IronTRISH

What's Next?

2008-08-31T17:22:00.000-07:00

So, I have put Ironman behind me, for now. Next year's IM Canada was accepting on-line registration for the first time since I've been involved in the sport. The race usually sells out in 1 day to those who live in or are visiting Penticton, but not this year. I have to admit, I did think about signing up, but not for long. I am going to stick to my plan of losing weight, getting faster, and doing some shorter races.

I returned to work last week. This means I have less time to work out, but it also means a return to a structured schedule and a routine. I like routine. I have been running more frequently, 4-5 times a week. My plan is to run at least 4 days a week, swim twice, weights twice, yoga once, and cycle when I feel like it.

I will be doing the 1.2 mile swim as part of a relay team at the San Diego Triathlon Challenge on October 26th. This triathlon is the main fundraising event for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, and is my favorite day of the year! I am doing the swim so I can spend the rest of the day cheering on athletes and soaking up all the inspiration I can. Since I started doing triathlons 3 years ago my goal has always been to survive the swim. At Vineman this year, I pushed a little harder when I was swimming with the current. I took 20 minutes off my previous IM swim time, and felt good coming out of the water. So I think I need to revise my goal for the swim. Since I will only be doing the swim at the SDTC I can experiment with swimming a little harder. I will have a time goal closer to race day. For now, though, I have a fundraising goal of $3500. If you haven't already done so, please consider making a donation today. Thanks!

I'm not signed up for any other races in 2008, but I am considering the following: Manhattan Beach 10k on Oct. 4th, Bonelli Olympic distance triathlon on Oct. 5th, and Santa Barbara Half Marathon on Nov. 1st. I am registered for 2 races next year: Carlsbad Half Marathon on Jan. 25th and California 70.3 triathlon on April 4th. This should be enough to keep me honest.

Finished!

2008-08-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

It's unofficial because I missed the cut-off time on the run, but I DID complete the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile swim in just over 17 hours.

The day started off great. The Russian River was 74 degrees (which made it a wetsuit legal race) and very calm. I finished in 1:32! A PR of over 20 minutes! The first loop of the bike was great. I was happy and I felt strong. The second loop was TOUGH. The temperatures climbed to 97, and I felt it. I took more time at the aid stations. Volunteers poured water over my body to help cool me down. I was drinking a lot of fluid - Heed/Carbo Pro and water, but I did not eat very much solid food. I was slowing down, but felt okay until mile 90. I got off my bike at the last aid station and immediately felt dizzy. I sat down on a chair in the shade while a volunteer poured cold water on me. I felt better and continued on. 10 miles later I hit Chalk Hill (the biggest on the course) for the second time. About half way up, my quads cramped up and I had to get off my bike. Again, I became dizzy. I found some shade, stretched out a bit, and cooled down. Another rider stopped to make sure I was okay and waited with me until I started moving again. I walked up the remainder of the hill. A first for me.

The run course is 3 loops and is filled with lots of hills. And it was still hot. The first 8+ miles took me 2:25. You had to start your 3rd loop by 9pm in order to continue, and I knew I would not make this cut off. I also knew that I would continue to run even if they did take my chip. 3 of my teammates were in the same boat. We ran together, which was great. It was dark and lonely out there on that last loop. Several of the volunteers stayed out even though the course was officially closed. Hank was stationed at the turn around point. They took the cone away, so he put out a little lamp for us to run around. We thought we were the last runners, and Hank followed us in his car, giving us light and moral support. Hank is the Honored Teammate for the Santa Rosa team. He was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 2003. Last year he was on the course until 1am, walking with a TNT participant. He followed us until we were about a half mile from the finish line, and then he went back to his post at the turn around point because we saw at least 3 more runners still on the course. He went back to support them. Amazing!

I know I said this last year, but I think I'm done with the Iron distance. I'll stick to more reasonable 70.3 races.

Vineman

2008-07-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

So, my shot at redemtion is just a few days away. I have been a mentor for this year's Ironteam with Team in Training. This is their A race. I had been planning to go up and cheer the team on. Now I will be racing with them. Coach Paul first mentioned this possibility in the airport the day after IM Coeur d'Alene. I dismissed the idea at first, but then it grew on me. I am already trained, I was traveling up there anyway, it made sense. And it's close enough for my brother Mike to come cheer me on :)

The course is open for 16 hours. CDA was open for 17, and last year I finished in 16:40. So besides NOT DNFing again, I have to take 40 minutes off my time. This is good ... I like a challenge. How will I do it?

I should be able to take 10 - 15 minutes off my swim time. The water will be warm and calm, and the river is not very wide. I can't get too far off course!
The bike is flatter than CDA and wind is rarely a factor. I plan to carry all nutrition with me so I don't have to stop and dig through a Special needs bag. And I WILL NOT have any stomach troubles. I should be able to take 20 - 30 minutes off my bike time.
I am hoping to take 30 minutes off of my run time. I have been doing a 6 min run/1 min walk in training. This way I should be able to run more than I did last year.

Best case scenario, I finish in 15:25. And I do have some wiggle room should anything go wrong. To make it to the finish line I need to stay in the moment and focused on the task at hand. And so I will.

What went wrong?

2008-07-17T17:47:00.000-07:00

I lost sleep for a few nights thinking about this question, and then I moved on with my life. I know that the DNF is not the end of the world, and I am now able to tell people about it without crying. I am returning to the question now because I am going to give Ironman another try in just a few weeks, and I certainly don't want a repeat performance! When I was out on the bike in Coeur d'Alene, I thought I would NEVER do this again, when I missed the bike cut off, well meaning volunteers asked if I had another Ironman on the schedule for this year. I looked at them like they had 3 heads and said NO! One, I would never want to do more than 1 in a year, and 2 they sell out a year in advance, so I couldn't just pick a new race now. (Or could I? More on this later.)

Anywho, on to the race report.

Pre-Race
We arrived in Coeur d'Alene early Thursday afternoon, checked into the hotel, got lunch, and picked up our race stuff. I was feeling good and not nearly as nervous as last year. Friday morning we swam in the lake. It was cold but not unbearable. I think the water temperature was up to about 56* by this point. I wore a rash guard underneath my wetsuit, booties and a skull cap. After the initial shock and after my hands went numb, I was fine. After the swim, we rode our bikes for an hour on the run course just to make sure the bike is in good working order and to loosen the legs up a bit. Check and check.

Saturday morning we swam again. The water was a little warmer so I ditched the rash guard. To simulate race day, we got in and got use the water, swam a few strokes, and then got out to "wait for the gun", then we ran in and started swimming right away. I felt good. The water was much calmer than last year, and I could deal with the water temps. We did a quick, easy run after the swim, and then it was on to the free pancake breakfast in the park. After that, we had to get our T1 and T2 bags and our bikes checked in. It sounds like we should have had lots of free time but not so much. I managed to find time for a turkey sandwich in between the pancake breakfast and gear drop off but didn't find time for a nap like I had hoped.

At dinner Saturday evening, my stomach was a little "off" -- nothing on the menu appealed to me, but I knew I had to eat something. I settled on plain grilled chicken (not on the menu) and mashed potatoes (yum!). We were back to the hotel in time for the fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies. I was in bed by 8:30 - 9:00 and asleep shortly after. I woke up once or twice to pee but slept through the thunderstorm. So I'd say I got a good night's sleep :)

A few clouds lingered, but it looked the weather would be perfect. I had my ususal coffee, oatmeal, toast and banana. My stomach seemed fine, except for the standard pre-race jitters. My timing was not great once we got to the race site. I bypassed the bodymarkers because I wanted to put my bottles (which were heavy) on my bike and drop off my special needs bags. The area was very crowded, and I was getting annoyed. I ended up going through the most crowded section 3 times -- not a good expenditure of energy. I had lost most of my friends by then, but Karen and I stuck together. If it wasn't for her, I might of had a major break down. We got in the lake to warm up, and I got hit in the face. Ironman swims are notorious for physical contact. But in the warm up, when I'm just standing there? Really? This woman jumped in and started swimming and just hit me in the face. The good news is that the temperature was reported to be 59.5. I think they said this so we good still wear our booties, which are legal for temps under 60.

The Swim
The gun went off, and I went to work. Well, I waited a few seconds to let all the aggro swimmers go first, and then I got to work. I felt good. I was able to draft off others a little bit while avoiding getting kicked or punched. The first loop was uneventful. The water was a little choppier on the 2nd loop. At one point I swallowed some water, stopped to cough, and thought I might throw up. I did not. I kept swimming. I finished the swim 3 minutes faster than last year. I was happy to be finished but was disappointed with my time. The conditions were not as bad as last year, and I thought I had a better swim than that.

My BFF was volunteering the women's change tent (they wouldn't let her in the men's!) and she helped me get ready for the bike. It was awesome. I let other volunteers slather me with sunscreen, hit the port-a-potty (I tried several times to pee while swimming, but couldn't - I think I need to have my feet on the ground. TMI? sorry), and then I was off.

The Bike
On the first corner out of T1 I saw Laurie's aunt. She recognized me and called me by name. I was touched. Now I can't even remember her name. Jeez! I rode through town, toward the CDA lake loop, watching the riders coming toward me, looking for my friends, and trying to figure out how far behind I was. People were cheering and saying nice things, but I didn't want to hear it. I didn't feel like I deserved their praise. I don't know where these feelings came from. I missed a turn. It wasn't a big deal, and I was very soon back on course. When I looped back around and saw where I went wrong, I thought how in the hell did I miss that? I went through about 6 cones. At one point here, still in town, I saw a car waiting to get across the road, and I thought, "just go ahead and hit me and put me out of my mysery." I did not even know that I was miserable until that thought popped into my head. I probably wasn't even 10 miles into the ride, and I was thinking like this? It's gonna be a loooong day.

It wasn't all bad. At about mile 20, I got passed by the pro men. For a spilt second, I was riding with the pros. How many amature athletes can say that? Mike Lovoto said, "good work" as he passed me going up a short, but steep hill. I then turned the corner, and a guy was using a traffic cone as a magaphone and yelled, "charging up the hill ..." (which clearly I was not, especially in comparison to my new friend Mike who just flew by him). I finished the guy's statement with "Trish Ray from Hermosa Beach, California!" He said something about another crazy Californian :) and I continued on my way.

