Sacramento International Triathlon

Well, I was very tired when I got home yesterday (imagine that), so I thought I'd wait to write about the big day when I had a chance to rest up. And of course, I had to go through the pictures.

Lee and I went up to Sacramento Saturday night to check in and get our race packets. We didn't want to have to deal with standing in line the morning of the race. We figured we'd have enough to worry about. So after we got all our stuff, we had a nice (but not very healthy) dinner at Macaroni Grill. I went to bed a little later that I wanted to, but luckily I didn't have anxiety dreams so I slept ok. We woke up about 5:15, got ready and arrived at the course at 6:30 with plenty of time to set up our transition areas. We had an entire area of the bike racks blocked off for our team, which made it very convenient. With 500+ people there, the last thing I wanted was to be swallowed up by a pack of strangers. Plus, it was fun to get a chance to chat with our teammates before we started.

When it was time to begin, everyone went down to the water which was about 1/4 mile from the transition area. We paddled around for a few minutes before the gun went off. What a difference from the bay! The water was about 70 degrees. Like a bath! The Super Sprint heat started at 8:00 followed by the Sprint at 8:10 and the Olympic at 8:20. I was worried that the Sprint group might catch up to us if we hadn't finished our 400m swim fast enough. But, I didn't have to worry because I finished in 8 minutes!

The swim went by really quickly. Looking out at the water, the buoys looked so far away. But when I was actually swimming, it was cake! I was run into a couple times, but I didn't even get kicked in the face. Which I can't say for other people since my feet occasionally connected with an arm or head. Woops!

Getting out of the water, the entire path back to the transition area was gravel, so most people (the sane ones at least) brought flip flops to walk back up in. That was interesting, trying to run/walk fast in wet flip flops. Luckily, we weren't in any hurry.

In fact, we weren't in a hurry at all during the entire transition from the swim to the bike. Lee and I and a couple girls on our team, took our dear sweet time. Looking back, that probably wasn't the BEST thing to do, but we wanted to make sure we didn't forget anything. We wanted to feel comfortable before heading out on our bikes. And we were.

The entire 8 mile ride went smoothly. It was completely flat, with the exception of a slight incline of an overpass. Just a couple things I wasn't too happy about; First, the course ended up being TOTALLY different from the map we were given. So, I was very confused and started freaking out at one point. But, I just stuck with my strategy of following whatever everyone else did, and it worked out fine! Secondly, in the 8 mile ride, I counted 6 smooshed animals on the side of the road. It wasn't pretty. At the beginning of the ride, there was the thick fragrance of skunk in the air. I figured out why a few minutes later. Poor flat skunk.
Next was the run. Oh the run. I totally forgot to put on my hat before I left the transition area. DANG! My whole balance was thrown off. I had trained with a hat, so without it, I had to compensate for the reduced ounces. Can you tell I'm making excuses?? I definitely feel like I could have done better on the running. I would run for as long as my legs and lungs could stand it, then I'd walk for a few minutes. I averaged about a 13 minute mile, which I was hoping to do more like 11 minutes. But that's ok, that will just be something to work on for next time.

The running course was quite interesting. Being that we were at the Port of Sacramento, there were piles of rocks, big rigs, dump trucks and those Caterpillar things everyone. Apparently, they didn't think it was necessary to move them out of the way for the triathlon. Or maybe, the race organizers thought it would be fun to build the track around them. Whatever the case, it was a little odd.

The best part of the race was my cheering section. During each transition, I had Mom, Dad, Carolyn, Kim, Kathryn and Maggie (Kathryn's dog) cheering me on. They were a hit with the rest of the athletes too. They stood at the finish line and cheered EVERYONE on as they came across. The announcer was very impressed. Then, when it was my turn to come in, they brought the house down! I finished the race in 1:20:22.8 and that was good enough for 112th place. I thought it would take like two hours, so I'm happy!
Here are my stats:
Swim: Time 8:16.3 Ranking: 85
Bike: Time 44:26.4 Ranking: 108
Run: Time 27:40.0 Ranking 121
This definitely gives me a starting point to work to improve.

