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!

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!

I am an Ironman X2! Part 1 - The Swim

I did it!  I finished my 2nd Ironman. 13:54 and some change.

So much to say...too much to write...but here's a recap:

The day started by getting up at 4:30 AM and strangely enough, I wasn't that nervous. The practice swim the day before had bolstered my confidence in the swim (at least in terms of not getting hypothermia!) and the DVD that Scott had given me re the "4 keys to success in the IM" had convinced me to pace myself the whole way. I knew that I wasn't going to set any speed records but wanted to stay focused on coming in under 14 hrs.

I tried eating my usual bowl of oatmeal but I had carbo-loaded so much the night before that I was simply not hungry. I kept trying to force it down but gave up. Instead, I ate some yogurt and drank some juice and coffee and called it good.

At 4:50, I get a text from Dan saying "here we go!". That made me smile. Dan came down to watch all of us (esp Brenda) do this race. He's been a great friend and wonderful source of support.

I replied with "Lets get this party started!" Yeah, baby, it's GAME ON!

Kurt drove me to the race. The closer we got to the race venue, however, the faster my confidence faded. Crap, what if I freeze in the water? What if I lose my goggles? What if I get a flat? What if I can't find my bike or run bag? What if I didn't pack enough nutrition? What if, what if, what if?????

Kurt walked me to the race starting area. There were hundreds, if not thousands of people there - athletes and their families - and all the Ironman tents, etc. The air was buzzing with excitement. Here's a picture Kurt took of the race venue:

I had wanted to find the others (Brenda, Kevin, and Sarah) but it was a total madhouse - way too crowded to find anyone. So I focused on getting my stuff done and just hoped that I would run into them.

First thing was to fill up my water bottle on my bike - the big one on my handlebars. I had left it empty so that I could put in fresh sports drink the morning of the race. I double-checked my tool kit and the air pressure in my tires. I had filled them to 125 on Friday and they still felt tight so I decided to not fill them anymore.

Next, I needed to drop off the bike and run "special needs" bags - these are bags that IM takes to the halfway point (or close to the halfway point) on the bike and run course. I couldn't remember where we were supposed to do that (and was mad at myself for that!) and went scurrying around to ask a race official. I finally just asked another athlete who kindly pointed me in the right direction.

But there were so many people it was hard to get around. I started getting nervous because I needed to drop off the bags and get in line for the port-a-pot before putting on my wetsuit. The transition area closed at 6:30 and it was now 5:50 - yikes!

On my way to the special needs drop off area, a tall, lean woman brushed past me going in the opposite direction, who looked familiar. She was smiling and chatting to the person next to her. It was Chrissie Wellington!  Wow!

I gave my bags to the volunteers and quickly dashed over to the port-a-potty area and got in line. It was a very long line!  I frantically looked at my watch over and over again. It was 6:05...then 6:15...then 6:20 and I still wasn't first in line. A race official announced to all of us in line that the transition area would close in 5 mins and that we needed to be out of there. Uh oh...I really have to go!

I had all my swimming gear with me so I started putting on Body-Glide while I waited and the athletes around me started doing the same thing. I took off my morning clothes and put on my wetsuit halfway, all the while praying that one of those port-a-potties would open up quickly. One did and I dashed in as fast as I could!

The announcer told us to move into the swim start area. My heart started to pound quickly...omg, we are actually going to start this thing!  And do I really have to jump into that cold lake???

The announcer said the water was 61 degrees and again, I felt relieved that i had done the practice swim the day before. Little did I know that the water was actually 58 degrees now!  I found this out later and it's a good thing!

People started lining up on the "dock" (not really a dock but a cement ledge) and some started to jump in. It was about a 4 ft drop into the water and you literally had to step off and jump in. It was fascinating to watch - hundreds of athletes all standing there apparently frozen...and one by one jumping in. Most of us were putting it off as long as we could!

I finally made the jump. The water was so cold, it took my breath away. I slowly made my way over to the starting line and tried to relax as I treaded water (mainly to stay warm, the wetsuit keeps you afloat). My neoprene cap made it hard to hear the announcer, which was frustrating. So I just hung in the water, trying to relax and waiting for the cannon.

After the national anthem was sung, the cannon went off - YIKES!!!

It was total mayhem. Arms and legs flailing everywhere. I tried to swim but there was no way - I was pushed under several times as a sea of red caps swam over and around me (men had red caps, women had purple). I was pushed and hit several times. I started to panic, even though I had gone over this in my mind a million times. I knew it would be this way so why was I panicking?! 

Just keep moving, I told myself. I felt the panicky feeling getting worse. I wanted out and I wanted out right now. Crap!  For an instant, I pictured myself aborting the race and seeing the disappointed looks on my kids' faces...I can't do that!  Just go, damn it!

Somehow, I started swimming or at least trying to swim. I knew that if I could get into a rhythm, I would be fine. The hard part was finding space in the water to actually swim. I was pushed under again but this time I came up fighting. I will do this race if it kills me!

I put my head in the water and started swimming. I didn't look up or over or anywhere but in the water. I swam and swam and swam. A calmness fell over me as I listened to myself breath in and out, in and out, in and out. Yes, I can do this!

The swim seemed to take forever. But I wasn't too cold and my arms were feeling ok so I kept going. I could tell that I was not swimming fast; I could've pushed harder but for some reason I was holding back a little. I thought about work, family, life, post-IM life (will it ever get here?) and before I knew it, I was back to the start and someone was pulling me out of the water - YAY!

Total swim time: 1:19 (22nd in my age division - not bad!)

My swim time in Florida was 1:18 and although I was hoping to improve this year, given the rough start and cold water, I'm ok with it.

Now for the bike...to be continued!

 

Tomorrow is the Big Day!

Finally, it's here. My 2nd Ironman and possibly my last. So much to say!

Recapping the last few days:

Thursday
Kevin, Todd, and I drove 4 hrs from Holbrook, AZ, to Tempe. It seemed like it was going to take forever to get there.

When we got to Tempe, we drove straight to the Expo. There weren't many people there yet but it was exciting to see all the Ironman trucks and signs. My heart started beating a little faster seeing the lake that we'd be swimming in. Here is Kevin and I standing near the Expo, with the bridge that we swim under in the background.

We went to the Ironman store and bought some stuff (ka-ching, ka-ching!). A common joke among IM'ers is how much money IM makes on all of us suckers!  Everything there is so expensive and its a little frustrating. A water bottle cost 5 bucks. Bike jerseys are $80. You get the picture.

Sarah and Brenda were flying in that afternoon so while we waited for them, Kevin and I went to Athlete Check-In. Its pretty cool seeing your name printed on the race numbers and everything else. Ironman does treat you pretty well (and they should considering how much money we spend!).


Finally everyone else arrives and they get checked in too. Brenda has rented a house through VRBO and she offered to let me stay there thursday night so we go there before the TriSports dinner that we were all going to that night.  We're only there a few mins before we head back in town for the dinner.

Had a great time at the dinner. It was outside at a really nice bar. We enjoyed free drinks and dinner and laughed the whole evening. There was a speaker - Matt Long - a NYC firefighter who was a first reponder to 9/11 and who was run over by a bus a few yrs ago, only to come back to do an Ironman was there and he told his story. It was pretty cool.

