I went NUTS!

Approaching the starting line, I hadn’t even imagined there would be so many people participating in this 5K. There were people everywhere! Young, old, teens, parents, serious runners, walkers, joggers and even some babies in baby strollers who would have no recollection of being involved in this event as they grew older. My stomach began to knot up as I got closer to the mob. “Why am I nervous? It’s just a run!”

In spite of the fact that I kept telling myself it was ‘just’ a run, I was unsure of what this experience would hold for me. All I really knew was that I had a fantastic base of support 300 miles north of me and I wanted to give this race everything I had, making sure there was nothing left when I crossed the finish line.

As I walked over to the group, I wasn’t quite sure where to place myself in the pack. Should I start near the starting line? There was a tightly packed group up front, and I thought that perhaps they were all serious runners, so I maneuvered in about 20 yards behind the start line. I imagined that it wouldn’t matter anyway, since we were wearing timing chips that would begin recording our time as we stepped across the start line.

5 minutes prior to race start. We sing the National Anthem. I look around excitedly and nervously. I try not to be nervous; after all, I’ve already succeeded in raising $2,500 and a greater awareness among people who know me – whatever happens, for once it’s NOT about me and my time, but about running for all of the people I’ve encountered over the past three years. I smile as I have this thought, and begin to breathe a little easier. However, being the competitive person I am, all I can think about is how cool it would be to earn a podium spot and be proud that I did it for such an amazing cause. The quick breathing returns.

Visions of past triathlon mass starts cloud my thoughts. Would it be like that, with people’s arms in my face, elbows in my side, people all struggling to carve out their own space in the pack to get going? “At least there aren’t any feet kicking my face,” I thought. No feet, no water to be splashed around in your face as you gasp for air. That was a relief. As I finish that thought, I look up to the grandstand as the announcer readies the crowd. “Everybody get ready to count!...10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!”

The gun goes off, but nobody around me moves. After about five or six seconds, the crowd around me begins to steadily draw forward. Baby steps first, then bigger steps, and finally, about 15 seconds later, my foot crosses the starting line in a full stride. I start my watch, relieved to be out of the cattle corral.

While I have no worries of elbows or arms in my face, my breathing is similar to past races. I am struggling to keep myself from hyperventilating from the excitement. I want to run fast, but the adrenaline rushing through my body is intense and I can feel every muscle remaining tight. My heart is pounding hard. I remember my deep breathing techniques and practice drawing in long, deep breaths and exhaling them just as slowly. I remind myself what this race is truly about. I contemplate (albeit briefly) what ‘doing my best’ in this situation is. Among the many lessons I’ve learned in my job, one of the best ones has been about taking charge of what you can control and not focusing on what you can’t.

I can’t control how other people are running. I can only control myself in this situation, and I can control how well I stay within myself. I know from experience that if I start out too hard, even in a short race, I won’t have anything left for the end.

Slowing down just slightly, my breathing eases. I forget about the people around me. I focus on the goal I have ahead of me and what it is I’m setting out to do. I am going to perform to the best of MY ability today.

With the grey overcast of Los Angeles above me and the streets of downtown lined with crowds, my muscles begin to relax and my stride lengthens. I begin to notice the people around me with ease, and even start to pick out some people to pace off of. I notice a mother and son running together, and decide they’re running at a nice fast rate. After some time, I eventually pass them and as I do, I hear the mother say to her son “Well that was about a mile, so we’re running at a good pace.” Looking down at my watch, I see 7:32. Nice!

But how did she know it was a mile? I supposed that it was about that, but as I looked to my left and to my right as we began to turn a corner, I could see no markers of any kind. I picked up my pace just slightly. I figured if I had just run one mile, then I only had 2.1 left!

It’s a nice feeling to continue passing people. My spirits are high, and I’m running fairly hard. Each person I pass gives me just a little more confidence in my pace and my strength, and it makes me smile to wonder how fast I’m really running. However, it isn’t until about 13 minutes in that I hit the turn-around point. That doesn’t seem right. If I was running a 7:30 pace, and the course is 3.1 miles, then how could I have slowed THAT much? Was I really running slowly? 13 minutes at the turn-around would put me at about a 25 or 26 minute finish.

My spirits sank somewhat. I sure didn’t FEEL like I was running an 8:30. What was going on?

I shook these thoughts and continued to run. Another five minutes passed, and in my mind I calculated that I should be finishing somewhere around 23 minutes. Great, then I was nearing the end! I looked to the other side of the street, where there were still hundreds of people making their way through the course. Most were walking, and, to my surprise, cheering us runners on as we sweated our way toward the finish! It was a nice sight, and I enjoyed the enthusiasm of the crowd.

