The clock is winding down, as we start to approach the 1 week mark before the big day. Just yesterday, I packed up my bike along with some additional gear and shipped it off to Florida. While I am super excited about my big day coming up, it's been a pretty tough past week for me. On Saturday, I did a metric century ride(66 miles), my last very long ride of my training program. I guess there was a cold bug lying in wait for my immune system to weaken, as beginning on Sunday I was pretty much out of commmission the past 4 days. My mentor told me not to worry, and that whatever fitness I've built is still intact. I guess the only way I'll truly know will be on November 7th.

The bigger news since my last post, was that Team Abisia completed the 2009 Nike Women's Marathon last Sunday, Oct. 18th! Jo, Jackie, Mom, Caroline, Sal and Marvin got up at the crack of dawn that day and finished what we set out to do. Earlier in the week, we went to the city to receive our race number packets and check out the Expo tent.


PICTURES HERE

Sunday was the big race day, and we totally enjoyed the experience. It was such a proud day for all of us, as we did this event as a family. Jackie, Mom, Sal, and Lye each did 13.1 miles that day. I was so proud of them for their achievement...especially Mom, who at 58, would never have believed it herself that she could complete a half marathon!

Not to be outdone, Jo had a few tricks up her sleeve as well! A culmination of 16 weeks of training, this event was one of Jo's dream goals as for the first time she completed a full 26.2-mile marathon! This was one of the proudest moments I've had of Jo, and now that she has accomplished what she set out to do, I just know that there is no mountain too high, no river to wide, no goal too audacious for her to achieve when she sets her mind to it.

Way to go everyone! You did it !!!


PICTURES HERE

Team Abisia Still Hiring

Happy Fall Season everyone! Lots of exciting things happen in the fall...leaves turn a nice shade of orange, weather cools down from scorching summer, we get to set clocks back for one hour of extra shuteye...and oh yeah...two big events you might not have heard about :-)

The Nike Marathon

Ironman Florida

So aside from my usual menu of pain this past weekend (80 miles on my bike and a 13 mile run), more exciting things have developed in my family's road to our first Nike Marathon together. You might recall that we added two new people a couple of months back to make it a foursome.

Well, guess what? On Sunday, Team Abisia multiplied yet again! We added two more family members to our team...our cousin Caroline and her husband Sal!

Welcome aboard the marathon train Sal and Caroline!

Caroline and her daughter Camren joined up with us for our weekly training with the Nike folks on Sunday, and while it was a very chilly morning that day, it eventually warmed up to a nice low seventies, and the team ended up doing a good 8 miles of running and jog-walking. I'm so proud of this team and how much it has developed over the last 3 months. A few pictures from the weekend:



VIEW SLIDESHOW

All for One and One for All

7 weeks counting down to Ironman (3 weeks to the Nike Marathon), and this past Saturday was a race day. I joined forces with my sister Jackie, and my friend Jenny, as we tackled the Clif Bar Team Triathlon Challenge. This pure relay event was sprint distance, and held in Granite Bay near Roseville, CA. A fun time was had by all, as we got to the finish line by sharing the "duties" that would normally be completed by a single athlete. And all that, despite some nasty triple-digit temperatures. Way to go Team WTF (Where' The Food?) !!!

The video below tells the story of our day. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmHeTgwb5qw

100 Miles and Runnin'

Last weekend was my first century I've ever done. It was a training ride, lasted just over 6 hours and had me feeling so trashed afterwards that I had to really muster up all my energy to do my run workout the next day. Speaking of which, Jo scored another PR with an 18-mile run....while I put in a slightly inferior 16.5 miles that day. Good excuse though, since I rode my bike across damn near the entire East Bay Hills:

As Mr. West said "Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger...". This is so true. Tomorrow I will ride approximately 70 miles, and I have a feeling that my body will feel like it's an easy breezy workout, now that it has experienced the full toll that a century ride exacts upon it.

