The Big Island - Travel day 1

May 26th 202 - I've been looking forward to this Hawaii trip for a while now and all of a sudden it's here!  I'm so excited.  We're doing this trip for the Hawaii (honu) 70.3 Triathlon and are going to extend a little before and a little after to make it a nice vacation.  Since my memory is terrible and I like to remember what we did on the vacation and where we ate I plan to blog about each day. So here goes...

I'm calling this travel day 1 since a lot of it is in a plane.  Our plan left Ontario at 6:30 AM which is crazy early for me.  So that meant we had to be leaving the house by 5 AM to make sure we got there.  Thank goodness my mom is staying with us to watch the dogs and agreed to drive us to the airport.  That makes it much easier than finding parking and hauling our luggage through the parking lot.  So I got up with time to eat and get all situated before we rolled out at 5 after 5.  The airport was pretty darn busy for a Saturday morning but I guess since it was Memorial Day weekend that would explain it.  It really didn't take us that long to get through the security line even though it looked REALLY long.  Flight 1 from Ontario to Seattle is a blur.  I pretty much slept the whole way which is good.  The guy next to me (I was in the middle) tried to converse a couple times but I'm terrible at airplane small talk.  Truth is I'd really rather not talk to anyone during the flight.  Once we got to Seattle we pretty much walked straight to our next flight where it was boarding.  So I quickly grabbed 2 coffee's and a sandwich for us from Starbucks before we got on.  This flight was I believe 5.5 hours so totally boring!  I ate (too much) and slept and read and listened to my iPod.

Landing in Hawaii is always pretty cool because it just looks so pretty.  The water on our descent was gorgeous and really really blue.  This is the first time we've been to the Big Island so I was trying to take it all in.  Now I know why they call it the Big Island... it really is huge from the air compared to the others.

Once we got off the plane I could immediately feel the heat from the sun.  Our rental car was upgraded to a pickup (with a big cab) because we had to wait a while at the counter so they hooked us up.  So we loaded up and got on the road to head to Volcano Village on the other side of the island from the airport.  We stopped at a fruit stand on the way to get smoothies and a little treat for the road.  YUM.  The smoothies were all real fruit and yummy!  We stopped at a black sand beach to check it out on the way also and got to see some turtles resting on the beach.  <<>>

It was windy out and I do not have care free windy beach hair.  This is what I looked like <<>> not your sexy beach babe :)

Total driving time is probably about 3-3.5 hours to get from the airport to Volcano Village.  So by the time we got there I was tired.  We checked in and relaxed before heading to dinner at the Kiluea Lodge and Restaurant.  The chef is German and so a lot of the dishes have German influence.  I got the Hossenpheffer and Dave got meat loaf.  Both were really good.  Of course we split dessert - bread pudding.  I also got a lilikoi margarita.  YUM.

bed time

California 70.3 re-cap part 3

See part two here

At this point I'm leaving transition to start the run.  I've now taken my bike shorts off and have on my spiffy SkirtSports running skirt so I'm feelin spunky :)  For the first maybe 1/2 - 1 mile or so my feet felt numb.  I think part of it is being in the bike shoes and I think part of it for this race was that it was cool in the morning so my feet were a little chilled.  Before the race my dream goal was to run a 1:45 which is 8 min/mile.  I knew that would be tough so I just decided I'd try my best in this first go and see how close I could get.  I maintained close to 8:10's for a while and found a guy who was running my pace so I hung next to him for a while and finally he chatted me up and told me I was pacing him.  Whoa buddy you are supposed to be pacing me :)  Worked out good except that he was on his second lap and I was just starting my first so I lost him about half way through my run and was on my own.  At this point I was also getting a little fatigued so I know I dropped my pace.  I was just trying to stay in the 8's and use the downhill's as best I could.  The last mile I still felt decent so I was picking it up and ran the last mile sub 8 minute and know I did the last 1/4 mile as fast as I could.  The run is still my comfort zone and where I feel strongest.  I was passing people on the run almost the whole time which is a huge confidence booster and for sure I was passing people on that last half mile and it felt great.  I felt good about my time of  1:49:42 even though it fell short of my goal.

After the race when we were walking through everyone who was post race relaxing a guy said "Hey, I think you were running in front of me for a while; you were pacing me except you totally smoked me at the end".  Um, hell yeah I did!  I mean; that is great I'm glad I could pace you :)

Overall I loved this race.  Part of it is the course and that it is "home turf" for me.  I've got the bug now and want to do another half Ironman for sure.  I'd love to improve my times; my overall fitness and FOR SURE my comfort in the water so I don't have as much anxiety going into it.  I'm looking at the calendar to pick out my next race.  Dave's been asking if I'm ready to sign up for a full Ironman and I'm sure I'm "ready" but not mentally ready just yet.  I need to make sure I can mentally get through a 2.4 mile swim and sit on my bike seat for close to 7 hours.  Other than that I'm totally ready :) So we'll see what the rest of this year holds.

