IMLP

last year, i was at IMLP as a medical volunteer. lusting over athlete village, the millions of dollars worth of bikes in transition, the chiseled athletes...

so jealous, yet giddy for each and every one of them. i got to meet/start some IVs in great people while the medical tent, from pros to FOPers to BOPers.

and i got to see this guy finish in, if i remember correctly, a course-record time:

needless to say, it was inspiring. inspiring enough to get me to sign up for IMLou a month later. this year we can't be out there physically, but we're there in spirit. best of luck to all of my real-life friends, blog-life friends, blogs-i-stalk-wish-we-were-friends, and spouses-of-friends racing tomorrow!

Go Jenn! Go Run this Amazing Day! Go Caratunk Girl! Go Kim! Go Aaron's wife!

rip tide

experienced a rip tide today.

in the pool.

the only lane open was the lane next to the shallow end, where the water exercise class was getting its groove on.

source

the 15 obese women went round and round in circles in the shallow end, frantically pushing their foam hand weights underwater, shuffling side to side. they continued in this fashion for approximately 40 minutes, roughly the duration of my swim. and let me tell you: 15 obese women can create one helluvah current! even when i swam at an angle, sprinting with all my might to get past the worst part of the current in the center of the pool, i still got blasted over to the opposite lane line. every. damn. time.

made for interesting sprint sets. but whatever. it was great practice for rough water conditions. something i've gotten much more of in this BSC pool than i ever expected.

this week and next week's workouts look like this:

M: rest day
Tu: 50min run (+ 8hrs of on-call for work)
W: swim sprint set (500wu, 6x200 super sprints, 200cd) + 1:15 spin
Th: 50min run + anaerobic trainer workout (wu, single leg drills, 3x8min hill repeats, cd)
F: long anaerobic swim (6x500 main set) or 1hr OWS. haven't decided which i'll do yet.
Sa: 16mi run
Su: 100mi bike

next week:
M: swim sprint set + 50min run
Tu: 1:15 spin (+ work 3-11P)
W: rest day (+ work 3-11P)
Th: 10x2min main set bike hill repeats + 50min run
F: same long swim choice workout as previous week
Sa: 80mi ride
Su: 18mi run

weekly total workout times are around 16-18h.

good luck to all of y'all racing Lake Placid this weekend! wish i could be there to start your IVs in the med tent like last year :)

mountain century

aka the mountain century that never was. at least for me, that is.

picked up niece from the airport on Friday. ordered Thai (from our regular place), chowed down before driving most of the way to the ride site in NH. felt some bubble-guts action going on during the 2.5hr ride, but i have a sensitive stomach so that's not anything new. sometimes it means impending NO BUENO gut action, and sometimes it just means bubbles.

slept well, woke up early to prep and drive the last 20mi to the ride start. bubble-guts sensation had morphed over night. much more crampy, pain, and urgent feeling. just like a flare about to start. in my 4am wake-up-haze, i ignored the signs and downed a double-shot espresso and my regular pre-long workout PB bagel sammy.

<for those of you with IBD/CD/UC/IBS, or with a friend or spouse with any of the above, or with any general knowledge of GI troubles, you're probably thinking--OY! a big meal + caffeine? nononononono.>

so, yeah, it's probably no surprise then that i had to stop at a random Dunks on the way there for pitstop #1 of 4,328 that day.

used the restroom, registered, used the restroom, got the bike ready, used the restroom (see a pattern here? i refused to, and decided i could still ride 100mi at ~10mph speed through the White Mountains. riiiiiiight.)

only made it 5mi before i had to hop off my bike and find a bush. went a few more times before the first big descent out of Bear Notch. luckily i didn't have to go during that 2mi downhill, with rumble strips, no less!

suffered my way through that pattern for about 40 miles. i realized, as i was crying behind a bush because i was scared i was starting to flare, that maybe riding through this wasn't the best idea. i seriously can't believe it took me that long. i was miserable.

so. i DNFd the Tin Mountain century, and was totally destroyed by it over the weekend. i had so so so SO wanted to test myself on those mountains. i had decided that if i could do this century, i could do anything and Louisville would be no match for me. so i took it quite hard when i had to pull out.

