runnintrigirl's Xanga

Monday, July 14, 2008

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:14:34 GMT

Ummm, so I'm alive. :) Only a year off from xanga....ooops.

Let's see...so since I left off, here's an athlete's year in review:

April 2007: Ran the Boston Marathon. B-) I did not have a great race but the experience alone was amazing and the course was pretty eye opening and challenging. While I loved the crowds and the experience I vividly remember how ready I was for that finish line.

June 2007: Raced the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. Absolutely amazing. Very challenging but what a fun race. I missed a sub-3 hour by just a minute! :cry:

June 2007: Mile 2 of a 5k fun run my Achilles twinged and I was out for 5 weeks with Achilles Tendonitis. So began water running and swimming as well as a fall season of injuries.

August - October 2007: Running, riding, swimming just for fun while still struggling with a body that wasn't quite recovered from the years racing. Knees, achilles, hips...all just tired.

October 10, 2007: My nephew, Lucas is born. :)

October 2007: Meet who is now my daily training buddy, Chris who has taught me to look at the hills as strength builders and challenging workouts as fun.

December 2007: Chris and I go snowshoeing. UNBELIEVABLE. I love it and can't wait to go back!

December 25th 2007: Calf Strain. Again more injuries sideline me.

February 2008: Kaiser Half Marathon: With little training I manage to PR but was sore for days. :)

March - May 2008: Trail runs, swims, bike rides all because I can. Everything seemed okay until...

May 12, 2008: Christine has another bout of Achilles tendonitis. Chris' training for his 50 miler comes to a halt, also with Achilles tendonitis. The two of us become the best water runners in SF.

June - present: I'm back on the roads though still water running to be smart. Planning a September triathlon, October open water swim, November half marathon and December Marathon to get back to Boston. Below is this weekend's workout summary:

Saturday: Run and swim
A terrible 10 mile run. Felt like I had already run 20 miles when I started, my stomach wasn't cooperating and my calf seized twice. Ugh.
Post run I met up with Chris at the pool. We swam for half hour and kicked for 25-30 minutes as well. Did a little core and stretching. We were both dead.

Sunday - Bike and swim - much better than Saturday
45 minutes on the spin bike
5 minute warm up
Main set: 3 x The following:
5 minute hard high rpms
30 second rest
5 minute hard seated hill climb with some standing

a few sprints and then cool down

Swim: Fantastic swim
600 warm up
10 x 75s = 1 lap hard kick/2 lap hard free. felt great.
500 hard pull
3 x 50 sprint
200 cool down

Today
A little over 6 miles in 51 minutes. Felt off and beat up a little. Chris ran with me a little, his first time running outside since his achilles tendonitis flared up. He still kicked my ass though.

So, I"m alive and will try to check in more often. :) I'm playing a little on facebook these days but thought I'd pop on to say hi. :)

Smiles

Friday, March 30, 2007

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 19:26:24 GMT

It's been some time since I last posted but I wanted to post this blog I wrote on myspace about my training for Boston Marathon as last week was one of those weeks in training where you just feel...defeated.

I call this the mental and physical breakdown of training.

It was 4 weeks out from the Rock n Roll Arizona Marathon when I came down with a nasty 103 fever/flu. A flu that took me out of a long training run and forced me to take it easy the following week, bailing on my tempo paced run and track intervals.

It was a sign. Physically, the body needed a break.

I am now 3 and a half weeks out from the Boston Marathon and earlier this week I verbally admitted that I felt completely defeated.

Christine, meet burn out. Burn out, meet Christine.

In thinking about it, I haven't really stopped training since Wildflower Triathlon last year. There was always something on the horizon that I was training hard for: Wildflower Triathlon, Napa Half Marathon, Vineman Triathlon, numerous 10ks, Santa Barbara Half Marathon and the RocknRoll Arizona Marathon where after qualifying I found myself training for the Boston Marathon instead of hopping into Escape from Alcatraz training which is just 6 weeks after Boston. (how's that for a run on sentence?)

Don't get me wrong, I am SO thrilled to be doing Boston and honestly can't even believe I made it and am going. It's surreal since it seemed quite impossible, having the time to qualify for such a race.

