Today was the Louie Bonpua Annual Triathlon. In past years, this triathlon was only for those training for Ironteam. So, naturally last year being a part of Ironteam, I participated. This was my very first triathlon ever. For the Ironteamers, this tri is an Olympic Distance, 1 mile swim, 25 mile bike, and 6 mile run. I ended with a time of 4 hours and 51 minutes.
This year the Winter Tri Team, who is currently training for Lavaman, was invited to join the Louie Tri. We were scheduled to do a modified Sprint Distance, roughly a 400 meter swim, 12 mile bike, and 3 mile run. This year, knowing what the course would be like, and knowing that I've already done the whole Olympic Distance, I was feeling quite confident.
First was the swim, and I have to admit, not swimming in the bay for quite some time made me a little nervous about that. But, once I got in and started swimming, it was like riding a bike, it all seemed soooo familiar. I got out of the water in great time, I guess...I heard a familiar voice yelling out a time, but the ear plugs and confusion you feel from swimming in open water restricted me from hearing what the numbers were. As I got my slippers on, I heard everyone I knew tell me what a great time I had coming out of the water and realized the voice yelling out times was DEB, my old Ironteam mate. I was excited to see her. I yelled thanks to her and headed up the stairs to the transition area.
I got to transition and prepared for my bike ride. If you know me at all, biking is my least favorite of the three. But, this time I was actually excited. The course was a bit familiar, and the distance was not scary at all. I mean, I did do 112 miles, and this time last year I was doing twice the distance. Not to mention, last year I did not know what I was doing on the bike AT ALL!
I had what I felt was was GREAT ride, and now it was time for my last event, the run. I took all my bike gear off and put my running shoes on. I went on my first lap and then my second. Although, I didn't get my full running legs on until I was a half way done with my second lap, I was feeling really good. And, from what my former Ironteam coaches were yelling, I was looking strong too.
Knowing my time from last year, and estimating my skills now, I was hoping to finish in just over 2 hours. To my surprise my time as I ran in was 1 hour 55 minutes and 24 seconds. WOO HOO!
It was great seeing my old Ironteam friends and seeing how awesome my mentees did on their first triathlon. I'm sure we were all glad to see the sun out for practically the whole race. Except for the head winds on some parts of the bike course, the weather was nearly perfect...well as perfect as you can ask for in San Francisco during Winter season.
And, a GIGANTIC THANKS to Phil, my mom and dad and Auntie Rose for coming out to support and volunteering for our event.
This is a video that I've posted in the past, but in case you would like to know a little about who Louie Bonpua was here is his story:
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
training 01.13.09
I've been sick in bed yesterday and today, and i was actually feeling a lot better this afternoon. so, i thought it would be a great idea to get out of the house and go to the gym with phil, les, and spell today...you know, sweat the rest out.
since it's tuesday, today was a swim day. so, i decided to get in a quick run (5 min warm up and 25 min run) and then move on to my swim. i've been a bit brave and have been doing the intermediate swims. since the ironman swims were so intense, these swims seem to be so much shorter, and i have to say i love the water, so why not?
here's what i did today:
warm up:
200 meters level 2, 150 meter kick drill, 100 meters level 2, 100 kick drill
main set:
2 x 200 (75 lvl 4, 50 lvl 8, 75 lvl 4)
4 x 100 (25 lvl 4, 50 lvl 8, 25 lvl 4)
4 x 75 ( 25 lvl 4, 25 lvl 8, 25 lvl 4)
cool down:
100 non-freestyle
in total i did 1750 meters, which i believe is actually more that what i will be doing on race day. so, i'm ahead of the game for the swim. woo hoo!
and although i did have a great workout today, i have to let some gripes out. if you read my sister's blog, you'll know we agree on some gym pet peeves. and please excuse me, if you think this is a little harsh, i know if you don't get my humor you may think i'm mean.
1) why on earth are you on the treadmill and talking on the phone? or even at the gym on the phone in full blown conversation? i mean if you are really on the phone for that long, are you really that serious about the workout!!! for goodness sake, and as a courtesy to the rest of us, please leave the damn phone alone!
2) first, let me say, kudos to you for trying to step your game up and run. but do you really have to be an elephant about the situation!?
3) and if you are running at an incline or at a speed where you are holding on to the sides for dear life, do yourself a favor and don't! if you are running at the correct speed or incline for your level you wouldn't be holding on to the sides. step it down a notch or two until you are actually capable of doing it that level.
