Friday, June 13, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Escape From Alcatraz
Let me just start by saying we had the best weather out in California that we could have ever wished for. Every day was sunny and clear with no fog.
We arrived in Cali on Wednesday and didn't do much except stop at In N Out and get us a burger.
Thursday we headed down to Monterey and saw the sites of Pebble Beach and the 17 mile drive.
Friday it all started to become real. We headed in to San Francisco to pick up my bike and drive the bike course. At this point I have no clue where the heck we are riding and I'm looking at the streets in San Fran just about to die. We pick up Alison and the bike and head out for a drive on the bike course. At this point there is no turning back or quiting nor do I want to. I've trained for the hills and I can handle this.
We get started stopping at about every picture perfect moment snapping pictures and taking it all in. We had the Golden Gate in view most of the bike and when that wasn't in view you had the back side of San Francisco coast and the ocean to look at. Just amazing. We keep driving and driving. We get to the end of the bike course and I'm thinking, wow, this is not going to be all that bad.
Saturday, we did the packet pickup and bought all kinds of gear for this race. We were good little athletes and attended the meeting that they had. From there is was all downhill and we were prepared and ready to get this done. That evening my family made posters for me for the race. I was so happy and excited for this support.
Sunday morning. I set my cell phone to go off at 4:15am, only to forget my phone is still on Texas time and I get up at 2:15am Cali time and start getting dressed. My husband says, go back to bed it is only 2:30am. I'm fully dressed and get back to sleep right away for two more hours. I get up and get my breakfast down and head into San Fran and meet up with the team. The swimmers were already on buses by this point so I didn't get to see Mike before the swim. David and I proceed to to find the marked spot for us. I go to air up my front tire and I did something and ripped the stem on the tube apart and had to change a tire. I get that all over with and we head to the shore to watch the swimmers jump from the boat at Alcatraz Island. We really couldn't see much until they got a little closer. And they were still specs in the water splashing around.
David and I then headed to back into to transition to wait for Mike. He came flying in handed me the chip and I took off. Half way down the chute and my water bottle between my aero bars comes out and I had to stop from the rough patches you have to run through. Oh well, I have to have it. I take about 30 seconds and fix it and I'm off.
The first two miles are pretty easy and everyone is just blowing past me. We get to our first hill and it is like everyone is being pulled backwards. At this point all those people who passed me are now at the hill struggling a little. We make it up it and we take off. There are lots of downhills on the first 9 miles than on the last 9 miles. The roads were really rough in sections but I managed. The ride was amazing and not that hard. The computrainer was much harder and I felt relieved. I make it back not even knowing what time I just did and passed it off to David. He takes off on the run. I figure I have about an hour and he will be back. I watched him cross the line and it was awesome.
All in all I recommend the race to everyone. I will go back after ironman and complete the whole thing. It is a beautiful course and well put together. I loved every minute of it.
Our times...
ATX ESCAPEES(for some reason the announcer could not say our team name when David crossed the finish line.)
Athlete Statistics(Mike Reichow) FYI...Mike was about less than a minute behind the winner of the race in the swim!
Start of Swim:
00:00:00
End of Swim:
00:25:50
Total Swim:
00:25:50
Transition:
00:06:59
Start of Bike:(Shawnda Freeman)
00:32:49
Midpoint of Bike:
01:15:08
End of Bike:
01:49:13
Total Bike:
01:16:24
Transition:
-
Start of Run:(David Babbitt)
-
Start Sand Ladder:
02:29:02
End Sand Ladder:
02:32:22
Total Sand Ladder:
00:03:20
End of Run:
02:59:29
Total Time: 02:59:29
I will post some pics later in the week.
We arrived in Cali on Wednesday and didn't do much except stop at In N Out and get us a burger.
Thursday we headed down to Monterey and saw the sites of Pebble Beach and the 17 mile drive.
Friday it all started to become real. We headed in to San Francisco to pick up my bike and drive the bike course. At this point I have no clue where the heck we are riding and I'm looking at the streets in San Fran just about to die. We pick up Alison and the bike and head out for a drive on the bike course. At this point there is no turning back or quiting nor do I want to. I've trained for the hills and I can handle this.
We get started stopping at about every picture perfect moment snapping pictures and taking it all in. We had the Golden Gate in view most of the bike and when that wasn't in view you had the back side of San Francisco coast and the ocean to look at. Just amazing. We keep driving and driving. We get to the end of the bike course and I'm thinking, wow, this is not going to be all that bad.
Saturday, we did the packet pickup and bought all kinds of gear for this race. We were good little athletes and attended the meeting that they had. From there is was all downhill and we were prepared and ready to get this done. That evening my family made posters for me for the race. I was so happy and excited for this support.
