Only 4 weeks until race day!

With only 4 weeks left to prepare for my triathlon, I've decided to really get serious about my training - go to every workout, work at each one with race intensity, eat well, etc. Last night was a track workout, where we ran 600 meters 8 times with 1 minute rest in between. Then we ran one 400 meter lap to complete 3 miles. My times were better than projected, but at this point of the race prep, most of the sucky people have dropped out. Unfortunately, that makes me the suckiest most of the time. But, I am still improving, so I can't ask for much more. There is also no way I can compete with 5 minute milers - no matter how much training I have!

This morning I went to the pool for some laps. It started like any other morning at the pool - I had no idea of the tragedy that awaited me... When swimming laps, I alternate between wearing fins and not. Only 5 minutes into my swimming, I was grabbing the fins from the pool deck, when I accidentally knocked my beloved nose plug right into the pool! I tried to grab it, but was too late. To make matters worse, my lane was 12 feet deep! I could barely see the cute little piece of plastic resting on the bottom. If it had been 6 or even 8 feet I would have dove down and retrieved it. But 12 feet is more than twice my height, so that's where the nose plug stayed. It sleeps under 12 feet of water. The rest of my swimming was horrible! So horrible, that I ended up grabbing a kickboard and kicking with my face out the water for about 30 minutes. If only I could figure out how to swim the race that way! So, that's the latest. Thanks for your support!

Coronado - 32 Miles Bike + 3 Mile Run

I can't believe I only have 4 more Saturday workouts before Lavaman! Yikes! This morning the team met in Coronado for a brick workout which is supposed to be conditions pretty similar to Hawaii. We biked along the Silver Strand for 7+ miles where we turned around and rode back to the Community Center. Then we turned around and did it all again. It was a time trial so all riders started in 15 second intervals. I was #20 of 37 going out. I was 37th at the end of the bike ride. Yes, dead last. BUT, my time was a few minutes over 2 hours, which is faster than I've been riding, so I think just the really fast bikers showed up for practice today. I did pass lots of people on the ride, just not anyone doing a time trial... Anyway, it was good practice for the windy conditions we'll have in Hawaii. Plus it was good practice for refueling on the bike (taking in electrolytes & carbs). It's a no-no to put too much in your stomach right before or during the run. So you have to get your nutrition while riding the bike. After the bike, it was time to run. We ran past the Boathouse Restaurant and to the main entrance of the Coronado Golf Course. That was 1 1/2 miles and we turned around and ran back to the community center. The first 1/2 to 3/4 miles of the run was really hard. My legs were pretty tight from the bike, especially my calves. As I ran past my car I thought about just hopping in for a quick nap - who would know? But, I toughed it out and by the last mile I felt really strong. I was #36 at the end of the time trial. I beat out the speed-walker on the run. That's not a joke :) My total time was around 170 minutes, so under 3 hours. When the official times are posted, I'll let you know. Since there hasn't been any rain in the past few days, I should be able to get into the ocean tomorrow. Stay tuned for Kristin's ocean swim update tomorrow! Thanks for your support!

25 miles Bike + 6 miles Run

My legs are already sore, which means I'm in for a world of hurt tomorrow morning. The team was meeting at Lake Hodges at 7:00 am for a brick workout - which I decided was a bit too early for me. So, I headed down the street to the 56 bike path for my own brick workout. I decided to tackle the same distances I'll be racing in the triathlon - 25 miles on the bike and 6.2 miles running. It was a bit chilly this morning - 48 degrees when I started. I rode 7.5 miles to the the end of the bike path and then back. I turned around and headed back out for 5 miles and then came back to complete the 25 miles. Heading west on the bike path has lots of downhills, and I pedaled through most and reached 20-25 mph a few times. And my mantra of "I will not die" turned into "I feel the need for speed". No fear today folks! After the ride, I loaded the bike into my car and started out for the run. It was warmer by at least 10 degrees by then. My legs already hurt as I started running, so I knew it would be a slow run. I walked any uphill I came to on the 3 miles out. When I reached the 3 mile mark I decided to just get it done and ran about 2.5 - 2.75 miles and walked the rest of the way (there are streets to cross, steep hills to walk, so it's a good time to cool down). The whole workout, including the long transition to put the bike in the car, took about 3 hours and 20 minutes. So, at least I know I can do the bike and run portion of the race. It was tough, but with 6 weeks left to train I think I'll be ready to post a decent time in Hawaii. I'm going to go put Tiger Balm on my legs now... Thanks for your support!

