2011 Wrap-Up

2011 Summary:

swim 110 miles  

bike 3117 miles (excludes commuting miles)

run 1280 miles

3 olympics, 3 halfs, one 50k trail run, and one Westernport Wall! See if I can remember them all:

Wildwood 12miler

QQ half mary on trails: 3rd in AG (First podium for 13.1!)

Gateway Olympic 1st in AG (First podium for Oly!)

Cutting Edge half 2nd in AG (First podium for half, but only because the others in AG OA'd)

Pigman half

Savageman oly and half (Brick!)

Last Chance oly 3rd OA (first ever OA for a tri!)

Skippo 30k (2nd in AG)

Did two training camps--Branson and Louisville. 

Summary of 2011? The year I seemed to hit my stride on getting podiums in my AG. Discovered my run with CP's help. Learned to like (not love, not yet) swimming with CHG's help. Switched to Whole30 and stuck with it. Started the year out in depression and stayed there until late June. Turned it around in July and came back strong. Hired a coach! Signed up for another IM. Capped off my service to the club (happy to have that time back in 2012!). Found new self-confidence, stronger discipline, and inner strength. Learned to accept who I am instead of hiding behind it. 

What a year!

New Years Eve Triathlon

SWIM: 4500 y in 1:45-1:50
BIKE: 21.2 mi in 1:30
RUN: 2.3 mi in 22 mins

The original plan wasn't like this, but I'm happy with how the day turned out. All week I was getting offers to run here, go there, do this, and it wasn't until that morning that I decided what to do.

SWIM: My longest swim EVER. Equates to 2.79 miles!! I swim longer than I biked, and farther than I ran! The workout MS was 20x100 (10s) at race pace tracking time. I used the 310xt for intervals (after EK showed me the right way to do it). I started out with 1:50 (15s) and was hitting the wall at the end of the rest period. I added 5s at a time until 2:05 (15s) gave me 10s rest. That means I was doing 2:10 100s. I was disappointed at that speed, but I wasn't feeling fast or anything --I felt sloppy! I've done this workout before, it was part of the IMWI training plan. I should go back and find it!

BIKE: LC and I rode the RF trail. It was unseasonably warm but windy. I took the Puppy as that bike was well-suited to the sometimes messy trail and because the was the most readily available bike! We had a great tailwind on the outbound and a strong headwind on the return. I thought I'd be sore or too worn out at the end (we'd planned for 2hrs) but instead we had a good ride and it was refreshing!

RUN: We ran into the headwind this time so as to enjoy the tailwind. Ran around the Arch, included the Arch stairs, and went until her injury stopped her.

FUN DAY!!!!!

Spin it all out

BIKE: 1hr, maybe only 15 miles, all little ring spinning

It was supposed to be a day off, but I had some energy to burn off. You know, the wtf-do-i-deal-with-this-shit energy.

Still tired, what's going on?

RUN: 6.5 miles in 55 mins (took a drier path, slightly shorter) (as if it really matters)

Woke up OK but still tired and mild headache. Still fuzzy, but looking forward to the run. It was warmer than usual for this time of year at 39F. As per usual, I overdressed with my Craft t-neck and my new Mizuno thermal pants. Keep in mind that those might work better at 30F!

I struggled in the run, just felt like the whole thing was pushed, high breathing and HR (but no HRM, why not?!). But IT said the ave was 8:23m/m and that’s a decent pace for 6.5 miles. Especially if I’ve spend the last day or two worn out.

Later at work I had a headache, still unmotivated and unfocused. I’m looking at my schedule for the weekend and wondering just how much rest I need to take to get out of this funk?

What can I change? Maybe my electrolytes are out of whack…I’m sweating a lot on the bike and today’s run but not supplementing. Maybe I’m missing some nutrient? Maybe…???

Double workout, double tired

SWIM: 2100y in about 60 mins. IM/mixed day

BIKE: about 23 miles in 90 mins. 3x17:30 intervals at increasing HR

Yesterday after the 10 mile run I had some fairly extreme fatigue and leg pain. Not the muscle soreness pain, but a pain like my bones hurt. I’ve had it before under high training loads. A 10-miler is not exactly a high training load run or a long run. It shouldn’t tax me so much.

It gets me worried that I’m not getting ready for the upcoming long races! But looking over the past few runs like this, I have to wonder if I’m getting dehydrated in the runs? I’m not carrying water or eating. Is it the new dietary changes—does my body not tolerate this as well without a certain something I’ve eliminated? It’s like an experiment, but not one I want to be doing 5-6 months out from a big race.

Whatever the cause, I got home from work last night and just wanted to curl up in front of a big space heater and sleep. Oh, and eat. I was hungry!  Which also makes me wonder if I’m not eating enough afterwards or eating the right foods?

The pain and fatigue were almost gone this morning, enough remained early in the morning to make me consider skipping the swim. My right shoulder still hurts and my Achilles were tight (from the run?) and together with fatigue and a dislike for the cold drive to a cold pool should have been enough to keep me home. But I told myself that this is the time I really need to buck up and GO. When I’m tired is when I need the most discipline and determination to finish. So off to swim I went.

Swim was OK, and I liked the variety of sets.

The bike was better than most. I took a workout from the 2010 plan that had 3 17:30 sets (70%, 75%, and 80% HR) as the main block. I should have worn my new HRM! But didn’t.

The rest of the day went OK, energy good and mood upbeat. I took a better lunch in today to see if that helps out. I was still a little unmotivated and unfocused, had trouble with some simple tasks. Just something to keep an eye on!

I asked myself at one point today: if I could be doing anything in the world right now, what would I want to do? And I didn’t have a good answer.

Fun run in the snow

RUN: 10 miles in 1:36


I keep thinking its January already. But no, this is that in betweener week between xmas and new year’s. Seems like a good time to take stock of 2011, see where I am for 2012, and get things in order.

It snowed overnight, first snow of the season! And since the Tuesday run is still new, only two other peeps planned to go and they both couldn’t make it. So I was on my own. On top of this, my right ankle felt out of place all day yesterday. Perfect! No fartleks on a potential problem ankle, and solitude to do some thinking.

One thing I’m gung-ho about for 2012 is getting my life back in order. Or perhaps more specifically, getting my life back to ME. Sounds selfish, doesn’t it? But I’ve spend the past 12 months putting a lot of energy into other people and now it’s my turn. With my promises to the club substantially reduced, with the holidays over, and with a renewed energy I spend most of the run mulling things over.

First off, my nutrition waxes and wanes, good to horrible, on key to off the charts. This can be day to day! As an example, yesterday was a nightmare. Very few foods were in the house, leaving me to pick through for breakfast and lunch. Once I went shopping, I came up and damn near binged. I was hungry for real food and suddenly I had it! Everything I eat is healthy, but I can’t say that it was necessary. By the time I went to bed, I felt miserable.

And then today I woke up feeling sick. Hours into today, I still feel less than ideal. Eat shit, feel like shit. Seems pretty simple, doesn’t it?

I’m still doing the Whole30 thing, but coasting through it. I’m not really putting energy into it. So for the new year, I’d like to just start over and give it some gas. See where it goes. I’ve also found some raw recipes to test with my soon-to-arrive dehydrator sheets!

My training stalled out a bit, but I can blame the holidays for some of that. I broke it down into sports. Swimming is going great, 8500y/week and a private lesson planned. I’m doing lots of quantity, but I need to be sure it’s quality. Biking is suffering, it’s hard to be motivated to sit on a trainer! But I decided to switch to videos and pre-planned workouts, instead of 45min tv shows. Running hit a 20mi/week plateau that I’d like to break. I run 3x/week, and it’s sorted out into speed, tempo, long. But I’m only doing 6-7mi/run. I miss long runs! (Hence today—a long run!). I have a race at the end of January that I’d like to PR on, so a good goal for January is to keep building speed over long distances.

So overall, training is on track. It just needs some non-holiday time and focus. 6 months to CdA!

Finally, work. But that’s a topic we don’t discuss here. I’ll just say that I’m going to put lots of focus there too.

My mind is such a wanderer, jumping from topic to topic. It’d feel good to get my to-do list cleaned up and minimized so this mental energy can be directed to the parts of life that need it.

I enjoyed the run! My toes did too, but they were complaining a bit. Didn’t occur to me until the 1st mile that my Cascadias would have been a good choice in the slick slush. And I really need to retire these Brooks! The mileage log in trainingpeaks has to be wrong (really, only 400 miles in these?!?).

So this non-week will be put to good use. Maybe I can get the few major house projects wrapped before the end of the year? (second coat of paint on the steps, paint ceilings), and maybe I can clear off the 3 or so club projects I’ve promised to do, then I can start the year fresh.

But this week will be a good time to re-evaluate and consider my goals for the year. I’m tired of this “waiting” habit I’ve gotten into.

Merry Christmas...to me....!

Just signed up for....Triple T!!

Yes! I did it! I have some doubts about such a big race so close to IM CdA, but that's why I was so excited to do it. If I knew I could do it with no problems, it wouldn't be such a big deal.

Had the day off of work and cleaned out closets and other junk piles. Wish I could count carrying all that crap to the curb as a workout, but I can't. Also wish I could have some miles to log, but I didn't do any. Just lost momentum as the day progressed.

Then my eating was horrible, leaving with me an upset tummy for the entire afternoon and evening. It was so easy to avoid, yet I didn't. :(

Pre-xmas week

Got way behind on things!  And the blogger says this is my 600th post!

Monday: 2300y swim and 22 mile trainer ride
Tuesday: 6.3 mi fartlet run in 50 or so mins
Weds: 2200y swim and another 22mi trainer ride.
Thursday: 6.6 mi run in 56 mins
Friday: 4000y swim in 90 mins

Yes you read that right, 4000y swim! My longest this year, and I think the longest I've ever gone in an indoor pool.

This week seemed to be mostly a swim focus. On Monday I talked to CHG and shared the news about the 100 miles. He asked what goal for next year, asked how far I'm swimming/week now, and suggested 300 miles in 2012! I laughed. What?!  He ran the math, if I'm swimming 8000-some yards/week and still building then I should be able to do it.

He followed that up by saying that a serious swimmer swims 10K/week.  Again, I laughed. What?!  Am I a serious swimmer? Will I be a serious swimmer?

Weds was breast stroke day, but I was pulled aside for some instruction. I'm dropping my forward arm down too soon, I need to leave it out front longer and set my arm up to anchor and get that awesome forward motion. He asked to see some off-side breathing. The first 25y was a joke. He suggested leaving the arm forward and not pushing down. The next 25y was a huge improvement. I just needed to trust the rotation. A few more tips to work on, and a suggestion for another private lesson.

