Back to work....

.....at least for a few days.

We survived Christmas and I think maybe I only gained a few pounds. LOL. As I sit here eating yet another piece of chocolate. I told Rocky he must take them to work tomorrow and get them out of our house.

I've been sick since Tuesday but I managed to keep myself nice and medicated on Tylenol Cold Medicine and Theraflu and I made it through the festivities. I seem to be fine during the day but feel icky at night :o(

Christmas Eve Rocky and I both worked for a few hours and then headed home to finish wrapping presents and cook a few things for dinner at Martin & Minnelli's house. We headed over to Daly City about 5:30. Most of the family was there and we had all brought a nice combination of food. Minnelli cooked a super yummy roast as the main dish. The food was all super good as were all the desserts. After dinner we did the gift exchange which was just a Kris Kringle type thing. We each brought a gift, you put them all in the middle and each pick a gift. Except it took about 30 minutes to figure out if we'd be stealing gifts or just keeping the one you picked. It was quite funny and in the end we decided with stealing gifts til everyone had picked. It was a very fun night.

Rocky and I headed home and opened gifts at home with the doggies. Then we hit the sack since we had to head back to Daly City on Christmas Day for brunch at my in-laws.

Christmas Day was yet another day filled with food and desserts and more presents. This time no stealing :o) The entire day we sat and relaxed, ate, relaxed, ate.... :o) The doggies got to enjoy the day as well with the family and got spoiled by everyone.

The rest of our weekend has pretty much consisted of relaxing, watching movies at home, a littel shopping, a little more eating and me trying to get better. I'm worried I won't be able to get up tomorrow for work. I've been going to bed late and getting up late :o) Luckily we only have to work 3 days :o) yipee and then.....woohoo it's 2009.

It's been a crazy year for us and we are looking forward to 09 and what it will bring.

Hope you all had a great Christmas

From our home to yours.....

Let it Snow......

It's snowing, not here on the ground where I am at but pretty darn close. It has been freezing and some days the temp has been in the low 30's :o( We aren't used to this and I don't like it. One thing I don't like is being cold :o( brrrrrrr!!


Before I start my update about the happenings of the last few days I'd like to say

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVIA!!!!

Welcome to 32 :o)

I still can't believe that Christmas is next week. We are so not ready and I'll be one of those people running around like a chicken with my head cut off shopping at the last minute.

Saturday, December 13th - 30 mile ride in Sunol
I had the best ride yet and I'm not sure it'll ever happen again...LOL!! Our team rode in Sunol and although the hills weren't crazy steep like Three Bears last weekend it was still a tough ride. You just slowly kept going up and up and up and up and no joke I thought I'd never be done.

I started out in my group as usual and the first couple of miles were pretty much flat. Once we were going to start going up Coach Beth told us to find a gear that we felt we could keep for 5+ miles, we'd be in that gear for approx. 40-50 minutes. It was all going to be up from there, yikes. Let me just say that after Three Bears I was worried about the ride, my knee and the fact that I had had Chinese food for dinner, not the best choice dinner.

Anyway, I found a gear that I felt comfortable and started pedalling. I passed a couple of people and then passed a few others. Coach Beth and Mentor Amy said I had a great cadence going and that I looked great. This was an out and back so Coach Beth said to go at our own pace and if we got ahead no biggie there was no way of getting lost. Okie dokie, here I go then.

I eventually passed up my whole group and then eventually I lost my whole group. The only good thing about this was that I was feeling great and was moving on up. The bad part though was that I ended up all alone. The mind started messing with me and at one point I wanted to cry. It seemed I was never going to finish climbing, the 14 mile turnaround seemed so far away even though I was at mile 12. At every corner I thought I was done climbing, but NOPE!! I kept on going. In my head I said...keep on going going going :o) you are doing great, you've pedaled this far KEEP PEDALING. I finally saw the water stop and was super happy. The only bad thing is that while I was talking myself into getting up that darn hill I was also freaking myself out because I knew I had to come down it :o( I am terrified of downhills.

I got to the water stop, filled up my water bottles and ate some food. I decided I would wait for my group and decent with them. I waited 25 minutes and they weren't there so Coach Cyd told me to go back down alone :o( I was waiting to long and getting cold. Okie dokie, here I go. I eventually saw my team coming up and later found out they had a flat tire so they had had to stop to fix it. I knew I wasn't that far in front but bummer I had to go back alone.

Once again big bummer I was alone but in the end I was kind of glad I was. I was so scared going down that at some turns I almost came to a complete stop which is a big NO NO, you can fall over doing that. I eventually made it down. I think I forgot to breath though, haa, haa.

It was a physically challenging day but also emotionally and mentally. I did it though and I was so darn proud of myself. I still had some knee pain but I just powered through it. It wasn't as bad as last week but it was still there. Still need to get the darn pedals checked out but haven't had time.

YIPEE!! I did 30 miles :o)

Saturday evening we had Rocky's company Holiday Party. It was held at the Scottish Rite Temple in Oakland so at least it was close by. We had a great time hanging out with his co-workers. They had dinner, did some raffles, had a dj and even had a booth to take photos. We didn't dance but people watched, that's always fun :o) We did take pictures which turned out cute. I'll have to scan it and post it.

Sunday, December 7th - Crazy Day of Shopping!
I had planned on taking my bike in to the shop to get the pedals checked but Christmas took over our day. We got up fairly early to clean our house and once we were done with that we got ready and headed out of the house.

First stop was a Christmas tree lot to get our tree. We usually get a 5-6 foot tree but because of space this year we decided to go with something smaller. We usually get a Noble Fir because I feel like the leaves are a little more sturdy for the ornaments. We went to a lot in Castro Valley which is where we got our tree last year and a 4 foot Noble Fir tree was $68.....YIKES!!!! That seemed quite pricey so we left and headed to another lot. I had seen a lot not far from my work so we headed there. We got a very pretty tree, between 4-5 ft and guess what? It was only $37 with tax...woohoo. I can't believe that going just a few miles down the road made such a big difference.

The next few stops were Target, Whole Foods and the mall. We managed to start our Christmas shopping and got a few gifts. We still need to go back and finish though :o( OY!!!

We invited Olivia and Cousin Rodney over for dinner on Sunday night for a very yummy crab dinner. Crab is my all time favorite and I try to eat it as much as I can when it's in season. When we went to Whole Foods to buy it we were very happy to find that it had gone down in price quite a bit :o) so we even got an extra crab to eat the next day.

Olivia brought some salad and Rodney steamed clams, we had quite the spread. We had WAY too much fun.

4 eaten crabs and clams

Rodney even got us to decorate our tree so it turned into a tree trimming party. Rodney supervised while Rocky and Olivia decorated the tree. I helped by unraveling all the lights and getting all the ornaments out. I love our tree and it looks pretty. Thanks Olivia for helping us out. Thanks Rodney for getting us to decorate it. It'd probably still be bare if we hadn't of done it then.


