21st Century Mom

note - noting new here but apparently the "w" word in the title attracts spammers like nobodies business so I had to send it underground.

Of course my daughter did most of the planning for the w3dding so it was super easy for me and I tried to get all of you to plan the rest of my season for me but there seems to be a fly in the ointment - my brain. So before I reveal the results of our joint planning efforts I'd like to thank you all again for your feedback much of which makes up the bulk of this post.

So far it looks like this:

July 4 - 5K
July 21 - Tri for Fun (teeny sprint, not timed)
July 29 SF 1/2 Marathon
Aug 12 - Folsom International
Sept 16 - Tri for Real Sprint distance ("A" Race!)

I may do one or both of the Alcatraz swims but they are expensive and therefore optional. They don't really interfere with anything else so I don't have to worry about it right now. I am also busy being a Nike pimp to get into the Nike Women's Half. There are ways but you have to genuflect at the alter of Nike to get there. We'll see how far I'm willing to take that.

So that leaves us (by "us" I mean "me") with the question - what to do about SOMA??

When pondering whether to do the Half or Quarterman I asked myself "WWBD" (What Would Bold Do)? And then I thought, "hey - I could just ask him!" so I sent an email to Coach Bold who responded,

"the answer is simple.
you should do the short course.

you are doing it the right way, giving yourself the
opportunity to enjoy the shorter distances, like the
Oly at Wildflower, before you subject yourself to the
long...

(if it weren't for that capitaliztion of Oly and Wildflower I might have to start calling him -ee Bold, but I digress)
He also said: "having done from super-sprint to Ironman... let me assure you, it's just more of the same and you are not missing anything."

And, "just remember, don't buy into the hype. you don't have to be an Ironman, to be a triathlete."

Hmmm.... true dat but there's no IM on the table here so I kept searching through my comments section. You can see everyone's feedback after the jump. The upshot is that several people said to go for the half but others agree that a half is just a longer version of an Oly so why not have fun and do what you know you can do?

I get that 'more of the same message' but there are a bunch of other reasons to go long on this one. First of all, this year I am doing more events than I've done in the last 10 years combined so this is my big year and it would be good to get a 70.3 in there. Second of all, if I do Wildflower next year I'd like to do the half so that I can party on Saturday night. I know, I know... that was spoken like a truly committed triathlete (hee!). Lastly, going to do SOmA is a huge deal involving airplanes and bike boxes and lots of expense so I might as well do it up. And last, but certainly not least, I want to see if I can. Isn't that a lot of what this sport is about? I want to feel my limits and then push them out a little further.

All I have to do now is get past the fear of failure that plagued me with a dream this morning of being on my bike and desperately wishing to be done and wondering 'why oh why did I sign up for this disance??!!" and I'm set. I have a strategy for quelling my fear and moving from talking myself into it to making an informed decision. Next weekend I will do a long bike ride (~50 miles)followed by a 6 or 7 mile run. It will probably be really hot by the time I get to the run which is probably a good simulation. If that goes okay I'm in for the 1/2. Otherwise I'll stick with the quarterman. I'd ask you if that all sounds good but I think I've asked enough of you. Thanks again for your feedback with a special shout out to Coach Bold.

In comments I got the following advice -

Laurie said - "I was a bit surprised to see that you are considering the half at SOMA. You've only done one Olympic though you could do another before that time. But why be miserable doing a half when you are not fully ready?"

For a split second I thought that Laurie and Bold were the same person but then I remembered that I have met and photographed Bold and Jeanne has met and photographed Laurie and although they both have great haircuts they are clearly not the same person. They may share a brain but they don't share a body - at least not that we know of.

DPR said - you can count on a PR at SOMA. It's a flat course, well laid out. Then in email she said "you're doing the half? Efffing excellent!" and when I said I wasn't sure she sent me a list of pros and cons for each distance. For the Quarterman there are only pros, for the 1/2 the only problem is lack of cheering section if you come in late. I, however, will have a cheering section of the DPR and probably others if they don't need to get out of Dodge ASAP to get home.

