One Year Swimmiversary

This year's trip to Paris marks my one year swimmiversary! Well, okay I actually went to Paris in July last year (and got back two days before the SF Marathon  not ideal!) and its only May, but still – its been roughly a year since I started swimming as a means of working out. Its crazy to see how much has changed in a year!

Hating the Water

Growing up I always hated swimming, mostly because swimming equaled lap swimming which always seemed to equal a frigid pool. I can’t think of any worse sensation that jumping into a cold pool. I think I’d rather have my armpits waxed or a cavity drilled! Anyways, because that first cold shock in the water has always been so daunting, I’ve avoided pools at all costs unless it’s a resort pool in a warm area and I’m on vacation and ‘swimming’ really means frolicking.

Polar Bear Swims Aren't My Thing

I learned to swim at the YMCA when I was in elementary school and although I progressed quickly through the levels from Guppy, to Minnow,  to Fish, to Flying Fish – I never considered myself a great swimmer. Mostly because I hated swimming (and I swear the water temperature at the YMCA was 65F which made it more miserable), but also because I could never come even close to being able to do the Butterfly, meaning I never reached the highest swim level, the Shark. Fail. :o(

 

Trips to Paris

In the summer of 2009 I took my first trip to Paris as an adult to visit my mom. I arrived with a suitcase full of running clothes and pictured myself running through the streets of Paris. My hopes were soon dashed though when I saw how crowded the streets were around my mom’s place. I’ve never been a city runner and find running one block, stopping for a light, running a block dodging people, stopping for another light, and then running 2 blocks before stopping for some other reason totally infuriating. My running clothes grew stale in my suitcase as my trip progressed, and the following year when I came back I knew I needed to find an alternative method of working out.

Trip to Paris - Summer 2009

I came to Paris last year without running clothes, but armed with my new MBT shoes! We had walked a ton the first year, and I figured if I wore my MBT shoes the second year I’d supposedly get a butt firming workout in. Well, last year it was SO HOT out that I couldn’t bear to wear pants, tennis shoes, and socks, and I ended up wearing mostly dresses and skirts and sandals instead. Two days into the trip my mom invited me to swim with her at the local pool and I thought sure, why not! I didn’t bring a suit with me so she lent me one of hers. The only one big enough to fit me was cut for a grandma. Sexy. Haha.

Can This Be Considered a Unitard?

Starting to Swim

The first time I tried swimming last year I was doing great with the breaststroke but somehow couldn’t get my breathing right with my freestyle. I managed to get water in my nose or mouth constantly, and couldn’t even make it through two freestyle laps in a row without having to stop. Over the next few days that I swam I was able to slowly go from one freestyle lap to 5 and to 10, but the majority of my swimming was done with the breaststroke. Although my progress with the freestyle was frustratingly pitiful, I noticed right away how strong I felt swimming otherwise. I felt like I had the endurance and strength to be a pretty good swimmer! Who would’ve known!

Considering a Triathlon

When I got back home to San Diego after my trip I continued to swim, and then something crazy happened. I started wondering if I could do a triathlon! The timing was just right for this thinking since I had just sworn off full marathons after a poor performance in my twelfth and worst marathon that past June.  My friend Todd was also currently training for a triathlon and in between reading his training blog and becoming more comfortable in the water, I decided to go for it. I signed up for my first tri!

First Open Water Swim at La Jolla Cove

Swimming Gear

I owned several bikinis but nothing cut properly to allow for flash-free lap swimming. I looked at one-piece suits online and was shocked by how much they cost. $80 for an ugly bathing suit? I’d barely pay that much for a bikini! I ended up finding a Speedo one-piece on sale online, and David quickly bought it for me to encourage my transition into the tri world. 

 

Next up I needed goggles, a swim cap, and ear plugs. I bought three pairs of goggles before I found a pair that worked with my facial anatomy and eyelash length. :oP (I had started using Latisse and my eyelashes were super long and smashed into the first few pairs of goggles I tried out.)

These Aquasphere Goggles Smashed My Eyelashes

These Speedo Goggles Fit Just Right 

I also ended up buying several different swim caps before finding one I liked. I tried both latex and silicone swim caps in a regular size before finally finding a “long hair” swim cap online which seemed to be the best solution.