I don't know exactly when it began, but at some point I became aware of gastrointestinal troubles, to put it politely. More crudely, I was afraid of exploding diarrhea, and to make matters worse I was wearing these shorts

This was only my second time wearing these shorts, and I wasn't sure where the light blue ended and the black began. Exploding diarrhea would be bad, exploding diarrhea in light blue shorts would be devasting. A few weeks prior I had a dream where I was running in a downtown area and desperately searching for a bathroom. I had crapped myself (in running shorts) and was looking for a place to clean up. A bit of foreshadowing, I thought, as I wondered if I would make it to the next porta-potty. I stopped at several but never experienced any relief. I was drinking and/or eating every 15 minutes, as I had planned, but I wasn't taking in very much. And I was slowing down. In the end I only drank 3.5 of my planned 8 bottles.

At mile 90 I knew that it was a very real possibility that I would not make the cut off. I thought about stopping. I thought about riding in easy, knowing that I would be done for the day. But I didn't. I rode as hard as I could. Once I got through the hills, I was hit with a head wind. Volunteers were tearing down their aid stations. They still offered food, drink, and encouragment - they knew it was going to be a close call. I could barely look at them, ashamed at my failure, again feeling undeserving of their kindness. But still I fought on, and I thought I had made it. I was surprised and devasted when the man asked for my chip.

Maria was there waiting for me, thank God. We cried. I got my stuff, and we went to cheer on our friends as well as strangers, and I ate a big plate of french fries :)

Next up, Full Vineman on August 2nd! More to come.

nice hair cut

2008-06-25T19:18:00.000-07:00

So, I got my hair cut (pretty short) after school last Wednesday before leaving for Idaho on Thursday. When I returned to work yesterday, everybody was eager to hear about my race. I would tell them the bad news, and after the usual and well meaning "oh, that's too bad," "you should be proud for trying," type of comments, almost everybody ended with, "I like your hair" or "your hair looks cute." At least I got that going for me.

Two Thirds

2008-06-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

Well, my day did not go quite as I had planned .... my first DNF (did not finish). Except for a bruised ego, I'm fine. My stomach was doing flips for most of the bike ride, and I just couldn't take in enough nutrition. I didn't quit, even though I did think about it. At about mile 80, I knew it was going to be close, but I pushed and rode as hard as I could. I thought I had made it, handed my bike off to a volunteer, and was heading towards the change tent. That's when a man asked for my timing chip. I asked what time it was, he said he was sorry but that I had missed it by a minute or two. He never did tell me what time it was.

I am disappointed and sad. It was a tough ride home today -- the plane was filled with athletes in their finisher's t-shirts. But Horizon Air has free beer. That helped :)

Thanks for your support and concern. I'll write more later.

Ready, Set, Go!

2008-06-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

I know I need to write more, but I've got lots to do before my flight tomorrow morning at 9:30. Besides packing, I have to get my hair cut -- gotta look good for that finish line photo :) Yes, I'll have a hat on, but lately I've been sprouting wings.

Anyway, I took antibiotics a couple of weeks ago and have been feeling pretty good. My biggest worry now is the swim. The water in Lake Coeur d'Alene has been very cold. Last week it was 52* but today the temp was up to 56*. Last year I think it was in the low 60s. I bought a new wet suit after Wildflower, and last week I picked up some booties and a neoprene skull cup and bigger goggles, all in hopes that I don't freeze to death.

Last year I finished in 16:40. This year my goal is 15:45. My number is 2212. On race day, look for a link to Athlete Tracker under the "coverage" tab of the event on Ironman.com.

Oh No!

2008-06-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

18 days until Ironman #2, and I'm feeling sick. Yesterday I was fine. I went to work, I did 40 minutes easy on the trainer, and did laundry. This morning I woke up at 5:00 and did my easy 40 minute run before work. Everything was as usual. At some point at work I noticed that I was feeling a bit achey. I thought it might be a good idea to get a massage after my swim this evening. After my usual lunch of PB & J, carrots, and an orange, my throat started hurting, and I started coughing. At 4:30 I decided to skip the swim (and the massage) and head home to rest. I took my vitamins, drank lots of water, and went straight to the couch. I am hoping that I'll wake up tomorrow, and this cough will be a distant memory. I hate missing a workout, but an extended illness at this point would be much worse. I am hoping I can nip this in the bud!

Wildflower ... Take Two

2008-05-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

I completed the Wildflower Long course for the last time. It's a tough race for a few reasons: a challenging bike followed by an even more challenging run (read hills!), cut off times, and camping.

Laurie and I did indeed leave LA at 4:00am Friday morning and pulled into the campground around 8:30. The trip was uneventful, which was perfect. We found our team and chilled out ... worked on crossword puzzles and read trashy magazines. If I had a bed, I would have napped. I took my bike out for a little spin just to make sure everything was working okay. It was. After lunch we went down to pick up our "stuff" -- race numbers, chip, etc, and to check out the lake and do short swim. It was all good ... the water was calm and not too cold.

After a quick trip through the Expo (where I spotted Macca) it was time for dinner. I had hoped to get all my numbers on and nutrition ready before dinner, but it had to wait until after which stressed me out a bit. It all worked out though, and I was in "bed" by 9:00 or so. The campground quieted down around 10:00, and I got a decent night of sleep.

I was up at 5:00. It was dark and cold. I did all my normal pre race things ... coffee, bathroom, breakfast, etc., but outside with hundreds of people around. Not ideal. I headed down to the transition area with the team at about 6:45am. The first wave went off at 8:00, but my race didn't start until 9:25. Lots of time to wait and worry. I had planned to eat more once I got my transition area set up, but all I could manage was half a banana and some Odwalla Super Food green juice. I used the porta potties about six times.

The Swim

I was nervous, as I always am on race day, but I felt ready. As a team, we had been practicing mass starts and drafting. Normally, I wait for the crowd to take off and then just swim, doing my best to avoid ALL contact. Drafting is legal in the swim, and I have been told there is a great benefit to it. So I decided to give it a try. I wasn't out front, but I did try to keep up with the group. I did for a bit, but then I couldn't settle into my own rhythm. So I stopped for just a second, caught my breath, and settled into a groove. I did draft off one woman for a while, and I didn't stop every time I got bumped by someone. I am making progress! All went well until the very end. In addition to my race, the Long Course, there was also a sprint distance race. They started their swim while we were in the water. Since they had a shorter swim, many of those swimmers were finishing at the same time I was. At one point I looked up and saw all these swimmers in front of me. Many of them were stopped. I had no idea what was going on (I didn't pay any attention to their race start times), but I kept swimming. It was a nightmare. There were people doing the backstroke and side stroke about 25 yards from shore. And some people were just completely stopped. Two people were having a conversation! What the hell? Finally, I was finished and made my way up the ramp, to my bike. My swim time was about 5 minutes faster than last year, but I lost a few of those minutes fighting with my wetsuit. I think it's time for a new one. I can barely get it over my calves.

The Bike

Again, the sprint racers (on mountain bikes) were in my way. Many of them were unsure and unstable on their bikes. Some were kids, some were turning around, looking for friends and stopping. Now, I am all for beginners having their day, but really? They had to be in my wave? I am already starting in the last wave, and the bike cut off is the same for everybody in the race, whether you start at 8:00 or 9:25, we all have to be off the bike at 2:45. So, not only do they give me 1:25 less time than the pros and young men, but they also throw a few obstacles in my way! This is one reason why I won't race Wildflower again.

Anyhoo, we only shared the course for a short time, and I quickly got over my annoyance and settled into a groove. I saw the pros coming in as I was leaving the campground. The wildflowers were in bloom and gorgeous. I did pretty well with my drinks (4 bottles of Heed and Carbo Pro) but didn't eat enough. At about mile 30 I started doing the math and became worried about making the cut off, and the hill they call Nasty Grade lay ahead. So, I decided that I would just get up Nasty, but push hard everywhere else. Which meant that I didn't take the time to eat. That would cost me later, but for now I was feeling good. This was my third time on this course, and I was comfortable on the road. I passed a few people going up Nasty and a few more going down. I hit 40.2 mph, which could be my fastest speed ever. I made it back to transition with plenty of time to spare -- especially since the cut off time was 2:45 and NOT 2:30, as I had been thinking the whole time. Doh!

The Run

The course is beautiful ... much of it is on trails, around a lake, and through more fields of wildflowers. But don't let that description fool you. It's a bitch. This was my third time on this course too, but I was NOT prepared. The hills just kept coming. Several of the women I passed on the bike passed me on the run. At mile 4, I was hungry. I think I ate part of a banana at some point. They had oranges too, but I was afraid to eat too much. I had a couple of Gus and drank my Heed. Luckily I was able to run (and walk) the last 8 or so miles with a woman named Sharon from Arizona. I don't know what I would have done without her. Overall, I think I felt better than last year, but my run was 16 minutes slower.

Lesson Learned:

Keep camping and triathlons separate. I love them both, just not together.
It's time for a new wetsuit. I could have PR'd (at least by a minute!) if I didn't have to struggle so much to get the stupid thing off.
Pay more attention to nutrition!

So Tired

2008-05-15T05:28:00.000-07:00

Just last week, I was thinking that maybe this Ironman training was actually getting easier. I was hitting all of my workouts, but I wasn't exhausted, like last year. I thought maybe this has become a life style, and I could continue training like this without it completely taking over my life. But then it hit me! A wave of exhaustion has washed over me. I've been in bed by 8pm every night this week, and it's been a struggle to even stay up that late. I have phone calls to return, laundry to put away (at least I have clean clothes!), a race report still to finish, etc, etc. I just don't have the energy to do any of these things. Maybe next week ....

Done

2008-05-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

It wasn't easy, but I did it. My swim was 5 minutes faster and my bike was 7 minutes faster than last year, but my run was 16 minutes slower. So I didn't not beat last year's time - I was 1 minute slower. But I DID finish, and I feel pretty good today. The full report is in the works, but it's time for bed so it will have to wait.

Ready or Not, Here I come!

2008-05-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

I am almost completely packed, and I hope to be in bed before 9:oo tonight. Laurie is picking me up at 4:00 am tomorrow for the 5 hour drive to Wildflower. I am just now getting excited. I don't feel ready, but I don't think I ever feel ready for a race. And I have finished every race I've started.

Yesterday I took my bike into the shop because my brakes were screeching after a tune up last week. It was suppose to be a very easy fix, but the mechanic found a more serious problem ... cracks in the rear rim. The bike was still under warranty, but he wasn't sure he would be able get a wheel for me before I had to leave. I have to admit, there was a tiny part of me that was relieved, thinking here's a good excuse not to race. But of course, that's not an option, and he did hook me up with a brand new rear wheel. So, I'm off to the races.

