of the author of that quote, so I'll take it as my own. It was in a poster on the wall of my European History class in high school. My other favorite quote is "What doesn't kill me will only make me stronger!" I was thinking of calling my blog "It won't kill me... It won't kill you" as I often want to tell my patients that I am not sure what is the matter with them, but I am sure it won't kill them.

So please fell free to read and enjoy my blog! Let me know what you think!