Gracie December 2005

F, 07-21-2006 The ALIVE Swim

BEST OF LUCK TO YOU, SALLY, SENDING YOU SUPPORT FROM AUSTIN!!! I CAN’T WAIT TO READ ABOUT YOUR SWIM!!!

Lynne and I had another amazing, ALIVE swim today morning. It is only my second time doing these swims, and they are a whole other category. I see them as night + endurance + cold water training. It’s much more specific to the English Channel. I’m beginning to imagine endless hours in this type of environment: I no longer have mental dragons try to take me in longer swims because I’m now focusing on getting to long, cold swims. (Yes, I did say cold! I like the cold; it brings out a side of my personality that I like and didn’t know existed!) I choose to ignore the part about long, cold swims being “hard” and tell myself that it is a process that gets easier and easier—like looking graceful while walking in stilettos on cobblestone sidewalks and managing to keep up with a man half a foot taller wearing flat shoes. I also think of my wonderful parents, friends, and all of the amazing people and athletes whom I have the pleasure of being around and who provide endless support, advice, encouragement, and inspiration. I love swimming, but I don’t get up to do these swims just for the love of it. I am going to get to France. However, everything that I do would be much less rewarding if I had to wait until 2007. The way that I see it: I’m already on my way to France, and all of you amazing people around me are swimming with me!! Thank you, I’m really enjoying this!!! I do not know the full story, but I’ve heard that the one man who attempted to swim the English Channel alone (with absolutely no support) died in the process. You can’t have it all, and you can’t do it all by yourself!!!

Swimming today was easier than the last time. It’s not easy enough yet. I’m sure it will never be “easy” because I plan on staying in longer and longer, but I’m excited about putting in more time to get comfortable and acclimating all over again!!! I was not as cold today, which is great news since I’ve been out of the water (other than my long showers) for exactly two weeks. However, finding my rhythm and my actual swimming took longer and was a little more challenging today. It all started with a fence of duckweed as I entered the water and had to swim through. Lynne was already swimming, and I really wanted to go. Yet, I didn’t know how fast I’d be able to swim through the duckweed to fight off the cold nor how long I’d be swimming through duckweed being cold. After watching Lynne swim back and forth waiting for me, I took the plunge!!!

I spent most of my swim thinking about the motions in the cold and dark. Every now and then, I’d get disrupted mentally—thinking random thoughts. After a while, I started to catch myself daydreaming and would tell myself, “Stay in the moment!” On the way back, close to the 1 hour 5 minute mark, a word popped in my head: COGNITIVE DISSONANCE. Is that what has been happening to me? I’m going to do some reading!

As the sun was rising, I’d look left and see daybreak. I’d turn and look right, and I’d see night. It was bizarre and spectacular at the same time: I felt like I was literally in the middle of day and night! It was a splendid sunrise!! Fred mentioned a few months ago that no two of these swims are alike—Well said!!!!! I am excited about this new swim phase and look forward to putting in more and more time in this cold water in the dark!!!

I’m scheduled to swim in exactly one year!!!

6/25/2006            GOOD LUCK FRED & HUGH!!!!! WE LOVE YOU GUYS; HAVE A BLAST IN SWITZERLAND!!!!!

HUGE CONGRATS, CINDY, CAN’T WAIT TO HEAR ALL ABOUT YOUR RACE!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATS TO JOEY ON HIS FIRST SPRINT TRI AND TO COLETTE!!!!

YOU GUYS ROCK!

Sun., 06-25-2006 My First Half: Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake (Lubbock, TX)

SWIM 36:16

BIKE 03:22:34

RUN 03:11:41

Apparently, my run puts me in the “elite category, a whole other level.” A really nice Ironman that I met the day after the race told me, “If your run time equals or exceeds your bike time, you’re in the elite category, a whole other level!” I’ll take it!!! I worked hard for that 3-hour 13-miler! Plus, it would’ve been longer if Fish & Jamie hadn’t spotted me!

It’s 3.5 weeks before Buffalo Springs, and I’m sitting on my couch reading Susan’s St. Croix race report. Let’s just say it was inspiring, to say the least!! THANKS A MILLION, SUSAN!!!!! … minor change to the June calendar! My June training motto is “work ethic.” To prepare for my first half, I did a little half IM “time trial.” I did my swim in Barton, the bike out to Buda, & the run on the green belt. Yep, I’m ready!!!

THE TAPER!!!

This part was mentally really hard! I had my friends to keep me accountable, and they were wonderful! I had a tremendous time during my taper workouts. I am extremely proud of myself for having stuck to my taper plan and not loosing sight of the dividends it will pay on June 25th. On my off time, I was watching “The Phantom of the Opera” daily, 2-3 times!!!

I SURVIVED THE TAPER!! …ON TO LUBBOCK!

We had a well-deserved pasta dinner Friday night. Bruce suggested that we head out tomorrow morning “oh not too early, let’s say 7 o’clock.” Awesome!!!

Everything was going smoothly until I got to the hotel shower!!! (F.Y.I. I am selectively “scared to death” of bacteria [even though I know it’s everywhere]. I’m not scared of it during sports but am when I’m a “civilian.” For months before attempting triathlons, I couldn’t fathom being barefoot & swimming in bacteria. Now, I just don’t think about it but haven’t gotten over the fear outside of tri!) The hotel shower was clogged! EWE!!!!! You can only imagine how fast I showered! To me, this was traumatic!!! The next day, the hotel manager asked us to move to a new room because his maintenance guy alerted him that our room should’ve never been occupied to begin with. You think???!!!

On Saturday morning, Colette, Bruce, Rolando, Joey, and I headed out to the lake. I had a really fluid, peaceful rhythm during my swim that translated right onto the bike. Headwind or not, I was in the process of being alive!!!!! I met a local roadie halfway through my ride. His name is Michael, and he was very positive and always smiling. When I told him that I’m an Austin resident, he smiled more and answered, “Oh, wow! From Lance’s hometown!” He was very curious about the whole triathlon thing and said he’s been contemplating it. I actually think he’s been secretly training. He rides and runs after his rides, but he hasn’t started swimming yet, although he’s “met some people” that he can swim. Sound familiar??? He also said that he has never ridden with a triathlete before and gave me a pat on the back for good luck! When we separated, he alluded to wanting to come out and watch the race, and I’m betting he and his wife did!! During the run, I saw Michael Lovato. What an awesome start!!!!!

Lynne sent me a picture of what I was missing in Austin, TX—Fred, Patrick, & Anne! Lynne took the picture; so, she wasn’t in it. They were out on some crazy Saturday morning ride! I spoke with Lynne during dinner. She said she will bring me a lot of tailwind on the bike!! It was such a coincidence that she sent me this picture mail because I had been thinking about her while I was on my bike ride this morning. “It’s not the same without The Lynne Monster!! What would she do out on this course?”

Joey & I headed off to the expo. Des was going to be at the Recover Ease tent, but we missed her. Oh, shucks, I’ll look for her tomorrow morning!

THE BIG DAY

As we drove towards the park, it was absolutely dark and windy. Lightning was striking—must’ve been until about close to 6. I tried not to think about it. It was comforting to think that the race director wouldn’t cancel on 2,000+ people. I went to get body-marked: “#124, age 25, & smiling faces under my numbers, please!” The volunteer asked me if I was pro, and my answer was, “Hell, no!!!” She laughed at my response; I thought her question was random! Before I knew it, I was all set up, and the pros were charging into the water! I stood around and watched—waiting for Andrea, Jamie, and Des to come out of the water. I saw Jamie headed strong out of T1 and cheered for him! Fish came soon after, first woman out of the water!!! Way to go, Andrea!!!! As Fish passed by, I looked over to the beach and saw the women in yellow swim caps positioned for the start. “Uh oh!!! Sprint to the water! I’ll cheer for Des when I see her on the bike!!! Good luck, Des!”

It was a little chilly—in the 60s with wind. Hence, I had decided to do a little min-warm-up minutes before my wave start so that I wouldn’t have to stand around wet and cold before the start of my san wetsuit race. During the winter, we didn’t have much of a warm-up. It was get out of your clothes, run in, swim, run out, get warm! So, I know that my body can adapt to a rhythm quickly without a warm-up. I much prefer a warm-up, but I didn’t want to risk getting cold before the start of my race. Plus, I got to see Fish & Jamie instead!!!!

THE SWIM

I saw 1 other woman without a wetsuit out of all of the 39 & under women! My swim was fantastic and felt easy! My goal was sub-40, and it happened! I was really good about staying on feet, sometimes on two pairs of feet when my leading ladies were swimming side to side with others. I got knocked around a bit; I’m sure we all did, nothing personal! I love that part of the tri swims. It’s a lot of fun to maintain ownership of the pair of feet leading me, not slow down, sight, round & hug the buoy lines, have elbows and hands right at my face as I come out to breathe, and think to myself, “There comes the elbow again. Hold your position! I hope I don’t come out w/a bloody nose, but, if I do, oh, well, will make for a cool battle story!” With ¾ of the swim behind me, I started hopping on different pairs of feet and moving to the next pack. I love the part of the swim where you catch the next pack, and the next, and the next to the finish. I had been seeing blue caps instead of the yellow for a while now. I didn’t know why, but they were there. So, I didn’t draft off of them. I started kicking faster as I approached the finish so that my legs can get ready to move me into T1 and the bike. I get really fidgety at the end of the swim, when the volunteers are getting ready to pull me out of the water. I don’t think they realize that I’m short and have a bad knee, and I’m faster swimming than having to try to run in deep water. I swam around the volunteers, trying to swim all the way in. But, a strong male volunteer caught me, and pulled me up and out. I still wanted to swim all the way in! Maybe I should wear a sign next time, “Attn Volunteers: Let me swim in, thnx!!!!”  As I was exiting the water, I saw the blue caps. They were men from the previous wave. I came out of the water yelling, “Thanks for the swim everyone!! That was a ton of fun! Have a great ride!”

MY REUNION WITH NICOLE KIDMAN (my bike)

T1 went smoothly.

I hopped on Nicole, and off we were into the lovely hills!!! I was anxious to be over and done with these first few because I was HUNGRY!! With things not going as smoothly as planned before the race, I forgot to eat my breakfast. My stomach was growling a little during the latter part of the swim. I was in a rush to start the eat/drink, ride process after the hill climbs. I convinced myself that the wind was calmer than yesterday, but my back was pulling a lot. Instead of thinking about this, I’d think, “That just means that The Lynne Monster will bring me my strong tailwind soon!” I spent my entire ride alternating between staying in my aero bars for as long as I could before my back started burning, to riding in my hoops, & sitting upright for as little time as possible to get my back to stop burning. Between looking down at my computer and getting feedback from my back, I realized I was not going to meet my bike split goal. … but that’s okay! I had a lot of fun on the bike and especially on the lovely hills. On the hills, I figured I’d make myself useful since I could only push so much before my back locked & burned up again. Hence, I was cheering for people as they passed me. There was a pack of 3 men & a 41 year-old woman whom I rode with for the last half of the ride. They’d drop me on the hills, and I’d find them again on the flats. … and that’s how it went! In the meantime, I was cheering for all of my friends whom I saw out there. I was cheering for the Jack & Adam’s & TX Iron Jerseys! I saw Rolando, but he passed by too quickly before I had a chance to say anything. I missed Bruce, but he saw me. I didn’t get to make eye contact, but I yelled loud, “Alright, Bruce!!! Way to go!!!” Next came Jen, “You look awesome, Jen!!!” I heard, “Gracie, you rock!” I didn’t see the person, but I thought it was Susan’s voice. “Susan, you’re awesome!!!” I didn’t see any more of my friends for a while, but I made friends with another man out there.