Fe Lady said - "A. Challenge, Soma" which I think means the half since it was before the Quarterman in the poll.

Momo said, "The half is really doable. It’s 3 loops on the same course, so a lot of 180’s but nice. The run is two loops. All on parts of the IMAZ course. To do the 1/2, you’ll probably need a few 4 hour rides, say maybe 3 under your belt. The swim is easy (no current or wake or anything), and for the run, you’ll need to get to about 12 miles or so. There’s lots of time till October, if you have time. Otherwise do the Quarter and have fun with it!!"

Mal said - "Go the half, take the challenge and enjoy the journey, if t is your first half you will blitz a PR no matter what , it is just a longer day at the office
Just make sure it is easier than wildflower LOL" And we know that's true.

iLikeToast said - "i wanted to pick them all but went with SOMA half .... with all the other bloggers there, you'd feel short changed without the half so not the quarter"

Larissa says - "I'd say SOMA for sure - whichever distance makes you tingle" and then "You CAN do the HIM! And if you're thinkin' about it, you wanna do it. You know you do!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 04:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

Last week I flew to Illinois to see my first born baby, Humbly Ann and enjoy a wedding reception local to her husband's family. Get that? Her husband. I'm still having a wee bit 'o trouble settling into the notion that my baby is married but I'm getting there, having been a guest in her very grown up home. It doesn't hurt that I love her husband and feel blessed that my child found someone who loves her and takes care of her so well.

The trip was really fun. You can click on any of the pictures below to see a larger image and/or you can watch the slide show at the end.

We drove a few hours to get to very heart of the heartland, passing many a corn field and bean field on the way.

We stayed on the lovely family farm where Humbly Ann's husband grew up and attended a lovely party his parents put on:

We communed with cattle and toured the farm

and saw these GIANT pieces of equipment:

The Combine (which combines harvesting the corn or soy beans and stripping them down to kernels and individual beans) which are then put in GIANT wagons and taken to storage bins or silos:

The Combine has HUGE wheels:

Then we did something really, really fun (it was my only workout for the entire trip). We climbed a 70 ft. grain silo and saw the world from another perspective. It was a hazy, cloudy day but it was still quite a view:

We played with babies, met aunts and uncles and cousins and 2nd cousins, and 2nd cousins once removed and old family friends. Humbly Ann got to see friends from home and Mr. HA saw many friends from high school and college. It was the stuff family and American Pie are made of and it was good - very good.

And as though all of that weren't enough, HA's friend who shares my birthday and occasionally my brain gave me this most fabulous coffee cup to honor my athletic pursuits

This last pic is for you, Momo

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

or training or watching Ironmanlive I was roaming the heartland enjoying yet another fine celebration of my firstborn's marriage and touring hundreds of acres of corn and soybean fields and chatting with cattle and climbing grain silos and well... you get the picture. And if that didn't do it I will post pictures when I get home - I have some great ones.

A huge thank you to everyone who responded to my poll. A plan is forming and I will share it soon, too. An extra HUGE thanks to those of you who have so much confidence in my ability to handle a 1/2 IM. The jury is still deliberating in my head on that one but it's very nice to know that so many people think it's time for me to step up to that distance.

Before all of that, though I would like to congratulate this weekend's Ironpeeps - Momo and Benny must have high fived each other out there once or twice and they both had great races. Jenny ripped it up in Europe in her inimitable and indefatigable way (the woman is a MAHCHEEN!) and to Mrs. Everyman for being able to get her race on in spite of a nasty eye infection. Several members of my race club crossed the line, too. Wil and Michelle and Shelly and Triboomer and Greyhound all did 1/2 IMs as did the DPR - she rocked that Buffalo Springs 70.3 - woot! The Kahuna evaded the sharks and conquered the hills. It was a good weekend for racing and for being an Iron Sherpa for Nytro and Carrie.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 03:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

** If you don't see the poll below it is because PollDaddy.com is down. I guess you get what you pay for. Please try again later if you think of it**

I need help choosing my event calendar for the rest of the year. So far I have registered for:

A July 4th 5K
A Tri for Fun on July 12
A Tri for Real (my "A" race) on Sept 19.

