The season that was not meant to be.

There have been no updates for this tri season for one simple reason. There has been no tri season.

About two weeks before the Wildflower long course, my back went out. Pain and spasms like I've never felt before put a stop to my triathlon training and goal to complete my first long course race.

No Wildflower long. No Vineman 70.3. If things continue to go well with rehab and strengthening, I may be able to do Alcatraz in August or Santa Cruz in September.

Fingers crossed, but hopes are not up.

I Love New York, but I left my heart in San Francisco

Well... it seems I average one post a month, and here's December's!

I'm in New York for a week. Staying in Brooklyn, exploring Manhattan, relaxing, and trying to avoid snow. Yep- I arrived the day after the big blizzard that turned The Big Apple into a big chaotic standstill mess. In fact, my arrival was a big mess! Left my apartment for SFO at 4:30AM, airplane was delayed an hour on three separate occasions. Finally took off at 10:45AM (from a 7:00AM schedule), landed at 6:45 PM on an icy, windy, scary, snow-filled runway, waited on runway for 90 minutes so gate could be shoveled, waited for luggage for an hour, waited for can in freezing cold line in the snow for an hour, took the cab an hour to get me to Tina's place in Park Slope because most of Brooklyn's streets were not shoveled. The

cab even had to drop me off at the end of Tina's block because her street wasn't shoveled yet. I walked into Tina's place at 12:30AM. Needless to say, my first day in NY was spent relaxing and staying in due to extreme exhaustion.

This week was supposed to be my run return. Before I left CA, my 2-month long cold finally went away, my back started feeling near-perfect, an

d I was ready and anxious to run! I thought the cold, crisp air and new environment would be encouraging and motivating. Unfortunately, the image to the right is what I arrived to. There will be no running while I'm here. Walking through this city is a tough workout! So, the tri training will have to just resume when I return to San Francisco. And, it will resume in full force come January 3rd! I have Wildflower Long Course, Vineman, and Alcatraz lined-up this coming season. Looking forward to it!

Back to NY. I'm midway through my trip. Despite the massive amounts of un-shoveled snow, slush, icy puddles, and sidewalks cut in half due to mounds of snow, I am having a good time. It's eye opening.

I've been to NYC a few times before, though never in the winter, let alone post-blizzard. The city is a mess right now. Imagine walking down a packed NYC sidewalk. Now imagine the width of the sidewalk cut in half due to the mounds of shoveled snow. On top of that, there is an icy, slushy puddle at start and end of most cross-walks. However- there have been many highlights! The food and shopping in the West Village and Greenwich Village are just fantastic! I love those areas. I just explored around there all day yesterday. I felt like I just didn't have enough time in the day to see all that I wanted to see. The cannoli I had at Rocco's Bakery was unbelievable. SF is an amazing food city, but NY definitely has better bagels and cannolis. The NY thin crust pizza at Joe's in the village was also amazing. I learned that the key to the dough for both the pizza and bagels in New York are the NYC tap water. Believe it or not, I do taste a difference! Today, I walked through a snow covered Central Park. It was amazing! As a California kid, it was such a treat to see that. Not to be completely cliché, but it truly was a winter wonderland out there today. It was also a nice contrast to the madness out on the streets. I'm now awaiting my wonderful cousin, Kyle's arrival. He gets into Brooklyn at 8:00 tonight, and then the fun will continue and definitely progress! New Year's Eve is tomorrow! Looking forward to spending it in Manhattan!

The Pity Party Must End

Two weeks later, and I'm still on the injury-list. My back is no good. I have my second appointment within the week with the chiropractor tomorrow. I'm holding onto hope that I can get back into my off-season training plan later this week.

On top of this, I've been battling an ever-lingering cold since Monday. It's not getting worse, but it's not getting better either! Can't it just go away? I really wanted to jump back in and go swimming today, but I started coughing, and the lungs are heading in the wrong direction.

It's really amazing how athletes suddenly start feeling down as soon as we can't exercise. I was walking, and that was keeping me sane. Today, the rain is coming down, I'm coughing on the couch, and my back still has that awful knot in it. Any normal person would rest without feelings of intense guilt. I am not any normal person apparently. Logically, I know I need to rest my back, lungs, and allow my body to heal. Emotionally, all I want to do is set my bike up on the trainer and start peddling. I'm resisting the urge.

I'm hoping the chiropractor and my tri club elections tomorrow night will help snap me out of it. I was nominated to run for secretary of TheGolden Gate Tri Club. I'm running uncontested. I guess that means I'm the secretary for 2011. I'm actually really looking forward to it. Plus, I have a great race schedule lined up for 2011. Many exciting things are on the horizon.

The cold and hurt back pity party needs to end now.

