Brianna's Triathlon Blog

BIG KAHUNA!

2009-08-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

Okay so it's been awhile since my last post, but my excuse is that I've been lagging because I've been training so hard (that or I've been lazy, or actually trying to do "work" at work)

Update #1- I'm a Triathlete! Completed my first triathlon with Tri for Fun! It isn't an officially timed race, so there is no official record of my results online (although you CAN read my review on racevine), and since the photographer apparently uploaded a picture of the wrong person for my bib number's finish photos I have no official proof of my finish time, but I do know that the clock read 1:32 when I crossed, and I started in wave #4 with the women under 40 or whatever (first were the pros, then the younger men, then the older men, then us) so I began the race 15min into the clock. Based on my extremely remedial math skills, that means my time was 1:17. I was wearing a watch and know that my 400yd swim only took 9min, and my T1 and T2 times were pretty fast and under 2min each, but that's all I really paid attention to. The swim was pretty easy but it was my first swim in a lake as well as my first wave start so I freaked out a bit in the beginning and never really felt like I had my flow. The bike was really flat and I passed a bunch of people which was cool, but the run included rolling hills and was pretty hard for me. The number one thing I gained from the experience is how hard it is transitioning from the bike to the run. Brutal!

Update #2- Fundraising Success: I am officially 95% of my personal fundraising goal- to double the minimum in honor of my dad! My goal for this season was to reach $6,600 and I'm planning to hit it by the end of the month. Thank you so much to all the friends and family who have supported me through this- it means so much to me and to blood cancer patients everywhere. GO TEAM! Everyone on the team is picking it up with their fundraisers too, which means lots of drinking (for a good cause).

Update #3- OPEN WATER SWIMMING! We got our TNT wetsuits and now feel like official triathletes! We now swim in Aquatic Park (or "AP" as the regulars call it) once a week with the team, and Erin and I have been doing 6am swims on Monday and Wednesday too. When you put your face down in the water you can't see anything. There are seals in the water to look out for. You have to "sight" to make sure you're even swimming in the right direction. It is cold. It tastes salty. But I love it! There's nothing quite like swimming in the bay with your friends at sunrise and walking out after a mile swim onto the shore at 7am. Bonus: there's no post-shower chlorine smell lingering in your hair for 2 days!

Update #4- BIG KAHUNA: With the success of all these updates and added confidence with our training, I've officially decided in addition to my participation in Pacific Grove, I'll also be participating in Big Kahuna- a Half Ironman on October 25th in Santa Cruz. Ahhh! I figured I might as well- once I finish Pac Grove I'll want to continue my involvement with the team anyway till the end of the season, and there is no other time I would do something like this so it makes sense to just do it now. Why not?

Countdown to Sept 12th Pacific Grove: 1 month

Countdown to Oct 25th Big Kahuna: 2 months and 2 weeks

It's coming and it's coming fast! Last week we did a 50mi bike ride on Saturday, and then on Sunday 1mi swim and 7mi run brick workout. This weekend we'll do a long run on Saturday and then have a mock triathlon on Sunday in Marin. Crazy stuff!

Tri for Fun!

2009-07-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend I'll be participating in my first triathlon- it's a sprint distance and it's in Pleasanton- hosted by On Your Mark Events and called Tri for Fun! First heard about this last year when my friend Ritz participated while he was training for an olympic distance race in the fall, and heard about it again when Sports Basement Vinh did Tri for Fun in June. They host 3 races over summer- June, July and August- and each race is the 3rd week of the month. Rumor has it our Team in Training group is going to do our own mock race in August, but I thought why not get a head start and try it out now?

Since we won't be getting our TNT wetsuits till this Thursday (henceforth I have yet to swim in the Bay), this will actually be my first open water swim! The water at the lake in Pleasanton is supposed to be a warm 72 degrees so I'm gonna skip the wetsuit and just swim in my tri top and shorts.

