IronTeam takes to the Presidio!

Our recovery week culminated beautifully on Saturday with a nice, easy run along the San Francisco Presidio. It was a gorgeous day in the city and once the fog melted away, we had a picturesque view of the Golden Gate Bridge to keep us company during our 8 miles. I ran with my mentor, Michelle. My original goal was to run at my designated easy/long pace of 11:38 mins per mile. But after the Louie Tri last weekend and what I felt were some successful runs over the past few weeks, I thought I could afford to up my pace without risking burning out early or losing consistency. And quite rightly so ~ Michelle and I sucessfully completed our 8 mile run in exactly 1 hour and 30 minutes, averaging an 11:05 minute pace! It feels good to get faster :)



After our run, we congregated at the ever-awesome Presidio Sports Basement, where we discussed Wetsuit 101 with Coaches Sedonia and Doug.



We'll be heading out into open water in about three weeks!

Following our talk, we spent some quality time with the TRX. The TRX is like the informal mascot of the Team (or Coach Doug's) which is the primary source of our core & strength training. You can set up and suspend these things on anything stationary and conveniently enough, there was some space behind Sports Basement (strongly resembling a meat locker). We spent about an hour partnering up (thanks, Carol!) and doing an array of exercises. From lunges, to squats, to planks ~ all while using this handy-dandy contraption. A lot of people dread it; but personally, I love it. One might say I'm hooked! Ok, I couldn't resist.





Another HUGE perk to the location of Presidio Sports Basement is that no matter where you turn, you have THE most fantastic view of the Golden Gate.


From IronTeam to You: Wish you were here!

As for Sunday, we had our next bike marker set. It was time for me to revisit the bike course that once terrified me to no end. Some of you may recall it. I referred to that day as one of struggles. Not only because I rode the whole thing unclipped to my bike, but because I was still mortified by all the traffic, not having control over my bike, unanticipated climbs and descends. I had just seen better days -- I'll put it that way. Well, this time around, I needed to do the whole thing clipped in, and timed.

Apprehensive and tentative at first, off I went. From Danville, southbound toward San Ramon. Clipping in and out uphill was by far the most difficult. We'd often encounter stop signs and yellow-to-red lights where I could --yes-- anticipate the stop, but doing so while trying to glide uphill, proves harder than you think! :) But I continued on... still on my way to the start of the marker/test! I inched my way over to the starting point (The ~5-mile stretch is along a back road where an occasional speeding car will zoom through, but that's about all you'll see as far as traffic. To your left and right are herds of cows). It was a series of rolling hills. Tricky at first, but I took my time, got comfortable with shifting gears, and before I knew it, I was over the hump and completed the 5-mile marker set. Not exactly 'record time' or even fast at all, but I was happy to have completed it and to have done so without fear. I considered it a big personal success.

The ride back was surprisingly a joy! Who knew? Last time I was there, I absolutely dreaded it. But by the time I caught up to Michelle, she mentioned I looked entirely different from when I had started the ride. More relaxed. And I was :) Another 20-mile fully clipped in bike ride to add to my name. Not bad at all!


***
Week #12 Workout Summary: [Recovery Week]

Swim: 1 hour and 0 minutes
Bike: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Run: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Core/Strength: 1 hour and 0 minutes
Total Workout: 5 hours and 0 minutes

The 9th Annual Louie Bonpua Memorial Triathlon

Today I did something incredible. By any other person's standards, it would probably be considered a walk in the park or piece of cake. And quite rightly so. Triathlons can be an exhilarating, fun, 'day of working out' that comes easy and/or natural to people who have been fit all their lives. Especially people who have either grown up swimming like fish, or riding their bikes for as many years as they've been walking.

But for me, today's accomplishment encompassed so much more.

I had worked up so many butterflies all last week, anticipating "my very first tri". But by the time I pulled up to our race location this morning, much of it dissipated and I just became set on focusing on the day at hand. We were greeted by the most beautiful sunrise. You could definitely feel Louie's spirit present among all of us.



