two weeks of workouts

as discussed with coach, i have been doing 8x workouts per week, with 2 in each discipline plus 2 strength training sessions. guts-wise i feel great, and i have gotten up each morning looking forward to the day's workout. i know that feeling won't last forever, but it feels so good now to be in a workout groove. 

here's what last week looked like: 

• Mon: 40 min swim >1mi mixed drills + kick, plus strength training video 

• Tues: 35 min spin, with 5x2min intervals at my max with 2 min active recovery, stretching 

• Wed: 35 min run, with 8x1min intervals at max with 2 min AR, stretching + abs 

• Thurs: 1hr spin, 6-7 effort, plus strength training video

• Fri: 35-45min swim with intervals (E/B/E/H repeats, plus 50-100m max efforts)

• Sat: 1hr easy run, stretching + abs

• Sun: off

we had a loooong travel day on Monday, flying at 7am from Boston to Dallas, and then driving all over Dallas to see different families for brunch, lunch and dinner. i had originally planned to run on Monday, but it became an inadvertent day off. luckily my in-laws have a fancy shmancy gym a 5min run away from their house, so i've been able to get in a couple of good spin and swim workouts. this is my plan for the rest of Christmas week:

• Mon: Christmas travel, off

• Tues: 35 min hill run

• Wed: 40 min swim >1mi mixed drills and kick + strength training routine

• Thurs: 40 min spin , 10x1min intervals at max with 1 min AR, abs + stretching

• Fri: Swim speed work

• Sat: 1 hr spin @ 6-7 effort + strength training routine

• Sun: 50 min easy run + stretching

we travel back to Beantown on Monday evening, so my plan is to do a swim that morning. might be wishful thinking schedule-wise... we shall see!

hope you all had a great holiday season with your loved ones!

fatal disk error

'fatal disk error' was the last thing my computer said to me yesterday.

it has been giving me the silent treatment ever since. i feel like we're about to break up. worst of all, i had NO IDEA it was coming. i mean, sure, we've had our tiffs here and there... and last week he didn't want to do any updates for me. but i didn't even begin to think that it was the beginning of the end!

since i can't seem to post on blogger from my iPad (or can I? intertron geniuses, discuss), my posts are likely to be sparse. hubs let me borrow the fancybook to post this, but he's a super busy codemonkey CTO so the chances of me using his compy during the day to make my SUPER IMPORTANT blog posts is unlikley.

maybe Santa will bring me a late present?

dirty vampires

today was the first of my weekly blood draws for a month.

after the month of four pokes is over, i move on to twice-a-month for a month, then once-a-month for three months. then, finally FINALLY i'll only have to go in once every three months (for infinity and beyond).

so, the dirty vampires (aka amazing lab technicians at my GI office) and i have started a countdown.

G the lab tech said it first, so i'll give him double quote credit: "8 POKES til FREEDOM!"

workout timing

saw this interesting summary of a journal in the NYT. they looked at circadian rhythms, and how they are affected by exercise, as well as how they are affected by the timing of that exercise. the preliminary results (in mice, of course) seem to point to afternoon exercise as having the most benefit on sleep rhythms.

from well.blogs.nytimes.com

i'm all over the place when it comes to workout timing preferences.

• i like my runs in the AM
• i like my rides in early-mid afternoon, even if it's 110F on a sweltering TX highway
• i like my swims either at the ass-crack of dawn OR in the evening, after 7.

i always sleep slightly better during the training season. regular, intense exercise just does that for me. it's not something i notice until it's gone. there are a few exceptions, of course. if i have an intense late evening swim  i will zonk out almost immediately upon return home, and any long ride >5hrs or long run >2hrs will make me soooo sreeeepy. 

what works best for y'all? do you ever notice better sleep when you work out at different times of the day? 

senseless

the violence that occurred against children today is absolutely senseless. i am numb with fear and grief, worry and anxiety. my heart breaks for the parents, children, and people of their community. what is going wrong in this world? and what can we do to keep it from happening time and time again??

i don't have answers. i just have tears for the CT families. and infinite kisses and snuggles for my blissfully unaware, happy, healthy baby. tell your love ones how much they mean to you whenever you can!

pills

this is how many pills i take every morning now: 

from the top: 

1. Prednisone (4x 10mg tabs)
2. 6-mercapto-purine (1.5 50mg tabs)
3. Lialda (5x 1.2gm tabs, 1 pill over the suggested maximum dose)
4. Probiotic (2x Jarro capsules)
5. Multivitamin (generic prenatal brand)
6. Calcium (chewy!)

that = 14.5 pills. sheeee-it. 

a year ago, all i took was the prenatal vitamin and 4 Lialda tabs. now, i won't be on the prednisone for forever, but it will take me a long time to taper off. and eventually i should be able to decrease the Lialda back down to 4 or less, assuming the 6MP does its job. sometimes i day dream about just not taking the pills, and how maybe magically i will get better without them. but then i wake up, and do my part to be compliant. 

monday i go in for my first round of 6MP monitoring blood work. wish my white count and liver enzymes good luck!

it's the plan, man

after weeks and WEEKS of having to reschedule the meeting with coach (illness, poor timing with naps, etc), i finally got to meet up with Jason and talk about the coming months. it was a short conversation--my own fault for being late, kudos to coach for putting up with me--but i am so so SO SO SO EXCITED to get to moving.

there's a skosh of uncertainty around where exactly i'll be doing all of my racing and training come April, but i've scoped out races in multiple locales just in case. no big hairy news to announce, we just bounce back and forth from Austin a lot so i've added ATX training races to the New England mix. i'll just have to decide/register as we go. you know, to keep things interesting.

run:
Coach said fun-run races were good for Jan-April. after that point, they'll start to take away from the longer weekend training sessions, since the fun runs are almost always weekenders. he did add, though, that a half marathon in May would be on the training calendar. after the May 13.1 i'll likely do long runs on my own. here's the plan:

• a 5k in Jan (Quincy YMCA Frozen 5k?),
• a 10k in Feb (suggestions? might just be a Charles River fun run if i can't find a supported one)
• a 10k-10miler in March (Salem Black Cat 10miler)
• a 15K in April (Boston suggestions? or the Cap 10k + Town lake trail run)
• a 13.1 in May (Boston's Run to Remember OR XTERRA trail half marathon in Waco)

bike:

pretty much any supported rally/bike ride is game. looks like i'll be doing ~ 4 100 milers, a couple 90s, a couple 80s, a couple 70s, you get the idea. May is around the time i'll hit longer miles on the bike, so that's when i'll start joining the rallies. i'm thinking: 

• part of the Shiner GASP (50-80mi. hell, maybe even the full 100 if i feel up to it?) in May
• Best Buddies 50/100 miler from Boston in June
• Mount Washington 100miler (supposedly the hardest century in NE...super hilly/mountainous. eep) in July

swim:

swim is pretty open. i've only found two good open water swim events, both in May, so they're the only things on the list. otherwise i'll get OWS practice in the triathlons i do throught the season. 

