Reggae Marathon Race Report

I feel like the Reggae marathon was ages ago!! Coming home to so much craziness I don't even feel like I was ever away; the only thing reminding me are my tan lines and a scar from a jellyfish sting. As usual, we had an incredible time in Jamaica and I'd do anything to be back there right now. As for my race report…it’s completely discombulated due to lack of time and too much stress. And of course, it's long.

Packet pick up - so hot and tired I couldn't even stick around to take pictures.

Trying to keep my eyes open long enough to enjoy a Lychee martini; perfect pre race carbs.

Getting up two days in a row at 3am before a race and getting very little sleep was rough. I was so tired on Friday night that I had trouble sleeping and all I wanted was to get the marathon over with so I could have some fun. We were exhausted when we woke up Saturday morning but after a quick change and grabbing some food for Andy, we headed out into the dark to pick up the shuttle at the entrance to the resort. There were free shuttles that were running along the course picking up runners and taking them to the start of the race at Long Bay Beach. We boarded the first shuttle that came by and were at the park in a few short minutes. There wasn't much going on at the start of the race but I made sure I found a "hydration pack" and tested it out. This is how the water and Hi Lite were supplied on the course, in these little bags that looked like implants.

These were made in Jamaica, very cool way of supplying water. Wish we did this in the states.

After milling around for a little bit I decided I better hit the bathroom. A little disappointing that all I saw were 4 port o' pots (for 1300 people) located in a very dark spot. My first thought was that I should have brought my headlamp but that changed as soon as I got in that thing. I'm not kidding when I say there was maybe 2 inches of room left in the hole and pee all over the floor; I probably would have died if I had light in there. So after that gross experience, when I felt like I had to go again, I decided to wait and use one of the bathrooms out along the course. I should have known better.

The time came to line up pretty quickly so I kissed Andy goodbye and wiggled my way through the crowd. There were a lot of large groups of half marathon and 10k walkers that I did not want to be stuck behind so I positioned myself aggressively near the front of the pack. The race started right at 5:15am. It was a little weird running in the dark, trying to navigate around other runners and watch for holes, etc in the road but once the pack thinned out, it was fine. The hotels along the road provided some light and it was really peaceful way to start a race.

The course was an out and back it two directions from the start and the marathoners ran it twice. Immediately I fell right into an 8:30 pace and felt great. It was warm and humid but since the sun wasn't up, it wasn't that bad. The first 3 miles were pretty quiet down through Negril and the round about since it was so early, but the miles flew by. There wasn't much chatting going on between runners, which was fine because I wanted to save my energy for when the sun came up. When I looped back past the start and saw Andy around 6 miles in, I was comfortable and felt great. So far the day was going better than I had hoped for.

The sun started to rise over the next 6 miles but the temperature was still ok. This stretch of the race was a little challenging mostly because it was boring. The reggae music that was advertised wasn't what I had envisioned and the few cars along the course with huge speakers on the roof left a little to be desired. At times I thought about stopping at the half. Nothing was wrong with me and I felt pretty good but once again my head started to get the best of me. On top of that, I had to use the bathroom but there were very few port o' pots out along the course. I passed one but thought I could make it a little further and that the next one couldn’t be *that* far away. Again, I should have known better.

Of course at the half way mark I continued on. I slowed down to get some Vaseline from Andy because I was chafing and set back out feeling a little tired. The sun was up at this point and even though I was feeling lonely (with only 127 marathoners, there were not many runners on the back half of the course); I was holding that 8:30 pace steady. With each mile my stomach upset got worse and I knew I needed to find a bathroom. Then as we approached the Negril round about, I could see my competition going the other direction and realized I was the 3rd female. I couldn't believe it!! I actually thought I was wrong until people started yelling, "good job 3rd female." HOLY CRAP! Never in my life did I think I would hear those words and I'm pretty certain I'll never hear them again. Go figure I had no choice but to stop to use the bathroom just before mile 18. The bright people who set this one up put it on a down slope with the door facing down. The door wouldn't close so I had to take care of everything with one hand, using the other one to hold the door shut. The pit stop took longer than expected and when I came out, I saw the woman who was behind me up ahead. Boo.

It was at this point that the heat started getting to me. When I saw Andy around mile 18 I told him I didn't really even feel like finishing. For everyone who thinks he encouraged me to keep going, you're wrong. His response, "they are handing out Red Stripes over there!" I shot him a look and said, "I didn't come all the way here to DNF" and off I went.

The last 6 miles sucked. It wasn't that the temperature was that hot but the sun was scorching and there was ZERO relief. No shade AT ALL. And the misting tents that were advertised as being along the course, there was one…towards the end of the course, waaay too late. By the time I hit it with only a few miles left, I had stopped sweating and had the chills miles ago. I made the best of those last 6 miles and I worked with other struggling runners to stay positive and have fun. I was pretty worried about one guy who was hyperventilating and nauseous so I stayed with him shuffling and walking for a few miles. I knew I was losing time and placement, but at the time, I just wanted to do what I could to help this guy.

When I hit mile 25, named "Bob's Mile", I left him and picked up my pace. A course marshal on a bike rode up to me chatting till almost the very end when he congratulated me and thanked me for visiting his country. That was really cool and he kept me going that last little bit. Seeing Andy up ahead at the finish chute was the best feeling I had in about an hour and I just started beaming. I was so happy to be done and officially start vacation! I crossed the finish line a lot later than I had expected but I was smiling, which was not what Andy expected. Knowing I was out there longer than I hoped, he thought for sure I'd cross upset and crying. Not the case at all. I just ran a marathon in my favorite place in the world and I had 8 days of relaxation and fun ahead of me; I could not be happier.

I was so stanky, sweaty and disgusting after the race that I grabbed a Red Stripe for Andy, a coconut for me, and we got the hell out of there! Luckily we nabbed a shuttle right away (some people waited over an hour) and were back at the hotel in no time. I showered, washed out my clothes in the bathtub and was on the beach by 10am. Aside from feeling a little tired, I felt better than after any marathon I've run. I had some foot pain the days after that kept me from working out but my legs felt absolutely fine. I guess floating in the ocean and sitting in a hot tub with champagne is the best marathon recovery you can do.

4:01:35

2nd in AG (30-39)

6/48 Female

28/127 Overall

It was a great run and it was fun. But I learned my lesson; you can’t train in the colder months and then acclimate in 12 hours to that heat. When I finished I thought I wouldn’t run Reggae again…you know, been there, done that. But looking back, it was a great way to start vacation and I met so many great people during my stay because of the race. While we all know I’ll be back to Jamaica soon, I think I’d even do the marathon again. But I’d use it as a training run, not as my goal fall marathon.  That's the only thing that's killing me right now. I feel like I trained so hard and missed my shot at my goal. I guess that 3:30 is going to have to wait. I have a bigger goal staring me down for 2012.

Really like the timing company they used for the race. Showed a lot of neat details. You can see below how I feel apart miserably.

Second attempt at the Lychee martini the night of the race; much better!

Marathon #10 Done!! (Pics)

I've been home for almost a week and I haven't had a chance to catch up at all! I worked my ass off to wrap everything up at work so I could come back to peace and quiet before the Holidays and obviously I shouldn't have wasted my time. And after two weeks of no tv, facebook, twitter, etc I feel so disconnected from everything (however, I really didn't miss social media while I was gone).  If I'm missing anything exciting, let me know! But anyway, Reggae marathon, #10, is in the books and the trip was fabulous! I've been writing my race report in bits and pieces and will hopefully post it soon. Until then, here are some pics from the race.

Poor Planning?

