Kona in Pictures

Took me a little longer than anticipated, but here's a few pictures to recap my Kona....in no particular order

Finisher! 

exiting the swim....1/3 done...kind of....

 

I was enjoying the bike at this point in time

Everyone looks so excited to be wide awake at 3something am

new kick ass BlueSeventy training suit, thanks to Mike Orton

Planet Sunning it up

The plan to walk up Palani failed when I saw everyone cheering away on the sidelines

what a looooooooong day

I'm right over there by the orange bouy...don't you see me?!

not quite sure how I was still smiling at this point...but check out those guys....no shame....

thanks for making the trip Mom!

both feet off the ground in the finishers chute! 

not happy with life right now...

all smiles 

eyeballs

Thanks again to everyone who came out and supported throughout the long day. What an experience, I can't wait to be back again in the future!!

Moving

I'm going to TRY to start updating this thing more regularly again....while I do this, I will be changing the web address in order to find my ramblings. The new site will be lectiealtman.blogspot.com

KONA!

I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Swim:

            Oddly enough, this was the part of the race I was most anxious about. I have heard so many stories about how the swim is a like churning washing machine, arms flailing, legs kicking, people everywhere…. not my idea of a good time. I like swimming by myself in my own lane in the pool staring at the black line on the bottom. This would NOT be that…at all. I talked with a few people before the swim to find out where to start and the general consensus was stay to the left, on the outside and on the left of the Ford car that is always floating in the water. Well, I get down the steps and into the water and, hmmmmmm, no Ford car, great! Now what? I got into the water with Ryan and told him I was just gonna go to the left. I stayed with him as long as I could, but he didn't go as far left as I wanted to so we parted ways. I was directly to the left of one of the orange buoys in the water, it seemed like a good place to start, I was comfortable with my decision. I pushed/swam (without touching anyone…I didn't want bad swimming Karma before the race started) my way to the very front line of people. Once I found my place in the masses, there was less than 10 minutes until the cannon went off. People were chatting and being relatively friendly amidst the chaos that was 1800 people in the water. Of course you always have the one guy who thinks he’s badass, “I guess everyone is a 54 swimmer today,” as he was looking at myself and the three other girls that were right near me. “I’m really going to swim a 54 and you people all think you’re fast, I’ll just trample over you at the start, people read women really need to know their places in these swim starts.” I wanted to clock the guy in the face, I didn't  But I did swim faster than him and I didn't even have a super fast swim!

            Anyways, we are treading water, the drums are beating, anticipation is building, you can faintly hear Mike Riley in the background talking about the race and what lies ahead for the day, there was a strange clam before the start of the race and then all of the sudden you hear someone shouting, “GO, GO, GO, GO, GO, GO,” there was no cannon (apparently it misfired or something), and everyone takes off. This was the part that I was so anxious about and it was over in an instant. I sprinted like crazy for probably less than 2 minutes and I found myself in fairly clear water. There were always people around me and I was able to catch a pretty good draft for the entire swim, but I never got touched once. So much for washing machine like swim. I was able to stay within myself during the swim, not get clobbered, look at the beautiful scenery and marine wildlife under water and keep up a pretty decent pace.

            The swim was pretty uneventful; it went by without any problems, it didn't exhaust me, it wasn't fast, it wasn't slow, and I was right where I wanted to be getting out of the water. I was racing in the Ironman World Championships! Before I knew it I could see the pier and the day was really going to begin.     

Swim Time: 1:00.23

T1:

            I made sure to rinse off in the “showers” on the Pier before heading into the changing tent, I didn't need any excess salt on my body to start the day. I knew a bunch of people that were working in T1 and I looked all over for them as I entered, but I guess they were helping other people at that time so I missed them, bummer. Transition would not be as easy and “fast” if it weren't for the wonderful volunteers. I just stood there while they did everything I told them to do, “sunglasses, arm coolers, helmet, race belt (note to self don’t put this on until T2 next time, it’s not necessary), nutrition.” They fixed me up and I was off.

The Bike:

            The dreaded bike. Hopefully, next time I write a race report it starts out with, the bike….loved it! I had to let this part of the race digest a little bit before I wanted to even think about writing about it. Had I written this a week ago, it would have been completely different. 112 miles is a long way, especially if you haven’t put in the bike miles. I had a little set back (piriformis/glute issue) after IM CdA and had to take a 3-4 week break from the bike, probably not the best thing for my bike fitness, but it seemed to all work out in the end. Anyways.