This week is filled with holiday/birthday dinners all week. I am gonna have a Santa belly before Christmas even arrives :o)

FINALLY A NEW POST :o)

It's going to be a long one since I need to catch up from the last two weeks. I'm gonna have to see if I can remember it all.

Thursday, Nov. 27th - Thanksgiving
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Rocky's family. We weren't able to see mine :o( since my mommy had to work the whole weekend, even Thanksgiving. This year everyone pitched in and we all had a dish to bring. I was in charge of mashe potatoes and string beans. Nice and easy. There was lots of food, lots of desserts and it was all super yummy.

This is only part of what was there :o)

Friday, Nov. 28th

It was a nice relaxing day. Hubby and I took the doggies to the dog park and made the race each other. It was a great way to get them tired out :o) They've been cooped up in the house for quite some time.

After the doggie park we headed home, gave them a bath and then just relaxed. In the afternoon we headed to the spa for massages. It was so nice and relaxing. Afterwards we had a yummy dinner at Cafe Esin.

Saturday, Nov. 29th
Rocky and I headed out early for a nice bike ride with a co-worker of mine and her husband. They ride in Sonoma every weekend so they invited us to join them. It was a very nice day and we were able to get 32 miles in. Lynn, my co-worker, was a great help and gave me lots of tips. After our ride we had a nice lunch the Red Grape Pizzaria in the Sonoma Square. We walked around and finished our day off with some yummy gelato.

Headed back home, unpacked the car, took showers and headed back out the door. We headed to San Francisco to celebrate my brother-in-laws birthday. We had dinner at Butterfly and had a very yummy dinner and lots of fun hanging out with friends.


Sunday, Nov. 30th
hmmm, what the heck did we do on Sunday??? Okay, this is sad, I really have no idea what we did. Maybe we just hung out at home. I can't remember at all :o( boy, I'm getting old. Was this the day I rode with Jeanette and Phil? Help!!! Hmm, maybe it is the day I rode with them. Okay, I give up.

Rest of the week was pretty hectic and training has really taken a back seat at least during the week. Which is NOT good. That needs to change very quickly.

Friday, Dec. 5th
Rocky's was given the opportunity to attend the Academy of Science and bring me along :o) I had never been there and was pretty excited to go. I guess it just had a major overhaul. I LOVED IT and can't wait to go back. We had a great time spending the day together there and afterwards we had dinner in SF before heading back home. It was a nice day with my hubby.



Saturday, Dec. 6th
OH BOY!! The Three Bears in Orinda. We've head how tough this ride is and I was pretty nervous about it. I was also excited to do it and say that I had done it. It turned out to be a tough day physically and emotionally. Everyone did an awesome job though and I'm proud of our team. I can't give too much info on here but we had 2 riders down and 2 ambulances :o( so that rattles us quite a bit. Happy to report though that both of those people are doing good and on their way to recovering.

I made it up what is called Mama Bear, HILLY, which was 15 miles out. I did not continue on with my team for the last 9 miles though and got a ride back. I have been having lots of knee/shin pain in my right leg and we think it's due to my pedals/cleats. The rest of the ride was harder so my coach advised me to stop and not overdue. It's still early in the season and the ride was only 25 miles. We've done some adjustments and we'll see what happens this weekend. If it still hurts I'll need to go in and see someone and have them help me with adjusting my pedals or mayb even buying different pedals with more supports. I'll keep you posted. My goal is to go back and conquer all 3 bears :o)

In the evening Rocky and I headed to Daly City to his parents house. They were having everyone over and some friends to watch the Oscar de la Hoya fight. I didn't realize until I got there what the big deal about the fight was besides Oscar hadn't fought in a long time. Well the other guy was Filipino....aaaaahhhhh....I get it. Well the little filipino man won. I had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone especially my sister-in-law, Hideko. We kept screaming and closing our eyes every time Oscar got punched in the face, it was a bit stressful. Such girls!!

Sunday, Dec. 7th
A very very early morning. I was up at 4am, showered, dressed and out of the house by 5 to pick up Olivia. We headed to Sacramento to cheer on Lael and our other TNT friends running the Cal International Marathon. We FROZE our tushies off but we had a really fun time. Lael even PR'd so it was a good day for him. Afterwards we had lunch and then headed home.

Okay, I think I'm caught up now.

I have not done a single thing in regards to Christmas and that makes me not only sad but gives me anxiety. Rocky and I need to get on the ball so I'm guessing this weekend we'll be doing some shopping, card sending and getting a tree. I still can't believe Christmas is right around the corner. YIKES!!!

The holiday parties have begun which means so has the eating :o) gonna have to be careful on that one and not over do it.

:o)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well life is a bit crazy busy, work is busy and working the website is a bit busy so updating my own blog hasn't been happening :o( I might have to stick to once a week updates til things calm down.

This week has been a bit lazy and not much working out has been done. It'll probably be that way til next week. I do plan on riding on Saturday though I just haven't decided if I'll ride with the team in Sausalito or in Sonoma with a co-worker, her hubby and my hubby. I still have to check with Rocky and see what he'd like to do. Other than that our plan is to enjoy our time with family tomorrow, eat lots of yummy food and try to relax since we are off til Monday :o)

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!

glitter-graphics.com

Monkey See Monkey Do

Well at least that's why our yoga teacher says :o) although yoga didn't happen much for me this week. Tuesday night I was in a meeting all afternoon and didn't get back to the office til almost 5pm so I ended up working late to go through phone calls and emails from the day. It was too late to go to class when I got home so I ended up googling "free yoga video's" and found one on youtube I really liked. I did it at home, alone in the comfort of my own home. I did good and pushed myself but I feel I try harder in an actual class with an actual teacher starting at me. Oh well, at least I did somthing.

Wednesday night I didn't do anything. I was suppose to ride but still have the small issue of not being able to :O( it's too dark to ride alone and I have no stationary bike BUT that problem will be solved soon :o) I've decided to go ahead and get a cycle trainer since we can get them at a great discount through TNT. I will use the cycle trainer during the week. I will also pray I don't cycle so hard I land in our downstairs neighbors lap..haa, haa. It's one of the reasons I didn't want to get one but I'm hoping it won't be too loud and I can get my workouts in.

Last night we had a team social at Sports Basement. Since I'm the web cappy I brought my laptop and helped a few of the participants with website questions. We were able to get 20% off also at Sports Basement so I bought a new wind/rain jacket for cycling which I really needed. Other than needing the jacket it's been very nice for my check book that I haven't really needed to buy any gear since I have it all. It can get quite expensive buying all the stuff we need especially in the winter when you need extra layers of stuff.

Tonight I will rest and get all my gear ready for this weekend. We have a team ride in San Francisco on Saturday and on Sunday we are to do a 60 minute recovery ride. I'm guessin that ride won't happen til later in the day since the hubby has a gig Saturday night :o) I'm sure sleeping in will be in the plan for Sunday morning.

