Bummer

I've put off writing anything in here because I hate writing bad news. I seem to have acquired my first real injury. Real because its keeping me from running and I don't like that.

Its the same pain I had before the Ironman in my left hip. Its where one of the muscles inserts into the hip bone. It doesn't hurt when I run but it hurts like hell afterward. I can hardly walk.

Its weird though, because I first noticed the pain before the Ironman, yet it didn't bother in the Ironman...in fact, it had subsided the week before and several weeks after.

But its back and its back with a vengeance. I was in so much pain on Friday that I could hardly walk. I took Celebrex on Thurs and Fri and iced it on Friday. By Saturday, it was a bit better and although I missed my group run, I decided to give it a try and I jogged slowly for 30 mins, only to be in pain again.

Today was a bit better but I can feel it when I walk. I iced it for a solid hour and that helped a lot. Kurt says I should not run for a week or so and that is NOT what I wanted to hear!

And to top if off, I'm having a total lack of motivation to ride my trainer or even swim. Its weird, I usually crave doing one of the three but right now I have no desire to do any of it. I guess its not that unusual, given the time of year, the fact that I just did an Ironman, and that I've had some heavy family stuff going on lately. To be quite honest, I've been fighting the blues for a few weeks now.

So, I will finish up teaching/finals/grading and do what I can in terms of exercise but I'm not going to push myself. I wouldn't worry about it at all but I really want to train with my friend, Dan, who's planning to do his first marathon next spring; but if  I take off too much time, I'll get behind and won't be able to run with him (or Brenda).  I've been missing running with them and I don't want to be left behind.  Waaa!!!

Brrrr!!!

If there's one thing I'm good at, it's running in the cold. And today was no exception. After dropping the kids off at school, I donned hat, gloves, fleece-lined tights, 3 base layers under a vest and jacket, and headed out into the frigid air. How frigid was it?  Around 8 degrees, I think.

For some odd reason, I like running in the cold. Granted, I prefer it to be warmer than it was today (mid-30's is my favorite running temperature), but there's something about braving the elements that gets me going. And I've always been that way.

I have one vivid memory of playing outside in December as a child. It was dusk and very cold outside (those Kansas winters were brutal!). I was by myself, as usual, and the darker and colder it got, the more I liked it. I could see the kitchen lights on in my house and my mom fixing dinner. I wanted to stay outside as long as I could until she called me in. I dared myself to "brave" the cold until she hollered at me to "get inside now before you catch a cold!"

I remember many winter afternoons and evenings playing outside by myself. One time I ventured down the hill to our pond and sliding out into the middle of the rock-solid ice. My dad was on his way home from work and caught a glimpse of me "skating" alone.  That was the end of that - next thing I knew I was in my room with a sore fanny!

So, I digress. I only had time for 4 miles today but it was better than nothing. I was plenty warm and couldn't care less about the strange looks I got from people driving by. Just me, my Ipod, and the cold...what better way to start the day!

Catching up

Hit the pool twice this week - Monday and today, but sure can tell I'm not in training mode!  Both times it felt good to be in the pool but I didn't have much "umph" so I just swam slowly (and it felt so good).

Master's swim is Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:15 AM. I get up at 5:15, drink a cup of coffee in the dark (meditation time), and leave for the pool around 6:00'ish. Its dark then and I'm usually the only one on the road. I always feel like a black cat slinking through the darkness...

The plan for now is to do about half of the swim workout and focus on technique, not speed. I'll do that until the first of the year when I'll start cranking up the pace. For now, it feels really good to just take it easy!

I ran yesterday afternoon with Daisy. I never run in the afternoon but I had a bad morning yesterday - long story - and didn't get out when i wanted to get out. So, finally made it out there at 4:00 in the afternoon. It wasn't bad - I kinda liked running at that time - but it's harder because I usually have the kids home and I don't like leaving them for too long.

Today I rode my new bike on the trainer for 30 mins. It sure took awhile to get comfortable. When I finally did, it was great. Still taking some time to get used to such an aerodynamic position!

Tomorrow, I hope to run 5 - 6 miles. Its supposed to be bitter cold but as long as the wind isn't blowing, I should be ok.

Not-so-long run

Today I had wanted to get a long run in but wasn't sure I'd be able to go since my hamstring was sore yesterday (from sprinting like a fool at the Turkey Trot!). It felt pretty good so I decided to give it a try. Took it slow and easy and it felt pretty good.

But I took Daisy with me and for some reason, she didn't have it today. She stopped several times to sprawl out on the patches of snow. I feel too guilty yanking her up so I just let her lay there. But today I had to get back to get UNC work done so I didn't let her lay there long.

Finally, after the 3rd or 4th stop, I decided to take her back and continue on by myself. I did that, but I never get as good of a run that way. I felt good but I don't get the usual zen from two short loops from my house that I get from one long one. The things we do for our dogs!

Weather-wise, it was PERFECT!  I love sunny, cool weather and that's what it was today. When I brought Daisy back, I ditched the tights and long sleeve shirts and put on shorts and short-sleeved shirt (with long bra underneath) and liner gloves. The cool air felt really good (our thermometer said it was in the upper 30's when i left but I know it was in the 40's).

Either way, it wasn't a bad run, just not a long one like I had planned. No biggee - I'm still in the de-training phase!

First ride on my new bike!

Rode my new baby Felt B16 for the first time yesterday!  I was a bit nervous since I had paid a chunk of change for this bike but had never ridden it!  I had only ridden it on the fit stand in the shop, where I got fitted (Adrenaline Sports in Niwot, CO - great store - would highly recommend it).

The positioning on this bike is so different from my other bike!  I am much more "cramped up" and not as spread out as I was on my roadie. But I am in a very aero-dynamic position which should give me a lot more power.

I met Sarah, Kevin, Brenda, Todd, and Marshall at WOW on Friday and we headed west from there. Sarah had just gotten her bike on the same day I got mine so she was in that same situation. Kevin also got a new bike a few months ago but he has ridden his bike a few times already.

It took me at least 10 miles to get comfortable on this bike. It felt so strange!  I felt like I was going to slide over the top of the handlbars. However, I could instantly tell how much faster this bike was than my roadie. It's like going from a VW bug to a BMW or Mercedes. Still, it will take some time to get used to riding it long distances.

After I got used to the fit, I settled in and focused on riding. The weather was perfect - almost 60 degrees - and it was great riding with my new Ironman buddies. What a great way to spend Black Friday!

Turkey Trot

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and we started it like we have done for almost 12 yrs: we ran the Turkey Trot. This year Evan ran it by himself (well, ran/walked) and Katerina did the 2k.

I ran the 5k and was very curious to see how I would do. I hadn't run a 5k in a long time and having just done the Ironman, I wasn't expecting a fast race time.

But the gun went off and I felt great. I started slow going up the hill but was just feeling so gosh-darn happy, that I pushed the pace. I started with Sarah, who I think was planning to run it slow and easy, but I kept pushing harder. Our first mile was 7:47 - way too fast for me!

But I didn't care. I felt good and kept going. I pushed harder and harder, to the point of feeling like I was sprinting. She was able to go up the hills faster than me and before long, she was long gone. But I still didn't care, I felt great at the pace i was going.

Onto Reservoir Road and I was running faster than I've run in a long time. I stretched out and lengthened my stride (a mistake I soon found out) and just kept going.

Around the corner and down 14th Avenue - yippee - I'm running fast!  As I turned the last corner toward the finish line, I started to sprint and then OUCH!  Someone stabbed me in the right hamstring - yousa! 

I shortened my stride and slowed down. Came across the finish line with a smile on my face and a knot in my stomach, worried that I just might have pulled a muscle.

Today, my hamstring is sore, even to touch. Not sure I should run for awhile but I really want to. Will see how I feel tomorrow. I did get a good bike ride in today (more on that later - it was awesome!) and I did have fun running that race. It kinda lit a fire in me to start doing some speedwork!

All in all, a really nice Thanksgiving, even with a sore muscle.

Gobbler Relays

My arms are a bit sore this AM. Why? Because of the Gobbler Relays we did in Master's swim yesterday!

What are the Gobbler Relays?  Its what happens when your swim coach decides he wants to do something for "fun" for the Thanksgiving holiday.