Then everyone went to their places - Brenda and I to her place; Sarah, John, Kevin, and Todd to Sarah's condo that she had arranged to stay in (for free! It belongs to a co-worker).

Brenda and I stayed up and talked for awhile, which was really nice. We hadn't gotten to do much training together (other than riding on Sundays) because of my running injuries so it was nice to just chat for awhile. I really like her.

Friday
Kevin, Todd, and Sarah came over to our place with the bikes. We got them out on the lawn and the boys tinkered on them for a bit before we took off for a test ride - all 5 of us. After sitting in the van for 14 hrs over the previous days, I can't tell you how good it felt to ride my bike!  And it was a beautiful day - I wanted to ride forever.

After that we went into town for lunch, which took a long time. We were all tired and talked out by then but had a good time.


Kurt, the kids, my mom, and our friend, Dan, flew in on Friday afternoon. Lots of discussion re who was going where at what time and who was taking who where but it all worked out. By then, I was really ready to get to my hotel room and veg out. I had been living out of a suitcase for 3 days and just wanted to unpack and rest. But we had to to the welcome dinner and athlete mandatory meeting (with Kurt) and the kids wanted to swim so I took them to the pool for 30 mins before heading out for dinner.

I thought that we would meet up with everyone at the dinner but we never saw the rest of the group which was just fine. I hadn't seen Kurt in a few days so it was nice to just be with him. The dinner was outside and it was a beautiful night so it worked out great.

Toward the end of the dinner one of the speakers mentioned that the water temp was now 61 degrees. I totally freaked out. Seriously, I did. I almost cried. It didn't help matters that I was getting cold from sitting outside for awhile so the idea of getting into ice cold water on Sunday did not go over well with me!

Kurt tried to build me up by saying things like "oh, you'll be fine" but I knew darn well what he was thinking ("glad its not me!").  I had to do some serious self-talk that night. I went back to the hotel and sat on the couch. I told myself that I had to do it. Come hell or high water (or COLD water), I had to do the swim.

The funny thing is how it totally took my mind off the run!  I was now not worried about finishing the Ironman, I was worried about not finishing the swim!  The bike and run seemed to pale in comparison in terms of difficulty at this point.

On Saturday there was going to be a practice swim and obviously that would be a good thing for me to do. I was petrified. I really worried that I might panic and DNF. ugh.

Saturday
Not only did we have the practice swim but we had to turn in our bike and run bags. I had NO time the night before to pack these bags (with all my bike and run gear, which is a lot) so I had to get up at 6;00 and do it then. I layed everything out and stressed over every little detail. Maybe later I'll come back and include the list of things that went into those bags but not right now. Just take my word for it that it took awhile.

And its very tedious, esp since the "special needs" bags don't need to be turned in until Sunday morning.

So, the kids, Kurt, my mom, and I made it to the swim start (and lots of drama along the way with the kids but too long to write here). I was actually in good spirits. We lined up near the swim start and had pictures taken (which I would put here but having trouble with Blogger right now).

We finally got in. The cold temp took my breath away. But I just started swimming and before long, i felt ok. I really did. I actually felt great. Yay!!!!

I was SO relieved after doing that swim. I can't tell you how more confident I felt about it!  Brenda really got me fired up too when she said "we got it, sister!" 

Got my bike racked and bike and run bags turned in. Went back to the hotel and relaxed - finally!  Kurt took the kids to the pool and I got to relax in my room. We fixed dinner here in our room (we have a kitchen) and i worked on my special needs bags. Right now the kids, Kurt, and my mom are playing UNO while I relax (and write in my blog).

So much more to say. And I know this is more like rambling but I wanted to just get most of it down on paper and maybe I'll go back later and edit all of this. Sorry if it's not written well. Anyone who has done an Ironman will understand!

How do I feel?  I'm amazingly calm right now. I actually feel pretty good. I wish I was in better running shape and I feel like I peaked in October, but mentally I feel pretty good. I'll just take the day as it comes, rain or shine (and it might rain tomorrow!). I am going to try hard to finish before 9:00, which means it will be 13 hrs and some change. That's my main goal - I want to come in under 14 hrs. Other than that, I'm good.

I'll try to upload more pic's later...Blogger won't let me right now. So, good night and the next time I write in here, i will hopefully be an Ironman once again!

We're in Arizona!

Not Tempe yet, but close. We're in Holbrook, AZ. Todd, Kevin, and I left my house at 8:00'ish this morning and drove 10 hrs to Holbrook, then on to Tempe tomorrow, which looks to be about 3 hrs.

Having a great time with Todd and Kevin. The drive wasn't that bad - we talked the whole way. Such great guys. It is amazing how many really good guys I know through the running and triathlon community.

We're in Holiday Inn right now watching Avatar.

I've had so many mixed emotions today re the race. I think that's normal for the most part. Kevin seems to be experiencing the same thing (which was nice to know!). We both feel confident about completing the race but still nervous about how it will go. I rode my trainer for 40 mins before we left this morning and it really helped me mentally - probably doesn't do squat in terms of improving my fitness but it helped my "head" a ton. Tomorrow we are going to run 4-5 miles before heading out and that should help too.

Funny thing is, it's freezing here! Todd swears that it's in the 30's outside and it's Arizona, for crying out loud. I didn't bring any tights!  Oh well, neither did they so we'll freeze together.

Too tired to write more...gotta hit the sack.

One Week From Today!!!

Can't believe we're finally this close - only one week to go! Need to write down a few thoughts...

I'm feeling scared. I would love to write about how ready I am to do an Ironman, how closely I followed my training plan and how confident I am in my ability to finish. But I can't. And I know this is not good. At this point I usually envision Cher in Moonstruck shaking her friend, saying "snap out of it!" and that seems to help.

So then I ask myself about each part of the race, whether I'm fit enough to complete them, and this is what I come up with:

Could I swim 2.4 miles today?  Probably

Could I bike 112 miles today?  Definitely yes, with ease

Could I run 26.2 miles?  Definitely no but no one runs the full IM marathon without stopping anyway (except the pro's) and since I've run 12 marathons over the years, I feel that my experience of going that distance will help me get through it PLUS I can run 12 or 13 without stopping and that's probably good enough to get me through it and it's all I could do anyway with the injuries I had. So there!

I can do it!

I know I'm not the only one with pre-race jitters. I've talked to several people who've done Ironman triathlons who say they feel the same way before the big day. And with all this tapering going on, I have more time on my hands to stress about it. ARRRGH!

So, catching up on workouts...I ran 1 hr and 20 mins (I think) with Dan, Brenda, and Marshall yesterday. We started from WOW and ran the usual 8 mile loop, except Marshall and I left early so we probably did only 7 (we stopped a few times, with one longer stop to chat before breaking off from Dan and Brenda). Had a great time - hadn't run with Brenda in ages and with Dan only once in recent weeks. So nice to have friends to run with once in awhile!

Today Kurt and I were going to try to ride outside - my plan calls for 2 hrs but the high is only supposed to be 40. Kurt really wants to do it but I'd just as soon ride indoors (did I really say that?) and get it done for the day. We'll see.

