Tri-ing Races Not Cases

IM CDA Race Report - Part 1 - Pre-Race

2011-07-18T07:32:00.000-04:00

At the start of race week this year, I made a promise to myself that no matter how I did in this IM, I would write and publish my race report. I did not after Placid. Not sure exactly why but I think it was a combination of anger (at my terrible bike leg) and embarrassment (at my crappy bike leg). That, and by the time I was finished with IM Placid, I was fried, terribly fried and not wanting to thing another thing triathlon for quite some time.

This year, as I was preparing to race, I wished I had that report. I remembered many of the feelings and parts of the day and was able to dig up my old race plan, just for comparison, but I really wanted to read the raw truth. And, I didn't have it.

So here is my attempt at my first IM Race Report. I apologize for the length, lack of pictures (will post some eventually but have yet to download) and hope I don't bore you to tears, but this report is really for me. So that next time (and there will be a next time) I will be able to look back on this report and see how I've grown, and changed and more importantly, reflect on the emotions of the week that make Ironman week so special and unique.

Starting at my pre-race week thoughts . . .

This year, I was a mix of calm (I amazed even myself), worry (that I was a bit unprepared), and excitement (I was ready to put it out there). Placid I think helped with the calm. This time, unlike the last, I knew that I had it in me to finish. It may not be pretty, but given my last experience - my horrible bike leg, the side cramps, walking my bike and how terrible I felt getting off that bike - and then the amazing gift of one of the most fun and enjoyable long runs in my life, I knew that no matter what the day threw at me, it was a long day out there, things change over the course of the day, and I would persevere. In fact, the best Ironman advice I ever had from Pro K, to hang in there, assess how you feel, fix any problems immediately and hang on - things will change - was certainly the lesson learned from Placid. Unbeknownst to me, it would also come in very handy on IM CDA race day.

The worry part - well, I guess that's only natural. This year I switched coaches to fabulous Jen H (YAY!) and while I felt very confident with her abilities (she coaches some amazing athletes) my volume and training was very different. And, on some levels I worried - is it enough? In fact, I was the one who asked for a true 20 mile run (versus a run for time) and snuck in one last LONG swim of the IM distance the week before the race.

At the same time, I felt ready. Very ready. My body felt strong, uninjured and not compromised. I felt alive, was able to sleep and didn't feel like a walking zombie. There were no thoughts of getting sick the week of my taper or being too run down. And, I was able to hit my last hard training block with confidence and vigor. I wanted to do that last tough climb up Wintergreen mountain on tired legs and I was ready to do my last long long run - even though it was HOT and very humid at 5 am in the morning that day. This I attribute to the wisdom of my coach. The great part of this year's training was that I was excited for the race - and ready to go do it.

Race week, I fine tuned my race plan and goals with Jen. It was lengthy and detailed - what I would eat, what I would wear and some positive self talk in there to encourage me to be strong, cues of things to think about while on the bike or run. I read it every day pre-race that week and committed those thoughts and plans to memory.

We arrived in CDA on a beautiful sunny Wednesday. CDA had unseasonably warm temperatures that day and the lake was glass. Our copper roofed house was situated right on the run course and lake. While a bit eclectic inside, and completely lacking of all window treatments, making for some early mornings, it was beautiful and perfect for the week. Bart and I lucked out with the first floor master and the view out our bedroom window was stunning.

We all took a dip in the lake that afternoon (without wetsuits), did a little grocery shopping and enjoyed steaks on the grill and a few glasses of wine. I felt remarkably calm and a little like I was on vacation.

My stomach, however, knew I was there to race and so from Thursday until race day, my body was pretty much like a sieve. I could eat anything and everything, because well, it just didn't stay with me very long. So I ate.

Each day leading up to the race, we swam in the lake to acclimate to its cold temperatures. And each day the water got colder and colder. In addition to being in the mid 50s, the water was choppy and had white caps most mornings. After my 20-25 minute swims, my feet and hands were frozen, and I had to concentrate on not feeling seasick. With each practice swim, my thoughts of a fast easy swim went out the door and my thoughts instead turned to survival and what am I going to wear?

We drove the bike course twice in the days before the race. I was SO pleased that it was flat or at least fairly flat for the beginning and end sections of the bike. And from the car, the middle section was definitely rolling but lacked the long steady climbs of Placid. I was encouraged and felt my 7 hour bike split goal was definitely within reach.

We did all the usual things pre-race - spent too much money at the IM store, packed our transition bags, ate, went for a little spin on the run course, went for a little shake out jog, ate some more, relaxed with our feet up, racked our bikes, got a little tune up ART (for my neck/shoulder that I tweaked on my last self induced LONG swim the week before IM), slept, visited Jamba Juice, bought toe and hand warmers and gloves. In fact, the most stressful part of the week was figuring out what to wear race day. The week was much colder than I had expected and due to the freezing water temperatures, I was really concerned that I would be cold on the bike. Ended up not using any of my newly purchased warm gear, but better safe than sorry.

For the most part, I did well pre-race. My anxiety levels were fairly low and I only had one break down - the night before, when we all went to bed. I must confess I cried a few nervous tears to Bart. He did a great job of calming me back down and telling me it was okay if I was last to finish in my group of training buddies but that he certainly had all the confidence in my goals and me. With my cry out of my system, and a myocalm to help me sleep soundly, we went to bed early and, for the most part I slept. A definite first for me.

Shamrock report

2011-03-30T15:42:00.000-04:00

First, I apologize for the boring presentation of my most recent blog postings. It seems that the only time I've had to post has been while mid air. And, you guessed it, I'm on the road again. This time it is for something fun! Tri Camp in Tucson, AZ with a bunch of other Jen Harrison athletes. And so it figures that my good travel karma has come to a close and our flight from Atlanta to Tucson (where I was so nicely upgraded) was cancelled. I'm instead typing this from my window seat (the worst possible for me) on my way to Dallas to catch another plane to Tucson. I only hope our bags and Kate's bike box make our new agenda. Thanks to fellow camper Melissa, my bike is getting picked up from TriSports. TriSports has been tremendous! and made it very easy to ship my bike to them. I promise the next time I post to add some pictures. Not sure how to do that from my iPad.

Shamrock was a mixed bag for me. As you know from my last post I was aiming for a sub2 hour time. But as you also know, I had been on the road in CA the week before and was a bit fatigued from work heading into the weekend. But I was optimistic and so on Saturday, after loading up our car full of dogs (we had Lulu, Mav and Oliver dog Sophie) we headed to the beach. Kate graciously offered accommodations at the Oliver house and we loved being able to crash in familiar surroundings with our fur kids. We joined Kate and the kids for a yummy Greek dinner and went to bed early. Unfortunately, my body clock was all off and I had another prerace surprise to deal with -cramps.

I ended up sleeping like crap with cramps and sweats through out the night. In addition, each time I woke, I heard the wind outside getting worse. When the alarm went off a 5, I was still feeling crampy and not race ready and broke down in a bunch of tears to Bart before deciding to suck it up and just see what happened. Kate O, poor thing, learned she had brought her old shoes with no insoles in them and no orthotics. Let's just say that as we headed to the start, we had no expectations on that cold and windy morning.

Our race plans were similar and so we decided to start together and see how it goes. I could tell Kate's legs were feeling fresh and mine, well let's say I was completely flat. I usually am able to cruise for a few miles of a race before I have to work at all. This was clearly not the case. I worked from mile 1 and from the start, my HRs were higher than normal. At mile 3, I decided to maintain my "warm up" pace around 9:20 and let Kate go. I figured that if I was able to hold this pace, I could find another gear mid way. Or at least I hoped. Mid way, I still had no extra gear. Try as I could to get into the 8s, that day was not my day. So I continued to push with what I had. The result was a very mentally tough 13.1 miles of which none felt good or easy or flew by. I did manage a PR of a few minutes but missed my sub 2 hour goal by 55 seconds. It will have to come in a different race. Kate had an amazing PR of 2:57 and some change and my other Richmond training buddies had PRs and some really strong races. It's great to see how much we've all improved over the past several years and how hard everyone continues to push themselves.

After a forbidden beer, we went to Pocohontas Pancakes where my surprise reward were some yummy gluten free pancakes! We returned to Chez Oliver, ran the dogs on the beach for a while and snuggled in for some tired afternoon naps.

Despite my disappointing performance run wise, I was still very proud of not quitting and hanging mentally tough. I worked for those miles like you have to work for miles at the end of a half ironman or Ironman when you aren't fresh and your body doesn't want to cooperate. That effort turned a disappointing race, less so and one I could be proud of.

Now, it's time to go get my butt kicked at Tri Camp! Mt. Lemmon here we come!

Maximizing Time

2011-03-18T16:17:00.000-04:00

So the last month hasn't been too different from the previous. A lot of work, a lot of travel and a lot of juggling. Since my last post I've been out to California two more times (I'm actually returning now) and have had multiple day trips in between. Not to whine about CA though. Both times have been week long stays in sunny Pasadena at the Langham-Huntington hotel. I highly recommend it if you are ever in the area. My favorite part of those stays has been the amazing weather. What's not to like about being able to sit outside in the evenings or anytime of day, or better yet swim in an outdoor pool!

I'm looking forward to things calming down a bit but Im not sure when they will. As it turns out with my litigation schedule, this year may not have been ideal to ramp up to Ironman training but I just need to try and manage things as best as I can and not sweat the small stuff. As coach Jen pointed out manage my stress bucket and try not to exceed it.

On the positive side, I had a great run test - improved by almost 20 secs per mile and also upped my wattage in my bike test. Have been trying to ride outside and hills since my near disaster first time ride outside and I feel like I am gradually starting to get back to form. This weekend will be my first test. Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach. Going for a time that has a 1 hr in it. Would be my first but there's nothing like going for it. Will report later.

On other notes, getting excited to head to Tucson at the end of the month for Camp. I can't wait to have a few days to escape and focus on nothing but getting it done in the pool, on the trails and on the road. I will have to admit I am a bit nervous about Lemmon (mainly descending it) but as Bart said, don't worry, it'll be just like climbing and descending two of Crabtree Falls. YIKES!

Crazy Busy

2011-02-05T15:12:00.000-05:00

January was a whirlwind to say the least. Work has been extremely busy. In fact, my billable hours last month likely rank up there as one of the top five. Certainly that is the case for the last few years. The work, however, is interesting and challenging, so while busy, it certainly could be much worse.

I've also been on the road a bunch - LA, Detroit, Toledo and Columbus. This week was my first full week in town since the new year. LA, of course, was my favorite. I was out there right before the Golden Globes and stayed in the Beverly Hilton - the actual site of the Golden Globes. Sunny, warm AND an outside pool to boot! Here is a picture of me on the red carpet. Had to talk the Security guard into even letting me get close.

Work and travel have made two of my goals - consistency and nutrition - very difficult. Getting in all of my workouts and proper recovery is one of my biggest challenges. No matter how hard I try to recover when traveling, I inevitably put in longer hours, and my workouts on the road often feel like crap - heavy legs, and just out of whack. And, work travel usually means work entertaining, which equals cocktails and meals out. Neither of which are on plan for me. Since I know this is where I struggle, I've been better than I have been in years past AND as coach says, I'm trying to be very present during the workouts I'm able to get in at home and even on the road. And as for food and wine, I'm trying to do the best I can particularly during the time at home.

On the food front, did anyone else watch the Oprah special featuring the Vegan Challenge? Great show, although I was a little disappointed with the emphasis the Vegan advocate put on processed non meat substitutes. Still very impressed with Michael Pollen. And, I think I found the proper word to describe the way I eat - that is Veganish. Predominantly vegan most days but on some things, including some meat and fish on occasion that I know the source of, I don't stay vegan 100 percent.

Am still continuing to love my TRX training and trails runs. And, I've added another workout "like" this month - Friday night date night with Bart at the pool post work. We do a long swim and then head out to dinner.

And finally, GO STEELERS!!!! Can't wait to cheer loudly and waive my terrible towel tomorrow!

Happy 2011!

2011-01-03T07:43:00.000-05:00

I would be lying if I said I've kept up with my goals I set in November for myself.
1. Off season weight loss - not so much - instead I think I've enjoyed every holiday treat and glass of wine and added to my new total loss to achieve pre CDA.
2. Blogging weekly - well since this is my first blog since end of November. . .
3. Consistency in training - Not great here either - December was chaotic to put it mildly and last week was the first week that I actually got in ALL of my training sessions since the first week of training with Jen.

But the good thing about a new year is it gives us each time to start anew. With a clean slate, an open mind and GOALS. I can put those lazy days of December, the extra desserts and glasses of wine, and the missed items on my to-do list behind me and just move forward.

So here's to a fresh start, to a great 2011 and reaching our goals! Happy New Year!

Hitting the Trails

2010-11-23T22:24:00.000-05:00

Last week was all about work, a little bike test, and trails.

I must confess, I still haven't figured out how to get in all of my workouts with work. I know though, that if I don't get my workout first thing, I'm unlikely to get it in after work, particularly if it is a tough one. Case in point, last week's power test. Originally on my schedule for last Friday, I postponed it because of my gluten incident. On Tuesday, it was on my schedule again. When the alarm went off at 5:30 am Tuesday morning, I hit snooze and thought, I'll just do it in the evening after work. Work is work though, and so at 6:30 pm, when I was leaving the office, and still had about 2 more hours of work on my plate for the evening, I skipped my power test and workouts and opted for some dinner, some more work and bed. The result, 2 workouts missed on Tuesday. I'm still learning, but on key workout days, mornings are a must if I'm going to meet one of my key training goals for the year - to be consistent.

As for the power test, I did get it in on Thursday morning. Kate joined me on her trainer for some extra motivation (she was doing her test too) and we cranked out our 20 minute TTs. I hope the saying is correct that you have to get a little out of shape during the off season, because I've certainly done so. My power levels were, to say the least, disappointing. Threshold power was down 11 watts lower than my already fairly weakling levels. So. . . definitely room for improvement.

Now, for the fun part. Trails. I really love trail running. While training for IMLP, Bart and I spent a lot of time running in Pocohontas State Park on the fire roads. During those runs, I loved the peace and beauty of the park and what felt like a communion with me and my goals, triathlon and otherwise. I haven't run much on the trails this year and last Saturday's run with the gals reminded me how much I love it. Trail running is a complete escape for me. I don't think about running or even my pace. Instead, I'm concentrating on the path before me and learning how to push myself based on feel, not necessarily a number on my Garmin. Saturday, some regular billy goats took some of us relative trail newbies on a tour of Belle Isle and Buttermilk trail. I've run these trails before but got to learn a new trail, appropriately named "the lost trail" on Belle Isle. The weather was the start of a perfect Indian summer day and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face at the end of the run. More trail running, and perhaps even a few trail races are in my future. My billy goat friends have me thinking hard about the Swinging Bridge 35K Trail Race in January.

As much as I loved the trails on Saturday, I dreaded them on Sunday. Somehow, after our trail run, I let myself get talked into mountain biking on Sunday with the crew. Shawn took pity on me (under a total excuse that she "needed" me to ride with her so she wouldn't have to ride alone) and the two of us took off on the "easy" single track while the others headed for the harder trails. As much as I hate to admit it, it wasn't as bad as I envisioned. I still managed to fall a few times and have a few bruises and scrapes to show. And yes, mountain biking is still way out of my comfort zone. I still have trouble with my pedals (this time getting in them, not out), and I still hate to go fast down hills, particularly when there are roots or I have to negotiate between hills. But, I did manage to find a smile or two during the day and thanks to Shawn's patience, got to build a bit more confidence.

A Fresh Start

2010-11-15T07:42:00.000-05:00

Today marks two weeks in the bank with my new coach. While a little startling to my body, since it had previously been in hibernation and R&R mode, I definitely missed training and that feeling of "good tired" after a workout.

My workouts have been a LOT different from what I'm used to BUT I love it. In the two weeks, other than perhaps going to Masters, no two things on my Training Peaks schedule have been the same. Did I mention that I LOVE the variety? Needless to say, I'm trying lots of new things, new crazy run drills, new cycling workouts (big gears and standing), yes. . . the MTB, LOTS of strength focused workouts and my favorite new thing, the TRX.

STRENGTH is a big focus of my winter workouts. Strength training is usually something that I skip and have not traditionally focused on in the past. As a result, I also think it has been one of my limiters in triathlon racing and performance, particularly on hillier courses and has made me more injury prone. SO STRENGTH is no longer a CAN SKIP workout but instead is a MUST. TRX training under the direction of my good friend SanDee and accompanied by my training buddy KATE is making it even more enjoyable. I am fortunate that our basement space has allowed us to hang 2 TRX's next to our "cycling room" so that both of us can train at the same time. AND, I am even more fortunate that SanDee is willing to come torture us once a week bright and early in the morning.

Other than keeping up with training, work has been keeping me PLENTY busy with a few day trips here and there to Virginia Beach, Chicago and this week Raleigh. One of my goals this year is to do improve fitting my workouts in with work. Consequently, I'm getting used to early morning workouts and even the occasional lunchtime run around Belle Island.

And finally, my food notes for the post. I've started using a new protein shake made by Vega - the Whole Food Optimizer. LOTS of yummy plant based protein and other cleansing things. While I had some "cleansing symptoms" of the worst kind associated with my first two uses of it (and particularly the ChlorEssence in it), my body is now acclimated to it. One half serving (one scoop) is only 120 calories, 3 g fat and 13 g of protein.

Lastly, after an incident last Thursday night eating out, I have confirmed that I absolutely CAN NOT have ANY gluten in my diet. Will post more about "The Incident" later.

So. . . here's to a fresh start and new things. Try something different out this week.

Trick or Treat

2010-11-01T08:02:00.000-04:00

I spent the last weekend of my training hiatus in Philly with Bart, Lulu and Mav visiting my sister and her family for Halloween. My weekend was mostly filled with treats.

I had a blast hanging out with my nieces, Kate and Emily and seeing them all worked up for Halloween. Kate, with her recently pierced ears, dressed as a cowgirl. Emily's costume was an adorable pink and white horse. Saturday morning, Kristen and I dropped Emmie off at ballet and enjoyed a quiet hour of conversation at the local coffee shop. When we got back home, we played with Emmie's pop bead jewelry set that I had gotten for her for her birthday and then carved pumpkins. (Kate and mine was the best I think). Bart and John came back from the farmer's market with a treat for me - two loaves of freshly made gluten free bread (which I needed since I had left my homemade pumpkin bread sitting on the counter in Richmond).

Bart and I then headed off to "downtown" Bryn Mawr by foot - a short run there, a tour of the local bike, tennis and running stores and then a short run back made a bit more awkward by our purchases. Saturday night we met a bunch of Kristen and John's friends and had a blast at their club playing paddle outside in the crisp fall air and getting to know their friends at the party that Kristen had organized just for us! Of course, we stayed up way to late, drank a bit of vino and ate too many goodies.

Sunday morning brought beautiful weather. John, all four dogs and I walked through the Bryn Mawr campus and then let the dogs romp around a bit more back at home. Then we all headed to their club for the annual Halloween party -- complete with costume contests for the kids, a DJ, kids oriented food, a haunted house and hayride.

Post party, we loaded up the car and headed home. The dogs slept the whole time, wiped out in the backseat from all of the playtime with their dog cousins. And, we made fairly good time getting back. About 20 minutes out, we called for the last treat of the weekend - pizza from Stuzzi. Stuzzi has become our favorite pizza place due to the fact that they make yummy personal sized gluten free pizza. When we arrived, however, the trick was on me. Bart went in to get the pizzas and the dogs and I waited in the car. About 5 or 10 minutes later, while I was getting impatient, my phone rang. It was Stuzzi. "I'm sorry ma'am, but we just ran out of GF pizza dough." My reply - "Did my husband ask you to call me?" Stuzzi -"No" Me - "Well he's been in the restaurant for about 10 minutes waiting on our pizza." Stuzzi "Oh, I think I see him. Would you like pasta instead (implied - and wait even longer while we cook it for you?") Me - "No just forget my pizza." Sulk. So we left Stuzzi with one regular pizza for Bart and me, in a bad mood, irritated and frustrated, wondering what I could find in our bare cupboards for dinner.

I don't whine much about having to eat GF, mainly because I feel so much better and I know that it is a direct result of my GF eating but sometime, it can be a real pain. There are definitely occasions like this weekend, when I wish I could eat the yummy looking Halloween sugar cookies with the orange and black icing that everyone was chowing down on or just be able to go into a restaurant and order whatever I want off the menu. But, the reality is, I can't. So, like last night, I need to just move on, try and make the best out of it (I made myself an artichoke burger with tomato sauce and a slice of cheese on it to satisfy my Italian craving) and celebrate the treats I do have in life.

Seasons

2010-10-24T20:19:00.000-04:00

Fall is the start of a new season. Leaves change, the air becomes crisper, football rules the weekend, Starbucks brings back their fall flavored lattes and the stores are full of our favorite fall foods - apples, pumpkins and squash of all types. I LOVE fall.

Fall for me this year was also the start of my off-season. After Patriots, I had planned to take some time off "normal" training levels, get some much needed R&R for my body and mind and spend some time cross-training on the mountain bike and tennis courts. Work, however, made my off-season closer to a complete break. One work week in Chicago, nearly two extremely busy weeks in Germany and another work week in Richmond but with clients in town made training with any regularity nearly impossible. I did manage to get a few runs in here and there, a mountain bike ride, a couple of bike rides and a time or two on the courts. I also managed to find lots of German chocolate and six unwanted "off-season" pounds. BUT no complaints. The last few months have been a complete change of pace. I got to see a beautiful new part of the world and even spend a fun and completely relaxing Indian Summer weekend at the beach with Bart, the furkids and the Oliver family.

Starting last Monday, it was time to start working out with regularity again AND get ready for my biggest change of the fall, training with a NEW COACH. Monday morning, I swam 5:30 am guppies with ProK. Wednesday's workouts included a quick spin, my first TRX training session with SanDee and some fun doubles with friends. Thursday - despite the sorest rear and hamstrings in a long time - I managed to jog four miles during lunch. Friday, I enjoyed the flexibility of the off-season and took the day off and baked and cooked for the W&M tailgate. Saturday - I got up early pre-game and did a 4.5 mile tempo run and today, enjoyed a gorgeous fall bike ride with friends and survived another session with the TRX. Gradually, my muscles are starting to remember what a good sore feels like and my body and mind are ready and looking forward to start training again.

Friday also included a visit with my fantastic and trusted nutritionist, Tina Shiver. I confessed my recent off-season sins -- namely too much sugar and wine, more dairy than my stomach is happy with and more meat than I probably ate over the course of three months this past summer. Consequently, starting today, I'm on a one week detox (no sugar, no alcohol, no red meat, no tomatoes, no peppers plus my Inflamx protein powder) and then a gradual reintroduction to my primarily vegan plus fish eating. Not a big protein eater, I was advised to "wrap my brain around" the concept that my off-season nutrition plan would include more protein and amino acids to promote recovery and support my strength building efforts. While day 1, pretty much sucks and all I can envision right now is chocolate, I'm also looking forward to the way I know my body feels when I'm eating clean.

FINALLY, a little bit about changing coaches. I am TOTALLY excited to be training starting November 1 with Jen Harrison! While I made great improvements over the years with EF and Coach Michael, it was definitely time for a change. I was ready for some new eyes, a new approach, and more feedback and communication with my coach. JEN is energetic, clearly loves coaching and competing, is a VERY talented AG athlete herself (in my age group), has tons of triathlon knowledge to share AND very important for me, her current athletes LOVE her. I can't wait!

Since she is a regular blogger herself, as are a lot of her athletes, one of my new goals of the season will be a weekly blog. Hope if there are any readers out there still following, you enjoy!

Patriot's Half Race Report

2010-09-17T08:19:00.000-04:00

Before weeks pass from my last race of the season, Patriot's Half Ironman, I figured I better skip over the last month and a half of activities and cut right to the chase . . . my race report.

Patriot's Half was not on my race schedule at the start of the year but after Eagleman, Bart and I decided to race a little closer to home this fall. Patriot's was a logical choice. Based in Williamsburg, near my college alma mater, a Williamsburg race had its appeal. Plus, it was close enough that my parents were willing to make the trip from Pittsburgh to sherpa and more importantly cheer us on.

The course has really improved since the race debuted four years ago. While the swim is still in the dirty James, the bike course is flat and predominantly along beautiful well-paved country roads and the run is on a combination of asphalt and crushed gravel paths. We pre-rode the course the week before Labor Day and I was looking forward to a speedy bike on race day. My big question mark would be the run, and, oh, the current.

Friday afternoon we headed down to Williamsburg for packet pickup and then met my parents at our B&B accommodations for the weekend, the Boxwood Inn. Our room in the Inn was beautiful - a big four poster bed with wonderful red linens -- and our innkeepers didn't flinch a bit when I asked to use the kitchen for our very early pre-race breakfast. After checking in and a bit of catching up with my parents, it was time for dinner. I've decided that it doesn't really matter what I eat the night before in terms of my stomach the next day, so I figured we would eat at a place I love, The Fat Canary. Like other times I've been there, the meal and service did not disappoint. I had amazing grouper, a salad and even some gluten free crackers to snack on pre-meal. Bedtime was 9 pm and haven't not slept very well the night before, I fell fast asleep.

Race morning was early as usually. Up at 4:15, try and eat -- piece of toast, banana and an half of an Odwalla smoothie. Dressed, car loaded and out the door at 5:15 am. My parents were good sports and joined us. After pumping my tires up, I left Bart to finish his set up and my mom and I headed to transition area. Soon after I arrived at transition, I was shocked to learn that the swim would be wetsuit legal. I was thrilled. I'll wear an wetsuit any day to protect me from the murky water in the James. :) I finished up my transition set up, visited the porta potty a few more times and headed down to the river to warm up.

After a quick warmup and instructions from Michael as to the direction of the current, I was ready. I seeded myself near the front of my wave and soon we were off. The initial start of the swim was a non-event, but as we headed out to the first turn buoy, the current in the river, directly against our swim direction was evident. Bodies were all over the river and no one seemed to be headed in the direction of the small orange buoys. I kept my course towards the first yellow buoy and pulled, pulled, pulled. Only, the turn buoy wasn't getting much closer. After what seemed like forever, I rounded the first turn buoy, took a few strokes, and seemed to be on top of the second buoy in no time at all. From this buoy, to shore there were no guide buoys and the sun was right in our eyes, even through my shaded goggles. I swung a little too wide and ended up a bit off course. After a few corrections, I was soon in water too shallow to swim in. I dolphin dove a few times and then waded my way into shore. Wetsuit off and I ran the long run up to transition, thankful to be out of the water and looking forward to hammering it on the bike.

In T1, I shoved my sunglasses down the front of my tri suit (they were fogged from the cool morning dew), put on my new hibiscus flowered aero helmet and ran out of T1. Once onto my bike, I settled in a bit getting out of the park and onto the first road before putting on my shoes and getting down to business. The air temperatures still had some chill and I had a big smile thinking of my next few hours. I settled in on the bike, started my nutrition and wondered when I would see my work colleague Ryan. My hope was to hold him off on the swim and bike for as long as possible since I knew he had some fast feet. Around mile 20, I heard, hey Bethany, looking good as Ryan rode by. He then became my carrot for the next miles. After the turn onto a super fast road around the halfway point, I caught him and passed. At mile 40, I had a water bottle handoff snafu and ended up pulling over for a minute while I got hold of a bottle and poured it into my aero bottle. Back in motion, I passed Bethany Church and was back on Route 5 for the last 20 miles back to transition. These miles were harder than the pre-ride for me, primarily because of the slight head wind I was feeling in places. I got my last bit of nutrition in and was back to T2 soon enough.

