Firsts are FUN!

Totally poached this from TCSD website. The calm before the Aquathlon storm.
I had three firsts in the past few day- first Aquathlon, first buoy stand, and first swim buddy experience. First of the firsts- The Aquathlon. I can’t believe I’ve been part of the TCSD club for 4 years and it’s taken me this long to do one! It’s a 1000 meter open water swim along the La Jolla Shores shore (that sounds funny) + 3 mile sand run. So Much Fun! Since I am retarded when it comes to taking off a wetsuit, I decided to go sans wetsuit. I debated wearing a tri outfit or a swim suit, ended up with a swim suit since my titties are shrinking (so very sad) and for the first time in my life, I can wear just a suit without all the bounce.
Rachel and I looking like excited little girls
The 150 plus people made their way to the south end of the shores. All of a sudden, the gun wet off. Not sure I even had my goggles all the way on. I ran into the surf, dolphin dove a few times, and started to swim. It was my first ocean swim without the wetsuit and I could feel it. It was choppy as all hell and I felt much heavier in the water. I zig zaged a bit, but seemed to pass each buoy. Before I knew it, I was exiting the water. Wow, that was a quick swim.

I seemed to secure the most Rockstar transition area, which totally helped me with a quick transition. I think I had the fastest female T-only split (helps not to have a wetsuit). I threw my shoes on and headed for the pier. The only running I have been doing is 2 weekly EASY 4 milers. I could definatly tell I haven’t been running. The run hurt. There is no way to sugar coat it. It just hurt. Thank god no pictures were taken me during the run b/c I’m sure I was rockin a fugly face. Since there were 2 out and backs, you could see if you were gaining on anyone or if anyone was catching up. On the first turn, I saw a few girls behind me, Beth being one of them. The rest of the race I was focused on 1 thing- run away from Beth. On the second and third turn, I saw she was closing the gap, all done with a super human smile. I ran hard and my knees started to feel it. I was able to keep away from her, but it would be a different story if there were another 100 yards or so. The TCSD results have me as 3rd Female, although I think there was 1 more girl ahead. Big thanks to Beth for chasing me, you made me hurt… The icing on the Aquathlon cake was winning a new Zoot wetsuit at the raffle. It was a great night!

The second “first” was the buoy stand. At the Friday cove swim, Evan rallied a group for “Operation Buoy Stand.” There were about 7 of us or so who supported the buoy while he climbed atop, put on sunglasses, and smiled for a picture. Next up was Banister. This attempt failed miserably because Banister is 6’ something and the buoy sunk. From this failed attempt, we figured it was only shortys that could do it. I decided to give it a try. On my second try, I got it.
Almost there
Me looking happy and sorta retarded. Notice the lack of titties, so sad
Me, James, Flo, Rachel, Brian, Noko, Chris, and Erin
The third “first” was the swim buddy experience. TCSD has a program called Swim Buddies, pairing proficient swimmers with beginner swimmers at local races. Sunday was the SD International and since I wasn’t racing, I decided to be part of the event as a swim buddy. I had the pleasure of swimming with a woman who trained over 6 months for the race, which was her first triathlon. You could see the fear in her eyes miles away as she approached our swim buddy group. She shared with me how important this event was for her- training for the tri helped her get through a divorce. Not only was finishing the event a huge accomplishment in itself, but also symbolic for beginning her "new life".

We were at the back of the back pack, alternating between swimming and doggy paddle. Every so often she would ask if she was doing alight. I kept her going with words of encouragement. At the half way point, she started getting emotional and talking about how proud she was for swimming this far. Then she started speaking Spanish, which I do not understand, but I rolled with it. As we approached the beach, she was full of excitement-bright eyes and a big smile. She hugged me as we ran up the ramp and told me I was her angel (insert tear). I really hope I can find the picture once the event photos. It was an amazing experience.

