The Howard Experience

"We're going to see JH tomorrow" my husbands says. You know when you can refer to someone via initals... you're talking about someone who has iron branded an industry. You know, like LA. Here's your clue.. has to do with cycling.

JH would, of course, be John Howard. Last year I was lucky enough to buy a barely used QR tri bike off a friend who absoutely dispised the geometry. Last year I was also luck enough to have Efrat Veidman in town and show me the ropes about this whole cycling bit. She also introduced me to John Howard and convinced me to do a fitting with both my Trek road bike & radical QR TT bike. So, hence, I met JH in Jan of 2007. He did his magic, repositioned just about everything on my road bike (including a dramatic hike in seat height... almost 3 cm!), took one look at the QR and said... "oh, now this is a radical bike" and left it a little more conservative. I can't complain, the bike's done me well.

This year... I'll have a side of fries with my radical. We hooked up the QR and did all the fitting based on the QR this year. I've been feeling like a big slug, so I wasn't looking to smash my testing results from last year. I gave my first baseline test a solid effort (on the QR unchanged) and crushed my results from last year. Oh... I don't know if I can repeat that for my 2nd test post adjustments. Had I done too big an effort?? Crap, I was going to look like the idiot who sprints out of the start gates for a long effort and fizzles after 100 meters.

John first measured key angles and distances. The plumb line from my knee at 3 o'clock position was 5.5 cms fore of the ball of my foot. He hiked the seat up a wee bit and did his thing and went radical with my arm positioning. Not quite the Praying Landis radical, but quite a change. More aero. Better angles. Better access to my core. He re-measured the line from my knee...and voila, now I was only ~1 cm fore.... amazing to thing he didn't really change the position of my seat. By moving my bars up to a better position, it set me back in my seat and gave me a better leg position too.

We re-tested. My average wattage went up by 20 watts... a hot & spicy 379 watt average...

Swing Batta!

(pics from my fitting in Jan of 07 with John & Efrat)

When did the Olympics become the Pro Championships??

I've always been a fan of the Olympics. Since I was a kid I've had Olympic dreams. I was Olympic bound. I was going to ride that horse right into 5 rings of glory. Then I realized how ungodly expensive the equestrian sport is and came to my senses. Coughing up $25K to get you & your horse to the east coast for your US finals is just the start. To get to the finals will cost you nearly that much. Yeah, that wasn't going to happen! So, I decided I would ride horses for me, and perhaps a few lucky people who have me ride their horses.

Now I'm involved in Triathlon, another sport I love. I certainly don't have 5 ring dreams in Triathlon, in fact, not even in my wildest dreams. Heck, I don't have 5-ring talent in Triathlon! I never will and I certainly don't dream of it either. What it takes to make the Olympics is insane. You have to have rare natural talent & make training your profession. But, aren't the Olympics for Amateurs?

This is where I'm confused. In equestrian sports you need to have an amateur card to compete at amateur status. That means you can't receive ANY compensation for ANYTHING related to your riding for a solid year. I compete at the "Open" or pro level with horses because of this, even though it's not my profession.

I also understand that a country really does want to send it's most talented athletes to represent at the Olympics. That's big business.

But how many athletes at the Olympics are actually Amateurs? Even in the horse world, it's the top sponsored pros who make it to the 5-ring arena. When it comes to triathlon or cycling or whatever - it's the pros who go and compete for their country. I'm not really complaining as I do want my country to clean up and take as many medals as possible... but when did the Olympics turn into just another Pro Championship?

I was just pondering this thought and decided to share a little. I did grow up as a little girl with Olympic dreams, because the Olympics were for everyone, not just the athletes who already made a bundle on their sponsorship contracts...and as much as I hate to say it, the Olympics lost a little luster when I realized that it was just another Pro title to take home...

Oh well.. I'll still be pinned to the TV next summer. There's got to be a real amateur athlete in there... and I'll watch them podium!

In meantime... don't forget to smile when you're ripping your legs off... you're doing it for free :o)

Happy Training,
Raja

Swim, Bike Run, Eat, Recover, Repeat

Written for Rachel Michelson www.fitnessformommies.wordpress.com

Before I did my first triathlon I though, "Gee, this would be fun. Triathletes are cool, motivated individuals that are a bit off-center."

Yeah, I rephrased that during my first triathlon. "What the hell did I sign up for??! Triathletes are idiots! I feel like crap. They do this because of why?".

Now I have a slightly better perspective. Why do I do this? Because I can.

Don't get me wrong, no matter how hard you train, and no matter how well prepared you are, be it for a Sprint or an Ironman, you will curse yourself. You will wonder what you signed up for. You will wonder if this qualifies you as insane. But.. you will also know that the sense of accomplishments that envelopes your entire body & being when you cross the finish line is so powerful it can bring you to tears. You have done it. No matter how crappy you feel when you cross the finish line, you will smile. It just may take you a minute or two.

I remember my first half Ironman in 2005. Training had not gone as planned with all sorts of new injuries I had never felt before. The race hurt and I hated the run. I hated myself for subjecting myself to such ridiculous torture. I wasn't ever doing this again. Ever. I crossed the finished line, "Ok, I'm done, phew, torture is over." Then I saw fellow Velo Bella Whitney DeSpain handing out medals at the finish line. She gave me a monstrous hug and then I proceeded to weep like a little baby. I had done IT!

