2011 Wrap-Up

2011 Summary:

swim 110 miles  

bike 3117 miles (excludes commuting miles)

run 1280 miles

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

Wildwood 12miler

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

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

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

Pigman half

Savageman oly and half (Brick!)

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

Skippo 30k (2nd in AG)

Did two training camps--Branson and Louisville. 

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

What a year!

New Years Eve Triathlon

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

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

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

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

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

FUN DAY!!!!!

Spin it all out

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

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

Still tired, what's going on?

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

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

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

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

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

Double workout, double tired

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fun run in the snow

RUN: 10 miles in 1:36


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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