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.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
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 :)
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 :)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
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.
:)
This Sunday is the Last Try event. I signed up for the Olympic.
:)
Monday, September 26, 2011
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!
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!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
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!
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!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
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!
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!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
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?
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
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.
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.
Monday, September 19, 2011
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!
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!
Savageman post-race analysis
During the long drive home Monday, I had plenty of time to think.
Lots of people are trying to compare this to Ironman. I say it's not a good comparison, but there are a few things that can be lined up for analysis. Length: obviously the 100.0 is shorter than 140.6, but the biggest difference between this race and IM is the run. (Imagine having to do 4 laps on that course!). Difficulty: can't compare, every IM is different. Mental: IM is mentally tougher, probably due to the run. So bottom line for me, it's harder to do an Ironman.
After climbing the Wall, I realized that I can do anything I put my mind to. Anything. Anything I really want (within reason, of course) I can do. That's a powerful feeling. I'm going to be incredibly smug for awhile here :)
I'm also now realizing that any hill I encounter on a group ride will have to be climbed. The group will not me any slack from here on out.
My new race nutrition was solid. But would it hold up at HIM race pace? This alternating between Z1/2 and Z4/5 wasn't the same as a 3hr bike effort at Z3.
My run is way improved. Even DH noted I looked stronger than usual, no shuffling.
Where does this put me for next year? My usual post-race exuberance has me wanting to trained hard for an HIM and qualify for the IM 70.3 championships (like EK did this weekend!) but that' me being way ahead of myself. IM CdA is next. I need to rest the next 5-6 weeks, focus on swimming, and let triathlon go for now. Or that exuberance will get tripped up over burn-out.
I'm also thinking about changing a few things nutrition-wise, but no solid plans yet.
Overall, what a great year:
3rd place at Quivering Quads
Double Chubb 50K
1st place at Gateway Olympic
2nd place at Cutting Edge half
Pigman half
SavageMan 100.0
Lottsa hills, lottsa PR's and the year really isn't over yet! It's now cyclocross season!!!!
Lots of people are trying to compare this to Ironman. I say it's not a good comparison, but there are a few things that can be lined up for analysis. Length: obviously the 100.0 is shorter than 140.6, but the biggest difference between this race and IM is the run. (Imagine having to do 4 laps on that course!). Difficulty: can't compare, every IM is different. Mental: IM is mentally tougher, probably due to the run. So bottom line for me, it's harder to do an Ironman.
After climbing the Wall, I realized that I can do anything I put my mind to. Anything. Anything I really want (within reason, of course) I can do. That's a powerful feeling. I'm going to be incredibly smug for awhile here :)
I'm also now realizing that any hill I encounter on a group ride will have to be climbed. The group will not me any slack from here on out.
My new race nutrition was solid. But would it hold up at HIM race pace? This alternating between Z1/2 and Z4/5 wasn't the same as a 3hr bike effort at Z3.
My run is way improved. Even DH noted I looked stronger than usual, no shuffling.
Where does this put me for next year? My usual post-race exuberance has me wanting to trained hard for an HIM and qualify for the IM 70.3 championships (like EK did this weekend!) but that' me being way ahead of myself. IM CdA is next. I need to rest the next 5-6 weeks, focus on swimming, and let triathlon go for now. Or that exuberance will get tripped up over burn-out.
I'm also thinking about changing a few things nutrition-wise, but no solid plans yet.
Overall, what a great year:
3rd place at Quivering Quads
Double Chubb 50K
1st place at Gateway Olympic
2nd place at Cutting Edge half
Pigman half
SavageMan 100.0
Lottsa hills, lottsa PR's and the year really isn't over yet! It's now cyclocross season!!!!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Savageman 70.0
Well, this is what we came for. And here it is. Two Thousand Hilleven was all about today, this race, and this course. This could be a long report!
Prerace was just like yesterday, except I knew what to expect. The air temps were slightly warmer, at about 48F or so but the water was 63-64F. Doesn't seem all that warmer, but it was notable different. And like yesterday, the day started out cloudy. Come on Sunshine! At a Powerbar pre-race, drank lots of water. Otherwise--2nd verse same as the 1st.
SWIM: 1.2 miles in 41:03-- Another PR!!!! (there's talk that the course was short, but either way it's a PR!!). Again the water was clear, smooth, and pleasant. This time I was in the first wave, positioned myself the same, and had a better start. I began to realize that yesterday's race had a lot of beginners and today would be different. Again I settled into what felt like a fast and smooth swim. Seaweed, Thomas the Turtle, The Swan, the finish arch. The only problem was some chop on the way back to the arch, but I stayed calm. If this is my last race swim of the year (and I expect it will be), I'll be happy. I've come a long way in my swimming!
T1: 8:43 Really? slower than yesterday? Slowest in the AG! I had a longer run to the bike than yesterday but even with slightly warmer temps and recent practice I was still slow. On the plus side, I stayed calm, didn't cramp my calf, and got all the gear on that I needed.
BIKE: 55.7 miles in 4:26, ave 12.5 mph OK now 2nd verse unlike the first. This course turned a different way out of the park and beared no similarity to yesterday. First hill was Toothpick, easy breezy. Then some flats, I figured that if I dried off yesterday in 5 miles then I'd be dry by the end of the next 6 miles before the descent. Yup. By the time I started down hill I was cool but not cold, but ready to go. Yesterday's hills gave me a boost of confidence and I carried it forward. I had good control in the descents, some braking but no chickeny braking like I feared. Other riders were zooming past me, I let them go figuring they either knew the course or were willing to risk it. This part of the ride was dangerous was fast downhills, narrow roads, and drop-offs at the side of the road. We wound down and down and down to Savage River. The trees shaded the course, but I could see the sun peaking through now and again. I kept hoping for some sun to help warm me up. My shoulders and quads started shivering!
But I kept reminding myself--stay smart. Like the pj pants said: I AM SO SMRT! Stay smart. I was smiling, feeling good and enjoying it. I kept reminding myself, stay smart and you can do this. Stay smart. Stay smart.
From the course preview, I knew how much flat I had after the descent and before the Wall. I used the time to fuel and make sure I was focused. I had decided in my prerace planning to doe a self-assessment at this point. Did I need to remove a layer? Was everything comfy? Was I thirsty? Where my shoes clipped in tight? My head was buzzing. I was nervous and excited and nervous and smart and ready and oh ... I saw the right turn that leads to the hill.. wow... what a rush.
I could hear the noise and music as I turned the first corner. Once around the corner, I came across a block I didn't remember from the preview! A slightly angled street that led to the main event. Bird was already in lowest gear, the plan was to crawl as slow as needed to conserve on everything.
In my mind, I mapped it in 4 blocks (which is why I was surprised to see a 5th at the bottom). The first 3 blocks weren't technically "the Wall". I rolled through the first, started the second. Barely remember that one, except I noted my legs starting to feel it. Started the third, don't remember this one at all. How is that possible?!? Then suddenly--I was at The Wall, I could see the change in pavement from smooth to rough...10 feet or so later I passed the Street Closed sign. And so it began.
My plan was to stay seated as long as possible so as to keep the maximum control of the bike. Shortly after the sign, I had to stand to keep enough momemtum rolling. As soon as I stood, I started weaving left. I don't think I was going around anyone, I think I maybe thought I could get around a pothole? Anyway, I started to slow down. I felt the rear wheel slip. I was still going left. All I could see was 6" of road in front of me. I don't remember the crowds, the loop-playing Rocky theme music, anything. Just holes, cracks, and pavement. I saw hands come out as if to catch the bike. They pulled back. I kept rolling. Turn to the right. Wheel slipped. Kept rolling. Then suddenly...the smooth pavement marking the top of the hill! I still wasn't at the summit...not yet...but I yelled and yelled and suddenly heard the music and cheering and spectators...and then that was it!!!!! I hit the top!!!!!! OMG OMG OMG!!!!
Then I stopped. Whew, I needed to breath. I looked back down the hill, hoping to see DH and his jester hat. I was breathing hard and loving the adrenaline rush. WOW.
But I needed to keep going. I looped back a few feet to get some flat space to clip in, had another cyclist fall flat near me trying to clip in, and started climbing to the clothing drop another few blocks up. At the clothing drop, I stopped. I had to pee since Savage River (and I would have loved to have dropped that weight before the Wall!) so I found a porta potty. Then noshed half a lara bar. Then heard IT calling me!! He made it too!!!! I kept wondering how the other 3 in our group were doing. I knew TH was ahead of me and that's it.
I wanted to rest and chat with IT, but I had to keep going. I was getting cold again and my legs were getting heavy from not moving. I skipped the clothing drop and continued up Savage Mountain.
The next 6 miles were up up up. Nothing as severe as the Wall, though, but I stayed in granny gear none the less. I was finally warming up too! Finally! I knew IT would be coming up behind me, so I didn't hurry. He did find me soon enough and then it was like a group ride. There were so few riders on the roads, it did remind me of a quiet weekend ride somewhere.
The climb up Savage Mountain was timed, but I didn't worry about it. I stopped a total of 3 times (the last was a pause to remove the wind jacket) and managed an unhurried 1 hr climb of the 7.1 mile hill. Yowza!
Then down. Then up. Then down. Then up. Miles 20-40 went smoothly. I hydrated OK, and I ate the other half of the Lara. It was during this time that I realized that solid food wasn't agreeing with the zone 4/5 efforts in this ride. My nutrition was great when blood was available for digestion, but not when blood was too diverted. So although I was getting good calories, they were sitting heavy. I decided to wait until things felt better then shift to the Sustained Energy + Mocha Clif gel flasks I made in place of the Powerbars. This was a great choice--the PB's would have been too cold to chew and too hard to peel with gloves. Once I changed to this nutrition, I felt better.
More up and down. A harsh bike crash on a switch back hill. Another rider down near Otto. I stayed positive and waited for Killer Miller, the next major hill. And soon enough, there it was. We were warned that KM was the worst climb in the ride for it's length. I agree. 1.3 miles averaging 8%, with stretches over 20% in switchbacks that hide the upcoming hill...WOW...just when you think you're almost to the top, you turn the corner and another uphill section, and you turn a corner and another...it just didn't end...and it was awesome. I reached the top, skipped the offered Miller beer, and found IT right behind me! YAY!
The "top" of KM was still ahead of us, but the worst was over. We passed some cows (I like to Moooooove it...No!!!!!!). We passed the sign marking the official top of KM. We passed what I thought would be the 45 mile mark...only to find the 40...nuts. 15 more to go, not 10.