Then today (Friday) I did a 4000y swim at the IL Valley Y pool. Brrrr!!!  I precalculated a 2 mile swim and set up intervals. WU= 400, 300, 200, 100. MS= 10x50 as alternate/free; 8x75kick as dolphin, dolphin fast, flutter; 100 easy pull; 3x300 free building on the 100's; 100 easy pool.  CD=8x100 slow focused drills.

The original plan was 3600, but I extended the slow focused drills to get the 4000. I was too close to leave that untouched.

100+ miles. Private lessons. Three Master's a week. 8000+ yards a week. Private lessons.

Yes, I'm going to be a serious swimmer!

100 MILES! GOOOOOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!

My Go The Distance 2011 Progress
101.49 miles swum (=178,624 yards, =163,333 meters). View my progress | Go The Distance 2011 results.
Most recent milestone achievement: 100 miles on 12/17.
48.51 miles (= 85,376 yards, = 78,068 meters) to next milestone (150 miles milestone).

My Go The Distance 2011 goal: 100.00 mi. Progress towards goal:

Congratulations! You have achieved your goal for Go The Distance 2011
My goal pace: 96.16 miles required as of today to reach my goal by the end of the event
My actual current pace: 101.49 miles as of today

Went out hard and fast today, feeling good and fresh. I implemented CHG's suggestion about carrying momentum in the recovery arm and ZOOOM I went FAST. (fast for me anway). I kept hitting CM's toes so as reluctant as I was to pass her I had to.

100 miles!!!!!

Thursday run, tired!

RUN: 6.6 miles in about 55 mins. I'm feeling the building bike miles apparently, this run was tired. My legs were heavy and the zip wasn't there. My training is building up, I'm getting tired, and I'M LOVIN IT!

Back(stroke) in the saddle?

SWIM: 2900y in 75 mins. Might have been 3000y, 2950y, not sure.
BIKE: 21.5-ish in 75 mins. Goal was long sets with good form, big circles.

Backstroke day! And after Monday's beat down of a swim, I came back hard and fast. The goal was to hang on and don't let go.

After finally showing up on time, CHG didn't! (I jinxed this, and the DH even joked that CHG wouldn't be there the day I finally showed up on time!!). Arrived at 5:10--go me!

Unlike Monday, I went out hard. I'd pause to let people go by if needed but many times I'd just go ahead of them. I worked on CHG's suggestion from Monday to swing the recovery arm with momentum--don't stop at the end of the pull, instead swing it out, elbow bent, and throw it forward. He's mentioned this before, but Monday's explanation made more sense. It was tiring and it made me feel faster. Whether or not I was really faster, I didn't time it so I don't know.

Either way, I went out hard and stayed there. I cut rests short to keep my place in line. I did hard sets when everyone else did easy. And like any really good swim workout, I lost count of the laps. It wasn't until we finished that I asked. KP and KB said 3600 total, including their WU and CD. So I backcalculated and got 3000. But since I can't remember if I did at 300 or 400 set in WU, I'll enter the low number in the record. Regardless, this is a looooong swim for me at Master's. And I liked it.

Much better day, much sharper feel, like I'm on the attack!

And this swim puts me at 99.4 miles for 2011! 0.5mi to go.

Oh and I heard it again today "it's because you have low body fat" in response to my dislike of cold pool water. Since it's so trendy for people to say to me, it's getting it's own tag.

Fartleks

RUN: 6 miles in 50 mins?

Me, DC, JM, and a light rain did a fartleks session. DC and I had the same treadmill workout in the schedule, and since we would rather run in the rain we decided to make the best of it. DC suggested fartleks--and he called the first one out at the bottom of Skinker hill. Oh joy.

Great session, and I found something I need to work on this winter! SPEEEEEEED!!!

Monday Master's = a beat-down

SWIM: 2050y in 65 mins.
RUN: 3.5 mi in 32 mins.
BIKE: 22 mi in 75 mins

I have two posts for today, the first is this one about the swim. The second is a general overview of life. I’d combine them (and I might still yet) as they play off each other quite a bit. But I’d like to focus on each and really dissect things.

Today was Monday Master’s. I left the house earlier than my usual late time and arrived at the pool around 5:20. The swim starts at 5:15 which means I should be arriving at 5:10! Considering that I’ve been arriving at 5:30 the past few times, this is sort of a win.

Today was also long-freestyle day, which should be my favorite swim time. But it’s not. This swim just crushes me. My lane buddies are either getting faster, or I’m getting slower. There are more lane buddies, that has something to do with it. Instead of 4-5 peeps we have 6+ on most Mondays. And of the 6, I’m the slowest. I’m OK with that. But I’m not OK with that, and see that’s where this swim goes MENTAL.

I get passed in mid-lane. People skip a wall touch to get around me if I’m at the wall. If I’m at the wall people flip turn right into me cuz I don’t get out of the way. I’m swimming at my near max speed, more worried about who is coming up behind me than I am about my own form and swim. I feel like an obstacle. I feel like I should be one more lane over. But I worked hard to get “up” a lane and although sometimes when I’m not in the mood for a contact/competitive swim I seed myself in that slower lane it’s not where I belong. So I don’t want to move over. But I do.

No I don’t. I don’t swim any faster in the slower lane. Yet I’m not swimming any faster in my current lane. I’m swimming messier. The train of swimmers ahead of me is about 25-30y long so when I get dropped off the back it doesn’t take long before the first swimmer is on my toes. I’ll stop at the wall, let the train go by, then get back to my swim. They swim a 500, I swim broken 400. I get whatever swim in I can around their swim. For me—no intervals, no long sets. Instead it’s swim a 50, let some people get by me, swim a 25y, see who is coming up behind me and if needed let them go by, swim 25 repeat, repeat, repeat.

I get done with this swim and I’m wiped. My neck hurts. My arms are sore/tired. I’m a little dizzy from the effort. My stomach is upset from the stress. It’s one hour of OMG SWIM FASTER!!!!! and it’s not doing my head any good. And I do mean my head. It does a body good to work hard and be taxed. That’s how we build up! But what happens to me is in my head. I worry about the swimmer behind me. I worry about my swim. I worry about my form. I worry about getting out of the way. I worry about why I keep hitting the lane lines. Worry, worry, worry. It’s all in my HEAD.

There’s 2 ways to go about addressing this. The first is the way I’ve been doing it. Swim like a little mouse trying to stay out of the way and keep everyone happy. This is how I live. I live my life doing things to make other people happy. I generally tend to hate confronting, negotiating, or standing my ground. If I can find a happy middle, I consider that a win.

And how’s that working for me? Well, I get run over.

I end up running club errands in my spare time. I write newsletters in my spare time. I take on projects that others need help with in my spare time. I volunteer myself to help others out. I get stressed out, overworked, dizzy with to-do’s. And I keep talking about spare time. I don’t have spare time! Where is this spare time I keep mentioning??

Oh yeah. I don’t have it. Which is why I keep getting run over. I can’t say No to keep my sanity. I let people pile up on me. I’ll be unhappy and never let on when maybe a few words could change the tide to my favor.

The second way to address this is to follow LC’s plan that she mentioned this morning. She saw this swim getting fast for her, so she decided that she was going to swim like Hell at lactate threshold if that’s what it took to get the swim done. She said it was hard at first, too tiring, too draining. And now? She’s keeping up and holding her own in the train. This is one of the things I admire in LC. She’ll stand up for it, she’ll say it, and she’ll do it. I try to find a way around; she’ll find a way through.

Where is that in me? Where is the Me that will say “if you want to swim faster than me then you’ll have to go around me cuz I’m not gonna hang on the wall to let you go by”?

Bad enough that I was less than happy about how my Nov training plan was and had to be encouraged to ask about it. Bad enough that I get unhappy with work and have to encourage myself to be interested in it. Bad enough that IM-f^cking-CdA is a few weeks away and I’m not psyched up for it yet.

Oh yeah. IMCdA. I just did the math, and it’s 27 weeks away. That doesn’t sound like much, I like 6 months and 12 days better. 195 days? No 6 months sounds better.

OK here goes that 2nd post I mentioned earlier. I knew I’d blend them; they’re just hard to separate.

27 weeks away, I’m not excited, and I’m trying to ride out a low mood I’m in. I’m working on the “quit waiting” problem from a few weeks ago, I’m trying to live in the NOW. Well right NOW I feel behind on training. I feel like I should be crushing monster miles and endless hours. Not coasting. OK, granted, I’m coming off a high base level. When I did IMWI base training I was starting from a lower aerobic level. It’s probably safe to say that I don’t need huge base right now, because I already have it. OK, I’ll agree with that.

On the other hand, having CP has taken a huge load off my mind. I can remember prepping for IMWI and worrying over the training plan. What it right for me? Does it address my strengths and weaknesses? Will it get me ready? Will it work for me? With CP, I know I’ll be ready, I know my S&W will be addressed in time, and I know this training plan is mine. But yet I feel like I’m not doing enough. What was I doing at this point for IMWI? Easy way to look! Backtrack through this training log.

I’ve been wanting to backtrack for a few weeks now, in part to get back some of the interval workouts for the trainer and swimming (I can’t just sit there and come up with a workout on my own, I need the structure) and in part to compare this year to that year. I’ve told myself to not compare these years as there are too many differences. First time vs second time. Just finish vs time goal. Self coached vs coached. All in all a poor comparison, I know. But I still want to do it.

So I go back and surf the Ultra plan. For IMWI at 27 weeks out, I was doing 12hrs/week. 3x swim, 5x bike, and 4x run. Right now I’m doing maybe 10hrs/week and 3x swim, 2x bike, and 3x run. Yikes?!? Is that enough? Why am I not biking more? Am I running enough for a marathon?

Calm down. The marathon is 6 months away. Indoor training rides suck. And is 12 hrs that different from 10hrs?

If I want to improve, following the Ultra plan again isn’t the way to go. And we already know I want to improve. Otherwise I’d be parked on a couch.

That’s why I keep putting myself on the deck of the CoC pool every Monday morning for Master’s. Because I want to improve. Staying home in bed or swimming alone or swimming with a slower group is the equivalent of following last year’s training plan.

So here I sit, mulling over ways to improve. And while I was reviewing training log from “one year ago”, I found this post. God Damn, this sux. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Sounds like what I just typed above, doesn’t it? Except the tears. I didn’t almost cry this time out of frustration. But I was a bit shaky, my dismay showed on my face, and when CHG asked if I was resting because I raced this weekend I was just crushed. Crushed.

No, I didn’t race this past weekend. I rested. I did no house work and no training. I should be rested, refueled, and ready. Instead I was sitting out an easy 50 so I could be ready for the real intervals.

Crushed.

So what’s the plan, stan? Keep mousin’ through life? Or stand up and fight back?

