Happy New Year!

I cannot believe another year has come and gone. 

This year I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot at work. I learned how to travel. I pushed my body. I also learned how important it is to take care of myself; mentally, emotionally, and physically.

As for New Year's resolutions, last year I wanted to sleep more. I cannot say I completely failed or suceeded at that goal. It did help to have it on my mind. 

I look to 2012 for opportunity to work hard both personally and professionally. 

I had a crazy idea that I would try to run 365 miles, bike 365, and swim 365 miles. If I am able to complete this goal and show my progress to others. I was hoping that they would in turn make a donation to me or to a charity of their choosing in a quantity relating to 365.

I have realized work is not everything and I still want the challenge but I also want to make an impact. Hopefully, if someone reads this they might be interested in my proposition. I think I would like to check in monthly with my progress. 

This will also motivate me to train for triathlons. I plan to count my race miles as part of this exercise.

One other note I would like to try to mediate daily. I think having that quiet time can be beneficial for everyone.

Here is to hoping 2012 is a great year for everyone!

Santa to the SEA! (5k)

I was actually in town for a little bit of December before I got to go see snow. 

One of the very cool things I did was the Santa to the Sea 5k race. Maybe next year I will train for the Santa to the Sea 1/2 marathon. I got really lucky and one my age group with a time of 23:20! It's new PR for me. I think I had the home turf advantage because the race route was very close to the 10K I ran on the 4th of July this year. I also blame the cold. As much as I hate working out when it's cold outside I think it was to my benefit.

This race was also cool because they wanted you to give a donation to Toys for Tots. And they had a contest for costumes. Seeing Santa run is quite a sight!

I got a sweet hoodie for winning. Every finished received a medal. I highly recommend this race to anyone it is a pretty course right along the ocean. 

At the finish line, I got to try out some delicious snacks. My favorite were the new Jamba Juice coconut water and fruit drinks. I had a bad experience with pulpy coconut water but I highly recommend this as post workout recovery drink.

Happy Thanksgiving

Well this year I made my traditional thanksgiving pumpkin pie. It almost turned into a disaster. I was so excited to be making it. I thought I was all ready to put it in the oven and then I saw the condensed milk on the counter! So what did I do, I poured it back into the bowl and added the milk. It was so full, I managed to spill it when I put it in the oven. Within a minute my fire alarm was going off!

I waited for over 50 minutes in fear my stray from the recipe.

As you can see it turned out. Fun fact the brown spots are from when the outside bubble because the inside is complete.

This year I was lucky enough to drink some champagne and wine. Eat some pie and play Nintendo Wii games. All after my first Turkey Trot! I have to say I really enjoyed the turkey trot. I highly recommend that more people try it on Thanksgiving before eating all that food! I did my Turkey Trot in 24:08:8. It was a new best time for me! I definitely want to do another Turkey Trot. I also recommend the Wii post all the Thanksgiving food.

Run Run as fast as I can

Finally I'm seeing some results.. running results or maybe I'm not as bad as I thought I was a running.

First I placed third in a work 5K. Third in my age group- really? I definitely did not think I would place.

Second, I found running trails I like. I love running on the road. Having suffered from shin splints the road seems to be the softest surface to run on. And running along the PCH is priceless. I have turned off the i-gadget and just listen to the waves hit the shore. Or running while on travel. I had a great run in San Diego.

Another hint I picked up from the 'pros' after a triathlon or hard run get into cold water. It is so uncomfortable but the result is my legs feel ten times better the next day. 

I just ran a 10K on July 4th. I finished 2nd in my age group! I ran it in 50:42. That's an 8:11 minute mile pace. I had to stop for a fire truck and I slowed down at the water stops. I might have done better had I not been so hot.  Compared to where I was over a year ago, 10K at Wildflower was 9:03 minute mile that's some progress. I am definitely still learning about running, my feet went numb, too. Anyone know the cause of that?

Especially considering how much I despise running I am getting there. Who knows maybe I will do a marathon in the future.

Olympic Triathlon #3

Something braggy

After countless hours of training my goal was to get under 3 hours on my Olympic distance triathlon. Lucky me I had home turf advantage because the swim was in Ventura harbor, the bike was on my way to work and so was the run. Granted I never actually road the bike or ran the run course. It was a pretty sweet course though because there is no way I would have been able to run the run course with out getting in the way of traffic. It was really an beautiful course. AND I got under 3 hours! By quite a bit.. now I have expectations to live up to. I got a snazzy beer glass for placing 3rd in my age group! :)

Clock Time	2:43:41
Gender Place	38 / 121
Division Place	3 / 6
All Place	191
Swim Lap 1	9:36
Swim Lap 2	9:51
T1	3:21
Bike	1:24:44
T2	2:41
Run	53:31

Swim verses Run training

Well after the last triathlon, I found out my swimming training paid off. My lack of running training showed. Due to encouragement from another tri-engineer, I decided to sign up for another triathlon. The only question is which one? I thought about one in Morro Bay (spend more time in SLO).. Redondo Beach (see where I used to live), or Ventura Breath of Life(no driving).

So with once again less than a month to train I signed up for another Olympic Distance triathlon! The other cool news is when I finish USATri will rank me across the nation. I also use some of the $40 membership I paid for 2011.

I am hopeful I will have the 'home turf' advantage. I could train the course. I have ran and swam some of the course before so we shall see. 

Only challenge in all this is balance. I am also going to run more.

Olypmic Triathlon # 2

Perhaps I am a bit crazy but I signed up for the same triathlon I did last year again. This year, race day's weather was awesome. Compared to the sprint triathlon I did two weeks ago, the lake water was warm. My swim felt awesome. 

I ended up with a best time but I know my weakness is the run. I wonder how long it will take me as a non-runner to feel confident about the run. 

I have to say it is always great to go back close to San Luis Obispo. I miss it and it is probably one of my favorite places. The volunteers make this triathlon possible and a lot of them are Cal Poly students. Thanks again Cal Poly! I highly recommend this triathlon to any newbies to triathlons. It was my first triathlon and I'm hooked.

 I hope this summer I will find the time to do another Olympic distance triathlon. 

I find it is much easier to keep training than to stop and start all over.. Keep the progress going!

Progress

Today I ran six and a half miles up and down the PHC. It is in preparation for a triathlon next weekend so it didn't just spontaneously decide to run that far. Talk about wow. Sometimes, I need to step back and take a look at how amazing my life is. I was running right by the ocean. I have dreamed about doing that since I was 19! 

I also recall back at Thanksgiving. I had not worked out in a while. I had gone up to the same location in hopes of surfing after running. I think I ran about one mile before I had to stop and take a breather. Having been a competitive athlete most of my life, I was pretty frustrated I had gotten to that point. 

Now a not even six months later, I got 6.5 miles in and I felt like I could have ran more. Minus the fact that my feet were feeling tingly. I'm going to have to do some research on it. Since I am not nor never see myself being a natural born runner.  

One final note, since I was near the surf, I looked at I wished I could have gone out but I knew I wouldn't catch anything. I can now recognize the tides and what is "rideable." Perhaps this is more reflection but it feels good to know I have achieved something.