IMFL - After the Finish

So after the hugs and tears I stood in line for my finisher photo and then easily found my family. While I was out on the run Andy and my Dad collected my gear bags and my bike so there wasn't anything I needed to collect when I was done. We stood around for only a few minutes getting some pictures and then we headed back to the car. I was feeling really good but my stomach was a little funny. It was hard walking back to the car and seeing people just heading out for their second loop; it was going to be a long night for a lot of people. I had wanted to stick around for the midnight finish but I never wanted to take a shower and brush my teeth so badly so I headed home.

Once home I immediately started to feel sick. I hopped in the shower and my skin hurt so badly to touch. I couldn't even put the bar of soap to my skin. I hurt EVERYWHERE. I also had some pretty good chafing so that stung horribly. Mid way through the shower my vision got cloudy, I started yawning like nuts and I thought I was going to throw up. I turned off the shower and sat on the edge, all covered in soap and shampoo, for a few minutes. It eventually subsided enough that I was able to rinse off. I managed to get some ginger ale and saltines in me and that made me feel so much better.

I have never been able to sleep after a long race or long workout but this night, I was exhausted! I fell right to sleep around 11pm but woke up at 1:30 still sore to touch and starving. I got an Ensure and laid in bed until everyone else woke up. I felt pretty good on Sunday; I was slow moving but I still took the stairs at the condo...and we were on the 4th floor! We laid around all day at the pool and I relaxed in the hot tub a few times to loosen things up.

I was less sore after this than I have been after racing a marathon, which I thought was pretty crazy. In fact, my body has felt fine all week. The only thing that's keeping me from doing much is that I'm exhausted. Exhausted like I've never felt before. I've been getting 9-10 hours of sleep and I still can't wake up in the morning. I did manage to get to the gym on Thursday and did 45 minutes on the elliptical, which felt really good. But I was slow and sluggish. I took today off again and will do a little bit more tomorrow. It feels really weird to not be living by a training plan right now.

Hard to believe that this time last week I was dropping off my bike and gear bags. I really wish I was there right now, getting ready to do it all over again. It all happened way too fast.

IMFL - The Run

I ran out of T2 with a smile on my face. FINALLY, the day was in my control, my two feet were on the ground, I was running, which is what I do best. I saw my family within the first few minutes and I passed them wearing a huge smile. It was hot out and without the wind on the bike, you could really feel the heat. My strategy for the run was to walk every aid station and use this time to regroup and take in some nutrition. When the first aid station came up, I wasn’t ready for a walk break but I forced myself to take it and stick to plan.

 

I stuck to my plan and was feeling pretty good. I was SHOCKED at how many people were already walking and thought to myself, “this is exactly why I didn’t push too hard on the bike.” The first 6 miles of the run went well, I was feeling good but the bottom of my left foot was killing me and I was getting concerned. At each aid station I took cold sponges and squeezed them over my head and wiped down my face and neck. I also took some ice and put it in my sports bra. There wasn’t much shade on the course and I couldn’t wait for the sun to go down.

 

After I made the turn around just past mile 6, I lost any interest in eating and my stomach started feeling funny. I made it back to the hub of the race and the half way point and again saw my family. I told them that I was going to have to walk more because of my foot and that I thought I was going to throw up. When I left them Andy walked a bit with me and told me how proud everyone was of me and that I was on pace for a 12:XX finish. I told him that probably wouldn’t happen with how I was feeling but I would definitely finish. I picked up my pace, said good bye and started running again.

 

I took longer walk breaks the second loop and forced myself to sip coke and chicken broth. I hadn’t had a gel since mile 8 of the run and the thought of eating made me so sick. The coke tasted good but I could only do little sips at a time. I also tried to eat some of the peanut butter M&Ms I had in my special needs bag but I couldn’t even tolerate them. I never thought I’d find a time where I’d pass up peanut butter M&Ms!

 

On the first loop, going through the short out and back in the park was so long and boring. So on the second loop of the run, I kept telling myself to just get past the park, knowing I’d feel better as soon as that part was over. It was getting dark at this point and I’m not kidding, I was one of the few people running. Some people were walking briskly, some were barely walking, but hardly anyone was running.  There was a lot of suffering going on; tears, frustration, puking…at points I literally put my hands up to act as blinders.

 

Once I was out of the park and heading back to the finish, I got my second wind. I still couldn’t eat but the oranges tasted so good so I took 2 of them at every aid station.  I also started calculating how far I had to go and if I held on I knew I’d finish sub 13. With 2 miles to go, I could hear a faint noise in the distance. It only took a second to realize that I was hearing the noise at the finish line. That definitely put a smile on my face! As I approached mile 25, this was the party section of the course with the spectators, I actually stopped to walk because I wanted to soak it all in. The day had been going so fast and was almost a blur. I wasn’t ready for it to be over.

 

As I approached what was the half way point on the first loop, a volunteer said, “finishers to the right, second loop to the left.” I smiled and said, “I’m a finisher, I’m a finisher!” and the crowds starting cheering SO loud!! I started crying and thinking, “I can’t believe this is it!” I made my way down the finish chute trying to take it all in. I picked my dad out of the crowd and he was wearing the biggest smile. A little further down I could hear my sister, Michelle, yelling my name but I couldn’t find her in the bright lights. Then finally, after 365 days and 12 hours and 30 minutes I heard, “from Ambler, Pennsylvania, Denise Terry, YOU are an Ironman!”

 

I covered my face, bawling, as the volunteer caught me. She told me how well I did and walked me to get my water, blanket, shirt/hat, medal…it was all so surreal. I remember 2 of the volunteers hugging me and congratulating me. Then I saw my family on the side of the fence and I went over to hug them. Oh my gosh, the tears!!! We were all crying! And hugs never felt so good!

 

Final – 12:30:37

1026 Overall

36 in AG

 

IMFL - The Bike

The mount line was crowded and having heard it would be like this, I took my bike over to the far right in an attempt to get out of the way. I was barely there for a second clipping in my right foot when some old, heavyset dude said, “hurry up.” I told him nicely to be quiet and took off.  I don’t think my one second of clipping in was the difference in this guy qualifying for Kona or not, believe me.

 

So off on the bike I went. My goal for the bike was to not push too hard. I wanted to have a good run and didn’t want the last part of the race to be a complete suffer fest. I was passed by a ton of people but I also did my fair share of passing. I didn’t let it bother me and I just stayed focused on eating and drinking. Around mile 35 some guy came up along side of me and we chatted for a few. Before he continued on, he said, “these people passing you, you swam faster than them.” I told him that those were my thoughts exactly and that I’d pass them later on the run. 

 

It was warm out and not a cloud in the sky; which was fine with me! I much prefer heat to cold, especially when I’m on the bike. I had a little strategy of staying in my “box” throughout the race. Several times on the bike when my mind started to drift to the run, I would visual my “box”, put myself back in it, close the door and lock it. It might sound silly, but it really helped. I didn’t once look or worry about my speed, I only paid attention to my cadence and stayed within myself. Before I knew it, I was approaching the half way mark and my special needs bag.

 

Making the stop at the half way point definitely hurt my time but I wasn’t in this race to win it. I stopped to mix a new bottle of nutrition, eat an uncrustable and restock on endurolytes since I had lost my container of them around 20 miles back. I also used the bathroom, which was the only time I went until I got home from the race later that night. Yikes!

 

Second half of the bike was uneventful, thankfully. And long. And painful. At mile 60, I told myself to get to 70. At 70, I told myself to just get to 80. I kept playing this game knowing that once I hit 90 I would mentally get a boost to make it to 100 and then the final home stretch. Everything started really hurting by mile 70. My back, which has acted up all through training was in horrible pain. I took advil at the half way point but it wasn’t enough to make it go away. It hurt to be in aero but I had to stay in that position. We had some head winds and being upright just slowed me down that much more. I also started getting this horrible pain on the bottom of my left foot right where my toes attach to my foot. It was so bad that around mile 100 I had to stop, loosen my shoe and stretch my foot a bit. It didn’t really help.

