DAY OFF
I drove back to STL today, and had to stop a few times to wake myself back up!! Awful condition to be driving in! BAD! But at the Litchfield stop I bought a small cup off coffee and some pork rinds. I didn't consume all of either, but having some worked to wake me up :) Ugh, what a combination...
I learned from Mom today that I was making DECAF coffee on Sat and Sun mornings. How did that affect my swim? I dunno, but it sure accounts for the awful feeling I had all day Sunday!
I'm still going over the DNF, analyzing and trying to understand. Working to separate the Reasons from the Excuses. I'm almost done.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 29, 2014
First big Sammich of the season
RUN 1:20 and 8.7 miles, 9:12 pace
BIKE 1:00 and 16.5 miles
RUN :40 mins and 4.3 miles, 9:18 pace
I ran this from my parent's house. Up to the school route and out n back. It had rained overnight, there were some puddles on the road still. And some seagull-sounding birds (not sure what they were) seemed to follow me the whole time. There's not much else that happened!
The bike was still windy and although I wanted to get a faster pace it just didn't happen. Again, out n back.
The final run...oof...this workout is tough! Out n back again to the school road and a strong finish.
The rest of the day is what was remarkable. I felt awful. Dragging, sluggy, headachy, clumsy (nearly rolled my left ankle twice), failed a nap, ... just awful. I worried that I'd burned out, went too far, or was getting sick.
I learned the next day (Monday) that I'd been making DECAF coffee on Saturday and Sunday!! No wonder I felt so terrible!
BIKE 1:00 and 16.5 miles
RUN :40 mins and 4.3 miles, 9:18 pace
I ran this from my parent's house. Up to the school route and out n back. It had rained overnight, there were some puddles on the road still. And some seagull-sounding birds (not sure what they were) seemed to follow me the whole time. There's not much else that happened!
The bike was still windy and although I wanted to get a faster pace it just didn't happen. Again, out n back.
The final run...oof...this workout is tough! Out n back again to the school road and a strong finish.
The rest of the day is what was remarkable. I felt awful. Dragging, sluggy, headachy, clumsy (nearly rolled my left ankle twice), failed a nap, ... just awful. I worried that I'd burned out, went too far, or was getting sick.
I learned the next day (Monday) that I'd been making DECAF coffee on Saturday and Sunday!! No wonder I felt so terrible!
Saturday, June 28, 2014
The CIOWS DNF
SWIM 1.2 miles and 1 hour. Was supposed to do 2.4 miles!
BIKE 5hrs and 85 miles of headwinds!
I'll be upfront and say first off that I'm writing this on July 8th, 10 days after the event. (I thought it was much longer than 10 days!). I'm usually pretty prompt about writing these up. I also usually finish my events, and I'm excited to report in with what happened. Not so much here.
I drove up to the site Friday after a half day at work and a few hurried hours preparing meals and packing. My initial plan was to camp, so I needed to have all foods ready and iced. I took way too long doing this and didn't get out of town until 4:30. By the time I reached Bloomington, I'd driven through rain and was tired. More rain was south of town with uncertainty as to whether it would hit the campsite. DH and I both agreed that setting up a brand new tent in the near-dark with possible rain wasn't a great idea. So I drove the extra 45 mins to my parents. Arrived late, went to bed late and tired.
Next morning followed to plan: brekkie, coffee, leave to arrive at site by 7am for checkin and practice swim. Fellow Club member VW was already there, he reported no rain overnight. Oh well.
It was 79.5F in the water and low-mid 70's air temp. This isn't normally cold, but I was! Although there were some winds, the water was mostly calm and waves weren't a problem. But shivering was. The WU swim from 8-830 was a shock to me, I didn't expect to feel cold, have trouble swimming straight, finding motivation, and sighting buoys. The WU was OK and I was calm, but totally lacking in desire. I tried eating more to see if it perked me up. Nope.
All along I've been comforting myself with the thought that I could bail at 1 loop if the lack of wetsuit was causing distress. Suddenly it wasn't so much a comfort, but a plan. During the 30 mins on the beach for the safety talk and prep, my whole body was shivering. Crazy! I had my towel around me and VW offered a sweatshirt. Another swimmer suggested more donuts. I was unhappy and already wanting to quit.
I staged to the back of the pack to avoid crowding and to stay calm. Immediately I repeated the problem I had in the WU: I was sighting the wrong buoy! It was a counter clockwise, long rectangular course. Instead of swimming to buoy #1 to my right I kept turning towards buoy #2 on the left. A lifeguard would whistle and signal that I needed to alter course. This happened repeatedly, all through the swim.
Halfway around the rectangle I could see the bright lime green finish buoys to my far left. So enticing to just quit now.... but I kept going, finding multiple cold spots in the water that contributed to my misery. I was still swimming left into the rectangle. Other swimmers were way to my right! I'd ask a lifeguard where the next buoy was, because I couldn't see it! I was so far off course the next boat or lifeguard blocked my view. This was frustrating and taken alone is not a reason I would quit. I just laughed it off and kept going.
But every time I stopped, it was a dead stop in the water. My hips dropped and I'd tread water a few moments. I did this a LOT. By the time I'd reached buoy #3, I'd already decided to stop after 1 loop. By buoy #4 I hated myself for even attempting this. As 2-loop finishers passed me, I climbed out at 63-freaking-minutes and waited for VW to finish. I must have looked awful to the finish line crew, they walked me up the hill and came back periodically to check on me.
I'll also be clear about this: I have NO REGRETS as to my decision to quit. There's NO reason to burn out on a training event. There's NO reason to endanger myself in a lake. I made the right call and have zero regrets. I regret only the facts below that contributed, because removing any one of them might have made all the difference for me:
WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?!
1. I got cold. Low body fat means cold. I have no cold tolerance right now, even for air conditioning.
2. I was tired. I raced Cutting Edge just days before, had lots of travel time in the past day, and this was my 3rd weekend trip out of town in June.
3. I was distracted by the lack of wetsuit, and reverted to all bad habits of swim form. My mind can only do one thing at a time, apparently.
4. As I found out on Monday, I had decaf coffee for brekkie!! I can't discount the role this played in my lack of motivation.
NOW WHAT?!?!?!?!
1. I need to practice OWS without a suit to master the distraction problem.
2. I need to try a rash guard or long sleeve shirt for warmth, and look into cold adaptation methods. Because I ain't gonna gain enough body fat before MiTi to make a difference
3. I need to take better care of myself and balance my schedule better.
Due to this weekend, and the stress that travel had on me, I've decided to NOT do AG Nationals two weeks before MiTi. I just can't handle the stress.
And now for the bike ride! The plan was 5 hours and 90-95 miles. I didn't get started until 11:20, 80 mins after I climbed out of the swim. There was a strong 18mph headwind out of the south and my route had early south/north sections followed by a mostly west/east course. I felt much better by the time my ride started and didn't think much bad about the swim. I followed the Evergreen Tri arrows to about 20 miles then headed out. The roads were in great condition, the cars quite polite, and other cyclists as always a joy to see. My energy wasn't great, but I was chugging along and enjoying it.
I made a route modification once I realized that I'd hit over 2.5 hours and 40 miles. Instead of a loop, I turned around and re-traced my outbound route, snipping off a wonderfully hilly loop to save time. This worked great, my plan was 5 hours and I finished at 5:01.
No brick run for me. The plan called for a 50 mins run, ah, NO. Save it for tomorrow. Get home and get rested.
I spent a lot of time in my head on this day. All through the swim, bike, and drive home. And in the drive home I heard Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead Or Alive. Fits perfect, aside from mentioning a song about being dead in a DNF swim post!!
BIKE 5hrs and 85 miles of headwinds!
I'll be upfront and say first off that I'm writing this on July 8th, 10 days after the event. (I thought it was much longer than 10 days!). I'm usually pretty prompt about writing these up. I also usually finish my events, and I'm excited to report in with what happened. Not so much here.
I drove up to the site Friday after a half day at work and a few hurried hours preparing meals and packing. My initial plan was to camp, so I needed to have all foods ready and iced. I took way too long doing this and didn't get out of town until 4:30. By the time I reached Bloomington, I'd driven through rain and was tired. More rain was south of town with uncertainty as to whether it would hit the campsite. DH and I both agreed that setting up a brand new tent in the near-dark with possible rain wasn't a great idea. So I drove the extra 45 mins to my parents. Arrived late, went to bed late and tired.
Next morning followed to plan: brekkie, coffee, leave to arrive at site by 7am for checkin and practice swim. Fellow Club member VW was already there, he reported no rain overnight. Oh well.
It was 79.5F in the water and low-mid 70's air temp. This isn't normally cold, but I was! Although there were some winds, the water was mostly calm and waves weren't a problem. But shivering was. The WU swim from 8-830 was a shock to me, I didn't expect to feel cold, have trouble swimming straight, finding motivation, and sighting buoys. The WU was OK and I was calm, but totally lacking in desire. I tried eating more to see if it perked me up. Nope.
All along I've been comforting myself with the thought that I could bail at 1 loop if the lack of wetsuit was causing distress. Suddenly it wasn't so much a comfort, but a plan. During the 30 mins on the beach for the safety talk and prep, my whole body was shivering. Crazy! I had my towel around me and VW offered a sweatshirt. Another swimmer suggested more donuts. I was unhappy and already wanting to quit.
I staged to the back of the pack to avoid crowding and to stay calm. Immediately I repeated the problem I had in the WU: I was sighting the wrong buoy! It was a counter clockwise, long rectangular course. Instead of swimming to buoy #1 to my right I kept turning towards buoy #2 on the left. A lifeguard would whistle and signal that I needed to alter course. This happened repeatedly, all through the swim.
Halfway around the rectangle I could see the bright lime green finish buoys to my far left. So enticing to just quit now.... but I kept going, finding multiple cold spots in the water that contributed to my misery. I was still swimming left into the rectangle. Other swimmers were way to my right! I'd ask a lifeguard where the next buoy was, because I couldn't see it! I was so far off course the next boat or lifeguard blocked my view. This was frustrating and taken alone is not a reason I would quit. I just laughed it off and kept going.
But every time I stopped, it was a dead stop in the water. My hips dropped and I'd tread water a few moments. I did this a LOT. By the time I'd reached buoy #3, I'd already decided to stop after 1 loop. By buoy #4 I hated myself for even attempting this. As 2-loop finishers passed me, I climbed out at 63-freaking-minutes and waited for VW to finish. I must have looked awful to the finish line crew, they walked me up the hill and came back periodically to check on me.
I'll also be clear about this: I have NO REGRETS as to my decision to quit. There's NO reason to burn out on a training event. There's NO reason to endanger myself in a lake. I made the right call and have zero regrets. I regret only the facts below that contributed, because removing any one of them might have made all the difference for me:
WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?!
1. I got cold. Low body fat means cold. I have no cold tolerance right now, even for air conditioning.
2. I was tired. I raced Cutting Edge just days before, had lots of travel time in the past day, and this was my 3rd weekend trip out of town in June.
3. I was distracted by the lack of wetsuit, and reverted to all bad habits of swim form. My mind can only do one thing at a time, apparently.
4. As I found out on Monday, I had decaf coffee for brekkie!! I can't discount the role this played in my lack of motivation.
NOW WHAT?!?!?!?!
1. I need to practice OWS without a suit to master the distraction problem.
2. I need to try a rash guard or long sleeve shirt for warmth, and look into cold adaptation methods. Because I ain't gonna gain enough body fat before MiTi to make a difference
3. I need to take better care of myself and balance my schedule better.
Due to this weekend, and the stress that travel had on me, I've decided to NOT do AG Nationals two weeks before MiTi. I just can't handle the stress.
And now for the bike ride! The plan was 5 hours and 90-95 miles. I didn't get started until 11:20, 80 mins after I climbed out of the swim. There was a strong 18mph headwind out of the south and my route had early south/north sections followed by a mostly west/east course. I felt much better by the time my ride started and didn't think much bad about the swim. I followed the Evergreen Tri arrows to about 20 miles then headed out. The roads were in great condition, the cars quite polite, and other cyclists as always a joy to see. My energy wasn't great, but I was chugging along and enjoying it.
I made a route modification once I realized that I'd hit over 2.5 hours and 40 miles. Instead of a loop, I turned around and re-traced my outbound route, snipping off a wonderfully hilly loop to save time. This worked great, my plan was 5 hours and I finished at 5:01.
No brick run for me. The plan called for a 50 mins run, ah, NO. Save it for tomorrow. Get home and get rested.
I spent a lot of time in my head on this day. All through the swim, bike, and drive home. And in the drive home I heard Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead Or Alive. Fits perfect, aside from mentioning a song about being dead in a DNF swim post!!
And times when you're alone, all you do is think.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Dragon AZ
RUN 6.6 miles in 55 mins, 8:24 pace
SWIM 1100y in 30 mins
Oooooh the fatigue is setting in. That brainless, heavy, don'twanna feeling only found in the peak weeks. Sad to say, this is only the first of peak weeks. I'm in a 17 now, then I have an 18:20, another 17, then a 19 to go. It's not helping that I still have not dedicated a day off after last Sunday's race. After today's workouts, I'm more convinced about doing so.
It was another one of those runs that I didn't think I could do, but did it anyway. I'm starting to think that my sleepy head is Blerching out these thoughts but isn't really convinced I'm going to fall for it. EK joined us, and her news of the day was that her AR team qualified for Nats!! I shared my Nats news, and high-5!
She and I ran the loop together with IT and DT peeling off early for their race on Saturday, and CS peeling off the front to go faster. EK is great to run with, always positive :)
I wanted to do 7 miles, and the plan called for a few 7 min intervals. Didn't happen. Off to the pool.
I drug my ass into the pool after dallying in the truck for awhile. (Remember EK's shirt today? Dragon AZ? LOL. That's me today. Draggin' ass. The pool seemed cold, and the super chatty woman was in her lane. After 10 mins of her talking about everything from her workout, her menopause, her mom's 10 kids, her sister's leukemia then breast cancer, her sister's 2nd husband, wholesome families and children, her old job at the day care....OMG....she really doesn't pick up on social cues. She's staring at the ceiling instead of my bored face. It's not even a conversation, it's just her talking. I try to be nice...but...
