Levi Gran Fondo - Another Century on the Books

Another bike century on the books! The Levis Gran Fondo was in town, I had missed registration, and it was 4 hours before the transfer deadline was up.

this race has cool shirts!

I scoured facebook and saw a Gran ticket (103 miles) and was thinking I would go for the Medio (60 mile) race option.

But I signed up for the full....and thought I'd decide in the week....when my bike trainer coach at M2 revolution sad "you are a sponge and under trained...you should get as many of those under your belt as you can before Arizona"

So I guess decision made at that point...I was thinking...take it easy, don't wear the body out....and I guess I was just taken the easy route!

Levis Gran Fondo route

Turned up and found it was a BIG race with over 7,000 people involved, all with a mass start. So that was fun to take 15 minutes to get over the start.

7000 biker mass start

Not that I was going for a "goal time" on this race. Let's just look at the elevation....holy cow!! race map says 9,000 and my garmin says 10,000 elevation. Either way, a lot more than my biggest ride at ~4,000.

Goal = finish with out being road kill


Had the usual hub-ba-ba-loo getting to the start line. Had 3 flat tires last week, so cleaned out my tire rims. Then checked it all the nigh before and another flat tire??? Changed t up and the tube had a hole...so 5 flats in 7 days. Jeez! One more change and good to go....

The morning of went to pedal around the parking lot and my gears would not change? My chain just kept falling off. I know how to fix that one, but not the gear change?? Found a helpful van quick pronto and he looked at me like I'm stupid and said "blah blah isn't connected, no wonder!" To which I smiled and said "can you fix it?" Some cable thing tightened and off I go....

Race Start
Started off strong, first 20 miles were nice and easy cadence to warm things up. Chain came off from my bad gearing change, but a quick 1...2 and back on again.

Then comes the tough part...7 miles of non-stop uphill. Good for a couple but then had to stop and breathe.

hills that never stopped

I noticed everyone was looking at me with a weird face....so I asked why..."cause you are crazy doing this hill race on a time trial bike." Hmmm...agreed...Christmas pressies people...need a road bike for hills

getting my breath back on the hills

My standard pattern in biking is 20% feels great. 20%-40% is my mindset funky junkyard. When I get to 50% I always cheer up saying "if I got halfway then I can certainly finish" and after that just keep counting the % with a happy face on me. Last 20% I try and push it with all I have left.

This race was no different...the added fun was the weather. In my 20-40% funky town mood the weather decided to get horrible! I mean fog you could not see more than 10 feet in front of, rain that spat at your face with, and cold that made my legs so cold I had no warmth in the muscle to move them with....uuurgggh!

the weather was not my friend....see the fog and rain

I nearly quit at the Mile 45 rest stop....so many people looked like they did...and shouts of "roads are slick and dangerous and steep....watch out" just made me scared that I was gonna die.  I don't know why I kept going...just seemed like I thought "1 more mile and then you can stop" and then a "get to the lunch stop for a sandwich then you can stop"...."just get to the ocean"....

Well soon it was the Mile 75 stop at the ocean and there was no rain, just wind and cold, and 1 more kick-ass hill (that I walked for a good section of). Good at least to have a nice view for a minute.....whilst I crouched behind a truck and liberally applied some chamois cream (party in the pants returned for a happy biker!)

some ocean views to ride along...but that weather! uurggh

carried on and after mile 85 knew it was time to bring it and took advantage of have a time trial bike...aero position, hammering it on the bike in a great gear and cadence...thinking "i could soo run after this"

Wasn't exactly in the top group for this. I think the top finishers are in a 5 hour range and I was like 9 hours + (it could even be as bad as 10 hours!) but again my goal was to finish and feel strong. And I did. Eating all that food and resting at each stop made a big difference to how I felt at the end...a big note for me to consider as I would be doing a marathon at this point...

the results from my watch

at the end...loving this hair...looks great after a 103 miles!

Goal = finish without being road kill (ACHIEVED - See Sunday!)

Sometimes it's not meant to be...