For someone like me, a swimmer-wannabe, who has finally mastered the freestyle (or who gets by in a triathlon with a stroke that mimmics the freestyle), who has no clue how to do the breast-stroke and butterfly and who thinks that IM stands for Ironman, the Gobbler Relays are NOT fun.

We started with a 20 min warm-up that included the usual - free, kick, pull 200 - 400 yards (I never know because I can't see the board so I just pretend that I know and no one knows the difference).

Then the relays. We are divided into teams and luckily - or perhaps not-so-luckily - I am put with Todd, Amy, and Tom, three of the fastest swimmers in our swim group.

We have to do all 4 strokes twice in the relay: free, breast, butterfly, and back. As I said, I ONLY know how to do the freestyle and possibly the backstroke but I always end up running into the lane dividers and turning over to see where in the heck I am when I do the backstroke.

So my team wisely puts me at the end of the relay and I hear them screaming madly for me as I try to do the breast and then the butterfly but since I always get those two mixed up, they were screaming things like "no, Cindy, the BREAST STROKE, not the BUTTERFLY!!!" and "JUST DO THE FREESTYLE!" and "what the heck is she doing???" and even "where is she going?".

Then, the worst one was the Tandem relay. I don't think Todd will ever speak to me again. We had to hold onto the ankles of another person on our team while they did the freestyle and the person holding on kicked. Sounded easy at first but as I quickly sank to the bottom of the pool while I held onto Todd's legs that were moving way too much, I had to let go so I could get a breath (oxygen comes in handy), causing him to lose balance and momentum...it was a fiasco!  We had to keep trying several times all the way across the pool with me trying to hold onto his ankles, kick, and get some air at the same time. ARRRGGGHHH!

So, we switched it around on the way back - he held onto MY ankles and I used my arms to swim. It actually worked ok that way. Whew - I saved face but just a little!

Then we did the snake relay, which was easy because it was all freestyle - yay.

I am truly humbled to swim with such a talented group of people. But I think next year, I might just sleep in the day before Thanksgiving...

We got in!!!

Registration opened today at noon. I waited patiently until about 11:40 and couldn't stand it anymore so I attempted to register, wondering if maybe - just maybe - they'd open early (I knew better!).  Nope. No go.

So five minutes later I get a text from Sarah asking "U ready?" and then 5 mins later another text saying "I wish they'd open up so I can get on with my day!"...wait, wait, wait...for what seemed like the longest 20 minutes of my life.

And I if I was nervous, I know how nervous Sarah and Brenda must have been!

So at 12:00, I clicked on "go" next to the word registration on the active.com site...nothing happened....I saw the little wheels going around and around and I panicked. What if I can't get on?  My computer does that a lot - i try to go online and it won't connect. Yikes!

I quickly ran into the office and jumped on Kurt's computer....ironman.com, then click on Arizona, then entry, then the link to the active site...it opened up - YAY!  I nervously typed in my info as fast as I could, making TWO mistakes along the way, requiring me to do it over again TWICE!  Finally, I typed in my credit card info and clicked the last button....waited, waited, waited...then I see "Your registration is complete" - yippee!!!!

Kurt happened to be home (unusual) and he came in to the office. He was happy for me, which was really neat. He has been very supportive and I hate to say this but it has surprised me how supportive he's been of this whole IM journey I've been on.

I will say that last night I was having 2nd thoughts. I thought "what am i getting myself into?" The long hard weekends, the time away from my kids, the weekend events I miss because of training. Hmmm...

But I really want to try it again. I am looking at this one differently. With Florida, I felt like I was doing what everyone told me to do...that I was always behind the 8 ball and just following along...and doing the bare minimum of training. Oh, I had my days and I definitely had some good runs during the training but with the biking, I always felt like I wasn't doing enough (and I was right).

I also felt like I was behind Marshall. I remember last summer when he said he biked 100 miles and ran for 3 hours while he was on vacation (back to back days). I was shocked. I was nowhere near that point - in fact, we had just started the 13 week training plan and we were supposed to build UP to that point. And here he had already done it.

Several times during our training Marshall did way more than I did (mostly biking). And I'm happy for him because he had an awesome bike time in Florida.

But this time, I want to be more in control of my training AND I want to start earlier with the longer rides. I really have to get in 3 100 milers before the IM and I wan to space them out over the summer and fall.

The longest I rode during my training for Florida was 75 - 80 miles. We went by time and not miles so I'm not exactly sure.

I feel good about my swimming and running; I need to improve my endurance in both of those areas but I see that as easy to do. The main are for me to improve will be biking.

Sarah, Brenda, and Kevin also got in and we emailed 50 times back and forth (it seemed) today. It was really fun!  And my good friend, Dan England, wants to come along for support, which would be just awesome.

So, with Kurt, the kids, my mom, and 4 good friends along - how can I not have a great time?!!!

I wanna do it again....

Yes, its true, I want to do another Ironman. I made the decision a few days after we got home from Florida. I just feel I didn't get the true IM experience. Well, maybe I did since many people struggle on the run but since I had so much pain on the latter part of the bike, I couldn't run like I normally do. I suppose that sounds like an excuse to some people but I don't care. I want to try it again.

But its not easy getting into IM triathlons and many of them are already sold out. Florida 2010 is already sold out (too bad I didn't decide this when I was in Florida!).

Which one should I do?  Arizona?  Cour de' Alene?  Louisville?  Canada?  I had a lot of factors to consider, like time of year, cost, feasibility of my family coming with me (this time i want my kids there!).

The one thing that made sense to me was to not let this amount of training "go".  In other words, I want to build on what I already have, in terms of fitness. The thought of letting it go and building it back up was too daunting to me (not that I would let it to all go but I wouldn't maintain it without a big goal ahead of me).

So, as I was making this decision two weeks ago, there were two IM's coming up: Arizona and Cozumel. I chose AZ because in the Cozumel IM, you're not allowed to wear wetsuits!  I'm not a good enough swimmer to forego my wetsuit!

But I had a few more questions....how hot does it get in Tempe, AZ, at this time of year, what is the bike course like, and is the swim one or two loops?

The answer to the first question was better than I expected: mid-70's for the high and not surprisingly, low humidity. These are exactly the same conditions we had in Florida and I felt fine biking and running there. It was a little warm on the run but I didn't feel it was a problem.

The answer to the 2nd question was also good news: the bike course was relatively flat. It had a few more hills than Florida did, but compared to Colorado, it was pretty flat. Yay.

However, the answer to the third question was not in my favor. The swim is one big 2.4 mile loop instead of two 1.2 mile loops. Uh oh. That means I would have to swim continuously for 2.4 miles...no beach to run out onto to catch my breath (which I didn't do anyway in Florida!), just nonstop swimming for an hour and 18 mins or so. Could I do it??? 

I decided that if I can overcome a major fear of open water swimming and a fear of swimming that distance in the ocean (with 2 loops), I could easily overcome a fear of one big loop. Besides, I would have a whole year to train!

So, AZ it is.

And, to get into an IM, you have to sign up as soon as the online registration opens up because they fill up within minutes. So, I will need to be at my computer, credit card in hand, as soon as registration opens up. That will be tomorrow, Monday, Nov. 23rd, at noon Mountain Time. Woo hoo!

And the best news is that two of my closest friends, Sarah Adams and Brenda Lynch, have decided to sign up as well!  Yippee!!!  They did most of my long rides with me this last year and it would be so much fun to train with them again this year, esp with the same goal in mind!

So here goes, another long, arduous, emotionally- and physically-challenging year to get to that finish line. We'd love the company, whether its on the road training with us, or here in this blog (comments are always welcome!). Either way, I'm going for it!

The Big Day cont'd

OK, now for the run (see last post for the swim and bike).

My feet felt like they were on fire. My legs were tired too but that was to be expected. I also did not feel the usual urge to start running like I did in the half-IM's I had done or the bricks during my training. In my last brick, I felt great on the run after my bike but of course, I hadn't ridden 112 miles! But I was so hoping I'd feel good in the run since that is my background. But nope, not at all.

I hobbled out to the run course feeling discouraged and just plain icky. I didn't want to do it - I wanted to just go back to my room. The slow bike portion really got to me, as did the pain in my feet.

Somehow, I mustered the energy to run (more like shuffle). There were lots of spectators at this point so it was probably my attempt to save face. I jogged down Thomas Drive, past the finish line chute, with dozens of spectators saying "go Cindy!". That helped a lot.

