it was a really good weekend i must admit! it started with gail and i taking a look at a place we may move to which turned out to be WAY too small and awkwardly built for us to be comfortable in. so we headed to tuscany for a glass of wine and to take a look at some properties she found online. i'm bitter sweet about moving. i'd prefer not as i'm comfortable (mostly) and the current house is kick arse. though it would be nice to get away from the other roommate and be able to expand into more of the house. as it is, i sometimes feel like a guest in my own home. if we do stay, that'll change or i'll find my own place. so, after a glass or two.....ok two glasses of wine we headed home and i swiftly headed off to see jodi and ryan at rock bottom in lj. a few beers and some hilarious conversation later we headed out. it was a relaxing evening and i'm glad for it!
saturday we ended up sleeping in a bit later than expected so decided to postpone the ride for sunday. we took boone and jax to the beach instead and jax had a great time!! boone still isn't so sure about the crowds, the other dogs, the water, basically the whole experience though he did seem to have a better time than last. jax had a great time in the water, chasing the other dogs, and running around in the sand! i think next weekend we're hitting the beach with all three dogs and ryan's parents!!
we headed out and back to my place to clean up for date night which turned out to be dinner at baracuda then wine and a movie at the house. the place was cool and the food was good. i liked the atmosphere even though it didn't seem to fit with downtown encinitas! would definitely recommend it for seafood and exotic foods.
went for our ride on sunday and it turned out ok i think. my legs felt better than i thought they would and it didn't hurt as much as i thought it might. i only got good and pissed off toward the end when the wind was ferocious and never ending. my legs were getting tired and i was getting hungry. definitely need to get better on the nutrition front for longer rides! training went well last week and i'm getting excited about the workouts which is a good turn of events and makes me smile!
we had dinner/wine with greg last night before he headed out for Hawaii. it's always good to catch up with him when he's in town and he's missed when he's out for work. it was another relaxing night last night and i'm not pumped to be at work but weekends like this past one makes the weeks more bearable!
so no, nothing ridiculously exciting but overall it was a good weekend! yes, i will be posting more and no it may not be exciting but feel free to read anyway :)
~danban
3/24/10
coming clean and looking forward
this is a confession of sorts so bear with me.....i've been a slacker over the last month. that's not to say that i haven't kept busy or that i haven't done anything with my time. i haven't been keeping to my training plan. i have been training (not nearly as much as i should) and i've been a bit chicken about telling my wonderful coach about where i'm slipping. i am spinning, i am running, i'm barely swimming, and i'm hitting the weight room. the weight is finally starting to slip off and i'm starting to find my legs again but a bit too late. next month, Santa Cruz is going to be painful. i'm aware of the fact that i won't be running the whole race. it saddens me and frustrates me that i couldn't motivate myself to do this for myself. yes, i will get a sub 2 hr half marathon but no this won't be it. i'm not delusional in thinking that i could still possibly pull this off.....i know it's not possible now.
i know that my coach will read this and that he and i need to talk about where my training is and where it's going. i do still want to hit my 6:15ish goal for vineman and that means that the communication has got to improve on my part. i have got to shift priorities and make this one of my top priorities. and it's not just that i've got to but that i want to.
i have a theory on why i've done what i've done ...... or not done. since my back became a huge pain i was slipping on the motivation. since the back issues i've slipped further to the point that i'm embarassed that i can no longer compete where i was. i know it's irrational to hold myself to those standards considering i had problems even sitting for more than 5 minutes in november. i get out and run or bike and just get frustrated with myself. occasionally i've used my injury to talk myself out of going past the limitations i'm setting for myself because of my fear of not reaching my goal. and the goals are just benchmarks to reach and i know that not hitting them or possibly exceeding them in the end won't do any lasting damage or have any huge impact other than understanding my footing in the triathlon world.
again, i know i'm being harder on myself than i should and i do occasionally have good days that look like they used to before any of this. i know that i needed to have cut myself some slack and realize that i was just starting over. well, that time has past and now i've got to just continue to follow the plan as best i can even if i'm slower than either myself or my coach would like.
