2013 Spring Training

Before the actual blogging begins, here's a quick recap of my pre-IM spring training: I ran a marathon. Why? Because two of my friends told me that the best thing they did before their fall IM was run a spring marathon. I hadn't run "just" a marathon in 10 years and really had no desire to do so, but they had convinced me that it would help my run in IMC so I fell for it and signed up for the Colorado Marathon (5/6/13).

This is us before the race

and this is us after the race:

Overall, I had a great time. Finished in 4:25, almost an hour slower than my PR (3:32, Chicago) but I'm 10 yrs older too. Felt really good most of the way with a 2nd wind at mile 18 (oddly enough), started to fade at mile 22'ish, struggled but didn't stop running until the finish line.

The best thing about doing this marathon was the training - I really enjoyed it!  I followed the Furman FIRST training plan and really liked it. It's unique in that it requires only 3 days of running. Each week has a tempo run, interval run, and long run. The other days you cross-train. I felt great and would highly recommend it.

The plan called for two 20 milers and even though I ended up doing two 18 milers and one 20 miler, I felt good on those long runs. That was a huge confidence builder! I did a little speedwork but not much, mainly because my goal for this IM is to finish, not PR.

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!