This past weekend not as EPIC as the weekend prior. However, for me at least, it was a little tough at times. We had a crazy weather day on Saturday complete with rain, freezing rain, wintry mix, and snow. The ride had been scheduled for Saturday in Easton but the coaches moved it to Sunday. However, I wanted to cheer at the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday...which was supposed to be a fantastic day! With that, I opted to spin indoors on Saturday. All in all I completed the following training, some of which was mind-numbing:
Saturday – I started off at the pool where I swam a very easy 55 minutes, which amounted to 2800 yards. On my way home I hit up Starbucks for a tall soy latte and a roasted tomato and mozzarella sandwich for a snack/recovery meal. After I got home I decided on the "Back to the Future Trilogy" of movies to watch and ate then I set my bike up back in the living room and while I did a 4-hour spin session. There were a few breaks involved and I went 50 miles. It was...mind numbing. At this point I paused the third movie. Then I changed into my running shoes and hit the treadmill! After 45 minutes (4 miles) I was done! I managed to do a tri!
By this time I was starving! I changed into dry clothes so I could run out for nourishment. Just a little hamburger at Five Guys. And a large Diet Coke. I came home to eat and watch the remainder of the movie. I cannot remember what I did after that. Sleep perhaps?
Sunday: I had more running to do. It was nice out but I wanted to get an early start. And use my treadmill some more. I knocked out 8 miles in a hair under 90 minutes. Now, when I am on the treadmill I don’t just turn it on and leave it at 0%. I always start at 1% and then play around with the incline. And my new treadmill has a decline!
After my run was complete it was time to clean up so I could go cheer on the Marine Corps Marathon runners with Carol in Crystal City! I’m not exactly sure what time we got there – 11-something? We stayed till close to 2PM. We cheered on lots of folks – even some that we knew! We had cowbells and some AUsome Auburn shakers. And Carol brought us Diet Cokes! I even yelled out a couple of “Roll Tides” to some runners in ‘Bama gear! We cheered for everyone we could – yelling out individual names of those we could read. It was fun!
I could not stay too long as I was planning to go to the ‘Trunk or Treat’ that was being held at my neighborhood pool. I got home and loaded up the candy and Riley – complete with her “Boo bandana” and headed over to the pool. It was a pretty good turn out, I thought. I am already looking forward to next year as I have some fun ideas for decorating my ‘trunk’!
Once I was back at home where I was nearly ready to crash. I was tired. So. Tired. So was Riley! I did kick back and watch a fun movie and do my one load of laundry though.
So, this past training weekend was a success, also! I think my bike nutrition could have been better though. I completely forgot to get a couple of bottles of Ironman Perform but I did have my Gu, Honey Stinger Waffles, and Chex Mix. And salt tab capsules! I also had a sample "Fizz" tablet that I dropped in a bottle of water. The best part of my Saturday training was not having to leave little Miss Riley home alone for 13 hours!
This coming weekend I have a 30/8 brick. I’m going to try to start riding around 7AM, or so. I will back into being done and ready to run at 9:30, when I’ll meet up with Carol. And maybe Pam? Additional excitement for the coming weekend: Patrick will be home for a visit! War Eagle!!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Next Up:
November 12 – The Richmond 8K, where I’ll do an easy 5 miles. The day after I have another brick of 20/6...
T-H-E-N...
November 20 – Ironman Arizona. Holy Cactus!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
And it was EPIC...
This past weekend was our EPIC TRAINING WEEKEND of Ironman training! I completed the following EPIC training:
Saturday - a 15.5 mostly trail mile run. This run was mostly a success. I ran with two Iron friends – Carol and Pam – and we did a 6/1 run/walk. I did great till mile 14.5, when I tripped on a rock and went down on my right knee and hands. Fortunately I was wearing gloves and capris, so nothing too horrible happened. I did scrape my knee through the capris, but no dirt or debris got on the wound. Success! (And yay for capris!) Had no nutrition issues, either.
Sunday – a 126.57 mile bike ride. It was supposed to be a 120 mile bike ride (I made no wrong turns but we had cue sheets for the additional mileage. I’m not sure why they added extra mileage though...) followed by a 5 mile run. But...after 126.57 miles I decided I was DONE! (Not to mention I had to get back to the dog!) But, I have to say I felt great! I did a 50.96 mile loop then went back out for another 75.61 mile loop. The first 5-10 miles of the second loop were a bit hard, but then I started feeling better. I rode with great company of Kathy and Greg, and later joined by Euge and Sara.
