So, last night was my dad's stunning raging heart warming retirement party. I scooted down to my parents house by 2:30p and we were off to the gathering. This retirement is from chief tech at St. Lukes but many of the people he worked with at UCSF had migrated over after he left there (of 25 years there). So, the party was at an old victorian million dollar home in Burlingame in a perfectly manicured back yard. The beauty of the house, the luxiurious amounts of food (quite overwhelming in quanity and quality), and most of all the ubiquitous people made my mouth drop to the ground. I felt like we were celebrities! Nonstop people just poured in and seemed so excited to meet his family. Little puppies jaunted around and laughter ruminated the jasmine smelling warm summer air. People sat down as the "book" was passed their way to write furiously all the last comments they wanted to say to my dad. Tears were flying either from hilarious stories he told, the funny stories they told of him, or from sadness as nobody wanted him to go. There was an occasional yell, "youre too young to retire!" ...and then they'd break out into song, "FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW..." A very lively crowd.
What amazed me the most about it all was the fact that when my dad arrived to St. Lukes to take his new position as the manager the xray dept was in shambles, struggling to stay afloat, people were disorganized and disunified and morale was as low as a snail. He went in, gave them ample amounts of his time, showed he cared, unified the team, got them all raises, and more. The friendliness, unity and bonds among the coworkers there was unlike anything I've seen before. The young, the old, and every cultural background and personality type was there. Even those he had to lay off were there!! That was shocking to me.
I got to talk with one 24 year old guy who calls my dad his "mentor" and has become like a brother to us four. We talked all about martial arts and now I'm highly interested in a new challenge and am thinking either Korean or Chinese is what I will be looking into. His favorite is the Chinese kind and he knew every detail. I guess after church today he's going to bring some reading material on the different types so I can make an educated choice on where to start. I had NO idea there were so many different kinds. The Chinese even have one specifically for w0men called, "Wing Wan (something)" can't remember.
Anyway, it was so wonderful to see my dad in his element. I used to work with him at UCSF and knew he was excellent with patients and great with people but as a part of management I had no idea the kind of impact he made! People wrote things like, "you have become more than a colleague but rather a great friend. You've helped me so much, not just learn about work, but so much about life." I couldn't believe their tears that were falling throughout the whole party! It was extremely touching.
Lastly, my dad worked three jobs to make ends meet in the beginning so that my mom could really be a mom...not a half ass'd mom like we see so often these days. She was home with us, cooking us healthy meals, teaching us lessons that daycare providers could care less about. She was home to shower us with her love. This was all made possible by my dad who almost killed himself at one point working three jobs, going to school, and still found time to take each one of us on a weekly date to connect and also shower us with love, and be a husband. He also started a mini Tiburon kids running club on the bike path, trucked our friends to the pool and played dolphin tag, or "jump or dive" gathering all the kids together who were there. On our one-to-one dates we enjoyed soup at La Petite (hey, that's French!) or an ice cream at thrifties (no starbucks back then...haha). He had family meetings every night (all neighborhood kids were invited) and he encouraged us to talk about whatever we wanted or needed to, and we prayed together and read the Bible together. This carried through high school! So sweet!!
Emily, Erin, James and I are so extremely blessed and we know it!
He get's the best father award!!
with tremendous gratitude,
Jen
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Ride with Holly (last Friday)
Well, I had the privedge with riding with Holly last Friday. She's the triathlete who won France last year!! So, I met her in front of her shoe store and we both took off for an easy 50 mile ride with some good climbs in Petaluma. She calls me her mentee and I'm soakin' it up!! She was All American THREE times! She just qualified for world's a few weeks ago (which takes place in Florida) and had a TON of great advice for me in regards to France!!
I would say the best advice she gave me was to be prepared to be ON YOUR OWN in that race. She said she rarely saw a sag car out there and the bike shops are useless. She reviewed the USAT rules with me. She talked about the importance and the how to of nutrition during the race...and mostly the workouts I do now I need to be training my stomach! I never heard it put that way. She basically said it's one thing to train, but it's a totally different thing to train for an ultra-distance race...and with that comes the higher level of training your stomach. In other words, to do the extreme intensity for short distances or even something like a century without much food is totally tolerated. But, to go hard in a race for 12-14 hours long or longer depending on mishaps and such, well your stomach needs to be tough. You need to be able to race hard with a full stomach. UGH!!! I HATE EATING SO MUCH!!! BUT NOW I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THE RATIONALE!!! She said especially for France...we'll be seeing ALOT of vomit because people didn't train with a full stomach.
So, tomorrow I'm going out hard and long with lots of climbing...heat will be starting in mid 60's and end in low 80's and im going to stuff my face and climb harder!!! I'll blog how it goes. She taught me so much, and we'll be riding again so I'm excited to learn more from her. She's a God-send for sure!! Because I surely am inexperienced in it all!
Ok, that's all for now.
Mildly stressed, moderately excited, ready to go hard!!
J
I would say the best advice she gave me was to be prepared to be ON YOUR OWN in that race. She said she rarely saw a sag car out there and the bike shops are useless. She reviewed the USAT rules with me. She talked about the importance and the how to of nutrition during the race...and mostly the workouts I do now I need to be training my stomach! I never heard it put that way. She basically said it's one thing to train, but it's a totally different thing to train for an ultra-distance race...and with that comes the higher level of training your stomach. In other words, to do the extreme intensity for short distances or even something like a century without much food is totally tolerated. But, to go hard in a race for 12-14 hours long or longer depending on mishaps and such, well your stomach needs to be tough. You need to be able to race hard with a full stomach. UGH!!! I HATE EATING SO MUCH!!! BUT NOW I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THE RATIONALE!!! She said especially for France...we'll be seeing ALOT of vomit because people didn't train with a full stomach.