this week i've seen a shift and it's about time that it happened. i've already gotten in workouts every day this week and am excited/scared for the ride on saturday. i know i have a lot of work and hard work to do to hit my time goal for vineman. we'll call it vindication for last year and for santa cruz and a great launching point for New Zealand which is still on the radar for 2011. i know that if i don't get over my fears of being slow, of not reaching potential, of looking like an idiot (which everyone in spandex does) then i'm lost to New Zealand. in the words of james, it's time to nut up or shut up.
i've been disappointed in myself over the last month and want so badly for that to shift back to what it was when this whole journey began. i want to find the fun in this sport again and not just beat myself up for hitting unrealistic expectations i've placed on myself. i'm ready to set out on a new adventure with triahtlon and have a patient partner by my side. it's time for this girl to really start hitting the road again even if it is a bit slower than i'd like. i know i've made declarations like this before and haven't made them realities. i have a real desire to get to New Zealand and race it well. i guess only time will really tell if i can pull this off this time. i am determined and that's the best i can be.
i'll see you on the road!
~danban
i know that my coach will read this and that he and i need to talk about where my training is and where it's going. i do still want to hit my 6:15ish goal for vineman and that means that the communication has got to improve on my part. i have got to shift priorities and make this one of my top priorities. and it's not just that i've got to but that i want to.
i have a theory on why i've done what i've done ...... or not done. since my back became a huge pain i was slipping on the motivation. since the back issues i've slipped further to the point that i'm embarassed that i can no longer compete where i was. i know it's irrational to hold myself to those standards considering i had problems even sitting for more than 5 minutes in november. i get out and run or bike and just get frustrated with myself. occasionally i've used my injury to talk myself out of going past the limitations i'm setting for myself because of my fear of not reaching my goal. and the goals are just benchmarks to reach and i know that not hitting them or possibly exceeding them in the end won't do any lasting damage or have any huge impact other than understanding my footing in the triathlon world.
again, i know i'm being harder on myself than i should and i do occasionally have good days that look like they used to before any of this. i know that i needed to have cut myself some slack and realize that i was just starting over. well, that time has past and now i've got to just continue to follow the plan as best i can even if i'm slower than either myself or my coach would like.
this week i've seen a shift and it's about time that it happened. i've already gotten in workouts every day this week and am excited/scared for the ride on saturday. i know i have a lot of work and hard work to do to hit my time goal for vineman. we'll call it vindication for last year and for santa cruz and a great launching point for New Zealand which is still on the radar for 2011. i know that if i don't get over my fears of being slow, of not reaching potential, of looking like an idiot (which everyone in spandex does) then i'm lost to New Zealand. in the words of james, it's time to nut up or shut up.
i've been disappointed in myself over the last month and want so badly for that to shift back to what it was when this whole journey began. i want to find the fun in this sport again and not just beat myself up for hitting unrealistic expectations i've placed on myself. i'm ready to set out on a new adventure with triahtlon and have a patient partner by my side. it's time for this girl to really start hitting the road again even if it is a bit slower than i'd like. i know i've made declarations like this before and haven't made them realities. i have a real desire to get to New Zealand and race it well. i guess only time will really tell if i can pull this off this time. i am determined and that's the best i can be.
i'll see you on the road!
~danban
1/18/10
i couldn't make this up if i'd tried.....
it starts out as a pretty uneventful thursday and i'm on a call with a client when my roommate calls. obviously, i let it go to voicemail as to not interrupt the training i'm finishing up. i'm curious though cause she almost never calls during the day so i figure it's gonna be somewhat important. i listen to the voicemail and she says that there's been an "emergency" at the house and to call her before i head home. now i'm intrigued! a few minutes later i get a text from her with the message to "call me asap" so now i'm seriously curious what's going on at home that's so urgent!
