12/29/10 Tri Training: 2,100 meter swim???

Yes, 2,100 meters! This is by far the longest distance that I've swam this season!! Again, it's not without stopping as I still rely on the wall but I think I'm feeling a little more comfortable in the water. Tonight, was the 2nd time that the swim center was set up as the "long course" and I felt more at ease going to practice this evening. I even learned how to breathe on my left hand side. It's not great but at least I'm getting used to having my left side as another breath option. I also tried to remember to reach and glide but that's not clicking in yet. A work in progress...

100 warm up
4x150 kick/drill/swim (our drill of choice)
Main set:
1x300
1x200
3x100
8x50 pull buoy (still my favorite!)
200  cool down

Total swim = 2,100 meters

Aloha,
L

12/27/10 Tri Training: Swimming the Long Course

Back to swimming at the Santa Clara swim center but the difference... the pool was set up for 50 meters.

Okay, I could barely manage the 25yd distance and what makes this worse is a friend of mine tells me that she thought meters are actually longer than doubling the 25yds. Yikes! It's no wonder that my stomach was in knots as I was driving to practice.

I eventually got in the water as the pool deck was quite cold in a bathing suit but I may have considered standing there all night if it meant I could skip the swim. Luckily my wonderful captains would not hear more of it and even threatened to push me in! :o) So, I got in and made my first way across the pool. Whoa was it a long way and was I happy to feel that wall! I shared the lane with Kai who seemed to share the same feeling of the distance so we pushed each other all night.

200 warm-up
Drill:
6x50 kick set
6x50 5-4-3-2-1-0 (this was an interesting drill as these numbers represent the fingers you use when you swim. It became much harder to swim the less fingers I had.)
2x50 stroke count (it took me 55 strokes & then 54 strokes)
2x50 stroke count but trying to reduce the numbers from before (I was able to reduce to 50 but then it was back to my ways and then I was back up to 55. The gliding technique is not clicking yet)
Main set:
1x200
2x200
4x50 (didn't do since I ran out of time)
200 cool down (used a pull buoy)

Total swim: 1,600 meters (The distance adds up very quickly but I was also in the pool for 90 minutes instead of the usual 60min) There were moments that I didn't think I would make it. I got that scared/panic feeling once again and my breathing got all messed up. I notice everytime I panic, I feel the need to take breaths more often. I need to work on calming myself down as it's not going to be good to panic in the ocean.

Aloha,
L

Hill Climbs after Christmas

40% chance of rain today?  Glad the weather forecasters were wrong today.  It was actually sunny and only on the chilly side when we left the park for Mt. Eden.  But the sun was shining and after a few climbs, it was starting to warm up for me.

Only 2 participants showed up at first, and then a third one showed up after we did our first 2 hill repeats.  I guess it was to be expected since it's the day after Christmas.

Coach Patrick was there and he asked us to go up 5 times today.  I got a long break between hill repeat #4 and #5 since I helped fix a flat for one of the participants.  It was a brand new bike so not sure if that made it difficult to get the tire off the rim and then back on again. I am usually pretty good at changing tubes, but this one was a b#$tch!  I know it wasn't just me since Coach Patrick gave it a shot and even broke a tire iron!  :)

Anyway, it was a good day of riding, after a week off for the holidays.  The last training we did was last Saturday but I was starting to feel like it was longer since my last workout.  I even ran 3 miles one day during the week, but being off the bike for a week didn't feel right for me so I was glad to do the hill repeats today!

Happy Holidays!!

H

Saturday 12/18/10 - Rain, and More Rain - Almaden Ride

Ready for the Rain!

The forecast all week was for rain over this weekend.  But, the team always meets rain or shine and if it's not coming down hard at the start, we ride.  The cool thing for yesterday's ride (Saturday 12/18) was that Laarni's Tri team also started their training day at the Almaden VTA station, which is where the Cycle Team met.  Thanks to our wonderful babysitter, Laarni and I were able to go out and train at the same time today.

I'm sure the rain forecast had something to do with it, but we only had one participant from our ride group show up today. The other groups were fairly small as well, but not a bad turnout all in all!  It wasn't raining very hard, in fact, there were only little sprinkles here and there when we got started.