California Ironman 70.3 race recap - part 2

This is part 2 of the recap - see part 1 here

The gun goes off and its time to start swimming.  This is my first swim like this.  The only other triathlon I've done was a surf entry...meaning you ran in from the beach.  This one we're all hanging out in the water and when the gun goes off you swim.  So, I know from talking to Dave this is nothing as far as mass starts go but it still takes a little getting used to.  Basically as soon as you start you are either being swam over or you are swimming over/into someone else.  I had a hard time finding a spot for a little while meaning I was either always hitting someones heels or someone was on me and it was kind of hard to get in a swim groove.  That on top of the fact that I really am still not a very comfortable swimmer made for a little bit of a panic situation.  I just had a really hard time getting my breath and so I stopped a few times to look around and try to find a spot and to just breathe and try to talk to myself and remind myself I could do this.  I did look around and think there is no way I can swim like this for 1.2 miles.  Then I'd say "stop it Kandis; you trained; you can do this...keep swimming!" so then I'd put my head back down and swim.  I spent probably the first 1/4 of the swim in panic mode.  This includes fast breathing, pulling my head out of the water a lot, swallowing water, wanting to quit etc . There was finally a point at which I got in a rhythm and just swam.  This felt amazing to me.  Like a mini breakthrough.  I was finally just swimming and not stopping to freak out.  LOVE!  I am sure I was not swimming fast but the point is I was consistently swimming.  At this point I knew I was good to go and I could make it.  I have to mention that at this point I was swum over by at least the wave behind me if not 2 waves behind me but no matter... I was still swimming :)  After we rounded the turnaround buoy it got a little choppy but at this point I was settled in so it was ok.  I pulled my head fully out a few times to try to get a good sighting on the buoy's but was doing good with breathing.  I knew now I only had 1/2 mile to go.  I was all good.  It wasn't until the last probably 1/4 of the swim that I finally thought.. um HELLO this is a race why don't you start RACING.  Which for my swim is kind of a misnomer but I tried to give it all I could for that last bit and it was great.  Towards the very end I started to get some calf cramps.  Like totally seizing up cramps where it just felt like a weight but I wasn't too worried because I could stretch my foot and I knew I was almost done.  I was so excited I had made it!  The end got a little congested again as everyone is turning right to exit out of the swim ramp and so I did some attempt at swimming but did a lot of heads up doggy paddling trying to find room.  Made it to the ramp and was SO relieved.  My legs felt a little tight but I got out and started jogging up the ramp.  Swim = 49:02. 

Ok; T1 was SLOW.  I'm not talking like an extra minute or so slow I'm talking a whole 12 minutes of transitioning.  This is ridiculous and I'm not even sure what the hell I could have been doing for 12 minutes in there.  <>.  I know I took a little time to throw some fresh water on my face and under my arms to get the salt off and so my arms wouldn't chafe with salt later on.  I think I could skip this next time.  I also put on sleeves for riding because it was cool out and since my arms were wet it was very hard to get them on.  I also put some sunscreen on my face but this was after I put my sunglasses on so I smudged them so this meant I had to clean them off with the little lens wipe I had set out in my transition area in case this happened :)  You'd think I was just going out for a nice slow Sunday ride or something.  I also was a little in a daze still from the swim and I got sort of caught up listening to another girl talk to her friends while she was transitioning and I'm not sure why but I think I might have been staring at her.  I am absolutely sure this looked very creepy.  I have no idea why I was so involved in her transition.  Again...I was in a daze :)


I then finally started to jog out of transition with my bike which was hard with my bike shoes on so I walked.  Once I got on the bike and started riding I noticed my butt area where it connected to my leg muscles felt sore/tight in the beginning but it loosened.  It felt good to be on the bike at this point.  I almost immediately started eating which is noticeable in my race photos as it looks like I'm always cleaning my teeth.  Nice!  I think I was rewarding myself for surviving the swim and wanting to get some nutrition in early.  I am so glad I packed a few Picky Bars cut up in my little bento box because it was great to have something to chew and not just eat gels and gu's for the whole ride.  It just gave me something to look forward to.  I know a lot of more competitive racers just do blocks or gu or gels mixed in their water bottles but I have to say I loved having a little solid nutrition.  I felt good on the bike and was just counting down the miles.  Dave had taped a pace chart on my bike so I could see how I was against my loose goal.  It really motivated me when I realized I was ahead of pace.  So I just kept telling myself to keep pushing.  I have to say I really loved the bike on this race.  There were some hills but nothing too crazy.  Just one "major" hill that definitely looks like a beast when you are approaching but is do-able.
 
You do see a lot of people walking their bikes up this hill which just looks painful to me because then it takes you soooo long to get up it.  The hill looks huge coming up to it and definitely is a challenge but once you are on it you just commit.  I was lamenting the pain of the hill with fellow riders as I'd ride past them :)  Notice that...when I'd ride PAST them.  Yup I passed a few people on this hill.  I was dying to use some version of the phrase "Let's make this hill our bitch" or "we totally made that hill our bitch".  For some reason that was rolling around in my head and I was seriously looking around for someone to share this gem with but I wasn't sure who any of these people were and I figured I'd just look like a crazy. 

This reminds me.  I asked Dave if he talks to himself in his head (or out loud) during the bike portion and he said yeah sometimes and I can't remember the example he gave but it was literally like 1 time he'd talk to himself.  I am almost constantly thinking of a joke, trying to find someone to say something funny to.. talking out loud to myself.. singing a song in my head (or out loud).  It's like this constant show in my head.  I'm kind of a dork on the bike.  At one point out-loud I said "it smells like horses" but I said it unintentionally with a Temple Grandin accent (if you haven't see that movie on HBO its definitely worth it).  I made myself laugh out loud when I heard the way I said it.

At the end of the bike I didn't feel too spent but was definitely ready to be done.  My neck still gets really sore so I need to figure out if that is a positioning thing or just me.  Finished the bike in 3:30:30. 