The energy from that crowd also began to play a crucial role in keeping my pace up. At about 21 minutes, my legs began to fatigue. There was no finish line in sight. How could that be? Theoretically I should be only 2 minutes away! Yet, I hadn’t even turned the corner to come down Figueroa street where the finish line was. How could I be so tired and yet running so slow?

Again, I shook these negative thoughts and focused on a man running next to me. He and I seemed to both be wondering the same thing, yet neither of us said a thing to each other. I could just feel his thoughts. It was comforting to know that somebody must be going through the same thing I was. We paced off each other and held on strong, in spite of the fact that after another three minutes, my legs were screaming.

24 minutes. I’m running down Figueroa street, but there’s no finish line! I see runners rounding a corner. If not there, then where is it? How much longer? Should I start to sprint? What if the finish line is still far away? Then what? If I sprint, that’s it. The tank will be empty and there will be nothing left. Suddenly, I look ahead and there it is, around the corner to my right. I do my best to pick it up as much as I can and run hard through the finish.

25:33. I had to admit, I was disappointed. 25:33? For 3.1 miles? That’s an 8:14 mile. I ran faster than that in a triathlon with a longer distance! How could this be? I wondered all of this as I walked over to the table to get a cup of Gatorade. As I stood, contemplated and sipped, I began to overhear a conversation nearby.

“I had 3.48.” “Yup, I had that, too.” “Well you might as well take 2 minutes off your time then.” “How could they do that?!”

I approached the group and began to converse with them, realizing that several of these people had tracked the distance with GPS watches, all recording a distance of 3.48 miles. That was nearly half a mile longer than 3.1 miles!

Comforted by these thoughts, I continued to wait around for the race results. After what was not too long of a wait, a woman walked over to the table to tape down the several pieces of paper she had in her hand, and I excitedly followed close behind.

Using my finger to follow my name across the page that held the results, I read the time:
Sarah M Trejo 25:33 4 92 25

FOURTH IN MY AGE GROUP?! No! How fast was the 3^rd place woman? Was she close? Oh no! Well, no matter. Fourth is good. Just…oh, one off of 3^rd! Geez! But, I did get 92^nd over all and 25^th out of all the women, so it was still something to be proud of.

I spent the rest of the day feeling satisfied with my performance and proud of what I’d accomplished. I truly cared about sharing this cause with friends, family and colleagues and I did. I ran for something that has meant so much to me over the past three years, and on top of that, was inspired to run the fastest I’d ever run.

What I later learned was that the ‘4^th place time’ was my clock time – the time from when the gun went off to when my feet crossed the finish line. Because they were using timing chips, that becomes the more official time – the time recorded from when your foot crosses the starting line and when it crosses the finish line. There was a 15-second difference in my clock time and chip time, because it took 15 seconds for me to get to the starting line. Thus, my official race time – 25:18 – actually placed me into third in my age group!

In the end, I was truly able to say that I’d gone out and ‘won for NBTF.’ It’s been a fantastic feeling that still hasn’t subsided, and I’m enjoying every moment of it.

Going NUTS for a Cure - THIS WEEKEND!

This is the last call - I'm almost at $2,000 - help me make it there!

I've decided to take my commitment to the brain tumor community a step further by participating in the Emerald Nuts 5K Run at the L.A. Marathon on March 4, 2007 and using it to raise money for the National Brain Tumor Foundation. I have been proudly working for this organization for almost three years now, and the programs and work we do only get better because of the amazing support and generosity we have received from people who believe in what we do.

As this blog duly describes, I am a devoted triathlete who is embarking on another year of races and I can't think of a better way to kick off my season than with a run that is dedicated to all of the survivors and family members I've encountered during my time here, and who continue to inspire me to no end.

Please take a moment to sponsor me with whatever you might be able to contribute. It's really easy - you can donate online by credit card and receive a record of your donation. My page is located at: http://www.firstgiving.com/sarah_t.

All donations are secure and sent directly to National Brain Tumor Foundation. Please join me in supporting National Brain Tumor Foundation and a fabulous cause!

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at STrejo127[at]gmail[dot]com.

Thank you so much!!!
Sarah

TMI Overload

I feel like screaming. I feel like throwing my hands up and saying "FORGET IT! I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS ANYMORE!" The more I read and learn, the more I discover how much the sport of triathlon is so scientific, every aspect so well-studied, that the idea of just going out and 'doing it' seems, at this point, moot. Only amateurs 'just do it.' If you're going to WIN, then you have to have truly TRAINED (not merely 'worked out'), you have to have good equipment, you have to properly taper, and you'd better know your nutrition like the back of your hand.