I joined a group ride this weekend but sometimes it's just not meant to be...
It started with 6 of us...and ended with 2. What happened I hear you say??

Fog, Freeways, Flat Tires, Police....all on 1 ride!

Please sing along like the 12 days of Christmas...

• No visibility from fog
• 1 broken derailer
• 1 bike chain fall off
• 1 pulled hamstring
• 1 partner turned back for the hamstring..leaving 3 not knowing where to go
•  3 people biking on the 280 freeway
• 1 person pulled over by police (for riding on the freeway...)
• 1 flat tire...with no air pump
• 1 wife calling saying "WTF are you!?"
• 2 left to scamper back to the start

And a partridge in the pear tree....

Got to say the last 2 were laughing in fits and giggles that so much could go wrong on 1 friendly bike ride! Guess some things are just not meant to be...

Final stats were a 30 mile bike ride...and I got a good t-run in to celebrate my leg being back in the game...and the need of course to start building up the muscles. It was freezing cold in San Francisco, but having the chance to run through Golden Gate park was quite a moment...felt liked I had "arrived" in the city!

Bike Ride Stats
Nothing exciting here. it was a stop start ride the whole time. Happy that there was some decent elevation in here to make up for something....I hear a rumor I might do a race with elevation on it, so guess I better start loving those hills. uurggh!

Transition Run Stats
This is more interesting...very happy to see a pace of under 10 minute miles. Will have to see how long I can sustain this pace, 5 miles was longer than I thought I could, so patting myself on the back for this one. Woo Hoo!

Tour de Peninsula Bike Ride - photos

I'm always a sucker for buying the race photos...its the opportunity to get a memory...and I like to take it, even when the photo is expensive.

So here's the 2 photos that were taken on the Tour de Peninsula bike ride 2 weeks ago.

Tour de Peninsula Bike Ride #addicted

#addicted
You know you are addicted when you need to have a road bike ride to feel good. That as soon as you put your body into position, and clip in those cleats, you feel a sense of both calmness and excitement. That the bike feels like an extension of your overall body. #addicted

So after my mountain bike ride on Saturday, and not quite feeling this sense of calmness, I searched for another bike ride. Didn't expect to find much, and up popped Tour de Peninsula. I woke up at 6:15 in the morning for the 7am start and thought "I should sleep"...but that #addicted drive drove me to jump put of bed and hustle to the start line.

Started at 7:30am and thought I was done for, but as it was more of a group ride than a "race" it was actually fine. Many people started at the same time as me, so I joined in with various groups and met people along the way. There were about 1500 bikers and I think I spoke to only 100 or so (hee hee only)...here are 2 journalists I met and had a "Meet-up" lunch with.

Lucy and some new biking friends

I looked at the route the night before and saw there was a short 30 mile version and a long 65 mile version. I opted to get the longer route in for a workout. I had pulled a muscle in mountain biking (with the cold weather not really letting them warm up) and thought it might not be the easiest of rides, but hey, gotta get a good workout in! Or maybe this is another example of being #addicted

Map My Ride - 65 mile version

What I didn't know about the ride was the elevation. Oh man! I'm not the best hill biker - maybe I can blame having the wrong crankset and a tri-bike vs a road bike?
The route showed Skyline and I thought...does that mean we have to bike all the way up to Skyline (just like it sounds...up to the heavens!). And yes it did mean I was biking non-stop uphill for over 5 miles.

That doesn't really sound like a lot, but my knee went into serious pain (the OTHER knee as well to the usual soap opera drama!) and I could not bear any weight on it. So the whole 5 mile uphill was on 1 leg, leaving me in a sitting position the whole time, and using a push-down / pull-up action only! Ouch! But I also saw it as a good training opportunity...this was not a race after all so I got to learn how to adjust my body, self-massage, rest and stretch, and of course bike on my 1 weaker leg.

Elevation of the 65 mile route. 2000 ft climb in 5 miles

I did make it to the top though! And had to take a photo to celebrate!

Made it to the top of a long long hill...using 1 leg only!