I carefully set up my transition, with the help of Melissa ~ who also assured me we had this 'in the bag' (no pun intended). And after shooting that last Gu, we headed over to the pool to start our swim.



1500 yards (or 60 laps) was our distance. A distance I'd NEVER before swam. We were told we'd have some help counting our laps, and that someone would hold a bright blue kickboard in the water, to indicate our last lap. So we were off! I split a lane with someone from the Silicon Valley Ironteam, who is currently training to complete TWO Ironmans in the course of this year. So needless to say, I had a fish swimming right next to me. But I continued on -- not rushing or getting worked up or worrying about the others around me. Just keeping a steady and consistent pace. Stroke after stroke, I felt like I was getting progressively more fluid and stronger. I could even hear the voices of my good friends, Megan C, Lindsay, Olivia, Megan B & Dori -- cheering my name (as I bobbed my head up for half a second to start the next consecutive lap). Hearing them cheer my name gave me the momentum to make that next lap even stronger and smoother.



After losing count at about 30-something laps, I decided not to worry or even fuss with asking how many I had left to go. I made a conscious decision to just focus on my stroke, enjoy it, get a good rhythm going, and swim until I saw that kickboard. It wasn't long before I felt this tapping on the top of my head as I bobbed up to start another lap. It was Coach Dave: "Maria, you were done 25 yards ago! Out of the pool!" Where was that kickboard? I'll never know. But I ended up swimming slightly farther than necessary, completely unbeknownst to me :)

Total swim time: 0.9 miles (1500 yds) in 0:38:52
Estimated T1: ~0:10:00

So I hopped out and headed over to T1 (swim-to-bike transition). My legs were like JELL-O, and the prospect of clipping into my bike and actually riding off into the distance weren't necessarily at 'piece o' cake' status for me. I calmed my nerves at the starting line for the bike course, chatted briefly with Coach Mike to get my bearings, and off I went.

I was out riding, fully clipped in! Into residential streets, into traffic, clipping out carefully at stop signs, merging into left turning lanes, descending the mini-hills, some roads with bike lanes, other roads definitely without. I couldn't BELIEVE IT! And then. Came the real hills. They call this area (right around the city of Martinez), "Pig Farm Hill," infamous for this long stretch of a steep hill where atop you'll be greeted by this old farm formerly known to sell pigs (and smell like them). I climbed this hill like there was no tomorrow. The thing you have to know about clipless pedals is that once you stop pedaling, you will fall. It's just a given. So when you decide to climb a hill (as my friend, Olivia, would coin it), "you have to commit to it". Legs fatiguing, quads burning, heart racing, (sunglasses fogging up from all the heat rising), you climb. As slow as it'll take you, you climb. And that's exactly what I did.

As I climbed, I thought of Louie. I thought of Louie Bonpua (for whom this triathlon honors and remembers, annually), who must have climbed these very hills ~ or perhaps steeper and harder ones like it during his own Ironman training. And he did it while battling cancer. He did it persistently, aggressively, and successfully. And that's not just something to be 'wow-ed' by, but to be truly inspired by. And to be inspired is to follow an example. This was the hardest hill climb I'd ever done, to date, and I made it through by thinking about the positive examples in my life. Of people who have hardships literally in front of them, and who tackle them head-on. No running away. No matter how scared or apprehensive you are, you face it and you make it OVER that hill or obstacle. Or in my mind at the time, you work your way through the hill that's in front of you.



Soon after, was the descend. I have no idea how fast I was going, but I can tell you it was enough to scare the living daylights out of anyone who's never gone down a hill on a bike before. Parts of this descend were honestly fun. I could loosen my grip on the brakes, and just enjoy gliding down. Until I'd remember I was on a public road and that a line of cars could be coming down (or up) that hill at any moment. I continued to speed down it, wind in my face, increasing in more speed. It started to become scary. All I could tell myself were these words: Let go, and trust yourself, Maria. Let go, and trust yourself. And sure enough, I made it down that hill. A little shaken, but successful. I had to take a moment at the waterstop to collect myself again, but soon after, trudged on. Three miles later was the turnaround point. Several descends later (which were miniscule compared to the one I just described) and then the rain came down. It rained, but I still rode. Rode back to the starting point feeling fulfilled, victorious and excited for the run. The rain was the LAST of my worries or concerns. I was at peace with myself and definitely at peace with the bike. I rode just over 27 miles today (my farthest ever, to date), from Pleasant Hill to Pinole and back, clipped-in, hills conquered and ready to run.

