Train With What's on Course

Thank you Tri-California!

One of the triathlon tips coaches throw out is to train with the nutrition that is provided on course during an event.

For a short event - such as a sprint (3 mile run, 12 mile bike and a couple hundred meter swim)  you can pretty much carry all you will need on you and on your bike. Even for an Olympic Distance (.9 mile swim, 25ish mile bike and 6.2 mile swim) you can pretty much carry your nutrition on each leg with you and restock in transition.

But for a half iron distance (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) or iron distance (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) it would be impossible to carry all the nutrition you need on you....even if you restocked in transition. That means you are bound to grab something from an aide station out on the course. And we all know you are NOT suppose to try something new on race day (unless you want to visit the porta-potty LOTS!) That's why the tip to train with what is out on the course is such a good idea.

 

At Wildflower, I will be competing in the Olympic Distance Course. Last year, I did the Mountain Bike Course and came in 2nd place in my age group. I am hoping for top 50 percent this year.

 

This is what they will be serving out on the Olympic Distance Course this year:

 

There will be 3 Bike Course Aid Stations and 5 Run Course Aid Stations. Earth Water, Gatorade Endurance, fruit, PowerBar and PowerGel will be provided.

Bike Course Aid Station Locations

Mile 8 (Water and Gatorade Perform)
Mile 12.5 (Water, Gatorade Perform, PowerBars)
Mile 16 (Water and Gatorade Perform)

Run Course Aid Station Locations:

Mile 0.8 (Water and Gatorade Perform)
Mile 1.9 (Water, Gatorade Perform, PowerBar Gel Blasts, PowerBars)
Mile 3.75 (Water, Gatorade Perform, Power Bar Gel, PowerBars)
Mile 5 (Water and Gatorade Perform)
Finish Line (Water, Gatorade, Fruit, Gatorade Recovery)

I had just put some of these items on my grocery shopping list to get the next time I went shopping, but before I got them a present showed up on my door.

 



 

And then I got this email:

THANK YOU TRI-CALIFORNIA!

 

I had to stash my NEW training supplies so my boys wouldn't drink them all up!!

Charity Miles - Donate Without Opening Your Wallet

Charity Miles

 

You put in the miles and earn money for a charity.

 

How it works:

Get the free Charity Miles app for your iPhone or an Android.

 

Turn on the app whenever you go out for a run, walk, or bike.

You turn it on and pick your charity from the list.

 

Sometimes I forget to turn it on before I start to run or bike, but I am getting better at remembering. Sometimes I remember in the middle of my run.

Sometimes I accidentally turn it off when I put it in my run pack. But I figure any miles I get in are better than no miles.

 

And this is why.

For every mile I bike I earn 10 cents towards the charity I pick and for every mile I walk or run I earn 25 cent a mile.

Charity miles has an initial $1 million sponsorship pool.

I haven't quite figured out who all the sponsors are.

I was urged to sign up for Charity Miles by SunRype. SunRype is my new ActiveAmbassador sponsor.

 

When I get done running or biking, I press a few buttons and Charity Miles tells miles me how far I have gone.

For this month, if I had remembered to turn on the app every time I ran or biked, I would have raised $40 for a charity.

 

I mostly pick Wounded Warrior Project for my charity.

 

 But one day I picked the Nature Conservancy because it was World Water Day.

 

Here's a list of all the charities you could be running and biking for:

      * Achilles International
* ASPCA
* Autism Speaks
... * DoSomething.org
* Every Mother Counts
* Feeding America
* Girl Up
* Habitat for Humanity
* Ironman Foundation
* Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
* Nothing But Nets
* Partnership For a Healthier America
* Pencils of Promise
* Shot@Life
* Stand Up to Cancer
* The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
* The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
* The Nature Conservancy
* The World Food Programme
* Wounded Warrior Project

	I am sure you can find one charity from the above list to walk, or run or bike for.   And if you really want to donate you can double dip like I do. I set my app on my phone for Charity Miles and I also record all my workouts to Plus3Network. Plus3Network has different charities, but they, too, have sponsors that donate money based on how many miles you log in. If you missed that blog you can read about Plus3Network here: http://train-n-tri.blogspot.com/2012/09/new-socks-for-me-for-your-charity.html     So help out a charity today by getting up and moving! It will be good for you and the charity!!!   

 

 

  
      I

GMR to Mount Baldy Village

 

Today I rode my bike from Glendora to Mt. Baldy Village.

My guy Robert and two training friends, Terri and Orietta, joined me.

