Watching the Olympics

I’ve had a chance to watch some of the Olympic trials Track & Field and Swimming. It’s amazing how different the athletes and competition appear now that I’m a conscious runner and swimmer. What do I mean by conscious? This season, I’m making an active attempt to improve my form and technique. I’m paying attention to the things being done incorrectly and frequently looking for a way to improve.

Track & Field: I’m noticing the kick. Do you see the kick on some of the runners? My goodness, how do they do that?  Also with the metric mile, running that in less than 4 minutes and not looking winded. I can’t imagine. Just watched the Steeplechase and thought after the third or fourth lap, I probably would have fallen into one of the pools due to exhaustion.

Swim: ok look at those abs. I need to work on core strength. It’s nice to see some of the swimmers that have made the team for first time. Seeing the 16 and 17 year old swimmers is also nice. Amanda Weir just one her heat. She's been around forever. Those unitards are kind of funky but they are growing on me. How in the world do they swim so fast? Is it kick, pull, kick and pull? I found myself trying to count the number of strokes taken during the 50 m.

Watching Aaron Piersol swim the backstroke, I have a lot of work to do. :-)  He wasn't competing. Had a camera strapped to him so we could experience the race as he does. Ryan Lochte has a beautiful backstroke. Looks so efficient. I've gotta learn that dolphin kick.

These athletes make it look so easy but I know better.  I can only imagine how much time they spend training. Their families must be proud.

Keep dreaming and moving forward.

Lead with your chin

Yesterday, I had one on one time with Wendy at the pool.  I wanted to focus on correcting my head rotation when I take a breath.  As a result of lifting my head to breathe and fighting the water these past couple months, the week after Callaway, my neck and muscle behind my left ear were super sore.  My body also ached from the bike, run, heat, you name it--so I went to the chiropractor [Dr. Tran] and massage therapist [Linnette].  Dr. Tran adjusted me using a series of loud cracks.  If I ever had a doubt about the benefits of chiropractic care, this visit cleared it.  During the visit, he advised me to tell my massage therapist to strip the SCM.  This is the muscle that runs behind your ears and along your neck.  Mine was so sore and swollen that I’d been having headaches daily and was in a lot of pain.  Me and Alleve were very good friends.  Within 24 hours of the chiro visit, I had relief.  48 hours after the tag team of Dr. Tran and Linnette, I was close to normal.  My takeaway: learn how to properly rotate your head to take a breath.

I’d informed Wendy of my goal earlier in the day via email.  I arrived at the pool to find her checking Rafael Nadal’s tennis score [not good].  She would watch me from the pool deck.  In between watching tennis she looks up and says “lead with your chin”.  That’s it, 4 words, are you kidding me?  Is that the magic potion? “lead with your chin”.  That’s it, give it a shot and back to tennis she went.

I get in the pool and give it a try. All, I have to say is OMG.  Completely, changed the way I took a breath. It can’t be this simple.  No neck strain or fighting the water. I actually felt like it wasn’t difficult. In the past I’d done sort of a four part breath.  1) lift head, 2) turn head, 3) breath, and 4) drop head back into the water.  So my neck muscles were working overtime.  With LWYC, I could rotate and doh, turn my chin toward my shoulder while I was rotating.  AMAZING!!

I practiced that maybe 30 minutes and felt so good about the potential for success.  I’ve always found the little things make a world of difference.  I’ll continue to practice over the next two weeks. I know this tweak is going to be huge for my confidence.

Last week, I decided to focus on training instead of another triathlon. One of the things outlined in Conquer your fear of water is to not progress too soon.  Master small steps before moving to the next thing;  I realized that I need to master breathing and body position before moving on.  Yesterday was confirmation that this was the right decision.  Whoo hoo

Oh and Wendy taped my stroke.  I’ll try to post it here.   Remember to keep moving forward.

Friday musings

I can’t believe it’s been three weeks since my last entry.  So much has happened between then and now.  I completed the Callaway Gardens Sprint Tri with friends JoJo and Danielle.

