Hi Folks,
Well, I was in San Diego all week for the NACURH 2010 conference with some of Berkeley's student leaders so I missed all the workouts for the week. It's ok, because I knew I was returning back to a major weekend - the triple brick workout.
Saturday - I went up to swim the Vineman Course. It was the first time I got to preview the venue and the course. I'm really glad I did. I tried a sleeveless wetsuit for the first time too. The water was nice and warm. I was alittle discouraged because on the way out, I really felt like I was dragging. At times, I was grabbing dirt from the bottom of the river, but the majority of time, the river was full. I finally made it to the turn-around and I looked at my watch - "what, 34 minutes -damn." I saw my swim coach and she informed me there was a current and to time myself on the way back. Ok - so I did. This time it took me 21 minutes to return to the start. Whew - I felt better about my swim then and it was a good thing for me to remember on race day. I couldn't see the current but I sure felt it on the way out.
Sunday - my day started off really early as I left the house at 6:30am for my 1 hour up to Yountville City Park. I had a 9 hour workout ahead of me, 2 hours bike ride followed by a 1 hour run X 3. As i arrived at the park, it was great to see my old cycling Coach, K.Sue and some members of my previous cycling team.
I head down to transition and start setting up my stuff. I put on a ton of sunscreen because the temps were gonna get up to about 100 degrees later in the day. I was shining from all the sunscreen I put on. 8am rolled around and it was time to go. My strategy was to take the first brick (3 hours) nice and slow. I felt confident about my nutrition plan so it was gonna test it out. The first 10 miles of the bike ride was flat and directly in the sun. Then, there was some shade and there were some hills to climb. All was fine on the first round. I get back in 2 hours and switch to my run gear. I head out and planned to walk the first run and see what happened on the next two. All was well and I made it back to transition in an hour. Time to switch to my bike gear again and re-apply sunscreen.
I head back out for round two on the bike and all is good. I didn't make it as far as I did the first time, but it's ok. So far, everything is working according to plan. I make it back to transition in 2 hours and put on my run gear again. All I wanted was a cold, wet towel to put around my neck for a minute and Mama Yosh had them. Wow that felt amazing right about then. I decided I was gonna walk again because my hip flexor was alittle tight on the walk but wasn't bothering me on the bike so I was happy about that. I got my power bar out to get some calories in and I had to force myself to eat it. I'm thinking, I know it's hot, but I need the calories to continue.
I make it back to transition in an hour and put on my bike gear again along with more sunscreen. Ok, it was getting hot now and I've been working out for 6 hour so far.
I head back out on the bike for my third and final round. All was good for about 10 miles, then I tried to take some of my liquid fuel and I thought I was gonna throw up. Hmmm.... ok what to do. I need calories but can't seem to take them in. I made it to the water stop and decided I was gonna turn around even though I still had 10 minutes left until my official turn around time. Just then, a stranger rolls in with another teammate and tells us to not quit. He had just been diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer 6 days ago and he was out riding his bike while he still could. Well shit - I can't turn around now so I continued on for my 10 minutes until my official turn around time. He came at the right time and provided us some much needed inspiration.
I turn around and start to head back to transition. I have 1 hour to go and i am re-inspired to finish my bike and one more run. I'm drinking my salt water, trying to drink some calories but I couldn't get the calories in. My plan isn't working that well. In 100 degree temps, people can not take in and digest as many calorie as they normally can.
The last 5 miles of my ride were not pretty. I was out in the open with no shade, could not get calories in me so I just drank my salt water. I was sweating really good and then I stopped sweating for a few minutes. Ok - that made me nervous. So, I drank more, pedaled less and continued until I made it back to transition. At that point, I knew I was done for the day. All i wanted was a cold, wet towel to put on my head and some real food. My body has never rejected the fuel I use during workouts until that workout. I hit the wall and due to the heat, I ended my day so I wouldn't get heat exhaustion. After an hour of sitting with a towel around my neck and eating half my sandwich, I felt normal again. Wow - that was a hard-ass workout and the heat made it even more challenging, but i completed 3 bike rides and 2 runs in 8 hours. This weekend was one for the record books - weather, distance, duration, and we are moving into the July training calendar.
To top off the weekend, I was awarded the Iron Spirit Cape - it is awarded to someone who shows Iron spirit to the team and each person adds something to the cape and it's gets passed to another person until the season is completed.
Here's to a great week ahead.
Cheers,
Dana
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Week #32 - Recovery Week
Hello All,
This is a much earned recovery week. Although, only Ironteam peeps would have an 18 mile run as a workout at the end of a recovery week. I'll talk about that in a minute. Here is how my week played out:
Monday - off
Tuesday - I dyed my hair purple and green for the winner of my fundraiser. It looked great for a few hours and then the purple started to blend with the green and create a third color. By the time I got to my evening workout, the green wasn't so green anymore. :-( The workout was suppose to be 30 min bike and 30 min run, but I decided to bike for an 1hr up Mt. Diablo. I mean I didn't do Mt. Diablo during Saturday's ride and my right hip flexor is alittle tight and it doesn't bother me on the bike but it does on the run. I made it up to the 1000 ft sign. Then my teammates bought me my salmon dinner for my birthday. It was very sweet and touching.
Wednesday - my hair is even less green now. The purple is taking over. When it gets wet, I still have purple coloring come off on the towel. Great and I had to a swim marker to complete. I completely my swim marker, 3 x 900, at the Hearst Pool. I even wore my swim cap home because I didn't know what the pool water would do to my hair. LOL. After reflecting on my times, I was very pleased with them and even more with my consistency. When I noticed my stroke shortening, I envisioned my swim coach saying to me, Long, Strong and Smooth and I was able to adjust my stroke when I felt my form wane. That is critical and will go along way for me on race day.
Thursday - I did 45 min of cardo on the flo rider at the gym and then worked out with my trainer. We did a number of leg exercises and incorporated core exercises into the workout.
Friday - was athlete's choice day so I decided I would set up an appt to put my aerobars on my bike. I arrived at the SF Sports Basement on Bryant for me appt and I was so excited. My excitement turned to frustration and disappointment real quick. The guy fitting me was not my regular guy who I really like. This guy didn't seem like he wanted to put the aerobars on. There was a whole lot of dialogue between me and the guy and he wanted to change a number of things to compromise the road bike position for the aero position. Bottom line - there were too many changes too close to my race day so I didn't put them on. As a matter of fact, I returned them and got a wireless computer with cadance so that was the positive thing out of the day.
Saturday - I ventured over to Aquatic Park because Sedonia was offering to give swim technique. The workout was an hour open water swim. There was also a 30 mile bike ride on the calendar for today but since I don't enjoy riding in SF, I planned to return to the East Bay for my ride.
So, I get in the water, which was very cold. (I'm been swimming in much warmer open water lately). Sedonia was planning on pulling us in one by one to give us feedback on our technique. Off I go and then stop because the water was hurting my face. Off I go again and then stop. This was my pattern until I got use to the water, i.e. numb. I make it out to the first buoy. I round the corner and bam, I get hit in the face with a wave. I start swimming again and bam another wave hit me in the face and I swallowed salt water. This happened over and over to me throughout the hour. I got tossed around like a toy boat out there. I was the last one to get stroke feedback so I was out there for an hour and almost swam a mile.
Sedonia said the look on my face when I came into her area for the feedback made her feel like the meanest coach ever. I don't even remember making the face. I was just soooo tired from being tossed around and swallowing water and coughing it back up. The feedback on my stroke was very helpful so I'm glad I went over to get it.
I returned to the East Bay and was getting ready for my bike ride. I had to eat again so we went out to brunch. After brunch, it hit me - I was soo sleepy. I was even closing my eyes at the table. Change of plans, I was gonna nap for an hour and then got for my 30 mile bike ride. HAHAHAHAHA I slept for 5 hours. I was exhausted.
Sunday - 18 mile run was scheduled but since I didn't get my bike ride in the day before, I was gonna ride. So, I met my teammates at our meeting location and went on a bike ride, working on lactate threshold intervals at points in the ride since it was a very flat course. I'm very glad I decided to bike ride vs run.
After the ride, I wanted to do something that I had never done before or been, since it was Father's Day, so we went to Santa Cruz for the afternoon. Being on the boardwalk brought back soooo many memories of when my family would go to the Jersey Shore. We saw the Pirate Boat ride and that was one of my dad's favorite rides. It was a great day to play and to remember.
I am heading to San Diego tomorrow morning for the NACURH Conference and I doubt I will be getting in the workouts. It's ok, I'm not gonna lose my fitness if I take three days off. Besides, I have the famous triple brick workout (9 hours) the weekend I return.
Here's to a great week ahead.
Cheers,
Dana
This is a much earned recovery week. Although, only Ironteam peeps would have an 18 mile run as a workout at the end of a recovery week. I'll talk about that in a minute. Here is how my week played out:
Monday - off
Tuesday - I dyed my hair purple and green for the winner of my fundraiser. It looked great for a few hours and then the purple started to blend with the green and create a third color. By the time I got to my evening workout, the green wasn't so green anymore. :-( The workout was suppose to be 30 min bike and 30 min run, but I decided to bike for an 1hr up Mt. Diablo. I mean I didn't do Mt. Diablo during Saturday's ride and my right hip flexor is alittle tight and it doesn't bother me on the bike but it does on the run. I made it up to the 1000 ft sign. Then my teammates bought me my salmon dinner for my birthday. It was very sweet and touching.
Wednesday - my hair is even less green now. The purple is taking over. When it gets wet, I still have purple coloring come off on the towel. Great and I had to a swim marker to complete. I completely my swim marker, 3 x 900, at the Hearst Pool. I even wore my swim cap home because I didn't know what the pool water would do to my hair. LOL. After reflecting on my times, I was very pleased with them and even more with my consistency. When I noticed my stroke shortening, I envisioned my swim coach saying to me, Long, Strong and Smooth and I was able to adjust my stroke when I felt my form wane. That is critical and will go along way for me on race day.
Thursday - I did 45 min of cardo on the flo rider at the gym and then worked out with my trainer. We did a number of leg exercises and incorporated core exercises into the workout.
Friday - was athlete's choice day so I decided I would set up an appt to put my aerobars on my bike. I arrived at the SF Sports Basement on Bryant for me appt and I was so excited. My excitement turned to frustration and disappointment real quick. The guy fitting me was not my regular guy who I really like. This guy didn't seem like he wanted to put the aerobars on. There was a whole lot of dialogue between me and the guy and he wanted to change a number of things to compromise the road bike position for the aero position. Bottom line - there were too many changes too close to my race day so I didn't put them on. As a matter of fact, I returned them and got a wireless computer with cadance so that was the positive thing out of the day.
Saturday - I ventured over to Aquatic Park because Sedonia was offering to give swim technique. The workout was an hour open water swim. There was also a 30 mile bike ride on the calendar for today but since I don't enjoy riding in SF, I planned to return to the East Bay for my ride.
So, I get in the water, which was very cold. (I'm been swimming in much warmer open water lately). Sedonia was planning on pulling us in one by one to give us feedback on our technique. Off I go and then stop because the water was hurting my face. Off I go again and then stop. This was my pattern until I got use to the water, i.e. numb. I make it out to the first buoy. I round the corner and bam, I get hit in the face with a wave. I start swimming again and bam another wave hit me in the face and I swallowed salt water. This happened over and over to me throughout the hour. I got tossed around like a toy boat out there. I was the last one to get stroke feedback so I was out there for an hour and almost swam a mile.
Sedonia said the look on my face when I came into her area for the feedback made her feel like the meanest coach ever. I don't even remember making the face. I was just soooo tired from being tossed around and swallowing water and coughing it back up. The feedback on my stroke was very helpful so I'm glad I went over to get it.
I returned to the East Bay and was getting ready for my bike ride. I had to eat again so we went out to brunch. After brunch, it hit me - I was soo sleepy. I was even closing my eyes at the table. Change of plans, I was gonna nap for an hour and then got for my 30 mile bike ride. HAHAHAHAHA I slept for 5 hours. I was exhausted.
Sunday - 18 mile run was scheduled but since I didn't get my bike ride in the day before, I was gonna ride. So, I met my teammates at our meeting location and went on a bike ride, working on lactate threshold intervals at points in the ride since it was a very flat course. I'm very glad I decided to bike ride vs run.
After the ride, I wanted to do something that I had never done before or been, since it was Father's Day, so we went to Santa Cruz for the afternoon. Being on the boardwalk brought back soooo many memories of when my family would go to the Jersey Shore. We saw the Pirate Boat ride and that was one of my dad's favorite rides. It was a great day to play and to remember.
I am heading to San Diego tomorrow morning for the NACURH Conference and I doubt I will be getting in the workouts. It's ok, I'm not gonna lose my fitness if I take three days off. Besides, I have the famous triple brick workout (9 hours) the weekend I return.
Here's to a great week ahead.
Cheers,
Dana
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Week #31
I enjoyed my rest day on Monday, but the sunburn is now present. There was a strip right where my bike shorts ended that got missed with sunscreen and there is even a blister now. That is the worst thing that hurts on my body.
Tuesday I got my swim in and a 60'bike ride up Old Tunnel Road. I was extremely excited because I was able to ride up Tunnel Road in one gear harder than I normally do and I got further than I have ever gotten before. On the way down, my teammates and I stopped to take a photo of us and the sunset.
Wednesday was a scheduled track workout, but my sunburn and blisters were hurting so I decided to get another swim workout in.
Thursday was a scheduled brick workout, but Roe scheduled a deep tissue massage as a present for my birthday so I went with that option. 11:59pm was also the deadline for my hair fundraiser - people to got pay to vote and decide what I should do with my hair. The three options were: 1. Shave head, 2. Mo-Hawk, 3. Purple/Green dye.
Friday was my 31st birthday! I was hoping to find what the result of my fundraiser but it was too close to call. I had to wait for the last minute donations to clear before I could identify the option that won. Instead, I had work training all day and my colleagues surprised me with a cake and an very generous gift. We went out to dinner so I could prepare for my 60 miles bike ride in the morning - Tour of the East Bay Alps.