The weather was not what I was expecting either. Usually I escape to the Peninsula to get some sun away from the city. But it didn't really clear up on this ride. Check out this photo of Canada road. Going up the mountain there were some beautiful areas of dense fog that as I biked through, I felt a wave of dew wash over me.

Felt like SF City weather even though I was on the Peninsula!

I enjoyed the ride overall, and took the shortcut for a 56mile bike ride overall and had a biking time of 4:10 hours but an overall time on 5 hours. Guess I put my chatting skills to good work!

Off to foam roller that knee now....and yes, my #addicted sense feels fulfilled. So no need to bike on Monday!

A different kind of biking in Marin

So its been a whole week since the race where I biked 112 miles (wow, still in shock here!) and I told myself I'd take a nice break and rest the body.
Ah, but then I got invited to go Mountain Biking...something I dabbled in last year...and would often have ended up with a bruise or two.

But this year I'm fitter and stronger, especially on biking, so I thought I'd have more control and confidence on the bike. Right?
So off to Marin Headlands, just north of San Francisco city, where there are tons of trails to explore.

Marin Headlands Trails

The weather tends to be foggy in the city, but often becomes clear in Marin. Today that was not the case, and it was foggy and rainy. Really...foggy....in August....in California????

Got on the bike and had my standard nervous stomach...it just tightens up until I either have my first fall or get some mileage underneath me.

Pedal pedal pedal up the hill...no matter which way I went, it seemed to be hills today? How does that happen?

Well, those hills definitely caught up to me and my fitness showed I was not as good as I thought. Seems like a difference muscle group was in use...and by the end of the cold ride...my legs felt like they'd had a good workout.

Just a nice reminder I still have much to learn and grow when it comes to biking!

Ride your dreams

I'm always looking for people to ride with for my long rides. I really miss having my gang to ride with...they knew me and my strengths and we were on the same path together towards IronMan...so we were building up the same pace and distance together.

So I keep trying out new workout groups to meet people...this past weekend it was a ride of 67 miles that had little elevation (1300 feet) and it was also in support of a charity drive called "Ride Your Dreams Everyday"

I met this amazing guy called Henry that had both of his parents die from cancer and vowed to set up a foundation one day to help others with the same disease. He suddenly got to a point in life where he said "now is the time" and 7 weeks ago he decided to bike 4,000 miles across the country, collecting donors for the national registry along the way.
This ride was the kick-off for the trip and a group of us helped see him off proper. What a cold start to the day..you can see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background (just!).

Seeing off Henry on his 4,000 mile adventure

Thankfully the weather got warmer the further North we biked. The planned route was below at a 2,000 elevation climb for the trip and a straight out and back route. I chose this route because of the elevation gain being low, due to my knee being a little less functional on hill climbs....

The original ride

Side Note: Knee update - went to a orthopedic doctor, had X-rays and a review and looked like definitely a tight IT band on the top left side, but also trying to diagnose the high pain that hits. X-Ray said might be a stress fracture and the doctor pushed hard in a spot making me yell out in pain. An MRI is planned this week for more information.

Back to the bike ride...

We stopped at Point Reyes town for lunch and had a long break sitting in the sunshine. At this point we split off from Henry so he could continue on his quest...100 miles a day for 40 days is a big quest and I wish him well.

Our group turned back but I soon realized that we were going a different way back. The view was beautiful as we rode around the beach areas...but uh-oh we hit Stinson Beach and the group pointed at the VERY large hill and said "it's a steep 3 mile climb". Hmmm... not good as the knee was already in pain.

The actual ride

I was super lucky that the support car for Henry drove by. Why? They had forgotten an item back in San Francisco and were en route to pick it up. I flagged it down and got a lift to the top of the hill. Phew...crisis averted! More riding and then a flat...man was my luck out today.

Got back after a heft 8 hours out on the field. It was 4:41 hours of biking and somehow it turned into 8 hours of biking...that is a LONG LONG day!