It was a great feeling to bike back into town and roll into transition with all the spectators and at this point you also rode right next to the run course so I could see other people out there running.  In fact on my way in I saw Dave's brother running so I yelled out to him.  This transition was still slow but not as bad as my first one!  Got all my stuff on and it almost felt too easy.  Like I was forgetting something.  I didn't really have much to do so I took off for the run on my lead feet. 

to be continued.........

2012 Oceanside 70.3 - my first half Ironman

-LONG recap from California Ironman 70.3 back in April.-

I did it!  I signed up for; trained and successfully completed my first 1/2 iron distance triathlon.  It was great!  I had so many concerns, nerves and doubts approaching the day of the race but it turned out better than I thought it would.  I actually really really enjoyed it.  The swim is still my mental nemesis but that is totally on me to fix and within my realm of possibilities to make it more comfortable.

I'll start from the morning.  We woke up super early to ensure we got time to get things going and organized and get out the door.  We had 3 other triathlon participants staying with us at the house so it was a lot of triathlon 'stuff' around.  Once we got our bellies full and made sure our bags were all packed appropriately and our bikes were pumped up we loaded our 2 cars and headed to the start.

 (from day before dropping off run gear)

This year they changed the race so that your T1 and T2 (transition from swim to bike and then bike to run) were in 2 different places.  I liked how it worked actually.  It seemed to give you a decent amount of space to have your gear.  The only thing that was a little tricky was that T2 was where you were to go first to park and either drop off your run gear or check on it if you dropped off the day before (which we had) .... then you had to ride your bike with your bike gear bag and your wetsuit and swim gear in your morning bag.  Me riding in the semi-dark with 2 bags and a ton of other people walking / riding their way to the start area made it a little stressful.  I was SURE I was going to crash because I was trying to figure out how to hold these 2 bags while holding my handlebars.  Somehow I made it safely with no crashes. 

I could totally feel the energy in the air and was starting to get so excited!  I've only spectated this event before but always fall in love with the energy in the morning and on race morning for me it felt even more palpable.  So once I made it to T2; Dave and I parted ways for a bit so we could each go setup.  I found my bike rack and had plenty of space.  I chatted a bit with other ladies in my area and was feeling better because there was a mix of people just as nervous (if not more) than I plus another handful of those more experienced trying to tell us it was going to be awesome. 

I made sure my bike gear was all laid out the way I wanted and my snack box was loaded and then kinda mulled around a bit because I didn't have much to do.  I finally decided to get into the bottom part of my wetsuit and then go check on the boys who happened to all be in the same area.  This part was weird for me because I felt like I should be doing something but really I was just in waiting mode.  Dave and his brother and friend started about 20 minutes before me so I made sure I had my morning clothes bag to drop off on my way out of transition and we headed down towards the start area.  I loved that I had a 20 minute delay behind them because that way I could spend a little time at the port-o-potties ;)  After that it was time for me to fully dress and get in line. 

This part was a tad confusing for me and probably mostly because I wasn't really looking hard or paying attention to time but the start was in waves and my wave had pink caps but the line to the swim start was just a long line and you kinda had to look ahead and shimmy your way until you seemed to be surrounded by your color caps.  Luckily I seemed to do that fairly easy and was just now waiting and we slowly walked like a herd of sheep down towards the water.  I was getting anxious and also my feet were starting to hurt because the walkway down to the water was not carpeted and seemed to be kind of rocky.  I think it helped to take my mind off the swim though :)  We finally made it to the ramp where the guy handling the waves was separating everyone.  I think each wave had maybe 3 minutes between them..  So as soon as the wave ahead of you got the gun you were allowed into the water to swim to the start 'line' where the people sitting on surf boards was sort of holding everyone back until the gun goes off.  This was my chance to get my arms moving a bit on the way to the start line and try to loosen up.  Just enough time but not too much that I started to stress.  At this point I knew it was too late to turn back.  Then the gun goes off!!!

To be continued.........

An athletic kind of week

I still need to catch up on 2011 and layout the plans for the rest of the year and what our ideas/goals are going into 2012.. they are always evolving so we'll get to that.

First though I wanted to write a post on feeling like an athlete.  I always struggle with this.  I didn't play sports growing up or in high school or college so I feel like I'm playing catch-up and always doubting in my head that I'm really an athlete.  I had a good week though which boosted my confidence and made me feel "athletic".  I've got my first triathlon coming up this next weekend in Encinitas.  Its a Sprint distance so its the shortest distance which is a good way to start.  What maybe isn't the best way to start is that its a 'surf entry' triathlon.  Meaning the swim is in the ocean and its not in a bay or harbor.. you enter directly into the surf off the coast.  In my head when I heard this I thought.. sure ok no big deal.  I just go into the waves....we'll work it out.   So last week Dave thought it would be good for me to practice some surf entry.  I suddenly started getting nervous; the day was upon us.  On the drive over to the beach I literally felt nauseous.  Hmm..maybe I'm a little nervous.  We got there and the surf looked big to me plus I had all this anxiety built up.

Ok ok.. it wasn't this big!