At T2, I quickly got into my favorite running flats, grabbed 2 gus and my visor and headed out. My goal for the run was to run like I have been doing my tempo runs leading up to the race. My pace goal was to stay below 10 minute pace. And, since I left my water belt in transition, that meant, no walking except when necessary through the aid stations. The first six miles went by fairly smoothly and my pace felt hard but good. After a mile and a half into the course, my carrot passed me and I knew I had to keep my pace high if I had any chance to hold on to my 6 minute lead. The run course is great - mostly shaded and the variety of surfaces kept my mind off of the distance. Near the end of the first loop, I passed Bart on his second loop and he cheered out "Hey Sweet Pea, your smokin... keep it up." I knew the next 6 miles would be less comfortable and sure enough around mile 8 and 9 they were. In T2 I had left my salt tablets and while I was drinking the Heed they had on the course, I knew my body needed salt and that I was on the verge of goose bumps. I tried to get some salt and/or more calories in me with coke at the aid stations but contrary to the advertised supplies, there were no salt tablets or coke. Chex mix does nothing for this gluten free girl. Finally, just short of the 10 mile marker, I ran up on an EF teammate who was struggling a bit, but thankfully had an extra salt tablet. We walked through the aid station together and then jogged side by side for a while. I knew she was a stronger runner than me so if I could keep pace, which by then although the same pace I had been running was far less comfortable, I would be able to make my goal. At the next aid station, I dropped back a bit but was determined to keep her in sight. Mind over legs I told myself and that this was the time in the run to prove what I could do. I knew my run was close to a PR half run for me so I made myself continue to run as best I could between aid stations. After a hard 2 miles, I was back into the park and rounding the corner to the finish. I had no clue what my total race time was like but knew I had had a solid bike and run. So I dug in and ran to the finish. As I crossed the finish line, I finally saw a clock. 6:06.... At first, in my half delusion, I thought I had gone sub-6 since I was under the temporary impression that my wave was 9 minutes behind, but I quickly realized it was only 6 minutes. I knew 6 hours would be close, and even though the final results told me I was a minute and 2 seconds past my goal, I was still proud. I knew my swim wasn't my best, the bike was almost a mile long but I had still managed a 10 minute PR and a great way to end my season. Next year, that minute and 2 seconds will serve as motivation.

My race stats: 11/31 in my age group. 51/155.
Swim: 43:40 T1: 3:42 Bike: 2:58.01 T2: 2:01 Run: 2:13.40

Kona Paradise

2010-07-31T18:36:00.000-04:00

Our trip to Kona was absolutely a trip to paradise.

Our journey there was to celebrate SanDee and Gregg's 10 year anniversary with a re-enactment. But, we also got lots of time to explore the Big Island, play in the ocean and swim/bike/run on the IM course. I even got to meet one of my favorite IM pros, Bree Wee and her adorable sidekick Kainoa at snorkel beach.

But enough of my words, here are some of my favorite shots and memories:

The Best Breakfast at Lava Java

DB and I with our new friends

Old Lava Tube at the Volcano

Swimming with the Honu

Sunset

Mai Tais and fresh leis on arrival

The Happy Couple

Bike Rides, Le Tour and New Bars

2010-07-05T20:58:00.000-04:00

The holiday weekend has been filled with lots of fun bike rides through new spots in and around Richmond and lots of time watching the Tour. Saturday morning we rode on the east end through town on a course that began at fellow Guppy Bryan's house. 12 of us rolled through the beautiful countryside of New Kent and Mechanicsville. My goal for this ride was to throw out the power meter and HR monitor and just ride for fun... push it when I wanted to and spin when I didn't. My ride was much improved from the weekend before. I actually had some legs but still need to do quite a bit of hill work. Most importantly, it was the most fun I had on the bike in some time and reminded me how much I love to just ride. After the ride, it was pancakes courtesy of Bryan and Nikki. I brought my GF mix and the fresh blueberries that his kids picked the day before made our post ride fuel perfect.

Chef Bryan

Part of the hungry crew...

On the way home, we stopped at a local farmers market and loaded up with lots of local fresh veggies to get us through the next few days. The Hanover tomatoes are the best!

Today, we headed out again, joined by much of the same group and a guest appearance by the the sponsored rider and his wife. Today's ride started south of the river and headed west through Powhatan and Goochland. Although allegedly a "recovery" ride on the bike, the pace was not recovery pace and the terrain out west seemed on a gradual climb. I worked hard on the way out, but managed to keep a wheel, thanks in part to Bart's domestique skills to bring me back to the group when I did get separated. After the store stop in Maidens, we crossed over the James and headed back east on River, before the sponsored athlete took us back across the river via the prison. Yes, you read that right, the prison. The prison owns a beautiful piece of property that borders both sides of the James. So we used their cut through route to get back on the south side. Despite being faster paced than I had anticipated, it was still a great ride, a fun time with friends, and I was pleasantly pleased with what I had in my legs.

Other than bike rides of our own, we've been watching the Tour. I love this time of year. There is nothing better than getting to be able to watch hours of cycling through the amazing French (and surrounding country) countrysides. I must confess I become a bit of a Tour addict. This year is even more fun having met some of the Cervelo Test Team guys at the Tour of California.

And finally. . . week one of my eating plan has gone fairly well. Lots of big salads for lunch, fish for dinner and even some new protein shakes. My stomach felt great when I stuck with that diet and slightly less so when I diverged with some grass fed beef and wine on Friday night and some 4th of July barbeque on Sunday. So today, it was back to cleaner eating.

I also made some homemade recovery bars/balls this weekend that were extremely yummy. Based on a recipe posted by Bree Wee, they had dates, coconut, walnuts, lime juice and cranberries. Mix everything in the food processor, roll into balls and bake at 350 for 7 minutes. Will make a great mid-day snack or pre-morning workout bite to eat.

Hope everyone had a great Fourth!

An Experiment in Eating

2010-06-30T07:53:00.000-04:00

For those of you who know me, you know that food and my body are not always friends. While I love to eat, cook and think about food, food and my digestive system don't always agree. For the last 2 1/2 years, I've made significant strides in improving this relationship with the help of a fabulous nutritionist and friend, Tina Shiver. She thankfully diagnosed my wheat and gluten intolerance and that in itself has changed my life dramatically. But we continue to try and fine tune my diet, not only to allow me to get to a healthy "race weight" but predominantly to get my system back to "normal" and healthy functioning.

Recently, I been reading up on endurance athletes and other high level athletes who switch from a normal diet to a plant based diet -- i.e. a vegan diet. Hillary Biscay, Rich Roll, Brendan Brazier, Martina Navratilova and Carl Lewis to name a few. All espouse to have found new energy and fitness with a plant based diet. Coupled with this, I just finished reading Omnivore's Dilemma. If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it! Pollen doesn't draw conclusions for you but explores the food industry in a very straightforward, openminded way. And, I suppose the third factor may be that despite my already fairly restricted diet, my stomach and energy levels haven't been great.

So, I've decided to do a little experiment in eating. My goal for now is to gradually begin to switch my diet to a predominantly plant based diet. What does that mean? It means that fish -- wild caught and local to the extent possible- or the occasional pastured, grass-fed lean meat -- will be the source of protein for only one of my meals during the day. And, if I don't know where it is from or how it was raised, I'll stick to plants. For my other meals, it will be veggies, fruit, beans, nuts and non-gluten grains. Lunch in particular is a big green leafy salad with lots of veggies and beans. Milk products are out for now too -- they've been causing havoc lately for me anyway. Smoothies (with rice/hemp protein powder) will likely also be a standard staple.

I'm curious to see how I feel and how my body reacts to these changes. In the meantime, I'll be trying lots of new recipes and spending more time at our local farmer's market. Last night was sea bass fish tacos (baked sea bass wrapped in cabbage leaves with homemade guac, salsa) and quinoa. Yummy!

One week away

2010-06-06T14:41:00.000-04:00

My "A" race for the season, Eagleman, is one week away and needless to say my thoughts are all over the place going into this race. Despite a winter focus on the bike and tons of progress in January and February, I feel like my bike has gone backwards each month since April. Very few rides have felt strong and on most, I've struggled to make my power goals. Yet some day's I've seen a glimmer of hope -- a strong ride in the mountains at Wintergreen, a great double brick the other week. My run, for the most part, has been decent and certainly looking like the most promising for improvement. My demon for the run however will certainly be the heat and humidity that arrived a few weeks ago and hasn't left since. While I've tried to make the heat my friend and workout in the hot temperatures to acclimate, my body's reaction to it certainly isn't consistent and definitely not welcoming.

With one week left, what training is done, is done and now I need to continue to work on the mental part. My goals for next Sunday are within my grasp if I lay it out there and believe. Time to focus

Three for Three

2010-05-09T17:43:00.000-04:00

The Spring race season began in March for me with the Monument Avenue 10K, and today I finished my third race, the Kinetic Sprint. All in all, its been a great Spring season for me. Three races and three PRs. Can't beat that!

The one I am most proud of is the first, the Monument Avenue 10K. Since Ironman, I'd been plagued with an irritated left hip and a case of plantar fascitis. I spent the winter in rehab at least once a week and really didn't begin any run training until January (when I gave up on the fact that my left foot would ever feel 100%). The winter for me was all about the bike. So, when the 10K arrived, I hadn't logged many miles (7 was my longest run) and had only done one track session. On race day, I had no expectations, only to just push myself as hard as I could. And I did. Weather was perfect and on the chilly side AND this year, ipods were allowed. So I ran with my favorite pick me up tunes and worked hard. The reward? My left foot somehow cured itself during the run and I got a huge PR time of 53:27 and a overall pace in the 8:30s.

Fast forward to April and race 2 of the season. Rumpass in Bumpass. I missed this one last year and was excited to race local this year. While I had a big race on my calendar last year, I didn't do any shorter local races, and I missed the fun of seeing all those familiar faces and teammates and getting to race close to home. Race morning as usual had me a basket of nerves. Thankfully we had made the trip to Lake Anna the night before and had picked up our packets early. Had I had to wait in line and watch the chop on the Lake, my nerves may have gotten the best of me. The swim was by far one of the tougher swims I've done, including the ironman. I don't do great in chop and feel woozy out there on the water as I feel like I'm being tossed around. My prevailing thought during the swim was the faster I swam, the faster I'd be out of it. Not my best swim time, but given the conditions, I'll take it. The bike was great. A nice mix of rollers and flats and I just kept hammering away with my eye on a 1:15 bike split. I felt strong throughout, was pretty close and so went into transition with hopes of a good race. Then the run. Not my best, but not my worst either. I felt great the first few miles, even with the hills on the course. My pace was on target and I thought, given my 10K, I might just be able to hang on. That all changed around mile 3 and the hill back up to the turn around. My HR at this point was so high, the sun was hot and, I walked. Which, competitive type A me, hates. After a race where I walk I always second guess myself. Really, did you need to walk? Could you not have just slowed it down a little and shuffled? Anyway, it was during one of these walks in the woods back to the finish that I lost a place in my age group, so perhaps that's why I'm tough on myself. But that memory of being passed will hopefully push me harder and next time, it'll be a shuffle, not a walk. Despite my less than stellar run, I did manage to hang on and put together a great race for me. A little hard to compare to others because some distances were different in the last OLY I raced, but for me it was the first time under 3 hours, a big PR and I was definitely proud. Finish time 2:52.52. My age group brought a tough showing this race including my college sorority sister, Deb, who crushed it with 2:30.

Which brings me to May and my third race of the season. Given the first two races of the year, I set my expectations pretty high. I had really hoped to be in the 1:30 somethings coming across that finish line. And, well, I came up short. So... here's the recap of today. Swim, a little choppy and definitely not warmed up for the start. At the first buoy, I felt like I had no composure and no great feet to follow either. Somewhere in the second leg of the swim, I found my normal breathing and could begin to push it home. I'm not sure of my splits yet, but my Timex said around 15 min. Strong enough and an improvement over the last swim in Lake Anna. Then, it was time for my 3 Stooges routine in T1. Bart always has a hard time with his wetsuit and I never could understand, until today. I could not get my left leg out of my wet suit for anything. I pulled, hopped and eventually plopped myself down and yanked. I'm pretty sure my T1 time was one of the longest ever. That plus the fact that I chickened out and put my cycling shoes on in T1 cost me lots of time. On the bike, I pushed hard, but never felt like I was sailing through the bike course. A few spots were a bit hairy with the disk wheel I borrowed and the side winds across the lake. I also need to learn how to descend stronger (no surprise here) and corner. I leap frogged with Mary from Team Z throughout the bike. She'd fly by me on the descents and around the turns and I'd pass her again on every flat and particularly every hill. I clearly needed some bigger big girl panties to really charge fearlessly down those descents. That, or perhaps a pre-race practice ride. Anyway, Mary won the race into T2 but I was determined at that point to catch her on the run. T2 was slightly better, but only slightly. I couldn't get out of my shoes on the descent (timed it poorly) so I again ran in my shoes and then wasted time at my transition spot fumbling getting into my running shoes. Out of T2, the first steep hill felt like a mountain but gradually, my breathing leveled, my pace quickened, and I began to find my legs and focus on the green Team Z shirt ahead of me. By the time we made our first turn, I caught her and I was determined to not let her pass and regain some of the time I lost coming up the big hill. So I ignored my watch, and just focused on my turnover and pushing as hard as I could. At the turn around, I heard the sweetly spoken words, "Hey B." My EF teammate Susie had caught me on the run. I laughed, swore (sorry Susie) and then tried to keep pace with her quick little legs, but couldn't. Instead, my mantra became to keep her in my sight. At the next turn, I knew I was home free. The rest was down hill and even though my lungs burned and I'm sure the next town could hear me breathing, I was determined to make it a strong finish. My run was right on target, and surprisingly for me, the best leg of my three today. Negative splits all the way with an average pace of 8:30 (And, btw, the Garmin says that run was long). The best compliment of the day was my new Team Z friend coming up to me after the race and telling me I crushed her on the run. My finish time of 1:45.14, although short of my goal, was still improved over the last time I did the race two years ago by almost 4 minutes. And, all in all, it was a fun day. Great teammates and a darn great workout.

Next race is the big dance. Eagleman is right around the bend on June 13. Until then, gotta keep working hard to make it 4 for 4.

Time Flies

2010-02-06T12:32:00.000-05:00

The last month was a whirlwind. Snow, travel to New York and London, an important client visit and entertaining and attempts to keep training throughout. By the end of last weekend, and in time for our second big snow storm, my body had enough, and I woke up Friday with a bout of the stomach flu. It cleared by Saturday, in time for my long ride and some snow shoveling.

Here are some pictures from the month.

Me -- getting my award -- more gadgets at the Carnival of Misfit Triathletes:

Bart getting his award . . . several pairs of new gloves to wear during winter long runs . . .

A few shots from my trip to London for work. Unfortunately, during the times I had free, it was dark outside so the pictures aren't plentiful or good quality. My favorite British things? The red phone booths scattered everywhere, their love of champagne cocktails, the theater, and my hotel's gluten free breakfast!

And finally, our house has been transported into the snow belt. As I type this, we are in our third major snow storm of the winter. Here are some pictures from last weekend's dump.

Happy New Year and Letterboxing

2010-01-01T19:01:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!!!!

Yesterday Bart and I headed to the Outerbanks to spend New Year's Eve and the following weekend with friends. It has been four years since Bart and I first traveled to Nags Head together for the New Year. This story may embarrass him a bit but. . . oh well.

Bart and I had just started dating, but you could say were fairly smitten with each other early on. The sponsored athlete and his wife SJG were gracious enough to invite us down for the holiday. As we traveled out Route 168, we spied another friend of ours, slightly ahead of us in traffic. And that's when my bike geekiness started. Bart exclaimed. . . "no worries, we are in the peleton. We will capture the breakaway car."

"What?" I exclaimed? At this point, I hadn't ridden a bike other than a beach cruiser since college and my bike racing vocabulary was non-existent.

Bart went on to exclaim the philosophy of the peleton and the break away as he continued to chase our friend down the road.

Needless to say, four years later, our cars license plates aptly are named "Brkway" and "Pelton" short hand of course for peleton and break away. And I, am not only smitten with Bart, but am absolutely smitten by the sport of cycling.

As is normal for trips to the beach with the sponsored athlete and friends, they are fun filled with adventure. Yesterday, after the rain clouds dispersed, we toured the sound side of the Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills and Kitty Hawk with a 30 mile bike ride. After a little relaxation, and cocktails, it was on to card games, champagne for the New Year and of course, some fierce competitions on the Wii.

Today's adventure, however, was a great start to the New Year. As usual, my friends KB and SS were up to their usual mischief which is only heightened by adventures into the woods. Today, they lured SG, TG 40 and I off to embark on a leisurely run. After we got in the car, they revealed the true plan for the day. . . letterboxing.

It couldn't have been a better adventure for the first day of the 2010. Our adventure took us to Nags Head Woods where there was a great 4 mile running/hiking trail. As we jogged on the trails, KB read out running directions and clues to our first treasure. . . a Letter box - probably 3 miles into our trail run, hidden under a bark-less stump. In letterboxing, someone leaves a rubbermaid box containing a log book, and a stamp. On www.letterboxing.org they post directions and clues to its location. When you find the box, you log the date, your name and, if you have your own stamp, your stamp. Then, you return the box to its rightful place and move onto your next treasure hunt.

Our adventures today lead us on a fantastic trail run (sorry coach - I did run the whole thing), Starbucks (it was cold out), a treasure find at the welcome center and, a third letter box along the Virginia Dare Trail.

My letter boxing adventure today pretty much summed up some of my "resolutions" for the New Year -- have more fun in sport, push myself to try new things and, on occasion push myself outside my comfort zone, spend time enjoying those around me - my family and friends, and be a little frugal (letterboxing is a ton of adventure and its FREE!)

So friends, here's to finding new treasures in your life in 2010!

Off-Season Progress

2009-12-09T17:51:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting in the airport at St Louis with still another hour before my flight leaves (I've already been waiting 2) and figured I should use the time to update my blog since the last half hour was spent reading everyone elses' more diligently posted and colorful entries. I really need to take more pictures. Maybe my new Mac will inspire me.

Even though it is the off season, I have been making progress on some of my off season goals. Priority number one is to get healthy again. I saw Dr. Dec again this past Monday. She is happy with my progress in PT and has officially released me to do 15 minutes of running, outside, on flat surfaces only sandwiched between walk sessions, a few times a week. She also didn't scold me too badly for trying to run a few times for a limited number of minutes before I was officially released. I still have 6 more sessions of PT to attend and then, if I feel good, I am released to my own plan and don't even have to come back in to see her. So, even though PT has seemed slow and a little unstructured for my taste, I plan to stick with it and hopefully be back on the roads in January.

My post Ironman lbs are also slowly coming off and I'm continuing to reshape my body. The pounds aren't falling off as fast as they do for those Biggest Loser contestants, but I have managed to lose 6 since October and my suits are baggy again. My biggest challenge is still the glass or two of wine, particularly in the holiday season. I know it is unrealistic to cut it out completely with the holiday party circuit starting in earnest, but I've at least vowed to cut all non-party wine. For some reason, which Tina explains much better than I ever could, my body metabolizes wine like fat and I can't lose or get leaner while drinking wine. So, the plan is to maintain or maybe even drop a pound or two more between now and the New Year and then come January, its time for some real focus and hopefully those last 9 lbs will disappear. I wish Subway would pay me $1000 for every lb I would lose.

As for the bike, I'm spending lots of time with it and my new power meter. I still haven't quite figured out training with it. The first few rides, my HR zones and power meter zones didn't match up well so we've had to do a bit of adjusting. And, unfortunately, or fortunately, my power zones have gone up which only means I have to work out harder. Right when I was starting to get the hang of it, my Quark started acting a little crazy and sending out numbers that the pros generate. While I would love to generate those numbers, they are no where in my repetoire and so it is back at the manufacturer this week getting a tune up. This month's progression on the bike has had lots of threshold intervals -- no fun, but hopefully they'll help me build some more speed for next Spring.

Finally tennis. . . I've been really enjoying spending a little time on the courts during this off season. I pretty much stopped playing this summer while training for the Ironman for fear I'd injure myself. Now that the off-season is here, and mixed doubles season starts in January, it was time for me to get back out there. Bart and my ratings both got bumped up this year so we'll be playing on a higher level team this winter. This means we both need to find our A games if we are to have any chance to win. Bart's A game is at least close by. Mine will take some work to find. Thankfully all of the work with triathlon training has made me faster on the court and more aware of my surroundings. So if I can get some timing back and learn a few new skills, I might be okay. The last few Monday night's I've skipped my cycling and instead opted for an intense set of drills and clinic with 3 other gals. The change of pace has been great and I've realized I missed the sport.

Will have to get on the Christmas wagon this week and finish up some shopping. That is, unless I decide to head to Philly on Friday to watch the Tribe play their nemisis Villanova in the semis of the FCS playoffs. GO TRIBE!

Even more about THE BIKE

2009-11-10T20:55:00.000-05:00

When I posted Sunday about the Bike, I didn't realize how much "the Bike" would be the focus of my off season. Then came Monday and my visit to Dr. Dec.

Since April, I've been struggling with hip pain and before that plantar fasciatis. Dr. Herring and Dr. Green got me through training and to be honest, both felt pretty good come time for Ironman. I fully expected the tweaks of pain to go away completely in my rest weeks. But they haven't. And, in fact, my left side has become more plagued than it was before.

So I made my appointment and kept my fingers crossed that she would have my magic cure. Maybe not a magic cure, but she does have a plan. Unfortunately, I don't like it. It seems my right weak side and my rather immobile left foot have lead to huge kinetic issues on my left side -- my left hip, my left foot and a bunch of places in between. So until I fix those issues with PT, I'm on "no run" orders. I can cycle all I want, swim, strength train, run in the pool, do the elliptal but no running.

It stinks, makes me anxious and I don't like it at all, but at the same time, I want to start January feeling like a million bucks. Strong, injury free and ready to put in a hard season without getting sidelined. So, I'm trying to keep an open mind. I'll listen and put my efforts into getting better and riding faster. I've got a fun new mountain bike to ride and a new road frame on the way so its a great time to be all about the bike. Anyone up for a ride?

Detox Diet and "The Bike"

2009-11-08T20:08:00.000-05:00

This week has been busy. Winter workouts started at EF and its been so much fun to train with friends again. Somehow planks and time on the trainer seem to go a little faster when there are friends to groan with you and hear your sore muscle complaints the next day.

My focus this week has been on two things -- detoxing my diet and the bike. As for the detox, I have now been 8 days without alcohol and 7 days without candy and 7 days back on my "diet." I think the first few days were the worst although Friday brought some serious candy cravings and Saturday night out at friends without any vino was challenging. But, I am seeing some success and that is keeping me going. So far, my weight is getting close to IM weight again and my stomach is feeling great. Not sure if it is the detox itself or the addition of my shakes made with UltraInflmx back in my daily routine.

The weather this weekend has been perfect. Sunny skies, great temperatures. Perfect for being outdoors. Saturday morning SanDee, Kate, DB and I went for a long ride out onto the rural roads of Goochland and Rockville. Nothing too crazy and a great fall ride.

After our ride, I headed to 3 Sports to pick up ... "The Bike." Much to my chagrin, when we went into pick it up and handed Ben my normal, regular old pedals, he exclaimed, "No way. I'm not putting those on this bike. Where are your clipless pedals?" "At home," I meekly replied. "Well you need to put them on your bike. I'm taking this pair." So. . . after jokes about life insurance, I walked out of the shop with my beautiful new Titus and even more scared about my MTB escapades that were scheduled for Sunday. Bart "kindly" put my new pedals on my bike when we got home and my cleats on my new yet to be worn MTB shoes and I headed off ot the pool for a swim and tried to put them out of my mind.

This morning, we put my bike on the trainer and I practiced clipping in and out of my new pedals. They feel tighter than my road pedals and I'm definitely not as skilled at getting in or out of them. After about 10 minutes of in and out, I figured I probably will go down at somepoint. So, it might as well be my first day. Bart and I met Shelley and Karen at Pocohontas for the ride. After a tour of the parking lots so I could practice my pedals and we go use the bathrooms one last time, we headed out for the easy singletrack. Shelly hung back during the beginning and game me my first lesson in handling -- stand with your pedals even when you aren't pedalling. Easier said than done for a non-stander like me but it definitely made sense. Karen rode lead so that I could see someone's lines and Shelly followed with advice. Standing definitely felt wierd - particularly going down hill which I already dislike anyway -- but I did okay and my first topple over was a pretty soft fall. Then we came to the creek. At the creek, the trail winds down a fairly big right turn, over a narrow bridge and then up a fairly sharp climb. The last time Bart and I rode and we came to the creek, I got off, walked my bike across the bride and up the hill and remounted. This time I intended to do the same thing. But my teachers had other things in mind. My refusals fell onto deaf ears and soon I was on my bike with Shelly in front holding me back and she and Karen guiding me slowly down towards the creek. At the bottom I pedaled hard up the other side, and ... ooops, over Karen's wheel before I went down. Once on the other side, they made me do it again. They tried for a third, but I drew the line and just kept riding, after I denounced them as friends.

After my hands stopped shaking and my breathing leveled, the rest of the ride was less dramatic. I felt a little steadier as the ride continued but still not at ease. After one loop, and no injuries, we headed back to the cars. I love my new moutain bike and despite the fear am having fun pushing myself so far outside of my comfort zone. Next week, we have a plan to meet again. They tell me we'll ride longer and on a little harder trails which is intimidating but at the same time, I can't wait.

Giving

2009-11-01T15:58:00.005-05:00

Feeling a little inspired by the giving spirit of pro Bree Wee and since this is the month of Thanksgiving, the theme for this month for me is giving.

First, the real giving. I've declared war on my closets and drawers. Its time to clean house and give to those who need it more than I the loads of extras in my closets and drawers that I really don't need or wear. Last weekend, I tackled half of my closet and one trunk of sweaters. This weekend, I made it through 5 drawers and the weekend isn't over yet. Already I have stacks of clothes set out to give. Not only does it feel good to clean house, I'm hoping it helps some others.

Second, a different kind of giving. Yep, giving two of my favorite things up . . . one for at least the next two weeks, and the other, for the month. Weight loss for me is one of the hardest parts of my training regimen. Even when I am 100% disciplined, it just doesn't come easy. One of my goals for the off season has been to lose 14 lbs. For the last month, I've "tried" unsuccessfully. There have been a lot of social events over the past month -- Bart's bday, my reunion -- so my discipline has wavered, and, in particular over the weekend. After last week at Tina's, it was clear. If I really want to do this, I need to give up two things - wine and processed sugars in things like candy. Today is day 2 on the wine and day 1 on the candy. Last night, on Halloween I stocked up with at least 4 mini candy bars. Oops! So, training partners. Keep me honest.

Post rain run photo . . .

Winter training classes at EF officially started today. After a run in the rain, Bart and I went to UR for a Sunday swim with team EF. EF has added a new swim coach, Rob, who has coached newbies, Division 1 and some serious swimmers. Am hoping that he, along with Coach K, can get my swim to the next level over the winter. Swim was fun . . . some new drills, and I even survived being in the same lane as Barracuda Bart without being lapped. Good thing we did short intervals today :)

Tired out.

Masters

2009-10-13T07:58:00.002-04:00

Masters last night after a nearly two month layoff from the pool was tough. In fact, it down right sucked, particularly the IM part. I felt inefficient, like a rock and laughed when my arms on my last set of fly barely flew over the surface of the water.

Our workout:
300 warmup (50 fr, 25 7k switch)
300 (fr, back, free, br)
2 x 50 build
Main set
6 x 300
0 fly, fr, bk, fr, br, fr x 2
e 3 X 100 r:5

I didn't worry about intervals, just getting the job done.

At the end of my 2500 meters, I was glad I went. Arms of rubber and wiped of energy, but still smiling.

Getting Back on Plan

2009-10-11T20:07:00.005-04:00

This week really deserved a few updates . . . but by evening's end, I've chosen some Kona week catch up and of course, some much needed zzzs.

Monday, I started back "on plan." I was ready. Despite my occasional runs, rides and swims since IMLP, I didn't do a very good job keeping consistent or, for that matter, in tip top shape. And, without Coach checking in, it was often easy to sleep in or skip a workout. I definitely needed the break, mentally and physically, but now I'm ready to jump back in.

Kona week was perfect inspiration to get my groove back on. I'll admit it; I was a Kona week junkie. Every morning, I logged back onto Ironman.com to listen to the daily podcast and read the newly posted human interest stories. I read each of my favorite pro blogs with eagerness to see what Ironman week activities they had on their schedule.

My own schedule this week included a trainer ride, a scorching bike ride on Wednesday after work with some Guppies where I held on to Bart and Travis' wheels for dear life in the hope I wouldn't cause them to fall too far off the lead pack, a run with Parker, a run on my own with a little time barefoot in the grass, weights, a run in my old haunt with Deanna and SanDee and a reevaluation with Dr. Green. Despite my slack schedule post ironman and the minimal miles on the road, my hip and right foot are still not 100%. I learned I need some orthotics and above all, I learned I need to NOT SKIP MY WEIGHT TRAINING. It appears I have very tiny lateral stability muscles and so my hip collapses when I run causing my issues. So starting next week, I'll have 3 days of weight training aimed at strengthening those muscles and my core. And, I am not allowed to follow my usual m.o. and get in my cardio but not my weights.