It's back to being chilly and I'm not liking it. Riding in the cold is no fun although I'm happy it's just cold and not cold/rainy.

Happy Weekend!!

Week 1 Recap

Thursday

I was pretty sore on Thursday from Tuesday night's yoga and wasn't quite sure how I'd survive going back. Every muscle in my body hurt. I still went to yoga though and funny thing is that once I got going I wasn't feeling all the soreness. My muscles were nice and loose and I did the whole class. It felt great and I really think it's going to help with strength. My schedule this week is a bit weird so I'm not sure how many days I'll make it but I'm hoping for at least once or twice. We'll see how it goes.

Friday

REST DAY! My favorite day of the week :o) Our friends Cynthia and her boyfriend, Ray, have joined the triathlon team and I had a few things here and there that I don't use anymore that I gave her. They came over to pick the stuff and we made dinner and hung out with them. It was nice since we are all so busy and are lucky if we see them once a year.

Cynthia might be buying my old bike from our friend Belinda. Belinda has joined the Iron Team, crazy girl, and ended up buying a triathlon bike and so now she's selling the bike I sold her. It's funny how I am attached to it and would like it to stay in the family :o) I am hoping it works out for Cynthia.

It was a nice evening with them and I'm glad we were able to get together.

Saturday

Met the team at Las Positas College in Livermore for our Saturday morning Team Ride and our Flat Tire changing clinic.

By the way, I do NOT like changing tires :o( they are no fun especially the back tire.

Our ride was scheduled to be 23 miles and I'm happy to say that I did the enitere mileage. I also moved up one group and I think this is where I'll stay. I was kind of in the middle for most of the ride. Not with the fastest people in our group and not with the slowest. Just kind of in the middle. The ride through Livermore was beautiful, you'd think we had left California. We even got to see cow's, horses & llama's. The weather could not have been perfect, actually it was a little warm but I'll take 80's over freezing cold and rain.

I felt great during the entire ride. I did have a little bit of knee/shin pain but after talking to the coach's it looks like it might be the position of my cleat. I just need to adjust it a bit and see if that helps. I might take a few adjustments/rides to figure it out but hopefully that will help. Everything else seems to be positioned in the right place.

our team manager, coaches, mentors & captains

After the ride I headed home, had a yummy chicken salad lunch and then got ready to head out to Ms. Brandy's 35th Birthday Celebration. Today is her actual birthday......

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

BRANDY!!

It was funny because we were joking about how old we are getting or at least feeling. 10pm hit and everyone started leaving. If we were going out to a club in the city you wouldn't even be leaving til 10pm, haa, haa. Not us, we were ready to go home and go to bed. We had a great time though hanging out with our friends and meeting and chatting with some of her other friends. Brandy also made some super yummy home made pizza's and a yummy chocolate cheesecake.

Sunday
Another sort of early morning, I got to sleep in til 7:30 :O) that's late for us these days. I headed out to Berkeley Marina and did my 60 minute recovery ride. It was nice and flat. I did about 9 miles out and back from the Berkeley Marina to Emeryville and then I did 3 miles out and back from the Berkeley Marina to Albany. I felt good and was happy that I got out there and did it.

The rest of our day was pretty mellow. Rocky and I vegged out, ran some errands, had a super yummy dinner at Yankee Pier in Lafayette and then headed home for some more relaxing.

It was a nice weekend and a great end to week #1. I'm enjoying cycling, well just have to see if I'm still saying that when I'm riding 80 miles mostly up hills :o( yikes. I think I'm also enjoying it because it's all I'm doing. I'm not having to swim a gagillion yards and then hop on my bike for a 2 hour ride. Looking forward to week #2 which actually has a few extra days of riding.

Monkey Yoga

Well the training week has started off well, I've signed up for Yoga. Our training schedule for the Cycle team is not as crazy as the tri team which is kind of nice. Two days a week we are suppose to work on Stretching & Sit-ups so I decided that maybe doing yoga would be good.

A few weeks ago I did some research on yoga centers near our home. When looking around I found Monkey Yoga which close to the house and it has a class that starts at 7:30 which works out great for me. A lot of places I have no time to get to the class with out rushing or it's too early :o( A 7:30 class will allow me to get home, change and make dinner and then head out. I don't have to rush there. The other great thing was they were offering a 30 day pass for $30, it's a deal. Normally classes are $13 per class. I made a mental note to check it out once the new season started.

A few days ago our friend from TNT, Candace, had posted on her Facebook status that she was starting yoga at Monkey Yoga :o) I chatted with her a little and decided that I would join her, it's always nice to have a buddy. She said Monday didn't work for her because she had to watch Dancing with the Stars, haa, haa, priorities. We decided to start last night.

OMG, it kicked my butt. I took a class a long time ago and never really went back. I think it was a different type of yoga though. I remember it being hard but not as hard as last night and not as intense. I tried really hard to do all the poses and although they are hard it will get better with more time and practice. The class was 1 1/2 hours and I sweated like a piggy. I was actually surprised at how flexible I really am. I think it's something I will really enjoy as I go more and I'll be getting my 2 days week in of stretching :o) Today, I am SORE but it's a good sore. I was going to go tonight but I think it's best I rest tonight and not over do it. Tonight is also a different instructor and I think I want to stick with the same one until I'm more comfortable. I have decided that I'll just go every other day and try to get in 3 or 4 days per week. Hubby said he might even join me :o) There was actually quite a few men in the class last night.

I am really looking forward to working on my balance, flexibility and strength.

Kickoff and 1st Ride

The season has officially started :o) woohoo. I am excited to be working out again and I'm really excited now to take on the new challenge. Scared? yep still scared but I love our coaches and our team so here we go.

Saturday was our Kickoff celebration at the St. Mary's Cathedral Event Center. It was a new location for us but it was set up nicely and all went off well. I met Meenu at Lake Merritt at 7am, we grabbed coffee at Peet's and then headed in to the city. We mingled with the Alumni for a while and then we went over to our post, the Fundraising Clinic Table. We were only there a short bit and then were re-assigned to the New Registration table.

At 10am the main program started in the big room and we listened to the MC who is also an Alumni and former LLS employee and then to a team honoree. After the main program in the big room was done we headed into our individual sport rooms to meet with our coaches, mentors, captains and meet the new participants. We had a great turnout and we have some fun people on the team. It's always fun to meet the newbies who have never done anything like this before. They are nervous, they are excited and eager to get started and see what it is they signed up for. After it was all over Olivia, Phil and I headed out and stoppe at CPK for a much needed lunch, we were all starving. The rest of Saturday Rocky and I just hung out at home and relaxed since it was such and icky rainy day.

Sunday was our first ride of the season. We met in Pinole at 8am and the day was filled with lots of information. It was a busy morning for me since I'm also trying to learn but at the same time I have to do my web captain duties. It's okay though it all keeps me on my toes. Everyone got fitted on their bikes, Coach Cyd went over some information on clothes and gear and also the rules of the road. Coach Kerry led us through some stretching and then we were on our way.

