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.

Courage,Motivation,Inspiration

Want to Cry? Watch the CAF Tri!  Hey, that rhymes! ;o)

This past Saturday I went down to La Jolla Cove to watch the Challenge Athletes Foundation (CAF) Triathlon. I've heard that watching this race is amazing, and it didn't disappoint.

Finish Line of the CAF Triathlon

My Reason to Watch

I'm doing my first triathlon this coming Saturday. I won't lie, I'm scared. I'm afraid of the swim (even after some open water practice), I'm scared of riding a road bike (it feels so awkward to be pitched forward), and I'm afraid of doing poorly on the run after getting off the bike - when the run is my best part. A triathlon in all of its parts make up about 80% of my weaknesses. Two sports I'm terrible at, with transitions in between. Um, have any of you seen me get ready for work on the mornings? I'm not quick to move. A race where the clock is ticking while you change gear is totally my enemy.

Bike Transition Area

With that said, after having burned out on full marathons recently, I've decided that a triathlon will be my next new endurance goal! First up I needed to conquer my fear of water, and more specifically the ocean. I'm not a great swimmer, I'm a major germ freak, and I don't like nature, plants, and creatures. The idea of an open water swim was my worst nightmare on so many levels, but on another hand it was something I just HAD to do. I had to face those fears and see if doing a triathlon was something I could even do!

 Start of the Swim

Lifeguards on the Course

The Swim

My first open water swim was terrifying. I had never willingly put my head underwater in my life. I knew I wasn't a strong swimmer, and since I don't like nature the idea of swimming over kelp and past sea lions was a personal "Fear Factor" challenge.On my first swim in the cove I  made it about 1/8 of a mile out, and came flailing back to shore as quickly as possible. My 2nd an 3rd open water swims were different a little bit better. I swam in Mission Bay which has calm, unmoving water. This was an improvement over the Cove but instead of masses of plants and creatures, the water was just gross looking and dirty. Imagine putting your face in a bowl of pea soup - that's what swimming in the bay looks like. At my 2nd and 3rd swim I managed to make it through the clinics but really didn't enjoy the water. Apparently most others in my newbie group didn't either as well. It made me feel a bit better to know that I wasn't alone in my fears.

CAF Triathlon 3rd Swim Wave Start

Courage

Lets go back to the CAF Triathlon. I heard a quote from the race MC of my first marathon right before the gun went of, and it brought tears to my eyes that morning.

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

-John Bingham, running speaker and writer

Coming out of the Water - Headed for the Bike

When I heard this the first time, I thought wow - that is so true! Deciding to take on the challenge of  a  marathon and taking the first step to register and acknowledge that you think you can do it is really hard. Once you've made that decision and you commit to the training, putting one foot in front of another on race day doesn't seem as hard in comparison. Don't get me wrong, running a marathon is hard. Making that initial decision to go for it though is REALLY hard.

Two Challenged Athletes Towing a Third

When I got to the CAF triathlon and saw all of the challenged athletes I thought to myself WOW, here are some brave people. I thought it was hard for me (able-bodied) to make the choice to train for a distance race. Can you imagine how much harder it must be for those with physical challenges? I saw people missing one leg, both legs, one arm, someone that was blind, and someone who was a paraplegic. Imagine how much courage THEY had to take the first step. I'm scared of swimming in the ocean - but I can walk in and out. I saw several athletes being carried in and out! Amazing.

Carrying a Swimmer Up

Motivation

I've always wondered what motivates others to take on big challenges. For me, attempting to run a marathon was something I wanted to do to see if I could do something I never thought was possible. Years ago running 10 miles was as crazy an idea to me as lifting a car with my bare hands. Finding out that I could actually run 10 miles, 13 miles, 20 miles, and then a full marathon was life changing. Now I feel like I can do anything! Well, kind of. :o)

Scout Bassett - Amazing Young Athlete

As I watched all of the challenged athletes out there in the water, on the bike, and preparing to run, I wondered what motivated each of them. I heard the MC announce that some of the athletes were born with their physical limitations, while others lost a limb or mobility in an accident or even in war. Regardless of their history, I think its amazing that they all decided to not allow a physical challenge to stop them. They were at this race doing what many able bodied people don't even try to!