I became sick after Callaway. Not sure if it was due to some lake cootie or crud attaching to my body. It could also have been due to my body demanding a well-deserved rest. My last thought is it could have been the loss of adrenaline having known that all the events I’d registered for were complete.  Whatever it was it took 3 days to get over the fever and feel somewhat normal.

Next up on the list of things to decide on is Acworth. Aaahh, Acworth. I wanted to complete the sprint tri to make up for a poor showing last year. However, the more I thought about it, I realized, I’m not ready mentally and don’t want to do it. When I’m not thinking of it, I’m happy, smiling, loving life.  The minute I think of the 400 yard swim or visualize myself standing on the beach waiting for the wave start, I feel this pit in my stomach.  So, there it is. I thought by now, that feeling would be gone and it isn’t.  This time next week, I'll be on vacation in Los Angeles and I really want to relax and enjoy myself. I don’t want to worry about swim training. 

Earlier this week, I made the decision to not register for Acworth. I feel good about it and that’s how I know it’s the right decision.  I will continue to work on body position/rotation and breathing.  This is in addition to running and cycling.   

Keep moving forward..

Callaway Gardens Sprint Tri

This was my first time participating in CG.  I thought it would be fairly easy after back to back Lake Lanier tris.  It was, sort of.  My body was a bit tired but I decided to press through.  The 2 hour drive to Pine Mountain wasn’t too bad.  I had a chance to hang out with Danielle and JoJo on Saturday. It’s always nice to spend time with nice people. It didn't feel rushed or hurried. We actually had time to talk and enjoy each others company. 

Callaway was interesting in the fact that the swim is in 5 feet of water.  I couldn’t believe it and actually walked out to the buoy and it’s true. The water was this blue/green chemical treated color and very warm.  A bit different from the brown, cloudy later water. JoJo and I walked through the water to the swim start as our warm-up.  This was probably the most relaxed I’ve ever been at a tri.  We’d racked our bikes next to each other earlier and agreed to stay together during the swim.  During the earlier start waves, we saw people with snorkels and one person walked the entire distance.  He didn’t put his face in the water.  That made us feel like pros!  Friends who’ve known us a while will get a kick out of that.  J

So, the swim starts and we are off. Practicing our strokes and calmly we get to the end. Heading up to transition we decide to go our own way.  The transition allowed me to practice.  I rode with clips again and felt very comfortable. Funny this was one of the first times I’d participate in a race without having first ridden the course.  A number of young kids passed me and I smiled. I think it’s so cool that parents have children in these events at 10 yo and up.  The bike ride is over after 8+ miles.  I don’t think it was actually 10, I transition and am off on the run.  This has to be my least practiced and least favorite part of the tri.  I must do better in the future. 

It seemed so hot during the run. I kept reminding myself, it’s only 2 miles…you can do anything for 2 miles.  So off I went.  I have to admit it was nice rounding the corner and seeing the finish. However, I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t receive a medal.

Oh well, I’m thankful for the finish. We had fun and no one was injured. What more could you ask for?   

I must say that riding with clips and focusing on maintaining cadence and being in the correct gear going up hill resulted in some very achy quads.  For a couple days my legs were screaming at me.  I guess that how it feels when I do it right, huh? 

Keep moving forward…

Happy Birthday to me!

June 11 has and will always be my favorite day of the year. It's my birthday. I don't celebrate buy buying a bunch of stuff. I typically celebrate my life by reflecting on the years that have passed, family members that I love and who love me, friendships that have been made and goals I've achieved. Every year, I marvel at my wonderful and blessed life. I give thanks to God for the many things and people that keep appearing. People that I had no idea would be placed in my life at the right time and for the right reasons, seasons or lifetime.  This year is no different. I hope to have many years of life remaining.

Today my eyes are fading, my body is tired but I am happy, healthy and loved. What more is there to want?  I took today off from training and realized that it's ok to take a day off when needed, enjoy a good meal, and enjoy a laugh.

Appreciate life tomorrow isn't promised.