During a discussion about nutrition the other night, one of my teammates asked me "So how many calories per hour are you consuming on the bike?" I looked back at him with a blank stare. "Um. I generally eat a Clif Bar over the course of a 4 hour ride. Probably about half a Clif Bar over a 2 hour ride." His immediate response: "see, you should be able to respond immediately what your calorie per hour consumption is."

He went on to describe the importance of eating two hours before my morning workouts ("So does that mean I have to wake up at FOUR A.M.?!" I countered), and 'topping off' the night before with good carbs if I couldn't get up a full two hours before. He talked about race-day nutrition, how to practice for it, how my standard peanut butter & jelly standby is all wrong, and how many more calories I need to take in on the bike.

Couple that with further reading in The Triathlete's Training Bible about intensity workouts, as well as an article on how to taper effectively four weeks before your first race, and you have a girl who is overloaded with too much information.

Not to mention that as I did the math, I got scared sh**less at the fact that I realized Wildflower is a mere nine weeks away. The taper article discussed beginning the taper 4 weeks prior to your first race...which leaves me 5 weeks of build phase. 5 weeks where I will be gone for about two of those next five for work. I've got to do more hill repeats on the bike. I've got to do more speed work on the run. The only thing I'm truly confident about right now is the swim. Well whoop-de-doo. Where does that get me? Eh, maybe 2 minutes faster. If I'm not prepared enough on the bike then that 2 minutes doesn't mean jack rabbit! I've got to do more planning so that I can create workouts for myself that will combine the proper amount of intensity with aerobic workouts, but how can I do that when I don't even know exactly what my lactate threshold EVEN IS? How about this: I feel just fine when my heart rate is at 170. What does that MEAN? So sometime I've got to find time to do some lactate threshold testing and VO2 max testing, as well as finding time to read more about how to properly PLAN the next nine weeks. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

*breathe, Sarah, BREATHE!*

I sound insane, I know. At the end of the day, most people DO just go out and do it. That's what I did the last two seasons. I worked out a lot, did some good track workouts, used spinning class as a good time to get some high-intensity workouts in, and kept my commitment to swimming. And as I've seen, it worked out alright. My nutrition, as described earlier, was a combination of what I know about GENERAL nutrition (as in, what's good for you, how to maintain weight, etc.) and just doing what I thought was right and what felt good. It all seemed to come together and for the most part, I got through races just fantastically, had a few races where it especially came together well and I kicked some serious butt. The not-so-good races I learned from: Wildflower last year - don't go so hard on the bike and REMEMBER TO DRINK YOUR NUTRITION; Donner Lake - bring your own fuel on the run; Alcatraz - don't put aerobars on your bike so soon before the race. I mean, those were the first three races and I learned from all three, and the Half-Ironman and Santa Barbara were two of my best races EVER. I felt amazing!

So why worry?

Because I know if I could do it all piece-meal like that, then I can do even better. I can take on the top women at Wildflower. I can kick even more butt at Vineman this year. I can perform at a higher level that I don't think I ever thought would be possible. Given that I seem to have a natural ability with this sport, it would be nice to train the way the elites do and see what Sarah Trejo can do.

We'll see what happens...

Personality test

I took a personality test online. While not directly related to triathlon, I think it helps me to understand a bit of myself to know how best to work on my training, etc. That, and it's just so fun to do these things! I did it twice and it came out the same both times.

I am "ESTJ" - (Extroverted/Sensing/Thinking/Judging) - organized, group oriented, focused, conventional, leader, emotionally stable, anal, attention seeking, planner, realistic, fearless, responsible, finisher, decisive, norm following, respects authority, punctual, hard working, stiff, self confident, thinks rules and regulations are important, follows the rules, clean, outgoing, social, content, does not like being alone, normal, regular, does not like weird or strange people / things - intolerant of differences, strict, disciplined, aggressive, assertive, content, happy, proper, formal, strict with self, meticulous, strong sense of purpose

Hmmm...what do I think of that? I don't know about the whole 'intolerant of differences'/'does not like weird or strange people.' I value differences quite a bit. They're what make us, well, US. I'm also NOT the most punctual person I know - let's just be real here. I STRIVE to be punctual, but alas, I'm just not. :( That's a whole other blog entry - "Sarah's Pursuit in Punctuality." I would say the test is 80-85% accurate.

It also said that favored careers are: executive, ceo, supervisor, business consultant, manager, strategist, financial planner, business person, office manager, public relations manager, international business specialist, business analyst, management consultant, operations manager, loan officer, lawyer, marketing, sports management, government employee, investment banker

INVESTMENT BANKER? I don't think so. PR Manager, I could see that. Sports management - Hmmm, I like that!

