Mother's Day Gifts

This Mother's Day I did something I have never done before. I gave myself a gift.

Yes, I got a gift from my husband. I had sent my guy an email saying, "This Mother's Day I want a tri bike, or a subscription to Triathlete magazine or my drip system fixed"....and I am not out riding for joy because I got a tri-bike and I spent a half hour watering some plants tonight, so you know what I got from my guy. I got gifts from my three kids also. I call them kids, but two of them are now "officially" adults, but they are still my kids, and one is still "officially" a kid, but thinks he is an adult.

Anyway, they gave me some new gardening gloves and clippers, a winchime and a clean kitchen.

 I appreciate all of these gifts.

But this year, I wanted something special...for me!

Not for me, the mom, but for me the person. I love being a mom, but sometimes women, and I am generalizing here, lose themselves in being wives and mothers. For years, I focused all my time and energy on my children and my family.

I don't regret one single minute of it, but now I don't need, or want, to spend every single minute on my kids or family. I have time to spend time on me.

And in exploring who I am and what I like to do I have narrowed it down to this - I love writing, so I am a writer; I like gardening, so I am a gardener and Master Composter; and I like Triathlon, so I am a swimmer, cyclist and runner.

But am I?

I have biked enough miles, including a couple of century rides, that I think I can call myself a cyclist. I have some scars on my arms from crashing on my bike because I forgot to clip out.

I am calling myself a cyclist.

I've put on running shoes and managed to run, jog, walk and hobble through a marathon.

I've made it through a few half marathons.

My coach has  more running written into my training plans than I can keep up with.

I am calling myself a runner.

But am I a swimmer?

I want to call myself a swimmer. I can swim in a pool with no problem. Thanks to the Master Swim lessons for Triathletes with Coach Tony, I know what I am suppose to do to be an efficient swimmer. I am practicing.

At my last triathlon I swam 1000 meters in a lake and not once was I scared. I swam and kept my mind busy thinking about my swim form.

But the thought swimming in the ocean has freaked me out.

I want a lot of space for my dreams, so my gift to myself was to take a step forward in getting rid of my fear of ocean swimming.

I went to an ocean swimming clinic at Seal Beach this Mother's Day morning. We swam out to the halfway mark of the pier and back in. The group did this three times before we swam from the pier across the water toward the jetty and back.

It was my start at sweeping away some of my fears.

Happy Mother's Day to me!







TriEvents Series 2.....Done!

It was a beautiful day at Bonelli Park. The lake water was warm and the breeze was gentle.

I haven't seen the results yet, so I can't tell you how fast or slow I swam the 1000 meters. I can only tell you that I swam freestyle the entire way with just a couple of breaststrokes when I needed to sight and the sun was in my eyes. I wasn't at the front of the pack, but I wasn't at the back.

I ran up the hill to transition and had my wetsuit half off, goggles, cap, earplugs and SwimSafe in hand by the time I hit my spot.

Again, I haven't seen times, but I did NOT stand in transition shivering like last time. My fingers are crossed that I got out of T1 quicker than last time.

I don't need to see any times to tell you that my bike speeds ranged from 34 mph down one hill to 9 mph up another. My legs still weren't recovered from Wildflower last weekend and all the running I have done this week, so I didn't push it on the bike or the run.

I actually enjoyed the run. (Don't tell my coach, he may think that means I want to run more). Maybe I enjoyed it because I jogged/ran/walked with three other women. We chatted along the way. I gave a GU to one of the ladies. I gave a pep talk to another one who was sure her performance today meant she would not be able to do the Half-Ironman distance she has already signed up for in July. I set her straight.

Just take what you have and keep training-n-triing!

Me, Barb (it was her first triathlon) and Jeanne (it was her first open water swim tri).

Round 2 - TriEvents Championship Series

Tomorrow morning I will be competing in the TriEvents Championship Series #2.