So, tomorrow I'm going out hard and long with lots of climbing...heat will be starting in mid 60's and end in low 80's and im going to stuff my face and climb harder!!! I'll blog how it goes. She taught me so much, and we'll be riding again so I'm excited to learn more from her. She's a God-send for sure!! Because I surely am inexperienced in it all!
Ok, that's all for now.
Mildly stressed, moderately excited, ready to go hard!!
J
Last week 250 miles in 4 rides and 30 miles running
Well, last week was all about doing the next workout with minimal recovery time. While I was somewhat fatigued the level of soreness was surprisingly low. Does that mean I'm improving??? Does that mean all the hard workouts are starting to pay off??? OF COURSE IT DOES!! What a concept!! Doing the workouts is one thing, but actually believing they'll really do anything is another. Now, I'm seeing first hand the positive results from my training...and it's starting...just touching the edge of the tip of the FUN iceberg...ok dir.
So, we moved my parents out of their beach house this weekend and they'll be spending two weeks with me...yessssss!! But, man, i gotta tell ya, i don't think i've EVER worked so hard in my life!! My sister and my mom were calling me my dad's other son! Ha! At one point my dad and I lifted the metal, razor sharp ping pong table and one half collapsed onto the other pinching our forearms. Then, we were stunned stupid standing there as the table started leaning to the right. So, we got our witts about us and started straining our backs trying to save the table from flying to the right. After what seemed like an eternity of pinched forearms we got the table safely to the ground. We were both pretty cut up, bloody, and a little shakey. Within ten minutes we were laughing hysterically at the shocking event!! OMG! You would have died laughing had you seen us two...out of control!!! It's been a very bonding time for our family, going through pictures, and all kinds of ceramic things we made for our parents from kindergarden. Amidst the fun times lies a strong presence of sadness too. While there's much fun ahead there is also realization that time is short and moving forward very quickly. A tear or two hits the ground as big changes are on the horizon.
Today I did sprints after a quick 3 mile run then stretched and then some yoga. I'm seriously contemplating a 2 hour run in the middle of the night tonight (talk about fun!!). Haven't made up my mind yet because I do want to be careful of not overtraining and tomorrow I have about a 7 hour training day with a bike climb up Pine Flats...a 21% grade (the steepest climb in sonoma...well bullfrog is that steep and a little bit longer but they're both like sisters).
I gotta post another blog so that's all for now.
TICK TOCK...
So, we moved my parents out of their beach house this weekend and they'll be spending two weeks with me...yessssss!! But, man, i gotta tell ya, i don't think i've EVER worked so hard in my life!! My sister and my mom were calling me my dad's other son! Ha! At one point my dad and I lifted the metal, razor sharp ping pong table and one half collapsed onto the other pinching our forearms. Then, we were stunned stupid standing there as the table started leaning to the right. So, we got our witts about us and started straining our backs trying to save the table from flying to the right. After what seemed like an eternity of pinched forearms we got the table safely to the ground. We were both pretty cut up, bloody, and a little shakey. Within ten minutes we were laughing hysterically at the shocking event!! OMG! You would have died laughing had you seen us two...out of control!!! It's been a very bonding time for our family, going through pictures, and all kinds of ceramic things we made for our parents from kindergarden. Amidst the fun times lies a strong presence of sadness too. While there's much fun ahead there is also realization that time is short and moving forward very quickly. A tear or two hits the ground as big changes are on the horizon.
Today I did sprints after a quick 3 mile run then stretched and then some yoga. I'm seriously contemplating a 2 hour run in the middle of the night tonight (talk about fun!!). Haven't made up my mind yet because I do want to be careful of not overtraining and tomorrow I have about a 7 hour training day with a bike climb up Pine Flats...a 21% grade (the steepest climb in sonoma...well bullfrog is that steep and a little bit longer but they're both like sisters).
I gotta post another blog so that's all for now.
TICK TOCK...
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wildflower Half Ironman May 2, 2009
Woke up at 4am in my own comfy bed, finished throwing some last minute things into my car and zipped down to my parents house to bribe sweet Emma out of bed with the word, "COFFEE...oooh la la!" She and I packed my parents van and I was ecstatic that she was still wanting to come on a last minute decision...how blessed I am to have such a fun and supportive family! We love to support each other whether it be my dad's ping pong competitions, Erin's basketball, Emily's nonprofit organization for orphans in Peru, or James in his world of acadamia, and mom in her walking races or body boarding! Or my billion marathon/triathlon races. Ugh! Just way too much fun to be had by all!
We started toward socal rockin' out to Guns n Roses...an all time favorite cd! Great conversation, frequent stops for food and more Starbucks of course. Gorgeous weather! I did have a few health issues...a back pain that hurt to take a deep breath and some other ailments but since I paid for this expensive race I figured I should press on regardless.
We got there around 2pm, without an idea of where we were going to stay...$75 to camp out! Forget that! We did plan on staying in the van but there were absolutely no places to stay along the long road out to nowhere! We went to the expo, enjoyed sunshine, ate a burrito, listened to just a few speakers and then headed south to the next town (45 minutes away) Paso Robles. The drive was freakin' gorgeous! Emily was in awe! Just nothing but beautiful rolling green hills and very large lake San Antonio.
As we arrived we were pretty tired so we parked the van and napped. We hunted down a starbucks (couldn't believe that there was only one and pretty far off from the main happenings). We spent the whole evening in America's Living Room (starbucks) and it was a sweet comfort amidst my pre-race anxiety and health concerns. The rain was pounding from evening through the night.
