2014 Desert International Tri - Winds, Friends, and a Chicken Bone...

This was a race weekend for the books... quite the adventure!  For the 3rd year, I raced the Desert International... but this year, due to a hamstring injury that kept me from running for the past 4 months, I signed up for the Aquabike.  It was the full 3/4 mile swim and 24 mile bike, but no running!  And, for the first time, we decided to camp at the race site instead of spending the weekend in a nice, warm, safe, clean hotel...

Camping sounded like a GREAT idea!  I would get to sleep in a bit on race morning since I didn't have to worry about parking, it was a 5 minute walk from the campsite to transition, and we could spend a few days enjoying the beauty of Lake Cahullia and the surrounding mountains.  And Mom and Dad were bringing their trailer down to camp with us, so it would be a fun family weekend.

It was about 10 days before we were to head out to the desert that Mom saw the first weather report that said there was a storm coming for race weekend.  I told her not to worry because the only weather we had to deal with in the past during race weekend was the incredible heat for early March, but to make Mom feel better, I started checking the weather reports regularly... and soon found that this was coming...

Mom and Dad decided to head out to set up camp a day early when the weather was supposed to be calm.  We headed out Friday morning.  With the van loaded down with all of our gear, bikes up on the roof, and just enough space for Jeff, Anna, me and our dog, Abby, we were lucky that our entie drive was not "Storm-aggeddon," just half of it.  We passed accident after accident, police cars and ambulances, and were so grateful when we pulled into La Quinta and the weather was clear and beautiful.  That didn't last long.  We pulled up to the campsite and found Mom and Dad fighting to hold onto the shade awning on the trailer that was trying to fly away.  A strong wind had just started and little did we know that was the start of 2 days of 70 mile per hour winds.  Booths at the race site had to be held down by dozens of people while product was quickly thrown into the backs of trucks.  A good number of registration boxes flew toward the lake. Tents were seen tumbling down the road.  On top of that, the rain that first night... WOW!  Can I just say "THANK YOU" Mom and Dad!!!  They had us all (and the dog), stay with them in the trailer.  It was a tight few days, but we talked and watched movies and had a wonderful adventure in the nice, warm, dry, lovely trailer! :-)

On Saturday, we got up early to watch the Sprint distance race.  The morning was clear and no wind - perfect race conditions.  We met up with some friends that were racing/supporting their teammates from OC Trail Tales.  I had yet to watch a triathlon and it was sooooo much fun... giggling to myself watching the wayward swimmers taking a 90 degree turn ("hey... where are you going?")... standing at the bike mount/dismount and cringing at the crashes/near crashes (people really need to PRACTICE before they try to take their feet out of their shoes like the pros to dismount!)... and standing at the finish watching the determination, pain, and accomplishment on the racers faces as they get to the end of their race!  I was so inspired that I COULDN'T WAIT to get to my own start line.  But that would have to wait for another wind filled afternoon and evening... then race day!  Time to let the photos tell the rest of the story...

The beautiful view from our camp.

That guy is GOOD!  He is running on water! ;-)

Superstar and San Diego Triathlete, Bill.  He STARTED racing
in triathlons in his 60's... he is a TOTAL inspiration and a great guy!

Watching the Sprint finish line... even Abby
enjoyed herself!

The camp on race morning... this road is part of the 2 loop run course.

Pure beauty.  You can see one of the swim markers in the middle of the lake.

Dad and me just before the start (isn't he sooooo cute!?)  ;-)

So... I started with the age group 40-44 men... and I was a bit nervous about
getting run over at the start of the swim so I started back just a bit,
but I shouldn't have been...
only 17 out of 56 of them were faster than me in the swim... ;-)
That is me in the front on the left... watch out boys, this mama
came to swim!

My wave start.

So happy... I cut a minute off my swim...

Start of the bike and feeling GREAT!
Time for the chicken bone story... 3 miles before the finish of the bike, I started
hearing a "thump, thump, thump" and figured I had a flat.  This part of the course
was a narrow one lane road without a shoulder, so I had to wait to pull over. 
I checked both tires... solid... so I started riding.  As soon as I got back on, the thump started again. 
I had to wait about a mile until I could pull over again and when I stopped,
 I found a 4 inch CHICKEN BONE, piercing through my rear tire.  (WHAT!?) 
I pulled it out, figuring that would pierce the inner tube, but surprisingly it was fine.
A police officer was standing at the intersection and asked me what I was holding. 
I told him it a chicken bone went through my tire and he said, "Welcome to the desert!" 

Friend and Superman, Matt.  Hit by a car while
riding several months ago... only 2 weeks of training
for an International Distance Triathlon... smile on his
face and he KILLED IT!  Woooo Hoooo!  Way to go, Matt!

