Get Out There

My attempts to run, explore my surroundings, and probably a discussion of delicious food and homebrewing.

[rebeccagetsrunning]

King tides at pleasure point 😍 (at Pleasure Point, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs4tbGlgGSI2vxSRTvSx5bQwGwoJiLkORvOGh40/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1gk7eqhwo4cpi

[rebeccagetsrunning]

Beers, dog, true detective. 2019 is off to a lovely start.

[rebeccagetsrunning]

I closed out this triathlon season with a hard race at Morro Bay. Had a great time hanging out with my aunt and uncle and the dogs and getting to race in gorgeous conditions. My race was going great until things fell apart on the run but I still felt strong overall minus the setbacks and got a course pr for the swim and bike 💪 now bring on the off-season! #sctamade #rockthetri #makeithappen (at Morro Bay, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpyCndygrq6gWzWgAZOgtbhVjclEzrUhA1yrT00/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=a206cztieeke

[rebeccagetsrunning]

The ocean is an incredible thing.

I went for a swim around the capitola wharf today and it was so freaking good! I love ocean swimming but my brain likes to freak out and make me really nervous and uncomfortable in the water sometimes.

Tonight I was excited to meet up with the group because I need to get in the water before my Oly tri at Morro Bay in two weeks. When I got there I noticed some pretty big waves crashing on the shore and was worried it would be rough and I would freak out again like the last open water swim I went on.

However when I got in the water it felt amazing - not too cold, not too rough, and good visibility - and you know what? I got in an awesome 1300 years swim with absolutely not freak outs and some decent sighting practice. I’m really excited for my last race of the year. I’m going into this race feeling really grateful for a solid year of racing with way less injuries and so much strength and fitness gained.

I’ve been going to track more consistently again and my speed has been improving so much which is awesome. I love the feeling of pushing to go faster and I have some awesome teammates that help me do that. I’m looking forward to two solid last weeks of training before race day.

[brucesterling]

*I am currently in Bakersfield, CA

[rebeccagetsrunning]

My parents would 100% think this poster is from me.

[stalenostalgia-deactivated20230]

A Scary Time.

[trackabandoned]

A++++

[transplantednortherner]

Love this!

[onceuponmrswhit]

Love her!

[littlerunnergurl]

I hit reblog so fucking fast and hard I broke my goddman laptop

[rebeccagetsrunning]

This!!!!

[rebeccagetsrunning]

So proud of @monesque on finishing her first half Ironman! Way to get it done 💪💙💛 #sctamade #mentee (at Santa Cruz, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnhg12aApflzw5pyFiPa8oKJJl6ATZuGjrWjCE0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=voiuu64u7p3w

[rebeccagetsrunning]

Flat Becca’s ready to roll! Racing Tri Santa Cruz sprint tomorrow with @monesque! I may not be super trained for this but I’m going to have fun no matter what 🏊🏼‍♀️🚴🏻‍♀️🏃🏽‍♀️

[rebeccagetsrunning]

Bare necessities. (at Beer Thirty Bottle Shop & Pour House)

[welcometoyouredoom]

[rebeccagetsrunning]

This is basically me every Open water swim 😂

[rebeccagetsrunning]

Stretching buddy... strong 5 miler with some strides today in the beautiful sunny weather. I was sad to miss track but it was nice not driving up to Scotts valley

[rebeccagetsrunning]

I swam tonight! And it actually felt good! So... I still have this serious love/hate with swimming. Last year I was starting to really improve and feel more comfortable with my stroke and then I stopped swimming often during the off-season. I picked it back up and did well training for wildflower and then when that was over I stopped swimming again. Wildflower was May 6 and as you can see from this picture since that race I’ve swam a total of 2 times. But tonight I got myself to the pool even though I was dreading it because it’s summer and they’re so many kids and the lanes are crowded, and all my other excuses. Not tonight though! I got my own lane in the deep end (I really don’t like swimming in the shallows) and I busted out a solid 2100 yard swim. It wasn’t perfect but it was a solid effort. It also felt good to try to shake out my sore legs from last nights hard and very hot track workout.

[rebeccagetsrunning]

I raced a fun little trail 5 miler this morning with one of my tri club friends. My time came out to 51:47 (10:22/mi) and I ended up 5/6 in my age group. This race is a tiny small town thing with maybe 50 total women in the race overall. For the past 36 years it was an all women’s event but this year they added a men’s race which is cool.

The race went well but I was hoping to be faster except. Unfortunately I was hit with major side cramps on the whole second half. I did not eat a good breakfast (half a larabar and a gu) which translated into too much sugar which didn’t digest fully. I almost feel I would have done better running on empty for such a short race. Oh well… I managed to stay fairly even on my pacing only stopping to walk to try to subside the cramps at the end of mile 3. I picked it up for the downhill finish and tried to kick it past a mother daughter duo I had caught but just didn’t have it in me. The race was sponsored by Olive Garden (weird for my anti-corporate town) so we got free breadsticks at the finish! I do love their breadsticks.