After the struggle to put on my sausage casing - aka my wetsuit - we waddled down into the water and this is when I really started freaking out.  I had one of those uncontrollable fear moments.  The one where you can try to talk to yourself in your head and you know its going to be OK but you just can't get over that fear.  I'm not a great swimmer... I am NOT comfortable in the ocean and the waves freak me out.  Yeah.. not a good combo.  We waded out there and finally made our attempt through the waves to get past the break.  This took longer that I had expected because I kept stopping to freak out a bit.  Then Dave would try to calm me and I'd tune him out because all his words could not break through my panic.  The waves were not that big but they were big enough and I was anxious and by the time I got past the waves I was exhausted and freaked out that I'd still have to swim once I actually broke the waves.  I had a total meltdown!  Picture tears here and irrational panic.  At that point I told Dave I was NOT doing the triathlon.. I didn't have to... I didn't want to... I was over it.  I felt bad, like I had failed him, failed myself and felt like a big ol baby.  We tried one more time which wasn't a whole lot better then left to head home while I cried some more about how I felt like I failed and it sucked and I wanted to be good at it..blah blah blah.  It really felt like a failure of a day.

The next day I went on a bike ride that was somewhere around 45-50 miles with a friend of mine (I only have an estimate because my bike computer died...oops) and then later that day went on an 8 mile run.  That day to me felt like a win.  I had a great ride with a good friend and I went on a run afterward!  I have a hard time convincing myself to run after a ride especially because riding is still new to me so to ride 45-50 miles is a workout but on that day I knew (according to my marathon plan) that I needed to run 8 miles at marathon pace!  So I sucked it up and got out the door.  This felt like a huge accomplishment to me and really upped my spirits after the previous days debacle.

The following day (Friday) we decided to hit the coast one more time for a surf entry redemption.  The waves were calmer and it seemed like there were a decent number of people going out to do surf entry on this day which totally added to my confidence.  Just seeing other people out there made me more comfortable for some reason...also, a lot of them looked like they were trying to get comfortable with swimming past the waves too so I wasn't alone in my newbie-ness.  This day ended up being a total win!  I think because I had done it once before and because the waves were smaller I just got out there and did it.  I made it past the break and wasn't as exhausted and not nearly as scared... it was kind of fun!  So we went back in and did it 2 more times for a total of 3 wave entries with NO TEARS.  Huge turn around.  I felt soooooooo much better and am glad I gave it another shot.  So we headed to breakfast :)  It doesn't hurt to have the reward of  a yummy breakfast dangling in front of you to make you perform!

On top of surf entry in the morning we headed to La Jolla Cove that afternoon to just do some ocean swimming.  The cove is semi-protected so it doesn't get a lot of wave action so this was more about swimming.  I did it and felt ok about it.  I swam a total of 0.5 miles and Dave went out again to make his a total of 1 mile.  I still am not completely comfortable swimming in my wetsuit but I think that just takes some getting used to.  It just feels a little restrictive on my neck and arms but like I said I think I just need to work into it.  So .. long story short I WON!!!  and I'm still doing the triathlon.  Now I just need to cross my fingers and hope the surf isn't huge that morning.  That is on top of all the other anxieties I've got about the race and performance...and my muffin top :)

It's been a while... I get easily distracted

I can't believe its been since September that I updated the blog.  I really get gung ho about stuff and then somehow I lost my focus.  I looked at my last post of the Louisville Ironman and re-lived it for a moment which was nice.  I think part of the reason I haven't been on lately is I'm still not sure what I'm really looking to get out of the blog... do I want to blog about fitness, food, travel, everyday musings?  I'm not sure so I get overwhelmed by ideas and don't do any of them!  So let's try this again and I'll just blog about whatever I want to each day and see where it heads.. keep with me as I sort this out and eventually get this organized :)

So I last left off after the Louisville Ironman.  Let me catch you up on what's happened since then.

Nephew in front of his room
on the base.

My nephew joined the Marines which is crazy.. seems like he's still my little nephew but all of a sudden he's all grown up and in the Marines.. that is no joke.  So he graduated boot camp and is now in his 'job training'.  No idea where he is going to end up working yet but we'll just wait and see.

Dave and I went back to Tucson for an anniversary trip - planned by mua!  Tucson is where we met and spent our first few dating years.  Lots of fun memories back there so it was nice to visit.





We went to New York for the first time for both of us.  I LOVED Central Park.  What an amazing park to have in the middle of a big city like that.  We loved going for runs there and exploring.  Dave ran the NY Marathon; I sadly did not (entry is by lottery and I didn't get picked.. my overachiever husband however qualified to run it).  We really enjoyed the NY trip.  It almost seemed to me like there was too much to see and it was hard to narrow it down.

Next thing we did was run the Las Vegas marathon and I PR'd!  Yeah me!  Remember back when I said I was going to do a training program to beat 4:30.. well somewhere around there I decided to try to beat 4 hours and I did it!  My time was 3:58:44... so much better than I thought I was capable of.  Funny what you can do if you start actually believing it and working towards it.  The marathon was good adn I felt pretty good the whole time.  I had to tell my bladder to shut up a few times but it made it the whole way without bursting so that is a good thing.  So now I might be toying with the idea of qualifying for Boston.  I'd have to shave an extra 13 minutes off...which means 30 seconds per mile faster but I think I could do it if I really worked at it.  I don't like a lot of pressure so I think that is why I'm not yet committing to the idea but I really want to do it sometime and why not now?

That brings us to the end of 2010.  I think I need to re-visit my goals from last year and bring them up to current.  I left off talking about them on #5.. which I think I accomplished but need to keep pushing especially if I want to qualify for Boston. 

