XTERRA!

Day before the race

I finished the race!

On October 25, 2009, I toed the line with XTERRA world champions! It was a beautiful and steamy morning when we all got up and started gathering our gear, ate our oatmeal, and headed over to the course.

Pre-race bravado

Transition was a big fenced in pen where you would run in from the beach after the swim, and run out the other way with your bike. I set everything up, got my number stamped on me, had the kahuna give me a blessing, and tried to keep my nerves in check.

The Blessing

Eventually, we all made our way down to the beach. The pros were all crowding into the water to the point that it looked like it was going to be a water start when it was supposed to be a beach start. The announcers and race directors kept trying to back everyone up but no one was moving. Eventually they started to say that they wouldn't start the race unless people got back on shore, so they backed up some finally. At 9AM, the announcer said "I hand you over to the starter" and with no countdown or warning whatsoever, the horn went off and we all plunged into the water.

I think this is from the day before, but same place.

The swim went well. A little slower than I anticipated, but I think it's because the swim was broken up into two parts with a run along the beach counting towards the total swim time. The course was a double loop, forming a counter-clockwise square. They had us line up on the right of the beach for a beach start, then you swim straight out to the first buoy, take a left, swim parallel to the beach to the second buoy, another left around that and swim straight in to the beach. When you hit the beach, you run out of the water, then along the beach around some flags back to the original starting point and do it all over again.

At the very start of the swim, I thought I had set up towards the back and outside the fray, but I was wrong and found myself in a washing machine. Still, I didn't get hit by anyone, we just all felt each other up a bit. Before we hit the first buoy I looked down and saw a diver with a video camera directly below me, so I gave him a shaka and swam on.

During the swim I was focused on finding a good draft. In the middle of the two buoys in the first lap, I found one and hung on. When we hit the beach and started running I was looking for Mike, but the whole time I kept watching my draft so I wouldn't lose her. Said hi to Mike and then ran into the water after my draft and stayed on her toes the whole way around. According to Mike, my second lap was much faster than my first, and I credit that to her. When we ran out of the water for the second time, I told her she did a great job and thanked her for the draft, and apologized for occasionally touching her toes. She just laughed and we ran into transition. Funny thing is, some guy then said the same thing to me, I'm pretty sure he was on my toes the whole time, too.

Exiting the swim.  Lost my goggles!

The bike course was harder than I ever thought it would be, and I didn't think that was possible. There is almost no flat land in this race, it's all either up or down, no in-between. I understand the conditions were actually better this year than most, but it was still nasty. Lots of loose rocks and deep gravel. In fact, last year's winner crashed on the practice course the day before and broke two ribs and got 40 stitches. In the first mile I passed at least four people whose races were already over from mechanical issues or crashes (no major injuries). People were spinning out on rocks while going up hill all over the place. I was able to ride most of it, but I was amazed at how many people were walking not just the uphills but even the downs.

The downhills were the best part and it was so much fun to let it go and fly down instead of laboring up. There's a part of the course called "the plunge" which is a three mile rocky technical descent, and it just so happens I was sandwiched between two friends of mine right at the start of it. We all blazed down the hill laughing and cheering each other on. I'd say that was my favorite part of the whole race. Unfortunately, the downhill came to an end and we had to climb all the way back up again. Still, that was a far worse proposition for some poor soul out there as we passed a bike seat lying on the ground half-way down the plunge. The owner of it had to ride another 8 miles without a seat. I hear that he did it and finished the race!

I look strangely happy here, must have been a downhill section

This was followed by a series of rolling hills where I would go as fast as I could on the down so I would minimize the effort on the up. This is where my only crash happened, and it was a minor one. I was going fast down a hill so the up would be easy when a guy in front of me stopped six feet into the uphill and stepped out into my line. My choice was to either hit him or wipe out, so I chose the latter. I should have hit him. He didn't even stop to see if I was ok. I called him a bad word, got back on my bike and passed him on the next big downhill, so I feel a little better. No damage was done except a small scrape on my elbow and some temporary cramping, so I was lucky although VERY dirty.

I made the bike cutoff with about 5 minutes to spare officially, but Mike tells me that they let people go for another half hour beyond the official cutoff. I'm delighted I made the official cutoff or I'd mentally place an asterisk after the statement "I finished." Mike was so happy to see me coming into transition as he was getting very worried. I was too, thank heavens I made it. When I came in from the bike you would have thought I was winning given the way that Mike was cheering for me. That was a really nice boost.