i finish up the training and have all kinds of theories running around in my head as to what could've happened: we were robbed and my bike was stolen, pipes burst and the house was flooded, fire/smoke damage, she and the other roommate had a fist fight......etc. i call my roommate back and find out what the house "emergency" is and couldn't believe my ears as it was no where near one of my theories! she was rearranging her room and heard a thumping noise coming from our entry so she went out to investigate. she found a hawk had gotten in through the open front door and was trying to get out though was just hitting closed windows!!
the hawk had gotten in around 3 and at the time i called her back it was 6:30 which meant that everyone she could attempt to contact either was closed or didn't handle that kind of animal extraction from a residence. it seemed as though we were stuck with a hawk in our house over night! the best advice given was to shut of all the light in the house, leave both back and front doors open, and hope that it eventually figured it's way out of the house based off outside light. well the problem with that theory is that there's a huge window above the front door so the hawk could see out and see the street due to the street lamp across from our house so it couldn't figure out how to get out.
when i got home around 7, i snuck my way into the house through the laundry room which was kind of eery due to all the lights in the house being off and i had no clue where the bird was. we holed up in my roommate's room and had some sandwiches i picked up on my way home and checked every half hour to see if he'd figured out how to leave....no such luck. ryan wasn't terribly helpful as his suggestion was to feed the hawk either the cat or the dog by getting either to run through the open front door. his dad's suggestion - poke it with a stick! seeing as neither were good options, we called one last person in hopes he could help and with luck he could! well, luck and $125.
we decided to grab our flashlights and make our way outside to meet him when he got closer to the house (about an hour and a half after he agreed to come and help us out). i got two flashlights out of my room and left my door open not thinking anything of it. we went downstairs and i flashed the light up a bit to where the hawk was to see what he looked like. he got freaked out by the light and started skwaking and flying around so we screamed and bolted out the door and waited for our help to arrive.
help arrives and we all enter the house with flashlights lit attempting to locate the hawk who now could not be found. we figured we'd just hit a run of good luck when i realized that i'd left my door open to my bedroom and a light on.....damn! we head upstairs and sure enough, there was our new friend perched upon my bed!! the guys shut the door and we heard some banging around and eventually they head out with the hawk under a blanket. i didn't see any damage or birdy presents anywhere and was relieved! we let the hawk go, paid our hawk removal men, and shut our doors so we wouldn't have any other wildlife attempt to sleep with us that night.
i surveyed my room again as i was getting ready for bed and still didn't see any damage to the room! i figured i'd gotten away lucky and was about to settle into bed when i saw it......the hawk had left a present on my pillows!! unhappily i went to clean the pillows so that the hawk leftovers didn't stain or ruin them. all in all, i suppose we did get away pretty luckily and the hawk most likely won't return after his traumatic experience.
i have to reflect back though and laugh on the whole situation as it is pretty ridiculous! i've never heard of anyone having this problem before and don't know how we were so lucky to have had such a friend in our home for a few hours. one thing is for sure, we learned our lesson about keeping doors without screens shut :)
~danban
i finish up the training and have all kinds of theories running around in my head as to what could've happened: we were robbed and my bike was stolen, pipes burst and the house was flooded, fire/smoke damage, she and the other roommate had a fist fight......etc. i call my roommate back and find out what the house "emergency" is and couldn't believe my ears as it was no where near one of my theories! she was rearranging her room and heard a thumping noise coming from our entry so she went out to investigate. she found a hawk had gotten in through the open front door and was trying to get out though was just hitting closed windows!!
the hawk had gotten in around 3 and at the time i called her back it was 6:30 which meant that everyone she could attempt to contact either was closed or didn't handle that kind of animal extraction from a residence. it seemed as though we were stuck with a hawk in our house over night! the best advice given was to shut of all the light in the house, leave both back and front doors open, and hope that it eventually figured it's way out of the house based off outside light. well the problem with that theory is that there's a huge window above the front door so the hawk could see out and see the street due to the street lamp across from our house so it couldn't figure out how to get out.
