In the Dark

It's HOT already :o(

Yesterday was quite the weird day. I was at work trying to get things done before heading out for the long weekend when all of a sudden the lights started flickering. I lost a long email I had just typed but then the lights stayed on and back to re-typing my email I went. Then the power totally shut off :o( boo, hoo. I decided to go to lunch since it was lunch time and then come back to see how long it was going to be. I returned from lunch to find out that some transformer had blown underground and who knows when the power would come back. My boss was out in the field but I called him and he told me to go home, my co-worker did the same. WOOHOO even earlier start to the weekend. Only one slight problem, I had to swim and driving home to Oakland and then having to come all the way back was not sounding good especially with it being a holiday weekend traffic on 580 was not going to be pretty. I called Amy to tell her what was going on and she was kind and offered me her home :o) She told me how to break into the house :o) and I hung out there til she got home. I had my sandwich I had picked up earlier, watched trashy tv and boy has daytime tv gotten trashy and pretty much just got to relax, it was very nice, THANK YOU AMY!!!

Headed to Shadow Clifss fairly early and got our 40 minute work out in. I felt pretty good and I managed to get 6 laps done in the 40 minutes. Since it was so hot we decided not to use our wetsuit and just swim in bathing suits. I'm guessing at this point we will not have a chance to swim in wetsuits again before our race. The water at Shadow Cliffs is very very low now and even more gross then it was before. So we are done, YIPEE! I never want to swim there again.

I ended up having to go back to work after swimming to get our network working again and get a letter out for my boss that a client needed. As I was sitting there working and the very last page of my letter printed out, the power went out again. This time though I ran like a baby because it was pitch black. Called the boss to tell him and I ran out of there :o), it was pretty funny. Hope they get that transformer fixed cause it was 102 in Danville yesterday so not a good time to be without power and air conditioning.

Our office got to take the day off and have a 4 day weekend so today will be a house cleaning day and then the fun can begin. We have a few fun things planned for the weekend with friends and family. I do still have to train so that will also still be part of the weekend. Hopefully the weather will cool down a little.

Have a fun and safe Labor Day weekend!!!

THANK YOU!

Once again THANK YOU to everyone who has donated, I'm no only $125 away from my minimum :o) woohooo. Today is the very very last day for donations and I'm sure I'll get there.

On the traning front, uh not much to report :o( have had a few stressful days and did not make it to the swim on Tuesday or track on Wednesday :o( I will be back at Shadwo Cliffs to night though and back on track.

Have a good day and don't melt, suppose to be in the 100's..YUCKY!!!

Pacific Grove Preview

Whoa been so darn busy I didn't think I'd ever get a minute to update. Things around here are good but very hectic and a bit stressful, makes for fun times. Only 16 DAYS til race day, yikes!

Recap from the weekend

Had a great great run on Saturday with the team. We met off Alcosta Blvd. and ran the Iron Horse Trail. Olympic distance was to do 6 - 7 miles. I chose to do 6.2. I started out way too fast. Amy's sister came out and joined our team, she was visiting for the week but also needed to get in a 10 mile run so she ran with us. She asked what my pace was an I told her I'd been running between 11 and 11:30 she said great that worked for her. UMM, NO!! She run's much faster. I managed to keep up with her til 1.65 miles and then she needed to take off, uh to run faster :o), which was fine with me. I managed to find a comfortable pace, I averaged 10:48, probably the best I've run in a long time. Although I do know that at the beginning I was going too fast. We were suppose to do negative splits but I think for me I did the first half super fast and slowed down on the second half. It was also beginning to warm up quickly. It felt like 80's yet it was only in the low 60's.

Did 6.2 miles in 1:07, wooohoo. Can I keep that up on race day after riding my bike for 25 miles? I sure hope so but we shall see.

Amy and I waited for Phil to return from his 13 mile run and then I took off. Went home and packed my bags and all my training gear to train in Pacific Grove. Left the house around 1:30ish and headed to Walnut Creek to pick up Lindsay and then we were off to Pacific Grove. The drive went by pretty fast and we were down there about 4ish. Checked into our hotel and then headed out to walk around Cannery Row. We walked around the shops including the Candy Shop where Lindsay purchased $12.00 in Salt Water Taffy. I think we bought 2 of every flavor they had.