He was the most inspiring, greatest part of my entire race! He was an African-American man riding strong. He turned back as I was approaching him. I smiled; he smiled. He started cheering for me, and I paused and talked with him for a few seconds. Then, he said to me, “Now, get going again! You look strong, sweetheart!! Keep it moving, and keep smiling. But, you’d better watch out: I’m going to catch you on the run!!!” I answered, “I’m counting on that; I really hope you do!!! Bye, I’ll be waiting!” Then, I kept moving. It wasn’t until I paused to talk to this guy that I realized that he only had 1 leg! He had a black metal with springs on his lower left leg!!

As I was coming into another canyon, I saw Jamie turning out of the canyon. He was now within 15 miles of the finish. I couldn’t help but thinking, “Jamie, take me with you!!!” The sheriff was parked off on the right. As Jamie approached him to take a left turn, he said, “Thank you for being out!” How awesome is that!!!

After Jamie, I saw Natasha Badman underway. I yelled, “Natasha, you’re amazing!!” Not long after Natasha, Des came. “Way to go, Des!! Congrats, Des, we love you!!!” I was thinking, “She’s moved up to 2nd place; she’s behind Natasha! Go, Des!!!” I knew Fish was approaching too, but I must’ve missed her b/c I started getting back problems again & focused on what I was going to do about it. Sometime later, I heard a familiar, “On your left!” I yelled, “Michelle Ryan, is that you?” It was!! I rode near Michelle for a while, but the back thing kept ramping up. I kept plugging, doing my best to not loose the rhythm and not trying to ride stronger either. As I was coming out of the last canyon, I saw Michelle again. “Alright, Michelle!!!” I remember seeing the mile 40 sign. After that, it was magic!! I could no longer feel my back! Finally, those endorphins kicked in, and I kicked back! I picked it up and was rushing to T2. I passed people every 3-4 minutes, but other than that, I was alone. I got back to the park and saw the runners. It was nice to see people again!! I got through the lovely park hills and into T2.

T2

This took a little longer. There was a girl racked two spots next to me. She was sitting on the phone, crying and talking on her cell phone. I heard her say, “I don’t think I’m going to make it.” I remember thinking that if I can make it, she can! (I didn’t train for the run a whole lot, have run a grand four times in June and before June have only run during races. In June, I ran once in a race, in my little time trial, last Thursday morning, & yesterday.) I asked her if she was okay. She said, “I just don’t think I can make it. I may be done.” All I remember is smiling and telling her, “Have a great run!!!” I was thrown on the ground getting my shoes laced & putting on sun block. As I stood up to get my visor, fuel belt, and pink M&M’s, she stood up, hugged me, and took off! I started the charge out of T2 eating half of a Powerbar, holding my pink M&Ms, taking a cup of water from the volunteer, and putting on my visor & fuel belt. I couldn’t eat the entire Powerbar; so, I launched it!

THE BRUTAL RUN

I set out on the run with happy thoughts and a smile. My run mentality was no rocket science: I stopped running in April 2005. Since then, I’ve run in my triathlons, on Christmas Day, on New Year’s Day, a little in preparation for this race, and during the Freescale Half Marathon. I’ve run since I was 9, and ran through anorexia & bulimia among other things. I have utmost respect for running; it was my salvation and nothing I’ll ever toy with! However, there’s a little something voice inside my head that tells me that I’ll always be a runner and that my legs will always carry me one way or another even when I’m 100! That was my mentality on Sunday. I set out there with my smile to put one foot in front of the other! Besides, when I talked to Nick (my friend Nick not my bike Nic) on Friday, he said I’d do well and called me “an endurance athlete.”

So, here I am out on this run course. My legs felt good, no problems moving coming off of Nicole! I was cheering for people and making sure I would stay on the eating/drinking/electrolyte schedule. About half a mile out, I saw Andrea looking very alive into the finish!! “Looking good, Fish!” I saw a young guy looking not very good. I ran up to him and asked him if he was alright. He wasn’t talking a whole lot, and it took him a while to tell me that he didn’t think he could go on much longer. I ran to the next mile and got the medics. “His name is Rob. He’s #51 I believe. He is wearing a white singlet & black tri shorts. He says it’s his back. He says it’s not heat-related, just his back and that he can’t walk much longer.” I saw Jim coming into the park; he looked strong! “Way to go, Jim!!” A mile or so later, I saw Michelle climbing strong up the hill!

My first 5 miles felt great. I was in the 1st down, 2nd down, etc. … rhythm. I didn’t care much about pace as long as it was steady and going to hold for 13 miles. I was focused solely on me and how alive I am! I saw Susan & Leary!! “Hi, Susan & Leary!! Way to go! Have a great race!” I was thinking, “Take me with you!” Then I remembered, “WORK ETHIC!” A few minutes later, I kept hearing a really chatty male’s voice. It was getting closer. “Oh, my God, Bruce!!! Bruce, you rock!!!” He had found himself a running buddy who was keeping up with him as long as Bruce did ALL—and I mean ALL—of the talking and somehow was managing to simultaneously yap away and smile! Wow, I’m stunned!! Close to mile 6, I was looking forward to the turnaround. Somewhere along here, I saw Rob coming the other way. When the heck did he pass me??? What a recovery! “Alright, Rob, I take it you’re feeling it again! Way to go!” He answered, “Thanks, my back is much better; I’m going to finish!”

Approaching Mile 7, my new friend caught me! (This was the guy with the one leg that I had passed on the bike.) He yelled at me from far away, “Still looking strong, Sweetheart! I told you to watch out for me, told you I’d catch ‘ya on the run!” We high-fived each other, and he went onward! As he passed me, another guy started telling me his knee was killing him. I stopped and showed him a quick stretch, and Val came through right behind him, “Gracie, is that you up there demonstrating stretches?” I pointed the man that passed me and told Val about our bike/run run-ins. Another guy running alongside said, “He does that every year! He did that to me last year too and just did it again now!” Val kept going strong! As I passed Mile 7, I allowed myself to walk. It was mostly jogging and some walking. That soon became mostly walking and some jogging! But, I was having a blast!!!

I got a little chaffing during my bike, and it was getting worse on the run. I was thinking, “Should I start wearing shorts from now on? But, I like being in my swimsuit. I’ll win the no-chaffing battle someday! I won’t think about this today!” I kept going—doing my 50 steps walking, 3 steps jogging until I realized that I can fast-walk faster than jog. Hurray for fast-walking! People kept stopping and asking if I was okay, and I was always smiling and making them laugh. They’d say that I looked fine and would ask me to run with them. I’d explain the whole dead legs problem; they could relate! At 3.5 miles from the finish, a man in an Ironman AZ jersey stopped and MADE me run with him. He didn’t fall for the “dead legs” thing; he couldn’t relate! I ran with him, repeating in my head “All heart, no legs, and a stubborn Ironman! That’s why I’m running! All heart, no legs, and a stubborn Ironman! That’s why I’m running! …” I said good-bye after ½ mile. He was now convinced it wasn’t that I wasn’t trying. I received a pat on the back, and saw him get smaller and smaller as he vanished!

I was by myself for a long time! I was looking at the trees, the birds, the lake. What a beautiful day to be out here in the process of becoming ALIVE! This is so much fun! If I can swim for 6 hours, 1 minute, 27 seconds; I can manage to swim, bike, and run for 7 hours! I sprinted for a few steps because I saw a tiny baby lizard and didn’t want to get “eaten” by it. (I’m scared of those too, but I’m not scared of sharks!) Then, I couldn’t stop thinking about my swim. It was running through my head, every second of it, in fast forward. I was elated!!!! I had a great no-wetsuit swim and was able to hang with the wetsuiters! “Man, this English Channel stuff really works!” I was really happy with my bike. It was beyond good enough, even w/the little back thing. These things happen! And, now, I’m in the footrace (although I was done racing today after T2).

I only singed up for this race 3 weeks ago. I can’t expect to not run and feel great physically during my first half Ironman, but to actually do it is huge, for me anyways! It’s tough and crazy, and I love tough and am not exactly normal!!! Today is truly playing on to my benefit! I like this!!! There’s something to be said for fitness, for training throughout the winter, and I can’t wait for 2007!!!!!!!! “Man, this English Channel stuff really works!” “Does finishing this make me ½ an Ironwoman? Thank goodness for ADD—Again, it saves the day! Never fails!” I was also really excited about my pink M&Ms holder that I put my Endurolytes in. Joey bought it for me. I think I drove him nuts showing it to him and saying, “I’m so excited about my pink M&Ms. Look at my pink M&Ms!!!” I always find something that makes me smile, and it was the pink M&Ms for this race. Also, I didn’t eat the M&Ms. They’re waiting for me at the finish! (I struggle with eating cookies, ice cream, or chocolate right before a race, and it comes back to haunt me. I didn’t this time; that’s called improvement! And, it’s hard!! The hard part is the best part; right, Lynne???!!!)

I’m still in my walking world. I’m staring at the lake. No one is around me. I’m thinking, “Would anyone notice if I swim across? WORK ETHIC, WORK ETHIC! But, there’s no one around. I can swim, run fast to dry off, and chop off a half-mile! WORK ETHIC, WORK ETIC! UUGGG!” I then started thinking about how I haven’t been “hungry” for running in a while and haven’t accomplished anything meaningful in a long time. The less-mature Gracie would get pissed off and go on some sort of crazy run the next morning. The new, improved, more-mature Gracie said, “It’s okay. I’m having a blast today and am lucky to be out here! I’m going to set a big goal right now on Mile 10 of BSLT. I’m swimming from EnglandFrance, and that’s my world right now. After I do that, I’m going to do ________. Perfect! I’ll do it during Ironman FL 2007!!!” (I can’t say what my goal is yet. I will admit it after I have swum to France. I’ve got a big swim ahead of me, and that comes first!) I felt as though I had proved all I needed with running and haven’t been “hungry” since. Well, I’m “hungry” again and have the desire to prove something again to the only person that I will ever strive to prove anything to—Gracie! … but not until November 2007!!!

Coming close to Mile 11, I heard a voice, “Gracie, it’s Gracie!!” It was Andrea. Then came Jamie’s voice, “Go, Gracie, go, Gracie!” Some of the other Texas Ironers came out and were also cheering! Jamie & Fish kept yelling, “Great job! Go, Gracie!! Let’s see some running!” Jamie and Fish kept saying the perfect, positive things to say to me. I was smiling and joking with them, “I don’t have legs! I’m done!! I already didn’t meet my run splits!!!” They didn’t respond except with, “Go, Gracie!” and asking me to jog. I told them, “Okay, alright, okay! I’ll run—but only for 1 block! My legs are done!” Jamie said, “Okay, that’s fine.” Fish followed with, “Go, Gracie! Wow, she looks really good! Gracie, you look great!” After that, I couldn’t stop running—forget the jogging! I was running! I kept running and running. I caught the stubborn Arizona Ironman. He said, “Wow, you look strong! What made you change your mind?” I explained the whole situation with Fish & Jamie calling me out on my walking. He said, “Nothing like a little motivation from the right people! Go for it!” I kept going. I was also glad I decided against swimming across the lake because I would’ve come out right in front of Fish & Jamie! WORK ETHIC!!

I saw the sprint run turnaround and though, “I made it! This was Joey’s turnaround. I can do this! Congrats, Joey!!!” The turnaround said “run” upside down (since the sprint athletes would’ve been coming from the other direction). I saw a curved arrow with the letters “*un” and thought to myself, “That is so cute!! They wrote fun! This is fun; run=fun!” Once I passed over the letters, I realized that it said, “run” not “fun.” Oh, well, it’s still fun! At least I can blame the air-headiness on swimming, biking, and running for 7 hours!!