In other news, while my "A" races for the year were Ironman California 70.3(half-iron distance), and the upcoming Ironman Florida(full iron distance), I've also decided to participate in a team event as a "training race". This Saturday, my sister Jackie and friend Jenny will be teaming up as Team WTF in the Clif Bar Team Triathlon Challenge. It's a relay race, so we split the triathlon duties three ways. More to come regarding the event as it unfolds. Wish us luck!

Rain, rain, go away...if you don't, I'll still train today!

Last weekend was my heaviest workload to date. Saturday, I rode a 72-mile bike ride across damn near the entire East Bay I-680 corridor. I nearly cancelled my workout due to the rain and thunder we were having, but seeing that it was not raining cats and dogs, and knowing that weather-wise, anything can happen on a race day...I decided to suck it up and ride out the storm.


My Bike Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/route//ca/dublin/299125306017449033

It was a great decision, as the rain cleared up after the first two hours of the ride, and so I was left with 2.5 hours of sunny, yet cool weather. For good measure I ran for another hour(5.5-miles) immediately after the ride.

Sunday was Nike day as usual, whereby I overlap my ironman training with Nike, since I am also running that race as a training event.

PICTURE LINK
For Team Abisia, it was another big hit as old distance records fell and new PRs(personal records) were set!

	Josephine	Jackie	Mom
Old PR:	14 miles	10 miles	10 miles
New PR:	16 miles	12 miles	11.25 miles

And of course, a hard day's work deserves a FREE massage. One of the benefits of attending a Nike run training event, which is also free of charge! (in case you were thinking of joining us for one of these Sunday parties) hehehe.

Pictures and videos from Nike training Sep 13 For your viewing pleasure:

EXTERNAL LINK TO PICTURES

VIDEO 1:


VIDEO 2:


Way to go ladies! Your training is spot on and you're definitely gonna rock at Nike. Stay on track, keep up the great work, and make sure you commit to your nutrition and your recovery/rest just as seriously as you take your run workouts. There's no stopping you now!

Checkpoint Races for Team Abisia Training for Nike

Last weekend, Labor Day Weekend to be exact, featured my usual long days of training on both the bike and the run. The big news for the weekend was a checkpoint race for a couple of "Team Abisia" runners who are training to complete their first Nike Marathon. Jo and Jackie both ran the UC Davis Golden Harriers 10K as a tune-up as Nike is a mere 6 weeks away. They both did great, and will definitely make a strong showing in October. Way to go ladies!!!

Not Your Typical Training Weekend

I'm 10 weeks out from the big day, and while my training has been going steady (no injuries...yay!).... I felt such that this past weekend was such a big deal that it bears mentioning in some detail. I did my usual routine of a long ride on Saturday, with a short swim and short run on each end of it. This time I rode from Dublin to Pinole, as Jo and I had a friend's lunch party to attend there right after.


Link: http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/dublin/933125120799628197

By now everyone knows Jo also has a big goal this year of completing the Nike Women's Full Marathon in October. By all measures, she is definitely on track to complete this monumental achievement. This past Sunday morning, she ran her longest distance yet....14 miles....a personal best !!! I am so proud of her, and I just know that she's going to totally amaze all of us on race day.

Also...something new developed over the summer that is truly amazing and truly inspirational. Somewhere between racing at Ironman California 70.3 and today, our family racing team grew 100%. That's right folks, Team Marv.n.Jo is now Team Abisia as far as the Nike Marathon is concerned. Call it a spark, call it serendipitous inspiration, whatever it is....my sister and my MOTHER have each decided to register and participate in the 13.1 mile half marathon at Nike! The truly amazing thing? Mom did 10 miles this past Sunday. Now I know where I get my endurance genes from ! Way to go Mom and Jackie!



http://picasaweb.google.com/tridude72/Nike09Training?authkey=Gv1sRgCPq00LuQv_P7BA&feat=directlink