GIVEAWAY - $50 to Dicks Sporting Goods

Did you know that Independence Blue Cross, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, has a Facebook page? I didn't. I also didn't know they were currently running a contest for their "Get Out, Get Fit!" program.  The "Get Out, Get Fit!" program was launched because IBX believes in the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle.  If you haven't already, check out their Facebook page which has exercise instructions, health and wellness tips and maps of some great Philly area spots to work out.  And if you "like" their page you'll get weekly nutrition, fitness and wellness tips.  They also offer healthy steps which are designed to help you make healthy changes, one step at a time that will last a lifetime.

As for the contest they are running, by submitting a fitness-focused photo, you can enter for a chance to win up to a $500 spending spree at Dick's Sporting Goods. All you need to do is go to their Facebook page and follow the easy steps to submit your photo. You can also view other entries to get some ideas of what people are submitting.  I know some of you have some great pictures from your workouts so give it a shot and see if you win!! Contest ends August 31, 2011 so hurry and submit your photo!

But now for a GIVEAWAY!! IBX is offering one of my followers a $50 gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods!! There are several ways to enter, each one worth an entry, so pick and choose how many ways you want to enter. Just be clear in your comment so I know how many entries to give you. I'll pick a winner on Sunday, August 14th. 

Here are your entry options (note: contest open to followers only):

1 – Leave a comment on my blog with ways you stay healthy and fit

2 – Like IBX on Facebook

3 – Follow IBX on twitter

4 – Tweet about this giveaway with a link to the blog post and include @rundeniserun in the tweet

GOOD LUCK!!

Steelman Tri Race Report

I originally registered for this race so I'd have one more chance at an open water swim before the 70.3 in September. This race is at the same location so I thought it was the perfect choice. But after a successful Olympic distance 2 weeks ago where I didn't panic in the water, I started looking at this race as more than just a practice swim. With 2 tris under my belt, I wanted to push a little more and see what I had in me.

I woke up to a storm and pouring rain at 4:15am and questioned if I even wanted to go. I don't mind being wet but I wasn't interested in doing a Duathlon. Thankfully, once I arrived at the park the rain stopped and the skies cleared. It was muggy as hell, but at least we'd be able to swim.

It was a long morning of waiting around but hitting the port o pots a gazillion times helped pass the time.  I think I finally figured out what's causing the stomach issues...coconut water. I'm going to lay off it for a while before workouts and see if the issues stop. I usually drink it for the extra potassium in attempt to ward off the calf cramps that I get.

Finally, with about a half hour to go before we entered the water, my stomach calmed down. I was 100% calm and just ready to do my thing.  It was an in-water, tread start, and the water was around 78 degrees. Much better than the 88 degrees 2 weeks ago. While there weren't many people in my wave, everyone was right on top of each other. Each time I found my own little spot, 2 people would swim over and get right on top of me. I remained calm but when the gun went off, I couldn't get into a rhythm. All the way to the first buoy I kept my head up and was avoiding kicking feet. When we rounded the first buoy I finally found some space but at this point my legs felt so heavy. I tried to focus on using my upper body and really pulling but I don't think I succeeded very well. While I didn't panic, I never felt that comfortable and mentally my head wasn't in it.  Mid swim I started thinking that I shouldn't do any more tris, I should just ride for fun and stick to running. I pushed the thoughts away by trying to remember the positive experience I had at NJ State but I was frustrated with myself that these thoughts ever surfaced in the first place. I plugged along, doing what I could and was so happy to see the final turn around which took me out of the water. I knew when I exited the lake that I was nowhere near where I had hoped to be, but happy to be out of there I was ready to kill it on the bike and run.

Swim - 19:37
T1 - 2:21 (long run back to transition!!)

The start of the bike was a long up hill climb out of the park to the main road where the race took place with 2 out and backs. My legs were burning leaving the park but I pushed hard knowing I had rolling hills where my legs could get a break once I got to the top. When I got up to the main road I was feeling really good! I was holding my own and trying my best to plow through the hills. One second I'd be going 27 mph down a hill, the next, doing anything I could to hit 10 mph going back up! I passed A TON of people with flats on the first half and wondered what the heck was going on. I know I'm new to this sport but I couldn't believe how many people were having bike issues. I felt so bad for them. Little did I know I'd be in the same exact situation soon enough.

