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)

Race Report - Part 1

Friday

We were up fairly early on Friday morning to do some last minute packing of luggage and packing the car. Rocky and I headed out about 9am, went by Starbucks and then picked up Olivia. We met Phil, Lindsay and Amy at the Park and Ride in San Ramon and we caravanned to Monterey. We arrived a little before noon and we were able to check into the hotel and unload the cars. We first stopped off at Carrow’s for a quick lunch of salads and sandwiches and then headed to Triathlon Central in Pacific Grove which was only a few minutes away. We walked around the Expo and did some shopping :o) and picked up our race packets. There were 2 TNT women’s waves and we got the first one at 8:45am, yippee!!

Checked out the swim area where the buoys had already been set up, checked out the transition area where all my gear would be living on Saturday, met with our team on the beach for some quick tips from Coach Paul and then headed back to the hotel. We were actually suppose to do a short workout on Friday when we arrived but Amy and I decided to skip it. We felt we’d benefit more from resting.

#856 :o) my home for Saturday

Kelp, Kelp and more Kelp, this is where we swim

Erik, Cori, Lindsay, Me, Rocky, Amy, Phil & Olivia checking out the area

Our team after going for a 15 minute swim, brrrr!

It was about 4pm when we arrived back to our hotel and our pasta party was at 6pm. I decided to get all my stuff ready so I wouldn’t have to do it after the pasta party. I laid out all my clothes, put the stickers on my helmet, bike number on the bike, race number on my race belt. Tags on my shoes and bike and on and on. Getting ready for a triathlon requires lots of gear. Checking it over, once, twice and even a third and fourth time. You just don’t want to forget anything.

Headed over to the Pasta Party at 6pm. It was really good food :o) which we were happy with and a good program. The speaker for the night was a teammate and mom to our team honoree, Lauren Bishopp. She gave a great talk and there wasn’t a dry eye in that room. It was very inspirational and it ended with the whole room of 300+ Team in Training Participants signing I WILL SURVIVE, by Gloria Gaynor, being lead by Lauren and her mom, Emma. It was awesome and probably one of the best Pasta Parties I’ve been to.

Emma & Lauren Bishopp

After the Pasta Party Coach Paul gave us last minute tips, group picture and then we headed back to the rooms.

I pretty much put my jammies on and crawled into bed. I attempted to go to sleep at 9pm and although I think I got some sleep I don’t think it was much. I was pretty nervous.

Alarm went off at 4:30am on Saturday morning.

Saturday

I got up and showered, put on my clothes and ate and at 5:30 I headed downstairs to meet Amy. We had decided the night before with the approval of our coach that Amy and I would get a ride from Rocky to the start/finish instead of riding down with the team. I know, party poopers, but the team had to walk ½ mile in their cycling shoes to the trail and then ride 3 miles to the start/finish area. I didn’t want to start my morning that way plus it was DARK and CHILLY. Of course they also had to ride back after the race, no thank you. Rocky gave us a ride instead :o)

We arrived at the transition area and set up our stuff in the dark :o( we’d have to re-check everything later when the sun came up and make sure it was all properly placed and nothing was forgotten.

Lindsay, Phil & Olivia arrived shortly after and we all hung out for a while.

Amy & I walked the course and visualized coming out of the water, running/walking up the ramp to the transition area, going out on the bike, returning on the bike and going out on the run. Afterwards we decided we should probably get off our feet. By this time my father/mother-in-law had arrived so we went and hung out with them. Our wave wasn’t going out til 8:45 so we were able to hang out for quite a while, see our family & friends as they arrived and watch the start of the race at 7:15. Can you say Butterflies in the Belly?