12K of Christmas

SWIM: about 1:20 for 2850 yards

I swapped my weekend swim and did it Friday instead. So instead of resting this morning I rest Saturday or Sunday. Which is good because I'm very tired! I'm having trouble staying awake at work.

I did the last 7 days of EK's 12K of xmas today.
7x100 on 7sec descending intervals: I most certainly did not descend on 7s!
6x100 breathing q6: I did q6 on the 1st 25 then q4 the last 75. This was harder than expected.
5x100 flip turns: This was more of a drill while I practiced flipping.
4x100 as 75 back, 25free: My arms were hurting by now.
3x100 high elbow drill: felt good to slow down and focus.
2x100 stroke count: works better to count both arms, more balanced.
1x100 all out: relatively all out, anyway.

Did this as the SoCi Y, havent been in that pool maybe all year. Worked out OK with a bonus surprise that I get 2 free visits/year!

Moderate 5 miler -- ha ha ha

RUN: 6.60 miles in 53:15 (3 mins and 15 sec faster than same route Tuesday)

CP's instructions were 5 miles at a moderate pace. This wasn't moderate! The middle 4 miles were sub 8, ranging between 7:47 and 7:57! Yay!

However the rest of the day I was wiped out. When it came time to walk out to the truck to go home, I felt more like I'd run 2 loops instead of one!

Time for me to ButterFLY

SWIM: 2550 in 70 mins, lots of butterfly and fly drills
BIKE: about 16 miles in 55 mins, all small ring

Ah, the first Weds Masters...Fly Day. My least favorite but in retrospect the best workout? DD joined today, what an opener to Masters.

CHG suggested (after the session!) that I put in the 2nd fly kick. I was doing 1 kick, there should be two! Maybe that's why I stop moving forward partway through the stroke...

Then a bike ride before I had to hurry off for a lab seminar. Focused on keeping the upper body still, throwing my knees over the handlebars, and using the full circle of the stroke.

First snow of the year

RUN: 6.6 miles in 56.5 mins, for about a 8:33.38 pace. (All 3 & 8! and 5&6!)

OK so it really wasn't snowing, more of a random flake every now and them. But still, the first snow of the season fell yesterday and today! Ran with JM and DC, discussing Chicago.

Missed Monday Masters!!

SWIM: ZERO
BIKE: about 22 miles in 1:10, gearing pyramids

While I'd like to blame our new electric blanket, I can't and all blame falls on me. I could have swum (swam?) but didn't. I don't really remember hitting the alarm to quiet it but I did. I got up too late to make it to Monday Master's but I did get the bike ride in.

And with every intention of hitting a pool later in the day, I headed to work.

Upon leaving work, my will to swim dissipated as I walked to the truck. Step by step, it just wilted. Excuses popped up. Good ones too, as they convinced me that I don't need to swim! First off, I was tired (and I was! It wasn't a good for the tummy weekend). There are many 530pm classes at pools. And it was cold. And my evening swims are most always a waste of time--the focus and desire just isnt there.

So I went home. Which was just as well because as I got out of the truck in the garage I saw my swim gear in a pile. Turns out I couldn't have swum (swam?) anyway!!!

IB run in the rain

RUN: 7.7 miles in 1:10, including 3 climbs of Art Hill.

AC and I were going to run L&C, my favorite trail system, but overnight rains had us worried about mud. So we met up with the IB group at FP, my first run with them. This probably worked out better in the end, saved me a LOT of driving time!

The group broke of into packs right away, with me and AC in our own group. At about 3-4 miles she commented that I was moving fast today. I countered that she was moving fast! Turns out we were pacing off each other and setting a great just-over-8 pace. We dialed it back a bit after that :)

Hooked up with JaBr who was also in FoPa, climbed 3 hills, and headed for home when it started raining. The last mile was getting miserable cold and wet, I just wanted to head home for a hot shower!

It's a METER pool!

SWIM: 3301 METERS! in 90 mins
BIKE: Did I bike? Didn't have to...don't remember it...Bah!

For the past 3 weeks, a lane mate has been aiming for his "2 miles" in the Saturday swim. I figured he was happy with 3200yards as 2 miles, or there was something I didn't know about his WU or CD. Then at the end of practice today I learn it's a METER pool!

Of course, I came home and updated the training logs :)

Awesome swim, I'm so relaxed in this pool. Unlike Monday and Weds in which I'm anxious about going too slow.

Since I'm typing this the Weds after the fact, I cant remember if I bike or not. I thought I did....

I ate what?

Grabbed these off the shelf without even thinking to read the label. A single serving at $4 seemed a half decent idea at the time..I'd been craving and eyeballing it at stores..but was I thinking at all?!
Jack Links beef jerky, labeled as a Smart Snack, but WHY?? Ingredients are beef, water, sugar, less than 2% salt, corn syrup solids, dried soy sauce, hydrolyzed corn and soy protein, MSG, flavorings, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite.
I didn't eat it all.
And it wasn't good. At all.

1st of December, is this the start of Two Thousand Tater-Twelve?

RUN: 10 miles in 1:28 for an 8:48 m/m pace

Surprisingly this was my first run since last Thursday?! This was a great run, nice and comfy.

I'm taking a very careful approach to my stress levels right now. They are high. I'm up. I'm down. Then up again. Trying to stay even keel. I've identified a few areas of chronic stress in my life, if I can get them out of the way and under control I think life will improve.

The sick feeling I've had lately--I think in part it's due to stress.

Time for me to quit waiting

SWIM: 75 mins and 2500y. Lots of fast sets of 50’s and 100’s.

What a morning. Here it is the last day of November and I’m still not where I want to be. And it’s a long story to explain it all. I’m trying to be happy. But why am I not happy?
But just starting out with today. Woke up OK at 4:10, banana and coffee, all as per usual. I was working on emails (the 5 or so that arrived overnight), knew I had to eat more so I dug out almond meal (of all things) and had a few spoonfuls of that. What the hell kind of snack is that? Left a mess on the counter, had to keep wiping it up…But it tasted good, I like almond meal! Should have made me happy.

Anyhoo I keep working on emails to the point that I show up late for the 5:15am swim. Doing the math, it’s pretty obvious that I get up early enough! But I didn’t leave the house until 5:15. I enjoyed the hamster song on the drive over, it made me happy. But didn’t enjoy walking in late and having CHG point out that at 5:31 I “was almost late”. He says it jokingly and never harshly, but there’s truth in jest and he’s right. Besides, it’s disrespectful to show up late. Every week.

The 2nd lane was full and I wasn’t feeling all that aggressive this morning. So I opted for the 3 peopled 1st lane. There was another swimmer that who swam my speed (BH) so it’s not like I was the jerk who should be a lane over. We all worked great together. And I learned that the guy in that lane wants to do triathlons! He should join the club! That made me happy.

I also had a good swim, the shorter sets and longer intervals given to this lane are comforting to me. Not like 2nd lane where I get anxious about being slow. This made me happy, I took it easy and at the end of the hour I had 1600y. This didn’t make me too happy. During the hour we had “go fast” sets. I timed a few but not all—50-53s for 50y including my turtle of a turn at the wall. Not bad! But I didn’t time other sets and so when CHG asked for times I didn’t have one. He didn’t seem happy. This made me unhappy.

I had resolved to staying after to get the 1:15 time in with a goal of hitting at least 2200y. I’ve calculated that if I do 2200y Mon/Weds and 3200 Sat I will reach my 100 mile goal with time to spare. That makes me happy! Being focused on an otherwise meaningless number instead of the quality of the swim—unhappy. I worry that these are junk yards. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg in my head. I get to the point that I end the swim without focus, having lost count, and having forgotten what I’m doing. My head is turning a million miles/minute with my to-do list, my lack of time, my problems…

I get out of the pool and shower, trying to figure out what my deal is. Why am I so stressed?!? I go week to week like I’m just waiting for something to happen. Waiting on…? It always seems I’m waiting for some even to come and go, thinking that after this event I’ll have so much free time to catch up. But week after week after week I’m still waiting! I get to the point that I’m so out of the day I’m in that I don’t even know what day I’m in! Heck, I missed my DH’s bday Sunday because I thought the his bday was still a week away! I’m a week off?!

That’s nothing new. It’s even worse when my training schedule is different. Monday swim. Tuesday bike. Weds swim. Etc. Change that and my week is messed up. The past week was pretty messed up with the holiday schedule. I though Weds was Friday, Thursday was Sunday, Friday was Saturday…that doesn’t even make sense.

So here I am….waiting. For what?

The post-swim morning was capped off by the realization that I left breakfast at home, along with a snack and my gloves. I need the gloves to run today. Who am I kidding? I don’t have time to run today! I want to run, but I can’t. This stresses me. I want to run. I was unhappy to have forgotten all this but happy that DH could bring it to me. Still a very up/down day.

Breakfast, then off to work. Soon after breakfast I feel sick. Hot. Dizzy. Lots of pain in my lower back. I feel the need to walk so I talk a loop through the hamster tunnels. Gas in my gut? Bad food? Flu? Geez, this stresses me out! I take another walk. I feel like I’m on fire in my gut. I finally call DH, I just want to go home. But I have work meeting, and by the end of the meeting (during which I’m trying not to sleep) I feel somewhat better. If it was gas, where did it go? Flu doesn’t heal over an hour. Did I stress myself out? The fact that I could be doing that stresses me out. I make a point of thinking more on this.

What is my problem? What do I need to solve this? I feel like I have no time management. Do I need a better day planner? A time management course? (That would take time—HA!)

What I need is to quit biting off more than I can chew. I know this, yet I can’t fix it. Just take a peek at what my current iPaper to-do list looks like: 13 things under the Club heading and that’s after I crossed a bunch off this morning. 5 things under training. 13 things under the house. 5 things under errands. 9 things under work, and 9 under the next newsletter notes. My current projects include the club (newsletter, website, forums, board transition, sponsors), the house (stairs and office and patio), Christmas shopping (haven’t even started it yet), helping family with web page questions (I have barely started that, why did I offer to help if I don’t have time?!), and all the stuff at work. But I get paid for that.

Oh, and Ironman training. Add Training For An Ironman to that already huge list.

I have so much shit going on my head can’t keep it all together on some days. I have days where the to-do fuels me. The multi-tasking is like a drug. Crossing things off a list is my version of taking a line of drugs.

But on days where I get overwhelmed, the flood just runs me over.

So what do I need to do to get things in order? I can’t have days where I get so down on myself that I’m mentally crushed. (whether I made myself sick this morning or not is still under debate. Or denial).

What am I waiting for? I’m always on edge, as if waiting for something. And once this Something passes, life will get Better.

At the end of swim practice, I got out to pay CHG for another punch card. 12 more practices down and 12 more (11 really) that I’ve promised to do! While on the deck, my 2011 Savageman song is on the radio: Time For Me To Fly. Time for to fly, indeed. Time for me to find myself. Time for me to set myself free.