            The first 50-60 miles of the bike were uneventful. I felt like I was going at a pretty good pace, I wasn't struggling or fighting the wind, I was just cruising along. This should have been a clue as to what lay ahead, but apparently I wasn't thinking ahead, I was living in the moment. I was pleasantly surprised how easy the first half of the bike was…I never once felt like I was getting blown across the road and there definitely wasn't a headwind. Not a good sign for the ride back from Kawaihae. Although, I was getting passed and passed and passed and passed by other people on the course, I was able to stay positive and take in the fact that I was racing in Kona!!!

            Turn around in Hawi came in less than 3 hours! Super pumped about that, but the happy thoughts and good vibes on the bike stop there. Somehow my special needs bag got lost and I didn't get my nutrition in Hawi, I might have been a little upset about that, but I brought along what I thought would be enough calories to make up for that in case I didn't get those bottles. I probably should have brought more, or just not relied on special needs, I won’t do that again!

We flew down the hill from Hawi and I was still pretty happy with how things were going and then we made the turn back onto the Queen K. There’s not a whole lot to say about this last portion of the ride. I felt like I got smacked in the face with wind that wouldn't stop blowing. So much for a sweet tailwind on the way out, this headwind was killer. Either that or my lack of bike fitness leading up to the race was coming back to bite me in the bum. The crosswinds weren't bad, I never once felt like I needed to get out of my aero bars, but the headwind was relentless. I got off my bike twice to check to see if my breaks were rubbing. I was convinced they had to be. They weren't. I was convinced I had a flat, I didn't. I was going that slow. Somehow I managed to make it back to within 4 miles of T2 (mile 60-100 are a blur of “my breaks have to be rubbing, I think I’m getting a flat, when is this road going to end, Queen K with a headwind is NOT fun, OMG I want to throw my bike in the ocean, I know so many people racing right now, how come I haven’t seen anyone, am I really going that slow, ugh” it wasn't pretty) and who comes riding up the road screaming and yelling and cheering for everyone on the road, but Chrissie Wellington. That was the only thing that got me back to transition.

Bike Time: 6:11.18 (ugh)

T2:

            I took my time in T2, I was not in a good place mentally, there might have been a few tears, but I was almost done. Ha, almost, I still had a marathon to run. I can’t say enough good about the volunteers, they were super helpful and motivating and they are for sure what got me out of T2.

The Run:

            I knew the run was going to be a challenge. I’d done one “long” run since June and knew I was going to have to dig deep.      

            I saw Kim and my mom running out of transition to start the run and I’m pretty sure I didn't even acknowledge their cheers. SORRY! Down Ali’I drive for the first 10ish miles of the run, there are people lined up and down the streets cheering, partying and having an all around great time, while we are suffering! I saw some friends on the side of the road and yelled hi to them, I needed to do something to distract myself from how bad I was feeling, so instead of letting people yell and cheer for me I was on the lookout for people I knew so I could say hi! There was even a chalk message on the road for me! Thanks Nalani, Kurt and maybe Michelle too!!

            At the turn around on Ali’I Drive at mile 5ish, I still wasn't feeling great, but I  kept plugging along. I was walking through the aid stations to try to take in calories since I’m almost positive I was a bit calorie deficient after not getting my bottles at special needs on the bike. Finally, at about mile 6 I saw a friend!! I had caught up to Kathryn and chatted with her for a minute or so and tried to get her to run with me, but no dice, I told her to have a good run and I’d see her later. I saw Delo, Felipe, and a few others while running through town, a much needed energy boost at this point in time! Running through Kona town is pretty exciting there are lots of distractions, things to keep your mind off of what’s going on.

            I told EVERYONE that part of my plan was to walk up Palani hill. I could probably run up that steep thing just as fast as I could walk and it would take less effort, well that didn't really go according to plan. As soon as I made the turn up the hill there was the BOCA contingent, they might as well have been the whole crowd on that hill, they were great!! I started walking and then saw Raul and he told me I had to keep running, ugh, I just wanted to walk up this hill, but I started running, again. Thanks so much to everyone who came out and supported the race, this was a great place for you all to be, definitely a tough part of the run for sure! Toward the end of the group, I saw Nytro, finally, it’d been basically all day he was a sight for sore eyes! He ran up the hill with me for a while and at that point I wasn't able to take in any more calories, he told me I had to keep eating, I couldn't stop taking in yet, it was way too early in the run and I still had 16 miles to go, keep eating, keep taking in and keep running. (I guess it’s time to start drinking Coca Cola  when all else fails Coke will save the day. I try to hold off as long as possible before I start drinking that stuff, because once you start, you can’t stop).  Best advice of the day. He got me to the top of the hill, couldn't have done it without him and the rest of the BOCA squad. I said bye and I was on my own.

