Givin props

Another great weekend on the beach in FL. I failed to mention and thank my greatest weapon and favorite training partner and man of my dreams, the Dane. He has been a huge part of my success this season and I wanted to make sure that he got proper cred. He knows this all of course but I'm not sure that anyone really knows how much of a positive influence he is on my training and racing. The music fits so don't shut it off......
Val (from Outspokin) did great yesterday taking over one hour off of her prior best in the Hawaii 70.3 after losing 40 pounds - we are very proud of her accomplishments and look forward to more from her!
Inspiration is everywhere, you just have to keep an open mind...

I like this

We are two weeks into our "summer mini off season" and I'm actually enjoying it, believe it or not! I feel totally out of shape but that's how I'm supposed to feel on a mini break. We start our big build for IM Canada in a couple weeks then, God willing, further push to Kona. We'll see. I have a painful left foot and I can't quite pinpoint it but I'm not at the point where I think I need to stop running all together so, I won't. Not much running going on now anyway - just beach runs after open water swims, nothing organized. I'm enjoying getting back on my sweet road bike, such a nice ride. In fact, the leader and likely winner of this year's Giro is riding the same bike - awesome ride on the Giant TCR Advanced. I highly recommend a test ride on it if possible, go to Outspokin's new store! Our new bridge opened yesterday - Belleair Causeway bridge which replaces an aging draw bridge and gives us a really nice 13 mile loop with three such bridges to climb on the bike or run (although no pedestrian traffic allowed yet). We also had great opportunity to try out a stand up paddle board today from one of the owners of Nekton surf shop (nektonsurf.com) who was gracious enough to take us to his house and try out his board. I instantly fell in love with this! So many toys, so little time! We're going to check out a few other shops prior to laying down any coin on this but it's definitely in our future! We have a few friends racing right now at the Hawaii 70.3 on the Big Island so many positive vibes going their way. Some local folks also racing Mad Beach Tri tomorrow and likewise to them for a safe adventure. Race wise, we are going to spend most of June doing beach 5K running races and a sprint tri in July then onward to Penticton, Canada for the epic North American Ironman race the end of August. All's well that ends well! Hoping the body holds out for a few more but I've had a great run thusfar. Thanks for all the well wishes after Florida 70.3, I really appreciate it!

Recovery

Nothing intelligent to say (not as if there is ever) but we are getting cabin fever here in "sunny" Florida. We have slept in (til 6am) every morning all week which is really a treat. Wanted to swim but felt I needed the sleep more at this point. We did a road bike ride this morning (off work) and found my legs are still dead. We'll ride through the weekend and try and open water swim if the water cooperates but otherwise no programmed workouts for now! I'm eyeballing my kayak! IM Canada is on the horizon and I want to be hungry!! This will happen.........
Cheers!

Fun pics at Florida 70.3

Since I'm sitting around doing nothing now, figured I'd post a few pics

Our little cabin feast!

The Dane tired post-race!

I'm a bit more elated post-race

Ah, the awards.....finally getting the big one!

5 tries, one AG win... Florida 70.3 race report.. never stop believing in yourself