when i got home around 7, i snuck my way into the house through the laundry room which was kind of eery due to all the lights in the house being off and i had no clue where the bird was. we holed up in my roommate's room and had some sandwiches i picked up on my way home and checked every half hour to see if he'd figured out how to leave....no such luck. ryan wasn't terribly helpful as his suggestion was to feed the hawk either the cat or the dog by getting either to run through the open front door. his dad's suggestion - poke it with a stick! seeing as neither were good options, we called one last person in hopes he could help and with luck he could! well, luck and $125.
we decided to grab our flashlights and make our way outside to meet him when he got closer to the house (about an hour and a half after he agreed to come and help us out). i got two flashlights out of my room and left my door open not thinking anything of it. we went downstairs and i flashed the light up a bit to where the hawk was to see what he looked like. he got freaked out by the light and started skwaking and flying around so we screamed and bolted out the door and waited for our help to arrive.
help arrives and we all enter the house with flashlights lit attempting to locate the hawk who now could not be found. we figured we'd just hit a run of good luck when i realized that i'd left my door open to my bedroom and a light on.....damn! we head upstairs and sure enough, there was our new friend perched upon my bed!! the guys shut the door and we heard some banging around and eventually they head out with the hawk under a blanket. i didn't see any damage or birdy presents anywhere and was relieved! we let the hawk go, paid our hawk removal men, and shut our doors so we wouldn't have any other wildlife attempt to sleep with us that night.
i surveyed my room again as i was getting ready for bed and still didn't see any damage to the room! i figured i'd gotten away lucky and was about to settle into bed when i saw it......the hawk had left a present on my pillows!! unhappily i went to clean the pillows so that the hawk leftovers didn't stain or ruin them. all in all, i suppose we did get away pretty luckily and the hawk most likely won't return after his traumatic experience.
i have to reflect back though and laugh on the whole situation as it is pretty ridiculous! i've never heard of anyone having this problem before and don't know how we were so lucky to have had such a friend in our home for a few hours. one thing is for sure, we learned our lesson about keeping doors without screens shut :)
~danban
1/5/10
what's behind and what's ahead
i am not sorry to say that i am not sad that the past decade is done. it had it's difficult moments and it had it's wonderful moments. i'm hopeful that this next decade will bring more wonderful than difficult as i know myself and my family could use a bit of a break! no, i'm not going to do a review here as most of it is common knowledge to those who know me well. i would like to give a few shout outs though to those who have made a big impact over the last 10 years :)
to katie, my simmones, and the avery: i love you three and am blessed to have had such fulfilling and long lasting friendships with you! i am confident that the next ten years will bring more adventures, laughs, ridiculous moments, and more frequent vacations together! you've always been there when i needed someone to help keep me grounded, bring tough situations into perspective, or just make me laugh! i'm excited for what our futures hold together and as individuals. love you..... mean it!
to kate: you've meant more to myself and my family than i think you realize! you have been a rock for myself and bry and a sounding board to both i'm sure. you've always been a shoulder to lean on when things have gotten to their worst. some of my best memories are with you in them and you always find a way to make me smile or laugh. you really are my sister and an important part of my family. i love you and hopefully you know how much!
now onto a new decade and new adventures! so far the year is starting out on a positive note with a new set of tri goals, a wonderful group of friends, a very patient boyfriend, and an ironman to finish! and i'm excited for what the next ten years will hold and know that no matter what, i have amazing friends and family who will be with me every bump, step, and smile along the way :0)
much love and many hugs,
~danban
to katie, my simmones, and the avery: i love you three and am blessed to have had such fulfilling and long lasting friendships with you! i am confident that the next ten years will bring more adventures, laughs, ridiculous moments, and more frequent vacations together! you've always been there when i needed someone to help keep me grounded, bring tough situations into perspective, or just make me laugh! i'm excited for what our futures hold together and as individuals. love you..... mean it!
to kate: you've meant more to myself and my family than i think you realize! you have been a rock for myself and bry and a sounding board to both i'm sure. you've always been a shoulder to lean on when things have gotten to their worst. some of my best memories are with you in them and you always find a way to make me smile or laugh. you really are my sister and an important part of my family. i love you and hopefully you know how much!
