Beverly's Adventures in Ironland 3.0

Desperate Times, Desperate Actions

2007-11-12T22:40:00.000-08:00

It's been a looooonnnnng time since Ironman Canada back in August. I've been the classic slug with only occasional bursts of activity: a couple runs, a couple rides, one open water swim and two heart-stopping surf-kayak lessons with Steve at Mavericks. That all changed last week when I went back to Bootcamp.

Bootcamp is my faithful friend, always there to kick my a#@ when necessary. It's my first time back since joining the tri team in Spring 2005 and it hasn't changed. I've done more crunches, push-ups and sit-ups since starting last Monday since Lori P was affectionately dubbed the Core W---- two years ago. This session I'm going to the Cupertino location at 6:00 am since it's on the way to work. I took advantage of the Veteran's Day holiday from work to do back to back sessions. A 6:00 am session of cardio & weights in Cupertino then a quick drive to the 7:00 am Los Gatos class for hill repeats on Reservoir Rd. Accckkk, of all the days for a double work-out! Now I'm covered in case I miss the day following Thanksgiving. Missing one day of the five day a week for five weeks session, will cost me the t-shirt at graduation. I gotta get another shirt! ;-)

Now maybe I'll be able to actually get back on my bike again soon. . .

The sore muscles are easing and I'm really hoping the waistlines will start to loosen up a little bit! Wildflower is going to be here before I know it!

Photos, We Got Photos!

2007-09-13T06:15:00.000-07:00

Checking my bike and loading race food into the Bento Box on my bike.

Pre-Race: lots of nervous energy! We were up at 4:00 am for breakfast and taking the shuttle down to the race start. After dropping off my special needs bags, body marking (getting my race number written all over me in black felt pen), I checked over my bike, pumped the tires and stood in the world's longest port-a-potty line. Then into my wetsuit and down to the start!

Heading for the finisher's chute!

Almost Post Race: no more nervousness! Started at dawn and finished just before midnight. A long day, but I felt still felt great! This photo has a great story attached. This is my team cheering me just before I ran down the finisher's chute. It was taken by a Canadian guy from Calgary. He looked up my name by my race number, googled it and sent to my email address at my old job. The bounceback message said I no longer worked there, but to contact Nina for help. He emailed Nina (coincidentally another Canadian) and asked her to forward it to me which she did. Canadian's really are some of the friendliest people you will ever meet!

Official race photos here. My trip photos here.

D for Done!

2007-08-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

I did it! I finished Ironman Canada in 16:51:19.

Short Version:

It was a great day, long but great. I felt strong, albeit slow, throughout the entire day. My nutrition plan worked, I stayed hydrated and didn't have any muscle cramping or distress at any time other than minor issues. I had some choice words for the headwind from mile 50 to mile 90, but other than that I enjoyed the entire experience.

An Ironman is a solo event and athletes are out there alone, but I didn't complete it alone. I would not have made it to the starting line without the support of my coaches, captains, teammates, honorees, family and friends. During race day, I had support from my coaches, captains, teammates and honorees again as well as the Ironman Volunteer Army along the entire course.

Here's how it breaks down:

TOTAL TIME: 16 hours 51 minutes 19 seconds

RACE DIVISION W40-44 finished: 146/159

SWIM- 1 hr 46 min 14 sec

T1 11:17 minutes

BIKE 8 hrs 27 min 26 sec

T2 3 min 25 sec

RUN 6 hrs 22 min 58 sec

Stay tuned for more details and photos.

No Way!

2007-08-21T06:54:00.000-07:00

Duathlon organisers insure against Loch Ness monster attack

Tue Aug 21, 5:17 AM ET

LONDON (AFP) - Organisers of a duathlon in Scotland have taken out a one-million-pound (1.46-million-euro, 1.97-million-dollar) insurance policy against attack by or sighting of the fabled Loch Ness monster.

Transport operator FirstGroup said in a statement that its policy with insurers Royal and Sun Alliance would pay out should "Nessie" emerge from the murky depths of the vast watercourse and/or attack one of the competitors.

First Monster Duathlon race director Malcolm Sutherland said they were planning for all eventualities.

Jon Woodman, trading director at R and SA said: "This is one of our more unusual requests but it certainly gave our team something to get their teeth into."

Any "proven sighting" has to be independently verified, subject to policy terms and conditions, the insurer said.

The event, on September 2, requires individuals in each team of four to complete two legs of the eight-legged event around the shores of Loch Ness, in northern Scotland -- one 10-kilometre run and one 20-kilometre cycle.

Money raised will go to charity.

One More Time

2007-08-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

It's Thursday, August 16th, one week to go before I board the plane to Canada for my second attempt completing Ironman Canada. Many people have heard of the Hoyts and their incredible story and tremendous courage, but the inspiration they give is not diminished by repetition.

Words cannot fully express their family's courage throughout Rick's entire life and future ahead.

(Thanks Lecia for sharing!)

1/2 Vineman Race Report

2007-07-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

Two months between posts? I've been busy, really busy!

The Kindness of Strangers or my 1/2 Vineman Race Report!

My goals were:
1. Finish
2. Not finish last in my age group
3. Improve my overall time

I met all my goals but had to overcome a few obstacles to do so. My swim was almost the exact time as last year. I'm happy with this since I really haven't been spending as much time in the pool as I should. It could have been so much worse! My transition times improved and I wasn't even trying to speed through them. (so what was I doing in there last year?!)