Oh Off-Season... How I love thee!

This is my first off-season from triathlon. I am loving it! Well, I'm loving it except for throwing my back out two nights ago. It's already feeling better, but I had to put my 12 mile run plans on hold for today. I'm running the US Half Marathon on November 7th, and my running was going well. The back thing kind of threw a wrench in that, but I'm still hopeful I'll be able to run by mid-week. I just really need to take it easy this weekend. Hopefully, I'll feel up for an easy swim tomorrow and a massage on Monday. Who am I kidding... I'm always up for a massage!

Last weekend was Denise's wedding. It was fantastic! Denise has been my

main training partner since February, so I was overwhelmed and honored to be one of her bridesmaids. Here we are with Margot (Swim/Bike/Run DMC) doing our pose in reverse. We always seem to find ourselves doing this pose, especially when alcohol induced.

In this off-season, my main goals are to build strength while upping my run base and keeping my swim and bike base. I started going to a weekly TRX class, and I must say that I love it! It is extremely challenging and intense. I already feel myself becoming stronger after only three weeks. Due to my back, I have to skip Monday's class, but I'm hoping to go back in a week. I'm also running the Lyon St. Steps and doing outdoor strength training there with my bands and yoga mats. My goal is to also go to Yoga class once per week. Hopefully, I'll find the motivation to get that started sometime soon. Perhaps on Wednesdays?

Here's the off-season schedule so far:

Mondays: TRX class

Tuesdays: Outdoor bike/run or RST Class (race-specific training, compu-trainer cycling)

Wednesdays: Swim after work or Bikram Yoga in the PM- still trying to work this one in

Thursdays: Lyon St. Steps Run/Strength

Fridays: easy run, swim, or rest

Saturdays: Long bike, Long Run, or TRX class

Sundays: Long bike, Long Run, or Bikram Yoga

The only thing not working in my off season is my alcohol consumption. With the Giants in the playoffs and everyone easing up on the training, we all seem to be going out more, drinking, and just enjoying being social outside of swim/bike/run. I'm having so much fun! However, I need to limit drinking to twice a week. This 4 night habit of drinking with friends is just a bit too much. It's fun, but it's too much!

I do love my off season. No pressure, no rigid schedules, and flexibility! It's such a nice change.

Santa Cruz Tri & The End of My First Season

My first tri season has come to an end. It ended on a high note! Honestly, with the start of a new school year and not giving myself a true break since February, I became extremely burnt out. I was worried about my performance at The Santa Cruz Tri due to my haphazard training. I had a great plan to follow and people to train with, but I mentally wasn't in it.

Then came race day. There's something magical about race day. When I woke up on race morning in the rented GGTC house with 20 other triathletes, I was reminded why I love this. I love the anticipation and excitement that builds on race morning. I love sharing a common bond and goal with such a diverse

group of people. I love physically exerting myself and the sense of accomplishment it brings. I love how I can't stop smiling when I'm racing. Simply put, I really do love being a triathlete.

After eating breakfast, I cycled down to the transition area with Allison. We set-up transition next to each other along with at least 15 others in our tri club. On the short walk down to the swim start, my excitement and nerves began growing. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the sunny day stopped at the water. All we saw was a thick wall of fog. Secretly, I was hoping the fog would cancel the swim! On our Santa Cruz training day I was distraught my entire time in the water, so I was nervous about this. The swim has been the wrench in my training. Only recently, after my video swim analysis, have I become comfortable and confident as a swimmer. We all assembled on the beach. Everyone was antsy. The fog started to lift, and within 15 minutes, we had full view of the pier. I went in for a warm-up, and focused on slowly swimming and breathing. I felt good.

Before I knew it, my wave was called. I was now in a meditative state. After the countdown, I watched all the other 30-39 women run into the water. I knew I had to keep my heart rate down, so I slowly walked into the water, and then just started to focus on swimming and creating a perfect streamline with my body. After a few minutes, it dawned on me that I never started to panic. I was smoothly swimming. I was actually enjoying it! So, I picked it up! I turned my arms over more quickly and began to feel my lats engage. Eventually, I began passing many other yellow-capped swimmers! I loved every moment of that swim, and especially finally being able to pass others. I loved swimming in Santa Cruz that day!

As I was approaching the beach, my excitement built. I exited the water and started crying. I finished my swim strong and did it in under 40 minutes! Little did I know, but Allison was close to me in the water the entire time. We exited the swim at the exact same time. I saw Coach Neil on the beach, and was so excited to tell him that I had a great swim. I yelled out to him and he tossed me my inhaler. Neil and training with Tri More Fitness truly helped my swim. I am so grateful for all that he's done to help me.