So, all in all my weekend training was a complete success! And more success was that my nutrition – especially on the bike – was spot on (for a change) and today I feel fantastic! And I left little miss Riley uncrated the entire time I was gone for the ride – she was out and about for 13 hours with minimal damage. Minimal = she pulled up the carpet for some carpet padding fun, but that was it! Whew!
I am now officially in taper mode, with actually less than 27 full days till race day! (omg) This weekend we have an 80 mile bike ride with subsequent distances of 50 and 30 miles. This should be a piece of cake, right? Haha – two years ago after this point before Ironman Lake Placid I thought the 40 mile bike ride would be a piece of cake. It felt like the hardest ride. Ever!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Next Up:
November 12 – Richmond 8K (This will be an easy training day as I’ll be in taper mode. I really wanted to do the Richmond Half – which is sponsored by McDonald’s – but I see from the race literature I do get a complimentary McDonald’s coffee...so it looks like I won’t be missing out on any fries!)
November 20 – Ironman Arizona (This is it!)
Saturday - a 15.5 mostly trail mile run. This run was mostly a success. I ran with two Iron friends – Carol and Pam – and we did a 6/1 run/walk. I did great till mile 14.5, when I tripped on a rock and went down on my right knee and hands. Fortunately I was wearing gloves and capris, so nothing too horrible happened. I did scrape my knee through the capris, but no dirt or debris got on the wound. Success! (And yay for capris!) Had no nutrition issues, either.
Sunday – a 126.57 mile bike ride. It was supposed to be a 120 mile bike ride (I made no wrong turns but we had cue sheets for the additional mileage. I’m not sure why they added extra mileage though...) followed by a 5 mile run. But...after 126.57 miles I decided I was DONE! (Not to mention I had to get back to the dog!) But, I have to say I felt great! I did a 50.96 mile loop then went back out for another 75.61 mile loop. The first 5-10 miles of the second loop were a bit hard, but then I started feeling better. I rode with great company of Kathy and Greg, and later joined by Euge and Sara.
So, all in all my weekend training was a complete success! And more success was that my nutrition – especially on the bike – was spot on (for a change) and today I feel fantastic! And I left little miss Riley uncrated the entire time I was gone for the ride – she was out and about for 13 hours with minimal damage. Minimal = she pulled up the carpet for some carpet padding fun, but that was it! Whew!
I am now officially in taper mode, with actually less than 27 full days till race day! (omg) This weekend we have an 80 mile bike ride with subsequent distances of 50 and 30 miles. This should be a piece of cake, right? Haha – two years ago after this point before Ironman Lake Placid I thought the 40 mile bike ride would be a piece of cake. It felt like the hardest ride. Ever!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Next Up:
November 12 – Richmond 8K (This will be an easy training day as I’ll be in taper mode. I really wanted to do the Richmond Half – which is sponsored by McDonald’s – but I see from the race literature I do get a complimentary McDonald’s coffee...so it looks like I won’t be missing out on any fries!)
November 20 – Ironman Arizona (This is it!)
Friday, October 21, 2011
A silver lining...
Well, since I returned from Auburn and got my lovely sinus infection – that it still hanging on – I’ve slowly gotten back onto the training wagon. And I’ve had a great week of training – I’ve not missed one recovery week workout! Good news – I took my last antibiotic! If there’s a trace of this next week I’m going to get back with my doctor...
Last weekend was my last tune-up / training race for Ironman Arizona, the Watermans’ Half in Marbury, Maryland – at General Smallwood Park. It was not a great day for me for the most part. I woke up with a headache that not only did not go away but proceeded to get worse. A bit of a stressor! There were not even 200 people entered in this race and only three waves! I was in the second one – all women. They said the water temperature was 65 degrees. I had on my sleeveless wetsuit and was quite comfortable. I’m hoping this means I can go sleeveless in Tempe next month! (But will have both just in case not.)
The swim: The water was fairly calm but sadly there was more seaweed-y stuff. Blech. The course was two rectangular loops on a well-marked course that favored right-sided breathers, like me. Bonus! There were helpers yanking us out at the swim finish, too. I ran/walked to transition because my bare feet do not like hard surfaces...I ran when there was grass though!
T1: I took my time in T1 – I’m never fast anyway, so...why try something new? J The nice thing about transition – aside from the fact that my feet don’t like to be bare foot on pavement – was the lack of grass and mud when getting my bike shoes on. Another bonus!
The bike: Despite everything, I actually really liked this course. I thought it was a good mix overall and would do this again. I knew there were some bad spots on the road and know ahead of time helped. For the most part. My headache was still there and just seemed to get worse. My sinuses were killing me (not literally of course) and every bump seemed to shake my brain. I knew this wasn’t really happening but it sure felt like it! I was telling myself that this race was not important in the big picture and I did not need to get sicker to finish it. And around the halfway point gave myself permission to not finish. (My first DNF!)
