Thursday, March 27, 2008

Sea Lions, Tigers and Bears.....Oh My

I forgot to mention that over the weekend I had my first 'creature encounter during my swim' dream . . . . . and it wasn't too bad of an experience. It was a sea lion (about 6x bigger than the one in this picture) and it went underneath the swimmer in from of me and threw them up in the air about 20 feet . . . . . then I woke up. :) So no sharks, no jaws movie soundtrack . . . . . just a friendly, large sea lion. :)

Monday, March 24, 2008

Dad Came to Town

This past week has been a whirl and my bad for not providing any new entries. Pops has been visiting for a few days, so we've been going non-stop since his arrival. I've still managed to get my workouts in and everything is feeling great. I ran 8 miles this a.m. The knee's a tad sore post runs but not any worse w/ the gradual increase in mileage. Increasing the mileage has always made it worse, so no complaints from this guy.

I swam on Thursday and Saturday and broke my 500 yard record, which felt great. I also had a great spin class on Saturday. My training camp in San Francisco is the following weekend and we'll be riding the entire bike course at the camp, so this weekend I must get on the bike.

It also seems like my energy level is much higher than normal since I started taking the magic acai juice.

That's the excitement for now.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

I hope you're wearing your green. Yesterday I ran the annual St. Patty's race in Seattle and below are a few snaps from it. Lots of fun.....over 17K people, and the sun even peaked out for the race.

Belly Dancing Spin Class


Over the weekend I was chatt'n w/ my buddy Jame's about my training and he asked how the bike part was going and if I had taken my bike out yet for a ride. Well.....the answer is no and I keep thinking I have plenty of time but in less than three weeks I'll be riding the bike course at the training camp so I best be getting my butt in gear. Biking in the cold and rain isn't my favorite thing to do but it's time to buckle up. So with that said, I avoided the bike (outside) this weekend and decided to do two spinning classes back to back.

In the first class, it was about 10 minutes into the class and no instructor. The guy next to me says 'Carol (the spin instructor) is a friend of mine and she's at Whistler right now and she couldn't fine a substitute teacher'. Great....I finally get motivated to work on the bike portion and no instructor. The dude on the other side of me said 'I have my wife's belly dancing cd in the car that we could spin to'. The gal next to him says 'hell no' and I say "it's definitely better than no music at all', so he runs out, comes back w/ the cd and the next hour we were spinning to ching, ching, ching...belly dancing ching. About mid way through a gal hops off her bike and starts doing a ching, ching, ching next to her bike for a couple of minutes and says she knows how to belly dance. It definitely wasn't your typical spin class.

I then stayed on the bike through the next class (where the instructor did show up), so it was a great workout for me, even though I wasn't on the actual bike outside. Maybe next weekend. :)

Thursday, March 13, 2008

This will get your heart pumping.....

2004 Olympics triathlon silver medalist Bevan Docherty of New Zealand lives up to his motto of "He who wants it most wins!" Here, he sprints from behind to clutch victory from the grasp of compatriot Kris Gemmell at the 2005 New Plymouth ITU World Cup triathlon.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Best Commercial Ever if You're a Triathlete

He also needed to have had someone kicking him in the face, pulling at his feet and another clawing at his face while pulling off his goggles to get the 100% experience of the Human Washing Machine triathlon swim start.

No Sherpa Swim

Well....I decided to not do the four swimmers and a sherpa swim. I think that type of swim would have been more stressful than the actual swim on race day. I would have been under pressure keep up w/ those three (and pulling up their info on some races I could tell they're much faster than me) since that's part of the deal w/ this swim in that all four swimmers have to swim together. For some reason, lots of other swimmers in the water is a bit more comforting that just four. If I could find some type of larger group doing that swim prior, I might be down for that. Or to keep things exciting, probably best if I just wait til race day.

Training:
I had a great run on Saturday. I'm guessing I did about 8.5 miles. Post run wasn't the best. Up until Monday morning, I could feel my heartbeat in my knee (due to the pain) so I'll be going to the doc tomorrow to have it checked out. Arrggghhhh. Two years ago, I had to cut back on the running due to the same type of pain. I'm being optimistic though.

