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

Boulevard and the Winds from Hell

Boulevard and the Winds from Hell
Feb 2007

By Raja

NIPPILY!!!!

COLD & NIPPILY.

Bittie, nippily, dark winds from somewhere other than San Diego. We don't do cold. We don't do wind. Well unless of course you tell us we're racing and then you're talking bid-ness.

Headwinds, ok. Crosswinds, ok. But head-cross-flip-cross-headwinds?!? If the mens Pro field wasn't so beautifully decked in spandex.. I might not have been smiling so much. Gotta love men in tights. This is a notoriously nasty early season road race. This year, the hills were easy compared to the wind. Especially if you were caught by yourself. With just under 4000' of climbing... the chances of being caught by yourself or with a small group were high since the climbing tends to string out the field. But we had such a lovely bunch of Bellas, and so pretty!!!

The cast:
Julia "Uhlie la la" Uhlendorf
Rhonda "Rrrrrrrr" Geisler
"Happy Happy Joy" Joy Muehlenbein
Shannon "I'm Game" Werner
Julie "Goodie Got it" Goodwin
Raja "La-Hottie" Lahti

I have to say, these women ROCK. Rhonda and I had done the race last year, but for everyone else, this was their first road race. The night prior we all got together for some spaghetti dinner at Efrat Veidman's place for some confidence building and road racing chat. We're going to miss Efrat, she's moving back to Israel in 2 weeks. She's been an amazing cycling resource for us San Diego Bellas. I am a sad bella.... :-(

Registration/Check-In was a mess and by the time I got out of there I had just enough time to gather my flair and start stripping. Warming up on the trainers was going to take too long to set up, so we all hopped on and started riding in circles for a brief warm up. The race started and by mile 2 we were careening down the road at 30-40 mph. Holy-frijoles Batman!! I have wings! Juls (Uhlie) was perfectly placed up in the front of the peloton. Her technical skills and descending abilities are wicked and she worked her way up to perfection. 11 miles in, the fun's over and the hills start. I felt surprisingly good and was able to stay with the lead group when the pack split. At mile 19 the front pack split again and a group of women were able to rip our legs off and separate off the front. By this time I'm cursing myself and just trying to stay out of the wind. Gotta love those race wheels... freakin' kites! (They did however save my little rear on the wicked decent)

At the top of the final climb I hear from behind "Lets organize ladies!". Always nice to hear. We immediately grouped with as many we could find and rotated ourselves all over the next 13 miles or so to the start of the climbing on the 2nd loop. By now we had picked up some women left behind by our lead ladies. Our mini-peloton was looking good at about 8+ riders. We were descending as fast as our little 11 cogs could take us. My speedometer said 42mph. Once again when the climbing started the group fractured and 5 of us we left. On the second climb I looked behind and was surprised to see there were only 3 of us left. The wind was whipping around from all directions with gusts to 20-30 mph. The three of us worked together and rotated our way up the hill. With about 100 meters to go, I was at my turn in front and decided to test the 2 ladies I was with.

If I picked it up, would they stay with me? So I went. I had no explosive energy left so I figured if I was going to beat these women, I'd better out climb them. With everything I had left I finished the race in 16th place. I was stoked, last year I was 26th in perfect weather. This year I felt I had improved a ton and my strength was greatly improved from last year. I finally felt like I rode a smart, strong ride.

Juls and Rhonda were not too far behind and both looked and if their eyes were lasers... well, I'd have been toast! "That wind is f***** up!". Yup. Juls, you too said it girl. Not 30 seconds later.. "Wow, that was fun!" Joy came running up in her running shoes. Mechanical problems sidelined her to 1 lap where she just gathered the running shoes and ran to the finish. Behind Rhonda came Shannon & Julie, both finishing their first road race in tough conditions.

It was soooo great to have the Bellas there. Last year I was a lone bella. This year everyone had a great time, everyone rode safe, and most of the bellas (other than Rhonda & myself) were virgin road racers. Whitney, the UCSB rider who finished behind me, and some other women immediately started asking about Velo Bella-Kona. It's great to share the energy and to see that the people around us can tell - we're having fun!.

SWEET!!!

Happy Riding!!
Raja

Carpinteria Surprise

Carpinteria Surprise

Sept 2006

I guess there's always a first for everything.. and I'm still a little in shock and seem to go around pretending it didn't happen... just not used to it!