Well, maybe that decision played a part in what happened next, becasue in another six miles and I think I hit a little pot hole (or something) and then realized I’d gotten a flat. On the back wheel. Awesome! (It was like Ironman Lake Placid nightmares again – but real. Oh wait – that was real, too!) There just happened to be a church on my right, so I pulled over and tried to figure out where to start. By removing all the bottles off my bike so I could stand it upside down, of course. Many Z’ers and other nice racers slowed to see if I needed help and one actually stopped. I said I was good (I had a CO2 cartridge and a tube) but THEN realized I was without my tire levers! She (Becca – a Z’er!) had some to lend me – and they were pink! So I got her race number and promised to return them later. I got that rear wheel off and actually was able to get the tire off (but somehow flipped inside out?) with just my hands. (This is huge for me because on my old bike the original tires were so hard I could barely get the tire off with levers! And extra hands!) Turns out I did need the levers to get it flipped back then off the rim, but then I did it all by hand, replaced the tube and got the tire back on – with JUST MY HANDS. My CO2 cartridge contraption worked just liked I remembered and eventually I got the back wheel back on, the bottles loaded up, and just as I was about to mount the bike a really cute guy in a truck stopped to ask if I needed help. Unfortunately, I was all good at that point.
I had about 22 miles to go to get back to transition. And I think the flat did nothing for my aching head and here’s where my nutrition feel apart. Because up until the flat that was going well. I rolled back into transition eventually and figured out where to go to turn in my chip. I headed to my car to try to rest while I waited for Jeff to finish up – and he was rocking it!
The rest did not help my head but later Jeff realized he had some ibuprofen so I took a few and would you believe that headache stayed for about another four days! Ultimately the race organizers had me DNF after the swim as there were not separate T1 and T2 times due to a timing mat malfunction. So, I’m not sure at this point how long my ride was. I had a swim split on my watch, then a total split, but my Garmin paused during the tire change, so...who knows!
My hope is that I got all the race day demons out before the big day: November 20, 2011! Back on July 26, 2009 (at Ironman Lake Placid) I not only got a flat on the rear wheel (my biggest fear, outside of missing the bike cut-off) during the first of two loops on the bike (and fortunately had (1) switched to different, easier-to-mount tires and (2) had a spare tube AND tire because there was a staple in my rear tire) I also got stung by a bee on the second downhill into Keene. I had a huge bee sting mark for nearly a month!
So, my fingers are crossed and I think the sinus infection is mostly gone. This is a build week and my workouts have gone well. This week we started the first of eight 90-minutes swims on Thursday and that was a success. This weekend is the EPIC TRAINING WEEKEND! I have a 15 mile run tomorrow followed by a nearly 120 mile bike ride on Sunday; after which I’m supposed to run another 5 miles. I will take things one part at a time.
Happy and Healthy Training!
Next Up:
November 12 – Richmond 8K (an easy training day – I’ll be in taper though I really wanted to do the Richmond Half – sponsored by McDonald’s)
November 20 – Ironman Arizona with Team IM-AZ-ing! (And it is going to be!)
Last weekend was my last tune-up / training race for Ironman Arizona, the Watermans’ Half in Marbury, Maryland – at General Smallwood Park. It was not a great day for me for the most part. I woke up with a headache that not only did not go away but proceeded to get worse. A bit of a stressor! There were not even 200 people entered in this race and only three waves! I was in the second one – all women. They said the water temperature was 65 degrees. I had on my sleeveless wetsuit and was quite comfortable. I’m hoping this means I can go sleeveless in Tempe next month! (But will have both just in case not.)
The swim: The water was fairly calm but sadly there was more seaweed-y stuff. Blech. The course was two rectangular loops on a well-marked course that favored right-sided breathers, like me. Bonus! There were helpers yanking us out at the swim finish, too. I ran/walked to transition because my bare feet do not like hard surfaces...I ran when there was grass though!
T1: I took my time in T1 – I’m never fast anyway, so...why try something new? J The nice thing about transition – aside from the fact that my feet don’t like to be bare foot on pavement – was the lack of grass and mud when getting my bike shoes on. Another bonus!
The bike: Despite everything, I actually really liked this course. I thought it was a good mix overall and would do this again. I knew there were some bad spots on the road and know ahead of time helped. For the most part. My headache was still there and just seemed to get worse. My sinuses were killing me (not literally of course) and every bump seemed to shake my brain. I knew this wasn’t really happening but it sure felt like it! I was telling myself that this race was not important in the big picture and I did not need to get sicker to finish it. And around the halfway point gave myself permission to not finish. (My first DNF!)