            Everyone said the Queen K is a lonely place. Well, it sure is and six miles along a highway with little to no cheering friends is a long ways to run, especially in the heat of the day. I made a friend during this portion of the run. A nice girl from Pittsburgh area, who did the whole race in a bathing suit! WHAT!? HOW?! I can understand doing a sprint or maybe an Olympic race in a suit, but an Ironman, this girl is tough! We kept flip flopping each other, I’d walk the aid stations so I could get my ice, coke, water, ice, she would run past me and then after the aid station I would pass her again. We chatted a bit and she was super encouraging throughout these lonely six miles.

            Every intersection, I was convinced that we were at the energy lab, but every intersection I was disappointed and just kept plugging along. Finally it came and I knew I was almost on my way home, running down into the energy lab was no problem at all, it’s downhill and you are getting closer and closer to heading back to town. You run to the bottom of the hill and then they make you turn and run about a ¼ mile before you actually get to turn around and head back out. Another friend! I saw Ryan at this point and that gave me another boost of energy. I made the turn, and was headed back up and out of the lab. On my way out I saw Ryan, said hi, chatted for a minute and kept on going, I knew it would be a bad idea to stop at this point or I wouldn't get going again.

            Back out on the Queen K. I was there for maybe five minutes and who comes riding down the road? Nytro to the rescue! How I needed him there at that point in time, he rode next to me for about three miles, being super supportive and encouraging. I was in a much better place mentally at this point thanks to him. I was actually able to hold a little conversation with him! Exactly what I needed! Had he not been there, I probably would have walked a lot of that last long stretch along the lonely Queen K. I was getting so close to town, but still had a ways to go, he told me that one of our other friends Burpie was right up in front of me and if I kept going, I would probably catch him very shortly. That was my new goal, keep running, keep smiling and catch Burpie! At this point he road back to catch up with a few of our other friends on the course and offer them some encouraging words and support to get them through some of those final miles. While, he was gone, I caught up to Burpie, he was struggling. We walked one aid station together, ran another mile and at the next aid station  he said he was going to walk again, I told him I was walking ALL the aid stations, we walked it and I started running again, he didn't follow…(that wasn't going to be the last of him though). Nytro caught back up to me, gave me some final words of encouragement and said he’d see me at the finish!

            I made the turn down Palani and saw the BOCA crew once again; at this point I had a huge smile plastered on my face because I knew I was almost done! I waved and said hi while I was flying down the hill, I have no idea where the finishing speed came from that I found in the last 1.5 miles, but it felt like I was out racing a 10k! Down Kuakini and the final turn before the final turn onto Ali’i Drive and the finish. Running down Ali’i Drive and into the finishers chute was an amazing experience. I was smiling from ear-to-ear, high flying all the kids on the side of the road and taking it all in. Everyone said to take in that last ¼ mile, enjoy it, it’s not something that everyone gets to experience and it’s something hard to put into words. I did just that, it was an awesome experience, one I will not soon forget. I entered the finishers chute and was beyond excited (and then Burpie blew past me with 1/10^th of a mile to go, jerk!). I ran up the ramp and “Lectie Altman from Kailua, HI, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!” 

Run Time: 3:47.53

Race total: 11:07. 23, not to shabby for my 2nd Ironman!

Post Race:

        That was by far the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. I finished the race in just over 11 hours, under 11 would have been great, but given my month hiatus from training, I couldn't be happier with the outcome! Everything came together in the end and I was able to pull off a pretty successful race, in my opinion. If you would have asked me right after the race if I’d ever do another Ironman again, my answer would have been “HELL NO!”

            I was so incredibly exhausted, both physically and mentally. This race took a lot out of me. I had grand plans to come back to the finish at 11 and stay to watch all the midnight finishers (this will also happen someday!), but my body had other things to say about that. A trip to medical and multiple bathroom trips later, we were headed back to the condo.

            Thanks to everyone who came over and out to Kona to support me and all the other racers, what a great race and experience!! Even if I didn't mention you specifically in this little post, if I talked to you over my week in Kona, in person, by text, or by email, you were key in getting me to that finish line. I couldn't have done this race without the love and support of my family and friends. So thank you so much to everyone!! 

What’s next?