By this point, the adrenaline had no effect on me. My legs were getting heavy and dull. I wanted to ride with IT but found that when I did I got distracted. So I needed to be ahead of him or behind. We alternated this for awhile, but for the most part I stayed out front. I had to keep moving--I was getting cold again!
One more hill, Maynardier Ridge then back to nice flatter sections and the now-familiar last few miles from yesterday's course. By now I was really getting cold and just wanted off the bike so I could warm up.
Overall, a great bike! No sore feet like I normally get on hills! And I had good nutrition and stayed focused. Didn't walk any hills and didn't have any bike mechanicals. What a great ride!
T2: 2:55 I just remember thinking how surprisingly good my legs felt. Just like yesterday, took off the jersey and put on a long sleeve T, and was only 30s slower. Instead of a gel, I grabbed the 2nd Sustained/Gel flask. Rock on!
RUN: 13.1 miles in 2:16.23 10:24m/m pace. Just like yesterday, I felt great out of T2. I do think this speaks to the benefit of a great bike pace. Sure, I'll probably never do such an easy bike in another HIM or Oly, but the lesson is that you can come out of T2 with fresh feeling legs given good training, plenty of practice, and a smart bike pace. I AM SO SMRT!
Off again on the trails, this time no cold feet. I reined the speed in quickly. I reminded myself that there were 2hrs ahead of me yet! Soon enough, I slowed into a good 9.5 m/m pace. I ran through the hills of the campground, back to the main road, ran half way up the fire road before walking for fear of tripping, ran back down and hit the halfway point at 1hr. Right on pace!!
I was having some stupid moments, like the time on the fireroad where I dropped a gel from the aid station twice, then squeeze some of the Sustained/gel mix on my leg (vaguely looked like I pooped my pants with that nice brown color!) but otherwise the first loop was perfect.
Second loop started out very fresh. I'd just seen Rich and BN, stopped at a portapotty, and started out for the 3rd and last time. I started to feel the wear and tear around mile 8 while climbing back in the campground hills. I'd walk 30s, then run. Walk 30, then run, as needed. Just keep a steady pace, no shuffle.
No shuffle, I kept thinking as I hit miles 8, 9, 10. I'd decided in the bike that I'd view the run not as miles 1-13 but rather as miles 87-100. I'm glad I did this, it kept things in perspective. When I got tired and wanted to slow down, I'd remind myself that it's OK to be tired at mile 95. Then I'd realize that I was at 95 miles and I'd get a mental boost!
The miles didn't crawl by like they sometimes do, actually they kinda flew by. I'd seen JM then IT, but no TH. I was worried about her, but had good faith in her strength. I walked up the fire road hill this time, I was having trouble with solid footing and didn't want to fall. Up the hill, turn-around, back down. By this time, only 1.5 miles to go. 98.5 miles DONE!
Around mile 9 or 10 I noticed I was getting cold again. I'd pulled off the arm warmers and it didn't occur to me them to put them back on. I just wanted to finish. Mile 99... and I was really getting cold again. I wanted to run in with IT but didn't see him behind me. I could wait...or I could finish...still can't see him...can't wait. I wondered if the last mile would be like IMWI, with a boost of energy, that "race flashed before my eyes moment", and the incredible giddyness. It was sort of like that, I was happy and smiling but cold. Why was I so cold?
Passed BN (and nearly asked for his jacket), looked again for IT, saw DH who told me everyone was accounted for, and headed for the line. 20 feet out I came up behind a guy who grabbed his leg as if cramped. I grabbed his arm and started yelling Let's Go! He picked up and ran in with me. We crossed together, congrat'd each other, and that's when I realized I was done! Done. Done. DONE!
My first priorities were simple--cheer in IT then get my warm clothes and recovery drink. Then cheer for TH and JM. DH had time tabs on them. Soon enough they appeared, and soon enough it was all over. I was tired but not pained. Sore but not limping. In fact, I felt pretty good considering the weekend.
Recovery at the house was soft foods (tummy still not happy enough for solids). I stretched and kept moving, and kept hydrating. I was still surprised at how good I felt!
Overall time: 7:35.40 6 out of 11 in AG, last in swim and T1, but good in the rest.
Overall weekend: there were 7 females that finished the 100.0 under the cutoff time, of those I was 7th :)
And I'm perfectly happy with that.
Prerace was just like yesterday, except I knew what to expect. The air temps were slightly warmer, at about 48F or so but the water was 63-64F. Doesn't seem all that warmer, but it was notable different. And like yesterday, the day started out cloudy. Come on Sunshine! At a Powerbar pre-race, drank lots of water. Otherwise--2nd verse same as the 1st.
SWIM: 1.2 miles in 41:03-- Another PR!!!! (there's talk that the course was short, but either way it's a PR!!). Again the water was clear, smooth, and pleasant. This time I was in the first wave, positioned myself the same, and had a better start. I began to realize that yesterday's race had a lot of beginners and today would be different. Again I settled into what felt like a fast and smooth swim. Seaweed, Thomas the Turtle, The Swan, the finish arch. The only problem was some chop on the way back to the arch, but I stayed calm. If this is my last race swim of the year (and I expect it will be), I'll be happy. I've come a long way in my swimming!
T1: 8:43 Really? slower than yesterday? Slowest in the AG! I had a longer run to the bike than yesterday but even with slightly warmer temps and recent practice I was still slow. On the plus side, I stayed calm, didn't cramp my calf, and got all the gear on that I needed.
BIKE: 55.7 miles in 4:26, ave 12.5 mph OK now 2nd verse unlike the first. This course turned a different way out of the park and beared no similarity to yesterday. First hill was Toothpick, easy breezy. Then some flats, I figured that if I dried off yesterday in 5 miles then I'd be dry by the end of the next 6 miles before the descent. Yup. By the time I started down hill I was cool but not cold, but ready to go. Yesterday's hills gave me a boost of confidence and I carried it forward. I had good control in the descents, some braking but no chickeny braking like I feared. Other riders were zooming past me, I let them go figuring they either knew the course or were willing to risk it. This part of the ride was dangerous was fast downhills, narrow roads, and drop-offs at the side of the road. We wound down and down and down to Savage River. The trees shaded the course, but I could see the sun peaking through now and again. I kept hoping for some sun to help warm me up. My shoulders and quads started shivering!
But I kept reminding myself--stay smart. Like the pj pants said: I AM SO SMRT! Stay smart. I was smiling, feeling good and enjoying it. I kept reminding myself, stay smart and you can do this. Stay smart. Stay smart.
From the course preview, I knew how much flat I had after the descent and before the Wall. I used the time to fuel and make sure I was focused. I had decided in my prerace planning to doe a self-assessment at this point. Did I need to remove a layer? Was everything comfy? Was I thirsty? Where my shoes clipped in tight? My head was buzzing. I was nervous and excited and nervous and smart and ready and oh ... I saw the right turn that leads to the hill.. wow... what a rush.
I could hear the noise and music as I turned the first corner. Once around the corner, I came across a block I didn't remember from the preview! A slightly angled street that led to the main event. Bird was already in lowest gear, the plan was to crawl as slow as needed to conserve on everything.
In my mind, I mapped it in 4 blocks (which is why I was surprised to see a 5th at the bottom). The first 3 blocks weren't technically "the Wall". I rolled through the first, started the second. Barely remember that one, except I noted my legs starting to feel it. Started the third, don't remember this one at all. How is that possible?!? Then suddenly--I was at The Wall, I could see the change in pavement from smooth to rough...10 feet or so later I passed the Street Closed sign. And so it began.
My plan was to stay seated as long as possible so as to keep the maximum control of the bike. Shortly after the sign, I had to stand to keep enough momemtum rolling. As soon as I stood, I started weaving left. I don't think I was going around anyone, I think I maybe thought I could get around a pothole? Anyway, I started to slow down. I felt the rear wheel slip. I was still going left. All I could see was 6" of road in front of me. I don't remember the crowds, the loop-playing Rocky theme music, anything. Just holes, cracks, and pavement. I saw hands come out as if to catch the bike. They pulled back. I kept rolling. Turn to the right. Wheel slipped. Kept rolling. Then suddenly...the smooth pavement marking the top of the hill! I still wasn't at the summit...not yet...but I yelled and yelled and suddenly heard the music and cheering and spectators...and then that was it!!!!! I hit the top!!!!!! OMG OMG OMG!!!!
Then I stopped. Whew, I needed to breath. I looked back down the hill, hoping to see DH and his jester hat. I was breathing hard and loving the adrenaline rush. WOW.
But I needed to keep going. I looped back a few feet to get some flat space to clip in, had another cyclist fall flat near me trying to clip in, and started climbing to the clothing drop another few blocks up. At the clothing drop, I stopped. I had to pee since Savage River (and I would have loved to have dropped that weight before the Wall!) so I found a porta potty. Then noshed half a lara bar. Then heard IT calling me!! He made it too!!!! I kept wondering how the other 3 in our group were doing. I knew TH was ahead of me and that's it.
I wanted to rest and chat with IT, but I had to keep going. I was getting cold again and my legs were getting heavy from not moving. I skipped the clothing drop and continued up Savage Mountain.
The next 6 miles were up up up. Nothing as severe as the Wall, though, but I stayed in granny gear none the less. I was finally warming up too! Finally! I knew IT would be coming up behind me, so I didn't hurry. He did find me soon enough and then it was like a group ride. There were so few riders on the roads, it did remind me of a quiet weekend ride somewhere.
The climb up Savage Mountain was timed, but I didn't worry about it. I stopped a total of 3 times (the last was a pause to remove the wind jacket) and managed an unhurried 1 hr climb of the 7.1 mile hill. Yowza!
Then down. Then up. Then down. Then up. Miles 20-40 went smoothly. I hydrated OK, and I ate the other half of the Lara. It was during this time that I realized that solid food wasn't agreeing with the zone 4/5 efforts in this ride. My nutrition was great when blood was available for digestion, but not when blood was too diverted. So although I was getting good calories, they were sitting heavy. I decided to wait until things felt better then shift to the Sustained Energy + Mocha Clif gel flasks I made in place of the Powerbars. This was a great choice--the PB's would have been too cold to chew and too hard to peel with gloves. Once I changed to this nutrition, I felt better.