After our taffy purchase we headed over and had dinner at Fish Hopper. We had two very yummy seafood platters that we shared. It was a super nice evening and we were seated by the water. We watched the funny sea otters playing in the ocean. I have to admit that although they were cute they were making me nervous. If they were there in that area where people could swim would they also be where I was suppose to be swimming on Sunday? They are cute but I don't want to see one swim up to me while I'm in the water. Yikes!


After our yummy dinner we walked around some more and did some shopping and then headed back to our room. We were booth pooped and we also wanted to watch the Olympic Men's Marathon. We were cracking up about how we are getting old and can't take being out late. We were in bed by 8pm and lights out by 9 :o) Before bed though we had to try out a few flavors of the salt water taffy, it was our dessert :o)

We were suppose to have a chance to sleep in but that wasn't happening because the 5 gagillion seagulls flying around the beach decided to be SUPER loud and wake us up at 6am. I pretty much tossed and turned after that until it was time to get up at 8am.

Meeting location for our team was literally across from our hotel so we didn't have far to go. We all got in our wetsuits and into the water we went. I have to say it was a very weird creepy experience and although it took me a minute to catch my breath after jumping in the water, it was cold, I did not freak out. This was a good sign.

all the stuff you see above in the water is kelp

and here we are in it

The kelp was very interesting and a pain to actually swim in. You pretty much can't swim in and have to kind of just use it to pull yourself on it. So all that hard work of swimming the past 13 weeks, um kind of out the door here. You can't swim. I understand from people that by the time the Team in Training Women's wave goes in the water on race day that a lot of it will be parted and we'll be able to swim a little easier. Again, we'll just have to see.

Swam a little in it, bobbed around in the water a bit in it and then headed back. Very glad that we go to do it and see what it was going to be like.

After the swim we went on our bike ride. We were suppose to do 3 loops (race day will be 4) but I only did 2 loops. I was freezing and also needed to shower and check out of our hotel room so I cut the ride short. What I realized is that if it's going to be as cold as it was this past weekend on race day, I need more clothes. It is chilly and it is windy and because we do the whole event in the same outfit we are wet. So makes for a cold ride and that's not a good combo for my knees. I was having pain in my knees hat I've never had before so I'll need to wear knee warmers and maybe some arm warmers. Other than that the ride will be a good ride just a bit mentally challenging to have to do the loop 4 times. There are a few inclines but no actual hills, yay!

At this point this is what I hope for

40 minute swim (.9 miles)
2 hour bike ride (25 miles)
1:15 hour run (6.2 miles)

and that's if all goes well. It took me 4:45 to do Wildflower and that was a VERY HILLY course on a day that felt like it was 110 degrees outside. I am really hoping for a much better race. Keeping fingers crossed.

I showered, we packed up the car, had a nice lunch, walked over to watch the sea lions and then headed home. THANK YOU LINDSAY for driving us home cause I was pooped.

The rest of Sunday was spent relaxing.

Monday was a rest day and yesterday I wasn't able to make the 3000 yard swim on the schedule. Sort of sad sort of not, haa, haa. From reading Amy and Phil's blog though it looked like they had a good swim and I'm not quite in the clear yet of the 3000 yard swims because next week and the week after we are suppose to swim even longer, WOW!!!

Tomorrow is my FINAL FINAL deadline on fundraisng and I'm still $200 short, yikes. If you are still intersted in donationg please do so today on my fundraising website. THANK YOU!

Donate here :o)

Swim Swim Swim.....AGAIN

Things went well with Raji's surgery and she's on the road to recovery. Thinking of her and sending her good thoughts.

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Swam with Mr. Phil tonight and we did great :o)

Warm Up
400 yards LVL2 (work on form)

Main Workout
4x500 LVL3-5 (find your race pace)

Cool Down
100 LVL 2

2500 yards in 56 minutes = 1.42 miles

This weekend is going to be crazy busy for us and unfortunately Rocky will be on one end of the Bay and I on the other :o( Originally we were suppose to be camping (HAVE A GREAT TIME OLIVIA AND LAEL) but that didn't work out so well. I totally forgot that we had tickets to the Indy Races, oops, and then of course our team decided to hold training day on THIS Sunday. Nope not another Sunday when we had no plans but THIS Sunday :o( So now no camping and no Indy Races at least for me.