Unfavored careers include: poet, artist, songwriter, musician, novelist, art therapist, theatre teacher, art curator, film editor, video game designer, photo journalist, travel writer, actor, record store owner, camera operator, art historian, music teacher

Ha. No, I would not be a good poet. And while I do like acting, I don't think that being an actress was ever something I'd want to pursue as a lifestyle. Video game designer...maybe not, but I sure did play a lot of video games as a kid. Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, Tetris, Pac-Man...

Anyway. Enough digression!

ESTJ - "Administrator". Much in touch with the external environment. Very responsible. Pillar of strength. 8.7% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

Go Yoga!

So all this time I've been saying to people "yeah, I'll do Yoga one of these days." Never got around to it. I did begin stretching early in 2006 and found it made a miraculous difference in how I slept, how I started my day and virtually eliminating the beginning stages of plantar fasciitis. I just couldn't seem to get myself to a Yoga class.

This morning my original plan was to get to the gym by 6 a.m. and do a spinning session (by myself, as there are no early morning spin classes on Friday). Unfortunately, two things happened to derail that plan: 1) I woke up a little late and took a bit longer than usual to get things moving; and 2) I forgot to charge my iPod, which was pretty much dead. Anybody who's taken spinning knows it's pretty difficult to spin without music. I *really* wanted to spin, though, considering that I probably wouldn't get to ride my bike this weekend due to inclement weather and the fact that Sunday I am swimming in the Pacifica Relays. What's a girl to do?

There was a 7:15 a.m.-8 a.m. spin class. At 6:30 a.m. I thought "well, I can do some stretching, ab work and then start spinning at 7 a.m. and stay through the class until 7:45 a.m. That should work." Something in me, however, decided to go have a look at the class schedule. I immediately saw this:

6:45-7:55 a.m.: Hatha Yoga

"What time is it?" I thought. "Oh. It's only 6:30." My mind begin to spin around what my workout for the evening could be, how I could get some good spinning time in, and at that moment, my muscles reminded me how badly I needed to get some good stretch work in after my lifting this week and the crazy swim workout I had the night before. It might make me a little late to work, but I decided that this was my chance to give it a shot.

The instructor was already in the room, so I introduced myself and asked him if the class would be appropriate for a beginner. He told me that as long as I was fairly knowledgeable of the basic poses and wasn't afraid to look around the room to see what other people were doing, I would be okay.

I went to the spinning room to spin for about 8 minutes, and went back to Yoga at 6:43 a.m. This 70 minute class was absolutely incredible. It was an infectious way to start my day, and I have a feeling I will be committed to doing it on Mondays and Fridays. It's a great way to start the week after a long weekend of activity, and end a long work week of stress and weight lifting. Joey, the instructor, was phenomenal. He explained well, was patient, calm and had a manner about him that was very unintimidating.

At 8 a.m. I left the room with a smile on my face and feeling calm, refreshed and well-stretched. I can't wait to do it again!

Cutting back

So, yesterday was Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras/The Beginning of Lent. Now, as a recovering Catholic, I don't participate in Lent for the reasons I used to. Still, I do think it's nice to use it as a period of time to try and cut back on something that may have been a bit in excess.

Couple that with the fact that I've put on about 2 or 3 lbs...I know, it SEEMS like it's not that much, but believe it or not, I can really feel it - in every way. I FEEL heavier. I don't have the same appetite I usually do and when I do eat, it just doesn't feel the way it normally does. I feel fuller. It's amazing how, if we are really in tune with our bodies, they really do tell us when something is off.

I'm not surprised; I drank a ton of beer in Mexico (drank it like water!), didn't exercise as much as I normally do, and enjoyed a hell of a lot of meat and Mexican food. In general, my diet is usually full of veggies, good carbs and a small amount of protein. Of course, there are the usual bad suspects that sneak their way in, like oh-so-delicious cheese (I LOVE CHEESE) and oh-so-fine wine (I LOVE WINE). But because I tend to eat well enough and consume in moderation, everything usually stays in balance.

Now it's out of balance and it's my responsibility to do something about it. I suppose it's always good every now and then to practice cutting back, and our bodies are kind enough to give us the right reminders when we need to make some changes.

My proposed changes for the next 40 days (well, at least 30 - they say it takes at least 30 days to create new habits):

1) Cut back on the wine. Since I don't drink a ton in excess, it's tricky on where to cut back. However, on weeknights when I have wine with dinner, I'll tend to drink 1.5-2 glasses. On weekends when I'm out with friends, it will generally be about 3-4. Also, I don't drink every single night; probably have wine 5 out of 7 nights.

The goal: Stick to drinking 4-5 nights a week, on weekends limit to 3 glasses; on weeknights limit to 1 glass.