Got back from Disney yesterday morning in a full-on Florida downpour! I fully expected we were going to crash and die in that rain but, luckily, I wasn't the driver! Once again, we hit the right weather for the race on the right day! We got to registration and what not on Saturday around 1pm with our housemate Linda M (female 55-59 ass-kicker) and all went smoothly. Had no real issues and didn't forget anything this time - pays to have a couple races in the bag already! Tom Z does a good job as RD and should be commended! I didn't feel particularly great in my workouts during last week but that never really means anything. I did have quite a bit of stress at work and figured that would eat away at my energy and likely did somewhat. We had such a nice Saturday afternoon with our house mates and just sat and relaxed. Luckily, all of our waves went off around the same time (Linda at 6:30, me at 6:36 and the Dane at 6:42) so we needed to be to transition early to set up. No issues here except it was quite dark out! It is very strange starting a race in the dark, I think sunrise finally came when I turned the last buoy for home! This swim start is hard because you aren't "allowed" in the water prior so all warm up has to be dry land - something I'm not very good at, not being a swimmer from birth. I had a really good start and lead my wave about half way to the first turn buoy until my left arch of my foot started cramping - a brand new thing for me! Had to let that work it's way out and slow up a bit. In doing so, another purple cap (my wave) got ahead of me - granted, since I breathe to my left, I had no idea what was going on on my right even though I took a gander every now and then. So, I jumped on her feet and let her navigate me through the throngs of other swimmers from the earlier waves. Not much contact so I didn't get too freaked out. I lost my navigator every now and then due to the traffic but found her usually. Towards the end of the swim, which I thought was quite long, I had another cramp in my foot and had to let it work out, weird. Now I'm thinking if this is something that will come back to haunt me today. Got on dry land and hauled ass the long run to T1, managed to pass 2 purple capped gals in the process - knew I didn't have a good swim at this point. I let it go mentally, no use in getting down about it. On to the bike and I felt tired and moderately sluggish. I had to work way harder to push the power that came easily in New Orleans. Luckily, my SRM kept me honest and I tried no to lollygag too long. Passed another two in my AG on the bike. The drafting was pretty bad, mostly with the men that I saw. The Dane finally caught me after mile 40 and seemed to be struggling to lose the pack ahead of him. The wind kicked up the last hour on the bike but nothing like it was in New Orleans so I handled it mentally pretty well - wish my legs handled it as well! Got off the bike without issue and onto the run. Actually left T2 with the Dane just ahead -found he was cramping in T2 trying to get his shoes on! I had a bit of a bounce in my stride and ran through the first mile in 6:40 - either short mile or my pacing really sucked! I felt the vague twinge of a side stitch building and didn't want a repeat of Kona '06 so had to slow up and regulate the breathing pretty much the next 8 miles or so. I never felt good but never felt horrible although had a couple spots where I thought I was going to pass out and managed those ok. I broke the run course down in my mind and it went pretty fast until the third and final loop. I had no idea of my placing or anything so just tried to push the third loop even though I thought I was going to puke at any moment. Finished strong and waited for the Dane who looked great finishing. We all gathered in the CAF (Challenged Athlete's Foundation - awesome charity) and they were awesome to sit with. Seeing all the folks with amputations of various extremities do the same thing I just did is really awe inspiring! Linda finished strong and crushed her age group.....again! The Dane finished strong also but had many cramping issues that we'll work on figuring out later. I didn't know I won my AG until we found the unofficial results page. This is my fifth time doing this race (missed last year due to Europe trip, well worth it) and I finally got a win! The time wasn't fast and I thought I could go faster but I went fast enough. Never stop believing in yourself. If anyone wonders how hard it is and how much dedication and consistency it takes to finally win one of these (70.3) races, just ask me but you better have a lot of time to hear my answers! I was very gratified that, even on a day when I didn't feel my best, I could do enough damage control to be competitive. We'll take a little mental and training break now before embarking on IM Canada training. Thanks to all who sent us well-wishes, it really does mean a lot to me. The groups that I train with in the pool and on the bike really have helped make me a better swimmer and cyclist. I hope I'll continue but for sure I'll continue having fun!
Cheers

Just a thanks

I am honestly astounded by all the friends that I have. I guess we realize these things on such days as birthdays. I have had so many B-day greetings and well wishes it makes my head spin. I can't possibly thank everyone individually, which I'd like to do. So, instead, I thought of every single one of you and remembered cool times I've had with each. I really did. I also got a massage (pre race type of thing) and spent time on the beach with my man, which is my favorite thing to do. We are racing Sunday and will go 110% as usual but will have fun, most of all! Wish us all luck!
Thanks again to all!
Cheers!

Great weekend!

Beach at it's best in FL

The picture says it all for me! Awesome beach weekend in FL! Good heat taper training, sun and plenty of fresh air. We did an open water swim with the kids from the pool we do masters at and that was fun. Rode the bikes there and back and then hit the playa for sun and more sun. Today, did a short ride then a brick and find my legs are still quite tired so this week will be really chilled - just some focused workouts and not much else (except stressful work). Spent the rest of the day today on the beach with L&L and that was fun and relaxing. Happy Mom's day to all and congrats to Jennifer my niece for having a new baby. Here's to a great week!

Episode #13 - Kara Goucher 20M Pre-Boston Workout | Workout Wednesday, Season 3 on Flotrack

Episode #13 - Kara Goucher 20M Pre-Boston Workout | Workout Wednesday, Season 3 on Flotrack

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Check out this sick, freak workout prior to Boston Marathon. Only for true fans, watch at your own risk...