Saturday morning I was up at 5:00am because I had to leave the house at 6am to get to Heather Farms and be ready to roll by 7:00am. Now there was the first wild fire of the season in Walnut Creek the day before so we weren't sure if we could ride the intended route. Coach Mike created an alternative route just in case the road was still closed but we wouldn't know that until more later in the day.
The bike ride started out fine. I knew it was gonna be a really hot day so I had been hydrating for a few days. I put on a TON of sunscreen and even wore long bike pants so my current sunburn did not have direct contact with more sun. About 5 miles in we start our first little hill climb. I could feel the soreness in my legs already. Then all the sudden, I kinda swallowed a bug but it didn't go all the way down and got stuck in my throat. Now mind you, I am still trying to pedal up alittle hill. I started gagging and had to stop. Fortunately, one of my teammates Carol, stopped with me and waited while I attempted to get the bug out. It finally came out and it was a terrible feeling. The group was ahead of us by now and Carol and I started back on the course.
We stopped in the town of Clayton to fill up our water bottles and use the restroom because we did not have access to water for the next 14 miles. That 14 mile stretch was Morgan Territory Road and that was the first of our Alps. It was so hot, there were so many hills and it was too early for me to be sweating that much. But I kept going, one pedal stroke after another. The damn road never ended. Just when I thought I was at the top, the road curved around the side again. Then I saw three people walking a dog and I knew I was close to the water stop which was at the top of this nasty hill. I later found out this was where 3 of my teammate fell. Two got up and road on but one had to go to the hospital but is ok.
So, I get to the top of the hill, hear my teammates cheer my name and the only thing I could do was stick my tongue out. Then Coach Mike said, "Happy Birthday" and my reply was, "Happy Fucking Birthday to Me". Yep that statement explained it all.
I refilled all my water supply and I talked with Patty who was the one needing to go to the ER. I rolled on forgetting one of my water bottles that had my liquid food in it. DAMN! I didn't realize this until after the amazing downhill I experienced. I was almost at the end of the downhill when I bee got caught between my skull cap and my helmet. I tried to get it out with one hand but I started to wobble so I just got both hands on my handlebars. The damn thing stung me right about the ear. Les came by about 3 minutes later and he had to take his route map to get the stinger out. I got the full dose of poison and did that ever sting. I continued on and when I saw a sag vehicle, I got some ice to put on it. Just then a whole bunch of antique cars came rolling down the road and that was so sweet to watch.
I was on some familiar roads and the wind was REALLY picking up. I was riding leaning over to the side just to stay upright. I was behind the rest of my teammates and it was getting late. I wasn't sure if my knee would be able to handle the climb up Mt. Diablo which was the second Alp in the ride. I found out that a number of my teammates were opting out of the Mt. Diablo climb so I wanted to go with them on the alternative route. I was sagged forward a few miles so we could all ride together. The six of us road back in the 20 miles together. We then cheered on the rest of our teammates that were still out there.
Coach Dave had arranged for a shopping party from 2:30-5pm at Sports Basement but he also ordered pizza. So, as soon as Patty arrived back from the hospital, we all went over to SB. Little did I know that Roe had planned a surprise birthday party for me there and all my teammates knew about it. That was such a sweet gesture and after my teammates endured a day of heat, hills, wind, falls, flats, they still hung out for my birthday. I was really touched. I then too advantage of the shopping party and bought some aerobars.
Sunday was supposed to be a run, but I opted for an additional rest day and was able to identify the winning option from my fundraiser - purple/green dye by only $20.
Here's to a great week ahead and a new do for me.
Cheers,
Dana
Tuesday I got my swim in and a 60'bike ride up Old Tunnel Road. I was extremely excited because I was able to ride up Tunnel Road in one gear harder than I normally do and I got further than I have ever gotten before. On the way down, my teammates and I stopped to take a photo of us and the sunset.
Wednesday was a scheduled track workout, but my sunburn and blisters were hurting so I decided to get another swim workout in.
Thursday was a scheduled brick workout, but Roe scheduled a deep tissue massage as a present for my birthday so I went with that option. 11:59pm was also the deadline for my hair fundraiser - people to got pay to vote and decide what I should do with my hair. The three options were: 1. Shave head, 2. Mo-Hawk, 3. Purple/Green dye.
Friday was my 31st birthday! I was hoping to find what the result of my fundraiser but it was too close to call. I had to wait for the last minute donations to clear before I could identify the option that won. Instead, I had work training all day and my colleagues surprised me with a cake and an very generous gift. We went out to dinner so I could prepare for my 60 miles bike ride in the morning - Tour of the East Bay Alps.
Saturday morning I was up at 5:00am because I had to leave the house at 6am to get to Heather Farms and be ready to roll by 7:00am. Now there was the first wild fire of the season in Walnut Creek the day before so we weren't sure if we could ride the intended route. Coach Mike created an alternative route just in case the road was still closed but we wouldn't know that until more later in the day.
The bike ride started out fine. I knew it was gonna be a really hot day so I had been hydrating for a few days. I put on a TON of sunscreen and even wore long bike pants so my current sunburn did not have direct contact with more sun. About 5 miles in we start our first little hill climb. I could feel the soreness in my legs already. Then all the sudden, I kinda swallowed a bug but it didn't go all the way down and got stuck in my throat. Now mind you, I am still trying to pedal up alittle hill. I started gagging and had to stop. Fortunately, one of my teammates Carol, stopped with me and waited while I attempted to get the bug out. It finally came out and it was a terrible feeling. The group was ahead of us by now and Carol and I started back on the course.
We stopped in the town of Clayton to fill up our water bottles and use the restroom because we did not have access to water for the next 14 miles. That 14 mile stretch was Morgan Territory Road and that was the first of our Alps. It was so hot, there were so many hills and it was too early for me to be sweating that much. But I kept going, one pedal stroke after another. The damn road never ended. Just when I thought I was at the top, the road curved around the side again. Then I saw three people walking a dog and I knew I was close to the water stop which was at the top of this nasty hill. I later found out this was where 3 of my teammate fell. Two got up and road on but one had to go to the hospital but is ok.
So, I get to the top of the hill, hear my teammates cheer my name and the only thing I could do was stick my tongue out. Then Coach Mike said, "Happy Birthday" and my reply was, "Happy Fucking Birthday to Me". Yep that statement explained it all.
I refilled all my water supply and I talked with Patty who was the one needing to go to the ER. I rolled on forgetting one of my water bottles that had my liquid food in it. DAMN! I didn't realize this until after the amazing downhill I experienced. I was almost at the end of the downhill when I bee got caught between my skull cap and my helmet. I tried to get it out with one hand but I started to wobble so I just got both hands on my handlebars. The damn thing stung me right about the ear. Les came by about 3 minutes later and he had to take his route map to get the stinger out. I got the full dose of poison and did that ever sting. I continued on and when I saw a sag vehicle, I got some ice to put on it. Just then a whole bunch of antique cars came rolling down the road and that was so sweet to watch.
I was on some familiar roads and the wind was REALLY picking up. I was riding leaning over to the side just to stay upright. I was behind the rest of my teammates and it was getting late. I wasn't sure if my knee would be able to handle the climb up Mt. Diablo which was the second Alp in the ride. I found out that a number of my teammates were opting out of the Mt. Diablo climb so I wanted to go with them on the alternative route. I was sagged forward a few miles so we could all ride together. The six of us road back in the 20 miles together. We then cheered on the rest of our teammates that were still out there.
Coach Dave had arranged for a shopping party from 2:30-5pm at Sports Basement but he also ordered pizza. So, as soon as Patty arrived back from the hospital, we all went over to SB. Little did I know that Roe had planned a surprise birthday party for me there and all my teammates knew about it. That was such a sweet gesture and after my teammates endured a day of heat, hills, wind, falls, flats, they still hung out for my birthday. I was really touched. I then too advantage of the shopping party and bought some aerobars.
Sunday was supposed to be a run, but I opted for an additional rest day and was able to identify the winning option from my fundraiser - purple/green dye by only $20.
Here's to a great week ahead and a new do for me.
Cheers,
Dana
Week #30
Unbelievable - it has been 30 weeks already. I'm about to hit the single digits until race day - yep 9 weeks and counting down. This week is not a terribly heavy load because I need to be well rested for the 3/4 iron training weekend ahead.
I had a good swim on Tuesday morning followed by a steady hill climb up Mt. Diablo in the evening. I was trying something new - I was wearing a pair of tri shorts under my cycling shorts to see if that might work for 3/4 iron weekend. I went further up Mt. Diablo than I have ever gone before and even pasted a motorcycle on the way down. How sweet is that?
Wednesday and Thursday were scheduled run workouts but I got another PT session in and wanted to rest my knee for the weekend, so I did.
On Friday, I drive up to Clear Lake. I wanted to get settled and prepared for my early events on Saturday morning. Here's were the events for the weekend:
Saturday: 2 mile swim followed by a 100 mile bike ride and a BBQ to end the evening
Sunday: 16 mile run or 3 hours, whichever came first
On Friday, my swim coach got in the water with me to show me the semi-catch-up stroke so I can extend my stroke. The demo was going well until I step on something in the water. I didn't know what it was and just shook it off. My plan for the swim was to stay long, steady and strong. I was up at 4am on Saturday to eat breakfast and get ready for my swim start. We had to drive from the hotel to the starting point, set up transition, get in the wetsuit and get instructions on the course. All i had in my head was stay long and strong. My plan worked! I completed my longest open water swim at 2 miles in 1 hour and 24 minutes - 6 minutes faster than I thought I would be.
As soon as I got out of the water, I hurried to transition and began to get ready for the bike ride. I took my wetsuit off and put on my cycle shorts over my wet tri shorts. I put on my bike jersey and had a teammate spray me down with sunscreen. Helmet on, camelback on and out i went on a 100 mile bike ride. At first, my legs felt weird, like i could feel each muscle fiber in my quads. I just kept cycle one revolution after another. It was going to be a beautiful day, I could tell.
This ride was a VERY challenging century. There were some sleep climbs on this ride. I was riding with 3or 4 other teammates and we were about to start the hills section of the course. For various reasons, all of them got sagged forward by car so there I was riding by myself at that point. I wanted to see how healed my knee was so I began climbing up this VERY steep hill and once I got to the top, I got really excited because I knew there would be a nice downhill coming. Well, there was a nice downhill but it was followed by another VERY steep uphill and as soon as I saw that next hill, I yelled, "Oh FUCK". It just came out. As I being back up the second hill, I hear someone behind me. it's my swim coach Sedonia. We road together for quite a few miles. She shared with me how she got involved in TNT and I shared how i got involved by my dad passing away from Leukemia. It was REALLY nice to be riding with someone, because some of those roads were very rural. Sedonia and I had another climb and there was an AMAZING downhill after that climb. I clocked 46.2 mph going down that hill. When Sedonia caught up with me after the downhill, she was like - "WOW you can really descend. Do you break?" My response was NO. We rode together until almost the 1/2 point in the ride. I was able a mile away from the 1/2 point and thought I was lost. So, I asked some random guy if he had a cell phone I could borrow to make a call because I was lost. i called the SAG vehicle and they were close by. I was on the right course and not far away.
The park was 1/2 in the ride and Team Frankie was there at the water stop. Frankie is one of our team honorees and his parents are just so cute and helpful. There we got our special needs bag which is something we pack for ourselves and have access to it half way through the ride. I packed more cream to help with rubbing and some salty foods like pringles. I re-filled my water and fuel drinks and I was out again. I had a 30 mile out and back loop ahead of me. A number of my teammates chose to keep this part of the ride for whatever reasons and continued back to the finish of the ride which was 18 miles from the park. I was feeling strong, looking strong so I decided to continue on the scheduled route.
Well, about 5 minutes into the loop route, the steep rolling hills started to take a toll on my knee. I thought about just turning back to the park and asked myself, "why am I doing this - to find a cure for cancer" so I continued on. The road was a mess, it was full of pot-holes and to very conductive to bike riding. Once I got out of that section, I was on a main road that was relatively flat, but there was a headwind so I felt it on my knee. I made it to the next water stop and saw a teammate. I had 5 more miles until the turnaround so I asked him how it was. It saw - challenging but I could do it. I said my knee can't handle any more hill climbs so how is the route. He said - hilly - don't do it. I really appreciated his honesty. Then my mentor rolled into the waterstop after just completing the 5 mile loop within the loop. She has been dealing with a hamstring problem and the first words out of her mouth were - I should not have done that - my hamstring is mad at me. I knew right then and there that I wanted a ride back to the park so I could continue the ride. And that is exactly what I did. My mentor rode on alittle more while I waited for the SAG car. As we approached my mentor, she got a ride too back to the park.
At that point my knee was really hurting and starting to swell. My bike coach happened to be there and asked me if I could continue on. I asked about the terrain of the remaining course and he said it was gentle but not flat. He asked again if I could still ride, I said, "we'll find out as I prepared to get back on my bike to finish the ride. My mentor and I rode back to the finish together and then got into the water for an ice bath on our legs.
Now remember, I had stepped on something the day before, well it turns out I had a torn in my foot and I rode 85 miles with it in my foot. Now - it had to come out. So, one of my teammates got a pin and picked it out. This is the same teammate who sprayed me with sunscreen and I found out later on in the evening the spots she missed.
Sunday morning rolled around and I was up at 5am. I was really surprised how well my legs and knee felt. That ice bath REALLY works. We drove over to the start and at 7am we were off on the run course. I knew 3 hours would hit before I reached the 16 mile point. My goal was to make it to the 2nd water stop. I started with my 4 minute run/1 minute walk plan. I did this method for about an hour and then run when I felt good and walked when I didn't. I made it to the 2nd water stop which was 5.6 miles out. On the way back, I was starting to feel my right hip and right hip flexor. I knew I had to walk the majority of the way back or I could hurt myself (because I pushed through something similar before and actually pulled my hip flexor and I was not able to do that.) So, I walked about 5 miles and run in the last .5 miles or so. I went right into the lake again for a ice bath - only this time I wore socks in the hopes that nothing would stick me. That was my longest run/walk to date: 11.2 miles in 3 hr and 15 minutes. I was very excited and proud of myself as well as very proud of my teammates.
This weekend was a turning point in my training. 3/4 ironman training weekend was an epic one to say the least. If it weren't for the coaches, staff, mentors, and the volunteers this weekend would not have been possible.