The highlight of the week was a metric century in Salisbury, MD, the Seagull Century. On Friday late afternoon, SanDee, Deanna and I loaded up SanDee's car with our bikes and gear and headed up the eastern shore to Salisbury, MD. We hit lots of traffic so we stopped at Cape Charles for dinner. We discovered a charming little town and a great restaurant, Aqua. After another hour on the road, we arrived at our accommodations for the evening, the EconoLodge in Princess Anne. Definitely not luxury, but it worked for the evening and we all got some good zzzs. The weather didn't cooperate with our plans and we woke on Saturday morning to dark skies and a prediction of rain. The prediction turned into a downpour right as we were parking near the start. We almost bagged completely, but decided to grab some coffee and wait out the rain. It stopped and so we pulled our bikes out and headed to the start line. The ride was great! Well marked, flat, extremely well supported, great rest stops and best of all, fun riding partners. We took it easy the first 20 miles, hammered the next 20 and then gave the strong headwinds a fight for the last 22. At the finish, we were all glad we had decided to ride and planned to put it on our "to do" list again.

I got back Saturday night just in time to watch Chrissie Wellington beat Paula Newby-Fraser's record at Kona. She is truly amazing. I loved watching the emotion just pour out of her at the finish line. You can tell she loves what she does. I also got to see our local Richmond 3Sports fast guy Adam Otstot cross under 9:30. Technology is awesome!

So I end my week headed back on track with workouts and adding a trip to Kona during race week to my bucket list. Bart better get busy training ;)

It's a Beautiful Day

2009-10-02T13:15:00.005-04:00

The first song on my two favorite running mixes is Beautiful Day. Needless to say, I was psyched when Kate O invited Bart and I to join she and Joe for U2. And last night, U2 did not disappoint. The concert was incredible . . . a great mix of old favorites and great arrangements of new stuff that quite honestly I hadn't followed too closely (but will be adding to my ipod). The icing on the cupcakes so to speak was the awesome company of friends outside of our usual training mode, a limo ride and of course, Kate's infamous cupcakes.

Our limo awaits. . . Joe, thankfully, didn't have to chauffeur.

Cheers!

Tyler's chillin pre-concert

Greg, Kendall and Brooke

And, I leave you with the playlist from last night just in case you want to hear it all again. . .

Breathe
Get On Your Boots
Mysterious Ways
Beautiful Day / The Hands That Built America (snippet)
No Line On The Horizon
Magnificent
Elevation
Your Blue Room
New Year's Day
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
The Unforgettable Fire
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
Sunday Bloody Sunday
MLK
Walk On

encores:
One / Amazing Grace (snippet)
Where The Streets Have No Name
Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
With Or Without You
Moment of Surrender

Hello Again

2009-09-27T20:20:00.003-04:00

Yes, I have still not posted my Placid Race report. I did finish. And, I'm not sure why, but I just can't get motivated to put the amazing experience of that race week down on paper. Certain moments of that week are still so fresh in my mind and heart, others have gotten a little fuzzy. I know I'll want to look back on it when I do the next one. . . so its on my to do list. I promise.

In the meantime, I've been enjoying getting a little, okay a lot more balance back in my life. I've biked, a little, run a little and swum, very little. I've had some great relaxing weekends to sleep in and lots of time with our furkids, Lulu and Maverick. And, the icing on the cake? Bart and I traveled to Italy for two weeks and cycled up and down the hills and switchbacks of Tuscany.

So now its back to making up for lost hours at the office earlier this year, getting my workout routine back on track and focusing on nutrition (oh and losing my post IM lbs plus a few more).

Just a short post tonight, but wanted to say hello.

Quote of the Day

2009-07-20T14:15:00.001-04:00

"If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves." - Thomas Edison

Getting Close

2009-07-15T08:05:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I met with my coach to review my race plan and discuss race logistics and my nutritionist to talk food strategy for the final 10 days. Both tell me my body is more than ready for IMLP. Over the next week and a half its time for me to work on that last component - my mind. Its time for me to BELIEVE and to really remember why I've put in all of these months of hard training. Its time for me to want it! Coach Michael gave me my mantra for race day. Climb Confidently and Descend Bravely. Those are the words I will repeat in my head over and over again on the IMLP bike course.

So. . . over the next week and a half, I'm going to try and post things that inspire me.

Last night, I got a card in the mail from a colleague of mine who also happens to be a kick ass runner and athlete. Here is what it said:

"There is nothing in this world so STRONG as your belief in yourself."

Time to believe.

Germany Part 2

2009-07-07T16:32:00.003-04:00

Its the end of day 3 here in Germany and the trip has steadily improved day by day. Yesterday (Monday) was a lighter workout and work day. I did strength training in my unairconditioned room to start the day (thank heavens the mornings have been in the low 60s) and started work at a leisurely 9:30 am. Work went smoothly and my presentation to a large group of company employees, while relatively unrehearsed, went well. However, if I plan to return here often, I need to at least learn some basic German. The meetings got less interesting when everyone switched back to German.

Dinner last night was local in Fellbach. Our meals were relatively simple, but very good . . . other than my taste of my hosts' appetizer - a small bite of very thinly sliced ox tongue that I was dared to try. It looked a lot like proscuitto, but definitely didn't taste anywhere as good. On a positive note, I love how the Europeans seem to cook with the seasons - my salad was made of the freshest vegetables and dessert was amazing berries with homemade rasberry ice cream. After a post dinner glass of wine while we waited for the rain storm to pass, I was ready to call it a night.

At 1 am, my body decided it would rather be on east coast time and I was wide awake for the next hour an a half. When my alarm went off the last thing I wanted to do was get up and put in a hard run. But I did. And it was hard. My US legs still haven't arrived. My workout was 2 twenty minute threshold repeats with a warm up, warm down and a 5 minute rest between repeats. I ran in the vineyards near the hotel -- beautiful scenery but also some hills. My legs weren't happy with me for the first set but by the second set, I was feeling good and ended the run strong.

After a long 11 hour day at work, we were treated to an amazing dinner tonight at Dal Sardo's in Ludwigsburg. If you ever visit Ludwigsburg, you must put this restaurant on your list. I let our host pick my menu and I can't tell you how happy I was to hear that this Italian restaurant in Germany made its own homemade gluten free pasta. It was to die for! We started with seasonal mushrooms sauteed in olive oil. Our next course was black truffles shaved over pasta tossed with olive oil and for the main course, a white flaky fish that was baked whole encrusted in salt and then fileted at the table much like a dover sole. It was surprisingly moist and not salty at all. To top it off we had homemade vanilla ice cream with fresh berries for dessert and wonderful wines throughout dinner. Definitely a dinner at the top of my best ever list.

So far its been a productive yet fun trip but I miss home and Bart, Lulu and Maverick. A couple more days and then I'm back in the states (and air conditioning)! Hope everyone's taper is starting to feel good.

Germany and Training Update

2009-07-05T15:08:00.002-04:00

This past week I didn't fare so well with my training. Perhaps it was some burnout after my really great 23 miler the Wednesday before (which I think was a PR 23 miles for me even though a training run) or perhaps a bit of the stomach bug or food issues I dealt with last week, but I certainly didn't do so well sticking to the plan.

So I missed a long swim, a short easy bike and as of today, part of a long run. This isn't customary for me so I shouldn't stress about it but still I feel anxious. I am still not confident about that darn bike. Its no longer about the descents -- I think I've made my peace as best as I can -- but more about just how darn long it takes me to climb.

And now, I'm in Germany for business for the week. Travel for me isn't always easy when trying to stick to the plan. First, I have the food issues. Since I don't speak German and am pretty hungry due to training, finding safe gluten free food is a challenge and I don't always succeed. Second, my body clock is all messed up. I don't sleep well on the plane and I had a meeting once I landed so my total sleep for last night plus a nap was probably around 4 or 4 1/2 hours. On tap for today, my 18 miler from earlier in the week that I couldn't do because I felt bad. Clearly that wasn't going to happen. But I had to at least do something. So after a brief 1 hour nap, I headed to lunch with my colleague to refuel. I should have just eaten a bar in the room because my gluten free meal was not and I left lunch with a bloated and painful tummy.

After about 45 minutes in the room (where I did get a little inspiration from the Tour and the European Ironman championships in Frankfurt), I headed out for a run. My legs felt like lead and I clearly was suffering from jet lag/gluten issues. Despite the huge torrential rain in the midle of the run, I was able to struggle through 7ish miles before calling it quits for the day.

Dinner was more successful I think in the GF department and after I finish this, its off to bed for me. I'm beat.

So here's hoping my plan goes a little more smoothly this week and that I find something to eat (other than my GF bars that I smuggled in) to survive on for the rest of the time I'm here.

An Ode to Jill

2009-07-04T16:39:00.003-04:00

Today is my dear friend Jill's 40th bday party and alas, I am instead sitting in the Delta Club in Atlanta waiting to fly to Germany for business. What a way to celebrate the 4th.

But Jill. . . since you are a faithful blog follower, I thought I'd post and ode, well not really - I don't possess your eloquent writing skills - but just a shout out to you in honor of your birthday.

You are truly a fabulous friend and I credit you in part with getting me into this crazy yet fun lifestyle. I recall our early lawyering days when you were training for your first marathon. Your enthusiasm for the sport was contagious and I'll never forget your essay about your first marathon. So it was easy to sign on for my first and stick with it. Maybe now I can convince you to do a tri?

Your zest for a full life, fun, family and health always make me smile. Whether we are exchanging nutrition tips or meeting for lunch at the "beach" to take a break from our sometimes too serious work days or catching up on the latest, you always bring some sunshine. I know you have an open ear and will help me sort through things. Your friendship is certainly one I treasure.

So cheers to you today Jill. You are a fabulous forty! And here is my official raincheck for a post ironman - 40th bday big celebration.

Crabtree Part 2

2009-06-21T12:45:00.003-04:00

Friday night, Bart, Tyler, Lulu and I headed up to Wintergreen after work to grab some good zzzs in the mountain air and ride Crabtree and the Blue Ridge on Saturday. We rented the same mountain house we rented several times last summer. I just love it. From the moment we arrive, my body relaxes and I just feel "at home." We cooked up a big GF pasta dinner, took Lulu for an evening walk, and mixed up all of our liquids for the next day.

Bart and I originally had 120 miles on our schedule, but 120 miles in the mountains is just not doable from my perspective. So, instead, we decided to avenge the Crabtree loop and then add miles on the end of the ride on the Blue Ridge until we reached about 6 hours ride time. I actually was looking forward to the ride. My first time up Crabtree was such a shock and on tired legs and I was sure it was going to be MUCH easier the second time.

We woke to cloudy skies, predicted thunderstorms and windy conditions. Our seat to saddle time was pushed back later than we had planned, partially due to my sleepy eyes in the morning and partially due to our stupidity of leaving our bike helmets and shoes inside the front door rather than with us in the car when we arrived to start our ride at Reed's Gap. So after another trip up and down the resort, we finally started at 9 am.

Bart and Tyler planned to circle back a few times on the ride to make sure I was alive. Bart stuck with me as I cautiously descended Reed's Gap for the second time ever, this time in the wind. After we hit the resort, I gave him the go ahead to bomb down the rest of the way and I worked on my own descending skills. I rode my road bike this time, and there is no doubt about the fact that it definitely handles much better than my time trial bike.

At the Ski Barn, we were off on our loop and soon arrived at the first killer climb of the day. As I still worked super hard to climb the first hill (which has segments of 8% grade), I realized my ride was still going to be tough day in the saddle. I caught up with Bart and Tyler at the church right before the turn on Jonsboro where Tyler was fixing a flat. The next section, pre-Crabtree went pretty well, not super speedy, but I kept a good pace and just kept it steady through this relatively flat section. Right before the climb started Bart and I met up and exchanged water bottles (my road bike only carries 2) so I was ready to go. The first part of Crabtree is doable. It has some tough sections but also relief to give you hope. And then the fun begins. By the time you reach the sign that says that the store is in 5 miles, those miles click off VERY slowly. My legs were clearly not much better this go round and this time, my heart rate was sky rocketing and I was drenched with sweat. I kept reminding myself that I had ridden this before and that I could clearly do it again, but I wasn't so convincing. I stopped a time or two to catch my breath and each time I did so, my body just shook from the effort. And, I still didn't make it to the store without a short walk of my bike. I had really hoped to not walk a step this time, but I reached a point where it was walk or fall over. I chose walk.

Bart had a much better climbing day and he circled back a few times to check on me before we hit the store. At the store, I was spent. This climb for me is just not fun or enjoyable. Its tough on me mentally and physically and I just feel like it zaps whatever good training vibes I may bring into the day.

We refilled our liquids, ate a banana and some juice and headed back up to the Blue Ridge. Right away after leaving the store, you hit a short really steep section. I grinded my way up and refused to let myself stop during this stretch no matter how tough it got. Soon, I was at the BR and this time, there was no walking. At least a small achievement.

The BR was again like seeing mecca. It still is tough, but the climbs are more gradual. I think I'm getting more used to the descents as well. Once on the BR, there are a few uphills, including DB's favorite uphill in the sun, but a lot of downhill en route to Reed's Gap. This stretch went by fairly quickly and soon loop 1 was done. At the car, Tyler met up with us and then headed back to the house via Wintergreen mountain. After some serious debate, Bart and I headed back out onto the Blue Ridge. It was already getting late in the day and I was tired and wasn't having fun on my ride. But, I knew I'd feel guilty for not riding more so we set off. We climbed from Reed's Gap back towards 0 until we hit the part where you descend for miles. At that point, the winds had picked up and storm clouds lingered very close by threatening to let loose at any moment. We decided to turn around and head back and call it a day. Bart went ahead. . . he had one last piece of business for the day. Wintergreen Mountain.

I am not that brave yet, so I packed my bike up and headed up the mountain to sag for Bart if he needed it. He didn't. I stopped a few times on my way up and gave out encouraging words. He looked great climbing the mountain - strong and determined. I was totally proud - Crabtree and Wintergreen on the same day is impressive in my book. When I got back, Lulu joined me for my short transition run on top of the mountain.

We got a few minutes to relax and enjoy the mountain and then headed back home for a dinner party. In some ways, I'm a little disappointed with the fact that our ride was cut short. Once I got going again on the BR, I knew I had more time left in my legs, but in reality, we didn't have much more time left before we needed to leave to head back for dinner. In other ways, the shorter ride hopefully gave my legs a little more life for my long run tomorrow and they certainly still got a tough climbing workout.

For now, I'm done with Crabtree. I can climb it, but it still drains me. . . mentally and physically. And, right now, its just not a fun ride for me. So, on the 3rd, when we return to the mountain, its just the BR and me. For one last century ride.

A Good Track Night

2009-06-17T22:13:00.003-04:00

I am still working on my weekend report but decided instead to post about track tonight. I wasn't too pumped about going so I asked Coach Michael to join me for some extra support (and motivation). It worked! Some how my tired legs found a new rhythm tonight below 8 minute pace. Maybe it was Michael yelling encouraging words at me or perhaps just a little extra determination. But I ran 6 800s all below 8 minute pace which is HUGE for me. The last 3 splits were the fastest of the night - 7:50 pace; 7:48 pace and 7:48 pace. Yippeee!

The Tortoise and ...the Bear

2009-06-16T08:30:00.005-04:00

THE TORTOISE . . .

Last weekend was all about pushing the distances and getting comfortable with the fact that yes, I can complete the distance.

I was supposed to do my long run on Friday to give my legs one day off to rest before the long bike, but unfortunately work doesn't always cooperate with my training plan and I had two legal briefs that needed to be finalized and filed on Friday. That meant no morning run unless I wanted to get up and start around 4:30 am, and, I didn't. So I mistakenly thought I'd try the run post work. Nope, that didn't work either. By the time my day ended, I was beat, not mentally ready to tackle my longest distance other than a previous marathon itself and dreading the heat. So, Bart (who had just returned from the West Coast) and I decided dinner at Kona Grill was more appropriate. Their GF salmon, roasted vegetable salad and amazing cocktail were well worth it. Plus it gave Bart and I some time to dream about relocating to Hawaii or the West Coast.

Saturday morning's run was long and tough. We ran at West Creek out of convenience and started early. I did two 10 mile loops and then a little extra to finish. Mentally, I'm not great at loops because when I come back to the car, I want to be done, not just headed out again. The first loop felt hot, but my legs felt pretty good. Thankfully the sun wasn't blazing so temperatures weren't as hot as they could have potentially been. I made the loop with my four fuel belt bottles and a 1/2 gu every 2 miles. By the second loop, I was getting thirstier and I could definitely feel the miles on my right foot. I decided that I had enough liquids to go the Cap One loop and headed off. After crossing through the gates, I realized it might not have been a smart move. I don't always estimate my liquids well and I started to feel whoozy and get chill bumps right at mile 16. I stopped a cyclist and asked for salt tabs, but she didn't have any. At this point, I didn't want to turn back but wanted to just finish the loop. So I drank everything I had on me and prayed that the bathrooms by the tennis courts would be open. After some walk/run time to get there, they were. I downed a bunch more water, refilled my bottles and dumped a bunch over my head. It seemed to work, and I was able to run back up to the car for mile 20. At that point, I was feeling the joy of being almost done. I reloaded, picked some good tunes, and headed out to power out the last mile. Post run, per coach's orders, I headed straight to the ice bath to ice down my foot and hip. After getting out of the tub, the hare (Bart) pointed out my mascot (the tortoise) in the front yard. I laughed! He must have stopped by to pay homage to my long run of the day. While I'm getting faster, my long runs are still pretty slow. Considering the dehydration incident though, I was pretty pleased to come in averaging 10:30 pace for the run. If I can hang somewhere even close to that on race day, I'll be thrilled.

AND THE BEAR . . .

Sunday, I started my day much like the Bear. Grizzley and grumpy. I was tired and had no desire to ride the 115 miles on my plan. But, they were there and I had made plans with DB and the Schnupp group so I headed to WC to start my pre-ride miles. I'm glad I started early. My legs were not happy to be having to work again and my first few laps of WC were horrible. At this point I doubted that I would be able to ride 50 let alone 115. Amazingly, they started to warm up and soon it was time to meet DB and Ann and the Schnupp group. 20 miles in and 95 to go. The Schnupp group ride was advertised as a leisurely 28 mile Sunday social ride. My goal was to draft as much as possible and enjoy myself and my company for this loop. We headed out Patterson (up my favorite hill) and onto Manakin. I stayed in the back or in the middle of the pack and just relaxed. It was great to ride with the crew and definitely the highlight of the day. Someone's legs must have been feeling good though, because our leisurely ride turned not so leisurely as we turned onto Hermitage to head back into WC. As Richard put it, who decided to add a time trial down Hermitage today? At this point my legs felt okay though so I grabbed a wheel and hung on as we rode at a good clip back through WC and out to Patterson. Schnupp who is not afraid of traffic, then routed us down Patterson and up the rollers of Lauderdale. I was worried about the traffic, but actually the rollers were fun and soon we were back at Schnupp's house. DB, Ann and I chatted for a few and then headed back to WC to finish our miles. Ann had 40 on her schedule so DB and I looped WC a few times to keep her company while she finished up. We reloaded at the cars and DB and I headed out for Ride part 3 - the EF loop. Other than the newly chipped road in one section and the massive truck that passed us on Three Chopt, this part of the ride was fun and much easier than it used to be when DB and I first rode it 2 winters ago. The best part was on the Manakin stretch north of Broad where the wind was behind us and mid to upper 20s seemed like a piece of cake. I was praying that the rest of my miles could only go that well. When we got back to the car, I was at 85 miles - only 30 to go. DB agreed to go one 10 mile loop with me before calling it quits. This was where I started to really struggle again for the day. Bart caught up with us mid loop and was surprised with my slow pace. As I took inventory, I wasn't feeling so great. I did a great job on nutrition though so I knew it wasn't calories. But yep, nausea = lack of water. So I started drinking up again. As we headed up the Capital One hill, we saw a cyclist pointing towards the woods and saying something. Unfortunately DB had already started the descent, but Bart said, "Look at the bear!" A Bear? Yep, on our right hand side, in the meadow area and headed back to the woods was a pretty good sized black bear. WOW! Pretty crazy for West Creek. I struggled through the end of the Cap One loop and Bart rode with me 6 more miles while I desperately tried to drink more and more water. Must have been the key though because despite my angst at having to sit on the darn bike seat for another 15 miles, and the burning sensation in my left foot, my pace increased again over the last few miles and the nausea disappeared.

Finally back at the car and done with my 115 miles, I was ready to pack it in for the day and skip my transition run all together. But, for some reason I decided to check out how long it was and my instructions. Training peaks read as follows:

You are not going to want to do this but it is so important. Only a few more weeks of this Bethany - stay strong!

I laughed. Coach knows me well. I laced up my shoes, put on my ipod, and headed out for my 30 minute run. My legs surprised me. They didn't feel too bad, and by now, there was a good bit of shade on the road to cool the temperatures off. I finished the long day with a strong T run and then promptly sat in my car at WC and cried. I think I was just totally drained -- emotionally and physically. And, training for this event has been harder and more challenging than I ever expected. At the same time, I think I also cried because I was proud of my accomplishment of the weekend and was just emotionally overwhelmed. After collecting myself (and crying a few tears on the phone with my dad), I headed home for my second ice bath of the weekend. Still feeling a bit like the grizzly and ready to scavenge whatever non-sweet, healthy food I could find in the house.

EF Camp and my east coast Kaloko

2009-06-10T19:18:00.005-04:00

Time has flown since Placid Camp. Since last post, there have been more mountains in my training. Two weekends ago, I race the Over the Mountain Olympic distance tri with my friend Jill in North Carolina. And last weekend, I headed up to the Blue Ridge Mountains and Wintergreen resort for training camp with Coach Michael, Bart and six other training buddies.

First, if you ever want a great and challenging Olympic distance triathlon to add to your schedule, try Over the Mountain in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. I added this to my schedule late this year when I couldn't race Rumpass due to my hip injury and to help support Jill in her efforts to qualify for USAT Nationals. (She did by the way!) For me, my primary goals were to iron out my pre-race jitters and push myself hard for another race before Placid. This race was a point to point race so the logistics were a little complicated. Not having Bart as my sherpa and having to plan, sherpa and get my own stuff ready helped keep my mind occupied pre-race, and despite dozens of trips to the bathroom prior to the start, I think I did pretty well in the pre-race jitters department. I also raced hard - zone 4 pretty much from the gun which was a bit of a shock to my system given all the endurance training I've been doing lately for Ironman. I ran over my favorite tinted goggles with the car the day before the race, so my sighting wasn't stellar on the swim course. Not my best swim time, but not my worst either. The bike was my favorite part. Challenging - with two major climbs - but awesome scenery, fun descents, great pavement and support on the bike course and places where you could really get in aero and push. All criteria that make a fun bike. I dropped my chain at the bottom of the first climb but managed to stay calm and actually get it back on with relative ease. The run was hot, hilly and hard. My nutrition and salt as usual, may have been out of whack by the time I hit the run. I managed to push to finish under 10 min pace, but walked a lot and didn't run the run I know I'm capable of running. I was most disappointed in the walking and vowed that in the future, no matter how bad I feel, I need to keep moving, even if its a run shuffle.

Sunday, the day after the race, I practiced my new mantra in Pocohontas on my long run of the week - a 17 miler. TG40 joined me for the first 8 miles and it was fun introducing her to the park.

Last weekend, was essentially Torturefest 2. On Friday, we left work early and headed to Wintergreen for Endorphin Fitness' Training Camp. Thankfully when we got to Lake Monacan at the base of the mountain, the skies cleared, rain stopped and and by 2:30 we were in our wetsuits for a long swim in the crystal clear cold lake. TG40, who I convinced to join me for the first two days of camp, and I were swimming buddies and completed 4 laps around the lake before it was time to get out. It was awesome wetsuit endurance training. Next up, the long run. We changed clothes, organized our fuel and headed out for our long runs. I struggled a bit with my 19 miler - it was hot and humid, a little hilly and my right foot plantar was not cooperating. My pace was off and I finished 3 hours and 30 minutes later - 20 minutes slower than my goal time. I iced my legs in the lake, cried a bit in frustration, and then headed off to refuel with dinner and unpack.

Back at home base for the weekend, Coach Michael reviewed the course with us for Saturday's ride, we loaded up our water bottles with fuel for the next day and headed to bed. Our goal for Saturday was 100 miles - 2 loops, 2 times up the climbs at Crabtree Falls and 2 times down the scary descent at Reed's Gap. I had seen the course's elevations and I was already dreading the climb up Crabtree Falls where it climbs from 700 feet to 3200 feet over a span of about 17 miles. By the time we went to bed, my foot was throbbing and I had a terrible time getting to sleep. Part of it I'm sure was anticipation of the next day's ride - the rest was just discomfort and I suppose unfamiliar surroundings.

Saturday morning came too quickly. I managed to drink a juice box, and eat a piece and a half of toast with jelly and a few eggs before I could no longer get anything in. Thankfully, the girls morning started off at the bottom of Wintergreen mountain and did not include the descent down it. The boys flew by us and soon the four gals - Coach Sally, Jill, TG40 and I - were off. The first stretch was supposed to be flat or rolling like the hills we see in Goochland County. Coach Michael somehow forgot to mention the first major climb of the day we encountered shortly after the turn at the ski barn. I kept thinking to myself as I quickly dropped to the back of the pack, then off the back entirely, if this is flat, I am in major trouble. After grinding up the climb and a big descent, the roads did flatten out. The next miles were entirely doable, and I began to have some hope about the days ride. That is, until we hit Crabtree Falls.

Lance, Hawaii locals, one of my favorite woman pro Bree Wee and Lifesport training use Kaloko, a huge climb on the Big Island for their training. Although I've never seen it, from descriptions it is extremely steep and I would imagine, has quite a few switchbacks.

As I climbed the road at Crabtree Falls, it was definitely my Kaloko. Steeper than anything I had ever climbed before by far, seemingly endless and had switch backs the Tour de France should envy. Rather than looking at the hill/mountain as an opportunity to improve and a place to push and challenge myself, my self-doubt side came out in raging form. I was furious as I climbed - how could my coach have mistaken me for someone who could climb this? why am I here? I suck at this! how am I ever going to do two loops? My legs cringed from the long run the day before but my mind had also given up long before my body did. Somehow I managed to keep my legs moving in circles (I think my lowest speed was 3.6) and I made it to the country store - our first stop. I downed some grapefruit juice and tried unsuccessfully to convince another rider to trade McQueen for her Madone with a triple for the next part of the climb. From the store to the top of the Blue Ridge was another two or three steep miles with one or two short flat sections. As TG40 put it, I have never been so happy to see the Blue Ridge when we reached the top. Two loops of this crazy hard climb was not something I wanted to attempt. Once on the Blue Ridge, we seemed to settle in. There were a few climbs, but a lot of good downhills too. I tried to work on my descending skills and implement the tips that Coach Michael had taught us before the ride. All in all, not too bad and so I thought I'd face my last fear of the day, Reed's Gap.

From my Placid post, you know I don't like descents. Reed's Gap is a 2 plus mile descent from the top of the Blue Ridge, down past the guard shack at Wintergreen resort with numerous areas around or in excess of 15% grade. In other words, its steep. Before the start down, I reminded myself that I was in control of my speed and that my brakes would work. I went last and kept the first part on the slower side. By the time we reached the guard shack, I could smell my brakes (and those of my riding buddies too). We stopped around the guard shack, let our brakes rest, took a deep breath and then descended the rest of the way. Making this descent was huge for my confidence and stopping in the middle of it proved that my brakes would stop my bike if I needed them too. At the bottom, TG40 and I added on some extra valley miles to reach 52 for the day and then called it quits.

The speedy boys (including Bart) finished their two laps and the young speedy ones even climbed Wintergreen mountain to cap off their 100 miles. I have to say my fellow campers abilities did serve as some inspiration for me over the weekend. They can certainly climb, ride and run.

Saturday night we relaxed with a great dinner at the new brewery at the base of the mountain and headed to bed before our last day of camp. Thankfully, Saturday night, I slept.