Sunday morning. I set my cell phone to go off at 4:15am, only to forget my phone is still on Texas time and I get up at 2:15am Cali time and start getting dressed. My husband says, go back to bed it is only 2:30am. I'm fully dressed and get back to sleep right away for two more hours. I get up and get my breakfast down and head into San Fran and meet up with the team. The swimmers were already on buses by this point so I didn't get to see Mike before the swim. David and I proceed to to find the marked spot for us. I go to air up my front tire and I did something and ripped the stem on the tube apart and had to change a tire. I get that all over with and we head to the shore to watch the swimmers jump from the boat at Alcatraz Island. We really couldn't see much until they got a little closer. And they were still specs in the water splashing around.
David and I then headed to back into to transition to wait for Mike. He came flying in handed me the chip and I took off. Half way down the chute and my water bottle between my aero bars comes out and I had to stop from the rough patches you have to run through. Oh well, I have to have it. I take about 30 seconds and fix it and I'm off.
The first two miles are pretty easy and everyone is just blowing past me. We get to our first hill and it is like everyone is being pulled backwards. At this point all those people who passed me are now at the hill struggling a little. We make it up it and we take off. There are lots of downhills on the first 9 miles than on the last 9 miles. The roads were really rough in sections but I managed. The ride was amazing and not that hard. The computrainer was much harder and I felt relieved. I make it back not even knowing what time I just did and passed it off to David. He takes off on the run. I figure I have about an hour and he will be back. I watched him cross the line and it was awesome.
All in all I recommend the race to everyone. I will go back after ironman and complete the whole thing. It is a beautiful course and well put together. I loved every minute of it.
Our times...
ATX ESCAPEES(for some reason the announcer could not say our team name when David crossed the finish line.)
Athlete Statistics(Mike Reichow) FYI...Mike was about less than a minute behind the winner of the race in the swim!
Start of Swim:
00:00:00
End of Swim:
00:25:50
Total Swim:
00:25:50
Transition:
00:06:59
Start of Bike:(Shawnda Freeman)
00:32:49
Midpoint of Bike:
01:15:08
End of Bike:
01:49:13
Total Bike:
01:16:24
Transition:
-
Start of Run:(David Babbitt)
-
Start Sand Ladder:
02:29:02
End Sand Ladder:
02:32:22
Total Sand Ladder:
00:03:20
End of Run:
02:59:29
Total Time: 02:59:29
I will post some pics later in the week.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Post Rookie Update
Yesterday marked my one year anniversary since I had completed my first triathlon. And let me say, I felt I did well this year compared to last year. I was prepared and more confident this year than last year. I managed to beat my time by about 15 minutes from last year! I'm most happy about that overall.
I think this year has to be the year of forgetting my shoes. At Galveston, I forgot my tennis shoes as I was walking to setup and this race I forgot my cycling shoes and discovered it on Friday night. I frantically called all coaches and texted all coaches to see who could let me into the PTC and finally Coach Mo called and said he would bring them with him on Saturday morning. For some reason, I just had a gut feeling that he would forget them. Coach Chrissie then called and said she would just meet me to get them at the PTC so I wouldn't have to depend on Maurice as there is always a chance he would forget them.
The morning began nice a calm...Thank you for XANAX once again. I only use this the night before a race and I must say, I'm a different person than last year. Trust me it is a good thing. I ate some oatmeal and something else, can't remember, and got dressed and gathered everything and we headed out the door.
We get to the race and I head into get body marked by a fellow T3'er. I made my way to setup the bike to find that this year you had to set up based on your age group. Last year, you could just set up shop anywhere. So I get everything set up and water bottles filled up and grab the goggles and swim cap and I was ready.
I stopped for some pics with friends from T3 and made my way to the T3 tent. We talked and took more pics with everyone. I made my way to the water for a warm up swim. The water was very nice. Perfect temperature.
The race started at 8am. All the men take off and then the women start. I'm in the first wave of women and I'm thinking I should get out front and get going as I feel like I can go strong in swim this year. I was so wrong. I was swam over and I think I swam over others also. I made the turn and drank some nasty water and just kept swimming and gaging. I made it out of the water with no major issues at this point except a slow swim time.
I ran to the bike, threw on the socks, shoes, helmet and sunglasses and headed out on the ride. I just wanted to ride fast. I made it threw the bike and dismounted the bike with not falling off this round!
I then put the running shoes on and grabbed my bottle of water and headed out for the run. I just told myself keep the legs moving. I did but not fast. I kept feeling like I was going to throw up the oatmeal I ate that morning. So I finally make it back around and I'm heading for the finish line and I start to sprint the last 75 meters. I cross the line in about 1 hour and 14 minutes and I was not feeling good at all. Some kid took the sweaty timing chip off and I was thinking I've got to get out of the crowd of people as I'm about to throw up. I walked over to some tall grass leaned over and it was coming up but I held back. All I could think about was not letting anyone see my throw up. I sat down drank some water and felt better.
This by far was the best race yet for me. I'm hoping the rest of the season continues down this path of excitement!