My official bike time was six minutes faster and that includes the 20 minutes I spent off my bike on the side of the road. (26 minutes faster is great!) Immediately coming out of T1 is a short hill that catches people off guard. I put my bike in a low setting before racking it to make sure I'd be able to pop right up it. As I was peddling up it, I heard a horrible sound as if my whole gearing was tearing off my bike. Really I'd only broken a rear spoke but that was a scary moment. I spent precious minutes trying to take it off and then trying to wrap it around the spoke next to it but it took me forever to get it so it wasn't rubbing against my frame. Then more time trying to reposition my magnet. (It was the spoke with my Cateye magnet- coincidence?) A spectator pointed out the bike tent up the street and I got there just as they were packing up for the day.

The NorCal Bike Sport team was great! They loaned me a wheel, taking my rear cassette, tire & tube off and putting it on a spare Rolf wheel. They took my wheel to their shop for me to pick up after the race. They apologized for it taking so long, but in truth they were much faster than I would have been and it took away my fears. I was worried I'd ruin the wheel or crash. Does anyone ever carry an extra spoke?!

After that the bike was fun. There was slight breeze so I didn't feel the heat until the last 20 miles. My food/liquid intake was right on target. I'm still in love with my Thermalytes! The course is so beautiful and the hills aren't bad at all.

I started off the run feeling great. I felt so much better than last year! I thought I shaved off quite a bit but it turns out I only cut 11 minutes off. I'm not a fast runner on the best of days anyway. It was fun being out there regardless. However, by mile 9 I was ready to be done!

I know my nutrition is better because I didn't make any pit stops on the bike and only two on the run. My tummy wasn't perfect but it's improved a lot! I was able to eat on the run which is huge progress!

Monday I was tired and had some tightness behind my knee but other than that felt pretty good.

Anecdotes/Snapshots from the race:

The woman racked next to me just had a baby five weeks ago! What a rock star! Right before the swim she sat down and discretely pumped breastmilk. That's a transition first for me!

A woman racked across from me announced to us all that she'd had a boob job (prompted by all the breastmilk/size discussion following woman number 1's pumping) Another first! Of course, this all just proves that we women will talk about just about anything!

A man swam off course on the return leg of the swim and slammed headfirst into me while I was on the first leg. That was alarming!

Once again, lots of people continued the tradition of walking after the swim turn around. It's an amazing sight to see someone walking next to you while you're swimming. I tried it for a couple steps but my feet sank right down in the gravel. I think it was much harder than swimming.

There was a strong smell of weed on one section of the swim. Interesting way to watch the race. . .

A group of waterstop volunteers were having an intense discussion of people they'd seen die in bike crashes/century rides etc while I was in the port-a-potty. I'm happy I didn't overhear it all while I was on my bike. Intense stuff!

Here are my numbers:
2007 Swim 00:51:18.5 T1 00:04:30.7 Bike 03:28:03.5 T2 00:07:22.6 Run 03:02:47.0 Finish 07:34:02.4

2006 Swim 00:51:55.7 T1 00:09:19.6 Bike 03:34:41.4 T2 00:07:57.6 Run 03:13:00.1 Finish 07:56:54.4

This weekend is the infamous "Triple Brick" whoo hoo, bring it on!

2007 Uvas South Bay Tri Race Report

2007-05-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

Let's hear it for the classic tri mantra: Nothing New on Race Day! Let's count the new items I used at Uvas: saddle, chain, rear cassette, toe clips, run socks. . .not just new, but the first time I'd used them ever! Not too shabby, eh?! I also rode without socks in a race for the first time. Woo hoo!

Sunday was my second year participating in the Uvas sprint in Morgan Hill. After Saturday's crash, I wasn't sure I'd do it. I spent Saturday afternoon at the bike shop having the damage repaired, cleaning the road debris out of my skin, picked up my packet and had an early dinner with T & O. I went to bed Saturday night with Advil on the nightstand ready for morning. I decided to see how I felt when I woke up and then decide. I was still stiff and sore in the morning but I popped the Advil (4) right away and had breakfast. The good news is I was sore from the crash, not Saturday's 50 mile marker set!

By the time I got to the reservoir I was moving better and knew I'd do the whole thing. I told myself: it's a sprint, so suck it up, pansy! Putting on my wetsuit wasn't much fun! Ouch! My old lady wave was combined with W30-34, W35-40, relays, mtn bikes, athenas, clydesdales and a random men's division. Why do they do that?! At one point before our wave, the announcer said, "Anyone with a swim cap on, get in the water, you're going next!" Due to lack of rain (drought?), the swim route was altered and the first leg was straight into the sun, but it was pretty short. Our wave was so full, it took a while to get away from the thrashing. I was never too far from clumps of bodies, but it felt good to pass a few people on the final leg. The water was as nice as ever, I love swimming there.

I had a fairly quick transition (for me) and got out on the road. My bike felt sluggish and a few people passed me that surprised me. About mile 5, I realized my rear brake was flush against my rim. duh! Had to stop and fix it. Then I felt a lot better and managed to pick up the pace. I passed an older guy weaving up Sycamore Hill. I shouted "on your left" and he moved over and then swerved right back into me and hit my handlebars. I peddled harder and stayed up. I looked back later and he hadn't fallen, whew!