Anyway, in to transition and back out again on the run. By this time it's 1pm and hot as heck with no cloud cover. I was cramping some, fortunately I had salt tablets which saved me. I must admit, I walked a lot of the uphills of the run, of which there were many, but I ran all the downhills and what little flat land that there was.

The neat thing about this part of the race were the people that I got to meet. There was the 17 year old boy named Brandon and we ran together for a few miles. He and his dad do XTerras together, which I think is way cool. How often will a 17 yo boy chat willingly with a 36 yo woman? The race makes for strange friendships.

Next up was a Canadian Pro named Jeff who destroyed the rim of his bike. Seriously, I've never seen such a thing, it was in pieces. The poor guy had to hike his bike out on his shoulder and he still made the bike cutoff. Just amazing. What really impressed me was that although he's used to doing the race in under 3 hours, he still went to finish the race, even though he'd be coming in at twice the time. That shows a lot of grit. To top it off, he stayed and chatted with me for a bit as we ran along the beach about a mile from the finish. He could have gone so much faster, but he just decided to stick around and trade stories. I guess he figured he may as well just enjoy the experience. I was just blown away by how nice everyone was.

The last few miles of the run were on a beach, then through a "forest" where you had to jump over and duck under fallen trees, and then run along a rocky coastline. I felt I was getting stronger and stronger as the run went on, and eventually I saw the finish line. All the people I had trained with were all still there and cheered me in. I actually teared up a little. I felt like a rock star with all these people screaming my name. I'm sure everyone else was like "who the heck is that to have such a cheering section?" I high-fived everyone down the chute and crossed the finish line where I got my "survivor" medal and a kiss from Mike. Poor guy, that can't have been the most pleasant kiss for him. Then my coach handed me a Margarita and the day was complete.

In all, the race took me 5 hours and 40 minutes. I had planned to do it in 5 hours, but I honestly don't care. I underestimated the difficulty of it and at this point I'm glad to just have finished. Truly an amazing experience and I still can't believe I did it. It only took two minutes across the finish line for someone to ask me if I'd do it next year, and I honestly don't know. At the time I said "no way" but I think I'll wait and see how I do in next year's Mountain Man race. If I do significantly better (meaning I'm better trained), then I'll consider it, but I'm just not willing to do it again just to scrape by. So, we'll see. For now, I'll give a diplomatic answer... polite, but vague :)

Mountain Man 2009

On Sunday, I did the Mountain Man Triathlon at Kualoa. My goal was to qualify for the XTerra World Championships. The only reason this is remotely possible is because the race is held here in Hawaii, so this qualifying race gets a lot of slots, but not a lot of competitors sign up. High slot to participant ratio! I get chance!

The last few days leading up to the triathlon were a little nerve-wracking. There was a hurricane coming in our direction, which was scheduled to hit right around that weekend. On Friday, it was downgraded to a tropical storm and projected to hit on Monday. Still, I was concerned that the wind might generate some big waves which could make the swim a little scary. As it was, all my angst was entirely for naught. The storm was downgraded to a tropic depression and had slowed down so it wouldn't hit until Wednesday. When we drove along the coast on race morning, the water was as smooth as it could possibly be. Hooray! One less thing to deal with.

We left the house around 5:40 and got to Kualoa a few minutes after 6. I hit the porta-potties (already icky so early in the morning), and then went to the run transition. This race is a little different in that the bike and run transitions are in different locations. The run transition is right next to the finish line up in the valley, while the swim start and bike transition are down by the water.

Around 7:15, everyone met at the finish line for pre-race instructions, then we all grabbed our bike and swim gear and hopped on our bikes for an easy ride over to the bike transition, about a mile away. The bike transition was definitely different. While they had racks set up, they said you could put your bike anywhere you wanted, lean it up against the rock wall, drop it on the grass, whatever. I think this may have been a concession to the cow patties. You see, the field normally is for cows grazing and there were "remnants" all over the place. I leaned my bike against the flag pole (can't miss that), set up my bike gear, grabbed my goggles and cap, and head into the water across the street.

The water was SHALLOW. We all had to get out to a guy waiting on a surf board who was acting as the starting line. At first everyone was slowly picking their way around the rocks and coral, but it finally sunk in that even though the water was barely over our knees, it was easier to swim. I figured it would be deeper out where the surfer was, but I was mistaken. It turned out the water never got deeper than waist high. Half the time I couldn't take full strokes for fear of hitting coral. One time I actually did, even though I was practically bringing my hands right along my body. Still, at least the race organizers didn't have to worry about anyone drowning.

