Texas State Sprint Triathlon

This morning started insanely early for me since I had to get up at 0415 to get to San Marcos by 0615. The transition didn't open until 0645 but I wanted to have ample room for getting lost, gas, etc. My girlfriend had to keep me calm because I was pinging all over the place due to being anxious about setting up my gear. I hoped to be one of the first athletes in the transition area so I could put my bike somewhere close to the T1 exit.

The swim was slightly nerve wrecking only because I have never had training on open water or how to sight. Maritza gave me a crash course on it and told me that the water was clear and to look for a sandy path that would help keep me out of the seaweed. The water was pretty chilly but not to the point where your muscles freeze up. It was wetsuit legal but I did not feel the need for one. The water was extremely clear and I could see seaweed, fish, the sandy bottom and the buoys easily. The water also wasn't extremely packed like I thought it would be. All in all I did pretty well on the swim and that was probably the best swim during a triathlon I have ever had. Made me never want to compete in a pool again, that's for sure. My time on the swim was: 12:27 for 500m

T1 was better than my last race. Ultimately, what takes me so longs is the fact I have cycling shoes and not tri shoes. Once I make that investment I know that my transition time will decrease significantly. This time I knew exactly where my bike and gear was and had no trouble getting out of T1. Of course it sucked that I had to stop and get on the bike instead of just hopping on but that will come once I get my shoes. T1: 1:53

The bike was not too bad except the road we were on had a lot of potholes, gravel, and was one lane for most of the ride. Cars would zoom past us and I thought one was actually going to clip me. I was doing great and after about 2 miles, Danny caught up to me and passed me. I knew that I would not see him for the rest of the race. Everything was good until about mile 6 when the hills started to come more often and for some reason it was hard for me to find the right gear. I put my chain on the small ring going up the hills which seemed to help but I kept hearing a really weird noise every time I did. Soon as I went back into the big ring the noise went away, so maybe I need to get my bike checked. The front right brake was rubbing up on the wheel without me pushing the brake in which startled me for the first 5-6 miles because I was not sure if it would press completely in or not. I rode aero most of the way which was nice since the wind was to my back on the way down. Once we did the loop and started going back there was a headwind that was terrible once I was in the open. My dismount was perfect this time and I was relieved to be off the bike but was glad that I was able to drink water. I kept getting really hot though and I also had a bee fly into my helmet and sting me which sucked, but I kept pressing through. Bike time: 46.24 for 12 miles

T2 was way better than last time! I was able to grab my race belt and slip on my shoes and get out of there in 19 seconds! Best T2 ever!

The run however, was horrendous! I thought it was on the trail which didn't seem too bad at first. There were a couple of huge puddles in the path which I ran through to cool me off a little bit. Then all of a sudden we were going up a trail...almost like a hiking path but there was a lot of vegetation to use as shade. The beginning of the trail was pretty slippery and I saw a couple of people slide, so I tried to be careful. At the top of the hill I asked on of the volunteers to pull the bee stinger out coz it was burning and I am allergic to bees; thank goodness I didn't have a reaction to this one! My optimism is hoping that maybe I am not allergic anymore...lol! The run had several hills on paved road which I was not expecting but they were not too unbearable. Then after the top everything was downhill except for one last hill right before the turn to the finish line. I saw a bunch of people struggling on the hills but I was struggling too. My calves kept tightening up and felt hard as a rock. They were not to the point of cramping but definitely were too tight. Once I passed the last turn marker I tried to look for the finish line and figure out where I could start my sprint. After I crossed the finish line my girlfriend came up to me and I began to lay on the ground in the shade, when she told me to walk it off. She took some amazing pictures of me even though my face looks terrible in them! My run time was: 29:53 for a 5k.

So as far as results go I placed 2nd in my age group, which is awesome! I had the fastest swim, T1, and T2 time in my AG as well. I placed 21st out of all females, which is not bad but I need to try and do a lot better than that. Overall it was a good race the only complaint I think I (as well as everyone) else had is that the chip timing reports were all messed up. People's chips did not match their bib numbers in the system and even after an hour after the last person they still had not figured everything out. Oh well, hopefully next year will be better.

