Boise Highlights & News on My Season

unfortunately, the moment has sort of passed on writing the "good news" portion of my Boise trip (sheesh, slacker). but in blog world, I guess even old stories can still come off as new. still, i'll keep it relatively short (in my terms of short ha!) and use my pics to tell the tale of the ultimate girls trip...

we arrived at the airport looking sharp. i'm pretty sure the lieto brothers will now forever know me as "compression chick" (long story). we also dubbed sara as "flannel." sweet styles.one of my bags didn't make it to boise. or so i thought. turns out an old man mistook it for his and left me with his pom-pom luggage. minor delay. lesson learned: always get luggage before picking up the rental car. btw, check out out rad rental TRUCK (good price too!):i got to play driver the whole time. loved it. except for my poor navigational skills. we survived.
our home away from home was such a nice change compared to the usual cookie-cutter hotel rooms, ya know with the mini coffee makers, bad decor, weird smells and life of living off stale bars and packaged oatmeal. yuck. instead: we stayed in idaho's version of shangri-la... ...and had the best "mom" ever. she was so hospitable. she cooked awesome food, gave us free reign in the kitchen/fridge and cleaned up after us despite my best efforts to wash even one dish. definitely an unexpected surprise! this was the man of the house:i really tried to fall in love with 'stache cat. (fyi, i'm not a big fan of cats, at all.) and in all honesty, he wasn't that bad at all, but no. i couldn't fake it. i am a dog person. cats don't do it for me. sorry.

i ate well in boise. i had plenty of good ol' spuds, duh... although, i prefer sweet potatoes any day (had those too, of course). speaking of food. we found the boise co-op thanks to molly from zoot, and it quickly became my favorite place! i think sara was slightly freaked out/surprised by my uber-healthy eating habits. i crave healthy things like other people crave junk food. weird. i.e. check out my co-op special, a couscous/black bean/fresh turkey/salad thing i compiled, with a kombucha...

ok. enough food talk. the race expo was the same old. saw some friendly faces, which is always nice. got recognized thanks to the blog. sweet! the big highlight was spooning with sara on the "compression-like recovery" bed (which i don't buy into at all, sorry!).we explored downtown boise and got in trouble in urban outfitters. bad girls. hm. what else. we met up with ian on friday to go to bike drop off together. he gave us the inside scoop on the pro meeting and filled us in on his life with coach dirk, etc. he also gave us a good laugh when questioning the appropriateness of where his mom was aiming when taking this shot ;) .....oh, back up. sara & i did a little pre-race ride to make sure our bikes didn't fall apart after building them. too bad my seat post didn't slip then! wtf?! oh well. it was so nice having open, endless roads and no stoplights. the constant smell of manure took some getting used to, however.this storm came in quickly and we had to race it home. good thing we did go on a ride... sara needed a new chain, bad. while we were there, i saw eileen swanson and said something along the lines of, "heeey, i know you from blog world!" crazy what these blogs do for our networking! anyways, on race morning, i was nervous mostly of my unknown fate. we watched some soccer, i didn't understand much but i tried for the sake of sara and my boyfriend. then i was bored and just was waiting to eat again...passing time.... then the race happened. got that blog out the way already! post-race we chowed at pf changs then i got to play "mom" to sara and cheer her on/take pics for her 5th place podium finish. all races should have awards that go five deep! i stalked the pros some more. they must have gotten the memo that black and jeans are the way to go...

then we met up with our new friend cortney (thanks for introducing us, ian!) and the girls went out for some beers in boise. oh, our new friend denny was there too. sara met denny on the run. she cracks me up with her people-meeting skillz. we didn't even get started at the bar until past midnight and lasted until 3 a.m. ish. i needed those beers. to this day, i'm still needing a drink with all that's happened :)fun characters come out to play in boise at night (the guy in this photo was tagged as matt lieto on FB... hmmmm, secret life?) and then before we knew it, we were leaving. i was really sad to go so soon. it truly was an awesome girls trip, and this blog doesn't even do justice to how much fun i had with sara. definitely more triathlon girls trips in our future!

oh yea, fyi, i was nervous about using a soft bike bag to travel, but my bike survived just fine! even on the way home when my re-packing of the bike was less than stellar.

so the new news...

the injury is not going to make a miraculous recovery in t-minus 20-something days until vineman. i still am unable to run for more than 5-10 min without getting major pain, and continuing to train hard (even without running) then race hard would be dumb. nothing would heal or get better, and chances are i could make things a lot worse. because this isn't kona on the line, i've decided not to risk it and i pulled out. i'm young. there's time.

new plan: work on a full recovery and beyond. i've done a lot of thinking (ya know, the whole "why me?!") and i think i know why this happened... as this year continually got more busy, i put my own training needs on the back burner. i was neglecting the little things to keep myself strong and injury-resilient. even my training log disappeared. well, all that caught up with me, and now i really need to take a step back to work on the foundation before i expect to put in some miles.

in a way, i'm excited for this new challenge. i'll, of course, be sharing my journey as it unfolds.... i do expect to be able to race again before this year is over, so don't count me out yet! and i'll still be highly involved in the triathlon world... maybe even more so with all this extra time :)


last but not least... a couple of the recipes are in the comment section of my "Food" blog. more to come. enjoy!