Here I come... hill down to the dismount line.  Thank goodness
because this is a accident prone race... several ambulances out
on the course with riders again this year.  I was an inch away
from being in a huge crash myself this year. 

 

Friend and Carlsbad Tri Relay Challenge
teammate, Greg, finishing strong!  GO GREG!!!

Abby LOVING being at the race, not stuck in the trailer.  Our
cute little puppy girl!!! :-)

First year for the Aquabike race and not very many
participants, but I did take 1st in my category!

Perfect photo for Aquabike...

 My sweet husband and cute little bug on the only afternoon that was calm
so we could go out and enjoy.  Anna doing the "gold medal bite" on my medal.

...racing back to camp... :-)

Dad, Jeff and Abby enjoying outdoor time at camp.

Our cute bug, her bike in the background, getting ready for family "Uno"
time... what a GREAT weekend!

Crazy, CRAZY month...

Nothing new about the craziness in our life... just about 10 times crazier.  Things are calming a bit and it is time for me to catch up.  In the past month, my doctor gave me the go ahead to start running, which I've been doing slowly.  I'm doing 3 mile runs now and am at or a bit faster than race pace.  Still struggling with pain, so my confidence is not high, but getting stronger. Training for the Desert International (aquathon... they offered an international distance swim and bike without the run, so I registered for that since I haven't been able to run for 4 months), and that training is going well.

208.6

204.6




At the start of the year, I started taking a supplement that was to help my knees, but it shot my weight up to 213 pounds... sooooo, for the past month, I've been bouncing between 208 and 213... even with the 5 times a week race training and eating right... WHAT!?  So, I stopped the supplement and FINALLY, the past two weeks things are going in the right direction! 

 

Today Anna cheered for me... "Yeah, Mom!  You are almost back to One-derland!"  She MADE MY DAY!  :-)  I'm just happy that with two weeks to go until the first race of the season, I'm going to fit into my wetsuit... and with so many family and friends planing to be there, I'm growing more confident by the day that I'm going to be ready to ROCK this race! :-)



Enough said...

I trained today... did you? ;-)

Already down another pound!

Year 3, Week 1 - Photos...

How many of you (I want to see a show of hands) have done this... You are going to start a new eating and exercise plan (notice I did not say "diet") on Monday, so you figure that Saturday and Sunday you should (actually, have a right to) eat all the things you know will be limited come Monday... and add several pounds to your bottom line because "I'm already bigger than I'm happy with, what's the harm...?"  HA!  For those of you that have done this (actually, haven't we all?)... make sure you don't take your starting photo ON SATURDAY MORNING before your last binges!!!  Yep, I took my first photo of the year last Saturday morning and then ate everything I wanted all weekend... and put on 3 pounds... AFTER taking the photo and logging my weight... AUGH!!

So how did I do on my first week back...?  Exercise - (2) small group weight training classes, (1) spin class, (1) swim (1 mile), and a 27 mile bike ride.  Back to (5) workouts/week - GREAT!  Eating... bringing in the calories... sensible breakfast, Lean Cuisine lunch, healthy snack, lots of water, and back to the Weight Watchers cookbooks.  Funny enough, my family LOVES when I break out the WW recipes!  The meals are always full of flavor and the portions are filling... even for the guys!  I am now planning dinner menus on the weekends so that when I get home from work, the recipes and ingredients for the week are ready... and of course, a secret!  The family can't wait to see what I come up with night after night!  Last week we had Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken Florentine and Grilled Vegi Sandwiches... all around 4 points (or 200 calories).

 

OK... onto the bad news... the photos...

208.6 pounds

208.6 pounds

So, after the weekend eating, I ended up at 211.6 on Monday morning... REALLY!!?  It took all week, but I LOST 3 POUNDS this week... ending up at the same weight at last week, but alright.  Time to get back to business!

 

... and the new fun in this blog will be posted next... can you guess what would make "being my husband's girlfriend" even better...? ;-)

3 Years...

(just about) 3 years ago, I started an incredible journey... the journey of a fatty that hated having to hold the camera instead of being in the photos, and missed being in almost a DECADE of family photos... of not being able to run around with the kids because I would be out of breath in a minute... of not letting my husband see me naked because I SURE didn't want to see myself naked so why would I make him... of those negative voices that told me that I wasn't cute enough or strong enough or worth anything...

... a journey that I was going to put it all on the line and figure out how to lose the weight... how to get my confidence and sexy back... and once again become my husband's girlfriend.

I can't believe it has been three years.  As I sat to write this post, I seriously thought it had only been two years and I had to absorb that time gap just a bit. 

Then... I got a little smile on my face...