The Night Before

So I am number 146 to enter the water in the Texas State Triathlon tomorrow. Big difference from being #2 into the water but at least I am not the last one. The have an open transition so I am hoping I can be one of the first athletes to get marked up and enter so I can put my bike closest to the end of T1. That way I can find my gear a lot easier than the last race. All in all if the weather holds and is not raining or lightening I think it will be a great race.

The only major downside is that I have to drive 1.5 hours to the race. That means I have to get up and leave my house by 0430 to leave ample room in case of traffic, getting lost, and finding a place to park. I am hoping that I am not tired or freaking out because 1.5 hours is a lot of time to be nervous and thinking about how nervous you are. Fortunately for me, I am burning music CD's and making playlists as I type this full of my favorite jams before a race. Hopefully it will keep me calm and not let my adrenaline get pumping too fast too soon.

Well, wish me luck...I am going to post my results after I get home some time tomorrow!

Packet Pick-Up

So tomorrow I have to drive to San Marcos to pick up my packet for the Texas State Triathlon on Sunday. I am hoping that my number is not too late so I do not have to try and fight too many people at the transition areas. I still need to get speed laces, a bib holder, and I should be good for this race. I was not able to get new tri shoes for the bike like I wanted but I will just have to make due with what I do have.

My goal is going to place in the top 3 for my AG this race. It might be a pipe dream (I won't know til I see the competition) but all in all....that is my goal.

Race #2

So, I have decided to opt out of Collegiate Nationals this year even though I qualified. Instead I will be doing the Texas State Sprint Triathlon on 19 April in San Marcos, Texas. I figured since my overall goal this season is the 70.3 IM Austin that I should spend more time easing into other levels. This race will be a good feel for a few things such as open water swim. The swim is a 500m open water swim in a lake, which is going to be a first for me. I have not swam nor practiced in open water ever! At least I can see what it is like and when it gets warmer I can try to do weekly open water swims somewhere near me. The bike is a flat race for 12 miles which does not seem so bad. However, I am in the market for new tri shoes that are completely velcro so I can mount my bike faster while in T1. The run is supposed to be pretty hilly, so that might give me a challenge but at least it is just a 5k.

My main goal is to be quicker in T1 and T2 than my last tri. I also just need more race exposure to help calm my anxiety and build confidence.

Mean Green

My first race of the season was on Sunday in Denton, Texas. It was a long five hour drive from San Antonio but I was not overly exhausted from the drive. There was some confusion at packet pick up on the swim distance as well as our position starts. The first issue was that we found out we were only swimming 400 yards, instead of 800 yards. This meant that most of us competing at the collegiate level entered inaccurate swim times when registering. What happened? Well, it meant that I ended up being the second in the water....number 233.

There was only one other person before me at the start of the race which made me incredibly nervous. Since our swim times were all messed up, I was convinced people would be crawling over me on the swim. Oddly enough only 5 people passed me on the swim. The worst part of the swim was that my swim cap came off and as soon as that happened all my hair was in my face so that I could not breathe like I needed to. I remember during the last 50 yards seeing my black swim cap sinking to the pool floor. After I finished the race I was a little disoriented and it took a few seconds to realize if I swam the entire thing or not. That's the crappy part about pool swims....you have to make sure you are swimming correctly and going the right way in the pool. Open water, you don't have to worry about lanes. I got out of the pool and headed toward T1 but have to admit, I was kinda confused as to where I was going.

T1 was decent due to the fact I don't have complete velcro bike shoes so I couldn't just hop on my bike and leave. I had to sit down and put my feet in the shoes and click them until they were on. Then I had to run through the mount area and stop to hop on my bike since my water bottle cage is in the way of me hoping on quicker. At least I know where I need to improve for the future.