We parked our van and slept like a baby...well i did at least. Emily didn't sleep a wink as she was fearful someone was going to break into our car!!!! Haha!!! I woke up early, got more coffee and ate a good breakfast before heading back to the race camp grounds. Everything went perfectly smooth before the race and the timing of everything. As I set up at the transition site I noticed the wetsuit that I borrowed from Holly (her husband's) was rather large on the upper body...oops...not good!! The sun was bright and the clouds were mostly gone!! WOW!! The predictions were for lots of rain!!
Em and I waited for 1 1/2 hour before my wave lined up. I was so full of dread and there were points I was beyond tempted to forget it and just go home. The pre swim dip was frrreeeezing!! I felt the water rush through the top of the wetsuit and instantly knew I was in trouble! So, i started at the back of my wave...90 women. As we ran into the water I automatically had to swim over most of the girls...i don't know, it's just innate i guess. I got toward the front end and after the initial sprint settled into a rhythm and knew today was my day I was going to focus on drafting since my suit was a big drag (no pun intended). I mostly had to pull with my right shoulder as my left back was pretty painful. I focused on a 3:1 stroke/breathe pattern and just worked hard the whole 37 minutes/1.2 mile.
Transition one was the slowest transition out of everyone in the whole race!! I absolutely couldn't not find the strength to battle the wetsuit off. My entire body was to the point of failure fatigue! I had to stop and let my body recover for a few minutes and then finally was able to take off on my bike. The winding start was mixed with the mountain biker race and it was a massive amount of people...fun! I learned the importance of starting SLOW to let my legs warm up and focused on recovering from the swim before focusing on the ride.
The ride went surprisingly well! I was steadily increasing my speed and mostly passed people during the whole 56 miles. There were some challenging climbs but nothing like the run! I remember eating my tuna sandwhich at mile 34 while going 24 mph and passing riders!! That did me right and it's always fun to figure out a piece of the puzzle! The weather was progressively hotter and even though I kept my big jacket on the entire ride (even as women rode in their bathing suits) I still managed to get sunburned on my face.
Transition two went three minutes faster but still slow. I took off on the run probably around 9:30-10 min/mile for the first 2-3 miles. I made sure that my breathing was comfy and that my legs moved with ease, feet low to the ground, and stayed in my own game as runners passed me frequently. I really noticed after mile 3 that my legs started to warm up and my pace picked up too! There were three massive climbs and I pressed on and didn't stop ONCE!! On each of those hills not one person was running, except me! I could not believe it! The sun was scorching at this point and I never cramped nor did I hit a wall! I ended up racing the last mile (downhill) at a pace that even surprised me! I passed a TON of people in the end and placed 11th in my age group on the run! WOW!!!!!! I patted myself on the back BIGTIME...something im learning to do more often and finding it most necessary as I build on my confidence which points me in the direction of success! Finishing time 6:10.
The whole race, while I wouldn't call it fun, was surprisingly an amazing learning experience and maintained the momentum I was looking for during this entire year...which actually started in socal the weekend before.
Em and I enjoyed the sunshine and live music afterwards for a couple hours. My legs were tired but not painful like after a marathon. We drove back home both so happy and thankful! What a race! I did it!!!
J
We started toward socal rockin' out to Guns n Roses...an all time favorite cd! Great conversation, frequent stops for food and more Starbucks of course. Gorgeous weather! I did have a few health issues...a back pain that hurt to take a deep breath and some other ailments but since I paid for this expensive race I figured I should press on regardless.
We got there around 2pm, without an idea of where we were going to stay...$75 to camp out! Forget that! We did plan on staying in the van but there were absolutely no places to stay along the long road out to nowhere! We went to the expo, enjoyed sunshine, ate a burrito, listened to just a few speakers and then headed south to the next town (45 minutes away) Paso Robles. The drive was freakin' gorgeous! Emily was in awe! Just nothing but beautiful rolling green hills and very large lake San Antonio.
As we arrived we were pretty tired so we parked the van and napped. We hunted down a starbucks (couldn't believe that there was only one and pretty far off from the main happenings). We spent the whole evening in America's Living Room (starbucks) and it was a sweet comfort amidst my pre-race anxiety and health concerns. The rain was pounding from evening through the night.
We parked our van and slept like a baby...well i did at least. Emily didn't sleep a wink as she was fearful someone was going to break into our car!!!! Haha!!! I woke up early, got more coffee and ate a good breakfast before heading back to the race camp grounds. Everything went perfectly smooth before the race and the timing of everything. As I set up at the transition site I noticed the wetsuit that I borrowed from Holly (her husband's) was rather large on the upper body...oops...not good!! The sun was bright and the clouds were mostly gone!! WOW!! The predictions were for lots of rain!!
Em and I waited for 1 1/2 hour before my wave lined up. I was so full of dread and there were points I was beyond tempted to forget it and just go home. The pre swim dip was frrreeeezing!! I felt the water rush through the top of the wetsuit and instantly knew I was in trouble! So, i started at the back of my wave...90 women. As we ran into the water I automatically had to swim over most of the girls...i don't know, it's just innate i guess. I got toward the front end and after the initial sprint settled into a rhythm and knew today was my day I was going to focus on drafting since my suit was a big drag (no pun intended). I mostly had to pull with my right shoulder as my left back was pretty painful. I focused on a 3:1 stroke/breathe pattern and just worked hard the whole 37 minutes/1.2 mile.
