Hell YEAH I'm Ready!

Woot!

Rage in two days!

Today was a rest day.

Yesterday Tony, Leslie and I went to the lake for an open water swim, followed by a 30 minute run. The water is still cold. I still considered getting out until my face and hands acclimated to the cold. Then I was GOOD BABY!

Tony wore a sleeveless wetsuit and was quite cold when we got out. He was running and jumping around squealing about how cold he was.

Leslie's husband Kym snapped this photo just before we took off to run:


Me, Tony and Leslie

See you all on the other side!!

Some Pre Rage Thoughts

RAGE is six days away!

Wow seriously where did the time go?

Training has been going well except for one thing: I skipped my open water swim practice yesterday.

Do I think that will negatively impact my race? No.

Do I feel badly about skipping anyway? Yes! I feel badly because I had no real reason to skip it except that I just didn't feel like going. I really really hate it when I do that and no amount of trying will stop that behaviour. Because I either go. Or I don't. There is no try. Really. There isn't.

Cool I got that off my chest.

Other than that glitch, training has been going very well, including swimming!!!

Last week on the bike (KEY workout) I pushed harder than I normally do and was rewarded with a higher average speed than I normally get. That felt great!

Today (another KEY workout) I didn't push as hard as I could have on the bike but I pushed my 30 minute run off the bike. I need to just swim, bike and run faster than I normally do and know that it's okay to be uncomfortable. OKAY! It's supposed to be uncomfortable!! I am getting better with this. Slowly but surely I am getting better. I plan for this to show in my race results this year!!

I'm very excited for Rage! As long as I hold the mind games at bay I should do really well. Definitely should smash last year's time. Last year I was DFL in the Olympic distance. Not just in my age group. Out of everyone! So there's nowhere to go but up.

Last year at this time I was staring down the barrel at my third attempt at the Olympic distance. Last year, under Liz's coaching, I got my first finish at Rage, but not before Liz had to bitch slap me though the computer because I was nervous to the point of being hysterical.

This year? Oh I'll be nervous, no doubt about that. Hysterical? Not so much.

Because I have TONS more experience and confidence now! And I do have (a lot) more speed in me I just have to be brave enough to bring it out.

It's funny I've been humbled so many times out on different race courses and in different parts of races that I'm not sure what goals to set for this race or how to formulate my race plan. I want to set a reasonable goal but don't want the bar to be too low, know what I mean?

I need to mull this over a bit more.

One thing I do know -- I will have a plan! And my nutrition will be ON!

Who am I kidding I want a HUGE PR out there!! HUGE!!

More later.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

My Backyard Pool

Yesterday was my first open water swim of the season with Swim Las Vegas (awesome website coming soon).

Being Typical Stef, I was hesitant to go in. Information about the water temps ranged from 49 to 59 so I was skeptical.

But it seemed fitting, having watched Champions of the Silverman 2008 on the big screen a mere two says prior. That movie brought it all back. In a good way! Kelly blogged earlier about how that movie really showed the beauty of the desert and Lake Mead. Very very true. Wonderful movie I'm so glad they made it and had a screening for us!

Anyhoo, back to the swim. Just before we went in Coach Paul remarked that Lake Mead was my "backyard pool." I've mentioned here before how awesome Paul is. That remark simply confirms the awesomeness, and also confirms that I have the best backyard pool EVER.

I love Lake Mead. Before it was my swimming space it was my sailing space. And I never thought I'd say this but I like swimming much much better than sailing races. I feel like I'm in my element when I'm swimming out there.

Although my backyard pool was COLD. High 50s I would say and I base this partly off of JT's comparison of the temps to last years Ironman Coeur D'Alene temps. He said Lake Coeur D'Alene was a bit colder. When I filled my wetsuit with the shivery cold water my hands and face still felt like icicles. A few strokes out and I considered going back cause it was almost painful. But then my hands warmed up and my face acclimated so I was all set!

