Get your holiday shopping done early AND raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! Use this Amazon.com link to get your holiday shopping done - a portion of every purchase goes to LLS - what better way to support the cause?! Or - click the link at the top of the page to shoot right over and start shopping right away!
Feel free to e-mail with questions, but go poke around and get shopping!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Here we go again!
It's that time of year again - kickoff for the winter Team in Training season to get us ready for the 2011 Lavaman Olympic Distance triathlon is tomorrow, and official workouts start Saturday morning! That's a good thing, as my self-imposed "break" from working out resulted in too much time off and too much weight gain. Time to get back into it.
So, check out my fundraising page, contribute to a great cause, and make me feel guilty for not working out!
So, check out my fundraising page, contribute to a great cause, and make me feel guilty for not working out!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Back in the Saddle
Did the same sadist who invented high heels invent bike seats? Just curious.
I got up early today and went for a labor day ride. I took one of the routes I learned through Team in Training - a 19.4-ish mile loop with a lovely little hill right in the middle:
You can see from the elevation profile at the bottom of the screenshot that hill - it's only about a mile long but it's pretty tough, especially given that I haven't been riding since ~May. I was surprised at hoe great I felt on the bike though, saddle notwithstanding. I think there's really something to this CrossFit craze - my legs felt strong on the climb and I never once felt overly tired or in pain. I also felt like I could have kept going had I known a good way to extend the route...
Hopefully I'll keep it up - it's hard to do CrossFit in the morning and then feel like I have energy to do longer, slower workouts afterwards. We'll see. This was a nice re-intro to my bike though. I think it's been feeling neglected.
I got up early today and went for a labor day ride. I took one of the routes I learned through Team in Training - a 19.4-ish mile loop with a lovely little hill right in the middle:
Hopefully I'll keep it up - it's hard to do CrossFit in the morning and then feel like I have energy to do longer, slower workouts afterwards. We'll see. This was a nice re-intro to my bike though. I think it's been feeling neglected.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Contrary to Popular Belief...
...crosswalks are not safe.
Last month I got hit by a car while in a crosswalk. Today I went running (after a CrossFit workout that involved squats with 115 pounds on my back - suffice it to say it was more shuffling than running), and twice I was almost hit by cars while in a crosswalk.
You have got to be kidding me.
The first time, while running along a slightly major street I was crossing - in the crosswalk - a minor street, and a car made a hard and fast left turn from the major street (going my direction) and almost hit me. He had to slam on his brakes and I hopped out the way, fast. Then I shouted at him. He would have hit the same spot as the other guy.
The second time, heading the same direction but at a more major crossing, someone was turning right from my left in front of me. He had a very red light, I had a green light and the little green guy telling me to walk, and as I stepped into the intersection to cross this guy came up and pulled completely through the crosswalk before stopping. He wasn't even looking my direction, he was checking traffic coming from the other direction. I smacked the trunk of his car and shouted at him too. He looked shocked and raised his hand in apology but if I hadn't seen him coming and waited he would have smacked right into me. At least it would have been the other hip.
So, today we learned that crosswalks are not safe, and people are idiots.
My workouts were great though - CrossFit this morning was awesome and although it didn't feel too hard at the time I am feeling it now (and clearly I was weak as running was extremely difficult). The workout was as follows:
For Strength:
3 x 3 hanging snatch (I used 65 pounds) with 3 minutes rest between
Metabolic Conditioning:
3 rounds of As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 5 minutes with 5 minutes rest between sets:
3 back squats (squats with a weighted bar on your back, I used 115 pounds)
4 pull-ups (I did them "kipping," which is a modified version for those of us who can't do real pullups)
5 hand-stand push ups (I modified by resting my knees on a box)
First round I got through three plus the pull-ups
Second round I got through 4 plus the squats
Third round I got through 5! My arms feel like they might fall off now and my hands nearly ripped on the bar (I need to start taping them), but I'm excited about the pull-ups! And the squat weight, that was pretty good for me!
Last month I got hit by a car while in a crosswalk. Today I went running (after a CrossFit workout that involved squats with 115 pounds on my back - suffice it to say it was more shuffling than running), and twice I was almost hit by cars while in a crosswalk.
You have got to be kidding me.
The first time, while running along a slightly major street I was crossing - in the crosswalk - a minor street, and a car made a hard and fast left turn from the major street (going my direction) and almost hit me. He had to slam on his brakes and I hopped out the way, fast. Then I shouted at him. He would have hit the same spot as the other guy.
The second time, heading the same direction but at a more major crossing, someone was turning right from my left in front of me. He had a very red light, I had a green light and the little green guy telling me to walk, and as I stepped into the intersection to cross this guy came up and pulled completely through the crosswalk before stopping. He wasn't even looking my direction, he was checking traffic coming from the other direction. I smacked the trunk of his car and shouted at him too. He looked shocked and raised his hand in apology but if I hadn't seen him coming and waited he would have smacked right into me. At least it would have been the other hip.
So, today we learned that crosswalks are not safe, and people are idiots.
My workouts were great though - CrossFit this morning was awesome and although it didn't feel too hard at the time I am feeling it now (and clearly I was weak as running was extremely difficult). The workout was as follows:
For Strength:
3 x 3 hanging snatch (I used 65 pounds) with 3 minutes rest between
Metabolic Conditioning:
3 rounds of As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 5 minutes with 5 minutes rest between sets:
3 back squats (squats with a weighted bar on your back, I used 115 pounds)
4 pull-ups (I did them "kipping," which is a modified version for those of us who can't do real pullups)
5 hand-stand push ups (I modified by resting my knees on a box)
First round I got through three plus the pull-ups
Second round I got through 4 plus the squats
Third round I got through 5! My arms feel like they might fall off now and my hands nearly ripped on the bar (I need to start taping them), but I'm excited about the pull-ups! And the squat weight, that was pretty good for me!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Heart Rate Monitor Fun
I've been playing with my new Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS/heart rate monitor/all around ridiculous new toy. So far I've only taken it on a couple of short ~2.6 mile runs, as I haven't been running and don't want to boost my mileage too quickly for fear that I'll get hurt.
