Swim at Lover's Point
After a long week spent fitting my training sessions in around 3 different evening events, I was a little nervous going into this last weekend of races. I had an Ironteam Olympic triathlon on Saturday, and the Kaiser Half Marathon on Sunday. Rest or no rest, I was racing!
Logistics posed the first challenge of Saturday’s Olympic triathlon in Pacific Grove, near Monterey. Figuring out the driving, eating and gear, plus anticipation of the 5am wake-up call kept my brain buzzing too much for sleep, leaving me driving the 2-hour foggy, pre-dawn highways on 1 hour of REM. But I knew the cold shock of the Pacific Ocean is a sure-fire way to wake a girl up!
This was an Ironteam event, not a formal race. Joined by the South Bay Ironteam, about 50 of us participated in the Louie Bonpua Memorial Olympic Triathlon. Louie was an Ironteam participant and an honoree who died of leukemia just hours after carrying the Olympic torch across the Golden Gate Bridge in 2000. His dedication and strength of will in the face of his disease continues to be an inspiration to the Ironteam, and the team honors him each year with this event at the site of his first triathlon.
We lined up on the shore at Lover’s Point, looking out to the ocean, waiting for the signal to start our 1,500-yard swim. Just beyond the buoys, a sudden spurt of water announced the passing of a whale! Yep, it was going to be that kind of awesome day.
The water was cold but clear, though the giant stalks of kelp blocking my path took some getting used to. By the 3rd lap, I was finally able to plow right through the seaweed and get into a nice swim rhythm. I made it out of the water in 28 minutes.
Getting frozen fingers and feet into bike gloves and socks is not easy, but I managed a decent transition to the 2nd leg of the course, a 25-mile ride along the coast of the Asilomar State Beach. The route was 4 out-and-back loops of 6+ miles each. With just over 3 miles each way, it was challenging to “settle in” – every moment felt urgent, because every moment I was only a few miles from the next turn-around.
I like out-and-backs for the opportunity to see teammates on the course, but having 4 loops made it hard to think of unique cheers each time we passed. Eventually, I began just calling out “woooo!” and leaving it at that. The course was rolling, curvy hills, fun to ride aside from the sea-gazing drivers and pedestrians causing hazards in the bike lane (one teammate was run off the road – he was a little battered but okay).
I finished in 1:25, averaging 17-18 mph. A quick shoe-swap and I was out for the run.
Let me tell you a little about the process of regaining blood-flow to frozen feet by running on them: it hurts.
The run stretched 1 mile from Lover’s Point toward Monterey and back again, times 3. Again – fun to see teammates, but really, I had been seeing those folks all day! My pace was pretty erratic and my legs felt worn out, but I managed the 6.1 miles in 55 minutes, and completed the entire race in 2:54.
I think I put up a solid showing at this, my first Olympic triathlon. I need to work on my cadence on the bike (no surprise), which should help improve the fatigue I felt on the run.
After the race, I shocked some tourists at the beach by wading into the surf up to my hips for a nice ice bath. Nature rewarded me with a sea otter sighting. See? One of those awesome days!
Logistics posed the first challenge of Saturday’s Olympic triathlon in Pacific Grove, near Monterey. Figuring out the driving, eating and gear, plus anticipation of the 5am wake-up call kept my brain buzzing too much for sleep, leaving me driving the 2-hour foggy, pre-dawn highways on 1 hour of REM. But I knew the cold shock of the Pacific Ocean is a sure-fire way to wake a girl up!
This was an Ironteam event, not a formal race. Joined by the South Bay Ironteam, about 50 of us participated in the Louie Bonpua Memorial Olympic Triathlon. Louie was an Ironteam participant and an honoree who died of leukemia just hours after carrying the Olympic torch across the Golden Gate Bridge in 2000. His dedication and strength of will in the face of his disease continues to be an inspiration to the Ironteam, and the team honors him each year with this event at the site of his first triathlon.
We lined up on the shore at Lover’s Point, looking out to the ocean, waiting for the signal to start our 1,500-yard swim. Just beyond the buoys, a sudden spurt of water announced the passing of a whale! Yep, it was going to be that kind of awesome day.
The water was cold but clear, though the giant stalks of kelp blocking my path took some getting used to. By the 3rd lap, I was finally able to plow right through the seaweed and get into a nice swim rhythm. I made it out of the water in 28 minutes.
Getting frozen fingers and feet into bike gloves and socks is not easy, but I managed a decent transition to the 2nd leg of the course, a 25-mile ride along the coast of the Asilomar State Beach. The route was 4 out-and-back loops of 6+ miles each. With just over 3 miles each way, it was challenging to “settle in” – every moment felt urgent, because every moment I was only a few miles from the next turn-around.
I like out-and-backs for the opportunity to see teammates on the course, but having 4 loops made it hard to think of unique cheers each time we passed. Eventually, I began just calling out “woooo!” and leaving it at that. The course was rolling, curvy hills, fun to ride aside from the sea-gazing drivers and pedestrians causing hazards in the bike lane (one teammate was run off the road – he was a little battered but okay).
I finished in 1:25, averaging 17-18 mph. A quick shoe-swap and I was out for the run.