I got back into transition and pulled on my socks & shoes. I stopped wearing lace locks last year training for Ironman and still haven't put them back on my shoes. I think I'll put some on my new pair. It did suck to stop and tie them. I ran out of transition and kept a steady pace out to the turn around. Several of the people I passed on the bike, now passed me on the run. I hate that! My toes stayed numb until mile four. I just didn't feel peppy running at all. The last half mile, I picked up the pace and sprinted the last 100 yards. I definitely didn't leave enough out on the course.

2007 Uvas Stats:
Swim 00:31:20.8 T1 -- Bike 01:01:32.6 T2 00:02:07.7 Run 00:51:36.3 Finish 02:26:37.4

2006 Uvas Stats:
Swim 00:29:50.7 Bike 01:01:39.9 Run 00:49:26.3 Finish 02:20:56.9

Last year's splits include transition times which makes this year's times even slower. Next year, I really will shave off some time-- hopefully!

To sum it all up: I'm thankful I was able to race at all. Saturday's crash could have been so much worse. I'm lucky I didn't seriously hurt myself.

Road Rash

2007-05-19T22:14:00.000-07:00

It's been a tough week to be a bike belonging to Beverly. First, she drove you into an overhang while you were riding in the roof rack last Saturday in Monterey. Thus destroying your saddle and breaking your rear bottle cages. Sunday, she took you on a hilly 45 mile trek through Carmel Valley with a worn out rear cassette, mangling your chain. That new bike saddle she used on Sunday simply wasn't a good fit, either. Good thing she dumped you to ride the tandem for the final 30 miles. (that's 75 miles on new saddles, yowsa!) Thursday, she took you on "Dave's Thursday Night RideTM" with SVTC, finishing off your chain and further wearing your front chain rings. Friday, she replaced your cassette and chain with brand-spankin' new ones -- only to jam the chain in the cassette during today's 50 mile marker set-- snapping the new chain. Luckily, a passing Good Samaritan saved you from the ignominious sag wagon by removing the broken link and mending the chain. Oh the indignities!

Good thing you got her back by crashing when she broke the chain. The road rash, bruises and pulled ligaments really showed her. She'll be sore for days! She'll have a tough time in tomorrow's race too boot.

Well done.

Old Man la Honda

2007-04-09T23:13:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning was my first special event in my new job, so I did my long ride on Friday with Shannon. We customized the ride to suit our starting location and various & sundry other influencing factors. Which included me forgetting my helmet and having to ride helmet-less (a little scary!) over to the Bicycle Outfitter for a loaner! (thank you great bike shop guys!)

A section of our ride went up Old La Honda, the classic benchmark hill in the area. It was my first ride up this year. I made it up in 37 min! I think that's my new personal best on the bad boy! I do know it's the first time I actually remembered to start my watch at the stone bridge on the way up. That in itself was miraculous! So I may have had faster times, but this one was accurate.

Funny note: I kept forgetting I was wearing an Outfitter loaner helmet for the entire ride. It had "TEST RIDE" written all over it, sweet! Dork alert!

Weekend Update

2007-04-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

Props to the amazing Nicholas for allowing me to shamelessly plagiarize his uploads!

We had a great weekend full of spring goodness! Saturday was the gorgeous 56 mile Calaveras Loop: Milpitas to Fremont to Union City to Pleasanton to San Ramon to Pleasanton again to Sunol to the edge of San Jose and back to Milpitas, whew! Amazing vistas, Valley Oaks in new leaf, blossoming trees, young livestock, turkeys & more turkeys, hawks, vultures, rabbits, snakes, and more!

Due to strategically placed stop signs at busy intersections and a little headwind, my top speed down the final hill was only 39.7. Rats! Total ride time about 5 hours including a few stops along the way.

Sunday, we swam for about 2 hours, had a wonderful update on our Honoree Jack's lobbying in Washington on Federal funding for cancer research and then ran for 2.5 hours. Did you know the Defense budget contributes 5 million a year on cancer research? A complex response to cancers caused by military activities such as Agent Orange etc.

My run was slow but steady. I walked about 20-25 minutes of it. We were assigned to run at level 5 (marathon pace) and add in five - 5 minute pickups to level 7 (10k pace). I managed two picks up of 1 minute & 4 minutes. I missed sunscreening my face so had very rosy cheeks later but no muscle soreness-- even now two days later! Yippee!

Overall, it was a weekend of tough but fun workouts.

Lovin' It!

2007-04-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

I love my new job! Another bonus is the location in downtown Los Altos, right on prime cycle routes. Today, a teammate and a friend (CJ & TJ) met at my office for a noon ride. It was sunny & clear and the hills were gorgeous! We rode for 1.5 hours, climbed a few hills and had fun. What a great way to spend lunch! Forgot to check the mileage before I put my bike back on the roof. Oh well.

1/2 Way to Iron- WF WeekEnd 5.0

2007-04-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

Half Way to Iron was spent at Lake San Antonio 16-18 March training on the Wildflower Triathlon Long Course (1/2 Ironman Distance). It's amazing how fast the season seems to be blowing by. I think my new job has a lot to do with it zooming by.

I love camping at Lake San Antonio and this practice weekend was wonderful! The weather was balmy! No shivering, even during the swim! I'm afraid this means race weekend the first weekend in May will be wicked hot.

Friday, I drove down with Shannon with my trusty Subaru laden down with enough gear to camp/train for 10 days! Good thing the bikes & wheels go on the top! (once again I neglected to take any photos, I need to put the camera on the dashboard as a reminder or something!)