 

Finally, I turned back onto Thomas Drive and was on my way back to transition. This was THE BEST feeling ever!!!! I was so ready to get off the bike and I was so grateful that nothing happened during the ride. As I was coming into transition, I spotted my family and threw my arm in the air cheering. I’ve never been so happy! The longest, most mentally stressful part of my day was over!

 

I dismounted my bike, handed it to a volunteer, ripped off my shoes to give my feet some relief and headed to T2. Did another change in T2 because I rode in bike shorts and also threw on a tank top because of the heat. I felt great in T2; didn’t feel like I had just rode 112 miles at all and I was ready to get out on the run.

 

Bike – 6:22:04, ave 17.6mph*

1636 Overall, 54 in AG

 

T2 – 7:53 (seriously, where does time go? I didn’t think I was that slow!)

 

*(according to my computer, which stopped when I stopped at special needs, I averaged 18mph and it took me 6:12. It really didn’t feel like 10 minutes at special needs, not sure what’s up with that!)

 

 

IMFL - The Swim

The gun went off...

 

Without a second thought, I was heading into the water. The waves that were there, I don’t even remember them. I was just looking straight ahead, pushing through the sea of people. I started swimming, keeping my head up because there was just so much going on. Words cannot describe the chaos in the beginning. It’s insane. There was a fleeting moment when I thought, “this is it, I’m done.” But I looked around and there’s no one to help you. Yes, there are boats and kayaks but you can’t see them amidst all the flailing arms and splashes so I just stuck my head down and got to work. My swim coach told me to just get through the first 8 minutes and it would settle down. I actually remembered this and kept repeating it to myself. He was right.

 

I was getting kicked and hit left and right and the male swimmers were ruthless. I had my legs pulled, my torso pushed down, and took a few hits that actually made me yell “ow.” But with each push I fought back and held my position. I saw one swimmer, a male probably in his 20’s, struggling. He was on his back and you could see the panic in his face. I asked him if he was ok and he could barely utter, “this is so unreal.” I told him to go slow and take deep breaths. There was no time to say much more because I just had to keep moving with the masses. Before I knew it I was at the first bouy, which was calmer than I was expecting.

 

After a short swim parallel to the beach, we were heading back towards the shore. The craziness on the first loop never really subsided but I was at least able to find my rhythm and swim. I swam as far in as I could, using the waves to my advantage, and exited the water for my second loop. I walked the short stretch of the beach, grabbed some water to rinse the salt water out of my mouth and spotted Andy. I was smiling ear to ear and started jumping up and down. I had checked my watch and was ecstatic that my first loop clocked in at 33 minutes. I was WAY ahead of where I thought I would be.

 

Entering the water for the second loop was much harder because we had to cut across on a diagonal and fight the current and waves. But it was much less crowded at this point and I had plenty of room to swim. It crowded up again at the bouy and this time, the turn was what I was expecting. Ugh, shoves left and right! At this point things got crazy again and I had a bunch of big guys around me. I tried throwing some harder kicks to get them off my legs but every time I did, my calves started to cramp. Twice I had to swim without kicking to let my calves relax. This was the only time I got a little nervous. I didn’t know what I would do if I started getting those horrible calf cramps. Thankfully, relaxing and just using my upper body for a few strokes helped.

 

When we made the final turn and were heading to the finish, I just couldn’t believe it. I almost didn’t want it to end. I felt great. Not once did my heart rate go up, I didn’t panic and exiting the water, I didn’t even feel like I exerted any energy. I felt exactly like I hoped I would feel.

 

Beaming, I ran up the sand to the line of “strippers.” I purposely ran to the very end of the line, which happened to have the two cutest guys doing the pulling, and sat down on the rug. Within a second, they had me stripped and lifted me right back up. I smiled, said thanks, and headed towards the shower. I found my dad along the way and yelled, “that was crazy!” with a huge grin on my face.

 

I took a few extra seconds in the shower because I had so much sand on my butt but the showers didn’t provide enough pressure to wash away any sand. From there, I ran up to my bike gear bag and headed into transition.

 

Swim – 1:13:49*

807 overall, 27 in AG

 

I had to do a complete change in T1 because I swam in my bathing suit instead of my tri kit. I didn’t rush too much because I wanted to make sure I didn’t get frazzled and that I did everything I needed to do before I left for the bike. The volunteer helping me was great and she saw more of me than Andy probably has over the past few months! As I ran out of T1 I passed a port o pot and figured I better try to go. That definitely added some time onto my transition but better that than going in my pants.

 

T1 – 15:23

 

I volunteer was ready and waiting with my bike by the time I reached my rack. I thanked them, grabbed my bike and headed to the mount line...

 

*(I found out that the part you run across the beach is not counted in the 2.4 mi distance so that explains the second loop being so much slower than the first)

IMFL - The beginning

And just like that, it’s over.  If I could rewind the clock and do it all over again today, I would in a heart beat. This was by far, the most incredible, most memorable day of my life. Here’s how it went down…

I was originally scheduled to fly out on Wednesday but with Hurricane Sandy heading up the east coast, I made the decision on Saturday morning to hop in the car with my parents and head down on Sunday.  My parents were already driving my gear and bike down but moved up their departure day due to the storm. I was so stressed on Saturday but arriving in Panama City on Monday worked out for the best. I was able to lay out my stuff as soon as we arrived and then spend the rest of the week trying to relax as much as possible.

When we arrived early in the week the ocean was rough! Like big waves and white caps rough. There was no one in the water practicing and the condition of the water had me worried. I was hoping to get my first practice swim in on Wednesday but due to the conditions, I pushed it off a day in hopes it would calm down a bit. Instead I headed right to athlete check-in at 9am and left with my blue wrist band that made it all official!!

On Thursday morning I headed over to swim and you would have thought it was race day. I was so scared!! My stomach was a mess and I was on the verge of tears. The water had calmed down only a little bit and you had to get past some pretty good breakers and strong current before there was any swimming to be done. But within seconds of being in the water, I felt good.  I only did a short swim but I knew if I could handle those conditions, and it was only suppose to get better, that I would be ok on race day. I felt great after this and really started getting excited.

On Friday morning I headed over to drop off my bike and gear bags and to scope out the lay out of the transition area.  Andy, my Dad, and I set up a plan so I knew exactly where I would see everyone on race day. Once we left the race site, it set in just how real this was and back at the condo, I curled up in bed to collect my thoughts. While Andy was gone picking up my sisters at the airport, I had a little break down. My mind was racing and fear was definitely setting in.

After setting FOUR alarm clocks, it was lights out at 9pm. Surprisingly; I got a good night sleep and woke up Saturday morning feeling well rested. At the condo, my nerves were at bay. I went through all my “race day” lists making sure I had everything and Andy and I headed to the start around 5:15am. It was crowded and dark but there was a quiet energy I can’t really explain. We dropped off my special need bags, I got marked and then we headed to bike transition so I could fill my bottles and pump my tires. I checked my bike over, said a quick prayer that it wouldn't fall apart on the ride, and headed to the boardwalk to start to suit up.

So far everything was calm and methodical. I was going through the motions, staying focused and just in awe of what was going on around me. So many people, racers and spectators, signs, team shirts, smiles, tears…it was amazing. And I was a part of it. Crazy.

After I got my wet suit on, we headed to the beach and found my family. This is where the “oh shit, what am I doing?” hit me. I’m not sure what I was feeling at this moment but I just started crying. I said my good byes, hugs and kisses, and headed over to the swim start. Everyone seemed calm, me included, but eyes were filled with tears. I was in a sea of green swim caps with very few pink caps around me. I didn’t know if I was in a good position or not because a lot of racers were starting in the water and not on the beach. I knew I wanted to be in the top third, right behind the first quarter, and found myself moving up towards the front a little bit more. I knew I could handle the swim and didn’t want to get stuck behind people that would hinder me. I'd rather take a few hits than spend my time trying to navigate around people.  I barely had time to think about anything more and the gun went off...