I also did Bikram last night (bbhhuurrfff.....yes, someone did it again) and it kicked my butt but it was exactly what the body needed. Somebody threw up in the class, so kept things exciting.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Four Swimmers and a Sherpa

Alright……guess this is what I get for being a bit to pro-active on the training experiences for the race. I joined Yahoo’s San Francisco tri group, thinking I’d meet other’s doing the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon race. Well I most certainly did meet some others and now three of them are inviting me to do the actual swim with them from Alcatraz to San Francisco on Sunday, May 11th. Yikes oh mighty…….now that freaks me out even more.

We would purchase a ‘U.S. Coast Guard Marine Event Permit” that allows us to cross that channel during the designated time and then hire a kayak sherpa to follow us. I honestly can’t imagine that one……but it would be the perfect solution to calm my nerves a bit between May 11th and June 8th, as I would then have already experienced the true swim. Just trying to think swimming w/ 2,000 people on race day (seems a bit chaotic) or 4 people….which one is less scary. They both seem pretty darn scary to me.

A shot them a note this morning w/ a few more questions:
1) Is the sherpa a lifeguard?
2) Does the sherpa have arm floaties for us (if needed)?
3) Is the kayak a two seater, so I can hop in if freak out?
4) Will the cruise ships and barges be able to see us coming across?

Lets see what they say…...

Found this clip...give's a good feel of what it's like to jump off the boat into the water at Alcatraz.


Latest Training: Swam last night w/ my swim group for an hour and 15 minutes....lost track of the laps but guessing it was around 2,500 yards. Felt great. If knee feels better today, hoping to do a 9-10 mile run today or tomorrow.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

The Joys of Sweaty, Smelly Yoga

If the heat doesn't kill you, then the postures surely will and if neither of those do it, then the sweaty, smelly person next to you certainly will certainly do it. Kidding!.....in all seriousness, I absolutely love Bikram yoga. As part of my training, I added this to the mix in early February making a vow to do it once a week and have stuck with it so far. With the combination of 106 degrees and intense stretches for 90 minutes, I'm typically not the happiest while I'm doing it but I swear it's equivelant to a post marathon high for the next 24 hours afterwards. There are occasions where I'll feel terrible afterwards, but I've been told that's toxin build-ups leaving the body. It also supresses my appetite a bit, which isn't a bad thing....love handles be gone!

Prior to me doing yoga, I always had visions of a really quiet room, deep in a stretch, meditating and then all of a sudden a person rips one. I guess that vision comes from a couple comedies that I've seen. Well....believe it or not.....in all but one of my classes so far, it's happened!!! I can't help but laugh (trying really hard to keep it to myself) while everyone else is serious joe and acts as if they didn't hear a thing. How can you not laugh? bhhurrrpppppppppp

Anyhow, I wanted to share my great experience so far with smelly, sweaty yoga. So for the Seattleites reading this, who are a bit curious, the Sweat Box is where I go and the place is great. The instructor’s are excellent and do not embarrass you if you’re terrible at it and are still learning the positions. They have two locations (Capital Hill and Shoreline) and have a super intro special of unlimited visits for your first week at $20.

I couldn't resist...had to search the tube.....this is hilarious.


Oh yeah....my training: I did a mile swim yesterday and a bit of weights. Knee is still hurting but I'm thinking positive.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

A Few More Swim Camps

I'm here in bed at 6am and trying to get the energy to make it to the pool for at least a 45 minute swim. It's just too freak'n comfy to think about stepping outside of this little slice of heaven. Alright....a few blurbs about the swim camps and I'm on my way.

Adam from the San Francisco Triathlon Club emailed me a couple more camps ideal for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon and even more ideal if you live in in San Francisco. Check it on out if you're interested.