• 1.8 or 3mi OWS in Maryland
• 2k OWS in Austin

triathlon:

the only thing Coach has set for sure is at least one 70.3. timing is flexible, from early June to early July. a few of them i'm considering: 

• Patriot Half (Freetown, MA) mid June
• Rev3 Quassy (Connecticut) in June
• Buffalo Springs (Lubbock) end of June
• Muscomaman (New Hampshire) end of July

i also got the go ahead to do sprints and olympics as i see fit/if they seem fun/ if they fit with my schedule. so i'm considering doing 2-3 of these, likely 1 sprint and two olympics:

• Republic of TX (sprint) mid April
• Cap Tex (olympic) end of May
• Escape the Cape (sprint) mid June
• Black Fly (olympic) New Hapshire, early July

whew. feels GOOOOD to have that out there!  

from now until the beginning of February i'll be doing 2x workouts in each discipline each week. within those 6 workouts, 1 of each discipline will involve some intensity/intervals. throw in two short-ish strength training sessions, and a weekly massage, and i've got me a plan! 

then, come February,  shit really gets real i start my official IM training schedule. eeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

post-procedure update

the doc and i decided to do a flexible sigmoidoscopy after looking at my flare track record this year. 3 flares in a year is a lot for me, and she figured we needed to sneak a peek to see where i stood disease-progression wise.

Monday morning I had the pleasure of getting up bright and early (5AM) to do a colon prep for my flexible sigmoidoscopy procedure. i'll spare you the details of the colon prep (you're welcome.) needless to say, not fun for me, not fun for poor CTO in the next room!

i opted for no sedation during the procedure, which was... an interesting move on my part. i guess after having a 36 hour natural labor, i was a little over-confident in my pain tolerance capabilities. this was my mood in pre-op:

i'm not sure why i was certain it would be fine, because every other scope i've had done i've been sedated for. AND i was in the middle of a flare, which makes things more uncomfortable anyways. so. i chose no sedation. BOYHOWDY that was uncomfortable/awkward/alien-baby birthing weird. and the doctor kept trying to talk to me about Texas BBQ. i tried to talk back, but it's hard to remember the name of that badass brisket place in Lockhart when you feel like this:

                                                                  from youtube.com

next time, i'm asking, no BEGGING,  for the Versed and Fentanyl. #facepalm.

all in all, the doc said things didn't look great, but they didn't look terrible. my UC has progressed further up my colon (BOO) but it isn't classifiable as severe UC yet (yay? it was mild before.) we decided to up my meds to the immunosuppressive class 6-MP. it's usually used as a chemotherapeutic agent for people with certain cancers like leukemia, but is is also used in much lower doses to treat UC and Crohn's disease. it can cause a whole host of gnarly side effects (lowered white count, bone marrow suppression, increased risk of all kinds of illness, liver failure, lymphoma, pancreatitis....)

i'll be going in weekly for a month for bloodwork, then twice a month for a month, then once a month for three months, then once every three months for forever to monitor my white count and liver enzymes.

hopefully i'll be able to wrangle the baby, get my blood work done, get back in shape, get my guts better, AND train for the IM all at the same time. oh and did i mention i'm looking for a nursing job now too??

it's a tall order, but that's how i roll. i worked full time as an RN, went to grad school full time, and taught part time ALL AT THE SAME TIME, in addition to marathon and 70.3 training. i. can. do. this.

oh. i also turned 31 on Saturday. that was fun :)

**disclaimer: i am not a doctor, and i am not giving out medical advice. i am merely documenting what i am going through, and providing bits of information about it here and there. if you have UC or questions about it, please contact your doctor. (you can email me too, but just for chit-chat. i will not give you medical advice!)**

farewell and best of luck, @chrissysmiles!

if you haven't heard, triathlon's most recent female legend Chrissy Wellington has retired from IRONMAN.

i'm sure she's making the best decision for herself, but man i am going to miss watching her race! she was something else. read her autobiography, A Life without Limits if you haven't already. inspiring to say the least! and she made me stone-cold laugh-out-loud.

cheers, chrissy wellington. you'll be missed!

sharing is caring

so, i guess there are a two things i should share here, if i'm going to be honest about my IRONMAN Louisville journey. these two things affect my day-to-day life, my nutrition, my training, and even my fertility.

#1) i have ulcerative colitis. follow the link if you'd like to learn more about it; pubmed does a great job of explaining it, so no need to repeat here.
#2) i am a glutard. (= gluten intolerant). sometimes i'm better about it than others. but i feel best when on a gluten free (GF) diet.

lately i haven't been feeling well. i don't know if it's the series of 3 colds and the flu i've had over the past 2 months that just wore my body down. i don't know if it's the emotional stress of the past year: having a baby, being so far from family, staying at home to care for the baby instead of going back to work as a nurse, feeling shifts in my relationship with the CTO, etc. i don't know if it's because i fell off the GF bandwagon for a month.

whatever the reason, my guts are NOT happy. i have an appointment with my GI doctor this week (right after my meeting with my coach...hmm). i'll probably have to change medications to a more serious medication class, a move that is irreversible. once you move up to the bigger guns, there is no going back. and eventually, if you run out of meds that work for you, surgery is next. so, needless to say, i'm not super excited to move up in medication classes. but i'm already taking more than the maximum dose of my regular medication. and i sure  as hell can't feel the way i feel right now and be any kind of active.

this last week the most i have done is walk from the couch to the bathroom, back to the couch, and back and forth from the baby's room. and it exhausts me. i get nauseous and can hardly eat anything, so my blood sugar drops and i feel lightheaded often. combine with taking care of a fussy baby, and i'm pooped. pun intended.

why on earth would i have signed up for an IRONMAN race if i feel this way? well, i didn't feel this way when i signed up, and i certainly don't feel this way all of the time. what i'm going through is called a flare. i've had two this year (which is a lot for me, i usually go years between them.) eventually, i will need surgery to remove my colon.

after some soul searching post-baby, i realized i was aching for triathlon, for running, for activity again. and IRONMAN has been a life goal of mine for 15 years or so. the CTO and i decided that next year, 2013, would be the best year for me to give it a go. i'm not working as an RN right now, so wouldn't have to navigate training between nightshifts. i'm taking care of the baby, but could find some help here and there to accommodate my training and get the little man used to being in day care/school.

