Lake Washington ride

Today I got the opportunity to ride around Lake Washington - something I had wanted to do all summer. The ride started off at 7am at Starbucks in Bridle Trails where we met up with Jill. We took off around 7:15am and started with the south end of the lake working our way up north and back around. I'm definitely the rookie of the team, but everyone has to start somewhere right? All that practicing all summer paid off as I was able to keep up for the most part - still need work on climbing hills. I was proud of myself - 56 miles...that's a half Ironman distance bike ride!

I was trying out new nutrition - CarboPro and did really well with it. I put one scoop into my Gatorade and 2 scoops into my CamelBak with water. This seemed to give me enough calories during the ride. However the last 10 miles were the toughest...we ended the ride with a nice hill climb up Old Redmond road - phew! According to online cycling calculators, I burned over 2000 calories on that bike ride.

So what's up with the bike picture? Well, I've been eyeing this bike all summer. I told myself that if my half Ironman training (I was planning on doing Lake Steven's next year) goes well that I would get this bike! Now I have even more motivation to train hard!

Chronicles of an overtrained triathlete

Happy Labour Day everyone! Yesturday I took the day off to give myself a nice 4 day weekend. However, I didn't rest - it was all labour for me! The alarm clock was off at 5:30am so that I can meet Guy for our usual 7am open water swim at Idylwood. Coach Josh told me that 2 laps of all 4 buoys would be close to an Olympic distance swim. So that was the goal I had set out to do - 2 laps of all 4 buoys. I got to Idylwood on time, but Guy was late - usually I'm the one that is late. It took me a million years to put on my wetsuit and by that time, Guy had arrived. We got into the water and proceeded to swim. He has never swam the distance either so we went buoy to buoy as we needed to practice sighting as well. It was definitely a long swim for me but I am glad that I got through it. After the swim, I had PT at 8:30am where Shelly made me do all these squat jumps and butt burners. When I got out I rushed back to Idylwood and continued my brick...a nice bike around Lake Sammamish. That bike was really hard as I didn't do so well with nutrition so I was tired. I'm still no comfortable with pulling my water bottle out of my cage while riding...however I did manage to go down on my drop bars! So I'm hoping that one day out of the blue, I will feel comfortable with my bike handling such that I can drink and ride!

Today I am thinking about taking a rest - a little shopping and time with good friends. My knees are a little achy from yesturday. The rest of my body is noticeably fatigued. However, another part of me is toying with doing 20 minutes of hill repeats up Juanita Woodinville way. Tomorrow we have a 56 mile bike around Lake Washington with Jill. I can't wait to do this ride as I've always wanted to ride around the lake.

My Olympic dream

So the Danskin has come and gone with little fanfare. Now I am concentrating on my preparations for my first Olympic distance triathlon. I have not committed to it yet because I need to see how my knees are feeling. But I will make an effort to train for this. I am NOT in running form right now. I have not run in 3 months so I can't expect much. I know I can run 5 km because I did that at the Danskin. But can I run 10 km after a 1 mile swim and 40 km bike without my knees failing on me? This is still up in the air.

I must admit that being able to complete an Olympic is something that I had dreamed about about doing all year. So do I go after this dream or not?

Danskin Race Report

Today was the day of the big race - and I mean quite literally as there are 4000 women registered for the Danskin triathlon.
Pre-race
Woke up to the sound of thunder and lightening at 4am. My thought was, "Oh no! The Danskin is cursed!" Last year it poured.
I had a bowl of cereal and 1 hard boiled egg for breakfast then left the house at around 4:30am. I had packed everything the night before so I was all set to go.

SWIM: 1/2 mile
This was challenging. The wave was so huge - like at least 100 women. I placed myself too close to the front and when the count down ended, it was madness! I was shoved around, pushed and kicked. Only when the mass of women were ahead of me, could I really start to swim. I passed the first buoy without incident, but then had trouble seeing the next buoy - it was so far away! I felt like I was swimming all over the place. This half mile swim took me 20 minutes - a little longer than I had hoped. After the race, I heard that a lady almost drowned. She was taken to Habourview and put on life support. She is recovering now, thank God!
Time: 00:20:39

T1:
I made it a goal of mine to improve on my transitions from Issaquah. I ripped off my wetsuit coming out of the water and ran to transition. I had used Body Glide on my ankles and my arms so that I could rip off my wetsuit - which helped. I didn't put socks on or gloves for my bike. Still with all that, it took me 3:17 to transition. It was a pretty long run to transition from the water, so most people had poor T1 tmes.