But I will say this, getting up for workouts the last few weeks has seemed painful. Two marathons in 4 months is not recommended. My track workout last week was pretty decent pacewise, but my long runs haven't been so stellar and then came yesterday...

I decided to go easy to let the brain attempt to enjoy the run and not force myself through tempo workout, despite that, the legs still felt heavy and unenergetic. This proven only by my foot not clearing an uprooted tree/piece of uneven pavement. Foot stayed, I went flying and rolled three times. I sat in complete defeat, knee bleeding, sprained ankle. For the first time in a long time, I hated running. And that right there, made me sad and frustrated.

With another 1.5 miles to go, I got myself up and finished that run, came home and did what I had to do: ice the ankle all while admittedly feeling sorry for myself. It took some good advice from my friends over at runango.com to really admit that I was overtrained and needing a break. At least for the sake of resting my ankle. Of course that break will be a whopping 2 days since I have my 22 miler on Saturday. (tho I will say I am looking forward to that run, let's hope the ankle comes along for the ride.)

But wow. I haven't felt this burnt in awhile. I think part of this is knowing how much time I WON'T have to train for Escape From Alcatraz. After getting in the bay on Sunday for a short swim and out for a short bike ride thereafter, I realized how much work I have to do to be ready. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well at these races but I'd rather be prepared and feel good out there than feel completely miserable knowing that I could have put in more training. I know. Burn out is my own fault...

So goes the ins and outs of my training thus far. Training for Arizona was vastly different than how I am right now. Now Boston will be for the experience only. I won't be going for time. But still, I'd like to be prepared to get through it and have fun!

Please cross your fingers my 22 miler on Saturday goes as planned and the ankle is strong and up for the task. The group I am running includes a couple of teammates also going to Boston and apparently a few other highly amusing people so it should be a nice run, as challenging as the course will be. Wish me luck!

------------------

A week later since that blog was written I am feeling much better and a little more rested. After icing and babying my ankle, I took two days off and ran that 22 miles with no problems. The group I ran with was great, 5 of which are also going to Boston. 22 miles up and down a few nasty hills and a nice ice bath in the San Francisco Bay afterwards. :) TAPER TIME! Since that time, I've backed off on the Aleve to see how the ankle felt and it was and is doing well. I'm icing it still and wrapping it here and there just to be on the safe side. Now it's time to keep healthy.

I'm also dropping one run a week and hopping on the bike for some much needed cross training and time on the bike. I missed it. :)

Beantown - April 16, 2007....it's countdown time!

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 14:53:04 GMT

I'm going to the Boston Marathon, y'all!

I failed to post my Rock n Roll Arizona Marathon race report on here so thought I would share my excitement since I qualified for the Boston Marathon! Here's the report as posted on the runango forums. Enjoy!!!! :D

Race Report as posted on the Run Forums: http://www.runango.com/forums/board_show.pl?bid=1

The Short Version:
This is my second marathon. First marathon time: 3:58:56
Goals for RNR Az - 1) Sub 3:50. 2) 3:45 or if I'm feeling good, 3) go for my Boston Qualifying time - 3:40
Results:
Watch Time: 3:39:10
Chip Time: 3:39:05 - I'm going to Boston baby!!!!
The "I don't care what you think I'm writing a long race report", version:

There were a lot of things leading up to this race that could have been detrimental to the final outcome and which had me more nervous than I already was. On Friday I began having issues with my stomach which I thought was more nerves from flying but the upset stomach stayed with me, making food a nauseating issue. I barely got through dinner on Saturday night and didn't finish my bagel and PB on race morning and attempted a banana to no avail. All I could imagine was having no energy to finish and stopping at every portapotty along the way. Of COURSE this made my nerves worse than they already were.