I plan to swim a regular Master's workout tomorrow and ride my trainer again on Tuesday. Then we leave on Wednesday!!!  Oh my gosh...that freaks me out even saying that!!!  Ok, I calmed down...we will drive 10 hrs on Weds, then only about 4 hrs or so on Thursday (I think). I'm driving down with Kevin and Todd, which should be pretty interesting!  Actually I think it will be fun. Kurt, the kids, and my mom are flying down on Friday.

More on all that later...I'm getting butterflies just thinking about it!

Easy Rider

This Sunday was the last long ride before the race. And it was a really nice one!

We met at Sarah's house (Kevin, Brenda, Todd, and I) and Sarah's husband, John, came along too.

My plan called for 3-4 hrs and Sarah's called for 2-3 hrs with a 30 min run. I was feeling really good and was very much looking forward to riding 4 hrs.

I had texted Todd on Sat to see if he would pace me the last hour, after dropping off Sarah and Brenda, since they were only going 3 hrs. I wanted to try riding 30 -60 mins at 18+ mph. He said he would so that was the plan.

We went south to Johnstown and out to the frontage road. John flatted so we waited while Kevin fixed it. John has been flatting a lot lately so he was really frustrated. Sarah told us to go on but Todd wanted to stay back with John and since Todd and I were going to ride longer, I needed to stay with Todd. But I didn't mind, I wasn't in any hurry.

It was a beautiful day. The temp was cool enough in the beginning to wear leg warmers and gloves but it warmed up nicely. As we rode along, I realized that I didn't really want to do a fast-paced hour later on, that the slower pace was just fine.  That is, except for the frontage road where it's impossible for me to go slow there - I love flying along that stretch of road! 

We stopped at the Trek store but it was closed so Todd changed out John's tube again, it was slowly going flat again. Sarah decided that it was best for them to go back and that they would take Centerra to Crossroads to 257, instead of highway 34, which would've been faster but more dangerous (no one likes to ride on  34!).

So we headed up that way and as we rode east on Crossroads Blvd, I realized that I did not want to ride all the way back to Sarah's house and then go out again. I love riding in the Windsor area and just wanted to stay out that way. Todd had gone way ahead of me so I told Kevin to tell him that I was going to go on my own, that he didn't have to pace me for that extra hour. I knew that Sarah and Brenda might wonder why I peeled off by myself but I decided to go anyway. It was OK. I ride by myself often enough that going off on my own was no big deal.

So I turned north and circle around west of Windsor and then north to the road that is part of the Wild on Windsor course (can't remember the name of that road). I really love riding out there. I was hoping that Todd wouldn't think that I was mad at him for riding on ahead - I just didn't want to ride all the way back to Greeley and then back out again. The same is true for running - no one likes to go back to the starting point and then back out again - ugh.

I really enjoyed this ride. I rode at a comfortable pace and noticed it was easy to stay at 18 mph. Occasionally I would get up to 20 or 22 but mostly right around 18. I'm really happy about that!

I rode along and just let my mind wander. The mountains were just beautiful; they had a light dusting of snow and looked dark purple against the grey clouds hovering over them. A few months ago I would've never considered breaking off from the group like that or I would've felt lonely if I had, but on this day I just absorbed the warm sunshine and beautiful scenery. Sometimes I think my bike is my best friend!

But all good things must come to an end and the peaceful, easy feeling I was having went down the drain when I head the familiar thump, thump, thump sound. Crap, I have a flat!  And guess what? I've never changed a flat all by myself before!

Of course, it happened to be my back tire. And the dark storm clouds in the west were heading my way. I rode to a safe place to get off and flipped my bike over so that I could figure out how to get the back tire off. Working quickly, I finally figured out how to do it (although it took awhile and my hands were totally black with bike grease!).

I got the tube out and the new one in. But I had trouble with the CO2 cartridge and heard the air leave the tube after I filled it. Crap again!  What am i going to do?  I called Kurt and he talked me through some of it. I was really getting worried about the weather and wanted to get going ASAP. I didn't want him to have to come get me but when I couldn't get any more air out of the C02 cartridge, I had to call him back to come get me. Rats.

While I waited for him, I decided to try it again. This time I pulled down on the handle further and wa - la, the tube filled with air!  Yay!  Now, to get the tire back on... I wasn't sure if I had the derailer on right and the clouds were getting close and closer (and they didn't look good). I decided to not call Kurt back because I still might want him to come get me. I wasn't convinced that  I had done everything right and I might not be able to ride after all.

I flipped the bike back over and climbed on. So far, so good. I rode a mile or two and got off to check the tire. It was good - yay!  By then, the wind was really blowing and it was getting colder. Kurt finally reached me and pulled over. He checked my work and everything looked good so I told him I wanted to finish the ride. Poor guy - he was at the hospital and had to get someone to cover for him to come get me, only to find that I had fixed the tire and was doing fine!

But just as he left me, the wind started to really blow!  It was blowing so hard that I almost fell off my bike. Kurt was long gone so I was on my own. I didn't have too far to go but when you're on a bike with a tire that is only 3/4 full and gale force winds blowing you all over the road, it can seem like forever to get back into town!

I finally made it back to Sarah's house. 57 miles - not too shabby!  Despite the flat, I'm still glad I did the extra miles on my own. It was a lovely ride and one that I won't forget.

Now it's really time to taper. It's Tuesday as I write this and although I wasn't sore by any means on Monday, I was very tired so I did not run or ride today. I did master's swim yesterday but that's all. Tomorrow I'll probably try a short run or indoor ride in addition to master's swim...we'll see. But for now, it's taper time!

One Year Ago Today...

I was doing the Florida Ironman. Wow, what a year it's been too.

Marshall, my training buddy last year (see photo at left, race day), showed up at my door this morning for our weekly long run with his Florida IM cap on and big grin on his face. "Here we are again, Cin!" We laughed and reminisced about last year and how much fun we had in Panama City, even though our Ironman races didn't turn out the way we wanted them to.

Marshall and I go way back. He and his wife, Lynne, have been close friends of ours for almost 20 years now. And although my friendship was with Lynne first, Marshall and I have several things in common: we are the same age, our fathers died the same year and they were the same age, but most importantly, our spouses are eerily similar in many ways: they are both somewhat "aloof", independent people who rarely show any emotion and who have a high need for control. They're both great people, just not the most affectionate people in the world. Marshall has been quite humorous about his wife's low libido and how whatever Lynne wants, Lynne usually gets. So we usually have a lot to talk about on our long runs.

So, today we ran 2 hrs and 1 minute and I felt great - woo hoo!!!!  I could've gone another half hour easily. What a change from last week. It was a huge confidence booster!

Came home and went on Ironman.com immediately. Scott, as I mentioned here a few times, is doing Florida and its his first IM. He did the swim in 1:11 and has been averaging 21 mph on the bike. As I write this, he is between mile 55 and 95. Another guy I know who is doing FL, Joe Gregg, did a 1:06 swim but there's nothing reported on the bike yet so I'm a bit worried. Hoping it's going well.

