PRs in Portland

I had a nice blog drafted on my recent half-marathon up in Portland, but I wrote it on the iPad and apparently I didn't save it correctly so it disappeared into cyber space. Bummer. So this time I'll keep it relatively short and concise. Stay tuned for part 2: the Portland food and drink blog with mini reviews and pics of the amazing places we hit up while in town.

Yes, John stepped up to the plate for many of my needs,
including the putting on of my
beloved 110% Play Harder Compression socks!

PR stokedness rockin the cast.

*I PR'd by 2+ minutes with this broken wrist (1:34 and change, but that time was for more than 13.2 miles of running, so I actually ran a 7:09 average on my Garmin, faster than official results). Yay! PS- I don't think the course was long, there were just a lot of turns and I probably didn't run them as "tight" as possible.

*The wrist situation was the big question mark, as I did not know how it was going to feel in those latter miles at a rather intense effort. But it held up beautifully. Arm swing was normal. Grateful.

*I think I ran too easy. No, I know I did. HR confirms this. Subconsciously I think the wrist had me a little worried and I held back-ish, especially in the beginning. During the run I did not pay attention to any data whatsoever except for glancing at mile splits as they popped up. The first few miles were ok (7:15-7:30ish pace), but my breathing was really mellow so I picked it up a bit finally. Near the end (when I knew the wrist was gonna be fine) I was going sub-7:00 and realized I could have started that earlier on.

*I now feel confident that I can work my way to going sub-1:30. New goal.

Hawthorne Bridge over which we ran. Love the bridges in Portland.

Pre-race breakfast of champions: Bonk Breaker
and straight up espresso.

*Nutrition and hydration were pretty much non-existent during. A few "drops" of water at aid stations, and  an attempt at trying a new gel made with chia seeds (tasty, but I dropped it so only got a few slurps). I'll revisit that gel talk later... Also, note breakfast to the right:

*Rock N Roll races are very well-run events and I would definitely do another one! Oh wait, I am. Looks like I will be doing the SD half next weekend! With all the training I have on tap ahead, though, I'm not sure I can expect yet another PR.

*The Portland course was awesome and weather was ideal. Do a race in Portland if you ever get the chance. It's a great area that offers a lot of cool things to do, great food, urban yet outdoorsy, and lots of great breweries to explore! And that, my friends, will be the topic of the next blog, which I'm writing now!



*Last but not least, John PR'd big time to shaving something like 5-6 minutes off his PR from last year around this same time on a similar course elevation-wise. I guess that's what happens when you live with a coach!

*Monday the "run bug" was still in us and we drove out to Hood River stumbling upon a breathtaking trail secluded in nature and just gorgeous. We ran more than 10 miles and it was, to me, the perfect run -- exploring a new place, enjoying it with my man, ignoring the data, and feeling good knowing I could still run decently after nearly 20 miles the previous 2 days.

Gorgeous land. Easy to add on double-digit miles even after a half-mary with this as your view.

broken

If you had asked me last Sunday what my next blog was going to be about? Well, I was out in the ocean swimming and kayaking with the family for Mother's Day, so never would I have imagined the topic of today's post...

I wish I had some glamorous story to share about fighting off a mountain lion or falling from a ledge on an awesome MTB ride. Nope. Monday I was rolling out of the driveway to continue on my long ride after a pitstop at mile ~32 to refill bottles (it was in the 90s and we started the ride midday, hot!).

I had a momentary lapse in balance and coordination. Right foot was clipped in and left foot was going in, but I fumbled and before I knew it I went down like a ton of bricks on my right side. I was unable to clip out in time on the right to stop the fall. My wrist took the impact on asphalt. The pain I felt was unlike any pain I've felt before. It's not that the pain was so much worse than past wipeouts, it was just different. F-bombs ensued like crazy as I cradled my wrist and everyone rushed to see what the hell just happened.

I sat on a chair waiting for the pain to die down with intentions of still continuing to ride. Seriously. That's the denial part of injury right there haha. After some waiting and icing the pain was just as bad if not worse and I couldn't even move my wrist. Eventually I gave into to accepting a car ride home. I still don't think I had cried at that point.

Got home and my first shower in my new state was a joke. Um, ouch? And how am I supposed to do THAT is THIS pain?!

I felt pretty helpless and didn't want to do too much to aggravate it. I was still thinking it was just a sprain and/or the wrist was just angry and it'd be fine soon... I've never broken a bone or had severe injury like that so I'm used to my body bouncing back relatively fast from spills and whatnot.

I figured a good night sleep would do the trick and I'd wake up sore but ok.

Nope.

Even worse pain when I woke up.

People were throwing around the word X-ray, and I was secretly thinking, "ya right, I'm fine." But when I woke up Tuesday I knew then I was not fine. Thankfully I knew a local sports med doc friend of mine was going to be at my gym 6-7 a.m., so I rushed over there to have him take a look. By rush over, I mean: John drove me (he's been a lifesaver).

Doc took a look and said come in for X-rays asap.