The bike portion actually was not too bad. I was worried that I would not be able to stay strong through the entire course but ended up doing fine. Hills were a challenge for me because I am not used to doing them in races, so I need to get better at switching gears easier. I was smart though because I would gain speed going downhill which would carry over for part of the climb. I ended up only passing four people on the bike. Two from UT-Austin, and 1 Aggie and Baylor due to them having flat tires. The best part of the bike was that I dismounted perfectly. I was able to unclip from my bike with both shoes, hop off, and run into T2.

T2 was completely horrible! For some reason I ran to the wrong rack and put my bike down, which didn't make sense because I was at the first one. Then I had to figure out where all my stuff was. Once I realized where it was I had to untie my shoes and tie them back because I couldn't get them on over my wet feet. I grabbed a gel and just remembered that the run was two laps so don't kill myself in the beginning.

The run was terrible because I was so slow. My right ankle was stiff and every time I landed on it pain shot up my leg. I knew that I could not stop running though. So I suffered through the pain and slowly but surely made it through the first lap. Only two other people were on the run so far, but then on my second lap everyone was on it so I knew I needed to step it up a bit and of course, not give up. The last part of the run, I sprinted up the hill toward the finish line and finally crossed it. Such a relief to be done!

My total time was: 1:28:14.7

400yrd swim: 7:49.7

T1: 1:57.4

12 mile Bike: 45:23.4

T2: 2:04.6

3 mile Run: 30:59.4

Obviously, I have a lot of areas to improve! My transitions, run, and bike being the most important. The swim I can get down just by training, the rest I need to incorporate drills, new shoes, and extra training. But overall, I am happy with my first race. At least I know where I stand.

Who Are You Fighting?

Sometimes the biggest battles are the ones that you face against yourself. For me that time is now. The time when I am exhausted physically and mentally. When my body is tired and tells me it just wants to rest. This is the time when champions are made...when you are on the verge of having nothing left. I know that it is only Tuesday but this is how I feel. Maybe it is the cold, gloomy weather or the fact that I have a lot going on this week and weekend. But at 8pm tonight I am going to swim 800m during a time trial and see where I stand. Mean Green Tri is only 4 weeks away...4 weeks! This is when I compete in my first triathlon of the season. The last time I competed was 2012 and that was before I was sick. So tonight during our swim time trial and on Thursday when we do our run TT are critical. I have to do well and most importantly give it my best.

Some people might think that I am lazy and just do not have what it takes to compete anymore. Maybe they think I do not have the desire to get in shape, but they are all wrong. I believe that sometimes a person has to have an epiphany to encourage or motivate them to do better. For me, it took seeing my life as what could have been and just knowing what it still can be...if I let it. I have to work extremely hard and never give up and for those that know me; know that I rarely do. This is going to be a long 4 weeks leading up to this race and an even longer one until Nationals in April. But I know that these experiences and training are something I will remember for the rest of my life. I want to look back and show my kids that I never gave up hope but I also had to work hard for what I wanted as well. Hopefully, one day when I have kids I will be able to tell them never give up and they can never say that I did.

The Calm Before The Storm...Err Time Trials

I must have picked a great day to get back into training. So this morning I made it to campus and it was 38 degrees outside with a 30 degree wind chill. All I had on was spandex and a sweatshirt. My fingers and toes were so cold that during the ride which was only an hour, I lost feeling in them. Luckily the feeling in my fingers came back but not in my toes. Not until I took a hot shower and then they burned really bad because of how cold they were. If you have ever been to a cold place, you will understand. Total for the ride this morning was 16.6 miles, 498ft of elevation, and a time of 1:12:27. Nothing but headwind the ENTIRE way there! But afterward it felt pretty good.

Tonight we had swim practice which was actually pretty good. My wrist was a little sore but not to where I think it will affect me too much. I learned that 44 is my special number for strokes every 50yrds for a 100yrd swim. For just a 50yrd sprint I can do it in about 30 strokes. Tomorrow we are having a 800yrd time trial, so that is going to be interesting. I cannot even remember the last time I swam over 300yrds in one setting! Last time I swam 1600m it took about an hour and that was in 2013 while I was living in Utah. So I am going to guess that an 800yrd will take about 40mins for me tomorrow night.

