Cat's Journey to Becoming an Ironwoman

Hello?!? I'm over here.

2011-03-22T12:21:00.000-04:00

Just checking in - have you been to my new blog yet? I hope that if you haven't already, you'll join me at my new home. I've had a busy year!

I have a new blog!

2010-10-25T10:37:00.000-04:00

Hi all! Did you miss me? I missed you! I've started a new blog. I'll still talk about training here and there, but I'll also write about cooking, life in DC, and whatever else is on my mind. Check it out!

Back at it!

2010-04-07T10:32:00.002-04:00

I did it. Well, sorta. I promised myself that come April, I was going to back on the team Z training plan.

Progress
Saturday morning, though, I had planned to attend the Cancer to 5k workout. But then there was facebook, and all of my teammates seemed so excited for the bike time trial at Prince William Forest Park (a favorite training and camping location for the Knight and me). And a mere 7 minutes before the Knight was scheduled to leave, I embraced my inner spontaneous self, threw on the bike shorts, and headed out. Go me!

Needless to say, it was tough. I’ve never been good at climbing hills, and since I have been on the bike roughly, oh, twice, since Ironman…Yeah…you can get where this is going.

I got the 21 miles done. I even made time to help out a new Z-er who was having a very common newbie problem. She had taken out here water bottle to drink and couldn’t get it back in her bottle cage. Boy, do I remember those days.

I totally understood why she didn’t want to stop (it was a time trial, after all). So instead of flying down a big hill, I was braking so that I could take her bottle from her.

Yay, 3rd bike ride of the year DONE. It is just going to get better from here.

This week I’ve been pretty much following the training plan again. Boot camp Monday morning was a butt-kicker. And I loved it.

I didn’t swim Tuesday. Ummmm, I can’t remember my excuse. I did workout on the elliptical, though. I plan to be back in the pool, any pool, on Thursday. I don’t feel ready for an hour long team swim, but what the heck…maybe I’ll shock everybody and show up anyhow.

We had track practice this morning. I did not feel like running when I woke up. I mean, I reallllllly didn’t feel up for it given my lingering boot camp aches. So it was pretty shocking that I had an awesome workout. A bunch of zone 2 work and just one 800 (half mile) in zone 4. It hurt – big time - but it felt great. GREAT!

The weather is beautiful. The sun is shining, and I am ready for the year.

Training Plan?

Now I just need to decide what training schedule to follow. As I have previously mentioned, I am planning to take it easy this year. I’m running the Cherry Blossom 10-miler on Sunday, relaying at Rumpass in Bumpass the following weekend (biking the Olympic and the Sprint), and at Kinetic in May (running the half, biking the sprint), and I am doing the Musselman Sprint in July (and of course, the micromussel). Anyone have a tricycle I can borrow? I’m serious. After that, who knows?

I was planning to follow the “Under 70.3” training plan, which is for those racing olympics or sprints. But as I look at it, I wonder. Is it enough?

Right now I am trying to decide. I kind of want to keep my options open in case I decide that I want to do more (i.e., a half IM this year). But then again, the whole idea was to give my body (and the rest of me) a break and take it easy. I’m just not sure what to do.

The Knight suggested that I follow the 70.3 (half Ironman) plan, and then allow myself to do less if I want. Yeah, that ain’t gonna happen. If the plan says bike 40 miles, then I will bike 40 miles. If not, I’ll feel bad. And then I’ll dwell on it like I did eating those six, yes six girl scout cookies last week. Hey, what can I say? I was working on a brief and I was so stressed. Chocolate=calm. You know?

Hmmmmm….. I will let you know what I decide. In the meantime, it feels great to be back to regular, structured training and I am loving the excitement of the team workouts. We had almost 50 people at boot camp on Monday. So great!

Happy training, everyone!

Thinking of you!

2010-02-24T07:12:00.000-05:00

I don't mean to be a bad blogger. I have been thinking of you, my faithful followers. :) It’s just that I've lost a little bit of my blogging mojo now that I'm no longer working towards the original purpose of this blog. Nevertheless, until I come up with a snappy new blog title, I'm going to continue to post here.

Life is good! 2010 has been really great for me so far. I am past the post-ironman blues and I'm enjoying each day as it comes. I am actually loving not having any race goals. That said, I am running the Cherry Blossom Ten-miler in April. Right now my story is that I don’t have a time goal, but not even I believe that one. Haha! I guess I am hoping to beat my previous PR, but we’ll see. I’m not sure if I’ve trained for that.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I am going to do this year. The team race calendar has a lot of great races ahead. The Knight is doing most of them on his journey to Ironman Wisconsin! Way to go, babe! I will tag along, but I’m feeling indifferent about my participation in the races.

So far I’ve decided the following: for the Rumpass in Bumpass and Kinetic triathlons, in April and May, respectively, I will relay. In other words, NO SWIMMING. Ha! Coach Ed puts compiles a list of those who are interested in being part of a relay team and assembles teams of 2 or 3 for the races. Cool, huh? Just bike. Just run. Bike and run. The Rumpass Oly or sprint. The Kinetic half or the Olympic. Doesn’t matter to me. As long as my teammates don’t care about time, I’m their girl. I've never been shy about my feelings about swimming,

I've said it before and I'll say it again. It is not quitting if you consistently work hard at something for two years, you accomplish a huge goal, and then you stop. :) Okay?

According to my logic, relaying will give me the opportunity to stay involved and potentially help out newbies who are not ready to do a full triathlon. Coach Ed was quick to point out that what the newbies really need is folks to swim for them. Point taken. But nah, I’m not feeling quite that generous.

In July, the team is racing Musselman. You may recall that last year Musselman was my first half Ironman. (My race report and pictures for those of you who might have missed them.) It was a great experience overall! And now it is a team race. It is like a homecoming. Part of me feels compelled to do the half again. The competitive part of me wants to do it to beat my time. But you know what, I don’t need to. The Knight is racing and I plan to be there for him. So I decided that I will happily participate in the Sprint (called mini-mussel) and this year’s debut race: micro-mussel. Here’s a quick description:

Holy cow this is going to be fun. In 2010 the Musselman brings you microMussel (µMussel because we're into tiny), a Super-Sprint triathlon the likes of which you've not seen before. Contested on Friday evening, µMussel features absurdly short distances over a closed, spectator-friendly course through Geneva's Lakefront Park.

In the second wave, everyone starts in a single chaotic mass of humanity and must ride an unmodified children's tricycle (with or without bell) or Big Wheels for the bike portion.

Swim (100 yards) (or so) - Take a flying leap off the dock and start churning. A few seconds later, if all goes well, you'll come ashore at the boat launch.

Bike (0.6 miles) (roughly) - What to wear? That's the big question. Don't think about it too long, because you've only got a single loop of Lakefront Park to spin your pedals.

Run (0.2 miles) (give or take) - Ditch the bike and dash for the finish line, oxygen-starved and cramping like there's no tomorrow. Because in this race, there isn't.

Doesn’t this sound fun? I can’t wait.

So, that’s the plan so far. Once the weather gets a little warmer, I will get back on the bike. (I’m happy to report that I've done some good healing and my hands are 95% better.) Yay! I’ll continue running regularly. And maybe at some point I will get some swim practice in. But I don’t feel a sense of urgency on this one.

A final note: if anyone has ideas for a new blog title, I’d love to hear it. I thought of The Life and Times of IronCat or IronCat’s Life Lessons, but both, frankly, seem stupid to me. Hey, I’m my own worst critic.

Be well!

Still thinking about Ironman

2010-01-29T14:36:00.000-05:00

I think about my Ironman accomplishment in some way or another pretty much every day. The reasons differ depending on the day.

This week, Dan Hicock, professional photographer, head of Tri DC magazine, and friend of Team Z, has been posting the pictures he took at Ironman Florida.

My favorites so far are definitely the swim pictures. Wow, can you tell I am elated to be out of the water? Check these out!

I am also rather partial to this picture:

Lovely!

Decisions, Decisions

2010-01-27T22:00:00.000-05:00

As you probably know, I’ve been considering the whole M-dot tattoo issue for a while now…even before I did the race. I just couldn’t decide whether I needed a permanent tribute to the event on my body.

Inspired by my teammate Kat, at the race expo I purchased a bunch of temporary m-dot tattoos.

I was pretty psyched about wearing my tattoo, which I put on the outside of my left ankle. I felt really cool. Even if nobody saw it (hello, winter!) and those who might see it at the gym probably don’t know what it is.

After a few weeks I stopped wearing it for a while. I decided to put one on for my (post-Goofy, Disney) cruise. And then came formal portrait night.

The next day, one quick look at the photo gave me the answer I was searching for. Tattoos are not for me. At least not ones that can’t be hidden by normal clothing. I just didn’t like this big red thing on my ankle with my cute little dress and shoes.

So that’s that. I will consider putting it somewhere less obvious, but I think I am happy with my pretty m-dot pendant, my collection of Ironman gear (see my cute visor!?) and my IRONCAT license plate.

Some casual shots along side the water in Nassau, Bahamas.

Now what?

2010-01-26T06:12:00.001-05:00

After race weekend, I planned to give my body a full week off. Yes, off! As in no running, no swimming, no biking, and no weight-lifting. I can’t remember the last time I took more than a couple of days off from exercise, but I knew I needed it. My calves, plantar fascia, and Achilles were telling me so.

I thought I might go a little crazy without the exercise, but the combination of the park and cruise activity, and with the mellow vacation vibe made it all fine. It was actually pretty nice.

Now I am back in the swing of things after a GREAT vacation. Admittedly, while better, my ailments are still present. It is time for a Dr. Keith visit, for sure.

I’m holding off on planning any races for at least another month, but at least I am at a point where registering for a (short) triathlon (and gasp, swimming again) seem reasonable.

2010 is going to be the year of yoga, I decided. I’ve been going to the weekly class at my work gym, and am looking into other options. I even went to the yoga class offered on my cruise.

After discussing developing my yoga abilities, I jokingly asked my friend Beth whether there were any yoga competitions or endurance yoga events. Hehe. I know that is not what it’s about and I’m looking forward to experiencing the benefits of yoga.

Yes, it is challenging for this type-A girl, but I can do it. I like the idea of breathing deeply, improving my posture, being more present in the moment/more mindful, and of course, having more flexibility and core strength. Maybe I should change my blog title to Cat’s Journey to Becoming a Yogi.

Positively Goofy!

2010-01-24T08:54:00.013-05:00

It is official! I am goofy!

39.3 miles (plus) done, three medals acquired, and good fun was had!

The plan was to take it easy and have fun, easy runs. Mission accomplished (mostly)!

Here’s the rundown:

Packet pickup (Friday)
After arriving at the airport and having the worst rental car pickup experience ever, I finally made it to Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex. Everything went extremely smoothly. There was a special separate (distant) area just for goofy participants. [Side note: According to a page that Heather posted, there were approximately 23,000 half marathoners, 24,000 full marathoners, and 7,500 “Goofy race and a half challenge” participants.]

T-shirt and goodie bag pickup was in a different building. It was quick and easy and the schwag was sweet. Thee nice, long-sleeved tech tees (one for each race and one for the Goofy challenge), fluorescent orange goofy challenge shoelaces, a chintzy orange beaded goofy challenge necklace thingy, a pink sharpie pen (they were sponsors) and a bunch of usual biofreeze/kinesio tape stuff.

Half Marathon (Saturday)
I’m pretty used to waking up early but this was kind of insane. For the 5:40 am race start, Disney recommends that runners be onboard Disney transport by 4 am. So wakeup was at 3:15.

Getting to the race start was not as easy as it sounds. I had planned to take one of the shuttle vans, but instead accepted a ride from a fellow runner I met in the lobby. We departed the hotel at 3:45 am. We arrived at EPCOT parking lot much, much later. Traffic was insane! I wasn’t really worried about it though, since I figured that the longer I was in the car, the less time I’d be standing around in the freezing cold.

It was a looooong walk to the starting area. And oh yeah, did I mention the lovely weather? 28 degrees and sleeting. Oh yeah.

Sandy and I wound up in the wrong starting corral – we were supposed to be in C but wound up in G. It really wasn’t a huge deal, but it did mean being around mostly walkers for pretty much the entire race. From beginning to end it was pretty challenging to run at anything close to my usual pace.

Fortunately, I was not too concerned about time so I just dealt with it. (The next day, at the marathon, I was in the correct wave and it was a million times better. Still not conducive to a PR --should anyone be thinking of racing Disney for one-- but a LOT better.)

The race itself was a blast! I had SO much fun. Just as I planned, I stopped for lots of character pictures and just enjoyed myself.

It was SO neat running through the parks, albeit for very brief periods. It really got me excited to start my Disney vacation and it was really neat to see the parks all lit up (most of the race was pre-dawn).

Entering the Magic Kingdom

Notice the wearing of panchos

I was really impressed, but not surprised, by how well the race was organized. Volunteers and cast members (Disney’s term for employees) were fabulous across the board.

Plus, as promised there were lots of characters out on the course. Aid stations were plentiful. Sharpie even had funny signs with odd sayings, facts and trivia in some of the more boring stretches of road. There was music, including a number of school bands and groups of cheerleaders. It was a wonderful experience.

Argh!

Mary Poppins was my FAVORITE growing up

Out on the golf course

Atten-ion!

With all of my stopping for pictures and real indoor bathrooms, I came in around 2:50 for the half. My PR is 2:08 and my half Ironman time for running 13.1 is around 2:20. I would do it all again exactly the same way. Except I would eliminate the precipitation and make it at least a little warmer. It was brutal but totally worth it.

And since I know that several of you are planning to do Disney and/or Goofy in the future, I will note that post-event transportation was nearly as challenging as pre-race. It wasn’t fun waiting for the bus back to the hotel and taking the long ride when cold, wet and tired.

As far as advice, if you’re not going to stay in an EPCOT resort, I suggest having someone drive to EPCOT, park, and drive you back to the hotel.

Marathon (Sunday)
Again with the 3:15 wakeup. This time I tried the Disney transport and it was actually worse. I was on the Disney bus for almost 50 minutes – standing. As I suggested above, I think if I did this again I would stay at one of the EPCOT resorts so I could take the monorail (booking way ahead!). Otherwise, I suppose I could leave earlier, but who wants to get up before 3 am? Ridiculous!

I made it to the starting line (and my appropriate corral) just 2 minutes before the start. Not the way I like to do it but at least I wasn’t standing around too long.

The temps were way warmer this day. You know, like 30 degrees instead of 28. And windy! At least it wasn’t wet. But it was icy… Guess what you get if you have water stations with 30-degree pavement. Ice rinks. That was a new challenge for me.

Start of the full marathon

Chip and Dale

EPCOT

I stopped for somewhat fewer pictures this time since I had gotten shots with many of the same characters the day before.

About to run through the castle

Yeah!

About to enter Animal Kingdom

Minnie is safari-ready

Mickey, too!

P-p-p-power rangers!

Although I felt pretty good going into the day, by the middle of the race I definitely felt the effects of the run the day before. I took my time and remembered that I was there to have a good time and so I walked a lot more than usual.

Oh, and here’s a funny story. Around mile 6 I noticed that I no longer had my cell phone. Oops. It must have fallen out of my hydration pack when I took out a gel. I borrowed phones from a couple of fellow runners and tried to call my phone. Finally, a couple of miles later, someone picked up. He had my phone. He offered to bring it to the finish line but I opted to wait for him to catch up to me.

I waited for this kind stranger for over 15 minutes…which was actually pretty hard considering it was sooo freezing. Meanwhile I bonded with the volunteers at the medical tent, which was the designated meetup spot. I got to watch all of the runners go by. I wouldn’t do that again, but it was a memorable part of the day.

When I got my phone back I saw it had a rough day, too. It is all scratched up and the battery case is missing. My little phone needed to replaced anyhow, but now it is hilarious with the duct-taped battery and all. Just a little souvenir from race day.

Now here is the really funny part, Around mile 23 I calculated that in order to come in under 6 hours, I would need to average 10-10:30 miles for the remainder of the race.

Where did this 6-hour number come from? I have no idea! I just got it in my head somewhere along the way. Maybe because I rmembered that your predicted marathon time is double your half marathon time plus ten minutes...and I based it on the day before's half time. I don't know.

Ordinarily, I run a marathon in around 4:30. So why was I hell bent on being under 6 hours? Again, I have no idea.

Throughout the race I kept reminding myself of the goals: have fun, relax, and take it easy enough so that I can enjoying touring the parks Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

By this point, however, it hurt just as much to walk as to run and I was sore enough that I figured it didn’t matter what I did at that point, I was going to be hurting regardless.

So I took off. I felt like I was really zooming, especially since those around me were all in the 6-hour marathon bunch and were probably averaging 13-14:00 miles.

Lo and behold, I made it across the finish line in 5:59:something. Wow, I am stubborn! And determined! As sore and tired as I was, I got it done.

I'm done!
That's me behind the blue hat.

It is still windy!

For all of that, I got some pretty sweet medals.

Bling!

I'm Goofy

2010-01-05T11:56:00.000-05:00

As if you didn't know that already, it will soon be official. I'm goofy!

Can you believe that Disney's Goofy challenge is almost here? Saturday morning is the Disney Half Marathon and Sunday is the (full) Disney Marathon. Those wacky enough to do both get three medals (one for each race, and one for being insane enough to do both), and the special designation of being Goofy!

Word is that the medals and the race shirts are really cool. I can’t wait!

My lovely DC Tri Club friend Sandy and I are running together and we have declared that these will be fun runs. In other words, we are taking it slow. The plan is to stop and take pictures with the many characters that will be along the course and just have a blast. I intend to ignore the clock and get through the weekend with minimal damage to my body. Plus, I want to enjoy Disney after the races…which means not leaving it all on the race course for a change. Hopefully I will keep the plan in mind if I get a little burst of adrenaline and try to start racing. (Sandy, remind me of this, will ya?)

We are freaking out just a tad since neither of us expected a forecast like we’re seeing…Check this out:

Saturday – low 27, high 43
Sunday – low 30, high 48

Yikes! It is going to be super cold when we start these races at 5:40 am. Reviews from previous years races complained of the hot temps at the end of the race. Yeah, that won’t be a problem this time around. I’m sure people will complain about the weather anyhow…

Still, I am so excited for this trip. Two race days, some park/shopping days (Orlando has awesome outlet malls) and then a three-day cruise. Yipee!!!

Reflecting on 2009

2009-12-31T15:10:00.000-05:00

As I begin to think about the past year, the first word that comes to mind is “wow!” If you’d told me a year ago that this year I would have completed a full and two half ironmans I probably wouldn’t have believed you.

I’d like to say that 2009 was about much more than Ironman, but that wouldn’t really be true. For the most part, it is what consumed me this year. While I generally try to be a little more balanced, that just wasn’t realistic for me this year. But it was my choice and I am really glad that it turned out the way it did.

So, how do I feel about 2009? Very happy and so proud of myself for what I accomplished. Honestly, I vacillate between being very matter-of-fact about things [whatever, it is just an Ironman, anybody can do it], and being completely in awe of myself that I actually did it [I swam/biked/ran how far!?!).

Everyone keeps asking me if I will do it again. My response is that while the race itself was hard, it was only one day and I think I could do it again. However, the training was tough, and while I am so glad I dedicated myself to it this year, I don’t know that I would do it again.

Nevertheless, I am so glad I did it. It is a great feeling to know there is nothing that I cannot do if I put my mind to it.

At the end of the day, one Ironman or lots, fast or slow, I am Ironcat, and I’ve got the schwag to prove it. Hehe, check out what I got:

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you have a wonderful, healthy, and rewarding 2010!

Do You Hash?

2009-12-30T12:36:00.001-05:00

Monday night I had the pleasure of joining my team-Zmates for the newest team activity…hashing. I’d heard of it before, and there have been rave reviews of the latest addition to the team calendar, so I decided to check it out.

Not being much of a drinker (okay, I don’t really drink at all) I have shied away from hashing before. From what I heard, you drink beer during and after the run, and there are all kinds of esoteric traiditions and vocabulary involved. Yet, I kept seeing all of these messages saying how much fun the first few hashes were, and how it is fun even if you don’t drink, so “what the heck, why not?” I thought.

I showed up to PRR on this very cold past Monday night dressed in five layers on top (well six: sports bra, long sleeves shirt, short sleeved shirt, two more long sleeved tops, fleece vest) for which I was called out later. It was a chilly and windy 31 degrees.

Then we learned to deal. Basically, you run around with the group and attempt to find the trail (which is just the route, mostly on paved streets/sidewalks and occassionally over grass). Someone has gone out ahead of time and marked the trail with dollops of flour and chalk. Without going into detail, you run along and try to figure out the correct course, which can sometimes be tricky. Along the way, there are marking that indicate beer is near (BN) or shot check (SC).

It was really fun! The best part is that during the hash, you’re not really thinking about how much further you have to run or how long you’ve been going. You’re looking for trail signs and trying to figure out if that mound is flour or snow. It was a great change of pace from the usual boring run. I might be hooked.

Afterwards, everyone gather for beverages, “orange food” (i.e., cheezits, Doritos, and other such yumminess) and revelry. This includes some drinking games and the calling out of strange or inappropriate behavior such as wearing race paraphenalia or new shoes (from which you are forced to drink).

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, chips and juicy-bevies which may or may not contain alcohol, whatever the quantity, are not sufficient post-run nutrition. This I learned when I woke up hungry at 1 am. Doh! Maybe I need more chips next time.

For more about hashing, check out this Wikipedia article.

Improving

2009-12-19T09:07:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who reached out to me after reading my post about my post-Ironman blues. I am happy to report that I am steadily getting better.

Earlier this week, I went ahead and booked the trip to Disney. I find it kind of interesting that it was like a switch was flipped in me, and I instantaneously felt like myself again. I felt happy and I had something to plan. Funny how that works.

To prepare for the Goofy Challenge, I was supposed to walk 11-12 miles today and run 26 tomorrow. I decided that since I am an ironman, I don't need to do the walk. (ou know, because I am so tough...hmmmm.)

Three weeks ago when I walked 8 miles the day before the long run and it left me achy. Strange. My butt and back hurt. Although I usually don't do 8 miles straight, I walk miles at a time pretty often so I don't know why. So yeah, I'm skipping it and I don't feel bad about it.

Of course, Snowpocalypse is interfereing with the planned 26-miler today. A couple of years ago I ran 20 in the snow and ice and while I got it done, I think it was foolish. Yaktrax worked great, but I just don't need to do that again. I'm thinking that I will take a morning off from work this week to make it up. I am definitely not going to do any more than an hour or so on the dreadmill. [Headed there soon, I promise.]

I hope you all are enjoying the snow.

I got the blues…

2009-12-03T16:44:00.003-05:00

No, not Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. I’ve got the Post-Ironman blues. I’ve been keeping this pretty much to myself, but IronHolly’s post has made me feel a little less embarrassed, so I thought I would pay that favor forward and share what I’m going though.

Week 1 was pretty exciting still. I was sore, tired and hungry, but I had the joy of all of the wonderful messages and calls [and flowers...thanks, Mom] pouring in. I returned to work that Thursday (with my medal, of course) and eagerly anticipated the weekend plan of doing nothing and/or whatever the heck I wanted.

Well, the weekend didn’t turn out how I planned. I wound up overcommitted with team events and errands. By the end of the weekend I was in a serious funk and was really sad.

I admit that I thought I was immune to this post-race depression thing. I’ve done 6 marathons and countless other races and frankly, didn’t understand why people would get depressed after a race unless something went wrong.

