Barb's Race - My First 70.3

This recap is three weeks late but hey, better late than never! Three weeks ago I crossed something off my bucket list ... I did my first half-Ironman! Ironman's are technically a brand of race so this race is more officially referred to as a 70.3, the distance you cover between swimming (1.2 miles), biking (56 miles), and running (13.1 miles). Back in 2012 when I was training for the Marine Corps Marathon my plan was to complete marathons #19 and #20 in 2012, and then do my first 70.3 in 2013. Well, life had other plans and brain cancer entered the picture right before marathon #19, so I didn't get through #19 and #20 until 2013, and now this year was the year to do a 70.3. I chose Barb's Race because it was a women's only event which I find to be less intimidating, it was up in Napa which gave me an excuse to go home to San Francisco, and the swim was in the calm Russian River which seemed to be a lot more pleasant than the dirty and choppy ocean water that San Diego has to offer.

 

Race Prep

To prepare for the race I created a bare-bones training plan that had me working out about six times a week - a very light training schedule compared to the 8-10 workouts a week most plans I found online suggested. I travel a lot for work and had a number of other personal trips planned so in the three months that I was training I actually only ended up getting in about four workouts a week, sometimes six, and sometimes only two. Over the course of my three month training period I was out of town NINE times! Oh well, I worked around it the best I could. The weakest leg of a triathlon for me is definitely the swim, so earlier in the year I found a swim coach and started working out with her once a week when I was in town to improve my technique and work on my endurance. Having a swim coach is great! I loved showing up, being told what to do, having someone critiquing my form, and constantly being encouraged. It made me think that I should get a running coach too or go back to having a personal trainer. If only money was no object...

Last Workout With My Swim Coach

 

Race Weekend

Since the race was up in the Bay Area and we needed to take my bike David and I decided to drive and take the dogs with us. We were going to be staying in Santa Rosa at Christina's mom's house for the weekend, which was about 30 minutes from the race start, along with Thu and Barb who were also doing the race . We got up at 3:30am Friday morning to head north and were fortunately passing through LA early enough to miss rush hour traffic.

Mika Photobomb!

 

 

Race Expo

After having lunch (and finally finding a David Coke!) I went to the expo with Barb and Thu to pick up my bib, attend the mandatory pre-race info session, and to set up my run gear. Unlike all of the other triathlons I've done where you ride in and out of the same location, this race had to bike out of one location near the swim exit and bike into a different location miles away where you'd start the run. Because of this we had to set-up our T2/run gear near the finish line on Friday and leave it overnight.

 

 

Not A Monika Coke In Sight....

 

 

 

As we walked around the expo I started to get really nervous about the race as I realized how hot it was. I checked the weather on my phone and it was 97F!! It was supposed to be a bit cooler the next day but not by much. I was also going to be out on the course for 7-8 hours so the run would end up finishing right at the peak temperatures for the day. Yuck.

The Day Before

Gear Is Ready To Go

 

 

Race Morning

The race didn't start until 8:30am which meant we all got to "sleep-in" until 6am. The San Francisco Marathon in comparison which was the same weekend and I was missing for the first time in five years ... sniff sniff ... starts at 5:30am. Brutal. We got down to the race pretty early and set up our bikes and hung out until our wave started. It was only in the mid-50s at the start but you could tell it was going to be a warm day. I was pretty nervous waiting for the swim to start since that is my weakest leg, and just kept telling myself that as long as I made it through the swim I was going to finish the race.

I Love This Guy

Getting Ready To Race

The Swim
Our time to start finally rolled around and we were in the water. I swam a few practice strokes (great warm-up huh?) and was instantly shocked by the fresh water. Swimming in the ocean and having salty water hitting your mouth is a constant shock to me. While this water was green and murky and looked almost as dirty as San Diego bay water, in comparison it tasted as fresh as tap water! I couldn't believe it. I loved it!

Barb's Race Swim Course

When the race started I was immediately passed by any faster people behind me and tried to ignore them and settle into a comfortable pace. I could tell that I was swimming slower than most of the women in my age group but I didn't care. For the first time in a triathlon I wasn't having anxiety, and I attribute that to the fresh water and the fact that there wasn't seaweed hitting me in the water periodically making me freak out thinking that some creature was touching me. After feeling like I was swimming for what felt like forever I finally saw the turnaround point. Finally! But wait, nope ... it was several buoys farther. After making it to the turnaround and realizing I was half done I was elated. I happened to see Barb at the turnaround and we gave each other a hug before heading back.