5. Ramp up the cardio / workouts in general....no more excuses, yes you can do it!!!

6. Do more adventurous things with Dave; maybe an international trip in the next few years - putting this off till maybe 2012??

7. Spend more time with my sisters and girlfriends; plan better and make trips - need to get better...never seems like enough time.

8. Cook more dinners - Definitely accomplished this.

9. Use local fresh ingredients more often - We are doing much better on this one and I feel pretty good about it.. want to keep working towards local/organic/fresh more often. 
10. Pick an area of life or home to "green" and do it. - I've started this with my cleaning supplies and am totally happy with them so far.  I can't get myself to throw stuff away until I've used it so I'm still using up some of the older stuff but as I get rid of it I'm trying to pick more environmentally friendly options.  One I really love is making our own air freshener with essential oils instead of using canned air freshener.
11. Explore hobbies / careers / passions; find your drive! - Always working on this one... no big breakthrough yet.
12. Journal or write 1x/week at least. - Um, FAIL!
13. Organize something...nail down an idea and do it - pictures, organize frames, albums, display!.. or kitchen or linen cabinets... or office/game closet - I've tackled a few things but need to keep working on it.. I still need to do so much organizing.  I picture my house in my head and its perfectly organized and neat.. I'm just having trouble figuring out how to get there.  Honestly.. I don't know how working moms do it..I just have 2 dogs and 1 husband and it still seems challenging!

The Louisville Ironman

So Dave made it through Sunday and came out the other side as an Ironman.  He was amazing and I'm so proud of him!  It was a long hot day even for us spectators..-side note: I believe all Ironman competitors should have to spend a day spectating someone else.  I don't think you can truly understand how long of a day it is on the spectating side until you do it.  Now, I know this sounds stupid considering Dave was actually racing for 12 hours so his day was harder..but still I didn't train for months to spectate nor do I get to call myself an Ironman now that I spent 12 hours watching the race.. so cut me a little slack.. now back to the post -   It was nice to have my sister Nancy and niece Brittney drive down and spectate with me since it was such a long day.  It was really hot and humid which made the run tough but he made it through in about 12 and a half hours.  A total of 140.6 miles (swim+bike+run).  It was really neat to see it all unfold.  I think they said about 2500 people did it and not sure how many finished it but I know there were a few that didn't.  The day started at about 4:30 when our alarms went off.. ugh.  Dave and I got up and tried to get moving.  I got him some hot tea and water to start the day while he had some food and tried to get his body moving.  We changed and eventually made it out of the hotel about 5:30 to head down to transition so he could make sure his bike tires were all pumped and all his stuff looked ready.  After he got all that settled we walked from transition to the swim start which was about a mile from transition.  We probably got there about 6:20 and he got body marked (marked with a sharpie with his race number and age) and then we got in line. 

 There was already a line forming for the swim start because it was a narrow start - just a boat dock on 2 sides where they tried to have about 3 people jump off at a time.. so you had to queue up.  They tried to do it 2-3 at a time at about a 2 second interval but with that many people it becomes kind of a "lets just do this as fast but as organized as possible".  The line at 6:20 was already fairly long and I'd say he was maybe about 1/2 way back from the beginning of it.  I stood with him till about 6:40 and Nancy and Brittney arrived.  I then took his bag of morning clothes and we tried to grab a spectating spot.  This was probably the most clustered part of the day.  I had not acclimatized myself to spectating yet (considering it was not quite 7am) so that in conjunction with the fact that 2500 participants family members were all trying to see the start which was at the bottom of a dock with limited viewing probably made it my least favorite viewing part of the day.  Lots of people trying to squeeze into a tiny space and some with backpacks as large as a small child attached to their back.  Good luck squeezing into the crowd with that!  Although it was super crowded it was exciting to see them run down and jump off the dock to start their long adventure.  

 After watching about 2/3 of the people jump in and having no idea whether I had seen Dave or not (I'm going to buy him a hot pink speedo with my name embroidered on the butt) we left the dock and Nancy went for a run while Brittney and I tried to make our way back to the hotel to drop off the bag of clothes Dave had given me.  Of course the hotel is near transition which is the same direction EVERYONE else is walking so the walk took a little while.  We finally got to the hotel; dropped off the bag; checked in on-line for our flight the next morning; grabbed a snack and headed back into transition to see them run out of the water to change and get ready for the bike.  Brittney and I got a great viewing spot of them running across this little bridge towards the transition area and got there with probably 10 minutes to spare before Dave came running out.  Just enough time to get settled and actually have the camera out.  See that is him running across.

Prior to this.. I had been looking at the time-line of events and wondering how we'd fill all our spare time during the day while spectating.  Somehow this spare time never really seemed to make itself present.. it was taken up with jockeying for viewing position; waiting in line for shuttles and searching for hydration .. more on these later.  Anyways.. after we saw him run by and we snapped a picture we caught up with Nancy who snagged a spot at the end of the bike tunnel (bikers leaving transition and starting the ride) while Brittney and I were at the beginning.  Somehow between us coordinating location, trying to take a picture and who knows what; we totally missed Dave ride out of transition and after about 30 minutes of standing there realized we had missed him.  I figured if he hadn't rode out yet, then he had had some kind of major issue in transition.  Turns out it only took him 8:42 to change and leave the area.  Nancy and Brittney would have a hard time recognizing him as they all seem to look the same on the bike...I have little excuse but I still missed him.  




