I have 3 weeks before the 2.4 mile Tikiswim in Oceanside and I have still only swam 2 miles. However, I've decided to try again Sep 14 but first from LJ Cove towards Scripps Pier which is 1.5 miles away. At least I have a big thing to sight and I can turn around at 1.2 miles. there should also be virtually no waves to push through. I will attempt this swim fresh with every expectation to complete the distance.
Sep 14: We hit some record heat temperatures today. We left our house at 111 degrees and headed to the ocean... yea it was only 106! But La Jolla Cove water was about 70 degrees and it was a perfect day to succeed at our 2.4 mile swim! SUCCESS with 37 extra minutes to spare!!! I now know I can swim the distance within the 2:20 cut off!
Sep 16: Giro di San Diego 66 mile route was changed to 72 miles due to construction detours. Sadly I am riding without my Reynolds Wheelset which are still on order. We will see just how much "better" Zip 101s are... I guess we were lucky with some cloud cover at the start. My first 45 miles alone went pretty good. Two friends turned back due to illness and I couldn't find the other at the start. Many started earlier to get going before the heat picked up and boy did it ever... I wore my Cool Towel around my neck and I think it helped my core temp stay under control a lot. I also wore arm coolers so my arms didn't fry in 5 hours of sun but they weren't pulled evenly so now I have one bright red wrist! hahaha!
Anyway, SAG 3 felt good as it was past the mid point but 200 yards later I got a flat :( so I walked back to the SAG because I have huge difficulty rolling the last bit of tire over the rim and sure enough I couldn't do it so it was worth the walk. Then a couple miles later. THUMP... I pulled over swearing at another flat but nope... luckily I noticed the bulging tire though where the tire wasn't fully in the wheel. Maybe too much Co2? I don't know but I released some and it popped back in the tire... so off I went... dragging my wedge on the back tire so pulled over again to reattach to seatpost.. and Darryl MacKenzie passed by! yea finally someone I know since Marcus went to SF game and my other friends didn't make it....We chatted a few miles and pop.. now my front tire is flat...OMG... but Darryl is a professional and he fixed it really quick so we were off again for the most excruciating hills of my life in blistering heat... WOW I hurt everywhere. Twin Peaks hill AGAIN? I swore I would never do it again but here I am so I just told my legs to shut up and just get through it. I was so drained though that I finally gave in and stopped near the top for a break. I kept thinking This Too Shall End... and one more SAG stop.
I hated the new return route since it became and out and back route due to construction. This meant loads of left turns crossing over traffic which is dangerous at times. Finally I recognize where I am... but didn't realize that we went down 3 hills at the start SOOO that means 3 up hills at the end... I seriously wanted to be road kill at that point. What a relief to be draped in the medal, drink free Naked juice and get a customized tshirt too! Then they fed us a nice pasta lunch.... HEY what happened to the free smoothies??? Screw it-- 72 miles/5000 ft of climbing to hell and back ... I earned the McD Frappe Chocolate Chip drink today!
Sep 22: USA Women's Half was cancelled for permit problems and poor planning on their part...luckily I can attend our club TCSD spirnt triathlon today instead! It's my last tri race of my 48th year and my age group! After 3 rides on the ZIP 101s and the tire popping out of the wheel, I exchanged for ZIP 404s until the Reynolds arrive. These should be great! I'm so happy I finally broke my average bike mph above 20 for the entire ride (12.5mi)! I swam my fastest ever and I felt super comfortable at 1.8 mph (.44 mi) and I stayed under 10min avg for 4 miles. what a great way to end my year!! I just love club races! Felt so good to have aero bars and my aero water system.... really missed those.
Sep 23: It was an awesome swim at Oceanside with about 20 others and Brian Long (RD of the Tikiswim) who also shares my birthday! We shared cupcakes after the gorgeous swim! Brian brought me an amazing maple cream filled donut which Brian and Marcus both devoured! hahaha!
Sep 28: I'm so happy to finally say MY bike is complete! I took her for a 24 mile spin today and all seems pretty good. My wheels look awesome! Tonight is my last 2 mile swim before the tikiswim 2.4 on Sunday. We will celebrate our training with the monthly TCSD potluck buffett tonight!
Sep 30: Yea! it's TIKI SWIM day!!! Oceanside Pier...( silent prayer: Dear Lord please don't let there be waves so I can live to swim another day)
ok, fine....waves... BRING IT ON!! After breaking through 5 of these monsters... I was pretty proud of myself and "just kept swimmimg" with my virtual Dory imprinted on my brain.
well, since I've practiced many times, I knew the 1st buoy should be at about at mile .3 but I didn't get to it until .67! I knew I was in trouble already... the current was wicked and continually kept pushing me off course.. buoys on my right shoulder??? rarely... I couldn't keep a straight line so they were usually on my left... I checked my watch a few times while swimming but never stopped for GU nutrition because I was so concerned about time. Eventually I was happy to see 2.4 miles in 1:29. Wow what an improvement from 1:43! oh but wait.. I'm not even close to the finishline!!! First I was pissed off. I wanted to be finished. Then Dory said... just keep swimming... and I calmed down and said thankyou for helping me reach another new milestone... little did I know it would be 25 minutes later and almost 3 miles!
My biggest lesson learned was my success in breaking through the waves... as the wave approaches, go under it. then pop up on the other side and side stroke to the next wave which makes my breathing match my cadence... nice and slow.. and I can still see the next wave coming in time to dive under and start the process again... 5 waves later.. I was out of the turmoil and returned to Freestyle without any panic attack or hyperventilation. Thankfully I also tightened my goggle straps a lot so they couldn't be flipped off without a lot of force!
Wow it has been an AWESOME Month!!! October will be filled with lots more running!
SEPTEMBER TRAINING MILES
SWIM: 32,349 yards (18.7 miles)
BIKE: 385 MILES
RUN: 84.14 MILES
TOTAL HOURS 61:14
WEEKLY AVG 15 HRS
NO STOPPING NOW........KEEP breaking YOUR RECORDS.
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