I’d love, love, love to race in Kona again and be able to actually race instead of hold on for dear life! I’ll be back for sure, when we will have to see what happens with my racing next season. The race calendar isn't set yet, but there will be racing and I’ll be back!  

It’s recovery time for me now and I’ll be back to posting more consistently again soon. 

Pictures from Kona ASAP

Hapalua Half-Marathon

The inaugural Honolulu Half-Marathon, The Chase, or the Hapaula Half-Marathon was on Sunday. This race was set up in a new format which was actually super exciting. The Chase gave local runners the chance to race against and finish in the money with two recent Honolulu Marathon champions: Jimmy Muindi and Nicholas Chelimo. 12 of the best local women were given a 18 minute head start, 12 of the best local men started 9 minutes after the 12 women and then Muindi and Chelimo started 9 minutes after the men with the rest of the racers. So basically in order for Muindi and Chelimo to "win" the race they would have to make up 18 minutes on the fastest women. Based on best times, it seemed as though it would be a race to the finish for the top prize...more on that later.


So, as I'm sure many of you have seen or heard, us folks here in Hawaii have been a little wimpy when it comes to the weather lately. I know, I know, we live in Hawaii, we shouldn't complain about the weather...ever! But it's been pretty crappy lately: rain, thunder, lightning, water spouts, tornado, wind blowing like crazy (40+mph) for the past couple of weeks. I was skeptical about how the conditions were going to be on Sunday morning. Thankfully the rain held off...the wind, not so much. After the race, I looked up the wind conditions and they were 40-50mph, maybe that's why it felt like I was running into a brick wall for the entire race.

Pretty much the only race picture of me and this isn't even of me....I'm hanging out right behind him, he blocked my wind for a few miles, which was pretty nice

I haven't done any speed work since before the marathon in December, so I wasn't shooting for a PR in the race (but secretly I was, I think I always will, that's just how I operate). Anyways, the plan for this race was to start out pretty conservative and build throughout.  I'm pretty terrible at sticking to plans (something I seriously need to work on before June) but in the end I was able to build throughout. The first few miles running Ewa bound through town were pretty relaxed and easy, we had a tiny bit of a tailwind, which was super nice. Right around 4 miles I started to see the fast ladies running by. They still had a few minutes on the Kenyans. After that, the fun part began, running into the wind. I was running much faster than my anticipated/planned starting pace, but was feeling great the first four miles, isn't that how it always is at the beginning of races. As soon as we turned and started to head back toward DiamondHead, it felt like I got smacked into a brick wall. I've never been running before and literally gotten blown off course and to the other side of the road, that's how strong the wind was blowing.  The next four miles were tough, I had to fight hard with the wind to continue building into the race, but kept building I did. Mile 9-10 was uphill, over the backside of DiamondHead and that was a change from out normal race routes here in Hawaii, so even though it was uphill, it was pretty fun. Plus as soon as we got to the top it was all downhill and flat the rest of the way. I was starting to feel a bit tired at this point, but knew I only had a little ways to go. I made it to the top and the right when we started to descend DiamondHead, here comes the tailwind. No, we didn't want it to help us through the flat, straight, streets of town or to help us get up DiamondHead, but sure, let's let it help us downhill the last mile. The last 3/4 of a mile in any running race here are the longest 3/4 of a mile ever. This was the first race I've done here that I actually felt like I could finish fast, feeling strong! And I did.

So, even though I haven't done speed work since before the marathon and this was the longest run I've done since the marathon, I was able to pull out a 2 minute PR and end up 2nd in my AG. I was super happy with how this race went and have a new liking for half-marathons!

Next up...Napa with the girlfriends on Friday...after a huge bike week this week...then it's 3 months until CdA...getting excited! 

I know, I know....

I really shouldn't complain, I live in Hawaii and 99% of the time we have perfect weather......but this has been the satellite image for Hawaii for the past week!!

So much for fun training outside...

Swamp Romp

Every year here, the Marine Corps base puts on a little race called the SWAMP ROMP. The swamp romp is basically a five mile race through the muddy, deep, smelly, dirty swamps and a little bit of nice ocean on the the base. Sounds enticing right? I never thought I would enter a race like this ever, but what the heck, a group of friends out for a five-mile romp in the swap, sure sign me up!

The course takes you over and under obstacles, through the ocean, under camo nets and up and over walls. It's a five mile fun fest that you get to complete with five other people.


One of our friends suggested entering the race a few months back and I though to myself sure, why not, it sounds kinda fun, I'm in! I totally didn't think he was being serious when he asked and to my surprise, about 2 weeks before the race I get an email that was sent to myself and 4 other people from el capitan Iovo. I guess he was serious when he asked about this race...note to self be careful what you agree to when Iovo asks!