2) Stop buying cheese. If I don't buy it, I won't eat it. That doesn't mean I can't have it in a sandwich or with dinner or something. However, in the past, I've found that when I just didn't buy it, I didn't eat very much of it. I will very guiltily say that it is SO HARD when you're at Trader Joe's/The Cheese Board to NOT buy cheese. It's all there, so well-priced, so many different varieties of delicious aged cow/goat/sheep's milk that is just waiting to be tasted with the multitude of food items that can accompany it; crackers, apricots, bread, wine...oh the list goes on. I'll stop now.

The goal: Don't buy cheese! One exception: skim-milk string cheese to pack in my lunches. :-)

Those are pretty much it. The rest comes easily for me. I don't have a sweet tooth, I tend to stop eating when I'm full and I don't snack unless I'm physically hungry. I don't drink soda (well, I do have a once/week Diet Coke habit!). I think what it really was was the Mexico trip. By the time I came home I was craving vegetables like you wouldn't believe. I still am, actually.
So, that's all for now. Had some amazing workouts this past week and am looking forward to next week as the final prep before this 5K!

I love training.

No, really. I DO! Because once you really get into it, YOU GET INTO IT! This week was so awesome; I did two workouts on Tuesday including some ab work, swam on Wednesday, and did a fantastic lactate-threshold treadmill workout this morning, followed by weight lifting.

Active.com really does provide some great pointers. Their latest newsletter featured 3 treadmill workouts to do once a week, written by Gale Bernhardt, the Olympic coach for the US Triathlon Team in 2004. Since the rain is here, I decided to take advantage of these to do some speed work, as this Emerald Nuts 5K run is coming up sooner than I've even begun to realize. I want to do well! 5K...I mean, it seems like such a little distance compared to everything else, but it IS 3.1 miles...not a sprint...though, when I think back to that sprint triathlon I did in 2005 in Pleasanton, I believe the distance was 4 miles and I paced at 7:28 or something...I honestly don't remember. Maybe it was more like 7:45. Treasure Island was 7:51. So...if I was able to run that fast in two triathlons...why couldn't I run faster in a 5K?

Anyway, it's great to have things to shoot for, and now I've got that kinda-sore/kinda-tired feeling that feels soooooooooooo good because you know you're working hard but you don't feel exhausted yet. I had a FANTASTIC swim practice last night - we did the Terrible Twos - 5 x 200 going as hard as you can on each one, on 3:30 - so theoretically you should be getting AT LEAST 40 seconds rest. I was coming in at 2:50 for the first 4, and with Kevin's encouragement (saying "SUMMON THE BEAST INSIDE YOU, SARAH! COME ON! BREAK 2:50!!! YOU CAN DO IT!"), I made the last one in 2:47. Sweeeeet. It feels so good to be building my swimming strength back the right way, as well as everything else.

I love training!

Back to the grind (and back to the blog!)

So, I'm taking a hint from Jessie's blog that shorter can be better. Her blog, Follow Me To France is a blog about her preparation for her English Channel swim in July 2007. She's done such an awesome job already, and it's shown me that one doesn't always need to include every detail to have an exciting entry. That's always my biggest downfall as a writer - I LOVE the details! Will do my best, though.

I'm reading The Triathlete's Training Bible right now in an effort to train more properly; that is, really focus on periodization (slowly increasing duration and effort over a period of time and then easing up for a week to allow my body to build strength and recover) and not overtraining. Also, I'm trying to focus on really having a method this year.

Why the sudden motivation? Well, for one, I have a couple of teammates who have really put a lot of faith in my abilities and seem to think that I can qualify for the Clearwater 70.3 Championships in Clearwater, FL in November. This is particularly motivating for me...I never seem to be as confident in my abilities as other people are. The second thing is that I was chosen to be part of a sponsored team this year! Team Aquaphor Active.com reviewed my application and apparently thinks I'm worthy of being part of their team. I'd like to show them they've made a good choice.

So far, the schedule is:
May 6, 2007: Wildflower Olympic Distance
June 3, 2007: Tour de Tahoe 72 mile ride
? June 10, 2007: Baja 70.3 in Baja, Mexico?
? July 8, 2007: Lake Stevens 70.3 race in Lake Stevens, WA
July 22, 2007: Vineman 70.3 in Santa Rosa, CA
August 25, 2007: Santa Barbara Long Course Triathlon in Santa Barbara, CA
? November 10, 2007: Clearwater 70.3 Championships...?

