Flying Hairballs

We were lucky at the beardie playdate the other night to have the hosts’ good friend the photographer there to capture the action.  I had to share some of the best of the bunch.  All credits to Tim Raiman.

Completely Inspiring

If you haven’t already, head on over to IronMakeover’s latest blog post and look at the short video on her friend Mary, the 90-year-old triathlete.

Time Warp

Ever since training picked up the pace this year, I feel like I’m stuck in a time warp where the weeks blur together, one to the next, the weekends zip by in a flurry of training and eating and sleep, where I’m left still wondering what happened to June much less the first half of July.

I guess busy = happy so I shouldn’t complain.

(By the way, this image, and many like it, also comes up when you google time warp. Interesting…)

Friday was a rest day. The way the week was going, I took the rest notion to heart big-time. I slept in, I went to yoga class at lunch, and I scheduled a spa facial for after work. I even napped in the “quiet room” at the spa, and I ended the night reading a good book with my snugglebugs.

After a quick swim and run on Saturday, Jeff and I hopped a plane to Long Beach for Jeff’s college roommate’s annual beach party. I got to watch Jeff play volleyball while I drank bottle after bottle of water trying to stay hydrated for Sunday’s training.

Gosh I love that man.

Even when he’s covered in sweat and sand.

Today I headed out on my own to do a long ride where I had to hold various power intervals with a main set of 3 x 20 minutes. While I am not happy that Nigel was suffering the effects of a bad curry selection, it was a good day for me to ride alone and put 100% of my focus on meeting my specified targets. Thankfully I was not alone on the roads, as the San Jose Livestrong Ride event was going on today, as I learned from the many directional signs and riders on the road. I wish we could have all the large signs warning drivers about riders on the road every day!

Towards the end of my ride, I swung over to visit with the family at the Almaden Relays swim meet – 100% relay races! In case you hadn’t known it already, I’m the oldest of 9 kids, and the youngest 5 are adopted (from China and Vietnam).

My dad is now a swim official.

I stayed long enough to see all the kids compete in the 200 back relay.

Ryan and Jack (who apparently never races with goggles)

Grace, Mimi, and Cai (who kicked halfway across the pool off the wall before she even began her stroke!)

Once I finally got home and ice-bathed and showered, it was time to clean up the dogs and take them for their own social outing of the weekend. Playdate at Eva’s house and beardie friend Piedra was there as well!

You know you’re in Willow Glen when even the dog treats are ritzy

Rare shot with all four beardies

Could you find us some more toys?

Finally Stanley and Eva got to play chase!

Another weekend gone so fast, another week to begin. I hope my 7-hour budget meeting tomorrow goes as fast as my weekends seem to fly by!!!

Training totals for week 29 (July 6-12):
Swim: 4800 yards
Bike: 85.2 miles
Run: 18.5 miles
Total time: 11 hours

Plus 1 hour of yoga

Brain Today, Gone Tomorrow

Being a 2-year-old boy, Stanley is still experiencing the inconsistencies of intellect associated with his age, gender, and raging hormone levels.  Tonight, in agility class, there were real breakthroughs that suggested he might have a brain!  And…of course, there were moments of WTF?  I will let Stanley narrate our evening.

*exerting Beardie Mind Control* Start the car and take me to class. NOW, Human.

See? Much better.  I might let you sleep tonight.

Damn I look good out there.  I should get to do this all the time.

I think I will wake her up at 4am tomorrow so that we can continue her lessons.

It’s all baby steps but the little man is coming along well.  I really like the foundation he is getting together, even if there is a hiccup or two along the way.