Now we needed to come up with team costumes or outfits or something to wear since apparently at this race people dress up in crazy outfits and have a good time. Well being the boring, non-creative, triathletes that we are we decided to be team BOCA triathletes. We headed over to the shop and picked up some t-shirts from Raul and that was that. Green BOCA shirts and black tights, that was the costume. Simple, easy and something we all had. (this ended up working out perfectly)

Race morning: wake up 4:15am. It's like I was getting up for a serious race or something. Got dressed and headed over to Kailua for some per race prep, aka duct taping on the old sneakers so they didn't fall off in the mud. Note to self: if I ever do this race again, I need to figure out a better way to keep on the shoes, my achilles and front foot is all cut up from the rubbing of the tape...not pleasant! We all piled into the truck and headed over to MCBH.

We had a late start time to we just wandered around (after I ate it for the first time walking over to the start...super embarrassing, but I am clumsy, oh well) waiting for our time, checking out costumes and people watching, I wish I had better pictures of some of the getups people were in, it was definitely a great way to pass an hour.

Finally it's our time to go. We started the race with 6 people (you only need to finish with 5 to officially finish). We had every intention of just running the race, having a good time and all finishing together, but after about 2.5 miles we ended up a group of five. Anyways, the race starts out and they don't hesitate to get you dirty, you head right down into a trench of mud and gunk and water. They don't call it the swamp romp for nothing. There's a lot of in and out of water, mud, and dirty for the first bit of the race, with a few obstacles thrown in there (things to climb over, nets to crawl under in the sand once you are already dirty and wet so the sand sticks nicely to your skin, etc). After that a what feels like forever beach run and then it's a good little stretch of flat semi fast trails where you can just book it. Some more obstacles and then the real swamp...Just think mud up to above the knees, shoes getting stuck, sewer smells. There was no running here, just trudging through, after that it's the home stretch a little jog on the grass then the finish. We crossed the finish line, hands held/arms linked in 1:06 and ended up 3rd in the mixed division. Go us!!


All-in-all it was a great day and I would totally do it again (but next time I'll have a better keeping the shoes on method).

A few more pictures from the day....

getting muddy

I totally threw my shoes in there after the race

making sure the GoPro is on and working...can't wait to see the video

silly people trying to clean off in the ocean...you'll get plenty more dirty very soon

Long Weekend

Long weekends are great for many reasons: sunrises, sunsets, long bike rides, fun runs and finally a day to sleep past 6am. If only Dave was here to have fun on these long weekends as well.   

This weekend started out with a great ride on Saturday morning. We rode from Kualoa Beach Park, where I got this pretty great sunrise picture, to Pupukea on the North Shore. Once we got to Pupukea, someone got the genius idea to ride to this Boy Scout Camp that's at the top of this hill..not a little hill, a pretty steep hill. From all of this hill climbing I've been doing on the bike lately, I better be prepared for the rolling hills of CdA! (But I did see that they happened to change up the bike course this year, to make it less technical and a think a little less hilly....stay tuned, a little over 4 months to go).    I was a bad on Friday and couldn't get in my run so to make up for it, I decided to run on Saturday after the bike. So since we were up there, we decided it might be fun to try to go run on Kualoa Ranch. This is a ranch that does horse rides, ATV rides and tours of movie sets. Lost, Jurassic Park and a few other major motion pictures were filmed on this ranch and we were right there, so let's try to go run. We drove a few miles down the road and got to a cattle gate and some barbed wire, climbed through the gate and off we went. It is beautiful back there, the one time I go running somewhere new and forget my camera!! Oh well, I'm sure I'll be back there in the near future and I'll be sure to snap some shots. The plan was to run until we got questioned, stopped or we hit the 30 minute mark, then turn around and head back to the car. Well, we made it all of about 14 minutes until we got caught. Apparently, you need a pass in order to run on private property....who knew?! ;-) So we turned around and headed back towards the main office. That was our next excuse if we got stopped, "I'm sorry, we were trying to find the main office to get our passes and we got lost." The main office was in our sights and we ran over a cattle gate (one of many) and were running toward this huge bull, as soon as we started through this pasture the bull stood up and stared at us. That was more than enough for me, I turned around and ran right out of there....to the main office and out of the park. Then it was a nice little run back to our car. All-in-all a great Saturday bike/run. I definitely want to get back to Kualoa Ranch, get a pass and run back there at some point, it would totally be worth it. Much nicer than running through regular old neighborhoods.