 

I Am Ready!

Two weekends ago I had my final, longest brick: 90 mile ride followed by a 16 mile run. I have to admit, while I was trying not to put any pressure on myself, I wanted this workout to go really well. I mean, it was the closest thing I was going to get to race day and if it didn't go well I knew I'd be a mess thinking I wasn't prepared. Thankfully, that wasn't the case!

I prepped for this brick like it was race day. I completely cleared my calendar the day before and spent the day relaxing and staying off my feet. I slept fine the night before knowing I did all I could to get me ready for this workout. When I woke up on Saturday morning, I was more excited than anything to get it done. I had my good friend Dana lined up to meet me when I started the run so that gave me something to look forward to.

The goal of the ride was to stay focused, make sure my nutrition was spot on and not push so hard that I left nothing in my legs for the run. I was barely into the ride when at mile 8 I got a flat tire. My first one of the summer. I stayed completely calm and started to run through the steps in my head of what needed to be done: move to small ring, take off wheel, etc. I didn't get too much further before some guys stopped to make sure I was ok. I've practiced changing my tire and could have done it alone but I was happy to have some help knowing I was already in for a long day and that Dana would be waiting to meet me for the run. After blowing out the first tube we put on, and worried my day was over, the guys gave me one of their tubes and I was good to go in about 8 minutes. I headed back to my car to inflate my tire all the way then set out to finish what I started. This messed up my nutrition plan a bit but as soon as I started again, I got right back on my schedule.

The rest of the ride went fine except for the wind. Ugh, the wind. I know it's good practice for IMFL but man does it just suck. My legs were burning really bad for the last 15-20 miles and I was so worried I pushed too hard. I also kept thinking about the run and meeting up with Dana so I was really anxious to get this part over with. I need to remember this on race day and think ONLY about the bike while I'm on the bike. If I think too far ahead it will make for a long day.

After just over 90 miles I was back at my car and ready to go! I was so happy to see Dana and catch up on her trip to lake Tahoe. She did the Tahoe triple the weekend before (that's 3 marathons in 3 days, people!) and won 2nd female!! I like to surround myself with bad ass people. Anyway, after a quick wardrobe change and pack up of the car, we were off. I didn't think or worry about pace and just focused on keeping it steady. I felt good at the start and the thought of a long run didn't seem too daunting at all.  Around mile 8 I started to feel like I had been working out for hours but my legs held on and the steady pace continued. I started getting worried around mile 10 that if it wasn't for Dana, I might have snuck in a walk break. Not because anything hurt, but just because a walk break sounded nice. But we pushed on and at mile 13 I got my second wind. I'm not sure if it was because I realized I was actually going to finish this or what, but I felt great.

With just a few tenths of a mile to go, Dana said, "You did it Sunny D!" and I swear to you, at that moment I felt 20lbs lighter. The biggest weight had been lifted. For 6 months I waited for this workout, I stressed about this workout. This was the one that would prove if I was ready or not. I had a lot riding on it in my crazy head. As we finished, I got tears in my eyes and for the first time since I registered for this race almost a year ago, I said, "I'm ready."

As we were standing at our cars afterwards, I felt great. I don't mean I felt ok, I mean I felt GREAT. In fact, for the next few hours I felt incredible. It finally hit me around 9pm though when all of a sudden I became so emotional. Not sure if it was related to nutrition, exhaustion, or all the stress finally being over but I just broke down and started to cry. They were the good tears, though. The kind you get when you know you're Ironman ready.

September Recap

Life/work has been so insane lately that I haven't even had he time to think about blogging let alone type up a post. But since I'm apparently in the midst of the craziest thing I'll ever take on, I feel like I need to document something. A lot has gone on since my last post but as you'd expect, most of it includes long, long rides, long runs and lots of swimming.

I'm in the last week of my last build and this past weekend I did my longest ride...106.7 miles. It was uneventful, thankfully, and the wind I experienced the entire ride was hopefully good practice for race day. I once again rode by myself and while it was lonely at times, I stayed focused and tried not to let the wind frustrate me. Really there's nothing more frustrating than pedaling away into a head wind. From what I hear, it sounds like I'll experience a head wind in FL for only half the course...and I'm praying it's on the way out.  A nice tail wind pushing me to T2 would be the best! Anyway, everything went well and I feel pretty confident with my nutrition plan. I thought for sure I'd be wiped out the rest of the day but I actually felt fine by the time I got home. My legs felt great and when I woke up the following day, I knocked out a 18 mile run like it was nothing. Don't get me wrong, by mile 13 my legs were tired!!! And heavy. And my back hurt. But my legs didn't slow down and they held pace. In fact, my last 3 miles were my fastest.

So this week is all leading up to my final brick workout: 90 mile ride/16 mile run. A few months ago this seemed like the scariest workout ever. But now, I'm actually excited for it. It will be a big test and the closest to race day that I'm going to get. I'm treating it as if it were the race and taking it very serious. Not only do I want this to go well, I need this to go well. I'm starting to get scared/anxious/nervous so killing this brick would be an incredible confidence booster. No pressure, but I'm focused and ready for it.

It's hard to believe that the race is one month from tomorrow. But each month as I look back at the numbers, I know I put in a lot of hard work. Here's September's recap:

Swim - 31600 yds*

Bike - 624.69 miles

Run - 135.04 miles

Not too shabby.

*(slightly lighter month due to such long rides on wknd; didn't force myself to get that extra Saturday swim in)

Brick #2: The Workout That...

I had my second big brick this past weekend, which due to some issues at work, I moved to Saturday. The weather was going to be hot (90 degrees) and humid but that's what I've trained in all summer so I didn't let it concern me. I was completely calm on Friday, not anxious or nervous about the workout. In fact, I was looking forward it. After my 70/14 brick went so well, and my 100 mile ride the weekend before, I was feeling confident that I could handle this brick.

Right from the get go on the bike, it seemed like the miles were ticking by so slowly. I kept telling myself to stay in the present and focus on the bike, not think about the run until that time came and take it easy. It was humid and overcast with the sun occasionally popping out, so the weather was bearable. But with storms coming in later in the day, it was windy. The first 2 loops weren't that bad but my legs were feeling the ride waaaay more than normal.  They were burning and when I stopped for a pit stop before the third loop, I could tell they had been working harder than normal.  By the time I started my third and final loop, the wind had really picked up and I wasn't sure which direction it was coming from. My last 12 miles back to the car were pretty rough and I could not wait to get off the bike.

I hustled the best I could to get ready for the run but the bike ride had really put a kink in my lower back; it was so sore and I was moving a little slow. I was off and running in about 6-7 minutes and just as I started, don't you know, the sun started shining. From the first few steps, I felt SO off. I made it about 1.7 miles when I thought I was going to throw up. I found a little piece of shade and actually had to sit down. After a few minutes I continued on, running the best I could, and taking short walk breaks when the sun got to be too much. But my body seemed to have enough and at mile 3 I started breathing really hard and had to sit down to catch my breath. That's when the tears came...I sat right on the edge of the bike path and just cried. I remembered a friend telling me about how you get emotional when your glycogen is depleted, so I forced myself to eat a gel. After I calmed down, I tried again.

At mile 4.5 I made it to a park with a water fountain and bathroom. I walked around wondering what the heck I should do when I finally asked someone if I could borrow their phone. I called Andy and as soon as I heard his voice, I started crying. He asked if I needed him to come get me, but I didn't even know where I was. Just hearing his voice made me feel better though and I decided I'd work my way back to my car and touch base with him then. After taking a long break in the shade, using the bathroom and drinking a ton of water, I set back out.