I came through the last turnaround and saw the finish line. I knew I was close, but I didn’t know I was that close. I even stopped and told a couple with their little baby, “Oh, my goodness! Does that say finish over there, or have I lost my mind?” They started laughing and said, “You made it; that’s the finish line!” I said, “Okay, congratulations, gotta go, time to put on a charge and make it look like I’ve been moving that fast all along instead of walking the last million miles!!” They were laughing their heads off!! I sprinted in to the finish!! The race announcer got my name wrong, “In comes #124, Tracy Alvarado, from Austin, TX. Tracy, where’d you get that kick? That was a strong kick.” “Her name is Gracie.” “Correction, #124, Gracie Alvarado from Austin, TX with a strong sprint into the finish!” Joey came over to me. He asked, “Why did you sprint? I’ve been watching all day, and nobody has come through the finish as fast as you did. Why the sprint?” I told him that my high school cross country coach, Coach Manuel Escamilla, used to kick our a** if we didn’t negative split and sprint to the finish—although the a** kicking was a little more tolerable if you sprinted and even though you didn’t negative split. I didn’t negative split today, but I finished strong. That’s what it’s all about! Plus, I hear that swimming into France is the toughest part of the Channel cross. I’ll take every opportunity to train myself to finish strong!! Joey asked me, “How do you feel? Are you tired?” My response was, “I didn’t have the legs to get myself tired. I wouldn’t be happy running another mile, but I’m not tired. If I would’ve trained for running, I would be tired! I should be tired!” Regardless of time, negative splits, the whole bit, I HAD AN AWESOME RACE!!!!! And, DANSKIN WAS TOUGHER! THAT ONE KICKED MY BUTT!!! Am I half an Ironwoman now???

On the way to the parking lot, we met a 77-year old man who has raced in Hawaii 4 times, done 11 Ironmans, and doesn’t remember how many times he’s done the Buffalo Springs Half!!

Sun., 06-11-2006

I had been contemplating the Buffalo Springs Half. Exactly three weeks ago, I read Susan’s write-up about her St. Croix experience, and I WAS SOLD! A million thanks, Susan!!!!!

After looking at my schedule, it was clear that I would be in need of some compromising. The end product was having to do the 6-hour swim attempt on the same day as the Danskin triathlon. With a huge smile, I kept reminding myself, “It’s good training, Grace!” My adrenaline and I anxiously awaited Sunday, June 11th!

THE DANSKIN SPRINT TRIATHLON

I’ve had the pleasure and honor of working with Jen Reinhart’s Team Danskin training group over the last nine weeks. All of these women were inspiring and awesome, and I had a blast spending my Friday mornings with them! Going into and during the race, Jen was in my head saying, “It’s a sprint. It’s gotta hurt—gotta make it hurt!”

I showed up to the tri 2 hours early and realized that I left my helmet at home! I rushed home and back just in time to get caught in traffic. Once I got back, the transition area was closed off, and the elites were in the water. I didn’t have much time to set up. My bike was racked w/the elites, and I was scared that they were going to swarm the transition area and hate me forever! Off to swim warm up!

THE SWIM

I was the 22nd wave, and it seemed as though we were corralled in the water forever (was really 4 or 5 minutes). I kept repeating in my head, “Swim like you’re at the low water crossing; swim like … .” We finally were let go, and I was at the front of the pack. I soon moved into the lead position. Before we got to the first turn, we had caught the previous wave. After the turn, the woman who had been on my feet kept trying to pass me, and we played cat and mouse. I wasn’t going to let my spot go—not today! I’ve never been the leader, and I wanted to be first out of the water! I could hear Jen’s voice, “It’s gotta hurt—gotta make it hurt.” It was followed by, “Swim like the low water crossing!” The cat & mouse girl dropped back. Within a minute, she was at me again. I let her be, figured she’d get tired. After a few strokes of slamming into her feet and realizing she wasn’t as close to the buoys as I needed to be, I passed her. [As I was getting ready to pass, I remembered Jamie telling us about how you can bring a swimmer to a dead stop by swimming through their arms as you pass them. That sounded like a lot of fun, and this seemed like the perfect thing to do!] As I passed the girl, I slammed right in between her arms. I looked back, and SHE WAS GONE!!!! I sprinted off to head out of the water, excited that I was going to be the first out. About halfway from my turn point and the finish, the lifeguard boat approached me. I turned 1 buoy early! I yelled, “Holy crap!!!” and flipped back! How could this be? I miscounted the buoys! I knew who was where, where I was, had it all, except for the buoy count! “It’s gotta hurt—gotta make it hurt! Swim like the low water crossing!” I swam right by the guys helping us out. One of these men grabbed my arm twice. I told him “I’m more efficient if I swim all the way in!” At almost 5’3”, I would’ve barely had my shoulders out of the water from where he was trying to pull me! I swam in, put my feet down, started the sprint to transition as I ripped off the goggles and swim cap. I was greeted by Chris saying, “Gracie, only 1 lap this time, only 1!” I laughed and said, “YES—only 1 lap today!”

T1 was really efficient; I’m always in a rush to be reunited with Nicole (my bike).

THE BIKE

I saw Drew as soon as I got started. He’s one of those happy people, and interacting with him makes me happy. I was SOOO glad to see him, and I started yelling, “Hi, Drew! Hi, Drew! Hi, Drew!” until I got close enough for him to hear/see me. As soon as that was over, the chaos started. It took me longer than usual to get my bike up to speed. I couldn’t get a rhythm; once I did, it wouldn’t last long. That was my bike ride. It sucked, was really disappointing because my biking has been on. I kept thinking and was trying to figure out what was going on. “It’s gotta hurt—gotta make it hurt!” Time to eat! My fuel tasted horrendous! I spit it out! It tasted like chocolate salt water!! (I thought dumping my electrolytes in my fuel would be a great idea, tried it for the first time today, and turned out to be an appalling call.) I didn’t eat at all after this and was starting to worry about how I was going to make it through the run. One girl passed me. I let her go; I was already doing all that I could. Somewhere along mile 6, I started to wake up. I asked for a bigger gear and didn’t get it. It was then that I realized that I had been in my biggest gears as soon as I left transition. I was beyond pissed—about not properly setting up my bike, about forgetting my helmet, about turning too early during the swim, about my fuel & being dumb enough to try something new on race day, and about having no control. … but most of all because I was “not alive!” I felt like the hills were sucking me down, and I was very disappointed with myself. I couldn’t wait to be off of my bike, and this has never happened to me. “Where are the positive thoughts? I can’t find a single one. Where’s the smile? There’s Drew; he’s smiling!! Hi, Drew, hi, Drew!!!”

T2 was efficient, just like my previous transition.

THE RUN

Coming out of T2, I was wishing I had taken longer so that I wouldn’t have to be on this da*n run course yet. “What the heck am I going to eat? … not that chocolate salt water, I’m not that desperate! It’s gotta hurt—gotta make it hurt!” I was hurting and being passed left and right! At this point, I was searching for someone, something—ANYTHING—positive. I passed Mile 1 at 11:32, … and I was hurting! At some point after, I though, “Yeah, I can do this for 25 more times.” (I was being positive!) I wanted to yell, “We’ve got it, ladies, only 25 miles to go!!!” Immediately, I thought, “Don’t you dare say that!!” What was upsetting all day was that I was moving at paces below my Ironman goal paces on a sprint, and I was overwhelmed and feeling that I won’t hold up when I do the Ironman next year. I dwelled on this during my entire race, and it was these feelings of futility and these mental dragons that ran me down. Between Miles 1-2, I felt like a wuss and slowpoke combined with being mentally off and not tough. I thought of quitting approaching Mile 1, which was really close to transition, and I then saw Zena. What kept me from quitting were 2 things. The first was all of the coaches and women in our Team Danskin program. The second was remembering a bike ride when I told Ryan, “I don’t ever not finish.” I kept seeing “Tough Cookies” team signs with positive things about being tough. I had eaten a lot of oreo cookies the day before the race and didn’t feel tough.

As I’ve told Bruce, I love anything that has “tough” written all over it; to me, “tough” is motivation enough to do anything—no matter how stupid it may seem to others! And, today, I felt far from tough and “not alive,” and I gave in to crying on the run. Amidst this, two women whom I had passed ran up behind me. One of them said, “You’ve inspired us to run again, thank you!” I turned to look at them, and they were smiling. They interrupted my crying. My voice cracked as I responded, “You don’t know how much that means right now. I haven’t been myself at all today. Thank you!” They cheered me on , and that’s when I turned the corner! I said, “At Mile 2, give me 7.” As I crossed Mile 2, I began moving faster. I didn’t look to the sides, didn’t look up, just looked straight ahead. The little high school cross country runner who knows exactly what to do to negative split took over. I was so “in the moment” that I didn’t even see Jen and Ellen! I was about ¾ way up the hill and starting to put on the kick. I heard two women cheering, “Come on; you can do it! This is the hardest part! After this, it’s over—straight to the finish. This is the hard part right here.” That word—HARD—caught my attention! I was angry!! I yelled, “Don’t you say that again: that word—HARD! Don’t you dare say that to me, not today! Just don’t; don’t you mess with me right now!!!” They stopped yelling, and their eyes were huge as I ran by them. I shook my head and rolled my eyes at them. I had no control over my witchiness! Before I knew it, the finish line was visible. This is the first time I’ve ever been glad to see the finish line. Usually, I’m having so much fun and am wishing I were at the start again.

After the race, I bumped into Drew & Jack. They asked how it went, and I immediately blurted out “TERRIBLE!!! Let’s just say I was crying on the run course!” They made some helpful, cheerful comments in response. I did not do what I set out to do on this course; I had the most terrible race of my life. Danskin kicked my butt!!! I’ll do great in two weeks. Not that I’ll be giving birth anytime soon, but please tell me it’s not as tough as Danskin! Susan reminded me of why we love this sport: It challenges us in more ways than one! The good thing about this race is that I charged! It’s never easy!!! … Hydrate, stay in the shade, find food, think positive, get ready for the swim!

06:01:27

In the last two months, the dramatic change in my training (not only in my swimming) has been my approach—my attitude. All of this training and having tremendously positive people around me has really prompted a confident, positive mindset. (Okay, barring Danskin!!) I can actually pinpoint what brought on this change, and it was reading Lynne’s write-up “How warm is it?” The words “Attitude is everything!” have really made an impact. Before I set off to any swim—whether “long” or not—I tell myself to “Swim to France.” After it’s over, I tell myself, “Congrats, you swam to France today!” It works—Thanks, Lynne!!!!!

After hauling myself out of transition alongside Jen, I called Lynne to let her know where I was going to be for the “long” swim! It’s funny that right now “long” is 6. In November, 5K was “the longest I’ve ever done” … Well, it still is, except it’s more fun nowadays! I also remember Sally talking to me about how she would have been swimming for x hours, look at her watch, and be gleeful that she “only had two more hours to go!” Perspectives are their own world!! “Long” is now one of those ambiguous words like “heat, hill, hypothermia.”

I got to Windy Point and parked. I told the forest ranger to check out the water before he went home and make sure I wasn’t floating around in need of rescuing. He told me that he would and to not “overexert” myself. What the heck does that mean, “overexert?” If someone can someday thoroughly explain to Ellen and I what “overexert” means, we’ll tell our moms whether we’ve ever done it or not. I’m betting on NOT!  I swam my gear out to the little island, which would be my “feed stop.” The water was HOTTT!!!

I swam the course that I had laid out the previous Friday. Since I was going to have to be setting foot onto the island to eat, I decided to swim once every hour (every two loops). During my swim, I was more concerned with boats and jet skis. The boats were not much of a problem since the portion that I was swimming in was shallow. I actually liked them being remotely near because of the wake. The jet skis made me nervous; these came pretty close!! Unfortunately, I did not get to do a lot of the “mental retreat” during my swim, since I was tremendously concerned with whether I was visible to the jet skis or not. However, I was really psyched about my water confidence and comfort. My stroke was self-regulating itself, and swimming felt natural. I’ve been doing a lot of drill work before and after every swim and have really been working on my body position and have developed a more powerful pull. I’ve noticed a lot of the power gains come from swimming the low water crossing—it works!!!