BIKE: 12.4 miles
My bike went really well - they closed off I-90 for our bike portion. I left transition very light, not even a water bottle. Because I was in one of the early waves there weren't many people on the road, so I was able to reach top speeds with not too many issues. The steep climb up to I-90 was open so that was not a bottleneck for me. But coming back, that tiny on ramp was packed. A few people had crashed there. My average speed was 20 MPH.
Time: 00:36:03



T2:
After my good bike, I ran to transition, racked my bike, put on my socks and shoes and took off. I was trying out new nutrition, Nuun tablets...this would end up being a bad decision. You should never try anything new on race day. This transition took just under 3 minutes.

Run: 3.1 miles
The first mile of the run was hard as my quads and hamstrings were tight from all the lactic acid build up from my bike. Not only that, but my tummy was not feeling so well. I realized after the race that carbonated drinks don't do so well for some people. I started off around 10 MPH and eventually speed up to 8 MPH but there was not enough road left to make up for my slow start.
Time: 00:28:26

Overall: 481 out of 3710
Time: 01:31:20

Danskin T-2 days

Yesturday in swim class we did timed 1000 yards (914.4 meters) and it took me 21m 15seconds to complete it. This is way better than I expected. I'm starting to get a little nervous about the race because it is a half mile swim and I will be surrounded by hundreds of people. Also, I'm hoping that my knees will hold up during the run. In any case, the Danskin is not your typical triathlon, very supportive and non competitive. It is the world's largest triathlon for that reason and many of the participants are cancer survivors. I look forward to it. Now if I can only figure out the logistics of how to get to the race I will be set.

On another note, I expressed interest to race the Black Diamond Olympic triathlon in September. I spoke with my coaches and they think I can do it - of course that's what they are suppose to say right? They are in the process of putting together a training plan for me for the next few weeks leading up to the race. This means I will need to put in a lot of open water time as the swim is 1 mile!

Weekend in the Olympics

Our annual camping trip this year was in the Olympic National Park where we stayed at Hurricane Ridge. Though we did bring our bikes, we didn't get to ride them because it rained the first day and we hiked the second day. Well at least I got some activity - about 8 miles of hiking. However I doubt that it made up for our level of gluttony. I had tons of smores!

We got back today at 3pm, thus I decided to repent but cycling to my boot camp workout where we did our usual movement preparation, strength training and a 4 mile hilly run, and finally I biked back home which meant I had to climb Juanita Woodinville Way hill. I did all this but not without some minor feet injuries. I have 2 blisters and 1 purple toe nail.

You can get there... if you are willing to do the work.

One year ago, I was a different woman. My body was weak, I had no stamina and I was very uncomfortable in my skin.
What I now have come to realize is life is a journey of learning to love yourself first and then extending that love to others.
So I did just that - I started loving myself more. I started eating healthy and set fitness goals for myself. I knew that my goals had to be challenging in order to be fulfilling. One day I saw Coach Michael in front of the ProClub advertising the triathletes club - the rest is history. It was like the universe knew what I needed and provided it to me. Triathlon? I can't swim to save my life, I don't run nor do I cycle. Something inside convinced me to do it. Six months later, at the lowest weight I have ever been since I can remember, I can comfortably swim a mile, cycle at high speeds and run miles! And what I know for sure is this: whatever your goals are, you can get there if you are willing to do the work. Once you have decide what you want, make a commitment and watch life begin to move forward.

I'm running now!