If only I could figure out from what.

Unleash Your Swim

It's MINE!

V:2 VELOCITY
The fastest swim/bike transitions and the world’s best materials are just the beginning.
The super slick new V:2 takes the award-winning 2XU V:1 to even greater heights. Upgraded for 2011 to feature Titanium Alpha Coating for enhanced blood flow in the lower limbs, the wearer will enjoy a faster swim to bike transition than ever before.
Propriety 2XU features include Velocity Strakes for improved hydrodynamics and increased forward motion, Concave Water Entrapment Zones on the forearm and Propulsion Panels on the lower legs for greater power out of the kick. 2XU’s outstanding Rollbar, Floating Zip Panel and Transition Panels are also included.

Gonna unleash my swim, yo.

Ready for structure

No specific updates, I think when I'm resting so does the blog. Super busy on the house lately. Just spent 90% of a 4.5 day Turkey holiday stripping paint and sanding the back staircase walls and steps. So needless to say my arms and shoulders weren't up for the Master's swim this morning.

I was psyched up for a November schedule a month ago but didn't get one. Perhaps for the better! And right now I don't think it's so much that I'm psyched up for training again, I think it's more of a case of needing some structure so I know what to focus on. Right now I'm just "being active". I enjoy it, but I'm doing things just to be doing things.

And it's a mess. This morning I rode the trainer for an hour just to ride the trainer for an hour just to be doing something. Junk miles? Or "being active"?

Skippo 30K race report

RACE: 18.6 miles on trails, 3:13 7th/14 females and 2nd/5 in AG! Average pace 10:45. Race features were a set of 200 stairs and a big rocky hill on Grotpeter, as well as a creek crossing! And since I was doing 3 laps, I get to see those features 3 times!!!

I've reached sort of an odd spot in my training when I can walk into a 30K distance race with little to no specific prep. Or I've reached a base level at which I can peel off these distances at an easy pace with no problem. Or I've become blasse about training and.... well anyway....my point is that I unstressedly arrived at this race having only done a 13.2 mile long run and a few 6 mile trail runs. Not much!

But I had some simple goals. Stick to the nutrition plan with real foods in place of gels and powders. Maintain a steady pace through the 3 6.2-mile laps. Don't fall or break an ankle.

It was raining at the gun and cold enough that I was happy to tuck myself into the crowd. I wore capri tights, gloves, BRR hat, long sports bra, base layer, tech long sleeve, and windshell vest (damn that sounds like a lot of clothes!) and I was still wonderining how I'd be in the wet low 40s temps. So before the race me and AC, TG, EC, BG all wondered what to wear. At least we had our shoes picked out--TG, EC, BG and I all had the same Cascadias!!

Off we went, and in the first mile or so I was passed and passed and passed. I didn't think I'd seeded myself that far forward, it was only a field of 400 runners. But all these people passing me kept me wanting to speed up. Luckily one thing I learned this year was to stick to my own pace. I told myself that this was a 30K for me, a 10 or 20K for them. Let'em go.

FIRST LAP TIME: 1:03 The first loop felt a little fast at times but I think that's because I didn't warm up and just started out cold, leaving me to spend the first 20 mins or so getting acclimatized to running. I made it through most of a bottle of coconut water, half a lara bar, some regular water only. I walked the stairs and Grotpeter hill, and managed to stay mostly dry on the creek crossing!! Saw BN in this lap, but not for long. Which was too bad, he was fun to talk to.

SECOND LAP TIME: 1:05 Nice steady pace! The second loop I knew I needed to get eating so I dug out a banana only to find it bruised and cold. Oh well, same carbs. More coconut water, and another banana late in the lap. JP found me in this lap, she looked strong! I started looking for the halfway point in this lap, and came up with the strategy of breaking down the laps into segments for the final lap. Still feeling good! Walked the stairs and the big hill, still a mostly dry crossing. And I wasn't seeing many 30 runners. This got my little brain going--what if I was first? Last? Could I win this race? Will they be waiting for me at the end? This really ramped up one mile away from the end of the 2nd loop when I passed a female 30K runner. I wasn't last! But she stayed behind me! Suddenly I'm wondering if I'd have her pushing me for the next loop! YIKES! Calm down, I thought, this is for FUN. So I said to her, if you want to pass let me know. She didn't take the offer. Could I stand this for another hour? Or would I wig myself out with stress? On the way to the lap point, I heard the song of the day: It's My Life by Bon Jovi

THIRD LAP TIME and FINISH CHUTE: 1:05-ish. One more lap to to. I was feeling great but the bottoms of my feet were hurting from the rocks. But I knew the pain would come and go. The woman behind me dropped off at the first aid station (LC and kids were there!!!) and I never saw her again. In fact, I didn't see much of anyone on this loop. I passed two guys and that was it. My mental meanderings and wonderings were settled when I passed the 2nd aid station and a woman there told me I was the 6th woman! I was both happy and unhappy about learning this. Hard to explain.

By now I thought I'd know the trails, but all I knew there the landmarks. I passed points in which I wondered if I was on the right trail! It was well marked, but areas were unfamiliar. But I broke it down into segments: to the 2nd aid station; to the stairs (walked again), to the creek (mostly dry again), to the road crossing, to the next road crossing, to the finish. I ate the last of the lara bar (kinda choked on the crumbly of it) and ran for a while with MG who was doing a Stag Skippo. Yuck. I dont' know how he did it.

Eventually I passed him and was on my own again. I picked up energy and speed towards the finish, it was mostly down hill and the cheering really picked up from spectators. As I approached the finish, I realized just how strong I felt and wondered if I could have gone harder or faster? Probably not, the hills and stairs were 80% even though I walked them!

Finished strong and happy! Wasn't sore at all later in the day, and never really did get sore. So 18.6 miles with little training...no problem-o. :)

But don't bank on that base always being there!

A new master's!!

SWIM 1hr 25 mins, 3000y!

The other Master's I was doing on Sats changed with a new coach. It wasn't that great of a workout for a triathlete anyway, with lots of 25's 50's and other short sets. So I'd quit going, missing out on a great day to get a swim in without having to back-to-back Sunday/Monday.

CP had pitched this swim to me before but a Saturday morning swim during the summer when I could be riding is harder to do. So I'd ignored this option until now, when I needed to re-energize my swimming and find my groove again.

I already knew 2 people swimming, but I was also surprised to find about 5 others I knew as well! All triathletes too!

This swim was long but much different from the weekday masters I normally do. The main difference--I wasnt' rushed! I was a normal-paced swimmer in my lane! No worry about being run over, no worry about being in the way. If anything I was touching feet sometimes! What a difference this makes, so much calmer.

I noticed (not for the first time) that as a set progresses I lose form. And no matter how hard I try, I can't force myself to swim properly. So at the end I asked CP how to balance the need to swim long against the fall-off of form. Sure I could swim shorter, more perfecter sets but that doesn't help me extend my good swimming. His suggestion was to find that distance at which I lose form, and focus on one thing to remedy my form in the last 50. And ask CHG waht that one thing is.

My arms weren't as sore as I thought they'd be after this, I'd expected to be limp!

Long time, no posts!

Just been busy, working on the house and working on work and working on club stuff. I'm still training, but going through a little bit of a burn out/stale couple of days in which I'm not terribly inspired.

So instead of typing up boring reports I just sidelined the blog for a little while.

But tonight in the club some jobs are changing for me, so maybe with those changes I can move myself forward in schedule, to-do's, and energy. :)

Thursdays full moon

I skipped a run for a ride

BIKE: 1hr and about 17 miles?

A boring ride, and later in the day I have a headache. Boo.

These things are cyclic...

SWIM 65 mins and 2250y.

...or so I'm told by my IM-BB TG who is swimming with us on Monday's. He commented that "I'm getting faster" but I commented on how I'm feeling slower instead. I guess he's right in that I'm faster than I was last year. I regreted later that I made that comment, I don't want to be a negative Nan, or always whining or finding excuses. I should Yeah! I am faster!

I timed the last 50y at 55-56 seconds, slower than a few weeks ago in which I was lapping away at 50 seconds. CHG said I was pushing down with my left hand. Nuts.

Weekend at home

Saturday: RUN 7 miles in 60.5 mins
Sunday: RUN 4.5 miles in 38 mins

I had every intention of swimming. I was at first concerned to hear that the Y pool was closed for the drain law, then happy to hear it had just opened again. Then disappointed to learn at the Y Saturday morning that here was a swim meet...nuts.

Seems I somehow knew this could happen. Because I had also brought run gear to the gym. And as much as a hate the treadmill it was my best choice. So I planned out my first tater speedwork!! WU 10 mins then 4x1 miles at 8m/m pace with 2 min rest. Good thing about the treadmill is that you can really focus on form and refine it. Bad thing is that there isn't much else to focus on. There are TVs everywhere, but watching TV and running for me is to artificial.

Which brings me to my next observations. I like this Y for it's size, busy equipment, and variety of bodies and abilities. In STL the Y is smaller and busier but less variety. But at the same time, WTF with all the TVs?! Is that the only way people can work out? And no conversation anywhere! We are all doing the same thing but doing it in solitude. Ok sure I can't really compare this to a group run, people at the gym didn't come in together with common goals. But at the park I'm saying Hi to everyone, giving a little wave, making eye contact with a smile... In the gym you keep to yourself and block others out with headphones. Booooo.

Another difference is that a lot of peeps at the Y where exercising. In contrast, I'm training. They are burning calories with big arms swings, ankle weights, and low "fat burning" effort. I'm refining technique to save energy, and pushing at hard pace to make the hour worthwhile. Exercising vs training. Can't compare me to them. Or to the guy who looked like a gym regular but sat on a recumbent bike and surfed his phone for 30 mins at 40% effort. Boooooooo.

On Sunday I went outdoors up to the school road and back. I almost didn't run! But DH and mom seemed to expect I would, so I did. I almost took today as a rest day, but a 40 min run isn't exactly a really hard session. I skipped the 10k to visit with family. A worthwhile trade with no regrets.

Spinning on my day off

BIKE: 45 mins, maybe 12-13 miles.

Got up early to spin for as much time as I had before the party planning meeting. I figured that even though it was a day off, I would be sitting in a car for a few hours while we drove home and I'd be happy later that I'd burned off some energy.

Not a half-marathon run

RUN: 121 mins and 13.2 miles at 9:10m/m

Forgot to mention in yesterday's post that I met with CP last night to review the 2012 season. He's persuasive--sounds like I'm doing TTT. And the Saturday Brentwood master's. And Branson. OK so he didn't convince me to do all that, I came to some of that on my own. I walked away excited and ready to rock! Song in the car when I started to go home: Feels Like Today.

