Pleased with the Results!

Awoke at 4:30, headed over to the transition area at 5:30 with Scott on our bikes. Steam on the lake, a baby coyote along the roadside and eagle soaring overhead. It was going to be a good day with ideal conditions. Water temp was 62, lake smooth like glass, 1.2 mile swim. I took off at a moderate pace as planned and got into the rhythm of my stroke by the second buoy. Strong swim -37:01 and was the 10th woman out of the water in our wave of about 45.

56 mile bike course was hilly as expected. About 10 miles in my legs were adapting to the elevation and feeling warmed up. Fueled early and frequently on gu, shots blocks and gatoraid. With 7-8 miles to go I ramped the up the pace towards my lactate threshold to bring it in strong. 3:23 ride time (16.5mph). A total time of 4:06. 1st place and the only woman in my age group. I savor being the oldest woman competing at these distances.

On the drive back to Tucson I did my usual post-race analysis of what I can improve on for future events...and how I can shave 6 mins off my time to come in under 4 hours next year. it's doable:

1. My transition time was 5:50 (enough time to do my nails). That's got to be faster - forget the shirt, arm warmers and socks (suck it up and be chilly for the first 30 mins), no eating (eat on the bike), no walking (jog up from the lake)

2. Wear an aero helmet - Dale, how much time can I pick up in 56 miles with an aero helment?

3. Train longer rides - yes should have done TTM.

4. Train more hills - OK, OK I  know this!

I can do it! Goal time 2010 - 3:59:59

You Meet the Nicest People When You Tri

One of the pleasurable aspects of sport is the interaction, connection, and relationships that you encounter and develop along the route...in training, competition, or just hanging out. Camped next to me this weekend were Diana and Lee, from San Diego, both competing in the Olympic Distance  Tri... Diana was also going for the Exterra Tri on Sunday. Young fit, high energy, and adventuresome (yes, my type of women). 

Scott, my campmate - was looking for a spot to pitch his tent as the campground was filled - was from Chandler competing in the Dueceman half ironman. When ever you get athletes together the conversation centers around gear, water temp, fueling on the bike, pre race meals, wind, rain and road conditions and stories about past heroics and failures. Immediate connections evolve althrough you may never encounter these folks again...or you may see them at next years race and greet them with a big Hug.

And its always hugs and laughter with all of the age group friends that you gather throughout the years and competitions who become a psuedo family to share, support and applaud achievements with. Who are still out there...having fun, staying vital, pushing the limits, role models for their younger counterparts. Here's Greg Gadarian (the only other 60 plus in the AquaBike event.) with his 1st place ever. Nice work Greg!

One of the aspects that draws me to this sport is that it is a great equilizer. When you are out on the course it's you and the elements, you become ageless, and everyone that crosses the finish line is proud to be a triathlete. 

Another Restful Day

Awoke to a stunning morning, the fresh smell of pine and cedar, and what a view from my upstairs bedroom in the VW. 

On my bike at 7:15 for a 15 mi spin to check the temps for Sat. morning. I have a 6:34am (Yes, that's 6:34 am) swim start. It will be cool on the bike and I'll be in wet clothes with wet hair, but it will warm up in about an hour if the sun is shinning. I'll opt for a shirt and arm warmers which I can shed. Lots of hills around here! I've reset my goal ride time going to 3:20. And that's without a head wind.

Poured my self into the wetsuit (I need to allow at least 20 mins for that ordeal even with body glide) and tested the water - not as cold as I imagined. Of course at 6:34am it's all going to be cool with a expected air temp in the high 40s to 50 degrees. But that's part of the intrigue of these events. One never knows for sure what the elements will throw at you. 

It rained for several hours this afternoon, so I let the rain lull me into a 2 hour siesta. Have been in major energy conservation mode for 3-4 days. Am feeling ready to put the hammer down tomorrow. I can rest when they spread my ashes around.

Mental Preparation

The hammock is an ideal place for a bit of mental prep for Saturday's event.

Focus for the swim - Gu and fluids before getting in the water. If it's really cold, I'll pour warm water into my wetsuit. Don't go out too fast, adjust to the water temp and the elevation, swim straight, stay on course and avoid extra work. Find my pace with long strong strokes and bring it in with gusto from the final buoy. 

Focus on the bike - Fuel early, fuel often. Ride my pace on the climbs and work the downhills.

Stretch when needed, don't get too stiff. Relax the upper body and nice smooth pedal strokes.

A bit chilly to test the water today or ride. Must do both tomorrow.

Taper Down, Gearing Up

One of the fascinating aspects of peak performance is the taper. Tapering down can be psychologically tough for athletes that have never experienced the impact of a well designed reduction in training volume (taper period). It's sometimes tough to remove yourself from the "I can't stop training now" mentality.