Even on these short runs, I'm learning quite a bit about my heart rate. If you read any of the triathlon training texts, they recommend getting blood work done to determine all this stuff about your fitness and training and VO2 Max and anaerobic threshold and all this other stuff that I find a bit excessive for my level of involvement. However, they very strongly recommend training with a heart rate monitor. Hence my purchase.
Training with a HRM essentially breaks your training into intervals based on percentage of your maximum heart rate. There's a bunch of ways to determine your max HR (and I still need to go the track and actually test mine empirically), or you can use a little equation. There are like ten of those too, depending on who you talk to.
Turns out my calculated max HR, based on age and gender, is around 185 beats per minute. My resting heart rate is about 60 (taken lying down in the morning), which is kind of high. There are five "training zones" used that are broken down (based on my max HR) as follows:
HR Zone 1: 93 - 111 bpm
HR Zone 2: 111 - 130 bpm
HR Zone 3: 130 - 148 bpm
HR Zone 4: 148 - 167 bpm
HR Zone 5: 167 - 185 bpm
When I ran my little 2.6-mile route over the weekend, I found that my heart rate hovered between 155 and 165, maxing out at 175. Apparently that's a bit high for an extended workout, but it didn't feel like I was exerting myself that much. Maybe my HR is off a bit.
This GPS thingy also has pre-loaded workouts for running and cycling based on either pace or heart rate, so this morning I did one of the running workouts. It was broken up as follows:
2:00 minutes, HR Zone 1
2:00 minutes, HR Zone 2
2:00 minutes, HR Zone 3
(note: all of these heart rate zones are walking. Zone 3 was walking quickly, but I couldn't believe how fast my heart rate came up. What that means I have no idea but I was annoyed that Zone 3 was walking. Seemed ridiculous.)
Repeat the steps below 4 times:
Go 0.5 miles in HR Zone 4
4:00 minutes in HR Zone 2
2:00 minutes, HR Zone 2
2:00 minutes, HR Zone 1
I also found it nearly impossible to get my HR down quickly enough to keep the thing from beeping at me. It turned into a little game - it would beep angrily at me when my HR was either too high or too low, then give a satisfied little chirp when I got it into the target.
Zone 4 was a very, very slow jog for me. It felt too slow, in fact, and I felt like I didn't really get much of a workout. I don't know if that means my HR is off or if I've been going too hard (I can't really believe I've been going too hard! That's ridiculous!). But I went 3.3 miles (with a LOT of walking - every 4:00 minute rest to get my HR back into zone 2 I had to essentially walk as slowly as I possible could, which was totally frustrating) and I feel like I could use another workout.
Anyway, I'll play around with this thing some more to try and figure out my max HR and go from there. It's a very fun new toy and was a great way to spend my REI dividend!
My next project is to figure out how much training (running/biking/swimming - each of which will have a different max heart rate that I have to figure out empirically) I am supposed to do in each zone to get faster and stronger, and then figure out a schedule to fit it all in.
Of course, this does not count the CrossFit stuff I've already been doing - I would guess CrossFit has us in Zone 5 for 10-25 minutes, it's that intense. But I'm getting stronger already!
This toy is so cool though - it uploads my workouts to my computer, where I can view graphs of my heart rate, distance, pace, and I can see my route on a little map (that is surprisingly accurate).
Even on these short runs, I'm learning quite a bit about my heart rate. If you read any of the triathlon training texts, they recommend getting blood work done to determine all this stuff about your fitness and training and VO2 Max and anaerobic threshold and all this other stuff that I find a bit excessive for my level of involvement. However, they very strongly recommend training with a heart rate monitor. Hence my purchase.
Training with a HRM essentially breaks your training into intervals based on percentage of your maximum heart rate. There's a bunch of ways to determine your max HR (and I still need to go the track and actually test mine empirically), or you can use a little equation. There are like ten of those too, depending on who you talk to.
Turns out my calculated max HR, based on age and gender, is around 185 beats per minute. My resting heart rate is about 60 (taken lying down in the morning), which is kind of high. There are five "training zones" used that are broken down (based on my max HR) as follows:
HR Zone 1: 93 - 111 bpm
HR Zone 2: 111 - 130 bpm
HR Zone 3: 130 - 148 bpm
HR Zone 4: 148 - 167 bpm
HR Zone 5: 167 - 185 bpm
When I ran my little 2.6-mile route over the weekend, I found that my heart rate hovered between 155 and 165, maxing out at 175. Apparently that's a bit high for an extended workout, but it didn't feel like I was exerting myself that much. Maybe my HR is off a bit.
This GPS thingy also has pre-loaded workouts for running and cycling based on either pace or heart rate, so this morning I did one of the running workouts. It was broken up as follows:
2:00 minutes, HR Zone 1
2:00 minutes, HR Zone 2
2:00 minutes, HR Zone 3
(note: all of these heart rate zones are walking. Zone 3 was walking quickly, but I couldn't believe how fast my heart rate came up. What that means I have no idea but I was annoyed that Zone 3 was walking. Seemed ridiculous.)