Pulling away to being pulled back in

Consciously or subconsciously, I have been pulling away from triathlon. Yet, as much as I pull away, the craziness of the sport pulls me right back. Let’s take swimming first…I haven’t been to a masters swim in a month. As I attempt to end the frienemy-ship I have with swimming (I’m a god damn ex-water polo player, NOT an ex-swimmer. Past the age of 13 or so, never cared too much from swimming unless there was a ball and a net involved), my crazy friends decide to do 2 HUGE ocean swims. Like I long distance swim isn’t enough. Of course, I can’t refuse something so insane as 5 + miles in the ocean. The 1st will be Tour of Buoys with Mary on August 2nd. The 2nd and even crazier swim is the brain-child of Rachel- 10 Mile Swim Around Point Loma August 16th. Yeah 10.Mile.Swim.AROUND.Point.Loma! Since my summer work travel will be in full force (4 weeks on the road), I won’t be able to get in the heavy swim mileage, nor do I really want to. So I am committing to 5 miles of the swim. I am looking for someone who would want to paddleboard partner up- 1 mile swim, switch, 1 mile paddle board, switch… Anyone interested?

The 10 Miler was created after a few crazy friends decided to do the most intense ride I have ever heard of- 135 miles in Death Valley, in over 100 degree heat, with over 10,000ft of climbing. Next is the 10 mile swim. Who the hell knows what will be next. 50 mile run up and down Palomar? Who knows…

Now onto biking… Since my knee busted, my mileage on the tri bike has decreased tremendously. I think I was upset at the bike for making my knee hurt. So as I shyed away and let good ol Cerve collect dust, cycling kept pulling me back. Not the Cervelo, but a stationary bike. Yup, I’ve returned to spin class. I’ve traded in the mid-week 2 hr jaunts on the roads dealing with red lights and stop signs for 1 hour of intense techno/hip hop infused sweat sessions. Plus, immediately after the class, I’ve been hitting the weights HARD for a good 50-60 minutes. It’s been super time efficient.

Running is a different story… I’ve done a few runs but nothing significant. As soon as the mileage creeps around 10 miles, my knee feels a bit creaky. But more than that, I haven’t really had a desire to go for a long run. But I have been itching for speed work, like a track practice or a trail run. Wow, talk about doing a 180. I think it’s the desire to do some high intensity workouts. I haven’t hit the trails or track yet, but randomly a few weeks ago, I ran stairs at the Convention Center. Holy Sh*t! is that hard! I went back a few more times and added push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks and lunges into the climbing sets. After an hour of that kind of workout, I am exhausted, drenched in sweat, and feel like I have a full body workout. I’ve enjoyed it so much that I am doing it every Wednesday morning at 630am (I also post it to the TCSD yahoo group).

I’ve been really focusing on weight training. I’ve been hitting the gym 5 x week and hitting it hard. I am LOVIN it! To ensure I am doing the proper form, I very recently hired a trainer. I am really excited about a new training program, learning a new sport, and simply doing something new. I am facing new challenges daily and learning a lot about my body. For example, I would think that my hammys and quads are pretty strong from all the biking and running. Not so much. I can hardly do a full set of leg extensions at 20 lbs.

The next few weeks will continue to be time spent in the gym, in the ocean, on the bike (stationary and Cervelo), and doing my very first Aquathlon. Soon the craziness of work travel will hit and a little bit of my soul will die, but I am going into it with a better attitude than past years. My friend Glenn, who I run stairs with, does a lot of international travel as a baseball scout. He swears that stairs workouts save his sanity while traveling. So I am going to give it ago.

And to end, here is my fun recipe for the week: Broiled Salmon with Miso

½ tablespoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoons sweet white miso paste
1 tablespoons mirin
½ tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce (I ran out of low-sod, so used regular)
½ tablespoon minced fresh ginger
A few drops hot pepper sauce
2 center-cut salmon fillet
1 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
1. Position oven rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler. Line a small baking pan with foil. Coat foil with cooking spray.
2. Toast sesame seeds in a small dry skillet over low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. Whisk miso, mirin, soy sauce (or tamari), ginger and hot pepper sauce in a small bowl until smooth.
4. Place salmon fillets, skin-side down, in the prepared pan. Brush generously with the miso mixture. Broil salmon, 3 to 4 inches from the heat source, until opaque in the center, 6 to 8 minutes.
5. Transfer the salmon to warmed plates and garnish with the reserved sesame seeds, scallions and cilantro (or parsley).
I served it with a millet and veggies mix

Becoming a Gym Rat?