Here's to a great week ahead and hopefully, I won't be sunburned too bad.
Cheers,
Dana
I had a good swim on Tuesday morning followed by a steady hill climb up Mt. Diablo in the evening. I was trying something new - I was wearing a pair of tri shorts under my cycling shorts to see if that might work for 3/4 iron weekend. I went further up Mt. Diablo than I have ever gone before and even pasted a motorcycle on the way down. How sweet is that?
Wednesday and Thursday were scheduled run workouts but I got another PT session in and wanted to rest my knee for the weekend, so I did.
On Friday, I drive up to Clear Lake. I wanted to get settled and prepared for my early events on Saturday morning. Here's were the events for the weekend:
Saturday: 2 mile swim followed by a 100 mile bike ride and a BBQ to end the evening
Sunday: 16 mile run or 3 hours, whichever came first
On Friday, my swim coach got in the water with me to show me the semi-catch-up stroke so I can extend my stroke. The demo was going well until I step on something in the water. I didn't know what it was and just shook it off. My plan for the swim was to stay long, steady and strong. I was up at 4am on Saturday to eat breakfast and get ready for my swim start. We had to drive from the hotel to the starting point, set up transition, get in the wetsuit and get instructions on the course. All i had in my head was stay long and strong. My plan worked! I completed my longest open water swim at 2 miles in 1 hour and 24 minutes - 6 minutes faster than I thought I would be.
As soon as I got out of the water, I hurried to transition and began to get ready for the bike ride. I took my wetsuit off and put on my cycle shorts over my wet tri shorts. I put on my bike jersey and had a teammate spray me down with sunscreen. Helmet on, camelback on and out i went on a 100 mile bike ride. At first, my legs felt weird, like i could feel each muscle fiber in my quads. I just kept cycle one revolution after another. It was going to be a beautiful day, I could tell.
This ride was a VERY challenging century. There were some sleep climbs on this ride. I was riding with 3or 4 other teammates and we were about to start the hills section of the course. For various reasons, all of them got sagged forward by car so there I was riding by myself at that point. I wanted to see how healed my knee was so I began climbing up this VERY steep hill and once I got to the top, I got really excited because I knew there would be a nice downhill coming. Well, there was a nice downhill but it was followed by another VERY steep uphill and as soon as I saw that next hill, I yelled, "Oh FUCK". It just came out. As I being back up the second hill, I hear someone behind me. it's my swim coach Sedonia. We road together for quite a few miles. She shared with me how she got involved in TNT and I shared how i got involved by my dad passing away from Leukemia. It was REALLY nice to be riding with someone, because some of those roads were very rural. Sedonia and I had another climb and there was an AMAZING downhill after that climb. I clocked 46.2 mph going down that hill. When Sedonia caught up with me after the downhill, she was like - "WOW you can really descend. Do you break?" My response was NO. We rode together until almost the 1/2 point in the ride. I was able a mile away from the 1/2 point and thought I was lost. So, I asked some random guy if he had a cell phone I could borrow to make a call because I was lost. i called the SAG vehicle and they were close by. I was on the right course and not far away.
The park was 1/2 in the ride and Team Frankie was there at the water stop. Frankie is one of our team honorees and his parents are just so cute and helpful. There we got our special needs bag which is something we pack for ourselves and have access to it half way through the ride. I packed more cream to help with rubbing and some salty foods like pringles. I re-filled my water and fuel drinks and I was out again. I had a 30 mile out and back loop ahead of me. A number of my teammates chose to keep this part of the ride for whatever reasons and continued back to the finish of the ride which was 18 miles from the park. I was feeling strong, looking strong so I decided to continue on the scheduled route.
Well, about 5 minutes into the loop route, the steep rolling hills started to take a toll on my knee. I thought about just turning back to the park and asked myself, "why am I doing this - to find a cure for cancer" so I continued on. The road was a mess, it was full of pot-holes and to very conductive to bike riding. Once I got out of that section, I was on a main road that was relatively flat, but there was a headwind so I felt it on my knee. I made it to the next water stop and saw a teammate. I had 5 more miles until the turnaround so I asked him how it was. It saw - challenging but I could do it. I said my knee can't handle any more hill climbs so how is the route. He said - hilly - don't do it. I really appreciated his honesty. Then my mentor rolled into the waterstop after just completing the 5 mile loop within the loop. She has been dealing with a hamstring problem and the first words out of her mouth were - I should not have done that - my hamstring is mad at me. I knew right then and there that I wanted a ride back to the park so I could continue the ride. And that is exactly what I did. My mentor rode on alittle more while I waited for the SAG car. As we approached my mentor, she got a ride too back to the park.
At that point my knee was really hurting and starting to swell. My bike coach happened to be there and asked me if I could continue on. I asked about the terrain of the remaining course and he said it was gentle but not flat. He asked again if I could still ride, I said, "we'll find out as I prepared to get back on my bike to finish the ride. My mentor and I rode back to the finish together and then got into the water for an ice bath on our legs.
Now remember, I had stepped on something the day before, well it turns out I had a torn in my foot and I rode 85 miles with it in my foot. Now - it had to come out. So, one of my teammates got a pin and picked it out. This is the same teammate who sprayed me with sunscreen and I found out later on in the evening the spots she missed.
Sunday morning rolled around and I was up at 5am. I was really surprised how well my legs and knee felt. That ice bath REALLY works. We drove over to the start and at 7am we were off on the run course. I knew 3 hours would hit before I reached the 16 mile point. My goal was to make it to the 2nd water stop. I started with my 4 minute run/1 minute walk plan. I did this method for about an hour and then run when I felt good and walked when I didn't. I made it to the 2nd water stop which was 5.6 miles out. On the way back, I was starting to feel my right hip and right hip flexor. I knew I had to walk the majority of the way back or I could hurt myself (because I pushed through something similar before and actually pulled my hip flexor and I was not able to do that.) So, I walked about 5 miles and run in the last .5 miles or so. I went right into the lake again for a ice bath - only this time I wore socks in the hopes that nothing would stick me. That was my longest run/walk to date: 11.2 miles in 3 hr and 15 minutes. I was very excited and proud of myself as well as very proud of my teammates.
This weekend was a turning point in my training. 3/4 ironman training weekend was an epic one to say the least. If it weren't for the coaches, staff, mentors, and the volunteers this weekend would not have been possible.
Here's to a great week ahead and hopefully, I won't be sunburned too bad.
Cheers,
Dana
Week #29
WOW - only 10 weeks until Vineman! Alot could happen in 10 weeks and there is still alot of training to be completed.
I completed a 90' bike ride up Old Tunnel Road on Tuesday. I did well but did not have my best ride. I had never gone on that route before so I just took it all in. I met the rest of my teammates at Grizzly Peak and Claremont were we had an awesome downhill back to Tony' office. I LOVE to go fast downhill.
I has PT this week on my knee so I took it easy to allow my knee to recovery from the stress of physical therapy. I focused on my swimming this week and on building my core strength. I completed my strength program three times this week.
Saturday we were back out in Livermore at Lake Del Val. We completed 60' of open water swimming. I completed more than a mile swim in an hour and then completed a 7.8 mile run/walk with teammates on the trail. It was a great training day to experience some heat while training because Vineman is gonna be hot. I was able to connect with teammate who I have not had alot of time to connect with. It was a great Saturday.
Sunday, a number of us completed the Highland Loop, which is a 30 mile out and back loop. It is a relatively flat course, which means headwind at points, and just a few climbs. On the loop, there was a snake that had just eaten and was crossing the road very slowly. I screamed because I hate snakes. I'm shaving here just typing it. After that incident, we were at our farther point from where we started from and my teammate Helen broke her bike. Her derailor busted so she was done for the day. She was deciding if she should buy a tri bike, guess the bike decided for her. Good thing someone had verizon, because ATnT had no receptions. Figures right? Fortunately, another teammate, Jen Jay, had started her ride earlier and had just returned to her car. Jen Jay came to the rescue. So, three of us road on while two others stayed with Helen. When Helen got her ride, the other two riders who stayed with her continued on their ride. We all made it back to the starting point safe and hungry. So, we went out to eat after the ride. Good times.
Later that night, another teammate hosted a BBQ at her place so I went to that. We watch Louisville 09 for some inspiration and then stayed to watch a movie, since Monday was a holiday. I was able to gain some great ideas for my special needs bags for 3/4 iron weekend and how I should plan my attire.
Here's to a great week ahead. 3/4 iron weekend is right around the corner!
Cheers,
Dana
I completed a 90' bike ride up Old Tunnel Road on Tuesday. I did well but did not have my best ride. I had never gone on that route before so I just took it all in. I met the rest of my teammates at Grizzly Peak and Claremont were we had an awesome downhill back to Tony' office. I LOVE to go fast downhill.
I has PT this week on my knee so I took it easy to allow my knee to recovery from the stress of physical therapy. I focused on my swimming this week and on building my core strength. I completed my strength program three times this week.
Saturday we were back out in Livermore at Lake Del Val. We completed 60' of open water swimming. I completed more than a mile swim in an hour and then completed a 7.8 mile run/walk with teammates on the trail. It was a great training day to experience some heat while training because Vineman is gonna be hot. I was able to connect with teammate who I have not had alot of time to connect with. It was a great Saturday.
Sunday, a number of us completed the Highland Loop, which is a 30 mile out and back loop. It is a relatively flat course, which means headwind at points, and just a few climbs. On the loop, there was a snake that had just eaten and was crossing the road very slowly. I screamed because I hate snakes. I'm shaving here just typing it. After that incident, we were at our farther point from where we started from and my teammate Helen broke her bike. Her derailor busted so she was done for the day. She was deciding if she should buy a tri bike, guess the bike decided for her. Good thing someone had verizon, because ATnT had no receptions. Figures right? Fortunately, another teammate, Jen Jay, had started her ride earlier and had just returned to her car. Jen Jay came to the rescue. So, three of us road on while two others stayed with Helen. When Helen got her ride, the other two riders who stayed with her continued on their ride. We all made it back to the starting point safe and hungry. So, we went out to eat after the ride. Good times.
Later that night, another teammate hosted a BBQ at her place so I went to that. We watch Louisville 09 for some inspiration and then stayed to watch a movie, since Monday was a holiday. I was able to gain some great ideas for my special needs bags for 3/4 iron weekend and how I should plan my attire.
Here's to a great week ahead. 3/4 iron weekend is right around the corner!
Cheers,
Dana
Week #28 - Recovery
It's crunch time for me. Only 11 weeks remaining until race day so I'll be entering my last two training periodization cycles called the "Race Phase." Race Phase has continued longer efforts and some interval sets to maximize my training potential while still being about to be ready for the next workout.
This is a much needed recovery week. The recovery week is REALLY important because my body must have time to repair itself and regenerate tissues that have broken down during my training sessions. For the past 7/8 months, I've been breaking down muscle fibers, causing micro-tears in them, and them repairing them. In the process, more fibers are developed and better blood flow to existing fibers is happening. My quads are getting stronger and bigger. It's a good thing!
The weather caused for a spin on Tuesday vs our regular ride up Mt. Diablo. Coach Dave had his stereo blasting and I happened to be placed right in front of a speaker. I had the best spin in a long time. We did 60' of long hill progressions and the music kept me focus on something other than being in my hardest gear and spinning up a hill. I really enjoyed that spin and with the rain pouring down, there was a nice breeze.
My swimming is going well. We completed a swim marker set and it was 5 X 500s, different then the distances we have been swimming. I completed the first two 500s and they were around the same time. My third 500 was alittle slower so I thought I would swim harder for my last two 500s and my speed would increase. WRONG - my strategy backfired and that is what training is all about. Basically, by swimming harder, I actually was working harder but was shortening my stroke which caused my times to slow down. I talked to my swim coach about it because I was disappointed. She plans to show me in person how to do the semi-catch up stroke which is what distance swimmers do when they feel their stroke shorten.
There was a Captain's run on Saturday and we were in Alameda. I was excited because I didn't have to travel very far. It was an easy 120' run at an easy long pace. It went really well, but it was really busy that day. The See Jane Tri was doing a 10 mile run, the East Bay Run Team had a workout and then just folks were out and about enjoying the weather.
Sunday was a bike marker and I did REALLY well. I had an increase speed of 7.13% so I was really excited to have a better marker set compared to my last one AND there was a headwind in both directions.
It seems that I have recovered well from my bike accident and am back in the game.
Here's to a great week ahead.
Cheers,
Dana
This is a much needed recovery week. The recovery week is REALLY important because my body must have time to repair itself and regenerate tissues that have broken down during my training sessions. For the past 7/8 months, I've been breaking down muscle fibers, causing micro-tears in them, and them repairing them. In the process, more fibers are developed and better blood flow to existing fibers is happening. My quads are getting stronger and bigger. It's a good thing!
The weather caused for a spin on Tuesday vs our regular ride up Mt. Diablo. Coach Dave had his stereo blasting and I happened to be placed right in front of a speaker. I had the best spin in a long time. We did 60' of long hill progressions and the music kept me focus on something other than being in my hardest gear and spinning up a hill. I really enjoyed that spin and with the rain pouring down, there was a nice breeze.
My swimming is going well. We completed a swim marker set and it was 5 X 500s, different then the distances we have been swimming. I completed the first two 500s and they were around the same time. My third 500 was alittle slower so I thought I would swim harder for my last two 500s and my speed would increase. WRONG - my strategy backfired and that is what training is all about. Basically, by swimming harder, I actually was working harder but was shortening my stroke which caused my times to slow down. I talked to my swim coach about it because I was disappointed. She plans to show me in person how to do the semi-catch up stroke which is what distance swimmers do when they feel their stroke shorten.
There was a Captain's run on Saturday and we were in Alameda. I was excited because I didn't have to travel very far. It was an easy 120' run at an easy long pace. It went really well, but it was really busy that day. The See Jane Tri was doing a 10 mile run, the East Bay Run Team had a workout and then just folks were out and about enjoying the weather.
Sunday was a bike marker and I did REALLY well. I had an increase speed of 7.13% so I was really excited to have a better marker set compared to my last one AND there was a headwind in both directions.
It seems that I have recovered well from my bike accident and am back in the game.