Sunday morning Coach Michael showed some pity and shortened our initial workouts. We drove to Reed's Gap for the start of the day's ride. On tap - one hour north towards Waynesboro on the Blue Ridge and one hour back to Reed's Gap followed by a hard T run. Although my legs were definitely fatigued, Sunday's ride was almost easier for me. I'm sure part of it was mental - this part of the Blue Ridge was familiar to me and I knew I could do it. Coach Sally stayed with me and coached me for the uphills and I pushed myself on the downhills. My max speed was almost 40 mph. After the ride, everyone but Bart and I rode down to the guard shack to start their transition run UP Wintergreen mountain. But, because of my foot (and Bart's achilles), Coach kept us on the Blue Ridge for the easier slighter hills. I knew since I was given this out, I needed to earn my run and so I did. Some good tunes and the knowledge that camp was almost over allowed me to push myself for 52 minutes of good, hard running. Tyler, Greg, Grayson, Jill and Sally all get stud awards for running their T runs up the mountain.

I left camp with mixed thoughts - on one hand, I completed the hardest climb I'd ever done and two other hard days of training. On the other hand, I was disappointed and frustrated. I didn't like not being able to finish a workout and struggled with where I perceived myself in my training and progress in this sport.

The good thing about having a Coach is that they help you sort your thoughts out, tell it to you straight and get you moving on. That's exactly what Michael did today. It appears I need a healthy dose of mental training and belief in myself and my training. My body and fitness are there to do the workouts but my mind ends up winning when I doubt myself and my abilities. As Michael put it, I gave up on the possibility of even trying the second loop before my body ever got a chance to even try. Crabtree Falls, my Kaloko, could have been a totally different experience if I believed and faced it as a positive challenge.

So my goals for the next month are to believe in myself and my training and go after every workout I have left with a hunger and a desire to better myself. If my body gives out while I'm giving it my all, then so be it, but I'm not going to let my mind give up first. My Kaloko is already on my training schedule for the month and next time, I'm going after it.

Lake Placid Torturefest Part 2

2009-05-25T16:55:00.006-04:00

The rest of Torturefest was far less dramatic for me but not by any means easy. On Sunday we got to sleep in a little bit and even ate a bit more than usual before venturing out for our 2 hour and 45 minute run. The day was crisp but beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed this run. We warmed up easy around Mirror Lake and through town before heading out on the official run course. The out part of this course is fairly uneventful. There are some rollers, but nothing too grueling. Once you turn onto River Road by the ski jumps, there is a beautiful river along side the road and a few houses interspersed throughout to keep your interest. I enjoyed having the other gals along for the run. I've done most of my long runs this year by myself with my ipod and it was great to have company and someone to chat with. My legs felt good for the most part and I was enjoying being on solid ground and not my bike. The trip back towards town was a little more challenging. The first hill by the ski jumps isn't too bad, just on the longer side. I'm sure however, on the second loop of the run course it will seem like a mountain. The worst hill is the one back in town. We'll hit this hill at probably mile 12 and 25. Its challenging on fairly fresh legs to run, or shuffle up in my case. Others have said the crowds at this point carry you up the hill with their cheers. Let's hope so. Its a toughie!

Post run, Kate O, Lynn and I took our ice bath in Mirror Lake. The cold water felt amazing on my hip and feet and I enjoyed the looks we got from passersby. Yes, in response to your slightly puzzled looks, we are slightly crazy! :)

Our treat on Sunday afternoon was an hour massage at the house. I highly recommend Lisa who works at the Mirror Lake Inn. My massage was fantastic and much needed. Sunday night the gang headed to Mirror Lake Inn for dinner. The service was fantastic and they had a great wine list but the groups dinner reviews were a little mixed. I enjoyed my beet salad, pork tenderloin, maple syrup creme brulee and probably a little too much wine for a training night.

Monday's training was a full loop of the bike course. I made up my mind before this loop that my goal was just to enjoy myself, ride my own pace and finish the loop. Loop 3 was definitely my best of the camp. The two May birthday gals (Shawn and I) were paired up for the loop. Having Shawn as my riding partner for the day was definitely comforting. She is a steady and strong rider and her bike handling skills (including descents) are great. Shawn rides because she loves it - and its obvious in her demeanor on the course. We kept a steady pace throughout the day and the big descent, while still scary, was no where as bad as Saturday. I managed to use my brakes a little less and tried to relax a little bit. Since I had no coach beside me this time, I just talked to myself out loud and repeated a few mantras as I went down the big hill -- "Relax" and "Pedal." I'll probably do the same on race day . . . hopefully my fellow competitors wont think I'm too much of a loon. Monday's loop also included the Haselton out and back. There's a good sized climb when you are headed back towards Wilmington, but you can move on some of the other parts. The stretch from Wilmington until the named hills was still my hardest section. The road isn't steep, but its a constant slow grind. Midway through the loop, I switched my Garmin readouts so that I could see the percentage grade I was riding. After learning that the last hill after Papa Bear had an 11 % grade, Shawn and I named it "The Bastard." Post-ride we had a transition run down the two steep hills to town (including the worst hill of the run course) for 10 minutes and then back up both hills. My legs definitely felt their previous efforts and Id be amazed if my shuffle up these hills was faster than a walk.

Back at the house, I got my second massage of the camp. This one was only a half hour, but still fantastic. Monday night was my night to cook. Kate O and I whipped up some salmon, roasted green beans, baked chicken and wild rice for an early dinner. Post dinner we begrudgingly put on our swim suits and headed to Paul Smith Community College for swim practice. I was beat and so were my camp mates. The pool at Paul Smith was chilly and without any lane ropes, it felt more like open water practice than swimming in a pool. At times, I felt nauseated and Karen B turned green after our swims around the pools perimeter. Coach K must have felt pity for us so after a 400 cool down, we were released from swim practice. Kate O took some great pics with her underwater camera -- hope you enjoy!

Torturfest - Placid Training Camp, Part 1

2009-05-23T19:31:00.008-04:00

The subtitle to this post should really be Facing My Demons in Lake Placid.

The trip to Placid went smoothly. Bart, Lynn, Kate and I loaded up the Beast around 7:30 pm with our four bikes, bags and bags of gear and the obligatory wine and some fantastic sweets (even GF ones) and started for Placid. After some bad fog and about 5 and a half hours of driving, we stopped for the night in Wilkes Barre, PA.

The next morning, the fog had disappeared and we were back on the road. Our "quick" stops for breakfast at a tiny diner and lunch in a quaint spot of Route 9 weren't so quick and we rolled into Lake Placid at the hour our cheeks were supposed to be on seats for the first workout of the weekend. Thankfully, the others had also arrived later than planned so we had time to claim our bedrooms in our beautiful accommodations, "Hawthorne," and unpack. The group took an easy spin around Mirror Lake and out the run course to stretch our legs. Bart and I soon discovered that the out and back on the run course was MUCH longer than we ran last year during our volunteer weekend. After our ride, we celebrated my birthday at the Brown Dog Cafe and even had a yummy 3 Fellers Carrot Cake for dessert.

After returning from dinner, we figured out nutrition for the next day's ride, loaded water bottles and set off to bed. At this point, the events of the next day began to sink in and I had my first melt down of the weekend. On our drive into Placid, we rode up the big descent into Keene. The grade on the hill looked steeper than I remembered and the hill longer. I am not confident in my descending skills and so I stressed and cried a bit to Bart before I went to bed. Not a good sign for the next day.

Saturday morning was cooler temperatures and the weather called for rain and some wind. I had my usual "pre-race" breakfast of rice, a banana and some juice and got my bike ready to go. I was in the second group along with Kate, Shawn, Deanna B and Lynn. Shawn brought us down the steep short hill from our house through town (it would become our transition hill) and coached me on descending. I felt uncomfortable from the start. I don't like the fact that bicycle brakes merely slow you down and already, I didn't like the sensation of not being in control. We stopped, descended another short steep hill, and I felt a little bit better, but still nervous as we headed out of town. After the turn at the ski jumps, we were greeted by the first climb of the course. It isn't named, but should be, and so by the end of the trip it was, "the bitch." The miles of climbing out of town took my heart rate up and my mind momentarily off the next step, the descent. My legs weren't feeling particularly strong and my heart rate was higher than I would have liked. Then again, I haven't done much climbing in the mountains yet. When we got to the top, Shawn told us the descents were about to start and to keep loose, hold the top tube with our legs and feather the brakes. I descended behind Kate O and in front of Lynn who kept me positive and kept saying words of encouragement -- "You're doing great" and "Almost there." I was thrilled when we got to the bottom and our SAG car manned by superwoman Kim, but was shaking like a leaf and spent.

We took off a few layers and headed for Jay. This is by far my favorite part of the course. It is flat, fast and along a beautiful river. I kept thinking to myself, why am I racing Placid and not Florida. I love the flats. I can ride 20 mph on a flat and feel totally comfortable but 20 mph down a mountain feels out of control and scary. Even on smaller hills, where I can see the end, I can go much faster and feel fine. Clearly its mental, and I continued to stress about my preparedness as we rode towards Jay and onto Upper Jay. In Upper Jay, you make a left hand turn and the next hill that should be named but isn't appears. As we headed up this hill, I got dropped, and dropped fast. The more I lagged behind, the more I stressed and the worse my riding got. Speedy Bart and Karen B passed me at this point and despite Bart's words of encouragement, I felt like crap. Before Haselton, we hit a potty break, regrouped and headed into Wilmington for our next SAG stop.

After refueling, we headed out of Wilmington and began the climb back to Lake Placid. It was on this climb that whatever positive confidence I had in my riding abilities disappeared and the demons appeared in full force. The Wilmington to Placid stretch, while beautiful and all along the river, is predominately all climb. Sometimes its only around a 2 or 3 percent grade, but there are very few if any "fast" parts. Again, I was quickly dropped despite DB's efforts to pull me up to the rest of the group and hang back. My legs just wouldn't push, and every time I looked at my speeds I was discouraged. How can I "race" at 7 mph? The more I stressed, I think the worse I rode. By the time I climbed Papa Bear I was a puddle. Yes, full force tears streamed from my face for the second time that day. My training buddies were awesome and encouraging. The told me to stay optimistic, have fun and not worry about my speed or pace. I had spent so much energy on the descent and worrying about my place in the pack that I didn't have that energy to spend cycling up all these hills. We plugged on back into town and ran into Coach Karen at the SAG vehicle. She sensed my frustration (it wasn't hard given the tears on my face) and we set off to ride the second lap together.

For Karen's coaching during the second loop I am extremely grateful. As a primary matter, I feel confident that I would not have made it down the hill the second time had she not been by my side. As we started out for the second loop, the wind picked up and gusts were no doubt in the 18-20 mph or higher range. The rain also started to pelt us. I decided that I was going to ride this ride at my own pace and try to relax. The winds were brutal up the hill out of town and coach Karen rode in front and pulled a bit and gave some pedal stroke and shifting pointers along the way. When we got to the top and started the descent, she rode beside me and encouraged me to brake lightly so I could feel it and pedal some so I would feel more in control of my speed. The winds by now were crazy gusty and by half way down, the wind gusted against my bike and it felt like it was being pushed all over the road. I wanted off my bike so badly at this point and was absolutely petrified. Coach Karen didn't give up though and kept encouraging me and talking to me. It was at this point that she told me that there was no way the wind could blow over my bike (which I believed at the time) and we worked on trying to pedal a bit and leg positioning through the corners. Finally, we neared the bottom, and I was incredibly thankful. Thankful to be done with the hill for the day, thankful to have ridden it in tougher conditions than I'll likely see on race day (I hope) and thankful to have a Coach to get me to the bottom and stick with me on my tough day.

The rest of the second loop was much better than the first loop. I'm not sure if I was much faster, but I certainly enjoyed it more. I took it at my own speed and laughed at times wondering what ProKaren thought about my gruelingly slow speeds, but I pushed on and was determined to finish. Near Upper Jay, I had a mechanical issue with my brakes (Bart discovered later that he doesn't think my rear wheel was in position) but we were able to stop the noise and rode on. I had nausea issues twice on the second loop, and tried to rectify them with some salt tabs and some extra water. Midway through the Wilmington to Placid stretch, Bart caught up with us (he and Karen B had done extra mileage with the Haselton loop) and he and I rode the rest of the way into Placid together. This time, I enjoyed checking off the 5 named hills into town - Little Cherry, Big Cherry, Mama Bear, Baby Bear and Papa Bear.

When we finally got back to town, I was so proud that I had managed to stick it through and ride the second loop. That Saturday by far was one of the toughest if not the toughest days I've ever had on my bike. The conditions were windy, the descent terrifying and I had wasted tremendous amounts of energy worrying and stressing. I learned that I had to make peace with this course if I want to have a successful Ironman.

I was so happy to put my running shoes and ipod on and head out for my transition run. It was still raining but it felt so go to have my feet on the ground and to not be on my bike. Although I ran the wrong direction, I had a great run on the road near the lake. My legs felt fast and my tunes boosted my spirits.

Post ride, we feasted on a fantastic dinner of steak, salad, sweet potatoes and wine. I think I smiled the whole evening knowing I had conquered and faced some major demons out there on the bike course. I had won though and had finished my ride. It wasn't pretty, but it was done. I can be tough on myself and I learned that sometimes, it isn't worth it. This Ironman is going to be tougher than I imagined. I needed to step back, adjust my goals, enjoy the experience and just aim to finish.

I think I was the first to bed Saturday night. I was wiped out, but slept well and looked forward to Torturefest day 2 and my long run.

A Belated White Lake Race Report

2009-05-05T21:14:00.006-04:00

So here it is . . . very belated. Work has been crazy busy with travel to Chicago and initially, I had been chewing on my race few days hoping I might figure out how I feel about it and what I want to share. To be honest, I've had mixed feelings. They still aren't all sorted out, but its so late now, and I've done my first century since WL that I need to get on blogging.

I slept terribly the night before the race. I was in that twilight area of not quite asleep but not fully awake either. And I stayed there all night long. Even my natural sleeping pill that usually puts be out didn't work.

My alarm went off early. 4:45. Since I was already sort of awake, I got up and started breakfast. I've been working on more pre-race calories so at 5 am, I ate breakfast - a cup of rice, a banana, 6 oz juice and a UltraMeal chocolate smoothie. I managed to get most of everything down and was feeling pretty good despite my less than ideal night. I had high hopes and was ready to race.

At 6 we headed to the race site to set up our transition area. I liked having all my stuff in my pseudo transition backpack (my tennis backpack) so I could ride to the race. I got unpacked, organized, body marked and as usual, took a few trips to the porta potties. TG40, Bart and I started to get suited up around 7 in time to warm up as the initial race waves went off. The water felt great like it had all week and I was ready to get started. Pre-race for me is always the worst part. I just want to start so my nerves will settle and I can start enjoying the experience.

At 7:30 when our race wave lined up, none of my fellow navy caps seemed to eager to go to the front of the pack. So to the front I went. I figured getting caught in the initial rush would be good for my mass start experience and I can throw a few elbows if I need to. The horn sounded and our group was out of the gate fast. I quickly moved from the front to probably the front third and just headed for the first buoy. Unlike last year, I couldn't find a great pair of feet to follow, so I just plowed on through the water, buoy after buoy. The back stretch got a little choppy and I laughed to myself because on the previous days, the water had been like glass. I thought about one of my favorite pros Bree Wee and her love of the choppy water and just kept swimming along. At the final turn buoy, I found a draft. I stuck like glue to a girl to the right of me and matched her stroke for stroke on the way into the pier. At the last buoy, she accelerated and I tried my best to follow. Out of the water and down the pier without slipping, I let myself look at my watch. It said 38 something. The timing mat was still a ways a way, so I ran hard to cross it in the 30s. My swim time was 39 flat. Far better than what I expected and definitely my strongest leg of the day.

T1 was T1. I struggled with the arms of my wetsuit but got it off, got my bike and ran to the mount line. Time for my favorite part - the bike. I had practiced my shoe trick a couple of times the day before and it went smoothly again after I got on my bike. I checked my HR - 165 - a little high so I let myself settle in as I rode easy through the small town of White Lake and over the first stretch of bumpy road. Soon I was on the road out of town and the wind was friendly. Again, I felt like I was riding easy and really just concentrated on keeping my HR in zone. About 10 miles in, I realized I had to use the restroom. Unfortunately, I was in the country, on my bike with no bathroom in sight, so I just pedaled and turned the corner to the next 20 miles and THE WIND. At this point my nutrition was okay. I was following my 10 minute plan - a bite of bar or a shot block or a luna moon every 10 minutes and a few sips of Gatorade/Carbo Pro every so often.

After the turn to the back 20, things changed. The wind was right in our faces, my stomach was starting to reject everything and I still had to go the bathroom. At this point, I backed off on all food and just tried to get my drink calories in and let my stomach settle. I tried to go like the pros but couldn't so ultimately stopped by the side of the road. That didn't work either and so after watching about 20 riders (including TG40) go by, and taking a salt pill, I got back on my bike again! My stomach still wasn't cooperating, and every time I got liquids in and started to push again, I gagged it back up. I will admit I let the back 20 get to me. I had to work to repass folks and I felt like crap. My legs had it but my stomach and heart didn't. And I was seeing my goal of a 3 hour bike slip.

After what seemed like ages, I turned the corner to head back into town and the wind eased some. I worked to get some more liquids down, knowing I needed the calories for the run. Seeing TG40 at the out and back and the wind at my back for the out portion gave me the boost I needed to finish the ride. My speeds picked up again on the way back into town and I was able to eat a gu. Even the bumps on the road at this point didn't seem as bad. I was almost done with the bike and if I pushed hard, I would still be under my time from last year. Definitely not the bike I had in my mind when I set out, but that's I guess part of racing. Time - 3:08:35

I got my shoes off in the final 1/4 mile before transition and ran into T2. After racking my bike, I tried to move efficiently through T2. Body glide for the feet, socks and my new racing shoes. Garmin, visor, race belt, running belt, and I was off. My T2 time would say I need to work on my efficiency.

The beginning of the run felt awesome. My hip didn't hurt at all and my legs felt like all the bricks I had run during training - strong and ready to run. My goal pace was 10 min miles and my first mile felt so easy. I stuck to water and oranges at the water stops because that was what tasted good and my stomach still wasn't great. Not a smart move. At mile 4, things started to change. My HR started to climb into zone 4 and my pace slowed. I passed Bart going the opposite way and kept pushing from water stop to water stop. At mile 8, I started to get chills so I downed a salt tab and some enduralyte strips. At that point, I realized I was behind plan on my gus and hadn't drank much gatorade. My pace was definitely slower and I was feeling the run more. But I still wanted a strong finish as close to 10 minute miles as I could. In the last mile and a half, I gave what I had left I pushed past three gals in my age group that I had been playing leap frog with during the back half of the run. I ended up around 10:30 pace average.

As I neared the finish, Bart was there to greet me with a big smile and I cheer. Total time 6:11.07.

One one hand I have really positive thoughts. I had a great swim and an overall 15 minute PR. On the other hand I still struggled with my nutrition and missed my goal times in both the bike and the run. I let my head get to me on the back 20 miles instead of staying positive. And in retrospect, I wonder if I should have pushed harder on the run. Overall though, I think I'm just tough on myself. My HRs were generally where they should have been and I raced a strong race and improved over last year. I have my list of things to work on and will be racing a few more times between now and Placid to try and iron out the kinks.

Glimpses of White Lake

2009-04-30T21:12:00.005-04:00

TG40, Bart and I arrived at White Lake late last night (or really the early hours of the morning). Despite the fact that we made our reservations for the same beautiful lakefront condo we stayed in last year, last week we were "upgraded" to our new accommodations. Apparently, the condo above the one we were to rent had a major water leak and caused water damage in much of the rented condo. Thankfully, however, the owner of our condo had a back up plan, his brother-in-law's double-wide.

The tail lights on our house.

I was petrified at first. I'm not one for the rustic things in life and many of the trailers we had seen lining the lake last year were scary.

Thankfully, we were pleasantly surprised. While not the Ritz, our double-wide is nearly lakefront, has a cute front porch, is comfy and even has cable. The furniture is an eclectic mix of leather couches, some 1970s decor and my favorite, some silk covered small slipper chairs. It has a shortage of wine glasses (none) and an abundance of bibles.

Today schedule consisted of resting, catching up on FB, eating, a 20 minute easy run, a 30ish minute swim in the beautiful lake and a drive of the bike course. The lake temperature is perfect and the bike course still as flat and boring as I remembered.

Tomorrow is race day minus one.

Enjoy the pictures!

Healing

2009-04-23T07:40:00.003-04:00

This week has been all about healing. Bart laughs at my efforts to try anything to heal my hip and my entourage of healers, but hey . . . why pass up something that might work?

Starting with last Friday, I have been to Dr. Green three times for ART to my hip, heat and ice treatments and the beginnings of physical therapy. Each time, the ART has gotten progressively deeper and the range of motion in my hip before pain sets in greater.

On Tuesday, I visited Keith Bell, LAc for some acupuncture treatment. It was by far one of the most unique experiences I've ever had and, in my opinion, very beneficial. I was nervous before the treatment - needles and I are not friends. I'm one of those patients that can't look while giving blood and have been known to get woozy at the thought of a needle. Thankfully, the treatment doesn't hurt at all, and I was able to close my eyes so I didn't have to see any of the acupuncture needles. He did two treatments - one with me face down and one face up - and he treated me for my hip, right plantar and my usually inflamed digestive tract. While I was face down, I had a few needles up both my spine, in the left hip and lower back area and on both feet/ankles. While I laid there during the first treatment, I could feel the energy running through various places in my body and warmth. I was amazed. For the second treatment, I laid face up. This time I had the needles in my feet and one on my left wrist. I could feel the points furthest from my core the strongest. This time the energy flow was different - and I wasn't warm, but cooler. Soon enough, it was over and I was on my way. All afternoon, I felt energized and at various points during the day, felt the energy still flowing through my body. Keith indicated that it would take 24 hours for the treatment to fully integrate into my body but almost instantly, I was positive that it was working.

My workouts since Friday have been pool and bike based. I've swum a ton of laps - at hard pace (Monday's workout was 15 x 50s) and long pace (lots of 1000s). I've also spent a lot of time in the deep end of the pool water running. If you see me there, please don't laugh but please come and say hello. I am bored out of my mind and feeling silly running in circles.

Tuesday evening was my first attempt on the bike. Bart and I ventured to WC despite the stormy weather for our easy spin with our race setup. Not a good idea. The wind howled (aka aero position was difficult), the rain pelted and the temperatures dropped quickly. I tested my hip out - it felt fine at easy pace in easy gears, but as I pushed the gears and pushed a hill in aero, I could feel it twinge. After about 30 minutes, I was cold, grumpy because my hip wasn't better already and I convinced Bart to return home.

Last night's bike was MUCH better. I had a 60 minute zone 3 ride that I was only allowed to push if I had no pain. Work kept me later than I would have liked, so I rode on the trainer at home. I had NO hip pain this time either during or after and I was able to push the entire ride. Progress!

So where does it stand? Stairs no longer hurt, biking no longer hurts and plain old walking no longer hurts. My hip has bruises all over and it is still twinges when I stand on one leg and use all of my stabilizer muscles, but it is showing signs of significant improvement. Still no running outside for me this week but hopefully, with all of the healing this week, I'll be ready to go next week. Coach Michael promises I'm not losing fitness, but I'm still nervous.

Taking a Step Back to Move Forward

2009-04-17T21:33:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow is supposed to be the start of my triathlon race season. My new race flats are screaming to be run in and my body is ready to peak for White Lake. All my training is pointing toward a great race and in particular, I've really made strides in my run and was looking forward to pushing myself on the final 10K of my warm up race - the Rumpass in Bumpass Olympic.

Unfortunately, my left hip has put my race plans for the weekend to a screeching halt. Its been tight since racing Shamrock and after long runs or bikes, I've had trouble climbing stairs. I had a few massages to try and loosen things up and in general was just training through it. Face it, with the recent level of training, everything in my body has been achy and tired. It wasn't hurting during the run or bike, so I kept moving on. After Sunday's threshold run, the tightness was worse and I could feel it during the run for the first time. I still wasn't too concerned on Sunday night -- this week is a recovery week leading into the race this weekend, and I figured it would work itself out with a few days rest. It didn't.

Monday and Tuesday I could feel my hip with every step and going up stairs hurt worse. I pushed through my brick Tuesday evening and my run still felt pretty good. Wednesday I flew to Chicago for work for the day and it throbbed. My hip was no longer just workout sore, something didn't seem right.

So. . . thanks to Endorphin's amazing team doc, Dr. Herring, I was seen right away on Thursday. Thursday's doctor's appointment wasn't encouraging -- it was either a inflammation in my hip rotators and glut medialis or a stress fracture. Between leaving Dr. Herring's office and my 5 pm MRI, I prayed hard. Inflammation, I could deal with, a stress fracture was an all too different story.

Thankfully Dr. Herring's call last evening reported good news. My MRI was negative - no stress fracture. This morning, I was squeezed in to see another fabulous team doc, Dr. Green, for some ART, heat and ice and massage. This afternoon the docs and Coach Michael conferred and discussed my plan to recovery and racing White Lake. So while there is no race for me this weekend, if I follow the plan, I should still be able to maintain my fitness and race hard in two weeks.

My new plan includes lots of pool time this week - a combination of water running and hard aerobic and anaerobic swims. I'm also allowed to bike this upcoming week at tempo pace and below. Next week, I should be back on the road to test out my legs again pre-race. I still can't say enough about how thankful I am to have such great team docs and a coach who work together to get me race ready.

Even Tina's on board too. I've got Omega 3 supplements and anti-inflammatory vitamins and shakes added into my plan for the next week and she's reworking my nutrition plan to make sure I don't gain back weight after I finally reached my White Lake goal race weight this morning. To top off the plan, I'm going to try some acupuncture.

So shoes . . . don't give up on me. . . . we'll race hard in two more weeks. In the meantime, Bart, Deanna B, Jill, Jennifer, Moose, Greg and Rob race fast tomorrow! We need a new round of PRs!

A Sign of Spring

2009-03-29T21:06:00.005-04:00

Several signs of Spring appeared this weekend. Workouts are definitely getting longer as my base building for Ironman Lake Placid ramps up.

Saturday, McQueen went for its longest ride ever. 81 miles and just over 5 hours long. Deanna L and Scott thankfully joined me for the first 50. We took a busier than I would have liked route from West Creek to Ashland but otherwise, the ride seemed to be going smoothly. My legs felt pretty good and I was able to keep a descent pace. Back at West Creek, I said good-bye to DL and Scott, refueled with an almond butter and jelly sandwich and some juice and headed out for the last 31 solo. I decided to test my legs and add a few hills to the route (since we had only done a few) and tackle the Millers Lane loop. My goal was two fold. First, to make it up the hills and second, to descend the hill from Manakin down Millers without the use of my brakes. To me, descents are far more scary than the ascents. Since I have that 9 mile descent to Keene in my future, I figured I need to start somewhere. I accomplished both goals, but my pace slowed considerably on the last 30 miles and it was clear I was running out of gas. I could not longer get my HR in the right zone because I couldn't seem to get my legs to pedal any faster. They were spent. Once back to WC, I finished my ride with a loop to finish out my workout time. My other proud moment of the day - making it through both gates at Capital One without dismounting or unclipping. I need to work on getting some more fluids in me while riding and next long ride, I'm going to give CarboPro a try.

As I racked McQueen on the back of the car, I saw this:

. . . the first sign of Spring. Worms galore - on the bottom tube of my bike, in my brake calipers, all over. McQueen got a post ride bath and is now just waiting for her new crank and ceramic bearings.

Today's workouts were tough. I was not sore from yesterday but my legs were definitely sluggish. We also had our first really warm day. My run was lackluster and my body was definitely not acclimated to warmer temps. My easy 8 miles felt like a hard 15 and my legs might as well have been made of lead. Even Lulu felt the effects of the warmer weather. She jogged with me for the first mile and a half but contrary to our other runs, she was happy to be dropped off at home to left me finish the work.

Post lunch and a little R&R, I headed to the pool to finish my last workout of the weekend. A VO2 workout in the pool. My main set was 10 x 200 with each 200 aimed at 4 min or less. Although I tried to hold back on the first several 200s so I'd have enough the tank to finish the 10, they felt easy, and I was clocking off times right around 2:50. As the 200s continued, they definitely got harder. I tried to keep form and hang tough. I made all of the 200s under 4 minutes, but one. The last. I missed it by less than a second. Irritating, but it gives me something to aim for at the next swim.

