I had been going back and forth for the last few months trying to decide if I should get new pedals for my bike.  Stay with older LOOK or move to Shimano or Speedplay??? Last weekend I still could not decide so in the end I stayed with the older LOOK pedals that were on the bike.  The problem, it was SEVERELY difficult to clip in and out on the older pedals.  I could not do it on a dime.  I thought that there was something wrong with me.  I went out this morning for a long ride with a lot of trepidation.  I met my friend L and we began to ride but she could see that I was really nervous. (Actually I was a hot mess. If I could not clip out, a crash was in my near future).  After a while, she looked at my cleats and pedals and told me that there was definitely something wrong.  I had it on the easiest setting but still could not clip in and out without a ton of force.  

We decided to stop riding and head to the bike shop to get it fixed once and for all.  At the bike store, the guys were perplexed as to why it was so hard to get the cleat in and out.  They could not do it either.  IT WAS NOT JUST ME!!! I decided to buy new LOOK pedals and cleats.  Thankfully, the bike mechanic looked at my bike and noticed that there were a couple of other things off with the bike so he took care of that for me too.

L and I headed back out for our long ride.  With the new pedals and cleats, I could clip in and out VERY easily.  I was a new woman!  All of my nerves and doubts washed away.  We headed out into beach street traffic and I was not nervous at all.  In fact, if the race were tomorrow, I know I would be fine.  It is amazing how when something is off but you do not know enough to know if it is just you, it can paralyze everything.  In my gut, I knew I needed new pedals in the first place but tried to save the $150.  In the end, the $150 for new pedals and cleats was well worth it!

Happy girl on the ride.  What a difference new pedals made!!!!

Moral of the story: If something feels wrong, ask someone you trust for help.  

This week was a tough one.  I worked until 10PM two out of four work days.  I love my job but this week I felt like I was on fast forward with no end in sight.  I had to miss a few workouts due to the long hours (no 4:30AM wake up call when you work until 10).  Unfortunately, with six weeks and change to 70.3, I have no time to waste.  The goal for June is to balance my crazy work schedule with training hours.  I have to say no to weeknight work.  Wish me luck!

This weekend: brick bonanza!!!

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!!!!!

This afternoon I found myself standing at the counter of Triathlon Lab Santa Monica.  The woman behind the counter looked so familiar and after a few minutes I realized that it had to be Tricraftbeer.  I could not leave the shop without asking if it was indeed her.  I asked her if she had a blog, she said that yes, it was her, and that she follows my blog too.  It is such a small world! If you do not follow Tricraft, you should!  She is a tri bad a**! 

All it takes is one good workout to turn things around.  I had a horrible run on Saturday.  What was supposed to be 7-10 miles turned into 4 miles.  This morning everything felt great.  I met the woman who introduced me to the world of trail running, C, at the trails for 5 miles. C is coming back to running after a two year hiatus. The backstory of me and C: we met and ran together for six months or so before she got injured and stopped running.  That was two years ago.  At the time of her injury, her friends (the ultra gang I have talked about on the blog) embraced me into their group and I have run with them ever since.  They are early morning folks but today we started at 8AM.  It was glorious!  It was great to catch up with C.  After the run, I went to an hour spin class.  2 hour brick for the win! Tomorrow, 5:15AM run and evening swim.  

Happy Memorial Day everyone!  Take time to give thanks for those who fight for our country. 

Last week training took a backseat to the wedding and family events in Maui.  Thankfully, I have no plans to travel between now and the race. Each weekend will be spent swimming, running, and building my mileage on the bike.  

Since January, I have been swimming with UCLA Masters.  This week, I am joining the local triathlon swim team, Tower 26. I swam with Coach Gerry years ago at UCLA Masters, where he was the head coach.  I had planned to join a couple of weeks ago but decided to wait until after Maui.  I hope that being amongst focused triathletes will calm my nerves and improve my swim.  

Training is about to get very intense (3-4 days a week swim, 3 days a week run, 3-4 days a week bike).  I have done a lot of this training over the last 6 months but my focus has been on the marathon, not the triathlon.  Time to cast out the nerves!  I have dreamt of Ironman for 20 years.  It is time to make this dream a reality.  First step, half Iron.  Follow along as I chronicle the next 7 weeks of my journey towards 70.3.