I feel like I need a 10K some time this year and I'd like to do a 1/2 marathon. I also need another Oly. I also really loved that Alcatraz swim.

Keeping in mind that this stuff costs money and I have a limited supply I need some help choosing.

The SF 1/2 Marathon is a strong contender because my race club has it as a focus event and it is local and I kind of like it. That is at the end of July so I think I've got July covered.

Additional important info:

The Folsom International has a smokin' hot field. In my age group there were 8 women last year with times ranging from 2:33 to 3:20 which means that in order not to finish dead last I have to PR by a lot. Of course Wildflower was a disaster for me but be that as it may, going sub 3:20 at FIT vs. 4:39 at Wildflower is very intimidating. Not that I mind being last but still. Okay - I do mind being last but if I'm not last by a landslide I can live with it.

The Treasure Island event is flat, flat, flat. That is a man made island and they skipped building in any hills. Flat can be exhausting but it's fast. The field for that event is also much slower (2:41 to 4:29). I would do fine.

The Alcatraz Challenge involves jumping off the ferry, swimming back to Crissy field and then running across the Golden Gate Bridge dodging tourists, strollers and cyclists. Big time fun and no time pressure since you are at the mercy of the tides - both water and people driven. I'm not sure about the Race of the Centurions except it commemorates the 100th swim of the guys who just finished their 500th swim (and one of them gave FeLady his cap!)

SOMA is a really, really strong contender for several reasons. Momo has offered to host me so that would be awesome. Benny and Nytro will be there so that would be awesome. The DPR might just show so that would be awesome. I'm probably leaving out half of the other bloggers who would be there, too. You are all a great reason to go. I could probably get my sister to join me and then we could go to Sedona after it is over and recuperate at a Spa and dig on the spiritual vibes so that would also be .... excellent. The real question is do I do the quarterman or the half and you get to pick! I don't care about placing - there are not very many women in my age group so finishing is good.

The Nike Women's Half is sold out but I managed to get a spot last year so it's still open as far as I'm concerned. Where there is a will there is a way. It is a week before SOMA, though so that's a consideration.

Please feel free to vote 3 times. I'd like to see the choices somehow ranked. Also, feel free to leave comments explaining your choices. You also have the option for write-in votes. I didn't list any 10Ks because they are common, easy to find and I can fit one in anywhere. In fact, there is one the Sunday after Thanksgiving I might do.

GO!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 08:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)

[update at bottom - post unchanged]

On Sunday, after Sharkfest I followed FeLady and Mr. FeLady to their hotel to take a shower and get dressed so we could all go out to brunch. On the way there we drove along the waterfront in San Francisco and I found myself reminiscing about various races thinking "This is part of the course for Bridge to Bridge and for the SF Marathon - I love this run" and then, as we headed up into the Presidio, "This is the hill you run up for the Nike Half Marathon". On the way back from brunch we drove along the Great Highway and I exclaimed "Right there is where I met up with the Dread Pirate Rackham after the Bay to Breakers a couple of weeks ago". The area looked so deserted compared to race day when there are tens of thousands of people out there but in my mind's eye I could see it all and I could feel my post B2B sense of accomplishment and runners high.

I love that particular benefit of cycling and running - the changed perspective on my surroundings. Roads from Point A to Point B become so much more. They become fond memories of my favorite parts of training or racing because I do my best to forget the bad parts and just remember the parts that made me feel strong or that were fun or where I just really enjoyed the scenery. It always fills me with joy and repeatedly makes me grateful for my fitness and willingness to be an athlete (see - I'm getting better at this. I just said I'm an athlete - woo hoo!)

