El Tour de Phoenix

My race today was AWESOME! Ron and I were very proud of how we did. We took about 20 minutes off our time from the 66 mile ride in November. I'm so happy to see my training pay off! I'm also very happy Ron and I found something we can do together. I love riding with him.  We finished the race in 4:46:00. We would have been faster but Ron got a flat. That added about 11 minutes to our time. Ron said he could really see my training paying off when we hit a 4 mile climb at mile 60. He usually leads up the hill but this time I lead and he was wiped out. Ron and I finished side by side. I loved it.  Look how cute we are in our matching bike jerseys!  Here are some photos from the day.   

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Kate's Race Report

Ford Ironman 70.3 California
2010-03-27
Oceanside, California
United States
Ironman North America
Weather:  Sunny

Triathlon - 1/2 Ironman
Total Time = 8h 27m 10s
Overall Rank = 2127/2152
Age Group = F40-44
Age Group Rank = 92/97
Pre-race routine
My pre-race started roughly. I had a very long and hard week of work and didn't get to San Diego until 3:00 the day before the race. By the time we got up to Oceanside and checked into the hotel it was 5:30. My bro-in-law Peter took me to the check-in. I got super nervous at check-in b/c everyone looked like tri gods and godesses. He then took me to the swim, my biggest hurdle, to check out the course. It looked rough and choppy b/c the wind was blowing. We looked at it from 4 different views and it freaked me out.

After check-in we went to eat and it was 8:00 when we got back to the hotel. I was freaked out I hadn't had time to properly prepare for everything. I was hoping to meet up with my friend Leah but it was late and I was a mess. I got everything ready the best I could and went to bed.

Suzanne Peter and I met up at 5:05am to ride down to the race start. It was still dark and pretty chilly. We were layered up and had all of our stuff in our back packs. We got to transition and set up our stuff. I racked my bike and found my buddies again to get body marked.

There were a couple nice ladies racked next to me who made small talk as we got ready. By this time my nerves were sky high. One helped me zip my wetsuit and I helped a first time tri person setup transition.

I went to find Peter and we hung out with Theresa until we went to the start. As we watched the pros start, I had a calm feeling come over me. Nothing I could do now except give it a shot. My nerves relaxed, I said goodbye to my family and I headed to my wave. No turning back!
Event warmup:

There was no warm up. I really couldn't eat anything b/c I had a nervous stomach. I had a big dinner the night before so I felt OK about not eating.
Swim Comments:

I entered the shoot and tried to find my wave. Unfortunately, the put the waves too close together so we were all jammed together like sardines trying to get into the right groups. I felt bad for the people trying to wiggle their way through the sardines up to their groups. We were like cattle stuck together. We couldn't do anything but move with the crowd.

I am a bad swimmer and Open Water Swims are my greatest fear. Luckily, I was in a calm zone when I got to the start. I was just moving with the crowd observing and moving. When I got the start I dropped my flipflops and got into the water.

The water was about 58/59 degrees. It wasn't as cold as I thought. I had prepared by wearing a skull cap under my race cap and I pee'd in my wetsuit to keep me warm. (That's what people told me to do!) It was a 75 meter swim to the start. I immediately put my head in the water to get myself use to the cold. Not bad. I could handle it. The water was very salty. Slight shock but I had done a salty swim about a month ago. It was good practice.

As I got the start I went to the far right edge of the group. The bouys were on the left. So far so good. Calm and not freak out panic like usual. My group was ages 40-44 and older men. I felt pretty comfortable.

We got the start and I started! I was calm and cool and kept moving. I knew I was slow but I was pretty steady. The life guards were pretty good at keeping everyone on course. I kept going and moving. I felt decent the first few hundred meters. I'd get off course and then correct again. When we doglegged out of the harbor I knew I was getting mixed up. I'd swim and get out of line. I was trying sight but it was hard to see the bouys. I finally turned the corner but I knew I had messed up my mojo. I was getting passed right and left. I saw pink caps, blue caps, red caps, white caps, yellow caps and I think some purple caps.

