Pain is Temporary, Pride is Forever - Wildflower 2010

Wow! 2010! It is crazy to think that this year is my 7th season racing triathlons, and my 5th season racing long course. I would've never thought that a little boredom in Ohio would lead to the thought of doing A triathlon, let alone moving to San Diego, meeting some great friends, and completely changing my lifestyle.



Over the years, I've had the opportunity to compete in some amazing races: Free TCSD races, KOZ series races, a half ironman in Baja (my first HIM), scattered half marathons, 10K's, 5K's, O'Side Half Iron (x2), Big Kahuna (x2), and Ironman Arizona. Missing from this list was a little race called Wildflower.

Held the first week of May, Wildflower is considered the "Woodstock of Triathlon." While the Woodstock comparison comes primarily from the fact that most racers camp on-site - the race is still quite a fun party. Unfortunately, for the past few years, Wildflower weekend has corresponded with finals at school. Now with graduation behind me, it was my chance to take a stab at this race.

Stacy Schlocker and I left bright and early Friday morning for the trek up to Lake San Antonio. About 15 miles or so from Paso Robles, the Wildflower race area was a beautiful mix of lakes, hills, vineyards, and of course, fields of wildflowers (sorry allergies)!

TCSD once again showed that they were the best club around, as we were able to turn in our tents the week before so they would be set-up when we arrived. AWESOME! Thanks to the Hays family!


Race Day


9:15 race start time for my wave meant that I got to sleep in until 6. That is unheard of on race day! Awesome! Not so awesome was the sub 40-degree temps outside at 6 in the morning. Did I really have to jump into a lake in 3 hours?


In summary - the race was not my best. Not even close to my best.

The swim was ok. Freshwater and flat. I came out exactly where I thought I would (~46 mins).


The bike is where the real "fun" began! Hills, hills, and more hills. My glutes were cramping and my back was hurting. The ride was not fun, and pretty slow (~3:45...ouch!). I kept on muttering to myself as I went up the hills "Pain is Temporary, Pride is Forever. I can do this." That got me through, but barely. In the picture below, I was yelling to Shawn "I hurt! This sucks! Do I really have to run?!?!?" I was NOT looking forward to the half marathon ahead.
The run turned out to be more of a walk. My glutes were tight, and I could not get my heart rate down. Add a bright sunny and warm day, plus hills around every corner, this run was more like a death march. I just couldn't get it together to run more than a quarter mile to half mile at a time. Not fun at all. Even walking hurt! What should've taken me ~2:15 on a good day, took me ~3:00 on this day.


Overall time: ~7:45! Eek. Considering my best half ironman time is 5:49, this was tough to swallow. This race, although half the distance, was harder for me than Ironman Arizona! The race was so painful, that all Saturday night, I was swearing off all long courses. No need to put myself through that pain!


After a good dinner, lots of water, and a night sleeping in my compression tights, I woke up on Sunday morning feeling....pretty good! The pain WAS temporary! By the time Stacy and I reached our breakfast stop in San Luis Obispo on our way home on Sunday morning, she had convinced me to take another stab at the race next year. Am I crazy? A glutton for punishment? Who knows! I think I need to start doing some hill repeats now! :)

Yellow Fever, Typhoid, and Malaria - Oh My!

Forget the lions and tigers (note: uncapitalized means I am not talking about my Detroit sports teams). The most dangerous creature in Africa is the mosquito! Bacteria in the water are not so nice either.

Here's what it takes to **hopefully** stay healthy in Africa:

• Yellow Fever Shot (See pic below)
• HepA/HepB Shots (never finished these in college, so got to start all over again)
• Vivotif Oral Immunization for Typhoid
• Cipro (for a not so happy stomach)
• Z-pak (just in case, for flu, cold, sinus infection, etc)
• Doxycycline (prophylaxis against malaria)
• Diamox (don't have yet, but will probably get for climbing Kilimanjaro. It accelerated acclimitization...just hoping the sulfa allergy won't be bothered by it!)