Inspiration, Jamie Eason. God I would kill for a back like that

The last couple of weeks have been pretty interesting. During a business trip, I happened to pick up a copy of a magazine I had never seen before. It’s a chick fitness mag called Oxygen. I read the mag front to back about 3 times during that trip (my shitty work computer decided to stop working and I didn’t have a book). The theme of the mag is basically Clean Eating and Weight Training. Don’t know why, but I felt inspired reading it. I decide why not mix things up this summer and try something new.

Once I got home, I bought a few books on clean eating and weight training, purged most of the kitchen of crap food, and stepped into the gym with newly found focus and determination. I created a totally new workout schedule and decided to try LOTS of new activities- a return to spin class, stair set workouts, yoga (well, I have yet to actually go,plan is to go this weekend), weight training, weight training, and weight training. The real gold star activity is stretching. I’ve stuck to stretching my legs at least 5 minutes every day for over 20 days now. I’ve also tried a whole slew of new recipes. Some have been fantastic and now a consistent part of the diet, some have been BAD, a few have been inedible. I literally spit out the food after a few bites. But it’s been fun.

It’s only been a couple of week, but I have felt some progress. I am feeling much stronger and my mid-section is starting to lean out. I seem to be losing the most in my boobs, which is typical. JD says he can totally see it (happy for the mid-section, sad for the titties).

Here is what the weekly workout routine has looked like. All sets are 3 x 12

Monday- 5 mile run, 100 yard lunges, Legs+ Abs Routine, Shores Swim
Squats on Smith Machine (me fav), Leg Press, Leg Extensions (which I suck at), Leg Curl, Hip Abduction, Hip Adduction, Calf Raises
Jackknifes, Bike Crunches, Plank, Med Ball Sides, Knee Raises, Side Machine Raises with weights (I made up the names of the last 3)

Tuesday- Spin Class, Chest
Bench Press, Fly, Incline Fly, Incline Press, Chest Machine (I don’t know what it’s called)

Wednesday- Stairs Hour, Bis/Tris+ Abs
Stairs- 2 (up/over) x single step, 2 x double step, 2 x side step, 2 x sprint on flats, 2 x all out- 20 pushups in between
Hammer Curls, Bicep Curls with Barbell (my fav but the hardest), Standing Bicep Cable Curls, Incline Curls, Tri Pushdown, Dips, Kickbacks, Tri Extensions, abs routine listed above

Thursday- Spin Class, Back
Wide Grip Pull down, T-Bar Rows (my fav), Mts Pull down, Lawnmower, Pull Up, Supermans

Friday- Stairs Hour (same as Wed), Shoulders + Abs, Shores Swim
Seated Overhead Press, Dumbbell Lat Raise, Front Raise, Dumbbell Upright Row, Bent Over Lat Rows, abs routine listed above

Saturday- 3 hour ride+ EXTRA Stretching

Sunday- Active Recovery

Like I mentioned earlier, I've been doing tons of cooking. I thought I would start to share recipes every so often. My camera is out of batteries, so no pic with this one, but I promise they are Grrrrr-8!

Chocolate Oatmeal Protein Pancakes
1 c oatmeal
1 c chocolate protein powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 egg whites
1 c fat free milk
1/2 unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Mix all dry goods together, then mix in the wet ingredients
2. Cook in non-stick pan, in 1/4 c sizes
3. Serve with thawed or fresh berries
Servings vary from 4-5 servings.
Enjoy!

Sometimes you need a second, or third, opinion

The tone of my last post was dark and depressing. You could almost hear my whimpering and see my tears. Maybe even sense I was hanging out a lot on the Balboa Park Laurel Street Bridge contemplating the plunge. You get the picture. The thought of 12 months of recovery crushed me. I spent 2 days having the biggest pity party for myself. Poor me, wah wah… I absolutely SUCKED to be around. I almost didn’t go to Wildflower in favor of staying home and pouting.