Last weekend my mum & I drove up to Santa Barbara County for the Carpinteria Triathlon USA Triathlon event. USAT events are, believe it or not, hard to find in So Cal... yet any triathlon with the slogan "100% California Grown" is probably a triathlon I need to be racing. They even included a nice avocado in our packets. Those nice Carpinteria folk! That's perhaps the first time real grown, non-nutritionally enhanced, processed food has ever been included in a race packet. Now... if only it would ripen....

Enough about fruits...

I had raced LA 2 weeks previous and had what I considered a "break-through" race. That race felt great and I could feel all benefits of training with coach Peter Clode all summer. All those great hours of having Dave motivate me to ride, run.. and yes, learn how to swim (already!). Now at Carpinteria 2 weeks later.. I knew in the back of my little noggin that my large effort in LA would not go unnoticed here... My original goal race was LA. After I found the Carpinteria race, I extended my season out to accommodate. My legs noticed and really were not too thrilled about the entire affair. Just before the race my legs were feeling ok... but I didn't exactly test them either.

The raging Day Fire burning out of control just over the hills was a big concern. The race director referred to the previous weekend as "Ash Sunday". Santa Ana winds were forecast and the Saturday before the race brought a huge smoke cloud which was beginning to block the sun. If it was raining ash in 12 hrs, the race would be cancelled. If it was smoky, the race director was going to leave it up to the competitior. Personally, I wanted to race. My body was beginning to fatigue.. or was that my mind..... from a pretty full year of training. I'm still new to this stuff. That night my mum & I visited our place in Ojai. The firemen had been there and prepared the property for the possibility of a fire storm. We turned on the sprinklers on the roof and visited some friends for dinner. It was raining ash in Ojai. We spend the night in Ventura to keep out of the smoke.

The morning of the race the weather was great. An onshore breeze was keeping the smoke at bay and it looked to be prime racing conditions. I warmed up, ran for a bit, did my cords and prepped for the race. The swim went well for me. I got slugged in the head pretty hard a couple of times by an aggro guy in our wave. They had combined men & women in waves... and the guys were sure to let you know they were there. As there was no place for me to go, people on top of people, I finally popped my head out of the water and screamed at the guy to "KNOCK IT OFF!" Hope I made him feel bad for hitting a girl. :-) I finished in under 30 min, which for most people is ungodly slow.. but for me.. it's wicked fast. I was movin' and groovin'. My mom called out I was 6th chick out of the water.

The bike kicked my a$$. This was a first for me. This is where LA did not go unnoticed. My legs were pooped. The second half of the course had 3 steep climbs. Guys with disks & tight cassettes were standing up and leaning into every pedal stroke. The first hill was ok. The second hill I derailed, twice, trying to change gears. Once I got going I floored it to make up lost time and probably pushed myself a bit to hard. The 3rd hill hurt like hell. The bike was slow for me... but I knew for sure nobody else in my age group had passed me. There were 4 other bikes on the racks when I got back.. ok I'm in 5th.

The run hurt even more than the bike. Again, legs noticed. The course was a nice rolling course through neighborhoods and nature parks. Every girl I passed was in a different age group. Where are these 4 chicks ahead of me?? I was passed up by a 40 year old woman like I was walking... she looked great. I was then passed by a 26 year old with a mile or so left to go... she looked great. My legs were fried. I lengthened my stride as much as I could.. and raced to be done with my season for the year.

I crossed the finish about 4 mins slower than what I really wanted. Well, since no other chicks passed me, perhaps I was 4th? Speedy officials put up the prelim results, I was shocked. I stared at the score board silent with my hand over my gaping mouth. Those were guy's bikes racked on our rack not anyone in my division... I had won my division. My first purely athletic win. I still don't believe it! There are always chicks faster than you and there are always chicks slower than you. My race hurt and perhaps didn't feel like it was a race worthy of a win.. but it was. Turns out my bike split wasn't awful, 5th fastest overall women time...(but still could have been better... )

I do recommend this race to everyone. It was well run, the volunteers were amazing... no chance of going off course, the scenery was great.. and NO SURF!

Thanks for Dave... for encouraging the madness. Thanks to Pete for kicking my rear in gear. Thanks to all my friends and training buddies. TCSD Rocks. This sport takes so much out of you.. it's great to see you're all as crazy as I am... or perhaps crazier. Nick. Thanks to Denise, my boss, for playing the "What's Crazy Raja Doing After Work Today?" Game. I have to say.. what a very, very cool bunch of people. I'm not going to name everyone.. you know who you are. Thanks for all the cheer.. I heard you in Carpinteria!