Right after the final turn around, while climbing a hill, I started to feel like I was bouncing. Then...the dreaded sound of a flat tire. I pulled to the side of the road, dismounted and just stared at my bike. Having never changed a flat before, I didn't know if I should attempt it or walk it in to T2. It was around mile 11 so I still had 2 + miles to go. I walked a bit and saw a girl up ahead changing her tire. When I reached her and saw she was struggling, I suggested we help each other. Well, within a minute, there was a guy who joined us with a flat and a minute after that, another girl. The 4 of us sat there working on each other's bikes while people with flat tires road by us. What was going on??!!

I have no idea how long it took for this, but it was forever!! We had 2 race officials on scooters stop to tell us the wagon was on its way to help, but it never showed up. After we all got fixed up, we slowly headed to the finish. Unfortunately, 2 people flatted again immediately. I knew I didn't have enough air in my tire so I had to ride it into the finish so...freaking...slow. It was horrible. By the time I reached the dismount line, I wasn't sure if I was even going to head out for the run. But I didn't want to run when I got home so I decided to just take it easy and finish.

Bike - 1:41:41 (shoot me)
T2 - 1:43

I completely took my time in T2 and then headed out for the run. I didn't really care at this point how I did or what pace I ran. It was hot and humid as hell and I was just happy to see there were still sprint runners out there and I wouldn't be dead last. Nothing to say about the run really, except that this is definitely my strong suit and I want to find a 5k to do some time soon. If I can do this easily, I want to see what I can do when I'm fresh and pushing as hard as I can.

Run - 23:02 (7:26 pace)

Sigh...overall time...2:28:23. People did the Olympic distance faster than I did the sprint! At first, I was ok with everything. It is what it is. I never got upset or frustrated out there on the bike and just took what the day gave me. It was bound to happen some day and I'm hoping this gives me a flat free pass for the 70.3. But as I'm sitting here thinking about the race, I'm getting really bummed about how the day went down. The bike is one thing but my swim is another. The swim IS in my control and I'm completely disappointed with my time.

So, definitely not the race I was hoping for but it was a learning experience. I am proud of myself for sucking it up and finishing because when I entered T2, I really wanted to call it a day. I'm all about training and races building my mental toughness and this race definitely did that.  Now I just need to get mentally tough with the swim because I'm really a little rattled by this whole Tri business and I'm starting to worry about what's in store for me in 5 short weeks. And honestly, I'm a little worried I bit off more than I can chew.

Fear Conquered!

After a week off work and a long weekend away with friends, I started this week feeling more exhausted than I did before my time off!! I had high hopes of catching up on sleep and napping my afternoons away while I was off but that didn't happen. I was on the go pretty much all week before I left town then racked up late nights of having too much fun. While the time away was fun and totally worth it, I definitely can't handle late nights and cocktails like I used to. And I now know there won't be any crazy trips during peak training next year; I'll save it for after race season.

I've been feeling a little sluggish during my workouts this week, but I'm getting them done. I have 5 big weeks until my 70.3 and I'm determined bounce back after all the debauchery this weekend and stay focused. Thankfully, I can finally report something positive about the pool and swimming so that's got me really excited. Since the Olympic Tri a little over a week ago, my pool sessions have been great. Prior to the race I was struggling mentally and dreaded every time I had to swim. But since the Olympic, things have completely changed. My first swim went so well I thought it was just due to the post race high, but every pool workout since then has gone equally as well. I'm not dreading the time in the pool and time doesn't seem to stand still anymore. On top of that, I used to stop for a quick water break/stretch (aka mental break) every few hundred yards but now I might stop once to grab a drink and then get right back to it.

I think I was so scared of the unknown and whether or not I could do it that I had myself psyched out. Standing on the beach before the Olympic I seriously didn't think I could swim that far. Now that I did it, without freaking out, I feel 100% confident about the swim for the 70.3. If I can swim .9 miles, I can definitely swim 1.2 miles.  And knowing that makes the pool, dare I say, enjoyable.

