JANUARY 2006- Year of Iron!

Happy New Year!

Matt & Shannon hosted a fun New Year's Eve at their house in Los Gatos. Thank you for a great time! New Year's Day was an optional swim at Aquatic Park in San Francisco, however it was so incredibly stormy, I didn't even worry about missing it!

In January we could feel the workouts really starting to build. We had more swims in the Bay at Coyote Point, the Saturday morning rides began to get longer and we learned to swim, run & bike no matter what the weather. I used to be so concerned about riding in the rain, but I've learned to suck it up! I could be better about cleaning my bike afterwards!

I joined 24 Fitness to begin strength training on my own, but didn't use it all month.

I continue to get deep tissue & pressure point massages twice per month from Ellen. What a wonderful thing! My recovery is so much better with the regular massage. I can't image going through these long days without them. (If anyone needs Ellen's contact information let me know!)

To give you an idea about our training this month, here are the workout details for the week of January 9-15:
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Swim 1600 yds, Run 40 minutes, Strength training
Wednesday: Coach Track workout @ De Anza College, 5 miles total
Thursday: Spin 75 minutes
Friday: Swim 2000 yds
Saturday: Ride 180 minutes, run 15 minutes
Sunday: Coached swim (3000 yds) & run (8 miles)
Totals for the week:
Swim: 6,600 yds
Bike: 65+ minutes
Run: 18+ miles

I generally swap the Tues swim with the Wed bike and often miss my Friday workouts. I need to improve on that. I need more consistancy. I took off a lot of time swimming in Dec/Jan with tendonitis in my elbow. It seems to be from my computer mouse. Massage, ice, ibuprofen & rest have really helped. I reconfigured my workstation and I'm starting to use my left hand more which helps. Having a week off work really helped too!

New Year's Resolutions for 2006:

1. Complete an Ironman
2. Raise $7,500 for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society
3. Stay healthy & injury free during training
4. See how long I can go without buying a new book for myself
5. Run a 10k in under an hour
6. Secret!

The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.
–Moliere

Now you're going to have to keep checking in to see how I do!

The Louie Tri

5th Annual
Louie Bonpua Memorial Triathlon

Sunday, January 22, 2006

The Louie Tri held a lot of emotion for me. I regret never meeting Louie in person. However, even without actually meeting him, he has been a true inspiration to me.

Hang it there, it's a great story!

I first heard about Louie when a local news station covered his carrying of the Olympic torch for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. So his story was vaguely familiar when I joined TNT and heard his name from time to time. Many people on the tri team and Ironteam are former teammates of his and tell anectdotes about him occasionally. I've also heard some of his letters read a loud after practices and been moved by them. His is an incredible story. http://shrimplouie.com

The night before Big Kahuna in September 2005 (my first 1/2 Ironman) the documentary on Louie was shown after our team dinner. It was amazing. I'd heard many bits & pieces about Louie already, but this tied it all together. Plus, as most people know, I'm a sucker for documentaries. It was phenomenal to see; particularly in a room full of triathletes- after a grueling training season- in the company of cancer survivors and people still fighting- the night before the race- you can imagine it! I had lots of good company with my tears.

The next morning I woke up at 5:00 am for the race and couldn't swallow. My head weighed about 15 pounds and every muscle in my body ached. I was sicker than I'd been in a long time. But I immediately thought about Louie and knew I had to race. I downed ibruprofen and got myself to the start. Long story longer (thanks Theresa!)-- I ended up finishing the race, but only because every time I wanted to quit, I thought about Louie. I couldn't swallow food for most of the bike and had to walk the first three miles of the run. I kept thinking that no matter how bad I felt-- it was nothing compared to Louie's ordeal. It turns out I had strep throat and it took me a few weeks to recover afterwards, but I am so very happy that I did that race.

Read Louie's story here: http://shrimplouie.com/

SO, what about the Louie Tri???

This was our first Olympic distance triathlon as Ironteamers. We combined with the North Bay Ironteam and raced at Treasure Island. It was a beautiful sunny day, amazing after all the rain we've been having. It was also special because my son Robert and my friend Tom came to cheer me on and volunteer.

The race was a 1 mile swim, 25 mile bike & 6 mile run. The water was COLD, but my new Barracuda swim hood was great! Both the bike & run courses were loops. The bike route was very technical, lots and lots of turns and very bumpy which made it difficult to maintain speed for more than a few yards.

I had a pretty good race. I was worried about the swim since I'd had so much time off swimming and hadn't done a mile in awhile but it was fine. I felt great on the bike. I think the bike is my favorite & strongest event. The run was okay, but I really hoped for a faster time. Robert ran the last 1.5 miles with me which was fun. I sprinted the finish (as I love to do!) but for the first time my hamstrings really clenched up on me as I crossed the finish line. That was a little scary.







My final time was: 3 hr 24 min 57 sec
Swim 38 minutes; Bike 1.25; Run ?
I don't know my run time, but my guess is: 1 hr 10 minutes.
I usually have v. slow transition times. . . need to work on that!



On the bike leg of the Louie Tri



Louie's family came to our post-race gathering. His sister spoke to us and introduced his mom and some of his siblings and nieces and nephew. It was wonderful to see them. It is still very painful for them to talk about him.

PS:
The channel 2 news did a feature on us that night, but I missed my 15 seconds of fame. Rats!