I stroked all the way in to shore, actually just grabbing rocks and pulling myself along for the last 50 feet or so. I finally got up when I couldn't go any further and trotted across the beach and the road (thanks HPD for stopping traffic), and tried to avoid the cow pies on the way to the flag pole.

My transition took too long. I have no idea how long it actually took, it just felt long. I need to make some changes. Maybe ditch the socks, get some yankx laces, and find a swim top that won't make me feel it's necessary to put on a shirt.

Anyway, I finally got on the bike and headed out. I screwed up here as well in that I didn't take a Gu right away. I don't know what I was thinking. I had figured I would take one about every 30 minutes, and I was only at 20, but I wasn't feeling strong. I should go with feeling rather than numbers. Stupid. The thing was not very far in to the bike I hit a big hill that took all my attention and the next thing I knew I was 10 minutes late for my gel. I ate it and in a few minutes started to feel much stronger. Dumb. I should have taken that thing right out of the swim. I bet I would have done better.

The bike was a little bi-polar. The first half of the course, along the right side of the valley, is all jeep-road with BIG up and down hills. Around the mid-point, you cross the valley and go to the left side where it's pretty much all single-track until the bike finish. I didn't do so hot on the jeep road. I rode everything, even the hills that most people around me were walking, but I just didn't feel strong.

Riding up the last of the big uphills, I saw a guy pulled over. I called out to see if he needed help, all the while thinking "Please say no, please say no." But he asked if I had a spare tube, which I did. I stopped, pulled out a tube and CO2 cartridge, handed them over and headed off. He came up to me after the race to say thank you and that he was able to finish the race. I'm glad I helped him, but for the rest of the race I was wondering if I had just shot myself in the foot in terms of qualifying. Still, I just couldn't leave the guy. Someday that could be me. I figure I built up some Karma points.

Still, I was getting worried so I decided to really push the envelope. After this I came to the first serious downhill. It was a long grassy stretch which looked safe enough (except for the cow patties), so I really let it go. Unfortunately I didn't see the big crater until I was right about in it, so I swung my weight back and when I hit the far lip of the crater my hands popped off the handlebars and I ended up sliding down the hill on my butt. Once I realized I landed with no damage, the sliding was actually kind of fun. I may have actually started laughing. Anyway, at the end of my skid, I popped back up, ran and grabbed my bike (which was further down the hill), and kept going.

I crossed the valley over to the single track area, and things finally picked up for me. I started passing people all over the place. For the most part, people were really nice and would get out of your way once they heard you coming. I did have to stop quite a few times when people in front of me stopped at obstacles. But they would quickly pull their bikes out of the way and let me get started again and ride through. A few people may have passed me on the jeep road, but no-body passed me on the single track. I loved this part of the ride, it totally made my race.








As it turns out, there were 5 girls in my AG and four slots. I came in 3rd in my AG! I can't tell you how happy I am with that. I really only started training 8 weeks ago, and I lost almost 2 weeks to a really nasty cold followed by a Migraine, so to do this on only 6 good weeks of training, I'll take whatever I can get.

Training update

I got sick and lost about a week and a half of training. I only started to feel totally normal last week. I'm pretty frustrated about it, but there's nothing I can do but work as hard as I can for the next 3-4 weeks until the race.

The weight currently stands at 123, and I'm hoping to drop a pound or two (or three) before the race. If I can eat healthy and avoid the dreaded Green Tea Frappaccino, I have a shot at it. Every pound lost helps during the race.

The workouts have been great. The schedule is:

Monday: Mountain bike
Tuesday: Swim (on your own), Road Bike (typically with lots of hills followed by a transition run)
Wednesday: Road ride or run on your own
Thursday: Swim (on your own), Run (lots of hills)
Friday: Morning beach run/core
Saturday: Mountain bike ride (on your own) followed by a transition run
Sunday: Run/Swim/Run/Swim

On Tuesday I got a flat on my bike right before I was about to leave to meet the group, so I was really rushed and forgot my bike shoes. I had to do the workout in my sneakers and it didn't go so well. I have SPDs for my pedals, so I was balancing on this tiny little platforms that I would slide off of on bumpy sections. Then because I wasn't clipped in, I had no upstroke power so it felt like I was biking at 3/4 speed. Of course this workout turns out to be the most hills we've ever done on our road bikes, 6 times up and over Daly hill and back (one time up, to the bottom on the other side, turn around and go back up and down to the original starting point counts as one). It's a great workout, I just wish I could do it again with the proper shoes, I feel I didn't give that one it's full justice.