The X-rays weren't the clearest and but they were telling enough with a good, hard look: A nondisplaced radial fracture.

My palm is facing up here, so that dark line on the bone on the right (my radius) is
the fracture. Of all fractures, this one is probably best-case scenario. A break in one
of the tiny wrist bones, like scaphoid, would usually require surgery.

A little closer in. See?

See now?

Fuck. (sorry.) So, yea, first broken bone for this girl! Thankfully it's not too severe in the world of broken bones and apparently I can still train, letting pain be my guide. Literally I was told I can swim, bike, run as soon as I want. Seriously?! Yup. It helps that I have a rad "cast" by Exos that was developed for athletes and active people (see photo at top of blog). It's waterproof, and you heat it up then mold it to your wrist -- kinda like certain shoes and sandals these days -- and once it's on, it's strong enough to support a bunch of activities, even swimming! (Crazy, but true.) Wednesday I tried out a bike (trainer) and run and it worked, whew. No swim yet, but we will see....

First trainer session as a gimp. Cool cast, eh?

Training is obviously still going to suffer a bit for the next ~6 weeks as I heal. A bummer, but what can you do? It could be a lot worse. I know many people are dealing with far worse issues than me and it doesn't feel right to get too whiny or upset over my situation.

Ocean swims at home. How could you not want to be in this water?

That said, I went through the pity party stage the first 24ish hours. I'd cry here and there, tears over the inevitable trainer sessions in my future (haha) and tears when I would try to do some everyday normal task... and it hurt... and I couldn't do it... and John had to do it... oh man. The other thing that made me sob pretty hard is the idea of not being able to ocean swim like we have been lately. I am obsessed with getting out there right now and I've never loved swimming more because of it.

On the flip side I'm already celebrating the small victories, like being able to type almost like normal again already. Doing a trainer session and run with no bad pain. Cooking food. Learning to be ambidextrous...

The last important thing to note here is that I have confirmed through bone density scans that my bones are in fact very strong and healthy, and no red flags there. I did NOT break my wrist because I'm weak. So many times you hear of endurance athletes with stress fractures, or worse, female athletes who are frail from training and low energy intake; it's a real issue and I don't to be in that category nor do I want to see anyone there. I try to be as strong as possible through my training, diet and lifestyle, and I also try to be proactive with my health -- getting a bone density scan is one way of doing that. Knowledge is power and the results of the scans show that what I'm doing daily is working for me and not against me. This break was just one of those things.

I still plan to kick ass... so stick with me here!

A Little Racey-Poo

Saturday I did the second race in the LA Tri Series at Bonelli Park. I started doing these races in 2009, and have continued to make the drive up the 57 freeway whenever one of the races fits into my schedule. This year will be the first time I think I can get in all three races in the series, woo hoo!

I've said it before and will say it again, I love this series and I never get sick of the venue. They're tough little courses and there's always some fast folks who show up to make for some fun racing. In the first race last month, a sprint, I later found out the female winner is a San Diego stud triathlete, Katie Araujo, who's raced Kona and all that jazz. That first race also featured Macca, of course, who won but definitely had competition in Eric Nau who was only about 30 seconds back of the Aussie.

Loving our new kits! Thanks Betty Designs, Hincape and all my sponsors! We got lots of compliments.

Trying to do all I could
to feel OK for this race.
#beetloading

Race #2 in the series is an odd distance, something between a sprint and Oly, A ~1k swim, ~16.5-mile bike and ~5-mile run. For the bike/run I am going by my Garmin for the official distance, as it seems a little inconsistent on the results page, etc. That, however, is one of the things I love about the series at Bonelli: just go out and race hard and don't get too wrapped up in distances down to the 1/10th of a mile; it ain't Kona.

So my race? I'll be honest, I actually wasn't feeling too hot going into this race (IM training will do that I guess), but I was committed and am not one to bail unless I'm hugging the porcelain princess or something. We got to the race early, and found out I had a registration issue -- I wasn't registered. Oops! For a second I thought that was my perfect out, but I said screw that attitude dude, and I registered (thanks to Carolyn and the fine race organizers who made sure things were taken care of efficiently), toed the line, and got excited as I felt that first surge of race adrenaline...


Swim

My home lanes. Great spot to swim, but I prefer open water any day.

My swimming was hit and miss last week until a great ocean swim on Thursday with my crew. I love OWS so much more than pool swimming.  Onto race day, and I just went steady and strong, and I paced by PE, making sure it hurt. A 1k is short enough where you need to swim hard but it's long enough where a swimmer like me can easily blow up. Thankfully I came up out of the water in ~17:30, and the course was true to 1k (even on my Garmin), so that put me at a ~1:37/100 yd pace. I can take that! It helped that the course was well-marked with adequate buoys, so I made it around without issue. However, I did get dunked big time as girls pulled themselves over me, so it was far from a smooth swim and a blow to the ego haha. Not to mention, I still never found those feet for drafting, either. Poo.

