Oakland Triathlon Festival :: Race Report

Conversations with friends the week leading up to this race mostly aimed at answering the very difficult question of which cause to support on the podium if, I mean - ahem, ahem - *when* I won...  Oh, you know, things I truly believe in like:
1.  Helmets
2.  Bidets (unfortunately I couldn't come up with TOTO merch in time for the race)
3.  "Save the whales" (went out the window when local news broke last week...)
4.  SweetWARE (nah, we don't have hats)

Well, on Friday while packing up a beat-up backpack with race day necessities guess whose warrior eyes were staring up at me from the bottom of my t-shirt drawer???  That's right...  This guy:

"Worf be with you".........  "And, with you."

What?!?!  It's not like I yelled, "Prime directive!" as I crossed the finish line or anything...  Okay, okay, I *did* have a speech prepared in Klingon...... but I guess speeches when you win your age group is not a thing so Qapla'!

Anyways..........  As most of you already know, the buildup for this race was kinda insane.  ALL YEAR, yes, that's right - *all year* - I've been working toward this goal and I didn't even have a bib until the day before the race.  Haha - crazy right?!?  The wonderful people who run the Oakland Triathlon Festival made an exception and allowed me to transfer a bib from another OTC member over to my name last-minute.  Woot!

Everything was going according to plan.  Bib, check.  Wetsuit rental, check.  Clean bike, check.  Well-rested, well-nourished, check, check.

The morning of the race was like clockwork.  Pre-race was a breeze.  I even pooped on schedule.  Ha!
Sorry, TMI.

It was pitch black when Billy and I rode down to the start and it was still mostly dark when I set up my transition area.  We were both looking around, like, "Holy shit, is it raining??"  We could barely believe it!  It was, indeed, drizzling....... in Oakland...... for the first time in almost a year.  That's supposed to be *good* luck, right?!?!  I'm pretty sure that at that point everyone racing was thinking the exact same thing:  "First rain of the season = bike course slip-n-slide."

Billy walked down to the start line with me.  Time to get my wetsuit on!  That's when it really hit...  that oh-so-familiar-you're-about-to-swim pit in my stomach.  I burped/whispered to Billy, "There's a lot of fast people here."  He kept me thinking positively though, like always, making me laugh and putting my thought process back on an upward trajectory.  Before too long I was like, "I'm glad I went to the course previews" and "Hey - I get to ride my bike after this!"  Billy is the best.

The ramp down to the dock felt super strange.  Did anyone else notice that there wasn't a realistic sense of urgency to get in the water???  Maybe it was just me, but it seemed like there were a TON of people just standing around arms crossed with expressions on their faces like "Someones gonna have to push me in 'cause I ain't gettin' in that water."  Needless to say, that group was still swimming up when the horn blew for the start.  Yikes!  I was one of the lucky ones who got between those buoys just in time to pee my wetsuit.  YES - winning again, see?  Pattern.  ;)

Okay, this is where I actually do a race report, I swear.

Swim (Distance .6mi :: Time 23:52 :: Mantra "It's not....  about... the whale.")

The next twenty-four minutes was a total nightmare!  I've already tapped most of it out (with my sissy who just learned EMDR - perfect timing btw).  What I *do* remember is a faint feeling of....... eternity??  There were moments when I considered just turning around and going back, or swimming to shore, or hitching a ride on a nearby boat.  I was aware enough to try to draft off fast people a few times, but I couldn't keep up steam long enough for that to work effectively.  About a quarter of the way through I started breaking into breast stroke every 200 meters or so just like "UGH!  Why am I doing this again???"  At one point - about half way through - a guy swimming diagonally across the course straight punched me in the face.  I was like, "Wrong sport, dude!"  Owie.

I *may* be making this sound slightly worse then it was.  I don't know.  I was trying *so* hard to tire out my arms without hyperventilating it's possible that I actually hit a stride...  Other positives:
1.  I didn't swallow very much water.
2.  I was able to breathe bilaterally (kinda cool)
... and most importantly!
3.  I made it to the dock.  Ahahah!

