Vineman blog part 4!!!

Well my second transition was interesting! Being one of the last in on the bike meant there was not much room on the rack. I ended up struggling with my bike for a LONG time! It was frustrating! I was exhausted & couldn't lift it up to the rack, it kept getting tangled with the bikes around it! Finally I got it on! I probably wasted 3-5 minutes. I had taken coaches advice & left a cooler of ice at transition area with my shoes. The idea was to dump ice water on myself after the bike to cool core body temp. We got so lucky with awesome weather it really didn't seem necessary to completely dump it. I sat on it to get my shoes on, toweled off my sweat, got my chilled water bottles out of it & stuffed some ice in my hat & clothes. I took off on the run with very little steam. I had hoped to run aid station to aid station (one each mile) but the best I could manage was 5 min run 1 minute walk. Lisa's watch had an interval setting so I was able to follow the beeps! I also did walk/stop at aid stations to get ice, water, snacks. The had tons of fruit! They also had pretzels, cookies, & cola but I avoided those! The run was not as scenic & beautiful as the bike. I was warned it was exposed for the most part & to expect blazing sun. I was surprised there was plenty of shade & a nice breeze at parts. I never felt over heated. I credit running VERY VERY SLOW & the constant ice I had stuffed in all my hat & clothing. Not much to say about the run part...I ran then walked then repeated. I did have a stupid grin on my face the whole time & smiled at everyone passing by.
Some were miserable & couldn't smile back. Others were in go mode & haulin ass...I like to engage everyone I pass. On the bike I waved at every spectator most were sitting staring blankly until I waved then they would wave, cheer, say good morning.
I think it's the fun part for me, making it a smiley happy thing (even when it's not). The same way when people would ask how you feel? I'd reply "I feel good" even if I didn't. It almost worked to convince me I DID feel good. As I came up on the aid station at mile 5 I saw a sign saying GO KATIE . I remember thinking "huh my name is Katie" then I realized it was Jackson & Martin & Lisa!!! I was sooo happy! I think I was close to crying. I hugged & kissed Martin a few times. The boys ran along with me for a while. It was so fun runnin hand in hand with my son.
After this aid station we ran onto La Crema winery it was a 2 mile loop through the vineyard. It was on a dusty hot endless trail. After the winery we went F.O.R.E.V.E.R down this one road until the turn around which was more then 1/2 way but felt like you were waiting for it like a 1/2 way point. Knowing you were headed to the finish was the mission after passing the turn around! I stopped at a wild berry bush where some kids were picking & eating berries. I tried one but it wasn't ripe yet I guess.
I hit the turn around point & I was worried Martin may not be at the aid station still. It had taken me so long to go about 4 miles. I was more anxious to see him again then anything. I was afraid they would think they missed me & take off for the finish line. I wanted to see him again (but also at the finish line). Luckily he was still there when I finally made it! I was able to get more hugs & kisses in. I remember tellin Lisa I have less then 4 miles to go! She said I know you are almost done. It was a good feeling knowing I was so close & the next time I would see Martin would be at the finish! I continued to run walk through the last few miles. Most people were walk only at this point. I was glad I was at least making forward progress albeit slow. I made my way to the last stretch of road until reaching the high school & finish line. There was a lot of people cheering. I saw some of the friends & family of teammates cheering me along. Then I saw jeremy & his sister waited to cheer me on (they had had passed me during the race). The as I rounded the corner that extra adrenaline kicked in I was sprinting to the finish line (as the announcer was yelling it was my birthday-wrong it was Martin's). I was about to cross when I stopped dead in my tracks ran over to my guy & gave him a big kiss before I ran across the finish. What a great memory i will always have of having Martin there with me for my big moment. My official time was 8hrs & 55 minutes. I felt pretty good with my time & race. If I had begun in a later wave I may of got a DNF did not finish. I took my time & got done with something I'm not sure I believed I could do. Lisa treated me to a post race massage (WONDERFUL) & we went back & toasted a glass of wine to celebrate! We attended the victory party where Martin boogied with the hippies for a bit. Then I headed to bed for a great night of sleep!!!