Random guy; not Dave:)



After we realized we failed, we walked back to the hotel to shower and get ready to make our way to the shuttle line for bike route viewing.  From transition the bikes ride out of town towards a little community called La Grange, about 25 miles away.. do some loops or something out that way; pass through La Grange twice (40 and 70 miles) and then head back into town to complete their 112 miles of bike.  Dave said he was fine with us missing one or both viewing opportunities of him on the bike in La Grange since it'd be a quick 2 second encounter..but I wanted to at least see him once.  I figured with missing one loop and just seeing one we'd have time to workout and shower and do all kinds of things.  This again turns out to be false.  We skipped working out (except for Nancy who slipped in a run while he was swimming) we only had time to get ready and walk to the transition area to catch the shuttle to La Grange.  The town is about 20-25 miles away and we weren't sure about parking so we opted for the shuttle instead of driving.  Not sure what the right answer really was but the shuttle seemed more convenient...of course it also seemed more convenient to the friends and family of 2500 other Ironman participants.  So we waited in a long line... I'm guessing 30 minutes.. to board the shuttle.  Finally boarding and driving we got there probably about 45 minutes before we saw him whiz by on his bike.  Yay, we actually saw him...now I knew he was still out there :)  It was REALLY hot in the section we saw him ride by.  The sun was beating down and I could feel sweat coming from every pore on my body.  Spectating is not a glamorous job!  After we caught him whiz by we headed to the main street in La Grange to grab a bite to eat.  Eh.. it was just a local deli that wasn't anything special and I could have done without it...but it was food.  That plus the 2 giant iced teas I guzzled made it bearable to head back out into the heat and to stand again in another long line to get the shuttle back to the transition area.  Once again.. we thought we'd have TONS of time before we had to see him on the run but this again isn't the case because everyone else is trying to take the shuttle back.  

We got back in plenty of time though and walked along the run course towards the spot they would run by 3 times.  Walking the run course ensured we wouldn't miss him because he'd have to run by us.  We decided on our way to previously designated viewing spot to stop and see Dave the first time through this tunnel which was conveniently completely sheltered from the sun :)  After maybe 30 minutes he ran by looking good but hot (and not in a good way).  So now we'd seen him once and it was probably only mile 2 for him and the next time we'd see him was mile 14 so we did have a little time to kill which was good because we were very thirsty.  On our way towards our next viewing opportunity we stopped at McDonald's for large beverages to help with the heat.  We got a chance to use the restroom there also and wash our hands after the homeless lady just got done washing her feet in the same sink...ooh goody.  Beverages in hand we walked towards the corner where we could see him run by 2 more times.  We grabbed a spot on the sidewalk out of the sun to enjoy the viewing.  This is where we started getting a little bit concerned because it seemed to be taking a while for him to pass and we thought we were seeing people we had seen when he was running earlier.  This is apparently the time in the run where he had to walk a teeny bit to make sure he could cool himself off.  We did finally see him and he looked really perked up.  Yay.. he was alive! 

He looks like a trucker because he had ice
stuck under his hat because it was SO hot.



So then we quickly crossed the street to catch him one last time in about 5 minutes (since it was only a .5 mile loop around the block back to the same viewing spot).  Now he only had about 12 miles left until the finish!!  Yippee!!  So we walked ourselves to the finish area which was really exciting with music and tons of people and the live announcer calling everyone's names.  At this point we did have a bit of time to kill so we hit the borders books but only had time to use their restroom before they were closing.  So we had to find another spot to hang and yay for me it happened to be a coffee house at the beginning of the finish chute and I hydrated with a long awaited iced coffee and a little nourishment in the form of a scone (it did have apricots and cherries in it so I'm sure it was healthy).  We probably sat in that cafe for about 30-45 minutes until we saw that his results for 20 mile mark had come up online.

  Knowing he had only about 6 miles to go we went outside to try to grab our spot on the finish area for best viewing and picture potential.  Nancy grabbed a great spot with no people blocking the view so I could catch a pic of him crossing through the finish area.  The only problem was I couldn't see down the path to tell when he was coming in time to get my camera ready.  So Nancy and Brittney staged themselves at the beginning of the finish area and our plan was in place.  They would spot him and Nancy would call my phone.  As soon as I saw it ringing I knew I had to turn on my camera and start recording (I did a video).  This worked out perfectly.  I was getting anxious waiting and I probably stood there a good 30 minutes but it was neat to see everyone crossing and I thought I might even tear up when a few people got emotional but for the good of the Reiley cheering squad I held it together.  Bryan (Dave's riding/running buddy) texted me saying "1 mile to go.. or did he finish?" meaning his 25 mile checkpoint came up on the computer and he was really close.  Yay.  Then my phone was ringing and it was Nancy.  Video started and there he went running by!  Yippee.  I couldn't believe it was over.  I ran down to walk along the finishers area as they escorted him through and out the back.  He was in great spirits unlike some of the other people I saw run through that literally looked like walking dead.  Some of them looked SO dazed and confused like dead souls almost.  Really creepy.  Luckily I did not have to carry Dave back to our hotel.  He felt good and looked good so we all started our walk back.  