Sports Basement Vinh and I will be leaving bright and early in the morning at 5:10am sharp (ha- looks like cocktails/dancing at the 1st anniversary of 3rd Fridays at 330 Ritch isn't in the cards this week!)

I'm also looking forward to documenting my first race review on Racevine... hopefully many more race reviews to come this year!

Re-Committment

2009-07-12T17:20:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is about halfway through the season and is our "recommitment" date. Basically it's when we recommit to Team in Training, to our specified event, and to our fundraising goal. Also when we sign up for everything related to the event weekend, including tickets for guests to the TNT event weekend dinners/events. I'm excited because both my parents, and *hopefully* my brother, will be coming out for the race. I've also heard it's one of the best tris for spectators because there are a lot of loops so you can see the people who came out to support you multiple times throughout the race.

I may be smiling here, but Thursday's workout was intense- we did the same hill repeats that we did last week but this time we did almost double the workout and it included some sprinting at the end. Apparently I'm building my endurance though because I didn't stop once and completed the workout!

Saturday we did a 60min bike in Tiburon, had the honoree potluck, and Sunday we did a swim/run workout in Novato (about an hour and a half in the pool and then a 60min run in the HEAT)

The workouts are beginning to get a little longer and we are really starting to build our endurance.

One thing I'm noticing is that I'm really starting to enjoy each of the sports. I used to hate running, and now I'm actually beginning to enjoy myself. Swimming is improving because I'm starting to nail down my form, and biking is fantastic. I've been outdoors a lot (oh heyyyy tan lines) and have seen some really gorgeous views in Marin during our trianing sessions. Biking has definitely been the best in terms of getting out there and seeing some great landscape- you obviously can't go the same distance with running and can't see as much.

This Thursday we get our wetsuits (AH!) but it's still a little while till our first open water swim together. I've never been to Aquatic Park but am looking forward to swimming in the bay for the first time and getting acclimated to the cold water!

This upcoming Saturday I think I'm going to do the Tri for Fun in Pleasanton which will be an interesting way to gauge my times, transitioning, and endurance. It will definitely be a great brick workout!

Last week: Workouts and DATE AUCTION

2009-07-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

Monday/Wednesday: swam 1400yds (Wednesday also did Dailey Method class in the morning)
Tuesday: 60min spin class with Joel (seasoned triathlete- his class is no joke!)
Thursday: ran hills with the team near Sports Basement (pics included)
Friday off
(... aaaand apparentely took Saturday and Sunday off too- oops!)

It was 4th of July weekend and I was out of town in Napa to celebrate the holiday Saturday-Sunday. Making up for it by running this evening (did a 5.5 mile loop to/from my apt and down to Crissy Field to Hopper's Hands by the bridge) and doubling up tomorrow with a swim and spin class after work.

More importantly however, this week I've officially surpassed the 50% mark online with my fundraising goal, and am going to blow that goal through the water with all the donations I am submitting this week from the Date Auction fundraising event I hosted!

Event was a HUGE success- many thanks to everyone who came out for it and especially for all my friends who helped out collecting $10 donations at the door, got donations for the silent

auction, and of course everyone who auctioned off a date for the event! Also special thanks to Norm Urgino, otherwise known as DJ eNORMous (pictured below) for providing the amazing music for the night as well as serving as the event's auctioneer.

In total I raised $4,300, which combined with a fundraiser at Eastside West ($295 raised) and contributions from friends and family, I should be well on my way to my fundraising goal- to DOUBLE my fundraising minimum for the season.

In addition to working hard to acheive my endurance goals this season, the mission of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is important to me and the reason behind why I got involved with Team in Training. Two family members have been diagnosed with CLL, one of the four main types of Leukemia, and after hearing the stories of multiple people I have crossed paths with over the past month (TNT Honorees in addition to random people at the bars or on the bus who have shared their story about being affected by blood cancer and helped by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) it has only solidified my committment to acheiving this goal.