add on top of that the fear that my colitis was returning--something that could potentially make me DNS Louisville. i was not a happy camper driving home.

but after a few days of low-residue eating, little to no caffeine, a break from workouts (2 rest days, and one 40mi bike ride once i felt better on Sunday), and a rainy afternoon on the couch waiting to be called in for work, i have come around a bit. i have realized a few things, some of which are less 'realizations' and more 'oh-duh-dumbshit-read-your-own-blog-to-remember-why-you're-doing-this':

1. my guts, and my health, are priority #1. i should not have even started that ride. 
2. doing or not doing the TMCC century would not guarantee me a finish at IM Louisville. nothing will *guarantee* that. 
3. i LOVE climbing mountains on the bike. momma needs a nice light road bike for some serious post-IM cycling love. (but seriously...i was the only idiot out there on a tri bike! hahaha.)

so. i ended up logging 80mi for the weekend. it's not a crazy hard century, but not a complete fail either. and no amount of mountain centuries will make Louisville easy. and i have PLENTY of long rides and long runs between now and then to worry too much about missing part of one. hard-fought for fitness, sticking to Coach Jason's training plan, good rest, good food, and good execution on race day will make Louisville doable. and if i have anything to do with it, fun, too.

saw this dr. seuss quote today on pro triathlete Andy Potts's site. i like it particularly for the mountain reference. if an IRONMAN isn't a sort of mountain, i don't know what is.

source

& etc.

how is it that i can swim 4km in the pool, in 1:20-1:25 (~2:00-2:08's/100m), but average 2:35's or more in open water?

i don't sight horribly. i mean, i'm not perfect, but i've never wandered off course. i get jittery before the start, and have hyperventilated a few times in the first 100m or so. but i certainly don't feel panicked, like i'm going to die. (i know this is a legit feeling that people deal with--it's just, i don't.) i eventually get into a rhythm and feel fine. i push it. not crazy hard, but push enough to match my 2:00-2:10 efforts in the pool. when i push harder, i fall into shitty form.

i can still finish IMLou in time to beat the cutoff with a 2:35 split. but c'mon. i'd rather finish 20 minutes sooner. bah.

suggestions? anyone? anyone? Bueller?

all the whining about being slow aside--today's 4km was a good effort. i love the post-long-swim sleepies.

speaking of sleepies.... i am now in the phase of IM training where i prefer to sleep over eat. i contemplate consuming the contents of my fridge semi-regularly throughout the day. a month ago, i went with the urge 100% of the time, and ate a bagillion calories a day. don't worry now--i still eat enough to fuel the Duggars for a day, but nowadays i actually consciously choose to take a nap instead of eat *another* peanut butter banana sandwich.

also, tomorrow is the Tin Mountain Conservation Center's Century ride. 100 mi and 5000ft of elevation change. can you guess the forecasted weather??

RAIN!

going to be a SUPER WIENER going down the mountain in wet conditions on a tri bike. think they'll let me ride up the mountain, and then SAG wagon it down to the bottom, so i can ride up the next one? i think i'd rather do 100mi of uphills than 50mi of downhills.

Mama Nature's cruel joke to me will be a dry, hot IRONMAN after all of these humid, rainy long ride days. what else can a girl do but ride through it?

ride update to follow Sunday. 'til then, happy training, y'all!

tire pressure

the CTO and i got into a philosophical debate about tire pressure the other night. i'll spare you the intimate details (you're welcome.)

serendipitously, a friend of mine who also happens to be a former cat 1 cyclist, posted on her FB page about tire pressure today.

did y'all know there is a FREE iPhone app--by the tire/tube/etc maker Vittoria--to help you determine your tire pressure???!?! (no, Vittoria didn't pay me to post this. they're just getting free promo from a happy app user!)

once you choose MTN vs road, there are four places for you to input metrics:

1. casing type
2. version (clincher, tubular)
3. weight (bike + rider)
4. road conditions

i am OBSESSED. and, you're welcome.