AND, i want to do this race before things get really bad with my guts. i know someone has done a full with an ileostomy, but i don't want to have to go there if i don't have to.

we thought it was the perfect timing.

maybe it still will be. i'm just a little nervous right now, based on how i feel in this flare. i want this IRONMAN so badly i can taste it. but do i want it so badly that i'm willing to sacrifice my colon? no. especially since women with UC experience markedly decreased fertility after colon resection. the CTO were and I were thinking of trying for #2 sometime after the IM. so. my GI doctor and i will have a come-to-Jesus talk about what to do with me on Thursday.

here's hoping we come up with an IRONMAN-friendly solution.

caffeine + GU

as a haver-of-a-sensitive-GI-system, i have to be careful with my caffeine intake.

the one time i'm guaranteed to ingest caffeine (other than nightshift at the hospital. i mean, c'mon) ??
DURING RACES. i wasn't sure if the boost was more psychosomatic than physiological, but either way, it seemed to work.

my caffeine intake on race days usually looks something like this: a cup of joe/espresso as soon a i wake up, a caffeinated GU 20min before my wave start, 1 caffeinated GUqhr on the bike, and 1 caffeinated GUq30min on the run. i am a frequent bathroom user, and i've never had to stop during a race to use the port-o-potty (for poop, that is.)

npr's health blog 'shots' covered the topic briefly.

do y'all use the caffeine GUs? if so, what's your strategy?

STILL fighting the sickness over here

BLARGH!

• the CTO has a sinus infection + the flu. 
• the bebe has a serious case of the snots + projectile vomit and a probable ear infection (on our way to the pedi shortly.) 
• i have had no less than 2 colds and possibly the flu in the last 4 weeks. 

so. very. over. this.

since the end of my swim focus--other than my running funtimes in Austin, and the Turkey Trot--i have been a sloth. i don't feel too bad about it from a training perspective. i.e. no huge concerns over here about losing my fitness; i know i'll get back into it when my body gives me the green light. i just MISS being active every day. i also miss being able to breathe.

seems like most of my friends, as well as people i follow/stalk on the intertron, are getting sick. maybe we're getting it from the internet...

speaking of the intertron...anyone have an awesome last-minute cyber-Monday deal they want to share with me? Infinit Nutrition had a sweet deal going on the FB, but i think it might be over now?

Gobble Gobble 4 miler

almost completely forgot about this race...oops!

initially i was going to run it with a friend. i remembered about the race at about 11pm the night before (too late, in my opinion, to call and chat about it.) she ended up coming down with a case of the snots this morning, and stayed home to chug airborne and rest (oh and prep for the ginormous turkey day dinner she hosted!)

so, i ran on my own. it was a great morning for a run: COLD, but not wet or windy. and not so cold that the water freezes at the aid stations, but just cold enough to get that really good lung burn.

since i was on my own, i decided to try and push my self a little. not a lot a little, just a little. because my track record with doing that in the cold = a long line of little aches, niggles, pains and inflammation. so i didn't take it easy and just jog, but i didn't do an all-out, collapse-at-the-end kind of effort either. more of a lung-burning, huffin-n-puffin, smiley-faced finish.

results: 4 miles in 37:12 ( a 9:18min/mile); 1258/2800 overall; and 226/592 age group.

not to shabby, considering the only run training i've done in the last 6 weeks was the 'for fun' runs i did in atx two weeks ago. nothing like starting your day with a good result, a kcal deficit, and with two turkey day parties on your calendar! makes me excited to start focusing on the run again. which i should probably start planning. soon. maybe after i come out of this food coma...

happy turkey day, y'all!

end of swim focus, texas, and the trail

the start of my 2 week trip to ATX with the bebe signified the end of my swim-focus. and i was *almost sad to see it go.

a friend hooked me up with a few 7-day passes for a local gym in case the urge to swim struck me.

it did not strike.

instead, i was bowled over by the huge Texas sky and the amazing weather and was inspired to RUN. running was the only form of exercise in which i partook during our travels. but let me tell you. it was amazing. maybe it felt good to run again because i was getting back to my roots (i started out as a runner in my athletic life via soccer and cross-country.) maybe it felt good because it was freaking 75 and sunny in NOVEMBER. or maybe it felt good to run because it was not the pool. whatever it was, it was awesome.

i ran in my parent's neighborhood. i ran in the adjacent neighborhoods. i ran at the glorious Hike-and-Bike trail, aka my Mecca. i ran farther than i have in months, with no pains or aches anywhere, other than my ego. the miles were glorious, but s-l-o-w.

next week i meet with my coach to hammer out the details of next season. a lot has been going on for me personally, and some (VERY BIG) things in my life are in flux right now. so it'll be interesting to see what coach thinks, and how he handles it. if he doesn't run screaming in the other direction, i'll let you know what we decide!

until then, happy early turkey day, y'all!

swim focus week 4

here's how last week's workouts shook out:

Mon: #hurricanesandy OFF
Tues: 1mi TT + 100 kick + 100 cd (pool PR for the mile, hooray!)
Wed: 1mi mixed drills & kick, 200 cd
Thurs: swim OFF, 1hr spin in PM
Fri: 1.2mi mixed drills & kick, 200 cd 
Sat: 200 wu, 6x25 drills, 10×50 @ sub-race pace, 1:00 rest, 100 kick, 5×100 EBEH :25 rest, 200 cd
Sun: 200 warm up (150 swim/50 kick), 6x50 :15 rest (H/E), 6 x [75 swim FAST! w/:10 rest + 25 swim easy w/:20 rest], 200 kick, 4x75 w/:20 rest (50 free/25 non-free), 200 cd

image from usantc.com

for those of you looking for variation in your swim workouts, i use this great site for inspiration. many of my workouts are variations (in distance) of those posted. each day a new workout is posted. within each day they even break the workouts down into: A (badass/olympian level); B (super awesome still fast); and C (least distance) workouts. i usually end up modifying the C workout because, well, i'm not quite trained for 2500+ yards 5x week yet. but i'm getting closer to being able to do the whole C workout as i progress through my swim focus.

i am, however, very far away from ever being able to keep up with a masters swim group! it's a healthy dose of humble each morning when i skim over the A workout.

m-dot mustache

saw this via @IRONMANtri.... i'm dying over here. must. purchase. for. CTO.

from ironmanstore.com

also saw one at IMLP that i was considering making him wear. said 'IRONWIFE' on the front :)

boo!

happy halloween, y'all! (for you non-Star Wars nerds--he's an Ewok)

PS...there is now officially LESS THAN 300 days until IRONMAN Louisvile! Eep. 

#sandy

Hurricane Sandy rolled through Beantown on Monday. i am grateful to be able to say we got out unscathed.  here's hoping those more seriously affected are able to return to normal shortly.

we even had an emergency baby boat for the little dude:

as for swimming, i ended up keeping Monday as a rest day, what with Sandy being all windy and whatnot. did 1 mi continuous today (with a new pool PR: 31:50) + 100 kick & 100 cd. i am still hashing out what to do with the rest of my workouts this week, as we have a full calendar of halloween engagements and friend coming in town on Saturday. stay tuned for a workout recap on Sunday.

