Marin and beyond

So other than a swim on Tuesday, I have not done much training this week. My excuse: Marin Metric Century this Saturday. This will be my 3rd century (2nd metric) ride. The last (Grizzly Peak) ride went pretty bad and i'm hoping to do a lot better. I have done parts of the Marin course during this past winter and from what I remember there were some pretty long tough climbs. Marin Metric is 60 miles long with 3,830 feet of climbing.

I'm bummed i'm going to miss the TRI team's Aquatic Park Part II adventure. With Sunday being an on your own bike, I think I will have had enough cycling by then and skip that. My plan is to go for an 8 mile run instead.

Speaking of running...i'm leaning on doing a marathon this year. I'm trying to keep a marathon streak of one marathon per year. Yes, I know i've said I would never do marathons again and i'll probably continue saying that after each marathon; however, I know I can do better than all my previous showings. Of recent discoveries I think a lot of my problems had to do with insufficient nutrition, which is probably why I always seemed to bonk.

So which marathon is it? I'm thinking of running Cal International Marathon (from Folsom to Sacramento). Timing wise it works well for continuing training after completing the half for Big Kahuna and CIM is supposedly the fastest course around because it's mostly a gentle decline. Anybody wanna train with me?...hehe.

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Fundraising Thanks!
Thank you to Anonymous and Olivia!

Why do I get sneeze attacks after swimming?

It's gotta be the strangest thing. After each swim workout, I come home and get these awful sneeze attacks which is then followed by a runny nose. Tonight I swam the most in one workout. Right now I have confidence I can go the distance for the event. Now I just want to go faster!

Tonight's workout:

Warm Up:
300 LVL2
8 x 50 (25 LVL2, 25 choice drill)
12 x 25 LVL6 (10" RI)

Main Set:
200 LVL6 (20" RI)
2 x 75 LVL 8 (15" RI)
30" RI
repeat above 4 x
400 (200 kick, 200 LVL3-5)

Cool Down:
100 non-freestyle

Total distance = 2900 yards (1.65 miles)

Only 25 cents a day.....

you can brighten the day of others and help me out big time. Training started on June 1 and my event will end on September 7. That's 99 days. Heck! Let's just round it up to 100 days.

If you donate 25 cents a day for 100 days leading up to and through my event, you'll be donating $25.00 to a great cause. If you can give 2 quarters per day...that's a $50.00 donation.

Right now, i'm $860 away from reaching my fundraising goal. I'm going to need all the help I can get to make this possible. If you can spare a quarter (or two) a day, you'll be helping in the research to find a cure for blood cancers and helping in improving the life of cancer patients and their families.

Don't miss out on this wonderful opportunity to help others! Click Here

Okay Swim, Tough Run, Good Bike

Saturday

Swim

Saturday was the Lake Del Valle Aqua Swim Challenge, which was also my first open water race! The first thing I noticed upon arrival in Livermore was that it was getting really warm. We probably didn't even need to use our wetsuits; however, we still needed the practice of swimming with them. The 1/2 mile swim competition went first and then it was the 1 mile swim competition. I stayed near the back of the wave because i'm not that great of a swimmer and didn't want anyone to trample over me.

"Three, Two, One" and we were off. Somehow I was still in the middle of the melee. Swimmers from left and right were cutting me off. It was a bit annoying. However, I never panicked at all. I felt pretty in control during the entire swim. The 1-mile swim was a looped course following these oversized bright orange buoys. Although I felt okay, I was behind the pack as I could see them separating away from me. Sighting is still a big problem for me. I constantly have to stop to see where I am at. It's a big waste of time.

By the third orange buoy I thought (more like hoped) it was time to turnaround. Unfortunately, I saw no turners, which meant there was one more buoy to get to. Meanwhile, I was getting pretty hot with the wetsuit on. After what felt like hours, I made the final turn. I tried to swim the shortest route possible to get to the finish line. Fortunately I found my mentor swimming adjacent to me so I used her to sight me to the finish line. My watch said I finished 1 mile in 41:43. I'll take it for right now, but my goal is to at least swim 1.2 miles in that time.

just getting out of the water

Run

After the swim we had a quick break before we started the run. The half IM group was scheduled to run 70 minutes. It was about 90 degrees by the time the run began. The run route consisted of the fire trail around the lake. There was not much shade and it was known to have rattlesnakes. The route had lots of rolling hills and reminded me a lot of Lake Chabot, but worse. I would categorize some of them as very steep hills. The plan was to run 30 minutes and then 30 minutes back and then 5 minutes out and 5 minutes back. The first 30 minutes went okay, but I was hot. I was still thrilled that I "ran through" a lot of the steeper hills. At the turnaround I finished whatever water I had left with my GU. 5 minutes later, I needed more water.