Repeat the steps below 4 times:
Go 0.5 miles in HR Zone 4
4:00 minutes in HR Zone 2
2:00 minutes, HR Zone 2
2:00 minutes, HR Zone 1
I also found it nearly impossible to get my HR down quickly enough to keep the thing from beeping at me. It turned into a little game - it would beep angrily at me when my HR was either too high or too low, then give a satisfied little chirp when I got it into the target.
Zone 4 was a very, very slow jog for me. It felt too slow, in fact, and I felt like I didn't really get much of a workout. I don't know if that means my HR is off or if I've been going too hard (I can't really believe I've been going too hard! That's ridiculous!). But I went 3.3 miles (with a LOT of walking - every 4:00 minute rest to get my HR back into zone 2 I had to essentially walk as slowly as I possible could, which was totally frustrating) and I feel like I could use another workout.
Anyway, I'll play around with this thing some more to try and figure out my max HR and go from there. It's a very fun new toy and was a great way to spend my REI dividend!
My next project is to figure out how much training (running/biking/swimming - each of which will have a different max heart rate that I have to figure out empirically) I am supposed to do in each zone to get faster and stronger, and then figure out a schedule to fit it all in.
Of course, this does not count the CrossFit stuff I've already been doing - I would guess CrossFit has us in Zone 5 for 10-25 minutes, it's that intense. But I'm getting stronger already!
This toy is so cool though - it uploads my workouts to my computer, where I can view graphs of my heart rate, distance, pace, and I can see my route on a little map (that is surprisingly accurate).
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Motivation
I've been doing CrossFit, a sort of masochistic workout that includes high intensity, short duration exercises. It incorporates Olympic style weightlifting moves (yes, clean and jerk, snatch, split jerk, it's very entertaining) and other fun things like "burpees" (jump in the air and clap hands overhead, drop to your stomach on the ground, push up into a frog position, jump into the air and clap your hands overhead. That's one.), squats (stand with feet shoulder-width apart, squat as far down as you can go, stand back up. Can be done without weight, with dumbells resting on your shoulders, with a loaded barbell resting on your chest or back, or - the most fun version - holding a loaded barbell overhead), kettlebell swings (literally swinging a round handled weight from between your legs to over your head), wall ball (face the wall, throw a weighted ball - sort of a medicine ball - as high as you can and catch it on your chest. Repeat until your arms fall off.), box jumps (there is a box. Jump on it. Repeat until your legs fall off.), running (no explanation needed), pull-ups (and if you can't do a pull-up, you can do jumping pull-ups where you stand on a box so you can reach the bar and literally jump into a pull-up. These are worse, trust me. I wish I could do a pull-up.), toes-to-bar (hang from the bar. Raise your toes until they touch the bar.), and other fun forms of torture.
Usually the workouts begin with some strength, like doing only a few reps at a very high weight until you fail, with lots of rest. Then we get into the fun part, where I usually feel like my heart is going to explode and sometimes I have to lie on the floor to recover when I'm done. It'll be some combination of the above exercises, broken up so we get in a lot of reps but not all at the same time, and keep our heart rate up. Today's workout, for example, began with a single-arm kettlebell swing:
So you do one single-arm kettlebell swing, then eight squats with your arm in the air like that holding the weight. Repeat with the other arm. Then you move to a set of parallel bars and do dips until you fail (I could do two without cheating and was the only woman who could do any full dips at all), then you rest for three minutes. Three total sets of that. Then we got into the fun part: five timed rounds of a 400 meter run followed by 15 kettlebell swings (using both hands). I was the last one to finish, and it took me ~16 minutes, and I was huffing and puffing the entire time. There's a bit of competitive edge to it as well - we write our times or max reps on a white board when we're finished. I am usually last, and there are a few people who have taken it upon themselves to "cheer me on" as I finish my sets. This is both awesome and humiliating at the same time, but what I lack in speed I make up for in strength (at least compared to the women), so I don't feel all that badly about always being last.
I've been hitting the 6AM workouts because it's so much cooler, and I love getting the workout done first thing in the morning. The group of people at the 6AM class is really fun, too, but there aren't a lot of women that go. I guess weights are intimidating.
Anyway, after this triathlon this weekend I realized I needed to also be doing longer, lower intensity workouts. I've been wanting to get more involved in the mechanisms of training, and all the reading I've done mentions heart rate monitors as an essential piece of equipment.
So today I blew my REI dividend a bought this:
It's a Garmin Forerunner 305, and it has a heart rate monitor (not super excited about the heart rate band, but it can't be worse than a sports bra), timer, stopwatch (and all associated timing things), pace and lap clock, target heart rates, it stores workouts, it has a GPS, will store routes for you, will let you "race" against your old workouts (VERY excited about that!), it connects to your computer and will store your workouts on your computer where you can mess with the data, and you can even purchase workout plans (including an Olympic Distance Tri workout for $100 - tempting! Now I just need to find another race!) that you can download to the device and it'll "train" you.
Oh my gosh I'm so excited I want to go running right now! Gadgets are so motivating! I will keep you posted...
Usually the workouts begin with some strength, like doing only a few reps at a very high weight until you fail, with lots of rest. Then we get into the fun part, where I usually feel like my heart is going to explode and sometimes I have to lie on the floor to recover when I'm done. It'll be some combination of the above exercises, broken up so we get in a lot of reps but not all at the same time, and keep our heart rate up. Today's workout, for example, began with a single-arm kettlebell swing:
So you do one single-arm kettlebell swing, then eight squats with your arm in the air like that holding the weight. Repeat with the other arm. Then you move to a set of parallel bars and do dips until you fail (I could do two without cheating and was the only woman who could do any full dips at all), then you rest for three minutes. Three total sets of that. Then we got into the fun part: five timed rounds of a 400 meter run followed by 15 kettlebell swings (using both hands). I was the last one to finish, and it took me ~16 minutes, and I was huffing and puffing the entire time. There's a bit of competitive edge to it as well - we write our times or max reps on a white board when we're finished. I am usually last, and there are a few people who have taken it upon themselves to "cheer me on" as I finish my sets. This is both awesome and humiliating at the same time, but what I lack in speed I make up for in strength (at least compared to the women), so I don't feel all that badly about always being last.