I'm around; just insanely busy with work, getting ready for the trip, holiday shopping (or should I say, telling Andy what everyone wants so he can take care of the shopping), etc. It's been a crazy few months and this trip could not be coming at a better time. Well, actually, it could if I take into account the fact that I'm running a marathon in 3 short days.

I'm not sure planning a marathon the week after Thanksgiving was the best idea. With 5 days off work, multiple get togethers and a lot of workouts to off set said get togethers, I haven't done much of a taper. On top of that, knowing I'm going to spend a week of sipping champagne on the beach and helping myself to soft serve ice cream whenever I want has not necessarily made me have the urge to carb load...at all. So once again I've done everything I should not have done leading up to a race. But I did declare today a full day of rest, which is my first true rest day since well before taper officially began. One day is better than none, right?? Thankfully, the decision was already made for this to be a fun run so I have zero pressure on myself. I'm just looking forward to taking it all in and wearing a smile on my face while I do it.

Weather for race day is looking...um...warm. But I love my heat so hopefully I can adjust quickly. It's been unseasonably warm in Philly so at least I'm not going from temperatures in the 20s to hot and humid. Right now the low on Friday night is 76 and Saturday will be sunny and in the mid 80s. The race starts at 5am so I'm hoping I can get a lot done before the sun comes up and gets hot. It would be nice to have a Red Stripe in my hands before 9am. But we'll see...

I'm beyond excited and really just can't wait to get there. I'm pretty much packed up and ready; just hoping my Ensure makes it through security and that I get some sleep. Two days in a row of 3am wake up calls before the race are going to suck, but it'll be worth it. Bring on marathon # 10!!

Philly Half Marathon Race Report

Wow, work is beyond busy and I barely have time to hit the bathroom let alone read/write any posts! One more crazy day to get through and then hopefully I have some time this weekend to decompress. All that stands between me and Jamaica is four crazy days at work, I think I can manage...and it will make sipping champagne on the beach all that more enjoyable.

This past Sunday was the Philly marathon. I've run the marathon the past 3 years but with Reggae only 2 weeks after, I decided to play it safe and run the half this year. The weekend started off great with a nice dinner Friday night with Abby and Amanda. While Abby lives in the area and we've met up before for runs/coffee, Amanda and I have never met. It was so nice to finally meet her as we've been chatting and following each other for years. After dinner, we ended up stopping by a friend's house and I probably did everything I shouldn't have done two nights before a race (damn vino). But since I wasn't planning on racing, I threw caution to the wind and just had a fun weekend.

After spending hours on my feet shopping at the outlets on Saturday and not drinking a sip of water all day, I went to bed super early hoping a good night sleep would rejuvenate me a little. I have to say, I really like waking up for a race with zero expectations and no pressure. I figured the wine I had on Friday, the busy day on Saturday and the pre race salad I had for dinner left no hopes of me doing anything spectacular on Sunday, so I just lined up for a fun little run through the streets of Philly.

Right from the start I told myself to not look at my watch and just run by feel. I'm thinking I should have left the Garmin at home because I can't resist checking my pace. And every time I did check, if I saw a 7:30 or below, I'd slow myself down thinking I couldn't hold that for the entire race. Truth is, I don't think I should have slowed myself down, I felt great and think I could have even run a little harder. The entire race I just did my thing and took in the excitement. I was feeling so good until we hit the hills through Drexel and the park. I have done ZERO hill training since Reggae is flat and that sort of came back to bite me in the ass. I wanted so badly to stop and walk one of the hills but since I was only doing the half, I powered up them the best I could knowing the pain would be short lived and I'd be done racing altogether in a few more miles.

All along, I really had no idea where I was going to finish. I obviously need to learn how to calculate finish times while I'm running. It wasn't until I had less than 2 miles to go that I realized a PR was going to happen and that I had a shot of breaking 1:40. Once I realized it though I pushed as hard as I could. The last mile I gave it everything I had and pushed so hard that I wasn't sure if I was going to pee myself or puke. But honestly, I didn't care if either happened! I wanted as close to 1:40 as I could get! As I approached the finish, another girl and I "chicked" some guys which the announcers happily shouted over the loud speakers. I'm sure those guys loved that, but it was all in good fun.

I crossed the finish in 1:40:28 and felt great! In fact, I mentioned to a friend that I didn't even feel like I had run yet. Now, after walking another 5.5 miles and running my friend 3 miles in for her first marathon finish, my legs weren't so happy and I was definitely feeling the effects of the day. But it was such a fun day the little aches and pains were worth it.

I'm really happy with my finish time since I went out there with no real goals. I PR'd and had an incredible day so there's not much more I could ask for. The pace felt so comfortable that I'm wondering if I'm actually where I need to be for that 3:30. But, I'm going to stick with my decision of not racing Reggae. Instead I'm going to line up just like I did this past Sunday and see what the day brings.

Taper and Race Week

I had a pretty craptastic 20 miler on Saturday. Before I left the house, I had a feeling it wasn't going to be a good run. Maybe I psyched myself out or maybe I was just exhausted as this was the last long run before taper started. I held a decent pace but mentally I was shot and my foot bothered me for a better part of the run. It wasn't so much my Achilles but my arch and since I had PF last spring, I'm worried it's the start of that again. Since I decided racing Reggae marathon wasn't going to happen, I'm not going to push it any more in the last few weeks of training. I'm really cutting back my intensity this week and I'm not going to run back to back days. Clearly my foot does not like that; which is fine, because I'll have plenty of other activities to rotate into the mix during IM training.

Speaking of IM training, (yes, I'll be speaking about this a lot from here on out), I met with my coach on Sunday to talk about goals, training, etc. Best part of the meet up, I left even more excited than I already was before we met. I know this is going to be hard, but I also think it's going to be so much fun and a really incredible experience. I can't really describe it but there's something in me that is SO ready to take this on and I don't have a single doubt that this is the right goal for me in 2012. And because this goal is so huge and important, I've decided to make a few more sacrifices. 2012 will not be a normal year for me in terms of racing. Instead of my 10+ races a year, I will be doing only 3: IMFL, an Olympic distance tri (NJ State) and one 70.3 (yet to be determined). One race missing from that list that really makes me sad, Shamrock marathon. I thought I could sneak it in and go for that 3:30, but it's not worth the risk. And come January I need to start base building for where I need to be on May 1st, and I don't want running to take a priority. I know running is my strong point so I need to focus on the swim and bike through the winter months.

This Sunday is Philly marathon and I'll be running the half. Seems a little weird to not be running the full; I've run it every year since it was my first in 2008. I'm not sure what my goal is for this race and I keep going back and forth. I'm even toying with the idea of not wearing my garmin and just running by feel. Sometimes the garmin works against me and I slow myself down because I think, "I shouldn't be running this pace, it's too fast." I would really, really like to kill this race but I'd be equally happy with a PR. It's going to be a beautiful day so we'll just have to see what happens. I also never threw a race into the mix during taper; don't want to leave it all out on the couse this weekend and have nothing left for the marathon.

Sacrifice # 1

I can't even begin to tell you how great I feel about my decision to go ahead and register for Ironman Florida. Based on the anxiety I was feeling leading up to it, I didn't think I'd feel so calm about my decision once it was done. But now that I know I made the commitment, there's nothing left to do but prepare myself.

I mentioned the other day that I knew there would be a lot of sacrifices along the way with this training. And more importantly, I'm ready and willing to make them. One thing I knew I was going to have to give up in 2012 was my marathons. Not that I personally believe there's anything wrong with running marathons while you're in IM training, if you can handle that, more power to you. But based on the past year and half with my Achilles, I know I can't over do it and running a bunch of marathons in a year on top of IM training constitutes overdoing it. Getting to the start line of IMFL as healthy as possible is my main goal and even though it's a year away, I'm already thinking about that.