It was a good workout! I didn't feel especially fast but kept up with the group no problem. We ended up splitting into two groups. I was in the slower group. AWESOME! I felt very happy and at peace with where I was, both in the nice brisk lake and with my pace, and with our awesome swim group. My stomach growled a few times and my new Swim Las Vegas swim stroke felt a bit awkward in the wetsuite but I felt strong!

Well, okay, I kept up with everyone in the slower group until the end when Izaac ditched me when we were supposed to practice drafting off each other. I could NOT keep up with that guy. He must have misheard and though we were practicing racing! He clearly belonged in the faster group and in fact I think he switched groups at some point to swim with us. Dork!

Anyhoo on our last swim between the buoys we were supposed to draft in a row: Izaac, then Stef, then John. That's how it was supposed to go, because that's what Coach Kara said! So Izaac was the leader, and JT was behind me (I'm sure had no problems keeping up). But Izaac just HAD to go fast. I tried to stay on his feet but was simply not successful. He said that he tried to slow down but it just wasn't working for him. Um, hmmmmm. Sure dude. Lol!

I was totally going to tattle on him to Coach Paul but then I forgot to so oh well. LOL!

At least he invited me to breakfast later. So I was able to refuel AND catch up with him and Kelly AND see their cute niece Isabelle. So that was a lot of fun too!

Overall training is going well. I'm still struggling a bit with everyday fueling but told Liz that I want to ramp it up for Rage, which is now four weeks away! So this coming week starts a nice build! I'm very happy about that!

Moving Forward!!

YAY! Things are good right now. :-)

I have taken a HUGE step in moving my business forward and fully expect things to blast off, in a big way. I am not ready to give details yet. When I am I will know it and I will talk about it to anyone that will listen, and that includes you guys!

The really significant part about this is that it all stems from Silverman. I told Tony this on our ride this morning:

"Silverman changed my life. It's because of that that I know I can do this."

Training is going well! About two weeks ago I asked Liz for a reduction in volume and it has PAID OFF in that mentally I was able to pull back just a little and go back to being consistent. Another couple of weeks of this and I will be ready to do what she tells me, no requests, ifs, ands, or buts!

I wrote in a status to Liz that I am enjoying the swims and runs, putting up with the bike and slacking on strength work.

This week I had I think my biggest volume of swimming ever! And I am occasionally starting to see isolated 100 times that read 1:xx!! Under two minutes! WOO HOO! I gave up Boulder City Masters and now have a schedule where Tony and I swim every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 7am (he does whatever work out I'm doing and makes me count the laps, rest times, etc) and then on Saturday I swim with Swim Las Vegas, the best Masters team ever invented. :-)

Tony typically runs with me, also in the earlier mornings, so that I can start working around 9am.

As for the bike, well . . . I've used the trainer more than I'd like to admit so far this season to avoid riding outside. The rides Liz is giving me are still fairly short and since Silverman I just feel ambivalent about the bike. I'm afraid to descend (again). I had made wonderful progress with this on the long rides leading up to Silverman and was really getting over the fear. Now it feels like I'm starting over. I'm afraid to go fast. Afraid a tire will explode and I'll wreck. There is a litany of other things that scare me about descending fast, all of which end in a huge giant wreck for me. I try not to think about these things but it's not working well lately.

So today when we rode out at Lake Las Vegas, I babied the descents while Tony and the others smoked me. Actually, Natalie and Sean smoked us uphill as well! They are good cyclists. It is so good for me to ride with others in this perfect weather. The only way I will surpass where I was before with cycling is to get out there and ride with people. A big part of it for me is really appreciating the landscape, the perfect spring weather, and the fact that I really love living in Southern Nevada. All that was there today. The faster descending will come with more time and practice.