A few notes on this last week....
Tuesday: I rode 35 miles by myself. It was a beautiful afternoon, about 67 degrees, but the wind came up as I left Greeley. It was a pretty stiff headwind going north but I wanted to ride bad enough that I decided to ride into it and push the pace to get a good workout. And I did!  My legs were still tired from the 107 mile ride on Sunday but I decided to keep going. It was a good ride but I'm not used to riding at that time of day 2:15 - 5:45 and there was a ton of traffic on the roads. Ugh. I rode up the hill on 257 south of Windsor and between the wind and all the big trucks, I was dying to get home. Glad I did it but not the most enjoyable ride.

Wedsnesday: Master's swim - did most of the workout but not all of it. Still felt tired and didn't have much oomph. Had some stomach issues so aborted the rest of the workout and lifted weights at home.

Thursday: Awesome run!  Ran an hour listening to the soundtrack from Warren Miller's latest ski flick Wintervention - download that puppy!  Can't wait to run again this week to listen to it again.

Friday: Forced myself to the pool (which is no fun on Fridays because no one is there and I hate swimming by myself) and made myself swim 30 minutes nonstop, after warming up. I was dreading it but after I got into a rhythm I started to enjoy it. But as soon as I hit 30 mins, I was outta there!  People think running is boring (which I have never understood) but try swimming laps in a 25 yrd pool by yourself, with no music. BORING!  I like Master's swim and even plan to keep doing it after the Ironman, but to swim laps by myself - aint gonna happen unless I have to.

All in all a good week. Today's run was definitely the highlight!  Tomorrow, I'm riding 3-4 hrs with Sarah, Brenda, Kevin, Todd, and possibly Marshall. I think S and B are going 2-3 hrs and running 30 mins but I want to ride a bit further and not run. I don't want to push my luck with being able to run well so I'm doing the bare minimum of running. I hope Todd will ride the last hour with me because I want to try going faster the last hour. We'll see.

This tapering thing is really cool. Some people hate it but I'm loving it.

Off to the UNC football game with Kurt and the kids - it's supposed to be 76 degrees today - good football weather, esp after a really good long run!

More soon...

What a Weekend

Wow. I sit here on Monday afternoon still in shell-shock over the weekend events. First there was the attempt to run/walk 20 miles that ended up being more of a death march at the end, and then there was the 107 mile bike ride that was, dare I say it....a piece of cake???

First the run. My plan was to run 2 hrs with Kevin and Dan and then run/walk an additional hour, with a desired goal of covering 20 miles. I hadn't had a chance to run with these guys in a long time and I was really excited to run with them. Not only do I really like these guys a lot but I knew they would not pressure me to run faster than I wanted to. So I was really looking forward to running with them.

The surprising part is that I started faster than I thought I would and faster than they thought I would too. This was good in that I realized I haven't slowed down as much as I thought I had but the bad part is that it probably contributed to the onset of fatigue at about mile 10 for me. In other words, I probably should've started slower.

But honestly, I think I was just happy to be running with friends again. I've been either running solo (which I do enjoy at times) or with Marshall (which I also enjoy). But I hadn't run with these guys nor had I done the "Brenda route" since last spring so I was just happy, plain and simple, and eager to go.

Unfortunately, my hip starting hurting really bad and that always makes me shorten my stride. I was really disappointed that it was hurting so badly because in the last 3 weeks it had been relatively fine. Bummer. Time to re-group. I almost called it quits when we got near the turn-off point to go back to the car but Dan suggested I turn right, which would prevent me from going back to the car. This was a really good idea because it helped me to keep going. Kevin went back to the car for more fluid and then he was going to catch me and run with me through Jo Jo.

I turned right and shuffled along for another mile or so. My legs, hip, and feet were killing me. These were familiar pains - I had felt them on many a long run but they usually didn't crop up until mile 15 or so. But here they were, at mile 11 and 12.

I kept going but went very, very slow. I finally stopped at Jo Jo and walked down the path to the bathroom (which was closed, darn it!). I could harldy walk. My hip hurt so bad. It was really hard not to get discouraged.

I kept telling myself that at least I ran that far, that I wasn't injured so bad that I couldn't run at all. Still, it was hard thinking that Sarah and Brenda had run 20 miles the day before and I could barely eek out 12.

Kevin caught me at Jo Jo and we jogged through the park and out onto the street. I "ran" with him to 20th street and then walked back to WOW. It was a very long, painful walk.

Later that day, I lay on the couch icing my hip and when I got up, my heel hurt so bad I couldn't put weight on it. I actually laughed out loud, thinking about how I told Dan that I thought my heel pain was gone. Silly me for thinking that it was gone!

So I ice'd the heel and did some mental therapy. Told myself all the things I've been saying here - that I'll get through the Ironman, that the swim and the bike will go well and I'll do the best I can in the run. But I still have down times when I wish I could run like I used to. Two steps forward and one back, as they say.

Then, comes Sunday. What a complete change. I rode with Kevin and Todd and since I wasn't sure how my legs would hold up, I hadn't committed to any distance in the beginning. Kevin wanted to ride 100 but my training plan only called for 40-50 so I held off on saying which way I would go.

We rode south to Johnstown, then Mead, then Centerra, then Windsor, then Pierce, and finally home. We left at 9:35 and got back at 4:30, with numerous pee stops along the way and one stop at the Trek store to fix my water bottle carrier. The sun was low in the sky when we got back and it felt like we had been gone for the entire day!  But the good news was that I felt better and better as the day wore on and was easily able to ride 18+ mph. I had an amazing 2nd wind at mile 70 and pushed the pace up to 20 - 22 mph for a good long section of the ride. Todd finally passed me and we waited for Kevin in Severance. I was on top of the world!

I felt great the whole way and could've gone even longer if time allowed. They actually did go longer but I needed to get back to take my kids trick-or-treating. Plus, 107 miles is plenty long enough!

Today I am very sore and tired but it's a great feeling knowing that I can taper now and that I earned the taper!  From now until the Ironman, it's time to rest and heal (hopefully).

It's been a long haul to this point but worth every step of the way. What a weekend, indeed!

100 Miler #2 -Woo Hoo!

Whew!  Got the last long ride in and I'm so glad!  I rode 100 miles with "a friend of a friend" (Tiffany G) and had a blast.

Tiffany is an amazing runner - she just won her age group in the Colorado Marathon last week (3:19) and she's running New York City marathon next weekend. And if that wasn't enough, in August she signed up for Ironman Cozumel, giving her only 3 months to train!

Tiffany is one of those rare people that make you laugh within minutes of meeting her. She has an infectious smile and great sense of humor. She's the perfect person to do a long ride with because I think we laughed the entire way.

And I learned something very important: Don't ride 100 miles in the "up" position on a tri bike!  I normally ride in the aero position which is what you're supposed to do on a tri bike. But Tiffany had a road bike and even though she had aero bars, she didn't like them so she stayed "up" the entire way. Because we were talking so much, I did too but I learned that you use different muscles sitting that way AND it puts a lot more pressure "down there" and I now have  a serious case of saddle soreness!

Tiffany's husband, Patrick, came along for most of the ride. He just signed up for Ironman Wisconsin (Sept 2011) and like Tiffany, is a fast runner but fairly new to the sport of triathlon.