I decided to ride in the slowest group. I've never ridden with this team and since I'm as slow as a snail I didn't want to be to confident and think that I could ride with the faster group. I am happy to say that I am not the slowest and that rididng in this group was actually a little hard because I wasn't going at a pace that I could actually feel good at. During some points we were going so slow I couldn't pedal cause I didn't want to slam into the mentor that was leading our group. I have officially moved myself up to the next group :O) I will ride with the next group this coming Saturday and see how I do there.

Our route was an out and back of about 12 miles which inlcuded going up Mama Bear but our group was told to turn around at the base of Mama Bear (Three Bears refers to the section on Bear Creek Road which has three climbs called Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear. From Alhambra Valley Road, Mama Bear is first, Baby Bear is in the middle, and Papa Bear is last) and not do it. I was very happy at the moment not to have to do it but now I'm bummed I didn't since it also meant I didn't do the full mileage. I will stop being a baby and push myself as hard as I can from now on. I am not the slowest and there is no reason either why I shouldn't be doing the full mileage. No more being a baby :o)

It was a good ride though and I felt great. I am also really enjoying being web captain and I've gotten good feed back from my teammates about our website, yipee!

A New Season, A New Team, A New Sport

Well my quiet, restful, sleeping in weekends are over. Tomorrow is Kickoff for the new season and Sunday is my first ride. Yeah, the Cycle team doesn't mess around, we start Sunday.

Technically it's not a new sport for me since I have been riding my bike but it's a new distance. Each mile after 25 miles for me will be a new goal accomplished. I can't wait to get to 100 miles :o) although I'm sure by hiney has a different wish, can you say OUCHIE..LOL!!

Last night we had a staff social at Pizza Rustica in Rockridge which was nice since I don't know anyone on the staff besides Meenu. We are the newbies to the team although it sounds like everyone is new to working together. Everyone has been on a team at some point just not the same team and working together. I'm excited and I think it's going to be a great season.

I'm also nervous. I know how to ride my bike and I know I can ride for 2 hours (25 miles) no problem but I still have so much to learn. I don't do well on the hills. I am slow going up and I am slow coming down because scared to death of going so fast, going around turns and riding next to cars. It's going to be a new challenge for me but I think the end result will be good. Stick to the schedule, learn as much as I can from the coaches and have fun. I have 4 months and 1 week to get there :O)

History was Made!

America stepped up to the plate and came through.

The Day is Finally Here

What Mom? No Costume?

Well it looks like summer is officially over :o( boo, hoo. We are so not ready for this. I don't even have a clue where my umbrella is. I guess we'll need to go buy new ones.

And why is it that the weather the past few years always changes on Halloween. Poor kiddos get so excited and then it's cold and wet, yuck!

This year in an attempt to save money I've decided no costumes for the doggies. I know Daisy is happy about that, she hates clothes. Patch on the other hand I think is a little sad. He's been dressing up every year since we got him :o( I didn't even buy him a pretty orange shirt this year.

what mommy? did you say no costumes this year? :o(

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Lazy Days

I have to admit that I have been 100% lazy and have not worked out since Nike. Partially because I was recovering from the race and partially because I am being lazy. The cycle team starts on the 8th and I know that I'll be working out a lot again so I'm kind of just enjoying the time off and at the same time I'm ready and can't wait for the season to start.

Looking back at TNT

At the pasta party on Saturday night The Peguin asked all the Alumni to stand up, then he went on to ask the people who'd done 2 seasons to stay standing, 3 seasons, 4 seasons, etc. He got to 10 seasons and I sat down because I knew I'd done a lot but wasn't sure that I had done more than 10. Well folks, I have completed 12 seasons with Team in Training and on November 8th I will start season #13. WOW!!! I can't believe it.

Here is what I've done

Cycle Winter 2009 (Web Captain)
East Bay Triathlon Summer 2008 (Participant)
EB Run Fall 2008 (Community Captain)
EB Run Summer 2007 (PR Captain)
EB Run Spring 2007 (PR Captain)
EB Run Fall 2006 (Team Captain)
EB Triathlon Spring 2006 (Mentor)
EB Run Fall 2005 (Team Captain)
EB Run Summer (Honoree Captain)
EB Run Winter 2004 (Web Captain)
EB Run Summer 2003 (Training Captain)
SF Bay Area Half Marathon Spring 2002 (Mentor)
SF Bay Area Half Marathon Winter 2002 (Participant)

It's funny to type this out and look back at all those seasons. When I started TNT I actually had no desire to do this at all. Someone I used to work with was involved with TNT and still is and she thought it'd be cool if I tried it. She was going for a 3 mile run and invited me. I made it 1/4 mile and thought I was going to pass out. She went on her 3 mile run and I walked. I signed up though and at first had signed up for the Washington D.C. Marathon, that was insane. I very quickly changed my race and decided that I should start with a half marathon. I did the Las Vegas Half Marathon my first season and hated it. I was so darn sore afterwards, the race itself was not fun. What's funny is that because I'd had fun during the season and met some awesome people I had already signed up for the following season as a mentor, Spring. In fact on the day of my 1st race in Vegas back at home the Spring Season was having their Kickoff Celebration which I missed. When I got back from Vegas I said to myself "SELF are you crazy, you hated that. Why did you sign up again?". Had a good season and went on to run the Avenue of the Giants Half Marathon. This season I also made a lot more good life long friends including Ms. Olivia :o)

At some point during the Spring season I met Coach Al at a workout (The first two seasons were only a half marathon team and so Coach Al was not the Coach). He ran with me during that workout and I was so impressed by him. I was also impressed by how much his team loved him and respected him. I watched closely and that night I went home and decided that I'd join the marathon team as a Captain. I could be part of the team but also just observe. I thought running 13.1 miles was crazy but I really thought 26.2 was even crazier and those people had for sure lost their minds. NO WAY! I'm doing that. HA! Little did I know.

It's been 6 years and because of Coach Al and Mama Lisa's training, frienship and inspriation I've done 5 marathons and some how found the determination to do the other crazy endurance sports like triathlons and hopefully in March I will complete a century. I now have personal connections to the cause and I have made as I said above, life long friends and I met my amazing husband.

Looking back at Nike

As I had metioned before Nike is not a race that I train hard for. I do Nike because it'a fun race although a tough course for me because I'm not good on the hills. I also do it for all the fun clothes I get to buy at Nike and the prize at the end, the Tiffany Necklace :o) Nike has also always come after a marathon for me and by the time I do Nike I'm pooped so it's also why I don't push myself to hard. I was looking at my results from the past and it's funny to see how I've progressivly gotten worse in my time although this year I did do a bit better so maybe it's a sign that at some point in my future Nike races I'll do better :o) or as best as I can on this darn hilly course.