Here's to a great week ahead.
Cheers,
Dana
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Week #27
Hello All,
This was a HUGE week. It was the third week in our four week cycle program, so that means heavy duration and intensity.
Since my knee seems to be much better, I arranged to have lactate testing done. With this information, I will know at what point my body is producing too much lactate acid for my body to handle, therefore, I can train below this threshold and can work to raise my threshold.
So Tuesday, I wanted to test my knee on hills. I originally was going to do lactate testing this day but changed it to Wednesday so I could do the hill repeats. Well, I pace my gear the night before and I put my cycle shoes with the bike trainer for the testing. So, when I loaded the car for hill repeats up Mt. Diablo, I forgot my cycling shoes. Well, you know you are IRON when you do hill repeats up Mt. Diablo in sneakers. Yup, I sure did. There was a whole lot of pushing from the quads and not alot of pulling from the hamstrings since I wasn't clipped in. I wouldn't recommend doing that.
On Wednesday, I swam at Shadow Cliffs for the first time outside the lane. We did alittle over 1.2 miles in about an hour. We didn't want to do much more because we had lactate testing with Coach Mike later in the evening. Lactate testing is only a 20 minute test, but you go until you can not go anymore. I'm sure the results will come in handy as my training continues.
I decided to stay for a spin workout after the lactate testing but cut the intensity in half because I knew in 2 days, I had an 80 mile bike ride.
Saturday came and I was back up on the Vineman course, only this time my goal was to complete it without using alternative routes. I achieved my goal. This 80 mile ride was much better than my 60 mile ride the week prior. I was able to see parts of the course I did not see before and finished in 6 hours and 44 minutes. Now that my knee is better, I need to work on increasing my speed.
I finished up my weekend workouts with a 1.2 mile swim back at Shadow Cliffs on Sunday morning.
Next week is a much needed recovery week so I'm looking forward to that.
Here's to a great week ahead.
Cheers,
Dana
This was a HUGE week. It was the third week in our four week cycle program, so that means heavy duration and intensity.
Since my knee seems to be much better, I arranged to have lactate testing done. With this information, I will know at what point my body is producing too much lactate acid for my body to handle, therefore, I can train below this threshold and can work to raise my threshold.
So Tuesday, I wanted to test my knee on hills. I originally was going to do lactate testing this day but changed it to Wednesday so I could do the hill repeats. Well, I pace my gear the night before and I put my cycle shoes with the bike trainer for the testing. So, when I loaded the car for hill repeats up Mt. Diablo, I forgot my cycling shoes. Well, you know you are IRON when you do hill repeats up Mt. Diablo in sneakers. Yup, I sure did. There was a whole lot of pushing from the quads and not alot of pulling from the hamstrings since I wasn't clipped in. I wouldn't recommend doing that.
On Wednesday, I swam at Shadow Cliffs for the first time outside the lane. We did alittle over 1.2 miles in about an hour. We didn't want to do much more because we had lactate testing with Coach Mike later in the evening. Lactate testing is only a 20 minute test, but you go until you can not go anymore. I'm sure the results will come in handy as my training continues.
I decided to stay for a spin workout after the lactate testing but cut the intensity in half because I knew in 2 days, I had an 80 mile bike ride.
Saturday came and I was back up on the Vineman course, only this time my goal was to complete it without using alternative routes. I achieved my goal. This 80 mile ride was much better than my 60 mile ride the week prior. I was able to see parts of the course I did not see before and finished in 6 hours and 44 minutes. Now that my knee is better, I need to work on increasing my speed.
I finished up my weekend workouts with a 1.2 mile swim back at Shadow Cliffs on Sunday morning.
Next week is a much needed recovery week so I'm looking forward to that.
Here's to a great week ahead.
Cheers,
Dana
Friday, May 14, 2010
Week #26
Hi Folks,
It really has been half a year already. WOW - and there is so much more to come. This week was a pivotal week for me on the bike. It was a test to see how my knee would respond to long distance riding. SO, I set out on a 60 mile bike ride up in Napa along the Silverado Trail.
I was feeling great initially. Then as my teammates began to increase their pace to simulate race pace, there I was in the back. I knew my knee was not ready to be pushed like that. My goal for the day: finish the ride and have less swelling after the ride than last time. My goal was achieved but it wasn't easy. This was my longest ride since my bike accident.
I started having shifting issues about mile 10. Fortunately, Coach Mike was able to fix it. It was so great to see Mama Yosh out that at the waterstop with a clipboard in hand on Mother's Day weekend.
I hit a headwind about mile 20. That was challenging for me. My hamstrings were very tight and my stomach started to cramp. I had tried a new dish the night before and deviated from my normal routine. BIG lesson learned there.
I made it to the turnaround and was still feeling really good. I started on my way back and had another headwind. Damn - a headwind in both directions, that's not supposed to happen. Well, as the coaches say, "that's money in the bank". I thought of the wind as it's added training experience.
Mile 48 was where I started to lose my happy place and needed to search for it. My butt was hurting really bad, hamstrings were still tight and I was ready to be done. I thought about my dad, how my mom was in town visiting, and how if I just kept pedaling, I would be that much closer to being done. That worked!
After the ride, my knee responded well and did not swell as much as it did before. I look forward to next week, where I'll attempt hill repeats up Mt. Diablo and an 80 mile bike ride on the Vineman Course.
Here's to a great week.
Cheers,
Dana
It really has been half a year already. WOW - and there is so much more to come. This week was a pivotal week for me on the bike. It was a test to see how my knee would respond to long distance riding. SO, I set out on a 60 mile bike ride up in Napa along the Silverado Trail.
I was feeling great initially. Then as my teammates began to increase their pace to simulate race pace, there I was in the back. I knew my knee was not ready to be pushed like that. My goal for the day: finish the ride and have less swelling after the ride than last time. My goal was achieved but it wasn't easy. This was my longest ride since my bike accident.
I started having shifting issues about mile 10. Fortunately, Coach Mike was able to fix it. It was so great to see Mama Yosh out that at the waterstop with a clipboard in hand on Mother's Day weekend.
I hit a headwind about mile 20. That was challenging for me. My hamstrings were very tight and my stomach started to cramp. I had tried a new dish the night before and deviated from my normal routine. BIG lesson learned there.
I made it to the turnaround and was still feeling really good. I started on my way back and had another headwind. Damn - a headwind in both directions, that's not supposed to happen. Well, as the coaches say, "that's money in the bank". I thought of the wind as it's added training experience.
Mile 48 was where I started to lose my happy place and needed to search for it. My butt was hurting really bad, hamstrings were still tight and I was ready to be done. I thought about my dad, how my mom was in town visiting, and how if I just kept pedaling, I would be that much closer to being done. That worked!
After the ride, my knee responded well and did not swell as much as it did before. I look forward to next week, where I'll attempt hill repeats up Mt. Diablo and an 80 mile bike ride on the Vineman Course.
Here's to a great week.
Cheers,
Dana
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Week #25 - Week 1 of Build Phase 3
This week we begin to ramp it up again. This week was a big week for some teammates. My run coach, Simon, completed his first Ironman at St. George, many teammates traveled to Wildflower to complete one of the hardest courses in the country, some teammates completed their first century in Napa, and some other teammates completed their escape from Alcatraz.
Me - I traveled to LA to meet my mom, aunt, and cousin because my other cousin was the lead character in her high school play. She did AMAZING and totally carried the show. I am so glad I went down to see her perform. She has a future in acting if she wants it.
I had two great physical therapy sessions, although I ended up bruising from the massage portion. I have some major scar tissue that is getting some much needed work. Although my knee hurts to touch, it is feeling freer in the range of motion. I feel like it's back to %100 so we'll find out this weekend on my 60 mile bike ride. I started running again for a few minutes to see if there was pain. There was not so we'll see as I progress back into it.
Here's to a great week ahead.
Cheers,
Dana
Me - I traveled to LA to meet my mom, aunt, and cousin because my other cousin was the lead character in her high school play. She did AMAZING and totally carried the show. I am so glad I went down to see her perform. She has a future in acting if she wants it.
I had two great physical therapy sessions, although I ended up bruising from the massage portion. I have some major scar tissue that is getting some much needed work. Although my knee hurts to touch, it is feeling freer in the range of motion. I feel like it's back to %100 so we'll find out this weekend on my 60 mile bike ride. I started running again for a few minutes to see if there was pain. There was not so we'll see as I progress back into it.
Here's to a great week ahead.
Cheers,
Dana
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Week #24 - Recovery
This is a recovery week, although I have been recovering a few weeks now. This just means the the intensity on the workout calendar is low. It is also a time to reconnect with my fundraising plans. I am participating in Ironteam to raise money to find a cure for cancer!
I completed my 2000 yard swim marker. I was alittle disappointed with my time because I was 2 minutes slower than when I completed that distance before I was injured. Then my swim coach put it in perspective for me. Sometimes set backs make us work harder for the things we want and anything that's worth anything requires hard work and determination. Once I completely get back into the swing of things, my speed will come back.
I attended a spin workout on Wednesday in Walnut Creek and that was my first spin workout since I fell. My knee did pretty well so I was pleased. Thursday I saw the ortho doc for a follow-up. I waited 45 minutes after the scheduled appointment time for a 5 minute appointment that ended with a hand shake and smiles so it's all good.
Saturday I swam 1 hour in Aquatic Park in SF. The water was cold, but not as cold as last time. I still covered every part of my body and wore my gloves. Salt water makes me thirsty, so I prefer to swim in fresh water. There were alot of people out there. Then again, Wildflower and Escape from Alcatraz are just a week away.
There was a run marker scheduled for this week, but I am not running yet. Instead I attended the 5K run to honor and remember Brenda Donato, as a spectator. I worked the water stop and cheered teammates on. After the run, we got to shop at Sports Basement, since it was right across the street. Then we went to our head coaches' house for an honoree potluck and that's how my day was spent - with great people, connected by a cause to change people's lives.
Here's to the week ahead.
Cheers,
Dana
I completed my 2000 yard swim marker. I was alittle disappointed with my time because I was 2 minutes slower than when I completed that distance before I was injured. Then my swim coach put it in perspective for me. Sometimes set backs make us work harder for the things we want and anything that's worth anything requires hard work and determination. Once I completely get back into the swing of things, my speed will come back.
I attended a spin workout on Wednesday in Walnut Creek and that was my first spin workout since I fell. My knee did pretty well so I was pleased. Thursday I saw the ortho doc for a follow-up. I waited 45 minutes after the scheduled appointment time for a 5 minute appointment that ended with a hand shake and smiles so it's all good.
Saturday I swam 1 hour in Aquatic Park in SF. The water was cold, but not as cold as last time. I still covered every part of my body and wore my gloves. Salt water makes me thirsty, so I prefer to swim in fresh water. There were alot of people out there. Then again, Wildflower and Escape from Alcatraz are just a week away.
There was a run marker scheduled for this week, but I am not running yet. Instead I attended the 5K run to honor and remember Brenda Donato, as a spectator. I worked the water stop and cheered teammates on. After the run, we got to shop at Sports Basement, since it was right across the street. Then we went to our head coaches' house for an honoree potluck and that's how my day was spent - with great people, connected by a cause to change people's lives.
Here's to the week ahead.
Cheers,
Dana
Week #23 - Bike Focus Week
Well, this week was the first time I was back on my bike in about 4 weeks. WOW did it feel great to be back out there with my teammates and just back out on the road cycling. Now my teammates either had a century weekend (50 miles on Sat and Sun) or some folks even did 100 miles each day. It was Cal Day on Saturday so I was working, plus my knee wasn't ready for back to back rides.
Sunday we got to ride the Vineman course. Now, this was my first time back my bike since I fell so I wasn't sure how the day was going to play out. I had a plan - to do an out and back ride that was either for mileage or time. Then I spoke to my coach and he gave me some options for cutting the course shorter, cutting out some climbs, so I decided to attempt that option. My coach road with me to show me the route I was going to be taking since it was different than the maps. When the whole team made a left hand turn and coach and I made a right, I appreciated how two SAG vehicles came to tell us we were going the wrong way. For us, we were going on the different route than others.
For a quick minute, I was in the lead. That didn't last long as the faster riders passed me at the SAG stop. Coach caught up with me again and led me back on the course after cutting out a loop section. There was a HUGE 7/8 mile climb up Chalk Hill, but since climbing hurt me knee, the SAG vehicle advanced me to the top of the hill so I could finish the ride. I completed 42 miles!!! First time back on the bike and completed 42 miles. I was EXCITED. As soon as I got back to the parking lot, I went to Safeway to grab a bag of ice because my knee was swelling. I brought back a 20lb bag of ice so other could ice if they needed. It was a beautiful day and just amazing to training again with teammates, even if it is modified.
A recovery week is ahead so I look forward to more physical therapy sessions so I can continue to heal.
Have a great week.
Cheers,
Dana
Sunday we got to ride the Vineman course. Now, this was my first time back my bike since I fell so I wasn't sure how the day was going to play out. I had a plan - to do an out and back ride that was either for mileage or time. Then I spoke to my coach and he gave me some options for cutting the course shorter, cutting out some climbs, so I decided to attempt that option. My coach road with me to show me the route I was going to be taking since it was different than the maps. When the whole team made a left hand turn and coach and I made a right, I appreciated how two SAG vehicles came to tell us we were going the wrong way. For us, we were going on the different route than others.
For a quick minute, I was in the lead. That didn't last long as the faster riders passed me at the SAG stop. Coach caught up with me again and led me back on the course after cutting out a loop section. There was a HUGE 7/8 mile climb up Chalk Hill, but since climbing hurt me knee, the SAG vehicle advanced me to the top of the hill so I could finish the ride. I completed 42 miles!!! First time back on the bike and completed 42 miles. I was EXCITED. As soon as I got back to the parking lot, I went to Safeway to grab a bag of ice because my knee was swelling. I brought back a 20lb bag of ice so other could ice if they needed. It was a beautiful day and just amazing to training again with teammates, even if it is modified.
A recovery week is ahead so I look forward to more physical therapy sessions so I can continue to heal.
Have a great week.