Things worked out in the end though and the plan now is that Rocky will go to the Indy Races with his dad and I will travel to Pacific Grove with Lindsay (THANK YOU LINDSAY). It'll be a fun weekend for both of us. Rocky can have a day with his dad which he doesn't get to do often and I get to go on a road trip with Lindsay. I don't get to hang out with just her to often either so it'll be fun.

So the plan is:

Saturday - 6 mile run and then travel to Pacific Grove
Sunday - Swim/Bike in Pacific Grove and then head back home

Have a great weekend!

Sending Good Thoughts

Keep our friend Raji in your thoughts and prayers today as she goes through surgery.

Olivia & I with Raji at the Brenda 5k in April

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Had a great swim with Phil and Amy last night at Shadow Cliff. We decided to do 7 laps (14 lengths) which comes out to about 1960 yards (1.1 miles) and it took me about 45 minutes which is pretty good. Last week we did 6 and it took me 41.16 and this time after 6 I was at 39.47 so I was just a tiny bit faster last night. Any time I can shave off is great even if it's just a minute or two.

24 Days Til Race Day!

I can't belive that I'm only 24 days away from race day. It seems crazy that Amy and I started this journey back in December of 2007. It was at Olivia's birthday party that I talked Amy, after a few glasses of wine, to sign up and do her first triathlon. We started swimming way before the season started and I'm glad we did. It gaves a head start on the crazy swim schedule that we have been enduring. The shedule has been tough not just physically but also mentally and somehow we've managed to get through it. It's paying off though and I have to say that I feel pretty darn healthy and in pretty darn good shape. I wasn't sure how the injury to my ankle last year would affect me but I'm happy to say that so far so good :o) I can't wait for race day and I can't wait to watch both Phil (Phil's race is a week earlier on Sept 7) and Amy finish their first triathlon. WOOHOO it's almost here.

This weekend we are going to Pacific Grove to train on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it but also a bit nervous. I sure hope that I don't freak out in the kelp and if I do that at least I can overcome it by the time we leave there.

Fundraising is going well but the final final deadline is fast approaching and I only have a few more days to raise the last $300. That is it $300 left!

So if you've been putting it off, this is a gentle reminder that now is the time to donate :o) and I really hope that you can help me out. Donate Here....THANK YOU!

Training & A Bit of Relaxing

Thursday

Had a great swim out at Shadow Cliffs on Thursday. Did 1 mile (without stopping except to say hi to Coach Paul) in a little over 41 minutes. It felt great to be in the water and out of the heat. When we arrived there it was 94 and we about melted putting our wetsuits on. That part was no fun. Amy and I were able to get there by 6pm so we were in the water before our teammates showed up at 6:30. It wasn't really a team workout so it was no biggie. Coach Paul was just there in case anyone needed a little extra help. Amy and I were outta there by 7:00ish which is a super early night for us so on our way home we stopped to have some dinner, I had wonton soup :o)

Friday

I had Friday off work so I took the opportunity to run some errands. One major thing I wanted to get done before race day was get my bike tuned up. It was making some funny noises and Rocky thought the breaks maybe needed some tuning up. I took it in on Friday morning and picked it up on Friday evening. I could tell when I rode it on Saturday that it felt much better. I've got an appt on the 25th to get it re-fitted. I've been having a little bit of pain in my right shoulder after riding so maybe it needs a little adjustment here and there.

Took the car to get serviced but it needs the 30K check so I'll have to take it back on the 5th. So that was kind of a waste, oh well. Got a pedicure with Amy and then we had a yummy lunch. It was SUPER hot in Walnut Creek and by the time I got home I had a major headache so I decided to take a nap :o) didn't get up til it was almost time for hubby to come home and then we had to pick up my bike. We also finally had a chance to try Yogurt Harmony which Meenu has been telling us about for months. I had the peach yogurt and Rocky the mango and they were both super yummy. Only part that is no fun is the driving around in circles looking for parking. Some parts of Berkeley are like SF, parking is no fun.

For the most part it was a relaxing day.