If anyone would like to make a contribution to the cause, donations can be made online through my fundraising page:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/pactri09/bhaags

ANY donation will add up to make a big difference. Pass along the link to friend or family members that would like to make a donation too- all donations are 100% tax deductible and you will receive a tax ID # for your records.

This week we are having an Honoree Potluck and will get to spend time with four of the honorees who will share their stories with our team and remind us all of the reason behind our group's training and raising money together.

The Good the Not-So-Bad and the Ugly

2009-06-28T17:26:00.000-07:00

Weekdays: swam 1200 yards in the pool M/W, and biked for over an hour in Tiburon (from Mike's Bike's to Sam's) on Tuesday. Missed coached run/bleacher/core workout at Kezar on Thursday.
Saturday: Captain's workout: 35 min run and core exercises at Golden Gate Park

Sunday: coached workout in Novato, starting at the College of Marin: swim (including our 10 min time trial) and 1 hr bike ride

The good: Sports Basement in general. I seem to be going at least once every other week, if not every week, and every single person I've interacted with that works there is beyond helpful. I got my bike fit by Rocky the other day which was fantastic- they take all your measurements and make adjustments based on your proportions- my seat had to be significantly raised and it feels exponentially better. Buying gear this weekend was great too. I got the friends and family discount (15%) from this guy Pedro that works in the bike department. Stocked up on a transition bag (right), tri shorts (quick dry shorts with bike padding), tri sports bra, cycle jersey and new swim goggles (which hopefully won't fog up as much as my previous pair). I'm especially excited about the backpack because there are special compartments for both pairs of shoes, wet clothing, the wetsuit, helmet, etc etc.

The not-so-bad: Saturday's swim/bike. We hit the pool in the morning and had a reasonably quick transition and hit the road on the bike- all in the blazing heat of Novato. Felt stronger with my kick in the water and think I did alright with my 10 min time trial (got through 450 yds). Made sure to wear SPF 30 on my back and SPF 70 on my face since I've been out in the sun a lot and didn't want to get burned, but I still got a significant amount of color. The bike was one of the most challenging I've been on. There were more hills than what I've ridden before and it felt really good even though the heat was blazing and I was sweating like crazy. To the left is a picture of Erin and I after our ride, getting ready to go out with 11 people from the team to chow down on an amazing post workout meal at Toast

And the ugly: Running this week... my 35 min run was absolutely brutal on Saturday. Likely because I'm not used to running in intense heat with wind and an incline to boot, but when it comes down to it I definitely need to run outside more so I feel more comfortable with the workouts with the team. I think I might add a couple extra running workouts to my schedule during the week. I kept up with the group for the first half of the run, but toward the end started trailing behind and even walked for 10 seconds about three times.

Also pretty ugly: I fell for the first time with my clip-ins on Tuesday's ride! It wasn't bad but there was definitely blood. I definitely remembered to clip out, but my weight started to tilt toward the right on my clipped-in side and I hit the pavement hard. Could definitely be worse though.

Summer Solstice Bike Ride

2009-06-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

Last night was the Summer Solstice- officially the longest day of the year, meaning it was light outside for a really really long time. Some chose to grab cocktails at Tipsy Pig in celebration, some chose to celebrate on their roofdecks over wine and appetizers.

I chose to go on a 2 hour bike ride. Why? Because I'm a triathlete, duh. Well a triathlete in training, don't want to get too ahead of myself here. Sports Basement Vinh took me out for a 20 mile ride across the bridge and into Saulsalito. The conditions were ideal, the views were spectacular and it was definitely the longest/most challenging ride I've gone out on. And that last hill going back up to the bridge on the way back was absolutely KILLER.

This morning: 1200 yards (drills included) in the Bay Club pool. All the lanes were filled in the pool on the left side so I had to swim in the "cold pool" which is basically for the people who actually know what they're doing. I initially felt like an amateur but soon realized I'm starting to get the hang of it- I mean I was doing flip turns for the first time!

Tan lines from this weekend's outdoor swim are ridiculous. And I absolutely love it.