I've been hitting the 6AM workouts because it's so much cooler, and I love getting the workout done first thing in the morning. The group of people at the 6AM class is really fun, too, but there aren't a lot of women that go. I guess weights are intimidating.
Anyway, after this triathlon this weekend I realized I needed to also be doing longer, lower intensity workouts. I've been wanting to get more involved in the mechanisms of training, and all the reading I've done mentions heart rate monitors as an essential piece of equipment.
So today I blew my REI dividend a bought this:
It's a Garmin Forerunner 305, and it has a heart rate monitor (not super excited about the heart rate band, but it can't be worse than a sports bra), timer, stopwatch (and all associated timing things), pace and lap clock, target heart rates, it stores workouts, it has a GPS, will store routes for you, will let you "race" against your old workouts (VERY excited about that!), it connects to your computer and will store your workouts on your computer where you can mess with the data, and you can even purchase workout plans (including an Olympic Distance Tri workout for $100 - tempting! Now I just need to find another race!) that you can download to the device and it'll "train" you.
Oh my gosh I'm so excited I want to go running right now! Gadgets are so motivating! I will keep you posted...
Monday, June 28, 2010
Trek Women's Triathlon in Pleasanton, California
Trek hosts a series of all-women's triathlons across the country. This past weekend there was one in Pleasanton, CA, that some of my old college friends were doing. They talked me into signing up for it, so Sunday morning bright an early I was out the door...
Most of these ladies I haven't seen since college, and it was great to catch up! I met husbands and kids, and we met up in the transition area the morning of the race.
I was up at 4:15 on Sunday morning and was out the door at 4:55. I've reached the point where I can almost mindlessly pack for a tri, which is nice - it's become less stressful and I can easily visualize everything I need to bring with me.
The race itself was at the Shadow Cliffs Recreation Area on the border of Pleasanton and Livermore, actually very close to the Livermore airport where Rob keeps his plane. The course included a 1/2 mile swim in fresh, clam water, an 11-mile bike and a 3-mile trail run. I've been working out, but not training in a tri-specific manner by any means. No swimming since that last tri in May, and hardly any running and absolutely no biking. I was a bit nervous - I feel pretty in shape but it's less cardio than I was doing when training for these other triathlons.
My wetsuit still fit, though, so that was encouraging. The water was in the mid-60's, and I probably could have done the swim without a wetsuit and been fine. In fact, I am considering picking up a sleeveless wetsuit so I can keep my shoulder mobility but still get the leg buoyancy advantage. Maybe when I have a job.
My wave of orange caps was 4th. The swim course was set up to be three sides of a square - swim out, make a left turn, swim parallel to the shore, make a left turn, swim into shore. However, the buoys they used were small, cylindrical buoys, not the big triangular ones, and the first part of the swim was directly into the sun. This meant that every time I picked my head up to see where I was going I essentially was staring at the sun and it's reflection off the water. No buoy in sight, blindly following the swimmer in front of me.
Although, after my wave started I was immediately in the top three swimmers. Literally, we were in the water as a group and then it was my friend Carly and I right next to each other, and one other woman in front of us but not by much. They left me behind at the first buoy, but after that I didn't see another orange cap until I got out of the water at the end of the swim. I was surprised at how not-awful I felt in the water, and was encouraged to get my butt back into some kind of a swim workout schedule.
Getting out of the water, there was a short run up to the transition area. The ground was covered in pebbles, and I jammed my heel right onto one as I jogged to get my bike. It still hurts to put weight on it without padding! Anyway, because I was so early to the course that morning I scored a great spot for my bike right on the edge of the racks. My transition was a bit slow, but I had to wrestle the wetsuit off, not a quick process. I threw it on the ground, tugged my hair into a low ponytail, put on my sunglasses, helmet, bib number (on a belt), socks, and bike shoes, shoved an extra tube in the pocket on the back of my tri jersey, took a big swig of water, and yanked my bike off the rack. As I ran to the mount area I shoved a Shot Block into my mouth and frantically chewed it as I hopped on the bike, clipped into the pedals, and rode away.
The exit out to the course involved a hill climb, and I am the worst hill climber in the world. Of course, I was immediately getting passed by speedy cyclists, and I was trying not to be too demoralized by it, because I know it would be even worse on the run part of things! The ride was nice, but because we were near a quarry the rode was covered in gravel and pebbles, a nightmare of a road bicyclist. I was hoping that I wouldn't get a flat because it takes me forever to change one. In fact, sitting the garage with a complete tool set and a floor pump it took me 45 minutes to change a tube once, so I figured on the road with the little tool kit I would be screwed. I rode more slowly than I think I could have, but still ended up passing a few people (while still getting passed by a lot more riders!). Importantly, I felt strong! Shocking, given that my bike has been gathering cobwebs for the past two months.
I rode back into the transition area and dismounted, jogging the bike to my space. I reracked it, took off the helmet and sunglasses, put on my hate, tore off the bike shoes, shoved my feet into my running shoes, took a huge drink of water, and was off. As I jogged out of the transition area I spun my bib number around so it was in front.
