Tritonman & 50 on the Bike - A Perfect SD Day!

I was almost that person who runs with a helmet on....

I did the Tritonman sprint triathlon at Mission Bay today, and though it wasn't nearly as cold as it's been lately, it was still freakin chilly first thing in the morning! But overall, I had a blast. I did this tri to practice racing in cold before IMCA and am so glad I did. I have total issues with cold hands and feet, and today was a reality check as to how bad that gets: I screwed up my transitions because of numb extremities. T1: couldn't un-velcro and un-zip my wetsuit; T2: couldn't unclick my helmet!! Asked for help with both.... I ended up getting 2nd in my age group, so my bike/run was legit enough to make up time (not my swim, ha). It was a 500yd swim, 12-mile bike and 5k run and I did it in 1:10. Oh yea, ankle is still kind of sprained too.

Here's how it went down:

I showed up at 5:30 and got to set up transition in the pitch dark. Note: bring flashlight to "small" races. Tritonman was put on by UCSD, had 400 participants and transition area was right on Fiesta Island - no high-powered lights to guide us. Kind of a cool experience with it being pretty laid back - no assigned rack areas or anything. I helped a first-timer who didn't know what to do with his race numbers, he had the helmet sticker on his bike. I racked next to some super cool Marines who were Nytro-lovers too. Good times. This was my first race minus a support crew. Totally on my own; however, my ex-boyfriend-turned-good-friend was doing a 16-mile a.m. run and planned to end up on Fiesta and watch me cross the finish line.

Swim

Race got off to a late start because of registration overload. I was in the second to last wave and jumped/ran around in my sandals -- no bare feet on cold mud -- to stay warm (forgot those sandals on Fiesta, they might be there now). By the time Open Women's went off (7:10?), the sun was blinding in the direction we had to swim. I'm already bad at spotting/swimming straight in the ocean, so this didn't help the matter. Surprisingly, though, the water was way warmer than I expected. Tasted like complete crap (heard something about a dead whale recently?), but at least it wasn't arctic. Got out in like 9 minutes, ran up the beach and into T1 where the wetsuit-taking-off problem happened. God knows how long I took.

Bike

I was ready to crank hard, wanting to average at least 20 mph. I'm currently borrowing a Cervelo P2SL from Nytro (some issues with the Felt, more on that later), and was stoked on the level of quality. I felt great the whole time on the bike. But looking back, I should have put on gloves or even a long-sleeve shirt. I was going fast enough to really freeze my hands and skin. Three laps and about 30 minutes later I dismounted, feeling on pace to do well. Then T2 happened. First, I dismounted too early and had to run for way too long in bike shoes to my transition area. Then the helmet catastrophe. I spent probably 2 minutes trying to unclip it and just couldn't. I was ready to go running with it on, but I asked for help instead. Putting on shoes was crazy too - my feet were so numb it felt like I was putting shoes on someone else! Don't know what my T2 time was, but likely 5-plus minutes!! Crap-o-la!!! That makes me so mad!!!

Run

Frustrated with T1 & T2, I was anxious to get running. I felt great from the start. My ankle is still techinically sprained and I've only run maybe 5 times since being off running for a month (yikes!), but I was able to bust out a decent pace. Feet thawed and I think I ran it in about 21 minutes? Not sure. Meanwhile, the college crowd was finishing their race and the weather was getting better every second!

Finish

Crossed the line at 1:10. Not as good as I wanted (of course, I'm hard on myself), but a great learning experience - those transitions got the best of me! I now have a lot to think about and plan for IMCA!

Then...

After the race, pro Jim Vance was the guest announcer and UCSD had a crapload of legit prizes to give out. I think about 4 Xterra wetsuits were given out, on top of shirts, backpacks, books, watches. To win a pair of Rudy Project sunglasses, Jim set the challenge: Swim across the bay, run out and touch a tree and swim back (looked like about a 500yd trip). Anyone could charge, fully clothed or whatever. And with that, roughly 10 guys were in the water. Jim also had couples who raced do a wheel-barrow race down the beach for some prizes, there was more water competitions - people went in fully clothed! He's a funny guy and got the crowd rambunctious. Quite entertaining.