I've always subscribed to the theory that I choose to be happy. That hasn't changed.

I also didn’t think I’d have a problem since before I signed up for Ironman, I had signed up for the Goofy Challenge in January 2010. I figured the goal of racing a half marathon followed by a full marathon the next day – at Disney, no less – would keep me motivated and focused during the two months following Ironman.

But…..I don’t know.

I have stayed active. I began getting back into light workouts just 4 days after IM. Thanksgiving day I even raced a turkey trot (5k) and did really well (sub 28-minutes on a hilly course) despite going in with no plan and no goals.

Yeah, I am taking it easy with the workouts (read: working out just once/day – haha). [No, I have not been near a pool since the week of IM.]

This past weekend I did my Galloway-recommended 8-mile walk on Saturday and 23-mile run on Sunday. It all went perfectly.

But I’m still blah. And it feels like the training ate up my entire weekend. Boo :(

Apparently, the “goofy” goal isn’t enough for me. I need something. Something to look forward to. Something to work and/or plan for.

So, I got the crazy idea of taking a vacation that didn’t involve a race, training event, or work event. Ooooh.

Not to shift blame, but to make a long story short, the Knight’s schedule is NOT cooperating. At all. Grrrrr. I feel downright thwarted. I could go alone, or with friends… Anyone want to go away with me?

So I tried to focus on making a vacation out of the Disney trip but at this point I am not sure if I feel like racing -- or training for that matter.

Thus, add to everything else the stress of a) not knowing whether I want to race Disney; b) not having travel arrangements less than 6 weeks from the race (verrry stressful for this type-A girl); c) feeling completely powerless to make any decisions or arrangements given my indecision and the Knight's demanding work schedule.

I did a little googling and the consensus is to be that you need to give yourself time to recover. It also seems that taking on a new, non-tri related project or goal is recommended.

So, what now?

I’ve always had goals. Whether it was to get through school, pass the bar, get a clerkship, get a job, run a marathon, do 8 pullups, find a house, plan a vacation... I always have something to work on.

Right now, I am kind of lost.

My body is telling me to “stop the insanity!!” My recovery from Sunday’s 23-miler was seriously tough. The next day I hurt everywhere and was sooooo tired. I could barely walk because everything hurt. I am better now but I am still not inclined to continue pushing myself like this.

I mean, I am keeping busy with work, moderate workouts, and occasional social activities, but to be honest I am just not happy. :(

I keep reminding myself of how fortunate I am. I am healthy, I have a good job, I have wonderful friends.You know...

I’m enjoying not waking up at the crack of dawn for workouts. I am enjoying the flexibility to stay up later and meet friends for lunch or dinner. But I need more.

And I need to relax and maybe even pamper myself. But I can’t seem to do that when there are meals to prepare, a litter box to clean, and a closet to reorganize.

Okay, I’m done whining for now. I am off to continue working on being happy. Tonight I’m going to some of the wonderful free holiday concerts in DC tonight.

Race Day Pictures

2009-11-13T16:32:00.000-05:00

Everyone took such great pictures on race day. I've narrowed it down here but look on facebook for the full collection this weekend.

Cool sign! It made it seem so real.

This is the shower we ran under to get to transition.

I still had sand all over me the entire day

Cool, calm and collected (right!)

I added a few extras

Tent setup at sunrise

Transition bags

I think Dr. Keith planned his outfit to match my wetsuit

One by one the BOPer girls arrived. How could I not smile and feel loved?

Glass, my a$$

Phew

Do I not look thrilled to be out of the water? I think this is the second best post-swim pic ever

(the first is Sheriece's picture from NJ)

Out for a leisurely little 112 mile ride (with a time limit)

No, Nicolas, I didn't stop to lead a cheer. I was getting my race halos.

I will not point out the nice leg muscle action in the second shot.

I was sprinting so fast at the end the camera couldn't catch me

The BEST part: my cheering family!!!!

The BOPers (Janet, Jacquie, Sally, Tracey and Priscilla)

Team Z out in force

BOPers and Jackie (who is way to fast to be a BOPer but we love her anyhow)

The Clown Car

The Best IronSherpa

Melody and Mary

One horn was not enough for Jenn

The wonderful madness that was the Team Z finish line tent

The calmness that was the remote cheering station on the run course

Looking okay for almost 16 hours of racing (and cheering)

Spectator's Report

2009-11-13T11:31:00.000-05:00

I mentioned my friend Becky in my race report. She posted her spectator report on the DC Tri board and I like it so much (see how complimentary she is of me?) I asked if I could post it here. She agreed so here it is:

As many of you know, I spent the last few days in Panama City Beach with DC Tri Club friends(Tuan, Doug, Mark, Adriana, and Cat) racing Ironman Florida. I came to volunteer with the intention of getting in line to get a spot for next year's race. The event was unbelievable. The number of people racing, working, cheering was outstanding. The great attitudes and sportsmanship exhibited by the racers was commendable. It's been awesome and inspirational to say the least.

Watching the swim start was incredible and overwhelming. Almost 3,000 people jumping into the ocean at the same time was nuts. Friday the water was smooth as glass. The racers did not have that good fortune on race day. There were white caps and a pretty good chop. After swimming 2.4 miles, not an easy task even if in a pool, the racers had to hop on their bikes for 112 miles. Wow. The course is flat - but it's known for the headwind, so it's by no stretch easy... besides, a flat course means you're pedaling nonstop. I've been told the winds were pretty bad until about mile 80 and that the pavement wasn't particularly smooth.

After watching the swim I had some down time when I ate and walked around the expo... after a short nap I positioned myself to watch folks come out of transition and start the run. I'm happy to say I saw all of my friends finish the bike - even one I didn't know was riding (Doug missed the swim cutoff of 2 hours 20 minutes by maybe 2 minutes. It was heart breaking to watch... but a kind volunteer walked him to transition and convinced an official to let him ride - he didn't have a chip... he's so glad to have gotten the opportunity and the practice). I stayed in my spot until my last friend made it off the bike. She had 7 or 8 minutes to spare before the bike cutoff time (5:15pm). I was definitely nervous for her. But she was all smiles, elated to have made the cut off and gave me a huge hug before she went into the tent to change and thanked me for being there, waiting. I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

At that point I went to grab dinner with Doug. We had a few hours of downtime before the runners would be done with their marathons. I still have trouble fathoming running a full marathon after being on my feet for 8 or 9 hours already. Insane. Sadly we missed Mark and Adriana's big finish, but we got back in time to see Cat finish her first lap and Tuan finish... despite fracturing his clavicle in 3 places 7 weeks ago he not only finished the event, but he finished with the time I hope for next year in perfect health, about 13:15! Unbelievable. The last of my DC Tri friends in was Cat - who also had an awesome day. Every time I saw her she had a huge smile on her face. She is really what this is all about, taking it all in, happy to be participating, and doing a great job. Inspirational in and of herself. A powerhouse of a lady!

It's amazing how tired I was just standing and cheering (granted I was body marking athletes before the start). But I enjoyed it all so much and learned a lot about what this race is all about.

Despite the awe I feel for what I witnessed, I was so impressed... people of every shape, size, and age participated in and completed the race. With, I think, the appropriate level of excitement and respect, I am happy to report that I got up and got in line to race next year. I did what I set out to do... and hope to become and Ironman next year.

Please join me in congratulating Tuan, Mark, Doug, Cat, and Adriana... and all the athletes. It is simply amazing to line up at the start... AMAZING!

Pre-race day pictures

2009-11-09T23:06:00.001-05:00

Pam and I getting ready for our pre-race brick

Anna and me

Victoria and Cris get the spirit award

Anna and I are making our plan

Dr. Keith giving me a little pre-race physical and mental therapy

(he told me to have some wine and breathe deep)

Janus had a sign making station and they put your signs out on the run course for you.

I made this sign for my team.

Ready to drop off my transition bags and head to the team dinner

Anna and her family

Becky from DC Tri came down from to volunteer and sign up for next year.

It was great having her support!

Maggie, Robin and Kimberley

The dessert table at our dinner at the Boatyard

There was real food, too.

DC Tri Clubbers (incl. Tuan and his sister, Doug, and Becky)

Jenn gave me some good racing advice

Paul looks ready despite dislocating his shoulder on our rainy ride the week before.

He still swam about an hour faster than me!

"My" BOPers

Tuan, me and Angela

Group Pictures

Kevin and Angela

Ryan, Hamid and Tuan

I am officially an Ironwoman!

2009-11-09T22:24:00.000-05:00

I did it!!!!

November 7, 2009 – a day I will never forget. It was the hardest but most gratifying day of my life. I make no apologies for the length of this report. After all, there is a lot to say about an incredibly long day.

Pre-race

Much to my surprise, I got some decent sleep the night before the race. It probably helped that I was utterly exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before and the emotional energy expended on Friday.

I had my usual pre-race breakfast of orange juice and shredded wheat with soy milk. All was calm since I had laid out everything I needed the night before. There wasn’t much thinking to be done, fortunately. As required, the day before I checked in my bike and run transition bags and racked my bike in the transition area. It was nice to have that all done ahead of time.

I headed out the door, on my way to the race site. I got to the elevator and realized it would probably be a good idea to take my special needs bags with me. Oops. Nerves. [Special needs bags are bags with your race number that you have access to on the halfway points of the bike and run. You can pack anything you want from food to clothes or even pictures as some people do. ]

Once I had everything I headed to the transition area to drop off my special needs bags and pump my bike tires. It all went smoothly. I also stopped to hug every Team Zer I could find (there were 40+ of us).

I then headed for the beach to find the Team Z tent. There I found the Knight and Jenn setting up the tent. I felt completely comfortable with just sitting and watching their efforts.

Gradually my teammates arrived. Things were bustling. Victoria and Cris shared an iPod and were grooving out singing and dancing. Coach Ed’s dog Zoe, dressed in a tri top (which Ed said she requested because her support crew t-shirt didn’t show off her figure) jumped around in the sand. Family, friends, Z-ers were everywhere and it was awesome. I was too distracted to be nervous.

We took a team picture on the water dressed in our wetsuits and moments later we were waiting to enter the water. I met up with Kim and Tanya, my training partners who had completed IM Florida twice before.

Swim

The horn went off precisely at 7 am and approximately 2,500 triathletes began the swim. Kim, Tanya and I had decided to begin slowly. We walked in the water and got acclimated. Kim and Tanya had said we would all stay together. I protested because I said they were faster. Tanya and I swim together every morning and she said I swim faster that they do and that they didn’t care about time.

I should mention the state of the water that this point. In the days leading up to the race I kept hearing everyone say how the water was “like glass.” Well, on race morning there was nothing glass-like about the water. In fact, the waves hitting me as I entered the water almost knocked me over. Once I was in I realized how large the swells were.

We began to swim and as the water entered my wetsuit I felt good. I felt my wetsuit loosen up as it filled with water. It occurred to me that it felt much looser than usual. I stopped and realized that my zipper had somehow completely unfastened and my wetsuit was wide open. I look forward and saw the girls. Tanya with her foot up in the air and Kim trying to put Tanya’s chip back on her ankle. I have no idea how that happened. I swam over and they tried to fix my suit but it was too difficult. So I swam the whole first loop (the course was two 1.2 mile loops) with my wetsuit half on [which is why, I brilliantly determined, I have tan lines on my back].

Every time the girls stopped for me I would tell them to keep going. It was so nice of them to wait but I felt bad about holding them up. I was actually glad when halfway through the first loop I didn’t see them anymore. [The next day we discussed it and they convinced me that it isn’t that I swim slower, it is that I stop more. I’ll get back to this later.]

My stroke felt pretty good and I felt like I was moving pretty quickly. I refused to let the salt get to me. The swells were ridiculous though. They were so high that half of the time I couldn’t see the buoys. I joked with one of the kayakers that I would like him to tell the race organizers to get larger buoys next time. Seriously.

They are actually pretty large but the swells were larger.

I learned on the run course that I wasn’t the only one who had difficulty with the waves in the swim. A few people mentioned that they had vomited repeatedly because they were seasick. I also heard that people had a tough time when they would get slammed down by the waves. I was grateful that I quickly adapted by making sure that my face was in the water before I got slammed down.

I just kept hearing the advice my coach and teammates had given me to just keep moving forward and just put your head down and swim.

I finished the first loop in around 1:03. Slower than I would have liked but within reach of making the 2:20 cutoff. When I exited the water I asked a lifeguard to zip me up. Afterwards I thought perhaps I preferred the unzipped wetsuit…it was much more comfortable.

As I made my way across the sand to begin the second loop I saw lots of my supporters. The Knight, Doc Keith, and fellow Z-ers.

Then I saw my fellow BOPers (back of packers). Oh, my BOPers. I was the only BOPer that was attempting Ironman. It frustrated me when my teammates who had done a sub 6-hour half ironman expressed concern about the cutoff times. Not to minimize their concerns, but I didn’t think they really had anything to worry about. Yet here I was feeling absolutely panicked.

Tracey, Janet, Priscilla, Sally and Jacquie were all making the trek to Florida to support the race. I sent them a message Friday afternoon telling them that I absolutely could not wait for them to arrive with their funny signs and great attitudes. There is something so comforting about being supported by people who can truly relate to your challenges.

When I was about to re-enter the water I saw and heard my BOPers. Wow! They were SCREAMING. It was so awesome! I heard them until I was too far away. It was so great.

The second loop was pretty uneventful. At some point I was stopped and I asked myself why. I wasn’t that tired. My heart rate was a little high, but not too much. At that point I was able to sight on a building, so it wasn’t because I needed to get oriented. I asked myself why I was stopping. I don’t know. I decided that I would swim 100 strokes and then stop for a break. It made a difference. However, I was already 3/4 of the way through the swim and wish I had thought of that strategy earlier.

Finally, after 2 hours and 7 minutes of swimming I made it out of the water. Just 13 minutes shy of the cutoff but that was plenty of time. Yes!!!

Transition 1

I exited the water, high fived my fans and teammates and went to the wetsuit strippers. I remembered to detach my Garmin this time. I sat on the ground, leaned back and they tugged my wetsuit off me. Finally!

I walked through the showers and to the bag pickup area. Then into the changing area where volunteers helped me strip naked and get dressed for the bike. Coach Ed chastised me for taking so long but I was honestly moving as quickly as I could. Swimming that long is tiring and I was doing a full clothing change.

The volunteers were awesome. One of the benefits of being slower is that there were plenty of volunteers available when I got there. I actually got two women all to myself. They laid out all of my stuff and helped me put it all on. Putting a dry sports bra on a wet body is much harder than it sounds. Having someone tugging on the back for you helps immensely.

I ran out and saw Ms. Piggy on the rack. I still needed to run down to the end of the chute and back around, so I yelled to the volunteer standing nearby that my bike was the one with the hot pink handlebars. That wasn’t really necessary since there are volunteers who are shouting your race numbers ahead of you, but it was neat.

Just like that I was running Ms. Piggy out to the mounting line.

Bike

Oh, the bike. Just starting to think about it makes me get choked up.

A few days before I had calculated my required speed based on potential swim and transition times. Since I had swum in 2:07 and taken 10 minutes in transition, I now needed to average 14.1 mph on the bike.

Although I had averaged 14.8 at Bassman that was only for 56 miles and that was with no stops at all. I knew I would have to stop at least a few times for potty breaks and nutrition, but hopefully nothing else.

The week before the race Coach Ed told me the story of a teammate who missed the IM bike cutoff by one minute. He said that her GPS had recorded 24 minutes of stop time. That really reminded me that every minute counts.

The first few miles were on familiar territory and the wind was in my favor. I was averaging 15 mph and I felt good. I was confident. And then I made a turn and I slowed down significantly. I was riding around 12-13 mph. My Garmin was attached to my aerobars and I had it set to show my average pace. I was watching it constantly and my heart was sinking as I watched it tick down slowly one-tenth of a mile per hour at a time. I was getting extremely nervous.

Although I had planned to stay in zone 2 the entire time, I had not yet actually been in zone 2 at all. I gave it some thought and remembered the Ken Mierke had told me that it was okay if I spent time in zone 3 on the bike since I had the unusual situation of having zones 2 and 3 be very similar physiologically.

I kept going. Zone 2 is 135-143, but I was working in high zone 3 and low zone 4 the entire time. By the time I stopped for my special needs bag at mile 49, I was certain I was done for. I had been working at maximum capacity for over 3.5 hours and it didn’t look good. I was expecting to bonk at any time.

I picked up my bottles of Infinit, my extra combos and oreos, and headed out determined to go until I couldn’t go anymore.

At mile 50 I turned a corner, but literally and figuratively. Just like that I was riding 15, 16, 17, 18 mph or more. I started to have hope. Soon enough, my average pace was 13.5 mph. I started talking to Garmin. Begging it to go just a little higher. Come on 13.6, come on.

I was cranking. Pedaling my heart out. Pushing harder than I have ever pushed before. Still concerned that I would bonk from too much effort, but I couldn’t stop. I had to keep pushing as hard as I could.

At the halfway point, I had been out for 4 hours and 7 minutes. I had 3 hours and 50 minutes to make the cutoff. I had calculated that I would need to ride 14.6 mph or faster to make it. At this point I was cranking. I decided to stay in high zone 3 and build in a buffer if possible. Not that I had gotten too down, but my spirits were improving.

The course itself was incredibly boring. I heard afterwards that people had been frustrated by the clusters of riders on the course. Not me. Maybe it is another advantage of being a slow swimmer. I saw very few other riders on the course. And contrary to my expectations, there was no crowd support and almost no signage.

However…there were some signs on the course. Every so often I would spot a cluster of fluorescent green spots up ahead. The anticipation of getting to them was wonderful. My BOPers had driven the entire course and left their characteristic funny signs. Most of them were only funny if you were on the team. Fabulous.

Around mile 69, I heard a car approaching ringing cowbells. It was my BOPers. When they saw me they starting screaming like madwomen. They U-turned, 6 of them jumped out of the car with bells, signs, hats, wigs and the most AMAZING enthusiasm. My sweet Janet was screaming over and over at the top of her lungs “I am SO PROUD OF YOU!” It was absolutely incredible. Next thing I knew my eyes felt watery and it wasn’t the wind.

A few miles later I turned on to the hellish bumpy road that was uphill, poorly paved (bumps every 20 feet), and had a headwind. Yes. I’m not making this up.

But guess what else there was. A team Z tent! This point was at the beginning of the out and back 5-mile stretch so I got to see them twice. The Knight was there. After the race he asked me if I liked his outfit and sign and I told him I couldn’t see any of it. I was pushing so hard I just saw his face. Turns out he was wearing a grass skirt, flower lei, and cowboy hat. So if anyone took a picture, I’d love to see it.

He said I looked great and that from my smile he thought I was fine. He had no idea how hard I was working and that I was in such danger of being disqualified. I’m telling you that while part of it was my good attitude, the cheering just put me on top of the world. My Z-ers weren’t just ringing bells. They were screaming my name, jumping up and down, and sending me the best vibes in the world.

I. just. Kept. Cranking. I would not stop pedaling. Every so often I would search my mental jukebox and pick a song to belt out. There was a lot of 80’s music. Fame was my favorite pick. Living on a Prayer kept popping up. Pink songs like Funhouse, too. Just doing whatever I could to get through it.

The BOPers kept reappearing. It was great. Some time later the BOPers drove up again and this time they stopped screaming long enough that we could speak. :) I thanked them for the signs and told them that they were practically the only ones on the course. I told them that I thought I was going to make it and they went crazy.

Even later they reappeared again and Sally told me that she had called the Knight and told him that I was going to make it and he was elated. I told them “I am all that and a bag of chips” which was what they’d written on one of their signs. They laughed and stuck a tube of Pringles out the window and offered me one.

They promised to see me on the run and I kept chugging along.

Finally I watched my average pace reach 14.1 mph and I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. I was within reach. I was still concerned that I would hit a headwind, or worse, but I kept cranking. I changed my goal from making the cutoff to making it with time to spare.

Within the final 20 miles, every time I saw a cop directing traffic, volunteers at an aid station, or people walking along the road leading to the race site I just had to tell them, “I’m going to make it.” I still can’t believe it. It was the most amazing feeling in the world. As I had been telling people beforehand, if I can make it to the run course, I am golden. And I was getting my chance. Ironman was going to happen.

I made it back to transition with 7 minutes to spare. It was amazing. The sun was already setting and it was pretty dark.

As I was shouting “I made it” to random people I heard my friend Becky shout, “Is that Cat?” I said yes, I ran up and gave her a hug, accepted my bike to run bag from a volunteer and headed into change. It was great to be able to change shorts, shirt, and socks. A wonderful volunteer helped me change and I was off. I was so happy and the word is that I was beaming from ear to ear.

I made it! 7:50.

Run

Heading out on the run I felt great. I was so excited to run by the team Z tent. The experience did not disappoint. Jackie and Annie gave me some glow necklaces which I wore on my head for the duration of the run.

My adrenaline was pumping and I started out running sub 10-minute miles, 1 mile: 1 minute. Mile 6 took a turn into a park that was almost totally dark except for the light of the moon. We would run a few mile loop before turning around to head back to transition. It was a two-loop course.

I was grooving along but not being able to see the ground was kind of freaky. That is when I met my new best friend Christy. Being an experienced ironman competitor, she was wearing a visor with a clip on light. Very smart. We started running together and it turned out we had a lot in common.

She and I had just about the same swim and bike times. We figured out that we were next to each other in transition and she had passed me on the bike in the last couple of miles. We had pretty much the same plan for the run and run about the same pace for marathons.

We wound up running the last 20 miles together and it was such a blessing. It made the quiet and dark parts of the course go so much faster.

One of the benefits of the two-loop out and back course was the opportunity to see my teammates. Although it was hard to see because of the lack of light, there was no mistaking the Team Z spirit. We have these crazy plastic horns that you can hear from far away.[ The Knight tells me that the deputy sheriff at the remote bike cheering station cautioned the horn blowers not to blow them after dark because they sounded just like the mating call of the indigenous brown bear. Ha! He also said that after blowing those for a little while your lips look like you’ve had botox.]

Team Z even set up a remote cheering station on the run. Melody, Iwan, Mary and Kona Chris manned it. It was terrific. Every time we ran buy Iwan would jump in and run with me/us for a little while and it just made me feel so supported. We could chat for a few seconds without screaming. That was great.

As the miles went on, our run portions and hence our pace slowed gradually. Still, we talked a lot about how proud we were of ourselves because we were actually moving pretty well and passing tons of people. We were even getting compliments from other racers and volunteers.

We started falling apart around mile 18. I’ve been very fortunate up till now that I’ve never experienced stomach issues. Well, I hope to never experience them again. I may be able to push through muscle pain, fatigue and blisters, but tummy trouble is a whole other ballgame.

From that point forward, gels made me gag and I was scared to put anything in my stomach. But I was getting really hungry. I did have a little chicken broth and a little Gatorade but finally took Christy’s advice to just have small sips of water.

Around mile 22 we were running and I looked down at my Garmin and pointed out that while we felt like we were zooming along, we were actually only going at a 13:30 pace. But hey, we were moving and we were almost home.

We decided that since it was my first IM, I would cross the finish line first. But then, as we got close, there was Coach Ed. He took my picture and then he practically jumped me. He ran up and almost tackled me. He gave me the biggest hug ever and lifted me off the ground and jumped around. It was awesome. He told me to practice my finish line dance as I passed the team tent.