I've changed my schedule around a lot and that means that I'm commenting a little less on the blogs that I like. Fear not folks, I'm still reading, I just don't always have the energy to comment. I've read something similar to this on a couple of my favorite blogs lately so I know I'm not alone in this. My excitement for my season and for my friends to reach their goals has not wavered. In fact it is increasing! I support you even though I may not comment on every post.

Till next time!!!

Train smart and safe and have FUN!

Calming the Crazy

It has been a strange two weeks!

Starting this new business has caused some (a lot) of overwhelm which has spilled over into, guess where?

Eating!

Training!

Suffice it to say I've been motivationally challenged these past couple of weeks and my eating habits have slid to less than stellar. Although by typical American diet standards Glenn and I do very well even when we get into a rut! I'm not worried. The climb out has begun, in fact we are almost out!

I am learning to manage myself in new and sometimes scary situations. I have to take baby steps in my marketing because otherwise I won't move forward. But it's so worth it to me! Thank God I have 2008 training and racing under my belt because I feel like although I've slipped in training consistency I have the power to get right back in there and rebound quickly! This is more evidence that I'm living the lifestyle not just training for a couple of races.

Woo Hoo!

Nevertheless, I called Coach in a panic a few days ago and asked her if we could reduce the training volume for a time certain. She suggested four weeks. That sounded good to me. Well not GOOD but good for the overall structure of my life at the moment. She said that reducing volume through March will be fine. Woo Hoo! I personally don't think I will lose much (if anything) athletically by doing this.

I will be ready for RAGE! Swimming volume is not being reduced, per my request. I've decided to swim once a week with Swim Las Vegas, do two workouts per week on my own (written by Kara and Paul, coaches of Swim Las Vegas) and drop BC Masters. I feel good about this decision.

Take today, for example, when I accidentally showed up at the WRONG POOL for SLV Masters! When I discovered that the workout was at a different pool across town I nearly blew a gasket. Paul got on the phone and that is when I discovered that, in addition to being a great swim coach, Paul has another very special talent.

The ability to Calm the Crazy.

I was this close to calling it a day and going home but Paul actually calmed the crazy. He listened when I told him that I check my email a billion times a day, he heard my frustration at potentially being late for practice (I HATE BEING LATE), told me how to get to the right pool, said I had plenty of time to get there AND said that he was going to make me work extra hard today! The way Paul was talking it was clear to me that not showing up was not an option.

So I showed up (on time, barely) and had a damn good workout! Seriously how far would any of us get without support? Not far at all!!

I am grateful for the support system I've built around training and racing. After all, it is going to be a long season. Everyone needs people to lean on!!!

So I'm looking forward to getting all of the workouts in next week and managing myself to create the business and life that I deserve. And I need to see if Tony is available tomorrow to do my brick with me. Wouldn't that be nice!! :-)

Week Wrap Up Randomness

This week was pretty good. I'm moving forward with my business and I got all of my training done! I did have a few nights of insomnia which absolutely sucked so I'm sitting here at 10pm sort of not wanting to go to bed so now is the perfect time to blog.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I think about the fact that I'm swimming three times a week and this is now normal. There is one thing though. I'm not sure that Boulder City Masters is the place for me to be long term. I go to Boulder City Masters on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The coach is a 24 year old guy named Travis who was State Champion from Boulder City High School during his senior year. After that he went to college on a swimming scholarship.

Travis is a competent coach. Thing is, I wonder if the workouts are challenging enough. Not that I'm ALL THAT in the pool -- I mean, I have my own lane! Next to two tri girls who I chase pretty hard so that I won't get totally creamed. The "pure" swimmers are very very far from my lane.

Still though, when I read descriptions, on blogs, of how hard others work at Masters, I wonder if BC Masters is cutting it. And my gut tells me no. I've signed up and paid for the month of February, so I'm committed. I've been there two weeks so I'm still fairly new there. Another gut check at the end of six total weeks should tell me what I need to do.

