I completed the Crystal Cove 15k Trail Run

I completed the Crystal Cove Trail Run.  The race was located in and around a canyon directly across Coast Highway from a beautiful stretch of the Pacific Ocean between Laguna Beach and Newport Beach.
The day started at about 5:00am when I got my wake up call.  I packed my running bag and stopped at the cash machine before hitting the freeway at 5:45 am.  The truck had something flapping around in the bed, so I had to make an unscheduled stop to remove the items from the back.  No traffic problems except for some early morning roadwork in Laguna Beach.  I arrived at the race site at 7:00.  A little late, but at least I found parking in the upper lot.  The goal was to get there at 6:30 and park in the lower lot, like my friend R, but oh well.  She was gracious enough to store my valuables in her car after walking down the hill to get my bib and new t-shirt.

We warmed up, went to the restroom a couple of times ate some gel, drank some water, and removed several layers of clothes before heading to the starting line. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day, but there was a chill in the air before 8:00.  We wore our hat/visor, sunglasses, shorts, and only one shirt/tank.  It was enough.  All of the other layers of track pants, jackets, hoodies, t-shirts, extra waters and snacks stayed in the car.

Wave 1 started promptly at 8:00.  It seemed like some people started in wave 1 that were about our speed, but we held up and asked the starter to do a wave 2 for those who were smart, like to pass others and wanted to smell the roses and check out the amazing views.  Wave 2 started about 5 minutes after wave 1 - we ran for the entire first mile and we were close to the frontrunners of our wave, well - we could see them anyway.  There was a section of single track running at mile 3, so you had to continue to run through that section, otherwise the people behind you couldn't run.  Peer pressure was good at this point, I was just hoping that the water station was coming up soon.  Some of the hills were ridiculous and the first water station was right after mile 4.  After water station there was a steep section of downhill running, which I was good at.  Apparently, I am not afraid of falling when I run downhill.  A lot of the others were running gingerly.  I just let gravity pull me.  Of course, almost everyone passed me when we had to go back up the 'elevator'.  This was an extremely steep section of the course, people were cursing the organizers, walking and even taking pictures, the rock face was crazy and it was probably 1/4 to 1/2 a mile straight uphill.  I was walking, and I found out that I am not a fast walker - uh oh.

I figured at this point the course would turn back downhill, since we were halfway done, but it didn't.  At the mile 5 water station, I couldn't see R anymore.  I think some people passed me while I enjoyed the Gatorade and water they were handing out.  I headed back out walking up the next hill and when I could, I ran.  After mile 6 I told myself to run, so I mostly ran, but walked for a little while, I told myself that I could finish a 5k at this point, since most of it should have been down hill, I could still see some sections where it was definitely uphill.  At mile 7, I told myself, only 2.3 miles left and that I should start running. Then came the water and aid station and a conversation with the volunteers - oh there was a reason for the conversation.  A woman fell on the gravel right in front of me about 500 yard before the water station.  I had to inform them, while getting my fill of Gatorade and water.  Anyway, I think I ran the rest of the way.  I started passing some people that I didn't recognize - I eventually figured out that they were either part of the 6k race or they started in wave 1.  I couldn't believe that I was so zoned out and/or delirious at the waterstations that all of these 'new' people had passed me.

The next section was mostly downhill, you could see the awesome houses in Laguna Beach and the water at the Crystal Cove State park.  I passed several people that I had been running with on the last section and I sprinted the last 1/4 mile.  It felt really good.  A little too good.  I wished I had used some of that energy in the sections where I was walking and talking and drinking water.
Overall, I felt like I had a good event.  I hadn't trained for 9 miles, I probably should have, but I did try to work in a lot of hills the last few weeks. I met my goal.  I completed the course in less than 2 hours!  I got 10th in my age group and I got to see a good friend that I don't see often enough.  Overall, it was a success.  Check out the results here.

My next race will be the Cardiff Kook Run in Encinitas on Superbowl Sunday!  I have a choice of running the 5k or the 10k. I am hoping that the Firefighter will join me, if he decides to participate we'll do the 5k.  It's a costume race, what are some of the best costumes and the easiest to run in?  I have never dressed up for a race. Last year there were lots of kooks and a group of awesome Flamingos.

What do you think about sharrows?

