I swim with the local master's swim program on Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:30 - 7:00 AM (most of us get there around 6:15 to warm up) and usually swim between 2000 - 3000 yards. I was tired from the weekend so I barely got in 1600 today.
But here's the thing. You don't have to go all out all the time. You don't have to do every mile or stroke that your training plan calls for. Sure, there are people who do that but I'll bet you a CO2 cartridge they get burned out more often than we do (those of us who listen to our bodies).
So I'm ok with my measly little, um, I mean perfectly-fine 1600 yds today.
And the water felt sooooo good. When your leg muscles are sore and achey, swimming actually feels really good. It's like "one, long massage" says my friend, Julie Hansen, MS, RD. Well, maybe not quite like that but close.
For Ironman training, I don't follow a specific plan. I just do master's swim throughout the winter and spring, then I switch to open water swimming as soon as the lake warms up to 60+ degrees, which is usually in May.
Then, I swim 2 - 3 days a week and go more by time, than distance, since I don't always know how far I am going in the lake. I swim for at least 45 minutes in the lake and then usually do one pool workout each week too. We are lucky enough to have a 50-meter pool here in Greeley and I live just a few blocks from it so I usually ride my bike up there around 11;30 AM and swim under the hot sun for 45 mins or so. It's one of my favorite things to do. Love 50 meter pools!
Monday, April 21, 2014
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Easter Ride
Had great weather for both. The run was hard due
to super-sore quads (see previous post) but got 'er done.
Had 9 people on the ride today: Lynne, Marshall, Ripley, Jade, Brenda, Geoff, Jenni, Bryan. Started off fast and well, stayed fast! I felt strong but was dropped on the first hill on CR 19 and it took awhile to catch up. Thankfully, they waited for me.
Learned that I'm faster on the down hills than most everyone in the group but slower on the uphills (just my luck). Still, felt really good most of the way and had fun with the group.
Geoff flatted outside of Johnstown so I stayed with him. Was a bit hard to start up again but felt good once we got going. Tired, thirsty, and hungry at the end. And to think I have much longer rides to do before August 3rd. Arrrgh!
Saturday, April 19, 2014
A Beer a Day Keeps the Pain Away
You'll never believe what I did this week. Me, sports-dietitian, middle-aged mom me, decided to run track AFTER drinking a beer. And it gets worse: I did master's swim early in the morning, a trail run with friends at 11:00 AM (that included a steep hill climb and descent), and then somehow decided it would be ok to do a track workout later that day AFTER drinking a beer. Yeah, I did that.
Lest you think I'm the BA woman of the day, let me tell you that I couldn't walk for two friggin' days afterward. I'm serious. I was so sore I had to crawl to the bathroom the next morning.
Ironically, the beer didn't create any problems. I felt fine. It was the 3-workouts-in-a-day that caused the problem (followed by a hard ride on Thurs and swim on Friday).
That was last Wednesday. Today is Saturday and I was still really sore when I got up this morning. But like any red-blooded IM-trainee, I did a long run and pretty much obliterated my quads to pieces (who needs quads anyway?). Ironmans are all about enduring pain, right?
Actually, beer has some health benefits.I even wrote an article about it on GOTRIbal.com. Check it out if you want to know more:
http://www.gotribalnow.com/expert/beer-day-keeps-doctor-away
Tomorrow I am planning on a 55-mile ride with friends. This time, I'll wait until AFTER the ride to enjoy a cold one (and will refrain from subjecting my body to increasing amounts of intense training throughout the day....wait, isn't that called recovery???).
Lest you think I'm the BA woman of the day, let me tell you that I couldn't walk for two friggin' days afterward. I'm serious. I was so sore I had to crawl to the bathroom the next morning.
Ironically, the beer didn't create any problems. I felt fine. It was the 3-workouts-in-a-day that caused the problem (followed by a hard ride on Thurs and swim on Friday).