Allison and I then reached transition at the exact same time. We quickly put on our bike gear and headed off together. We were back and forth the entire way on the bike. The course was beautiful that day. The headwinds were light, but the tailwinds were strong enough to give that needed push after the turn-around. I felt like a million bucks on that leg! I saw Tommy and some GGTC-ers at the end of the bike leg, and quickly transitioned to my run.

It was roughly 90 degrees while I was out on my run. I repeated to myself, "If I can run The Chicago Marathon in 97 degrees, I can run these 6.21 miles in 90." It was great! Tommy rode along with me on his mountain bike for part of it. That helped! It also helped running on West Cliff Drive. I was reminded of my childhood and all the time spent in Santa Cruz. I absolutely adored it. I had the best time on the run. Around mile 5.5, a man in his late 60's caught up to me. He started to run alongside me and said, "You're doing great. If you were my daughter, I'd be so proud." That meant so much to me. My dad wanted to be at the race that day, but he had to stay home due to being sick. Of course I teared up, gave him a smile, and told him that I was proud to be in this race with him. That was a moment I'll remember fondly for quite some time. Then, he took off past me! That man could run!

Before I knew it, I was approaching the finish line. I saw about 10 people dressed in GGTC red jumping up and down and cheering for me ahead. Of course, I picked up the pace! I teared up as I crossed the finish line. It was an amazing day.

A few thoughts off the top of my head about my first tri season:

• My swim and bike have drastically improved since February, and I know I'll continue to improve as time goes on.
• Training makes me extremely happy as long as I take breaks and remain balanced.
• Training makes me unhappy if I become immersed in it without balance.
• This season has me excited for next season.
• Next on the docket: San Diego Olympic in March follwed by The Wildflower Long Course in May!
• I have met such amazing people though triathlon, GGTC, and Tri More. I feel so fortunate to have some of them in my life.
• I love triathlon and how it makes me feel. I can't believe how this sport has made me so happy.

Barb's Race

Barb's Race

The Barb's Race 70.3 relay we were gearing up for was a little over a week ago. After a week of reflection, here are the thoughts that immediately pop in my head:

• A tri weekend away with good triathlon friends preparing to race, spectate, and volunteer is so much fun! We ate, drank, slept, raced, and celebrated! I can't wait for the next one.
• When participating in a relay, one goes all out in his/her leg of the race. I cycled like a maniac! I had previously cycled 56 miles, a few times. However, I had never done it without taking a break or two. It was nuts! I loved it! I wasn't loving it at mile 20, nor was I loving it at mile 30, but when mile 40 rolled around, I knew I only had 16 to go. I cycled like I have never cycled before!
• When a friend is waiting on me to start her run, it's insane motivation to go faster! While I was riding, I kept my thoughts on Denise. The later I finished, the hotter her run would be. It wasn't nearly the hottest day on the course, but running 13.1 miles in 85+ degrees is not comfy.
• It was a great day overall. Triathlon is not only personally fulfilling, but also it's heartwarming to be a part of such a dedicated, fun, and encouraging community. I love this!

Take that, Marshall Wall!

I've realized something about cyclists. In general, they make everything seem more difficult, steeper, longer, and more grueling than actuality. Today was a perfect case in point. It was my first time attempting to climb Marshall Wall. I've heard horrible stories about this "steep and long climb that never ends." Of course, I believed them, and I was a little nervous on our ride today.

We started at The Lucas Valley Park and Ride. Emily, two of her friends, and I set off on a brisk pace to reach the first climb, which I hate! Halfway up the hill (which is full of switch backs), my asthma started acting up. My breathing was so loud and labored that Emily actually asked if I was okay. Asthma is no fun, but it is manageable. After reaching the top, we easily rode to our two rest stops, and arrived at Marshall Rd. It was actually a nice, rolling little ride on the road. Then, I saw the wall.

We stopped at the bottom, refueled, stretched, and discussed how to approach it. The three of them have previously tackled Marshall Wall. I was the novice today. Finally, after the Nasty Grade comparisons were made, we set off. I got into my lowest gear, and started climbing. It was tough. I spent 50% of the time in the saddle and 50% out of my seat. It went on, and on, and on for close to two miles. During the climb, I felt great. It really wasn't that bad. As I leveled off at the top, I saw Emily and her friend Darren waiting just a short distance ahead.

As I approached them, unclipped, and got off my bike, I looked at them puzzled, and Emily said to me, "Yeah, I guess it's not that bad."

So far in my cycling experience, Lynch Hill, Chalk Hill, and Marshall Wall have been completely overstated prior to my riding them. Perhaps, I should look at this as a success! All of these hills were tough, but I successfully climbed them all without problems. Today was yet another reminder about how much I love cycling!