Officially a triathlete!

I finished the .8k swim, 20k bike and 7.5k run in 1 hour 44 minutes and 10 seconds, good enough for 14th in the 18-24 year old women's age division and in the top 19% of all women competing in the sprint distance. Those results are better than I expected and I am more than pleased with my time!

Let me go into details on the race: The DC Triathlon had over 3200 registered racers for the sprint or international/olympic distances. That is a pretty big race logistically and I have to give a lot of thanks to the race organizers because it was very well run! Saturday I went to pick up my race packet at the expo at the Washington Convention Center and we took our bikes from there over to the transition area for racking via a police escorted bike ride through DC, meaning that we got to run a bunch of red lights and piss off the tourists and motorists! Sunday morning I woke up at 3:45am (when some of my housemates were getting home) and drove to the parking lot at the expo center to take the athlete's shuttle over to the transition area. Even leaving that early I didn't get to the transition area till 5 or a little after 5am.

I set up a transition station right next to my bike where I put down a plastic bag (because the ground was damp since it was drizzling out), a quick dry towel to stand on when I changed out of my wetsuit, my bike shoes with socks ready to go in them, behind that I put my running shoes with my race belt with bib race number attached and a hat in case I wanted it for the run. On my bike I put my two full water bottles in the cages, taped a larabar onto the top tube so I could grab it while on the bike, used the velcro on my bike gloves to attach them to the handlebars, and placed my helmet on my aero-bars with my sunglasses inside it. This set up worked really well for me because the less you have to worry about during the actual transition, the better. Having a bunch of stuff attached to my bike got me out of the transition area much quicker.

I got my chip timer and attached it to my ankle, and made sure that my body markings (when they write your race number on your legs and arms) was still clearly visible. I used bodyglide (an anti-chafing deoderant-like stick) on my ankles and places the wetsuit would rub so that I could make sure to get it off easily and it wouldn't chafe my neck, arms or legs too much. I then saw a woman who had a message written in pen on her leg - I mean I didn't lean over and read the message, I just saw that it was written there - so I took out my sharpie and wrote a mantra inside my swim cap. It was something that I knew was there but didn't need everyone else to see and because I wrote it down I remembered it and repeated it to myself on the course. By the time I had done all of this it was time for the 6am international distance to begin and we all had to be out of the transition area. I put on my wetsuit, stowed away my gear bag, and chatted a little with some fellow triathletes.

Before I knew it, it was time to get with our age groups and line up to jump into the water in groups of 8 (it wasn't a mass start but instead a time-trial start meaning our chip started to time us as soon as we jumped off the dock.) I don't think I was prepared enough for the jump into the Potomac River because I kind of had this moment when I was a few strokes out into the water from where I jumped were I was like "holy shit, I'm swimming in the Potomac!" I didn't think about the grossness of the water and instead just started a rhythm and tried to avoid and swim around people. I've never really timed myself on an 800 meter swim in the pool nor in open water so I don't know how far I am off of my normal swim times, but I swam this in 14:30 - which I think is pretty good for a newbie, plus I really just started swimming in late April. I'm proud of it whether it's better than average or not!

My wetsuit came off easily in transition, I was soaking wet but somehow got my feet dry enough to slide on my socks and velcro my bike shoes on and run with my bike out of transition. Once I mounted my bike, I flew. Biking is my strongest leg of the triathlon but if I had been able to bike the course before hand I could have shaved off a few minutes by knowing when the uphill and downhill sections were and where their weren't turns and I could have pushed harder on the straightaways. That is the problem with having a bike route in a city that is normally so crowded with cars that you can't recreate the route on your own. It was a very technical course with a lot of turns and u-turns that tested my bike handling skills. I kept an 18-20 mph pace most of the time - unless I let an unexpected uphill section spoil my cadence. I ate a larabar on the bike, but I think I ate it too quickly because I could feel it in my stomach once I started running. What I know for next time is to probably eat half of it within the first three miles of the bike and then the other half towards the end. I made sure to drink almost an entire bottle of water over the 20k course though which was good since sometimes on a ride I forget to drink until I'm already thirsty. I got back to transition and realized I was 2 events down and had only the run to go.