It was a beautiful drive and fun group meal on Friday night. Brenna brought a queen size air mattress that fit in my tent. What luxury! I just may need to get me one of those bad boys! (The environmentalist in me is shuddering- I'm going soft!) I had the best pre-race Wildflower sleep ever.

So, how did the course go? Fairly well over all, lots to improve upon, but lots of progress too.

1.2 mile SWIM: The water was much warmer than I anticipated! I wore my traditional winter dual squid lids and was almost too warm. (I also got the worst wetsuit chafe ever on the back of my neck!) My swim was okay, slow but steady. I swam off course several times. Must sight better! I forgot to put my watch on so my swim time estimate is 45-50 minutes.

T1: transition was slow. Ate, changed, restroomed, put on watch, sunscreened up (note: spraying sunscreen on a fresh chafe spot results in incredible pain!)

56 mile BIKE:

My ride was a huge improvement over last year's practice weekend. The weather was perfect: warm but not hot. The course is tough. There is no way around it. The climbs are exactly where I'd prefer they weren't, but that's what adds to the mystique that is Wildflower. The scenery and wildlife along the way helped ease the pain! My time as 4 hrs 15 min, only 19 minutes slower than last year's actual race. I concentrated on my hydration and it really paid off. I drank Ultima all day instead of a protein/carb drink. Oh yeah, no flats which was excellent!

T2: Again, slow: restroomed, changed shoes, more sunscreen, hat, ate some Hammer Gel and was finally off.

13.1 Mile RUN: Run Map & Profile

Shannon ran with me which was wonderfully generous of her. I was struggling as usual in the beginning but my good hydration on the bike really paid off! We picked up Celeste along the way. We dodged rattlesnakes, found interesting animal bones and kept each other's spirits up. Shannon's watch beeped every 15 minutes to remind us to drink, very helpful! I need to figure how to make my watch do it. As the day wore on, I found that although I didn't feel great, I didn't have the GI issues and bloating as before. I felt so much better this time that I actually got hungry! Wow! Since it was late by the time we ran through the campground, we skipped the Pit. This meant our total run was 11 miles instead of 13.1. Total time: can't seem to find my notes, probably about 3.5 hrs? Again not stellar, but look at those profiles again! Hilly doesn't been to describe that run!

RANDOM WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS:

Team bonding! The inflatable mattress. Driving down with Shannon. Sharing a tent with Brenna & giggling like school girls all night! Seeing the Milky Way both nights! Coyotes, turkeys, deer etc. . . Sunshine! Sharing the weekend with the South Bay Tri Team. Learning to play Texas Hold 'Em. Winning it ALL in Texa$ Hold 'Em!!!! In 'n Out in Salinas!!

The Yoga Theory

2007-03-04T19:46:00.000-08:00

I read through some of my old journal entries and found that last year in March & April I was having a lot of problems with pain in my hamstrings, calves and neck. While I still have tight muscles, I notice that I don't have the same intensity as last season. I'm certainly not taking ibuprofen every day. I've resorted to it only two or three times since October. This could be due to a couple of factors: one, I still have a little juice left from last season or two, I went back to practicing yoga regularly.

My guess is number two.

Don't Try This At Home!

2007-03-04T19:44:00.000-08:00

or What did I learn today?

1. Don't drink coffee at 10 o'clock at night.

2. I need more than three hours sleep.

3. Dehydration, sleep deprivation and humongous workouts are not a healthy cocktail.

I survived my 6.5 hour workout but it was not pretty. I've never had leg cramps so intense I couldn't bend my leg or thought I was going to throw up. Thankfully Fabulous Coach K drove up and plied me with more Enduralytes and fresh water and I was able to ride the last few miles back to MVHS. Also thankfully, she let me alter the last leg and skip the final hills. So I can still say I've never sagged out of a bike ride, but today was very, very close.

Today's bike ride route was from Mountain View to Saratoga, then up Highway 9 to Skyline (Hwy 35) to Page Mill Rd and back through side streets to our starting point at MVHS. I just spent a very long time, tediously inputing the route into the running map that computes distance & elevation only to lose it all about 7/10s of the way through. Argh! Cool program but I'll skip it tonight. The overall ride was 40 miles and the biggest climb was six miles up Hwy 9 to the junction with Hwy 35, about 2,500 feet.

Good thing that this happened now and not in the summer. Good lessons learned!

PS: swimming an entire workout and cooling down only to be told by your coaches, "Okay we're doing it all a second time now!" is pretty close to actual mental torture! I will pay closer attention the next time a swim workout seems a little short!

Building with Bricks

2007-02-08T00:32:00.000-08:00

. . .and that's how I spent my base phase and created world peace!

Whew! Where did the base phase go? My last post was in October, pathetic! It truly has been a blur! I left my job I'd had for 15 years (That has to be 150 in Silicon Valley years!) Then I started a new job. Then the Holidays hit. And the off season blues seemed to hang around and sap my workout enthusiasm. I managed to keep riding , did a lot of yoga and tried to figure out my new commute. Which I still haven't figured out-- wild fluctuations every day, anywhere from 20 minutes to 65 minutes! Geesh! I'm finally feeling more settled but it'll be a while before it all feels familiar. And I want to sleep better. It's after 12:00 am and I'm still wide awake with no hope for sleep for a while. *frowns*

But give me one good weekend of fun workouts and I'm back in the saddle, literally! Last Sunday was brilliant! The sunshine and warm air probably had a lot to do with it too. It really felt like spring was in the air!