Total Details
Hours             8 hours
Hours Biking   4:41 hours
Mileage           67 miles (skipped those middle 3 thank goodness)
MPH               14.2 mph average (good with lots of hills I guess)

It had to happen eventually....

Well, I guess it had to happen eventually...

I joined a group bike ride at the weekend for a "Vineman Simulator" that was a 40 mile bike ride on fairly flat elevation and on the Penninsula, so getting some good heat to practice in.

A good turnout with 9 people...I tend to say hello to folks at the start and that's it...never see them again as at the back.

But it had to happen eventually....

I was NOT at the back of the group. In fact I was one of the front runners. Woo hoo!

After finishing the 40 miles, I even went and added another 15 miles to get a time trial section in and push up my heart rate and get some pace in.

What a great feeling! I must be getting better! P90x and Coach Troy workouts are helping me get my biking legs in better shape.

The bike ride was a great area to bike more often - I'm noting the 40 mile loop we did, and could use this as a 80 mile double loop practice session. Plus it was chock full of bikers everywhere....crazy in some places! There were 3 groups of pelaton racers...they just ride and cross the road with not attempt to stop. Scary stuff!

Heat was good at 70's temperature. The next day the weather turned to 90's so I was lucky in one respect for some cooler weather. But I also missed out on a true Vineman simulator..where temps are expected in high 90's. Sweating just thinking about it....

Now I need to focus on building some mileage. This weekend I have a 68 mile group ride planned...my longest ride yet..but with only 5 weeks to go to the 112 mile Vineman, gotta make it happen.

Troy...How I Love and Hath Thee

Dear Troy,

I recently bought a few of your Spinerval DVDs to keep my cycling training moving forward and I wanted to share how after just 2 sessions this week I am learning to love and hate you at the same time.

Troy...How I love thee!

• You know how to pack a lot in a short workout...busy people love you for this
• You talk and inform me of little tid-bits of information like cadence targets, threshold targets, and more...
• I sweat the most of any workout with you...
• You make my heart beat faster (due to the heart rate training of course!)

Troy...How I hate thee!

• You walk around the whole time...I want to see you on the bike sweating like the rest of us
• You seem to wear baggy clothes and long sweat pants...show us some skin to prove you get the results from what you teach us....even a little calf will do nicely
• Your timing is off...when you say 30 seconds...mean it! Don't add an extra 5 or 3 or even 1 second!

I look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with you Troy....how I Love and Hate thee!

Yours sincerely,

An IronMan in Training

SF Tri Bike Ride....5000 elevation!

OMG! I was looking for a group ride and the Facebook group for the SF Tri group showed a 55-60 mile ride from Presidio and into the hills towards Mt Tam.

I knew this was going to be a hilly ride (it said so!) and I looked it up on MapMyRide and saw a similar route listed at 3,500 elevation.

I'm not really a good hill biker (getting better but still lame compared to others) and so don't generally whoop up for joy on these things...but there wasn't really another group bike ride....and I'm looking to meet new people...and get to be a better bike rider...so I signed up.

Turned up and a nice group of nearly 10...good turnout...and they seemed quite friendly and approachable (rather than the hard core bikers that give you the evil eye I often see). Approach was a semi-drop ride...they'd stop at meet-up points but generally have to pace yourself to keep in the pack.

Pack seemed to have some different pacers. I was of course at the back...but the gap between me and the next set was a lot smaller than usual...so a nice improvement point! Hooray!

Lucy...the ever improving biker chick

Biking uphill....wow felt much better and more capable of doing hills....focusing on stroke counting and not looking too far ahead....and the music helps of course.

This turned out to be some crazy ass hills...10+ miles straight of hills...I'm serious!

The summary ended up showing over 5,000 elevation! Crazy!!!! Total time was 4 hours with riding time of 3:30 hours....my Wildflower ride was 4:18 total time with 3 flats and a 3,500 elevation...so definite improvement!

