Pool "Pull" Work

I have this love/hate relationship with "swimming," but I LOVE the water! Sounds funny, huh? You see, I absolutely LOVE being in the water, splashing around, playing, having fun with Belle, floating, swimming if I feel like it, etc......But when I have a set workout where I have to HURT really bad, I am not so much in love with "swimming." Actually I do love it, but definitely after the fact....when I am all done ;-) Just ask Bree or Reid!

The other day Coach gave me a really cool PULL set. I am a good puller, well much better than kicker and so I really have fun when I get to pull. I had a 600 pull, followed by 4 x 300s pull. Lots of it and I felt so good and strong! Sweet! It is so nice when I don't have to use my legs, especially after a hard run. So, after pulling so much, I got out of the pool and walked to the locker room. While I walked over to the locker room, I ran into a friend who I hadn't seen in so long. He immediately said this "Hey E, have you been lifting?" Then he touched my arm. ARGH, HA! People say I should take it as a compliment, but I seem to always get this comment. I swear I have been hearing this comment my whole life, it's my big arms ;-) At work, people ask "do you lift?" or "are you a swimmer.?" So funny, I guess it is a compliment ;-) HA!

Cheers,

E

Super FUN Sunday

It was an awesome day at the Lake with Reid and Belle yesterday! We played fetch with Belle, taught her how to swim out pretty far in the lake while we both swam next to her, hiked, and played some more in the water ;-) It is mornings like this one, where the sun is shining, the wind is still, the water is crystal clear, all we could hear were the sounds of us splashing around and laughing, that make me extremely HAPPY! What a beautiful morning!

Later in the day Reid and I went for my prescribed 2 hour run along trails near our house. We ran up and down these beautiful trails and enjoyed each other's company, until one of us would take off to get up to a certain HR zone! I have to admit I was feeling a little better than Reid yesterday especially on some of the steeper hills ;-) We ended the run with a hard effort as Coach asked and I was super happy to being feeling great at the end of 2 hours. This is a first for me. Reid was happy to be done ;-)

Then off to see Belle and go for another short hike. We have so much fun together, the 3 of us! It is so amazing how much fun and joy you can have doing the simplest things with the people you love most! We laughed and smiled so much the whole day!

Just before dinner I headed off to the pool to finish out my week of training! It was a fun, not so hard set that consisted of lots of pulling. Oh, I just LOVE to pull. It's my favorite! Kicking, not so much....LOL.

.....Oh and I can't forget to mention that I had the BEST phone conversation with Marit yesterday. She is an amazing person and I am so happy to call her a good friend ;-)

Have an awesome day,

E

New Fit ;-)

Yay, I have some awesome friends out there who have been helping me with my bike fit. I have been writing about my bike issues for some time now, especially my saddle issues. So, I decided it was time to make some serious changes.

Jim Felt of Felt bikes and Dave Bunce of Blackwell research have been working with me for the past several days via pics, emails, phone calls and more pics..... They were so surprised that I was "WAY OFF" in my position. They said "no wonder I was in so much pain" and no wonder I "did not have much power transfer to the pedals." Crazy, huh? We spend all this time and money on the sport and a simple thing like getting properly fit is SO ESSENTIAL.

I was told that my seat was WAY too high and too far forward. So we moved me back a whole inch and down a 1/2 inch, WOW! Huge change. The front end is too high and needs to move down 1 inch minimum and 2 inches would be optimal. This part I have not been able to do yet. Jim is trying to find a new bar and stem combo to make this happen. The Zipp bars I have on there now, do not go down any further.

Tomorrow I will test ride in my new more comfortable and powerful position. I am so excited. I KNOW this will work no matter how different and off I will feel at first, since I have been riding in the wrong position for over a year now. I am so stoked. I am going to MAKE this WORK. As Dave Bunce said, "look out."

Have an awesome weekend!

E

Bad Air.....

It's so sad in CA right now. There are 700 wildfires burning throughout the state. Most have been set by a severe electrical storm and others by the extreme heat wave and some accidents. Although the closest fires are about 25 miles away from us, the air quality is so bad! Once you walk outside you can immediately see and smell the smoke. It is so thick and it makes it so hard to breathe at times.