Race Day Weather - "This is the coldest morning since 1990." WTF?
It was 32 degrees at race start and still at mile 10 when I saw another temperature gauge. It took me a good 8-10 mile to feel good and warmed up. Damn it was cold and by the time I finished, my lungs were painful and left me with a smokers cough the rest of the day. With that and my marathon hobble, I was a vision of sexiness. src="http://www.runango.com/forumd/style-blue/sml_wnk.gif">

Besides the running attire, shorts, tshirt, sports bra..etc. I also wore:
Gloves, Ear warmers, Arm Warmers made from multicolored striped socks - they were so cute I hated to let them go after I warmed up. But they were quite fun. src="http://www.runango.com/forumd/style-blue/sml_wnk.gif"> And a throw away jacket that I picked up at the expo. Man those throw away clothes guys made a butt load of money off of those things!!

Goals/Strategy: My initial goal going into training was a sub 3:50. As training went on that goal changed to 3:45 and in the last few weeks, with some great training runs under my belt the term, BQ came into question. I honestly really never thought I would be able to BQ at my current qualifying time of 3:40. It seemed impossible so the fact that it was even being raised as a potential goal, lofty as I thought it might be...was scary for me. But nevertheless, I went into the race with this in mind:

Go out at a 3:43 pace and if I was feeling good at mile 17 or 18, go for it. Wearing pace wristbands for both a 3:40 and 3:45 marathon I kept tabs on where I was. As you can see by my splits I got anxious to pick it up in some places.

Eating strategy: With a stomach on the rocks and Accelerade as the on course sports drink which I wasn't a fan of, I didn't risk drinking any and relied on Gu and water. Every 4-5 miles it was time for a Gu which REALLY helped me break up the race into sections rather than - I still have 20+ miles to go...

I failed to mention that pre race I got stuck in a long bathroom line with just a few minutes before race time I said F it and headed to my corral. Going through my entire race I fought with this phrase: "Bathroom break or Boston Marathon?" And which would you choose? src="http://www.runango.com/forumd/style-blue/sml_wnk.gif">

SPLITS!
1 8:32 Damn it's cold. Toes are numb. 3:45 pace leader is up ahead, let's keep tabs on him.
2 8:25 Spectators hold signs telling me I'm going to hell without Jesus. Wow, this support is phenomenal.
3 8:24 Ok, time to ditch the throwaway jacket
4 8:26 Gu
5 8:34 Right shin begins to get really tight and achy. Not a good sign. "It sill stretch out, it will stretch out."
6 8:26 Shin still an issue...Maybe I will just go for the 3:45 - it's still a good PR
7 8:27 Should I stop to stretch them? Good bye arm warmers...
8 8:27 Gu. 3:45 pacer is gone but I'm keeping on pace
9 9:20 Or not. WTF? I must have lost focus here or GPS lost signal? I can't be going that slow. 
10 8:33 Still 32 degrees. But legs are warming up finally, shin issue seems to be gone.
11 8:32 The band at this mile - that singer should be on the American Idol reject show - doh - it's a father and his kids in the band. Ok, maybe I am going to hell for that thought.
12 8:09 Getting anxious to speed up. 14 miles to go...just relax...
13 8:19 Halfway point - still keeping tabs on the pace charts to see progress. Keeping to strategy thus far.
14 8:28 Gu
15 8:32
16 8:16 Yeah, anxious again. src="http://www.runango.com/forumd/style-blue/sml_wnk.gif">
17 8:29 Where's mile 18? I'm feeling good...time for me to get this thing going...
18 8:27 Gu - Shin begins to haunt me again but I can't worry about that now. It's time to go!!!!
19 8:07 Bring it Boston!!
20 8:06 I fought to keep a sub 8:10 to ensure a 3:40 or less. I take some accelerade as I may need the added energy.
21 8:05 Just keep going...almost there.
22 8:07 Ok 4.2 miles to go, I have less than 36 minutes to do them in...
23 8:10
24 8:19 Gu. The one slight hill under the overpass. So mean at mile 24! A guy yells "Pick it up!!" behind me for his own personal motivation to get up and over...I think it helped me as well. src="http://www.runango.com/forumd/style-blue/sml_pos.gif"> It is here I also spot the 3:40 pace leader and decide then and there that I need to pass him to ensure my BQ.
25 8:01 Later 3:40 pacer!! I hear a coach pacing a girl next to me. Mentally thank him as his words encouraged me too.
26 7:49 Giving it all I have left. I think of my Yasso 800s here. HURTING!
0.2 1:14 or 6:46/mile "Sprinting" it in with whatever I have. I'm wheezing but there it is on the clock - 3:39 baby!!! Arms go up at the finish line. I DID IT!!!