Estimated total bike time: 27.4 miles in ~2:35:00
Estimated T2: ~0:5:00

So, they don't call 'em BRICKS for nothin'. The transition from bike to run is typically known as a brick. And rightly so, because as opposed to the JELL-O sensation after the swim, your legs are as heavy as a ton of bricks after the bike, and trying to pick up one leg after another for a run AFTER nearly 30 miles of riding (including those hill climbs) is quite the challenge. Nevertheless, I was greeted by the friendly faces of Coaches Sedonia and Simon at the run ~ followed by training captain Nick and my mentor, Michelle, along the course -- and slowly but surely, the bricks loosened in my legs, and I started to run just fine. I kept an average of about 11/12-minute miles, which felt comfortable and steady for me. That run became a blur, because before I knew it, I was coming up on my last mile of the race.

During those last few minutes, I took stock of a lot of things. Part of which was looking back on the bike ride. One of my insights (now speaking from the other side of the fence) is that you really learn a lot about yourself during a long bike ride. I think the 'hill story' paints that well. But it was actually the whole race. You learn to trust and really believe in yourself. I picked up two very different (and by my own definition, foreign) sports in the last two and a half months that I not only learned how to do properly -- but managed to complete at an endurance race level. And as you can see by my times ~ I really took all the time I wanted and needed. For me, the priority was finishing strong and not overexhausting myself. And I'm glad I did it this way for my first tri.

I've often heard the finishes of endurance races can be very emotional for some, and was even told by a good friend of mine, Lynn, that I'd probably tear up upon reaching the finish line. At these last few steps of the run course, I rolled my eyes and said, "Oh please. I'm just finishing up a run, and this was just one of our practice tris. Hardly something to get all choked up about."

But once I turned the last corner of my run, after the 1500-yd swim, after the 27-mile bike -- the entire flurry of emotions, remembering how hard I've been working on the bike, all the time I'd put in on my swim stroke and upping my running cadence, during such a short, concentrated amount of time -- came hurling at me. There was a giant crowd of my teammates waiting at the finish line for me, cheering and yelling. I lost it. I crossed that finish line so incredibly proud of myself. I hadn't realized how hard I had been working all this time, to reach a high point as amazing and self-fulfilling as this. I completed my first Olympic-distance triathlon, and gained so much more out of this experience than I ever would have imagined.

Estimated total run time: 5.4 miles in ~1:00:00

Estimated total race time: 33.7 miles in ~4:30:00



A huge thanks to all the volunteers & staff who contributed their time, resources, energy and enthusiasm out on the course today. All mentors, coaches, captains -- I could not have made it this far without your guidance and encouragement. And to Louie, and all those who've dared to push their own limits, exceed their own expectations and have become true heroes in the eyes of people like me -- an ordinary girl, now with aspirations of becoming an Ironwoman: Thank You.

Coaches' Feedback:

"I don't know who that girl was in the water...but she is an entirely new athlete!!! You should be the poster child for dedication, commitment and progress. You have come so far and as you have more opportunities to ride you will only gain more confidence!" -Sedonia

"You are truly amazing! I absolutely couldn’t be any more proud of one of my athletes. You rocked today! I definitely consider today a complete success for you. You performed even better than I hoped, and you showed HUGE courage and tenacity. I am so proud to be your coach and teammate." -Mike

Bike Bliss

The following is an email Coach Mike just sent to the entire Ironteam Coach Staff, and I'd like to share it with you:

Coaches,

We have a NEW cyclist on IronTeam!! Today Maria rode, clipped in, through a myriad of very challenging conditions. She rode on the Iron Horse Trail, weaving in and out through the people walking, dogs moving in all directions, and other cyclists. We were stopping, starting, crossing streets and dodging obstacles. Next we went out on the road. We headed through Danville, dodging pedestrians, car shoppers, and more dogs, while dealing with traffic, stop lights and stop signs, crosswalks, etc. From there we headed north through Alamo and almost to Walnut Creek where we turned around. We went back through Alamo, and into downtown Danville again. We rode down Hartz, where there are no bike paths, lots of cars, and plenty of pedestrians. We turned down a side street and headed back north on Railroad where Maria had to dodge this douche bag opening his car door right in front of her (I’ll have to tell you that story some time).