More up and down. A harsh bike crash on a switch back hill. Another rider down near Otto. I stayed positive and waited for Killer Miller, the next major hill. And soon enough, there it was. We were warned that KM was the worst climb in the ride for it's length. I agree. 1.3 miles averaging 8%, with stretches over 20% in switchbacks that hide the upcoming hill...WOW...just when you think you're almost to the top, you turn the corner and another uphill section, and you turn a corner and another...it just didn't end...and it was awesome. I reached the top, skipped the offered Miller beer, and found IT right behind me! YAY!
The "top" of KM was still ahead of us, but the worst was over. We passed some cows (I like to Moooooove it...No!!!!!!). We passed the sign marking the official top of KM. We passed what I thought would be the 45 mile mark...only to find the 40...nuts. 15 more to go, not 10.
By this point, the adrenaline had no effect on me. My legs were getting heavy and dull. I wanted to ride with IT but found that when I did I got distracted. So I needed to be ahead of him or behind. We alternated this for awhile, but for the most part I stayed out front. I had to keep moving--I was getting cold again!
One more hill, Maynardier Ridge then back to nice flatter sections and the now-familiar last few miles from yesterday's course. By now I was really getting cold and just wanted off the bike so I could warm up.
Overall, a great bike! No sore feet like I normally get on hills! And I had good nutrition and stayed focused. Didn't walk any hills and didn't have any bike mechanicals. What a great ride!
T2: 2:55 I just remember thinking how surprisingly good my legs felt. Just like yesterday, took off the jersey and put on a long sleeve T, and was only 30s slower. Instead of a gel, I grabbed the 2nd Sustained/Gel flask. Rock on!
RUN: 13.1 miles in 2:16.23 10:24m/m pace. Just like yesterday, I felt great out of T2. I do think this speaks to the benefit of a great bike pace. Sure, I'll probably never do such an easy bike in another HIM or Oly, but the lesson is that you can come out of T2 with fresh feeling legs given good training, plenty of practice, and a smart bike pace. I AM SO SMRT!
Off again on the trails, this time no cold feet. I reined the speed in quickly. I reminded myself that there were 2hrs ahead of me yet! Soon enough, I slowed into a good 9.5 m/m pace. I ran through the hills of the campground, back to the main road, ran half way up the fire road before walking for fear of tripping, ran back down and hit the halfway point at 1hr. Right on pace!!
I was having some stupid moments, like the time on the fireroad where I dropped a gel from the aid station twice, then squeeze some of the Sustained/gel mix on my leg (vaguely looked like I pooped my pants with that nice brown color!) but otherwise the first loop was perfect.
Second loop started out very fresh. I'd just seen Rich and BN, stopped at a portapotty, and started out for the 3rd and last time. I started to feel the wear and tear around mile 8 while climbing back in the campground hills. I'd walk 30s, then run. Walk 30, then run, as needed. Just keep a steady pace, no shuffle.
No shuffle, I kept thinking as I hit miles 8, 9, 10. I'd decided in the bike that I'd view the run not as miles 1-13 but rather as miles 87-100. I'm glad I did this, it kept things in perspective. When I got tired and wanted to slow down, I'd remind myself that it's OK to be tired at mile 95. Then I'd realize that I was at 95 miles and I'd get a mental boost!
The miles didn't crawl by like they sometimes do, actually they kinda flew by. I'd seen JM then IT, but no TH. I was worried about her, but had good faith in her strength. I walked up the fire road hill this time, I was having trouble with solid footing and didn't want to fall. Up the hill, turn-around, back down. By this time, only 1.5 miles to go. 98.5 miles DONE!
Around mile 9 or 10 I noticed I was getting cold again. I'd pulled off the arm warmers and it didn't occur to me them to put them back on. I just wanted to finish. Mile 99... and I was really getting cold again. I wanted to run in with IT but didn't see him behind me. I could wait...or I could finish...still can't see him...can't wait. I wondered if the last mile would be like IMWI, with a boost of energy, that "race flashed before my eyes moment", and the incredible giddyness. It was sort of like that, I was happy and smiling but cold. Why was I so cold?
Passed BN (and nearly asked for his jacket), looked again for IT, saw DH who told me everyone was accounted for, and headed for the line. 20 feet out I came up behind a guy who grabbed his leg as if cramped. I grabbed his arm and started yelling Let's Go! He picked up and ran in with me. We crossed together, congrat'd each other, and that's when I realized I was done! Done. Done. DONE!
My first priorities were simple--cheer in IT then get my warm clothes and recovery drink. Then cheer for TH and JM. DH had time tabs on them. Soon enough they appeared, and soon enough it was all over. I was tired but not pained. Sore but not limping. In fact, I felt pretty good considering the weekend.
Recovery at the house was soft foods (tummy still not happy enough for solids). I stretched and kept moving, and kept hydrating. I was still surprised at how good I felt!
Overall time: 7:35.40 6 out of 11 in AG, last in swim and T1, but good in the rest.
Overall weekend: there were 7 females that finished the 100.0 under the cutoff time, of those I was 7th :)
And I'm perfectly happy with that.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Savageman 30.0
There's so much to say about this weekend, how can I possibly get it all typed up!?
Woke up Saturday morning for the 30.0 feeling rested and ready. Still a bit of a headache and still some concern over the cold temps. Had my usual coffee, banana, eggs breakfast. Since the first wave didn't go off until 9:30am, there was plenty of time this morning.
We arrived to the site and found out that we were early compared to everyone else! This was nice as there were no lines, especially since my new tire FLAT! I got the tube replaced quickly and tried to forget about it. Worrying about that during the swim wouldn't help me any.
Oh, was it cold. I wore my new bike gloves to keep my hands comfy, layered on lots of clothes. It didn't help any when the announcer said air temp was 45-47F and water temp was 64-65F. What!? My coldest ever swim prior to this was 64F in Lake Michigan and that was COLD!
SWIM: 0.932 miles in 31:56 15/25 in AG --a PR!!!!
In the end, the water wasn't so bad. It felt good compared to the air, as the air now also had a cold wind to freeze exposed skin. I was in the 2nd wave, and after a short but sufficient warm-up we were off! I had positioned myself in the middle of the field and expected the front end of the pack to move away from me. But instead I was stuck in a field of swimmers for a lot longer than expected. Early on I was punched in the right cheek, thankfully I got my goggles back on and just kept going. Once things cleared out, I settled into what felt like a fast swim. Seaweed was visible in the clear water and that gave me a gauge of movement and speed. Round Thomas the Turtle for the first turn, then off to the Swan for the last turn. Simple rectangle course. No big chop, no sighting problems, kept calm, and enjoyed it!
T1: 8:42, one of the slowest of the day! My hands were numb, I had trouble pulling off the wetsuit (and cramped the left calf), putting on gloves, zipping, everything was a struggle. I made myself calm down and shake off the need-to-hurry feeling. What was the hurry? Get it right!
BIKE: ~22.8 miles in 1:33, ave 14.8 mph.
The goal of this ride was to keep it easy. No pushing, no rush, no race. Gear check. Warm up. Shake down. Even though the course was mild, there was no need to hit it hard. The 30.0 bike course had it's hills, but they were very do-able.
So while the course was pleasant, the weather wasn't. I was cold as soon as I removed the wetsuit. I shivered the first 5 miles of the ride and couldn't get into aero. The wind blew right threw my jersey and was a bit merciless in doing so. Wild shivering in my chest and shoulders was sapping energy, but it was only 23 miles and I knew I could keep going in this for such a short time. Just keep calm, and stay smart. The new tire on the Bird was inflated and smooth, but revealed a bump-bump-bump feeling at high speeds. Something to look at. Later. Did only Infinit on the bike. Wasn't enough time to need anything else.
T2: 2:25 This was a smooth T2, I felt great and rolled right through it. I removed the bike jersey and added a long sleeve tech T over the armwarmers.
RUN: 6.2 miles in 56:58 for a 9:11 pace.
I may have felt great, but my feet were numb. The first 1 mile was just a clomp-clomp feeling, and I worried about turning an ankle (even though I might not feel it!) on the trail that we started out on. We didn't get a course preview for the run, I figured this was my preview, since I'll get to see it again 2x tomorrow. Oof! Two big climbs, one on pavement at mile 2 the other a rough fire road at mile 4 or so. I ran both, using my Chubbie hill training to billy-goat right up.
Once my feet thawed, this was a fun run. I did 9:36 and 9:40 in the first 2 miles, then 8:25 in the next! Slow down! I wasn't so much focused on pace as I was effort. I kept evaluating--did this feel easy? It did. TH was just ahead of me, and as much as I'd like to run with her, I held back so as not to burn that match. Save it for tomorrow. No nutrition here, just did the run.
Overall: 3:13:29 14 out of 24 in AG, and 67 out of 147 gender. In any other race, I'd be disappointed. For this one, I was happy. This race blew the carbon off the spark plugs, so to speak. My headache was gone, my energy levels better than pre-race. This was an incredibly fun course. And I loved that I could just sit back and enjoy it with out the rush. At one point I debated turning off the Garmin!
I learned a lot today about tomorrow. I needed the windbreak jacket I packed. I needed toe covers (thank you IT!). I needed liquid nutrition--between the gloves and hills and cold temps, bars weren't going to work.
Saturday afternoon had the challenge of recovering and refueling coupled with prefueling and repacking. But I wasn't as bad as I thought I'd be. I treated them as separate races and followed my plans of staying cool and taking things one at a time. Went to bed feeling confident that if I stayed smart tomorrow, I'd have a good day.
Woke up Saturday morning for the 30.0 feeling rested and ready. Still a bit of a headache and still some concern over the cold temps. Had my usual coffee, banana, eggs breakfast. Since the first wave didn't go off until 9:30am, there was plenty of time this morning.
We arrived to the site and found out that we were early compared to everyone else! This was nice as there were no lines, especially since my new tire FLAT! I got the tube replaced quickly and tried to forget about it. Worrying about that during the swim wouldn't help me any.
Oh, was it cold. I wore my new bike gloves to keep my hands comfy, layered on lots of clothes. It didn't help any when the announcer said air temp was 45-47F and water temp was 64-65F. What!? My coldest ever swim prior to this was 64F in Lake Michigan and that was COLD!
SWIM: 0.932 miles in 31:56 15/25 in AG --a PR!!!!