Challenged Athletes Bike Start

  

Inspiration

I watched the entire swim portion of the race and watched the start of the challenged athletes bike race. Have you wondered by now what distance this event was? It was a Half-Ironman distance, also known as 70.3. This consists of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, and a 13.2 mile run. Amazing.  I left after the bikers took off and ended up walking a few blocks with a man who was there taking pictures of the event. As we were chatting he said to me "Man, I haven't worked out in years. Watching these guys with no limbs do what they do, really made me think its a sign for a change." I hope this race really did inspire him and many others to change their life!

1.2 Mile  Swim Course

We walked a couple blocks further and a woman walking towards us stopped to ask what was going on down by the Cove. I told her that the Challenged Athletes Foundation Triathlon was going on. She said "oh, a triathlon." I giggle inside a little when my walking partner corrected her by saying 'No, not just a triathlon. A CHALLENGED ATHLETE triathlon. There's people missing limbs!" She didn't look like she got it and just walked on. Oh well. I loved that he asserted that point.

After leaving the race I kept thinking about the athletes. If they weren't scared to swim a mile into the ocean, shouldn't I be more brave about swimming 250 meters in the bay? Next weekend when I do my first triathlon (a fraction of the distance of a Half-Ironman) I'm going to try to suck it up and be brave and to face my fears of the water. I'm also going to try not to fall over trying to get my wetsuit off (which has happened), and to try to give this little race everything I've got. For me, this race is about facing fears, taking on new challenges, and doing something I never thought I'd do.

I'll be back next week with a race report! For now, think about these athletes and everything they have overcome to get outside and to get moving. Next time you're tired and don't want to workout, appreciate the fact that at least you can walk outside to get going. Not everyone can.

California Dreamin

This past weekend I ran the third and final race in the California Dreamin series! This series consists of the Surf City Marathon, the San Francisco Marathon, and the Long Beach Marathon. Several years ago I ran the Long Beach full marathon, and remembered liking the course because it was mostly flat, it went along the beach for the majority of the course, and the start and finish areas were really accessible from the freeway and nearby hotels.

California Dreamin Series Medals

Racing for Schwag

I have to admit, I do enjoy race schwag. I have a pretty nice collection of finisher's medals and shirts, and really enjoy getting extra special medals that you can only get for completing multiple races in a series. My first extra medal was the 39.3 medal from the Rock N Roll Heavy Medal series. My second extra medal came this weekend, when I completed the California Dreamin series. In addition to the medal I also got a cool race jacket from Green Layer. Score!

 California Dreamin Jacket & Medal

Long Beach Reusable Gear Bag

Meeting a Gladiator

They gave me the race jacket at the marathon expo the day before the race, and after picking up my race number, reusable goodie bag, and technical race shirt, I had about 30 minutes to wander around the expo before I had to meet back up with my dad and head to our hotel to get ready for my cousin's wedding. I zipped up and down the expo aisles resisting the urge to stop and buy anything, and then I turned down the final aisle and saw someone that looked familiar.

 

Side story: About a month ago I received a comment on my blog about being mistaken for an American Gladiator .. from a real life American Gladiator! Nitro (Dan Clark) had come across my blog somehow and had sent me a message about a race he is putting on - the Gladiator Rock N Run. We've emailed a few times and he's graciously agreed to donate two entries to his race to Girls on the Run .. with the condition that I do the race too! I'm sure you all know what a prissy girly girl I am. I find sitting on grass to be adventurous. Running through mud? Um yeah, no thanks. I sent an email out to some friends to see if someone might be interested in joining me, and what do you know, Kathryn our executive director of GOTRSD agreed to do the race. So we signed up! And the second I got the confirmation email I thought "what have I gotten myself into?" Since registering several other friends registered as well and also chose the wave that I will be in - 10am! If I'm going to slosh through mud and climb over obstacles, I should at least get the joy of leaving some friends in my mud tracks right? :o) 

Anyways, I saw Dan/Nitro at the expo with a booth promoting his race. It was cool to meet in person after emailing back and forth for a while. Its an interesting testament to the power of the internet and its ability to connect people. We chatted for a bit and he showed me the Gladiator Rock N Run finishers gift .... an inflatable joust stick! OMG so excited! The joust was my favorite event on the show! Its not too late to sign up for the race and if you're interested in being in my wave and trying to beat me, sign up for the 10am wave here.

