Upon my departure from college and as I approach entering the real world...a great way to keep in touch with friends and family. Although I will be living farther away...you will all be closer to my heart.

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Tempe Race Report

See race web site for more info: http://www.tucsonracing.com/TPTinf05.htm#Race%20Information
Race morning: Sunday, May 22nd. Woke up around 7am. Ate breakfast in the hotel lobby. Got on bike with bag full of race gear. Rode to race site for warm up. Set up transition area. Jogged around to warm up. Drank a lot of fluids. Temperature was pushing 100 degrees by 9am. Swam one lap of the course for last warm up. Sat in shade and drank more fluids. Men started race at 9:30 am. Women lined up for parade out to beach at 9:40am. I chose a spot to start on the right side of everyone. We started about 9:45am. I was in the lead as soon as the gun went off. Water was a bit warm, but not "bath-water-warm". Swim course was 2 laps around 4 buoys in a square. I spent the first lap slowing down to wait for Barb Lindquist to get on my feet. She caught up at the end of the first lap. I started swimming normal speed but she couldn't hang on. I just kept swimming my pace and knew she would catch me on the bike. I entered transition 1 (T1) about 30 seconds in the lead. Had a fast T1 and headed out on to the bike course. 1/2 mile into the bike I took a drink of my Gatorade and dropped the bottle on to the side of the road. All I had left was one bottle of water and one Gel. Barb caught me after half a lap and we started riding together. She would lead on the hills and flat parts and I would lead in the turns and downhills. We worked together really good and gained time on the chase pack of women. Every lap we put over 30 seconds and ended up with 4+ minutes of lead starting the run. I ran out of water on lap 4 of the 6 lap bike course. I told Barb that I had to pick up my other bottle and she said she would wait if I did it fast! I guzzled that HOT Gatorade during the last bike lap like it was 'going out of style'!! The heat was taking its toll on me and I knew that I had to be smart on the run in order to finish the race. I drank water and poured it all over myself at EVERY water station. I ate the gels that I was carrying in my suit. I took salt tablets to replace the electrolytes I was loosing in all my sweat. I knew I had a great lead over the runners behind me and I could get second place to Barb if I just stayed coherent. But...inevitably...in 107+ degrees, I was unable to fight the heat. I can remember feeling good for the first 2 mile loop on the run. After the first big loop, we did 4 1/2 loops on a bridge. I could see my competition every 7-8 minutes. Unfortunately, I can only remember 3 1/2 of those loops on the bridge. The last loop is only fragments in my memory. The heat won and I started shuffling instead of running. Then I started walking instead of shuffling. Then I started staggering instead of walking. My coach, Denny, was walking beside me. (this is all second hand information...my teammates filled me in on what happened) The only medics were at the finish line so Denny didn't pull me from the race...he just let me get there on my own. I guess I crossed the finish line...and I did it in 5th place. My totally awesome teammate, Jasmine, passed me at the end and got 4th place. My other teammate, Sarah, crashed on the bike but still got up and finished the whole race. The next thing I remember is cooling down under the first aid tent with cold water and fans all around. It was a bit scary...okay, REALLY scary...but I hope that I can learn a lesson from all this (and not the "keep going no matter what" lesson!). My teammates, coach, friends, and competitors were all so awesome to help me feel better after the race. All-in-all, I had a fun time in Tempe...it helps that I brought home some race bonus $$...but I also brought home a respect for the heat and for all the other people who competed that day!


Tempe ITU Continental Cup Triathlon: That's me, exiting the water after lap #2 of the swim and heading into T1 about 30 seconds ahead of the next woman.


On the bike...out front...working with Barb Lindquist to put 4 minutes onto the next group of women! This was a dream come true!


Running into the finish at the Tempe ITU Continental Cup...I can't tell you any more than that because I don't actually 'remember' this point of the race.