Catching the surf was the most exciting part of today’s swim! I thought, “If the tides in the English Channel are any bigger than this surf, I’m going to have that much more fun!!!” [What a change from a few months ago when I thought that moving water was going to eat me alive!] The hardest part was swimming in HOTTT water. I’ll be honest that I was terrified of the jet skis and boats. These made me jumpy throughout my entire swim. I had a close call with a high-speed boat that never saw me back in April. The thought of high-speed boats & jet skis piloted possibly by drunk people on a beautiful weekend day in Austin combined with the rusted beer cans I see on our lake shores throw me close enough into a panic!

I did feel the urge to get out and drive to Barton, but it was because I was really boiling up in the HOTTT water. What I would do was to try to find cool patches and swim down to the bottom to cool off. That helped a lot! My TERRIBLE race also kept me in the water—I needed this swim to be successful for my sanity! I told myself, “I know you, Grace; you can’t take two hard falls in one day. Ryan, I don’t ever not finish!” At the end of Danskin, Susan told me that I’m still tough, and her words went a long way! On with my swim, I would distract myself from thinking about the possibility of getting run over by seeing how beautifully my body reaches and rolls left and trying to imitate that on the right. My rhythm, navigating, stroke rate, and body position were right on from 1 second to six hours! I remember thinking what about how great dolphins have and how it is no wonder they have a permanent smile! I then remembered Katherine. She had asked me the day before, “What do you think about when you’re swimming for six hours?” I joked, “I don’t know; ask me after Sunday! As for swimming, I get this rhythm and peace of mind. I have the most random thoughts, possibly because of combining ADD with euphoria. I talk to myself a lot. It’s great! It would seem hard, but, really, to me, hard is going as hard as I can for as long as I can, like the low water crossing. These swims last a while, but they’re a lot of fun—positive thoughts for however long I’m in there! I’ve also noticed I’ve become more blunt, no-nonsense, and realistic. I’m now working on the blunt part!” When I had this thought about jovial, smiley dolphins, I started laughing and thinking, “I need to tell Katherine!”

As I would sight towards the shoreline, I remembered about when my parents would take us to the beach: I used to swim far out and used to get in trouble. I was never scared; I was searching for dolphins and whales! I never realized how far out I would be until I’d reach the next shallow point in the open water, would stand up, and would see my dad yelling and standing along the beach. I could hear him all the way out there, and I could see how red his face was. I was scared to come out of the water and face him; so, I wouldn’t until he would come and get me! No wonder they worry; no wonder my sister Annie says that I’m “special!!” Somewhere past 5 hours, I got hungry and was craving Subway! Almost done! All done—06:01:27 and 12 laps at Windy Point!! It happens!

Sun., 04-09-2006                                   Last Overall!!!

I raced my first tri to kick off the 2006 season.  It was the Cactus Challenge Olympic distance TRI.  Lynne, Tyler, & Emily were at the start.  So was Chris.  So were Michelle & Jim Ryan.  Adam was our Race Announcer.  GREAT START!!!!!                                     

Although I’ve been swimming a decent amount over the winter, I was curious to see “what I’ve got!”  … especially since I haven’t been doing much interval work & a huge part of my training is to “build up my gas tank” & not use it all up within a few hours.  I wasn’t in a wetsuit, and my concern was that I was less buoyant than everyone else. 

I’m loving my solo swims!!  Even if Lynne & Fred are in the water, I don’t constantly see them while I’m swimming.  I also love the way my positive thoughts adapt to the perfect rhythm that my body quickly finds in the water.  Open water swimming is tremendously graceful & peaceful, even in rough water.  I’m very comfortable being uncomfortable, and I love being me!!! 

So, here I am at my wave start—w/the announcers holding us up FOREVER!  I told the girls in my wave that I needed to get moving very, very soon because I was starting to shiver, and I DON’T SHIVER unless I’m done swimming.  It also doesn’t take a neurosurgeon to figure out quickly that swimming in the “cold” during winter elicits the “Get in fast; get out fast!” response.  Today, I was out of my element—kept lingering in the water instead of just diving & going for it, surrounded by black bodies, in the pack, in a draft, getting kicked, no currents, swimming into the sun.  My idea of fun!!!!!  TRI season is back!

During the second lap on the bike course, I had a negative thought—a short, sharp one.  That ABSOLUTELY pissed me off.  I dumped the negative thought onto the pavement, kept smiling, & decided to ride an extra lap.  I felt good on my bike; I felt light.  I felt alive:  I was having a blast pushing Nicole (my bike), and I didn’t want it to end! 

My parents have officially become “fans.”  They ask about my races, give me advice, call me after my races, etc. … .  I love it!!!  IT’S ABOUT TIME!!!!!  Knowing this, I’ve decided to make my “first attempt” (about telling my parents that I’m going to be swimming the English Channel) halfway between Mother’s & Father’s days—that way, neither will feel “left out.”

There are a couple of reasons that I decided to go longer:

—I don’t do negative thoughts & will not stand for them, especially on race day.
—The English Channel:  I have a goal for every workout to get me to France.  I meet these goals.  However, I always enter the water w/the mindset that I am going to do a little more than my goal.  Tom Hetzel writes that thinking & swimming like this will get a swimmer to France.
—7 words:  IRONMAN!  I want to race an Ironman!!
—I have an extremely patient dad who never lets me quit.  He has always spoiled me rotten!  Even when I asked for too much, he made it happen & made it look effortless!  I have a mom who would sit w/me at the dinner table when I was 4 years old and wouldn’t let me go until all of my alphabet letters that I had to write for homework looked perfect!  My parents were always about “going the distance.”  Well, it rubbed off!!!
—Being out here is too much fun; I don’t want it to end! 
“Moderation is not my forte!”—Fred Coogan
—Nick!  I was thinking, “Oh, Man, I can’t wait to tell Nick what I did during my race!!!”
“If you have to ask why… you wouldn’t understand!”—Lynne Smith
Nick never asks “Why.”  He asks “What???  Grace-O???!!!”  J

My thoughts drifted over to Nicole Kidman, my bike.  I remembered when I had gone bike shopping.  That was the first time I met Adam.  Picture this:  A tri shop.  A girl in a dress, in heels, with the matching purse, hair & make-up looking nearly impeccable.  … and a lot of perfume!  That was me!  Adam asked something like, “So, what kind of bike are you looking for?”  My response was, “I don’t know—whatever I need to do an Ironman.”  Adam—“Do you do triathlons?”  Me—“No, I just run marathons.  But, I want to race an Ironman; I just don’t have a bike.”

I thought of what Adam’s thoughts must’ve been—crazy girl, doesn’t even know what she’s talking about!  I don’t blame him if he did think that!!!  I remembered what got me curious about Ironman and why I do this.  I do it because I love it!  Frankly, I wish I were paid to do it all of the time!!!  I’d gladly work more than required!

What got me into TRI was Ironman.  What got me curious & inspired about Ironman was a very special person whom I’ve always looked up to.  I never understood why my friend Jerry would get up at 5:something in the morning on weekends to “meet his riding buddies.”  I didn’t understand why people would waste their time, energy, & money and wear dorky helmets & shorts & shirts that give you a terrible tan.  Why would you do that in lieu of spending more time in your tennis shoes???  Then, I got my Nicole, and my world has changed!!!

I got out on the run course, which was my toughest part.  I went from physically feeling on top of the world to feeling like a “tranquilized turtle,” as my friend Wayne says.  I’m really happy w/my current fitness and my “fitness to come.”  I have a bit of knee pain.  It’s really frustrating, at times demotivating for me to run.  I come from the running world.  I’ve been running since I was 9.  I don’t ever recall being sore from running.  I ran through Anorexia + Bulimia & ran after long nights of socializing during college.  I’ve slowed down a lot.  I feel strong w/swimming & biking, and my running doesn’t get close to matching these.  How can this be happening to me?  I’m a runner; I’ve always been a runner.  I’m frustrated?

The volunteers were great; most of them were younger kids!  A couple of the kids ran out to me on my 2^nd lap and asked if they could splash me.  I laughed & said, “Please do!!!”  They did.  My shoes got soaking wet, and I instantly got a blister on my left foot.  I thought of Lynne & the pain she describing from running at Ralph’s.  If Lynne can sustain that (MUCH worse pain in her case), I can too!  This one is for you, Lynne!!!  I also thought of the encouraging words on Jen Reinhart’s Hawaii Ironman finisher hats, shirts, etc. … .  “Anything is possible.”  What a great world!

Back in my race, I am caught w/the dilemma of frustration mixed w/always wanting more and being unable to fathom the meaning of “enough.”  If I can ride extra, I have to run extra—& make it 2 extra b/c it’s running!  (I only got to do 1 extra b/c the volunteers were shutting everything down on my 3^rd lap, and I figured I’d be inconsiderate if I kept going.)

On my first lap, I met Rick, who is sponsored by Team Philly.  I moved to Philly for a while and wanted to talk to him—ask him about the weather, the sentiment w/the Draft & the Eagles, where he eats & lounges, if he drinks Yuingling (probably misspelled, but one of my favorite beers), etc. … .  So, I yelled, “Hey, Team Philly, are you from TX?”  He said he is & that he lives in Houston.  He’s sponsored by Philadelphia (or is it PA) Insurance, who are the insurance coverage company for Ford Ironman.  We talked a lot!  … about how he trains in Houston w/no hills.  Then he told me that he races the Florida Ironman.  That’s going to be my first Ironman in 2007.  He gave me a lot of great input!  I told him I’m going to be volunteering for IM FL this year to go on vacation, cheer for my friends, get well-acquainted w/that course, and to train on it.  Rick was finished.  I proceeded to my next laps.  I didn’t have a running buddy anymore, but I still kept myself entertained.  I thought a lot about Desiree, Drew, & Jack.  If they’re out today on the hot, desert Arizona weather racing the Ironman, I can put in a couple of extra laps!!

I crossed the finish line.  I was THE LAST PERSON to finish, but I felt on top of the world!!!  I had a blast being me & having nothing else mattering for 4 hours today morning!  I was going to say I was “Dead Last.”  … except that I wasn’t dead—was, on the contrary, very, very ALIVE!

“You have to earn it!” –Lynne Smith

I’m going to go have dinner now; it’s going to taste GREAT!  …because I earned it!

--The Eskimo/Rookie signing off, HAVE A HAPPY EASTER!!!

Sun., 04-02-2006                                   The Daylight Savings Time Ride

Work has been really stressful, and the work-related stress levels are about to sky-rocket within the next few days.  Getting up has been difficult because I’m stressed + not able to get to bed at a decent hour.  My plan for Sunday was to swim from 5-8 A.M., ride w/the Jack & Adam’s gang from 8:30-10:30 A.M., & be back at Barton to ride w/my friend Wayne Morgan at 11 A.M..  I hit snooze on the 5 AM, deciding that I need to get at least 1 day of more than 6 hours of sleep even at the expense of not swimming.  I woke up on time to ride w/the Jack & Adam’s crew.  Once I got a few minutes away from the shop, I came into the Statesman Capital 10K road blockage.  “How am I going to get to the shop?  I hope the group is running a few minutes late!”  I parked and rode over to Jack & Adam’s; I was 8 minutes late to the ride.  I’m thinking, “8 minutes, I can catch them!”  As I rode by bystanders, I’d ask if they’d seen my description of Austin, Jack, Adam, Zane, and/or Drew.  The disappointing answer was constantly “No.”  I kept tracking, “I can catch them!  I’m only a few minutes back!  … plus they might have a beginner group w/them & may be cruising.”  My phone rang.  “Who the heck is calling me at 9 A.M.?”  I kept going—speeding up and well above race pace.  I was hoping to catch the group before getting to

Here is it—Southwest Parkway!  I HATE SOUTHWEST PARKWAY!!!!!  I also can’t stand hating anything.  Let’s just say that, for too many reasons, riding Southwest Parkway really gets under my skin and messes with my head.  I don’t know what it is about this strip of Austin riding.  It’s not anything extraordinarily difficult, and it’s only a few miles.  I rode it, still above race pace—simply thinking about how much this sucks for the first ¹/₃ and wishing I could have ridden it w/my favorite group of guys.  Then, I turned the corner:  I can’t not ride SW Pkwy.  I don’t allow anything to get the best of me, and this strip of road is no exception.  I need to not hate it.  I can’t control the fact that I was late and couldn’t catch the group.  I set goals.  Within the next month, I need to drop the “hate” for SW Pkwy to “dislike.”  The following month, I’ll drop the “dislike” to “alright,” to “comfortable,” and eventually to “enjoy.”                                                                                                                  

When I turned onto 71, I had SO MUCH adrenaline pumping!  I was elated!!!  I kept thinking of the line I was going to tell my parents tonight when they asked me about my swimming & riding.  “Well, Mommy & Daddy, my day started with riding on a highway w/no shoulder where all I can see pass me were big diesel pick-up trucks & semis.  A lot of them honked!  But, it didn’t matter to me b/c I was trying to catch my friends & was pushing above 30 M.P.H. until I got to the hill.  Even at 30 M.P.H., I’m moving way too slow for these vehicles; so, they’ll just have to deal w/me!  It was a beautiful morning out in the best place in the world!  I had adrenaline in my blood!!  Exhilarating?  I’d say so!  Now, tell me:  What did you do?”