Cheers,
Dana
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Week #22 - Bootcamp Rehab
This week there was back to back days of training with the South Bay Team. Leading up to our second and final bootcamp, I was in physical therapy sessions and working on rehabbing my knee. The patella tendon is still very sore to the touch, the my knee's function is increasing. My range of motion is pretty much back to where it was - finally! All week, I'm been sitting in my office, tucking my rehabbing leg under my chair to stretch the tendon. This work clearly is showing the benefits now. The tendon is back to it's original length and that was the goal. Now, the goal is to get the remaining fluid around the knee out of the area and allow blood to flood into the impacted area and bring nutrients. How is the done? Light and tender massage. It was painful at first, but it is time to move stuff around in there.
Saturday we were at Shadow Cliffs in Pleasanton. The plan was to complete 3X swim/bike/run/core at your own pace in 5 hours. Well, I'm not %100 yet so I made created my own bootcamp course. I completed the swim of about 1000 yards. Then saw my back bike tire was flat. Damn how did I get a flat already? Turns out the coaches flattened all back tires so we would have to work on changing the back tire. After all that, I put my bike back on the bike trainer for a very light spin. This was actually the first time I had been back on my bike since the fall. I completed 25 minutes. Then, my swim coached convinced me to get into the 58 degree water without a wetsuit for deep water running. She said it would be better for my knee without the wetsuit. Well, she was right, but it took some time to get use to the water temp. I completed 40 minutes of deep water running. Then I completed some rehab exercises on land as part of my core and rehab plan.
It was time to complete the cycle again. So, I attempt to put back on my wet wetsuit. LOL I couldn't feel my fingers and was having a difficult time pinching the wetsuit to pull it up. My coached asked if I wanted help and I said, "Yes please". He helped me put on the wetsuit and it was a great fit. I had the best swim of the day after that. I went back in the water and completed another 1000 yard swim. I exit the water and have 30 minutes until the open water tester was coming to certify me to swim outside the lane lines at Shadow Cliffs. Well, after all that to get my wet wetsuit back on, I was not about to take it off for 30 minutes just to put it back on. So, I left on the wetsuit. I thought about doing a light spin with it on, but didn't want to rip it. So, I connected with teammates who I hadn't seen in a while and attempted to say warm.
The open water tester arrived and I went back into the water to be tested. Of course, I passed and am now certified to swim outside the lane lines. Apparently, there is a route that is exactly 2.4 miles outside the lanes. After completing all the paperwork for that, the 5 hours was up. We ended our day on the foam rollers. Now, I have not used my legs in the same capacity as my teammates, but that foam roller really hurt! My butt was still alittle sore on Sunday.
I woke up Sunday morning, planning to attend the day 2 of bootcamp in San Jose. The night prior I watched the weather forecast and learned of a bad storm that was headed on way on Sunday. I told myself I would play it by ear in the morning. The workout was going to consist of swim drills (which I can do), then a 30 mile bike ride (which I can not do), a track workout (which I can not do), a bike trainer workout (which I can not do) , possibly another run workout (which I can not do) and end with an endurance swim (which I can do). I woke up, looked outside and just saw dark clouds hovering over in the sky. Needless to say, I decided to stay close to home and swim at the gym. It poured something else that day and my teammates were out there completing the workouts. Now, that's IRON!
The next week ahead is a bike focus week and it ends with us completing one loop of the Vineman bike course. We'll see how my physical therapy and rehab goes this week.
Have a great week.
Cheers,
Dana
Saturday we were at Shadow Cliffs in Pleasanton. The plan was to complete 3X swim/bike/run/core at your own pace in 5 hours. Well, I'm not %100 yet so I made created my own bootcamp course. I completed the swim of about 1000 yards. Then saw my back bike tire was flat. Damn how did I get a flat already? Turns out the coaches flattened all back tires so we would have to work on changing the back tire. After all that, I put my bike back on the bike trainer for a very light spin. This was actually the first time I had been back on my bike since the fall. I completed 25 minutes. Then, my swim coached convinced me to get into the 58 degree water without a wetsuit for deep water running. She said it would be better for my knee without the wetsuit. Well, she was right, but it took some time to get use to the water temp. I completed 40 minutes of deep water running. Then I completed some rehab exercises on land as part of my core and rehab plan.
It was time to complete the cycle again. So, I attempt to put back on my wet wetsuit. LOL I couldn't feel my fingers and was having a difficult time pinching the wetsuit to pull it up. My coached asked if I wanted help and I said, "Yes please". He helped me put on the wetsuit and it was a great fit. I had the best swim of the day after that. I went back in the water and completed another 1000 yard swim. I exit the water and have 30 minutes until the open water tester was coming to certify me to swim outside the lane lines at Shadow Cliffs. Well, after all that to get my wet wetsuit back on, I was not about to take it off for 30 minutes just to put it back on. So, I left on the wetsuit. I thought about doing a light spin with it on, but didn't want to rip it. So, I connected with teammates who I hadn't seen in a while and attempted to say warm.
The open water tester arrived and I went back into the water to be tested. Of course, I passed and am now certified to swim outside the lane lines. Apparently, there is a route that is exactly 2.4 miles outside the lanes. After completing all the paperwork for that, the 5 hours was up. We ended our day on the foam rollers. Now, I have not used my legs in the same capacity as my teammates, but that foam roller really hurt! My butt was still alittle sore on Sunday.
I woke up Sunday morning, planning to attend the day 2 of bootcamp in San Jose. The night prior I watched the weather forecast and learned of a bad storm that was headed on way on Sunday. I told myself I would play it by ear in the morning. The workout was going to consist of swim drills (which I can do), then a 30 mile bike ride (which I can not do), a track workout (which I can not do), a bike trainer workout (which I can not do) , possibly another run workout (which I can not do) and end with an endurance swim (which I can do). I woke up, looked outside and just saw dark clouds hovering over in the sky. Needless to say, I decided to stay close to home and swim at the gym. It poured something else that day and my teammates were out there completing the workouts. Now, that's IRON!
The next week ahead is a bike focus week and it ends with us completing one loop of the Vineman bike course. We'll see how my physical therapy and rehab goes this week.
Have a great week.
Cheers,
Dana
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Week #21 - still rehabbing
Well sports fans, I'm still in rehab mode. My trainings this week were full of swimming, upper body strength exercises, and a Physical Therapy appointment.
PT says I have a bone bruise - which considering other news, is great! The patella tendon does not get alot of blood flow and nutrients to the area so that is the goal for now. Massage, ultrasound and some rehab exercises are my lower body workouts these days. I try to not get frustrated because I know in the long run, it is better to completely heal and rehab correctly so I can complete my ultimate goal, but sometimes the frustration does set in.
I did speak with my bike coach this week so that I can develop a plan to address that aspect of the event. Once I am ready to come back, I'll be building back up slowly, as to not re-injury anything, and go from there.
Success at an endurance event is a product of four factors:
1. Inherent ability - genetic makeup and talent
2. Motivation - refers to inner desire to exercise talent and genetics
3. Opportunity - includes hindering and facilitating factors in the environment
4. Direction - recognizes a coach's influence on an athlete
How I integrate my trainings into my environment will become even more important as I get back into the swing of things and on longer and more challenging workouts.
My teammates completed lactate thresholds tests this week. I look forward to completing this when I am 100%, but I'll break down why this test is important.
For the past 20 weeks, I've been doing a tremendous amount of base building. My heart and body is adapting to the training load and I am becoming more efficient. The measure of efficiency of my heart is to measure my heart rate at different intensity levels and determine an approximate heart rate at which I can be most economical and still put forth the most effort and perform at a consistent level for a long time. So, by conducting lactate threshold tests using heart rate as an indicator of my exertion level will result in some identified "training zones" to work within to maximize the efficiency of my training.
Here's to a week full of rehab and reduced swelling each day.
Cheers,
Dana
PT says I have a bone bruise - which considering other news, is great! The patella tendon does not get alot of blood flow and nutrients to the area so that is the goal for now. Massage, ultrasound and some rehab exercises are my lower body workouts these days. I try to not get frustrated because I know in the long run, it is better to completely heal and rehab correctly so I can complete my ultimate goal, but sometimes the frustration does set in.
I did speak with my bike coach this week so that I can develop a plan to address that aspect of the event. Once I am ready to come back, I'll be building back up slowly, as to not re-injury anything, and go from there.
Success at an endurance event is a product of four factors:
1. Inherent ability - genetic makeup and talent
2. Motivation - refers to inner desire to exercise talent and genetics
3. Opportunity - includes hindering and facilitating factors in the environment
4. Direction - recognizes a coach's influence on an athlete
How I integrate my trainings into my environment will become even more important as I get back into the swing of things and on longer and more challenging workouts.
My teammates completed lactate thresholds tests this week. I look forward to completing this when I am 100%, but I'll break down why this test is important.
For the past 20 weeks, I've been doing a tremendous amount of base building. My heart and body is adapting to the training load and I am becoming more efficient. The measure of efficiency of my heart is to measure my heart rate at different intensity levels and determine an approximate heart rate at which I can be most economical and still put forth the most effort and perform at a consistent level for a long time. So, by conducting lactate threshold tests using heart rate as an indicator of my exertion level will result in some identified "training zones" to work within to maximize the efficiency of my training.
Here's to a week full of rehab and reduced swelling each day.
Cheers,
Dana
Monday, March 29, 2010
Week #20 - Recovery Week (post WF Weekend)
I will have another crack at over-distance endurance in the near future. For this week, I had an MRI to confirm no fracture and no evidence of torn ligaments. EXCELLENT NEWS!!!
So, I spent this week with more doctor appointments and was able to get in a few swims. I also worked with my trainer on upper body strength - yeah since I couldn't stand on my left leg. I have not been back on my bike since I fell, but I am hopeful to get on it this coming week.
I'm still icing, elevating, using anti-inflammatory creams and hope to start physical therapy soon so I can work on re-building my VMO (the muscle that helps the patella-tendon track correctly). My patella-tendon is definitely not tracking correctly. ouch
Here's to a week ahead full of continued healing with some more light regular workouts back in there.
Have a great week.
Cheers,
Dana
So, I spent this week with more doctor appointments and was able to get in a few swims. I also worked with my trainer on upper body strength - yeah since I couldn't stand on my left leg. I have not been back on my bike since I fell, but I am hopeful to get on it this coming week.
I'm still icing, elevating, using anti-inflammatory creams and hope to start physical therapy soon so I can work on re-building my VMO (the muscle that helps the patella-tendon track correctly). My patella-tendon is definitely not tracking correctly. ouch
Here's to a week ahead full of continued healing with some more light regular workouts back in there.
Have a great week.
Cheers,
Dana
Monday, March 15, 2010
Week #19 - Half-Way-To-Iron-Weekend
I was all pumped for my half-way-to-iron-weekend. I knew that cutoff times will be enforced to ensure we have the support you need out on the course and we finish up with plenty of time to get ready to chow down at an all you can eat BBQ dinner back at camp. These cutoff times were selected by the coaches because they represent exactly half the time for the real cutoff times at Ironman.
I mentally and physically visualized my day going like this. We will start promptly at 7am with the swim.
The swim cutoff time will be at a total time of 1 hour and 10 minutes, which is a 3:18/100 yards pace (8:10am).
The bike cutoff time will be at a total time of 5 hours and 30 minutes (12:30pm) . If you just make the swim cutoff and have a 10 minute transition, this equates to an average bike speed of 13.44 miles/hr.
The run cutoff time will be at a total time of 9 hours (4:00pm). If you just make the bike cutoff and have a 10 minute transition, this equates to an average run pace of 24:34/mile.
What I wasn't prepared for was falling directly onto my kneecap on the Marin Metric Century route the weekend prior. in the days leading up to Half-Way-To-Iron-Weekend, I had an x-ray to make sure I didn't break my kneecap. The x-ray came back - no fracture, but due the trama this knee has already endured, my doctor wanted me to see an ortho. Fortunately, I was able to see an ortho this week too. I knew I was only going to be cleared for swimming and that was exactly the case. I traveled down to the Wildflower course and I was able to complete the 1.2 mile swim in 50 minutes. Not bad for only pulling. This was the first activity I was able to do all week so I attempted to kick and it didn't feel right, so I just pulled. Then after my swim, I stayed in the cold water to complete some range of motion movement to get my knee moving. I had been icing and elevating it all week, taking anti-inflammatory meds, doing everything I could to get the swelling down.
Then, I went and worked the first run water stop. It was great for me to be able to cheer on my teammates. Sure, I wanted to be out there with them, but since it is better for me to recovery completely now so I can complete my main goal in July, cheering on my teammates was the next best thing. After the last runner came through my water stop, I went back into the cold water for round 2 of range of motion, only this time I was without a wetsuit. This REALLY helped loosen my knee up so I was really glad I did it. Of course, my knee tightened up again on the 4 hour car ride home from Lake San Antonio, but it was worth it!
My week ahead is supposed to be a recovery week, which is great because my week will be filled with doctor appointments and an MRI to make sure everything is ok with my knee.
I mentally and physically visualized my day going like this. We will start promptly at 7am with the swim.
The swim cutoff time will be at a total time of 1 hour and 10 minutes, which is a 3:18/100 yards pace (8:10am).
The bike cutoff time will be at a total time of 5 hours and 30 minutes (12:30pm) . If you just make the swim cutoff and have a 10 minute transition, this equates to an average bike speed of 13.44 miles/hr.
The run cutoff time will be at a total time of 9 hours (4:00pm). If you just make the bike cutoff and have a 10 minute transition, this equates to an average run pace of 24:34/mile.
What I wasn't prepared for was falling directly onto my kneecap on the Marin Metric Century route the weekend prior. in the days leading up to Half-Way-To-Iron-Weekend, I had an x-ray to make sure I didn't break my kneecap. The x-ray came back - no fracture, but due the trama this knee has already endured, my doctor wanted me to see an ortho. Fortunately, I was able to see an ortho this week too. I knew I was only going to be cleared for swimming and that was exactly the case. I traveled down to the Wildflower course and I was able to complete the 1.2 mile swim in 50 minutes. Not bad for only pulling. This was the first activity I was able to do all week so I attempted to kick and it didn't feel right, so I just pulled. Then after my swim, I stayed in the cold water to complete some range of motion movement to get my knee moving. I had been icing and elevating it all week, taking anti-inflammatory meds, doing everything I could to get the swelling down.