And tonight, its feet up and time to rest. . . that is, until tomorrow. :)

Some Luck of the Irish!

2009-03-22T20:12:00.004-04:00

I ran the Shamrock 1/2 Marathon today in Virginia Beach.

Although the race started a little on the chilly side (in the 30s), the weather couldn't have been better.

And neither could the finish.

A new PR for both Bart and I.

Mine - 2:03:17 and Bart - 1:35:47.

Congrats to Kate, Sharon and Jill on their 1/2 PRs and to Jim, Karen, Fawn and Patty for their awesome marathon runs.

Work and Play in Sunny CA!

2009-03-07T18:45:00.006-05:00

My ride for the week.

On Wednesday this week, I travelled out to sunny California for a week of work and a weekend of fun. I am extremely fortunate that my client contact that I am meeting with and another engineer who works for my client are big into cycling. I am even more fortunate that one of them had an extra 54 cm bike that he fitted for me to ride.

Bonelli Park

So . . . Thursday post work, we went for our first spin around Bonelli Park. There is a loop around the big reservoir at the center of Bonelli that is close to 7 miles and includes a mix of flats and small climbs and a slightly larger loop (about 9 miles) that includes a pretty good climb and yes, my favorite (NOT), a twisty fast descent. Apparently, there is a fairly popular triathlon in this park. Raymond, Emmanuel and I rode 2 small loops and one big loop and had a great 22-23 mile post work ride.

Friday, post work, I switched hotels and relocated to Pasadena for the weekend. Bart was supposed to join me, but unfortunately, the flu struck hard early Thursday morning and he was too sick to travel. So, I enjoyed a little bit of alone time and ordered a girly movie, The Women, to go with my yummy in-room service salmon. The seafood out here this week has been really outstanding!

This morning, Raymond, Emmanuel, Emmanuel's wife, one of their friends Ray and I rode 60 miles on the LA river and Rio Hondo river trails into and back out of Long Beach. The morning started off a little chilly (in the low 50s) but quickly climbed in temperature so that I ended the ride in shorts and a long sleeved cycling shirt. The paths were fantastic - wide (so you could in most parts ride over 20 mph), flat and right through the city. Along the way, we passed a ton of horse stables and parks. The "river" isn't much of a river in most places, more of a concrete canyon, but still, the ride was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and I was blessed not to have to ride in the cold or on the trainer.

Here is the group in downtown Long Beach around the midway point.

With the Queen Mary in the background.

The prize of the ride was the leisurely pace along the beach and the fish tacos we had for lunch at Wahoo's. They were amazing and just what the doctor ordered to get us back to the start.

I had only one mishap of the day and added a war wound to my new bike helmet and seat when I toppled over towards the end of the ride. Unfamiliar with the territory, I rounded a 180 turn to face a short but extremely steep incline from the path up to the road. I missed the advice to switch my gearing and couldn't clip out fast enough or downshift from the big gear I had been riding the flats in. So. . . down I went. I'd like to call it graceful, but I doubt it was. Escaped with just a few bruises but thankfully no road rash.

My hotel window view.

Tonight, I plan to explore the shops and restaurants of Old Town Pasadena. I could get used to living in CA. Its amazing to be so close to the ocean, yet look out my hotel window and see the mountains in the very close distance. There are tons of outdoor activities, fantastic restaurants, beautiful parks and gardens and an outstanding fine arts, theater and music community.

I'm off to explore.

SNOW DAY!

2009-03-02T13:48:00.004-05:00

Its one of those RARE snow days in Richmond. Hope everyone got outside and enjoyed it! Last night was perfect snow ball fight weather.

Lulu, the snow dog!

My ab and arm workout for the day.

Bart, didn't we buy this ergonomic shovel at Lowe's last night for you to use?

Shakin it off!

A winter wonderland.

Our peaceful front yard.

SCAN 5K

2009-02-28T11:16:00.003-05:00

This morning Bart and I ran the SCAN 5K at the Short Pump Mall.

I'm smiling here post race in front of Crate & Barrell because I PR'd - by over two minutes.

Official finish time - 26:10.

Yes, that's in the 8:30s.

I'm still smiling.

Training my mind

2009-02-26T15:26:00.002-05:00

I need to train my mind to believe.

To believe that my body can go where I push it.
To believe that I can keep going even when it hurts
To believe that I can achieve what my coach tells me I can.

I've talked about this before, but I go through a period of self doubt each time I receive a race plan. This week is no different.

Its just a little 5K I tell myself. You ran that this morning after a hard bike without even blinking an eye. You've hit all of your track repeats below your target pace this Spring. You've been through this before . . . and, you always suprise yourself.

But still, I doubt. And this is where I still need to work.

To train my mind. To smile through it and go after it.

And Believe.

Time Flies...

2009-02-19T21:21:00.004-05:00

The time since my last blog has flown by. Work has been particularly busy and workouts are up to two a day for most days during the week. I haven't had much time to relax or blog. In fact, right now I'm multitasking in the Chicago airport while I wait for my late night flight. Here are some snippets of my HIGHS and lows from the last week.

Bart and I celebrated our 3rd "at sea" wedding anniversary last Saturday. I made a vow that next year, we'll celebrate where we should celebrate. . . on a boat in the BVI.

I am learning to like my long runs in Pocohontas. For those of you in Richmond, or visiting, Pocohontas is a FANTASTIC park. The trails are not too technical (less opportunity for a sprained ankle or a skimmed knee) and the park is peaceful. Its also hilly (great preparation for Placid). I really struggled my first weekend there, but last weekend went by a little bit faster, and I felt a little stronger. I even made it up all the hills without my HR skyrocketing beyond control or walking. Could have been my fresher legs, but I enjoyed it.

I am SOOO ready for warm weather and I definitely could not live in Chicago. I feared I would turn into a Popsicle the past two days and I can't even imagine having to train outside in this stuff. Last weekend's ride in Richmond was plenty cold for me.

Anything steeper than a 6 % grade makes me really work on the bike. I love my new Garmin Edge.

My stomach is still rejecting wine. :( Despite that, I still have had a glass or two. Call it an emergency.

I had a GREAT track session on the treadmill. I never thought I'd utter those words since I hate running on the treadmill and would rather swim long or bike if it is to cold or gross outside to run. That said, I had an appointment with Coach Michael on Tuesday morning for 600s at the track. I tried to cancel the night before because the weather was predicted to be in the low 20s. A regular run in the 20s is doable, but speed work for me is not. My legs just never warm up. So, after I tried to persuade Bart to go in my place (and he quickly refused), I sucked it up and headed to EF. After a warm up where my legs felt slow and heavy, we started a "warm up" 100s. Having no control over the buttons on the treadmill is a good and bad thing. Good, because you can't control the pace and have to hang on no matter what and Bad, because you can't control the pace. The 100s went pretty smoothly and soon it was time for the 600s. I must run an inconsistent pace on the track because believe it or not, my 600s on the treadmill almost felt (shhh... you didn't hear this...)easier. I'm thankful to have a Coach who pushes me and oftentimes believes more in my abilities than I do.

I'm thankful I don't travel for business every week. It totally screws up my schedule and my diet. I admire TriJones for working hard to juggle travel, work, home and training. Its tough.

I love gadgets. The latest I'm considering is a power meter. Two years ago my focus was more shoes, now its training gadgets. LOL!

That's all for now. Its now Friday - TGIF!

I want a new stomach . . . but I'll keep my bike!

2009-02-08T10:18:00.004-05:00

My cleanse ended a week and a day ago. While my weight loss during the cleanse wasn't as much as I had expected since I had given up EVERYTHING good to eat and drink, my stomach felt fantastic for those 28 days. Other than the 4th day of the detox (when my body was in complete shock), my stomach was perfect . . . no issues whatsoever. It was nice for a change to get up and go for a workout without any worries of how my stomach would react.

Since the detox has ended, I've kept up my healthy eating, managed to drop a few pounds but on Friday and Saturday night added back in a few glasses of wine, a smidge of dairy and last night, some red meat. As much as I hate to admit it, my stomach is rejecting one or all of those things. Both Saturday and Sunday mornings have not been pleasant in the stomach department. So, while I wouldn't have traded in the fabulous dinner TG40s husband cooked last evening, I guess I'm back to detox style eating (minus the shakes) again this week.

Deanna and Richard getting ready for the ride. . .

While I would trade in my stomach in a heart beat, I am definitely not trading in McQueen. Yesterday was again a beautiful, sunny perfect bike riding day. TG40, Richard, SanDee, our sponsored er Pirate and Dennis set out for the Ashland roads around 11:30. We took the new route that Richard showed us last week up to Ashland. Its a perfect route with lots of beautiful surroundings, good less traveled roads, some rollers and a good climb into town.

At Ashland Coffee and Tea

We were certainly not alone on the roads yesterday. It was awesome to see so many other cyclists on the road. When we arrived at Ashland Coffee and Tea, there were so many riders there that there was hardly a place to rest our bikes. We refueled and TG40, Richard and I set off for another 30 miles. On the return trip, Richard guided us to a new side loop by the fire training center that included a surprise double climb.

Richard testing the speed limit. . .

For February, my legs felt great yesterday. I was able to ride much further mileage at a lower HR and higher cadence than this time last year. And, McQueen's saddle didn't even hurt after the 50 miles. At the end, I my legs burned on our last push into the head winds but it was a good tired.

While I didn't want the ride to end yesterday, the best part about the finish was that I new I was headed to a post-ride massage. Kim at Therapeutic Massage worked wonders as always, and soon, I was relaxed and ready to head to a fabulous dinner at TG40s.

Our post ride self-portrait

Its another awesome day outside today. Hope everyone heads outside to enjoy it! I'm headed to Pocahontas State Park for 2 hrs of trail running. Will have to bring some bread crumbs and keep my fingers crossed that I don't get lost!

I Need Some Sunshine . . .

2009-02-03T07:29:00.003-05:00

It's February and to my disappointment, Punxsutawney Phil yesterday predicted a longer winter. Cold sub30 morning workouts are not my favorite. In my mind, February should be warm OR I should be headed to someplace in the Caribbean to do some winter open water training and get my much needed dose of sunshine. I've been green with envy reading the sites of some of my favorite Hawaii triathletes, Bree Wee and Rachel Ross, as they train in such beautiful surroundings and conditions. And so, I've spent some of those cold runs or trainer rides dreaming of living in warmer weather or at least escaping to my favorite place, the British Virgin Islands.

Here is me last year, getting a dance workout in aboard our 50 foot catamaran.

We got a small glimpse of Spring on Sunday and oh the difference it made. The temperatures rose to the lower 60s and McQueen was begging for a ride outside. Bart and I rode with TG40, Richard and Kermit on a great 30 mile loop towards Ashland. I got to test out my new Edge 705 (I love it by the way) and the route was beautiful with some rollers and one decent hill to test out our winter fitness. The ride with friends and the sunshine made a perfect Sunday, to be topped off with the cherry of the weekend, a Steelers Superbowl win!

Unfortunately, this morning, I woke up to snow on the ground and 30 degree temperatures again. Rather than motivate myself to the track, I slept in, still tired from a hard Guppies workout yesterday morning, a long workday and my attempt at yoga during the lunch hour.

Our trip to the BVI is out this year -- our funds are going instead to two trips to Placid and our Ironman training. So, I'm back to praying for warmer temperatures to return and pulling out pictures from trips and fond memories of trips in years past to bring a smile to my face.

So here's to a warm winter day for this Saturday's ride. I hear it might be in the 50s! :)

Placid Trainer Games

2009-01-19T10:43:00.007-05:00

Temperatures on Saturday morning foiled our planned ride with RABA in Urbanna and were far to frigid to venture outside on the bike. My temperature low for outside riding, particularly when it lasts over an hour, is 30 degrees. So in order to break the monotony of a 2 hr and 40 minute planned trainer ride, Bart and I invited two fellow Placid peeps TG40 and DL and our ham sponsored rider GG over for the inaugural Troy Jacobsen Lake Placid Training Video viewing.

The video was entertaining, challenging (one of the toughest trainer rides I've ever ridden) and very informative. It was great to see the Ironman course and hear Coach Troy's helpful hints on where to save up, where to hydrate and make sure you eat and where the tough parts will be. Parts seemed counter intuitive - while Troy was cruising down the hill towards Keene in his big gears, we were in our small ring with a very high (over 100) cadence. When he was spinning up hills, we were grinding in our big gears trying to simulate climbing those big hills. I managed to make it through the entire 2 hrs and 53 minutes of the video, but not without a bunch of moaning and with some more relaxed gearing than what Troy calls for in the video. It was a great baseline ride for January though and it will be interesting to see when I ride it again if my gearing/cadence ratios improve as my fitness and hopefully my strength improves with the season.

On another note, my suspected plantar fascitis, is just that. I went and had ART done again on Friday morning and visited the orthopedist on Friday afternoon. Both Saturday and Sunday mornings were free from pain and my foot felt great. That is, until post long run last night and this morning. So, I'm back to the iced water bottle and lots of stretching this week and maybe a trip for some new shoes.

Training Again

2009-01-13T21:25:00.005-05:00

In addition to it being day 9 of my 28 day cleanse, I am finally back to official training. I received my plan yesterday via my own new website on TrainingPeaks. So far, the software looks pretty awesome. Lots of cool ways to share feedback information with Coach Michael like workout heart rates, mileage and Garmin stuff plus extras like perceived effort, sleep the night before, nutrition, etc.

My plan apparently is focused on "the run" for the first 8 weeks. Coach was excited by my technique session and believes that if I can fix the glitch in my recovery technique then I should be able to make great improvements in my run times. As any of you who read this know, the run is my least favorite, so a plan focused on it is not my ideal, but like the cleanse, I'm just going to listen, stick to it and have faith.

Today's workout was my bike VO2 test and technique analysis on the spin scan. I'm always amazed how quickly the VO2 test can suck the life out of your legs while you pedal. One minute I feel great and am working a great cadence, and then less than a minute later, my legs feel like they have been on a 60 mile bike ride. Don't know the results, but I would have liked to have pushed a few more watts. Oh well. That's what strength training is for right? Like the other technique sessions, my bike technique session revealed a few things to work on and possibly a fix to my shoe issue.

As for the cleanse, I'm still on plan. Still no red meat, wine, coffee, tomatoes, dairy, etc. I'm feeling pretty good and the headache and stomach issues I had on day 4 last week, have completely disappeared. Surprisingly, my craving for coffee has dissipated some but in its place, my desire for something red - red sauce, ketchup, salsa - you name it. The worst part now is trying to gag down the new protein powder geared towards reducing inflammation in my gut twice a day. The supposed pineapple banana flavor tastes more like a heavy dose of ginger, cinnamon and cardamon. This morning's smoothie with blueberry juice was so far the best at masking the strong spice flavor. Hopefully in the next 20 days I'll figure out the perfect smoothie concoction.

Day 3

2009-01-07T18:39:00.005-05:00

Day three of my "nutrition cleanse" is almost to a close. So far, I haven't been particularly hungry or craved anything with the exception of COFFEE! Normally, I don't drink more than about a cup and a half of good coffee each day and so I didn't think I would miss it at all when relegated to tea . . . but, alas, it is the thing I miss most. Both Monday morning and Wednesday mornings when I came home from my pre-work swim to shower and change and breathed in that wonderful smelling fresh brewed pot of Southern Pecan coffee Bart had just brewed, I had to conjure up all of my strength not to cave. But then I reminded myself it was only 28 days and that I could do anything for 28 days and started to get ready for work.

Other than craving coffee and trying to get back in the swing of things at work, I've been getting back on plan this week with retesting for both VO2 and technique. I managed to survive Monday's run VO2 max test (my least favorite) and while I don't know exact scores, I don't think I lost too much during the off-season and am certainly starting better than last year. The run technique assessment which followed Tuesday morning was far more interesting. I learned I don't bend my legs very well when on the recovery part of my run which leads to very little knee drive and sort of a "chicken run." It gets slightly better as my pace increases, but not by much. We worked on some drills to fix the problem, but it doesn't flow naturally for me so this will definitely be an area to work on. Its odd to see yourself run on video, but very informative. Thankfully, I wasn't youtubed for either, but there are lots of great VO2 videos out there if you have some web surfing time.

Last night I got to goof off with cycling class at EF. I still struggle with the one legged drills at 90 rpms, but am starting to get the hang of them and can hold on for a few seconds at that pace before my form deteriorates. I've at least got the 70 rpm and 50 rpm drills conquered. We did another fun set this week that I loved - 9 minutes tempo alternating every 30 seconds between 110 rpm high cadence, 50 rpm hard gear and standing. Definitely got my heart rate going but also kept my mind engaged focusing on different muscles and aspects of form.

This morning's workout was a swim in the Endless Pool. I was excited to check it out and see if my form has improved after a few months of guppies with Karen Holloway. Swimming in the Endless Pool is different than swimming in a regular pool and much more like open water swimming. Because of the current, you can't take breaks and loaf and you also have to keep a fairly constant pace. The current moves you around a bit and accentuates any weaknesses in your stroke, just like real current. That said, I think I'll return - its a good workout and would be a good place to do a constant swim or even intervals. If I can do it in my wetsuit, even better. I learned that my technique has improved but that I still have a dead left pull when I breathe to my right and could stand to improve my catch on both sides. Coach Harlow walked me through some drills that I hope will improve it (including my favorite breathe away drill, aka the drowning drill from guppies) and introduced me to the VASA trainer to work on the strength and muscle memory of my catch.

All good things to work on this spring. Tomorrow. . . the bike VO2 test and time on the spin scan. 25 days from now. . . a good cup of coffee.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-04T20:21:00.004-05:00

Although January 1 was a few days ago, tomorrow starts the beginning of my new year. Tonight I took some time to finalize some of my race plans for 2009, study my guidelines for my 28 day cleanse and think of all of the wonderful things that 2008 brought. And... of course, play a little bit on a facebook. I find it totally amazing that in the two short days since I've joined, I've reconnected with people from my hometown I haven't seen in over a decade, old college friends and, of course, the triathlon community.

As for 2009 goals, they are still a work in progress, much like the design of my Blog site. As you may have noticed, its starting to look a little different. IM Lake Placid is still at the forefront but there are many smaller goals, training and non-training along that need to fall into place. I don't do well with large overarching goals. I need smaller, specific tasks that I can check off in my planner at the end of the month.

So for now, a little brainstorming over January's goals and challenges. . .

Successfully complete my 28 day cleanse
Switch from the off-season to IM training
Finish stripping wallpaper in and paint my last guest bedroom
Pack lunch 2 times a week
Pep up my lesson plans for my spring law school class
Finish my blog redesign
Take at least three pictures each week.

These are mine... what are the rest of you up to?

The Off-Season

2008-11-23T14:02:00.002-05:00

I entered my true off-season last Sunday with different fanfare than I expected. Last Saturday, I was supposed to cap off my race season with a PR half-marathon. Instead, after about 4 miles of the race, high heart rates and coughs, sneezes and wheezes associated with the virus I managed to catch the week before, I called it quits, DNF'd and took a leisurely stroll/jog back down to the finish line to cheer on my fellow training buddies as they crossed the finish line. I've never DNF'd before and I felt some sheepishness, but I'm certain it was the right thing for my body. My body was still fighting hard whatever bug was attacking, and it needed rest more than anything. There will be another day in my future to push myself hard.

Much of the rest of the weekend (with the exception of our fabulous end of the year TG brunch) and Monday I spent resting with a Kleenex box not too far away. I dragged myself to the doctors on Monday since after a week and a half, I still hadn't seen measurable improvement and when I coughed I sounded like I had the plague or black lung. After Monday's day off and the assistance of some new meds, I finally started to perk back up on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This week I took full advantage of my off-season break. Only two workouts - a tennis match Wednesday night and a trainer ride Friday morning - and neither one of them too strenuous or early in the morning. Next week I hope to get back to a little bit more regular workouts but plan to keep it loose and fun between now and the end of the year. I'm also looking forward to a little revamping of my blog and setting my next year's races and goals.

So . . . if I'm a little quiet on the blog front, I'm probably out enjoying the off-season. Hope you are too!

Updates and More Updates

2008-11-02T09:02:00.009-05:00

The most important update first. Congrats to Kate O., Shawn, Sharon, Patty, Charlotte, Fred, Kate G. and Som on becoming Ironmen yesterday(Som for the 5th? time this year)! I am so proud of each one of you! Watching the online updates yesterday brought me back to a year ago in my own journey when I watched the Deannas, SQ, Karen, Anna, Carmen et al crossing the finish line and thinking that Ironman was something I wanted in my own future. 09 will be my year to give it a go and seeing everyone race yesterday only strengthened that desire.

The last two weeks have been packed. A trip to Bermuda for JK's wedding, then on to Montana for business, then back in town for W&M's homecoming, a beautiful fall ride in nothern Virginia, a busy work week, Halloween, oh... and some training for that half marathon in a few weeks in Richmond. Its been a bit crazy, but here are some of the highlights.

The beautiful beach at the Fairmont. Soft sand, clear turquoise water, a perfect setting for the wedding.

The gals all dressed up, a little wind blown and waiting for the trolley.

The happy couple says their vows.

A little change in gears. . . Back in the states, the next weekend we engaged in a little "off season" training on our hybrids. A ride on the Mt. Vernon trail from George Washington's estate to city center (about 19 miles) and back out was a perfect mix of a little sweat and lots of fun. The weather was picture perfect and due to the Marine Corps Marathon we were even able to ride down the middle of Constitution Avenue before meeting up with SG's brother for some mid-day "fuel."

Me and the boys post ride. Gregg tried to claim the yellow jersey for the day. It really belonged to SanDee. I highly recommend this ride. Once in D.C., if you bring a bike lock, you can take in all the sights and there are plenty of great places to stop to and from D.C., including Bart's favorite - the Ben & Jerry's in old town.

Yesterday, TGs Mollie, Katheryn, Debbie Jo, Fave, Lisa, TG40 and I checked out the new very flat half marathon course. I've determined that long runs are SO much more fun when run with others. The miles ticked off quickly as we wound through the beautiful neighborhoods of Richmond's northside. It will be helpful to have the landmarks of the course in my head on race day and it was good to have a decent long run (they've been alluding me this fall) in the bank before I start my taper. Thanks ladies for a great run!

Hope everyone is enjoying the fall. Congrats again to our Ironmen!

An Indian Summer Sunday

2008-10-12T15:37:00.007-04:00

TG Kate O's blog ticker tape reminded me that it is has been two weeks since I last posted. I wish I could post about all kinds of exciting things, but the truth is, nothing much worth blogging about has transpired.

Much of my focus the past week has been on nutrition and running. The nutrition is finally starting to come along. I've gone back to keeping a food journal and have really been trying to track the ratios and servings of fruit, starch, protein and fat. The good news is that I feel like I'm eating all of the time and am certainly not going hungry. Good nutritious food, really has much fewer calories. My energy levels are up and hopefully I'm beginning the process of changing my body composition. The bad news is that there is not much room for vino.

As for the run. . . I still feel like I'm making progress at the track (last week's 800s were on 8 minute pace), but am a little frustrated with the pace of my long runs. Last week's 14 miles averaged in the 10:20s and this week's long 16, while at much lower heart rates and more enjoyable, averaged around 10:45. Both, however, are way slower than where I need to end up come race time and well above my spring half marathon pace.

This weekend we've been enjoying a little bit of an indian summer. Temperatures during the day in the upper 70s and some of the bluest skies of the year. Hope everyone is enjoying it!

Congrats to all of the amazing folks who finished Kona yesterday in what appeared to be blistering conditions. I continue to be amazed by Chrissie Wellington - she has such fire and spunk and best of all, when she races looks like she wouldn't want to trade what she is doing with anything in the world. I can't wait to see the TV version this fall.

The whole package

2008-09-27T17:02:00.003-04:00

It doesn't make sense in this sport to try and get better if you are not going to pay attention to the whole package. It doesn't make sense to log hours and hours on the bike, pounding the pavement or swimming in the pool or even time in the weight room if you are going to ignore other aspects of our sport like getting enough sleep, proper hydration and eating right and of course, believing.

I know this.

Yet, again this week I expected results and improvement on my long Saturday run but completely ignored part of the package -- proper hydration and nutrition. As I suffered through my 12 miles today, I got angrier and angrier at myself. I know I called myself stupid many times. I had showed up to run, with all my nutrition and hydration for the day, I was mentally ready to put the tough effort in, but I hadn't followed any semblance of proper pre-run fueling.

Let's see... my last two days started their precipitous dive on Thursday night with a salad, loaded baked potato (cheese, sour cream, bacon), a cheeseburger (no bun) and, to top it off, a half bottle of wine. Thursday night I slept like crap (bc of the half bottle of wine) and woke up tired and likely dehydrated too. So, I slept in, missed my swim workout and recovery run and headed to the office. I tried to get myself back on track with breakfast - some buckwheat waffles, toasted plain with a fruit protein smoothie, but then chose poorly again at lunch with too many chips and salsa to go with my fajita fillings, rice and beans. I repeated Mexican for dinner (I could eat it every meal if it were healthy) with some more rice and beans, chips and cheese dip, and shrimp fajita filling. I added my salt for the evening with 2 margaritas. My dessert, a 200 calorie gluten free peanut butter cookie from Trader Joe's that I've been craving since last December when I had them last. Then, rather than going to bed early to get some extra sleep, I stayed up late baking my unhealthy cookies, watching the presidential debates and then reading, get this, Nutrition for Endurance Athletes.

As I was berating myself on the run today, I counted my fluid intake from yesterday.... 2 margaritas, 1 cup of coffee, 10 oz fruit smoothie, and only 24 oz water. Pitiful. Is it any wonder my legs felt like lead, I suffered dehydration symptoms and in general had a crappy run?

I know better.

If I really want to improve, I need to commit. . . not just at workout time, but also throughout the day and week. Wanting it and believing will only carry me so far, I need to pay attention to the whole package. Its time to start!

Round and Round I Go.....

2008-09-24T21:22:00.003-04:00

Over the past week I've been to the track twice. The first time, last Saturday, for my three mile timed run and tonight, for my weekly speed workout.

My results pretty much mimicked my love/hate relationship with the track. Tonight's workout was successful and I left the track feeling positive. Saturday's run was frustrating and disappointing and I left the track questioning the work I am putting in.

But whether I have a good results or mediocre ones, there is something that draws me back to track. Why? I'm not sure. For hours before these workouts, I dread the burn I know I'll feel in my lungs and legs. I get anxious about meeting goal times. And at times during the repeats, I'm working so hard I dry heave and want to walk off the track. But, on the other hand, there is something rhythmic in the work of intervals, a simplicity in my task. I like the lightness and quickness I feel in my stride that occurs at the very beginning of each new set. Its empowering to have to work hard. And finally, there is the thrill and surprise when I pour out my everything and I pass a goal time that on paper pre-workout seemed unattainable.

Tonight, as I finished my 4th of 6 600s, the sun was setting in the sky in bright hues of purple and pink, my heart was racing hard, and there was the beginning of fall's crispness in the air. And despite the hard efforts and my raspy breathing, at that moment it was nothing but peaceful. Just me and the track. I smiled, and set off for number 5.

A postcard from LA!

2008-09-17T07:51:00.003-04:00

I got this postcard from LA today from TG40.

McQueen understands that Patriot Sangria is jealous. Don't worry Patriot Sangria. You'll be your own star after Mighty Man!

A mid-month update

2008-09-12T14:14:00.003-04:00

Sorry for taking so long between posts. Last week was hectic with a trip to Chicago late night work hours. And this week, I've been exhausted and under the weather since Wednesday.

I wish I could report that things have been going swimmingly on my new back to school plan. But, they have not.

First, the nutrition. I have learned that my body can not handle a high protein diet. Twelve ounces of meat a day does crazy things to my stomach and I need more carbs to sustain my workouts. Consequently after 4 days on the diet, my stomach (and my husband) was saying STOP and my long run on the weekend was a disaster death march. So I dropped all the extra meat, but apparently (I learned today) didn't compensate with enough calories . . . which has contributed to this week's malaise. Today I returned to my nutritionist Tina and so hopefully after this weekend, I'll be back on track. New plan, new start.