Wish me luck. Thanks!

Paris Marathon

2008-04-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

Despite setting a new PW for a stand alone marathon, this was the most fun I've ever had running a marathon. But maybe it was the slower time that made it fun. Some other things that made it fun ....

running through the streets of Paris!
being called madame
chatting with a handsome French man for a few miles
being congratulated by another handsome French man at the end of the race
finally figuring out people were calling my name at mile 13 :) "Allez, allez, Ray!"

The race did not start until 8:45am, and I had planned to get up at about 6:00 and we were going to leave the hotel at 7:00. However, I got a "wake up call" at 5:20. Not such a big deal, but I had also gotten a call at midnight. Not sure what they were about as I did not request a call and no one was on the line when I picked up. I slept well despite the calls, and I even had a good dream -- I was in a park, and there were several men all vying for my attention. They were all Latino, and because I live in Southern California, I assumed they were Mexican. Each man was sitting at a table and had a resume of sorts letting me know why he was the best man for me. All I had to do was pick the one I wanted. It wasn't an easy decision. So imagine my surprise when I went downstairs to have coffee and breakfast, and there were two Spanish men having coffee. And then those two turned in to nine. Yes, I had breakfast with nine Spanish men! Jeanine drank her 2 Red Bulls up in her room so it was just me :) It was a nice start to the morning, but nobody gave me their "resume."

It was cold, but I hadn't been able to find any news or weather report so I really didn't know what to expect. I decided to wear a long sleeve shirt, shorts, and a cap. They gave us a plastic bag at the expo, and I wore that for the first 2k or so of the race. There were moments were I felt a little chilly after that, but most of the time I was comfortable. I later found out that it was about 30 F at the start of the race. The worst part was the 45 minutes of waiting in the porta potty line after I had already turned in my sweats. I had to go so bad and the freezing temperatures were not helping at all.

The race was big -- over 30,000 runners, and I started at the back of the pack. It took about 15-20 minutes to get to the starting line. Even though I couldn't understand most of what was being said around me, everybody seemed to be having a good time. I met a few folks from the New York chapter of Team in Training. I ran several key miles with Libby who helped distract me from the pain. Thanks Libby! Water, oranges, bananas, and sugar cubes were offered at aid stations every 5k. I took water every time it was offered (in little plastic bottles, not cups), one orange slice, and 1 banana piece in addition to the 4 Gus I had brought. They only offered an energy drink once at about mile 18. Wine was offered twice late in the race, but I passed.

I don't have any pictures of the race, but they have video on the website. I was not able to see myself at the start, but I did find myself at the finish. I'm wearing a long sleeve pink shirt and a light blue cap. I do have vacation photos, and I'll post those soon.

Bonjour

2008-04-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

I'm home! I loved France, and I did meet my goal of having fun (most of the time) running the marathon but set a new PW (personal worst) of 5:31. Sitting on planes for 14+ hours the day after the marathon was not so much fun though, so I treated myself to a massage after work yesterday. I also fit in a short swim, and I am feeling much better today. My suitcase still sits in the middle of my livingroom, and I have lots to catch up. I will post a real race/vacation report very soon.

Au revoir

2008-03-24T21:50:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving on a jet plane .... I fly to France tomorrow. It's 10:00pm, and I'm just about all packed. I am very excited as this is my first trip to Europe and my first real vacation in a looong time. I wish the dollar was stronger, but other than that, things are looking good. We'll be spending a few days in Paris, then we'll take a train to Nice and spend 5 days in the town of Jausiers. I will try to get a bike ride in while I'm there. Then, it's back to Paris to run the marathon on April 6th. They have me listed as Ray Trish and my bib number is 45053 if you want to look me up. My goal for this race is to have FUN!! I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Update(s)

2008-03-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time! I will try to get you caught up.

1) Health -- I'm no longer coughing up a lung, but Lord, I've got so much snot! At first I thought it was swimming that was producing it, but now I think I just may be allergic to Ironman training! After every swim, I'm so stuffed up and have trouble sleeping. The bike seems to loosen everything up -- I've perfected the farmer blow on the bike, and can even shoot left now. Maybe I should ride right after swimming every time. Honestly, it's shocking how much snot has been coming out of my body. Overall though, I've been feeling good.

2) Work -- I've been super busy at work, often working ten hours a day. This weekend was Wildflower Training Weekend, but I wasn't able to go with the Team. I HAD to work on Friday. I'm a big fan of using sick days for things like this, but I had meetings with our Open Court consultant all day. It's a 5 hour drive up to Wildflower, and it didn't seem worth it to drive up late on Friday. Plus, I have a ton to do before my trip to Paris. I got my taxes done this weekend!

3) Training -- being sick last month set me back some, but I think I'll be okay. I did a 56 mile hilly ride yesterday and felt pretty good. Today I ran 20 miles. And I found two things to add to the list of things I love -- running in the soft sound and headwinds. Because of the strong winds, about a half mile of the path was completely covered in sand. It was like there was no path, only beach. On the way out I got to run through the sand with a headwind. Yippee!!

4) Racing -- I signed up for Wildflower Long course today. I've had it on my schedule for a while now, but it's for real now. And I'll be raising money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation and supporting my Team in Training teammates at the same time -- it's the best of both worlds :) I leave for Paris in 9 days! I'm super excited. In addition to running, I've been trying to learn some French.

I'm sure I've left out something, but it's a start, and I'll try not to let so much time lapse before I post again.

sick

2008-02-18T08:56:00.000-08:00

It's been a week since I worked out. Last weekend I was not feeling great .... I was congested and coughing, but I did not feel horrible and the weather was beautiful ... in the 70s and sunny. So I went ahead and did my 4 hour bike ride on Saturday. Breathing was a little difficult, but I still felt okay. Sunday, I only ran 8 miles instead of my planned 12. I didn't have school on Monday so I did hill repeats on the bike and an hour with Lisa, my personal trainer. And then I was done. I was planning to do my swim drills after the strength training, but I couldn't. It was straight home and to the couch. I should have rested the entire weekend.

I went to work on Tuesday even though I had no business being there. Even before my coworkers heard me cough they knew I was sick. I looked that bad. I was winded walking up a flight of stairs! I missed my last "swim better" session. I was really bummed about that. I stayed home Wednesday and went to the doctor. He said my cough was "impressive" ... I don't mess around. He gave me all sorts of drugs, including an inhaler and cough suppressant with codeine so I could sleep :)

So, I've been sleeping a lot and watching bad TV. The evenings are so long when you don't spend an hour or two at the gym. Saturday I did my good deed for the Team, and provided SAG as they rode up Latigo (a 10 mile monster of a hill) for the first time. Everybody made it up and down just fine, and nobody needed me. But it is nice to know someone is nearby if you do get into trouble. Sunday I left my apartment only once, and that was to take out the trash. I'm not sure what today will bring. I might do laundry! I do know that I want to make sure I'm completely healthy before I work out again. I definitely don't want this to linger.

Another Wet Sunday

2008-02-03T19:36:00.000-08:00

So it rained again today. But it was dry and clear yesterday so I was able to get in my 2 hour bike ride and 1 hour run. I can deal with a wet run, but I hate riding in the rain. It can be dangerous and scary. The rain was coming down pretty hard when my alarm went off at 6:30 this morning. I had coffee, read the paper, ate my oatmeal, and then got some work done. It stopped raining around 9:30. I headed out for my 3 hour run shortly after 10:00, and of course it started to rain again just as I stepped out the door. But it wasn't too bad and only lasted about 30 minutes. The on-shore winds did not let up though, and it felt like I had a head wind the entire time. And never a tail wind. I hate it when that happens. I got it done and was greatly relieved that I didn't have to resort to the treadmill.

2 minutes

2008-01-31T05:18:00.000-08:00

Two minutes is about all I have this morning before I head out for my run and then off to work. And two minutes just happens to be the amount of time I took off of my four mile run!! This is a rest and test week ... we cut down on the volume of training and do a couple of hard efforts to test ourselves. Tuesday I had a 40 minute time trial (TT) on the schedule so I ran my normal 4 mile route. On an easy day I run that in about 42 minutes. The last time I did as a TT, my time was 38:10, and it was hard to hold on to that effort. This week I ran it in 36:13! And it wasn't so hard to hold on to that pace. I have not been doing any speed work so I think it's the strength training paying off here.

Sunday I am supposed to do a 2k swim TT (assigned by my tri coach), but my swim coach says we're not ready to swim yet. Last night was week 2 of the swim better clinic. It wasn't raining this week, but it was COLD (about 45 and windy), and we swim outside. During the first length of side balance, my arm that was resting on my leg was freezing! I had moments of breakthrough last night where I could really feel the difference and the power. So I will stick with the drills this week .... 4 times before next Wednesday.

this and that

2008-01-27T20:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been back to work for three weeks now, and trying to fit it all in. It's not easy. I've had many blog worthy thoughts come and go before I found the time to sit down at the computer and bring them to life. Last weekend I ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon. My good friend Liz came out to support me. It was also the year anniversary of my Mom's passing. It was great to see her, as always, but I discovered that I am not very comfortable with praise or compliments. Liz is so enthusiastic about my accomplishments, and I tend to focus too much on my flaws and shortcomings. It's a never ending battle, but I'm not giving up!

This week I began a four week, swim better clinic. I was proud of myself just for making it to the first session, Wednesday evening at 7pm. It was raining and cold and the pool is outdoors. Mapquest said it should take 17 minutes to get there or up to an hour with traffic. It took me one hour and forty-five minutes! They video taped each of us, and then we did lots of drills. Our homework is to get in the pool 3-4 times but NOT swim, just do the drills. It's hard to skip my scheduled swims, but I know I have some bad habits. Taking a couple of weeks now to improve my form should pay huge dividends for the rest of the season.

I got in two good workouts this weekend despite the bad weather. We had rain most of the week, but Saturday was clear and gorgeous. I rode for 3 and a half hours in Palos Verdes. My longest ride so far this season, and I felt good. Rain, wind and thunder were predicted for Sunday so I didn't set my alarm. I woke up at about 8, and it wasn't raining. For reasons I can't explain, I didn't get out for my run until about 9:30. I planned to run for 3 hours, but cut it short. I ran 12 miles in 2:15. I ran about half of it in the rain and strong winds, and decided I had had enough. I do like running in the rain though. The waves were awesome, and the Strand was mostly empty and I feel so hard core. I am glad I don't have to deal with bad weather for too long though :)

ABANDON HOPE!