As I came approached the last 500 meters they were funneling us all into a narrow alley. There was alot of contact and people were pushing me out of the way right and left. You could tell the good swimmers were totally annoyed that I was blocking their path.

I finally reached the end and was so happy to get a hand from the wet suit strippers. I did it!! I totally did it!! I was slow, I was steady but I did it!!

As I took off my skull cap I could feel that I had been rubbed raw under my neck. Yuck!

What would you do differently?:

I really need to work on the swim. I not only finished the BOP of my age group but I also finished the back of several other age groups! UGH! I think I need total immersion swim training or something similar to help this ugly situation. It was UGLY but I did it . . . and I'm PROUD I did it.

T1Comments:

I ran into the transition with a big old smile on my face. I did it! I did it. After the swim, I knew I could do the rest! Hooray!

I got back to transition proud but a little uncertain of where I was at compared to others in my division. When I got back to the rack I saw the lady who helped me put my wetsuit back on. Whew. At least someone in my division was still around! I had a hard time getting out of my wetsuit. Had a hard time deciding what to wear. The sun was shining but I was cold from the swim. I opted to put a short sleeve shirt over my trisuit. (too chunky to wear the tri suit all by itself) I sat down twice. Once to get the wetsuit off and once to get my shoes on. I was clearly flustered now that I look back. I finally got it together and took off.

What would you do differently?:

I would have a better plan of what I needed to wear. I would also practice my transitions more before the race.

Bike Comments:

I started the race and was sky high the first 20 miles. It was beautiful, I had a decent pace, and I had survived the swim. Awesome! I even got a little emotional at times. I was ready b/c I knew the hills were coming and I had to be on the look out. I had done a practice ride on a computrainer for the hills. Unfortunately, the computer ride didn't do the hills justice. They were rough! I was going 3 to 4 mph up those babies! My proudest accomplishement after the swim was that I didn't have to walk up the hills. I powered through them just as I practiced but they kicked my rear end!

Besides the hills I had to battle the wind. During some spots the wind was so tough I dropped down to my little chain ring so I could keep going. No fun!

The last 15 miles I tried to push it to up my bike time but I couldn't get it over 14 mph. UGH.

I was happy with my nutrition. I took a couple salt sticks, I ate bananas when they were offered. I drank ever 15 minutes. I did a gu every 45 minutes unless I got food on the route.

I was disappointed with my bike time but I was happy I got through it.

What would you do differently?:

I need to work on my biking. I have no technique. I need to find some. I think I might be a decent biker with a little coaching.

T2 Comments:

OK transition. I don't remember much of this one. I was TIRED after the bike. As I ran out of the transition, I immediately stopped and got some water and washed off my face. I was TIRED!

What would you do differently?:

Get faster.

Run Comments:
Wow. I hit the wall on the run. I planned on running the first 6 miles. I couldn't I had to walk at mile 2. I was TIRED! I walked every aid station and took a little bit of water and gatoraid. About mile 4 I had to keep walking. Luckily, I had a woman come up to me named LyLy. She said she had been trying to keep up with me the whole race. I said "you caught me, Good luck! See you at the finish." She was so nice and said, she couldn't do much more than what i was doing so let's do it together. We started walk running together. We then met up with Dave. Dave had hurt his knee and needed some motivation too. The three of us walked and ran the rest of the way together.

On loop two we were all losing steam. Dave's knee was hurting. I was ready to send them on their way but they stuck with me. The three of us knew we were ok b/c we had calculated the cut off times. We had time to finish even if we walked the rest of the way. We powered through together and kept going. When were about making our turn to go back the last 3 miles we met up with another guy named Scott. He like me and Dave was also from Arizona. He like the rest of us needed the extra push to keep going. Dave came up with the idea to walk a light post, walk a light post. It got us to the end.

Around mile 11 we saw the last athlete on the run go by starting their second loop. We knew he was the last athlete b/c he had a motorcyle following behind him. It was a weird feeling knowing I was that close to the end of the cut off. When we finally came to the end, there was a bridge we had to cross. We all decided we would run when we hit the bridge to the finish. That was less then a mile at that point. LyLy took off and I was chasing her, Dave and Scott stopped. As I was turning the corner I heard my friend Leah's name being called at the finish. I soon heard LyLy's name then mine!