Sharks Cove ride pit stop

Sunday was a Tantalus run day, I love running on Tantalus, 5 miles up, 5 miles down. It's my favorite place to run a solid 10 miles! After that the obligatory, weekend Jamba stop, then off to Ala Moana for an easy 2k swim. 

Relaxing on the beach...thanks for the picture Jody

Monday was a great day. My rest day, a day off from work, a sleep in day and an afternoon spent lounging on the beach.

Adventure Bike

This past Saturday, we went on what I'm going to call an "Adventure Bike." It wasn't your typical, get on your bike and ride for 3+ hours. Well, it was, but it was broken up a bit by a little hike-a-bike action. It's always nice doing a different ride because the same route week-in and week-out can get a bit boooooring.

We started at our normal meeting place, Paki, where else!? And quickly found out that we were going to be riding up and over the Pali (coming back down the other side is what I was worried about, climbing doesn't worry me, it's the getting back down going fast on the bike that I'm not used to yet). If you aren't from here and don't know what that is, it's just a mountain, no big deal. Anyways, we were going to ride over the Pali, into Kaneohe, turn around and ride through the Botanical Gadens and up the Old Pali (thanks Michelle for the pictures!) I've never ridden through the gardens or up the Old Pali....note to self...learn how to ride better over speed bumps or else you're going to flat. I thought going up the Old Pali would be pretty tough since the road it covered in down branches and leaves and is usually SUPER slippery, but it wasn't bad at all, it was actually pretty fun.

Now begins, hike-a-bike. After we got to the top of the  Old Pali, we had to hop off our bikes and squeeze under the overpass to get to a trail. Once we got to that point, you would think we could get back on our bikes and just start riding, well some people did, but I wasn't about to hurt myself by riding on a path that is less than 2 feet wide with a drop off on one side....I don't do well with heights. It was a lot of on and off the bike for about 30 minutes and then we got some free space and could start riding again. Somehow, I have no idea how, but we ended back up at the Pali Lookout and were able to head back into town, not suite sure how we got where we went on Saturday, but that's what makes it fun right. New rides, new routes, new adventures. Gotta keep it interesting. It was a great workout and fun times with friends. I wish Dave could have been there as well, he really would have enjoyed this ride.

Kim, hiking her bike!

A bit blurry, but could have been a cool shot of one of the many views on our adventure.

See....

Valentine's Day Biathlon

I've been lazy with the blog posting.....

My friend, Joy, convinced me to sign up with her to do the Valentine's Day Biathlon, a little local race put on by Waikiki Swim Club....a 5k run and 1000m swim. We decided to do the race as a team and entered the "just friends" division. Joy the runner and me the swimmer. Perfect, all I have to do is swim 1000m, sign me up!

Not quite that easy, I needed to get a run in before the race, so I got up at 3:45am on Sunday morning...crazy, yes, very crazy, the things we do for friends! :-) I ran a nice easy 8.5 before the race, so I got in a good warmup.

We were super excited for this fun little race and we wanted to go fast! But most importantly we wanted to have a great transition hand-off...I can't find the picture, but just believe me, it was the best "kiss" of the day, we totally should have won. Well, besides the proposal that happened in transition, that one takes the cake.

Joy, had a super fast run (I'm calling it sub 20minutes because that's what her watch said!), so fast that she was seeing stars by the end of the race. After that, I was off to swim. I ran past one person as I was heading into the water, hit the water and I was off. The first half of the race was great, I was swimming past, around, and through people, feeling pretty strong in the water (considering I'm only swimming once a week right now! ha).

As soon as I hit the turn around buoy, I knew I would be in a bit of trouble as the sun was rising. I knew I was going to have trouble sighting on the way home and I wasn't going to be able to see anything, it's always like that at Ala Moana in the morning. I took off from the two people that were hanging out on my feet, that got annoying pretty fast. So, I started swimming toward the only thing I could see, a yellow cap. I just hoped that he was swimming in the right direction an followed him the whole way in. It turns out that he was, thank goodness. I finished up my portion of the race in just over 16-minutes, not to shabby for someone who hasn't been swimming a ton, I'll take it!

Joy and I ended up winning our division and we were the 4th team if you look at the overall results. All-in-all a very successful and fun morning. Would totally do another biathlon with Joy...any day, anytime, anywhere!

I've been Retul'd

I’ve heard a lot of talk about bike fit and people have different opinions regarding what is the best way to go about being fit to your bike….