2008-01-06T17:09:00.000-08:00

Day 6 of the New Year, and already she's giving up? Not quite. I have been giving quite a bit of thought to what my New Year's resolutions should be. More so than usual. And number one on my list is to love and accept myself. As I am. Right. Now. No excuses. No what ifs. I must abandon hope* of becoming "perfect" for I am already perfect. Losing ten pounds will not make me a better person, nor will it make me happy. There will always be someone thinner, fitter, faster than me. To be truly happy, I need to be myself, and I need to love myself.

Having said all that, there are a few things I'm working on. And the new year is as good a time as any to work on changing some habits.

Living in the Moment -- I worry a lot and tend to over think things. Part of what made the Ironman such a great experience for me was that I was in the moment as soon as the gun went off. I stopped worrying and just swam and biked and ran for 16 hours and forty minutes. I was proud of myself for getting there. I soaked in the beautiful views and enjoyed the support and kindness of strangers. And the day just flew by! I want every day to be like that. People shouting my name and cheering for me eveywhere I go would be pretty cool too.

Stretching

As you can see, I need to work on my flexibility. This is me seriously stretching, and that's as far as I can go even with my knees bent. Right now. Lisa, my private trainer, says that my tight calf muscles are hindering my movement and has me using the foam roller every day. It's painful, but I am noticing an improvement. I went to yoga twice this week, and it felt sooo good. Once I go back to work (tomorrow!) I'll be lucky to fit in one yoga class a week, but I can stretch for 10-15 minutes at home everyday.

Nutrition -- I need to be more mindful of what I'm putting in my body. This mostly means planning, grocery shopping, and cooking so that I have good, healthy choices readily available. And it's not all that hard. The other night I threw a turkey breast tenderloin (preseasoned) in the oven and roasted some veggies along with it. It was very easy and tasty. The only drawback was that it took over an hour to cook. That's where the planning comes in.

So, I think this is enough to work on for now. Happy New Year!!

*I first heard the phrase "Abandon Hope" from my good friend and IronFan, Liz, on June 23, 2007, in Coeur d'Alene, ID.

Farewell 2007

2007-12-31T17:18:00.000-08:00

Ah, the sun sets on yet another year. And I have to admit I'm happy to see this one go. Yes, I accomplished a great deal this year ... training for and completing an Ironman while raising over $9000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I made some great friends along the way too. Yet my Mom's passing on January 18, 2007, put a damper on things to say the least. I know she's proud of me. I just wish she could have been here to share this success with me. My Dad too (he died on January 15, 2002).

My Dad was my first coach. He had my four older brothers and me doing drills daily ... swinging the bat 50 times in front of a mirror, fielding balls, playing catch, etc.; but always we were thinking ... visualizing the ball and thinking about the play we would make. And quitting or giving up was never an option. My Mom was team mom, manager, score keeper, etc. If there was a job that needed doing, she did it. I don't know how she did it, but she seemed to attend EVERYTHING for all FIVE of us. Amazing! She even traveled from Arizona to San Diego to be there for my first triathlon! She was a little disturbed by the "skimpy outfits" worn by some of the athletes, and she thought I should have won, but she was there for me. Always. Thank you both.

11:46

2007-12-30T15:40:00.000-08:00

For two weeks in a row my total duration of training has reached exactly 11 hours and 46 minutes. I ran more and swam less this week, but still the total time was exactly the same as the week prior. I don't think I could do that again even if I tried. Freaky. Maybe it's a sign that I can finish an Ironman in 11:46. Ha!

Yesterday I rode on PCH in Malibu with the Team. It was a beautiful day with an easy 2 hour ride on the schedule. PCH has some rolling hills and gorgeous views. Seven months ago it was our easy, recovery ride. But yesterday the hills seemed a bit harder than I remember. I'm a little worried about what's gonna happen when we start riding the real hills. Will I be able to make it? Will I be going so slow that I'll just tip over? Or start sliding backward down the hill? I doubt it of course, but still I worry.

Stats for the week of December 17th:
Swim: 6200 yards; 3:00
Bike: 67.0 mi; 4:42
Run: 11.0 mi; 2:04
Weights: 2:00
Total Time: 11 hours, 46 minutes

Stats for the week of December 24th:
Swim: 3050 yd; 1:40*
Bike: 52.3 mi; 3:50
Run: 20.3 mi; 4:01
Weights: 2:15
Total Time: 11 hours, 46 minutes

* I had to cut my swim short on Dec. 24th because of the aqua aerobics class. Those old ladies can be ruthless.

It feels good to be back :)

New Muscles

2007-12-28T11:44:00.000-08:00

Well, the week is almost up so it's time for a new post. These past two weeks have been a little strange. I'm on vacation so even though there has been lots to do ... baking, shopping, wrapping, spending time with family and friends ... I have been able to fit in all of my workouts. Last week I logged over 11 hours, but I have been eating SO much that I feel kinda gross. I'll be glad when the holidays are over and I can get rid of all the junk in my house (and on my thighs!)

I felt some new muscles while swimming last night. I think they were the pecs! I have worked out with my trainer four times so far. I have also done the workout she has shown me on my own several times. I love that tingly feeling I get after I work out with weights ... like my muscles are still working. And feeling them last night was even better. It's going to be a challenge fitting everything in, but I just know all this work will pay off.

I'm Back

2007-12-22T19:15:00.000-08:00

Holy crap! It's been a long time since I've posted. How does that happen? I'm back in the training groove, and I'm liking it. I love having a schedule to follow and a purpose for each workout. You can check out my training log here. I've also hired a personal trainer. I need to drop about 10 pounds and get leaner and stronger. This will make help tremendously on all those long bike rides and runs. I will start posting at least once a week again whether you like it or not ;)

It's Official .....

2007-11-30T18:37:00.000-08:00

I have my spot for Ironman Coeur d'Alene!! June 22, 2008 will be here before I know it so it's time to get serious about my training again.

Big Plans

2007-11-18T19:55:00.000-08:00

I bought my plane ticket to Paris today. That's right, I'm going to Paris to run a marathon on April 6th! Don't worry, I'll have plenty of time to see the sites and eat croissants and drink wine :) The race comes at the end of my two week Spring Break so the timing is perfect. My friend and fellow teacher Jeanine is going with me. Actually, I'm going with her. She's a planner and has already worked out almost all of the details. Thanks Jeanine!

The other big news is that I signed up for Ironman Coeur d'Alene again!! Last month I made the decision to be a mentor with Team in Training. The team is training for Wildflower Long and Vineman. So, I had people to train with, but no race. Until now. I love having that goal out there. This year will be a little different. I know that I can do the distance, but I also know the sacrifice it will take to get there.

More about goals (one of which is to post more regularly) in another post ....

San Diego Triathlon Challenge Cancelled

2007-10-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

I received this email on Wednesday:

*** Cancellation Announcement ***

Due to the massive, widespread wildfires that have devastated San Diego County since Sunday (and continue to burn in the Northeast and Southeast parts of the county) we have decided the best and most prudent course of action is to cancel the 14th Annual Sempra Energy San Diego Triathlon Challenge and the Frog’s Fitness Tour de Cove scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 28, 2007 at La Jolla Cove.

The safety, well-being and enjoyment of all our event participants was the major factor in our decision-making process. At this point, we do not know what the air quality will be like on Sunday. We are also cognizant of the great losses suffered by many of our friends and neighbors across the county. We believe that after four days of severe disruptions that affected more than 500,000 San Diego County residents, and with an uncertain air quality forecast for Sunday, it is best not to proceed with the event at this time.

CAF thanks all our sponsors, friends and volunteers who have worked so hard to make this year’s San Diego Triathlon Challenge and Tour de Cove a success. Like you, we are very disappointed that the event will not go forward this weekend. However, we truly believe this is the right course of action. Thank you for your continued support of physically challenged athletes.

We will be in touch with further updates.

Yours in sport,

Virginia Tinley

CAF Executive Director

To say that I am disappointed is putting it mildly. I look forward to this event every year. It's better than Christmas. Particiants get a Nike duffle bag stuffed with goodies ... Nike running shoes, dri-fit shirts, t-shirt, sweatshirt, water bottles, Gu, goggles, towel, DVDs, Timex watch, etc. But even more important than the stuff I get, are the feelings I get. When I watch all those athletes with disabilities giving it their all, I get the feeling that ANYTHING is possible. I am filled with joy and admiriation; courage and humility; a sense that all is right in this crazy world.

Last year, 8 year old Jake attempted the hilly 13.1 mile run. He completed 8 miles and said that since he had already done the hardest part (the hills) he didn't need to finish. Indeed he didn't. I'm sure he will finish that run one day, but he is already a winner. He had the confidence and courage to start. That's more than half the battle.

I know that the good people at CAF made the right decision, and I know that I am one of the lucky ones. Yes, my favorite race was cancelled. Yes, the air quality was poor here and I missed a few workouts and my car is FILTHY. But I am alive, my house is still standing, and I am healthy.

"Race" Reports

2007-10-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

So, I ran the Manhattan Beach 10k two weeks ago, and it was my slowest ever ... 1:03:56, but it was a beautiful day, I had fun, and I got a cool tee shirt. Unlike most race shirts that are filled with ads, this one always has a photo of the MB Pier and no ads. And it's long sleeve.

I have never been fast, but my goal in a 10k had always been to run each mile in under 10 minutes and thus finishing the race in under an hour. On this day though, I was happy to be keeping the miles at under 11 minutes. It seems that 11 has become the new 10!

I know what I need to do to get it back .... I need to drop a few pounds and I need to push myself a little harder in my training. During Ironman training, I got use to the LSD (long, slow, distance) workouts. My IM race was 4 months ago, and I have fully recovered. There is no reason I need to keep running at that snail's pace.

Thursday morning I pushed myself, and I actually "won" a 4.5 mile race. The woman, whom I'll call Racer X, didn't know we were racing. But still, I won :)

I've seen Racer X for years. Up until last year she was always walking with a man I assume is/was her husband. He walked a little bit faster than her so every few feet she would jog to catch up to him. And she was always talking ... it looked like he was trying to get away from her incessant chatter. He would say good morning to me, but she would never acknowledge my presence. And that bothered me. Lately she has been alone, AND she's been running. I have wondered what happened to Mr. X. Did she decide she liked those little jogs she took to catch up to him, and just kept going? Did he dump her, so she turned to running to work out the pain? I have wanted to ask her, but she STILL won't look at me. I smile, I say good morning, but I get nothing back from this woman.