Speedo Long Hair Swim Cap

 

One day when I was swimming with a fellow GOTR coach I noticed that she had a fabric swim cap by Speedo. What a great idea! Not like the other kinds kept my hair dry, so why bother with the discomfort of trying to get a tight balloon over your head? Sadly, it turns out she got the swim cap in Brazil and they didn’t sell them here in the US as far as she knew.  Well as luck would have it, this past trip to Paris I noticed that they sold polyester swim caps in the vending machine at the pool for 2.5 euros. Score!

My New Fabric Swim Cap - LOVE IT

The final gear I needed for the swim portion of a tri was a wetsuit. Even with the Tri Club discount bringing the basic $400 wetsuit down to $200, it was still more than I was willing to spend up front. I borrowed a friend’s wetsuit for my first race. I totally lucked out during a clinic for that first tri and won a free Xterra wetsuit! Unfortunately (I know I shouldn’t even complain) it only covered their sleeveless model, and I’m such a wimp about the yucky cold water that when the long sleeve suits went on major sale earlier this year I purchased a long sleeve suit as well. 

Xterra Full-Sleeve vs. Sleeveless Vector Wetsuit

I now feel totally geared up for swimming, and now all I need  are some swim lessons to improve my technique! The Tri Club has group workouts twice a week at the JCC, but from the one workout I went to I don’t think that’s enough personalized attention for me. I’m looking into semi-private lessons now, and maybe this summer I’ll be able to find something that works with my schedule that can help me improve my stroke.  I’m on my flight back from Paris right now thinking about how much has changed since I flew back last year, and I wonder what big changes I’ll encounter in this coming year? I guess only time will tell!

Fearless Triathlon - I Did It!

Gratefulness

First off, I want to say this blog isn’t to brag, its to share my appreciation for all of the good things that have happened to me recently. In life I’ve had successes and failures, and when it comes to racing, I feel like the scales have been tipped to the negative for me lately.

  
 

In the past two weeks, I’ve had three incredible things happen to me.

1. I was named a running ambassador for the San Francisco Marathon
2. I won a $200 gift certificate to XTERRA wetsuits in a raffle that bought me a sleeveless wetsuit, a wetsuit bag, and a triathlon transition bag.
3. I did much better than expected I my first triathlon, and I feel good about my athletic ability for the first time in ages

As most of you know, I’ve been running marathons for 5 years, and have improved my progress moderately over the years. My long-term goal was to qualify and run in Boston, but prior to that, I wanted to break 4 hours. Well, 12 marathons and 5 years later I’ve yet to do that. I’ve come really close (4 hours and 32 seconds – argh!), but still haven’t officially done it. To many people those 32 seconds don’t count and I have done it. But to me, I haven’t. I had a really bad race for my last full marathon which really just broke my spirit. I felt terrible for days after that race, sad for weeks, and now months after I feel a dull pain that I’ve chosen to ignore. Because of that last terrible performance (attempt #12), I’m scared to try for another full marathon. To fail for a 13th time might hurt me more than the 12th, and I can’t even imagine that. (For more details on my 12th race, check out "Dealing with Disappointment")

 

Enter triathlons. I’ve been asked in the past if I thought I’d do a triathlon ‘next’. I’ve always thought the person was crazy for asking and said no. I have a million reasons why triathlons aren’t for me. But, due to circumstance, timing, and relationships, in the past few months I started considering them. When I went to visit my mom in Paris in July I couldn’t run during that week, so I swam laps for the first time in 10-15 years. I was amazed to find out that I felt strong in the water, so when I came home I kept swimming. As soon as I realized I had the potential to be a strong swimmer, the idea of a triathlon suddenly came into my periphery. At this same time, a friend of mine started training for his first triathlon, making the concept of this race more real.

 

Inspiration 

My friend Todd started training for his first triathlon (an Olympic distance) not too far after running the Rock N Roll Half Marathon in San Diego. Since we’re friends on dailymile.com, I’d see each of his swim, bike, and run workouts posted as he did them. From seeing his posts and his accomplishments, thoughts, challenges, and improvements, I started to think wow, is this something I could do? I was still doubtful of my ability but really enjoyed watching his progress. He trained for several months diligently, raced in October, and beat his goal. Totally amazing! (For more on this topic check out "Watching a Tri")

Todd at the San Diego Classic Triathlon

 

Motivation

When I was at the San Diego Classic Triathlon watching Todd, I wandered over to the expo booths during some of the wait time while Todd was running. I came across a booth for the Fearless Races and recognized them as a beginner triathlon that my friend Robin had told me about. From the little research I had done, this looked like one of the shortest triathlons out there, and it was totally beginner friendly. The race had 3 free clinics included in registration to help acquaint newbies to the sport of triathlon.