T1
All good except for a soaring HR and a timing chip that was literally hanging on by a thread and needed to be secured down with a safety pin. Note to self: do a better job with the safety pin before the race and don't be lazy with that!

Bike
The bike course overall is no joke, and super fun for that reason. For 16.5 miles it was ~1,700ft elevation gain with nasty little climbs, longer gradual climbs, killer downhills (where it's easy to get to 40+ mph), technical turns, headwinds, etc. It's the kind of course that keeps you honest and will make you a better cyclist in racing.

It was two loops, but my bike legs only showed up on the second loop. A little too late. Crap. I still had a decent bike in comparison with the rest of the field, and, in fact, I had the second fastest female bike of the day only a hair behind the fastest girl. And the fastest girl and I pretty much started the bike together, and continued to trade spots throughout the whole ride, always within range of one another. She was a good carrot. I avg'd about 20.5 mph and put out some good watts overall, but I know I could have done better knowing me and how I can ride. Not to mention, by this point my HR was so jacked up and I could tell something was not normal in my body. But whatever, the race was relatively short. I could hang.

T2
Made up for lost time with a :52 transition.

Run
Spoiler on the run: I got the fastest run split of the day, which is a first for me and something I am very proud to have earned. The run was my last chance to go big and prove to myself I could execute even if it wasn't "my day" so to speak. Even with the other girls out of the picture, it was a really good run for me and I was surprised to see the speed when speed is not something I've been doing in training lately.

And let's be honest, another reason I ran as hard as I did is because it turned into a race to move up the ranks, which was fun. My HR was still higher than I ever see even in a sprint, so I had to just suck it up and still hammer.

I was out of T2 before the aforementioned chick who I saw throughout the ride, but very soon she caught me on the run and passed, opening a gap of about 25 yd, and I refused to let that gap grow. By mile 3ish I caught her for good and we were told by some dudes that we were sitting 4th and 5th. At that point I could see 3rd-place chick ahead, and she was within catching distance, so that became my new carrot. It also meant digging deep to a 6-something mile pace, which, again, is kinda foreign in my overall training right now so it didn't feel good.

Meanwhile, the run course was hot and hilly, just like the bike. It was seriously getting close to 90 degrees at this point. I was carrying a bottle of Skratch. Don't leave home without it. The course starts on trail and then you get some asphalt, sidewalk, more trail, etc. Rarely is it ever just flat though.

Anyway, I finally passed my new friend who I'd been with pretty much from the beginning of the race and I couldn't let up or she'd catch me for sure. I was totally blowing up but closing the gap on 3rd place, and a couple spectators noticed my efforts, shouting some encouraging words to "catch her"... she was within reach but time was running out and we were getting close to the finish... then less than a 1/4 mile... I was giving it every ounce I had and I'm sure I was at my MAX HR. Annnnd it wasn't quite enough. I finished just 3 dang seconds behind 3rd place! But all good. I know the 3rd place girl, and she's beat me before. Plus, it turns out I was less than a minute behind the 1st & 2nd place women.

The result of sucking it up and digging deep when the body would
rather sleep in. The mind is a powerful thing.

I negative split the run like crazy and at the finish my HR was SO high that I literally couldn't even stop moving... so I kept walking/jogging for a while to chill out. John tried to catch up with me, stop and chat but I waved him off as I went to do my thing alone. That never happens haha.

Finish
Lucky for me I got 1st AG, and 4th overall in a time that I can be proud of given the poopy feeling I had going into this race. The top 5 women all finished within a minute of one another, so it was definitely a close one.

And even better was that John had a freakin awesome race! He finished 4th in his AG (35-39), not an easy AG at all. And it was definitely a breakthorugh race for him. And check out how we finished in the overall standings....

#1second

I went home and took a nap.

San Diego Miles

Back from the land of hot dogs, IPAs and more Umeke bowls than I could count in one household. Now that was a weekend. If you want to learn how to properly work hard and play hard visit The Rouses! Good times.

Cheesy group pic! Friday evening at Green Flash Brewery. Mike, me, John, Jim Vance and Kimmie.

There were many reasons for going to SD, the primary one being to train (despite all the beer tweets/pics you may have seen from us over the weekend). There really aren't too many places near where we live in OC where you can quickly get to quality uninterrupted roads for 50... 75... 100+ miles. Don't get me wrong, we have decent riding and we have hills (thank goodness) but also lots of traffic stops and congestion, and that can kill the mojo time after time. (OC'ers: If there's some magical traffic-less route I'm missing, please fill me in.)

SD, on the other hand, has the roads for quality long miles. Not a single forced stop, good weather and hills. This past weekend we wanted to get in ~5hrs, and have the finish line be at Alpine Brewing for a post-training refreshing beverage. Starting in Alpine worked out perfectly because immediately we had access legit training grounds. It brought back memories, for sure.... When I still lived in SD, I used to ride in the general area out on Dehesa and Japtul roads, Harbison Canyon, etc; however, that was when I was content and stoked on a 20-mile ride haha. I think my ex-boyfriend had me to GWL once, and I wanted to kill him....