We rode a beautiful 45 mile loop from Pleasanton to Lake Del Valle, then across the Valley to the northern foothills and then back down to hte eastern foothills, past Castlewood and then back to Downtown Pleasanton.

Bizarre note of the weekend: Coming down a narrow valley in the foothills we passed the biggest, most GINORMOUS buffalo (or bison)I've ever seen.

Okay, time to try sleep again. I'm tired of the zoombie ads!!

Masters Mastery?

2006-10-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

Week 2 of IT 2.0

Saturday was Ironteam University #2: Bikes, Bikes, Bikes! Tire changing clinic, spin, bike skills workshop, basic cleaning clinic & short ride. The bike skills clinic was fun!

After practice, I went for a ride with my friend T2. By the end of our ride I was tired! Sunday morning, I woke up "sicker-than-a-dog" and missed the team's coached swim/run.

Tuesday night was a spin/run brick at Sports Basement. I had to tear myself away from work, so got there a little late. Tuesdays, I work 7:30-5:30 in order to get to spin, but I may need to change that to 7:00-5:00, since I can never leave at 5:30. About 20 min spin, 10 min run & core strengthing afterwards. My left leg is feeling weak again. Something to work on. And I lost my core. Completely. That was fast! I had no problem with the crunches, planks & fire hydrants, but side planks & face up planks? Forget-about-it! Something else to work on. Thank goodness for Base Phase!

This week my friend Jeremiah and I started swimming with the Los Gatos Masters program and coach Pete Kain. I was a little nervous Wednesday for my first workout but once in the water, I felt much better. The pool is noticably warmer than Campbell Pool where I've been swimming for the last two years. A welcome difference! Pete gave us a modified workout, checked on us a few times, and with confidence, told us we would get faster. Nice touch. I think we're hooked.

Wednesday night I attended the City Council meeting with my department, so missed the team's coached swim. Good thing I swam in the morning.

I've been feeling a cold coming on all week. I've been taking Yin Chiao since Monday but it didn't it beat back as much as I would like. I skipped running Thursday morning, hoping that sleeping in would help. I felt worse this morning, so no, but I still made it to the pool in time. Our former teammate Amanda was there, swimming with the sharks in lane three. She's fast! Regardless of how warm & beautiful the days have been this week, it's definitely autumn! Back to swimming in the dark for many months. J & did basically the same workout today as Wed since the coach is in Kona for Ironman. Mmmmm, I'd love to be there spectating! One day!

Since I'm not working today and had no Hidden Villa tours either, J & I were able to have coffee at Caffe Siena afterwards. V. leisurely!

IT '07: Week #1- and we're off!

2006-10-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

This is the first official week of Ironteam 2007.

Kick-Off!

Kick-off was Sunday at Covington School in Los Altos. I met my mentor group in person for the first time. It was nice to put actual faces with everyone after meeting them all by phone the previous week. I have a great group!! Very friendly! I think we're going to have a lot of fun together.

1st SB Spin

Tuesday night was our first spin at Sports Basement along with the always welcome 20% off friends & family discount night. I had to check on one of my evening programs at work, so missed the spin, but I made it in time to spend, spend, spend on tri gear. No, you never have enough triathlon gear, ever! I looked longingly at the snowboard apparel but that will have to wait a couple more months. My favorite purchase of the night were rain/cold weather booties for biking. I'm hoping for a Popsicle-Toes Free winter!!!

1st Track Practice

Last night was our first track practice at De Anza College: run drills & strength training. It felt good to be running again. It was dark very early, another reminder that winter and cold training days will soon be upon us. We had a huge group running around the track last night. It's wonderful to see just how large our team is this season. Wow!

Today I did a lunchtime ride with my friend tomj. It was really hot out there! We road around Saratoga and up past the Mtn Winery and were out for about an hour. It's time to get back into my training routine. The time off has been great but now I need to get serious. I haven't been drinking enough water throughout the day or eating breakfast. It's good to have these reminders about what I need to do!

So it was a nice week of "firsts" and "feels-good-to-be-backs". This weekend we have IronUniversity #2 on Sat and our first swim/run brick on Sunday. Bring it, Babee!!!

What I learned in Canada. . .

2006-09-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

Ironman Canada Race Report

Canada was amazing. It ran the full emotional gamut: sheer joy, sorrow, happiness, melancholy, agony, heartbreak and much more.

I learned that:

My teammates are all rockstars!
My coaches are the best, most supportive people you could ever hope to meet.
Canadians are even nicer than you hear.
British Columbia is even more beautiful than you hear.
Ironman Canada is hard.
I'm going back next year.

I also learned the true definition of the racing term: DNF

DNF means "Did Not Finish". But that is really too simplistic of a definition. I had my first DNF in Ironman Canada. I finished the swim & finished the bike but I did not finish the run. It is a painful experience but I've survived it, I'm learning from it and I'll come back stronger for it.

So what happened? I got sick. And sicker. And then got really sick. I'm still sick now, weeks later.

Since I completed Big Kahuna, my first half-Ironman last summer, while sick with strep throat, I never worried about going to Canada sick. I wasn't happy coming down with a cold three days before leaving, I only worried that my time would be even slower than I had estimated. I never doubted I would finish.