 

I stopped at the booth and talked to a guy there (turned out to be the founder of the races) and he handed me a coupon for $10 off registration. Score! But wait, it expired the next night. When I came home that night I decided to suck it up and register. I did it! OH no… A few days after registering I met up with Robin for lunch and she gave me a pep talk and advice and encouragement for the race. Her experience and calmness about the port gave me a little bit more confidence.

 
 

Preparation

I lucked out and was able to borrow a wetsuit and borrow a road bike from fellow GOTR friends. Whew! Those were the bare minimums that I’d need. To try to get over my biggest fear of the water, I planned on meeting a couple friends for an open water swim in La Jolla Cove. That didn’t go great. For more details on that check out "Giving it a Tri".

My First Open Water Swim

I think that one of the best thing about the Fearless Triathlon is that it included three free clinics. I missed the second clinic because I was running the Long Beach Half Marathon (more on my blog here), but made the first and third clinic which were totally helpful.

 

In the first clinic we did swim drills in the water for an hour, went over the first transition (from swim to bike), and then biked about a mile. In the third clinic we also spent about an hour doing swim drill in the water, did a practice swim and then transition to run, and then everyone but me went back into the water for a second swim. (For the race you could either do one loop (mini sprint) of swim/bike/urn or two loops swim//bike/runs/swim/bike/run. Since I was only doing the mini sprint I had no motivation to go back into the water a second time – without a wetsuit!

Fearless Tri - Clinic #1

Photos courtesy of Fearless Races

 

Raceday 

Raceday finally arrived and it was time to put my training to the test! David and I arrived at the race start at 6:40am. I was super stressed because the transition area was supposed to close at 6:45am. We had to park sooo far way, and by the time I got to the bike racks it seemed that there was literally only one spot left for a bike - which I took. As I racked my bike and fumbled around in the dark with my transition bag, I sadly remembered that in the clinic they recommended bringing a flashlight. Shoot. I set up my transition area and started to put on my wetsuit.

Body Marked and Ready!

Waiting to Start the Swim

 

The Swim

The first wave of racers started at 7:00am, but my wave (the mini-sprinters) didn’t start until 7:30am. I was nervous before the first wave started, felt calmed a bit by watching them start and then the subsequent wave start … but then I was just restless waiting for my own wave to start. Prior to the min-sprinters starting there was a nice pop-talk from a emcee. I assume most of us were doing a triathlon for the first time. I was appreciative for the talk and welcomed any and all comforting words!

Todd Braves the Water sans Wetsuit

 Midget Momo and David

Finally, after about a 10-minute wait, we were off! A friend of a friend from the Tri Club had asked earlier if I wanted a swim buddy. YES! I’ll take any help I can get! My own dedicated help? Heck yeah! When the start was announced my swim buddy and I ran into the water, jumped in, and started swimming. I was nervous and anxious and swam the best I could out to the first buoy, around it, and to the second. At some point near the second buoy though I started to freak out. I already knew the water was cloudy and murky, I wasn’t totally fazed by the kicking feet and flailing arms around me, but suddenly I was uncomfortable and just wanted out of the water. (Inner voice – ACK! We aren’t done yet??) As I rounded the 2nd buoy all I could think about was NOOOO!! Why aren’t we done yet>!? The saltiness and cloudiness of the water, the feeling of people all around me, the weird sensation of dipping my face in a muddy pool while trying to not get kicked and propel myself forward was really just freaking me out. I stopped for a second and treaded, and then breaststroked. My swimming buddy Toni yelled out words of encouragement so I kept going in.

Mini-Sprint Orange Cap Wave Goes!

Don’t laugh. We only swam 250 meters which is nothing. But for me, it was just above my comfort level. If I hadn’t been stroking and breathing and kicking for my life to get out of the water, I probably would’ve cried. Seriously. But suddenly, it was over! HALLELUJAH!

Swim Course

The Bike 

I felt like I was in shock running out of the water; I was sooooo happy to be out. I felt funny running, felt gross running in the mud, and oh yeah wait – I hadn’t mentioned that before the first wave started swimming it had started raining. I ran up the hill to the bike transition area while unzipping my wetsuit and pulling it down to my waist. As soon as I got to my bike I rinsed off my feet with some water, put on my socks (over my wet and mildly muddy feet), stuffed on my shoes and put on my helmet , and I was off!