Saturday

Up early and out of the house to be in San Ramon by 8am. Saturday was scheduled to be a LONG ride for everyone. Olympic team was doing the full distance of the race which is 25 miles but we could choose to do more, just not more than 30 miles. I'm noticing a pattern in what we all have to say and that is that we need to eat more. I drank plenty of water and electrolytes but I think I need more food while riding. I am not just trying to replenish what I'm losing while riding but also have enough food in my belly for a 10K so I really need to figure that out. I think food is going to consist of 2 packs of sharkies instead of just 1 and then some quaker oatmeal granola bites. I also need to start out with more in my belly at breakfast. I have 25 days to figure it out :o)

Our ride was from San Ramon to Sunol and luckily the Olympic team got to turn around before we hit any major hills in Sunol. I had a good ride, slow as a turtle again but for the most part it was good. I drank plenty of fluids since it was a hot day and ate the little bit that I did bring for the ride. I finished 29 miles total and managed to make it up all the hills even though I was struggling. Will those darn hills ever get easy for me? :o( So happy that Pacific Groves is mostly flat :o)

After the bike we had to do a 10 minute run. LVL3 run with LVL 8 for the last 100 yards. I ended up running just over 10 minutes so I could to get a full mile in. I felt good and it seems my legs are getting used to the transistion from the bike to the run.

It was a good training day. Amy and I headed out to have a much needed brunch (1000+ calories burned on the bike) at Sideboard. We both had to make a quick stop at Forward Motion for shoes and body glide and then we headed home. I had to take Amy back to her house first and when we drove back by where we had met with team, the Half Ironman people were just finishing up. YIKES, that was a super long day for them (they rode 4 hours). GOOD JOB PHIL!!!

I stopped by the grocery store to pick up stuff for dinner, then went home and took a nap and pretty much spent the rest of the day doing nothing. Hubby and I really needed a weekend at home and that's exactly what we did.

Sunday

The team was scheduled to do a run in Walnut Creek and once again I didn't feel like driving out there so I chose to sleep in and run later in the day. I slept in til 8am and then got up and did some house chores and after Rocky left for Kali I headed to Lake Merrit for my run. I managed to make it around the Lake twice which actually was more than scheduled, oopsy, but it was a good run and it was nice and cool. It was sunny but at least not in the 80's or 90's.

I went home after the run and grabbed the doggies and then we went on a 2 mile walk at Pt. Isabel. Gave the doggies a bath and then headed home. Cleaned up a little more, showered, we went and did our weekly grocery shopping and then came home and once again spent the rest of the day relaxing :o)

Daisy not thrilled I was taking pictures while she was napping

Patch napping with his hippo

Moraga Brick - COMPLETED

If you remember back to a few weeks ago when we first went to Moraga Commons for our brick workout I did NOT do well and in fact didn't really do the workout. Last night I DID it and I was pretty darn proud of myself. Again another sign that I'm improving and that this crazy training is paying off.

So back to Moraga we went and I got lost getting there. Haa, haa, I made a wrong turn and was lost for like 15 minutes. I still managed to get there pretty early though. We had another brick workout to do and none of us were to thrilled about it. When I left work in Danville it was 99 degrees and when I got to Moraga it was only 4 degrees cooler. Not good when you have a slightly tough run/bike workout to do.

Scheduled Workout:

6 minute warmup
approx 4 mile out/back bike ride (LVL3 going out with a LVL8 up the hill, LVL3 coming back and again LVL8 up the hill and back to LVL3 the rest of the way)

6 minute run (race pace)
repeat bike ride

6 minute run (race pace)
LVL 3 cool down on the bike about 10 minutes



Coach Paul said they'd be out there watching to make sure we weren't over doing it. The only place you were suppose to be riding hard was on the two hills we had. Other than that it was LVL3 for the bike and run. I wanted to barf on my last bike ride. Even though it had cooled down it was insanely hot when we started and I was super overheated. My gloves, my helmet, my visor were all drenched. Eeeewww.

I was once again the last rider and runner back but Coach Mike D. stayed with me on the last long bike, the last run and the cool down bike....THANKS MIKE! That helped out a lot. I'm happy with the workout and feeling it in the legs today.