Every news and radio station has been warning us to avoid being outdoors for long periods unless absolutely necessary and definitely not exercise outside. Of course I have been swimming and running outdoors and it finally hit me yesterday. I had a hard swim and run set and I nearly coughed up a lung. But I HAD to get these workouts in or I would go stir crazy at work. So, I swam at lunch with Reid and we both felt the thick smoke entering our lungs as we worked hard in the pool. It was not TOO bad, until the run at night. After a long 1 hour 45 minute commute after work (serious traffic delays) last night, I again HAD to move my body or I would go nuts.

I went out for a hill repeat session and nearly passed out. Under Coach's orders, I was supposed to work very hard, but he didn't know about the fires. After my 3rd repeat, I decided not to fully kill myself, and save my lungs. I finished out the set, but didn't pick up the intensity any more or I for sure would have passed out from inhaling so much smoke! I did see stars though ;-)

Today the air quality is not much better, so I opted for an easy swim and I'm still contemplating my trainer workout.........

**I pray for those that are affected by the fires and pray that the fires are contained very soon**

E

Be Strong!

Finishing in 1st at Splash n Dash with my baby Belle ;-)

After feeling absolutely toasted, as Marit would say, throughout the weekend, I looked forward to my day off of training on Monday! Yes, I finally had a day off and I thought it would feel so good. Well, it kind of did and then I realized what I have been missing all along.

A complete day off for most of my competitors would mean EXACTLY that - put you feet up, sleep in, take naps, watch a movie, lay out at the beach or play, ice, get a massage and just simply relax. Well, this is what I have been longing for. I REALLY need a day off, completely. I need a massage, I need to sleep more than 6 hours, I need to walk around barefoot or with comfy shoes on (not heels for work), I need to wear shorts and a tank, and simply lay around and relax ;-) I know this is not realistic for my lifestyle and I have to deal with it 'gracefully.'

I cannot freak out, get upset, or stress, I simply have to mentally 'RELAX' and know that what I am doing will only make me stronger! This is my life and it is GREAT! I have to remind myself that I can do well in this sport, I just have to believe in ME.

So keep the work coming.....keep the training and racing going......I CAN and WILL handle it all ;-)

Cheers to an awesome week!

E

Race #3 in 3 days!!

My Bro and I post race with my new sponsor visor TRAKKERS (they're awesome), a pic of the race venue, and a golden retriever puppy I had to hold post race ;-)

Well, I would highly NOT recommend 3 races in 3 days. After my last 2 races in the HEAT on Thursday, I have been SO SORE! This is the sorest I have been since OZ. I can't believe what serious speed work can do to your body when you are more of a long distance athlete! OUCH! Yesterday I REALLY wanted to take the day off, but Coach made me swim 4K in a meters pool and it was a tough workout. Not only was it 100+ degrees out again, but the pool was 86 degrees. I was sweating in the pool and I was super thirsty even though I drank 24 oz of water while swimming in the first hour. I didn't think I needed Cyto or a sports drink out at the pool, but I probably should have had something with electrolytes.

Last night I was barely able to walk down the stairs in my house. My quads, calves, ITBs, shoulders, and back are extremely sore to the touch! I contemplated sleeping in and not racing today. But I am super stubborn and I knew that Coach would tell me to suck it up anyway. So, I got out of bed at 4:45AM and got ready for the sprint race (400 meter swim, 12 mile bike, and 3.1 mile trail run). I got there and did the usual - set up, talked to some friends, and headed to the start. It was cool how many people showed up to race, ~1000.

The start was in knee deep water and I positioned myself at the front right next to my brother. I made sure to tell him not to elbow or kick me in the face. As the gun went off, he totally bumped into me, took my space, then some dude grabbed my ankle and pulled me back. WHAT? So lame! I was annoyed. Then I got elbowed in the face, so I swam over some guy and got right back at the front. This little race had the most brutal swim start of any of my races this year. CRAZY! I was out of the water in 2nd, right behind some guy. I ran through T1, felt ok, but as soon as I mounted my bike to go up a 100 foot hill, I knew I was in trouble.