Running up to Transition (In Purple)

By now it was seriously raining. This race was my second time ever on a road bike. The felling of being pitched forward over the handlebars felt a bit more natural than the first time, but I was still scared to be biking in the rain and was afraid of blowing a tire on the numerous little pebbles on the path. The bike route consisted of two loops that I tried to finish as quickly as possible.

Biking By in the Rain

 

Oddly, I was riding alone for most of the bike leg. Where was everyone? In front of me? Behind me? I wasn’t sure how fast to pedal. As fast as I could go until it hurt? As fast as anyone that tried to pass me? In the end I pedaled as fast as I could without my legs burning, and for the most part I felt that I was cruising along at a really strong pace. Until … I’d occasionally hear a strange sound breaking the silence. I was biking for 19 minutes total. About every 3 minutes I’d be biking alone and then I’d hear this weird sound like a plastic/metal sheet being bent back and forth. Wonk .. wonk .. wonk. And then a guy on a bike with disc wheels and a crazy Spy vs Spy helmet would FLY past me. Wow…

The Run 

Throughout the whole bike portion of the race I was afraid of hitting a rock, popping a tire ,and flying over the handlebars. I was SO relieved when I was done with the bike and could go run! I racked my bike and stared off running. But wait – I felt funny! My feet felt weird and my projection felt weird. Luckily I had my Garmin and I could monitor my pace. I was thrown off though by the disconnect in the speed I felt I was running and the pace my watch said I was running. I felt like I was slogging along at first and was alarmed to see that I was running a sub 7:00 mile. I know I can’t hold that pace for 2 miles so I slowed down a bit. I got to about a 8:00 pace but still felt funny. My feet felt numb in parts and my body felt weird. I tried speeding up a bit and that made me “feel” my feet more of that made any sense. It was as if my body was numb at a normal pace, but by pushing harder, I could feel things.

 

I puzzled over these things in the race and pushed and held back and pushed and held back over the two mile course. Based upon the paces I saw as I glanced at my watch now and then, I estimated a 8-8:30 overall pace on the run.

Approaching the Finish

The Win

As I approached the last stretch of the race, I saw a challenged athlete in front of me with a prosthetic leg. I was on pace to pass him, but suddenly thought to myself “is it unclassy to pass a challenged athlete?” I didn’t want to blow past him so I slowly approached him and ran with him for a few strides before we smiled at each other and I joyously exclaimed “we’re almost done!” … and then I passed him and ran for the money to the finish. I finished strong and LOVED that they announced my name as I finished.

 

Finishing Strong!

Triathlon Complete!

After finishing I found David and Christine on the sidelines (soaking wet and cold - so sorry!). Moments later Todd finished the race and we cheered him on to the finish, and quickly high-tailed it out of there.  For a split second it crossed my mind that I had placed in the race since I had seen few people in the bike and run and had passed way more people than had passed me, but I dismissed it as craziness because there was no way this newbie could have done so good.

Well .. by the time I had gotten home I regretted that a bit. My friend Danielle (fellow GOTR coach) sent me a facebook message saying that I had placed in the race. “Wow” I thought! That’s great1 but what did that mean? Did I place in my age division of 30-34? How many others were in that division? What if I was the only one? Did I only place because I had no competition? I was excited to hear that I had won something bat wasn’t able to put it into perspective until a few days later.

A few days after the race the results were posted online and I was astonished to see that I finished first in the overall women’s division, AND I finished as the first woman in the swim and run. How was that possible in the swim?? I saw so many people in front of me! I guess they were all guys?


Official Results

Overall Time: 43:21:08
Swim: 7:05  (1st place female, 2nd overall)
T1: 2:18
Bike: 19:32  (6th place female)
T2: 1:35
Run: 12:50   (1st place female, 3rd overall)

 

When I looked over the results I also felt guilty because I don’t think the run was an actual 2 mile course. (I haven’t downloaded my watch data yet.) My run time was clocked at 12:50. There is no way I ran 2 miles at a 6:25 pace! Maybe close to 7:00 but not under 7:00. Hmm....  I felt bad for a bit until I realized that well, even if the course was shorter than 2 miles, we all ran the same course, so if I ran that part fastest, then I deserved to come in first!

Winners' Medals - Mine in the middle!