My knees were feeling pretty good last night so I made the decision to run in boot camp. And guess what? We ran almost 4 miles and I was the fastest chick. Yeah! I was so happy after that run. The first couple miles was tough since I had not run in 3 months. I iced immediately when I got back to the club and aside from very minor achy-ness, they were feeling pretty good. I also swam this morning and I didn't modify the workout (use the pull buoy). We did 3 x 200, 3 x 250 then 1 x 500 today. Coach Michael said I didn't need to use any fins, which is awesome. Now if I can only get my butt into the lake.

Federal Escape

There is a race this weekend and I really want to do it. But I'm not sure I should because my knees are still not healed yet. The swim is only 1/4 mile, bike 12 miles and the run is 3 miles. Man that's a really short bike. Should I go for it? Thoughts? If I reinjure myself even more than I risk the Danskin which is the race I am looking most forward to doing. I can always WOG (walk-jog) the run portion worst case right?

http://www.trifreak.com/fe-course.htm

Toughen up, buttercup!

One thing that you immediately realize when you become a triathlete is how to overcome your fears and insecurities. Don't complain, just close your eyes and dive in - literally! Last week Coach Michael taught us how to dive entry into the water off the diving blocks. On one of my dives I didn't tuck my head up properly and got a bit of whip-lash. Now my neck has been sore the past few days and I've been losing sleep because of it. This caused me to sleep in and miss my swim class this morning...pooh. A couple of days ago on a bike ride, Jared was trying to get me to use my drop bars but I was worried that I was going to loose control of my bike.

A part of me was like, "Angela, just suck it up and do it." Anyways, I've decided to swim at my own pace after work tonight instead.

Preventing running injuries with weight loss?

I want to test out this idea that was mentioned by my PT - former USA Olympic trials marathoner. She keeps her weight low to prevent running injuries. It should come to no surprise, but the less you weigh the better it is on your joints while running. The force of each footstep is up to 4 times greater than the runner's body weight. For a 100-pound person, that means as much as 400 pounds of pressure per footstep every time the foot strikes the ground. For a 200 pound person that's 800 pounds!

With my super pronated feet and whinny knees losing weight might make a difference. Just losing 5 pounds means 20 pounds less pressure everytime my foot strikes the ground! Yes, I have already gone to the podiatrist for custom orthodics insoles and I have proper shoes. I'm not very tall (5 2") so a weight in the sub 100s is still considered in the healthy range for me. So I'm going to try to lose 1 pound a week up until the Danskin which is in 4+ weeks.

Brick time

The Danskin is just around the corner - 5 weeks to be exact. I have to force myself to put in more open water time. My knees have been getting better, which is good because I have been swimming with a pull buoy for the last 2 months. Today after my bike ride, I went for a swim at the ProClub. I was worried that my cardiovascular abilities would not be so good in the water, but to my surprise I was able to swim my workout set. I will be increasing my distance - I believe the Danskin has a half mile swim.

This weekend I put in about 50 miles on my bike. I looped around Lake Sammamish a little more than 2 times. Around here bikers are quite friendly as they would always wave as they pass by. On Saturday, I flatted and attempted to fix it when I realized that I didn't have my C02 cartridge adapter. Luckily some nice guys stopped to inflate my tire.

Finally, I feel like I am getting a lot stronger on the bike. I may pass a few casual riders once in a while - just not those dudes with their fancy matching bike outfits and disk wheels. My Fuji bike is so sweet - worth every penny. Every time one of those dudes race by me, they say "Hey that's a nice bike you got there!" Is it just me, or do guys look really cute in biking uniforms?

The truth behind my addiction

So I exercise almost every day and sometimes even twice a day. Is this abnormal? There's not doubt that I'm doing very good things for my health. And still on the few days I take off, I feel guilty for not doing something active. We all handle stress differently. When I'm stressed I workout - this keeps me happy.

In my college years I was out of shape and not comfortable in my own skin. While I am in way better shape now than I was back then, my brain has not caught up with my body. My body is much stronger and fitter now than it has ever been, but my subconscious doesn't believe it. Thus, often I find myself not believing in my abilities. For example, not believing that I am a good enough swimmer, or biker or runner. So I compensate and work even harder. Fortunately, my consciousness understands that with time I will get there.

