Welcome to 2020

First race of 2020 (but I didn't race)

So the first race of 2020, Race on the Base, was one I did not race. I did this race as my second ever triathlon, and competed 5 years in a row, earning my five-star medal, but haven't been back to compete. This race usually falls around my birthday, and this year was no different. Race was on Saturday, February 22nd, and my birthday was two days later. 

Give it a Tri Program

Tri-Zone's first Give it a Tri (GiaT) program this year was focused on Race on the Base. As I still help out and take pictures, I have been following along the adventures of many first time triathletes. This is the largest GiaT programs we have each year. This was the first time I was able to also follow these athletes on race day to take pictures and help calm any nerves they might have.

The photos below tell the story of the race: pre-race, walking to the starting line, the run, the bike, the swim, and the post race bling/euphoria). These were just a few of the over 250 pictures I took that day, some turned out great, others blurry, but that's what happens when everything & everyone is moving so quickly.

For more information about Race on the Base visit Race On The Base website

For more information about Trim-Zone & the Give it a Tri program visit: Tri-Zone

Welcome to 2019!!

New Adventures for a New Year

So as the new year begins, I've committed myself to getting more organized. Note: I did not say resolve, as I don't do New Year's Resolutions. In my process of getting organized, I managed to get my bike back on the trainer...always a temporary status, as I ride outdoors most weekends. The struggle was finding a place to set it up in my house, as I usually would set it up outside on our back patio (now occupied by a cute family of feral cats) or in the garage (currently trying to get that organized, so that was also a no go). I figured out the perfect spot in the kitchen, had counter with outlet--away from sink and stove-- to get setup. Since I now had access to a power source (electrical outlet, no power meter yet), I decided to try out Zwift, a virtual cycling program. 

My first attempts at Zwift

My Zwift/Trainer setup

Give it a Tri

Dr. Sean teaches us how to stretch and strengthen our cores.

I also help out with a triathlon training program at my local triathlon shop, Tri-Zone. We just started week 1 of our 7 week training program for Race on the Base, a local sprint triathlon. Follow this link for my blog post from the Race on the Base. Week 1 had the latest turnout of any I've seen so far for this program. The program consists of clinics with a guest speaker, then  a workout, usually a bike then run, though there are several weeks which include swim instruction in the pool after the clinic. It's a great way for people who are new to the sport to learn about it, as well as develop friendships/new training buddies. 

Race on the Base

AWESOME!!
Have no other way to describe the race experience. Dropped time, though there was a slight course change on the run, it was my best time in the four years I've done this race. Originally I had signed up for the first wave (finish time estimate faster than 1:39) but decided later to switch to the second wave (slower than 1:40 finish) as this was the wave that all my friends were in and I anticipated being right near the border time. The course is completely closed, on the Joint Forces training base. The run and bike are mostly on the runway/airfield, and the swim is in a heated 50m pool. It's nice not having to worry cars on the road while you bike and run. It also makes it easier to pass people on the bike, not having work with a narrow roadway, instead you have a nice wide runway.

I had no specific strategy going into the run (reverse triathlon) just to run as much as possible and limit walk breaks to under 1 minute at a time. Weather was great, not to cold so just wore my tri suit. Strategy seemed to work well.
Garmin data: Avg Pace- 12:37 min/mile, distance- 3.17 miles, avg hr- 172bpm, run split time- 39:57.

Got on the bike and headed back to the runway for my 3 loops on the bike. Being on a runway has its positives and negatives. Positive- flat, fast, no traffic, wide lanes. Negative- wind, being a runway it is set up to take advantage of the prevailing winds in the area, so there's one side of the loop that has a strong headwind. It wasn't as windy as last year. My legs cramped up last year on the last lap of the bike, but I made some changes to my Pre race nutrition and didn't cramp at all.
Garmin data: Avg Speed- 16.2 mph, distance-1.97 miles, avg hr-168bpm,  bike split time- 47:58, avg cadence- 75

Coming off the bike, I caught up to one of my friends and headed to the swim, my favorite part. Of course for me the swim is always too short. Had to swim around a few people and took my time to maneuver around people at the walls (was a zig-zag swim 4 laps of a 50 meter pool, each lap area was 2 lanes wide).  Timing mat for swim time was located at the entrance to the pool deck, not at the edge of the pool.
Garmin data: Swim split- 4:08, distance- 200 meters, avg strokes- 32 per length.
Ended up with a 1:38, a new PR for the course.