We rode to Boulder and back. The foliage was past it's peak but still beautiful to look at. The road we took is one of my favorites (same road I've taken several times with Scott) because its mostly flat and has such a nice view of the foothills. The road winds its way through the countryside and for this reason, it is a popular road for cyclists.

Tiffany flatted not long after the start of the ride and it took awhile to get it fixed, but it was good to go over changing a flat again. It started to get really windy as we sat on the roadside and I wondered if we would be able to finish the ride. The weather seemed to change from warm to cold, sunny to cloudy, windy to still several times during the ride.
When we headed back, we noticed that we were only at 54 miles when we went through Hygiene. By then, we had been riding 3-4 hrs and we both commented on how 70.3 races are the way to go because after 3 hrs on a bike....well, it takes a serious cyclist to want to keep going. Tiffany and I briefly toyed with the idea of just going back and ending the ride with 80 miles. But we quickly dissed that idea and decided to go for the full 100.

Patrick peeled off at mile 79 and Tiffany and I kept going to north Ft Collins. We were both so tired and my knees were killing me. But chatted all the way through FC and back to her house in south FC. All in all a GREAT ride!

And just to show how amazing Tiffany is, I got an email from her today saying that she ran 6 miles on the treadmill after the ride...she's definitely Ironman material!

Today I did a fairly hard Master's swim workout. I didn't get to do the entire workout but probably got in at least 2000 yards. My legs are not that sore which is nice!  I'm looking forward to running tomorrow and doing Spinervals on Thursday. Then, on Saturday, I plan to run 3 hrs and ride a fast 50 on Sunday. After that, it's taper time!!!

Still Pluggin' Away

Ran 2 hrs this morning with Marshall and felt really good. That was very encouraging since last week I could barely finish my 2 hr run. Today I felt like I could've gone further but had to get my kids to their soccer games and needed to stop at 9:00. But I'm psyched that I felt that good - almost like old times!

Tomorrow will be my last long ride - YAY!  I'm riding 100 miles with a friend of a friend who is training for Ironman Cozumel. Her name is Tiffany and I've known her for a few years. She's a really fun gal so I'm looking forward to riding with her. I think her husband, Patrick, is going along too.

After that, I'll start to back down the mileage of the biking. Not an official taper (yet) but will "only" have to ride 40 - 50. I think I'll try riding faster on that ride. But since the running is going well, I'm going to try to eek out one more long run next week and go for 3 hrs. I didn't have any pain during today's run (I did afterwards but I'm used to it) so I'm going to go for it either next week or the following weekend. I've been feeling kind of nervous about not running as much as the other folks training for AZ IM, but there's not much I can do about it.

As they say, it is what it is!

Blessings Happen

Someone once told me that you can never really appreciate the good days unless you experience the bad days and that's what happened this weekend.

Saturday was somewhat of a down day and Sunday was terrific. Rode 60 some miles with my new friend, Scott Taylor, and had just a wonderful time.

The weather could not have been better - sunny, upper 70's, no wind, AND the trees were absolutely gorgeous. We rode through the Boulder countryside and I was oo'ing and aw'ing the entire way.

But the really good part was that a new friendship was made. I've ridden with Scott before and I find that the more I ride with him, the more I like him. We talked about a lot of things and he helped me with some issues I've been dealing with (he also helped me change my first flat tire and for that, I will be eternally grateful!).

It was refreshing to ride with someone who could talk about more than just training, who wasn't afraid to talk about emotions or what is important in life. He shared some things with me and I shared some things with him. It was truly a breath of fresh air to ride with him.

I've always thought that the only way to grow as a person is to face the inner demons we all have lurking deep within our souls. The catch is to let those demons out and wrestle with them face to face. I think some people never allow them out and live their entire lives in denial (or they drown them in alcohol) but I'm trying to meet them head on and gradually take them down. And that means experiencing every emotion possible along the way. Its scary sometimes and the road gets a little bumpy but with good friends like Scott, its well worth the ride.

(Photo of Coot Lake, outside of Boulder, taken on 10.17.10)

Head Games

I really wish the Ironman was next weekend. Not that I'm completely ready for it but because, well, I'm tired of training.

I'm tired of the weekend grind...long run on Saturday (although for me, the runs haven't been that long) and very long ride on Sunday.

Now that I think about it, it's actually the long ride that I'm tired of. As much as I love cycling and I'm doing fairly well on that aspect of the training, I'm tired of being gone every Sunday morning. I want my weekends back.

Now, lest you think that I'm being selfish, keep in mind that I've been doing long bike rides every single weekend since May.  I'm just looking forward to getting back to the old days, of doing a long run on Saturday and enjoying Sun morning with my kids.

That's a huge factor for me - missing my kids on Sunday mornings. Pre-Ironman, I would lounge in my jammies with coffee and the paper until it was time to get ready for church. I would usually play some kind of silly game with them and we always seemed ot have a good time. We'd go to church 2-3 times/ month and I would come home refreshed and ready to start the week. Now, I'm so tired on Sunday nights, I can hardly walk and Mondays are spent in a sleepy, tired fog.

I think I'm just a bit down today. My training partners are in Denver tonight to run the Denver half-marathon tomorrow and I guess I'm a little jealous. But it didn't work out and the fact that I couldn't run a decent half right now doesn't help matters either.

But I am excited about feeling in better shape this year than last year. I keep reminding myself of that. With the exception of running, I really feel better now than I did this time last year.

Yesterday we all met out at the "new lake" (see photo) and swam for a little over an hour. It was cold at first but I warmed up quickly, partly because of the neoprene cap that Kevin lent me. I really hope the water in Tempe isn't any colder than that.

I swam fairly well and felt that I could've easily swam longer, so that's good.

Today, my goal was to run 2 hrs. I was a little nervous as I hadn't run that long in quite awhile. I started very slow and well, stayed very slow the entire time. It bummed me out a little to be running so slow (and it didn't help to hear my husband say "gee, I think I can run this pace in my 70's" - GRRRR!) but I told myself to keep going. Kurt dropped off at mile 3 and I went on to Jo Jo, back to Monfort, and then home.

I was probably doing an 11 or 12 min pace at the end. My legs were hurting so bad I almost cried. I felt like I used to feel at the end of an 18 mile run. My quads ached and my feet hurt (ironically, my heel didn't hurt at all). Great. I'm doing an effin' Ironman in a little more than a month and I can barely run 2 hrs.

I hobbled up the driveway and into the house. Showered, ate, iced my hip, and got my kids to their soccer games. It will be fine, I told myself over and over again. Just think how far you've come...blah, blah, blah.

Ah well....tomorrow is another day...

Two Steps Forward, None Back!

Had a great weekend!  It was much different than I had planned but it turned out really well.

This is worth mentioning because that's how Ironman (or marathon) training goes; things change and sometimes, they change for the good.

First, I missed my lake swim on Friday. I had planned to go at 4:30 with Brenda, Sarah, and Kevin. But two obstacles got in the way: weather and housework. The temperature dropped and it got windy in the middle of the afternoon AND there were dark clouds on the horizon. But that alone would not have kept me from going - it was the fact that my house was a wreck, I had nothing planned for dinner, and I just couldn't leave things that way. So I bagged. Not something I do very often.