Second, the strength training. This part is actually going well. I have gone each week to my Wed am core endurance class and as of Monday am now set up with a strength training program to add in one other day during the week. I am now able to laugh the day after core training without cringing from pain. Always a good sign :)

Running. Well I still really don't like it and my training gets mixed reviews. As I alluded to above, my first week's long run was a disaster. I had NOTHING for the entire run after mile 2. My HR soared, I walked a TON and for the first time ever I couldn't complete my mileage because I was too afraid I was going to pass out. Granted, it was extremely hot and humid that Saturday in Nagshead, but still my results were frustrating. How could I not run 14 measly miles when two weeks earlier I did a half ironman? Many kudos to TG SanDee for sticking with me and helping me shake it off afterwards. Total distance of the death march - 10 miles. Mid-week following, I did have a great track workout which helped me regain some confidence. And, last weekend's long run was MUCH better. 15 miles completed. My pace was a little slower than I would have liked (Ave 11 min) but I felt better during the run and was able to complete the distance. There were even a few times when the tunes on my ipod brought a smile to my face.

Which brings me to this week. Monday was great - my calfs were sore but I managed to get through a personal training session in the morning and then in the evening, head back out for a short 40 min run workout with 15 hill repeats wedged in the middle. While my legs felt the long run from the day before, they eventually loosened up and I actually felt strong bounding up the hill.

Tuesday was when I first started feeling wiped out. And so, I skipped my Tuesday evening easy cycle. Wed morning I headed out and made it through core class. I felt sluggish but I chalked it off to the 6 am hour and my upset stomach to dinner the night before. By mid day, my stomach felt rotten, I had chills off and on and I had a headache that wouldn't leave. I made it through the work day but collapsed that night on the couch at home and went to bed early. I felt slightly better yesterday but still sluggish. I made myself do my cycling workout before dinner - 75 mins of pedal stroke and cadence drills and riding. I had no legs for the workout and my sports drink made my stomach feel all bloated and gross. I managed to get through a normal dinner at Kitchen 64 and then headed to bed early in hopes of getting in my long run this morning before work.

When the alarm went off this morning, I knew 16 miles were not going to happen today. My head felt like it would explode and I was wiped out. So I rolled over and went back to bed for an hour or two.

Both Coach Harlow and my Nutritionist Tina concur. My body needs rest to fight off a bug I seemingly have caught AND I need to pay close attention to my calorie intake so I am eating enough. So no long run for me today. If I'm feeling well Sunday evening, I'm supposed to give it a go. In the interim, lots of fluids, enough calories and rest.

Back to School

2008-08-26T21:36:00.004-04:00

Even though I haven't been attending classes for quite a few years now. . . the last week in August still signals that school is right around the corner. With my triathlons completed for the season, I decided to take a "back to school" approach with my fall training. My study? Three of my triathlon weaknesses:

1. Running
2. Strength
3. My weight

My extra-curriculars for the fall semester will be some fun easy time on the bike and some technique work in the pool.

Yesterday I started my new "running focused" plan. My ultimate end goal is the Richmond Half Marathon on November 15th. Coach Michael is gearing all of my run training over the next two and a half months towards getting me across the finish line under the 2 hour mark. Yesterday's workout was a nice break in post 1/2 IM - a half hour run on the grass field focusing on technique with 5 minutes in the middle of barefoot running.

Today I started my second class - my weight. First, I've made major progress over the past year and a month that I've been seeing my nutritionist, Tina Shiver. Not only have my stomach issues decreased substantially (after figuring out my gluten intolerance) such that now they seem to be infrequent rather than every day and are usually associated with a meal eaten in a restaurant, but I've also lost about 15 pounds and gone down almost 2 clothing sizes. That said, I still have a few tires around my stomach and more wiggle in my thighs than I'd like. So, we are aiming for another 10 to disappear.

In anticipation of my appointment today and refocus for fall, I took last week completely off (i.e. drank lots of wine, ate a few more sweets and didn't really pay attention to portions or nutritional content) and celebrated my "last meal" last night post workout at Casa Grande with a large margarita, lots of chips and salsa and our usual fajitas texacanas. This morning as I faced a new day, I got a good chuckle at pro Elizabeth Fedofsky's very timely blog this morning about she and her husband's grocery shopping habits. It reminded me of the difference between Bart's and my grocery lists - mine usually full of locally grown produce, organic fruit, alternate grains and "happy" meat and Bart never letting the jar with the dark chocolate Hershey kisses get empty, loving his hot dogs with cheese whiz and finishing off many meals with either a cookie, some ice cream or a big glass of chocolate milk. To his credit, he now also usually has bananas, salmon, organic strawberries and V8 on his list.

Today's visit with Tina as always was helpful in getting me prepared for my next goals. We talked through my successful nutrition and hydration at Timberman, designed some new bars for me to try from You Bar and then got down to business - my new eating plan. In essence, the next 3 weeks are going to be an attempt to trick my body into losing weight again by mixing things up and giving me enough protein to repair my worn muscles. We rarely talk calories (I have a hard time counting them) and instead talk in servings. My new plan is going to be tough - a lot more lean protein than I'm used to (a whopping 12 oz a day) and a super tiny allowance for fat (between 35-38 g a day). Since today I learned each ounce of protein from meat averages 2 g of fat, that means if I get at 2 oz of my protein from non-meat sources, I only have 15 g of fat left to spend during the day. Not much if you consider that a teaspoon of olive oil or butter has 5 g fat and most of our starches have some fat content - even if only 1 or 2 grams. Essentially this means I have to make some hard choices these next three weeks and eliminate most of my "luxuries" that I've been allowed to enjoy this past triathlon season - i.e. chocolate, mayo, regular salad dressing, butter, potato chips and the most disappointing of all, wine. Yes, wine must be counted as a fat and so most nights (thankfully not every night) I will have to go without.

So. . . if I'm a little grumpy the next few days as I adjust to my new plan, I apologize. The grumpiness will disappear soon and hopefully this will be just the jump start I need to get me back on track and losing again.

Tomorrow - I tackle the start of my final class - strength training - with a 6 am core endurance class.

Timberman Race Report

2008-08-20T13:59:00.004-04:00

First, I apologize for the lack of pictures to accompany this post. My mom was responsible for capturing the moments at the race and they left for whale watching before I remembered to download the pictures from her camera. I'll try and post some later.

Overall, I had a great day and a great race.

Our morning started extremely early - the alarm went off at 3:45 am. By 4:30 we were dressed and ready to go, gear packed in the car, breakfast in hand. We picked up my mom and dad at their hotel and immediately issued a warning: "I'm sorry if I am grumpy or quiet this morning. I promise I'll be better after the race is over." For whatever reason, my anxiety before a race is horrible. Pre-race I'd pretty much rather do anything than wait around to race. The stress of it all turns my stomach in knots and is by far the worst part of racing.

Because of our early departure, we were able to get a pretty good parking spot at Ellacoya State Park in the shaded section in the lot by the swim start. Bart and I walked over to transition, took the tarps covering our bikes off and prepared our transition area and bikes for the race. At the last minute, I wimped out and decided to put on my bike shoes in transition rather than trying to put them on while on the bike. Although I've done it many times before, on race morning, it just seemed like too much for this particular race with this many people around.

After our transition areas were ready, Bart and I headed back to the car to try and eat some breakfast. I managed to gag down a banana and a half a cup of white rice before my stomach started to do flip flops. Thankfully there was a port-o-potty nearby and I went to stand in line. Back at the car my mom started asking questions about the race: "Why do some people have Rs on their legs versus an age? What is the distance again of the bike? etc" Finally I had to just ask her to not ask any more questions. The more I thought about the race (and answered the questions) the more my nerves got to me. So yep... back to the port-o-potty again. This time when I returned to the car, it was time to put on my wetsuit and head to the beach for the swim start. I was amazed at how quickly 2 and a half hours passed.

Once on the beach I was able to spot some familiar faces - TGs Lynn, Sharon, Karen and Shawn, plus Blake and Fred were wading in the water getting ready for the swim to start. The pros (both men and women) were off first. It is amazing how quickly they move through the water and how close they swim to one another. The 50 and older men were off next, including the Hoyts. I continue to be inspired by the strength and accomplishment of the Hoyts. As the pros were headed back to shore, it was time to test my goggles, swim a few strokes and head towards the start. Finally, around 7:50, TG Karen, Sharon and I were off.

The swim was much choppier than what I had experienced in my practice swim two days earlier. The buoys were easy to spot and I felt like I was making solid headway, although working hard, on the way out to the first turn buoy. Unfortunately, I wasn't having much success in finding someone to draft off of. It seemed the people around me were either too fast, and I would lose their feet, or too slow and I was climbing up their legs. So I just kept at it and swam. After the turn, while we swam parallel to the shore, I felt a little stronger and more comfortable. I was able to stretch out my stroke a bit and relax some in the water. Then, as I neared the last turn buoy, the waves started. Yes, I meant to write waves. Around the last turn buoy there seemed to be considerable chop and current. Almost every time I lifted my head to sight, I encountered a wave of water in my face. I felt like I was going nowhere. At that point, I wanted to be done with the swim, and I felt like it was taking me forever to get from buoy to buoy. Finally, after about 3 buoys, the current slowed some, the water calmed and it was a quick swim into shore.

I stripped my wetsuit down to my waist, and jogged off towards transition. My dad was alongside the swim exit and I got a big smile and "Go Beth" to help me on my way. One of my favorite parts was next... the wetsuit strippers. I plopped my body down on the AstroTurf and two kids yanked my wetsuit off in record time. As I started down my row, I noticed Bart leaving transition and realized my swim must not have been as slow as I thought.

T1 was purposefully on the slower side. I put my shoes on, took time to take electrolyte tablets, added my glasses and helmet and headed out to the bike. By then, my mom and dad had made their way to the bike shoot and were there to see me off with cheers and smiles.

Bike - My goal for the bike was to keep my heart rate in check - in zone 3 - for the entire leg other than a few of the killer hills and to eat and drink plenty on the back half of the course after getting through the initial 12 miles. The first 12 miles were as challenging as I thought they'd be. The worst hill was the "Monster" at mile 10. As I was grinding pedal by pedal slowly up the hill, Andy Potts was flying down in the opposite direction, followed quickly by a few more male pros and my favorite woman triathlete, Chrissie Wellington. Before I reached the top and right when I needed it, Blake also passed me and gave some encouraging words. Finally, the hills were over and fun part of the course began. I was very thankful that I had trained on what few hills we have in Richmond and also biked on the Blue Ridge a few times in training. The Blue Ridge rides were especially great preparation. The middle of the bike course was more typical of triathlons I've raced and I felt like I was flying. I ate well, drank lots and by the time I hit the turn around, I was much closer to my White Lake time than I expected and that bit of surprise gave me a little more energy for the next half. The return up the hills was easier than the trip out and I started to pass more people than I was passed (which was frequent by the 45-50 age group men in the beginning). Soon I was headed back into the park taking my shoes off on the bike and surprising my parents by my earlier than I anticipated arrival.

T2 - Again I took my time in transition, dried off my feet and body glided my blister spots, took some more electrolytes, grabbed my visor and took off for the run. I decided to wear my run belt after all just in case I needed water at a time it wasn't available. If I do this race again, I would leave it in transition.

Run - For the first time this year since the Kinetic Sprint, I actually felt good on the run. My heart rate stayed where it was supposed to and, while my legs were certainly hurting during the second lap, I didn't feel like I was going to die out there on the run course. Although I haven't looked at my splits yet, I'm pretty sure I ran a negative split. The support on the run course was better than any race I've ever done. I loved the man handing out snowballs (which I promptly put down my sports bra to help keep me cool) and the block of neighbors at the turn around who sang barbershop quartet and played Broadway show tunes. I took a cup of water and a cold sponge at every water stop and did my best to keep myself cool. The double out and back course was great for cheering on and seeing all of my fellow TGs (Karen, Susie, Shawn, Sharon, Lynn, Melissa, Mary, Kate, Sarah) , Coach Blake, my fellow Endorphin teammates Fred, Missy and Brian and of course my hubby Bart. I'm pretty sure I had a smile on my face the entire run. Having volunteered at Placid, I made sure I thanked each of the volunteers who handed me a cup, sponge, food or cheered me on. Final Kick's arch before the last half mile of each loop played motivating tunes when I needed them and helped me push the end of each loop. Despite the harder course, I ran about 4 minutes faster than White Lake and almost reached my run goal of sub 11 min miles.

As I neared the finish line chute, Bart was there to cheer me on. I missed seeing anyone I knew as I ran down the chute but as soon as I got my medal and my frozen ice pop, my parents were there to give me a big hug and congrats. I was so glad they made the trip and were able to be a part of my race experience. I think it gave them new insight into this sport I love and for me, it certainly made me want to work harder out there on the course. It was awesome to see their smiles and I know they were proud of both Bart and I.

While this doesn't fit in my race schedule next year because of Placid, I definitely will put it on the list of possible races for future years.

Here are my race stats:
Swim 42:12 (35:10 mile pace)
T1 3:34
Bike 3:23.42 (16.5 ave)
T2 3:46
Run 2:25.53 (11.09 pace)

Final Time: 6:39:05 (59/101 in my age group)

We're Here - Pre-race Report

2008-08-16T10:01:00.010-04:00

We finally arrived late night Thursday (actually early am Friday) after a 12 plus hour drive from Richmond to Meredith, NH. We'll have to plan our return trip a little better since we hit NYC at peak rush hour and then proceeded to drive through construction site after construction site in CT, MA and into NH. We also had luck (not) getting behind a 20 tractor trailer caravan of wide loads escorted by no less than 8 police cars as we neared Boston. It would have been a serious blocking penalty in the sport of triathlons.

The town of Meredith is quaint and beautiful. Here are a few pics from our hotel room at the Inns at Mills Falls over looking Lake Winnipesaukee.

We slept late yesterday, checked some work emails and headed off to a yummy brunch at noon. After chowing down and browsing the shops near our hotel a bit, we headed to Ellacoya State Park to check out the transition area, meet up with TG Kate to hand off her bike and do our practice swim. The ride to Ellacoya started to put doubts in our head as to the terrain of the bike course as we headed up and down and up and down the hills over to the park.

The transition area is huge. . . probably twice as big as White Lake. On either side of the transition are two beaches. Based on the course maps, it appears start our swim on one beach and return from the other. I will have lots of time to watch and the pros should finish the swim well in advance of my wave start.

The beaches were roped off and there was boat traffic all along so we put on our wetsuits and swam several times back and forth down the length of the beach near the buoys to get used to the water, current and swimming in our wetsuits for a change. The water temp is perfect, cool but not cold and the water itself is pretty clear. We will definitely face some current and maybe some small swells depending on boat traffic. It felt odd swimming in my wetsuit again - a little constricted and definitely different body positioning. By the end of my short swim I was sighting well, my wetsuit felt comfortable and it was time to get out and head to Gunstock.

Here is TG Kate and I post swim.

We drove up some more hills to Gunstock Ski Resort to packet pickup. I had heard that Timberman had great goodie bags and they were right. We got awesome TYR bags, long sleeved race Tshirts and hats plus an assortment of samples, and a triathlon magazine (unfortunately a back issue I've already read). The best item for me however was the portable sample size chamois cream. I had meant to pick one of these up to put on my bike for the race just in case, but had forgotten. Now I'm covered.

Post packet pickup we drove the bike course. The work on this course is definitely going to be during the first and last 13 miles. The are not for the timid and I will need to remind myself on race day not to be discouraged by them. There are definitely some longer climbs, some shorter steeper ones (including the Monster) and some twisty high speed descents. As I told Bart, I'm going to have to put on my big girl pants tomorrow and take some of these descents outside of my comfort zone in order to make up some time from the hills. TG Lynn and TG Fave are going to love them. The back half of the course is more typical of the triathlon. Some up and down but predominately flat. We even found a yummy ice cream stop - too bad we can't stop and enjoy during the race. The course is definitely doable, but it certainly will be a challenge. I just need to remember to race my race, not someone else's and have fun.

Despite our ice cream snack, at dinner time I was starving again. We ate downstairs in our hotel at Lago. It was fantastic! I had grilled pork tenderloin with a blueberry, raspberry and strawberry salsa, rosemary mashed potatoes and green beans. I learned from the waitress that the blueberries had been picked that morning and delivered to the restaurant by a local. Yum! We also had a few glasses of vino to celebrate our arrival and race weekend.

Back at our hotel room we capped the night off cheering at our TV as Michael Phelps won his 7th gold medal by .01 seconds. He is simply amazing!

This morning we tested our bikes out on the roads around Meredith and got a little taste of what our first 12 miles will be like tomorrow - hilly. Although scenic, the road we took from the hotel was anything but flat. After about our 5th hill climb,14 minutes of riding and taking a look at the next huge descent I turned around and headed back towards town. My legs got their requisite warm up and the rest of the day they can relax.

On tap next? Lunch with my mom and dad who should arrive soon, race meeting at 3 at Gunstock and then off to rack our bikes for the night.

Tonight, think good thoughts for the 15 of us racing from Richmond and pray we have a safe, fun and fast race tomorrow.

Ahhh.... my Taper

2008-08-10T18:00:00.002-04:00

My Taper has started and other than feeling like I've gained 2 or 3 lbs, I am loving it! As an added bonus to my shorter workout schedules, the weather in Richmond seems to have broken for a few days and the last week had been beautiful. As a result, my mood is more upbeat and I am having positive thoughts for next weekend.

Some highlights:

A speedy hour bike Wed night at West Creek (ave 18.5 with my zone 4 fifteen minutes at paces over 20 mph) followed by an easy zone 1 run;
Two strong swims at the YMCA;
A positive left knee check up at the orthopedist (my knee has been twingy since my fall in Cville and I thought I'd be safe and get it checked);
A bike to Ashland Coffee & Tea with Bart and the Gammons this morning and a 40 minute run in the fan around my old stomping grounds and through the Carytown Watermelon Festival followed by a quick cool down dip in the pool;
A yummy Friday night dinner at the Farmhouse with TG40 and hubby followed by some sangria under the stars and big oaks as we listened to Susan Greenbaum; and
Lots and lots of inspiration from the amazing athletes competing in this year's Olympics.

I've started my packing lists for Timberman and we head out to New Hampshire Thursday morning after our brick. One week left!

A Double Brick

2008-07-31T16:33:00.002-04:00

I don’t know about the rest of you, but there are certain workouts on my schedule that I anxious about completing and prior to starting have no expectations of successfully achieving their expectations. I call these my “Michael, you’re crazy” workouts. Last night, one of those workouts was on my schedule. And, to top it off, according to weather.com it was 89 degrees at 6:45 p.m. when I started and the humidity was 90% [felt lik 116 degrees]. West Creek was a sauna.

Here was last nights’ plan – a double brick:

Brick: I want you to perform a pair of bike/run combos at zone 4 intensity [i.e. right below AT]. Run easy for 10 minutes followed by 5 minutes easy on the bike. Now, I want you to bike for 25 minutes followed by a 15 minute run - both in zone 4. Take 5 minutes rest and then repeat. Cool down by running for 5 minutes and cycling for 10 minutes easy. Recover through stretching and a recovery drink.

Before we started, I took 2 salt tablets to try and beat the heat (my attempt to be better at nutrition after last weekend). The first brick was hard but for the most part I felt good. I kept my Garmin displayed on cadence and HR to try and simulate race feel. Team Nature’s Path was also cycling around West Creek and I managed to hold them off during my first cycle segment. After a quick transition to my Newtons, I headed off on the run. I haven’t run in my Newtons for a while and each time I do I remember why I love them. They make my feet feel light and my turnover faster. At the mile mark, my watch read 9:38 and my HR was on target, but climbing quickly. I had to slow down momentarily to keep my HR in check and tried to focus on staying relaxed. Pretty soon my time was up and I was back at the car. Brick 1 done.

During my 5 minute rest, I changed the lenses in my sunglasses to clear since it was getting darker out, grabbed a big gulp of cold water, put 2 electrolyte strips in my mouth and changed back to my cycling shoes. The 5 minutes flew.

As I started back out to Brick #2, I was worried. I was certain I would lose speed this lap and my HR would be higher quickly. To my surprise, I struggled more to keep my HR up on the second bike brick than the first. The loop went quickly and the wind from being on the bike felt good against my hot sweaty self. Back at the car, I transitioned quickly back to my Newtons, grabbed my Garmin and set off. “Only 1 more run to go. Almost done.” The 15 minutes on the run felt good. I was relieved since I had such a terrible run last weekend and because it was my second run segment. Towards the end I felt like I could relax in my pace and my HR was staying constant in zone 4 where it was supposed to be.

Back at the car, I had a huge smile. I finished my “Michael, you’re crazy” workout. And, better yet, while I certainly breathed hard and sweated buckets, I felt pretty good doing it.
Post workout, I allowed myself to look at my splits - completely the reverse of what I expected. And, are these the splits from the same person who raced last Sunday?

Bike 1, 18.7 mph ave; Run 1, 9:45 mph ave
Bike 2, 18.3 mph ave; Run 2, 9:37 mph ave

A Tough Day on the Trails - Charlottesville Olympic Race Report

2008-07-28T16:49:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, prompted by an invite by some C'Ville co-workers and encouraged by my coach as good practice for Timberman, I raced the Charlottesville Olympic. My personal goal for the Olympic was to practice my transitions (and the crazy shoe thing I hate), relax through my swim, and have a better run than White Lake. I managed the first two goals, but the third was a complete flop, much like my two face plants on the trails . . . more on that later.

We drove to C'Ville on Saturday afternoon and met my co-worker at the race site. Bart and I did our workouts for Saturday on site - a 30 minute bike and an easy 20 or so minute swim in Walton lake. As a result, I got to test the killer hill out of transition a couple of times and ease my fears about getting on my shoes while heading out of the park. After our swim, we loaded up into the car and headed out on the bike loop. In our car that isn't close to the ground and doesn't exactly corner like a race car, I was a little concerned about the hilliness of the course and curviness of the descents. Oh, well. Too late now.

On our way back to my colleague's house we detoured to the UVA aquatics center and watched his wife compete in the local championship "parent relay." Despite having not swum in a long time, she did awesome and her relay took 2nd. Her 3 kids were grinning ear to ear with pride.

Saturday night Bart and I did dinner on our own at Petit Pois on the Downtown Mall. Our dinner was fabulous, but although I was careful with my order, it must have contained something I can't eat (most likely culprit is a some non disclosed seafood other than the shrimp or some undisclosed flour). Post dinner my face was flushed and stomach that was far from happy. I downed 2 Benadryl to try and control things the best I could and went to sleep, hoping that my allergic reaction would be fairly contained.

Although I slept soundly thanks to the Benadryl, it was clear in the pre-race morning that my system still hadn't gotten rid of everything that bothered it. I ate my obligatory cup of white rice and banana and headed to the race course. My transition prep was interrupted by several more trips to the bathroom and I am sure I started the day on a close to empty, if not empty tank.

Swim - My goal for the swim was to stretch it out and try and find someone to draft, hopefully if possible one of my fast MW co-workers also in my age group. Unfortunately, she was too fast and I lost the lead pack quickly. Plus, my toes were a little crampy at the start. That eventually stopped at the first turn buoy, and I did settle in behind TG Coach Grandison and TG LMS to do a little drafting. I took it fairly easy through the swim, kept my breathing constant and steady and just stretched it out. Bart and I joked before the swim that he would pass me sometime in the water and he did. About 3/4 through the first lap I saw two white caps passing on my right. The second drafting swimmer had my hubby's distinct stroke, and I knew it was him. I think I laughed in the water and just kept swimming.

T1 - T1 was quick since I left my shoes on the bike. I mounted successfully and started up the first small hill. Still riding, I got 1 foot in. At the crest, however, I heard a rubbing noise on my bike. Thursday night when we rode, I had some brake rubbing issues and it sounded much the same. I didn't want to ride the whole course with my brake on, so I stopped my bike, put my other foot in my shoe and adjusted my front brake. Then I was off to face the big hill both feet in my shoes and ready to pull.

Bike - The bike was actually much better than I anticipated. On the bike, the course seemed less hilly and twisty than it did the night before. The worst hill was definitely the one out of the park. I struggled gaining my rhythm the first few miles, but then, on one climb about 4 miles in, I found it. The rest of the ride felt challenging, beautiful but comfortable. Definitely a ride that if I lived in Charlottesville, I would repeat for training. On the down side, my ave HRs were low in high zone 3 versus the mid to high zone 4 they were supposed to be, which means I didn't push myself hard enough on the bike. I also didn't do a good job of eating or drinking on the bike. It seemed we were either ascending or descending and I didn't have much time to fiddle with my bento box to find salt pills, eat a bar or drink much. As a result, my nutrition stunk, which added to my earlier stomach issues didn't bode well for the last leg. Total intake - probably 3/4 bottle of sports drink, 1 Gu and 1/5 a Cliff Nectar bar.

T2 - After successfully getting out of my shoes on the last flat and dismounting, I had a rather slow T2. Forgetting I had a big water bottle on the front, I tried to rack my bike by its handlebars versus the seat. After a few fumbles and a curse word, I finally turned it around and got it racked and plopped myself on the ground to get my shoes and socks on. I took my time a little bit in transition and headed off for the last leg with running belt in hand.

Run - As an after thought, I should have not used my fuel belt on this run because any less weight on these billy goat trails might have helped. I've did a few trail runs in training in order to practice for this but had never "raced" a trail. By this time in the race, I was hot, lacking in nutrition, and not feeling great. My legs felt awful and my HR immediately spiked as I labored up the first of many hills on the trail. I did get to meet and spend some time leap frogging with another EF teammate Brian who I learned is also doing Timberman. We both cautioned each other to watch our step and continued racing. I walked most of the uphills, but tried to keep plodding along. About mile 2, Brian was the first to trip. After making sure he was okay, I continued on the trail, reminding myself to watch 10 steps ahead. Towards the end of the top of the figure 8 on loop one, there was a big hill and then we headed down to the first aid station. They were out of water and I was hot, so I emptied my water bottle in my fuel belt on my head and headed back into the woods. The cool water felt good and I started to increase my cadence. I was running well then THUD! I tripped and did my first face plant of the day. My clothes, hands and knees were a little dirty, but I was more embarrassed than hurting at this point. I walked the next few minutes and then up the switch back hill and then started my run again right before the next aid station. Soon we were out of the woods. Thank heaven, I thought, only one more loop. As I ran by the finish line, my time was slow, my two C'ville colleagues were finished and I knew I needed to pick up the pace on the second loop. The start of the second loop seemed a little better. I took a GU at the aid station and headed back into the woods. I was cautious where I stepped and it seemed a little easier knowing it was the last loop. My chills, however, I get when I'm lacking in salt appeared some in the second loop. Towards the end before exiting to the aid station again, I hit a straight level stretch and I picked up my pace and started to feel good for the first time in the run. That must have been my curse. THUD! Down again I went, and this time it hurt. What spots of my body missed the dirt last time, caught it this time. My elbows were bloody and my left knee throbbed. All I could think was I hope I didn't hurt myself on this stupid trail before Timberman. I sat on the side of the trail for a minute collecting myself and even thought about quitting and walking back to the parking lot. By this time though, I only had about a mile or mile 1/4 left and I knew I could at least walk it. I remembered TG KO's awful feeling after a DNF and seeing strong pros walk their runs after bonking and decided I wouldn't quit. I walked a bunch and jogged a little bit to the opening by the aid station. The volunteer helped me wash off my hands with water (they had refilled by this point) and I headed back to the woods. I did run some of the second part of the figure 8 and was really happy to see the open clearing near the point when the trail heads back out to the road. With the finish line in sight, I wanted to finish as soon as possible, kicked it into high gear and tried my best to finish strong. My run/walk/fall time was terrible.

My race pictures ought to be lovely. Post race, I was covered in dirt from head to toe and required a dunk in the lake to get cleaned off and an ice pack to my already swelling left knee.

The day after, I think everything is still working. I'm definitely bruised and scraped up, but I think I'll be fine to return to training tomorrow with an easy run and swim and get back on track for Timberman. Lessons learned - pay more attention to my nutrition (and HRs) on the bike and eat at home the night before a race.

The good news - next year I won't have to do this race. Instead, I will hopefully be on my way to being an Ironman in Lake Placid.

Blue Ridge Part 2

2008-07-13T15:43:00.005-04:00

I am definitely not the King of the Mountains. However, after my second Blue Ridge ride yesterday, I certainly have a greater appreciation for the agonized faces of the Tour riders as they grimace up the long climbs in the Pyrenees.

