Help Me ReTitle My Blog

Ever since Michelle Simmons, who I hold in highest regard, barked at me in a comment that I should change the title of this blog, I've been thinking about it. I think her actual words were, "F that, Snails are NOT Faster!" I've had this blog for years and at the time I created it, I thought it was a cute, self-deprecating title.

But the time has come to change it - this isn't who I am anymore. Somebody who throws her hat into the ring for a Norseman slot cannot also claim to be slower than a snail. Plus it just isn't true. It wasn't true at the time I created the blog, and it certainly isn't true now.

The problem is that I can't figure out what to call it instead. Does anyone have suggestions? Maybe I'm overthinking this. Help! :)

Oh and also, please vote for me in the Norseman contest if you haven't already. Voting ends on Monday and I'm still in the lead! xoxoxo

Shameless Self Promotion - Norseman Blueseventy Contest 2014

What you need to know:
Please go to Blueseventy's Facebook page, vote for my photo and help me win an entry into Norseman!

The photo looks like this and it's labeled with my name (Kris Cordova):

Additional details:
Blueseventy is holding a contest in which the lucky winners (one male, one female) get a coveted entry into the Norseman Triathlon, a sold-out iron distance race in Norway in August where you get to start by jumping off a boat into a fjord and end at the top of a mountain. I've been stalking the contest and it appears that I'm in second place for the female spot...so this could happen! OMG!

This race has always been on my radar as "something I'd like to do one day." But then this contest came up. And then, right before the deadline to enter last weekend, I raced the Tyler Tri and one of my roommates, Maggie Rusch, casually mentioned that she is already entered to race Norseman this year! I took this as a sign that clearly it's meant to be, and I rushed home and entered this photo into the contest.

The contest required a photo that inspires you. I'm inspired by this one because it holds that moment before the start of a race (Ironman Arizona 2012), where the athletes are getting ready to start an amazing day after an incredible journey to get there, and their supportive loved ones look on from the bridge. At that moment, anything is possible.

Thank you in advance for your vote! xoxoxo

Breaking Bad(Ass)

We're due for some nice, dry weekend weather here in San Antonio - for two weeks in a row, Saturday morning has been a rainy mess, which makes for some unpleasant cycling. Last weekend, the girls and I hit Castroville and managed to get all our efforts in before the rain came. The last hour of our ride was spent in misty drizzle in traffic on slippery streets with road grime flinging up from passing cars and trucks into our faces. The highlight of that ride was having a driver pull up at a traffic light next to us in her (warm, dry) car and tell us "I just want to tell you guys that you are so badass." Were we badass or stupid to be out there? We decided on "reluctantly badass" because we had tried to outrun the rain, but failed. It still felt good to hear. 

Last Saturday's mudfest.

When you're on a journey trying to morph from not-so-badass to Super Badass status (whatever that looks like to you), you're going to have to face your fears at some point, whether it's on purpose or not. Yesterday turned out to be an exercise in facing fears, although I didn't know it when I set out. I rode with Dawn and Trent, a new member of our squad. Dawn was planning on an easy 70 miles. 

Fear #1 - Dawn's "easy rides" are never easy for me. I don't know Trent and I don't know how fast he rides. Will I be able to keep up?

Then, as soon as we exited Dawn's neighborhood, it started raining. ARGH.

Fear #2 - Robert just detailed my bike for me last weekend after I rode in the rain. He's going to kill me. (just kidding - sort of)

Real Fear #2 - I'm afraid of riding in the rain in traffic in a group that I'm not at the front of. I always feel safer in front. And clearly I am not going to be riding at the front of this group. 

As we rode easy up Blanco Road, Dawn was trying to decide on a route. She picked Kendalia/Edge Falls because it would have less traffic on this rainy day. 