Let me tell you a little about the process of regaining blood-flow to frozen feet by running on them: it hurts.
The run stretched 1 mile from Lover’s Point toward Monterey and back again, times 3. Again – fun to see teammates, but really, I had been seeing those folks all day! My pace was pretty erratic and my legs felt worn out, but I managed the 6.1 miles in 55 minutes, and completed the entire race in 2:54.
I think I put up a solid showing at this, my first Olympic triathlon. I need to work on my cadence on the bike (no surprise), which should help improve the fatigue I felt on the run.
After the race, I shocked some tourists at the beach by wading into the surf up to my hips for a nice ice bath. Nature rewarded me with a sea otter sighting. See? One of those awesome days!
The Big Finish at the Louie Tri
On to Race #2: Kaiser Half Marathon.
I registered under the weight of peer pressure and the fear of missing out (FOMO strikes again!). My book club was running it, so of course I had to join.
Though I was a little sluggish in the morning and felt rushed and ill-prepared, my legs felt ready to move on Sunday morning. I started out too fast (as usual), but managed to slow down enough to clock my first mile at exactly 8:00 (oy) and my second at 8:15 (oy!). After that, I got the speed out of my system, and settled into a nice 8:45/mile pace that I managed to maintain consistently until about mile 9.
Kaiser is a fun event because it’s so local. It’s great to run with other San Francisco runners and to be in my old backyard, Golden Gate Park. There was a moment in there, between Spreckles Lake and Great Hwy, when there was no crowd, no cheers, just us runners, the hush of the park, the sound of feet on pavement. It was a perfect moment of running. Plus, it was slightly downhill!
Great Hwy was a bit of a slog (always is). My pace became difficult to maintain, and my calves began to threaten to cramp (they do that, it’s not fun). At mile 10, I got a HUGE burst of energy hearing book club friends passing in the opposite direction yell out, “Laura Marshall, we love you!” That got me to the last hill into the park, which then utterly defeated me. Ugh.
I finished the 13.1 miles in 1:58, which averages exactly 9:00/mile. I had hoped to maintain my sub-9:00 pace throughout, but stopping to stretch my calves several times in the last 3 miles slowed me a bit. But – just 2 minutes off my PR time of 1:56, not a bad showing for Day 2 of racing. Plus, afterward, book club had brunch!
Final thoughts after the long weekend: Oh jeez, I’m so tired! But also pretty proud. And kind of badass. IRON!
I registered under the weight of peer pressure and the fear of missing out (FOMO strikes again!). My book club was running it, so of course I had to join.
Though I was a little sluggish in the morning and felt rushed and ill-prepared, my legs felt ready to move on Sunday morning. I started out too fast (as usual), but managed to slow down enough to clock my first mile at exactly 8:00 (oy) and my second at 8:15 (oy!). After that, I got the speed out of my system, and settled into a nice 8:45/mile pace that I managed to maintain consistently until about mile 9.
Kaiser is a fun event because it’s so local. It’s great to run with other San Francisco runners and to be in my old backyard, Golden Gate Park. There was a moment in there, between Spreckles Lake and Great Hwy, when there was no crowd, no cheers, just us runners, the hush of the park, the sound of feet on pavement. It was a perfect moment of running. Plus, it was slightly downhill!
Great Hwy was a bit of a slog (always is). My pace became difficult to maintain, and my calves began to threaten to cramp (they do that, it’s not fun). At mile 10, I got a HUGE burst of energy hearing book club friends passing in the opposite direction yell out, “Laura Marshall, we love you!” That got me to the last hill into the park, which then utterly defeated me. Ugh.
I finished the 13.1 miles in 1:58, which averages exactly 9:00/mile. I had hoped to maintain my sub-9:00 pace throughout, but stopping to stretch my calves several times in the last 3 miles slowed me a bit. But – just 2 minutes off my PR time of 1:56, not a bad showing for Day 2 of racing. Plus, afterward, book club had brunch!
Final thoughts after the long weekend: Oh jeez, I’m so tired! But also pretty proud. And kind of badass. IRON!
Week 12 Mileage
Tuesday, January 29 Swim – 40 minutes, 2000 yards Swim Marker #2: 1500 yards in 30:45. I maintained the same pace that I had for my 1000-yard marker 1 month ago, so I’m getting stronger! Wednesday, January 30 Run – 30 minutes, 3.5 miles Core – 25 minutes Track workout: 4x 800 at Level 5 with 3 minute rests, maintaining same pace for each. Wanted to throw up, but managed to hold onto 3:35 for all 4. Thursday, January 31 Rest Day Friday, February 1 Spin – 60 minutes Saturday, February 2 – Louie Bonpua Olympic Triathlon Swim – 28 minutes, 1500 yards Bike – 1 hour 25 minutes, 25 miles Run – 55 minutes, 6.1 miles Sunday, February 3 – Kaiser Half Marathon Run – 1 hour 58 minutes, 13.1 miles | Total: Swim – 1 hour 10 minutes, 3500 yards Bike – 2 hours 25 minutes, 25 miles Run – 3 hours 25 minutes, 22.7 miles Core – 25 minutes Total – 7 hours 25 minutes |