Sunday ride

Last hard ride until we taper (once again) for last half ironman for the spring campaign. Group ride today which, after 71 miles in the hills yesterday with hard run, was a daunting task. Just went through the motions and found I finally get warmed up after about 30 miles. So, we head to Trouble Creek out and back which isn't terribly hard then the ride back to Outspokin was hard hard....for me. The ride back from Trouble Creek was about 7 guys which are really good riders (including the Dane) and me into a stiff headwind. I just kept hanging on to wheels because I knew if I had to push against the wind on my own, it would be slowwww at this stage. Made it almost all the way with the small group and hung on and was proud that I could do that after yesterday's ride/run. I'm pretty much done and confident in my cycling fitness, just need to recover. I'm hoping that the next half IM will be better than New Orleans 70.3, we'll see.
Props to the folks who conquered St Croix 70.3, especially Jeff C who laid down the law like he said he would when we saw him last weekend. You're the Man, JC!
Cheers.

!

Thanks Ken for the pic!


Had a good ride in the hills today, 71 miles at a good clip with a fast crew! I wanted to go 60 but when you are in the hills and you don't know the way, you follow wheels, shut up and ride! I felt pretty horrid this week. New Orleans 70.3 three weeks ago, check. St Anthony's last weekend, check. Another half ironman in two weeks, check. 42nd birthday upcoming in two weeks, check. The old body just doesn't do what the younger body used to......amazing! That said, had one last go at a long run this week and it was, in a word, awful. I got through it and trained my mind to just HTFU. That's all half ironman racing is anyway so it was a mental training effort. I felt horrid coming out of that then my good friend Mary D wanted to go out for "a glass of wine" and, yada yada yada we are stumbling home on Friday night. Had a bad week at work so that's easy to get sucked in to! No worries, up at 5am today for a committed ride in the hills and I actually didn't feel nearly as bad as I thought I would so went with it. The run wasn't perty but got through it and another shot at character building (thanks Linda M) and mental HTFU training. Swimming long course a bit now so that is a good thing and I feel good in the water - I'm ready to swim in a triathlon!! So, tailor the taper again and see how it goes. The Dane seems cured (I wish I got over injuries so quickly) and very hungry to race a half IM! Watch out! Good luck to all the fun folks we know doing St Croix 70.3 tomorrow.
Good luck Jen and push that baby out!!

St Anthony's tri, er, duathlon - sort of

So, the winds picked up on Saturday in St Pete, just as predicted on the Weather Channel. I wasn't too concerned about the wind - after surviving Kona in October and getting through New Orleans 70.3, I felt it wasn't going to be anything new. Get to transition on Sunday morning, doing the normal bike checks and finishing touches and the announcement comes, the swim for the amateurs is cancelled. The girls in my wave were all sort of standing around wondering if it was a joke and if the elites would get the option to swim. No joke, no option, no swim for us. I've been busting my butt and swimming quite well (in the pool) for me so ready to get a new PR for this course. Not to be and the rest of the day was very strange to say the least. The Bay was a washing machine and the pro's, who had to swim, echoed this for the most part. I had a nice long run warm up with Cassie M then we headed for the "line up" for our time trial start. A start I've never done as I'm sure most people here hadn't. Totally not warmed up, we sprinted through transition, got our bikes and started the bike portion of the race as if it was a normal race. It wasn't. It's really hard to go into the bike hurt box with no warm up. That said, we were all in the same boat. I rode really hard at the outset, wanting to get warmed up in a hurry. It was quite windy but not as bad as New Orleans, IMO. I settled down into my pre-planned power zones and went for a new bike PR for the course. A few packs of girls got away but I had a couple girls that wanted to keep trading the lead and we did the last ten miles or so legally pacing which kept me engaged mentally. Got off the bike and had my usual slow transition but got out onto the run and didn't feel hot but I've come to the conclusion, I'm not supposed to feel good off the bike if I ride hard enough. Settle in around 6:30 pace but gradually slowed and wanted to be done! I got passed in the finish shoot and though not happy about it, I couldn't do anything. Felt bad because Brian Harrington was saying such nice things about me (Bri, thank him for me!). I wasn't happy about my overall result but the positive is I biked a PR and ran about 2 minutes faster than last year. We can all pontificate about what the swim would have done or not done but the result is what it is for everyone. I likely won't do this race next year because of New Orleans 70.3 which is going to be one week prior and I know I can't recover that fast - I barely recovered enough in three weeks! Age is a real buzz kill! The Dane got his top ten finish and hardware he so desired and his body is ok so we can move on. We will do some open water swimming and see what 70.3 races we can do to get the Dane into Clearwater since Disney is closed. We had a lot of fun post race hanging out with everyone and trading war stories and made sure the beer tent volunteers were busy and entertained! Thanks to everyone who cheered me on and if I didn't acknowledge you, I heard you! Onward.