So we parked at the brewery and got riding, and it was just what we wanted and extra hot. Perfection. Mentally I was ready and excited for a big day in the saddle and nothing was going to break that spirit. Rousey had given us directions on where to ride and just casually mentioned that there would be some hills and, like uh, an 11-mile climb, Mt. Laguna or something; stated it like it was no big deal. Mt. Laguna sounded familiar but I didn't think much of it. Meanwhile, Rousey ran the whole time we rode, fueled on on bottle of water and a hot dog. Yup.

Long story short, the ride was a freakin beast and a blast! I had not done that much climbing since all my MTB'ing last year, and I loved it. I have a good ability to put my head down and grind up consistently. The grade on Mt. Laguna wasn't that bad, and I've done gnarlier, but combined with everything else we got in just under 8k vertical. John and I just took the hills as they came, not breaking any records, but enjoying a solid day of 70 miles. It wasn't quite the 5hrs of ride time we wanted, but 4+ with that kind of vertical was an ok compromise.

Quick stop during the grind up Mt. Laguna to enjoy a Bonk Breaker and a good view. I was sporting my new BB kit made by Hincape, and it was SO comfy and breathable in the heat.

I really do love climbing, even the nonstop grinds like Mt. Laguna. I had good practice last year when doing all that MTB, including the 9-mi TT that took just under 1:30 (yea, now that was a grade given that time/distance as you can imagine), and the 50mile-ish Saddleback Mountain race. In fact, I will take climbing over descending ANY day. I hate downhill for one reason: the fear of a bee slamming it's stinger ass into me at 40+ mph... fear of anaphylactic shock... fear of the epi pen.... I'm not gonna lie, it all terrifies me. But that happens when you've paid $2,000+ in medical bills from that exact scenario panning out before. Of course, I carry an epi pen religiously now and can avoid another 911 call most likely, but still. It sucks that I'm a scaredy cat. Thank god our decent was bee-free this time.

After the ride I had oddly great energy and was not overly trashed. It was weird. I attribute that to good nutrition especially: couple bonk breakers, skratch, banana, water, MAP... the usual. I never let myself get depleted. My diet otherwise over the weekend was hit or miss: some healthy Paleo-ish fish tacos to the other end of the spectrum of good ol' fashion pizza, more chips than I've eaten in ages (my weakness is chips) and I don't even know what else. But it was interesting to see that someone who eats as healthy as I do still did fine with gluten-filled food and drinks. Last time I had real pizza I got sick, so I consider this a success.

I love me a good flight of good beer! @ Alpine Brewing.

Tasting room, on my way to finding a bathroom where I attempted to take a sponge-bath "shower"
with sink water and paper towels in a bathroom with no light
after being on the bike for 70 miles. Yikes.

This is one weird dude. 26+ mile post-run craving? Fried pickles. That's all.
I'll admit, though, I actually had one and it was pretty dang good.

On the other hand, Kimmie made us a fabulous fresh caprese salad which was
like heaven in my mouth and guilt-free!

Sunday we arose early to gather at Ski Beach in Mission Bay for the Run to Boston, Round 2. This was to raise money for those injured in the bombings, with contributions going to the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Kathy Loper was breaking down the expense of amputation, prosthesis, rehab, etc, and it was quite mind-boggling to hear the numbers.... thousands upon thousands of dollars. Just so sad. I was thankful we were in town to be able to contribute to those in need at a great event logging miles with good people.

Successful morning running for Boston!

The crew ended up getting in 900+ miles, yet we only needed 700-something to make the distance to Boston (the challenge being to run from SD to Boylston Street, as mentioned). Success! I ran 10.5 miles all with Rousey (giving me a solid ~40 miles of running for the week, rampin up!). That guy is something. He ran 26+ on Saturday's jaunt and still hung at about an 8:00 avg pace on Sunday morning for another 10+, with plenty of time at a sub-8:00 pace in there, both of us chatting the whole time. No hot dogs though, sadly.

All in all a great weekend, and I'm glad where my head is at as I start to tap into Ironman base volume. It's going to be a fun year, and I have a feeling there will be plenty more SD trips, for training or otherwise, in our near future....

Two more things:
1) Follow @IPAattheFinish on twitter. Trust me here.
2) If you ever see this food truck below, order from it. Really good stuff. 

Apparently those who like craft beer enjoy good food too! The scene at Green Flash.

Example of the good stuff. Spicy fish tacos.

Heading South for the Weekend...

I was planning on writing a blog on training and what's been going on. But frankly there's not too much to say. I've gotten in some super quality sessions, I've had some shitty sessions, and everything in between. Fairly standard.

Overall, it's been just fine and dandy. Then the past couple days hit. I've been in a funk, and things aren't jiving. I had a couple failed workouts, and have had a crabby mood. Obviously red flags to just chill. I'm trying to "reset" because there are some fun times and big miles on the horizon...