Hi Ho, hi ho.. it's off to Nationals I Go!

Cheers,Raja

Ironman California 70.3

Ironman California 70.3 race report

March 2006

What a day!My parents had driven down for the day and I had just given my mom abig stinky hug. Then my dad reached over and gave me a big hug andkiss, "Congratulations, again!" he said. Little did I know my day was no where near over.

Dave & I got up at 4:30am and headed up to Oceanside for the FordIronman California 70.3. I was excited about the race, as I'd beenfor the last 6 months, but let me tell you, I was not looking forward to it. This was after all, my first Ironman event. Howexciting is that? In fact, bed, snuggled up with warm blankets andmy man was about the only place I wanted to be at that moment. Theweather was not exactly ideal for being outside, much less a triathlon. Raining and 43 degrees. Fun stuff. Even better was thewater temperature was between 52-55 degrees. It was cold enough thatIronman gave the option of a shorter swim for all those who did notfeel comfortable testing hypothermia. Sweet! "They can't have the swim" Dave says. "I've never had to swim in a race with water that cold." Me neither.

So out came the trash bags, extra socks, rain jackets and extra cycling kit. The members of Tri Club San Diego did a great job putting together a list of nasty weather tips and gear changes.Words like "uncontrollable shivering" and "hypothermia" and "the swim could be the warmest part of the day" made me wonder... what was I doing??? I've only been in triathlon for a year and a half but I have learned that triathletes are tough... and nuts. I'm one of them, I should know!

No warm up. Well, consider it a "cool down" standing there in your wet suit with bare feet on cold asphalt. The idea of running around in the rain to warm up just didn't seem like any smarter of an idea than jumping into my wetsuit asap and trying to warm up my core.

Four months of race preparations gave me a lot of time to learn new things about my body and it's mechanics. Or anti-mechanics if you will. I'm not a strong swimmer and it's traditionally been my weakest leg. The distance in a IM 70.3 is relatively short considering it's only 400 meters longer than an Olympic distance tri. No prob. It wouldn't be fast, but doing the distance wasn't a problem. No worries. Cycling has proved itself to be my far strongest leg. Six months earlier I had done my first (and only)Olympic distance tri at the Los Angeles International and unexpectedly nailed the bike portion and had the fastest time in the entire age group. I was looking forward to the bike. Get me on,let's go. And then there's the run. I've run my entire life, raced since I was 7. Not a spectacular athlete, but good enough to satisfy my competitive needs. The run was the portion I was not looking forward to. During training I ran into a whole host of issues in my right leg from old injuries. Chiropractic, ART physical therapy, sports message.. you name it. My boss was being to wonder why I was training for an event that required physical therapy 2-4 times a week. Me too. A month earlier I couldn't get through a 36 min run and my longest run during training was 1:45. And I barley made it through that before my knee gave out. So the run, simply survival was the goal. To make it to the end. Time, smime, whatever. Survival. The competitive animal in me would have to wait for another race.

So in the water we went, feet already numb so what the heck! "This sucks" I thought to myself. Oh well, it will be over soon. Two-thirds into the swim I lost the ability to control my fingers. I could feel my fingers were apart and was in essence "combing" the water instead of getting a good pull. Fingers numb, couldn't close the fingers. Oh well, it'll be done soon. Slowing didn't help me any either, just kept me in the water for longer. By the time I was helped out of the water I had no feeling left in my hands and feet.I already have an issue with cold extremities, so much my man haslabeled my toes "toe-cicles". The transition was a joke. I couldn't close my hands to grip anything so in reaching for the stack of goods for the bike portion, I just managed to knock everything onto the wet asphalt. And it's raining. Arm warmers.... I couldn't pull them up. I couldn't close my hands to grip them. Crap. Houston, I have a problem, I can't grip anything. Well - better get some circulation back, can't get on the bike until I can hold thehandlebars. Several minutes of smacking my hands together and on my thighs did the trick. Ok, back to arm warmers. Extra jersey, raincoat, full fingered gloves. Oh yeah, need shoes. My usual set up of keeping the shoes on the bike came to issues when I realized that that after I put my socks on my numb feet - running down wet carpet would pretty much ruin the idea of trying to keep warm - ok, rip the shoes off the bike and put them on now. Ok, check, ready to go have some fun on the bike.