Ramp, shoes, go!  Billy and Keenan were cheering for me right before the pedestrian overpass.  Billy yelled, "10!"  Best husband.  He had counted the number of women with my color cap ahead of me.

Time to start taking numbers...

Bike (Distance 12mi :: Time 35:20 :: Mantra "I've got a perfect machine.")

Yes, bike hug!  I started over-taking people right away (even though the course was slick).  A guy peeled out right behind me on the first turn, so, that was a good reality check.  I slowed waaaaaaaaaay down for most of the corners.

Everyone was feeling the rain.  There were a lot of cold volunteers out there that day and someone told me there were something like 20 crashes on the bike course.  Oy!  The conditions slowed down a lot of otherwise very fast people.  No surprise that the woman who won the sprint was from Great Britain and going to school in Boston - so probably the most comfortable with rain...  Excuses, excuses!  I know, but seriously though, you could tell who the Californians were because we were riding around like "What's this wet stuff?"  Ha!

I averaged 20mph according to my garmin.  A little extra oomph from Billy and Keenan rounding the corner to T2 and, boom, 5k between me and the finish line, baby!  This transition was quick as a wink.

Run (Distance 3.1mi :: Time 22:13 :: Mantra "Elbows back.  Knees up.")

So I have this goo...  Cue the over-analysis.  What now?  WWWD (What Would Worf Do)???  Aaaaargh!  I ate some goo and then obsessed about what to do with the sticky half-eaten packet in my sweaty little palm for the next 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, my legs felt like two piles of bricks and the only people in my sights were men and U20 girls.

Back to the mantra.

I was feeling good about my pace when my GPS beeped (2 miles down, 1 to go) and two women blew by me like I was standing still; first, a 31-year-old wearing a black top and black compression socks and then a 27-year-old in a bright orange top.  That's when I heard Christina yelling from her car window, "Goooooo, Amy!!!!  Woooooo!!!  Goooooo Amy!"  My legs had just enough left to get up and down those stupid stairs and sprint the last 200 meters.  After crossing the finish line, I looked and looked for this woman in black but I could not find her anywhere.  I figured she must've just kept running like Forest Gump or something... She's probably half way to Texas by now, and such a pity - honestly - because I wanted to ask her about what kinds of steroids I need to start taking.  ;)

Kidding!

Anyways, the unofficial results said I got first in my age group!  I didn't argue with anyone when they called me up to the podium, but I know in my heart that there was a 31-year-old who beat me!  I was partly relieved when I saw her name above mine in the electronic results...  Not crazy.  You're not crazy.  Who are you talking to??  [looking around] Oh me?  What?!?!?  No.  Totally sane here...............

So, I don't know what happened to Kris Blum, but I guess I got 2nd in my age group and 13th overall.  Weird results, but I was satisfied with the race!  It felt great to be up on the podium and surrounded by my biggest supporters (Billy, Mom, Dad, Chrissy, Sarah, and Henry!).  We all high-tailed it to Hob Nob in Alameda after for bottomless mimosas and banana pancakes.  YUM!  I'd been looking forward to those pancakes all year...  They taste *so much* like, oh, how you say??  In my country we call it.... ah yes - winning!  Hehe.

A loooooong list of unofficial coaches guided me this year and I'm grateful to all of them.  The OTC coaches *especially* have made me fear the water less and less.  Many OTC members were in the top three for their age groups for the Sprint and Olympic distances and that's enough to make a local girl's heart sing the TNG theme:

Other standouts from Saturday:
1.  The woman who got second overall in the Sprint was 54!  Amazing, right?
2.  Check out these two ladies (Mary Cantini Norkin and Betsy Bikle - both in their 70s - what?)!  Can you imagine being 72 and finding out that you *didn't* win your age group?!?!  Eyeye...