All in all, we hit just about every type of scenario which required very quick thinking and good reaction time. Maria did awesome, and I fully expect her to crush the bike tomorrow!!

I can't believe I did it!! What an amazing day! Louie Tri, here I come!

Channeling my Inner Fish & Bonding with the Bike

Solid training week.

Tuesday, Jan 12: Spun with Coach Simon and his weekly Tuesday circle of triathletes / multi-Ironman finishers. They put on some tough speed intervals. In fact, I got so caught up on my last one, I didn't even realize I exceeded the 10-minutes I was given (in a really hard gear). Still loving / hating the bike (likely, because my poor little hamstrings are confused by all this new work I'm giving them)... but I'm getting the knack, I think.

Wednesday, Jan 13: "BWW Run with Michelle". Mentor Michelle spoiled our group with a tempo run course, specially mapped around our favorite watering hole, "Buffalo Wild Wings". We did two 20-minute pieces at our individually-designated tempo paces. Mine for the time-being, is a 10:11 minute mile (based on my current VDOT score of 32). It was a toughie! But I'm so glad to see my run pace gradually picking up. Beer & Wings followed as our reward.

Thursday, Jan 14: Started out as a rough day, personally, outside of training. By the time I made it back to the East Bay from my hour-long commute from the city, my mental energy was zapped and I just didn't have it in me to focus on having a worthwhile workout afterward. Nevertheless, I ironed-up, got dressed into my swimsuit and headed to the pool. The rest of the gang (Phil, Tiffany, & Carol) had already started their swim, with Coach Mike there to help with form. After my warm-up, some force came over me and I all of a sudden felt motivated to make this a really good swim. It's like I owed it to myself. And just like that, I began the main set: My first 1000 yds. Better yet, with flipturns! The goal was to make all 10 sets of 100 [continuous] yds as close in time to one another as possible. My first three 100s were at a 2:26. By my fourth one, I brought it down to around a 2:20. I continued to decrease my time (getting negative splits) to a 2:17, then a 2:10. My flipturns hadn't been perfect (I was left with few lanes to choose from and ended up with the one with two ladders and the big twisty slide, so it proved mentally challenging to flip and not imagine my ankles smacking a slide or ladder). But my flips straightened out over time, and I finished my first ever 1000 yd swim in roughly 22 minutes! I was so proud of myself, especially facing that challenge head-on when my mind and my heart had initially tried to convince me I couldn't do it. Mind over matter, people ~ learn it, live it! It really does work :)

Saturday, Jan 16: Spent a grand total of 4 hours working on clipless pedaling on the bike. Coach Mike was gracious enough [again], not to mention patient ~ to spend time helping me overcome my fears about taking off on the bike AND stopping, while clipped in. We tooled and rode around the Foothill High School parking lot in Pleasanton, and I got as far as comfortably being able to clip (and stay clipped) into my left side, and cycling with my right foot resting on the pedal -- but not yet clipped in. I just wouldn't let my mind convince me to fall over on the clipped side. So much so, that during one slight lean as I was riding, my body weight started to shift to the left, and I literally threw my body over to the right side, ending up in a handstand, still straddling the bike. That would've been a priceless photo. I've got the mechanics down, but truthfully, it's mostly my fear that's keeping me from just taking off, guns blazing, and fully attached to the bike -- ready for a long ride ahead. After much repetition in the parking lot, I swapped shoes and headed out onto Foothill Road (for those of you outside of P-Town, Foothill can be treacherous for cyclists). Narrow (to disappearing) bike lanes, fast cars, & small hills and descends. But I went on a short ride with Coach Mike and got a little more comfortable, just feeling slightly more at ease and confident about sharing the road with "large, scary, fast cars" and facing a few more fears.

