26 days ...

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!

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

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 ...

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

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

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.

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!