For me, I race for personal reasons. I nearly lost the ability to walk after a nasty accident back in 1999. For me to race as hard as I can is the joy of being able to walk, run, cycle and race. I race because I can. Why do you race? My first suggestion for new triathletes is to know why you're racing and believe in it. 'Cause you're gonna need every last bit of belief to keep you going when everything hurts and your logical mind is asking what it did to deserve such torture. It's amazing what can make you smile when you feel like absolute poo. (I mean stinky poo that's been well embedded into the bottom of a pair of cleats)

The next step is to train. You'll be surprised when you can find time for a workout. You thought your schedule was busy before you started triathlon! I have a candle. It burns at all 3 ends. There are so many variables when it comes to multi-sport. It's not just a swim event. Nor a bike race. Nor a running race. It's all three and then some. You've got nutrition and the mental fitness as well. Will all this, I believe the toughest part is really to identify your weaknesses, strengths and then align all elements so swim, bike, run, nutrition and mental strength all converge and peak at exactly the same moment. For this, I've hired a coach. I've only been in the sport for 3 years, so this really is still a guessing game for me. You can do it without a coach, but personally, I wanted to learn how to do this sport right and I knew I needed someone to tell me what I needed to be doing. I have been training with Peter Clode for 2 years now and I'm excited about heading into my third year of coached racing.

Who do you choose for a coach? There are a ton of online programs you can download, some for free, some for payment for online coaches. If you're self disciplined enough not to have personal interaction with a coach, go for it. For me since I have fairly extensive old injuries, it was important to me that a coach know me personally and be able to coach around all my flaws. I wanted someone who saw more in me than I saw in myself and could push me beyond my known limits. I wanted a coach who wanted it for me as much as I wanted it for myself. I wanted a coach with experience and who could point me to the right physical therapists when I started to break so I wouldn't get injured. I wanted a coach who was reality based, yet positive and encouraging. I wanted a coach who gave me results. I found all of that in Peter and his wife Neily.

At the end of each year (ie, now), I pick my 1) goal race 2) secondary goal race 3) training races and 4) training events. For me, my 2008 goal race is USAT National Championships in Sept. I'd like to qualify for Worlds 09. Will I be upset if I don't qualify? No. Will I be upset if I don't race well? Yes. My secondary goal race is CA Ironman 70.3 in March. I hate this race. But... it allows me to get a good base started for the entire year, so it's worth it. Training races are important. These are races you use in training but do not train specifically for. You need to race to race well. Transitions should become smooth and effortless. You just do them without thinking about what you're doing. Racing should be a reaction, an instinct, not a thought process. At Nationals in 2007, while it wasn't my best race of the year, every second counts. I beat the athlete behind me by 2 seconds. If I had even taken a pause in transition, there went my 2 seconds. I'm not aggro, I'm just competitive. When to eat, how much to consume and what you're eating are all products of racings. You won't know how your body handles racing until you race. The next thing to do is find training events. These are events you use to help motivate your training. Usually they're century rides (or half centuries), or club races, or running races or open water swims. I try and train with friends because it helps my motivation when I really don't feel like training. Any trust me... you'll have lots of those days.

After you've determined if you want a coach and have picked out all your key events you have to train. It's kinda key... You don't train, you don't enjoy your race, that simple. In general, you need to swim, run & bike at least 3x week each. That does mean you'll have to do double days. Use the weekends/non-work days to do double training, that way you only need 1 workday to be a double. Three workdays will be a single, and one day will be a day off. For me, since I'm strong on the bike, ok with my run, and weak with my swimming, I try to weight my swim & run workouts, especially during the winter months. I have another little hitch with my training as I'm allergic to chlorine and if I swim 2 days back to back, I'll get a sinus infection. Another one of my little flaws. Because of this, I have to use stretch cords to help strengthen my swim without getting into the water every day. For the run, I try to run a minimum of 4 days a week. I'll have 1 long run, 1 medium length run and 2 shorter easier runs. If you need strength running, just getting out and running for 30 minutes a day will help you a ton. As far as bike workouts, I will always have 1 long ride on the weekend (your key ride) and at least 1-2 shorter rides during the week. I change between hill workouts & interval workouts depending on where I am in my training. I also like to fit in 1 turbo (wind trainer) workout during the week. Riding a wind trainer is far harder than riding on the road and can really simulate race situations. Turbo workouts aren't Spin classes at your local gyms. While Spin classes are good, the windtrainer workout is a far better workout, you're on your own bike riding intervals designed for endurance time-trialing. I do these at night after work since it's dark and riding on the streets is out of questions. These Turbo workouts also are great for learning pedal stroke and how to run off the bike. You actually have to train your body to be able to run off of the bike. Ye'ol wobble legs doesn't magically disappear by doing nothing. Do transition runs off the bike at least once a week, even if the run is only for 15 minutes. You'll thank yourself later.