And, oh by the way...

If you haven't seen this, (and who hasn't) it inspires me on a whole 'nother level. Go Kara G.(she reminds me so much of Cath, my BFF).

Pre St Anthony's Tri

Cool flyover in NSB

Relaxing in NSB

So, we're on the eve of St Anthony's tri. One of the biggest olympic distance triathlons in the country and very competitive. Time to bring the A-game. Unfortunately, I think I left my A-game in the Big Easy. That said, I am racing tomorrow in the Elite Amateur division so the ass kicking will be big. Got a target on my back (locally) and that's ok and a compliment. The expo was awesome and the Dane worked his arse off and hopefully, helped Outspokin. I, on the other hand, can't sell anything! Off topic, the Dane and I just watched "Seven Pounds" and I only recommend it if you have a box of kleenex nearby! It did, however, remind me how lucky I am to be doing this sport on this level. It was only 11 years ago that I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and thought my athletic life was over. It wasn't totally over, just slower and I truly appreciate every athletic adventure that I can embark upon because I do really think of all of this as a gift. If you ever wonder, just ask me. So, my only message is to do what you can with what you have because you never know when your body will take a nosedive on you! As Spencer (smith) says, go to the hurt box and embrace it! I will do that tomorrow and be at peace that I am able to still do this. Tick, tick, tick......
Kia Kaha

Pics from New Orleans 70.3

I'll walk you through this agonizing blog. First pic, yup, took the time to remove my wetsuit prior to hitting to swim timing mat, duh. Next is biking the bridge, headwind is ugly here (no, I wasn't drafting, just getting ready to pass). Next, boy, I didn't think I said anything nasty to that girl but I sure have the bitch face on! Next, yes, it was hot (note red face)! And, finally, glad as hell to finish!

Fun weekend, not racing!

Gorillas in the mist, er fog

The Queen of the Fort and me

The Athena battle starts!


We pretty much took most of last week off from training due to soreness, my cut up feet, generalized fatigue and getting slammed at work. The Dane is still rehabbing his bum hip but we think we've nailed down what it is. We got to go and watch the Escape From Fort Desoto sprint tri on Sat which we normally race but we were not in any condition to do so this year. It was super foggy, very strange for this race - normally, it's so windy that fog never has chance to form! It figures I miss the one year that there is no wind on the bike! We had our fair share of wind in New Orleans 70.3, that's for sure! It was a lot of fun to see people I haven't seen in a while because this is usually the first race of the season for local triathletes. We had a guest appearance by Cassie M (an age group, mine of course, 70.3 World Champ) and it was fun to spend some time with her; she, literally, ran away with the overall win for the women! Bravo Cassie. We had the Mad Dog party after that and the 70.3 World Championship lottery give out, I don't need one for '09 now! for Easter Sunday, an easy ride today with the Dane, short run then an open water swim in the chop. A perfect Easter Sunday for us - a long day on the beach! Two weeks to St Anthony's and hoping the legs come around this week so I can do some fast running and hard biking to prep for that race. Hope everyone had a great Easter! I think the race director for New Orleans 70.3 should put me on the payroll because I told everyone I know that it was an awesome event and we'll be back in '10! Official invite for my family to join us for a super fun event!
On to Easter dinner that chef Anders is cooking!

pics from Nola

Click the link, I'm not buying these but I liked the suit I came up with...

http://brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=48245&PWD=&BIB=3102