The last 6 miles obviously were my fastest miles. In hindsight I wonder if I had picked it up sooner would I have gotten a better time - or would I have lost it close to the finish and missed the BQ all together. Regardless, I'm still proud of how I finished.

The lungs were killing me at the end as was everything but I was one of "those marathoners" and shed a tear cuz I was damn proud of myself and still am. I can't believe I did it. A guy I had caught up to and passed around mile 23 came up next to me and asked to shake my hand - "Thank you for pacing me in. I tried to pass you but couldn't. Awesome job out there." He was so genuine.

Results:
Watch Time: 3:39:10
Chip Time: 3:39:05 - I'm going to Boston baby!!!!

So that's the report I have for now. I know it's long but I don't care - so was the race. I'm going to Boston baby!

Boston Marathon April 16. 2007

Let's go to Beantown!

Friday, December 22, 2006

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 12:17:16 GMT

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Monday, August 28, 2006

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 01:12:35 GMT

Why jump ship?

Why do people bottle things up in side? I mean, I tend to do it and know it's not healthy. This I've worked on so I'm not secluding myself as much. No matter what happens, bottling things up often leads to potential breakdowns and/or a period of "freaking out" where in going into seclusion seems like the best idea. The "I need to be alone" period. While alone time can be good, if you are in a bad place - alone time can be your worst enemy. Negative thoughts justify each other and without talking them out with someone else, everything you perceive as bad or scary is magnified. So, then what happens? More alone time, avoiding the issue or what I like to call, jumping ship.

Why jump ship when those on board are reaching out to help? Feeling overwhelmed by something are often your thoughts making you believe this is the issue. People bottle up preconveived ideas of what they assume others may think about them or may be thinking in general. Without talking it out or asking, they jump ship and try to fend for themselves.

Staying on board you would find those people could actually lend a hand to help. Even if they have offered help and you didn't want it, why not stay on board anyway? Perhaps at some point you might find reaching out to them isn't so scary?

The fact is, none of them are asking anything of you but to just stay aboard. Stay aboard for a day, or two. See how that goes. See how a week goes. The boat has been sailing for so long already with no problems, why now is it suddenly so scary? Why is staying on board one more day scary? Noone is asking or telling you to stay aboard for months and months at a time.

And if staying onboard seems like too much, why not say so before jumping? It could save you and those on board a lot of unnecessary hurt, sadness, anger...could even make you see things differently

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Wed, 02 Aug 2006 18:36:43 GMT

Happy Hump Day everyone...

I hope all is well. Been going thru the motions the last couple of weeks, Workout, work, eat, hang with friends/family, sleep........and cry. The last week and a half has been a sad one for some friends of mine and seeing them hurt - is so hard to see.

On July 23rd, one of my event committe members and friends, passed away suddenly at her home. Cause? Complications of heat/sun and Multiple Sclerosis. She was only 47. K was a beautiful woman, a sparkplug of a personality, loving mother and wife to a wonderful husband and two great daughters, who are both only 21 and 23. The entire family has volunteered for my event for several years and I have thus grown close to them. Her service last week was truly a celebration of her life, full of memories and laughter but the devastation of her passing was felt throughout. The church was packed, standing room only - none of us were surprised at this. Everyone loved her. And she loved everyone.

The hardest part of the service was paying my respects to a family that was hurting to the core. The youngest daughter saw me approach and reached her arms out to me as if saying, someone please, please comfort me. We hugged and cried. She is only 21 - so young to be losing a mother. My tears really fell when I hugged K's husband. Him and K were high school sweethearts, absolutely hilarious together and so much in love...it was just happy to be around them. He hugged me so tight I thought he would never let go, perhaps hoping that the tighter he hugged, the better the chances of K coming back. We chatted and cried together for a few minutes. Promising we would get together soon with the family. Gawd...it's just so sad.