Usually Racer X is going in the opposite direction I am, but on Thursday, as fate would have it, she was going my way, and she had stopped to tie her jacket around her waist. This time as I passed her I said nothing, and as my friend Laurie would say, "I put the hammer down!" I heard foot steps but never looked back. She was NOT going to pass me. At one point, I thought maybe I should slow down and get the story. But I didn't think she would talk to me, and I'm just a tad bit competetive. I don't know when or where she turned around, but I never saw her again. I had a GOOD run though. I ran 10 minute miles and was about 3 minutes faster than I have been in recent months.

Next up: The San Diego Triathlon Challenge, which I'm doing as relay this year. I'll be running 13 hilly miles for this one. It's not too late to donate :)

You DO love hills, Trisha!!

2007-09-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

I ran hills this week! Tuesday morning I did some hill repeats in the neighborhood, and this morning I ran 8 miles in Palos Verdes with Maria. It was so nice to have company, and I felt like I was running faster than I have been. But it turns out we ran an average of 12 minute miles. Not so fast after all. But I felt good and there were hills :)

I love hills ... they make me stronger. Years ago, my God daughter, Lucy, called a meeting with me to discuss sand. She was about 3 years old at the time. Her parents were very active in a local organization called Neighbors Against Garbage (NAG), and they took Lucy to many meetings and various protests. Lucy was a pro. We were at the beach, and she asked me if I liked sand. I said no, and calmly voiced my reasons for not liking it. But she would hear NONE of it. She became a bit agitated and said, "You DO like sand, Trisha!!" and she wouldn't let me leave the tent until I agreed that I did indeed like sand.

I have often told myself that I love hills when clearly I don't, but they do make me stronger. I don't know what my "love" of sand has gotten me, but maybe this strategy goes back to that fateful meeting with Lucy. Thanks Lucy!

Why I Don't Do Hills

2007-09-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

This is where I get to run! And it's just two short blocks from my house. Today was exceptionally beautiful because we got our first rain storm of the season Friday night/Saturday morning. To the right of the sand is a running/bike path. This morning I saw my neighbor walking his dogs, a coworker walking her husband, a woman I met in a volleyball class 9 years ago, and my friends Dee and Ted playing volleyball. Not to mention all of the regular runners I nod to and smile at. I felt like a minor celebrity. It's perfect. I could run over 20 miles on this path, and there are water fountains and restrooms strategically located along the way. And except for the occasional pervert, I feel very safe, comfortable, and happy running here. But it is FLAT, and I have some races with hills approaching.

Usually I don't think about the fact that I should be running hills until AFTER the race. So I guess I am making some progress ... I am at least thinking about it now. I am going to run the Manhattan Beach 10k on Octber 6 (my birthday!), and there are a couple of decent hills. But the run in the SD Triathlon Challenge is HILL - LY! I know I need to start running hills, but it is difficult to tear myself away from the beauty of my home turf. Maybe next weekend!

She Drinks Skim Milk and She's Still FAT!

2007-09-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

My dear old grandmother said these words about me at the dinner table over thirty years ago, yet they still haunt me. I don't run to my bedroom in tears like I did when I first heard them, and I can laugh when I tell the story now, but still they haunt me. I had a converstion about this with my brother Jim a couple of weeks ago, and he asked if this is one of the reasons I have pushed myself to physical extremes that I have. And yes, it is a part of it, a big part of it.

About 10 years ago I joined Weight Watchers for at least the third time in my life and lost 55 pounds. I had been jogging 3 miles a few times a week at that point, but as I neared my weight loss goal I felt like I needed another goal to keep myself on track. My friend Tomie was beginning to train for her first marathon and dragged me on an 8 mile run. I was so sore after that run (I remember it like it was yesterday), but I did it! I signed up for the marathon too.

But the words of my grandmother still lurk in the recesses of my brain ... "She runs marathons, and she's still fat!" and "She's an Ironman and she's still fat!" The other night, or morning I guess it was, when I couldn't sleep, I finished reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Liz spent a year in Italy, India, and Bali in pursuit of pleasure, devotion, and balance and chronicled her experiences in this wonderful book. She tells of a time when she was on a tiny island east of Bali. After 9 days of silence, she dropped into a long (we're talking several hours!) meditation in which she faced everything in her life that had caused her sorrow, anger, and shame. She examined each one, and accepted, forgave, and loved it.

Now, I can barely sit for the 5 minutes of meditation at the beginning of my yoga class, but I CAN forgive my grandmother for uttering those hurtful words, I CAN forgive myself for believing those awful words, and I CAN accept and love my body as it is right now. And with that said, it is DONE!

CAF .... My Motivation

2007-08-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

On October 28, I will be fortunate enough to once again participate in the San Diego Triathlon Challenge in San Diego, CA. This is the main fundraising event for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). This is from an email I wrote last September while training for this event, my second Half Ironman ....

Training is going well, and I feel so much stronger and more confident than I did at this time last year. And because I am no longer SO intimidated by the physical challenge I will be facing on November 5th, (2006), I have had time and energy to reflect on what has gotten me here in the first place ....

My Dad was injured while serving in the US Army during the Korean War. He was shot in his left arm, and he lost the use of his hand -- it was in a permanent fist. A competitor to the core, my dad won contests to see who could get another morphine shot while rehabbing in the hospital. My dad never preached or complained, he lived his life ... working hard and taking care of his wife and 5 kids. He taught us all how to play baseball and coached our teams. He played softball himself, and he was good! He would wear the glove on his right hand, catch the ball, put the glove under his left arm, pull out the ball and throw it. And boy would he get mad if we didn't use 2 hands when catching the ball! When he retired and moved to Lake Havasu he started a senior softball league and yelled at the pros on TV to use 2 hands.

I never thought of my dad as disabled and the only time I remember hearing that word in my house was when my dad was driving disabled veterans to the hospital or helping out the DAV in some other way. By his example, my father showed me that anything is possible. He taught me to try my hardest and to never quit. I am thankful and proud of him, and I know he is proud of me.

In 2004, CAF began a new program called Operation Rebound, which supports and mentors American soldiers and veterans who have been permanently injured in recent wars, and last year there were several soldiers who participated in the triathlon.

CAF is where I got my start in the sport of triathlon. Before that I was just a runner. I did the run leg of this triathlon for several years before I worked up the courage to do a triathlon. You see, I didn't know how to swim. But three years ago I looked at a guy with one leg who was doing all 3 events himself while I was only running, and I decided then and there that not knowing how to swim was clearly NO excuse. I fractured a bone in my foot a month later and couldn't run ... it was the perfect time to learn how to swim :) And now look at me ... I'm an Ironman!!

This year I will do only the run. I want to ENJOY the day and cheer on all of the amazing, courageous athletes who will be there, and I want to include others in this inspiring day. My IronTEAMmates Maria and Gregorio will be joining me. Teammates Laurie, Jen, and Karen also have a team. This is my favorite day of the year, and I'm really looking forward to it. The race is sold out, but you can still come .... volunteer, cheer, be amazed. Donations are welcome too :)

Thanks!
Trish

Life After Ironman

2007-08-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

Summer began for me with the Ironman. The last day of school was June 26th so I actually started my summer vacation a few days early. And now it's over. I go back to work officially tomorrow, but I've already been in several days getting ready. Today was my last day to sleep in, but I woke up before 6:00am. I wanted so badly to sleep longer, but I was wide awake. I had to get up.

I took a few trips, caught up with friends, went to yoga, took care of some things that I had put off during months of training (like finding a place for the boxes of my grandmother's china that had been sitting in my livingroom since MAY!), and gained 7 pounds in the last 9 weeks. It doesn't seem right. While training for the race I gained 5 pounds. And no, that's not a roll of muscle around what use to be my waist. Seriously, I burned thousands of calories in a day, and I gained weight?! Then when I cut back on my workouts AND my eating, I gain more weight?! Obviously I was eating too much. I started to believe all those people who told me that I must be able to eat whatever I want. But when my pants no longer buttoned I had to get serious about my diet, and I have dropped a few of those summer pounds.

I've been focusing on the run these days. I'm thinking about running the Long Beach Marathon on October 14th, but only if I think I'll be able to have a decent time and feel good. I may end up just doing the half instead. I try to swim and cycle 1-2 days a week, but only if I feel like it.

I went to Minnesota to visit Super IM Fan Liz earlier this month. We held our own mini triathlon, her first!! Yay Liz! We did a 300 yard lake swim, 9 mile bike, and 3 mile run. She will be an official volunteer at IM Madison next week. I think she may be hooked :)

RACE DAY

2007-07-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

So, the alarm went off at 3:45am, and I was ready to go! I slept through the night and felt good, nervous but good. I got dressed and went downstairs for coffee and food. Yes, the Holiday Inn had breakfast ready for us at 3:30am -- oatmeal, eggs, fruit, etc. I started with coffee and oatmeal. I tried some eggs, but I wasn't lovin them so I moved on. Most of the athletes looked as apprehensive as I felt, and that was reassuring. BUT I didn't want to spend too much time there, soaking up that nervous energy, so I ate and scurried back upstairs to finish getting ready.

At about 5:00am we got in the vans to head down to the lake. The weather was cool, in the 40s, and there was a breeze. The lake was not like glass as I had been promised by coach Paul. I put my bottles on my bike, added a PB & J sandwich to my swim to bike transition bag, and headed over to get body marked. Tomie called at this point to tell me that my IronFANS had arrived. I wasn't sure I wanted to see them -- I was very nervous at this point and didn't really want anybody to ask me how I was feeling. As soon as I saw them, though, I had a good laugh. Their shirts say "Trish Da Ho" and the hats say "Iron Trish" and I WAS glad to see them :)

I got my wetsuit on and made my way down to the lake. There was a ton of people crowded into a small space, everyone trying to find their loved one to wish him/her luck. Karen saw her mom and squealed, and a little later Maria found her dad. He gave her a hug, and Maria and I both started crying. Even though my mom and dad weren't there to give me a hug for luck, they were there with me. There is no way I would have ever made it to the starting line without their love and support my whole life. They both believed that I could do ANYTHING! My mom would have asked me if I was going to win.