On Monday, the trails were slick from rain, so we did some exploring and tried to stay off the really big hills for our Mountain bike ride. It was fun but after a while I was rather tired of spinning out and losing traction every time I went over a rock or root. Towards the end, I hit a root and went right over the edge of the hill, fortunately I got caught amongst the trees, but one of the guys had to come back and haul me out as I was rather stuck, upside down at that! Not very dignified.

Sunday was another long day (actually, they're all huge workouts now, it seems). We ran for 45 minutes, swam the buoy line (took me about 25"), then ran from one end of the beach to the other and back (about 5 miles), and finished it off with another buoy line swim. My favorite part of that is going by Kalapawai market afterwards and getting an iced Chai Latte then going home and sitting on the balcony with my drink and a good book until DH wakes up. Doesn't get better than that!

Thursday was a baaaad day. It was a run day, and I was actually looking forward to it, thinking I was going to do well. The reality was the complete opposite. Just a few minutes into the run, my stomach started cramping up and kept getting worse. Not longer after, I started wheezing. The frustrating thing about the wheezing is I think it might actually be a physical reaction to mental/emotional issues rather than anything real. When I started to get upset about the stomach and over how much training I've missed from being sick, I teared up a bit, and that's when the wheezing started. It always seems to happen after I've gotten a little emotional. I have GOT to get the mental game under control, this is ridiculous. As it was, we went over to the conning tower hill, which is a long winding hill that goes around and around the hill all the way up to the conning tower at the top. We did repeats on that and then ran home. I'm told I ran about 8 miles. Again, here's another workout I want to try again so I can give it the justice I think it deserves. So frustrating. On a side note, I had a slice of toast with some PB&J on it about a half hour before the run. Perhaps that's why my stomach went into revolt. Next time I need to eat much further out time-wise.

Lanikai pillbox

The week so far

On Saturday, DH and I did a Mountain Bike ride around Olomana, we got lost, but eventually found our way, but the thing took about 4 hours from start to finish. Margaritas were necessary for recovery after that. I included a link to the map above, but note that I didn't start tracking until we were already on the trail.

Sunday was a morning workout with the group. We met at the boat ramp which was PACKED. It seemed like half the island was there at 6:30 in the morning! Turns out there was a regatta that day. Oh well. Anyway, we ran for 45 minutes, then swam the buoy line until we were about to go into the launch line, then turned around and swam back. Repeated that for a total of 1.5 hours of running, and I really don't know how much swimming. Word of caution for the future. While surf shorts may double as running shorts when they're dry, don't go running in them after having gone swimming. Chafing. Ick.

Monday was another mountain bike ride, only this time a little more low key. As Amy put it, "We want to build you up, not break you." I was starting to wonder, so this was a welcome reprieve. She and I split off from the pack and went up Old Pali Road, all the way up to the Pali lookout. We only had to carry the bikes up one section, and the rest was ridable. It's hard to stay focused with all the amazing views. I wish it was easier to pull out the phone to take pictures. Anyway, the ride was about 4 miles up and 4 miles back down. Coming down we passed a group of hikers that looked stunned to see us. I heard one girl comment "That was SICK!" I'm assuming she meant in the good sense.

Tuesday. Did a swim during lunch, swam 2000 meters (long course): 600 meters with warm up, drills, and a pull-buoy. Then 8x100 with 30 seconds rest. I averaged 2m10s per 100. Finished up with another 600 drills and cool-down. I can't recall the last time I swam 2k.

Tuesday evening was another road bike on base. Rode out to past the flight line then did 7 loops, going hard on the hills and easy on the flats. About half-way through Amy told me that I wasn't allowed to leave my big gear for the rest of the ride, so I was going to have to stand up to mash my way up the hills. I thought my lungs were going to explode and I probably sounded like a steam engine the way I was puffing, but I did it. Went a heck of a lot faster too. Finished the day off with a 15 minute jog after the bike. This was the first workout with this group where I was actually pleased with my performance. I actually felt somewhat competent and not so wimpy as I have been feeling. Maybe all the hard work is actually starting to show results.

Wednesday is rest day, hurrah! I'm planning on going to Sports Authority for a foam roller and swim paddles, then going home to do a ton of stretching and some core.

Current weight: 126.6, 26.5% The weight went up a little, but the body fat dropped. Maybe I'm gaining muscle? Let's go with that, I like it better than the alternative. Still, I wish the weight number would start dropping.