The run was a lovey and winding trail run, but I think it was the longest 3 mile run I have ever done. I hadn't looked at the course map before, because I don't like to psyche myself out and I like to be surprised, but this time maybe I should have. I actually felt pretty strong at the front end of the run - I like a little uphill in there because it makes the flats feel so much better. Of course, I was getting passed like crazy, but that's partially why I wear a hat - I put my eyes to the ground and just don't look at my surroundings. My hat is like blinders. The run wound us around the finish area a few times - you could hear the announcer getting louder, and I would get excited and think oh! I must be getting close to the finish! My pace would increase, and then I'd come around a corner and see switchbacks going uphill and away from the finish line. Depressing. But, there were supporters all along the course cheering you on - in fact, even the other runners were cheering people on! At the finish, they announce your name (they can see your number so look you up) over the loudspeaker ("Here comes Megan Hall!"), and everyone was cheering, including my friends who'd already finished the race just a few minutes before me. There were women in tutus and wigs cheering you on and high-fiving you, and as you cross the finish line you are handed a medal, a bottle of water, and someone cuts the timing chip off of your ankle.
The post-race support was amazing - water and juice, fruit and cookies, tables of goodies for sale (I got a running hat and a tank top). We hung out for a bit, long enough to her that my friends - the three who ran the race as a relay - placed in the top three in their bracket! Awesome!
We went to breakfast at a place called Dean's in Pleasanton, where I pigged out on eggs, sausage, and pancakes, then I headed home, hosed off, had a couple of beers, and took a nice long nap.
The results are already up (this race was so well-organized it was ridiculous, I can't wait to do another one run by the same group), so here are my stats (not my best, but given I have not been running, biking, or swimming at all I'm pretty pleased with it):
Swim Time: 14:31
Total Rank After Swim: 14 (slowest of my college friends, the bastards!) of 268 finishers
Age Group Rank After Swim: 3/35 (behind my friend Carly and one other women who won our age group)
Transition 1: 2:34
Bike Time: 35:00
Total Rank for the Bike Leg: 134/268
Age Group Rank for the Bike Leg: 23/35 (ugh)
Pace: 20.5 mph
Transition 2: 1:39
Run Time: 35:12
Total Rank for the Run Leg: 179/268
Age Group Rank for the Run Leg: 30/35 (dear god that's embarrasing)
Pace: 11:21 minute-miles (time to start running again!)
Total Time: 1:28:59
Total Rank: 103/268
Age Group Rank 18/35
Not my best showing, but given my lack of tri-focused training I'll take it. Plus it was fun as hell to do it with that group of friends!
Most of these ladies I haven't seen since college, and it was great to catch up! I met husbands and kids, and we met up in the transition area the morning of the race.
I was up at 4:15 on Sunday morning and was out the door at 4:55. I've reached the point where I can almost mindlessly pack for a tri, which is nice - it's become less stressful and I can easily visualize everything I need to bring with me.
The race itself was at the Shadow Cliffs Recreation Area on the border of Pleasanton and Livermore, actually very close to the Livermore airport where Rob keeps his plane. The course included a 1/2 mile swim in fresh, clam water, an 11-mile bike and a 3-mile trail run. I've been working out, but not training in a tri-specific manner by any means. No swimming since that last tri in May, and hardly any running and absolutely no biking. I was a bit nervous - I feel pretty in shape but it's less cardio than I was doing when training for these other triathlons.
My wetsuit still fit, though, so that was encouraging. The water was in the mid-60's, and I probably could have done the swim without a wetsuit and been fine. In fact, I am considering picking up a sleeveless wetsuit so I can keep my shoulder mobility but still get the leg buoyancy advantage. Maybe when I have a job.
My wave of orange caps was 4th. The swim course was set up to be three sides of a square - swim out, make a left turn, swim parallel to the shore, make a left turn, swim into shore. However, the buoys they used were small, cylindrical buoys, not the big triangular ones, and the first part of the swim was directly into the sun. This meant that every time I picked my head up to see where I was going I essentially was staring at the sun and it's reflection off the water. No buoy in sight, blindly following the swimmer in front of me.
Although, after my wave started I was immediately in the top three swimmers. Literally, we were in the water as a group and then it was my friend Carly and I right next to each other, and one other woman in front of us but not by much. They left me behind at the first buoy, but after that I didn't see another orange cap until I got out of the water at the end of the swim. I was surprised at how not-awful I felt in the water, and was encouraged to get my butt back into some kind of a swim workout schedule.
Getting out of the water, there was a short run up to the transition area. The ground was covered in pebbles, and I jammed my heel right onto one as I jogged to get my bike. It still hurts to put weight on it without padding! Anyway, because I was so early to the course that morning I scored a great spot for my bike right on the edge of the racks. My transition was a bit slow, but I had to wrestle the wetsuit off, not a quick process. I threw it on the ground, tugged my hair into a low ponytail, put on my sunglasses, helmet, bib number (on a belt), socks, and bike shoes, shoved an extra tube in the pocket on the back of my tri jersey, took a big swig of water, and yanked my bike off the rack. As I ran to the mount area I shoved a Shot Block into my mouth and frantically chewed it as I hopped on the bike, clipped into the pedals, and rode away.
The exit out to the course involved a hill climb, and I am the worst hill climber in the world. Of course, I was immediately getting passed by speedy cyclists, and I was trying not to be too demoralized by it, because I know it would be even worse on the run part of things! The ride was nice, but because we were near a quarry the rode was covered in gravel and pebbles, a nightmare of a road bicyclist. I was hoping that I wouldn't get a flat because it takes me forever to change one. In fact, sitting the garage with a complete tool set and a floor pump it took me 45 minutes to change a tube once, so I figured on the road with the little tool kit I would be screwed. I rode more slowly than I think I could have, but still ended up passing a few people (while still getting passed by a lot more riders!). Importantly, I felt strong! Shocking, given that my bike has been gathering cobwebs for the past two months.