With training there is recovery. Recovery is essential. You'll stress your muscles in workout and the only way you'll be able to build on that training is to let the muscle heal and recover. (This doesn't mean take a week off because you're a little sore. Expect to be sore.. a lot! You'll learn to love the ache!) Books are written about recovery, but in a nut shell, let your body recover. (A great book to have is the Training Bible. It's on every athlete's bookshelf as it's a fantastic reference book for all questions related to endurance sports.) Stretching is key. If you don't stretch your muscles, tendons & ligaments will shorten and become less flexible. Less flexibility means less access to your muscles to train and workout. I'm completely guilty of not stretching enough. I often use The Stick before and after runs which helps me a ton. John Howard also has a fantastic stretching & strength program you can do at home. While I don't spend nearly enough doing strength work by myself at home, I do make it a point and go through his stretching routine after hard workouts. I really do recover much faster when I do them. Sometimes after hard runs I get awful pains in my hips. For this, I actually have to see an ART therapist. I see Gino Cinco in La Jolla and I can easily say he's kept me going with all my old injuries. There are tendons & ligaments that run deep in your hips which are not easily accessed by regular stretching. Another good thing to do is get a sports massage. I see Cambria at Cassidy's Massage Clinic in La Jolla every 1-2 weeks when my training picks up and starts getting beyond my own stretching abilities. If your body is telling you something, listen to it and get help. If you have back pain, see a chiropractor. I call Dr. Elleraas, "Dr. Crunch", and I know every 1-2 months my body will tell me to go see Dr. Crunch. Don't be afraid to go get some physical therapy. Find a reputable ART specialist, massage therapist & chiropractor in your area and get help when you need it. If you don't, you'll get injured and be out of commission for longer periods of time.

Nutrition is also important. Train yourself to constantly take in fluids & calories. Always use a drink mix on the bike. Hydrate & fuel your body at all times. What your body needs during workout is completely individual. I use Hammer products because they give me good results without upsetting my sensitive stomach. I mix a combo of Heed & Sustained Energy in my bottles and carry gels with me on long rides & runs. I'm still training my body to take on solid food during workouts. Typically I'll gel every hour on the bike. What should you use? Try everything. You won't know what works until you've tried a lot of stuff. Also, after every hard workout, eat. I'm not talking about drive through at Taco Bell. I mean have a recovery shake (I use Hammer's Recoverite) or a small nutritious meal. Your body needs carbs & protein to regenerate. Don't not eat because you want to loose weight, you're just hurting your chance of recovering quickly, instead eat something small packed with nutrition after hard workouts. I'm not a nutrition expert so if you want details, there's tons of literature online about recovery meals.

If you've done your homework, picked your races strategically, planned your workouts using the aide of a coach or training program online, figured out your nutrition strategy and gotten in touch with good therapists for maintenance help, you're on your way to having the race of your life! And when you race and you cross that finish line, make sure your family is there to see you ball like a baby with a smile they've never seen before. They won't understand why... but you will.

Happy Training!
Raja

Back to the road

So I've started training again. I got a few Italy pounds to shed... nothing like a little Italian wine & a whole lot of parmigiano reggiano...

Perhaps I may even learn to swim this winter :oP

In the meatime if you're ever in Ojai... don't forget to ride 150 to Carpenteria.. it's a keeper!

Happy Riding!

Welcome to Hell

Ash Monday - October 22, 2008

I just got home from attempting to work.... after evacuating my office in Santaluz this morning and filling one car with office computers and files, when I got a call at about 6:30pm that preparations were being taken to evacuate the barn in Del Mar (across from the polo grounds). The head trainer lives in .. er.. well, in Ramona and was not able to get out. She called me, I had the only truck that could pull her trailer, so off I went. She would do what she could to get out... even running barricades.... but she did make it out.

Dave asked me "well don't they have an evacuation plan?"... well yes... we are the evacuation plan! Currently the facility is host to an additional 450 horses from evacuated areas. "Yes.. we're evacuating the evacuation center!". A fire broke out in Morgan Run, which is on the east side of the polo grounds. We're on the west.

So now I have one car full of work computers, and another full of horse stuff..... luckily the flame was put out and I was allowed to come home and sleep a little.... hopefully I won't get a call in the morning to move out the horses... cause ladies.. lemme tell you.. the plan is to basically turn 700 horses "loose" in the wetlands (although it's fenced in so they can't get to the roads)...... there's nowhere else for them to go.

Hopefully things will look up.. and the thought of Rancho Santa Fe going up like a Christmas Tree on Halloween will be a long distant nightmare...

Sleep tight..
Raja

Pictures... The Left: view from the beach 1 block from my house. Yep... that's real color. The Right: The road in front of the office & some massive sycamores that ripped up in the Sunday night wind storm. Amazing that at my house.. not even a breeze.

Geo!

So my husband calls me "Geo" when I whip out the camera and start getting a little shutter crazy.

This time it paid off! My photo was picked by the editor of National Geographic as part of their best shots of the week!

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/yourshot/daily-dozen/august.html?fs=canyon

Wahoo!!

Raja "Geo" Lahti

Friday Palomar, Saturday Julian..again!

Click Here for information on the ride.. again

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgwxpdcx_9fbf88w

Julian Pie Ride

POO! That's the name of my fellow Bella who convinced me to ride to Julian for a slice of pie... but alas.... it was a seriously epic ride!

Bella Fella Tim enjoyed his ride so much, he sported a fancy pair of Bella armwarmers (either that or he gave his winter-wear to his freezing Bella, and toughed it out with fuzzy arm warmers)... he liked the arm warmers so much, he made sure he could read them the entire trip....