Well, maybe that decision played a part in what happened next, becasue in another six miles and I think I hit a little pot hole (or something) and then realized I’d gotten a flat. On the back wheel. Awesome! (It was like Ironman Lake Placid nightmares again – but real. Oh wait – that was real, too!) There just happened to be a church on my right, so I pulled over and tried to figure out where to start. By removing all the bottles off my bike so I could stand it upside down, of course. Many Z’ers and other nice racers slowed to see if I needed help and one actually stopped. I said I was good (I had a CO2 cartridge and a tube) but THEN realized I was without my tire levers! She (Becca – a Z’er!) had some to lend me – and they were pink! So I got her race number and promised to return them later. I got that rear wheel off and actually was able to get the tire off (but somehow flipped inside out?) with just my hands. (This is huge for me because on my old bike the original tires were so hard I could barely get the tire off with levers! And extra hands!) Turns out I did need the levers to get it flipped back then off the rim, but then I did it all by hand, replaced the tube and got the tire back on – with JUST MY HANDS. My CO2 cartridge contraption worked just liked I remembered and eventually I got the back wheel back on, the bottles loaded up, and just as I was about to mount the bike a really cute guy in a truck stopped to ask if I needed help. Unfortunately, I was all good at that point.
I had about 22 miles to go to get back to transition. And I think the flat did nothing for my aching head and here’s where my nutrition feel apart. Because up until the flat that was going well. I rolled back into transition eventually and figured out where to go to turn in my chip. I headed to my car to try to rest while I waited for Jeff to finish up – and he was rocking it!
The rest did not help my head but later Jeff realized he had some ibuprofen so I took a few and would you believe that headache stayed for about another four days! Ultimately the race organizers had me DNF after the swim as there were not separate T1 and T2 times due to a timing mat malfunction. So, I’m not sure at this point how long my ride was. I had a swim split on my watch, then a total split, but my Garmin paused during the tire change, so...who knows!
My hope is that I got all the race day demons out before the big day: November 20, 2011! Back on July 26, 2009 (at Ironman Lake Placid) I not only got a flat on the rear wheel (my biggest fear, outside of missing the bike cut-off) during the first of two loops on the bike (and fortunately had (1) switched to different, easier-to-mount tires and (2) had a spare tube AND tire because there was a staple in my rear tire) I also got stung by a bee on the second downhill into Keene. I had a huge bee sting mark for nearly a month!
So, my fingers are crossed and I think the sinus infection is mostly gone. This is a build week and my workouts have gone well. This week we started the first of eight 90-minutes swims on Thursday and that was a success. This weekend is the EPIC TRAINING WEEKEND! I have a 15 mile run tomorrow followed by a nearly 120 mile bike ride on Sunday; after which I’m supposed to run another 5 miles. I will take things one part at a time.
Happy and Healthy Training!
Next Up:
November 12 – Richmond 8K (an easy training day – I’ll be in taper though I really wanted to do the Richmond Half – sponsored by McDonald’s)
November 20 – Ironman Arizona with Team IM-AZ-ing! (And it is going to be!)
Friday, October 7, 2011
AUsome! Or not...
My last posted talked about going down to see my younger son Patrick for Parents’ Weekend and a football game at Auburn University. It was AUsome! (That’s my way of spelling awesome!) I flew down on Friday night then met up with my ex on Saturday to drive down to see Patrick, go to the game, etc.
So, not quite a month and a half away and he is still the same old Patrick. It was great to see him! Finding him was a bit tricky and he was not at his dorm but ‘somewhere’ that we couldn’t find. We ended up parking at the McDonald’s in town and having him find us. Then it was off to lunch and to grab some snack foods before dropping him so he could meet up with his friends for the game while we went and experience the true Auburn game day festivities! We wandered around and just took in all the goings on while we wandered our way over to the Tiger Walk. This is where the fans line this one street that leads up to the stadium, which the team and associated folks walk through on their way 2 hours prior to game time. After that and a little bit of excitement from the cheerleaders and the band we went into the stadium to find our seats...
I kept saying, “I hope they aren’t in the top row!” all I knew is that we were in the upper deck on the home side on the far right...not knowing how many rows were there I had no idea. Yeah, we were in the third row from the top! It was AUsome! But they were pretty cool regardless and each trip up the steps got easier. Patrick had gotten into the student section pretty much diagonal across from us but in the lower section. He texted me to say he could see us. It was pretty funny – we were the *only* ones there at the moment.