I have a Sprint Tri this weekend that I'm really excited for. Originally I signed up for this so I'd have one more chance at an open water swim before September in case I panicked at the Olympic. But now that I know I'm good to go, I'm looking forward to it and seeing what I can do! It's the best feeling when you conquer a fear.

NJ State Olympic Tri Race Report

My second Tri, first Olympic distance, stepping stone to my half Ironman in September. As usual, I'm full of doubts of what I'm capable of for the 70.3 so I wanted this race to be enjoyable, confidence building and a learning experience. Thankfully, it was all three of those things!!

Leading up to this weekend I was so busy at work I didn't even have time to stress over the race and by the time Saturday rolled around, I was so exhausted that laying on the couch and zoning out was the perfect pre race day. I slept pretty well Saturday night and didn't experience any pre race nervousness that kept me up. Up bright and early on Sunday, I still felt really calm. Unfortunately, my stomach was not. I had some pretty unpleasant stomach fun from the time I woke up until literally 3 minutes before my wave lined up to enter the water. I think this was something more than pre race jitters because I never had it last so long and I really wasn't that much of a basket case. Yes, I got teary more than once when telling Andy that I didn't think I could swim that far, but I didn't think I was that much of a mess. My stomach will continue to be a mystery.

So, enough poo and back to the race...I headed down to the start of swim area for the pre race warm up. I knew I needed to do this to prepare myself for any panic that might set in and thought it was better to get some of it out of the way before the gun went off. I walked calmly into the water, which was 88 degrees and felt like a cess pool, dunked my head and started swimming. I couldn't see shit in the brown, murky water but I focused on keeping my breathing under control and just did my thing. It was the best feeling ever that I didn't experience any panic whatsoever.

After the practice swim we huddled in whatever shade we could find with all the other athletes trying to do the same in hopes to keep cool. It was only 7:30am and already hot as heck, around 90 degrees, and the humdity was terrible. Poor Andy, he just loves the heat and humdity and he had a long morning ahead of him spectating. But once again, he won the husband of the year award and sucked it up. He also provided a lot of hugs as I stood there sighing, a telltale sign that I'm nervous, and telling me I could do this.

Waves went off every 5 minutes for the swim and as I waited to line up, I told myself that I wasn't going to win this race and I definitely wasn't going to win the swim so I should just take it easy and keep myself under control in the water. We entered the water and while we treaded water waiting for our start, I took a bunch of deep breaths and told myself it was nothing more than 65 laps at the pool. When we started, I easily slipped into a rhythm and did my thing. I was nudged and hit a bit, and did a little hitting back, but it didn't faze me. Prior to the start when I saw how long the swim course looked, I was really worried but once I got moving, the bouys just kept ticking by. The only thing that messed me up during the swim was that my goggles fogged so badly and when we turned around and were heading into the sun I couldn't see a darn thing. I basically searched for any moving water in front of me to keep on track with other swimmers. When we reached the final turn to head out of the water, I couldn't believe I made it and didn't freak out once along the way!! That in itself was a huge accomplishment!!

Swim - 37:41 (now that I know I can handle it, I'm ready to push harder!)
T1 - 2:13 (didn't feel this long!)

Out of the water and into transition I went feeling great; not like the sprint I did in June where I told Andy the swim was the worst experience of my life. That was so not the case today and I think I might have even had a smile on my face! Transition went smoothly and I was headed out on my bike for 2 loops / 25.2 miles before I knew it. Nothing exciting on the bike except that I felt pretty good. Still not sure how much to push myself to save my legs for the run, so I decided to just go by feel. I did a fair amount of passing and also got blown away by some serious triathletes on their fancy bikes. It was hot but bearable since I was moving and somewhere on the second lap I downed a Gu. I wasn't drinking as much as I probably should and with my stomach issues before we started I was worried I was going to bonk. I wasn't hungry or interested in food or water but I knew I needed something. I finished the bike feeling strong and didn't crash as I clipped out and dismounted! Another success!!