I undid my bike shoes dismounted from the bike and ran it into transition, slipped on my colorful Asics Noosa Tri shoes and pulled the toggle on the no-tie laces. Clipped on my bib and was on my way out. This course was originally going to have a 5k run, or so I believed. Then during my open water race clinic I learned that it had been extended to a 7.5k which I had not been training for. I was overtraining for a 5k but it still had a kind of mental influence on knowing that the run was just a little over a mile longer than I was planning for. So I came up with a different way to approach it. I decided that I would take the first 2.5k to just get my legs back from the bike - then I could just run a 5k once my legs were back. That really helped me mentally to break it down like that. The run was still pretty hard, with some uphill portions, a lot of turns on roads that seemed self defeating, and I was experiencing a little bit of stomach cramping from eating the larabar on the bike. I got water at every aid station but I never stopped or walked, I kept going. It helped that all around me were majestic monuments or DC buildings and there was a light drizzle all morning that actually kind of kept me cooled down. I got to the last section and I still had enough in my legs to sprint to the finish, I smiled and raised my arms up into a strong woman pose! I was now officially a triathlete.

I was handed my finishers medal, a water bottle, powerade and a wet towel. Then I went over to the place where the racing receipts from the chip timers were printed. That was where I saw I had placed 14th in the women's 18-24 year old division and that I had an official time under 1:45:00. I was appropriated exhilarated, exhausted and a little dazed.

I got some food, qdoba naked burritos, ate and found my friends. They got some pictures of me and we stocked up on free Pom juice and sat around and talked for a while and figured out a way for them to get my car from the expo center and meet me to pick me up with my bike and stuff from transition. They're awesome so we got everything handled and with everything picked up we headed to my house where I had beer, wine, chips, salsa and guacamole waiting for us, but not before a pit stop at Shake Shack where they bought me a chocolate milkshake - which was what I had earlier decided I wanted as a reward for this triathlon since I haven't had one in probably more than two years. It tasted well-deserved!

Showering was wonderful, sleep was even better, and now I have a week of training off before I gear back up for the Amica 19.7 Sprint Triathlon in Boston in August!

Only a few more days of being a tri-newbie!

Less than five days till my triathlon and I am just slightly freaking out. 

The swim is less of a mental hurdle for me now that I participated in a practice open water swim in the Chesapeake Bay last weekend and felt comfortable in water with a much stronger current than the Potomac will have (although the Potomac will be grosser) and I greatly enjoyed trying out my wetsuit - its amazing how much more buoyant it makes you! The bike is a pretty technical turning course but I trust my bike handling skills and there will be some amazing views of the DC monuments over the course. The run has been extended from a 5k to a 7.5k, which is fine if I was just running that, but after the swim and bike that extra 2.5k might be a mental struggle far more than a physical struggle but some of my friends who are in DC are planning to come out early on a Sunday morning to cheer me on!

 

This week is my taper week, and my taper is probably a little different than others because I still needed to get in one more long distance swim workout because I was behind schedule on the swim, so yesterday I went a little more all out that I was supposed to, racking up more than a mile of swimming in my main set between my warm up and cool down. Sunday was my last long bike ride, Monday was a medium tempo run - so a 5k at race speed. Today, Wednesday is a rest day, tomorrow Thursday will be a brick workout of short run, short bike, short run, Friday 50 yard sprint swims and a core workout, then Saturday a very light jog - just till I break a sweat 10 to 15 minutes. Then Sunday is the triathlon where I'll do some dynamic warming up while I'm waiting for my swim wave to start at 7am. The hardest part of training this week is resisting the desire to over train!