 

We left Dave to shower while the 3 of us took his bike ticket back to transition to pick up his gear bags and bike so I could then walk his bike over to the bike shipping area for them to get it back to Encinitas.  I get to the transition area and only 1 person with the bike claim ticket is allowed in so I head in and Brittney and Nancy wait for me at the entrance.  I walk to the end.. get his gear bags.. then walk through the maze of bikes to his slot to grab his bike and head out.  I get there.. #1817 and its empty.  NO BIKE.  Making sure I'm not reading the numbers wrong I look around and make sure I'm actually at 1817.. yes I am and no there is no bike.  So I begin looking up and down that isle as maybe it got racked a few spaces off.  Nope... Ok, lets check 1617 because that looks similar.. no.. Ok, how about 1718.. no.  Ok, at this point I call Dave to ask him if HE racked his bike or if  he had handed it off to the volunteers for them to rack them.  He tells me the volunteers rack them, so I can't blame him for misplacing it :)  I find a volunteer walking through there and tell him I can't find the bike.  He says, "I'm looking for about 5 other #s right now but if you give me yours I'll start looking for it when I'm done"  I said "Can you let my sister and niece in to help me look so this goes faster?" and appropriately..he says no for security reasons which is totally understandable but as I start to internally freak out I said "This is going to take me for f*ing ever to find the bike".  Thankfully he is surprisingly calm and says don't worry its in here somewhere ..if he gave it to a volunteer it was just mis-racked.  He then writes my # on his arm with a sharpie along with the 5 other numbers he has written on his arm.  Ok.  So I start wandering around looking at bikes.  Dave calls and reminds me his has a white seat which makes a little easier to narrow down.  Another volunteer walks by and I tell him my plight and he begins looking also until he says he needs to use the restroom but will look as soon as he gets back.. ok sure.  So I start methodically going row by row looking for white seats.  Nothing so far.  The original volunteer finally yells out from across the sea of bikes that he found it.  It was racked at #817.  Phew!  Finally I can leave the bike area and drop the bike off to be shipped back home.  It was now 8:30 pm and the bike HAD to be dropped off by 10pm so I did have a buffer but I preferred not to use too much of it.  

 

This is the sea of bikes

Never ending gear bags!!

We met Dave all showered and clean back at the hotel and went out for pizza.  We all ate like Ironmen that night but only one of us truly earned it :)

Traveling to Louisville for the Ironman!

We've been here in Louisville since Wednesday and I don't have nearly enough pictures..I need to be better about that.  I have a great digital camera but somehow forget to pull it out when I'm traveling which isn't good for me because my memory is horrible so if I don't have a picture of it I'm afraid I won't remember it.  We arrived Wednesday afternoon about 5pm.  So by the time we got our car and to the hotel we relaxed and then just changed and went to dinner.  The flight(s) were easy which was nice.  1 plane change isn't bad and although I dislike long flights its a little bit nice to just get settled and be done with it.  It allows me to get my snacks all out and accessible. 

(This picture is missing the sliced apple and Justin's honey peanut butter that I had already eaten.)

By the time we got to Louisville and got the car and checked in, it was time for dinner.  Dinner was great.  Neat local place called 732 Social that does a lot of local ingredients.  Dave had a beer, I had a glass of wine.  We split some brussels sprouts that were 'candied' with walnuts (yummy).  Then Dave had Steak au poivre served with crispy potato strings and I had scallops with cauliflower in a green lentil broth.  We split potatoes au gratin on the side and for dessert we had beignets and ice cream ;)  You can see this Louisville update will be big on the food!  It was interesting to look at their bar because typically in California the bar back is heavy on flavored and plain vodka's.  This place only had 3 and I couldn't even see them.  The rest was whiskey, rye, bourbon and other bitters and liquors.  I guess they specialize in 'original' cocktails...things they used to make when cocktails first became big.  I still plan to get a mint julep sometime while we're out here.  Anyways, we slept in a lot the next morning (Thursday) then got up and drove to Whole Foods to check it out and get some snacks.  We got lunch while we were there...nothing really worth detailing other than they were soups and salads/sandwiches.  Then we headed to the Ironman expo to check Dave in and pick up his race #'s etc.  It wasn't very crowded at all so I'm glad we went Thursday because I'm sure Friday and Saturday were much more crowded.  Dave and I were talking about the type of people we see at these different events.  This Ironman crowd is different from the marathon crowd which is different from the ultra-running crowd.  While we're out and about we are always spotting other ironman.. and saying I bet he/she is doing the race (usually this person has extremely fit legs and is sporting some kind of sports apparel...the men are especially big on visors).  They are all starting to look the same to me and they aren't even geared up in their kits yet... once they are on the bike I'm sure I'll have trouble spotting Dave.  This may result is many pictures of other random cyclists ;)  I'm usually better at spotting him on the run because I can pinpoint his gait.  Anyways, after we got the stuff we headed over to make sure his bike had made it from the shipping company and it had.  So we got to see the bike and get his pedals re-attached (they make you take them off for shipping) and then we left it with those people so we didn't have to lug it back to the room and store it here.  Then we went on a run and after cleaning up headed out for another awesome dinner.  Here is where it gets detailed.  We split a salad that had arugula, blackberries, plums, peaches and a basil vinaigrette (we got the feta on the side because the hubby doesn't like feta).  It all went together well.  Then we split a black bean cake which was kind of crispy and had seared scallops on top with some kind of chile sauce.. yum yum.  Now on to dinner.  I had the grilled bison tenderloins in a tomatillo-guajillo chile sauce, served with grits and local veggies.  Dave had the cochinita pibil - oven roasted pork in a deep-red achiote sauce, topped with pickled onions, lima beans and a corn cake.  They were both SO good.  My bison was really really tender and the sauce on Dave's pork was amaze!  Of course these entrees were followed by dessert .. 2 of them to be exact.  The banana churro served with banana ice cream and the bread pudding with chocolate/cayenne ice cream and 2 coffees :)  Phew.  We are full now. 