Once in the pool, I did my 400 swim and 200 kick. The Dragon AZ'd through 3 of the planned 8x250's. Then I quit. I felt miserable, hungry, cold, and unmotivated.
Walking into work, I wanted some fruit. Specifically strawberries. But I was too tired to walk to the cafeteria to get them! I'm barely awake enough to walk around, and I'm thinking about skipping lunch to buy a tent. I'm not at all packed for the weekend, and it seems like I have mountains to do outside of work and nothing to do at work. And I'd love a nap!
SWIM 1100y in 30 mins
Oooooh the fatigue is setting in. That brainless, heavy, don'twanna feeling only found in the peak weeks. Sad to say, this is only the first of peak weeks. I'm in a 17 now, then I have an 18:20, another 17, then a 19 to go. It's not helping that I still have not dedicated a day off after last Sunday's race. After today's workouts, I'm more convinced about doing so.
It was another one of those runs that I didn't think I could do, but did it anyway. I'm starting to think that my sleepy head is Blerching out these thoughts but isn't really convinced I'm going to fall for it. EK joined us, and her news of the day was that her AR team qualified for Nats!! I shared my Nats news, and high-5!
She and I ran the loop together with IT and DT peeling off early for their race on Saturday, and CS peeling off the front to go faster. EK is great to run with, always positive :)
I wanted to do 7 miles, and the plan called for a few 7 min intervals. Didn't happen. Off to the pool.
I drug my ass into the pool after dallying in the truck for awhile. (Remember EK's shirt today? Dragon AZ? LOL. That's me today. Draggin' ass. The pool seemed cold, and the super chatty woman was in her lane. After 10 mins of her talking about everything from her workout, her menopause, her mom's 10 kids, her sister's leukemia then breast cancer, her sister's 2nd husband, wholesome families and children, her old job at the day care....OMG....she really doesn't pick up on social cues. She's staring at the ceiling instead of my bored face. It's not even a conversation, it's just her talking. I try to be nice...but...
Once in the pool, I did my 400 swim and 200 kick. The Dragon AZ'd through 3 of the planned 8x250's. Then I quit. I felt miserable, hungry, cold, and unmotivated.
Walking into work, I wanted some fruit. Specifically strawberries. But I was too tired to walk to the cafeteria to get them! I'm barely awake enough to walk around, and I'm thinking about skipping lunch to buy a tent. I'm not at all packed for the weekend, and it seems like I have mountains to do outside of work and nothing to do at work. And I'd love a nap!
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
I only biked today. And felt lazy for it!
BIKE 1:50 and 27 miles
COMMUTE 3 miles home
I pushed a little more today so I didn't stop at an uneven number. Like yesterday. Another great ride, this time included an out-n-back on Wydown. I'd forgotten about the construction mess there with the water mains. But I got it done and this ride felt great.
This morning I received a surprising email!!
COMMUTE 3 miles home
I pushed a little more today so I didn't stop at an uneven number. Like yesterday. Another great ride, this time included an out-n-back on Wydown. I'd forgotten about the construction mess there with the water mains. But I got it done and this ride felt great.
This morning I received a surprising email!!
Congratulations. You have qualified for the Olympic-Distance race at the 2014 USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships on August 9 in Milwaukee, Wis., after finishing in the top 10 percent in your age group at the Cutting Edge Half Classic.
OMG!! This possibility never crossed my mind! And since TH also won her AG, she qualified as well. She really wants to go. So do I, but it's 2 weeks before my A race, $160, and a weekend of travel. I'm thinking on it. But it had me smiling for the whole bike ride and most of the day. I've qualified before, at the 2011 Last Chance race but IM CDA and the Vermont location prevented me from even thinking about it. I'll think on it more.
Now I'm also thinking about camping for the race on Saturday. Just what I need -- more variables and errands when I'm already short on time and energy. DH offered to go tonight after dinner, but it was 6:30pm by then and I knew I wouldn't make it. I'm hitting that iron fatigue phase.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Tired Tuesday TAD
RUN 8.2 miles in 75 mins, 3x 4x400
BIKE 25.75 miles in 1:45
COMMUTE 3 miles home
All day long I just kept thinking about how SM told TH to take Tuesday off, that she needed a day off after the CE race. When was my day off? Well that's up to me!! And I've decided it's not today.
I was feeling tired and worn out so I changed the goal of the workout from 90% effort to "a reasonably hard effort based on current conditions". The plan said WU then 3x 4x400 (100 rest), with 800 rest between sets. 400's sounded so easy, just once around the track. And, since there are 12 of them I could do a 'holiday run' in which I think about each month for the 12 laps.
BE, who told me about the 12 months 400's run, joined me for Sept thru Dec. I didn't time any intervals, tried not to walk any of the rests aside from a few meters, and surprisingly felt OK considering!
The bike ride was a few loops of TGP, a bottle refill at the YMCA, then 1+ loops of FoPa to round out the time. The streets were wet from some rain but otherwise no problems. I love seeing all the people in the park -- the variety of types, clothes, form, colors, goals, groups, it had me smiling most of the ride. I think people who have to drive to work are going to be grumpy all day because they didn't get to have a great bike ride :)
I learned in an email today that my upcoming 2.4 mi swim on Saturday probably won't be wetsuit legal. Why am I not more nervous about this? It's 2 loop, meaning I can stop after one loop if things aren't going good for me. That's a comfort to know. And it's better to get this uncertainty out of the way before MiTi. What if that race isn't wetsuit legal!?
BIKE 25.75 miles in 1:45
COMMUTE 3 miles home
All day long I just kept thinking about how SM told TH to take Tuesday off, that she needed a day off after the CE race. When was my day off? Well that's up to me!! And I've decided it's not today.
I was feeling tired and worn out so I changed the goal of the workout from 90% effort to "a reasonably hard effort based on current conditions". The plan said WU then 3x 4x400 (100 rest), with 800 rest between sets. 400's sounded so easy, just once around the track. And, since there are 12 of them I could do a 'holiday run' in which I think about each month for the 12 laps.
BE, who told me about the 12 months 400's run, joined me for Sept thru Dec. I didn't time any intervals, tried not to walk any of the rests aside from a few meters, and surprisingly felt OK considering!
The bike ride was a few loops of TGP, a bottle refill at the YMCA, then 1+ loops of FoPa to round out the time. The streets were wet from some rain but otherwise no problems. I love seeing all the people in the park -- the variety of types, clothes, form, colors, goals, groups, it had me smiling most of the ride. I think people who have to drive to work are going to be grumpy all day because they didn't get to have a great bike ride :)
I learned in an email today that my upcoming 2.4 mi swim on Saturday probably won't be wetsuit legal. Why am I not more nervous about this? It's 2 loop, meaning I can stop after one loop if things aren't going good for me. That's a comfort to know. And it's better to get this uncertainty out of the way before MiTi. What if that race isn't wetsuit legal!?
Monday, June 23, 2014
But I needed my keys!
SWIM 1650y (I think)
COMMUTE 6 miles
TH found my keys yesterday afternoon while unpacking from the race, and I kinda needed them! So that's the biggest reason I swam this morning. Also, I knew I'd feel better if I just got up and got moving. Sleeping in and lazing around doesn't feel good.
Unlike the post-marathon swim, I did OK today swimming. My commute was slow and every hill torture but do-able.
My neck still hurts. I've been asking everyone for advice, sent an email plea for help from the manufacture, and might have a borrowed suit for this Saturday's race from NK.
Thing I love about HIM's? Race on Sunday, back to work on Monday :)
COMMUTE 6 miles
TH found my keys yesterday afternoon while unpacking from the race, and I kinda needed them! So that's the biggest reason I swam this morning. Also, I knew I'd feel better if I just got up and got moving. Sleeping in and lazing around doesn't feel good.
Unlike the post-marathon swim, I did OK today swimming. My commute was slow and every hill torture but do-able.
My neck still hurts. I've been asking everyone for advice, sent an email plea for help from the manufacture, and might have a borrowed suit for this Saturday's race from NK.
Thing I love about HIM's? Race on Sunday, back to work on Monday :)
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Cutting Edge Half Classic Race Report
SWIM 1.2 miles in 45:11, 2:08 min/100y (1st in AG, but MOP females)
T1 1:28 (2nd in AG)
BIKE 56 miles in 2:54:27, 19.3 mph (2nd in AG, 7th female OA)
T2 1:45 (2nd in AG)
RUN 13.1 miles in 1:50:01, 8:24 m/m (1st in AG, 3rd female OA)
(awaiting the Overall results list to see more)
Total time: 5:32:54
OA 5th female of 34
AG 1st of 7 (with no OA winners in my AG)!
Of course, this will be compared to 2011:
Once in the clear things went great. The first leg was into the sun, but I'd sighted a jagged edge in the treeline and used that. First turn, then a long leg. I kept finding myself far off the buoys, or it seemed that way, and probably lost time in that. Second turn put us back into the sun and made it harder to see where we had to pause at the beach to call out our number. I lost more time there as I stopped to look for the recorder (turned out to be a videographer who assumed I stopped for a problem). I peeked at my time -- 21 mins -- yay I can do the 2nd loop faster without the congestion!!
Ah no I couldn't. By now the tight neck of the wetsuit was a pervasive pain. Once again I felt like I had to burp or vomit. It came in waves, I'd be good for a period of time before another wave of spasm and pain. I focused on ignoring it (which is contradictory when you think about it...) and told myself that it's just a sensation. It's not an injury or a disaster, and that I was almost done swimming, I can do this. But it got to where I wasn't swimming straight, I was more focused on my breathing (did big breaths make it worse?), my head position (was I lifting or craning my neck?), and that feeling of BURP NOW.
In the last leg, another swimmer grabbed my calf and for whatever reason it cramped right then. This didn't stop me for long, but it was yet another distraction. So it was with disappointment that I saw the time of 45 mins on the clock. I was really hoping for a PR!!
T1: no issues. The wetsuit came right off, I fumbled a bit with my cycling jersey (worn to keep the sun off my back), and rolled out!
BIKE First loop: the first loop started off bad with my neck spasms (not really the right word maybe, but that's all I got) taking most all of my focus. Sipping from the aerobottle, swallowing, deep breaths -- I was hesitant on all those parameters. Again, I thought it's just a sensation, I'm not going to vomit but the distraction was inevitable. I also kept trying to burp in the hope that it would help.
The goals were simple: nail the nutrition, don't mash the pedals, and leave something for the run. The nutrition plan was water only in the aerobottle, 4oz of EFS, the rest of the Powerbar, and extra gels just in case. Eat something every 30 mins starting 15 mins into the bike. This nutrition worked!! I felt great, never hungry. But I'm not sure it's good for 112 miles, I think I'll need more solids. My feet never did hurt, and I'll get to the run later :)
I couldn't help but count my position out in the out-n-back sections. I was 14th!? Two riders in my AG had already passed me in the first loop, so this was really dragging on me. I had moments in the first 10 miles of wondering why the hell I do this stuff. I was starting to hate it, a sure sign that I needed to eat! Also in the first loop I thought 23 miles was the halfway point of the bike (because 3+3=6!). Duh. I was at about 1:27 for 28 miles.
Second loop: My throat was feeling better and I settled into the ride more. Winds from the southwest had picked up making some sections of the T-shaped course more miserable than others. The heat wasn't bad (yet) and the sun was obscured my a light haze of clouds. The 2nd loop I started passing people and fought to pass who I thought was 9th place female until I realized it was a guy! On the homestretch two women passed me, one who thought I was 14 years old! What!?
I achieved my goals for the bike, overcame some discomforts, and I'm left wondering 112 miles will feel if I swim in that suit, and if I can maintain that pace for that long. I don't think so. Yet anyway.
T2: smooth except I knocked Frea over trying to swing the bike around in the grass to rack her. Then took 30 or seconds to spray on more sunscreen. I grabbed my race belt, garmin, bunch of gels, sport beans, a water bottle, visor, and t-shirt and ran out! I had to pee and decided that any time lost in the porta-potty would be gained by taking care of that problem before running. I really had to pee too! Good! Hydrated! :)
RUN: Once around the "circle of death", and I fumbled in the circle to get all my gear organized. Gels to the bra, shirt over the head, garmin clicked in (I wore the QR band during the swim and bike), gels moved to the shorts pocket...water to the bottle at the turn-around aid station, then off behind another runner who booked it the first mile.
The first mile felt too fast, clumsy, uncoordinated, bumbly. It always feels this way! But it's a reminder that I need to do more bricks going out fast, not like I'm doing now by going out easy to settle in. I didn't plan to look at the Garmin in the run and only use it for the 45 mins nutrition timer. The plan? Run as you can, stay cool in the heat, and don't fall behind on nutrition.
The first loop went great, I tried to count my position again but wasn't successful with it. I was pouring my water bottle on my t-shirt and refilling it with ice at each station. This turned out to be my best idea of the day -- the t-shirt acted like air conditioning. I didn't look at my time or pace for the first loop, I'd resolved to Lap but not Look. Reviewing later I saw the first loop in 8:20-something. I was still behind the woman ahead of me from the start, she'd pause at an AS where I'd catch her but I'd lose her again.
Second loop also went great, and here is where my heat adaptation and strengths bore fruit. I was one of only a few people running strong it seemed. I passed a lot of walkers who were suffering, and most times I couldn't tell who was on their first or second lap. And no one really seemed to want to talk or be positive!
However I was having fun, joking and thanking the AS volunteers, happy to see the sprinkler mid-course, and gave some encouragement to everyone around me. My team mates were all rolling along too, and TH was running really strong -- she's made huge improvements in her running! :) Eventually I caught the woman ahead of me and asked if she was the one who said I looked 14 years old. It was her! We got some good jokes on that and ran together for a while. Tick, tick, ticking along, with the tick-tick sound coming from the sticky tar on the road. To my surprise I was feeling stronger as the finish got closer. Around mile 12 I missed the pocket on my shorts and put the gel down my pants instead!! Haha!! The You're-14 runner caught me after mile 12, then dropped back as we closed in. I finished feeling great and was surprised to see later that I damn-near tied my HIM run PR!! Whoop!!