The only people I wasn't able to see before heading in the water were my dad, who was I'm sure driving uhh fast :o) to get there and my friend Debbie. She was there in the crowd but I didn't spot her before the start of the race :o(

I sat on a bench watching the first few waves take off. I chatted with my hubby and his parents and then Mama Lisa and Coach arrived and we hung out with them for a bit. The rest of the gang was across the walkway where I could see them and I noticed at 7:45 that Amy left to go to the transition area. I knew she was nervous. She needed to get away and just be alone. A few minute after she walked away Anita and Bree arrived, Amy had no idea that I had invited them. I showed Amy and Bree where the rest of the gang was and I left to go find Amy. She was over by her transition area just pacing. She said she was pretty nervous and just needed to get away. I told her to take a walk with me :o) I took her back over to where everyone else was and before we got to them I told her “please don’t drown me” LOL!! She looked up and saw Anita and Bree and started crying. I’m glad she was able to see them before the start. I’m glad they were able to be there for her.

It hit me as the national anthem was being sung that this was it, race day was really here and I was going to do the damn thing. It also hit me that Brenda was not there. It hit me that the last time I did a triathlon cheery and always happy Brenda was there with me :o( Thanks to my iPhone I was able to watch this video before I turned my phone over to Olivia.

Back to the transition area we went to get ready. YIKES 45 minutes til we start!

I sunscreend, body glided and suited up in my wetsuits, grabbed my goggles and swim caps and then Amy and I headed out of transition. We got our last good luck hugs and pictures and we made our way to the beach.

After the wave before us took off we were able to jump in the water…COLD…and get a little acclimated to it. I dunked under to get water in my wetsuit and I doggie paddled around for a bit.


Then it was time to get out, get lined up, the announcer had us do a couple of GO TEAMS!!! I gave Amy a good luck hug and then 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and we are off!!!!

Blessed!

15 weeks of training came to a close on Saturday with an amazing race. 2 years ago I did the Wildflower Triathlon and hated it and had a horrible race and finished in 4:45:53 :0( Saturday I broke my time setting a PR for myself. I had hoped to finish in 4 hours and I finished in 3:57:13, feeling the best I have felt in a race in years.

The last 15 weeks would not have been possible without the support from my hubby. Rocky has been supportive of all this craziness since the day he met me. This season took me away from home, from him and the doggies quite a bit and more then any other season. He didn't even blink an eye and just kept on pushing me and supporting me. He has always believed in me no matter what the task at hand is. LOVE YOU and THANK YOU!!!

Although Phil was training for a different distance and Amy and I would end up swimming, biking and running at different paces at the weekend workouts they were my training buddies. We also spent quite a bit of time together during the week swims. THANK YOU for your encouragement and support. If you guys weren't there I know I probably wouldn't have trained as hard. CONGRATULATIONS also to both of you on great races. I am very proud of you. You are both triathletes now :o)

THANK YOU to our families. My dad drove 5 hours from the Ventura area to come see me on Saturday and then drove back home after I finished. It meant the world to me to have him there and see him at the finish line.

Mom & Dad Reyes also came out and then drove all the way to Sonoma for another commitment. THANK YOU!!!

Olivia, Lindsay, Phil, Lael, Coach Al, Mama Lisa, Debbie and her boyfriend Brian...THANK YOU so much for making the drive down there to support us. My heart was touched and it was awesome having you guys out there cheering us on.

There is a funny story about Anita and Bree who were also there to cheer us on....THANK YOU! :o) As Amy talks about in her blog quite a few of the girls in her close group of friends were moving away and she was having a very hard time. A few months back I decided to invite her two friends that were still here because I knew she wouldn't. They talked, they planned and they decided to drive down Saturday morning. Amy had NO IDEA and I begged her not to drown me after I showed her who was there :o) She was very thankful to have them there to share the end of this journey with them. I'm glad they were able to make it.

THANK YOU also to all our friends who emailed, called, sent me text messages and left messages on facebook. I appreicate all your good wishes and words of encouragement.

I can't forget to thank Martin & Minnelli, my brother/sister-in-law :o) who babysat our crazy doggies while were were gone. They must have had a blast because they have both been sleeping since we got home yesterday.

I just bought a hanging for our wall that reads

Life is not measured by the breaths we take,

but by the moments that take our breath away

This weekend took my breath away.