I made it back to my car after a lot of shuffling and walking and called Andy, this time crying from a park bench. I didn't want to quit but I didn't know what purpose 5 more miles of suffering would serve. I even tried to call my coach but didn't have his number in my phone. I wanted someone to tell me it was ok to quit, that this workout wasn't going to make or break me, or be the deciding factor in how I do on race day. After some more tears and an email to my coach, I got in the car, blasted the AC, and headed home.

Andy met me in the driveway and I broke down again when he hugged me. I was a mess and felt so defeated. These workouts mean so much to me and I was so upset with my body for not cooperating and for my mind convincing me to throw in the towel. My legs weren't even that tired so it was frustrating that I couldn't keep going. After a few emails back and forth with my coach, and against him telling me no more working out for the day, I headed to the gym to finish up my run in the AC. I ran 5 solid miles, felt pretty good, and could have even kept going!

I left my house at 5:45am and got back from the gym just before 4pm. It was a long, challenging day. In fact, it was pretty brutal. And yet I finished. When I was done at the gym and headed home, I felt such a sense of accomplishment. This is what this training is about. It builds character and just when you think you can't do anymore and your body is done, you push through and finish what you set out to do. On race day, when everything is telling me to sit on the side of the road and cry, I'm going to remember this workout. Not as the workout that broke me, but as the workout that made me tougher.

Less than 8 weeks to go...

IM Training Nutrition

As I pack for my 80/15 brick tomorrow, I thought it’d be a good opportunity to post about what’s getting me through IM training. So, what does it look like getting ready for these workouts:

 

 

Before leaving the house I drink an Ensure and take an Endurolyte. Then about 45 minutes later, right before I get on the bike, I have a banana.  Over the next few weekends I might try adding something to eat with the Ensure because I’m not sure that’s enough to start with on race day since I’ll be swimming before I even get on the bike.

 

On the bike:

Throughout the ride I drink from a concentrated bottle of Perpetuem. I make up the bottle based on how far I’m going and when I plan to loop back to the car. My bottle has one scoop of Perpetuem per every hour I plan to be sipping from that bottle. I always start with a 3-hour bottle and 3 scoops in one bottle does not make a paste, it’s still a liquid. I set my watch to beep every 15 minutes as a reminder to take a sip. When I swing by the car, I make up another bottle based on how far I still have to go.

 

I also carry a flask with Hammer gel in it and occasionally take a sip as needed. I really rely on my hunger for this and if I start to feel like I need something, I use it. If I feel ok, I skip it. Inside my bento box I also keep a little pouch of Tots fruit snacks, just in case I want something solid to eat and throughout the whole ride I take Endurolyte capsules and use Fizz tablets in my water.

 

During my 100-mile ride last weekend I ate an uncrustable PB&J…which at that time tasted like the best thing ever!! While I don’t use these every weekend, it will be something I put in my special needs bag. I’m going to practice with these on my last big brick to make sure my stomach can handle it when it comes time to run.

 

On the run:

Since my stomach is so finicky on the run and can’t handle solids or anything with sugar, I stick with Hammer gels. Apple cinnamon and chocolate are my favorites lately…yum!!! I recently also tried Perpetuem solids. My first time using them was on the bike but I’m going to switch to using them on the run. It’s a solid that you don’t chew; you just let it slowly dissolve in your mouth. I wasn’t really comfortable riding with something in my mouth for fear of choking but I liked them and think it’s an easy way to get some nutrition. One solid lasted over 30 minutes in my mouth, just to give you an idea.

 

I also always run with my own water bottle (it’s like a security blanket), and will do so on race day, too. And once again, I put Fizz tablets in the water and carry extra for when I refill. Grape Fizz tablets are probably the best thing ever invented.

 

Post workout:

I’m never interested in eating right after a workout but I know the importance of getting something in me right away. I know lots of people rave about chocolate milk but that can turn my stomach if I’m not in the mood for it, it’s too thick.  I use Recoverite and have never had any post workout stomach issues from it; it's light and doesn't make me think of curdling milk. Yuck.  I also toss back 2 Tissue Rejuvenator capsules and a vitamin D tablet.

 

Last, I use to take melatonin to help me sleep, as I’m a terrible sleeper. But I couldn’t take the crazy, vivid dreams and eventually I felt like it wasn’t helping very much. I went several months not needing anything and was doing pretty well but then the restless nights came back.  I switched to REM caps and love them! Anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE sleep, so it couldn’t make me happier to find something that helps

 

 

So that's about it. It's not just about working out when you train for an IM, nutrition and recovery are a huge part. Thankfully I think I've nailed the nutrition piece.

August Recap and First 100!!

Another month down!! Crazy! August flew by even faster than July did and I'm left wondering how I got to this point of the race only being 2 months away. Finished up August with some good numbers though and I'm happy with my progress.

August Totals:

swim - 38,750 yds

bike - 500 mi

run - 122.8 mi

After my post the other day about being in a funk, I put on my big girl pants and told myself to snap out of it. I had a 96 mile ride on my plan for Saturday and I wanted (i.e. needed) this to go well. I headed to the bike path for a 6:30am start and told myself this had nothing to do with time or pace and everything to do with staying focused, steady and getting it done. I broke it down into 4 out and backs and looped back to my car after the first 2 loops. The first half of the ride went by so quickly and when I stopped at mile 48 to refill my bottles and grab some food, I could really feel the heat. I caught a glimpse of myself and after seeing how red I was in the face, I decided I would slow things down and take the last half of the ride easy.

The third loop wasn't the most fun. I felt really uncomfortable on the bike and was starting to worry about how much further I still had to go.  It was hot, I was so thirsty and the hooha was talking to me. I decided to make one more pit stop at my car after this loop for some more water and chamois cream. When I set out for the fourth and final loop, I was so ready to get this done! The last loop went well, although I would be lying if I said I wasn't ready to get off the bike. My lower back was getting tired, my neck was tired and my legs were definitely ready for a break. I ride a flat path to practice being in aero the whole time so there's really no coasting or rest time for the legs. Anyway, when I got back to the lot where my car was parked, I was at a little over 97 miles. I thought about stopping since I was already over the distance I was suppose to go, but being that close to 100...I just couldn't!! I passed the lot and added on the final 2ish miles.

I finished with 100.37 miles in 5:42 (average 17.5mph) and felt really good! My legs were tired but not shot or shakey by any means. I just felt overall a little worn down, which I would think is expected after 100 miles. My back was really hurting me when I got home but only when I bent over. It didn't bother me when I was walking around so I'm not too concerned about it being an issue on the run. And while it was a little sore the following morning when I woke up, it wasn't an issue on my long run. Which by the way, went really well. I was expecting it to be a sufferfest after riding 100 miles the day before, but it wasn't at all. In fact, my body felt pretty good and what bothered me the most was the damn humidity.

Post long run on Sunday, I felt great. In fact, it's probably the best I've felt all summer after a weekend of crazy long workouts. It amazes me how your body can adapt to this and how it becomes almost second nature.

So, overall, a great August and an even better start to September!! Next big thing is my second brick this upcoming weekend; 80 mile ride and 15 mile run. Can't believe I'm not anxious or nervous about this...in fact, I'm almost excited for it. Bring it on!

Less than 2 months to go...

Where I'm At

"In such a funk, struggling through workouts, have a headache and want to cry"

My tweet first thing this morning. After I missed my swim* and struggled through my bike workout both physically and mentally.  Even had to fight back tears when Andy came down to the basement to see how I was feeling. But I pushed through and ended up with a solid workout of intervals.

Two more months to go. Or as a good friend told me, "8 weeks...because it sounds shorter." Which it does. But I'm not sure if that helps because then I feel the panic of it being here so soon. Which I know it will be. In fact, this week the dreams started and two nights in a row I've had very vivid dreams of race day. I think how I'm feeling has a lot has to do with worrying about the big workouts I have coming up. I need to keep repeating, "one day at a time."