In the end, the water wasn't so bad. It felt good compared to the air, as the air now also had a cold wind to freeze exposed skin. I was in the 2nd wave, and after a short but sufficient warm-up we were off! I had positioned myself in the middle of the field and expected the front end of the pack to move away from me. But instead I was stuck in a field of swimmers for a lot longer than expected. Early on I was punched in the right cheek, thankfully I got my goggles back on and just kept going. Once things cleared out, I settled into what felt like a fast swim. Seaweed was visible in the clear water and that gave me a gauge of movement and speed. Round Thomas the Turtle for the first turn, then off to the Swan for the last turn. Simple rectangle course. No big chop, no sighting problems, kept calm, and enjoyed it!
T1: 8:42, one of the slowest of the day! My hands were numb, I had trouble pulling off the wetsuit (and cramped the left calf), putting on gloves, zipping, everything was a struggle. I made myself calm down and shake off the need-to-hurry feeling. What was the hurry? Get it right!
BIKE: ~22.8 miles in 1:33, ave 14.8 mph.
The goal of this ride was to keep it easy. No pushing, no rush, no race. Gear check. Warm up. Shake down. Even though the course was mild, there was no need to hit it hard. The 30.0 bike course had it's hills, but they were very do-able.
So while the course was pleasant, the weather wasn't. I was cold as soon as I removed the wetsuit. I shivered the first 5 miles of the ride and couldn't get into aero. The wind blew right threw my jersey and was a bit merciless in doing so. Wild shivering in my chest and shoulders was sapping energy, but it was only 23 miles and I knew I could keep going in this for such a short time. Just keep calm, and stay smart. The new tire on the Bird was inflated and smooth, but revealed a bump-bump-bump feeling at high speeds. Something to look at. Later. Did only Infinit on the bike. Wasn't enough time to need anything else.
T2: 2:25 This was a smooth T2, I felt great and rolled right through it. I removed the bike jersey and added a long sleeve tech T over the armwarmers.
RUN: 6.2 miles in 56:58 for a 9:11 pace.
I may have felt great, but my feet were numb. The first 1 mile was just a clomp-clomp feeling, and I worried about turning an ankle (even though I might not feel it!) on the trail that we started out on. We didn't get a course preview for the run, I figured this was my preview, since I'll get to see it again 2x tomorrow. Oof! Two big climbs, one on pavement at mile 2 the other a rough fire road at mile 4 or so. I ran both, using my Chubbie hill training to billy-goat right up.
Once my feet thawed, this was a fun run. I did 9:36 and 9:40 in the first 2 miles, then 8:25 in the next! Slow down! I wasn't so much focused on pace as I was effort. I kept evaluating--did this feel easy? It did. TH was just ahead of me, and as much as I'd like to run with her, I held back so as not to burn that match. Save it for tomorrow. No nutrition here, just did the run.
Overall: 3:13:29 14 out of 24 in AG, and 67 out of 147 gender. In any other race, I'd be disappointed. For this one, I was happy. This race blew the carbon off the spark plugs, so to speak. My headache was gone, my energy levels better than pre-race. This was an incredibly fun course. And I loved that I could just sit back and enjoy it with out the rush. At one point I debated turning off the Garmin!
I learned a lot today about tomorrow. I needed the windbreak jacket I packed. I needed toe covers (thank you IT!). I needed liquid nutrition--between the gloves and hills and cold temps, bars weren't going to work.
Saturday afternoon had the challenge of recovering and refueling coupled with prefueling and repacking. But I wasn't as bad as I thought I'd be. I treated them as separate races and followed my plans of staying cool and taking things one at a time. Went to bed feeling confident that if I stayed smart tomorrow, I'd have a good day.
Friday, September 16, 2011
SavageMan Pre-Race
We drove out to Maryland on Thursday, leaving at 5am. Thankfully we had Friday off to recover, regroup, and recon the course.
The highlight of the day was driving the courses. The 30.0 course was a lollipop course, and the 70.0 was a loop. They shared only a few miles, with the 30.0 stick being on the end of the 70.0.
My biggest concern going into this race was not the climbs. I was more nervous about the descents!! That's all I could see in the bike profile! I knew I was a downhill chicken, so I nerved about riding the brakes, controlling the bike, keeping my hands loose...of all things.
The 70.0 course started off with a bang on Toothpick hill, then stayed curvy and relatively flat the first 6-7 miles. Then down-down-down to Savage River for 4-5 miles, then a few flat miles, then the Wall. And OMG our first sighting of the wall!! OMG!! We got out of the car, speechless, in awe, and walked the hill. The street was in worse condition than I imagined. Pits, cracks, holes, and more. And not smooth pits and cracks, but rocky ones with the stones underneath exposed. I started making plans. Stay to the right, the pavement is better. Don't vear left, the street slopes that way and you'll speed into the curve. Keep your eyes on the good pavement and the bike will follow. Keep the pedals moving if the wheels slip in a crack.
We met other riders doing as we were--planning ahead--and learned more about how the Wall works on race day. Walking away from the Wall with a plan had a calming effect. I realized this hill can be done if I stay smart.
And that's just the first hill! And just the bottom of a 7.1 mile climb up Big Savage Mountain! The rest of the course was amazing. Sweeping turns, fast descents, long slow climbs, dangerous winding sections. But good pavement, gorgeous scenery, and funny signs all along the way. The 30.0 course was mild in comparison.
Packet pickup, then back to the house to pack up. The weather was a concern--what was going to be warm enough for 45-50F temps in the downhills? This generated a lot of discussion, a lot of this or that, and a lot of worry.
I had 3 other worries. I was carsick from the course drive--headache and buzzy disoriented feeling. Second, I had a calf cramp at the end of Weds swim that still hurt. I was worried about the muscle being damaged and only getting worse as the weekend wore on. But I did what I could to rest. Lastly, the tired on the Bird was in bad shape so I changed it to the spare I packed. The spare wasn't in great shape either. I had the race bike sponsor replace it with a nice Bontrager tire as a peace of mind purchase.
Other funny things in the day: James Tayler's greatest hits, Joe's I AM SO SMRT pj pants, and Damn You Joe Metzger!.
Otherwise, I felt great. I had that pleasant razor's edge feeling that I used to get before a race. A sort of electric buzz. Let's get it going!!
The highlight of the day was driving the courses. The 30.0 course was a lollipop course, and the 70.0 was a loop. They shared only a few miles, with the 30.0 stick being on the end of the 70.0.
My biggest concern going into this race was not the climbs. I was more nervous about the descents!! That's all I could see in the bike profile! I knew I was a downhill chicken, so I nerved about riding the brakes, controlling the bike, keeping my hands loose...of all things.
The 70.0 course started off with a bang on Toothpick hill, then stayed curvy and relatively flat the first 6-7 miles. Then down-down-down to Savage River for 4-5 miles, then a few flat miles, then the Wall. And OMG our first sighting of the wall!! OMG!! We got out of the car, speechless, in awe, and walked the hill. The street was in worse condition than I imagined. Pits, cracks, holes, and more. And not smooth pits and cracks, but rocky ones with the stones underneath exposed. I started making plans. Stay to the right, the pavement is better. Don't vear left, the street slopes that way and you'll speed into the curve. Keep your eyes on the good pavement and the bike will follow. Keep the pedals moving if the wheels slip in a crack.
We met other riders doing as we were--planning ahead--and learned more about how the Wall works on race day. Walking away from the Wall with a plan had a calming effect. I realized this hill can be done if I stay smart.
And that's just the first hill! And just the bottom of a 7.1 mile climb up Big Savage Mountain! The rest of the course was amazing. Sweeping turns, fast descents, long slow climbs, dangerous winding sections. But good pavement, gorgeous scenery, and funny signs all along the way. The 30.0 course was mild in comparison.
Packet pickup, then back to the house to pack up. The weather was a concern--what was going to be warm enough for 45-50F temps in the downhills? This generated a lot of discussion, a lot of this or that, and a lot of worry.
I had 3 other worries. I was carsick from the course drive--headache and buzzy disoriented feeling. Second, I had a calf cramp at the end of Weds swim that still hurt. I was worried about the muscle being damaged and only getting worse as the weekend wore on. But I did what I could to rest. Lastly, the tired on the Bird was in bad shape so I changed it to the spare I packed. The spare wasn't in great shape either. I had the race bike sponsor replace it with a nice Bontrager tire as a peace of mind purchase.
Other funny things in the day: James Tayler's greatest hits, Joe's I AM SO SMRT pj pants, and Damn You Joe Metzger!.
Otherwise, I felt great. I had that pleasant razor's edge feeling that I used to get before a race. A sort of electric buzz. Let's get it going!!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Last swim before Savageman
SWIM: 60 mins 2000y 5x100 and 5x200 easy
Woke up to rain and lightning. At the Y pool, that means closure. But what does it mean for CSP? Usually I'm happy to see the flashes and hear the thunder--it means I get to sleep in. But I actually wanted to swim today! And the pool was open--yay!!
KB and I were the only ones in our lane, and we were given modified sets to prep for this weekend. Although it was backstroke day, I didn't do much of that. But when I did it felt fast!
Still working on the left arm issue noted Monday. Today's swim felt strong and faster, reflected in the 57-59 second 50-meter intevals I was doing. It was great to see my times dropping again after hitting a slump the past few swims.
Woke up to rain and lightning. At the Y pool, that means closure. But what does it mean for CSP? Usually I'm happy to see the flashes and hear the thunder--it means I get to sleep in. But I actually wanted to swim today! And the pool was open--yay!!
KB and I were the only ones in our lane, and we were given modified sets to prep for this weekend. Although it was backstroke day, I didn't do much of that. But when I did it felt fast!
Still working on the left arm issue noted Monday. Today's swim felt strong and faster, reflected in the 57-59 second 50-meter intevals I was doing. It was great to see my times dropping again after hitting a slump the past few swims.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Lazy brick. Real lazy. As in...I didn't run
BIKE: 1hr for 15 miles
I took the rest of Monday off (skipped the scheduled bike ride because of Sunday) and rested until Tuesday evening's brick. I needed the rest, mentally and physically. That, and I'm tapering!
The ride was great. Perfect weather and a great group, what more could you ask for?! I did some higher intensity intervals, nothing big, just wanted to open up a little bit. Was a flawless ride with the exception of a dipsh!t ride wearing headphones that didn't hear my "LEFT" call. The poor Bird nearly skidded right into Mr Headphones!!!
I skipped the run to get home and rest. That and I had a new blender to try out!
I took the rest of Monday off (skipped the scheduled bike ride because of Sunday) and rested until Tuesday evening's brick. I needed the rest, mentally and physically. That, and I'm tapering!