Which brings me to my first sacrifice....I will not be racing Reggae marathon. I will be running it, and running it with effort, but I will not be going for a PR or my goal of 3:30. I put in the hard weeks of training for my goal, but the fact that my Achilles "talks to me" from time to time, I'm going to play it safe. Last year I went into Shamrock feeling great and while I finished with a PR, I also finished with a bulging Achilles and not sure if I'd be able to run Boston. I'm bummed and torn with my decision, but I think it's the right one. At this point I just don't feel like I can take any chances and risk being sidelined.  Geesh, now that I'm making this official, I'm more bummed than I thought. I want that 3:30 marathon time; sub 3:30 actually, really bad. But I want to be an Ironman even more...

Tomorrow is my last long run, 22 miles, then I start to taper. This training has gone so fast and I'm really happy with where I'm at considering I jumped right in after the 70.3. I had a minor rough spot at the very beginning but the past 7-8 weeks have been great. Even though I may not be going for the 3:30, training for that finish time got me back to where I wanted to be with my paces and that's something I want to keep through IM training.

I can't believe I am talking about IM training. Crazy.

IMFL Here I Come!

I've wanted to be an Ironman for so long now. Before I was even a marathoner I thought it'd be so cool to do an Ironman.  But never in a million years did I think I'd become one because there was the small issue that I wasn't a triathlete. Well, that sort of changed over the summer and as I got more and more into the tri training and races, my desire to do an IM grew and the day I finished the 70.3, I knew I needed to make it happen.

I did my research and decided that IM Florida was the best fit for me. For starters, the swim is 2 loops which is broken up by a short run across the beach before entering the water again for the second loop. Since the swim is the scariest part for me, knowing I would have a short break on land if things weren't going well would really help me mentally. Then there's the water...swimming in the Gulf, in clear water, yes please!! The bike is fast and flat and the run is 2 loops. Again, I love my loops and knowing I would see my family twice on the run is huge for me.

There are so many things that have to be considered when taking something like this on: family, money, work, social life (or should I say lack thereof). It's not the race distance so much that makes me question if I can do this, it's if I can make the necessary sacrifices. For the past few months I've gone back and forth a bazillion times. Probably more than that. I'm sure I asked Andy 5 times a day if he thought I should do it...and if he thought I could do it. My eye twitched all day every day for the past 3 months until about a week ago when I felt confident I stressed enough over the decision, weighed all my options, and knew what to do.

So today, day after Ironman 2011, I logged on for 2012 registration. Up until exactly 1pm when it opened, I wasn't sure I was going to do it. In fact, with 2 minutes to go I was sure there would be a sign, like my computer crashing, to tell me I shouldn't pull the trigger. But with Andy standing behind me making sure I entered all the info correctly as fast as I could, I hit submit at 1:08pm before I could second guess myself. And just like that, I was registered for IMFL 2012. My heart was racing, my eyes filled with tears and all I could say was, "oh my gosh, I'm actually going to do this."

Andy gave me a kiss and congratulated me when it was all said and done. At first I thought, "congrats for what? I haven't done it yet." But then I realized, just registering was an accomplishment in itself. It would have been really easy to keep talking about wanting to be an Ironman. But talk is cheap and I'm ready to make this a reality. The next year is going to be rough. Is it going to be hard? Yes. In fact, it's going to be the hardest thing I've ever done. Is it going to hurt? Like hell. Will there be tears? Tons. But at the end of this journey I'll be stronger because of the sacrifices I'm about to make and on November 3, 2012 I'll finally hear the words..."Denise Terry, you ARE an..."

Can't jinx myself!! I'll finish that sentence soon enough. First up, I'm going to enjoy this crazy ass ride! Here we go kids, hold on tight, this is going to be nuts.

Just Not Feeling It

The last time I trained really hard for a marathon, my confidence grew with each passing week. The speed work got easier as I progressed and I could tell everything was coming together just perfectly. I felt like I was in the best running shape I'd ever been in and knew I did all I could do to get that PR. Because of the positive training experience and PR outcome, I decided to follow the same training plan for Reggae marathon but adjusted my paces to shoot for a new goal. Well, as the weeks have been going by, I just haven't been feeling...I dunno...just not feeling it. I'm not burned out, just lacking the confidence that I have a shot at a PR in December. Aside from my tempo runs chewing me up and spitting me out, I'm a little worried about the travel and the heat and how that will affect me on race day. I have two more big weeks of training and I'm going to push through as if I'm going to go for it; hopefully something will click and I'll get that feeling that I'm looking for to know I'm ready.

I ran my second 20 miler for this training on Saturday and did it on the treadmill. Everyone thinks I'm nuts but I'm telling you, nothing builds mental toughness like a 20 miler on the treadmill!! I do at least one long run every training cycle like this and I actually enjoy it. I also wanted to do a long run where I was a hot, sweaty mess because temperatures in Jamaica will not be in the 40's, that's for sure. The 20 miles actually flew by and when I started to fade the last 3 miles, I just pushed the pace and got it done. My final sprint was well under an 8 minute mile (goal marathon pace) and when all was said and done, I felt great! This is the second 20 miler now where when I finished I felt like I had more in me.

Aside from all the running, I made some progress with my tri goals for next season and put aero bars on my bike. I went for a fitting, ready to shell out whatever it took for a tri bike, but after talking with the sales guy, we decide to modify my existing bike. I have a brand new road bike which served me fine this past summer and after hearing my goals, the sales guy felt it would be better if I stayed with what I had and we just made the proper adjustments. The fitting went great and I learned that I really wasn't positioning my body correctly on the bike (which explains some of the upper body pain and numbness I experienced on my long rides over the summer). Easy enough to fix, but now I have new hoo ha muscles to toughen up. My first ride in the aero position went fine, on the bike trainer, but I need some practice!! I know it's going to be a whole different ball game being out on the bike path in that position. Needless to say, I won't be doing any group rides right away, that's for sure!

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - swim, 5 mi (didn't happen, will fit run in at some point this week)
Tues - 10 mi w/ 3 ladders @ 6:44
Wed - lift, easy pm bike session
Thurs - 10 mi w/ 6 mi @ race pace
Fri - swim, 5 mi
Sat - 17 mi
Sun - lift

Nutrition Issue Solved!

Let me start by saying that I take precautions leading up to a race or long workout and cut out things that may bother my stomach. Although, there's not much out there (besides sugar) that upsets my stomach and makes me feel sick. I use hot sauce like it's going out of style and eat more than my fair share of fruit/veggies and high fiber foods. And my stomach is never an issue...until I get well into a long workout. 

I have tried everything…gels, bloks, chomps, dried fruit, fruit snacks, soft pretzels, electrolyte tabs, no food at all, blah, blah, blah. It ended the same way almost every time. Either I ended up in the woods, didn't make it to the woods, or made it home and had problems the rest of the day. It wasn't pretty or fun and I was starting to think I was destined to live a life full of crapping myself. It sucks, when every time you want to do a long run you try to think of a route that includes a wooded area or a Starbucks so you have options.

I got really sick of my stomach issues during 70.3 training. After using several different products (which shall remain nameless) I found some Perpetuem lying around which I used during Ultra training. Since it had been a while since my days of 30 mile training runs, I sort of forgot I had this stashed away. (For those who don’t know, Perpetuem is made by Hammer and is designed for extreme endurance events lasting several hours to days.) The first time I used it for a long ride; I made it through 3 hours with no issues. But once I was off the bike and running, I downed a gel (non Hammer gel) and my stomach went to shit.