Well, that's about it!  If you enjoyed reading this, click "Join this site" on the right side toolbar above and specify whether you want emails or a weekly digest from yours truly.  If you're already subscribed, I feel sorry for you, but thank you anyway for reading all my blah blah blah.  You'll be hearing more from me in the coming weeks regarding adventures in nutrition, tri training, racing my bike, and more!

Okay, that's all for now.  More later.

Swimming Milestone #3

In preparation for the Oakland Triathlon Festival (coming up August 29th!), last Friday I swam a half mile in open water at the Dolphin Club in San Francisco.  A half a mile!  Yay.  Sure, I stopped to cough up water *and* caught myself swimming in the total opposite direction of where I wanted to go a couple of times, but all in all, it was a success!

This workout starts with a 4 mile bike ride from the Embarcadero BART station along the wharf.  The touristy hustle and bustle down there is always entertaining and merits a mention on this blog because it's a segment that I always look forward to riding for various reasons.  From Pier 29 to Ghirardelli Square, the sidewalks are flooded with droves of tourists from all over the world walking around taking pictures and noticing everything (which turns this run-of-the-mill ride into a kind of parade of urban American traffic).  Instead of cutting off tour buses, I all of the sudden feel like waving to them (Miss Oakland style of course: elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist, middle finger... ooops! jk).  One time I was overwhelmed with the urge to just start chanting USA USA USA!  Haha....  Anyway, I don't know why I'm so weird, but I enjoy the idea of sending tourists home with crazy cyclist stories.  :)

Back to the swim though - the first time I went to the Dolphin Club was before my second tri and I barely made it to the first buoy and back.  The second time, two Fridays ago, I went with a friend who encouraged me the whole time.  She was like, yay, first buoy!  Yay.  Second buoy...  ONE MORE BUOY!  ...and so on and so forth.  She helped me prove to myself that the distance was possible.  So, this last Friday I finally did the whole 1/2 mile by myself.  Definitely a milestone!  So that felt great.  Woohoo!

I love the Dolphin Club so much now!  The water is 68 degrees and has an absolutely gorgeous view of the Golden Gate bridge.  Also, in addition to the beautiful swim and the wild ride that gets me there, the sauna there is incredible (that is a story for another blog post though - hehe!).  I'm hoping a few more open water swims is enough to get me ready for race day.  The Oakland Tri Fest Sprint has a swim of .6 miles which will be the most swimming I've ever done in a race!  Eyeyey.  Oh my gosh...  I have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it!

Alright - that's all for now.  More later!

Swimming Milestone #2

This Monday marked the first OTC swim practice *ever* that actually felt like a recovery swim.  I swam 1500m (including a warm up and cool down) and was never really winded even though we did four 200s at 70% for the main set.  All this can be attributed to the Total Immersion online swimming tutorials and the outstanding OTC coaches at these Monday night Mills practices.

Oh - haha - something hilarious happened at the start of this workout.  There was this little boy (maybe 6 years old??) getting out of the shallowest lane and I asked him if he was done swimming there (I knew he was - I just felt like modeling politeness for some dumb reason).  He was like, "You shouldn't swim here.  It's better practice down there where you can't touch!" LOL...  Doh!  I was like, "Okay.  Thanks!"  ...and then slunked into the kiddie lane anyway.  Ha!

It's true that it's pretty lazy to stay in the stubby shallow end of the pool, but OTC considers it the "slow lane" and I'm preeeeeeeetty sure I'm the slowest swimmer there, so......  PLUS, I rely on the floor of the pool to be there for me if I need to stop swimming to cough up a mouthful of delicious pool water or whatever (yes, of course, this still happens occasionally).  I intend to get into the deep end soon, but *that* - my dear little boy - is a milestone for another day.  ;)

The next swim goal on my horizon is to swim continuously for 10 minutes. That may entail getting into some open water soon where there's nothing tempting to hang on to....  Eeeek!  Alright.  That's all for now.  More later!