Back before O'side 70.3, John and I decided we would need a little San Diego training & craft beer'ing in our future. Been too long. So a while back we made plans with Mike Rouse (aka Rousey) to stay at their place for a weekend, which is now this weekend! We're leaving Friday afternoon and over the course of 48ish hours we plan to spend a lot of time on the bike, hit up some local breweries and enjoy some SD time with good people. Any of my San Diegan friends who want to join in the fun, let me know. We have a rough itinerary so far of what we'll be doing/where we're going. More the merrier!

Sunday morning we'll participate in Rousey's "Run to Boston" event with the crew. Who's in?! They held a run last weekend and covered more than 2,000 miles or something. They still have 711 (?) miles left to go (the idea being to run the amount of miles it is from Mission Bay to Boylston Street). Sounds like a well-worthwhile way to get in that long run!

In other news, I'm finally getting around to starting my first kombucha brew. The scoby formed and is in tact (it wasn't moldy after all). And I've actually made the time to get my act together and start the process. Fingers crossed.

I also have some product news I want to share (just some updates on things I'm loving), but that will be for next time.

I'll leave the rest to pictures this time...

Tony Kanaan sighting at the Long Beach Grand Prix. At this point,
he had fans swarming around him. Mr. popular! Unfortunately, Tony f'ed
up his hand in the race in a crash. Bummer. At least he's ok!

Saturday afternoon showing my love for sport by sacrificing a ride in nice weather
to catch the ITU San Diego men's race.

In the checkout at the grocery store and noticing one of my favorite places
made the cover of this mag. Random.

Broadening my beer horizons. Love my Sundays on the patio.

Boston, USAT Collegiate Nationals, LeadmanTri 125

Yesterday morning I streamed Boston coverage from my computer while working and writing a blog on the fun and exciting weekend I had in Arizona watching a couple triathlons and supporting athletes. Then I took a quick break for a swim, and when I came back Boston had gone from one extreme to another. I first saw a tweet from Josh Cox mentioning the bombings, and I was half thinking it was just a mistake... but within minutes the news was pouring in and my heart sunk, tears literally filled my eyes. Why sport? Why that event? Why target something that exudes health, happiness, accomplishment and togetherness? I was in no mood to post my blog any longer. Seemed frivolous in light of everything.

Then later in the evening I noticed one tweet in particular that really stuck with me. It was by my friend Ron aka @PunkRockRunner, and he said, "Days like today make me realize that running is actually a team sport. I'm proud of this team. Sending positive thoughts to Boston."

So true. In light of this horrific tragedy, the team is proving to be strong, and there have been so many heroic stories and examples of people coming together to help one another in Boston. For the rest of us who aren't there, we're doing our best to show our support and help however we can. One of the best things you can do today is just get out there and run. Everyone is encouraging everyone to run... wear a race shirt when you do so... or just get out there and show the strength of our team!

I also decided to still post this blog right now and not later. Doing so is not a sign of ignorance to the situation, but rather a way to show that our team is strong and that we are not afraid. We still will live our lives and do the things we love.... participate in sport, share the experiences, and be strong. They won't get the best of us! No way.

~~~

So, this past weekend in Arizona. The "double triathlon" theme continued, thankfully this time as a spectator. Heck, I think I've broken some kind of record for triathlon attendance: Over the past three weekends (16 days), I made it out to five triathlons. I was in Arizona for USAT Collegiate Nationals and the LeadmanTri 125.

I mainly made the trip out to support my collegiate athlete, Lauren, who I've been working with for just over six months now. She's one of those endurance athletes who has a lot of raw, natural talent and a fierce competitive drive and who wanted a coach to guide her training and racing so she can legitimately explode into the scene, while still managing a demanding school load, and, well, college life. Collegiate Nationals was her first big race of the year, and I wanted to observe her in her element doing the swim-bike-run thang.

Lucky for me John was able to make the trip out with me (man, I am a lucky girl to have him). We got into town Friday and met up with Lauren and her family for pre-race dinner... we went to True Food Kitchen to get a quality, healthy meal. Of course who do I run into right away? Hillary Biscay who is there dining with one of her athletes. We triathletes think alike ;)

Lauren and I before her race start on Saturday.

Race day. The ladies got stuck with a late-morning start of 10:50, thus it was even hotter during their race than the guys who started at 7:30. And it was hot! The run especially was brutal -- 10k with zero shade. Lauren had a great race banking a solid Olympic-distance PR of ~9 minutes! She performed like a champ, battling an aggressive swim, a technical bike course (mega turns), and one hot run concrete with zero shade for the 10k. I couldn't have been more proud. Our next big focus for her will be Vegas, for which she already has her slot -- not surprisingly! But I know she already has her eye on Nationals for next year... she's still "young" so time is on her side :)

A short but FAST 250m swim. Some strong leaders!

Later that afternoon we watched the Collegiate Team Mixed Relays. Now this was some exciting and fast racing! Rumor on the street is that it's being looked at for a potential Olympic sport as early as Rio 2016. I would love that. The format is simple and really spectator friendly. There are teams of four; two girls and two guys. They race girl-guy-girl-guy in that order, each doing a 250m swim, 5k bike and 1.2k run. UCCS (Colorado) took the win, which was awesome to see, as the final leg for their team was Kevin McDowell, who many know by now is a stud triathlete not only for his talent in sport but for beating cancer.

The winning relay team!

Then Sunday was the LeadmanTri 125, in the exact same spot as Nationals, but a longer course: 2.5k swim, 68-mile bike, 8-mile run. I was staying with two of the participants, ER and her man Tomas. They cracked me up because neither were that invested in the race, and let's just say their training had been minimal in the lead-up. Honestly, that situation would scare me more than toeing the line knowing you've done the hard work.That said, they both killed it! Natural endurance athletes I guess :) Plus, their finishing times were about 5 minutes apart, I think that's cute.

They're like, "We should have actually trained and maybe it wouldn't
have hurt so bad..."

There were some other speedsters out racing LeadmanTri too. Not too much of a pro presence though, which was a bummer. Not really sure why? But I can speculate... However, the AG'ers were on fire, especially the girls in my 25-29 division, who were some of the top finishers and just fast overall. It was fun watching them all! I couldn't help but laugh as I sat under a bridge near Tempe Town Lake thinking, "OK, how many hours have I now spent under s bridge around here doing the exact same thing???" I love it....