[if you're wondering...yes. we are still having date night tonight :) ]

swim focus - week tres

also known as week fighting the sickness. also ALSO known as the week three update that i put up AFTER the week four preview. i am a genius sometimes. 

we've been achoo-ing for over a week in our house. a bunch of kids at playgroup had the sniffles, there's a 'work bug' (no code pun intended) going around the CTO's office, AND the CTO came back from SFO with something. methinks we've just been trading viral strains back and forth.

so, this week we're all snotty, scratchy-throated, and coughy. i don't feel too TOO bad, thankfully. nothing a little tea, extra vitamin C and rest won't cure.

though i had a good interval workout planned, i ended up taking Wed off. the CTO looked at me like i was crazy when i started to pack my things for the gym. (i may have sneezed 3 times in a row, coughed, and had tissue stuffed in my nostrils) then he says,

"you realize you don't have to swim tonight, right? you are in the off-season. it's okay to take a day off during the off-season. save this power-through-it, i'm-so-tough attitude for when training actually starts, so you have something left."

my first instinct was to argue (my parents are lawyers, after all) but in the end, he was so very right. i ended up sleeping like a husband Wed night.

from someecards 

and, the whole time in the back of my head, i'm thinking: best case scenario, if i feet better by Thurs i could still get my 5 days in! (here's a hint. this is not a best-case-scenario type of week.) Thurs ended up being a complete fucking mess wash bc the dudebaby had a meltdown at the gym playroom (they had to come get me out of the pool to calm him down. we left early bc he was such a fusspants, poor kiddo.) as for the rest of the week, i could tell i still wasn't feeling 100%. but kiddo made it through Fri's workout without a meltdown. and it felt GOOD to be in the water. (holy crap i can't believe it...am i actually starting to enjoy swimming??) the CTO had a hackathon all day Saturday, and i forgot to make playroom reservations, so there was no swimming. instead, bebe and i ran. hopefully the hackathon will end early enough today for me to get to the pool before any gnarly weather hits.

back to swimming. this week in workouts:

Mon: OFF
Tues: horrid 1 mi drills. took me foreverandever to get through (still in denial about having the ICK)
Wed: OFF
Thurs: 250wu, 6x25 drills, 8x100 @ mod :15 rest, 200 kick, 200 pull   get out and rescue bebe
Fri: 1 mi continuous TT, 200 kick, 200 cd
Sat: OFF-swim, 3mi run in AM
Today: 200wu, 200 drills, 8x50 @ max :30-45 rest, 2x100 kick, 200 cd

4 out of 5 ain't bad. i'm going to need some good juju to get me to the pool today...send it my way if you can spare!

SWIM FOCUS WEEK 4 vs. HURRICANE SANDY

this is what i'm up against next week:

from the weather channel . com

went to the store yesterday to stock up on water, batteries, canned food, baby food, and dog food. the camping stove is out, the coolers are ready for ice, flashlights are ready.

NSTAR's website tells me to fill the bathtub and large containers with water...maybe i can just swim in there? or the streets, perhaps? 

what's more concerning to me than missing a swim $20 billion in damage to the northeast is the fact that the CTO and i had a freaking date night planned for Tuesday... #thanksalotsandy

two things about kona

1. tonight @ 4-6PM EST, the WTC airs coverage of Kona. if I had cable, you know i'd be all up on that (comcast channel 62 for those of you up here in Beantown)  maybe they'll air it somewhere on the interwebs as well???
2. i signed myself up for the Kona Lottery program!!

from ironman.com

i know, i know. i'm crazy. 

the chances are slim. next year, in all likelihood, will be the only time in my life where i'll be able to do two full IMs in one year. and the hubs was supportive. and AND i have this irrational expectation of getting in because a friend from Austin was selected for this year. 

they announce the lottery winners at noon on April 14th, 2013. wish me luck!

swim focus week 2

is in the books. and it looked a little something like this: (a like this-a like that-a like this-and uh...)

Mon: OFF
Tues: 1mi mixed drills, 200 kick, 200 pull, 200 cool down (cd)
Wed: 250wu, 250 drills, 4x100 @ threshold :30 rest, 200 kick, 250cd +*new suit!
Thurs:  4mi run in evening
Fri: 1mi continuous, 200 kick, 200 cd
Sat: 1mi mixed drills, 2x100 kick :15 rest, 250cd;
Sun: 250wu, 250 drills, 5x100 @ moderate :20 rest, 200 kick, 250cd + 1hr spin

i don't know if it was the new suit, or just the pure joy of having a new suit, but I felt f-a-s-t in my Wed interval workout. [swim outlet to the rescue again. crazy floral like last year, but black/aqua theme this time.]

i was actually pulling sub 1:45 splits. for me, this is huge. i felt like an olympian.

i hereby give myself a giant PAT ON THE BACK for pwning swim focus week 2. it was a crazy hard week with the hubs being out of town, the baby on a teething frenzy and a napping strike, and the dog wearing the cone of shame. IMLou training, the deeper into motherhood i get, the less and less scary you get.

that being said... DAMN, GENA. i need a break! monday off day, i love you <3

today, i may or may not have:

1. gone for a run instead of a swim
2. drank straight from the wine bottle (and polished it off. do i even need parentheses here?)
3. ate the top 1/4 of the cream cheese icing tub with my finger
4. laughed so hard i cried/peed while reading : 
1. http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbellassai/27-reasons-why-kids-are-actually-the-worst-6z51 AND
2. http://www.buzzfeed.com/samir/the-biggest-kid-fails-of-all-time (ilovemykidILOVEMYKID)

don't be jealous of my thursday, y'all.  

perfect timing

USA Triathlon magazine's most recent issue has an article titled 'Five Key Strength Exercises to Improve Your Swim.' I do some of them already, but will be adding the last two swim-specific exercises (standing rear deltoid raise, and swim specific pull-down) to my strength workouts.

What swim-specific strength exercises do y'all do??

swim focus week one: success!

against all odds, swim focus month do-over is off to a good (second) start!

