Test Week

After a few weeks of training, my coach informed me of "test" week. It's exactly what it sounds like...I got tested in each discipline so we have a baseline for my paces and heart rate. When I first saw the schedule, I was a little nervous. Mostly for the bike test because I'm never quite sure how much I can push on the bike and I was kinda scared to take it to the next level.

My swim test consisted of 10 x 100yds at an all out pace with 10 seconds rest in between each set. After the first set, I seriously wondered how I would be able to do 9 more. Pushing yourself in the pool is a whole different thing, if you ask me. There's no one there to compete with and you have to push yourself while dealing with the burn in your upper body and breathing hard in the water. By the last few sets, I felt like I must look like a spaz but I kept pushing and got it done.

My bike test was an all out 20 minutes on the trainer. It hurt but I finished wondering if I had even more in me. Towards the end of the 20 minutes I started to push even harder and I was left wondering if I could have sustained that pace for the entire 20 minutes. My legs were burning during the test but my short run immediately off the belt felt great! I felt like a million bucks; light on my feet, like I could have run forever, etc. It was a great feeling.

Last up was my run test. I signed up for a 5k at the last second because I thought that would be the best way to ensure I went all out. Prior to the race I warmed up for 25 minutes then lined myself up front row and center. It's crazy how much a few miles can hurt when you're going all out and it's cold. My lungs were killing me! Course was good but there was a long gradual incline that got me just after the first mile. I shortened my stride, pumped my arms and kept my head down. I was 4th female for majority of the race until I overtook the 3rd place female at about mile 2.75. She was a great sport and complemented me on my pace but I couldn't talk at that point for fear of throwing up. (I did congratulate her as soon as she finished, thanked her for the push and apologized for not responding when I passed her). I missed a PR by seconds but ended up winning 3rd female overall.

21:28

25th overall

3rd female

1st in age group



We test again at the beginning of the new year. And as wrong as it is, I'm already looking forward to that challenge to see how far I've come!

Aaaannnnd....GO!

I just completed week one of ten months of training. And it was anything but easy. Even though this is my second IM, I decided to hire a coach again, and I went with someone new this time around. I want to put a really good effort into Lake Placid now that I have the first IM jitters out of me and I thought I could benefit from someone experienced pushing me. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than a little nervous for the LP bike course, but at least I don't feel like such a newbie this time around.  I didn't want to leave the training up to me and find myself a few months before the race freaking out because I didn't do enough. So I'm under the guidance of a coach for the next 10 months and I feel great about who I hired. I'm in good hands and know together we'll reach my goals.

Week one wrapped up with 4750 yds in the pool, 75 miles on the bike, 25.7 miles running and 2 strength sessions. All for a total of just under 10.5 hours. I took the few weeks after my 70.3 very easy so this week was no joke starting out. The workouts were a challenge and not just going through the motions of swim/bike/run.  To top it off, I was fighting a cold all week which made it hard to get out of bed. But knowing I had to enter my workout in every day for my coach to see got me back to my routine and out of bed at 4:40am every day.

As for being back to my routine...this is THE best I have felt since IM Florida training. I have been more relaxed this past week than I have been the entire year. I haven't been stress eating at night, I haven't been anxious, etc.  I have been so calm and it feels great. Yes, it might not be the best that I'm only calm and relaxed when I'm structured but this is how I'm wired. Hopefully I can one day learn to live peacefully in my crazy head without putting myself through Ironman training. Baby steps...

So, journey to #2 has officially started. I'm focused, consumed (of course), and ready to do this.

Diamondman 70.3 Race Report

This past Sunday I competed in Diamondman 70.3. In the weeks leading up to the race, I seriously contemplated not doing it. I didn't put in the time I should have to prepare for this and I was really nervous all the race would do was disappoint me about my current fitness level. But since I'm signed up for IMLP, and base building starts, well...now, I thought this was the kick in the butt I needed to get serious.

I headed to DE the day before with my friend who was doing the Half Du and after an early dinner with a glass of wine, which I NEVER have before a race, we curled up in the hotel room and watched tv all night. I didn't sleep well at all but felt ready to go when the alarm went off at 4:30am.

Went through all the motions in the morning and felt completely calm. I had no pressure going into this race and only had one thing I wanted to accomplish: a sub 3hr on the bike. I need to keep building my confidence on the bike and wanted to push it even if it meant my run suffered.

I entered the water as they counted down and hurried to the front as most of the women were staying towards the back.  I was up in the front the entire swim, had plenty of space and kept it nice and easy. I made sure I didn't push too hard and just focused on my form. The swim was uneventful and when I stood up to exit the water, I was at 34 minutes.

I quickly stripped off my wet suit and headed out on the bike. The course consisted 2 loops that we rode twice. The one loop had some rolling hills which on the way out weren't an issue. But on the way back we were hit with a head wind that killed my pace! I went from 25mph at points on the way out at this section to 11mph at those same points on the way back. Thankfully the whole course wasn't like this so I knew I could make up the time on the other half of the course. My crotch was killing me towards the end and my back was getting tight but my legs felt great. Overall, I was really happy with my performance on the bike because I was confident. I averaged 19.3 and finished the bike in 2:53:45. Looking back, I could have pushed a little harder in that head wind, but it's ok, I got my sub 3 which is what I set out to do.