now onto a new decade and new adventures! so far the year is starting out on a positive note with a new set of tri goals, a wonderful group of friends, a very patient boyfriend, and an ironman to finish! and i'm excited for what the next ten years will hold and know that no matter what, i have amazing friends and family who will be with me every bump, step, and smile along the way :0)
much love and many hugs,
~danban
11/17/09
please help
thanksgiving is the time of giving and i'm asking for your help. my friend and his wife have a son who was diagnosed with tay-sachs disease which so far is incurable. Gavin is only 3 yet his life may be coming to an end soon. his parents, Ferdi and Jan, have done all that they can think of and more in order to find some hope for their baby boy.
Ferdi's cousin has put together a fundraiser for Gavin and his family as well as for a cure for tay-sachs. please visit this link and either donate or purchase some of the handmade Christmas cards to help the Marquez's.
you can read more about Gavin and his family here.
much love and thanks,
~danban
Ferdi's cousin has put together a fundraiser for Gavin and his family as well as for a cure for tay-sachs. please visit this link and either donate or purchase some of the handmade Christmas cards to help the Marquez's.
you can read more about Gavin and his family here.
much love and thanks,
~danban
7/23/09
it's my time
over the last months i've gotten lots of questions coming upon race day and considering my first Iron and i've been stewing over some of them in my head for far too long so i thought i'd write it all out......
what motivates me to race at all let alone consider an Ironman?
though there are too many things to list here, i'll give you a general overview..... because there were those that thought i could and wouldn't (including at one time, myself), because my friend Tim never will have the chance, because there are so many who pass through the City of Hope who also never will have the chance, because my brother now has the chance should he choose to, because it's a place of solitude for me to work on improving myself just for myself, because i enjoy the challenge, because i want to find and break as many of my personal walls/barriers as i can find, because it allows me to see more of this glorious world that so many take for granted, because it allows me time to work through frustrations and come to peace with what troubles my mind, but mostly because i enjoy it! i enjoy the time on the bike, the solitary time in the swim yet the challenge of the master's crew, zoning out while running, training with a good group of friends, and a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day knowing that i'm out there doing something that most people don't ever aspire to attempt.
why an Ironman? why not just be content with olympic or half distances?
because it's another threshold i'm still not sure i can cross. it's more a mental barrier than a physical one as is my ongoing weigh issues. these are things i'm going to change by March 6, 2010. i'm going to do it to prove to myself that no matter the road ahead (all 140.6), i will make it to my destination and i will do it with a smile!
what will i do after New Zealand?
find a new challenge to better myself. no, it may not be a new physical goal for a while after the race but i'll no longer allow myself to become complacent. and as to physical goals......who knows! maybe i'll move onto a more difficult Iron, maybe i'll be content with halves, maybe i'll move into the world of centuries, or maybe i'll follow my father's footsteps and just keep running. only time will tell.....
i've been kicking myself the last few months because i've been slacking. in truth, i've forgotten or chosen to ignore those things that keep me going that get my blood boiling and light a fire under my arse. i disappointed myself in my last two halves and choose to remedy that for the next half and the bigger goal of New Zealand.
it's time to stop hiding behind laziness and cowardice and just put everything i've got into it. it's time to stop allowing a job to dictate my schedule more than my desire to make something better of myself. it is after all just a job and what i do there won't determine anyone's fate or move mountains. it's time to focus on a bigger picture rather than the day to day. it's time for me to get serious.