I’ve had my TT bike since late April/early May and have had 2 “fittings” since then. My initial “fitting” was at the bike shop where they put me on the trainer and said, “you look good, how do you feel?” How do I feel? I don’t know how I feel, I’ve never ridden one of these bikes before, how am I supposed to know how I feel!? I guess I feel fine? And that was that, off I went. It was alright (although after a couple of weeks I did feel cramped all around and couldn’t stay aero for more than 5 minutes without feeling like I needed to get up for fear that my shoulders would fall off! That’s probably a sign that something is wrong) for the first couple of months I was riding it, I didn’t know any better. But then I started chatting with people and almost everyone I talked to told me I wasn’t fit properly on my bike, you think!?

Anyways, November-ish rolled around and I was fed up with being uncomfortable on my bike. I know it’s never going to be as comfortable as curling up in your bed, but it shouldn’t be uncomfortable. So, one of my friends, Aaron, who knows lots about bikes offered to fit me on my bike as long as snacks were provided for compensation…deal!  I brought my bike over to his shop, I got up on the trainer, he took some measurements, asked a bunch of questions, and he made lots of changes…they were spectacular! It felt like I was riding a new bike! Didn’t feel cramped anymore (we/he moved the seat up more than 2 inches!) and was a little more comfortable aero.  I rode on this fit for a while, but still something was off. If I rode more than 30 miles I had pain in my right knee and that’s not good; also I still couldn’t stay aero for very long.

Kim has been talkin up this bike fitting system called Retul and I've heard/seen/read about it on blogs and on their website (http://www.bikefit808.com/) and have been intrigued. Only thing is, it's a bit pricey. Taken from their website: "By using Retul 3D Motion Capture Technology we are able to evaluate a rider's lateral, vertical and horizontal movements and make adjustments according to the rider's biomechanics and individual cycling goals. The Retul system allows a fitter to measure the rider while they are in motion and takes averages throughout the pedal stroke, as opposed to taking static and 2D measurements that are absed on a stationary position which may not be a rider's typical position." So this would be a much more technical fit than any of the other "fits" I have received.

I have finally gotten to the point where I am not ok with being uncomfortable riding anymore and the mount of time I am going to be spending with my bike in the next 6 months is not going to decrease that's for sure, so it was time to bite the bullet and get Retul'd.

What a cool process and experience. Andrew Tanaka at BikeFit 808 was amazing, super helpful, friendly and knowledgable. I got there and he had me do a few exercises to test felxibility and some other things. After that he set me up on the trainer and hooked some electrodes to different parts of my body so he could get the initial computer readings. Once he got the initial readings he made some minor adjustments to the bike and then I got back on the trainer to see how and if those adjustments fixed the problem areas. They did!! I rode for a bit longer and decided that there was still unecessary pressure on my shoulders so he turned my aerobars just so and it was like he waved a magic wand and the pressure disapperaed. Genius! He really knows his stuff!

How cool is this?! That's me!



Last night was my first time on the roads after I was Retul'd and let me tell you....worth every penny! I wasn't able to spend a lot of time in my aerobars as we were working a lot on paceline drills, but the time I spent in them was wonderful! I can't wait to go on a longer ride and really test them out!



I don’t claim to know a lot about bikes, but I do know that with this fit, I am now in a better, read more powerful and efficient, position and will be able to maximize the time spent on my bike! I am more extremely satisfied with the job that Andrew at BikeFit808 did and would highly recommend getting Retul’d!

2011 in Review

I’ve had this sitting in my drafts for a few days now and have just gotten around to finishing it up, so it might be a little late, but here goes.

This past year was full of firsts: my first year getting into the world of triathlon and I certainly enjoyed it, my first 100 mile bike ride, my first helicopter ride, my first time on Kauai, my first BQ, my first tri bike, my first Olympic Triathlon, my first Sprint Triathlon, my first half Ironman, my first marathon with Dave, to name a few. I can’t wait to see what 2012 will bring!

It was also my first full year working with Craig and I loved it, even when I hated it I loved it! He’s an amazing coach and friend! I can only imagine what he has in store for me when this IM training kicks off.

2011 was my second year of competitively running and it definitely gets better/more fun/challenging/exciting the more experience you gain. I PR’d in almost every road race I did! 

2011 was our second year in Hawaii and we took full advantage of everything (hiking, beaches, restaurants, snorkeling, deep sea fishing, golf, helicopter rides, island hopping (we made it to Maui, Kauai and the Big Island this year), outdoor swimming all year, outside running all year, outside biking all year, time with great new friends…..I could go on forever) the islands have to offer, since our time hear is limited.