I did it!! I finished and within the cut off time! Thank goodness! I owe Dave and LyLy and Scott a big thank you for keeping me moving. I don't know if I could have done it without them. If I could have, it wouldn't have been as enjoyable.

What would you do differently?:

I needed more run training. I knew I was neglecting my run.

Post race

I went through the finish line, got my medal, got my hat and started back to the bikes. I was looking for Leah b/c I knew she had recently finished. I walked through the food tent and to the bike but didn't see her. As I got to my bike I sat down and stretched. I had a woman take a photo of me with my medal and packed it up. My sis came and got me and we walked back to my family waiting in my van. It was a good day.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Weight was a big factor in my performance. I know I could do better if I was about 20 to 30 pounds lighter. I also need to work on my technical skills in all three sports.

Event comments:

This was a good race. Challenging, beautiful, great weather and awesome volunteers. I think I have to sign up again to try to beat my times!

Firebird Lake Triathlon

Here are some photos from today's Sprint Triathlon at Firebird Lake.  The distance of the race was 600m Swim, 12 mile bike, and 5k run.  The photos are of me and Peter and my internet training buddy Lisa.  I'll add more and give an update soon. 

Suzanne was there but got there too late for pictures.  She did awesome.  She finished 8th overall for women and 2nd in her age group.  Oh, to be young again! 

Good news! Personal Best!

Good news! I got my Personal Best time for the half marathon today!! Hooray! It was by 21 seconds. The best part about besting my best is that my old best time was from 2004. I was stoked! There is something to this cross training thing. The last half marathon I did was January 2009 and my time was over 3 hours. (I didn't train very well) This time is huge for me! Not only did I have a decent time I felt good the whole run and had a little extra in me to push at the end. I didn't hurt myself either. I felt great!

I really enjoyed this race. It was the Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon. The run was through Scottsdale. The race was well staffed and had our times every hour. This race also had the best medals and a nice technical shirt. Pretty cool.

Because this run went well, I am going to push through and gear up for the full marathon now. I have a long way to go this next 6 weeks!

PS - Suzanne had a personal best too!! (of course!) Peter . . . he opted out of this race for Vegas. I'm sure he would have had a great time too.

Half Ironman & Ironman

My mind is racing thinking about how I'm going to do this 2010 Ironman race. I can not allow myself to think about it though. My goal is to give full attention to the Half Ironman in March. We are on week 18 and after this weekend I have a long way to go.

I have learned a few things lately though.

1. I need to get a YMCA or gym membership so I can workout at night. I'm usually anti fitness center b/c I like to be outside but it is too dark in the morning and evening to do anything. A new YMCA opened up about 2 miles from my house so I think I will go there.
   
2. I think I need to get my act/Sh$T together! Since time is a factor for me I will have to be as efficient as possible in my training. Understanding bike cadence and Heart Rate will make things so much better.
   
3. Nutrition - I'm eating everything in sight. I always seem to think that a big workout or race gives me the green light to eat ALL WEEKEND long. I'm going to log my food starting now. I know 20 pounds will greatly help me before the Half Ironman.
   
4. After 2 weeks on my plan it is obvious that my "planned to actual" workout times are not good. I need to come up with a better training system.
   
5. I can't do all these little races in 2010. Heck, I've been doing a race almost every weekend this month. I am realizing that the races take away from my long training days. I want to be more selective in 2010. I want to have fun but balance it with good solid races that help my training.

I'm ready to let the training and the research begin. I want to successfully complete this Half Ironman without hurting myself.

El Tour De Tucson - 66 miles of Fun??

El Tour De Tucson - 66 miles of fun?

Yesterday was the El Tour De Tucson. It was my very first bike race. I had no idea what to expect. The best part about it was that my husband rode with me and I had my two tri buddies with me. Their were about 2000 people at the 66 mile start. Their was also a 100 mile distance, an 80 mile distance and a 35 mile ride. I was so impressed with the Tucson police officers. They had traffic controlled all they way around the city. I was more worried about the other riders then I was the vehicles!