The ride was great. Perfect weather and a great group, what more could you ask for?! I did some higher intensity intervals, nothing big, just wanted to open up a little bit. Was a flawless ride with the exception of a dipsh!t ride wearing headphones that didn't hear my "LEFT" call. The poor Bird nearly skidded right into Mr Headphones!!!
I skipped the run to get home and rest. That and I had a new blender to try out!
Monday, September 12, 2011
I have to admit, I'm starting to feel like a swimmer
SWIM: 62 mins, 2050y 1x400, 2x300, 3x200, 4x100
Up and at it early again. Right now I'm used to it, but will I be able to continue after this weekend? I have every intention of attending Master's next Weds after the race. If I keep saying it out loud and telling others, I'll be more likely to go.
The set today was neat, time really flies by when sets are broken up like this. I was doing the math while swimming and realized that this was a 2000y set! Then I double checked my math cuz I know how bad it can be when training or racing...
I talked to CHG about improving this winter. The triangle of training is volume-frequency-intensity. But where do you focus when technique is your limiter? He's recommended a nice balance with focus on frequency, suggesting 3-4 swims a week. Easy enough!
He pointed out that I'm bending my left arm under me, instead of having it "outside". I can see this error, so I should be able to fix it.
After a long swim yesterday, I fatigued FAST. The last 100's were a struggle.
Oh, and IMWI10 was 1 year ago!! 1 year already!
Up and at it early again. Right now I'm used to it, but will I be able to continue after this weekend? I have every intention of attending Master's next Weds after the race. If I keep saying it out loud and telling others, I'll be more likely to go.
The set today was neat, time really flies by when sets are broken up like this. I was doing the math while swimming and realized that this was a 2000y set! Then I double checked my math cuz I know how bad it can be when training or racing...
I talked to CHG about improving this winter. The triangle of training is volume-frequency-intensity. But where do you focus when technique is your limiter? He's recommended a nice balance with focus on frequency, suggesting 3-4 swims a week. Easy enough!
He pointed out that I'm bending my left arm under me, instead of having it "outside". I can see this error, so I should be able to fix it.
After a long swim yesterday, I fatigued FAST. The last 100's were a struggle.
Oh, and IMWI10 was 1 year ago!! 1 year already!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Swim, Run, Bike: A double on Scenic Loop Rd
SWIM: 62 mins, 2540y, MS was 2x600 at <65%
RUN: 41 mins, 4 miles, goal was a steady run
BIKE: 36 mins, 6 miles, goal was to ride Scenic Loop!
That sounds like a long day, like I did a whole heck of a lot but in reality all I did was drive around all morning. Drive to the pool, drive to Queeny Park, drive (and get lost on the way) to Scenic Loop for riding. After all this working out I went to Michaels, Schnucks, and Big River. I was gone a total 0f 8hrs!
The swim started off as an swim alone at the WH pool. I was a little nervous so my WU was messy. I was nervous about hitting my head and being alone. Then another swimmer showed up and I relaxed. The 1st 600 was slower than I liked--12:59.50. Squeaked it in under 13 minutes, when I should have been squeaking in under 11 or 12. The 2nd 600 was pulling, and I miscounted the laps. I think I did 13 or 14 laps. The pull set felt a lot faster, and I still did it in 13 minutes. I'd loose all my time with bad open turns.
Then the run, I went to Queeny with the goal of running some of those hills and focusing on keeping a low and controlled heart rate. All was well until I realized that I didn't have running shoes in the back of the truck like I thought I did. NUTS! So I ran in the black Sauc's I had--not running shoes but it was only 4 miles! Then I came across the closed Trail in Queeny-Nuts! The HRM was wamfy today--reading really high numbers again. I thought for awhile it was the tech shirt or the sports bra causing static or some issue, but I couldn't fix it. When I finished I had to use the bathroom, and found the doors locked! Nuts! But it all ended well, time to ride!
I got lost on the way to Scenic and ended up getting a pretty drive on Manchester Rd to Pacific then back to Eureka. Pretty and pretty frustrating! Like I had nothing else to be doing!?
I pre-drove the Rd realizing that the 1 time I'd ridden this course before was not the "hard way". The "hard way" is against traffic and that's not the way I did it before. So this was going to be new! At the top of The Hill there was a "Steep Grade Ahead" sign, LOL. I parked in the horse/campground area and pulled out the Bird and....where was my front wheel? WHAT?! I was refueling with some Clif Bloks at this point, and when I realized I didn't see my wheel I just kept munching. Huh. Well now what. Really?! Not in the bed, not in the back of the cab, not leaning in the front seat. Munch munch. Huh. Munch munch. No wait...there it is!! Leaning backwards against the front seat and covered by my swim towel. Yipee!! Saddle up!
I took off riding backwards in the Loop--the Hard Way. I didn't get much of a warmup, the hills were fast and furious. Down hill first, then The Scenic Loop Hill. It wound and turned so you really couldn't see the entire thing all at once. But the major part was all one shot up. Down into the 27, and spin-spin-spin. Heart rate up. And me going up! The Bird was flying up this hill! We hit the top and kept going in low gear to rest. Hoo boy. At the turn around it was only 2 miles. Time to go back. Hoo boy.
I'm such a down hill chicken. BAWK BAWK BAWK. I was riding the brakes way too much, even when I was riding with traffic, even though I saw all of 2 cars this entire ride. When I reached the other end, it was decision time. Go back to the truck, or go back for more. My HR was flying and not coming back down. I was heaving, gasping. The last hill to this point was a long slow climb. Heaving still. I needed to do this again.
Back down the hill, and back to Scenic Loop Hill. This time I jumped up to the 2nd gear (25) and stood up occasionally, seated, standing, seated, standing. I had some worry about my climbing while standing--couldn't I keep the bike in control without swaying? Yes I could. Success! I topped The Hill and stopped. I was done. And I still had to climb one more back to the truck.
All was well with the Birds new drive train. The chain dropped once on an easy shift on the last climb, but I repeated the climb and shift with no issue. Wish I understood why that happened so I could avoid it!
Back at the truck, I reflected on this great day. JM's A did her first tri today! IMWI was one year ago today!! I had a great SBR day!! Today I built great confidence for the Savageman race! Now it's time to rest for that big race!
NUMERICS: Includes the Labor Day Monday holiday:
SWIM 4000y in 1.8 hrs
BIKE 153 miles in 9.97 hours
RUN 17 miles in 2.63 hours
For a grand total of 14.43 hours.
This could very well be my LAST triathlon training weekend for Two Thousand Hilleven!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
60x4 brick: 27 is HEAVEN!
BIKE 4:04 hours and 64.6 miles
RUN 37 mins 4 miles
At first this seemed like a big workout for the weekend before the big race. Intervals were specified, it was written as a steady state IM paced workout. So maybe it wasn't too big, regardless I was looking forward to it. I've been wanting to do some bigger bricks!
We had a group of 5: GT, TB, TH, IT, and me. 3 future Savages, a recent IMer, and a soon-to-be IMer! What a group! We set a goal of keeping the ride together but not stopping. We decided to skip the 1st and 3rd gas stations, stopping only in Waterloo for a break. The idea was the better simulate a race in which we don't stop and rest. Along with that, we were all similarly paced and didn't have to wait at intersections for each other. Perfect setup!
Also perfect was the weather. Last Monday we had a bitch of a headwind. Today was high 60's, low winds, clouds, very little direct sun. Just perfect! What a day for the "last ride" before the race!!
We repeated last Monday's route, making for a good comparison. Maybe I'll to that later. Maybe.
We had a great ride, and Bird's brand spankin' new 12-27 cassette. This cassette gave the Bird some long legs! The flats felt great, I was able to ride with a quick and light cadence. And hills were slick--spun right up.
So it was a given that I was going to ride Trout Rd again! Last Monday I had to stand in the last kick of the climb. Not today! Zip, zip, zip right up--seated! SEATED!! And I could have done a harder hill! YAY!
We didn't hurry. We didn't do hard intervals, we just rode comfortably. And it was sweet.
The T2 into the run was a little long, but we had to give GT a couple of Good Lucks before his big race. IT, TH, and I took with with TB as our cheerleader on the bike. We aimed for a slow easy run, started off with low 9's but as time progressed we slowed by about 30 seconds per mile. No biggie.
One of my other goals was to drink enough and eat enough for a good brick run. Granted, it was only 4 miles, but it felt good. Hopefully it was good enough for next weekend!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Resting on Friday
DID NOTHING: 24 hrs :D
It was about a week ago that I started drinking a daily green smoothie--a water based drink with fruit, spinach, kale, and sometimes whey protein and chia seeds. I'm loving them! Raspberries, peaches, apples, and more. Sweet, juicy, yummy!
I'm also making more and more raw foods. The goal? I've been so unsatisfied with food the last few months. At first I thought it was some sort of depression or boredom. But it seemed to focus around meals. I'd eat a meal and never feel happy with it. My work started to slack too, like the boredom or depression was spreading to other parts of my life. The days just seemed to get worse, not a bottoming-out spiral, just an unhappy feeling.
Whether it's the food content or just the excitement of making a change, I'm feeling good and focused. I'm not unsatisfied, bored, and out of energy. I'm feeling good now, and considering where to take this.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Thursday run, easy loop
RUN: 59 minutes, 6.5 miles 9:04 pace.
Just another loop. Here I am 9 days out of my last tri of the year and I'm doing easy loops. The plan for a 5miler at 10K-ish pace. Not today! Steady, medium pace with IT and LC.
I'm feeling good mental wise and nutrition wise. This is 6 days into my green smoothie fad. My sweet cravings have diminished but I'm getting hungry in the afternoons. I need a good snack or a bigger lunch?
Just another loop. Here I am 9 days out of my last tri of the year and I'm doing easy loops. The plan for a 5miler at 10K-ish pace. Not today! Steady, medium pace with IT and LC.
I'm feeling good mental wise and nutrition wise. This is 6 days into my green smoothie fad. My sweet cravings have diminished but I'm getting hungry in the afternoons. I need a good snack or a bigger lunch?
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Weds Masters-why you got to be so mean?
SWIM: 45 mins 1600 yards.
This was the first swim indoors and wow what a change. I miss the big pool, but I seemed to have more anxiety in the big one. Wonder why?
I wanted to swim but I didn't want to swim. What the hell does that mean?
