I haven't blogged for a couple of weeks.
It's because I have been in the midst of......
trying to stay on top of my training while cleaning out cupboards for a garage sale, going to my job that pays for my new bikes, writing training plans for athletes and spending a lot of time going to doctors appointments for my son, who was recently diagnosed with Cushing's Disease (another blog, another day)..
Things seemed a little serious around here and whenever I would sit down to write, all I could think of was serious stuff and it drained me so I would say, "Screw it," and move on to something less serious - such as watching animal videos people posted on Facebook. Those are always good for at least a chuckle.
Or I would go on a run, bike or a swim, because those always get my mind away from serious and focused on fun. Okay, maybe the runs are not ALWAYS focused on fun, but it gets my mind away from other "not-fun" stuff going on in life.
On Sunday afternoon, I realized that what I really needed was a good laugh - at myself.
Sunday morning, I took two of my athletes and the three of us competed in the LA Tri-Series Championship triathlon at Bonelli Park.
I was going to break the triathlon rules, and not only try one new thing on race day, but I was going to try two new things. I could have really pushed the envelop and tried three new things on race day by bringing my new wetsuit I won from the Ben Greenfield "Beyond Training" book raffle, but my better judgment ruled. I mean, I haven't even tried the wetsuit on yet, I didn't think it was a good idea if the first time I tried it on was in transition.
The two new things I did bring to try were my new Giro Air Attack helmet
The triathlon was a .9 lake swim and I put the on and cinched it as tight as I could. By the time I walked out of transition it felt as if it was slipping and one of my athletes helped me cinch it even tighter.
I am not the fastest swimmer, but I can swim .9 miles in open water in about 35 to 40 minutes depending on the current and how cold the water is.
About 400 yards into the swim, I felt the Swim'It slipping down my leg. I had to stop and pull it up and try to tighten it.....another 200 yards and again I stopped to pull it up and tighten it....another 100 yards and I stopped to pull it up and tighten....50 yards, stop, pull up, tighten.
At this rate, it was going to take a long time to get to the swim finish. The problem was that every time I barely kicked my legs (and I am NOT a big kicker), the Swim'It would starting sliding down my leg. I could feel it hit my knee and once it was at my calf I knew I better fix the problem or the Swim'It was going to end up at the bottom of the lake.
I also was thinking if my Swim'It went to the bottom, I was going to have to ask my friend, Suzy to scuba-dive to the bottom to get it for me.
As I was swimming and stopping and tugging and tightening, I was thinking how the guy who made this thing stays in business. I mean, who would want this thing if you can't even swim with it.
I just wanted to get to the swim finish and I didn't want to lose the darn thing, so I did the Ben Greenfield "bike tube" swim drill without the tube.
Drills: Take an old bicycle tire. Make sure it's uninflated (that's the kicker). Tie it around your feet so that you can't kick. At all. Swim 10x100 with 10 seconds rest after each 100. Figure out what actually makes you swim faster. Is it hip rotation? Downward pressing of the chest? Full hyperextension of the arm upon entry? A little bit of everything?
Since I didn't have an uninflated bike tube with me, I just pressed my legs together as hard as I could and swam on.
Things seemed a little serious around here and whenever I would sit down to write, all I could think of was serious stuff and it drained me so I would say, "Screw it," and move on to something less serious - such as watching animal videos people posted on Facebook. Those are always good for at least a chuckle.
Or I would go on a run, bike or a swim, because those always get my mind away from serious and focused on fun. Okay, maybe the runs are not ALWAYS focused on fun, but it gets my mind away from other "not-fun" stuff going on in life.
On Sunday afternoon, I realized that what I really needed was a good laugh - at myself.
Sunday morning, I took two of my athletes and the three of us competed in the LA Tri-Series Championship triathlon at Bonelli Park.
I was going to break the triathlon rules, and not only try one new thing on race day, but I was going to try two new things. I could have really pushed the envelop and tried three new things on race day by bringing my new wetsuit I won from the Ben Greenfield "Beyond Training" book raffle, but my better judgment ruled. I mean, I haven't even tried the wetsuit on yet, I didn't think it was a good idea if the first time I tried it on was in transition.
The two new things I did bring to try were my new Giro Air Attack helmet
and my new Swim'It.
The triathlon was a .9 lake swim and I put the on and cinched it as tight as I could. By the time I walked out of transition it felt as if it was slipping and one of my athletes helped me cinch it even tighter.