~~~

Then there's today. I feel different, as do many others I'm sure. Will things be different? Who knows. But I know our team is strong, and we will undoubtedly become stronger. We will still do what we love and not be afraid. And for that I'm grateful to be involved...

What's Next: Tempe, Portland... And A $10 Coupon Code!

It's time for me to lay off the racing for a few weeks as I starting building up some training miles in anticipation of that little thing called Ironman this year, 24 weeks away! Really not much time at all considering the work that needs to be done! I sometimes question whether I'm ready to tackle the training for the distance again, especially with Lucho as a coach (I know he's going to push me to a whole new level), but you know me -- not one to turn down a good life challenge. I actually enjoy the "thrill" of figuring out how I'm going to fit in the training on top of everything else. With all this taper, rest, etc... I'm sick of it! Ready to get back to logging in the hours!

Oh the things you see in Portland.

So, yea, my next races aren't until May. On May 11, I have the second race in the LA Tri Series (distance is in between a sprint and Oly tri), then the next weekend I'm heading to Portland to run the Rock 'N' Roll Half-Marathon on May 19. I fell in love with Portland when I went there in '11 of the Rev3 Half, and am so excited to return for the half-mary now! Not to mention, I am much more of a beer snob connoisseur so visiting Deschutes and some other local breweries post-race will be an experience on a whole new level vs. last time when I was a total novice ;)

The Portland course goes through the downtown area, and it looks pretty flat. Anyone out there interested in running this too? I think it's PR worthy!!! Well, the registration fee has increased, but I have a sweet deal for you: Use the code: COACHTAWNEE and get $10 off your entry to the Portland RnR Half-Marathon. That savings can go toward some good-quality Deschutes beer after the race! Click here to register. If you do sign up and/or are already planning on racing, let me know. We'll be making a weekend trip out of it.

Post-race goodness is not hard to find in Portland!

Speaking of fun race-filled weekends.... This weekend is going to kick ass. I find myself heading back to Tempe, AZ, again already to support one of my athletes who's racing USAT Collegiate Nationals on Saturday. I've been working with this athlete for quite some time now, and I am beyond excited to be able to make the trip out for her race. I would do this for all my athletes if I could!!! Plus, I've never watched a big USAT championship race so that will be an experience in itself. Did you know they have mixed-relay triathlon event with the kids doing short distances of s/b/r together?? Looks exciting!

Then on Sunday, as luck would have it, there's another race in Arizona, Leadman! So that means I get to cheer for ER and Tomas (and a bunch of other friends apparently). To heck with my own racing, it will be so nice to play sherpa and support others for a change this weekend.

I'll hopefully have some updates from Tempe when I'm there. In the meantime, I'm off to run in some lovely 70+ degree weather here in SoCal... Lucho has this thing where he believes in 20 X 20 miles before a marathon. I'm nowhere near running 1 X 20 miles right now, so it's time to build that endurance.

Double Sprint Triathlon Weekend, Round 2, Macca Included

When I raced the double sprints last October after returning home from Kona, I loved it but can't say that I ever expected to be doing something like that again anytime soon. Well here we are about six months later and I've already done it again! The Huntington Beach Triathlon and the LA Tri Series Sprint Triathlon (Race #1 of the series) at Bonelli Park just happened to be on the same weekend, different days, April 6 & 7. Hmmm. The weekend after Oceanside 70.3, so not exactly ideal in terms of post-race recovery (at least for an amateur like me), but a fun challenge. That'd be three races within eight days... definitely something new for me. I say, why not test the body's limits as long as everything is holding up?

Before the weekend, I caught word that "you know who" was signed up for this second round of double sprint days as well. That person, of course, being Macca.