Monday: OFF (in NYC)
Tuesday: 1mi of mixed drills
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: 1mi continuous
Friday: 1mi mixed drills + 200 kick
Saturday: 200 warm up, 4x50 kick :15 rest, 4x50 drill :15 rest, 4x50 swim :15 rest, 4x50 drill :20 rest, 4x50 kick :20 rest, 100 cool down
Sunday: 1mi continuous, 200 kick, 200 pull, 200 cool down

i'm in serious need of a few swim items: clarifying shampoo + good conditioner(hair is WRECKED after just a few days); a new suit (booty's getting pretty saggy & see-through); and new goggles (see last race report.) time to hit up swim outlet's grab bag :) i don't know how people pay full price for swimsuits elsewhere. i'm not even a frugal/cheap person. i got a brand new TYR suit and goggles + case for under $50, with shipping!

the only catch is that you don't know what you're going to get. this was my suit from last year:

i am not a girlie girl, so this made me feel like aloha barbie! 

thinking of adding a little speed work to next week's lineup, for variety's sake. my main goal with the high frequency is to work on form, but i've been seeing disappointing split times feeling sluggish, so a few intervals here and there couldn't hurt, right? :P

all this swimming has done two things to me:
1) metamorphosed me into a freaking HUNGRY HIPPO. more so than regular 6-day-a-week tri training.
2) sucked all of the ever-loving energy out of me. for the first time since the baby was 0-3mo old, i absolutely MUST take a nap. so, i guess that means it has made me into a narcoleptic? zzzzZzzzZZzzzzzz

next week will be tricky to keep up the 5x a week. the hubster is going to SFO for a few days, and it's just harder to be the only one doing everything for the baby, the house, and the dog and still have time to work out. no excuses, though! IT WILL BE DONE.

KonakonaKONAkonakona

For those of you unawares, tomorrow is one of the biggest days in triathlon.  It is the day the IRONMAN World Championship race takes place in KONA. And one very fine triathlon coach/tri-team boss who I've had the pleasure of working with (sort of! haha) is racing tomorrow.

Moxie Boss--kick some butt out there tomorrow! All us Moxicans (past & present) are cheering you on from the mainland! Can't wait to see my IronTrac app filled with your super-badass (fast) times!

Do work!

off season plan - october

How are we already into the second week of October??

My plan for this month is to swim 5 days a week, focusing on form. I've found a site that posts master's swim workouts every day, so I'll alternate between drills and those workouts. I'll still cycle and run at least 1x week as well.

That is, when I get started.

Technically, I started last week. Swam once, on Tuesday. Then my parents came into town for a day. Then our little fam took the train to NYC. In my mind, I was going to swim at the hotel. Turns out hubby booked us at the Waldorf Astoria. I was so excited about staying in this fancy-ass place I didn't do any research on it other than to ooh and ahh at the pictures online.

babyman eating spinach in his suite:

For all the swank, though, this place DOES NOT HAVE A POOL. And since I am swim-focusing, I didn't bring my running shoes. Thus, my workouts for the four day weekend included walking, pushing a stroller, walking, lifting a stroller down stairs to gain access to a handicap elevator (I kid you not,) and walking some more.

Next time we go on vacation and I have a training schedule (which is always) I'll need to research the hotel a little more. Lesson learned.

Mondays are my day off still, so I'm calling do-overs and will start my four week swim focus now. As in today. Today, the day my kiddo is freaking-out teething. Today, the day I have a babysitter interview at 7PM that I haven't prepared for. Today, the day the gym playroom is booked up.

This is all good practice for the determination I will need to keep up my intense training schedule that starts in February. I can do this. I WILL DO THIS. Starting with a swim today!

Drum roll please...

I finally picked a coach!

After researching coaches for months, contacting more than 20, phone interviewing 7, and following up on references for 5, I have finally decided who will help guide me through the training and completion of my first full Ironman!

It just so happens this person was the first person who responded to my emails, and the first person with whom I had a phone interview. Needless to say, this person totally killed the phone interview--knowledgeable, easy to talk to, and we just 'clicked.' This person was the only coach, in fact, that I felt I had any sort of connection with from the get-go.

There are so many other reasons I went with this person.  Their coaching philosophy is spot on with what I want and need from a coach; they have a scientific, educational approach to coaching (they even send out a review of a scientific article each month that is pertinent to training...um hello nerd porn. This one was hook-line-&-sinker for me.) There are many other reasons which I would be happy to share with you if you are curious! (Just trying to contain myself, folks. I have full-on crazy-eyes right now thinking about this and could drone on and on and on about it. Oh wait...)

So, Jesus, just get to it already. WHO IS 'THIS PERSON' OF WHOM I SPEAK???

None other than Jason Gootman, MS CSCS of Tri-Hard Coaching!

I would say I'm thrilled beyond words--but who am I kidding? I'm never without words. So instead, I am just plain thrilled. Giddy. Nonsensical in my elation (can you tell I just finished Northanger Abbey??)

Don't worry. I'm still TERRIFIED respectful of Ironman training. And at the same time, I can't wait to get started in February. Until then, I'll just be too excited to sleep:

this doesn't have anything to do with triathlon, but

it should make you giggle. if it doesn't, you are dark and twisty on the inside and cannot be helped :)

(i promise we only let him do this on soft surfaces)

IM Louisville training races

Lately I've been trying to hammer out the details of my training calendar for next year. I know that my coach will have something to say about which races I should consider, but I want to know what's out there. So I've been doing tons of intertron research. 

I have a few ideas (pronounced 'eye-dears.' I am from Texas, after all.):

Run races:

B.A.A. 5k (Beantown, mid April)

James Joyce 10k (Dedham, end of April) 

Twin Lights Half Marathon (Gloucester, beginning of May) and/or 

Boston's Run to Remember (end of May) and/or 

???????????

Sprint:

Escape the Cape (first week of June) or

????????????????

Olympic: 

Mill City Olympic (Lowell, first week of July) or

Black Fly (Waterville Valley NH, first week of July) or

??????????????????

HIM:

Musselman 70.3 (Geneva, NY July 14) or

MuscomaMan (Enfield, NH end of July)

?????????????

IM:

Louisville, duh! I just wanted to put it on here again :) (Aug 25th, 2013)

I'm new to these here parts--what races do you recommend?? 

two things

#1): Get your flu shot! Flu season can start as early as October.That's next week, people. Don't know where to go?

Search here: http://flushot.healthmap.org/

#2): I decided on a coach--just need to have a conversation about the moolahs and I'll make the announcement. Yayhooray!

Happy hump day, y'all.

crit

Happened upon an elite women's crit race in DT Beantown on Saturday, and it was BADASSSSS. Got my heart a-pumpin. Those ladies were booking it! Very inspiring. I told myself I looked like them when I was out averaging 17mph in my spin around Concord today... hahahSNORThahah.

hey coach!

had (hopefully) my last coach interview yesterday. just have a few more references to follow up on, and then it's time to make a decision. the process hasn't been as terrible as i thought it would be. only a few awkward silences...

my gut made its decision a long time ago--now my mind needs to finish up the due diligence so we can get this party started!  the deadline i set for myself is October 1st. i know you'll be sitting on pins and needles until then.

focus on this sweet face for another week until i make my announcement.

in other news, i'm trying to think of fun non-triathlon related workouts to do next week. i've taken this past week completely off (other than the longggg walks i take with E and the pooch) and am really really REALLY looking forward to some cardio action. have a hike planned with a fellow tri mommy early next week, and was thinking of trying something new at the gym. ZUMBA, anyone?? i have absolutely no rhythm, and will probably stand in the back and giggle the whole time, but giggling = ab workout, right?

lobsterman race report

My virgin race at Lobsterman has come and gone, and it was HANDS DOWN the most gorgeous race I have ever done!