Trudy was our only rider for the day.  So, she got a lot of attention from Coach Colin.  Trudy was telling me how hard she was pushing it at last weekend's ride in Los Gatos.  She said she had never ridden at a pace like ours before.  Well Trudy, you ain't seen nothing yet!  :)



Jean and Linda Supporting
the Team at Rest Stop 2



Today's ride took us along Almaden Expressway through McKean/Uvas and around the reservoir.  Our first rest stop was at mile 18.  One of the nice things about TNT are the volunteers.  Our support at the first rest stop was actually provided by some folks that were on my team my first season last winter.  Cheers to Diane (who was at the first rest stop) and to Linda and Jean (who were at the second rest stop).  They provided some good grub for us! 

Maria, Ruth, Nicole (Drivers)
Braving the Rain

We also can't forget to thank the drivers who are out there supporting us in case of emergencies.  They drive the roads to make sure they are there for us to help us with flats or any other types of mechanicals.  Thanks to Ruth (our SAG - Support and Gear Captain), Nicole (our Team Captain), and to Maria (a Summer participant and volunteer). Luckily the drivers had an "uneventful" day!  That's how we like it!





Trudy and Colin after a wet and dirty ride!

Coach Colin really pushed Trudy today Colin has a great way of giving participants technical advice but at the same time encourages them so that they push themselves a little to become better cyclists.  As the ride went on, we definitely got rained on big time!  We were pretty wet when we were done, not to mention pretty dirty!  The dirt really showed up on Trudy's yellow jacket!  What was so satisfying for me was to watch Trudy ride through the rain, get totally soaked, get totally dirty, but still have a great big smile on her face!  We even got a few "woo-hoo's" from her. She was pretty pumped up after she did this ride.  She was proud of herself as she should be!  She road great and had a great attitude!  GO TRUDY!!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

H





12/18/10 Tri Training: Almaden Ride and Run

The team met at the Almaden VTA station, same place where Harold's cycle team met. We had a choice of a 20 or 30 mile ride but I opted for the shorter 20 mile ride since the weather didn't look to be on our side. The 20 mile ride took us onto Santa Teresa Blvd, to Bailey, to McKean and then to Almaden Expressway. It started to rain on us towards the end of the ride but it came down pretty hard at one point, that I could barely see. I got back to the car and did a quick change of clothes but then it started raining again. I decided against the run because I was already feeling chilled even after I changed.  I'm a wimp when it comes to being cold and wet!!

Aloha,
L

12/13/10 Tri training: Swim at Santa Clara

I left the pool very lightheaded! I wanted to cry during tonight's session. I may have swam a bunch of yards but the quality of my swimming was not good at all. There were moments where I seemed to close my eyes and hoped to get to the other side. Again, my reliance on the wall is not helping my confidence. I started over thinking about being in the middle of the ocean with that sinking feeling. Yikes!

Warm-up:
200 yds
Drills: CatchUp and 6-3-6
6x75yds (kick, drill & swim)
Main set: Pyramid
150-200-250-150 (although I didn't do the last 150 since I didn't have time because I hung on the wall way too many times!)
Cool down:
100yds (should've been 200yds)

Total yards= 1,650 yds

Martin said I should try and push myself to not stop so much during the set. I tried doing that tonight. I think I managed 75yds without stopping long but my lung capacity couldn't handle it and I kept feeling like I was gasping for air. There is just way too many things to remember for proper swim mechanics.

I think I read our coaches post that there's 111 days until race day. Gulp! (Literally, as I swallow pool water)

Aloha,
L

Sunday 12/12/10 - Hill Repeats in the Fog!

Well, we never did see the sun this weekend.  But at least the rain stayed away.  Although, the roads were a bit wet and slick.  In fact, while climbing today, I felt my rear wheel spin a few times.  Definitely a weird feeling, almost like my tire was flat. There were a few times that I was lucky that I didn't go down.