So in that vein, I was up early but still didn't leave early. Which means I was 15-20 mins late to the swim. It starts at 5:15 but I show up at 5:35. The outer pool door had fallen shut and locked, served me right. But CHG let me in.
He pointed me to the 3rd lane. GULP! No, I said, they're too fast. He didn't say anything but he didn't have too. I think he chose that lane because it was less crowded. CHG booted LC from the 2nd lane (and I gave a small cheer) and I explained that if everyone around me is faster I get anxious and lose my form. (whatever form I do have). He said I shouldn't let that happen.
But I do. I let it happen all the time. And now I'm seeing it as part of the big picture. I get nervous in the swims if I'm slow, I get wiggy if I fall off the back of a group ride, I get my heart rate up if I feel the group pulling away.
I used to say that I'm not a competitive person. But in the past few seasons I'm learning otherwise. I'm not competing against others, I'm competing against my expectations of me. I think I should be able to do "x" pace based on what others around me are doing. So this that competing against others? I need to rethink this. Maybe I am competing against others. Is this good? Bad?
I thought my swim was anxiety ridden because I wasn't getting any better and because I thought it was a personal failing on my part. But I do I swim better alone? I did a few laps after practice once the lane emptied and I did feel more relaxed. But I didn't swim as fast. Which is better, a comfy swim, a fast swim, a charged go-go swim?
I finished the swim OK but a bit dizzy. That's a problem I thought I'd solved.
I meandering here.
This was the first swim indoors and wow what a change. I miss the big pool, but I seemed to have more anxiety in the big one. Wonder why?
I wanted to swim but I didn't want to swim. What the hell does that mean?
So in that vein, I was up early but still didn't leave early. Which means I was 15-20 mins late to the swim. It starts at 5:15 but I show up at 5:35. The outer pool door had fallen shut and locked, served me right. But CHG let me in.
He pointed me to the 3rd lane. GULP! No, I said, they're too fast. He didn't say anything but he didn't have too. I think he chose that lane because it was less crowded. CHG booted LC from the 2nd lane (and I gave a small cheer) and I explained that if everyone around me is faster I get anxious and lose my form. (whatever form I do have). He said I shouldn't let that happen.
But I do. I let it happen all the time. And now I'm seeing it as part of the big picture. I get nervous in the swims if I'm slow, I get wiggy if I fall off the back of a group ride, I get my heart rate up if I feel the group pulling away.
I used to say that I'm not a competitive person. But in the past few seasons I'm learning otherwise. I'm not competing against others, I'm competing against my expectations of me. I think I should be able to do "x" pace based on what others around me are doing. So this that competing against others? I need to rethink this. Maybe I am competing against others. Is this good? Bad?
I thought my swim was anxiety ridden because I wasn't getting any better and because I thought it was a personal failing on my part. But I do I swim better alone? I did a few laps after practice once the lane emptied and I did feel more relaxed. But I didn't swim as fast. Which is better, a comfy swim, a fast swim, a charged go-go swim?
I finished the swim OK but a bit dizzy. That's a problem I thought I'd solved.
I meandering here.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
CCP brick
BIKE: 1hr 16-some miles
RUN: 2.5 miles in 19-some minutes
I needed a rest after yesterday's ride so waiting until Tuesday eve for a brick with the group was the perfect plan. Yesterday's wind was still blowing through so this was another windy ride. Lot's of friends on this ride, including a soon-to-be cheesy potato!
CP had us do some hill repeats on the Z-hill to the Katy. One very easy, one very hard, and one in the middle. I didn't do the hard repeat hard enough. The goal (I learned the specifics afterwards) was to see just how hard you can turn the gears. Maybe this weekend I'll give it another try.
I almost didn't run, it was getting dark and I wanted to get home. So when the 4-mile run was shorted to a 20 minute run I took that option. I had the Kinvaras which contributed to the light feeling. CP and TH were with me, we had a light fast run. The first mile was smooth and fast, the second mile was more of a challenge with GT joining us and the little "attacks" happening. I hung on to whatever shoulder was in front. This was fun, and felt good until the last quarter mile at which my form started to fall off a bit. Legs shaky, but not quite anaerobic.
Can't believe I forgot my HRM!
RUN: 2.5 miles in 19-some minutes
I needed a rest after yesterday's ride so waiting until Tuesday eve for a brick with the group was the perfect plan. Yesterday's wind was still blowing through so this was another windy ride. Lot's of friends on this ride, including a soon-to-be cheesy potato!
CP had us do some hill repeats on the Z-hill to the Katy. One very easy, one very hard, and one in the middle. I didn't do the hard repeat hard enough. The goal (I learned the specifics afterwards) was to see just how hard you can turn the gears. Maybe this weekend I'll give it another try.
I almost didn't run, it was getting dark and I wanted to get home. So when the 4-mile run was shorted to a 20 minute run I took that option. I had the Kinvaras which contributed to the light feeling. CP and TH were with me, we had a light fast run. The first mile was smooth and fast, the second mile was more of a challenge with GT joining us and the little "attacks" happening. I hung on to whatever shoulder was in front. This was fun, and felt good until the last quarter mile at which my form started to fall off a bit. Legs shaky, but not quite anaerobic.
Can't believe I forgot my HRM!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Headwinds and holiday roosters
BIKE: 4hrs 18 mins and 65.something miles in IL
Labor day weekend = free day! Let's make the most of it!
It started off with a 7am ride from Columbia. Saturday the weather was 100, yesterday in the 70's, and today in the high 50's/low 60's. There was a steady wind out of the north/northwest, the crops are turning, and a few leaves falling. Speaking of falling, and regardless of what the calendar says, fall is HERE.
We started out on a slightly different route that eventually merged in with the usual. We also had 4 new riders! DD, DS, LK, and DS joined us. Unlike most group rides, I wanted this one to just go-go-go. Not because it was cold (that was part of it) but because I wanted a training ride that was more like a race ride--steady moderately hard effort with water breaks and stops. It's not my ride so I can't do that to everyone else, but I could make the most of the intervals in the mean time. So that's my goal--try to find that breaking point I see in races and dance around that fire for awhile.
Oh and my other Need-To-Fix: nutrition--today had batter-like Sustained with a gel, Powerbar, Perform, Lara bar, 2 gels. Total of about 1100 calories? 170+100+220+210+220+200=about 1100. OK, rock n roll.
Started off good and strong, trying to hang with GB who can accelerate out of nowhere and put the hammer down. Note I said trying to hang with GB, I was only moderately successful.
Hills, curves, cornfields, winds, sunshine, quiet roads, Bird, great company. What I love about this.
At the stop in Millstadt CP talked a bit about the mental strategies I need to be working on, right now for SM but also for the future. This was 1hr in, and I noshed most of the powerbar while at the stop. Off to Waterloo, during which we passed a T-intersection with some lazy-ass roosters crowing. We figured it was a holiday, so they slept in. Started working on the Sustained and had the rest of the PB. Hydration was good (in retrospect, I'll bet it was low), energy felt good.
In between W and V was Trout Hill. IT read it was a 25+% hill so we just had to try it. I was nervous about going down. I'm such a downhill chicken. BAWK BAWK. Get the f down the hill, yo. OK that wasn't so bad. Now back up! I was the first rider up, with CP, GT, and IT behind me. Grind, grind, and stand, and stand, and SUMMIT! Awesome! I'd do it again if I could! But I don't think it was really the advertised 28%.
At the stop in Valmeyer (about 3hrs or so in) I had a gel and debated another. By this time all I had left was 1/4 bottle of Perform, 1 gel, and plenty of water (add in a refill here). This was the time in a ride that I start to falter from nutrition. But I was still good for now.
Getting a sense of where this is going? The last 15-some miles included the big downhill then a long stretch of flats. Today the flats were directly into the headwind! So instead of a 28 mph tailwind ride it was a 13 mph headwind ride. Oooff!! But it wasn't hard. It was just long.
CP gathered us into pacelines and echelons, teaching some of the new to the group riders how to do it. At about 7 miles into this wind, my wind went to The Stupids. It's hard to get a water bottle or food out in a wind, and even harder to do it while pulling a rider in the wind. So when CP asked a rider to hang with me and asked me to signal proper positioning to this other rider, my mind said something along the lines of "what-f^cking-ever let's just get this done". Hmmmm, sounds like somebody needs to eat!
Yup, I went south. Again. I quit talking, I quit looking behind me as much, I focused on just the road in front of the Bird and nothing else. My pace stayed steady but that look a lot of effort. My HR rose a little but didn't go south as well. It was all mental. Damn it!
We turned out of the wind and had only miles to go. By this point I realized it was too late to eat, and once out of the wind I was feeling magically better. Back at the truck, I was fuzzed over but functional (I've had rides ending in this parking lot with me being non-functional!). Looked at the clock--only 1hr to get to our Savage planning meeting! AH!
Hurry home, drink some green smoothie with protein and chia, hurry shower, hurry drive. I'd noticed earlier that my hands were tingly but I thought it was the vibrations from the rough road and non-carbon Bird. But now my forearms were tingly. And now my neck. And now my face. Kinda like an electrolyte tingle, but not quite. I still think it was vibrations. But just in case, I started popping Endurolytes with water. And Whammo! Nausea.
I walked by the salad bar at our meetup place and the food just looked awful. Wonderful veggies, cut fruit, raisins, nuts, yummy yummy awful. So I didn't eat :( I really needed to but really couldn't. A few times I was sure I was going to hurl. I did my best to hang in there, I did get better over time, but I didn't do too hot. Damn it all to hell!
I need to fix this shit! It's killing my performance, my recovery, and my day to day living! This past few weeks has felt like an anxiety-ridden, fatigue-filled, blusterfest. WTH? Time to crack down on this. This has never been a nutrition log, but for a while now it will have to be. I need to fix this! I need to get my life in order, my work ethic recharged, my goals laid out, and some solid ground to stand on. I can't live like this.
Labor day weekend = free day! Let's make the most of it!
It started off with a 7am ride from Columbia. Saturday the weather was 100, yesterday in the 70's, and today in the high 50's/low 60's. There was a steady wind out of the north/northwest, the crops are turning, and a few leaves falling. Speaking of falling, and regardless of what the calendar says, fall is HERE.
We started out on a slightly different route that eventually merged in with the usual. We also had 4 new riders! DD, DS, LK, and DS joined us. Unlike most group rides, I wanted this one to just go-go-go. Not because it was cold (that was part of it) but because I wanted a training ride that was more like a race ride--steady moderately hard effort with water breaks and stops. It's not my ride so I can't do that to everyone else, but I could make the most of the intervals in the mean time. So that's my goal--try to find that breaking point I see in races and dance around that fire for awhile.
