For Better or For Worse...

Well, this is a first. A BIG first. I rode with my husband this morning and well......he couldn't keep up with me!

I never thought I'd be writing that sentence!

But I need to mention a few things. First, he is recovering from an Exterra triathlon that he did last weekend. Xterra races include mountain biking and trail running. This race in particular was held in Beaver Creek (9000 feet) and it was a very difficult course.

Ok, so he was tired. And his shoulder hurt. And he didn't have aerobars like I do. And, it was the first time he was on a road bike all summer. But I still beat him (and it made me very happy - can you tell?).

I have been looking at my husband's back for the last 17 years whenever we ride or run together. He is a very fast runner (34 min Bolder Boulder 10K and 2:46 marathon - need I say more???) and a fairly fast cyclist. But not this summer!  Ha!  I'm on a major cycling roll and I want to milk it for all it's worth!

We started the ride with Colleen and Todd, the same two people I rode with last Weds - both very fast cyclists. So I thought I was in for the ride of my life and was quickly surprised when Kurt dropped back from the very start. I kept turning around and wondering what was going on.

So I had to make a decision. I was feeling great and chompin' at the bit to get going but Kurt wouldn't be able to keep up. Do I ride on with Colleen and Todd so I get a good workout in?  Or do I be a good wife and hang back with my dear husband?  I chose the latter.

We had a nice ride together. The sun was breaking through the clouds like it was last week and the view was fantastic. But I won't lie, it was hard. I wanted to go faster so bad! But when I thought of all the times he waited for me, I realized that I needed to do the same. That's what marriage is all about, right?

We got in 30 miles and that's pretty good. Colleen and Todd enjoyed their ride too. And well, there's always next week!

Ice Ice Baby

As I'm icing my hip I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts...

Went for a lovely noon time swim at Centennial yesterday. I normally swim at the lake on Mondays but Katerina had a softball game at 5:30 so I swam earlier. Although I missed swimming at the lake, I love swimming at Centennial at noon. Its usually hot then so getting in a pool feels really good. And there's usually only 1-3 other lap swimmers so I usually have a lane to myself. Plus, I love just swimming at my own pace on my own time.

I think I swam 1400 or 1500 yards, not a long swim but I focused a lot on my technique. My left arm still isn't doing the right stroke. I tell it to but it doesn't listen!  Seriously, it's weird how your brain can tell a body part to do something but the body part has a mind of its own. Ok, that's weird, I know!

Today I ran for 62 minutes - woo hoo!  I had planned to run at Sanborn Park (around the outside perimeter, on the grass) but I just couldn't do it. I get SO bored going around and around in a circle. I went around it once but since my heal wasn't hurting, I decided to take another chance on the roads (like I did last week).

I ran out to Lowe's via the dirt road the goes behind the Weslyan church. This route has a mix of asphalt, dirt, and concrete. I avoid concrete like the plague and found that I could do that pretty easily by running alongside the sidewalk in most places.

I also decided to push the pace. I want to run faster so the only way to do that is to, well, run faster!  I threw in some long tempo runs and felt great!  I was definitely tired at the end but was glad I did it.

Tomorrow I am biking and swimming. Then we head up to Snow Mountain Ranch for a few days, where I hope to maintain my training plan.

TTFN!

First Brick

The Ironman training is rampin' up!

Sarah, Brenda, and I did a brick today (first one this year for me) and it went really well. Their training plan (from Wendy Mader) starts earlier than mine and it called for 3:30 bike and a 30 min run. I was a little nervous about it thinking that I might not be able to keep up with them but it turned out fine. They rode a slower pace than what I've been doing on Wednesday mornings (which is smart) so I felt fine on the bike. The run was another story!

More on that in a moment.

I have to mention how the day started. I had everything ready last night: bike, helmet, gloves, shoes, water bottles (2, filled with Powerbar Endurance drink), bike shorts and top, running shorts, running shoes, socks (for the run), gels, bars, cell phone charged, camera battery charged, etc. I put out my cereal bowl and had the coffee ready to go - all I had to do was hit the button.

I even got to bed on time!

The first thing that went wrong is the electricity went off in the middle of the night and set off our alarm. Great, just what I need, I thought. It was 4:10 AM and my alarm was supposed to go off at 4:50 AM.  I finally drifted off to sleep and woke with a start at 5:10 - crap!  My clock was off so the alarm didn't go off (duh!).  Good thing I woke up!

I still have time but now I have to hurry. I slurp down a large bowl of cereal and drink my coffee quickly. I get dressed and get my bike in the back of the truck (Kurt has the van and he's out of town).