Pre-race:

The parking is tight at Winslow Park, so the race directors advised getting in early (5:30am) to find parking and then napping before transition opens (6:30am) and/or before the race start (9am, 9:25 for my wave.) The hubs, dudebaby, Rupert the Dog and I made it down to the park right on time. But, due to the two SBucks double shot espressos I downed from the comfort of our Econolodge bathroom (to keep from waking up the baby...sheesh,) there were no naps to be had for me. But I didn't mind, with such ugly views from transition to keep me occupied:

Everyone I ran into in transition was so nice. Might as well have been on another planet compared to the rays of sunshine you have the pleasure of meeting here in Beantown. Chatted with the girl racked next to me for a while, pretending to know about bike fit and components. She was wearing an IM Austria jacket, had an IM Cozumel visor on her transition mat, and was taking stuff out of her IM Florida bag. I'm not judging here. If anything I'm jealous. Shoot. That many IM's deserves that much shwag. You go.

Eventually I wandered back out into the park to look for my boys. Morgan tended to the kiddo while I scanned the water for shark fins/Jaws/blood sat back and enjoyed the view of the ocean. Rupert the Dog was extremely popular that day. Just about every person at Winslow park wanted to know his name, how old he was, and if they could keep him forever. We continued to dodge Rupert groupies all the way down to the swim start. Eventually I just started telling people he was going to win his race category (Clydesdale) and to back the F up so he could focus. Seemed to do the trick. 

Jumped in the water for a warm up, and just about thought I was going to die. Really. I was gasping/hyperventilating due to the massive waves of shivers that racked my body. Only got in about 5 minutes of warm-up, which was temperature wise more of a freeze-up. And there were people in the water gleefully splashing about, saying how the water wasn't that bad. I dunno, maybe they are Vikings? Or Inuit? Crazy for sure. 

Got out of the water, did my standard pre-swim freak out/complaint/sphinter dance, got a kiss from the boys, and went to find the rest of my wave. 

Swim 1.5km - 36:30 (2:14) a PR!

Previous posts may have clued you in to the fact that I have a completely rational irrational fear of being eaten by a Great White Shark during these ocean races. I was also terrified of becoming a human popsicle in the slushy-like water. Well, neither happened. Swim was actually rather uneventful, other than the wee little wet suit hickey I developed after forgetting to put body glide on my neck. 

There were no kicks to the chest, face, teeth, or boobs. No pulling or scratching. My goggles did start to leak about 1/2 way through, but it wasn't too bad so I just let them be. [Afterwards my red eyes made me look like a stoner chick. Eating everything in sight probably didn't help with that impression.] Before I knew it I was slogging up onto the shore and kissing my wee baby. Hooray! Another swim survived without a shark attack. 

Bike 40km - 1:32:54 (16mph) def not a PR

[Morg and I drove the course the day before the race and I was so glad we did. There were quite a few potential quad-burners out there. It reminded me of the Decker course, but with slightly shorter, steeper hills. I tend to attack hills like a crazy person. Back in Austin when attacking hills was routine, I could hammer away and suffer no ill effects. Since moving to Boston, I just haven't had the hill training I'm used to, so I wanted to be careful not to murder my quads in the first half of the race. Some of the steeper climbs were in miles 15-22. And the run is on the same course. Hills aside, folks, this course is insanely gorgeous. Fairy-tale gorgeous. Dreaming-of-winning-the-lottery-and-buying-a-summer-home-out-here gorgeous.]

Back to race day. Uneventful transition, survived the dirt path out of transition, and switched into an easy gear to spin up the first hill out of the park. Then I just sat back and tried to find a smart, happy pace that I could maintain throughout the hilly course and still have juice left in my legs. At some points I felt like I was taking it too easy--but once I hit those hills on the back half and started passing people, I felt much better about my pace! I turned it up with about 4 miles to go, and was happy to feel my legs responding without complaint. Made it up the last little bitch of a hill, and then enjoyed the sweet sweeping downhill back into the park. Saw my badass cheer crew, which really made me smile :)  I probably went 4mph on the dirt road back to transition, for what that's worth. I'm such a wiener about off-roading.

Run 10km - 1:02:14 (10min/mi) maybe a PR? it's close.

Felt fantastic coming out of transition. No weird twinges in the legs. Solid stomach. Decided to switch the view on my watch from time to HR, so I could just focus on staying in my zone and NOT worry about time. Got to see the cheer crew again on the way out AND steal another baby kiss. Baby kisses are better than caffeinated Gus. 

The run went similar to the bike. Just tried to keep an even pace and not wear myself down by blasting up the first few hills. I felt better than I EVER ever have in an olympic run. Steady, even, and solid stomach. On that hilly bia of a course, I consider that on par with winning my age group :) I had a song stuck in my head that the dudebaby and I learned in our last play group, and it carried me through the whole race. I had an inkling that I wasn't going to PR, but couldn't care in the least. The course was just too gorgeous, and I was having too much fun. I came through the finishing chute with no energy to spare, but still elated. I mean, who can be grumpy when faced with this:

Total time - 3:16:04 (32/39 AG)

Some of my tri friends would probably be horrified being so far back in their age group. I might have even been horrified by it a year ago. Do I care now? Eff no! 

I had an amazing race. And loved every minute. THAT'S WHAT MATTERS. I am lucky to have such a super husband and baby who support me in training. I feel lucky to be physically capable of doing triathlons. And glory be to mother nature for showing up in her prom dress that Saturday. 

Post race - 3 free beers, 1 giant plate of lobster-bake goodness, and a bag of kettle corn (a PR!)

I now have a new requirement for triathlons: must include a post race beer garden and lobster bake. 

All in all, best race weekend to date. We might even come back next year! I probably won't race it, being 3-4 weeks out of IMLou, but I'm trying to convince the hubs he could do it on only 3-4 weeks of training :)

If you're out there in the interwebs land and considering Lobsterman next year, do it. DOOO EEET. 

taper

This week is my itsy bitsy taper week before Lobsterman on Saturday. I am suuuuper stoked to race again, though I am slightly terrified of what awaits.

I've never done a swim in water colder than 68 degrees (Barton Springs Pool), and even at 68 degrees it takes me 10 minutes to get in and 20 to stop complaining... Current water temps in Portland ME are 64 degrees! And my wetsuit is sleeveless. And I don't have any of those fancy booties or other 'cold' weather gear. Either I'll be so cold I'll work harder to warm up (and get the EFF out of the water) or I'll freeze up (pun intended, sorry), have a panic attack and have the slowest swim of my life. Considering I'm still afraid of sharks, lets go with option one.