It's all about having fun! No.'s 1 & 2... bam!

Leading up to the sprint weekend, I can't say I was the role model of health. Anytime I finish a big race like O-side I loosen the reigns a bit and indulge a little more than normal. That includes food, drink, training, etc.... it's important for the body and mind to chill. So how that would affect the sprints? Who knows. I didn't mind, though, because I sure felt happy and content! I will give you a hint on the results with this picture (if you haven't already seen my FB, IG, Twitter... hahaha)... that things worked out ok:

Winner winner chicken dinner! :)

~~~

So the full deets on the races.... Start off by saying these two races were so drastically different and so much fun in their own unique way. Sunday's race at Bonelli was one I am familiar with; I've raced the LA Tri Series events numerous times over the years and always have had positive, fun experiences. It's a lake swim, in a nice quiet lush park area 45 miles inland from the coast, and not flat. On the flip side, Saturday's race was brand-spakin' new in Surf City USA (HB), where it's been 2+ decades since they've held a tri. This new one was put on by the same crew as the Seal Beach Tri (which was part of our first double sprint weekend), so I had no doubt it'd be solid.

The Huntington Beach Sprint Triathlon - Race #1
I love a good ol' low-key, community race that's fun for anyone from a newbie kid to, well, Macca. No pressure, interesting people, lots of smiles (after you're done grimacing in pain of course).

Everyone was family on Saturday. Macca's bike racked next to this silver trusty steed.

Macca and I discussing the gnarly swim ahead.

That said, this race was no stroll in the park, and it ended up being tougher than I even expected. For that, I freakin loved it. Every second. We arrived to the race with ample time to set up, hang out and chit chat. My mom was my sherpa for the day. Pre-race we were noticing that the waves were big and the current in the ocean seemed quite strong. Plus the buoys being set up for the swim were in different locations than on the course map. Turns out they had to change the swim course due to the rough conditions. Originally it was supposed to be a 1/2 mile point-to-point, now it was an out-and-back. Even with the change, there was still a delay in starting because the waves/current were a legitimate concern. Rumors were sparking that the entire swim was going to be cancelled. I did not want that to happen. The water was angry, but it would still be fun to battle with it!!! (Or so I thought.) Thankfully, they made the call to keep the swim, and the race got going!

Warm head, happy head. Just don't mind the getting choked part ;)

I was in the first wave, and holy shit. I was excited for the rough swim until I actually starting doing it and realizing that it was a struggle. Much more difficult than I anticipated. Picture this: Your HR is starting to soar being that it was a race, but at the same time you're forced to dive under the big waves and hold your breath, while also getting thrashed around in the waves/rip current.... For example, we started to the far left of the first buoy and within a minute I had been pulled by the current to a point where I was lined up with the buoy. After making it past the waves, it wasn't so bad until turning to head in -- arguably the scariest because you can't see the big waves sneaking up to crash on you. Let's just say I'm glad I did it and made it out in one piece! I have no idea how long the swim actually was, but I think those 10 minutes were harder than Oceanside's swim the weekend prior!

Go time!

Getting trashed. Not easy making it past those waves!

Lifeguards everywhere!

My all-time favorite race photo ever! Face says it all about that swim!

The bike was a simple out-and-back on the Santa Ana River Trail, followed by a deep-sand beach run (same format as the Seal Beach Tri). I knew by the halfway point on the bike I was sitting in first overall, so my goal became to hold that position, of course! I did not let up my effort for a second. I hit the run knowing it was going to be tough (from experience at the Seal beach Tri, which was also happened to be the last time I ran in sand, haha oops). Seriously, if the swim wasn't hard enough then the sand running would make up for that. Dang! Brutal but short and extremely good practice in maintaining form, running strong and working hard -- my average HR for the run was 174!

T2 in...

...and out!

Macca's sand running form at the finish....

....and then there's my sand-running form. Chime in sounds of "wa wa wahhhhh"

I held on to first female, making the HB Triathlon my first-ever triathlon win. A special feeling, and I got lots of love from the folks at the race making it such a nice experience! Of course, Macca won as well, so it was fun sharing all the excitement with him around. There was a good turnout of people, including even Bob Babbitt who raced, making for a fun morning of sport.

Macca, me, Bob Babbitt, Scott F., Llyod from Tri Lab.

But alas.... it was time to head home to chill and do some quick recovery tactics to gear up for the next day's race. Top on my list for fast recovery: Compex, magnesium oil, 110% Play Harder Compression (in that order), as well as a post-race meals with a good array of greens, protein, fat and carbs... and later on a beer and dark chocolate :)

~~~

LA Tri Series Sprint Tri - Race #2
As mentioned, I'm familiar with this race series and love it. They put together great events no matter what your skill level in tri. The last time I did their sprint-distance race was in 2010, when I was in darn good shape and finished in 1:16 for 1st AG, 5th overall. I've won/podiumed in my AG in the series' other race distances too. So this time I decided to be adventurous and sign up in the elite division. We had our own "elite" row, instead of Saturday's "rack wherever" format.