2011 - In the first year, I lost 37 pounds!  50 pounds total from my heaviest 3 months before I started this blog.

2012 - My average weight was between 203 - 207.

2013 - My average weight was between 203 - 207!

THAT is what made me smile!  After looking back over my photos and weights for the past two years, I haven't made any big weight loss changes, BUT I have been able to hold onto my almost 50 pound weight loss!!!  No wonder the past two years blurred into one! :-)

Now, with as great as it is that I've been able to keep the weight off, it is time that I plunge into that next step of weight loss.  I still have a way to go and this is as good a time as ever to renew my efforts.  Just like almost everyone out there, I want to JUMP IN with both feet to a new training plan and food plan to get to my next level.  I spent some time looking over my previous blog posts and found several that are worth revisiting.  One thing that I found was the topic of "goal setting/new inspiration" came up over and over and over again.  WHY...?  This journey is not a 12-week plan or a "until I lose 20 pounds" plan.  This is a lifestyle change.  I'm in it for the long haul and that means that I will have good days and bad days... and I will need to remind myself of my goals... reset my goals... re-write my goals... over and over and over again.  My life is constantly changing, as I'm sure yours is, too... which means my goals have to keep changing.

... actually, I don't think that it is MY GOALS that keep changing... I think it is the INSPIRATION and the COMMITMENT and the WAY that I plan to reach my goals that keeps being revised.  Read the posts below and you will see what I mean...

...and here we GO!... January 2011... a summary of this social experiement rollercoaster, photos of where we were when I was Jeff's girlfriend and why I'm going "Full Monty."

Setting Goals...... late January 2011...my first goals... and what the negative voices in my head were telling me about them... and how I told those negative voices to take a flipping hike!

Goals for 2012...... January 2012...after a year of this journey, setting the next set of goals.  This one is a reminder that you need to set goals for YOU first... and the goals for family, love, work... those will all fall into place!


203 pounds

237 pounds

Life Reset - Step 1 - Reflect and Inspiration... ... November 2012... stuck in a rut and the new schedule had beaten me down.  Time to reflect on the past decade, key moments and inspiration to help me move forward.

2 Years... January 2013... after a year of plateau, going back to work after 8 years staying home with the family and trying to balance our new life, I took a hard look at the past year and, after putting it in writing, there was nothing more important than REFLECTION.

203 pounds

207 pounds

So I started 2013 at 207 and my first photo of 2014 is me at 208.6.  One, I love the fact that I am taking photos... for better or worse, photos tell the tale!  Two... sometimes, even a 2 pound difference is HUGE... as these photos DO tell the tale.

As I look forward to my 4th year of this journey, and I set my goals, I have a NEW TWIST to the blog that I look forward to sharing in the next few days.  It is time to dig back in and take care of business... and BUSINESS is about to get FUN...!

13 years ago tonight...

... my sweet husband proposed to me.

It is a pretty great story.

In addition to the 10 dozen roses...

... and the sunset...

... and the ring...

... he gave me a choice.

He made reservations for dinner at the expensive french restaurant that we always wanted to try..

... or pick up Jess and Chris (who were doing homework with Grandma Susie and Daddy D.) so that he could "propose" to them at a family dinner and ask them to be his son and daughter.

... I think you can guess where we went for dinner.  Like I said... that night is a GREAT story...

... I love you, my sweet husband.  Thank you for the roses... again! :-)

I love you with all my heart!

Mission Bay Triathlon - 2013 Race Report

I love the start of this race... my category is one of the first and I'm
in the water while the sun is rising... a GREAT way to start the day!

WOOO HOOOOO... I am SO excited that I have a 2013 Mission Bay Tri Race Report to share with you!!!  You may know that I injured my right knee (4) weeks ago and have not been able to do any lower body training, running or impact since then.  I was told that if I was really careful, that I could do an easy practice run a few days before the race and if I felt good, that I could do the race... cold.

I did a 1.5 mile run on Thursday... and it felt good.  So the race was ON!


I don't often post bike photos because I still don't like the way I look
on the bike, but I LOVE the shadow on this photo...I was just
starting the bike and my bad leg wouldn't clip in and slipped... OUCH!

Seriously, racing is half training and half mental and since I knew I couldn't do the training, I had to keep telling myself "treat this like a training brick... you've done this race before... you can push through the pain..."  But the voice that kept ringing in my head was, "Don't push too hard or you'll be down for another few months... this is going to hurt... your legs and cardio are now weak, what are you thinking... this is going to suck!"

Add to those negative thoughts that we were going to be visiting friends the night before the race... at Speedway (in Costa Mesa... about 90 miles away from home)... getting home at 11PM and having to get up at 3:30AM... no sleep... before a race... that I haven't been able to train for... I was trying to be cool, calm and collected, but I was a wreck!