 

Another marathon! and Goal #5

It's happened.  Somehow each time I do a marathon I think that is going to be it.. and then I find myself signing up for another one.  I am not sure I would have signed up for this next marathon if it weren't for the encouragement of my husband.  We're both going to do the Las Vegas marathon in December.  They also have a 1/2 which is what I was gunning for but was swayed to do the marathon.  I have done 5 marathons and I think what keeps me coming back is that my time has been getting better each marathon I run so in my head I'm always wondering if I could do better next time.  My very first full marathon was the LA marathon back in 2008.  I did the training plan but about 3/4 of the way through I started having knee trouble.  Since I was new to this distance I didn't really know what it was.  Turns out I needed to add a lot more stretching into my routine.  It wasn't my knee but was my IT Band and was pulling on my knee and causing a lot of discomfort.  So, that marathon I walked a lot due to the knee pain.  So I did it again the next year and shaved 45 minutes off my time.  That just fueled the internal competition.  I've done 3 marathons since then and each gets better.  This last one was the Big Sur marathon which is hilly and its been said is not a marathon to get a PR on.  Well, I got a PR.  During this particular run I followed a pace group which helped me A LOT.  What also helped me was having a goal and running to that goal from start to finish.  Before, I would just start running at what felt comfortable... thinking to myself that I was going to poop out later on in the run anyways so why not go as fast as I can in the beginning.  I know.. I'd heard that was a bad idea but was sure that for me it would work.  It didn't.  I'd end up walking a lot towards the end because what pace felt good in the beginning to run 10 miles was not so sustainable come 20 miles.  For Big Sur I started slower and was able to maintain it and be more consistent.  So, for Las Vegas my goal is to join a pace group and maintain a steady pace to bring me in at just under 4:30.  That is the goal.  Now the training begins!

Training for me is the hardest part because its about being consistent and dedicated to a plan without excuses which I seem to be good at :)  Assuming my body holds up and I have no injuries there is really no reason I can't do it.  I'm actually excited for this plan because it'll give me focus on my running which I haven't had for a while.  So 4:30 PR here I come!

Now, back to my goal list.  We're on to #5 now which was "Ramp up the cardio / workouts in general....no more excuses, yes you can do it!!"  Ok.. what timing.  I guess this marathon training plan will prove whether I can ditch the excuses.  I feel like I've been more serious and intense with all my cardio but I think this marathon plan and my goal of under 4:30 will make me push myself and I'm looking forward to it.  Bring it on!

Body Image and Goal #4

I think I have a pretty decent body image.  In general I like what I was given.. I think I've got a good structure to work with :)  What I do with it is my decision, right?  So, I actually can admire pieces of me but I do have my insecurities and 'trouble spots' that bother me.  What really gets me is how I can swing one day from literally standing in my underwear in front of the mirror and flexing and posing and thinking ... yeah baby you look hot.  To literally that night getting dressed for bed and going.. oh my god my thighs are huge, when did my butt-thigh (also known as saddlebag) get so jiggly.  Its ridiculous how either a mood, or what I ate that day or what I did or didn't do for exercise or my outfit can really change how I'm feeling at that moment about my various parts.  I think part of that can sometimes be hormonal but then again maybe I'm just reaching for an answer.  It usually ends up balancing itself out again though and I feel pretty satisfied.  I really feel better when I get in a good workout that makes me sweat or one where I was lifting weights and noticing my muscles improving in their strength or visibility.

Do you fluctuate in your 'feelings' about your body?

Today was a 6 mile run with my husband and nephew who is in town.  It was a little hot so I felt like I was dragging on the way out but on the way back I felt a little better which is the mental "I'm goin home!" feeling I get.  I recently got a new Garmin 110 which I'm SO excited about because its much much smaller than my old forerunner 201 which is huge on my wrist.  Plus, this new one comes with a heart rate monitor which is great because I have never worn one so I'm really enjoying watching my heart rate throughout a run and seeing what it does.  I haven't downloaded the software yet but as soon as I do I'll be analyzing my runs.  It can only help, right?  Just to give you an idea of the 2 Garmins.. Check out these pictures..

My nephew kept up with Dave which was really impressive since this 6 miles is the longest he's ever run.  Very cool.  It does help that he is only 18 :)




So, back to my goal list.  Goal #4 was add more strength training which so far is the first one I've done really good at.  I do at least 1-2 strength sessions a week now which I'm really excited about.  I forgot how much I enjoy lifting weights and feeling stronger when I do it so its something I definitely plan to keep up with.  I don't have a planned schedule and usually just do what I can fit in or what I feel like doing that week.  I might start trying to plan my workouts out a little bit more especially if I decide to train for any upcoming races then I'll need a schedule.  Usually I do a Pilate's session, a yoga session, some running, some spinning and 1-2 weight sessions per week.  I think I might start tracking it though so I can see what I'm really doing so when I say I'm tired I can figure out whether its actually because I've been working out a lot or if I'm just being a baby :)  Its a good thing I eat well to fuel the workouts though.  Speaking of that; tomorrow night is homemade pizza night.  Here are a few shots of a past pizza night.  Check out those pies!