Week Sixteen

Ah, I'm finally catching up on my blog. I'm a few weeks behind, but luckily I also keep a hardcopy journal, so it's not too late for me to go back and chronicle what has happened.

Week Sixteen was "race week" which is sort of like a recovery week. Every workout was very easy leading up to our second team triathlon, the Treasure Island Louie Bonpua Olympic Distance Triathlon. Louie Bonpua was a team honoree and also a participant. While undergoing treatment for his cancer, he trained for and completed an ironman distance triathlon. Louie lost his battle with cancer a few days after carrying the Olympic Torch.

Click here to watch a short video sharing his story.


Needless to say, there wasn't much room for complaining about cold water swims. If Louie could do it, so could I.

I met some other Santa Cruz folks before the crack of dawn in front of the Starbucks in Scotts Valley to carpool. I rode with my mentor Donna. We got to Treasure Island with plenty of time to check in, set up our transition area, and get ready. I added something new to my transition area this time: a plastic bin and a thermos full of hot water. Rain had been threatening us all morning. It sprinkled on us here and there, just enough to make everyone want to put garbage bags all over their transition gear. It could have been worse; at least it wasn't pouring.

It was finally time to take off the comfortable warm clothes and put on the wetsuit. I moved as quickly as I could to try to stay warm. My body was actually not too cold, but my toes were numb. I rolled my ear plugs into a ball and flattened them into my ears (I finally figured out that I needed the kids size in order for them to stay). Ear plugs were new to me in general; everyone told me that I'd be warmer with them. I then put on my neoprene and latex caps, and officially was deaf to the world! At our race meeting, even though they used the megaphone, I couldn't really hear the announcements. I got the most important thing: there were four laps that we had to do in the water.

It was a few minute walk to the water. We were swimming in they bay, but I kept telling myself it was a nice calm lake. It was much calmer than last week, but I knew it wouldn't be any warmer. I went in right away to "warm up," which for me now means, "keep telling yourself it isn't that bad." Keeping things in perspective, I thought of Louie, and of the fact that in that moment it wasn't raining, and even better - some sun was peeking through the clouds. There was a news camera crew there. I imagined them talking about how crazy these people were to get into sub-50-degree water.

They started us off, and I gave myself permission to "freak out" until the first buoy. I told myself that I could doggie paddle, scream, curse, avoid putting my face in the water, whatever I needed to do. But, by the time I reached that first buoy, I had to just swim, no matter what. I heeded my own rules, and by that first buoy, I lengthened my body and started to focus on my stroke. The fact that the waters were so much more calm than last week made a big difference. I did a few drills that I learned in my swim class that week, and really focused on my technique. Each lap, I managed to get slightly faster (or so it felt). In my last stretch towards the short, I experimented with increasing my turnover rate, and I passed a bunch of swimmers who were also coming in. As I stumbled out of the water, someone with a stopwatch turned to me and yelled, "39:30." Not bad. My best time for an olympic swim was 33:45 and my worst was 41. Considering my "freak out" time, I can live with 39:30.

It was a cold, dizzying walk up the long stairs and across the bridge to our transition area. There were wetsuit strippers there who got my wetsuit off me in just a few seconds, and I headed to my spot. I opened up my thermos, poured the hot water in my tub, and stepped in. Ah! It was actually TOO hot! I poured a bottle of cold water in it too. Perfect. I got ready for the bike while standing in the warm water. It made such a huge difference to my overall comfort, and I was so glad to have taken the time to do it. Of course, I'd never do this for a real race, but a real race would never be this cold in the first place.

I had learned my lesson from when we did our sprint triathlon a couple of months ago to take the time to put on my leg warmers. Good move. My body temperature was comfortable when I got on the bike. The bike course was 6 loops with a lot of turns along the way. The road was really rough, and several people got flats (not me, thank goodness). I enjoyed it immensely. I'm definitely a fair weather rider. I will ride my bike in any weather, but when it's sunny and beautiful out, I LOVE to ride my bike. For the first 4 loops, it was just that: sunny and beautiful, and I was really enjoying it. The last two loops were more challenging with light rain and headwinds creeping up. I stopped loving it, but I did appreciate the challenge that it made me rise to. The last couple of loops were also hard in that I could see that there were several people on the run course already. I just tried to remind myself that I had to race my own race, not theirs. I had to learn to find and stick to my own pace.

And eventually I did make it onto the run course, after taking my sweet old time in the transition area. By this point, I knew the rain and the headwinds had slowed me down, and I wasn't too worried about trying to set a new personal record. I just decided to enjoy the run as best as I could. It was 4 laps, just like my Ironman France race would be (only each one in France will be just a tad longer of course). I enjoyed my time out there, and I definitely increased my pace with every lap, a good sign.

I finished the race in 3:39, which is 10 minutes longer than my previous personal worst, but considering the weather, the headwinds, the "freak out allotment," the long walk back from the swim, and the long transitions, I'm going to walk away from this one with a proud "not bad" rating.

THIS WEEK'S SUMMARY
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Spin 45, used the rest and recovery Spinervals DVD
Wednesday: swim 2500 (my first swim class at Simpkins)
Thursday: run 4 miles
Friday: spin 30 minutes
Saturday: hike, 1 hour
Sunday: Treasure Island Tri: Swim 1760, bike 25 miles, run 6 miles in 3:39

Body Check: No more pain at all in the knee. I think it's all better. Slight pain in upper hamstring/lower glute (right side) when cycling. The pain is very deep and hard to stretch. It doesn't hurt during the day to day grind...