I bought into all three of the events on the day after Thanksgiving. Yep, it was a BLACK FRIDAY sale and I could not pass up the deal.

The first tri was pretty short and sweet - swim 500m, bike 23.3k, and 5k run. My goal for the first one was to swim the lake swim calmly and have fun and get out of my wetsuit quickly. I met my goals and the event was a success.

Tomorrow's event is a 1k swim, 27k bike and 8.8k run. The swim is LOOONNNNNGER, the bike just a tad longer and the run a little longer than last time.

I don't think I have fully recovered from my Wildflower weekend last weekend. And really I didn't take much of a break this week because I have the Pasadena 1/2 Marathon next weekend, so I put foot in shoe and hit the pavement this week. My coach should be happy. My legs are not.

After last month's TriEvent, I had made all sorts of improvement goals for myself. Yes, I would be racing a longer distance, but I still wanted to step it up.

Tonight I don't even want to take a step.

So I am giving myself a break, throwing those pre-set goals out the window and setting a low bar for myself.

My goals for tomorrow's tri - have a calm, fun swim, run all the way up the ramp and have my wetsuit halfway off before I get to my bike in the transition area, get the rest of my wetsuit off quickly and get out of T1 quicker than I did last time. The bike and run, well, I am just going to enjoy it, push myself a little, but mostly just enjoy the time out on the course and try not to do too much damage to my legs.

I do have a 1/2 marathon to run next weekend.

National Bike Month

I got my ride on today....outside.

Usually on Thursday I go to the 6:45 p.m. spin class at LA Fitness. The last time I went to the class someone was on the bike I usually ride and I had to ride a different bike in a different aisle. It just didn't feel right.

I received an email from peopleforbikes today and it motivated me to take the extra effort and ride outside....and on my own bike.



Thank you Riverside Bicycle Club for having a nice Thursday evening ride. We started 6:30 p.m. from the Bakers on Adams and headed out toward my familiar pedaling grounds - Irving, Monroe, Victoria, Dufferin-

Palm Trees and Orange Groves with hawks in the sky.

My kind of ride!

In case you haven't got your May bike ride in yet, you can ride your bike to work next week for National Bike to Work Week (May 14-18) or just ride your bike to work next Friday for National Bike to Work Day (May 18).

For cyclists that like to log the miles you can always sign up for the National Bike Challenge (May 1 - Aug. 31).

http://www.endomondo.com/campaign/national

The National Bike Challenge is a free program with the goal of uniting 50,000 people to bike 10 million miles.

I signed up...my goal is to pedal 850 miles of those 10,000,000 miles.

So get a friend and go on a bike ride!

Wildflower Virgin No More!

Wildflower 2012 - 30th Year Anniversary

I went.

The first thing I did after checking into registration was to find the swim area. I thought I might be freaked out when I saw it, but actually I was calm and kind of excited for the swim. The buoys didn't seem very far out....and they weren't because I was only signed up for the Mountain Bike Triathlon, so the 1/4 mile swim was a shorty.

Then I rode up and down Lynch Hill on my mountain bike.

I camped out with my Triathlon Connection friends.

And obviously ate with Triathlon Connection Friends!!!!

Then it was time to compete!

I have been practicing my open water swim and my mountain bike riding skills for the past two months. Since the run was only 2 miles I didn't too much running practice, much to my coach's chagrin.

My transition area is all set up....My stuff is all on the yellow mat.

Then I waited in line for the PortaPotty....along with several other people....several times!

Then it was time for the swim. Wetsuit on, SwimSafe on, cap on, Zoggs on, noseclip ready!

I followed all the advise I have received and jumped right in during the warm-up, getting my face wet and going underwater several times. I swam a bit and then hopped out. The water felt great! I wasn't scared at all. I felt ready to swim!

Then the gun went off and I was off. That's me on the left with the orange goggles. I was in and swimming and those other ladies are still standing there talking about how awesome it was going to be to see Macca in the water for the Olympic Distance the next day.