I have to say that I knew the lack of cardio training would be tough... shoot... I have been training non stop for the past 3+ years, but not with a (4) week gap before a race!  My swim time was great... T1 was good... but my strength, the bike, was HARD!  I kept trying to get my computer to go 18-20 miles as I should have gone... but it kept slipping... 16, 15, 13... my MPH were horrible and I was pushing as hard as I could... and I almost threw up twice... who knew the run would be better than the bike?

It is time for the photos to tell this story...


Start of the run... and there is NO PAIN (in my knee)!
While doing the mental prep for this race, I told
myself that the run was going to hurt... so just keep running
and it would be over soon...

Long story short, I watch the results in my category and know that "Heather Richards"
usually wins the under 40 Athena catgory... but I've never met her.  I have, however,
seen this gal in front of me at many races, but thought she was in another category, so I
didn't think she was my competition... until we came to the finish line and the
announcer said, "Here comes Heather Richards and Tracey Locher" and I
thought, "CRAP...I hope she is not 40 yet!"  I could not have given one more
ounce of effort and she beat me by 2 seconds... good news... she won't be 40 for
several more years!!! :-)  And, yes, I introduced myself shortly after this race.

I was SOOOOO happy to have finished this race...
... and friend Roger is there in the blue... LOVE
this photo!!!  Even with my issues, I finished
my run 1 minute faster than last year... WHAT!?

Superman Matt and me at the end of the race.  Matt's first triathlon
was Misson Bay 2 years ago... his 2nd race was an international and then
a 70.3... he is on the quick path to his first Ironman... he is one
of my big time inspirations!!!

I TOOK 1ST PLACE and Tammy Franco took 2nd.  I am so blessed for
Facebook... and the chance to meet my competitors on the race course and
get to know them later online... the Athenas all have a story... and most of them are
very similar... health, weight loss, getting our butts out of bed to race!

Do you see something missing from this celebratory #1
photo... oh yes, that would be a medal.  The finisher
and the awards medals were held up in customs due
to the goverment shut down... I didn't think the shut
down would affect us... darn it!

What I want vs. what I can do...

... THIS is what I want to train to do...

... at the moment, this is what I can do...

I have a knee injury that, although could be worse, requires me to do no bootcamp, no lower body strength training, and most important... NO RUNNING!  No impact for (4) weeks from injury, which is exactly the day of the Mission Bay Tri.  I can swim... I can spin... but I will have to go into my last race of the season COLD on my run. 

Triathlon (as far as I'm concerned) is half training and half mental... time to start working on that mental...

... no weight gain with injury... and fun new tri site...

YEAH!  One good piece of news after a week without any cardio... no weight gain!  I've been pretty freaked out that my weight would start going up while I've been out of commission, but I'm the same weight that I was 4 weeks ago.

204.8

204.8

I was planning to swim to get in my cardio this week, but Jeff wanted me to take the week off, so I did... and then the pool at the Y went down this weekend, so I've had a few extra days off that I wasn't planning.  Still no game plan for the knee and 3 weeks until my last tri of the season.

While I figure things out, check out this new blog that I found (well actually, the writer found me and I checked out her blog.)  Lisa is on a similar journey... weight issues, confidence, learning about and fears of triathlons... her writing is honest and hysterical.  While reading her recent posts, I kept saying, "YES, I feel the same way!"  http://lightlyfromtheledge.blogspot.com/  Her first triathlon is next week and I can't wait to see how she documents that special day!  Good luck, Lisa!

... Now what... accountable?



... WHAT THE...?

4 weeks from today is my last race of the season... then I have SIX MONTHS of off season training... plenty of time to nurse an injury back to health and continue training.

 

But darn it, it has been more than 1 1/2 years since my last injury and I was feeling confident... and I made a silly mistake at Boot Camp on Saturday morning.  I twisted my knee as I put my weight on it and I heard a "pop..." and the pain started.

 

Jeff has "grounded" me... I thought I could at least do a swim today to get in a workout and he told me I had to ice and elevate my knee in hopes for a quick recovery.  He knows how frustrated I am... and he took care of everything around the house today so I could watch my knee. 

 

Thank you, my sweet husband.  I pray this heals quickly and I can get back to training.  In the meantime, I'm going to kick my own butt pulling in the pool and make sure that my trainer only does upper body and core.  THIS is the great thing about triathlons... if you get injured, you have several different sports to switch the training to! :-)

 

Oh... and the answer to my last post... Week 78 was 6 pounds lighter than Week 131... although 131 looks much better.  Just goes to show you that the numbers on the scale are just part of the answer... but there is so much more!!!