We wound our way out to the narrow road through a residential area. I was really hurting. I wanted to stop. I told myself to do what Lynne did: run to each aid station, then walk thru the aid station, then run to the next.

I did that for awhile, also stopping to pee at each aid station too. I started wondering where this urine was coming from as I was not drinking enough water. I knew that but couldn't bring myself to drink plain water. I had a few cups of it but mainly drank the Gatorade.

I noticed that after drinking the Gatorade, I felt better. I had small surges of energy between each station as I had in the long course but this time, I was moving much slower. Thankfully, I did not have any nausea or GI issues. I just had to pee like a banshee at almost every single aid station.

We ran 6 miles out to the national park that everyone had told me about, then around in one big circle inside the park, then back out on the same road. Basically it was an out-and-back course that we had to run twice. I had thought that would be nice but once it got dark (at 5:00 PM), the park was very dark. That turned out to be not fun at all.

After going through the park I found myself walking more and more. I looked at my watch and saw my dream of a 12 - 13 hr finish time fade away. For awhile, I was holding on to the 13 hr finish time but the more I walked, the more I knew it was out of my hands.

When I got back to the turn around point, I was completely miserable. I did not want to finish. I saw Kurt and Kevin there and they both cheered me on. Kurt ran a short way with me and I started crying again. I've never done that before nor have I ever felt that bad in a race before. I've run 12 marathons and 2 half-IM's and NONE of them have been like that.

Kurt was awesome. He said over and over again how important it was to finish and that it didn't matter what my time was. He said I was doing a great job and he was very proud of me, which being the total sap that I am, made me cry even more. So I sucked it up and kept going.

But I will say one thing - I will never, ever forget going around that turn-around point, knowing that I had 13.1 miles to go in the dark with feet hurting so bad that it made me cry, and how much I did not want to go - I will never forget that feeling and how somehow I just kept going.
Deep inside I knew that I could not, and would not, quit. But it was the hardest thing I've ever done.

The 2nd loop was run, walk, run, walk, run, walk and then just walk. I walked a lot of it with a few short bursts of shuffling along. I wanted to get to the finish line so bad. I tried every trick up my sleeve that had gotten me out of slumps before but this slump was too deept to get out of.

I thought of how Wendy Mader got herself to the finish line despite having a horrible marathon too. She had said she had finished with a smile on her face and fists in the air. It really helped me keep going. Here was a champion triathlete, one who was trying to mimic her previous race of winning the Hawaii IM - she had a lot more pressure to do well than I did - and she managed to finish. If she can do it, I can do it!

I stumbled on. Finally, at mile 20, I saw Kurt in the dark! He had run that far out to meet me! Yay! That really helped. He tried to get me to run more but I couldn't so we walked on. Then I started getting a little more energy and started jogging again. We were getting closer to that finish line and I wanted to get there so bad, even though I'd have to face the clock and see my disappointing time. But somehow, it seemed to matter less and less.

Then, at mile 24 we saw Marshall! I was shocked. I thought he had finished long ago. Kurt told me that he was having problems and he had tried to say something to me when we passed each other but I didn't know he was that bad. I felt so bad for him! He was walking very slowly and looked really pale. But as usual, he had a positive attitude and was fine just walking. Amazing!

I considered just walking in with him. After all, we had trained together for so long and I think of him almost as a brother now, but I had a little juice left in me and I knew he would want me to keep going. It was hard to run on but I did.

Not long after that, I picked up the pace and finally was in a full-on sprint to the finish line. I knew it may look silly but I didn't care. I stretched out and ran the last 1.5 miles in a fairly fast pace. Even Kurt was amazed! When I turned down Thomas drive, I was slapping hands with the spectators and they were yelling for me. Since my name was on my number, they all yelled "go Cindy!" and "bring it home, Cindy!" It was really cool.

I turned down the chute to the finish line and was on cloud nine. I started to sprint faster for the finish but there was a woman ahead of me going slow and I didn't want to blow past her at the end so I had to slow down and let her finish. I jogged in place so she could get her finish line photo and then I crossed the line. Finally.

Finish time: 14:26:34. Not what I wanted but then again, who gets what they want in a first time race? And I learned a lot along the way.

Now, two days later, I'm happy as a clam that I finished. I had a ton of support from my husband and friends and what more can anyone ask for?

And the crazy thing is, I've decided to do one more. I want to get a better bike, better bike fit, and better bike shoes, and a few more long rides under my belt and try one more time. I think that's a good thing that the experience ended on such a positive note that I want to do it again. For now, this blog is over, but if I get into Ironman Arizona...I'll be back!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read my rantings on this blog. It was fun and it helped me stay accountable to my training. And someday, I hope it will help my kids if they ever set a big goal to work toward. Take care and keep in touch!

The Big Day

Well, the big day has come and gone. There's so much to say about it that I don't even know where to begin. But one thing is for sure: I'm glad I finished.

It was a day of many, many ups and downs. There was even a little drama the night before. We went to be, as planned, by 10:00 and I was tired enough that I went right to sleep. But at 11:00 PM, I was pulled out of a deep slumber to the sound of very loud music - UGH!

At first, I thought it was the alarm clock. I was completely disoriented. Then I realized it was live music coming from the nightclub next door. Don't they realize that the IRONMAN is TOMORROW????

Guitar, drums, whaling vocals pierced the quiet night. Great. Just what I need. A year of training goes down the drain in an instant (everything always seems worse in the middle of night, doesn't it?).

I tossed and turned and realized I wouldn't be able to sleep. I shut the windows and turned on the ceiling fan. Still, the music was there. I finally decided to go into Kevin's room, since he had two double beds and sleep in there, since his room was on the other side of the building.

I debated doing that for about a half hour and finally couldn't stand it...knocked on his door (waking him up, of course) and being the kind person that he is, he said yes I could sleep in the other bed.

His room was much lighter and there was all the street noise to contend with but it was better than blaring rock music. I crawled into bed covering my eyes with a pillow and as I drifted off to sleep, someone's car alarm went off. HONK....HONK.....HONK...HONK...HONK...oh great! Now I'm wide awake. Long story short, I didn't go to sleep until about 2:00 AM. Kurt woke me at 4:10.

We're up, caffeinated, and on our way to the race start. I was so sleepy that I couldn't feel any anxiety. I was numb.

Got to the transition area, got body marked, tires pumped up, and in the porta-potty line. Its a good thing I can do all of that in my sleep because I basically did.

We put our wetsuits on and walked out to the beach. Now, I'm finally starting to get excited. The sight of 2200 people in wetsuits on the beach was pretty cool.

I waded out into the water to see how it felt - it was perfect. Not too cold or too warm. I wasn't that nervous and i kept thinking that I should be. We heard the gun go off for the professionals but couldn't see them. We sang the national anthem, waited 10 mins, and off we went. Woo hoo!!!!

I placed myself midway in the pack, over to the right, like Jim told me to. It worked fine. I could sight easily from there and had a few less people to contend with.

There were, however, much bigger waves than the days prior to the race and huge swells. But I didn't care. I just started swimming.

The entire swim was amazing. I felt strong and fast. I did not expect to feel that way! The water felt fantastic and even though I was whacked in the face numerous times, I didn't care, I just kept going.

The first lap was easier than I expected. I came out of the water and my watch said 35 mins - YAY!!! I had hoped that I could do the swim under 1:45 (secretly hoping for a sub-1:30 swim) and so far, so good.

The 2nd lap was no less crazy. Lots of combat swimming and there were times I had to re-position myself due to the congestion. When we turned left around the first buoy, the swells were so big that it felt like I was on a rollar coaster. It was fun!

I made it around the buoys pretty well but ended up in the middle of the course. Had to swim back out to the course. That worried me; I don't want to lose time having to backtrack but I also wanted to come out of the water in the right place too.

I ended up with a 1:18 swim! I was pumped! Marshall did a 1:16 so we were both doing well at that point (emphasis on "that point").

The crowds were cheering us on as we ran up the beach to the transition area. The strippers were the pulling off wetsuits. Wow - that was so cool! They got my wet suit off in seconds - woo hoo!

Onto the transition tent...I was moving so fast I wasn't thinking and forgot to drink my ensure-like drink. Darn! Bike clothes, gloves, sleeves, helmet, and shoes went on in a flash and out to my bike.