My plan was to leave at 6:00 so that I would be at Sarah's by 6:10'ish.  But I have to hook up the battery to the truck (something we've had to do for years because there is an electrical shortage in the truck somewhere and no one has ever been able to find it). No problem, I can do that quickly.

Not!

I can't get the cable screwed in right. I try and try and no good. Crap, I'm going to have to take all my bike stuff and throw it in the car. But I decide to try it again and wa - la!  I'm successful, but it's now 6:10. Darn, I'm late.

But the ride went well. As I said earlier, we went at a pretty slow pace but that's ok. I'm not sure I would've made the run if we hadn't. Still, I found myself wanting to go faster during the ride.

We rode from 6:30 - 10:00, with two potty breaks. We put the bikes in Sarah's garage and headed out on the run. It was very hot and very hard to run after riding 58 miles!  But this is where things get weird for those of us who like endurance events - it actually felt good to hurt a little.

My goal on the run was simply to stay with S and B. They are running so fast now (and more often than me) that I honestly didn't know if I could. Sarah was chatted easily on the run, which shows what great shape she is in, and I was breathing heavily. But I was able to keep up and that thrilled me to death!

We made it back in 30 mins and I was about to collapse. But I was so glad that I did it.  One brick down, a dozen to go!

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Its supposed to be 101 degrees today so Jenny, Kevin, and I ran early (but not that early - it got hot!).

Jenny is nursing a sore butt muscle so we went really slow out to the stop sign and back. I added on an extra mile at the end because I was feeling good (but was sore later).

Sarah, Brenda, and Dan ran 12 miles today but I elected to not go with them. Just not ready for that distance yet. And it didn't even bother me!

Quick recap of the week: Monday I swam at the lake - did two loops around the island, felt great.

Tuesday I ran 5-6 miles and actually felt pretty good. Weds was a fabulous 58 mile ride (see previous post), Thurs was a tired-legs run that felt pretty good and Master's swim at 5:00. Friday I spun for 30 mins and then did a lovely swim at Centennial pool at 5:00 PM by myself.

Not a bad week at all!

Tomorrow I'm riding with Sarah and Brenda. We are going to try 3 hrs and then running 30 mins - in the heat!  It will be extremely tough but I'll give it a shot.

Beautiful Ride

This was a ride that I will never forget.

It was a typical Weds morning and the plan was to start riding at 6:00 AM. Colleen and Todd rode to my house and Brian was supposed to join us but he overslept (can't blame him!).  Colleen and Todd both had to be back by 7:30 so we took off pretty fast.

We rode south to 37th street and then headed east to Kersey. Like Colleen, Todd is super fast and I knew I had my work cut out for me keeping up with them. But they know I'm not as fast as they are and I counted on them going my pace.

We rode at a fast clip all the way to Kersey. But I couldn't help noticing how pretty it was out at this time. The sun was shining through some clouds in the horizon creating a soft palette of colors in the sky. The air was cool and the corn swayed gently in the wind. Perfect riding conditions!

We got to Kersey and turned south. Colleen and Todd were plenty warmed up at this point and really pushed the pace. Todd tried to get me to hang with him as we went up a long hill but I couldn't. Colleen and rode side by side and she gave me some advice on doing sprints on the bike. I tried a few and just about died!

We rode south for 5.5 miles and then turned back toward the west. The mountains were purple (really!) and the sky still had that soft hue of a summer sunrise. Just gorgeous.

We rode west and then turned north again. I was working very hard to keep up with them. Colleen is a painter and she had done some exterior painting on a house that we rode by so we stopped to look at it -it was pretty cool -she had painted french garage doors on the side of a barn or something like that. Very interesting.

It was 7:20 at that point and they had a ways to go. I told them to go on and that I was going to add some miles on since I had more time than they had. For a brief moment after they left I felt a pang of regret, then told myself to get going. And I did.

I rode south to 37th street (the street we started on), where they had ridden too, and had to make a decision. Do I turn left and go home or do I turn right and ride further. I turned right.

I rode along this country road enjoying the scenery. Its a nice road because there's not much traffic and it curves around in the beginning. I kept thinking that I should turn back and go home but for some reason i kept going.

I ended up going to Kersey again. Again I told myself to just turn around and go home but didn't...I turned right and headed south again, on the same route we took earlier. I didn't think it was that far but it was!

I finally got home at 9:05!  Three hours of almost non-stop riding. Wow, I had never planned on riding that far. I was proud of myself for not turning back and for pushing on...and for enjoying the ride!

I was so curious how far I had ridden that I drove the course later in my car. 58 miles!  I was shocked. I had no intention of riding that far, as I said, so it was kinda cool.