But I did go to Wildflower and I had a blast! I ended up doing the swim and DNFing myself out of the water. That was the race for me. The rest of the trip can be summed up to…

Sleeping/partying in a camper with a crazy German, a tall Floridian, an injured swimmer, and Speedo Man
Drinking lots of beer and red wine
Taking a nap surrounded by beer drinking college kids IN THE TRANSITION AREA (it was awesome)
Cheering on friends
Spending 8 hours wine tasting in Paso Robles
Watching my boyfriend streak across the Justin Vineyard

Once I got back into town, I had a very painful but uplifting appointment with a guy named Dan. Some call him ART Dan, some call him “The Guy”, I call him an ART Magician Sent Down From Heaven. I’ve been told Dan works on many pros in town and is the absolute best. Dan watched me walk, pulled and prodded, and rubbed me HARD. It actually was a pretty a painful experience. I moaned, groaned, and was close to crying a few times. But in the end, I felt better than I have in years, honest to god.

Dan thinks my injury is all biomechanical(sp). When he first measured my legs, my right leg was over an inch shorter than my left leg! My right calf, hamstring, quad, and hip flexor are so damn tight; I have very little flexibility in my right leg. Because of the inflexibility and very weak abductors, my hip is being pulled (which is the issue I dealt with a year ago when I pulled my groan). Add all that to the fact that my there is huge imbalance between my quads/abductors and calf/something else I can’t remember, the issue has presented itself at my knee. Dan explained it much more eloquently but that’s the gist.

This theory was confirmed by my regular PT doc, Gino (also a miracle worker). Gino said just about the same thing, going even further to deconstruct my running. Gino also tested/observed very poor flexibility in my back and shoulders. It was fascinating to see/understand how inefficient and destructive my running is because of these imbalances. Also, how inefficient/destructive my current bike fit has been with 1 leg being 1in+ shorter than the other. Side note: Denner, I should have been proactive months ago when you first noticed my “rocking hips.” Sub-side note: HUGE CONGRATS to Denner on a 4:51 WF finish!!!

The best news of the week: Both guys agreed surgery wouldn’t do sh*t for the injury. Those were actually Dan’s exact words. Both agreed that if even if scar tissue and possible glass was removed, the injury would present itself again if I don’t incorporate stretching and flexibility exercises into my routine.

Next steps: I’m still healing. I lost 2 full weeks to training and will be limited to activity for the next week (I am in Chicago for 7 days which means I wont have my bike) The next next 10 days I will be easing back into. I went from 16 training hours/week to 6 and now building from 6 back to 16. The timing couldn’t be worse really. I should have done a 100mile+ ride Saturday and 16mile+ run today, but instead volunteered at the TCSD race yesterday and rode 3 hours along the coast today. It was very evident that I lost ALOT of fitness as I struggled with the coast ride. My knee felt tight so I took it easy. But, whatever, surgery is no longer looming and I will take whatever mileage I can get right now.

I am still on the fence about IMCDA. I want to start and finish, but I dont want to push myself back into injury during the next 6 weeks. I am going to ease back into running this week and see how it goes. Please keep your fingers crossed for me and my knee

Worse than Expected

So my knee is much worse that first thought. My ortho knee guy thinks that, in addition to tendinitis, there is scar tissue and possible foreign body in the area. Years ago I slid/fell into a pile of glass. The area that i had stitched up is directly above the tendon, in the exact place that is causing pain.

The steroid injection the doc gave me was the absolute worst pain I have ever experienced. The nurses later told me that a patient said they could hear my screams from the elevator area. Apparently, I did not react to the injection like I am supposed to. My knee is in worse shape/pain than before. UGH

The doc said to lay off it for a week or so, go to PT, and rest. Once my knee feels better, I can ease back into my workout routine- first swimming, then biking, then running. The pain should subside for "a bit"- weather that is 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 years is to be seen. Once the pain comes back, the next step is surgery. The real kick in the pants is the recovery is 9-12 months!!!! Are you f'in kidding me!?!?!?!

I have no clue what this means for IMCDA, Silverman, and even St. George. This really sucks. I am super bummed and can't walk. Wildflower is going to blow...