 

Carbo Loading Wedding Style

After leaving the expo, my dad and I headed off to my cousin Jennifer's wedding in Huntington Beach. The wedding was at the Hyatt right across from the beach ,and the ceremony and reception were beautiful! I had a chance to catch up with some family that I hadn't seen in years, and my dad got to see some of my mom's family that he hadn't seen in almost 20 years!

Family Photo

 

The wedding meal was an unconventional way for me to carbo load (or at least to attempt to), and I have to say its one of the nicest pre-race meals I've ever had. The main course was surf and turf (steak and lobster), and the dessert was berries and cream. Yummy! Another cousin of mine said that she was going to blog about the wedding meal on her food blog "Overworked. Underfed." Unfortunately she hasn't posted it yet so I can't link to it. Maybe once she posts it I'll go back and update this post.

Raceday Rundown

On raceday morning Christina and I got up at 5:00am, had breakfast, left the hotel at 6:10am, and parked by 6:30am. Smooth! I loved how the race allowed you to pre-pay for parking online to avoid the confusion and stress of trying to find parking on race day. We parked a couple blocks from the start and finish line of the race, and walked over with just enough time to check our bags and hit the portapotties. The lines for the bathroom were long but not ridiculous like they are in some races.

Getting Ready to Race

I was scheduled to start in Wave 2 but ended up starting with Wave 5. I passed people for almost the entire race which was good and bad. It felt good to pass people and feel the illusion of being "faster" than many others, but it also meant that I was away from the pack that was running at my ideal race pace. I had to constantly check my pace on my watch to make sure I was running close to a 8:30 mile. My goal for the race was 1:52. I was on track to finish at 1:52 for the first few miles, but slipped down to 1:58 by the race end. I was getting tired towards the end and took a couple short walk breaks after mile 10. Boo.

Long Beach Half Marathon - Check!

I was a bit bummed out about my non-PR finish time until I looked up my race stats on the official results website. Compared to others in the race, I did pretty well! I usually finish in the top 10-15% of women and  my division, and in this race I finished in the top 9% of women and 10% of my division. Not too shabby! Putting my performance into perspective by comparing it to others helped me shake away the blues a bit.

 Race Performance

I've read articles before pointing out that the marathon is one of the only sports where you can run alongside, and in the footsteps of Olympic and world record athletes. Although I knew this was true, it didn't really hit me until this race how amazing this is. Somewhere between mile 12 and 13 I suddenly heard the chirps of police cars. Two CHP motorcycles passed me on the left and I realized that the marathon winner must be coming by! Following the cops was a Prius promotional car, and then after that came a truck with a camera crew. And then .... the marathon winner flew past me just a few feet away.... finishing up the full marathon faster than I was going to finish the half marathon! WOW! (Granted, I started about 20 minutes after the gun went off so he was finishing about 20 minutes on top of my half finish time.) Still, it was totally amazing.

Sporting My "Cape"

After the race I headed over to the bag check to get my bag and check on Christina. I was excited to see that by the time I got my bag and cell phone, she had just crossed the finish line! She had a new PR of 2:13, a great improvement over her time of 2:25 in San Diego. Go Christina!!

Bag Check Pick-Up - Yikes!

What's Next

Playing upon my addition for 'special medals', I recently signed up for the Carlsbad Half Marathon, which is the first in a three race series called the Triple Crown. This series includes the Carlsbad Half Marathon, the La Jolla Half Marathon, and the America's Finest City Half Marathon. The race isn't until January of next year so I have a little time away from long runs. In the mean time, I will be focusing my energy over these next two weeks on preparing for my first triathlon!

I'll be competing in the Fearless Triathlon on October 30th here in San Diego. So far I have a couple months of pool swimming under my belt, two open water swims, one short bike ride, and plenty of running. Hopefully this race will be the start of my new triathloning career. Wish me luck!

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)