This morning's run was going to be a 9-10 miler. The first loop I had friends to run with, rain is much better shared, but the second loop was alone. And without rain. My first plan was to run the 9 and see how I felt. Then 10 and see how I felt. There's so many options to turn off and shorten the loop and I just expected I would "feel done" and some point. But I didn't. I just kept going. And going. Hit 11 miles. Kept going. Hit 12. Realized I'd had no food or drink this entire time. Hit 13 and OOF I was done. But I couldn't just stop at 13, too close to HM distance. And I couldn't just stop at 13.1, that's a special race distance. So I decided on 13.2 . Obsess much?

It all felt good at the time, but later in the day I was wiped out. Sore, tired, just wanted to sleep. My appetite was pretty sucky until about 5pm too so I didn't eat much during the day. But I made up for it at night :)

I didn't feel like swimming...

...so I didn't!

BIKE: 75 mins maybe 21 miles?

Took the bird up to the pain cave and spun for an hour. First time on a bike since the Last Try race, one month ago!

First run of Two Thousand Tater-Twelve!

RUN: 57 mins and 6.6 miles, about 8:38 m/m pace

Great run with DC, TB, and AB :) Great way to open the season.

Good news on other fronts as well, so things are going more swimmingly and less stressfully.

Songlists

DH burned my 2010 and 2011 Songlists to CD last night. I think this one, which ends the 2011 list, is a great way to start off 2012 too.

No more games, I'ma change what you call rage
Tear this motherfucking roof off like 2 dogs caged
I was playing in the beginning, the mood all changed
...
and
Too much for me to wanna
Stay in one spot, another day of monotony
Has gotten me to the point, I'm like a snail
I've got to formulate a plot or I end up in jail or shot
Success is my only motherfucking option, failure's not
...
So here I go it's my shot.
Feet fail me not, this may be the only opportunity that I got

don't like it?...TOUGH!

SWIM: 60 mins 2200y

Felt awful slow today. I was moved to the "last lane" because of crowding in the 2nd lane. I was initially relieved at this, cuz I knew I'd be able to focus better out of the crowd, but this lane had a bit of an attitude problem. At first I thought that would make me swim "mad" and therefore faster, but instead I just swam distracted.

We did a 400 for time, so 8 laps and it took me just under 10 minutes?!?!?! Did I count right? I think so! I'm super slow at the turns, but I've always been slow at the turns. I waited a few seconds for people to pass me, but did I lose 2 minutes somewhere?!? I don't think so...but...

Still working on last weeks suggestions. Today I had trouble getting my right arm to "catch" the water. CHG pulled me to the deck to point out that my stroke "stops" at one point, my right elbow drops, and I don't get things "stacked" right in terms of where my weight is. It's all so easy on the deck, when I get in the water I just don't feel it.

Patience. New changes always take time.

Sunday Seven then Swim

RUN: 61 mins, 7 miles in FoPa
SWIM: 45 mins, 1500y as 3x 5x100

The run was mostly in the dark, the sun came up behind clouds and sunrise was a slow gradual brightening that I barely noticed. Cool and crisp morning, ran alone and enjoyed the mental conversations. Although a running buddy would have made it go faster.

Then an easy swim, breaking it down into slow sets so I can focus on the things CHG points out in Masters. It's hard to focus on some of this stuff in Master's because I'm more concerned with speed and lane partners to worry about new form changes. It was sort of a messy, swim. Dare I say, junk yardage?

Did a lot of bilateral breathing sets, in fact a majority of the freestyle was bilateral. But I used the pull buoy for most of it, so I can't really say I was doing everything right just yet.

Babler Trails

RUN: 1:20 ~7.7 on Babler trails.

I ran with a new friend today! She is a club member but I hadn't met her before. We found immediate connections with crossfit, paleo, and pets :) I like this because she is someone with similar interests but I never would have met her without the club and triathlon :)

Moon

This running the dark thing sux...

RUN: 7 miles in 64 minutes.

Only me and LC today, and she stopped early for ITB issues. And it was dark the entire run! Boooooo! But at least it wasn't cold or raining. Yaaaaay!!

The 2nd half of the run alone was a mental jumble of thoughts, so much going on right now for me. Lots of stress with work, and house, and club. It keeps be busy, that's for sure! Always something to contemplate. But I have a goal for next year (ie next week when 2K-Tater12 kicks in) to not take on so much responsibilities and focus more on me and my life, and not so much on other things I can't change.

Like a rock on a string...

SWIM 1950y in 60 mins

FINALLY!!

My Go The Distance 2011 goal: 100.00 mi. Progress towards goal:

Congratulations! You are on pace for achieving your goal this year:
My goal pace: 81.92 miles required as of today to reach my goal by the end of the event
My actual current pace: 82.17 miles as of today

For the first time this year, I'm caught up on the GTD challenge!

Today was a mixed day doing a little of everything. CHG pointed out a few things to work on: bilateral breathing, "throwing" my arms forward like a rock on a string, an earlier catch, and getting my hand in the water faster. Sounds like a lot (and it is) but they are all related. I had a few sputters working on the bilateral breathing and it was amazingly tiring to swim like this! But he promised I'd be "great" by the end of winter :) Gonna hold him to it!

Birthday Run!!

RUN: 10.25 miles in 90 mins. Kinvaras.

Someday when my bday is on a weekend, I'll do a birthday triathlon. Something like 1025y swim, 36mi bike, and 10.25mi run. If I had an in-season bday it might be a 1.025 mile swim, 102.5 mile bike, and a 10.25mi run. Maybe.

Anyway...what a gorgeous morning!!!! Warm in the 60's, dry, calm, beautiful fall colors, I took every opportunity to soak it in. I don't celebrate my bday by going out, eating, or drinking, but maybe I will remind myself to soak it in more everyday. (The forecasted rain for tomorrow notwithstanding...).

TB had a special surprise for me at the start of the run :) then JM and I did the loop together. I feel so lucky to have this group of friends, truly a wonderful gift just having them in my life :)

Also thinking about goals for next year, like doing another ultramarathon in the fall and trying to qualify for ITU LC W in 2013. One thing at a time though.

Last year I promised myself something on my bday and I stuck to it! Yay! Made another promise this year, see what happens with it.

I get frustrated, but it's good for me

SWIM: 60 mins and 2300y.

I missed a weekend swim, so my hope of catching up to my GTD challenge numbers didn't happen. Last Weds I ended 0.25 miles behind and after today I'm .3 miles behind. But I shouldn't complain--just a few weeks ago I was 3 miles behind! 4-5 miles at some points! If I keep this up, I'll hit 100 miles well before the end of the year. All for a $5 gift card.

Lots of swimmers in the lane today. So many that one everyone pushed off and I was ready to go, the first swimmer was already on his way back. So when broken 500's are handed out 200-150-100-50 while they are swimming I'm resting, then I'm resting while they are passing me, then I'm resting while they are resting, and my broken 500 just turns into a mess. I get so frustrated, so mental over it. Why?? Just swim!

It's making me a better swimmer, but many times I'm sacrificing form just to try to keep up. It's hard being a mental case and focusing on form at the same time.

The moon was a pretty sliver in the eastern sky this morning. Will be fun to finish my run under it tomorrow. I need to remember, that regardless of what happens here over the next few weeks, life goes on. The moon will always be there, going through it's cycles of light and dark. Sliver to circle and back to sliver. They say the sun will always rise, but for me it's the moon.

Rock N Roll Sunday

RUN: 7 miles in 60 mins in FoPa

I felt like the only person not doing the RnR today, but I wasn't. Unless all those other runners in the park were just warming up. I repeated last week's idea of running before going to the pool. Did this one alone too, and set out in the dark wondering what kind of pace I could hold after yesterday's hilly trail run.

Turns out I did just fine! In fact, at mile 4 I decided to push the pace up for one mile to see what I could do: 7:37!! Nice!

Worked on the house in the afternoon, wore my arms out a little. But I'm getting so much done. Only one more week "off" then back to base training.

Greensfelder run

RUN: 1:43 for 9.2 miles on trails

Did this one alone. Sometimes I'd like company, sometimes I like it alone. In the first my mind wanders more and doesn't get so wrapped up in itself. In the latter I can hold my own pace and do as I please. I like them both.

I had a trail map but most of the time only had a vague idea of where I was in the trail system. At one point, I had a turn option up a huge hill. No name for the trail, it just had a camera symbol and a 0.7 mile distance. So of course I had to take it.

The hill was rocky and steep, and since I was just over one hour into the run (and didn't bring food or water) I was starting to wear out. I hate to say I ended up walking most of the hill. But was rewarded at the top by the gorgeous view!

Gorgeous fall day with perfect weather and everything seemed right.

Cold but at least no rain!

RUN: 9.1 miles in 1:17 for an 8:27 m/m ave with DC, LC, and JM.

Same route again, making for a nice comparison day to day. Tues's run was 9:01s and today's didn't feel all that much faster. But there's a 6 minute difference!

Dug out the gloves, hat, vest, and capris for this morning. Starting temp was low 40's. Like JM said, only 3-4 more months until it warms up again!

I'm getting it!!

SWIM: 60 mins 2200y

Today was like a strength training workout in the pool. 8x75 of dolphin kick with fins, first 50 breathe every 4th kick and last 25 every 2nd kick. I only finished 6x75.

Also breast stroke with pull buoy and paddles. All the toys were out today! This felt great on the shoulders. CHG corrected some of my breast stroke and I sped up a bit.

Much of the workout was alternating breast/free. This made the free feel faster :)

Midway thru the session, CHG said that I "was getting it". YAY!!

Running in the rain

RUN: 1:23 for 9 miles.

Same route as before, I'm liking these few extra miles I'm getting by parking for work then running over.

Lots of rain overnight. I woke up at one point this morining to a downpour and wondered if I'd still run if it was raining this much later. But the rain tapered back by 530am to a slow sprinkle. Thankfully JM and TB also ran, would have sucked alone. The joke is "who do I know that is crazy enough to run in the rain". Us!!

Also, it's getting cold out! Was able to wear shorts today but gloves would have been nice. And it was dark out the entire time. Booooo winter!

If I had just shown up on time...3000y?