All in all, it was a great day to be back on the grind. I am exhausted and still need to eat something before I go to bed. I need to figure out an eating schedule fast because this is not going to cut it when my girlfriend gets back and we do T25 together. How she manages to do her job, spend time with me and our dogs, and everything else she has to do everyday...I don't know how she does it! I have only done this for one day and I am tired as heck! But if she can do that every day then I know I can manage this :) After all, if I want this bad enough and I want to get better...I will do whatever it takes and suck it up.

Accident Prone

So my girlfriend always teases me because I'm accident prone and always end up getting hurt somehow. Either running into the door, falling down steps, to even tripping over our dogs. Well, she has been gone not even 24 hours and I've already ended up in the ER with x-rays...

I am fine...let me make that clear. But I was at bike practice this morning and while on I-10 my teammate Jacob and I were approaching a light. I was switching into a lower gear and clipped out with my left foot. My balance was off for the first time ever and I started to fall. My right leg was still clipped in mind you. So instinctively I put my hand out to catch my fall...bad idea. I checked my bike and it had minor scratches, got back on and peddled aback to campus. As I went to pick my bike up I felt something in my wrist pop and pain just shoot up my arm. Thought maybe it was just cold. Went to take a shower and it kept popping but didn't hurt as bad. Weird. Went to the school clinic and was told to go to ER because it might be broken. Yeah right....

Went to ER...got x-rays...hairline fracture in my wrist. Doctor said probably from trying to brace myself for the fall. He said next time to use my whole arm instead not wrist with palm down. It might hurt but shouldn't break my wrist. Best part is? I just can't put a lot of pressure on it and I should be fine...whoop whoop!

I swear...I don't know how I have always played sports when I get hurt so randomly and easily. Well that was my morning...And I feel great! Can't wait for swim practice tonight!

Welcome to the Grind

Most of you know that today is Martin Luther King Day it important as this day is to our nation and the civil rights movement...not to mention allowing me the luxury of having rights that I cherish personally. San Antonio has the LARGEST MLK parade in the whole USA, just a nice fact for you to store in your mind. However, today is also a training day for all of us on the UTSA triathlon team. This day was probably the hardest day for me to wake up in a very long time because I hardly slept and when I saw the temperature outside my body begged me to stay in the bed.

First and foremost I want to thank my teammate, Garrett, for fixing my bike yesterday and for helping me realize the trouble I was having switching gears and that the noise it makes is perfectly normal. I learned that I also use a wet lube which helps accumulate a lot of dirt on my chain (not good). Him and my other teammate, Leah, were nice enough to let me leave my bike at their apartment so this morning all I had to do was drive over there and ride out with them. I decided to leave at around 0700 just in case there was traffic this morning and made it there around 0735; record timing by the way! No, I did not speed but there was hardly any traffic which made my life easier. Usually it take about 45 minutes to an hour to get to campus which is a nightmare early in the morning. We rode up over by Camp Bullis and did interval training on a bunch of hills. Let me just say that we did 4 sets of them and by the end my quads were burning like a blue-flamed fire. In fact, there was one hill that I was not sure I could even make up because my legs were so dead and it was a pretty long hill, but sure enough I finished. These guys are a lot faster than me so just trying to keep up with them would be ridiculous so I am starting to learn to just do the best I can. Such a hard concept for me because I am used to being so competitive in the athletic world. Today was really good for me though because I severely needed to get some training in as I am far behind everyone else on the team that had a whole semester prior to train with our coach. The ride back was not very hard or bad and it was nice to just ride somewhere other than by my house which gets boring after awhile.

Did I mention I have awesome teammate? Leah made us pancakes and coffee and Garrett made us all chocolate milk after our workout. Have to admit that these guys are pretty cool and I have been learning a lot from them. After that, Garrett showed me how to put my bike rack back on my car so I do not have to put my bike in it anymore. That whole process was starting to become a pain because it also meant I could not put anything in the back seat. Luckily, I will not need my trunk for much since I hardly use it anyway and the bike rack can stay on there forever!