~danban
what motivates me to race at all let alone consider an Ironman?
though there are too many things to list here, i'll give you a general overview..... because there were those that thought i could and wouldn't (including at one time, myself), because my friend Tim never will have the chance, because there are so many who pass through the City of Hope who also never will have the chance, because my brother now has the chance should he choose to, because it's a place of solitude for me to work on improving myself just for myself, because i enjoy the challenge, because i want to find and break as many of my personal walls/barriers as i can find, because it allows me to see more of this glorious world that so many take for granted, because it allows me time to work through frustrations and come to peace with what troubles my mind, but mostly because i enjoy it! i enjoy the time on the bike, the solitary time in the swim yet the challenge of the master's crew, zoning out while running, training with a good group of friends, and a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day knowing that i'm out there doing something that most people don't ever aspire to attempt.
why an Ironman? why not just be content with olympic or half distances?
because it's another threshold i'm still not sure i can cross. it's more a mental barrier than a physical one as is my ongoing weigh issues. these are things i'm going to change by March 6, 2010. i'm going to do it to prove to myself that no matter the road ahead (all 140.6), i will make it to my destination and i will do it with a smile!
what will i do after New Zealand?
find a new challenge to better myself. no, it may not be a new physical goal for a while after the race but i'll no longer allow myself to become complacent. and as to physical goals......who knows! maybe i'll move onto a more difficult Iron, maybe i'll be content with halves, maybe i'll move into the world of centuries, or maybe i'll follow my father's footsteps and just keep running. only time will tell.....
i've been kicking myself the last few months because i've been slacking. in truth, i've forgotten or chosen to ignore those things that keep me going that get my blood boiling and light a fire under my arse. i disappointed myself in my last two halves and choose to remedy that for the next half and the bigger goal of New Zealand.
it's time to stop hiding behind laziness and cowardice and just put everything i've got into it. it's time to stop allowing a job to dictate my schedule more than my desire to make something better of myself. it is after all just a job and what i do there won't determine anyone's fate or move mountains. it's time to focus on a bigger picture rather than the day to day. it's time for me to get serious.
~danban
7/22/09
v-man round 2
race report from my second attempt at Vineman:
swim: i was wading out at the start line chatting with susan, aran, and joanna and felt myself actually calm and the plan of attack for the day was clear. my plan was to take it nice and easy and attempt to make it through the run as well as last year. we start and i actually wasn't pummeled by all the women around me which is a nice change from every other race i've done! i kept a decent rythm and even drafted for a while.
just before the turn around bouy i felt hands on my ankles and calves as the men's wave behind us had caught up to me and they were attempting to drown me in order to speed up their races. i couldn't believe it as i'm NO threat to their winning a spot for clearwater since i'm not even in their gender let alone age group! regardless, i got fed up with it and on a few of the guys frog kicked to get them to leave me alone :)
all in all, the swim felt decent though i managed to be a few minutes slower than last year. estimated time: 41 mins
t1: this is not the easiest transition as there are hard rocks underfoot and not much carpet from the swim to the actual bikes. i noticed that mine was one of the few left on my rack and attempted to get out of my wet suit as quickly as possible so i could catch up with the girls on the bike. the one mistake i made here was not having a towel to stand on or water to wash off my feet before putting them into my bike shoes so i kept trying to swipe them on my wetsuit which wasted a little time.
i packed my bag, handed it to keith, asked my time, and headed out. on the way out i saw trent and heather and picked up my run up the hill with my bike to heed trent's advice and "hammer it". estimated t1 time: 7 mins
bike: it started off a little chilly and i never quite got the feeling back into my toes through the whole of the course. my plan of attack was to keep it comfortable and not push too much as i knew the run was going to be more rough on me this year than last for lack of training. nothing spectacular about the ride. i did pass a few girls in my age group including aran and amanda. i passed the area where the tree had taken out a few competitors though all that remained was the fire trucks and a cop car.
somewhere close to the chalk hill turn i saw coach melekian and yelled for him as he flew by me. going up chalk hill i saw jason changing a tire and was surprised that he didn't pass me along the bike course on the way to t2. all in all, pretty uneventful but a very nice course and one of my favorite rides (including chalk hill)!
overall i think i actually held back a little too much on the bike and could've gotten closer to a 3 hour bike but ended up with a 3:25 bike which isn't tooooo shabby and a personal PR for this distance of a course.