I rode back into the transition area and dismounted, jogging the bike to my space. I reracked it, took off the helmet and sunglasses, put on my hate, tore off the bike shoes, shoved my feet into my running shoes, took a huge drink of water, and was off. As I jogged out of the transition area I spun my bib number around so it was in front.
The run was a lovey and winding trail run, but I think it was the longest 3 mile run I have ever done. I hadn't looked at the course map before, because I don't like to psyche myself out and I like to be surprised, but this time maybe I should have. I actually felt pretty strong at the front end of the run - I like a little uphill in there because it makes the flats feel so much better. Of course, I was getting passed like crazy, but that's partially why I wear a hat - I put my eyes to the ground and just don't look at my surroundings. My hat is like blinders. The run wound us around the finish area a few times - you could hear the announcer getting louder, and I would get excited and think oh! I must be getting close to the finish! My pace would increase, and then I'd come around a corner and see switchbacks going uphill and away from the finish line. Depressing. But, there were supporters all along the course cheering you on - in fact, even the other runners were cheering people on! At the finish, they announce your name (they can see your number so look you up) over the loudspeaker ("Here comes Megan Hall!"), and everyone was cheering, including my friends who'd already finished the race just a few minutes before me. There were women in tutus and wigs cheering you on and high-fiving you, and as you cross the finish line you are handed a medal, a bottle of water, and someone cuts the timing chip off of your ankle.
The post-race support was amazing - water and juice, fruit and cookies, tables of goodies for sale (I got a running hat and a tank top). We hung out for a bit, long enough to her that my friends - the three who ran the race as a relay - placed in the top three in their bracket! Awesome!
We went to breakfast at a place called Dean's in Pleasanton, where I pigged out on eggs, sausage, and pancakes, then I headed home, hosed off, had a couple of beers, and took a nice long nap.
The results are already up (this race was so well-organized it was ridiculous, I can't wait to do another one run by the same group), so here are my stats (not my best, but given I have not been running, biking, or swimming at all I'm pretty pleased with it):
Swim Time: 14:31
Total Rank After Swim: 14 (slowest of my college friends, the bastards!) of 268 finishers
Age Group Rank After Swim: 3/35 (behind my friend Carly and one other women who won our age group)
Transition 1: 2:34
Bike Time: 35:00
Total Rank for the Bike Leg: 134/268
Age Group Rank for the Bike Leg: 23/35 (ugh)
Pace: 20.5 mph
Transition 2: 1:39
Run Time: 35:12
Total Rank for the Run Leg: 179/268
Age Group Rank for the Run Leg: 30/35 (dear god that's embarrasing)
Pace: 11:21 minute-miles (time to start running again!)
Total Time: 1:28:59
Total Rank: 103/268
Age Group Rank 18/35
Not my best showing, but given my lack of tri-focused training I'll take it. Plus it was fun as hell to do it with that group of friends!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Updated updated results!
The final official results are in, with transition times and overall placing. Here is how I ranked:
Swim time: 16:36.50
Age group rank for the swim: 2 of 40
Overall rank (women) after swim: 5 of 190 (!)
Transition 1: 2:50.80
Bike time: 49:00.10
Age group rank for the bike (this is JUST the bike leg, not overall time): 21
Overall rank (women) after bike (see above comment): 69
Transition 2: 1:57.00
Run time: 29:54.50 (THESE ARE UNDER 10-MINUTE MILES PEOPLE!)
Age group rank for the run (again just the run leg, does not take into account my rocking swim): 27
Overall rank (women) for the run (see above comment): 123
Overall time: 1:40:18.90
Age group rank: 11 of 40
Overall rank (women): 29 of 190
Yeah I'm pretty satisfied with that. It becomes more and more obvious how weak my running is. And after this long weekend of eating and drinking too much and not exercising enough I think there's a run in my future tomorrow.
Also, I got a flier in the mail about a triathlon at June Lake, CA - one of my all-time favorite ski areas in the winter! I might just have to do that one...
Swim time: 16:36.50
Age group rank for the swim: 2 of 40
Overall rank (women) after swim: 5 of 190 (!)
Transition 1: 2:50.80
Bike time: 49:00.10
Age group rank for the bike (this is JUST the bike leg, not overall time): 21
Overall rank (women) after bike (see above comment): 69
Transition 2: 1:57.00
Run time: 29:54.50 (THESE ARE UNDER 10-MINUTE MILES PEOPLE!)
Age group rank for the run (again just the run leg, does not take into account my rocking swim): 27
Overall rank (women) for the run (see above comment): 123
Overall time: 1:40:18.90
Age group rank: 11 of 40
Overall rank (women): 29 of 190
Yeah I'm pretty satisfied with that. It becomes more and more obvious how weak my running is. And after this long weekend of eating and drinking too much and not exercising enough I think there's a run in my future tomorrow.
Also, I got a flier in the mail about a triathlon at June Lake, CA - one of my all-time favorite ski areas in the winter! I might just have to do that one...
Monday, May 3, 2010
Updated Results!
Most of the official results are already posted, and I did pretty darn well! They still don't have the transition times or the bike times, but here's the rest of it...
Swim: 14:36.50 Rank (age group): 2
Total Time: 1:1:38:18.90 Rank (age group): 11 out of 40
Total rank (women): 29 out of 187 (top 16%)
I sucked at the run, but am still kind of impressed at my overall placing in this one!