I took off sprinting and after 15 hours and 52 minutes of racing I crossed the finish line. It was incredible! I vaguely heard the announcer call my name and tell me that I was an Ironman.

Dr. Keith caught me and also gave me a great hug. I got my medal, finisher’s hat and shirt, and a space blanket. Keith walked me around a bit and I told him I was actually okay but I was starving. My teammates and the Knight caught up with me after the finish line. It was a great moment.

Believe it or not, there is more to tell. But I’ve been writing all day and so I will have to wait to tell you about post race and recovery. I am doing great and am so incredibly proud of myself. I am so happy.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned. I am going to post the pictures separately because there are so many and because I'm lazy...a lazy ironman.

Twas the night before Ironman

2009-11-06T20:05:00.000-05:00

Remember how I said I was ready? Well, right now I'm not so sure....

I'd like to tell you that I feel confident and ready to go. Instead I'll be honest and tell you that I am struggling.

I went to see Dr. K earlier today and had to leave because I was unable to speak without crying. It was right after my pre-race brick. Things didn't go great.

The swim was challenging. Only 15 minutes, but I felt like I was just working so hard. There is a current, and although this water is less salty than Bermuda, it is yucky. Yes, yucky. Salty. I don't like it all.

I did swim at a reasonable pace. I think. But I just didn't feel good in the water. I felt tired. I tried to slow myself and be calm, but it was difficult to swim straight with the current. On the positive side, the water is beautiful and the temp was okay once I got warmed up.

The bike was a bit better. I felt good. That was, until I turned around into the headwind. And then a bee flew into my helmet and instantly stung my head. Damn. I'm not kidding. Fortunately the pain subsided and I'm okay.

The run was fine. My legs didn't feel fresh like I was hoping they would. Oh well. Like I keep saying, I know how to work through running pain and fatigue.

My big fears about the cutoffs are the cause of my panic. I know from the data I have (previous races and such) that I can do the swim. I swam 2.05 miles in 1:25 in the pool. I CAN do it, but I just have to stay calm and swim straight. Easier said than done.

As for the bike, based on my times at my two half IMs, I should be able to do this. My issue is about ummm, ....peeing. Ever since the weather got cooler, I find myself needing to go MUCH more often. I can't afford the time tomorrow. I am panicked that the swim will take longer than I want it to and I will have no time to spare on the bike.I won't go into the details, but my teammate Jen and I have developed a plan for that. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do...

I know that once I get to the run course I will be fine. So that's what I'll do.

Please, oh please, let me make it to the run course.

***
Meanwhile, I am postively overwhelmed by the calls, emails, fb posts, blog comments and texts. I am so touched! My office mates even got me a wonderful card and a gift certificate to Citronelle. How awesome is that! And I got the nicest cards from Holly and LeeAnn from my team.

As for the nice messages, nothing personal but right now I just don't have the energy to respond. Even writing this post is more than I thought I could do.

I am also extremely sad that not a single member of my family is here, or has even called, sent me a note or text message to wish me luck. I know they love me, and this is all crazy to them, but jeez... It is just the biggest day of my life.

It just makes me appreciate my wonderful friends (and blog readers who I don't even know) even more. Thank you all!!!

As you can probably tell, I am totally am freaked out. I go from calm and cheery to stomach pains and tears. I've never been this nervous before in my life.

More than anything I just want to get this over. I really, really, really hope for success tomorrow. I will do the best I possibly can. I must trust the training. I honestly believe I have done just about everything I could possibly have done to get ready for this day. From this point forward it is all heart.

Hopefully, next time you hear from me I will be telling you all about how I accomplished my goal of becoming an Ironman...I mean, Ironwomancat.

It has been so great sharing this journey with you. Think wonderful thoughts for me tomorrow. If you want to track me, you can do so from this website. My bib number is 2398.

Good night!

Forecast

2009-11-02T11:39:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned before how I feel about weather forecasts.

They suck.

Totally unreliable.

But the one I just read has caused me some joy and I am certain it is correct.

According to Weather.com, Saturday's Panama City Beach forecast:

High: 72

Low: 56

Sunny!

It is exactly what I ordered! I couldn't have designed it better if I tried.

Yay!

Getting Close

2009-11-02T11:16:00.001-05:00

It is just 5 days away now and I am actually pretty calm. Thankfully I had a very nice, restful weekend which gave me a glimpse into life after Ironman training. It was lovely!

There was a 2.5 hour rainy ride on Saturday and a 1-hour run on Sunday (which I did on the treadmill and didn’t even have to leave my building). Somehow this left me lots of time to do normal people stuff like *gasp* go to the movies. It was wonderful.

Just two workdays left until I fly to Panama City. I think I must be blocking out thoughts of race day because I’m really excited.

Despite suggestions from others not to, I started thinking about how far 140 miles really is. Thanks to Google maps, I’ve determined that the distance I’ll cover on Saturday will be the equivalent of going from DC to Philadelphia. Now, that sounds far!

But it isn’t freaking me out. Just making me proud that I have trained to conquer the distance. The Knight keeps saying “You are ready” as though he is trying to convince me. But I don’t need convincing. I AM ready!

For those who’d like to track me throughout the day, you can do so at Ironman.com (my bib # is 2398). Supposedly on race day there will be a link to watch the action live.

I am pretty much packed and there’s not much left to do. I’ve been reading various articles and one that stands out is 7 Need-to-Know Ironman Florida Tips from Active Triathlete.

One of the interesting tidbits is a reminder that sunset will be at 5:30 pm. That means that right around the beginning of my marathon, it will get dark. Wow. I just can't imagine running almost an entire marathon without daylight. I kind of knew this already, but it is just so crazy to me. Joe mentioned something about glow sticks. I’ve always loved those. Hopefully they’ll have them.

So, that’s it. Looking forward to a 30-minute run later today. I'm hydrating and even set a little reminder on my Outlook calendar that pops up every 15 minutes to remind me.

Just counting down the hours now…

Almost single digits!

2009-10-28T11:55:00.001-04:00

It is with mixed emotions that I announce:

10 days to Ironman!!!

People have been asking me how I’m feeling. Overall, I’m doing great.

I admit to being mildly Ironman obsessed these days. Seriously, every aspect of my life is revolving around the upcoming race. All of my thoughts and energy are somehow related to the big day.

I am excited! I can’t wait to get to Panama City. I rented a sweet condo overlooking the beach, only half a mile from the race site. It is going to be so cool to get down there and do all of the race prep and be with my teammates and our supporters.

I am happy! While I have felt very supported over the past 6 months, as the date approaches I am feeling wonderfully overwhelmed by all of the people that I know are cheering for me. Long time friends, new friends, teammates, even people I don’t know who read this blog… It has been truly AMAZING.

I am energized! I didn’t believe it when you said it, but all of you who told me that the exhaustion would give way to energy and excitement during the taper period were right. I am raring to go..

I am freaked! I can’t really imagine that I will race for as long as I will, but I know I can do it. I think this contributes to my instinct to pack everything I own “just in case.”

I am nervous. I’ve been listening to a recorded version of Coach Ed’s IMFL prep talk (thanks, Ryan!). I’ve been listening to it a little at a time, but I honestly find that it is causing me stress pain in my stomach. It is crazy.

I am READY! I am going to give it everything. I am confident in myself.

As a side note, I had the privilege of spending some time with (triathlon guru) Coach Ken Mierke last week. He told me that he knows I will be fine. Maybe it is because he is a two-time world Ironman champion, or that he has coached 15 world champions to victory, or that he has personally conducted my own VO2 max tests, but whatever it is, it calmed me. I believe him. I will be fine.

There are so many people I want to thank…and that will come later. Right now, I want to say a special thanks to the three people are making the trip Panama City to support me on race day:

Oli – I don’t know what I would do without you. You are the sherpa-extraordinaire.

Joe – You’ve been a wonderful mentor, going so far as to effectively diagnose my swimming problem via my blog. You got me into this and you have seen me through the journey.

Dr. Keith – My muscles and my mind thank you. Your help has gone way beyond fixing my tired body and I appreciate your ongoing physical and mental therapy.

Two weeks out!

2009-10-24T05:27:00.001-04:00

Exactly two weeks from right now I will be eating my pre-Ironman breakfast and getting ready for an incredibly long and satisfying day.

Are you as excited as I am????

I really am excited. And about 100 other emotions. I am really looking forward to the trip to Panama City. I am looking forward to spending time with my teammates. I can't wait to have that medal in my hand and to be able to call myself, offically, Ironwomancat.

Right now I am leaning against an M-dot tattoo. I might do like my teammate and buy the M-dot temporary tattoos.

I have thought of a few other creative ways to memorialize my accomplishment. I'm going to wait to announce those, though.

Suffice it to say that when, not if, I accomplish this, I won't be too shy about sharing my joy.

Check out one of my favorite blog posts from my teammate Es. I imagine I might be feeling quite a bit like she did.

Bermuda Pictures

2009-10-24T05:13:00.002-04:00

Okay my wonderful blog readers, that time has arrived. Bermuda pictures are here! Thanks to Amanda for taking most of these.

View from our room at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess

Don't I look stylin' in my helmet?

Our scooters. These were SO fun.

Aeriel view of Bermuda.

The circlular body of water on the left is the Harrington Sound where we swam.

Best race shwag.

Notice the bottle of rum in the middle,

the fluorescent yellow t-shirt and the hot pink cinch bag.

The finish area. 24 hours later I was exiting the water via these stairs.

Getting ready to race.

The race start. Looked fine to me. Now I know better.

Another view of the water for the first 2k.

The turnaround point for the last 1.5k.

Someone clearly had her face out of the water way too much.

Despite liberal use of spf 30, I look like I am wearing a red mask.

Beautiful sunset. You can see itty bitty me in the bottom left corner.

Take that, Kayak boy!

2009-10-18T16:44:00.000-04:00

Hello from sunny Bermuda. It is so incredible here. Beautiful water, wonderful people, perfect weather (so far!).

As you probably know, the pretext for this trip is the annual Round the Sound Swim. It is a swim competition consisting of several distances: 10k, 7.25k, 4k, 2k, .8k. My friend Amanda, who is a swimmer but is tired of me calling her that, has wanted to participate in this event for years but things kept happening. Last winter we attended a travel expo together and she casually mentioned it. Without hestitaition I offered to accompany her. At the time I thought I would just make a vacation out of it and do the shortest swim option.

As luck would have it, much happened between then and now. Most importatntly, I completely lost my mind and signed up for IMFL. So when the time came to sign up for the event, imagine my joy in discovering that the 4k (2.4 miles) swim option happens to be the exact distance I will “get to” swim in just 3 short weeks.

Fast forward to two days ago. Amanda and I made our way to Bermuda by way of Miami. If you’ve looked at a map (not that I had, really) you’ll notice that Bermuda is basically off the coast of North Carolina. So, we took the long way. The really long way thanks to American Airlines, who made what should have been a 2-hour trip if we had a direct flight, into a 8-hour adventure fraught with radio issues and plane replacements. But alas, we made it here around midnight Friday and are totally in love with the islands and our lovely room in the Fairmont Princess Hamilton.

Yesterday we rode our fun little scooters over the mandatory pre-race meeting. It was a pretty well run little shindig. After a good briefing we got to take a boat ride. At the time I was growing a little impatient as we waited over an hour for our turn on the boat. (Fortunately, the amazing event organizers had a whole spread of snack foods and beverages for us to enjoy while we waited.) I hinted to Amanda that we might want to skip it. However, I am so glad we didn't because it was really helpful to see the course ahead of time.

My thoughts were: 1) holy crap this is far; 2) oh wow the first 1.2 miles is choppy; 3) oh my, this is a long boat ride and I have to swim this tomorrow. Did I mention that it looked really, really far? Well, it was. Oy.

Twenty hours and a lot of positive self-talking and calming myself later, it was time for me to get in the water. Everyone jumped in and as I let everyone go ahead of me I actually said out loud “I’m going to be the last one out of the water , I might as well be the last one in.”

Once I got in, sweet Amanda came to check on me and make sure I was okay. I was pretty calm. She made me laugh when she told me how she had completely torn the back of her swimsuit getting in the water. It was even funnier when I recalled that this is not the first time she’s done that. Ha!

And off they went. And I followed. I knew ahead of time that the water would be choppy for the first half. At first it was okay. My biggest concern was that I would get queasy, but that never happened. The real problem was that often when I would turn my head to breathe or look up to sight I would get pounded with salt water. Ick. Plus it was really making it difficult to swim straight and make much forward progress.

It didn’t take long before I had salt in my mouth, nose and throat. It was freakin’ awful. As I told kayak boy, I tried to pretend I was sucking on a pretzel. He added, “a soggy pretzel.” Well, yeah.

Apart from that funny comment by him, kayak boy (his real name is Daniel) was seriously lacking in both a sense of humor and any sense of encouragement. Great.

I didn’t see much of him during the first half. A couple of times he came by to check on me (I was last by a long shot. Not surprising since this is a purely swim event where swimmers, yes, real swimmers, go to compete. I was so totally out of my league.)

At one point I asked if I could hang on to the kayak for a bit. While I was there we had the following conversation.

Me: How much further to the dock? [Note: there was a dock at the halfway point where we had to check in and could get Gatorade/water.]

KB: About 300 yards. Is that your stopping point?

Me: No. Just halfway. But I heard that the water gets calmer from that point forward.

KB: You should consider stopping. You’re shaking.

Me: Nah. I can do this. I’ve been training really hard.

KB: [Disbelievingly] Really?...... Like, what kind of distances?

Me: [Blank, shut the @*&^ up stare.]……………….. I am going to keep going.

A little while later:

Me: Hey. Can I just hang on for a bit?

KB: Okay. [He paddles over. Then a real boat sees me and shouts that I can get on.]

Me: I don’t want to get on. I just need to rest a second [my goggles were really bugging me so I kept stopping to give my face a break].

KB: [Shouting to the boat] She doesn’t want to get on, she just wants to rest.

[Repeat the above conversation 3 times in a row, until I finally just swim off.]

A little while later, I request another break with KB and he suggested that he could take me to the boat. I am on the verge of tears at this point and my shaking is getting worse. I have no idea what that was about. So I agreed and told him to take me to the boat.

He got about two paddles strokes when I said, NO, wait, stop. I have to do this. I know I can do this. I have trained for this. He again asked me how I was training and again it pissed me off. It was like he didn’t believe me.

So I swam on and made it to the dock. The deal was you were supposed to tread water, get a wrist band to show that you had made the stop, check in, and drink what you wanted. I asked if there was a ladder and they directed me to the stairs. I made it up, shaking, and was in tears. I was working so hard. The 1.2 miles, which had taken me 52-55 minutes in my previous tri’s had taken me 1 hour and 24 minutes.

The volunteers were great. I guess I looked dehydrated, because they brought me Gatorade and water. Actually, 4 cups of Gatorade and 2 cups of water. Pretty funny.

My mouth was so salty though that the Gatorade had no taste. That salty mouth feeling was so disgusting. Yuck. I drank one cup each, finished crying, talked a bit to the volunteers about the course that remained, and decided to go on.

As I told the volunteers, I knew I would be really pissed at myself if I gave up. So I wouldn’t. I am Ironcat, dammit. I can do ANYTHING.

The total break was about 3 minutes and I know kayak boy, who was lingering around the dock looking after me, was pretty surprised to see me get back in the water. Take that, kayak boy.

Fortunately what I had been told was true, the second half was much calmer than the first. Roughly an hour and five minutes later I reached the finish. Final time was roughly 2:34.

I just barely pulled myself out of the water. I saw Amanda and started crying. She and our new friend Jan, the nurse, consoled me. In my tears however, I was able to appreciate what I had acoomplished. I did not give up. I swam 2.4 miles in choppy, really darn salty water.

Soooo…in 3 weeks I need to do it again. Needless to say, I am dreading it. DREADING it!

I was completely fried when I got out of the water. Doesn’t bode well for jumping on my bike and completing an Ironman.

The good news is that with any luck, Florida will not be choppy like the water was today. And I’ll have a wetsuit, which I didn’t today. Maybe the water in the Gulf will be less salty, too, which would be much nicer.

Plus, I have 3 weeks to get my endurance worked out. Amanda and Jan said I have a beautiful stroke. That might be, but as I pointed out, it doesn’t work.

So, a really, really tough day for Cat. But even though I could have given up. I could have quit, I didn’t. And that is why I am Ironcat.

I am truly hoping for the best at Florida. I will give it everything I’ve got and do what I need to. If I don’t make it, it is not the end of the world. But I doubt I will try again. I can’t stand any more Ironman training.

I guess I need to think of it like I did the bar exam. One of my law school professors had told me over lunch that when he was studying for the exam he told himself that he could rest then, or rest later, when he could be studying for the bar exam for the second time. His advice stayed with me that summer and I often reminded myself of that when I felt like I wanted to being doing something other than studying. Fortunately, I passed the Virginia bar exam the first time around.

So, I will give IMFL my all, and hope it is enough. Hope that I am lucky enough to have good conditions and no mechanical issues. But unlike the bar exam, I doubt there will be a second chance. I think I’d rather study for another bar exam that do this again.

Here’s to a restful and anxiety free 20 days and a fabulous race day on November 7.

Bassman Pictures

2009-10-15T11:11:00.001-04:00

I am still no blogspot expert, as clearly evidenced by the fact that I can't seem to rearrange the pictures I just uploaded. So here they are in random order.

Thanks to my teammates for posting tons of great shots on facebook, many of which I stole and included here. The rest are saved to my computer and stream endlessly on my screen saver. It is so fun seeing everyone's smiling faces.

Let the Taper Begin!

2009-10-13T12:40:00.000-04:00

The time has finally come. I have completed my final grueling training weekend of my Ironman training. Whew. As of today there are 25 days until the big race. Wowser!

The Big Weekend

Not worth going into much detail about the weekend. The 20-mile run went well. I stayed in zone 2 the whole way and averaged 11 min/miles with my one-minute walk breaks every mile.

It was a nice day on the W&OD trail. Temps in the 60s with occassional drizzle. I came 'this close' to bringing a kitten home with me. But the cute little baby didn’t want to run the 2 miles back to the car with me.

Afterwards I did everything I could think of to mitigate the effects of the run to prepare for the next day’s ride. I stretched. I sticked. I ice-bathed. I got lightly massaged. I ate well.

I think my efforts paid off, but I was still sore the next day. Not as bad as it could have been, but my calves were screaming!

Sunday morning’s 5 am wakeup came quickly. The ride was out in Easton, Maryland - is about 90 minutes from home. The plan was to do 120 miles (though Ironman is only 112). We were supposed to do 27 miles out and back (54 miles roundtrip) twice (total of 108) and I guess find another 12 miles somewhere.

As often happens, I wound up riding alone. Not surprisingly, I was the slowest of the IM FL bunch again. No big deal. I wasn’t too far behind until the last 27-mile stretch when my calf pain became very intense in my right leg. For a while I thought my popliteus injury (the area behind my knee) had returned. After a while I realized that it was just the pain in my calf shooting up my leg. Ouch.

When I returned to the starting point at 109 miles (I added some distance when I circled waiting for a drawbridge to go down) I called it a day. During that last part I realized that if it were race day I could have cranked it out and gotten it done. But during this training ride I decided that it was better to stop than to push forward and make it worse.

Again I reminded myself that when race day comes, I will be on rested legs and I will kick butt. I didn’t let the shortcoming of the day bother me (too much).

Special thanks to my own personal sherpa who rode at my slow pace with me for a half hour of his 2-hour ride and then drove around for almost 6 hours looking after me. Oh yeah, and he drove me to and from the ride. Pretty awesome to have that kind of support. Thank you!

Fortunately, the day after was a holiday. What a blessing! It was so nice to sleep late and take a midday nap. I was definitely feeling the effects of the training weekend and about ten times I said how glad I was that I wasn’t at work.

Moving Forward

As I mentioned in my long post last week, this taper doesn’t look much of like a taper to me. I know it will be good, though. At least I don’t have any run/ride weekends longer than 12/50. I remember when that would be huge. Now it isn’t too big a deal. And no, I won’t blow off the workouts.

It looks like we’ll be swimming 90 minutes twice a week for the next couple of weeks. I wasn’t expecting that since the Lake Placid folks swam 90 minutes once/week for 6 weeks. So this morning I swam the full time and it was actually pretty good.

Looking ahead
Friday I head to Bermuda (yay!!!!) where I will complete the Round the Sound swim on Sunday. It is as good an opportunity as any for me get in the ocean and practice. Lucky for me, one of the distances offered is the same 2.4 miles I will swim at Ironman. Wish me luck!

Now I need to start thinking about what to pack and how to prepare myself for the day. I really can’t believe how quickly time is flying by. I’m excited about the race and I’m am really looking forward to completing this journey.

Bassman Race Report: The Detailed Version

2009-10-08T14:17:00.000-04:00

For those who might be interested, here is a more detailed race report. If you'd like the short version, see the post below :)
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This race was to be my final “training race” for my upcoming Ironman. That means that I was supposed treat the race as I will Ironman and take it easy (stay in zone 2 the entire time).

This was my second half distance (my first was the Mussleman Half in upstate NY in July). That race was tougher because it was so hilly. Also, it wasn’t a team race so I didn’t have the incredible support of my fabulous team z-mates. I didn’t have a tent where I was served breakfast and lunch and could hang out and relax before and after the race.

Pre-race
All went pretty smoothly once we *finally* made it into the park. The traffic backup was insane, and once we made it into the park it seemed there was just no good reason for the delay. Just the the park employees making mass confusion. Grrrr.

I finally reached the transition area and began setting up. It was immediately apparent that this was a Team Z race. I think at least 1/3 to 1/2 of the half distance entrants were sporting the team green. Yeah!!! It was really fun catching up with everyone.

After milling about the team tent for a while and choosing not to succumb to the Reese’s peanut butter cups that were calling my name, I began trying to get on the wetsuit. I don’t think I’ll ever become a pro at suiting up in latex. Fortunately, I brought with me the “best sherpa ever.” He did an amazing job of getting that suit all cinched up just right. I’m a pretty lucky gal.

I made my way to the lake and opted to forego a swim warmup. The lake water was cold – in the 60s – and I had zero desire to swim any more than needed. I waded in to my knees and that was enough for me.

We were then summoned back up to the shore for a pre-race “briefing.” Right. This little speech was insane. I know the race director was trying to be thorough, but just thinking about it makes me chuckle. I think it was about the time that he was talking about the pothole at mile 18 that I left to go get a gu and a drink. I’m not kidding.

When I came back, he will still rambling, and then I left to go the bathroom. Yup, that means I had to get that wetsuit all cinched up again. Oops.

Eventually the RD stopped talking and we headed back to the lake. It was so much nicer getting in the water will my friends than being totally alone. We even took some pics, which I will have to post later.

Swim
Before the race I checked out the lake and evaluated the course. I thought it actually looked pretty doable. It looked long, but not unreasonable. Then I learned that it was a two-loop course. Great.

I started out right where I like to be – in the back. This is so much better than getting into the washing machine that is a triathlon swim start. I experienced no kicking and no attempted drownings.

About half way through the first loop I started getting warm as the water that had entered my wetsuit got heated up.

The good news is that my swimming actually felt pretty good. I was comfortable in the water. My stroke was decent. My sighting was much improved over past experiences. While most of the time I didn’t feel tired, I just wanted to get out of the water. I think I was just overwhelmed at the thought of doubling this distance in a month.

So I guess you can say I was bored and just sick of swimming. That should come as no surprise. I’m happy to say that I got it done and just like that I was rounding the final buoy.