The bike is and will be my top priority sport. I'm so determined to get this down. Whatever it takes!

Sunday, Jan 17: Just before the storm... Ran a 6.5-miler at an easy pace with Kathryn and Marina on the Iron Horse Trail. We unfortunately had to cancel our swim due to a swim meet being held at our local pool in San Ramon. Spent the evening and rest of the holiday weekend helping my teammates fundraise by attending a few events supporting the cause.

All in all -- another great, well-rounded training week. And now... to anticipate and prepare for (drumroll, please)...

My First Olympic Triathlon!

IronTeams from the San Francisco Bay Area & Silicon Valley, as well as other local TNT Tri Teams will be simulating a race course for an Olympic-distance Tri (0.93 mi swim / 24.8 mi bike / 6.2 mi run) in Pleasant Hill ~ in honor of Louie Bonpua, one of our most beloved and remembered IronTeam Honorees. Please take a moment to click on his name, which should link you over to a short video on his story. Truly an amazing and inspiring individual, and I find it to be a privilege to train with this Team. The Louis Bonpua Memorial Tri will be next Sunday, January 24, 2010 -- eek!

Well... off to conquer some more fears! Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers next weekend!

***
Week #10 Workout Summary:

Swim: 1 hour and 0 minutes
Bike: 5 hours and 0 minutes
Run: 2 hours and 30 minutes
Core/Strength: 0 hours and 30 minutes
Total Workout: 8 hours and 30 minutes

Ordinary people doing extraordinary things

I am extremely touched and humbled today.

Last night, after wrapping up another long training weekend, legs fatigued and reclined on the sofa, I turned on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which I had planned to record a few weeks back. I don't regularly watch this program, but I recall seeing a preview of this particular episode, and saw that it had something to do with a young girl suffering with a blood disorder. So I tuned in to see what it was all about.

12-year old Kori Brown was diagnosed with primary immune deficiency disease at the age of 6. While receiving treatments at a local pediatric oncology / hematology clinic, Kori met a girl named Alyssa Lewandowski, who herself was battling leukemia.

Determined to help her fight the disease, Kori began fundraising for cancer research on Alyssa's behalf -- all While fighting her own incurable illness, and raised over $35,000 for the American Cancer Society. Can you believe it? Alyssa is four years cancer-free today.

Kori and her family have since been given the funds and support to launch iroK Foundation, helping to provide financial support and assistance to families burdened by medical expenses.

It was remarkable to hear a story about such a vibrant, ambitious and selfless young person who saw no limits in how much she could help others -- and no limit to how much she could raise for the cause. A cause that meant so much to her, when she herself didn't even have cancer.

It astounds me to know there are such inspiring and influential people in this world, even in the form children so young, like Kori.

***

My second news of the day is that I just received a lumpsome of cash, donated by one of my colleagues at work. See, I have been looking to match a specific amount of money, by way of a corporate gift matching program, and was a few hundred dollars away from my projected goal. I had asked my colleague to help me put the word out and see what he could do to collect any extra "spare cash" to help me get to my next goal. And without any hesitation, he handed me an envelope this afternoon, containing an amount that exceeded what I was looking to collect for the match. You'll see a jump in my fundraising total in the next six weeks or so (and I'll wait to announce it then), but the mere gesture and act of generosity by one person is enough to warm my heart today. It was like nothing, he was happy to give, and didn't need any acknowledgment or praise for it.

As I've said before, these dollars go to individuals who need it far more than me, and it's one of the most wonderful feelings to be a part of something -- the middle man -- in helping accelerate the process to find a cure to a disease which affects so many of us and our loved ones, both directly and indirectly.

It's been eye-opening and heartwarming to be reminded again of how important it is to fundraise, fundraise, fundraise. And to keep fighting for those who can't.

I'm continually touched by the generosity in this world and feel privileged to be a part of something so big.