Anyways, so I decided to pick up piano again to find other ways to destress. I'm going to take a few hours to learn how to play a song from the movie "Amelie" by Yann Tiersen (up on my playlist). Enjoy!

Results don't tell the whole story

I was watching a friend finish her first half iron man not too long ago, as she crossed the finish line, I heard someone say, "Man, if I took 7 hours to complete a half, I would be so disappointed."

This comment didn't sit too well with me. While it is important for everyone to have a healthy amount of ego, this was pushing it a little too far for me. I really feel that the results of others aren't any business of ours. We all race for our own reasons, some to win, some to place top 10% and for the majority just to complete the race is already a wonderful accomplishment.

What I know for sure is that results hardly ever paint the full picture. Rather, it is the battles that you have fought that got you there - the journey taken that counts.

Where there is a will, there is a way

I took this opportunity to head up to Lake Stevens to cheer on my team as they raced Ironman 70.3. This is a world qualifer for the 70.3 World Championships in Florida. So there were quite a few Pros that made a show and it was really exciting to watch them race.

At the race I was introduced to Mark and Joseph. They are on my team and guess what - one of them is blind. So how does a blind man do a half Ironman? Well, he had a partner that raced with him for the entire time. For the 1.2 mile swim he was roped to his partner, for the 56 mile bike they had a tandem bicycle, and for the half marathon run they were tethered with a rope so that he could follow. Talk about overcoming obstacles! I am so inspired. It took them over 7 hours to complete the race. What an accomplishment!

Criticism can be a good thing

I have never been one to say that I am naturally athletically gifted. But I do believe that practice makes perfect. And when you are pint size like me, it is really important to focus on the fundamentals to compensate for the things I wasn't genetically predisposed of. I had a bike ride with a coach one morning and she rode me pretty hard. I was changing gears all wrong, my standing climb had poor form and I was riding all over the place.

What I have come to understand is, constructive criticism can be a really positive thing. Because when you are screwing up and no one is telling you it is not a place you want to be in. It means that they have given up on you. In some way, at least your critics still care about you.

Le Tour de France

Wimbledon finals and le Tour de France this weekend! I will be glued to my flat screen whenever I can - lots of parties this weekend! Bicycle racing is a remarkable team event with each rider having a different role to play. My manager loves cycling and we spend a lot of time talking about it.

The 95th Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,500 kilometres. The longest stage is 210 miles through the Alps!

These 21 stages have the following profiles:

10 flat stages,
5 mountain stages,
4 medium mountain stages,
2 individual time-trial stages.
Distinctive aspects of the race

4 mountain finishes,
2 rest days,
82 kilometres of individual time-trials,
17 Category 1, Category 2 and highest level passes will be climbed.

Highlights from Versus: http://www.versus.com/tdf/

JFT uniforms

I just ordered my JFT team uniform. I can't wait, I feel faster already! Here is a picture of Jill with the team uniform on. It looks so cool, I'm excited!

How to date & train with someone who is faster

How to Date and Train with Someone Who's Faster

Great blog above. I agree that finding a partner to train with would be spectacular. But what do you do when they are much stronger than you? Yes we are independent women and all, but when your significant other leaves you in the dust it is not always OK.

Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3 bike course

So I've agreed to take on the Ironman 70.3 bike course on this Sunday. Several of my teammates will be racing this next weekend and I wanted to try out the course. This will be the most difficult ride for me ever. My friend Rusty tells me that it is a technically challenging course. It is moderately hilly with steep downhills. I must admit I am a little anxious, but I know I will learn a lot. My plan is to do 1 loop of the course.

The Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3 is a qualifier for the Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championships. I plan to be there to cheer people on.

Biking the Chinese way

A good friend of mine was in town this weekend. David, an ex-Microsoftie who now resides in Beijing is trying to build his new technology start up. Somehow, the subject of bicycles becomes the center of our conversation. Now, most of us know that almost everyone in China commutes by bicycle. All roads accommodate cyclists, or should I say all roads can accommodate cars? There are even traffic lights to direct cycling traffic. It is truly the bicycle capital of the world in my opinion. But, professional cycling is much too expensive for the average Chinese citizen. A factory worker makes about $4000 USD/year while an office worker might make around $12000 USD/year.