 

Nutrition is another aspect I am planning for this whole week- I'm not introducing any new foods, I am staying totally vegan and cooking all my meals, so no eating out at all, (I plan on my version of pigging out on Sunday after the race!) and no alcohol for the two weeks leading up to the race, (I have a bottle of Malbec to be opened Sunday evening.) Basically I am eating the same few meals over and over again, which people think would be boring but if you think about it most people do that anyway - especially with breakfast. My staple foods are whole grains or psuedograins like buckwheat, quinoa, faro/barley, cracked wheat (in a tabouli salad) and sprouted grain bread; spinach and kale both raw and cooked; sweet potatoes; raw nuts and seeds like almonds, walnuts and sunflower seeds; my superfoods maca, raw cacao and chia; and berries. I will keep eating raw foods until Saturday afternoon when I'll need to take in less fiber prior to the morning race. Tomorrow and Friday I am adding some extra carbs. Every day this week I have had a big kale and/or spinach salad with a garbanzo bean, tomato, cracked wheat/buckwheat tabouli for lunch with some raw almonds or an apple as a snack. Breakfast is my weird version of cereal- puffed rice, puffed kamut or millet, maca, hemp seeds, chia seeds, raw cacao, agave, raw pumpkins seeds, walnuts, rice milk and berries. Dinner is a grain combo of quinoa and faro, with sauteed kale, or a different roasted green vegetable and baked sweet potato. If I am hungry before a workout I have a few dates and almonds or half of a Larabar. Oh yeah, and I have been and will continue drinking water like crazy. I don't know if Sunday will be nice like it has been for the past few days, or like DC usually is during the summer - hot and humid.  

 

Again, for this triathlon my goal is only to finish it and enjoy the spectacle, August is when I'll race for time. If you are around the Washington DC area and want to come out and support me early on a Sunday morning, feel free to do so! I will appreciate it tons!

 

greetings from DC and the dreaded swim

Now that I am settled into one place (and found housing about four days before moving here) its time for an update. On my week and a half road trip from Dallas to Boston to DC with my mom we stayed in a different city every night, (except for the stopover in Boston where I was at my place) and drove most of the days, but I still worked hard to maintain my triathlon training. I took advantage of hotels with pools, I used running as a way to explore the different cities/places we were staying, met a man in the tiny hampton inn suites who does triathlons and had a nice chat with him while getting in some core strength, tried to bike when possible, and tried out Matt Kamb's hotel room workout. I usually got all of this in before my mother even woke up and it helped when I spent the rest of the day sitting in a car either behind the wheel or in the passenger seat. If this was a travel blog I would talk a little bit more about every place I went but for now I'll just say that Asheville, NC and the Blue Ridge/Smokey mountains are gorgeous and I will be going back there! But since this is about leading an active lifestyle I'll stick with the working out parts of my trip- basically it's possible to travel and still train effectively as long as you make the time and take advantage of the resources around you.

My number one tip: when you get to a new city, walk or run around it for a while - you never know what you may discover, who you'll meet, or what experience you'll have but, you'll probably discover a new store, restaurant, or gorgeous views, meet someone truly interesting, and have a great overall experience!

I have already noted many times that the swim will be the most difficult part of training for these triathlons because it is something I haven't trained for before. Calling it the 'dreaded swim' might be an exaggeration, but I am the most apprehensive about it. But, something clicked in the pool a couple of days ago. I had been doing mainly sets of 200 meters because I have been swimming in 25 meter pools and anything more than that I would just get sick of the repetition or feel like I'd been swimming for way longer than just the few minutes I'd actually been swimming. But the other day I read an article on www.active.com about the habits of the most effective swimmers. One of them was counting strokes. This was such a simple idea and I don't know if I'd read about it and ignored it before for being too simple, but this habit was highly effective for me as soon as I got back in the pool. It gave me a steady rhythm, kept me paced each lap, set a steady bilateral breathing pattern, and before I knew it I'd swam a 400, easy. It was paced, not quite to race speed but not slow either, and I probably should have pushed myself to do more than that in that set but I had many more sets to go. My goal is to be able to do this ladder workout once a week 1x800, 2x400, 4x200 and 8x100, which is almost 2 miles! That's seems crazy for me to even think about, me, someone who really just started swimming for distance in April/May, but now 2 miles seems achievable, a new goal.

Because of all the interruptions and moving around I've done the past month between Boston, Dallas and DC, I will just be ready for my triathlon next weekend and finishing it without injuring myself is my goal. Then I can ramp up again for the August triathlon where I will set a time that I want to finish in, right in time for my 22nd birthday!

summertime!