There's something immensely satisfying about reaching a milestone, esp when you do it alone, and I felt like I had hit a milestone in my training on this ride. I was able to ride 58 miles without batting an eye.

I'm starting to think I might meet my goal for the Ironman (13 hrs). I've got a long way to go but this ride definitely boosted my confidence.

Now if I can just run...

Estes Ride

Every year I have to ride to Estes Park. Its one of my favorite rides for a lot of reasons. One, I love riding through Big Thompson Canyon with the river less than 50 feet away. Just the sound of the river rushing by is enough to make me want to ride there everyday.

Second, I almost always see wildlife. One time I saw two big horn sheep way up on the steep rocky face of the canyon wall ran their heads together, making a loud clacking noise that echoed against the canyon walls.

This time I saw a young goat on the side of the road (with the usual paparrazi of tourists surrounding it taking photos. This is one time I did NOT take a photo!).

Third, I love the view from the top. I always take the Glen Haven route (more on that below) and it dumps you at the top of a hill with a breathtaking view of Longs Peak.

But the final reason is all about training (of course).  The Glen Haven route departs highway 34 at Drake and meanders along for 9 miles or so, gradually going up to the town of Glen Haven. This part of the ride is a breath of fresh air because there's very little traffic and the road gently twists and turns through trees and meadows. Lovely.

Then all hell breaks loose. After leaving Glen Haven, the road suddenly starts going up, up, and UP. No more nice and easy pedaling listening to yourself sing Sunshine on My Shoulder. Nooooo...it's one heart-crushing push to the top.

There are two switchbacks near the top of this climb. I don't know the percent grade but I know that when I drive it in my car, I have to downshift to 1st gear to make it. It's that steep.

Quite simply, it's the hardest thing I've ever done. This section of the ride is not long, but in terms of sheer effort, it's excruciating. My heart pounds so hard and I sweat so much just getting up those switchbacks, that I honestly think I'm going to just fall over and die.

I made it to the top - thank God - and will keep doing this every year until I can't do it anymore.

Another nice thing about the ride this year is that I rode with Scott Taylor, a friend of mine who is training for Florida Ironman. Sarah and Brenda would normally be with us but they were doing the Boulder Peak triathlon that day. I really enjoyed riding with Scott because he's a really nice guy and well, because he's really fast and I knew I would have to push myself to keep up with him. Fortunately, we rode at a leisurely pace and chatted all the way up (he went ahead of me at the point where it started getting steep, handily climbing the switchbacks in record time) and on the way down, his front tire was about to blow so we took it easy. It finally blew about a mile from our cars. Whew!

Here's Scott at the top:

Here's a few photos of a group of us a few years ago and the view as we got closer to highway 34, near the town of Estes Park (lower photo):

You can probably see why I like to do this ride every year. Its a killer doing the switchbacks but the scenery makes it totally worth it. I may just do it again this year!

Training Plan

The pressure is on now - I got a training plan from Wendy Mader!

Yes, THE Wendy Mader - overall female finisher (amateur division) in the 2008 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

She's done some 9 Ironman triathlons and usually finishes in under 10 hrs. Her swim times match the pros and she's an amazing cyclist too.

She owns t2coaching in Windsor and is the CSU triathlon coach. Needless to say, it feels pretty cool to have a training plan from her.

I've mentioned here many times that we (Brenda, Sarah, and I) are going to follow Gale Bernhardt's Ironman training plan, like Marshall and i did last year for the Florida Ironman. But Brenda felt that we should review the plan with Wendy and get her advice. Not hire her as a coach but do a one-time consultation with her.

So B and S went and saw her a few weeks ago and I saw her on Thursday. We all came away with a totally different plan from Gale's. And I feel good about it.

I don't have anything against Gale's plan but Wendy has more experience than Gale and well, we could speak to her face to face.

So, what is the plan?  It's heavier on cycling and lighter on swimming than Gale's, which is fine with me. Wendy felt that I didn't need to swim 3 times a week, which was a big surprise. She said "you did a 1:20 Ironman swim in Florida, right?" and I said "well, it was 1:18" and she said "you don't need to swim 3 times a week" - that was music to my ears!