Now bike theft is very prevalent in Beijing. David has already had 2 of his bikes stolen so far. He said his first bike costed him about $10, even with a lock it was stolen. His second bike costed him $6, had two locks on it and it was also stolen. He said you can even pay some dude, show him a bike, and he will go steal it for you. How crazy is that?

5:30am ride with JFT

This morning, before the birds were up, I met Jill, Heli and Melissa at Idylwood park to ride the Lake Sammamish loop. With the exception of the Issaquah Tri, I don't think I've ever woken up so early voluntarily in my life. So the night before, I had packed up my SUV with all my gear and set my alarm to 4:30am. Of course, I was really excited because that meant I would be trying out my new bike. So excited that I could not sleep a wink.

The ride began at Idylwood, and within a few miles I noticed a thumping feeling in my backside and I was slowing down, it turns out that I had a flat. Now, I've never had to change a real flat in my life, so this was interesting. Jill had also stopped to help me out. There are a bunch of little details that I didn't know about that make changing a tire much easier, like to work with it on your feet. When applying the C02 cartridge, make sure you have your tire on the ground and you fill the tire pressing down on the valve. Also, to fill the tire on the side where your cassette is facing away otherwise, when you remove the cartridge you might bang your hand on it and it will hurt!

Now the hard part is actually putting the back wheel on properly. We somehow got the wheel back on after quite a bit of fiddling. It turns out that it wasn't quite on right, but I'll get to that later. During the ride, Jill had me working on my big ring to build strength. It turns out that on my standing climbs I should be using a bigger gear because I am still wobbling. Also, she mentioned that I should practice my balance a bit more as I tend to not stay on a straight line. Lastly, we talked about focusing on the hamstrings and gluts because that is where all the power is from. This was a really great learning ride for me, now I have things to work on. One day I would like to bike to work. The Lake Sammamish River trail is only about 1 mile from my home and I could take that safely to campus.

Jill had mentioned that I should remove 1 disk from my stear tube to get better handling and that I should fix my seat. So I took it back to Performance Bikes this evening and Matt my bike tech was there and he cleaned up my bike, fixed my seat, removed the disk, changed my water bottle cages, gave me new ties to transfer my cyclo computer to my new bike and gave me some suggestions to heal my knee faster - I swear this guy has a crush on me. It also turns out that we didn't put my back wheel on properly and I forgot to close my rear brake - oops. Lastly, it turns out that Matt also works on Jill's bike as well and told me to tell her not to let her husband work on her bike anymore. :)

Fuji Supreme

This weekend I spent some time shopping for a new bike. I bought a cheap Trek bike to see if I would like the sport at the beginning of the year. After doing my research, I have come to the conclusion that I would never be able to get a triathlon bike unless it was custom - and I was not about to spend 6-7 thousand dollars on that. I know that I wasn't completely happy with my current road bike, though it did well on climbs, I had trouble keeping up with people because it was heavy (21 pounds) and had 650 wheels which made it a little harder to maintain speed. Another thing is, my neck would hurt after my rides - thus it didn't fit quite right. Today, after trying out a bunch of bikes - I even had to wait for them to build me the bike I ultimately ended up purchasing, I took home a brand new Fuji Supreme RC. It is the 44cm and weighs only 15.4 pounds! The frameset weighs around 850 grams. And guess what? I got it for over 40% off because Performance was having their 25th anniversary sale and it comes with 700 standard size wheels! So what I will do in the future is slap on clip on aero bars and call it a day.