Swim Practice

2009-06-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned, when people ask which event I'm most nervous about I typically answer "all of them." However I do have to admit the 1 mile open water swim is slightly intimidating. A note about swimming. I did play waterpolo in high school- however it was only for one year, it was only on the "novice" team, and I wasn't exactly a star player (although I could always be counted on to cheer loud from the sidelines). We would swim a lot at practice, but that's pretty much been the extent of my swimming experience. Luckily I'm surrounded by friends who are fairly experienced and have offered help me improve! Yesterday my best friend Rachel (who happens to be a former swim instructor) came with me to the Bay Club pool and gave me some tips to help improve my stroke and my form. HUGE help, and I noticed a difference immediately. After just one lesson I noticed I was going faster and had a stronger kick as well as a better stroke. My friend Caroline has also offered to help me, as she teaches swim lessons once a week at Bay Club. In addition to this support, my roomates Helen and Annie are former CAL swimmers (Annie helped me decipher the workout drills outlined in our training calendar), and my friend Megan Coughlin's older sister Natalie is a world famous gold medal bearing olympic athlete who has set several world records (her online tips are extremely helpful!)

This weekend we had our first coached swim practice (we swam in an outdoor pool in San Anselmo- oh heyyyyy one-piece tan lines) and there were three levels of ability. I chose to swim with Group 1, but looking back I probably would have been able to hang with Group 2. Judging by this picture of Erin and I in the pool however it probably makes sense we were in the remedial swimming group (I look... "special"). Next week we'll have a 10 min time trial, and based on how many laps we accomplish within the 10 min timeframe they'll place our ability level based on that. For practice today we did a bunch of drills and spent a lot of time on our form in the water. After the swim we did some running on the track and then some core exercises.

For the race, I'll have to swim the equivalent of about 64 laps but in open water (yikes!) We'll be practicing in Aquatic Park come July to get used to open water swimming.

Looking forward to more swimming, more instruction, and more improvement!

Escape from Alcatraz!

2009-06-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

Today we went down to watch the San Francisco Escape from Alcatraz triathlon. I saw my TNT mentor Katie at the very end as she was running to the finish, as well as the BayClub spin instructor Joel. It was a really intense race and made me feel both excited and scared! One thing I really loved was that everyone who was a part of Team in Training would yell out "GO TEAM!" whenever a TNT participant ran by. It was cool becoming familiar with certain participants and seeing them at multiple stages during the race. It was also really interesting seeing how the transitions took place. For T1 the swimmers would first remove their wetsuits/caps/etc and put everything in one station, then run an entire mile just to get to the Transition area at the Marina Green! To participate you have to either qualify from winning a qualifying race, win the lottery, or be a part of one of the relay teams. Here's the scoop on the course:

2009 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon Course
SWIM

The Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon begins with a 8:00 am plunge from the ferry, into the icy cold water between the San Francisco Piers and Alcatraz Island. The boat is quite hot with 1000+ wet suit clad participants surrounding you, so we suggest you bring fluids. The currents, ebbs, and available dates make it difficult to determine the exact starting point. Participants are unloaded from the boat in less than 6 minutes. It is quite a rush when you take the leap, like a paratrooper from a plane, for the 1.5 mile swim. The swim finish is at the Marina Green Beach adjacent to the St. Francis Yacht Club. Triathletes face the risks of strong currents, treacherous 55 degree waters and two ton sea lions. Wetsuits and hoods are strongly recommended.

WARM-UP RUN
Upon exiting the water at the Marina Green Beach, triathletes proceed to the first transition area where they will switch to running shoes and warm clothing for the 1 mile warm-up run to the Marina Green. This run will take them beside the St. Francis Yacht Club, South on the Little Marina Green, and East on the sidewalk of Marina Blvd to the bike transition area.