After a few workouts with Perpetuem and no issues, I started doing some research on Hammer's site.  The more I read, the more I liked what they were about and what they were putting into their products. I won't go into the science behind their products but if you have time, its worth checking out their site. There's a ton of info on it and I learned a lot. I also did some googling and found positive reviews where others with stomach issues had found success with Hammer products.

So, over the past few months I made some changes, kept some things the same and am no longer scared to head out the door for a long run. Here's a break down:

Dinner: I still eat the same pre long run dinner which consists of brown rice, chicken, mushrooms and soy sauce. I'm not sure when or how I came up with this concoction but after trying other options; this seems to work best for me.

Pre Run: I learned over the summer that my stomach doesn't really like solid foods prior to working out. I can tolerate a banana before a short to mid length workout but anything longer which requires me to eat something more substantial, can't be solid. I now stick to liquids only and drink an Ensure about an hour before heading out. 

Before/During: I now also use Endurolyte capsules/Fizz tablets. Endurolyte capsules/Fizz tablets are an electrolyte supplement and probably the thing I was most weary about. I typically steer clear of supplements and vitamins because being a chemist in the pharmaceutical industry, well, let's just say I prefer statements to be evaluated and products I'm ingesting to be regulated.  But after giving it enough tries that I feel strongly any placebo affect would have died off…I can't believe it, but I'm sticking with them! I take a capsule the night before then again an hour before I start my workout. I'll then take another capsule every 1 -1.5 hours or add an Endurolyte Fizz tablet to my water bottle. 

During Run: I've known I can't handle high doses of sugar while working out which is why I only ate little bits at a time in the past. Well, when I found out Hammer gels are made without simple sugars or artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners, it's another reason I wanted to make the switch. Maybe that's what all the other products had that were making me so sick??? Where I used to hate taking in food during my workout because of the bad side effects, I'm now able to easily eat as many Hammer gels as I need without ANY issues. Not bad coming from a girl who could only eat one shot blok every 2.5 miles because of stomach issues.

Post Run: Keep this part simple...chocolate milk. And I have to say, not only have I not had any embarrassing stomach issues since I started using Hammer products exclusively, I feel so much better during and after my workouts. I don’t have what I used to refer to as "runners stomach" all day after I run and I feel like my energy level afterwards is much better than what it used to be. While this energy may not be related directly to the products, I do think it has something to do with the fact that I'm now able to eat, and keep food in me, while working out.

It took me 3+ years to figure out what worked for me and it has made such a difference. I'm just not sure how I didn't stumble upon Hammer stuff before. No one I run with uses it so I guess I just fell into the trap of using what I saw others using. That's really the reason for this post. I wasn't contacted by Hammer or asked to write this; I'm doing it because if I can help one other person stop crapping their pants, then I did my part. 

Pictures and a WINNER!!

I realized I never posted pictures from the Half Ironman. I still think about this day a lot and wish I had more in me on race day. Really makes me look forward to the next one where I can go all out and feel more confident about what I'm doing out there. I have been having so much fun with the marathon training but part of me misses the Tri training a lot and I'm realizing I need that push to get my butt in the pool. I'm trying not to put too much pressure on myself though for not swimming regularly right now because I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time in the pool starting next year...  ;-)

on the verge of crying and pooping myself

my mom got this shot!

I'm the one that's actually swimming in this pic

yes, I changed my shirt to get warm and to get the gross lake off me. Thankfully my mom didn't take a picture of that.

~20 miles

I need to learn to look up when I'm crossing the finish!

Looking at the pictures makes me sad!! I wish I was out there doing it right now!

WINNER: The winner of the Nana Smith Design necklace is ~K~. !! Congrats ~K~, email me at dclaffey76@yahoo.com and we'll get you your necklace.

Didn't Feel Like 20

This week starts my 4 toughest weeks of this training cycle and not only am I ready for it, but I'm excited for it, too!! My Tuesday and Thursday runs will be 10 miles and packed with speed work at paces a few years ago I never would have thought were possible. But building up to these weeks has felt great and I know I have this in me. I'm looking forward to my Tues/Thurs runs so much; I love pushing the pace and feeling stronger with each week.

I ran my first 20 miler since Shamrock training last winter on Saturday. Even though I'm coming off the summer tri season with a good endurance base, I was worried that this was really going to hurt. It's been a long time since I spent that much time pounding the pavement. But thankfully that wasn't the case at all and it might have been the best 20 miler I ever had. I ran by myself and mentally and physically I felt like a million bucks. Every time I looked at my Garmin I actually had to slow myself down. With the quick jumps in weekly mileage since the 70.3 I don't want to push the pace too much on  my long runs this early on and risk injury. So needless to say, I was happy when every time I looked at my watch I was running a 9 minute mile. It was one of those runs where I hardly broke a sweat, my breathing was so slow and controlled that I wondered at times if I was even moving, and when I was done I felt like I had another 20 in me. I ran into some friends when I finished and someone asked how far I ran. When I replied that I just finished 20 miles he commented that it didn't even look like I had run yet. And that's exactly how I felt! It was a great confidence boosting run to kick off the next few weeks of training. I know not every run will feel like that so it's so nice when they do!

I mentioned over tri training that I thought I finally found what nutrition worked for me on my long workouts. I was hesitant to say it was tried and proven though until I got back into marathon training. Nothing messes my stomach up more than a long run so it needed to be put to the real test. Well, after 4 consecutive long runs without crapping myself or spending the entire day not feeling well after the run, I think it's confirmed that I know what works. It only took me 3+ years to figure it out, but I finally did. Since I want to devote more to the nutrition info, I'll share my secret later this week!!

If you haven't already entered, don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY!! I'll pick a winner on Wednesday of this week. Good luck!

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 5 mi, lift
Tues - 10 mi w/ ladders at 6:45
Wed - swim, lift (maybe a pm bike trainer session)
Thurs - 10 mi w/ 4 mi at tempo
Fri - swim, 5 mi, lift
Sat - 17 mi
Sun - off

First Client Success and a GIVEAWAY!!!

I met with my first client last night for personal training and it was THE best experience!! I don't think I've ever smiled so much at work before in my life!! She was a great client and I think we both had a lot of fun. She mentioned buying more sessions so I'm guessing she enjoyed the workout. :-) I know it was only an hour but it was the most rewarding hour of work I've ever had. I can't imagine being able to feel that way *most* of the time (knowing it won't always be wonderful) but the fire in me has been lit. This is what I want...and I always get what I want (except for the bigger diamond earrings I've been whining about for a year...ahem, Andy, my birthday is coming up...). Time to get the wheels in motion and make this personal training thing happen!!

And because I'm feeling so happy, I think we should celebrate with a GIVEAWAY!!! Have you heard about or seen Nana Smith Designs? They are adorable pieces of jewelry hand made my Nana, who happens to be an incredible athlete and tennis player. Not only did Nana compete in the 2000 Olympic games, she played Wimbledon 15 times!!! Now she is creating unique pieces of jewelry for all sorts of occassions. She also hosts a jewelry contest and giveaway from her site; check out the Halloween contest going on now.

Nana sent me a necklace with a pendant that reads "believe" and on either side there's a peridot stone. Peridot isn't my birth stone, it's actually Andy's. I love the color but really picked it because Andy believes in me more than I believe in myself. So now it's a little piece to think of him when I need an extra push. Sorry the stones aren't shown in the picture below, I had issues with my camera...but here's a picture of the pendant.

Now for the GIVEAWAY!! Nana is offering up the necklace below to one lucky person. You can pick what word or number you would like on the pendant.  Contest is open to followers of my blog and all you have to do is leave a comment telling me what piece of jewelry you like most on Nana's site. You can also get an extra entry if you "like" Nana Smith Designs on Facebook. I'll pick a winner next Wednesday, Oct. 19th.