Warning: slightly graphic descriptions...

I woke up race morning feeling terrible, with a major cough. (huge thanks to my wonderful roommate Meggen who never complained once!) I coughed frequently during the swim, but I figured out how to cough underwater while exhaling, so I could inhale when I turned my head. My estimated swim time for myself was between 1 hr 30 min - 1 hr 45 min. My actual time was 1 hr 45 min. which gave me little confidence boost getting out of the water.

My first transition was great. I had a nice volunteer helping me as I took my time and ate half my PB&H sandwich, drank 24 ounces of water & took two enduralytes. Thank goodness I did! I quickly realized that I'd dropped my vial of enduralytes somewhere in the first mile.

The first few miles on the bike, I kept a nice steady pace. I kept thinking about my mentor Christy's advice about really taking it easy on the first 40 miles. As the day started to get warmer, I was worried about dehydrating without my enduralytes, so I made my Heed drinks stronger than usual. Now I was coughing up large chunks of green stuff frequently. I also had to stop at every port-a-potty. I started to have trouble taking in food. By the time I got to Richter Pass, I was really worried about getting more Enduralytes. I was hoping to see someone I knew at the top of the pass. And I did! North Bay Ironteamers were up there cheering and gave me a handfull of enduralytes! I hoped that would get me to my special needs bag at mile 76.

The bike course was even more beautiful than I thought it would be. I think the scenery helped me focus on something other than how bad I felt or how worried I was. The day kept getting hotter and a hot dry wind was blowing constantly. (Bike course high temp was 95F) There was also a lot of smoke in the air from a forest fire burning just over the border in Washington State. About mile 65 I started to wonder if I would make it physically. At special needs, I was well & truly dehydrated and had classic heat exhaustion symptoms (nausea, chills, headache, rapid pulse), but I had a whole vial of Enduralytes and fresh water in my bag. I decided to keep going. I downed as many as possible but wasn't able to eat any food.

In the next few miles, the nausea abated, but my stomach was really distended and the chills were still with me. At mile 85 it dawned on me that I might not make the bike cut-off but I decided to keep trying and pushed harder. By the time I made it to the top of Yellow Lake Pass, I think I knew I was too late, but there was still time on the clock. I had some slightly loopy thoughts that maybe my watch was running a little bit fast or maybe I could squeak in and no one would notice... When I saw some of our wonderful mentors & captains and Coach Kristin still waiting for me just after the last water stop, I did my best not to cry. After that point, the course is all downhill back to town & the transition zone. I peddled like a mad woman all the way down & back. I was peddling a steady 26 mph on the last flat stretch.

I missed cut off by about 15 minutes. And yes, a race official was there, I wasn't able to sneak in. I met some wonderful people in transition: two other women who DNF'd, one I'd met on the course and another from the North Bay team. I met a nice father & daughter, the father was a lymphoma survivor & Ironman Canada finisher! I also met a lovely woman in the transition tent, who'd finished earlier, who shared her own stories of DNFing with me. Later on I figured out just how fast her time must have been if she was already changing to go home at 5:30pm!

Some of my new friends drove me back to my hotel to shower & change so I could come back and cheer my teammates in. I was still emotional (okay I was crying like a baby) and didn't feel as good as I thought I would after my shower and taking in more fluids. I had several phone calls from & to friends & my aunt that helped me calm down. But my heat exhaustion symptoms were building again and I decided to the medical tent. (Thanks Ellen for making me!)

Once there, I was really glad I went. They filled me with salty, hot chicken broth that tasted terrific! (I usually hate the stuff but I swear it was delicious that night.) There were really sick people coming in fast & furious. It was like an episode of M*A*S*H. I was put in the "Walking Wounded" section. I had handsome, fit men on either side of me puking their guts out. Those are images that stay with you! There were many people there much sicker than I. (I deleted the gory details) Suffice it to say, it all made my illness feel insignificant.

Afterward

I did have success in Canada: I successfully raised over the $7,500 amount I pledged for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. I completed two legs of Ironman Canada. I didn't stop until forced to do so. I was able to see & cheer on several of my teammates crossing the finish. I survived to do it again. I signed up for 2007. And I've learned an incredible amount about racing and myself.

Once home, I went to my doctor and found out I had an ear infection, sinus infection & bronchitis. I took antibiotics for two weeks and slept like a zombie for a few days. The last few days on the antibiotics, another sore throat started but it only lasted a few days. Even with the new sore throat, I felt well enough to do the Pacific Grove Sprint on Spet 10th. (I'll post that separately.)

I took many photos on the trip. They can all be viewed on the South Bay Ironteam's website photo gallery along with photos from the whole team.

I'm glad I went and I'm looking forward to going back.

Stay tuned for Beverly's Adventures in Ironland 2.0... or Redux, Part Deux, or Part II-Electric Boogaloo (Thanks TW!)

A LOT HAPPENS IN 10 MONTHS

2006-08-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

Cancer is horrible. It is particularly horrible when it strikes those we love. Since starting this journey in October, my friend Al died of leukemia in April. Last month my friend Paola was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double masectomy yesterday. Then this month, my director and mentor for over 16 years, Joan, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I am dedicating my race to all of them. It is unbelievably hard coming to work each day and not seeing Joan. It definitely feels different than her simply being away on vacation.