It was all laughs from here on out.  Physically, I was at >100%.  Mentally, I was down in the dumps out on SW Pkwy.  Mentally, I was >100% now, finally!  Then, my body decided to have the last laugh as I approached Bee Caves:  I blew up!!!!!  A rider passed me on Bee Caves.  I didn’t like that; so, I shot after him, hoping I can “ride the talk!”  My legs were stinging during the whole ride.  I ride the Lago Vista course once a week, and that stings a lot, too.  It’s taught me to laugh if off.  I tell myself, “It’s just a little sting, Gracie.  It’ll go away once you get more momentum.  What are you going to do?  Hop off of the bike & cry or hope you get a flat & some riding through man rescues you?  Let it sting!  Ride!!!”

I got back to Barton to meet Wayne, thinking I was 30 minutes early.  At that point, I found out that I was 30 minutes late, and he had been very patiently waiting for me for 45 minutes.  Wayne was the one who had called me that morning—to remind me of the time change.  It all made sense now—There was NO WAY EVER that I’d catch the group.  I was one hour, eight minutes late to the Jack & Adam’s ride!  And, I got a good interval workout in the process!!  … on to have brunch & lunch on the bike w/Wayne!

Sun., 03-12-2006                                   The Primavera at Lago Vista

I moved to the Philadelphia area in 2004.  I was on a cycling team and was preparing to race on the cycling circuit.  However, I moved back to Austin just before the start of the 2005 season and never got to race.  One of my goals for the 2006 season is to race three U.S. Cycling races.  My first for 2006 & my first cycling race ever was The Primavera at Lago Vista.

In keeping w/my rookie attitude, I called my friend Craig Lebair in Philadelphia to check w/him on what category I was supposed to select for my cycling license.  I told him that I had a “silly question” to ask him, and he kindly said that it was a valid question.  (He let me down easy.)  I got my license and immediately registered for the Lago Vista race.  I was thrilled—I finally get to race a cycling event!  I also clearly need hill work & figured that this race, although a short distance, can substitute my long ride this weekend.

I took my bike over to Jack and got the aerobars taken off.  Drew gave me advice on cycling racing.  On Sunday morning, I headed out to Lago.  I was driving on 1431 when I realized that I had left the driving directions at home.  I’m sure I can find it!  There will probably be signs telling you where to go, and I’ll see people w/bikes driving.  … can just follow them.  Right?  As usual when one wings things—wrong!  I got lost.  It took me close to 1 hour, 30 minutes to get to the race.  Oh, well, I made it, and that’s what matters.  The other rookie mistake—I hadn’t driven &/or ridden the course.  I knew there would be hills; I have to do a couple loops.  I’ll figure it out once I’m out there.  It’s not that I don’t like being prepared, but my work life has been really hectic.  I’ve been having to be at a lot of different places back-to-back.  I went to check in, and I wasn’t on the list.  My thought was, “What?  I registered over 2 weeks ago!”  I was supposed to be registered for the Women’s CAT IV.  I found out then that I had accidentally registered for the Women’s Open.  The man asked if I wanted to switch over.  My very rookie response was, “What the difference?  Doesn’t the Open just go a little faster?”  He said, “Yes, faster.”  I said, “It’s not like I’m going to win in either.  I can get pushed a little more.  I’ll stay.”  He looked at me like I was an alien.  I raced The Open!

While I was strolling around, I asked one of the guys that I met out there if any of the women’s races were doing the 50-mile.  I was hoping for an answer like, “Yes, the Women’s Open.”  He said, “No, no way.  The Men’s CAT III is the only group racing 50 miles.”  I thought, “Why ‘no way?’  It’s only 10 more miles, and it’s not like you’d be swimming or running them.”

I was very early to the race—got there before 7:30 A.M. because I was counting on an early start.  I took a nap inside my truck b/c I was pretty tired. 

Time to go:  I warmed up on the road first.  Oh, goodness, bad news—My legs feel like logs!  They’re heavy and slow to move.  I raced a series of races on Jester the previous Sunday, and my legs are not back.  I did high cadence rides earlier this week, but I guess they didn’t help much.  “Think positive; you’re here for the training!”  I rode the trainer for 30 min before the race and then rode over to the start line.  I lined up with a few of the ladies from 360 Cycleworks whom I had met a few days ago.  Their reaction was, “Gracie, aren’t you CAT IV?  It’s your first race!”  I responded, “Yes, I accidentally registered for Open.  So, here I am w/you girls!”  They got a race volunteer’s attention and had him offer to switch me into CAT IV.  I said I’m okay; I need to be pushed, anyways.  I thought, “What’s the big difference?”  They started us.  They started the CAT IV a few minutes later. 

I learned what “the big difference” was over the course of 40 miles!  I learned what a huge advantage it is to know the course and that that should NEVER be over looked.  In keeping w/this, I’ve decided to volunteer for the 2006 Florida Ironman, which I’ll be racing in 2007!

Just before the start of the race, the race director announced to “watch for deer coming down the last hill.”  … have to love TX!!! 

Drew told me to stay w/the pack, but that was making me feel unsafe almost.  They rode very differently than I do.  I’m really aggressive on flats and downhills.  They were conservative on flats and downhills and a lot stronger climbers than I.  I kept getting 1 girl trying to push me out to the right to take my spot.  I stuck w/this for a while, but I dropped out of the pack before the end of the first lap.  It was windy; there were a lot of climbs.  I was out of the saddle 80% of the time.  I was out of the pack—like TRI racing, thank goodness!  I had to do laps (which normally does mess w/me mentally, but I loved it on this course).  It was great training!  I need to get comfortable in a pack!

The two leading pros lapped me.  I remember their breathing.  They were pushing and sounded like they were almost out of breath.  I, on the contrary, felt great (in that aspect)!  My leg strength isn’t where it needs to be.  I couldn’t push myself the way that they did because my legs didn’t have more to offer than what they were giving.  (At this point, I resolved to sit down tonight & restructure my training program.  That night, I decided to include Jester repeats & continue riding this course each once a week + do 2 leg weight room workouts per week).  I caught the 2 pros a bit later, using downhills to my advantage.  I put on a 2-minute lead, but they ended up catching me again on the last series of hills—no surprise!  They were done; I had more to go!  I lapped 4 girls in the CAT IV race.  The first one looked like she was 14 years old, and she was working steadily!  WOW!!!  I wish I would have been doing this at her age; I’ll be scared of her in a few years!

After the race, my friends Shelly & Aaron Upshaw came over to my truck.  They had come out to see me.  We talked for a while.  Having them out there was the best part & greatly appreciated!!!  After Shelly & Aaron left, I went out on the run course.  I did one loop on the bike course as my “run course.”  Out on the course, the group of ladies whom I met came over to me and asked, “Gracie, why?  Why?”  I said, “You too!!!  I’ve had enough riding for today!”  They said they were simply warming down.  I said, “Warming down—on that thing???!!!  I thought that’s what the trainer was for!”  They kept asking, “Why, why?  Haven’t you had enough?”  I said, “I can’t leave my legs to chill after a ride.  I’m only doing 1 loop.”  They said, “1 loop = x miles.”  I didn’t hear the number; it’s one loop!

Sun., 02-19-2006                                   Putting One Foot in Front of the Other

Freescale Half Marathon. 

I haven’t been running since April 2005, except during triathlons (the nagging knee).  I was at my parent’s home in Laredo for Christmas.  On December 24^th, it was 86˚ F.  Leave it to Laredo weather!!!  For logistical reasons, I couldn’t bring Nic (my bike) out to my parent’s home.  I stepped out onto on of my 5-mile loops that I used to do in high school.  I had one goal, one expectation:  Run w/a huge smile the whole way!  My dad drove on his way into the neighborhood (and my way out) and stopped and cheered for me.  He had a huge smile, too.  I guess smiles are contagious!  I did start my watch, but I never looked at it.  When I got back, I stopped my watch just shy of 38 minutes.  This thing must be broken!!!

On Jan. 1^st, I was in Colorado.  I never start my new year nor the day after my birthday without some sort of triathlon-related workout.  I went out for a run at around 8 A.M.  Everyone was asleep when I left.  I felt good, again no knee soreness. 

Given these two runs, I signed up for The Half.  The Austin Marathon is my favorite running event and one of my favorite events overall!  I can’t not do this!!!  I’m psyched!  “If I can swim for 4 hours and don’t come from the swimming world, I can manage to put one foot in front of the other for 13 miles!”  I started running again, but, then, I got really sick for 2 weeks.  I couldn’t breath, and my training stopped.  Yet, by the time The Half came about, I was feeling great.  I started feeling much better the Tuesday before my race.

My friend Jami made me two dozen cookies to eat after the race.  By 1:30 A.M. the night before The Half, I had eaten ALL of them w/a lot of skim milk!  “Why, Gracie, why?”

The race morning was great—29˚ F, snow/ice on the ground!  I’m loving this weather!!!!!  It’s good cold training for The Channel!  By Mile 2, I had already dumped the jacket.  It felt GREAT to run!!!!!!!!!  When does it not?  I enjoyed every second!

Sometime in late-October 2005                                           The Tribute to Salmon Swim

It was a Friday evening, and I was over at Lane 4 shopping for swimsuits.  In the midst of trying on at least twenty suits, I heard a man’s voice as he entered the shop.  I said, “Fred, Fred Coogan, is that you?  It’s Gracie; I’m in the dressing room trying on swimsuits.”  Fred asked, “What are you doing this evening, Gracie?”  I told him I’ll be going to bed early for tomorrow’s bike ride.  He said, “Good, then, you can come out and swim w/us at the Low-Water Crossing.”  I had no clue what a low-water crossing was back in that day; I thought it was some little local pond I’ve never heard of.  I had also never been on Fred, Lynne, & Michelle’s website.  “Sure, I’d love to.  What time?  I need to get driving directions from you.  What do I need?”  We were meeting in less than two and a half hours.  I had been shopping all day long and never stopped to eat—bad habit I’ve finally broken.  I quickly made up my mind about which suits I was going to buy, bought them, and headed out to Friday rush hour.  I got home, changed, & scrambled around my apartment for some form of calories to put into my belly that weren’t going to come out in the form of a visiting friend named “Puke.”  Nick called me on his way to the airport.  He said, “What are you doing tonight?”  I told him.  He said the usual, “What, Grace-O???  You’re going to swim against the dam?”  (He calls me “Grace-O” for “Gracie + Queso” because I’m always eating queso.)  I had no idea what he was talking about.  I said, “I don’t know; I’m going swimming w/Fred & Lynne, and I’ve got to be there by 6:30.”  Then, I told him that I was eating a food invention, which is now one of my favorite snacks:  a PowerBar topped with peanut butter and a little, tiny bit of skim milk.  He thought that was gross!  I told him to think of food in terms of function!