I made it out of the water and glanced at my watch. I misread it and thought I had a PR. Although I didn’t, I think this was my best swim ever. It turns out this course was a bit long so that makes me feel a little better.

Right now I feel unprepared to double that swim in a month, but I have 5 long (90-minute) swims on the training schedule between now and then. Plus I have a practice 2.4 mile open water swim in Bermuda in 2 weeks…yeah!).

T1
Transition was a bit of a mess for me. I could not get my wetsuit off over my Garmin to save my life. A nearby volunteer even tried unsuccessfully to help me pull the wetsuit over my hand. All that did was bruise up my hand. Ouch. Once I finally removed the watch entirely, the rest of t1 went smoothly. Note to self, next time, just twist the unit off the quick release strap and hold it while removing the arm of the wetsuit. Duh.

Bike
It was a good ride. My plan was simple: stay in zone 2 and take in nutrition as planned for Ironman.

I don’t think I posted much about it here, but for the past few weeks I have been totally preoccupied with the thought that I will not make the bike cutoff in Florida. It is just that averages from my training rides have been so slow that it looked like it would be close.

I calculated that, assuming a 1:50 swim (realistic) and a 10-minute transition (we’re talking full clothing change here), I need to average 13.5 miles per hour in order to finish the ride by the 5:15 cutoff time (7 am start).

I am thrilled to say that I no longer worried (much) about this. I stayed in steady zone 2 and average 14.8 mph on the course. Yes!!! I hit the 56 mile mark in 3:45. [For some unkown reason, the course was 58 miles. Why????] So even if there’s wind, a potty break, and a slight slowdown at the end, I should be well within the bounds of completing the bike course in 8:15. Woo-hoo!

That is a huge confidence booster going into FL.

A few times when I was passed I would have a little conversation with myself. I would ask, “Cat, are you staying in zone 2?” I’d answer, “Yes.” “Well then, you’re doing exactly what you need to do.” It might sound a little crazy, but it helped and instantly I would settle back into my groove.

I even managed to pass a few people during the second loop. Actually, quite a few. And I wasn’t really trying. I was just maintaining my steady pace. So, all in all, a successful ride for me.

T2
Transition 2 was totally uneventful. Except for the dummy who put his bike in my spot. Fortunately he was standing there and I got him to move it. What the heck? Grrr.

Run
To be totally honest about it, this course stunk. [I can't get the crazy map posted so you can check out the link and look at the second map to see what I'm talking about.] It was very confusing and disorienting. Lots of trail running, including running on narrow trails where people were also running towards you. There were loops and out and backs. It was really tough mentally.

Fortunately for me running is my best sport. I embrace that and I push hard – staying in zone 2, of course. I stuck with the plan of 1 mile run, 1 minute walk almost the entire time except for a bit at the end where I stopped to talk to a friend who was having a hard time.

Overall, the run was tough but good. It was nice being able to run by the crazy team Z tent a couple of times. You could hear the ruckus from far away, including the horns and cowbells, but seeing it and hearing your name being called raises the experience to another level. Wow!

Just as I was finishing up, the Knight (and best sherpa) appeared. He had finished the run leg of a relay, but had ventured out cheer me on and tell me I had 800 yards to go. I told him I planned to sprint it and dared him to try to keep up. Hahaha!

Final time: 7:18.

Swim: 55:34 (1.2 miles +); Bike 3:52 (58 miles); Run 2:24 (13.2 miles)

Thoughts

I am really pleased with how the day went. Everything (that I could control) was spot on. It would have been nice to have more aid stations and a potty or two on the bike course but I made the most of everything.

Despite it all going well, as these races do, it took everything out of me. I find myself completely exhausted and sore, wondering why the heck I do this to myself. As usual, I don't sleep through the night for a few days afterwards. My stomach is upset. My muscles are tight and the training just keeps going.

While I know in my heart and my mind that I am going to be ready for Florida, right now I honestly wonder why I want to. Don't get me wrong, I'm okay. I will do this. I know it is just the fatigue talking. But in order to get through the next month - especially this week - I am telling myself that after Ironman not only do I not have to swim anymore, but I am not doing any more races. Well, except for that pesky Goofy Challenge I already signed up for.

I know that my spirit will be back soon…but right now I am so doggone tired. I am about to do a spin workout that calls for 30 minutes in zone 4, followed by 3 minutes in zone 5. Did I mention that I swam for an hour and a half this morning? This weekend has a 20 mile run on Saturday and a 120 mile ride on Sunday.

Lately I've been joking that maybe our coach doesn't really know what he's doing with these training plans. No, really, I know that he does...but this all just seems so insane. 20 and 120 the weekend after a half?

I *am* excited for Ironman, I’m just humbled by how challenging this training has been. It is one thing to train for a marathon and gradually increase your distance. When I was marathon training, I would do a long run one week, and the next one was a week or two later. Lots of recovery time to bask in the glow of accomplishing your last long run.

Ironman training is a whole other story. I guess we are training ourselves for such a monumental task that it requires pushing yourself hard over long periods of time.

The good news is that next week we begin to recover and taper. Whatever that means. I've looked at the training schedule and it doesn't seem all that easy to me. Yeah, there are no strength workouts over the next 4 weeks. Yay. But there's still speed work at the track (8 x 1200 Z4 - seriously???) and 90 minute swims.

I'm just being honest here. I'm really okay. I'm just totally worn out. I hear this is all normal and I am embracing that.

Yes, I'm ready for Ironman. And I'm also ready to be done.

Maybe I'll write a post about what I plan to do when I am finished...

[Can someone please direct me to this post if I *EVER* start talking about doing this again? Thanks in advance. :)]

Bassman Race Report - Short(er) Version

2009-10-06T17:06:00.003-04:00

This race was to be my final “training race” for my upcoming Ironman. It was my second half distance (my first was the Mussleman Half in upstate NY in July). Everything went according to plan and I am feeling great heading into my final month of training.

Pre-race
All went pretty smoothly once we *finally* made it into the park. I got myself together, including getting suited up in the wetsuit. The “best sherpa ever” helped me really get it sinched up well.

I decided not to do a swim warmup. The lake water was cold – in the 60s – and I had zero desire to swim any more than needed. I waded in to my knees and that was enough for me to confirm that was plenty.

Swim
Before the race I checked out the lake and evaluated the course. I thought it actually looked pretty doable. It is long, but not ridiculous. Then I learned that it was a two-loop course. Great.

I started out right where I like to be – in the back. This is so much better than getting into the washing machine that is a triathlon swim start. I experienced no kicking and no attempted drownings.

About half way through the first loop I started getting warm. My swimming was actually pretty good. I felt comfortable in the water. My stroke was decent. My sighting was much improved over past experiences. While I didn’t feel tired, I just wanted to get out of the water. I think I was just overwhelmed at the thought of doubling this distance in a month.

I made it out of the water and glanced at my watch. I misread it and thought I had a PR. Although I didn’t, I think this was my best swim ever. I feel unprepared to double that effort, but I have 5 weeks to get there (plus a practice 2.4 mile swim in Bermuda in 2 weeks…yeah!).

T1
Transition was a bit of a mess for me. I could not get my wetsuit off over my Garmin to save my life. Once I finally removed the watch entirely, the rest of t1 went smoothly.

Bike
It was a good ride. I am thrilled that I accomplished my goal here – by a wide margin - which is a huge confidence booster going into FL. The course was not exciting (read: boring) but I kept my pace, stayed in zone 2, and got it done.

A few times when I was passed I would have a little conversation with myself. I would ask, “Cat, are you staying in zone 2?” I’d answer, “Yes.” “Well then, you’re doing exactly what you need to do.” It might sound a little crazy, but it helped and instantly I would settle back into my groove.

T2
Totally uneventful. Except for the dummy who put his bike in my spot. Fortunately he was standing there and I got him to move. Grrr.

Run
I’m trying to be positive but this course stunk. Very confusing. Lots of trail running. Tons of loops and out and backs. It was really tough mentally.

Fortunately for me running is my best sport. I embrace that and I push hard – staying in zone 2, of course. I stuck with the plan of 1 mile run, 1 minute walk almost the entire time except for a bit at the end where I stopped to talk to a friend who was having a hard time.

Overall, the run was tough but good.

Final time: 7:18.

I am really pleased with how the day went. Everything (that I could control) was spot on. It would have been nice to have more aid stations and a potty or two on the bike course but I made the most of everything.

Despite it all going well, as these races do, it took everything out of me. I find myself completely exhausted and sore, wondering why the heck I do this to myself. While I know I can get through Florida, in my current state I can’t imagine doing so.

I know that my spirit will be back soon…probably tomorrow after a good night’s rest. I have one month and one day until Florida. I am focused on the goal and I will get through the next 32 days.

I *am* excited for Ironman, I’m just humbled by how challenging this training has been. This weekend will be my 20 mile run on Saturday and a 120 mile ride on Sunday. The good news is that after that we begin to recover and taper. Deep breath. I can’t wait.

Stay tuned for an enhanced, detailed race report when I get the energy to post it.

My relationship with swimming

2009-09-30T10:52:00.000-04:00

I know it is taboo. But I have a confession to make. I hate swimming. I know, it is shocking.

It was almost two years ago when I began swimming regulary. After only a few months I explained to a friend how I felt about swimming: I hate going to the pool. I hate getting in the water. I hate swimming laps. I hate getting out of the water. I hate getting showered and ready at the pool.

So that about sums it up.

As time has gone on, the strong feelings have lessened, but I still really dislike swimming. I’ve gotten better, and that helps, but I just can’t seem to learn to love, or even like it.

Sigh.

Monday night I went to the P!nk concert. It was so great! I knew ahead of time there was no way I’d make it to the 5:30 am swim practice. Therefore I planned to swim after work instead.

All day I dreaded it. When it came time to head to the pool, my feelings about swimming intensified. I just couldn’t bring myself to go. So I didn’t.

I don’t really feel that bad about it. Well, a little bad. But not bad enough to make up the workout.

My current feeling is that after Ironman I am just may give up on swimming.

Next year I can run and bike, and I can do relays at the races with my teammates. That wouldn’t be so bad.

I mean, I’m all about self improvement. I know I won’t get better without time in the pool. But isn’t two years of suffering enough?

Clarendon Day 10k

2009-09-30T09:43:00.002-04:00

Here is my shortest race report ever.

This race was not on the schedule but I couldn’t resist signing up. It started in my neighborhood. Five miles easy was on my training schedule… At the time I thought “well, that isn’t that different from 6.2 miles…raced.”

Yeah, I know, it is different.

It was a good event. Although it was advertised as "downhill and flat" there were some little uphills.

I set a PR: 57:16. I’m happy with that.

I expected to set a PR. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have only done 2 10ks before and neither of those were ideal conditions. One was on a hot (86 degree) summer evening and the other was cool, rainy, and uphill. So I was destined to succeed.

Although it would have been better to go into this build week (and next weekend’s half Ironman – a training day) with rested legs, if I had it to do all over again I would do the race again. That’s just the kind of crazy girl I am.

EMG

2009-09-26T03:08:00.001-04:00

It is 2 am. I cant sleep so I'm doped up n a sleeping pill. Why not try to type this anyhow. I should be asleep.

I don't know what EMG stands for though I do have some current suggestions. It just sucked!

The test was two parts. The first part was electricity (they put sensors on different parts of my hands and arms and shot me with varying levels of shocks to determine where the problem is located).

Nahhh [chest out]... I am an Ironwman [to be], I can hande this.

The tech listened to me and told me what he was going to do, and how long each part would take. My kind of guy. He answered all of my question and was compassionate and conversational. He shot me with electricity and when the senseation got intense I focused on breathing and the second hand on the clock. He said that many people usually stop him 10 minutes into the test, but not me, I an an ironwoman!!

The hour passed and I was happy get the first part done. How bad could the needles part be? The doctor who did the needle part of the test told me it is like a acupuncture needle. Right. I've never done acupuncture, but it looks really gentle on tv. This was not gentle.

The doc stuck the needle into my hands and arms one at a time and asked me to engage the muscle by pushing on his hand. The needles felt like they were going deep down into my muscle. With each prick I would hear the sound waves on the computer. I was breathing. I was surviving. But it hurt like hell.

In an unexpected change of events, the doctor announced that he needed to work on my neck. He gave me a couple of different options but at this point I was pretty worn out. I just told him to do whichever was the least painful.

So I laid face down with my chest on a stack of pillows and my head hanging off the front. Then the real fun began These needles were deeper and way more painful.

When they got to the area of my neck where I have chronic issues (diagnosed as a pinched nerve years ago) things seemed different. My professional diagnosis (I haven't been given one yet) is that the source of all of these finger/hand issues is my neck. When each needle was inserted you could hear the sound waves but when he put worked on the left part of my shoulder/neck, the sound waves were different. Quieter. And the doc stayed there for much longer than the other areas - maybe 20 seconds versus 5 in other spots.

It just sucked. The pain was so intense and ongoing (1 hour for the electric portion, 30 minutes with the needles). I will never make it as a torture victim. That hour and a half took everything out of me. The doc rushed out and when he closed the door I just starting sobbing.

Believe it or not, I still hurt. When I left there I felt like I got stung by a swarm of bees. Painful welts all over my neck, shoulders and arms. The one on my spine actually has a huge swollen lump that is sensitive to the touch.

I never want to do that again. I think that was the most painful experience I've ever had. I hope I don't have to do it again. Ever.

The Weekend Report

2009-09-23T20:12:00.000-04:00

Last week I sent an email to my team along the lines of where should I ride my 110/who can ride with me. One of the many nice replies I received was from my teammate Teaka, who I had gotten to know while watching Patriots last weekend. Teaka is an amazing inspiration to me because of how she handled a series of unfortunate events at her first IM last month.

She wrote that I should remember that it is "supposed to be hard" and she told me how she felt pummeled after her toughest training weekend. She also told me about the self doubt she had. I can relate to that.

I'm the kind of person who wants the dentist to tell me before he hurts me. It also helps if the dentist tells me how long he will hurt me. Then I can suck it up and get through it. Maybe that is the key to my success.

So, Teaka's advice was pretty helpful. It wasn't that I wasn't expecting it to be tough, but knowing that it could be, and that it would all be okay, was comforting in a way.

The Plan
Run: Saturday I planned to run solo on the Arlington loop (Custis trail, to the Mt. Vernon trail, to the Four Mile Run trail, to the W&OD trail, and back to Custis). [We are SO lucky to have such great trails around here!!!]

Bike: After MUCH deliberation I finally decided to begin my ride at Hains Point. HP is a local park (actually, the called East and West Potomac). It has a huge loop where many cyclists, runners, and skaters like to train because of the open roads. It isn't closed to traffic, but because there is a 2 lane, one way loop, it is pretty safe. There is a 3-mile loop, which you can make a 6-mile loop by going further out and turning around in a traffic circle right near the Lincoln Memorial.

The biggest advantage to this idea was that it gave me the flexibility of having my car as a home base for refueling. It also allowed me to plan to have people join me for parts of the ride.

The disadvantage, obviously, was the painful monotony. However, I'm being honest when I say that it really wasn't that bad.

The Execution
Run: Saturday's run went exactly as planned. It was a perfect day for running. Temps in the high 60's/low 70's. I really enjoyed it. I was tired at the end, but this is where my experience was an asset. Knowing I could work through the soreness (and pain) helped me to push through and maintain my pace. Overall, a very satisying workout.

Zone 2 the whole time, 1 mile run/1 minute walk. Finished in roughly 3:15. Not bad for a training day.

Bike: The Knight and I arrived at HP early and headed to the Mt Vernon trail for a little jaunt. We rode to the end and back or a total of 34 miles. On the way back I remarked that when we we got back I only had 75 miles left. Ha! I remember when a trip down the MVT was an entire workout!

When we arrived back at HP in time to meet up with our friend Joe and teammates Tania and Kim. Then we all rode around in circles... for hours...and hours on end.

I'm not going to lie. It was a hard day. I started on extremely tired legs. I was slow. The ride did not boost my confidence that I will make the bike cutoff in Florida.

But the good news is that I did it. It really wasn't that bad. I got it done! It is an incredibly wonderful feeling.

While I didn't feel great, I didn't feel that terrible either. Previous issues like sit bone discomfort or neck pain were barely noticeable.

So all in all, a great training weekend. I'm one step closer to achieving my goal.

And yes, as Teaka suggested, I am feeling pummeled. I'm exhausted. I am having the sleep issues that I have after tough training days and that doesn't help matters. On top of that, work has been really stressful. Everything is manageable, but it is all challenging.

I am still so happy that I have endeavored to become an Ironman. Although I somewhat expected the physical challenge, and the time commitment, I didn't quite expect to feel so worn down. I know it has a purpose, and knowing that others have gone through this helps a lot.

After giving it a lot of thought I am feeling more optimistic about IMFL. I realize that when the big day comes, I will be well rested, and won't be riding on tired legs. I will have tons of support out on the race course, including aid stations and helpful volunteers.

I can do this!

First Freak Out

2009-09-23T14:08:00.000-04:00

OMG! I just got an email stating that the IMFL athlete guide is now available. Holy $@#$!

I can't bring myself to read it. This is very exciting because it makes this all seem really real. You know?

Wow!

PS - I have a post about this weekend's training half drafted. Crazy week so far, and it doesn't promise to get any easier.

PPS - Think good thoughts for me. My EMG (needles and electricity) is in the morning. Hoping for some answers.

Keep on keeping on

2009-09-16T14:16:00.000-04:00

I know, it has been a while since my last post. All is going fine. Thanks for the reminders to post an update.

Nutshell version:

--My new bike stuff didn’t work out exactly as I hoped but I am still working on maximizing the potential.

--My hands are still numb. I am a bit bummed out that the neurologist didn’t really have much to offer other than painful tests and far out follow up appointments.

--I purposely skipped a couple of workouts and the coach prescribes even more rest since my body seems to be saying it is needs rest (and food).

-- 110 bike miles and 18 run miles are on this weekend’s agenda. I am looking for a route and for slow training partners.

Here’s the rundown:

Bike stuff

The new bike geek stuff wasn’t quite what I hoped. As for the gel flask, the chocolate gu needed to be greatly diluted in order to flow through the flask. It was pretty gross! Think about trying to dilute frosting. Yuck. It tasted like gritty chocolate syrup and it made me choke. I plan to try other gels and see how they do. Any suggestions?

I haven’t quite worked out the aeronet thing yet. Regular bottles did not work, and my aero bottle just arrived. I’ll work on it and report back.

The salt stick apparently only holds three s-caps. Hmmm. I guess I could have read that in the description. I haven’t done a long enough ride yet to need them. But it installed pretty easily (or so I am told – hahaha).

Training

The weekend

Last weekend I skipped my workouts (yes, intentionally) and went down to Williamsburg to cheer for the knight and my teammates for the Patriots Half iron-distance race. It was a great weekend and I’m extremely proud of the knight for becoming “half a man” as he likes to laughingly remind me several times a day in a cartoon narrator kind of voice.

Although my schedule called for an 18-mile run and 110 mile ride, I decided to postpone them (read: blow them off) until next weekend (see more below) and instead do a short run and ride this past weekend. But oops, I forgot my running shoes. So I took a rest day Saturday while I watched the race and did a measely 16-mile ride on Sunday. Then I rested again Monday [because I had not yet hit the Adidas outlet where I got two new pairs for about half of what I usually pay. Score!]

I only feel moderately bad about the missed workouts. I have reminded myself that it won’t stand in the way of crossing that finish line in Florida.

This week

This morning’s track workout called for a 10-minute warm up (which means I run from home to the track), followed by 2 2-mile repeats in zone 4. Tough stuff. (Last week I misread the schedule and did the 2 2-mile Z4 repeats followed by one mile in z4. Oops. That workout actually comes later in the month.)

Anyhow, today’s workout did not go as well as it could have. Last week’s times for the 2-mile repeats was approximately 16:30 and 17:30. This morning was 18:00 and 19:45. The second one was *painful*. Lungs hurt. Legs felt like I was wearing ankle weights. I was nearly in zone 5 running at a 10 min/mile pace. What happened?! I made myself push through and told myself I didn’t have to run fast but I did have to keep running and stay in zone 4.

Afterwards I had a little chat with Coach Ed and he said (I am paraphrasing here), my logic was wrong and I should have stopped. We talked a little bit and determined: a) I should rest a little; b) I probably shouldn’t be trying to watch calories at this point since I need energy to train at the level I am.

I know…it makes perfect sense. I just thought…well, now would be a good time to focus on losing a little fat (just a little). Sigh. I know what you’re going to say, so no comments…

Numb hands saga

Last week I went to see the neurologist and I was really depressed after my appointment.

The good news: He is a cyclist and he didn’t tell me to stop biking.

The bad news: The cause is likely compressed median nerve(s) (as Dr. Keith said). At this rate, it will either heal within a year of the injury (by May) or never. I may need surgery.

He ordered a test which sounds pretty unpleasant involving needles and electricity and such (and EMG). While they could schedule the test next week, the soonest follow up appointment to examine the results is October 7. Ugh. I don’t yet know how much all of this will cost and I am partly inclined to just ignore the whole thing and just live with it. The doc recommended wrist braces to keep my wrists straight to allow maximum healing. I'm just not in a hurry to add that style to my wardrobe, nor am I excited about sleeping in them.
See why I was so grumpy afterwards?

Regardless of all of the above, things are good. I am feeling ready for what lies ahead and I am excited about becoming IronwomanCat. I am grateful that unlike my tri-club friend Tuan, I am healthy and not injured and I can continue training to meet my goal.

This weekend I will make up the 18 mile run and 110 mile ride. Believe it or not, I am looking forward to it. The run more so than the ride, of course.

I need to find somewhere flat to do my 110. Right now it looks like a choice between the W&OD trail (convenient but a pain with all of the obstacles) or driving 90 minutes out (and back) to (and from) Easton. There are a couple of organized century rides going on this weekend, but I don’t think any of them are the requisite flatness. Any ideas or suggestions?

If you would like to join me for all or part of my (slow) ride on Sunday, let me know. It would be nice to have some company.

I'm Begging!

2009-09-10T17:45:00.002-04:00

Hi. Yup, it’s me. And yes, I am making another plea for you to help me meet my goal of raising $1000 for Doorways for Women and Families. That’s not a lot, is it?

There are some of you who’ve told me that you’d like to donate but you just haven’t yet. Cool. Others haven’t said so, but I just know that you really want to donate. The rest of you just need to be convinced. Hmmmm….how to do that?

I’ve already told you how great Doorways is. What I didn’t tell you is that Doorways was given the "2009 Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management" by the Washington Post. Impressive, eh?

Want more info? Check out this evaluation of Doorways by Charity Navigator which gives Doorways four stars! Or see Doorways’ own website which contains lots of information including how you an become a volunteer.

And if that’s not enough, well, consider how great it makes me feel when I get an email telling me that one of my wonderful friends or family has made a donation to Doorways through my site. Really, it makes me so happy and I truly appreciate your generosity.

Finally, if we can accomplish this goal sooner rather than later, you won’t have to ready many more blog posts about fundraising. :)

We’re almost half way there. Please help if you can. *Any* amount is appreciated. Thank you so much!

I'm a bike geek!

2009-09-04T13:11:00.000-04:00

This morning it hit me. I've become a bike geek!

My order from trisports arrived yesterday. I was so excited. Thanks to their email offering me 15% off everything, I got a whole bunch of little items that I never know I needed.

What did I get?

Don't laugh.