Awesome Change of Plans

I've done 12 races since last November--that's a bunch for me!--and every one has given me an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. The one thing I haven't done a lot of lately is sit back, relax and play sherpa. I love to be in the game, not on the sidelines. But a special opportunity has come my way, and I couldn't been happier to say that I'm backing out of the Mission Bay Sprint. I'm doing it to give my slot to a cool little dude named Calvin. It will be his first triathlon.

Hi Calvin!

I met Calvin, 10, the night before Vineman 70.3. My dad works with his mom, and our families went out to dinner for my pre-race meal. Turns out Calvin's dad, Mike, was a major STUD triathlete back in the day and is still a stud in the endurance world. I took some pictures off his Facebook from his triathlon "glory days" to prove my point:

To this day, he's still killing it out there (you wouldn't believe some of this guy's stories!)...

Mike, who's worked at Marin Bikes for years, is now lucky enough to have a son who he can bring along for early-morning runs, bike rides and swims. And it sounds like Calvin got the good genes for endurance sports--the day I met him he had just placed 2nd in his first-ever bike race. I hear he's also quite the runner, giving the older guys a run for their money. Already, Calvin's done some running races with his dad...

And he rocks on the bike just like Dad...

Well, after meeting Mike that night before Vineman, he apparently got the urge to do a triathlon again (hope I'm responsible for that!), but this time with the twist of having Calvin do one right alongside him! And you know how I feel about a family of triathletes--nothin' better! We talked, and Mission Bay seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Unfortunately, they waited a little too long to sign up and it sold out. Bummer.

Then I got to thinking... I don't need to do the race; I'd be a million times happier and satisfied watching someone enjoying the thrill of a triathlon for the first time. It was a no-brainer: I offered my spot to Calvin. That way, at least Mike could see his stud-in-training son do his first tri on a great course. At first they were hesitant to accept because they know how much I love to race, but I convinced them that I didn't want it any other way. Thankfully, Koz Enterprises allows you to transfer bib numbers and Calvin's just old enough by their rules to participate. Sweet!

The only problem: We still didn't have a spot for Mike. The search was on. And wouldn't you know--I found a spot from my SD girl, Giselle.

Giselle and I worked together at The Daily Aztec at SDSU and have since stayed in touch. She's been bitten by the endurance bug--I'm thinking her killer job at Active.com helped with that--but unfortunately a calf over-use injury is preventing her from racing at Mission Bay. She's wisely backing out of what would have been her first triathlon to get better enough to run in her second marathon in Las Vegas this December. Let's just say Giselle is the angel in this equation. When she gave me the good news that we could have her spot, I immediately contacted Mike and he was stoked to say the least.

So now the father-son duo are busy training their hearts out for the big day October 4. Here they are along with wife/mom Robyn, who's as sweet as they come:

As for me, I don't know if I've ever been more excited for a race! Seriously. I get to be the cheerleader/sherpa/photographer for my dad (his first triathlon ever), my mom, Mike, Calvin, as well as our good family friends, Larry, who recently won his battle with throat cancer and is celebrating by doing his first triathlon, and Larry's sons, Scott and Keith, who are in their 20s and new to triathlon too.

Larry's story deserves its own blog post, partly because of his amazing cancer survival story and partly because he and my dad are best friends from their college days and are currently training together for MB, making for some great (funny) stories.

Wow, That's an Unexpected Surprise! ...and a Shark Attack Too!!??

So Vineman. This Sunday. I'm ready. Let's get 'er done. It's on.

That's all I need to say about that.


In other news, I got a completely unexpected, random and extremely thoughtful gift in the mail today from Koz Enterprises, the group that puts on the San Diego Triathlon Series and other races. It has to do with the San Diego International Tri.

Check it out:

First of all, thank you Natallie and Koz. That was above and beyond nice.

Two things come to mind:

1) After the race was over and after I blogged about my feelings regarding the transitions, I dropped the subject and moved on. I don't dwell. In the grand scheme, it really wasn't that big of a deal to me... after all, who am I? Just an age-grouper. It's not like anything was riding on the race. I was happy with my performance and happy for Whitney's win. She's a rad chick--if she were some b%$&#, I may have thought differently, ha ha j/k. But honestly, I didn't lose any sleep over the race outcome.

2) Whatever reason Koz felt inclined to send me this letter and medal is beyond me. Maybe someone else spoke up about the transition issue? I have no idea. The extent of my blabing is in my blog. But whatever the reason, I think this gesture shows that Koz is doing a great job and has the triathletes' best interest at heart. They just want to see honest, fair racing. And in a world that's corrupted with performance-enhancing drugs and/or any form of cheating, I appreciate and respect the principles of Koz.

I'm grateful such caring people are behind the races we all enjoy so much.

Just thought I'd share.

ONE MORE (FREAKY) THING....