We started out very strong. We weaved in and out of bikers and had a good pace. The weirdest part was that about 5 miles into the race we had to get off our bikes and walk them trough a wash. The walk about about 3/4 to half a mile! It was crazy. I don't know how that factored into our times. Oh well. My tribuddies pulled away around mile 10 or 12. They did great.

Ron and I were doing well and he even commented that he could tell how much stronger i was getting on the bike as we tackled several hills. Unfortunately, I totally HIT THE WALL at around mile 44. From 44-56 I was DONE! My lady parts hurt and I was so tired. It didn't help that we hit some rough roads during this time.

We ended up around 5:03. It was much slower then I had hoped but I'm happy to say I completed a 66 mile ride. This time includes a stop for Ron to put his chain back on, a stop to fix a break problem, a big water food stop at mile 30, and 3 Kate's got to get off this damn bike and stretch stops. I think my mind started messing with me after my usual 40 mile distance.

Lessons Learned:

1. I need more time in the saddle. My one long ride a week isn't going to cut it for my HIM.
2. I need a woman friendly bike seat and a new pair of bike shorts.
3. I should really scope out the course and plan my nutrition stops before the race.
4. I HAVE to do another bike race. Love them.

D-F-L Finish - Part II

So my splash and dash race results were finally posted. Guess what?? I was so F'ING LAST that they didn't even give me a time! I paid $40 and didn't get a time! LAME! They quit timing people at 1:02:00. I figure I was probably around 1:20:00 based on Suzanne's time.

Good News or Bad News First?

Do you want the good news or Bad news first? I'll start with Bad news.

Today was my last splash n dash. It was a 2000m swim and a 3k run. I was LAZY this morning and didn't want to get out of bed. I actually tried not to go to the race by hitting snooze on my alarm, but I felt too guilty. I knew it was the last Open Water Swim of the season so I had to suck it up.

I got to the race in the nick of time. I had time to register, get my wetsuit on and get down to the water. Suzanne and Peter were already dressed and ready. Of course all of the superfit tri god/goddesses were at the event. I imagine they were preparing for the Ironman Arizona that is taking place next Sunday.

I swam and I finished D-F-L! (Dead F*$&'ing Last!) I was so last that they started hualing in the Buoys in before I finished. I was so dead f'ing last that my cute little tribuddy Suzanne finished her swim and run and had time to root me on the last 100m of my swim. I finished SOO VERY last that they race company gave me 2 consolation prizes! That was crazy.

The Good news? I did it!! I swam 2000m in open water and didn't freak out or flip to my back or have a panic attack. I was slow but I was steady. I really did it!! I swam the distance of our Half Ironman!! This was s huge mental hurdle for me.

It was a LONG swim. I knew it would be tough for me. The longest I had ever swam was 1600m and that was some time ago. I'm pretty stoked about today's accomplishments. This was good for my head. Now that I know I can do the distance it is just a matter of improving on my time.

Next weekend I tackle the bike distance . . . BRING IT ON!!

Amica Championship - Kate's Race Report

[Photo: Peter and Kate after the Lake Pleasant Triathlon. Behind us is the lake where we did our swim. We are standing in front of the boat ramp. The ramp is the steep road we have to walk/run up to get to the transition. It seemed very long!]

Amica Championship

2009-11-01

Phoenix, Arizona

United States Amica

75F / 24C Sunny

Triathlon - Sprint

Total Time = 2h 18m 46s

Overall Female Rank = 39/62 (I wasn't ranked overall. I ranked myself based on where my time fit with the others.)

Group = Athena

Group Rank = 1/4

(An Athena racer is a woman who weighs 160 and above. I call it the "big girl category" but my husband doesn't like that. The male version is a Clydesdale and that is 200 pounds and above. When i signed up for this race I could have raced in my age group or weight group. I chose weight b/c I thought that is where I belong for now. I am so big I can't really compete with those women. For now . . .! It is interesting that a lot of big women don't race in the Athena division. I think they don't want to admit they weigh over 160!)