week 23 of training

aka HOLY CRAP HOW IS THIS WEEK OVER ALREADY

i ended up having to take an extra rest day on Wednesday and scrap the 2 planned workouts. the nasty head cold moved into my chest, and I just could not catch my breath. thought I was going to drown in the pool, only made it through the first 3 100s.

long ride on Saturday went MUCH better than last time. <can i get an AMEN?> stuck to the loops I know. no losing time getting lost. did 90mi in 6:30, a vast improvement from last time, though i still am dangerously close to 'chasing cut-off' speed. will work on longer-distance speed in the coming month. ride bonus: I felt good at the end, tired but in no way toast. the CTO even remarked that I didn't even look tired (he's brutally honest, to a fault.)

also changed my front tire out at the end to practice for Louisville. it took forever because my arms were tired. i think I'll keep doing that towards the end of my long rides so I'm well practiced come race day, since IM Louisville is known for disgruntled locals that throw farm tacks onto the bike course. considering my slow pace, imma need to be a tube ninja, just in case. 

i've also added in a LARA Bar to my long ride nutrition. found I was getting grumpy/depressed around 50mi. the 1/2 bar at 50mi, and then another 1/2 bar 30 or so miles later keeps the grumps away, and I 'coast' much less :P

the long run Sunday morning was about as hard as I expected, but for different reasons than I expected (if that makes sense.) i was still very congested, snotty and full of coughs from the cold, so the first 3mi were a MAJOR struggle just to breathe. the heat and humidity didn't help that cause  at all. 

average pace was quite sluggish for me, 12min/miles. initially I had expected my tired legs to be my limiter on this run. instead it was my snot-filled lungs. contemplated quitting and/or crying on the side of the road for a while, but in the end, i figured a long slow run in humid heat would be a great chance to practice my mental game, my run nutrition/salt intake, and my run/walk strategy. (read: i was not going to get through the run without walking, so, run/walk strategy here i come!) ended up running 9 min, walking 1 for the entire run, with a total time including water stops of 3:15. it wasn't pretty, but I didn't expect it to be.

like so many other training weeks, it had some good, some bad. week by week i'm feeling more ready for whatever Louisville brings. no matter what the outcome (time, conditions, etc) i'm proud of what i've done in training. 

and that's all i have to say about that. 

week(s) in workouts

the plan for this week:

M: rest day (came down with a serious head cold s/p 7.75hr ride in the rain...)
Tu: rest day
W: anaerobic swim (12x100 sprint main set) + 45min run
Th: 1:15 spin
F: 30min run
Sa: 90mi bike ride
Su: 16mi run

AND the plan for next week:

M: rest day
Tu: same anaerobic swim as last week
W: rest day
Th: 45min run
F: aerobic swim (8x400 main set, 3900m total)
Sa: Tin Mountain Century ride (~5200ft elevation gain...eep!)
Su: rest day

two things that i'm nervous about:

1) 16mi run this Sunday. the 13.1 last weekend just about killed me. doing 3 more miles, on just as tired legs??? scurrrred. will try out my IRONMAN 9/1 run/walk plan, and report back.

2) doing 'New England's Toughest Century.' doing 'New England's Toughest Century' on a tri bike. have i mentioned i'm a ninny when it comes to descending/going fast? scurrrrred.

anyone have experience doing mountain descents? any tips or tricks to help keep me on the road and/or alive?

Louisville training weekend day 3

woke up before the ass-crack of dawn to run the course early. i decided the night before that i missed my family too much and wanted to get back Sunday night, instead of Monday afternoon. that meant a SUPER early 13.1 all by my lonesome on the course. can you hear the 'yay' in my voice?

my hotel was in downtown Louisville, not far from transition. this made it easy to jog to the start and follow the new run course.  for those of you that don't know, they've cut the big bridge out of the run. this made the run essentially flat. well, it FELT flat compared to the bike.

the downtown area is like most other big city downtowns...sort of ghetto. i took mace with me on the run, no joke. almost thought i was going to have to use it when a drunk bum woke up as i ran by and startled me/us.