I was able to run another 5 minutes until I knew I was very dehydrated. That's when I began walking and running. The sun was beating down on me and it felt like 100+ degrees. I had electrolytes, but I needed water to function. Unfortunately the water stop the team had planned consisted of serving this Joint Juice that was given away after the swim race. It wasn't quite water and tasted very disgusting. I knew I was screwed. As I went from water stop to water stop, there was no more "regular" water. At that point, I decided to shut it down and walk. It really did not make sense to run anymore if I wasn't getting any water into my body. I felt like a wimp, but I knew I was training smart. If I tried pushing it, I would have probably ended up in the ER or something.

I had debated back and forth whether or not to try to run through the dehydration. I looked to Brenda to see if I was letting her down. Strangely enough at that moment, Coach Andrew ran next to me and asked how I was doing. I told him I was dehydrated. I think he tried getting me motivated to get started again and asked me "What would Brenda say right now?" I told him I was asking myself that same question. I then told him I was going to train smart and not try to push myself today for this training run. If it was event day, I would push it. He ultimately agreed I was doing the smart thing.

As soon as I saw the finish, I knew I could run the rest of it. So I ran to the finish with Coach Andrew and headed straight to get water. I finished the second half of the run in 38 minutes. After the run, I felt disappointed and second guessed myself if I could had ran more. Deep inside though I believe I did do the smart thing by listening to Coach Al's good 'ol "Don't let ego overrrule good judgement." I live to run another day!

Sunday

Bike

For once in a very long time I finally got in a good 8-1/2 hours of sleep and felt rejuvenated for the Captain's workout-bike ride. We met in Alamo for a 8:30 am ride. The route was the same as last week but the scheduled turnaround was further down N. Livermore at it's intersection with Interstate 580. Half IM group was scheduled to go 180 minutes (3 hours) total. Actual roll time was 8:34 am, which meant I had to turnaround at 10:04 am. I spent the first half of the ride flying solo. Despite being somewhat bored, I felt good. It gave me time to realize that I had not been eating much during my rides. I was constantly eating with the cycle team. This season, I seemed to be doing less of that and I think my rides have been paying for it. My focus for this ride was to keep drinking and eating.

There was some tough headwinds as I got through Highland and ventured onto N. Livermore Road. I got to the turnaround at 9:57 am at mile 21.5. I got out to stretch because my quads were sore. The ride back out was a steady incline and the headwinds were even more tough. Not as ferocious as last week, but bad. As I made my way back, I was able to spot some teammates in the opposite direction. I also spotted our SAG car and was able to get some more water. Ed caught up to me and I rode with him until he decided to stay a little longer at the rest stop. I continued onto Camino Tassajara where I found Christine. I road with her briefly. I lost her after Blackhawk and I rolled back into Alamo at 11:27 am. Turned out to be a good ride.

Overall Ride Data:

Time: 2:53
Distance: 43 miles
Avg Speed: 14.9 mph

More Room!

Thursday's swim went okay. It sucked that it took forever because the workout included a lot of drills. I ended up beating my elbow to death. If you recall, I showed you a bruise on my right elbow from hitting the lane buoys. Well, I one upped myself yesterday by scraping my elbow on the lane buoys. I did it about 3 times and each time resulted in my stopping because it hurt my elbow so bad I couldn't continue with the stroke. The lanes just aren't wide enough for me (aka..I can't swim straight). I'm more suited for open water. Speaking of which...tomorrow is the Lake Del Valle Aqua Challenge! I finally get to see how fast I can swim a mile.