Swim: 14:36.50 Rank (age group): 2
Total Time: 1:1:38:18.90 Rank (age group): 11 out of 40
Total rank (women): 29 out of 187 (top 16%)
I sucked at the run, but am still kind of impressed at my overall placing in this one!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Triathlon Number Three
This weekend was the Envirosports Sprint Distance Triathlon: a ~1/2-mile swim in Lake Berryessa (near Napa) followed by an 11-mile bike and a 3.1-mile run. I drove up yesterday and met some Team in Training people at the Pleasure Cove Marina, which was shockingly difficult to find. I did, however, manage to unearth it and we spent a lovely afternoon laughing at the eastern Eurpoean shirtless sweaty guys who were blasting eurotrash pop from their car stereos until very late in the evening. We got some great photos of us "dancing" around our campfire (= making fun of europop).
Our dinner consisted of a smorgasbord of "carbo loading" items (which really meant drinking beer, eating sausages with onions and peppers, and lots of oreos - hey, the event was only a sprint distance! Perhaps we were cocky after our Lavaman triumphs...) and sitting around a campfire. I retired around 9:30 or 10, and woke in the middle of the night to what I can only describe as warring tribes of geese. Our campsite was on the very southern edge of Lake Berryessa and bordered the water, and of course there were geese everywhere. Apparently they were re-enacting West Side Story last night but in goose-talk. It was loud. Once I was awake, it was hard to get completely back to sleep, and I kept checking my alarm clock, over and over and over.
It went off at 5:15 this morning, before the sun was up but we had the light of an almost-full moon. I had slept with my tri apparel in my sleeping bag so it was warm when I had to put it on, and I think that was a genius idea. Once dressed, but still in the warmth of the sleeping bag, I started making noise to get people moving. I decided to get up and hike to the restroom instead of waking everyone up and pissing them off.
At 5:30, I knocked on the tents to get everyone moving, and we were on the road at 6 to drive the ~30 minutes to the race start area. Parking was an adventure - lots of windy roads to the parking area and a long walk back to the transition area.
The transition area was set up in a parking lot and there were no assigned spaces (the other two transition areas I've been involved with assigned you a space that matched your bib number), so that was a bit stressful for me. I like rules and assigned spaces so I have my designated space and am entitled to it. Plus, I didn't want to move my stuff for the latecomers. I know, I have issues. Moving on...
Once set up we got our bib number (160 for me) and I realized I'd forgotten my race belt, which is what I attach my number to so I don't have to put anything else on after the swim. I just clip that around my waist and it saves lots of time. Thankfully I'd brought an extra jersey, so I decided to swim in my Team in Training jersey and change into my black jersey for the rest of the race, and I pinned my number to it so it was already to go.
I wrestled into my wetsuit and before the race began I actually got in and swam a bit. This allowed water to get into my wetsuit (really unpleasant) and warm up (less unpleasant), and so the shock of the cold water didn't take my breath away when we jumped in for the start.
The start was interesting - because we had timing chips, we had to walk single-file over a mat that recorded our crossing and that became our official start time. There was also a little cement ramp into the water, then a big splash and you're off! We "self-seeded," meaning we placed ourselves in the starting line-up based on how fast we thought we were. I put myself close to the front but gave some room. I should have seeded farther towards the front, as I was swimming past people the whole way.
The swim was a counter-clockwise circle, marked by large orange buoys. However, on the way out the sun was shining directly in our eyes, making sighting the bouys nearly impossible. Since I breathe left, I swung wide to the right and kept the other swimmers in my sight. This way I added a little distance, but was able to pretty much swim in a straight line without impediment.
The water was ~62 degrees (cold!), and murky. Like with your face in the water you can't see a thing kind of murky. I would swim five or so strokes head down and then do a couple head up to view the buoy and the other swimmers...
Once I found my rhythm I felt fantastic! I actually enjoyed the cold water on my face and the warm-up I'd done left the water in my wetsuit plenty warm and I actually started to overheat a little bit. I was passing people left and right, and when I got out of the water the crowd was yelling and cheering and I had a whole bunch of people yelling "great swim!" as I ran past. That was a fantastic feeling!
What was not a fantastic feeling: jogging barefoot with numb feet to the transition area, pulling off my wet jersey (sports bra underneath, don't worry), and wrestling into my dry jersey (with pinned bib number) as I watched person and after person pass me! Oh, also everyone passing me for the rest of the race, but that's later in the story.
I hopped on the bike and for the first part of the ride really struggled. The course was a bit more hilly than I was used to and I struggle riding uphill. I blame my bike. It's a bit demoralizing to get passed so gratuitously, but I tried to keep my chin up. It took me about halfway into the ride before my legs really started to feel good, and then I decided to just go for it. I rode super hard for the rest of it and started to just have a great time - flying down the downhills and feeling like I was making progress on the uphills at least.
I finished the bike leg and shoved my feet into my running shoes and I was off. I took a water bottle with me, and immediately regretted it. It was heavy, and I'd drunk so much on the bike my stomach was a little sloshy, and I immediately wanted to ditch it. So I did.
On one of the uphills on the run I just left it on a post by the side of the road and figured I'd pick it up on the way back.
The run was HARD. My legs were shot, and I take a long time to feel like I can run normally after the bike. My hamstrings were so tight they hurt, and it was all I could do to just keep moving. But I did. I hit the turnaround and dumped some water on my head before heading back. Thankfully most of the return was downhill, and there was my water bottle as I came back!
The last leg was back on the trail, where everyone seemed to kick it up a notch except me. I just didn't have it in me! I was running, but my legs were shaky and I didn't want to sprain an ankle, so I just put my head down and let people pass me and figured I was running my own race.
(It's still frustrating.)
The finish had us running up a hill, where the photographer was waiting. I gave him a big smile and the universal sign of rock, and he actually thanked me for it. (No, really! He really said, "Thanks for that!")