THE SWIM (2.4 miles)

The water was still cold and choppy. It was so choppy that the race organizers announced that anyone who wished could opt out of the swim and work the day as a duathlon --- bike & run only. As much as I was dreading the swim, this was not an option worth considering. I had worked long and hard to get here, and I was going to be crowned an Ironman today! About 50 people decided not to swim.

So we were all huddled on the beach trying to stay warm, waiting for the gun to go off. There was a strange mix of adreneline, fear, anxiety and excitement flowing through my body at this point. My friend Jen told me that once the gun went off, all would be well, and I would just get the job done. I was praying that she was right. The gun went off and I followed the crowd into the water. I placed myself in the middle of the pack, walked into the lake, took a second to get my bearings and started swimming. I got bumped a little bit, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. So I swam, and swam , and swam. Sighting was tough because everytime I looked up I got smacked in the face with a wave. I have a tendancy to swim to the right and the buoys were on the left. Because of this I probably swam closer to 3 miles. But I was doing it, and I wasn't freaking out! This was a 2 loop course, and I finished the first loop in about 58 minutes. The pros were already finished with BOTH loops, but I knew I would be able to finish and make the time cut off of 2:20. So in I went for my second loop. It seemed easier this time, and I was hoping my time would reflect that. My calves started cramping up toward the end of the swim. I flexed my feet and tried to stretch them out. Finally, I was finished! I ran across the timing mat and heard my name announced and the crowds cheer! I was so happy to be done :)

I ran to the strippers, sat down on the grass, and had them yank my wetsuit off. Heavenly! It is always such a struggle to get the dang wetsuit off. I may have stick to Ironman races just for this feature :)

time: 1:59:08
rank: 2112/2197

THE BIKE (112 miles)

There were more volunteers to help me get ready for the bike. Christy, our team captain, was volunteering and found me in the women's changing tent. She helped me get on my arm warmers, gloves, and helmet. I was cold and shaking, which made it tough to do those things myself. She sent me out, and I made a stop for sunscreen --- yes, more volunteers slathered me with sunscreen. One more stop at the porta pottie (no volunteers to help there!) and then I was off. The course went through town, around CDA lake, back through town, and then out to Hayden lake. It was beautiful! Many residents were out in front of there house cheering us on all day. One house had signs posted that said that we could use the bathroom, get water, and get mechanical help. And on a table under an umbrella sat a sign that said "counseling available" ... I laughed out loud. On my second loop I told the man there that this was my favorite house. He seemed genuinely touched by this and said thank you.

I stayed focused on the ride and on getting my nutrition in. The swim was in the past and I wasn't worried about the run yet. I felt good. Because it was a two loop course I saw a few of my teammates several times, and I found this very comforting. The pros passed me while I was in the hills (about mile 40 or so), and that was exciting. I was racing with the pros! Once again they finished in about half the time it took me. I saw my IronFans frequently. I don't know how they did it, but they were everywhere! Later, Liz and Theresa told me that they thought my Mom and Dad had guided them to the right spot on more than one occasion.

The second loop proved a tad bit tougher, but manageable. Finally I was out of the hills and headed back to the transition area, but first I had some head wind to deal with. The weather had been great all day-- in the 60s and cloudy and windy in spots. I was done! I had made the cut off with about 30 minutes to spare :) Once again, there were volunteers .... they took my bike and racked it for me while I headed to the changing tent.

time: 7:51:46

rank: 2061/2197

THE RUN (26.2 miles)

I saw Maria almost immediately. She was about a mile and a half ahead of me. Maybe I could catch her, I thought. I saw her at least 2 more times, but I never did catch her. Then I saw Gregorio ... he was starting his second loop of the run. He was almost done, and I was so proud of him. The run was tough I can't lie. My goal was to run and only walk through the aid stations, but I didn't quite make it. I walked a lot. I was feeling a little light headed and knew I needed to take in some nutrients, but everything I ate made me sick. I must have spent at LEAST 30 minutes in the porta potties. I tried chicken broth, pretzles, and Gu. Nothing was working. Finally at mile 14 I decided to only drink Gatorade. That worked, thank God! At one point during the run, a little boy who had just come out of the porta pottie exclaimed, "Mom, I saw your diarrhea!" Ha! At least I didn't have anybody announcing my gastrointestinal troubles to the world!

Again, my Fans were great. I saw them many times. Liz ran with me for a while, and Tomie biked beside me. It was dark and lonely out there. I know I wouldn't have quit, but it sure was nice to have some company. Finally, I was almost there. A couple more turns and I would be able to see the finishing chute. Nothing could have prepared me for that moment. By this point it was cold, the wind had picked up, AND it had started to rain! Bring it on! I am an Ironman, I can handle it! I started to pick up the pace a bit. It was almost midnight, but there were still lots of people cheering us on. I heard Mike Reilly say, "Trish Ray from Hermosa Beach, California!" and the fans went wild. I saw Coach Paul and he gave me a little shove, and I felt like I was flying. People were cheering like I had won and giving me high fives. It was amazing! I was an Ironman! Click here to see proof of this :)

time: 6:29:54
rank: 2048/2085
Total time: 16:40:58

Thank you for believing in me and supporting me on this journey!

hugs,
trish

IM CdA Pre-Race Report

2007-07-09T18:05:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Coeur d'Alene on Thursday afternoon with my TEAM, we settled into our hotel, where we were treated like celebrities. They even took pictures of us as we checked in :) Then we went down to the Ironman Village, where the magic happens. We picked up our race packets, which included a timing chip, swim cap, and a cool Ironman backpack. This was real, soon I was going to be an Ironman and there was no backing out now! It was not crowded yet, so we were in and out in no time. Everything was so well organized and the volunteers were so friendly and helpful. I then dropped some cash in the official IM shop. What's the point of doing an Ironman if you don't have some cool gear to show off?! We picked up our bikes and rode a couple of miles back to the hotel.

Friday morning we got up early and headed down to the lake for a swim, bike, and a run ... all short and easy. The lake was much choppier than anticipated and cold. We donned our wetsuits and everybody dove in and started swimming, and I followed. That was a big mistake. After about ten strokes I was freaking out. My breathing was out of control, I couldn't find any rhythm, and I was seriously doubting my ability to complete the swim in the 2:20 time limit. Coach Paul found me and talked me down from the ledge. We swam out a little farther and then over and back in. Then he made me get back in the lake and do it again. I was only in the water for a total of 30 minutes or so, but it seemed like forever. Better to have this kind of freak out today and not on race day. Next we got on our bikes and rode 1 loop of the run course -- mostly flat through downtown, some neighborhoods, and around the lake. It was beautiful, and I felt calm and peaceful. Which is somewhat amazing after that swim. But I felt my Mom there with me, and the tears began. It was a good cry, and it wouldn't be the last time I cried this weekend. Then we ran for about 20 minutes just to make sure everything's working okay. I had been having some pain in the ball of my right foot for a week now, and it was still there. I was worried, and I iced it that evening.

I had a much better swim on Saturday morning. I gave myself a minute to get use the water tempertature and went in at my own pace. I can do this, I thought, and I did! Some of my teammates went to free pancake breakfast in the village after the swim, but I went back to the hotel to get all my gear together. Unlike most triathlons where you set up your gear in the morning, we had to put our stuff in bags and bring it down the day before. I was a little nervous about this --- would I have everything I needed? I always set things up the same way so I won't forget anything. With everything a jumbled mess in the bag, would I forget to put on something important like my sunglasses? I laid everything out, and Paul checked it out for me. He suggested I put a long sleeve shirt in my Special Needs Run bag, and I'm glad I did. This bag was available to me halfway through the run, and I needed that shirt. We then dropped off our bikes, bike gear and run gear bags. This was quite an operation they had going, and everywhere we went, there were more helpful volunteers and more stressed out athletes. My stomach is doing tiny little flips right now. It was doing huge flips then.

My crew had all arrived by this point. Tomie and Jen flew in from San Diego on Friday. Liz, from Minneapolis, and Theresa, from New Jersey, got in Saturday afternoon. It was so great to have them there. Liz had a million questions for me and all four had lots of love and encouragement for me. Liz has a new philosophy and wants a magnet on her fridge that says "Abandon Hope". The basic premise is that we are perfect the way we are right now, and that we should abandon hope of ever becoming better. Correct me if I'm wrong, Liz. We had a lot of laughs over this new catch phrase of hers and it definitely relieved a lot of my tension.

After dinner with the TEAM and our family and
friends, and a last minute pep talk from coaches Paul and Kevin, I went up to my room alone, to face my fears, and hopefully get some sleep. I finally fell asleep around 10:30 and slept until my alarm went off at 3:45 am. Today is the day!!

Race Report .... A Pictorial

2007-07-03T11:22:00.000-07:00

PRE-RACE

Here I am after picking up my "stuff" --timing chip, race numbers, swim cap, etc. They even weighed all athletes.

Shopping with Maria for cool IM apparel.

THE SWIM

2.4 miles, 1:59:08, 128/135 in my age group
I was very nervous about the mass start, but it wasn't so bad. Needless to say, I wasn't out front. I wasn't the last one to enter the water either.

THE BIKE

112 miles, 7:51:46, 107/135
Feeling strong!

THE RUN

26.2 miles, 6:29:55, 114/135
As you can see, I did a lot of walking. The course was beautiful, and I never once thought of giving up.

THE CREW

Liz, Theresa, Tomie, & Jen
They were EVERYWHERE!! Thank you!!!

And thanks to ALL of my fans who were with me in spirit!

THE FINISH

140.6 miles, 16:40:58, 117/135
With Honored Teammate, Maria and Mentor, Dean

Recovery has been good, and I'm even thinking of doing another one. I'll wait for the high to wear off before I make any big decisons though. I will write a real race report soon.

Hugs,

Trish

I am an IRONMAN!!

2007-06-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

I did it!

I got home late last night and am exhausted, but I feel great and have never been prouder! I will write a detailed race report soon. Thanks to all of you who supported me on this long journey, and a big Whoop dee Whoop! goes out to my amazing "I Da Ho Crew" ... Liz, Theresa, Tomie, and Jen. You guys rock!

Here I go ....

2007-06-20T05:51:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow I leave for Coeur d'Alene!! Coach Paul told us that we should be getting LOTS of sleep now, and usually I'm pretty good at that. This morning, though, I was up at 4:00 and couldn't get back to sleep. So I decided to get up and get stuff done in the hopes that I can get to bed early (by 8:00pm) tonight since I have to be at the airport at 4:30am tomorrow.