$3000 Raised, $300 to go

generosity
noun
1. the trait of being willing to give your money or time [ant: stinginess]
2. acting generously

I usually only fundraise once a year even if I'm doing a couple of events in one year. Each year I am amazed at the generosity of all our friends, family, co-workers and even strangers that donate to us. In 11 weeks I have raised $3000 because of the generosity of others. I've even had a few people donate twice :o)

I am only $300 shy of my minimum and I know that I will make it. I've been with Team in Training for 6 years now and this puts me over the $13,000 mark. We did this together. I thank all of you for your continued support and generosity.

There is still time to donate and you can go here

THANK YOU.......
Rich B., Bruce M., Pyrenees Pets, Susan W., Petra J., Amy G., Carol W., Tom S., R2, KJ, Aaron K., Brian K., Rudy VP., Grace S., Korina R., Anita I., Ben L., Olivia L., Pam W., Kathy & Rick W., Sandy S., Bree W., Glenn K., Phil L., Karen B., Mark G., Leslie H., Jeanette H., Lindsay G., Ken F., Lisa F., Cathy M., Belinda A., Betty M., Karen Barnes., Ken R., Tom D., Charlie A., Melissa L., Bryan & Jennifer S., Joanne & Ray B., Julia D., Sarah C., Debby C., Lillian H., Onweena C., Debbie W.

In Honor/Memory of.....
Brenda Donato, Cole Regan, Milton L. Hardy, Amy Silvester, Cind, Sarah, Pa, Bill Crawford, Sandi Potter, Andy D. & Laura Warren.

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Had a great swim last night with Phil and Amy at the pool. It was workout ranging from LVL2 to LVL 8 so it was a bit tiring but we did great and managed to finish in an hour. 30 days til race day....YIKES!!

2500 yards = 1.42 miles (1 hour)

Warm Up:

200 LVL2 (20”RI)
4 x 50 (25 LVL2, 25 choice drill) (10”RI)
100 LVL2 (20”RI)
8 x 50 DPS (10”RI)

Main Set:

3 x 100 LVL3 (20”RI)
3 x 100 LVL5 (15”RI)
3 x 100 LVL7 (20”RI)
6 x 50 LVL8 (20”RI)
12 x 25 Odd Build, Even DPS (10”RI)

Cool Down:

100 LVL2

Change of Scenery

Okay first off let me say that trying to work during the Olympics is HARD. I just want to sit in front of the t.v. and watch them. Hmm, wonder if my boss would let me put up a flat screen on the empty wall? haa, haa.

On Friday I decided to email Coach Paul and ask him what our workout for the weekend was. I decided that if it was an easy workout I'd just do it on my own on our side of the tunnel instead of having to drive to San Ramon. Sunday's workout was in Berkeley so it was a good weekend to stay closer to home. Coach Paul responded and sure enough it was an easy 70 minute ride followed by a 15 minute run both at a LVL 3-4 :o) I can handle that.

Jeanette has been wanting to ride her bike so I invited her out and we met in Alameda at 8am. It was SO NICE to see the East Bay Run Team and get the much needed love that we've been missing on our team and that we need once in a while. I got to see Coach Al and Mama Lisa a whole lot of peeps I haven't seen in a long time.

Jeanette and I rode almost 14 miles and although it was chilly and a bit windy at times it was a good ride. After we got back I put on my running shoes and went for a 15 minute run. It went by quick but I was having some major pain in my left shin. I think maybe I was pedaling weird on the bike and it caused some pain on the run. Other than that I felt great and feeling much better about transitioning from the bike to the run.

We hung out for a while chit chatting with everyone and then headed to breakfast with Chris, Meenu & Lisa. It was a yummy breakfast which we all needed. Then we ALL took a trip to the bicycle shop in Alameda. It was quite funny and I'm sure the lady at the store thought we were crazy. She was super helpful though, THANKS JOY at Alameda Cycle. Meenu & Lisa are thinking about buying road bikes so they tested out the same model I have. It seems to the popular model for 2008 for anyone who's just getting into cycling. It's the middle model for the Specialized Dolce's. It's not the most expensive but also not the cheapest so it's perfect for us newbies. I LOVE my bike and have been super happy with our purchase. Rocky and I had gone to the bike shop because I needed a new tire.