I have been blessed with an amazing husband, two amazing families and amazing friends. This journey could not have been possible without all of you. You all hold a special place in my heart. THANK YOU for your love and friendships!

Pacfic Grove Triathlon - 3:57:13

Swim (.93 miles)
38:57

Bike (24.8 miles)
1:55:05

Run (6.2 miles)
1:12:53

I will post a full race report in the next few days :o)

Last Swim

Warm Up:
10 Minute swim
100 LVL 3

Main Set:
400 LVL3-4 (20”RI)
300 (Race Pace) (20”RI)
4 x 25 LVL8 (15”RI)
100 LVL3-4 (20”RI)
4 x 25 LVL8 (15”RI)

Cool Down:
100 Non-Freestyle

Had our last swim workout last night and it was pretty easy compared to the last few swims. Amy and I were done in about an hour and then we had some yummy soup afterwards. I am happy to not have to go back to a pool again til next year. My hair is icky, my skin is dry. It'll be nice to not have to smell like chlorine anymore :o)

Tonight is our last track workout and hopefully that will be fairly easy as well. I'm sure Coach Paul will give us last minute tips and then I'll be heading home to finish packing. Tomorrow night I'd like to drop the doggies off in Daly City and then go home and relax and get to bed early. I'm sure I won't sleep much Friday night so I've gotta get as much rest as I can the next few nights.

Packed

It helps to be a bit OCD sometimes and other times it's just plain annoying. I am anxious now about race day and about being able to get everything done. I won't be home tonight or tomorrow since we still have 2 more workouts and we won't be home on Thursday evening because we have to drop off the doggies in Daly City so they can be babysat over the weekend. Which means in order for me not to lose my mind I need to start packing NOW!!!

Last night after we had dinner I decided that I would pack all my gear for this weekend. I have an extra pair of goggles and swimsuit for tonight's workout and I have plenty of extra running clothes to wear at track on Wednesday. I just need to stick my running shoes into my back pack after the run on Wednesday Anyway, my triathlon back pack is packed and ready to go :o) It relieves some of my stress which is a good thing right now.

Patch has seen us pack for traveling plenty of times and so he knows what it means when there are bags and stuff all over the place. Last night I had my back pack out and I had laid everything out all over our extra bedroom and I was trying to take a picture of my tri-suit that I'll be wearing for the race and Mr. Patch decided to make himself at home on it. He knows that I'm packing to leave and he wasn't to happy about it. He is so darn smart.

The only things I have to pack now are toiletries and any clothes that I'll be wearing to hang out in Pacific Grove.

Now if I can just get these butterflies out of my belly I'd be very happy.

Here is a little video of the Women's Elite Group at 2007 Pacific Grove

He Did It! and We Will Too!

He swam (1.2 miles)

He biked (56 miles)

He ran (13.1 miles)

He finished 70.3 miles and smiling :o)

Congratulations Phil!

He had a personal cheering squad.

Rocky, Olivia & I headed down to Santa Cruz at 4:30am, yes we are pooped, to see Phil do his first triathlon. A few of our friends had gone down the night before and a few others also drove down yesterday. Phil had his own cheering squad and we had blast. It was HOT and we all got a bit crispy but what better place to spectate then Santa Cruz. While Phil was out pounding out each mile we went and had fun at the pier. We ate, we drank, we squashed ourselves in a little booth to take pictures, rode the rides and hung out on the beach. It was like being at a carnival. It was a long day but we made the best of it.

Saturday was my last run with the tri team :o( we only have 4 days left. I can't believe it. The run was short and sweet 20 minutes out and 20 minutes and then a nice small breakfast with Amy at Chow's in Lafayette. Afterwards I went home and did laundry and just relaxed. Rocky had done a long 14 mile run in the heat and we both just wanted to relax. That's what we did.

This week I have one more swim tomorrow and one more track workout on Wednesday and we are DONE!! Thursday will be my day to get everything packed and Friday we travel to Pacific Grove. Being at Phil's race yesterday pumped me up but also made me nervous. I just want Saturday to be here so I can get this darn thing done :o) I can't wait!