That was last Wednesday. Today is Saturday and I was still really sore when I got up this morning. But like any red-blooded IM-trainee, I did a long run and pretty much obliterated my quads to pieces (who needs quads anyway?). Ironmans are all about enduring pain, right?
Actually, beer has some health benefits.I even wrote an article about it on GOTRIbal.com. Check it out if you want to know more:
http://www.gotribalnow.com/expert/beer-day-keeps-doctor-away
Tomorrow I am planning on a 55-mile ride with friends. This time, I'll wait until AFTER the ride to enjoy a cold one (and will refrain from subjecting my body to increasing amounts of intense training throughout the day....wait, isn't that called recovery???).
Sunday, December 29, 2013
IM Canada Recap
Swim - 1:21, which is a bit slow for me but I had a very hard time getting through people. Very congested at the start and by first buoy. Had to stop several times. Water was clear and cool but not cold (probably around 67 degrees). Weather was perfect.
Bike - This is the part I was worried about. The IMC facebook page was full of comments on how hard the bike course was going to be and they were right. Extremely hilly with one hill of 10% grade! We climbed around 6000 total feet throughout the 112 miles. The good thing is that it was the most beautiful course I had ever biked and the weather was fantastic. I held back for the first 50 miles or so and probably held back too much because I ended up with a 7+ hour bike time. I was disappointed but had to keep going.
Run - Felt fairly good in the beginning but faded by mile 6 or so and started walking. Horrible heel pain from heel spur and plantar fasciitis. My spirits started to drop big-time. Had a come-to-Jesus moment at mile 12 and told myself to start running. Despite horrendous pain in my heel, I ran....and ran....and ran (jogged was more like it). Ended up with a 15:09 finish time, way slower than I had wanted. But still, so happy to have done the race. Loved it and would do it again if I could.
More details later!
Friday, May 31, 2013
2013 Spring Training
Before the actual blogging begins, here's a quick recap of my pre-IM spring training: I ran a marathon. Why? Because two of my friends told me that the best thing they did before their fall IM was run a spring marathon. I hadn't run "just" a marathon in 10 years and really had no desire to do so, but they had convinced me that it would help my run in IMC so I fell for it and signed up for the Colorado Marathon (5/6/13).
This is us before the race
and this is us after the race:
Overall, I had a great time. Finished in 4:25, almost an hour slower than my PR (3:32, Chicago) but I'm 10 yrs older too. Felt really good most of the way with a 2nd wind at mile 18 (oddly enough), started to fade at mile 22'ish, struggled but didn't stop running until the finish line.
The best thing about doing this marathon was the training - I really enjoyed it! I followed the Furman FIRST training plan and really liked it. It's unique in that it requires only 3 days of running. Each week has a tempo run, interval run, and long run. The other days you cross-train. I felt great and would highly recommend it.
The plan called for two 20 milers and even though I ended up doing two 18 milers and one 20 miler, I felt good on those long runs. That was a huge confidence builder! I did a little speedwork but not much, mainly because my goal for this IM is to finish, not PR.
Before the actual blogging begins, here's a quick recap of my pre-IM spring training: I ran a marathon. Why? Because two of my friends told me that the best thing they did before their fall IM was run a spring marathon. I hadn't run "just" a marathon in 10 years and really had no desire to do so, but they had convinced me that it would help my run in IMC so I fell for it and signed up for the Colorado Marathon (5/6/13).
The best thing about doing this marathon was the training - I really enjoyed it! I followed the Furman FIRST training plan and really liked it. It's unique in that it requires only 3 days of running. Each week has a tempo run, interval run, and long run. The other days you cross-train. I felt great and would highly recommend it.
The plan called for two 20 milers and even though I ended up doing two 18 milers and one 20 miler, I felt good on those long runs. That was a huge confidence builder! I did a little speedwork but not much, mainly because my goal for this IM is to finish, not PR.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Ironman Arizona Part 3: T2 and The Run
Well, the run.
What an experience. I'll try to keep this brief but I have a lot to say.
