Race Photos

Here's me getting ready for the race on Saturday night.








Here is the start of my swim - my group is in the pick caps - the stampeding 40+ group are in orange.

Here I am transitioning from swim to bike

I am a triathlete... sort of

It's race day! I woke up at 4:45 am this morning to prep for the race. I tried to eat a bagel with peanut butter, but felt like I was going to throw it up, so I got down about a third. I was pretty anxious about the race. I got dressed, filled my water bottles with water and electrolytes and headed to the lobby to meet the team. From there we rode together to the transition area to get ready to race. The cool thing about being up and out so early was that I got see a fabulous Hawaiian sunrise! I was given #419 as my race number and found my transition spot with the same number and got all set-up. I decorated my bike with a flower lei I bought last night to remind myself that no matter how hard the race got, that I was still in Hawaii. Plus, it looked cute. We took a team photo under the finish line sign and then it was time for the race to begin!

The first wave started at 7:30, which consisted of elite racers - basically the pros. Then there were 2 waves of men. Then it was my turn - the 18-39 year old women. The waves were started at 3 minute intervals. There were about 100 swimmers in my group. I stayed in the back so I wouldn't get caught up in the group and I could swim at my slow speed. My plan of attack was to swim until I got tired and then float on my back to catch my breath and do it again. It would have been a good plan, except that when I was floating on my back to catch my breath, the last wave took off and I was stampeded by the 40+ women. I was kicked and swam over and basically panicked. So, a nice boy on a surf board rescued me and brought me in to shore. I was pretty disappointed in myself, but there really wasn't a way for me to rest through the group and I wasn't a good enough swimmer to swim with the front of that pack when they came barrelling through. So, I sat at the end of the swim for about an hour - when I thought I would have finished the swim - and then ran through to the transition area to get my bike.

The bike was easy to find as it was the only one left in my row. I changed from my swim stuff to my bike gear and set off. As I was heading out, the first of the elite racers was already heading back to the transition area (yes, he swam 1 mile and biked 25 in about 1 hour and 15 minutes) and nearly bowled me over! The first half of the bike ride was really fun! I was riding fast and passing other riders. My teammates who were on the other side of the highway coming back yelled encouragement and I was joking with the volunteers along the way. There were horned goats eating the grass along side the road too. It took me 50 minutes to reach the turnaround point. I was in great shape. Then the wind picked up - and kept getting stronger - and I was heading right into it. It took my 1 1/2 hours to complete the last 12 miles. It sucked! The wind was so strong that I had to pedal hard downhill to keep going. There was no coasting, no resting, no volunteer joking - there was some singing (Meet the Flintstones and the theme from Sesame Street - don't ask me why) and a bit of cussing. The last half of the ride was brutal. But, I finished, so it was time to run.

I transitioned into my run gear, grabbed a full water bottle and started on the lava path for the run. I walked a bit, then ran and hit mile 1 and 2 pretty comfortably. I ran through the resort, down a trail to the beach and then hit mile 5 - hmmm. Where were miles 3 and 4? I was following the runners in front of me. Did I just miss the signs? Anyway, I felt really good at that point and decided I surely I could run the last mile, so I did. Right to the finish line with a 4:17 finish time. I felt great for finishing (we just won't mention the swim part). But a 10k in 45 minutes? How could I have shaved off 15 minutes from my best 10k time? It ends up that this is pretty easy when you miss 2 miles of the course. It ends up I had turned too early (as did the runners in front me) and we missed the middle part of the run course. So, today I finished a triathlon consisting of a 1/10 mile swim, a 25 mile bike (in a wind tunnel) and a 4.2 mile run. Still, a pretty good race if you ask me.

So, would I do it again? No chance! I am a much better team mom and tailgater than an athlete. But I'm glad I had this amazing experience and I really appreciate all of you who supported me and got me here! Thank you!!

Bicycle Grease & Sea Urchin Spines

Thursday was a busy travel day of missed flights and delays. But I finally arrived at the Waikoloa Hilton just North of Kona. There were about 20 teammates including my coach on my flights, so the swim preview was cancelled due to the late arrival. We met at 7:00pm in a ballroom to assemble our bikes that were shipped here last week. This was a chore! There were 60 teammates all assembling at the same time. Every part had to be greased before it was added to the bike. It was pretty mechanical - especially for those of us who are mechanically challenged. After about 3 hours, my bike passed the safety inspection. Yippee! Time for bed!