4) i know that there are no lanes at 24, but if there are 5 people swimming in the imaginary (vertical) lanes, why on earth would your swim horizontally, messing everyone else up? ! can you please tell me what your logic is there?
since it's tuesday, today was a swim day. so, i decided to get in a quick run (5 min warm up and 25 min run) and then move on to my swim. i've been a bit brave and have been doing the intermediate swims. since the ironman swims were so intense, these swims seem to be so much shorter, and i have to say i love the water, so why not?
here's what i did today:
warm up:
200 meters level 2, 150 meter kick drill, 100 meters level 2, 100 kick drill
main set:
2 x 200 (75 lvl 4, 50 lvl 8, 75 lvl 4)
4 x 100 (25 lvl 4, 50 lvl 8, 25 lvl 4)
4 x 75 ( 25 lvl 4, 25 lvl 8, 25 lvl 4)
cool down:
100 non-freestyle
in total i did 1750 meters, which i believe is actually more that what i will be doing on race day. so, i'm ahead of the game for the swim. woo hoo!
and although i did have a great workout today, i have to let some gripes out. if you read my sister's blog, you'll know we agree on some gym pet peeves. and please excuse me, if you think this is a little harsh, i know if you don't get my humor you may think i'm mean.
1) why on earth are you on the treadmill and talking on the phone? or even at the gym on the phone in full blown conversation? i mean if you are really on the phone for that long, are you really that serious about the workout!!! for goodness sake, and as a courtesy to the rest of us, please leave the damn phone alone!
2) first, let me say, kudos to you for trying to step your game up and run. but do you really have to be an elephant about the situation!?
3) and if you are running at an incline or at a speed where you are holding on to the sides for dear life, do yourself a favor and don't! if you are running at the correct speed or incline for your level you wouldn't be holding on to the sides. step it down a notch or two until you are actually capable of doing it that level.
4) i know that there are no lanes at 24, but if there are 5 people swimming in the imaginary (vertical) lanes, why on earth would your swim horizontally, messing everyone else up? ! can you please tell me what your logic is there?
Monday, January 12, 2009
an eventful saturday
Saturday, January 10th was as eventful as they come. My first event of the day was, of course, training. I drove to Walnut Creek and did a 90 minute bike ride. The day was nice and sunny, so the ride was very pleasant. This has been the longest ride I've gone on since Ironman, and like every ride on my bike, I was nervous at first. Once we got going, I was able to find my grove and was pleased with the ride.
Next it was off to Uncle Uly and Auntie Carol's for their celebration of life. Uncle Uly will be going through bone marrow treatment soon and we all gathered to celebrate his on-going recovery. In his words, all he is doing is getting a little oil change, and changing a few spark plugs and he will be as good as new. Uncle Uly, I am sending you all the best wishes during your recovery. Keep up your high spirits, it will take you far along your journey.
My next event of the day, was Cj's 16th birthday party. I was able to play a couple of games of Catch Phrase, and see how Pictionary Man is played. It's always a good time with great company. Unfortunately, I had to cut that short and move on to my biggest and final event.
Last but definitely not least was my bowling fundraiser. Like all my other bowling fundraisers, I held this at Classic Bowl in Daly City. I had a GREAT turnout. Every lane that I reserved was in use, and I even had to add on a total of 4 more lanes by the end of the night. Thank you Auntie Carol and Uncle Uly for bringing your party and my fundraiser together. And, to KeithO and all my guests, thank you for your support, generosity and your kindness. You all have contributed to such a great cause. I hope all the winners of the raffle enjoy your wonderful prizes.
With all of your help, I was able to raise a little over $850 and we still have to collect from the bar tab. THANK YOU ALL!
Next it was off to Uncle Uly and Auntie Carol's for their celebration of life. Uncle Uly will be going through bone marrow treatment soon and we all gathered to celebrate his on-going recovery. In his words, all he is doing is getting a little oil change, and changing a few spark plugs and he will be as good as new. Uncle Uly, I am sending you all the best wishes during your recovery. Keep up your high spirits, it will take you far along your journey.
My next event of the day, was Cj's 16th birthday party. I was able to play a couple of games of Catch Phrase, and see how Pictionary Man is played. It's always a good time with great company. Unfortunately, I had to cut that short and move on to my biggest and final event.