This past weekend I rode 90 miles, by myself, and it was a pretty big deal for me. My last 90 mile ride got screwed up because of weather and half of it was done on the trainer. So this was the furthest I have gone outside. The ride went really well but I'd by lying if I said I wasn't exhausted after it. I had to deal with a lot of wind (which is good practice for IMFL) and since I ride solo, I didn't have anyone to pull for me to give me a little break. It was the first time all summer I wished I had company out there. My legs were burning by the time I was done and I was a little sore in my back and arms from being in aero for that long.  After laying around for a little bit, I managed to go to the pool for an easy swim afterwards and it really helped loosen things up. The following morning I pushed through a 16 mile run and definitely could tell I had worked hard the day before.

Coming up this weekend I have a 96 mile ride and a 17 mile run the next day. Of course it's been beautiful all week but on Saturday it's going to be 92 degrees with "oppressive humidity." Wheee, I can't wait. I'm a little anxious about this ride but I can't say exactly why. Maybe because it's so close to 100 and that just seems huge?? I dunno. But while I might not know why I'm nervous about it, I do know that I'll get it done.

65 days to go...

*will make up swim tonight, I refuse to miss workouts for no reason. I'll save missed workouts for when I'm sick or completely broken and really need a rest day.

IMFL Signs

The week after my 70/14 brick was a cut back week and it came at the perfect time. I was in such a funk last week with training. I battled insomnia all week and because of that, I just had no motivation to workout. It started Sunday night after my brick; I was beyond exhausted and my body would just not fall asleep. From there, it just kept getting worse all week and by the time Friday came, I was all out of whack. I got all my workouts in but each one of them included some thoughts of bagging it and not wanting to be there. But...we're on to a new week. In fact, it's my second to last 4 week cycle of training! Where has the time gone?? While I'm finding myself struggling mentally lately, I know I just need to keep my head focused, hold on, and dig deep.

With the race only a little over 2 months away, it's starting to feel so unbelievably real. We've started to do a little bit of planning and I've started a folder with all the important information I've been gathering. I also had some signs made up at http://www.signsonthecheap.com/. If you want some cheap signs (meaning reasonably priced), I highly recommend this site. You can use templates that are already created or make up your own sign, which is what I did. Here are the three I made for race day, they turned out great! They are 18x24" and plastic.

(one of the last things my Grandmother said to me while talking about my "big race." Daisies were her favorite flower)

(this has been my little mantra over the past few months)

You can also make up banners or magnets on their sister site. I'm thinking my family might need car magnets after the race that say, "my sister is an Iro..." (can't jinx myself).

11 weeks to go!!!

Brick #1

I have 3 big bricks on the schedule through the remainder of my training, 70/14, 80/15 and 90/16, and the first one was this past weekend. For some reason, leading up to this, I didn't give this workout much thought. Since it's usually the bike that frazzles me, I think after riding 80+ miles on the weekends leading up to this, 70 miles seemed really doable. Not sure why, but it didn't register just how big of a workout this was going to be. It hit me on Saturday as I was packing up my stuff and planning my nutrition that I was looking at around 6 hours of working out and that I was going to be going at it alone. I started to get a little anxious but kept telling myself that I would take it easy and use it as an opportunity to test pace and nutrition for race day. No pressure.

As for how it went…there's not much more to say other than it went GREAT! From the moment I started, I felt confident and strong. I never once thought about the overall time I was going to be out there or how hard the day might be. I kept myself in the present moment and when I was on the bike, I focused on only that and didn't let myself think about the run that followed. I focused on my nutrition plan and my cadence and made sure I kept everything steady. The miles flew by and before I knew it I was back at the car at 70.74 miles ready to run.

I packed up as quickly as I could, changed shoes, grabbed fresh water and gels and took off running in under 5 minutes. From the very first step, my legs just wanted to go, I felt great!! When I check my watch after the first mile and saw a sub 9 min pace, I immediately scaled back a bit. I had a long way to go and didn't need to push anything too soon. The first 7 miles were over before I knew it and after a quick pit stop, I headed out for the last half of the run. My body still felt great but I was getting to the point where I was looking forward to calling it a day. (There's only so many hours I can entertain myself for) At my one and only tough moment my friend happened to go by on her bike. After pulling up next to me and chatting for a few minutes, I got my second wind and was ready to tackle the last 3 miles.

I finished feeling like a million bucks and smiling ear to ear. I remembered how a few months ago I asked my coach if anyone ever gets to the point where they can even *imagine* running after a long bike ride. Now here I am…running 14 miles after a 70 mile ride and not thinking twice about it. I've been feeling stronger and more confident as the weeks go by but this weekend really made me realize how far I've come since May.

July Recap

Funny how the beginning of July was the part of my training schedule that worried me the most and now I can't even really remember what had me so scared. With the exception of the death of my grandmother, the month went really well. It included my biggest training weekend to date (90 mi ride, 1.5 mi OWS race, 16 mi run) and then a 15 minute PR at NJ State Olympic Tri. I entered this month a little (ok, I was more like a basket case) worried, not sure if I could handle the workouts as my training hit levels I never saw before. But I'm happy to say, I finished the month feeling better than I have all year. I took it one workout at a time and was surprised at how much my body is adapting and changing. I know I still have 3 months to go, but I think I finally quieted the thoughts that were telling me over and over again that I wasn't cut out for this. I'm starting to visualize how things will come together and I actually believe that this is possible.

July Totals:

Swim - 33080.4 yds

Bike - 465.08 mi

Run - 121.63 mi

I woke up with a little fire lit in me today. Three months to go...THREE MONTHS!!!! I am so ready to get to the big brick workouts that I have coming up and hitting the 106 mile mark on the bike. As I look at my schedule for the next few months, I'm more excited than ever and not plagued with fear. My goal for August, try yet another saddle (my poor hoo ha) and focus. Not just on training but on rest, recovery, nutrition...everything. While I still have 3 months, they are going to fly by. I think I've done a really good job up to this point at making it all work and fitting a some what normal life into the mix. But each time I make an exception for something, I lose a little focus. So from here on out, it's all about training. This is getting real!!!

NJ State Oly Tri - Race Report

This past Sunday I did the NJ State Olympic Tri.  Last year this was my second tri and while this year was suppose to be nothing more than a brick workout, I was curious to see if there would be any improvement compared to last year. Specifically, I was hoping to see improvement in the swim.

The day before was anything but how I normally spend the day before a race or big workout. My grandmother passed away and after the week we had in the days leading up to her death, I didn't know if I'd have the energy to even make it to the start line. After a not so good night sleep though, I woke up feeling pretty good and we headed to NJ.

Swim:
Felt great! Even before the start, looking out at the course which freaked me out and sent me running to the port o potty over and over last year, I was completely calm. I didn't do the warm up swim because it was a cool morning (upper 60s) and I knew if I got wet I would only freeze waiting for the start. When my wave did enter the water, I was shivering a little while we waited for the gun. The water was 78 degrees and yes, I was cold. Once we started though, I warmed up quickly. There were men and woman in my wave and I positioned myself up towards the front with the men. What a difference from last year! I felt great the whole swim. Being able to breath to both sides really keeps me going in a straight line and I don't even have to sight very often. I focused on my form and although accidentally, I swam proudly over someone.  No fear, no panic and kept it all under control. I didn't push the effort, kept it aerobic, and came out of the water feeling like a million bucks. And the best part, almost 8 minutes faster than last year!!!

Swim 1500m - 30:26 (this includes the run up to transition)
T1 - 2:00

Bike:
Nothing special here but I did surprise myself with how comfortable I was. I didn't think twice about dropping right down into aero position and felt fine with other cyclists so close to me (I ride by myself all the time and was worried that might hurt me come race day if I wasn't used to other bikes right on my sides). I definitely could have put a little more into the bike if I wanted to and I should have have used my aero water bottle because I really slow down when I go to get my bottle from the cage. But regardless, I was happy with how it went and averaged 20.2mph (last year, averaged 19mph).