 

47 miles

5,671 feet of climbing

 

I averaged 10.2 miles an hour.

My slowest uphill speed was 4 mph.

My fastest downhill speed was 34 mph.

 

The weather was perfect for a long uphill ride and it didn't take me long to shed my arm warmers and vest.

 

 

 

View going up.

 

The first 10 miles up seemed to go pretty quickly. Not that I was quick, but my legs felt good and I talked to other cyclists along the way. And talking always makes a hard ride go by faster.

 

Most the talk consisted of "hey, nice morning for a ride," and then the other cyclists' big muscly spinning legs propelled their bike past mine and up the hill.

 

One guy went by and I said "hi" or something like that and he said, "Hi, Kandi....(and then something)." I asked who he was and he was someone from my triathlon club. Our conversation was that short because he was at the top of the hill before I could finish my "have a safe bike ride" sentence.

 

Another guy rode by me and commented on my socks.

"I like your socks."

"Thanks."  Then I yelled after him, "You can have some of these too. Just sign up for Plus3Network."

 

My Plus3Network socks

 I don't know if he heard the last part because he was gone....

 

Then I rode up behind two guys.

"Here I come speeding up on you at 6 miles an hour."

They laughed.

We chatted a bit.

One was 52 (my age) and the other was 60.

Once they knew how old I was, I guess they didn't like the idea of me passing them because one of them said, "I feel like I've been challenged" and then he sped ahead of me. Well, he really didn't speed because he was probably going 7 miles an hour.
Eventually I caught back up to them and we chatted for a while longer. They were training for a 10-day ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, with camping along the way.
I looked it up....about 385 miles. That would be about 38 miles a day.

I left them at about mile 10 at the shack.

 

 

 

After we passed the shack, it was basically just us and other cyclists on the road. A couple of cars slowly went by us and a few motorcycles, but mostly we had the road.

Until........

 

OMG....guys on skateboards were whizzing down the other side of the street. They were flying. A couple of times I got nervous that one would lose control on a turn and come over into our lane. Each time one went by I would say a silent prayer that they would make it safely to the bottom.

We had another 14 miles to Mt. Baldy Village. I had thought that the ride would be mostly up, up and up, but it was up and down and up and down and then tortuously up.

 

 

Sorry, I don't have any pictures of the steepest part of the ride because I couldn't take my hands off the bars going 4 mph to get my phone to take a picture.

But after miles and miles of 5,6,7 and 8 percent grade....then to have some 10, 11 and 12 percent grades, well, it was a workout.

And parts of the road is an illusion.

 Just when I thought the road had leveled out, it really was at 5 percent.....and when it seemed as if I was going downhill, well, that was 1 or 2 percent grade.



This may look level, but it is really UP!

We did made it to the top in 2 1/2 hours.
Well, I should say I made it to the top in that time. I think Orietta (pictured on the right) made it up there LOTS of minutes before me!

 

Even though I had eaten 3/4ths of a PB&J sandwich, 1 GU, half of a snickers bar and two Chomp gummies on the ride up, I was happy to refuel at the lodge with chocolate milk, lots of coffee, and the biker's special of 2 pancakes, 2 eggs and 2 pieces of bacon.

Yes, the biker's special has pictures of motorcycles by it, but I'm a biker, TOO!

The trip back had lots of UPS!

 

When I saw this UP coming up, I had to pull over on the side of the road and pee. Well, I had 3 cups of coffee and chocolate milk just a few miles back. Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go.

We had just been sharing the road with other cyclists, but slowly we were joined by some motorcyclists.

 And as we went farther down the mountain we started to be joined by some cars.

 

 

 

 

Most of the cars and motorcycles were great at sharing the road. I saw a couple that were going too fast in some turns, but they were going up while I was coming down and they all stayed on their side of the road.

The last 8 miles were down, down, down and I got to work on my descending skills.

My legs felt okay at the end of the ride.
But for good measure I had 2 glasses of my beet/veggie/fruit juice when I got home.
Yummy for recovery!


I'm planning another bike ride up GMR mid-April.
Who's in?
 



Solo Saturday

I was meant to spend the morning with myself.

 

At 7:30 a.m. I was at Sycamore Canyon waiting for the local bike shop people to join their Saturday morning mountain bike ride.

 

They never showed up.

Now, I have ridden in Sycamore Canyon numerous times with my guy and friends.

NEVER ALONE.

 

 

I've ridden my road bike out on the road by myself with the thinking that if I crashed or had a problem, someone driving by would see me and stop and help.

 

But who would see me out here?