I guess summertime isn't that exciting for people who are going straight into jobs, but my internship doesn't start until June 1st so I am going to get a couple of weeks of vacation/relaxing time - vacation and relaxing time does not mean that I won't be working out or eating well, it just means I have a free schedule and my brain gets an academic rest!

I'm in miserably humid Dallas, TX right now which is making working out outside that much harder, but I have my bike now and it feels great to be back on it riding around White Rock Lake!

This week home has been a lot of preparation for the rest of my summer, doctors appointments, visiting family, gathering up stuff I'll need for the summer like a new bike rack for taking my bike across the country (I had a lot of fun hanging out at REI with my sister looking at all the different bike racks!) I also have time to go to yoga, run, bike, swim and do some strength training. The rest of my downtime I've been trying to be productive and kept the TV off (except to watch basketball games, GO MAVS!) I bought a bunch of books from half price books and I've been trying to be productive while online as well.

In addition to following nerdfitness.com and trying out Steve's body weight workouts on his website and following where he is in the world, keeping up with what Matt on nomeatathlete has to say, and learning a lot about whole food nutrition from Brendan at Thrivein30, I have also found a new person to follow - Chris Guillebeau, writer for a blog called the Art of Non-conformity: Unconventional strategies to life, work and travel. www.chrisguillebeau.com

Chris is the ultimate travel hacker and a guy who wants to see artists and entrepreneurs succeed in their unconventional business goals, he generally wants to help people become healthier, happier, more fulfilled and more generous. If you want to learn the travel hacking ways then click the icon I have pasted in below - full disclosure: if you sign up for the $1 trial of Travel Hacking Cartel then I get some miles, but if you do the same then you are going to get miles as well :)

Basically I am trying to filter through all of the crap that does exist out there on the internet and really follow people who believe in the same things that I do
- be active, eat better, be happier, travel, share what you learn and give back to people.

My summertime homework assignment for you is to try and do all of that list, or as much as you can, and find people with the same values as yourself whether its a family member, friend, or a blogger like I have found. This is my last school sanctioned summer break, I'm going to use it wisely!

a confession to make...

I seem to be full of confessions lately since I have already confessed to being a nerd, but I have another confession to make -

       I want to be a badass.

Seriously, I've been super fortunate to do some amazing things in my life and I could not be more thankful, but I want more! I always want to do more, to set new goals, to challenge myself. Once I do these sprint triathlons I plan to do an Olympic distance one, and then within the next year or so, barring any injuries, I hope to do a half-ironman. And on the non-fitness side I've read a lot of books but I want to read all of modern library's list of 100 best books. And this isn't because I want to show anyone up, or flaunt what I've done, its because I want to be the best that I can be. I want to be fit, I want to be well read, I want to be well-traveled, I want to do awesome things like 100 consecutive pushups or go sky-diving because I am a healthy 21 year old who has the drive and ability to do those things.

I have so much life ahead of me and I know that, but if I don't have short term and long term goals then I don't feel like I have much direction in my life.

There was a long period of time at the beginning of this semester where I didn't set goals to accomplish and didn't have a good sense of what direction I was headed but then I set goals: sign up for a triathlon, get an internship in DC, figure out what my senior thesis will be. And guess what? I got an internship in DC, I am training for two triathlons I've signed up for and I have a narrowed down topic for my senior thesis! Badass right?

I want all of my friends and families and even strangers to be the best person that they can be, and to always strive to live better, and I want everyone to feel like they're a badass! My challenge to my blog readers is this: make a badass bucket list of things that you can achieve, and if you do achieve them you will feel like a total badass. Other people don't have to think you're a badass, YOU have to think you're a badass. Steve Kamb has his Epic Quest of Awesome on www.nerdfitness.com but I like to feel like a badass, so I am gonna go with Badass Bucket List.

Here are a few of mine, I have 25 so far but I'll keep some of them to myself:
 - visit at least 6 of the 7 continents by the time I'm 30 (four down, two to go!)
 - climb Mt. Kilimanjaro
 - do 100 consecutive pushups
 - run the 8 mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning
 - go heli-skiing
 - bike ride across a country (Thailand or Vietnam)

etc. etc. All of these goals are doable with a plan, none are totally beyond my reach, and yet all of them, once completed, will make me feel like a total badass.