I knew that Coach Patrick couldn't go light on us two weeks in a row. Today was 5 times up and down Mt. Eden.  First was a warm-up, second was a low gear with fast cadence, third time was a higher gear standing up as long as possible, fourth time was whatever we wanted, and then fifth time was let it all hang out and get to the top as fast as you can!  I was usually the 4th one to the top each time as there were two participants and Coach Patrick who would usually get to the top of the hill faster than me. 

But on the last one, I got a head start and really tried to let it all hang out!  A new participant, Peter, is just incredibly fast and caught up to me when we only had about 100 yards left...I clicked it up a gear and tried to race him to the top, but I couldn't stay ahead of him.  Man, he went by me like I was standing still. But I was second to the top right after Peter!  He's in a whole different league from me!  Oh well, still fun trying to run with him.

We got a great picture at the top of Mt. Eden...check out how foggy it is.  Definitely a good workout...a bunch of us decided to go to Chipotle afterwards to get a good recovery meal.  Can't wait til next week!

L-R Casey, Mike, Coach George, Jaime, Wendy, Coach Patrick, Peter, Greg, Warren, Scott, Jean (Harold - taking picture)

H

Saturday 12/11/10 - Los Gatos Ride and Nutrition Clinic



Coach Patrick talking about "gas"

 On today's schedule was about a 32 mile ride in Los Gatos. It was the team's first real ride together in our individual ride groups.  But first, we started the morning with a little nutrition clinic.  As Coach Patrick told us, it's important that you have enough "gas"...after a little bit of ribbing from the group and after a ton of laughs, Coach Patrick changed his wording to "fuel".

As training rides begin to be longer, participants are going to need to figure out what types of "fuel" work best for them.  Bottom line, as we train, our bodies need water, calories, and salt.  There are so many ways to getting that from plain water, to Gatorade, to Heed, to Cytomax, to Clif Bars, to PB&J sandwiches, to all kinds of stuff on the market.  This was the time to experiment and to figure out what works best for each person. I remember last year going through a bunch of stuff before finding what tasted right and what my body responded well to.  I know use Heed in my water, Shotblocks for Electrolytes, and PB&J for protein and calories.  I'll also eat bananas to help keep the potassium.

On to the ride...we had 3 of our group's 6 participants show up for today's ride.  But we had some special guests join Coach Colin and I as well.  Ruth, our SAG (Support and Gear) Captain, joined us for today's ride.  As a SAG Captain, Ruth is responsible for ensuring that we have volunteer drivers on the road to follow each of the groups to ensure their safety. They are only used for emergencies and not to take a participant back because they need to try and make it back early for any other reasons...like a date or something!  :)  Then our very own Mike Wu joined us as well.  Mike is one of the team's Honorees.  An Honoree is someone who is fighting or has fought a blood cancer and is there to keep the participants inspired.



Here's Mike having a blast as usual!

 Mike is an amazing man. He tells us all the time how because of our fundraising efforts, we have helped to keep him alive.  In fact, his story is truly amazing as he was near death at one time and because of shear hope, grit, fight, determination, and of course some good medical care, Mike is riding with us today...and he's a strong rider by the way!  Every time Mike decides to ride with our group, I am so inspired since here is a man who I know really appreciates the meaning of life!

At the top of Pierce Road at Mt. Winery

Our ride brought us from Los Gatos to Cupertino, up and over Mt. Eden and then we had an "optional" route.  After going up Mt. Eden, we could make a left on Pierce to head back towards Cupertino, or we could make a right turn, which meant a climb on Pierce and then over to Hwy 9.  Coach Colin said our team was ready to make the right turn.  It was tough but the participants made it up!  Here's a picture right in front of the driveway to Mt. Winery to prove it. 


Our descent took us down Hwy 9 into Saratoga.  We headed back towards Cupertino and then made our way back to Los Gatos.  The participants said that they were definitely tired, but felt good.  I love seeing the participants not only challenge themselves, but have a lot of fun doing something that they've never done before.  A lot of these folks have never ridden this many miles before...and the fun has just begun!  Congrats to all!