t2: i heard my fam yelling as i rounded the corner into t2 and ran my bike to my spot. i got there and noticed that yet again, someone had knocked my stuff around. never fails to happen yet somehow i'm always surprised. i threw off my helmet and threw on my hat. put on the socks and shoes and grabbed my water bottle. i skipped the water over the head as i'd already put my socks and shoes on and decided to skip the sunblock as i was trying out the marty method of sunblock which i'd find out later didn't work for me! estimated time 4 mins
run: started out fabulously as jennafer was there to run the first 100 yards with me and then bry and matt were there for some pictures as i headed out on what would promise to be a VERY hot run.
i started out and right away knew i had repeated my mistake from last year as i didn't use the restroom in t2. i hit the first aide station with port o potties and had to wait but i knew i wouldn't make it another mile to the next stop so i stretched as my calves felt like solid rock. the stretching definitely helped and when i headed back out, i felt like i could possibly repeat last year's time which i'd be more than happy with!
i kept an eye out for people i knew and ended up running a bit with a breakaway girl until she dropped back. i saw coach melekian again and he looked like he was flying so i yelled something about how he looked like he was doing well and kept on movin! i later saw chris and made a peanut joke :) for the most part, i was running the flats and downhills and walking all up hills in an effort to attempt to save my legs. this is what i did last year and seemed to be working for me again.
somewhere around mile 5 or 6 i realized that i'd been socializing too much and not really paying attention to my nutrition and downed a gu and two salt tabs which would turn out to be a mistake. i got to the beginning of la crema and realized that i really should've been slower to take in that gu and started to feel sick. i walked the second pond (except where the photographer was!) and stopped a sec at the bathroom past the aide station.
i passed jason as i was leaving for mile 7 and he was just getting to la crema. i was really starting to feel the heat and the improper nutrition on the beginning of my run so was walking more than just the uphills which was discouraging.
i hear a panting and feel a bit of water on my left shoulder and realize that BG is now walking next to me! it was great to see him even if he did look about like i felt :) i really didn't think i was going to be able to keep up with him but we ended up running the rest together which was a lifesaver for me!! i'd talk us into and out of running and walking and since he was there, i talked us into more running than either of us really wanted to do.
we saw veva and yelled some encouragements back and forth, saw penny and paused for a hug, saw jodi and praised her swim as we all knew she was more than capable, saw iris and encouraged her to just keep on keepin on. saw steve at the last aide station and knew we only had about a mile and a quarter left. we ran the first stretch, then walked a bit so we could run the last mile into the finish. we ran into the finisher's chute and though we were going to die but knew we HAD to finish with a good run so put the gas back on :0) estimated run time 3 hrs, 11 mins
it was great to finish with BG and see my fam there cheering and taking pictures and see Team there being supportive even if i did only train with them a handful of times!
all in all, not a bad race even though i really felt like i should have done better. i've been kickin my butt about the fact that i really should've trained more and let work take more of a back seat. good lessons for pumpkin man and Ironman New Zealand!
~danban
swim: i was wading out at the start line chatting with susan, aran, and joanna and felt myself actually calm and the plan of attack for the day was clear. my plan was to take it nice and easy and attempt to make it through the run as well as last year. we start and i actually wasn't pummeled by all the women around me which is a nice change from every other race i've done! i kept a decent rythm and even drafted for a while.
just before the turn around bouy i felt hands on my ankles and calves as the men's wave behind us had caught up to me and they were attempting to drown me in order to speed up their races. i couldn't believe it as i'm NO threat to their winning a spot for clearwater since i'm not even in their gender let alone age group! regardless, i got fed up with it and on a few of the guys frog kicked to get them to leave me alone :)
all in all, the swim felt decent though i managed to be a few minutes slower than last year. estimated time: 41 mins
t1: this is not the easiest transition as there are hard rocks underfoot and not much carpet from the swim to the actual bikes. i noticed that mine was one of the few left on my rack and attempted to get out of my wet suit as quickly as possible so i could catch up with the girls on the bike. the one mistake i made here was not having a towel to stand on or water to wash off my feet before putting them into my bike shoes so i kept trying to swipe them on my wetsuit which wasted a little time.