Headed out on my bike and felt pretty good. As expected, many people flew by me right away. I don't have tri bike or racing wheels and I knew it would slow me down but as I found out, it made a huge difference....more on that later.

The first part of the bike course was easy and it seemed like we had a tail wind. I kept my pace around 17 mph and was hoping to maintain that the whole way (or at least average at 17 mph). Then we turned north (I think it was north - hard to know without mountains in the west!) and had a pretty significant headwind for 30 - 40 miles. My pace dropped to 14 - 15 mph. Darn! I felt reasonably good but the wind was tough. It wasn't horrible but enough to slow the pace.

We went on the same highway for a long time. Can't remember now how many miles but I was really ready to turn off that highway. When we finally did, the wind was much better but by then, my legs were feeling it.

I stopped at a few aid stations to use the restroom and then at the midway point for my special needs bag. Felt reasonably good. I was able to maintain 18 - 20 mph for awhile with the tailwind for awhile so was hoping to make up for the slow part.

By mile 70, my feet were starting to hurt. I had had problems with my feet before on long rides but it had subsided so I never went to get new shoes or move the cleats. The real problems started at mile 80. My feet (specifically the balls of my feet) were on fire. They hurt so bad I had to continually click out of my pedals and dangle my feet (one at a time) for awhile. That slowed me way down. The last 30 miles were awful - the pain was excruciating. I could hardly pedal.

By the time I got back into town, I was in tears. My legs were very tired but I could handle that - it was all in my feet. I spinned slowly back to the transition. I thought I would never get there. I had tried so hard to make a 6:30 bike time but ended up with a 7:10 bike. My psyche took a major hit at that point.

I gingerly got off my bike and took a few steps. The pain was horrible. I must have looked bad because I heard a volunteer call for a medical person. Two guys led me to a chair and although I'm embarrassed to admit this, I was crying - the pain was that bad. They massaged my feet and that really helped. I told them I was OK and hobbled over to the changing area, wondering how in the world I was going to run 26 miles.

Gotta get to the airport....to be continued....

Kevin and Marshall just left to go pick Kurt up at the airport so I thought I'd catch up on a few things...

This has been a very long, relaxing day. We didn't have much to do today. The main thing was to take our bikes down to the transition area (see above) and our bike and run bags. Our special needs bike and run bag we take tomorrow when we arrive at the start.

So this is the plan for race morning:

• Arise at 4:00 AM, drink coffee, eat cereal.


• Put on swim suit and dry clothes over it


• Get dry clothes bag, bike special needs bag, and run special needs bag and make sure everything I need is in each bag


• Walk to starting line and drop off bags. Fill water bottles on bike with CarboPro, Gatorade, and water


• Pump up bike tires! Please don't let me forget to do that....


• Put on wetsuit, goggles, and Ironman swim cap (I've been secretly waiting to do that!)


• Walk down to the "corral" (where all the athletes go) on the beach


• Watch the elites start at 6:50 AM


• Swim like hell at 7:00 AM!

Right now, I'm amazingly calm. I don't feel nervous about the swim at all. The water doesn't bother me but the distance is a bit daunting. I've never swam that far in my life but for some weird reason, I'm not worried about it.

I have been a bit frustrated today with the lack of physical "zest" that occurs with tapering. I feel downright sluggish. I don't feel like I'm an Ironwoman yet...quite the contrary! I feel like I've lost all of my conditioning. But, the weird thing is, I want to sign up for next year!

Yes, it's true...I really want to do this again. Well, right now I do, maybe that will change tomorrow. Marshall said that if Kevin signs up for 2010, he will too. Which means I might too...I'd like to try this again and now I know what I need to do differently. But, it may all change tomorrow!

The ocean is so beautiful (see pic above). I am sitting on the deck of the 15th floor of a high rise condo building overlooking the gulf. The water is turquoise and the sound of the waves is mesmerizing. I've always been a mountain person but I don' tknow....I can see why people live here.

I didn't know MTV hosts their annual spring break show here in Panama Beach City. In fact, it's at the hotel next to us. Maybe that's why the mayor of PBC said that the Ironman is "different" than other events they host! She said it was definitely "cleaner".

There are 2200 people in the race tomorrow AND its a mass start - wow, that means there will be 4400 arms and legs in one imaginary swim lane (and people wonder why I was nervous about the swim!). Did I just say I might want to do this again???

I'm not sure I'll have time to write again...the next time I post, I just might be an Ironwoman!

Bag lady

After the awesome swim this AM (see below), we went for a short run (3.5 miles), and then spun our bikes around the parking lot to make sure everything worked right. I had just gotten mine tuned up before we left and I wanted to make sure the gears were shifting easily. Everything worked fine.

We walked over to the Expo, got registered and picked up our bags. So far, this was just like every other triathlon I've done. But the similarities stopped there.

Inside our bag was 5 more bags, each labeled as follows:
Dry clothes
Bike to run bag
Bike special needs bag
Run bag
Run special needs bag

We were given stickers with our race number on them and a sticker was to placed on each of these bags. Each bag would end up in a different place and it's crucial that you think through the different parts of the race and put what you need in that bag or else you'll be in trouble...

Here's what I have:
Dry clothes bag (what I will take to the start to put my dry clothes in) but since I have to walk to the starting line, I will actually put my swim stuff in it: wetsuit, goggles, swim cap, Body Glide, ankle bracelet with timing chip. When we get there, I'll take off my dry clothes and put on my swim stuff.

Bike bag - Helmet, sunglasses, gloves, sleeves (it might be cold at the start), bike jersey, bike shorts, shoes, water bottle with water in it, water bottle with Carbopro in it, water bottle with Gatorade Endurance in it, Powerbars, pbj sandwich, race belt with race number....need to also make sure there CO2 cartridges, extra tube, tire irons on the bike and of course, a sticker with my race number on the main frame and one on the stem (and one on my helmet).

Bike special needs bag (to be picked up at mile 49) - 2 more C02 cartridges, jacket (in case of rain), Powerbars, Ensure, EFS to carry in case I want it.

Run bag - Running top, running shorts, socks, and running shoes. Keep sunglasses and race belt with number on. This will be the 3rd time I've changed clothes in this race. I'm hoping the new set of clean clothes will make me feel fresh and ready to go (I doubt it but it's a nice thought!).

Run special needs bag - Bandaids, mole skin, chapstick, hat, long-sleeved shirt. This bag will have the least amt of stuff in it mainly because you don't wear much on the run and because you don't need to take so much nutrition or fluids with you. There are aid stations every mile with water, Gatorade, gu, Powerbars, defizzed Coke, chicken broth, oranges, bananas. So, i'm pretty much set.

Its a lot to think about. Marshall had all 5 bags laid out on the floor and we methodically thought through each part of the race and filled out bags. And I know I'm forgetting something.

The other cool thing about an Ironman, that is different than other triathlons (or marathons) is that they put your first name on your race number. That way people can really yell for you, which I totally will need starting at oh, mile 2.

One thing that is different this year from last year is the time change. Last year they had not changed the clocks back...this year they have. This means it gets darker much earlier, like around 5:00...which means I'll be running in the dark for about 3 hrs. Great. Did someone say they have alligators here???

The race course sounds good except for the tale end of the run (the most crucial part of the race, where most people either die or finish). They make you run by the finish line THREE times before turning to run down the finish "chute". Lovely. Do you know how hard it will be to run by a finish line after going 140 miles toward it for 12+ hours???

Tomorrow there's not much going on. Marshall wants to lounge all day and I do too...Kurt flies in around 3:30. Kevin will pick him up at the airport and I'll make dinner (pasta, of course). And then it's RACE DAY!!!

Ahhhh...the taste of salt water!

Today was the day I've been waiting for - really. You'd think it would be Saturday and yes, I am definitely waiting for that day but today, well, is the day I would see what swimming in the oean is really like. After suffering through two major panic attacks in two wimpy little lakes back home, I have been petrified that swimming in the big, bad-ass ocean would put me over the edge. Ha - not so!

We ventured down to the starting area after a breakfast I had to go to for the community fund people (that's me - I paid an extra fee to do this race, all of which goes to a really cool charity), and along with a few hundred other people, donned our wetsuits and jumped in.

Walked in, rather. The water was very shallow for at least 50 yards. It felt cold at first - colder than I expected, but after we got going it felt great.