Bike 25.5mi - 1:15:47
T2 - 2:14 (speed laces were too tight, had trouble getting into my shoes and I forgot my gel and had to run back)

Run:
All smiles. Legs felt good off the bike and I immediately fell into an 8min pace. I had no intentions to push anything on the run and just wanted to have fun. Which I did. At one point I had my normal "I'm done with this" thought but instead of letting those thoughts get the better of me, I reminded myself of the fight my Nanny put up all week. That was all I needed to stay positive to the finish.

Run 6.2mi - 50:17 (ave 8:07)

Official Finish - 2:40:44

8/62 F 35-39

313/978 Overall

Overall, a great brick workout and a 15 min PR from last year!! While I know this race was only a fraction of the distance I'll cover at IMFL, I left the race with so much confidence. I am on the right track for IMFL and I know I can do this. For the first time in training, my excitement is outweighing my fear and I'm looking forward to November 3rd.

(Nutrition: Ensure and banana for breakfast. Hammer gel prior to swim, gel and water with Hammer Fizz on bike, and another gel on run. Hammer Recoverite after race.)

"The Weekend" Recap

I survived my biggest weekend of training so far!! It would have been a perfect weekend, leaving me with overflowing confidence, if I wasn't cheated out of my ride.

Saturday 90 mi ride:
On Friday I watched the weather forecast every time it was on. Although they were calling for spotty rain/storms on Saturday, I thought if I started right at 5:30 I could squeeze it in. Well, when I woke up on Saturday at 4:30am it was raining.  After fuming for a while and trying to get a little more sleep, I made my way to the basement. I emailed my coach and deep inside I was hoping for an email back that said to cut this ride short and use it as a recovery week. Instead I got an email that ended, "I'm sure you'll make the most of the trainer." Ugh.

At 45 miles I took a short break to refill my bottles and grab a banana. When I got upstairs, the sky had cleared up and the street was starting to dry. I was so frustrated and so done with the trainer. The thought of a few more hours on that thing was killing me. But on the other hand, I really didn't feel like packing all my stuff up and driving a half hour to where I ride. After complaining and seriously contemplating quitting for the day, I quickly packed up and headed out. While it wasn't raining, it was a wet messy ride and it felt GREAT!! I really wish I would have waited out the rain longer and done the whole ride outside. I did the full 90 miles but I felt, and still do, really cheated. I don't feel like I got the full experience.

Sunday 1.5 mi OWS Race:
The whole purpose of this race was to practice wearing my wetsuit as I've never worn one and I won't have the chance to wear it again before race day. The water temperature was 79 degrees and while wetsuits were allowed, if you opted to wear one you were not eligible for awards. They warned anyone wearing a wetsuit about the possibility of overheating and recommended we stay hydrated while waiting for our waves. My goal for this race was to just go for a little swim. I had no intentions of pushing it and just wanted to focus on form and not panicking.

It was a little crowded at the start but surprisingly, it didn't faze me at all. I didn't have any moments of panic and just did my thing. I took some hits, gave some back and dealt with each person as I came up on them. I focused on my form and kept the effort aerobic. Everything was going great but I could feel myself warming up; my legs were so hot! I don't think peeing right before the start helped as that warm liquid was trapped from the get go. I had no choice, though. I had to pee so badly. Before I knew it, I was following the buoys back to the finish. I was passing people from the earlier waves and just knew I had a decent swim. As I came up the boat launch a volunteer grabbed my hand and all I could say was "please get this off me." They quickly unzipped me but it didn't help much; I was burning up. Andy quickly came over and honestly, I was having trouble seeing him. I was shaking really bad and thought for sure I was about to pass out. We quickly got me off my feet and out of the sun with some water and bananas. I've never had that feeling before so I'm really hoping it was due to wearing the wetsuit in warm water. I don't need this happening on race day. I finished the swim in 44:03 (43 min and some change according to my watch...I didn't cross the timing mat right away because I was trying to get out of my wetsuit).

I could not be any happier with how this swim went. It was exactly what I needed it to be and all my hard work is paying off. If I did the calculation right, and I can hold this pace (~1:36/100yds) for the IM swim, it puts me well under 1:20, which is where I had hoped to be.

Sunday 16 mi run:
I bolted home after the race and met a friend who is crazy enough to run 16 miles with me in the middle of the day during a gross heat wave (real feel temp was 96). The humidity was horrible and I agree with the weatherman who described it as "suffocating." We had no set pace in mind, as this wasn't the type of weather to really push your limits, and decided to just do what we could. For the most part, I felt ok but I did hit a couple rough patches.  We averaged a 9:36, which considering the race earlier in the morning and the weather, I was pretty happy.

So, with the exception of the bike ride, the weekend went great. While I don't feel like I got the true experience of the 90 miles, I'm proud of myself for not giving up. Like one of my FB friends said, "Adapt and overcome. Way to deal." It was good mental training, which I'm going to need on race day.

"The" Weekend

I've been eyeing up a weekend on my training schedule since my Coach first sent it to me. It's not the biggest weekend I have during training, not even close. But for some reason, I decided this specific weekend will be the one that will prove whether or not I have this in me. No idea why this one stuck out so much to me but I've been thinking about it since the start of training. It seemed so far away at the time and now all of a sudden, it's here. On tap this for this weekend: 90 mile ride, 1.5 mile OWS race, 16 mile run. I think it's the # 90 that made this weekend so significant to me. I never in a million years thought I'd be riding 90 miles. And with the way my crazy mind works, breaking things into chunks to handle it mentally, being able to ride 90 miles will give me the confidence to know I can do 112. So this weekend that has been on my mind for months now is here. And you know what? I'm not nervous or scared about it at all. I'm actually looking forward to it and the feeling I'm going to have when it's over. And I'm not talking about the sore crotch...

As for the OWS race, this will essentially be a practice swim with my new wet suit. I don't have many opportunities to test it out in open water before the race so I signed up for this event. I'm feeling so confident during my swims lately that I really hope that carries over to Sunday. I will admit, when reading the athlete note, my heart started to race a little bit. I just need to keep telling myself that this is nothing more than a practice swim and I'm out there to do my own thing. I will say this, I'm so happy I picked an IM that has the swim in clear water. I think a lot of my panic is from not being able to see what I'm swimming in. At least in FL I'll be able to see the jelly fish before they sting me.

After I make it through this weekend I have a cut back week which finishes with my first Tri of the season, NJ State Olympic. While I would love to all out race it and see how I stack up to when I did it last year, I'm just not in "racing" shape right now. Meaning, I haven't done much in terms of anaerobic training and that's apparent with my running paces. It's going to kill me to not go all out but I need to keep it in check and use it as nothing more than a brick workout. Either way, I'm looking forward to being around other people and in a racing atmosphere. I've missed that.

June Recap

Time is flying. And I'm not sure I like it.

June went pretty well and it seems I'm good for one breakdown a month. Hit a rough patch the last week of my 4 week training cycle where I was full of doubts and fears. It was worse than normal and for two days I couldn't even talk about training or the race without crying. Nothing is going wrong in training, in fact, things are going really well. It's just that I can't for the life of me see how this is going to be possible. With running, and specifically the 50 miler I did, I could *see* myself crossing the finish line. I've always been able to visualize the race, accept that it's going to be hard, and know I'll push through and finish. But with this, it's so foreign to me and I'm really struggling to see how it will all come together. And when I'm exhausted I'm not rational and my fears get the best of me. It was so bad last week that for a fraction of a second I was so scared that quitting actually crossed my mind. With tears streaming down my face I said to Andy, "promise me you won't let me quit." That's the first time EVER I said the word "quit" out loud and I couldn't believe that word came out of my mouth. But...a week later and feeling so much better, I know quitting would never happen. This little "journey" as they call it might beat me down and break me, but I WILL be an Ironman exactly 4 months from today.