So unlike 2011, I didn't blow up on the run and I didn't fall into the negative mental traps. I had better control of my emotions, I managed the heat much better (race temp at finish today was 90F heat index), and I came in a much stronger runner. I didn't feel sick like before, wasn't overheated, and was able to drink and eat shortly after being done.
TH came in next and smashed her goal of a sub 6! G also got his sub-6 goal! TT, then JZ and we were all home :) PR's and hardware in abundance :)
I was fuzzy-brained afterwards but not sore or pained, aside from my neck. All in all, a great day and a 16 min HIM PR!!
T1 1:28 (2nd in AG)
BIKE 56 miles in 2:54:27, 19.3 mph (2nd in AG, 7th female OA)
T2 1:45 (2nd in AG)
RUN 13.1 miles in 1:50:01, 8:24 m/m (1st in AG, 3rd female OA)
(awaiting the Overall results list to see more)
Total time: 5:32:54
OA 5th female of 34
AG 1st of 7 (with no OA winners in my AG)!
Of course, this will be compared to 2011:
total time 5:53
swim 46:49
bike 2:50
run 2:12
Pre-race: I wondered many times that morning why we didn't get a local hotel room, but once the 1:45 hr drive was over and we were on site I realized it really wasn't needed. I was up at 3am, had my 2 eggs and some sweet potato mix. TH drove us out, we arrived, super low key prep, small race, fast setup, and off we go after eating half a Powerbar. Really unremarkable morning, excepting the fast TA set up. It left me thinking I was forgetting something! I had some distraction due to the fact that Frea had a brand new rear tube and tire that I'd tested for 0.00 miles before this race...
SWIM: The water temp was 78F (80F on the surface) so happily wetsuits were legal. I wore the next sleeveless again, hoping to avoid the tight neck problems I'd experienced in Potosi two weeks ago. Lucky for me, 78 is not that hot so I felt more than fine in that temp. There was only 90 or so races so we mass-started. I spent more time than usual warming up, trying to avoid the sputtery/gaspy feeling in the first 100y. This probably would have worked if I didn't inhale water from a heavy kicker just 2 seconds after the horn sounded! Cough, cough, OMG, cough, sputter. Not a great way to start. I couldn't get myself to breath out, so I started thinking breath in, breath out, breath in... and this worked. I'd seeded myself near the middle of the field so I got caught behind Mr Kicker and was unable to get around him. He (or another big kicker) was doing the breaststroke of all things, so it wasn't until the 1st buoy or so that I found some clear water to settle into.
Once in the clear things went great. The first leg was into the sun, but I'd sighted a jagged edge in the treeline and used that. First turn, then a long leg. I kept finding myself far off the buoys, or it seemed that way, and probably lost time in that. Second turn put us back into the sun and made it harder to see where we had to pause at the beach to call out our number. I lost more time there as I stopped to look for the recorder (turned out to be a videographer who assumed I stopped for a problem). I peeked at my time -- 21 mins -- yay I can do the 2nd loop faster without the congestion!!
Ah no I couldn't. By now the tight neck of the wetsuit was a pervasive pain. Once again I felt like I had to burp or vomit. It came in waves, I'd be good for a period of time before another wave of spasm and pain. I focused on ignoring it (which is contradictory when you think about it...) and told myself that it's just a sensation. It's not an injury or a disaster, and that I was almost done swimming, I can do this. But it got to where I wasn't swimming straight, I was more focused on my breathing (did big breaths make it worse?), my head position (was I lifting or craning my neck?), and that feeling of BURP NOW.
In the last leg, another swimmer grabbed my calf and for whatever reason it cramped right then. This didn't stop me for long, but it was yet another distraction. So it was with disappointment that I saw the time of 45 mins on the clock. I was really hoping for a PR!!
T1: no issues. The wetsuit came right off, I fumbled a bit with my cycling jersey (worn to keep the sun off my back), and rolled out!
BIKE First loop: the first loop started off bad with my neck spasms (not really the right word maybe, but that's all I got) taking most all of my focus. Sipping from the aerobottle, swallowing, deep breaths -- I was hesitant on all those parameters. Again, I thought it's just a sensation, I'm not going to vomit but the distraction was inevitable. I also kept trying to burp in the hope that it would help.
The goals were simple: nail the nutrition, don't mash the pedals, and leave something for the run. The nutrition plan was water only in the aerobottle, 4oz of EFS, the rest of the Powerbar, and extra gels just in case. Eat something every 30 mins starting 15 mins into the bike. This nutrition worked!! I felt great, never hungry. But I'm not sure it's good for 112 miles, I think I'll need more solids. My feet never did hurt, and I'll get to the run later :)
I couldn't help but count my position out in the out-n-back sections. I was 14th!? Two riders in my AG had already passed me in the first loop, so this was really dragging on me. I had moments in the first 10 miles of wondering why the hell I do this stuff. I was starting to hate it, a sure sign that I needed to eat! Also in the first loop I thought 23 miles was the halfway point of the bike (because 3+3=6!). Duh. I was at about 1:27 for 28 miles.
Second loop: My throat was feeling better and I settled into the ride more. Winds from the southwest had picked up making some sections of the T-shaped course more miserable than others. The heat wasn't bad (yet) and the sun was obscured my a light haze of clouds. The 2nd loop I started passing people and fought to pass who I thought was 9th place female until I realized it was a guy! On the homestretch two women passed me, one who thought I was 14 years old! What!?
I achieved my goals for the bike, overcame some discomforts, and I'm left wondering 112 miles will feel if I swim in that suit, and if I can maintain that pace for that long. I don't think so. Yet anyway.
T2: smooth except I knocked Frea over trying to swing the bike around in the grass to rack her. Then took 30 or seconds to spray on more sunscreen. I grabbed my race belt, garmin, bunch of gels, sport beans, a water bottle, visor, and t-shirt and ran out! I had to pee and decided that any time lost in the porta-potty would be gained by taking care of that problem before running. I really had to pee too! Good! Hydrated! :)
RUN: Once around the "circle of death", and I fumbled in the circle to get all my gear organized. Gels to the bra, shirt over the head, garmin clicked in (I wore the QR band during the swim and bike), gels moved to the shorts pocket...water to the bottle at the turn-around aid station, then off behind another runner who booked it the first mile.
The first mile felt too fast, clumsy, uncoordinated, bumbly. It always feels this way! But it's a reminder that I need to do more bricks going out fast, not like I'm doing now by going out easy to settle in. I didn't plan to look at the Garmin in the run and only use it for the 45 mins nutrition timer. The plan? Run as you can, stay cool in the heat, and don't fall behind on nutrition.
The first loop went great, I tried to count my position again but wasn't successful with it. I was pouring my water bottle on my t-shirt and refilling it with ice at each station. This turned out to be my best idea of the day -- the t-shirt acted like air conditioning. I didn't look at my time or pace for the first loop, I'd resolved to Lap but not Look. Reviewing later I saw the first loop in 8:20-something. I was still behind the woman ahead of me from the start, she'd pause at an AS where I'd catch her but I'd lose her again.
Second loop also went great, and here is where my heat adaptation and strengths bore fruit. I was one of only a few people running strong it seemed. I passed a lot of walkers who were suffering, and most times I couldn't tell who was on their first or second lap. And no one really seemed to want to talk or be positive!
However I was having fun, joking and thanking the AS volunteers, happy to see the sprinkler mid-course, and gave some encouragement to everyone around me. My team mates were all rolling along too, and TH was running really strong -- she's made huge improvements in her running! :) Eventually I caught the woman ahead of me and asked if she was the one who said I looked 14 years old. It was her! We got some good jokes on that and ran together for a while. Tick, tick, ticking along, with the tick-tick sound coming from the sticky tar on the road. To my surprise I was feeling stronger as the finish got closer. Around mile 12 I missed the pocket on my shorts and put the gel down my pants instead!! Haha!! The You're-14 runner caught me after mile 12, then dropped back as we closed in. I finished feeling great and was surprised to see later that I damn-near tied my HIM run PR!! Whoop!!
So unlike 2011, I didn't blow up on the run and I didn't fall into the negative mental traps. I had better control of my emotions, I managed the heat much better (race temp at finish today was 90F heat index), and I came in a much stronger runner. I didn't feel sick like before, wasn't overheated, and was able to drink and eat shortly after being done.
TH came in next and smashed her goal of a sub 6! G also got his sub-6 goal! TT, then JZ and we were all home :) PR's and hardware in abundance :)
I was fuzzy-brained afterwards but not sore or pained, aside from my neck. All in all, a great day and a 16 min HIM PR!!
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Cutting Edge pre and taper week
Weds BIKE 1hr and 18 miles, indoors
Thurs RUN just under an hour and 6.6 miles
Fri COMMUTE 6 miles
Sat RUN 3 miles in about 30 mins, social with RM
I'd rather not be writing this after the race is over, but last week got hectic and I just didn't see this as a priority over everything else. I think I was also in a bit of denial in that I was ignoring the fact that this race was this weekend!
As noted in the Tuesday run, I was feeling sluggish. I was also off schedule with the doggie being sick and needing to get to the vet. Swimming, as always, was the first to fall off. Too much time driving to/from the pool, I wasn't bike commuting, and I needed to be flexible.
Wed's bike ended up indoors so I could be available to shuttle the doggie to the vet. I didn't have to, just needed to get to work to finish a long harvest day. As per usual, these long harvest days leave me dehydrated due to the time spent away from a drinking source.
This continued with more harvests Thurs and Friday! The Thursday run was terribly sluggish and left me worried about my taper and rest. I took Friday off entirely and still didn't feel rested.
Friday was capped off by my bone scan, the less than ideal results, and a looooong conversation with DH about my body image issues.
The 3-ish miles with RM was at an easy talking pace, and that still felt hard. Denial was getting replaced by doubt. It wasn't until I went home and ate a super carby brekkie that I bounced back, so much so that I went shopping and felt great and buoyant for it! The day went great, we worked on our cookup and hid from the heat outdoors. But I didn't start packing until after 7pm! Why wasn't I taking this seriously!?
I had goals for this race, but I didn't review them until the Monday afterwards when I found them again. I'd really forgotten about what I wrote down.
So what happened this week? The schedule change? The nutrition stress and changes? Poor planning?
RM said something that stuck with me, he wasn't referring to me when he said it though:
You are responsible for your own happiness.
Thurs RUN just under an hour and 6.6 miles
Fri COMMUTE 6 miles
Sat RUN 3 miles in about 30 mins, social with RM
I'd rather not be writing this after the race is over, but last week got hectic and I just didn't see this as a priority over everything else. I think I was also in a bit of denial in that I was ignoring the fact that this race was this weekend!
As noted in the Tuesday run, I was feeling sluggish. I was also off schedule with the doggie being sick and needing to get to the vet. Swimming, as always, was the first to fall off. Too much time driving to/from the pool, I wasn't bike commuting, and I needed to be flexible.
Wed's bike ended up indoors so I could be available to shuttle the doggie to the vet. I didn't have to, just needed to get to work to finish a long harvest day. As per usual, these long harvest days leave me dehydrated due to the time spent away from a drinking source.
This continued with more harvests Thurs and Friday! The Thursday run was terribly sluggish and left me worried about my taper and rest. I took Friday off entirely and still didn't feel rested.
Friday was capped off by my bone scan, the less than ideal results, and a looooong conversation with DH about my body image issues.
The 3-ish miles with RM was at an easy talking pace, and that still felt hard. Denial was getting replaced by doubt. It wasn't until I went home and ate a super carby brekkie that I bounced back, so much so that I went shopping and felt great and buoyant for it! The day went great, we worked on our cookup and hid from the heat outdoors. But I didn't start packing until after 7pm! Why wasn't I taking this seriously!?
I had goals for this race, but I didn't review them until the Monday afterwards when I found them again. I'd really forgotten about what I wrote down.
So what happened this week? The schedule change? The nutrition stress and changes? Poor planning?
RM said something that stuck with me, he wasn't referring to me when he said it though:
You are responsible for your own happiness.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
TAPER DAMMIT!
RUN 7 miles in 1:07, 4x1200
BIKE 11 miles and 45 mins, long ride into work
COMMUTE 3 miles
New face at the track this morning -- LC had some 800s to do so she joined. She came earlier than I did so I missed her workout, but if she plans on being there then I can go early too! I noted what she had with her to eat today (a gel and sport beans) because I feel like I ate too much ( banana, part of a sweet potato, a few small strawberries, a bit of chicken thigh...grazing...BAD!) and for some reason it really struck me how I'll go out of my way to not eat just sports foods, then go out of my way to bitch about it later here in my notes. I'll bet her stomach felt better than mine did, and isn't the goal to fuel optimally for the goal? Eat what you gotta eat for the run, then eat whole foods later?
My 1200's were on the sluggish side -- 5:08, 4:53, 5:06, 5:14 (last two reversed and lane 2-3) -- and that sluggish feeling is what reminded me that I need to TAPER. It took a long time, about 20 mins from the start, to really feel like running. Again, I think the hearty meal I eat beforehand plays a role in this.
I realized while running this morning that I really do want to take Sunday's race seriously, so TAPER DAMMIT!
Yesterday I took Frea to the bike shop for a pre-race and to figure out the squeaking I heard. I know she needed a good cleaning, and on top of that my ride in the rain a few weekends ago couldn't have done any favors. On top of that, the rear tire went flat again while racked! I was dismayed when the shop guy found simple things to fix like a loose bolt near the big ring and in particular the fact that the rear hub DID NOT SPIN FREE! This happened last year too I think, maybe even the year before? Spin the rear wheel and in quickly coasts to a STOP. Ugh!! On the plus side, it helps explain why this past weekends ride felt slower and harder than it should have? And I've been 'strength' training? Hehe, OK not really, but maybe.