Fear #3 - The route. Dawn described this route as "Alphanso's first 100 miler, remember, last year?" I do remember, but not because it was Alphanso's first 100 miler. It was a ride that I totally melted down on. On a rainy, cold day, very much like this day, we rode with a ton of people out to Kendalia/Edge Falls, and I was having a bad day. I couldn't keep up and I was pissed. The folks on the ride who were doing IMTX were expected to do 100 miles, and some were just along for the group ride. Freezing our butts off in the rain on scary high-traffic highways, Orissa and Brian, who were not doing IMTX, decided to turn back and cut the day short early. I opted to go with them. I ended up standing in the middle of Amman Road with Dawn (who had turned back to check on us) screaming at me about mental toughness, and me screaming back that I didn't need to build any character, I had plenty, thank you very much. I ended up continuing the ride and reluctantly building mental toughness. It's hilarious to look back on now, a year later, but as we rode yesterday, those memories kept resurfacing as I struggled to stay with our speedy little group that now included a stray roadie that we had picked up along the way.

Dawn, me, Trent, and the Stray Roadie (think his name was Greg).

Fear #4 - Riding in my aerobars in a group. Yep, I'm still not over this. And I need to get there before I race again. I know I won't be racing in a peloton, and that sometimes it's safer to sit up on a group ride, but sometimes you need to just suck it up and practice being around people in your aerobars. So yesterday, I did a 10 minute effort in the rain at the front of the group, in my aerobars with Dawn next to me yelling to stay in my aerobars. I did, and I even turned corners and I didn't fall down, and I lost a tiny bit of fear.

It ended up being a ride that I was proud of, and I do feel somewhat more badass for facing some fears and pushing a little bit past them. I've had conversations about fear - with Dawn, regarding riding in aerobars in crowds and wet roads - "aren't you afraid to fall and break your collarbone again?" "Yes, but I'm more afraid to ride slow and let my coach down." Maybe sometimes it's about choosing which fear to listen to. And then today on our run, I talked about it again with Brian - "Aren't you afraid to ride in the rain?" "Yes, but I'm more afraid to be screamed at by my coach for being a weenie." Whatever works, right? Moving forward. :)

Running with Love and Joy (Austin Marathon 2014 Race Report)

Finally, the race report I've been wanting to write for 4 years: I have a new marathon PR! Another reason to LOVE the Austin marathon.

I have lots of history with this race, and I feel like walking down memory lane for a minute. In 2005, I ran my first half marathon here in San Antonio. I hated it, cried, and said I'd never do another one. I continued running, but didn't race. Two years later, I started a new job and met my super bff Shelly. We started running together, and in 2008, we decided to do the Austin half marathon for fun. We ran it together and I had more fun than I imagined possible. (What! You can have fun running in a race??)

Post-race joy! Also, evidence that matchy matchy started with our very first race - ha!

Austin was the race of choice for our first marathon in 2009 and although Shelly and I "ran" it together, we did not have fun and clocked a miserable 6:01.

Filled with high hopes before the race. Ouch.

In 2010, we raced Austin together again, and that's where I got the PR (4:46) that I've been unable to break until now.

Walking to the start in perfect race conditions, ready for redemption, which we both earned.

In 2011, we returned to Austin and I got exactly the same time (4:46). Well, actually 3 seconds slower.

Lost in the crowd - running together in Tri-Sition orange.

Then I tried twice at the San Antonio marathon to get "anything better than 4:46," and failed. After the last one in November 2013, I asked, "WHY IS MARATHON SO DIFFICULT??" and, yes please, sign me up for another one. And why not make it the Austin marathon, the one that I've had so much history with?

But first of all, a change of mindset, which didn't happen overnight. At the marathon in November, I set a goal of holding a relentlessly positive attitude throughout the race. And although it didn't result in a faster time, I learned a valuable lesson - that running with joy and love is way better/easier than running with fear and doubt.

I learned these lessons over and over again during training. On one training run, I should have had a fun, easy time running the last 5 miles of the run downhill with a tailwind. Instead, my mind wandered and I started thinking about something that had been bothering me, an argument with a friend that I'd had a couple days before, and I started to get angry. I thought, oh good, being angry will make me run faster, but instead I noticed that running angry, for me, means running slower. So I forced myself to let it go. It worked.