Deep Thoughts..or maybe not

• The reprogramming of my brain continues.  Swimming with an ankle band is starting to not seem so bad.  Next thing you know I’ll be befriending my captors and taking up arms in their defense.
• I’m excited for some fun non-triathlon activities in the next few weeks.  A trip to Long Beach for an annual beach party, an agility trial in Carmel and BOTH dogs get to run, a slumber party with my little sisters.  No shortage of cool stuff going on!
• Sports massage = ow.  I knew this already but cleaning up my legs after Big Bike Week (and some continued post-Boise work) was excruciating.  I thought flushing my quads out was bad until we hit a tight knot in my calf (cue *weeping and gnashing of teeth*).  For the record, there are only so many times you can repeat “it’s good for me” and grip the edges of the massage table while pain-induced sweat pours down your face.
• On the subject of things that are good for me but hurt like hell…power intervals on the bike.  At one point today, I wondered if I would need Marit’s special bowl.
• Distractions can be useful.  Jenn played music and amused me while she rode alongside me on her patio (she was probably starting to feel quite thankful she doesn’t own a PowerTap based on how I looked after the first few intervals). 
• Hard miles run off the bike…are going to be hard.  When I first saw this workout, my first thought was, “Seriously? Can I do that?”
• I did it. I did wish for the bowl again afterwards though.
• Le Tour has been very exciting to watch this year.  This is the most I’ve ever paid attention to strategy, standings, and each stage, and it is all fascinating me. 
• Good luck to folks racing this weekend!  Rhode Island 70.3, the infamous Death Ride, and more, I’m sure.  Rock it, folks!
• I’m getting really really REALLY excited for Barb’s Race 1/2 Iron in just 3 weeks and 2 days.  All the frustration from Boise is fueling my desire to get out there and spank a race course hard!  With so many friends and even my dad racing on the same course, it will make for an awesome day.  But first…more pain in training :)

To Be 14 Again

All through my childhood, I desperately wanted to be older, to be grownup, to be through with the annoyance of adolescence.   Nowadays, there are times where I wish I’d enjoyed that phase a little bit more.  But today, I also had a reminder of why I’d never want to go back and do it again.

Being a 14-year-old girl = DRAMA!!!!!!  I have 3 sisters all turning 14 at various points this year and 2 brothers turning 10 this month.  For the boys’ birthday party, I joined them all at the cabana pool to celebrate today.  There was endless twittering and texting and plotting and whispering over the presence of a boy that one of the girls has a crush on…missions performed back and forth to scout for information…accusations of disloyalty and the whole 9 yards.  ZOMG, it was all too much (though entertaining as a spectator).

Hanging out with my sister Mimi.  She’s the most like me (except for the part where she’s a superstar swimmer) and wants to do an OW swim race I am planning on in September.

My brothers Jack and Ryan enjoyed playing with the waterproof camera

With my 3 sisters (l-r Mimi, Cai and Grace) – I’m still the tallest!!!

For D and Marit, sheet cake

For $2.99 a day, you can feed an entire starving Vietnamese family. (I have no idea why they mugged for the camera quite like this)

In other important news that came out of partying with the family…due to my incessant badgering of them…

MY FAMILY IS COMING TO IRONMAN!

MY FAMILY IS COMING TO IRONMAN!

MY FAMILY IS COMING TO IRONMAN!

MY FAMILY IS COMING TO IRONMAN!

Yay!!!  Now I just have to book a hotel for them and micromanage every step of the way to ensure that they really do show up.

Holiday Weekend

Some people got nice relaxing holiday weekends…went on vacation, went to the beach, drank a lot of booze, watched their local holiday parades.  Me?  Of course not.  With Friday off work it meant I had even more free time to cram in Very Important Things.  Things like…

Friday Ride/Run:

I set out with Jeff and Nigel for a 3-hour hilly ride in the Cupertino/Saratoga foothills.  We picked Jenn up 1 hour into our ride (she forgot her bike shoes and had to run home for them).  It worked out OK since we took her up one of the steepest hills I know (the back side of Mt Eden, almost as bad as the front side of Hicks Rd but shorter) just after that.  After I rode Jenn back to her car, I used the remaining hour of my workout to ride home (while Jeff hung out with Nigel and then drove home).  I surprised myself sustaining some nice speed on the flats on the way back.  1/2 mi from home, as I was looping around the neighborhood to finish my last 10 minutes of riding, I got a flat and a punctured tire from a giant industrial staple. 