Oh and my other Need-To-Fix: nutrition--today had batter-like Sustained with a gel, Powerbar, Perform, Lara bar, 2 gels. Total of about 1100 calories? 170+100+220+210+220+200=about 1100. OK, rock n roll.
Started off good and strong, trying to hang with GB who can accelerate out of nowhere and put the hammer down. Note I said trying to hang with GB, I was only moderately successful.
Hills, curves, cornfields, winds, sunshine, quiet roads, Bird, great company. What I love about this.
At the stop in Millstadt CP talked a bit about the mental strategies I need to be working on, right now for SM but also for the future. This was 1hr in, and I noshed most of the powerbar while at the stop. Off to Waterloo, during which we passed a T-intersection with some lazy-ass roosters crowing. We figured it was a holiday, so they slept in. Started working on the Sustained and had the rest of the PB. Hydration was good (in retrospect, I'll bet it was low), energy felt good.
In between W and V was Trout Hill. IT read it was a 25+% hill so we just had to try it. I was nervous about going down. I'm such a downhill chicken. BAWK BAWK. Get the f down the hill, yo. OK that wasn't so bad. Now back up! I was the first rider up, with CP, GT, and IT behind me. Grind, grind, and stand, and stand, and SUMMIT! Awesome! I'd do it again if I could! But I don't think it was really the advertised 28%.
At the stop in Valmeyer (about 3hrs or so in) I had a gel and debated another. By this time all I had left was 1/4 bottle of Perform, 1 gel, and plenty of water (add in a refill here). This was the time in a ride that I start to falter from nutrition. But I was still good for now.
Getting a sense of where this is going? The last 15-some miles included the big downhill then a long stretch of flats. Today the flats were directly into the headwind! So instead of a 28 mph tailwind ride it was a 13 mph headwind ride. Oooff!! But it wasn't hard. It was just long.
CP gathered us into pacelines and echelons, teaching some of the new to the group riders how to do it. At about 7 miles into this wind, my wind went to The Stupids. It's hard to get a water bottle or food out in a wind, and even harder to do it while pulling a rider in the wind. So when CP asked a rider to hang with me and asked me to signal proper positioning to this other rider, my mind said something along the lines of "what-f^cking-ever let's just get this done". Hmmmm, sounds like somebody needs to eat!
Yup, I went south. Again. I quit talking, I quit looking behind me as much, I focused on just the road in front of the Bird and nothing else. My pace stayed steady but that look a lot of effort. My HR rose a little but didn't go south as well. It was all mental. Damn it!
We turned out of the wind and had only miles to go. By this point I realized it was too late to eat, and once out of the wind I was feeling magically better. Back at the truck, I was fuzzed over but functional (I've had rides ending in this parking lot with me being non-functional!). Looked at the clock--only 1hr to get to our Savage planning meeting! AH!
Hurry home, drink some green smoothie with protein and chia, hurry shower, hurry drive. I'd noticed earlier that my hands were tingly but I thought it was the vibrations from the rough road and non-carbon Bird. But now my forearms were tingly. And now my neck. And now my face. Kinda like an electrolyte tingle, but not quite. I still think it was vibrations. But just in case, I started popping Endurolytes with water. And Whammo! Nausea.
I walked by the salad bar at our meetup place and the food just looked awful. Wonderful veggies, cut fruit, raisins, nuts, yummy yummy awful. So I didn't eat :( I really needed to but really couldn't. A few times I was sure I was going to hurl. I did my best to hang in there, I did get better over time, but I didn't do too hot. Damn it all to hell!
I need to fix this shit! It's killing my performance, my recovery, and my day to day living! This past few weeks has felt like an anxiety-ridden, fatigue-filled, blusterfest. WTH? Time to crack down on this. This has never been a nutrition log, but for a while now it will have to be. I need to fix this! I need to get my life in order, my work ethic recharged, my goals laid out, and some solid ground to stand on. I can't live like this.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Swim, Bike, and Buffalo
SWIM: 2300y in 1hr. 3x500 focus on steady
BIKE: a little over 2hrs, about 31 miles
I slept in until 7:15 and I had to be at the pool at 8. Luckily in my fuzz I was smart enough to pre-pack everything. Go me. Prepared, yet unprepared.
I picked a workout from a previous swim and switched it up. I made the 3x500's a steady 500 with a focus on a steady pace. No negative splits, no hurry. But I'd peak at the watch to catch my halfway times. Seeing this would either make me happy or make me upset. I was surprised how this number could affect me, and this isn't new. This recent focus on heart rate, position in a pack, race PR's, etc etc.
The swim was good. It was my only swim this week, and I'm glad I did it. I didn't realize I had 2300y until I added it up later.
The bike was great. But before the bike we got to see JM's little A practice for her 1st tri next weekend :) And I got a laugh when she kept asking her time. Guess the focus on numbers goes way beyond just me.
IT and I joined another member on a "guided" bike tour, KD lived in the area and new the good hills. Like a drug dealer.
We rode out of Babler onto roads I wasn't familiar with, and this was the best part--I didn't know what to expect, what kind of hill was coming up, or how much rest I'd get. But I followed KD's shifting carefully, he knew the roads and I figured he was preparing for any inclines. I started off slow, but knew I'd warm up soon enough.
Unlike yesterday today was cool. I hate to complain flip flop style, but it was almost too cool! This was good, it helped me recover from yesterday.
The first hill was Babler Forest, aka Chocolate Hill, described as : Babler Trails Road - (.25 mile, 190 feet of ascent, 14.39% average grade, 20.5% max grade)
- This is one climb you may have unknowingly passed countless times if you regularly ride
out Wildhorse Creek Road to Ossenfort. Just before you reach the Wildhorse-Ossenfort fork,
Babler Trails Road will appear on your right. The innocuous entrance to this quiet neighborhood offers no clue as to the major bump in the road that lies dead ahead. This climb is long, straight, and unforgiving. Cyclists heading out to St Albans who get their heart rate up in anticipation of Ossenfort hill should consider scaling this one. It will change their perspective of the minor climb known as Ossenfort Hill. Additional note: To throw in a little confusion, along the climb the road changes names to Babler Forest. -
Long good hill. No chocolate, just a turn-around and back down.
Next hill...some winding through new roads...passed some buffalo on Bassett road...and off to St Albans. It was 0.7miles long, and how do I know this? I checked my Garmin, which I found to my dismay has been OFF to this time. NUTS!!!
Next hill was Melrose. I've heard people talking about this hill, but I didn't know where it was. Turns out I do--I just didn't know the name of it. It's the hill just out of St Albans: Melrose Road - (First Climb- .33 mile, 156 feet of ascent, average grade 8.86 %, max grade 14.5%) - Second Climb- .34 mile, 136 feet of ascent, average grade 7.57%, max grade 15%) - The hills of Wildwood are man. An immensely popular one is Melrose Road starting just around
the corner from the entrance to Rockwood Reservations near Hwy 109. While not the steepest
nor the longest hill in west county, this is actually a double-tiered ascent which will still put a
distinct burn in the legs. Once crested, the first plateau is but a two-thousand yard respite before the road points back up again. If the first climb didn't reduce you to spinning your small chain ring, the second one probably will. When ridden from the opposite direction (i.e. from Six Flags) the combination of hills offers two blazing descents that can be taken full out. - Melrose Road & Glencoe Road, Wildwood, Mo
That wasn't so bad, actually kinda enjoyed it.
Next hill wasn't on the maps. At least I havent found it yet. What a GEM. Oh, a JEWEL of a hill. We were almost at a complete stop at the bottom, then this WALL of a hill. Oh sweet d-lish. This one was tough. I ended up standing. I also tried weaving a bit. IT was seated the whole way up, wow.
There were other hills in between, but those were the biggies. Lots of little climbers that needed a granny gear, but since they weren't named so I can't comment on them.
What a great ride! I know some of these roads, but for the most part this was on unfamiliar roads. When we got back to the parking lot, IT and I took a look at the Bird. I was worried that I had to stand on some of today's hills, and these hills were Savage. Turns out the Bird only as a 12-23!!! Off to BShark, hoping to find KJ. What luck, I did! He's going to get a 12-27 for the Bird sometime this week.
BIKE: a little over 2hrs, about 31 miles
I slept in until 7:15 and I had to be at the pool at 8. Luckily in my fuzz I was smart enough to pre-pack everything. Go me. Prepared, yet unprepared.
I picked a workout from a previous swim and switched it up. I made the 3x500's a steady 500 with a focus on a steady pace. No negative splits, no hurry. But I'd peak at the watch to catch my halfway times. Seeing this would either make me happy or make me upset. I was surprised how this number could affect me, and this isn't new. This recent focus on heart rate, position in a pack, race PR's, etc etc.
The swim was good. It was my only swim this week, and I'm glad I did it. I didn't realize I had 2300y until I added it up later.
The bike was great. But before the bike we got to see JM's little A practice for her 1st tri next weekend :) And I got a laugh when she kept asking her time. Guess the focus on numbers goes way beyond just me.
IT and I joined another member on a "guided" bike tour, KD lived in the area and new the good hills. Like a drug dealer.
We rode out of Babler onto roads I wasn't familiar with, and this was the best part--I didn't know what to expect, what kind of hill was coming up, or how much rest I'd get. But I followed KD's shifting carefully, he knew the roads and I figured he was preparing for any inclines. I started off slow, but knew I'd warm up soon enough.
Unlike yesterday today was cool. I hate to complain flip flop style, but it was almost too cool! This was good, it helped me recover from yesterday.
The first hill was Babler Forest, aka Chocolate Hill, described as : Babler Trails Road - (.25 mile, 190 feet of ascent, 14.39% average grade, 20.5% max grade)
- This is one climb you may have unknowingly passed countless times if you regularly ride
out Wildhorse Creek Road to Ossenfort. Just before you reach the Wildhorse-Ossenfort fork,
Babler Trails Road will appear on your right. The innocuous entrance to this quiet neighborhood offers no clue as to the major bump in the road that lies dead ahead. This climb is long, straight, and unforgiving. Cyclists heading out to St Albans who get their heart rate up in anticipation of Ossenfort hill should consider scaling this one. It will change their perspective of the minor climb known as Ossenfort Hill. Additional note: To throw in a little confusion, along the climb the road changes names to Babler Forest. -
Long good hill. No chocolate, just a turn-around and back down.