Thursday's workout:

Warm Up:
300 LVL2
10 x 50 (25 LVL2, 25 choice drills) (20" RI)
200K, 300 LVL (NO RI)

Main Set:
4 x (25 LVL4, 25 SBBP) 20"RI
200 LVL4 (negative splits) 30" RI
4 x (25 LVL4, 25 finger tip drill) 20"RI
200 LVL4 (negative splits) 30" RI
4 x (25 LVL4, 25 distance per stroke) 20"RI
100 LVL4 (negative splits) 30" RI
300 LVL3 (form)

Cool Down:
100 LVL2

Total distance = 2600 yards (1.48 miles)

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Fundraising Thanks!
Thank you to Rudy!

Why Alameda?

Tonight we had another brick workout. I was pretty perplexed why it was held in Alameda Bay Farm Island. There are no hills and there's not much room to ride. However, it's a great place to run. Then Coach Paul described the brick workout and it all made sense. If you are familiar with the Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal, you are well aware that is mad windy. Coach Paul anticipated this and had incorporated it into his workout schedule before the season began.

Tonight's workout:
Run 4 minutes out and 4 minutes back.
Bike down Harbor Bay Parkway from Ferry Terminal and ride into South Loop Road at Level 3-4.
Turn back to Harbor Bay Parkway with headwind and ride at Level 7-8.
Run 6 minutes out and 6 minutes back.
Bike down Harbor Bay Parkway from Ferry Terminal and ride into South Loop Road at Level 3-4.
Turn back to Harbor Bay Parkway with headwind and ride at Level 7-8.
Run 6 minutes out and 6 minutes back.

The headwinds were brutal and by going at it at Level 7-8, I was gasping for air when I was done. Just like last week, the first run after the bike was tiring. By the second run, the legs felt a lot more comfortable.

me, Ginger, and Janet

Celebrating 3 Years of endurance training. Read my first post July 23, 2005.

First Open Ocean Swim

Saturday

I woke up at 5:30 am a bit freaked out. It was time to test out the wetsuit for the first time at Aquatic Park. Claudia, Amy and I carpooled into SF and throughout the ride there, we were all having anxiety issues with the morning swim. When we parked and made our way there, I finally saw what we were dealing with. It wasn't as bad as I thought. The area we were swimming looked more like a cul-de-sac and not so much the vast ocean I had imagined. There was a line of buoys which designated where swimmers should swim.

We changed into our wetsuits, which I think the SF tourists got a kick out of, and proceeded to head onto the beach. Coach Paul suggested us open water newbies to just jump right into the ocean and start swimming. He justified it like slowly tearing a band aid off the skin or just ripping it right out to minimize the pain. I think I was the first of the newbies to just jump right into the water and start swimming. In the beginning, the shock of everything kind of threw me off. I just tried to remain calm and apply what I had been practicing. The water was cold. The water was murky. It was downright salty. However, seeing everyone else swimming forced me to keep going.

I eventually settled into my grove and felt comfortable. My only problem was I was not swimming straight. I'd swim for a while, lift my head up and realize I was swimming away from the buoys. Then, i'd have to expend more energy to get myself back on course. There was also a slight current when swimming the other direction of the buoys. After swimming 40 minutes, the coaches had us swim in. In the end I managed to swim 2.5 loops. Someone had told me 3 loops was 1 mile. The swim turned out to be better than what I had anticipated.

After the swim, I quickly changed into my run gear. The half IM group was scheduled to run 65 minutes. The run started out at Aquatic Park and followed the Nike Marathon course down to the Marina green and then into Chrissy Field. I made it to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge for the turnaround. I ran back with Ed and Erika and time flew by fast since we were conversing all the way back. That was probably the best run I had in a long time. It was perfect running weather. All in all it was a great Saturday workout.

Sunday

Met up with the team for the 8:30 am Captain's workout ride . Half IM group was scheduled to ride for 140 minutes. It was pretty chilly and I wish I had brought my arm warmers. I road with Eric and Claire the entire ride. We started at Rutgear Road and made our way through Danville. Everything was going smoothly until the turnaround at the end of Highland. That's when we endured the most ferocious headwinds. Fighting those headwinds was so tiring. It took forever to get out of Highland. When I finally got onto Camino Tassajara I was so exhausted. My quads were extremely sore.