We got to a section called the Seven Sisters (rolling hills...guessing there is 7) and I was following another biker who turned it up...so I decided to play chase. I was doing some mad speed and feeling great....moments like this is what I'm loving about biking...the wind whipping your face...the speed rushing across your body...the adrenaline of pushing your speed and not knowing how fast you can go.

I did hit a curve pretty hard and by back tire did some nice hop...skip skip...hop and that made me slow down pretty fast and keep it at a 'safe' speed for the next few miles. Good thing too...as after entering the redwoods...there was a truck that decided to overtake a group of bikers on a corner...taking the full lane I was in....emergency maneuvers needed and with a drop on the side of me...it was a close call!

The next meet-up point is where I said goodbye to the group..they were going to do another 1700 elevation climb and I didn't know that I'd done 5,000 but I did know that another 1700 and the mileage back was going to be beyond my limit right now (something to look forward too!) and turned around.

The weather had started to turn and there was a beautiful sight of the fog rolling in over the seven sister hills....here's a picture...but darn it got cold fast!! And it was the downhill section meaning more cold.

Enjoyed the trip back...as I was without the group I had to remember where we had gone, so testing my navigation skills. We found our way back the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped for a tourist photo.

Got back to the car and wanted to add more mileage as had only done 44. Nigel went for a run (jealous!) and I did another 6 miles in the Fort Mason / Aquatic Park / Crissy Field area....mostly played "avoid the tourist on their Blazing Saddles bike rental" but still nice to hit the 50 mile total point.

Total: 4 hours biking time, 50 miles, 5,000+ elevation

AND there was a hill on Fort Mason that all the tourists were pushing their bike up....and I took that hill completely...didn't even get out the saddle...with those tourists jaws dropping. Woo hoo!

Feeling good...disappointed I didn't get to a new mileage point of 60 miles...but hey that 5,000 elevation was fantastic and I'll take that win today!

No Wine or Whine on this Bike Ride

I've been looking for a flat bike ride to do for my IronMan training in the Bay Area. The Arizona course is pretty flat so I need to work on long distance on a flat course to train a similar style...and build up speed!

A few folks I met mentioned a trail called the Silverado Trail in Napa.....its a non-stop road that goes for 50 miles with very few stop lights or stop signs and traffic is not bad either...Perfect!

So last Sunday it was an early start to drive the 1.5 hours to get here, find a space to park and off we go!

My goal was to increase my speed to a 17 mph average. I chose 17 as it was higher than my current average in the 13 - 16 mph area, seemed reasonable, and was something I heard many IronMan finishers say...so 17 it was.

Summary: Woo hoo did it!!
Completed 50 miles in under 3 hours...and a 17.6 mph average...fantastic!

Elevation gain was interesting and unexpected....but a good time to practice keeping speed on hills...in fact i even tried to increase my pace on a few of them.
Or catch up to someone in front of me! Competitive spirit awakened!!

Food was my standard IronMan perform drink mix - had 2 large bottles that drank 1.5 bottles of, and 1 water that I use to dilute or change the taste in my mouth. I don't drink much but a good back-up.

I ate a pack of the Cola chews I LOVE so much at the turnaround point...here's a photo of me with the wine groves behind me....but no time to whine or drink wine on this trip!

Details of the ride with my personal notes:

Speed: Average speed was 17.6mph, but also happy to see that there were few areas of low speed with only 1 hill dropping below 10mph and the rest keeping in the 14-16 mph range. Trend in 2nd half was faster as pushed myself harder on the way back looking for a negative split in time.

Elevation: Higher than expected overall with the monitor reading 700 ft elevation (but the graph showing 300 (??). Was nice to get these in for practice at hill climbing. There was also a gentle wind that was good practice to pace against.

Heart Rate: Nothing special here in terms of seeing it higher or lower than the average 160-180 range for a higher pace ride. Might think how to decrease this over time and still increase speed.

Final note: did a 10 minute T-run after the bike, shooting pain straight off in the knee. uuuurrrgggghhhh!
This is driving me crazy. Going to book a specialist doctor...but can't get an appointment for 4 weeks!