Another bonus -- yesterday marked the 3rd day of my low FODMAP test. Yesterday was really the first day fully dedicated without any little-bit-here foods and I'm happy to report that whether by design or by coincidence, I didn't have any pain or bloat! I did however have to people with the animal facility comment on my shrinking size. And I did have a saleswomen look me over and decide I should try on 0 and 00 clothes. So a mixed bag, no, what am I saying?! I'm size ME. Whatever the number is, whatever other people note or think or say. I'm ME. If I'm happy and healthy, which I am, then so be it.
BIKE 11 miles and 45 mins, long ride into work
COMMUTE 3 miles
New face at the track this morning -- LC had some 800s to do so she joined. She came earlier than I did so I missed her workout, but if she plans on being there then I can go early too! I noted what she had with her to eat today (a gel and sport beans) because I feel like I ate too much ( banana, part of a sweet potato, a few small strawberries, a bit of chicken thigh...grazing...BAD!) and for some reason it really struck me how I'll go out of my way to not eat just sports foods, then go out of my way to bitch about it later here in my notes. I'll bet her stomach felt better than mine did, and isn't the goal to fuel optimally for the goal? Eat what you gotta eat for the run, then eat whole foods later?
My 1200's were on the sluggish side -- 5:08, 4:53, 5:06, 5:14 (last two reversed and lane 2-3) -- and that sluggish feeling is what reminded me that I need to TAPER. It took a long time, about 20 mins from the start, to really feel like running. Again, I think the hearty meal I eat beforehand plays a role in this.
I realized while running this morning that I really do want to take Sunday's race seriously, so TAPER DAMMIT!
Yesterday I took Frea to the bike shop for a pre-race and to figure out the squeaking I heard. I know she needed a good cleaning, and on top of that my ride in the rain a few weekends ago couldn't have done any favors. On top of that, the rear tire went flat again while racked! I was dismayed when the shop guy found simple things to fix like a loose bolt near the big ring and in particular the fact that the rear hub DID NOT SPIN FREE! This happened last year too I think, maybe even the year before? Spin the rear wheel and in quickly coasts to a STOP. Ugh!! On the plus side, it helps explain why this past weekends ride felt slower and harder than it should have? And I've been 'strength' training? Hehe, OK not really, but maybe.
Another bonus -- yesterday marked the 3rd day of my low FODMAP test. Yesterday was really the first day fully dedicated without any little-bit-here foods and I'm happy to report that whether by design or by coincidence, I didn't have any pain or bloat! I did however have to people with the animal facility comment on my shrinking size. And I did have a saleswomen look me over and decide I should try on 0 and 00 clothes. So a mixed bag, no, what am I saying?! I'm size ME. Whatever the number is, whatever other people note or think or say. I'm ME. If I'm happy and healthy, which I am, then so be it.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Them: 5x300. Me: 5x250. Humph.
SWIM about an hour, 2150y
The MS was 5x300, starting at Easy before going to Moderate, Moderate-Fast, then Race Pace twice. By the time TH, TD, and PT push off and I get started, TH is flipping at the other and already heading back. She laps me at my 125y mark, the others lap me at 150 or 175. I lose seconds waiting at the wall to let them go by, pushing me back more. At the end of my 250 they are done! If I were to do another 50 to hit the 300 goal, they'd have a minute rest. Then they'd be waiting on me, they'd be more rested, and I'd be more tired.
So I stop at 250. It sucks being the slower swimmer in the lane. But I'm so much faster than I used to be! I focus on that little speck of sunshine. (I also focus on enjoying the sunshine that comes through the pool's skylights, but that's another thing!).
We ended the MS with 4x25 sprints, NK had us do them together. Loved it!
Today starts a new nutrition test -- low FODMAP. I'm not eliminating just yet, just going low. I need to see if a few weeks of this resolves the chronic tummy pains and the less frequent horrible ones I get. At points over the weekend I realized I didn't have pains! Granted I'm eating more easily digested foods and less veggies throughout the day. Another potential cause is work stress, maybe that's why this weekend felt OK? It's a test, I gotta do something.
The MS was 5x300, starting at Easy before going to Moderate, Moderate-Fast, then Race Pace twice. By the time TH, TD, and PT push off and I get started, TH is flipping at the other and already heading back. She laps me at my 125y mark, the others lap me at 150 or 175. I lose seconds waiting at the wall to let them go by, pushing me back more. At the end of my 250 they are done! If I were to do another 50 to hit the 300 goal, they'd have a minute rest. Then they'd be waiting on me, they'd be more rested, and I'd be more tired.
So I stop at 250. It sucks being the slower swimmer in the lane. But I'm so much faster than I used to be! I focus on that little speck of sunshine. (I also focus on enjoying the sunshine that comes through the pool's skylights, but that's another thing!).
We ended the MS with 4x25 sprints, NK had us do them together. Loved it!
Today starts a new nutrition test -- low FODMAP. I'm not eliminating just yet, just going low. I need to see if a few weeks of this resolves the chronic tummy pains and the less frequent horrible ones I get. At points over the weekend I realized I didn't have pains! Granted I'm eating more easily digested foods and less veggies throughout the day. Another potential cause is work stress, maybe that's why this weekend felt OK? It's a test, I gotta do something.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Matson Hill trail run and Katy ride
RUN 1:58 and 9.6 miles, trails!
BIKE 1:00 and 14.6 miles, Katy!
Finally got back to trails this weekend, I can't do it every time I have a long run but I will certainly look for this option to break up the monotony. It's disappointing to run 2 hours and see only 9.6 miles (I really wanted to run another 0.4!) but the heart rate changes, hills, and thinking required to stay upright change the game up for a long run. Besides, I got to run with TV, something I've missed!
To make the day work for both of us, we picked a site that I could bike afterwards. Puppy came along for a post-run ride, while TV kept running. Goal and goal!
I was tired after yesterday's long ride, but a lot of that was in my head. My pushed hydration and recovery meals kept me rolling through the afternoon and I think I did pretty good in terms of staying awake and having energy :)
One of my goals set last week was to start hitting the hours ratio in the training plan. Sometimes I go way too high on one sport, then way too low on another. I know every week will be different, that races and events will tip the balance, etc, but I just wanted to keep the numbers at least in mind. Here's the outcome, not too bad:
Swim: goal 3 hours, did 3:22 and 8100y
Bike: goal 7 hours, did 8:23 and 138.2 miles
Run: goal 5 hours, did 4:30 and 27.40 miles
Total of 16:15 hours, goal was 15-something. Again, not bad!
Next week is a recovery week heading into the Cutting Edge race. So Rest and Taper!
BIKE 1:00 and 14.6 miles, Katy!
Finally got back to trails this weekend, I can't do it every time I have a long run but I will certainly look for this option to break up the monotony. It's disappointing to run 2 hours and see only 9.6 miles (I really wanted to run another 0.4!) but the heart rate changes, hills, and thinking required to stay upright change the game up for a long run. Besides, I got to run with TV, something I've missed!
To make the day work for both of us, we picked a site that I could bike afterwards. Puppy came along for a post-run ride, while TV kept running. Goal and goal!
I was tired after yesterday's long ride, but a lot of that was in my head. My pushed hydration and recovery meals kept me rolling through the afternoon and I think I did pretty good in terms of staying awake and having energy :)
One of my goals set last week was to start hitting the hours ratio in the training plan. Sometimes I go way too high on one sport, then way too low on another. I know every week will be different, that races and events will tip the balance, etc, but I just wanted to keep the numbers at least in mind. Here's the outcome, not too bad:
Swim: goal 3 hours, did 3:22 and 8100y
Bike: goal 7 hours, did 8:23 and 138.2 miles
Run: goal 5 hours, did 4:30 and 27.40 miles
Total of 16:15 hours, goal was 15-something. Again, not bad!
Next week is a recovery week heading into the Cutting Edge race. So Rest and Taper!
Saturday, June 14, 2014
The goal was a 5-hour ride with F-F-F-R-E-A (so fancy!)
BIKE 5hrs and 84 miles, Columbia to Valmeyer to Millstadt towards Freeburg
RUN 30 mins and 3 miles, run/walk brick
Completely different start from last week, when I was running late and pained due to stomach problems. No such today, all is well! My plan was a solo ride, so I felt bad when RM contacted me about meeting up this morning. I did want to see him, but I knew that if I did I would have a different day. I'd talk all morning and start late, or change my route to ride with him for awhile, or something. I felt like a meanie, but it also felt kinda good to just stick to what I wanted to do without having to hurry to a group meet-up, to take into account someone else's goals, and get off track of my plans. Also, it is our wedding anniversary and two friends (JM+AB) were having their wedding reception later today. So I had to stick to schedule.
I started about 15 mins later than planned, then had a flat rear tire at 4.5 miles. Right out in the middle of nowhere on Levee Rd. Not even a tree to lean Frea against. Since I was still in WU, this went pretty slick. I stayed methodical -- take water bottles out, take wheel off, unpack tools, check everything, take the time -- and although I didn't time it I don't think it took too long. Another ride that I'd passed earlier stopped to check on me and talk. Happily he didn't offer to help, I take that as a sign that he saw me as a competent chick :) He was riding "south", love it, just "south".
I used and out-n-back to Valmeyer to add the needed distance to my Freeeeebuuuuuurg route, but was surprised to see 26 miles and 90 mins when I got back to the Bottom Road. Did I miscalculate the distances? This was the start of hours of this-plus-that-minus-those mental machinations. I wanted to be home by 2pm when DH planned to be home. My math can be bad under normal circumstances! On the bike, even worse!
I decided to head to Millstadt and re-evaluate the plan. On the way, The Blerch said I could just do easy out-n-backs to Valmeyer, and that 3 of those would be 90 miles. Damned Blerch, cuz that's so tempting! Flat, easy, known, other bikers to see -- but a strongish wind started out of the south/southeast and I wasn't interested in riding 15 miles into it just for some "easy" miles. Off to Millstadt.
I arrived at M at 42 miles and 2.5 hours. Half way done!!! After a seriously needed pee, I texted DH my change in plans: riding the needed miles towards Freeeeebuuuuurg then turning around. That route would put me into the headwind off and on, with the trees and turns and hills to break it up. I wasn't excited about the hills ( looking back, that should have been my first sign up energy problems) but HTFU Bee and get riding!
As I headed to the Zingg hill turn my garmin said 42 miles. DAMMIT I forgot to start it again. How much time and mileage did I miss? More mental math nagging. In the end, riding 10 miles out towards Freeburg dang near took me to Freeburg, and maybe sticking to the original route would have ended in the same numbers. Either way, I rode out further on a new road and hit the turn-around at 3hrs and 50 miles. I had something caught in the back of my throat which left me coughing and trying to hack it up. A bug? One of those feathery seeds the trees release? Just some mower dust? This was the start of a low point in the ride.
From 3hr to 3.5 hours my mental energy started to tank. Why? More mental math. Was it the nutrition missed during the accumulated time from the flat tire and from the garmin stop? Didn't matter now, all I knew was I had to just STOP and refuel and recharge. I pulled over to nom a powerbar and water...gave myself a few mins to get collected...then took off again. Sure enough, I started feeling better. I need to really review my nutrition plan for the bike, see below for summary.
The next 1.5 hours went better than expected, considering that there were many points at which I worried about not hitting the 5hr goal. I rode the "skipped" section to Millstadt to measure the time and distance (roughly 3 miles and 12 mins) then cut short on Mule Rd, thinking I could bypass the long southern head-winded sections I rode out on, and instead come home via Cherry Hill. Turns out Mule didn't go where I thought it did! Oops! And Oops again when I came to a bad stop at the bottom of a hill and hit the pedal into the back of my right Achilles. But lucky me, Mule dumped me just south of IMBS. Unlucky me, that meant I had those long head-winded sections to ride. In the end, they weren't so bad! Rode home, felt good, packed up, got in the truck, and .... skipped the run!? Nah, I ran it at home so I could be home when DH arrived. I got 3 miles of super tired but finished brick running. Whoop!
Other random points: On the drive home I heard the Fancy song again, now it's stuck in my head, might have to get added to the songlist. And Frea really needs to get to Big Shark, she squeaked and creaked most all of this ride. The only advantage to the headwind was that I couldn't hear that as much in those sections. Oh and she needs a cleaning, the brakes were awful after last weekends rain. Oh and the rear tire was flat again by the time I got home!!! I had a lucky ride I guess!
Today's biking goals were: steady energy, no pained feet, and nailed nutrition. I hit only 1 of 3, the feets.
Bike nutrition summary:
PreWO: 2 eggs, sweet potato, banana. Trying to eat less here to avoid the carb-crash and heavy stomach.
In Ride: 4oz EFS, 300 cals of InfinIT, 1 powerbar. Didn't finish the extra Powerbar and 200 cals of InfinIT. Total of ~900 calories. That's about right for a 4 HOUR RIDE! More below...
Ride-Run gap: banana (instead of another gel)
Run: nothing
PostWO: yummy sweet potato, date, protein powder blend.
A few weekends in a row now of bad bike nutrition, what's going on? Today's plan was top of the hour a shot of InfinIT, bottom of the hours EFS or Powerbar. It just didn't satisfy me, I kept wanting more. The 5x bottle of InfinIT isn't consumed as quickly as it might be when it's in the aerobottle? But to do that I'd have to drink a LOT of water, not the best plan either. The InfinIT 5x tastes like nothing, so that's not the problem. Or is it? If I'm not satisfied, maybe a shot of weakly flavored water just disappoints me?
My over goal is about 250 calories/hour on the bike. I'm pretty sure that's what I did in 2012. What's failing me now? Probably I'm wrong to think that because I ate a banana shortly before the ride I could skip the first hour of nutrition, so that's something to test. Don't skimp on the first hour?
Be thinking on this! Only a few more weeks to go.
RUN 30 mins and 3 miles, run/walk brick
Completely different start from last week, when I was running late and pained due to stomach problems. No such today, all is well! My plan was a solo ride, so I felt bad when RM contacted me about meeting up this morning. I did want to see him, but I knew that if I did I would have a different day. I'd talk all morning and start late, or change my route to ride with him for awhile, or something. I felt like a meanie, but it also felt kinda good to just stick to what I wanted to do without having to hurry to a group meet-up, to take into account someone else's goals, and get off track of my plans. Also, it is our wedding anniversary and two friends (JM+AB) were having their wedding reception later today. So I had to stick to schedule.