On Friday as I was flying back from San Diego I looked out the window over the SF Bay as we descended to the Oakland Airport.

I could clearly see the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge and Alcatraz in between. I could see Aquatic Park, too with this sort of visual acuity:

(photo compliments of Bay Turtle Photography)

but from this angle:

I looked at that view and remembered my swim and all of the things about it that bring a smile to my face over and over again. That's not just the SF Bay any more. That's the place where I took that really great swim.

**UPDATE- as FeLady pointed out I had the picture wrong. I had us swimming from Angel Island because I thought Alcatraz was a ship due to looking at the aerial view from too high up. I had photoshoped it out of the picture!! DOH! See - I really can get lost on the swim portion of an event. In fact, I'm really good at it!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Tomorrow I go down to San Diego to fetch my daughter Pookie who has just finished her frehsman year of college. Go Pooks!

I will be yelling Go Pooks! again on July 4 as she joins me in a local 5K event. For me it means tryng for a PR. For her it will also be a PR because it is her first. When we talked about it she told me she would need some motivation and reminded me of this little girl and asked me to be her own personal monster.

Well Pooks - we need to form a mutual "Kick Each Other's Ask" party because I'm not doing so well myself. This week ALL I have done is swim on Tuesday. That just won't cut it. So please sweetie - kick Mama's ask and help her get to the track for some speed work.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 08:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

About a week before Sharkfest I heard enough people say it was fun that I was all excited and ready. The night before I realized I stil needed to go get new goggles and when I found myself in the store, surrounded by open goggle packages and getting increasingly upset that NONE of them were right I realized I was nervous. Sigh..... I calmed down, chose a pair, went home and proceeded to freak out because you aren't suppsed to try something new when you have an event and what if the goggle leaked? - OH NO! So I filled the bathroom sink with water, put the goggles on and tested them - no problem It was a sign of good things to come.

I got to Aquatic Park SO early. 6 AM. The registration went from 6 to 7"30 so I had plenty of time to hang out, try to relax and take some pictures. The water was absolutely flat, the temperature was mild and the sun was peeking in and out of clouds. It was a perfect day.

A cruise ship came through and I hoped the event organizers were aware of that and that it wouldn't leave port half way through the swim - it was big!

FeLady and company got there and got registered so all we had left to do was hang out and chat and get ready. And ready we were

An announcer explained how the event would work, how to site and what to do after so we all marched en masse, through the tourists on Fisnerman's wharf and over to the ferry. I wish I had a shot of 800 people, most of whom were in wetsuits meandering along the waterfront.

On the short ride out there I briefly considered just staying on the boat but when the time came I stepped up to the door and when the guy yelled 'GO!", I went! The water was cold but I used the time honored tradition to warm things up a bit in my wetsuit (shablam! it's like having your own mobile hot tub!) and my face got used to the cold pretty fast. The biggest shock for me was the salt water. I haven't been in salt water for years and I forgot how... how salty it tastes. My feet and hands were cold but not unbearably so. Once my face decided that the cold and the salt were okay I was all set.

The swim was so amazing - I can't really describe the feeling of swimming across something as big as the SF Bay. Initially there are lots of swimmers around you but before long it seems like you are out there all alone. As you get closer to the shore the swimmers coalesce again, giving you yet another sign that you won't be swimming forever although at that point it really feels like it. I can't even imagine swimming the 2.4 it takes to do an IM. I guess it's all relative and if you train for it you can do it but 1.5 was plenty, thank you.

I sited off those 2 white towers toward the right in this picture. The building that looks like a boat is the museum we had to swim back to. The towers were easy to see without having to stop and tread water and worked as a target for much of the way in.