The Russian River

The Bike

When I finally reached the shore and got out of the water I must have been smiling ear to ear and thought to myself wow! I'm going to do this! I ran over to transition to change out of my wetsuit, ran my wetsuit over to David to take back to the car so we wouldn't have to return to this transition area since I'd be biking into a location miles away, got my bike and headed out onto the bike course.

Barb's Race Bike Course

The bike course went through miles and miles of vineyards which I had heard was beautiful. A few months prior I had run the Napa Valley Marathon which also ran through wine country and while the vineyards were pretty for a few miles, I found the scenery to be repetitive and dull. This wasn't the case on the bike. Maybe because we were covering so much distance and seeing so many more wineries? Or maybe because it was a beautiful sunny day compared to the gloomy rainy day we had during the marathon.

All Smiles On The Bike

I had completed a 67 mile bike race a few months prior and knew that I could make it through the distance on the bike but was afraid that at some point I was going to get sick of biking. Usually 20-30 miles into a long bike ride I'm on cloud nine thinking about how I should try biking 100 miles someday. Then I get to miles 40-50 and I am just sick of sitting on the bike and can't get done with the ride fast enough. I must have been high on endorphins on race day because the bike ride never got boring for me and went by quickly. I loved cruising around the turns and past the vineyards and up and down little hills. There were only two bigger hills, the last of which I thought I might need to walk up at one point, but before I knew it the bike leg was done.


The Run
After getting through the swim and the bike, I knew I'd finish this race! I could run a half marathon in my sleep! Well ... within the first mile of the run I realized that while I'd be able to cover the distance, it wouldn't be easy. It was SO HOT out. OMG. I bumped into Tara during transition and we ran together for a bit before separating, and then I bumped into Barb a little further into the course. We ran together for a while before I needed a walk break, and in true Barb fashion (Bad Ass Running Buddy) she stopped to walk with me. We stayed together for the rest of the run and alternated between walking and running. At one point Tara caught up to us and the three of us walked and ran together.

Barb's Race Run Course

The course was two out and back loops (which I hate - oh there's the finish line! nope, not yet) which I found to be torturous, but it did give us the opportunity to see everyone cheering for us at the finish. At several of the aid stations there were people with cups of ice that they'd pour down your shirt to keep you cool. I probably had this done six or seven times on the course, and wow did it feel good!

Running With Barb

Running With My Two BARBs

An eternity later we finally approached the end of the run course. Before the race I had set a goal for myself of finishing in 7 - 7 1/2 hours, and I couldn't believe that even with all of the walking we had done we were going to make that. I had joked with Tara earlier that if we were going to finish together we should all hold hands. As we came into the finish chute she asked "hold hands?" which I gladly accepted. They put up the finish banner for each person who ran through which made you feel like you were winning the race as you 'broke' the finish line tape. We won! Not really, but thank goodness it was over. This was my slowest half marathon ever by far, but one of the most rewarding moments crossing the finish line. Best yet, I crossed with  my two friends who each ran a marathon with me last year during chemo. 

Approaching The Finish

We Won!!

Our other friend Catalina had finished before us and our friend Thu was just behind us so we waited around in the finish area until we could cheer her in. When we were all together again at the finish mass picture taking ensued. Hey, we had to, we all had cute matching tri outfits.

San Diego Ladies

GOTRSD Rocks

Love This Sign

Hilarious

 

Official Finish Times

 

Post Race
After the race we went back to shower and change and headed out for some food. We had Chevy's for dinner and an early bedtime since I was exhausted, and the next morning we drove down to San Francisco to have breakfast with my dad before hitting the road back to San Diego. Looking back on the race I had a great time and would love to do it again. When? I'm not sure. These races are expensive and there are only two in San Diego which both have ocean swims which I really don't think I can handle. There are a lot of other 70.3's which are in lakes but they require travel. For now I'm going to relax a bit and maybe get back into calmer sports like yoga and paddle boarding and enjoy this accomplishment. Is a full Ironman in my future? NO WAY. I could barely train enough for this race and can't even imagine how I'd find twice as much time to workout. Training bike rides of 80-100 miles also sound like torture. Unlike the marathon, in this case I think a half is just good enough for me.

 

Catching Up

The past few months have been a blur of travel and races. What would have been probably seven separate blog posts in the past will now be one, filled mostly with pictures. Here’s an update on what I have been up to since May.

 

GOTR 5K
Twice a year Girls on the Run San Diego hosts a 5K to celebrate the end of the season for the girls. Although Tara and I are no longer coaching, I am still on the Board of Directors and we attend the 5K both to support the organization and also to exhibit at the expo for Glam Runner. The race is always fun but this year’s race was extra special because we were brought up on the stage (with a red carpet entrance!) to be thanked for our fundraising of $8000 for the organization through the whole Tutugate ordeal.