Having Fun with Triathlon

I'd just like to say my dad rocks... I asked him to help me with a triathlon logo design (nothing to do with Michigan).. and this is what he came up with... a magnet he found:

And Yes.. he grew up in MI.

Peer Pressure

My girlfriends are great. The amazing circle of friends down here in San Diego is great (thanks to the uber-social Tri Club of San Diego). But oooooh, someone's going to be on my poo list on March 29th.... (about 10:30am, expect some pre-scheduled cursing)

Yep... signed up for Ironman California 70.3

...again.

Yep - was one unhappy camper last year.... the run just wouldn't end...

Italia!

I never knew I would have to one day enter a blog with directions in Italian... love this "Visualizza blog"... yep... I'm visualizing ;-P

Dave & I are starting to upload pictures to my picasa web album.

Click Here to visit the pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/rvlahti

Check back to the site for more albums of Italy! Almost all albums are uploaded!

Ciao!
Raja & Dave

And yes.. this was a lightning storm I captured from the edge of San Marco Plaza... amazing!

Holy Folsom Athletes Batman! You can say FIT again....

Folsom International Triathlon

Let's first define "FIT": An athlete who is more than just a good or well prepared athlete. Being freakishly good. Having the ability to crush your competition into little bits. Being a Worlds athlete.

Or you can just say "Folsom International Triathlon"

Yeah. Pure Worlds here. I think the winners at nearly every age group were headed to World Championships at the end of the month..used this cute little race as a springboard for Worlds... and so the day went... very, very, quickly.

But before I get into the race and the more than spectacular selection of age group athletes that appeared.. let's talk travel.

You know, that travel with the "extra" luggage. The luggage that makes your fellow air-travelers rubber neck and ask you if you've got "your mother-in-law" in there (seriously, someone did ask me that!).. Yes, the bike coffin.

This thing is so big it makes the lady with 9 suitcases on her way to a 4 day vacation in the Bahamas seem like a light packer. (Picture from a trip to Victoria, B.C in 2005.. the only one I could find with the oversized beast)

And then there's the wheel you're carrying on with you for fear that the baggage gorillas will damage My Precious. My wheel bag is not very subtle. It's black with big white lettering "HED CYCLING". And yet, every trip to the airport people ask me.. "Now what is that?" It's a wheel. "Did you just get back from the Tour day France". Uh... no.... (have they noticed that there are no women in the race?? Or perhaps they think I'm a representative Podium Girl... uh, ok!)

And then there's the 4 rolls of duck tape, another roll of TSA "Inspected" tape, 6 "Fragile-Handle with Care" stickers and the multiple remaining fragments of old luggage tags that clearly define this over sized black case as mine. No two cases could possibly be alike. Just head to Oversize Luggage and see when my pet box is birthed from the extra-large baggage curtains. "That one can't possibly be mine... there's not enough duct tape."

So I located my patch-work-oversize-case, grab the little pull cord and walk myself over to the rental car counter. Just like a little pet, it follow me with surprising willingness. "Yes, I rented an gas guzzling, over sized SUV, for that," and then point to the big black thing on wheels. You know, the rental car companies must just cringe when they see "that". I recommend the Ford Escape.... it's small enough, yet all the seats fold down and give you more than plenty of room for your beast-box. It'll even fit in the back standing up! To boot, you can fit your bike, wheels and all fully assembled in the back when you head off to the race.

I spent the weekend with a friend of ours that we don't get to see that often. Fellow cyclists, she and he husband are crazy tandem mountain bikers. Yup, move out of their way.. their brake fluid is boiling..... We had a fantastic girls weekend doing nothing but talking about subjects boys really don't want to talk about, seeing movies that boys won't see.. and admiring the soothing affects of Beljium Budder.

Ok, back to the race. Outside of Nationals, this was the most talented group of Age Group athletes I've ever raced with. I don't say raced "against" because that's a whole different ball park... The course was fun, a chilly lake swim, rolling hills with some decent climbs on the bike and an undulating run down the twisty lake bike path.

Let's start with our own Ashley Erickson. She races for a local sponsor, Fluid, but she's a Bella. Really freakin' good bella at that. I wish I could swim & run like that... she crushed her age group with a 2:17 race, placed 5th overall and is off to worlds next week. Go Ashley!

I had the race of my year. I PR'd, had a decent swim (for me...), a super bike (fastest in my crazy age group and even faster than the women's Elite bike splits too), and my best run yet. I finished in 2:24 and was delighted (Swim:27:44, Bike 1:08:58, Run 45:06). After my mechanical issues at Nationals, all I wanted was a good race. And I got it. That race would have sent me to Worlds too if I had done that at Nationals. It felt good to know I was playing with the best, and doing fine. While I did expect that time to podium, I didn't and was 4th. The caliber of racers was incredible.

I did the math and was excited... This is my third year owning a bike and racing. From my first Olympic race to now, it's taken me 2 years to widdle down a measly 12 minutes. The first year I improved by 4 minutes. This year I sliced off an additional 8 minutes... so next year... hopefully I can do a sub 2:20.. now that would be nice. :-)

Now my husband and I are off to Italy for our 3 week honeymoon. I can't wait... it's been a long, hard year so far and the thought of renting bikes in Italy and sporting the Bella gear in the Land of the Gods is all I can think about these days. Well, that of course would be second to my dreams of Gelatto consumption...... um.. yum!