Team "C" (temporary name until the team comes up with its real name)

 H

12/11/10 Tri Training: Ride n Tie at Bayfront Park

Our team had the annual Ride n Tie event today. I had no idea what to expect with this training except that we were told that we had to pair up with someone, have a mountain bike between us and dress in costume! Costume?? Yes, this team really likes dress up! I was paired up with Angela who also has the same mentor as I do. We decided in honor of Lavaman and Hawaii, we'd go polynesian style! We were Team Aloha!

The object of Ride n Tie is to do 3-4 laps around a 3 mile trail with your teammate by biking or running. This was new to both Angela and I so we had no idea how to strategize the course. So, during the first lap we sort of followed what others were doing. Also, we only had one bike between us so the person riding had to ride and leave the bike along the course for the next person to find. The next person had to be aware so they don't run past the bike. Once a lap is finished, there's a transition point which entailed arriving there together with your teammate and doing a particular task assigned by the coaches.

What we decided to do is run with our helmets on so we didn't have to keep switching helmets. It's really awkward to run with a bike helmet... oh, and I forgot to mention that we stayed in costume during the bike/run! You can only imagine the strange looks we got from the non Team in Training folks walking or running along the trailhead.

The team gathered together at the end and Coach Mike said that besides this event being a fun bonding experience with teammates, it also provides a learning experience on how to transition from the bike to a run. It was fun but it was a very tiring workout even though we only did 9 miles total. As we felt exhausted afterwards, we came back to reality as we were able to hear Vanessa Ingardia, an honoree and Lavaman teammate speak about her experience with cancer. I mentioned her in an earlier post so I've heard her story before but hearing it again, made me teary eyed again. It's cancer survivors, like her who are so thankful to us for raising money to help provide funds for support and research. She said that she should've been gone 16 years ago if it weren't for the research and clinical trial drugs that were made available to her. So, seeing her biking and running alongside me is another reminder how important this mission is and why we do what we do! We want more people to have as much life in them as Vanessa does!

Aloha,
L

Wednesday 12/8/10 - SPIN CLASS

Ok, Coach Patrick must have read my post about last Sunday's hill repeats!  This was one of the hardest spin classes we've done!!  Enough said!  I'm going to bed! 

12/7/10 Tri Training: Coached Track at Foothill College

There were lots of colors present at tonight's workout. We had "Color Wars" between the mentor groups.

When we got to the "training" portion, we started off with drills and then we had to run as many laps around the track within 10 minutes to give us a base pace. Then we did some core training and had to give an estimated time it would take to do 8 laps (2miles) and you could not use watches or timers. My estimate was 21:15. Coach Mike saw that I had my Ipod and broke the sad news to me that Ipods are not allowed during the event. OMG! I hate running as it is and the only way I can get through it is with music. Wow... 6.2 miles with no music. It was a sad moment for me! So, I proceeded with the 8 laps with no music and I finished at 21:07! 8 seconds off my estimate! People are really in tune with their pace because I was tied for 3rd. The gal who won was 1 second off her time!! Maybe I should improve my pace so it'll take me less time to do the event! LOL!

Aloha,
L

12/6/10 Tri Training: Captain Swim at Santa Clara

Tonight was a little different as we started the evening off with a swim theory session with Martin. It was very interesting and helpful since my swim mechanics are not correct. However, as I tried to put the "theory" into practice, it's much harder than it looks.

200 yd warm-up
Drills:
6x50 kick set
3x50 catch up
3x50 drag
2x50 thumb to thigh
Main set:
25yds fast 25yds slow (2 times)
50yds fast 50yds slow (2 times)
100yds fast 50yds slow (2 times)
Cool down:
50yds

Total swim = 1,550 yds

Impressive swim totals, right?? Don't really be too impressed because it's easy for the distances to add up. Trust me, when I am in the pool, I don't feel strong enough to continue. I force myself down the swim lane knowing there is a wall at the end of 25yds and I take alot of breaks! For example, when I'm supposed to be doing a 100yds, at the 50yd point I take a break. So far, I seem okay with swimming a 50yd distance without stopping but not the point when you're supposed to be doing 100yds! Again, I still have a few months to go.

Aloha ,
L

Sunday - 12/5/10 - Hill Repeats - Too Easy or Good Call?