SWIM 65 mins for 2700 yards! I showed up late and wasn't ready to swim until 5:25. Sure, I was tired from working on the house yesterday, but no EXCUSES! And IF I had showed up on time...IF, IF, IF. No Excuses, and No Ifs. Wowie, what a long swim! WU then 800, 600, 400, 200 with the last 200 of each interval fast. I didn't get to the last 200 (too slow...) and I didn't do the last 200 fast. I focused on keeping good form even though I was pretty tired. There was only two of us in the lane, that really helped. When there are 4-6 of us, it's crowded and I spend too much time waiting for the others to pass me. (Hmm that sounds like an excuse...) I check the math on this one three times! So close to 3000y, that would be a first in a long time for me at Masters! 2012 Training Season is just around the corner. I've decided on a name for the blog: Two Thousand Tater-Twelve :) Yeah, I'm hanging up Two Thousand Hilleven early, but since I'm doing an early season race I have to start early. I have a big year planned in 2012, lots of goals, and a few crazy ideas :)

Just a nice Sunday run

RUN: 7 miles in 65 mins, about 8:50-ish. Did the BRR route with LC at 615am, then off to open the pool. I haven't run this route in a long time, I miss it! One thing I love about the off season is that when someone asks "want to run Sunday?" I can say "Sure! Why not!"

Saturday Double

SWIM: 1hr 2000y Not the most inspiring swim RUN: 8 miles on the Lewis and Clark trail system in Weldon Spgs This is a nice mix, swim at 6am then run at 8am. And there's just enough time to get from one to the other. The swim was unremarkable. There's a newer coach for Sat Master's, or maybe it's just a Sat Master's thing, but everyone gets the same set instructions at the same time and if you're off swimming you miss the instructions. CHG gives it to us in groups when everyone is mostly ready. So not terribly inspiring. The run was awesome, I was planning on some company but ran alone. Also had the new Cascadias on for their first run! I love love love this trail, it was the site of one of my first ever (if not the first ever) group trail runs with the club! That time I was the SlowZebra, the guys ran ahead on the long trail while I worked my way through the shorter one. MHeff stayed with me, doing hill repeats as a way to "wait" for me. I'll never forget the feeling of knowing that no matter what my abilities or pace I had running partners that were just as happy to run with me. And now when I'm the one considered "the fast one" in a group, I make a point of sharing that feeling: that people don't care about your abilities or speed or gear. They just care that you're willing put challenge yourself and make your best effort. Anyway, the song on the radio on the way into the trail was "Lose Yourself" and that was the song of the run. I'm adding it to the 2011 playlist. Fitting too since I ran 8 miles today! The Cascadias were OK, very nice on rocks and cushioning, but a little slippery in terms of my feet sliding fore/aft and side/side. But it's trail running, and roads don't test shoes like that, so maybe it's just a trail thing.

Shoe Heaven!!

Like I said, time to break out the new shoes! When I pulled the new 11's out I was surprised at how different they look in the shoes I ran in this morning. To be sure they were the same, I pulled out the old ones and did a side by side comparison. Wow!

I also put one old and one new shoe on. The old heels were flat, the new ones higher up. The cushion in the old ones nothing like the new ones. Yet the old ones were more comfy. And a side-by-side comparison showed the older ones being shorter than the new! The toe of the shoes curl up after 250+ miles of running, you can sorta see this in the picture.

I just love how a trusty trainer gets worn in and becomes the most comfy thing to put on. Like a workhorse. I also love how new shoes have that New Shoe Smell (Yankee Candle Co, listen up!) and that new smell lingers in the closet. Especially when you buy 3 new pairs at once :) But what I don't always love is breaking in a new pair of shoes. I received these shoes about a month ago and I'm just now pulling them out of the box. Seems I'd rather run the old ones into the ground.

I wore the new 11's around the house the rest of the night. They weren't too comfy, the balls of my feel would tingle, they were stiff and clunky. And as much as I'd like to dump the orthotics, it seems I'll need them. I could feel the depression where the orthotic usually sits like a hole in the sole. I'll try a run anyway without the orthotic, but I have a feeling that even though I've been successful with the Kinvaras, I'll still need orthotics for the trainers.

That's a good question for the experts: why does a minimalist shoe hurt my feet less than that supportive trainer?

Anyhoo, I still have 150-250 miles in the old ones. And I still have 100 miles left in the old Kinvaras. So my old trusties aren't going anywhere just yet. But to have room for these new ones, I had to clean out 3 pairs of old running shoes. Felt bad throwing them away, as if I was taking away any potential they might still have for one last run. But in reality, I wasn't running in them anymore (2 were missing the insoles...that's a sign...) and it was time to discard them.

But I kept my last pair of yellow Sauc's in the basement as my new "work" shoes. :) Just can't let 'em go!

Another 9 on Thursday

RUN: 9.1 miles in 1:20, same route at Tuesday's

Did the same think I did Tuesday, parked the truck where I park for work then ran to the starting point. Adds a nice little bit of warm up and cool down. This run felt good, but not as marvelous as Tuesday's. And my feet weren't as happy in the Brooks trainers. I checked, this puts them at 250 or so miles!

I have new shoes sitting in the closet: Kinvara 2.0, Brooks Adrenaline 11, and Brooks Cascadia for trails. Time to break 'em out!

Backstroke =/= rest

stupid blogger just erased my post, now i have to reconstruct it...boooo...

SWIM: 1hr for about 1800y. backstroke day.

KB taught me a way to remember the IM order (which is also the Weds Master's order of rotation) which is that the "recovery" backstroke comes after the hardest which is the fly. I could remember fly first and free last, but mixed up the ones in the middle. Now if only I could remember what I did the previous Weds, I'd be prepared for the current Weds...

So I was enjoying the backstroke until CHG pulled me out to fix a few things. I windmill when I backstroke. Windmill, bad. Arm wrestle, good. Once I tried doing that, the workout got a lot harder :) This is gonna hurt tomorrow.

Free and Easy down the road I go

RUN: 9 miles in 1:16 for about an 8:26-:32 pace.

When JM suggested a 6am run in FP, I jumped on it even though it was going to mess with my Hillz runnin I had planned for Tuesdays. I'm so glad I did. Full moon. Perfect weather. And what felt like the easiest run I've ever done.

It just felt like I was going downhill the entire time. Like I'd always been a runner. Like something has clicked for me and I've found "it". And I have a feeling I've haven't even found all of "it" yet!

Also did this in the Kinvaras and had no troubles at all. No foot pain, no calf fatigue. I might try my new trainers without orthotics to see what happens.

Girl, you've been giving me that line so many times...

SWIM 60 mins 2300y.

Last night was an off night for me, I just never felt comfortable or satisfied. I was craving something and couldnt figure out what. So I went to bed with an overfilled tummy :( again.

Then this morning I was still a little off. The swim was OK, but I was frustrated. Again my lane was full with faster swimmers, meaning that for each 300 they did I only did 200 or 250. I would have to wait for them to swim by every now and then. I told myself that I just needed to get faster, what better inspiration than to be getting lapped?

But it's frustrating and I get hard on myself. I start finding excuses then fending off those excuses. For every turn at the wall, it's another flip in that fight. I tell myself that I'm in the wrong lane, but that CHG knows what he's doing. Then I'm being too sloppy, but that if I'd just focus I'd go faster. Then I'm just fine, then I'm too slow. Ugh. My brain is more tired in the end.

The radio was on at the pool (it usually isn't) and I heard Aerosmith's Crazy at one point...excuses, excuses, excuses. STFU. HTFU. And f'ing swim!

PJ RFS ride

BIKE 18 miles, untimed, unlogged

Today was the TJ RFS ride. Judging from the people who loved her and were inspired by her, I regret that I didn't know her better than just a face at a meeting.

Unreasonably tired this evening. ??

Back to the Chubb

SWIM 60 mins about 2000y, Masters mostly 4x100 sets with speedwork
RUN 2hrs 42 mins 13 miles on the Chubb trail with DC and DC

First time back to the Chubb since the race! Absolutely GORGEOUS day, perfect fall weather. Cool air, colorful trees, calm skies. Ugh, could have run all day.

I'm a few days into my W30 challenge, so I did this run on NO GELS! Yikes! But it worked. Had a plum and a banana instead. But couldn't have gone much longer than I did.

My legs felt surprising good after this, I expected them to be trashed.

Still not recovered, but feeling good

RUN: 5.25 mi in 48 mins. 9:08m/m

Funny, I didn't wear my Garmin because I'm trying to not focus on all the numbers, but then I come here and have it all figured out.

My legs were heavy today, no zip. I've had much worse so I'm not worried or complaining. I just didn't have that light free easy feeling like usual. Need to recover and rest!

Walked the last bit with LC when her leg started to bother her, and I didn't mind it at all. I could have run in, but this was pleasant and let me cool down nicely.

Where's CHG?

SWIM: 60 mins for 2050y, mostly small sets, lots of toys

I was so excited to tell CHG of my success (due to his help) at Last Try but he wasn't here this morning. So we had another swimmer in Lane 1 give us sets. It was fly day, but I didn't do much of that. I just sub'd in freestyle with the same goal efforts.

Felt really strong today, just felt like I had a lot of strength and catch.

Also started working on bilateral breathing in the last 5x100/pull buoy set. I need to learn that, and it will take practice. I am low in the water when I roll to the left, not sure why.

Rested Monday and Tuesday

Unlike the Savageman, I'm tired after this race. Good, it means I went all out.

Commuted on Tuesday, felt good, but still tired.

Last Try Olympic Race Report

One last triathlon! Really, just one more!

Pre-race: Up just before 4am, left the house by 5am. Expected a 2hr drive, it came in just under that. But it was a pleasant drive watching the sky slowly turn and seeing the stars off to the left. Ursa!

I arrived at the site and found a very small race. It was quiet, calm, and very low key. I set up TA with not once second of rush. It almost seemed too easy, like I was forgetting something! but I wasn't. As it was 2 weeks ago, the weather was cool. Not cold, but cool. Mid-40's, some wind, but lots of sunshine.

Swim: Water temp in mid-60's. The wind was blowing in from the north and the beach was at the south end of the lake, so the wind was pushing waves to shore. I found this out during my warm-up--swells were forming right through the swim course. I got a little worried about the fact that I could only breathe on my right, and that the back side of the course had waves coming towards my right.

The Oly race was very small, only 26 of us total. I didn't see many caps like mine, I guessed only 6-7 women. With the small field, I seeded myself at the front of the pack. Why not? Gun went off and quickly fell into a rhythym, and had no problems bumping other swimmers.But I did have some problems with the waves-they were big enough to wash over my back onto my face. Surprisingly I stayed pretty calm. Then we took a left turn into the waves, it was only a short distance but here the waves were the worst. Sighting was very difficult. Just lifting my head up put a wave in my face. At the next left turn I took in a mouthful of water and sputtered a bit. I've learned before that in these situations, it's actually better to keep swimming--just bobbing there just lets more waves hit your face. So I suppressed the urge to cough and kept going.

The long backstretch was tough, but I remembered something CHG told me: I don't need to take a long breath, I just need to quickly "huup" some air and put my head back down. So that's what I did. Turn head, when coast was clear quick "huup of air, then head back down. If this would have been just last year or worse yet the year before--I would have panicked. But I just kept it rolling.