So, what is the plan?  Here is the general schedule for the summer (while we are swimming outside):

Monday - lake swim (45 - 60 mins, my choice; her plan starts when Master's goes inside)
Tuesday - run
Weds - bike/run brick
Thurs - off (yes, I actually have a rest day!)
Fri - Spinerval bike, low intensity
Sat - Run long - 1.5 - 2 hrs
Sun - Ride long - 2 - 5 hrs

After September when Master's moves inside - the real plan starts then:

Mon - Master's swim (2000 - 4000 yards)
Tues - 6 - 10 miles of tempo running
Weds - Master's swim, bike 2-3 hrs and run for 30 mins
Thurs - off
Fri - Spinerval, low intensity
Sat - Run 2 - 4 hrs
Sun - Ride 3 - 7 hrs

Sunday and Weds will be the hardest days. I feel good about the swim and bike part of this plan but not the running (speaking after running 9 miles today and my hip hurt like hell).  I honestly don't know if i'll be able to run on Tuesday - I'm worried I'll be too sore from Sunday. But we'll see.

I'm excited about training but a little nervous about it. Its more than what I did last year but that's what I need, I think. I just don't know if my body will hold up!

Today I ran with Kevin and Dale at Jo Jo - we ran around the outer circle 6 times, which is 1.5 miles per loop. I really enjoyed running with these guys - they are so nice. But my hip really started hurting during the run and I could hardly walk afterwards. Ice'd it and took Celebrex and it was better but it really makes me wonder how I'm going to increase my mileage.

Tomorrow I'm riding up to Estes with Scott Taylor - another great guy. I've mentioned him before - he's training for Florida IM.  Taking my road bike - hope I make it up the Glen Haven switchbacks!

Riding in the Rain

Not my favorite thing to do, that's for sure. But I'm glad I got it done.

And there's always hiccups along the way. Colleen and I had made plans to ride at 6:30 on Wednesday. Brian emailed to say that he would go too.

Then Colleen texted me Tuesday night to say that she needed to start at 6:00 instead of 6:30 (ouch!). That extra half hour makes a huge difference to me!

No problem, I told her. I can do that. Then I proceede to stay up until 11:00 Tues night to watcht the movie Precious with Kurt (if you ever want a reality check about how cush your life is, just watch that movie....you'll never complain again.)

The alarm goes off 15 4:45. I have to have coffee and a small breakfast before i ride two hours with Colleen. I was actually awake but very tired and groggy.

At 5:20 Colleen calls to say that she doesn't feel up to riding. Great!  I got up early for nothing!  Oh well, no problem, I told her. And I really did understand. I know how it goes. But that extra half hour of sleep would've been really nice!

So Brian and I take off at 6:26 AM. The sky is so dark with clouds that I had trouble seeing with my sunglasses on (not safe to ride without glasses and i don't have the clear lenses!).

It was very dark and foreboding but Brian felt sure that it wouldn't rain until after 8:00. Not so. It started coming down midway into our ride and rained fairly steadily until the end. Fortunately, I had brought a jacket and as long as we kept riding, I felt fine.

Brian is a fast rider and I had trouble keeping up with him. I felt good but was not very aggressive. I'm still a little shaky on my racing bike and when the rain started, I decided to just keep a steady pace and get home.

We rode 38 miles and all in all, a good ride.

Quick recap of the week: Monday I ran 50 mins with Brenda and Sarah at Jo Jo (they met me there and ran a lap with me). Tuesday I took off - woo hoo - and Weds was the ride described above. Today is Thursday and I ran 40 mins with my friend, Michelle (from Tasmania! More on that later), and tomorrow I'm swimming at the lake and spinning, hopefully. Not sure I'll have time to spin.

Tonight I have a meeting with Wendy Mader!  More on that later too.

Ironman Boulder 70.3 Practice Ride

Rode the old 5430 bike course (which is now the Ironman Boulder 70.3 course) last Sunday with Sarah, Brenda, and Scott Taylor.

We're doing the Boulder half-IM race on August 8th so Brenda and Sarah wanted to see what it was like. I've done this race twice (when it was called 5430) so I was familiar with it but wanted to do it again. Had a great time.

The course is relatively easy - some roller hills in the beginning but nothing too hard. It's a 2-loop course and the 2nd half of it is relatively fast and flat, with some nice views of the Flatirons.

The day started with dark clouds and some rain as we left Greeley. But it didn't rain on us and the temp was much cooler - perfect for riding (but the sun would've been nice too).

Hoping for a good race this time!  Have had two "failed" races this season and I don't want anymore.

My bike felt good and after riding about 55 miles or so, I felt fine - wasn't really that sore or tired.

I feel in much better shape right now than I was this time last year, esp on the bike and in the lake. My running is behind but I'm hoping to slowly build that back up.

Nutrition-wise, I didn't eat as many carbs on Saturday as I usually do the day before a long ride or run and I could feel it late in the ride. But it wasn't too much of a problem. Sometimes you need to go with the flow and trust your body to get you through!