I started about 15 mins later than planned, then had a flat rear tire at 4.5 miles. Right out in the middle of nowhere on Levee Rd. Not even a tree to lean Frea against. Since I was still in WU, this went pretty slick. I stayed methodical -- take water bottles out, take wheel off, unpack tools, check everything, take the time -- and although I didn't time it I don't think it took too long. Another ride that I'd passed earlier stopped to check on me and talk. Happily he didn't offer to help, I take that as a sign that he saw me as a competent chick :) He was riding "south", love it, just "south".
I used and out-n-back to Valmeyer to add the needed distance to my Freeeeebuuuuuurg route, but was surprised to see 26 miles and 90 mins when I got back to the Bottom Road. Did I miscalculate the distances? This was the start of hours of this-plus-that-minus-those mental machinations. I wanted to be home by 2pm when DH planned to be home. My math can be bad under normal circumstances! On the bike, even worse!
I decided to head to Millstadt and re-evaluate the plan. On the way, The Blerch said I could just do easy out-n-backs to Valmeyer, and that 3 of those would be 90 miles. Damned Blerch, cuz that's so tempting! Flat, easy, known, other bikers to see -- but a strongish wind started out of the south/southeast and I wasn't interested in riding 15 miles into it just for some "easy" miles. Off to Millstadt.
I arrived at M at 42 miles and 2.5 hours. Half way done!!! After a seriously needed pee, I texted DH my change in plans: riding the needed miles towards Freeeeebuuuuurg then turning around. That route would put me into the headwind off and on, with the trees and turns and hills to break it up. I wasn't excited about the hills ( looking back, that should have been my first sign up energy problems) but HTFU Bee and get riding!
As I headed to the Zingg hill turn my garmin said 42 miles. DAMMIT I forgot to start it again. How much time and mileage did I miss? More mental math nagging. In the end, riding 10 miles out towards Freeburg dang near took me to Freeburg, and maybe sticking to the original route would have ended in the same numbers. Either way, I rode out further on a new road and hit the turn-around at 3hrs and 50 miles. I had something caught in the back of my throat which left me coughing and trying to hack it up. A bug? One of those feathery seeds the trees release? Just some mower dust? This was the start of a low point in the ride.
From 3hr to 3.5 hours my mental energy started to tank. Why? More mental math. Was it the nutrition missed during the accumulated time from the flat tire and from the garmin stop? Didn't matter now, all I knew was I had to just STOP and refuel and recharge. I pulled over to nom a powerbar and water...gave myself a few mins to get collected...then took off again. Sure enough, I started feeling better. I need to really review my nutrition plan for the bike, see below for summary.
The next 1.5 hours went better than expected, considering that there were many points at which I worried about not hitting the 5hr goal. I rode the "skipped" section to Millstadt to measure the time and distance (roughly 3 miles and 12 mins) then cut short on Mule Rd, thinking I could bypass the long southern head-winded sections I rode out on, and instead come home via Cherry Hill. Turns out Mule didn't go where I thought it did! Oops! And Oops again when I came to a bad stop at the bottom of a hill and hit the pedal into the back of my right Achilles. But lucky me, Mule dumped me just south of IMBS. Unlucky me, that meant I had those long head-winded sections to ride. In the end, they weren't so bad! Rode home, felt good, packed up, got in the truck, and .... skipped the run!? Nah, I ran it at home so I could be home when DH arrived. I got 3 miles of super tired but finished brick running. Whoop!
Other random points: On the drive home I heard the Fancy song again, now it's stuck in my head, might have to get added to the songlist. And Frea really needs to get to Big Shark, she squeaked and creaked most all of this ride. The only advantage to the headwind was that I couldn't hear that as much in those sections. Oh and she needs a cleaning, the brakes were awful after last weekends rain. Oh and the rear tire was flat again by the time I got home!!! I had a lucky ride I guess!
Today's biking goals were: steady energy, no pained feet, and nailed nutrition. I hit only 1 of 3, the feets.
Bike nutrition summary:
PreWO: 2 eggs, sweet potato, banana. Trying to eat less here to avoid the carb-crash and heavy stomach.
In Ride: 4oz EFS, 300 cals of InfinIT, 1 powerbar. Didn't finish the extra Powerbar and 200 cals of InfinIT. Total of ~900 calories. That's about right for a 4 HOUR RIDE! More below...
Ride-Run gap: banana (instead of another gel)
Run: nothing
PostWO: yummy sweet potato, date, protein powder blend.
A few weekends in a row now of bad bike nutrition, what's going on? Today's plan was top of the hour a shot of InfinIT, bottom of the hours EFS or Powerbar. It just didn't satisfy me, I kept wanting more. The 5x bottle of InfinIT isn't consumed as quickly as it might be when it's in the aerobottle? But to do that I'd have to drink a LOT of water, not the best plan either. The InfinIT 5x tastes like nothing, so that's not the problem. Or is it? If I'm not satisfied, maybe a shot of weakly flavored water just disappoints me?
My over goal is about 250 calories/hour on the bike. I'm pretty sure that's what I did in 2012. What's failing me now? Probably I'm wrong to think that because I ate a banana shortly before the ride I could skip the first hour of nutrition, so that's something to test. Don't skimp on the first hour?
Be thinking on this! Only a few more weeks to go.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Back to back long swim
SWIM 72 mins and 3000y, 30x50
30x50 as
1-10 descending
11-19 kick/sprint
20-30 race pace
What was that I was saying yesterday about my "benchmark" 2500y/hr? That it could change? Yeah, I think it could. This is awesome!
I enjoyed this workout, but my excitement for it waxed and waned. Beforehand I was excited, for some reason it sounded short. In the midst of it, I was tired and wanted a way out. By the end I was happy again. That I wanted out or a shorter version is a good sign that it was hard :) IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE HARD! LOL.
Great day and great swim. I had back pains later at work in my lower back, probably from the back to back long swim. I'm funny sometimes in that I'll think "oh I shouldn't do big swims back to back" but I'll run or bike that way. Gotta get that script outta my head for swimming.
Friday the 13th AND a full moon. OOOOOoohhhhh!
30x50 as
1-10 descending
11-19 kick/sprint
20-30 race pace
What was that I was saying yesterday about my "benchmark" 2500y/hr? That it could change? Yeah, I think it could. This is awesome!
I enjoyed this workout, but my excitement for it waxed and waned. Beforehand I was excited, for some reason it sounded short. In the midst of it, I was tired and wanted a way out. By the end I was happy again. That I wanted out or a shorter version is a good sign that it was hard :) IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE HARD! LOL.
Great day and great swim. I had back pains later at work in my lower back, probably from the back to back long swim. I'm funny sometimes in that I'll think "oh I shouldn't do big swims back to back" but I'll run or bike that way. Gotta get that script outta my head for swimming.
Friday the 13th AND a full moon. OOOOOoohhhhh!
Thursday, June 12, 2014
No more straight sets!
RUN 6.7 miles in 53.5 mins, with sub-7 1 mile interval
SWIM 2900y in 75 mins, 2x 350-300-250 uptempo last 100 of each
Sticking to SM's advice, no more straight sets. LC had 2x 1 mile intervals at 7:15 so I decided to do those instead of my usual 9-10 miles steady. Granted, I'm doing these 9-10 miles at a good clip, but let's change it up! EK, BE, and DT were also there, great to see EK again and to see BE back running :)
In the first half mile, my right hip was having sharp pains. The kind that make you wobble in your step because they come so sharp and unexpected. I started to doubt the intervals...but kept at it...for better or worse and I was fine! This hip thing has been going between the left and right sides since the marathon a month ago. Not sure what it is.
LC picked the 3-ish mile mark for the first interval and we took off! I got into it and slowly pulled ahead, yelling back for the group. DT came up, we never got that far ahead but enough that I worried I wouldn't know when the mile ended. I didn't use my Garmin to mark it! She yelled up, I looped back for BE who skipped the interval (that's my extra 0.1 mile) and found that keeping BE's pace after the interval was tough! I wanted to slow down and "rest"! Yay for a challenge! This should become a regular part of the run :)
The swim was next, and after skipping Wednesday's swim I was determined to get this done. My goal was to pick up the last 100 of each of the intervals, and the plan said I could pull the second repeat. So I did :) I added some pieces in the WU and if had known I would have done another 100 to get an even 3000. Wasn't thinking, and had to get going to work.
I'm happy to see I'm hitting near 3000 y without being in the pool for so long. My benchmark 2500y/hr from the January postal swim might be updated were I to test it?
Oh, and my eye tick was back today. My stomach is doing OK, I'm still getting pains throughout the day. I'm seriously thinking about a low FODMAP test. Not the elimination, just going low. Lower, anyway.
SWIM 2900y in 75 mins, 2x 350-300-250 uptempo last 100 of each
Sticking to SM's advice, no more straight sets. LC had 2x 1 mile intervals at 7:15 so I decided to do those instead of my usual 9-10 miles steady. Granted, I'm doing these 9-10 miles at a good clip, but let's change it up! EK, BE, and DT were also there, great to see EK again and to see BE back running :)
In the first half mile, my right hip was having sharp pains. The kind that make you wobble in your step because they come so sharp and unexpected. I started to doubt the intervals...but kept at it...for better or worse and I was fine! This hip thing has been going between the left and right sides since the marathon a month ago. Not sure what it is.
LC picked the 3-ish mile mark for the first interval and we took off! I got into it and slowly pulled ahead, yelling back for the group. DT came up, we never got that far ahead but enough that I worried I wouldn't know when the mile ended. I didn't use my Garmin to mark it! She yelled up, I looped back for BE who skipped the interval (that's my extra 0.1 mile) and found that keeping BE's pace after the interval was tough! I wanted to slow down and "rest"! Yay for a challenge! This should become a regular part of the run :)
The swim was next, and after skipping Wednesday's swim I was determined to get this done. My goal was to pick up the last 100 of each of the intervals, and the plan said I could pull the second repeat. So I did :) I added some pieces in the WU and if had known I would have done another 100 to get an even 3000. Wasn't thinking, and had to get going to work.
I'm happy to see I'm hitting near 3000 y without being in the pool for so long. My benchmark 2500y/hr from the January postal swim might be updated were I to test it?
Oh, and my eye tick was back today. My stomach is doing OK, I'm still getting pains throughout the day. I'm seriously thinking about a low FODMAP test. Not the elimination, just going low. Lower, anyway.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Tired indoor bike, needed some inspiration
BIKE 25.5 miles in about 90 mins, indoors, 2x20 hard
SWIM just couldn't happen
My goal for the intervals was 20.4 mph, some magical number I came up with somehow, but I only hit 18.9 and 18.6. I think the same as last week with the same workout -- 6.3 miles in 20 mins. I watched Stargate again, maybe that's not inspiring enough?
What about that GULP feeling I get when I look at my training plan schedule in the color-coded spreadsheet. It's week #4 right now, I build until #9...GULP...WHAT?!?!? Only a few weekends left. Well, kinda. After #9 I plateau for 3 weeks at 15.5 hrs/week, then taper 2 weeks. OK that helps, but only somewhat.
I've been looking forward to the set-in of iron fatigue. That brainless, oh-god-let-me-sleep feeling I always get. No, really, looking for it! It means I'm working hard! I think I'm getting there? Or maybe it's the fact that I let myself stay up late (930pm) last night and was up at 430am today...I need to NOT do that. The fatigue will get here soon enough.
In the meantime, or until then, I need to be planning these last crucial weekends and setting goals especially on the bike where I feel like I'm lagging the most in progress. Let's take a look, am I?
So I'm on track for hours, time to start nailing specific goals for mileage, nutrition, and race rehearsals. Things aren't so bad or so behind just yet :) But iron time FLIES!
SWIM just couldn't happen
My goal for the intervals was 20.4 mph, some magical number I came up with somehow, but I only hit 18.9 and 18.6. I think the same as last week with the same workout -- 6.3 miles in 20 mins. I watched Stargate again, maybe that's not inspiring enough?
What about that GULP feeling I get when I look at my training plan schedule in the color-coded spreadsheet. It's week #4 right now, I build until #9...GULP...WHAT?!?!? Only a few weekends left. Well, kinda. After #9 I plateau for 3 weeks at 15.5 hrs/week, then taper 2 weeks. OK that helps, but only somewhat.
I've been looking forward to the set-in of iron fatigue. That brainless, oh-god-let-me-sleep feeling I always get. No, really, looking for it! It means I'm working hard! I think I'm getting there? Or maybe it's the fact that I let myself stay up late (930pm) last night and was up at 430am today...I need to NOT do that. The fatigue will get here soon enough.
In the meantime, or until then, I need to be planning these last crucial weekends and setting goals especially on the bike where I feel like I'm lagging the most in progress. Let's take a look, am I?
| Weekly Hours | Long Ride | ||||||
| Planned | Actual | Planned | Actual | Other events | Plans | ||
| 5/19/14 | 1 | 13.5 | 14.6 | 65 miles F-burg | |||
| 5/26/14 | 2 | 15.3 | 15 | 54 miles I-brook | |||
| 6/2/14 | 3 | 14.75 | 13.6 | 76 miles | Swim The Sun | ||
| 6/9/14 | 4 | 15.25 | |||||
| 6/16/14 | 5 | 12 | CE race, rest | Cutting Edge and rest | |||
| 6/23/14 | 6 | 17 | CIOWS | Ride around Bloomington after swim | |||
| 6/30/14 | 7 | 18.3 | 10K run Friday | ||||
| 7/7/14 | 8 | 17 | 55x2 Big Bottle Ride | ||||
| 7/14/14 | 9 | 19 | |||||
| 7/21/14 | 10 | 15.5 | |||||
| 7/28/14 | 11 | 15.5 | 112mi Wolf Ride; 54x2 Augustfest ride | ||||
| 8/4/14 | 12 | 15.5 | 50x2 I Scream Ride | ||||
| 8/11/14 | T | ||||||
| 8/18/14 | T+RACE | MICHIGAN TITANIUM | |||||
So I'm on track for hours, time to start nailing specific goals for mileage, nutrition, and race rehearsals. Things aren't so bad or so behind just yet :) But iron time FLIES!