Lee came in a few minutes later and after her came a few more of our friends on the team. It was a lot of fun being able to cheer them on. Overall, it was a great day. Loads of fun and I WILL be doing another one. In fact, were planning on doing the Mermaid Triathlon in Fremont June 3rd with a couple other gals on the team. This could be the start of a very long, very fun, very challenging hobby.

So, I guess this means the end of my blog. I've enjoyed sharing my wacky stories with my friends and family and I hope you've enjoyed reading them. It's definitely been an adventure. Thanks for participating! For more pictures, you can go to: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=mlpayne12&aid=576460762400030865&pid=&wtok=AtsLc9xYMveWJ2wU3eTyFw--&ts=1177997270&.src=ph

Tomorrow is the Big Day!

Well, tomorrow is the big day. Lee and I will be leaving in a few hours to go to Sac. We're going to first stop by The Port of Sacramento, check in and get our race packets. Then we're going to stay overnight at Lee's brother's house in Elk Grove and we'll meet the rest of our team bright and early tomorrow morning. I guess See Jane Run will have our own spot in the transition area. Aren't we special?!

I'm really not nervous yet, but I am excited. I want to get this first one over with so I know what to expect for my next one. That's right, I will be doing more after this one! In fact, there's one everyone few months in Sacramento, so I'll probably do the next one too. Maybe this time I'll try to do the longer version. Or....maybe not. We'll see.

Of course, I feel like I can do almost anything thanks to the support of my friends and family. It might sound cheesy, but it's true. I've gotten cards, phone calls and emails from people wishing me luck. I appreciate them all! Kim even has her little 5th graders praying for me, which is great because she teaches at a Catholic school, so I know they're experts! How sweet!

Well, I can't wait to write all about it tomorrow afternoon. It's time to start packing!

Still Shopping

Time is running out. Only 3 days left until the race. That means, only 3 days left to shop for triathlon stuff!! Actually, I've been shopping this entire time...including today. I have to share with you two of my latest, coolest purchases.

First off, I broke down and bought a new bike. I know, I know. I was so proud of the old one, but it's too difficult to race on a mountain bike. The thing weighs a ton, I can't go fast enough, my legs get too tired and it's impossible to go up hills. I guess I'm just a wimp. Really, I wasn't even thinking about getting a new one until one of the gals in our group had me ride her's so I could see what a road bike feels like. I was sold. So, here's my new bike:

Talk about a sweet ride! This thing weighs like 2 pounds and I can go lightening fast! It's awesome. I love it. I got it a few weeks ago and it's taken some time to get used too, but I'm comfortable on it now. I'm definitely ready to speed along the race track now.

I also bought a triathlon bag. As much as I have loved using my KCRA gym bag and my old Northgate Color Guard bag to hold all my stuff, this bag was just too cool to pass up.

This bag that holds ALL my gear for the triathlon. It has tons of pockets, including one for sunglasses and flip flops. The best part is the pocket for the wetsuit. When you unzip the bottom of the bag, there's an enclosed section to put the suit and towel. That way, it won't get all my other stuff wet!


And it even comes with a little pad to lay out my stuff on at the transition area.

Along with all this gear, I've had to purchase a spring/summer workout wardrobe. When I first started, it was January. So, all the stuff I bought was long sleeved. Now that it's warmer, I have to get myself some short sleeved shirts and tank tops.

I've found the key to shopping is to do a little at a time. Slow and steady. Just like training for the race. If I did all of this at once, or did too much too fast, it wouldn't have been fun. I would have been overwhelmed by my credit card bill. By pacing myself and looking forward to the next purchase, I've been able to spread the fun over these past three months! And it sure has been fun!

Lost in Transportation

During these last few months of training, each week we had our Saturday group workout at a different location. Each week, we followed the directions our head coach Valerie gave us. Each week, we got lost. For some reason, the girl is not able to give clear, concise directions. I don't know if she uses mapquest, yahoo maps, or her own hazy memory, but it never fails.