I found the Low-Water Crossing.  The Garels & Kelly Guier were there.  Lynne & Fred arrived shortly.  I hadn’t even seen the water, but I could hear noise.  Everyone was making a big deal about the water being cold.  It was 65˚ F.  I was the last person in the water.  It was a tad chilly, and I was procrastinating.  Tyler went in right before I did.  It seemed like forever since Tyler had been gone.  I looked over to see where the pack was, and they were not far from me at all.  Tyler was gaining on the pack, and I figured that they had been treading slowly to wait for Tyler & I.  The moment of truth came:  Get in the water, and swim.  OR, stand out here, and hand everyone their towels with a smile once they’re done.  EEEKKK!  I can’t do that!  I jumped in.  The water was moving, but I figured it would stop moving.  I was trying to catch the pack, like Tyler did.  I got tired, dramatically slowed down to almost the “catch-up” drill, and the water started taking me backwards.  UH OH!  I put on a sprint.  I got to the pillars underneath the bridge and figured I’d rest there because I was spent.  Once I got to the pillars, I tried to hold on, but the water took me like it does to people in movies.  I broke a nail.  I swam back to the pillars.  This time, I got in front of one of the columns.  The water was pushing me tightly into the cemented pillar!  I couldn’t believe this.  I felt like I was in some sort of rescue movie, except this was real life, but I have to admit that this was a very, very cool experience!  And, I knew it at the time!  I came up w/a plan to push off of the wall without being dragged back.  It worked, and I kept swimming.  At one point, I kept seeing the same DA** tree for a few minutes.  I couldn’t get ahead of it.  Finally, I did, and I kept going.  It got easier.  I thought the water was slowing down.  So, I stopped because I was still spent.  Guess again!  I got taken back, back behind the miserable tree again, and I grabbed onto a branch on the side.  I had to grab on hard, as though I were doing a good 90 pounds on the lat pulldown machine.  Guess I’d better keep swimming; this holding on is getting tiring!  I kept going and almost made it to the buoys.  Fred saw me and asked me to head back because the current was gaining.  It took about six minutes to swim back!!!  I had been swimming against the current for 40-some minutes!

hen we got out of the water, Lynne & Fred asked me what I thought.  I said, “It was a lot of fun—two thumbs up on this one.  I can’t believe that salmon do this just to have *** [mate]!  My respects to salmon!”   

Here’s THE BEST PART:

A little later, I heard Fred ask, “Tyler, was that you backstroking up toward the buoys?”  Tyler nodded.  I was astounded at the question!!!  Then it made sense, “Well, no wonder he caught the pack!  He’s strong enough to backstroke the Low Water Crossing!!”  I’ll never forget that!

A few weeks later, I was taking my online defensive driving class because I’m the best driver in Texas (just ask my brother).  I watch SportsCenter while I’m taking defensive driving, but my attention totally shifted from football talk to DD when I heard the phrase “dangerous low-water crossings.”  I heard the phrase and said, “I know what a low-water crossing is!  Wow, they’re dangerous for cars, huh?  Yeah, I guess they are!”  It was then that I understood how it is that Nick & everyone else on the planet except I knows what a low-water crossing is.  I learned through the less-traditional method!  To date, this swim & the cold water swim in Dover Harbor at tied for 1^st place as the best swims I’ve ever done!!

Hence, I like cows; they’re not as brave as salmon.  I love a good steak!!!  I don’t feel the same about eating salmon!

This was in late-October.  In late-November, Lynne told me that I should swim the English Channel!

November 21, 2005—As Lynne and I were walking to the pool at 5 A.M., she asked me, “Gracie, why don’t you swim The Channel with us?”  I lit up!  Lynne smiled!  We started laughing and laughing!  I said, “Lynne, what I honestly needed was an invitation!  Thank you—YES!!!”  Needless to say, Lynne and I had a great swim that morning!!!  I will be swimming from England to France between July 20-29, 2007!  Fred and Lynne will be swimming in August 2007.

Up until November 21^st, I had no intention and no clue that I’ll be swimming The Channel!  I don’t know what Lynne & Fred noticed about me, but I’m glad they did & have fostered it!

Thurs., 01-19-2006 à  Mon., 01-23-2006                          Trip to England

On Thursday, Jan. 19^th, Lynne, Fred, and I headed to London/Dover for the Cold Water Swimming Championships and to set up roots in the English Channel territory.  Our wonderful start to our adventure was ZoAnn, who saw us off to England at the airport.

On the plane to Dallas, I realized that I had forgotten my PowerBars at home and re-fueled at the Dallas airport.  … I also bought cookies, oops!  My parents and sister called to wish us a safe trip and a great time.  I’ve never been out of either Mexico or the US.  I love traveling, but it’s much more exciting when it’s for a sports event!  I felt both in and out of my territory.   I love swimming and cycling, but I come from the running world.  I’ve been running for 16 years.  I’ve been swimming for 2 years.  I’ve been cycling for a year and a half.  I never imagined that I would be putting the English Channel on my schedule.  I’ve hoped to qualify for the Boston Marathon, but I don’t have plans to do so anytime soon.  I would’ve thought that Boston would’ve been more probable for me.  I’m about to get on a plane to visit England for the weekend.  I’ve never been to Europe.  I’m an endurance junkie and have only competed in one non-open-water swim race before in which I raced the mile.  I’m going to be racing a sprint race in cold water in January.  I’m from Laredo, but I love cold water.  My body’s definition of “sprint” is 800-meter track repeats.  I’m going to “meet” the English Channel, and will be back in England to swim in 18 months.  I’m out of my element!!!!!  I’m with two of the neatest people on this planet for the weekend, and we’re doing this together!  I wouldn’t have it any other way!  At least 1 thing is still consistent—the irony in my life!!!

I lost track of time once we got on the plane to London.  I slept a bit, re-read three Triathlete magazines & Tom Hetzel’s Conquest of the English Channel, and read Swimming to Antarctica—skipping over the scary parts where Lynne Cox so vividly illustrates the effects of cold water.  I also kept myself as cold as I could handle being for the longest time possible—part of acclamation training & my warm-up for tomorrow’s cold water swim meet!  This was my successful ritual to keep my ADD under wraps while seated in a compact space on an aircraft w/only clouds to look at for the next 8 hours!

We arrived in London at 8 A.M. (London time).  The guy who checked my passport was all smiles and really friendly.  When I told him why we were visiting England “for the weekend,” he responded, “Are you mad—the three of you???  Are you telling me that you are going to swim The English Channel?  Have you seen it?  What a scary thought!”  I told him that I had never actually seen The Channel and that I couldn’t wait to!  His eyes got bigger, his neck flexed back, he shook his head, and he whimpered, “Maddness!!  Best of luck to you, enjoy England, be safe!”  I regrouped with Lynne and Fred.  Apparently, they got similar responses from their passport guys, “What!  Are you mad???”  It was very encouraging!  J

The first truly bizarre thing to me was the rental car.  It was a standard transmission Volvo.  The driver’s seat was on the right side, and the stick, ignition, and blinker signal were on the left side of the driver.  The gears went from right to left instead of left to right as they do on my truck.  In addition, it was challenging to remember that the left side of the road is the right side and to figure out our route, especially when there are traffic signs on both the right and left sides of the road.  Thank goodness that Fred was driving, that Lynne (and not I) was the co-pilot, that we were in a country where the language was not foreign, and that I was in the back seat!!!  At this point, I quit trying to fight away my multiple ADD attacks; it was a futile attempt!  I eventually fell asleep, probably because fighting off my ADD mentally exhausted me.  The small parts of the countryside that I did get to see were beautiful!!!  I tried as hard as I could to stay awake and take the in the breathtaking scenery, but I was mentally exhausted at best. 

Lynne and Fred woke me up when we arrived at “The Victoria Guesthouse,” owned and operated by Bille & Audrey Hamblin.  This is where a lot of Channel swimmers stay; it was our home for the weekend!!!  We met Bille and had tea/coffee and biscuits with him.  He talked to us as though we were family!  Bille is a Lance Armstrong fan.  He also told us about Mike and Lance Oram.  Mike Oram is going to be Lynne’s and my pilot during our swims from England to France.  Lance, who is Mike’s son, is going to be Fred’s pilot.  When we asked Bille his opinion about Mike and Lance, he said with a reverent tone, “Oh, the very, very best, the finest pilots there are!  You’d better book your slot with them soon; they fill up quickly!”  Bille also showed us a lot of pictures and autographs from Channel swimmers who have stayed at their home.  Alysson, “The Queen of The Channel,” really stood out.  She has swum The Channel over 30 times!  Another swimmer, Natalia, who is from Mexico caught my eye.  This in itself was very inspiring.  These people have made ultra-swimming what it is, and Bille, Audrey, Mike, and Lance have been tremendous contributors!

Bille called Mike Oram and arranged for us to visit Mike and Lance.  We headed out for another bizarre drive to the next town to visit our pilots.  We visited with Mike for over two hours and met Lance as well.  This meeting was extremely productive.  It definitely boosted our confidence and spirits!  We asked Mike a lot of questions, and he answered a lot of our questions.  He was also very interested in our training and told us that we are headed in the right direction.  He said that our job is simple—swim—and that he’ll get us to France.  I can do that, and Mike is exactly the person I want out there.  I absolutely trust him!  I related a lot to him—very positive yet realistic, knowledgeable, goal-oriented, competitive, and no-nonsense!  During the conversation, we learned that Mike escorted the world record holder for the fastest one-way cross.  This new world record was set in August 2005!  This visit was itself worth the entire trip to England!  As I stepped out of Mike’s house, my only speechless thought was, “WOW!!!”

One of my favorite things on this planet is pizza!  I had possibly the best pizza ever that evening!!!  Before heading back to “our home,” we stopped by Dover Harbor to measure the water temperature and take pictures.  The water was 43˚F—can’t wait for that Sunday swim!!!

We woke up bright and early on Saturday to head back to London for the Cold Water Swimming Championships.  The water in the pool was 45˚F.  I was both disappointed and relieved!  I was mentally prepared to swim in water temperature in the 30’s. 

Back in November, when I told my parents that we were going to do this swim, my mom panicked!  She talked frantically about hypothermia for a good twenty minutes over the phone.  I felt helpless.  I wanted to give her a hug and a peaceful smile and get her to understand that I can’t get hypothermia because

#1—We’ll have trained for this for two months.

#2—It’s supervised and safe.

#3—I’m invincible in the cold because it’s a way that I compensate for weakness in currents.

#4—We’ll be wearing latex swim caps.

#5—It’s not only us 3, and nobody had cardiac arrest last year.

#6—We’ll only be in the water for about 1 minute.

When she didn’t understand, she asked me to e-mail her the race info..  I did, and she passed the phone over to my dad as she checked her e-mail.  About two minutes later, I heard her speaking loudly and getting louder and louder until she was back on the line yelling, “What is this about having paramedics and ambulances guaranteed on the deck to treat cardiac arrest?”  I had honestly not read that part!  I had looked at the cool, appealing pictures and printed out the registration form.  Details!!!  I didn’t know what to say and simply responded, “That’s what I mean.  These people who are putting on the meet are experienced and taking precautionary measures!”  A few weeks later, I learned that you are not allowed to do a dive start at this race because it can instigate cardiac arrest.  I called my dad and asked him to give the reassuring news to my mom so that she wouldn’t be so worried.  He told me, “That’s between the two of you.  You tell her!”