 

I did have my phone with me and I could always call someone, but what if I wasn't able to call?

 

I paused and thought about it for a couple of minutes.

Darn it, I didn't drive here and get all ready, just to turn around and leave without getting some kind of ride in.

 

So I turned on the Garmin and clipped in and pedaled off, telling myself I would just play it safe and keep it easy.

 

 

I rode on the fire road for about 10 minutes and enjoyed watching the scampering bunnies and the low-flying hawks.

I stopped to watch a large roadrunner. I wanted to take a picture, but by the time I got my camera out of my backpack, the bird had run off. With my camera stuck into my back pocket for easy access, I pedaled on.

My next stop was a bridge.

 

This is NOT the bridge, but similar to the one where I stopped. Don't ask me why I didn't take a picture of it. My guess is my brain was too busy trying to decide if I was going to walk or ride my bike to the other side. The Sycamore Canyon bridge looks more professionally made than this one - but it did have a broken board toward the end of it. That broken board made my decision easy.

 

WALK.

 

 

I walked here, too. There is a stream that was pretty deep and you can see the pipe that goes across it. I walked across the pipe and pushed my bike through.

 

Normally - and normally being NOT being alone - I would have ridden across the bridge and through the water.

 

Really, I DID ride my bike, not push my bike, most of the time.

 

 

After getting over my nervousness of riding alone, I started to enjoy myself. A couple of times I even looked down at my Garmin and thought, "Yikes. I better slow down."

My heart rate monitor must need a new battery because it would cut out in some places. I laughed when going up a 13 percent grade hill, my heart rate was at 72. Actually I didn't laugh because I was breathing too hard to laugh, so I knew my heart rate was more like 160. I just took it as a message to enjoy the ride and stop looking at my heart rate.

But I did look again and it was ---. And since I was still alive, I stopped looking at the screen.

 

 

I did take another stop when I saw this lovely native plant.

While I was taking a picture of the plant, a Ruby Throated Hummingbird came down and buzzed around my head.

 

This is NOT my picture. I didn't get a picture of the bird because it was so fast and I couldn't look at it and enjoy it and look to point my phone camera at the same time. It took a quick drink from the plant and flew off.

My peaceful ride came to a close after about an hour when about 50 guys from the Specialized team hit the trails.

I was no longer alone.

 

I got home and thought I might have time to make it to the Mary S. Roberts' Walk with the Animals, a 1.3 mile walk to raise money for the pet adoption center. 

 

 

I asked Willie, my dog, if he wanted to drive in the car to walk 1.3 miles, or if he just wanted to use the time and run. He might have barked, "Rof," but it sounded like "Run."

 

 

I remembered to start my Charity Miles before we headed out and Willie and I ran 3.8 miles for Wounded Warrior, thanks to SunRype, which sponsors my run and bike miles for charity.

 

And my day was NOT all solo, though I did drive to Hemet solo and to pick up my daughter for her overnight visit with me. We stopped by Louie's Nursery and picked out some plants so she could plant my patio planter.

 

Lots of choices at Louie's.

 

Before Danielle could plant, I had to weed the planter and cut back some plants. This job was SOLO! 

 

My patio planter is now weeded and planted.

 

Solo is nice and reflective.

But teamwork makes things happen and is fun.

 

Hey, where is everyone? I have a garden that needs to be weeded.........

 

 

 



Spring Fever

Where did the days go?


I looked at my blog and it has been a week since I've sat down and even thought about blogging.
Blog ideas hit me several times a day, but I just haven't sat down to actually blog.

I've had a hard time sitting in a chair the past couple of weeks.

It is just too beautiful outside to sit inside on a chair in front of my computer and blog.

 

 

And for the past few weeks when I do force myself to sit down in front of my computer, I have been busy working on my USA Triathlon Coach Level 1 test....77 multiple choice questions, 10 essay questions and 2 training plans for different types of triathletes.

 

Completion of the test has been time consuming.

But I am just 2 questions away from being DONE.
I have a big GREEN check mark on my calendar for the day I have planned to have the test completed.
 

 
And then I'll blog about that.
 

I also have not blogged much in the past couple of weeks because I have been

Good busy

Fun busy

Friend busy.

 

In the past few weeks I blogged about my first triathlon of the year and then I blogged about the USAT's National Club Challenge and then NOTHING!!!! 

I got busy with work (good) and went out of town for a few days to ride bikes with friends in Solvang (fun and friends).

 

 The ride was great, but the fun time at the house we rented was even BETTER!


The house was gorgeous and cozy and surrounded by vineyards and horse pastures.