 

I looked at the races website and saw a list of school schwag for winning. Darnit, why didn’t I stick around?! I sent an email on Monday to the race organizer asking if I could still get prize. On Tuesday I sent another email. Crickets. Crickets. On Wednesday morning I was sad not to have heard back yet … and then finally I got a response! I’d still get my award! Yay! They won’t mail it for two weeks and I’m not sure if I’ll get just the trophy, or the trophy plus the other goodies (food and a tri outfit). I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Next Race 
I came into triathlons at the wrong time of year. The season is over! But not just yet. The San Diego Tri club (AWESOME) has a club race this coming Saturday that I’ve signed up for. I’m a bit nervous because its 2-3 times the distance of the race I just did. I feel like I barely made it through that race! Its hard to imagine going so much further. Oh well, we’ll see how it goes. Gotta give it a TRI right ? :o)

 

Thankfulness

I couldn’t have gotten to where I am today if it weren’t for a number of friends. Thank you so much to everyone who helped me by lending me gear, giving me advice, and encouraging me to go for it.

 

Todd – thank you for the original motivation! I’m glad you shared your training progress and thoughts along the journey towards your first tri. Thanks also for going with me for that first swim in the cove, and for signing up for the Fearless Tri to keep me company and make the race seem like it was something I could do.

Carol - thank you for holding my hand as I walked into the water at La Jolla cove. Thank you also for your reassuring words up until the swim!
 

Robin - thank you for all of the advice and encouragement! Because of you I joined the Tri Club, went to a coached swim at the JCC, heard of the Fearless Race, and eventually signed up.
 

Megan – thank you for lending me your wetsuit! Without a wetsuit training for this race and competing wouldn’t even have been possible!

Kathryn – thank you for talking bikes with me and going to a few bike stores to look at my options and to start to kind of understand what road biking is all about.

Tara – thank you for lending me your road bike! Without your bike I would have had to use my dead weight Target mountain bike from college.

Christina – thank you for talking triathlons with me over the past few months. Even though we didn’t sign up for the races we’ve talked about lately, having another newbie friend who was willing to make the transition from marathons to triathlons made me feel more confident about the decision.

Lastly David – my number one fan, captain of my race support crew, fellow marathoner, and my favorite person. Thanks for always believing in me and encouraging me to go for it. You’ve believed in me so many times when I didn’t believe in myself. Thank you for that.

I’ll report back after my next race this weekend. Who knows, if this goes well I might have to change the title of my blog to Engineer, Marketer, Marathon Runner, TRIATHLETE, & Cheese Hater.

Giving It A "TRI"

Something I never thought would happen has happened ... I'm really thinking about doing a triathlon! Oh wait, I'm not just thinking about it, I've already registered for my first race. What have I gotten myself into?

 Quote from the See Jane Run Tri Series
This quote really inspired me to think about tri!

Water - Foe Not Friend

After doing several half and full marathons, I've had a lot of people ask me if I'd do a triathlon next. I always looked at them as if they had three heads and said "Um no! I hate swimming!" Yes, I have grown up hating swimming - mostly because I don't like the feeling of cold water all around me. That initial plunge into the water before your body has adjusted is pure torture for me! I'm a beach bunny and love being on the beach near the water, but in the water? No thanks.

Germs, Germs  ... Everywhere!

So ..... I'm a germ freak. If you know me, you know that. You should see how much hand soap I go through in my house! Having dogs has really been total immersion/shock therapy to force me to get over that. (Which I haven't completely yet.) Sooo many things gross me out about owning dogs, but I can put aside my neurotic thoughts enough to care for them. And then I rock in a corner for hours .. just kidding. But seriously, owning dogs has probably helped me become more "normal".

Anyways, back to germs. One of my issues with ocean swimming is that the ocean seems "dirty" to me because of the cloudy, murky water. Even in "cleaner" places like Hawaii, the water still grosses me out a bit. I know pool water is clean but my dislike of water has kept me away from pools ... until my last trip to France where I was "forced" to swim in a pool each day as a workout to get in the only workout I had available. I have to say, as the water seeped into my mouth occasionally, I was grossed out. I figured the chlorine killed all of the major germs, but having chemical water come in and out of my mouth, ears, and nose really put me off. I liked the powerful feeling of swimming and using different muscles from running though, and ended up continuing to swim even after I came home. Swimming laps at my local gym opened up  my mind to a new possibility - could I do a tri?

I knew I could run, I found out in the past few months I could swim, and I figured biking wouldn't be that much of a big deal on top of that. A friend of mine sent me a link to a triathlon in San Diego in a few months that was shorter than a sprint tri and I thought hmm ... I can probably do this! The race? The FEARLESS Triathlon.