What the heck is a sharrow anyway?  It is that weird arrow that you see in the road with a bike next to it.  The intention is to have bikes ride in traffic with cars.  The bikes are supposed to follow the rules of the road and the cars are supposed to not run over the bikers.  When I first learned about sharrows I assumed that it was a very dangerous idea.  I saw images of Portlandites riding their bikes all in the road with cars and I was completely terrified.  Here is a link to a blog post about sharrows.

Now that I am getting more comfortable riding my bike on the road with cars, I totally see the need for an organized way to share the road.  I will admit that I sometimes bend the rules so that I don't fall over or have to stop completely and take the shoes out of the clips, but if there was a reasonable expectation that I would be making full stops and that I wouldn't get run over when people are double parked on Pacific Coast Highway on beach days, I would fully comply, and I think it's a fair deal.  I have a feeling that the reason bikers are considered disrespectful and rule breakers is that your average driver doesn't know how to anticipate what a road biker is going to do.  It's almost the same as with motorcycles, except we can't go as fast.

Encinitas has proposed the sharrows and a few other items to keep bikers safe and to encourage bike riding around town.  There is a lot of controversy as to what should be done.  I don't know the answer, but maybe some intelligent and informed dialog would work.  Have you seen a sharrow in your area, have you ridden a bike in a sharrow zone, and do you like them?

On a personal note, I have been away since summer due to the passing of my mother, the passing of my dog, quitting my day job, and getting engaged.  Now I am in the wedding planning phase, working from home, exercising regularly (thank goodness), brushing the dogs as needed, and preparing for a 15k trail run.  Whoopee!!!

What's at the end of your rainbow?

It's time to get serious about my next race.  I have started putting on the shoes, the swimming suit and the bike helmet regularly.  The firefighter and I went on a 25 mile bike ride the other day.  It was really nice.  We rode to the Oceanside Harbor.  He commented that I had really 'improved', meaning that I could smoke him on the bike now.  He may remove the 3 baskets that he has on his bike so that he can keep up with me now!  I knew that I wasn't that bad at biking, but now that I have a real bike, I can concentrate on getting better instead of just keeping up.

So what is this about rainbows?  I love rainbows.  They are very rare in Southern California.  Not so rare in Hawaii.  If you have never been, you should go.  The thing that you don't know is that it rains practically every day, but because the sun is also out, it creates rainbows.  My favorite rainbow experience happened when the firefighter and I were in Uruguay.  We stayed at La Sirena.  Awesome place, awesome family that runs it. We actually found the end of a rainbow.  It was fascinating!  I have never actually stood at the end of a rainbow before, so cool.  I didn't find a pot of gold, but I felt at peace and it seemed like such a unique experience.

So what is at the end of your rainbow?  Is it an Olympic gold?  Or is it yummy Jamaican food at the halfway point on a longish bike ride?  Right now, I want to find that Jamaican food on a Sunday afternoon and I want work towards my goal of not finishing last in my next race.

How to Motivate Yourself

Why a picture of a shoe?  I always say, "Just put the shoes on".  That's the easiest motivational tool that I have, it's a good pair of running shoes.  I wear Brooks Ariel shoes, they help with my flat feet.   Once the shoes are on, I can head out the door and have a good workout. If I look at the shoes, or think about the shoes in the closet and don't put them on or touch them, I won't work out.

It sounds so simple, but we all know when it comes to working out that it never is that simple.  There is always something else to do, whether it is actually important or not.  I need to eat dinner, I want to play with the evil dogs, I need to make 5 phone calls or I need to check my email and oops, now it's dark outside.  I know all the excuses, it's amazing that I have ever completed a race.  When I was in high school, I was not good at cross country and my old stand by excuse was that my shoelaces were untied, it was a great opportunity to stop and rest.  Terrible.

Encinitas Sunset, much like the one I saw tonight

What is motivational?  I am so fortunate, because I can walk out of my house and go for a run on the beach at low tide, or I can run along the road and still hear the waves crashing and usually see a beautiful sunset, like I did tonight.  That's motivational, especially when you see people taking pictures of the sunset.  I don't do that, I want to keep it exciting to see and I need to see it live, that is what gets me out of the house most evenings.  When I didn't live near the ocean, I would find nice places to run that were in parks.  I would look for wildlife, like deer or rabbits, that kept it exciting.  I would also notice the changes in the plant life from run to run.  It's nice to pay attention to the change of seasons on the runs.  Spring to summer to fall, one of my favorite runs that I could extend as far as I wanted to was from the Pennsylvania border into Delaware, in White Clay Creek Park.  Finding several good running routes to keep the workouts different is so important.  A good tool to use is mapmyrun.com, you can find popular running routes in your area and even add your own. 