So tired

Tuesday was a road bike day out to the Marine Base. We rode out past the runway via Daly Hill where a plane was practicing take offs and landings. The workout was ride the loop for 3x15' hard, 7' easy for a total of just over an hour's worth of riding. Then head home. The worst is standing up while going up the hills. Nothing makes me gasp for breath faster. Fortunately, Wednesday was a rest day. It's our only one for the week, so I don't do ANYTHING that day.

On Thursday I made a rookie error. We had a run scheduled with the group in the evening, but it was a holiday and DH and I decided to make the most of it and go exploring on our Mountain Bikes. We rode around Norfolk, trying out all the offshoot trails and trying to figure out how they all connect together. We had a great time and eventually called it a day after a few hours.

While it didn't seem that strenuous at the time, I could really feel the effects of it at the start of our run that night. We headed onto base over to Daly hill. I'm guessing just to get to the hill was a little over 3 miles. Even though I was struggling with heavy tired legs, I had to appreciate the beauty of the path we took. It was a recreational path right along the ocean. No cars to worry about and nothing but the beach all along one side. Just beautiful.

Anyway, if this had left a smile on my face, Daly hill slapped it right off. Here's the workout: run up the hill as hard as you can for 2 minutes, run hard back down, repeat 2 more times. Run as hard as you can around a large nearby field. Then take about 2 minutes rest, and repeat the whole thing all over again, only this time going for 1 minute per uphill. I was actually a little dizzy at the end of last few one minute intervals. I'd turn around to go back down and have to pause for a moment to regain my balance. Not a workout for wimps. Then we got to run the whole way home for a grand total of 8.12 miles. I was really hurting but I didn't do any walking, and managed to finish the workout.

So, after all that, I really needed some sleep, but I had to get up at 4:30AM on Friday for the Beach Core workout. Today, we ran partway down the beach, then started jogging back stopping at 5 minute intervals to do planks (10" normal, 10" knees, 10" side-to-side, 10" hold on one side, 10" hip dips on that side, back to the 3 center exercises, then over to the other side, then back to center) and 10 pushups. We did this over and over, occasionally mixing in walking lunges, crab walk, and squats.

Not long into it I had to start doing my plank poses on my knees. I was hurting and my legs felt extra heavy. Still, another workout down. They tell me I'll really start seeing the results in a few weeks. I hope so, I sure can't fathom doing all this work without getting stronger.

Current weight: 124, 27.5%

MMT: Mountain Biking at Norfolk

Yesterday after work I found myself the only female amongst 6 hard-core looking mountain bikers. I knew I was in trouble, and tried to back out so I wouldn't hold up the group, but they weren't having that. No wimping out allowed. Fortunately, one guy took pity on me and offered to take me out early to get a head start. This was a huge help as it allowed me to get past the worst of the uphills before the rest of the group caught up.

We went through Norfolk, eventually hitting the Waimanalo Ditch Trail where the guys announced they were going to do the full loop around Olomana. Crap. I'd only done that one time, about a year ago, and it was way out of my league. Again, I tried to back out and head home, but peer pressure was invoked, and against my better judgement, I labored up the hill towards the loop.

Thank heavens another fellow took pity on me and stayed with me the whole way. My biggest fears were getting lost or not making it out before night fell. This guy knew the trail well and patiently assured me we would get out before dark. The trail was very rooty and rocky, and obstacles are my biggest weakness, so it was a trying experience for me. Also, since my conditioning is lacking, by the last mile or so I was so exhausted that I was making stupid mistakes and basically becoming a danger to myself. Still, eventually I managed to make it out with nothing worse than some scratches and bruises.

Part of me is irritated with the machismo of men who are so far ahead of me in skills and fitness that they dragged me into something that I wasn't really ready for, but the other part is grateful that they made me do it. I discovered I had blown up the trail in my head to be worse than it really was. Don't get me wrong, it was nasty, but now I know I can do it, in however ugly a fashion. Someday, I'll tell the leader thanks, but it's not going to be today.

Since I was stiff and sore, I spent another half-hour of stretching before going to bed. It really does seem to help with recovery. On a side note, I couldn't get to sleep last night. I was in bed with the lights off by 10:30, but I didn't get to sleep until somewhere around midnight. I could feel my pulse going faster than normal, I wouldn't call it "racing," but it was definitely elevated. I hope that isn't going to be a regular thing following these Monday rides. I need sleep!