FRAMESET: C-10 SuperLite High Modulus carbon with 3K weave, Continuous Fiber Technology (CFT), integrated aluminum cupped head tube, double water bottle mounts, shaped ride-tuned Energy Transfer Chain stay, replaceable hanger

FORK: FC-330 Fuji Carbon Monocoque Integrated 1 1/8" Carbon steerer , 350g

DRIVETRAIN: FSA Energy Compact MegaExo w/ integrated spindle, 7075 CNC 34/50T, NEW SRAM Rival Exact Actuation derailleurs & double-tap shifter/brake, 20-speed

WHEELS: Cane Creek Strados

FEATURES: Ritchey Pro Biomax II alloy, 31.8mm bars, stem, Ritchey Pro carbon seat post, Selle San Marco Aspide Glamour women specific saddle with titanium rails

Underwater treadmill

I was chatting with my PT Shelly yesturday about how my knee injury has been hampering with my regular activities. I cannot run, I cannot bike and even daily things like walking down the stairs I need to becareful. I am also worried that my cardiovascular abilities might diminish. Shelly gladly mentioned that I could train on the underwater treadmill and that it would be covered by Microsoft. Woohoo, the ProClub rocks and so does my insurrance plan!

So I've setup 2x underwater treadmill classes a week, swim 3x a week and do strength training, intervals in boot camp 2x a week. This is the best I can do until my knees heal.

Lastly, I bought the Yakima King Joe bike rack for my car. I tried to figure out how to set the thing up, but no luck. There are so many straps and clamps to make your head spin. I guess I will bring it back to the shop.

Triathlon bikes don't come in my size

I stopped by Sammamish Valley Cycle this evening to pick up some neoprene booties for my swim tomorrow morning. While I was at the shop, I figure I might as check out their tri bikes. They had the Cervelo P2C and P3C, QT, Scott and Light Speed bikes. Unfortunately, none of them fit me as the standover height was a little too high. The 48 cm Cervelo came closest to fitting me, but my crotch was still touching the bar. She recommended that I get a custom titanium Light Speed made for me when I am ready for a tri bike. Did I mention the price would be $6K? Presently I have a Trek road bike. When I looked on Trek's site, they did have a 47 cm women's specific tri bike that might fit me. Felt also had a tri bike in 48 cm with a low stand over that might fit me as well. I know that standover height is not how you judge fit, but it is a quick way to rule bikes out. Man, I wish I were bigger :(

Anyways, on another note, it looks like I will be doing nothing but swimming and strength training for the next 2 weeks. I read that with my injury I need to really baby my knees, so no running even cycling during this time - must focus on healing.

Success!

Today I completed my first triathlon! As I still have knee tendonitis I went in with a game plan to complete as much of the race I could.

OFFICIAL RACE REPORT:

Night before: I had packed all my gear including my bike into my SUV.
Pre-race: 1 bowl of Special K with strawberries and soy milk.

Morning: I woke up at 4:30am to get ready to leave for the race. My intention was to get there for 5:30am so that I could pick up my race packet (which contained my timing chip, race bib and t-shirt). I arrived there at 5:30am and parked at the Sunset beach parking lot right in front of the transition area (TA).


There was not a lot of people there at the time. I picked up my race packet then walked around a little as I was not really sure what to do next, but I saw people taking in their bikes into the TA. I headed back to my SUV and grabbed my bike and helmet out of the car, proceeded to the TA and got marked with my race number. When I found my rack, I took the spot on the end so that I could find my bike quickly. I setup my gear like we had practiced in transition clinic and I had everything ready to go except my wetsuit was not on.


Swim: Close to 7am I had my wetsuit on. My wave didn't start until 7:21am. Before the swim, I got into the water to get use to the temperature - and it was the warmest that I have ever been in. I found Nicole and Emily, who were also my wave. We were all nervous and excited. Nicole and I positioned ourselves at the back of the pack as we were slow swimmers. And we were off! I reached the first buoy in no time, so far so good, but there was still a 300 meter stretch to the next one. I had decided to pull the entire swim to save my knees. As I turned I saw a girl swimming to my left that was swimming about the same pace as me, so I just used her as a guide to keep me on course. About half way to the next buoy, she started breast stroking and I'm like "great now who am I going to follow now?" So I just over took her and tried to sight on my own. About every 5 strokes or so I would look up to make sure I was on course. Things were going really well, I was really relaxed and my wetsuit felt very comfortable. My heartrate was at a steady rate. I got out of the water a little too far from the shore so the water slowed me down as I got out. But I swear the choir was singing. It look me over 10 minutes to swim that one. But I was so happy that I survived it!



