Back To Regularly Scheduled

I apologize for the brief interruption to the previous scheduled programming here on Karadise.  For a hot minute, due to my inability to understand domain hosting and publishing, I thought I needed to get a new URL and hosting site.  It was the perfect storm of an expired credit card, an e-mail address I didn't know I had, my blog disappearing and a frantic search to replace it since I thought Karadise would now be costing me lots o' $ to host.

Rest assured I have been given back my hijacked Karadise but not before I freaked out and purchased Run Bird Legs Run, which I thought was a pretty good find in rage filled panic search.  So now I own both RBLR, which goes to nowhere for the time being, and Karadise is back in the hands of its rightful "owner."  At some point I may switch over, but for now we'll remain here.  Turns out it's a little more tricky than you I may think.  And with that back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Life/Running Update:
Things have been busy per usual.   Having the weather be sunny and 70 here in NorCal has only added to the activities on my "must do" list.  I've actually been home every weekend since the race which is a big change.  They have been filled with trips to the beach, not running, beers with friends (IRL and blogger kind alike), hikes, brunches and not running some more.   I am continuing my tour-de-CA with four trips this week.  Two day trips for work, a trip to Tahoe this weekend for fun/work and a two day trip to San Diego at the end of next week.  All that plus LOTS O BASKETBALL this week. Go Ducks!

I have been keeping up on yoga, Abs challenge and getting in a few short runs here and there but this weekend will kick off the re-training for Big Sur. with my first double digit run.  I am going to take this training cycle a littler easier then Napa Valley.  I am planning to run Big Sur with Tritreats at a conversational pace and just take in the beauty of the course.  Then I'll gear back up the speed for New York!  That still means long runs but I am only planning on one 20 miler and not as much pressure on hitting certain times for training runs.  MFR and I have decided not to do Wildflower this year.  I am really loving running this year and don't want the pressure of "having to tri train."  And also this:

The California drought is not a joke people

In other news, This!  Kara Goucher with Oiselle.  I've loved me some Kara for so many years and was a tad bit heartbroken when I heard she was leaving Portland.  But to hear that she is now with my favorite running apparel company, (possibly just favorite company) is like peanut butter wine and chocolate finding each other for the first time.  You can read more about Kara's announcement and Sally's side - spoiler alert, both women are full of awesomeness.  To say I am excited about this partnership would be the understatement of the century.  See you in New York Kara.

With that I am off to hike the hills of Tahoe and buy ALL the Oiselle threads.

Wildflower Oly 5/5/13 (Heat vs. Wind)

You can blame the lateness of this report on the fact that I don't know how to get my pictures off my camera since I usually only take pics with my phone.  I need to get better about taking pictures period but baby steps with this whole blog thing.  I am not going to do a full race review of the set-up, expo, camping etc... because I am sure anyone who knows about WF gets the gist.  It's the Woodstock of triathlons and it's amazing (see naked run and beer bong aid station).  If you're a triathlete, this race needs to be on your list, period!  It's hot and miserable and the hardest course imaginable but in the end you'll be so glad you did it.

We drove down after work on Friday night and got into the park around 10pm.  Somehow we magically found the SF tri club area (cell phones don't usually get a signal) and MFR wandered around with a headlamp to different camp fires until he found his buddy who was saving us some ground space for our tent.  We parked, set-up, met everyone and were in bed within an hour or so.  Important to point out that I was wearing a tanktop when I went to bed at 11pm that night (we'll circle back to this).  At 7am the next morning the sun was already scorching right into our mini-two-person tent so we were up.

Wildflower Housing

We had breakfast (aka instant coffee and bagel/pb) and walked the mile down to the lake to pick up our packets and watch the halfers swim and transition to the bike.  We got to see Leslie head out on the bike and then we tried to find shade.  This is always the trick with WF, what do you do the day before the race?  Since you're camping you have limited indoor options but starting a race with a crispy sunburn is never a good idea.  We opted to watch the pros transition to the run, sit by the stage and listen some music and stalk coincidentally sit right next to Lauren Fleshman, which scored us some Picky Bars and swag. Then we headed to the finish line to watch her husband,  Jesse "Threepeat" Thomas Win The Day!

Waiting on JT!

Jesse giving some fan love

Aviators!

Those are the only pictures I took all weekend.  It's not my strong suit but I'll work on it.  After JT fanmania, we climbed  back up to the campgrounds and set up chairs and the hammock (yep MFR has a camping hammock) in a shaded area right before Mile 8 Marker and cheered on everyone.  I cheered super loud for anyone wearing Portland gear, SF gear, TNT gear and SoCal gear...so pretty much everyone.  They all looked hot and freaking miserable so they need the extra push.  I still can't believe I ever did long course.  The only exception was when Leslie came by smiling and looked great.

After hours of cheering we got ready for the morning, watched the naked run (I actually have a pic or two of that as well but it's not that kind of blog) and had an awesome dinner of jambalaya. It was right when it started to get dark that we realized just how much the temperature was dropping.  I ended up with multiple long sleeve shirts and a huge sweatshirt on and I was still cold.  Big change from the night before.