Then, I went and worked the first run water stop. It was great for me to be able to cheer on my teammates. Sure, I wanted to be out there with them, but since it is better for me to recovery completely now so I can complete my main goal in July, cheering on my teammates was the next best thing. After the last runner came through my water stop, I went back into the cold water for round 2 of range of motion, only this time I was without a wetsuit. This REALLY helped loosen my knee up so I was really glad I did it. Of course, my knee tightened up again on the 4 hour car ride home from Lake San Antonio, but it was worth it!
My week ahead is supposed to be a recovery week, which is great because my week will be filled with doctor appointments and an MRI to make sure everything is ok with my knee.
Week #18
My week started off great, but ended on a sour note. I went shopping this week, not for the fun of it but out of necessity. I did a Sports Basement run to get gear for swimming in the cold water. I bought different booties, a skull cap, and was looking for gloves but they only had the webbed kind - they are illegal. So, I decided to try REI. They didn't have them either, but they did have Kayaking gloves. So, I decided to give them a try. I got the ones with velcrow in the hopes that they would be secure.
Well Saturday morning came and my first swim in SF's Aquatic Park was on. The new gear did really well. The water temp was 52 degrees. The gloves weighed me down some, but they did their job and kept my hands warm(er) than being exposed to the water. I had a really good swim. So, we had to swim one lap around the boyie and then come back into shore for a surprise. We had to do that three times which equaled a mile. On shore, we did push-ups, crab walks and something that I don't know the name for.
After the swim, we drove to Sports Basement where we got into our run gear. Now, I knew we had a 60 mile bike ride scheduled for Sunday and that we were in SF so that meant hills, so I decided to walk a majority of our run. We did a loop all threw the Presido. It was absolutely lovely - hilly - but lovely. We did 5.3 miles.
When we got back, the team met up inside Sports Basement for an Iron Univ on Goals. Did you know that there are seven distint types of goals:
1. Long Term Goals
2. Yearly Goals
3. Race Goals
4. Feeling Goals
5. Training Goals
6. Lifestyle Goals
7. Filfullment Goals
Goals #1, 2, and 3 can be categorized as OUTCOME goals because they describe specific results you want to achieve. The importance of outcome goals is that they provide the destinations of your goal setting program. Place these goals in the distance as what you ultimately want to achieve.
Goals #4, 5, 6, and 7 are PROGRESS goals and should be your primary focus in your day-to-day training efforts. By focusing on your progress goals, you will ensure that you do what needs to be done to reach your outcome goals. Pursuing your progress goals will make attaining your outcome goals more manageable and enable you to focus on the enjoyment of triathlon and ensure you get the most quality out of your effort.
The Goal Formula - Vision + Motivation + Goals = Progress
Finally, we completed an exercise where we wrote a letter to ourselves expressing whatever it is we wanted to express and it will be given back to us the evening before our race.
Sunday - the plan was to complete the Marin Metric Century route. I did this as an event before and I REMEMBERED all the hills that were part of the course. This was my day this time:
The Marin Metric Century route begins on flat to rolling terrain before you are greeted with your first challenge of the day, a 1.5 mile and 430 foot climb to Big Rock Summit of Lucas Valley. This is followed by a thrilling descent through the redwoods into the ranches and grasslands of West Marin. The route then winds north through relatively flat terrain past the small town of Nicasioand along Nicasio Reservoir.
The second climb of the day (1.4 miles and 380 foot gain) rolls up to Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Rd. over a summit and past the famous Cheese Factory before turning north onto Hicks Valley Rd.
The ride continues out Hicks Valley Rd. This is remote West Marin at its best. Rolling hills and sparsely traveled roads bring you through ranch country and and open space to where the 100K route turns east (another route turns west) for the biggest challenge of the day - Wilson Hill. This climb is steep, 700' high and the descent down the east side is exhilarating. The route rolls out through relatively flat terrain into the outskirts of Petalumato McNear Park at mile 32.
And here is where my day changed! I'm not exactly sure what happened. I think I thought I unclipped and my teammates said I then stood up to get off the bike and apparently I did not unclip and I fell directly onto my knee cap. I layed on the ground holding my knee for a good five minutes without moving. Then I was finally able to kinda straighten it out and someone gave me some ice. Coach Dave rolled in and looked at it. Good thing I was wearing my leggings because that probably saved me from some road rash. He called the SAG (Support and Gear) car for me and Belinda, our nice volunteer, picked me up to take me back to the start. Along the way back, we picked up Helen who took a wrong turn and went miles out of her way.
I had a teammate, who is a NP, look at my knee when she got back. She advised me to get it checked because my knee cap was crunchy. She was worried about a broken knee cap.
So, today I got an appt with Dr. Tim and she sent me for x-rays. The great news is that I did not fracture my knee cap. However, given this is my bad knee that has already had three knee surgeries, she is referring me to an ortho for follow-up. Yep - this is not the way I wanted my week to end nor begin with Half-Way-To-Iron-Weekend in a week.
My week ahead will be nothing but elevating, icing, and anti-inflammatory medications and creams.
Have a great week.
Cheers,
Dana
Well Saturday morning came and my first swim in SF's Aquatic Park was on. The new gear did really well. The water temp was 52 degrees. The gloves weighed me down some, but they did their job and kept my hands warm(er) than being exposed to the water. I had a really good swim. So, we had to swim one lap around the boyie and then come back into shore for a surprise. We had to do that three times which equaled a mile. On shore, we did push-ups, crab walks and something that I don't know the name for.
After the swim, we drove to Sports Basement where we got into our run gear. Now, I knew we had a 60 mile bike ride scheduled for Sunday and that we were in SF so that meant hills, so I decided to walk a majority of our run. We did a loop all threw the Presido. It was absolutely lovely - hilly - but lovely. We did 5.3 miles.
When we got back, the team met up inside Sports Basement for an Iron Univ on Goals. Did you know that there are seven distint types of goals:
1. Long Term Goals
2. Yearly Goals
3. Race Goals
4. Feeling Goals
5. Training Goals
6. Lifestyle Goals
7. Filfullment Goals
Goals #1, 2, and 3 can be categorized as OUTCOME goals because they describe specific results you want to achieve. The importance of outcome goals is that they provide the destinations of your goal setting program. Place these goals in the distance as what you ultimately want to achieve.
Goals #4, 5, 6, and 7 are PROGRESS goals and should be your primary focus in your day-to-day training efforts. By focusing on your progress goals, you will ensure that you do what needs to be done to reach your outcome goals. Pursuing your progress goals will make attaining your outcome goals more manageable and enable you to focus on the enjoyment of triathlon and ensure you get the most quality out of your effort.
The Goal Formula - Vision + Motivation + Goals = Progress
Finally, we completed an exercise where we wrote a letter to ourselves expressing whatever it is we wanted to express and it will be given back to us the evening before our race.
Sunday - the plan was to complete the Marin Metric Century route. I did this as an event before and I REMEMBERED all the hills that were part of the course. This was my day this time:
The Marin Metric Century route begins on flat to rolling terrain before you are greeted with your first challenge of the day, a 1.5 mile and 430 foot climb to Big Rock Summit of Lucas Valley. This is followed by a thrilling descent through the redwoods into the ranches and grasslands of West Marin. The route then winds north through relatively flat terrain past the small town of Nicasioand along Nicasio Reservoir.
The second climb of the day (1.4 miles and 380 foot gain) rolls up to Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Rd. over a summit and past the famous Cheese Factory before turning north onto Hicks Valley Rd.
The ride continues out Hicks Valley Rd. This is remote West Marin at its best. Rolling hills and sparsely traveled roads bring you through ranch country and and open space to where the 100K route turns east (another route turns west) for the biggest challenge of the day - Wilson Hill. This climb is steep, 700' high and the descent down the east side is exhilarating. The route rolls out through relatively flat terrain into the outskirts of Petalumato McNear Park at mile 32.
And here is where my day changed! I'm not exactly sure what happened. I think I thought I unclipped and my teammates said I then stood up to get off the bike and apparently I did not unclip and I fell directly onto my knee cap. I layed on the ground holding my knee for a good five minutes without moving. Then I was finally able to kinda straighten it out and someone gave me some ice. Coach Dave rolled in and looked at it. Good thing I was wearing my leggings because that probably saved me from some road rash. He called the SAG (Support and Gear) car for me and Belinda, our nice volunteer, picked me up to take me back to the start. Along the way back, we picked up Helen who took a wrong turn and went miles out of her way.
I had a teammate, who is a NP, look at my knee when she got back. She advised me to get it checked because my knee cap was crunchy. She was worried about a broken knee cap.
So, today I got an appt with Dr. Tim and she sent me for x-rays. The great news is that I did not fracture my knee cap. However, given this is my bad knee that has already had three knee surgeries, she is referring me to an ortho for follow-up. Yep - this is not the way I wanted my week to end nor begin with Half-Way-To-Iron-Weekend in a week.
My week ahead will be nothing but elevating, icing, and anti-inflammatory medications and creams.
Have a great week.
Cheers,
Dana
Monday, March 8, 2010
Week #17 - Build #2 Starts
I am getting stronger. I feel great, both mentally and physically, and I am looking forward to the Wildflower Half in just two weeks. Personally, I've never done the Wildflower course before, but have been down to Lake San Antonio and know MANY folks who have attempted to complete it - most of them have. I do know that it is one of the most challenging half ironman courses around. As I continue to prepare for this milestone in my training, I'm surprised I am not nervous. Now, maybe that's because it is still 2 weeks out. We'll see what happens as time gets closer.
I was very proud of this week's workouts. Specifically, Saturday's open water swim and double brick. The recent rain cause the water temp to drop a degree or two. The water was about 52 degrees and felt colder than 2 weeks ago. As I was getting in the water, I could feel the water cold through my booties and wetsuit. That's when I knew it was gonna be a tough swim. It took me a good 10 minutes before I could even put my face in the water and even then could only swim about 5 stokes and had to raise my head. The returning lap was much better as my hands and face were numb and it didn't hurt as bad. This was the first time in a while that when I stood up to get out of the water, I was little dizzy. It went away within the walk back to our transition area.
There we got into our bike gear and on our trainers for some interval work. Why is that important? - to get blood flowing back into the feet. It worked and after 40 minutes of trainer work, I was feeling pretty good and getting warm. At that point, it was time to go on a 20 minute run. I actually walked it with some teammates because on one of the intervals, we were in our hardest gears and I could just feel the tension on my knee. Needless to say, my knee didn't like it and I knew I had another bike and run to go for the day. I made a good decision.
After a 10 minute out and back on the run trail, we got back on our bikes. This time we were heading out on the road for hills repeats. Now, two weeks ago, we climbed out of the park and the hill was a few miles long so this was what I thought we were doing. Good thing I was wrong. We went the other direction and repeated this much shorter hill. We road up and down this hill for 40 minutes, practicing good technique with climbing and descending the hill. It was actually kinda fun and because it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was gonna be, I had a smile on my face the whole time. After 40 minutes of hill repeats, it was time for another 20 minutes run. Again, I walked this but the important piece is that I was on my feet for that time.
Sunday was a nice long/easy run for 1 hr and 45 min. It was such a lovely day with the sun out shining bright. It was great to just be outdoors to enjoy it.
Have a great week.
Cheers,
Dana
I was very proud of this week's workouts. Specifically, Saturday's open water swim and double brick. The recent rain cause the water temp to drop a degree or two. The water was about 52 degrees and felt colder than 2 weeks ago. As I was getting in the water, I could feel the water cold through my booties and wetsuit. That's when I knew it was gonna be a tough swim. It took me a good 10 minutes before I could even put my face in the water and even then could only swim about 5 stokes and had to raise my head. The returning lap was much better as my hands and face were numb and it didn't hurt as bad. This was the first time in a while that when I stood up to get out of the water, I was little dizzy. It went away within the walk back to our transition area.
There we got into our bike gear and on our trainers for some interval work. Why is that important? - to get blood flowing back into the feet. It worked and after 40 minutes of trainer work, I was feeling pretty good and getting warm. At that point, it was time to go on a 20 minute run. I actually walked it with some teammates because on one of the intervals, we were in our hardest gears and I could just feel the tension on my knee. Needless to say, my knee didn't like it and I knew I had another bike and run to go for the day. I made a good decision.
After a 10 minute out and back on the run trail, we got back on our bikes. This time we were heading out on the road for hills repeats. Now, two weeks ago, we climbed out of the park and the hill was a few miles long so this was what I thought we were doing. Good thing I was wrong. We went the other direction and repeated this much shorter hill. We road up and down this hill for 40 minutes, practicing good technique with climbing and descending the hill. It was actually kinda fun and because it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was gonna be, I had a smile on my face the whole time. After 40 minutes of hill repeats, it was time for another 20 minutes run. Again, I walked this but the important piece is that I was on my feet for that time.
Sunday was a nice long/easy run for 1 hr and 45 min. It was such a lovely day with the sun out shining bright. It was great to just be outdoors to enjoy it.
Have a great week.
Cheers,
Dana
Monday, March 1, 2010
Week #16 - Well Earned Recovery Week
This week started with my knees alittle swollen due to all the work I did during Boot Camp weekend. I'm not big on popping pain pills, so I just iced the knees down. I got some good info from my training captain about some natural anti-inflammatory pills that I'll start to incorporate into my nutrition plan.
Just as important as paying attention to my body, I need to pay attention to my bike and other gear. It was raining all during Boot Camp weekend so I took an extra day off from training to rest the knees and spent a few hours cleaning my bike from head to toe. It's amazing all the gunk the chain picks up.
Wednesday I met up with my mentor and completed a run workout. Although, we both walked the 3 mile workouts because we were still sore. I completed marker sets in swimming, biking, and running to see how my fitness and strength is improving. I was pleased with my time for each sport.
I am progressing in the right direction and the Wildflower Half-Ironman is only 4 weeks away.
Here's to the week ahead.
Cheers,
Dana
Just as important as paying attention to my body, I need to pay attention to my bike and other gear. It was raining all during Boot Camp weekend so I took an extra day off from training to rest the knees and spent a few hours cleaning my bike from head to toe. It's amazing all the gunk the chain picks up.