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 4 mi, lift
Tues - 9 mi w/ ladders @ 6:45 pace
Wed - swim/lift (didn't happen this morning, hope to do it tonight)
Thurs - 9 mi w/ 3 mi @ marathon race pace
Fri - swim, 4 mi, lift
Sat - 20 mi
Sun - off

It's Not Just A Dream!

I wanted to become a personal trainer back in 1999. With very little support, I took the idea off the table and just kept it to myself. For years I thought about it and wanted to make it happen but the longer I waited, the more I thought I missed the boat. Also didn't help to have the golden handcuffs get tighter and tighter each year; realizing I probably won't ever leave my job because I'm so accustomed to certain standard of living. But, after years of dreaming about it and now having a husband who assured me I could do it, I took and passed my ACE certification exam last October. After passing I made one small goal: to make some sort of progress by the time I turned 35.

I tried really hard over the past year to make connections and get my foot in the door. I even looked into doing in home personal training but with a full time job and my own training, trying to learn about starting a business, getting insured, etc...yea, it just didn't happen. Persistance paid off though and I eventually landed a job as a sub at a local branch of the YMCA. Unfortunately it wasn't the YMCA I belonged to and never showing my face there didn't help me get clients. I started to think I was just going to be a personal trainer by certification and never really do anything with it. After all, it had been a dream for this long, why would I expect it to change much now.

Well, two Sundays ago I started a steady shift at the YMCA branch I belong to. The first Sunday was not what I had hoped for and thinking I gave up my one morning with Andy to mill around the Y had me really upset. But I decided to give it a few weeks to see if things would change and good thing I did!! I landed my first client yesterday and potentially have two others lined up. I scheduled my first appointment last night and was so nervous when I hung up the phone that I couldn't sleep! My mind has been racing all day about whether or not I can do this, if I can think quickly on my feet about setting the program as we go, making sure to keep it fun, interesting and challenging. I took some time over lunch to map out a general workout and I think I have some great ideas to start with. I'm beyond excited about this and hopefully my enthusiasm will do nothing but help.

Once again, I'm glad I didn't give up and throw in the towel. Not that I ever do, but I was starting to think this was seriously just a pipe dream of mine. Andy told me he never had any doubt that I'd make this work and my response was, "but it had always been just a dream and they usually don't come true." Guess I was wrong. And for once, I'm glad I was!

With my 35th birthday 3 weeks away, looks like I made my goal!!! Setting my sights on a much bigger one with lots more progress for next year!

Catching Up

Geesh, been a little bit since I last posted. Just didn't have much to say and needed a little break, I guess.

It's been a weird few weeks since the half Ironman. I was excited to switch back to marathon training but I was struggling to find my groove. I wasn't burned out, I know those signs all too well, I was just not myself. I've been getting my workouts in but they weren't necessarily exciting me. I think it might have been because the past few weeks were easy weeks and the workouts were a little boring. This week, week 4, kicked off speed work and I was so excited yesterday when I knew I had ladders to look forward to during my 8 miler this morning. I'm bumping up the paces a notch because I really want to shoot for a 3:30 at an upcoming marathon. I say "upcoming" because while I'd love to go for the 3:30 at Reggae, I'm just not sure how that will go with travel the day before, little sleep, the heat and a very early wake up call for the race (race starts at 5am). I decided I will give it a shot at Reggae but if at any second things don't feel right, I'll back off. I want to have a blast at Reggae and allowing myself to blow up and get upset will ruin the experience. If it doesn't happen in Jamaica, I have a back up race.

Aside from running, I haven't been that good about getting on the bike and in the pool. I managed a few easy bike trainer sessions but the pool....yea, haven't been in it. But! That will be changing tomorrow. I'm going to spend some time over the next few weeks working on technique and doing some drills and will be in the pool at least 2, if not 3, days a week. I'm not really sure where to fit the bike in lately with running 6 days a week, lifting 2-3, swimming 2-3 and trying to keep Sunday as a rest day. I'm thinking an easy bike session after work a few days a week might be the only way. I know I can't do it all but I'm just trying to not go into next years Tri season completely cold.

So, there you have it. I've been keeping myself busy with working out and even added to the mix with a steady shift at the Y. I've been on the sub list at a local branch since last winter, struggling to get clients, and working maybe one shift a month. Since I was never there, and it wasn't the branch I worked out at myself, getting a client to train was impossible. Well, that branch recently closed and I was able to snag a Sunday shift at the branch I work out every day. Giving up my one free day and one morning with Andy really sucks but we both agreed that if I'm ever going to make this personal training happen, I need to make some sacrifices. As long as I'm working a shift I can train clients whenever it works with my schedule so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this all works out.

After today's speed workout, I feel like things are getting interesting again with my workouts. Maybe this means I'll post more than once every 2 weeks, who knows! But I do know I'll be back later this week with a GIVEAWAY!!!

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 4 mi, lift
Tues - 8 mi with 2 ladders @ 6:49
Wed - swim, lift, bike
Thurs - 8 mi with 2 mi @ tempo
Fri - swim, 4 mi, lift
Sat - 19 mi
Sun - swim and/or rest

Philly Rock n Roll Half Marathon

The Philly Rock n Roll Half (formerly PDR) is probably my favorite race of the year. I love the course, a ton of my running buddies participate and the weather is always perfect. Since it fell the week after my 70.3 this year, I wasn't going to drop the money on a race I wasn't sure would even happen since I had no clue how I would recover from the HIM. But then a while back Brooks offered up a slot and I nabbed it thinking I would just run for fun and use it as a training run.

The day before the race I did everything you shouldn't do the day before. I volunteered at the Expo working the Brooks Cavalade and spent 8+ hours on my feet non stop. It was fun, but it was a long day and some how I never got told that lunch was delivered. So aside from my breakfast and enormous coffee, I only had a banana and a few sips of water all day. Needless to say, I was tired, hungry and cranky by the time my shift was over around 4pm.

After the Expo Andy picked me up and we headed to my sisters house in NJ for dinner. Within a minute of walking in the door I scarfed down some brie with grapes, hummus and pita, and a glass of wine. Perfect pre race nutrition!! We had a really nice dinner with my entire family and after a ton of food and 2 more glasses of wine; I could hardly keep my eyes open. My legs were throbbing, we still had an hour drive home, I had nothing ready for the morning and I questioned if I even wanted to bother with the race at all. I thought about it on the way home and figured I had to do a 13 mile run anyway, I mine as well run with a lot of people and get a medal out of it. So when we got home, I threw some stuff together and went straight to bed.

Woke up Sunday morning to chilly temperatures and met up with the running club to car pool. We got to the start with plenty of time and just relaxed. It was so nice having NO pressure on myself for this race. My only goal was to have a good run. After having to take walk breaks last weekend, even if they were after I swam and biked 58 miles, it still messed with me a little and I was concerned my running was starting to suck.

Anyway, lined up in corral 3 and we were off before I knew it. I had no intentions of looking at my watch and decided to just run by feel. The miles were ticking away and before I knew it we were looping back past the art museum around mile 5. Waves of runners were still starting; can't imagine starting over a half hour after the first wave! Once we hit this point all we had left was the Kelly/West River Drive loop which I ran 6 times for my Ultra. There's a part of this that's really boring and always messes with me, but knowing I only had to run it once and not 6 times, piece of cake!