It was a 2-loop course, so the second time around I knew what to expect. In this loop I realized that getting my arm back in the water faster was the better technique-that way the waves didn't hit my arm. Instead I just dived my arm in and rolled forward. Another surprise was that I never swam crooked and wasn't pushed off course. But I was so happy to see that final turn and the finish arch!

We were able to walk awhile to the beach in shallow water, this added to my watch time of 38-some minutes. Wow- much slower than my last Oly time of 32 mins :( but I was happy to be out of the water and able to run to T2.

Overall: 4th out of the 10 women in the Oly race!! So not a PR time but a PR placing! WOW!

T1: Struggled, struggled, struggled with my wetsuit!! I just can't get the damned thing to come off easy! And my left camp threatened to cramp, but didn't. I put a lot of thought pre-race into what I would wear, and decided on just the cycling jersey. The sun was out and it was only 2 loops. I struggled a bit with gloves (thinking my hand would work better if warm) before saying Screw This! and dropping them. So T1 was longer than it should have been at 3:17.

Bike: Having just finished Savageman in the cold, I knew what to expect here: stiff hands, shivering, and lack of real focus until I warmed up. I settled into a nice pace that was moderately hard, but still felt like I was going slow. It also felt like I had a headwind, and thought that made sense since I was riding north. I looked forward to a tailwind!

I was having some thinking problems, but otherwise had a positive mentality. I marveled over the fact that this was my 3rd oly this year (at first I thought it was my 2nd, bad race math!). I marveled over the fact that I did 3 halfs this year. What a year! So I told myself, just enjoy this and let the slow feeling go. Big circles. Steady pace. Smooth technique.

All good until around mile 7, when the left calf CRAMPED! First time EVER on a bike that I had a cramp. What do I do? I slowed down, but kept the pedals turning with the right leg figuring that a slow stretch would help it out best. It shook off soon enough, but got me thinking: low on electrolyte? no. dehydrated? no. Probably the cold weather? yes. That's my guess. It felt twingy the rest of the ride, and had me wondering about the run.

There was never a tailwind, either. Just headwind and crosswind. How does that happen?

Second verse, just like the first. Big circles, steady pace, smooth technique. Enjoy it. I passed one women in my AG in the 2nd loop.

The course was in fine shape, excepting one section with potholes in the shade. Couldn't ride that part in aero. Drank the entire aero bottle of Infinit, and had one gel in the 2nd loop. My tummy was growling, but my hands were took cold to function cleanly. Just eating the gel was a struggle.

Overall: 42 miles in 2hr 8 mins for an ave speed of 19.6. (it didn NOT feel that fast). 3rd out of 9 in the women. 11th out of 26 for all racers. Could have gone faster under better leg conditions.

T2: I successfully attached my shoes to the bike in T1 and managed a successful shoeless dismount for T2. But, my legs were toast. I almost crumpled when I tried to stand at first! I went hard on the bike, and this is what I got for it--worry that my run was ruined. Fast T2 of 1:03.

Run: Quick T2 then out the door. I saw the woman I passed coming in on the bike while I was heading out on the course, so I knew I had a few minutes on her. I ran. Oh did I run. I wanted this race.

My feet were numb from the cold, but I knew it would shake off after a mile. The cold does funny things, I turned corners bad, fumbled to keep a straight line, and thought my socks were wadded up in my shoe. Blocked it out, and focused instead on high heels, elbows, and fast turnover.

The outbound of the course, which was an out-n-back on paved park paths, trended uphill. The first mile felt oh so slow but the garmin showed otherwise. And to think I almost didn't wear that thing! If I hadn't I woulda thought I was doing 10 m/m! In the first mile, I saw the a fast woman go by with TC on her heels. I knew she was the first woman in my race. Once I passed the sprint turnaround, I knew that any other women were in my race so I started looking so I could count. It's not that I thought I could go any faster, I was going at a high-moderate pace, but I just needed to know. I saw only one other woman before I hit the turn-around. If my calculations were correct, I was in 3rd place?

After the turn around I saw 2 more women coming up behind me. Yikes! Run!! I knew I had at least 1-2 mins on them but what if they were running faster?? Run!! I knew the course trended down hill on they way back and I took advantage of it. I was running as fast as I probably could at that moment, and for the first time I had that "balls to the wall" feeling I'd been looking for all year. I didn't get it at Pigman, but I got it here. And I loved it. I kept checking over my shoulder to look for the others but never saw them. I chided myself for being so shallow, but hey this is a a race! What's so shallow about racing it? Run!!

I wanted a sub-50 minute finish but was cutting it too close. I turned the last corner, saw the finish, and crossed the line strong. Oh, AWESOME! But oh was this going to hurt tomorrow.

Overall: 50:59 over 6.2 for a pace of 8:13! PR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2nd out of 9 females, and 7th out of 26 in the race.

I awaited the results, and found I was right: My first ever OVERALL in a triathlon with a 3rd place!!!!! The "pro" at the race beat me by 41 minutes, gawd she is awesome. 2nd place was 12 mins ahead of me. I'm so happy with the swim and run, that beats hardware any day.

After the race, I hung out a few hours to watch a club member finish her race. I ended up unracking Frea to ride the course with her. The race took her chip (missed the bike cutoff) but she continued on 10 mi of the run anyway. I'm so happy for her, and inspired by the fact that she didn't quit like others did.

What a great start to October :)

5.5 miles at Castlewood

RUN: 5.5 miles in a little over an hour. Really took our time, what was the rush?

It's October!! And what better way to enjoy a sunny, comfy-temp, trees-are-changing day? A trail run in Castlewood! I had a race the next day, so there was no need to hurry. Just enjoy it.

DoCo and I chatted along while running. I wasn't even paying attention to where I was, to my surprise we ended up at the base of the stairs when I thought we were at the north end of the park. If that's not the 2nd best think you could say about a trail run, then what it? (the first is a great trail race!).

We ran up the steps then saw the steep hill on Grotpeter. We get to do that three times! Three! Time to start stairs and steep hill training. I think repeats on the rez hill is a great place to start.

I packed in the afternoon. There wasn't much to pack, it's just a short race! But after pulling Frea off the bike rack and airing up the tires I had a moment of --Wow, is that really my bike!? I mean look at it! A beauty! :)

Gotta keep purty fer da pix

RUN: 6.6 miles in 55:45 mins, 8:26 m/m pace

Today's run was special in that we had a photographer waiting at the end to snap some picts. Other than that, the weather was the perfect t-shirt temp, the run was well attended with a new addition, and the pace was easy for me. OK sure I huffed a little, but this wasn't as fast as I could have gone. More benefit of all this resting.

Gawd I love this sport

Time for me to (butter)fly: IM day at the pool

SWIM 60 mins and 2200y, IM day but I did mostly freestyle.

Got home late from the meeting last night, then didn't sleep well, then woke up at 3:30am and couldnt fall back asleep. So can you believe I didn't show up for the swim on time?!? I made it to the pool at about 5:20-5:25. Humph.

IM day so a lot of that butter-back-breast-free stuff. But with the option to do freestyle, I did that option. Today I felt long and fast. CHG said my shoulder extension is getting better! And I felt confident in the pool, I showed up feeling good, had no troubles with my slower-than-everyone-else pace, and just pushed through fatigue and water inhalations. :) I could make great strides in swimming this winter!

I've been having headaches the past few days, I think they're linked to swimming?

And in the NIKE GTD news, I passed the 70 mile mark today! The September calendar shows 12.05 miles logged :)

I love it when...

...I can sign up for a race I don't have to train for.

This Sunday is the Last Try event. I signed up for the Olympic.

:)

I may be slow...but I'm not giving up

SWIM: 75 mins and 2500y. MS of 4x75 kicking, 300 with fins, 100 fast, 100 easy, 5x200 with intervals that I ignored.

Once again I showed up on time for the swim! This isn't hard to do, so I should keep doing it :) I was in the 2nd lane with 4 others who were all faster than me. That's OK. But it's frustrating.

For each set they swam, I swam less. They did 400 with fins, 200 easy, 8x225 intervals. They swam all total a 3800?!? (Really?!?)...more bad math...I just realized I swam a 2500y not a 2350...just corrected it :) Forgot about the 4x50 I also did. yay.

Anyhoo, I'm the slowest in the lane and the other swimmers are stretched out enough that they take up a whole one side of the lane. I would wait at the wall as I could to let someone by, then jump into the train, wait to let some by, etc. Now I'm complaining and grateful at the same time. This waiting gave me needed rest. But this waiting also threw off my intervals. Instead of a steady set or 30s rest, I had interupted intervals and more/less than 30s for sets.

Usually this really throws me and I get all negative. Today I just rolled with it, knowing I'd get faster. Just kept pushing and kept swimming, feeling faster and stronger than just a few weeks ago. But it's still hard to be the slowest! The one guy in our lane (name?) was the speedster today. He kept catching me all the time. So near the end I was feeling a little guilty about throwing off their sets so I said "I'm having trouble keeping pace with you guys today!". He surprised me by saying "You're doing great!". !! And here I was starting to take a worried/negative view of the guy, thinking in my head that he was probably frustrated with me for breaking up his intervals. Lesson learned!

In other news, my new aero swim cap died this morning. And I saw JTG at the pool, first time I've seen him since last Sept!

No biking = Faster running!

RUN: 7 miles in 59:20 PR!!?!!

I think my previous 7 mile PR is 59: 50-something? I should check. I'm not sure why 7 miles is one of my "PR" distances, I think because of my at-the-time-PR 7-miler back in '09 on the BRR group run.

I should check. Now....DANG IT! Previous 7-mile PR of 57 mins. Boo. Oh well.

Anyhoo, I set out planning to do only 4-5 miles, up to the school road and back. But as I was going I just felt great. Started off with a 9m/m then dropped it to 8:45 then lower and lower... I decided to round things out to get 7 miles. I wasn't pushing hard, I was in the Kinvaras, and I was just having fun.

Then as I turned the last corner, I decided to see if I could do the last 2.25 miles under 1 hour. That meant I had 18 mins. Can-do Balu. Watch me.

So off I went, knowing I'd be close and also knowing I had a lot left in the tank. I moved up to just over 8 m/m and set it to cruise. The Garmin beeped at 59:20 for the 7 mins! Awesome!

Recovered fast and thought it would have been a good race day, with the rest the day before and the day after. Awesome!

Post Savage Run

RUN: 57 mins and 6.6 miles 8:38 m/m pace

I slept in and almost missed this run! I woke up luckily at 5:15 leaving me only 15 mins to get ready. So no coffee and no "business" beforehand. This led to some gut discomfort in the run but it's good to know I can get by like this.

Only IT and I showed up today. Funny how the 2 people recovering were the only ones to show! It was wonderfully cool yet comfy, it rained overnight, and the sun wasn't over the rain clouds yet by the time we finished.