Transition one was the slowest transition out of everyone in the whole race!! I absolutely couldn't not find the strength to battle the wetsuit off. My entire body was to the point of failure fatigue! I had to stop and let my body recover for a few minutes and then finally was able to take off on my bike. The winding start was mixed with the mountain biker race and it was a massive amount of people...fun! I learned the importance of starting SLOW to let my legs warm up and focused on recovering from the swim before focusing on the ride.
The ride went surprisingly well! I was steadily increasing my speed and mostly passed people during the whole 56 miles. There were some challenging climbs but nothing like the run! I remember eating my tuna sandwhich at mile 34 while going 24 mph and passing riders!! That did me right and it's always fun to figure out a piece of the puzzle! The weather was progressively hotter and even though I kept my big jacket on the entire ride (even as women rode in their bathing suits) I still managed to get sunburned on my face.
Transition two went three minutes faster but still slow. I took off on the run probably around 9:30-10 min/mile for the first 2-3 miles. I made sure that my breathing was comfy and that my legs moved with ease, feet low to the ground, and stayed in my own game as runners passed me frequently. I really noticed after mile 3 that my legs started to warm up and my pace picked up too! There were three massive climbs and I pressed on and didn't stop ONCE!! On each of those hills not one person was running, except me! I could not believe it! The sun was scorching at this point and I never cramped nor did I hit a wall! I ended up racing the last mile (downhill) at a pace that even surprised me! I passed a TON of people in the end and placed 11th in my age group on the run! WOW!!!!!! I patted myself on the back BIGTIME...something im learning to do more often and finding it most necessary as I build on my confidence which points me in the direction of success! Finishing time 6:10.
The whole race, while I wouldn't call it fun, was surprisingly an amazing learning experience and maintained the momentum I was looking for during this entire year...which actually started in socal the weekend before.
Em and I enjoyed the sunshine and live music afterwards for a couple hours. My legs were tired but not painful like after a marathon. We drove back home both so happy and thankful! What a race! I did it!!!
J
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
The Brian Downey Training Camp...
Headed to socal last friday night after an ass-kicking training week (super happy with the intensity level) and excitedly yet nervously entered into "his" world of speed and strength. The time was so much fun and made me realize the part I'm missing in all this training...motivational workout buddies, and someone who is so far ahead of me in their knowledge of working out that my mind can just go into "follow" mode instead of "reasoning" mode. We rode a short easy 5 mile ride on friday night and enjoyed a yummy Italian dinner and a good movie.
Saturday morning we headed out with both of his ultra nice road bikes (i refused to try out his new top of the line ride as ignorance is bliss...i'd rather be content with dog food than the dainties of the rich...lol! Though, his old bike is still insanely nice too and i enjoyed riding it). We rode with the Orange County wheelman who excel at the short bursts on the hills and recover speedily on the descents for about 35 miles. I had a blast! Brian of course would go from the very back to the very front and pull the group in a heartbeat on THE UPHILL!! I just smiled as he cruised past and noticed everyone pedal faster as he swirled by!! I loved that!! After the ride we drove down the oceanside to Dana Point for a super yummy lunch on the water and great light fun and funny conversation mingled with motivational pep talks in which "B" always does so well.
Once back to his house we went out for a quick easy 2 mile run which felt wonderful! Legs were a little fatigued from all the ride accelerations but once they warmed up it was a nice spread out brick. Then, we hit the gym and he actually went SWIMMING!!!! It was so FUN to watch and he turned out to be a way better swimmer than he claimed! When my turn came I sucked air as I did 20 25's of fly and by the end I could hardly get both arms out of the water! He kept saying, "don't stop at the wall!! Keep going!!!" Somehow, he motivates me beyond no end!! While sitting in the hot tub we were able to catch our breath and then on with more B-BOOT camp...upstairs for a speedy spin workout...short but HARD! He had us spin with rpm's between 95-125 at different points in a 12 minute period!! The whole time he talked me through it and again, i was motivated! I loved it! So much fun! THEN...he INSISTED that I run a 7 min mile on the treadmill. He INSISTED!!! So, believe it or not...i was motivated and while i didn't want to, i shut my fat mouth and did what the man said. He stood over the treadmill with his stop watch and coached me through it...sooooo damn helpful! He gave me tips to get through it and i did...drenched by the end and sucking air but i felt so great when i was done!!
After the workout we had a yummy steak and rice dinner, hit blockbuster, got a skinny cow ice cream some popcorn and had a blast watching a movie...man, life is so much better when you work harder than your perceived limits. Then, resting mode is soooo much more enjoyable! I think that's my favorite part of it all...work hard then splurge in rest mode! Otherwise, too much resting mode is FREAKIN BORING!!
Sunday we went to church...and I LOVE his church!! It was even so much fun to dry and curl my hair and put make-up on! I giggled at his questioning on the way to church, "do you feel all pretty now??" lol!! Of course i did...99% of the time i feel like a smelly dirty boy with no makeup hair pulled back and training clothes. I can work like a horse, smell like a man, but i'll always LOVE being girlie!! Church was wonderful and felt like a warm blanket around me to praise God with my own family...people i don't know but have instant strong bonds with because of likemindedness...and that don't come often on the day to day!!! After church B took us on a 30 mile hilly ride. I felt pretty good but im in a different mode than he is. I always workout in conserve mode...going for the long one. Whereas, he works out in go hard and fast with quick recovery periods and so as you can imagine it might lead to a frustrating ride for either one of us. I stayed in my own game which i have done pretty well this year. He'd hold up for me and a few times i drafted behind his massive wall like body (against the head wind which was against us the whole time) and cruised at like 30 miles an hour not even on such a steep downhill either! That man is a workhorse and i love how his drive inspires me! At one point he got a flat too!! (did i mention how ive been riding for 2 years and never had a flat before?) well he taught me how to change the flat and while my hands are weak i now feel ready for my flat which im sure will take place in france!! Murphy's law!!! We got super hungry so we went and had a yummy yummy lunch and even split a BIG FAT MUD PIE afterwards and enjoyed every bite while excitedly watching the crazy NASCAR crashes!! Then, we headed back to the beach had a sweet devotion time of reading the Bible and praying together while watching the sunset with a school of dolphins JUMPING and SURFING the waves...they were EVERYWHERE!!!! We topped off the night with a late night dinner on the pier with seared cajun ahi tuna, and clam chowder soup. We ate outside under a heat lamp as the waves crashed below...i can't even tell you how fun that was!!!