Leslie Thomas of http://www.swim-art.com/ offers a weekly Monday night open water group swim with experienced leaders at Aquatic Park. These are a great way to get use to swimming in the bay water if you're completely new to it. She also often offers longer piloted swims from point-to-point in the bay and may well offer a pre-triathlon Alcatraz swim. Her Monday night group starts on March 17th and they have a kick-off party to which all SF Tri Club members are invited on March 12th at Sports Basement Presidio.

Another local coach is Coach Pedro and he's one of the most experienced Alcatraz swimmers ever. He offers clinics and regular Alcatraz swims throughout the year. You can find more info on his programs at http://www.waterworldswim.com/workouts/default.asp Click on the "alcatraz" link to see details on his upcoming clinics.

Finally, this year SF Tri club will offer a few piloted swims from point to point in the bay. The first one is on June 1. You can find details here: http://www.sftriclub.org/cgi-bin/event.cgi?e=3241

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Yeahhh....I Have Race Support!

My dad called over the weekend and said he'll be able to take a break from farming and fly out from Minnesota to watch the race. That's great news.....thanks Ed!

I kind of have a feeling that he's thinking he'll be perched at Fisherman's Wharf with one of those yummy clam chowder bread bowls in one hand and a Starbuck's honey latte in the other, watching the race go by and then doing touristy things during the interim.

Now I'm thinking...man.....maybe I can leverage him a bit and have him:
1) get up with me at 4am for moral support
2) assist at the start before the boat departs (not sure what he can assist w/...guess more moral support)
3) assist at the shore once I make it in from the swim (to give me a GU)
4) assist at all of the transitions to give me a quick shoulder massage
5) and then at the finish line w/ my bike case.

Just kidding dad, I'll make sure I don't work you too hard.

Monday's Training:
I went to the gym at lunch and worked on chest and triceps and then in the evening I went to what I call 'sweaty, smelly yoga'. There were way too many people in the 7 o'clock class, so after 106 degrees for an hour and a half and being packed like sardines, the room was quite fragrant afterwards. I'll be writing more about this yoga class in the next few weeks to share some of my 'class experiences' since I started doing this in early February.

Picture is of pops and my niece Annie having fun at Christmas.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Walter....My Loyal, Dedicated Running Partner



Yesterday I had a great run. My running buddy joined me as he always does, so I thought it would be appropriate to formally introduce him since he never misses a run and is the most incredible, loyal, non-complaining running partner a person could ask for. He always adjusts to my pace and will only leave my side when a squirrel catches his attention. His name is Walter and that's him on the right posing on his 3rd birthday. I've even added him to the right strip of this blog since he's definitely a part of my training.


I'm ran 9 miles yesterday and everything felt great. The left knee was bit tender, so hoping that doesn't start to cause issues. It's given me problems in the past.


Now Walt.......he did about 6. He took the winter off from running and also gained a few extra pounds, so he's gradually amp'n up the miles again.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

The Shark and Helicopter Incident


I guess I should be talking about my training, but I’m too amused and entertained with all the Alcatraz photos and video clips out there on the www and would rather post those. Sooo with that said, I found this snap over the weekend which gave me a nice little adrenaline burst (even if it’s not real…..or maybe it is……kind of recall hearing about a shark and a helicopter last year). Swimming in the same pool as sharks FREAKS ME OUT…. even if they rarely swim in SFO Bay. And up until recently (guess I’ve heard it so many times) I cringe every time someone says ‘you’re going to be swimming with the Sharks’. And now it’s the whole “don’t be surprised if a 2 ton sea lion comes from under and gives you a big bump, they just think your wet suit is a female sea lion that they’d like to mate.’ Now that wouldn’t freak me out in the least bit…..not at all. POOP! :)

Training today is a run in a bit and hoping to do around 9 miles.

I’m starting to hear from peeps that I need to be thinking of jumping in the Puget Sound or Lake Washington to get a feel for the cold and open water. Not to be a Negative Nancy, but that doesn’t sound too enjoyable.

Stay tuned for that first jump in the water. Maybe I can borrow a buddies video camera so can witness the LOUD 'shreak' at first plunge.