However, without a well-defined taper, peak performance will be elusive. The most notable change that occurs during a taper is an increase in muscular strength and power. (OH, bring it on!) It appears this recovery in strength and power may be linked to modifications in the muscle's contractile mechanisms. Tapering allows time for muscles to repair damage incurred during intense training and for muscle and liver glycogen to be restored.

So this is the week to eat well, rest, hydrate, and let the body perform the magical process of adaptation. You earned it!

Live Life Like Your Really Mean It

Cactus Rides

Great group of Cactus riders today! It was a 28 mile recovery/taper ride for me. This week it's lean protein, complex carbs, minimal alcohol and rest with short bouts of exercise in the pool and on the bike. My goal is to finish the 1.2 mile swim (under :40) and 56 mile bike (under 3:00) for a total time under 3:50. I feel like I am swimming strong so the challenge will be the 56 miles as I have not done many long rides and unsure what effect the elevation (6500ft) will have.

I'll find out next Saturday.

Cool Riding

Well today was most likely one of only a few more cool mornings to get out and ride. Syncardia took off at 6am and it was up to Molino Basin - lots of riders on the mountain today! Then a regroup at Aqua Caliente park. 43 miles, back to Udall by 10 and the weather was still quite tolerable.

Taper down for Showlow begins.

Walk n' Play

Rained out today for hike up Blackett's so instead I downloaded this new iphone app Walk n' Play. Very cool stuff! Walk n' Play monitors your calorie expenditure, all you do is wear the iphone with you all day. Just like a pedometer. This app is based on the cutting edge calorie calculation technology using iphones embedded accelerator. 

A cool feature is that you can have calorie expenditure competitions with intelligent simulators or real time competitions with your friends. So for all you gamers out there...check out this unique mix of health gaming and social networking. Or if you are just interested in how many calories you expend each day....check this out  http://pingbuzii.blogspot.com/2009/05/computational-physiology-labs-walk-n.html

Swimming in the Rain

Love swimming in the rain....especially in Tucson. 1900 yds. Swimming well and feeling strong in the water. Left neck/trap area still a bother.

Rained out of Blacketts hike this morning. Enjoying a leisure morning. Forced rest can be a good thing.

10 Days Till Showlow

And training partners Dick and Ted are not backing off. 52 miler today and they worked on the way back in. Spared from the heat with cloud cover and slightly cooler temps. Great continuous ride (until I flatted) in preparation for the Aqua Bike which is a new event at the Deuces Wild Triathlon in Showlow.

Rode most of the route in the aerobars, worked on pacing for the 56 miler, and fueling on the bike.

Glory's Over - Time to Train

12 days till the Aqua Bike event in Showlow. Need to put in 4-5 more days of strong work outs before tapering. My training partners, Dick (a young and fit 75) and Ted (a young and fit 68), are keeping me on task and making sure I don't slack off. 

Easy 28 miles on the bike then off to the pool for 1800yd swim. I'm feeling strong in the water and training in open water yesterday was helpful. I found that I am pulling to the left and veer slightly off course. Not quite sure how to correct this. Will experiment with a few techniques (bilateral breathing equally on each side, focus on underwater pull - one arm may be pulling slightly stronger) and may need to sight more frequently.

Official Results Are Posted

26:35 time for the Sonoita/Pategonia TT.  Average speed 26.63mph. Oh baby...got to love a downhill course with a tail wind. That is the fastest time and mph I've ever put in. 

Hey...and most of the Syncardia team made the 30mph club. Dale posted an astonishing 32.75mph and won his age group (55-59) and Dick Reynolds propelled himself across the line in 30.08mph winning his age group at age group (75-79, Dick is in the yellow shirt lining up for the start). My heros!

We are just like fine wine...getting better with age!

Patagonia TT and Swim

This is the most scenic and enjoyable of all the AZ time trials. If you can call riding your guts out as fast and hard as possible for 12 miles without red lining and puking enjoyable....

but it is mostly downhill.

Still waiting for the final results to be posted as I did not reset my computer at the start. Congratulations Dale, my Syncardia teammate for smoking into the 30 plus club....great riding. He made it look easy on that new bike and skin suit.

After a brief recovery Brian and I headed to Lake Patagonia for an open water swim. Being Sunday and a hot day the place was hopping with picknickers and boaters. Water was warm and we had fun swimming into the rock coves and from buoy to buoy. Great way to practice sighting and straight line swimming. Then it was off to the Cow Palace for some grub...fries, chimichanga and beer. What more could a woman want after all that exercise.

Birthday Blacketts

Happy Birthday Linda! What a great way to begin your transition to 60 with a hike up to Blackett's Ridge in Sabino Canyon. And it was a great group this morning. Check out the blossoms on that saguaro.

More Bike Swim Workouts

Feeling fit and leaning up with these brick workouts. This morning it was hills with senior athletes Dick Reynolds and Ted Pearce. At 75 ad 69 respectively these guys are amazing. They can out ride and out swim the majority of the people I train with.