BIKE
Mounting their bikes at the Marina Green, triathletes will begin the out-and-back 18 mile ride heading west into Crissy Field via Marina Boulevard. They will climb onto Lincoln Blvd., traveling through the Presidio onto Camino del Mar. They will then climb up the hill to the Palace of the Legion of Honor. They will come down the hill and make a hard right turn onto Clement Street and ride west to Seal Rock Drive. They will make a sharp down hill left turn onto 48th street and then a right turn west on Point Lobos Drive; and ride South on The Great Highway to Golden Gate Park. Triathletes will enter Golden Gate Park from John F. Kennedy Drive onto Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. They will veer left on Middle Drive and go to about the center or the park. They will then turn left on Transverse Drive and make another left turn onto John F. Kennedy Drive; and ride back to the Great Highway on the north side of the park. After going north on The Great Highway, they will retrace their course back to the Marina Green for the transition to the run. Triathletes risk disqualification for drafting and forward motion to the left of demarcation cones.

RUN
On tired legs, the triathletes will begin the 8 mile run to Baker Beach Battery by leaving the Marina Green, running West into Crissy Field to Fort Point below the Golden Gate Bridge. From Fort Point they battle the Presidio Headlands up and under the Golden Gate Bridge through the tunnel and onto the Coast Trail. Runners will be next to the Coastal Defense Batteries (Gunnery Locations from the turn of the century) until they reach Lincoln Boulevard, just past Battery Dynamite. They parallel Lincoln Blvd. on the narrow trail above the Coastal Bluffs to Baker Beach, where they return to the shoreline below. They will encounter the deep sand of Baker Beach through the turn around point until they reach the dreaded Sand Ladder (400 steps up the cliff). This experience will drain the legs of even the best professionals, as there is nothing like it anywhere in the sport of triathlon. More than one triathlete has used the hand cable to help them walk up the stairs. The stairs are to the run what the currents and waves are to the swim. After reaching the top of the Sand Ladder, runners will go left on the Coast Trail and back to the Finish line via Lincoln Blvd. They will then cross back under the Golden Gate Bridge and get to sea level, it is just a matter of endurance to the Finish Line.

Training: Week 2

2009-06-13T19:30:00.001-07:00

Jeremy who is our TNT Web Captain will be taking pictures at all of our workouts- this way we have documentation of our training, and can encourage family and friends to donate to the cause because we're working so hard! To the left we are listening intently to a presentation from two chiropractors, and below is one of Erin and I at our coached track at Kezar from last week, and there were more pictures taken this week that will be posted soon from our 2 mile time trial on Thursday as well as our coached bike this morning. I slacked last weekend and didn't make it to either coached workout, but have committed that this won't be a regular occurrence and I plan to make all coached workouts from here on out! Union Street Fest last weekend is no excuse :)

Monday: 700 yrd swim (ended up doing 1000 in morning before work)

Tuesday: 30min bike (did spin class)

Monday: 700 yrd swim (missed this)

Thursday: run at Kezar including 2 mile time trial (I have a LOT of work cut out for me!!)

Friday: off

Saturday: coached 60 min bike at Treasure Island

Sunday: run in Marin at Mt Tam HS

Apparently on the back of our workout calendar it specifies our swim workouts and I didn't realize we were supposed to do drills in the pool for those 700 yards. Whoops! I likely would have done it wrong anyway though. I'm looking forward to our first coached swim practice so I can get some feedback on my stroke since I really have no clue what I'm doing in the water.

As for the fundraising front, I'm really looking forward to my upcoming Date Auction fundraiser, and so far with donations from family members and friends have raised over $700 thus far!

Training: Week 1

2009-06-02T22:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend directly following our info meeting in Oakland I went immediately to Sports Basement to use my 20% off coupon and get ALL the gear I needed- including a bike (AH! big purchase). I ended up getting a Felt Women's ZW30 road bike- and I'm absolutely in love with it.