Swimming Milestone #1

Timed 100 @ 1:45ish.  I can also tell the difference between fast and slow in the pool now.  So yay for that.  Haha.

Swimming is by far the area of triathlon racing that I stand to improve the most in a short period of time.  The first real milestone actually may have been a few practices ago where I actually felt like I was *swimming* instead of *not drowning*...  My goals have progressed each week and now just about every time I get in the pool I feel like I'm getting more comfortable and faster (which is the goal - ha!).

Lately, I've been practicing a method called Total Immersion (the site was recommended to me by Coach Chris at the OTC Mills swim workouts), which the basic gist I've gathered is as follows:
1.  Relax the recovery arm (high elbow, but fingertips almost drag along the water's surface before dropping into the water)
2.  Emphasize feeling the surface area of the arm catch the water at a target point in front of shoulder
3.  Kick once at the same time and with the same leg as the entry arm upon entry

Now, this last point is what has helped me the most with my anxiety in the water.  If ever I feel scared like I might drown I just go back to this rhythm (kick and stroke same side just once together!)...  This really helps my body calm down.  I'm not sure what it is about this that actually works, but - for some reason seriously I have no idea why - it calms my whole body down and gives me the confidence I need to keep going.  If my kicking is frantic and I'm gasping for air, I just go back to this easy rhythm (kick and stroke on the same side together).  It brings my heart rate down immediately and I'm able to focus on other things like relaxing my neck and catching the water and rotating my body to take breaths.  Anyways, I'm definitely learning a lot in the pool.  I'm starting to crave harder workouts, but I know I still just need to hit my stride...

Updated 2015 Race Schedule and Goals

Here they are - my updated race goals for 2015!

I Will Jump In Zee Pool!

After all that excruciating rest and recovery in January and February, March hit hard.  I'm finally feeling back in the groove of training.  I've reassessed my goals to accommodate a more realistic race schedule for this year (which I will post later) with a looser commitment to racing.  In the last few weeks I've had a few little triumphs in the pool that I'd like to share here if for no other reason than just to process the gains.

Since February, I've been attending a swim practice at Mills College pool on Monday nights with a group called OTC (Oakland Triathlon Club).  They typically provide a coach that gives a workout to the group (25 swimmers or so) and then walks around to give people advice.  The first week I went I was basically just told by Raileigh (the super amazing female coach) to go really easy on my Achilles and give it time to fully heal (great advice that I heeded wholeheartedly).  I took that opportunity to stick to the pulls (arms only strokes) and the Jacuzzi of course.  Ha!

At the second practice I attended, one of the lifeguards was a Mills volleyball player so she came over to give me a few pointers (hips up and push a little extra at the end of my stroke).  I also got a bonus invitation to the next day's volleyball tournament where I watched a former player of mine coach *and* a former player play.  That was super cool!

Back to the pool one week later and - I swear to God - I finally felt like I was swimming.  Like.  I felt more comfortable with the breathing, and having my face under water, and pacing myself.  Also, I was able to do a few 50s back-to-back (more or less - haha) and I can almost do a 100 now without stopping (4x down and back!).  After that swim I got out and talked to the coach and she was like, "How did it go?" and I was like, "I didn't drown" to which she responded "Your stroke actually looks pretty controlled - compared to some of our more seasoned swimmers!!!! - and you could benefit from just reaching out a little further when you start your stroke."  Wow.  I was so excited to hear that kind of encouragement from a swim coach... and it totally felt right (like she wasn't just humoring me) because that was the first night where my self talk sounded more like "Hey, you're swimming!  This is swimming!" and less like "You might drown or die or throw up soon."  Ahahaha...