First, a little bit on T2. I was very happy to get off the bike. I was hoping to finish in 6:30 or less and mis-calculated my time (in my favor, oddly) and thought I was right on target, which made me really happy. Had I known that my bike time was slower than I expected, I might not have started off with so much energy. The mind is a powerful thing!
Anyway, this was the big moment I had been waiting for: seeing if I could run after the bike. In IM FL, I felt horrible after my bike and could not run. It was an awful feeling. My feet hurt so bad that it was very painful to run. One of the main reasons I signed up for a 2nd IM is to have a good IM experience, which for me, meant running after the bike portion of the race. That may sound strange but that's what I really wanted to be able to do. And I could run!
I left the T2 tent on a runner's high. My body actually felt really good. On the bike, I had some strange groin pain that worried me - I wondered if I would be able to run at all. But it went away as I started to run.
The run course headed out along the lake and the sun was finally out, making for beautiful running conditions. I felt really good. The crowds were cheering and I heard Kurt's voice as I rounded a corner. I saw Katerina standing next to Kurt and blew her a kiss. So glad to see at least one of my kids! Here is a picture Kurt took at this point:
So, at this point, I was feeling good and although I knew that feeling would not last the entire marathon, I was just happy to be feeling much better than I did in IM FL.
As I headed on out on the course, I told myself that I wanted to run 2 laps without stopping. In hindsight, that was probably a bit ambitious because I was really hurting by mile 16. But I kept the promise to myself and ran without stopping (not even at aid stations) for 2 laps. I grabbed water and sports drink at the aid stations but kept running as I drank it.
At that point, my legs were killing me. This is where the lack of long runs in my training really bit me in the butt. I slowed way down at this point and had so much pain in my feet (why do my feet hurt so much???) that I could hardly walk. Maybe it was all the concrete, I don't know.
Around mile 15 my heel started to hurt too. I focused more on mid-foot running, as my podiatrist-friend told me to do, and tried to run on the grass whenever I could. But it really hurt. I slowed down even further.
By mile 18 or so, I was in a lot of pain. I was walking more and more and became very worried that i wasn't going to make my goal of finishing under 14 hrs. I started to get down about it but would then pull myself out of it. It got dark and I struggled to keep going.
I kept wondering where Brenda and Kevin were. I saw Sarah once and Kurt had told me that she was ahead of me, as expected, but he didn't know where Brenda or Kevin was. I kept waiting for them to pass me, since Kurt said they weren't in front of me. I found out later that Kevin was way ahead of even Sarah but that Brenda was behind me. She somehow passed me on the course and I never saw her. Strange!
So, by mile 22, I was in bad shape. Pain, pain, pain. It was dark and no one was talking. The volunteers were great but I could sense that other runners were hurting too. We all shuffled along together in the dark.
I kept looking at my watch wondering if I could make it. It seemed like the last few miles were so long, like I would never make it to the finish line. I could hardly walk let alone run. Darn those injuries! If I was in the kind of shape that I was in before getting this hip pointer injury or the plantar fasciititis, I could have easily done the marathon. I fought hard to keep my spirits up because I knew things would go south if I didn't.
At about mile 23, I tried to run but couldn't. Then all of a sudden, I felt my body start to run. I could hear the announcer and all the people cheering. I ran and ran and when I rounded the corner to the finish line, I was in an all-out sprint to the finish line. The clock said 13:54 as I flew across the line and I was really happy.
A wonderful volunteer quickly embraced me with a space blanket and held me up. I laughed and cried with her as we waited for the finish line photo to be taken. Kurt, the kids, and my mom were waving to me from the fence nearby. I couldn't hold it in and started crying. I was so happy to be done and so happy to have met my goal!
So, now a week later, as I write this, I can say that i truly am happy with my performance this year (compared to last year). Sure, I wish I had could've run faster but I'm just so glad that I met my goal and honestly, that I was able to swim in that frigid water!
Its been a long haul this time around and I'm ready to close the Ironman chapter in my life. I'm not saying that I won't sign up for another one down the road, but for now, I'm done. And I'm happy.