Watching A Tri

A few weeks ago I went to watch my friend Todd complete his first triathlon. (More about that here.) Watching him was inspiring, as was watching his whole training progress on dailymile.com. He said he didn't enjoy the open water swims either, but he got through them and stuck to his schedule. He swam, he biked, and he ran. As I watched him and the other competitors race, I thought "I want to do that!" Towards the end of his race I wandered through the race expo and came upon the Fearless Triathlon booth. I walked over and talked to the two people at the booth. I told then I was thinking about doing the race, but was terrified of the open water swim. The guy there (who I realized later was the founder of the race) said don't worry, they hold three free clinics to help the beginner triathlete get more acclimated to the water! I had seen mention of the clinics on the website and thought that was a great perk. On top, of that he handed me a $10 coupon code! Score! But guess what? It expired the next day! I only had 24 hours to think about it!

Well, my cheap and determined side set in, and I registered! Wow....

Kona Ironman

Being an overdoer with a need to exceed, when I first thought about triathlons my first thought was to go for a Half Ironman. I mean, it can't be worse than  a full marathon right? :oP Well, my swimming has humbled me to a much lower goal, but I have to say its still a stretch goal in my mind.

Yesterday was the Ironman Championships in Kona. David was watching the live stream online so towards the end  did too. An Ironman is unbelievable! I think marathons are about all a body can take! An Ironman takes a 2.4 mile swim, follows it with a 112 mile bike, and to top it all off, finishes with a FULL marathon. Are you kidding me? It blows my mind that mortals can accomplish this! Yet, years ago, completing a full marathon was beyond my own comprehension. With that frame of reference,  I started thinking maybe *I* could do an Ironman! Well, a half of course. ;o)

Watching the Ironman competition was amazing. The course in Kona is tough! Its hot, its hilly, and you have the best of the best competing against each other. Its like watching the Olympics, but instead of watching athletes great at one sport, you're watching athletes great at three sports. Amazing! Watching this race really solidified in my heart a feeling  of wanting to do a tri, and wanting to do it well!

Open Water Swim

Enter my open water swim. Two friends agreed to meet me at La Jolla Cove to provide moral support for my first open water swim. I was terrified of so many things before getting into the water. The fear of the unknown was overwhelming!

My biggest fears were:

• The water being too cold at my neck, hands, and feet
• The wetsuit not being warm enough in general
• Getting dirty salt water in my mouth, nose, and ears
• Plants and algae touching me when I was swimming
• Other dirty things washing around me in the water
• Sea animals coming up and harassing me

The first of three really weren't issues, but the last few really did me in. There is thick "grass" growing a few feet into the water that we had to swim over. I didn't want to see all of the things brushing up against me so I kept my head above the water until we got past it. After passing the grass, I was floundering around in the water a little and was starting to freak out seeing that we were a decent distance away from shore. We swam a bit further before coming to an underwater wall of kelp. We swam over that and as we passed by it I felt tons of leaves curling around my foot and sliding by my hands and fee. EWEWEWEW.

We took another break past that and at this point I was so put off by the dark water and the plants, that the SEAL who was 10 feet away barely bothered me. I forgot to use my inhaler before we headed out, and between the stress and the effort of the exercise, I started breathing really heavily and my heart was pounding in my chest. Todd must have noticed my panicked, scared look and labored breathing and asked if I wanted to go back. I looked over to the 1/4 mile buoy and it was soo far away, but so was the shore! I said YES!!! Let's go back! So we swam back.

It was a lot better on the way back since I had the shore in site, but as we came out of the water I was a little embarrassed for being such a wimp that lasted only a few minutes in the water. Todd's wife Christine was watching us and taking pictures, and from where she pointed out our turnaround location in the water, it looked like we made it about halfway to the buoy. Hey, not bad! Worst case I thought I'd walk in 10 feet and turn back and run out crying. I actually made it out much further than I thought I would, although way shorter than I'd need to go in a real training swim. I'm glad I took this first initial plunge into the water and I'm sooo grateful for the moral support of my friends Carol, Todd and Christine. Thanks so much!!

Fearless Triathlon Clinic

The open water swim in La Jolla Cove was soon followed by another session in the ocean. The Fearless Triathlon had its first clinic this Sunday at Mission Bay. The two hour session consisted of an hour of open water swim instruction, a clinic on transitioning between the swim and the bike, and then a practice  250 meter swim, a transition, and then a 1 mile bike ride.