Last night I had another positive development in the pool where the swim coach and president of the club, Chris, helped me discover my new swim mantra: "I'm fine". He kept yelling at me from across the deck, "You're fine!" which helped me more than he knows probably...  I'm now practicing breathing on both sides every three strokes which feels like a good balanced rhythm for me.  SO - hooray for swim coaches and lifeguards and everyone who has ever helped someone feel less alone when they are trying something new.  I definitely approach Mondays with more excitement and less nervousness now.  I already can't wait for my next time in the pool, which might have to come sooner than Monday.  Okay - double day today - so that's all for now.  More later!

On Overcoming Obstacles

Scars are cool.  When you're a volleyball player, bruises, floor burns, and contusions on your knees become kind of like badges of honor. Every scar has a story.  Well, the scars on my knees are kind of a long story...

I was a climb-two-stairs-at-a-time kind of kid.  At 6, I was the girl organizing a bracket for foot races with all the boys on the playground.  Athletically, I was never extraordinary, but ever since I can remember I've always *wanted* to be the fastest, jump the highest, and be the best.  That desire drove me to make the jump to a big, public high school volleyball team after playing two years for Victory Christian (a small private junior high in Fair Oaks, CA).  Freshman year I was most-improved. Sophomore year I was most-inspirational. By my Senior year I was captain on Varsity.  I've loved the game ever since.

Flash forward to college - In 2004, at our last home match against cross-town rival Holy Names (during my fourth and final season playing at Mills College in Oakland, CA), I blocked a ball and landed on a hyperextended right knee, causing my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) to snap and roll up like blinds.

That December, I elected to undergo ACL surgery.  I awoke from sedation with my sister Sarah and my mom by my bedside.  The searing pain in my knee caused involuntary tears to pour from the corners of my eyes and down my cheeks and soak my hospital gown.  For fear of this pain returning, I finished all the prescribed meds (which left me useless and drooling on my parents couch for two weeks).  Haha...  This half-baked state was perfect for appreciating my parents' two thousand cable channels (mostly TCM and the food channel).  My mind was a perfect *mush* when I went back to Mills on crutches to finish my Senior spring.  But I was prancing around in high heels by graduation day and, the following August, after 8 months of physical therapy, I was back at Mills getting taped up for the Alumni match.

I continued to play, and in 2007, in a qualifying match at an outdoor grass tournament in Detroit, IL, it happened again, but this time to my left knee!  After planting a kill cross-court on the three meter line, a crack sounded out that sent shivers down my spine.  I knew instantly it was another ACL tear. This meant another surgery and another year of rest, ice, compression, and elevation (ie, no running, no jumping, no climbing two stairs at a time, and, worst of all... no volleyball!).

Six months later... After my second elective surgery, I stopped the meds after the first day.  Falling asleep without pain-killers that night was a little like jumping off a cliff, but I woke up basically pain-free the next morning.  It sounds crazy, but being awake and aware and not all drugged up helped me meditate on my body's natural ability to heal.  I put some of the tools my college coach, Marla Mundis, had taught me to good use.  As I dredged through 6 more months of rehab, I visualized my recovery.  This may sound a little ridiculous, but I imagined a mini-construction crew going up and down the inner workings of my knee joint on scaffolding, soldering and smoothing over all the rough surfaces.  Being off the meds also gave me the presence of mind to focus on the challenge at hand...  REHAB.  Once again, I re-learned how to stand, walk, run, tip toe, kneel, climb, jump, land, cycle, swim, and play.

Over the long run - being hurt was an obstacle that created so many positive outcomes in my life.  I became closer to my parents and Billy (who I relied on incessantly during this time).  My goal of maintaining healthy knees drove me into the yoga studio.  I started coaching to stay involved in the sport.  Ten years later, I'm still using my knowledge of ACL injuries to teach proper mechanics in the next generation of volleyball players: how to jump and land and quickly change direction *safely* and how to improve leg strength in ways that will support the whole body.  The rehab made me completely unafraid of square one.  Today I am fully recovered...  And now, I would venture to say that *my wounds healed me*.