I have to say that this swim will be one of the memorable moments in my life. After a year of stressing and worrying about swimming in the ocean, I was finally doing it...and loving it!

The water was very clear - I could see the bottom for quite awhile. When it finally got deep enough that I couldn't see it anymore, I got a little scared but quickly got over it. I swam and swam and swam, farther out than I had planned. But I didn't care. I was just so happy to finally be here and finally, swimming in the ocean. Mission accomplished.

The only bad part was....well, I swam way off course! Marshall and I started off together and I thought we were swimming next to each other. When I finally stopped to see where I was, I heard a faint voice that sounded suspiciously like Marshall's but was too far away to be his (or so I thought) saying something about "a straight line". I squinted and saw him waving to me....waaaaay over there, about 100 yards to the right. Oops!

I swam over to where he was and we ventured on to the next buoy. This may sound corny but there's something about swimming in open water, esp the ocean where you feel incredibly small out there, that makes you feel "one with nature". Ok, that is corny but I can't think of any other way of describing the feeling I had.

As we swam back to shore, I thought about how I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I felt incredibly happy and content and (it's been hard to say this) proud of myself. Here I was, swimming in the gulf of Mexico, getting ready to do my first Ironman triathlon. Wow. It finally hit me what I was doing.

I also thought a lot about my father. He had always been proud of me but I never knew it until my mom told me a few years ago. I was the only child that went to college (the only one in my entire extended family) and to him - a man who didn't graduate from high school - that was really cool. When I went on for a PhD, that was even cooler. I had kept my maiden name, Byfield, just so that it would be on my diploma - just for him.

And today, 3 yrs after spreading his ashes in the same ocean I was swimming in, felt comforting. I knew he was watching and probably shaking his head at how crazy this was, but underneath it all, pretty darn proud.

This may sound odd but even if I don't have a good race, I'm just happy being here...of making it this far....and swimming in the ocean.

We're here!!!

Marshall, Kevin, and are here in Panama City. The weather is fabulous - dryer than we expected, clear, and sunny. The beach is beautiful - white sand for miles. We're in a huge, 3 bedroom condo on the 15th floor with amazing views of the coastline. The woman who works here said "welcome to paradise" and I think she's right.

As soon as we got here we went to the Ironman expo which is in the parking lot next to our condo. I bought some cool-looking bike shorts and matching top with Ironman Florida on the back. We browsed around and then got our bikes from Velo Express, the company we went with to transport our bikes. We were very happy with the guy who runs Velo - he's meticulous about making sure the bikes arrive safely and charges less than Tribike transport.

Walked our bikes back to the condo and went to get some dinner. Took a look around Panama City - its not ritzy, that's for sure, and in some places is kind of run-down looking but the beaches are amazing.

There are definitely some serious triathletes here. Lots of hard bodies and carbon fiber bikes. I still vascillate between being excited to get going and feeling like I'm in over my head. I guess it's the unknown...I've never gone this distance before or even come close to it. Evan a half-ironman is just that: half an Ironman. When I did the 5430 long course, i remember thinking "there's no way I could double this distance today" but that was 3 months ago and I think we only do what we set out to do. And Saturday, I'm setting out to go long. Reeeeally long.

Tomorrow is a busy day. Breakfast for the athletes at 8:00, Gatorade swim thing at 9:00 (we will actually get in the ocean and swim - VERY nervous about that), registration and check-in 10:00 - 12:00, then get swim bag, bike bag, special needs bike bag, run bag, special needs run bag ready. I'm serious. There's that much to plan!

Then we'll take a spin on our bikes, get my seat adjusted and check my right pedal, get our nutrition plan figured out and go to the mandatory dinner and meeting for all the athletes. Both Kevin and Marshall were here last year and they said the dinner is a really special event. They have some of the elite athletes speak and present inspirational stories of people overcoming incredible odds to finish the race. Marshall said Lynne wanted to run right after the dinner, she was so pumped.

Gotta get to bed - more tomorrow!

Couldn't resist!

Ok...confession time: I ended up running today after all. Couldn't stand not doing anything and after i picked up the kids, I just felt like it. So, I went very slow for 30 mins (whoop dee do!). It was fun because I took Daisy and Katerina rode her bike along with me and we talked along the way. She told me that when she goes to college she wants to learn all about science. How cool is that?!

It was almost 5:00 when we left so we ran through UNC campus and through the tunnel that goes under 11th Avenue (which Katerina thinks is cool). We circled back onto Reservoir Road and back home. It was really fun AND my hip didn't hurt at all. It hurts when I get up out of a chair or move a certain way but there was no pain on the run (jog was more like it).

Went through every emotion today! Scared, confident, calm, stressed, excited, happy, you name it! But I'm starting to get more excited than anything.

And a BIG thanks to my dear friend, Dan England, who sent me a really nice message on Facebook today. It helped me more than he will ever know.

Off to bed - too tired to think anymore!

Blessings

Yesterday is a day that I won't forget. It started with a surprise at church: Lorin Cope, our interim assistant to the pastor (not sure of his correct title!), asked me to come up front during the church service. I was totally taken by surprise and wasn't sure what to expect.

I went up front and he announced that I was going to Florida this week and asked me to explain why. So I told the congregation and they clapped (and laughed) as I explained what I was doing...and that prayers during the swim portion of the IM would be much appreciated! Lark Hapke, our pastor, said the church wanted to send me off with their blessings. How nice!!!

Then, I got a call from Lizzy Ginger that afternoon to go for a slow, easy, pre-IM spin "out east". I had wanted to ride the Zip (fancy racing bike we have) and it was a beautiful day so I said yes. I had planned to work on UNC stuff all day but I couldn't resist the offer. So off I went with her on a new route "out east".

It was simply wonderful. The weather was perfect, the pace was easy and slow, and the route was devoid of traffic so we were able to ride side-by-side and just chat. We told our life stories to each other and I left feeling like I had a new friend. This is what life is all about - making connections with people you care about.

(We did something else on this ride that I won't forget: we both had to pee really bad and we couldn't find a secluded place so we just pulled over on the side of a wide-open country road and bared our bums to the wind - ha!)

Then last night, we went to a "send off" party at Cables End, organized by Jenny. That was truly the highlite of my day! It was for Marshall, Jade, and I and we had a great time. Many of our running/tri friends were there: Dan, Jenny, Kevin, Brenda, Todd, Jim, Duane, Paul, Jade and his wife (I don't know her name!), Lynne, Marshall, Sarah, and her hubby, John. Also, Allie, Logan, and Katie who were kind enough to sit with my kids. Last but not least was a dear friend of mine from church, a man I've gotten to know very well these last few months from a committee that we both serve on: Dick Bond. He is someone I admire and respect deeply and I felt honored that he came to wish me well.

What a day - I feel truly blessed!

Today I feel calm and confident. I decided not to train and to get my UNC work done. I will feel much more relaxed if I leave with my classes in order. Time to take a deep breath and get to work - everything is going to be ok.

Hay in the barn?

That's what Todd said...that "the hay is in the barn" and that I shouldn't be worried. Yet, I still do. I worry that I didn't put enough hay in there...that I didn't train hard enough. Argh!

Focusing on the positive tells me this: I swam 55 mins this morning and felt like I could've kept going. My arms were tired but not that bad. This is a good sign.

I ran an hour yesterday and felt like I could've run longer. This is a good sign.

Then why do I not feel more confident???

One more week...I'm very excited and looking forward to it. Just hope I can finish with a decent time is all I want.

I think I'm a bit down because I spent the entire day in front of this darn computer. Had a ton of school work to do. Graded exams, prepared Monday's lecture, worked on Tuesday's exam, and need to grade a discussion board on Blackboard too. Ugh.

My kids are orphans right now. They have heard me say "no, I can't play right now" too many times and its been more because of school work than IM training (although there's obvious overlap there!).

I know tapering is the right thing to do, yet I feel like I didn't work hard enough to warrant a taper...so will just maintain until next Saturday so that I don't overdo.

My hip is a bit better but I better not run, will only ride tomorrow and swim easy on Tuesday - decided not to do Master's on Monday. Just maintain...and then Weds we leave! I think I'll be more excited when i get there.

Back to grading...

Good news, bad news

Like everything else in life, there's always the good and the bad. I'm trying hard to focus ONLY on the good right now. But I do have a bit of bad news: a possible injury (that is very painful today).