There was also a headwind on Camino Tassajara. When I stopped at one of the signal lights, I could feel my quads wanting to cramp up. I somehow made it back in one piece. I did not feel good after the ride. I was exhausted and sore. I think I finished at 11:07 am. Unfortunately the batteries died on my cateye, but I think Eric said we finished around 37 miles. This was one of the toughest rides of the season and even Coach Adam seconded that.

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Fundraising Thanks!
Thanks to Vivian!

Oh Cramp!

Midway through yesterday's swim I got a bad foot cramp. I'm not sure what caused it. I kicked off the wall and I sort of felt a slight discomfort, which soon developed into a full on cramp. Fortunately the pool wasn't deep and I was able to hop around on one foot in the middle of the lane. The cramp eventually went away and I continued swimming; however, I was extremely cautious of my kicking. Later in the workout, I felt a side cramp on the left side of my stomach. Up until now I wasn't worried about cramping, but now it's troubling me especially with our open water swim this Saturday. Thursday's workout:

Warm Up:
6x100 (25 LVL2, 25 choice drill, 25 LVL2, choice drill)
8 x 25 build (15" RI)
100 LVL 2

Main Set:
4x100 LVL 5 (15" RI)
300 LVL2
3x100 LVL 5 (10" RI)
300 LVL2
3x100 LVL5 (15" RI)

Cool Down:
100 LVL 2

Total distance = 2600 yards (1.48 miles) in 1 hour 6 minutes

Double Brick

I finally got my first taste of a brick workout. Make it a double brick workout. While it may sound scary, this one wasn't too frightening. I think tonight's team workout was more to familiarize ourselves on how to do brick workouts. We started with a 10 minute out and 10 minute back bike ride. It was quickly followed by a 5 minute out and 5 minute back run. Then we repeated all of that again. Which was then followed by a 5 minute out and 5 minute back cool down bike ride.

My legs felt very sluggish the first time I got off the bike and began the run. However by the second time, it was a lot easier to transition to the run. I hardly noticed the sluggishness I felt the first time.

Swim or No Swim?

Swim! For whatever reason, the training calendar said today was a swim or rest day. I chose swim! I felt great in the pool today. I think i'm finally swimming the most efficient as I have ever been. Of course, i'll maintain my modesty and acknowledge I still have a long ways to go....but things are looking up! Tonight's workout:

Warm Up:
300 LVL2
200 kick
100 LVL2
200 kick

Main Set:
2 x 250 (100 LVL4, 50 LVL8, 100 LVL4), 30" RI
4 x 150 (50 LVL 4, 50 LVL8, 50 LVL4), 20" RI
4 x 100 (25 LVL4, 25 LVL8, 25 LVL4, 25 LVL8), 15" RI

Cool Down:
100 LVL 2

Total distance = 2400 yards (1.36 miles)

Celebrating 3 years!

Off the couch! It was around this time 3 years ago, when something finally just came over me and I said to myself, "I need to get active!" I found an old pair of sneakers and took it to my old middle school track. Not knowing any better, I just went out and ran as fast as I could. I made it around 3 times and decided to call it a day. The next week, I went back out there. I ran as fast as I could and again made it around 3 times before deciding to go home. The following week I pushed myself and actually finished 4 laps. Then I remembered my friend Vanessa who did Team in Training a year before and finished 13.1 miles in memory of her family friend Dana who lost her fight with Leukemia. From that moment, I knew I wanted to do a half marathon. I signed up for an info meeting and the rest is history.

Wetsuit Workout

Saturday

On Saturday, we got our wetsuits! I stared at mine and thought "how am I going to fit into that?" It looked so tiny. The coaches had a quick demo on putting it on and taking it off. We were advised to use body glide, otherwise we could get the worse hickies. I found out the wetsuit is the most difficult thing to put on my body. That was a workout in of itself. The base of my fingers were so sore from just trying to pull it up. You can't use fingernails because it could tear it up. Apparently, since I neglected to do the easier way of pulling the wetsuit up my body, I had to inch by inch pull the suit up so it left no rolls. Not fun at all. After I got it on, I got a nice wedgie pull to make sure it was suction tight. Indeed the whole suit was suction tight. It felt like my body could not breathe.

me and Claudia

We finally dove into the pool and swam for about 5 minutes to get use to it. I instantly felt the buoyancy of the suit and it didn't take much effort to get parallel with the water. I did feel my shoulder was way heavier and it felt tougher to get my arm up. I later learned I didn't pull my wetsuit tight enough up the arms to lessen the constriction. After we were done playing with the wetsuit, it was time to take it off and start the mini-tri of the day.