Once home I immediately headed out on a run.   10 minutes to build pace, 10 minutes at a pace that sounded completely insane, 10 minutes easy.  Somehow I held the instructed pace, though I won’t say it didn’t hurt.

Refuel:

Immediately post-brick, refueling needs were at critical mass.  We took the dogs to Willow Street Pizza for lunch and then next door to Willow Glen Frozen Yogurt.  A big hit in our house.

Cup Face

Open Water Swim:

Nigel and I dragged Alex and Jeff to Santa Cruz so that we could do an open water swim.  The Santa Cruz Triathlon Club does great group swims out there and it’s good to have company.  No one seemed to be swimming the wharf this time, so we swam to a moored boat off-shore and then through a series of buoys before coming back to the beach.

I’m a little dot near the ship in this photo (taken from the wharf)

Post-workout recovery with Nigel of course means food and drink.  Or cross-dressing, as the case may be.

Suffice it to say, recovery food AND beverages were consumed.

And if you want some entertaining series…click for larger shots.

Agility Trial:

Max and I managed to squeeze in one day of the Bay Team USDAA trial on Saturday.  He hasn’t trialed since early May in Carson City so I resolved to just have fun with him.  As it turned out he had some great runs (hit all his contacts in Masters Standard, had a nice opening in Masters Gamblers) and only one bobble (slipped and crashed on the broad jump in Steeplechase).  Best yet, on the last run of the day, he qualified in Grand Prix with an awesome fast run.  1 more of those and he’s qualified for Nationals (which conveniently enough are in Arizona one week before Ironman).

Ride. Again:

Sunday brought ANOTHER long ride.  This time we headed to Sonoma County to ride the Vineman course, which we’ll be racing in 4 weeks - Barb’s Race 1/2 IM for me, Vineman Aquabike (1/2 IM distance swim/bike) for Nigel and my dad.  It was the first time my dad and Nigel had ridden the course and I was excited to show them how beautiful it was.  My father hadn’t ridden 50 miles since our metric century back in April, but he did really well today!

Nigel and Jeff in front of one of the many wineries on the route

Sheep!  We saw (lots and lots of) cows, sheep, goats, llamas, emus, donkeys and more on this ride.

Sporting my new Multisport Mastery race kit

Rest stop at the awesome Jimtown Store (baked goods, restrooms, a water spigot for refills, and a bike rack!)

Dad, me, Jeff and Nigel – we look very colorful.  The boys rode all bundled up but I wasn’t cold!

My dad did a great job on the rollers leading up to Chalk Hill Road

Finally cresting the top of Chalk Hill, knowing the miles to go are primarily downhill

Nigel

Me

Jeff (who took the earlier shots and then rode back down)

Dad

Playdate:

On our way up to ride, I dropped Stanley at Beth’s house so he could play with his sister and mother.  While I was riding up what felt like every hill in the county, my puppy was being tired out (and then Beth was nice enough to hose him off and clean him up again for me).  I think the pictures show how much fun he had (credit to Beth for the photos).

Sproing!

Siblings

Beatrix and brother Stanley

Training totals for week 28 (June 29-July 5):
Swim: ~4560 yards
Bike: 116.8 miles
Run: 18.2 miles
Total time: 13 hours

I survived BIG BIKE WEEK but I’m not feeling relieved just yet.  Next week’s training schedule, to be honest, scares the shit out of me.  My swims are ALL drill swims.  THREE of them.  My runs are hard, with pace instructions that make me hurt already.  And my rides are all power-based and guaranteed to be painful.  Someone will be mopping me off the floor by the end of next Sunday.