What do you do to stay motivated?

Are you ready for the Olympics?

I have been watching the U.S. Olympic trials for the past two weeks.  It doesn't even matter which sport.  I am partial to Track and Field, but I have been watching diving, swimming and anything else that I come across. I loved seeing the clips from Ashton Eaton setting the Decathlon world record and so far I like watching all of the events, even the distance races.

The Olympics are always so inspirational.  The athlete stories, the agony of defeat, the drive to win and be the best in the world at something all add to the charm of the Games. That brings me to my point, the most disappointing bit of the trials had to be the drama around the Women's 100m dash 'dead heat'.  This situation got so many Americans excited about Track and Field and the run-off would have been one of the most watched 11 seconds ever.

Photo Finish

1. The USATF didn't have any provisions in place for a 3rd place 'tie'.
2. Jeneba Tarmoh declined to race against Allyson Felix for her spot in the individual race.

The options boiled down to both athletes selecting either a run-off or a coin toss.  If they don't agree, it's a coin toss. Or someone could concede their spot to the other, much like Michael Phelps in the 200m freestyle swimming race. He granted the opportunity of a lifetime to one lucky and talented swimmer, Ricky Berens.  I don't consider this the same issue because Michael Phelps has a gazillion medals and it's insane to compete in 8 events at the Olympics.

I understand leaving things to God, but this is the Olympics.  Fight for your spot, even if it is against one of the fastest women in the world today.  You trained for this and you never know what will happen, that's why we race.  Jeneba will be representing the United States as part of the 4x100m relay pool - but how does this leave the rest of the team?  I would want someone who wants to run hard all of the time.  Athletes are, by nature, competitive and who wouldn't want to race, even against a friend?

What would you have done?

Nonetheless, I am excited for the Olympics and I can't wait to watch.  Go USA!!!!!

What do I do now?

Once you have pushed yourself to the limit and enjoyed it, you have to decide what to do next.  Do you continue to push yourself or is it time for a break?  Typically, I only work out for the first six months of the year, but this year, I have decided to continue to train.  I have had a set back for the last 2 weeks with some unscheduled travel, but I am ready to get back to it.  I need to put some miles on the new bike.  Some considerations for selecting the next race include: Race distance, proximity to home, and the race date.

Race distance is critical.  In a triathlon, you don't just look at the total distance, you have to look at the distance for each discipline.  You must train to make sure that you can cover the race distance.  If you are a weak swimmer, like me, you might want to focus on shorter swim distances or even races that are conducted in a pool.  My first triathlons were competed in a pool.  One of my nightmares has always been drowning behind the pack of swimmers and no one noticing me going under.  The Ironman distance is a huge time commitment and is for someone who has several hours a day, every day to train.  This distances are a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and it closes with a marathon distance run of 26.2 miles.  The officials give up to 17 hours to complete the entire race.  The next common distance is the Olympic distance race of a 1500m swim, 40k bike and 10k run.  These first two distances are standard.  There are also half Ironman races, you can do the math.  The sprint and super sprint distances vary.  Typical sprint triathlons have a 1/4 mile to 1/2 mile swim, a 9-14 mile bike and a 3-5 mile run.  You can select which race you want to perform based on your favorite or best discipline.  There are also races that are performed 'backwards' starting with the run, followed by the bike and lastly the swim.  Make sure you take a look at the race map, river and lake/pond swims are different than pool swims, which are different than open water ocean swims.  Make sure you are prepared for whichever swim your race is.  For ocean swims, I highly recommend attending a clinic if you aren't familiar with ocean swimming techniques.  You will also want to find out if it is an open swim or a wave start.

Where is the race going to occur?  I loved the Encinitas Triathlon because I could walk there.  I didn't need to get up a 5:00 am, I didn't need to stress about parking or traffic or hotel arrangements, and I was totally familiar with the race course.  I had done all three activities on the actual race course during my training.  I can assure you that this next race won't be as comfortable.  How far are you willing to travel to a race?  Do you want to combine it with a long weekend trip, or an actual vacation?