Post-Race Day: A 50-mile bike ride

My friend, Brad, showed up to see me finish as planned, and we headed to Cantina to grub after the show was over. Cantina was excellent as always. Nice and full, Brad and I decided to get in a solid bike ride. I knew I still needed to get in training mileage since the sprint was only about an hour workout, and Brad was in the same boat. So, we set off from La Jolla, up PCH, swung right in Solana and headed east on Del Dios Hwy, eventually turned around and back to PCH, and then my favorite: a nice long trek up Torrey Pines to finish up the ride. Love that hill! Killer. While I was riding up, a dude with his age written on his calf passed me. Had to ask - yes, he had done Tritonman, too, and was riding back from pizza/beer at Pizza Port with his friends. He said he was pretty buzzed. Ha! I think I would have died if I were him!

So, pretty cool day. Started off coollldddd, but ended up being gorgeous. Just one of those picturesque San Diego days.... Hope things stay nice for the Tour of California Sunday!

Oh Yea...

Oh, and speaking of cold, I was offered the opportunity to do some writing for a really cool triathlon website, www.amateurendurance.com. Check out my first article here! (It's on cold-weather training.) This is a great site geared toward newbies, but there are tons of resources that any level of triathlete can find useful and informative.

Gluten-Free Banana-Pumpkin Bread

First, health & training update: Things are finally going well, besides lots of rain and crappy weather. But I feel excellent - fought off that cold damn quick; and besides a little lingering foot pain - still doing some PT - I'm able to train at full speed. I'm actually kind of trippin out on how much energy I have these days. I think it's due to several factors: healthy eating with a few new spins to my diet, a big dose of daily supplements, zero alcohol since New Year's (besides a friend's wedding, but I don't want to go there), no coffee just tea (this is a big deal for me), a full schedule (having lots on my plate always motivates me; I make a lot of to-do lists)....

But back to eating. I decided to make banana-pumpkin bread, but not just any kind, gluten-free style. I don't have celiac disease, but I've been on the GF bandwagon for a while now. Why?

Well, first, gluten is a complex protein found in wheat, rye and barley, so it's in most breads, pastas, grains, etc. Without going into the whole science and history of it, it's said that gluten can cause fatigue, digestive problems, malabsorption of nutrients, GI issues (no fun), joint pain, among other things, and some claim it's in an endurance athlete's best interest to limit or cut out gluten. Check this out. Read that even pro triathlete Desiree Ficker is gluten-free. A Google search can bring up tons of resources.

GFism is pretty abundant these days - there's a link bewtween a GF diet and "curing" autism, Jenny McCarthy stands by this one - and everywhere from Trader Joe's to Whole Foods to regular grocery stores have GF products. In no way is this a low-carb diet. Pastas, cereals, breads, crackers, flour, baked goods, cookies, snacks, etc... you name it, there's a GF version. I'm all over brown rice pasta, breakfast tacos with corn tortillas, rice crackers, GF oatmeal, etc., but I hadn't baked anything GF. Until now. Something about wintery weather (SoCal has gotten a lot of rain/cold lately) inspires me to bake. Having four browning bananas chillin in our kitchen also sparked the idea. Not to mention, I have a fetish with anything that is or tastes like pumpkin pie, so adding pumpkin was a must!

As you can see, I used Bob's Red Mill GF Garbanzo & Fava Flour. A good source of protein unlike regular flour, not to mention a good amount of carbs/fiber: For a 1/4 cup it's 110 calories, 1.5g fat, 18g carbs, 6g fiber and 6g protein. There are other GF flours, too: brown rice flour, millet flour, buckwheat starch, potato flour, you get the idea; many GF bread/baked goods recipes call for a combo of flours.

The bread turned out extremely tasty, though a little dense and still kind of doughy in the middle. It was even better the second day, though, once things "settled in." However, I'll most likely do some recipe-tweaking and also bake for 10-15 min. longer next time.

Here's the recipe:

2 cups GF Flour

2 eggs

3/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c butter, soft (used light butter from Trader Joe's)

1/4 c sour cream (used fat-free from TJ's)

1 1/4 c mashed banana

1 1/4 c canned pumpkin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350

Spray 9x5 loaf pan

Bowl 1: Combine flour, salt and baking soda

Bowl 2: Blend sugar, butter and sour cream, then add mashed bananas, pumpkin, vanilla and spices and stir together until well mixed.