Here's the trail: http://www.trailguru.com/wiki/index.php/Track:6X8A

Current weight: 125, 27.5%

Sunday morning MMT

MMT = Mountain Man Training

Sunday morning, 6:30AM, we met at the boat ramp. From there, we ran to the other end of the beach, then started back. On the way back, we stopped every 5 minutes or so to do exercises, many were the same as the ones we did Friday morning, but there were some new ones mixed in: lunges, squats, situps, plank poses, gazelles (on your back, altenating bending one knee and then the other out to the side with the other leg straight, never letting either touch the ground), scissors, dips, pushups, pelvic lifts (with and without one-leg raised), downward-dog (alternating bringing one knee in then pushing leg straight out), burpees, and many more I just can't recall. We finished the whole thing with a swim around the buoys. The water was really choppy and my goggles kept leaking. But the water was clear and it was neat watching the fish as I swam.

I thought my legs were going to fall off at the hip joints by the time we finished the run. The worst was the gazelles followed by scissors, your legs never touch the ground and your hip flexors are screaming. I never realized how weak I was, but I know Amy is going to whip me into shape.

I was sore the same day as the workout, which never happens. Figuring I was going to be in trouble the next day, I spent last night doing a half hour of stretching. I think it helped as the only thing that's giving me a lot of grief today are my calves, which was the one body part I felt I didn't adequately stretch.

Later today: Mountain Biking! Yeah!

Weight: 126.6, 27.5%

Exhausted

Boring post, mainly to record the exercises from today so I can do them on my own in the future.

Monday: Mountain Bike
Tuesday: Swam 1k (meters, long course), ran ~6 miles with H3 at Tantalus, a ton of hills that left me sore for 3 days.
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: Ran 4.75 miles with group. They left me in the dust. It was pathetic.
Friday: 5AM beach run/core workout.

The beach workout was great. Loads of squats, crab-walks, and lunges. Followed by leg lifts (15 straight up, 15 to the right, 15 center, 15 left, 15 center), situps (lots of twisting, engaging the back), pushups (repeat 3 times: 1 normal, 1 hands together, 1 normal, 1 wide, 1 center), planks (repeat 3 times: 10x normal, 10x knee bends, 10x side-to-side, 10x normal).

Oh yeah, in between the pushup sets were arm circles, 15 small forward/backwards, 15 large forward/backwards make sure to tighten core and try to keep shoulder blades together.

Current weight: 124.4, 28%

A little muddy today

Mountain biking at Norfolk

Track Workout

Yesterday was a track workout. We started with a mile warmup with drills mixed in, then everyone got their assignments. Mine was fairly easy, 5x400 with 400 rest in between. Try to keep all 400s around the same time. My times: 2:07 (too easy, I was feeling things out), 1:57 (better), 2:01, 2:01, 1:58. Not bad. I was told to walk the rest laps, and I did, but I think that's too easy. Next time I'll try and jog them. I'd also like to get all laps under the 2 minute mark. The goal over time is to work that time down. It's kind of sad that I'm running the equivalent of 8 minute miles, only I'm doing it with lots of rest in between. I would have expected better. Heck, some of the other people on the track were just cruising, and their cruising pace was roughly the same as my running hard pace. Needless to say, that's a little discouraging. Even with this relatively light workout, I'm a little sore today. What the heck?

Inside joke

New training group

Yesterday I trained with a new group, Amy Bennett's "Camp Bennett." I'll be joining them for Mountain Man training, but that doesn't start until the 31st. Since I could use all the workouts I can get, she's letting me tag along with her current group. What she didn't mention is the current group is training for Honu, a Half-Ironman, and that race is in two weeks so these people are at their peak. Imagine an Oxen standing amidst a herd of Gazelles and the Gazelles suddenly take off, leaving the Oxen lumbering in their wake. Yes, I'm the Oxen. Every one of these people are covered in muscles and have no body fat. Even the girls! I was waaaay out of my league.

Still, they're a really nice group a people, and thankfully the workout was set up such that no one <cough>me<cough> got left behind. It was a timed run of 50 minutes where you do as many loops as you can in that time. The loop had some rolling hills, which I really needed, and it's good shifting practice as well. I think I got in four loops (with one potty break).

The workout was on the Marine Base, which I've never really had the chance to explore. We went past the airfield and did a loop near there. The problem for me was that I kept getting distracted. The place is GORGEOUS. Seriously, this has to be some of the most stunning scenery in the country. Everywhere I looked I saw mountains and oceans. The sun was setting behind the mountain and the sky was turning shades of orange and pink which was being reflected in the water. Just stunning.