Pre-race routine: I was not feeling fresh and ready for this race. The night before was Halloween so I ate poorly and had a couple glasses of wine. I had also come off two days of pretty hard exercise. This was not ideal. This race was not originally on my calendar but my bro-in-law wanted to do it b/c he can't do this week's race. I decided at the last minute to go for but I should have thought out my training schedule better. I did go to bed early and try to hydrate myself. I got up at 5:00 and was out the door by 5:30. Got some coffee and oatmeal and headed up north. I was a little frustrated that I wasn't more prepared. I should have mapped the event instead of relying on their directions. If I had I could have taken a more direct route and got there a little earlier. When I arrived at the race I had to walk a ways with my bike and equipment. I felt rushed b/c I decided to get my stuff race morning. When I got to the table I realized I forgot my temporary triathlon card so I had to buy a new one. Bummer. Once I got my stuff I had to scramble to get my stuff together. I was pretty focused though and the ladies near me were very nice. No real attitudes like you get at some races from neighboring racers. I didn't see my bro-in-law until I had cleared transition with my wetsuit. I was suprised to see the race was so small. I think there were only like 300 racers. 62 in the women category and 4 athenas. I was also shocked there were not chips at a championship event.

Swim Comments: Swim is always a crazy time for me. I was calmer than I had been a other races b/c I had just had a successful splash n dash. This water was much more clear and I had a lot of visibility under the water. I did well going to the first buoy and actually felt myself passing people. My heart rate went up and I felt like flipping to my back but I kept on going. I rounded the first buoy in good shape. i ran into trouble with the second buoy. I got into a groove and kept swimming. I lifeguard redirected me b/c I was swimming into the center of the triangle. That flustered me a little and I over corrected. My sighting obviously needs some work. I think I zigzagged the whole way to the next buoy. I started to get frustrated but I tried to pretend it was just practice. When I rounded the second buoy it was easier to sight b/c of the shore line. I finished and i knew I didn't do great but I also knew I wasn't the last one out of the water. I was ok. My swim is a work in progress. The Positives are that I didn't freak out (and I knew I was on the verge of it) and I kept in a rhythm.

What would you do differently?: A few things: (1) I really need to figure out my sighting issues. Probably every 3 to instead of every 10 strokes. (2) I also need to keep practicing my OWS. I think I just need more confidence in the water. (3) I need to practice being ok with contact in the water. I don't like it! I notice I don't know what to do when I get hit.

Transition #1 Comments: No chip timing so my swim time included the transition. After we got out of the water we had to go up a very long and very steep boat ramp and get out of my wetsuit. I did manage to get it half way down on my way up the boat ramp. I did pass a couple other swimmers in transition.

What would you do differently?: I would have ran up the ramp instead of walk. I would of had some gu with me. Forgot that.

Bike Comments: Tough bike course but I'm happy with my performance. It was two laps of a hilly course and I had to work it. I'm slow going up and fast going down. I had some trouble shifting from my little climbing ring to my big ring. Towards the end of my ride I had to balance my body on the handles and try to shift using both hands! Crazy. I felt like I was able to make up some time in this area.

What would you do differently?: I need to really work on my hills and Lose some weight!

Transition #2 Comments: I felt ok with this. One of my neighbors had a bucket so I sat on that to put my shoes on. I thought is went ok. I needed some nutrition at this point. I can't forget food again!

Run Comments: My time is very slow compared to my usual runs. I ended up walking all the steep hills and jogging the flats and downhills. My legs were hurtin' from the bike hills so I figured what the heck. Looking back now, i wish I would have pushed it more and run up the hills.

Post race Warm down: I ran to the finish line and Peter was there cheering me on! He probably finish about 20 minutes before me. When I crossed the line I walked to the food. I sat and chatted with some folks. I liked the atmosphere and was anxious to see who won the Athena division. There were many more "Athenas" looking racers than I had seen at past races. After seeing there were only 4 Athenas in my division it is clear many of them chose to race in Age Division. The announcer started calling winners and I was shocked when he called my name as a winner. I started laughing b/c I couldn't believe it. I have to admit, I really dug it! I got a cool trophy and people were excited for me. I think it was the pick me up I needed going into our 20 week mark before our Half Ironman.