Everyone has been touched by cancer through family or friends. We often feel helpless as we watch our loved ones suffer through this illness. I am so happy that by training & competing in this Ironman, I am making a difference for people dealing with cancer. It makes me feel like I am doing something to help.

Training & work have left me little time for anything the last two months. Hopefully I'll be able to do some back dated posts before I leave for Canada. Until then, here is a brief synopsis of what's happened the last two months:

I've cycled more than I ever thought possible. My bike odometer is over 3,500 miles now. (this bike is only 1.5 years old so you can imagine just what that means!! Running has never been my strong point but I can go out and run 10 miles without worrying about building up. That's crazy!I've had the biggest blood blister of my life on my foot, twice! You don't even want to know what it looks like right now.

I'm starting to get a little nervous. It's all suddenly real. I am going to Canada next week. I am going to compete in an Ironman. Me. Yikes!!!

What happened this week...

2006-06-08T20:05:00.000-07:00

Maintaining my pledge to not slack, so far so good.

Last Friday I played in a charity golf tournament in Gilroy. I took my bike down with me and did a very hot, sweaty & hilly ride before playing. It was lots of fun.

Saturday was a day off. I spent the day with my friend, Marilyn, at a wonderful winery in Sonoma County at a special lunch & tasting for members. It's the second time I've gone with her and it was just a beautiful & special as last year. I joined the Bench Members club this time before I left. Wow! It's not really like me, but I think I'm going to like it. I fully intended to do another ride when I got home, but I was too pooped.

Sunday was a 3,000 yard swim followed by a 13 mile run with the Ironteam. It was fun! Hot, very, very hot, but fun! We ran from Mountain View High School, through neighborhood streets to Rancho San Antonio Open Space and then did the Upper Wildcat Canyon Loop. I, of course, took a wrong turn on the trail and had to back out 1.5 miles and back to make sure I got in a full 13 miles.

Monday was an off day.

Tuesday, I missed my ride with the team due to work, but I got my 2,500 yd swim in.

Wednesday, was an 8 mile run on the Los Gatos Creek Trail. I was stiff, muscle crampy & dehydrated but managed to warm up half way through to have a somewhat decent run. I ran with Brenna & Matt with an 8 minute run/ 2 minute walk pace. I had to stop and stretch a few times and to get my heart rate down.

Today, I'm still at work so I've missed my swim. I took tomorrow off work in order to get ready for our team training weekend at Lake Berryessa and it's meant working extra today. This working full-time thing sort of gums up the training!

So tomorrow we're off the Lake Berryessa for the fabulous training weekend! I've heard we're in for a 2 mile swim, 90 mile bike ride with 8,000 ft of climbing and a 15 mile hilly trail run. That will keep me busy and keep my mind off of life's inconsequential drama.

Weekend Round-Up III

2006-05-31T17:33:00.000-07:00

Lots to report!

We've entered a new phase training-wise so I've decided to officially quit slacking off. So I've been much more diligent with all of my training- but still missed a big run. So here's what I've done since my last post.

Friday: Ran my marker set (I know my post was on Thursday, deal with it! *winks*

Saturday: Rode 30 miles easy-hilly loop from Chain Reaction around the Arastradero/Portola Rds Loop via Elena. (the schedule called for a 15 mile run, but I decided to postpone it to Monday morning)

Sunday: Swim/Bike Brick in Santa Cruz. This was quite a brick!!!!
I joined teammates Ann, Tom G, & Nicole for the swim. The water at Cowell's was in the lower 50's. It was pretty cold but not as cold as some of our swims in the SF Bay in December & January. The schedule called for a 2 mile swim but we got out after about 1.5 miles since it was pretty cold. Once my fingers start losing their ability to stay together, I like to get out. We all warmed back up really quickly once we got out. A huge improvement over our winter swims when our feet were still numb after several miles on our bikes! The swim was really fun. We gathered together at every buoy to check in and kept our spirits high.

We trooped back to our cars and got ready for our 70 mile ride on Highway 1. Sunday was the 8th time I've done this ride. It's one of my favorites. The scenery is gorgeous and the hills are high rollers, lots of fun! My fastest times have been clocked coming back to Santa Cruz. Our group changed slightly for the ride: Ann, Nicole & another teammate, Amadita. Tom G had to get back to his bachelor party.

Highway I notorious for it's northbound headwind. I've battled it a few times before but Sunday it was tough! It was a true headwind! We rode up 35 miles to the town of Pescadero and it took about an hour longer than the last time! Yikes! There were times I swear I was being blown up hill! But the beautiful part of a headwind is turning around! We flew back!!! I even recorded a new top speed coming down the hill before Bonny Doon Rd: 49.3 mph!!!! Yipppeee! It was a blast!!!

Needless to say, we were beat afterwards! We started our swim at 8:45 am and got back from the ride at 4:25. That was one long brick! We had a great meal in Santa Cruz (after fantasizing about food & torturing each other most of the way back!) followed up with gelato. We'd earned it!

After we ate, I was seized by a major allergy attack which didn't let up until the next morning. I blame it and the wind for my dehydration Monday morning. I felt so stuffed up & dried out that I skipped my 15 mile run.

Last night was a spin/run brick at Sports Basement. Afterwards I bought the new & improved version of my ASICS 2100s. I'm trying them out tonight at track.

This morning I was in the pool at 6:30 am, so I'm doing well so far with my no-slacking phase. Finger-crossed it lasts!