K, we are thinking of you and miss you. I know you are up there making margaritas, redecorating and giving hawaiian shirts to all that you see. The RCP Tiburon Mile will not be the same without you but we promise to "party" on as you would want us to.

Any thoughts or prayers for a much deserved family, please send them on. They could use the extra positivity.

Hugs to everyone...

RTG

Monday, July 17, 2006

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 19:11:28 GMT

Hey all...

So the race was...eh, ok. Not great but not bad either. I was not in great shape for this one as told by my time and the sore legs. I know I can do a lot better which is a good feeling and overall it was a great weekend. Here's the race report as posted on the Runners Forums.

The short of it:
I knew I wasn't as prepared as I could have been for this race. Mentally drained from Wildflower training I ran to get in the miles to finish this race, not to race it. My IT band as you know was giving me hell the last week so ran only once last week and backed off the week before as well. Confidence wasn't 100% but of course my brain still wanted a PR even tho it was a harder course than my PR was on. Watch time was 45 seconds slower than my PR at a 1:50:33. Can't be too mad at that although wish I could have pushed it enuf to pr by a few seconds. So yes, the Garmin made it through the ENTIRE RACE.

The long of it:
Saturday afternoon, Shawn and his gf came to pick Keith and I up and we headed on our way to Napa to meet up with Jon at the packet pick up. Once there in the 100 degree heat, we sat for a few minutes chatting and sipping on some local Pinot Noir before finding the bed and breakfast/cottage where we were to stay for the night.

This place we found online looked adorable from what we read and saw on the website, a few rooms to rent, private cottage and patio, the only place you can reserve for one night only. Sounds great, no? Heehee. We drive up to what looks like a family house - not really sure what was going on, Keith knocks on the door to be sure we were in the right place and who should open it but an elderly Gentleman by the name of Walt....this professional bed and breakfast was the home of Grandma and Grandpa Walt who were renting out the rooms in their house. LMAO!!! Walt toured us around, 2 of the rooms were inside Walts house, halls complete with the children's senior portraits on the wall. CLASSIC. We did all we could to keep our composure as Walt was indeed the sweetest man ever. But we all felt as if we were staying with our grandparents for the weekend.

The private cottage in the back was a bit better, more private and "bed and breakfast like." Although we found little notes left throughout for guests - not written on the computer but rather handwritten in script by grandma and grandpa - one telling us not to put dental floss in the toilet because it is "murder on our plumbing." A few others told us where lights were, how to use the TV and thermostat. We even had a box of tapes if we wanted music - Whitney Houston, Anne Murray, Billy Idol - all the latest hits were included.

Our humble abode made the trip that much more fun though. All part of the experience.

After getting settled we went out to an Italian dinner at a nearby outdoor cafe, an evening complete with a squirrel on the tree above basically throwing things on Jon and Shawn all night long. LOL. The words, "incoming" during dinner were common.

Afterwards Shawn, his gf, Keith and I chatted out on the patio for awhile before calling it a night to get ready for the 445am wake up call.

The race:
I've been having issues with my knee lately, feared to be patellar issues was more of tight it band/quad muscles pulling on the knee. Saturday morning my IT band and knee weren't happy with me. Not the best sign first thing on race day. I did my best to ignore it and after a few pre-race pics, Keith, Jon and I headed to the half marathon shuttle buses that would take us to the start.

My training has been kind of half ass lately. Burned out from training my arse off for Wildflower Tri it's been hard for me to get back into it, pushing the pace, not wanting to reinjure a pulled groin I haven't done any speedwork and barely any tempo work and the longest run I've done was 12 miles. I had originally wanted to do a 12 and 14 but the flu took me out and a 12 miler quickly turned into a very slow 9 miler with the rest of my runs during that time being nonexistant or very, very slow and short.

At the start we met up with our friend Troy and with the race delayed 15 minutes we found us extra time to warm up, stretch and chat. Finally we lined up mid pack, Keith's goal pace was obviously faster than mine but he said he'd warm up with me the first couple of miles and then go. My goal: If I can PR great but for the most part it was to go out and run a smart race, hope the knee doesn't act up and keep it consistent perhaps around 8:15 pace. Well - not all of that happened.