My best half marathon time is 2:19:08 which was in 2003 at the Avenue of the Giants Half Marathon. Here is a little history on Nike.

Nike 2004 - Ran the Portland Marathon 2 weeks prior
2:40:22

Nike 2005 - Ran the Chicago Marathon 3 weeks prior and was having plantar faciitis/shin splint issues
2:46:14

Nike 2006 - Did the Wildflower Triathlon in March, then did the Disney Half Marathon in September. I continued to train but not as hard as I should have
2:55:27

Nike 2007 - Ran Nike against doctors orders and then went on to Walk New York which took me 7 hours :o( Had not trained at all since I had fallen in September.
3:03:04

Nike 2008 - Did the Pacific Grove Traithlon in September and then trained kind of sort of with Olivia. Got the flu and missed my 8 mile run. Managed to get my 10 mile run in but then didn't run for 2 weeks until race day.
2:52:13

Nike Marathon Udpate Part 2

I've added pictures to yesterday's update :o)

Okay where did I leave off? Oh yeah, crossed the finish line in 2:52 according to our watches and according to the chip results it was a 2:54.

We walked over to the handsome young firefighters with the pretty clue boxes and grabbed our much deserved Tiffany & Co. Necklance :O)


Made our way to the chip removal area and then grabbed our t-shirt which is a poopy brown color this year. I guess that's good for the boys but it's still kind of girly for the boys to wear.



Finally made it out of there and headed over to the TNT tent to grab some food and meet Rocky how was hanging out with his brother.

We chatted with them a little and then Olivia and I headed out to find my dad and Rocky's parents. Rocky decided to hang out longer and watch the marathoners on his team come in. Olivia and I made our way to the Safeway Parking lot where our parents were parked and then we had a nice tailgate lunch :o) we were all starving so we ate a little and just hung out for a bit. By the time we were done and ready to go home Rocky was also ready to be picked up so we made our way over to the Great Highway to find him. We then all headed back to my in-laws house in Daly City to shower, take a little cat nap and then headed back out for lunch.

We had been talking about Salvadorean food the night before so that's what we had for our post-race meal and it was the best meal ever. It was cheesy and it was greasy, yummy for my tummy. After lunch we said our good bye's to Rocky's paertns and then Rocky, Olivia, my dad and I headed back to Oakland. Olivia poo went home and we all went inside, unpacked and passed out. It was a long day and we were all pooped. The rest of the evening was pretty much spent vegging out on the couch.

THANK YOU to my dad who flew up just for our race. THANK YOU to Rocky's parents who hosted all of us at their house and the drove all over SF with my dad on Sunday to support us and cheer us on.

THANK YOU to Ms. Olivia for a great run. I had fun. WOOHOO Nike #5 - COMPLETE!

and THANK YOU to all our other friends who were out there cheering us on.

Congrats to my hubby who had a great race!

Nike Marathon #5

Nike Marathon weekend started for us on Saturday evening with the Pasta Party at the Moscone Center in SF. 7,700 Team in Training participants as well as family & friends from all across the United States packed into the Moscone Center for the Pasta Party.

Rocky, Olivia, my dad and I headed over about 4pm since Rocky had to meet the team at 4:30 for pictures.

After pictures we stood in line and then we were let into the big huge room that had been set up. We grabbed our food and found our table, ate and then waited for the program to start. As usual they had a slide show playing with pictures of the honorees and past races. The speakers this year were a lady from LLS, Joan Benoit Samuelson, John Bingham "The Penguin" and a TNT honoree who made us all cry but also inspired us. We were also told that $18 million were raised for this event alone...WOW!!

After the pasta party the four of us headed to Daly City to my in-laws house to spend the night and then have them drive us to the start. We chatted a bit, got our gear ready and then hit the sack. I for some reason was really nervous and couldn't sleep. Geesh you'd think it was my first race.

Alarm went off at 4:45am. We all got ready, we ate and then we headed out. We arrived at the start at 6:00am and headed over to Geary & Stockton to meet with the team. Coach Al gave his last speech and told everyone they were ready. Did the usual team cheer and then everyone kind of went on their own to find where they were going to line up.

My dad and Rocky's parents hung out with us for a while and then they headed off. They were going to drive around and to cheer us on and they did a great job of that. THANK YOU!!

7:00am the gun went off and the race started. It was about 15 minutes before we even crossed the start line though.

Anyway, once we crossed the start line we were able to get running pretty easily. It was packed of course but it didn't seem like we had the difficulty we've had in the past with trying to get around people. A little past mile 1 Olivia and I had to go to the bathroom so we decided to stop. Rocky wanted to stretch so he joined us. I hate stopping during the race but I'm glad we did because we ran into Raji :o) she was going to walk half of the race. She is still going through chemo but she looked awesome.

We did our duty and then headed back on the course. Rocky finished stretching and Mr. Speedy eventually caught up to us and passed us. Bye bye Rocky.

Then came the unexpected...A HILL!! A SECOND HILL!!! Two hills that were not there before. Two hills that we did not know about. When did this happen? I guess at some point they decided to change the course because the section of trail that we used to run on by Aquatic Park was closed :o( OY!! Olivia and I ran up them and we even ran up the 3rd HILL which is usually the first hill. Olivia got stuck behind some walkers but we both managed to run up it and then downhill we went.

This was the first cheering station for my dad and Rocky's parents :o) We also saw Phil there with his family.

There is a hill coming out of Chrissy Field that we know is there but the course was re-routed here also and the hill we went up was a bit different. We knew before we even got to this hill that we would just walk and that's exactly what we did :o) and it was pretty much the same story on the rest of the hills that came after this one.

I believe the next time we saw our parents was between mile 8 and 9 which was really nice because I was not expecting to see them again til the finish. We also saw them after coming down the Cliff House Hill before heading into Golden Gate Park :o) Again a nice treat because I was not expecting them there.

I have to admit that this is a kind of boring race report. For the second time this year (first was Pac Grove) I had a good race. This race was slow for me as has always been the case at Nike but for the first time in the history of my Nike Half Marathon races I felt good.

I was telling Olivia while we were running that although we would have a slow time that it felt like it was going by fast and neither one of us was complaining. Had some pain in the knees and some pain in one hip but other than I felt good. I was not dehydrated, I didn't feel like I wanted to quite, the knee pain was tolerable. I was actually pretty surprised with how my body was doing. 11-13 were good. We did walk a little on the flats because I think we were both feeling a little bit more of the pain in the hip (Olivia) and my knees but even the walking we did there was very minimal to the walking I've done in the past. Usually by the time I'm in Golden Gate Park I'm ready to sit on the curb and just wait for somone to come pick me up. Not yesterday, we walked it off for a few minutes and then kept on going. A little before mile 13 we ran into Mama Lisa and she ran with us for a little bit. That was nice. We came around the corner at the Great Hwy and down the stretch to the finish line.

I was very proud of us. Finished in 2:52

urrrgghhh, I just tried to post this blog and it didn't work and I lost everything I wrote after the last sentence above :o( sooooo, to be continued.........