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Pre-Race Report

Friday morning, May 20th, was like any other day. I woke up, grabbed some breakfast, and headed to the pool. I was a bit early and I didn't wait for the rest of the team to get ready to swim because I had a long swim on my agenda. I planned on cranking out 7-9000 meters in preparation for my open water swimming races. The water was the same temperature as always at the OTC when I dove in and started my first of six 1500 meter swims. My goal was finish all 6 or stop at 2 hours, which ever came first...I am thankful that my swimming skills are going down hill...so 2 hours rolled around right as I was finishing 1000 meters of the last 1500...darn, I decided to get out:).
Shower, change, grab some more food, and then I headed back to my room to do last minute packing, grab my bags and lug my huge bike box down to the lobby. At 11am, Matt, Manny, Jasmine and I were all picked up by the OTC shuttle and driven to the airport to catch our 1pm flight to Phoenix, Arizona.
Of course we chilled in the COS airport for over an hour because leaving the OTC 2 hours before a flight is totally unnecessary! But I would have waited twice that long if it would have meant our next flight was on a different plane. We all boarded a small twin prop plane on the tarmac in COS. It was a bit after noon on a warm, sunny day and the flight had only about 30 minutes of fly time. Before the doors even closed for taxi and take-off, it was a bit warm in the cabin. Then the doors closed, we pushed back, started taxiing...and the air flow through the overhead vents just wasn't doing it's job! In a word, it was STIFLING! This flight was the most miserable experience I have ever had...everyone on the plane would agree too...and everyone on the plane was voicing this opinion to the one flight attendant! The guy next to me was sweating buckets off his head...a lady in the back used 3 air sick bags...I got off the plane with out a single dry spot on my entire outfit. WOW...I am just keeping my fingers crossed that I NEVER see that plane again!
After cooling off in the Denver airport, we caught our connecting flight to Phoenix...which was very uneventful! All the bikes and luggage arrived and we loaded then into the hotel van and headed off into the HOT, DRY, DESERT! Friday's high temperature in the area was only about 107 degrees...Saturday was predicted to be a bit higher....but Sunday was the kicker with an estimated high of 111 degrees (by-the-way: Sunday was the day of our race!) At the hotel we met up with the rest of the Under 23 team (Cate, Jarrod and Jenna) and headed for some dinner in town followed by a bit of bike building in the hallway.
Saturday was the race prep day...a little bit of everything to loosen up and a race meeting in the afternoon. In the morning we rode our bikes over to the race course (the bike course was a 4 mile loop that we rode 6 times) and went around the whole thing once before practicing the technical parts and doing some transitions. Not a single tree was on this course, no buildings to give shade, just long, hot stretches of black pavement!
We rode back to the hotel, grabbed our swim stuff and drove over to a beautiful, high-class athletic training facility...they had Mia Hamm's locker and a bunch of big baseball stars private parking spaces...the pool was nothing spectacular, but all we needed was water and walls!
While we were spending some time relaxing in the hotel after swimming, Lauren Lindquist stopped by to talk race strategy with Coach Denny and I...I was just so excited to actually be talking about one of my favorite day-dreams being actually used in a race: Barb and I working together on the bike, since we both get out of the water way in front, to build a big lead on the rest of the racers!
Around 2:30ish, Jasmine (my roomie for the weekend) and I headed out for a short jog around the hotel...Good Idea: know where your hotel is located before starting run; Bad Idea: go on a run in 105+ degrees without knowing where you are or what street your hotel is on! Our 20-30 minute jog turned into a 45 minute quest for AC and water! We eventually found the hotel and guzzled a gallon of water ASAP!
We drove back to the place with the pool for the pre-race meeting...nothing of extreme importance happened there...I did get my race numbers: 114 and see a bunch of friends who were also racing the next day. The rest of the afternoon involved a big team dinner at UNO's and getting our race bags packed back at the hotel.
Sleep came easy around 10:30pm...our alarm was set for 7am so we had plenty of time in the morning to grab some b-fast in the hotel lobby and then ride our bikes over to the race site. Race Report will be in the next blog:)

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Recovering, resting, working, packing