I am not the fastest swimmer, but I can swim .9 miles in open water in about 35 to 40 minutes depending on the current and how cold the water is.
About 400 yards into the swim, I felt the Swim'It slipping down my leg. I had to stop and pull it up and try to tighten it.....another 200 yards and again I stopped to pull it up and tighten it....another 100 yards and I stopped to pull it up and tighten....50 yards, stop, pull up, tighten.
At this rate, it was going to take a long time to get to the swim finish. The problem was that every time I barely kicked my legs (and I am NOT a big kicker), the Swim'It would starting sliding down my leg. I could feel it hit my knee and once it was at my calf I knew I better fix the problem or the Swim'It was going to end up at the bottom of the lake.
I also was thinking if my Swim'It went to the bottom, I was going to have to ask my friend, Suzy to scuba-dive to the bottom to get it for me.
As I was swimming and stopping and tugging and tightening, I was thinking how the guy who made this thing stays in business. I mean, who would want this thing if you can't even swim with it.
I just wanted to get to the swim finish and I didn't want to lose the darn thing, so I did the Ben Greenfield "bike tube" swim drill without the tube.
Drills: Take an old bicycle tire. Make sure it's uninflated (that's the kicker). Tie it around your feet so that you can't kick. At all. Swim 10x100 with 10 seconds rest after each 100. Figure out what actually makes you swim faster. Is it hip rotation? Downward pressing of the chest? Full hyperextension of the arm upon entry? A little bit of everything?
Since I didn't have an uninflated bike tube with me, I just pressed my legs together as hard as I could and swam on.
By the time I got out of the water (49 minutes in all) my thighs were quivering, but I still had the Swim'It.
So my first "new" thing was not a success.
My helmet was sure to be great!
And it was with one small operator error in the beginning.
The sunglass shield, which is held on magnetically in the front, can be worn down or it can be turned over and out of the way if you don't want sunglasses. My problem was I put the helmet on with the sunglasses flipped up and then I put on my running sunglasses, so by the time I had run out of transition and went to flip the sunglasses down, I realized I was double-sunglassed.
LUCKILY, two of my TC friends were standing right there and I took off my sunglasses and asked one of them if she would hold them for me.
I'm not sure I even waited for an answer as I handed them to her.
The helmet worked great. It felt great. My head did get a little sweaty, but it was just a hot, sweaty day.
Towards the end of the bike ride I started thinking about my run and trying to envision how fun it was going to be to run without my sunglasses. I did have a long-brim running hat to wear, but I have sun-sensitive eyes, so I was not looking forward to a 10k run while squinting.
As I racked my bike, I looked down at my transition mat and guess what was lying there on top of my towel?
Wowsa!!!!!
My TC friends had put my sunglasses back in my transition area.
I was so happy!
I was so thankful!!
At mile 2 on the run, along an out-and-back part of the course, I went by one of my athletes. I told her I was going to catch up with here - which I knew would make her go faster.
After a bathroom stop and a stop to take off my socks of because my feet were so hot (huge mistake), I did catch up with her at about mile 4. I ran/walked with her the rest of the way.
So, that's the race.
And when I got home I was a little peeved about the Swim'It.
I didn't really want to blog about how horrible it was, or how I am sure it added at least 10 minutes onto my swim. I decided to give it another chance at an open water swim I have planned next week. In the meantime, I went to the Swim'It website and looked over some of the information.
I realized they have a video section on the website and one of the videos is how to wear and use the Swim'It.
I watched it.
I should have watched it before the triathlon on Sunday.
I had been wearing it backwards.
I had been wearing it backwards.
I was laughing so hard, one of my sons came in and asked me if I was okay.
"Yes, I am just the biggest goof sometimes," I told him.
"Yeah," was his reply.
Just that little bit of laughter at myself took a lot of "seriousness" away.
I'll be putting the Swim'It on correctly next week.
Then I'll let you know what I REALLY think about it.
As for taking my socks off because my feet were really hot...it is going to be a couple of days of ointment and bandaids for that "goof" move to seem funny.
I don't usually quote actresses, but Gillian Anderson once was quoted as saying, "I used to take myself very seriously, now it's all just funny. You gotta laugh at yourself. You know, most of the time when something's a big deal for us, it's only become a big deal in the space between our ears."
So more laughing at myself.....and reading directions.
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