When I got closer I saw the buoy off the back of the lead boat and then finally the opening in the breakwater. The only mistake I made was allowing myself to hook to the left once I got into Aquatic Park so that I ended up coming out of the water to the left of the correct landing zone. I just ran (in a manner of speaking) over there and ran across the mats at 50:17, 15th out of 21 women in my age group. Not bad.

I was so woozy I had to be helped on to the stairs but I think most people were. You can't be horizontal for that long and not get dizzy when you stand up.

I felt wonderful and strong and accomplished once I got my bearings. Before that I felt like a madwoman. If you watched 'Dancing with the Star' you'll understand when I say I had the voice of Bruno Tonioli in my head yelling "She was like a crazy fish, flopping around the deck of a boat!" Some nice people let me hold on to them to get my wetsuit off and then I went and got a piece of banana and then raided the Lara Bars (I blame DPR for my greedy ways with them - she taught me to plunder the Lara Bars at the Bay to Breakers).

Sharkfest was a very cool event and I got some Shark-a-licious swag, too.

I'd like to thank Cheryl again for turning me on this event and for being my Sharkfest mentor and for inviting me to join her and her husband and friends for a delicious brunch after the swim. She even let me take a shower at her hotel room. I had such a great time and am still enjoying a tremendous sense of wonder and self satisfaction.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 08:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)

Could you tell that is the theme from Jaws? Okay fine -it doesn't translate to ascii. They did play it just before we headed over to board the ferry to Alcatraz today. I am way too tired to trot out the details but suffice it to say that swimming from Alcatrz to Aquatic Park is an experience like no other and I felt like Superwoman when I got out of the water. A woozy, light headed, dizzy Superwoman but Superwoman none the less.

I had a fabulous time with FeLady, Mr. FeLady and the friends of the FeLadies. Just excellent. I can't thank FeLady enough for getting me in to this. It is by far my favorite athletic experience of all time.

Results have not been posted yet so I have no idea. I was not last. I did fine. I loved it. Pictures to follow.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 08:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

I can't remember where I found this video so if I got it from your blog I'm sorry for being a copycat. I just love it, though. It's fun and upbeat and makes me smile every time I watch it. Does the Navy have an equivalent to Hoo Ah?

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 02:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Sunday is the big day

Sharkfest! is here. Thanks to Bigun for his wonderful write up of his 'Escape from Alcatraz' I am really excited and not so scared. If you haven't read it either at raceAthlete or on his own blog, git on over there. It is beyond entertaining.

I've been trying to figure out all week what I should or shouldn't do for workouts. It's a little hard to think of tapering for a 1.5 mile swim but you really don't want to cramp up or lose steam when you are in the middle of SF Bay, battling Great Whites so I've taken it easy. Monday I ran, Tuesday I swam but we did a lot of drills (I still made my arms sore), Wednesday I spent the entire day in running clothes and never left the house, Thursday I tossed myself out the door mid-day for a run in the heat and today I am not doing anything. Tomorrow I will do a little easy open water swimming with the tri clinic peeps and then Sunday I will meet up with FeLady, pull on a wetsuit, hop on a ferry, hop off said ferry into the cold waters of the San Francisco Bay, scream "OH MY GOD THIS IS COLD!", put some more water in the wetsuit and yell "REALLY COLD!!!", swim to the starting line, hear the foghorn go off and start swimming. I expect by then I will be warm and very happy to be following the boat with the big buoy on the back.

And yes - I will be wearing a different pair of goggles than the ones I wore for my funny but not all that successful swim at Wildflower. I will wear clear goggles and if they fog up I will stop and rinse them out.