The first mile went down hill, then up over the first and largest hill. Surprisingly and to my dismay I was running faster than I planned as I attempted to dodge people on the crowded road including walkers. Keith was running faster than I expected at this point and knowing I didn't want to push it too early, I waved him on and he took off. The first few miles I held a comfortable 8 minute pace, each mile trying to back off to stay at my ~ 8:15 goal pace.

The views on the course were incredible - vineyards, grape vines everywhere, hills - beautiful. Yet however beautiful, after a few miles one vineyard/grapevine looks like the next and without anyone on the roads to cheer it became a bit boring. I did however make sure i did a "scenery check" to keep the brain entertained as much as possible. Eventual boredom hit however and it was hard to keep the motivation going.

At mile 3-4 I felt the IT Band. not a good sign so early in the race. It wasn't too painful but was definitely there. I ignored it as much as possible and kept going. Water stops were crowded and found in a few places when I went to grab water the cup was empty! Slowed me down a bit as I grabbed another one from the table. This was more early on in the race, the volunteers later on were much more prepared.

At mile 7.5 the back country road we were on came to a main highway where we were forced to stop by police for crossing traffic WTF!? I think we were stopped for about a minute, a little less. NOT Happy. Off again we went, the heat wasn't terrible but hotter than I am used to, the rolling hills were still rolling, the knee was barking a bit more and my pace was slowing unfortunatley but still plugging along within seconds of my PR pace. About mile 9.5 I was VERY surprised to see Keith walking. I never thought I'd see him until the finish AND he would never walk and is very stubborn about slowing when he runs so I knew something was not right. Seems his stomach was giving him major issues, being majorly nauseous since mile 4. He ran with me a bit but he said he felt as if he'd get sick if he kept running and told me to go ahead. I felt so bad for him. He's had long runs faster than his previous PR so he was definitely ready to have a good race - neither of us know what happened yesterday. So, I reluctantly kept going, looking back now and again, but he again waved me on and I picked it back up.

The lack of tempo runs and long runs could be felt at mile 10 and 11. My pace wasn't as strong anymore and I was more tired than I should have been. Plugged along, thanking all that were out there cheering, the maybe 5 groups of people. Cross the finish line with a push and the garmin time was 45 seconds slower than my PR. I guess I can't be too disappointed with that being that the course was harder than the course I PRed on and the training wasn't up to par. Time: 1:50:33.

That said, I know I have a 1:40-45 in me somewhere and am looking forward to upping my training and speedwork to get there. This race made me miss racing, specificially running races and not triathlons - I want to see what the body can do next.

As for after the race:
After picking up our tshirts, medals and wine glass souvenirs we found Jon and Troy for some wine tasting, chatting and awaited the awards ceremony - Jon was first in his age group!!! Stud! Thereafter we said our goodbyes to Grandpa Walt and our cute little room and we all drove back through Marin County to my favorite Brewery for a fabulous lunch - Marin Brewing Company. beers, live music, good food and good compay. The perfect ending to the afternoon...

Oh and last night my IT Band and I spent some quality time with my foam roller, runner stick and the ice pack. Now to ice again. Booooo.

Thanks for reading all!

Friday, July 14, 2006

Fri, 14 Jul 2006 19:47:43 GMT

Oooh. Another long break in between posts. Thanks, Bruce for sending me an email! I need to check in more often. :)

Up coming this weekend:

Carneros Wine Country Half Marathon on Sunday

Not really sure how I will do. I've been kind of blah with training. Have put the miles in but not necessarily quality miles to get in a good race and a PR. So we will see. I'd like to do fairly well though - well enuf to deserve all of the wine and beer afterwards!

We are staying up in Sonoma tomorrow night with a few friends, 5 of us total so it should be a good time.

I hope all is well with everyone. I will try to see what you are all up to.

And a note for your Friday: Please remember to talk things out with loved ones rather than let it go until things blow up. It's so much easier and makes everyone so much happier.

Off to grab drinks with the boy and his work posse.

Ciao!