Vineman blog part 3

The bike portion was definitely daunting. Having missed the bike preview I didn't know what was in store for me. I did know there was a flat straight portion for the first couple miles until the first turn which was tight & steep. Then we traveled through a back alley type side street until we got on the rolling hills through vineyard & forest.
Everyone said this course was amazing & it was very pretty. It was comparable to the routes we trained on here in San Diego. I did not pass anyone on the bike portion. I was not hammering as hard as I did on my recent shorter rides but I also wasn't going beach cruiser speed either. I had borrowed my friends Lisa's watch for my race. I set one timer for the bike to go off every 15 minutes. When the timer went off I took a sip of water & every two beeps I took salt or ate a bite of bonk breaker. The first aid station I tossed one bottle & the passed out arrowhead sport top disposable bottles. I didn't get very far before mine was dangling out of my bottle cage. The stupid thing did not fit! Somehow I managed to get it to stay after stopping twice. The next portion of the ride seemed to go so fast. There was an unfortunate mishap at this bottle drop for me-when I attempted to flip my bottle into the netted area it did not go the way I intended. It flew up & over my head behind me nearly hitting one or more cyclists behind me!!! The chick it just missed was pissed & I imagine still telling the story of the idiot girl who flung her water bottle at her.
I stopped at the aide station & and used the bathroom. I saw a gal from San Diego I recognized said hello , she was an official. I asked what the mileage was...when she said 1/2 way I was blown away & HAPPY!
After my potty visit this guy says "you are doing great I saw you a ways back, keep it up". I love triathlons for this reason some people are so nice & encouraging (I do realize he obviously DID NOT see my bottle toss)...
I got back on the bike course & I would say it pretty quickly got tougher. I had the same problem with the water bottle popping out. I started to really feel the mileage tacking on. I knew there would be one more aid station and then the dreaded chalk hill (there was one or two hefty hills before it I found out). At the final aid station I stopped and put some pain rub on my knees that were starting to dislike the rolling hills. Then I grabbed a banana from a volunteer. OOPS! There was pain rub on my hand which then got on the banana which then got all over my mouth! EWWWWW. It didn't even feel like the pain rub worked on my knees! Once I was on that last leg I had 2 things on my mind getting up chalk hill & the fact that I was getting tired with a half marathon ahead of me. Somewhere along that last stretch I was rising through another vineyard & reflecting on how amazing this was. Then I realized my brother had to get sick & lose his life for me to be here. I thought about how he had wanted us to all go wine tasting which we did in his memory. I thought about the 70miles I was racing which happened to be our combined years his life cut short @ 35 & me turning 35 this year. I have so much, I have grown & changed so much. His life was stolen right now when he could of had so many more adventures like me. I lost it tears full blown ugly cry face weeping. I was all pissed I said F*#K CANCER! (a few times-sorry but it's true). I had this grimace of angry through the ugly face & was just hammering through the tears. I'm not sure how many miles that latest but it was a while of my grieving the loss of my brother again & carried me through the finish of the bike leg at a part where I imagine I could of started to get discouraged & tired.
Coming in from the bike was fun! There was a ton of spectators! I walked in the bike transition. I was all about taking my time. It was definitely HOT & I was in no hurry to start my 1/2 marathon...to be continued

Vineman blog part 2

So I got to T1 and set up my transistion. I went down to the beach ready to go since I would be in the 4th wave there was not much time to wander around. We took team photos and got in our wetsuits. I was definitely ready to take on the swim. The water was warm at first but as we waited 4 or so minutes to start our wave I started to get cold. I wore my sleeveless wetsuit and was starting to worry if I had made a bad decision. I wondered if I was gonna warm up? As soon as I started swimming I knew I was going to be fine. I tried to find someone to draft off of and everytime I got behind someone they all seemed to be kicking wildly and not swimming fast enough. The river is very shallow the whole course but at parts its so shallow you touch the bottom when you are swimming. Some people get out and walk but I felt like stopping to walk would take away from the whole accomplishment. I did stop once and stand to adjust my goggles. The river water was pretty gross it was warm & lots of algae. It was like being in non salty bay water. It's definitely motivation to move quickly to get out of it. Along the swim after one red ballon marker after another there was 2 bright neon orange markers I was thinking DANG the turn around came up fast! As I got closer & closer to this turn around I see MORE red markers beyond them WHAT THE HECK they were some sort of warning markers about what I don't know I didn't stop to read them! I had been told there was a current coming back from the actual turn around point. On our swim preview this was true! But as my friend Jeremy pointed out once everyone is swimming like crazy there would be current going both ways with the flow of the swimmers. I got in one little bit that carried me faster for like 10 feet...
I'd have to go back & look up my time but it was about 50 minutes. Once out of the water I walked to transition & took my time there 10 minutes. I figured what is the hurry when I have 8 hours ahead of me. I didn't want to waste energy to save minutes now when I would need the energy later! This race as 2 transitions so before you leave on bike you have to bag up all the gear. Being one of the last out of the water meant the dirt lot transition was in was now mud! I took extra time to wash off & dry my feet trying & failing not to get my socks wet before getting in my bike shoes. I walked out of transition & up the small hill before mounting my bike. Then I was out on the bike course!....to be continued