Combine flour mix with banana mix and fold together.

Put in loaf pan, let it set for about 20 minutes then bake for 65 minutes. (That's what the recipe says, but you'll likely need to bake for at least 75 minutes.)

I got the majority of this recipe off Recipezaar.com, but I tweaked some things. Also, next time I'm going to add flaxseed meal for Omegas.

Endurance Randomness: 4 Things to Make You Ponder, Laugh and Go "Ewww"

Does anyone know where I can get a magic elixir? If having a sprained ankle wasn't enough, I guess my body decided that my year-plus of being sick free was up. That's right, I've had a nasty cold thing goin. Just as running was back on the radar (I had my first successful post-sprain run last week!), I had to go get sick. So, yea, some sort of elixir - one that cures/prevents sprains, sickness, etc. - would be nice. But enough about my issues, this ain't the feel-bad-for-tawnee blog.
So, how 'bout some fun stuff instead...
Like most of you probably do, I come across some random things in endurance sports that aren't always headline topics in the latest magazine. Sometimes I laugh, sometimes it's "WTF, that exists?" and sometimes sheer awe or even disgust. Well, I want to talk about it...

My List of Random Realities in Endurance Sports

1. Hypoxic Tents. Cheating? Borderline. Expensive? Hell yea. If you don't know, these are contraptions that simulate high altitude - a low-oxygen tent that you sleep in if you live at or near sea level areas and want the benefits/adaptations of living in high altitude. Why do athletes want to train in Colorado and high-altitude? Because there's less oxygen in the air, and as a result the body adapts to that over time by creating more red blood cells, which carry oxygen, which makes for better sports performance because more O goes to the muscles. (Blood doping, EPO, all relatively the same concept.) Sea level areas have close to 20% oxygen in the air; high altitude (8,000 to 12,000 feet) has about 12%. So you can see imagine how the body would adapt by making more RBCs. As far as using this to race better - the ethics are being debated, but it's not banned as far as I've read. However, one of these tents will set you back thousands - saw one quote at about $5,700 - so don't jump in the car to go hypoxic-tent shopping. Something to think about next time some Lance-type guy flies by you though.

2. Snot Rockets. Ah, a juicy topic that everyone should be intimately familiar with - guys and girls. First off, in no way is this a guy-only act, chicks should feel comfortable and proud of their s-rocket skills. It's ain't glamorous, but it's essential. When the air is wintery brisk, you're 20 miles into your ride and your nose starts dripping, what else is there to do? God forbid you let your mph drop for a runny nose, but you can't just let it slither down your face, and there's no Kleenex in cycling! You have to cover one nostril and blow that stuff out the other, and (key point) blow with force... Guys generally have this down no prob; some girls need to let go of being dainty - won't work, that just creates a mess on you and the bike. I'll admit, I'm an extreme case as far as girls go when it comes to s-rockets: I get a runny nose even on the hot, dry days - basically every time I go riding... Needless to say, I'm a master of the art. Nothing to be ashamed of. Heck, I can even do a hands-free snot rocket. And I'll do one on my first ride with you. (Really, I'm not a gross, offensive, manner-less person; it's just a reality in cycling.)

On that note, there are some "rules" involved. No. 1) Always look behind you to make sure you're not about to shower someone with snot. That's not cool, it's happened to me. However, there's a gray area with No. 1 if that person behind you is your rival/enemy. No. 2) Make note of the wind. Logical. No. 3) Steer clear of landing it on the bike as much as possible. Crusty bike = tough cleaning. No. 4) Make sure there's enough snot accumulated for a quality rocket. No half-assing this. ....For more insight on snot-rocketing, check out Ryan's blog.