It was finally time to incorporate all 3 disciplines on the same day. We started swimming for 15 minutes. I lost count of the distance. After that was over, the half IM group was to do 600 yards of swimming. I was probably one of the last of the group to get out of the pool. Then we headed to the transition area to put on the bike gear. The ride was pretty short. I think it was just under of 4 miles. In consisted of two loops of mostly hills. Back to the transition area I went and it was time to swap into the run gear. The run was the same course as the bike, but we just did one loop. Total mileage was just under 2 miles. My legs felt instantly sluggish starting the run. It felt like starting at mile 16 of a marathon and running at 15 minutes/mile. I just kept at it though going up the hill. I wanted to just walk it, but I sucked it up. I didn't stop until I made it to the top of the hill to drink water. Then it was just a downhill back to the start, which was a breeze.

Saturday's workout was to focus more on conserving energy. The workout did have me question myself, "why did I sign up to do the half IM?" That was only for a split second though. However, I have been brought back to reality that the half IM is no walk in the park.

Sunday

Sunday's workout was a Captain's workout. I skipped it. No more perfect attendance. Instead, I opted to ride with my old Solvang riding crew to prep for the upcoming Marin Metric Century. I needed to get some climbs in. We decided to head to Pinole to do the 3 bears. However, once I got there, I was sucked into doing the front (steep) side of Pig Farm Hill. Pig Farm was definitely a workout. Pig Farm Hill is a12% grade. I was huffing and puffing all the way up at 4 mph and really wanted to pull over and take a break. However, I convinced myself I could make it to the top without stopping. What do you know? I finally conquered Pig Farm! It was definitely more doable with fresh legs. Last time I tried it, it was mid-way of a 67 mile ride.

The rest of the 3 bears went well. The bears seem to get more easier each time I do it. Unfortunately, I got a flat tire near the end of the ride. I ran over something and could hear the tube puncture. The tire quickly "hissed" out all the air. Fortunately, the flat tire occurred 400 feet away from my car. I walked the bike the rest of the way back. We finished around 28 miles. The important part is that we climbed about 2,000 feet. Hopefully that's enough for Marin.

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Fundraising Thanks!
Thank you to Virginia and Karen!

I Swim Again!

I had this funky anxiety that I wouldn't remember how to swim. I hadn't swam since last Thursday because the following Saturday was a bike only workout and Tuesday was that whole pipe burst fiasco. One week seemed like an eternity. Well, it didn't take long to figure out where I last left off. Swimming is definitely coming along. I still constantly monitor what i'm doing wrong and trying to fix it. At least i'm able to distinguish what is wrong from right. At this point, I realize i'm not going to break any swimming records. If I can fine tune some things to make myself more efficient, i'll be happy. But right now, I just want to make sure I can endure the swim portion of the race.

Tonight's workout:

Warm Up:
200 LVL 2
200 Kick
200 Pull
2 x (25 LVL 2, 25 Side Balance Body Position) (10" RI)
2 x (25 LVL 2, 25 Balance Body Roll) (10" RI)

Main Set:
6 x 100 LVL 5-6 (race pace) 15" RI
6 x 100 LVL 6-7 (faster than race pace) 20" RI
6 x 25 distance per stroke 30" RI
5 x 100 LVL 5 (20"RI)

Cool Down:
100 LVL 1

Total distance = 2550 yards (1.45 miles) in about 1 hour 13 minutes or so.


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Fundraising Thanks!
Thank you to Sarah!