The first item I ordered is an aeronet. I'm sure this thing will change my life.

It holds a water bottle (purchased separately from Nashbar b/c trisports and the local shops didn't have it) AND stuff on your aero bars.

Why I need it: currently I overload my jersey pockets with food, bags of infinit, phone, etc. And I already have a big bento box. I use it to hold gels, bars, pills, etc. I don't know why, but it is always full.

So with the aeronet, if it works, I can hold an extra bottle of water, a banana (which I've been reluctant to put in my jersey so I haven't taken one), and other goodies. Now do you understand?

The next item in my goodie bag is a gel flask (with an adorable little holder thing that attaches to the bike).

Teammate Ryan was explaining to me how he uses his to mix up gels with water and protein powder for a convenient snack on the bike. While I don't think I'll go that far, I think it may solve my problem of taking gels on the bike.

Since I am not quite ready to ride with no hands, this might allow me to take the gels one-handed without leaving so much gu in the packet. Now I am a mess.

I do like my chocolate gu and hope that diluting it a little doesn't decrease the yumminess.

The next exciting item is a salt stick. I know, I hadn't heard of it before browsing around tri-sports, either.

The picture is of the big version. I got the mini version which should fit my road bike. You take out one of your handlebar plugs and stick the stick in there. If it works properly, I should be able to give it a little twist and out will pop one of my s-caps.

I'm looking forward to not trying to deal with opening a baggie or pill box while riding.

I am hoping that this isn't too difficult to install or use. We'll see.

This is all about trying to get maximum nutrition as quickly and easily as possible. I'm psyched. I post about how the new purchases work out. I am going to try them this weekend on my nice, easy-breezy 20-miler.

Oh how I love recovery weeks!

PS - I did get a couple of pairs of socks, too. And yes, I realize that all of these items aren't that bike-geeky. They're more tri-geeky.

Back to Myself

2009-09-02T20:39:00.000-04:00

Someone, ahem [my sister Laura], has told me that she doesn't read my blog because my posts are too long. Fair enough. I know they're long. Heck, you should see all of the stuff I leave out.

So fine. I think I'll start inserting a nutshell version at the beginning of each post. Okay?

Nutshell Version:

I had a tough weekend but now it is recovery week. (That just means I work out less and not as intensely.)

I intentionally skipped last night's bike ride because I just didn't feel like it. My body said the couch would be better so I listened.

Today I had a great run.

I'm glad I rested.

How's that, Lau? :)

The longer version:

I was drained. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. And despite last night being the final Conte's BBQ of the year, I just had no energy to devote. So instead I made myself comfortable on the sofa and began reading "Becoming an Ironman," which my friend Joe so kindly loaned me a few weeks ago and after reading my last blog post gently urged me to start reading.

I felt mildly guilty about skipping the workout, but since I swam in the morning and it was a recovery week, I let it go.

Today I took a midday break to go for a run in this absolutely gorgeous weather (mid-70's and sunny). I had an awesome run. I just felt so good. I wanted to run faster than zone 2 would allow, and I yielded to the HR monitor. Afterwards I felt invigorated and athletic.

I am really glad I listened to my body and rested. In the long run, I think I am way better off.

The book is great. It contains short essays by athletes from all walks of life who've attempted Ironman. I think that was the first time I've sat down and read (when not on vacation) in over a year. Yikes!

I really appreciate everyone's support this week via my blog, email, and facebook. It is great to know that others have gone through this.

Get your 2010 Colondar now!

2009-09-01T09:42:00.000-04:00

The moment you've all been waiting for has arrived. The 2010 Colondar featuring my buddy Shawn has finally become available.

Nope, that's not a typo. "What is a Colondar?," you ask. Well, it is a calendar featuring photos of inspiring colon cancer survivors. I am very proud of my friend Shawn's valiant fight against cancer. Check out his blog and his post about the colondar.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Training Camp

2009-08-31T21:06:00.000-04:00

It is a recovery week. Finally. I don’t really feel like posting today. I just kinda want to forget the weekend. But I’m writing ….

So like it or not, I will briefly discuss the “IMFL training camp” and my first century ride.

Ride

Saturday was my first ever century ride (100 miles). I did it! The weather was great (despite concerns that Tropical Storm Danny would bring rain and strong winds). We were pretty lucky on that front.

I won’t go into all of the gory details about the day. There was riding. And riding. And riding. Unfortunately almost my entire ride was solo. There were errors on the cue sheet. There were mean motorists screaming at me for no apparent reason as I safely and carefully rode in the shoulder. There wasn’t quite enough nutrition.

Mid way through the ride I seriously thought about stopping. I just wanted to quit. Quit the century ride. Quit training for Ironman. I cried for a little while. Eventually I just snapped out of it. I’d have to say that was my lowest point of my journey so far. Let’s hope that is as bad as it gets.

By the end, I was fried and I was not a cheerful girl. I’m chalking it up to having my cranky pants on that day and vowing not to do that again. I really tried to be positive but I just wasn’t having a great day.

I feel bad for being a sourpuss after the ride. I just felt really crappy (tired, sore, frustrated) and I didn’t feel like being sociable.

The ride took me a long time. While I have honestly come to grips with my slowness on the bike, the fact that it took me as long as it did has me questioning my ability to make the cutoff times as IMFL. [There are time limits for each part of the Ironman. Everyone needs to finish the swim and bike within 10:30 hours of the start of the race to be allowed to begin the run.]

I didn’t realize until today that there were stops on Saturday's ride that I didn’t account for. Like the 10 minutes I spent on the phone with our ride director trying to get directions. So maybe there’s hope. Sigh.

It will be fine. I’ve decided that even if they take my chip away because I don’t get back from the bike in time, I WILL finish the race. I know if I can get out on the run course I will run those 262 miles. If I have to do it without a timing chip, I will. Even if I do so unofficially, I will get it done. So there! I’m back to my old spunky self. :)

As a recovery treat from my pissy ride, we headed over the beach to feel the sand on our toes. We spent just a little bit of time on the beach and got our feet in the ocean. I am so glad for that. Then, while I was drying off laying on my beach towel, a bee decided to visit me in my brightly-colored swimsuit. After successfully swatting him away twice, I thought I was in the clear.

Nope.

Damn that bee sting hurt! Got me right on the bottom of my hand, right above my wrist. Grrrrr. At least he didn’t get me before the ride. That would have sucked. And the good news is that the bee sting was the worst physical symptom to report that day. Did I mention that I RODE 100 MILES?!?

Run

The next morning was an 8-mile run and ocean swim. The run was good. I realized once I started that I was sorer than I had realized. But I had a nice run that reminded me that I do have some athletic ability.

Swim

The waves breaking were pretty hard because of the storm. Somehow after swimming for just a little while, I managed to get completely pummeled by the ocean.

Hours later salt water was still coming out of my nose. I’m not kidding. Fortunately I was able to stay calm. That’s something.

I didn’t get anymore swimming in after that. Guess I’ll just have to wait until Bermuda to practice my ocean swimming.

Hindsight

In the midst of my sleeplessness last night, I realized what a truly challenging couple of weeks it has been. Since August 15^th I have done one Olympic-distance race on a hot and hilly course; I have completed 18 workouts, including speed work, a 90 mile ride, a 100 mile ride, a 16 mile run, and 8 mile run and I had a little ocean adventure. No wonder I’m exhausted.

This recovery week will be savored. There are still two big training weeks and an half Ironman remaining and I will be ready for them. Now it is time to back off the training a bit and catch up on the sleep I didn’t get this weekend.

Normal

2009-08-26T13:59:00.000-04:00

It may come as a surprise to anyone who knows me that anything about me is deemed normal. :) But alas, word from the doctor's office is that all of my bloodwork came back normal. Hmmmm.

So there.

I guess I will get a good deep conditioner, keep taking my vitties, and see what happens.

The neurologist appointment is in a few weeks. Although the numbness in my hands is certainly not normal, I am sure it is nothing to worry about.

Thanks for all the concern!

Meanwhile, I'm getting in all of my workouts. This weekend I'm heading to IMFL training camp, which means lots of ocean swimming, lots of biking (my first century: 100 miles) and a bit of running. Fun times!

90 miles. Check.

2009-08-24T09:09:00.000-04:00

Woah! What a weekend. All triathlon...all the time.

Yesterday morning, my buddy and teammate Ryan kindly picked me up for our 90 mile ride out of Easton, Maryland. I warned him that it would take me much longer to do the ride, and hence he'd have to wait around a while for me to finish, but he said he didn't mind. So nice! Thanks, Ryan.

The plan for the day was to get in the miles, stay in [my new] zone 2, and see what it is like to ride on truly flat terrain.

It was GREAT!

I guess I had really gotten used to those hills because riding the flats was such a pleasure.

I've heard many people discuss the disadvantage to the flat rides being the need to constantly pedal. Though it did get a little tiresome at the end it was more than worth it. I had a great ride!

Working in zone 2, my true zone 2, was awesome. I didn't feel like I was busting my @ss the whole time. I still felt like I was working, but I was doing so at a sustainable pace. I think I averaged about 15 mph overall (slightly slower if you count the stops for traffic lights/water breaks, etc.).

Sweetie Pie Janet stayed with me the first 70 miles. That was a treat. Sometimes we chatted, but mostly we just rode along. It was really great having the company.

The ride was beautiful. We even rode through St. Michaels, MD. It was so quaint. I would love to go spend a weekend there and explore all of the little shops and restaurants.

At 5'2", I look like a giant next to Janet. :)`

The last 20 miles were on my own. It was perfectly fine. I was so elated to be on my way to completing my first 90-miler.

By the end I was pretty tired but I felt good. My nutrition and hydration for the ride were just as planned. Over the 6.5 hour period, I think I had roughly 7 bottles of fluid – 3 of which were infinit. I also had a clif bar, a gu, 2 oreos, a package of peanut butter cheese crackers, and one of my breakfast bar thingies. Also, during the hours I didn’t drink infinit, I took S-caps (sodium caplets).

Now that I write that, maybe I could have eaten more. It is tough, though. I didn’t feel like eating and forced myself to consume what I did. If I could figure out how to carry ice cream....that would be a different story :)

So, I finished the 90 miles (in less than 6.5 hours) and am so pleased with myself. I totally could have gone for a run afterwards, though I am pretty glad I didn’t have to. I feel more and more ready for Florida every day.

When I finally arrived back at the parking lot, where Ryan’s car (with him napping inside with the AC running) was the only one there. The rest of the IMFL BOPers had decided to participate in the Reston century ride, since it was much less of a drive. I chose not to spend the $50 and just go to Easton to ride the flats instead of those hills. A good decision in hindsight.

I finally arrived home around 6 pm (after departing at 6:30 am) and that was about all there was of the day. I took in as many calories as I could handle over the next two hours before getting to bed super early. Stouffers Mac and Cheese, anyone? Hey, it works for me.

This week is another build week, leading up to this weekend’s IMFL training camp on the Eastern Shore. Next weekend we’ll ride 100 miles, swim in the ocean, and run just 8 little miles. And when we’re not training that we going to have some team Z fun! I might even get to spend time relaxing on the beach for a few minutes. Wouldn't that be something? It is almost Labor Day and I have not visited my building's pool once.

Good sleep and good nutrition are on this week’s agenda. Other priority items are packing for the weekend and trying to maintain order and organization in my condo. Doesn’t sound that tough, but these days it is a challenge to do anything other than, as my friend Lindsay put it, “sleep, workout, eat, repeat.”

16 miles. Check.

2009-08-22T15:56:00.000-04:00

It is raining outside.

I have a long to do list for today.

So what am I doing?

Sitting here blogging, of course. :)

Just wanted to report on this morning’s workout. A 16-miler was on the schedule.

I distinctly remember the feeling I had in 2006 before I ran 16 miles for the first time. It was a combination of fear and anxiety, mixed with a little bit of excitement.

After 3 seasons of marathon training, I am shocked to say that leading up to today’s run I was pretty relaxed and looking forward to it. There was just a touch of uneasiness – which mostly had to do with the uncertainly of the weather and the question of whether I’d be running with others or by myself.

At 8 am I met my teammates at the Vienna Caboose (a rail car on the W&OD trail). I know I've mentioned before how much I love this team. And when I arrived this morning I was excited to see everyone. It is like showing up at to a party with all of your friends.

The only problem is, to continue the party analogy, is that it is like everyone wants to dance to different music.

In the case of the group runs, people are on all different training plans based on their goal races, and then within each of the 16 plans (and then some because some folks are training for marathons or other races for which they have custom plans) there are just as many pace groups.

Sometimes it is a little tricky to find the right running partners. Hence sometimes I wind up running alone. No biggie. I’ve learned to bring my iPod shuffle just in case. [Hey non-music-listening runners, don’t judge. We all put one foot in front of the other…:) Hahaha.]

For whatever reason the gathering of pace groups works better when Coach Ed is there. But he is away today so there was chaos. Sorry run leaders, but it is true.

Fortunately it all worked out. For the first four miles I ran with Janet and Kat. For the next mile I ran with Kat (since Janet turned around planning to do out-and-backs). I ran the next 2 miles solo, and then I caught up with Marie. Then we caught up with Chris. Chris, Marie and I ran the last 8 miles together. It was so fun! Time just goes by so much more quickly when you’re talking.

Granted, I may have been talking more than either of them. Ha! But we had a great run.

Sixteen miles DONE! In the bag. Zone 2 (almost the whole way!). Nice and steady. The current Galloway method plan I'm following is run 1 mile, walk 1 minute. Really it is run .94 miles and walk one minute since I walk at every mile mark according to the Garmin.

(Speaking of the Garmin, it needs a name. Suggestions are welcome. Post in the comments. I will come up with a worthwhile prize for the winner. Maybe I’ll cook something.)

Afterwards it just got better. I declined offers to join some teammates at the Vienna Inn for breakfast. My stomach and my schedule just weren’t on board with that idea.

Instead I visited the farmers market that was right at the starting/ending point of our run. How awesome is that? Just yesterday I was lamenting that there would be no summer produce fix for me this weekend because of the training schedule. So it was a huge bonus when I arrived and found that there was a market RIGHT THERE And they even had plenty of good looking stuff left when I got there around 11 am. Score!

And you know what else? I think their prices are better than Arlington. I haven’t tasted the fruit yet, but so far I’m happy.

I said it got better, didn’t I? Well, it wasn’t just the farmers market. Right there in Vienna is my favorite local pizza spot (Church Street Pizza). I grabbed a slice for the road. It has protein, carbs and fat, right? And hey, I just burned 1500+ calories. I needed it.

So far, a very good day. I feel really good except for some newly developed plantar faciatis which I intend to nip in the bud.

Now can someone please deliver some groceries? Or dinner? I’m tired. And hungry.

Doc Visit

2009-08-22T15:02:00.000-04:00

Thanks everyone for all of the concern about my hair. I really do appreciate it. And the advice is very welcome.

Just to be clear, objectively, my hair doesn’t look that bad. It doesn’t look as healthy as it used to, but it is really okay.

In fact, a coworker recently complimented me on my new cut. Of course, I explained that the short layers (read: pieces) at the top of my head were not created by my hairdresser. But it doesn’t look that bad and I am really not upset about it.

But as I promised, I made an appointment with my doctor.

She didn’t seem to concerned. Like I did, she attributed the issue to all of the things I told my hairdresser: I wear a pony tail during my 15-20 hours/week of training; I am in a helmet for up to 8 hours a week (more after the recent data – see last post); and I swim in a chrloinated pool, in a tight swim cap, for 2-3 hours/week.

In any case, she ran the necessary tests and I will let you all know what she reports.

In addition to my hair, we also talked about the wee issue of my not having feeling in my fingers for over 3.5 months. Can you believe I almost forgot to mention this? I have gotten so used to it.

She was much more concerned about this issue. I am not a doctor, but I don’t think I agree with her possible prognosis of carpal tunnel syndrome. She referred me to a neurologist and (in 3 weeks) I’ll see what he has to say.

The doc mentioned the possibility of stopping cycling and also mentioned possible surgery. Ummm…no way. Ain’t gonna happen.

This is why athletes need to go to doctors who are athletes. What a preposterous suggestion.

I did tell her that back in June, after my wheels were stolen, I was off the bike for a week and it didn’t help. She laughed and said she’d make a note that impossibility was the only way to keep me off the bike. At least she has a sense of humor.

I will keep you posted on what I learn. Thanks so much for reading. It means a lot to me that for whatever reason you are keeping track of me.

It is flattering but it is more than that. I think many of my readers are friends who care about me. It really touches me that you are supporting me in so many ways, including keeping apprised of my journey.

It is also really neat when I meet a new Z-er like Marie this morning, who has read most of the posts on my blog. When I began to talk about my hair issue to her and (new Z-er) Nurse Chris during this morning’s run, I was saying how people who like my hairdresser who don’t know me are quick to question my nutrition. Marie immediately mentioned my addiction to this summer’s produce and how she agreed that my problem is not poor nutrition.* Nice! I love it.

*Note that I’m not saying there isn’t some deficiency in my diet. It is just that I get a little defensive when people (who don’t know me) imply that my nutrition might be poor. One of my biggest interests is health and nutrition. I spend a lot of time (money, and effort) preparing healthy meals for myself and making sure that I get sufficient fruits and veggies, whole grains, protein, and essential vitamins and minerals. I try to eat cleanly…meaning eating foods that are as minimally processed as possible (nutrition on the bike does not count!) Grrrr. Okay, rant over.

What I meant to say was: Thanks for reading! That’s all.

New Zones

2009-08-22T14:54:00.000-04:00

Some of you may be wondering what all this zone and heart rate training stuff that I’m always talking about means. Well, I can’t explain it. I honestly don’t totally understand the science of it. All I know is that by training in certain heart rate zones, you do some good stuff for yourself.

Okay, okay. I get it more than that. But I won’t get deeply into it. Here’s what you need to know:

HR Zone 2 is the fat burning zone. Not only is this great for those love handles, but since your body cannot burn glycogen (sugar) for very long, when you are doing endurance events ideally you want to be in Z2 burning fat as a source of fuel.

Who doesn’t want to burn fat???

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Furthermore, the word around town is that if you stick with training in zone 2 (which for many people feels painfully slow), you will increase your fitness and your speed in zone 2. Enough smart and trustworthy people have told me this and I am on board with the system.

How about the other zones?

When you’re in the higher zones, you are burning more glycogen than fat. If you run out of glycogen, you bonk. (This usually happens within 1-2 hours, I think). Most people have experienced this. So the key is to keep the HR LOW. And by training in zone 2 for long runs/rides, you train your body to efficiently burn fat.

Occasionally in training it is beneficial to work in the higher zones – 4 & 5 (5a/b/c are the highest zones). Here you push yourself to expand your system’s ability to respond to an increased need for …oh, I don’t know…oxygen and stuff. I’m not a doctor or a scientist. I’m a lawyer. If you want to know more about the physiology, ask someone else. Or Google it.

Anyhow, that’s the deal in a nutshell. Got it?

Recap: Train most of the time in zone 2. Occasionally do speed work and push yourself in the higher zones for short periods of time.

Okay, so….

How do you know your zones?

The commonly recommended "220 minus your age" method is an unreliable calculation.

Some people used the perceived exertion scale (i.e., if you can say 5 words between breaths you are in zone 2). That is also pretty unreliable

The only true measure, according to many, is to get a VO2 max test.

The VO2 max has something to do with the HR zones. I won’t pretend I totally understand it or know how it works. All I know is that you go for this test and afterwards you know what your HR zones are.

My VO2 Max

Triathlon guru Ken Mierke is the designated ‘tester’ for the team. He’s terrific. He really knows his stuff. He is a former (world?) champion triathlete, a proessional coach, and exercise physiologist. He has all kinds of degrees. This isn’t an advertisement, but having worked with Ken for my tests, and gone to a couple of his clinics, I recommend his services. I know a couple of people who’ve had their bike fits with him and they seem pretty happy.

Back in March I had my run test. I got my data and have been training with it ever since. It has been working well for me.

Unfortunately, your run numbers don’t usually translate to the bike.

Ken hates when people ask him how to estimate their run numbers for the bike (and vice versa). The general rule he reluctantly shares is that bike zones are generally 10 (bpm) beats per minute lower than the run zones. Well, I think I only know one person for whom this holds true.

After struggling on the bike for 5 months in my estimated zone 2, I finally sucked it up and scheduled an appointment for the bike test. I was pretty sure that my zone 2 was lower than where I’d been working.

My delay was due to two reasons. First, the test is hard. I’m not gonna lie. I actually enjoy speed work, but the run test pushed me to my limit. That’s the idea. To see determine your absolute maximum HR. (Mine is 201.)

By the end of the run test, I felt like I struggling to get enough air with each breath (and it wasn’t because of the funky mask I was wearing.) But like with so many things we athletes do, the memories of that discomfort faded with time and I was game to do it again last week.

The second reason I delayed is because of the expense. It ain’t cheap. With the team discount, the test is $100-125. Worth it, but a hefty chunk of change.

The result?

Well, the test wasn’t as difficult for me cardiovascularly (is that a word?) as it was on the run. That is because Ken stopped the test a little before the end because, as he put it, the trainer "overpowered" me. (You put your bike on his fancy trainer, and it gradually increases the wattage (resistance) as time goes on.) My breathing was difficult, but not as much so as when I did the run. This time my legs gave out on me before my lungs did. [This was far more pleasant for me and I recovered a lot more quickly.]

For the trouble and expense I learned that my zones on the bike are approximately 20 bpm lower than the run.

I don’t get it!

Ken mentioned that leg strength is a factor. Hello? Not to brag, but this girl does not have weak legs. Have you seen my thighs? [Under a bit of flab] I've got some solid muscle.

I was a gymnast. And then a triple jumper on the track team. I’ve got power, baby!

When I hit the gym, I do 3 sets of 12 squats with 115 lbs. Not on the smith machine. With an Olympic bar on my back. Grunt!

How many chicks do you know who do that?

So why am I so freakin limited on the bike?

Anyhow, the impact of this result is that I need to slow down my long rides.

I know. [Whine!]

It is going to take me eons to complete my long rides.

But, I believe in the system.

I will do what I need to do.

Sigh.

I better bring extra nutrition because Sunday’s long ride (90 miles) is going to be a looooong one.

Luray Race Weekend Report

2009-08-18T21:23:00.000-04:00

Another weekend, another Oly race under my belt...

Thursday
For me, team activities officially started Thursday night. Since it was a recovery week, that meant that there was a team happy hour. This time around two things were different: 1) new location @ The Continental in Rossyln ("a modern pool bar"); 2) happy hour was serving as an IMFL/beach to Battleship/IMAZ meet and greet.

Happy hour was a really good time. Although very few of my fellow future Iron-people turned up, about 30 or so teammates were present and accounted for. Around 10:30 - way late for this girl - I began to turn into a pumpkin and headed home. Fortunately I was taking off Friday to pack and head out to Luray.

Friday
The plan was to sleep in. Not just in…but late. Late like I haven’t in I don’t know how long. Well, that was the plan at least.

I think it would have worked better if I hadn’t stayed out so late the night before. Yes, I said late. For someone who is usually in bed between 8:00 and 9:00, staying out until 10:30 – and then getting in bed around 11:30 is practically the wee hours of the morning.

I woke up at 7:30 am. While it was nice wake up without an alarm, I really wanted to get a ridiculous amount of wonderfully restful sleep. It just didn’t happen.

Nevertheless, I woke up rested, vowing to take a nap before leaving for Luray in the afternoon. Yeah. That didn’t happen, either.

