My Weekend: A Panorama of San Francisco & Turning Mountains INTO Molehills

Probably one of the most picturesque weekends I've had in a long time. I am one giant sore muscle today, but with a smile on my face thinking back on the last couple days and what my Team and I all went through...

Starting off Saturday morning ~ bright and early, we headed out to the San Francisco Bay for the heavily-anticipated maiden open water swim in salt water: Aquatic Park.



We were incredibly lucky to be given spectacular weather to work with, because I swear, every time I shivered or thought of how cold the water was, I couldn't help but look up and feel incredibly blessed to live and train where we do. Where ELSE in the world would you get a chance to swim with views of Alcatraz up ahead, Ghirardelli Square on your right and the Golden Gate Bridge to your left?



So after taking a few awesome photo ops, the Team and I bravely headed into the water. It was about 54 F. The initial shock to my head was like no other. Sort of a combination between a brainfreeze and a sharp pain across my forehead. But I persisted, repeating to myself that I'd get used to it and to just keep moving. Sticking your face in the water is the toughest part. But once you get it over with, the rest is all mental and your body just follows. It was about the distance between the shore and reaching the first buoy, that the sensation in my face started to come back to me. I was then able to practice my sighting technique some more and start to get comfortable and settle into my stroke. I decided to sight the Hyde St. Pier sign. I'll tell ya -- that thing got me through a lot.



I swam and swam, salt water sloshing in and out of my mouth, but buoyant and feeling so alive to be where I was and with my Team. Captain Tony was in the kayak at the first buoy, smiling and encouraging as always. Once I turned the corner, I was to head straight to the other end of the water, where Captain Kristie was waiting in a kayak of her own. I spotted/sighted a light post that time around but kept getting distracted by the Golden Gate Bridge in all its glory, facing directly toward us. It was all such an incredible sight to see as the sun was shining and the air was clear.

Of course, no IronTeam workout is that straightforward. In between our buoy-to-buoy laps we had to come to shore and complete certain "tasks" given to us by the coaches. During my first lap, I had wondered what this meant. To my humbling surprise... 20 pushups!



I noticed some dizziness after getting in and out of the water, so Coach Dave advised that I swim with ear plugs to prevent the frigid water from getting into my head every time I turned to breathe. Makes perfect sense! Here he is, jamming the wax directly into my ear ;)



After the second lap, we had to do crab walks and sumo walks in the sand (I'll spare you those photos). After completing three laps, I had successfully swam 1 mile in the SF Bay. Never had I ever thought I'd do something like this.



After drying off and warming up, we set out for a 1 hour and 40-minute run through the Presidio. Again, we were greeted by some of the most picturesque views of the city even I had never seen before. Sandy was my running companion this time around and we had a blast catching up and laughing off our "You know you're Iron whens..." After meeting up with Margaret for the last leg, I pulled it in for a sprint back to Sports Basement (my Garmin read 8 mins/mile for the last few yards, which I think was a lie). Otherwise, the GPS gods were certainly on my side!

Just as I was able to whip out my recovery drink, Coach Doug told us to head over across the street to the beach area. Time for core / strength training sand-style. Again, as our legs fatigued and we wiped a bit of the sweat from our brows, I had to take a moment to really soak in where we were and how damn lucky we are...



I mean, how could you even complain?!

My upper body was pretty sore waking up Sunday morning (and I discovered some "love scars" on the back of my neck from the wetsuit), but knew what the next day would bring... our steepest and longest ride of the season to date: The Marin Metric Century Route (62 miles; and 3,800 feet of climbing).

Here we go ~ another bout and lots of personal time with the bike again. For those of you who've been following my journey, it would come as no surprise to you that my sentiments about the bike are such that we're 'in a relationship' but still defining what that might be. Are we in love? Is it complicated? What I CAN say for now, is that I'm committed. That thing has bucked me off repeatedly and I have become one with the gravel more times than I can count. But I do what I can, and this time, knowing full well it was going to be a long day -- was no different.

I mixed and packed my bottles for the day (approximating 1,000-1,200 calories) and got my mind right and ready for what the day would bring. Here is a diagram / map of what it brought:



Elevations reaching as high as 600+ ft, and grades at 7%. We rode from San Rafael to Petaluma and back. We were again blessed with gorgeous weather. Just as I was about to depart the parking lot to begin my ride, I realized. One of these significant bottles -- packed with all my nutritional goodies was M.I.A. This was not a good sign. But before I could even get worked up and stressed, I calmed any nerves and just said to myself it'll all get figured out. (I've learned that proper fueling on the bike in particular is measured down to an exact science and frankly if you just don't have enough [carbs, electrolytes, water], you will bonk. It's just a matter of fact.) In any case, it was way too early to start worrying, so I didn't even allow myself to go there just yet.

We set off on our ride, with me pretty much sweeping the back as usual ~ but I decided from the very beginning that my goals were to 1- Take my time; and 2- Enjoy the day. And so I did :)

The first climb was tricky. The second climb taught me something new (I exclaimed to Helen [which is a first; I mean I never used to be able to let out so much as a grunt while climbing, let alone full sentences] -- "wow, the grade isn't as steep compared to a second ago, this is like a breath of fresh air and we actually get a small break in here!") If you can imagine it, the hill would just go up and up and parts of it actually felt more than manageable to me. Go figure. I am without a doubt sure that all these extra spin workouts I've been packing in during the week are paying off exponentially in my ability to endure the hills I encountered today.