Rocky + Grocery Shopping = Trouble

Things have been very hectic this week and everday after work I or we both have had something going on. I have not been able to get to the grocery store so on Wednesday I ask Rocky if he could please make a trip to the store. We needed toilet paper, paper towels and I asked him to please pick up a few things for him to eat breakfast and to make his lunch. We weren't going to be home for dinners so we didn't need any of that stuff plus we had a few things in the freezer if anything changed.

I had a meeting at the LLS office on Wendesday night and got home around 9:30 or so. I put all my stuff away and then headed to the kitchen to get some water. I looked in the fridge at Rocky's purchases. He bought the paper towels and toilet paper we needed, picked up some cereal and milk for his breakfast. YAY! Then I find 2 boxes of ice cream and a package of cookies??? A loaf of bread and salami.

Me: Umm, Rocky where is the other sandwich fixings?

Rocky: Ohhhh, I dunno! Don't we have any?

Me: No silly that's why I asked you to go grocery shopping.

Do you just want two pieces of bread with some salami in it?

Rocky: hmm, haa, haa, no!!

Me: No sandwich fixings but you bought 2 BOXES OF ICE CREAM!!! and COOKIES!!!

Rocky: Yep

OY!!! BOYS!!! My hubby is funny.

Last night Rocky and I headed out to Union Square in San Francisco to pick up our race packets for Sunday. Once again Union Square was converted intot he hub for the Nike Marathon Weekend. We picked up our race packets, mingled with all our freinds and people on Rocky's team and then headed over to Nike Town.

Every year the left wall of Nike Town is covered with the name of all 20,000 runners. Rocky and I found our names on the wall and then headed inside for some shopping.

I was a very good girl and didn't do much damage at Nike although they have made it really really hard to be good. This year they have so many more options and super cute things to pick from. A few weeks ago I was at Forward Motion and they had put out the marathon stuff so I bought a few things. I got running shorts, a running long sleeve top and a nice vest :o) Last night I only bought a cute shirt they had that said 5 year anniversary on it. So I'm all set to go. I have my cute running outfit for Sunday now we just wait for the day to arrive :o)

Tonight we are heading back out to the city for my sister-in-law's birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

MINNELLI!!!!

Saturday morning we'll get all our stuff packed up and ready to go, in the afternoon we'll pick up my daddy from the airport, he's coming for our race :o) and then we'll head back to SF for the Pasta Party. Sunday is race day!!

GOOD LUCK TO

ALL OUR FRIENDS

RUNNING NIKE!!!!

Gala Girls

Last night Amy, Jeanette, Olivia and I got all dressed up and headed to the Marine Mammal Center's Annual Gala. The event this year was held at the Ritz Carlton which was a nice treat.

Last year Rocky and I attended with Jeanette and Amy and this year Olivia went as Amy's date and I went as Jeanette's since her hubby couldn't make it. THANK YOU Jeanette for taking me :o)

The evening was a lot fun and the food was super duper yummy! It was nice to get all dressed up in our fancy clothes for the evening.

Giggly Girls

I had a really fun evening last night with the girls :o) well most of them. Brandy couldn't join us and we missed her :o(

Jeanette, Brandy, Lindsay, Olivia & Me

The rest of us met up at Pizza Antica in Lafayette and had a great time chatting and giggling as we always do. I love these ladies and I'm grateful that they are in my life.

Too Old To Party

I've come to realize that I just can't party like a rock star any more. I am too old. Is it sad that I can't keep up with my husband who's OLDer...haa, haa.

Friday night the Motherhumbuckers had their CD release party at the Rockit Room. I went to work and right after work I met Olivia in Rockridge for dinner and she was going to leave her car there so we could ride together. We had a yummy chinese food dinner and then headed into SF. No traffic so we arrived about an hour early. Rocky, Ollie and Jose were headed to Thai food for dinner before the show so we joined them. They had dinner and Olivia and I shared dessert :O) about 9ish we headed back over to the Rockit Room and listened to the first band. They were LOUD and I didn't quite enjoy their music. We mingled with everyone til it was time for Rocky's band to go on and then the party started. They packed the place and they did an awesome job performing. I am very proud of Rocky for all the hard work that him and the rest of the band guys have put into getting this cd completed :o) There were 2 more bands after the MHB which we stayed and sort of listened to but mostly we just mingled so more. By the time we got home and into bed it was about 2am. YIKES!!

Olivia and I decided that instead of running Saturday morning we'd run in the evening so we could get some sleep. I had an informational meeting to work at at 2:30 so I told her I'd head to her house for a run after that. I called her on my way to her house from the info meeting and we decided that we were both still pretty exhausted so we decided to skip the run :o( Instead Rocky met me at her house and she cooked us a very nice dinner and we just hung out. It was a very nice mellow evening which we all needed. THANK YOU OLIVIA!!! After that Rocky and I headed home and to bed. POOPED!

Sunday we were up early again. We had gotten free tickets from Team in Training for the Now & Zen Concert at Golden Gate Park in SF. We all expected it to be a pretty cold day there since it has been freezing and windy. We were WRONG. It was a very clear and very hot and sunny day. I think what saved us is that we were all wearing long sleeves and jeans or it would have been bad. Rocky & I had burnt lips but that was about it. We both had visors so I think that saved our face from burning. The good thing is that we weren't miserable from being cold. It was actually a perfect day in the city for an outdoor concert. We had picked up sandwiches on our way out there so we had a nice little picnic. We enjoyed the music of Lenka, Sara Barellies, Sugar Ray, Gavin DeGraw and Duffy. We were also able to see the Air Show going on at Fleet Week which was kind of cool. I was bummed that we weren't going to be able to go this year but we were able to watch a little bit of what was going on there. I love the Blue Angels and they even flew over Golden Gate Park a couple of times :o) that was a nice treat. We spent 5 hours at Golden Gate Park and when the concert was over we headed home. I plopped on the couch tell bed time :o)

It was a music filled weekend. I am still trying to recover though, I could sure use a nap :o)

New Challenge New Race

Things are good and we are only a week away from doing Nike. I'm feeling good and excited. Tuesday evening Olivia and went on a run which went, aaahh okay. Neither one of us really felt like running. In fact there were a few text messages back and forth and we were super close to bailing. We didn't though and we were good girls and went on our run. It was hot and we were a bit slow but it still went well and we did 3.10 miles, YAY US!!!

Last night I was suppose to swim with Amy & Phil but wasn't able to and really won't be able to the rest of the month. I had told them that I'd commit to swimming starting the first week of November but I guess they found out last night that the pool will be closed in November for maintenance :o( we'll have to come up with another plan.

I won't be running again til the weekend and it'll probably be just a short 6 mile run and then next week running is pretty much out since I've got a busy schedule everyday after work :o( then it's time for Nike. YIKES!

So you say, what's my next Challenge?