Wildflower Training Camp

Just got back from a weekend of Wildflower Training with the SVTC (Silicon Valley Tri Club) and SFTC (San Francisco Tri Club). We camped in the middle between the 2 groups so got he best of both clubs and met many new people - have to as I'll be in SF in a few weeks and need some training partners to keep me motivated.

The overall weekend was definitely worth the 7+ hours of driving each way!
Here are some of the tips I took away for various parts.

Camping
I'm not really a camper, so this week I used the REI voucher to get lots of camping gear from a tent to sleeping bag to eating utensils....Good to road test them out this weekend.

• Temperature: Weather was FREEZING (32 degrees) on Friday night. Need MUCH warmer sleeping and walking clothes. Sleeping bags are being traded up!
• Tent site: No formal camp-site for your tent, you find a spot and pitch the tent....there is not really any FLAT spaces. We chose a slight hill and rolled all night in the tent. Find a flat space!
• Sleeping comfort: Took an aero bed for some comfort but a standard pillow which caused major stiff neck. Try and swim with neck rotation when you can't move your neck...not good. TIP: Take the foam memory nasa pillow I bought for 3 weeks. Might need a bigger or double deep air mattress.
• Food: Planned out easy meals that were just adding water mainly or light cooking and No refrigeration. Most worked well so will be repeating this...oatmeal, instant mashed potatoes, spaghetti and meatballs in a can, cheese toastie...
• Location: Camped at Harris site this weekend and the actual race is a 30 minute travel (walk/bike with gear on race day) from the race start. Coach Julie has secured spaces in the Lynch camp site right next the start...so many thanks to Julie! Otherwise, plan accordingly...especially with a large hill to navigate with all your stuff.

Bike
Saturday morning was the group bike ride. We were warned that the police were actively out on the roads ensuring people were biking single file only. They were issuing tickets of $150 if they spotted you not in single file. I'm sure this is not the case for race day....but did mean that the group ride wasn't really a group thing.

• Music: Practiced thinking of a few songs to use and sing to myself to get me through the bike. I had Love Shack, Black Eyed Peas Boom-Boom-Boom, and Rocky's Final Countdown for the Final 10 miles. Worked well, but I'll write a few down in the bento box.
• Bento Box: I've been using the bento box for tire supplies lately (had a ride last week with 2 flats in 1 hour - great practice and spooks me out now). But I noticed that FOOD is an issue then as not easily accessible. So need to get a repair bag for the back of bike and put food only in bento. Also - pre-cut and open the food.
• Food: I am always hungry on the bike and I've been using the IronMan Endurance drinks, Honey Stingers, and Cola chews. But my body craved (1) a sweeter more concentrated IronMan mix for Bottle #1 (2) Real food as in a Kind Bar or PB&J sandwich by Mile 30. Need to work out how to fit that into the bento box?!
• Best Locations to Do Stuff: I was scouting the route for where is a good place to focus on various activities like fueling, resting, etc..... My notes had Mile 10-15 as good eating, then Mile 28 for a 1 minute rest and recover as a half way point refresher on the top of the hill. Then Miles 30-32 again to eat, and another energy shot or boost at Mile 38-39 to prepare for the climbing. Rest and drink at the top of Nasty grade at Mile 43 before the rest of the climb. Mile 50 needed another boost of fuel (at this point body needed REAL food) to carry me through and start preparing for run.
• Nasty Grade: So when I drove into the campsite I crossed the dam and had to drive up a very steep windy road. I thought "this must be Nasty Grade". So when we were biking we were going up this hard slog of a hill and I kept thinking "man, if this is hard....how am I going to make it up that Nasty Grade windy hill?!". Then next thing I know I'm at a corner station with people cheering that they made it....I'd gotten up the hill and not even known it! It was definitely a killer hill....but completely do-able. I practice a routine now for long hills...pull ups on 1 leg for 8 count, then the other leg for 8 count, then the calf push for 10 counts, then stand up and ride for 4-6 counts. Repeat and vary as leg areas get tired. This keeps me focused on counting and looking down rather than anything else my mind wants to think about and I eventually get up a hill.
• Time: The overall time for the bike was 4:10 hours. The average speed was in 14-15 mph range which seems realistic. I don't think this included the stoppage time (my watch re-set so numbers are off) of which there were 3 - 1 to change clothes and fuel at mile 28, 1 for water after nasty grade at Mile 43, and 1 at the Bee Store for more Gatorade at Mile 50. Would be nice to get in under 4 hours, but we'll see...