Du Da du da du da dudadudaduda (Jaws music)


~~~/\~~~ (a shark fin)

Ummm, yea... there was a shark attack at San Onofre (where I surf weekly+) on Saturday, July 11. No bites, but there was physical contact between a standup paddleboarder and a white shark, which appraently deems it an official "attack." AHHH. The best part: I was out surfing/swimming in the very spot where this happened merely hours later!! Holy crap! Check out the story here.

There have been quite a few shark sightings in SoCal lately. Super scary. But honestly, it's not going to stop me from getting in the water. When David Martin was killed at Solona Beach I was upset and distraught for a long time. But I came to terms with the whole shark thing, realizing that I love being in the ocean and I'm not going to stop doing what I love. If I get attacked, and that's my fate... well at least I'll go out being famous in some whaky way!

Back on the Trails

I hate finishing a workout covered with muck after road biking--car exhaust, street grit, nasty pollution. However, I love finishing a workout covered in dirt from nature--fresh mud, creek water, mountain dust, that sort of thing. Unfortunately, the latter doesn't happen that often for me. But it did today!

These socks perfectly express my feelings :)

My friend Stuart and I went mountain biking at Whiting Ranch, a trail that I'm very familiar with from countless trail runs and mountain biking waaay back in the day... but it's been a long time since I rode it. Like years long. I borrowed my mom's mtn bike because I think my old outdated Diamondback has seen it's day and would be a hazard to ride. Here's a peek at our sported-out garage. We somehow have equipment for just about every sport/outdoor activity imaginable fit in there--thank my dad for MacGyvering that one.Anyways, speaking of hazards, I'm also known to be a charge-hard kind of girl, and, thus, a hazard to myself (why I don't dirt bike anymore), but that wasn't the game plan for today. I sucked up my pride and told Stuart that I'd be "taking it easy" because I REFUSE to get injured so close to Vineman. He's a great all-around athlete and a lifeguard (he kills it swimming, so jealous!), but he doesn't do much mountain biking either, so all was good. Just a fun ride.

As soon as we hit the trail my heart starting racing--a combo of nerves and adrenaline. Like my recent rejuvinated love for surfing, I immediately felt that old love for mountain biking building within me. I had a grin from ear to ear and wanted to go all out but held back through some of the initial technical single-track stuff. And as much as it hurt to do so, I even got off my bike and walked through some super-deep technical sandy parts saying, "It's not worth it!"

Whiting isn't anything too gnarly at all (in fact, when we were done I was like, "OK, either let's do that again or I need a real workout). But, there is one infamous hill, Mustard Hill, that's a decent climb. When I was younger, I was rarely able to make it up the whole hill without stopping or walking. But today, no problem. Right up. My level of fitness is definitely in a whole other realm. After Mustard, I took us up another climb, Dreaded Hill, which wasn't long enough! I wanted more suffering! For a guy who doesn't ride bikes often, Stuart rocked. But I still beat him, just barely :) We chilled out at the top a bit and took in the view. My next adventure on the list--riding up that big mountain right behind me, Saddleback.
After the little break, it was all downhill from there. I guess my concept of speed is jacked up from all my time spent on the Felt TT bike because according to Stuart I was "flying down." It didn't feel that fast to me... I maybe maxed out in the 20-something mph range. But I felt confident and in control, so what the heck! It was a blast. Especially the curvy downhill single-track stuff (is that proper mountain bike jargon?!). After our ride we chowed down some killer sandwiches at a local deli, Bagels and Brew. I swear, mainstream sandwich shops just don't compare to the little hole-in-the-wall mom and pop places in my opinion. A swim followed later on. I'm working on not crossing over at my midline so much, thanks to some great advice from Mike at SPI. Hopefully this will start shaving off time; I've already noticed slightly faster 100s when I do it "the right way."

On the Training/Racing Front...

Nothing too exciting to report, except that I've been taking things up a notch and am hanging in there, especially that I'm able to recover quickly from intense workouts. I attribute good nutrition and early bedtimes to that. Check out this study on the importance of sleep. It's amazing how many workouts I fit in the last few weeks without crashing and burning, sometimes three a day now that I'm doing Crossfit. And, I of course take a recovery day when needed, as painful as that is. (But lately off days have included surfing or some sort of activity.)

I did an 80-mile bike and 35 minute t-run last Saturday and was curious to see how I'd perform after an already hefty training week with no rest. I faded at about mile 60, but got a second wind and did pretty well overall, I think there was like 8,000+ feet of climbing according to my Garmin. Ouch! Surprisingly, the t-run wasn't so bad. Sunday's run, though, was another story. (Crappy.)

I think I'm most stoked on my new love: Crossfit. I'm doing about two a week now and am hooked. It's so intense you want to puke, but in about 10 minutes it's over. And it's incredible the amount of work that is done in that time. It's not your typical strength-training routine, Crossfit does laps around a regular weight-lifting session! I'll leave it at that.

So next week I'll taper a bit for the SD International Triathlon on June 28, then a couple more intense weeks and then time for Vineman tapering. Feels like just yesterday I was getting ready for IMCA.

Time flies when you're having fun!!!

And oh yea, I'm now in the market for a new mountain bike. I'll have one by the end of '09 for sure :)