TI: OK, I had a picnic here. It took me 5 minutes to transition. I had decided not to wear my tri-suit (that was probably a mistake), I ended up having to put on my bike shorts and shirt. I had my race bib pinned onto my bike shirt which ripped off and I had to fix that. I decided that I could not bike without my gloves instead I went sockless. Man, it sure didn't feel like I took 5 minutes. I spent too much time figuring out what to wear :) This was no time to be a girl Angela!

Bike: The bike was hard, everyone was passing me and I was working pretty hard too! I think I did well on the first hill climb, as soon as I saw it I picked up my speed and slowly stood up and climbed that sucker. Then about half way through the bike my knee started to complain. The last hill climb was really tough. I think overall I averaged about 16 mph. This bike took me 55 minutes.

T2: One picnic wasn't enough for me, so I decided to take another. When I arrived back into the TA I could not find my bike rack. I saw Coach Josh and remember him telling me "Put you bike on the rack!" I finally found my rack, put on my running shoes and off I went. This took 2:33 minutes.

Run: The run was painful. When I started my run I had this really tight sensation in my gluts and thighs that was new to me. This didn't feel so good, but eventually it went away. I didn't want to make my knee worse, so I tried to jog as much of this as I could and had to walk at times. Overall, I found the running trail quite nice and I was happy that it was not on concrete. 30:30 minutes - that some serious speed walking there. It sure didn't feel like 3 miles.



Post-race: I'm so glad that I did this. It was an amazing experience and I could not be happier. I ended up coming in 603/703. God this sport is so humbling! I'm a changed woman!

Swimming with the fishies at Idylwood

It turns out that there are a lot of people that swim early in the morning. I found a group of ladies to swim with on a regular basis. Today we met at 7am and jumped into the water. There are fish jumping out of the water there! On my previous swims, I had not gone past 30 yards from the shore. But today, with encouragement from Jen (a lady from Jill's team) I just went for it. When I reached the buoy I was a little tired, my heart rate was up because I was still very anxious. I went on my back for a few seconds, then we swam to the next buoy. Jen kept going, but I swam back to shore. I think that was about 1/4 mile. Some of us were planning to swim the course after work this evening but I have to pick up my new car not to mention my race packet for tomorrow still.

Wish me luck in my first triathlon tomorrow, I'm going to need it as I am going to be racing injured. My knees are still sore from tendonitis, but I told myself to just go and have fun out there. I will walk the run if my knees start to hurt too much.

Honda CR-V

I just bought my first car ever! I'm so excited it's the 2008 Honda CR-V, finally I found a compact SUV that gives me ample storage space, good on gas, 4WD and handles well.

I was at the dealership for 3.5 hours negotiating with them. We finally came to something we were all happy with. Goodbye to Max (my Nissan Maxima - which my dad bought for me) and hello to my new CR-V. Don't have a name for her yet, yes my car will be a "she" this time. No soccer mom comments please!

Why exercise can be so addictive

I'm reading this amazing book by Eckhart Tolle called "A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life's Purpose." This is a very interesting explanation as to why I find challenging exercise so addictive.

Our brains are in constant thought, and psychologists have found that 98% of our thoughts are quite useless and repetitive. He explains why many people love strenuous physical activities even sometimes dangerous levels. When you climb a mountain, you need to be totally focused on the present, if you loose your presence something bad can happen. And the reason why people feel so much more alive during this time is for a moment you are free from thinking. This is the essence of presence - it is a moment of bliss where everything is at peace.

Open water swimming

I stopped by the Triumph wetsuit demo on Saturday and it was a good thing that I did so. I got to swim in the freezing water and get some coaching. I met a really nice lady called Jill and she encouraged me throughout the swim. She even told me about her triathlon club. They have weekly training events and a really good community of people who train together. Today, I actually went and swam with a lady from Jill's team at Idylwood park. We swam back and forth and I found it difficult. You cannot see a thing and that got me a little flustered which sent my heartrate through the roof. When we got out of the water we ran out of the water, and ripped off our wetsuits as we headed to our transition area. In my opinion I really think EVERYONE should swim in open water before doing any race. I think I would have had a little "panic" thing otherwise.