Eileen Swanson's Tales

It was an awesome day at the Lake with Reid and Belle yesterday! We played fetch with Belle, taught her how to swim out pretty far in the lake while we both swam next to her, hiked, and played some more in the water It is mornings like this one, where the sun is shining, the wind is still, the water is crystal clear, all we could hear were the sounds of us splashing around and laughing, that make me extremely HAPPY! What a beautiful morning!

Later in the day Reid and I went for my prescribed 2 hour run along trails near our house. We ran up and down these beautiful trails and enjoyed each other’s company, until one of us would take off to get up to a certain HR zone! I have to admit I was feeling a little better than Reid yesterday especially on some of the steeper hills We ended the run with a hard effort as Coach asked and I was super happy to being feeling great at the end of 2 hours. This is a first for me. Reid was happy to be done

Then off to see Belle and go for another short hike. We have so much fun together, the 3 of us! It is so amazing how much fun and joy you can have doing the simplest things with the people you love most! We laughed and smiled so much the whole day!

Just before dinner I headed off to the pool to finish out my week of training! It was a fun, not so hard set that consisted of lots of pulling. Oh, I just LOVE to pull. It’s my favorite! Kicking, not so much….LOL.

…..Oh and I can’t forget to mention that I had the BEST phone conversation with Marit yesterday. She is an amazing person and I am so happy to call her a good friend

Have an awesome day,

E

Yay, I have some awesome friends out there who have been helping me with my bike fit. I have been writing about my bike issues for some time now, especially my saddle issues. So, I decided it was time to make some serious changes.

Jim Felt of Felt bikes and Dave Bunce of Blackwell research have been working with me for the past several days via pics, emails, phone calls and more pics….. They were so surprised that I was “WAY OFF” in my position. They said “no wonder I was in so much pain” and no wonder I “did not have much power transfer to the pedals.” Crazy, huh? We spend all this time and money on the sport and a simple thing like getting properly fit is SO ESSENTIAL.

I was told that my seat was WAY too high and too far forward. So we moved me back a whole inch and down a 1/2 inch, WOW! Huge change. The front end is too high and needs to move down 1 inch minimum and 2 inches would be optimal. This part I have not been able to do yet. Jim is trying to find a new bar and stem combo to make this happen. The Zipp bars I have on there now, do not go down any further.

Tomorrow I will test ride in my new more comfortable and powerful position. I am so excited. I KNOW this will work no matter how different and off I will feel at first, since I have been riding in the wrong position for over a year now. I am so stoked. I am going to MAKE this WORK. As Dave Bunce said, “look out.”

Have an awesome weekend!

E

It’s so sad in CA right now. There are 700 wildfires burning throughout the state. Most have been set by a severe electrical storm and others by the extreme heat wave and some accidents. Although the closest fires are about 25 miles away from us, the air quality is so bad! Once you walk outside you can immediately see and smell the smoke. It is so thick and it makes it so hard to breathe at times.

Every news and radio station has been warning us to avoid being outdoors for long periods unless absolutely necessary and definitely not exercise outside. Of course I have been swimming and running outdoors and it finally hit me yesterday. I had a hard swim and run set and I nearly coughed up a lung. But I HAD to get these workouts in or I would go stir crazy at work. So, I swam at lunch with Reid and we both felt the thick smoke entering our lungs as we worked hard in the pool. It was not TOO bad, until the run at night. After a long 1 hour 45 minute commute after work (serious traffic delays) last night, I again HAD to move my body or I would go nuts.

I went out for a hill repeat session and nearly passed out. Under Coach’s orders, I was supposed to work very hard, but he didn’t know about the fires. After my 3rd repeat, I decided not to fully kill myself, and save my lungs. I finished out the set, but didn’t pick up the intensity any more or I for sure would have passed out from inhaling so much smoke! I did see stars though

Today the air quality is not much better, so I opted for an easy swim and I’m still contemplating my trainer workout………

**I pray for those that are affected by the fires and pray that the fires are contained very soon**

E

Finishing in 1st at Splash n Dash with my baby Belle

After feeling absolutely toasted, as Marit would say, throughout the weekend, I looked forward to my day off of training on Monday! Yes, I finally had a day off and I thought it would feel so good. Well, it kind of did and then I realized what I have been missing all along.

A complete day off for most of my competitors would mean EXACTLY that – put you feet up, sleep in, take naps, watch a movie, lay out at the beach or play, ice, get a massage and just simply relax. Well, this is what I have been longing for. I REALLY need a day off, completely. I need a massage, I need to sleep more than 6 hours, I need to walk around barefoot or with comfy shoes on (not heels for work), I need to wear shorts and a tank, and simply lay around and relax I know this is not realistic for my lifestyle and I have to deal with it ‘gracefully.’

I cannot freak out, get upset, or stress, I simply have to mentally ‘RELAX’ and know that what I am doing will only make me stronger! This is my life and it is GREAT! I have to remind myself that I can do well in this sport, I just have to believe in ME.