Overcoming New Hurdles: First Coached Workout of the New Year

Welcome 2010, Year of the Ironman! It's been a busy week back home after the holidays. I had spent the past two weeks with my family in the Philippines, celebrating Christmas & the New Year. It was great to get a change of scenery, enjoy some warmer weather, and spent some quality time with my relatives. I was fortunate to get a few great workouts in during my trip as well: some gym time at the beautiful Edsa Shangri-La Hotel, a refreshing swim at my uncle's condominium pool at Fort Bonifacio, followed by a 5 a.m. 10K with my uncles around the University of the Philippines Campus.



After attempting (about two days' worth) to kick the jetlag after my return, I plunged right back into training by getting my rear onto the bike for an interval spin last Tuesday. It was a challenge to do it on my own, but after putting some good tunes on and transforming my living room into its very own solo spin class room, I got right to it and kicked some A. I'm truly discovering my love / hate relationship with cycling -- emphasis on both extremes. At times, when my legs feel heavy and I have to keep spinning, with increasing cadence and speed -- it feels like the most tedious task ever. And yet, once I found my groove & rhythm (much like running) and my adrenaline started shooting all over the place -- I found myself pumped and ready to tackle the next tough interval. Finished nice and strong. And sweaty. No sport makes me sweat as much as cycling / spinning. Love / Hate.

By Wednesday night, I was back with my mentor group, led by the lovely Michelle, and we were out for a brisk 5-miler in San Ramon. We were a smaller group in a dark area, which encouraged me to keep a pretty quick pace (so as not to get lost in the dark in an unknown area) :) Now there's a way to improve your time.

First swim of the New Year was on Thursday evening. Coach Mike told me I looked faster in the pool, to my own surprise. He said it often takes some time away from a sport or activity (and not thinking about it so much), before you see yourself improving and getting more efficient at it. Who'd have thought this would be the case for me and my swim? This set a great precedent for me and did wonders for my confidence in the pool!

...So much so, that I was feeling almost ready for Saturday's workout: A bike ride and a swim.

I can't tell you how much anxiety had been building up in my head over the last several weeks about riding my bike again. With having those first few negative experiences starting out, it was really hard to kick my set of irrational fears about riding. Remember: My first attempt at riding clipess put me off the bike (even spinning) for two whole weeks after injuring myself really badly. Soon after, I had my bike marker set, which left me bruised, swollen and feeling scared out of my mind. After all that, it's been so difficult for my mind or body to be convinced that getting on a bike would be a good idea. So I had all this to think about and anticipate for our Coached Workout in Pleasant Hill today.



But before the big day, I had a night together with some of my teammates: My Fundraiser at the Warriors v. Kings game on Friday. My first NBA game, and for a great cause! We had close to twenty IronTeamers & Friends come out and watch what I would call an excellent game. Exciting win for our Golden State, 108-101. With all your help, I'm inching closer and closer to my minimum -- with a current fundraising total of $2100.33!



So with bike in tow, I drove over to the Pleasant Hill Education Center this morning, preparing to swallow my pride. In my mind, whenever I see everyone else with their bikes, all clipped in and rarin' to go, I just get so intimidated. The majority of the Team has years of experience on me (completing Century Rides, and having arsenals of different thousand-dollar bikes of their own) -- so when I see all of that and just think of how INexperienced I am, well let's just say it's enough to make a small person feel even smaller.

But alas -- I needed to keep the comparisons in check and just focus on calming down, and learning as much as I could. Coach Mike was kind enough to spend some one-on-one time with me, breaking down a bike ride into successive "drills", like starting and stopping. Like anything else, starting and stopping a bike becomes so intuitive to most people that they don't even realize that it takes a few key steps -- pushing off with one foot, letting the bike glide, standing on the pedals, and gently placing your foot back on the ground. Without knowing all this at first, it was very easy for me to get overwhelemed (especially while clipped in the first few times). And so with the way MY mind works, it was key to really break it down into pieces and just repeat, repeat, repeat. With regular sneakers on, at a dirt track. Minus the pressure. Minus the anxiety.