3. Spin Classes. Love-hate relationship with these. They're a great addition to cycling training, as you can really push yourself to the max - just add that tension and spin hard, no stop lights, cars or pedestrians to take out. But you're in a small room with a bunch of other sweating people. Now, I sweat a lot as it is, but I sweat 10x more in a spin class, so I can only imagine others' sweat level. This almost reached a breaking point with me once when some dude next to me must have had Indian food the night before. He had the most foul-smelling sweat. I swear, I gaged. I'll leave it at that to spare you the grossness, but I almost left that class, and ever since I've been cautious (but not discriminating) toward choosing my spinning neighbors. The thing is, once I start a class, I'll go to the end... no leaving early like someone inevitably always does. (C'mon people, one hour, that's it... and you need that cool down.) Guess my point with this one is, I love them, but I hate the idea of being boxed up with smelly gross people for an hour. Not to mention, every now and then an instructor will play the worst bee-bop-type music ever. That always kills it.

And my last installment for the day....

4. Dirty Water Bottles. Ever leave just a little leftover Cytomax (or your drink of choice) in your bottle and forget to wash it? Go to grab it out of the bottle cage on your next ride a couple days later, untwist to refill and....oh God. Now that's a foul smell! Not to mention, things start growing in there, science-experiment style. Cytomax, for one, creates this weird black oily substance. I know this well because my ex-boyfriend was notorious for not cleaning his bottles. He'd leave them in dark corners and let them ferment and then, like nothing, he'd grab one, refill it and be off. Never got sick. Crazy. As for me, I usually forget to clean my bottles because after a long ride I have a one-track mind: EAT FOOD. Bottles suffer as a result. Probably even worse than leftover Cytomax though is an old whey protein shake in a bottle. All it takes is just a little leftover drink, like one sip, for the smell to get so bad that you might as well just toss the bottle. No saving. My gym bag has been home to these stink bombs. Their next home after that? The trash. I can afford to purchase another $5 bottle.

Until next time... happy training!

Patiently Waiting, Meeting Michellie, A New Gig and Jessi's Bag of Tricks

Still no running. It's been 2 1/2 weeks. The ankle sprain is lingering, and I don't want to make a bad situation worse. Just another lesson in learning to be patient and listen to my body. Thankfully, I can bike pain-free, swim (sometimes with a pull buoy) and strength train, so I'm not a total bum! But I never thought I'd crave running so much....

In the meantime, some pretty cool stuff has been going on (notice super-long blog title). I met an awesome triathlete/endurance sports enthusiast, Roman Mica, who runs a legit website called EverymanTri.com. It's got the latest news, interviews, etc., on everything going on in the tri world and endurance sports, with updates throughout the day. He also has writers who test and review tri gear for the site, and yours truly is now part of that team. Check out my first gear review here.

And on the topic of meeting people, I also had a chance to meet and talk with Michellie Jones at the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona pre-race expo. Totally rad person, very down to earth... everything I expected. I, on the other hand, actually became a little star-struck when I finally spoke with her!She and Triathlete Magazine Publisher John Duke were featured speakers at the expo. Basically triathlon royalty! Kind of funny because in the sea of race participants & expo browsers, I don't think too many people realized the significance of these two publicly talking and answering questions. Of the thousands scrambling around, only a handful made it to their chat. Of course I was one. My friend and I did a bike ride that morning, and all the while I kept saying, "we have to be at the expo by 1:30, I haaaave to see Michellie!" I feel a little more connected to her these days since I'm riding a Felt complete with SRAM components too. Not as amazing as hers, but it's a start :)

Michellie was running the half-marathon and said that her coach instructed her to run at a specific HR, which she was not allowed to go above. With that, she didn't know what time she'd run. Checked results the next day, and she did it in like 1:26. Amazing for not being able to "go all out!" Next, watch for her in Ironman Australia...

As for me, I didn't run in RNRAZ (I told Michellie my sprain story, and she commended me for staying off the ankle...it's not easy to do when you're all caught up in the race vibe)! Also, volunteering didn't work out due to our limited transportation options, and on race morning I was craving exercise. Bike ride! But I woke up so early that I had to sit around and wait for it to get light enough to safely ride. I planned a loop that eventually had me riding along the race course. Fun to see a race from that perspective.

...watching the runners about to finish, left the Felt in CA...

...gotta love the bands who are willing to set up and play at dawn, not the most "rock n roll" thing to do...