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 12:13:08 GMT

Hey all. Been a busy couple of weeks with Summer Game Events, work events, concerts in the park, the flu (that of course took a full week to recovery from). Have managed to get in some good workouts which I will post below! As for the bulk of my post, after spending time with my father this weekend and being reminded of his love of photography, I wanted to share some of the amazing photos with you. He has recently sold a few much to his surprise and is putting together a portfolio in hopes that he can share his love of nature with the world in the near future. Enjoy!

Training update:

Last week's flu took it's toll on me and barely got thorugh a 9 mile run on Saturday. Managed a 25 mile bike ride on Sunday but it wans't anything to brag about. This week, things have gone a lot better.

Monday: 7 mile run with some hills

Tuesday: A.M. Swim. 3,000 yards; P.M. Spin Class

Wednesday: 6 mile run with pick ups

Next up: Carneros Half Marathon 7/16; Tiburon Triathlon 7/30; Half Vineman Relay 8/12; Tri for Fun 8/?; Pac Grove Triathlon 9/9; Santa Barbara News Press Half Marathon 11/4; Las Vegas Marathon ? 12/10

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 14:10:03 GMT

I'm so bad. Clearly I haven't done a good job at making time for xanga. Same ol story, different post. I know. Busy, busy. My desk has many different piles for me to tackle but wanted to finally post an update!

This passed weekend was the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon, an internationally renowned race attracting Pros and Amatuers from all over. My girlfriend and pro triathlete Sara McLarty once again came to stay with me as she participated for her 2nd year as a pro. Sara is phenomenal swimmer and like last year, she was the first woman out of the water and first onto the bike! My run team once again had the water stop on the run course at miles 2 and miles 6 at which point runners are either going up the stairs to Golden Gate Bridge (Mile 2) or down the stairs towards the finish (Mile 6). We were also at a spot where we could see the bikers at Mile 2 of the bike course. So of course when she went flying up the hill in 1st place, we were going nuts screaming for her since I had the entire team cheering her on. :p

About a thousand athletes came by thereafter and we cheered them on as well, handing out cytomax and water. Teammates and a friend Greg that I hadn't seen in 4 years were among this group.

Then the elites coming back for the run started heading our way. They rarely take water but I did give water to a few of the top pros. :) Then, HERE COMES SARA!! Now in 2nd place although being followed closely by the 3rd woman. At that point I knew she would be passed at least by this woman. Better than last year as she was 8th going into the run in 2005.

Fast forward 4 miles. THIS IS THE EXCITING PART: K and my coach R both yell for me that Sara is coming back down the stairs. IN 3RD PLACE!!!I I go nuts, cheering all of us screaming for her. She intensely near grabs my hand as she is running and says, "you need to yell loud if someone is coming up behind me." OMG, no pressure!! The difference between her getting 3rd or 4th is my scream. Thankfully, she had a about a 2:00 lead on the next runner so by the time she came, Sara wouldn't have heard me. hehe

So the girl took 3RD PLACE! SO excited for her. We found her after the race for big hugs. :) She pulled her "I'm a pro" card and got us some free food from the hospitality tents. hehe. And we lounged on the grass and talked about her race. And the awards. The announcer at the awards ceremony said, "And this young lady had the race of her life..." As he announced Sara. I had Sara's camera and keith had mine so we were taking lots o pics. She came back to sit with us after the awards ceremony not knowing how much money she won and opened her check with a little, "yay!" LOL. $3,000. Not bad at all!

Here is Sara and I post race

As for my triathlon career and running endeavors. I found out yesterday that I did not make it into the NYC Marathon Lottery (me and thousands of others) so I signed up for Pacific Grove Triathlon on September 9th! :) Yay! Another race I've always wanted to do albeith not looking forward to the "kelp krawl" during the swim. But am looking forward to PacGrove. K and I stayed down there for a little getaway and I was able to run part of the course. GORGEOUS! :) ANd flat. hehe

Next up: Carneros Half Marathon July 16th; possibly Tiburon Triathlon 7/30; Vineman Half Ironman Relay - 1.2 mile Swim, August 12th; some sort of sprint triathlon somewhere in August; PacGrove Olympic Distance Triathlon September 9th

Time to get back on the bike! :)

Today: 11 miles for me this morning. Legs are TIRED! :)