Let's back up to Friday Night :o( I usually get my stuff ready the night before training and that's a good thing and comes in handy quite a bit. It also means I don't have to get up an earlier and if there are any problems we can deal with them. I was getting my cycling stuff together and noticed I had a flat tire :o( good thing I was at home and so was Rocky. He took the tire off and started inspecting it and noticed that I had small gash in the tire. I'm not sure if this is why I had the flat a few weeks ago in Danville or if something happened in Alameda on Wendesday night. It was small enough that Rocky could patch it but we did need to buy a new tire.

Joy at Alameda Cycle was super helpful and sold me 2 new tires. I am replacing my old ones with Specialized All-Condition Armadillo Tires. I know that probably means nothing to most of you to me it means....this tire features Specialized's legendary Armadillo technology for ultimate flat prevention ....I sure hope this is true because these were not cheap but everyone agreed that my tires were kind of on the low end of the spectrum and that these were a good investment. Hubby will be putting them on today and I'll try them out on Wednesday.

After our outing in Alameda we headed home and did NOTHING. It was so nice to have an afternoon/evening of not having anything planned. We napped, we ate, we watched the Olympics. It was a perfect Saturday.

Sunday I was up early again for a run in Berkeley. I did 4.25 miles in a little over 48 minutes. No issues with the shins while running which was good. It was hot but it was a good run. I left there quickly to head home and shower and then head to Daly City for Grandma's (Rocky's mom's mom) 86th Birthday.

It was a fun evening especially since it was a sursprise. Rocky's mom had gotten a hold of 4 of her friends and invited them over. Grandma had no clue. They ladies had a great time hanging out and we even caught them dancing when Rocky's mom was playing the piano. Too cute.

SURPRISE!!!

Quick update, no training last night instead went out to celebrate Lindsay's 25th Birthday. About 20 of us gathered at Artisen Wine Lounge...THANK YOU LENA!!! and suprised Ms. Lindsay :o) she really had NO CLUE and was a bit teary eyed when she realized what she had just walked into, it was fun evening. Happy 25th Birthday Lindsay!

Alameda Ferry Part 2

Last night we headed back out to the WINDY city :o) of Alameda and had our workout at Alameda Ferry Terminal. It was SUPER duper windy and cold. We had some announcements and a quick transition clinic and then we were on our way.
Workout

Bike 1 loop (approx. 3.5 miles)
Run 8 minutes total
Bike 1 loop
Run 8 minutes total

I could have maybe gone on one more bike but I didn't. I was a bit tired don't feel I pushed myself as hard although it's not that bad of a thing since it is a recovery week.

I picked up something to eat on the way home which I am going to have to stop doing or I'm going to give myself and anxiety attack. If we are hungry and we have nothing to eat at home I'll just go to bed starving. Last night I got home at 8:45ish and across the street at Skyline Pizza was the news van. I'm guessing news vans were there all day covering the robbery on Tuesday night. Well guess what? While the pizza place is being talked about on all the news (we watched the 9pm news) across town yet ANOTHER restaurant is being robbed at gun point. This time there were people there dinning so they got robbed also :o( ugggghhh. I think the new rule in our house is that we do not eat out past 7pm. All of the restaurants, 8 of them, have been held up after 8pm :o(

I don't heart Oakland

Another Oakland pizzeria robbed
An Oakland pizzeria was robbed Tuesday night in the latest holdup of a restaurant in the city, police said today.

At least one person entered Skyline Pizza on the 4400 block of Keller Avenue at about 8:50 p.m. Tuesday and fled with money from the store's register. There were no report of injuries. Police did not provide a description of the robber or robbers.

We live directly in front of this pizza place, in fact we eat at this pizza place and pick up pizza there. We can see the pizza place from our condo. Last night the pizza place was being robbed as Rocky and I were outside. I was just arriving home and Rocky was packing up his car to leave for band practice. This makes me sick to my stomach.

I have always had a little bit of anxiety about living in Oakland but this just makes me even more anxious. A few weeks ago we had dinner with Chris & Meenu in Piedmont and about an hour after we had left the restaurant there a restaurant a block or two away was held up. There have been several restaurant hold ups in the Oakland area and of course in areas that we frequent.

And I know, I know bad things happen in all areas. In fact the Trader Joe's in Walnut Creek where I used to shop at got held up a few weeks ago. So yeah, even the nice area's are being hit but for the most part those areas are safe and aren't in the darn newspaper ever single day.