As if this wasn't enough of a distraction, an airplane pilot was practicing takeoffs and landings, and not far from that was a helicopter practicing pickup/drop-off maneuvers. I really just wanted to stop and watch. How cool! As it was I kept catching myself slowing down as I lost focus and looked around at the happenings and scenery. Still, what a fantastic place for a bike ride.

Saturday bike ride to Waimanalo

From ocean to mountain.

Lanikai Triathlon

So, on April 19th, I volunteered again at the Lanikai Traithlon. It's near my house, so it's the only one that I can make myself wake up early for when I'm not doing it. Anyway, I got there around 4:30AM or so, and since I knew the drill, went straight to body marking, meaning writing race numbers on peoples arms. So, basically I wandered around for an hour yelling "Who needs to be numbered?"

There was a new twist this year in that we were also writing the person's age on their calf. The men don't hesitate to give their age, but about the half the women go "Why?" when I ask them how old they will be by the end of the year. Some didn't look too happy when I tell them it's so they know who their age-group competition is, but they all coughed up the sensitive information.

I still can't get past how weird it is to write on people, but honestly, I enjoy it. Triathletes are generally a pretty fun and happy (not to mention good-looking) group, so there are a lot of entertaining comments made. Besides, I find it amusing when people see me and immediately start stripping. It's so I can get to the spots to write on, but it still looks funny. I wound up in more pictures this year. Some ask me pose with them, others just had family and friends taking pictures while I marked them up.

Since the race was timed with a chip this year, it dispensed with a lot of the jobs from years past. No writing down numbers as people came into transition, no grabbing their numbers when they finished, etc. Instead, we had to make sure everyone picked up a timing chip. The drill is that there's a big board on one side of the transition area that has everyone's timing chips velcroed to it. The athletes walk up, say their number, and a volunteer hands them a chip.

After a while, it seemed like most people had been marked and their were enough volunteers covering that, so I shifted to handing out timing chips since the volunteers there were getting swamped. When things slowed there, I wandered around transition marking on some late-comers and scanning ankles to make sure they got their chip. Most people put the chip on the moment they get it, so if they don't have a chip on their ankle, odds are they didn't pick it up yet. Whenever I spotted a bare set of ankles, I'd remind them to get a chip. Most times I'd get a stunned look, meaning they didn't realize that was something they needed to do, and they'd ask where they needed to go to pick it up.

It's kind of weird to wander around staring at half-clad people's ankles. I got a few strange looks and I'd have to explain I was checking that they were marked and chipped. At one point, I saw a set of nude legs, looked up, and it was my local bike shop technician looking back at me bemusedly. We both busted out laughing. Somehow blatantly checking out people's legs is not normally socially acceptable.

At this point, everyone headed over to the beach. The horn went off and the first wave of swimmers rushed into the water. There were about 350 athletes participating, broken up into three waves, so a little over a hundred people per wave. I had a little time before my next job was starting, so I watched for a bit. The first wave contained the elite athletes among others, and these guys were impressive.

What I found amazing on the swim was how fast the first few swimmers put a gap between them and the rest of the pack. These guys were obviously elites. While I was marveling at this, I noticed that even more impressive was how fast the first place swimmer was gapping the second place swimmer. The first place guy was just smoking, he had a huge lead before finishing the first 200 meters (the swim is only 500m), and he was pulling away with each stroke. To see one person be that dominant is unusual. I commented to another bystander about this and discovered that the guy was an olympic level swimmer. I think the name was John Flanagan. Well go figure.

I kind of had to feel sorry for the second place swimmer. Whomever he is, he's likely normally the fastest one among all his training partners, and here he is just getting whipped. Must be an unusual experience for him and likely not easy to take.

A few minutes later the first guys were flying through the chute to the bike transition and I got to watch and cheer everyone on. I love watching all the different types of people in these races. All ages (80 to 8 I think), all fitness levels, etc. Everyone is just out doing the best they can. It's so motivating. I cheer everyone on and think they're all fabulous for even trying, even the last one out of the water.

After watching the last of the swimmers, a bunch of us jumped into a van and headed out to set up the aid station on the run course. We set up some folding tables, mixed up some gatorade, and filled umpteen paper cups with gatorade and water. Not long after, the first runners blew by.