Race 11 of 2012 Vineman Blog

OK so this blog I am actually trying to write before months pass by and I forget all the details of the race.
So this is not just a race blog but also the trip blog.
Martin was my co-pilot for this trip. I was lucky enough to have a good friend willing to help with him during the race.
Day 1- Wake up 2:30am departure 3:30am. Martin slept the first few hours of the drive. I fought off sleep and had to pull off 3 times until I finally pulled over handed him my phone said wake me up in 10 min. Somehow that little teeny snooze did the trick and I rallied then rest of the drive. We did not head straight to our final destination. We took a detour through the country including Gilroy the garlic capitol to San Jose to pick up Mary. After we got her we took the scenic route through San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge. We finally arrived at our home for the weekend our condo in Windsor. A trip to the grocery store where I bought WAY TOO MUCH FOOD! Then Martin and I relaxed at the pool.
Day two- not much going on with the team so we headed to Johnson Beach where the swim start was to check out the wetsuit demo (it was lame). Then we headed to the Jelly Belly Factory for a tour! THAT WAS FUN! I was not eating sugar so I skipped the jelly bellies but it was neat to see the ins and outs of jelly beans. After lunch we headed to Johnson Beach to swim with the team. Lisa watched Martin & Jackson swim in the river while we swam.
This was my first time swimming in fresh water. The river was WARM and GROSS! There was algae floating around and at first it startled me and creeped me out! It not much different then swimming in the bay on the gross scale but the water was nicer and the amazing towering trees and scenery was better. After the swim the team went for pizza & beer...AKA as gluten heaven...I skipped the dinner and went to Armstrong woods with Martin, Lisa & Jackson. It was a small redwood preserve just a mile or so from the swim. We walked around checked out the tall trees and then headed for the condo for dinner & sleep.
Sat morning was full of team activities. We met back at the swim and went over race preview. We then were going to get in the cars and caravan over the 56 mile bike course. I of course realize as it is time to leave 1. I am out of gas & 2. I forgot my wallet which I needed to get gas AND my photo ID. I will need for my bib pick up. My stress/blood pressure went through the roof. Luckily I had some random cash in the car and got gas but was going to have to go back to condo before bib pick up. The course preview started once I got gas. We went only a few miles when I get a "I have to go to the bathroom". About 10 miles in Trent pulled off I took this as an opportunity to take Bugs to a bush to pee. As soon as I got him out of car Trent says this is private property lets go. I tried to rush Martin (you can't rush this you know). He doesn't like peeing in public as it is. This turned into a battle royale. ME-stressed about the race, PMS, having Mary in the car waiting & knowing she can't miss the caravan, me not wanting to miss the caravan that is now taking off, my son needing to pee but refusing knowing he will be complaining in the car the whole time....HIM-stressed out, been in the car for endless hours over 2 days, not caring about bike course preview, needing to pee but not able to be rushed and forced....Julie said take your time. I said I can't Mary is waiting. Luckily she got Mary & they were able to complete the bike course preview. I on the other hand missed the preview, spent the next few hours crying as did my son. We both yelled at each other & were completely frustrated. We got back to the room and both apologized realizing our stress led to a stupid fight. I was even more freaked out now about the race. I had no clue of the course. All I had seen over the last 2 days was serious triathletes biking & running in their ironman finisher swag. I realized I was in no way ready or capable for this event. I never should have signed up. This whole trip was more then I should be doing. I DID NOT WANT TO DO THIS RACE AT ALL!!!! I had felt this way for a long time but going through the motions because I made the commitment. I felt so stupid thinking I could do this at any point. I could NOT stop crying! I made a call and was talked off the ledge my a friend. He helped me view the race as not a whole but little bits to tackle one at a time. That did help a little cause I knew I could do the swim. So I just said to myself just swim after that whatever happens happens. It didn't change the fact that I didn't want to be here and doing this. I knew that if I woke up in the morning not wanting to do this I would fail. Most of the getting to the finish is about mental. I went to the EXPO and got my bib and set up my T2. I was still crying and did not want to be around anyone. I didn't even want to be at the expo another minute but I wanted to say hi to my high school friend Jeremy and his sister Sarah who were also racing. As soon as I chatted with them I bailed. We had out inspirational dinner which after getting terrible directions from GPS we made it. It wasn't all that inspirational to be honest. The food was good. Lisa came and got Martin for the night so I could head to race day solo. We had our team meeting after dinner. Trent gave a good talk and I was ready to leave again cause I was so not into this. A teammate stopped me and said she wanted to talk. I am sure she could either tell or was told I was a basket case. She said "you are a strong woman, from what you have said you have been through a lot of tough things in your life. This race tomorrow is nothing compared to that." "we are just gonna swim, and bike, and run, that's all" "we can do that it is nothing like what you have been through ok". THAT WAS IT, THAT WAS THE PERSPECTIVE I NEEDED. Somehow everything changed for me and I realized I could deal with this. It was just one day, and it really is nothing compared to the "stuff" I have been through in my life. Thank God she took the time to talk with me, she is I am sure also worried and stressed about her race. I went to bed feeling so much better about the race and ready to take it on.
Race day- wake up 3:45am meet team at 4:30am and head over to Johnson Beach. All my stress and anxiety was gone. I had taken all the pressure off and found perspective through my two convos. I decided not to rush any of it and just take my time and get it done when I got it done....to be continued