Last but definitely not least was my bowling fundraiser. Like all my other bowling fundraisers, I held this at Classic Bowl in Daly City. I had a GREAT turnout. Every lane that I reserved was in use, and I even had to add on a total of 4 more lanes by the end of the night. Thank you Auntie Carol and Uncle Uly for bringing your party and my fundraiser together. And, to KeithO and all my guests, thank you for your support, generosity and your kindness. You all have contributed to such a great cause. I hope all the winners of the raffle enjoy your wonderful prizes.
With all of your help, I was able to raise a little over $850 and we still have to collect from the bar tab. THANK YOU ALL!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
thanks bern
so bern asked me when i was available for a run. we chose tonight for our little running date. i looked at the schedule and it called for a 45 min run. so we first decided to go to lake merced and run, but we ended up not going there. instead we walked from my house up the hilly streets to skyline college's track, which is about 1 mile. i'd say a pretty good warm up. as soon as we hit the track we took off running, well a good paced jog. i was starting to think that i was really out of shape b/c at half a mile was already feeling a little tired. but i kept at it. and at the end of the run i was feeling really great. and we were both running at about a 12 min mile. so all in all i think i got about 6 miles in, including our walk to and from the track. so bern, thank you so much for the run. our talks are always hilarious, but mostly if it weren't for out little date, i think my tiring day would have had me defeated on the couch for the rest of the night.
starting 09 off right
last night was the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Cause for Celebration night. i have never been to a cause for celebration, but this season i'm a mentor, so i thought it would be great for me to show some some support and join in. i also thought it would be encouraging to my mentees who were there to see me involved. so, i called in so reinforcements myself, and asked my cousin jackie to tag along. she agreed and we went to see what it was all about. basically, we all cheered as they announced all the teams that were participating this season, ski, run/walk, tri (that's mine), cycling and so on. they went on to explain how much each team had raised so far and what could be done with that money. i didn't hear exactly how many researchers' salaries we could fund so far. but that researcher could be the next person to discover the new drug to help cure cancer.
they also had a talk about the bone marrow registry. i've heard so many things about it and i always wanted to be a part of the registry in hopes that i could help someone else out. but, for some reason i was scared. well last night i wasn't. i decided to join the registry. jackie did too. for someone in need for a bone marrow transplant, it has a lot to do with the person's ethnicity. one of the people that spoke is currently on the list for a transplant, but b/c his mother is british and his father is south american he is having such a hard time finding a match. now i know you are asking well what about his family. you only have a 30% chance that someone in your family is a match. and you need at least 20,000 donors to find 1 match. and, to top that off the number of ethnic people that are on the registry is extremely low. they are dire need of people of different ethnic backgrounds. and if you are thinking that the procedure is too painful, do your research. technology now has evolved, it's not that bad. so i encourage all of you to have a little selflessness and join the registry.
they also had a talk about the bone marrow registry. i've heard so many things about it and i always wanted to be a part of the registry in hopes that i could help someone else out. but, for some reason i was scared. well last night i wasn't. i decided to join the registry. jackie did too. for someone in need for a bone marrow transplant, it has a lot to do with the person's ethnicity. one of the people that spoke is currently on the list for a transplant, but b/c his mother is british and his father is south american he is having such a hard time finding a match. now i know you are asking well what about his family. you only have a 30% chance that someone in your family is a match. and you need at least 20,000 donors to find 1 match. and, to top that off the number of ethnic people that are on the registry is extremely low. they are dire need of people of different ethnic backgrounds. and if you are thinking that the procedure is too painful, do your research. technology now has evolved, it's not that bad. so i encourage all of you to have a little selflessness and join the registry.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
First Lavaman Brick
Today was a great day for training. Training today was in Alameda, so I crossed the bridge into the beautiful sun. I was praying that it wouldn't rain, and it seems as though my prayers were answered. The sun was out and there was a pretty nice breeze. That's always welcomed during training.
This week was a recovery week so the brick workout was lighter than usual. Our brick consisted of about 3 mile bike loop and a 10 minute run. We had to do this 3 times. To cool off, we did the bike loop one more time, but at a much easier pace.
This was the first workout of the new year and I am very excited that I didn't skip and decide to stay in my warm and cozy bed. Big thanks to Phil for motivating me to get out.
This week was a recovery week so the brick workout was lighter than usual. Our brick consisted of about 3 mile bike loop and a 10 minute run. We had to do this 3 times. To cool off, we did the bike loop one more time, but at a much easier pace.
This was the first workout of the new year and I am very excited that I didn't skip and decide to stay in my warm and cozy bed. Big thanks to Phil for motivating me to get out.
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