Happy Riding!
Raja

Click here for the full results: http://www.japroductions.com/fit/index.html

Hot! Hot! Hot Hornet!

I mean what else are you going to name a bike that's black and yellow!

My QR Caliente:

Folsom International Triathlon - Lakes & Prisons

So I'm off to Folsom International Triathlon (conveniently nicknamed "FIT") next weekend. Gotta go qualify for Nats 2008...

It's beautiful in Folsom and they've got this pretty lake there...

...
...
...



And a prison.. so no stopping on the bike to pick up hitch-hikers!


:-P

Cheers,


Raja

USA Triathlon National Championships

Well, I'm back...

...and I think I could sleep for week...

While I would love to report back that I came home as the W30-34 national champ.... you all would know I would be hallucinating and perhaps in some serious sleep deprivation. I didn't go to Nats to win. 'Cause of course, I'm already a winner. If I happened to qualify for Worlds, that would have been amazing, and very very scary. But I didn't. And I'm really ok with that! Let me explain...

Dave leaned over and looked at me with a little twinkle in his eyes, "Did you ever imagine that when you did that first Mission Bay triathlon on your mountain bike that you would be here two and a half years later?"

Actually no. It hadn't even occurred to me.

My road in triathlon to date has been short and fun. I've now had 1 year of coached training, so you won't hear me complaining about my perceived "lack" of performance at Nationals this year. I managed to miraculously slice 4 minutes of my swim time. I couldn't have been happier.

The bike didn't go as I'd hoped, but that was my own fault. A newbie error. I was hell bent on using the disk. Was it a head game? Having the disk gave me confidence? Setting up in transition prior to the start I had noticed the disk loosing tire pressure. Down from 130 PSI to 80 in about 10 minutes. No holes, tire looked good, I pumped it up again to give it another test. Pumped to 150 PSI. (Which takes a feat of strength for me since that's far more than I weigh!). In the rush to get everyone out to close transition, I felt the tire, maybe a little lower, but not nearly as bad as before, tightened all the valves and left. If I got out of the water and the pressure was significantly lower, I'd just change my wheel prior to leaving transition. If it felt pretty solid, the leak wasn't that bad.

In a nut shell, I think I shot myself when I didn't change the wheel. I'm usually very solid on the bike. Steady. Aggressive. Fast. This time the bike felt squirrelly on the downhills and squishy on the uphills. With about 1500' of climbing and almost continuous turns, my legs were toasted and my time was slower than it should have been. I asked someone on course if my bad wheel looked low, "no, well yes, but not flat" was the response I got. That's about how it felt. It definitely wasn't so low I couldn't ride. But I found I was riding very conservatively on the downhills & corners. No risks. Within the first 2 miles of the ride I passed the first crash victim. Even Nats isn't immune to crashes.

When I racked my bike and hit the first of 7 hills on the run, I knew my chances of qualifying for Worlds was done. I got kind of excited...

You see, Dave & I got married in May. Since then I have been training like a mad woman. Honeymoon? That would have to wait until after training. If I qualified for Worlds, that's an entire summer of training and the first week of our honeymoon spend racing in Europe. As exciting as that may have been.. I haven't really been in the sport long enough to know what I'm really doing. So now that Worlds wasn't going to be an option... all I can think about is how great Italy is going to be in the fall... and we can take the road bikes and ride where ever we want in Italy...

So while I was suffering like a beast on the run, it occurred I had a lot to be happy about. Breaking my back/pelvis 8 years ago had made me a stronger person. Who knows if I'd even be racing triathlon or cycling if it hadn't had been for that accident. I really was just excited to be doing something extraordinary.

Some things I learned:
1. Jim was right.
2. Starbucks coffee is better than their danishes.
3. Starbucks sandwiches are better than their coffee.
4. It doesn't pay to be stubborn.
5. Got a lot of training left to do!
6. Bellas ROCK! Ashley Erickson did GREAT! placing 10th in her age group. Nikki Shue also did great in her crazy age group!

Happy Racing!
Raja

San Diego Int'l Triathlon - Documented Suffering!

It's not too often I get to watch a race from (almost) start to finish... here are the links to the Picasa web Albums. I went a little shutter-crazy! Jim would most definitely approve :o)

And no making poopy faces at the girl taking your photo! Thanks to all those who smiled, laughed, or went a little silly for the camera!

Parts 1 & 2 - http://picasaweb.google.com/rvlahti/SanDiegoIntLTriathlonPart12

Parts 3, 4 & 5 - http://picasaweb.google.com/rvlahti/SanDiegoInternationalTriathlonPart345

Edited Fun Photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/rvlahti/SanDiegoInternationalTriathlonJune2007

Happy Racing!
Raja

The Exciting and The Sad

I week before setting off to USAT Nationals, I'm excited, nervous, anxious and hopefully ..ready.

And Sad.

The triathlon community just lost an amazing man. Jim McCann, president of the Tri Club of San Diego died suddenly and unexpectedly on Wednesday June 20, 2007. According to an article in the Union Tribune, his wonderful wife Dee Dee came home from a meeting to find him motionless and without life. The cause is unknown, however speculation is his death was caused by an aneursym as he had been complaining of head aches earlier in the week. Jim was only 46.