Our ride Saturday was 50 miles on the Blue Ridge. My stomach Saturday morning wasn't cooperating at all from the start. Apparently something I ate Friday wasn't gluten free or I had the touch of the stomach bug and, I couldn't stomach anything (or keep anything in) but a half a banana pre-ride and was feeling nauseated through most of the first 20 miles. But, I had come to ride the BR so. . . a little upset stomach wasn't going to hold me back; it just didn't give me the greatest legs for my day's challenge.

About 20 of us (TGs, hubbys and Maramarc boys) started off at MP 23. Our route was 10 miles down, yes predominantly down to Reed's Gap, our starting point for the last ride, 10 miles back to our starting point, then 15 miles down (again mostly down) to milepost 38 and back up to the start. With my stomach feeling gross, my goals for the ride were 1) to finish, 2) feel comfortable riding McQueen in the mountains and 3) learn how to conquer my fears of the descents.

I did finish; felt fairly comfortable on McQueen although realized that my flat time trial gearing isn't ideal for the mountains and did improve from the last time on my descents. My Garmin recorded a speedy 38 mph. The hills seemed longer and a few a bit steeper than the last trip. And, as with the last time, each time we rode down, down, and down all I could think about was how in the world was I going to make it up, up, up. There were two particularly "memorable" climbs of the day - the first, a winding 3-4 mile long steady and seemingly never ending climb up from MP 38 and the second, the last big climb of the day, probably only a quarter mile, but straight up in the sun, when my legs screamed with every pedal stroke.

As I rolled into our starting/finish point I was exhausted and doubt I could have gone a mile further. At the same time, I'm pretty sure I was smiling and glad I had finished this rewarding and challenging ride.

Post ride, we headed back to our Wintergreen house for the weekend, cooked a bunch a burgers and dogs, celebrated our accomplishments with some Mai Tais and had a great time hanging out with my fellow team mates.

Although I still can't fathom how I am going to be able to ride the mountains of Placid for 112 miles next July, I know these hills are making me stronger. And hopefully, after many more returns to the BR, I'll be ready.

Pics to follow.

A fun week of workouts

2008-07-11T14:43:00.003-04:00

With about six weeks left of workouts before Timberman, I tried to reengerize my workouts some this week by adding some group workouts and new adventures. Monday night and Wednesday night marked my return to the Masters routine. Monday's workout was tough and included 3 500s on 2 minute or faster pace. Wednesday night also included some longer swim sets (400s) but much to our disappointment (yeah right!) it thundered and our practice was cut short at 1700 meters. I missed Masters most of May and June so it was fun to be back in the pool with friends and push myself hard in the swim.

Tuesday night I skipped out of work on the early side and headed to West Creek to meet up with the TGs and another surprise workout with Blake. I technically had a threshold brick scheduled for the night so I promised Michael to work hard and keep my HR at threshold for the ride. Given the prior Tuesday's workout, I didn't anticipate this would be a problem. And, it wasn't. Blake's directions weren't entirely clear (at least that's my story) so Karen, Shawn and I got some extra hills and mileage on Genito road. Our focus for the night was to push the down hills in a big gear as an added bonus, work on strength by riding in our hardest gear from the intersection of Manakin and Miller's lane back to the West Creek parking lot. My ride in all was much stronger than the previous week and I surprised myself by being able to make it up all the hills on the return in my big gear. Close to 30 miles averaging over 17 mph. Not a bad ride for a Tuesday. The run afterwards, like most bricks after a hard ride, sucked. I couldn't get close to the pace I've been getting on the track and 10 minute miles for 3 1/2 miles felt awful. My "not fun" run was far outweighed by the company of the group, catching up in the parking lot post ride and a great ride.

My new endeavor for the week was a trail run. In preparation for Charlottesville Oly and to appease my running coach Brenda to run less on the road, I hit the trails off Riverside Drive with TG40 and Fave on Thursday morning. Trails in general are tough and these in Forest Hill Park were no different. Spider webs, switch backs and humidity made them even more special. I hate to admit it, but spider webs and all, I had a great time. I even convinced them to give it a go next week too.

Today's a rest day -- tomorrow marks our return to the Blue Ridge. Can't wait.

Taking the Plunge

2008-07-07T20:40:00.002-04:00

Last night Bart and I took the plunge, and booked round trip tickets to Lake Placid to volunteer at Ironman USA 2008 so that Monday, July 21st we can sign up for Ironman USA 2009.

I'm still nervous about the hills and tackling this challenging race as my first Ironman, but its time to stop waivering and doubting and just dive right in.

Sunday on the Blue Ridge Parkway

2008-06-15T17:18:00.008-04:00

First, let me start by saying, I was anxious about today's ride. On one hand, I was looking forward to it. Have grown up in the mountains in Maryland, Bart always talks about how much fun it is to ride in the mountains. On the other hand, I was scared to death. I don't consider myself a hill lover. And to add to my normal trepidation, I had just this week upgraded the components on my road bike to match my time trial bike - yes that means I no longer had my grandma gears or triple.

Around 10:30 am, we headed from our house in Wintergreen to Reed's Gap - around the 13 1/2 mile mark of the Blue Ridge and where Blake (a BR vetran) suggested we begin our ride. We left refueling supplies at the car and headed out. It was a beautiful day - the air crisp and the sky blue. Immediately we started the first climb of the day - not steep, just slow and steady. After about 15 minutes, Bart and I stopped while Bart took a quick work conference call. Here are our bikes at the beginning of the ride.

And here are the mountains that were off to the side most of the day.

After this initial long climb, it seemed that much of the next part was down hill . . . and I mean down hill. Descents were by far more nerve wracking for me than wondering if I was going to make it up the climbs. Bart on the other hand, showed no fear. I learned today that the faster he can go, the happier he is - he crouches down and pedals hard and whined slightly that he could only go about 40 miles an hour. I on the other hand, at least for the ride from milepost 13.5 to mile 1, got good use out of my new brakes. As I was going down all these hills, I kept thinking, how am I ever going to get back up?

There were still lots of long climbs in this first half but I learned quickly to just keep plugging away, and I would make it up them. I didn't worry about how slow I was going (it was slow) . . . my main goal was to have fun, enjoy the amazing views and finish the ride.

After a little over an hour, we made it to mile 0 and our turn around point. Here's me by the sign. Note the elevation - 1900 feet. I refueled with a Nectar Bar, changed out my water bottles for easy access to the new one and we headed back up.

On the return, we definitely saw the hills we had descended. After a long climb ascending a couple of hundred feet, we started our first descent. That's when I knew I could finish this ride, and that I am a much stronger climber than I thought. As I was going down this first descent (and still hitting my brakes), a huge smile crossed my face. "I actually climbed this hill!"

We stopped at the information center for a quick refill of our water bottles and use of the bathrooms and then prepared for the biggest climb of the day. In my estimation, the climb lasted 20 miles, in reality, it was probably around 3. I was in my easiest gear (and wishing I still had my triple) and just kept pedaling and climbing and pedaling and climbing. My heart was pounding hard, my cadence lower than it should be and the hill just kept going. Finally, at the top of the climb, we stopped, took a moment and refueled. I made it. It hurt, but I was there. . . at the top of the hill I thought for sure on my way down I'd have to walk back up. No walking for me.

Soon after our restart we stopped for a photo moment and actually ran into my friend Benton who cuts my hair who was out riding his motorcycle. Fortunate for us since we got a picture of the two of us. The elevation - 3100 feet. (It got as high as 34oo feet). We had just climbed 1200 feet!

The rest of the ride was much of the same. Long climbs and fast descents. We refueled at our cars around the 2 hour mark and headed south on the BR. I used my brakes a little less towards the end - and at some point even reached 35 miles an hour. I made it up all the climbs and even managed a 20 minute run after our 3 plus hours on the bike.

The best part, I enjoyed it! I had a great day, a hard challenging work out and spent time in a beautiful part of our state. I'm disappointed I won't be able to come back next weekend with Blake and the TGs, but I can't wait to return in July and many more weekends in the future.

My next climb to conquer? Wintergreen Mountain.

A Change of Pace

2008-06-14T12:04:00.002-04:00

I decided it was time for a change of pace, and that there is no better time than the present.

So we packed the car this morning and headed to Wintergreen.

It is refreshingly cool here.

I will ride hills not flat.

We did our morning shopping at a fabulous Nelson county Farmer's Market.

And, my blog got a much needed update.

Gotta love a man in PINK!

2008-05-29T23:38:00.002-04:00

Go Alberto!

A Great May 15th!

2008-05-15T17:15:00.003-04:00

I think it won't matter how old I am, birthdays always make me feel like a kid. The moment I open my eyes, I know the day is different and I can't help but feel good, happy and excited. The sun seems brighter and little things never get me down or under my skin.

This morning was no different and today has been fantastic! I've felt spoiled and definitely special. First thing this morning, Bart had a wonderful card for me and and even a separate card from Lulu. He also gave me a Yurman bracelet I've had my eye on for some time that matches my blue Yurman ring. Its beautiful and I've worn it all day. He also sherpaed my bike on to the back of his car so I could take it to my VO2 bike test this morning. I also got to open up a package from my Mom and Dad that I've been eyeing for a few days - a cute new red and white outfit to match the red patent shoes my mom and I bought the last time she visited.

Then came my workout for the day. Even my dreaded V02 max test on the bike didn't seem as bad as usual. Don't get me wrong, there is still nothing good about wearing that claustrophobic mask and pushing yourself to the limit, but I tried to harness some of my positive energy to push myself a little harder. My results are still improving so I guess the hard work is paying off.

I finally made my way into the office late this morning and had a busy, but effective day filled with well wishes, cards and even a pedicure from some of my friends a work.

Tonight, since Bart had a scheduled tennis match, I'm going to celebrate with my friend Carol, who is my birthday twin. Drinks and dinner with the gals at Osaka. Can't wait. Then tomorrow its my bday dinner with Bart at Chez Max.

I am definitely blessed!

Tougher than Tough

2008-05-08T11:45:00.004-04:00

During my long flight to LA yesterday for business, I relaxed with the June 2009 issue of Triathlete magazine. About three-quarters of the way into the magazine, Steve White gave tribute to two professional athletes that had "toughed it out" in 2007 Ironmans when their races didn't go as planned.

The first pro, Rutger Beke, a Belgian, walked the majority of the run portion of the 2007 Hawaii Ironman champtionship and finished in 11 hours, 13 minutes and 58 seconds. In previous years, Beke finished 4 times in the top 5. Reading the article, I remembered his post race interview on the Hawaii Ironman TV coverage. While Beke could have easily quit the race and called it a day, he stuck with it. "A lot of people in Belgium and America, they might never qualify for Hawaii. Out of respect to them, they'd love to do Ironman Hawaii in 11 hours," Beke explained at the finish. "To win at Kona takes huge amounts of physical and mental strength, but to tough it out and watch 890 athletes pass you by requires an enormous amount of courage and humility."

Similarly, Lisa Bentley toughed it out at the 2007 Australia Ironman where she initially competed to preserve her 5 year winning streak. 2007 was not her race and with 12k left to race and an injured heel, Lisa walked to the finish. Not just satisfied with finishing, Lisa stayed on to cheer her fellow Ironman competitors to the end including a fellow Ironman participant who finished just outside the cutoff time in approximately 17 hrs 9 minutes.

While the Triathlete magazine article ended there, my tribute does not. Last Saturday, I watched one triathlete, TG DJ, who tops the list in terms of toughness and if I had the option of adding another story, hers certainly would be it. From the start, her swim did not go as planned. Rather than rolling on her back and calling it quits, or even stopping in T1, she hopped on her bike and set out to do the best with the hot and windy conditions we were dealt at WL. Despite a solid bike, by the time she entered the run course, temperatures were well into the 80s and we had all been racing some time. But you wouldn't necessarily know it. . . when we passed on the run course, she still had a smile and encouraging words to pass along. Although she was forced to DNF, she never once quit. Her toughness and courage persevered and as she neared the finish, virtually every one of her teammates had stayed to cheer her on. Her own cheer was still the loudest, "Next year."

We all have a lesson to learn from these athletes. They all possess the grace, strength, tenacity and courage all of us should aspire to. Each are role models in showing us how to raise our game to the next level, respect this tough and demanding sport we compete in and to tough it out, even when doing so requires us to dig deeper than competing at the highest level. I'm glad and proud that I've at least got to know, train with and compete with one of these three athletes.

White Lake Race Report

2008-05-05T19:25:00.008-04:00

I finished my first half! How was it? Hard, challenging, fun, uplifting, fulfilling, emotional and definitely rewarding. And, I'm already looking forward to the next. But before then, here are the details:

Despite having my usual pre-race restless sleep, I awoke Saturday morning feeling rested and my stomach, eerily calm. I ate my banana and my cup of white rice with butter and put the last minute touches on my transition bag and bike. I had premixed my Endura the night before and thanks to the helpful suggestion of TG40 even froze the bottles on my fuel belt in an attempt to keep the cold before I got to the run.

Here is the Lake Place Condo gang ready to ride down to the start, our bags packed in Sherpa of the Race Gregg's car.

After arriving at transition, I unpacked my transition bag, got my bike ready for a quick grab and rubberbanded my shoes to my bike. TG Charlotte and I shared side by side spots in transition and TGs SanDee, Lynn and Susie and Bart were close by. By now, having observed the racks and racks of bikes, my stomach decided to reach its normal, pre-race nervous state. Thank heavens for lots of port-o-potties. We then picked up our chips, got body marked (with an age a year older than I am) and headed to the water front with our wetsuits.

Bart and I exchanged good luck wishes and kisses. It was awesome to have him competing with me, help calm my nerves and to be able to share this experience. Bart was in the swim wave before me so I got to seem him start from in the water with TGs Karen, Liz and Lynn.

The swim start sounded for my wave and I was off. I tried to get in a quick rhythm early, stay at the front of the pack and find some speedy straight swimmer to draft off of. I soon found a swimmer, no wet suit, whose feet I drafted off of for a significant portion of the first leg of the swim. Then we turned, and my rhythm seemed to disappear. I started seeing purple caps (the wave behind me) and I wondered if I had moved to the back of my wave. The crowd seemed to get rougher too and I got elbowed hard and swallowed a good gulp of White Lake. After a few breast stroke strokes, I collected myself, and went back at it, hoping to find my straight, wetsuitless swimmer to draft off of again. I never did, but soon I rounded the corner and started to push it again to the swim finish. Finally, after what seemed like a long time in the water, I was out and I headed to transition.

As I ran into T1, I was relieved to hear some girl yell out to a spectator, "How many blue caps are out?" The spectator responded, "Not too many" and I knew I had at least had a solid swim. I pulled out of my wetsuit, put on my helmet and sunglasses and ran out of T1.

After a fairly successful flying mount, I struggled with putting on my cycling shoes as I pedaled down the road. My left foot kept getting stuck and didn't want to easily glide in as I had practiced. Finally, however, I was settled, shoes fastened and I then began to take inventory of my HR. The plan was to ride in zone 3. At first check from the swim, I was high. So as I winded through the center of WL, I took the opportunity to take it slow, settle in and just get my legs at a high cadence. I purposefully picked a Garmin screen that showed no distance or speed... only total time, cadence and HR. My goal for the bike - stay in zone 3 and pedal around an 85 cadence as much as possible and not drop below 80. The bike, despite some very windy head winds at times, was definitely my favorite part. My legs felt strong throughout, I stuck to my nutrition and hydration plan and I kept a fairly even effort, even passing lots of folks towards the end of the ride. The scenery was nothing spectacular, but I kept myself focused and just enjoyed it. Other than the wind, the only negative was that towards mile 45 the road had a bunch of seams and I was already suffering in the female sensitive areas, so every bump hurt. Once back in WL, the bike finish quickly neared. I had decided the morning of the race after looking at the dismount area not to stress about the dismount and to just undo my shoes on the bike, but dismount like a normal person without the "flying" part. Thankfully, taking off my shoes was much easier than putting them on. I successfully dismounted sans shoes, without falling or stubbing a toe, and I was back in transition.

Although I tried to be efficient in T2, I did take the time to wipe my dirty feet off and put on socks with my running shoes. I tried to be speedy and carry my running belt as I exited, but kept losing water bottles so ultimately stopped, put it on and then ran out of transition. Just as I was finishing the exit chute, I remembered my Garmin, which was safely stowed on my bike. The quick strap I had worn all race was empty. After a frustrated expletive, I headed out to the run with no HR monitor and nothing to judge my pace.

The run was HOT and my body struggles with heat. Early into the first lap, I got goosebumps and slightly chilled and I knew the run was going to be a battle between my willpower and my body's desire to call it a day. I felt nauseated and as hard as I tried, I couldn't find my rhythm. My saving grace? Cold towels and a bunch of familiar faces. Because the run essentially consisted of two out and back loops, I got to see Bart and a bunch of my TG friends often. And their smiles and their own determination kept me going. Quickly after the start of the run I had to deal with the cards this race dealt me and my goal soon changed from a 10-10:15 pace to just keeping it going between the water stops. I got a wet cold towel at virtually each station and managed most times to make it. After each station, however, I really had to dig deep and push myself to go again. As I got to the final "back" leg of the run, it was clear I was going to finish, and I tried to get myself into a rhythm. Less than a mile from the end, TG Lynn darted past. She was having a phenomenal run and it pushed me to finish strong. I laugh now, but as I passed the final aid station, I must have looked rough. One of the volunteers shouted out "Are you ok?" and repeated his question two more times until finally I answered not with a nod but with a convincing "yes."

I quickened my stride into the finish and as I rounded the corner and saw the finish line balloon, my emotions started to take over. I was so overwhelmed with the day, my accomplishment and the physical effort my body had put forth. And, to top it all off, waiting at the finish, with his big blue eyes and the biggest smile ever was Bart. I know my eyes teared as I crossed the line and he gave me a hug. Without sounding odd, at that moment, I was so proud of myself for trying something new, pushing myself beyond my comfort zone, sticking with my training and finishing the half. I had finally proven that my non-athletic and non-sports oriented image was definitely in the past. As I grabbed Bart's hand, I knew too that I was lucky. I get to share the experience, training and love for this sport with my husband who understands me and all my emotions about this day perfectly.

After I finished, Bart helped me hobble over to the lake to try and cool off. The water felt great but every step in the sand caused my toes and feet to cramp miserably. After a banana, a water and many attempts to walking off the cramps, I finally left the lake and rejoined the group to watch some of the others TGs finish.

All in all it was an amazing day. The smiles and strong positive attitudes were certainly infectious and reiterated why I TRI.

My stats:

Total time: 6:26.25 (101/203 overall women; 24/45 age group)

Swim 42:09

T1 2:15

Bike 3:11.05

T2 2:35

Run 2:28.23

Whose legs are smoother? Barts' or mine?

2008-05-02T09:58:00.001-04:00

Beyond Expectations at White Lake

2008-05-02T09:25:00.004-04:00

So far my White Lake experience has been beyond my expectations.

Accommodations - SanDee, TG40 and I road-tripped on Wednesday. From the pictures on the various website, we anticipated a run down lake area and nothing special. Much to our delight, our condo is awesome - decorated very comfortably, right on the lake and less than a 1/2 mile to the FFA center for the start. The town of White Lake is charming - certainly a step back in time, but really cute.

The weather - Initial forecasts predicted nearly constant thunderstorms. After we arrived, the forecasts changed and now predict low 80s, partly cloudy and NO rain.

The lake - I had heard the lake was clear and not deep, but nothing could have prepared me for this lake. It is FABULOUS! For any pool swimmers who don't like open water because they can't see the bottom or fear creatures, this is your PERFECT race. The water temperature is ideal too. I could have spent hours in the water yesterday in my wetsuit. I had none of my usual open water panic moments. Now.. if I could only have lane markers so I didn't have to sight.

The course - Flat, flat, flat. I had heard this but still expected a rolling hill somewhere. There were none. Not on the run course or the bike course. Now this does mean no variety in pedaling on the course, it also means NO HILLS!!! Right now, I'd rather have the later.

The experience - I've spent the last two days catching up on R&R, relaxing with great friends, starting a good book and sharing great meals. We've talked nutrition and race strategy and I've done my last few workouts in the surroundings I will race in tomorrow. While I'm sure I will still have race day jitters, I am so lucky to have enjoyed these few perfect pre-race days.

Bring it on White Lake. These TGs are ready!

Its Almost Here!

2008-04-28T22:27:00.003-04:00

After over six months of preparation, only 5 days until race day.

Tonight, I made one trip to the grocery store to start gathering all our pre-race food needs for 5 days at White Lake and then I started to pack.

Only a handful of taper workouts on my schedule. Nothing hard, just a few things to keep my body "fine tuned" as Michael describes it and my mental edge alert.

I'm feeling excited, calm, nervous, prepared and scared all at the same time if that's possible.

Race Report - Kinetic Sprint

2008-04-22T07:32:00.003-04:00

Cold, wet and muddy. These three words about sum up my race experience at the Kinetic Sprint.

Bart and I entered the Kinetic for one reason only - to practice race day conditions (particularly our new transition techniques) and to help Coach Harlow fine tune our race paces for the upcoming Half. Post-race, I'm not sure we achieved any of those goals.

When we arrived at Lake Anna Sunday morning, it had already began to rain. We picked up our race packets in a slight drizzle, got body marked (an ugly "36" for me) and headed back to the car to get our gear to put in transition. By then, the rain started streaming down at a faster pace. We prepared as much as possible at the car - adjusting our tire pressure for the rainy conditions, applying our race numbers, etc. I donned the fashionable trash bag and we headed with our bikes over to the racks.

The transition area had already started to get muddy. The day before was the Kinetic Half and the grass had been worn away in lots of places, including the area where I was to rack my bike. I chose a great spot next to one of the dividers and laid out my new simplified transition equipment. I made a last minute decision due to the conditions not to perform my new, still shaky bike/shoe mounts and dismounts under the rainy and muddy conditions and included my unclipped bike shoes in the transition area. Bart and I covered our transition mats with plastic garbage bags to attempt to keep things as dry as possible, and then headed back to the car to stay warm.

With about 20 minutes before race time, we took our wetsuits to the changing rooms and prepared to race. I've never had issues getting my wetsuit on before, but with my legs cold and wet from the rain, it was quite a challenge. However, for the first time that morning, with my wet suit on, I was warm.

Swim - I was disappointed I was in the last wave of swimmers. For me, I knew it would mean having to deal with traffic in the lake and traffic on the bike. Plus, the anticipation is never good for my nerves. The horn sounded for my wave, and I was off. Running and then dolphining my way out into the water. The water was very cold (around 65) and I struggled as a result getting into any rhythm until the first buoy. However, each time I sighted, I knew I was towards the front of my wave and I could see my Tuckahoe Y Masters buddy swimming right next to me. After the first turn, we hit the traffic in the water. I kept trying to find someone to draft off of, but everyone in front of me, it seemed, was from the waves before and swimming a slower pace. So I ultimately gave up on the draft, and just aimed for the straightest line. I never was able to feel my pull the way I do when I am swimming strong at the pool and really stretched out. My sighting techniques pretty much stunk and I reverted to my 10 strokes free, one quick breast, technique to sight better. This is something I definitely need to practice. But like everything with a sprint, the swim was over quickly, I stripped down the top of my wetsuit, and headed for transition.

T1 - Already transition was a muddy mess. The spot next to my bike (which was not the spot I originally picked thanks to number 441's "friend" moving my bike and transition stuff off the nice spot near the divider I picked and further into the mud - I think I would have complained post race if she hadn't quit after the swim) was all mud and after stripping my wetsuit completely, it was impossible not to step in the gooey brown mess. I then put my muddy feet into my tri shoes, without socks, and started to negotiate my way towards the bike mounting area. I couldn't run to the start for fear I'd go down in the mud, so I quickly walked my bike to the mount line.

Bike - The first part of the bike was about a mile and a half ascent out of the park. Prior to racking, I had shifted into an easier gear and the ascent out seemed easy. I was already passing folks and my legs felt great. By now, however, the rain was a constant pour and the traffic on the course was extremely busy. There were cyclists everywhere - many with no clue of the rules of the road - i.e., if you are not passing at the moment, stay to the right. My race plan said to stay in zone 4 of my HR, but I was having trouble seeing my HR since I couldn't get my Garmin to switch directions on my wrist so I could read it. In addition, with all the traffic and the extremely wet roads, I played it conservative - using my brakes a bunch on the descents and being cautious passing traffic around me. I caught a couple of glimpses of my HR throughout and each time was close to the right zone but many times was low. The 18 miles went by quickly. I'm not sure if it was because I was so on edge due to the wet roads or just in the moment. Soon we were descending back towards transition - for me the scariest part. The descent by now was all wet, and I feared that if I didn't take it cautiously, I would end up missing the turn before the dismount and careening into the transition area. So yes, in a race, I again applied my brakes multiple times. I was thankfully able to stop at the dismount area, get off my bike safely, then wade through the mud bath towards my bike station. My favorite part of the bike - all the comments along the lines of "Love your bike! Awesome paint job!" I received along the way.

T2 - I missed my rack and went down the wrong isle. Next time I need to remember a bright cap to put on my rack area. So I trodded back up through the mud and went and down the next isle. I racked the bike, took off my wet muddy bike shoes and started to put on my running shoes. My wet muddy right foot didn't want to go into my right Newton. After what seemed like a minute struggle, I finally had success and dashed towards the transition exit.

Run - Like the bike start, the run start was all up hill. About halfway up, I decided to look at my HR. Crap! I realized then that my Garmin didn't start and that my HR was sky high almost at my max. Slow down. I forced myself to slow down which gave me a chance to at least adjust my Garmin, get the right pace and HR screen and keep running. Right around this time, a guy came up from behind me and said, "Are you the one with the great paint job?" My reply, "The pink polka dots?" His response "Yes, that is an awesome bike. I recognize your number from watching it from behind during the bike." My reaction - huge smile. Love my bike and I love having a fairly in-shape man say I was ahead of him the whole bike. By the time we reached the top of the hill, I was feeling good. My running legs were beneath me and I knew I could push myself on the run. It was now downpouring at such a rate that I just laughed out loud. I stayed within my target for the next mile and then during the descent back to the lake started to push my pace. For the first time in the race, I felt like I was racing the race I was supposed to practice. Soon, the finish line was there and I pushed it to the end. Time on the official clock 2:0something.

I had no Garmin time, no HRs recorded to feed back and I have never been so happy for the finish line, a silver warm blanket from the medical tent and to gather my stuff from the transition area. Nothing felt good about the race except for the fact that I knew I had the mental toughness to finish and I felt that I had at least had a good run. As for the rest, I was not looking forward to the results. I knew I didn't have the strongest swim and my bike was conservative all the way. We loaded up our muddy wet equipment into garbage bags and left the site as soon as possible. The warmth of the car was great and the hot shower and time on the couch post-race, even better.

Last night the results came out. In the end, not as bad as I expected. Surprising in some ways and what I expected in others. The official stats:
Swim: 17:18 (82nd)
T1: 2:54 (30th)
Bike: 57:08 (40th)
T2: 2:58 (141th)
Run: 28:35 (110th)

Total: 1:48.51 (63/192 overall finishers; 5/25 in age group)

Post-race reflections: I need to work on my transitions. The conditions definitely contributed, but I am leaving easy time on the table here. Swim - in an area where I'm usually much stronger, I wasn't Sunday. A few open water practices and more efficient sightings will hopefully help this. Surprise- my bike was actually my strongest and I averaged around 18.9 mph. My legs felt good and I felt like I left a lot out on the course due to conditions so hopefully this bodes well for race season. Run - even though my ranking here is the lowest out of the three disciplines, I was still really happy about my run. Compared to last year, I have taken about a minute and 20 seconds per mile off of my pace.

Overall, a wet start to the tri-season and by far, the most miserable race conditions ever. But I have one under my belt going into White Lake and that, for my nerves, was the goal. So if it pours on May 3rd, which hopefully it won't, I'm ready.

Homesick

2008-04-18T17:52:00.002-04:00

As I sit here in the Atlanta Airport counting the minutes down until I can finally board that plane to Richmond, I realize that although this past week in Germany was a wonderful experience, I am definitely homesick.

I miss Bart more than I could ever describe in this silly blog;

I miss Lulu's wagging tail and snuggly personality;

I miss vegetables not prepared in any sauce and normal salads;

I miss the routine of my normal training (and, since I've only been able to run for a week I really miss the diversity of swimming and biking);

I miss catching up with my training partners on a regular basis, whether in group workouts, phone calls or emails or the forum or blog exchanges.