Thanks for reading this blog. I know only a handful of people have read it but if you were one of them, thanks for coming along and supporting me along the way. Feel free to comment or email me questions.
I may write a post on nutrition soon, so come back soon!
What an experience. I'll try to keep this brief but I have a lot to say.
First, a little bit on T2. I was very happy to get off the bike. I was hoping to finish in 6:30 or less and mis-calculated my time (in my favor, oddly) and thought I was right on target, which made me really happy. Had I known that my bike time was slower than I expected, I might not have started off with so much energy. The mind is a powerful thing!
Anyway, this was the big moment I had been waiting for: seeing if I could run after the bike. In IM FL, I felt horrible after my bike and could not run. It was an awful feeling. My feet hurt so bad that it was very painful to run. One of the main reasons I signed up for a 2nd IM is to have a good IM experience, which for me, meant running after the bike portion of the race. That may sound strange but that's what I really wanted to be able to do. And I could run!
I left the T2 tent on a runner's high. My body actually felt really good. On the bike, I had some strange groin pain that worried me - I wondered if I would be able to run at all. But it went away as I started to run.
The run course headed out along the lake and the sun was finally out, making for beautiful running conditions. I felt really good. The crowds were cheering and I heard Kurt's voice as I rounded a corner. I saw Katerina standing next to Kurt and blew her a kiss. So glad to see at least one of my kids! Here is a picture Kurt took at this point:
As I headed on out on the course, I told myself that I wanted to run 2 laps without stopping. In hindsight, that was probably a bit ambitious because I was really hurting by mile 16. But I kept the promise to myself and ran without stopping (not even at aid stations) for 2 laps. I grabbed water and sports drink at the aid stations but kept running as I drank it.
At that point, my legs were killing me. This is where the lack of long runs in my training really bit me in the butt. I slowed way down at this point and had so much pain in my feet (why do my feet hurt so much???) that I could hardly walk. Maybe it was all the concrete, I don't know.
Around mile 15 my heel started to hurt too. I focused more on mid-foot running, as my podiatrist-friend told me to do, and tried to run on the grass whenever I could. But it really hurt. I slowed down even further.
By mile 18 or so, I was in a lot of pain. I was walking more and more and became very worried that i wasn't going to make my goal of finishing under 14 hrs. I started to get down about it but would then pull myself out of it. It got dark and I struggled to keep going.
I kept wondering where Brenda and Kevin were. I saw Sarah once and Kurt had told me that she was ahead of me, as expected, but he didn't know where Brenda or Kevin was. I kept waiting for them to pass me, since Kurt said they weren't in front of me. I found out later that Kevin was way ahead of even Sarah but that Brenda was behind me. She somehow passed me on the course and I never saw her. Strange!
So, by mile 22, I was in bad shape. Pain, pain, pain. It was dark and no one was talking. The volunteers were great but I could sense that other runners were hurting too. We all shuffled along together in the dark.
I kept looking at my watch wondering if I could make it. It seemed like the last few miles were so long, like I would never make it to the finish line. I could hardly walk let alone run. Darn those injuries! If I was in the kind of shape that I was in before getting this hip pointer injury or the plantar fasciititis, I could have easily done the marathon. I fought hard to keep my spirits up because I knew things would go south if I didn't.
At about mile 23, I tried to run but couldn't. Then all of a sudden, I felt my body start to run. I could hear the announcer and all the people cheering. I ran and ran and when I rounded the corner to the finish line, I was in an all-out sprint to the finish line. The clock said 13:54 as I flew across the line and I was really happy.
A wonderful volunteer quickly embraced me with a space blanket and held me up. I laughed and cried with her as we waited for the finish line photo to be taken. Kurt, the kids, and my mom were waving to me from the fence nearby. I couldn't hold it in and started crying. I was so happy to be done and so happy to have met my goal!
So, now a week later, as I write this, I can say that i truly am happy with my performance this year (compared to last year). Sure, I wish I had could've run faster but I'm just so glad that I met my goal and honestly, that I was able to swim in that frigid water!