Monday, we busted over to starbucks and then hit the airport to come back home. While my body wasn't super sore i was so glad i got those "Brian" workouts in as they will be crucial to my performance in france. I'd be sooooo much better in June had I incorporated more of his boot camps into my training!! He is just awesome!!! I even came home Monday and hung out with family and then went right in for a night shift at work!! Nice!!!!
ONWARD!!!
J
Saturday morning we headed out with both of his ultra nice road bikes (i refused to try out his new top of the line ride as ignorance is bliss...i'd rather be content with dog food than the dainties of the rich...lol! Though, his old bike is still insanely nice too and i enjoyed riding it). We rode with the Orange County wheelman who excel at the short bursts on the hills and recover speedily on the descents for about 35 miles. I had a blast! Brian of course would go from the very back to the very front and pull the group in a heartbeat on THE UPHILL!! I just smiled as he cruised past and noticed everyone pedal faster as he swirled by!! I loved that!! After the ride we drove down the oceanside to Dana Point for a super yummy lunch on the water and great light fun and funny conversation mingled with motivational pep talks in which "B" always does so well.
Once back to his house we went out for a quick easy 2 mile run which felt wonderful! Legs were a little fatigued from all the ride accelerations but once they warmed up it was a nice spread out brick. Then, we hit the gym and he actually went SWIMMING!!!! It was so FUN to watch and he turned out to be a way better swimmer than he claimed! When my turn came I sucked air as I did 20 25's of fly and by the end I could hardly get both arms out of the water! He kept saying, "don't stop at the wall!! Keep going!!!" Somehow, he motivates me beyond no end!! While sitting in the hot tub we were able to catch our breath and then on with more B-BOOT camp...upstairs for a speedy spin workout...short but HARD! He had us spin with rpm's between 95-125 at different points in a 12 minute period!! The whole time he talked me through it and again, i was motivated! I loved it! So much fun! THEN...he INSISTED that I run a 7 min mile on the treadmill. He INSISTED!!! So, believe it or not...i was motivated and while i didn't want to, i shut my fat mouth and did what the man said. He stood over the treadmill with his stop watch and coached me through it...sooooo damn helpful! He gave me tips to get through it and i did...drenched by the end and sucking air but i felt so great when i was done!!
After the workout we had a yummy steak and rice dinner, hit blockbuster, got a skinny cow ice cream some popcorn and had a blast watching a movie...man, life is so much better when you work harder than your perceived limits. Then, resting mode is soooo much more enjoyable! I think that's my favorite part of it all...work hard then splurge in rest mode! Otherwise, too much resting mode is FREAKIN BORING!!
Sunday we went to church...and I LOVE his church!! It was even so much fun to dry and curl my hair and put make-up on! I giggled at his questioning on the way to church, "do you feel all pretty now??" lol!! Of course i did...99% of the time i feel like a smelly dirty boy with no makeup hair pulled back and training clothes. I can work like a horse, smell like a man, but i'll always LOVE being girlie!! Church was wonderful and felt like a warm blanket around me to praise God with my own family...people i don't know but have instant strong bonds with because of likemindedness...and that don't come often on the day to day!!! After church B took us on a 30 mile hilly ride. I felt pretty good but im in a different mode than he is. I always workout in conserve mode...going for the long one. Whereas, he works out in go hard and fast with quick recovery periods and so as you can imagine it might lead to a frustrating ride for either one of us. I stayed in my own game which i have done pretty well this year. He'd hold up for me and a few times i drafted behind his massive wall like body (against the head wind which was against us the whole time) and cruised at like 30 miles an hour not even on such a steep downhill either! That man is a workhorse and i love how his drive inspires me! At one point he got a flat too!! (did i mention how ive been riding for 2 years and never had a flat before?) well he taught me how to change the flat and while my hands are weak i now feel ready for my flat which im sure will take place in france!! Murphy's law!!! We got super hungry so we went and had a yummy yummy lunch and even split a BIG FAT MUD PIE afterwards and enjoyed every bite while excitedly watching the crazy NASCAR crashes!! Then, we headed back to the beach had a sweet devotion time of reading the Bible and praying together while watching the sunset with a school of dolphins JUMPING and SURFING the waves...they were EVERYWHERE!!!! We topped off the night with a late night dinner on the pier with seared cajun ahi tuna, and clam chowder soup. We ate outside under a heat lamp as the waves crashed below...i can't even tell you how fun that was!!!
Monday, we busted over to starbucks and then hit the airport to come back home. While my body wasn't super sore i was so glad i got those "Brian" workouts in as they will be crucial to my performance in france. I'd be sooooo much better in June had I incorporated more of his boot camps into my training!! He is just awesome!!! I even came home Monday and hung out with family and then went right in for a night shift at work!! Nice!!!!
ONWARD!!!