So this is completely embarrassing, but I was fairly clueless when I went to Sports Basement to make my purchase. You'd think with a brother who is a serious cyclist I would know a thing or two, or at least know that "kickstands" apparently don't exist on any bikes worth over $300. Ooops. Luckily my

new friend Sports Basement Vinh who was the first employee I spoke with just completed his first triathlon at Wildflower, and he was able to guide me through the gear getting process. Since I'm trying to be somewhat serious about this, I got clip-in pedals. That means I wear these special shoes that have cletes, and you have to clip in to the pedals.

THIS MEANS YOU ARE STUCK TO THE BIKE! It took some serious practicing to learn how to accomplish this whole clip in/out process comfortably, but I seem to have gotten the hang of it. The scary part is SO many people have told me they've fallen. Sports Basement Vinh said basically you forget that you're clipped in, you stop, you fall, you get a scar, and that scar will be the reminder to make sure you clip out everytime. This absolutely terrified me, but when I went to a TNT fundraiser at Tonic this weekend I ran into one of our mentors (Aurora- LOVE her), she said that she's actually NEVER fallen because she's super anal about clipping out and just extremely cognoscente of it. So I've committed to doing the same, and so far so good- no falling over- yet.

Per our training schedule we have workouts that are designed based on our event (sprint, olympic, or half-ironman) and our ability level (age, elite, pro). I've decided that I'm doing the olympic distance (why not push myself- I have 4 months!), and decided I'm probably in the middle "elite" group based on my current level of aerobic activity, so all my workouts will be based on these levels. The workouts start out really easy, and get increasingly more difficult and build upon themselves.

Monday: Swim 25min (did workout at BayClub pool before work- bonus biked to/from work)

Tuesday: Bike 35min (went on 45min bike ride in the Presidio with Zac Toy- picture below)

Wednesday: Swim 25min (went to Dailey Method and then used BayClub pool after work)

Thursday: first coached workout- running at Kezar Stadium

Friday OFF!

Saturday: Captain- led run at Marina Green (skipped- ran 30min on Marina Green later in day)

Sunday: Coached bike in the Presidio (skipped- they said it was more of a bike fit and instruction session than a hard workout)

This will be the only weekend I skip the coached workouts- I tried to make up for it on my own but probably won't be able to do that once the training gets more difficult!

Welcome to Team in Training!

2009-06-02T21:46:00.000-07:00

Well it's official- I'm going to be spending this summer season training for my first triathlon (or "tri" as the insiders refer to it) on September 12th at Pacific Grove. It's an olympic distance and I'll be spending the next 4 months training with Team in Training preparing myself for it.

My fundraising goal for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with Team in Training is $3,300. LLS is an incredible organization and I'm so proud to have joined such a great program that's able to contribute so much to blood cancer research. After our kick-off meeting at the Oakland Marriott last weekend I had my packet with all the info on TNT on the bus, and a woman sitting next to me introduced herself as a cancer survivor, and wanted to let me know she was so appreciative of all the organization does for cancer patients.

To raise funds I'll be holding a Date Auction event on Wednesday, July 1st and hopefully raise a good amount of money for my fundraising campaign.

I wanted to make this blog to track my progress with my training program. I have absolutely NO experience with endurance sports, and while I consider myself a fairly active person I've never done anything remotely as intense as this. On the info sheet we had to fill out at our kick-off event you had to write a number next to the events you've completed... you know how many times you've completed each of the usual suspects: half marathon, 10k, 5k, century ride, marathon... hmm, nope nope nope nope and nope. When I tell people I'm training for a triathlon, people ask me "so which do you think is your weakest sport?" In truth, the answer should be "ummm all of them."

I swam briefly when I was on the novice waterpolo team freshman year (it never progressed past that because I was exactly that- a novice. One that hugged the sidelines at that), I haven't owned a bike since college (...but I do enjoy spin class!) and although I've run up to 6 miles a couple times in my life, it's usually a struggle to make it past 2.

Luckily our coaches have outlined a specific workout schedule for the next 4 months and with the support system of TNT I feel confident that come September I'll be ready to become a full-fledge triathlete! Looking forward to everything to come, and recording it here!