Its been a long haul this time around and I'm ready to close the Ironman chapter in my life. I'm not saying that I won't sign up for another one down the road, but for now, I'm done. And I'm happy.
Thanks for reading this blog. I know only a handful of people have read it but if you were one of them, thanks for coming along and supporting me along the way. Feel free to comment or email me questions.
I may write a post on nutrition soon, so come back soon!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
AZ Ironman Part 2: T1 and The Bike
After shedding my wetsuit (with the help of some excellent wetsuit strippers), I ran to the T2 tent. I had wanted to keep my swim cap and looked down to see if I had it. I didn't and for a split second I thought about running back to get it but quickly realized how foolish that would be! Darn, I really wanted that cap!
They ran us around to get our bike bags and then into the changing tent. This was a lot different than T1 in Florida. In Florida, we were in a hotel room and it was well-lit with a lot more space. Here it was crowded and dark but it worked OK.
As I entered the tent, a volunteer rushed and asked if I needed help. I said "sure" as I started grabbing stuff out of my bag. She was a step ahead of me and was helping me get my wet bra and tri shorts off (not easy to do when you're in a hurry!).
I quickly put on my bike shorts and long bra that I would wear in the run, with sleeveless bike jersey over it, so that at T2, all I had to do would be take off the jersey. Because it was cool, I put on bike sleeves too. I had had a system of getting ready but the volunteer's kind efforts threw me off a little - in hindsight, I wish I had told her to help someone else (as much as I appreciated her help - it was great but I think better by myself).
I grabbed my gu flask and powerbar to stick in my back packet and quickly downed a bottle of Boost (love that stuff!). Since the forecast called for 50% chance of rain, I rolled up my bike jacket and put it in my back pocket too - just in case. Helmet, sunglasses, and shoes were on.. and I swiped some sunscreen on my face as I flew out of the tent - woo hoo, I was on my way to my favorite part of the race!
It felt great to get on the bike, partly because I knew it would warm me up. I was still pretty chilled from the swim but not cold enough to put on a jacket. I felt giddy with excitement as I rounded the corner of the bike chute that dumped us out onto Rio Salado. On the way, I saw Kurt and heard him yelling for me, which really made me happy.
Ahhhh...finally riding my bike. It just felt so good to be out of the water and onto the next segment of the race. The tailwind really made us all fly as we headed out of town towardd the mountains.
One thing that is nice about IMAZ, compared to IMFL, is the 3-loop bike course allows you to see the pros. I saw Chrissie Wellington twice and that was really exciting. She passed us all like we were standing still! First you'd see the motocycles go by and then her - it was a nice distraction!
The bike course consists of 1 loop that is about 38 miles long (I can't remember the exact distance) and we did it three times. There are pros and cons of this type of bike course but the nice thing is you know what to expect for the last part of the bike segment when you're tired. Also, if you want to see anyone that you know, you have that opportunity. The down side is that it's a little boring - one thing that was nice was IMFL's bike course is that it was new scenery most of the way.
The big surprise of the day was the wind. We had a horrible headwind coming back into town, causing my speed to go from 18-20'ish on the way out (occasionally up to 23 mph) down to 14 mph! Everyone was tucked in tight to aero position on the way back to save as much energy as possible.
And there was crosswind too! It just blew and blew and blew, making it hard sometimes to keep your bike going in a straight line. I pedaled the almost the entire way with very little coasting, even when we had a tailwind, because we were going up hill then. Very hard bike! I was hoping to do the bike in 6:20 or 6:30 at the very longest but didn't quite make it.
Here's Evan running by me on my way back into the turnaround point.
I stopped twice to pee (couldn't bring myself to...you know...what the guys do...) and once for my special needs bag. At that point, I ate a bagel sandwich, drank a Boost, and took a swig of gu. Before stopping, I had a few Twizzlers and half of a Power bar. I never felt hungry or over-fed. I drank 3/4 of a Powerbar Perform bottle handed to me by a volunteer (guzzled it, in fact) and ate a package of gel blasts too. Can't remember what else.