how did the legs feel, you ask? oh terrible terrible terrible. it was U-G-L-Y. ran 10:15-10:30s, but they felt like 13min/miles. shoulders were all twitchy. and my mental game was all 'wah wah poor me.' but i did it.

then i drove home. 17hrs. worst drive ever. 3hrs of standstill traffic in PA. 2hrs of rain in WV and PA that only allowed me to go 30mph. ass-hat drivers in NJ. sooo hard to sit still for that long.

the only good thing to come out of that drive home: amazing town names. my top two:

1) Shartsville
2) Mianus

you'll have to wait on pins and needles for this week-in-workouts post.

Louisville training weekend days 1&2

Day 1: drive from Boston to Louisville (979mi, 15hrs)

Yes, that was as fun as it sounds. Highlights/lowlights by state:

MA-went by so quickly! It's so weird to live in a small state. Boo tolls.
CT-also went by quickly, drove past Newtown and the Sandyhook exit, shed a tear or two. Also began bawling because I missed my son.
NY-got over the baby-missing blues. Also had my car puked on no less than 3 times on the highway.
PA-prettiest state, though I'm pretty sure the ride was uphill the whole way, if that's possible?
OH-torrential rain (foreshadowing), and also wins the award for the most # of religious signs AND the most # of adult megastore signs.
KY-relived my middle school years with a backstreet boys marathon (on the radio?!?) and was welcomed into the state with a gorgeous hot pink sunset and fireworks just outside of Louisville.

Managed to get in an hour earlier tha expected, only to promptly eat that time up by going to the wrong hotel....

Day 2: IRONMAN Louisville bike course ride with the iamtri crew, 110.5mi, 7:45

was originally slated to swim beforehand, but weeks of storms down here meant rough water, high bacteria levels and therefore a cancelled swim.

Started the ride in pouring rain. Did the crazy steep / long out and back hills in pouring rain. Did the first loop in pouring rain. Threw a little pity party for myself as I started the second loop, in the pouring rain. Finally got my head straight after a few miles of contemplating quitting (turns out i was hungry--Lara bar to the rescue!) and finished the second loop, in *gasp* light rain. Felt a big fade happen from 80-95mi. Lara bar couldn't save me from that one. Miles 95-110.5 had me cryin' for my momma.

My legs were tired at the end, for sure, but not as trashed as I expected. What really hurt were my shoulders. I could hardly keep my head up to look at the road in the last 10mi. By the time I got to the car, they were almost completely seized up.  It took everything I had to get that bike back into the car.

Tomorrow is the run-13.1mi on course, on tired legs. Wish me luck, imma need it!!

NE Trifest Half - Race Report

To explain the previous post:

"never do an 'inaugural' race:" I somehow missed the memo that this was the FIRST year of the NE Trifest. This is probably to be expected, but it wasn't very well organized. No one knew where we were supposed to park, where body marking would be, where we would pick up our timing chips on race day, where the swim out was (they changed it, but no one seemed to know HOW they changed it). There was only 1 water bottle station on the 28mi loop, but 6 aid stations on the run (about half unmanned, and most without electrolyte drink or coke bc it was 'stolen.') There was no lost and found, and no one checking bikes & numbers in transition at the end of the race. My rack-neighbor had her back wheel stolen! And finally, there were no timing mats on the out and back run. I saw a handfull of people doing the half who cut the run short by a few miles.

"never race on a broken toe:" this one is probably self explanatory, though somehow I missed this memo as well. Read on to see why.

Ok. Self-serving, detailed race report. Finally.

Swim was okay. 49:15 (by my watch-which we all know is the REAL swim time.) Did 4 minutes better than my last 70.3, though I felt I could have done much better. For some reason I felt like I couldn't get a deep breath in my wetsuit. Was it panic, or the wetsuit? Either way, it took a good 500m to get in a rhythm.

Took my time in both transitions to make sure the toe was properly taped.