Last night was our last swim practice. Here I am (blue shorts & sweatshirt) walking into the pool with teammates Raul, Laurie, and Dean.
To simulate race conditions, each of us had to swim through the "gauntlet".. .. apparently it's a TnT tradition. Some said ours was pretty tame, but it sure didn't feel that way to me. And Matt reminded us all that we could all do this for 6 hours! So there.

IronTEAM

I reached my fundraising minimum of $8500 a couple of weeks ago, and I am so grateful to all of you with have supported me through this long journey. Thank you!!

Stats for the season:
swim: 149,288 yards

bike: 2,146 miles

run: 573 miles

total time: 340 hours, 40 minutes

What the hell am I going to do with myself after this?!

I will post a race report here as soon as possible.

Hugs,

Trish

Taper

2007-06-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

Here's the TEAM gathered for our last bike ride before we head off to Coeur d'Alene. Saturday we met at Castaic Lake for a swim, bike, run, and picnic :) The lake was nice, and we swam for about 45 minutes before we were kicked out. The bike ride was only 18 miles. I rode for one hour out, but it only took 30 minutes to get back. The downhill was nice, but there were some strong gusts of wind that scared me. It would really suck to have an accident 2 weeks before a race that I've been training 8 months for. And then the run ... 50 minutes. I was a bit sluggish all day, but Coach Paul says that's normal after the low key week we had. Today I only had to run for 1 hour! I got up at 8:30 after 10+ hours of sleep, had coffee and read the paper like a civilized person. I could get use to this!

Our bikes are being shipped and need to be turned in by Friday. I can send a duffle bag with the bike so I'm trying to get all my stuff organized .... without freaking myself out. Since we won't have bikes, I'm not quite sure what we'll be doing for our team workout next weekend, but I do know that it involves food at teammate Gregorio's house afterwards :)

Weekly Stats:

swim: 5112 yards
bike: 36 miles
run: 18 miles
total time: 8 hours, 28 minutes

26 days ...

2007-05-29T21:02:00.000-07:00

Only 26 days to go. How crazy is that? Yesterday in the pool, I had a moment, out of nowhere, where I thought "I can't do it," and this was BEFORE the moron ran into me. Yes, I had a head-on collision in the pool. I was swimming 3000 yards, so I had been there a while, swimming back and forth in my lane minding my own business. A woman was swimming next to me for a while, and when she got out, a guy jumped in and decided we would circle swim, but he failed to let me know. I didn't even know he was in the pool until after we ran into each other. He said he didn't see me. I looked at him like he was a complete idiot (which he was) and said, "How could you not see me?!" "I wasn't looking," was his reply. Good plan ... jump into a pool without looking or figuring out what the other people are doing. I finished my swim in fear of him, but I did finish, and I'm still angry about it. I just can't believe how stupid he was.

Last week we had a 4000 yard swim on the schedule that I was dreading all week. My longest swim had been 3000 yards before this. When the team swims together, longer sets are posted, but I am never able to finish them. We only have the pool for 1.5 hours, and I'm a slow swimmer. The pool our team uses is being cleaned so I did this swim on my own, and had all the time I needed. Also, when I swim with the team, I can see everybody finishing and getting out of the pool, while I still have many laps to go. Swimming on my own, I saw many others come and go, but I could feel good about myself because I was swimming such a long set. I finished the 4000 yards in 1 hour and 45 minutes :)

Last Saturday, May 19th, the team went on a hellish 80 mile ride. I had many moments where I thought I am not ready for this race. After we finished, coach Kevin said that this ride was much harder than Coure d'Alene. Plus we're working on tired legs. It was a miserable day ... one hill that was about 20 miles long, and a head wind on the down hill, and it was hot. The next day was the Hawthorne 5k, and I had a title to defend ... I had won my age group the past 2 years. After that bike ride I was worried ;) The event is great fun .... 300 students run, and for many it's their first race. I didn't get the best start but soon had Jeanine (my only known competition) in my sight. I crept up on her and then passed her at mile 3 with only .1 to go! I yelled at her to pick up the pace, but she didn't. I beat her by one second and came in 1st in my division with a time of 29.16. Luckily for me, she had run the Palos Verdes half marathon the day before. After the race, I met Maria, Karen and Dean at the beach for our long run of 3 hours/15 miles. I actually felt better on this run than I did the week before. Go figure.

This past Saturday, 7 of us did an easy 100 mile ride to San Diego. Compared to the hard, hilly efforts we have been doing, this really was easy! We had a great day. The weather was cool and cloudy, no flats or mechanical problems, and we only got slightly lost near the end of the ride. I even ran into Tomie and her teammates just north of Camp Pendelton. We rode together for a little while. We spent the night and rode the train back home on Sunday.

Stats for week of May 14th
swim: 4400 yards
bike: 120 miles
run: 23 miles
total time: 16 hours, 57 minutes

Stats for week of May 21st
swim: 5500 yards
bike: 129 miles
run: 7 miles
total time: 12 hours, 8 minutes

This is our last big week, then we taper. I'm already a nervous wreck. The taper is going to be tough. Please send postive energy my way. Thanks!!

six weeks to go!

2007-05-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

There are moments when I think that I am nowhere near ready for an Ironman. Like on Saturday at about mile 95 of a 100 mile ride when our Team captain, Christy, said, "You know what would be crazy? Running a marathon after this!" I had to agree. It didn't seem possible, and I didn't even do a swim before the ride. The good news, though, is Sunday I got up and did a 1 mile ocean swim followed by a 13 mile run. I was a bit tired, but I was not sore. Also, I recovered very quickly after the Wildflower race. So I guess I am making progress.

My stats for last week:
swim: 6360 yards
bike: 130 miles
run: 28 miles
total time: 17 hours, 30 minutes

This was by far the biggest week to date. It was also a busy week at work. I was in meetings all day Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday plus I had to prepare for a parenting meeting on Thursday and that turned out to be a 12 hour work day. I cut my swim short on Friday, but I did get all my workouts in. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself after June 24th.

Wildflower race report

2007-05-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finished my toughest race to date. Before I get to that, though, I want to fill you in on last week. Saturday, April 28th, we did another Big Ass Brick in Griffith Park -- a four hour bike ride followed by a 2 hour run. I felt really good on the bike, but suffered on the run. It was a hot day, and I did not take in enough nutrition on the bike. If I hadn't been running with my teammates, I would not have finished the run. But I did. The next day I had 2 hour 45 minute run on the schedule. I was afraid that it would be horrible, and that I wouldn't be able to do the whole thing, but I actually felt okay and had no thoughts of cutting the run short.

Last Sunday afternoon was my fundraiser in the park. Anne did such an amazing job organizing this for me. My brother Mike came from Lake Havasu and was a huge help. Tomie, Jen, Rox, and Selina also pitched in to make the day a success. I am very lucky to have such good friends and family. I raised $1300 and had a good time :) We did not get to play kickball because the field was being worked on, but we had relay races and an egg toss. The relay race involved a hippity hop, which just about did me in. My quads were on fire! And they were sore the next day too.

My stats for the week of April 23 (not counting hippity hop):
swim: 4800 yards
bike: 93 miles
run: 38 miles
total time: 15 hours 46 minutes

This week was a recovery week with a half ironman race, Wildflower Long Course, on Saturday. Not only is this a tough course, it involves camping. Luckily, my teammate Gregorio has a motor home. Maria, Gregorio, and I drove up Thursday right after school. We found a great spot, settled in, and got a good night's sleep. Friday morning we lounged a bit, then met up with our other teammates and headed down to the expo. It was a long, tiring afternoon. I went for a short spin on the bike just to make sure everything was working okay and then got my race bag packed for the morning. We had pasta dinner with the team ... Maria, Gregorio, Raul, Chris, Laurie, Meghan, and I were racing. Karen and Dean were volunteering and cheering us on. Coach Paul stopped by to give us last minute advice and wish us luck. I was looking forward to another quiet night in the motor home, but was not so lucky. The medical team volunteers were camping next to us, and they were up partying until 2 or 3am. At midnight I went out and asked them to quiet down. They didn't. One guy even got a little louder.

We got up at 6am, had breakfast and headed down to the transition area at about 7am. The race started at 8, but my wave didn't go until 9:25 ... plenty of time to work myself into a nervous frenzy. During the last trip to the porta potty, we noticed the wind picking up, making the water a bit choppy. Finally it's time to go. I got off to a decent start, and settled into a groove. Slow but steady. I got cut off by two boats -- a ranger and event organizers, and got hit by other swimmers a couple of times, but nothing too bad. The water was warm but choppy, especially on the way back.

The bike was a challenge. I rode this course a few weeks ago and knew it was tough. Race day brought some serious wind to make it even tougher. It seems like we had a head wind or cross wind the whole way and never a tail wind. But hey, this a training day, so bring it on! This will just make Coeur d'Alene that much easier. They have cut off times (which are totally unfair to the old ladies -- since I'm in the last wave, I have the least amount of time to do the race) but I wasn't too worried about it. I should have been because I was close to missing the bike cut off. As I was coming back into the campgrounds a woman told me I had 15 minutes. It was only 3 miles and most of it downhill, but it was also congested with runners and spectators so I had to be somewhat cautious. I made it! Now on to the run ... again a challenge with hills and heat. I did better with nutrition this week, but there is still room for improvement. I walked up the hills and ran on the flats, but I just couldn't get my legs to move very fast. I saw Dean, Karen, and Meghan at about mile 6 in the run. That was so awesome! I wore my Team in Training jersey and got a lot of love on the course, but it really was so great to hear my name shouted. Karen and Dean were at the finish line too --- they handed me my medal and cold, wet towel. I finished the race in 8 hours 8 minutes, well over my goal of 7 hours, but I finished a tough race that many others were unable to complete yesterday.

9 weeks to go ...

2007-04-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

Yikes! We're into the single digits! It is so hard to believe that my Ironman race is now just 9 weeks away. I completed my first race of the season yesterday. The Desert Tri in Palm Springs. We did an 80 mile bike ride on Saturday so my legs were a bit fatigued. My time was not as fast as I would have liked, but I finished it in under 3 hours. I felt strong, and I feel great today! I'm not at all sore or fatigued. This was my first lake swim, and I loved it. I may never go back to ocean triathlons again! No waves to worry about and the occasional mouthfuls of water didn't taste too bad. I drifted to the right a lot, and I need to work on that. Going off course in a short race like this isn't such a big deal, but I do not want to swim any farther than 2.4 miles in Coeur d'Alene.