This morning was the course preview. I met my team at 9:00am and we rode the short distance to the swim course. I had been warned about the coral in the bay several times. Don't stand on the coral or you will get cut. I did a fabulous job of avoiding the coral. Unfortunately I was not warned about the attack sea urchins and ended up with a big toe full of black sea urchin spines that not only hurt like heck, but leave a lovely purple dye under your skin where the poison is residing. I have now found my local Kona market and purchased peroxide and neosporine to doctor my injury. After the swim, we rode our bikes about 10 miles along the Queen K highway. I know I tend to exaggerate at times. But this is no exaggeration - the wind here was unbelievable! I was leaning to the side on my bike to keep straight because the wind was blowing me over. And heading into the wind, I'm pretty sure there were 3-4 times when my bike stood still, even thought I was pedaling. I have never experienced wind like this, other than maybe the typhoon in Japan in the early 1990s and I was inside the whole time then.

So the plan for tomorrow is to swim again in the morning, avoiding all sea creatures. Then we pick up our race info at noon and have a mandatory team meeting for dinner. Then the race is on Sunday. I'll post again when I get a chance. Thanks for all of your support!

All packed for Hawaii

I've packed everything that can possibly fit in my suitcase. I decided to carry on my swim goggles and my running shoes - just in case... I'll let you know how it's going tomorrow when I get to Kona!

Final Prep - Only 2 days to Hawaii!

I am in the final preparation stages for the triathlon. I leave on Thursday (yes, the day after tomorrow!) and the race is on Sunday! For me, the final preparation consists of choosing which sundresses and sandals to pack, buying sunscreen, and mapping out Kona shopping. Let's face it, the bike is packed and shipped and I'm not going to improve on my swim or run, so I might as well enjoy it. Here's how the Lavaman experience will happen:

Thursday 3/26 - Fly to Kona, Hawaii. Get settled into hotel. Meet Team in lobby to run to the swim course at "A Bay". Run 1.5 miles (the last part of the run course) to the bay and swim with the sea turtles. After dinner, the Team takes over one of the hotel ballrooms to unpack and reassemble our bikes. Enjoy drink with paper umbrella and slice of fruit.

Friday 3/27 - Ride the newly assembles bikes back to "A Bay" where we will preview the transition area, then swim the swim course, then ride 12 miles of the bike course. After that we'll return to the transition area and ride our bikes over the first 4 miles of the run course. Then, we return to the hotel to store the bikes and run 2 miles of the run course. Then, I'll enjoy several drinks with paper umbrellas!

Saturday 3/28 - We choose which course to work on - swim, bike or run. Then we pick-up all of race info and officially check in for the race. That evening there is a team meeting and dinner.

Sunday 3/29 - It's race day! I'll be up by 4:30 am (if I sleep at all). Eat breakfast and ride with the team to get the transition area set up by 5:30 am. The race officially starts at 7:30am. I hope to be done by 12:30pm and enjoying a post race cocktail by 12:31.

I'll be blogging from Hawaii - hopefully with photos. Thanks for all of your support for the past 6 months! I couldn't have made it this far without you!

New Team Photo

Here's a new team photo from Saturday's practice triathlon. I'm in the middle of the middle row with the blue hat. I'll post more as folks send them to me.

Practice Triathlon - 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run

Yesterday morning was our practice triathlon in Encinitas. We arrived before sunrise to get our transition area set-up. You have to hang your bike on a rack and get your bike and run gear organized right next to the bike - your socks and shoes, bike helmet, running hat, sunglasses, water bottle, etc. Then we got in our wetsuits and took some team photos. The race started on the beach, where the team ran into the water to the 1st kayak, turned to swim parallel to the beach for 1/2 mile to the next kayak and then swam back in. Then we ran from the beach to the parking lot where our transition area was set, stripped off the wetsuit, got our bike stuff on and set out on the bike. The bike was south on the 101 for 6 miles and then back. Then the bikes were racked and we set out on the run - 2 loops of 1 1/2 miles. We each were assigned a number so every time we started and finished an event we called out our number so that we have times for each event and transition.