Jim is an amazing person. I say that in present, because Jim's the kind of guy that will never leave you. Last Friday he showed up at the La Jolla Cove just to hang out with people who were swimming that evening. He smiled and said, "I haven't been here for awhile, just thought I'd come and check it out." Jim was like your tri club dad. He was everywhere doing everything for everyone. "Jim, I need to get a new wetsuit, what do you recommend?" I asked him last month. He was sure to make sure I was appropriately outfitted with the latest and greatest wetsuit at a super deal to make my debut at Nationals.

You asked Jim, he gave. With a smile. To see the glow on his face during the Aquathons that he, his wife & Sportsquest put on every month would make you too feel like a million bucks. "You know, I'll give you a tip," he'd say. "If you set up your transition over there," and he'd point a little farther up the beach, "you won't have to backtrack when you get out of the water." He wanted to help everyone.

I got to meet and interact with Jim through my coach, Peter Clode & his wife Neily Mathias. Jim would stop by the JCC and chat about ideas. "Hey, I need somebody to ......" Jim would casually ask. Whatever it was, write an article, help with an event, brainstorm about a new idea or business, you name it, everyone jumped to help Jim. He had such a way with people. Everyone was his friend. If you or I were to pass away tomorrow, would we have left our mark on this world like Jim?

I will miss Jim..... a lot....

Sincerely,
Raja

Triathlete Magazine: Article on Jim
Union Tribune: Article on Jim
Competitor: Article on Jim
Triathlon Club of San Diego: click here for link

Danskin & Redondo Bella Style!

June 3, 2007

by Raja

I'll take that Oh La La with a side of Kona!

Swim till you're weazing

Ride till it burns

Run till you wanna puke

Don't forget to wipe the boogies before the photo op...

I think the phrases "You Go Girl!" and "Girl Power" took on a whole new meaning at the Danskin Women's Triathlon. If you've ever heard Sally Edwards speak - to too would be clamoring away powered and ready to race. I actually wanted to swim by the time she was done giving us the "You're Fabulous" cheer. Amazing...

Not that I did very well in the swim... but I know how to ride a bike.. and kinda know how to run up hills...kinda sorta...I just fake it really well ;o)

I won my age group at the Danskin Women's Triathlon in Los Angeles and was 4th overall out of nearly 700 women. I'm good with that. Is it ok to be completely and totally surprised when you've just done well??



REDONDO BEACH TRIATHLON - What a cute little tri-thingy!
June 10, 2007

It's a swimmer's race, so I just wanted to get the swim practice. It was actually one of the nicest ocean/ beach start swims I've been to. The water was crisp & refreshing.. and clean! The waves were coming, but at least after last year's Los Angeles Tri experience.. it was manageable.

The bike is a speed bump. 6 miles. Better hurry. Especially if you're a sucky swimmer like I am.

The run is 2 miles, winding in and around the Redondo Beach Pier. Basically it's a test of getting up to speed after every corner. It was fun though... (at least until you had to run past the greezy fish stand....blaaahhhhh ...)

I ended up winning my age group and placing 3rd or 4th overall. Neily Mathias, my coach's wife, won hers too! (Except she's a wicked swimmer) I'm pretty sure Neily won the entire race. Last time I checked, she was 2nd.. but I'm pretty sure the girl who "won" missed a bike lap... otherwise her bike split beat most of the men .... and that girl can ride. I'm suspicious.. . oh well.... I hope she had didn't miss a lap and kicked everyone's a$$ on the bike..... Both races were a ton of fun.. and I recommend them to both seasoned triathletes and newbies!

And Dude... you've been beat my a girl.. it's all good!

Now.. on to Nationals at the end of the month.... gulp....

Tempe International Triathlon

May 20, 2007

I haven't written a race report lately, and a lovely note from Lillybella inspired me to write my latest and greatest. I guess people actually enjoy reading about pain and suffering!

So I've recently learned there's a new breed of humanoid that lives in the desert. They thrive on temperatures that are unnatural to be exercising in. (Is that proper English? I'd like to say English is my second language... Mumbo-jumbo is my first.) They swim in bathwater. They don't seem to be affected by the extreme dry weather. Cactus is their friend. They must be triathletes.

But before I get to the race.. let's talk clothing, more specifically, tri suits. I can't tell you how stoked I am to get the new Bella tri kit. I was forewarned that this race may be a non-wetsuit swim, so I searched behind the car seat for change, dug in my jersey pockets for any freshly washed 5 dollar bills, sold the cat, and bought a tri 1-piece. I've never bought one before, and this one happens to have a built in bra. "How cleaver" I thought!

Yeah.. not so much!

Clearly a man designed these things.

Have you ever tried to shimmy into a 1-piece with a built in bra? It takes an act of God to get into these things. Bra on first? Then how do I get my legs in? My butt is too big! Ok, legs in first, then wedgie that thing as high as it can go and wiggle one arm in, then over the head... choke choke.... stretch it over my other elbow... slip the arm out... phew, it's on!

Oh no... gotta go pee!