I thought I'd just do a slow run, but we held a good pace. My legs and chest muscles are still very tired, but happily they held up. I'm glad I ran, even though I should be resting. These little runs are refreshing!

Keep coming this winter and it'll be 28 minutes

SWIM: 70 mins, 2350 yards if I counted right.

For the first time EVER, I got to the pool on time. And to my surprise, beat CHG! hehe, it's the little things (however insignificant) that make me smile.

When I told CHG about the PR's he said to keep coming this winter and the time will go down to 28 minutes. Usually I just laugh that off with a haha-yeah right. But this time I said "that's the plan!".

That is the plan, yo. Time for me to fly.

Today was breast stroke day, and although I couldn't complete most of the sets and still enjoyed it. 8x75 this, 5x100 that, 8x50 this. I did about 85% of it, doing a lot of breast stroke and the kick sets. Coming off 2 swim PR's this past weekend, it was exciting to be at the pool.

Considering my weekend, I'm feeling awesome. I thought I'd be shredded after this race but I'm feeling good. I've got a few sore spots in the neck and back that I think are from swimming?

I'm itching to do Last Try in 2 weeks. Maybe the duathlon?

Found my Savage song

I've been making a point at recent races to find the race song, the tune running through my head or the song played in the pre-race that marks the occasion.

I finished up SavageMan, then realized I didn't have a song!

But I've found it. This one did roll through my mind over the weekend, I just forgot about it until now.

REO Speedwagon: Time For Me To Fly

I'm tired of holding on to a feeling I know is gone
I do believe that I've
had enough
I've had enough of the falseness of a worn out relation
Enough of the jealousy and the intoleration

Time for me to fly
Oh, I've got to set myself free
Time for me to fly
That's just how
it's got to be

Lots of meaning for me in this song. Time to fly away from what's holding me back. Time to let go of the problems I see in myself, time to let go of the doubts and fears and worry I've been carrying. Time to be free of it and move on.

SavageMan Race Report: Coach's Version

Goals for the race:
1. Finish
2. Keep positive energy throughout the weekend by racing smart on Saturday
3. Don't burn up matches everytime I hit a hill
4. Summit Westernport Wall
5. Keep steady energy levels through solid nutrition

Week Prior:
Weds: Master's Swim only, cramped right calf at end of swim.
Thurs: drive to Maryland, stayed hydrated. Right calf started to hurt.
Fri: packet pickup, course preview, unlike previous travels managed to keep eating good. Had motion sickness from the course preview drive that hung around the rest of the day. Was positive and calm, no race anxiety yet. Right calf still hurting.

Saturday 30.0: 1.5k swim, 22.9 mi bike, 6.1 mi run.
Saturday had a late start of 9:30 to accomodate for cold weather. Air temp 45F and water temp 64-65F. Wind and clouds. Woke up feeling great with a little headache, but calf suddenly OK. TA setup was easy and well-practiced. Ate a Lara bar and drank water while trying to stay warm. Hands were still and shivery!

SWIM 31:56 A PR! The water was calm and smooth, the course a rectangle. I seeded myself into the middle of the pack, I usually seed to the back but I was more confident of my swim abilities so I moved forward. Unexpectedly, the start was crowded for a long time and I was stuck swimming in a group for the first few buoys. Got punched in the face once, caught behind a flutterkicker on her back, but stayed calm and just rolled with it. This is a huge improvement for me--only in 2010 did I finally reach a point where I stayed calm when another swimmer touched me. Another big improvement was swimming straight and having effective sighting. I no longer stop to sight the buoys. This swim was straight, calm, and low effort. The effect of gliding was enhanced by clear water and seaweed underneath me. Surprisingly, the cold water didn't bother me at all! Finished the swim, saw my PR time, and ran into TA.

T1 8:42. There was a short run into TA and I left my wetsuit on to keep warm. I started shivering right away and my hands refused to function. Happily I wasn't dizzy after the swim like I have been recently. Once at the bike I started peeling off the suit and managed to once again cramp a calf in doing so! So lost a minute or two there waiting for that to work out. Fumbled with jersey, helmet, and gloves, then off!

BIKE 1:33 for 14.5 mph pace. COLD COLD COLD. And windy! Luckily my brand new long sleeve gloves kept my hands somewhat warm, but the lack of wind protection had my core shivering the first 5-7 miles in the wind. I couldn't get into aero because of this. I took my time, let people pass me, and had fun with the ride. Nutrition was Infinit in the aero bottle.

T2 ~2-3 minutes. Slick. No issues. Changed shirts and lost time but not much.

RUN 57 minutes for 9:11 pace. I took off fast from the bike and noticed right away that my feet were numb! They warmed up about 1 mile in, but it made for some careful running on the first mile that had a lot of trail aspect to it. My plan was to run 9.5 min/miles as long as it felt easy. There were 2 big hills in the run, one up a campground around mile 2 and another up a fire road at mile 4-ish. Managed to slowly jog up both without feeling a burn in the legs. No water or nutrition taken in on the run.

Overall: 3:13. fun race, low effort, felt refreshed afterwards. I think I executed the plan I had in place pretty effectively. Saturday night was spent keeping my feet up, eating good, and hydrating. Pretty much a repeat of Friday night.

Sunday 70.3: 1.2 mi swim, 55.7 mi bike, and 13.1 mi run.
Saturday was a great gear-check for Sunday. Added toe covers, a wind-break jacket, and a light beanie under the helmet. Also removed my usual powerbar nutrition because they would be hard to eat with gloves and would be too hard due to cold temps to chew. Replaced them with 2 flasks of Sustained + gel (272 calories/flask).

My major concerns for this race were the downhill portions. The cold weather and my lack of downhill confidence worried me. I gained confidence in Saturday's ride with its milder hills, so I took that forward. Still wasn't nervous about the race, I knew that if I rode smart I'd be OK.

Pre-race. Repeat of Saturday! Had plenty of time, and the air temp was a few degrees warmer so I wasn't as shivery. Good thing, I needed that energy for the race!

SWIM 41 mins another PR!! Once again seeded myself in the middle. At first I thought I should move to the outside of the pack, but I'd realized that Saturday's crowd was mostly beginners and today's crowd wasn't. So I took a chance on having better luck today, and it turned out OK. The pack broke up fast and I was quickly able to settle into an easy rhythym. Once again, I felt strong in the swim. Not fast, but solid. And unlike previous races, I didn't lose focus in the homestretch. There was some chop in this last stretch that beat me up a bit but I stayed calm and just kept turning it over. Overall, another awesome swim this weekend!

T1 8:43. I can't believe I had almost the exact same T1 time as yesterday! I had a longer run, but didn't cramp my calf and wasn't as cold. So I'm not sure what took so long! I took my time, not wanting to overlook something, but still! Ran out with the bike, and at the line realized I was missing a water bottle! It was just water, I still had my nutrition. I must have left it in the bag? Duh!

BIKE 55.7 miles in 4:24 for ave of 12.5 pmh! The first few miles were relatively flat, then the next 4-5 all down hill, and down hill on curvy, narrow roads. This really had me nervous now and prior to the race, but I kept telling myself to stay smart: one curve at a time, keep the speed under control, be aware of the bike's gear. Other riders went by fast but I let them go. From the course preview, I knew where the flats were that I could eat, but I didn't eat much in this first 17 mile section, I just used the Infinit. I also knew there the Wall was, and it was coming up fast!

Pre-race plans for the Wall: put bike in lowest gear early, spin easy up the first few blocks, stay seated as long as possible, stay to the right where the pavement is better, keep eyes on good pavement and let the bike follow, don't stop turning the cranks, and don't let the rear wheel slipping in the pits be a reason to lose speed or balance. That's a lot of pre-race plan for such a short stretch of road! Stay Smart!!

The Wall came up fast, the first few blocks just blew by, and suddenly I'm on the Wall. I ended up standing early on and at this point lost some control of the bike. The front wheel seemed to light, maybe I didn't put much weight on it? I veared left into the bad pavement, felt the rear wheel slip twice, but kept turning and turning to the top! Once at the summit, I dismounted and caught my breath.

There was an aid station another 2 blocks up the hill and I stopped there too for food. Half a lara and water. Talked to IT who came up behind me, started feeling cold, and took off again before my legs got too used to the idea of not moving. The Wall was only the start of a 7 mile hill, I had a long way to go! I realized only fter the race that I lost 4-5 minutes in these 2 stops.

The next 6 miles weren't bad, I was able to drink from the aero bottle but not eat much. After 2 hrs riding I started focusing more on eating. I took another Lara and Clif Bloks, but soon realized that the higher zone efforts were messing with what was usually OK foods. They just sat in the stomach. I waited an hour for that to settle, then went to the Sustained flasks (should have used them all along!). Didn't walk any of the hills, didn't have to weave up any either. My will to continue started to taper near the end, but unlike previous races I didn't have a negative mindset or bad energy dips.

Good lesson learned on the nutrition aspect. The Sustained+gel works good as long as I can reach a water bottle. The Laras don't work for high effort rides. And it's not the length of rides that ruins my mood and energy, it's the nutrition.

T2 2-3 mins. Felt really fresh, even after that long ride. Again changed shirts. Thankfully my feet were warmer this time around! Grabbed the 2nd unused bottle of Sustained+gel for the run.

RUN: 13.1 miles in 2:16 for a 10:25 pace. The first mile felt too easy, and I had to rein in the speed, told myself I had 2 hours of this to go! I'd decided in the bike to view the run not as miles 1-13.1, but rather as miles 87-100. With this in mind, I felt comfortable letting myself slow down and walk if needed. I didn't walk much the first lap, just on the fire road where the rain washed out the road and made an uneven surface. No need for a sprained ankle or fall now! First lap in jut over an hour.

The second loop was slower, with brief walks in the campground hill and a full fast walk up the fireroad hill. My footing was getting too sloppy and it was taking more energy to try to run up it. But I was feeling great! I've never tested the Sustained+gel on a run so that was a gamble. I used it every 3-4 miles only. The 2nd loop was boosted by the knowledge that I was so close to 100 miles, that was a really great mental kick.

OVERALL 7:25. I felt solid the entire weekend. I just knew what I had to do and took it piecemeal instead of trying to swallow the whole thing at once. Surprisingly, I wasn't sore after the race? Does that mean I could have gone faster? Who knows? But I wanted this race to be smart, and it was. My nutrition was hard to compare to another race in which I did "race pace" since this wasn't a steady hard effort but rather an intervaled low effort/high effort ride with was like rest periods in between.

What would I do different? Hmmm.....still thinking....

Final outcome? I feel like I can do anything I put my mind to! I feel strong, confident, and happy with the weekend!