Swimming the week before the event

Usually the swim routine consists of a lot of splits, drills and kicking. Yesterday was actually pretty nice, just get into the pool and swim for 45 minutes. No kicking or drilling, just get in there and swim.

I gave it a try to train with the new Garmin 405 watch that I bought and as pleased as I am with the running and biking performance, I cannot say the same about the swimming. Being fair, is not designed for water activities. Anyway,it's a cool thing to see your swimming routine in Google maps.

I forgot to turn it off, I obviously didn't swim all the way to my house.

Bike ride

This was an awesome, cool, Sunday morning bike ride!! Take a look at the elevation, the legs DO feel this climbs. Getting ready for Wildflower!

April 21--Quick update--

I haven´t blogged in a long time....sorry. I have been really busy with the fundraising. I managed to reach my quota of $2,900!!!!

So here is an outlook at my morning cycling routine through beautiful, hilly, sometimes chaotic Berkeley. I think this is probably one of the best places in the world to train for a cycling event. Take a look at the altitude gains, my legs are finally getting used to climb, rigth on time for Wildflower....only one week away.

Weekend March 27-28.....the Wildflower course

This weekend the team went camping to the Wildflower course, so we actually got to see and feel the course.

On Saturday we woke up early and drove to the lake for the swimming session. I arrived late (as usual), but managed to get on the water and complete the 1.5 kms in 30 mins sharp. Not bad given that I had breakfast 15 minutes before and I started cramping when jumped in the cold water.

Swimming done. Now ahead of me I had a 40 kms bike ride in Wildflower brutal hills......okay, the "brutal" is a bit exaggerated but the ride was quite steep (altough nothing compared to my training facilities, Berkeley´s North Hills). My guess is that I completed the circuit in about 1 hour and 30 mins. I don't know for sure because I spent 25 very nice minutes talking to the folks in the aid station......

Yes, i felt the pain on the afternoon. I was tired as hell and my body ache a bit in some private and not-so-private areas.....I had a great nap and enjoyed the sketches prepared by the San Francisco and East Bay team. We also got to hear from some of the people that have had leukemia or lymphoma and that are training for a triathlon. Wow. These folks are one of a kind.

After the sketches we gathered around the fire, one of the guys cooked some oysters that he brought and we all had a couple of beers. By 10:30 pm I was in my sleeping bag. Needless to say, I slept like a baby

Sunday morning we packed our stuff and went for a 10 km run, which I did in 50 minutes. Now, after the run, my body did start really complaining. It didn't matter because I have done the race track and will be ready to destroy it on May 1st.

My training ground.....

The Berkeley Death Ride....

The proof......

so you see this is serious...

Saturday, March 13, 2010--First Open Water Swim

So, there I go to Shadow Cliffs, Pleasanton for our first open water swim! We also get our new wetsuits. Coach Cindy has recommended that we wear two -or three- swimming caps because it is going to be very cold......my God, I am used to swim in the nice calm and warm waters of the Mexican Pacific ocean....

So, I get on my wetsuit....I look like a skinny sausage (I promise to upload a picture later) and start walking towards the lake/pond.

When my feet touch the water I cannot beleive how cold it is. As I go in my whole body starts getting really cold......until the water reached my waist....oh yes, a little pee works wonder! (actuallt, everybody does that, so don't think I am some kind of nasty human being)

Now comes the moment of truth...open your suit at the neck and let the water actually flow through your chest and back.....my god, it feels awful, awful, awful. As a reference, a hot tub temperature is around 40 degrees celcius, a regular swimming pool is heated at around 28. The water at Shadow Cliffs was around 16-20 degrees.

By this moment I cannot feel my feet and my hands are absolutely numb. We get the instructions from the coach and start swimming. I feel some anxiety because I cannot see anything underwater, the water is completely opaque. Also,the coldness of the water makes me feel confused, like I didn't know where I was.

After a couple of minutes I actually started feeling much better, got warmer and actually enjoyed the training. Cold water has this effect on a person's body. At the beginning you really hate it, but after you get use to it, it becomes quite an enjoyable experience.

After finishing the swim workout and taking off the suit we went for a quick 20 minute run. While changing in the bathroom I was talking to one of the coaches and he told me that the water was incredibly cold, more so than the San Francisco Bay! (the guy has done the Escape from Alcatraz Tri a couple of times)

The run was quick and easy. However, I didn't put a jacket or sweatshirt after finishing and on the wya home I started feeling some discomfort on my throat.....yes I am getting old. I actually missed Sunday training because I got a cold after swimming in a cold pond.