My quads were already built up with TONS of lactic acid and I was hurting. My new saddle (yes another new one, the Adamo is getting shipped back) was too low and too far forward. UGH, I had just put it on last night, but tested it out and thought it was in the right place. I keep doing this, I know, how dumb! Anyway, I put my head down and just pedaled. I was not going very fast and within the first mile a couple guys passed me. I tried SO HARD to ignore the MASSIVE PAIN in my calves and quads especially. Then because of my pathetic slow moving pace, several more people caught me by mile 3. Then a chick passed me, then another chick passed me by mile 5. Yikes! I saw the first woman again at the turnaround (looked like she was in a good pack of guys, no biggie, lots of people draft in this sprint race, and good for her for being fast). GEEZ, I was really not moving forward. I didn't give up though. I know I had to put my head down and just go, but of course I start thinking about how frustrated I am, how I'm so slow, etc.... The best part of the bike was when my brother caught me. I didn't let him go and we rode close to each other for the last 5 miles.

I got off the bike, knowing I had my work cut out for me. I was told I was a minute down on the 1st woman. And I saw 2nd place in sight. I put my heart and head and everything into this run, but I was just TOO WASTED, TOO SORE, TOO THRASHED to catch the 1st female. I was super bummed, but I know that I have put my body through a TON of speed work this week and I couldn't ask it to do anymore. The up and down hills on this run were brutal for my thrashed quads. OUCH! I finished over a minute behind the 1st woman, hopefully never again ;-) I so wanted to win as I have won this race everytime I have entered it, 6 times now! Oh well, I have 3 more chances this season. I think the race director jinxed me when he told the crowd before the start that I was going to go 8 for 8 this year in all his races. Thanks Mark! HA! Just kidding, not Mark's fault, only my own!

Have an awesome weekend! Hope Wee, Kat, Lins, Dana, and everyone else do awesome this weekend!

E

Yay! Fun Times...

Splash n Dash venue!!

The Oracle 5K was so HOT! We are having a heat wave so the temps have been in the 90s-100s this past week. When we started the race at noon yesterday, it was already 90 degrees and climbing! I was drenched with sweat just waiting to start, nice!

I went out super fast and felt like I was wonder woman, only to find out at mile 1.1 that I was NOT wonder woman ;-) HA! I went out in 5.20 pace with the guys (including my hubbie) and then I blew up BIG TIME. Oops! Coach P was so mad at me. The pace and the HEAT got to me. I seriously wanted to try to see what I could hold on to. I guess NOT that pace. Ok, well I went up to 7 min pace on the next mile, then sucked it up and tried to pick it back up again. I held on to win for the women and was 12th including the dudes ;-) I was SO HOT and hurting! 5Ks really hurt! ;-)

Next up was the Splash n Dash at 6:30PM at Lake Del Valle. It was 100 degrees at 6PM as we were all getting ready and contemplating a wetsuit. CRAZY! I REALLY REALLY did not want to wear one, but the fast elite guys all said they were wearing them. So, to be able to stay with them I would have to wear one too. The water was around 74 degrees. We were crazy. But once I got in the lake, it was actually not that bad. When the gun went off, I started out fast and strong and felt ok. I was trying so hard to let my legs drag along as they were already feeling a bit tired from the earlier race. I led for a bit, then drafted for a bit, overheated a bit, swam on my own for a bit, and came out in 3rd behind 2 guys. I swear that swim felt SO LONG (after the race it was confirmed to be 1.2miles). NICE! I love long swims, but not in these temps.

I got out of my wetsuit and started the run pretty easy and mellow. I was determined to NOT blow up this time. I ran by Reid and Belle cheering for me. So CUTE! Belle started wimpering as she wanted to come along, poor baby! But she got to play in the lake instead. Anyway, the run started off with a bit of an inlcine, then rolled through single track, over a small bridge, down some more single track, up a BIG hill, where 2 guys caught me, then over another bridge to a turn around and back. I was so dehydrated that I grabbed 4 cups of water at the turnaround. It felt so good to drink this little bit of water! I felt much better on the way back and much better on the rollers. I finished strong with Belle alongside and won for the women and was 5th including men. I was HAPPY with a great speed work day!! And a couple young girls came up to me post race to ask me questions about training, racing, and my Splsish suit! It was so sweet and I loved to share all that I have learned over the years. They were so cute and so excited to be racing!

One more race to go this weekend! YAY! I am having so much fun!! Will post pics later.

P.S. GO Bree, Go KAT, GO Lins, and everyone else this weekend!

E