When do you want to do your next race?  The answer is different for everyone.  Some people bounce back right away, others need more time to recover.  There is a triathlon season and it is during the summer, so holidays and vacations may disrupt training and eliminate some races from the potential pool.  I did find a December race in Palm Springs, so maybe that's a possibility.  That's too far away for me to think about now.  It took me about 2 weeks to recover from the sprint triathlon, of course, if I was in better shape, that time would be reduced greatly.  Currently, I am looking at late July and August races.  My travel for work and family is up in the air right now, so we'll see.  I use these websites to look for races, trifind and beginner triathlete.

What else would you consider to help choose your next race?

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this book was good, unfortunately, I have been reading a lot of crimes by women books so far this summer. The flow of the he said-she said works really well for this novel. It's a mystery, so I can't give too much away. Read it!

View all my reviews This is a practice post. I have been out of commission for the past couple of weeks, traveling, etc... I have been reading instead of exercising. Thanks for your patience.

How to get the most bang for the buck

My new bike!

     I have taken my lessons to heart and started making efforts to improve myself, or at least my triathlon times.  So I bought a new road bike!  I have actually been looking for a bike, new or used, for several years.  I just never had the money and the motivation--until now.

     First, I set a budget for myself.  I looked online and I saw bikes in all price ranges.  I knew that I wanted a road bike, but probably not a tri-bike.  I read a lot of forums and the tri-bikes are not always welcome in the weekend warrior rides.  I guess they are so fast, that no one likes to ride with those people.  I wouldn't be fast no matter how expensive my bike is, I am such a lazy biker, but I hope that will change soon.

     Second, I started asking around.  I have a friend at work that has also completed the Encinitas triathlon.  She told me where she got her bike.  I'll give a shout out.  2 wheels one planet in Newport Beach.  She told me that she got a smoking deal and we get a work discount there.  She also mentioned that she saved almost more on her bike than my entire budget, but I checked out their website anyway and got some information from there.  Once I have decided to buy something that will last for a while, I do a ton of research.  I have had my current bike for 16 years and it is still in great condition. My old bike is now happily retired to  participate in activities related to mountain and beach town biking only from now on.  Actually, it will be the guest bike, since my riding around town bike only has two sprockets instead of 3, it could be dangerous to anyone that might be interested in shifting gears.

     Third, I started checking the websites of bike shops in town.  There are a lot of bike shops here.  Most of them are very high end.  I don't even recognize the brands, but the frames alone were generally more than I wanted to spend on the entire bike, pedals and shoe package.  I ended up at my old stand-by, REI.  If you don't know, REI is based out of Seattle, and I have been shopping there all of my adult life.  We are fortunate to have an REI store in Encinitas. It's great, not exactly the flagship store that Seattle has, but not the hole in the wall like in Hollywood, Maryland.  And I don't have to make a special day trip to get there like I did when I lived in Delaware and would drive all the way to Conshohocken, PA for my annual Christmas shopping trip to REI and the King of Prussia Mall.

     I went to REI on Saturday, a very nice sales associate helped me out.  I got sized first because I vaguely remember having an unusual bike size (for my body type) from when I got my last new bike.  I couldn't remember the size, or I would have bought a used bike from Craigslist and I could use the information to see if anything good showed up used that weekend, just in case.  REI had an excellent Memorial Day Sale, so there weren't many bikes left to choose from on Saturday.  They had 2 road bikes that I could have selected, I picked the second from the bottom, because it had better components, even though the less expensive bike was prettier.  It turned out that they had my size in stock.  They were super busy, so they said that they could have it all set up just for me for a test ride on Sunday.  I came home, checked the reviews, and craigslist, just in case.  The reviews were good and nothing decent showed up used online. :)

My new shoe

On Sunday afternoon, I went back the store and did my test ride around the parking lot.  I was happy.  Technology really changes a lot in 20 years.  I had no idea that the shifting could change so much.  I thought it was new and different when I bought my last bike in 1996.  What a change from the 10 speeds of the 70's and 80's!  I am really moving into the new millennium.  I got new clip on pedals and intended to buy these shoes, but they didn't have my size in stock.  I ordered them online and also got a sale price on those.  I was within $30 of my budget and I am excited for now.  I hope to be able to ride my new bike next weekend when my shoes get delivered.

An important thing to note is to get your bike size first.  The firefighter (6'1" guy) and I got measured to the same bike size, it was really funny until I realized that I must be the one with monkey arms or something since I am only 5' 3".