It is wonderful to be back! Can't wait to see everybody!

Rain, Rain Go Away

2008-04-06T20:55:00.004-04:00

The rain was supposed to stop today. But it never really did.

We delayed our fun ride around Ashland with TGSanDee and Gregg first an hour, then another. Then we cancelled. Bart and I still had to get our 3 plus hour ride in but, for a while, I crawled back in bed.

Finally, around 1, we knew the day was not going to get any longer, or the weather much better, so we packed up our gear and drove out to West Creek. After debating some alternate routes, we decided on our usual 27ish mile tour of Goochland on our road bikes. It was drizzling, the wind blowing, my legs completely flat from yesterday's race and post-race swim, and my mood extremely grumpy. I wish I could say it improved, but it didn't. As we came back towards our car, I felt frozen, disappointed in my turtle-like slow ride and called it quits for outside.

Then the guilt came. I am headed for Germany on Friday for a week with little options for training and I knew that finishing my scheduled time on the bike was important. So, when we returned home, as much as I wanted to crawl back in bed, Bart and I changed to dry clothes and got on our trainers to finish our rides. While slightly warmer, I still was not having a good day. We watched part of a movie and then somehow, while watching the pros grind up the huge climbs in the Tour of Flanders, I was able to get through the rest of my session on the trainer. Finally, I was done with my workout. It was not fun or easy but I finished. And finally, with that thought, I found my smile.

Some Sunshine on a Rainy Race Day

2008-04-06T08:51:00.004-04:00

Despite the rainy drizzle, yesterday's Monument Avenue 10K was definitely a sunny race for me. Pre-race, TG40, TG SanDee, Bart and I met up in the fan and walked down to the start sporting stylish large trash bags in an effort to stay as dry as possible before the start. At Monroe Park, we made our last minute trips to the port-o-potties and then headed over to corral H for the start.

We ran into a whole sea of pink in corral H, including TGs Lynn, Molly, Sharon, Kate, Jill, Mary, Debbie and Shawn. A bunch of the girls had already put in their morning workout of an hour and a half on their trainers and a run to the start.

Soon we were off and running. TG40 and I had our race plan - start the first mile at 9:30 pace and drop 5 seconds with each mile - and our Garmins were activated and ready to help pace us. TG Lynn also joined us from the start - with the promise that if she paced with us, she would talk and/or sing.

From the start, the miles ticked off quickly. We all felt good and Deanna and I abandoned race plan A for race plan B (holding a 9:15 pace) which was reserved for "if we felt good." We often found ourselves looking at our Garmins saying "too fast." After the first mile, I tried to stay in my HR zone 4 for the majority of the race. Towards miles 4 and 5, my heart rate kept creeping up towards my AT range and I was afraid I was going to burn out before the finish. But, we were headed down towards the finish and the crowds and numbers of racers were inspiring. It was great to have my weekend training partner on one side and another TG friend on the other side, occasionally singing out a little "Kung Foo Fighting" or pointing out someone on the course. TG40 pushed me through a hard mile 5, and then all three of us picked it up for the finish. With the finish in site, TG Lynn turned on her rocket burners. I was determined to not lose ground and TG40 and I put in our final kick and crossed the finish line together. The results - PRs.

All smiles we met up with Bart and the other TGs at the "T" in the park for some photos and race story swapping. Then, it was on to ANNNs for the official post-race celebration. She outdid herself with plenty of pink champagne and yummy chocolate covered bananas and marshmallows. A perfect sunny ending to a great race day.

My official time - 57:04. Ave pace 9:11. Place in my age group - 261/1818.

The Icing on the Cake

2008-04-02T22:41:00.001-04:00

My husband emailed me this picture at work today! ZIPP-A-DEE-DO-DAH!

Life is Good

2008-03-23T18:23:00.003-04:00

As Lulubelle and I took a late afternoon stroll around the neighborhood today, the sun was out, daffodills and tulips in bloom and the sky blue and clear. I had just finished a tough training week on top of a tough work week. But for some reason, none of that weighed on me and my step, while sore, felt light. One message kept echoing through my head, "Life is good."

I have a husband who trains with/or at the same time as me and doesn't think that spending 4 hrs to exercise on a Saturday followed by the need for huge nap is anything other than normal.

My new time trial bike McQueen felt fantastic and responsive on my 3 hr ride yesterday and I finally found a new seat, the Specialized Tritip SL Gel 50, that will take me through the half-ironman.

I have wonderful friends like TG40 to help me through a run (like mine today) when I'm not feeling motivated and my muscles not fresh.

I watched 3 hours of cycling on TV today - a previously taped Prologue for the Tour de California in the am and Sunday cyclismo on Versus as I write this blog.

I have a loving dog, Lulu, who takes pride in her morning ritual of getting the newspaper from the end of the driveway and would rather snuggle next to me than spend time anywhere else.

And... eventhough some weeks my job is tough and hard, it affords me the ability to do some of the things I love. . . like try out a new bottle of expensive wine for dinner, ride the exact bike I want, or be spoiled by Rosa who makes sure that every Friday when I return home from work, my house and laundry is clean and I can just relax.

Yes. . . life is good!

Work

2008-03-20T17:13:00.002-04:00

Has been exhausting this week and taking away from my own time.

Sometimes, I wish I could train for a living.

Tonight, no matter what happens between now and the end of the work day, I intend to leave at a reasonable time and run while it is still light out.

Shamrock Race Report

2008-03-17T21:38:00.008-04:00

Like all race mornings, I woke to a nervous stomach. I had, however, at least slept well the night before. I debated heavily what clothes to wear since the weather looked iffy but ultimately settled in on what I had set out the night before: my new TRIgirl race skirt, a long sleeved running shirt, my waterproof green jacket (for St. Patty's day) and my new Endorphin visor. I ate my plain cup of white rice I had made the night before in my rice cooker, loaded my fuel belt up with GUs and Endura and after a few pit stops headed out to meet my fellow TRIgirls at the Starbucks on the corner. Immediately, I was afraid I had under dressed. It felt cold.

We all headed down to the start together and met up with a few more TRIgirls along the way. In total, I think there were 23 TGs who did the half marathon and 4 who did the whole. TGs Molly, Sharon, SanDee, Lynn and Mary and I all huddled close at the start of corral 4 trying to avoid the wind and keep warm. Soon the race started ... Bart in corral 1 was off and running. We waited a few more minutes and finally it was our turn to cross the starting line.

With my morning's adrenaline, my first mile felt easy and great. I looked down at my watch and I was still in zone 2 and around my 9:40 starting goal pace. At the end of mile 1, I believed completely for the first time that I really might make my goal. The first few miles continued to easily click by. By mile 3 however, I noticed my HR creeping up and I slowed my pace to around 10 minutes to keep it in zone 3. I continued to feel strong and ran into TG Jill around mile 4. It had started to feel warm as we rounded the bend near Fort Story and we both ditched our jackets to the side of the road and chatted a bit. I knew TG Jill was a strong runner so I was happy to run into her but tried to keep within my own race and watch my own pace and HR. I noticed my HR creep up again into zone 4 and by miles 6 and 7 I decided to let it just creep but not too much. I knew I was still below 10 minute pace and I wanted to at least maintain my current pace until mile 10. Around mile 8, still in Fort Story, I started to mentally struggle. There were very few spectators and it seemed to take forever to get out of the military base. My body must have felt this struggle, because apparently my pace slowed down a little bit too. Around 9, we started to round the corner out of Fort Story, and I knew I was on the home stretch and it was time to give it what I had. It was getting harder to keep my pace and my legs were starting to feel achy, but I decided not to look at my watch too much and just focus on form and feel. Every other block or so, I would focus on another aspect of my running form for that block in an attempt to keep my cadence up and increase my speed. Each mile closer, I tried to give it a little bit more. Right around the 13 mile marker, TG Molly and Sharon passed me. They looked fresh and I'll admit the competitive side of me was disappointed as they passed but I tried to keep up and they remained great targets and motivation for me to try and catch the rest of the way in. By this time, however, I could feel my heart pumping hard and my legs were starting to scream. As I rounded the corner to the boardwalk, Bart was waiting with a big smile and an encouraging cheer. I gave it my all down the boardwalk and crossed with a PR. My Garmin read 2:08:54 and an average pace of 9:46.

TGs Molly, Sharon, Lynn, Jill and I all crossed the finish line within 30 seconds of each other. All apparently had been close by me from a few miles into the race and I had no clue (that is until I saw Molly and Sharon race by). TGs Mary, Debbie and SanDee weren't too far behind. In typical TG fashion, we clogged the finish chute for a few minutes while we exchanged hugs and congratulations! Everyone had huge smiles and great attitudes. By far my favorite part of the race!

At the finish, I felt sore, tired but elated. I had pushed myself and took a leap of faith to believe in what Coach Michael already believed and set as my goal. In exchange, I was the proud recipient of a PR and slightly stronger belief in my own abilities as an athlete. I know I still have a long way to go and a lot of hard work ahead, but to be able to reach this goal was a great feeling.

So... here are the official numbers. Chip time: 2:08:51. Ave reported pace 9:51. 181 out of 492 in my age group.

Other statistics I'm proud of:

An overall negative split and starting at mile 8, I consistently dropped pace each mile until the finish.

Fastest full mile: Mile 13 at 9:19 average pace.

HR zones: 5 miles in zone 3, 7 in zone 4 and 2 right around at or above my AT.

Minutes faster since my last half-marathon: almost 24.

Minutes faster since my fastest half-marathon: almost 15.

My fast husband Bart's time: 1:40:42 finishing 38/250 in his age group and 363 out of all the men racing.

Shamrock Pre-Race Thoughts

2008-03-15T08:50:00.003-04:00

We woke up this morning to the sounds of a high school band starting runners at the Shamrock 8K. There was no question. . . its race weekend in Virginia Beach. Our hotel room at the Hilton is perfectly poised at the finish line of the 8K, 1/2 marathon and marathon. Out one window you can see runners streaming down the boardwalk and out the other, runners crowned with their medals as they cross the finish. Its sunny and the beach and the ocean look inviting. This is exactly the positive energy I need before tomorrow's race!

Like before all races, I'll admit I have a little of the nervous jitters. While last year's racing has helped me calm my nerves to some degree, I doubt they will ever disappear. I have my race strategy well planned out, as well as my pre-race meal (rice for breakfast) and race garb. My goal is to race in HR zone 3 through mile 8, see how I feel and move into HR zone 4 if I can. In English what does that mean? My goal is somewhere between a 9:15 pace and a 9:50 pace. It also means that if I stick to this strategy, I will have a significant PR over any 1/2 I've ever done. Part of my goal of today is to continue to believe in myself and that I can reach these goals. This is the hardest part for me. But Michael continues to believe I have it in me and that I have done the training to do it, so I'm going to take a leap and believe in myself on this and see what happens.

Time to get started for the day. On tap - the race expo and packet pick up and a visit to some VA Beach cycling/triathlon shops.

Weather report for tomorrow - not the greatest - rain and winds up to 25 mph. Hope most of the run will be a tail wind!

Back to Reality

2008-03-09T15:59:00.003-04:00

While I wish this was still my training locale, last week it was back to reality both at work and in training. Our week and a half in the BVI was incredible (I'll post more details later), but I can't say with an honest face that I stuck completely to my training plan of threshold swims and water running. This is a picture of Bart and I water running off the side of our boat at the Baths in Virgin Gorda. For those of you who have never tried it, its a pretty good workout, although definitely feels different than running on land.

We also interspersed our vacation with "cross training" with arm workouts maneuvering the sails and dancing to the various bands at the local bars. And, thanks to Rupert at Norman Island, my favorite recovery drink was a Sunshine Painkiller rather than my orange flavored Endura.

Back to training...

Needless to say, two days of training last week and jumping right back to threshold training was tough. My first hard run on Tuesday morning, nearly made me want to vomit and raised the question (it was only fleeting), was vacation really worth it and am I ever going to recover. I continued to sludge through my workouts for the week and by my hard 40 minute ride Thursday night followed by an easy 20 minute run, I was beginning to feel like I hadn't lost all sense of fitness. I met my time trial average of 18 mph on the bike with seemingly less effort and had a pretty easy sub 10 minute mile run afterwards.

By Saturday's ride, however, I remembered I had taken time off. Bart and I braved the elements and rode in the pouring rain with EF coach Mark through Goochland. At the end of our 27 mile usual Goochland loop, when the skies finally cleared and the sun shone, the winds decided to pick up. Bart left to go ride with the boys, and I rode one lap of West Creek and soloed home via River Road to finish out my 3 hours on the bike. I was thankful I had chosen to ride my old road bike because I was certain that McQueen would have been swept off the road in one of the big gusts. I was thankful to reach the safety of home and the end of my only long ride in 3 weeks when I realized that my schedule called for a brick of 15 minutes of running at 9:20 pace. After transition, I was soon back to that hard breathing/vomit feeling that I started the week off with.

Before leaving to travel to Omaha for work on Sunday, I managed to get in my 90 minute long run. Not too bad a pace for having not run, but not as fast as I will have to produce this weekend. I apparently did not drink enough water to compensate for the dehydrating effects of flying and am suffering the consequences of sore muscles today.

Despite the beautiful surroundings of the BVI and the wonderful relaxation that I definitely needed, I am glad to be back in the swing of things and am looking forward to catching up with the gals at Masters on Wednesday and the Shamrock 1/2 this weekend.

My Half-Ironman Weekend

2008-02-18T13:34:00.005-05:00

In anticipation of 12 days at sea with fewer than normal workouts, my last week has included some of the toughest workouts I've faced so far and a reintroduction to the brick. This weekend was no exception... but with good results. While these workouts were physical, I think they are also, more than anything, mentally preparing me for the notion that I can and will complete White Lake 1/2 Ironman.

The weekend started Saturday with my strongest ride ever with Endorphin. We did the usual 28 mile somewhat hilly loop out into Goochland and Hanover from West Creek. Unlike the earlier weeks, this time, my focus was not just on being able to finish, but to hang strong with the other cyclists (all male I might add) and keep pace without James' nudge. I rode to a fairly strong start and joked with Bart when he finally took over the lead as to why I, easily the weakest cyclist there, was leading up to Manakin when he, much stronger, was filed in behind me. I managed to stay up tight in the middle to back of the pack and even was more successful executing pace line techniques. As normal, however, when we hit the big hill right after the pace line, I fell back and James had to help get me rejoin the pack. While we were catching up, James did pass along some shifting tips and a technique focus that I practiced on the remaining hills and will be able to draw on in the future. We averaged over 16.5 mph. When we got back to West Creek, I refuled with a PB&J and some fruit smoothie and headed out, this time on McQueen for 2 more hours. I've still been having some saddle issues, so I was a little apprehensive of riding in aero position for that amount of time. But with the help of some chamois cream, I finished without TOO much discomfort. At the end of 3 hours and 40 minutes total on the bike (about 60 miles), I racked my bike, slipped on my running shoes and headed out for an easy 20 minute jog. My legs felt like jello for much of the first mile, but they must have still been turning my cycling cadence rhythm. I surprised myself with a 10 minute pace for both miles. Yikes... will probably have to slow down my start a bit if I am going to follow with a half marathon.

We celebrated Saturday night with some Casa Grande Mexican and a late night glass of vino at DeLux in honor of TG Fave's birthday. It was great seeing the TGs and their other halves out and fun to be out in the Fan night life for a change of pace.

Sunday was the bike/swim part of my half-iron weekend. SanDee, an absolute saint, offered to join me for at least the first part of the run, so we headed out to WC around 11. My legs were not excited to be running at first. We practiced nutrition and hydration (something I did poorly the day before) along the route and near mile nine, my legs started to feel really strong. At that point in my run, I realized that if I started my half marathon at this pace, I could easily pick up my pace over the last 4 or 5 miles and finish it below my goal time. We BOTH finished 11.5 miles in 2 hours, at 10:30 pace. After a stretch, a bar and a few minutes chatting with TGs Margo and ANNN who had just come in from a ride, I headed to the pool for my 50 minutes of swimming. While I'm not always enthusiastic about getting in the chilly water after my run and continuing my workout, this part of my workout always feels the best - like one giant cool down. My muscles get stretched out and cooled down and the repetitive movement of the swim seems to just steady me and my mind. Since I lost track after 2000 meters, I'm not sure of the exact distance I swam but based on pace, I'm guessing it was around 2200 give or take a hundred.

One half-iron weekend complete.

Pirate Anniversary

2008-02-14T08:37:00.001-05:00

Happy Two Year Pirate Anniversary Bart! I love you and can't wait to return to the scene of the crime.

A Prayer

2008-02-13T21:08:00.003-05:00

Over the weekend, two very dear friends of mine suffered the deeply saddening and tragic loss of a child and one has had her own health in limbo. Since the news, I've found myself at nearly every step thinking of them, praying, reflecting and, at times, even giving thanks. I have been amazed by the instant support system my warm, loving group of friends creates when one of us is in need. I am grateful to have them and be a part of such a strong, caring group of women. I am thankful for my loving and supportive husband and for our health.

LW you have touched our hearts deeply. We love you and God be with you and your family.

Spring Fever

2008-02-06T15:11:00.000-05:00

The summertime warmth and 60 and 70 degree temperatures we've had since Saturday have struck me with a severe case of Spring Fever and have me counting down the days until I head to the BVI to sail the blue waters of the Carribean. But before I go back to my thoughts of fun in the sun and whether I can figure out how to work "outside" this afternoon, here is a quick recap of my recent workouts.

Friday - I decided to pass on scheduling a run lesson (aka speed workouts) for Friday in hopes of having more legs on my Saturday long ride. Instead, I stuck to my plan of a easy recovery run and a hard swim in the pool. 300 warm up 10 x 100 at 1:55 (45 second recovery) and 150 cool down. The consistent swimming and masters class are starting to pay off. After the first 100 I doubted I could finish the workout at the pace (1:50) I was swimming, but somehow, I got through all 10 repeats and suprised myself with times between (1:45 and 1:50). Now if I could only swim that fast for 1900 meters and not feel winded at the end!

Saturday - Bart and I were hosting wine club at our house Saturday night so we headed out for our long ride early. I was determined to have a better ride from the previous week and avenge myself on the same course that caused me such heart ache the week before. This week's ride was LEAPS and BOUNDS better. For the most part, I let Bart lead and I worked on my handling and drafting skills. We rode the Goochland route again averaging around 16.3 mph and I made it up all of the big hills without switching to my granny gear. A big accomplishment, especially on Mount Patterson. My favorite part was the fast stretch of Manakin road on the far side of Broad when I was able to keep pace with Bart flying over 22 mph. After about 2 hours, we changed bikes at West Creek and McQueen and I headed out to finish my 3 hour 20 minute workout. Luckily, before I got very far, I ran into TGs ANNN, Kate and Carrie and after catching up for a bit, I convinced Kate to keep me company for a few loops of West Creek on our new bikes. Since Kate has been busy marathon training, we hadn't caught up recently and there was lots to chat about to help pass the time quickly. Kate and Annnn you are doing awesome with your running! Keep it up! Soon, Kate was headed home and I was headed out to finish my last big loop of WC. By the end of the ride -- my longest since last September -- the sun was shining, skies blue as they could be and I felt like I could ride for hours. . . . but it was back to the house to shower up and cook for wine club.

Sunday - Wine club was a success and all of the new recipies I decided to try out, actually turned out. (My favorite was the cabernet marinated flank steak with fontina cheese, basil and proscuitto.) While I curtailed my tastings compared to club gatherings in the past, I was not very excited about having to shake off the cobwebs and head out for an "easy" hour and 50 minute run followed by 2000 yards in the pool. The sunny skies and my new running skirt, helped motivate me out the door and TG40 (also a little sluggish from festivities) kept me motivated throughout the run. While not our most stellar run ever, we finished with a respectable 10:37 pace, enjoyed a little sunshine and headed to the pool for a strong, long swim.

Monday was a rest day for me on the exercise front but certainly not at work. We had a huge filing due at work and so I spent a long 12+ hour work day at the office.

Tuesday morning, my good weather karma must have continued. I had a great indoor cycle on McQueen at Endorphin. Suprisingly, as last week was my biggest week ever, my legs felt rested and ready to go and I felt good about the technique and strength building drills Craig had cooked up for us. I still need to remember to keep my head up, but I think think power repeats the last 3 weeks have made a slight impact in my strength when I head to my big gear.

The good weather is supposed to continue for a few more days. Hopefully I'll get a few more outside workouts in before it disappears!

Hills

2008-01-31T17:37:00.000-05:00

After quickly agreeing to be a signatory to TG40's Hill Treaty, I realized that hills, like strength are one of my weakest limiters and clearly something I need to focus on in order to become a better biker and runner. Thank goodness there are at least no hills on the swim! And I acknowledge that there really is only one way to become better at them, do them.

So . . . I allowed myself last night to be easily convinced by running coach Brenda and TG SanDee to go to the Endorphin group run class where the focus of the night was hill repeats. The day before, when discussing my week's schedule, Coach Michael cautioned me not to take the hills too hard or I would struggle with Thursday's power repeats on the bike. Hah! I laughed to myself. Hill and easy are never used together in any of my sentences.

After a brief warm up around a hilly part of Tarrington subdivision, we headed to "the hill" to start our repeats. My assignment for the night - 10 hill repeats. Ten doesn't seem like a huge number, but because they are repeats up a hill, I feel like you should be able to multiply each repeat exponentially to come to the actual figure. From the bottom, the hill looked like the equivalent of the Byrd Park hill near the Nickel Bridge toll that I used to dread running up the year I marathon trained. And, my experience was no better. None of the hill repeats were "easy." I finished last each time, wheezed and felt like my legs might give out near the top of each climb. But, on a positive note, I finished ALL TEN and felt good that I had challenged myself to do them.

And while next week, I hope to head to Masters post work rather than the run clinic, TG SanDee and I are going to meet at an earlier time and avenge "the hill" for at least one more set of repeats. In the meantime, I'm headed out Saturday morning on my bike with Bart to find some of those hills that tortured me on last week's ride and see if I can make some progress on the mantra my old marathon coach used to repeat in our heads "Hills are your friend!"

What a difference a day makes!

2008-01-27T20:35:00.000-05:00

I know we are supposed to have peaks and valleys in our training . . . and after my valley yesterday, I'm glad today was part way up the hill.

10 miles at WC with TG40 with my new Garmin. Ave pace around 10:30 (although we started and finished at the same time and ran next to each other, our Garmins were slightly different) and my legs felt MOUNTAINS better than yesterday.

After a quick set of eight 20 second striders, we headed to the pool finished our long workout with an easy 2000 yards.

Result - feeling much more optimistic about White Lake.

Chicken!

2008-01-27T11:17:00.000-05:00

For the past few weeks, I have been dodging the outdoor Saturday ride with Endorphin and even an outside ride with TG40 and TG Diane. I'm not a fan of riding in the cold weather and I'm totally scared of being dropped either out in Goochland or on some other route where I don't know my way back.

By Friday morning, I still hadn't committed 100% to riding outside. My husband, who ventures out nearly every Saturday on the Endorphin ride, knew this and around mid-day Friday emailed me this picture. Yep! I'd admit it. I was definitely chicken. Friday night TRIDi echoed Bart's email and called into question my attendance Saturday in the sub40 degree temperatures.

The picture and email were all this stubborn gal needed. So at 10:30 yesterday morning, I bundled up for the 30 degree temperatures and headed out to West Creek to meet TG40 and Richard for a spin out to Goochland. Bart joined us too after missing his 10:00 ride.

I wish I could say I had a great time. Despite the fantastic company, I hated every minute of yesterday's ride, especially the first half of it. My legs felt like they had no fuel, my quads burned from yesterday's speed workout with Brenda and I struggled every minute to keep up and to catch someone's wheel. The ride improved slightly after the halfway point - I think partially because of the gu I ate but also because I think we started to hit less uphills and more downhills - but I still was disappointed with my performance. And, the icing on the cake, just when I thought we were on the homestretch - we got stopped from coming back to West Creek through Capital One by the security and had to add a few extra miles (and a hill or two) to detour back out to Patterson. Total ride time 2 hours, ave pace right around 15.

Deflated and frustrated after the ride, I headed home and finished with 20 more LONG minutes on my time trial bike. I was almost 40 minutes short of my proscribed time for the day, but I just could pedal anymore.

All I kept thinking was how am I ever going to do this half ironman if I can't ride for 3 hours on a training Saturday? If I can't feel good at this pace, how am I ever going to be able to ride with the big boys? Bart helped adjust my attitude with reminders that not every day is a good day, my body and legs aren't fresh and its cold outside. Shrug it off and don't be so hard on yourself!

I'm still not entirely convinced. But, on a positive note, I'm not a chicken. I did get out there, face one of my fears and ride in the cold. Despite the fact that I struggled every minute, I did not get left out in Goochland and I will be back out there next Saturday to try again. Who knows, maybe one of these days soon I'll even work up enough courage to ride the 10:00 ride.

Rest Day!

2008-01-21T14:45:00.000-05:00

Gotta love a three day weekend! Especially when the third day coincides with a rest day. :) For the first time since starting with the firm ten years ago, we have MLK day off. I'm enjoying it to the fullest -- watched a lot of the Australian Open, took Lulu to play fetch at the park, did a little grocery shopping and now am spending some quality time on our sectional.

But before I curl back up and get back to resting, a quick weekend recap. Because Coach Mark and Grandison moved the start time back to 7 am, I headed over to Maramarc for my morning cycle....which totally kicked my butt. My quads were still sore from Thursday night's lift followed by 200 repeats with Brenda Friday morning and were not very happy with Ed's level 8 repeats. But the frequent interval change ups made the 2 hours go by quickly and I headed over to WW to lift while the gals did their Saturday run. I added some step ups on the block to my lift routine to try and strengthen my hip flexors. After my lift I headed to the best part of the morning -- catching up with everyone over Starbucks. The last part of my Saturday workout was a quick 40 minutes on McQueen to finish up my cycling time while I watched Federer pull through another match. To reward ourselves for a hard workout day, Bart and I treated ourselves to our favorite bottle of Jordan and a yummy dinner at Chez Max after the Endorphin banquet. Congrats Jill on your big award!

Sunday was COLD! Temperatures were in the 20s with the wind chill dropping the temperatures into the teens. After a lazy morning, TG40 and I bundled up and headed to West Creek for a 90 minute run. Other than a few hills into the wind, the day was beautiful and I was glad we decided to run outside -- the sun was out and my legs still seemed to respond fairly well to the longer distance. I practiced some nutrition (a gu and some sports drink) and managed to keep my HR in the right zones. FINALLY, my average HR seems to be dropping even though I'm running longer and at a faster pace. 8.66 miles in 90 minutes. I had a good laugh when some "sweatcicles" dropped out of my hair as we were stretching post run. Would still take the cold temps than a hot muggy August day anyday! After a quick refuel with my favorite CLIFF Nectar bar, we headed to the pool for an easy paced 40 minute swim. I logged in a mile and stretched out my muscles in the water.

I am now at levels I've never trained at before. Who would have thought that this time last year before I even had a bike of my own I would have trained longer than an olympic distance in one weekend? Certainly not me. Michael talked Saturday night about the way training can become life changing. I couldn't agree more... and I love my new way of life.

Now, back to the couch for a little more of my lazy day.

Saturday

2008-01-16T21:15:00.000-05:00

Yes, I realize its only Wednesday, but today I've been focused on Saturday. My first email this morning was from Grandison and titled "Cycling time is now earlier." What, I gasped? How can cycling be earlier than the already god-awful time of 7 am on a supposed-to-be sleepy Saturday morning. Has it suddenly gotten July hot again necessitating an early start time?

Starting this Saturday, indoor cycling will begin at 6 am rather than 7. I would not usually moan and groan about a 6 am workout - I typically do them 4 days a week, but there is something about a 6 am Saturday when it is not hot or a race day that I can't seem to get past.

So my choices for this Saturday are: 1) suck it up and get up at 5 and go to 6 am cycling; 2) ride outside at noon in Ashland with TG40 and TG Diane in the predicted cold and blustery day; 3) rent a good movie and ride inside on my trainer with the company of my dog and possibly my husband at whatever hour I happen to roll out of bed; or 4) ride outside at 10 (again in the cold and wind) with team Red and cross my fingers that I don't get dropped somewhere in Goochland.

Guess I've got 2 more days to decide. Votes anyone?