January 21, 2006
One thing that I've wanted to do for a few years now is compete in a swim meet. I did one (this same one actually) about 4 or 5 years ago, but only competed in one or two events as I had no idea what I was doing. Well, this is the year that I am going to compete in a few swim meets and all of the freestyle events I can get into! The first one this year was held at the Patullo Swim Center in Seaside. The meet didn't start until after 10am and so I had time to go for a 7 mile run beforehand...just to warm up!
I was excited, anxious and nervous at the same time. My first event was the 200 Free where I competed against one other women who was older than me. I have done 200's in practice but never in a meet situation...I just swam and came in with a time of 2:19:55. A PR for me! I then had a few minutes before the 500 where there were a couple of women that I swam against. My time for that was 6:14:21. Again a PR for me. My next event was the 50. John Haussermann figured I could go a :29 and so I dove off the blocks and swam as hard as I could and went :29:45! Again a PR!! I was on fire. I guess it's easy to get PR's if you haven't really swum in a meet before!
After the 50, I had about 2 hours to sit and wait while other events were going on. It was nice to visit and cheer other athletes on. I had two events to go the 100 and the 1000 which so happen to be one right after the other without any other events sandwhiched inbetween. Just prior to getting on the blocks John told me to go a 1:02 in the 100; my fastest time before had been a 1:04 and that was a few years ago in practice. I think there were a few women who started with me although I think they were older than me. I swam my heart out and came in on a 1:02:??. I did it!!
I didn't have much time to either swim down or catch my breath before getting back on the blocks to start the 1000, the last event of the day. It was just me and Heidi Haussermann (John's wife) who were brave enough to compete in this event. Eventhough I couldn't see a clock I tried to keep my pace as consistent as possible and even try to pick it up during the end. I really had no idea how to swim this, but figured I just try to keep it strong and as fast as I could. John had given me a few times that he thought I could get...a 13:20 most likely or if I was really going for it a 13:00...Well, like I said I just swam and came in at 12:23:59!! A super time for me and boy did it hurt! I guess I even swam my first 500 of the 1000 faster than my 500 earlier in the day!! I think I just need to get a really good warm-up before races!
Other local athletes that competed and did an outstanding job (although I don't have their times) are Philip Darst, Tim (I don't know your last name), Heidi and John Haussermann and Les Waddel. We all had a great time and encourage other athletes to attend swim meets in the future.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Our New Business
Sharon Osgood (affectionately known as Shozgood) and I have recently begun our own coaching business. Please check out our website, www.montereybaymultisport.com . It is still in the beginning stages, but we will hopefully be updating it soon.
If you or someone you know is looking for a multisport coach, please check us out.
If you or someone you know is looking for a multisport coach, please check us out.
Rio Resolution Run
Happy New Year! 2006
What does an athlete do to ring in the New Year?? Run a hilly 6.5mile race of course; when she hasn't run hills or track work. Basically to get her lazy butt off the couch, stop eating chocolate and junk food and get back into race shape.
So, at 9am on 1-1-06 the race started. It was a drizzly morning and a bit cold but I figured I'd warm up quickly on the uphill trails. I soon found myself in the lead (for the women). I kept my pace strong throughout the course even when the wind whipped up and felt like a wall pushing me backwards. I pushed it in to the finish to place first women with a time of 40:06 only 5 seconds ahead of 2nd place!
Want to know how I knew I was out of shape??? I was SOOO sore for 4 days afterwards!!
This race was just the kick in the pants I needed to start my early season training. After I took a few days easy of course.
I hope your New Year's Day was as rewarding as mine was!
What does an athlete do to ring in the New Year?? Run a hilly 6.5mile race of course; when she hasn't run hills or track work. Basically to get her lazy butt off the couch, stop eating chocolate and junk food and get back into race shape.
So, at 9am on 1-1-06 the race started. It was a drizzly morning and a bit cold but I figured I'd warm up quickly on the uphill trails. I soon found myself in the lead (for the women). I kept my pace strong throughout the course even when the wind whipped up and felt like a wall pushing me backwards. I pushed it in to the finish to place first women with a time of 40:06 only 5 seconds ahead of 2nd place!
Want to know how I knew I was out of shape??? I was SOOO sore for 4 days afterwards!!
This race was just the kick in the pants I needed to start my early season training. After I took a few days easy of course.
I hope your New Year's Day was as rewarding as mine was!
Treasure Island Triathlon
November 5, 2005
Three weeks after the Hawaii Ironman I was back at it again, this time the olympic distance at Treasure Island in San Francisco, CA. My last race of the season and I was definitely ready for it to be over.