Damn You, Knee

The last 4 years of my training life can be summed up to this:

6 months of training, Get an injury, 6 months of nothing due to the injury/work travel, repeat…

In the last 6 months, training has been going better than ever. My climbing skills on the bike have seen HUGE improvements. I’ve never run this fast in my life (which is still like a slow crawl to some, but it’s fast for me). My endurance on the bike and run has never been greater. More important than all the improvement I have seen, I’ve had this overwhelming feeling that I’ve just tapped into my potential for the year. I am on the brink of really diving into the Ironman training- 6 HARD weeks of 20+ hours of training, 6hr bike rides (which are my favorite), 6K swim workouts… the really hard sh*t that pushes one to the next level. I know I’ll never be a Bree Wee or Rachel Ross or, well, I could list 100 super hardcore fast chicks. But I was starting to see the potential of remaining with the top half chicks on the bike after the swim. I raced the O’side’s bike course at my Ironman pace. I seriously could have gone another 56 miles. I was light years away from being a half way decent runner. But I saw potential of being a mid-packer on the run

And then the knee pain came

I had ignored it for about a month now. It first bothered me around Oceanside, but I ignored it. I thought maybe it would go away. Then it got progressively worse. Instead of only hurting after a run, the constant dull pain lingered throughout my runs. It moved into my bike rides and hit its peak last Saturday. My knee was feeling super stiff before the Alpine Challenge. I blew it off as nothing, just a little sore from the run the night before. As I was clipping into my pedal, I felt an intense dull stabbing pain right below the knee. Damn! I hadn’t even started the ride and I was already in pain. For close to 5 hours, I had constant annoying throbbing at my knee. It was unbearable standing up, so I did the ride - all 80 miles (72 miles for AC+ a 7 miles more) and 8,ooo ft climbing sitting down. I thought I was going to die at “The Wall”.

Even after the ride, I still tried to ignore it. But when it starting disrupting my swimming (I do NOT kick, so I knew it was bad) and day to day walking, I knew it was getting serious. I gave in and saw my doctor this morning. It’s severe patella tendonitis, which is exactly what I knew it was. I dealt with it a few years back. I have an appointment with an orthopedic guy this afternoon. I am sure the guy will tell me the same thing and recommend rest, PT and ART.

Next steps? Well, I was told to take 2 week (which will probably look more like 3 weeks, more on that below) off from running AND biking to allow my knee to get better. This is a HUGE bummer b/c:
1. Wildflower is a total BUST. I am still going but will probably be pouting quite a bit. I am going to do the swim and then DNF myself. UGH
2. Epic GWL+ Mt. Laguna ride is a total BUST. There were plans in the making for a 11,000+ft climb/100 miles mid-next week that I need to bail on
3. The week I am able to get back at it I will be traveling. I will be in Chicago for 7 full day- 5 for work and 2 for family/memorial service. So even when I will be OK to get back on the saddle, I wont have my bike

So where does this leave me? Not sure. I am pretty sad right now. I will be missing out on the 8 weeks out-5 weeks out time frame from the Ironman. Those are 3 of the biggest/most important weeks of the entire Ironman training. I’m really not sure what to do. I’ll be spending a lot of time at the pool, which is better than nothing. I’ll also probably be spend time at the gym looking like a strength training poser.

quick update

I’ve learned a few lessons in the last week:

1. Do not drink ensure on a hot Palomar Mountain ride (lesson learned from a friend)
2. If your knee hurts, be proactive and schedule a visit with Gino
3. If I am going to attempt interval sets of 100s on the 1:15 at the 6am masters swim, an afternoon nap will be needed or else I am one cranky bitch
4. Work, unfortunately, trumps training

Moving into the next week, I have a few big things going on:
1. Saturday- Alpine Challenge + 23 extra miles to total 100 miles and thousands and thousands of feet of climbing
2. Sunday morning/afternoon- Moving out of my apartment
3. Sunday afternoon- 16 mile trail run
4. Taper a little- Wildflower is a “C” race. I’m viewing it as more of a training day rather than a race

Better update next week