Wednesday I met up with my mentor and completed a run workout. Although, we both walked the 3 mile workouts because we were still sore. I completed marker sets in swimming, biking, and running to see how my fitness and strength is improving. I was pleased with my time for each sport.
I am progressing in the right direction and the Wildflower Half-Ironman is only 4 weeks away.
Here's to the week ahead.
Cheers,
Dana
Monday, February 22, 2010
Week #15 - Boot Camp!
This week's workouts ended in a Boot Camp. Boot Camp was a two day coached workout that tested my nutrition strategy and my fitness level up to this point in the season. I passed!!!
Saturday we were in Livermore at Del Valle Reservoir for Day One.
The lake is one of a few locations in the Bay Area where open water swimming is permitted. Now I know why, the water temp was around 52 degrees. Of course I was wearing a wetsuit but still, that water was COLD. When I first got in, I thought to myself - this is going to be a VERY long day. My swim coach was with us and said on the count of 3, everybody go under water. She counted 1, 2, and 3 and she was the only person to go under water. LOL - yep it was that cold. I doggie paddled for a little bit until my hands went numb, then it was time to put my face in the water. After my face stopped burning from the cold water, I was able to swim for a little bit. I do not like cold water! So, we did that for about an hour or so and it was time to get out. I was sooo excited. Our coached prepared some hot chicken noodle broth for us to drink so we could warm ourselves up from the inside out - literally. Then we headed out on our bikes. Since we were at lake level we had to climb out of the area and starting off a bike ride with a climb after being in cold water was a challenge. My muscles were cold and did not want to function the way I needed them too. I made it up the hill, eventually. The entire ride was around 30 miles with a 4.5 mile climb back into the park at the end of the ride. When I got in from the bike ride, it was time for a 1 hour run. We ran along this trail that followed the water. It was a 30 min out and 30 min back in. As I was returning from the run part, my teammates were all there at the finish line cheering every single person in. That was a GREAT feeling! Day ONE of Boot Camp completed in 6 hours and we finished with everyone cheering everyone.
Day TWO of Boot Camp was down in San Jose.
We started off in a heated pool - a great way to start your day. We swam for about an hour and then got on our bikes for a 17 mile bike ride. Off course there were two hills on the course and of course it was raining so I was soaking wet. Why were we riding more hills when the day before, there was plenty of them? Well, it was called Boot Camp for a reason. After I got in from the bike ride, it was time for a run. Yep - another 1 hour run. So, I'm thinking to myself - Ok, so far I am doing pretty well. When we got back from the run, it was time to get on the bike trainer for a spin workout. Ok, really? Yep so that's what I did. Oh but wait, there is more. After the first bike trainer workout, we went back out for another run. This time we were on a track and had strength exercises thrown in there too. My body was holding up well and I was feeling pretty good despite everything. After we were done with that track workout, we went back to the trainer for another bike trainer workout. I was starting to feel the hill workout on the trainer now and I really felt the multiple all out sprints. Believe it or not, after the second bike trainer workout, we went back to the track for another run workout. I was doing really well until we had to climb stadium stairs in the middle of the workout. That's when my knees told me off. And we had to get down on the ground for crunches - wow that was really hard to get down on the ground and just as hard to get up. Oh but we were not done yet. After the second track workout, we went back to the pool for another swim. Although, it felt great to do some drills, allow my muscles to stretch and kinda relax. After 2 swim workouts, 3 bike workouts (1 road and 2 trainer) and 3 run workouts (1 road and 2 track), and 7.5 hours later, I was DONE WITH BOOT CAMP!
I was thinking I was gonna be REALLY sore today but surprisingly my knees are the only things that are sore. Now that the weekend is over, I am very please with how my body responded to all the things I put it through. I am very much looking forward to the week ahead which is a recovery week.
Have a great week.
Cheers,
Dana
Saturday we were in Livermore at Del Valle Reservoir for Day One.
The lake is one of a few locations in the Bay Area where open water swimming is permitted. Now I know why, the water temp was around 52 degrees. Of course I was wearing a wetsuit but still, that water was COLD. When I first got in, I thought to myself - this is going to be a VERY long day. My swim coach was with us and said on the count of 3, everybody go under water. She counted 1, 2, and 3 and she was the only person to go under water. LOL - yep it was that cold. I doggie paddled for a little bit until my hands went numb, then it was time to put my face in the water. After my face stopped burning from the cold water, I was able to swim for a little bit. I do not like cold water! So, we did that for about an hour or so and it was time to get out. I was sooo excited. Our coached prepared some hot chicken noodle broth for us to drink so we could warm ourselves up from the inside out - literally. Then we headed out on our bikes. Since we were at lake level we had to climb out of the area and starting off a bike ride with a climb after being in cold water was a challenge. My muscles were cold and did not want to function the way I needed them too. I made it up the hill, eventually. The entire ride was around 30 miles with a 4.5 mile climb back into the park at the end of the ride. When I got in from the bike ride, it was time for a 1 hour run. We ran along this trail that followed the water. It was a 30 min out and 30 min back in. As I was returning from the run part, my teammates were all there at the finish line cheering every single person in. That was a GREAT feeling! Day ONE of Boot Camp completed in 6 hours and we finished with everyone cheering everyone.
Day TWO of Boot Camp was down in San Jose.
We started off in a heated pool - a great way to start your day. We swam for about an hour and then got on our bikes for a 17 mile bike ride. Off course there were two hills on the course and of course it was raining so I was soaking wet. Why were we riding more hills when the day before, there was plenty of them? Well, it was called Boot Camp for a reason. After I got in from the bike ride, it was time for a run. Yep - another 1 hour run. So, I'm thinking to myself - Ok, so far I am doing pretty well. When we got back from the run, it was time to get on the bike trainer for a spin workout. Ok, really? Yep so that's what I did. Oh but wait, there is more. After the first bike trainer workout, we went back out for another run. This time we were on a track and had strength exercises thrown in there too. My body was holding up well and I was feeling pretty good despite everything. After we were done with that track workout, we went back to the trainer for another bike trainer workout. I was starting to feel the hill workout on the trainer now and I really felt the multiple all out sprints. Believe it or not, after the second bike trainer workout, we went back to the track for another run workout. I was doing really well until we had to climb stadium stairs in the middle of the workout. That's when my knees told me off. And we had to get down on the ground for crunches - wow that was really hard to get down on the ground and just as hard to get up. Oh but we were not done yet. After the second track workout, we went back to the pool for another swim. Although, it felt great to do some drills, allow my muscles to stretch and kinda relax. After 2 swim workouts, 3 bike workouts (1 road and 2 trainer) and 3 run workouts (1 road and 2 track), and 7.5 hours later, I was DONE WITH BOOT CAMP!
I was thinking I was gonna be REALLY sore today but surprisingly my knees are the only things that are sore. Now that the weekend is over, I am very please with how my body responded to all the things I put it through. I am very much looking forward to the week ahead which is a recovery week.
Have a great week.
Cheers,
Dana
Monday, February 15, 2010
Week #14 - Run Focus Week
Getting back into my routine this week was hard after missing two workouts last weekend while I was attending my friend's wedding. Once I got back in town, I felt like crap. My body was fighting against me as I was attempting to swim, bike and run. I felt like I had no energy and it took 2 solid days before I felt like I was back on my training track. Plus, this the run portion was increased in volume and that is not my strongest part. Although I must say, I am feeling the positive and negative effects of the hill repeats. Positive is my legs feel really strong and I seem faster on flatter routes. Negative is my pelvis is not happy. My right side seems to be rotating a little bit, make my hamstrings tighter than normal and I have some pain in my gluts. I've had to increase my frequency to the chiropractor this week.
Tuesday was a swim and spin workout and they were not my best. The swim felt blah and the spin was focused on cadence and my right hamstring was just so tight, it wasn't a good workout for me.
Wednesday was running hills. I ran Oakland Ave between Grand and Highland, if you are familiar with the area. The hill was no joke. It resembled a SF hill.
Thursday was another swim and run workout and those felt great compared to the ones on Tuesday.
Friday was another run workout along with core strengthen.
Saturday had an on your own swim scheduled but I didn't get it in due to a work retreat.
Sunday was a 45 mile bike ride from Benicia to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield and back. We started at the Benicia waterfront and came close to the Valero oil pipelines, California National Guard Armory, along Suison Bay past the Mothball fleet, along the marshes with beautiful white egrets, the Jelly Belly Factory, through beautiful Suison Valley wine region, over a 100-year old historic United States bridge built in 1909, onto Historic U.S, route 40 and back to Benicia. There was also a run scheduled after the bike ride, but I had female cramps that started half way through the ride so I wasn't feeling my best when I finished the bike ride.
We have our first open water workout of the season next weekend. I'm hoping it's at least 50 degrees or more.
Have a great week.
Dana
Tuesday was a swim and spin workout and they were not my best. The swim felt blah and the spin was focused on cadence and my right hamstring was just so tight, it wasn't a good workout for me.
Wednesday was running hills. I ran Oakland Ave between Grand and Highland, if you are familiar with the area. The hill was no joke. It resembled a SF hill.
Thursday was another swim and run workout and those felt great compared to the ones on Tuesday.
Friday was another run workout along with core strengthen.
Saturday had an on your own swim scheduled but I didn't get it in due to a work retreat.
Sunday was a 45 mile bike ride from Benicia to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield and back. We started at the Benicia waterfront and came close to the Valero oil pipelines, California National Guard Armory, along Suison Bay past the Mothball fleet, along the marshes with beautiful white egrets, the Jelly Belly Factory, through beautiful Suison Valley wine region, over a 100-year old historic United States bridge built in 1909, onto Historic U.S, route 40 and back to Benicia. There was also a run scheduled after the bike ride, but I had female cramps that started half way through the ride so I wasn't feeling my best when I finished the bike ride.
We have our first open water workout of the season next weekend. I'm hoping it's at least 50 degrees or more.
Have a great week.
Dana
Monday, February 8, 2010
Week # 13
Is 13 lucky? 13 identifies a transition in my training, build phase. I'll let you know if it is lucky in later posts. Workouts in this phase will continue to work my aerobic capacity and will have some anaerobic workouts to hopefully increase my stamina and ability to race at a higher output level.
February is hill month for the run portion. What fun. My yardage in the pool is going to increase and while my time on the bike is going to increase too. Of course the coaches will throw in some faster intervals to continue to develop the heart and lungs.
Two highlights of my workouts this week were hill repeats in Piedmont (I know you are asking - why is that a highlight?) Well, it's a highlight because I completed 5 of them and my knee felt good. It kinda bothered me on the way down so I just walked back to the start. Did I mention the distance was 1/2 miles long? Yeah and it wasn't raining so that was a huge plus. My other highlight was the brick workout (biking and then immediately transition to the run) the next day. Good times. It was raining that day so my knee was kinda upset and swollen.
I was attending a friend's wedding so I missed the coached workout that focused on open water drills, as we are heading into open water in about 2 weeks. I also missed a 30 mile "hilly" bike ride that apparently went up Claremont, Grizzly Peak, through Tilden, and some other East Bay spots.
I did take in workout clothes so I was prepared to workout but the only working out was walking and going up stairs, lots of them.
Finally, my Super Bowl Fundraiser came to a close. Thanks to all those who purchased a box or two and participated. Congrats to Sedonia, Heather B., Frank N., and Suzie for winning.
Have a great week.
Dana
February is hill month for the run portion. What fun. My yardage in the pool is going to increase and while my time on the bike is going to increase too. Of course the coaches will throw in some faster intervals to continue to develop the heart and lungs.
Two highlights of my workouts this week were hill repeats in Piedmont (I know you are asking - why is that a highlight?) Well, it's a highlight because I completed 5 of them and my knee felt good. It kinda bothered me on the way down so I just walked back to the start. Did I mention the distance was 1/2 miles long? Yeah and it wasn't raining so that was a huge plus. My other highlight was the brick workout (biking and then immediately transition to the run) the next day. Good times. It was raining that day so my knee was kinda upset and swollen.
I was attending a friend's wedding so I missed the coached workout that focused on open water drills, as we are heading into open water in about 2 weeks. I also missed a 30 mile "hilly" bike ride that apparently went up Claremont, Grizzly Peak, through Tilden, and some other East Bay spots.
I did take in workout clothes so I was prepared to workout but the only working out was walking and going up stairs, lots of them.
Finally, my Super Bowl Fundraiser came to a close. Thanks to all those who purchased a box or two and participated. Congrats to Sedonia, Heather B., Frank N., and Suzie for winning.
Have a great week.
Dana
Monday, February 1, 2010
Week #12 - Recovery Week
I am 12 weeks into my training and this week was a recovery week which also meant a marker week as well. I complete markers in each of the sports so I can gauge my progress. Despite it being a recovery week, we still had some challenging workouts/marker sets.
The spin on Tuesday was focused on drills. It was a good reminder of the technical aspect of the sport. The run marker set on Wednesday was 10 X 800's. That is correct folks, I completed 2 laps around a track, 10 different times. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good after completing this. Thursday was just a quick 30 minutes on the bike trainer to keep my legs fresh. Friday was a 1000 yard swim marker along with an additional 1000+ in drills. I also completed a core workout. Saturday I was in the city for a 90 minute run along Crissy Field. It was such a lovely day to be running along the ocean. Then we worked on stretching and core strength for about an hour. We ended our day with a nutrition lecture series that focused on fuel for endurance exercise. I received some great and valuable information that will assist me in the coming weeks and months. Sunday we did a bike marker set in Orinda. I think it's one of the harder marker sets since it is a slight incline for the entire marker, but as long as I complete the same marker, I'll see my progress in time reduction.
Here's to the week ahead.
The spin on Tuesday was focused on drills. It was a good reminder of the technical aspect of the sport. The run marker set on Wednesday was 10 X 800's. That is correct folks, I completed 2 laps around a track, 10 different times. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good after completing this. Thursday was just a quick 30 minutes on the bike trainer to keep my legs fresh. Friday was a 1000 yard swim marker along with an additional 1000+ in drills. I also completed a core workout. Saturday I was in the city for a 90 minute run along Crissy Field. It was such a lovely day to be running along the ocean. Then we worked on stretching and core strength for about an hour. We ended our day with a nutrition lecture series that focused on fuel for endurance exercise. I received some great and valuable information that will assist me in the coming weeks and months. Sunday we did a bike marker set in Orinda. I think it's one of the harder marker sets since it is a slight incline for the entire marker, but as long as I complete the same marker, I'll see my progress in time reduction.