Overall the bike portion felt good. I was so cold starting I wasnumb - hey, roll with this and just go... you're numb so pain,smain. I've felt pain on the bike during the Boulevard Road Race,and not one second of this bike portion was going to compare. I'm passing people, all's well, but I can't seem to ride hard enough toget my heart rate to where it should be over a long distance timetrial. Oh yeah, legs are numb and not working like they should. Ok,this pace will do. And then my stomach hurts, probably from the cold. Eat-Clif Bar bits, Gu, drink mix, water, get some systems circulating again. Ok, feeling a little better. Not great. But I'm riding, so I'm happy. I like this leg. I like the bike. Aero barsfeel good, first race in the bars and I'm liking it. Then I see my parents who have driven down to watch my big crazy day. Some how they found me on 2 spots during the bike portion, and seeing them and hearing them was so incredibly rewarding. Half way though ther ain stops and it looks like the weather is clearing. I stop to take off the rain coat and shove it in the jersey. As horrible as thefirst transition was, taking the time to warm up and put on extrakit was a saving grace. No hypothermia today! I finished a littleslower than I would have liked, but for my first IM 70.3 in wet rainy conservative conditions, no complaints.

Now the sun is out and it's looking like an ideal So Cal day. The transition to the run was far better and I'm in and out of therewith out too much delay. All the running off the bike with a coach has helped. Legs are a bit tired, but no wobble legs. Well, until Ihit the sand. The 2 loop course has a sand segment somewhere between50-100 meters long, which you hit 4 times. If you like running onsand, today is your lucky day. For me, between weak ankles and a IT band issue... let's just say it was one foot in front of the other. Thirty minutes in, the knee is starting to act up. Slap! I reach down again and slap the side of my leg around my knee and hip. Wakeup! Every 5 minutes. Slap! It gets the job done and I finish the run right where I wanted to finish. Members of tri club SD were everywhere on the run and wonderfully supportive. It helps to have people keeping you motivated. I even challenged 2 runners to a finish line sprint. Hell, if they want to beat me, they're going to have to work for it! I got the girl, the guy, well, he got me.. but he had to work for it. A spectator finish. Hell, I was done! "Let's be done!" I thought as I sprinted in. Hell, a good finish can make a crappy performance feel good.

I crossed the finish, got my finishers medal and saw a familiar face, Whitney, fellow Velo Bella. She gave me a huge congratulatory hug and I just cried. I did it! Seven years ago I was in a wheelchair recovering from an accident, and now I was here, at the finish of my first Ironman 70.3. I was so happy to be done. Overwhelmed infact. I made my way to the food tent and drank to my heart'scontent. Then I saw my man. He gave me a huge hug and I again turned into a gooball mess. Damn, I'm a sissy!

My parents were there. I gave my mom the stinky hug and my dad gavemy a big hug. "Congratulations, again" he said. Dave had finished the race some time earlier and managed to round up his friend Pat visiting from Canada and my folks. Ok, time for our IM massage...can't walk very well and my knee has decided it doesn't feel like bending any more today. We send them off for coffee while I gatherstuff and get a quick massage. "Hold on, I've got to show you what Pat did" Dave says to me. You've got to know Pat, he's a joker so he's always doing something funny. Dave walks out on the beachtoward a palm tree. "What'd Pat do to the palm tree?" I ask. "It's over here, I'll show you" he replies. Ok. He looks around, "this is about good," he says. What? Good for what? "Well" he says," you knowI love you...." before his knee hits the sand I'm a complete gooballmess, "oh, you're gonna" I manage to choke out... "yeah"....hesays.....and hence that is the story of my engagement!

So when my dad said "Congratulations, again"... "again" had nothing to do with finishing. Boy can my folks keep a good secret!

So today I'm bathed in ice packs and moving significantly slower than normal... but sometimes there are other things that are more important and exciting which make this the best pain of my life.

So, now on to the San Luis Rey Road Race in May.. anyone coming?

Cheers,Raja

Boulevard Road Race 2006

Feb 2006
As the lone bella representitive at The Boulevard Road Race, I'd just like to say that they should re-name the race to "The Boulevard Mountains of Pain Road Race". With a bit under 4000' of climbing in 45 miles... I was in a world of hurt! You know those cycling muscles in your legs? Well, turns out I'm missing those! No really, I had a great time. (Does that mean I'm a "sick twisted little monkey"??) This was my first road race and considering I've only owned a road bike for 10 months, I'm excited! I finished just behind the lead group... hum, lots of motivation to train a bit harder!