Then I was out!

Then I was out!

And I ran all the way UP the UPHILL ramp. I even managed to get unzipped and my arms out of the my wetsuit before I hit the transition area. When I got to transition I had cap, goggles and SwimSafe off and earplug out (that's a lot of accouterments).

I put my race belt on and sat down to put my socks and shoes on. I almost started to put them on standing up, but then I thought of Lance Armstrong and how he tried to put on his socks and shoes standing up at his first 70.3 and he got off balance and wobbled and had to sit down anyway. I saved myself those precious few seconds and just sat down to begin with.

I wore my Nathan backpack, just to make sure I was getting enough hydration. Look how good I am, running with my bike out of transition and sucking down water at the same time.

The course was not as hilly as I had expected. All those rides up Skyline Drive in Corona, the big flipping hill my friend Edith made me ride up to where the handgliders take off by her house, and the fast riding in Sycamore Canyon with Robert and his friends prepared me for the Wildflower Mountain Bike course. There wasn't any single-track and really nothing too technical. It was just fast, fast, fast riding, and keep riding through the sandy parts and avoid all the people who didn't know how to ride, and didn't know how to downshift BEFORE they got on a little hill.

And before I knew it, it was time to ride down Lynch Hill and into transition for the 2-mile run....which started with this.......

the Stairs of Champions...and I did RUN up all the stairs. When I got to the top I heard someone say, "Did you just see that old lady run up those stairs?" I am hoping they were looking at the blurred age on my right calf that made my 52 look more like a 62, than at my face....but I took the compliment anyway and ran on.

The run was a mile out of rollers with a quick hose off at the turn-around

 and then a mile back of the same rollers.

It was hot and there were several people puking on the side of the road. I just kept plugging along, enjoying the run because I knew it was going to be over soon enough.

And then my race was over, but WILDFLOWER  was NOT!!

We celebrated Sinta's HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

(and don't go any further if you are do NOT want to see naked people....that's right, part of my WILDFLOWER weekend included naked people. Well, they did have shoes on. So don't go any further if you do NOT want to see naked people with shoes on.

So obviously you wanted to see the naked people, aka, streakers. They run through the camp every year. Sorry if the picture is small and a little out of focus. Next year I'll try to have my camera on close-up to get better pictures.

And still WILDFLOWER was not over!

The next day Robert and I check results and found out I got 2nd place in my age group. We stopped by and picked up my medal.

Then we spent the rest of the day watching friends and others competing.

Macca (other...though I wouldn't mind being his friend).

Julie Moss (she WALKED up the uphill ramp that I had RAN up the previous day...just saying)

Barb finishes the Olympic!

Triathlon Connection...yeah, everyone made it over the finish line!

Time to jump on the bus! That bus was filled with fit, athletic people!

Next year I am bringing my skinny wheels!

Lance Lost...on Purpose!

Lance lost on purpose!

I watched the video. I could tell.

All I have to say to Lance is - GREAT JOB!

Yes, Lance purposely let himself get "chicked" by Mary Michal Workman Eggers.

Watch the video and decide for yourself.

On a whim, Mary twittered a challenge to Lance...a 50-meter swim kick challenge.

Lance accepted.

All to raise money for Teens Living with Cancer, a charity Mary works with in New York, and LIVESTRONG.

So far, the kick board duel has raised more than $50,000.

Anyone can donate money toward the cause. The goal is to raise $100,000.

http://www.teenslivingwithcancer.org/duel-in-the-pool/

You can even buy a duel-in-the-pool tshirt for $20, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to TLC.

You can't see the tshirt very well, but it is cute!!!

I'd like to raise money for a great cause....there are so many great causes out there. I'd like to challenge Lance to a duel also, but I can't think of anything I could possibly beat him at.

Well, maybe "Duel with a Garden Tool".

I'm going out to practice weeding right now!