Here's to the week ahead.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Week #11
This week was full of rain, every single day. It was a wet week and my knee was swollen due to all the rain, but I was able to complete my workouts at the gym. This training week ended with a simulated triathlon in honor of Louie Bonpua, an Ironteam member who lost his battle against blood cancer.
I completed an olympic distance triathlon (a quarter of my ultimate goal). The distances were a 1500 yard swim (60 laps), a 27.4 mile bike which included Pig Farm Hill, and a 5.4 mile run. I had a great swim completed 60 laps in 34:52. I had a great bike and was able to make it up Pig Farm Hill. I felt stronger than I did two weeks ago. As soon as I made it to the top of the hill, it began to poor. I took that as a sign of I just did that! The run was good I used a run 1 mile, walk 30 secs method to complete the run portion.
In preparing for an endurance event, a number of factors are key. Two big ones are hydration and nutrition. The day/night before, I need to be eating foods that are high in carbohydrates and low in fats and proteins. I need to be drinking water constantly, every 5-10 minutes, thoughout the day. My breakfast the day of an event is two egg sandwiches on wheat bread. My hydration and nutrition for the event is carefully planned out. I eat breakfast 2-4 hours before I start. I have a water bottle for the swim. A full camelback for the bike along with 1 or 2 bottles of Perpetuem (liquid food). I also carry a pack of shot blocks (electrolyte chews) and 2 cliff or power bars for calories and energy. I have a hand water bottle for the run and carry another pack of shot blocks. After the event, I drink a recovery drink within 10 minutes of completion to enhance my glycogen storage and aid in my muscle reparation.
Why do I do all this? It's simple really, because it matters. I lost my dad to cancer and it's very important to me to make a difference, fight to improve others' lives and raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society so there can finally be a cure for cancer.
Although I never had the opportunity to meet Louie, I know him. His legacy lives within the Team in Training (TNT) family. Louie joined the Leukemia and Lymphoma's TNT as an honoree, someone surviving the disease and provides motivation to participants. Louie insisted on being a TNT member too. He began training for his first triathlon. His actions motivated many he touched, which included those he met in person, through email, visitors to his website, and even through the many news stories published about his strength and courage to battle his way through triathlons. Louie always had his smile. He even joined the Ironteam because he wanted to "show people that you can still live, even when they tell you you're going to die". He wanted to prove that there is no reason to give up hope, and he did. On August 26, 2001, Louie crossed the finish line in Penticton, British Columbia. Louie wanted to conquer the Hawaii's Ironman next. But first there was this relay that Louie had been nominated for - the Olympic Torch Relay. Louie's teammates nominated him to carry the Olympic Torch when it came through the Bay Area. Louie was hospitalized only 3 days before the Olympic Torch relay. There was no way, Louie was not going to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity. He was going to carry that torch. The doctors finally agreed to let Louie out of the hospital for this honor. Louie shocked all his fans by the torch for those .2 miles even though he was in pain from the rapid advancement of his leukemia. He was so happy holding that torch and walking the crowd towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Louie passed away a few days after the Olympic Torch Relay, fighting for every last achievement, living life to the fullest every second, and doing it his way.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/VineFIrn10/dbache
I completed an olympic distance triathlon (a quarter of my ultimate goal). The distances were a 1500 yard swim (60 laps), a 27.4 mile bike which included Pig Farm Hill, and a 5.4 mile run. I had a great swim completed 60 laps in 34:52. I had a great bike and was able to make it up Pig Farm Hill. I felt stronger than I did two weeks ago. As soon as I made it to the top of the hill, it began to poor. I took that as a sign of I just did that! The run was good I used a run 1 mile, walk 30 secs method to complete the run portion.
In preparing for an endurance event, a number of factors are key. Two big ones are hydration and nutrition. The day/night before, I need to be eating foods that are high in carbohydrates and low in fats and proteins. I need to be drinking water constantly, every 5-10 minutes, thoughout the day. My breakfast the day of an event is two egg sandwiches on wheat bread. My hydration and nutrition for the event is carefully planned out. I eat breakfast 2-4 hours before I start. I have a water bottle for the swim. A full camelback for the bike along with 1 or 2 bottles of Perpetuem (liquid food). I also carry a pack of shot blocks (electrolyte chews) and 2 cliff or power bars for calories and energy. I have a hand water bottle for the run and carry another pack of shot blocks. After the event, I drink a recovery drink within 10 minutes of completion to enhance my glycogen storage and aid in my muscle reparation.
Why do I do all this? It's simple really, because it matters. I lost my dad to cancer and it's very important to me to make a difference, fight to improve others' lives and raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society so there can finally be a cure for cancer.
Although I never had the opportunity to meet Louie, I know him. His legacy lives within the Team in Training (TNT) family. Louie joined the Leukemia and Lymphoma's TNT as an honoree, someone surviving the disease and provides motivation to participants. Louie insisted on being a TNT member too. He began training for his first triathlon. His actions motivated many he touched, which included those he met in person, through email, visitors to his website, and even through the many news stories published about his strength and courage to battle his way through triathlons. Louie always had his smile. He even joined the Ironteam because he wanted to "show people that you can still live, even when they tell you you're going to die". He wanted to prove that there is no reason to give up hope, and he did. On August 26, 2001, Louie crossed the finish line in Penticton, British Columbia. Louie wanted to conquer the Hawaii's Ironman next. But first there was this relay that Louie had been nominated for - the Olympic Torch Relay. Louie's teammates nominated him to carry the Olympic Torch when it came through the Bay Area. Louie was hospitalized only 3 days before the Olympic Torch relay. There was no way, Louie was not going to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity. He was going to carry that torch. The doctors finally agreed to let Louie out of the hospital for this honor. Louie shocked all his fans by the torch for those .2 miles even though he was in pain from the rapid advancement of his leukemia. He was so happy holding that torch and walking the crowd towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Louie passed away a few days after the Olympic Torch Relay, fighting for every last achievement, living life to the fullest every second, and doing it his way.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/VineFIrn10/dbache
Monday, January 18, 2010
Week #10
I was all excited for a great week of workouts, especially after getting up Pig Farm hill the week prior. The scheduled showed a three swims, two spins, two runs, three strength/core, and a 35 mile bike ride.
It's amazing how I can conquer a 6 hour workout in one day, and can't handle cramps. Menstrual cramps put me out of commission this week. I was able to complete a swim and a spin, but cramps got the best of me on other days. :-(
Tomorrow is the start of a new week and I'm looking forward to getting my workouts in.
Have a great week.
Dana
It's amazing how I can conquer a 6 hour workout in one day, and can't handle cramps. Menstrual cramps put me out of commission this week. I was able to complete a swim and a spin, but cramps got the best of me on other days. :-(
Tomorrow is the start of a new week and I'm looking forward to getting my workouts in.
Have a great week.
Dana
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Week #9
This week was a pivotal week for me and the Ironteam because we passed our first recommitmend date and reaffirmed the commitment to beat cancer by finding a cure. My connection to the cause is my dad as he pasted away from leukemia on December 4, 2006.
My dad definitely helped me this week with some of the workouts. We are starting a new level of fitness and moving into stage 2 of training (there are 3 stages).
The workouts this week included a spin where we focused on progressive speed work.
We got up to 100 rpms per minute (that's moving your legs VERY quickly in one minute). As we are training to build endurance, this technique is an alternative option to build endurance in a short period of time. I also completed 2 swims this week and 2 runs, along with a 30 mile bike ride. Oh and let's not forget about getting the core strong!
My coached workout on Saturday started off with a 30 mile bike ride, which was a preview for the Louie Triathlon (a triathlon named in a memory of a past TNT participant). I will be doing this same course on January 24th in the Louie Tri. We started in Pleasant Hill and road over to the Three Bears (if any of you are familiar with that bike route - it's named that way for a reason - hills) and this bike route involved going up and over Pig Farm Hill. There are 2 hills that are connected and the elevation grade is 8-10%. I wasn't sure my knee was gonna let me go up it, but with the help of my dad - I made it up PIG FARM HILL!!!
After 2.5 hours of bike riding, it was time to get in the pool. Now normally you swim first in a tri so my arms/shoulders felt very funny when I initially started swimming after biking. It took me about half way through the workout for my body to adjust and feel good. We did a number of ladder workouts where we do 2 laps at a low intensity and build up to more laps at a higher intensity and come back down.
My coach was giving me some feedback on grabbing the most amount of water by really extending my right hand and as I was listening to him, I saw a bee in the water. I gently cupped it and move it into the gutter. While the bee must not have made it into the gutter because when I put my left arm on the wall, the damn bee stung me! I had the entire stinger and the bee's butt in my arm. One of my teammates was able to get the stinger out. I haven't been stung in a long time and that hurt. Believe it or not, that was the most painful thing that happened during the entire 5 hour workout.
I continued swimming uptil it was time to get out of the pool and change for core work. We did a variety of sit-ups, planks, and other fun stuff (not that fun).
My run this morning was a trail run on Strawberry Creek Canyon. It was such a beautiful morning and it was my first time all the way up the trail. Exciting times!
I have a huge red circle around where I got stung. I took some meds that will help with the itching, redness and swelling. I took a pic so I'll see if I can upload it.
Have a great week!
Dana
My dad definitely helped me this week with some of the workouts. We are starting a new level of fitness and moving into stage 2 of training (there are 3 stages).
The workouts this week included a spin where we focused on progressive speed work.
We got up to 100 rpms per minute (that's moving your legs VERY quickly in one minute). As we are training to build endurance, this technique is an alternative option to build endurance in a short period of time. I also completed 2 swims this week and 2 runs, along with a 30 mile bike ride. Oh and let's not forget about getting the core strong!
My coached workout on Saturday started off with a 30 mile bike ride, which was a preview for the Louie Triathlon (a triathlon named in a memory of a past TNT participant). I will be doing this same course on January 24th in the Louie Tri. We started in Pleasant Hill and road over to the Three Bears (if any of you are familiar with that bike route - it's named that way for a reason - hills) and this bike route involved going up and over Pig Farm Hill. There are 2 hills that are connected and the elevation grade is 8-10%. I wasn't sure my knee was gonna let me go up it, but with the help of my dad - I made it up PIG FARM HILL!!!
After 2.5 hours of bike riding, it was time to get in the pool. Now normally you swim first in a tri so my arms/shoulders felt very funny when I initially started swimming after biking. It took me about half way through the workout for my body to adjust and feel good. We did a number of ladder workouts where we do 2 laps at a low intensity and build up to more laps at a higher intensity and come back down.
My coach was giving me some feedback on grabbing the most amount of water by really extending my right hand and as I was listening to him, I saw a bee in the water. I gently cupped it and move it into the gutter. While the bee must not have made it into the gutter because when I put my left arm on the wall, the damn bee stung me! I had the entire stinger and the bee's butt in my arm. One of my teammates was able to get the stinger out. I haven't been stung in a long time and that hurt. Believe it or not, that was the most painful thing that happened during the entire 5 hour workout.
I continued swimming uptil it was time to get out of the pool and change for core work. We did a variety of sit-ups, planks, and other fun stuff (not that fun).
My run this morning was a trail run on Strawberry Creek Canyon. It was such a beautiful morning and it was my first time all the way up the trail. Exciting times!
I have a huge red circle around where I got stung. I took some meds that will help with the itching, redness and swelling. I took a pic so I'll see if I can upload it.
Have a great week!
Dana
Monday, January 4, 2010
Super Bowl Fundraiser
I am coordinating a fundraiser around the Super Bowl. Now, you do not need to know anything about football to participate. All you need to do is purchase a box for $10 from me and you will be eligible to win up to $400, $100 each quarter.
The boxes are numbered 1-100 so you can email me directly at dbache@berkeley.edu and tell me the box number you would like to purchase. I'll reserve the box for you until payment is made. AcceptedpPayment is cash or check.
Cheers,
Dana
The boxes are numbered 1-100 so you can email me directly at dbache@berkeley.edu and tell me the box number you would like to purchase. I'll reserve the box for you until payment is made. AcceptedpPayment is cash or check.
Cheers,
Dana
Week #8 Recovery Week
Week #8 of training was spent in Tahoe. I was planning to use skiing and snowshoeing as crosstraining events, but everything did not work out as planned. The day before I left for Tahoe, I started having some sinus trouble. Once I was in Tahoe, my sinuses were not happy. I decided to rest a few days instead of skiing. I did venture out a day for a snowshoeing adventure which was alot of fun. At the end of the day, I had four blisters - at least they were symmetrical on both feet. I decided to rest for the duration of my time in Tahoe so I could be well enough to attend our coached workout yesterday.
We started our workout in the pool. We were swimming for about 90 minutes and the feedback I received this week was to focus on swimming with my chest down. I'll be sure to pay attention to this as it will bring my hips up. Then we had a quick transition to the bike for our road bike ride. It was a lovely day for a bike ride. Alittle windy at times, but just lovely. We road for about 19 miles and completed the Highland Loop. After the bike, we had another quick transition to the run. We were supposed to run for 30 minutes, but since I had the blisters, I walked 3 miles instead of running for time. Once I got back from the walk, it was time to strengthen my core. We did a number of core exercises, some of which were fun and some just hurt. All together, it was a 5 hour workout.
We started our workout in the pool. We were swimming for about 90 minutes and the feedback I received this week was to focus on swimming with my chest down. I'll be sure to pay attention to this as it will bring my hips up. Then we had a quick transition to the bike for our road bike ride. It was a lovely day for a bike ride. Alittle windy at times, but just lovely. We road for about 19 miles and completed the Highland Loop. After the bike, we had another quick transition to the run. We were supposed to run for 30 minutes, but since I had the blisters, I walked 3 miles instead of running for time. Once I got back from the walk, it was time to strengthen my core. We did a number of core exercises, some of which were fun and some just hurt. All together, it was a 5 hour workout.
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