OK, the good first. I ran today (instead of swimming, which I'll do tomorrow) and despite the awful road conditions - and they were worse than I expected - I ran for an hour and barely felt winded. I felt like I could have easily run another hour. This is a good thing, esp one week before an Ironman (mentally, at least).

Another good thing: I'm feeling much more confident about the swim. Jim Fuller told me "it's only a half mile to the first buoy so you're never out there that far". That really helped put my mind at ease. To think of it as only a half mile out and half back in (with 1/10 between the buoys) sounds relatively easy to me. YAY!!!!! Can I say that again? YAY!!!!!

And my bike is on it's way to Florida - woo hoo! That feels very good. My transition bag with all the stuff I listed in my last posting is with the bike.

Now for the bad: I have acquired severe hip pain in my left hip. It hurts very bad today. It hurts so bad when I first stand up, after sitting for awhile, that I can hardly walk. Yes, it hurt when I ran today and yes, it is worrying me quite a bit.

I've trained for a frickin' year without a single injury and one week before the event I get an excruciating pain in my hip!

Trying to stay calm...at least it's not my knees or feet, I think that would be worse. But it really hurts when I walk.

Off to class....hobbling, of course.

So close!

I can't believe the IM is this close....8 days away! So much to do, so much to think about, and so much to pack.

Yesterday and today were a bit stressful. I had planned on picking up my bike after getting the kids (my bike was at the Bike Peddler getting tuned up). But due to the snowstorm that cause us all by surprise, Andy shut down the shop for 2 days and Marshall is taking the bikes to Niwot on Friday morning. Yikes - how do I get my bike out of the shop before Friday???

Long story short, I was able to get ahold of Andy (thanks to Jim Fuller!). Andy met me at the shop today (but he was 15 mins late and that was the longest 15 mins I've ever experienced!). He found a small nail in my back tire and removed it, but it made me nervous wondering if the tire was going to be ok.

Dropped my bike off at Marshall's along with my bike bag. It was surreal packing my bike bag. I hope I remembered everything! This is what I packed:
helmet,
gloves
sleeves
body glide
running clothes
biking clothes (except shoes and jacket - want the shoes so I can ride my trainer before I leave)
bike tools
C02 cartridges
Powerbars
CarboPro
Ensure drink (generic brand)
wetsuit
race number belt (2 of them)

I think that's it. I'll bring everything else when we fly down next Weds. I hope the guy driving the truck doesn't run into any problems!

I decided to go with CarboPro instead of EFS. CarboPro doesn't have any magnesium in it and I've heard magnesium can cause diarrhea. Jim Fuller was kind enough to give me powdered CarboPro and I will just add it to my water bottle. But it will be very concentrated - if I mix it the way he told me to. Wish I had tried this on a long run!

But I think I'll be ok. I tried the Ensure-like product and it worked fine. I also ate Powerbars and drank Gatorade and those worked great too. And of course, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich - which I'll get when I'm there (sorry too tired to write this out more clearly!).

The other issue is weather. I just checked the 10-day forecast and up until Saturday, it was a picture of a bright sun. On the day of the race, it was a picture of rain clouds and said "showers". I hope it doesn't rain on the bike course! I won't mind the run so much because it will be warm but the bike could be a problem. The high will be 63 - not nearly as warm as I expected - and very humid. Ugh. Hoping the forecast will change by then!

Yesterday I did Master's swim. We did a ladder of 1200 yards. With the warmup, I did a total of 2000 yards. Not bad. Today I ran on the treadmill for 30 mins (boring!) and tomorrow I will swim again. I think I'll do 50 mins nonstop.

Too sleepy to write more. But will write more for sure because there's a lot more to say.

Whew - what a week

Well, I'm almost a week behind in this blog! I've been really busy with prep for the classes I teach at UNC. I have not had a spare minute between teaching and class prep, meetings at church, kid stuff, and training. The class prep has been the most time-consuming part this last week as I had two exams to prepare (from scratch), 5 lectures, 3 assignments to grade, and numerous emails from students. I enjoy it all but it's been more than the usual amount.

Anyway, recap of the last week's training:
Friday: swam 50 mins at the Rec Center. Intended to swim an hour but didn't have time. I had to stop to use the restroom and also talk with Tom M. re technique tips (which are always good from him!). It was a good swim but I didn't feel as tired as the week before.

Saturday: Last training brick: 2 hr ride and 1 hr run. Didn't get out on my bike until 12:03 (to be exact) due to K's soccer game and other activities. I rarely ride in the afternoon and NEVER run in the afternoon so wasn't sure how I would feel. Surprisingly, I felt great! The weather was nice - mid 60's with no wind. I had a lot of energy and when I got to Windsor I was tempted to keep riding past the 2 hr mark and just make it a long ride. But decided to just stick to the plan and headed back. Instead of going back on O street, I went up 257 hill to highway 34, out on 34 for a few miles and back on 20th. Got back home exactly in 2 hrs (2:03).

Jumped off my bike and threw on my running clothes. Headed out and felt the old familiar "tired leg" feeling you have after biking. But kept going - ran about 45 mins, cutting it short to have juice left for the run I had planned on Sunday.

Sunday: Went to Jenny's with Daisy and had a nice group run. There was a good size group there: Brenda, Kevin, Jenny, Marshall, Jim, Todd, and Duane. We all ran to the stop sign and everyone but me, Jim, and Duane ran on for a longer run. Since I had Daisy, I ran back with Jim and Duane. Really enjoyed running with them! I felt a little jealous of Marshall doing the longer run but by the time I got back, my legs were ready to stop and I decided it was ok - we did 7 miles at a good pace and that was ok (I hope!).

Monday: Master's swim. Felt tired and not very strong. Did most of the workout but used pull buoy and fins. Just didn't have a lot of energy. Worried that I wasn't doing well...but pulled myself out of it later on.

Tuesday (today): Ran with Kurt out to Lowe's and back (6 miles), plus an extra mile around my house. Felt pretty good but could tell my legs were tired.

So, one week from tomorrow we leave for Florida!!! I can't believe it's this close...yet, it seems like it has taken forever to get here. I go back and forth between feeling very confident to feeling total panic...but I know that at this point, there's nothing I can do about it. I find myself second-guessing myself a lot...I should've done this, I should've done that...but trying not to do that.

The hard thing this last week has been how busy with work I've been. I work on my classes early morning, late at night, and every spare minute I have. I'm constantly making slides, reading research papers, grading student's papers, and working on my lectures - seriously, every spare minute I ahve. I'm wondering if I'm a little obsessed with it.

Anyway, tomorrow is Weds and Master's swim. I want to do a hard workout and it will be my last hard swim before the IM. I think that's a good idea (and I should look at the plan but I go more by how I feel than anything else).

Too tired to write more...one more week and I'm outta here!

Oops

I ran harder and longer today than I should have....but it felt so good! Finally recovered from last week so I was feeling fresh. Dropped off the kids at school and ran from there - out to Fun Plex, up the big hill, back down and around to Monfort. Held a fast pace almost the whole way so it was one long tempo run. Now, my legs are sore!

I've been thinking that even if I don't do well at the Ironman, I've learned a lot about what my body can handle. I've learned that I can handle more than I thought i could. I also learned how to REALLY swim and how to keep going even when it really, really, really hurts. And I like that!

So bring it on! I'm about as ready as I'll ever be.

Richard is killing me!

Today was one of the hardest swim workouts I've ever done.

I got to the pool on time and was in the water by 6:15. It felt great - I hadn't swam since last Friday so my arms were fresh and ready to go. I warmed up, skipping some of the kick portion since I plan on biking later today and want to keep my legs fresh too.

This was the main set: 4 x 25, 4 x 50, 4 x75, 4 x 100, 4 x75, 4 x 50, 4 x 25, and within each set, we were to "build" our speed, which means you start slow and go faster with each one.

Well, I've noticed that Master's swim is a bit like track. No one seems to hear the "slow" part - they bolt and go as fast as they can to beat everyone else. If you're a runner or triathlete, it's just in our DNA to try to beat the person running/swimming next to us. In other words, it hurts like hell.

Marshall and Jade were swimming in the lane next to me and of course, I want to keep up with them so I tried to do that without pull-buoys or fins and quickly realized that wasn't going to happen. Plus, I felt a twinge in my left rotator cuff on one of the fast 50's and Kurt told me to use fins if I felt any pain. On went the fins (wa-la! I can go really fast with fins!).