100 Degree Insanity

Call it dedication. Call it stupidity. Call it doing it for the cause. I just trained in 100 degree heat where the air quality was dubbed "bad". If you have 5 extra bucks, please donate it my way. I think just being out there tonight is deserving of $5 in of itself. So if you haven't donated or want to donate more, please feel free to do so now. :o)

I got an e-mail from Claudia and a call from Melissa this afternoon that Coach Paul said tonight's workout was still on. I was really surprised. I was betting the workout to be canceled. With temperatures soaring 100 degrees in Moraga, on-going fires in California, there was no way it was going to still go on. But it did; however, the workout was canceled for those who have respiratory concerns.

Nonetheless, I got a call from Melissa seeking a ride to the workout because her car was still in the shop. Shoot, if Melissa was not going to wimp out, I sure as hell was not going to wimp out. We left the "cool" 80 degree temperature in Alameda/Oakland and once we exited the Caldecott, the car thermometer instantly jumped to 100 degrees. When we got to Moraga, I was actually surprised a good number of teammates showed up.

Coach Paul presented us a modified workout. Tonight's workout:

Warm Up:
8 minutes total (4 minutes out and 4 minutes back)

Main Set:

Station #1
10 crunches
10 squats
10 push ups
Run around park LVL 3-4 (about 2 minutes)

good training on how to take a crapper while in China

Station #2
5 right side planks (hold 5 seconds each)
5 left side planks (hold 5 seconds each)
8 opposite knee and leg crunches (one side)
8 opposite knee and leg crunches (one side)
10 push ups
drink water, head to next station

Station #3
10 leg lifts (hold 5 seconds)
10 push ups
8 opposite arm/leg extensions one side (hold 5 seconds each)
8 opposite arm/leg extensions other side (hold 5 seconds each)
Run around park LVL 3-4 (about 2 minutes)

Station #4
10 mule kicks (each side)
10 push ups
5 lunges (front, right, left)
drink water, head to next station

Station #1
10 crunches
10 squats
10 push ups
Run around park LVL 3-4 (about 2 minutes)

Station #2
5 right side planks (hold 5 seconds each)
5 left side planks (hold 5 seconds each)
8 opposite knee and leg crunches (one side)
8 opposite knee and leg crunches (one side)
10 push ups
drink water, head to next station

Station #3
10 leg lifts (hold 5 seconds)
10 push ups
8 opposite arm/leg extensions one side (hold 5 seconds each)
8 opposite arm/leg extensions other side (hold 5 seconds each)
Run around park LVL 3-4 (about 2 minutes)

Station #4
10 mule kicks (each side)
10 push ups
5 lunges (front, right, left)

Cool down:
Run around park LVL 3-4 (about 2 minutes)

As I did the workouts, I could see the sweat dripping down from my hair. The temperature finally cooled down to 91 degrees by the time I finished. I was drenched so bad that my dri-fit tank top felt like it weighed 5 lbs. I downed about 2 sports bottle filled with ice cold water. I was so sticky that bugs started attacking me. So why was I out there? Because I can. Because i'm alive.

Plan B

Tuesday night and I was all ready to swim laps. Then I got a call from Claudia that the lap pool was closed tonight because there was a pipe burst in the pool. It was probably a blessing in disguise considering it was still 104 degrees at 6:30 pm. Since I had already stuffed a Clif bar down my body an hour earlier, I had to burn it off. I pulled out the good 'ol cycle trainer and did the interval workout with A/C on blast: 15 minutes warm up/ 5 x (4 minutes hard/2 minutes easy) /15 minutes cool. This time around the workout did not feel as difficult as last week.

It's Gettin' Hott Out Thurr!

I decided to run tonight since I didn't do it on Sunday. I really should have ran yesterday. It was so freakin hot out there! I was at least smart enough to run in Alameda after work, but even there it was 81 degrees. The plan was to run 60 minutes; however, after 24 minutes I decided to turnaround. My back was all drenched and I was only carrying water. What I also needed, but failed to bring was salt or electrolytes. I finished with a total time of 45:34. It's suppose to get even hotter the next 2 days. In fact, tomorrow is a spare the air day. Remember to train smart and not train hard!

By the way...i'm still fundraising and need all the help I can get. The good news is i'm 50% there. The bad news is i'm 50% from my goal. Help a brother out: http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/bigktri08/plee703

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Fundraising Thanks!
Thank you to Joan!