As Lynne, Fred, and I were walking towards the pool, I saw the ambulance and remembered my mom!  I imagined that the 45˚ water was her doing; you know how moms are:  They’re always right, never wrong, and always get their way!!!  As we were walking through, I also said to Lynne & Fred, “Wow!  There’s a U.S. flag up there.  I wonder who else is here from the U.S.!”  They stayed silent, and I figured I had make an “airheady” comment.  They explained that the U.S. flag was there for us.  I said, “Oooohhhh, that makes perfect sense!”  I should’ve never said that, and I shouldn’t be admitting that I said it on my website journal.  But, I do have my moments!

We made a lot of new friends during the meet; everyone was extremely friendly!!!  We were each interviewed by a London sports broadcaster.  We wore our UT latex swim caps during the interview.  Fred raced every event—four races!!!  … just enough time to swim in cold water, shiver & not fully regain a normal core temperature, swim again, …  Fred’s the man!  Lynne moved really fast; the reporters waiting all morning for her race, filmed it, and left!  Lynne is amazing!  This swim meet was fantastic and different!  There were people mingling, laughing, smiling, and having fun!!!  Lynne was handing out UT swim caps to people that she was meeting; they were a hit!  Swimmers were warming up in the empty lane, treading 45˚ water while races were being conducted.  The timers would do a little dance at the start and end of each heat to cheer the racers on—and possibly to stay warm!  Every finisher was awarded a medal!!!

My race was race # 57 of 59.  I was deep in my zone, did not hear the “GO!” and didn’t start until I saw the girl next to me push off the wall.  The water did take my breath away, and I was not able to breath bi-laterally until about ¾ way down the first length of the pool.  At that point, my body tried to settle into the 30-min 53˚F Lake Austin swim pace.  I re-gained consciousness and said, “NO!!!  This is a sprint race, Grace!  GO!!!”  Before I knew it, I was back on auto-pilot.  As I hit the wall on the flip turn, I remember thinking, “How dreamy!  I’m doing a flip turn in 45˚-water!!!”  I wished Andrea & Jamie could’ve seen this flip turn!  I was comfortably out of my comfort zone, trying to sprint farther & farther away from it!  This was surreal!  I don’t know if I’ve done any justice trying to explain these 54 seconds, but I can surely still sense them!  Lynne, Fred, and I joked later, “Mom, Dad, what did you do Saturday morning?  … want to hear what I did?”

Sally swam the English Channel last year; we were able to spend part of the afternoon with her after the swim meet.  She never stopped smiling, never stopped laughing.  She offered vast insight, and was really inspiring.  She answered a lot of our questions.  Meeting Sally in the flash was another surreal experience.  I read her write-up about her 2005 Channel swim just 1 month before we came to England; she swam for 21 hours 01 minute.  I read this article five times.  It gave me chills and had me in happy tears!!!

As soon as we got into London, we headed for the shops—the bike shops!!!!!  Hurray!  … time to shop!  I was a little bummed after not finding anything at the first shop.  At the second shop, I found the coolest PowerBar water bottles ever!!!!!  Can you tell I’m obsessed with PowerBar?  It was excellent timing, too, because I had been looking for what I’d classify as “the perfect” water bottles for two weeks already.  I did not expect to find them in London!  I was extremely excited about these water bottles; they ended my day with a bang!!  I told Fred & Lynne that I can’t wait until my next ride so that I can “break them in.”  I can’t wait for Nicole to see what I bought her in London!  Lynne & Fred thought that it was funny to see me excited about purchasing this American product in England.  Like I said earlier—In my life, irony is a consistent theme!!! 

On Sunday morning, I couldn’t wake up!  I apparently slept for 19 hours!!!  I got up in time to go swim in Dover Harbor!!!!!  We drew a bit of a crowd during this swim!  I sprinted over the pebbles and plunged into the ocean.  Once my head hit the waves, my body knew exactly what to do.  It was magical!!!!!!!!  I loved the feeling and thought of the waves and salty, cold water!  I kept swimming and remembered suddenly to stop and turn back.  I had found a rhythm and was headed out and away from the beach.  Before getting in the water, we had agreed that it was an “Every woman & man for himself” swim and that it may be impossible to do any rescuing if something went wrong.  I remembered this and turned back!  Although this was short, it was peaceful—finding a rhythm almost instantly, working with the currents, not feeling cold, not worrying about hooks and beer cans on the way in and out, the weather, the salt water, the noise that the tides made, connecting with the English Channel, being me!  This water was inviting; the swim was magical!!

That evening, we stood under the lighthouse and watched the sunset.  I couldn’t stop starring at the English Channel—at the point where it fed into Dover Harbor.  The view and being able to hear the waves were euphoric!  I have a great feeling about our future swims from EnglandàFrance.  It’s mesmerizing so far, and it’s only the beginning!

During this trip, I realized how comfortable I’ve gotten—more easy-going, taking things as they come, and moving faster.  My comfort level threshold has increased as well as my ability to push beyond comfort:  When I reach a discomfort zone, I become really patient and relaxed until I’m comfortable in it after a few seconds.  I love the feeling of putting myself out there and witnessing what it does for me over time.  My mental focus continues progressing.  At one point not very long ago, I used to fight off negative thoughts.  I used to silently say “mean” things to hills and currents & couldn’t wait to be done with them.  I don’t do this anymore.  I’ve realized that trying to fight off negative things drains me and lowers my morale.  Instead, I reward myself or say something really nice or encouraging to myself and/or my bike and concentrate on technique and sustaining and building momentum.  Little things like looking at my PowerBar water bottles make me smile.  Also, thanks to my friend Nick, I now not only know what an Allen wrench is, but I know how to use it and know how to change a flat—and don’t mind getting a little grease on me in the process!   I know:  I’m a dork, but at least I no longer get stranded on the side of the road!!!

Lynne asked us throughout the trip, “What was the best part?”

For me, it was this the whole experience, but if I expand:

#1—The company!!!

#2—The English people that we met and the new friends that we made.

#3—The experience of setting up roots and “meeting” The English Channel.

#4— “Anything is possible!”

#5—Peace & Clarity

#6—Cold water & pizza

#7—“I can forgive failure; what I can’t forgive is not trying.”  –English Channel swimmer

March 21, 2006      An Excerpt from Lisa Lynam's "This Month in Women's Multisport in Austin"

Gracie’s road to the English Channel swim (Gracie Alvarado)

Editor’s note: Gracie has graciously volunteered to help coach the Women First spring swim program and brings much enthusiasm and a mind set for endurance! She is one of a number of Austinites scheduled to swim the English Channel in 2007. This is an excerpt from her inspiring story on the road to her English Channel swim.

My friend Gracen Duffield and I had planned for weeks on participating in the Lake Travis Relays (Austin, TX).  Luckily, our relay team bailed out on us at the last minute!  Sandy Nelson, the Race Director, found us a relay team just three days before the race!  This included Fred Coogan and Lynne Smith.  On October 15, 2005, Fred’s friend Bill Speed escorted our twelve-mile relay swim across Lake Travis.  Fred cooked fajitas.  It didn’t get much better than this!

I’ve been a runner since I was nine years old.  The only race that my family has ever watched took me down hard.  At the 2003 Motorola Marathon, I dropped on mile 24.  I did not start swimming regularly until after college—in January 2004.  How am I going to rationally explain to my parents that I am going to do a rough-water ocean swim possibly longer than my Motorola distance on another continent?  They raised me to dream big!

I will be swimming from England to France between July 20-29, 2007!  Fred and Lynne will be swimming in August 2007.

The English Channel (a.k.a. The Straits of Dover) is a twenty-one mile distance if traveling in a straight line.  It is a high-volume trading venue.  Due to tide changes, wind, weather, currents, and traffic (large ferry boats), Channel swimmers do not usually swim the straight-line course.  The water temperature averages between 60-62˚ F and may possibly be filled with jellyfish.  This is why The Channel is nicknamed “The Mt. Everest of ultra-swimming!”  It is documented that more people have been in space than those who have swum The Channel.

The Channel Swimming Association certifies each swim.  An official CSA observer is accompanies each swimmer on their quest.  This individual enforces the rules and makes notes during the swim—wind force, stroke rate, tide changes, velocity, feed stops, etc. ….  Rules state that swimmers are allowed to wear goggles, a neoprene or latex swim cap, and a swimsuit.  In addition, if a swimmer touches anyone or anything, they are disqualified.

The swimmer is escorted by a boat.  The pilot navigates the swim.  She/he is the brains behind the operation.  Mike Oram will be escorting me from England to France on his boat Galavant.  He was the escort to the man who now holds the record for the fastest Channel swim.  Mike knows that I am going to swim, feed, and follow him to France; and I know that Mike is going to make sure that I get there!  My task is simple—swim.  (We may break the record for the longest time in the water!)

Aside from Mike and my observer, I will have a three to four-person crew on board.  They will feed, watch, motivate, and support me through my cross.  I do not yet have a crew assembled but have a clear idea of whom I’d like on my boat.

My plan revolves around my motto:  “Hope for the best, and be ready for and strong in the worst!”  My plan also addresses my least strong skills and capitalizes on my strongest ones.  My few rigid rules are:

(1) Have fun!

(2) No negativity allowed!

(3) Give it your all!!!

(4) Channel rules—no drafting, no wetsuits

Unless swimming in “cold” water, I swim without a swim cap.  I do not swim in a wet suit.  I use paddles and fins only when I need to stay next to Lynne or as planned during workouts.  I do swim drills before and after every workout.  I need the most work in currents and do not use fins or paddles in these workouts.  We are very creative with our workouts and swim venues; Fred and Lynne keep my workouts fun and interesting!  I have THE BEST training partners!

I feed every 30-45 minutes and keep my feed stops under thirty seconds.  I feed on water and a chocolate-flavored Hammer Gel and Hammer Gel Perpetuem solution.  Lynne recommended it and introduced me to Hammer Gel!  It tastes like chocolate milk, and I look forward to drinking it!! 

I am a fast swimmer on the scale of fastà fastest.  (Remember, no negativity!)  Therefore, I’m training for a twenty-five hour swim.  Knowing that I can execute a strong twenty-five hour ocean swim will keep me at peace on my way to France.

My longest swim to date is 03:55:56 (approximately seven miles).  My first long swim was on November 5, 2005 and was shy of three miles.  I concentrate on time more than on distance, and I enter the water with a mind set to go a little longer than planned:  Although I have swum a mere 16% of my goal time, it has been a surreal, marvelous 16%!  I imagine the remaining 84% to be exponentially surreal and marvelous! 

Thurs., 01-19-2006 à  Mon., 01-23-2006                          Trip to England

On Thursday, Jan. 19^th, Lynne, Fred, and I headed to London/Dover for the Cold Water Swimming Championships and to set up roots in the English Channel territory.  Our wonderful start to our adventure was ZoAnn, who saw us off to England at the airport.

On the plane to Dallas, I realized that I had forgotten my PowerBars at home and re-fueled at the Dallas airport.  … I also bought cookies, oops!  My parents and sister called to wish us a safe trip and a great time.  I’ve never been out of either Mexico or the US.  I love traveling, but it’s much more exciting when it’s for a sports event!  I felt both in and out of my territory.   I love swimming and cycling, but I come from the running world.  I’ve been running for 16 years.  I’ve been swimming for 2 years.  I’ve been cycling for a year and a half.  I never imagined that I would be putting the English Channel on my schedule.  I’ve hoped to qualify for the Boston Marathon, but I don’t have plans to do so anytime soon.  I would’ve thought that Boston would’ve been more probable for me.  I’m about to get on a plane to visit England for the weekend.  I’ve never been to Europe.  I’m an endurance junkie and have only competed in one non-open-water swim race before in which I raced the mile.  I’m going to be racing a sprint race in cold water in January.  I’m from Laredo, but I love cold water.  My body’s definition of “sprint” is 800-meter track repeats.  I’m going to “meet” the English Channel, and will be back in England to swim in 18 months.  I’m out of my element!!!!!  I’m with two of the neatest people on this planet for the weekend, and we’re doing this together!  I wouldn’t have it any other way!  At least 1 thing is still consistent—the irony in my life!!!