And for those of you mostly interested in the fate of the extremely furry dogs, here's a picture.  

Kobe and Loki

They got a brushed over the holiday weekend and are now beautiful.  Stuart is ok looking too, but he didn't feel up to posing again.

What did I learn?

Hello, I made a few minor changes to the page.  Notice some of my favorite blogs and my friends' blogs to the right, along with the snazzy artwork at the top.  Enjoy.

I am happy that I completed the triathlon, but what did I learn?  Should I continue to work out?  Should I sign up for another race?  I can look back on this experience with some pride, the last time I participated in a triathlon was 6 years and 2 age brackets ago!  I was also participating in a beginning triathlon series, the Riverwood Golf and Athletic club triathlon.  Such a different atmosphere - I forgot that I live in the triathlon epicenter of the United States.  These people in San Diego are serious!  The clothes, the bikes, the attitudes.  Even the parents participating with their own children were totally competitive.  And, I forgot to mention that one of the women that I met the morning of the race pretty much only befriended me so that she would know that she was going to beat someone.

Anyhow, a few days have passed and I can now reflect on everything that happened with some clarity of mind and a satisfied stomach.  I have been starving the past 4 days and have eaten everything that I have come across, I finally feel like I have my normal appetite back.  It helps that I have now seen the results, look if you dare, they are not that exciting.  Scroll all the way down and then keep going!  Upon first glance, I was really happy with my swim, it was exactly the same time that I get in the pool and a lot faster than my first real ocean swim from a few weeks ago.  I was expecting to take about 40 minutes, since I completed it in less than 24 minutes, I was very pleased.  To my amazement (not really), I had the transition area to myself.  I was second to last out of the water, I spent a ton of time changing out of my wetsuit, more than 5 minutes.  The pros spent less than a minute, maybe they didn't wear a wetsuit, I can't remember all I know is that the transition time included running up the monster hill taking off my wetsuit, drinking a lot of water and putting on my socks, shoes, glasses and helmet.

My bike ride was super slow.  58 minutes on a basically flat course for 12 miles is terrible.  I didn't like the two loops, but it allows for maximum family and fan participation.  They get to see you twice.  In most races, the spectators only get to see the athletes during transition and at the finish line.  My second transition was much faster, I still had to put on my number, but I could do that and move at the same time.  My transition time was less that 2 minutes, phew...

My run was ok.  I wish it was faster, but I guess after 1 1/2 hours of activity, I guess I couldn't expect to run 8 minute miles.  Again, I didn't like the 2 loops, it made the 3 miles feel more like 10 miles, but it did allow for maximum community participation.  Running Skirts handed out electrolyte drinks, that were so good that  I slowed down for a sip both times past their store.  I'll do better next time.

Lessons learned include:
1. Meet people before the race.  I never realized how solitary this sport is until I tried it.  No one is the same pace as you  in all 3 events, so you are constantly passing people and getting passed.  It is nice to run into new friends on the course, especially if you don't have friends present for support.
2. Swim like you mean it.  Not too much talking and hugging.  Also, it helps if you get your goggles set before the race.
3. Get your numbers together before the race.  I probably should have one of those triathlon straps or I should have attached my running number to my suit before the swim.  I don't think it would have hurt to have it on under my wet suit.
4. Know where to exit for each stage.  I got lost between the bike and the run.  I could have saved a few seconds there.
5. Get a road bike.  I have a mountain bike now.  I think it will cut minutes off of my time easily.
6. Be happy and thankful that I was able to complete a goal.

Completed the Encinitas Sprint Triathlon!

Hello!
I finished the race!  I'll consider it a success because I am alive.
After publishing the pre-race regimen, which did include a valiant attempt at brushing all 3 dogs (they were not happy, but Loki looks good), I realized that I forgot all about putting socks in the bag.


So, the rest of the preparations for the race included:
1. Hoping I could fall asleep, there was some kind of party down the street, I wasn't sure if the noise would end at 11:00pm or 3:00am. Didn't they know that I needed to wake up at 5:10?  Somehow I fell asleep.
2. Obsessing over every little injury and pain.  I had a flossing incident last night.  Not a good excuse for poor performance, but it is something that can be focused on in times of distress.
3. Packing socks (very important)
4. Preparing a pre-race smoothie that included oranges, peaches, blueberries, strawberries, Emergen-C, and, of course, oatmeal
5. Walking to the race site.  I got a little nervous, so I rode part of the way.  