I spent way more time than I should have packing (I was packing for a race, 2 nights of being away from home and sleeping in a tent). There is a lot of stuff involved with all of that. Sigh. I never did get that nap.

I drove around 2 hours to downtown Luray to pick up my race packet, then straight to the park to set up camp.

All by myself I set up a tent and got everything ready to go. That night there was a team dinner at the park (pasta/sauce/chicken, salad, bread). I had a nice time with teammates socializing before the early bed time.

Saturday
It was so great waking up in the park, just steps away from the transition area. It really took a lot of the pressure off.

It was also nice having everything I needed (except Ms. Piggy) within arms reach of where I was sleeping.

I began getting dressed and realized I made a huge packing error. Instead of grabbing my black and grey tri shorts (which have a very thin, non-absorbent chamois) I accidentally brought my black and grey bike shorts, which have a nice comfy, cushy chamois which would feel like a big, wet diaper after a dip in the lake. Doh!

What to do…what to do…. I asked many people and no one brought an extra pair or tri shorts. Then my teammate, Talia, had a brilliant suggestion. She asked if I brought a swimsuit and suggested that I wear the swimsuit with the tri top for the swim, and then put the bike shorts on over my swimsuit before the bike. Brilliant!

I can’t say I was thrilled about the idea about running around (literally) with nothing more than a bathing suit on my bottom half, but I sucked it up and did it. And I lived.

Pre-race
Last week I noticed that I was more preoccupied with packing and the idea of putting up the tent than I was about the race itself. And I continued to be quite nonchalant about the race itself up until the time I got to the lake right before starting the swim. Then the butterflies began.

The biggest source of anxiety at this point was the swim course. Apparently last year the swim course for the Olympic distance was a 2-loop course that resulted in a lot of chaos. In an effort to solve this, the race directors created what they were calling a “pac-man” shaped course. No, I’m not kidding – that is what they called it. It doesn’t sound easy, does it?

Picture about 700 athletes standing around waiting to swim. The race director is on the megaphone trying to explain the race course. A volunteer is standing about 10 feet from him holding up a diagram that really doesn't help much.

[I can't figure out how to post the swim course map. If you're at all interested, click here and it is on the second page.]

Most people were just plain confused – me included. To make matters worse, you couldn’t see one of the buoys from the shore. Fortunately for me, I knew I’d have plenty of people to follow.

The good news is that the hysteria (only a slight exaggeration) gave me something to focus on before the race, and was a created a bonding opportunity for us racers. Do you like how I focus on the positive?

Swim (1500 m)

44:39 (503/532 overall; 170/183 female)

I’m not going to lie. I still don’t like swimming. But this swim was less bad than others have been. The whole course thing wound up working out just fine.

My swim started off a little rocky because I wasn’t sighting very often (read: not really at all) and when I looked up around the 5-minute mark I had somehow gotten way off course. The sun was in my eyes big time, and my goggles were really fogged up. I couldn’t see anything!

I spent some effort getting back on course, and wound up having a little chat with a fellow green-capper who was also not enjoying the swim. I started to get in a groove and felt kind of bad about leaving her behind, but the show must go on.

The bad thing about this swim was my worst sighting ever. For some reason I just couldn’t sight while swimming freestyle. I wound up swimming 5-8 strokes freestyle, and then doing a few breast strokes to allow me to look up and figure out where to go. Since I couldn’t see, I relied on the swimmers around (and on top of) me. Fortunately, this is something I can work on and I know I can improve. I didn’t used to be so bad at this.

The good thing about the swim was that it didn’t wear me out. Maybe it was all the breast stroke I did, but I didn’t have my usual “get me the heck out of this water because I'm exhausted” feeling. I was calm, and I felt that my form was pretty good (when I wasn’t trying to sight). I felt like my endurance was good (which bodes well for almost tripling this distance in less than 3 months).

The time on my watch was a little over 43 minutes (the official time above included getting out of the water and across the sand – I say that doesn’t really count). While I would have loved to break 40 minutes (as Jeanne would say, I would have loved a swim time that began with a “3”) I am happy with this.

This swim was not wetsuit legal, since the water was around 80 degrees. Thinking back to last summer, at my only other Olympic-distance (1500m) open water swim, this is a big improvement. That time was 50:50.

This is also pretty good in comparison to the 41-minute wetsuit swim I was so excited about at Columbia. Only 2 minutes more without a wetsuit!

Transition 1

3:56

The trip to the transition area was not an easy one. There was an actual flight of stairs leading there. Lots of people were jogging up, but I chose to save my energy – and keep my heart rate low - and just walk – 2 steps at a time.

It was awesome seeing lots of my teammates at the top of the stairs, cheering and creating a ruckus. Cowbells, horns, crazy hula skirts, hats! We are a festive team! I love being cheered for, especially by name. I feel like a rock star.

My time here was pretty slow and I hope that someone had the pleasure of watching this crrazy show. Remember that I had to put a pair of bike shorts on my wet body. I sat down to wriggle them on. Then I stood up to pull them up. Then I decided to sit down again to put on my socks. Oh wait, my feet are dirty….let me rinse them off…la-la-la.

Bike (25 miles)

1:56 (506/528 overall; 170/183 female)

For some reason the difficulty of this bike course came as a big surprise to me. Everyone talks about how difficult Columbia is, and I expected that. However, I didn’t really hear much buzz about this course so I wasn’t concerned.

Afterwards several people told me they thought this course was *as* difficult, if not more so, than Columbia. Great. Now you tell me. I guess it is good that I didn’t know so that I couldn’t worry about it ahead of time.

To add to the fun, at race time it was 86 degrees and humid. Joy!

Perhaps the “best” part was what I learned afterwards were the “false flats.” I kid you not, within the first few miles I thought to myself, “there is something wrong with me.” I am in zone 3, pushing hard, and only going around 9 mph. Then I thought, “there must be something wrong with my bike.” I decided to keep going and just do my best. It turns out that these were hills that looked flat but really had enough of an incline to really mess with your head.

This was not a fun ride. In hindsight, though, I see nothing I could have done differently. I knew I was going slowly. I just couldn’t do anything about it. I tried to go faster, but I just didn’t have it in me.

The last couple of miles were the least fun of all. I knew there was a big hill at the end. With about 3 miles to go, I climbed and I climbed and was elated to get to the top of that hill.

Then I was on the flat, coasting along elated to be almost done with this madness. That was when I saw it. The REAL big hill at the end. Holy steepness, Batman! So that is why I flew down the hill on the way out at 36 mph (SO fun, BTW). The way up was around 4 mph. I guess that averages out okay.

I grinded it out and then flew into the park and was greeted by mass confusion. There were runners going every which way, but no bikers ahead of me and no one directing me where to go.

I called out to some of my wonderful cheering teammates, and they yelled “go back to transition.” Well, thanks….. I’ve been working my butt off for close to 2 hours – how the heck do I remember where transition is. Ha! Anyhow, I found it and was a happy camper to be done with that. My bike time was actually slower than Columbia. Ugh!

Transition 2

1:18

If there is one thing about triathlon I am good at, it is transition 2. I do have a secret strategy, but I don’t feel like sharing it. I know that’s greedy, but if I tell you, well, then you’ll do it and I won’t have ONE thing that I rock every time.

Okay, I’ll tell you, but you have to ask me in person. Cool?

A funny moment was when I was running in and a nice kid was roaming around (a volunteer?) and when he saw me he politely stopped where he was to yield to me. Coincidentally, he happened to stop directly in front of my transition spot. Ooops. I nicely called out “thanks, but you’re exactly where I need to be.” He moved aside with a smile and all was well.

Run (10k; 6.2 miles)

1:04 (410/510 overall; 129/173 female)

Next to transition 2, this is my second best part of a tri. As I mentioned in my last report, I am glad this is the final part of a triathlon. I think part of it is experience (as Coach Ed pointed out, I’ve been running way longer than I’ve been swimming or biking) and part of it is my mental attitude. I know I can run. I know I can keep going through the pain (I think I wrote about this before) and I choose to LOVE the run and make the most of it

This run was almost as brutal as the ride. A two-loop course that was hot and hilly. Wonderful! The volunteers at the water stations were great.

My plan here was to stay in high zone 3/zone 4. And that I did. I just went for it. I ran the first mile in about 9 minutes and then walked a minute. From that point on, with the exception of some brief stops for water, I stuck with the one mile/one minute plan which I plan to use for Ironman.

I know I felt bad out there, but I don’t remember the pain. I just remember the fun of seeing teammates and joking around, the excitement of passing folks (sorry, it is true), and the true joy of sprinting to the finish line and being finished.

Final Time: 3:50:55 (486/537 overall; 162/183 female)

Not my best race, but not my worst. I’m kind of surprised that this is a full 14 minutes slower than Columbia, but it was 86 degrees and not wetsuit legal.

I really need to start researching races before I pick them. This was a team race so I just went for it. I had a choice between the Olympic and Sprint (roughly half the distance) and I remember thinking that I wanted to do the Oly so I could see how I would do on an easy course [as compared to Columbia]. Ummmm, right.

The good news is that both upcoming races - the Bassman Half (Oct. 4) and IM Florida (Nov. 7) - are pancake flat. In preparation, all of the long training rides/runs between now and then are flat. Although this means I won’t get to enjoy flying down hills, that also means I won’t have to contend with climbing up them either. I’ll let you know how it goes.

The Rest of the Weekend
It was so great being done with the hard part and able to relax for the rest of the weekend. I camped with the team again Saturday night, and stuck around Sunday to watch the Sprint race. It was a fun time all around. I love my team and love my teammates!

On the way home I stopped at two different farm stands (I had to get my fresh produce fix) and at Carousel in Warrenton for an awesome soft-serve ice cream cone. Then I stopped at Wegman’s in Gainesville for the weekly groceries. All in all, a fabulous weekend!

Scorcher

2009-08-10T15:24:00.000-04:00

I.

Got.

It.

Done!

Whew!

I was not dreading yesterday's 80-miler like you might have thought. Since 70 went so well, I just wasn't worried about 80. I arrived at Boyce, VA along with a large group of fellow Z-ers. Yet while I saw many of my fellow BOPers (Back-of-Packers), I didn't see any BOPers who are training for Florida, and hence doing the same distance as I. :(

Regardless, I got out there and got it done. I don't really have much to tell right now. Piggy's computer said it was 99-104 degrees out there. I think it was really around 95-98. Rolling hills. Nothing I couldn't handle. :)

The team SAGS were AWESOME! They were there when needed - like when I made a wrong turn and after quickly realizing it went to turn around and wound up trying to ride over a gravel driveway. In case you didn't know road bike tires and gravel don't mix. Hence I had a little bonding experience with the pavement.

Fortunately, I was just fine. Just a little bruised and dirty, but I was able to quickly get up and get going again. (After that my mantra for the ride was "gravel is not my friend.") Within a few moments Mike, sagger extraordinaire, appeared.

Mike was there many times throughout the ride, offering water, gatorade, and good cheer. What a guy! Later in the ride I got to see Chris and JR, who were sagging together. At one point I rode by Chris and he was standing by his car holding out bottles of water and a big box of cookies. I didn't partake, but it was an awesome sight and I knew if I needed either he'd be right around the next bend.

Then towards the very end Chris was my hero with an ice cold washcloth to wash the salt off my face. I put it on my neck to finish out the ride.

Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Coach Ed's appearance around mile 68 when he came by to make sure we knew about the error on next-to-last turn on the cue sheet. We asked if he had ice and he directed us to the store a couple of miles up the road. When we approached the store we decided to just push on and finish up without stopping. What a pleasant surprise to hear him calling for us. He had gone in and bought a big bag of ice and kindly filled our four bottles, which all contained liquid that seemed hotter than the 98 degree air.

Do you get how awesome these people are? What's more is that when I finally got back to the parking lot where the team had been grilling and hanging out after they finished their rides, everyone cheered for me as I finished up the longest ride of my life. Chris W., also known as Kona Chris because he is a world champion who will compete again at the National Championships at Kona (Chris recently broke his own course record at IMLP, and continues to hold the record for his age group) came over to check on and congratulate me. He kindly brought me an ice-cold bottle of water that was exactly what I needed. Then when I got to the tent my other teammates were awesome - bringing me a bag of ice to put on my neck, and just generally taking care of me.

What am I forgetting? Hmmmm. Oh yeah ;) My Knight. Even though his training plan only called for 50 miles, when he learned that I was going to be solo for my last 25 miles (as I had been since miles 40 or so) despite my protests, he jumped on his bike and finished out the ride with me. I know it was painfully slow for him, but he stuck it out. Did I mention is was around 98 degrees at this time. So sweet!

All in all, a good day. I got really sunburned on my legs, arms and face. I am usually pretty good about the sunblock, but I guess I sweated so much that I should have reapplied. Lesson learned.

***

To follow up on the hair appointment thing... As I predicted, my hairdresser Karen did freak out about my hair. She is urging me to go to the doctor. She said my hair is falling out, and also breaking at the slightest touch. Okay. Okay. I feel like this is all probably pretty normal for training for IM, but I will be good and get myself checked out.

***

Now it is recovery week. Taking it somewhat easy now. This weekend is the Luray Olympic Tri for me. Woo-hoo.

Cat's Angels

2009-08-08T12:37:00.000-04:00

Fun weekend so far, and it is only noon on Saturday.

Last night I had a great time hanging out with my neighbor-girls and their moms. We planned this mother-daughter event a while back and while my mom had to go home earlier this month, the other moms adopted me for the night. It was such a blast. Everyone's moms are so great. We just hung out and had drinks/apps at Erin's place, and then they all headed out to dinner in Clarendon. I came home since I am an early bird with training at the crack of dawn every day of my life (or so it seems).

After a good night's sleep I was off to meet my teammates for a run. Much of the team is actually out in Luray today, swimming in the lake, running the hills, and camping out for the weekend. I decided to stay local this time. Those of us that stuck around met up for a run at TR island. (Note to readers: don't try to park there on summer weekend mornings. What a mess! I wound up driving back to Rosslyn, parking on the street, and walking down to TR.)

For whatever reason, my workout schedule only calls for 6 miles this weekend. Fine with me. Oddly, it seemed like everyone there was running longer - which is odd since at this point I would think the IMFL crew would be going longest. As it turns out, either they are on the advanced track for Florida or they are training for a fall marathon.

I wound up running with Kat and Sarah (yes, there's another Kat/Cat on the team - fellow z-ers can ask Tracey to tell the funny story about when Kat and I first met). It was actually a nice run. I finally got my new 310xt up and running, so I was able to track speed, distance, time and HR all on one handy-dandy screen.

On our way back we noticed a cyclist who was stopped and seemed to be having trouble with his bike. He was a bit off the trail, and Kat called out to him to see if he was okay. He was too engrossed in his repair to hear us. I noticed that he was messing with his chain, and suggested we go over to help. We noticed that not only had he dropped his chain, but he had somehow managed to drop it to the outside instead of the inside - (dropping on the inside is far more common and much easier to fix).

We told him we were triathletes and he moved away from the bike, since clearly we knew exactly what we were doing (not!). In any case, Kat held up the rear wheel, I fiddled with the chain a little, played with the gears, then moved the pedals while pulling the chain around, and ta-da, we fixed it. I was quite impressed with our quick work if I do say so myself. The guy was pretty much speechless. He fist bumped us, said thanks, and we ran off on our merry way (me with very greasy fingers).

That felt good! Cat's/Kat's Angels making the trail a better place. :) Good deed done for the weekend.

We finished off the run and as I ran back to my car I noticed that the bunch of cars that were all parked illegally along the sidewalk were all ticketed. Boo! Sorry teammates. I wish there was something I could have done. I headed back to my car back in Rossyln where thankfully, there was no ticket for me. I had parked at a one-hour meter and crossed my fingers.

What to do next? Well, it was still plenty early to hit the Courthouse farmers market. I have been seriously obsessed (yes, seriously) with summer produce for the past few weeks. I didn't think I liked blackberries until I tried delicious freshly-picked berries recently. Now I cannot get enough. My fingers are perpetually purple.

Blueberries, raspberries, tomatoes, corn, peaches, plums, nectarines, melon, squash, chard, broccoli, lettuce. I. Can. Not. Get. Enough. I am going to go broke if I keep this up. But it is all so good, and so healthy, that I am not trying to stop.

The six pints of berries I picked up from the Westmoreland folks this morning.

Those blackberries are as big as my fist.

Okay, not really, But some of them are as big as my thumb.

I think it also has something to do with knowing that my enjoyment of these delicacies is limited. I am trying to focus on the positive and look forward to apple and pumpkin season....but really, I would likethe summer season to last just a little longer. Oh well. I pledge to make the most of it while I can.

Right now I am off to the salon for some hair care. The coif is looking pretty sorry these days. Between the chlorine, the helmet, the pony-tail holders, and perhaps the large quantities of sweat, my hair is looking the unhealthiest is ever has. My hairdresser is going to freak out, I am sure. Hopefully she'll have some suggestions.

Tomorrow morning is the 80-miler and I cant wait. I made up a recipe which Lindsay gave me. She calls it her bike breakfast. She said it is what the Garmin Chipotle team eats. It sounds great and I am looking forward to testing it tomorrow...yes, while I'm riding.

Here's the recipe:

Cook 3 cups of sushi rice in a rice cooker.

Scramble 6 eggs (I only use 3-4), add in a handful of chopped ham (or bacon, proscuitto, etc). Toss the eggs/meat into the rice, and our a small amount of soy and balsamic vinegar on top. Add salt to taste. Mix the stuff up, and then with a silicon spatula, mash it into bars (takes up about half of an 8x8 pan if you want them about an inch thick).

Cut into squares, put them in the fridge, and then wrap in aluminum foil when you take them on a ride. They keep in the fridge for about 4-5 days. You can also add parmesan cheese.

I used bacon...it is what I had in the house, and added scallions (from the farmers market, of course) to the eggs. The bacon was salty so I didn't use any soy sauce. I'll let you know how it is.

Think good, cooling thoughts for me tomorrow. It is going to be in the mid-90's and humid. Why did we have to waste the 70-degree day on Thursday being in the office all day??? I need flex-time.

Another weekend...Done!

2009-08-03T09:54:00.000-04:00

I suppose I should write a post about this weekend’s training. This weekend was pretty much all about triathlon – my training and my sherpa duties at the Culpeper sprint.

Pedals
Friday I went to Revolution to get a replacement pedal. Long story short, I wound up buying Look Keo pedals instead of replacement Speedplays.

I was never really happy with the speedplays (aka lollipops). When I had SPD pedals, I was able to clip out at any position in the pedal stroke. For whatever reason, I could only clip out at the bottom with the lollipops. [So, in order for me to stop with speedplays, I needed to get my left foot to 6 o’clock, clip out, then get my right foot to 6 o’clock so I could step down. An unnecessary extra step that I didn’t have to do with the SPDs.] I also never really liked the ease of clipping in/out.

So since the shop wasn’t able to help me with replacement parts, nor were they able to sell me one pedal, I figured I might as well buy a different pedal. Why not add a little excitement to the longest ride of my life by completely changing one aspect of my bike?

To wrap up this pedal story, I will just say I am thrilled that I made the switch. I feel way more comfortable with the Keo’s. Clipping in, once I get the pedal flipped over and my foot in the right position (which is taking some practice), is nice and easy. Once I get out of the habit of clipping out at the bottom, clipping out will be a lot smoother, too.

While there was a fair amount of struggling with the pedals, I know I will get used to them pretty quickly. It was a good call to switch pedals and while I could have done without spending the extra $100+ on more bike stuff, I think this was money well spent.

The 70-mile Ride
I received no responses to the requests I sent to the team for a ride partner for the 70-mile ride. So I was on my own. It was kind of nice.

As a matter of background, my last long rides haven’t been as good as you would hope. Remember the 60-miler in the cold, nasty rain? In case you’re wondering, yes, my hands are STILL numb. They’ve improved considerably, but I still have little feeling in my finger tips. It is probably time to seek additional medical care…I know. It has been 3 months.

That was the last and only 60-miler. Then there was the 50-miler a couple of weeks later where I took a bad fall.

After that I did a 40-miler in the rain at Rehoboth. That went pretty well, considering the headwind.

Oh, there was the 55-miler I did (it was supposed to be 50, but – oh yeah, I got lost). That was okay.

The 56-miles of the half Ironman actually went pretty well, but that was a race.

My plan for this past Saturday was simple. Head out west on the W&OD. Turn around when I hit 35 miles. For nutrition I brought 2 bottles of pre-mixed infinit, with a bunch of goodies (gels, peanut butter pretzels, 2 strawberry oreos, fig newmans), and a bag of infinit powder to mix up a third bottle.

If I’d written this sooner I’d have lots of thrilling details to share. Now, 2 days later, I will just say that the ride went great. Yes, great! Hooray!

The highlights: I was only about 10-15 miles out when I saw someone who looked familiar running towards me. What do you know, it was my good friend, Jenn, looking strong. Such a nice surprise. I would have liked to stop and chat but we were both on a mission.

Just a few minutes later I heard my name and it was my wonderful teammate Maggie (who is solely responsible for the existence of strawberry oreos in my house and hence my bento) calling out my name. What a nice surprise!

Not even 2 minutes later I spotted my friend Patty running along. I definitely surprised her when I said hello.

The thing that was so crazy was that none of theses three friends know each other. They weren’t out together. It was just such a coincidence. It made me smile for a while and realize that I have a lot of fit friends!

Before I knew it, I was at the 35 mile marker. It was much, much faster than I anticipated. And I felt so good. So I turned around and headed back on my merry way.

It was not long before I realized that I would be so far ahead of schedule that I would be able to make the team’s nutrition clinic. Yay!

Anyhow, before I get to the nutrition clinic, I am happy to report that I finished up the ride tired, but injury free. No major issues to report. Tired legs. Sweaty and exhausted. But fine. No real saddle issues. Nothing hurt. It was awesome! Just what I needed heading into 3 very tough training months.

Although I missed having company, as I have said before, it is really nice going at my own pace and not worrying about keeping up or slowing down for anyone. I guess this is why I enjoyed solo marathon training so much. I am excited that I have some good momentum heading into next week’s 80-mile ride.

Nutrition Clinic
I was only a little late to the clinic. I heard Becky Mohring (sp?) give her presentation once before when I was just a little baby triathlete. Like, last year. In any case, I took a lot more away this time.

For starters, I need to be drinking a bit more (24-36 oz per hour), and I need to be taking in a ton more electrolytes/sodium than I do when I run. She recommends about 400 mg per hour. I thought I was getting plenty of electrolytes in my Gu’s. I checked when I got home and then only have around 40 mg each. That tip was the highlight for me.

The 14-mile run
Fast forward to 2 pm Sunday. It is hard enough for me to get up and run on a weekend morning. But it was even harder for me to get going for an afternoon run, especially when the temps were so much higher than the early morning. I considering skipping the run, but I knew I’d be really pissed at myself if I did that.

I was heading into this run with tired legs, and just overall tiredness. But I got myself together and headed out, planning to run 7 miles up the Capital Crescent trail towards Bethesda and then back the way I came.

Due my desire to keep running instead of waiting for the light to change, I wound up crossing the key bridge on the opposite side of where I usually cross. When I got over the bridge, I was not on the side where I needed to be to get over to the trail, so I just kept running.

