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