So, back to June...here's a recap:

Swim - 37,350 yds

Bike - 520.39 mi

Run - 100 mi

I think the highlight of the month was hitting 84 miles on the bike. I did this ride, just like every other one so far, solo and I felt really good that I accomplished the distance. I had serious saddle issues that left me in a lot of pain for a few days but mentally and physically, I felt great out there. I will say, when I got off the bike all I could think was "how does anyone run a marathon after this?!?!" I'm pretty positive I could not have run very far when I was done with this ride; my legs were shot! But I've been told it's possible and that eventually you will feel like you can run. I'll keep believing!

I'm currently in my second build week of this 4 week cycle. I have a 1.5 mile OWS in 2 weeks then an Olympic distance tri the following weekend. While I won't be "racing" either of these, I can't wait to be in a race atmosphere. I feel like I've been in a bubble all alone for months and I can't wait to feel the excitement of race day.

IMFL...4 MONTHS FROM TODAY!

I *heart* Rest Days

I've never been a fan of rest days. They made me feel antsy and a little crabby. On top of that, I felt like I was being lazy and in turn didn't want to eat much because of that. Through all my training cycles, I never had a designated rest day. I just took a day here or there as needed, as long as there wasn't a big workout planned. And if I did take time off, chances are I still found something to do to get me moving a little bit that day.

My IM training plan calls for a complete rest day every Monday. In the beginning I thought this would drive me insane. But lately, come Saturday night, I find myself thinking, "just one more workout and I'm done til Tuesday..." It's not that I'm not enjoying the weekend craziness, because I am, it's that this said craziness is making me tired!! I've been getting up at 4:30am on Saturdays for my bike ride and not that much later on Sundays because I'm eager to get my long run done. The sooner that's done, the sooner I'm home on the couch drinking coffee with Andy. (coffee with Andy on the weekend = one of my favorite things)

By the time Monday rolls around, waking up without an alarm is the best feeling ever. Today we laid in bed and played with the cats for a while and took our time getting ready for work. It's such a nice feeling to not rush out the door for a workout while I'm still half asleep and leave for work with wet hair because I'm too rushed to dry it. I even made us breakfast today!! They might have been frozen waffles but hey, that coconut butter, banana slices, cinnamon and agave wasn't on them when I took them out of the box!

So, my attitude towards rest days has totally changed. Not only do I need them right now physically, I need them mentally. I do not feel antsy at all today and I'm not the least bit crabby. I don't feel like walking all the way down the hall to the nice bathroom and I'm perfectly fine being that lazy. And as for not wanting to eat, that's a foreign concept these days.

This is my last build week of this set and I'm already looking forward to my longest ride to date on Saturday. After that, it will be time to think about my next rest day...

I *heart* rest days.

May Recap

One month down, five to go! When I think about how fast May went and that we're already a week into June, I panic a little. Training is going well, but thinking about the actual race, the mass swim start, the crowded bike course...that's what gets my heart rate up. But I've been doing pretty good at taking it one week at a time. Training is set up as 3 weeks build, 1 week recovery and I'm trying to not look out past the week I'm currently on. So far, it's been working for me and May was a pretty good month. Here's a recap...

Swim - 38,050 yards

Bike - 442.77 miles

Run - 106.5 miles

May started off a little rocky but I think that was due to just being a little overwhelmed and needing to get used to my new weekend schedule. There were some tears of doubt the second weekend when I just felt like I was in completely over my head and had no business doing an Ironman. I was pretty rattled that weekend but pushed through week 3 and went into the cut back week feeling much more confident about things.

The long Saturday workouts (5-5.5 hours) really aren't that bad and they reinforced my love of endurance events. I could literally spend all day working out. My running is totally different than where it was at the beginning of the year. I'm still nursing the PF in my right foot and have not put much effort, if any, into speed work. My long runs are on Sunday and I've had a few where my legs were feeling the effect of the long ride the day before but aside from that, I feel pretty good during them. I think my body might remember Ultra training and what running on tired legs feels like. I have learned though that there's no way I could combine road races with Tri training...it just wouldn't work.

Aside from the long weekend workouts, the week day workouts are going great. Since I've always been used to long workouts before work, I haven't really noticed any difference. I'm even managing to get both my workouts on double days in before work so I can go home in the evening and spend time with Andy. Who, by the way, is the best husband you could have during Ironman training. 

So the first month is behind me and I survived. In fact, I've seen improvement every single week on the bike. Even as the distance gets longer, my average pace is getting faster. I still have my wobbly moments, but I'm definitely getting more comfortable with each passing week. Big accomplishment for me as we know how much the bike freaks me out.

My goal for June - wiggle my way into my wet suit and find a pair of tri shorts that don't chafe the hoo ha.

First Aero Experience

As I approach the start of my 6 month training plan, I'm starting to realize just how much things are going to change. I was doing pretty well, up to this month, managing everything I have going on. But the past month, as my workouts grew a little bit more, it's been harder than normal. Between my real job, personal training, teaching at the YMCA, nutritionist appointments, ART appointments, swim lessons, a social life and that little thing called IM training, I'm stretched pretty thin. It's finally all catching up to me and I realize that something is gonna have to give. Since I can't quit the day job and IM training is my focus for the remainder of the year, I see my social life slowly slipping away from me. I knew I wouldn't have much of a life this summer, but for the first time it's becoming real. I felt a little down the other day thinking about a lonely summer and how I'll have to sit so many fun things out, but I made this decision and I want it so badly that I know it will all be worth it.

On a brighter note, I survived my first long ride outside in aero position last Saturday!! The first half hour was a little rough but I quickly settled in. You're so wobbly when you're in aero and any slight movement feels so exaggerated, especially if you hit an unexpected bump. But I'm happy to report that I had no crashes except when I went to get off the damn bike. Had my left foot unclipped, as I always do, and I fell to the right. Go figure. Bruised up my right hip, knee and wrist pretty good but at least that's better than hitting a tree.  I made it through a little over 2 hours and headed home feeling so positive. Before I even left for that ride, I knew it was an important one. I needed to set the tone for the rest of the summer and I couldn't be happier it started off so well. Not only did I feel good in aero, I felt really strong when we pushed the pace. The bike is, and probably always will be, very scary to me. But I finished that ride on Saturday knowing I will be absolutely fine. And with the amount of time I'll be spending on the bike, it can only get better!

I can't believe I've been counting down since January, never really thinking May would get here. And now here I am, a week to go. I have a feeling the next few months are going to fly.

Training Plan!

Since January my coach has been providing me with monthly goals to build up to and reach each month. While I begged and pleaded for a "training schedule", we he decided that it was smarter to give me flexible goals each month while I built up my endurance. By doing this, I wouldn't be bound to a strict training plan and I wouldn't get burned out before the meat of training even started.  Now, I did take his goals and put them in a pretty little Excel format but I followed orders and didn't force myself into a rigid routine. If I had to skip a swim or move a bike ride, I didn't freak out about it. As long as I hit my goal each month, I knew I was on target for where I needed to be.

So I've slowly been building up my long bike rides, my endurance swims and my long run over the past 4 months while anxiously awaiting the start of "real" training and my official 6 month training plan. This past weekend I couldn't take the suspense any longer asked my coach if I could finally see it. Not knowing what I was in for was exciting and scary. I expected the worst, that's for sure. The training plan came with an intro document to explain things and explicitly pointed out that this plan is tried and proven and has produced an Ironman finisher every time it has been used. The last sentence said, "You are going to be an Ironman at the end of all this hard work." I screeched with excitement when I read that sentence and have read it about 20 times since!