Vineman training

I am ridiculously behind in the blog. I could of shared so many triumphant & challenging & FUNNY stories about this training season. Now I am just 8 days away from the race. Hahaha started this blog & got this far & now I'm 4 days from the race!
Now is when my nerves are crazy! My mind is constantly on the race. After Lavaman season I have gone into my races so confident. I have felt over prepared. I have been cool & breezy. The pre race butterflies a thing of the past...until NOW.
The last few days all I can think about is the distance I have to cover! After a 1.2mile swim I have to bike 56 miles (which I've never done) the post that run 13.1 miles!!!
The longest training I did with the team was a 1 mile ocean swim a challenging 54 mile bike then a slow walk/jog of 4 miles or so. It was about 60 miles total.
All the training have been challenging & I know this is on purpose to have us ready to race. Most the time I tapped out shy of the furthest distance & cut the runs short because I literally did all I could do.
I definitely threw a wrench in my training season when I opted to go into acupuncture for my GI issues & get treated during training. Well even before that! I have been seeing MY dr for over a year or two regarding my guts & fatigue. Finally this year I declared I would once & for all fix my guts. I went through tons of lab tests, referral to GI dr, colonoscopy, intestinal biopsy...only to hear nothing is wrong with you :(
The week I had the GI tests was when I bonked during training. Finally I asked for a referral to acupuncture I've seen claims it can cure anything! & I'm at the I know something is wrong with me & I will try anything stage.
SO I went in & she says "something is wrong with you"
THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!
She said I could do acupuncture to help with the symptoms but really she would like to take me thru an elimination diet & find the culprit. Also use supplements to repair my gut.
This would take place my last month of training meaning I have to scrap the old race plan using processed chemical filled endurance products & only use whole foods (from my very short approved list).
I thought about waiting until after the race but also thought what if I could feel so much better before my race?
I know myself well & putting it off would mean its not gonna happen. It was not or never.
The training plan became salt tabs & water for hydration & applesauce packets, mashed sweet potatoe & mashed avocado in ziplocs that I can suck through a whole in the bag, fruit. It's a lot of crap to carry on the ride. The first ride I had to do this was the long swim bike run = 60. Coach Trent was doing sweeper so he was waiting for me. He really helped make sure I was eating enough & not to much.
I've noticed the whole foods kinda weigh me down & make me feel sluggish on the run (or it could be the long tough bike before my runs?).
I'm feeling good now that I'm on day 29 of 30 on the repair portion. My fatigue is gone 100% it's an amazing feeling to have my life back. Does that sound dramatic? Well when you can't stay awake to live your life it feels like a trap. It was getting worse & worse & I was in bed more & more :( everyone said I trained to hard I knew that wasn't it. Everyone said I needed more sleep I knew I slept good & solid plus a nap....I'm so glad I found out for myself & got help. I can totally get through my day without feeling fatigue & I feel awake & alive.
That does give me some confidence going into my race feeling better. The sluggishness I use to have training is gone. I'm still SLOW!!! I MEAN REALLY SLOW! But I'm awake!
So then the dilemma was tomorrow is day 30. I can start adding foods back in that I was off one at a time to find potential allergies. Sadly everyone says wait until after the race. I had hoped & planned to return to my pre diet race plan using gu & bonk breaker bars. Everyone agrees its a risk to reintroduce anything before the race even if I tolerated it before. Since its been eliminated it could cause potential shock or reaction to my system....ooooooo-k she says arms crossed & pouting.
I'm leaving tomorrow morning to drive up. No doubt in my mind I will finish just scared of the process it will take to get me there. A test of
endurance, a test of faith, a testimony to how far I will go to fight in honor of my brother. He suffered too much & lost too much & my parents are so broken. I must focus on the true reason I'm doing this & allow my angel to carry me through.