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Run, Ride, Rain
RUN 8.1 miles in 67 mins, 10x600m averaged 6:42 min/mile
RIDE 14 miles in 53 mins, loops in TGP and inbound commute
RAIN ok kidding there, my homebound commute was rained out
I was looking forward to this run! 10x 600 at 85+% sounded like fun. Maybe because 600's sound short? Because 10 doesn't sound like that many intervals? We had lots of rain last night so everything was humid and wet, the sky was pretty with heavy clouds, and the sun only had a few moments of shine.
But when I got to the track, fatigue started to take over a little. The first interval was a 2:31. I didn't know what pace that was? BE ran the 2nd and 3rd with me, then I was on my one. I held that pace pretty constant for all 10, ranging between 2:29 and 2:36.
Thing is, it just didn't feel fast! It felt sluggish, I didn't have that spinny feeling like I had a few sessions ago, where I felt like "if only my legs could turnover faster". I started having more fun as the intervals continued, I was enjoying them :)
I just checked McMillan, no 600 interval calculator for 600's. Nuts. But looking at last week's 1000 time of 4:05, it's not impressive! A 6:56 mile, a 50:05 10K, a 3:54 marathon! WORK MORE.
The ride was about half an hour later, I rode to work and did 3 loops in TGP at a pushed pace, then rode to work. I only got an hour done before work, and although I knew it could rain I secretly hoped I could get more riding in after work. Nope. Rain! DH have me a ride home. We left Puppy in his office, all night I'm gonna wonder if the bike is safe! It's not the 1:40 workout the plan called for, I'll just tack on the extra time in the weekend long ride.
RIDE 14 miles in 53 mins, loops in TGP and inbound commute
RAIN ok kidding there, my homebound commute was rained out
I was looking forward to this run! 10x 600 at 85+% sounded like fun. Maybe because 600's sound short? Because 10 doesn't sound like that many intervals? We had lots of rain last night so everything was humid and wet, the sky was pretty with heavy clouds, and the sun only had a few moments of shine.
But when I got to the track, fatigue started to take over a little. The first interval was a 2:31. I didn't know what pace that was? BE ran the 2nd and 3rd with me, then I was on my one. I held that pace pretty constant for all 10, ranging between 2:29 and 2:36.
Thing is, it just didn't feel fast! It felt sluggish, I didn't have that spinny feeling like I had a few sessions ago, where I felt like "if only my legs could turnover faster". I started having more fun as the intervals continued, I was enjoying them :)
I just checked McMillan, no 600 interval calculator for 600's. Nuts. But looking at last week's 1000 time of 4:05, it's not impressive! A 6:56 mile, a 50:05 10K, a 3:54 marathon! WORK MORE.
The ride was about half an hour later, I rode to work and did 3 loops in TGP at a pushed pace, then rode to work. I only got an hour done before work, and although I knew it could rain I secretly hoped I could get more riding in after work. Nope. Rain! DH have me a ride home. We left Puppy in his office, all night I'm gonna wonder if the bike is safe! It's not the 1:40 workout the plan called for, I'll just tack on the extra time in the weekend long ride.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Evolve swim and post OWS analysis
SWIM 55 mins and 2200y I think
COMMUTE 6 miles on Puppy
When TH said goodbye yesterday and added "see you at the swim tomorrow morning" I groaned and got to wondering how I'd feel then! A hard swimming following my 2.1 mile race, hoo boy. So I was happy to find I was moving OK this morning, and even happier to find I had some great swimming in me! No tired arms, no achy back (that didn't happen until I put on a backpack and rode a bike...), and good energy.
The main sets were a 400 and 300 and 200, each having the last 100 at an uptempo pace. It was hard to find that pace, took extra energy, but I got it done. I even timed a few of the fast 100's (not the 100's is above sets) at 1:45! I think that's a PR, I don't clock those very often.
Later in the day I got to researching some sources of my questions and problems yesterday. One at a time.
The pain in my throat. Still there when I eat, although not as bad and getting better. It's focused down in my esophagus, like where the collarbones meet in the middle of my chest. TH had the best suggestion for this one -- my wetsuit is too tight at the neck. It is very snug! And the location of the pain pretty much matches. How to fix that?!
Another option could be using different muscles because I was sighting, but when I stretch my neck right now I don't feel pain.
Another option for this pain is gasping for air and taxing the esophageal muscles. See more below.
The inhaled air. Ugh, I think I had this at IM CDA, I get this in the pool in long hard sets, and now again here. I'm sure many other races could be added to that list. Some reading on the internets revealed what was a common sense answer -- I'm swallowing air -- but I did find a more mechanistic explanation too. When you gasp air, and especially when you gasp in volumes exceeding that of lung capacity, the excess air can go to the stomach. When you exhale, the lung air is expelled first and not so much of the stomach air. Gasping, holding your breath, and staying underwater too long all contribute. I was was gasping early in the swim after inhaling and sputtering on water a few times! And it took some time before the first buoy to settle into a rhythm for the swim.
How to build on success so far. I asked swim coach SM how to take this to the next level. She said I "no more straight sets for you", and "initially we get fast from gaining endurance. You are past that now. Now you add work to all sets". This is some of the best advice I've received!
Sounds familiar, that's what I did this morning!! And I see a potential haiku I could make from her advice.
COMMUTE 6 miles on Puppy
When TH said goodbye yesterday and added "see you at the swim tomorrow morning" I groaned and got to wondering how I'd feel then! A hard swimming following my 2.1 mile race, hoo boy. So I was happy to find I was moving OK this morning, and even happier to find I had some great swimming in me! No tired arms, no achy back (that didn't happen until I put on a backpack and rode a bike...), and good energy.
The main sets were a 400 and 300 and 200, each having the last 100 at an uptempo pace. It was hard to find that pace, took extra energy, but I got it done. I even timed a few of the fast 100's (not the 100's is above sets) at 1:45! I think that's a PR, I don't clock those very often.
Later in the day I got to researching some sources of my questions and problems yesterday. One at a time.
The pain in my throat. Still there when I eat, although not as bad and getting better. It's focused down in my esophagus, like where the collarbones meet in the middle of my chest. TH had the best suggestion for this one -- my wetsuit is too tight at the neck. It is very snug! And the location of the pain pretty much matches. How to fix that?!
Another option could be using different muscles because I was sighting, but when I stretch my neck right now I don't feel pain.
Another option for this pain is gasping for air and taxing the esophageal muscles. See more below.
The inhaled air. Ugh, I think I had this at IM CDA, I get this in the pool in long hard sets, and now again here. I'm sure many other races could be added to that list. Some reading on the internets revealed what was a common sense answer -- I'm swallowing air -- but I did find a more mechanistic explanation too. When you gasp air, and especially when you gasp in volumes exceeding that of lung capacity, the excess air can go to the stomach. When you exhale, the lung air is expelled first and not so much of the stomach air. Gasping, holding your breath, and staying underwater too long all contribute. I was was gasping early in the swim after inhaling and sputtering on water a few times! And it took some time before the first buoy to settle into a rhythm for the swim.
How to build on success so far. I asked swim coach SM how to take this to the next level. She said I "no more straight sets for you", and "initially we get fast from gaining endurance. You are past that now. Now you add work to all sets". This is some of the best advice I've received!
Sounds familiar, that's what I did this morning!! And I see a potential haiku I could make from her advice.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Swim The Sun 2.1 miles: My first OWS race and a PR!
SWIM: 2.1 miles in 1:11 a pace of 1:55 min/100yard!
RUN was gonna
Holy SH!T do you see that! I hope to G0D that course was accurate because that is an AWESOME number I'd like to bank on. Perfect day aside from the cool mid-60s air temps. Cloudy, warm water in the mid-70s, great friends, wonderful!
A group of four of us drove down: TH, BE, and VT. Only BE and I were doing the 2 miler, and the only SUCKAS with wetsuits. It was a small race, only 70-80 people, and it was sure a different crowd than we're used to. There were a lot of triathletes, but more swimmers I think. They looked so smooth and easy in their warmups!
The 5K went off first, then us. In the 10 minutes between our waves I started fidgeting with my goggles, and managed to get sunscreen on them. They were so smeared and fogged I couldn't see the buoys. I ran out of the water, grabbed a paper towel, wiped them out, and luckily cleared them. Yay! That would have been tough, as the big triangle course only had 3 buoys and from the beach they looked really far away from each other.
It was an in-water start, and with our small field there was only a few bumps with others as we started. I settled in fast, the only issue being that I kept inhaling little splashes of water. This normally freaks me out, and I stop to bob and make sure I'm OK. I moved on without stopping, minor sputtering. But what also happened in the first buoys was that I seemed to inhale some water! I got the urge to burp and had an uncomfortable pressure on the back of my throat. Once I settled in, the splashing stopped and I was mindful of not swallowing. I didn't think I was swallowing air, but I must have been?
First turn, everything is feeling good. Some chop to the second turn, all still good. My new suit was feeling good, and sometimes when my arm extended a cool rush of water would flood the suit and hit near my legs. The water was comfortably warm, but I was still glad to have the suit. Third turn and back to the start! I didn't check my time, we didn't really pass through the start zone to mark a lap time anyway.
The second loop went surprisingly great. I'm usually tired, frustrated, distracted by now. But I just kept my nose to the water and kept it turning over. Some things I did note: I could site without a full stop, instead I peaked fast and just noted the buoy or tree super fast. If I needed another look I waited a few strokes before peaking again. I was swimming remarkably straight and didn't need much course correction. I didn't kick much, knowing that my kick increased my arm cross-over, so I just ruddered a bit and stretched now and then to prevent cramps (didn't have those at all today). I did a great job using the tree lines to site instead of the far-off buoys. I picked a dip in the line, a tall tree, anything that helped decrease the amount of head lift. This is likely a major factor in my time improvement -- I used to have to near stop to site and correct my direction. Instead today I only full-stopped a handful of times to check my course and re-assure myself.
So between the Evolve improvements and the above notes, I totally PR'd!! If I can swim this in an iron distance race, I'd swim a 1:21, a TWENTY MINUTE IMPROVEMENT!
There's another swim race coming up in a few weeks, I was waiting to register until this race, and now I think I really need to do it. I need to work on that back-of-the-throat discomfort as that plagued me the rest of the day. Did I swallow a bunch of air? I did that in IMCDA, passed lots of it in the bike (hehe) and did pass some throughout the rest of today. Something to fix, as I can't have that discomfort on top of everything else at MiTi!
RUN was gonna
Holy SH!T do you see that! I hope to G0D that course was accurate because that is an AWESOME number I'd like to bank on. Perfect day aside from the cool mid-60s air temps. Cloudy, warm water in the mid-70s, great friends, wonderful!
A group of four of us drove down: TH, BE, and VT. Only BE and I were doing the 2 miler, and the only SUCKAS with wetsuits. It was a small race, only 70-80 people, and it was sure a different crowd than we're used to. There were a lot of triathletes, but more swimmers I think. They looked so smooth and easy in their warmups!
The 5K went off first, then us. In the 10 minutes between our waves I started fidgeting with my goggles, and managed to get sunscreen on them. They were so smeared and fogged I couldn't see the buoys. I ran out of the water, grabbed a paper towel, wiped them out, and luckily cleared them. Yay! That would have been tough, as the big triangle course only had 3 buoys and from the beach they looked really far away from each other.
It was an in-water start, and with our small field there was only a few bumps with others as we started. I settled in fast, the only issue being that I kept inhaling little splashes of water. This normally freaks me out, and I stop to bob and make sure I'm OK. I moved on without stopping, minor sputtering. But what also happened in the first buoys was that I seemed to inhale some water! I got the urge to burp and had an uncomfortable pressure on the back of my throat. Once I settled in, the splashing stopped and I was mindful of not swallowing. I didn't think I was swallowing air, but I must have been?
First turn, everything is feeling good. Some chop to the second turn, all still good. My new suit was feeling good, and sometimes when my arm extended a cool rush of water would flood the suit and hit near my legs. The water was comfortably warm, but I was still glad to have the suit. Third turn and back to the start! I didn't check my time, we didn't really pass through the start zone to mark a lap time anyway.
The second loop went surprisingly great. I'm usually tired, frustrated, distracted by now. But I just kept my nose to the water and kept it turning over. Some things I did note: I could site without a full stop, instead I peaked fast and just noted the buoy or tree super fast. If I needed another look I waited a few strokes before peaking again. I was swimming remarkably straight and didn't need much course correction. I didn't kick much, knowing that my kick increased my arm cross-over, so I just ruddered a bit and stretched now and then to prevent cramps (didn't have those at all today). I did a great job using the tree lines to site instead of the far-off buoys. I picked a dip in the line, a tall tree, anything that helped decrease the amount of head lift. This is likely a major factor in my time improvement -- I used to have to near stop to site and correct my direction. Instead today I only full-stopped a handful of times to check my course and re-assure myself.
So between the Evolve improvements and the above notes, I totally PR'd!! If I can swim this in an iron distance race, I'd swim a 1:21, a TWENTY MINUTE IMPROVEMENT!
There's another swim race coming up in a few weeks, I was waiting to register until this race, and now I think I really need to do it. I need to work on that back-of-the-throat discomfort as that plagued me the rest of the day. Did I swallow a bunch of air? I did that in IMCDA, passed lots of it in the bike (hehe) and did pass some throughout the rest of today. Something to fix, as I can't have that discomfort on top of everything else at MiTi!
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Me and my Go-jus bike go fer a long ride!
BIKE 4:20 and 76.4 miles
RUN 29 mins and 3.1 miles
The good and the bad!
In the first few miles another rider called Frea "gorgeous". I saw a fox, multiple deer, pheasant, a hummingbird, turtles, another Club member (sticker on a car), a few other riders, storm clouds, cooling rain, and roads I haven't seen in two years.
But I also had bad stomach pains, got a late start, didn't eat enough, ... that's all the bad! That's not too bad, is it! :)
I woke up with more tummy pains, the same that started Thursday and continued through Friday. I'm still not sure what's causing this! I waited as long as I could for things to...pass...they only kinda did so I gave up and left.