Kristin's Brick Workout

So today the usual Saturday workout was up in the air due to the weather - so I created my own brick workout. My intention was to ride 25 miles on the bike and then run 6 miles, the same as the triathlon. Unfortunately, the 56 bike path is only 7.5 miles. So, I rode 15 miles and then ran 6. It rained a few times, but nothing too bad. The worst part was the rain drops on my sunglasses, making me a menace to the other riders. I felt good though.

The ocean swim scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled due to the high bacteria count after the rain. I'll be in the pool 3 days next week though, so I shouldn't be too far behind.

If anyone has any fundraising ideas, please send me an email - I still need to raise $2000 and am running out of ideas! Thanks for your support!

An Ode to My Nose Plug

Nose plug, oh nose plug

I do love you so

You keep the water out of my nose

when I'm swimming so slow

Nose plug, oh nose plug

You've shown me a new way

To avoid burning nostrils

From chlorine and salt in the bay

Nose plug, oh nose plug

With You on my face

You make swimming seem easy

So I can finish my race!

3rd Ocean Swim

This morning was my 3rd ocean swim. The waves were calm, so I was confidant about being able to swim all the way to the kayak and back. Dan brought the boys to the beach to see me swim too, so I had my cheering squad there to support me. Getting the wetsuit on is no longer an issue. (Baby steps.) Getting into the water was fine too. As I was getting in the boys were waving and saying "Bye Mom!"

The water seemed much colder today, but the air was warm and the sun was out, so maybe that had something to do with it. Anyway, I started swimming with mentor Gretchen and then the negative thoughts started. I don't get very far before I am just so tired. And in the ocean, with no wall or ground to rest on, even resting takes work. So I swam a bit and stopped, swam a bit and stopped until I reached the kayak. I was exhausted! I hung onto the kayak for a bit and then we started out for a 2nd kayak that was a ways away. I didn't really want to, but Gretchen kept encouraging me. She'd say just 10 strokes and then you can rest. Then we'd do 12 the next time, etc. I think my main issue with swimming is that I can't really get into a groove. When I'm running and get tired, I pick a distance, a time, or a landmark to get to before I can stop. Then I pick another one and keep going. On the bike, to get up a hill, I count the pedal strokes, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, to concentrate on something other than how much further up the hill I need to go. I don't have that type of distraction yet to get me through the swim. So anyway, as we were moving at a snail's pace to the 2nd kayak, the rest of the team was swimming back towards us to go back to the 1st kayak. At that point, we turned around to go back to the 1st kayak as well. I kept thinking, "How in the world am I going to be able to swim a mile in Hawaii? This is pointless!" But Gretchen made me keep going and we reached the coach on the 1st kayak again. He told us that the swim is the shortest distance we need to go in the race and that my only thought should be how can I finish this quickly. The longer I'm in the water, the more calories I'm burning, so I need to keep moving forward - no matter what. By that point I was so tired of swimming, and my legs were tired too (I did run a 10K yesterday!). But I couldn't convince the coach to let me hang on to the kayak as he paddled back to shore, so I had no choice. I swam back to the beach. When I could finally touch the bottom, my legs were like jello and I couldn't really stand. As I walked out of the water, the boys were cheering for me with their arms in the air in triumph. It was pretty cool. They didn't know that I had almost quit at least 20 times. They were proud of me. In total I probably covered about 1/4 mile. Which is WAY more than I have swam (swum?) before. I still have a lot of work to do. But I still have 2 months right?

Here I am the boys after my swim

The white kayak is the roving coach offering encouragement or threatening to play whack-a-mole with his paddles (depending on the amount of whining). The 1st kayak I swam to is the one you can kind of see in the distance.

Thanks for your support with the Super Bowl Squares fundraiser. We raised $544 for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.