That is my to-do list for the day. I am recovering from my crash...elbows and hip are healing nice and fast...left knee is a little bruised but feels great after popping some basic Advils! The resting part is in regards to the BIG race this weekend...Tempe ITU Triathlon...temperature on race day: 107 degrees!! YIKES (but I'm trying not to think about it too much!) We fly out on Friday at 1pm and will spend Saturday seeing/testing the race course. Sunday is race day...starting at about 10:30ish (time is not definite yet). Working, not 'working out', means I'm actually going to get something accomplished today...maybe write to sponsors, research the business I want to start, make travel plans for future races, or just watch a movie?! Hum?! Packing should explain itself if you have retained any of the previous stuff I have wrote. I've got to lug my bike box out of the storage room...get some laundry washed and dried...toss some clothes into bags...pick up my race suit from the screening company (I will post a photo ASAP:)
So I have made a decision about the last empty corner of my bedroom...I want to turn it into a reading eden! I have spend too many hours of my life reading in uncomfortable situation: chair too hard, neck too sure, light too dull, etc...so I am going to create myself a perfect place. First, of course, I have to wait until I can fund this eden...but I can still start making plans. I see a really nice, multi-bulb lamp...maybe one of those Medusa ones that you can bend the heads to point right where you want the light to shine. One important part is the 'heat' factor...you know what I mean: when you sit next to a lamp and the thing starts heating up and suddenly the whole area is too darn hot to relax in! Although the lamp is important...it's the CHAIR that I'm focusing most of plans on. I'm thinking recliner?? or big chair with a seperate ottoman/foot rest?? But, most importanly, it's got to be BIG and SOFT and COMFY! I've got a huge space in the room and I plan on filling it with my eden! I will keep you all posted as the eden starts taking shape...or as the money starts appearing to fund the eden:)!

Friday, May 13, 2005

Inevitable!

Yep...it was about time. I was wondering how long I could go without it happening. Everyone has them once in a while, even the pros. I guess my time was up. My good luck ran out.
Okay, okay, okay...I CRASHED yesterday on Cheyene Mountain during our hill repeat workout!! It was pretty spectacular...I was flying down from the top, screaming around the corners, passing people right and left...then I decided to slam on my brakes in a huge patch of gravel! (Not always a smart thing to do, kids.)
My rear tire started to fishtail under me...I managed to scream "sh*t" twice before I hit the ground (not sure if that helped at all, but it made me feel better:) and then did an entire 180 degree turn while sliding on the pavement and came to a stop facing UP hill!
The good news...I'm fine. A little less skin on each elbow and my left hip and a big bruise on my knee...but other than that I am in one complete piece!
The bad news...my bike got more injuries than I did! The silver cover of my left shifter is in three pieces (had to pick them all up from the road) and the end of my aerobars got shaved down an eighth of an inch!
I sat down for a few minutes, recovered, and then finished my last 4 hill repeats. (What, a little crash is going to stop me from training? Yeah right!) But I did come down the hill VERY SLOW on every repeat after that!

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Packages...finally!

I think the front desk was hoarding my packages...I kept expecting things in the mail...and I wasn't getting them. And then yesterday I look in the Triathlon mail box and I have 4 slips for packages! I was so excited...and bogged down trying to carry them back to my room!
From the first box, I need to send a 'Thanks' to Dad and Dustin who mailed me a few things from home. Dustin sent me some DVD movies that I 'checked out' from his LARGE library of movies...and portable DVD player that he got from SECs...too cool! Now I can watch movies when I'm traveling! I also got a roll of packing tape in the box...hum?! Maybe that's a hint to send something back!?
The second box was filled with goggle straps that I ordered...somehow as a swimmer I end up with 10 pairs of goggles and one strap! (It's like the conundrum of 10 hotdogs in a pack and 8 buns in a pack!) I sat here before dinner and but together 4 pairs of goggles...I'm ready for swimming now:)!
Box number 3 was from my Aunt Jan...who also gets a 'Thanks' for the books that she sent. I LOVE to read (who doesn't know that) and I look forward to starting them.
But before I start her books...I am currently reading what came in box number 4 from Barnes and Noble...the entire set of books in the series...The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galexy!! I am so excited to read them and then go watch the movie...which looks really good!
Speaking of movies...I watched Oceans 12 last night...one of the DVDs I 'rented' from Dustin. And on Sunday I watch the Interpreter in the movie theater with some friends...it was a really good movie and I would suggest it to anyone!
Other than that...I have been training hard out here...my body is getting more acclimated to the elevation. I ran a great set at Red Rock Canyon today...about 2 minutes faster than I was runing the loop last week (and much fewer stars were dancing infront of my eyes because I remembered water this time!) After morning swim practice I rode the Escape from Alcatraz course on the Computrainer (indoor bike w/computer for those who don't understand triathon talk). It was really hilly but I had a good time and I can't wait to do it in real life at the race in San Francisco on June 12!
Alas...it is late...I will report more from Colorado Springs at a later date!