Also, I haven't been training with the consistency I usually do. For Boston Triathlon, I don't think I missed a single workout. For Lobsterman, notsomuch. I've missed on average one workout a week. So, I'm nervous about my fitness for race day. Well, let's clarify. l'm nervous about my fitness not being what I want it to be to PR the way I want to. I know I am fit enough to do the distance and have fun.

But I don't want to just have fun out there.

I want to HAMMER and HURT. This is my last shorter distance race before off-season and IMLou training. Training for IMLou will be entirely different from training for short course races, and I won't be doing much ballstothewall racing efforts. So I want to make this one count.

I suppose the hiccups in my training schedule could make this race hurt alright...just not the way I want.

Here's the week in workouts:

Monday: OFF
Tuesday: PM swim 1600m
Wednesday: tempo ride 1hr
Thursday (today): PM tempo run 35min
Friday: AM swim 1250m before schlepping to Maine
Saturday: Raceday!!!
Sunday: recovery ride. or brunch. probably brunch.

I still have yet to decide on an off-season training schedule.  What are y'alls favorite off-season sports/classes/routines??

racing voicemails and other blargh

JSwan left me a 'regret face' pic AND voicemail today during the run leg of her tri in DC. Something about semi-regretting the decision to race due to lack of training. She is definitely in the lead for the most awesome voicemail award, no matter how her her race ends up.

Speaking of regret and lack of training....was feeling some of that nasty beast today before my 2:15 ride (which ended up being a HORRID 45min spin/cryfest), after staying out late drinking and watching the Texas game. And since Aunt T is over, the dudebaby slept in our bed last night. Well, slept is the operative word. He was awake cooing,crying, teething and farting from 3am-6am. So, from Beantown to DC, the blargh faces were out in full effect today:

Happy blarghing, everyone. 

this is not my week

Just got kicked out of the pool due to lightning.

The INDOOR POOL.

Blargh!

yesterday's not-so-tempo run

Yesterday was supposed to be my tempo run day. Usually, I wait until 30 min before E's nap time to head down to the river for our run. That way, he heads off into the land of nod right as I'm starting, and stays asleep for 15min or so once I'm done. Sometimes he wakes up towards the end of the run--during cool down--and watches the ducks/trees/great outdoors from the comfort of the jogger.

Well. Not yesterday.

He fell asleep as usual right before I got started. I was all set to do a 10min WU, 20min tempo, and 10min CD. I was only 9 min into the tempo portion when he woke up and started SCREAMING. Sometimes he does this at home, and he promptly falls right back asleep after 20 seconds of wailing.

Well. Not yesterday.

I ran for maybe another minute, hoping he would be lulled back to sleep by the motion of the jogger. No dice. Okay, maybe he's hungry. So I stop and try to feed him. Nope. Still crying. Dirty diaper? Just wet. Changed it anyways. Still crying. No little hairs wrapped around his tiny digits. No toys will soothe him. So what to do?

Keep running, I suppose.

I tell you what--I got LOADS of dirty looks from other runners/walkers/parents/ducks, running with a wailing kiddo. Like I wasn't aware of it. I'm doing my best here, people. Sometimes the kid just cries. And sometimes he just wants to cry AND throw all of his toys/bottles out of the stroller. Run. Run. Pick up toy. Run. Run. Pick up bottle. Run. Untangle blanket from stroller wheel. Run.

With about 2 minutes left in the cool down, he suddenly calmed down. By the time we made it to our lunch spot, he was as happy as he always is. Such is life, I guess.

he looks SO innocent here. "me, crying?? PSH."

I wasn't too bothered by it all--1 year ago this would have totally irritated me. Maybe it's because he's so dern cute. Anyways. I didn't think or worry about it much until today, when I realized how much more difficult it will be to train for an Ironman. The dudebaby will have just turned 1 when I start my serious training. What if he starts to hate the jogging stroller, and won't sit in it when he's 1?

Now the doubt/fear starts to slide in. How the EFF am I going to do this, with a little man to care for?? I know I thought of this before I signed up--and I was sure I had the answer. It just seems to be evading me this morning...

There's always daycare (but it costs about as much as our rent a month. Rigoddamndiculous.) And I can do a lot of training in the evening once he's gone to bed. And there's always the weekend. But boyhowdy do I wish I had family up here in MA to help out.

But you know what? Doesn't matter. We will figure this out. Morgan is a rockstar husband, so incredibly supportive. And the dudebaby is a good baby--we got lucky. One way or another, we'll make it work!  I think of it the same way I thought of having a kid when I was pregnant: I know it's going to be hard. I know I actually have NO IDEA of how hard it will really be. But I know I can--and want--to do it. And I know it'll be one of the best decisions I've ever made. The end. :)

this week in workouts

My plan for the IM training season is to post these on Mondays. But for now, I'm going to post them whenever I want. So there.

This week is my last full week of peak training for Lobsterman. The schedule is a bit off from usual, considering the Labor Day holiday and my Aunt T coming in town this weekend. 

Monday: 1900m pm swim after a cluster-fuck of a day trip to Gloucester. Usually take Mondays off, but decided to do this one on the holiday with the hubster around to watch the babe.

Tuesday: OFF (well, it's my 'clean the house' and 'do a zillion loads of laundry/diapers' day. if you count that off.)

Wednesday: 1:15 min tempo ride @ gym

Thursday: 40 min tempo run with the jogging stroller (and baby. duh.)

Friday: 2000m PM swim 

Saturday: 1:20 run on Charles river WAYYY early in the AM so I can pick Aunt T from the airport 

Sunday: 2:15 bike around Concord, ending with splashtime fun @ Walden

Next week...TAPER!

training hiccup

About a week ago I hit a little bump in the road to training for Lobsterman.

Out of the blue, I started having sharp, stabbing pain and a weird rubbing sensation to a localized area in my right chest. It only hurts at the bottom of a deep exhalation, but it's intense enough to cause me to jump and/or make my arms to tingle. I took a few days off of working out (stabbing lung pain made it REALLY HARD to do swim intervals anyways), popped a few Advil, and hoped it would go away.

Being an RN, I was pretty sure of what it was, but when it didn't go away after a week, I made an appointment with my PCP. They did an EKG, took some blood for coags to make sure I didn't have a PE (pulmonary embolism), and a physical examination. Basically everything was negative except she auscultated a slight friction rub.

MD said what I had been thinking: pleurisy. I'm still not quite sure where it came from, because I haven't felt ill other than the chest pain. And I've had my share of PPD tests for TB, all of which have been negative. So, pleurisy out of nowhere?? Super?

Apparently Advil is curative for my type of pleurisy, so I've been keeping on top of them. For the most part, I've been able to complete my workouts. Did 2:15hrs on the bike, a 1hr swim, and a 1:20 run this weekend. The only one that hurt was the run--I even started to feel light headed from not breathing deeply enough around mile 7. But I toughed it out, and the pain went away with another few Advil.