What limited your ability to perform faster?: I had 3 major issues: (1) My weight, (2) gear issue, and (3) swim sighting. I also should have taken it a little easier before the race. I was logging some serious activity before the race. Not the smartest.

Event comments: I enjoyed this triathlon a lot. Post race food good! The awards were nice. The trophy was a wooden cactus. Cute. The MC was great. Nice techincal shirt & water bottle for signing up.

I have another race this weekend. I'm headed to parker Arizona with Ron and the kids. Wish me luck!!

What a difference a week makes!

The picture to my left is a photo of Tempe Town Lake. This lake is not my friend. My first time in it I swam the wrong direction while backstroking. The second time I was in the lake I doubled my pool time for the same distance. The third time in the lake I had a panic attack and tried to quit. Today was going to be different.

Kate's 2nd Splash N Dash . . . .

I started the day feeling much more confident. Last night's practice swim in the new wet suit felt good. I have a full sleeve "19" wetsuit. I think it gave me a little confidence boost. It also helped that it was a 750m swim v. the 1000m swim I was expecting. I had a very busy work day so I didn't have time to obsess about the race.

At 4:00 I packed up and went down to the race. It was a cold day for Arizona. Maybe 65 or 67? Usually when it hits 70 degrees here we all have our sweaters on. So this type of weather was not idea. I couldn't imagine what the water tempature was going to be.

Peter got to the race before me. He was only 1 of about 30 people! We were still a little early so maybe others would be coming. The race organizers talked about how the weather might be keeping people away today. By the time we were to start the race, we had 52 people participating. Unheard in Arizona to have race that small but I dug it! It turns out that it was a no chip race this time. They were going by our bib numbers. This should be interesting!

I looked at the water and got a huge pit in my tummy. The buoys were so far apart!! How could that be 750m? It looks like WAY more than that. It was again a triangle format. I can't believe how far they are! I had to stop looking b/c I could feel my heart rate going up.

As we started to get our wetsuits on an older lady befriended us. She was CHATTY! Turns out she has done ironman races and does about 15 marathons a year. She talked about how she was the last on across the finish line in IMAZ. She didn't care one bit! It was all about the finish for her. I was so impressed with her attitude. It turns out she is a slow swimmer too who is doing the same race I am doing on Sunday. I think her chatting helped me get through my prerace jitters. She didn't stop! It was cute though. I think she was happy to be with some folks.

Soon it was race time and we were to get into the water. It was cold!! I recognized some faces from last week and made some small talk with some folks while we were getting used to the water. A few of us self described slow people talked about where to go and when to start. So far so good. No panic yet.

The next thing I knew the horn blew. Deep breath . . . Here I go. For a brief moment I flet a little uneasy. Not getting into the flow but that soon passed. I tried to get a little chant going in my head. "1, 2, 3 . . . Breathe! 1, 2, 3 . . . Breathe!" I decided I would try to sight about every 10 strokes. I realized that I wasn't freaking out! I am doing this! I take my first sight and put my head right back in the water and didn't skip a beat. Hey, I just passed a guy! "1,2,3 . . breathe!"
The next thing I know I am at the first buoy! How did that happen? I am doing this!! As I am going I see some folks floating on their backs. I haven't had to flip over yet. Hooray! As I am swimming I realize the longer I keep stroking the faster I will get done.

As i reach the final stretch I got pretty emotional again. This week I'm emotional for a different reason. I totally concurred my fear! I didn't give up and worked to get over my issue. Pretty cool. As I started to walk up the boat dock and man was right behind me. He asked the race official "Are we the last ones out?" AND the race dude said "NO!" I can't believe it!

I quickly went to the transition and got my shoes on. The the running begin! I was about a mile into the run when I saw Peter coming the opposite way (We had to do two loops) He said "YOU DID IT!" It must have been obvious b/c he was still on his first lap.