Race #10 of 2012

Can we just call this the year of races!!!! I can't believe I'm so buy training & racing I can't even blog! (hopefully with new electronic policy at work I can catch up now). SDIT San Diego International Triathlon was one of the original scheduled races pre-TNT. I had hoped to move up to the International distance from the sprint but once vineman hit the schedule it was a must! The distance is 1000meter swim, 30k bike & 10k run. The course was on point loma and downtown. The swim was in Spanish landing. 1/2 the TNT summer team was doing this race so I was hanging with the purple peeps & ran into a few tri buddies.
The more I race the less & less ingest those panic butterflies & anxiety pre race. Especially in this case when I'm training for a much longer race. I was nervous about not knowing the course at all. I have to admit the swim course looked SO LONG! I kept reminding myself I had just swam a mile 2 days prior. I did not like not knowing the bike course & had heard there was some hills so I wanted to hurry up & get going. My wave was 11 I think the day prior to the race I had made a switch. Instead of racing in my age group I opted to move up 2 waves & race the Athena division. It's for women 160+ (although it may have been 150+ actually) either way I was at 161 so I qualified. I knew that it was a smaller division (4 actually) & my odds were good I could place.
I took off on the swim & while I knew I was at the back of the pack I was in the wave with men, women & military & I felt good that I kept a pretty straight line & constant pace.
Once out of the water I was ready to tackle the unknown bike course. I just followed the person in front of me! The first part of the course went right by my Sportfishing docks! Then we turned and went UP the hill to point loma. It was a slow grade & I was able to easily get up the hill (surprised myself) once at the top & on the base where Cabrillo monument was that where I discovered the rolling hills I had heard about. It was a loop at the top of point loma you had to go through twice. The first loop it was dread for the second time having to do the rolling hills & the second time it was joy knowing I'd soon be headed down hill! Knowing there was a chance to place in the race kept me pushing myself the whole time on the bike. I got back to transition & wasted probably a whole minute staring at the racks not able to find my spot!!!! Such a bummer! I got changed into my run stuff & decided to run with my fuel belt that I will be using at Vineman. This was good cause it's race specific but definitely weighed me down. I knew I had passed a fell Athena on the bike & as i slowly ran I knew she would be gaining on me. I was sure staying ahead of her meant my 3rd place finish. After some run/walk run/walk moments she passed me! I thought oh no! & made my way in front of her & stayed there with all my strength. I wanted to walk so bad I was so hot & tired! I kept about a 30 foot gap between us. I was dumping water on me constantly trying to stay cool. I was sure I would get my usual burst of strength in order to power through the last mile & sprint that last .2. I was wrong! I'm not sure if it is my change in nutrition & eating less carbs but I was completely out of steam when I hit the 6 mile mark! With .2 to go I had to stop :( the chick passed me with lots of steam & I thought girl you can have it! I managed to walk a short time & run SLOWLY into the finish. I got my medal walked over to a shady spot by the TNT booth & collapsed. I was so done. No way you could say I didn't give my all. I was so pooped. I saw vineman coach & said you should start worrying!
I laid there until I regained some strength & began to hunt for FOOD. Everywhere I looked was food I could not have! Chips, pretzels, red vines, smoothies, bars. I said I just need an orange! I was told there might be some at the finisher tent. I walked up all i saw was bagels, bananas, cornbread etc. I just want an orange!!!! Then there they were did I eat like 10 slices at least!!!!
I was waiting around for the awards just in case...when they announced the awards for Athena masters (age 40+) I realized the chick I was trying to beat was in that division NOT MINE! They only announced one finisher in the Athena division?! I went over to the timing people and asked if they had more results for my division. They did & my name was listed 2nd out of 3! I did it! I was 2nd place! After the results were posted online I saw there was 4 women in my division. Being 2 of 2 was fine & 2 of 3 ok but legitimately making the podium by going faster then 2 people.
It was an awesome feeling wearing 2 medals. I was very proud & honestly now I want THAT feeling again now.