After a quick shoe change it felt great to be out on the run. The run started off great and I actually had to slow myself down. The course was a mix of trail, gravel and pavement. It was a really lonely course, running a few miles without seeing anyone, and extremely boring in my opinion. I also didn't like the trail section that had some big roots and unstable footing.  I felt really good up until mile 7 when all of a sudden the heat just got to be too much. I broke down and took my first walk break and then that just set the tone for the remainder of the run. I usually love the heat and sun but for some reason, it just killed me on Sunday. And I wasn't the only one...there was a lot of people hurting out there. The trail portion wasn't fun on the way back to the finish when my toes were shot from sliding around in wet shoes and I was tired and not in the mood to concentrate on my footing. And to make it worse, the run was long. Not only by my watch but by almost everyone I talked to. After covering 70.3 miles, 0.6 extra miles are annoying when you're not expecting them. I finished the run in 2:11:04.

Nutrition was spot on and I had no stomach issues the entire day.
Breakfast - ensure
Setting up bike - banana
Before swim - Hammer banana gel
On bike - 3x bottle of perpetuem which I sipped every 15 min and water in my aero bottle with 2 grape Fizz tablets
Run - Hammer apple cinnamon gel at start, Hammer chocolate gel around mile 7. Water bottle with Fizz.

 

Official results:

5:43:13

Swim - 35:09

T1 - 1:56

Bike - 2:53:45

T2 - 1:17

Run - 2:11:04

1st in AG 35-39

7th Female/54

Overall 46/166

 

 

 

Oh, Hi.

I have to admit, I have not missed blogging. But I have realized how useful the blog was for my training. I've found myself numerous times going back to look at old posts to see how I felt after certain races/workouts and it's been pretty helpful. And since I took the plunge and signed up for Ironman #2, I'm going to give this another shot.

To catch up since my last post...I've been having fun. A lot of fun. It took a really long time for me to feel like my old self after IMFL and I'm not sure the fire was lit under me until I actually handed over my credit card to register for IM Lake Placid. I attempted to train for a marathon over the winter and while I was getting the long runs in, my heart was so not into it. I ended up missing the race due to an insane eye infection that swelled so bad I couldn't open my one eye. After that, I switched gears and forced myself back into the pool. I "raced" NJ state Olympic tri and while I wasn't expecting much out if it, I ended up qualifying for the Olympic Distance Age Group Nationals. That was a nice little boost even though I had only a weeks notice and couldn’t make my way across the country to compete. The weekend after the race we went to Lake Placid for fun and to volunteer. The energy was amazing and contagious. I went up "pretty sure" I was going to register for 2014 and within minutes of being there, I wished I was racing that weekend. Very different from the atmosphere in Florida, which felt like a ghost town on race weekend. Anyway, I'm registered and excited for IMLP 2014! I'm just 2 weeks out from a 70.3 and I'm not exactly where I'd like to be going into this race. But knowing what the next year holds for me, and a marathon to still get through in December (I'm running Reggae marathon in Jamaica again), I'm going to have fun with this 70.3. No time goals, no pressure. Just a long workout to kick off my base building for Placid.

So here we go...giving this a try again. We'll see how long it lasts.

Where I'm currently at: (for my own reference in the future)
- bike: 3x a week, long ride 3-3:30 hrs
- swim: 2-3x a week, hour each
- run: 3x a week, long run 14 miles
- wearing: Brooks defyance, NO inserts, no foot issues :-) (knock on wood)
- Hammer nutrition: vanilla Whey protein every day, Recoverite after tough workouts/doubles, apple cinnamon, orange and chocolate gels are my favorite, OBSESSED with grape Fizz, Digest caps 1x a day, Tissue Rejuvenator caps, Endurolytes on long workouts. Oh, and talking about Hammer...their bathing suit is the BEST. It took me so long to find a suit I liked and that would hold up to chlorine. I can't believe I didn't think to try it sooner.

The End

When I started this blog in August 2008 it was to document training for my first marathon. If you had told me that 4 years later I'd hear the words, "Hey Denise, you're an Ironman!" I would have said you were bat shit crazy. The past four and a half years have been pretty exciting for me and I've done things I never would have even considered 10 years ago, let alone thought possible. I've known for a while that I lost my passion for blogging, but as I sit here typing up my last post, I'm really sad. I've met so many people through blogging and am even walking away with some dear friends. It's been a fun little journey, but I feel it's time to throw in the towel*. If you've learned anything about me over the years, I hope it's that I'm determined, happy, and love a good challenge. So even though I'm not documenting it, know that I'm out there trying to set new PRs, go further distances, trying new things and all along the way, I'll be smiling while I do it.

Thanks to everyone for reading and following over the years. The support and cheerleading through the blog was always the extra push I needed during races. Thanks to my parents and sisters who worry, but always support me in whatever I do. They were there to cry with me when I crossed the most meaningful finish line of my life and that day would not have been the same without them. And the biggest thank you goes to Andy. Because if it wasn't for him always telling me I could do it and being there to hug me when I thought it just wasn't possible, I wouldn't have accomplished any of this crazy stuff. He has sacrificed just as much as I have to make my personal goals and dreams a reality and for that I'll be forever grateful.

I hope every mile you swim, bike or run is a happy one!

*maybe it will turn out to be a little break based on how I feel saying it's over :-(