You can't see it here but I'm grinning ear to ear!

Bike - 1:20:38, average 19mph
T2 - 2:05

From the second I switched from my cycling shoes to my running shoes, I knew the run was going to be a struggle. Finally stopping and not having the breeze from the bike, the still air, heat and humidity got me. I trained for a 7:30-7:40 pace for the run but I immediately knew when I started that I'd take anything that got me to the finish. The first mile started with me passing a ton of walkers and it got to me mentally. I found myself at one point calculating how long it would take me to finish if I just stopped and walked the rest of the way. If everyone else was walking, why couldn't I? Thankfully I realized that even if I shuffled I'd finish sooner and I needed to do anything to just keep moving forward. I made it to the first water stop, which was also handing out cold towels which were a god send, and took a few seconds to walk, grab a drink and pour water down my back. I never in a million years thought I'd walk a water stop at a 10k but the heat was just horrible. I pushed along as my pace slowed but I was still running which was more than I could say for a lot of people out there. It wasn't only me the heat was affecting, for the majority of the race there were more walkers than there were runners. My legs were fine but the heat held me back and I ended up averaging a minute slower than race pace. Far from what I wanted but it got me to the finish alive and smiling. In fact, as I was approaching the finish with about a quarter mile to go, a spectator said to me, "that's the first smile I've seen all day." Another goal achieved, I had fun!!

Leaving T2, again, smiling!

Run - 53:12, average 8:35

I had some time goals for this race which I didn't share because I knew with this being my first one I shouldn't focus on time. But my main goal was to finish happy in under 3 hours, which I did. Another win for the day! I have been analyzing everything all day and know where I could have done better, etc but the bottom line is that the heat was just a little too much today. Considering this was my second Tri, I'm happy with how it went and I already have plans to go back to this course next year and come home with a huge PR.

Total time: 2:55:49

F35-39 - 16th

Overall 418/944

I left this race with a lot of thoughts about where I'm going in the sport of Triathlons and honestly, I might be a little confused. I'll be taking it easy the next few days with some light workouts, and lots of thinking about goals, as I work my way back into the thick of training...Quakerman Half Ironman is only 7 weeks away!

3 More Sleeps

I swear the work Gods are against me. Every week before a race the shit hits the fan at work and it's complete chaos. This week has consisted of stressful, long days and this 5 minute mental break for this post will hopefully keep me from screaming. The only good part of this craziness is that it's keeping my mind off of this little thing I have scheduled for Sunday....my first Olympic Tri!!

On Sunday I'll be racing my second triathlon, first Olympic distance. The race consists of a 0.93 mile swim, 25.5 mile bike and a 10k run. I'm usually all about goals, even when it's my first time doing a particular race, but with the heat wave we're currently experiencing, my only goal is to not over heat and die. If you're not part of the fun on the East coast, we have temperatures exceeding 100 degrees today and tomorrow and the humidity is making it feel closer to 110. When I left for work today at 7am it was already a toasty, humid 84 degrees. The temperatures are supposed to fall a bit by Sunday with highs only in the mid 90's. With the race starting at 7:30am, hopefully it won't be too bad.

I have some general times for each part that I'd like to hit but I'm not going to beat myself up if I can't nail my race pace on the run. In a way, I think the heat is almost a good thing. It's keeping me much more relaxed and I'm not so focused on what finish time I want to get. With this being my first Olympic distance, it should be more about the experience and what I can learn, than how quickly I can get it done.

But with all that being said, I feel pretty good about it. A little anxious about the swim, as I start in a wave with men, but I'm trying to tell myself it's just goofing off in the water and not to take it too seriously. I had my final brick last weekend with a 2 hour bike and an hour run. With both covering distances longer than I'll see this Sunday, and my first three miles of the run around a 7:30, I finished up peak week feeling pretty confident. I put in the time for this race, even a little extra, and I'm ready to have some fun!! Knowing there's a beer garden at the finish and that this kicks off a week of vacation is definitely helping!

3 more sleeps till the fun begins!

Holy Hills!