I can't stand to watch the news or even read the news online anymore. Pretty much every single day it':

Man gunned down
Women gunned down
Child gunned down
Restaurant held up
Grocery store held up
people getting rapped, mugged, you name it. You bet you can find it on the headlines of the day for Oakland.

The thing that sucks is that there are some super nice areas in Oakland and I like our condo and the area we live in. As Coach says, we live on the high rent side of Oakland. To get in a good area of Oakland you must live above 580/MacArthur. If you live below, uhhh good luck, you might want to own a gun. It's pretty damn scary on the other side of the freeway. If you go up up up and into the hills there are even million dollar homes up there. So Oakland does have some awesome homes and super cute neighborhoods but the crappy people make it scary to live there :o( urrggghhhhhh!!!

Last night we had a great swim and managed to finish our workout in an hour :o)

2600 yards (1.48 miles) 1 hour

Warm Up:
400 LVL2
8 x 50 (25 LVL2, 25 choice drill)

Main Set:
6 x 150 LVL 3-6 (Descending) 20”RI
1’ REST
4 x 100 LVL 3-6 (Descending) 15”RI
1’ REST
4 x 50 LVL 3-6 (Descending) 10”RI

Cool Down:
100 LVL2

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!

Friendly Waters

This weekend was busy as usual but we got some great workouts in and a little bit of fun.

Friday

I had the day off on Friday and my intentions were to relax, haa, haa, I'm funny. Relaxing isn't possible in our household. I did a bunch of house chores including washing and putting away laundry and ran a bunch of errands. Next thing I know it was 3pm and it was time for me to leave the house. I had to make a quick trip to the mall, go to the post office to ship my daddy's bday gift and then meet Olivia and Amy for dinner before the EBMUDD free concert at the Blackhawk Plaza. Rocky met us there after work along with a few other friends and we had a great time listening to Ms. Jeanette and the rest of the band. Headed home at 8:30pm and hit the sack for an early morning on Saturday.

Saturday

We were headed back to SF to Aquatic park for our 2nd and last open water swim there. We had a few announcements and a quick clinic first and then it was back into the water. This time it was much much colder. So glad I invested in the booties. It was colder but I did so much better with my swimming this time. I did 35 minutes and made it around twice this time. It wasn't even a mile so I'm still swimming slow in the cold water. Last week I swam a mile in 41 minutes so I have some work to do. I'm bummed we won't be going back to Aquatic Park, sort of, only bummed cause I need the practice, not bummed because we had a little friend their.

Had I knows about our little friend earlier I probably would have FREAKED OUT. I didn't find out about him being there until we were heading home and Amy decided to inform me about him...aaackkkk!!

After our swim we had to get out of the water and stand at the edge of the water in a tight knit group with the rest of our teammates. Coach Paul wanted us to do a mass start to practice what it will be like on race day. This is good practice but ouchie. The first time I did great and managed not to get killed by all the other peeps. The second time I took 2 feet to the throat. One happened to belong to Amy. I almost didn't give her a ride home. Haa, haa. The second belong to a tall guy on the team and his foot connected with my throat. I had to stop and catch my breath. That was not fun.

Then we took a nice group picture.

After the swim and pictures, get the wetsuits off and hang them to start drying while we are off running.


The run for the Olympic team was 60 minutes. The water at Aquatic Park was much much colder this time but the temperature outside was a bit warmer. I again had a great run despite the warmer temperatures but at least I had my electrolytes with me, which I'm loving. Yay for not having a upset belly :o) I'm also loving my Sharkies.

I am noticing that I am doing much better with my running. I ran 5 miles in 1 hour which is actually pretty slow for me BUT I am running the entire time without stopping and I am running up the hills. This is huge progress for me. I just need to pick up the pace a little :o)

After the run we didn't mill around to long since I needed to get home and shower so that Rocky, Olivia and I could head to Sonoma. It was wine pick up weekend.

It was a fun mellow trip up there. We stopped at Cline to grab our wine for this quarter and then decided to head to a couple of new wineries. We only had about 2 hours but we were able to make 2 other wineries for tastings. We went to Mayo and Chateau St. Jean. We actually enjoyed all of the wines at Chateau and the darn great sales man/wine pourer guy sucked us into joining their membership. LOL. Actually I cancelled a membership in Livermore because we just don't enjoy going there as much as Sonoma so this will just replace that one. It's a really pretty winery with great picnic areas and great service. We are looking forward to our trips up there and enjoying their winery and events.