About a week ago, Michelle Simmons, one of the baddest ass age group athletes I know, wrote this gem on her blog, which hammered it home for me. "You gotta love it. And not fear failure." Dawn has told me this before, and I've parroted it to my training buddies as if I know what I'm talking about. Why fear failure? It's not like my result at this marathon is going to change the course of the universe, or even matter to anyone besides me. But I've gone to the last 4 marathons afraid to fail. Fearing 4:46. Ok, Kris, time to get over it.

I started this race with goals in mind beyond time goals: run with joy and love, and don't be afraid to fail. I ran out with the goal of holding a 9:30 pace or better. And I did - for about 15 miles. At mile 16, I saw Shelly on the course, spectating, and as she screamed at me "OMG you are doing so great, your pace is amazing!!" At this point, I was feeling pain in both quads that I haven't felt before - not the usual cramping, but just a soreness, and I was considering purposefully slowing down to try to relieve the pain. I yelled back at Shelly, "I don't know what to do!" and without knowing at all what I was asking her, she replied, "Keep running." So I did. My legs started to slow down, but not because I was letting them. I didn't walk, I didn't give up. I just kept running as fast as I could. Marathons are supposed to hurt, right?

With 2 miles left, I was certain I'd be getting a new PR, but I wanted a round number, and 4:30 would be difficult to hit, but was in sight. I picked up the pace (even with a net downhill, "picking up the pace" meant sub-11 at this point). I kept leapfrogging with this positive little girl that I'd been running with since mile 16. She'd pass me, and I'd pass her back. We had probably done this 10 times. With a mile to go, I decided to have some fun and pushed past her, hopefully one last time. She passed me back. I passed her again.

At half a mile to go, I felt someone come up on my right shoulder, and I thought, here she is again. But it wasn't her. It was Orissa, who had paced herself evenly throughout the race and caught up with me. She barked at me to "come on" and she took off. I don't know where the energy came from, but I pulled up alongside her, and legs flying, both of us picked up the pace. We ran up the one hill that I've always walked at this race. We flew around the corner and down the last stretch to the finish. One of us would pull ahead, and then the other would catch her and go. Neither of us was going to let the other leave her behind.

We ran past our spectator friends who were yelling and snapping pictures; we were so focused that we were completely unaware of their presence. Screaming at each other to "go go go!" we crossed the finish line together, hugged, screamed, filled with joy and love! A new PR for both of us (16 minutes for me - 38 minutes for her!). Freakishly, although our chip time was 4:30, our gun time was 4:46 - I'm just going to have to start thinking of that as a lucky number.

Averaged an 8:07 pace for the last half-mile, pushed by this little roadrunner to the right of me.

And after all that, we didn't even see the PR gong at the end of the race that we'd been so excited to bang. :(

Pre-race with Orissa, Brian, and Aixa, (who had their own epic race day 5 minutes up the road from us). This weekend's photos by Herb, who raced the half.

I continue to be so grateful for what running/triathlon has given me. All the life lessons I'm learning through sport - let go of anger, don't be afraid to fail, don't be afraid to try your best at something. Have fun. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. It all sounds so cliche but it's so cool. And the friends I've made - I love how we push each other to excel and how we've grown together. I love looking back and seeing how far we've come.

I've crossed every marathon finish line before this one cursing the sport and screeching that I'll never do another one. That didn't happen this time, probably because I've already registered for the San Antonio Rock n Roll marathon in the fall. I'm looking forward to racing it with my friends, including Shelly! Yippee!

**I plucked all of the previous years' photos from my amazing hubby's Flickr site - Robert's photos have always been awesome but I think they are coming along year by year just like my running has. :) :)

Small Victories

This is probably about the time of year that the "resolutioners" start filtering out of the gyms. Something about the cold weather seems to enhance a weakening of resolve. Here's what's happened with me: in December, I had the awesome "beat my own numbers from last year" challenge to keep me going. I started strong in January, adding yoga and extra core sessions at lunch, feeling really proud of myself. Then it got cold, and I stopped going to the pool. And then my motivated friends who go to the gym at lunch started going out to lunch at delicious places instead.