Overall, the bike went well. I'm glad I didn't flat or have any mechanical difficulties. Like the swim, toward the end it seemed to take forever and I was really ready to stop. Almost 7 hrs on a bike is a long time!
Total bike time: 6:48:02 (damn wind!)
To be continued!
They ran us around to get our bike bags and then into the changing tent. This was a lot different than T1 in Florida. In Florida, we were in a hotel room and it was well-lit with a lot more space. Here it was crowded and dark but it worked OK.
As I entered the tent, a volunteer rushed and asked if I needed help. I said "sure" as I started grabbing stuff out of my bag. She was a step ahead of me and was helping me get my wet bra and tri shorts off (not easy to do when you're in a hurry!).
I quickly put on my bike shorts and long bra that I would wear in the run, with sleeveless bike jersey over it, so that at T2, all I had to do would be take off the jersey. Because it was cool, I put on bike sleeves too. I had had a system of getting ready but the volunteer's kind efforts threw me off a little - in hindsight, I wish I had told her to help someone else (as much as I appreciated her help - it was great but I think better by myself).
I grabbed my gu flask and powerbar to stick in my back packet and quickly downed a bottle of Boost (love that stuff!). Since the forecast called for 50% chance of rain, I rolled up my bike jacket and put it in my back pocket too - just in case. Helmet, sunglasses, and shoes were on.. and I swiped some sunscreen on my face as I flew out of the tent - woo hoo, I was on my way to my favorite part of the race!
It felt great to get on the bike, partly because I knew it would warm me up. I was still pretty chilled from the swim but not cold enough to put on a jacket. I felt giddy with excitement as I rounded the corner of the bike chute that dumped us out onto Rio Salado. On the way, I saw Kurt and heard him yelling for me, which really made me happy.
Ahhhh...finally riding my bike. It just felt so good to be out of the water and onto the next segment of the race. The tailwind really made us all fly as we headed out of town towardd the mountains.
One thing that is nice about IMAZ, compared to IMFL, is the 3-loop bike course allows you to see the pros. I saw Chrissie Wellington twice and that was really exciting. She passed us all like we were standing still! First you'd see the motocycles go by and then her - it was a nice distraction!
The bike course consists of 1 loop that is about 38 miles long (I can't remember the exact distance) and we did it three times. There are pros and cons of this type of bike course but the nice thing is you know what to expect for the last part of the bike segment when you're tired. Also, if you want to see anyone that you know, you have that opportunity. The down side is that it's a little boring - one thing that was nice was IMFL's bike course is that it was new scenery most of the way.
The big surprise of the day was the wind. We had a horrible headwind coming back into town, causing my speed to go from 18-20'ish on the way out (occasionally up to 23 mph) down to 14 mph! Everyone was tucked in tight to aero position on the way back to save as much energy as possible.
And there was crosswind too! It just blew and blew and blew, making it hard sometimes to keep your bike going in a straight line. I pedaled the almost the entire way with very little coasting, even when we had a tailwind, because we were going up hill then. Very hard bike! I was hoping to do the bike in 6:20 or 6:30 at the very longest but didn't quite make it.
I stopped twice to pee (couldn't bring myself to...you know...what the guys do...) and once for my special needs bag. At that point, I ate a bagel sandwich, drank a Boost, and took a swig of gu. Before stopping, I had a few Twizzlers and half of a Power bar. I never felt hungry or over-fed. I drank 3/4 of a Powerbar Perform bottle handed to me by a volunteer (guzzled it, in fact) and ate a package of gel blasts too. Can't remember what else.
Overall, the bike went well. I'm glad I didn't flat or have any mechanical difficulties. Like the swim, toward the end it seemed to take forever and I was really ready to stop. Almost 7 hrs on a bike is a long time!
Total bike time: 6:48:02 (damn wind!)
To be continued!
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