I used to think fins slowed me down because my legs tend to sink but I noticed that if I actually kick with fins on, I go faster and there's less pressure on my shoulders. So I kicked and was able to keep up but it was still very hard!

I focused on my stroke a lot today. I tried to push all the way through as Tom told me during the warm-up. He said I wasn't following through with my stroke so I worked on that and it did seem to help. Each time I swim I focus on a certain part of the stroke and it seems like I'm getting better. I'm definitely rotatin more now and reaching out further as Richard has told me but not pushing through as much as I should. Having the fins on helped to focus more on my stroke and less on how far behind I was!

But I think I'm getting better. I actually can't wait until Friday when I can swim on my own, doing what I want to do, and going my own pace. Its great being able to say that.

Now, time to get work done and then hopefully have time for 30 mins on the bike with Coach Troy.

The other side of IM training

Up until now I've written mostly about my training. I have not written about the impact it has had on other areas of my life. Since I'm writing this "diary" for anyone who wants to know what it's like training for this event, I feel the need to share the other side of it as well.

The not so fun side of things.

That would be how crazy it makes your life. Right now I am feeling overwhelmed, ineffective, unorganized, and unprepared to teach my classes. I am an adjunct instructor at UNC and I'm teaching two classes, one of which is brand new and I am creating completely from scratch. Therein lies the problem.

It is taking way more time to prep for this class than I had anticipated. It is 9:00 PM Monday night and my class is on Tuesday and I am just now putting my class together for tomorrow. I have a lot of work to do yet and I am very tired. My house is dirty, my yard needs raking and mowing, our breezeway is absolutely filthy, I have cards to write and mail to people, endless emails to answer, and laundry to do. This is what happens when you're spending up to 20 hrs/week on training.

This afternoon I spent creating a new assignment for my class and discussion board questions. I have yet to grade an assignment they turned in and grade their discussion questions from last week. I have to create a 50 minute lecture for tomorrow on a complicated topic and develop a dietary analysis project.

Both of my kids are having lots of homework. I spent 3 hrs with them tonight on their homework and reading logs, made dinner, cleaned the kitchen, zipped down to our church for a 45 min meeting, and because Kurt just got home (and missed all of this fun), he is putting them in bed while I finally exhale.

I'd love to get up early tomorrow and grade papers and get ready for class. But I have to swim and I'd like to ride my bike too. Its the same question I have all the time: what is the minimum amt of training I can do to be ready for this IM and get my classwork done too.

I'm tired and stressed. I'm tired of a messy house and sandwiches for dinner. I'm tired of walking past messy counters so that I can get my work done or my training in. I want some organization and control back in my life.

So, that's the life of an Ironman-wanna-be...at least one with kids and a job. Marshall works full-time and he's busy too. People say to me "I don't know how you do it" and well, I don't! I don't get a lot of things done that need to be done and right now it's weighing heavy on me.

Two more weeks and I'll have my life back.

Time off

I'm leaving for Denver this afternoon to attend the ADA meeting tomorrow. Tonight, I'll be going to the SCAN reception - my favorite part of the meeting. SCAN is a dietetic practice group for RD's like me who specialize in sports, cardiovascular, and wellness nutrition. I love this group!

I am so sore and tired today from yesterday (and the long swim on Friday) that I decided to not do any exercise today. I can hardly walk and I feel like I have another cold coming on. But I think it's ok. Yesterday's workout was comprable to the 5430 long course and I'll recover faster if I don't push it. And, I had so much classwork to do today that it didn't matter - spent 3 hrs on slides and lecture material today.

So, no Master's swim for me tomorrow AM. Instead, I'll run in Denver somewhere...I'm staying at a friend's condo and I'll just run from there. Plan to swim on Tues (easy) and again on Weds with Master's group. That should work out ok.

I must say that I am so glad I switched yesterday's workout with next week's workout, for two solid reasons: 1) it was hard enough that I will need 3 weeks to recover and 2) mentally it's AWESOME knowing it's all down hill from here! No more monster weekends with back-to-back workouts. No more 4-6 hr workouts. Only two short bricks (well, semi-short: 2 hr bike and 1 hr run) and the usual weekly stuff. I can handlt that.

Off to Denver!

Hardest workout so far

Today was the last long ride and run (5.5 hr brick) and it was by far, the hardest one I've done. I rode 4 hrs with Todd and Sarah (Kurt joined us for part of it) and we kept a brisk pace the whole way. We stopped a few times but other than that, it was a fast, steady pace (fast for me but not for Todd!).

I was very anxious about the run, worried that I would be too tired or hungry or both. But I was pleasantly surprised - I felt great! The first 30 mins was a breeze and the next 30 mins was slower, but not bad at all. I felt really good. The last 15 mins was excruciating but I'm very happy with how well I ran. If I feel like that on the day of the IM, then I'll do fine!

Overall: 4 hrs of fast riding and 1.5 hrs of running. Even though I can hardly move right now, I'm really happy with how it went.

The weather was near perfect today. It was sunny, clear, and no wind. The temp was pretty chilly in the beginning (around 35 degrees) and my feet were cold, but I felt so good and was enjoying the ride so much that I didn't even notice.

One thing I love about cycling is seeing the mountains. Today they were crystal clear and looked so majestic. We rode to Windsor, then Boyd Lake, and back to Greeley and had a great view the whole time. I just love living in Colorado!

Marathon swim

Fridays are supposed to be "long swim day" and even though the GB training plan that I'm on calls for only 2 swim workouts this week, I decided to do the long swim anyway (which was my 3rd swim of the week). I feel very good about that decision as I am nowhere near where Gail has her athletes at this point in terms of the swim. And it's a huge confidence builder for me to swim for that long.

So, Kurt and I got to the pool by 7:00, a full half hour later than we had planned. He had the day off and so did the kids so it worked out ok.

I got in the pool at 7:02 and swam non-stop until 7:37, at which time I needed to use the restroom. The 35 mins went fairly fast - I was surprised - and I didn't really want to get out. However, once I did, it was hard to get going again. That bothers me a little!

After I got back in, I could feel how tired my arms were. They literally ached. I swam a few slow laps and started losing steam. Not good. This is not what I want to have happen at the IM. I hadn't carbo-loaded so that was a factor but still, I was hoping to feel stronger.

I swam slowly until 7:54 and got out. My arms were hurting so bad that it wasn't worth it to go on, esp when I was not supposed to be swimming anyway.

But as the day wore on, I am feeling better about doing the swim (vs following the plan and not swimming). Most IM finishers will tell you to make sure you put in a lot of hours swimming and I don't feel that I have. I've only done a few long swims and since we have 3 weeks to go, I thought this was good to do it today.

Now, 6 hrs later, my arms are really sore and tired. Three weeks is enough time to heal.

I spent some time watching YouTube videos of the IM race. Found some that were stories of people overcoming incredible odds to finish the race. They were so inpiring - several brought tears to my eyes. I am honored to be in the company of so many strong-willed people.

I also just read Jim Fuller's race report from Hawaii. His self-less attitude and perseverance in the face of very tough conditions (hot and windy) is very inspiring to me. It gives me a different perspective on things. And I need that right now.

Blah day

Rode my trainer for 45 mins today which was about as exciting as watching turnips grow. I needed to do something but didn't want to ride too hard since I'm not supposed to be riding at all, according to the plan. Watched the news and just spun away. Through in a few surges in the middle and even stood up for awhile. Yawn.

Tomorrow I'm going to swim for an hour. Marshall said we are only supposed to swim 2 days this week but I'm going to swim anyway. I don't swim as hard or as long as the plan normally calls for so I don't feel I need a break from swimming. In fact, I need the long time in the water.

The weekend should be interesting. More on that later.

Good thing it's a taper week!

Because I felt like crap these last few days. I didn't do anything yesterday and only swam on Monday. But Marshall kindly reminded me that we aren't supposed to do anything this week. It's TAPER TIME!

I ran 35 mins this morning with Daisy and felt fine. Not great but fine. Tomorrow I'll ride my trainer and Friday I'll swim for 1 hr and 15 mins. Strangely, I'm looking forward to doing a long swim (wow, did I just write that? Me?!)