I felt pretty good the entire race and each time I checked my watch I was under 8 minute miles. Since I can't do math in my head, especially when running, I had no idea how I was doing in terms of finishing. A few times I wanted to slow down and thought I was, but when I looked at my watch I was holding my pace steady. With 3 miles to go, I decided there was no way I was going to fall off pace now and pushed myself to keep going strong. I ran into a friend from the gym with about a mile to go and knowing she was on pace for a huge PR, I tried to push myself harder in hopes it would push her harder, too. I checked my watch and saw how close I was to a PR and knew I had to kick it into high gear the final uphill stretch. Thank goodness for these thighs I have, they come in handy at times like these, and I hit a sub 7 up the hill to the finish.

To my surprise, I squeezed out a little PR! Nothing to write home about, but since I wasn't racing and this was the week after my 70.3, I was pretty happy with the outcome. Especially since I felt great out there and the pace was completely comfortable.  I am kicking myself a little for the day I had on Saturday and wondering how I could have done had I went into this with the goal of racing, but there's nothing I can do about that now. I now have my sights set on the Philly half in November and want to all out race that. I can't say I've actually pushed real hard and raced a half before so that needs to change. I have a marathon schedule full of speed work and am excited to see what I can pull off in 2 months.

1:42:11

pace - 7:48

1887 / 16476 (total)

91 / 1743 (division)

435 / 9496 (female)

Post 70.3 Blues

Big races are like weddings. You put in so much time and effort thinking, planning and getting ready. Then all of a sudden, it's over in a blink of an eye and you're left wondering where the day went. I usually feel a little lost after a big race and sad that it's all over, but this time around, I'm crushed. I've been so down since Saturday and would give anything to go back and do it all over again. The fact that it was my last Tri of the season isn't helping matters either. I did look up some races to see if I could fit one more in but with 2 half marathons and a marathon already on my schedule for the rest of the year, I need to switch gears and stay focused on what's coming up.

Aside from feeling bummed out, my body feels pretty good. It took a day or so for my legs to actually feel a little sore but even then, it was nothing like being sore after a marathon. The worst of my soreness was actually my upper body which I think was from the position on the bike, coughing, and snot rocket neck turning. It's nice knowing that such a tough course didn't beat me up too bad physically and that I was in the right shape for the race.

I've been trying to not dwell on my finish time and just celebrate the fact that I finished. But for anyone who's been reading for a while, you know I'm really hard on myself.  Especially when I know I am capable of more. I did get confirmation from the race director that the swim was long, but they aren't sure by how much. Turns out they had the fire company set up the course and they screwed it up. So I feel a little better knowing there was a reason for my swim time and it wasn't just that I suck that badly. And I feel even better knowing that not only can I swim 1.2 miles, but I can swim more than that...just not sure how much more. (after I wrote this I found out that someone who wore a garmin on the swim had it measured at 1.6 miles...that's a HUGE difference!)

I've been doing a lot of thinking since Saturday and I'm feeling sort of good about my goals for next year. I have some things I want to research and iron out before I make anything official though. It's not as simple as just registering; I need to make sure I can fit this into my life, that I have support, funds, coaching, etc. Saturday was only half of an Ironman and it required a lot of sacrifices on both me and Andy. On top of that, I was lucky enough to do this one close to home and have my parents, Andy and friend KT there for portions of the race. I can't even express how much it helps knowing I'm going to see people while I'm out there and I can't imagine doing twice the distance without the motivation that I'll see loved ones along the way.

As usual, my mind is racing...

Quakerman 70.3 Race Report

I don't know what it is with me getting sick the week of the race but once again it happened. I came down with a killer cold the weekend before the race that left me on the couch for 3 days straight. I thought a week was enough time to lick it but when I woke up Friday morning (the day before the race) and had to take meds, I was a little worried. Thankfully I had nothing to do on Friday but get ready and relax, and that's all I did. I headed to bed exhausted but couldn't fall asleep. I usually sleep pretty well the night before a race but all I did was toss and turn all night. It was horrible. When 4:30am rolled around I was groggy and tired but pulled myself together.

We got up to the race right at 6am for packet pick up and transition set up. There was an Olympic distance and the 70.3 distance but even combined, this race was so small!! There were 105 Olympic finishers and only 65 half ironman finishers. While it was nice to not have things be crazy and overwhelming at race start, a small race can be lonely.

I was snotty mess all morning but didn't want to take any meds because they usually make me goofy. I kept hoping my sinuses would clear up before I entered the water because I didn't know how I would breathe with all the snot. Aside from that, I was fairly calm...until I went to scope out the swim course. It was a triangle that we had to loop two times. Thank goodness for loops, they make everything seem so much easier to me. But still, it looked far. And the water was only 71 degrees thanks to all the rain we've had here so I was worried I was going to be really cold. I kept my composure up until it was time to head over to the water and once that swim cap went on, I started to get choked up from nerves. I couldn't even talk for fear that I would start to cry uncontrollably so I gave Andy a quick kiss goodbye, waved to my parents, and lined up to head in. All the 70.3 racers went off in one wave so I situated myself towards the back of the pack telling myself just to keep it together and get this done.

When the gun went off it didn't take too long for me to find a spot to swim freely but even then, I had trouble getting my breathing under control and feeling comfortable. I kept my eye on my first buoy and kept my breathing to every two strokes. After we passed the first buoy I found some more space and started to feel much better about things. Then came along this idiot who could NOT swim in a straight line. This guy was literally zigzagging all over the place and was going right over top of people. When he hit someone, he'd spot, realize he was swimming perpendicular to the course, straighten out then do it again to the opposite direction. I wanted to kill him. I kept my cool and it took a while but eventually I found a hole and made my way around him. By the time I finished the first loop of the course, I was feeling really good. I knew I could do another loop and I was feeling pretty strong. The water was cold and my Raynauds kicked in a bit, but I just pushed through hoping my body would warm up. Mid way through the second loop when I knew I was going to make it out of the water, I was so excited and happy. I resisted the urge to look at my watch because I thought I was doing pretty well. Pretty much the entire second loop I was doing my normal breathing every 3 strokes (with the occasional breath to cough out the snot that was running down the back of my throat) and every point to point I swam a perfect straight line. Coming up on the last buoy and the beach, I was ecstatic. Just finishing the swim and proving I could do it was an incredible feeling. Looking at my watch though was a completely different feeling...NO WHERE near where I hoped to be. But then again, I'm not really surprised. I've felt this entire training cycle that I wasn't making progress in the water. Lesson learned and I'm going to make some changes and work on this over the winter.

Swim 1:00:43
T1 - 2:55 (changed my shirt and was SO happy I did; much more comfortable with the gross lake off of me)

Heading out for the bike I felt pretty confident. I've ridden this course through training and knew what I was up against with the hills. But with that being said, the first 0.6 miles of the course are a pretty good climb out of the park onto the main road and this section just killed me. Immediately I knew I wasn't 100% and that climb should not have felt as bad as it did. I passed a few people on the climb out of the park but after that, there wasn't really anyone around and it felt just like a normal training ride where I'm by myself. The course was three loops of rolling hills and even on the first loop the hills felt harder than they had on any training ride. I was a snotty mess and was blowing snot rockets every few minutes. On top of it, my lungs hurt and I just felt like I didn't have much gas in the tank. Andy was waiting at the entrance of the park to see me after each loop which was the sweetest thing ever. It was so nice knowing I was going to see him every hour and be able to let him know how I was doing. The first loop was snotty, but uneventful, and I passed Andy on the start of the second with a smile on my face.  Loop two hurt more that I wanted it to and as I approached Andy for the start of loop three, I said, "it might be a while, I'm hurting." During loop three the impending storm clouds in the distance started to roll in and wanting to finish the bike before the storm hit, I gave it everything I had left. As I approached the entrance back into the park, I had to pass the runners who were already on the run portion since we shared the same course. Ugh, that killed me...I knew I was one of the last ones out there. I tried to tell myself that it was more important that I was finishing this leg without any issues and I needed to stay focused. I made my way back down to transition to find Andy and my friend KT waiting there to greet me. It was SO nice seeing them!!