Next hill...some winding through new roads...passed some buffalo on Bassett road...and off to St Albans. It was 0.7miles long, and how do I know this? I checked my Garmin, which I found to my dismay has been OFF to this time. NUTS!!!
Next hill was Melrose. I've heard people talking about this hill, but I didn't know where it was. Turns out I do--I just didn't know the name of it. It's the hill just out of St Albans: Melrose Road - (First Climb- .33 mile, 156 feet of ascent, average grade 8.86 %, max grade 14.5%) - Second Climb- .34 mile, 136 feet of ascent, average grade 7.57%, max grade 15%) - The hills of Wildwood are man. An immensely popular one is Melrose Road starting just around
the corner from the entrance to Rockwood Reservations near Hwy 109. While not the steepest
nor the longest hill in west county, this is actually a double-tiered ascent which will still put a
distinct burn in the legs. Once crested, the first plateau is but a two-thousand yard respite before the road points back up again. If the first climb didn't reduce you to spinning your small chain ring, the second one probably will. When ridden from the opposite direction (i.e. from Six Flags) the combination of hills offers two blazing descents that can be taken full out. - Melrose Road & Glencoe Road, Wildwood, Mo
That wasn't so bad, actually kinda enjoyed it.
Next hill wasn't on the maps. At least I havent found it yet. What a GEM. Oh, a JEWEL of a hill. We were almost at a complete stop at the bottom, then this WALL of a hill. Oh sweet d-lish. This one was tough. I ended up standing. I also tried weaving a bit. IT was seated the whole way up, wow.
There were other hills in between, but those were the biggies. Lots of little climbers that needed a granny gear, but since they weren't named so I can't comment on them.
What a great ride! I know some of these roads, but for the most part this was on unfamiliar roads. When we got back to the parking lot, IT and I took a look at the Bird. I was worried that I had to stand on some of today's hills, and these hills were Savage. Turns out the Bird only as a 12-23!!! Off to BShark, hoping to find KJ. What luck, I did! He's going to get a 12-27 for the Bird sometime this week.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Saturday at Great Illini
RUN: 6 miles in about 54.5 mins. 9:05m/m pace
Friday was supposed to be a rest day, it was more of a restless day. Didn't sleep in much, got to work late, spent a few useless hours at work, left for home, spent a few useless hours at home, then left for Mattoon for the GI race. Originally I was going to camp, luckily JB had space in her hotel room. I wasn't ready to camp. Just not ready.
Good sleep Friday night, got up early Saturday. Why the details? I'm trying to piece together this persistent case of The Stupids I've been having for about 2 weeks now. Had a banana, some fake peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee, then off to the race!
Munched on grapes and trail mix. But no water. I waited on the swim, saw everyone off on the bike, then went for a run. The day was hot, but no hotter than days all this summer long. The run started off great. I recognized many features from my race here 3 years ago in 2008. Especially the long boring stretch after the 1st turn. Flat, featureless. Long. But I let my mind wander. My HR was good in the 145 range.
Time went on. The day seemed to get hotter. I passed the aid stations and refused water, not wanting to take water from runners later. But this got me thinking. Water. How much water did I drink this morning? Two cups of coffee.. and that's it. Really?
I still haven't learned this lesson?
I hit the turn-around and by this point my HR was climbing slowly into the 155 range. Time went on. The road was rough and the tar soft. Time went on. The HR went up. The lead runners appeared on the course, they looked energetic. I didn't feel energetic. And my HR went up into the 175 range. Classic textbook example of dehydration. Pace stayed the same. Elevation stayed the same. Effort went up. HR went up.
Damn it.
The rest of the day was a bit of a struggle to focus. I came home around 4pm in a bit of a daze, a combination of the long drive, fatigue, and Stupids.
Friday was supposed to be a rest day, it was more of a restless day. Didn't sleep in much, got to work late, spent a few useless hours at work, left for home, spent a few useless hours at home, then left for Mattoon for the GI race. Originally I was going to camp, luckily JB had space in her hotel room. I wasn't ready to camp. Just not ready.
Good sleep Friday night, got up early Saturday. Why the details? I'm trying to piece together this persistent case of The Stupids I've been having for about 2 weeks now. Had a banana, some fake peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee, then off to the race!
Munched on grapes and trail mix. But no water. I waited on the swim, saw everyone off on the bike, then went for a run. The day was hot, but no hotter than days all this summer long. The run started off great. I recognized many features from my race here 3 years ago in 2008. Especially the long boring stretch after the 1st turn. Flat, featureless. Long. But I let my mind wander. My HR was good in the 145 range.
Time went on. The day seemed to get hotter. I passed the aid stations and refused water, not wanting to take water from runners later. But this got me thinking. Water. How much water did I drink this morning? Two cups of coffee.. and that's it. Really?
I still haven't learned this lesson?
I hit the turn-around and by this point my HR was climbing slowly into the 155 range. Time went on. The road was rough and the tar soft. Time went on. The HR went up. The lead runners appeared on the course, they looked energetic. I didn't feel energetic. And my HR went up into the 175 range. Classic textbook example of dehydration. Pace stayed the same. Elevation stayed the same. Effort went up. HR went up.
Damn it.
The rest of the day was a bit of a struggle to focus. I came home around 4pm in a bit of a daze, a combination of the long drive, fatigue, and Stupids.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Fast Thursday run--10K PR if I could count that!
RUN: 6.5 miles in 55 mins. 6.2 miles in 50:5?
After last nights sufferfast, I made some resolutions to improve my nutrition, hydration, and recovery. Meals for me lately have been just grabbing what's ready to eat. No cooking or baking or prepping. Just wash, peel, eat type of stuff. While this means I'm eating lots of fruit, veggies, cheese, nuts, etc, it also means I'm not able to track good, accurate numbers. And there's no satisfaction to munching half a jicama, a block of string cheese, a microwaved egg, some cucumber, etc... And hydration suffers when I'm tired. I just don't have the energy to walk down the hall to my water bottle!
As for sleep, I had the weirdest dream last night, and I'll swear I've either had it before or I've dreamed about the same thing before. Briefly, I was in a school or lab with my sister (not necessarily MO, but someone in my dream who I thought of as my sister) when I broke a glass vial containing a poison. I was working for someone to plant the vials, maybe? There were 2 vials, S-shaped and fragile. I knocked one over and got a whiff of the chemical inside. We ran out the door, I recognized a teach from grade school, and we dashed out into the woods trying to outrun the poison and anyone catching us. We jumped into a depression in the leaf-covered ground, in which there was a small body-sized sack on the ground. My sister climbed in, then I followed. Then I woke up in a white-walled building. I had the impression that I was transported somewhere either in the sky or in another dimension. Everything was white. My mind was fuzzed, I had trouble thinking or talking. I just kept thinking about all those people who died!
Anyway, there was a guy who met me and tried to calm me. He was quiet, calm, unperterbed. My arguments and fears were addressed with a light reply. I looked around and saw my pictures among others, and all had notes on them, designating some special assignment or ability. There were about 10 pictures, it was like these were pictures of the people doing work for this agency?!?
I was worried about the toxin, but this was the most calming place with the most calming person. I had nothing to worry about, nothing to fear. So nice.
Then I woke up, but I was still half in the dream. I continued to think on it, probably how I can recall it so well now. I decided to keep the feeling and the focus and clean feel of the dream for today.
Anway, back to the run. TS joined for his first group run. DC, LC, JM, and I went off the front and maintained a pace way faster than I thought I could after last night. My right calf cramped overnight and I kept waiting for that to flare up. But no, all good. Fast paces! Once warmed up we did 8 min/miles. Near 5.6 miles LC pointed out that this was a 10K PR for her, so when DC and JM paused for water we kept going. 6.2 miles in just under 51 mins. Or was it 52...?
Regardless, a fast run. Surprising after last nights pain and mental breakdown! Keep the focus, take care of food and water, and just get through the Savageman!
After last nights sufferfast, I made some resolutions to improve my nutrition, hydration, and recovery. Meals for me lately have been just grabbing what's ready to eat. No cooking or baking or prepping. Just wash, peel, eat type of stuff. While this means I'm eating lots of fruit, veggies, cheese, nuts, etc, it also means I'm not able to track good, accurate numbers. And there's no satisfaction to munching half a jicama, a block of string cheese, a microwaved egg, some cucumber, etc... And hydration suffers when I'm tired. I just don't have the energy to walk down the hall to my water bottle!
As for sleep, I had the weirdest dream last night, and I'll swear I've either had it before or I've dreamed about the same thing before. Briefly, I was in a school or lab with my sister (not necessarily MO, but someone in my dream who I thought of as my sister) when I broke a glass vial containing a poison. I was working for someone to plant the vials, maybe? There were 2 vials, S-shaped and fragile. I knocked one over and got a whiff of the chemical inside. We ran out the door, I recognized a teach from grade school, and we dashed out into the woods trying to outrun the poison and anyone catching us. We jumped into a depression in the leaf-covered ground, in which there was a small body-sized sack on the ground. My sister climbed in, then I followed. Then I woke up in a white-walled building. I had the impression that I was transported somewhere either in the sky or in another dimension. Everything was white. My mind was fuzzed, I had trouble thinking or talking. I just kept thinking about all those people who died!
Anyway, there was a guy who met me and tried to calm me. He was quiet, calm, unperterbed. My arguments and fears were addressed with a light reply. I looked around and saw my pictures among others, and all had notes on them, designating some special assignment or ability. There were about 10 pictures, it was like these were pictures of the people doing work for this agency?!?
I was worried about the toxin, but this was the most calming place with the most calming person. I had nothing to worry about, nothing to fear. So nice.
Then I woke up, but I was still half in the dream. I continued to think on it, probably how I can recall it so well now. I decided to keep the feeling and the focus and clean feel of the dream for today.
Anway, back to the run. TS joined for his first group run. DC, LC, JM, and I went off the front and maintained a pace way faster than I thought I could after last night. My right calf cramped overnight and I kept waiting for that to flare up. But no, all good. Fast paces! Once warmed up we did 8 min/miles. Near 5.6 miles LC pointed out that this was a 10K PR for her, so when DC and JM paused for water we kept going. 6.2 miles in just under 51 mins. Or was it 52...?
Regardless, a fast run. Surprising after last nights pain and mental breakdown! Keep the focus, take care of food and water, and just get through the Savageman!
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