 

 

Girls on the Run San Diego 5K

 

 

Even Our Husbands Know #tutusrock

 

 

Self Magazine Visit
Speaking of Tutugate, a few weeks after the GOTR 5K our Executive Director Amy and I had a meeting with the new Editor in Chief and the Director of PR at Self Magazine. Back when the whole media storm was going on, the previous editor and I had made plans to meet up the next time I was in NY. Soon after we planned that though she was replaced by a new editor and I thought the meeting probably wouldn’t happen. I reached out to the new editor though and told her I’d be in NY for work later that month and asked if she would she still like to honor the meeting and she said yes. Great! I invited Amy to join me for the meeting and we met with her to talk about GOTR, what the organization is about and how it was started, what the impact of the program is locally and nationally, and suggested some ways that GOTR and Self could work together. Not sure what if anything will come of that, but hopefully something will.

 

 

Selfie at the Self Magazine Office

 Posing With "My" Issue

 

 

Feature in Self Magazine

 

 

 

San Diego Century Ride
Hot on the heels of my NY trip (aka I actually had to leave a day early to make the race) I was back in San Diego for the San Diego Century Ride. This would be my second time completing the metric century distance (67 miles) and I committed to this race to keep myself accountable with bike training for my big triathlon in July. My friend Shannon and my cousin Giselle joined me for the ride and we had a great time. Just like the last time I did this race, somewhere around mile 20 or 30 I thought “I should do the real century distance (100 miles) sometime!” BUT … about 20 miles later I was pretty much over it and the ride couldn’t end fast enough. Distance riding doesn’t seem as physically exhausting as marathon running, but you are on the bike for SO long. SO SO long. Ugh.

 

 

San Diego Century Metric Course

Halfway Done With The Ride

Best Part Of The Day

 

 

GOTR OC
The day after the San Diego Century I slept in – nope, no I didn’t. I was up at the crack of dawn again to drive up to Orange County with Tara to attend the inaugural GOTR OC 5K. We had been asked to come up on behalf of GOTRSD and Glam Runner and it was hard to say no. The event was great and we ended up having fun and were happy we came. So glad we were able to support our sister chapter!

 

 

With The GOTROC Leaders

 

 

Maui
The weekend following the GOTR OC 5K though I finally got some rest. David and I went to Maui for a week to celebrate my birthday and our one year anniversary (a month early). We had an extremely low key week which was exactly what I needed. Aside from going to the beach, shopping, eating, and relaxing, the only big adventure we went on was ziplining. No road to Hana, no sunrise at Haleakala. Those are fun but are pretty tiring since they involve so many hours in the car, and we’ll save doing those things again for a future trip.

 

 

View From Our Condo

One Of Many Gorgeous Beaches

Dinner at Mama's Fish House For My Birthday

 

Vegas
What would my life be if it wasn’t going from one trip directly to another? A couple days after getting back from Maui I was headed to Vegas to work a tradeshow. Why yes, this would be my fourth time in Vegas this year. That's about three times too many!

 

 

Appetizer At Michael Minna - Seriously?

 

 

San Diego International Triathlon (SDIT)
The weekend after I came back from Vegas I had my second triathlon of the year. I had competed in SDIT three years ago and liked the course and thought it would be a nice intermediate length race between the Spring Sprint in May and Barb’s Race in July. Fortunately, in this race I didn’t freak out in the swim as much as I did in the Spring Sprint, and I made it back to the shore without a near panic attack. My dad was also visiting for the weekend and the night before the race we went to the Padres game. Pre-race carbo loading with garlic fries? Sure, why not!

 

 

San Diego International Triathlon

(1000m swim, 30K bike, 10K run)

Twinsies! We're So Cute ;o)

Getting OUT Of The Water

 

 

Selfie With My Dad At The Padres Game

 

 

Coronado 15K
The next weekend after SDIT was 4th of July weekend and Christina came to visit and we ran the Coronado 15K. This would be my 6th time running this race in the 7 years I have spent in San Diego. (I was up in the Bay Area one 4th of July and ran a race up there instead.) I love the 15K distance because it’s long enough to feel more challenging than a training run, but short enough that it doesn’t warrant any stress like a half marathon.