Here's hoping the lung friction subsides in time for Lobsterman! Otherwise it's going to be a painful fight for that sub-3hr PR I'm chasing...

the new steed

After 10+ years of riding the ol' beater (2002ish Iron Horse road bike), I've gone and done it.... bought a fancy-pants new tri bike, that is. This bike was a push present of sorts from the husband (I guess only tri-geeks get gear as push presents? The rumor is other ladies get jewelry. Weirdos.)

JSwan and N helped me name her the 'Black Widow 36,' where the 36 represents how many hours I was in labor with the dudebaby.

Thus, may I introduce to you, BW-36:

BW-36 is a TREK Speed Concept 7.0. Had to do some modifications to get her to fit, but now we are besties. Bought her back in June, and have ridden 100+ miles since. I am in love. To pay tribute to my new city--the bike is WICKED fast.

Stay tuned for PR bike splits from this season's two races (Boston triathlon & Lobsterman)!

Boston Triathlon race report

Sunday, August 12th, I raced my first post-baby triathlon: the Boston Triathlon (a sprint.)  I’ve got the fire in my belly for triathlon again…damn that was FUN!

Pre-race:

It’s totally cheesy, but there’s this youtube video about IRONMAN inspiration (with an Eminem song as the music. Me? Eminem? shut up) that gets me all riled up. Basically it’s racers having a horrible day…crashing, falling, puking, etc, but still TRYING. The night before the race I put that song on my iPOD. You best believe I played it on repeat—listened to it the whole way to the race and during transition. It helped give me something to focus on, instead of FREAKING OUT about doing my first triathlon in over a year.

I set up my gear in no time and started chatting with the ladies around me. Turns out one of them had found some glass shards near her area, so we started to look around more carefully, and there were busted bottles all over the place. Not so great for barefooted triathletes and their bike tires! I went over to the race official tent, found an official, and told him the problem. He just looked at me with a blank stare, and then made some excuse along the lines of ‘well we looked through transition very carefully…’ LOOK DUDE. I don’t care. I’m telling you there is glass NOW. Please help? He gave me attitude about not ‘having enough volunteers to spare’ and threw a box at me so I could clean up myself. I’m not above cleaning up. I was PO’d because of his attitude. Like I was supposed to bring glass-removing equipment with me to the race? 

Anyways. We got the glass picked up, and I helped my buddy Erica set up her transition spot. She was doing her first tri, so I tried to give her a few pointers without totally overloading her with info and/or freaking her out more. I remember how overwhelming it can feel! Once she was set up, we grabbed our wetsuits and headed to the race start. 

Swim:

These last few months I have really been working on my swim fitness and form. So when it came to start time, I put myself more near the front of the pack than usual.

There’s another reason I wanted to be near the front…SHARKS. No, not in honor of Discovery’s Shark Week. Because freaking GREAT WHITE SHARKS have been spotted around/attacking people in New England this summer: here and here. I mean, Holy Crap. For those of you that aren’t obsessed with sharks—great whites like to eat seals. Guess what really really looks like a seal? A TRIATHLETE IN A WETSUIT. Super. So I figured I best be one of the faster swimmers and let the sharks take the stragglers off the back. Sorry noobs!

After the gun went off, there were the normal hi jinks for the first few minutes—jostling, leg-pulling, and kicking (I took a swift breast-stroke kick to the lip, which gave me that tough busted-lip look). I never really felt like I was in my groove, though, which was frustrating. I just kept netti-potting salt water and struggled to sight. I was certain I was well off my goal pace of 2:15 splits (I’m usually a 2:35’er). But once I finally clambered up onto the beach and checked my watch—17:25—holy crap! I creamed my goal time! And even better— I didn’t get eaten by a shark! 

I ran up the beach, started taking my wetsuit off (no wetsuit strippers in a race where they highly recommended wetsuits = lame), and found Morgan and E almost immediately. One sloppy (baby) kiss later, I was on my way to transition. 

Bike:

The bike course was a perfectly short, flat, and traffic-free 9 miles. My only complaints about it have to do with: the distance from transition to the mount/dismount line (almost a 1/4 mi!); and the long, winding, hair-pin turny turnaround. My on-course speed was 22mph, but my average speed per race results was 18.5mph, due to the aforementioned issues. I say, if the BT can fix those kinks, the bike portion would be perfect!

I loved zooming past men and women alike on my new bike (see previous posts.) That thing is wicked fast!

Run:

The run course follows along the side of the bike course, so it too was flat. It was a little longer than I’m used to for sprints (4mi) and had a beach finish, so I tried not to push myself too hard in the first 2mi like I usually would. In the end, I wish I had. I finished the race with energy left to burn, even with my 8:35 splits. Next time, I’ll go all out! 

Afterwards I couldn’t find Morgan or my tri buddies, so I went to the race party and drank my weight in Muscle Milk, coconut milk, and free beer. I also stood in line to get an autographed picture for E-man of astronaut Michael Foreman. Can’t wait to put it up in his room! 

I eventually wandered back to the finish line, just in time to see Erica finish (she started WAY later in the novice swim wave.) I am so crazy proud of her!! Then we found our husbands and made our way back to the beer tent. I may or may not have had too much free beer…

We also met an awesome couple, Kate and Jeff, who have a 1yr old boy. Kate ran the race as well. I am super excited to stalk/adopt them as friends :)

All in all, it was an awesome day. I am so incredibly grateful for my amazing, supportive husband. I could not have done this without him! 

Next up: Lobsterman in Maine!

Ironman Louisville 2013

To state the obvious: I signed up for IMLou!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Beyond excited (and terrified.)

On Sunday, August 25th, 2013, I will try my hand at the full Ironman distance. This has been a life-goal of mine for some time now, and the stars have aligned in my personal life to allow time for training. Once this season is over (after Lobsterman on Sept 15th), I'll get to serious planning. For now, family and friends have been notified, hotels are being investigated, and I'm on the lookout for some great training races in the New England area. Any people on the interwebs have suggestions for summer training races up here??

Another big question I've been mulling over is: to get a coach, or not to get a coach?

Thus far, my 3+ years of tri training have been essentially on my own. I train with friends occasionally, but "organize" my own workouts. I use the term "organize" loosely. For the post-baby tri season, I started using Matt Fitzgerald's 'Essential Week-by-week Training Guide,' and have made SIGNIFICANT improvements in all three disciplines. So much so that I'm questioning using a coach at all. Part of me knows I could do this on my own (and earn extra bad ass points), but part of me knows I could probably do much better overall and perhaps enjoy it more if I have a coach to guide me. One of my main goals for this race, other than to finish, is to have FUN. But, there's the cost of coaching...anywhere from $150 to $300+ a month for coaching plans, for 6-7 months.

IM veterans on the internets... what say you??