The directions usually start out fine...get on the freeway, exit here, turn right at the bottom of the off ramp. But then it starts to go south...drive .4 miles, pass the white building, turn left at the red Ford pick up, go up the hill, go down the hill and park in the parking lot with the cars. It's true.

Our first track workout was at a middle school on MacArthur Blvd. where the street was lined with schools that had no signs or addresses. We walked around like zombies until we found it. That was also the case with the Golden Bear stadium in Berkeley. The track was on top of a hill, up 3 flights of stairs and surrounded by trees. Were we given a heads up on what to look for? Of course not! We had to get a student to take us to it. Oh, and Berkeley High School is on Allston Way, but the directions we were given ended at Martin Luther King Jr. Way. How do you get to Allston from MLK? We were told to "look for the stadium lights." Oh ok. We somehow stumbled upon it, but we couldn't find parking so we just went home.

When we did our run at Inspiration Point, the directions told us to take Grizzly Peak until it became Wildcat Canyon. Four miles later, we were to turn right into the parking lot. Well, four miles after the road became Wildcat Canyon, we saw a sign saying "Inspiration Point" with an arrow pointing in a direction in which the road didn't go. There was a small road to the right, but it was blocked off. So, we continued on...just in case. A few miles later, we found the ACTUAL Inspiration Point and parked in the lot on the LEFT.

For our Briones ride, our directions told us to turn right on Bear Creek Rd and park in the lot before the flashing red light hanging from a pole above the road. So we drove and drove and drove. Then we saw a pole, with NO flashing red light on it. But, since we were now used to Valerie's directions, Lee and I just looked at each other with a look that said; That was probably the pole that was SUPPOSED to have a flashing red light. Typical. We better turn around.

Another common problem is that the streets we're supposed to turn on, don't have street signs. That's what happened TWICE on our way to Lake Merced a couple weeks ago. We also seem to have a lot of sessions up in the hills, were the roads are winding and keep switching names. There's always like 10 forks in the road and we're never really told which way to go. It's like one long Robert Frost poem.

These are just a few examples of course. This actually all started the very first night when we took BART to the Oakland See Jane Run store for the introductory meeting. After getting off the train, we turned right instead of left. DANG! Since then, the only things that have saved us are Lee's basic knowledge of Oakland and San Francisco and my basic knowledge of Berekely. When we were "confused" we just kind of relied on what we remembered about the area and eventually figured out where to go.

So now that we are only four days until the triathlon, I'm already thinking to myself: I need to make sure I get the directions NOW! Better not count on Valerie on the big day! It's a good thing both Lee and I know Sac like the back of our hands!

Last Bay Swim! Yaaaaay!

This morning was our last swim in the SF Bay at Aquatic Park. I didn't think it would be that bad, especially since we swum at Treasure Island a couple weeks ago and the water wasn't too cold. As it turns out, the water at Treasure Island is much warmer than Aquatic Park. Why? No one could tell me. The good news was that today the water was about 53 degrees as opposed to the 45 or so degrees it was in February. The bad news was that we actually had to swim the entire length of the distances we'll be swimming in the race. The stupid news was that I decided to swim in twice...just for the heck of it.

Kim was visiting me this weekend, so Lee and I brought her with us to watch. I'm really glad she came because none of my friends or family have really witnessed first hand what's involved in our training sessions. Kim was impressed with how much the coaches stressed us to have fun. It's true. They always want us to do our best and not to worry about comparing ourselves to others. Also, the group was happy Kim was there because they designated her "the stuff watcher." The coaches were swimming with us, so they needed someone to stay behind to watch our bags. She also had to feed a couple parking meters. Oh, and I made her the photographer. What a gal!

The entire team:

Time to get in the water! Those are our coaches Kurt and Valerie in the foreground. When we're swimming, Kurt sits in the water on his surfboard, makes sure we don't get lost and yells encouraging things at us. Can you tell how freakin' tall he is?? He's slouching and he's still almost as tall as his board!

I'm finally done!


All dry and warm!