When I got to the transition area so many people looked totally competitive with their super fantastic looking bikes and shiny triathlon suits (even the rest of my age group).  My suit is at least 7 years old.  At my age I am wondering why the tops are not long enough to cover one's stomach.  At least I have a nice wet suit.  I met a couple of people while waiting for the start, drinking my smoothie.  Unfortunately, I forgot to throw away a peach pit and it ended up in the blender, so I was trying to discretely spit bits out until I decided to just throw it away.


When it was 3 minutes to the starting time, 7:20 for my wave, I immediately found a swim buddy.  Matthew from Down Under or somewhere.  It may amaze you, but I was unable to have a full conversation with him in 2 minutes.  I just told him that I was not afraid of the waves and that his job was to steer me in the right direction and to stay where I could see him.  He said to run to the right and then start swimming.  I told him that I can run. :)  Then a friend of his, who was also a swim buddy, said that she just got out of the water after the ungodly time of 20 minutes!  I chuckled and told him that we would be lucky to get out in 35-40 minutes.  I am sure that made his day.  Anyway, I only had to duck 2 waves and it was pretty smooth sailing, I ignored the lifeguards warily watching me and staying within a few feet of me.  When the next wave of competitors caught up to me, my buddy steered them around me.  No one even touched me!  I was mentally prepared to get kicked and hit at least once.  Actually, I hit Matthew in the face at some point in the race.  I apologized profusely.  How embarrassing!  At the end, he told me when I could touch the bottom and stand up.  Once my feet touched the sand, I gave him a hug, thanked him and started walking/jogging up the monster hill to the transition area while removing my swim cap, goggles and wet suit.  Part 1 over.


I got to the transition area and I had a very pleasant surprise.  All of the other bikes were gone, so I had all the space to myself.  No one was stepping on or around me or complaining that there is not enough space.  I drank some water, fully removed my wet suit, put my socks, shoes, sunglasses and helmet on and proceeded to the mounting area.  I have a mountain bike, so I know I am slow, but geez.  When people are whizzing past you with the velodrome bikes and Olympic speed track helmets, it's pretty intimidating. 
 I got passed by tons of people with nice bikes, no one with a mountain bike or beach cruiser (yes, there were a few participants with these) passed me, thank goodness.  I don't think any kids passed me, but I am sure they were right there.  2 loops later I finished.  Part 2 over.


Once I got back to the transition area, I still had to put on my bib number.  Amazingly, my hands were working, so it only took a couple of seconds.  I couldn't find the place to exit for the run -  Note for next time...I had to ask someone who was finished where it was.  I was able to run, usually your legs are like jelly after the bike, but this time I didn't feel weird, just slow.  I started running and it was ok, but the sun decided to come out and I could feel myself sweating.  I passed a few people (men and women) in this leg, but there were women in the 45+ age group in front of me at this stage. A couple of kids passed me, but I just assumed they were in the super sprint.  People were cheering and handing out water, which I took full advantage of in this race.  2 loops later, after the longest 5k ever, I finished!  The announcer said my name and everything.  I got a participant's medal and some water and went to my bike and sat down.  My friend Cheryl was on the way and I went down to the beach to meet her.


I want to thank everyone for the awesome support. I finished in under 2 hours, that was my goal.  The official results have not been posted yet, but I think the swim was my best leg.

Moonlight Beach - with my participant medal

I have been really tired all day, but Cheryl and I went to a bottomless Mimosa brunch that helped to replenish my energy and we walked back from town.


Overall, it was a great experience.
Next time - what I learned from this triathlon and some details of my results.

Pre-race regimen

Hello,
This is my practice blog.  I am preparing to complete a sprint triathlon on Sunday, May 20.  My first in about 6 years!  The Encinitas Triathlon has a 750m ocean swim, a 20k bike and a 5k run.  My pre-race regimen consists of:
1.  Walking down the beach to the Encinitas sport expo, picking up my packet and avoiding the waves on the walk back.
2. Brushing my beautiful dogs (boy do they need it)!

 

3. Eating a good lunch and a good dinner.  (my nutrition habits are not the best)
4. Checking out my bike
5. Packing my bag for an early start tomorrow. Goggles, towels, helmet, extra clothes and flipflops
6. Praying for safety and health