Now back to the humanoids. So are regular workouts in 100 degrees healthy?? Well, these racers out here don't seem to be slowed by a little 3 digit weather. I'll sum it up since the actual race wasn't any more interesting than the last, other than the tri suit, the heat, did I mention the heat, and the flight of stairs at mile 5.5 on the run. Yep, stairs. Recap: Swim was unimpressive as usual. Bike was pretty fast (go HED!). Run, painful. Did I mention the stairs?? I didn't train for that one. Oh yeah, the swim was wetsuit legal, at 77 degrees. Next time I want to train for this race, I'll go and go laps in the jacuzzi with my wetsuit on...

I placed 2nd. I was excited, really! It was just so hot (even after I went back to the hotel to shower & cool off) standing there looking at the results, I opted just to get back in the air conditioned car and start the 5 hr trek home. I couldn't even wait for awards. Freakin' hot! What can I say.. I live in San Diego. I'm a sensitive flower! ;-)

Happy Riding!

Raja Lahti-McMahon

P.S. On a side note... that Beljium Budder chamois cream - works like a charm!! Post-race Happy Raja! Not-so-sensitive flower! Wahoo!!

(and no animal was harmed during the making of this report!)

Ironman California 2007

March 31, 2007

I have to say - there are an amazing bunch of girls here! It was so great to see everyone out on the run course supporting us idiots out there racing!

Every time I passed Jess she was smiling like she was on vacation.. I was envious! All I could do was give a thumbs up... I was in agony on the run! Everyone that was out there, I saw you and it helped a ton!!

Congrats to Stacy.. who tried to drag me to the finish.. but I didn't want to slow her down, she was rockin & a'rollin! I'm telling ya.. she feels no pain! Go Stacy!

And what a beautiful day! All I could think about was "What a Day!"

Congrats to all who raced! And thanks to Whitney who endlessly cheered for all us... and a special congrats to finishing with a nasty back injury!

Cheers,

Raja

A little crippled today.. just thought I'd throw it out there!

Fiesta Island Time Trial March 4

March 4, 2007

Another beautiful morning in San Diego. Beautiful early morning that
is...

Congrats to all bellas who participated in Sunday's Fiesta Island TT:

Raja Lahti - 31:31 1st place W30-39, 2nd overall
Kathleen Farley - 34:03 W30-39
Jennifer Yake - 34:53 2nd place W19-29
Whiteny DeSpain - 36:08 W30-39
Laurel Prince - 40:51 3rd place W19-29

Pics coming soon...if I have any...

Cheers,
Raja

Bulldawg'n

March 3, 2007

You ever have one of those weekends when one side of yourself says, "I really shouldn't be doing this. Really." And the other side say, "What the hell, do it. Really." During the week sometime I developed this cute little upper sinus/respiratory thang. You know the kind that makes your nose raw, your throat raw, and everyone takes a step back from you cause you may just have the plague. Needless to say it all looks & sounds much worse than I felt. I felt remarkably good. My sinus suck all the time.. now's no difference. Big deal... Sound like Ass..as I was reminded. Ok, I really do sound pretty bad.

Saturday morning I drive out to Oceanside for the Bulldog Road Race with fellow Bella, Stacy Bruner. "You ok?". "Let's go before I change my mind." I was stoked to see so many VBellas come to the race. A good group where everybody had somebody they could team-up with ability wise. Stacy Bruner, Whitney DeSpain, Jess Motyl, Helena Prieto, Stacy Schlocker....cough cough.. and me. I didnt' see any others.. but there may have been. I recognized some of the other women from Boulevard. Then we're approached by a woman with legs to my ears "One of you isn't by any chance Raa-jaa?". "Yes, that would be me." :-D So it turns out that all our Bellalicious-Velo-Happiness is spreading and one of the new galas inquiring into Velo Bella-Kona San Diego and I got to put a face to a new soon-to-be-or-already-is- member, Beth Callahan I'm telling you.. the kit's addicting!

Focus Raja.. back to racing.. just a little Bella-detour...

For everyone else in the group, this was their first Road Race.. most of the women I know from Triathlon.. so this was a great first road race for the newbies. The race started in usual fashion. Slow, easy, nice little group ride. A couple little surges up some small rollers. Then WHAAMO! We hit the one and only significant hill at 10.5% grade.. it instantly grabs your attention and rips your lungs out. The field goes nuts. Five girls get off the front, one of which is a multiple Bulldog winner, another is Amanda Felder. She looks like a bigger Samantha McGlone. (Sam's so small it doesn't take much to be bigger). For all those that have never heard of Sam.. she's Ironman 70.3 World Champion. So Amanda is one fit, beautiful.. and nice.. athlete. Gezeummm Raja.. focus!

So by the time we get down and head back the chase group is about 10 of us. At this point I'm finding it difficult to breath and the fire in my throat is not pacified by any of my drink mix. Just then Stacy comes to my rescue and joyfully says "Hello", turns to me with a smile and jumps in front of me and begins to pull the train. I've been trying to get Stacy to race with me but our timing has always been off. I learned that if Stacy gets pissed and the words "I'm done with this" come out of her mouth.. hold on to your hats & glasses.. 'cause she's about to rip everyones legs off.