I was really looking forward to the pregame stuff: The flight of the War Eagle (Nova – how appropriate!) and seeing the marching band. Neither one disappointed! Finally the team came on and the game got underway. The game was exciting, but not as exciting as it would have been if we’d been watching them play against another SEC team. Note to self for next season...
Of course we all assumed they’d win and it would be a big win, but not so much! I got a little stressed at the end! We caught up with Patrick pretty quickly afterwards and walked to the car so we could go find some dinner. Driving through town right up to Toomer’s Corner. The Toomer’s Oaks were already covered with toilet paper. AUsome Victory!
We tried to go into a barbeque place but could not hear what the bouncer said. The music was crazy-loud! We went into the pizza place next door and had to nearly fight for a table but succeeded and had some pretty tasty pizza!
Sunday morning we got Patrick for breakfast and had to try two different Waffle Houses before we got to sit down (at the counter no less) to eat! It was nuts! So many people in town (FACT: On game day Auburn becomes the fifth largest cisty in Alabama) had the same idea! Then it was off to get me back to the airport.
After arriving home things became not so AUsome... Tuesday (September 27) I woke up with a sore throat. Things went downhill from there and I ended up with a pretty good sinus infection that I am still fighting off! I have done barely a lick of training since before I went to Auburn. Oh well, I figure with all my rest I’ll be very rested for the half iron distance triathlon I’m going to tri to do tomorrow. Yikes!
But for some good news: Patrick is coming home for a weekend on November 4th!
And even better news: Andrew is coming home tomorrow for the weekend! Bonus: He got a great job down in Mooresville and needs to pick up his tool chest!
Happy and HEALTHY Training!
Next Up: Waterman's Half.
Yikes = 44 days till Ironman Arizona!!
So, not quite a month and a half away and he is still the same old Patrick. It was great to see him! Finding him was a bit tricky and he was not at his dorm but ‘somewhere’ that we couldn’t find. We ended up parking at the McDonald’s in town and having him find us. Then it was off to lunch and to grab some snack foods before dropping him so he could meet up with his friends for the game while we went and experience the true Auburn game day festivities! We wandered around and just took in all the goings on while we wandered our way over to the Tiger Walk. This is where the fans line this one street that leads up to the stadium, which the team and associated folks walk through on their way 2 hours prior to game time. After that and a little bit of excitement from the cheerleaders and the band we went into the stadium to find our seats...
I kept saying, “I hope they aren’t in the top row!” all I knew is that we were in the upper deck on the home side on the far right...not knowing how many rows were there I had no idea. Yeah, we were in the third row from the top! It was AUsome! But they were pretty cool regardless and each trip up the steps got easier. Patrick had gotten into the student section pretty much diagonal across from us but in the lower section. He texted me to say he could see us. It was pretty funny – we were the *only* ones there at the moment.
I was really looking forward to the pregame stuff: The flight of the War Eagle (Nova – how appropriate!) and seeing the marching band. Neither one disappointed! Finally the team came on and the game got underway. The game was exciting, but not as exciting as it would have been if we’d been watching them play against another SEC team. Note to self for next season...
Of course we all assumed they’d win and it would be a big win, but not so much! I got a little stressed at the end! We caught up with Patrick pretty quickly afterwards and walked to the car so we could go find some dinner. Driving through town right up to Toomer’s Corner. The Toomer’s Oaks were already covered with toilet paper. AUsome Victory!
We tried to go into a barbeque place but could not hear what the bouncer said. The music was crazy-loud! We went into the pizza place next door and had to nearly fight for a table but succeeded and had some pretty tasty pizza!
Sunday morning we got Patrick for breakfast and had to try two different Waffle Houses before we got to sit down (at the counter no less) to eat! It was nuts! So many people in town (FACT: On game day Auburn becomes the fifth largest cisty in Alabama) had the same idea! Then it was off to get me back to the airport.
After arriving home things became not so AUsome... Tuesday (September 27) I woke up with a sore throat. Things went downhill from there and I ended up with a pretty good sinus infection that I am still fighting off! I have done barely a lick of training since before I went to Auburn. Oh well, I figure with all my rest I’ll be very rested for the half iron distance triathlon I’m going to tri to do tomorrow. Yikes!
But for some good news: Patrick is coming home for a weekend on November 4th!
And even better news: Andrew is coming home tomorrow for the weekend! Bonus: He got a great job down in Mooresville and needs to pick up his tool chest!
Happy and HEALTHY Training!
Next Up: Waterman's Half.
Yikes = 44 days till Ironman Arizona!!
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