I swam twice last week and Wendy says I only need to swim 2x/week anyway so I didn't bag on a regular workout, it was more of a bonus workout. Still, I hate missing a planned workout.

But the good part is yet to come. Saturday I ran 1 hr and 40 mins!  I felt really good. I started really slow and when I realized how slow I was running, I started to get down about it. But I just told myself to shut up and keep going!  And I ran out to WOW, something I used to do all the time. I love running out there. It's 4 miles from my house to WOW and I took a long loop back (out to Center Place and back) so I'm pretty sure I ran 10 miles (and I just realized that makes it 10 min miles and that is hard to take...arrgh!).

My hip hurt the usual amount but the heel didn't hurt at all. I really think I've nipped the plantar fascitatus (Sp?) in the bud. That's great. I had to ice my hip when I got home but it was bearable.

So, Sunday was supposed to be a 3 hr ride and 1 hr run. But for the first time, we had bad weather (for riding): rainy, windy, and cold. The cold wasn't so bad but it's no fun and not safe to ride in the rain. So I made a last minute decision to run again (easily) and ride on Monday, since Kurt had the day off and could be home with the kids.

I haven't ran two days in a row in years. That's a big no-no when you have an injury. But I just felt good and I felt like running. So off I went and what a great run!  It was raining a little bit and I had some good tunes on my Ipod. I lost myself in the music and ran for 40 mins. Felt great - no hip trouble - AND when I went to church afterwards (which is when my hip would normally be extremely painful), I was fine!

All day Sunday I just felt physically good. Anyone who runs knows what that feeling is like - it's a wonderful feeling. I felt lean, fit, and super-charged.

Today is Monday and I just got back from my ride. Rode hard for 3.5 hrs!  It's a bit challenging to ride by yourself, let alone go that long. One thing about riding long by yourself that is so different from running is that all you hear for that period of time is the light roaring sound of the wind in your ears. Its not safe to ride with music so you hear nothing but the wind, traffic, and the sound of your tires for however long you ride versus music when running. I always feel like I'm in a trance when I get off my bike from a long solo ride just because of not hearing or talking for a long time.

What a great ride, though. I went to Pierce, then east for about 5 miles or so. I only stopped twice and kept a fairly fast pace the entire way. Since I did Master's swim this morning too, I feel tired but good. The back-to-back runs this weekend really re-energized my psyche and the swim/ride combo today was just the right amount of exertion. A good training day, for sure.

I will say, however, that Ironman training would be extremely difficult for single parents to do or for anyone with kids who doesn't have help. Without Kurt being home today, there's no way I could've gotten that kind of a ride in. I feel very lucky to have a situation in which I can train fairly easily and still homeschool my kids (although there are times when it's impossible to get a workout in that is needed).  Marathon training is very do-able, but Ironman training adds a whole other layer to the complexity of normal family life. More on that later.

Cloud Nine!

This was one of my best training days ever!  I rode 100 miles with two great guys - Todd and Scott. And I felt fantastic! 

Todd and Scott are very fast cyclists - they averaged 22 mph on the ride so it was hard to keep up with them. Actually, I didn't really keep up with them - they rode ahead and then waited for me. But I averaged 18 mph and felt really good.

I also feel good about my nutrition today. I carbo-loaded yesterday, which basically consisted of three over-sized, high carb meals with one yummy bowl of ice cream before bed (reduced fat, of course). Before the ride I had a huge bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter, sugar, and milk added in. Then during the ride I consumed:

Two bottles of dilute Gatorade

One 8 oz container of 100% fruit juice (consumed when we stopped at the car to shed layers)

One half pbj sandwich (ditto)

3/4 of a Powerbar

One Soy bar

One package of "chews" (I'm blanking on the brand name right now)

One bottle of Boost (240 calories)

I felt like I over-ate but I also had tons of energy too. When we got back to the parking lot, I was curious to see what it would feel like if I ran, so I put on my sandals and ran around the parking lot! Todd and Scott were laughing their heads off. I actually felt good and was kicking myself for not bringing my running stuff!

If you've been reading this blog, you know how hard it's been for me not to run very well this year. So, to ride 100 miles at a fast pace and then get off and feel like I could run at least a 5k (probably more), was just a wonderful feeling!

The ride was good for a few other reasons as well. We started with a bigger group of people and its really fun riding with so many of my friends. We have such a fun group of people in our tri club. I feel very lucky to be a part of such a fun group.

So, an hour and 15 min swim on Friday and a 6 hr ride today - woo hoo!  I'm on a roll, baby!

2 Outta 3 Aint Bad

So, that's my other motto these days. If I can't do the long runs now, at least I can swim and bike.

And honestly, I think that's ok. I think that most triathletes have one of the three sports as their "weakest link". I just never guessed that running would be mine! But it is now.  I ran one measly hour this morning whereas my training comrades ran 16 miles.

But I have a different take on it now. Even Todd, our resident IM guru, agrees with me on this one (he actually planted the seed in my head). Most people only run 10 - 12 miles of the marathon anyway before walk/running the rest of the way. So, he said I should just train up to 2 hrs of running and call it good. With a strong swim/bike base and the ability to run 2 hrs without too much pain, I should be able to have a good race.

Todd also said something that I should be saying: that the race is all about nutrition!  It was nice to hear that from a non-RD, experienced IM'er. And he's right. So that's good news for me because I'm a sports dietitian and I have a clear picture of what I need to do nutritionally to get through the race. I did it in Florida (although I still need to eat more than I did then) and I'm having awesome "second winds" in my long rides, so I must be doing something right. More on nutrition later.

We swam at the new lake yesterday. I was worried about the water being too cold, even though I knew it would be good practice for AZ. It was colder than before but not too cold to swim. In fact, it felt really good.

I swam 1 hr and 15 mins, most of it by myself. Brenda and Todd were ahead of me and Sarah and Kevin were behind me. Sarah eventually passed me but that was good because she wasn't too far ahead of me and it was comforting having someone relatively close to me. Sarah is swimming really well and I have no doubt she will do great in the Ironman.

I swam a steady pace. I didn't feel like hammering it nor did I feel sluggish. I was relaxed and steady. It gave me time to think about some things. Funny how swimming is almost like running has always been for me - a time to relax, unwind, process, or just veg out.

Today Marshall came over to my house and we ran exactly one hour. We ran pretty slow and although my hip was hurting at the end, it was bearable. And later, at the kids' soccer games when I had to run back to the car to get their water bottles and then way over to the restroom and back to the field, my hip felt fine. I was very relieved.

Tomorrow I'm going to try biking 100 miles!  Scott Taylor wants to do 100 and since Kurt is home with the kids, the weather looks to be perfect, and I have someone to ride with, I decided to go for it. Might as well. I just don't want what happened last year to happen again this year: missing the opportunity to ride that far. So, I'm going for it. I feel ready for that distance - I've done five 70+ milers with no trouble so going 100 shouldn't be too bad. We'll see!

Rollar Coaster

My emotions seem to have been on one lately!