Monday, May 09, 2005

Hard week...past and future!

Happy Mother's Day! I hope everyone remembered their mommys today:)! I sent mine some addictingly good Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory chocolate! Other than that...today was filled with laziness for me. I managed only half of my run workout, I slept in until 10am, I ate all day, I chilled in front of the TV, etc (you get the idea).
The good news is...I am all rested up for another killer week of workouts. It is almost identical to the week I just finished (so I already know how I will be feeling on Sunday) and I look forward to doing everything a bit better now that I am getting acclimated to the elevation.
The photos below are to give a small idea of my new bedroom. I share a nice big livingroom with my roommate and training partner, Sarah, but this is my space to decorate. I have come up with some really good ideas...along with the quotes on the wall that you can see, I am also putting together some photo collages to hang. I ordered 115 photos of all different things...family, Gator teammates, world travels, new triathlon teammates, etc. and I am mixing them all up on posterboard and hanging them on the white (boring) walls.
I'm off to get some shut-eye for swim practice in the morning. Good night and don't let the bed bugs bite!


The window side of my bedroom...I'm working on decorating with photos, quotes, and colorful things to brighten up the white walls!


Entrance to my room...check out the cool shelves I found...and my overflowing closet!

Monday, May 02, 2005

Monday

We are getting back into the groove of things this week. All of the triathlon residents are back in Colorado Springs and the recovery week is over. In other words...today was a big training day! And it might not look that hard on paper...but add in 6,000 feet of altitude and subtract A LOT of oxygen...and walking up stairs is a serious exercise!
Swim practice went back to starting at 7:30 am (last week we were starting at 9:30am so the the USA World University Games Swim Team could practice...it was so great to see a lot of my swimming friends!:) and this morning we knocked out 5800 meters and I thought I was going to die or explode (or both) around the 4000 meter mark! We did a couple of 900s and the goal was to keep them at the pace of our timed 2000 meter swim from March in Chula Vista...plus 2 seconds per 100 as an altitude adjustment...I was on the goal pace until about halfway when my legs decided to completely quit on me, then my arms gave out, and then it was just a chore to get my lungs to keep breathing:)!
After breakfast...it was time for a 2 hour bike ride with some race efforts in the middle...it wasn't that bad as long as I was going down hill!! Flat sections of the bike ride were rare to come across...but the uphill sections I can't tell you anything about because I think I blacked out on each one!! I did most of the ride with my teammate Jasmie...since I don't know my way around Colorado Springs yet...she led the ride and took me on some fun roads and through some cute towns! I can't wait to get to know the area a bit better so that I can go exploring on my own!
The third (and last, thank goodness) workout on the list today was a 30 minute run on the treadmill right after we got off our bikes. I know that I hate running inside on those darn things...but we did some 10K efforts for 30 seconds and it was easy to plug in the speed you wanted to go and then the treadmill made sure that you were running that pace.
So, in conclusion, today was a great day...filled with all kinds of workouts...that were hard but rewarding! Although the sun is not shining here very much...all I have to do is think of all my family and friends in Florida and hope that they are sending sunny thoughts my way!!!!!:)