Funny comment on another topic -One of my guilty pleasures is watching dancing shows. I watched all of "Dancing with the Stars" (go Apolo!) and I'm now watching "So You Think You Can Dance". I love watching dancers because I know from painful experience that the coordination it takes to do the moves with grace and in rhythm with the music is not that easy to come by. I took a dance class once in college and let's just leave it at I was not born to dance. Anyhow, last night they were picking the 20 people who will be on the show and one after the other the judges first scared each contestant by hinting that they hadn't made it and then told them they had. It was sort of irritating but the result was that each contestant got emotionally overwrought fighting back tears of disappointment and then when they got the good news morphed in to an explosion of unbridled ecstasy. Tears were shed and words flew out of mouths and my favorite of all was a girl who clearly wanted to say STFU! but who instead said "Shut The Front Door!" I loved that. It conveyed the same sentiment without being crude.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I was scheduled yesterday to go cycling in the wine country with my race club. This was a golden opportunity as someone had made the arrangements and matched drivers to riders and there was a whole group going and I LOVE cycling in the wine country - it is fantastically beautiful terrain and the hills are just right.

As the week wore on I got more and more apprehensive of riding with this group because many of them are training for IM CDA and/or Vineman and this isn't their first IM and they are fast. They ride at 18-20 mph and I do not. I thought about cancelling. I was pretty sure I had a sore throat coming on - yeah. And you know, my garden really need some work and um... really I'd just be a drag. Then, right on cue my dog came up lame and I thought that was the perfect excuse not to go. After all, I might have to take the dog to the vet. Mustn't neglect a pet in favor of a ride, right? Of course I had just taken her in Thursday and dropped $95 for nothing but still.... and my son was home and could easily take her in but stilll.. I mean really..... really I should bow out.

And then Momo left me a comment and said "just who cares what speed you are, mom. just have fun out there and go your own pace" and I thought "yes - you are SO right Momo. I will ride my own ride". I Momo - she is so wise and so kind and such an IronStud who was I not to take her advice?

Up at 5:00, dressed and ready to go at 6:00 and I head over to the park and ride where we are all meeting. I met my driver and passengers, put the bike in the rack and hopped in. We chatted on the way up about this and that I just decided to head out with this group and see what happened. What happened was that I got dropped in the first 2 miles. I thought about pounding it out and catching up and just hanging on to someone's wheel but then I decided not to. I decided that I would go out for about 15 or so miles, call someone and tell them my plan and just head back the way I went out - and that's what I did. It was brilliant! I rode 34 miles to their 54 (the extra miles are from getting lost, of course) and ended up back at the cars at exactly the same time as most of the Ironpeeps.

Turns out there were some women who I could have kept up with if I had just punched it in the beginning but that's okay - I really, really, really enjoyed MY ride.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)

I had a crazy dream last night that Dick Cheney and his wife met through "Hot or Not" They were both young and attractive in the dream. And then there was a part about me and Ashton Kutcher. I was on a round stage and we were throwing ping pong balls at each other and flirting. I detest Ashton Kutcher and his stupid 'Punked' show. He was funny on 'That 70s Show' and he is very devoted to Demi Moore and that's about all I think of him. Anyone care to venture an analysis of my dreams? Oh never mind.


I should have been having anxiety dreams. Tomorrow I am going with my race club to ride up in Napa. It is so beautiful that I decided to swallow my pride and just go even though I'm sure I can't possibly keep up with anyone. That's okay. I'll just take a map, take a shortcut so I don't hold them up too long and enjoy the scenery.

Sunday I have an opportunity to do some open water swimming with said group. If it works with my schedule I'll do it because we get to go in a really nice, private lake and it sounds way fun.

I almost wore my arms out this week swimming in preparation for Sharkfest! next weekend. We had a Mama and a baby gray whale that got lost in the Bay and swam up the Delta for about a week and I was secretly hoping they might just stay in the bay and Sharkfest would have to be called on account of whales. Then I could just go out to brunch with FeLady and Mr. FeLady and not have to buck the tides. The whales finally found their way back out to the open ocean so the event is still on. I'm ready but maybe just a teeny bit nervous. I have zero experience swimming in salt water swells. I guess I'll just figure it out on fly - or on the stroke - or something like that. Whatever it takes to get to shore, that's what I'll do.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)