Lastly, I had another run-in with a pro-triathlete... Jessi Stensland. She was the guest speaker at the OC Tri Club meeting last week, and I didn't get to talk to her one-on-one, but I totally enjoyed listening to her. She's all about "being an athlete" first, in other words, building a fit body that will let you perform amazingly in your given sport. That means lots of core work, physical-therapy-type exercises, having good posture, stretching, strength training, etc., to keep all parts of the body in superb shape and injury-free. She swears by the Core Performance program, and after checking out their website, I was impressed with how many free videos and resources they have! It's cool because a lot of it's built around the idea that it doesn't take hours to benefit from the exercises; it can be 1 to 15 minutes of "body maintenance," i.e. a 5-minute warmup routine that will make your swim that much better. I recommend taking a look, I'm definitely going to start taking advantage!!

One thing that I related to and found pretty funny were the things Jessi "never leaves home without." This consisted of a running stick (pictured), quad roller, a set of exercise bands, tennis balls and some other workout stuff. Only an athlete would understand....

No Running... But Bring on the Bike!

I won't be able to run in the RNR Half-Marathon in Arizona this weekend. Ankle is definitely sprained and not well enough, and I don't want to risk further injury and potentially ruining my more important races, i.e. IMCA. I'm still going, however, and will be volunteering, which I'm actually pretty excited about. For every race I do this year, I want to volunteer for another... give back to the race community.

On a happier note, I picked up my bike from Nytro yesterday!

After getting all dialed in, and using multiple credit cards to pay for it all (that was interesting), I knew exactly where I was headed for my first ride: Fiesta Island!

Biking doesn't bother my ankle, and I had to test the speed, of course!! And what a gorgeous (albeit rather windy) day. I was with a friend who's a member of the SD Tri Club, and he and I usually ride at about the same pace. But, yesterday, I maintained a significant lead. Averaged 22 mph over five laps (20.5 miles), a lot faster than I normally ride.

The transition from road bike to tri bike wasn't too intimidating for me. I felt comfortable right away on the aero bars and adjusting to a new shifting/braking style. I feel that the Felt geometry complements my build/size very well. I have to thank Nytro... and my knowledgeable salesman Ben... and the store's huge selection of bikes... for that: I was able to test ride any bike I wanted to see what was most comfortable for me. (No, I didn't just buy the Felt B2R cause it looks pretty.) Ben stuck with with me for hours while I debated bikes and ultimately made my decision. Thanks!

I learned a ton during this bike-buying process, including bike geometry stuff. There's a really good series of articles on Slowtwitch.com on triathlon bike geomtry among popular brands, and how to determine which brand/style you're built for. Click here.

I'm also dialed in on SRAM components vs. Shimano (I'm now a SRAM Red owner), tubulars vs. clinchers (have both), tri bike fitting, how to put on the Zipp wheels, aero accessories such as an X-Lab Carbon Wing and lots more... I figure, if I'm investing a good amount of $$$, I better know what I'm talking about and doing!

Now I'll just have to learn to change a tubular......

**SD RESTAURANT RECOMMENDATION**

After the Fiesta ride, we wanted a hearty and quality, not junk-foody, meal so we headed to Isabel's Cantina in PB. It's an open, airy restaurant (so I could see my bike the whole time) and the food is excellent. Healthy, fresh, Asian/Latin-fusion sort of dishes. I got the Single Happiness: Grilled chicken, crazy good fried-rice-style brown rice, fresh veggies and peanut sauce, with a side of hot sauce of course. My friend and I agree that particular combo of food equates to our "perfect" meal. And at Cantina, they use amazing spices and sauces that make the dish 10 times better than what I'd be able to whip at home (though, I do consider myself a decent cook).

And, just like I rode faster than my buddy, I finished my meal faster than him too. Two-for-two. Yea!

Isabel has a cookbook apparently...

WORKOUTS

There's been a lot of R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) going on lately, but I'm still trying to do a daily workout despite a sprain. So far recently:

Saturday: 37 mile bike in crazy Santa Ana winds w/ hills

Sunday: Strength training, core work & yoga

Monday: 30 mile bike w/ hills

Tuesday: 2,800 yd swim in an unheated outdoor pool at 6 a.m. (leaves and debris from winds clogged heater, ouch!)

Wednesday: 20 mile "time trial" Fiesta ride on new bike!