It was dinner time so we headed over to the Sonoma Plaza and had dinner at the Girl and the Fig. It was Olivia's suggestion and once I was in there and saw the menu I realized it was a place that was featured on the Food Network that Rocky and I had wanted to try. We all had a very delicious dinner, it was a great choice and end to the day. Then we headed home :o)

Sunday

Sunday was an early day once again as I had to do a 2 hour 10 minute bike ride. I had decided that the best choice would be to do the ride we've been doing with the team which is from Walnut Creek to right past Blackhawk (Danville). My hubby took the morning off teach Kali so he could ride with me, THANK YOU ROCKY, Amy also joined us. Good thing Rocky was there and good thing Amy decided to ride with us. It was an adventurous morning :o(

We met at the Park-n-Ride parking lot off Rudgear Road and were set to ride at 8am sharp. Another participant on my team, Ben, happened to be there to he joined us. My hubby had agreed not to kill me on the bike by going to fast but it's kind of hard for him to go as slow as me. I'm sure it's just like running, it doesn't feel right. So in the end I was happy that Ben was there and that my hubby was able to ride at a faster pace with him. All was well for the first 14 miles of the ride. We went past Blackhawk and decided to turn around at Highland Road. I was tired from Saturday but still feeling good. I was able to practice drinking and eating while riding and all went well. I didn't tip over :o)

We took a very quick break at the turn-around and I told the boys to go ahead and we'd meet them back at the finish area. The way back is mostly down hill and after a while you have a tailwind so I knew they'd be flying back. I think we made it 4 miles down the raod when all of a sudden I heard a BANG and then PPSSSHHHHHH!!! Yikes Amy had a flat. We stopped to assess the situation and I tried calling the hubby but he didn't hear his phone ring. Left a message that we had stopped to fix a flat. Amy got all her handy dandy tools but when she rotated the tire and saw a 3 inch nail in her tire.

Change of plans, there will be no fixing the flat since the tire had two holes through it. Luckily it all happened when we were back in civilization and there was a Starbuck's near by. We decided that Amy would wait until I finished my ride and Rocky and I could come back and get her in the car. On my way I went and not even 2 miles down the rode I felt that my bike was riding funny. I hadn't heard any weird noises like PPSSSSHHHHH but something was off. I looked down and YIKES, I had a flat back tire :o( urrrggghh.

Called hubby still no answer :o( and left him a message that now I was along the side of the rode with a flat. I called Starbucks where Amy was (she didn't have her cell) so they could give her a message and let her know that I had a flat and she'd have to wait a little longer :o( I started to fix it, good thing we just had a clinic on this, I was doing really well until I went to inflate it and the tube pushed my tire out. I had this issue when I did the tire changing clinic and knew exactly what it was and how to fix it. Only problem was I had used up my CO2 cartridge :o( Luckily by this time I had gotten ahold of Rocky and he was riding back to find me and he had a pump on his bike. Hubby came to the rescue and we were on our way. The rest of the ride was great and I finished 28.40 miles :o) YIPEE! The longest I've ridden this season.

Packed up the car quickly and headed back for to rescue Amy and her bike :o(

Hubby and I were STARVED by this time so after a quick stop by the bike shop to pick up a pump for my bike we had lunch.

The rest of the day was spent on the couch doing NOTHING :o) my kind of Sunday afternoon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

COACH AL!!!!

Proud Wifey

I don't know how my hubby does it but he has so much energy it's insane. Most of you who know us and those who don't but read this blog know that we are crazy busy people. We are always on the go and rarely have time to just relax. The funny part is that we complain, okay I complain, about how tired I am but yet we like our busy lives.

Last year my hubby took on school. It's not everyday school but it's still school. He is taking some classes to get his Microsoft certifications. He's been studying hard in between work, home life, the band and training. He's been doing awesome on his practice tests and yesterday he took his BIG TEST and PASSED :o) yipee!! He was very excited and I am very proud of him. I believe there are 2 more big tests to take after this so the studying isn't over but hurdle #1 has been crossed successfully. GOOD JOB ROCKY!!!