On totally random other topics:
The. Socks. Are. Awesome.
Check out this movie trailer (courtesy of nomeatathlete.com) about failures of the western diet: http://www.forksoverknives.com/
And since someone told me they did some reading about the Paleo diet after my last post, here are a couple of links to good sources about the diet, courtesy of nerdfitness.com: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-101/ and http://robbwolf.com/faq/

my nerdiness, exams and .... socks

My friends and family know that I am a nerd. This blog showcases that I am a pretty big nutrition and working out nerd since I spend so much time researching and trying out different workouts and foods and even socks (which I'll get to later,) but that isn't the full extent of my nerdiness. I seem pretty normal and like a typical smart college student, but if you quiz me on my knowledge of Harry Potter or ask me when the last time I watched one of the Lord of the Rings trilogy movies, what books I've read recently not having anything to do with school work, or start asking me to talk about religion (my major) you will find that- I have reread all of the Harry Potter books more times than I can count, I watch Lord of the Rings movies with absurd regularity, I read over 30 books in 7 months of last year which weren't related to school work, and I could pull a passage from the Bible or the Qur'an because I have copies of both at home and at school sitting on my shelf. 

Now that I have established my nerd status I would like to introduce my soul-mate-blog www.nerdfitness.com. Steve Kamb, who started this website, is a self-identified nerd on an "Epic Quest of Awesome"fulfilling a bucket-list of tasks around the world, fitness and life related which he checks off in order to 'level up.' It's a total workout nerd/nerd paradise. Steve isn't a vegetarian or vegan, he lives by the Paleo diet (which has a lot of similar philosophies about whole natural foods but also advocates eating meat and avoids cultivated grains, if you want to know more about it look it up, its some interesting stuff and a diet many athletes adhere to now,) but his life philosophy is all about making your life better by just getting up and doing stuff, having fun and turning your life around. And he makes references to Lord of the Rings, the Matrix, Superman, and even the Shawshank Redemption! I loved this post http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/04/28/tolkien-fitness/ because it all comes down to finding inspiration to make your life better through things that you already love, like the words of JRR Tolkien. 

I also mentioned exams in my post title- its exam time on campus again and I still have two religion papers to do this week (I am actually sort of enjoying writing them... again nerd,) plus I have to do my triathlon training. During exams I actually find it fairly easy to fit in working out because there aren't classes to work around so I actually build my daily schedule, planning when I'll eat at home, if I need to pack a lunch or dinner for the library, when I can get to the pool or gym, or when I can put aside some time to hit the road/trails for a run. I already wrote a post last year about studying and making sure to take breaks, get some exercise and especially eat brain-power food during exam time so I'll reiterate a few things. 

Drink water!

Nuts - walnuts and almonds especially are great brain foods with the good type of fat that the synapses in your brain need to work well and are an easy on the go snack. A small bag of almonds is a fantastic library snack. And a great lunch is an old fashioned pb&j with peanut or almond butter, your choice of jam/jelly, on a good whole grain or sprouted grain bread.

Green vegetables - I attempt to have a green vegetable with every dinner and dark leafy greens have so many benefits to your immune system (who wants to be sick during exams) your iron and calcium levels and even helps your eyesight, important especially if you stare at your computer all day trying to type up a paper. This green can be incorporated as easily as a spinach salad for lunch or raw broccoli with some hummus as a snack, or you can saute some spinach, kale, or mustard greens as a side dish with dinner.

Berries - blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc. good healthy natural sugar carbohydrates to power your brain while you study, plus they are full of anti-oxidants and are super easy to incorporate into your diet. I use frozen berries in smoothies everyday but you can also throw them on cereal, in oatmeal, or in yoghurt for an easy breakfast or snack.

Whole grains full of fiber- these are good carbohydrates that won't make you 'crash' when you are studying or taking a test, and will fill you up longer than any type of simple sugar or refined flour. Oats, in oatmeal or granola, barley/farro with dinner, whole grain bread or english muffins for sandwiches and quinoa or buckwheat. 