The race started in the afternoon and the water temperature at this race is always cold. My face, hands and feet are always numb after the swim.
The start was a bit nerve-wracking as I tried to stay with a group for as long as possible. These starts seem to be getting more brutal each year with all of us trying to jockey for position. I just want some feet to hang onto! I got in with a pretty good group, maybe the third pack of women and stayed with them until the end. My swim time was 23:19. I hoisted myself onto the exit deck and ran with numb feet to my transition area while unzipping my wetsuit. I was able to get onto my bike pretty fast and quickly found myself with approximately 5 other women! Great...a pack to ride with. The only women I remember being with were Katja Schumacher and Maggie Shapiro. It was just the three of us that were taking pulls with Maggie doing most of the work because she was stronger than the rest of us. Katja also competed in Hawaii and did very well over there. So needless to say both of our legs were pretty shot. After a few laps it was just the three of us as we had dropped the other women on the short climb. There were a total of 6 laps total for the ride and on the 4th lap I was leading our pack up the start of the climb and decided to pull off and let Maggie go ahead of me and I'd drop in behind Katja. Well, my plan backfired! Maggie stood up and put the pedal to the metal while Katja followed suit and I did not have the power in my legs to catch Katja's real wheel and I saw the two of them slip away from me. The two girls caught the next pack and I was left alone to try and catch them. I rode the last two laps by myself as hard as I could but to no avail. I should have known better. But it was a good learning lesson and reminder! I won't do that again. My cycling time was 1:08:45.
After those two grueling laps I finally entered T2 and headed out onto the run to try and catch as many girls as I could. Not only was I not in the top 10 coming out of T2, but my overall standings in the Tri-Cal Pro Series were slipping and I had to do something.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me that day and I was able to pass a few girls to come in 10th place! Whewww. Katja and Maggie came in 9th and 8th respectively...so I figure if I could have stuck with them on the bike I could've placed a bit higher, but these races are still learning lessons even for us pros! My run time was 37:10. For an overall time of 2:10:55.
As far as the Tri-Cal Pro Series is concerned I placed 2nd! Thanks to Leanda Cave who came in first and bested Becky Lavelle. If Becky had won the race, she would've bumped me from second and I would've been out of luck. There's always next year...for us all.
Three weeks after the Hawaii Ironman I was back at it again, this time the olympic distance at Treasure Island in San Francisco, CA. My last race of the season and I was definitely ready for it to be over.
The race started in the afternoon and the water temperature at this race is always cold. My face, hands and feet are always numb after the swim.
The start was a bit nerve-wracking as I tried to stay with a group for as long as possible. These starts seem to be getting more brutal each year with all of us trying to jockey for position. I just want some feet to hang onto! I got in with a pretty good group, maybe the third pack of women and stayed with them until the end. My swim time was 23:19. I hoisted myself onto the exit deck and ran with numb feet to my transition area while unzipping my wetsuit. I was able to get onto my bike pretty fast and quickly found myself with approximately 5 other women! Great...a pack to ride with. The only women I remember being with were Katja Schumacher and Maggie Shapiro. It was just the three of us that were taking pulls with Maggie doing most of the work because she was stronger than the rest of us. Katja also competed in Hawaii and did very well over there. So needless to say both of our legs were pretty shot. After a few laps it was just the three of us as we had dropped the other women on the short climb. There were a total of 6 laps total for the ride and on the 4th lap I was leading our pack up the start of the climb and decided to pull off and let Maggie go ahead of me and I'd drop in behind Katja. Well, my plan backfired! Maggie stood up and put the pedal to the metal while Katja followed suit and I did not have the power in my legs to catch Katja's real wheel and I saw the two of them slip away from me. The two girls caught the next pack and I was left alone to try and catch them. I rode the last two laps by myself as hard as I could but to no avail. I should have known better. But it was a good learning lesson and reminder! I won't do that again. My cycling time was 1:08:45.
After those two grueling laps I finally entered T2 and headed out onto the run to try and catch as many girls as I could. Not only was I not in the top 10 coming out of T2, but my overall standings in the Tri-Cal Pro Series were slipping and I had to do something.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me that day and I was able to pass a few girls to come in 10th place! Whewww. Katja and Maggie came in 9th and 8th respectively...so I figure if I could have stuck with them on the bike I could've placed a bit higher, but these races are still learning lessons even for us pros! My run time was 37:10. For an overall time of 2:10:55.
As far as the Tri-Cal Pro Series is concerned I placed 2nd! Thanks to Leanda Cave who came in first and bested Becky Lavelle. If Becky had won the race, she would've bumped me from second and I would've been out of luck. There's always next year...for us all.
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