My friend ended up coming in 2nd in our AG which is awesome! She just started running this year and has been kicking ass and even ran a sub 2 half marathon a few weeks ago. So pumped for her and I’m trying to catch up 😊

[rebeccagetsrunning]

This medal Monday brought to you by me and @monesque’s super tired cheesy grins waiting for the shuttle back up the hill after finishing the beast that was the Wildflower Olympic Triathlon. So grateful to be racing with this badass lady and getting so much support and love from my SCTA teammates. Full race recap to come but let me say it was a wild one.

[rebeccagetsrunning]

I raced this weekend!!!

Today was he start of my 2018 triathlon season and I kicked it off with the Half Moon Bay Sprint. I loved this race last year and have really been looking forward to it.

Here’s a brief recap of what turned out to be a gorgeous day and a 2 minute PR:

Swim - .3 miles plus a portion of transition =18:13 The water was so so FREEZING cold. I got in about 15 minutes before my wave to acclimate and try to warm up but it was just so cold that my hands and feet were not getting any warmer than numb. My hands were literally stuck in a claw/rake position because I could move them any differently. Oh well, I still felt strong on the swim though and was actually in the middle of the pack and didn’t get overwhelming by the washing machine that is a triathlon swim start.

T1 - .3 mi run up to transition =4:15 I fumbled a bit trying to get my wetsuit off and deciding if my feet were numb enough to wear barefoot and avoid putting my shoes on but a few steps told me they were not. I think overall I was pretty efficient considering how numb everything was.

Bike - 11 miles = 37:11 (18.1 mph avg)

The bike felt really good. There was a bit of a headwind that slowed me down in a few places but overall I felt strong and really practiced using my drops and keeping my cadence up. I was playing a bit of leapfrog with my friend/coworker who’s in my age group so that was fun to have a little friendly competition to keep me motivated.

T2 - 2:41

I’m fairly happy with this transition considering I had to run all the way to the other side of transition with my bike (maybe one day I’ll be confident enough to do the whole take your shoes off on the bike thing) and my toes were still completely numb which made it hard to put my socks on.

Run - 3.1 miles = 29:11

I started out this run with my legs feeling super heavy and my feet completely numb. The numbness did finally go away by the first mile and I’m happy with my pacing on the run overall. I can definitely tell I’m in better shape this year and this was the first race in a while that I didn’t walk at all. One thing that really helped me during the run leg was thinking about relaxing my breathing. I went to a mental toughness training on Friday by Terri Schneider (a badass adventure racer and Santa Cruz native) with my tri club and she was really big on creating your own personal mantras for each part of the race that will help you stay positive and push forward. For the run I kept telling myself to relax my breath. I often get tense and make my heart rate skyrocket and I found this mantra help me keep control and I finished strong without spiking at all.

Overall = 1:31:32 a 2 minute PR over last year!

This race is so much fun every year and it was awesome to have so many teammates out on the course to cheer each other on. This was a great way to kick off the season and I’m so happy to feel in way better shape than I was at this time last year.

Up next on my Race calendar - Wildflower Olympic! That’s going to be a tough race but I’m excited for the challenge.

[rebeccagetsrunning]

That feeling when you roll up for your ride and it’s 35 and windy... but then you finally stop shivering and your fingers thaw and it’s a totally beautiful ride along the Monterey coast bike trail with all your cool tri friends. 31 miles in the bag for a lovely Saturday ride with the SCTA crew!

[rebeccagetsrunning]

What a week!

Here’s a recap of some of my training highlights: Monday - 6 miles - pushed it a little too hard but I’m trying to build my distance and didn’t workout all weekend so it was a needed - I foam rolled a whole lot after and sandy always likes to come over and inspect my foam rolling technique when I do it so that’s nice. Tuesday - track! - my favorite workout of the week every week for sure. It was freezing cold (for CA standards) and my legs were sore from Monday but I got it done and put in a solid effort Wednesday - swim and bike - I doubled up my workout because I had an after work event on Thursday - swim felt good and I’m noticing that I’m getting back into the feel of it. Part of my main set was a 300yd swim and I felt like my lung capacity was finally getting back to normal as I was able to maintain a good consistent pace - bike was nothing special just 45 minutes in the trainer watching the Olympics - we made bok choy fried rice again for dinner this week which is one of my favorite easy recipes lately Thursday - rest day aka thirsty Thursday essentially Friday - planning on a super easy run today to stretch the legs a bit before my favorite bike ride of the year tomorrow - riding from Castroville to Monterey on a separated trail for the majority of it.

Hope you all are having a fantastic Friday and an awesome weekend.

[rebeccagetsrunning]

Update: I did not run but I made some delicious pizza and watched the first episode of Ugly Delicious with my guy which was everything I wanted for a relaxing evening after a long week.