And lastly your brain needs protein - whether this comes from lean meats like chicken, fish, eggs or from vegetarian/vegan sources like nuts, legumes, or seeds is up to your own diet, but your brain needs those amino acids because it is another tissue in your body that needs restoration and growth. A good vegan protein source are split peas which I made into split pea soup using this recipe http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/vegetarian-split-pea-soup-recipe.html but fresh caught salmon is a great brain food since it has good fat in it as well and you can get it pretty easily canned and use it to make a salmon salad sandwich the same way you would make a tuna salad sandwich. 

I hope these food tips help you studying ability! My other advice is don't stay cooped up too long, move around, get some fresh air, and schedule a workout into your schedule, even if its only 30 minutes, its good to take your mind off of work and just let your muscle memory take over.

Okay and now for socks! I went on a 7 plus mile run today and ever since I have been wearing my new Zoot compression socks for recovery. I won't know exactly how well they work until I get up tomorrow, but right now my calves and shins would normally be starting to feel sore already and they feel fine! I ran on some trails but I can feel the extra support around my ankles in these socks so maybe my ankles will be fine tomorrow (although I also could be getting used to running on the Mystic Lakes trails!) So far though wearing tall recovery socks with shorts while cooking dinner for my friends is just another nerdy thing that I do!

Really good brain food: This is a typical breakfast for me - steel cut oats, farro/barley and buckwheat hot cereal with raw cacao, walnuts and strawberries (and other superfood add-ins like maca, hemp, chia seeds, etc, if I have them)

great weather for the great outdoors

If you live in the Boston area then I hope you have taken advantage of the fact that there has finally been multiple days in a row of fantastic weather! Even all of my fellow college students studying for exams should take an hour out of studying to get some vitamin D and exercise or just walk around in the sunshine! I wanted to make this post about triathlon training updates, so here it goes!

As I had predicted my swimming will need the most work! Its not the most natural of the sports to me since I don't have a strong background int it, so even when I get in the pool it takes me a few minutes to warm up and get my breath control correct. I was never on a swim team and doing swimming drills self-motivated is also a bit of a challenge - I may get a coach or mentor of some kind just for the swim, probably one who has done triathlons before since the open water swim will be much different than the nice and warm indoor pool.

As for the bike, my spin classes have made my legs really strong on the bike! In my strength training I am making sure to incorporate a lot of core work so my balance can be really strong too. I haven't had my bike in Boston so I only rode it when I was home a couple of weekends ago but I felt good on it and I think the spin classes have done a great job and that my core and balance work will compensate for the differences between a spin bike and my road bike.

For the first time since I got shin splints over a year ago I ran more than five miles yesterday! I made it really fun by running on some trails (which additionally strengthens ankles) and picked a scenic route. I have really focused on stretching and foam rolling after my runs whether long runs or shorter interval or hill runs so that I can prevent injuries. I am also making sure not to overtrain and did a short swim and short bike today and avoided running so that I could better recover. Most of my runs have been between 3-5 miles since the first triathlon only has a 5k run, but longer runs will make sure that I have the endurance to run the 5k after swimming half a mile and biking 16! Another thing I have ordered and will post about I'm sure after I try them out are "recovery socks" just so I can make sure I don't get anymore shin splints!

Speaking of recovery, my recovery nutrition maybe starting to piss off my housemates with the blender running so early in the morning, but I feel a difference in how much energy I can have for the rest of the day! I am pretty much vegan during the week unless I eat out for dinner (which is usually reserved for weekends anyway) and I feel great! I made a variation of these superfood vegan lemon bars for a quick breakfast/snack http://www.navitasnaturals.com/recipes/coconut/Lemon-Coconut-Breakfast-Bars.html with great success (they kind of taste like Heart Thrives vegan energy bars if anyone has ever had those.)
I also got some wonderfully fresh corn yesterday and made a kind of salsa medley with boiled sweet corn, avocado, roasted jalepeños, lemon juice, chopped fresh mint and tomatoes. The pictures are below