My Next Tri

This past Saturday, I completed my next tri at lake lanier. This is the first time I've looked at a tri as a training, how much progress have you made outing. I'm working on my mental strength. This has proved to be more of a challenge than expected. The swim wasn't as easy as expected but a lot easier than Irongirl. I had butterflies while waiting on the shore and a couple times even found myself not wanting to start. But I did. I'm learning to push through. This was the first tri where I had to swim alone and push myself to keep going. No friends or coaches next to me to encourage and I pushed through. Honestly, it felt good to swim around yet another houseboat. I wish they wouldn't anchor them on race day. Swimming under a bridge, walk way for use by the temporary boat dock users. Listening to the crowd encourage me. It is true that people really do want you to succeed.

The 1/4 mile transition run/walk seemed doable. I didn't worry on stepping on anything or slipping. My sole focus was to get to transition as quickly as I could.  Upon arriving in transition, I found my bike [racked on the last rack] slipped on the necessary equipment and patiently walk/jogged the bike to the mount line. I clipped in and was on my way.  The transition is coming natural to me.  I guess the key is learning how to approach it and practice.

The bike ride went well. My primary focus was to have a good ride [first with clips] and try not to fall. The key I realized is being in the right gear, continuing to pedal, and keeping a watchful eye on the road and other cyclists. Sounds simple enough. About 3 miles away from transition, a car and other cyclists was in front of me.  I clipped out with my left foot and prepared to stop. Only then did I realize I was in the wrong gear for a hill, got a little disoriented tried to downshift while breaking and the next thing I knew, realized I was gonna fall. I should say tip over because that's what it seemed like. all I could do was unclip my right foot, lie back onto the grass a few seconds, laugh and then get up to continue.  I clipped back in and road the rest of the way in.

T2 was much easier. I removed the necessary gear, slipped on my shoes, and was on my way.

The run is becoming a feeling of, you've got this for me.  I guess at this point, I realize the hardest part is over.  I ran/walked the course and made it in. During the course I thought, this is the 3rd Lake Lanier run in as many months.  I'm not going to run Lake Lanier three times next year.  The downhill leading toward the finish was wonderful as always.  It was so nice to hear the announcer say my name and to receive the medal.

Crossing the finish line makes all the practice, early rising, anxiety and wondering how things will go worth it. It's a wonderful and addicting sense of accomplishment. I learned a few lessons and have some things to practice on.  Sunday, albeit tired, I found myself thinking of goals for the next 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. I'm hooked on trying to improve including riding and running with more advanced friends to improve.

I'm on the fence about Acworth. Funny, as much as I want to do it, I don't feel that I have to. If my swim is not up to speed, I won't register. I'll continue to practice, practice, practice until it's better. I think this is why I like triathlon, there is so much opportunity to improve.

Keep moving forward

Practice makes permanent

....or so I’ve been told. I hope that is the case with my swim skills. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve improved a lot since this time last year. With a few improvements, I expect to see BIG BIG BIG gains. Those improvements involve my catch and pull, so that I’m actually pulling the water and not so relaxed when I pull.  Pulling with a forced intensity so the resistance is noticeable and I move forward with efficiency. Also, getting into a rhythm with my breathing. Swimming four strokes before breathing so that I don’t start to feel like I’m not getting enough breath. I’m going to work on that this week and test it during My Next Tri this coming weekend.  The benefit of that tri is I actually can swim freestyle and sidestroke or limited backstroke if I tire. But the goal is to freestyle it.  Lastly, I want to become a little more intense. :-)  I have to chuckle because my nature is so laid back. However, I need to turn it up a notch and get fired up a little when I participate in these events.

I’ve been practicing with my clips. Yikes! I can’t believe I’m actually riding with them. I will ride MNT with them. The course is 10 miles with some hills. I’m going to practice a couple times this week.  I'm reminded of the mental aspect of trying something new. I have to focus on shifting to the right gear, keeping my cadence, and not thinking so much about my feet being clipped in. If I do that, I’ll get through the race.

Keep moving forward…