Week 24 - 3 more weeks until Vineman 70.3 and 5 more weeks until Barbs race

Training weekend fun!! 
It's always interesting to travel with a bunch of women. You get to see who over packs and who always forgets something. I had 2 bags plus my bike. I'm a little OCD, maybe -  no I'm not, but I pack my training clothing in large zip lock bags. This baggie here is for the swim on Friday. This baggie here is for Saturday's training day, etc. I'm always afraid I will forget something so packing it in large zip lock bags ensures I have my stuff together. Doesn't mean I don't over pack - I bring 10 CO2 cartridges, 5 spare tubes, 3 pairs of goggles ( you never know when you might break a pair),and I also pack my 20 swim caps (no really I do) it depends on my mood which one I will wear.

 

We left my house at about 9:30pm or so. Our goal was to drive to Hotel #1. Sleep and enjoy Casa de Fruta for a bit.  I always have plans in my head but because of time constraints we didn't get to do all I had envision. It's hard when you want to do so much in the little amount of time you have. We visited Casa de Banos, Casa de Wine, Casa de Fruta, Casa de Choo Choo, etc. Everything there started began with a 'Casa'. It was cute. 

 

 

The one thing I did want to do...was go to the Lululemon Outlet in the city of Gilroy, CA. I didn't find what I wanted, but that is OK I got this really cute grey Iconic Wrap except mine didn't have a hood like the one pictured in the link. I don't normally spend that much money on myself but I couldn't resist. On the hanger it wasn't that pretty. On it was adorable. And you can wear it in so many different styles. OK so I spoiled myself a bit but so worth it. 

 

 

After our little shopping spree we headed on out to Windsor, CA. The NASCAR race was also happening in the area so we had to take a slight detour to get away from the traffic. I loved the blue sky's, it just felt so fresh and clean out there. Even with the smell of the cows, *SNIFF* oh yeah freshness. 

  

First thing on our training weekend agenda - lets go for a swim in the Russian River. Now this is an open water swim I can tackle. The water is warm. No waves. Only thing I need now is some confidence in the wet suit. I don't know why but I've been having this 'thing' with my wet suit. I feel like I can't breathe in it. I know it's a mental thing. As a matter of fact I think my wet suit maybe a little big on me but I still feel like I can't move in it. It's so frustrating. Anyone know of someone who can hypnotize the fear out of me.     

Selfie's after our swims and more photos of the Russian River area.  

 

This street sign is pretty famous. The infamous Chalk hill. I will admit as I was riding our bike course on Saturday I remember saying to myself - gosh why does it feel so easy? Not easy because the ride is easy, but easy because I wasn't nervous. I knew what to expect and when to expect it. The most awesome part being when there is this one hill right on Canyon Road (mile 26) where I remember that hill being much bigger and longer. As I kept riding I kept thinking..humm... I don't think this is the hill that I struggled on last year. No I'm positive this isn't the hill. Actually it was the hill. I rode up that hill with no problem. I just kept peddling and wow..it was nice. When I got to the half way point where Coach Andi was at - mile 29.2 - I felt pretty good. I did start to get that ache in my hip - I made a mental note for race day carry a baggie for ice. But still I kept on and was ready to tackle Chalk Hill. 

When I hit Chalk Hill I was OK for most of the way. I kept peddling and ouch. :( Yep my hip. Not to worry I told myself. Walk that damn hill but do it as fast as you can (I talk to myself a lot). As I was walking up the hill I saw Petty (a former teammate). It was so good to have someone up there checking on me. She asked if I needed anything and honestly no. As soon as I got to the top of the hill I hopped on my bike and kept on riding. I just wanted to get the ride over with at that point. That was at about mile 44. 12 more miles to go. As soon as I passed Chalk Hill I was riding when I hear a honk and a Go Bucket Go. I had no idea who it was (at first) but I smiled lifted my arm and said 'Hey'. I have a bad habit of saying 'HEY' if I have no idea who it is. But I always ackowledge the 'Go Bucket Go', hey is my way of saying thanks. :)

And more photos

 

My bike. So pretty. Had a little mishapp with my back water cages. It was OK I improvised and all was good.

This picture here, there is a story.  After the bike ride I stayed to myself for a bit. I had to decompress and gather my thoughts about the ride. What I did. What I will do differently on race day. You know basically go over a plan with myself in my head. My plan 'Ride like I stole that bike from YOUR MAMA' [insert the yo mama jokes]. 

Oh back to the picture. So I layed down and Tina was telling Christy..My gosh you are such a bitch. You are a bigger bitch then me. AND they were laughing. So basically there were talking about each other to each other. I could not stop laughing. So then I was like OK guys talk about me, lets laugh. There were like, bucket you are not a bitch. I was like YES I AM. No Really. They looked at me and laughed. It was fun.  This season I have really gotten to know my teammates. LOVE THEM ALL! Some took some time getting use to. Others are so quiet. It's the quiet ones I admire. They are quiet but they watch everything. But when I ask a question..oh lordy lordy.. it's awesome. We compare notes and say 'RIGHT! that is what I was saying.' It's fun.
  

Time to go home .. but before we left the Bay area we stopped at Zachary's in Pleasant Hill. My tummy did not love me after this but it was so worth it!

I love this photo of Kelie. If you know Kelie she is always on the go and always talking. All of a sudden the car grew quiet and I turned around and saw her fast asleep. Poor baby was tired. That's what she gets for training for a half Ironman. :)

To say I am not feeling the stress would be a lie. Even those with the best intentions sometimes put the stress on me. The way I see it, I have trained, I have pushed myself more then ever, I am going to go out and do my best. wow I'm scared and excited all at the same time.