The race actually started last night.. with the careful application of alternating pink & blue nail polish.... limited to supplies on hand, I'm afraid my flair was just not up to par... needed a little more "zing". The second race (according to my heart rate monitor) was this morning... attempting to warm up on my trainer. I'm spinning easy and notice that my heart rate is already in the 180's. Hum, someone a little nervous? The 30 degree chill didn't help me much, pure So Cal girl... below 70 it's freezing. Once the race started things got better. I was able to hang with the lead group until the last hill on the first lap (2 lap course) when 4 of us gals got together and attempted to close the gap to the lead group. A friend of mine in CO said "make friends"... so Lisa, thanks! We got within reach and then hit the hills again. Once again, all hell broke loose and I though I was going to die. By the last climb I had managed to out climb the remaining girl that I was riding with and knew the finish was just a solid 4 mile climb away.... and then finished.

So to all your Bellas - you ROCK! All you racers - WOW! This s*^t is HARD! A world of pain.... so where do I sign up for the next one??

Cheers, Raja Bella

"It must be the booties" - Fiesta Island TT Race Report

"It must be the booties" - Fiesta Island TT Race Report
Feb 2006

Today turned out to be a bootiful San Diego day. Sunny, no wind, nice temp.. and perfect for a bootilicious time trial at Fiesta Island in the middle of Mission Bay. I had just realized that once you get in line, your nerves escalate exponentially the closer you get to that guy straddling the bikes. "It must be the booties" said the guy 3 up from me. "All the fast ones have the booties" he joked. It was his first TT, as it was my first as well. I replied, "yeah, I don't have one of those crazy helmets... but I got booties!"

Whitney DeSpain had just finished the first of her 5 loop course and looked great. So Cal Bella's got to stick together, "Go Whitney!" I screamed. All you bellas out there... Whitney is the BEST support and cheering squad one could ask for -Bella Extraordinaire- she attracts energy and happiness, what could be better???

"Twenty seconds..." said the voice behind my left ear, "you have twenty seconds." He kept speaking but all I heard was "blah blah blah.. blah blah..." and all I could think about was "OK, I have lost the ability to clip into my pedals..." He said something about laps and finishing and luck. I'll take some of that with a side of fries please! :-)

And I was off, my first TT now under way. Having a triathlon background, I'm a little more familiar with racing TT than road racing, having said that, I haven't owned a bike for year yet...so "familiar" is a relative statement. I was however pretty familiar with that ache in the legs left over from the half IM 2 weeks ago. Yesterday I hopped on my bike for a couple of hours to wake up the legs - thought perhaps that would be wise...Eh, ache, smake... whatever.. right??!? Laps 1 & 2 felt nice and smooth. Lap 3 errr... and lap 4, well.. not so much. Lap 5, you can feel the finish... my bum hurt, my legs hurt, heck, even my arms hurt (???). I'm still getting used to aerobars... I finished in something like 33:17, happy for my first TT. Lots of improving left to go. Whitney looked at me sideways - "THAT'S GREAT!!" she said... "you should stick around.. your new fiance just may be a podium boy!"

Here's the REALLY interesting and important part of the day... A woman walked up to Whitney & I and smiled a great big smile, "you have the best looking [kit] out here." Really she said that! Then a guy from Pez Cycling seemed to agree and took our photo (so look online on their something or rather "distractions" part of their website!) for their cycling news website. VB making the news! (well, not really, but I can dream can't I??). So Whitney & I made a pact... more flair next race!! We'll show 'em "distraction"!

Results came out, and my new fiance, Dave, did indeed become a podium boy and I placed second behind the Master aka Yvonne. Can I tell you how EXCITED I am??!? Whitney gave me a huge hug and said, "you realize the only one to beat you was Yvonne?" Now I don't know Yvonne personally.. but let me tell you.. she makes the guys look slow. Not only is she wicked fast (like 3 minutes faster than me!).. she's pretty too! Ugg! So jokingly I replied to Whit, "well, I'll just have to catch her now won't I!". (I stress jokingly!) So on to the next race. I doubt I'll catch Yvonne... but the good news, in 2 years she'll be on to another age group.. so there's hope!!

That's it from bootiful Southern California. It was the new VB booties, I swear!

Cheers,

Raja & Whitney