We woke up at 6am and everyone starting panicking about the wind and temperature (easily 20 degrees colder then Sat. when we woke up).  What are you gonna do?  No matter what, everyone is dealing with the same conditions come race day.  Temp wise it was actually perfect for a triathlon but people just weren't prepared gear wise (arm warmers etc...) and the wind was the real concern.  We all ate, checked our bikes and rode down Lynch to transition.

I set up transition quickly and put my wetsuit on because I was cold.  I still had 2 hours until my wave started.  My panic didn't start until walking down the boat ramp to the lake.  You could see the buoys blowing all over the place and it looked really choppy.  I watched all the waves go off including MFRs and then even got to watch him run out of the water.  My wave started an hour after his so at least I had someone to cheer for.

Swim: 40:02 (slowest Oly swim I've ever done)
At 10:20am it was finally my turn.  Our group "warmed up" for the allotted 5 min and then they called us back out of the water.  It was way warmer in the water then it was on shore.  The horn went off and we were all running in.  I stayed towards the back and tried to avoid getting clamored.  It sort of worked but I still had a few kicks to the head etc...  It was actually great swimming out to the first buoy and I felt really good.  Then we turned right and all hell broke lose.

It was so freaking choppy.  Swells were rocking me all over the place and started to make me feel naseous.  Every time I tried to sight, a wave would come over my head and I'd swallow a bunch of water.  I tried to stay right in line with the buoys but they were blowing all over the place and people were getting pulled out left and right.  That's when the mental part kicked in, I started questioning if we/I should even be out there.  Cue the dramatic music...Is this safe?  Am I going to die out here?  Of course it seems so much worse when you're in it then it actually is.  My breath shortened and I kept trying to tred water to calm myself down.  That's when I realized that people who were backstroking (which was quite a few b/c of the chop) were passing me.  I had a little talk with myself. "Alright you have two choices.  You either pull out of this swim and feel like a failure for the rest of the day/month/year/life or you slow your breathing, put your head down and do the best you can to move forward. But you can't just sit here."  I opted for no. 2 and even though it felt like I was out there for hours and barely moving, I somehow made it to the turnaround. It was little better on the way back.  Still choppy but not as much of a straight headwind.  I climbed out of the water and walk/jogged my way up to transition.

T1 5:34 min
I felt like I had won the battle just by completing the swim.  I am a slow transitioner and this was no exception.  I was trying to hurry but was still catching my breath.  There were quite a few bikes still racked in my area (age group) which told me that others were probably having similar swims.  That gave me a little mental boost and I grabbed my bike and ran out.

Bike: 1:49:24
Getting up Lynch actually felt really good.  I just settled in and passed tons of people.  I knew it was going to be windy once we got out of the park so I had a Gu right when I crested Lynch and kept sipping on Nuun.  Overall the bike felt good for me.  This is usually my weakest event but I pushed it the entire time.  It was windy but that gave you a little tailwind on the way out.  The worst part was the turnaround.  With the tailwind I cruised into the turnaround on a slight uphill at about 19-20mph.  Once you circled the cones and it became a slight downhill the headwind hit and I was going 6 mph. Just let that sink in.  6mph...downhill and I was pushing.  KILL ME NOW!  The next couple miles were rough but once we got close to the park, I felt that given the circumstances I was having a pretty good ride.  I had another Gu around mile 20, tried not to get knocked off by the side winds, descended Lynch and into transition.

Totally faking the smile

T2: 4 min
I dismounted, ran all the way across transition and found my space easily enough.  At some point during my bike I realized I forgot to take my running hat out of my bag and lay it out.  Crap!  I debated just running without it but decided I wanted something to pull my foul lake hair out of my face.  So I had to dig for that for awhile and finally found it.  Stumbled into my shoes and grabbed my race belt and jogged out of there.

A little darker than yesterdays photos

Run:  58:35
Once you leave transition, you run straight into a staircase.  There is no easing into anything at WF.  My legs felt heavy but I just took it easy and chugged along for the first couple miles.  I walked the really steep hills and just tried to keep my pace steady the rest of the time.  I never felt great but I never felt bad, which for me is a win.  The weather was finally a positive factor since it was perfect running temperature.  Way different then the 85 degree run from long course I remember (not so fondly).  I definitely passed more people then previous triathlon running legs.  I probably could have pushed it a little more on the run but as I cruised through the campground and down Lynch, I felt good about my performance (except maybe the swim).  I ran through the finishers chute, grabbed lots of food and MFR was waiting for me right outside the gate.

All in all it was challenging, humbling and fun day!  I felt good with my race and MFR killed it.  I don't know who had it worse, the halfers with the heat or the Olys with the wind/rain crap but neither were ideal.  There is no such thing as perfect race conditions at Wildflower.  You have to earn it.  It was a good race to reignite my passion for the sport of triathlon and I am excited to experience a few more this year.  It's weird stepping back to the shorter distances but I've seen my bike and run improve already so I must being doing something right.  I did feel a little sick post race but a stop at In-N-Out quickly cured that.