Run
Due to the knee, I just didn't want to push the running by testing the whole course. Did a 3 mile t-run after the bike to get the start and feel the jelly legs after a good hard bike ride....
Run plan is going to be a walk-run-walk. Aim is 3 hours....and I'll be very happy with that for this time!
Wish it could be different...but am in this for the long term and learning how to deal with what your body tells you is just part of the deal.

Swim
The club did a practice swim clinic on Sunday morning and it was near the Harris creek campground. So it was not the true course, but good enough to understand the water temperature, current, etc...
Some of the tips I got from Dave (awesome coach clinic!) and things I noted from prior experience....

• Lake vs Sea Water: Wow - it was nice to not have a salty taste in my mouth swimming. I did not get as dehydrated as in the SuperSeal swim in the ocean bay. It was not very clear water in the lake, but was good enough to see your hands which helps with a bit of 
• Temperature: It was chilly in the water, but after the Friday night / Saturday morning freezing conditions of 32 degrees....the weather was fine. So expect it to be brisk and warm up the ole cockles with a run or something....
• Sighting: The lake has many landmarks which made sighting a little bit easier. Just a little as I seem to have a good angle on my swim that I will need to address one day....Do not Follow me in the water!
• Wetsuit class: A sales rep from another wetsuit brand did a bit at the start about wetsuit fit. It was pretty interesting but I walked away unsure if my suit was ok or not and then kept questioning it the whole swim....trying to tug a bit here and there when we stopped in the swim. Made it worse for me overall....letting me think is not a good thing! I should have counted or done some math to distract myself.
• Vaseline: I added vaseline to the neckline of the suit in SuperSeal but not in this swim and felt the difference in the neckline. ADD VASELINE to race checklist. 
• Stiff neck: Camping means you don't sleep well, so a stiff neck meant I could only rotate my neck 1 way rather than both for breathing. And not even a full neck rotation on one side. uuurrrghhh....but this could be the same thing on race day, so gonna have to deal.
• Swim until your hands touch the water: Dave the coach said do not try and stand up until your hands touch the water floor. Tried it and odd, but effective, so will use that one again.
• Wetsuit Removal: hmmm...it was much harder to get the wetsuit off than in SuperSeal. Is lake water different to sea water? 
• Time: Today was not a timed swim, but based on the Superseal swim which was a 1500 meter swim and this is 1930 meter (.2 mile), I'm estimating this is a 55 minute swim for me.

Overall - very happy I went and saw and tested out the course. I feel much more confident and absolutely like this is achievable. I will not be at the front of the pack and might be playing against the cut-off time....but that is part of the adventure and learning experience.
Looking forward to the real event in 3 weeks!

Iron Mountain Hill Training

Jeff took us on an awesome training session today! It was all about hills....and more hills....and then some more to finish off with.

A good group on the bike ride with 5 of us out today - Barrie, Lucy, Jeff, Nigel, and Scott (Scott took the photo)

Food (Breakfast): I have to eat before a workout but need something that works with the stomach. I've been drinking chocolate protein shakes for breakfast every day with milk that seem to be filled with protein and plain for the stomach. I chased it up with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the drive to the meeting point.

BIKE
We started the morning at 7:45am with a bike ride. Jeff had us expecting a 40 miler but it ended up being 30 miles....but worth every mile with the hill workouts. Here are the stats for Nigel and I so we can compare.

We are pretty similar in our pacing, but behind the other guys. They are very good cyclists and leave us in awe of their mad skills.
Nigel has a crazy heart rate...but guess we each have a different rate and his is always 20 beats higher.