A DeWalt Racing girl and I had been rotating, but now I was in need of help. So Stacy the Goddess shows up. Feeling good, she hammered it for as long as she could - for about 8 miles before she got some help from another team. There are some attacks and I have no idea how, but I managed to jump to the break. The DeWalt girl is just pounding it down. I hug her wheel as if death himself is chasing me down with his hands on my throat. Finally she signals she's done. I try to pull again and just have nothing left. Then at that moment Joe appears. He's passing us and somehow I muster the energy to find his wheel and the small group latches on. We pass a straggler from the lead group. DeWalt girl has recovered and in the last mile passes Joe and I jump on her wheel. We take the left to the finish area. Then out of nowhere.. confusion.

The man that was supposed to direct us to the finish shoot just stands there and watched us pass him.. instead of take the right. As this race is located in a military base, anyone who's ever been on a base knows that random acts of driveways is common.. so we didn't know where the finishing shoot was. "Uh, guys, COME BACK, TURN AROUND." comes the yell from behind. All 5 of us left in front yell a simultaneous F***!! and each us flips a U-ie and thus finish in reverse order... oh well... it was a fun race anyway. I was 8th overall and won my division. I was still happy.. it's just amazing the adrenaline that rushes around and captures you in a moment of competitive drive.

Yeah - and no pics.. none of us brought a camera.... and all the fellas that came were out racing as well... so I'll have to find links from the race photographer..

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to the doc I go... get me some better meds... cause tomorra is Fiesta Island TT.. which I paid for.. so I'm racing!

Congrats to all the Bellas racing Bulldog!!

FEMALE 30-34 1 275 3593 RAJA LAHTI 30 5 1:21:57
FEMALE 30-34 2 295 3705 STACY BRUNER 30 5 1:22:51
FEMALE 30-34 4 319 3471 STACY SCHLOCKER 30 5 1:24:26
FEMALE ATHENA 1 368 3081 WHITNEY DESPAIN 5 1:27:14
FEMALE 30-34 5 401 3252 HELENA PRIETO 30 5 1:29:14
FEMALE 25-29 7 404 3788 JESSICA MOTYL 27 5 1:29:26
new bella to be:
FEMALE 35-39 4 365 3044 ELIZABETH J CALLAHAN 38 5 1:27:10

Cheers, Raja

Fiesta Island Time Trial

Fiesta Island TT
Feb 2007

by Kathleen

They’d been talking on the radio for days about the big storm heading our way: the system from northern California is moving south, we’re gonna get slammed. Now, I’ve only lived in San Diego for a few months, but I’ve realized that you only have to live here, oh say, a few days before you get kinda soft on the weather front, so I actually started wondering if I was going to go out and do this race.

But I woke up Sunday morning to just a little drizzle and figured I could live with that. Apparently, most of the other women signed up could not, since the women’s field shrunk considerably from the pre-registration list. But, the Bellas showed up!

I met up with Julia and Raja at registration, got our numbers and went off to set up the trainers. As we warmed up, we chatted with people who came by and got some stories from men who’d been among the early starters and were already done. We heard about some slippery corners and strong winds and I was thinking maybe Julia would still let me eat the post-race donuts she’d brought if I just sat on my trainer for another hour.

But our time got closer, we got warmer, and the drizzle eased up, so we headed off to the start line. The person before me didn’t show up, so I tried to talk the timers into letting me start early and pretending that I didn’t get the extra 30 seconds. I tried telling them that I could really use those seconds and if they gave them to me I promised I’d come to the next race in better shape…..to no avail.

They laughed – all except that one guy who thinks you might be serious despite the fact that you are clearly cracking yourself up (if no one else!) and gives you that stern look…..and you kind of want to smack him upside the head….but I digress.

Once out there, I found that the sand that had washed into the road was a much bigger problem than any slick corners (corners, as it turned out, were just fine). I could hear the sand in my gears every time I shifted and tried to stop thinking about the hours I’d spent cleaning my bike the day before! And, for Fiesta Island, which is one of those places that sometimes manages to have a headwind in all directions, the winds were pretty calm on most of the loop.

I passed a couple of women and a few geezers, got passed by plenty of boys and made my way around the loop a couple more times. I’d say my biggest problem on the day was my lack of concentration: spent some time thinking about a paper I need to write, followed by “Kathleen, pay attention!,” then some thinking about the donuts that were waiting at the end, followed by “Kathleen, would you f*&$ing concentrate,” then some time wondering if I’d actually get in some extra miles after this race despite being covered in sandy mud or if I’d pursue another favorite activity (drinking coffee and reading the New York Times), followed by “crap, I forgot to pay attention again.” You get the idea (for evidence, there is a photo of me smiling on the course – there is no way that I'd be smiling during a TT unless I was thinking about donuts!).

So, goal for next race in this series: focus. Other than the lack of concentration (or, more likely, because of it), I had fun out there. And now I am motivated to do the next one and do better. Julia and I had been bantering all week about taking this race as one to “establish our baselines” (entertaining ourselves with all kinds of ways to translate that phrase).....and I think I covered that.
I also established my flair baseline (I had none) and will have lots of room to improve for next time!

Bellas made a great showing: Julia got first in the 20-29 women and Raja got first in the 30-39 women (despite starting 2 minutes late!). And, I got to meet Whitney who I believe was the first San Diego Bella, so that was cool too. All in all, a fun morning and a good start to the series.

More Fiesta TT pics here