I was extra happy Sunday morning because John decided to do this race as well. The mood around was light, fresh and 100% stress free; can't say that's the case before a "big" race. We were all hanging out in transition, and Macca and I were talking about HB -- even he was commenting on the aggressiveness of that swim. Meanwhile, numerous people were flocking to Macca asking for photos and autographs*. I even got a little taste of some fan love too... some Endurance Planet listeners introduced themselves (as was the case Saturday), and I was actually asked for my autograph on the back of the Wheaties box featuring Macca that super-fan Andy brought to get his signature. Classic.

Finally it was time to race. The terrain at Bonelli Park reminds me of a mini Vineman course. The lake has that eerie, steamy look just like the Russian River in the morning. The bike is a lot of rolling hills through trees and natural surroundings, complete with some sections of bad road conditions like Vineman (good practice!). The run is mostly flat with some hills/inclines but nowhere near as hot and brutal as Vineman :) I plan on doing their other two races in the LA Tri Series (both get longer in distance) in my leadup for Vineman this year.

The lake. This was actually from 2010; this year it was foggy/misty.

I was honestly very amped to race even if it was just 24 hours since the last one, and I was hoping for another good result on the day. I know this race attracts some faster ladies and I'd have to dig deep. My body felt generally ok, but my hips -- hip flexors especially -- were pretty tight and feeling locked up (that liftoff from the sand run the day prior did me in). But calves/quads/hammys felt decent surprisingly -- recovery tactic success!

All the women started together, and I think I went out too hard on the swim. I found myself gasping for air within the first few minutes and really had to work hard to calm myself down but still swim strong. I did the 500 in 8:50, good not great.

The bike was a blast! I knew I was not first out of the water, so I had some ladies to try and catch. One chick passed me and I was determined to get her, but she was off like a rocket. I'm pretty sure she was the eventual winner. So I just stuck with a goal of simply hammering it. Let's see what the Shiv could do for today me baby!!! This, again, is my kind of course with all the hills, decents, turns, varying road conditions, etc.... The Shiv and I bonded super well, and I had a great ride, going a full 2:00 faster than in 2010, and averaging over 21mph. My avg HR was mid-160s, too, rather high for me, which lets me know I did work :) Watts well north of 200 average. I did, however, "forget" to drink anything more than two sips Skratch. Oops. I was better with hydration the day prior. I think a little Skratch even for a sprint is good!

I was in and out of T2 in less than a minute and my hips still felt stiff, the right side especially where I've had issues, but I kept on keeping on. After you do a half-Ironman, running a 5k (almost) seems like nothing even after doing it the day prior as well. My pace wasn't stellar (it was low 7:00s, but I wanted sub-7:00s!) so I ignored it and just went as fast as the legs would carry me. By the second mile I think the stiffness in my hips was affecting my form and my knee starting bugging me a bit. I made the call to not push much harder with my efforts to avoid the risk of hurting something worse, as I know my history with my knees and doing too much in a race to the point of injury. Not worth it.

I was running up a long incline nearing a U-turn, and at that point saw three women running shoulder-to-shoulder back down. They were freakin hammering the run and probably 1/4mi in front of me, and probably way fresher than I? Obviously they were in their own little race together, and I know how that drives you to go even harder. Meanwhile I was running alone and on knee alert. My chances of catching them weren't good, nor was I going to best my 5k time in this tri. Meh, I didn't care, I was still pretty dang happy where I was and doing what I love!

I finished a couple minutes behind that group of ladies (all three of whom really duked it out to a close, fast finish), putting me 2nd elite and 4th overall, with ~1:00 course PR too (1:15). One more podium making it 3 for 3, over eight days :)

Sorry for the lack of photos. All we had on Sunday were racers, no sherpas!

Men's podium. Second place was only 30 seconds behind Macca! Erik Nau, I believe.

As for my podium, the other girls bailed  on awards so they let me sneak up to the top spot.
A win by default! Hahaha... ;)

~~~

So what else is there to say? It was another fabulous weekend of racing, confirming even more that I love triathlon with all my heart. I am happy that my body was recovered enough to push hard in these couple sprints and not hurt myself (knee is fine today; played it smart). And I'm even more happy that my spirits were high enough to simply get me out of bed and to the starting line both mornings! Haha.

Recovery in full swing Sunday afternoon. @110PlayHarder <3 td="">

*Say what you will about Macca, but here is a guy who truly loves this sport. I've watched him quite a bit now interacting with the folks at these little races, and he is a very gracious dude and takes time to talk with everyone, sign everything, you name it. You know if someone is faking it vs. loving it, and I see him as someone who is loving it. I'm sure I haven't seen the last of him at these local races....

Case in point:

Macca greeting in a young speedy dude at the LA Tri Series Sprint. Photo courtesy RaceGrader.com

Thanks to Specialized, Skratch, Bonk Breakers, 110% Play Harder, Shimano, Lucho, family & friends for your support and understanding that I'm slightly crazy haha!