The best part was the girl friends....
and my guy Robert and Jamie's guy Gordon, because it always is nice to have men along to fix flat tires and dropped chains, open hard to open jars and barbeque.
Yeah, we can do all those things ourselves, I am just saying it is NICE to have a guy along to do it.

I've also been enjoying the extra hours of sunshine and working in my backyard.


Somehow when I was not looking during the fall and winter, weeds sprouted up and took over.
I am in a war to eradicate weeks in my backyard.
I am not even going to humiliate myself by taking a picture of the horrible shape of my garden and patio and pool area and backyard.  I'll just wait until it is finished and then take pretty pictures and blog about that.

I've also been riding my motorcycle around the block. I have my permit and I am signed up for the official California Highway Patrol class at the end of the month.
When I finish and class and have my motorcycle license in hand, I'll blog about that.

Here is something I'll include for today's blog....and it makes me laugh that I am willing to post this picture of my knee when it shows I obviously need to shave my leg, but I don't won't to post a picture of my weedy backyard.

My new bruise.

This bruise is on my left knee and thankfully not on my laundry-injury prone right knee.

 

Just in case you want to read or reread about my laundry injury:

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=489460221981185313#editor/target=post;postID=6048730063456143207

 

 

 My left knee incident happened last night during Triathlon Connection's Riverside ride.

Triathlon Connection's Riverside Ride/Run Brick.

 

We'd gone about 13 miles (yes, really, I am not making this up. It really was about at mile 13) when we came to an intersection with a 3-way stop. A car was stopped and a few of the riders had already gone through the intersection. I thought the car was going to STAY stopped for the rest of our train. It didn't happen that way and I had to slam on my brakes.

 

This was the first time I have ever had to slam on Hector's brakes....never mind this was only the third time I have ever ridden Hector.

I must have squeezed the front brakes harder than the back brakes because I did a front wheelie.

 

This is not me, but you get the idea. I think my back wheel came higher off the ground. At least it felt as if it did.

I was able to unclip while in the front wheelie position and get my left foot down on the ground before falling over. My battery pack for my light, which was strapped onto the top tube, hit my knee and my back wheel came all the way off. Hector looked as if he had been in a big accident, even though I never let him hit the ground.
My guy came up and put my back wheel back on.
(I could have done it, but it is always nice to have a guy around to do these things.)

As soon as I got home I put ice on my knee and I watched as the rest of the group took off for the run part of the evening's brick.


Again, not me, but you get the idea.

Today the knee doesn't feel too bad. But my neck and shoulders feel as if I was in a fender bender and have whiplash. I need more training if I am going to be doing stunts on our bike rides.

I have an appointment with Dr. Pete, my ART Chiropractor, in a few hours.
Thank goodness my training plan called for a day off today....because I took one.
Maybe that's why I had time to blog.

 

 



USA Triathlon's National Club Challenge Results

I didn't win the women's 50-54 age group at the USA Triathlon National Club Challenge.

 

The good news is that I did come in less than my age.

 

My Triathlon Connection Team did great.

We had 37 people on our team.

Out of the 121 teams taking part in the online competition, my TC team came in 35th place.

In the Southwest Region, the TC team came in 4th place. Triathlon Club of S an Diego's Team 1, 2 and 3 took the first 3 spots.

 

Altogether we swam 5,747.5 miles; biked 15,276.14 miles and ran 11,378.06 miles.

That's a whopping 32,401.7 miles.

That's like going around the world and then another 9,000 miles

 

 

 

Of the 37 people on my team, 12 of them logged more than 1000 swim/bike/run miles during the 3 months of competition.

 

 

Congratulations to Jaymi Abusham 1,588.63 miles; Liz Barcelo 1,135.7 miles; me 1,025.2 miles; Alan Dionson 1,725.22 miles; Simon Horton 1,864.95 miles: Joseph Pendleton 1,096.4 miles; Rusty Robertson 3,464.2 miles; Jim Schiller 2,948.37 miles; Sinta Tan (Trocolli) 1,650.97 miles; Tony Trocolli 1,931.99 miles; Jayson Villaflor 1,177.57 miles; and Barbara Weber 1,265.8 miles.

 

 

We had two team members who snagged a spot in the top ten in their age group. Congratulations to Gabrielle Niko for placing 7th in the women under 15 category. Congratulations to Rusty Robertson who placed 6th in the men 50-54 division.

 

Okay, I know you are just dying to know what place I came in. In the women's 50-54 category, I came in my race age minus 5.