Repetition of starting, gliding, getting a sense of balance (and contol over) of my bike, and coming to a smooth stop did WONDERS for my confidence level and comfort with the bike. That blockage and mental hurdle I had about riding slowly dissipated and I was back to making jokes and being myself again ~ rather than feeling the terror of two wheels and a handlebar. Never did I think I'd reach the point of actually being able to laugh at how I racked myself on the saddle weeks ago, got all torn up and bruised and swollen and have lived to see the day I could actually ride a bike, past the age of seven.

Shortly after, Coach Mike and I went on a little ride. Not quite into full-fledged traffic, but for a short route around some residential, including a few speed bumps and a moderately sized hill (a "pleasant hill" as I coined it, during our climb). Of course, on the way down, I had forgotten all about my anxiety about descends and found myself scared to fly down the mini-hill. But Mike went ahead of me and once I saw how fast he sped down (and that he was okay) I was able to loosen my grip a bit more from the brakes and just ride the hill. The second time around, I just let myself go and I went for it without tensing up.

Before I knew it, our bike clinic and mini-ride was over and I had felt truly accomplished, knowing my biggest fears were now gone. Mike said it was just a matter of spending that time working on the basics, and with a few more focus days like that, I'm not far off from added the clipless shoes into the mix and getting the whole thing down. Success!

After that, we had one of our more challenging swim workouts. Two 50m pieces (2 laps) building up on the effort levels of our stroke, followed by a 100m piece (4 laps) at a high effort level, followed by a 300m piece (12 laps) at a mid-level pace, two more 50s (2 laps) to build again, ending with another 100m (4 laps) at a high effort level. All this, with about 15 second rest intervals in between. Coach Sedonia emphasized that these are the kind of workouts that especially focus on building endurance in the water: Long, continuous pieces, throwing in extra hard and fast pace increases. Again -- if I were given this workout to do on my own, I have no idea how I'd manage. But our coaches (and being in a pool of my teammates all doing the same thing) were like the magic ingredient. My mind literally said: Alright, Maria, this is going to be challenging, but you're going to do it and you're going to be awesome. And just like that, I did it!

To add even more success to the swim workout, our coaches asked if any of us wanted to learn how to do flipturns. I've always thought flipturns are the coolest-looking thing in the water but have always been so afraid to try it. Again, takes me back to the childhood days of summer camp. My friends would show off in the pool, doing all these summersaults, trying to get me to do them too. I'd try one and get all this water up my nose and it would sting so bad. Another try, and it was even worse. And no one seemed to have that problem but me. So again, with an experience like that, why would I ever want to attempt doing that while swimming several consecutive laps during my Ironman training?

Alas, there I was, with another subset of fearless IronTeamers, determined to get this down. I refused to be afraid of summersaults in the pool! After the first couple, sure enough, water up the nose. Coaches Dave and Sedonia said, "Maria, you don't have to learn how to do flipturns. They can be helpful for lap swims but are not a requirement for your open water swim, come race day". It made sense, but something was just telling me to keep at it. I didn't want to have this one box unchecked on my To Accomplish List.

After about five to eight more trys, venturing close to the edge of the pool, flipping and missing the wall, re-flipping after one more stroke and missing the wall again, in one final attempt, I got super close to the wall, did one swift flip, pushed right off the wall, glided on my back, rotated forward and started my freestyle stroke... I did it!!

About twenty minutes or so of core exercises later and the day was done. Another iron day complete and although tired, with a giant smile on my face.



Coach Mike said something earlier in the day about learning to trust myself. So much of building upon one's confidence level -- on the bike, in the water, or anywhere else, surprisingly, is based on how much you're able to simply let go and trust yourself. It's taken an open mind, and will likely take more repetition and practice ~ however slowly but surely, I'm getting there and couldn't be any prouder of myself for overcoming today's personal hurdles.


***
Week #9 Workout Summary:

Swim: 3 hours and 0 minutes
Bike: 2 hours and 0 minutes
Run: 2 hours and 0 minutes
Core/Strength: 0 hours and 30 minutes
Total Workout: 7 hours and 30 minutes