I was really apprehensive to get into the water again, but as the whole group plunged into the water, I did too. There was no time to be a sissy and I didn't want to be the only one left standing on the beach. We spent a lot of time in the water going over different technique drills to work on our stroke, head position, breathing, and sighting. In the practice swims I got kicked and pawed a few times, and I'm guilty of being a kicker and pawer myself. The first few times I was kicked I was startled and would kind of gasp in air - which means I'd really just suck in a mouthful of water. Green, murky water. Fun times.

I became a lot more comfortable in the water throughout the clinic but was still a bit panicked feeling when we finally did our practice 250 meter swim in a rectangular shape around three buoys. My transition after the swim was NOT smooth. I struggled getting my socks on over my wet, sandy feet, and then after finally getting them on I realized I still had my wetsuit half off. Duh! I then had to take my socks off, pry my wetsuit fully off, put my socks and running shoes back on, lace them up, put on clothes to bike .. and then I was off! I was one of the last people to leave the bike area, and riding a 16 year old mountain bike with slipping gears kept me at the back of the pack. :o(

Three Weeks To Go

The second Fearless clinic is this weekend, but I will miss it since I will be running the Long Beach Half Marathon on Sunday. I'll be able to make the third clinic the following week though, and then the next weekend its race time! After the first practice swim in the clinic I now have the confidence that I can just complete the race, but now I'm starting to hope that I can finish AND do well. This might require some adjustments to my gear. Hopefully I can  make a few changes that will pay off on race day. My first purchase? Yankz laces! I probably wasted 30 seconds tying my shoes during the transition. With these laces, there's no tying involved, you just yank them! I'm also hoping to borrow a better bike for the race. If you're reading this and you live in San Diego and you're about my height, I'd love to borrow your bike! I promise I wont put Hello Kitty stickers on it either. :o)

2/3 of a Triathlete

I have been a “runner” for nine years. I consider my first 10K my entry into this category. I have been a “marathon runner” for five years, with my first race being the Rock N Roll San Diego in June 2005. For the past five years I’ve been working to improve my time in the hopes of one day being able to qualify for Boston. As of my last race (Rock N Roll San Diego – June 2010), I’ve unofficially given up… I think.

Moving Past Running

I’ve burned out on running, or should I say on running and training and not achieving my goal. I’ve often found a liking for things that I’m good at, and I’m not sure that running is one of those things. I think I’m a decent runner and have shown progress in between marathons 1 and 12, but I don’t know that I have it in me (or the time or commitment) to take it to the next level to get me to even a sub-4 hour finishing time, much less a Boston qualifying time.

 

After moping for a few weeks after my last marathon and then deciding to move on a few weeks after that, I’ve spent the last month or so just running for fun or for a reason to exercise, unsure of what my next challenge will be. Granted, I’m registered to run the Long Beach Half Marathon in October, but I don’t consider that something that I’m really training for. Yes, again said with my full marathon nose tipped up in the air. :o) If I were smarter I would train for these shorter races to improve my time, but improving my long distance time is all I’ve ever really cared about.

 

Forced to Swim

Last year when I visited my mom in Paris I arrived with a suitcase that contained my running clothes and shoes, optimistic that I would be able to continue my daily runs in the streets of Paris. Oh, how I was so wrong! The streets were so crowded and there was so much traffic that I would never have been able to get a decent distance in. This past year when I packed for Paris I was a bit wiser and left my running clothes at home, but packed my MBT shoes instead. Well, it was so hot in Paris that I never would have gone out for the day in my MBT shoes and socks so those, much like my running shoes the year before, lay hidden in my suitcase for the duration of my trip.

Enter swimming into my pool-hating life.

My mom absolutely LOVES to swim and frequently goes to the public pool three blocks from her condo in Paris. After the second day there I decided that the only way I would be able to workout would be to swim with her. The first day at the pool (in my mom’s grandma cut bathing suit) I managed to swim 1000 meters and took a break after almost every single lap. The next day I swam 1000 meters and only took a break every 5 laps. By my third swim I swam 1500 meters non-stop! Yay me! I know, 1500 meters isn’t that far, but it’s the furthest I’ve probably ever swam in my life.

Hating the Water

Growing up I think I used to like to swim. Don’t all kids? I can’t remember ever liking to swim, but pictures of me in the water in Hawaii tell a different story. Somewhere along the line in high school though I really lost my taste for it. I don’t like the feeling of being too hot or too cold, and the initial plunge into a cold pool was torture for me. I’ve always loved the beach and loved being near the water, I just can’t remember a time when I loved being IN the water. For as long as I can remember my mom has wanted me to become a swimmer. I’ve disappointed her for almost 30 years .. until now! I hate to admit that after my forced week of swimming in Paris, I kind of enjoyed it! Why? Because I could see the progress I was making in performance! I like things I’m good at. Don’t we all?