I think this year has to be the year of forgetting my shoes. At Galveston, I forgot my tennis shoes as I was walking to setup and this race I forgot my cycling shoes and discovered it on Friday night. I frantically called all coaches and texted all coaches to see who could let me into the PTC and finally Coach Mo called and said he would bring them with him on Saturday morning. For some reason, I just had a gut feeling that he would forget them. Coach Chrissie then called and said she would just meet me to get them at the PTC so I wouldn't have to depend on Maurice as there is always a chance he would forget them.
The morning began nice a calm...Thank you for XANAX once again. I only use this the night before a race and I must say, I'm a different person than last year. Trust me it is a good thing. I ate some oatmeal and something else, can't remember, and got dressed and gathered everything and we headed out the door.
We get to the race and I head into get body marked by a fellow T3'er. I made my way to setup the bike to find that this year you had to set up based on your age group. Last year, you could just set up shop anywhere. So I get everything set up and water bottles filled up and grab the goggles and swim cap and I was ready.
I stopped for some pics with friends from T3 and made my way to the T3 tent. We talked and took more pics with everyone. I made my way to the water for a warm up swim. The water was very nice. Perfect temperature.
The race started at 8am. All the men take off and then the women start. I'm in the first wave of women and I'm thinking I should get out front and get going as I feel like I can go strong in swim this year. I was so wrong. I was swam over and I think I swam over others also. I made the turn and drank some nasty water and just kept swimming and gaging. I made it out of the water with no major issues at this point except a slow swim time.
I ran to the bike, threw on the socks, shoes, helmet and sunglasses and headed out on the ride. I just wanted to ride fast. I made it threw the bike and dismounted the bike with not falling off this round!
I then put the running shoes on and grabbed my bottle of water and headed out for the run. I just told myself keep the legs moving. I did but not fast. I kept feeling like I was going to throw up the oatmeal I ate that morning. So I finally make it back around and I'm heading for the finish line and I start to sprint the last 75 meters. I cross the line in about 1 hour and 14 minutes and I was not feeling good at all. Some kid took the sweaty timing chip off and I was thinking I've got to get out of the crowd of people as I'm about to throw up. I walked over to some tall grass leaned over and it was coming up but I held back. All I could think about was not letting anyone see my throw up. I sat down drank some water and felt better.
This by far was the best race yet for me. I'm hoping the rest of the season continues down this path of excitement!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The Rookie Triathlon
Another day and another week of training. Here I am, just a few days before my next triathlon, The Rookie. Last year this was my first race and I was super nervous and didn't have a clue what to expect that morning. But this year, I'm prepared. I've completed a race already this season and I'm faster and stronger than I was last year at this time.
I'm going into this race with the mindset of having fun and just beating my times from last year. I already have the time portion of the race beat now just having fun will be the next step. I always seem to have the hardest time with this. I go into it way to serious and just need to focus on having a good time and finishing the darn thing.
This race will go as is...
300 meter swim
11.1 mile bike ride
2 mile run
Not bad for a Saturday morning.
I'm sure I will be posting more as time draws near and after the race.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Ironman Coeur D' Alene
Looks like I've made the decision to enter my very first IRONMAN! I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. I will have to endure 2.4 for miles in the water, 112 miles on the bike and 26 miles of running. I've been asked, why do you want to put yourself through that? Well the answer goes as is...WHY NOT! Very few people do this and I want to be one of the ones that crosses that finish line. I want to have a sense of accomplishment knowing that I just completed 140.6 miles in one day.
T3, the triathlon team that I train with here in Austin, TX has made CDA the team Ironman for 2009. They are the best triathlon group to train with for an Ironman. I have seasoned coaches that have several Ironman finishes underneath them. So I have all the tools I need at the touch of my fingertips. All I have to do is put them to work and get to training.
Ironman CDA will be in June of 09 so I have plenty of time to get my mind wrapped around this and start working on my running. That seems to be the worst for me. But with help from others and just putting in more miles each week and month, I will get to the point that I can be somewhat comfortable at this.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Questioning if I should do an Ironman event
The last few days I've had the "ironman itch". I feel like I want to do one for the sense of accomplishment and to be among the few in this world that finished one. But I have the fear of not finishing. The 26 mile run after the 112 mile bike ride just seems painful. I know I could do a run/walk and make it through it but do I want to put myself through that? If I do any Ironman event it will probably be in Coeur D' Alene, ID. We have lots of friends up there and we are about due to head up that way to see everyone and everything. I have a few months before registration to think about this. I've also need to complete a half ironman before I do a full one.
I just don't know that I want to sell my soul to the devil for about 6-7 months to train hard. I like having my weekends to myself if I want to do something different other than ride a bike and run.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Pictures from Lonestar Triathlon
Here are a few pics from the triathlon that I completed on March 30th in Galveston.
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