My stats for last week:
swim: 7208 yards
bike: 110 miles
run: 18 miles
total time: 13 hours 16 minutes

I have a big week this week. We have started doing longer midweek workouts with Wednesday being the monster day -- 2 hour bike and a 1 hour 20 minute run. Both are to be done at an easy pace. Last Wednesday it was super windy out so I cut my bike ride short. Hopefully this week I'll be able to get it all in ... 16 hours!

Sunday is my fundraiser in the park. It should be a lot of fun. Beacause I've been so busy with training I don't get to see my friends as often as I would like. So I'm looking forward to catching up with everybody. If you live in the area, please come!

Good Times

2007-04-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

Ah, it's so nice to be on vacation :) In addition to my regular workouts this week, I have been to yoga twice. You would think that training for an ironman would use every muscle in your body. Not so .... I found a few I haven't been using. My arms are still shaking a bit from this morning's yoga class, and I'm sure I'll be feeling it in my abs tomorrow.

I had a bike fit done on Monday. I think I was the last one on the team to go and see Nate. He made quite a few adjustments ... he raised my seat post and brought the saddle back, and also raised the handlebars and brought the aero bars way back. I rode on Wednesday, and it felt good. I'm so much more comfortable in the aero bars that I'll actually be able to ride in that postition for long stretches. I also felt stronger and more efficient going uphill and in more control going down. Yippee!

April is a busy month for me. Next weekend is a TNT training weekend ... there will be a bunch of teams camping and training at the Wildflower site. My team is preparing all the food as a fundraiser in addition to getting our training in. Our coach thinks we'll be able to get an 80 mile bike ride in after preparing breakfast and before fixing dinner on Saturday. We'll see. April 22 I'm racing in the Desert Tri (3/4 mile swim, 26 mile bike, 6 mile run) in Palm Springs. It will be my first race of the season, and I'm hoping it will feel easy! The following Sunday, April 29th, I am having a fundraiser in the park. My good friends Anne, Cathy, Tomie, and Jen are helping me out. We'll have food and games and raffle prizes. It should be a blast. Come on down!! May 5th I have another race ... Wildflower Long ... which is a half ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). I know this one won't be easy, but I do hope to finish in under 7 hours and feeling strong. Wish me luck!

freakishly strong

2007-03-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

Getting things other than bills in the mail is one of life's greatest pleasures. Today I received a t-shirt from my good friends Dave and Digo, and it's not even my birthday or anything. How cool is that? I really love that my friends see me as strong; freakish I'm not so sure about :) They addressed the card to "Iron Trish" and said they loved my blog. It's great to hear from my readers, but you don't HAVE to send a gift. Of course you can if you want, but posting a comment and sending emails are a nice way to go as well. Making a donation (if you haven't already) would also be greatly appreciated.

Here are my stats for last week:
swim: 6800 yards
bike: 90 miles
run: 23 miles
total time: 13 hours 37 minutes

Saturday's bike ride brought us down to Orange County to train with the OC IronTEAM. It was a tough route with some serious hills. I was really impressed though with the restroom at the biker bar ... super clean and the toilets flushed automatically. It really doesn't take too much to make me happy. The beer was tempting too, but we still had a few hours to ride. Maybe next time :)

This week is a recovery week, AND I only have 2 more days of school ... spring break is around the corner!!

B.A.B.

2007-03-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hey there! I just finished another big week .... and yesterday's workout was the longest one yet ... a 3.5 hour bike ride followed by a 2.5 hour run. That's what we call a big-ass brick. Normally we might run for 20 - 30 minutes after a bike ride just to get the leg muscles use to running after the bike. To make this even more challenging, we did a trail run that seemed to be mostly all up hill! And it was a warm day -- in the 80s. But I love hills and heat -- they make me stronger :) Today I swam 2000 yards. It was tough to get going this morning, but I definitely felt better after the swim and the jacuzzi!

The week of March 5th was a rest week, and it ended up be a tough one for me. As my 21 year old niece would say, I felt craptacular. With more time on my hands and not as many endorphins pumping through my body, I was sad. I had a dream about my Mom and Dad early that week. The good thing is that they are together and looking out for me. The bad thing is that they are no longer here with me on this earth. And the dream was too short; I didn't have enough time with them and I don't know when the next visit will be. I almost didn't go to the team swim workout that week, but I'm glad I did. We did a timed 2k swim, and I didn't want to be last. I swam through a few tears, but I took 3 minutes off my time and was NOT last! Yahoo!! 2 others finished behind me. I finally did a familiar route, an 11 mile hill repeat, on my new bike, and I was 7 minutes faster!!

When I am tapering for this race, somebody please remind me of how I felt during this past rest week. Tell me that it's normal to feel "craptacular" while my body recovers from all the stress, and that I'll be stonger and faster when I get to the starting line. Also, feel free to comment here. I have made it easier -- you no longer need to be a registerd Blog user. Thanks!

Thank you!!

2007-03-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

We are officially at the halfway mark ... 16 weeks till race day ... holy crap! But I am feeling good, and I have put trust in my coach that I'll be ready. I am confidant that I will reach my fundraising goal of $10,000 too, thanks to your generous support. I was worried there for while, but I just hit the $5000 mark. Isn't that perfect timing? Not only do your dollars help fund cancer research, but they also got me out of bed for a run last Tuesday morning when it was cold and rainy. It also made me keep swimming last Thursday when we had 3000 yards on the schedule (our longest swim so far), and I was tired. But I told you we were increasing our swim yardage so I finished it ... even though I'm not sure anybody's even reading this. And I wanted to quit halfway through the bike on Saturday. The winds were so fierce. I was scared much of the time, and the first 2.5 hours felt like 6! Knowing that I couldn't let you down kept me going. So, thank you very much!!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2007-02-26T06:22:00.000-08:00

So this was my biggest week to date ... 14 hours of training! 95 miles on the bike, 19 miles running ,and over 7000 yards in the pool. My distances on the bike and run are a few miles shy of what I'll be doing on race day, and I will be THRILLED if I finish the race in 14 hours.

The good news is that I bought a new bike (thanks Uncle Dick!) It's a 2006 Trek 5200, all carbon with Ultegra components. I was able to get all of the accessories -- pedals, shoes, aero bars, computer -- with my gift certificate to B & L Bikes in San Diego. This was my fundraising prize from CAF. It's all pretty sweet. I did a 70 mile ride yesterday. There are a few minor adjustments that need to be made, but overall I am very pleased. Yee Haw!!

I had to work Saturday morning at 9:00 so I got up at 4:30 to run my 10 miles. It was dark and a little chilly, but I always do my week day runs in the morning ... it's such a beautiful, peaceful time, and I see the same people and we say hello. Well, none of the regulars were out this early on a Saturday. In fact, not too many people were out at all. A few blocks from my house, I see a guy leaning against the wall of a fancy hotel. He was wearing jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. I thought maybe he worked at the hotel and said "good morning." Just as he replied "good morning" I realized what he was doing ... he was masturbating! Good God! Don't you have anywhere private to do that! Needless to say, I picked up the pace. The rest of the run was uneventful.

Time to go to work. Thanks for reading.

2007-02-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm another week closer to my goal! Last week was a good one, and I do feel rested even though Saturday's workout was pretty tough. We did a 50 mile bike ride that was mostly flat but with a few good hills in Palos Verdes. The temps were well into the 80s though, and it rarely gets that hot here even during the summer. I did my best to stay hydrated and felt good. I did a 40 minute run right off the bike. The first 10 minutes are always so hard. I was not breaking any speed records, but I felt like I could have kept at it for a while more. So that's a good thing.

Sunday was a 2k timed swim to keep track of our progress. I have gotten better but still have a lot of work to do. Conveniently enough, this week is a swim week. We will continue with hill repeats on the bike and run, AND we will also build up our swim yardage. Yippee Skippee!! I have added a link to my workout log so you can check up on me.

There is also a link to my fundraising page. If you haven't yet done so, please make a donation today! 75% of your money goes directly to patient resources and research. The other 25% helps with my training and travel to the race. I did Saturday's workout with our honored teammate, Maria. She was diagnosed with Non-Hodgin's Lymphoma in 1998. Today she is strong and healthy and training for an Ironman!! Your donations really do make a difference! You can also help by spreading the word ... Forward my info to family and friends. Thanks!

Rest Week

2007-02-12T17:03:00.000-08:00

This week begins a rest week, and boy do I need it. Last week was a hard effort. I put in 75 miles on the bike, ran 21 miles, and swam 6600 yards ... that's about 13 hours of training. Saturday the rain held off, and we had a beautiful ride in Malibu. We went up and up and up Latigo and down Mulholland. I had never been there before and it was just so beautiful and peaceful. The views of the canyons and of the Pacific were breathtaking, pun intended.

Here's my schedule for this week:

Monday-
rest

Tuesday-
1:00 run (easy)
1:00 coached swim

Wednesday-
1:30 bike (easy)

Thursday-
:40 trainer
:30 run

Friday-
rest

Saturday-
3:00 bike
1:00 run right off the bike

Sunday
2k swim

Thanks for reading!

It's About Time

2007-02-12T13:06:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my Blog!
I know I'm a bit behind the times, but here I go into the blogging world. So, my big race, IronMan Coeur d'Alene, is just 4 months away, and I have been training since November. I would have started a Blog sooner, but I've been a little busy. This post should catch you up.

In October I received a postcard from TNT announcing their schedule. I was aware of their marathon training programs, but since I had already run 6 marathons I almost threw the card away. Before I did that though, I said, "The only way I'd join TNT is if they were training for an Ironman," thinking that there was NO way they would be. I opened it up, and there it was .... my destiny ... IronTEAM! I signed up on October 14th. This was a BIG decision.

On October 19th doctors found a tumor on my Mom's lung. Three months later my Mom passed away. This was HUGE. She was my greatest cheerleader. She came to every softball and soccer game when I was a kid. She was at my very first triathlon, and she thought I could WIN!! The death of my mother has rocked my world.

My training has kept me sane, my teammates have been a great support, and fundraising for such a worthy cause has given me purpose at a time I might otherwise have felt lost. Speaking of which, I have fundraising deadline looming ... I need to have $4200 raised by March 2nd. I need $1800 more to make that goal. If you can, please donate today! And spread the word. Please and thank you!