 Ok, I didn't really stop going to the pool, but I've skipped more than one or two swim workouts in the past few weeks. My usual gorgeous pristine outdoor pool is COLD, which I love after the first few laps, but when it's below 50 outside I just can't force myself to do it. The alternative is a warm indoor pool that is more frequently used for water aerobics than lap swimming. If you want to swim laps at a reasonable time of day, you're fighting old ladies who don't want to wet their hair and little kids for space in the pool. So those are the excuses about swimming.

A few months back, when I was going to PT for my hamstring/adductor, I was told to do core strengthening exercises. So I started doing them and of course I almost immediately felt stronger on my bike and started swimming faster. I attributed both of these things to the additional core strength. I've been doing core workouts a few times a week since then, but it's getting harder and harder to motivate myself to go to the gym and do it. WHY!? I know it works. It's not that big a deal, and it makes me feel better than sitting and surfing the Internet while eating at my desk. So why is it so hard to talk myself into going? I hate that.

So I decided that a new challenge would help me with motivation. I joined the Biggest Loser weight loss challenge at work. I paid $40 with the intent of getting it back in April when I lose the appropriate amount of weight. Maybe this is the motivation I need. Luckily, the end of the challenge is one week before my first tri of the season - New Orleans 70.3. Getting down to race weight = bonus!

In the meantime, 2 weeks away from the Austin marathon, I'm feeling strong about running and looking forward to toeing the line and seeing what I can do. Once this race is done, I just know I'll be back to laser focus on tri and will have no difficulty at all making it to the pool. ;)

Until then, it will be about small victories. Today, I wrote my workout down and packed my swim bag. Next step, putting it in the car. Next step, driving to the pool after I run today...wish me luck.

Full Circle - On Giving Swim Advice to Strangers

Back when Shelly and I were fledgling triathletes, we taught ourselves how to swim using a Total Immersion book. That is, we read the chapters and then showed up at the pool and tried to do what it said. After a few weeks of this, we started "swimming" laps and experienced the learning curve that happens when you're teaching yourself something totally foreign. "Does this look like the picture in the book?" we'd ask each other, and then shrug and say "I think so."

I won't speak for Shelly, but I remember how I felt like a total weirdo in the pool, totally self conscious about what I was doing, how I looked, whether I belonged there. I mean, we weren't even 100% sure we were wearing our caps and goggles correctly, and we were swimming in fashion suits with skirts because we thought the competition suits were too tight.

On one of these first occasions, a man that we had seen multiple times at the pool - a "real" swimmer - who glided effortlessly through the water, lapping me repeatedly, who had a beautiful stroke and wore the right attire, stopped me and provided some feedback about my stroke. "You're holding your head up too high," he said. "Look at the bottom of the pool while you swim, don't look forward. This will bring your legs up." Lo and behold, the next 100 I swam was effortlessly 20 seconds faster than any that had come before it.

It's been 5 years since that day, and Shelly and I both were lucky to take to swimming and get pretty decent at it right away. Every time I'm in the pool I observe the people swimming in the other lanes, noting the good form of some and thinking of the advice I'd give to others. But, although I was grateful to the man who gave me that unsolicited advice, I'm just not bold enough to proactively critique the form of other swimmers.

I've really been loving swimming lately. I just feel like something has clicked and I'm starting to feel like "a real swimmer." I was enjoying a swim workout today and noticing the people around me, as usual. Today there was a guy I'd never seen before in the lane next to me, struggling with his head up and his feet dragging behind him as I lapped him repeatedly.

Finally, at the end of my workout, he was sitting at the wall resting, and he spoke to me. "I just have to ask you, how much do you swim?" he asked. I told him that I swim 3 days a week, and he commented on how fast and effortless I looked. Then he asked if I had any tips for him. So I told him, "Well, I did notice that you're holding your head up pretty high, and that makes your legs drop down. So concentrate on pointing your nose and your fingertips at the bottom of the pool." He thanked me and told me that he's new to swimming; he's a runner trying it out as cross-training. Just like me and Shelly 5 years ago! Maybe one day we'll see him at a triathlon swim start.