Still Going

And now it's joined by my birthday balloons.

And thanks to Lee (a former asst. pastry chef) who made me an extra special cake for my birthday. It's definitely NOT on any diet, triathlon or otherwise.

Lake Merced Workout (aka: Swike Ride or Bwim)

Ah...beautiful Lake Merced in San Francisco. If you've never been there, here's what it looks like:

That's where we were Saturday morning for a brick workout. A brick workout is when you do two events together. For instance, our workout at the Bay last weekend was a swim and a run. That's a brick workout. This week, it was a triple brick. We were to bike 4.5 miles then run 1.5 miles, three times. No sweat. But when we got there, it was a little drizzly, so our head coach Valerie told us we'd make it a double brick. Even better!

But two minutes into the ride, we all kinda looked like this guy:

In other words...it was pouring rain. And being that it was so cold outside, I thought I was quite brilliant to wear all the clothes I had brought with me, plus one of Lee's extra jackets. But about a mile into the ride, at about the time I looked down to see my pants soaked through, I thought; oh, maybe I should have just worn my shorts like the other girls. Then I would have something to change in to when I'm done. But that ship had sailed and I was now drenched, muddy and miserable.

When we got back to the parking lot, one of our mentors told us that the conditions were unsafe, and "highly recommended" that we not go on a second ride. Duh. So Lee and I headed back to the truck to put away our bikes. Then, just to err on the side of caution, we decided that the conditions were also unsafe to run. Well, not unsafe so much as uncomfortable. Being that I weighed an additional 30 pounds thanks to my soaking clothes and that my shoes were completely filled with water, I didn't think I would be able to run well. And why do something if you're not going to do it well? Oh yeah, and this stupid girl rode past me and said; "oh my gosh. You should totally see your back right now. You're so muddy." Ummmm, really twit? We're all covered in mud. Do you think you're not muddy? Did you somehow magically fly your bike? Do you have a protective shield that protects you from the rain and mud? Do you have supernatural abilities? Don't talk to me.

While Lee put our bikes away, I went to the food van. The trainers always bring us food to enjoy after a big workout. Of course a 4.5 mile bike ride isn't big, but I still thought I deserved a treat. So with my hands filled with bagels, cookies, brownies and our new See Jane Run t-shirts, I headed back to the truck. Unfortunately, that's when I was intercepted by perky, smiley Kurt. "Hey! We're just going to do a single brick today. Instead of two rounds, we're just going to do the one bike ride and then the run. So, feel free to leave after you do your run." Starring at him blankly and trying to keep my food dry, I said "oh ok. That makes sense. Sure. Yeah. Alright." Ummmmmm. What? Are you kidding me? Does it look like I'm going to go running? Then he laughed and said "I think we can consider this a swim too!" (Hence, the title of this posting) I went back to the truck and said; "book it Lee. Kurt thinks we're going to run. Let's get out of here." And we did. We drove home sitting on our towels, barefoot and wearing our new t-shirts.

Pretty it Up

I've been looking over previous postings, and I've noticed that all the pictures of me and Lee are of us all sweaty and yucky after or during our workouts. Unacceptable! I'm much too vain for that. So, I thought I'd try to pretty this up a bit and post this nicer picture of us that we took when we went out this weekend.

And just for the heck of it, since recently I've only seen Juliana under the florescent lights at work, or with her swim cap and goggles on when we swim together, I thought we needed a pretty picture on here too. Plus, I've talked about her before and some of you don't know what she looks like. This is a good representation.

All three of us on Halloween. Sorry you can't see our costumes :(

Transitions

We focused on transitioning in our workout at Treasure Island today. Before swimming in the bay and running 2 miles, the head coach held a clinic on the proper way to set up our transition area on race day. It should look something like this:

We'll have a very small space (about the width of our handlebars) to put all our stuff, so we need to learn an efficient way to lay everything out to make transitions easier. Transitions are known as the 4th leg of a triathlon. Any seasoned triathlete can shave seconds or minutes off their time by being more effective in their transitioning. It can really make or break you in a race. But I'm not worried about time, so I'm just going to focus on making sure I leave with my shoes on.