The third climb wasn't too bad either. Will sped by me while seemingly trying to catch and pass another pro cyclist. His cadence on hills astounds me. The fourth climb. Now that was much harder. So much so that I had to channel in some major inspiration for this one. For part of it, it was Louie. I imagined him pulling up right next to me coaching me through it, telling me he rode that same hill several years back and that I could do it too. After Louie, it was Frank. Frank, if you happen to catch this update, I truly owe you. Hah, I don't know if our Team had crossed your mind at all yesterday but you definitely helped me get up that hill yesterday. All I could hear as I pushed and worked up a sweat on the climb was you telling me as you have in the past, "Anything's possible. Don't give up". Your lasting words and encouragement have made such a significant difference for me (as well as your story and beating your own battle with cancer and going on to finish IM Louisville last year) ~ that you were as much there with me in spirit yesterday as any day I'd just run into you at a workout. So thank you.

I reached the top of that climb and I started to cry, feeling so proud and fulfilled after pushing through and reaching my goal. Completing these steep climbs are small, yet very significant victories for me and I celebrate them each and every time.

Back down on some descends and rolling terrain, I admired the beauty of the Nicasio Reservoir, farms in Petaluma and various residential neighborhoods throughout Marin County. I took all kinds of opportunities to up my cadence, get a good heart rate going, and really challenge myself on the flatter terrain. I felt confident.



Upon arriving at one of our water stops (running pretty low on nutrition), I chomped down on half a Power Bar and filled one of my empty bottles with Gatorade. Ahhh, relief. Another electrolyte drink to help boost me up. Off I went, up some mini-hills and some fun descends, playing around with the harder gears and keeping that cadence high. And then -- I heard kind of a faint pop noise. Don't worry -- tires were full and intact. But as distinct a sound as it was, it didn't concern me too much. Shortly after, Sara sped by me, determined and looking strong! (She had blown out one of her tires and actually made it to a local bike shop to replace it. Awesome as she is, she hopped back on and conquered the course with a vengeance!)

Just as she had passed, I thought it wise to pull over, get situated, and take another few swigs from my bottle. Low and behold -- I lost my Gatorade! It obviously flew out of one of my rear bottle cages and I was at a loss, again, of my fuel. It was long gone, too. So I downed some more water and still remained positive.

Soon after, I encountered the big one. Climb #5. This would be the most challenging and steepest mother of them all. Luckily, the pavement looked to have been newly redone so that was one less thing I had to worry about (bumps, cracks, uneven surfaces, etc.). So I went for it. Slow and steady, slow and steady, I kept repeating to myself. Cars would zoom by, I'd try to keep my line straight and just not give up. Whatever I did, I thought, just don't give up. I huffed and puffed up the hill, keeping my breathing in check, feeling the sweat beading up under my helmet and along my back. I could smell the SPF 50 Coppertone I sprayed on myself earlier in the morning. At this point I was getting hungrier by the second. All I could think about was inhaling the other half of the Power Bar sitting in my back pocket. I saw a pullout on the side of the road and thought... ok, you can stop here. Just do it. You can eat, take a break, stop. And then you can continue riding. But the climb just went up and up. There was no way I could comprehend stopping in the middle of a hill only to start up again BACK on a climb. It sounded absolutely dreadful. I literally came to a mental crossroads upon reaching the pullout spot in the road. I could hear my conscience telling me to KEEP IT MOVING, going at a pace probably comparable to an insect on the ground, but I passed by the spot and said, no giving up. You are not hitting any walls today, Afan.

I promised myself once I reached the top, I would tear open that 1/2 a Power Bar and have a field day with it because it was the least of what I earned after all that. But as I got to the top, I thought I should go for that downhill, descend like there's no tomorrow and enjoy the cooldown. And so I did.

Once I finished that descend and it leveled back out again, I found a spot to pull over and just absorb everything I had experienced -- mentally and physically. A Power Bar never tasted so good.

By that time, however, I was on the last legs of any water or fuel I had on me. I had completed 42 of the 62 miles and was on the road for a total of 4 hours. I felt truly accomplished and went my farthest distance to date (increasing by 10 miles with those climbs, from my last ride -- the infamous Jelly Belly ride, during which I had my crash). I was proud and wanted to be wise about ending on a high note, before we set out for the Wildflower Half-Ironman Course next weekend. So I weighed my options and decided to call Belinda, in our trusty SAG Vehicle, to come pick me up.

I walked away from today's ride feeling proud, accomplished and happy with what I put out there on the road and what I can take home with me.

For upcoming rides, I plan to pack in double the amount of calories in each bottle, as well as pack more food items with me (in my bike jersey) so that if any future unexpected or unplanned mishaps happen, I'll at the very least have MORE nutrition on me, to account for any lost (or flown off the bike) ;)

All in all, a very challenging, eye-opening fulfilling training weekend. Can't say I'm not exhausted and that I don't plan to take some extra time to rest ~ but I feel great and couldn't be any prouder of my Teammates for enduring through these tough two days.

Wildflower, here we come!!

***
Week #18 Workout Summary:

Swim: 2 hours and 15 minutes
Bike: 6 hours and 0 minutes
Run: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Core/Strength: 0 hours and 30 minutes
Total Workout: 10 hours and 30 minutes