Todays WO:

30 minute warmup ride

5 repeats Innovation Drive

3 repeats geezer hill in Rancho Vistoso

Then it was some recovery drink and off to the pool for short swim:

300 warmup

10 X 50 on the 1:00

300 cool down

More recovery drink and a great spinach, potato and cheese omlete, watermelon and a BIG glass of milk. Life is good!

The Golden Games

I was leaving the pool today after a good swim and there was all kinds of music and cheering coming from the gym.....It was the Golden Games. The Golden Games are a step above the Senior Olympics and all of the care centers in Tucson were represented with their team of athletes. Events included the basketball shoot, sticky ball throw, javelin, ball toss, soccer ball kick, bean bag toss, and wheel chair and walker races.

So for all you athletic, competitive types...the fun never stops and you are never too old! Just keep moving!

Bike Swim

Stared the day with a 28 mile ride with Cactus Cycling. Then it was off to the pool for a 2000 yd swim with triathlete compadre, Ted Pearce. We are both training for the Aqua Bike event that is part of the Deuces Wild Triathlon in Sholow, AZ May 30th. It's a 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike...no run - how wonderful! 

Swim workout today:

300 warmup

500 yd moderate pace swim (1:45 - 1:50 100s)

10 X 100 on the 2:00 (1:40-1:45 pace)

6 X 25 sprint (1:00 recovery)

Cooldown and stretch

Nice pacing today Ted! Keep stretching.

A Special Day for Moms

The day started early with a pleasant 48-miler to Vail and Pistol Hill. It was a great Syncardia turn-out and there were many Mother's Day wishes expressed by everyone. If I can figure out that camcorder I'll post them somewhere.

Then it was lunch with my lovable big bear of a son, Mackenzie. What more can a Mom ask for then to spend time with her child on Mother's Day. I'd like to wish my Mom, Shirley Hyatt, a very special Mother's Day. I love you Mom and thank you for buying me my first bike when I was 2 - that wonderful little tricycle with the tassels on the handlebars. I still have that photo of me riding on the sidewalk in that frilly little dress. And look what I'm riding now...that sleek, sexy, lightweight, high performance Orbea!

And here's a poem I received for Mother's Day. Thought I'd share it:

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, 

Because that is the doorway to her heart, 

The place where love resides. 

True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. 

It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows,

The beauty of a woman with passing years only grows.

Climbing to the Top!

What a day, what a ride, and what a blast! It was the GABA Mt. Lemon climb to Ski Valley. Starting from the base at 6:30am was ideal as the air temp stayed consistent most of the ride up. On the ride down it was like a full body furnace blast once you hit Prison Camp. The moisture was sucked right out of you. Ride time from the base to Ski Valley was 3:25, 6600 foot elevation gain, 56 miles RT. Didn't break any records, but that's not what it was about. It's all about being out there and enjoying the ride!

It was a pleasure seeing so many colorful jerseys and wonderful cycling friends going up the mountain. Syncardia had a strong showing of riders as did Cactus Cycling.

Zooming

As the temps in Tucson crested the century mark the only reasonable place to workout at 11 in the morning was the pool. And I had a new toy to swim with today...a pair of Zoomers Z2 - swim fins specifically designed to increase stroke turnover, swim longer at race pace, improve leg strength and power, and assist in a more hydrodynamic body position. And they were fun. Gave me the sense of swimming faster with less effort as was demonstrated in a 5:50 400 time with Zoomers v.s. a 6:40 time without. I was zooming! I could get spoiled using these. Now we will see if training with the Zoomers transfer to improved swim times. Check them out at http://www.trisports.com/zoomers.html.

The Best Ride in Tucson

It's hard to beat climbing any part of Mt. Lemon! The change in scenery, temperature, smells, and climate zones increase the attraction, not to mention the constant, primal and rhythmic work of the legs and lungs.

Lots of cyclists today - GABA Mt. Lemon climb to Ski Valley on Friday.  Candace and Gwen are ready.

The Skies the Limit

Have you been to the Sky Diving venue in Eloy, Arizona? A must visit, right in our back yard! An international destination for sky divers from across the globe. Today teams from China, Monaco, Australia and England were training. Fascinating to watch them rehearse their formations on the ground, on roller boards, in the wind tunnel and then take to the sky. Many of the them come for weeks to train, stay at the complex and work with resident instructors and coaches.

I think the wind tunnel is  a must do experience. OK Team DSWFitness - let's give it a go. 

Fridays

Do you ever feel a friday fatigue from going strong all week long? I backed off on the hike a bit today as that total body fatigue feeling was seeping in....do you think that ride to Windy Point was a factor? The girls decided to enjoy the view from the saddle and let the boys do the final climb to the caves this morning. Sometimes it's nice to sit and appreciate the  beautiful desert surroundings and to watch, feel and smell the day open before you.