Fortunately for all of us there is no class today which means that I can also relax for a little bit. Later tonight we have swim practice with our coach, which I am excited about. Just not so excited that it is at 2000 tonight because I have to get up at 0430 tomorrow morning for training and then will not be home til around 1400. Then I have to study my butt off for my microbiology lab exam and then swim again at night.

Rise and Shine Motivational Video

Want to know what I wake up to in the morning? This is my alarm sound that I recorded. Probably one of the best motivational videos that I have seen in a long time! Have a great day everyone...

Training Schedule

So, training with UTSA officially starts on Monday along with classes. I live about 30 minutes from campus and that does not include traffic. So I am going to have to get up pretty early to keep up with my training, go to class, and more training. Want to know how crazy my schedule is? Check it out below:

Monday:

0430: Wake up (eat, shower, get load up bike, etc)

0700-0830: bike training

0830-0930: (shower, eat)

1000-1115: Class

2000-2100: Swim training

Tuesday:

0430: Wake up (eat, shower, etc)

0630-0800: Track/Running training

0800-0815: Shower

0830-0945: Class

1000-1115: Class

1130-1245: Class

1245-1345: Eat

2000-2100: Swim training

Wednesday:

0800: Wake up (eat, shower, etc)

1000-1115: class

1200-1430: class

1430-1530: Eat, (go home & load up bike)

1700-1830: bike training

Thursday:

0430: Wake up (eat, shower, etc)

0630-0800: Track/Running training

0800-0815: Shower

0830-0945: Class

1000-1115: Class

1130-1245: Class

1245-1345: Eat

2000-2100: Swim training

Friday:

0430: Wake up (eat, shower, etc)

0700: Weight training

Sadly, this is also if I do not get a job this semester. However, since I am also trying to get a part-time job...my schedule is going to get worse than this. Hopefully I can find a job where I can work Fri-Sun, and on the afternoons on Monday.

First Swim of Season Complete!

So last night was the first swim practice I attended for this upcoming season. I was able to meet the rest of the team and our coach, Mark Saroni, whom is a professional triathlete. After getting lost on campus for a few minutes, one of my teammates was kind enough to pick me up and show me where the pool was. I was nervous because I honestly did not know what to expect at practice. After a 100yd warm up we started doing some workouts and our last one was 4x200yds while trying to descend in time each set. I started at around 3:50 and my last one was 4:28, so not for what I hoped. While I was in the pool my swim cap came off and I kept having cramps in my left foot. It was horrible because I had to keep flexing my foot which made my kick pretty much useless. I was completely disappointed in myself but at least I can do better next time. I could tell I was out of shape but I was smiling in the water because I was happy to be there.

Tonight I registered for the Mean Green Triathlon in Denton, TX for March. This will be my first triathlon of the season and consists of a 400yd swim, 20k bike, and 5k run. I am thankful I still have a few months to train and get ready for the race because I need all the help I can get. Nationals registration opened up finally as well, but I have not registered for it yet. I will probably register for that next week as well as purchase my plane ticket. That is going to be my big collegiate race for the season. For that I only get an extra month of training because it is at the end of April, so I will have to go hard in training after the Mean Green.

Great News!

So since my last post I have joined the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) Triathlon team. Not only is it great that I will meet other people that love the same sport as me but now I also have a coach to help me succeed AND...ANNNND acess to a pool!! Pretty much everything that I had been wishing for the last few months and now I actually have it. I am so excited since our first swim training starts tomorrow night. I already ordered my UTSA kit and have all the basic gear I need for the season for right now. Only problem is I also need new bike tires. I currently have Vittoria Rubino's but am going to try and get Centinel GP's to train on. Other than that, I will need to save some money and get a few things that will help along the way. Thanks to everyone for all the help and support as I embark on this new journey!