Learning to Love the Water

About two months ago I bought a treadmill at a garage sale across the street. It wasn’t a fancy treadmill, and it sold new for about $350 at WalMart. I got it for $100 which I thought was a steal! I have a membership for 24 Hour Fitness which I almost never use. I have it in the rare times that it rains here in San Diego, and with that membership I have a place to run rain or shine. I bought the treadmill with the intention of cancelling my gym membership, but after taking to swimming in Paris, I thought that I’d try out swimming at my gym here.

The first day I went I wasn’t sure what to expect. How would the pool be? Would it be warm? Were the showers at the gym going to be gross? What other types of people would be swimming with me? Well, its basically the senior citizen power hour at the gym pool in the morning, but that’s okay. I swam my 1000 meters the first day, and 1500 the next day I went that week.

I felt strong swimming, and I liked that. I’ve never liked lifting weights for some reason but do enjoy that pushing off and ‘charging’ feeling of running, and somewhere in those laps I was swimming I realized that I liked the feeling of power and resistance from swimming through the water.

The next week I swam 1000 meters, 1500 meters, and then 2000 meters! Wow, I felt pretty accomplished! The next week I swam 1500 meters, 2500 meters, and then 3000 meters. I swam three thousand meters! At first I wasn’t sure how to put the distance into perspective to running, but decided that if I could swim the distances that were paired up with running in various triathlon races, then I was doing about the equivalent enduring workout.

For the shortest triathlon (sprint tri) the swim is 750 meters, for an Olympic distance it is 1500 meters, for a half Ironman it is 1900 meters, and for a full Ironman it is a 3860 meter swim. So wow, I swam almost as far as a full Ironman! I know, it was in a pool and not in the ocean, but still, I felt good about myself.

Dreams of Trying a Tri

So as you might already be able to tell … I’m now temped to try a Tri. I feel like it’s the next logical step in testing my athletic performance. There are a few obstacles in my path towards a triathlon of course.

• I don’t own a bike

• I’m afraid of getting hit by a car on the road during a practice ride

• I don’t own a wetsuit

• I’m afraid of swimming in the ocean

• I’m a MAJOR germ freak and the idea of getting sea water in my mouth turns my stomach

• I really don’t think I’ll look good in a full lycra outfit… :o)

So I have some obstacles, but I think I might be able to overcome them by next year. My friend Christina emailed me a link to a women’s sub-sprint tri in the Bay Area next month called See Jane Run. We tossed the idea back and forth about registering, but in the end decided not to. So for now, I think I will aim at trying my first tri next year in 2011. That gives me time to work on my swimming form, try out open water swimming, buy a bike, and get over the many mental issues I have with the swimming and running.

My Inspiration

I have to give credit of course to someone who has helped motivate me towards the goal of running a triathlon – my friend Todd! Todd is currently training for his first triathlon, an Olympic distance race here in San Diego next month. We are facebook friends and dailymile.com friends, so I see the feed of his training log each day. Watching his progress has made me want to make that same transition from running to tri-ing myself. He’s told me that he’s not a fan of ocean water swimming, but he’s still powering through. He also seems to be right on track with all of his training, which I truly admire. (You should see my planned vs actual marathon training plans – its sad.)

Another inspiration in this new quest for me is my friend Robin who is an accomplished swimmer, biker, and runner. We met last week to talk about swimming, tris, and bikes. Her advice has built up my confidence somewhat, but I still need another push to take the plunge. For now I’m going to keep running in the park, swimming at the gym, and watching bikes on sale online.

I’ve noticed that being a triathlete is a much more expensive endeavor than being a runner. All you need to run is a pair of shoes! Well, okay, you need clothes too but everyone probably has something they can run in. To participate in a triathlon though you need a wetsuit and a bike, two things I don’t own and I’m not sure I want to fork out the money for right now. Since I’m giving myself until next year to try a tri though, I have time to get geared up for a race.

Next Steps

For now I’ve decided to try to move myself towards a triathlon with minimal financial investment. First up is to take a swimming class in an Olympic pool. My first coached swim will be this Wednesday!

Next, I will try to buy a bike to get acquainted with biking again. Its too bad they don’t make a Hello Kitty road bike. The Hello Kitty beach cruiser is pretty cute though. :o)