So here's how the event went for me...
Body Marking - Your race number is written on your hand and your arm in permanent black ink. Your age is written on your calf. This is so when a 63 year old woman passes you on the run you know you need to run faster. I scrubbed and scrubbed after the workout, but I am still branded with a huge 37 on the back of my leg. In Hawaii I am assuming this will also leave a lovely tan mark.

Swimming - I ran into the water to start the race and instantly the waves were huge. I tried to dive underneath them, but kept getting pushed back. After a few minutes, I was really frustrated. My coach came over and tried to help me get through the waves, but once I was flipped by a wave even he agreed that maybe I should skip the swim. And, by that point the first swimmer were getting out of the water. So, I ran up the beach with them to the bike transition. (I was not the only one to skip the swim due to the waves)

Bike - I did well on the bike. My new water bottle allowed me to fuel without stopping. I went faster with all gears now working. I did swallow a small bug.

Run - I felt really good on the run. The only negative was that I had to pee so bad by then that it felt like some pee might leak out if I ran hard. I kept squirting my shorts with my water bottle just in case :)

Except for the swim part, I feel like I did really well and had fun doing it. I'll post my times and photos when I have them. 2 weeks from today and I'll be doing the real thing!

Update

Yes, I'm lagging on blog updates. Sorry... Since the last blog I've run a 9 minute mile at the 1-mile time trial, skipped an ocean swim since I was worn out from Las Vegas, and purchased a water bottle that sits between the bike handle bars so I can drink and keep both hands on the bike - genius! Tomorrow is our practice triathlon and our last big workout before the event (that's what I'm now calling the race, an event - much less pressure that way). We're meeting before sunrise to get set-up and the workout starts at 7:30. We'll swim 1/2 mile, ride 12 miles and run 3 miles. That is just about half the Lavaman distances. I am hoping to do this workout in less than 2 1/2 hours. I am REALLY hoping to make that time. The event in Hawaii is twice the distance and will be about 90 degrees, so I'll need to more than double the time of this workout to project my time at the Lavaman event. I don't want to exercise in 90 degree heat for more than 5 hours :) I'm pretty sure all of the beer will be gone by then. I'll post a new entry after the workout and let you know how it went. Thanks for your support!

Sunday Swim Update

Yesterday was another ocean swim workout. The weather was perfect - so sunny & warm - and there were absolutely no waves - yippee! The workout was to swim out from the beach to a kayak, then across to another kayak, then back and forth between the kayaks until you were tired and then swam back to the beach. I'm not sure of the distance between kayaks or to the beach, but it seemed really far. I'm not a fan of swimming in the ocean when you can't see the kayak you're swimming towards. I started out ok - made it all the way to the first kayak. I was pretty tired through. Then, it got rough as I lost my new nose plug! Yep, this one lasted 1/2 a workout. This time I bought one that floated, but it didn't really help as the ocean took it away faster than I can swim... So, I swam the rest of the way with my head out of the water. I much prefer having my head out of the water, but it is much slower. My coach had me try the back stroke, which I liked, but I don't go very straight :( I swam for about 35 minutes before I had had enough. The good news is that I moved forward the whole time. The bad news, is that the mile is only 27 days away!

Before the swim I went to a refresher tire changing clinic. I am betting the more I practice my tire changing the less chance I have of getting a flat during the race. I feel confident in my ability to change either the front or rear tire though, so bring on the nails! One of the mentors also fixed one of my gears that was sticking, so hopefully I can go faster now.

The workout schedule is pretty compact now that there is less than a month remaining. Actually, we have a week of no workouts before the race and our bikes get packed and shipped on 3/18, so I actually only have about 2 weeks to get my butt in gear. So, I'll be swimming tonight, running tomorrow, biking Wednesday, running Thursday and hopefully swimming again on Friday. I'll miss the Saturday workout, but will be at the next ocean swim on Sunday. Phew! Thanks for all of your support!

I am officially registered for the Lavaman!

I am officially registered for the Lavaman Triathlon. The start list was posted on their web site today. I got really nervous seeing my name on the list today!

Here is the official Lavaman start list for females 35-39. Your age is calculated as of December 2009 (goodie) so almost all of us are listed as a year older. As you can see, out of 60 participants in my group, I am listed #60. All of the other San Diego participants are from my Team in Training team. http://lavamantriathlon.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32:start-list-female-&catid=35:entries&Itemid=32