Laissez les bon temps roulez 70.3

This race was on the calender because I've never been to New Orleans so it was a good excuse to go. Since I end up using all my vacation time from work doing triathlons, I like to make them count as "real" vacations whenever possible. It also was very early on the schedule, much earlier than I have ever done a 70.3 distance race so we had to be good about training early on when it was still cold. Luckily, we have a great group of people who braved the cold with us many mornings to get workouts in, be it swimming or biking. Thanks to all our great training partners who braved the long winter (for Florida).
On to the trip, er...race. I always thought of this trip as a cool trip with a race in it. I wasn't going to compromise too much on the fun aspect or the walking around aspect, it is New Orleans after all. I figured if all the fun bar hopping we did hurt me, so be it - I'm on vacation. As with any traveling race, if you forget things, which we all inevitably do, you can pick stuff up at the expo. Usually, not here though. I'm sure that will improve - it is a first year race after all. We got into NOLA early on Friday morning and got checked into the hotel and got familiar with our surroundings. We found a micro brewery near the race hotel so tested it out on our way to pick up our packets. Got our packets after an entertaining mandatory race meeting and all was smooth as silk. I'm sure we found another bar on the way back to our hotel on the edge of the French Quarter. Had to assemble the bikes prior to anymore bar visiting so did this then got back out. We ate at an Italian place called Bacco on Friday night and it was yummy. One thing for sure, there is no lack for restaurants in NOLA. Anyway, we did do a short run Saturday morning and felt pretty good in general - should have, I took both Thursday and Friday off which I don't normally do but I was really tired and worried the taper wasn't "kicking in". The bulk of Saturday was spent traveling to transition (you NEED a car for this race), standing in line for the mechanics and checking out the largest transition area I've ever seen. That's why they were saying it's the biggest 70.3 race in the world! Got racked with no issues and headed back to the hotel to gussy up for dinner. We went to a place called Attiki for dinner (actually, just went there for a couple beers but ended up staying) - really good, Middle Eastern flare type of place. Back to hotel early to get up early race morning. I woke an hour before the alarm (3am) with some nerves and excitement for the first race of the year. I looked out the window and it was very cloudy and windy. Got the Dane up and we planned to drive to transition (then take shuttle back afterwards to drive back with bikes - thanks Phillip L for the advice here). I brought oatmeal but had no way to eat it (no spoon, bowl, etc) so just consumed most of a Cliff bar and felt that was going to have to do - mistake number one. Got to transition (which is a Katrina tour each trip - very eye-opening) and had no issues. I had until 8:30am for my wave - the last wave of the day. It was raining a bit and that added a few extra challenges but I felt ok. Did a little run and felt ok. Walked a mile to swim start with 3000 of our best friends. The pro's got off at 7am. Lake Pontchartrain was calm as the winds were out of the south. The Dane was in the wave right before me which was good because we could sit around together and figure out where to line up, etc. The swim is a straight shot, west to east with bouys on the left demarcating the edge. I had a good start but tussled with a couple girls early on and had no draft the entire way - bummer. Got out onto the bike and could feel the wind straight away. I also could see that my SRM was not registering speed (or distance as result) so this would be my "power only" race. The roads for the first 20K are pretty bumpy concrete but not unreasonable. The roads also, some of them major highway, WERE COMPLETELY CLOSED! This, my friends, is a treat. I was concerned, being in the last wave, of the bike traffic but it was pretty well spread out and pretty easy to get around people - which is what I did for 56 miles. I went by power only and pretty much nailed my numbers. It was very windy, second only to Kona in my experience, but I concentrated on my power numbers and that kept me very engaged on an otherwise releatively boring (unless you like swamp land) bike course. The only hills were the bridges heading out and back in. Not much drafting going on except for the guy on the P3 who felt the need to sit on my wheel for a long stretch - not much draft off a 105 pound 41 y/o woman, must be desperate! Anyhow, totally uneventful ride but the wind gets to you after a while - the last 20 miles or so (no odometer here) was into a block head wind and reminded me of the Queen K so I kept my head about me. What I didn't do, is drink enough or take salt - mistake number 2. It was very humid and I was sweating a ton but I was totally focused on getting around other people and not getting my front wheel into a hole in the road. Off the bike, back onto the feet-cutting mile long transition area. Onto the run and I knew straight away I wasn't gonna have the run I wanted. The first 3.5 miles were into a really stiff, steady headwind. I felt horrible and tried adjusting pace to get better - the only adjustment that stuck was running much slower. Saw the Dane at just over mile 5 standing there waiting as he had a hip problem and couldn't continue. I was worried but he told me to continue, so I did. The only other gripe about the race was that the aid stations were 1 1/2 miles apart on the run when I'm used to (and plan for) every mile. This wasn't good as I was already dehydrated and not feeling well at all. I got quite dizzy and woozy at mile 9 and had to full stop. I thought I might pass out for a minute but gathered and walked a bit - there wasn't an aid station in sight. I jogged again and once at the next aid station, took everything they had. I was quite warm and humid at this point and wanted cola......bad. They had no cola at any aid station which is not something I'd planned for (these races always have cola at least later on). It was brutal and I had blood pooling in my shoe a bit from the chunks of skin I'd lost in transition area. I was ready to be done. Got to mile 12 and saw 4:52 on the watch. I wanted (and expected) to get under 5 hours so really had to hustle here. You get closer to the finish and thus closer to the French Quarter, it is amazing and loud. This finish gave me goose bumps! It was second only to Kona in number of people and excitement level - I thought I was winning the Olympics or something. I didn't quite get under 5 hours (went 5:00:11) but felt like I did what I could on the day. I hustled around to get on the shuttle back to transition area to find the Dane because I was worried about him. Got there and he was sitting on the curb near his bike, poor thing. We hobbled back to the car and drove back to the hotel. Got to the awards party right on time, took my Clearwater slot (thanks Pam K - I owe you) and went for a wonderful dinner at Nola. Pampered and fed, we hit the town for a while and just absorbed New Orleans. I loved it and will be back. Aside from the cut up feet, saddle sore the size of a walnut and one toenail coming off, this was an awesomely fun race in a totally unique locale. I'm sure it will get more competitive next year but I'll be ready and hopefully, won't make all the rookie mistakes. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and everything. We're going to heal up, volunteer at Escape From Fort Desoto sprint tri Sat and prep for St Anthony's on 4/26. P.S. the woman on the song that pops up, Irma Thomas, sung our national anthem for the race. The whole town of New Orleans was so nice and positive - you get such a good vibe here. Great for racing! I'm sending an official invite to my family to join us next year for all the NOLA fun!