I'm going to feel like a walking clinic heading into Tanzania, but I think taking these precautions is well worth it.

Countdown: 33 Days!

Fundraising Update - 4/7/2010

Thank you again to everyone who has donated. So far I have raised $1770 of my $3378 fundraising goal. I have just over one week left (April 15th) to raise the last $1600. Why not use tax day as an opportunity to start building those 2010 deductions? Any additional help would be greatly appreciated. :)

4 Weeks Until Wildflower...

...and I guess it is time to really start training. This past weekend consisted of a 43 mile ride on the Great Western Loop, and an 11.5 mile run through my neighborhood. While these weren't the crazy distances I trained during Ironman, they were enough to instill confidence in myself that I WILL SURVIVE Wildflower!

The Great Western Loop is in East County and contains 4400-4800 ft of climbing. Fun Stuff!!

What makes it even better is that Jack the Ass lives at the only store along the 43 mile route!

After wearing heels on Saturday night, Sunday's run was a bit of a pain. I somehow squeezed it in before Easter Sunday mass. Yea for me! 2 more big weeks before taper!

My Home in Africa

While browsing through some of the information Cross-Cultural Solutions has on its site and within the community, I came upon this video. A nice 10 min clip of the house I will be staying in!



Find more videos like this on CCS Community

Fundraising Update - 3/30/2010

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated to my CCS volunteer program in Tanzania. As of today (3/30/2010) I have raised $1325 of the $3378 required program fee. Awesome!

The remainder of my program fee is due by April 14, and every little bit helps!

Many may be wondering why I have to pay to volunteer. Cross-Cultural Solutions is an International NGO and provides a good summary as to WHY there is a program fee, and WHAT that fee covers. In a nutshell, most of our program fee goes toward our specific volunteer costs (lodging, food, security, transportation with Tanzania, travel medical insurance, program placement, and program instruction). While I could hop on a plane and head to Africa on my own, I would have to find my own safe lodging and food, and security and local transportation would be on my own (and Dad DEFINITELY wouldn't like that). In addition, CCS works hard to find placements that suit our strengths for organizations that have a real need. In my opinion, the fee is well worth the opportunity to make a positive impact on somebody's life.

Africa - Here I Come!

Upon learning I would be laid off this spring, my San Diego girlfriends gave me a few words of sympathy and encouragement....and then immediately asked where I was going to travel to in my time off. The thought of not having a job was still new, and I hadn't thought much of future plans other than editing my resume. The seed, however, was planted, and I knew I had to take advantage of this "time off" to do something I would not normally be able to do during my 15 days of vacation each year.

My initial thought was to go back to Europe and backpack areas I hadn't seen on my last trips - Eastern Europe and Greece. I quickly realized that backpacking and sightseeing by myself sounded pretty boring. After serving food to the homeless one night at Father Joe's, I was reminded just how much I enjoy serving others, and decided that international volunteering would be an amazing experience.

As luck would have it, my co-worker's daughter did something similar in 2008 - volunteering in South Africa through a company called Cross-Cultural Solutions -and she loved it! I looked into the South Africa program, thinking it would be fun to do that, and stay an extra week or two for the World Cup. However, when I looked through the CCS programs again, Tanzania stuck out as something a little more intriguing. A completely different culture with backdrops of the Serengeti, Kilimanjaro, and Zanzibar island. I was sold!

SO...I bit the bullet and signed up. I will be volunteering from May 15 - June 5 in the Kilimanjaro region in Tanzania (in the city of Moshi). I am so looking forward to this experience to meet new people, experience new things, and help others that are less fortunate than myself. Ideally I would like to work on Women's Empowerment projects, educating Women about HIV/AIDS or working with them on sustainable income generating activities. I should find out in a couple weeks what my exact assignment will be, so in the meantime, I am reading all I can about the country...and learning Swahili! This is going to be a great summer! Stay tuned for updates!