Bike - 3:37:42, ave 15.6 mph (slower than ANY training ride I've done...I'm sort of crushed by this)
T2 - 1:10 (13th fastest T2 time! Hey, at least I'm quick at something!)

I have never been so happy to run before in my life. The swim was stressful because it's just scary as shit to me. Then the bike is stressful because things are out of your control and after flatting out in my last race I was so scared to have that happen again. So when it came time to run, and it was familiar and safe and not scary, I couldn't wait!! I knew my run wouldn't be what I wanted it to be based on how I was feeling, but at this point I knew I was going to finish. I hustled out of T2 and was surprised to see my first mile was an 8:25. I held steady around 8:30 for a little bit until I hit my first climb of the run. It almost stopped me dead in my tracks and rather than killing myself to get up it, I decided to walk and have a gel. The gel totally helped and when I hit the second huge hill of the race, I was able to power up it. The run course was 2 loops so it was nice seeing what I was up against for the second loop but also bad because I was going to have to do these hills more than once.

On the way back to the turn around, a guy I had passed earlier on the big hill ran by me asking what loop I was on. I replied that it was my first to which he held up two fingers and shook them at me as he went by. I laughed out loud knowing the guy had his panties in a bunch because he was passed by a girl earlier and then he yelled back, "I was going to say...I'm on my second, you're going pretty fast." Whatever loser. But aside from this little exchange, I was so impressed by the camaraderie out there on the course. Everyone was giving each other words of encouragement. It wasn't your typical type of road race where you're racing for yourself; everyone knew how hard this was, how much work it took to get there, how important it was to finish and everyone was supporting each others efforts.

Anyway, to finish this up...I made it to the turn around, saw Andy and KT and ensured them I'd be back soon to finish! I was wearing the biggest smile on my face knowing that no matter what happened at this point, I would make it to the end. My pace had completely slowed down because I needed to take walk breaks from time to time. I was drained and snotty and had very little left. But when I was running, my pace was just under 9 minutes. Wish I could have done without the walk breaks, but I needed them. My stomach was not happy the last 2 miles and I wasn't sure if there was going to be an issue, but I managed to run through it determined to get to the finish as soon as I could.

Run - 2:00:46 (ave 9:13)
(placed 32nd on the run)

I took me longer to cross the finish line than I had hoped it would but my ultimate goal was to finish and that's what I did. It was an incredible experience and I'm really shocked and proud that I pulled this off. I've never been a swimmer and I went from zero to 1.2 miles over the course of a summer. My first time on the bike outside since I was a little kid was this past April and I rode a really challenging course for my first half IM. I set my sights on something I wanted and I went out there and I made it happen. I am a 70.3 finisher.

 Total - 6:43:16

47th/65 finishers

6th in AG*

*out of 6...geesh, couldn't there have been 7 women in my AG? ;-)

So, overall, a great day! Sum it up by saying it was fun, hard, long and humbling. I've been blessed with a really good running record and I'm not used to being towards the back of the pack. It was a little hard to swallow at times, but considering I only started with triathlons 3 months ago, I'm proud of myself. There are some things I would have changed from training to race selection, but that's water under the bridge. It's time to think of my next big challenge...

What I DO Have...

I may not have...

• the most fancy bike
• the typical triathlete body
• the best balance dismounting the bike
• the ability to swim fast

But I DO have...

• guts for taking this on in the first place
• endurance that never seems to end
• mental toughness that got me through running 51.2 miles

And come Saturday, I will...

• focus on what I DO have
• smile
• call myself a 70.3 finisher!

I'm feeling ok about Saturday except the weather forecast calling for rain and cooler temps* has me nervous. I really don't want to do the bike portion in the rain. It can downpour as soon as that's over for all I care, just wait till I'm off the damn bike! I also don't do well in cooler temperatures and being wet in cooler temperatures is a recipe for disaster for me and my Raynauds. I'm going to pack a shirt in case I need to change into something dry when I come out of the water and will hope for the best that the rain holds off. Hard to believe that it's only 2 sleeps away...

I went back to read my race report and what I leared from my Ultra and saw this...it was the perfect little reminder.

"You know, I'm not a very deep person, there's really not that much to me. But I'm always looking to find out more about myself. And I did learn one really important thing this past weekend...I learned that not only can I do anything I set my mind to, but I will do it. I am not a quitter and I am more determined than I even thought I was."

*anything under 80 degrees is considered "cooler" for me and causes my Raynauds to flare up. I'm part lizard.

Race Week Already??

Where did the summer go and how is it already race week?? Eeek!! 3 months ago I felt like I had all the time in the world to prepare and now I'm 4 days out from the race and wondering if I even trained at all! I don't know why I feel this way because I followed my schedule to a T. I went to bed most nights while it was still light out and the kids were still playing outside. I woke up at 4:40am every day to put in a few hours of training before work. I toughened up va-jay-jay muscles I didn't even know I had and am now the poster child for chlorine damaged hair. I put in the time whether I feel like I did or not and now I just have to hope that it was enough.

Unfortunately, I woke up last Friday with a sore throat. Something is going around my group and this little secure area we work in with no ventilation doesn't let you escape without catching what everyone else has. Totally sucks. But anyway, after leaving work on Friday I headed straight home for the couch and meds. I had one more long ride to get in Saturday morning and I was determined to get that done. I woke up Saturday, popped some meds, and headed off to the race course. The bike course is 3 HILLY loops so I wanted to do exactly this to prove to myself that I had it in me. I used this ride to practice one more time my bike nutrition and also added in the task of trying to pop Endurolyte capsules while riding. I am so not good with multi tasking on the bike so I really slow down when I go to fumble with a gel, drink, etc. But I managed to pop the capsules out of their little holder with some creative tongue work and didn't lose control. I even mapped out exact spots along the course where it'd be best to eat/drink (i.e. one of the few flat spots, large shoulder) and I have different land marks to focus on to get me through the rough patches. I've ridden the course so many times now that I know all the ins and outs, what to watch out for, and where my most mentally challenging spots will be. Saturday took me a little longer than I would have liked but I'm still not exactly sure how much to push on the bike and on top of it, I was sick. So hopefully come race day, feeling better and the adrenaline, I'll be able to push a little harder.

After this workout, I went straight home and back to the couch where I stayed the entire weekend. I'm feeling a little better but no where near 100%. I missed my workout yesterday and was going to make it up today since today was a rest day, but I might not even bother. A half hour swim and half hour run at this point won't make me any more prepared for Saturday.

So am I prepared?? I know I can swim 1.2 miles (in a pool!). I know I can run a half marathon. And now I know I can ride 56 hilly ass miles. Come Saturday it's time to put all three together and see what I can do. I usually go into every race with some sort of time goal but I've been humbled by this training. That combined with not knowing this race distance at all and so many things being out of my control, I decided that my goal for Saturday is just to finish. To finish and to have fun.

Final Brick Done!

When I signed up for the half Ironman, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I have a habit of doing that; just like when I signed up for the 50 miler after doing just one marathon. Nothing like jumping right in and just doing it. I don't like giving myself the option of not doing it. Once it's on the schedule, I know I'll do what it takes to get me across the finish line. And now, after what seems like the shortest summer of my life, I'm only a week and a half away from that finish line I've been thinking about for over 4 months.