The original injuries were scary.  They made me feel broken and (albeit temporarily) strangely robbed me of my femininity.  Being hurt changed the way I moved through the world and the way I saw myself.  However, the surgeries were even more scary.  Afterwards, I felt physically, financially, and spiritually crippled.  Violated and maimed.  And then, of course, this was abruptly followed by the demanding uphill road of rehabilitation, which required time, planning, and - most of all - conviction.  After my second ACL surgery, it took me a good five years to get back where I was (that is, back to taking stairs two at a time).

Now, I'm not sure if I'll ever stop taking two stairs at a time, but I know that if I do, I will do so knowing that my strength doesn't come from knees.  My true strength as a human being comes from a deep hidden place within me that I discovered thanks to my knees.  :)

Random Ramblings - Part I

51

There's a 51 bus here!  I swear to God...  I was walking down the street and BAM! there was the freaking 51!!!!!  Ahahah - hilarious.  I almost had to sit down on the side of the road I was laughing so hard.  One day - when I'm really homesick - I'm going to ride that line from end to end and dream about the Bay Area.  Ha!  The 51...  We've shared so many good times...

No 666

There's no 666 here.  I found this out in a very absurd way!  Walking into town on a race day, I passed by two guys still proudly sporting their runner's numbers.  One of them was 666!  So I did what any normal American would do - I pointed and laughed in a way that invited everyone to join in - he just looked down and looked back up and gave me the "What, did I forget to zip?!!?" look.  We continued walking in opposite directions, everyone very confused.

Pick a Lane

They don't have lanes in the community pool here, so swimming is like playing a game of frogger.  If you know me, you know that I am a very weak swimmer.  So, as you can imagine, I am like a baby elephant under there...  I've kicked plenty of people and been caught (on a few occasions) accidentally/intentionally dirty looking some individuals who just stand right in the middle.  I haven't built up enough courage to ask them why they just stand there in the middle of the pool causing others to go out of their way to swim around, but one of these days when my anger has subsided I will find a way to ask nicely.

Pre-game Routine  

To prepare the regional men's team for their first match, I wanted to encourage them to find a pre-game routine.  However, I didn't know how to say "pre-game routine", so I decided to just describe what I do to prepare for a match and asked them what they call that.  They said "obsessive compulsive disorder".  Wah wah!

There's more, but I can't think of it, so that's all for now.  More later!

Pizza, Sauna, Practice

Wonderful lunch meeting with Maguy today.  Today was NOT a double day, but we went to a pizzeria, so I just *had* to indulge my curiosity!  Qu'est-ce que c'est la pizza française?  It was so delicious...  I ordered the vegetarian pizza topped with tomato sauce, cheese, onions, peppers, mushrooms, artichokes, eggplant, and olives.  Soooo good!  The thin crust was charred around the edges and soft in the middle.  Mmmmm...  An obvious fork and knife situation...

My Monday training sesh was a swim and a run.  I went to the local pool and almost had my whole workout derailed because it turns out they have a sauna!!!!  YES + exclamation points forever!  If there hadn't been a 30 minute limit, I'd still be in there right now...  Awww, so nice!

At practice tonight my serve-receive passing felt better!  I'm getting into a rhythm of relaxing my arms and then refocusing on the ball to get my platform angle just right before contact.

First home game this Sunday!  Until then?  Work, work, work!  :)

Mermaid Triathlon 2013

Photo courtesy of Dan Fisher

With a time of 01:06:05 I placed second in my age group and sixth overall.  This is such a fun event!  I highly recommend this triathlon for any ladies who want a great local fitness challenge.  Here's the link:  http://www.mermaidseries.com/alameda#!__alameda

Mermaid Triathlon 2012

First Triathlon

I didn't drown!  With a time of  01:09:32 I finished fourth in my age group and eighth overall.

Here are the results: http://results.active.com/events/mermaid-triathlon-series-alameda/triathlon-age-group/expanded