So keep the work coming…..keep the training and racing going……I CAN and WILL handle it all

Cheers to an awesome week!

E

Splash n Dash venue!!

The Oracle 5K was so HOT! We are having a heat wave so the temps have been in the 90s-100s this past week. When we started the race at noon yesterday, it was already 90 degrees and climbing! I was drenched with sweat just waiting to start, nice!

I went out super fast and felt like I was wonder woman, only to find out at mile 1.1 that I was NOT wonder woman HA! I went out in 5.20 pace with the guys (including my hubbie) and then I blew up BIG TIME. Oops! Coach P was so mad at me. The pace and the HEAT got to me. I seriously wanted to try to see what I could hold on to. I guess NOT that pace. Ok, well I went up to 7 min pace on the next mile, then sucked it up and tried to pick it back up again. I held on to win for the women and was 12th including the dudes I was SO HOT and hurting! 5Ks really hurt!

Next up was the Splash n Dash at 6:30PM at Lake Del Valle. It was 100 degrees at 6PM as we were all getting ready and contemplating a wetsuit. CRAZY! I REALLY REALLY did not want to wear one, but the fast elite guys all said they were wearing them. So, to be able to stay with them I would have to wear one too. The water was around 74 degrees. We were crazy. But once I got in the lake, it was actually not that bad. When the gun went off, I started out fast and strong and felt ok. I was trying so hard to let my legs drag along as they were already feeling a bit tired from the earlier race. I led for a bit, then drafted for a bit, overheated a bit, swam on my own for a bit, and came out in 3rd behind 2 guys. I swear that swim felt SO LONG (after the race it was confirmed to be 1.2miles). NICE! I love long swims, but not in these temps.

I got out of my wetsuit and started the run pretty easy and mellow. I was determined to NOT blow up this time. I ran by Reid and Belle cheering for me. So CUTE! Belle started wimpering as she wanted to come along, poor baby! But she got to play in the lake instead. Anyway, the run started off with a bit of an inlcine, then rolled through single track, over a small bridge, down some more single track, up a BIG hill, where 2 guys caught me, then over another bridge to a turn around and back. I was so dehydrated that I grabbed 4 cups of water at the turnaround. It felt so good to drink this little bit of water! I felt much better on the way back and much better on the rollers. I finished strong with Belle alongside and won for the women and was 5th including men. I was HAPPY with a great speed work day!! And a couple young girls came up to me post race to ask me questions about training, racing, and my Splsish suit! It was so sweet and I loved to share all that I have learned over the years. They were so cute and so excited to be racing!

One more race to go this weekend! YAY! I am having so much fun!! Will post pics later.

P.S. GO Bree, Go KAT, GO Lins, and everyone else this weekend!

E

Today will be a fun filled day with 2 races, of course around my work schedule Here at Oracle at Noon, there will be a 5K race. Reid and I are both racing it along with about 600 other people. Should be super fun and hurt a bit!! It is already in the mid 70s outside and should hit 90 when we start the run! NICE!

Oracle knows how to celebrate!! After the 5K there will be awards, a HUGE BBQ, raffle prizes from 30 vendors, a DJ, and this will all take place POOLSIDE! (Rach don’t be upset your missing it ) It will be so COOL!

Then we will head back to work and get ready to leave a bit before 5PM, as we have another race. YES, a SPLASH n DASH series. This race will take place at Lake Del Valle, which is a good 25 min drive from our house but over an hour from work. Oh and we will pick up Belle along the way at her Favorite place Club K9 (doggie day care). She gets to play outside all day with other labs!! The Splash n Dash race features a 1500 meter swim and 5K trail run with “2 Honesty hills.” That is what we have been told. I have seen these hills and they look pretty mean

I’ll keep you posted on our fun filled, action packed day!!

Cheers,

E

Belle and I post run today!

This past week has been a sweet recovery week! Coach had me doing very easy workouts if any, except for my hard swim yesterday! Today I had a super fun ride on my road bike. My TT bike is being worked on now. Jim Felt thinks he has the solution to my saddle/fit issues. I am hoping and praying this will work!

I realized today that just going out on my road bike (which I haven’t ridden in 2 years) without any specific direction from Coach, was TONS OF FUN! I road with a group for a bit, then some on my own, then back with another group for the last part of the ride. It’s so cool here, how there are 5 or 6 different groups that you can ride with on any given Saturday and everyone is so nice! You can pick and choose what effort level you want to ride at and start with a certain group, then end with a completely different group. It really is awesome here in the East Bay!

I had such a great time and even ended up regrouping with Reid with 5 miles to go. When we got home, we took Belle out on our transition run, just a couple of miles. Belle led the whole run and of course we had to ask her to slow down for us Sometimes, I wish she can run for me during my races! HA! She is one quick pup!

Have a great rest of the day!

E