A little recap of 2011 in months

January:

Sharon’s Ride.

Close to the longest ride I’d done at this point, Dave and I did the ride together and we decided to just make it a fun morning of riding together.

February:

Dave’s Birthday. We rented a cottage on the beach and celebrated with a few good friends.

Great Aloha Run. This was the first race I ever entered, back in February 2010. I was super scared for this race then and this year was sooo much better. First off, I was about 20 pounds lighter which makes for a much better run to begin with and I had a little more experience in running than I did the previous year. This race resulted in 7-minute PR and a great way to start off the racing year of 2011.

March:

Waterfront at Pu’uloa (sprint) Triathlon. My first triathlon! This is super embarrassing, but I never got the memo about tri suits/proper attire to wear while doing a triathlon, my bad, probably should have discussed this with someone prior to the race…sooo……. Started the race in my swim suit. Threw on bike shorts (ha!), bike gloves (double ha!) and a tank top over my suit to do the rest of the race in. Silly Lectie, I learned quickly that that was not the way to go and had this all cleared up by my next race. 3^rd AG

April:

New Tri Bike! I finally bit the bullet and got my bike and thank goodness, what a difference it made. Now, I just need to be fit properly, it’s almost been a year, I’d say it’s about time.

Haleiwa Metric Century Ride. Just getting in some more bike miles.

Lanikai (sprint)Triathlon…my second triathlon, but now I have a super cool TT bike. Amazing clear, glassy swim, still working on my biking and I had a great run. Ended up 1^st AG

May:

Honolulu Triathlon. My first Olympic distance race and my best feeling race so far for the year. 2^nd AG

June:

Honu 70.3 My “A” race. My first half. It was amazing, such a great day and a great race. I will definitely see more 70.3 in my future. I loved almost every second of the race. I had zero expectations (well, I was supposed to have zero expectations going into the race, but being an athlete and loving competing, I definitely set some goals for my self (which were accomplished)), I wanted to finish feeling happy and strong and I was able to do that!  Plus I finished 5^th in my AG which was completely unexpected and earned myself a spot on the podium.

Kailua Popoi’a Swim. Not sure I’ll do this one again, the waves freaked me out a bit, but I survived and I think I learned a little better how to swim in waves in the ocean.

Lots of visits from friends and family made for an awesome June!

The beginning of “Sunny Doom”

July:

Dave was promoted to Captain

North Shore Swim Series “Sunset to Pipeline” 1.0mi

North Shore Swim Series “Waimea Bay” 1.2 mi

North Shore Swim Series “Chuns to Waimea” 1.6 mi

About the swims, I do them because I’m a “swammer.” I can be competitive-ish, keep my feel for the water and stay in decent swimming shape. I don’t love these races, but they are fun.

Tinman Triathlon (Olympic)

I signed up on a whim and the jury is still out on this race. It ended up alright in the end, I put together a solid (for me) swimbikerun, but I’m not sure I would do it again.

August:

North Shore Swim Series “Pipeline to Waimea” 2.3 mi

Marathon Readiness 15k

September:

Marathon Readiness 20k

Waikiki Roughwater

Marathon Readiness 25k.

Honolulu Century Ride. My 1^st 100 mile ride! I sense many more of these in my near future.

October:

Marathon Readiness 30k. By far my most favorite race of the series. 3^rd OA and a 9-minute PR.

Dave got to play in "Hoops for Troops" with NBA players!

Trip to Kona to watch friends and all qualifiers compete in the Ironman World Championships! Got to meet Claire and finally saw Craig after over a year. 

November:

Marathon Readiness ½ marathon

Turkey Trot. Such a fun event. Thanksgiving morning trot with friends. Guess your time, carry a popsicle stick, no watches or music allowed…how fun is that!? Plus, I guess my time perfectly, no big deal!

Turkey Swim. Another super fun, low key event. Thanksgiving weekend at Ala Moana Beach Park, just a nice little 1.2 mile swim with friends. Definitely wasn’t in “swimming mode” for this race, but all-in-all it was a good race.

An old Age-Group Swimmer friend came to visit/get married and we were able to meet up for dinner and catch up after what's been years!

December:

Honolulu marathon “A” race number 2 of the year (marathon #2 in the books). It was a PR (11min) and a BQ 3:34:06 all in one!

Christmas on Kauai

A nice relaxing, end of the year

Here's to another great year! .