I've definitely had my ups and downs during this training and I think I actually learned a few things about myself along the way. I mean, how could I have not? I've spent countless hours by myself over the past few months. Which has probably been the hardest part of this all. I am absolutely fine heading out for a long run by myself and most times when I'm alone, I enjoy the quiet time. But I'm not the one to turn down the opportunity to run with friends and I've missed that so much this summer. Maybe because my past 2 summers were spent attached to the hip of a friend as we trained for ultras, conquering not only back to back long runs but awesome 30+ mile runs together.

Even though I like the company, I know these solo monster bricks I did through training will serve me well on race day when I'm out there alone. I had my second big brick this past Saturday and due to the hurricane, I played it safe and did 3.5 hours on the trainer. Part of me is worried I took the easy way out by doing it on the trainer but after 77 miles, a shredded rear tire, and a pool of sweat on the floor, I'm hoping I made it worth my while. Time flew by on the trainer thanks to a Married With Children marathon and before I knew it I was heading out the door for a long run. I had an hour and half on the schedule and started off feeling great, legs ready to move. But within a few miles, the humidity got the best of me and I started to fade. I held on the best I could and finished up with 12 miles and between 5 - 5.5 hours of training.

Surprisingly, I felt GREAT after the workout despite horrific chafing that kept me wincing most of the day/night. I think I might have finally nailed my nutrition and found something that works for me. It was the first time in a very long time I didn't have stomach issues or feel exhausted afterwards. I didn't even take a nap and for anyone that knows me, that's a pretty big deal!

So, I'm finishing up this last big week before I slow down for a week of tapering. Physically I feel great and the last 2 big weeks of training I've felt my best. I was most scared of these two weeks but they weren't nearly as bad as I had envisioned when I first saw my schedule. And with that, it's given me a glimmer of hope that I might be able to tackle a *slightly* bigger goal if I choose to go that way.

Getting Ahead Of Myself

I really want to do a 5k or two once I get past these last few weeks of half Ironman training and the race itself. My paces have been coming really naturally lately and I'm dying to see what I could do with an all out effort. Funny that I'm running so much less than what I'm used to yet my paces are getting better and I finish each run feeling like it was such a quality workout. No more junk miles over here!! So, after I followed up my hour swim this morning with 7.5 miles, where I ran ladders at a 7:00 min/mi pace and felt like it was nothing, I decided it was time to register for that 5k. But first, I needed to know where I could fit it in during marathon training. And since I didn't have a training plan for Reggae put together, I got to work!!

I've never before enjoyed putting a plan together. In fact, I despised it and went back to my running coach time and time again for help and guidance. But that wasn't the case today. I took the plan I used for Shamrock, modified it a bit, and produced 12 kick ass weeks of training. While I was putting it together I couldn't help but think of all the hard work I put into training for Shamrock. I worked so hard, pushing the paces even more than I needed to for my 3:35 goal, and then was knocked on my butt the week of the race due to the flu. Yes, I still got my 3:35 finish, but I knew going into that race, during the race and after the race that I had much, much more in me. And it's been killing me ever since.

I got really excited today thinking about marathon training and the possibilities at Reggae. Maybe because I know my capabilities when it comes to running. I'm so much more confident with running and know that's why I'm eager to get back to marathons. But right now I can't get ahead of myself. I need to stay focused on this little 70.3 I have in 3 weeks. Once I have this race under my belt, I know the confidence will be there with triathlons, too. It's just the unknown distance right now hanging over my head, and the unknown can be a little scary.

But as I head into my final 2 hard weeks of training, I'm feeling great. I have a brick this Saturday (3:30 bike, 1:30 run) that's going to put me in my place and I'm actually excited for it. It's going to be the closest I'll get to race day and I'm looking forward to pushing through and finishing it feeling strong and confident. So no more talk about marathons until I cross the finish line on September 10th and am able to say...I am *half* of an Ironman!

First Big Brick...and a WINNER!!

This weekend I had my first of two killer brick sessions leading up to the race in September. Since I need to get used to the hills I'll be facing on race day, I decided to do 2 loops of the bike course and then some out and backs to make up any remaining time. After my flat tire on this course during the race the weekend before, and the fact that I was doing this workout solo, I was a little nervous. I knew I could push myself to do the workout, but being out there alone for almost 5 hours was going to be a good mental test. Since the half Ironman I'm doing is really small, I know I'll be alone during the race when things get tough so I need to be prepared for that.

I packed up for what looked like a weekend getaway and headed up to the lake bright and early Saturday morning. It was perfect weather and I was excited to see how the day would go. Right off the bat I felt ok being out there alone and with that confidence, I loosened up a bit and found myself really enjoying the ride. The hills on this course are rough and killed my pace on the bike, but that's ok. I had a lot I wanted to work on during this workout so not everything could be spot on. Hopefully my pace will improve on the course over the next 3 weekends since I'll be doing all my rides up there to get ready.

One of my main goals for this workout was to figure out nutrtion for race day. With the goal of 30-60g of carbohydrates per hour on the bike, I decided to split this up between a half of clif bar right at the start then use acceler-gels and sips of perpetuem throughout the ride. Since I know how my stomach gets during long workouts from Ultra training, and how certain foods just won't go down, I packed a poptart as a back up snack. I'm not sure there would ever be a moment during a race when I could turn down a strawberry frosted poptart! I was glad I packed it because mid second loop, I started to feel hungry and knew a gel wasn't going to cut it. While on the bike, not counting the clif bar right at the start, I consumed 430 calories and definitely not enough water. I rode 50 miles, my longest distance to date, and I was definitely hurting towards the end of it. My lower back, cooze, and legs were so ready to get off the bike and I let out more than a few moans of discomfort those last few miles.

After a quick transition I was out and running.  I was so thirsty right from the get go and opted to run with just plain water. My goal was to eat a clif blok every 2 - 2.5 miles like I do for marathons since my stomach can't handle big surges of sugar on the run.  My legs were pretty tired from all the hills on the bike but without even trying I fell right into race pace and held it steady for the majority of the run. I was in and out of the sun on a paved path and every time I hit the sun I started to feel a little funny. On top of that, I could barely choke down the bloks as planned and I was insanely thirsty. My plain water wasn't cutting it. I stopped at the boat rental shack to ask if they had ice because I was craving something cold to drink but unfortunately they didn't have any. Then right after that 30 second stop, I started to feel really emotional (sugar level definitely off) and I had some trouble breathing. It felt like I was about to hyperventilate so I stopped running to catch my breath. Within a minute or so I was running again and feeling ok but it was rough making my way back to my car. I had one huge hill in the sun around mile 9 that I decided to walk up and that sort of sucked. I'm usually really strong running hills but by this point, I was done. I made it back to my car, refilled my hand held with ice cold water and a nuun and set out for another mile. I was dying of thirst and ended up chugging half the bottle before the tablet even dissolved. Obviously need to work more on the nutrition and hydration!! I forgot to turn my Garmin on so I'm not exactly sure of my total distance, but it was between 10-11 miles.

After the workout, I mentally felt great.  I know I could have ridden 6 more miles and ran 3 more if I needed to. So the race distance is a little less scary. The hills on the course are going to be a bitch though and I need to make sure I keep enough in the tank for the run. As for how I felt physically afterwards...BEAT! I was so tired and my legs were aching so badly as I drove home. When I called Andy to say I was on my way, the first thing out of my mouth was, "I'll never whine about marathon training again."

As for the winner of the Dick's Sporting Goods gift card, I assigned each entry a number and had Andy picked randomly. Lucky #4 is the winner...Sara from Words to Run By!! Sara, email me at dclaffey76@yahoo.com by Wednesday to claim your prize.