Phew. Time to get crackin'! Been working on my swimming more, but really felt like I was running slowly on Sunday morning. That said, I kept my heartrate low, so I suppose it was to be expected. Am trying to get onto a regular schedule as I try to plow through this book as fast as possible so that I can create a proper schedule. So many things to think about! Weight lifting, stretching, not going too hard too soon...sometimes I find it a challenge just to stay on top of all of this AND everything else I have going on. It's a good challenge, though, and I enjoy the process of it.

Treasure Island 2 Embarcadero Y Swim, 10/14/06

So this morning my radio alarm went off and proceeded to get louder and louder (that's how it gets me out of bed because I don't want to wake the rest of the house up). I stumbled across the room to shut it off and saw that it said 4:30 AM. "Now why in the...?" I began to think...'OH! I HAVE MY TREASURE ISLAND SWIM!" I had nearly forgotten about it! So, packed up my bag, grabbed the wetsuit, made my PB&J sandwich and out the door I went. As I left the parking garage at the Embarcadero in SF, I thought "Hmmm...it's still dark. Why am I doing this again?" Strangely enough, the guy walking in front of me turns around and says "we're crazy, aren't we?" I just kind of mumbled "mmmhmm" and put my headphones back in. I don't talk to people in the morning, especially at 5:30 when I haven't had any coffee yet.

I walked into the welcoming doors of my local YMCA ("you can get yourself clean! you can have a good meal! you can do what-ever you feel!" Oh, Village People!) and was instantly greeted with directions on where check-in and bag storage was. Following my settling in, I was immediately pleased to find out that they had free Starbucks coffee there all piping hot and ready to go!! AWESOME!

Before I knew it, an hour had passed and there I was in the briefing room, being told to stick toward the Bay Bridge, because if we swam a straight line from Treasure Island to Pier 14, we'd run into a barge that was sitting in that direct line. Instead, aim for the Gap Building and once you pass the barge, turn right in toward the balloon arches. "So if you remember one thing, remember to stay toward the Bay Bridge." Okay. Sounds easy enough. "The fastest people will make it in by about 25 minutes, and the rest of you somewhere between 40 and 60." I wondered where I'd fit in.

As I looked around the room, I realized this was not a group of triathletes. These were swimmers of all ages and sizes. There would be no rushing to get out of the water and get the wetsuit off and hop on the bike. No setting up for the long stretch ahead. Just a swim! The energy was quite different - remarkably so. There was little tension in the room, and in fact, more of a subtle excitement seemed to permeate as I observed the 250-odd people crowded into this small gym. People chatting quietly, most with wetsuits, some brave souls without. Not only did people seem to be excited, but there was also a gentle calm. These people KNOW how to swim. They're not triathletes who have focused on the bike and run and squeezed in a few laps at the last minute, hoping it would be sufficient enough for an open water bay swim. Taking some deep breaths, I found myself remarkable calm as well, and in fact, began to look forward to it!

After the briefing, there was a giant exodus from the gym and down the stairs, heading outside and onto the Blue & Gold Ferry, where we would later be jumping off in front of Treasure Island! Once on the boat, I met up with two friends from my tri team, Michael and Matt, where we chatted about strategy, triathlons, and my latest forward about 'dating a triathlete.' The minutes ticked down quickly and the time had come to take the leap. They were having people go 3 at a time, so the three of us decided to jump together. It was so much more fun jumping off the boat with my friends than when I had done it alone at the Escape From Alcatraz!

The feeling of jumping into 60F water is difficult to describe. It instantly takes your breath away for a few seconds, and it is especially difficult to keep your face in. When your face hits the water, it's like your body immediately reacts to get your face OUT of the water. After a few gasps of air and dog paddles, I began to settle in a bit. Still chilly, but I took a few more chances to put my face in and try to adjust to the icebox I had jumped into. My toes began to cramp up, but I wiggled away and after about 30 seconds, the cramps began to subside as well. The one thing that wasn't happening was that my left goggle kept letting water in. Annoying. The start hadn't quite 'started' - they wanted everybody off the boat and then they would do the official start. I still had a few seconds to adjust. I kept pulling my goggles off and back onto my face, then putting my face in to check if it was right, but for some reason, it just wouldn't fix. "What am I going to do?" I thought. I couldn't swim crazily with my head out of the water. I knew it had to do with the added thickness that my thermal cap was providing, but there was nothing I could really do about it. "I suppose my eye will just get used to it," I thought. Hoped so.

All I knew was that the horn had gone off and it was time for me to start swimming. F*** the goggle, I had a crossing to swim! So, I just ignored it and started swimming. Amazing how your body can and will adjust in certain situations. I just dealt with it and kind of forgot about it. The rest is, well..not that exciting! At one point I thought "I must at least be 25 minutes in by now." Nope - 18 minutes! "Dang!" At that point I knew it was time to stop messing around and really start swimming. I was warmed up, in a groove, and hey - "I'M UNDER THE FREAKING BAY BRIDGE!!!" I breathe bilaterally, so every other breath I'd look up and see the bridge above me and think "wow, I've got a whole new perspective on this thing I go over every day."