Saturday is a "short" brick: 2 hr ride and 1 hr run. Looking for to that too! I'm actually getting to the point of not being scared of the Ironman....more like "lets get it over with". Like the tide I'll be swimming against, it's always up and down for the Ironman wanna-be.

Power of the pool

I went to bed last night feeling really lousy and woke up feeling even more lousy. And it was worse than the usual ickiness of a cold - it was my entire chest (and throat) that hurt. I thought I would just try to swim but do only half the workout. But I was in for a big surprise.

After only 5 mins of swimming, I felt totally back to normal. I can't explain what happened...I went in feeling like crap and came out feeling fine! I had such a good swim that I didn't want to get out - I felt like I hadn't gotten enough of a workout when it was time to leave (which was essentially true since I didn't finish the workout Richard had for us - had to leave to get kids to school).

Now, an hour later, I still feel somewhat "flu-ish" but not nearly as bad as I did. I wonder what it was about the pool....or swimming...that made me feel better. Maybe it was the 2 extra strength Tylenol or maybe my immune system is stronger than I thought. Either way, I'll take it!

I worked on technique today. Richard tells me that my left arm "swings wide" and that I don't reach far enough with it so I worked on that. Also, my butt and legs tend to sink so I kept thinking about pushing my chest down to get my butt back up - very hard to do! And the third thing I thought about was hip rotation. Nancy said I need to rotate a lot more. So much to think about! No wonder I like running better - it's just left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot.

Off to class and more Tylenol!

I can't get sick, I can't get sick, I WON'T GET SICK

This has been my mantra for the last week as I've taken care of my son, who undoubtedly hhad H1N1 (or something bad enough to keep him out of school for 4 days).

Although my throat has been sore and I've felt achey all over, I've pretty much ignored those feelings and kept going. After all, I had "the big training weekend" coming up (which turned into a Fri/Sat deal, see below).

But I'm not sure I can ignore it any more. I feel like crap. Sore throat, headache, achey- feeling all over, total lack of energy. I've overcome countless colds before but this time, it doesn't feel like "just a cold",it's much worse. Ugh.

At this point, I think I could get myself through the bike and run of the IM. But I'm not prepared for the swim and I know I sound like a broken record here but I really need the swim training in the next 3 weeks to get ready! I CAN'T GET SICK!!!

I'm planning to make it to Master's swim in the morning, even if I only do half the workout. I jsut need to get there. Wish me luck because I really need it this time.

The last big run

Today was the last "big" workout - yay! The plan called for a 3:15 run and we got 'er done. It was probably one of the hardest runs I've done in a long, long time.

In fact, I haven't run that far since I did the Cody Wyoming marathon, which was so long ago I don't even remember if it was in Cody! It was at least 10 yrs ago. Since then I haven't run longer than 2 hrs or so.

And it started on a very cold day: 13 degrees when I went out the door. We got a suprise storm last night and the ground was covered lightly in snow. The plan was for Marshall and I to leave our houses at 7:15 AM to run to Sanborn Park and then out to Jenny's, where Lynne, Brenda, and Dan would join us.

Even though it was 13 degrees, I was dressed warm enough that I never got cold. Felt warm and comfy the entire 3 hrs and 15 mins. I'm proud of that fact as it reflects 20+ yrs of winter running and it's one thing I do well (run in the cold).

But the distance was tough! Especially after riding 5 hrs yesterday and two tempo runs prior to that (and a 4.5 hr hard bike ride prior to that!). My legs were (and are) toast. In fact, they hurt just sitting here.

But I'm so glad I got it done AND that I didn't cut it short. It was tempting to just stop at Jenny's when we got back but Marshall and Lynne met me at the driveway (they finished before me) and said we had 30 mins to go to get the full 3:15 in (ouch!). So off we went for 30 more minutes.

I will say that it was painful. My legs were killing me. The 5 hrs of biking were taking their toll but I knew I had to keep going and I did.

As I sit here writing this blog, my legs feel like they are on fire. Its been so long since I've felt this extreme soreness I had forgotten how much it hurts! But I also feel like I'm prepared now for the IM, for the most part.

Now it's time to taper....for a week at least and then we do a long brick next weekend. But the nice part is taht from now on, I only have ONE hard workout each weekend instead of two and I can't tell you how glad I am for that!

Less than a month away....

Thursday run and the last big ride!

A few hours after my swim on Thursday, I went for a run. I don't know what it is about running right now but I felt great again. Ran 40 mins and just didn't want to stop. But I knew I had to because I was supposed to bike for 6 hrs on Friday. So I did but it was a great run.

Yesterday was an interesting day. The plans changed by the minute, due to the weather, and this is what I ended up doing: rode the trainer for 90 mins and then rode outside for 3.5 hrs.

The trainer part was not bad. I watched the Today Show, something I never do and that was kind of nice - got caught up on all the news of the day, watched a bazillion commercials (one reason I don't watch TV anymore) and just kept spinning.

I didn't go very fast. That kind of bothered me - I just didn't have any power in my legs. Later, I realized it was probably because I had ridden 4.5 fast miles only 5 days before this ride (plus two fast runs). That made me feel better. But still, I kept wishing I had more energy.

After getting off the trainer, it took a good 20-25 mins to get ready to go outside. The temp was 33 degrees! I had never ridden in such cold weather before. I had to take the bike off the trainer and carry it upstairs, pump up the tires, check the brakes, fill my water bottles (and add Gatorade powder), get dressed - cycling shorts, tights, long bra, silk t-neck, long-sleeve cycling shirt, jacket, beenie, helmet, gloves, cycling gloves, and mittens - then get energy bars and gu's, cellphone, ID bracelet, camera (just in case I see something cool!), money, and sunglasses (even though it was foggy and cloudy) - whew! No wonder I don't bike often in the off-season, it's takes too frickin' long to get ready!

Finally out the door at 9:18 AM. Cold, cloudy, and a little breezy. I wore booties over my shoes for the first time and loved them! They kept my feet warmer for much longer. I was freezing as I started out and disappointed in the dreariness of the sky. Not at all like my usual rides in warm, sunny weather.

I headed out west like I usually do. Rode to Windsor on O Street, stopping at the Poudre Learning Center to use the port-a-john. I had finally warmed up a little by the time I got there and the wind had picked up so by the time I got back on my bike, I was freezing again.

One thing I learned is that warm gloves are a must. With running, I usually wear a thin glove when the temp is in the 30's. But with cycling, esp long rides when you are in the aero position, your hands are out front, not moving, holding onto a METAL bar that happens to be ice cold. Not good. Within minutes my hands were frozen.

The other thing I learned is that running tights don't work well for cycling. My knees and the tops of my thighs were very cold. I needed leg gaitors (or whatever they call those things) that provided thickness over the knees and upper thighs.

I am glad I wore a beenie on my head and the long bra (covers my belly). But I never warmed up like I do running. I was chilled the entire time, which made the ride very unpleasant. I needed one more layer.

I rode to Windsor, then out to Crossroads Blvd and took that all the way to the Resurrection Fellowship church (or whatever it's called - the ugliest church I have ever seen!), then north to the Budweiser Events Center, where I stopped for a quick snack (and froze my buns off), then back to Crossroads, Windsor, O Street and back home.

I kept a steady pace but again, it was not very fast. I just didn't have the "umph" to go hard. Probably good that I didn't ride with anyone else because I surely would've held them back.

There are pros and cons to riding alone. The pros are that you can go your own pace, stop when you want to, and just "be in your own head". I do like that a lot. The cons are that it's kind of boring and lonely. I don't get the zen that I do with solo running. But you get the job done.

So, I ended up with 5 hrs instead of 6. I was told that riding one hour on a trainer is equal to 2 hrs on the road (not sure if that's right but that's what I was told), so I guess it would still count. But I didn't have a choice because I had to be back to teach at UNC by 1:30.

Today we're running 3:15. I'm leaving in 30 mins to meet Marshall at Sanborn park and we'll run to Jenny's and meet a group of friends (not sure who will be there). Then, run the remainde of time there.

It's very cold out now with 1/2 inch of snow on the ground. Time to go layer up and get out the door. The good news is that there is no wind (so far!). And I got to watch two foxes frolic right outside my window this morning while I sipped on coffee. Getting up early does have it's advantages sometimes.

Today is the Hawaii Ironman. Wishing Jim and Wendy good luck and Godspeed!