i packed my bag, handed it to keith, asked my time, and headed out. on the way out i saw trent and heather and picked up my run up the hill with my bike to heed trent's advice and "hammer it". estimated t1 time: 7 mins
bike: it started off a little chilly and i never quite got the feeling back into my toes through the whole of the course. my plan of attack was to keep it comfortable and not push too much as i knew the run was going to be more rough on me this year than last for lack of training. nothing spectacular about the ride. i did pass a few girls in my age group including aran and amanda. i passed the area where the tree had taken out a few competitors though all that remained was the fire trucks and a cop car.
somewhere close to the chalk hill turn i saw coach melekian and yelled for him as he flew by me. going up chalk hill i saw jason changing a tire and was surprised that he didn't pass me along the bike course on the way to t2. all in all, pretty uneventful but a very nice course and one of my favorite rides (including chalk hill)!
overall i think i actually held back a little too much on the bike and could've gotten closer to a 3 hour bike but ended up with a 3:25 bike which isn't tooooo shabby and a personal PR for this distance of a course.
t2: i heard my fam yelling as i rounded the corner into t2 and ran my bike to my spot. i got there and noticed that yet again, someone had knocked my stuff around. never fails to happen yet somehow i'm always surprised. i threw off my helmet and threw on my hat. put on the socks and shoes and grabbed my water bottle. i skipped the water over the head as i'd already put my socks and shoes on and decided to skip the sunblock as i was trying out the marty method of sunblock which i'd find out later didn't work for me! estimated time 4 mins
run: started out fabulously as jennafer was there to run the first 100 yards with me and then bry and matt were there for some pictures as i headed out on what would promise to be a VERY hot run.
i started out and right away knew i had repeated my mistake from last year as i didn't use the restroom in t2. i hit the first aide station with port o potties and had to wait but i knew i wouldn't make it another mile to the next stop so i stretched as my calves felt like solid rock. the stretching definitely helped and when i headed back out, i felt like i could possibly repeat last year's time which i'd be more than happy with!
i kept an eye out for people i knew and ended up running a bit with a breakaway girl until she dropped back. i saw coach melekian again and he looked like he was flying so i yelled something about how he looked like he was doing well and kept on movin! i later saw chris and made a peanut joke :) for the most part, i was running the flats and downhills and walking all up hills in an effort to attempt to save my legs. this is what i did last year and seemed to be working for me again.
somewhere around mile 5 or 6 i realized that i'd been socializing too much and not really paying attention to my nutrition and downed a gu and two salt tabs which would turn out to be a mistake. i got to the beginning of la crema and realized that i really should've been slower to take in that gu and started to feel sick. i walked the second pond (except where the photographer was!) and stopped a sec at the bathroom past the aide station.
i passed jason as i was leaving for mile 7 and he was just getting to la crema. i was really starting to feel the heat and the improper nutrition on the beginning of my run so was walking more than just the uphills which was discouraging.
i hear a panting and feel a bit of water on my left shoulder and realize that BG is now walking next to me! it was great to see him even if he did look about like i felt :) i really didn't think i was going to be able to keep up with him but we ended up running the rest together which was a lifesaver for me!! i'd talk us into and out of running and walking and since he was there, i talked us into more running than either of us really wanted to do.
we saw veva and yelled some encouragements back and forth, saw penny and paused for a hug, saw jodi and praised her swim as we all knew she was more than capable, saw iris and encouraged her to just keep on keepin on. saw steve at the last aide station and knew we only had about a mile and a quarter left. we ran the first stretch, then walked a bit so we could run the last mile into the finish. we ran into the finisher's chute and though we were going to die but knew we HAD to finish with a good run so put the gas back on :0) estimated run time 3 hrs, 11 mins
it was great to finish with BG and see my fam there cheering and taking pictures and see Team there being supportive even if i did only train with them a handful of times!
all in all, not a bad race even though i really felt like i should have done better. i've been kickin my butt about the fact that i really should've trained more and let work take more of a back seat. good lessons for pumpkin man and Ironman New Zealand!
~danban
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)