Bike ended up taking longer than expected at 3:50, but I'm still proud of my effort. First half of the loop was rollers with a few climbs and one screaming downhill. I averaged 17-18mph there. There was 3mi of constant climbing (no joke, 3mi continuous up--many people walked their bikes up on the second loop) on the back half of the course. I also saw TONS of people drafting. Cheaters gon' cheat, I suppose. My speed was ~5-9mph on the steep sections, which dropped my total mph down to 14.5mph. I felt like I rode smart, my legs were tired but not trashed. My nutrition went perfectly--no nausea, no hunger, had to pee once during the loop. I did have a weird mechanical issue that I stopped once for ~5min. My rear derailleur sounded like it was going to fall off every time I hit a bump! Nothing happened, thankfully, but it sounded bad. I'm taking it in this week for a tune-up/check-up. And to buy a new saddle bag (mine fell off at some point due to rough road--thank Gawd I didn't flat!) The day was beautiful, though, and I was super thankful that it didn't rain. Some of those crazy downhills were on rough road and would have been disastrous in the rain.

Run started off really well. Toe felt fine. Held a 10:15 pace for the first 4mi. Took my nutrition as planned, no nausea or bonky feelings. At mile 4.5 began a constant, steep (>8% per road signage) climb until the turnaround at 6.5mi. My toe did NOT like the steep incline, so I had to walk. Pace dropped to around 16min/miles.

I would have stopped and taken a DNF, but there wasn't anywhere to do so! They only 2 aid stations in that 4mi section--one was unmanned, and at the other they didn't have a car or a walkie talkie, and there was zero cell reception.

With little other choice in the matter, I decided to walk to the turnaround, assuming there would be people there I could talk to. Nope! Not even a timing mat! (Side note: i saw people doing the 70.3 turn around well before the turnaround -- and place well because of it. Again, cheaters.) Once at the turnaround, there was only one thing to do--try running again! But alas, my toe hated the downhill even more than the uphill, so I limped down it slowly (18min/mi pace) until I found an aid station with medical supplies at the bottom of the hill. Taped the foot up almost completely (with electrical tape-ha!) By that time I was past the worst of the downhill, and tried running again. To my surprise, the toe was fine on the gentle rollers and flat. Only the steeper hills bothered me. So, after an eternity of walking and thinking I was going to DNF, I was moving again. I ended up running the rest of the way back (miles 8.5 to finish) at a 10:45 pace, non-stop. A sag wagon found me at mile 9 and asked it I wanted a ride in, but I told him he was too late--I'd decided I was going to finish this f*cker as long as my toe held up.

It was really frustrating to see my worst 70.3 finish time ever by almost 40min (7:48) and to have nearly the entire tri site shut down. It was even harder mentally to deal with the stupid toe. Though I may not be proud of the time, I finished, and I'm proud that I stuck with it.

And I feel incredibly lucky to have such an amazing support crew. Even if the kiddo only slept for 2 hrs the night before the race...tent camping with a toddler...don't do it!  :P

To be honest, I had a little pity party for myself when the CTO loaded the car to come home. Some 'why me' and 'why did i break my stupid toe' tears might have happened. But after giving the CTO a run-through of my race, I realized it wasn't as terrible as I thought. The course was tough--so finish times were slower across the board. My time was going to be slower than I wanted anyways, even without toe issues. And to have the toe be my only real limiter showed to me that I have built up some sizable fitness and mental strength.

Louisville is hilly, but there aren't ridiculous 3mi long, >8% grade climbs. The run has rollers, but no massive 2mi climbs and descents. I'll know better next weekend how I fare on it--I'm headed down there for the iamtri training weekend--but I'm feeling more confident about my ability to handle it now.

Sometimes I feel like I have a dark cloud following me around as I train. And sometimes I feel like I spend as much time whining and making excuses for why I'm not 'fast' as I do actually training. This was all supposed to be for fun. The crazy thing is, I am having fun--I promise!! I guess I just post about the fun less than the other crap? I'm kind of a cynic and a sarcastic moFo, so maybe I don't know how to properly write about happy things?

Does everyone have this much trouble with training, and I need to just suck it up? Give it to me straight, internets.