Overall: 3:37:35 (my goal was 3:40)

I always love their medals.

HTC, Wildflower & Serotonin?

I am putting it out there, this week is going to be so much better than last week.  How could it not be after Boston, Texas, World Mayhem?  To start off on a great note I have an exciting announcement.  In case you haven't seen it on Twitter or FB....I got chosen for the Nuun Hood To Coast Team!  I could not be more excited or thankful to Nuun for the opportunity.  I was so sad thinking I was going to miss my favorite running event this year and now I will not only be there but I'll be enjoying it with 19 other amazing women and one of my favorite products.  This will be my 6th time running Hood to Coast and I can't think of a better way to celebrate my halfway mark (towards my goal of running all 12 legs of HTC).

Although I started my campaign for the team last year and felt good about my application, I really didn't think I'd get picked.  Sort of like buying a lottery ticket - someone has to win but what are my chances really?  I had to do a triple take when they posted the names on Wed. morning.  My reaction went something like this:  don't get excited because your name won't be listed so nothing lost, oh look Leslie got in (well deserved), oh look they picked someone named Kara, who's blog is Welcome to Karadise, wait that's my name and the name of my blog, oh my god that's me, oh my god I am on the team, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, must call everyone I know to tell them the news, wait that is my name right?, it is, I want to run in circles around my office, maybe that's not a good plan, I can't believe the picked me etc... you get the idea.  It's going to be a great weekend and I am counting down the days already. Here is the official announcement and list of the other wonderful women I have the honor of running with.  I can't wait to meet everyone.

Besides just reveling in the awesomeness of that announcement all last week, I did a few other things as well.  I achieved my goal of running 26.2 in honor of Boston (15miles on Tuesday, 5 miles on Thursday & 6.2 Sunday) and we took a 24 hour, impromptu trip down to San Antonio Lake for a quick Wildflower training weekend.  At some point last week, I was rambling on to MFR about the course and how until he sees it on race day he'll have no idea etc... and he said, well now that we live in the same state (and less then 3 hours away), why don't we head down and train on the course?  Umm....why didn't I think of that?

So Saturday morning we packed the car with camping and race gear and headed down south.  We swam in the lake and rode the bike course on Saturday, had a great night camping and ran the course yesterday afternoon around 11.  Packed up and drove home through Paso Robles for  a nice lunch and wine tasting (duh) and we were home by dinner time last night. It was a great weekend that left me excited and terrified for two weeks from now.

Isn't there some scientific reaction that has to do with serotonin or something that makes women forget how painful labor is?  Obviously I can't speak from experience and I am no Bill Nye but I swear I've heard that.  I am convinced the same thing is true for Wildflower.  I always think of WF with the fondest memories, how fun the weekend is, how it's a one-of-a-kind race etc... And yet I totally block out how hard and freaking miserable that course is.  Just to put it in perspective -  before this weekend I was thinking I could do a 3:30 easily and now I am hoping to break 3:50 and it's not because I am out of shape. My body actually felt pretty good this weekend.  It's because you are climbing hills the entire race (except the swim - that would be weird), it's 90+ degrees out and there is no shade. You're out in the brutal elements with no protection, climbing mountains and running up cliffs. I felt like I was biking with a hair dryer blasting in my face the entire ride, I saw a giant snake (my biggest fear) and a black window spider (though that was at the campsite).  I was dehydrated, sun burnt and covered in dust on a course that is no joke!  How did I forget about all those elements of the race?

MFR after a long day of swimming & bike riding in the heat

I think part of my problem is I've done the long course so I figured olympic distance is no biggie.  I am so naive sometimes.  An Oly triathlon is hard period and WF Oly is really hard!  After cursing myself for signing up for this brutal race again, I realized that this weekend was great training physically but even more so an important reminder of the mental toughness required for that course.  Also a good test run for gear, hydration, nutrition, sunscreen (or lack there of according to my shoulders) etc...  In the end it did once again get me excited for the weekend because I think that serotonin thing is already kicking in.  I will also be praying to the gods of cool spells that maybe they can work some magic in two weeks because I can't imagine it being any hotter.

Transition already set up - two weeks early.

It really is a course and weekend like no other and no matter what your time, when you run through the finishers chute (which is already being set up - and goes head to head with any Ironman finish) and cross that finish line there is a sense of accomplishment that is hard to match at any other race.  Here's a great review from Jesse, who I hope to see three-peat this year, of what makes this race so special!  It's going to be a great weekend and I look forward to the challenge.

Finish line on Saturday night

To continue my "better" week I am participating the local Boston Strong run this evening, have a busy couple days at work including some late night events and a concert in San Jose. Oh yeah, did I mention that I am also flying to DC on Friday for a weekend of fun with my lady friends and to run Nike Women's Half on Sunday?  Just a few things going on!