I noticed an interesting trend with the run. The really fast guys don't bother with the aid station. I guess they're all finishing the race in under an hour, and they haven't been going long enough to require the extra hydration or nutrition. As time passed, a few started taking some water, but no gatorade. Later, some started taking gatorade and eventually it seemed that more were taking gatorade than water. As people are out on the course longer, their bodies have burned up the energy stores and it needs to be replaced, hence the reliance on gatorade amongst the slower athletes. Or some researcher could try to claim that Gatorade makes you slower :)

Finally the last of the athletes passed by, so we picked up all the used cups and garbage from the ground, packed everything up, and went to the finish line. Once there, I was asked to help with the awards. Sure! I got to hand out all the third-place awards, which are my favorite since there's the least amount of stuff to deal with, just put a medal on their necks, direct them towards the photographer, and you're done.

Overall, I had a great time. I knew a lot of the athletes, and it was fun being able to cheer them on from different parts of the course (the swim and run). It's so much fun watching people push themselves and accomplish something they're really proud of. I'm happy I got to be a part of it.

Swim/Run loops at Ala Moana

Last night we did this: swim 200 meters (from one lifeguard tower to the next, get out and run around the lifeguard tower, then swim back), run 1 mile, repeat 3 times for a total of 4 iterations.

I seemed to average 8 minutes per swim, 10 minutes per run including transition times. I was at 57 minutes at the end of the third run, and 1 hour and 16 minutes at the end of all 4. The key was the transition. Since the run was so short, I didn't bother with socks or even lacing up my shoes. Instead, I just rinsed off my feet with my water bottle, shoved them in my shoes and ran. I think my shoes are still soggy a whole day later.

We've done this workout in each of the last two years I've done this clinic, and this is the first time I feel I really did all I'm capable of. Both times before only had three iterations total, but each time I had stomach and/or breathing issues. This time, nothing went wrong. I felt as strong as I ever have.

I don't know why it went so well, but I'm happy about it. It's always frustrating when you know you could have done better. Still, I'm wondering why I felt particularly strong today. I did make an effort to drink lots of water throughout the day, which is something I've been rather bad about lately. As for food, let's see: I ate a Subway ham & egg on flatbread sandwich for breakfast, then a chicken wrap with lots of veggies in it for lunch, and I split up an Odwalla bar eating half before the workout and half after. Maybe the Odwalla bar made the difference, it's usually a few hours between when I eat and when I workout, so maybe I need to snack to carry me through.

On a side note, there are some really amazing athletes in this class. I was stunned when I finished the first swim and the fast pack was already gone and out of sight on the run before I even got out of the water. I know they're fast, but dang, it's such a short swim I didn't expect to not even see them. Very impressive.

Oh yeah, I've been putting on some weight lately (vacation, got sick, but mostly eating badly and not training enough). On Monday (yesterday) I was 127 (eek!), this morning I was 126.2. I'll be watching what I eat and working out more until I get back down to the happy range.

Training Again!

So, I started another triathlon clinic on March 16th. They eased us into it with the first week not being too overwhelming, but I still got the cold that always seem to get at the start of training. What the heck? I really thought I was doing ok and might avoid getting sick, but it struck me down anyway.

So, Here's what I've done so far:

Monday, March 16th: run 40 minutes

Wednesday, March 18th: Run (~ 1k), Swim (~45 minutes), Run 45 minutes

Saturday, March 21: Sick

Monday, March 23: Sick

Wednesday, March 25: Did the swim (about 45 minutes), and was supposed to do 4x1k intervals with 2 minutes of rest, but I got leveled by a Migraine. At this point, frustration is rampant, I feel like my body is just messing with me.

Saturday, March 28th: Did the 3xBike/Run workout on Lagoon Drive that we've done here and here. This time, we were not allowed to draft, and given the 35 mph gusts we were having, my times suffered badly. I finished in 1h14m. Truthfully, I can't blame it all on the wind and lack of drafting, this was my first time on my road bike in about two months, and I can't say that my mountain bike has seen much action lately either. My fitness is lacking, but as long as I can stay healthy, the class will definitely help me fix that.

Tonight's schedule involves more bike and run intervals. With all the stress I've got right now, I'm actually looking forward to it. When I'm working out, I forget about all the other stuff going in my life. I guess it gets overwhelmed by the suffering. Who'd of thought that'd be a good thing?

Edward thinks he needs to help me with my yoga

It's hard when I'm doing triangle pose and he bumps my leg!

I'd hate me if I weren't me

Here's the view at the end of my workout.

Swam 1k
Ran 8x500m intervals with one minute rest. Did squats, pushups, and
lunges during the rest period.

Test to workout blog

Just testing mobile blogging