I really had some doubts about being able to do this ride. In the first 9 miles of the MCT I faced a headwind, which put my head a little negative and I was turning over the options: ride out 20 miles, turn around, repeat for 80 miles? Ride out 10 miles, then go back and forth. Ugh, boring but safe. The pain would come and go, so I had moments of happiness. With that in mind, I took off on the off-trail. And to my total surprise, the mental distractions of the pains left as soon as I hit the road. Was the trail too boring, not enough stimulation? Either way, I was getting happier.
I once again struggled to plan my ride nutrition, but here's what I packed and planned for: 500 calories of InfinIT in a 5-serving marked concentrate bottle, 3 gels, and a powerbar: 500+330+250=1080. Or 225ish calories per hour. I had extra gels and bars, thinking that wasn't enough. And instead of putting the InfinIT in the aerobottle, I left it on the diamond cage, putting water instead to the aerobottle.
But with my pains I wasn't interested in food. I was interested in the powerbar, but that was about it. I had a big brekkie, so the first hour. About 80 mins in, I stopped to eat and set a plan of 1 serving of InfinIT and either half a bar or a gel per hour, alternating them. I didn't stick to this plan well at all.
I loved the ride! There were times I was happy to be alone, I was realizing the stress of minding other riders -- whether they were on course, so I need to speed up or slow down, who is riding too close to me -- this was surprisingly nice. I didn't get too bored either, at one point I was even singing my Roar song. Outloud, of course :) I also did some investigative work, looking at other sections of the MCT and thinking about extensions and potential shortcuts because someday I think this would make for a great multidistance group ride.
Other concerns I had about this ride was my feet and/or my butt hurting. These are things I have troubles with early in the season as I get used to things. My feet tend to hurt when pushing into a headwind too, and I've been doing that for a good number of miles now. The next concern was the incoming storms. When I reached Edwardsville, the darkening sky couldn't be ignored. By now I was back on the MCT which I knew were safer, shielded from the wind, and had places for shelter if needed. The radar map made it look threatening, but the sky didn't. I decided to keep riding, I was only 25 miles out, I figured I could get to 20 or 15 before getting wet. I did get 5 or so miles closer when it started, and only then did it cross my mind that hail could be on the front! There wasn't, luckily. And it never rained that hard! Instead it was like a jungle rain, quiet, wet, whisper of rain. It cleared up soon enough and I was done!
Now for the brick run. The plan was 3 miles, but with my stomach pains I didn't think I could do it. The last 20 or so miles of the ride The Blerch starting talking about skipping the run. But The Bee said to just go for 5 mins out...I ran last week at Innsbrook...I ran with JZ in Columbia...I CAN DO THIS!!!! The Bee won! I took off not feeling great, but no stomach problems. I ran 1 mile, walked 1 minute, repeated. I did it, and doing a better pace than expected!
The run suffered from poor nutrition though. In the end I only consumed the powerbar and two servings of InfinIT on the ride! I felt mostly OK except I didn't have the motivation to run. That will NOT fly on race day. This HAS TO IMPROVE.
RUN 29 mins and 3.1 miles
The good and the bad!
In the first few miles another rider called Frea "gorgeous". I saw a fox, multiple deer, pheasant, a hummingbird, turtles, another Club member (sticker on a car), a few other riders, storm clouds, cooling rain, and roads I haven't seen in two years.
But I also had bad stomach pains, got a late start, didn't eat enough, ... that's all the bad! That's not too bad, is it! :)
I woke up with more tummy pains, the same that started Thursday and continued through Friday. I'm still not sure what's causing this! I waited as long as I could for things to...pass...they only kinda did so I gave up and left.
I really had some doubts about being able to do this ride. In the first 9 miles of the MCT I faced a headwind, which put my head a little negative and I was turning over the options: ride out 20 miles, turn around, repeat for 80 miles? Ride out 10 miles, then go back and forth. Ugh, boring but safe. The pain would come and go, so I had moments of happiness. With that in mind, I took off on the off-trail. And to my total surprise, the mental distractions of the pains left as soon as I hit the road. Was the trail too boring, not enough stimulation? Either way, I was getting happier.
I once again struggled to plan my ride nutrition, but here's what I packed and planned for: 500 calories of InfinIT in a 5-serving marked concentrate bottle, 3 gels, and a powerbar: 500+330+250=1080. Or 225ish calories per hour. I had extra gels and bars, thinking that wasn't enough. And instead of putting the InfinIT in the aerobottle, I left it on the diamond cage, putting water instead to the aerobottle.
But with my pains I wasn't interested in food. I was interested in the powerbar, but that was about it. I had a big brekkie, so the first hour. About 80 mins in, I stopped to eat and set a plan of 1 serving of InfinIT and either half a bar or a gel per hour, alternating them. I didn't stick to this plan well at all.
I loved the ride! There were times I was happy to be alone, I was realizing the stress of minding other riders -- whether they were on course, so I need to speed up or slow down, who is riding too close to me -- this was surprisingly nice. I didn't get too bored either, at one point I was even singing my Roar song. Outloud, of course :) I also did some investigative work, looking at other sections of the MCT and thinking about extensions and potential shortcuts because someday I think this would make for a great multidistance group ride.
Other concerns I had about this ride was my feet and/or my butt hurting. These are things I have troubles with early in the season as I get used to things. My feet tend to hurt when pushing into a headwind too, and I've been doing that for a good number of miles now. The next concern was the incoming storms. When I reached Edwardsville, the darkening sky couldn't be ignored. By now I was back on the MCT which I knew were safer, shielded from the wind, and had places for shelter if needed. The radar map made it look threatening, but the sky didn't. I decided to keep riding, I was only 25 miles out, I figured I could get to 20 or 15 before getting wet. I did get 5 or so miles closer when it started, and only then did it cross my mind that hail could be on the front! There wasn't, luckily. And it never rained that hard! Instead it was like a jungle rain, quiet, wet, whisper of rain. It cleared up soon enough and I was done!
Now for the brick run. The plan was 3 miles, but with my stomach pains I didn't think I could do it. The last 20 or so miles of the ride The Blerch starting talking about skipping the run. But The Bee said to just go for 5 mins out...I ran last week at Innsbrook...I ran with JZ in Columbia...I CAN DO THIS!!!! The Bee won! I took off not feeling great, but no stomach problems. I ran 1 mile, walked 1 minute, repeated. I did it, and doing a better pace than expected!
The run suffered from poor nutrition though. In the end I only consumed the powerbar and two servings of InfinIT on the ride! I felt mostly OK except I didn't have the motivation to run. That will NOT fly on race day. This HAS TO IMPROVE.
Friday, June 6, 2014
Energetic morning. And a review of 4 years ago in June.
SWIM 1500y in 35 mins, 2x[3x150] varying 150's
The plan called for 4x but I did what I had time for. It's DH's last day off in a 2 week rest, so I offered a plan of going to the gym then the City Diner for brekkie. I'm feeling awesome so far all morning! Is it those magical energy shakes!? ;)
Tomorrow I'm planning a long bike ride, I feel like I'm behind on my bike distances. I was going to run with TV, but plans keep changing at home. With DH at work, and the Potosi swim race on Sunday, and stuff to do, I'm crunched a bit. So the plan for now is see what (if any) contractors want or need access tomorrow morning, then head out for a solo long ride.
My plan for this year was to alternate group and solo rides. Both have pros and cons, and usually I tend towards group rides. But races aren't group rides! I need to practice my own pace and motivating. Hence a long solo ride tomorrow. I've already turned down a hills fest with LC, but it was "only" 50 miles long. I need more miles , butI don't need hills.
I got to wondering at what point in previous years I've started aiming for century distances. The easiest comparison is IMWI 2010, which was only 2 weeks later in the year than MiTi. So I pulled out the printed blog book and started looking for my "where was I at 4 years ago" answers. I couldn't find the exact week because I was calculating wrong...but in my brief summary I was surprised, somewhat disappointed too. I found a 1 mile TT test coming in around 6:30. That I was running the Thursday group runs at about the same pace now (huge difference though in effort, in 2010 I was writing about lots of effort and fatigue to hit that pace), and a lot of missed swims.
I had to do some more advanced (web) calculating this morning to find the week in question. Turns out "now" for 2010 was around June 24th. I had just raced Kansas, recovered, then went home for a weekend, so it won't be too easy to draw parallels, but I'll find what I can. So where was I?
I was thinking that I was a more efficient runner at a faster pace. The next Thursday I did a PR paced loop of the park: 12.4 miles in 1:40! A few days after that I rode 110 miles, my first 100+ ride, on July 3rd.
Should I take this to mean that in the next week or so I should be doing a century? So far this year I've been doing only 50-65 milers. Yes most certainly I need to bump it up! But not too fast, er, too soon I mean. Go as fast as you can! But not too quickly! ;)
And just as importantly, I need to start nailing my bike nutrition. This is week 3 of 9 in the Build phase, by now I should have things in place but judging by last weekend my bike nutrition is still weak. And not surprisingly, I was voicing similar concerns 4 years ago!
The plan called for 4x but I did what I had time for. It's DH's last day off in a 2 week rest, so I offered a plan of going to the gym then the City Diner for brekkie. I'm feeling awesome so far all morning! Is it those magical energy shakes!? ;)
Tomorrow I'm planning a long bike ride, I feel like I'm behind on my bike distances. I was going to run with TV, but plans keep changing at home. With DH at work, and the Potosi swim race on Sunday, and stuff to do, I'm crunched a bit. So the plan for now is see what (if any) contractors want or need access tomorrow morning, then head out for a solo long ride.
My plan for this year was to alternate group and solo rides. Both have pros and cons, and usually I tend towards group rides. But races aren't group rides! I need to practice my own pace and motivating. Hence a long solo ride tomorrow. I've already turned down a hills fest with LC, but it was "only" 50 miles long. I need more miles , butI don't need hills.
I got to wondering at what point in previous years I've started aiming for century distances. The easiest comparison is IMWI 2010, which was only 2 weeks later in the year than MiTi. So I pulled out the printed blog book and started looking for my "where was I at 4 years ago" answers. I couldn't find the exact week because I was calculating wrong...but in my brief summary I was surprised, somewhat disappointed too. I found a 1 mile TT test coming in around 6:30. That I was running the Thursday group runs at about the same pace now (huge difference though in effort, in 2010 I was writing about lots of effort and fatigue to hit that pace), and a lot of missed swims.
I had to do some more advanced (web) calculating this morning to find the week in question. Turns out "now" for 2010 was around June 24th. I had just raced Kansas, recovered, then went home for a weekend, so it won't be too easy to draw parallels, but I'll find what I can. So where was I?
I was thinking that I was a more efficient runner at a faster pace. The next Thursday I did a PR paced loop of the park: 12.4 miles in 1:40! A few days after that I rode 110 miles, my first 100+ ride, on July 3rd.
Should I take this to mean that in the next week or so I should be doing a century? So far this year I've been doing only 50-65 milers. Yes most certainly I need to bump it up! But not too fast, er, too soon I mean. Go as fast as you can! But not too quickly! ;)
And just as importantly, I need to start nailing my bike nutrition. This is week 3 of 9 in the Build phase, by now I should have things in place but judging by last weekend my bike nutrition is still weak. And not surprisingly, I was voicing similar concerns 4 years ago!
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Finally got the swim done!
RUN 10.3 miles in 1:26, 8:25m/m pace
SWIM 2900y in 76 mins, 3x600 steady
Another gorgeous morning! Cool, cloudy, humid, and calm. IT and LC were the only other runners, so it was quiet in that way too. The only issue was some woman on a bike who scolded us for running on the paved path. I hate to admit I yelled back at her. But I did.
I finished the last few miles on my own, the group did an 8:21 and I did an 8:27 on my own. That included a gradual slowdown as I got closer to the parking lot. I felt really good today, probably helped that I took in a gel at the end of the group run. My mental focus and energy stayed more even.
Unlike last week, today I made it to the pool! And with good energy! I sipped my stage 3 drink on the way there, wanting some sugar but not much. I get to the pool already later than I wanted to only to have a nice lady in the next lane start talking. And talking. And talking...15 some minutes later of her talking about her house, taxes, job, job hunting, family...she was looking more at the ceiling than at me so I guess between my goggles and the ceiling she never picked up that I wasn't all that interested. I hate to admit that I was ignoring most of what she said. But I did.
So by the time I got going my momentum had eased a bit and it took a few laps to get it back. And once I did I was sharing the lane with a guy swimming uber slow and a woman with a wild kick. I just rolled with it, waited when I needed to and passed when I could. I finished the last few 100's alone and pretty dependent on the pull buoy to rest my sore hip. If I had known I was so close to 3000 yards I would have done another 100! As it was, I cut the last 400y off the workout due to time and energy.
Feels good to have this all done for the day! And as a followup, no signs yet of a repeat of yesterday's pains. So far, so good. I stuck to a protein smoothie for the first 2 hrs, then had lunch. For the record:
430 up: coffee, egg white, sweet potato
6-7: run, then a gel
7-730: finish run, water
730-8: sip stage 3 smoothie of fruit, maltodextrin, BCAA, and salts
940-1030: finish swim, keep sipping smoothie
11: start stage 4 smoothie of beet, carrot, apple, cucumber, protein powder, salts.
SWIM 2900y in 76 mins, 3x600 steady
Another gorgeous morning! Cool, cloudy, humid, and calm. IT and LC were the only other runners, so it was quiet in that way too. The only issue was some woman on a bike who scolded us for running on the paved path. I hate to admit I yelled back at her. But I did.
I finished the last few miles on my own, the group did an 8:21 and I did an 8:27 on my own. That included a gradual slowdown as I got closer to the parking lot. I felt really good today, probably helped that I took in a gel at the end of the group run. My mental focus and energy stayed more even.
Unlike last week, today I made it to the pool! And with good energy! I sipped my stage 3 drink on the way there, wanting some sugar but not much. I get to the pool already later than I wanted to only to have a nice lady in the next lane start talking. And talking. And talking...15 some minutes later of her talking about her house, taxes, job, job hunting, family...she was looking more at the ceiling than at me so I guess between my goggles and the ceiling she never picked up that I wasn't all that interested. I hate to admit that I was ignoring most of what she said. But I did.