Thursday: 2,500 yd swim in a still-unheated pool (I like my coach and class enough to bear the cold water) ....I might ride again this afternoon.

...So, for someone suffering from a sprain, not too shabby, I suppose. I do miss running though.

Twisted Ankle ... and a 1/2 Marathon on Sunday?

Set off for a trial run Wednesday morning with my mom and dog, Sydney, at Santiago Truck Trail. I love the network of running/riding trails by my house; Truck Trail happens to start at the top of my favorite 15-20% grade hill that I climb about 2x a week on my bike (Modjeska Grade Road), and if you look to the west there's Whiting Ranch, another great running trail (minus past mountain lion incidents)...

So, you can imagine my devastation when this whole area was on fire back in October 2007 (that image below brings back sad memories). Took more than a year for everything to reopen. I have such a greater appreciation for it all now, and one day, I plan on making the trek from Santiago Truck Trial all the way up to the top of Saddleback Mountain (summit of about 5,500 ft; Santiago starts at 1,600 ft). But I digress...

I hadn't done any trail running since the Xterra 15k race cause I've been focusing on interval training and running flater, longer distances at a faster pace, as I have the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon in Arizona next Sunday, well, at this point, I think I have a race.

We started out on Santiago Truck Trail, which is essentially all uphill going out. I was huffin right away. You get pretty secluded in the mountains, too, peaceful but kinda freaky (we carried pepper spray). At 5 miles deep, we made our turnaround to head back for a total of 10 miles; I was looking forward to the descent. By mile 6, I was going at a sub-6:30 pace (that's hauling for me). I approached a sharp turn that was all rocky and full of ruts... Didn't slow down... Being a little too careless... Paid the price...

I rolled my ankle. Uh oh.

The ligaments in my foot were traumatized and throbbing; it wasn't as much my ankle that hurt. But something wasn't right. Sydney was with me, my mom several minutes behind. So I limped around a bit waiting for her and dreading what this could mean for me. Plus, there were still 4 miles back to the truck.

After a while, the pain subsided a bit, and we set off at a walk/slow jog. Somehow I got ahead of my mom (adrenaline high I guess) and eventually was waiting with Syd at the truck. Foot throbbing, but not too bad. Theeeen... She finally comes along ... and she's all bloody! Turns out, she tripped over some rocks and fell, scraping her leg, hand, etc., hurting her foot, too, and jerking her neck. She was OK, a little disoriented and in pain, but OK thankfully. Too add to the adventure, we later discovered Sydney got two ticks on the run. Geez, all three of us!

I iced my foot on and off the rest of the day, by Thursday there was minor swelling but it felt pretty good. Good enough to go with my friend on a 32-mile bike ride on PCH from Huntington to Laguna Beach and back.

However, this morning I attempted to swim, bad idea. Not having my foot securely in place (i.e. in a bike shoe clipped in) aggravated the ligaments/problem area, and pain and swelling ensued. Made it through 1,000 yds and realized one swim wasn't worth damaging my foot further.

So now I sit here with a swollen foot (maybe the bike was too much) not sure if I'll be able to run in a 1/2 marathon next Sunday. And even if I feel fine by then, I don't know if I should run at that level/intensity so soon! Oh man.........not cool.

Damn Bees ...and a Surprise

I wasn't even planning or expecting to have a busy/highly eventful holiday season, but somehow things got crazy (including an unexpected purchase, see below). No need to go into the holiday details, everyone surely understands the season of insanity. But I ended the year with an amazing New Year's Eve in my favorite place, San Diego (I swear I should still be living there!), and a classy evening spent aboard the USS Midway. So cool. Catered all-you-can-eat gourmet dinner and open bar -- my date and I took multiple trips to both -- dancing, live band... The on-sea celebration and food/drink indulgence was well-earned... that day I did a solid bike/run brick in the Point Loma/Shelter Island area. For those who live down there, there's a ride by Cabrillo National Monument with one area by the tidepools that's know for doing hill repeats overlooking the ocean. Difficult yet gorgeous!!

We were having too much fun to worry about pics on NYE, but here's a peek at a post-sweaty, dressed up and "silly (aka wine-drinking)" me aboard the Midway...