Other random thought during the swim: "well, in the case of an earthquake and the bridge went out, I now know I could swim back!" :-)

So, as I enjoyed the sight of the bridge amidst the gray San Francisco sky, the nearing downtown skyline (which is AWESOME TO SEE FROM THE BAY!!!), the minutes ticked on and I was happy. I enjoyed the feeling of pushing through that water and seeing my progress along the bridge. There were a lot of various smells I encountered as well. At one point it smelled like diesel fuel. That went away. Then I encountered a fishy smell that only lasted for a couple minutes. Nothing for awhile, and then more diesel. Pretty soon, as I took a breath to my right, I noticed that barge they had talked about in the briefing. "So after this barge...I think I should turn right."

It was now that I realized that nobody had passed me...but I'd passed a lot of people. To that extent, there was really nobody directly in front of me to sight off of. It was me, myself, and I (as Jason M. would say!). I would have to make the executive decision of when to turn in, and realized that I could potentially be affecting anybody who was behind me. "Hope I make the right decision!", is all I could think.

Sure enough, though, as I turned in, I could see the balloon arch and the far-off splashes of swimmers up ahead of me. Great! I'm on course! As I got nearer and nearer, I began to sight a little more often to make sure I was staying on track. This isn't so big in the beginning, but as you get closer, even a few strokes in the wrong direction can really get you off course. After a few minutes, I began to hear cheers faintly in the distance. "Time to pick it up, Sarah! Move those arms and kick those legs, girl!" The balloon arch was now completely in sight and I was getting excited - so much so that I began to sprint! As I began to approach the pier, I thought "is that...BARBEQUE I smell??? No way. Couldn't be!" (Later on, both Michael and Matt said "did you smell bbq at the end?")

The cheers were louder now and despite it being so gray out, I still thought that SF skyline was a gorgeous sight. After being alone for quite awhile, I was now converging onto the pier with a bunch of other swimmers as we neared the steps to get out of the water. The cheers inspired me to keep on keepin' on and I was determined to get there as fast as possible now. Pretty soon, I looked up and there was the turn for us to make to get to the steps that would lead us out of the water. Making the right-hand turn, I picked my head up and heard lots of people cheering, clapping, and saw right in front of me people getting out of the water. "Hooray! I did it!"

Upon stepping out of the water, I raced up the steps and toward the timing mats as fast as I could. "Wait a minute. Sarah. It's not a tri. You're done!" I really did have to kind of remind myself of this, sad to say! As I stepped onto the mat, I looked left, and there was my mom and my stepdad! "HEY YOU GUYS!" I beamed a big smile as I looked back at my time - 40:29! WOW! That's awesome!

As I went over to talk with my mom and stepdad and wait for Michael and Matt, my mom immediately said "Sarah, your left eye is so swollen and bloodshot!!" The goggle. Dang that goggle! "Yeah, that would be what extended exposure to salt water can do to your eyeball," I said. After rinsing it thoroughly with bottled water, the swelling began to go down. Mmmm, just love imagining all the yummy chemicals and salt that my eye was exposed to. :-P Besides being greeted with the wonderful view of having my family there, they even had a hot cup of coffee waiting for me. They totally rock!

Pretty soon, Michael Manning was out of the water at 42 minutes, and Matt came in around 51. "What happened to you?" I said. I knew Matt's swimming had improved, so I had expected to see him sooner. "Aww, I was sightseeing for a bit. Took my time, enjoyed the view!" Fair enough!

So, normally the story would end there. But after a nice hot shower and sauna, putting on warm clothes, and heading downstairs, I paused to look at the results: 40:29, 54th overall out of 176 people. Cool! What I was surprised to find was that there was a '2' next to my age group listing. "Wow...I got 2nd?" I thought. I approached the medals table and said "Do you guys give age group medals?" They responded with an enthusiastic "we sure do! Did you place?" "Well...yes, I think I did!" Sure enough, I'd gotten 2nd in my age group!

In the end, I walked away from the Embaracadero with a whole new perspective of the Bay Bridge and City skyline, and a medal! Not bad...and onto Foxy's Fall Century tomorrow!

Yeah yeah...been awhile

This weekend I'm posting everything - race reports from Vineman and Santa Barbara, which totally KICKED BUTT (as you can see from the picture on the right of Heather and I)! I can't wait for next season. Right now I'm focusing on recovery and eventually base building. Working on periodization for REAL this year. The race reports for Vineman and SB will be short but include highlights and my main thoughts about why I loved these races and why they were truly the best two of the whole season. I think distance really is my thing. I love this sport.