I think it's only natural when you train for an Ironman. There's just so much that goes into it; so much planning, training, thinking, wishing.....throw in a few injuries that scare the heck out of you and wa la! You're on cloud nine one day and cryin' in your beer the next.

Today was a cloud nine day. I ran 5 miles for the 2nd time this week and had relatively no pain in my hip or heel. There was the usual twinge in my hip but today it was not bad at all. The heel didn't hurt one iota. I'm not sure I say this yet but maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to run most of the marathon after all!

Yesterday I had to miss Master's swim because the kids and I went up to RMNP. But I got my butt out of bed in time to do a very hard 45 min Spinerval workout. Felt good about that. Wendy said I should only swim twice a week anyway (but that makes me a little nervous so I've been swimming 3x/week anyway).

Planning to swim at the lake tomorrow with the group at 4:30. Looking forward to a great weekend!

Riding Utah

If I ever had to move away from Colorado, I know where I would go: Ogden, Utah (see photos below). Wow, what a great place to live, in terms of recreational opportunities. Lots of scenic roads for cycling or running, lakes to swim in, and mountains within 30 minutes.

Julie and I set out at 9:15 AM (which we realized later was too late, we should've left at 8:00).  Headed up some country roads that gradually wound their way up, up, and up. We rode 20 miles that way and then turned around and flew back to the car. Our plan was to ride 80 miles by doing several 20 or 30 mile loops.

We grabbed a quick snack and potty break at the car and then headed back out on another loop. By then, it was pretty warm and there was more traffic. But still not too bad. We headed up to Pineview Reservoir and up around a monastery. The weather was picture-perfect: warm, dry, and not a cloud in the sky!

The views were just breathtaking. The trees were in full foliage and were just breathtaking. I wanted to stop and take pictures every bend we rode around!  Julie is a fast cyclist and I had a hard time keeping up with her so picture-taking was not going to happen very often!

Since Kurt was doing the Xterra triathlon at Snow Basin and was expecting to be done between 1:00 and 2:00, we had to stop at 1:30 which was exactly 70 miles. Because we rode hard most of the way, I didn't mind too much that we didn't get 80 miles. Plus, my training plan called for 5 hours and definitely got that in.

Here are a few pic's but they don't do the area justice!

Crossing My Fingers

So I ran 5 big fat miles yesterday - woo hoo!  First run in 9 days and it felt oh so good. I started very, very slow and actually ended up walking at first because I'm in Ogden, Utah, right now and who would ever guess it's a mini San Francisco here with all the steeper-than-you-know-what hills. We're staying with friends and it's pretty much straight up or down when you go out their front door.

Anyway, I ran/walked down the hill very fast and then started jogging. Yes, I'm going to use the J-word here. Real runners never use the J-word because none of us ever jog. Noooooo, we RUN. Jogging is for sissies. Any real runners reading this can relate to the cringe they feel when someone (who is not a runner) says to them "oh, I saw you jogging this morning". Ugh.

But I truly was jogging. It was probably a 12-min pace. Yep, that was me. Trot, trot, trot, trot. Smiling at the real runners who were wizzing by me. I could see the look on their faces, so serious and so focused. That's been me all of these years and it was kind of interesting looking at runners from a jogger's perspective. Part of me was happy for them and part of me wanted to trip them.

Anyway, I ran 5 luxurious miles and yes, my hip did hurt the whole way but it was fairly small on the pain scale. In other words, it was bearable. My heel didn't hurt at all. Its so nice to have only one of your injuries hurt at a time. Thank you, body,for picking just one yesterday!

My husband, Kurt, is doing an Xterra triathlon today at Snow Basin, near Ogden. More on that later. I'm riding 80 miles with my friend, Julie, who is also a dietitian and an injured runner. She's had to stop running completely because of another type of injury. Misery loves company, eh?

Seriously, I'm psyched to ride with her today.She has an 80 mile route planned for us. I've gotta get going so will write more and post pic's later.

Take the Good with the Bad

Recap of the last few days:

Sunday
Had one of the best swims I've ever had! I went out with Brenda to this new lake we found recently in Water Valley. Sarah and Kevin, the other IM'ers, were there too. We swam a route that we thought was 2 miles. I went slow and steady and had no trouble finishing the route (which we later found out was 2.05 miles!). The water was colder than I expected but even that didn't bother me too much. So glad we did that - HUGE confidence builder.

Monday
Totally off - woo hoo!

Tuesday
Took the kids to my mom's house and went on an, shall we say, an "eventful" bike ride. Took the kids to my moms house and left from there. Rode south of Johnstown and was having a great time when I had to make a pit-stop. Pulled off near a corn field, leaned my bike up against the corn, and went in the corn to pee.

All is well until I see a truck pull up near my bike. Crap!  I start panicking because I didn't want the person in the truck to see me yet I also didn't want Mr. Truck-dude to take my bike either!  I crouched there breathing heavily trying to figure out what to do. He wasn't leaving. What was he doing????  I decided to walk out and get my bike and if he said anything to me, I'd just laugh it off and say I had to use the "facilities" (hoping he would have a sense of humor). But then his truck slowly started to roll on by...thank God!

Then, when I came out of the corn field, I heard more trucks - there were several large trucks that passed me before I stopped at the cornfield - and now there was a long line of them coming. Darn it - I chose this road because it was a "quiet country road" (not!) and i didn't really want to ride back yet. But all I could see were big red trucks coming down the road so I turned around and went back.

As I'm heading back to Milliken, a deer comes flying out of nowhwere and darts across the road. Fortunately I was looking ahead at the time and saw him in plenty of time to slow down. Not too far down the road, a ground hog runs out in front of me. Geez!

At this point, I knew I needed to speed up if I wanted to make this ride worth all the trouble. So I tucked in tight to the aero position and cruised along at a pretty good clip. Yay - I love riding like that!  I turned left at 257 just chompin at the bit to ride up Mad Russian hill. Feeling esp good, I flew up that hill faster than I've ever rode it. I thought seriously about going back down and charging back up it again but just kept going. I managed to keep a pretty fast pace all the way back to Greeley (need to get a computer on my bike so I know what speed I'm going!).

Then, on west 10th, I passed a car that obviously had smashed into a tree. There was no way the driver could have survived that accident and sure enough, I found out later he didn't. Pretty sad.

Not long after passing the car, I flatted - first time in years. Fortunately, I was less than a mile from my mom's house so I walked my bike back to the car. I needed to get the kids and run errands - will fix flat later.

Today, I swam Master's and felt pretty good. Was almost able to stay up with Sarah and Natalie but not quite. That's ok, I can tell I'm faster than last year so that's all I care about right now.

The one thing in the back of my mind all of this time was running. When will I get to run again?  My hip is better but my heel was hurting really bad today and I haven't run since Saturday and even then, it was only for a few miles. I am literally hobbling around the house, most of the time with an ice pack on my hip.

Tonight I am feeling very discouraged. I'm glad that my swimming and biking are going well - thank God for that - but I'm really down about not being able to run. I will try on Friday and maybe it will work out. But right now it hurts to even walk. And it's not just the Ironman that worries me, it's the fact that I may not be able to run at all in the future. I don't want to "awfulize" but it's hard not to when you can't walk without severe pain.