Following the intro document I quickly opened my training plan and the associated document to explain all the workouts. My first reaction was that it all looked very manageable...almost too manageable. I freaked out a little bit and re-read the intro document, "Your plan will make you an Ironman." I have that over the top mentality that more training is better, even though I've learned the hard way that overtraining is the dumbest thing you can do.  This process is about getting me to the start of the race healthy both physically and mentally, it's not about beating me down to the point where I don't even make it there. I spent the next day looking at the plan, walking away from it, coming back and looking again. Each time I became more comfortable with it and the progression built into each month.

And then last night it all came together. I was beaming while I rode the bike trainer, thinking about the crazy weekend workouts that lie ahead. The freak out was over. This is my schedule for the next 6 months. I'm going to eat, breathe, sleep Ironman training and I'm going to do it with the biggest smile on my face. Because at the end of all this hard work, I WILL be an Ironman.

Stupid Little Things

It's not the training that I've been doing that has me overwhelmed. Or the crazy amount of training I'm about to do over the next 7 months. I couldn't be more excited for May to get here so I can start the 6 month count down and see what I'm really made of. And it's not the thought of having no life until November 4th that has me upset. It's not wondering how I'll fit in all my workouts and still being able to stay awake for work that worries me. Nope, none of these things are really bothering me (yet). Instead, it's... ALL...THE...LITTLE...THINGS.

1) I know nothing about all the little details about cycling. And I don't learn well from reading, I'm a watch and learn kind of girl. I've attended bike maintenance classes, took notes, paid attention...and I still feel lost. Completely lost. And it doesn't help when people tell you different things, either. Who the heck is right?!

2) I feel like I don't know the best gear/equipment to get...and that can be a little upsetting because in case you didn't know, for triathlons, you need A LOT of stuff. And none of it is cheap.

3) I've been practicing changing flats and I have good attempts and bad. Then once I finally get the tire and tube on, I struggle because the pump/CO2 dispenser I have on my bike sucks butt. Which I think is because of #2 above. And these purchases that prove to be the wrong choice (there are more than a few!) are adding up and I've made some expensive mistakes. 

4) I don't know what maintenance my bike needs when. I currently have two maintenance packages at two different shops because I don't know what I'm doing. The one is close to home but now I'm wondering if they really know what they are doing. The one bike shop I love is 45 minutes away and with everything I have going on, it's just not feasible to be going back and forth over there all the time.

5) When I bought my road bike last winter, I never thought it would be used for an Ironman. But some aerobars later and that's what I'm using for IMFL. I can't turn back time but I wish I would have thought the process out a little more before I bought this one. I have a fear I'm trying to make my road bike do something it wasn't designed to do.

The list really could go on and on about all the little things that I'm worried about. Maybe I'm finding things to stress me out because the actual training isn't worrying me. Deep inside I know I can handle the training. I just sometimes wish tris were like running...all you need to do is throw on a pair of shoes and head out the door. I'm so type A (shocking, I know) and not having everything perfect and knowing every little detail is making me feel like I'm in way over my head. I even said to Andy this past weekend that I'm scared I bit off more than I can chew. And this comment came out of frustration when changing a tire, nothing to do with training.

*sigh*

Where do I go to learn all that I need to know?!?!?

Little Things

It's the little things that make me happy.

1) Had my second swim lesson in the endless pool. Oh...my...gosh. It is the coolest thing and I'm learning a ton! This past lesson, when all the pieces came together I felt great and completely effortless. My coach also told me at that point, I went silent in the water. Wish I could see what that looks like but I could feel that I went silent. Hard to explain, but I was just gliding through the current. Now granted, this doesn't happen all the time as I fall in and out of good form. There's so much to think about and I'll start concentrating on one thing and forget about the other. But little by little it's all coming together and I'm really looking forward to my swim workouts. In fact, after I ran 11 miles on Saturday, I went to the pool later that day and swam 3500 yards. I'm not sure who this person is, but I like her.

2) On Friday my finisher's certificate from Reggae marathon came in the mail. It didn't really excite me since I fell from 3rd to 6th female and finished with one of my slowest marathon times. But in the envelop was a letter. I almost ignored it thinking it was just a letter thanking me for participating, but I opened it anyway. Imagine my surprise when I saw a check for $116 for placing!! I knew when I finished the race and saw that I was 6th female and 2nd in AG that something didn't seem right. I was sure I was 5th female. It was a 2 loop out and back course so I saw my competition over and over and kept track. But whatever, I let it go and never thought twice about it. Well, I guess that female that originally showed up ahead of me in the results pulled out early, cut the course short or something because I was actually 5th female overall...and 1st in my AG. I've never won money in a race before so this made my day! Now I need to go back and redeem myself, see what I can really win there!

3) Yesterday I decided it was time to take my bike outside for a test spin and practice getting in and out of aero position. I have not ridden my bike outside yet this year and while I'm completely comfortable in aero on the bike trainer, doing it outside had me freaked out. The bike is so scary to me but I figure by the end of the summer, I'll have no choice but to be comfortable on it. Surprisingly, my little test spin went much better than I expected. I easily got in and out of position and practiced getting out of position quickly since my brakes are on the handle bars (I put aero bars on my road bike). Things felt pretty good but it's definitely a different feeling and any slight movement feels really exaggerated. I was a little wobbly but for my first try, I'm happy with how it went.

I can't believe March is pretty much over! Looking forward to my April schedule and moving this training into high gear!

What I'm Eating

Since I know nutrition will play a huge part of my IM training and race day, I went back to my nutritionist a few months ago. I want to make sure I'm not only fueling properly but that I'm also refueling so I'm ready for my next workout. First thing we did was start to up my calories. My workouts are not that intense right now but we wanted to get me to where I should be in terms of calories and we'll continue to increase as necessary when training really picks up in May.

I also want to add that I do not count calories or grams of carbs, proteins, etc. My nutritionist knows where I'm at with calories but I do not want to know that number. I'm trying to stay focused on eating right and focusing on the number of calories is not a healthy way for *me* to track food.

While I don't count calories, I do make sure I'm eating the appropriate servings of each food group every day. I have a goal of each food group and don't double count. Meaning, a piece of fruit counts as a fruit serving, not a carb serving. This is my daily range: 8 carbs/starches, 8-10 proteins, 4 fruits, 4 veggies, 3 dairy and 6 fats. In order to know serving sizes, I know what constitutes a serving (1 carb is 15g, 1 protein is 7g, etc). Below is an example of a typical day and yes, it's a lot of food. But people in training need to eat and I've lost a few pounds since upping my calories!

Breakfast*:

Oatmeal with protein powder, flax, chopped walnuts, banana, and milk (not shown, coffee, just black)

 

 Mid morning snack:

Fat free plain yogurt with berries (that I add, not store bought fruit yogurt) and unsweetened shredded coconut, vitamin C drop some time before lunch

 

Lunch:

Whole wheat wrap with my take on hummus (small white beans, lemon juice, onion, garlic, pepper, and cayenne pepper), egg whites, and cauliflower

 

Afternoon snack 1:

Carrots, apple, peanut butter square (all natural peanut butter mixed with some oats to keep it together and make it easier for transporting to work...I can't be around a jar of PB), not shown, a cup of plain hot tea 

Afternoon snack 2:

Popcorn, orange, almonds

 (I feel terrible about the baggie. I'm so anti baggie but we prepped so much food on Sunday we had no containers left. It's the first time I've used a baggie for lunch in YEARS and I'll make it a point to reuse this one for something)

Dinner:

Ground turkey with tomato, onion and peas served on top of red quinoa, asparagus

(There's a reason this dinner is weird. We realized we were losing food to the back of the pantry/freezer and then wasting a lot of stuff. So we started a little thing where on Sunday the majority of our dinner is made using things we already have on hand.)

Dessert: another glass of milk

*Some mornings, after longer workouts, I have a serving of Hammer Recoverite before breakfast.