Week 11 of 17: July 28 - August 3

August 3rd: Biked 24 miles, ran 3 miles. Thank God recovery week is coming up!

August 2nd, Team Practice in Santa Monica: Today was a good practice. We ran 8 miles from Ocean and San Vicente to the Will Rogers Park and then did a 2 mile trail run in the park itself. As a team, we did an Indian run (not very PC, I know), when a team runs in a single file and the last person in line sprints to the front, the next person at the end of the line sprints to the front and so on. As we sprinted past our teammates, we shouted things like our favourite TV show, sports teams etc. It was fun and distracting from the uphill terrain. Running on the trail at Will Rogers Park was beautiful.  

Mapping out our run

Post-run yoga

August 1st: Biked 10 miles, then got a flat rear tire, changed it but realized I didn't have enough CO2 in my cartridge to fill my tire, so had to walk about 2 miles home. 

July 31st, Team Swim Practice at Santa Monica Pool: Swam 1600 yards (0.9 miles/1.5K), practiced sighting.

Go Team! Thanks to Barbara for taking these photos.

July 30th: 3 mile run, 3/4 mile swim

Santa Monica Swimming Pool

July 29th: 18 mile bike ride, 3 mile run

July 28th: Recovery Day. This coming week is called Build 2, meaning we will train very hard to be followed with a week of less strenuous training. This is typical when training in endurance sports, you build up your practices and then recover. Last week was Build 1. 

When We Were Young-er

I found some old photos of us when we were about 6-7-8-9.

Jeff, me and a rhino, naturally.

Will, me, Jeff and Dann.

Week 10 of 17: July 21 - July 27

July 26th, Team Practice in Santa Monica: Today we did what's called a brick, which is when you practice 2 sports back to back and importantly the transition between them. We did 2 bike/run bricks: 7 mile bike/1 mile run/7 mile bike/1 mile run/7 mile bike. 

Because I am using caged pedals (not the kind that clip in), my transitions simply consist of me getting off my bike and hanging it on the rack. I don't need to change shoes like many of my teammates do. This said, I've been advised to get the bike shoes and clip-in pedals for efficiency on the bike. Before the 2nd bike ride, I ate one packet of GU, which is basically a caffeinated gel and it helped the rest of my practice - a lot. 

Practicing with the team helps a great deal with my time. I noticed I'm faster with the group and it seems all the time on the bike in the last few weeks is paying off. I am no longer in the last half of the group, more like the middle. I couldn't get Kraftwerk's Tour de France out of my head during all the bike rides! Thanks to my coach Tim, who after my 2nd run said, "Come on, one more lap. You've got time." I reluctantly set off, but now I'm glad I did. 

Above photos by Chris

July 25th: 15 mile bike ride, 3 mile run

July 24th, Team Swim Practice at Santa Monica pool: Swam roughly 1400m. Practiced sighting and various drills.

Thanks to Chris Herrera for taking these photos.

July 23rd: Biked 18 miles to Hermosa Beach and back and ran 5 miles, getting faster.

Posing at Manhattan Beach Pier. Yes, I am wearing a visor and helmet at the same time.

Views while riding on the Strand. 

 

Going home.

July 22nd: Swam for 30 minutes at the Santa Monica pool. I think the distance was roughly 3/4 of a mile. 

Tonight was our team's re-commitment party, meaning to commit to completing the triathlon and not dropping out. Here are some photos of the event, which was at Barney's Beanery on the 3rd Street Promenade.

Teammates Barbara and Jeannine

July 21st: Biked 18 miles to Hermosa Beach and back, ran 5 miles (very slowly), yoga in the evening.

Week 9 of 17: July 14 - July 20

July 20th: Today's team practice 6 mile run was especially difficult for some reason. I rode my bike to practice ( a 4 mile ride). While running, I got some good caoching, such as not letting my feel drag at all and to pretend that I am running on clouds. I'll be very happy if I can run on clouds during the race.

July 19th:  This week I have begun my training in earnest, now that I am back from a long visit to B.C. and Washington. So far, I have done 2 bike rides (10 miles and 20 miles), ran 3 miles, and swam 1400m at a team practice. I'm getting more used to my bike and found an easy route from my house to Hermosa Beach - sweet!

Coaches

Tim, Pete and Emily are my coaches. They are great! They are accomplished triathletes and good teachers. I've learned how to swim in open water, handle my bike on hills, change a tire in a race situation, breathe correctly while swimming and get the right nutrition for a big race. All this and a lot of motivation and support. Kudos TNT coaches!

Tim and me

Pete and me

Emily and me

WEEK 8 of 17: TNT CAMPING TRIP

I went camping with my TNT Triathlon Training Team at Lopez Lake, near Arroyo Grande in California. We did our first open water 500m swim in the lake and learned about 'sighting' - raising your head as you swim to ensure you're going in the right direction. I also tried my new road bike for the first time. I basically learned how to use the gears and so far so good. Hills are still a little scary!

 

OK, it's not the Tour de France, but still hardcore for me.

Pretty sunset on Saturday night

I heart camping.

Saturday night carb-loading

Teammates Chris, Peter and Alicia - aka Team New England

Team Canada - represent! Just so there's no mistake, a swim cap with your name written in large letters with a sharpie on the side is never fashionable...but always safe.

We swam 500m here. It was our first open water swim. I started out pretty good, looked up and realized I was going 90 degrees in the wrong direction. That's why you have to sight your target.

Juno in Jericho

Jeff recently got a boxer puppy. He named her Juno. Here we are on a walk to Jericho Beach, Vancouver on a beautiful summer day.

Teacher and student

Juno in training, notice the bag of treats on Jeff's hip :)

Run Juno, run!