I finished and the clock read 1:42-something, and that translated into a final time of ~1:38-something. Not too bad for a hilly course with a longer swim than the other sprint distance one I did in February!
At the end of it, they posted the times and in my age group (female 35-39), I finished 11th out of over 20. Of course, after the swim I was 2nd.
Seriously. I need to bike and run faster. That just sucks.
Our dinner consisted of a smorgasbord of "carbo loading" items (which really meant drinking beer, eating sausages with onions and peppers, and lots of oreos - hey, the event was only a sprint distance! Perhaps we were cocky after our Lavaman triumphs...) and sitting around a campfire. I retired around 9:30 or 10, and woke in the middle of the night to what I can only describe as warring tribes of geese. Our campsite was on the very southern edge of Lake Berryessa and bordered the water, and of course there were geese everywhere. Apparently they were re-enacting West Side Story last night but in goose-talk. It was loud. Once I was awake, it was hard to get completely back to sleep, and I kept checking my alarm clock, over and over and over.
It went off at 5:15 this morning, before the sun was up but we had the light of an almost-full moon. I had slept with my tri apparel in my sleeping bag so it was warm when I had to put it on, and I think that was a genius idea. Once dressed, but still in the warmth of the sleeping bag, I started making noise to get people moving. I decided to get up and hike to the restroom instead of waking everyone up and pissing them off.
At 5:30, I knocked on the tents to get everyone moving, and we were on the road at 6 to drive the ~30 minutes to the race start area. Parking was an adventure - lots of windy roads to the parking area and a long walk back to the transition area.
The transition area was set up in a parking lot and there were no assigned spaces (the other two transition areas I've been involved with assigned you a space that matched your bib number), so that was a bit stressful for me. I like rules and assigned spaces so I have my designated space and am entitled to it. Plus, I didn't want to move my stuff for the latecomers. I know, I have issues. Moving on...
Once set up we got our bib number (160 for me) and I realized I'd forgotten my race belt, which is what I attach my number to so I don't have to put anything else on after the swim. I just clip that around my waist and it saves lots of time. Thankfully I'd brought an extra jersey, so I decided to swim in my Team in Training jersey and change into my black jersey for the rest of the race, and I pinned my number to it so it was already to go.
I wrestled into my wetsuit and before the race began I actually got in and swam a bit. This allowed water to get into my wetsuit (really unpleasant) and warm up (less unpleasant), and so the shock of the cold water didn't take my breath away when we jumped in for the start.
The start was interesting - because we had timing chips, we had to walk single-file over a mat that recorded our crossing and that became our official start time. There was also a little cement ramp into the water, then a big splash and you're off! We "self-seeded," meaning we placed ourselves in the starting line-up based on how fast we thought we were. I put myself close to the front but gave some room. I should have seeded farther towards the front, as I was swimming past people the whole way.
The swim was a counter-clockwise circle, marked by large orange buoys. However, on the way out the sun was shining directly in our eyes, making sighting the bouys nearly impossible. Since I breathe left, I swung wide to the right and kept the other swimmers in my sight. This way I added a little distance, but was able to pretty much swim in a straight line without impediment.
The water was ~62 degrees (cold!), and murky. Like with your face in the water you can't see a thing kind of murky. I would swim five or so strokes head down and then do a couple head up to view the buoy and the other swimmers...
Once I found my rhythm I felt fantastic! I actually enjoyed the cold water on my face and the warm-up I'd done left the water in my wetsuit plenty warm and I actually started to overheat a little bit. I was passing people left and right, and when I got out of the water the crowd was yelling and cheering and I had a whole bunch of people yelling "great swim!" as I ran past. That was a fantastic feeling!
What was not a fantastic feeling: jogging barefoot with numb feet to the transition area, pulling off my wet jersey (sports bra underneath, don't worry), and wrestling into my dry jersey (with pinned bib number) as I watched person and after person pass me! Oh, also everyone passing me for the rest of the race, but that's later in the story.
I hopped on the bike and for the first part of the ride really struggled. The course was a bit more hilly than I was used to and I struggle riding uphill. I blame my bike. It's a bit demoralizing to get passed so gratuitously, but I tried to keep my chin up. It took me about halfway into the ride before my legs really started to feel good, and then I decided to just go for it. I rode super hard for the rest of it and started to just have a great time - flying down the downhills and feeling like I was making progress on the uphills at least.
I finished the bike leg and shoved my feet into my running shoes and I was off. I took a water bottle with me, and immediately regretted it. It was heavy, and I'd drunk so much on the bike my stomach was a little sloshy, and I immediately wanted to ditch it. So I did.
On one of the uphills on the run I just left it on a post by the side of the road and figured I'd pick it up on the way back.
The run was HARD. My legs were shot, and I take a long time to feel like I can run normally after the bike. My hamstrings were so tight they hurt, and it was all I could do to just keep moving. But I did. I hit the turnaround and dumped some water on my head before heading back. Thankfully most of the return was downhill, and there was my water bottle as I came back!
The last leg was back on the trail, where everyone seemed to kick it up a notch except me. I just didn't have it in me! I was running, but my legs were shaky and I didn't want to sprain an ankle, so I just put my head down and let people pass me and figured I was running my own race.
(It's still frustrating.)
The finish had us running up a hill, where the photographer was waiting. I gave him a big smile and the universal sign of rock, and he actually thanked me for it. (No, really! He really said, "Thanks for that!")
I finished and the clock read 1:42-something, and that translated into a final time of ~1:38-something. Not too bad for a hilly course with a longer swim than the other sprint distance one I did in February!
At the end of it, they posted the times and in my age group (female 35-39), I finished 11th out of over 20. Of course, after the swim I was 2nd.
Seriously. I need to bike and run faster. That just sucks.
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