Way Too Much To Eat

For training purposes, I dread holidays. I mean how can you say "no" to food and fun? I planned for a run on Friday, a bike ride on Saturday, and a run on Sunday. I ended up only doing a bike ride with the team on Saturday, day after 4th of July. The team met in Pleasanton. I got the honor of being bestowed with the spirit cape for the week. Now, I just need to figure out what to put on it.

Before the workout, we had a clinic on how to efficiently and properly ride. We also had a surprise clinic on a tire change. They forced everyone to participate, which I was a little ticked off about because I had nicely pumped the tire to 110 psi this morning. So we deflated our properly good rear tire. Amazingly, I remembered how to fix the flat and did it in my quickest time ever. I had about a handful of flat tires in my short riding life, but it was awhile since my last one. However, I was still paranoid that I did it wrong and I was going to get a flat during the ride.

The plan for the half IM group was to ride for a total of 130 minutes up Calaveras. For me, it was a very familiar and fun route. Since we were turning around about 1 hour 15 minutes into the ride, I only made it 15 minutes past the false summit. The ride went well until the ride back. After the decline back, I felt very sluggish. I instantly knew the beer, sangria, and fried chicken I had the day before for July 4th was to blame. My legs were so tired. However, I made it back in okay shape. Well it was good to be reminded what bad nutrition can do and i'll try rememberin not do it again. I finished the 35 mile ride in 140 minutes (15 mph).

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Fundraising Thanks!
Thank you to Ken!

Swimming Improvement

While the swimming form is not perfect, I have noticed much improvement. Swimming stamina is definitely increasing. Getting my legs above the water definitely helps speeds up going across the pool. I still need to work on swaying the hips to the right. The left is fine because that's the side I use to come up to get air. I also need to make sure the chin is constantly pinned to the chest. Sometimes I don't get it all the way in and it makes the biggest difference in performance. Of course the forms falls apart when the workout demands to swim at anything about Level 5. Even so, i'm definitely encouraged things are going to get better. Tonight's workout:

Warm Up:
300 LVL 2
200 Kick
100 LVL 2
12 x 25 LVL 6 (15" RI)

Main Set:
200 LVL 6-7 (20" RI)
2 x 75 LVL 8 (15" RI)
45" rest
Repeat main set 3x
100 LVL 2
200 LVL 6
100 LVL 2

Cool Down:
100 LVL 1

Total distance = 2800 yards (1.59 miles)

Use It or Lose It

I lost it. All my climbing efforts from winter season....gone. Since tonight was a YOYO bike ride, I decided to dust off the trainer, which had been in storage for 2 months. I opted to do my old interval workout for an hour: 15 minutes warm up/ 5 x (4 minutes hard/2 minutes easy) /15 minutes cool. I couldn't believe how tough it was for me now. After the first interval, my legs were exhausted. Somehow, I finished all 5. During the workout, I was sweating like I had never ever sweated before using the trainer. Not good signs considering the Marin Metric Century is exactly one month away.

Forgot to mention...yesterday at work, I was perplexed why there was a bruise near my right elbow. Then last night at laps, I realized how I got it after I screamed "Ouch!". I have a habit of hitting those damn buoy lane lines on my strokes. That's what I get for not swimming straight. Here's a pic of the ever-growing bruise:

Feeling Better

Tonight I was back at the pool with Claudia and Amy. I felt pretty good. It took awhile to try to get the form going, but I think I got it. Halfway through the workout I realized how big of a difference there is in the tuck of the chin. If it's tucked in all the way, you really go above the water. I still need to work on rotating the hips more. Tonight's workout:

Warm Up:
2 x 200 LVL2 (15"RI)
2 x 25 Finger Tip Drill (15" RI)
2 x 25 Distance Per Stroke (15" RI)

Main Set:
2 x 250 LVL 5 (15" RI)
4 x 50 (25 Distance Per Stroke, 25 Build) 15 "RI
2 x 200 LVL 6 (15" RI)
4 x 50 (25 Balanced Body Roll, 25 Build) 15" RI
2 x 150 LVL 6 (15" RI)
300 LVL3 (Focus on Form)

Cool Down:
100 LVL1
100 Back Float

Total Distance = 2600 yards (1.48 miles)

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Fundraising Thanks!
Thank you to Amy!