I was on cloud nine. I knew I was still back of the pack but I was SO OK with that! When I finished Peter told me that I was only a couple of minutes behind him!! He thinks I really cut a ton of time of my swim!

Here are the results.

• Today: 750m swim and a 4k in 43:46
• Last week: 500m swim and a 4k in 45:52

I was trying to calculate the numbers. I don't know how this time can be possible though. It is pretty darn good if you consider the time includes the swim, transition of getting my wetsuit off, AND a 2.5 mile run! What ever. I'm not going to over think it. I'll take it.

I drove home with a new attitude. I can do this! This is a whole new ball game now! I can do this! Now that I know I can do the swim, I can start thinking about how to become faster and stronger v. thinking about surviving the swim.

What a difference a week makes!

I have Open Water Swim Panic!

The photo above was taken after the Splash n Dash. Suzanne and Peter did great and I floundered. Let me tell you my story.

I'm scared of the open water swim but I want to get better. Thursday we had a race where we had 500m swim and a 2.5 mile run. I was SOOO nervous. Not only did I have to swim in Tempe Town Lake but it was also going to be my first swim in a wet suit. My fears started to escalate the night before the race when I tried the wet suit on. It fit better than it did when I first got it but it was still a size or two too tight. My husband said "it will look great when you lose about 20 more pounds". Whatever. Mom said, "are you really going to wear that tomorrow?" Whatever again.

I was extra nervous on Race day - should I even wear the wetsuit? I never knew I so vain until these damn triathlons. I spoke to my tri buddies (Peter and Suzanne) they both encouraged me to wear it just to test it out. They were very supportive. If I try to wear it, at least I will know how it feels to float. This was my first Splash n Dash. You could do a 500 or 1000m swim. We got signed up and were stunned by the crowd. There were only about 150 people. The last race we did there were about 1500 people of all shapes and sizes. The 150 people doing the Splash n Dash were all "super duper fit". They all must have been training for the SOMA HIM or the IM-AZ. I think there was only 1 woman heavier than me and I only saw 1 man with a beer belly. INTIMIDATING! These people had the type of bodies where they walk around in their speedos or their tri bikinis. The Suzanne said "I hope I look like that when I am 40! I've got 15 more years to get there!" Yes, I am training with a 25 year old.

I decided I was going to power through though and do this. Who cares what anyone thinks. At least I am trying. I got my wetsuit on easier than I thought I would. It was ok. The 1000m people went first and we took off about 3 minutes later. (I knew one person in the 1000m group.) There were only 13 of us doing the 500. When I got in the water I was stoked. I didn't even have to tread! The suit floated for me. I was very optimistic. I could really float! I wasn't going to sink!! HOORAY!

So our 500m horn went off and I took of swimming like a champ. My swim coach was right! I can do this! Mind over matter. I had my head in the water breathing ever 3rd stroke. I realized that when I actually do my stroke correctly I can cover a lot of ground! Then it happened . . . I looked up to sight and freaked. I started to lose my breath. I flipped to my back and tried to get my heart rate down. I back stroked then rolled to my front again. Can't seem to get my groove back. Oh no! It was a triangle bouy set up. 1000m folks did 2 laps and we did 1 lap. In the middle of the first and second bouy, I called the lifeguard boat over and told him to pull me in. I was having a panic attack. I lost my breath and was freaked out. He said "do you really want me to take you back?" I said "Yep! I can't do this." I held onto the boat and tried to catch my breath but he couldn't go anywhere b/c there were swimmers going by. I then thought I had to keep going so I let go of his boat and took off again. Same thing all the way back. Stroke and covered a lot of ground and then flipped to my back. Stroked and covered ground and flipped to my back again. Awful!

I finally reached the finish line and got out. My friend from the 1000 got out the same time I did. (Yes, he lapped me.) At first I could tell he was proud that he lapped me but then he must have seen the defeated the look on my face. He tried to cheer me on and helped unzip my wetsuit. I got to the transition and told myself i was done. I quit. I'm not going to do the run. Then I thought, what am I going to tell my kids! I can't tell them I quit. So I got on my shoes and ran. Plus, I knew I had to get a couple more miles in for the pumpkins. I ran and I finished the race. Many of the 1000 m people passed me on teh run but they were superhuman triathlon people so I didn't care. I almost started crying about 3 times but sucked it up. My two tri buddies were waiting for me at the finish line. They were so cute. They tried to make me feel better but it didn't help much. Peter said I was in a "triathlon death spiral". They said it was all in my head and I just needed to keep at it. I know they are right.