Eventually, I saw an access path to the trail, but at this point I decided I would be more fun to continue running up Foxhall. It was extremely hilly (how come I never noticed this in the car?!). I focused on keeping my heart rate in zone 2 and on taking in the right nutrition (one gel every 30 minutes, a full bottle of water per hour, and an s-cap [electrolytes] on the 45-minute mark of each hour).

I had a fabulous run. With the hills, the way out was pretty slow and involved a lot of walk breaks to keep the HR down. No worries, though. I was doing what I needed to do.

The way back was a different story. I took a detour to run down Wisconsin and through Georgetown. I was *flying* down the hills. FAST. At times I felt like I needed to sprint to get my HR up in the right zone. It was pretty fun.

By the time I made it back to my building, I had another mile left [how’d that happen?]. So I ran around some more. I got back to my building at 13.97 miles. Of course, I ran around the corner so I could see the Garmin register a clean 14. I’m just telling you this so you can laugh at my compulsive nature. I am fully aware of how type-A that is, and I choose to embrace my idiosyncrasies. I hope you still love me.

I finished the 14, zone 2 miles in 2:40, with 3 water stops and a lot of pedestrian traffic in G-town. I am happy with this.

And that was the weekend…. I am thrilled with how my training went. Tiring, yes. But successful. I say, bring on IMFL. I am READY!

Musselman Photos

2009-07-30T07:42:00.000-04:00

Mom's camera worked. Yay! Here are a select few photos that tell the story of the day.

Getting ready to race.

Time to put on the wetsuit

Not as easy as it looks

Grrrrrrr.

Really, Mom, can stop taking pictures now.

Al...most....there.

Ta-da! Another yellow swim cap. At least I match.

The swim start

I made it out of the water and am headed for transition.

Made it onto the bike. That's my tush.

And there's my tush again.

I was actually out on the bike course.

Finally time to run. Yes!

When I finished I got one of those. The medal looks like two bike gears. Unique!

Bike Karma?

2009-07-29T10:52:00.001-04:00

What the heck is going on with my bike these days? Did Ms. Piggy do something bad in a past life?

Last night was the team ride at McKinley (named for the elementary school at which we park). This ride alternates Tuesdays with the Conte’s ride on the team schedule. Somehow last night was my first McKinley ride in the five months since I joined the team.

The ride starts at the school and goes down a hill to get on the W&OD trail. From there we go west and it is a simple out and back. At the end you have the pleasure of riding up (and down) the very steep hill on McKinley Road.

Yesterdays workout was: Bike 45' w/u (Z2), 1 x 3' hill repeats Z5a/b, W/D. If you’ve been paying attention, you may know that this means That the first 45 minutes were in HR zone 2, followed by one three minute session on a hill (when you get your HR into the very high zones – 5a & b – almost at your maximum effort).

I got out on the trail with a small cluster of teammates who were slightly faster than I. I have had some issues with my HR monitor lately (long story/saga) so I went without any gadgets last night. Thus, I didn’t really know what zones I was working in. It didn’t really matter and it was kind of nice not paying attention to that.

I felt great out there. I was having such a good time just flying down the trail. Not hammering, just cycling. Efficiently. I was really excited that I was keeping up without too much effort. I was probably outside Z2, but oh well. And then…..

About a mile or so after the turnaround I heard a clink, and then my foot came loose from the pedal. What the…..?

I wondered if I lost a cleat. Nope.

I stopped and looked down and was shocked to see my left pedal was completely gone. (Yes, it is pink. Surprised?)

Right: the speedplay pedal.
Left: the pedal with a shoe "clipped in."
Below: the cleat which attaches to your cycling shoe.

I got off and started searching and found half of my pedal. A couple of kind teammates stopped to help and we all searched for the rest. (Thanks, guys!) Eventually I found the other half of the pedal but the hardware was no where to be seen. Who knows how far back it had fallen off.

So there you go. Another thing to buy. And I'd be willing to bet that they don't sell individual pedals so I need to pruchase a new pair. I’m getting kind of tired of this. Plus I need to buy new goggles (see my last post).

It is not just the cost – though I am just tired of spending all of my income on triathlon. It is also the time cost. Ugh.

Tonight I was supposed to spend some time with Mom (who is in town until my sister decides to take her home) but now I guess she’ll get to experience another aspect of triathlon with me – the endless draining of the bank account known as shopping.

Ordinarily I love shopping, but not when I am re-spending money on something I already owned that I shouldn’t need to be replace.

Okay, I am done complaining now.

I find the whole thing pretty funny actually. I rode the last few miles with only one foot clipped in (aka Single Leg Drills – SLD – this will come up in a later post for sure). It was uh, interesting. [Maybe that's why my right hamstring is tight this morning.] I did have to stop and walk when it was time to climb that hill. Just wasn’t happening one-legged.

So that’s my latest misadventure.

If you’re interested, here’s what is coming up on the schedule. Already did the track workout this morning (20' W/U, 3 pickups, 2 x 800 Z4 R/2', W/D), weights this afternoon. Swim tomorrow morning and bike tomorrow afternoon. “Rest day Friday” can’t come soon enough. (I’m exaggerating a little. I’m actually doing well this week. Still… who doesn’t love Friday rest days?).

This weekend has a 14 mile run and 70 mile ride on the schedule. Obviously I’ve run 14 miles before. Not too big a deal. The ride, however, will be my farthest yet (I’ll be saying this a bunch in the next few months). But here’s the deal….

This weekend I’m a going to be a sherpa. I’m supporting the knight at the Culpeper sprint triathlon. Soooo, the schedule has gotten a little messy.

I’m planning to get the ride in on Saturday, which means I don’t get to go with the team. If anyone wants to join me for a long slow ride, I’d love the company.

As for the run, I’ll try to get it done Sunday. I’m not really thrilled to have to run in the late afternoon, but such is the life of a Sherpa. :) I’d love some company for this, too, but I will probably just crank of up the iPod and make the best of it.

One more thing. No, not a fundraising plea. Anyone notice the countdown timer there on the left? See what it says? As of today, 100 days until IM Florida. Yikes!

I’m happy to say I am not freaked. I am pumped UP after reading all of my teammates Ironman Lake Placid reports from Sunday – the good, the bad, and the ugly. I am SO PROUD of everyone. Great job teammates! I can’t wait to feel the joy myself.

Musselman Race Report

2009-07-22T21:57:00.000-04:00

Wow, thanks everyone. Who knew there was such interest in my race report. I’m flattered. Here it is. [I am currently picture-less. My camera died recently. If Mom’s camera worked, which is unclear right now, I will update this post with pictures when I get them.]

I also want to thank everyone who expressed support or sent good luck wishes this weekend. That was so awesome!!! :) All weekend long messages kept popping up on facebook and via email and it made me feel like a superstar. Of course, the gift of chocolate turtles was especially appreciated. (Boy were they delicious!)

Oh, and one more thing before I get to the report. HUGE thanks to everyone who has donated to Doorways through my website. We're more than a third of the way there thanks to you. Please help me meet my goal by donating $5, $10, $20 or whatever you can.

Without further ado, here it goes.

Musselman was my first ever half Ironman. I chose the race because of its location – it the beautiful Finger Lakes of upstate New York. My mom and stepdad, and step-grandparents live near Ithaca, so this was a great choice for some familial support. Mom has never seen me race, so I was really excited for her to see what it is all about.

Saturday Mom and I arrived in Geneva for packet pickup and the pre-race briefing. The briefing was excellent, though Mom thought the race director’s (RD) attempts at humor were lame, But I appreciated it. At one point he displayed a slide with the bike course map and said “For those of you going for speed these are the spots to look out for.” As he displayed the next slide he said, “For those of you going for a scenic trip….these are the wineries along the course.” (There were 18 wineries.) It was cute.

It was good for her to observe the briefing because it gave her a good idea of what to expect. That worked well for both of us.

Anyhow, here’s the nitty gritty of the day:

Pre-race
Arrived at the race site bright and early. The bike rack spots were assigned. I love it when they do that. So much less stressful. At my bike spot was a label with my name and number. It also said “Catharine, you’ve got 70 more miles in you.” And then at the bottom it said “Make Earl Grey and Pepper proud.” Those are my furbabies. I remember that the registration form asked for some unsual details. Now I know why. It was so cute. After the race I peeled the label off and took it with me.

The funny of the morning happened when Mom apparently tried to break into transition. Mom doesn’t exactly look like an athlete and she has some difficulty getting around. She was dressed in a button up cotton blouse, ballet flats, etc. As she tried to enter, the volunteer was calling to her, “Are you marked? Are you marked?” She was confused. Then he asked, “Ma’am, are you racing?” She just looked at him and said, “Are you kidding?” I wasn’t there, but I am told this elicted quite a bit of laughter from everyone around her. Way to go, Mom. :)

I once again planned to set up transition and then do a warmup. Lesson learned: Get there even earlier next time. I was just entering the water and was knee deep when they announced that the water was closed and that everyone must exit. Oops.

Swim
If you know anything about me and triathlons, you know that swimming is, shall we say, not my strong sport. I haven’t had much time to post lately, but if I had I would have reported that much to my delight I am seeing some big progress on that front. I'll write more about this soon. I promise.

The water in Seneca Lake was 69 degrees, so it was wetsuit legal. It was a nice beach entry, and we walked into the water to await our start. And then we went. I calmly swam along.

There were goggle issues. I won’t go through the details, but I need to fix this. Leaky goggles are no fun (the ones I opted to wear). Neither are goggles that are too tight (the ones I wore for a recent open water swim which made me think my head would explode. Any attempt at loosening just made them leaky). I can’t seem to get either pair to fit right.

So the swim got done. Around 53 minutes. Slow, but I’m not complaining. I did it. I swam 1.2 miles without hanging onto anything…or drowning, for that matter.

T1
Nothing really to report. I took my time here. Hey, I just swam 1.2 miles. I was tired. Plus my shorts were all bunched up around the legs and who wants to ride 56 miles with bunchy shorts.

Bike
The ride was a good one. The course was as beautiful as promised. Hilly and very breezy, but nice. Many miles riding along farms and the Finger Lakes. My plan was to stay in zone 2 and to take in sufficient nutrition. I succeeded at both.

The course wasn’t easy, but I was in a good place mentally and physically. I felt good on the ride. My biggest concern heading into this race was what I’ll refer to as saddle issues. [TMI warning!] You may recall from previous posts that I don’t have a good relationship with tri shorts. It is bad enough riding 56 miles in bike shorts – with the cushy thick pad. However, tri shorts offer virtually no protection and I was frankly terrified of what would happen when I would ride so far with the equivalent of a flour sack between me and my seat.

Well, my tricks worked. A little shaving action (thanks for the tip, Jacquie). Lots of bodyglide and lots of chamois cream (Chamois But-r). It worked. Next time I need to remember to get my butt, though. So that’s what true saddle sores feel like. Ouch.

My time wasn’t what I hoped it to be, but I am pleased. I was happy and cheerful along the way. I drank a bottle of infinit over the first third of the ride, a bottle of water and some fig newmans and a gu on the second third, and another bottle of infinit on the final third of the ride. It worked out very well and I am really satisfied.

I biked in and saw my wonderful Mom waiting patiently for me to arrive. That was so neat.

T2
Go figure, I rocked T2. I’m doing something right here. My time was in the top third. I’ll take it. Maybe I was just excited to go run. Or maybe I was just happy to be off the bike.

Run
Normally, running is my strength. I would say it was true here, comparatively speaking. I got no where near my expected time for the half marathon, but I did it. More importantly, as I pushed through the final two miles I asked myself if I could do a full marathon. I determined that if I had to, I could have. Of course, I was quite happy to be finished at just 13.1 miles and there was no need to go further at that point.

The course was really nice. Through neighborhoods and downtown Geneva. It was lovely. It was nutty hilly. And there was a 1.5-mile stretch of road that was gravel - all uphill. I'm telling the truth.

There were a few musicians along the way as well as lots of aid stations with everything from Heed to animal crackers and cold, wet sponges. And wonderful, friendly, cheerful volunteers.

Like I said, I am not thrilled with my time, which was about 20 minutes off my best half marathon time. It just doesn’t matter, though. I finished this race with a huge boost in confidence for IMFL. I know I can do it.

My nutrition for the run was good but needs a little tweaking. I aimed for water at each walk break (at each mile marker) and a gel every 30 minutes. I think I missed one at the end. I was so hungry as I approached the finished line. I will work on improving this at the next half.

Post-race
The post race festivities and spread were top notch. There was tons of fresh fruit (cherries, apricots, watermelon, etc.), pizza, cookies, and ice cream. Of course, I didn’t have much of an appetite at that point but I did force myself to ingest a little of this and that and a lot of water. There were also free massages…my favorite.

After the race we headed back to the hotel and then out for Chinese food. I forced myself to eat as much pork lo mein as I could manage, knowing I had lots of calories to replace and that I have a history of sleeplessness due to hunger following races and hard workouts. Oh, and I definitely think the egg roll was beneficial.

An hour or so later I was pooped and decided to head to bed. Except I just laid there, exhausted as the hunger set in. Ugh. Even though I had a cooler and a bag full of food (fruit, granola bars, trail mix, peanut butter, hummus and pita chips), I was queasy and nothing appealed to me. Nothing!

It was really tough. I forced myself to eat a fig newman, which just made me even more sick to my stomach. So I took a sleeping pill and fell asleep. I woke up 2 hours later - very hungry. I ate a granola bar. Three hours later, another snack break. It was not fun.

Needless to say, I wasn’t feeling too great the next day. The queasiness persisted, which was even less enjoyable since I was driving home that day, along with my Mom who was coming back with me for the week.

The good news is that physically I felt pretty good. No injuries. Some soreness in my quads and hip flexors (Coach Ed would be so pleased to know that I obviuosly engaged the hip flexors pretty well.) Toes on the verge of blistery, but okay. Pretty cool!

So my next project is figuring out what to do about the post-race nutrition. I know I've talked about this before and Ihave incorporated some of the tips you've shared. But I fell down on this a bit after the race.

Issues to work on: A) I thought I got enough protein/carbs post race, but I know I can improve on this. I probably should have had the chocolate milk (or a recovery drink) sooner that I did. B) What do I eat when I don’t feel like eating anything? I made a list the next morning, but after getting home and the same malaise set in, nothing on my list (shredded wheat, string cheese, Doritos, broth etc.) was appealing.

In any case, the race was a huge success and I think I made Earl and Pepper proud. This was an excellent training experience for me as I head into IM Florida in only 3.5 short months.

Next up: the Luray International Tri on August 15. Following that is the next half: Bassman on October 4. The big day is November 7: Ironman Florida. Dare I say I am looking forward to the upcoming races? Stay tuned.

Ready to Go

2009-07-19T04:59:00.000-04:00

Up super early this morning because I am READY to conquer it. It being my first half ironman triathlon - the Musselman tri. I am in upstate NY (Geneva/Seneca Falls) with my mom who lives up here. I'm currently eating a bagel and drinking some OJ as I wrap my head around today's task.

Strangely, I am pretty calm about it all. I am most nervous about the logistics of getting there and even more concerened about the impact on the day on my mom, who doesn't get around as easily as I do. She's a trooper though. The situation does serve as a good reminder that at a minimum I should be incredibly grateful that I CAN even endeavor to do a triathlon.

So here it goes. There is no written race plan. It is all in my head. Stay calm in the water, stay in zone 2 throughout (at least to the extent that I can given I can't seem to find a working HRM), have fun, practice nutrition, and get it done.

I am READY!

IM Nutrition Plan

2009-07-14T10:12:00.001-04:00

This isn't so much an update as a question for my fellow triathletes...

For those of you who are training/have trained for Ironman, can you please share your race nutrition plan? I'm still figuring out what to eat and when and would love some ideas.

Please post in comments or send me an email. I know everyone is different, but I just need ideas on where to start.

Thanks!

New look

2009-07-13T14:02:00.000-04:00

Does something seem different to you? I hope so. Announcing my new blog look...thanks to Krystyn. I hope you like it.

I know it has been a while since I posted. I've been crazy busy lately. But don't worry, all is well.

Some quick notes:

** Piggy is back in working order. (Thanks again to J.R.!)

** Next Sunday is my first half ironman. I'm headed up to the Fingers Lakes in upstate New York. My lovely mom and stepfamily live up there. After visiting them in Ithaca I will head to Geneva to compete in the Musselman Tri. I am really relaxed about the whole thing...except when I am feeling panicked about it. Craziness.

** Need a tire changed? I can help. I became a pro in a matter of a few hours. Before leaving for the Conte's ride, my tube went south and it needed to be replaced. I was pretty impressed with myself for changing the tire lickety split. When I finally got to the ride, the woman riding next to me got a flat, and while we were trying to deal with that another woman walked up with a flat. It was something else.

** Work is nuts right now. I have two cases proceeding quickly through litigation at the same time.

** More posts soon. I promise. It is just crazy right now.

** Shout out to Es, Robin and Jason who rocked IM Switzerland yesterday. I am impressed and inspired.

Til later,

Cat

PS - I am really thrilled about the progress on the Doorways fundraising drive. We're almost a third of the way there. Will you please help out? Click here.

What is Ironman?

2009-06-30T22:57:00.000-04:00

Ironman Triathlon is the ultimate endurance event. I won’t bore you with the history but if you’re interested, you can read all about it on Wikipedia.

To give my non-triathlete friends and idea of what this race means, I came up with a description that I think paints a picture of how far and how long we’ll be going:

Imagine that you go to the pool and swim 160 laps (i.e., 2.4 miles).

Then you get on your bike and bike from DC to Baltimore and back (112 miles).

Afterwards you run a marathon, or the equivalent of running from DC to Herndon (26.2 miles).

Sound like a long day?

(Next time you see a 140.6 sticker, you'll know what it means.)

Obviously some people will finish faster than others. Imagine that you get up one morning, and go for a walk at 7 am. And you walk, and walk, and walk, and you don’t stop walking until 10:30 p.m.

Yes, that is how long I will be racing.

And I won’t just be walking.

Okay, now I am freaking myself out again…

Finally, it occurred to me over the weekend that if I were to drive to the race in Panama City, Florida, I could possibly do so in less time than it would take me to actually complete the Ironman. [The 993-mile car trip, according to Google Maps, would take around 15 hours. I expect/hope to finish IM between 15 and 16 hours.]

Scary.

Now I have to go to bed. I need my sleep.

New day (and race report)

2009-06-30T11:05:00.000-04:00

Acceptance

It is a new day and the shock of yesterday has settled. I knew it wasn't good when I got the call which began "Hey Catharine, did your bike have wheels on it?"

Thanks to my wonderful Team Z teammates, it looks like this is all going to work out okay and cost me a lot less than it could have.

Special thanks to J.R., whom I had never met before yesterday. He drove over to my building last night with perfect wheels for me to borrow until I get a new wheelset. He even helped me put them on.

Unfortunately we didn’t have all of the necessary parts, and somehow managed to blow the tube when inflating it. Surprisingly it didn't seem to startle the cats (Earl and Pepper). I’m hoping that after a trip to the bike shop tonight I'll be all set. It is a shame that this happens to be the week that my gym is closed for renovations. I have a good excuse not to bike or spin today :)

I really appreciate all of the sympathy and empathy. I am definitely keeping this all in perspective. Even though it could be a lot worse, I think I was entitled to a little pity party. I’m done with that now.

Race report

This will be a short one. Sunday I raced the Montclair Triathlon. Strange distances. A 1k (.6 mile) swim, 30k (18.6 mile) bike, and 8k (4.8 mile) run. For whatever reason I was super laid back going into this race. No plan, no expectations. I was really thinking of it as a training day.

It was a nice race with odd logistics. Because it took place in a neighborhood, the only official parking was at a school 2 miles away. Fortunately I have the cool USAT backpack I got for my efforts back at the Richmond Duathlon. I threw all of my gear in there and biked from the lot to the transition area. It was quite strange riding like that when it was just barely sunrise.

Before the race

My transition setup

Ms. Piggy before she was pillaged

The swim was in the 80-degree lake, so wetsuits were not legal. I actually enjoyed the water. My form for the swim stunk, but I did okay. I wasn't fast, but I wasn't last.

Thanks to Ben for this great shot of me coming out of the water

Although I hadn’t really set goals for myself, I did write down my expectations beforehand (and then promptly forgot what I wrote). When I got to work Monday I saw that I had gotten within 30 seconds of what I predicted. Ha!

The bike course was three moderately hilly loops. I got passed quite a bit, but towards the end I actually passed a few people myself. I was very unfocused on the ride. I am not sure what the issue was. Part of the problem is that my HR monitor wasn’t registering for the first half. I think I could have gone faster. Oh well.

The last ever picture of Miss Piggy with her wheels

The run is usually my strength and it is nice to always have that part last. I know how to run. It is so much simpler than swimming or biking. Yes, there is some technique involved and I am working on my form. I usually enjoy the run because I do a lot more passing than being passed. Sunday was no exception. The course was a bit on the hilly side. It was a two loop course, with a strange jaunt through the woods as the second loop began. Weird. Anyhow, it went well and I left it all out on the course.

Happy Runner Cat

Results:
I don’t feel like sharing them so I’m not gonna.

Thanks again to all of my generous friends who have supported me by donating to Doorways. I am just shy of 20 percent of my goal. I know we can do better. Would you please make a small contribution? Click here to help out. Thanks.

Thieves suck!

2009-06-29T12:15:00.000-04:00

Just a quick vent to express my sadness/anger/frustration. Many of you know about the bike theft in my building two weeks ago. Well, they struck again. This time I had a U-lock on my frame and a cable lock on my frame and front wheel.

He cut the cable, took my wheels, put them on another frame and ran away. Someone in the building tried to catch him, but was unsuccessful.

Booo! I guess I'm not going to ride tomorrow.

More about yesterday's race when I'm feeling better.

Pretty, pretty please!

2009-06-26T21:24:00.000-04:00

Hello, my friends…

I truly appreciate all of the generous donations I have received on behalf of the Ironman Community Fund and Doorways for Women and Families. I am delighted to report that I met my goal of raising $775 for the Ironman Community Fund and have begun raising money for Doorways. I am so touched by your generosity.

It has been a few weeks since I set up my new fundraising site, and I am asking for your help. Yes, YOU, right there in front of the computer screen.

I have set the modest goal of raising $1000 for Doorways (of course, it would be awesome if I could exceed this). Suffice it say that in addition to feeling personally connected to this organization because of the time I spent volunteering with them, the cause is one that is near and dear to my heart.

Please help me if you can. Yes, YOU. $5, $10, $20, or even $100. If you can spare it, I know that Doorways will put it to good use.

Please take a moment to visit my donation site. It is quick and easy, and you will get a receipt for tax deduction purposes. So don’t just sit there. Click away. Please! Pretty please with ice cream on top. And a cherry. [When I was a kid, my sister and I would add endless "toppings" and additions to this phrase to try to convince mom of whatever we wanted. I will spare you from this...for now.]

Thank you!

My favorite sundae - do they have Friendly's in Panama City, Florida? This would be an awesome post-race treat. :)

Parental Concern

2009-06-25T11:48:00.000-04:00

Parents worry. Yes, I get that. It is their job. But Mom, I promise you, I am taking good care of myself.

If you’re my friend on Facebook, you’ve seen my status message asking you to email my mom and tell her I’m fine. It is partially in jest, but partially serious. She has a great sense of humor and I think she be amused if she received dozens of messages from friends saying they’re looking out for me and making sure I am well taken care of.

If you’re not a facebook friend, then either I don’t personally know you or you are resisting the facebook craze. I understand. I resisted, too. But trust me, you don’t want to fight it. Facebook is fabulous. It is a great way of keeping up with everyone, sharing pictures and it is just all around good fun. Join now. Okay?