The Half Ironman I have scheduled for September became so real the other day when I received my training plan from my Coach. I knew it was creeping up on me and I knew training would get more intense, but having never done one of these before, I didn't know what to expect. Thankfully I've been training a little more aggressively than what I need for my Olympic Tri in just over a week so that softened the blow.

When I first opened the plan, I just stared at it. Then I closed it, opened it again, and stared some more. Not sure what I was expecting to change, but I think I closed and opened it like 10 more times. The format is the same, with 3 doubles a week and some brick workouts on Saturday. The biggest change, obviously, is the training hours I'll be putting in each week. My shortest week consists of just under 9 hours while the biggest week takes me to 14 hours. It terms of workouts, my time in the saddle increases significantly and my runs get progressively longer. Thankfully, the hours I'll be spending in the pool won't change much. This was huge because expecting longer pool workouts was messing with me mentally.

So after staring and analyzing the plan for a good 2 days, I decided that I had to get up and ride the bike course of the race to know what I was up against. The course is hilly, to say the least, and not closed to traffic...two things I desparately need to gain some confidence with. Since I upgraded to clip pedals and bought myself some gaudy cycling shoes the weekend before, I figured what better way to break them in then to check out the race course!

The race course is 3 - 18ish mile loops and I easily managed two loops, with only one fall while trying to clip in at an intersection. Lucky for me there was a flower bed to cushion my fall and I walked away with just some minor scraps and covered in mulch. I even conquered some of my fear of going fast and hit 30mph (crazy thing is I touched the breaks a few times) on a downhill, while on a small shoulder and cars flying by next to me. That in itself was huge since I do NOT like to go downhill let alone go downhill on an open road! But after all was said and done, my legs felt great and I definitely had another loop in me. And to be honest, I felt like I could have easily run after riding the 36 miles. While that ride definitely built up my confidence, I know I still have a lot of work to do. I want those hills to feel like nothing on race day and I want to know every inch of that course. So, my goal for August: eat those hills for breakfast every weekend.

I'm not very good at this technical stuff, but here's a rough profile of the course with elevation. Good thing I picked a nice hilly course for my first 70.3!

My Name is Denise and I'm Addicted...

Last week, right after my burned out post, my coach mentioned that I might not feel like myself as I went through a week of recovery. While I really do think I was a little burned out, and part of my emotional roller coaster was due to that, my coach said something with regards to recovery weeks that really made me think.

"Think of it more as 'training' and less as an 'addiction'."

I know I'm very passionate about working out and don't feel myself if I don't get it in, but am I addicted to it??  According to Merriam-Webster, addiction is:

"Compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal"

Hmmm, "compulsive need?" "Physiological symptoms upon withdrawal?" Sounds a little too familiar.

I thought back to my time off from the Achilles injury and how crazy I was; having breakdowns left and right and funky all the time. I literally fed my lack of exercise with too much food and thought since I couldn't do as much as I wanted, I might as well do nothing at all. I was anything but myself during these times.

Then there are the times where life gets in the way and I have to make changes to my training schedule.  I definitely don’t handle this well and feel really anxious about missing a scheduled workout or not having it be exactly as planned. For weeks I've been thinking about how I'll fit workouts in while I'm away later this month and am worried I won't get in as much as I should. What I should really be concerned with is making sure I have a ton of fun and get plenty of naps in on the beach!

And then there's last week. A cut back week and me feeling like an alien I was so out of sorts.  But mid way through this week, with the highest intensities yet of my training, I feel like a million bucks. And over the weekend, I was looking forward to the two weeks ahead of me because they are chock full of hard workouts. Maybe I was excited to get "my fix."

So maybe I am addicted to exercise. But I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing.  It's not like I'm addicted to crack. And I'm taking recovery days/weeks as scheduled so I'm making sure my body gets the rest it needs. But with that being said, I do want a healthy relationship with working out and think it's something I should work on...wouldn't hurt to have some flexibility and not take everything so serious.  But at least I now know that the next time I start to have a melt down during a cut back week, I can blame it on my addiction.

I thought all of this was interesting and explained a lot about my ups and downs during training periods. What about you guys? Do you "train" or is exercise your "addiction?"