I just miss it. I've been running for 20+ years and it's hard to not do something that has been a part of your daily routine for all these years, something that makes you feel good and something you can do with friends.

I'm tired of the pain too. I can see why people get hooked on pain relievers. My heel and hip hurt a lot and I'm tired of cringing with every step I take.

Well, tomorrow is another day and maybe things will be better. I'm planning on a Spinerval ride early in the morning and then we're driving to Ogden, Utah, for Kurt's Xterra triathlon Saturday. One of my best friends lives in Ogden and it will do me good to hang out with her for awhile. I'm planning to run there on Friday so hopefully I'll have some good news to report when I get back!  We're also planning to ride 80 miles when on Saturday and that will be nice.

Too tired to think....more later.

Plan B

So, today I ran for the first time since Weds and although my hip hurt a little as I moved around, I thought it would be ok but it wasn't. It hurt so bad that I walked most of the way home.

I tried running on grass but it didn't seem to matter. And I guess that make sense; this is not an impact-related injury. It's a strain of some sort and the pain is caused from the swaying of my left leg going forward and backward (if that makes sense), not when my foot hits the ground.

I kept running for awhile hoping (and praying) that the pain would subside but it just got worse. I decided to bag the run and go home.

So, the plan is to lay off running for a week. I'll swim and bike (thank God!) but forego any running. I'll ice my hip everyday and keep taking Celebrex.

Not to worry...it could be much worse. I'll walk the IM marathon if I have to. At least I will probably have a good swim and bike!  Hopefully by then it will be better and I'll be able to run most of the way. We'll see.

Tomorrow our plan calls for a 2-3 hr ride and I decided that this would be a good time to go to church. Katerina has a girlfriend over to spend the night tonight who goes to our church and I can take all 3 kids to church tomorrow. They just started a new Sunday school program and it would be nice for them to go to that. So, I'm going to ride earlier than our pre-planned ride at 8:00 and ride from my house. I doubt if Sarah and Brenda will want to go earlier (esp as cold as it is today!) and to change locations so I'll just go alone. Or maybe Colleen can go with me. Either way, 2 hrs is not bad to ride by yourself.

Ok, chin up and keep on truckin!

Gotta Keep on Truckin'

That's my motto these days.

I've had a number of aches and pains lately (both mentally and physically) but at this point, I just gotta keep on truckin'. I can almost see the finish line at this point and I'm going for broke.

Today my hip pain is back with a vengeance - it hasn't hurt this bad in months. I swam and ran this morning (about 2000 yards at Master's and then a 6 mile run). Somewhere along the way I must have aggravated that muscle again because it hurts so bad I can hardly walk. I'm icing it as we speak. I guess the good news is that my heel didn't hurt so we're back to the hip thing again.

But.... I gotta keep on truckin'.

I've been wrestling with some personal issues lately, as we all do from time to time. But it's nothing I can't handle and with my re-newed focus on the finishing this Ironman, I'm feeling pretty good. The journey has been different than I expected but that's the way it goes.

Tomorrow I'm doing Spinervals and I need to get up early and get them done before the kids get up, or at least have most of it done by the time they get up. I like Spinervals - they're an extremely hard workout and I always sweat a ton when I do them.

Then Friday is a long swim, Sat is "only" a 10 mile run, and Sunday is "only" a 2-3 hr bike ride - woo hoo!  I get a little overwhelmed when I think about the training ahead of me in October - the really high mileage weeks - so for now, I'll enjoy this recovery week and just keep on truckin....

Big Miles

This is going to sound strange but we're into the big miles now and I didn't even realize it until I sat down to write this entry. Last weekend, I ran 14 miles on Saturday and rode 81 miles on Sunday....almost without a blink of an eye.

The big surprise for me, though, was how well the run went. I've been struggling so long with my running and for the first time, I could go the distance without too much trouble. I went very slow and was not able to keep up with the group (except for Marshall, who I ended up running with), but two good things happened: I didn't really care AND I felt fine. YAY!

We all started as a group but after dropping a gu packet and going back to get it, I fell behind. Then I had to dash into some bushes to you-know-what and fell even further behind. Everyone but Marshall kept going so we just ran together the rest of the way. That was fine because I'm not sure I could keep up with them anyway!

But there was something very different about this run. Usually at around mile 8 or so, I start getting the "I can't make it" feeling. Mile 8 came and went and I was happily chatting with Marshall about kids and sports and to be honest, didn't even notice that we passed mile 8. Then mile 10 came and then mile 12...lo and behold, I wanted to keep going!

We ran to Jo Jo where Marshall needed to stop to watch Allie do a time trial. My kids were playing soccer at 9:00 at Monfort and originally I was going to run back to WOW, get the truck and drive to my mom's who lives down the street from WOW, shower, and drive to Monfort to watch the games (long story on why that was the plan).

But it was 8:40 when we reached Jo Jo so I had to make a decision....I decided to just run to Monfort and watch the games before showering. The problem with doing that is that I'm super sweaty and I hate sitting/standing for an hour in sweaty clothes but more importantly, I need to re-fuel for my big ride the next day and I wouldn't have any food or drink to do that.

So I stood in the street for a few mins to decide what to do....go back, shower, eat/drink, drive to game and be late....or run to Monfort, be sweaty, thirsty, and hungry but watch both kids' games from start to finish. The kids won out and off to Monfort I went.

(Funny side note - I was so tired that I accidentally ran down the wrong street while trying to take a shortcut and ended up having to backtrack to the main street that leads to Monfort. I've lived in Greeley 22 years and know my way around...oops!)

But Sunday was the bright spot of the weekend. I had the best ride of my life. I rode with Sarah, Brenda, and Todd. We rode 81 miles on a new route that Todd took us on and I felt fantastic. I have never felt stronger in my life. We started at our usual pace and I felt good but didn't feel particularly strong at that point but it got better as the ride went on, to the point where I was hammering the hills at the end.

I honestly don't know where the energy came from. I felt like I couldn't slow down. I passed Sarah and Brenda a few times, hoping they would stay on my wheel and then we could take turns drafting on each other but either they slowed down or I sped up because before long, I was way ahead. I felt a little bad about it but since Todd was way ahead of us as well, I decided to just ride up with him and then wait for them.

One thing I will point out is that I would never leave one person behind. That is one rule of group cycling that I learned a long time ago. Its ok for one person to go ahead of two people but two people shouldn't leave one person behind, unless that one person said to go ahead. So I went on knowing that they were together.

I also knew that they were wanting to stay in zone two, which is a lower intensity, and that they were going to run after the ride, so they didn't want to push too hard. That is very smart if you are wanting to run afterwards (plus, Sarah was having an off-day and her legs were tired - I've been there many times!). But I was not planning on running after the ride (per advice from Wendy and Kurt) so I was free to push as hard as I wanted. And I did!

So, all in all it was a superb weekend and I'm amazed that I ran and rode a total of 95 miles. I really believe that nutrition played a big role in how well I felt on both days and I will write more about that soon (in case anyone ever reads this blog and wants to know more!).