I found out this week that I was accepted to be a volunteer on the Winter Cycle Team. I will be the Web Captain and I will be training for the Solvang Century. YEP 100 mile bike ride! I am super excited because it's a new challenge and because it's close enough to my parents that hopefully they will come :o) but I'm also scared! If you live in the East Bay you know that there really isn't any flat areas to train and that if you are in the hills there are major HILLS!!! From what I hear the training ends up being much harder than the actual race. I am scared!!!

Rocky will not be on the team because he's going to focus on school while he's got a bit of a break but he will do the race with me. As we learned last year he doesn't need much training :o( I am excited and a few of our friends will be on the team so it should be a fun and very interesting season.

Wish me luck :o)

Friday Night Fun

Hubby and the band are finally read to release their CD they have been working so hard on. If you aren't doing anything Friday night come on out :o)

Ready for Nike

My poor little blog is getting lonely. Stress is high around these parts of town and I haven't had much time for blogging. I'll try to get better this week.

Last Thursday I had a great run with Olivia and Amy. We did a little over 3 miles in a little over 36 minutes. We were quite warm since it was pretty muggy out and we were pretty out of breath when we finished but I felt good otherwise.

Saturday Olivia and I met up at Heather Farms in Walnut Creek for our long 10 mile run to prepare for Nike in 2 weeks. We decided against running with Rocky and the team because they were running in San Leandro and neither one of us likes the trail there. We always end up leaving there in pain. We decided to do short loops since we didn't have water stops. We needed to come back to the car to fill up. It actually worked out great and made the 10 miles go super fast. We headed out to the left of the trail 2.5 miles and came back. I fueled up with some water and sharies and the refilled my electroytes and then headed back out. 2.5 miles to the right of the trail and back. 10 miles completed in exactly 2 hours. The weather cooperated better than we had expected so that was nice also. It was actually a bit warm for the first 5 miles but the second half was much cooler although I think because of the humidity we were both drenched in sweat, grody!

We ran at a nice comfortable pace. Not all out and not super slow and if we can keep that up at Nike we can finish the race in a good time, not great time but maybe better than we've done in the past few years. We shall see. I feel ready though and I'm excited. I had some pain in the knees while running which is not good but hopefully that doesn't bother me on race day. Sunday I was a little sore all over but today I feel good. YIPEE!!!

I am hoping for 3 days of running and one of swimming this week. We'll see how the week turns out.

MIA

Sorry I've been MIA :o( things have been a bit busy and I just haven't had anything super exciting to blog about now that I am not training like a crazy person. I have to admit though that I do miss the training just a a tiny bit, only a tiny bit though :o)

I am finally recovered and feeling good. I am hoping to get a flu shot this week and hopefully the rest of the cold/flu season will be okay for me.

Training is going so so for Nike. I was able to get out on Saturday with Olivia and run 6 miles. We decided to join the Bayside Team out at Alameda Ferry. I was expecting it to be pretty cold that morning but it was the opposite and it was quite hot. Despite the heat Olivia and I both had a great run although we both forgot our Garmins so no clue how long it took us. Sometimes I think I like it better when I don't have my watch and I'm not worrying about my pace/time. We both felt good and that's what's important. We haven't decided on a location yet but this weekend we'll finally do our 10 mile long run. The team is running at the San Leandro Marina but we both hate that run. Part of the trail is gravel rocky stuff and we both always end up hurting from running there so we'll pick a different spot. Nike is only 18 days away!!

Other than that things are good. We had a pretty mellow but nice weekend. We spent the day in Sonoma with friends, Matt & Dayna, that we met when we were on vacation in the Dominican Republic. They are from Connecticut and had always wanted to spend a weekend in the wine country. They spent a day in Napa on their own and then we spent a day with them in Sonoma. We had a great time and look forward to seeing them again.

Saturday evening we hung out at our friend Debbies house and just had a nice mellow evening at her house chatting and catching up with another friend, Sharon, which I hadn't seen in a very long time.

Sunday we did nothing but clean the house and watch football. I miss all the training but it's also nice to have my life back and be able to just enjoy some quiet time at home.

This evening we have a viewing to go to and tomorrow a funeral so I will not be running til Thursday. Please keep my sister-in-law, Minnelli, and her family in your thoughts. Her brother passed away on Saturday.

Recovering

Thing are well, sort of. I recovered from the race pretty quickly. In fact I really didn't have any pains from the race. My knees were a little sore on Sunday and other then being pooped I felt great. I had taken Monday off to recover which I'm glad I did. Hubby left for Philadephia so it was just me and the dogs until Thursday.

Monday around 1am I woke up and my throat was on fire and my first thought was OH NO, I'm getting sick but it kind of went away so I thought maybe I'd be okay. The rest of the week I was feeling a bit off and like I just couldn't get enough sleep. Friday eveing by the time I got home I was aching all over and had a fever :o( the rest of the night was not fun. Had a fever, chills/sweating and just felt horrible. Spent the weekend in bed which was not how I had planned on spending my first weekend after the tri. I am doing better today although I still have a bad sinus headache :O( Tried to take some de-congestant but it's making my belly ache and nausea's so I 'm not taking it during the day only at night while sleeping. Which means a yucky headache during the day. I sure hope this goes away soon. I hate being sick.

So what's next for me?

I still have the Nike Half Marathon to do this year so I'm still training, sort of :o( I was able to run with Olivia last Thursday and I actually felt great. We did a short 3.2 mile run in about 37 minutes. We were a bit out of breath on the way back, I think we were going too fast but it was a good run. I had planned on doing an 8 mile run on Saturday in SF with the Fall Team at their Nike Preview Run but that was not happening with me being sick. I have my running stuff with me today but I think I'm just going to head home and rest. I won't run until this weekend....YIKES!

After Nike I'll have a little bit of a break and then I'll be training for the Solvang Century. We'll see if I actually show up to the first training, haa, haa. Everyone keeps telling me that just like anything else with training and more time on my bike I WILL get better but I'm still scared and very nervous about training for a Century. It's not only a century but a hilly one. Keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully my hubby will be doing it too. He did the race last year and really liked it so hopefully he'll do it again :o)

I am hoping to keep running twice a week and swimming once a week. We worked hard to build up our swimming and we don't want to lose it.

We shall see how it all works out especially since it's gonna be cold, dark and chilly and the holiday's are coming up. WOW, the holiday's are almost here.

Pacific Grove - Race Report Part 2

The Swim - 0:38:57

The swim part of the race was 2 loops around the buoys. So we had to do one loop, get out of the water, go around the rock on the beach, jump back in the water and then do a second loop and then run out of the water and up the transition area.

My only concern about this looping thing was whether I'd get trampled by the previous wave when they were doing their second loop. I wasn't to sure how that would work out especially since the previous wave was a men's wave. Would I get banged up and swam over?