Now time to gear up for Oceanside!!

Flip-turn-ing point

Okay, it's been  a while since my last post. Haven't raced since Oceanside, am still planning to race at Malibu, and have signed up for Oceanside again. I'm also debating on doing the Soma half in October. But right now my race schedule is limited due to financial issues.
This is where the turning point comes in, as a teacher at a charter school, my employment is on an at will basis. I have been working as an adjunct teacher for 2 years now, but do not have any guarantee of employment for this coming school year. Yesterday I received a message from my boss, and today returned the call only to find out that the school is not planning to employ any adjunct teachers at this time. So that means that I will probably not have a job for the coming school year, unless they have a massive increase in enrollment numbers. This has made me think more about leaving the profession. It's not that I don't enjoy it, just that there are so few jobs out there right now as the state keeps cutting budgets. I'm not the only one in this situation, I've had a friend or two rethink their current career choices.

Hanging with my adorable nephew

So where to now... I'm just now starting to process and try to determine where to focus my job search. I haven't made a decision yet, so I will still look for teaching jobs, as well as jobs outside the teaching profession. I just want to be in a job I am happy at, not that I wasn't happy at my last job.
Of course, this may mean I can make more trips to Fresno to hang my my adorable nephew.
Now back to swimming/triathlon/cycling. USA Swimming Olympic Trials just finished up yesterday. I was a bit disappointed that Dara Torres and Janet Evans (local) didn't make the team, but am excited to see Tyler Clary (local) make his first Olympic team. Tyler's mom is a USA Swimming Administrative Official and I have worked several meets with her and for his team FAST. As a matter of fact, I'm working a meet there this weekend. It was also great to see Jessica Hardy, another SoCal native qualify for the team after missing the 2008 Games due to a positive drug test at Trials (contaminated supplement). Southern California has a great history in the Olympic games, but it is nice to see that swimmers are being developed in other areas of the country at teams both large and small. (Missy Franklin comes from a small team in Colorado.)
The Olympics start in just a few weeks and the competition in the pool will be intense. In triathlon, I think the hometown boys may pull off gold and silver (Brownlee brothers).

Swim tip for the day: RELAX... don't forget to breathe, be nice to the water, don't hit it too hard. If you are nice to the water it will be nice to you. Take the time on the 4th to just sit in the pool, just float and relax, this will help you recognize where you balance in the water.

87 days and counting until Ironman 70.3 Oceanside

I haven’t written a blog post in a while, been busy enjoying my oh so short off-season and the holiday season (which included 2 trips to Fresno to visit my new nephew, as well as my brother and sister-in-law). So now that the New Year is here, it’s time to get back on the wagon, writing more and training more, while working part time and trying to find full time employment.

Yesterday’s workout plan: swim, run, & yoga

Swim (workout modified from Workouts in a Binder for Swimmers, Triathletes, and Coaches by Eric and Nick Hansen- Stroke 5B)

Warm Up- 100 Free, 100 (25 kick, 25 drill back), 200 Free, 100 (25k, 25 d breast) 300 Free, 100 (25k, 25d free)  (900 yards)

Main set- 2x200s 50 back, 50 free
100 Back Fast
2x150s 50 breast, 50 free, 50 breast
2x75s breast fast
2x100s 25 back, 25 free
2x75s back fast   (1300 yards)

Warm Down- 4x50s free easy

Run- changed after swimming and headed to the treadmill for an about 20 minute run before yoga class started. I strongly dislike running, but I have been working on it more during this off-season. Still trying to get to the point, either by finding new shoes, new ways to lace shoes, or finding the right run form so that my foot does not go numb during my run.

Yoga- I try to do this every Tuesday, at my local gym. First Tuesday of the month is Sunflower series, instructor added a bit of extra core work this week to help those of us who may have over-indulged during the holiday season.

Random thought—Why have there been so many reality documentary shows on television based in Alaska recently?? No offense to Alaska, I do have a couple of friends who call the state home. Off the top of my head, I think I have seen about 7 or 8 shows: Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers, Sarah Palin’s Alaska, Alaska State Troopers, Flying Wild Alaska, Coast Guard Alaska, and  Gold Rush Alaska. And there’s supposed to be another one coming out soon. I propose the next great Alaska based show should be about triathletes in Alaska!! ;)