So, go check my facebook page and get my mom’s email address. Send her a note and tell her that regardless of whether you think I am crazy or not, I am training smart and that I have lots of wonderful people looking out for me.

(If you’ve been in this boat before, trying to convince your far-away family that you really are okay despite the insane commitment you’ve made, drop me a line.)

Beach Weekend Report

2009-06-23T10:50:00.000-04:00

Yes, I did go to the beach. No, I didn’t actually GO to the beach. I will explain.

Early Saturday morning Beth and made the trip to Sarah’s family’s beach house in Rehoboth. Nice easy trip, with one pit stop for gas during which I noticed that Erin’s bike (which I was transporting so she could ride with me Sunday) was trying to escape. Darn bike rack. I had tightly bound it in, bungeed it, locked it with my chain lock, and still it came loose. Some nice hillbillies, I mean gentlemen, helped me secure it again.

We arrived at the house around 11 am just as the rain started. Boo! We hung out with the girls and Sarah’s awesome parents for a little while and then decided to get out in the rain for our 8-miler. It was actually pretty great. The rain kept us cool and we got to explore the town. Rehoboth is such a different place than it was when I was last there about 10 years ago.

As we approached the house during the last 10 minutes of the run the sun appeared. Boy was it hot and muggy! I am actually glad we had the weather we did. Of course, the sunshine didn't last long. Maybe 30 minutes at the most.

Fast forward to the evening. We had a wonderful dinner at the Cultured Pearl – a contemporary Japanese restaurant where we enjoyed tons of yummy sushi. I highly recommend it. The girls headed out on the town afterwards and I went back to the house to go to bed. An Ironwoman-in-training needs her sleep! I felt like a party pooper, but everyone understood. Such is my life.

Sunday morning Erin accompanied me on my 40-mile ride. Another crappy weather day, though I think this time around I would have preferred the heat. We rode south from Rehoboth to Fenwick Island.

For the first half we were cruising along at around 20-22 mph. I was pretty impressed with myself, since this is much faster than my typical average. Actually, first I was convinced that my bike computer was off. I thought maybe the settings got reprogrammed. Then as we turned onto a side street to make the turnaround to head back I posited that perhaps my increased speed was due to the bike fit. I knew that being properly fitted can impact your speed. Before my fit I was saying I didn’t care so much about speed – I just wanted to stop hurting on the bike. I had a little moment of celebration with myself and started calculating how quickly I could get 112 miles (the IM bike leg distance) accomplished at that rate. And then……

Wooosh! Holy cr*p! As we turned back onto Route 1 to head north it felt like a hurricane. I am only slightly exaggerating. Not only was it windy, but the precipitation might have actually been hail. It was hitting us hard and stinging. Geez. We pushed through…at an average pace of speedy 11 mph. Good training but not fun. Not fun at all. Erin was such a trooper!

We arrived home, got cleaned up, and then hit the road to come home. And that was the beach weekend. I did get to see the sand, as part of my trip up Route 1 had a view of the beach. Sigh.

In the end, though, it was a great weekend. Lots of fun time with the girls, training accomplished, and a nice weekend away. I can’t explain how much it meant to me that Beth and Erin joined me for my workouts. It went from being a source of anxiety to something really fun.

One of the many lessons here is that we (those of us in training) should give those around us a chance to become involved. My friends are very supportive of my endeavor, and this weekend they showed that in a new way.

Another lesson is that it is fun to work out with people who are not your usual training partners. So what that my ride was all in zone 1? It was a nice change of pace for me and I think that my girlfriends may have a little more appreciation for what this whole training thing is all about now. For one thing, Erin pointed out at the end of our ride that it was only one-third of the distance I will do for IM. Good point.

Finally, I am glad that I didn’t let training and team activities prevent me from having a life outside of the sport. I can’t say I’ll be able to do this much over the next 4+ months, but I am so glad I did it now.

Feed me!

2009-06-18T10:39:00.000-04:00

Tough but good week so far. So far I’ve done all of the scheduled workouts. Not unusual for me, but still. The Conte’s ride went well Tuesday. I was SO tempted to ride easy and skip the crit all together and just ride Military with the “C” group. But I didn’t. Partly because I blogged that I would do it, partly because I knew it was good for me.

I did it 4 times. It hurt, but I would have to admit that it might have hurt just a little less than last time. I think my heart rate was a tad lower this week, too.

Wednesday morning I opted for a solo, 60-min, zone 2 run and I really enjoyed it. Grooved to my music, took a new, different route, and appreciated the absolutely gorgeous weather. Funny thing – riding the elevator back to my condo I saw a neighbor and commented what a great day it was for a run. I told him the weather was about 62 and breezy. When I turned on the TV I was impressed that I guessed the temperature exactly right. How ‘bout that?

Wednesday afternoon I lifted. For a couple of months I’ve been following the “ME” (Muscual Endurance) workout. It basically called for lighter weights, 12-25 reps. I never before did such high reps (25!), but I trusted the plan and did it. It was a nice change of pace.

Yesterday’s workout was “AA” (Anatomical Adaptation – no, I don’t really know what that means). Same exercises as ME (squats/leg press, lat pull, seated leg curl, chest press, calf raise, seated row) but higher weights and 3 sets of 10 reps.

I went back up to my old weight for squats (what I lifted when I regularly did 10-12 reps). Ummm, yeah. Not too smart. I was hurting by the end of the first set. For whatever reason, I decided that since I was already hurting, I would just go for it and keep going hard. Pretty sure that was not what the plan intended. In fact, I am pretty certain that somewhere in there it talks about amount of effort, and I recall something about it not being 100%. Oops. Oh well.

I had a great workout. Needless to say, I felt it afterwards. I could barely bend down to pick up my water bottle. It must have been a sight to see. I hurt today - but I hurt so good. I love this kind of pain. The kind that says, “yeah, I worked hard, I’m building muscles.” [Don’t worry Mom, I’m just sore – I didn’t injure myself.]

If you’re keeping track, you see that there’s been a lot of exercise this week. A little more than usual thanks to the 90-minute swim on Tuesday. My nutrition apparently needs a little work. I thought I was eating enough, but my body declared loudly yesterday and last night that I am not. Ugh.

Basic rundown of yesterday’s nutrition:

--Pre-run: Bowl of shredded wheat with soy milk
--Post-run: Glass of OJ, and bowl of steel-cut oatmeal with honey [yes, I see that there was no protein here]
--Mid-morning: Cup of chocolate soy milk with scoop of protein powder
--Lunch: Whole wheat spaghetti with kale and roasted potatoes; Banana with peanut butter; Hershey miniature (special dark – yummm)
--Post-workout: Cup of skim milk with protein powder; Salad with kidney beans, feta, kalamata olives and flaxseed oil; Pineapple
--Dinner: Chicken/tofu/broccoli stir fry with brown rice
--Dessert: Snackwell cookie (1) (random find in the pantry), 2 Hershey miniatures

Sounds good, huh? Well, I thought so. That is, until I woke up -- only an hour after going to bed -- hungry. I drank some water. Just an hour later I woke up again -- starving. I got out of bed, ate, and spent the next hour trying to fall back asleep.

I guess I just need to eat more. I wasn’t hungry when I went to bed, but I pretty much felt hungry the entire day. So does this mean I am officially training for Ironman?

Someone please send me a pizza! Or if anyone wants to cook for me or take me out for a meal, please…. * I feel like I can’t keep up with my nutritional needs these days. Maybe I’ll just start eating lots of chocolate. And cupcakes.

Anyhow, this morning I made it to swim practice. I told Holly I would be there, and I didn’t want to be a liar. Swam well for 45 minutes and then my boo-boo happened. I hit my leg on the rough bricks on the swim ladder and cut my foot. It is really minor, but for fear of bleeding up the pool, I called it quits. Such a wuss!

Just one more workout to squeeze in before it is *finally* a rest day. Since I have dinner plans with the girls tonight at Brabo, I will spin at lunch time instead of going to the team workout at Hains Point. The training plan calls for 60’ zone 2 on the bike. Boring! I can do it, though. I am sooo ready for the break.

* Note that all meals must be carefully scheduled around sleeping hours, workouts, and this little thing called a JOB.

Build

2009-06-16T21:03:00.000-04:00

I haven’t quite figured out the deal with exactly how Coach Ed puts together the training schedule. I guess I could read the Traithlete’s Training Bible, where I know it is explained. [Yes, I have a copy, and yes, one day, I promise I will return it to you, Joe, along with the two swimming books you loaned me when you first talked me into this. One day I might actually read them.]

Anyhow, it seems that there are generally 2-3 “build” weeks followed by a “recovery” week. During the build you – um – build. You gradually increase your volume. There’s a lot more to it, but that’s the basic idea.

I am in the first build week (the schedule says calls it “Base 1”) of my 140.6 plan. Woo-hoo. And building, I am. Monday morning boot camp kicked my butt. Literally. Dare I call it fun.

Monday afternoon I did a nice zone 2 run around the tidal basin. I took the long way around so I could get in 40 minutes.

This morning was my first “long” swim. Instead of the usual 60 minutes, in the weeks leading up to an Ironman (IM) race, the team rents the pool for longer periods so that the IMers can swim longer. Although my IM is not until November, now is as good a time as any to work on my endurance. Plus, with my first half-IM coming up in less than 5 weeks, I figure I should start actually swimming the distance of the race.

I did it. I swam for 90 minutes. It was great! I felt so good in the water. There was a little bit of clock watching, but not much. Mostly I was just trying to follow the workout (Coach Ed writes a plan for us that includes different length sets with drills, speedwork, etc.) and keep track of my laps.

When all was said and done, I estimate I swam about 2600 yards. Google tells me that is 1.61 miles. Way further than I ever swam before. The distance for the half is 1.2 miles, and the full is – you guessed it – 2.4 miles. I am well on my way, and am full of a lot more confidence going into the half.

A few other notes about the swim. I felt slow. Not unusual. I was comfortably swimming along at an easy pace. At one point I had a couple of teammates on my toes and I decided to speed up and get out of their way. Surprisingly, it didn’t make me feel exhausted. I tried going faster for a few more laps and I was fine. How funny would it be if the reason I am so slow was simply because I am just not trying to go faster? I need to work on this and see if I can truly sustain the faster pace.

The other point I’d like to note is that I felt really good coming out of the water. Maybe I should stick to my slow, leisurely pace. I could have kept swimming. Or, more importantly, I could have gone for a nice bike ride…and, I don’t know, then maybe a little run.

I feel like such a swimmer today. Like all of my work on form, and concentrating on the million different tweaks to my stroke might be paying off. It feels great!

Tonight is the famed Conte’s ride. Last time at the ride I did the crit a record 4 times (versus the 3 times I had done it at most previous rides).

What’s the crit? Well, you might call it hell, pain, or torture. Some really like it. I dread it. It is a .8 loop through a neighborhood in North Arlington. At the end of the loop is a quarter-mile stretch that is straight up hill. Really. UP HILL. 18% grade incline to be exact.

Ouch. The strong guys fly up it. The rest of us grind our way up. I usually get my heart rate near my lactate threshold (max) by the end. It hurts. But I know it makes me a stronger cyclist in the long run.

My friend T inspired me a few weeks ago when she told me that she had done the crit 5 times. So impressed! I decided to work towards that. Perhaps by the end of the season…

The plan is to do 4 loops tonight. By the way, after we do the crit, we head out Military Road for a couple of hilly miles (aka Military Misery). All told, the workout is 11-12 miles and is one of the hardest parts of my training regimen.

Tomorrow morning is a 40-60 minute zone 2 run. I am debating showing up at track practice since I could save a little time by doing this one on my own (since I won’t have to drive to the track) and I don’t really need the track for this. It is fun to be with the group, but then again, if I am on my own I can listen to music and when I go to the track I sometimes wind up running alone anyhow. Choices, choices, choices.

Balance

2009-06-16T10:51:00.000-04:00

If you’re a triathlete, or an athlete of any kind, you can probably relate to what is on my mind. Heck, if you have any hobby or activity about which you’re passionate, you will understand.

I train.

A lot.

If you’ve been reading, you know that a typical week has me doing 9-10 workouts, getting up before the crack of dawn most mornings, and spending most of my weekend days doing something triathlon-related.

And I love it.

I really do.

Well, I have bad days sometimes, but overall, I really enjoy it.

I love the challenge, I love the feeling of accomplishment, and I love being part of the sport of triathlon.

I also LOVE my team.

When I stepped onto the track yesterday morning at 6 am and jogged among my teammates as we warmed up for boot camp, I smiled. They’re my family.

Believe it or not, I do have friends who are not triathletes. And I love them, too. But as I expected when I signed up for Ironman, my time with them over the past few months has been limited, at best.

For some reason, not everyone goes to bed between 8 and 9 on weeknights. I guess they aren’t waking up at 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning. Slackers :)

Lately I’ve just been feeling all kinds of bad about not being able to participate in social activities. The fact is that if everyone is getting together at 8, I’m just not going to make it. Sometimes my friends have been able to meet me for an early for dinner, or I have been able to stay out later because it was a recovery week. Generally, though, I am rushing home to try to get to bed in time to get a full night’s sleep.

About a month ago my neighborfriends (the awesome gals that live in my building) proposed a beach weekend for June 20-21. Awesome! I looked at the calendar. All clear. …Of course that’s because the June schedule for the team hadn’t come out yet.

Soooo… as June gets closer Coach Ed sounds out a message talking about the “all hands” workout weekend planned for – guess what – June 20-21. It invovles a HUGE barbecue and FIESTA. Great.

Some excerpts from Coach’s message:

Hey folks – for many of you the weekend of June 21 is after your big races… It is also the weekend of the 120 mile ride (last long ride) for our IM USA [Lake Placid] people. Susan and I have planned for another “All Hands” ride that weekend and would really like to see a “sick” turnout… We have reserved a pavilion which can hold up to 250 people, obtained county permits to leverage the facility and ABC permits for those who’d like to enjoy some beer or wine. I’ll have bocci ball and horseshoes there, there are also volleyball courts and things like that. We’ll try to spice up our menu for the day a little bit.
***
Plan to hang out in the country for the afternoon and cheer for/support our Ironman USA people who will be finishing one hell of a hard weekend of training.
***
…We’ve gone an extra distance with the shelter to ensure that we have a fun day regardless of rain or shine. If you come out you can ride as far or short as you like, enjoy some grub and fun and then if the mood hits maybe run out and set up a Team Z aid station somewhere on the lonely roads of the 120 milers. You have no idea what a piece of chocolate can do for a person at mile 84 of a 120 mile day.

So, I’m a little torn now. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Go for a ride in the country, have an awesome lunch, then go out and support our teammates who are doing their final big training weekend before Ironman USA.

But wait, that’s not all.

This weekend is also the weekend of DC’s first ITU race. Many professional triathletes will be in town competing in this race, and there is also an amateur division in which some of my DC Tri Club friends will be participating. There are opportunities to watch or volunteer.

Plus, earlier this week I got an invite to attend the VIP party the night before the race. I. Want. To. Go.

But I also want to spend time with the girls at the beach. It is like, dare I say, a vacation. And a great chance to spend time with friends I haven’t gotten to see much lately.

I know I need to make time for friends and maintain those relationships. But I feel totally left out of all of the team events and tri stuff happening while I’m away.

Add to that the fact that I still need to do my training and it makes me a little grumpy. Fortunately my training schedule is kind of light this weekend. Saturday morning when I arrive at the beach I will head out for an 8-mile run. I’ve tried to convince the girls to join me, but while they are all very fit, I guess doing 8-miles seems a little excessive to them. Maybe they’ll do part of it with me.

Then on Sunday morning I will do 40 miles on the bike. I’m excited that E is planning to join me for this. I will drive her bike up with me on Saturday.

I want to do it all. But I can’t.

Monday morning is boot camp (at 6 am). It rocks. And I want to be there.

So do I drive home Sunday afternoon and battle beach traffic to get home in time? Do I drive home late Sunday and avoid traffic, but then shorten my sleep? Or do I just skip it and know that there will be plenty of boot camps in my future?

I AM truly excited for the beach weekend. Really. I know I’ll have fun, as I always do when I get together with these awesome ladies. I am just having a hard time preventing triathlon from taking over my life completely.

Race for the Cure

2009-06-09T10:46:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early (like most weekend days, I’m afraid) to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. What a morning!

I ran this race as a show of support for the cause, but more significantly, to support my friend and fellow Junior Leaguer, K. She has been working hard this year to get herself in better shape, and I am so impressed by her efforts.

Over lunch recently I tried to convince her to join me for the Bright Beginnings 5k. I didn’t exactly succeed, but I was thrilled when she contacted me and said that she’d like to try the Race for the Cure.

It was so fun helping her get ready for her first ever race. I told her that any question she might have been thinking probably bounced around my brain at some point or another, so she should ask away.

And yes, I remember wondering whether there would be water and bathrooms at the start, and whether I should wear my race number in front or in the back.

We arrived at the start with time to spare, and then some. After waiting around and listening to speeches for 30 minutes after the stated start time, we were off. It was a fun day! We loved that the course was marked with kilometer markers, which meant we broke it down into fifths.

As with most races, towards the end things got even more challenging. That’s when you start to hurt and wonder if you’re going to make it. But K held strong, and at my urging (okay, insistence) even jogged across the finish line. Woo-hoo!

I will never forget the look of joy on her face as she completed her first 5k. I am honored to have been part of this race, and this day. Way to go, my friend!

The Latest

2009-06-03T11:14:00.000-04:00

Hi readers! Just checking in. I am excited to report that as of Monday, June 1st I am officially following Team Z’s 140.6 Training Schedule. (140.6 is the Ironman training plan – it is the number of miles of the race). Up ‘til now I was on the 70.3 plan (half Ironman – get it?).

As of this weekend, I will be 5 months away from race day. That is way too soon and way too far away. Wow.

Rested
The bod is feeling a bit rested after having two whole weekends that didn’t involve racing in some way or another. This is a good thing. I had started to notice how difficult is was becoming to walk up the metro escalators. Fortunately, backing off just a little from training/racing was helpful and I feel like I am ready to build volume again.

This weekend I went for a long, easy 50-mile ride on the W&OD. It was really nice. I went solo because I spent the morning watching my friend Erin kick butt in her first ever sprint tri. [She rocked and I was so proud!]

I enjoyed being out on the trail for the first time in a while. While I did miss the company a little, I really liked that I wasn’t trying to catch up with anyone and no one was waiting for me. That was, until the water stop… [Insert foreboding music here]

The Fall
Around mile 42, I saw a sign for a trailside park with water fountains. It was time for a refill so I veered off the trail and into the park.

BOOM!

Next thing I know, Piggy is off to the right of the path, and I’m off to the left. It scared the bejeezers out of me.

I fell. Hard! I hit a small patch of mud, but that shouldn’t have derailed me. I still have no idea what happened.

My legs were really banged up….cut and bloody. My hand wasn’t doing too great either.

Mostly, I was freaked out. It all happened so fast. I had these sort of waves of crying/panic as I laid on the ground for several minutes. Much to my surprise, none of the picnickers in the park came over to see if I was okay. Maybe they were scared, too.

After calming myself down, I returned to the path to ride back to my car. It was pretty uncomfortable, but I made it. I told myself that if it were a race, I would have to push through. Thanks to a sympathetic biker on the trail who offered me some sympathy (and his phone) when he saw my bloody leg. Just a little compassion goes a long way.

I am really pleased that after only three days I am healing nicely. My whole left calf is black and blue (and green, yellow and purple) along with some nasty cuts. My right shin got banged up, but the bruising is minimal. My hand was initially pretty swollen with a hematoma right above my wrist, but it is almost totally back to normal now. My left arm, which I didn’t even realize was hurt until Monday morning, is sore but much better.

I am just so glad that the damage wasn’t worse. I’d be really upset if this affected my training. Piggy is doing okay, except for the torn saddle. I frankly despise the saddle, so this is probably a good excuse for a new one.

Bike Fit
Monday night I went for a bike fit at Spokes in Alexandria. I put out a request to the team for bike fitters and got a ton of recommendations. Mark at Spokes came highly recommended, and his price was right.

The whole process took about an hour and a half. He started off by taking measurements (of me and Miss Piggy) and then he tweaked my bike. He lowered the seat a bit, tilted the handlebars up, and adjusted the aero bars.

Last night I hit the Conte’s ride, and from the moment I got on the bike I knew there was a huge improvement. I didn’t realize how uncomfortable I had been until I wasn’t. Wow! Money well spent!

If you’re a cyclist and you haven’t had a bike fit, DO IT! Now.

I have read that it is the best investment you can make as a triathlete. I am actually looking forward to getting back on the bike now. I can’t wait to see how I feel after a long ride. I’ll keep you posted.

Support

2009-05-27T11:03:00.000-04:00

As I have stated before, I have been absolutely amazed and overwhelmed at the support that I have received in the past couple of months. Wow! Words cannot even begin to describe how great it feels to have so many cherished friends, dear family members, and even casual acquaintances cheering for you.

After a number of tries, I finally have a website up and running that will make the fundraising process a little easier. From this point forward, all monies raised will go directly to Doorways.

Please consider making a donation by clicking here. Any amount… $5, $10, $25, $50 or $200 is greatly appreciated. Not just by me, but also by the wonderful staff and clients of Doorways for Women & Families.

I recently remembered a moment in which I was reminded that what seems like an insignficant amount of money to us, to others can mean so much. Back in 2006 while I was training for my first marathon, I was volunteering with Jubilee Jobs and was mentoring a woman from Ethiopia who was working hard to advance herself in the workplace.

I remember sharing with her my excitement about my upcoming race. At some point, among her many questions for me, she inquired about how much it costs to run a marathon. I’m certain that her curiosity was only about the registration fee, and not to the many other miscellaneous expenses like running shoes, clothing, race nutrition, etc.

I realized immediately that while the $95 fee to enter the race was a drop in the bucket to me, to her that was a hefty sum. I admit that I was embarassed to say how much I had spent to do something as "frivolous" as run a race. At that moment I was so aware of how incredibly fortunate I am.

My mentee worked diligently at a job that required her to arrive in the wee hours of the morning. Since she didn’t own a car, she took the bus everywhere she went. Her small studio apartment, if you can call it that, lacked a kitchen and a bathroom. She shared a bathroom down the hall, and used a hot plate for cooking. This lovely woman was thriving and she was happy. She was supporting herself and she was looking ahead to the future and trying to improve her situation.

I don’t know about you, but I think that we sometimes lose our perspective and fail to appreciate our good fortune. Aside from all of my many, many other blessings, I know that I am so lucky to have the life I do. When called upon to donate my time or my money, I remember that there are so many people who are less fortunate than I, to whom a "small" donation means more than we can imagine.

I’ll just leave it at that….for now. Thank you again for your generous support. Click here for my fundraising page, or here for more information about Doorways for Women & Families.

Holiday Weekend

2009-05-22T15:07:00.000-04:00

Ahhhh, it is almost the holiday weekend. Thank GOODNESS! If you haven't noticed, I've had some type of race each of the past four weekends. And before that was the Columbia Brick-nic. I'm beat. I mean, I am really in need of a weekend where I sleep late.

I am going to take it easy this weekend and take a stab at camping. Ms. Piggy is coming along. We'll see how it goes. Have a great Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

Here are some pics from Columbia in which I don't look like a character on SNL. [Thanks again, Jeanne!]