Oh, and in just a few short steps I'm taking the first steps in becoming certified to teach spinning classes!

That said, some things to read in the meantime:

>This is an amazing story and I had tears clouding my vision as I read it. I wish everybody could read this and be inspired. This is what true love is all about: http://thebluedoodle.com/writerpages/steve.html

>Then, once you've wiped your tears, read this: FREAKING HILARIOUS!!!! Oh man...I think this is the real reason I've had trouble with dating. :-)

"Dating A Triathlete"

"I am an outdoors type of person."
Really means: I train in any type of weather. If its raining, snowing, 90 degrees w/100% humidity, or winds gusting at 30 mph. I don't want to hear any complaints because I will still train in it and you're just a big wuss for complaining about it.

"I enjoy riding my bike."
Really means: with or w/o aero bars, alone or in a peleton, I don't care. If you can't do a spur of the moment 30- miler then you're not my type. I will let you draft, but if you can't hang and I drop you - I will see you later. I am a capable mechanic, but don't expect me to change your flats or tune your bike. You need to learn that on your own.

"I enjoy jogging."
Really means: Let's run hills until we puke. I have just as many shoes as you only mine are better because they are functional and all look the same.

"I enjoy dining out."
Really means: I enjoy eating out, in or anywhere else I can find food. Don't be shy because with the amount of food I eat, you can have that main entree instead of a salad and you will still look as though you eat like a rabbit in comparison. Don't get your limbs too close though as I may take a bite out of you. Most importantly don't expect any taste off my plate unless you can bring something to the party like more food. Eventually though if you're not burning 4,000+ calories a day you're going to plump up and have a terrible complex due to watching me eat deserts and not gain any weight. Friends and family will eventually decide not to dine with us anymore due to my horrid table manners. Oh, and don't ask me any questions during breakfast, Mid-Morning Lunch, Lunch, Afternoon Lunch, Dinner or Recovery Dinner as it does not lend to efficient food intake.

"I enjoy quiet walks on the beach."
Really means: Walks on the beach warming up into an 8 mile run and then plunging myself in the ocean for a 2 miler. If you get in my way you're going to find out what mass start is and let me assure you that you don't want to find out.

"I find fulfillment in charitable work."
Really means: If I am not racing, I am volunteering and I expect you to be there along side me as I stand out in 90 degree weather for 8 hours handing out sports drink to cyclists going 20 mph. Just stick the ol' arm out there and hope it doesn't get taken off.

"I enjoy sharing quiet moments together."

Really means: It's taper time. Just back off because I am strategizing and in a pissy mood because I am worried about my "A" race and can't workout.

"I am an active person."
Really means: Aside from my 40 hour job, and the 8 mandatory hours of sleep a night. 10 hours a week are devoted to me during the off-season and 20 during race season leaving us 4 hours. 2 of which are spent inhaling food and you not talking to me, so let's make the best of the 2 hours we will spend together on average each day. If you are a licensed massage therapist or doctor this would make the most optimal use of our time together. Nutritionist is also acceptable, but I probably already know just as much as you.

"I enjoy road trips and leisurely drives."
Really means: You have your choice of Wisconsin, Idaho, Florida, California, Arizona, and New York, but don't expect to do much sight-seeing. If I get enough support from you we might be able to include Hawaii in there.

"I enjoy sight-seeing."
Really means: Lets grab a mountain bike and get our HR's up to 90%. There's plenty of time to look around on the descent as trees and bushes whiz by you at 40 mph.

"I like stimulating conversation."
Really means: while we are running, we can talk about food. Then we can talk about how we decided what to wear on this run based on the temperature at start time versus the temperature at the time we expect to finish, how horribly out of shape we are, how many miles we did last week, and how many we will do this week and next week. Then we can talk about food.

"I enjoy relaxing soaks in the tub."
Really Means: I'm going to stop on the way home and buy two bags of ice, throw them in the tub with some water, and sit in this torture chamber for 30 minutes.

"I'm interested in photography"
Really Means: My camera is permanently perched a tripod in front of my trainer. I obsess over taking photos of my bike position and analyzing them to get the perfect setup.

"I'm into in technology"
Really Means: My HRM and bike computer are my best friends. Until you can give me some hard data that can improve my training, don't bother trying to buddy up to me. You could one day break into the top three if I find you as entertaining on long runs and rides as my mp3 player.

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Okay, I'm not this bad. But...I have to laugh because there is a certain kernel of truth in some of them. ;-)