Ready for the Hills?

I hope Coach Patrick doesn't read this post, but man, I think he's going easy on us this season!  :o)  He only made us go up Mt. Eden 4 times today, the same as last week.  He adds 1 time up each time we meet.  But not this morning.  The guy must be dating mother nature though!  As soon as we got back to the parking lot after the 4th hill repeat, it started pouring rain!  Good call coach, that's why you're the boss!  :o)
Good workout today and great to get a ride in with no rain!

H

12/4/10 Tri Training: Coached Swim/Bike at Burgess

Had a great training session today! Swam with Coach Chris watching on and giving us pointers. He really empasized making our bodies longer in the water so that we are using less strokes during the race. So, he did a variety of drills to help us work on the technique. He also introduced swimming alongside other people so our group of 5, had to start swimming at the same time. Really interesting since I do tend to have issues when I can see or feel someone next to me. We probably swam around 700yds.

For the last part of the swim training, the coaches had all the participants go into one lane and we made two lines. Everyone in the pool had to start splashing and causing waves while the participants swam across. I tried my best to keep my same form and swim calmly. All the splashing made it hard to see the bottom so it was hard to know when the wall was coming so it forced me to actually look up to see where I was going. I guess that is the beginning of "sighting" since in an open body of water that is what you need to do to make sure you are going in the right direction. It was a really interesting drill to help train us to stay focused.

Then we were told to transition into our biking gear... Normally this would be easy but considering the weather, there was no way any of us was going out on a bike in wet clothes! So, we all had to change and head out on the bike. The coaches told us that we had 6 minutes for transition. That's a laugh since trying to peel off a wet bathing suit and then putting on spandex cycling clothes while damp is not that easy. I think I took 11-12minutes. Then it was out onto the bike for a 90minute ride. In that time I rode almost 18 miles. It was dry when we started and then started to rain. Luckily, the rain stopped but we were very wet & dirty once we got back!

The kids were with Delia and Lupe (Nana and Papa) today. They loved spending time with them and the older kids, really miss them. Delia made them their favorites, pancakes for breakfast and sopita for lunch. She even took them to the park. They had a great time! Thank you Delia and Lupe for helping us as we train. Without our weekend sitters, we couldn't do what we do!!

Aloha,
L

Saturday 12/4/10 - Paceline Clinic Take 2

Today was a make up for the paceline clinic that we started a few weeks back, but had to stop due to some strong rain and wind. This is such an important part of cycling and will help a lot of people cross the finish line strong after 100 miles.  It's amazing how much energy you could save if you simply paceline. But easier said than done of course.  Pacelining takes confidence and trust.  You have to be confident enough to have your front wheel be only inches away from the back wheel of your teammate in front of you. At the same time, you have to trust that your teammate in front of you will not do anything unpredictable that may cause either of you to go down.

The team members in our group did great today.  We went up and down Canada Road 3 times. Understandably, the first time down and back was a little nerve racking for some of the participants.  We got rained on a little bit, but nothing significant.  Our ride group coach, Colin, gave some pointers after each trip and by the end of the training day, the team was not only picking up the pace, but everyone started to feel comfortable getting closer to the person in front of them.

All in all, a fun day! Today was not a day of endurance but more of a day of learning and practicing paceline techniques.  But, it was also a day of smiles!  Great job everyone!

H

Wednesday 12/1/10 - Spin Class - Endurance and Power

"Endurance and Power" was the theme of tonight's spin class.  It was a hard class tonight! It didn't help that my neck was really killing me. I woke up this morning with a sharp pain in my neck. It doesn't feel like it's sore, but more of a sharp pain, like a pinched nerve or something.  It kicked my butt all day long!  Oh well, didn't want to skip out on spin class tonight.

Coach Patrick had us train for endurance by doing a bunch of climbs, both sitting and standing.  Then he had us train for power by doing what he calls "jumps".  That is sit for 7 counts, stand for 8 counts.  We did this for at least 10 minutes straight, while turning up the tension on the bikes each minute.

Needless to say, it was a tough night.

Ice...I need ice!  Can't wait until the next workout!

H