J
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Gaining momentum...
Well the beast is only eight weeks away. I'm starting to get excited about my training. Have been training with some fun friends and loving every second of the "fun" part for the first time!! I can't believe what a difference it makes to enjoy beautiful Sonoma county with such fun people, and swimming (my greatest dread), also with fun friends! The weather has been to die for!! The past two days has been 95 degrees and just wonderful to train in!
Two days ago, I went on a 55 mile ride (tons of climbing) with three other guys and me. We climbed Trinity of which I zipped up to the top...Amazing! I almost died but still...amazing! Then, we headed out to Napa and grabbed coffee and gabbed in the warm morning sun...full of laughter, teasing, and fun talks! Then, we headed back to Glen Ellen by route of the town of Sonoma. As I said my goodbyes to my buds I headed for a mile further to my car. Just as I left them I went from 24 mph to a DEAD stop miraculously avoiding a face plant...still can't believe I didn't go down!! As I surveyed my bike for the damage, I saw that I literally cracked my back derailer IN HALF!! And it went into my back rim. I threw my bike over my shoulder and walked a mile back to my car.
During the ride I felt many things fly into my helmet...a common thing, bugs, leaves, dirt, junk etc...So, in my car, as I drove down the rode to go home I suddenly heard..."BZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!" and felt something crawling furiously all over my head! I looked in the mirror and saw a BIG BLACK HORNET!!! I was at a stop sign trying to get it out, but it was a stubborn ass and wouldn't leave! So, highly anxious I pulled my car off to the side, jumped out and started shaking my head but still the idiot wouldn't get out. After such a ride my hair was quite a disgusting matted mess that I'm sure he was relentlessly going to settle there in what seemed to be a luxurious hornet nest...wonderful! So, I started jumping up and down...no luck....started screaming...no luck. Then, a couple of cars driving by the scene must have thought, "that girl is CERTIFIABLE"and crazily started honking their horns as they drove by (grouchy old women)...which of course only pissed me off!!!! So, at this point I'm on the side of some road, jumping up and down, vigorously shaking my head while swatting my hair, screaming and now flipping honking drivers off as they go by all while a hornet is trying to make a home on my head!!!! NICE!!!! I was finally able to hit the F'er out and I miraculously didn't get stung! I jumped back in my car and realized I gave myself an asthma attack...calmned myself down, wiped away the tears and went back home to my sweet sister who was waiting to go swim with me.
So, after an amazingly traumatizing experience I wanted to go straight to the bike shop to calculate the damages...and it was quite an expensive mishap!! So, in the 95 degree heat I went out yet again to the trails and ran for a 45 minute steep climb. (Did I mention I saw a black scorpion I saw there the day before???) The run was good, my legs were a little tired but it was the first time of the day upon reflection that I could begin to giggle at the bike/hornet trauma. After the run Emma and I went to the pool and then had a really yummy roasted chicken dinner with the BEST SALAD!! UGH!! SOOO GOOD!!!!
I feel like with the newly offered sponsorship, my return to riding with all my friends in the club, the beautiful weather, the upcoming beasts (gotta a half beast in two weekends...wildflower) and the fun races to follow the beast (required to do six races with the sponsorship and have to upload photos to a website) that I'm finally gaining the momentum I've been waiting for. I know for sure that the IM is not my race...it's too crazy...too obsessive...too self absorbed...but I'm excited to find my race and once I do...I know I'll KICK ASS!!! The sponsorship is really about bringing athletes to their potential, at least thats the impression I got from our national conference call...even moreso than promoting their product...well of course that's a part of it. They picked 175 of us out of 2,000 applicants accross the US. Some of these athletes are about to go pro and kept talking about when they "podium" and I wanted to say, "yeah, uh, my goal is just to finish???"
Anyway, I must conclude that nothing in life is worth it unless there is fun involved...and for the very first time this year, honestly, in all my training since last August, I'm finally HAVING FUN!!! May you all have fun today in whatever is before you!!!
Lots of E-HUGS,
Jen
ps-God rules!!!
Two days ago, I went on a 55 mile ride (tons of climbing) with three other guys and me. We climbed Trinity of which I zipped up to the top...Amazing! I almost died but still...amazing! Then, we headed out to Napa and grabbed coffee and gabbed in the warm morning sun...full of laughter, teasing, and fun talks! Then, we headed back to Glen Ellen by route of the town of Sonoma. As I said my goodbyes to my buds I headed for a mile further to my car. Just as I left them I went from 24 mph to a DEAD stop miraculously avoiding a face plant...still can't believe I didn't go down!! As I surveyed my bike for the damage, I saw that I literally cracked my back derailer IN HALF!! And it went into my back rim. I threw my bike over my shoulder and walked a mile back to my car.
During the ride I felt many things fly into my helmet...a common thing, bugs, leaves, dirt, junk etc...So, in my car, as I drove down the rode to go home I suddenly heard..."BZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!" and felt something crawling furiously all over my head! I looked in the mirror and saw a BIG BLACK HORNET!!! I was at a stop sign trying to get it out, but it was a stubborn ass and wouldn't leave! So, highly anxious I pulled my car off to the side, jumped out and started shaking my head but still the idiot wouldn't get out. After such a ride my hair was quite a disgusting matted mess that I'm sure he was relentlessly going to settle there in what seemed to be a luxurious hornet nest...wonderful! So, I started jumping up and down...no luck....started screaming...no luck. Then, a couple of cars driving by the scene must have thought, "that girl is CERTIFIABLE"and crazily started honking their horns as they drove by (grouchy old women)...which of course only pissed me off!!!! So, at this point I'm on the side of some road, jumping up and down, vigorously shaking my head while swatting my hair, screaming and now flipping honking drivers off as they go by all while a hornet is trying to make a home on my head!!!! NICE!!!! I was finally able to hit the F'er out and I miraculously didn't get stung! I jumped back in my car and realized I gave myself an asthma attack...calmned myself down, wiped away the tears and went back home to my sweet sister who was waiting to go swim with me.