I had gotten in the water before the start of our wave to kind of get used to the water and I think that helped. When the gun went off and we jumped in the water I wasn't it to much shock. I had already filled my wetsuit with water and my face was already wet. I was able to just start swimming. Surprisingly enough I was able to actually swim the entire time. I have learned from past races that I need to stay in the back and to the left, it's the safest area. The kelp was thick in some areas but not too bad. I just pulled myself on it when it was to thick to swim and kept on going. Thankfully enough I was not pounded on by any of the fast women in my wave BUT I was attacked by a man in the wave before us who was on his second loop. I am guessing that he was just swimming along very fast and wasn't really paying attention because all of a sudden I got nailed HARD in between my legs....OUCHIE!!!!! I had to regroup quickly, I didn't let it mess up my swim and he sure didn't let it mess up his. He just went around me and kept on swimming. That was crazy! I did swallow quite a bit of salt water and it did get a little choppy in some areas. Salt water taste nasty :o( Luckily it did not make me sick later.

I felt great around the first loop, got of the water, heard all our awesome friends cheering and saw them out of the corner of my eye, went around the rock and back into the water. I was a bit loopy so I didn't really look at anyone. I just wanted to jump back in and get the second loop done.


Loop #2 went just as smoothly as Loop #1. I was able to just keep on swimming, I was relaxed and I was feeling good. Swallowed a little more water towards the end when the lady in front of me started kicking like some crazy person but other then that no major issues and no issues with the cold water at least not til I got out and realized I was frozen :o)

Made it out of the water feeling good and headed up the ramp and stairs for the transition area.

I had a hard time taking my darn wetsuit off and the top part didn't come off as easily as I had hoped. I got to my transition area and I was still fighting with the arms of it..urrgghhh! Can't wait to see the picture the official photographer got of me going up the transition area with my arms stuck :o( Oh and check out my cone head from my swim cap that almost came off, haa, haa.

TI
TI took forever. I just tried to look up my times but they are missing. It was like almost 7 minutes. My hands were frozen. I was having a hard time getting my wetuit off and although I had laid out everything the way I wanted to put it on I got a bit frazzled. Frozen hands and a wet body don't go good with trying to put clothes on. I got my helmet on first since it said in the rule book that you couldn't take the bike off the rack til the helmet was on and strapped and I didn't want to forget that so I just put it on and strapped it. I put my sunglasses, socks and shoes, knee warmers, jacket, my race belt and gloves. Off I went.

Cheering Squad Update
Holy Smokes these guys were doing their own triathlon :O) By the time I was heading out on my bike they had made it from the beach up to the bike out area and I could hear them. Way to pump me up :o)

Bike - 1:55:05
Bike course was 4 loops out and back which gaves us a total mileage of 24.8 miles. The course was mainly flat with a few gradual inclines. It was chilly although I think I was the only one bundled up. Everyone else seemed to just be riding in their tri-suits. I knew from training there a few weeks ago that if I was cold I'd be in trouble so I decided to play it safe and wear a jacket and my knee warmers. I'm so glad I did.

The main thing I needed to remember on the bike was to EAT and HYDRATE. I did and I know this was key in how good I felt on the bike and how good I felt later on the run.

I had 3 packs of sharkies, 1 bottle of electrolytes within the 1st hour and made sure to finish an entire bottle of water within the 2nd hour of the bike ride.

I felt great all 4 loops and the only issue I had was some knee pain. I'm not sure why since I haven't had it all season maybe it was from pushing myself a bit harder. I dunno. Luckily it wasn't too bad and manageable. When we'd come back to start another loop we had to make kind of a tight squeeze u turn but I had no problems there. The best part was being able to see everyone each time. There were family and friends on each side of the street and it was great.

Loop #1 - 0:27:55
Loop #2 - 0:27:32
Loop #3 - 0:28:38
Loop #4 - 0:30:58

As you can see I slowed down a little towards the end but not too much. It was a good ride and I was still feel pretty darn good. Off the bike and into transition area.

Cheering Squad Update
Again our awesome cheering squad had repositioned themselves and we were able to see them going into the transition to drop off the bike and the coming out and going on our run :o)

T2 - 0:0:3:44
Transition #2 went a lot smoother. I stripped off my helmet, gloves, jacket, knee warmers and shoes and then put on my visor, running shoes and grabbed my water bottle. I carried my electorlytes and decided I would drink the water provided on the race course. Since it was a 10k that would work out good for me. I had hydrated well on the bike so I was good to go. Feeling great and not wobbly on my legs at all I left the transition area and off on my run.

Run - 1:12:53
3 loops on the run totalling 6.2 miles. I was a little worried coming out of transition that it would get too hot because the sun of course decided to come out. I don't do well in heat and was hoping that the sun gods would be nice to me. I'd had a great race so far, I was feeling really good still and just needed one more hour or so.

I realized though on my way back on the first loop that the course was NOT flat like everyone had said. Each time we did a loop and came back we were going up hill. Not crazy up hill just a gradual incline but still, we were going up.

I was heading towards the end of the first loop when off to the side I saw Debbie and her boyfriend Brian :o) it was nice seeing them there. I kept on going and at the turnaround was everyone else. I looked to my left and there was Rocky, and his parents and WAIT!! Is that my father? WOOHOO he made it. Big cheesy smile on my face I rounded the corner and on to loop #2.

It was getting a little bit warmer but still not too bad. I decided to pour some water over my head at the water stop and that seemed to help. We had a nice breeze on the way back which helped also.

Right before I came around the corner to finish loop #2 Mama Lisa was waiting for me and kind of ran along side of me. Kind of sort of not really though. Mama Lisa is used to running with us in a marathon but in the tri world it's not allowed and you can get disqualified. YIKES!!! So I tried to run a little faster and get away from her. Inside I was cracking up. I never did metion it to her I wonder if someone else did.

I finished Loop #2 feeling really good and now getting really pumped up that I only had one more to do. The loops didn't seem as long after the first one and the time seemed to be going by fast. I couldn't believe that I was still running. I was getting tired but I knew I was almost done and I just kept plugging along. How could I not. It was a beautiful day, I was having a great race, our family and friend were waiting. So I got moving :o)

On my way out on the second loop I heard a GO CLAUDIA and I didn't see who it was so I turned around and had to do a double take because the cheers came from the ground, it was Lael and not only was he sitting on the ground cheering us on, he was having a nice meal. When I turned around here is what I saw....

Funny guy. I wanted to sit next to him and eat but darn one more loop before I got to have some food.

The nice thing about having to do the 3 out and back loops was that we got to see everyone. It was nice to cheer on my teammates and be cheered on. It kept my mind busy and focused on something else besides wanting to be done already.

Loop #3 went well and at the home stretch where I saw Debbie and Brian again I got rid of my water bottle and started running faster. I was on the home stretch to the finish line...woohooo!

Loop #1 - 0:24:27
Loop #2 - 0:23:39
Loop #3 - 0:24:45

I crossed the finish line, got my medal and went to find everyone. What a great day! :o)