quickie report from NOLA

I'll do a proper report from home but wanted to say a few things now while my body still feels the pain of racing. First, this was one of the best, coolest races I've ever done. We had the roads all to ourselves and a finish line experience that was a very close second to Kona. I wasn't particularly pleased with my times but a win is a win. I actually won overall Masters which I've never seen awarded at a 70.3 event so that was really cool. We have to pack up to return home today - wish we had another day to hang out. The Dane was rocking this race until something seized up in his hip early on in the run - he couldn't run through it and was very hobbled to even walk. He was really upset about this because he was having a great race. We'll return home to repair our bodies and move on. Thanks for all the well wishes.
laissez les bon temps roulez

Hi from NOLA

From my most awesome iPod touch, blogging from restaurant in Nola. Bikes are checked and ready to rock. The Dane and I are having a real vacation, it's nice and fun. Race tomorrow, NO expectations.
Peace.

Taper sucks but other things are fun

The horses begging for a ride


So, one week or so of taper for NOLA 70.3 and we both feel pretty crappy physically. We had a bugger of a cold front come through yesterday (wind wise) and today (wind, rain, cooler temps) but had specific workouts to fit in. The week early on brought mile repeats on Tues and I ran faster than I have in a couple years for sure - no big deal though, I haven't done speed work in 7-8 months. Weds brought speed swim at masters and I really sucked - don't think I've gone this slow all year. Weds evening was threshold repeats on the bike/trainer with hard brick. Thursday brought our last "long" run, only 8.5 miles and went really slow and boring but all in all, faster with lower heart rate in higher heat outside. Sat was a two hour ride with some 10 minute sub-threshold sessions which are difficult in 20-25mph winds! Nothing like Kona winds mind you, but annoying, none the less. No brick Sat so we got ourselves out to the beach and the waves were starting to get kicked up with the winds. Got some much needed sun and the body surfing was really fun - we didn't want to leave. To bed early Sat (read, no social life) and awoke to thunderstorms on Sun morning. No worries, only an hour on the bike with more 10-minute sub-threshold sessions, doable on the Computrainer. Got the bike done then it was a 30 minute brick, zone 4 out and zone 2 back. This was not fun and I quickly felt the legs are not ready to race - thank God we have one more week! Went to the mall because it was still raining, to our favorite watering hole at International Plaza (we get there like twice a year) and couldn't find anything to spend my hard-earning money on. Came back home and the sun was back out so, back to the beach. The waves were bigger, the wind was on-shore and the air was cooler. We saw a perfect opportunity for some great boogy boarding. We made a pact not to get hurt - there is history of injuries here (not me). Water felt warm and the waves were definitely ripping so we stayed fairly shallow and safe but had some good rides. An awesome weekend of wind, waves, biking and running. Hoping for good legs in one week! I don't have anyone left to root for in March Madness so guess I'll choose as they go.