On the way home I called my man. He tried to pump me up. He said he would take me to do more OWS and support me getting a swim coach. it was nice but I was too down to appreciate it. By the time I got home i had given myself a migrane. I put the kids to bed and then put myself to bed b/c my headache was so bad I couldn't see. I've only had 2 other migranes in my life - both when I was pregnant.

The cute thing is that Peter called this morning and said "guess what!? All 3 of us won our age groups!" (13 people remember) He also told me I wasn't last. I finished 12/13. I think I must have passed someone on the run.

So now I am dreading next Friday's 1000m Splash n Dash. (no 500m option this time) Peter and I are also doing a tri next Sunday. This wasn't on my radar but Peter wants to do it. It has and 750m OWS. The next week another tri with a 1000m OWS. I know the OWS practice is what I need but I'm just sick about it.

What am I going to do?! If I can't even swim a 500m how am I going to do my HIM swim??

Action shots!

To get us motivated I put in some action shots of of me and Peter at our last triathlon!! This one had about 300 people participating. The one we are doing at the end of the month has about 1600 people!! SCARY!!

Our upcoming Races

I have some races mapped out to get us to the half ironman. The goal is to do something about once a month to keep us moving. Here is what's on the calendar.

1. 9/27 (Sunday) Nathan's triathlon in Tempe
   http://redrockco.com/nathan-triathlonsprint
   sprint distance (750m swim/ 12.4 mile bike/ 3.1 mile run) or
   olympic distance (1500m swim/24.8 mile bike/ 6.2 mile run)
   This is a big race in Tempe. Longer open water swim. 750m will be very challenging.
   
   
2. 10/4 (Sunday) Mission Bay triathlon in San Diego http://www.kozenterprises.com/Triathlons/missiondf84.htm
   sprint distance (500 open water swim in bay with a wetsuit/ 15k bike/ 5k run)
   This is the Frank race. I want to support my friend in his first triathlon. I also want to try a short race in a bay with a wetsuit before the half ironman.
   This race is SOLD OUT!
   
   
3. 10/17 (Saturday) Powell3 in Page, AZ
   http://www.powell3.com/
   Olympic Distance - 1500 m open water swim/24 bike/ 6.2 run
   (This also has a sprint distance 750/12/3.1)
   I really need to do a long open water swim before the half ironman. This race will also require a wetsuit. This swim distance is pretty close to the half ironman swim distance.
   
   
4. 11/21 (Saturday) Tour de Tucson in Tucson
   http://www.perimeterbicycling.com/!ETT/ETThome.html
   109, 80, 67 or 35 miles
   Rosiers are riding 67 miles, Sanchez family is riding 30 miles with Frank pulling the kids behind him
   
   
5. 11/26 (Thanksgiving) Goodyear triathlon http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1651810&assetId=41910ac6-2781-4225-bb18-42755ededede
   Reverse sprint tri - 2 mile run/ 13 mile bike/ 400 m swim
   Individual: $69 until 11/8/09; $79 thereafter
   ** This depends on if I can walk after 67 miles on the bike ride.
   
   
6. 1/17 (Saturday) PF Chang's Full Marathon in Phoenix
   http://www.rnraz.com/
   26.2 mile run
   
   
7. 3/6 (Saturday) Valley of the Sun Half Marathon http://www.valleyofthesunmarathon.com/
   13.1 miles
   
   
8. 3/27 (Saturday) California 70.3 Ford Half Ironman
   http://www.ironmancalifornia.com/
   1.2 mile swim/ 56 mile bike/ 13.1 mile run
   

Peter is considering adding the Pabst Blue Ribbon triathlon on October 10th. He is intrigued by the slip n slide finish. (Boys!)