 

 

Showing Off Our American Pride

Padres vs Giants Game

 

 

Next Up
This coming weekend I’ll be heading up to the Bay Area for Barb’s Race – a women’s only 70.3 distance triathlon aka a half-Ironman. To say I’m nervous about the race would be an understatement.  I feel completely undertrained and have probably only put in about half as many workouts as most training plans recommend. A lot of this has to do with the fact that I’ve been out of own NINE times in the past four months and I can’t swim or bike on the road and often don’t have time for longer runs when I'm traveling. With my 12 ½ hour day thanks to my commute I also don’t have time to workout morning and night which is pretty common for triathletes. I’ve done what I can though and hope that I’m in good enough shape to get to the finish line. If you want to track me on Saturday you can do so here. Wish me luck!

 

 

My Bare Bones Training Schedule
That I only completed about 75% of

Green = out of town!

 

 

 

 

 

Vegas, Vegas, & A Triathlon

April and May have been really busy months for me with a number of trips that were personal or business. Over the last weekend in April David and I went to Vegas for the Stupid Cancer OMG Cancer Summit for Young Adults. The OMG Cancer Summit is "the premier oncology conference and social networking event for the young adult cancer movement".

 

 

Stupid Cancer Co-Founder in a Glam Runner Tutu

 

 

This was our second year coming to the conference and I enjoyed both attending the various sessions and meeting and spending time around so many other "young" (under 40) people going through cancer. My favorite session this year was the same one as last year titled "Cancer as Chronic". In this session almost everyone in room was in the same boat as me. We're fighting chronic/incurable cancers, living three months at a time between scans, and trying to enjoy a normal life in the mean time. Looking around the room you would have never guessed what had brought us all together. For the most part everyone looked healthy. One of the panelists even commented on that and everyone nodded in agreement. Some of the other sessions we attended were Cancer and the Environment and Cancer and Fertility.

 

 

Bumping Into Diane in Vegas!

 

While we were in Vegas we also happened to bump into my friend and former coworker Diane who was in town for a dental show. We crashed her reception one night and had a drink with her before heading off to dinner. We had dinner at my favorite restaurant Jaleo the first night and Rx Boiler Room the second night.

 

 

Selfies With the Husband

 

 

After coming back from Vegas I was in San Diego for a couple days before it was time to head back there again. This time for work to exhibit at a medical conference. Two trips to Vegas in one week is one or two trips to many, and by the weekend I was ready to go home. Especially since the day after I got back from Vegas I had my first triathlon of the year!

 

 Running on the Strip - Vegas Trip #2

 

 

I got home from Vegas late Saturday night and was up bright and early on Sunday morning for the Spring Sprint Triathlon. This was my first triathlon in almost three years, and was the first of three that I am doing this year as I progress up to a half Ironman distance race in July.

 

 Tri Gear Ready To Go

 

The hardest part of a triathlon for me is the swim. I'm not a great swimmer and I HATE swimming in the ocean. The water is murky and cold and having plants and who knows what else touch me in the water really freaks me out. I've been taking private swim lessons with a coach for the past few months to work on my technique and speed, and hoped between that and my single brief open water swim a few weeks before the race I'd be fine on race day.

 

 

First Time Back In The Ocean!

#oceanselfies

 

 

Well .... I ended up freaking out in the water. I can usually calm myself down and just get through the swim at a decent pace, but during this race I felt like I was hyperventilating the whole time. I could never catch my breath and ended up breaststroking for about half of the distance. Oh well, it was slow but I finally got through it.

 

 

Happy To Be Out Of The Water

 

 

The bike was a bit better although I've barely been riding my bike. I signed up for the San Diego Century next weekend to help keep me accountable on my bike training. Um, it hasn't. Prior to the Spring Sprint I probably rode my bike four times all year due to travel and various other excuses.

 

 

Having Fun On The Bike





 

 

The bike portion of the race went fairly quickly and as usual I was so happy to finally be running. At least I know how to run! The race overall was short and the swim was 400 meters, the bike was 10 miles, and the run was 3 miles. My goal for the race was to finish between 1:15 and 1:30 and I came in at 1:23:52. I'll take it!

 

 

Best Part Of A Triathlon - The Run!

 

  

After the race David and I went home to relax for a bit but later that night we were back on a plane again to head to DC. What a crazy week! We went to DC for three days to do advocacy work on behalf of the National Brain Tumor Society. More on that in my next blog post!

 

 

My Triathlon Cheerleaders Tara & David

 

 

In the mean time, we are now two months away from my half Ironman distance triathlon Barb's Race. All participants in Barb's Race are required to raise $250 to go towards a cancer charity in honor of Barbara Recchia, a long-time race volunteer and committee member who has unfortunately been faced with cancer twice. If you are interested in helping out with my fundraising you can access my page here.