It felt really weird to give that same advice that I'd received years ago. It also feels really cool to see how far I've come, and to be reminded of what it was like to be a newbie. Love it!

Monica's Mile 2014

I love that my first post of 2014 is identical to last year's first post - a report about Monica's Mile. Once again it was great to get together with so many people in the swimming and triathlon communities to support a worthy cause. The fundraiser provides swimwear and goggles to children supported by SAMMinistries, and all additional proceeds go towards Monica Caban's continued physical therapy.

For this swimming event, each participant could choose to swim one mile or swim for one hour. Last year, the event took place only a few short months after the bicycle accident that resulted in Monica's severe spinal cord injury. This year, only one year later, Monica swam the event - and she didn't just settle for swimming a mile! She swam the 1-hour event and crushed her goal, swimming just under 2500 yards. I stood on the sidelines to cheer and watch her swim and she just looked so strong and beautiful (in her Smash kit and "Super Star" cap) - it was truly inspiring to see how far she's come in a year and how far she is so determined to go.

Just like last year, the event took place in 3 heats: 8:00, 9:15, and 10:30. The girls and I picked the 8:00 heat and were able to cheer for Monica at 9:15. Another thing about today that was super cool was that SHELLY WAS BACK! This was Shelly's first swim post-baby and we got to share a lane together, just like old times, *sniffle*.

Orissa and Aixa shared the lane next to us, and Linda was way over in the other pool by herself (boo) being timed by Dawn (yay? Apparently one of the drawbacks of having your coach as your timer is that she'll scream at you if you stop to take a drink of water. Poor Linda - haha!).

We couldn't help dressing alike in "Super Star" swim caps and pink, donut-emblazoned swimsuits that read "will swim for donuts" on the back. The donut thing was a little joke for Dawn, who is always trying to break us of the habit of stopping for donuts on our long weekend rides.

We softened the blow of the donut suit by getting her a personalized suit with COACHIE on the butt, which she rocked!

A few minutes past 8:00, we started, with the digital clocks reading 24:00. This meant that we'd swim until we saw 24:00 again. Last year, I lost count immediately and didn't look at the clock at all, so I didn't know how long we had left and it was torture. So this year I was determined not to do that. I decided to break the swim into 200-yard segments, so I stopped at the wall every 8 laps to press the lap button on my watch and look at the time. It also helped to pay attention to the clock at the beginning of the swim. With an idea of how fast I was going and how much time was left, this year's swim flew by.

At the end I was SUPER STOKED (Linda's phrase, I feel I can use it because I'm talking about swimming) to see that I had hit my goal of eighteen 200s, or 3600 yards. This is 150 yards further than I swam last year and I am soooooo happy to see the improvement! I don't know if I've become a stronger swimmer (I think I have) or if it's because I used a strategy (maybe it was half and half) but I am so happy with that result!

AND Shelly the rockstar got 3000 yards, a month and a half post-baby and no swimming for like 2 months! Yeah!!! Orissa and Aixa were speedy too, with 3400 and 3475 yards respectively, and Linda hit 4200...we are all just going to have to keep chasing her! Herb got a new personal best too. It was a good day for the Iron Whiners. It was also awesome to see practically everyone else we know from triathlon - Marco and Lorena, Todd Erickson (our former Masters swim coach), Lexa and Jamie, who videoed and cheered, the list goes on, it seems everyone I know who swims in San Antonio was there today. Pretty cool.

Afterwards, minus Shelly who had to get home to family, we headed out for a fantastic brunch at ZTejas and a celebratory trip to Lululemon. Couldn't have asked for a better day...if I get to lie on the couch and nap for the rest of the day, this may be the perfect day.

What a great way to start the year! A huge thanks to Coachie and Susan Ingraham for putting on the event, to Robert for photographing it, and especially to Laura Reyes and her son Brody who timed us (afterwards, Laura asked Brody if he wanted to go for breakfast, and he replied, "Sure, anything but donuts. I've seen enough of those for a while!").