T1 (triathlete lingo for the first transition) is from the swim to the bike. This is the most difficult because you have to take off your wetsuit, dry off and get into your race clothes. I've decided I'll be wearing a pair of triathlon shorts and sports bra under my wetsuit, so I'll just need to throw on a shirt, my socks and shoes, helmet and sunglasses, and I'll be good to go. I found this picture of a T1 transition:

Now, you may be wondering; why is she barefoot? Well, if you look closely enough, you'll see her shoes clipped into her pedals. These are special cycling shoes and professional triathletes don't waste time putting their shoes on before they get on the bike. They put their feet in their shoes WHILE they're riding. I won't be doing that. I also won't properly run with my bike because I can't balance it by holding it by the seat. When I tried that, the front tire went all over the place and it fell over.

Which reminds me that we also talked about how to avoid this during the race:

T2 (can you figure out what that stands for?) is much easier than T1. All you have to do is put your bike back on the rack, take off your helmet, put on your hat and run. 'Nuff said.

And that folks...is transitioning!

Is that on the Triathlon Diet?

That's the question Darcy asks me pretty much every time she sees me eating something she thinks I shouldn't be; pizza, Taco Bell, cookies, ice cream, cake, ice cream cake, chocolate etc. The answer is always "THERE IS NO TRIATHLON DIET!" As I see it, it's hard enough to work out almost everyday. The last thing I have the strength to do is battle my will power and give up the foods I love.

But in actuality, I do eat pretty healthy. Those previous examples were a rare few. After reading You; the Owner's Manual last year (I recommend everyone read it by the way) I've been eating more fruit, veggies, whole grains, nuts etc. I go to Trader Joe's every couple weeks and load up. So for the most part, I make good choices.

That being said, diet or no diet, my workouts seem to be having some effect. I was measured at Curves a couple weeks ago and though I've only lost 1 pound, I've lost 3 inches and .5% body fat. I also wore a pair of nice black pants last week, that I bought 5 years ago when I was "skinny" and never even cut the tags off because I immediately got "fat." That means, I've gone down a size since I started training and that was really my goal.

People say they are noticing a difference in the way I look. Here are two recent conversations I've had with people at work.

#1: With Duane when I went into the kitchen to go get a piece of chocolate

Duane: Hey Michelle, have you lost weight?
Me: Huh?
Duane: You look like you've lost weight
Me: Really? I don't know, I haven't weighed myself lately
Duane: Yeah, well I was talking to the girls and I said I thought you looked different
Me: Hmm. Well I'm training for that triathlon you know, so it's possible
Duane: Yeah, you look good
Me: DAMMIT DUANE! I CAME IN HERE TO GET A PIECE OF CHOCOLATE. BUT NOW THAT YOU'VE COME IN HERE AND SAID THAT, I CAN'T HAVE ONE! YOU'VE RUINED IT FOR ME DUANE!
Duane: No, no, I'm sorry. You can have one
Me: NO DUANE! THANKS A LOT!
Then I stormed out.

#2: With Annette on Friday when she came up to my desk

Annette: Hey Michelle, we were in the back room looking at pictures from the convention and we've noticed you've lost a lot of weight
Me: What?
Annette: Yeah, in those pictures of you that Kirk took, you can definitely tell a difference. I really notice it in your face and sides.
Me: ARE YOU SAYING THAT I WAS FAT AT THE CONVENTION ANNETTE?
Annette: No, not at all. But you're looking really good now.
Me: GREAT! OBVIOUSLY EVERYONE THINKS I WAS A FAT COW AT THE CONVENTION. WONDERFUL! THANKS ANNETTE!

As you can tell, I have difficulty accepting compliments. And I like to give people I work with a hard time.

So here's a picture of me and Julie at the convention. I don't think I look different at all. At the end of this thing, I'll have to take a picture of myself and do a before/after thing. Hopefully I don't gain it all back by then! Maybe I should consider starting a Triathlon diet...