On Saturdays, I swim with Swim Las Vegas, another Masters team that ROCKS! These folks are the swim group that I trained with last season to get ready for Silverman. They have formed a masters team and structure their workouts in blocks, triathlon specific, to train for specific races. I just finished up a four week stroke clinic with them and on 2/21 start an eight week program to prepare for Rage.

The thing about Swim Las Vegas is that 1) Coaches Paul and Kara are head and shoulders above anyone who has ever coached me in swimming and 2) the workouts are split into four Saturdays in the pool followed by four Saturdays in Lake Mead. Those who follow my blog know that the Open Water swims with this group with Paul in the kayak coaching us while we swam the buoys is what clinched my swim confidence heading into Silverman.

I can feel my swim stroke improving practically every time I get in the pool. I've learned to push through the moments of frustration and fatigue and just swim. Working with Paul has been so good for me -- he is excellent at coaching a group of people through a workout and the people in the group are GREAT!

Today (Sunday) was a 90 minute brick, 1 hour on the bike, 30 minute run off the bike. Even though I live in an area where we can bike outside year round I am picky lately about the weather. My training buddy Tony is recouping from knee surgery so I've been on my own more. Even though Coach said to "get out and ride" I looked outside today, saw the bushes bending in the wind, and said SUCK IT WEATHER! I hopped on the trainer and watched Psych and the first part of Burn Notice.

Then I got outside and ran. It was windy and a bit chilly, but I don't mind running in wind. Not having a dreadmill leaves no choice anyway. It was my first brick of the season and it felt GREAT! Let my heart rate go a bit too high on the run so next time I will rein that in but everything felt really really good!

Then later this afternoon I got to be part of a focus group at Lululemon Athletica! That was great! They asked us a bunch of questions, like what running clothing and gear we like, etc. and then we went in the store and picked something from their running line to review. I picked a bright yellow, long sleeved running shirt. It is still pretty cool here after all -- too cool for short sleeves (I say this a bit tongue in cheek -- I'm a cold weather wimp since moving here 24 years ago)!!!!!

I hope everyone has a good week. At some point I'm sure I will update more often but for now these less frequent updates feel right to me. :-)

Quiet

Yup I've been quiet lately. Seems like lately I have less to say. And that's OK!

I've been putting quite a bit of energy into launching my new business. I'm not ready to talk about it yet, but when I am I'll talk about it here! Or introduce it here. I'll have a business blog too at some point!

Finding the confidence and wherewithal to finally put into action what I've been thinking about for over a year now has added balance to my life and has actually helped my training. With two years of solid training under my belt now I'm able to incorporate the workouts into my schedule almost effortlessly. With the help of a little planning and my trusty calendar! I no longer question my ability to get them done, my ability to eat to keep up, and I don't expect to "win" every workout and I don't expect perfection. I do expect consistency.

The Bad Attitude still rears it's ugly head (like when I skipped Masters the other night and Coach responded with an email saying: GET OVER YOURSELF), but that happens! Not nearly as often as it used to thank goodness!! :-) Hence, consistency!

It feels like by finally addressing my need/want to have a vital rewarding career again (although it can be argued how rewarding my legal career was it certainly did have its moments, it was worth every moment, and the money was good!), other things in my life have become more effortless.

And YES I have HOPE! For myself, for my business, and now for the country as well! Anything too easy isn't really worth having now is it! We all have big jobs ahead of us! To do whatever it is we want, and need in our lives and to keep ourselves healthy and youthful through multisport. Oh hell yeah!

I am grateful every day that I discovered triathlon.

Oh and there is a new Masters Swim Team in town! Swim Las Vegas! They are going to put on Nevada's first ever Open Water Swim Meet in October! I SO want to do a 2.4 mile open water swim. Hell I've already swum 2.1 miles in the open water under the watchful slavedriving eye of Coach Paul (one of the founders of Swim Las Vegas). I'll have to talk with Coach about me doing that.

So while I've been quiet on the blog lately things have been happening. Good things. I'm stepping up to the plate in another area of my life and it feels great!