Now to the damn bees. Despite holiday craze, I still got in my workouts, of course. And on one bike ride, a certain instance really had me going "What the f*@&?" I was cruising at about 20-22 mph, mind lost in my own world, and a freakin bee stuck into my leg. I quickly recognized the tingly sensation and yanked that thing right out and shook it off my glove. Now, normally I'd be freaking out or in shock. But, this isn't new in my book; it was THE THIRD TIME I've been stung while riding in a matter of a year and a half. This incident thankfully wasn't as bad as the first two....

Bee Sting No. 1, summer '07: I'm going downhill close to 30 mph, which is apparently faster than bees go. Next thing I know, one is solidly sticking right into my nose buzzing away! It wasn't like he casually landed on me and pricked me, there was force behind this sting. I was totally discombobulated, in pain, trying to swipe the damn thing away while simultaneously slowing down, stopping and not crashing. I flicked it off but couldn't tell if the stinger was still in me. I laid down the bike (oddly, I take the time to carefully do this as to not "hurt" the Trek) and ran over to two women on the trail. In a frantic way with tears welling in my eyes, I asked them if they saw a stinger in my nose. All clear; I had gotten the bee and stinger out, but not fast enough to escape the side effects. I woke up the next morning and... Oh. My. God. My nose was huge, red and swollen like that of a clown's. Whatever. Sh*t happens. I still went to work and out in public with my Bozo-the-Clown nose... it remainded in that state for a week!

Bee Sting No. 2, summer '08: Once again, going downhill by a group of trees with sweet-smelling white flowers. Beautiful, right? Hell no! Beauty can be deceiving. It was bee paradise. In a blur of events, my bike was thrust onto some grass (not so gracefully this time), my forehead was is stinging and buzzing, and I was running around like a psycho. Yup, bee in the forehead, right between the eyebrows. I got rid of the bee but not the stinger... venom seeping in. So, I found the nearest humans, in this case, a nice-looking teen couple walking a dog. No polite introductions, I just blurted out, "You gotta help me! I think there's a bee stinger in my forehead...it needs to get out, please help!!" (Meanwhile, I recognize the girl, turns out I went to high school with her sister, random.) Despite clearly being weirded out, the girl used her crazy-long acryllic nails to flick the stinger out. Some "thank-yous" and "your-welcomes" ensued and I was on my way, wondering what I've done to piss off the bee gods.

Unlike the first incident, the second time I was stung at the beginning of my ride, and I still wanted to get in miles. So I went home, quickly cleaned it and went back riding. But to this day I get squirmish by those trees... and, oh yea, the swelling that occurred with No. 2 was ridiculous. Check out this deformed face... it continued to worsen. (Can't believe I'm posting this):Ahhh! I'm not necessarily allergic; my doctor said the swelling was so bad because of the area I was stung...not really any fat on the forehead, so the WHOLE FACE SWELLS as a result.

So, me and bees.... we don't really mix well. But even the potential of looking like a cyclops won't stop me. Especially with this news.....

* * *

MY NEW RIDE

Over Christmas I had a lucky turn of events that allowed me to buy one of these from Nytro in Encinitas (see, I'm still a total wanna-be SD resident):

The Felt B2r TTR. I'm in love. I also got a sexy fast Zipp 808 wheelset for racing. Oh man. So stoked. I'll write more on my legit tri-bike shopping experience at Nytro soon. They rock!!

XTERRA Trail Race: Holy Crap

What a way to end the year. December 13 marked six months since my knee surgery, and I celebrated the next day with the Xterra 15K Crystal Cove Trail Race. Killer! I've been running the trail, El Moro, for a couple of months now in anticipation of Xterra mayhem, and I knew it was a difficult run, but nothing compared to race day... for several reasons:

They changed the course due to construction. Coming from someone who's been running the planned course, the altered version was way more difficult -- the first 3 miles, that is. I also heard the trail had about a 4,000-foot elevation gain in total and the 15K grew to over a 10-mile run with the change.

It was freakin freezing. 38 degrees when we arrived, low 40s when we started, and a frigid ocean breeze keeping it chilly.

The runners were gnarly. Xterra races clearly attract a legit group of athletes who know what they're doing! In fact, I think I was the youngest female out there.