So by the time I got going my momentum had eased a bit and it took a few laps to get it back. And once I did I was sharing the lane with a guy swimming uber slow and a woman with a wild kick. I just rolled with it, waited when I needed to and passed when I could. I finished the last few 100's alone and pretty dependent on the pull buoy to rest my sore hip. If I had known I was so close to 3000 yards I would have done another 100! As it was, I cut the last 400y off the workout due to time and energy.
Feels good to have this all done for the day! And as a followup, no signs yet of a repeat of yesterday's pains. So far, so good. I stuck to a protein smoothie for the first 2 hrs, then had lunch. For the record:
430 up: coffee, egg white, sweet potato
6-7: run, then a gel
7-730: finish run, water
730-8: sip stage 3 smoothie of fruit, maltodextrin, BCAA, and salts
940-1030: finish swim, keep sipping smoothie
11: start stage 4 smoothie of beet, carrot, apple, cucumber, protein powder, salts.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
2x20 mins hard, then a hard day follows
BIKE 1hr 20 mins, about 23.5 miles with a 2x20 min "hard"
SWIM wasgonna...
More rain! Had lots of it lately but I'd been lucky in that I was able to still get stuff done around it. But today it rained in the morning, so I did this ride indoors. Probably better this way anyway, hard to do a solid 20 minutes in town.
I dug out my Stargate DVD set and started watching season 8. I don't know where I left off, what...two years ago now? Anyway...
The ride was good, and the plan was to swim in the afternoon. But my 11am my tummy started hurting again. By 1pm I was hiding in the bathroom again to wait it out. Twenty mins later I'm OK! What did I eat? Before was a sweet potato, some melon, some egg white...and I thought it was too much even before the ride. Afterwards it was my Stage 3 smoothie, followed by some kabocha and ghee and egg. I ate this in sort of a hurry and sort of right after the ride. It's gotta be the food before/after a hard workout. I've tested "fasted" training, so I know I don't need to eat so much before hand! And I know I can wait a bit before eating afterwards. I think this is the focus for fixing this issue.
And it came back later in the day, I ended up leaving work early due to the pain and desire to just hide somewhere. Gotta fix this!
SWIM wasgonna...
More rain! Had lots of it lately but I'd been lucky in that I was able to still get stuff done around it. But today it rained in the morning, so I did this ride indoors. Probably better this way anyway, hard to do a solid 20 minutes in town.
I dug out my Stargate DVD set and started watching season 8. I don't know where I left off, what...two years ago now? Anyway...
The ride was good, and the plan was to swim in the afternoon. But my 11am my tummy started hurting again. By 1pm I was hiding in the bathroom again to wait it out. Twenty mins later I'm OK! What did I eat? Before was a sweet potato, some melon, some egg white...and I thought it was too much even before the ride. Afterwards it was my Stage 3 smoothie, followed by some kabocha and ghee and egg. I ate this in sort of a hurry and sort of right after the ride. It's gotta be the food before/after a hard workout. I've tested "fasted" training, so I know I don't need to eat so much before hand! And I know I can wait a bit before eating afterwards. I think this is the focus for fixing this issue.
And it came back later in the day, I ended up leaving work early due to the pain and desire to just hide somewhere. Gotta fix this!
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Speedy morning!
RUN 8.1 miles in 67 mins, 2x (3x1000) descending within each set
BIKE 17 miles in 67 mins, commute with extra
COMMUTE home 3 miles
Today's run was 2x 3x1000 (200) and 1200 rest between sets. Within each set, aim for descending times -- I think the plan said 88%, 90%, 92% then 90%, 92%, 94% or something along those lines. I did the first 3 1000's in the normal track direction and clocked them at 4:14, 4:05, 4:06. Calculators say a 6:34 pace for those. The second 3 1000's I did in the opposite direction and in lanes 3 and 4, so not as accurate, but I still went by time: 4:25, 4:26, 4:29. So much for descending.
Ran into MK and BE at the track, lost a few mins talking to BE about the upcoming Potosi swim. He's doing it too!
It's funny how when doing intervals like this you know you don't want to do them, but you also know they're good for you, and you know even more that you won't stop doing them. But there are times you sit the fence balanced between 'want to' and 'will do', and it feels like you could tip either way. Especially in the last intervals! But I don't stop.
The ride was beautiful, there was a moment in TGP in which white flowers were scattered under a tree, more flowers were still falling, and the sunlight dappled through the trees. Reminded me of the scene in LOTR when Sam and Frodo see the Simbelmyne flowers :)
I also though I should write a haiku for Sunday's tailwind. Working on it!
I did the stage 3 and stage 4 planning today, and in doing so skipped brekkie!
Stage 3: quart of strawberries, some beet, salt -- about 30 mins after the ride
Stage 4: beet, cucumber, apple, BCAA, protein powder, salt smoothie -- about 2 hrs after the ride, sipped over an hour or so, finished around 11:30.
Problem was I lost all momentum sitting in a meeting. Then I had zero appetite until 12:30 when I was ravenous. Not as springy as yesterday.
BIKE 17 miles in 67 mins, commute with extra
COMMUTE home 3 miles
Today's run was 2x 3x1000 (200) and 1200 rest between sets. Within each set, aim for descending times -- I think the plan said 88%, 90%, 92% then 90%, 92%, 94% or something along those lines. I did the first 3 1000's in the normal track direction and clocked them at 4:14, 4:05, 4:06. Calculators say a 6:34 pace for those. The second 3 1000's I did in the opposite direction and in lanes 3 and 4, so not as accurate, but I still went by time: 4:25, 4:26, 4:29. So much for descending.
Ran into MK and BE at the track, lost a few mins talking to BE about the upcoming Potosi swim. He's doing it too!
It's funny how when doing intervals like this you know you don't want to do them, but you also know they're good for you, and you know even more that you won't stop doing them. But there are times you sit the fence balanced between 'want to' and 'will do', and it feels like you could tip either way. Especially in the last intervals! But I don't stop.
The ride was beautiful, there was a moment in TGP in which white flowers were scattered under a tree, more flowers were still falling, and the sunlight dappled through the trees. Reminded me of the scene in LOTR when Sam and Frodo see the Simbelmyne flowers :)
I also though I should write a haiku for Sunday's tailwind. Working on it!
I did the stage 3 and stage 4 planning today, and in doing so skipped brekkie!
Stage 3: quart of strawberries, some beet, salt -- about 30 mins after the ride
Stage 4: beet, cucumber, apple, BCAA, protein powder, salt smoothie -- about 2 hrs after the ride, sipped over an hour or so, finished around 11:30.
Problem was I lost all momentum sitting in a meeting. Then I had zero appetite until 12:30 when I was ravenous. Not as springy as yesterday.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Evolve swim, paddles and buoy
SWIM 2300y in 1 hr
NK said 2500, I'm not sure about that :)
I woke up feeling great and springy, a feeling that lasted all day. As if the near half iron didn't happen yesterday but rather a few days ago. Was it my magical recovery meals yesterday?!
TH wasn't there today, just me TD, PT, and DC. TD still lapping me, but I'm working on it! Sets today of 300-200-100 descending, then 100-200-300 with paddles and buoys holding the same pace. Probably the most paddling I've ever done in a day. And I'm not sure like I expected to be. My magical recovery meal? ;)
Also good today was meeting my new PCP. We bonded over race stories. And he reminded me that I've been meaning to try a beet smoothie. If I thought yesterday's recovery was magic, wait until tomorrow! Ima pee RED!!!!!
NK said 2500, I'm not sure about that :)
I woke up feeling great and springy, a feeling that lasted all day. As if the near half iron didn't happen yesterday but rather a few days ago. Was it my magical recovery meals yesterday?!
TH wasn't there today, just me TD, PT, and DC. TD still lapping me, but I'm working on it! Sets today of 300-200-100 descending, then 100-200-300 with paddles and buoys holding the same pace. Probably the most paddling I've ever done in a day. And I'm not sure like I expected to be. My magical recovery meal? ;)
Also good today was meeting my new PCP. We bonded over race stories. And he reminded me that I've been meaning to try a beet smoothie. If I thought yesterday's recovery was magic, wait until tomorrow! Ima pee RED!!!!!
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Innsbrook triathlon training day
SWIM 1.2 miles in ~40 mins
BIKE 54 miles in 3:14
RUN 3 miles in 29 mins
IT'S JUNE!!
Ha, another 10 miles and it could have been the Innsbrook half! But I certainly did NOT have another 10 miles in me.
This is such an amazing opportunity, even the long drive can't damper this. Outdoor training in a new and challenging venue! OWS that's NOT at NT!
I tested the sleeveless suit again. It fits good until I fill it with water. And I chafe under the arms. Still tight top to bottom but it's working. I didn't go out hard for the swim, just stayed calm and easy. I'd like to think that in my upcoming half iron I can do the swim under 40 mins. This swim was not the most perfect distance and time measurement, but it makes me hopeful.
The bike was 2 loops of the QMax course. Just me and G on the 2nd loop. It was hills or headwind the whole way. The brief moments of silent, floating, effortless tailwind were all on the flats! But I love a good hill and Innsbrook has many to chose from. The ride was great, TD was struggling with her gears, DC and RM, kept dropping us, and G intervaled back and forth like usual. Strong group, lots of support and speed.
I ran first towards a porta-potty (first time I pee'd since the swim, NOT GOOD). One the way I came across a doe with two babies, they stopped in the middle of the road and needed help moving aside. Thankfully a car came up behind me, and even cooler it was someone with a RoadID and Mdot sticker :) I almost ditched the run at 1 mile, then almost ditched again at 2.75 miles, but I pushed to 3. I was having some abdominal pains, not really a gut cramp, more like diaphragm? Either way, I realized it was one of those crucible moments -- what would I do in a race? Keep running? So I did, miserable as it was. Not sure what set this off. Where the powerbars too solid? Dehydrated?
I was surprised in packing for this ride that I've forgotten my iron distance nutrition plan?! Did I write this down anywhere? So here's what I did: 100 calories of Infinit and 150 calories of Powerbar per hour. The goal was 200-250/hour. Well I made a lot of changes to day here they all are for future reference.
Instead of a big carby brekkie I did 2 eggs and sweet potato to avoid the carb crash since there was 2-3hrs between the meal and swim. PDA breaks this up into 4 stages:
1. Immed before swim: half a powerbar
1. Immed before bike: other half of powerbar
2. In bike 300 calories of infinit and another powerbar
2. In run nothing but water
3. 30 min recovery: melon and strawberry smoothie, BCAAs, salts, extra maltodextrin, about 300 calories
4. puree of big apple, pumpkin puree, salts, protein powder, about 500 calories
I had lost energy by the run, coulda eaten a gel but I didn't think it would absorb by the end of the run to make a difference. The stage 3 went down OK (and this one tasted better than yesterdays) and I started on stage 4 about 45 mins after run. It was NOT satisfying. So I ate that around 3-3:30 and didn't get home until 4:30 or 5. By then I was FAMISHED, not doing well, losing focus. So I needed another real meal, or more calories?
On the plus side, I felt great the rest of the night! Ate sushi!!
BIKE 54 miles in 3:14
RUN 3 miles in 29 mins
IT'S JUNE!!
Ha, another 10 miles and it could have been the Innsbrook half! But I certainly did NOT have another 10 miles in me.
This is such an amazing opportunity, even the long drive can't damper this. Outdoor training in a new and challenging venue! OWS that's NOT at NT!
I tested the sleeveless suit again. It fits good until I fill it with water. And I chafe under the arms. Still tight top to bottom but it's working. I didn't go out hard for the swim, just stayed calm and easy. I'd like to think that in my upcoming half iron I can do the swim under 40 mins. This swim was not the most perfect distance and time measurement, but it makes me hopeful.
The bike was 2 loops of the QMax course. Just me and G on the 2nd loop. It was hills or headwind the whole way. The brief moments of silent, floating, effortless tailwind were all on the flats! But I love a good hill and Innsbrook has many to chose from. The ride was great, TD was struggling with her gears, DC and RM, kept dropping us, and G intervaled back and forth like usual. Strong group, lots of support and speed.
I ran first towards a porta-potty (first time I pee'd since the swim, NOT GOOD). One the way I came across a doe with two babies, they stopped in the middle of the road and needed help moving aside. Thankfully a car came up behind me, and even cooler it was someone with a RoadID and Mdot sticker :) I almost ditched the run at 1 mile, then almost ditched again at 2.75 miles, but I pushed to 3. I was having some abdominal pains, not really a gut cramp, more like diaphragm? Either way, I realized it was one of those crucible moments -- what would I do in a race? Keep running? So I did, miserable as it was. Not sure what set this off. Where the powerbars too solid? Dehydrated?
I was surprised in packing for this ride that I've forgotten my iron distance nutrition plan?! Did I write this down anywhere? So here's what I did: 100 calories of Infinit and 150 calories of Powerbar per hour. The goal was 200-250/hour. Well I made a lot of changes to day here they all are for future reference.
Instead of a big carby brekkie I did 2 eggs and sweet potato to avoid the carb crash since there was 2-3hrs between the meal and swim. PDA breaks this up into 4 stages:
1. Immed before swim: half a powerbar
1. Immed before bike: other half of powerbar
2. In bike 300 calories of infinit and another powerbar
2. In run nothing but water
3. 30 min recovery: melon and strawberry smoothie, BCAAs, salts, extra maltodextrin, about 300 calories
4. puree of big apple, pumpkin puree, salts, protein powder, about 500 calories
I had lost energy by the run, coulda eaten a gel but I didn't think it would absorb by the end of the run to make a difference. The stage 3 went down OK (and this one tasted better than yesterdays) and I started on stage 4 about 45 mins after run. It was NOT satisfying. So I ate that around 3-3:30 and didn't get home until 4:30 or 5. By then I was FAMISHED, not doing well, losing focus. So I needed another real meal, or more calories?
On the plus side, I felt great the rest of the night! Ate sushi!!
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