Race Against Cancer 5k

My, how things change.  Like Bolder Boulder, I've done this race at least a dozen times, if not more. The race name has changed a few times, with Race for the Cure being the longest-held name, but Greeley has had a 5k on the 4th of July since I've lived here and I'm pretty sure I've done it every year.

Here's a few memorable moments I'd like to share....

I don't know what  year it was but Annie Bersagel was in high school. She was doing this race for the first time (and I think it was her first race EVER). I was running pretty hard - back then I would finish in around 21 minutes - and she came up behind me. I heard her breathing hard and her feet slapping the pavement.

At the time, we were members of Our Saviors Lutheran Church, where her dad is a pastor, so I knew her, but at the time, no one knew how fast she would eventually become. I wasn't worried about her passing me because she was so young but I recall how hard she was struggling. I was working hard too but not as hard as she was. I could tell she was intent on passing me.

After a few minutes, she finally did. But knowing how fast she is today, it's nice to know for one brief moment, I was her carrot!

Another memory...

The year was 2004 and Geoff Muntz, our dear friend who died of cancer a few years ago (ironically), was the race announcer (like Kurt is now).  He and Jenny always had a little chemistry going and he was "admiring" our shorts (which he later said was our legs). He took this photo and called it "the legs":

I also remember pushing Katerina in her stroller that day and Juan Leal snapped a good photo of us:

I can't believe how small she is here!  And she has her bottle....oh my gosh.

I remember many years trying so hard to get below 21 minutes. I thought 21-something was too slow and now, of course, I would KILL for a 21-something 5k!

My 5k PR is 20-something and I think I did it in this race. It was either this one or the Turkey Trot, can't remember. But I was always chasing Jenny. We would always come in within a minute of each other but she was always ahead of me.

Then one year, Dan England, my friend from track, ran it for the first time. He ran up behind me but he was hurting. He almost caught me at the finish line and I remember being excited for him that he ran his first 5k (he was new to track and I had been doing it for years). Wow, how things have changed!

Every year we would run this race and go all out. I placed in my age group a few times and it was probably the next most important race to do well in (after Bolder Boulder), because the race times were often in the paper and everyone wanted to show off how fast they could run!

This year I walked/ran it with my kids. I've been doing that for the last 3 years and like Bolder Boulder, it's very bittersweet. I see my friends who are still doing track - like Jenny, Brenda, Doug, Rick, Pam, Dan - doing really well in this race and truth be told, I do feel a few pangs of jealousy.  But the smile on my kids' face reminds me of what's most important.

Who knows, maybe one day they'll be running 21-something 5k's...

Here's a few photos from the last few years, including this year:

Pluggin Away

This has been a good training week and boy, did I need that. After two failed triathlons (one was a DNF - my first, btw - and the other included an hour delay during the bike portion - more on that later), I needed to succeed at something.

So, I got in 3 good swims, 2 great runs, and one really good bike ride (so far).

I swam at the lake on Monday and swam farther than I've ever swam out there. But it still isn't far enough for Ironman training. That's ok, I have plenty of time to increase distance even more.

Then, I had a lovely swim at Centennial pool by myself on Weds evening and did Master's swim last night. On Weds, I swam slow and easy and focused on my technique. It was pretty hot outside so it felt really good to get into the pool.

I learned some new ways to work on my technique from a woman at the Silverthorne Rec Center when we were up there. She had been to the Swim Lab in Denver and showed me what she learned. It was really helpful! I incorporated those suggestions and really liked doing that.

Today was kind of the big day (in a way) because it was a test of whether i could run for an hour without any pain. I decided to run at Sanborn Park and just run on the grass. So, for an hour I ran the perimeter of Sanborn (not just around the lake) and felt really good. It is actually harder to run on grass so I think I got a good calf workout!

Running to the park and back was another 15 minutes each way, so I got in a good 1.5 hr run and guess what: no heel pain!  My hip is hurting a little but not any worse than before. I felt  really good and it was nice since I hadn't had a good long run like that in awhile.

I do think I'll stick to the grass or trails as much as possible. At this point, I don't want to risk ANY injuries or worsening of injuries.

Tomorrow is the cancer 5k here in Greeley - not sure what they call it now - and I'm walk/running it with the kids. Then, I'll bike 50 - 60 years on Sunday and be back to the normal routine.

Tonight Sarah, Brenda, and I are meeting with Wendy Mader, CSU Triathlon coach and owner of T2 Coaching. She won the citizen's division at Kona a few years ago. We're paying her to look over our training plan and give us suggestions/tips, etc.

Gotta run - TTFN!