So, after an amazingly traumatizing experience I wanted to go straight to the bike shop to calculate the damages...and it was quite an expensive mishap!! So, in the 95 degree heat I went out yet again to the trails and ran for a 45 minute steep climb. (Did I mention I saw a black scorpion I saw there the day before???) The run was good, my legs were a little tired but it was the first time of the day upon reflection that I could begin to giggle at the bike/hornet trauma. After the run Emma and I went to the pool and then had a really yummy roasted chicken dinner with the BEST SALAD!! UGH!! SOOO GOOD!!!!
I feel like with the newly offered sponsorship, my return to riding with all my friends in the club, the beautiful weather, the upcoming beasts (gotta a half beast in two weekends...wildflower) and the fun races to follow the beast (required to do six races with the sponsorship and have to upload photos to a website) that I'm finally gaining the momentum I've been waiting for. I know for sure that the IM is not my race...it's too crazy...too obsessive...too self absorbed...but I'm excited to find my race and once I do...I know I'll KICK ASS!!! The sponsorship is really about bringing athletes to their potential, at least thats the impression I got from our national conference call...even moreso than promoting their product...well of course that's a part of it. They picked 175 of us out of 2,000 applicants accross the US. Some of these athletes are about to go pro and kept talking about when they "podium" and I wanted to say, "yeah, uh, my goal is just to finish???"
Anyway, I must conclude that nothing in life is worth it unless there is fun involved...and for the very first time this year, honestly, in all my training since last August, I'm finally HAVING FUN!!! May you all have fun today in whatever is before you!!!
Lots of E-HUGS,
Jen
ps-God rules!!!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Update...NO STINKIN' THINKIN'!!!
So, I've had a week of doing NO EXERCISE!! Two weeks ago i went ultra hard. Did my routine IM weekly workouts and added a marathon on the treadmill. I took a day off and started back in on Monday. Usually the treadmill is painless so, not being sore at all I felt great until I hit the treadmill. Running next to my friend Lori I had to keep stopping because of right knee pain (where i had a painless lump that sponaneously went away the week before). It only seemed to get worse so I cut it short. The rest of the week went like that until Thursday I didn't run at all, did a hard 45 minute spin and core fitness class. By the time I got home I could barely walk! I had to call in sick and sit the rest of the day with my knee elevated on ice. In efforts to avoid panic mode I watched about 3,000 episodes of "The Office" which had me in gut level laughter for the rest of the day! Those guys (especially DWIGHT SHRUTE) are beyond hilarious!
I was supposed to swim but didn't do a thing. In fact, last night I ate FIVE PIECES of pizza without a DROP OF GUILT! I think sometimes letting loose can be extremely beneficial to winning my race! To keeping up with the motivation, to not become too serious, to enjoying some of the things that people who do NOT exercise maybe shouldn't enjoy!? I loved every bite and im still smiling on how yummy it was! Woohoo! (pms also played a role in that...cheers to pms!)
And guess what??? I CANNOT wait to get going again in my training and I want to go HARD! I think it was a perfect amount of time, my knee is feeling normal again...we'll see when i go spin today for the first time.
Here are some wonderful tips by Paul Salitsky at UCD.
1. MENTAL TRAINING TO ELEVATE YOUR PERFORMANCE
2. REALIZING YOUR POTENTIAL
3. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
-rest
-fuel
-hydration and preparation
-relax
-rest some more
-sleep
-regenerate
-take care of family, work, social, logistics...THIS IS ALL ABOUT YOUR DAY!
-Bring your positive attitude---ALWAYS
-Expect the unexpected
4. MINDSET FOR COMPETITION
Prior prep
Pre-event routine (>24 hours prior)
Know the course and read the tips
Putting on the UNIFORM
Get your body ready
Review your plan and course
Visualize performing the way you want to perform
Begin to narrow focus
Warming up
Analyze and plan
Stay loose and relaxed
Use your cue words
Begin to narrow focus more
5. MINDSET II
AT THE START LINE
Relax (breathing)
Go into 'Auto Pilot using your cue words
Allow eyes to take control/lead you
Let if flow and stay slow
AFTER EACH WATER/FUEL STATION/ SPLIT---
Get the garbage out---NO STINKIN THINKIN
Visualize the adjustment
Sweep the gauges (a form of total mind and body assessment leading to awareness which
helps you meet your needs in an extremely long distance race)
Start the routine over again
Relax (especially shoulders and low back)
6. PUSHING THROUGH PERSONAL LIMITS
BELIEF>>>>TRUST>>>>PROCESS
THOUGHTS>>>>ATTITUDES>>>>BEHAVIORS
RACE WITH EMOTION, BUT DON'T BE EMOTIONAL
7. FOCUS & CONCENTRAION
ASSOCIATION>>>>TUNE IN TO YOUR 'RACE CAR'
DISASSOCIATION>>>>TUNE OUT TO YOUR 'HAPPY PLACE'
"COURAGE INVOLVES THE CONSCIOUS CHOICE OR THE WILLPOWER TO SELECT CONFIDENCE OVER FEAR."