I went into the race with the mentality that'd I push myself to finish on top. Things didn't work out how I planned. Ha. But I was able to pull off 11th female out of 100+ women and first in my age group (but my AG was a very insignificant group, so that's not that impressive, ha).

My mom, who also raced, and me with our AG & finisher medals:

The Race:
My mom, dad and I got to the race super early, about 5:45 a.m. for an 8 a.m. start. Why so early? It wasn't just to get a good parking spot in that small lot :) My dad was a volunteer, how cool! So while he helped set up aid stations and whatnot I hung out half asleep in the Ford F150. The frigid temp didn't help my enthusiasm. That wait sucked. I would have rather started in the dark at 6. I'm in the back here, about 6 a.m., looking tired and mean in this pic:

Finally, after bathroom breaks, food and warmup laps, I was antsy to GO! I placed myself at the front of the group this time (given the disastrous Turkey Trot start), and with the countdown so began the burn. Pure uphill for the first mile, as about 50 or so people jetted far out beyond any level I could run. Then the detour. Ouch. Right turn downhill, and down we went and went... I knew going down that far was bad news cause it meant we'd have to run up more than 1,000 feet to get back to the main trail.

As expected, that uphill lasted forever!!! No mercy, lots of pain. I was so happy to reach the top, which happened to be where my dad's aid station was. He frantically got some pictures of me:



At that point there was about 10k to go. At least I knew what to expect for the rest. Not that knowing the course was comforting: all a gradual uphill grade and hill climbs with only a few breaks. It doesn't really ease up until about the last few miles; and even that consists of steep rolling hills...uuuppp annddd ddooowwnnn...until the last 3/4 mile of pure decent.

Honestly, at any moment through the run I could have easily given up cause it just plain hurt. Even taking Saturday off didn't seem to matter. I kept thinking of excuses to stop and then I'd counter that with excuses to keep going. Mental strength was my saving grace. Not that I finished as well as I wanted to, but I at least didn't stop or walk ever.

I also tried to keep an eye on the other women racing. I felt somewhat high up in the pack, but I knew a handfull passed me and I'd never catch them. (I later found out that one of those top women happened to be a fellow blogger, Beth, who ended up third overall. I met her and her boyfriend (I'm guessing) after the race... congrats guys!)

Once I saw mile-marker 7 I was stoked, almost done! I sprinted hard on the last decent and was able to pass a couple of women to put me at 11th. Felt a little naseous at the finish, but still powered down some drinks and food. About 20 minutes after finishing, I became freezing cold... thankfully I had a cup of coffee waiting for me in the car, still hot.

I waited for my mom, who ended up third in her AG. We all stuck around for the awards, and I got some more food with my parents -- they had a great breakfast for us, even fresh scrambled eggs!

Getting my medal...

Mom, dad and me...

I'm so glad I was able to get three races in this year. Six months ago, I would have never thought that'd be possible. Especially this Xterra craziness. Geez!

Now, it's time to focus on IMCA (oh yea, and a half-marathon in a month, ha).

Despite a Bad Economy...

...Triathlon continues to grow, and I'm not surprised. Read the just-released article here. I know I'll keep pouring my money into it even though I'm on a very tight budget!

"...'In some respects, it's a recession-proof sport,' says [Blair LaHaye, spokesperson for World Triathlon Corp., the parent company of Ironman]... 'We have been fortunate not to see a downturn based on the state of economy.'"

Spoiled by SoCal Weather

I'm starting to see other tri bloggers post about snow, freezing temperatures and the winter conditions that affect, and even prevent, their outdoor workouts. I have a lot of respect for all you who deal with real winters. When I signed up for an April half-Ironman, I knew winter training was inevitable, but living in Southern California, I admit, I have it easy. Occasional rain storm, a cloudy day in the 50s...

For example, this picture was taken before a run at El Morro (Crystal Cove State Park) last week. The fog on the coast was a thick as it gets around here, and I still ended up taking off my shirt because I got so hot (also due in part because I ran inland so far that I left the fog bank behind).
And PS... This picture is also the sight where I'll be racing this Sunday in the Xterra 15K Trail Run. I'm super excited. My first race ever was a trail run, and this race is going to be very challenging to say the least. Click here to see an old blog of mine that shows the elevation chart.