Marker Sets

2006-05-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

Last week was Marker Set Week. We were assigned a 30 minute swim, three 1.5 mile runs & a 50 mile bike route to measure our progress so far and compare again in a few weeks.

As I freely admit, I have a problem with procrastination... however this time it wasn't me just putting it off. Between work & feeling unwell, I managed to miss the swim & run marker last week. This week I caught up. Here are the assignments and my results.

Swim Marker Set:
Swim for 30 minutes continuously. Record total distance and
calculate pace per 100 yds.
Results: 51 lengths, 1,275 yards (30 min/51 lengths = 58 sec X 4 lengths (100 yds) = 2 min 35 sec per 100 yards

Bike Marker Set:
50 mile bike marker "Vineman" Loop in Santa Rosa. Ride like a race – minimal stopping, no
drafting. (This was a fairly hilly course)
Time: 3 hrs 15 min. actual distance 54 miles, 16.62 mph

Run Marker Set:
(Use Track or Measured Course) Warmup 15’ L3 3x (1.5 mile @ L7) 3’ walk between Cool Down 15’ L3. Record Average 1.5 mile time.
Times: 14.29, 14.19 & 14.25 Average: 14 min 24 secs

Weekend Round-Up II

2006-05-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

Three days of fun!

Friday was an off-work Friday for me, so it was my teaching day at Hidden Villa. Sadly, it was my last day of the school year. Great day with great students! The farm babies are all really growing fast! Maya the calf is very good natured and much braver now. The three goat kids are still the cutest & my favorite. No rain on our hike, which was wonderful! I also received a stack of written notes & drawings from two school groups I had a few months ago. Really nice! Afterwards, I drove over to Santa Cruz for my bi-weekly massage with Ellen. Ahhhh. We had a nice visit over tea afterwards.

Saturday, up at 4:00 am! Not my favorite time of morning! I picked up my teammate Ann at and we drive up to Santa Rosa to meet the team for a 50+ mile ride on the 1/2 Vineman course. The ride was beautiful! Lots of rolling hills through the Wine Country. We passed many tempting wineries and the scenery was gorgeous! The hill at mile 45 was not too fun, but not as tough as Wildflower. I was beat when we were finished! I wasn't feeling good when we first started out. My throat was bothering me. I drank two doses of Airborne before the drive. It's probably a gimic but I did feel better by the time we finished.

Sunday, another early start! This time up at 5:00 am inorder to meet everyone for the Uvas Sprint Tri. My throat was still feeling bad and my whole body was achey. I wasn't sure I wanted to race so I focused on getting through each step: load the car, meet the carpool, set up my transition spot and then suddenly it was race time. Once I got going I felt better, then I just concentrated on each event and not skidding in the rain on my bike.

All in all it was a good day. The race timing results include the transition times with the event times which is a bummer since I didn't remember to hit the split button on my watch each time. Here are my times:

Overall Time: 2:20:56.9 (491/653 overall & 32/46 in age group)

Swim split: 29:50.7 pretty close to my watch
Bike split 1:01:39.9 includes T1 time (my bike timer showed 56 min)
Run split 49:26.3

I'm not sure where the transition times fell. I know my first one was slower than my second. I'm guessing T1 was probably about 5 min and T2 was about 2.5 min. I wish I knew. More practicing with the watch!

There were some race hiccups (adding new waves & moving up my start time!!!) but the post race food was great. The rain wasn't too bad. I'm happy I knew the bike course, it was really helpful in the rain. My legs were very tired after Saturday's ride, I really felt it in the big hill.

I'm happy I did it!

New Equipment, when will it end??

2006-05-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

This sport needs just about the most crap of any other sport out there! Okay, polo beats it, but that's it!

Here are my latest purchases:

New tri shorts- trying to find a pair that's comfortable but not granny-long like all my other ones! I don't want to know how many I've purchased in the last year. The latest are De Sotos.

Shoes:- Genius 5 Lorica® Women's Road Cycling Shoes These are wonderful! I was able to buy them through a friend on a cycling team which saved me a lot of cash!! They're already making a big difference, my old shoes were mountain bike shoes.

Pedals: Look Keo Classic pedals I'm still getting used to clipping in and out of these. They feel good so far. I'm waiting for my inagural crash, I know it's coming!

Seatpost bottle cages. These go on behind my seat, so I'll have to learn how to use them too! I have to install them tonight for tomorrow's ride. Since my bike has such alrge tubes, I had to buy the complex ones. I'm hoping I can do it myself, otherwise, I'm going to have to go back to Sports Basement and ask for help. I'm going to give it a good try!

Tomorrow we're riding up in Santa Rosa/Napa and have to be on the road by 5:15 am. I'm off for a date with my eyelids now in preparation!

What's Harder?

2006-05-12T17:32:00.000-07:00

Completing Wildflower Long Course, completing Ironman Canada or breaking up with your boyfriend? I'm now qualified to answer based on two out three. I'm hoping Ironman Canada will be easier than both the WF Long Course and breaking up with Tom, the boyfriend formerly known as Dreamboat. I'm sad but I will survive.

I'm not alone. Seven people I know have ended relationships in the last month. One I just heard about today. Is it something about spring???

As a book I nearly read the covers off as a little girl said: "Spring is a New Beginning". That will be my new official mantra for the next couple of weeks.

And that's all this fabulous girl is going to say about that!