8. MAINTAINING MOTIVATION
Think positively and create enthusiasm (2 minute rule...i only have to do this for 2 more min)
Identify and stop negative attitudes
Repeat your daily goals
Increase self-discipline
Model highly motivated athletes
Use positive visualizations and affirmations
Make it fun!!
Act 'as if"
Remember long-term goals and objectives
Set a winning pace
9. FIRST TIMERS
Just finish or goal time?
Start slow-NEGATIVE SPLITS
Have fun!
10. GOAL TIME (PR)
Start slow -NEGATIVE SPLITS
Practice races slowly increase to>>> race pace.
GOOD STUFF!!! I've needed to focus a bit on some mental training. There has been alot of distractors this past 8 months...economy, presidential changes, job instability, cold weather and misery, and now the teasing beautiful COLD weather and misery, long grueling gym workouts all leading to kind of a poor morale.
Though, after reading through this and looking forward to riding with my old buddies I'm feeling the restless feeling that wants to break out...kind of like the HULK!!! YEEEAH! But, for now I will try and contain it until i can go all out HARD!!!!
This weekend is Solvang. The weather will be windy and cold...just another one of those workouts to give my all and get over it!!
Love you guys!
Jennathalon
ps-I'm going to start preparing for the fundraising aspect of all this...raising money for orphans throught CHF (Childrens Hunger Fund). Ideas so far; internet link where people on FB can make donations, silent auction, and an allllll day party ending in a wine and cheese tasting. Any ideas or organizational skills or help you may want to offer (like soliciting businesses)haha! Let me know. Peace out friends!!! :)
I was supposed to swim but didn't do a thing. In fact, last night I ate FIVE PIECES of pizza without a DROP OF GUILT! I think sometimes letting loose can be extremely beneficial to winning my race! To keeping up with the motivation, to not become too serious, to enjoying some of the things that people who do NOT exercise maybe shouldn't enjoy!? I loved every bite and im still smiling on how yummy it was! Woohoo! (pms also played a role in that...cheers to pms!)
And guess what??? I CANNOT wait to get going again in my training and I want to go HARD! I think it was a perfect amount of time, my knee is feeling normal again...we'll see when i go spin today for the first time.
Here are some wonderful tips by Paul Salitsky at UCD.
1. MENTAL TRAINING TO ELEVATE YOUR PERFORMANCE
2. REALIZING YOUR POTENTIAL
3. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
-rest
-fuel
-hydration and preparation
-relax
-rest some more
-sleep
-regenerate
-take care of family, work, social, logistics...THIS IS ALL ABOUT YOUR DAY!
-Bring your positive attitude---ALWAYS
-Expect the unexpected
4. MINDSET FOR COMPETITION
Prior prep
Pre-event routine (>24 hours prior)
Know the course and read the tips
Putting on the UNIFORM
Get your body ready
Review your plan and course
Visualize performing the way you want to perform
Begin to narrow focus
Warming up
Analyze and plan
Stay loose and relaxed
Use your cue words
Begin to narrow focus more
5. MINDSET II
AT THE START LINE
Relax (breathing)
Go into 'Auto Pilot using your cue words
Allow eyes to take control/lead you
Let if flow and stay slow
AFTER EACH WATER/FUEL STATION/ SPLIT---
Get the garbage out---NO STINKIN THINKIN
Visualize the adjustment
Sweep the gauges (a form of total mind and body assessment leading to awareness which
helps you meet your needs in an extremely long distance race)
Start the routine over again
Relax (especially shoulders and low back)
6. PUSHING THROUGH PERSONAL LIMITS
BELIEF>>>>TRUST>>>>PROCESS
THOUGHTS>>>>ATTITUDES>>>>BEHAVIORS
RACE WITH EMOTION, BUT DON'T BE EMOTIONAL
7. FOCUS & CONCENTRAION
ASSOCIATION>>>>TUNE IN TO YOUR 'RACE CAR'
DISASSOCIATION>>>>TUNE OUT TO YOUR 'HAPPY PLACE'
"COURAGE INVOLVES THE CONSCIOUS CHOICE OR THE WILLPOWER TO SELECT CONFIDENCE OVER FEAR."
8. MAINTAINING MOTIVATION
Think positively and create enthusiasm (2 minute rule...i only have to do this for 2 more min)
Identify and stop negative attitudes
Repeat your daily goals
Increase self-discipline
Model highly motivated athletes
Use positive visualizations and affirmations
Make it fun!!
Act 'as if"
Remember long-term goals and objectives
Set a winning pace
9. FIRST TIMERS
Just finish or goal time?
Start slow-NEGATIVE SPLITS
Have fun!
10. GOAL TIME (PR)
Start slow -NEGATIVE SPLITS
Practice races slowly increase to>>> race pace.
GOOD STUFF!!! I've needed to focus a bit on some mental training. There has been alot of distractors this past 8 months...economy, presidential changes, job instability, cold weather and misery, and now the teasing beautiful COLD weather and misery, long grueling gym workouts all leading to kind of a poor morale.
Though, after reading through this and looking forward to riding with my old buddies I'm feeling the restless feeling that wants to break out...kind of like the HULK!!! YEEEAH! But, for now I will try and contain it until i can go all out HARD!!!!
This weekend is Solvang. The weather will be windy and cold...just another one of those workouts to give my all and get over it!!
Love you guys!
Jennathalon
ps-I'm going to start preparing for the fundraising aspect of all this...raising money for orphans throught CHF (Childrens Hunger Fund). Ideas so far; internet link where people on FB can make donations, silent auction, and an allllll day party ending in a wine and cheese tasting. Any ideas or organizational skills or help you may want to offer (like soliciting businesses)haha! Let me know. Peace out friends!!! :)
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