I do wonder why the GPS had a 300 foot difference between us? Same course, different watches...

Food: Been using the IronMan perform Restore drink mixed in with some Crystal light for flavor and seems to be working well. Had 2 bottles of that, and some Gu shot gels on the bike at mile 20 when we took a rest before the large uphill section. Worked well.


RUN
After the bike we like to practice a good transition run. And as we get closer to the Wildflower race, it's more important to simulate the race conditions. So a lovely hill run it was! Here's a photo so you can see we start on the trail and run switchbacks up the rocky trails to the top of the peak. It's a 3 mile hike each way....so not terrible....but it doesn't feel that way when you are looking up it!

Clothes: I tried a new tactic and changed my shorts over from the bike shorts to some non-padded shorts to run in. This will take extra time in the transition, but I need the padding for the long bike ride and do not want to run in them. I wore a 1-piece in the Olympic Superseal tri last weekend but it has no padding and I started to feel uncomfortable int he last mile. So padding needed for Wildflower.
I didn't change the shirt, simple layer of just the bike shirt worked well today, but likely plan to change on a longer race.

Back to Run
I was unsure how to approach this with the IT band / knee issues. Didn't want to create an injury, but also need to get some hill running in. And have to learn how to push through it, as just seems like it's going to be there all year. I just have to adjust my pace expectations down to a fast walking pace now.

So here are the stats for Nigel and I. Nigel pulled in first, beating his last minute goal of being under 1:30 hours. I was over that time by a full 6 minutes (same time difference in the tri last weekend) and knee was harsh for the last mile. uuuurrrggghh!

Food: I didn't bring a run belt or backpack so kept the carry on light. I took 1 bottle of water and drank a good bottle before the start of run. I also kept n the bike top to use the back pouches for a Stinger honey energy gel and Pomegranate chews (shared both with Nigel). Ate the chews for the final burst to the top and the stinger gel at the top as a breather with the water before heading down. Felt tired on the last 1 mile, but otherwise energy level good.

Took a little photo at the top to prove we made it!

Sunshine biking

I wanted a good bike workout and didn't want to have to battle the roads...all those starts and stops with lights and cars etc...

But sitting indoors on a bike trainer when it was so lovely and sunny outside didn't sound appealing either....

So I thought "why not combine the best of both" and set up the bike trainer outside in the sunshine.
So I did!

I forgot the sunblock though and ended up with some nasty burns on my back. Lesson learned!

Torrey Pines Hill Repeats Versus Spinervals

Thought I'd compare the 2 Hill Climb Sessions I did this week


Spinervals DVD
I bought a DVD to do a home spin class as I can;t seem to get to my local ones at the 5pm and 6pm times they are hosted. I wasn't sure what to get, but at the store I saw these Spinerval series DVDs and one was called "climb a hill like a goat"!

Now because I'm doing the 70.3 Wildflower course in April, and there is a Nasty Grade hill to accomplish, I thought that this DVD sounded like a great one for training. And 45 minutes was perfect for a mid-week workout after work.

Definitely a bit cheesy, with dodgy music, and not really as dynamic a teacher as a spin class. But that stuff didn't really matter when I did the workout. It was great! I definitely feel this is great training for the bike and am looking forward to continuing on this one.

Torrey Pines Hill Repeats
Today I did a 40 mile bike ride from my house to Torrey Pines and then did 3 hill repeats. There are 2 hills that you can climb and I did both the steeper but shorter grade hill (0.5 mile steep climb) as well as the more shallow but constant grind hill (1.6 miles).
Definitely great training!

I liked being out in the real world, you can stare at other people, the nature like the beautiful ocean. You can also really feel the hills (versus the DVD practice feels hard but still on a flat surface). It also seems to allow me to practice techniques more easily such as pushing down on my heels to use more calf muscle and also to do pull ups with my legs.

Verdict

Crunched on Time or Dark Outside? Go for Spinervals DVD
Practice Technique and Get Fresh Air and Ocean Views? Go for the Torrey Pines Hills