I lost track of time once we got on the plane to London.  I slept a bit, re-read three Triathlete magazines & Tom Hetzel’s Conquest of the English Channel, and read Swimming to Antarctica—skipping over the scary parts where Lynne Cox so vividly illustrates the effects of cold water.  I also kept myself as cold as I could handle being for the longest time possible—part of acclamation training & my warm-up for tomorrow’s cold water swim meet!  This was my successful ritual to keep my ADD under wraps while seated in a compact space on an aircraft w/only clouds to look at for the next 8 hours!

We arrived in London at 8 A.M. (London time).  The guy who checked my passport was all smiles and really friendly.  When I told him why we were visiting England “for the weekend,” he responded, “Are you mad—the three of you???  Are you telling me that you are going to swim The English Channel?  Have you seen it?  What a scary thought!”  I told him that I had never actually seen The Channel and that I couldn’t wait to!  His eyes got bigger, his neck flexed back, he shook his head, and he whimpered, “Maddness!!  Best of luck to you, enjoy England, be safe!”  I regrouped with Lynne and Fred.  Apparently, they got similar responses from their passport guys, “What!  Are you mad???”  It was very encouraging!  J

The first truly bizarre thing to me was the rental car.  It was a standard transmission Volvo.  The driver’s seat was on the right side, and the stick, ignition, and blinker signal were on the left side of the driver.  The gears went from right to left instead of left to right as they do on my truck.  In addition, it was challenging to remember that the left side of the road is the right side and to figure out our route, especially when there are traffic signs on both the right and left sides of the road.  Thank goodness that Fred was driving, that Lynne (and not I) was the co-pilot, that we were in a country where the language was not foreign, and that I was in the back seat!!!  At this point, I quit trying to fight away my multiple ADD attacks; it was a futile attempt!  I eventually fell asleep, probably because fighting off my ADD mentally exhausted me.  The small parts of the countryside that I did get to see were beautiful!!!  I tried as hard as I could to stay awake and take the in the breathtaking scenery, but I was mentally exhausted at best. 

Lynne and Fred woke me up when we arrived at “The Victoria Guesthouse,” owned and operated by Bille & Audrey Hamblin.  This is where a lot of Channel swimmers stay; it was our home for the weekend!!!  We met Bille and had tea/coffee and biscuits with him.  He talked to us as though we were family!  Bille is a Lance Armstrong fan.  He also told us about Mike and Lance Oram.  Mike Oram is going to be Lynne’s and my pilot during our swims from England to France.  Lance, who is Mike’s son, is going to be Fred’s pilot.  When we asked Bille his opinion about Mike and Lance, he said with a reverent tone, “Oh, the very, very best, the finest pilots there are!  You’d better book your slot with them soon; they fill up quickly!”  Bille also showed us a lot of pictures and autographs from Channel swimmers who have stayed at their home.  Alysson, “The Queen of The Channel,” really stood out.  She has swum The Channel over 30 times!  Another swimmer, Natalia, who is from Mexico caught my eye.  This in itself was very inspiring.  These people have made ultra-swimming what it is, and Bille, Audrey, Mike, and Lance have been tremendous contributors!

Bille called Mike Oram and arranged for us to visit Mike and Lance.  We headed out for another bizarre drive to the next town to visit our pilots.  We visited with Mike for over two hours and met Lance as well.  This meeting was extremely productive.  It definitely boosted our confidence and spirits!  We asked Mike a lot of questions, and he answered a lot of our questions.  He was also very interested in our training and told us that we are headed in the right direction.  He said that our job is simple—swim—and that he’ll get us to France.  I can do that, and Mike is exactly the person I want out there.  I absolutely trust him!  I related a lot to him—very positive yet realistic, knowledgeable, goal-oriented, competitive, and no-nonsense!  During the conversation, we learned that Mike escorted the world record holder for the fastest one-way cross.  This new world record was set in August 2005!  This visit was itself worth the entire trip to England!  As I stepped out of Mike’s house, my only speechless thought was, “WOW!!!”

One of my favorite things on this planet is pizza!  I had possibly the best pizza ever that evening!!!  Before heading back to “our home,” we stopped by Dover Harbor to measure the water temperature and take pictures.  The water was 43˚F—can’t wait for that Sunday swim!!!

We woke up bright and early on Saturday to head back to London for the Cold Water Swimming Championships.  The water in the pool was 45˚F.  I was both disappointed and relieved!  I was mentally prepared to swim in water temperature in the 30’s. 

Back in November, when I told my parents that we were going to do this swim, my mom panicked!  She talked frantically about hypothermia for a good twenty minutes over the phone.  I felt helpless.  I wanted to give her a hug and a peaceful smile and get her to understand that I can’t get hypothermia because

#1—We’ll have trained for this for two months.

#2—It’s supervised and safe.

#3—I’m invincible in the cold because it’s a way that I compensate for weakness in currents.

#4—We’ll be wearing latex swim caps.

#5—It’s not only us 3, and nobody had cardiac arrest last year.

#6—We’ll only be in the water for about 1 minute.

When she didn’t understand, she asked me to e-mail her the race info..  I did, and she passed the phone over to my dad as she checked her e-mail.  About two minutes later, I heard her speaking loudly and getting louder and louder until she was back on the line yelling, “What is this about having paramedics and ambulances guaranteed on the deck to treat cardiac arrest?”  I had honestly not read that part!  I had looked at the cool, appealing pictures and printed out the registration form.  Details!!!  I didn’t know what to say and simply responded, “That’s what I mean.  These people who are putting on the meet are experienced and taking precautionary measures!”  A few weeks later, I learned that you are not allowed to do a dive start at this race because it can instigate cardiac arrest.  I called my dad and asked him to give the reassuring news to my mom so that she wouldn’t be so worried.  He told me, “That’s between the two of you.  You tell her!”

As Lynne, Fred, and I were walking towards the pool, I saw the ambulance and remembered my mom!  I imagined that the 45˚ water was her doing; you know how moms are:  They’re always right, never wrong, and always get their way!!!  As we were walking through, I also said to Lynne & Fred, “Wow!  There’s a U.S. flag up there.  I wonder who else is here from the U.S.!”  They stayed silent, and I figured I had make an “airheady” comment.  They explained that the U.S. flag was there for us.  I said, “Oooohhhh, that makes perfect sense!”  I should’ve never said that, and I shouldn’t be admitting that I said it on my website journal.  But, I do have my moments!

We made a lot of new friends during the meet; everyone was extremely friendly!!!  We were each interviewed by a London sports broadcaster.  We wore our UT latex swim caps during the interview.  Fred raced every event—four races!!!  … just enough time to swim in cold water, shiver & not fully regain a normal core temperature, swim again, …  Fred’s the man!  Lynne moved really fast; the reporters waiting all morning for her race, filmed it, and left!  Lynne is amazing!  This swim meet was fantastic and different!  There were people mingling, laughing, smiling, and having fun!!!  Lynne was handing out UT swim caps to people that she was meeting; they were a hit!  Swimmers were warming up in the empty lane, treading 45˚ water while races were being conducted.  The timers would do a little dance at the start and end of each heat to cheer the racers on—and possibly to stay warm!  Every finisher was awarded a medal!!!

My race was race # 57 of 59.  I was deep in my zone, did not hear the “GO!” and didn’t start until I saw the girl next to me push off the wall.  The water did take my breath away, and I was not able to breath bi-laterally until about ¾ way down the first length of the pool.  At that point, my body tried to settle into the 30-min 53˚F Lake Austin swim pace.  I re-gained consciousness and said, “NO!!!  This is a sprint race, Grace!  GO!!!”  Before I knew it, I was back on auto-pilot.  As I hit the wall on the flip turn, I remember thinking, “How dreamy!  I’m doing a flip turn in 45˚-water!!!”  I wished Andrea & Jamie could’ve seen this flip turn!  I was comfortably out of my comfort zone, trying to sprint farther & farther away from it!  This was surreal!  I don’t know if I’ve done any justice trying to explain these 54 seconds, but I can surely still sense them!  Lynne, Fred, and I joked later, “Mom, Dad, what did you do Saturday morning?  … want to hear what I did?”

Sally swam the English Channel last year; we were able to spend part of the afternoon with her after the swim meet.  She never stopped smiling, never stopped laughing.  She offered vast insight, and was really inspiring.  She answered a lot of our questions.  Meeting Sally in the flash was another surreal experience.  I read her write-up about her 2005 Channel swim just 1 month before we came to England; she swam for 21 hours 01 minute.  I read this article five times.  It gave me chills and had me in happy tears!!!

As soon as we got into London, we headed for the shops—the bike shops!!!!!  Hurray!  … time to shop!  I was a little bummed after not finding anything at the first shop.  At the second shop, I found the coolest PowerBar water bottles ever!!!!!  Can you tell I’m obsessed with PowerBar?  It was excellent timing, too, because I had been looking for what I’d classify as “the perfect” water bottles for two weeks already.  I did not expect to find them in London!  I was extremely excited about these water bottles; they ended my day with a bang!!  I told Fred & Lynne that I can’t wait until my next ride so that I can “break them in.”  I can’t wait for Nicole to see what I bought her in London!  Lynne & Fred thought that it was funny to see me excited about purchasing this American product in England.  Like I said earlier—In my life, irony is a consistent theme!!! 

On Sunday morning, I couldn’t wake up!  I apparently slept for 19 hours!!!  I got up in time to go swim in Dover Harbor!!!!!  We drew a bit of a crowd during this swim!  I sprinted over the pebbles and plunged into the ocean.  Once my head hit the waves, my body knew exactly what to do.  It was magical!!!!!!!!  I loved the feeling and thought of the waves and salty, cold water!  I kept swimming and remembered suddenly to stop and turn back.  I had found a rhythm and was headed out and away from the beach.  Before getting in the water, we had agreed that it was an “Every woman & man for himself” swim and that it may be impossible to do any rescuing if something went wrong.  I remembered this and turned back!  Although this was short, it was peaceful—finding a rhythm almost instantly, working with the currents, not feeling cold, not worrying about hooks and beer cans on the way in and out, the weather, the salt water, the noise that the tides made, connecting with the English Channel, being me!  This water was inviting; the swim was magical!!

That evening, we stood under the lighthouse and watched the sunset.  I couldn’t stop starring at the English Channel—at the point where it fed into Dover Harbor.  The view and being able to hear the waves were euphoric!  I have a great feeling about our future swims from EnglandàFrance.  It’s mesmerizing so far, and it’s only the beginning!

During this trip, I realized how comfortable I’ve gotten—more easy-going, taking things as they come, and moving faster.  My comfort level threshold has increased as well as my ability to push beyond comfort:  When I reach a discomfort zone, I become really patient and relaxed until I’m comfortable in it after a few seconds.  I love the feeling of putting myself out there and witnessing what it does for me over time.  My mental focus continues progressing.  At one point not very long ago, I used to fight off negative thoughts.  I used to silently say “mean” things to hills and currents & couldn’t wait to be done with them.  I don’t do this anymore.  I’ve realized that trying to fight off negative things drains me and lowers my morale.  Instead, I reward myself or say something really nice or encouraging to myself and/or my bike and concentrate on technique and sustaining and building momentum.  Little things like looking at my PowerBar water bottles make me smile.  Also, thanks to my friend Nick, I now not only know what an Allen wrench is, but I know how to use it and know how to change a flat—and don’t mind getting a little grease on me in the process!   I know:  I’m a dork, but at least I no longer get stranded on the side of the road!!!

Lynne asked us throughout the trip, “What was the best part?”

For me, it was this the whole experience, but if I expand:

#1—The company!!!

#2—The English people that we met and the new friends that we made.

#3—The experience of setting up roots and “meeting” The English Channel.

#4— “Anything is possible!”

#5—Peace & Clarity

#6—Cold water & pizza

#7—“I can forgive failure; what I can’t forgive is not trying.”  –English Channel swimmer

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